"$1MM Per Minute In Salaries, $22BN Per Year In Vacation Pay" And Other Fun Facts About The Federal Workforce

The folks at Open The Books decided to take a deep dive into the salaries of 1.97 million federal employees, using data collected from the Office Of Personnel Management and the USPS via FOIA requests, and the endless examples of excessive pay and pure waste are sure to make you sick, if not downright suicidal.  Here are just some of the key takeaways as summarized by OTB:

1. The federal government pays its disclosed workforce $1 million per minute, $66 million per hour, and $524 million per day. In FY2016, the federal government disclosed 1.97 million employees at a cash compensation cost of $136.3 billion.

 

2. Over a six-year period (FY2010-2016), the number of federal employees making $200,000 or more has increased by 165 percent; those making $150,000 or more has grown by 60 percent; and those making more than $100,000 has increased by 37 percent.

 

3. On average, federal employees are given 10 federal holidays, 13 sick days, and 20 vacation days per year. If each employee used 13 sick days and took 20 vacation days in addition to the 10 federal holidays, it would cost taxpayers an estimated $22.6 billion annually.

 

4. In FY2016, a total 406,960 employees made six-figure incomes – that"s roughly one in five disclosed federal employees. Furthermore, 29,852 federal employees out-earned each of the 50 state governors receiving more than $190,823.

 

5. At 78 out of the 122 independent agencies and departments we studied, the average employee compensation exceeded $100,000 in FY2016.

 

 

6. With 326 employees at a total cash compensation of $28.8 million, we found a federal agency in San Francisco – Presidio Trust – paid out three of the top four federal bonuses including the largest in the federal government in FY2016. The biggest bonus went to an HR Manager in charge of payroll for $141,525.

 

7. Together, the United States Postal Service (USPS) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employ more than half of the disclosed federal workforce. As the largest civilian employer within the federal government, the USPS employed 32 percent of all disclosed federal employees, totaling 621,523 people on payroll in FY2016. The VA employed the second most employees with 372,614 or 19 percent of the disclosed federal workforce.

 

8. Only one-third of the 35,000 lawyers in the federal workforce work at the Department of Justice. The entire staff of federal lawyers earned $4.8 billion in FY2016.

 

9. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employed 3,498 police officers at a total cost of $172 million in FY2016. When asked about corresponding crime statistics, the VA was unable to provide any information on the number of crimes or incidents.

 

10. There are an additional 2 million undisclosed employees at the Department of Defense and in the active military. Their estimated cash compensation value, combined with $1 billion in undisclosed bonuses and $125 billion in hidden pension data, amounts to roughly $221 billion in undisclosed federal cash compensation per year.

So where is all the money going?  As it turns out, federal employees working in "the beltway" and California receive 22% of all federal compensation dollars.  Meanwhile, employees located in just the top 10 states received 41% ($55.5 billion).  Of course, out of that top 10, only two states, Georgia and Texas, consistently vote "red" in national elections which may help to explain why the Trump administration has struggled with leaks from a variety of agencies since moving into the White House.

The growth in the number of federal employees earning over $150,000 per year is simply mind numbing.  Keep in mind, these salaries are doled out regardless of whether or not these employees take advantage of their 8 weeks of paid time off every year. 

There are now 29,852 federal employees who out-earn every governor of the 50 states, receiving more than $190,823 each. Over a six-year period (FY2010-2016), the number of federal employees making $200,000 or more has increased by 165 percent, those making $150,000 or more has grown by 60 percent, and those making more than $100,000 has increased by 37 percent.

 

Of the roughly 2 million disclosed federal employees, 406,960 made six figures in cash compensation in FY2016. Additionally, 24,799 federal employees earned $200,000 or more while 3,154 made $300,000 or more. The top-paid federal employee overall, Dr. David Harpole, made $403,849 as a thoracic and cardiac surgeon for the Department of Veterans Affairs. This department employs more top earners than any other department or independent agency

As if the above isn"t bad enough, things get really disturbing when you learn that various agencies employee an army of "Interior Designers" making up to $150,000 per year...

The Department of State displayed the most egregious trends in regards to interior designers, doling out - on average - $122,093 to each of its 24 interior designers. The highest-paid interior design employees, however, worked for the Department of Treasury, earning $132,438, on average. In all, the federal government paid 40 interior designers more than $100,000 each.

...and an even larger army of "Gardeners" making up to $160,000.

Perhaps it"s time for a career change?  Here"s an idea...you could pick up a job mowing the lawn at the State Department for 40 hours a week at a salary of $141,555 and then use the other 128 hours of every week to get an Interior Design gig at Treasury for $152,687...all the while collecting two pensions and making nearly 5x the average American household yet still working less hours despite having two jobs...

Here is the full report from Open The Books:

McCain Associate Subpoenaed Over Trump Dossier

Several months ago it emerged that the Republican sponsor behind the Fusion GPS Trump project was hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer, a fact which surprised many who expected that John McCain would be the GOP mastermind looking for dirt in Trump"s past. However, a new and credible McCain trail has emerged in the annals of the "Trump Dossier" after the Washington Examiner reported that the House Intelligence Committee issued a subpoena to an associate of John McCain over his connection with the salacious dossier containing unverified allegations about Trump and his ties to Russia, which many speculate served as the illegitimate basis for FISA warrants against the Trump campaign - permitting the NSA to listen in on Trump"s phone calls - and which the president yesterday slammed as "bogus" and a "crooked Hillary pile of garbage."

In the latest twist, committee Chair Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) wants to talk to David Kramer, a former State Department official and current senior fellow at the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University, about his visit to London in November 2016. During his trip, at McCain"s request Kramer met with the dossier"s author, former British spy Christopher Steele, to view “the pre-election memoranda on a confidential basis,” according to court filings and to receive a briefing and a copy of the Trump dossier. Kramer then returned to the U.S. to give the document to McCain. McCain then took a copy of the dossier to the FBI"s then-director, James Comey. But the FBI already had the document; Steele himself gave the dossier to the bureau in installments, reportedly beginning in early July 2016.

David Kramer

While McCain, recovering in Arizona from treatments for cancer, has long refused to detail his actions regarding the dossier, his associate Kramer was interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee on Dec. 19. The new subpoena stems from statements Kramer made in that interview. In the session, the Washington Examiner reports, Kramer told House investigators that he knew the identities of the Russian sources for the allegations in Steele"s dossier. But when investigators pressed Kramer to reveal those names, he declined to do so.

