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Biden to pick Iran nuclear deal negotiator Wendy Sherman for deputy secretary of state: report
President-elect Joe Biden will nominate a chief architect of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Wendy Sherman, to serve as deputy secretary of state, Politico exclusively reported Tuesday.
Presently, Sherman has a senior counselor role at the Albright Stonebridge Group, the same firm where Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the president-elect’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, worked as a senior counselor too.
Two people familiar close to the presidential transition told Politico that Biden will pick the seasoned diplomat to serve under his nominee for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, another Obama administration alumnus. Under former President Barack Obama, Sherman was under secretary of state for political affairs and was a chief negotiator during the controversial Iran nuclear deal, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
MORE ON BIDEN FOREIGN POLICY: ‘That would be a mistake’: Nikki Haley urges Biden not to ditch all Trump foreign policies
President Donald Trump, a major critic of Iran and the JCPOA, withdrew the United States from the agreement and cranked up sanctions on the authoritarian state, much to the frustration of U.S. allies in the multilateral agreement.
“This was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made,” Trump argued in his May 8, 2018 announcement of the U.S. withdrawal. “It didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will.”
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Iran will begin 20 percent uranium enrichment ‘as soon as possible’
Ex-Israeli ambassador advises Biden against re-entering the Iran nuclear deal
Since leaving the Obama administration, Sherman has been a vocal critic of President Trump’s foreign policy. She has especially gone after him for his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a July 2020 article in Foreign Policy titled “The Total Destruction of U.S. Foreign Policy Under Trump,” Sherman, while also attacking Trump for his handling of Russian bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, wrote: “Years from now, we will hopefully discover the exact nature of Trump’s personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin beyond mere envy of power.”
Prior to serving under President Obama, Sherman also served in the Clinton administration as its policy coordinator for North Korea. Her role at the time has received scrutiny, with President George H.W. Bush’s Secretary of State James Baker and Trump’s former national security advisor John Bolton have both accused Sherman of “appeasement” toward the hostile totalitarian dictatorship.
You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.
In a significant development, Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was indicted on Thursday on federal gun charges as part of Special Counsel David Weiss’ ongoing investigation. The indictment alleges that Hunter Biden made false statements during the purchase of a firearm, among other charges.
The charges against Hunter Biden include:
• Making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm
• Making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer
•Possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance
According to the indictment, the alleged incident occurred on or about October 12, 2018, in the District of Delaware. Hunter Biden is accused of knowingly making a false and fictitious written statement during the acquisition of a Colt Cobra 38SPL Revolver. According to reports from Fox News, the statement, submitted on Form 4473, falsely certified that he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, or controlled substance.
Furthermore, the indictment further states that between October 12, 2018, and October 23, 2018, in the District of Delaware, Hunter Biden knowingly possessed the same firearm despite being an unlawful user of and addicted to controlled substances. This marks the first set of charges brought by Special Counsel David Weiss against Hunter Biden since being granted special counsel status.
The investigation came to public attention when it was reported by Fox News in 2021 that police had responded to an incident in 2018 involving a gun owned by Hunter Biden.
Reports state that, Hallie Biden, the widow of President Biden’s late son, Beau, who was in a relationship with Hunter at the time, discarded the gun. Hunter’s gun was thrown away in a dumpster near a market, located close to a school. It was subsequently revealed that Hunter Biden had purchased a gun earlier that same month.
Hunter Biden’s legal troubles do not end with the gun charges. Earlier in July, an original plea agreement collapsed, which would have seen him plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts for willful failure to pay federal income tax, thus avoiding jail time on a felony gun charge. Instead, he pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and one felony gun charge.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed David Weiss as special counsel to oversee the Hunter Biden investigation and related matters. The White House has declined to comment on these developments, which continue to draw significant public and media attention.
Follow Alexander Carter on Twitter @AlexCarterDC for more!
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