#Epstein emails suggest a cozy friendship w/ #LarrySummers.

A series of exchanges between Jeffrey Epstein & Lawrence Summers, fmr #Treasury Secy & #Harvard president, suggest a far cozier & intimate relationship than previously known.

Emails between the 2 show the men bantering, sometimes multiple times a day.

The discussions, which occurred 2017–2019, largely focused on #Trump. But many of the emails focused on Summers’ conversations with a woman & how to handle relations with her.

#law

Alt...

On Mar 16, 2019, at 3:19 PM, Jeffrey Epstein wrote: shes smart. making you pay for past errors. ignore the daddy im going to go out with the motorcycle guy, you reacted well.. annoyed shows caring., no whining showed strentgh. On Sat, Mar 16, 2019 at 3:08 PM Larry Summers wrote: We talked on phone. Then "I can't talk later". Dint think I can talk tomorrow". I said what are you up to. She said "I'm busy". I said awfully coy u are. And then I said. Did u really rearrange the weekend we were going to be together because guy number 3 was coming" She said no his schedule changed after we changed our plans. I said ok I got to go call me when u feel like it. Tone was not of good feeling. I dint want to be in a gift giving competition while being the friend without benefits.

Rep #AdelitaGrijalva, Democrat of Arizona, addressed #Congress for the first time as a lawmaker in a fiery speech calling out #Republicans for delaying her swearing in for the purpose of quashing the #EpsteinFiles vote. She chastised them for abdicating their #power as a coequal branch of government to #Trump & for letting millions go without benefits during the shutdown. After finishing her speech, she immediately signed the petition to release the full #Epstein files.

#law #rape #CoverUp

Well, there ya go, Rep #AdelitaGrijalva #Democrat of #Arizona has been sworn in.

She will be the 218th signature needed to force the #EpsteinFiles release vote, as long as no #Republicans defect.

#Trump #Epstein #criminal #law #rape #SexualAssault #SexTrafficking #felon47 #CoverUp

#House #Congress #Shutdown
https://apnews.com/article/adelita-grijalva-arizona-house-epstein-files-johnson-da75c9f0e362291f3d0edb1da99e019d

But as fear spread, so did something else — neighbors stepping up for one another & finding creative ways to show up for vendors & restaurant owners. This includes a grassroots effort to organize so-called “buy out” events meant to allow vendors who fear being detained by #immigration agents to go home early.

#Trump #law #DueProcess #UseOfForce #PoliceBrutality #Constitution #CivilRights #HumanRights #AbuseOfPower #fascism #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #ICE #CBP #Gestapo #Sturmabteilung #WhiteSupremacy

Since the start of a federal #immigration crackdown that has led to >3,200 arrests in the #Chicago metropolitan area, streets & storefronts in the city’s Latino neighborhoods have emptied out. Street vendors, fearing arrest, have been afraid to leave their homes to #work. Local restaurants have struggled as customers stay home.

#Trump #law #DueProcess #UseOfForce #PoliceBrutality #CivilRights #HumanRights #AbuseOfPower #fascism #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #ICE #CBP #Gestapo #WhiteSupremacy

This is #Chicago

Chicagoans buy out street vendors amid #Trump #immigration crackdown

The cyclists arrive at sunrise, rolling through Chicago’s Latino neighborhoods & stopping at tamale carts, elote stands & candy stalls. They buy out every last item — every tamale, every corn cob, every bundle of sweets. Then they load up the food & deliver it to #shelters & #families in need.

#law #DueProcess #UseOfForce #PoliceBrutality #CivilRights #HumanRights #fascism #ICE #CBP
https://apnews.com/article/chicago-illinois-immigration-ice-c24537965e31860fb07ba83e79de4f4b

As The Guardian & The Oregonian/OregonLive have reported, #FoxNews on Sept 4 used footage from the 2020 protests after the police killing of #GeorgeFloyd & said it was from 2025. Propublica found 2 clear cases from that night as well as 1 that seemed to match a scene filmed at a key site of the 2020 protests. Fox also “mislabeled” 2 other dates of actions shown on screen, & 1 broadcast implied that a protest from elsewhere was happening in Portland.

