This article was published more than 4 years agoCommentGift ShareThe lobbying campaign to save the Iran nuclear agreement was intense and took months. British Prime Minister Theresa May raised the deal with President Trump in more than a dozen phone calls. French President Emmanuel Macron pressed him on it during an elaborate state visit. So did German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a one-day work trip in April. And the Europeans made a Hail Mary pass Monday in the form of a White House visit by British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.But for Trump, the decision to torpedo one of...…This article was published more than 4 years agoCommentGift ShareThe lobbying campaign to save the Iran nuclear agreement was intense and took months. British Prime Minister Theresa May raised the deal with President Trump in more than a dozen phone calls. French President Emmanuel Macron pressed him on it during an elaborate state visit. So did German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a one-day work trip in April. And the Europeans made a Hail Mary pass Monday in the form of a White House visit by British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.But for Trump, the decision to torpedo one of...WW…

This article was published more than 3 years agoCommentGift ShareOn Sunday, President Trump’s most senior national security advisers joined him at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where Trump was beginning the second week of his holiday vacation. The officials told reporters that U.S. F-15 Strike Eagles had just at their bases in Iraq and Syria, in response to a series of rocket attacks that had culminated in the death of an American contractor two days earlier.But privately, a different topic had come up with an agitated president: whether to kill Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani,...…This article was published more than 3 years agoCommentGift ShareOn Sunday, President Trump’s most senior national security advisers joined him at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where Trump was beginning the second week of his holiday vacation. The officials told reporters that U.S. F-15 Strike Eagles had just at their bases in Iraq and Syria, in response to a series of rocket attacks that had culminated in the death of an American contractor two days earlier.But privately, a different topic had come up with an agitated president: whether to kill Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani,...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareBritish authorities earlier this month told their American counterparts that they had suspended sending over all evidence in criminal cases because the United States still uses the death penalty — a move some American law enforcement officials feared might signal a fraying relationship over several politically charged matters, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.The United Kingdom’s Central Authority delivered the message on June 4 as part of communications over a visa fraud case in which the United...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareBritish authorities earlier this month told their American counterparts that they had suspended sending over all evidence in criminal cases because the United States still uses the death penalty — a move some American law enforcement officials feared might signal a fraying relationship over several politically charged matters, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.The United Kingdom’s Central Authority delivered the message on June 4 as part of communications over a visa fraud case in which the United...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump said Thursday that the United States will withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies, a nearly 30-year-old pact designed to reduce the chances of an accidental war by allowing mutual reconnaissance flights for members of the 34-country agreement.Speaking on the White House lawn before flying to Michigan, Trump said the United States was pulling out because .“Until they adhere, we will pull out,” he said.The Trump administration will issue a formal notification Friday that the United States intends to withdraw,...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump said Thursday that the United States will withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies, a nearly 30-year-old pact designed to reduce the chances of an accidental war by allowing mutual reconnaissance flights for members of the 34-country agreement.Speaking on the White House lawn before flying to Michigan, Trump said the United States was pulling out because .“Until they adhere, we will pull out,” he said.The Trump administration will issue a formal notification Friday that the United States intends to withdraw,...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump and his top aides are working behind the scenes to sideline the World Health Organization on several fronts as they seek to shift blame for the novel coronavirus pandemic to the world body, according to U.S. and foreign officials involved in the discussions.Last week, the president announced on U.S. money to the WHO, but other steps by his top officials go beyond a temporary funding freeze, raising concerns about the permanent weakening of the organization amid a rapidly spreading crisis.At the State...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump and his top aides are working behind the scenes to sideline the World Health Organization on several fronts as they seek to shift blame for the novel coronavirus pandemic to the world body, according to U.S. and foreign officials involved in the discussions.Last week, the president announced on U.S. money to the WHO, but other steps by his top officials go beyond a temporary funding freeze, raising concerns about the permanent weakening of the organization amid a rapidly spreading crisis.At the State...