Congressional Democrats take Donald Trump to court over foreign favors
Lawyers representing nearly 200 Democrats in Congress plan to argue in federal court Thursday that President Donald Trump is violating the Constitution by accepting foreign state favors without first seeking congressional approval. The case argues that the president has received foreign government favors, such as Chinese government trademarks for his companies, payments for hotel room stays and event space rentals by representatives of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and proceeds from Chinese or Emirati-linked government purchases of office space in Trump Tower. Ethics experts say the constitutional emoluments clause was created by the Founding Fathers to ensure that government officials act with the interests of the American public in mind instead of their own pocketbooks. Since then, it has been applied to the lowest of government of officials up to the president without a court challenge. “This argument on Thursday will essentially put to the test the proposition that no one is above the law, not even the president,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who is leading the effort. “He’s thumbed his nose at the plain text and in doing so he’s thumbed his nose at the American people.” Unlike prior presidents, Trump chose not to divest from his assets and he remains the owner of the Trump Organization, a sprawling business empire with 550 entities in more than 20 countries that include branded hotels, golf courses, licensing deals and other interests. His Washington, D.C., hotel just steps from the White House has become a magnet for foreign governments, including groups tied to Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkey, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. The District of Columbia case is one of three that argues the president is violating the emoluments clause, which bans accepting benefits from foreign governments unless a majority of both houses of Congress consent. But Thursday’s case is different in that the plaintiffs in the suit — members of Congress — are mentioned in the clause itself, and they believe that Congress not only has a right but is required, as part of their jobs, to weigh in on potential emoluments such as a $6.5 million condo purchase by the Qatari government or a Chinese-government owned company’s investment in a project that will include a Trump-branded hotel and golf course in Indonesia. “These members of Congress are injured every time the president accepts a foreign government benefit, whether that benefit is a trademark from China or proceeds from a government buying space in a Trump property,” said Brianne Gorod, the nonprofit Constitutional Accountability Center’s chief counsel who will argue the plaintiffs’ case Thursday. Separate emoluments cases in Maryland and New York are based on a claim of competitive standing, arguing that the president’s businesses are being used by lobbyists, government officials and political groups to curry favor with Trump, and thus have an unfair advantage over other businesses. The New York case was dismissed and is being appealed. Justice Department lawyers have argued that such business activity, including hotel room stays, isn’t an emolument. Thursday’s arguments before U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan will be solely focused on whether the lawmakers have standing to sue the president by showing they’ve suffered harm from the alleged violation of the clause. In papers supporting the plaintiffs’ suit, nearly two dozen former national security officials, including Madeleine Albright and Chuck Hagel, said that “allowing private business deals with foreign governments to go undisclosed, unapproved, and unmonitored creates substantial danger that national security or foreign policy decisions (could) be motivated by something other than the public’s interest.” The Justice Department, which has filed for dismissal of the case, declined to comment. Its lawyers argued in court papers that the 198 Democrats suing the president are not being injured by him at all but by their colleagues in Congress, who have refused to take up the emoluments issue. The Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment. “The enforcement of the emoluments clause is the only way we can preserve our ability to do our job,” Blumenthal said. “If Congress does not have standing, no one does.” Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Mike Pompeo: US stands ‘with Israel’ in fight against Iran
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday gave a warm boost of support to Israel in its standoff against Iran, saying “the United States is with Israel in this fight.” Pompeo has been using the Middle East leg of his first trip abroad as America’s top diplomat to call for concerted international action to punish Iran for its missile programs. The tough line was welcomed in Israel, which considers Iran its greatest threat and has been leading calls for the international community to revise its 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. He arrived after visiting Saudi Arabia, another fierce rival of Iran. “We remain deeply concerned about Iran’s dangerous escalation of threats to Israel and the region and Iran’s ambition to dominate the Middle East remains,” Pompeo said after a nearly two-hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The United States is with Israel in this fight.” Israel has called for tough international action against Iran, citing its hostile rhetoric, support for anti-Israel militant groups and development of long-range missiles. It also has complained the 2015 nuclear deal does not do enough to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear-weapons capability, and expressed growing concerns about Iran’s involvement in the civil war in neighboring Syria. It says it will not allow Iran to establish a permanent military presence in Syria, fearing the Iranians will launch attacks. President Donald Trump is to decide by May 12 whether to remain in the nuclear deal. Pompeo repeated the Trump position that “if we can’t fix it, he is going to withdraw.” Netanyahu welcomed the tough U.S. line. “Iran must be stopped, its quest for a nuclear bomb must be stopped, its aggression must be stopped and we’re committed to stopping it together,” he said. Netanyahu also welcomed the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and the scheduled move of its embassy from Tel Aviv on May 14. Pompeo said the U.S. is “incredibly proud” of the embassy move. The Palestinians, who claim Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as their capital, have harshly criticized the U.S. move and all but cut off ties with the White House. Earlier in Saudi Arabia, Pompeo also took aim at Iran. “Iran destabilizes this entire region,” Pompeo said in brief remarks to journalists with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. He also urged the Saudis and their neighbors to resolve a festering dispute with Qatar that U.S. officials say Iran is exploiting to boost its influence in the region, including in Yemen and Syria. Pompeo on Sunday met with Saudi King Salman, whose country, along with Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, is embroiled in a row with Qatar that had hobbled Gulf Arab unity and frustrated the U.S. as it seeks to blunt growing Iranian assertiveness. “I think they would all agree that it’s in everyone’s best interests that the Gulf states all figure out how to be together,” Pompeo told reporters as he traveled to Israel. “We’ve got a common challenge in Iran I think they all recognize that. We’re hopeful that they will in their own way figure out their dispute between them.” The ex-CIA chief arrived in Riyadh a day earlier, shortly after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen fired missiles at Saudi Arabia’s southern city of Jizan, killing one person and underscoring what U.S. officials said is a growing threat emanating from Iran. Senior U.S. officials traveling with Pompeo blamed Iran for smuggling the missiles into Yemen. They said the incident highlighted the importance of the Trump administration’s push to counter Iran in the region. Iran has also provided crucial support to Syrian President Bashar Assad. Al-Jubeir said the kingdom “supports the policy of the Trump administration against Iran and to improve the terms of the nuclear agreement with Iran.” Pompeo’s meetings in Saudi Arabia and Israel, to be followed by discussions in Jordan, come just weeks ahead of several key dates that could bring further volatility to the region. Trump has set a May 12 deadline to decide whether to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, something he appears likely to do despite heavy pressure to stay in from European and other parties. In London, British Prime Minister Theresa May’s office said that she discussed the deal with her French and German counterparts. It said they agreed that the deal should remain intact, even while addressing shortcomings. The countries “agreed that there were important elements that the deal does not cover, but which we need to address — including ballistic missiles, what happens when the deal expires, and Iran’s destabilizing regional activity,” the statement said. On May 14 comes the U.S. Embassy move, marking a significant shift in decades of American policy toward Israel and the Palestinians. The next day the Palestinians will mark the anniversary of what they term the “catastrophe,” when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes during the 1948 war that surrounded Israel’s creation. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire during recent protests along border between Israel and Gaza. Those protests, spearheaded by the Islamic militant Hamas movement, are expected to peak on May 15. Also looming over the trip is uncertainty over Trump’s policy on Syria, which has shifted between a speedy all-out withdrawal of American forces and leaving a lasting footprint to deter Iran from completing a land bridge from Tehran to Beirut. Pompeo also is taking a leading role in Trump’s preparations for an expected summit in May or early June with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Pompeo, while en route to Israel, was asked whether a U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal would complicate negotiations “I don’t think Kim Jung Un is staring at the Iran deal and saying, ’Oh goodness, if they get out of that deal, I won’t talk to the Americans anymore. There are higher priorities, things he is more concerned about than whether the Americans stay” in the accord, Pompeo said. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
U.S. approves $1.3 billion sale of artillery to Saudi Arabia
The Trump administration signed off Thursday on selling more than $1.3 billion in artillery to Saudi Arabia, giving a vote of confidence to the Saudi military as young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman concludes a marathon tour of the United States. Since Prince Mohammed arrived in the U.S. two weeks ago, the administration has green-lighted more than $2.3 billion in arms sales to the kingdom, including more than $1 billion in missiles while the crown prince was in Washington. The latest deal includes about 180 Paladin howitzer systems, artillery-firing vehicles on tracks. The vehicles look like a combination of a tank and a cannon, and launch 155mm shells. The Trump administration told Congress on Thursday that it plans to approve the sale, the State Department said, triggering a 30-day window in which lawmakers could act to try to stop it. Typically, the administration obtains informal approval for such deals from key lawmakers before making them public, indicating that Congress is unlikely to act to block the sale. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, part of the U.S. military, said the sale would “contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States” by boosting the capabilities of a key U.S. partner that contributes to “political stability and economic progress in the Middle East.” The agency said the artillery would help the Saudis modernize their military and improve their ability to cooperate with the U.S. military. Yet the sale comes amid continuing concerns in Congress and by humanitarian groups about alarming rates of civilian casualties inflicted by the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen. Even President Donald Trump has raised his concerns about that in the past, and for a while, the U.S. stopped selling certain munitions to the Saudis while demanding that they improve their targeting. The U.S. is not engaged in the Saudis’ bombing campaign in Yemen, but has supported the coalition with refueling, targeting information and other logistics. The Trump administration and the United States more broadly have laid out the red carpet for Prince Mohammed, the 32-year-old heir to the throne, who is on an ambitious mission to modernize Saudi Arabia and improve its image in the West. After stops in Washington, New York and Boston, the crown prince has spent this week on the West Coast meeting with prominent business and entertainment leaders. He plans a final stop in the energy hub of Houston on Saturday before returning to Saudi Arabia. During Trump’s visit to Riyadh last year — the first stop on his inaugural foreign trip — the two nations announced that the U.S. would sell $110 billion in military equipment to Saudi Arabia. They said the deal could grow to $350 billion over a decade and include tanks, combat ships, missile defense systems, radar and communications, and cybersecurity technology. Tens of thousands of U.S. jobs could be created, the State Department said at the time. But no details were announced then, owing in part to the fact that the individual sales require approval from Congress that Trump by himself could not guarantee. Officials said the $1.3 billion in artillery and $1 billion in missiles announced during Prince Mohammed’s visit are both part of that broader package. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Donald Trump emboldens friendly foreign leaders, leaves foes wary
Are you a friend or foe? That seems to be uppermost in President Donald Trump‘s approach to foreign policy in the first six months of office. The probe at home into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election continues to be a thorn in his side, bedeviling Trump’s apparent desire to have warm relations with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and the initial “bromance” with China’s Xi Jinping also buckled under geopolitical and economic disagreements. But there are others who have been lavished with the president’s favor. Who is in the friend camp is clear from the president’s foreign travels, actions and statements. To varying degrees, his support has emboldened favored countries to carry out contentious regional or domestic policies. Some traditional U.S foes, though, could find themselves in a more precarious position than they did under President Barack Obama, who generally avoided direct confrontation and even pursued diplomatic openings with Iran and Cuba. Below, AP journalists assess the friend-or-foe dynamic as seen from key nations: — SAUDI ARABIA In Trump Saudi Arabia trusts. The ultraconservative Sunni kingdom played host to Trump’s first overseas trip when it brought him and officials from other Muslim nations for an anti-terrorism conference in May. Their embrace comes as no surprise as Trump long criticized the Iran nuclear deal, part of the reason for cold relations between the kingdom and President Barack Obama. Trump also has been willing to overlook human rights concerns in his embrace of Mideast leaders, including Saudi King Salman and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. Trump sent U.S. special operations forces into Yemen to back the Saudi-led campaign in a January raid that killed some 30 people, including women, children and a Navy SEAL. Trump also has written tweets against Qatar and openly criticized the U.S. ally, host of a major American military base, amid a Saudi-led effort to isolate the country. That’s even as members of his administration try to mediate an