Now, he is under subpoena which was issued Wednesday afternoon, and directs Kramer to appear again before House investigators on Jan. 11.

As the ongoing government probe slowly turns away from Trump"s "collusion" with the Russians and toward the FBI "insurance policy" to allegedly prevent Trump from becoming president by fabricating a narrative of Russian cooperation with the Trump, knowing Steele"s sources will be a critical part of the congressional dossier investigation:

"If one argues the document is unverified and never will be, it is critical to learn the identity of the sources to support that conclusion. If one argues the document is the whole truth, or largely true, knowing sources is equally critical."

There is another reason to know Steele"s sources, and that is to learn not just the origin of the dossier but its place in the larger Trump-Russia affair. As the WashEx adds, there is a belief among some congressional investigators that the Russians who provided information to Steele were using Steele to disrupt the American election as much as the Russians who distributed hacked Democratic Party emails. In some investigators" views, they are the two sides of the Trump-Russia project, both aimed at sowing chaos and discord in the American political system.

Still, investigators who favor this theory ask a sensible question: "It is likely that all the Russians involved in the attempt to influence the 2016 election were lying, scheing, Kremlin-linked, Putin-backed enemies of America – except the Russians who talked to Christopher Steele?"

On the other hand, the theory is still just a theory, for now... and as the Examiner"s Byron York correctly points out, to validate -or refute - it House investigators will seek Steele"s sources – and is why they will try to compel Kramer to talk.

The Obama-Hezbollah Conspiracy Could Shake The "Deep State" And Latin America

Authored by Andrew Korybko via Oriental Review,

Politico published an explosive investigative report which alleges that the Obama Administration politically interfered to obstruct a far-reaching criminal justice operation against Hezbollah in order to facilitate the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

The exposé is extensive and covers a wide array of purported activities over a ten-year period all across the US, Latin America, West Africa, Europe, and the Mideast, though the point of this analysis isn’t to summarize what’s contained in the report or to judge its veracity, but to interpret the significance of it being made public at this point in time. The codename given to the investigation into Hezbollah’s global economic network was “Operation Cassandra”, and it alleges to have discovered the mechanics behind the group’s self-sustaining financial ecosystem, some of which supposedly dealt with organized criminal activities such as drug trafficking and money laundering.

Politico’s bombshell wasn’t just the alleged facts that it uncovered, but the claims from some of the operation’s participants that the Obama Administration was undermining their work because it feared that taking action against Hezbollah would endanger Washington’s efforts to clinch the 2015 nuclear deal with the group’s patrons in Tehran. If true, then this would represent a major split within the American “deep state”, or permanent military, intelligence, and diplomatic bureaucracies, because it suggests that the State Department and possibly even the CIA were conspiring to subvert the law enforcement duties of the FBI and DEA on behalf of the President.

The implications behind this revelation could be enormous, and at the very least they seem to confirm Republican accusations that the Obama Administration was selling out domestic security interests in order to pursue the risky and now-failed foreign policy gambit of co-opting Iran through a tacit alliance with its ruling “moderate” elites. Seeing as how some of Obama-era “deep state” figures involved in this scandal might still be working with the government, the Trump Administration could use Politico’s report as the pretext for “cleaning house” and removing or professionally neutralizing some of its institutional opponents. It’s speculated that this is what Tillerson has been trying to do for months now, but the latest findings could add a renewed sense of impetus to his efforts.

In addition, apart from the obvious consequences that this revelation could have in further worsening American-Iranian relations and reversing the Obama-era trend towards a rapprochement, there’s another international aspect that needs to be looked at, and that’s the effect that the report will have on the US’ policy towards Latin America.

Politico alleges that “Operation Cassandra” uncovered a diverse criminal network stretching all across the hemisphere, and whether fully true or partially exaggerated, this news could be used to tighten the US’ security arrangements with its regional partners in complementing the theater-wide asymmetrical counteroffensive of “Operation Condor 2.0” that’s been ongoing ever since the 2009 coup against leftist Honduran President Manuel Zelaya.

Relatedly, the allegations of Venezuelan government complicity in Hezbollah’s trans-hemispheric conspiracy could form the basis for new sanctions against the Bolivarian Republic.

All told, this developing scandal might take a while to fully unfold, but it can still be expected to influence the course of the “deep state’s” War on Trump and the US’ policy towards Latin America to one extent or another by the time that it’s all said and done with.

US Slashes United Nations" Budget By $285 Million Following "Stunning" Jerusalem Rebuke

The United States announced a $285 million cut in the United Nations" "bloated" budget for next year, negotiated by UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. A statement by the United States Mission to the United Nations reads: 

Today, the United Nations agreed on a budget for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. ‎Among a host of other successes, the United States negotiated a reduction of over $285 million off the 2016-2017 final budget. In addition to these significant cost savings, we reduced the UN’s bloated management and support functions, bolstered support for key U.S. priorities throughout the world, and instilled more discipline and accountability throughout the UN system.

Pleased with the cuts, Haley added "you can be sure we’ll continue to look at ways to increase the UN’s efficiency‎ while protecting our interests." 

The move follows a contentious week at the U.N., after 128 nations voted in a "stunning rebuke" of President Trump"s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Prior to the vote, Trump threatened to cut foreign financial aid to any countries who opposed the move - first with a tweet by Ambassador Nikki Haley threatening that the US would be "taking names," followed by comments made by Trump to reporters last Tuesday, according to Reuters. 

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that vote in favor of a draft United Nations resolution against his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

 

“They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars, and then they vote against us. Well, we’re watching those votes. Let them vote against us. We’ll save a lot. We don’t care,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Haley also circulated a letter to all UN member states effectively warning them not to vote against Trump"s decision. "As you consider your vote, I want you to know that the President and U.S. take this vote personally," she wrote. "The President will be watching this vote carefully and has requested I report back on those countries who voted against us."

As we now know, this accomplished absolutely nothing: 

The full UN vote - which the US & Israel lost 128-9, with 35 brave abstentions - is here: pic.twitter.com/ZtrztqTgyK

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 21, 2017

As we wrote last week, The outcome of the vote was hailed as a "victory" by Palestine. “We will continue our efforts in the United Nations and at all international forums to put an end to this occupation and to establish our Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital,” Abbas" spokesman Nabil Abu Rudainah said. Predictably, both Israel and the US were displeased.

