Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe lied four times, including to James Comey, about his authorization of leaks to the media, according to a Republican lawmaker familiar with an internal FBI report recommending McCabe’s firing.
“He didn’t lie just once; he lied four times,” Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Thursday.
“Four times he lied. He lied to James Comey. He lied to the [FBI’s] Office of Professional Responsibility, and he lied twice under oath to the inspector general.”
Jordan, a Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee, told The Daily Caller News Foundation earlier on Thursday the Office of Professional Responsibility report revealed McCabe not only did not tell Comey he authorized leaks to the media, he “affirmatively denied” he did so.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired McCabe on March 16, two days before his retirement, based on a recommendation from FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility. The ethics office determined McCabe gave misleading statements about authorizations he gave to an FBI official to speak with the media.
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WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND - Government Crimes and Corruption
March 30, 2018
March 29, 2018
Lawyers Cite Race In Defense Of Black FBI Agent Who Leaked Classified Info
A former FBI agent in Minnesota was motivated to leak classified information to The Intercept website, in part, because he is black. That’s according to lawyers for Terry James Albury, a former special agent who was charged in the leak case on Wednesday.
“Terry Albury served the U.S. with distinction both here at home and abroad in Iraq,” Albury attorneys JaneAnne Murray and Joshua Dratel said in a statement provided to the Star Tribune in Minneapolis.
“He accepts full responsibility for the conduct set forth in the Information. We would like to add that as the only African-American FBI field agent in Minnesota, Mr. Albury’s actions were driven by a conscientious commitment to long-term national security and addressing the well-documented systemic biases within the FBI.”
Between February 2016 and January 2017, Albury accessed classified documents regarding the FBI’s handling of confidential sources as well as to documents “relating to threats posed by certain individuals from a particular Middle Eastern country,” the Justice Department alleges.
The 17-year FBI veteran took screen shots of some of the documents and copy-and-pasted others provided to The Intercept, a 2014-founded website that covers national security and surveillance issues.
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“Terry Albury served the U.S. with distinction both here at home and abroad in Iraq,” Albury attorneys JaneAnne Murray and Joshua Dratel said in a statement provided to the Star Tribune in Minneapolis.
“He accepts full responsibility for the conduct set forth in the Information. We would like to add that as the only African-American FBI field agent in Minnesota, Mr. Albury’s actions were driven by a conscientious commitment to long-term national security and addressing the well-documented systemic biases within the FBI.”
Between February 2016 and January 2017, Albury accessed classified documents regarding the FBI’s handling of confidential sources as well as to documents “relating to threats posed by certain individuals from a particular Middle Eastern country,” the Justice Department alleges.
The 17-year FBI veteran took screen shots of some of the documents and copy-and-pasted others provided to The Intercept, a 2014-founded website that covers national security and surveillance issues.
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March 28, 2018
Christopher Wray: FBI ‘Too Slow’ In Producing Clinton And Russia Documents
The bureau has been “too slow” in providing Congress with documents related to investigations into Hillary Clinton’s email server and Russian meddling in the 2016 election, FBI Director Christopher Wray acknowledged on Tuesday.
To remedy the situation, Wray will double the number of FBI staff working on the document production, he said. The announcement comes in response to a subpoena House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte issued to the Justice Department March 22 for records related to the two investigations.
“Up until today, we have dedicated 27 FBI staff to review the records that are potentially responsive to Chairman Goodlatte’s requests. The actual number of documents responsive to this request is likely in the thousands. Regardless, I agree that the current pace of production is too slow,” Wray said in a statement.
“As the Director of the FBI, I am committed to ensuring that the Bureau is being transparent and responsive to legitimate congressional requests,” he added.
The 54 FBI staff will work two shifts per day — from 8 a.m. until midnight — “to expedite completion of this project,” President Donald Trump’s appointee, Wray, said.
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To remedy the situation, Wray will double the number of FBI staff working on the document production, he said. The announcement comes in response to a subpoena House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte issued to the Justice Department March 22 for records related to the two investigations.