#media #propaganda #law #Trump #MediaLiteracy

#Trump later said he’d told #Oregon’s governor, Tina Kotek, that “unless they’re playing false tapes, this looked like World War II. Your place is burning down.”

ProPublica examined months of #FoxNews’ coverage & reviewed >700 video clips posted to social media by #protesters, counterprotesters & others in the 3 months preceding the Sept 4 broadcast.

The review found that the “news” network repeatedly provided a “misleading” picture of what was happening in #Portland.

#media #propaganda #law

#Trump didn’t say which channel he watched; he said at one point he saw something “today” & at another “last night.”

The evening before, on Sept 4, #FoxNews aired a 2½ minute segment spotlighting protests outside an #ICE field office in #Portland. Similar footage aired the morning of Trump’s remarks. The president went on to announce Sept 27 on Truth Social that he would send #troops, saying that he was “authorizing Full Force, if necessary.”

#media #propaganda #law #immigration #Protest

“Riots Raging”: The *Misleading* Story #FoxNews Told About #Portland Before Trump Sent #Troops

When #Trump told reporters on Sept 5 he’d started looking at sending the #NationalGuard to Portland, #Oregon, he said it was because of something he saw on TV.

He said the city was being destroyed by paid agitators. “What they’ve done to that place, it’s like living in hell,” he said….

#law #immigration #Constitution #RightToProtest #fascism #MilitaryState #PosseComitatusAct
https://www.propublica.org/article/portland-protests-national-guard-fox-news-coverage

#Trump *connected with* #LaurenBoebert by phone Tues morning, acc/to 2 people familiar with the call, a day before Speaker #MikeJohnson was set to finally swear in a #Democrat, Rep #AdelitaGrijalva of AZ, who was expected to provide the 218th signature needed to force the #Epstein vote. [Also before today’s release of emails]

Trump has also been reaching out by phone to #NancyMace (R-SC), another of the #Republicans who have signed the petition…. The two have not yet connected.

#law #rape

#LaurenBoebert is one of 3 #Republican #women in the #House who have signed on to a petition aimed at forcing a vote on a bill demanding that the #DOJ release all of its investigative files on #Epstein.

If they refuse to remove their names, the petition is set later Wednesday to reach the 218 signatures needed to compel action within weeks.

#Trump #criminal #law #rape #SexualAssault #SexTrafficking #felon47 #EpsteinFiles #CoverUp

Top ofcls met in the White House #SituationRoom on Wednesday with Rep #LaurenBoebert (R-CO) who is backing an effort to force a House vote on whether to demand the release of the files.

She was *summoned* to sit down with top #DOJ & #FBI ofcls, acc/to 2 people familiar with the matter. One of the people said the session included AG #PamBondi & FBI Dir #KashPatel.

#Trump #criminal #law #rape #SexualAssault #SexTrafficking #felon47 #EpsteinFiles #CoverUp

More on the #LaurenBoebert #SituationRoom meeting. Shocker, it wasn’t about the #Trump admin being transparent, but pressuring her to back down from voting to release all the #EpsteinFiles.

Trump & his admin on Wednesday ramped up a pressure campaign on congressional #Republicans who are pushing for a full release of the #DOJ’s files about the convicted #SexOffender #JeffreyEpstein, rushing to head off a #House vote on the matter.

#criminal #law #rape #felon47 #CoverUp
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/us/politics/trump-epstein-vote-boebert.html?smid=url-share

Yuck. Lawrence H. Summers [Larry], the fmr #Treasury secretary & president of #Harvard University email to #Epstein October 2017:

BTWs, so much for his directive “DO NOT REPEAT”

#Trump #criminal #law #rape #SexualAssault #SexTrafficking #felon47 #EpsteinFiles #CoverUp

Alt...

