Justice Department Moves to Drop Charges Against Flynn by Jessy Samuel Ejah

Justice Department Moves to Drop Charges Against Flynn by Jessy Samuel Ejah

The Justice Department on Thursday recommended a federal judge reverse the conviction of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and drop the criminal charges, a stunning reversal in a case that became a powerful symbol of FBI misconduct in the Russia investigation.

The government’s motion must still be granted by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, and came an hour after the lead prosecutor in the case withdrew.

The government said recent revelations from evidence withheld from the court for years warranted the dramatic recommendation, including that the FBI interview that Flynn was accused of lying during was not warranted by law after agents had already concluded there was no criminal conduct or collusion with Russia by the retired general.

The Government has concluded that the interview of Mr. Flynn was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn—a no longer justifiably predicated investigation that the FBI had, in the Bureau’s own words, prepared to close because it had yielded an ‘absence of any derogatory information,'” the government said.

“The Government is not persuaded that the January 24, 2017 interview was conducted with a legitimate investigative basis and therefore does not believe Mr. Flynn’s statements were material even if untrue. Moreover, we do not believe that the Government can prove either the relevant false statements or their materiality beyond a reasonable doubt,” it said.

Flynn’s new lawyer Sidney Powell, who aggressively challenged the government’s conduct, hailed the decision. “This is an historic moment for the entire country and crucial to the restoration of the rule of law,” she told Just the News. “I tip my hat to the Attorney General and all the honest prosecutors and agents who fought to find the truth. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”

The decision to recommend ending the case came just an hour after federal prosecutor Brandon Van Grack, a member of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team who led the prosecution of Flynn, resigned from the case without explanation.

Pressure from President Trump and his supporters has built in the past weeks to, not just exonerate Flynn, but have the entire case thrown out of court as the result of newly publicized documents revealing possible misconduct by FBI investigators.

While Flynn had pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI he had sought to withdraw his plea after evidence emerged that his lawyers said showed he was “framed” for committing no crime.

Those revelations included that:

FBI agents who investigated Flynn’s contacts with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential transition in 2016 concluded Jan. 4, 2017, to close the investigation because they found no derogatory evidence of a crime or counterintelligence threat.

The agents were stopped from closing the case by then-Special Agent Peter Strzok, who claimed in text messages that FBI leadership on the 7th floor had intervened.

FBI officials began discussing arranging an interview with Flynn in the absence of any evidence in wrongdoing. A senior FBI official, William Priestap, raised concerns about the strategy, writing in handwritten notes he was worried the FBI was “playing games” and looking to catch Flynn in a lie “so we can prosecute him or get him fired.

Senior DOJ officials had told Mueller’s team that they were concerned by the FBI conduct in investigating Flynn and believed the bureau’s pretext for interview the White House adviser — that he might have violated the Logan Act — was a stretch.

FBI agents discussed how they might avoid or slip in the required warning to Flynn during the interview that lying to the FBI could be prosecuted.

The motion Thursday raised a new concern, specifically citing then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe’s behavior, suggesting he pressed reluctant FBI officials to proceed with the interview and then-made the call himself to invite Flynn to the interview in hopes he would come solo without any lawyers or White House officials in tow.

The prosecutors cited text messages suggesting McCabe was “frustrated” by Priestap’s concerns and “cut him off.” During the call with Flynn, “McCabe further advised that if Mr. Flynn wished to have anyone else at the meeting, including the White House Counsel, the FBI would have to elevate the issue to DOJ,” the DOJ motion stated.

DOJ’s decision was applauded in many corners, with early reaction suggesting the dismissal was a black eye for Mueller’s investigation and former FBI Director James Comey.

“This is an extraordinary decision but we are living in extraordinary times. It is very rare for such a dismissal to be sought based on its own misconduct.,” George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley tweeted.

“Flynn was a major target for Mueller. Comey et al sought to create a crime in the absence of any evidence of criminal conduct. The case has now collapsed and represents one of the most ignoble moments for Mueller,” Turley added.

