Chaos in DC: Full Offensive to Stop Improvement of US-Russia Relations

Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist, and Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst.
Once again, chaos is engulfing Washington over a series of u-turns made by the Trump administration in the wake of the Trump-Putin Helsinki summit. Meanwhile, developments in the Mueller probe are making it clearer than ever that the investigation is deeply connected to the big picture of U.S.-Russia relations.
On today’s regular Friday segment covering the upcoming midterm elections, the hosts talk about Ocasio-Cortez, DeLeon over Feinstein, and the House Democrats’ ridiculous new slogan. Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, and the co-host of the Facebook livestream “Coffee, Current Events & Politics” Thursdays at 9 p.m., joins the show.
Israeli occupation authorities are facing more protests today in Gaza as at least two Palestinians were killed and three were injured in an Israeli air raid and at the Gaza border during protests. Israel has pledged an even tougher response to Palestinian sending flammable kites and balloons carrying firebombs across the border. Richard Becker, an anti-war organizer and author of the book “Palestine, Israel and the U.S. Empire,” joins the show.
A secret letter was just revealed yesterday from Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to then-CIA Director Gina Haspel, asking for support in a competitive election last May. He painted current Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad as a threat to US interests. Najib has since been indicted on several corruption charges, including abuse of power. Brian and John speak with Nile Bowie, a writer and journalist with the Asia Times, covering Singapore and Malaysia.
A South Korean court today sentenced former president Park Geun Hye to an additional eight years in prison for abusing state funds and violating election laws. Park is already serving 24 years in prison for a massive corruption scandal. Simone Chun, a fellow at the Korea Policy Institute and a member of the Korean Peace Network, joins Brian and John.
Kathy Kraninger, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, went in front of the Senate Banking Committee yesterday, where she fully dodged many senators’ questions of her. What we did find out is that she has almost no financial experience, having worked most of her career in the Department of Homeland Security. So why is she the nominee for the CFPB? Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net, whose most recent piece is “Fighting Fake Stories: The New Yorker, Israel and Obama,” joins the show.
The hosts continue the regular segment of the worst and most misleading headlines. Walter and John speak with Steve Patt, an independent journalist whose critiques of the mainstream media have been a feature of his blog Left I on the News, where you can find more ridiculous headlines from the week, and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell.