Holder gets pounded in hearing by Senate heavyweights Lee, Cruz

January 30, 2014 by Joe Saunders 8 Comments

Two Republican heavyweights put Attorney General Eric Holder through the wringer Wednesday, as Sen. Mike Lee grilled Holder on the constitutional basis for President Obama’s use of executive orders, while Sen. Ted Cruz demanded Holder name an independent investigator to probe the IRS harassment of conservative groups.

Photo: Screen shot via The Blaze

Under questioning by Lee, Holder was forced to acknowledge he couldn’t explain what legal standard covered one of Obama’s most controversial executive orders – the one delaying the requirement that employers provide insurance coverage for full-time workers or face fines.
The Utah Republican, who had clearly done his homework before quizzing Holder, said Obama’s exercise of executive orders – and his boast during Tuesday’s State of the Union address that he is planning more – had “usurped an extraordinary amount of authority within the executive branch.”
Under a pounding by Cruz, Holder claimed there is reason to question whether an investigation of the Obama IRS by an attorney known to be an Obama supporter and donor should be viewed as impartial.
Budweiser does it again! Super Bowl XLVIII Commercial ‘Puppy Love’
The Texas Republican wasn’t buying it.
“In my view, the integrity of the Department of Justice has been severely compromised,” Cruz told Holder. “Predecessors of yours in both parties, Democrat and Republican, when faced with serious charges of abuse of power for partisan gain have made the right decision and appointed special prosecutors.”
“I would call upon you to carry out the tradition of independence that attorneys general have honored that office with for centuries and protect the integrity of the Department of Justice,” he told Holder. “Given the political sensitivities, given the fact that individual citizens believe they are being persecuted by the federal government for partisan reasons.”
Check out Cruz taking on Holder here. Lee’s tangle with Holder is below.
Watch Lee take Holder to law school here.

JUNE 2013: THE TRUTH IS FINALY OUT...


NSA Whistleblower: Obama Took Down General Petraeus with NSA Surveillance Program:

William Binney, whistleblower and former NSA crypto-mathematician who served in the agency for decades, said the David Petraeus sex scandal wase xposed using illegal surveillance of his email.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2013/06/07/NSA-Whistle-blower-Obama-Took-Down-General-Petraeus-With-Surveillance-Program
WANT TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THE BENGHAZI STORY... GIVE THIS MAN IMMUNITY AND THEN HAVE HIM TALK.... THEN PUT HIM IN SOME KIND OF WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM ( NOT THE FEDERAL ONE.. WHERE HOLDER AND MUELLER HAVE ACCESS! ) THEN THE REVOLUTION WILL START — with Wanda Casamento, Brett Lacheney and Rhonda Gregory.

Mozaffar Khazaee: Bumbling Spy or Disgruntled Employee?

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Mozaffar Khazaee: Bumbling Spy or Disgruntled Employee?

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January 15, 2014

Mozaffar Khazaee: Bumbling Spy or Disgruntled Employee?

Last week the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut unsealed a criminal complaint against Mozaffar Khazaee, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen charged with attempting to transport sensitive technical data related to the U.S. Military’s Fifth Generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. According to the affidavit filed in support of the complaint, on November 26, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents from an Outbound Enforcement Team inspected a shipment destined for Iran which had been labeled “House Hold Goods” on the Shipper’s Export Declaration. Among the 44 boxes contained in the shipment, were two crates containing thousands of pages of technical documents including technical specifications, diagrams, and blueprints for the F-35 engine program. Apparently Khazaee, who became a naturalized citizen in 1991, had been laid off from his job at defense contractor Pratt &Whitney in August and for unspecified reasons decided to take the F-35 material out the door with him. He was arrested on January 9 at Newark airport just before boarding a Frankfurt-bound flight that would have eventually taken him to Tehran.
While the initial charge filed against Khazaee is a violation of 18 USC 2314, which prohibits the interstate transportation of stolen property, footnote 1 of the affidavit indicates that it’s likely that he’ll face a host of additional charges for violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Arms Export Control Act (AECA). At the very least it seems clear that Khazaee actions constitute a violation of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR) 31 CFR § 560.203, which prohibits transactions designed to evade sanctions and attempts to violate any provision of the ITSR, in the case the § 560.204 prohibition on exportation of goods, technology, or services to Iran. It should also not be difficult for prosecutors to prove that Khazaee’s actions constitute a “willful” violation as required for criminal charges by each statute – the documents recovered by CBP were reportedly labeled with “Export-Controlled” and “ITAR-controlled” warnings. Furthermore, at the conclusion of his employment Khazaee was required to sign a separation agreement which required him to surrender all materials.
Predictably, though not without good reason, questions were raised whether this is the result of a calculated attempt by Iranian intelligence to steal highly sensitive U.S. military information. If so, Iran might want to reassess how it handles it sources because Khazaee’s lack of tradecraft was something to behold. Simply labeling his shipment’s final destination as Iran would be seen as a red flag by CBP and vastly increase the odds of, if not guarantee additional screening. He also used his own name on the shipping documents and used personal checks to pay the freight forwarder. Travel documents did show however, that Khazaee had traveled to Iran five (5) times in the past seven (7) years.
From the information currently available it seems more likely that a freshly laid-off Khazaee thought that the documents could be of value and decided on his own to try and get them to Iran to sell at a later datet. If, however, it surfaces that Khazaee did indeed have ties to Iranian intelligence, the amateurish nature of the plot suggests Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) might need to train its handlers better.
Of far more concern is the fact that a terminated employee was able to simply walk out the door of a U.S. defense contractor with thousands of documents containing some of the United States’ most sensitive defensive information. Apparently, even in the age of Edward Snowden, some still require additional lessons in the importance of data security. One hopes that coverage going forward will focus as much on Pratt & Whitney failings as on Mr. Khazaee’s ties to Iran.
The author of this blog is Erich Ferrari, an attorney specializing in OFAC matters. If you have any questions please contact him at 202-280-6370 or ferrari@ferrariassociatespc.com.
This post was guest written by Samuel Cutler, Policy Advisor at Ferrari & Associates, P.C. If you have any questions please contact him at 202-280-6370 or cutlet@ferrariassociatespc.com.