From: Larry Summers Sent: 10/27/2017 3:10:13 PM To: jeffrey E. [jeevacation@gmail.com] Subject: Re: Trending Now: Friends for three decades, Trump whisperer says he is 'stunned' by president's rhetoric Importance: High Softbank deputy guy i liked and seemed aware and honest re Son. Lots of slathering to saudis. I yipped about inclusion. I observed that half the IQ In world was possessed by women without mentioning they are more than 51 percent of population.... Mnuchin plumbs new depths. War seems more likely than I used to think DiT is world s luckiest guy in terms of opposition, economy etc. still think his world will collapse. I'm trying to figure why American elite think if u murder your baby by beating and abandonment it must be irrelevant to your admission to Harvard, but hit on a few women 10 years ago and can't work at a network or think tank. DO NOT REPEAT THIS INSIGHT

Via southpaw:

Lest there be any insinuation that #Democrats spared their own. It would be tough for Kathy Ruemmler—Obama’s WH Counsel from 2011 to mid-2014—to come off looking worse in these docs the committee Dems released.

#NotAHoax

#Trump #Epstein #criminal #law #rape #SexualAssault #SexTrafficking #felon47 #EpsteinFiles #CoverUp

Alt...

[Email thread] From: Sent: To: Subject: Kathy Ruemmler 9/19/2014 11:54:57 AM jeffrey E. lieevacation@gmail.com] Re: Importance: High Doesn't look like you are prioritizing your schedule very effectively.....how are you going to manage all of that? this is unga week so the boss will be in town too.....I'll be here all weck -- you may get sick of me....just sat down on the train so can't talk freely. On Sep 19, 2014 7:48 AM, "jeffrey E." < jeevacation@gmail.com> wrote: "girls?",, careful i will renew an old habit, . this week, thiel, summers,bill burns, gordon brown, jagland. ( council of europe and nobel chairman). mongolia pres, hardeep purce (india), boris ( gates). jabor (qatar ). sultan (dubai, ), kosslyn (harvard), Icon black, woody, you are a welcome guest at any.... also if you think there are interesting people in town, everyone here for climate summit, clinton security council, holy shit im on for next 30 minutes On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 7:15 AM, Kathy Ruemmler > wrote: Most girls do not have to worry about this crap. On Sep 19, 2014 7:09 AM, "jeffrey E," < jeevacation@gmail.com> wrote: understood. it comes down to high risk / reward / low risk / reward. professional, emotional. and financial On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 6:15 AM, Kathy Ruemmler < Agreed, but I need to be prepared to say yes before I talk to him. wrote: Sent from my iPad On Sep 19, 2014, at 1:21 AM, "jeffrey E." < jcevacation@gmail.com wrote: You need to talk to boss

In tales from the surreal:

Just now White House press sec Karoline Leavitt appeared to confirm to reporters that Rep #LaurenBoebert met Wednesday in the #SituationRoom to discuss the #Epstein case & demands for the public release of the investigative case file.

“Doesn’t that show the level of transparency, when we are willing to sit down with members of Congress & address their concerns?” Leavitt said

#Trump #criminal #law #rape #SexualAssault #SexTrafficking #felon47 #EpsteinFiles #CoverUp

The #journalist #MichaelWolff has said that #Epstein approached him about writing his biography. The author said he declined the request but nevertheless began interviewing the #SexOffender & conducted about 100 hours of interviews with Epstein. He told Washington Monthly earlier this year that Epstein became a source as he was writing his books on #Trump, which began with the 2018 tell-all “Fire and Fury.”

But in these communications Wolff is offering advice not conducting interviews.

#law

Alt...

EMAIL From: Michael Wolff Date: 10/29/2016 12:21:03 PM To: Jeffrey Epstein [jeeyacation@gmail.com] Subject: Now could be the time There's an opportunity to come forward this week and talk about Trump in such a way that could garner you great sympathy and help finish him. Interested?