end to the rift. King Salman’s 31-year-old son, the recently appointed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was one of the first foreign officials to rush to America to see Trump. He has met several times with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Now next in line to the throne, the crown prince likely hopes to trade on those ties in further cementing his interests in weaning the oil-rich kingdom from its crude-dependent economy as global energy prices remain low. –Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates — ISRAEL To Trump, Israel definitely falls into the most-trusted-friend category. From early in his campaign, Trump cast himself as an unconditional supporter of Israel who would have a far warmer relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than Obama did. After repeated clashes with Obama, Israel’s nationalist right had high expectations for Trump. His ambassador to Israel is David Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer who has raised millions of dollars for the Beit El settlement. That community north of Jerusalem is in the heart of the occupied territory Palestinians want for an independent state. A foundation run by the family of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner – the president’s czar for Middle East peace efforts – also supported Beit El. Tax records show Trump himself donated money to a Jewish seminary in the settlement through his foundation. Trump indicated his affinity by including Israel in his first overseas trip as president, where he was fawned over by his hosts. He speaks warmly about Netanyahu and has reportedly sided with him in spats with the Palestinians. He also encouraged Israelis by taking a tough stand on Iran. At the same time, Trump has not made good on his campaign promise to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem and has spoken of pushing for the “ultimate deal,” raising fears in Israel that it could be pressured into making unwanted concessions. Meanwhile, the Palestinians have made efforts to get in Trump’s good graces, with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas traveling to Washington to meet him and praise his leadership. But a new wave of violence over a disputed Jerusalem shrine, sacred to Muslims and Jews, is Trump’s first experience of the decades-long conflict’s realities. How his administration navigates it will be telling. –Aron Heller in Jerusalem — POLAND Trump lavished praise on Poland during a visit this month, hailing its struggles for freedom against past oppression and depicting the country – which strongly opposes taking any Muslim refugees – as a defender of Western civilization. He made no mention of rule of law or human rights, even though the country’s populist ruling party has spent the past 20 months consolidating power in ways that have weakened checks and balances. Within days of the visit, the Law and Justice party moved to pass legislation aimed at giving the government vast new powers over the courts. One bill called for the immediate dismissal of all Supreme Court judges, giving the justice minister power to replace them. Among other things, the change would have given the ruling party direct control over confirming election results, one of the Supreme Court’s functions. This week the country’s president responded to days of mass nationwide protests by vetoing two of three bills on the judiciary, including the one on the Supreme Court. However, he left in place a third bill that gives the justice minister the power to name the heads of all the country’s lower courts, which critics also see as unconstitutional. “Trump’s silence about the Polish government’s problems with democracy and the rule of law encouraged Warsaw to pursue further measures, effectively ending judicial independence and separation of powers soon after the presidential visit,” said Marcin Zaborowski, a political analyst affiliated with Visegrad Insight, a journal about politics in Central Europe. –Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Poland — IRAN Trump hasn’t yet torn up the Iran nuclear deal, which took the U.S. and other world powers years to negotiate and ended with Tehran accepting curbs on its contested nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Whether that remains the case is an open question. Days into the
In Saudi Arabia, Donald Trump seeks to move past domestic troubles
President Donald Trump arrived in the Middle East on Saturday, touching down in Saudi Arabia to begin his first trip abroad, a visit aimed at forging stronger alliances to combat terrorism while seeking to push past the series of controversies threatening to engulf his young administration. Trump flew to Riyadh overnight on Air Force One and was welcomed during an elaborate ceremony at the airport, punctuated by a military flyover and a handshake from Saudi King Salman. Trump is the only American president to make Saudi Arabia, or any majority Muslim country, his first stop overseas as president — a scheduling choice designed in part to show respect to the region after more than a year of harsh anti-Muslim campaign rhetoric. The president’s stop in Saudi Arabia kicks off an ambitious international debut. After two days of meetings in Riyadh, Trump will travel to Israel, have an audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican, and meet with allies at a NATO summit in Brussels and the Group