The General Assembly vote came days after the U.S. vetoed a similar resolution in the U.N. Security Council. The panel"s other 14 members voted in favor of that measure – a move that Haley called an "insult" to the U.S. Shortly after the Security Council vote, Arab and Muslim leaders at U.N. called for an emergency special session of the General Assembly to discuss the U.S."s Jerusalem decision.

In a defiant speech ahead of the General Assembly vote on Thursday, Riyad Al Maliki, the Palestinian foreign affairs minister, cast the Trump administration’s Jerusalem decision as an affront on regional peace and security that has isolated the U.S. from the international community. “Does the United States not wonder why it stands isolated in this position?” he asked.

Turkey, which has led the Muslim opposition to the US Jerusalem declaration, was among the first to speak at the meeting. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stressed that only a two-state solution and sticking to the 1967 borders can be a foundation for a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine. The minister said that since Jerusalem is the cradle for the “three monotheistic religions,” all of humanity should come together to preserve the status quo.

“The recent decision of a UN member state to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel violates the international law, including all relevant UN resolutions. This decision is an outrageous assault on all universal values,” Cavusoglu said.

The United States contributes approximately 22 percent of the U.N. budget - or around $3.3 billion, which President Trump asked the State Department to cut by over 50% in March.

U.S. officials in Washington and New York learned during the past week that they will be asked to find ways to cut spending on obligatory and voluntary U.N. programs by 50 to 60 percent from the International Organization Affairs Bureau’s account. State Department officials, for instance, were told that they should try to identify up to $1 billion in cuts in the U.N. peacekeeping budget, according to one source. The United States provides about $2.5 billion per year to fund peacekeepers. -Foreign Policy

U.S. diplomats warned key U.N. members during a March 9 meeting in New York to “expect a big financial restraint” on American spending – which is not surprising following President Trump’s comments from last December: 

The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 26, 2016

As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2016

Ambassador Haley was clear in her comments after the budget cut, telling the press "We will no longer let the generosity of the American people be taken advantage of or remain unchecked," adding "This historic reduction in spending – in addition to many other moves toward a more efficient and accountable UN – is a big step in the right direction.

Putin Warns "Russia Has Right To Respond" To US Military Buildup, Hints At Use Of Nuclear Weapons

Multiple Russian state media outlets are reporting that President Vladimir Putin has stressed that Russia has a right to respond to US military build-up in Europe while furthering its strategic nuclear deterrence capabilities in a speech delivered before a Defense Ministry meeting on Friday in the city of Balashikha outside of Moscow.

At the same meeting Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that NATO has doubled the number of its military drills since 2012 in the vicinity of Russia"s borders, noting that Russia is carefully monitoring what it considers hostile NATO build-up and intensified surveillance operations along Russian borders. The defense minister further indicated that the number of NATO-member country troops stationed near Russian borders has tripled, growing from 10 to 40 thousand in three years, saying "In the Baltic states and Poland, four battalion-tactical groups, an armored brigade of the US Army, headquarters of NATO multinational divisions in Poland and Romania are deployed."

Russian solider during the September "Zapad" (West) war games. Image source: Getty

Since the crisis in Ukraine (which began in 2014) and Russia"s subsequent annexation of the Crimea, an Obama administration policy of steady build-up and periodic war games has been in place in East European and the Baltic countries, including Bulgaria, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania. A little under a year ago a Reuters report acknowledged that NATO has been "expanding its presence in the region to levels unprecedented since the Cold War" - something which the Pentagon has long touted as defensive in nature.

And just this week news broke that after months of indecision over whether or not to move forward with Obama-era legislation which initially paved the way for legalizing US arms sales to Ukraine, Trump has approved the first ever US commercial sale of weapons to the Kiev government, which Moscow sees as an illegitimate puppet regime supported by the West. According to The Washington Post, "administration officials confirmed that the State Department this month approved a commercial license authorizing the export of Model M107A1 Sniper Systems, ammunition, and associated parts and accessories to Ukraine, a sale valued at $41.5 million. These weapons address a specific vulnerability of Ukrainian forces fighting a Russian-backed separatist movement in two eastern provinces."

Meanwhile, it is likely that Putin"s words are to some extent a calculated response to news of the unexpected approval of US arms exports to Ukraine, which was reported on Wednesday. Putin characterized Washington"s new national security strategy as "aggressive" and "definitely offensive" according to Russia"s TASS news agency.

Putin said that both the US and NATO have been "accelerating build-up of infrastructure in Europe" in violation of the 1987 treaty on the elimination of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles. He said concerning the new and expanding US missile defense system now based in Poland that they are not merely defensive in nature but offensive weapons: "The point is, and specialists know about it very well, those launchers are all-purpose. They can also be used with existing sea-launched cruise missiles with the flight range of up to 2,500 km [1,550 miles]. And in this case, these missiles are no longer sea-launched missiles, they can be easily moved to land," Putin said.

He added further that Russia"s Defense Ministry "should take into account" Western military strategies and that "Russia has a sovereign right and all possibilities to adequately and in due time react to such potential threats."

And notably concerning Putin"s reference to nuclear weapons and infrastructure, TASS summarizes the following:

There are efforts to disrupt strategic parity through deployment of global anti-missile defense system and other strike systems "equatable to nuclear weapons," the Russian leader told military officials. At the moment, Russia"s strategic nuclear forces are a reliable deterrent to such a military build-up, he added. However, it is necessary to develop them further, Putin said. "I"m talking about missile systems fit to steadily counter not only existing, but also future ABMs."

This comes as earlier this week another spine-chilling scare story involving the Russians and Putin"s plan for supposed global domination spread widely in Western media after two major European tabloids published sensational headlines on Wednesday claiming that, according to the UK"s largest tabloid The Sun, Russia secretly practiced full-scale invasion of Europe with bombing raids on Germany during Russia"s September "Zapad" (West) military drills. 

Graphic purporting to show Russia"s September pre-planned "Zapad" military drills. The UK Sun tabloid published it along with the following scaremongering and false headline: "Russia secretly practised full-scale invasion of Europe with bombing raids on Germany during Vladimir Putin’s military drills."

However, analysis of the Russian military games produced by Chatham House (essentially the UK version of The Council on Foreign Relations, or CFR) admitted that the exercise was "small, managed, and contained" while being defensive in nature as "a dress rehearsal for defending against a NATO intervention" and meant to send a message to the West, saying "This is what Russia wants the West to believe is the Kremlin’s understanding of what a conventional war between Russia and NATO forces would look like."

