August 6, 2017

Pressure mounts on Israels prime minister as aide agrees to testify

Source: Washington Post

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime ­Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is known for being a political survivor, but the revelation this past week that a former top aide will testify against him has led to speculation that his indictment in relation to allegations of corruption is increasingly inevitable.

Ari Harow, who served as Netanyahu’s chief of staff, will turn state’s witness in two probes into the premier, Israeli police said Friday. Netanyahu has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The details of the investigations — from the Cuban cigars and other lavish gifts Netanyahu is alleged to have received from prominent business executives to allegations of collusion with Israel’s dominant newspaper for favorable news coverage — have gripped Israel in recent months. Harow’s agreement to testify, though, significantly ramps up pressure on the premier, now serving his fourth term.

The agreement “has one virtually irreversible implication: an indictment against Netanyahu is coming,” an analysis in Israel’s daily Haaretz said Saturday, as the Israeli press mulled whether it could mark the end for his premiership.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pressure-mounts-on-israels-prime-minister-as-aide-agrees-to-testify/2017/08/05/5bfb6e3e-79d5-11e7-8f39-eeb7d3a2d304_story.html?utm_term=.86e7b0e77b53

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I think Trump is aware that Netanyahu is much brighter than he is, and has a much more favourable home field advantage than Trump does, especially now that Trump has started a war with his own party. If Netanyahu is indicted I predict our sleep deprived President is about to have real insomnia.

I think we can now coin a new term, "Trumpesque", as in the 'Netanyahu family is very Trumpesque' as this excerpt from the article shows:

August 1, 2017

One thing, and the most important thing, has changed by having Kelly as COS

The leak which had Kelly calling Comey after he was fired (which had to have been leaked by one or both of them) and threatening to resign as Secretary of DHS to express his anger has made one thing clear IMO: Kelly will not sanction a Mueller firing. Interestingly it is reported that Comey urged him not to resign.

If he was upset about Comey getting fired he would be 10 times more angry at being a part of a huge Saturday Night Massacre that would take Mueller out.

Notice that all of the attacks against Sessions and the rumors of appointing a new AG during recess have evaporated since Kelly moved in.

Trump has to realize that Kelly has a hundred ways to block an attack on Mueller beyond resigning in protest.

Kelly could simply leak details and allow key players to be prepared ahead of time. Exposing a move against Mueller would likely get a resolution from the Senate, among intensive public reaction.

It may be that Kelly approved the leak in order to not only show his personal take on the move but that he was prepared to go outside normal channels, that if Trump moves against Mueller he will have to go through Kelly.