of 7 wealthy nations in Sicily. As he arrived, the president waved from the doorway of Air Force One and then descended the steps, joined by first lady Melania Trump. The 81-year-old King Salman, who used a cane for support, was brought to the steps of the plane on a golf cart. The two leaders exchanged pleasantries and Trump said it was “a great honor” to be there. Several jets then flew overhead leaving a red, white and blue trail. A few hours later, Trump tweeted for the first time on international soil as president, writing “Great to be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Looking forward to the afternoon and evening ahead.” White House officials hope the trip gives Trump the opportunity to recalibrate after one of the most difficult stretches of his young presidency. The White House badly bungled the president’s stunning firing of FBI Director James Comey, who was overseeing the federal investigation into possible ties between Trump’s campaign and Russia. On Wednesday, the Justice Department relented to calls from Democrats to name a special counsel, tapping former FBI chief Robert Mueller to lead the probe. Moments after Trump lifted off for Saudi Arabia, fresh reports stemming from the Russia investigation surfaced and threatened to overshadow the trip. The New York Times reported that Trump called Comey “a real nut job” while discussing the ongoing investigation with two Russian officials visiting the Oval Office earlier this month. He also told them that firing Comey had “taken off” the “great pressure” he was feeling from the investigation, the Times reported. Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported that an unidentified senior Trump adviser was being considered a “person of interest” in the law enforcement investigation. In addition, Comey agreed to testify at an open hearing of the Senate intelligence committee in the near future, the panel said. Despite his domestic troubles, Trump was expected to get a warm reception in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom’s ruling family grew deeply frustrated with former President Barack Obama’s detente with Iran and his restrained approach to the conflict in Syria. The king did not greet Obama at the airport during his final visit to the nation last year. Saudi Arabia offered Trump an elaborate welcome ahead of his two-day stay. Billboards featuring images of Trump and the king dotted the highways of Riyadh, emblazoned with the motto “Together we prevail.” Trump’s luxury hotel was bathed in red, white and blue lights and, at times, an image of the president’s face. Trump and the king met briefly in the airport terminal for a coffee ceremony before the president headed to his hotel before the day’s other meetings. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus told reporters on Air Force One that Trump spent the flight meeting with staff, working on his upcoming speech to the Muslim world and getting a little sleep. Melania Trump wore a black pantsuit with a golden belt and did not cover her head for the arrival, consistent with custom for foreign dignitaries visiting Saudi Arabia. In 2015, her husband had, in a tweet, criticized former first lady Michelle Obama for not wearing a headscarf during a visit to the kingdom. For a president who campaigned on an “America First” platform, the trip is a crucial moment for U.S. allies to size up his commitment to decades-long partnerships while trying to move behind his previous controversial statements. “President Trump understands that America First does not mean America alone,” said H.R. McMaster, Trump’s national security adviser. “Prioritizing American interests means strengthening alliances and partnerships that help us extend our influence and improve the security of the American people.” In a sweetener for Saudi Arabia, U.S. officials said the Trump administration plans to announce $110 billion in advanced military equipment sales and training to the kingdom during the trip. The package includes tanks, combat ships, missile defense systems, radar and communications and cybersecurity technology. After spending much of Saturday meeting with King Salman and other members of the royal family, Trump was to end the day at a banquet dinner at the Murabba Palace. On Sunday, he’ll hold meetings with more than 50 Arab and Muslim leaders converging on Riyadh for a regional summit focused largely on combating the Islamic State and other extremist groups. Trump dodged one potential land mine when Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who has been indicted on war crime and genocide charges, announced that he would not attend the summit for personal reasons. The centerpiece of Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia will be a speech Sunday at the Arab-Islamic-American summit. White House aides view the address as a counter to Obama’s 2009 speech to the Muslim world, which Trump criticized as too apologetic for U.S. actions in the region. Trump will call for unity in the fight against radicalism in the Muslim world, casting the challenge as a “battle between good and evil” and urging Arab leaders to “drive out the terrorists from your places of worship,” according to a draft of the
Marco Rubio says next step in Syria is negotiating regime change
