President Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, testified before the House Judiciary Committee yesterday in what was a day-long, very heated, event. Lewandowski repeatedly invoked Executive Privilege, even though he has never worked in the White House, refusing to answer most questions put to him by Democrats. But many Democrats came off as angry, loud showboaters, more interested in getting on television than in finding the truth over whether the President committee obstruction of justice. The hearing puts committee chairman Jerry Nadler even further at odds with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
President Trump today named State Department hostage negotiator Robert O’Brien as his new National Security Advisor. O’Brien does not have an intelligence background and has no political ties to Trump. The move appears to solidify Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s position as the most formidable figure in the Administration next to Trump. Kevin Zeese, co-coordinator of Popular Resistance, whose work is at popularresistance.org, joins the show.
Israelis went to the polls yesterday to elect a new government, and the result is still too close to call. What is clear, though, is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and allied right wing parties do not have enough seats to form a government. At this stage, it appears that Benny Ganz’s Blue and White Party has won the most seats-32 to Netanyahu’s 31. With 91 percent of votes counted Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc has 55 seats, while Ganz’s center-left bloc has 56 seats. 61 seats are needed to govern. It looks like Avigdor Lieberman, a former Defense Minister and bar bouncer from Moldova who heads a right-wing nationalist party, but who has broken with Netanyahu, will play the kingmaker. Brian and John speak with David Sheen, an independent writer and filmmaker whose work is at www.davidsheen.com.
Talking heads on many of the morning news shows are now saying, without offering any evidence, that the attack on Saudi oil facilities was from a cruise missile launched from Iran. This is despite the fact that there is no evidence-at least publicly-to indicate that the attack wasn’t from a drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have already claimed responsibility. Meanwhile, President Trump announced new sanctions on Iran and said that he is weighing his options, but would not launch a “knee jerk response.” Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran, joins the show.
European Union lawmakers voted overwhelmingly, by a vote of 544-126 today, to offer a Brexit delay if British Prime Minister Boris Johnson requests one. European President Jean-Claude Juncker warned, however, that a no-deal Brexit is still a very real possibility. This comes after a serious embarrassment for Johnson when he recently went to Luxembourg for negotiations. Currently, the UK is scheduled to withdraw from the European Union on October 31 with or without an agreement. Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star, joins Brian and John.
Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Sputnik news analysts Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.
Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join the show.
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