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Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news.
TRUMP-RUSSIA
The transcript of the Glenn R. Simpson’s interview with the Senate Judiciary Committee was unilaterally made public by the top Democrat on the panel, Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), Simpson is the co-founder of the opposition research firm Fusion G.P.S. and the transcript provides details about the commissioning of a dossier – which alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia – compiled by former British Intelligence officer Christopher Steele. In an op-ed for the New York Times last week, Simpson and his co-founder Peter Fritsch called on the Judiciary Committee to release the transcript, but this was met with a pushback from Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa). Nicholas Fandos, Matthew Rosenberg and Sharon LaFraniere report at the New York Times.
The transcript of Simpson’s testimony is available at Just Security.
Steele sat down for a “full debriefing” with the F.B.I. in September 2016 over his concerns about possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, and that Trump could have been blackmailed over an alleged sexual escapade at a hotel in Moscow in 2013. Ken Dilanian and Mike Memoli report at NBC News.
“An internal Trump campaign source” reported his or her concerns about Trump-Russia connections to the F.B.I., Simpson said in the testimony, also saying that Steele “severed his relationship with the F.B.I.” as he was concerned – based on an article that was published by the New York Times in October 2016 – that agents were being manipulated by Trump insiders. Alan Yuhas, Julian Borger and Stephanie Kirchgaessner report at the Guardian.
“It’s political rhetoric to call the dossier phony. … We can argue about what’s prudent and what’s not, but it’s not a fabrication,” Simpson said in the interview, adding that Fusion G.P.S. were mostly concerned with Trump’s business dealings until Steele brought back “something very different.” Katie Bo Williams and KJonathan Easley report at the Hill.
“Somebody’s already been killed” as a result of the publication of the Steele dossier, Simpson’s testimony claimed, declining to reveal further details because, Simpson’s lawyer claimed, he wanted to be “very careful to protect his sources.” Brandon Carter reports at the Hill.
Feinstein said that she decided to release the transcript because the “American people deserve the opportunity to see what he [Simpson] said and judge for themselves,” a spokesperson for Grassley said that Feinstein made the transcript public with “no agreement” from committee Republicans and accused her of undermining the integrity of the committee’s oversight work. Kyle Cheney reports at POLITICO.
Speculation over the New York Times article published in October 2016 has increased following the release of Simpson’s testimony, Erik Wemple explains at the Washington Post.
The key points from Simpson’s interview are provided by Amber Phillips at the Washington Post.
Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen has filed a defamation lawsuit against BuzzFeed for publishing the Steele dossier, Cohen said that allegations against him in the dossier are provably false, including claims that Cohen’s wife is Russian and that her father is a leading property developer in Russia. Alex Johnson reports at NBC News.
The editor in chief of BuzzFeed News has defended his website’s decision to publish the Steele dossier in an op-ed at the Washington Post, saying that “a year of government inquiries and blockbuster journalism has made clear the dossier is unquestionably real news.”
Twitter has failed to meet a deadline to provide lawmakers with further information on Russian interference in the 2016 election, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee Mark Warner (Va.) yesterday expressed disappointment with the social media company. Ali Breland reports at the Hill.
U.S.-Russia relations would be “done” if Russia attempts to interfere in the 2018 midterm elections, the U.S. ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman said yesterday in a closed-door session with members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Andrew Desiderio reports at The Daily Beast.
NORTH KOREA
North Korea has agreed to send a delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea next month but the issue of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program was not mentioned in the joint statement released after yesterday’s inter-Korean talks, which were the first official face-to-face talks in over two years, with North Korea’s chief delegate saying that the nuclear weapons were “strictly aimed at the U.S.” and it would be ridiculous to discuss the program. Andrew Jeong reports at the Wall Street Journal.
“I am giving a lot of credit to President Trump,” the South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a press conference today, recognizing Trump’s contribution to forcing North Korea to engage in discussions, but adding that relations between the two Koreas were ultimately dependent on Pyongyang’s willingness to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. Choe Sang-Hun reports at the New York Times.
While Moon praised Trump, he also warned that pressure on North Korea could raise tensions and bring about unintentional clashes,” James Griffiths reports at CNN.
South Korea presented North Korea’s agreement to send athletes to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics as a significant breakthrough in bilateral relations, however it is unclear whether North Korea would engage sincerely with South Korea to further improve relations. Anna Fifield reports at the Washington Post.
The talks between North and South Korea were a “good first step” in the process to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, Steve Goldstein, said yesterday in response to the North and South Korea joint statement. Christine Kim and David Brunnstrom report at Reuters.
President Moon said today that he was willing to meet with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un under certain conditions, saying that a summit must be committed to resolving the nuclear issue and not just for the sake of holding a summit. Bryan Harris and Katrina Manson report at the Financial Times.
The U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the progress made at the inter-Korean talks and welcomed North Korea’s decision to send a delegation to the Winter Olympics. The U.N. News Centre reports.
North Korea stepped up its criticism of the U.S. and Trump as the talks with South Korea took place, putting forward a message that calls on the U.S. to steer clear of the crisis and let Koreans solve the issue, however such a message would be hard for South Koreans to accept due to Seoul’s close relationship with Washington. Eric Talmadge provides an analysis at the AP.