The Chatham House analysis further commented that the West"s previous "scaremongering" over the periodic military games (and lately revived this week in the media) is actually affirming the Russian perspective - that NATO-driven threat inflation and scare tactics are really what"s driving current tensions and build-up between the two sides.

According to Chatham House:

Western commentators were obsessed with the numbers of Russian troops being mobilized during the course of exercise and stuck firmly to the "100,000 servicemen" narrative. But Russia proved them wrong by keeping the drills small, managed, and contained.

 

The Kremlin could therefore credibly claim that the West overreacted and fell victim to scaremongering and reporting rumors that Moscow was not being transparent about the nature of the exercise and its intentions.

Considering that Chatham House is at the heart of the UK"s political and defense establishment, this is a remarkably candid admission from a source that"s usually hawkish on the perceived Russian threat of anti-NATO military expansion. 

But perhaps as US and NATO military bases have increasingly encroached on Russia"s borders over the last two decades, it is finally becoming obvious and undeniable even to the most establishment of Western pundits that Putin has a reason to build up Russian defenses in equal measure.

Trump, Netanyahu, & Bin Salman: Destroyers Of The Neoliberal World Order

Authored by Federico Pieraccini via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

The neoliberal world order has been in crisis for some years now, with no signs of recovery. Trump"s victory is an expression of a breach of trust between the American people and the national elites.

The perfect storm. This is what the situation in the Middle East looks like. More and more events in the region seem to be leading towards an epochal change in the delicate balance of power.

The balance of power in the Middle East was quickly altered following the victory over terrorism in Syria by Damascus and her allies. Moscow’s new role guarantees Iran virtually unlimited space to manoeuvre in the region. The new Iranian military bases in Syria match the agreement between Russia and Egypt for the creation of common areas of cooperation against terrorism.

In this complicated context, Donald Trump emerges as a destroyer of US interests in the region. Observing the cooperation between the Kurdish Syrian Democratic forces (SDF) and the Americans in Syria, we can see the genesis of all the problems between Ankara and Washington. Turkey used to employ political Islam (Muslim Brotherhood) as a way of destabilizing the Middle East and North Africa, once one of the central strategies of Obama and the State Department as well. Turkey now gravitates towards the multipolar milieu of Moscow, Beijing and Tehran. The role conferred by these three nations allows Erdogan to manoeuvre skilfully between allied nations as well as fomenters of Islamic extremism like Qatar.

Turkey is just an example of the delicate balance upon which the region rests. Moscow has become the sole mediator for all parties, and does not appear to have bad relations with any of them. The Saudis are going to buy the S-400 system from the Russians; Netanyahu is forced to try to influence Moscow in order to retain some kind of leverage over Iran, but to little avail. Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) has gone further, thanks to Trump and the green light of his son-in-law, arresting dozens of Saudi authorities and financiers (very close to Clinton and Obama), undertaking a genocide against Yemenis, arming Wahhabist Islamist terrorists in every corner of the region, and cutting off all relations with Qatar in a quasi-war that is turning out to be manifestly ineffective.

In this uncontrolled chaos, and among the factions loyal to the United States, Netanyahu is seeing Israeli missiles, launched from uncontested Lebanese airspace, being shot down in Syria. MBS cannot even force his pupil Hariri to resign; and even Saleh in Yemen was killed after betraying and abandoning the Houthis. Abu Dhabi and Riyadh are finding themselves coming under fire from Houthi forces, facing the consequences of their senseless military choices closer to home. In Israel, the Netanyahu government is drowning under a sea of corruption scandals, demonstrators on the streets demanding his resignation. Are coloured revolutions returning to bite the master"s hand? In order for Saudi Arabia to avoid a similar scenario, made worse by a dearth in welfare as a result of the drop in oil prices as well as the coffers being emptied by wars, MBS has decided to arrest and rob all of his opponents. Trump does not seem to care about the consequences of these actions, taking care to coordinate events at the highest levels with Xi Jinping in Asia and Putin in the Middle East.

Trump has made a wise choice by renouncing the impossible goal of achieving global hegemony, aiming instead to sort out domestic problems. He is committed to the cause of his electors, and to this end seeks to extract as much money as possible from his allies in order to restart the US economy, aiming for re-election in 2020.

In this sense, the lack of interest from the Trump administration in certain areas of the globe is emblematic. While the chemistry between Trump and Modi appears to be good, the tensions between India and China, heightened by border disputes, seems to have nevertheless dissolved. Following on from the failure of the neocons to divide Russia and China, even the border tensions between India and China seem to be now dissipating. In addition, in Ukraine, even the decision to send lethal weapons to Kiev has been downplayed, and the country now faces a counter-coup led by Saakashvili (yes, him again). Ukraine is a country in a mess, experiencing first-hand the consequences of an evil Atlanticist posture with its vicious anti-Russia policies.

The rest of the world, with mounting bewilderment, watches on while all manner of decisions are made with no rhyme or reason, such as the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The only ones to lose in this scenario are naturally the closest allies of the United States: Israel and all the Arab countries united behind the Saudi (money) state that are now obliged to stand up for the Palestinian cause. Whether out of incompetence or a strategic inability to take a position, it matters little why these decisions are being made. Donald Trump, MBS and Netanyahu are exactly what the region and the world needed. Why? Because these three figures, thanks to their actions, have reunited the axis of resistance in the Middle East, fortified the Russian presence in the region, and opened the door to Asian money for reconstruction, focused on integrating the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. These three stooges have open the door to total defeat thanks to their reckless decisions.

New technologies, like the blockchain, as well as the revaluation of the importance of gold, accompany an inexorable competition to diversify from the US dollar. American military power is in crisis, but the US dollar remains the main reserve currency of the world. In addition to solidifying alliances with opponents by turning them into friends, Moscow and Beijing are aiming to create a new economic environment based on real value ??(currencies supported by gold) to undermine the financial speculative bubble brought on by the dollar, central banks, and all those financial systems that have created a totally fictitious economy completely disconnected from reality.

Trump is focused on the United States and appears uninterested in global affairs, which is a boon for global stability in the long term. In the meantime, Russia, Turkey and Iran are trying, with new economic and military solutions, to govern a region that is the epicentre of global chaos. Cooperation in disputed areas could reach a new level with Egyptian and Chinese soldiers working as peacekeepers. This seems to be another Russian masterpiece to accelerate the pacification of the region and widen the spectrum of nations involved militarily in the new multipolar world order.