Source: Just the news.com

Covid-19: UK Surpasses Italy to Become Highest in Europe by Francisca Ogar

Covid-19: UK Surpasses Italy to Become Highest in Europe by Francisca Ogar

The UK now has the highest number of coronavirus deaths in Europe, according to the latest government figures.

There have been 29,427 deaths recorded across the UK – a figure Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said was “a massive tragedy”.

The latest total for Italy, previously the highest in Europe, now stands at 29,315.

But experts say it could be months before full global comparisons can be made.

Both Italy and the UK record the deaths of people who have tested positive for coronavirus.

BBC head of statistics Robert Cuffe said Britain reached this figure faster in its epidemic than Italy.

But he said there are caveats in making such a comparison, including the UK population being about 10% larger than Italy’s.

Each country also has different testing regimes, with Italy conducting more tests than the UK to date.

Speaking at the daily coronavirus briefing, Mr Raab said the 29,427 lives lost was “a massive tragedy” the country has “never seen before… on this scale, in this way”.

But he would not be drawn on international comparisons, saying: “I don’t think we will get a real verdict on how well countries have done until the pandemic is over, and particularly until we get comprehensive international data on all-cause mortality.”

Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter, of the University of Cambridge, said we can be “certain” that all reported figures are “substantial underestimates” of the true number who have died with the virus.

He said: “We can safely say that none of these countries are doing well, but this is not Eurovision and it is pointless to try and rank them.”

He added the “only sensible comparison is by looking at excess all-cause mortality, adjusted for the age distribution of the country” [but] “even then it will be very difficult to ascribe the reasons for any differences.”

Source: BBC

American Magic Will Spur US Economic Recovery by Jessy Samuel Ejah

American Magic Will Spur US Economic Recovery by Jessy Samuel Ejah

Billionaire investor Warren Buffet said Saturday he’s confident the US economy will bounce back from its pummeling by the coronavirus pandemic because “American magic has always prevailed.”

The 89-year-old made the sanguine prediction about the world’s largest economy as his holding company Berkshire Hathaway reported first-quarter net losses of nearly $50 billion.

Buffett also announced Saturday that his company had sold all its stakes in four major US airlines last month, as the pandemic clobbered the travel industry.

“It turns out I was wrong,” he said of his acquisitions of 10 percent stakes in American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.

Berkshire Hathaway had paid $7 billion to $8 billion, and “we did not take out anything like that,” he said.

Between the purchases that took place over months, and the sale, “the airlines business I think changed in a very major way” and could no longer meet Berkshire criteria for profitability, he said.

Buffett’s announcement may further hurt airlines already pushed to the brink by coronavirus lockdown measures, now looking to the US government for $25 billion in relief funds.

Berkshire Hathaway, based in Omaha, Nebraska, called its first-quarter setback “temporary” but said it could not reliably predict when its many businesses would return to normal or when consumers would resume their former buying habits.

“We’ve faced great problems in the past, haven’t faced this exact problem — in fact we haven’t really faced anything that quite resembles this problem,” Buffett said in a lengthy speech on the country’s economic history.

“But we faced tougher problems, and the American miracles, American magic has always prevailed and it will do so

Source: AFP

Trump’s Rating Hits All Time High by Jessy Samuel Ejah

Trump’s Rating Hits All Time High by Jessy Samuel Ejah

President Trump’s approval rating hit an all-time high in a Gallup survey released on Friday, with 49 percent of respondents approving of his performance versus 47 percent disapproving.

The results continue a wide swing in polling for Trump, who garnered a 43 percent approval rating two weeks ago.

“Most of the variation in Trump’s recent job approval rating is among independents,” Gallup said. “In the current poll, 47% of independents approve of the job he is doing as president, the highest Gallup has measured for the group to date. 93% of Republicans and 8% of Democrats approve of the job Trump is doing.”

However, RealClearPolitics polling averages place the president at 44.3 percent approval versus 50.6 percent disapproval as of Friday. Averages of general election polls give Trump 42.1 percent to Joe Biden’s 47.4 percent.