The State Department has proposed a military sale of more than $133m worth of missiles and equipment to Japan to counter the North Korean threat, the State Department told Congress yesterday. Ellen Mitchell reports at the Hill.
A profile of President Moon, and a discussion of whether he has the ability to resolve the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, is provided by Paula Hancocks and James Griffiths at CNN.
The inter-Korean talks offered Kim a propaganda victory and drove a wedge between the U.S. and South Korea, President Moon faces huge obstacles in achieving reconciliation and the presence of the a U.S. military aircraft off the coast of Korea during the Olympics offers a “more reliable guarantor of peace than the gestures of a young dictator who pretends to want peace even as he threatens war.” The Wall Street Journal editorial board writes.
Moon and Kim are well-placed to resolve the crisis due to their respective abilities to leverage political capital, they must now use this political capital to promote the possibility for peace. S. Nathan Park writes at Foreign Policy.
IRAN
“[Trump] must realize that these extreme and psychotic episodes won’t be left without a response,” the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said yesterday, blaming the U.S. for fomenting the recent unrest in Iran. Thomas Erdbrink reports at the New York Times.
Iran foiled the U.S., Britain and others in their attempts to overthrow the Islamic Republic, Khamenei also said, making the comments as the protests in Iran have started to wind down. Babak Dehghanpisheh reports at Reuters.
Around 3,700 people have been arrested during the demonstrations in Iran, according to an Iranian member of parliament. Al Jazeera reports.
Withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal could make it difficult to make an agreement with North Korea in the future, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) warned yesterday, making the comments ahead of a series of deadlines that Trump faces regarding the deal and whether to continue to waive sanctions on Iran. Rebecca Kheel reports at the Hill.
The decision to whether to waive or re-impose sanctions on Iran is expected to be made Friday, the State Department said yesterday, Reuters reporting.
Trump should waive sanctions on Iran and play the long game, with the aim of fixing the nuclear deal. Michael Doran writes at the Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley faces a difficult task when it comes to Iran and the nuclear deal, if she aspires to be president, she would be wise to avoid trouble with Iran that could easily backfire. Richard Gowan writes at POLITICO Magazine.
SYRIA
The Syrian army has started to advance on the rebel-held Idlib province, leading to around 70,000 civilians to flee the area. Kareem Shaheen reports at the Guardian.
Turkey today urged Russia and Iran to pressure Syria to respect the “de-escalation zone” in Idlib and to stop the Syrian military advance. Tuvan Gumrukcu reports at Reuters.
A spate of attacks on the Russian Hmeimim air base in Syria has raised numerous questions, it is unclear who is responsible and it appears to be part of a concerted assault. Liz Sly reports at the Washington Post.
Russia appeared to suggest that the U.S. were behind the attacks in a statement yesterday, the AP reports.
Russia’s ambassador to the U.N. yesterday expressed hope that a new round of U.N.-led peace talks in Geneva would be “more fruitful” and contribute to the peace initiative being held in the Russian city of Sochi. The AP reports.
U.S.-led airstrikes continue. U.S. and coalition forces carried out 58 airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq between December 29, 2017 and January 4, 2018. [Central Command]
CUBA EMBASSY “INCIDENTS”
The U.S. are exploring a range of theories in relation to the symptoms experienced by employees at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba in 2016, the State Department said yesterday, 24 U.S. personnel and family members experienced mysterious illnesses in Havana and there have been speculation that they were subjected to some sort of acoustic or sonic attack. Matt Spetalnick reports at Reuters.
The State Department “did not follow the law” in failing to set up a review board months ago to establish what happened in Havana, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said at a hearing yesterday. Gardiner Harris reports at the New York Times.
ISRAEL-PALESTINE
An Israeli man was killed by a suspected Palestinian gunman yesterday, according to Israeli military and medical officials, the man was a resident of a West Bank settlement near the Palestinian city of Nablus. Reuters reports.
The Israeli military has conducted raids near Nablus following the shooting, Al Jazeera reports.
The Swedish ambassador to the U.N. yesterday expressed concern about the Trump administration’s plan to review funding for the U.N.R.W.A. aid agency for Palestinian refugees, saying that such action would have negative humanitarian implications and would be destabilizing for the region. Reuters reports.
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
The Trump administration’s nuclear posture review plans to loosen constraints on the use of nuclear weapons, according to what is believed to be the final draft of the review. Julian Borger reports at the Guardian.
Ecuador has been exploring ways for the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to leave its embassy in London, the Ecuadorean foreign relations minister said, who was quoted as saying that it was “unsustainable” for Assange to remain at the embassy indefinitely and that the solution would require international cooperation and the cooperation of the U.K., Ryan Dube reports at the Wall Street Journal.
Trump has signed a memorandum calling on the Director of National Intelligence to establish a new policy on “unmasking” Americans in intelligence reports, Morgan Chalfant reports at the Hill.
Senior National Security Council official Kevin Harrington proposed withdrawing some U.S. troops from Eastern Europe to please the Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to two former administration officials. Spencer Ackerman reveals at The Daily Beast.
Trump and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “are playing the same game,” both are embroiled in domestic issues that involve their sons and both are pursuing illiberal agendas. Ishaan Tharoor writes at the Washington Post.