“Up until today, we have dedicated 27 FBI staff to review the records that are potentially responsive to Chairman Goodlatte’s requests. The actual number of documents responsive to this request is likely in the thousands. Regardless, I agree that the current pace of production is too slow,” Wray said in a statement.
“As the Director of the FBI, I am committed to ensuring that the Bureau is being transparent and responsive to legitimate congressional requests,” he added.
The 54 FBI staff will work two shifts per day — from 8 a.m. until midnight — “to expedite completion of this project,” President Donald Trump’s appointee, Wray, said.
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March 27, 2018
Trump To Use Fence Funding To Start Building The Wall
President Donald Trump can use recently allocated funding for border security to begin building his proposed wall along the US-Mexico border, White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said Monday morning.
Confusion has surrounded the $1.6 billion allocated by Congress in its recent spending bill, of which only approximately $650 million can actually be used to bolster existing fencing along the border.
“The speaker told us you can use concrete,” host of “Fox & Friends” Steve Doocy posed to Gidley. “Senator Schumer says you can’t. Only improve the fence. What are you saying there? You can use it?”
Gidley responded “It’s my understanding you can,” noting that the “Hispanic caucus came out vehemently against this bill for two reasons.”
“One is because in the letter they wrote to the president it bolsters the president’s deportation force, quote-unquote, and it builds a wall.”
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders noted after the passage of the spending bill Wednesday that “100 miles” of new wall had been authorized by Congress.
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Confusion has surrounded the $1.6 billion allocated by Congress in its recent spending bill, of which only approximately $650 million can actually be used to bolster existing fencing along the border.
“The speaker told us you can use concrete,” host of “Fox & Friends” Steve Doocy posed to Gidley. “Senator Schumer says you can’t. Only improve the fence. What are you saying there? You can use it?”
Gidley responded “It’s my understanding you can,” noting that the “Hispanic caucus came out vehemently against this bill for two reasons.”
“One is because in the letter they wrote to the president it bolsters the president’s deportation force, quote-unquote, and it builds a wall.”
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders noted after the passage of the spending bill Wednesday that “100 miles” of new wall had been authorized by Congress.
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March 26, 2018
Mattis Has A Free Hand At The Pentagon. Will It Last With Bolton At Trump’s Side?
By most accounts, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis enjoys more independence from the White House than any of President Donald Trump’s cabinet secretaries.
Alone among Trump’s top advisers, the retired Marine general has been given free rein to run the Pentagon as he sees fit, shaping military policy in ways that sometimes conflict with the preferences of the National Security Council (NSC), and even the president himself.
Mattis has an uncanny ability to dissent from Trump’s policy positions while remaining in his good graces, as reporter Eliana Johnson explained in a POLITICO Magazine piece published Friday, “Why Trump Hasn’t Fired Mattis.”
During cabinet deliberations — and at times in public — Mattis opposed Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate change accord, decertify the Iran deal, implement tariffs on steel and aluminum, and move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Even so, his job security has never been seriously questioned, leading some administration officials to conclude that he is “bulletproof.”
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Alone among Trump’s top advisers, the retired Marine general has been given free rein to run the Pentagon as he sees fit, shaping military policy in ways that sometimes conflict with the preferences of the National Security Council (NSC), and even the president himself.
Mattis has an uncanny ability to dissent from Trump’s policy positions while remaining in his good graces, as reporter Eliana Johnson explained in a POLITICO Magazine piece published Friday, “Why Trump Hasn’t Fired Mattis.”
During cabinet deliberations — and at times in public — Mattis opposed Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate change accord, decertify the Iran deal, implement tariffs on steel and aluminum, and move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Even so, his job security has never been seriously questioned, leading some administration officials to conclude that he is “bulletproof.”
