The Dispatch
Via Archive.ph
The Tariffs were always a from of economic warfare, to waged against other nations
1: Trump Imposes Tariffs on Countries Supporting Greenland
President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post on Saturday that he would impose an additional 10 percent tariff on eight European countries—Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the U.K.—for deploying a small joint force to Greenland to conduct reconnaissance. Trump said the tariffs would take effect on February 1 and increase to 25 percent on June 1, adding they “will be due and payable until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.” The leaders of the eight European nations responded in a joint statement, writing that “tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.” To learn more about Trump’s campaign to acquire Greenland, read Thursday’s TMD.
- Bloomberg reported Sunday that French President Emmanuel Macron plans to request that European Union leaders activate the EU’s anti-coercion instrument, a never-before-used mechanism created in 2023 that would implement further trade restrictions on the U.S., while also placing July 2025’s U.S.-EU trade deal in jeopardy. EU ambassadors met in Brussels later that night to discuss a potential response.
- On Friday, a bipartisan group of American lawmakers met with Danish lawmakers in Copenhagen.
- The same day, the chief military leader of Denmark’s Greenland-based Joint Arctic Command, Major General Soren Andersen, said that his priority is preparing against potential threats from Russia. “I don’t see a NATO ally attacking another NATO ally,” he said.
The EU is well positioned to trade with China and Russia and should do so- As they were before
2: Trump Issues More Pardons
Trump keeps right on pardoning criminals
Trump issued 14 pardons and eight commutations on Thursday and Friday. To learn more about Trump’s use of the pardon power, read the December 11 issue ofTMD. Last week’s pardons included:
- Former Puerto Rican Gov. Wanda Vazquez Garced—who was indicted in August 2022 for allegedly engaging in a bribery scheme to fund her 2020 re-election campaign—along with Garced’s two co-defendants.
- Venezuelan-Italian banker Julio Martin Herrera Velutini, whose daughter donated $3.5 million to Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc.
- Adriana Camberos, a California businesswoman who was convicted of wire fraud in October 2024 for making tens of millions of dollars by giving false information to consumer goods and food manufacturers. She received a commutation by Trump in 2021 after being convicted for operating illegal business schemes.
3: More Details on the U.S. Campaign in Venezuela
Reuters reported Saturday that U.S. officials had been communicating with Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello months before the U.S. apprehended Nicolás Maduro in a raid earlier this month. Sources told Reuters that the Trump administration has continued talks with Cabello, including warning him against ordering violence against opposition members. The Associated Press also reported Saturday that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has categorized acting Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodríguez as a “priority target” for several years, with one confidential informant telling the federal agency in 2021 that she was running a money laundering scheme in the Caribbean
4: Ukraine Meetings in Florida
Ukrainian officials met with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law and foreign policy adviser, Jared Kushner, in Florida over the weekend for a two-day discussion of prospective security guarantees and post-war reconstruction proposals. On Sunday, Ukrainian lead negotiator Rustem Umerov said that discussions focused on “practical mechanisms and carrying out and implementing them,” adding that both sides plan to meet again later this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine’s defense systems were “insufficient” and that some were currently “without missiles.
David Barnea—the director of Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad—arrived in Miami on Friday to discuss with U.S. officials prospective responses to Iran’s violent crackdown.
Leaders of an Iraq-based Kurdish separatist group told the Associated Press that they have provided military and financial support to the anti-government protesters.
Reza Pahlavi—the son of the deposed shah of Iran—urged Trump during a press conference on Friday to intervene and support the anti-government protesters in the country, laying out a plan to lead the country through a prospective transition to democratic governance. On Sunday night, hackers broadcast footage supporting Pahlavi on Iranian state television transmissions.5:Iran Blames Trump for Killings
In a Saturday speech—later reiterated on Twitter—Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei admitted that thousands had died in the country’s protests, but blamed the demonstrations and the deaths on U.S. interference. “We find the U.S. President guilty due to the casualties, damages and slander he inflicted upon the Iranian nation,” Khamenei’s account posted. Trump had commended the Iranian regime on Friday, posting on Truth Social that he “greatly respect[s] the fact that they canceled” the execution of more than 800 protesters scheduled to take place last week. But when asked about Khamenei’s posts over the weekend, Trump toldPolitico, “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran.” On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that “any aggression” against Khamenei would be treated as “tantamount to all-out war against” the country.
Reza Pahlavi—the son of the deposed shah of Iran—urged Trump during a press conference on Friday to intervene and support the anti-government protesters in the country, laying out a plan to lead the country through a prospective transition to democratic governance. On Sunday night, hackers broadcast footage supporting Pahlavi on Iranian state television transmissions.
David Barnea—the director of Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad—arrived in Miami on Friday to discuss with U.S. officials prospective responses to Iran’s violent crackdown.
Leaders of an Iraq-based Kurdish separatist group told the Associated Press that they have provided military and financial support to the anti-government protesters.
As mentioned in a previous post- This would be the PKK providing guns and money to PJAK in Iran- They are the same
**More on the hacking of Iranian television
To broadcast the so called exiled crown prince (resident of the US)
Hackers disrupted Iranian state television satellite transmissions to air footage supporting the country’s exiled crown prince and calling on security forces to not “point your weapons at the people,” footage online showed early Monday, the latest disruption to follow nationwide protests in the country.
***Some Kurdish thugs in Iran were killed according to this group
Since they were given cash and arms from the PKK- I gotta figure they were up to no good!