The crisis of the neoliberal-neocon system is evident, although its media, ever useful for propaganda, tries to portray a false and artificial reality. The sense of despair intensifies when mainstream media tries to sell to the world audience the fairy tale of evil Russians trying to influence American elections. Nevertheless, other defamatory claims made, with no evidence offered, involve the Russian national Olympic team and allegations of doping. Their small victories, such as censorship against RT, show the true evil face of the old neoliberal world order.

MBS, Netanyahu and Trump represent all that is wrong in the West and the Middle East. The more they try to survive, the more they harm the interests of the neoliberal elites, only serving to reveal their true genocidal face (as in Yemen or Palestine) or even publicly admitting that their every political move is intended to favour the United States (Trump"s doctrine of "America First" lays it out quite openly and clearly).

The neoliberal order is based on a deception knowingly perpetrated by the mainstream media. They cloud the news to give a specific, partisan view of events. For those firmly opposed to such a warlike and dehumanizing drift, advantage must be taken of the opportunity presented by the unlikely trio of MBS, Trump and Netanyahu. By sweeping away the neoliberal hypocrisy, it is easier to show the brutality of the West’s ruling elite. This unlikely trio even achieved the more than unexpected effect of uniting almost all forces opposed to this warmongering world order, consolidating alliances and friendships in various geographical areas.

From North Africa to the Middle East, passing through South America and Asia, Washington is no longer the unique voice dictating all the decisions. Unlike in the past, Washington no longer chooses for others but instead prefers not to participate in order to avoid making plain its military and economic weakness. Even the withdrawal from the world stage is a strategy, especially if it is promoted as being done of one’s own volition, rather than being forced by circumstances.

 

Is Jihad Festering In America?

Authored by A Z Mohamed via The Gatestone Institute,

• Saudi influence on American administrations, and relationships between senior officials in both countries, is behind Washington"s ignoring Riyadh"s "well-established... involvement in supporting terrorism and terrorist groups." - Report by the Institute for Gulf Affairs (IGA), released on June 1.


• The IGA report, covering the three-year period since then and including extremely serious charges against both Saudi Arabia and previous U.S. administration and security officials, indicates the urgency with which the current administration needs to treat the issue and act upon it.

A new investigative report reveals that hundreds of Saudi and Kuwaiti nationals residing in the United States -- some with dual citizenship, and most students subsisting on government scholarships -- have joined ISIS and other terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq during the past three years.

Titled "From American Campuses to ISIS Camps: How Hundreds of Saudis Joined ISIS in the U.S.," the report -- released June 1 by the Washington-D.C.-based think tank, The Institute for Gulf Affairs (IGA) -- provides details of the flow of students leaving American institutions of higher learning to fight in the Middle East.

According to a 2016 working paper produced by the National Bureau of Economic Research, Saudi Arabia is the second-largest source of ISIS fighters from Muslim-majority countries, with an estimated 2,500. If the IGA report is accurate, a whopping 16% of these fighters were in the U.S. when they joined ISIS.

An equally disturbing finding of the report is that the Saudi government, which has been monitoring its nationals in the U.S., is fully aware that many of their own citizens are joining ISIS and not only has done little to stop them, but has kept information about the subject from American authorities.

This finding completely contradicts the 2014 State Department assertion that "Saudi Arabia has continued to cooperate with the United States to prevent acts of terrorism ... through information exchange agreements with the United States."

Meanwhile, according to the report"s authors -- IGA director Ali al-Ahmed, a Saudi Shiite expatriate critical of the Sunni regime in Riyadh, and researcher Mohamed Dhamen -- the FBI failed to notice the steady stream of would-be jihadis exiting the U.S. and heading for Iraq and Syria. This failure should not come as a surprise, given the fact that one of the FBI"s own employees -- Daniela Greene, a translator with top security clearance – absconded to Syria in June 2014 and married the ISIS recruiter she had been assigned to investigate. The rogue agent lied to the FBI about where she was going, alerted the terrorist that he was the subject of an FBI probe and shared classified information with him.

In a May 10 letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley requested additional information on how Greene -- who eventually turned herself in, and reached a lenient plea deal -- was able to slip through the system undetected. Two days later, Grassley released a statement. "I"m troubled that a relationship between an FBI employee and a prominent ISIS recruiter went unnoticed, and more troubled that there wasn"t a safeguard to successfully catch this incident," he said.

"It"s important for the public to understand how this happened and how similar problems will be prevented in the future. We also need to know how prosecutors settled on the charges in this case. A sentence of two years seems unusually light for such a potential threat to national security."

Greene"s case sheds light on the findings of the IGA report and its claim that Saudi influence on American administrations, and relationships between senior officials in both countries, is behind Washington"s ignoring Riyadh"s "well-established... involvement in supporting terrorism and terrorist groups."

The number of Saudi students in the United States in 2016 reached 125,000, the "most in the world," according to a June 14 Arab News report. Those who leave to join a terrorist group and subsequently return -- enabled by their U.S. citizenship, combined with lax monitoring of and leniency with them -- present a clear and present danger to America"s home front.

As then-FBI director James B. Comey said during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing in September 2014:

"Foreign fighters traveling to Syria or Iraq could... gain battlefield experience and increased exposure to violent extremist elements... they may use these skills and exposure to radical ideology to return to their countries of origin, including the United States, to conduct attacks on the Homeland."

The IGA report, covering the three-year period since then and including extremely serious charges against both Saudi Arabia and previous U.S. administration and security officials, indicates the urgency with which the current administration needs to treat the issue and act upon it. American blood is at stake.

Top Nuclear Official Agrees With Senator Who Says Obama Admin "Misled" On Uranium One Deal

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Kristine Svinicki responded to questions raised by Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) regarding a key aspect of the Uranium One deal, agreeing that the Obama Administration had not "fully depicted" the complexity of the transaction which ultimately gave the Kremlin control over 20% of US uranium. 

“I would note that, as your letter makes clear, the responses you have received have not fully depicted the complexity of this issue” -Kristine Svinicki, NRC Chair

Svinicki"s response fell short of agreeing with Barrasso that he had been "misled" over the deal to export yellowcake uranium from the Senator"s home state of Wyoming out of the country.

