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Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David M. Friedman said Thursday that it is "despicable" that U.S. President Joe Biden is refusing to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the latter's election in November...Friedman was one of the most consequential ambassadors to Israel in U.S. history, playing a key role in forging the Abraham Accords, a series of peace agreements between Israel and several Arab states in the region.Friedman blamed the leadership of the American Jewish community for the impasse as well, because it had joined the Israeli left in condemning Netanyahu's proposed judicial reforms, and had not criticized Biden.In...

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides said he spends the majority of his time helping Palestinians, an unusual remark from a diplomat purporting to serve as the U.S. envoy to Israel. He also made several comments relating to Israel’s domestic policies, including telling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “pump the brakes” on the government’s proposal to reform the judiciary and calling on Israel’s new Arab allies to condemn the Jewish state over its recent decision to legalize nine Jewish so-called outposts in the West Bank. “I spend 60% of my time trying to help the Palestinian people,” Nides told podcast...

After the condemnations in the Arab world, the US on Tuesday also joined in the criticism of the visit to the Temple Mount by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Israel said that Ambassador Tom Nides “has been very clear in conversations with the Israeli government on the issue of preserving the status quo in Jerusalem’s holy sites. Actions that prevent that are unacceptable.” A White House National Security Council spokesperson told Axios later on Tuesday that the Biden administration expects Netanyahu to follow through on his written commitment to the governing platform,...

The White House announced on Thursday that Karine Jean-Pierre, a veteran anti-Israel activist who is married to CNN correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, will replace outgoing press secretary Jen Psaki, raising potential ethical quandaries. The announcement drew celebratory headlines in the mainstream press: Jean-Pierre is the first black woman and openly gay person to serve in the role. But her relationship with the CNN reporter raises ethical questions about her new role. The White House did not respond to a request for comment about whether Jean-Pierre would recuse herself in dealing with CNN. Malveaux's colleagues include Valerie Jarrett's daughter, CNN justice correspondent...

President Joe Biden announced his first political ambassadorships Tuesday, tapping former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to be the U.S. ambassador to Mexico. Biden also tapped Morgan Stanley Vice Chairman Tom Nides to be ambassador to Israel. For representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization, Biden selected C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger, best known for landing a United Airlines flight on the Hudson River in 2009.... ...For the prestigious, ambassador-rank post of U.S. permanent representative to NATO, Biden has chosen Julianne Smith. A former deputy national security advisor to Biden when he was vice president, Smith also directed NATO policy at the Pentagon....

This is just too rich. Seriously. From the insufferable Iran deal… to the appeasement “Russian Reset”… to the Libya fiasco… to the rise of ISIS… to installing the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt… to the explosion of terrorism in Yemen… to civil war in Syria… to the crisis in Ukraine… to the 2010 State Department apology tour (WikiLeaks cables scandal)… to their inability to stop North Korean nuclear ambitions and the rise of China as an influential power… there were/are zero foreign policy successes in eight years of the Obama administration. There was not a single Obama foreign policy initiative that...

On Sept 15, in a telephone call with then-Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr, then-Secy Clinton emphatically portrayed the “stupid, very offensive film” as the root cause of the Benghazi violence. “I have repeatedly, as has the President and other and murder of four Americans officials in our government, deplored not only the content of this stupid, very offensive film… But we have to exercise more self-discipline… otherwise we’ll be in a vicious downward circle against everyone who has ever felt offended, particularly on the internet….” After referring to Benghazi, Secy Clinton’s telephone call with then-Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr also...

Candidate Donald Trump said of Hillary Clinton’s e-mail scandal, “This corruption and collusion is just one more reason why I will ask my attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor.” He later upped the ante with the declaration, “She has to go to jail.” Now, it appears that the Trump State Department is working to keep the e-mails secret. On May 5, Judicial Watch issued a press release announcing that U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered the U.S. Department of State to turn over to the watchdog organization "eight identical paragraphs" of previously redact material in two September 13,...

State Department documents released through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by the government watchdog Judicial Watch reveal, contrary to Obama administration claims, the State Department knew as early as Sept. 12, 2012 that the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya was a "direct breaching attack." It was not sparked "under the cover of a protest" or in response to an anti-Islamic YouTube video. 

Democratic members of the House Select Committee on Benghazi published their final report on the investigation into the Sept. 11, 2012, terror attack Monday, front-running the findings from committee Republicans that are expected to be released within days. The 339-page report was accompanied by the unclassified versions of transcripts from interviews with dozens of witnesses involved in the handling of the attack. Democrats vowed their report would highlight "abuses" from Chairman Trey Gowdy and panel Republicans who probed the circumstances surrounding Benghazi for more than two years. The minority report, entitled "Honoring Courage, Improving Security, and Fighting the Exploitation of...