One theme emerging is how #MichaelWolff acted as adviser to #Epstein. Wolff advised Epstein to be “anti-Trump” as a way of garnering sympathy.

“I believe Trump offers an ideal opportunity,” Wolff wrote to Epstein in March of 2016, acc/to the emails. “It’s a chance to make the story about something other than you, while, at the same time, letting you frame your own story. Also, becoming an anti-Trump voice gives you a certain political cover which you decidedly don’t have now.”

#Trump #law

Alt...

March 2016, the journalist Michael Wolff advised Epstein on how to get ahead of the upcoming release of the book “Filthy Rich,” about Epstein. “That being said, you do need an immediate counter narrative to the book. I believe Trump offers an ideal opportunity. It's a chance to make the story about something other than you, while, at the same time, letting you frame your own story. Also, becoming an anti-Trump voice gives you a certain political cover which you decidedly don't have now.”

In the 2018 email #Epstein wrote to Lawrence H. Summers, the fmr #Treasury secretary & president of #Harvard University where he called #Trump “borderline insane”, Epstein also made a reference to the lawyer #AlanDershowitz writing, “dersh, a few feet further from the border but not by much.” It was unclear what prompted this assessment from Epstein.

#criminal #law #rape #SexualAssault #SexTrafficking #felon47 #EpsteinFiles #CoverUp

Alt...

On Dec 22, 2018, at 7:18 AM, J (jeevacation@gmail.com) wrote: trump - borderline insane. dersh, a few feet further from the border but not by much

The release of documents appears to be intended to provide #Republicans with a defense against charges that they have not released all of the government’s files on #Epstein & his longtime partner in #crime #GhislaineMaxwell — & possibly to stave off demands, including from some #House Republicans, to force the release of all of the #EpsteinFiles.

#Trump #criminal #law #rape #SexualAssault #SexTrafficking #felon47 #CoverUp

Link to GOP’s 23k Epstein docs:
https://oversight.house.gov/release/oversight-committee-releases-additional-epstein-estate-documents/

It was not immediately clear if the release would include other disclosures…. But the emails from #Epstein to friends & associates were laced with unflattering, at times mocking, references to #Trump — including a description of Trump’s financial disclosures by an Epstein associate in 2019 as “100 pages of nonsense.”

A year before that, Epstein described Trump as “borderline insane” in an email exchange with Lawrence H. Summers, the fmr #Treasury secretary & #Harvard University president.

#law

Trying to #FloodTheZone, #House #Republicans have now released 23k pages of documents from the estate of the #SexTrafficking rapist #JeffreyEpstein — shortly after Democrats released several emails that stated #Trump knew more about Epstein’s #SexCrimes than acknowledged.

They were published online ~2 hrs after House #Democrats released the emails including one from Epstein in which he wrote that Trump “spent hours at my house” with one of Epstein’s victims.

#law #rape
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11/12/us/epstein-files-trump/heres-the-latest?smid=url-share

All 40 of the men interviewed reported facing severe psychological & physical #abuse on an almost daily basis.

The researchers found that the #US became #complicit in the men’s forced disappearances by repeatedly denying family members info about where their loved ones were being held. Acc/to the report, the #Trump admin violated its legal obligation to uphold the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits sending people to countries where they are likely to be tortured or persecuted.

#law

#HRW & #Cristosal also found detainees were subject to “constant beatings & other forms of ill-treatment,” including #SexualViolence. They noted guards withholding #food & #medicine. “Many of these abuses constitute #torture under international human rights #law,” the report says.

The #HumanRights orgs determined the #abuse was the result of “systematic violations,” rather than independent actions by guards & other ofcls at #CECOT.

#Trump #immigration #Rendition #InternationalLaw

…They described routine beatings & humiliations, medical neglect, & severe punishments in an isolation cell referred to as la isla, or the island, according to MJ reporting. “What they did there was #torture us,” one of the men said.

#HRW & #Cristosal found similar evidence of abuse. They concluded that the #Venezuelans sent to #CECOT “were subjected to what amounts to arbitrary detention & enforced disappearance under international human rights law.”

#Trump #law #immigration #HumanRights

Based on the testimonies of 40 men who were detained at #CECOT, as well as interviews with 150 other people—including lawyers & relatives in #Venezuela, #Colombia, & the US—it paints a damning picture of the abuses inflicted at CECOT.

The #Venezuelans were released in July and returned to their country of origin as part of a prisoner swap deal. Shortly after their release, 3 of the men told MJ that they faced severe #abuse.

#Trump #law #immigration #Rendition #HumanRights #DueProcess #torture

As MJ & other outlets have reported extensively, most of the men had NO serious criminal history in the #US or elsewhere in the world. What they often had instead were #tattoos that bore NO relation to the gang.

The new report offers even more evidence of the #inhumane treatment the #Venezuelan #immigrants endured in #ElSalvador.

#Trump #law #immigration #AlienEnemiesAct #Rendition #StateSponsoredAbduction #CivilRights #HumanRights #DueProcess #InternationalLaw #CrimesAgainstHumanity

In early 2025, the #Trump admin flew Venezuelan immigrants to Salvadoran President #Bukele’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center [#CECOT], where they were held for 4 months without communication w/ their families & lawyers. The US govt had accused the men of being members of the transnational gang Tren de Aragua & removed most of them from the #US under the #AlienEnemiesAct—an 18th-century #law that Trump has invoked for only the 4th time in US history.

#immigration #HumanRights #DueProcess

#Beatings. #SexualAssault. #PsychologicalAbuse. These are some of the horrors endured by the >250 men the #UnitedStates sent to #ElSalvador on flimsy evidence of gang membership, acc/to a new comprehensive report released on Wednesday by #HRW & #Cristosal, a #HumanRights group focused on #CentralAmerica.

#Trump #law #Constitution #immigration #AlienEnemiesAct #Rendition #StateSponsoredAbduction #CECOT #DueProcess #InternationalLaw #HumanitarianLaw #CrimesAgainstHumanity
https://www.hrw.org/report/2025/11/12/you-have-arrived-in-hell/torture-and-other-abuses-against-venezuelans-in-el

#Trump Sent Men to #Torture in #ElSalvador, Report Confirms

Human Rights Watch (#HRW) found that Venezuelans shipped to El Salvador by the #UnitedStates were beaten almost every day.

#law #Constitution #immigration #AlienEnemiesAct #Rendition #StateSponsoredAbduction #CECOT #DueProcess #CivilRights #HumanRights #Judiciary #AbuseOfPower #Authoritarianism #Autocracy #fascism #Tyranny #InternationalLaw #HumanitarianLaw #CrimesAgainstHumanity
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/11/trump-cecot-torture-hrw-elsalvador-prison-venezuelan/

Yes he is a #SocialMedia wonk, but social media savvy is important these days particularly as the electorate skews younger, & he uses platforms to inform followers on #law, #SCOTUS & #politics. Though he also uses it like a normal 32 yr old, posting pics of himself & his opinions on a number of things & can come off a bit goofy.

And no doubt he has lived a life of #privilege.

But he seems to be #progressive, surprisingly practical, likable & charismatic.

🧵 #USpol #NYpol #JackSchlossberg #JFK

Link to actual emails:

#Democrats #House #Oversight Committee Releases #JeffreyEpstein Email Correspondences, Raising Questions About #Trump White House #Coverup of #EpsteinFiles

#criminal #law #rape #SexualAssault #felon47
http://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/news/press-releases/house-oversight-committee-releases-jeffrey-epstein-email-correspondence-raising

The #Democrats’ release of the emails came hours before Speaker #MikeJohnson was scheduled to swear in Rep-elect Adelita Grijalva, Democrat of Arizona, whom he has avoided seating for nearly 2 months since she won her election.

She is expected to provide the final signature necessary on a petition to force a #House vote on a measure demanding that the #Trump admin release all of its investigative material pertaining to #Epstein. The White House has strongly opposed the measure.

#law #CoverUp

Wolff advised inaction, suggesting that #Trump might try to deny a close association with #Epstein. “I think you should let him hang himself,” he wrote of Trump. “If he says he hasn’t been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable P.R. & political currency” that could be used to “hang him” later or “save him, generating a debt.”

Trump never received a question about the matter in that debate, according to a transcript. It was unclear if he was asked about it separately.

#law

Alt...

On Tue, Dec 15, 2015 at 8:00 PM, Michael Wolff to Epstein: I hear CNN planning to ask Trump tonight about his relationship with you-either on air or in scrum afterwards. On Tue, Dec 15, 2015 at 11:52 PM, Epstein < jeevacation@gmail.com> wrote: if we were able to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be? 12/16/2015 4:26:32 PM Epstein [jeevacation@gmail.com] wrote: I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he hasn't been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency. You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win, you could save him, generating a debt. Of course, it is possible that, when asked, he'll say Jeffrey is a great guy and has gotten a raw deal and is a victim of political correctness, which is to be outlawed in a Trump regime.

Wolff was also involved in a third email exchange, which began on Dec. 15, 2015, the night of a debate in the Republican presidential primary. Wolff emailed #Epstein & warned him that CNN was “planning to ask #Trump tonight about his relationship with you — either on air or in scrum afterwards.”

Epstein wrote back, “If we were able to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be?”

#criminal #law #rape #SexualAssault #felon47 #EpsteinFiles

#Epstein was months away from the arrest & federal charges that would send him to prison, but he was the focus of significant attention after The Miami Herald had published a series of articles drawing renewed attention to the secret agreement he had signed in 2008.

In his email, Epstein mentioned a victim of his #SexTrafficking operation. He also mentioned Mar-a-Lago, then disputed that #Trump had ever asked him to resign from the club. “Never a member ever,” Epstein wrote.

#law #rape

…At the time #Epstein emailed Maxwell in 2011 calling #Trump the “dog that didn’t bark,” Trump was a reality television star & New York tabloid celebrity who was years away from becoming president.

…Epstein’s email from 2019, which claims #Trump “knew about the girls” & asked Maxwell “to stop,” was sent to Wolff, who had recently written a tell-all book about the president.

#criminal #law #rape #SexualAssault #felon47 #EpsteinFiles

The emails were provided to the #Oversight Cmte along with a larger tranche of documents from Epstein’s estate that the panel requested as part of its investigation into Epstein & Maxwell, who is serving a 20yr sentence for #SexTrafficking.

The cmte’s staff redacted victims’ names & any identifying information from the emails. Because the full set of documents has not been released, it was not clear whether the emails were excerpts from larger conversations with fuller context.

#Trump #law

“I have been thinking about that,” Maxwell wrote back.

In an email from January 2019, #Epstein wrote to Wolff of #Trump: “Of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.” #House #Democrats, citing an unnamed whistle-blower, said this week that Maxwell was preparing to formally ask Trump to commute her federal prison sentence.

#criminal #law #rape #SexualAssault #felon47 #EpsteinFiles

Alt...

Email from Epstein to writer Michael Wolff: “Of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.”

They came years after #Trump & #Epstein had a purported falling out in the early 2000s. One was addressed to Epstein’s longtime confidante #GhislaineMaxwell, while 2 were w/ the author Michael Wolff.

In one email from April 2011, Epstein told Maxwell, who was later convicted on charges related to facilitating his #crimes, “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump.” He added that an unnamed victim “spent hours at my house with him, he has never once been mentioned.”

#law

Alt...

Emails between Jeffrey Epstein & Ghislaine Maxwell. Epstein: “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump.” Maxwell reply: “I have been thinking about that.”

