NEW IG report: The Trump administration rescinded a prestigious"Courage Award" for a female journalist because she criticized Trump on Twitter and later gave a false explanation for the decision to Congress & press. The report has all the receipts/memos washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
The journalist @JessikkaAro endured death threats & cyber attacks for her work exposing Russian troll factories. The State Dept. said it mistakenly told her she won the award but the IG found that the decision to give it to her was signed off at highest levels (Pompeo)
She would've received the award had some State Department interns not found her tweets and Facebook posts, the IG found. Senior officials worried about optics of having her onstage next to Pompeo and "First Lady [Melania Trump].“
The “media could highlight the tweets and Facebook posts during the ceremony,” which could cause “potential embarrassment to the Department, particularly given the involvement of the Secretary and the First Lady [Melania Trump].”
The department told Congress that @JessikkaAro “ultimately was not selected to receive the award, due to the highly competitive selection of candidates.” But "every person OIG interviewed in connection with this matter acknowledged” that the tweets caused the rescission
New comment from @JessikkaAro reacting to the IG report: "In my heart, I feel like an international woman of courage. That, the Trump administration can't take away from me."
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Breaking: Jake Sullivan traveled in secret to Kyiv in a trip aimed at reaffirming U.S. support for the beleaguered ally despite an impasse in Congress over U.S. funding. “We are confident we will get this done, we will get this aid to Ukraine," Sullivan said
Sullivan arrived in Kyiv as the country’s forces are on their back foot having retreated from the eastern city of Avdiivka and facing Russian advances across the front lines. “You should believe in the United States,” Sullivan said
A faction of Republicans in Congress have held up additional funding for Ukraine, faulting the administration for failing to spell out a vision for victory and saying the tens of billions spent already have only achieved a stalemate.
Scoop: A secret assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency casts doubts about Israel’s prospects for success if it mounts a significant escalation against Hezbollah, saying IDF resources will be spread too thin given the war in Gaza, per sources. 🧵
The assessment has bolstered concerns among some in the Biden administration who are wary of comments from senior Israeli officials that Israel will need to expand military operations against Hezbollah
U.S. officials remain concerned that Netanyahu may see an expanded fight in Lebanon as key to his political survival amid domestic criticism of his government’s handling of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack
scoop: Russia has begun firing ballistic missiles into Ukraine that were provided by North Korea, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive U.S. intelligence.
The North Korean projectiles were short-range ballistic missiles that Moscow fired in late December and early January. The deployment indicates North Korea's growing support for Moscow’s war effort washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
In November, South Korea accused North Korea of supplying several types of missiles to Russia, including anti-tank missiles, portable anti-air missiles, ballistic missiles and rifles, rocket launchers, mortars and shells.
US State Department calls out Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir for "inflammatory and irresponsible" rhetoric "advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza."
In a reference to Netanyahu, the statement says "We have been told repeatedly and consistently by the Government of Israel, including by the Prime Minister, that such statements do not reflect the policy of the Israeli government. They should stop immediately."
It's worth noting that Netanyahu on several occasions asked Western leaders, including Biden/Macron/Scholz/Sunak, to pressure Egypt to take in Gazans -- a request they all refused, noting that Egypt has made clear it has no interest in playing any role in their mass displacement
NEW: U.S. officials concede that the United States is not conducting real-time assessments of Israel’s adherence to the laws of war 🧵
Despite that, the United States has flooded Israel with weapons since Oct. 7, transferring at least 15k bombs, including 2k pound bunker buster bombs.
In the first month and a half, Israel dropped more than 22,000 guided and unguided bombs on Gaza that were supplied by Washington, according to previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence
New deep dive from @yabutaleb7 and I on how the Biden administration has handled intense internal disagreements during the course of the Hamas-Israel War 🧵
A day after Biden publicly cast doubt about Palestinian casualty numbers provided by the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, a move many saw as effectively downplaying the level of suffering in Gaza, he expressed regret to a private meeting of Muslim Americans:
The White House says Biden's "bear hug" approach (avoiding public criticism of Israel) has allowed him to influence Israel's actions: Israel had planned to flood into Gaza with a massive ground force, but U.S. officials convinced them to send a third as many troops: