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In this mailing:
* Alan M. Dershowitz: Trump and Netanyahu: Both Being Investigated for Made-Up Crimes
* Con Coughlin: China Bids to Replace US Influence in the Middle East


** Trump and Netanyahu: Both Being Investigated for Made-Up Crimes ([link removed])
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by Alan M. Dershowitz • November 27, 2019 at 5:00 am
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* The most striking similarity is that both are being investigated for actions that their legislatures have not explicitly made criminal.
* Politicians always seek good coverage and many vote with that in mind. Some even negotiate good coverage in advance of voting. That is why they have press secretaries and media consultants.
* Nor could a reasonable statute be drafted that covered Netanyahu's alleged conduct, but not that of other Knesset members who bartered their votes for good coverage. That is why no legislature in a country governed by the rule of law has ever made positive media coverage the "quid" or "quo" necessary for a bribery conviction, and that is why the bribery indictment of Netanyahu should not be upheld by the courts.
* [I]t is simply not a crime for a President to use his power over foreign policy for political, partisan or even personal advantage. Imagine Congress trying to pass a law defining what would constitute a criminal abuse of the foreign policy power, as distinguished from a political or moral abuse.... Presidents have even engaged in military actions for political gain.
* The central aspect of the rule of law is that no one may be investigated, prosecuted or impeached unless his conduct violates pre-existing and unambiguous prohibitions. Neither Congress nor prosecutors can make it up as they go along, because they, too, are not above the law.

The most striking similarity between the investigations being conducted against US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is that both are being investigated for actions that their legislatures have not explicitly made criminal. Pictured: Trump and Netanyahu at a joint press conference in Washington, D.C. on February 15, 2017. (Image source: The White House)

There are striking similarities, as well as important differences, between the investigations being conducted against American President Donald J. Trump by the US Congress, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was just indicted.

The most striking similarity is that both are being investigated for actions that their legislatures have not explicitly made criminal. Moreover, no legislature in any country governed by the rule of law would ever enact a general statute criminalizing such conduct. The investigations of these two controversial leaders are based on using general laws that have never previously been deemed to apply to the conduct at issue and stretching them to target specific political figures.

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** China Bids to Replace US Influence in the Middle East ([link removed])
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by Con Coughlin • November 27, 2019 at 4:00 am
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* In what could prove to be a serious challenge to the long-standing hegemony Washington has enjoyed in the region, Beijing is seeking to deepen its commercial ties in the Arab world, thereby encouraging Arab states to look to China to safeguard their future security needs rather than maintaining their traditional reliance on the US.
* Beijing is particularly keen to stress China's high-tech capacities in areas such as its position as a global leader in building 5G telecoms networks, as well as its Belt and Road Initiative, the ambitious economic plan to build trade networks across the world which is designed to deepen commercial ties with the Middle East.
* The US, however, might bear in mind that "withdrawing from 'forever wars'" might be seen by adversaries of the West as an invitation to move in.

China's commitment to supporting Iran is the main reason that Arab leaders remain wary of relying too heavily on China for their future security needs. Pictured: China's President Xi Jinping meets with Iran's "Supreme Leader" Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on January 23, 2016, in Iran. (Image source: khamenei.ir)

The confusion among Arab leaders over the Trump administration's policy towards its traditional allies in the region has opened the way for China to intensify its efforts to extend its influence in the Middle East.

In what could prove to be a serious challenge to the long-standing hegemony Washington has enjoyed in the region, Beijing is seeking to deepen its commercial ties in the Arab world, thereby encouraging Arab states to look to China to safeguard their future security needs rather than maintaining their traditional reliance on the US.

Beijing is particularly keen to stress China's high-tech capacities in areas such as its position as a global leader in building 5G telecoms networks, as well as its Belt and Road Initiative, the ambitious economic plan to build trade networks across the world which is designed to deepen commercial ties with the Middle East.

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