Sen. Marco Rubio says the next step in Syria should be to work with Sunni governments to discuss “an alternative” government in Syria. Rubio is a Florida Republican and onetime rival of President Donald Trump. The conservative tells NBC’s “Today” show that Trump should reach out to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Turkey, to discuss ways to get Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down and create a new regime. Assad has not responded to diplomatic pressure in the past, but Rubio says the military strikes could change that. He says, “We need to now move forward through a combination of diplomacy and, quite frankly, the support of groups on ground, particularly non-jihadist Sunni groups, to create alternatives to the Assad regime.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders make final pushes ahead of New York primary
Hillary Clinton greeted recently-unionized workers at a Queens car wash during her final day of campaigning ahead of the New York primary. Clinton cited the workers as evidence of how “real change happens.” “It didn’t happen overnight,” she told a small crowd at the Hi-Tek Wash & Lube. “You work at it every day.” The remark echoes her recent attacks on rival Bernie Sanders, who she says promises an impossible-to-achieve “political revolution.” Earlier on Monday, she stopped at a hospital in Yonkers and urged workers to support her at the polls. Clinton will join New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for a rally in the afternoon. Clinton also said the White House should take a “hard look” at whether to declassify 28 pages of the 9/11 commission report. Families of victims and some members of Congress say the government has suppressed information about the attack. Clinton is campaigning with Sen. Charles Schumer, who joined the effort. She’s also backing legislation that would allow the Saudi government to be held responsible for any role in the attacks in US courts. Meanwhile, Sanders is backing legislation that would let Americans sue Saudi Arabia over the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The bill is opposed by the Obama administration but is important to families of 9/11 victims, some of whom believe Saudi officials played some part in the attacks. Sanders spoke in favor of the legislation, saying it’s important to have a full understanding of the “the possible role of the Saudi government in 9/11.” U.S. inquiries have not reported a link between the Saudi government or its senior officials and the attacks. But Sanders notes that some conclusions remain classified. Sanders says Saudi Arabia promotes an extreme and “very destructive” version of Islam. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers in the September 2001 attacks, which destroyed the World Trade Center and killed thousands, were citizens of Saudi Arabia. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Martha Roby: Time to walk away?
With all that’s been going on lately, attention has turned from what I believe to be one of the most important issues facing our country right now: the Iran nuclear talks. This past week, the Obama Administration quietly announced yet another deadline extension to the multilateral negotiations over Iran’s nuclear capability. Of course, the goal for the United States and our allies is to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. However, recent reports out of Switzerland have raised concerns that our negotiators have already conceded too much on major points such as uranium enrichment, economic sanctions relief and inspection access. The very fact that we keep extending the deadline tells you all you need to know about the priorities at play for the Administration. It seems that President Obama and Secretary Kerry are so concerned with settling on a deal, any deal, that they are not willing to walk away from a bad one as deadlines keep passing. We have had extension after extension and concession after concession – to the point that I’m not sure a good deal is even possible. As you know, a few months ago I traveled to the Middle East and visited the countries that would be directly dealing with a nuclear Iran: Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. These are our allies and they are rightly concerned that what is being brokered isn’t good at all. We cannot forget how high the stakes are here. If a bad deal is ratified, we aren’t just talking about a nuclear-armed Iran; we are talking about setting in motion a chain of events that could lead to multiple countries in this very volatile region wanting to become nuclear as well. And, after seeing the international community reward Iran’s hostility and obstinance with a nuclear deal, who would blame them? Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Corker of Tennesee, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been outspoken in his concerns and recently wrote a letter to President Barack Obama saying in part, “Walking away from a bad deal at this point would take courage, but it would be the best thing for the United States, the region and the world.” I agree with Senator Corker that walking away from a bad deal would be the better option. No matter the outcome, I’m glad that Congress will have the final say over whether or not to lift sanctions on Iran. We cannot allow President Obama and Secretary Kerry to put their desire for a “legacy” achievement above the best interests of our nation and our allies. Martha Roby represents Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District. She is in her third term.
