Mediaboss Marketing

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Monday he was supporting a resolution offered by Paul and Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Al Franken of Minnesota to block the sale of $510 million of precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia.

Paul and Murphy are expected to force a vote on their resolution -- which is possible under Senate rules for arms sales -- as early as Tuesday, according to Senate aides.

"I will support Senator Murphy's resolution of disapproval," Schumer said in a statement. "The human rights and humanitarian concerns have been well documented and are important: of equal concern to me is that the Saudi government continues to aid and abet terrorism via its relationship with Wahhabism and the funding of schools that spread extremist propaganda throughout the world."

Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, came out against the munitions sale to Saudi Arabia last week, citing the Trump administration's decision to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia instead of trying to find a solution to the civil war in Yemen, where the Saudi-led coalition is accused of bombing civilians.

"I believe it's important for President Trump to present to us a strategy for how we're going to end the conflict in Yemen," Cardin told reporters on Monday.

With the backing of Schumer and Cardin, the vote on the Saudi arms sale could be razor-thin -- certainly much closer than the 71-27 vote to dismiss a similar resolution from Paul and Murphy last year.

Both Schumer and Cardin voted to dispose of that disapproval resolution, which was over a separate Saudi arms sale approved under the Obama administration.

But now Senate Democrats appear inclined to oppose the latest arms sale, as they have expressed concerns that the Trump administration is not pressing Saudi Arabia and others on human rights abuses.

Paul and Murphy say they're objecting to this arms sale because the precision-guided bombs are being used in the Yemeni civil war to target civilians.

"It's an arms race over there, and we're fueling it," Paul told CNN's Jake Tapper.

Paul told reporters Monday he thought the vote would be "very, very close" when asked about the whip count.

The $510 million munitions sale is part of the $110 billion arms agreement that Trump touted during his visit to Saudi Arabia last month.

The senators are able to object to that portion of the sale because it has been noticed by the State Department, where foreign military sales are subject to a 30-day congressional review period.

Most of the $110 billion Saudi sale has not yet reached that phase. Defense News reported last week that $85 billion of the deal is made up of potential sales that still need to be finalized.

CNN's Ashley Killough contributed to this report.

Go here to see the original:
Senate Democrats join with Rand Paul to oppose Saudi arms sale - CNN International

Sen. Rand Paul says sour grapes are to blame for the continued obsession by President Donald Trumps critics over Russias meddling into the 2016 presidential election.

CNNs Jake Tapper invited Sen. Mitch Connells Kentucky counterpart onto The Lead to discuss the ongoing media frenzy over possible collusion between the presidents associates and Russian officials. Mr. Paul was asked by the host if he supports letting the facts lead where they may, at which point he framed the ordeal as vindictive political theater.

I think the whole thing is sour grapes, to tell you the truth, Mr. Paul said Monday before imitating the presidents critics. Did Sessions meet with the Russian ambassador? Yes, I think its all sour grapes. I dont think theres anything there. Im not against people looking at facts, but I think we shouldnt get carried away with things.

The Republican added that former FBI Director James Comeys testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week confirmed that agents were not targeting the president.

Comey said the president was not, you know, the point of any investigation and the president responded petulantly, probably and said, tell everybody Im not the object of your investigation. You can see where there would be an annoyance. But even by Comeys testimony saying, he told me he hoped I would finish it, it certainly doesnt sound like any kind of obstruction of justice when you tell someone I hope they will finish their job.

Mr. Pauls appearance comes less than 24 hours before Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies before the same intelligence committee. Mr. Sessions recused himself from the FBIs investigation three months ago due to two undisclosed meetings with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak.

Go here to see the original:
Rand Paul: 'Sour grapes' fueling Trump-Russia collusion frenzy - Washington Times

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul reintroduced the Sixth Amendment Preservation Act late last week, which seeks to end the U.S. policy of indefinite detention.

The bill proposes a repeal of section 1021 of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, itself a continuation of the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, which he argues is unconstitutional. That section states Congress "affirms that the authority of the President to use all necessary and appropriate force pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force includes the authority for the Armed Forces of the United States to detain covered persons pending disposition under the law of war."

In a statement, Paul said section 1021 "allows our armed forces to indefinitely detain citizens, legal residents and foreign nationals who are alleged to have engaged in hostilities against the United States."

Paul argued there should be a limit on detention authority, stating U.S. citizens apprehended within the boundaries of the U.S. could be held indefinitely without trial.

"Giving the accused their day in court isn't a suggestion," Paul said. "It's enshrined in our Constitution as a cornerstone of our judicial system. My bill reminds our government that the Founders did not put an expiration date on the Sixth Amendment."

The three-page bill states explicitly that "no person shall be imprisoned or otherwise detained by the United States except consistent with the Constitution." The Sixth Amendment guarantees U.S. citizens "the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation."

The piece of legislation was previously introduced in the Senate in October 2015. It was referred to the Judiciary Committee and never advanced past that panel.

Continued here:
Rand Paul wants to end indefinite detention: No 'expiration date on the Sixth Amendment' - Washington Examiner

Monday on CNNs The Lead, host Jake Tapper asked Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) if it might be a mistake for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to invoke executive privilege in his testimony tomorrow before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election.

Paul prefaced his response by saying it depended on the question asked, but dismissed the suggestion Sessions would have worked with the Russians given he was a hardliner on Russia.

I guess it depends on the questions, Paul replied. I dont really know what that will be about necessarily. I still think that, you know, weve got a special counsel. Lets let them do their job. The rest is all for show. This is political theater and really, those committees arent getting anywhere. If theres anything done wrong it will come out of the special counsel. And my suspicion is very little, if anything, will come out of there. There may be some people who didnt file their paperwork appropriately or didnt file to be registered as foreign agents but Ikind of doubt theres going to be anything that look, Jeff Sessions, who was kind of known as a hardliner on Russia, so its kind of crazy to sort of say, Oh, he must have been meeting with them in some secret deal with the Russians. You know, he was known as a hardliner, all right. And so I dont think any of that is going to go anywhere, but I think theres a political operation going on and Ithink dwelling so much on this stuff.

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor

P.S. DO YOU WANT MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR INBOX?SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY BREITBART NEWSLETTER.

Read the original post:
Rand Paul: Sessions 'a Hardliner on Russia'; Hearings 'a Political Operation,' 'Aren't Getting Anywhere' - Breitbart News

US Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) (C) speaks about Obamacare repeal and replacement while flanked by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)(R), and Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) (L) and members of the House Freedom Caucus, during a news conference on Capitol Hill, on March 7, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by AFP)

US Senator Rand Paul has warned the administration of Donald Trump against imposing new economic sanctions on Iran, saying new sanctions are a fools errand, and they will not work.

Paul, a former Republican presidential candidate, made the remarks in article, titled Think twice before sanctioning Iran, published on Friday.

Last month, the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee voted in favor of legislation that would authorize Trump to impose new sanctions on Iran over its missile program, which Tehran has repeatedly said is defensive.

The bill needs the approval of the Senate, the House of Representatives and President Trump to become law.

According to reports published on Monday, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was pushing the Senate toward passing tougher sanctions against Iran.

Senator Paul urged the US government not to impose sanctions on Iran on the pretext of ballistic missile program, which Iran says is defensive.

He wrote that it is not fair to punish Iran when the Islamic Republics all hostile neighbors like Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel have advanced missile programs.

As we look at the ballistic missile section, we recall that Saudi Arabia also has ballistic missiles, the Dong Feng-3s and -21s. Where are they pointed? Tel Aviv and Tehran, he wrote.

Our CIA inspected the DF-21s and said they are not currently nuclear capable. But are they convertible? Are they nuclear capable? Yeah, they are nuclear capable, and they are pointed at Israel and Iran, he added.

Senator Paul called on the United States to curb Saudi Arabias ballistic missile program and Israels nuclear weapons program in order control arms proliferation in the Middle East region, otherwise these sanctions [against Iran] will have [no] effect.

If the whole world invoked these sanctions, they might be effectiveBut I do not think these unilateral sanctions will have any effect, Paul wrote.

If you really want to get rid of their ballistic-missile program, we should look at who else in the region they perceive as a threat. I do not think they really perceive us as a threat. We have thousands of ballistic missiles, yes, but I think they are primarily concerned with Saudi Arabia and the other [Persian] Gulf sheikhdoms, who already have hundreds of missiles. They also see Israels nuclear weapons as a threat, he noted.

So, if you wanted to influence the behavior of Iran, you might consider sanctioning Saudi Arabia in equal fashion, he said.

Another way of doing it would be to withhold the $350 billion worth of new weapons and missiles to Saudi Arabia until both sides come together to discuss an arms control treaty. Perhaps you could say we are going to withhold that offer until Saudi Arabia agrees to negotiate with Iran, he argued.

It is my belief that Iran will never quit developing ballistic missiles unless there is an agreement with Saudi Arabia and/or the rest of the [Persian] Gulf kingdoms to do the same. And so I think new sanctions are a fools errand, and they will not work, the senator observed.

Last month, the United States and Saudi Arabia reached a massive weapons sale agreement.

The $110 billion arms deal signed by Saudi Arabian King Salman and US President Donald Trump was a component of $350 billion in economic and military investments between the two countries over the next 10 years, according to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

The Trump administration has come under fire from human rights advocacy groups for striking the weapons deal with Saudi Arabia without considering the Riyadh regimes rights record.

Experts say Trumps selection of Saudi Arabia as his maiden overseas trip signals that he is willing to embrace a country responsible for widespread human rights violations and an escalating humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

The Saudi kingdom has been bombing Yemen for over two years and killing thousands of civilians there, while accusing Tehran of intervention in the impoverished country.

Read the original here:
New Iran sanctions are fool's errand, which won't work: Rand Paul - Press TV