CNN really isn't doing itself any favors to distance itself from Project Veritas' groundbreaking video release this week focusing on the inner-workings of their network. On Wednesday, CNN released a digital ad showing that the network is solely focused on impeachment. On tape, Project Veritas caught CNN president Jeff Zucker saying this is all he wants to focus on, and ignore pretty much the rest of everything in the news.

Cary Poarch, a contract employee in Washington Bureau, became so sick with what he saw at CNN that he decided to turn to Project Veritas and go undercover. He recorded hours of top brass, including Zucker, discussing how they shape the news. The videos have confirmed what we all suspected for quite some time, but which CNN has vehemently denied. It is obvious to anybody with a brain that the "news" station leans to the left and despises President Trump, but it still claims to be unbiased.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday downplayed the escalating tensions in the Middle East in the aftermath of his abrupt withdrawal of American troops from northeastern Syria, referring to the area as "not our border" and to Kurdish forces as "no angels."

"If Turkey goes into Syria, that’s between Turkey and Syria," he said to reporters in the Oval Office. "It’s not between Turkey and the United States, like a lot of stupid people would like us to — would like you to believe."

Moscow and Ankara inked an agreement on using Russian rubles and Turkish lira in mutual payments and settlements, the Russian Finance Ministry announced on Tuesday.

The deal is aimed at gradually switching to using national currencies in mutual trade, the ministry said. Trade turnover between the two countries grew by 16 percent last year, reaching $25.5 billion.

According to the ministry, the agreement aims for “further expansion and strengthening of interbank interaction, as well as ensuring uninterrupted payments between business entities of the two countries.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan trashed a letter from Donald Trump which urged him not to 'be a fool' over Syria, it was revealed today.

Turkish officials told the BBC that the letter was 'thoroughly rejected' by Erdogan last week, who promptly placed it in the trash and considered it 'the final straw'.

In Trump's October 9 letter, written as Erdogan's forces prepared to cross into Syria, the president wrote: 'History will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don't happen ... Don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool!'

Positions from Democrat leaders suggested an unconditional opposition to Trump ending any war and withdrawing any troops under any circumstances. They also objected to the notion that a president could end a war without their permission.

US forces continue to withdraw from Syria, and on their way out the door are trying to take various measures to either destroy facilities or to spite Russian troops who are moving in.

One former US base, near Kobane, has been totally destroyed by US airstrikes. Some officials presented this as a “show of force,” though against whom was unclear. This base was the one the US accused Turkey of bracketing with artillery fire early in the invasion.

Another US base, near Manbij, was not destroyed in time. The US stripped it of gear, and left it for Russia. The US also drew crude pictures of penises on the walls, along with insulting phrases.

The US coalition also issued a statement on Wednesday reporting that they’d withdrawn from the cities of Tabqah and Raqqa. US forces also left a cement factory belonging to Lafarge.

US special envoy on Iran Brian Hook told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that the administration does not consider the withdrawal from Syria to in any way impact US hostility toward Iran.

Hook said the administration remains “very comfortable” with its Iran strategy, and that the “maximum pressure” campaign will continue. He added troops in northern Syria never had an Iran mission set.

Some Senators were eager to make Syria all about Iran, however, with Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) claiming Iran was “smiling from ear to ear as Turkey rushed into Syria.” Romney also claimed Turkey’s invasion made Assad stronger.

US officials have told Reuters that in response to the attacks on a pair of Saudi oil refineries in mid-September, the US carried out a cyber attack against Iran, damaging physical hardware in the process.

Such an attack has been alleged before, and these officials are only confirming on condition of anonymity, and even then are refusing to provide any details on what was actually attacked.

The Pentagon said they don’t discuss any of their cyber attacks, and so they are neither going to confirm or deny if they did it. Iran denied that they were attacked, suggesting the officials “must have dreamt it.”

Last week, the White House legal counsel wrote to congressional leaders stating President Donald Trump’s legal views of the impeachment investigation now being conducted by the House of Representatives. The essence of Pat Cipollone’s letter argued that the impeachment investigation is illegitimate, unconstitutional and unfair.

The illegitimacy argument contended that since the House has yet to vote to authorize an investigation of the president, its committees lack subpoena power. The unconstitutional argument offered that since impeachment seeks to overturn a valid election, it is a thinly veiled coup and thus is in violation of the Constitution. And his unfairness argument states that the president is entitled to due process at every stage of the impeachment proceedings.

These are valid political arguments. But as legal offerings, they are profoundly misguided. Here is the backstory.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un rode a white horse to Mt. Paektu and lashed out at sanctions imposed on the country, the state-run KCNA news agency reported Wednesday — hailing the action as "a great event of weighty importance."

The big picture: The images at the sacred, active volcano and accompanying proclamation that "there will be a great operation to strike the world with wonder again and make a step forward in the Korean revolution" comes days after denuclearization talks between North Korea and the U.S. broke down.

The U.S.-led coalition said on Wednesday that its forces had left the Syrian cities of Tabqah and Raqqa as well as a Lafarge cement factory as part of the withdrawal from northeast Syria.

“Coalition forces continue a deliberate withdrawal from northeast Syria. On Oct. 16, we vacated the Lafarge Cement Factory, Raqqa, and Tabqah,” coalition spokesman Colonel Myles B. Caggins said on Twitter.

On October 16, units of the Syrian Army entered the city of Raqqah for the first time since 2014. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has controlled the city since 2017, when they with help from the United States seized it from ISIS. The Syrian Army reportedly established several observation posts in the area and continued deployment within the SDF-held area.