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareDuring a trip Wednesday to Copenhagen for meetings with the foreign ministers of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the top U.S. diplomat, did not wear a face mask.That led to an awkward diplomatic dance. When he extended a hand in greeting, Jeppe Kofod, Denmark’s foreign affairs minister, kept to social distancing guidelines and refused to shake back.Undeterred, Pompeo tried again with the foreign minister of the Faroe Islands, who also declined.The third time was not quite the...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareDuring a trip Wednesday to Copenhagen for meetings with the foreign ministers of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the top U.S. diplomat, did not wear a face mask.That led to an awkward diplomatic dance. When he extended a hand in greeting, Jeppe Kofod, Denmark’s foreign affairs minister, kept to social distancing guidelines and refused to shake back.Undeterred, Pompeo tried again with the foreign minister of the Faroe Islands, who also declined.The third time was not quite the...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump recently encouraged Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to reconsider running for the U.S. Senate in Kansas but Pompeo rebuffed the request, according to two people familiar with the conversation.Trump spoke to Pompeo about making a during a one-on-one meeting at the White House about two weeks ago, both people said, suggesting that Pompeo could definitely keep the seat for Republicans if he ran.Trump’s request underscores the among Republicans that they could lose control of the Senate in this fall’s election...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump recently encouraged Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to reconsider running for the U.S. Senate in Kansas but Pompeo rebuffed the request, according to two people familiar with the conversation.Trump spoke to Pompeo about making a during a one-on-one meeting at the White House about two weeks ago, both people said, suggesting that Pompeo could definitely keep the seat for Republicans if he ran.Trump’s request underscores the among Republicans that they could lose control of the Senate in this fall’s election...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe State Department inspector general fired by President Trump was looking into allegations that a staffer for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was performing domestic errands and chores such as handling dry cleaning, walking the family dog and making restaurant reservations, said a congressional official familiar with the matter.Steve Linick, the quasi-independent watchdog whose job it was to expose waste and malfeasance within the agency, investigated a number of issues at the State Department that agitated senior Trump...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe State Department inspector general fired by President Trump was looking into allegations that a staffer for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was performing domestic errands and chores such as handling dry cleaning, walking the family dog and making restaurant reservations, said a congressional official familiar with the matter.Steve Linick, the quasi-independent watchdog whose job it was to expose waste and malfeasance within the agency, investigated a number of issues at the State Department that agitated senior Trump...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareIn mid-March, a National Security Council team rushed to address what they saw as a threat to the U.S. government’s ability to function amid the advancing pandemic: a lack of masks to protect enough staff on the White House complex.Alarmed by the small cache and the growing signs of an of protective gear in the United States, a senior NSC official turned to a foreign government for help, according to people familiar with the situation.The effort resulted in a donation of hundreds of thousands of surgical masks from...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareIn mid-March, a National Security Council team rushed to address what they saw as a threat to the U.S. government’s ability to function amid the advancing pandemic: a lack of masks to protect enough staff on the White House complex.Alarmed by the small cache and the growing signs of an of protective gear in the United States, a senior NSC official turned to a foreign government for help, according to people familiar with the situation.The effort resulted in a donation of hundreds of thousands of surgical masks from...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe Trump administration has discussed whether to conduct the first U.S. nuclear test explosion since 1992 in a move that would have far-reaching consequences for relations with other nuclear powers and reverse a decades-long moratorium on such actions, said a senior administration official and two former officials familiar with the deliberations.The matter came up at a meeting of senior officials representing the top national security agencies May 15, following accusations from administration officials that Russia and...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe Trump administration has discussed whether to conduct the first U.S. nuclear test explosion since 1992 in a move that would have far-reaching consequences for relations with other nuclear powers and reverse a decades-long moratorium on such actions, said a senior administration official and two former officials familiar with the deliberations.The matter came up at a meeting of senior officials representing the top national security agencies May 15, following accusations from administration officials that Russia and...WW…