(2 September 2024)
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were scheduled to hold a meeting Monday with hostage negotiators, …
Archiv: William Burns
Biden‘s „war cabinet“: The key people advising him on the Israel-Hamas war
(Nov 4, 2023)
President Biden has been deeply involved in the U.S. response to the Israel-Hamas war — one of the thorniest challenges of his presidency so far — receiving briefings at least once per day and speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu several times a week.
The big picture: Biden is leaning on a tight circle of trusted aides and officials. Here‘s a look at who‘s in the room when major decisions are being made.
Report: Gaza mediators setting aside Philadelphi Corridor for now, focusing on other issues
Unnamed senior officials tell Channel 12 news that mediators in ceasefire-hostage deal talks have decided to set aside the thorny issue of Israel’s presence in two Gaza corridors under a potential agreement, and are focusing on other matters.
Egypt stresses rejection to Israeli presence in Rafah Border Crossing, Philadelphi Corridor
Egypt stressed to all concerned parties its rejection to any Israeli presence in Rafah Border Crossing or Philadelphi Corridor, a high-profile source told Egyptian media Monday.
Hamas and Israel float Marwan Barghouti’s release in future deal: Report
The proposal is under discussion as part of US, Qatari and Egyptian efforts to revive a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas like the one that brought a short-lived truce to the enclave, according to the Wall Street Journal.
CIA Director William Burns traveled to Warsaw, Poland on Monday for talks with Israeli Mossad chief David Barnea, and the Qatari prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani as part of the talks.
Prospects of long-term ceasefire depend on ‚difficult concessions‘ – report
Qatar‘s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said Tuesday that the country was „working to strengthen the Qatari mediation role in reaching a truce and then a permanent ceasefire.“
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns‘ visit to Qatar reported on Tuesday highlights seriousness of the ongoing negotiations. The CIA chief will meet the Mossad director in Doha.
Intelligence chiefs of Egypt, Israel, U.S. meet in Doha to discuss ceasefire extension in Gaza
A well-informed source told Al Qahera News that officials from Egypt, Qatar, the United States, and Israel would meet Tuesday in Doha to discuss the extension of the current temporary ceasefire in Gaza.
CIA director returns to Qatar for hostage talks with Israeli and Egyptian counterparts
Another person familiar with the trip said the CIA director would be joined in Doha by the director of Israel’s intelligence service Mossad, David Barnea, and the Director of Egyptian General Intelligence, Abbas Kamel.
Pentagon says nuclear submarine arrives in Middle East; CIA chief lands in Israel
Ohio-class submarine serves as key part of US nuclear deterrent force; Bill Burns meets with Mossad chief David Barnea, scheduled to meet with Netanyahu, war Cabinet on Monday
Jim Jordan, Mike Turner threaten CIA subpoena in Hunter Biden letter inquiry
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) are warning the CIA they could subpoena the agency if it does not produce documents related to a 2020 letter pushing back on the Hunter Biden laptop story.
“If the CIA does not produce all responsive documents, the Committees may resort to compulsory process,” Turner and Jordan wrote in the Wednesday letter to CIA Director William Burns, giving a May 30 deadline.
Who Are the Newly Revealed Jeffrey Epstein Associates?
(04.05.2023)
A multiple-part report from The Wall Street Journal has revealed a number of additional prominent people who were associates of Jeffrey Epstein’s. Their ties to the notorious sex trafficker and longtime high-society hobnobber were not previously known, having not appeared in Epstein’s infamous black book or in the public flight logs of passengers who traveled aboard his private jet before his jailhouse death in 2019 while awaiting trial.
The new reports also deepen public understanding of the ties between Epstein and some boldfaced names who he had previously been associated with. And they underscored just how frequently Epstein met with his high-flying pals.
Bill Gates, Leon Black, Thomas Pritzker: One Day in the Life of Jeffrey Epstein
(May 4, 2023)
On Monday, Sept. 8, 2014, Jeffrey Epstein had a full calendar. He was scheduled to meet that day with Bill Gates, Thomas Pritzker, Leon Black and Mortimer Zuckerman, four of the richest men in the country, according to schedules and emails reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Epstein also planned meetings that day with a former top White House lawyer, a college president and a philanthropic adviser, three of the dozens of meetings the Journal reported he had with each of them.
Jeffrey Epstein Documents, Part 2: Dinners With Lawrence Summers and Movie Screenings With Woody Allen
(May 3, 2023)
Jeffrey Epstein, far right, and some of the people he scheduled meetings with, clockwise from top left: Woody Allen, Ehud Barak, Terje Rød-Larsen, Eva Andersson-Dubin, Lawrence Summers, Leon Black, Bill Gates and Reid Hoffman.
White House won’t talk about CIA Director Burns meeting with Jeffrey Epstein
(02.05.2023)
CIA spokeswoman Tammy Kupperman Thorp provided the Washington Examiner with a statement that did not mention Epstein by name.
“Director Burns recalls being introduced by a mutual friend in Washington, DC, and then met with him once briefly in New York City, about a decade ago as the Director was preparing to leave government service,” the CIA spokeswoman said. “The Director did not know anything about him, other than he was introduced as an expert in the financial services sector and offered general advice on transition to the private sector. The Director does not recall any further contact, including receiving a ride to the airport. They had no relationship.”
White House declines to comment on CIA director‘s multiple meetings with Jeffrey Epstein
(May 2, 2023)
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the issue during a Tuesday briefing. The 2014 meetings saw Burns, who then severed as deputy secretary of state, meet Epstein twice: First in Washington and then again at Epstein‘s home in Manhattan.
Reporters pressed Jean-Pierre about the issue in the briefing room on Tuesday.
„Does President Biden have any reaction to CIA director William Burns meeting with Jeffrey Epstein in 2014? This, obviously, was after Epstein had served time for a sex crime and was a registered sex offender,“ a reporter asked.
„I‘m just not going to comment on that from here,“ Jean-Pierre replied brusquely.
Neue Papiere enthüllen prominente Kontakte des verurteilten Sexualstraftäters: So nah stand Epstein (†66) einer Schweizer Privatbank
Laut neu entdeckten Dokumenten des verstorbenen Finanziers und Pädophilen Jeffrey Epstein (†66) hat dieser gute Beziehungen mit der in Genf ansässigen Privatbank Edmond de Rothschild Group gepflegt. Dies geht aus Recherchen des «Wall Street Journals» hervor, das offenbar im Besitz von Epsteins privatem Kalender ist.
Nachdem Epstein 2019 wegen angeblichen Sexhandels mit minderjährigen Mädchen verhaftet worden war, versicherte die Bank noch, dass man Epstein nie getroffen habe und keine geschäftlichen Beziehungen zu ihm unterhalte. Jetzt teilte die Bank dem «Wall Street Journal» mit, dass diese früheren Aussagen nicht korrekt waren.
Epstein‘s Private Calendar Emerges: Among Prominent Names Listed Are Biden‘s CIA Chief, Goldman Top Lawyer
(01.05.2023)
One month after meeting with Epstein, in October 2014, Burns stepped down from this role at the State Department to serve as president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think tank. He ran it until he was nominated by Biden to serve as CIA director in early 2021.
Epstein’s Private Calendar Reveals Prominent Names, Including CIA Chief, Goldman’s Top Lawyer
The nation’s spy chief, a longtime college president and top women in finance. The circle of people who associated with Jeffrey Epstein years after he was a convicted sex offender is wider than previously reported, according to a trove of documents that include his schedules.
Epstein‘s VERY tangled web: Pedophile met with current CIA Director William Burns, Obama White House lawyer, Noam Chomsky and music director for the American Symphony Orchestra in the years AFTER his sex offence conviction
(30.04.2023)
Jeffrey Epstein‘s newly-released private calendar revealed he had scheduled meetings with a slew of prominent individuals, including the current CIA director, after he was convicted as a sex offender.
The documents contain emails and scheduled meetings with now-CIA Director William Burns, Bard College president Leon Botstein, Obama‘s White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler and professor Noam Chomsky.
The meetings were scheduled between 2013 to 2017 after the pedophile had served time in jail in 2008 for sex crimes involving a teenage girl.
CIA director visited Saudi Arabia, aired ‚frustration‘ over Iran, Syria thaw
Saudi Arabia is mulling an invite to Assad to the Arab League summit that Riyadh will host next month.
The United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Oman, Algeria and Jordan have all resumed diplomatic ties with Assad, whose government remains under heavy US sanctions.
Geheimdienstchef: Keine Waffen aus China für Moskau
US-Geheimdienstchef William Burns hatte am Wochenende gesagt, dass Washington „überzeugt“ davon sei, dass die Führung in Peking Waffenlieferungen an Russland in Betracht ziehe. Laut einem Bericht des „Wall Street Journal“ erwägt China, Drohnen und Munition zu liefern.
Live: Ukraine intelligence chief sees no sign China plans to arm Russia
But when asked about the possibility in a lengthy interview with Voice of America published on Monday, Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said: „I do not share this opinion.“
„As of now, I do not think that China will agree to the transfer of weapons to Russia,“ he said. „I do not see any signs that such things are even being discussed.“
Video: CIA chief says US ‘confident’ China is mulling arms for Russia’s war on Ukraine
(27 February 2023)
The United States is “confident” that China is considering providing lethal equipment to support the Russian forces invading Ukraine, according to CIA director William Burns.
Such a step by China would be “a very risky and unwise bet,” the intelligence chief said in an interview aired Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
On Thursday, Mossad Director David Barnea concluded a “security-diplomatic” visit to Washington whose main goal was to dissuade the Biden administration from signing the JCPOA.
(09.09.2022)
Israel believes Iran deal unlikely before November
“In my estimation, it’s not going to happen in the very near future, not in the next few weeks,” one source, speaking not for attribution, said Sept. 6. “I think we’ll see continuation of a dialogue, very low key, until after the midterm elections.”
The assessment comes as the head of Mossad was the latest senior Israeli official to arrive for consultations in Washington this week.
However, Mossad director David Barnea has canceled earlier plans to brief the Senate Intelligence committee on Israeli objections to the Iran deal, sources said, and a committee spokesperson confirmed.
Barnea has completed a series of meetings with Burns, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and other top US national security officials.
During those meetings, he presented „sensitive intelligence“ to highlight the Islamic Republic‘s lies.
Mossad chief Barnea flies to Washington to try to halt Iran nuclear deal
(06.09.2022)
Mossad Director David Barnea left on Monday for Washington DC to hold a series of meetings with top officials from the White House, CIA Director William Burns, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Pentagon and the State Department to try to halt the reportedly impending Iran nuclear deal.
Pakistan NSA, ISI chief likely to visit America next week for talks on Afghanistan, says report
(24.08.2021)
Pakistan‘s National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf and ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed are likely to visit the US next week for talks with their American counterparts on the situation in Afghanistan as part of Washington‘s diplomatic efforts aimed at ensuring a peaceful transfer of power in the war-torn nation, according to a media report.
CIA-Direktor sucht das Gespräch mit Bolsonaro
Was hatte Burns also nun eigentlich in Brasilien zu erledigen? Sicherlich wurden nachrichtendienstliche Themen mit den Ministern behandelt, aber würde das eine so ungewöhnliche Reise des CIA-Chefs rechtfertigen?
William Burns als neuer CIA-Chef bestätigt
Biden kündigte bereits vor seiner Amtseinführung am 20. Jänner an, dass er den 64-Jährigen als CIA-Chef einsetzen will.