Newly released emails on the Benghazi terror attack suggest a senior White House aide played a central role in preparing former U.N. ambassador Susan Rice for her controversial Sunday show appearances -- where she wrongly blamed protests over an Internet video. More than 100 pages of documents were released to the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. Among them was a Sept. 14, 2012, email from Ben Rhodes, an assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser for strategic communications. The Rhodes email, with the subject line: "RE: PREP Call with...

Hillary Clinton’s son-in-law, the mediocre money manager Marc Mezvinsky, is shutting down a special Greece-focused investment fund that had lost nearly 90 percent of its value over the past two years.The Eaglevale Hellenic Opportunity fund, which had raised $25 million from investors, was pitched as a bet on economic recovery in Greece—that hasn’t panned out, exactly. The fund reported a 48% decline in 2015, when Mezvinsky told investors that his firm’s predictions about the Greek economy had “proved incorrect,” and hasn’t recovered. Mezvinsky, who married Chelsea Clinton in 2010, founded the investment firm Eaglevale Partners two years later with the...

Document Release Raises New Questions about State’s FOIA Responses, Court Statements(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it has obtained new documents from the Department of State containing the telephone transcripts from the evening of September 11, 2012, in which then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton informs then-Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil that the deadly terrorist attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi “had nothing to do with the film.” The documents include previously unreleased telephone transcripts with world leaders about the Benghazi attack. Clinton’s admission to Kandil was first produced to the Select Committee on Benghazi on October 13, 2015...

On Nov. 8, 2011, President Obama met with then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Cannes after what had been a particularly rough week for US-Israeli relations. Modal Trigger The week prior, the UN agency UNESCO admitted Palestine as a member state. Congress responded by cutting off UNESCO’s funding, a move the Obama administration direly opposed. Michael Oren, who served as Israel’s US ambassador from 2009 to 2013, said the president, having opposed Palestine’s admission to the agency, “thought he had done enough . . . and did not need to punish them further.” President Obama responded to Congress’ act by admonishing Israel for...

Hillary Clinton plans to improve her relationship with the press for 2016, and her choice of Tom Nides as a top campaign official could be a good start. He is married to a top executive of CNN. Politico’s Mike Allen reports that Tom Nides, who was formerly Hillary Clinton’s deputy secretary of state, will be leaving his vice chairman position at Morgan Stanley for a top role in Clinton’s 2016 campaign. Unmentioned by Allen is that Nides is the longtime husband of Virginia Moseley, who has been the vice president and deputy Washington bureau chief for CNN since 2012.

You knew the mainstream media was biased, but this is incredible. It was revealed today that CBS News President David Rhodes' brother is Obama Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, who was instrumental in rewriting the Benghazi talking points. But it gets worse. It is now learned that ABC President Ben Sherwood's sister, Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, is a Special Assistant to Barack Obama on national security affairs. But even this isn't it! CNN's deputy bureau chief, Virginia Moseley, is the wife of Tom Nides, who until February was Hillary Clinton's deputy.

Republicans are 'not giving up' on BenghaziBy Julian Pecquet - 12/15/12 03:24 PM ET Republican lawmakers are vowing to keep pressing the administration on Benghazi despite Susan Rice’s decision to drop her bid to become secretary of State. “We'll continue to seek answers,” a Republican Senate aide told The Hill. “We're not giving up on it.” Rice’s decision to step aside averted a contentious confirmation fight with Republican senators that might have pointed to an end to the political battle over the U.S. consulate attack. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations had become the flash-point for criticism since describing...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won't testify to Congress next week on Benghazi, after fainting and suffering a concussion Saturday and due to her ongoing stomach ailment. "While suffering from a stomach virus, Secretary Clinton became dehydrated and fainted, sustaining a concussion," Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Philippe Reines said in a statement. "She has been recovering at home and will continue to be monitored regularly by her doctors. At their recommendation, she will continue to work from home next week, staying in regular contact with Department and other officials. She is looking forward to being back in the office...

06/05/2012 04:36 Legislation would force State Department to differentiate between Palestinian refugees and descendants of refugees. WASHINGTON – Palestinian advocates are warning that a new US Senate amendment dictating a reporting requirement on the issue of Palestinian refugees could set back efforts to reach a peace deal. The amendment to a bill, recently approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee, mandates that the secretary of state must report how many of the Palestinians serviced by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency fled or left homes in Israel during the War of Independence and how many are only their descendants. Related:...