Last week officials including Trump-campaign manager Brad Parscale, adviser Jared Kushner, and Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel presented the president with internal campaign polls showing him falling behind Biden in key swing states, the Washington Post reported. Advisers showed Trump the polls as part of an effort to convince him to stop or scale back his presence in the daily White House coronavirus briefings.

Source: Yahoo News

Actress Rose McGowan Calls Democrat Party a “Cult” by Jessy Samuel Ejah

Actress Rose McGowan Calls Democrat Party a “Cult” by Jessy Samuel Ejah

Actress Rose McGowan labeled the Democrats and the media a “cult” amid the credible sexual assault allegations against Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden.

The actress, who was a leading figure in the #MeToo movement, shared a picture of herself crying to Twitter, captioned: “I’m really sad, and I’m really tired. I normally share thoughts, but tonight it’s emotion.”

In the text accompanying the post, the 46-year-old actress said she “used to be a proud Democrat” and she “used to be a proud American.”

“I would have died for this damned country & its ideals. I was raised to be a proud Democrat. When my youngest brother graduated as a fighter pilot at the Air Force academy, I wore a Vote John Kerry pin (lol,) got into verbal altercations with big men who were mad I was a Democrat,” she wrote.

“I thought democracy meant I had a right to choose those who lined up with my value system. But what if there’s no one? Now I know too much. And I feel really quite a sense of loss tonight.

“I am not a cynical person, but America goddamn. Republicans have always been painted as the bad guys, and I’ve always seen them more as a cult, but now I realize so are the democrats and the media. Macro and Micro.

“This is deeper than a cover-up. And I’m sad because there’s death around all corners & shadows in the daytime. It hurts.

In early April, McGowan called out former Charmed co-star Alyssa Milano, a fellow leader of the #MeToo movement, over her endorsement of Biden, despite the graphic and disturbing sexual assault allegations made against him by former staffer Tara Reade.

McGowan called Milano a “fraud” for leading the charge against Justice Brett Kavanaugh yet supporting Biden.

Source: The Scoop

American Rapper DMX Leads Online Bible study by Jessy Samuel Ejah

American Rapper DMX Leads Online Bible study by Jessy Samuel Ejah

American rapper and actor Earl Simmons, better known by his stage name DMX, has hosted a Bible study on Instagram and urged thousands of viewers to accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.

He noted that this pandemic shutdown is an opportunity to turn to God.

“God is giving you the time; he’s giving you the time, to get closer to Him, to become familiar with Him,” he said on Friday.

According to the Christian Post, the rapper has had many public mishaps, from a drug overdose to various arrests – and in his short sermon he said tragedy is in fact what has brought him closer to God.

The media outlet says DMX, now 49, has never shied away from sharing his Christian faith and that he has turned from ‘vulgar’ music to recording songs talking about his Christianity, including “Lord Give Me a Sign” and “Damien.”

DMX said he woke up earlier in the day with “chills” and felt led to talk to his fans about the Bible.

“God put it on my heart to speak,” he said. “This is new to me. This is not what I do.”

He read from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 and parts of Ecclesiastes 4.

“The best thing that we can hope for – the most important thing we can hope or pray for or ask for – is that our desires coincide with God’s will,” he said.

He urged his fans to learn to pray and not rely on the prayers of others: “Your own prayer will do a lot better than someone else praying for you.”

He encouraged them to receive Christ: “Whoever hasn’t given your life to Jesus yet, whoever hasn’t surrendered all the way … I’m going to walk you through that right now.” He then led his fans in a prayer.

By not living for Christ, DMX said, people “miss out on so many blessings that He has for you.”

“Get into the Word,” DMX said. “It will make whatever you go through a lot easier to deal with.”

Instagram Live video has since disappeared from his account, although copies of it are circulating on YouTube, Christian Headlines reports.