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March 23, 2018
James Clapper Provided ‘Inconsistent Testimony’ About Media Contacts, Report Claims
- James Clapper gave “inconsistent testimony” about contacts he had with the media while in office, according to a document
- Clapper was involved in a highly significant meeting with Trump two weeks before the president’s inauguration
- Republican lawmakers voted on Thursday to formally end the Russia probe
James Clapper, the director of national intelligence under former President Barack Obama, gave “inconsistent testimony” about contacts he had with the media while in office, according to a document released Thursday by Republicans on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
“Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, now a CNN national security analyst, provided inconsistent testimony to the Committee about his contacts with the media, including CNN,” reads one entry in a seven-page summary of findings from the committee’s Russia investigation.
The committee voted on Thursday to formally end the Russia probe. A 150-page report authored by Republicans will now undergo an intelligence community review before being released to the public.
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March 22, 2018
Andrew McCabe Opened Criminal Investigation On Jeff Sessions
As deputy director of the FBI last year, Andrew McCabe opened a criminal investigation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, according to a new report.
The investigation was sparked by a request from two Democratic senators who asserted that Sessions gave false testimony during his Senate confirmation hearing in January 2017 about contacts he had with Russia’s ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
Sessions was cleared of any wrongdoing last year, after meeting with the special counsel’s office as part of the Russia investigation, according to ABC News.
“The Special Counsel’s office has informed me that after interviewing the attorney general and conducting additional investigation, the attorney general is not under investigation for false statements or perjury in his confirmation hearing testimony and related written submissions to Congress,” Chuck Cooper, an attorney for Sessions, told ABC News.
Sources told ABC News that Sessions was unaware of the investigation when he fired McCabe last Friday. The former FBI No. 2 was terminated just two days before his retirement for “lack of candor” during interviews with investigators from the Department of Justice’s office of the inspector general.
The FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility recommended to Sessions that McCabe be fired for misleading investigators about his role in authorizing media leaks prior to the 2016 election. McCabe gave the green light to an FBI attorney to speak to a Wall Street Journal reporter in October 2016 about the investigations into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails and the Clinton Foundation.
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The investigation was sparked by a request from two Democratic senators who asserted that Sessions gave false testimony during his Senate confirmation hearing in January 2017 about contacts he had with Russia’s ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
Sessions was cleared of any wrongdoing last year, after meeting with the special counsel’s office as part of the Russia investigation, according to ABC News.
“The Special Counsel’s office has informed me that after interviewing the attorney general and conducting additional investigation, the attorney general is not under investigation for false statements or perjury in his confirmation hearing testimony and related written submissions to Congress,” Chuck Cooper, an attorney for Sessions, told ABC News.
Sources told ABC News that Sessions was unaware of the investigation when he fired McCabe last Friday. The former FBI No. 2 was terminated just two days before his retirement for “lack of candor” during interviews with investigators from the Department of Justice’s office of the inspector general.
The FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility recommended to Sessions that McCabe be fired for misleading investigators about his role in authorizing media leaks prior to the 2016 election. McCabe gave the green light to an FBI attorney to speak to a Wall Street Journal reporter in October 2016 about the investigations into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails and the Clinton Foundation.
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March 21, 2018
Schweizer: We Need Legislation to Disclose Deals Between Family Members of Politicians, Foreign Governments
Tuesday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” author and Breitbart senior editor-at-large Peter Schweizer discussed his new book, “Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends”.
After discussing Hunter Biden’s $1.5 billion deal with China, Schweizer said, “There is no disclosure. That has got to change. There has to be legislation says if your family members are doing deals with foreign governments American people need to know it.”
Schweizer said, “In the case of Mitch McConnell, Elaine Chao his wife her family is in the shipping business. If you look and dissect the shipping business they are completely dependent on the good graces of the Chinese government. In this case, Elaine Chao’s father gave a gift of 5 to $25 million dollars to Mitch McConnell, so they are direct beneficiaries.”
He continued, “What people don’t realize is where the money came from? It came from the Chinese government. Specifically, the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, business partner with the Chaos, is the largest military contractor in China.”
He added, “One of the things I argue in the book, if you look at Mitch McConnell’s record in the Senate he has become increasingly soft on China as it relates to military issues or trade issues. He is probably going to say ‘No, that is not true, it is not connected,’ but the pattern is overwhelming. It is about follow the money. Where we always end up when we look at corruption in politics, follow the money.”