This entry was posted in Ferrari Legal, P.C. and tagged 18 USC 2314, Federal Criminal Attorney, Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer, Mozaffar Khazaee, Sanctions Criminal Case.

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Money from Vienna allegedly sent to finance Islamic extremist fighters training centres in Bosnia

Austrian Times Online News 25 November 2013

Fighters for different wars around the globe were trained in three remote Bosnian villages, reports Glas Srpske, the paper in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The paper claims the money to finance this training has in recent months arrived from Vienna, the capital of Austria.
The same source insists that Islamic militants were trained in central villages of Gornja Maoca, Gornja Dubnica and Osve.
Not going into details, Glas Srpske insists that the money was donated by Turkish origin Foundation for Human Rights, Freedom and Humanitarian Aid.
(continue reading...)

WE HAVE ASKED FOR INFORMATION THROUGH THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT... AND ARE GETTING NO ANSWERS. OTHERS HAVE TOO... SO WE ARE TAKING TO THE SOCIAL MEDIA TO EXPOSE THIS HOAXTER BITCH AND HER KENYAN BOSS!!

WE HAVE ASKED FOR INFORMATION THROUGH THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT... AND ARE GETTING NO ANSWERS. OTHERS HAVE TOO... SO WE ARE TAKING TO THE SOCIAL MEDIA TO EXPOSE THIS HOAXTER BITCH AND HER KENYAN BOSS!!
Why does President Barack Obama’s senior adviser Valerie Jarrett have Secret Service protection?
It turns out that some of her colleagues inside the White House are skeptical that actual, specific threats resulted in Jarrett’s protection.

“While a high-profile White House official — especially an African-American/Iranian Born Communist Sympathizer woman whose father was best friends with Frank Marshal Davis.. Obama's mentor... a woman, such as Jarrett — could legitimately be considered a more likely target than most, several West Wing officials I spoke to were dubious there had been any special threats against her,” writer Mark Leibovich reported in “This Town,” a new book on Washington.
The Daily Caller reported that in a largely unprecedented move, Jarrett and David Axelrod, another senior adviser who has since left the White House, were being driven to work by government drivers and that Jarrett had been made a “protectee” of the Secret Service.
Jarrett has refused to discuss why she has been assigned Secret Service when questioned by reporters.
In April 2012, The Daily Caller filed a Freedom of Information Act request for details from the Department of Homeland Security about the cost of Jarrett’s protection. That request has not yet been fulfilled.
Leibovich reported that Jarrett finds questions about the rationale for her protection “ridiculous and offensive.” The adviser declined to speak about the arrangement with him.
THIS IS BULLSHIT...
SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS....
TIME FOR REVOLUTION..

Russia Has Cheated on Nuclear Treaty, U.S. is Said to Admit in Closed Briefings

Russia Has Cheated on Nuclear Treaty, U.S. is Said to Admit in Closed Briefings oh yeah like obama hasnt

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Nov. 26, 2013

Then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan, right, and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbatchev, left, as they signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in Washington in December 1987. The Obama administration last year reportedly informed lawmakers in a classified session that Moscow was violating the pact (AFP/Getty Images).

