News Updates from CLG
16 January 2016

Breaking:Iran Complies With Nuclear Deal; Sanctions Are Lifted | 16 Jan 2016 | International inspectors confirmed Saturday that Iran had dismantled large sections of its nuclear program, as agreed in a historic accord last summer, paving the way for the lifting of oil and financial sanctions by the United States and other world powers. The announcement came just hours after Iran said it had released four Americans, including The Washington Post reporter, Jason Rezaian, as part of a prisoner swap with the United States…In a statement, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, said that "agency inspectors on the ground verified that Iran has carried out all measures required under the JCPOA, to enable implementation day to occur," using the acronym for the accord, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Republicans now see a Trump-Cruz race, with time for a shift running out | 16 Jan 2016 | As the presidential primary moves into a more urgent and combative phase, there is growing acceptance among Republicans, including the Washington and financial elite, that Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are the two candidates most likely to become the party’s nominee. Their commanding performances at the sixth debate – along with their continued dominance in national and early state polls – has solidified the conclusion of many Republicans that the campaign is becoming a two-person contest. Long expected to become a race between an outsider and an establishment candidate, it is coming down instead as one between two outsiders, with dwindling time for their rivals to change the trajectory before the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1.

Ted Cruz Failed to Report a Second Campaign Loan in 2012 | 15 Jan 2016 | The Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, already facing scrutiny for not disclosing a Goldman Sachs loan he used for his 2012 Senate campaign, also failed to disclose a second loan, from Citibank, for the same race, according to a letter he sent Thursday to federal election officials. The one-page letter said that the "underlying source" of money for a series of personal loans Mr. Cruz made to his Senate campaign in Texas included both bank loans, which totaled as much as 1 million. Both loans were "inadvertently omitted" from the required filings, the letter said.

Ted Cruz Didn’t Disclose Loan From Goldman Sachs for His First Senate Campaign | 13 Jan 2016 | As Ted Cruz tells it, the story of how he financed his upstart campaign for the United States Senate four years ago is an endearing example of loyalty and shared sacrifice between a married couple. "Sweetheart, I’d like us to liquidate our entire net worth, liquid net worth, and put it into the campaign," he says he told his wife, Heidi, who readily agreed. But the couple’s decision to pump more than 1 million into Mr. Cruz’s successful Tea Party-darling Senate bid in Texas was made easier by a large loan from Goldman Sachs, where Mrs. Cruz works. That loan was not disclosed in campaign finance reports.

Oh-but-another reason why Jeb Bush is at 3% in the polls:Jeb Bush Proposes Putting NSA in Charge of Civilian Data, Cybersecurity –The GOP presidential candidate also proposed offering liability relief [!] to tech companies that share data with law enforcement officials. | 15 Jan 2016 | At the tail end of a sixth Republican presidential debate, dominated by personal feuds and mutual condemnation of the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush made a stunning proposal: Put the NSA in charge of civilian data and cybersecurity. The proposal, which represents a major expansion of the intelligence agency’s role, shocked some observers on Twitter, with some calling it akin to a "police state."

Poll: Donald Trump Widens His Lead in Republican Presidential Race –Businessman tops Sen. Ted Cruz by 13 points in WSJ/NBC poll with less than three weeks to go before the first votes | 14 Jan 2016 | Donald Trump has opened a double-digit lead over his next-closest Republican rival, less than three weeks before the first votes of the 2016 presidential race are cast, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds. A third of people who said they would vote in a Republican primary in the nationwide survey said they favored Mr. Trump to be the GOP nominee, followed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at 20% support, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at 13% and retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 12%.