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State Department Tag

The dramatic resignation of the Obama-era holdovers from President Trump's administration continue, as a UC Berkeley professor who was the science envoy for the State Department officially gave his notice.
A prominent UC Berkeley energy professor resigned his post with the U.S. State Department on Wednesday in response to President Donald Trump’s “attacks on the core values” of the country. “Your actions to date have, sadly, harmed the quality of life in the United States, our standing abroad, and the sustainability of the planet,” wrote Professor Daniel Kammen in his resignation letter to Trump on Wednesday.

Joe Scarborough has an explanation for the way Rex Tillerson has reportedly said he's been thwarted as Secretary of State. On today's Morning Joe, Scarborough said he would "testify under oath" that Trump administration members said that Jared Kushner "will be the de facto Secretary of State." Scarborough later said, "I've been told by four people in the administration over the past six months that Jared Kushner was going to be the de facto Secretary of State."

In a move that is sure to go uncelebrated on the regressive left and to leave many Trump supporters scratching their heads, the State Department has lifted the limit on the number of refugees admitted to the U. S.   This change will result in almost twice as many refugees flooding into our country each day. It is not clear at this time if President Trump is aware of or has approved this change of policy, though it seems highly unlikely he would be unaware of such a substantive change.

The Iranian Nuclear Deal included many pieces, but one of the least reported items of the deal has been the prisoner swap. Iran agreed to release four Americans while we handed over seven prisoners and dropped charges and investigations against 14 others. Professor Jacobson profiled these prisoners after the exchange occurred. But a Politico investigation has revealed the anger and frustration within former President Barack Obama's administration over the release of these men:
“They didn’t just dismiss a bunch of innocent business guys,” said one former federal law enforcement supervisor centrally involved in the hunt for Iranian arms traffickers and nuclear smugglers. “And then they didn’t give a full story of it.”

President Donald Trump released his plan for the 2018 federal budget titled "America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again." The plan includes cuts to some departments and slashes programs in order to reallocate funds to a bigger defense budget. "One of the most important ways the Federal Government sets priorities is through the Budget of the United States," wrote Trump. "Accordingly, I submit to the Congress this Budget Blueprint to reprioritize Federal spending so that it advances the safety and security of the American people."

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson may finally have his #2 man at the department. The Wall Street Journal has reported former Utah Governor and presidential candidate Jon Huntsman has become one of the top contenders. Originally, Tillerson wanted Elliott Abrams, an official in the state department under President Ronald Reagan, but after learnings Abrams criticized Trump during the campaign, Trump said no.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and State Department have announced officials will suspend "any and all actions" over the executive order President Donald Trump signed to halt immigration from seven countries. Trump signed the order so the government could put together a better vetting process to weed out terrorists. From The Hill:
“At the earliest possible time, the Department of Justice intends to file an emergency stay of this order and defend the President’s Executive Order, which is lawful and appropriate,” spokesperson Gillian Christensen said in a statement, as first reported by BuzzFeed News.

Top officials have resigned at the State Department before the Senate has confirmed former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State. The Washington Post reported:
Then suddenly on Wednesday afternoon, [undersecretary for management Patrick] Kennedy and three of his top officials resigned unexpectedly, four State Department officials confirmed. Assistant Secretary of State for Administration Joyce Anne Barr, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Michele Bond and Ambassador Gentry O. Smith, director of the Office of Foreign Missions, followed him out the door. All are career foreign service officers who have served under both Republican and Democratic administrations.

Meow. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) came out with the claws during the hearing for former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for secretary of state. Rubio started by asking Tillerson if he considers Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal. Tillerson, who ran a company that had many deals with Russian STATE OWNED companies, refused to take the bait:
"I would not use that term," Mr. Tillerson said.

Former CEO ExxonMobil Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for Secretary of State, will face the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today for his confirmation hearing. You can expect him to face questions about Russia since ExxonMobil has agreed to numerous deals with Russian state companies to drill in the Arctic. Questions will also include topics like climate change and human rights. You can watch the confirmation with us as I live blog.

The FBI published around 300 pages of documents associated with Hillary Clinton's email investigation on Sunday night when the most of us enjoyed football, hockey, or the Golden Globes. These emails include discussions within Hillary's team about the computer hardware during the FBI's investigation:
At first, Clinton was unwilling to surrender her private server, but hacked emails appear to show her team advised her to let the FBI take control of the materials.

While this has yet to be confirmed by President-elect Trump or his team, NBC News is reporting that CEO Rex Tillerson will be nominated for Secretary of State with John Bolton serving as his second. NBC News reports:
Donald Trump is expected to nominate Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state, two sources close to the transition process told NBC News on Saturday. Tillerson, 64, became president of the Texas-based oil company in 2004 and has a close business relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has spent his entire career at the company now known as Exxon Mobil.

Multiple sources have told Fox News that the guards hired to protect the Americans in Benghazi betrayed them in the end. These sources claim the firm "hastily recruited locals with terror ties who helped carry out the attack" that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens, Foreign Service Information Officer Sean Smith and CIA contractors and former Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty. The sources also said the State Department hired these guards from the Wales-based Blue Mountain Group despite internal objections:
The explosive charge against Wales-based Blue Mountain Group comes from several sources, including an independent security specialist who has implemented training programs at U.S. Consulates around the world, including in Benghazi, where he trained a local militia that preceded Blue Mountain. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Blue Mountain used local newspaper ads to assemble a team of 20 guards, many of whom had terror ties, after securing a $9.2 million annual contract.

As the fetid swamp that surrounds Hillary and everything she touches becomes more clear to more Americans, her "charity" has confirmed that it did indeed receive a $1 million "donation" from Qatar while she was Secretary of State.  Qatar, one of the forces involved in toppling Libya's Muammar el-Qaddafi and a vocal cheerleader for Assad's ouster over the Qatar-Turkey pipeline, clearly had the same goals that drove Hillary's time at State . . . and resulted in one of her infamous and chilling cackling outbursts. Reuters reports:
The Clinton Foundation has confirmed it accepted a $1 million gift from Qatar while Hillary Clinton was U.S. secretary of state without informing the State Department, even though she had promised to let the agency review new or significantly increased support from foreign governments.

The State Department released 74 additional emails to Judicial Watch, a watchdog group that continues to investigate Hillary Clinton's private email server. These emails are the ones the FBI found after it completed its investigation. One email included a chain that the State deemed as classified now....one that Hillary sent to her daughter Chelsea Clinton. The State has blacked out the majority of the email chain, but it came from White House Deputy National Security Advisor Michael Froman and forwarded to Hillary by her policy aide Jake Sullivan. Hillary then sent it to Chelsea. Chelsea Hillary Classified Email