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After discussing Hunter Biden’s $1.5 billion deal with China, Schweizer said, “There is no disclosure. That has got to change. There has to be legislation says if your family members are doing deals with foreign governments American people need to know it.”
Schweizer said, “In the case of Mitch McConnell, Elaine Chao his wife her family is in the shipping business. If you look and dissect the shipping business they are completely dependent on the good graces of the Chinese government. In this case, Elaine Chao’s father gave a gift of 5 to $25 million dollars to Mitch McConnell, so they are direct beneficiaries.”
He continued, “What people don’t realize is where the money came from? It came from the Chinese government. Specifically, the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, business partner with the Chaos, is the largest military contractor in China.”
He added, “One of the things I argue in the book, if you look at Mitch McConnell’s record in the Senate he has become increasingly soft on China as it relates to military issues or trade issues. He is probably going to say ‘No, that is not true, it is not connected,’ but the pattern is overwhelming. It is about follow the money. Where we always end up when we look at corruption in politics, follow the money.”
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March 20, 2018
Trump Hires Joe DiGenova To Serve On Legal Team
President Donald Trump has reportedly hired Joe diGenova, former United States attorney for the District of Columbia, to serve on his personal legal team.
According to The New York Times, diGenova will not serve in a “lead” capacity on Trump’s team. When asked about the potential new role by The Daily Caller, he responded simply, “no comment.”
DiGenova has frequently stated that the Russia probe was orchestrated by Obama-era FBI and DOJ officials, a line of reasoning which the president himself pushed over the weekend.
“The Mueller probe should never have been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime,” Trump tweeted on Saturday. “It was based on fraudulent activities and a Fake Dossier paid for by Crooked Hillary and the DNC, and improperly used in FISA COURT for surveillance of my campaign. WITCH HUNT!”
DiGenova stated during the interview on WMAL’s “Mornings on the Mall” that the investigator general’s report that led to McCabe’s firing could lead to other firings and will invariably result in a second special counsel being named to investigate the DOJ and FBI.
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According to The New York Times, diGenova will not serve in a “lead” capacity on Trump’s team. When asked about the potential new role by The Daily Caller, he responded simply, “no comment.”
DiGenova has frequently stated that the Russia probe was orchestrated by Obama-era FBI and DOJ officials, a line of reasoning which the president himself pushed over the weekend.
“The Mueller probe should never have been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime,” Trump tweeted on Saturday. “It was based on fraudulent activities and a Fake Dossier paid for by Crooked Hillary and the DNC, and improperly used in FISA COURT for surveillance of my campaign. WITCH HUNT!”
DiGenova stated during the interview on WMAL’s “Mornings on the Mall” that the investigator general’s report that led to McCabe’s firing could lead to other firings and will invariably result in a second special counsel being named to investigate the DOJ and FBI.
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March 19, 2018
Trump Calls Out Comey For Lying Under Oath
President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday that former FBI Director James Comey “clearly” lied under oath in his testimony before Congress in 2017.
“Wow, watch Comey lie under oath to Senator G,” he tweeted Sunday morning, “When asked ‘have you ever been an anonymous source … or known someone else to be an anonymous source…?’ He said strongly ‘never, no.’ He lied.”
Indeed, it does appear that Comey may have misrepresented the truth during his congressional testimony in 2017. The following is an excerpt from his questioning before Congress:
Former deputy director Andrew McCabe, who was recently fired, seemed to tell the story a little differently in a statement Saturday.
In response to some of the president’s tweets Saturday criticizing the pair, Comey tweeted that the American people will soon be able to judge who is “honorable and who is not.”
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“Wow, watch Comey lie under oath to Senator G,” he tweeted Sunday morning, “When asked ‘have you ever been an anonymous source … or known someone else to be an anonymous source…?’ He said strongly ‘never, no.’ He lied.”
Indeed, it does appear that Comey may have misrepresented the truth during his congressional testimony in 2017. The following is an excerpt from his questioning before Congress:
Former deputy director Andrew McCabe, who was recently fired, seemed to tell the story a little differently in a statement Saturday.