Source: ugchristainnews

China Leads A Rapacious Scramble For Africa by Jessy Samuel Ejah

China Leads A Rapacious Scramble For Africa by Jessy Samuel Ejah

Africa’s history has been one of exploitation in almost every time period. In the past few decades, Africa has tried to assert herself in the global order as her nations have sought to throw of the shackles of military dictatorships and authoritarian regimes. This sparked optimism across the globe as countries saw the door opening for investment in Africa’s burgeoning financial, infrastructure, and energy sectors. Unfortunately, our leaders were unable to work for the common good and we have seen increasing levels of corruption, ethnic tension, and conflict, as well as the rise of kidnappings and political unrest.

The growing levels of insecurity and risk for investment into Africa have meant that Western capital flows have been far lower than they could have been – with many European and American companies choosing to avoid Africa. However, this created an investment vacuum – into which China was only too happy to take hold of. Chinese investment funds are able to ignore the potential risks in a way Western companies simply could not and have brought infrastructural development and other forms of investments that created jobs instantaneously.

In the past decade, the vastly increasing Chinese involvement and investment into Africa has caused significant concern across the Western world and unease amongst the analysts in Brussels, Washington, and London. This may trigger a more formalised pivot to Africa as they review their strategy on involvement in Africa. They are unlikely to be pleased with the idea of leaving China freely to influence the continent without any challenge to its geopolitical advantage.

China has played a clever game in its dealings with Africa. Between 2000 and 2015 China loaned a whopping $95.5 billion to the continent. A lot of this investment was spent addressing Africa’s infrastructure gap. Roughly 40 per cent of the loans paid for power projects, and another 30 per cent went on modernising transport infrastructure. The loans were at comparatively low interest rates and have long repayment periods.

Secondly, offering aid without preconditions, China presented itself an attractive alternative to conditional Western aid and gained valuable diplomatic support and influence amongst African governments. However, the asymmetrical relationship that China enforces evokes memories of colonial powers and their African puppet states. Moreover, China has no interest in the motives or nature of the governments that they support – including authoritarian regimes.

China overtook the US as Africa’s largest trading partner several years ago, but in recent times her strategy of investment seems to be backfiring significantly, with anti-China sentiments rising across the continent. This is because China is increasingly seen as propping up regimes with questionable, and worse, human rights records as well as its investments only over seeming to benefit entrenched elites. For example, China has focused a lot of attention on oil, which has been one of the most mismanaged and corrupt sectors in Africa for quite some time.

In a global perspective, Chinese strategy in Africa can be seen as part of its long-term ambition for world hegemony – both politically and economically – by using the continent as a platform to strengthen her hand. Western suspicion has seen them rationally lending support to pro-democracy or environmental movements that label Chinese ventures in Africa as plundering and exploiting resources in poorly governed and mismanaged local states.

Smart Asian economic powerhouses like Japan, India and South Korea, whose large populations require sources of agriculture, energy, and raw materials acted swiftly by following China and expanding their economic influence too in Africa, leaving Europe and America on the back foot.

Nevertheless, in the past three years the continent is quickly becoming the new frontier for a geo-political power tussle between the West and the Chinese and their allies. I believe that this conflict could lead to a new re-colonisation of Africa that will enhance authoritarianism among political elites since none of the aid or economic assistance usually offered by China and her allies (especially Russia) comes with pre-conditions that would push African states towards a better future.

Africa’s time is now. Post-Brexit Britain is eager to invest in its global future and more pragmatic and farsighted Americans wish to counter Chinese influence. But the question remains, how can the continent harness this opportunity without being recolonised or short-changed by the political elites who are currently selling their souls to China.

The greedy political elites in Nigeria, where those in power are mostly from the northern part of the country, have used the mineral resources from the south as collateral for long-term loans to develop the north – and their own pockets, while the south is left underdeveloped. Most tragically, the elites have made it more difficult for citizens to speak out, due to threats to the lives, properties, and businesses of those who disagree with the government line.

Therefore, it is necessary for all of those who want a better future for Africa to work together, joining forces with worldwide interest groups to create an impeccable policy structure that will drive Africa-orientated ideas – for the benefit of African citizens.