The EC Tries To Keep Iran Deal Alive
The European Commission announced a plan to help fortify the Iranian economy in an effort to keep the Iranian Nuclear Deal alive. The first tranche, the equivalent of $20.8M, of a planned $58M total package is intended to provide “$8M for the private sector, $8M to cope with environmental problems and $2M for drug abuse.”
Many European leaders were unhappy with Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in May.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that honoring the Iran Deal was “essential for peace.”
Federica Mogherini, the European foreign affairs representative, said:
Since the renewal of the EU-Iran relations as a result of the Iran nuclear deal, cooperation has developed in many sectors. We are committed to sustain it and this new package will widen economic and sectoral relations in areas that are of direct benefit to our citizens.
Trump has said that any company that continues to work with Iran would be cut off from the U.S. economy.
Earlier this week, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas proposed the creation of the European equivalent of the SWIFT payment scheme to keep financial channels with Iran open.
SWIFT, based in Belgium, had no statement. Bypassing that mechanism would theoretically give European financial maneuvers freedom from U.S. sanctions.
Surprisingly, this announcement has received very little coverage by the press.
And, speaking of Heiko Maas…
German Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, discussed the deterioration of Germany’s relationship with the US in an op-ed appearing in the Handelsblatt, a Dusseldorf newspaper. He doesn’t blame the decline entirely on Trump, explaining that the trend predates the Trump presidency. The op-ed can be viewed here.
Maas wrote:
The overlapping of values and interests that shaped our relationship for two generations is decreasing. The binding force of the East-West conflict is history. These changes began well before Trump’s election — and will survive his presidency well into the future.
To her credit, Angela Merkel slapped down Maas’s “expression of opinion,” making it clear that “it is in Germany’s national interest to maintain a close relationship with the US.“
Trump’s Approval Rating Among Black Voters Has Risen Again To 36%
A new Rasmussen poll shows a major increase in Trump’s support by African-American voters. Although Rasmussen tends to err on the side of overstating the President’s support, by any measure, this is an amazing statistic. Considering that Trump received only 8% of the African-American vote in 2016, even a small increase would make a critical difference in 2020. I posted about this on 8/5 when another Rasmussen poll showed this group’s support at 29%. Is it becoming a trend? I hope so.
The Turning Point’s Charlie Kirk cited the poll as evidence that Trump “is breaking the Democrat party as we know it.”
Lanny Davis Apologizes ‘For Giving The Wrong Impression’
Michael Cohen is not a very credible witness. It’s curious that he managed to choose serial liar Lanny Davis as his attorney, a man with even less credibility.
In July, CNN reported Cohen’s claim that President Trump knew about the Trump Tower meeting in June 2016 between Trump Jr, Kushner and Manafort and the Russians in advance. When the New York Post called Davis to confirm, he “said as an anonymous source that it was accurate.”
As Davis made the rounds of all the news shows following Cohen’s plea deal last week, he backtracked on his previous confirmation to the New York Post. “Speaking on the record, he apologized for confirming something he did not know to be true.“
“I regret that I wasn’t clear enough to The Post. I should have been more clear. I could not independently confirm the information in the CNN story. I’m sorry that I left that impression. I wasn’t at the meeting. The only person who could confirm that information is my client.”
Not clear enough Lanny? You confirmed something that you did not know to be true. Forget not being clear enough, it was a lie.
When a source lies, you burn him like this. Publicly. And, of course, STOP USING THE SOURCE. CNN needs to come clean on their sourcing. https://t.co/jel87JPhGI
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) August 24, 2018
CNN's @jimsciutto, Carl Bernstein, @MarshallCohen used anonymous sources to blare and hype false claim Cohen had explosive info on Trump Tower meeting. Story still not corrected. Video and Text: https://t.co/FTtQVyAtuJ
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) August 24, 2018
On A Happy Note:
Rasmussen’s most recent Generic Congressional Ballot poll showed Republicans are now tied with Democrats. Full results and commentary can be seen here.
As Always, This Is An Open Thread
The post RedState’s Water Cooler – Open Thread – August 27, 2018 – The EC Prepares Aid Package For Iran and Lanny Davis ‘Gives the Wrong Impression’ – Again appeared first on RedState.