Senior Obama administration officials informed congressional lawmakers in a closed-door 2012 briefing that Russia was not abiding by a bilateral arms control accord that bans the fielding of intermediate-range missiles, the Daily Beast reported on Tuesday.
The 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty required both Russia and the United States to eliminate all of their nuclear and non-nuclear ballistic and cruise missiles with maximum flight distances between roughly 300 miles and 3,400 miles. Russia's testing of the SS-25 mobile intercontinental ballistic missile and of the new-model RS-26, optimized for penetrating missile defenses, may have raised the concerns about violating the accord's range restrictions, according to the website. However, the alleged focus of the cheating remains secret.
Last November during a classified session, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs Madelyn Creedon and acting Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Moscow was in breach of the INF accord, according to the report, which cites two unnamed U.S. officials who were at the briefing.
Then-Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) blasted the reported treaty transgressions: "If we're going to have treaties with people, we've got to adhere to them," he was said to have groused.
"We're not going to pass another treaty in the U.S. Senate if our colleagues are sitting up here knowing somebody is cheating," said Kerry, now secretary of State, according to two officials with access to the classified record of the briefing.
Twelve Republican senators are backing an amendment to their chamber's fiscal 2014 national defense authorization bill that would require the State and Defense departments to brief Congress on compliance issues related to the INF pact.
"The administration's been candid with Congress about a range of countries where we have ongoing treaty compliance issues ... and that includes concerns we have raised with Russia," an anonymous Obama official told the Daily Beast. "Determinations about non-compliance are made after a careful process, but Congress is in the loop."
Senator James Risch (R-Idaho), who sponsored the amendment to the NDAA bill, is one of several senators reportedly blocking Gottemoeller from being confirmed to the position of undersecretary of State. Sources told the Daily Beast that Gottemoeller is also in the running to become the next U.S. envoy to Russia.

Tags

• Nuclear Nonproliferation, Arms Control, Disarmament,
• Verification and Monitoring,
• Arms Control

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U.S. to NATO: Russia May Have Violated Arms Control Pact

U.S. to NATO: Russia May Have Violated Arms Control Pact

Jan. 30, 2014

Then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, left, and U.S. President Ronald Reagan sign the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty at a December 1987 summit in Washington. The United States reportedly has briefed NATO officials that Russia's recent testing of a cruise missile may have breached the accord. (Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images)

The United States has shared with NATO its concern over Russia's testing of a new missile that may have violated a bilateral 1987 nuclear arms treaty.
On Jan. 17, Acting U.S. Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller in a closed-door meeting in Brussels told alliance member states that Russia was conducting flight trials of a land-based cruise missile in possible breach of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the New York Times reports.
The arms control pact required the Soviet Union and the United States to dismantle all of their ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 300 and 3,400 miles, and to cease testing, manufacturing and stockpiling such weapons.
U.S. officials think the Russian military started testing the missile as far back as 2008, according to the report. Since last May, Gottemoeller has discussed the tests repeatedly with Russian officials, who say they have looked into the issue and do not see it as a concern. Thus far, the United States has refrained from officially accusing Moscow of being in breach of the accord.
President Obama would like to hold new strategic arms control talks with Russia, so his administration has been searching for a solution to addressing concerns over the medium-range missile treaty issues. The aim has been to keep the accord in place and not sour Moscow on new nuclear-reduction negotiations.
"The United States never hesitates to raise treaty compliance concerns with Russia, and this issue is no exception," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. "There's an ongoing review process, and we wouldn't want to speculate or prejudge the outcome."
Unidentified officials told the Times it was obvious the missile trials violated the accord. A number of Republican lawmakers also have raised the issue with the White House, calling for the United States to take a harder line with Russia. The issue has been used by some GOP members on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to stall Gottemoeller's nomination to take over permanently as undersecretary of State for arms control.
Russia has hinted it might withdraw from the treaty. Sergei Ivanov, chief of staff for President Vladimir Putin, last June said: "We've signed the agreement, we will obey it. But that could not last forever."

Tags

• Nuclear Nonproliferation, Arms Control, Disarmament,
• Verification and Monitoring,
• Cruise Missiles

Related GSN Stories

• Multiple Nations Set to Finance Heightened Iran Monitoring
• Analysts: Iran Must Do More to Eliminate Nuclear Fears
• Worries Persist After Release of Iran Nuclear-Pact Terms
• GOP Senators Delay Key Arms-Control Appointment at State
• Pentagon Advisers Press for Nuclear-Monitoring Revamp