Barrasso says he was given "misleading" answers on whether or not Russian mined US uranium would be allowed to leave the country, based on revelations from The Hill which revealed the Obama administration allowed the uranium to leave the country by "piggy-backing" onto an export license held by shipping company, RSB Logistic Services Inc. 

Rep. John Barrasso (R-WY)

In a Monday letter to the NRC and the Energy Department, Barrasso wrote:

Prior to the approval of the sale [of Uranium One], I wrote to then-President Barack Obama registering my strong concerns regarding Russian control over American uranium production facilities and Russia"s ability to ship U.S. uranium overseas. I also requested immediate notification should ARMZ file for a license to export U.S. uranium. Based on information that has recently come to light, I now believe the response I received, and the process by which I received it, were both misleading.

 

On March 21, 2011, former NRC Chairman Greg Jaczko responded to my letter on behalf of then-President Obama stating:

 ‘At this time, neither Uranium One Inc. nor ARMZ holds a specific NRC export license. In order to export uranium from the United States, Uranium One, Inc. or 

ARMZ would need to apply for and obtain a specific NRC license authorizing the export of uranium for use in reactor fuel’

 

The NRC staff made a similar statement in their recommendation to approve the transfer control of Uranium One to ARMZ, stating: 

 

 "before the licensee may export uranium to a foreign country, they must first comply with the NRC"s regulations and seek a specific license for such purpose."

 

Recent reporting by The Hill uncovered that Uranium One was able to export uranium without obtaining a specific export license. Beginning in 2012, Uranium One exported U.S. uranium by ‘piggy-backing’ as a supplier on an export license held by the shipping company, RSB Logistic Services Inc.

Barrasso originally wrote to the Obama administration in 2010 with concerns over Russia"s ability to export uranium overseas. In 2011, Obama-appointed NRC chairman Gregory Jaczko off the letter, noting the company would need an export license.

Barrasso says this was misleading during a Wednesday Senate hearing, stating “I specifically raised concerns about future exports of U.S. uranium by Uranium One,” adding “I believe the Obama administration’s response to my letter was at best misleading.”

Following Barrasso"s comments, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works requested that the NRC and the Energy Department produce documents related to the Obama administration"s response to the 2010 letter. Barrasso says he has evidence that the Energy Department misled him on their role in approving the uranium exports, and pointed out the enormous loophole which allowed Uranium One to export without a license. 

“Uranium One did not need a specific NRC license to export U.S. uranium,” said Barrasso, adding “Instead, Uranium One only needed to be, and later was, listed as a supplier on a transport company’s NRC export license.”

The New York Times covered the Uranium One story in 2015, detailing donations which poured into the Clinton Foundation from individuals associated with the deal - which was later found to be upwards of $140 million. Meanwhile, a series of follow-up reports from The Hill have filled in the gaps with several bombshells, including: 

• The FBI had a mole deep within the Russian uranium industry who gathered evidence of millions of dollars routed to  the Clinton Foundation by Russian nuclear officials. 


• The mole says there is a video showing Russians stuffing a briefcase full of bribe money, joking about Americans.


• Bill Clinton met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at his Moscow estate right before the Uranium One deal was approved, which was the same day he collected a $500,000 check for a speech to a Russian investment bank which issued a favorable rating to Uranium One stock. 

As he prepared to collect a $500,000 payday in Moscow in 2010, Bill Clinton sought clearance from the State Department to meet with a key board director of the Russian nuclear energy firm Rosatom — which at the time needed the Obama administration’s approval for a controversial uranium deal, government records show.

 

Arkady Dvorkovich, a top aide to then-Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and one of the highest-ranking government officials to serve on Rosatom’s board of supervisors, was listed on a May 14, 2010, email as one of 15 Russians the former president wanted to meet during a late June 2010 trip, the documents show.

 

“In the context of a possible trip to Russia at the end of June, WJC is being asked to see the business/government folks below. Would State have concerns about WJC seeing any of these folks,” Clinton Foundation foreign policy adviser Amitabh Desai wrote the State Department on May 14, 2010, using the former president’s initials and forwarding the list of names to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s team. -The Hill

• There was an internal scramble at the FBI to preserve records from all of the agencies which approved the Uranium One deal, as uncovered by Twitter user "Katica" after pouring through emails obtained via FOIA request. 

The agencies which received the request included the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Dept. of Treasury, the Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI James Clapper), The National Counter Terrorism Center, and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

 

Five days after the initial request, the same FBI agent sent another round of notifications to the same agencies, adding the National Security Agency (NSA) and the U.S. Secret Service (USSS).

The next day, September 3rd, 2015, three more agencies were added to the preservation request: The CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Department of Defense (DOD)

 

At this point, every single member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) which signed off on the Uranium One deal was served with a notice to preserve records. 

There is so much more to the deal involving players like Tony Podesta, Paul Manafort, and various members of the Obama administration - one wonders if, and when, the dam will ever break under the overwhelming weight of malfeasance - sending waves of corrupt politicians and lobbyists down the drain. 

"Death To America & Israel" - "Day Of Rage" Clashes Lead To First Post-Trump-Speech Deaths

At least two rioters have been killed during clashes with the Israeli army along the border of the Gaza strip on Friday. And of course, the media didn"t hesitate to blame their deaths on President Trump...

 

So, post #Trump"s announcement on #Jerusalem, we"ve had one anti-Semitic attack in the Netherlands, and a Palestinian has been shot dead near Gaza, with thousands injured. More of the same to come...

— Jack Mendel (@Mendelpol) December 8, 2017

 

Disturbances and demonstrations broke out in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip on Friday after Hamas, the terrorist organization that until recently exercised unilateral conrol over the Gaza Strip, called for Palestinians to rise up in a third Intifada against the Israelis while also declaring Friday a "Day of Rage following Trump"s Wednesday decision to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and ordered the State Department to begin preparations to move the US embassy there. While most of Israel"s administrative services are based in West Jerusalem, most embassies and foreign diplomats are based in Tel Aviv.

While Trump"s decision sparked outrage among leaders of the Muslim world and even drew a rebuke from the UN Security Council, the president pointed out in a late-night tweet that every former US president since at least Bill Clinton has promised to recognize Jerusalem as the capital.