“These latest emails & correspondence raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding & the nature of the relationship between #Epstein & the president,” Rep Robert Garcia of California, the top #Democrat on the #Oversight Cmte, said in a statement.

The 3 separate email exchanges released on Wednesday were all from after Epstein’s 2008 plea deal in Florida on state charges of soliciting prostitution, in which federal prosecutors agreed not to pursue charges.

#Trump #law #rape

The messages are certain to inflame the debate on Capitol Hill over the #Trump admin’s handling of the #EpsteinFiles, & top ofcls’ decision to backtrack on a promise to fully release them. That issue, which has split #Republicans & alienated some of Trump’s right-wing supporters, had faded to the background as the govt #shutdown dragged on.

But the #House is set to return Wednesday to clear legislation to end the shutdown, & attention is likely to shift back to the #Epstein matter.

#law #rape

#GiftArticle

#JeffreyEpstein Alleged in Emails That #Trump Knew of His Conduct

#House #Democrats on Wednesday released emails in which #Epstein wrote that Trump had “spent hours at my house” with one of Epstein’s victims, among other messages that suggested that the convicted sex offender believed Trump knew far more about his abuse than he has acknowledged.

#criminal #law #rape #SexualAssault #felon47 #EpsteinFiles
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/us/politics/trump-epstein-emails.html?unlocked_article_code=1.0k8.5Xpw.eV8ZST0R2omh&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

The carrier strike group’s arrival pushes the number of #US troops in the region to about 15,000, including personnel spread across roughly a dozen #warships & reinforcements sent in recent weeks to US facilities in Puerto Rico — a stunning #military presence in a region that historically has seen only 1 or 2 Navy vessels assisting the USCG on routine drug-interdiction missions that usually ended with the suspects’ detention & prosecution.

#Trump #law #Venezuela #WarPowers #InternationalLaw

…The Ford, which is the Navy’s most modern & largest carrier, has 4,000 sailors on board. It is accompanied by the destroyers USS Bainbridge, USS Mahan & USS Winston S. Churchill. Cancian…said it can cost as much as $8.4 million a day to operate an #AircraftCarrier.

#Trump #law #military #Venezuela #WarPowers #Congress #SeparationOfPowers #InternationalLaw #LawOfArmedConflict #authoritarianism #autocracy

“The only reason to move it there is to use it against Venezuela,” Cancian surmised, adding that the Ford’s arrival means “the shot clock has started because this is not an asset they can just keep there indefinitely. They have to use it or move it. And moving it would mean they are standing down” from a potential attack on #Venezuela, he said.

#Trump #law #WarPowers #Congress #SeparationOfPowers #InternationalLaw #LawOfArmedConflict #authoritarianism #autocracy

Carriers are strategic assets, & the #US uses its fleet of 11 — many of which are in scheduled maintenance & not available to sail at any given time — for power projection & deterrence in its top-tier #security concerns, notably countering #China in the Indo-Pacific region & maintaining a deterrent presence in the #MiddleEast, said Mark Cancian, a senior #defense adviser at CSIS.

#Trump #law #Venezuela #WarPowers #Congress #SeparationOfPowers #InternationalLaw #authoritarianism #autocracy

Padrino said on national television that #Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás #Maduro, ordered a massive deployment of soldiers, “almost 200,000,” he said, as part of the special operation.

…The breadth of firepower inherent to an #AircraftCarrier strike group—the Ford typically travels with dozens of fighter jets & an assortment of other lethal capabilities—would seem excessive for the type of strikes that #US forces have carried out on alleged drug boats since early Sept, experts said.

#Trump #law

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López said in a statement Tuesday that #Venezuela is preparing to set a maximum level of alert amid rising tensions with the #US.

The objective is to place “the entire country’s #military arsenal on full operational readiness,” Padrino López said. The preparations include “massive deployment of ground, aerial, naval, riverine & missile forces” with the participation of all security forces & militia.

#Trump #law #WarPowers #Congress #InternationalLaw