According to pro-government sources, government troops are also preparing to enter the Omar oil fields. A day earlier, on October 15, Syrian troops and Russian Military Police units started patrolling the contact line between Turkish-backed forces and the SDF near Manbij.

On October 16, US-led coalition forces withdrew from the Kharab Ashk military base where dozens of US and French troops had been deployed. US-led forces burned the base in order to destroy equipment that they were not able to evacuate.

The U.S. sold $55.4 billion worth of weapons to allies and partners around the globe in fiscal 2019, a nearly flat change from the previous fiscal year.

Of that total, $48.25 billion came in payments from partner nations, $3.67 billion from grant assistance programs such as Foreign Military Financing and the Global Peacekeeping Operations Initiative, and $3.47 billion for cases funded under Department of Defense Title 10 grant assistance programs, such as train and equip programs or the Afghan Security Forces Fund.

In FY17, the U.S. sold $41.93 billion in Foreign Military Sales, or FMS, deals. That number jumped a dramatic 33 percent in FY18 to $55.6 billion in deals.

While another major jump did not happen in FY19, Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper, the head of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, expressed confidence that the various efforts to reform his agency would continue to pay off.

Manager of Field Operations at CNN Patrick Davis Complains “We Could Be So Much Better Than What We Are.”

“I Haven’t Listened to a 9AM (Rundown) Call in About 15 Years…Just, I Can’t Listen to It,” Explains Davis, “It’s All Just a Bunch of Bullshit.”

Field Production Supervisor at CNN Gerald Sisnette: “The Only Way This Will Go Away is When He (Trump) Dies. Hopefully Soon.”

“They Sold Themselves to the Devil. It’s, It’s Sad.” Laments Floor Manager at CNN Mike Brevna.

“We Used to Cover News,” Complains Senior Field Engineer at CNN Scott Garber, “We Used to Go Out and Do Stories.”

Zucker Admits to Being Personally Responsible for Impeachment Coverage: “I Am the One Saying We Should Just Stay on Impeachment.”

Tensions soared Wednesday over President Trump’s decision to pull U.S. troops from Syria, with the House voting overwhelmingly to rebuke him and a subsequent confrontation at the White House that led to Democratic leaders walking out on the president.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, said that when she delivered news of the rebuke, Mr. Trump had a “meltdown” and called her a “third-rate politician.”

Republicans said it was Mrs. Pelosi whose conduct was outrageous. They said her walkout was unbecoming and her push toward impeaching Mr. Trump is poisoning government at the highest levels.

Congressional Democrats walked out of a White House meeting on Syria with President Trump on Wednesday.

Pelosi’s behavior was “unbecoming” according to Rep. McCarthy and the President responded to her by hammering the House Speaker, calling her a “third grade politician.”

Initial reports claimed Trump called Pelosi a “third rate politician,” however it was later corrected to accurately report that he called her a ‘third grade politician.”

Prior to the meeting, the House passed a resolution opposing President Trump’s decision to pull US troops out of Northern Syria.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) threw a tantrum and stormed out of the meeting, according to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

Pelosi told reporters outside of the White House that Trump was “shaken up” and refused to cooperate.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) indicated this week that he is not concerned about the impeachment effort hindering the re-election chances of vulnerable Democrats.

“Let the chips fall where they may,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Schiff declared, seemingly throwing some of his Democrat colleagues under the bus.

Schiff’s comments came during an interview Monday at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, moderated by New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof.

The moderator noted that former Rep. James Rogan (R-CA) lost his congressional seat to Schiff in 2000 after voting in favor of impeaching President Bill Clinton.

President Trump savagely trolled House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday after she threw a tantrum and stormed out of a White House meeting with Trump on Syria.

Pelosi was out of control on Wednesday and made a scene at the White House with her partner-in-crime Senator Chuck Schumer.

President Trump put Pelosi in her place and called her a “third grade politician.”

But he wasn’t done.

A senior Democrat aide said that Trump hit Pelosi again with another zinger as she stood up with Schumer and left the meeting.

“Goodbye, we’ll see you at the polls.” Trump said to Pelosi and Schumer.

Former President George W. Bush, who led the United States into war across the Middle East, attacked President Trump on Wednesday night, saying U.S. intervention is necessary “for the sake of peace” around the globe.
During a panel alongside former President Bill Clinton at the Nir School of the Heart, Bush laid into Trump for his recent decision to withdraw up to 1,000 American troops from northeast Syria — fulfilling his longheld campaign promise to bring troops home after more than a decade of war.

“An isolationist United States is destabilizing around the world,” Bush said, according to the Washington Post‘s Josh Rogin. “We are becoming isolationist and that’s dangerous for the sake of peace.”

So when moderator Anderson Cooper at the end of the CNN-New York Times debate on Tuesday night closed down the debate with a question about a unique and different friendship that has shaped their lives, one would have thought the moderators were teeing Biden up for a perfect Corn Pop moment.

Cooper said:

Last week, Ellen DeGeneres was criticized after she and former President George W. Bush were seen laughing together at a football game. Ellen defended their friendship, saying, we’re all different and I think that we’ve forgotten that that’s OK that we’re all different. So in that spirit, we’d like you to tell us about a friendship that you’ve had that would surprise us and what impact it’s had on you and your beliefs.

Cooper went to all 11 other candidates before getting to Biden, who closed it down at the end, giving Biden plenty of time to think about what he was going to say.

U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings of Baltimore, a committee chairman known for his devotion to Baltimore and civil rights and for blunt and passionate speechmaking, died of longstanding health problems early Thursday morning, his office said. He was 68 years old.

The Democrat, a key figure in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump as chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, died at Gilchrist Hospice Care, a Johns Hopkins affiliate, at approximately 2:45 A.M., a spokeswoman said.