 

I fulfilled my campaign promise - others didn’t! pic.twitter.com/bYdaOHmPVJ

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 8, 2017

 

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza reported that two people were killed and dozens injured in the clashes. One of those killed was Mohammad al-Masri, 30, who was fatally shot by the Israeli army east of Khan Younis in the enclave. The Washington Post reported that at least 35 people were injured in Gaza. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 245 people were injured in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

The Israeli army said in a statement about the Gaza clashes that during “riots” by Palestinian protesters, “soldiers fired selectively towards two main instigators and hits were confirmed.”

Earlier, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said units stationed around the Old City of Jerusalem were "beefed up" with additional soldiers. However, he said there were no restrictions on Muslim worshipers entering to pray at the holy Haram al-Sharif compound, home of the renowned al-Aqsa Mosque.

Some scuffles broke out between demonstrators and border police near the Austrian hospice in Jerusalem’s Old City. In Gaza, tens of thousands of Palestinians demonstrated after the end of Friday prayers, and clashes broke out between hundreds of youths and Israeli forces along the border between the enclave and Israel.

Meanwhile, at the al-Alqsa Mosque compound, thousands of worshipers filed in for the midday Friday prayers without incident.

“We usually come on Fridays, but today has special meaning,” said Noor Shaheen, 24, as she left prayers. She said the fact that Israeli authorities had not put restrictions on who could come to prayers on Friday had eased tensions, adding that Palestinians in Jerusalem were weary of protests.

“We are tired,” she said. “It’s hard to make action without thinking of the reaction.”

Of course, not all Palestinians see Trump"s decision as a declaration of war against the Muslim world..

According to WaPo, Ahmed Aduelhawa, 60, said Palestinians in Jerusalem did not want to give Israel “an excuse to humiliate us” and that Trump’s declaration “doesn’t matter.” He said: “The future of Jerusalem isn’t in Trump’s hands, not in Abbas’s hands, not in Netanyahu’s hands, it’s in God’s hands."

Clashes were later reported in the West Bank cities of Bethlehem and Ramallah.

On Friday, the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, staged military parades in which masked men wearing military uniforms carried rifles and shells.

The participants chanted slogans against the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, calling for a revolt against Israel to “liberate Jerusalem from occupation."

The United Nations Security Council is expected to meet Friday after eight countries on the 15-member body requested a briefing on the U.S. decision, which the Palestinians claim breaches U.N. resolutions and international law.

Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the US Embassy in neighboring Jordan holding placards reading “Decision Rejected” and “No to US arrogance.” Criticism continued to flow in from governments in the Middle East, Europe and beyond, as U.S. friends and adversaries alike voiced disapproval and alarm.

 

A confrontation between protesters and security forces erupts near #USEmbassy in #Amman #?????_?????_?????? #????? #????? pic.twitter.com/N0mCWGSq2p

— Alisa Zaira Reznick (@AlisaReznick) December 8, 2017

Demonstrators also gathered outside the US embassy in Malaysia...

 

Protest happening in Malaysia right now! #jerusalem pic.twitter.com/TplrLtrpLL

— zakimits ???????????????? (@zakimits) December 8, 2017

 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan predicted that the region would ignite in a “ring of fire,” while European leaders reiterated their opposition to the policy, and 86-year-old Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu declared, “God is weeping."

The leaders of Saudi Arabia also warned of the fallout from Trump"s decision.

US institutions in the region were also preparing for possible violent fallout. The State Department restricted travel for U.S. government employees in Jerusalem and the West Bank, warning U.S. citizens to avoid crowded areas. Of course, it"s still early evening in Israel...

...Meaning there"s still plenty of time for more casualty reports before the day is over.

 

From The Archives: Obama Administration Confirms "No Problem" With Flynn Contacting Foreign Officials

As we detailed yesterday, ABC was forced to retract an epic mistake in their reporting that claimed contact between Trump staff (Flynn) and Russian officials "druing the campaign" - correcting it to point out that it was in fact "during the transition".

President Trump tweeted his perspective, confirming the new "facts" from ABC...

I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017

    CNN   were quick to mock the White House for saying that the Obama administration approved Flynn"s contacts   (and found someone all too eager to go on TV and attack their claims)... (via The Hill)

The White House said on Friday that it was the Obama administration that authorized former national security adviser Michael Flynn"s contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during President Trump"s transition, according to CNN.

 

Flynn pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Kislyak in the month before Trump took office, the first current or former Trump White House official brought down by special counsel Robert Mueller"s investigation into Russia"s election meddling.

 

James Clapper, who served as the Director of National Intelligence under Obama, said that the claim that the Obama administration authorized Flynn"s contacts with Kislyak was "absurd," adding that the administration was concerned by the communications at the time.

“That’s absurd. That’s absolutely absurd," Clapper said on CNN.

 

Okay, James Clapper seems pretty clear that the Obama White House did not okay Flynn"s shenanigans. pic.twitter.com/lEmGHJhquN

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) December 1, 2017

Confused yet?

So, given all the confusion, here is a clarifying source free of all possible bias - the Obama administration"s State Department - confirming Trump and Flynn"s story, and crushing Clapper"s continued lies...from the archives:

Obama State Dept: We have no problem with General Flynn and the incoming administration contacting foreign officials pic.twitter.com/FwZDaHU8lO

— Jack Posobiec ???????? (@JackPosobiec) December 2, 2017

Transcript for the hard of hearing:

REPORTER: "This building [the Obama State Department] doesn"t see anything necessarily inapprorpiate in contact between members of the incoming [Trump] administration and foreign officials, no matter what country they"re from?"

 

OBAMA STATE DEPT SPOKESPERSON: "No, no...and again this has been ongoing. We have no problem with them doing such on their own."

Well, that"s going to ruin a few talking points for tomorrow"s Sunday morning political shows.

Rex Tillerson: Reports Of My Ouster Are "Laughable"

Yesterday, the New York Times appeared to confirm what many in Washington had long suspected: The deteriorating relationship between Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and President Donald Trump had reached the point of no return, and the former ExxonMobil CEO would be leaving the administration "within weeks", to be replaced by CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

Rumors that Pompeo was in line to replace Tillerson have been circulating since at least September.  The former Indiana Congressman has become one of Trump"s closest foreign policy advisers since taking over the CIA. He"s in charge of delivering Trump"s daily intelligence briefings.

But while the White House issued a cryptic statement saying only that it wasn"t planning any personnel changes "at this time," Tillerson immediately started pushing back against the report.

Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, said he spoke with Tillerson and the secretary "doesn"t plan to be ousted."

On Friday, Tillerson doubled down on those denials, telling a group of reporters that the NYT"s story was "laughable." He made the comment during a meeting with Libya"s prime minister at the State Department, accoding to the Hill.

Tillerson has reportedly disagreed with Trump on several key foreign policy issues, including how to de-escalate the standoff with North Korea and how to determine the future of the Iran deal. Two months ago, the relationship between the two men appeared to be irreparably compromised following reports Tillerson called the president "a f---ing moron" during a security breifing at the Pentagon, where Trump reportedly told the generals that he wanted to greatly expand the size of the US nuclear arsenal.

If Tillerson does leave, he"d be the first high-profile departure from the administration since Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigned over his use of chartered jets at taxpayer expense. Tillerson would also be one of the most important players to leave the administration so far.

Of course, Tillerson isn"t the only Trump administration official who"s rumored to be on his way out: NEC Chairman Gary Cohn is reportedly planning on leaving the administration after the end of the year.

To be sure, the NYT said Trump had yet to finalize plans for Tillerson"s departure. Also, one would think the White House might want to keep Tillerson happy considering he could easily spill his guts to the press after leaving the administration.

Lira Tumbles After Zarrab Confirms Erdogan Approved "Secret Iran Gold" Trade

In somewhat of a worst-case scenario, Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab just confirmed that Turkish President Erdogan approved the "secret Iran gold" trade that enabled Iran to evade US sanctions.

Full Zarrab quote:

"What I’m saying is that the prime minister at that time period Recep Tayyip Erdogan and minister of the treasury ... had given orders to start doing this trade."

The immediate reaction is clear.

Citi"s FX desk explains why Turkish markets are watching the US trial of a banker so closely.

The basics: The US government has accused Turkish banker Mehmet Hakan Atilla of helping Iran evade US sanctions.

 

Turkey’s former economy minister, Zafer Caglayan, and two other banking executives, have been charged in absentia but Atilla is the only one on trial.

 

Why it matters: It"s about the implications this has for US/Turkey diplomatic relations. Bloomberg has a good explainer here: ‘The focus will be on whether [Zarrab] implicates Turkey’s banking system or the highest levels of its government.’ The worst case scenario would hypothetically be where the trial results in diplomatic penalties to Turkey and its banks.

 

An October 30 document submitted to the court by federal prosecutors in New York said that the US “anticipates that the evidence introduced at trial will show that Turkish government and banking officials were integral to the sanctions evasion scheme.” Still, it’s too early to tell, and we watch the wires closely for the latest developments.

And throwing Erdogan under the bus is likely as serious as it gets.

*  *  *

By way of background, we previously detailed... While long forgotten for some, in the summer of 2014, we reported in detail on what appeared to be the biggest, most bizarre money-laundering scheme ever, involving Turkey trading "200 tons of secret gold" with Iran...

The topic of Turkey"s Oil-for-Gold "deals" has not been far from our thoughts over the last few years (here, here, and here) but as Bloomberg reports, after accessing a report leaked on March 14 of a network that spanned Turkey, China, Dubai and Iran, the plot reveals "one of the most complex illicit finance schemes [prosecutors] have seen." It included the classic money-laundering techniques of over-invoicing and false invoicing (exactly as in the case of the Chinese commodity financing scandal underway) but the secret government plan to juice Turkey"s exports goes much deeper; and if you think that the exposure of this scheme is slowing Turkey"s manipulation, think again. Turkey’s trade balance continues to fluctuate unpredictably as gold stocks flow out of the country in bursts.  “Turkey’s going to continue it,” the Turkish economy minister said. “If those casting aspersions on the gold trade are searching for immorality, they should take a look in the mirror.”

 

We first started noticing major "odd" exports of gold from Turkey to Iran in May 2012. But in 2013, with a plunging currency, surging inflation, slowing growth, and specter of rapid QE-driven hot money outflows leaving his nation desperate; Zafer Caglayan, the minister in charge of Turkey"s $800 billion economy decided that the only way to ensure success in the looming election... was to cheat...

 

Read more here...

A farcical domestic investigation was undertaken and while the judges and officials who probed the money laundering scheme were either fired or reassigned, the findings in their report were leaked.

The leaked document that Erodgan tried so hard to hide, prepared by the Turkish National Police, shows that investigators probed the activities of a cast of characters that was both powerful and dependent upon each other for favors. There have been some arrests (but no politicians).

The first was Sarraf, the Iranian businessman, who changed his name from Reza Zarrab after he took Turkish citizenship in 2007.

 

He and Erdogan were photographed on stage together at one public function, and met at a wedding in Ankara.

 

After Sarraf was arrested in December, Erdogan told reporters that his gold-dealing had “contributed to the country.”

Then, three years later, Bloomberg reports that Zarrab - the gold trader accused of helping Iran evade sanctions - invoked the name of Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as part of a scheme that U.S. prosecutors say was supported by Turkey’s government, according to court documents.

U.S. prosecutors in New York have gathered taped conversations and other records that suggest the trader may have sought support from Erdogan.

 

The Turkish president hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing, and it’s possible that the trader falsely invoked Erdogan’s name to influence others.

 

The people charged in the case are captured in the recorded conversations, which were introduced in a filing in federal court in Manhattan.

 

The documents introduced in the sanctions and money-laundering case against the Turkish-Iranian gold trader, Reza Zarrab, could further complicate the relationship between the U.S. and Turkey, a majority-Muslim country long considered a crucial ally in the region.

And now, the day that Turkish President Erdogan has been most fearful of has arrived, despite his best efforts to block it. Erdogan tried to pressure U.S. officials during the Barack Obama and Donald Trump administrations to drop the prosecution of the trader and has complained in public comments that prosecutors were trying to extract a confession from Zarrab and turn him into an informant. He also claimed President Trump apologized for the prosecution in a phone call.

“Erdogan clearly has a strong personal interest in Zarrab’s case, as he has raised it at the highest levels of both the Obama and Trump administrations,” said Amanda Sloat, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and former State Department official overseeing U.S.-Turkey relations.

 

“U.S. judicial proceedings could also hurt the Turkish economy. Since much of Erdogan’s popularity resulted from his successful economic reforms, his domestic political support would be undermined by a downturn.”

AP reports that a U.S. prosecutor says Turkish gold trader Reza Zarrab has pleaded guilty to charges and will reveal at a New York trial how he helped Iran evade U.S. sanctions in an "economic jihad."