Erik Prince, the businessman who is said to have represented the Trump campaign during a meeting with a Russian representative in the Seychelles islands in January, is scheduled to testify before the House intelligence committee this week.
The founder of Blackwater – a private military firm later known as Xe Services and now known as Academi – Prince is set to appear Thursday before the committee behind closed doors. The appearance was described by the committee as "open in a closed space," indicating that a transcript will likely be released after the interview.
The Seychelles meeting, which was revealed by The Washington Post in April, was apparently brokered by the United Arab Emirates in an attempt to revamp Russia's relationship with Iran, possibly in exchange for concessions from the U.S. on sanctions against Moscow. Though Price had no official role in the Trump campaign or on the transition team, he was seen at the Trump transition offices in December, is a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump and large donor to his campaign. His sister, Betsy DeVos, currently serves as Trump's secretary of education, and campaign insiders told the Washington Post that Prince's "name surfaced so frequently in internal discussions that he seemed to function as an outside adviser whose opinions were valued on a range of issues, including plans for overhauling the U.S. intelligence community."
As I have mentioned before I have little confidence in the Russian investigation being conducted by Congress.
They have already demonstrated that they are hoping to vindicate Donald Trump by finding no signs of any real collusion. And Democrats on the committee have stated that there is evidence they are trying to thwart the investigations.
Which is why I was hoping that Prince had already testified to the Mueller team, as its seems he likely has much to share.
However as of last month it did not yet appear that Mueller had seen fit to question the founder of Blackwater.
Which could indicate that either he sees no value in that testimony, or that he is first building a case so that when Prince does testify any lies will be easily identified.
I'm thinking more of the latter.
O/T but is anyone else getting tired of repeatedly having to beg the government not to kill us or send us to the poorhouse?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.politicususa.com/2017/11/28/dozens-protesters-arrested-senate-people-warn-tax-cuts-rich-kill.html
DeleteWingnuts don't listen to the prayers of the poors.
ReplyDeleteSaying Betsy Devos and education in the same sentence feels slimy and is just plain wrong.
https://www.rawstory.com/2017/11/christian-apologist-who-stresses-the-importance-of-truth-caught-lying-about-himself-for-years/
DeleteBlackwater, Xe, Academi.
ReplyDeleteDo they change their name after each scandal?
Is he as stupid as his sister? Since he’s is Blackwater, it’s certain he is as morally bankrupt as she is.
If Mueller hasn’t called him, he might still. These congressional investigations may do more harm than good, pointing to leads Mueller may not have been aware of or showing them to be more promising than initially thought.
OT: The judge just denied Leandra English’s request for a restraining order against Mick Mulvaney taking over the CFPB.
ReplyDeleteThis judge is a TRUMP APPOINTEE.
It will probably go up to the appeals court now. That still has Obama appointees on it. But just give Trump time.
*THIS* is why it is important to get rid of Trump asap. The longer he is in office and the Republicans have a majority, the more they’ll be stacking the courts with lifetime appointments of DEPLORABLE judges.
If Ginsberg dies or Kennedy retires, we are all SCREWED.
That, or the Dems need to grow a pair and not tolerate this obvious reich wing horse shit ..
Delete3:25 PM - good luck with that. SILENCE from the Democrats and one has to ask “why??”
DeleteTrump Administration Greenlights New Oil-Drilling Operations In Arctic Waters
ReplyDeleteThe approval is “a totally boneheaded decision by a reckless administration,” one environmentalist said.
As scientists and environmentalists focus on stopping the Republican-led push to open up a section of Alaska’s fragile Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development, the Trump administration is celebrating its approval of new exploratory drilling operations in nearby Arctic waters.
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement announced Tuesday that it has granted a permit for Italian multinational company Eni to build new exploratory wells from a man-made island in the Beaufort Sea.
“Achieving American energy dominance moved one step closer today with the approval of Arctic exploration operations on the Outer Continental Shelf for the first time in more than two years,” the bureau touted in a news release.
The approval allows Eni to begin drilling four new exploratory wells as early as next month, according to BSEE. Operations are expected to result in the creation of as many as 150 jobs and production of up to 20,000 barrels of oil per day.
Spy Island is an 11-acre gravel island located approximately 3 miles off Alaska’s Oliktok Point, and one of four artificial islands in the Beaufort Sea used for oil and gas production. Between Spy Island and Oliktok Point, Eni has 18 producing wells, 13 injector wells and one disposal well.
Eni is now planning to use extended-reach drilling techniques to access deep federal submerged lands, according to BSEE. The bureau’s approval Tuesday comes several months after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management conditionally approved Eni’s proposal.
Environmentalists have long warned about the dangers that Arctic oil and gas development poses to local communities and wildlife. In a statement Tuesday, Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, called the approval “a totally boneheaded decision by a reckless administration.”
“Drilling for oil in the Arctic is an accident waiting to happen,” she said. “The Trump administration is risking a major oil spill by letting this foreign corporation drill in the unforgiving waters off Alaska. Offshore drilling threatens coastal communities and wildlife and will only push us deeper into the climate crisis.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/spy-island-arctic-drilling_us_5a1dd740e4b0d724fed450bb
Creeeeepy!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to Melania Trump’s Terrifying German Expressionist Christmas Tree Corridor Of Horror!
https://wonkette.com/626345/welcome-to-melania-trumps-terrifying-german-expressionist-christmas-tree-corridor-of-horror