In response to some of the president’s tweets Saturday criticizing the pair, Comey tweeted that the American people will soon be able to judge who is “honorable and who is not.”
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March 16, 2018
Senate Panel Calls For Special Counsel To Investigate DOJ Handling Of Dossier
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are formally calling for a second special counsel to investigate the FBI and Justice Department’s handling of the Steele dossier.
The Republicans, led by Chairman Chuck Grassley, called on the Justice Department’s office of the inspector general to explore the FBI and DOJ’s handling of salacious document in February.
But in a letter sent Thursday to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, committee Republicans argued that a special counsel is needed because the inspector general’s office “does not have the tools that a prosecutor would to gather all the facts.”
They argued that the DOJ watchdog does not have the ability to obtain testimony from witnesses who are not Justice Department employees. It has recently emerged that government officials in agencies outside of the Justice Department and FBI handled the dossier prior to the 2016 election. Several State Department officials were aware of the document, and at least one official in that agency was in contact with Christopher Steele, the former MI6 officer who wrote the dossier.
“We believe that a special counsel is needed to work with the Inspector General to independently gather the facts and make prosecutorial decisions, if any are merited,” reads the letter to Sessions and Rosenstein.
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The Republicans, led by Chairman Chuck Grassley, called on the Justice Department’s office of the inspector general to explore the FBI and DOJ’s handling of salacious document in February.
But in a letter sent Thursday to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, committee Republicans argued that a special counsel is needed because the inspector general’s office “does not have the tools that a prosecutor would to gather all the facts.”
They argued that the DOJ watchdog does not have the ability to obtain testimony from witnesses who are not Justice Department employees. It has recently emerged that government officials in agencies outside of the Justice Department and FBI handled the dossier prior to the 2016 election. Several State Department officials were aware of the document, and at least one official in that agency was in contact with Christopher Steele, the former MI6 officer who wrote the dossier.
“We believe that a special counsel is needed to work with the Inspector General to independently gather the facts and make prosecutorial decisions, if any are merited,” reads the letter to Sessions and Rosenstein.
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March 15, 2018
Report: FBI Recommends Firing Andrew McCabe
- The FBI is calling for former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe to be fired
- McCabe came under scrutiny for his handling of the investigation into the Clinton Foundation
- Attorney General Jeff Sessions is likely to fire McCabe
The FBI determined in an internal review that former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe should be terminated, according to a report from The New York Times.
That leaves Attorney General Jeff Sessions in charge of determining whether to fire McCabe, who is set to retire with full benefits on Sunday.
The FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility issued the recommendation after receiving information from Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz. The watchdog has been conducting an investigation of the bureau’s handling of the Clinton email investigation
Horowitz has reportedly determined that McCabe encouraged FBI officials to speak to the media about an investigation into the Clinton Foundation.
A McCabe associate spoke to the Wall Street Journal in Oct. 2016 for an article about a bureaucratic standoff between the FBI and Justice Department over its various investigations into Clinton. The McCabe-linked source shot down an allegation that McCabe tried to stymie an investigation into the Clinton family charity.
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March 14, 2018
How The Southern Poverty Law Center Attacks And TERRORIZES Conservatives: A Firsthand and Account From A Former Member Of Congress
The Daily Caller’s Peter Hasson recently broke the exclusive story that the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is “policing content on YouTube as part of YouTube’s ‘Trusted Flaggers’ program.”
The SPLC put me on the list in 2013; I was in Congress then, a Spanish-speaking Republican, frequently seen in English and Spanish media. At the time, years before the issues were en vogue, I supported immigration reform as well as criminal justice reform, both policies clearly racist AF.
My “hater” ass made that SPLC hate list with some notable figures, including a neo-Nazi gunman “who stormed into a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, murdering six people before killing himself.” Sounds about right. The SPLC also put another member of Congress on the list: Senator Rand Paul. This guy despises minorities so much that, like me, he is a vocal opponent of the War on Drugs, rightly pointing out how it disproportionately harms minorities in our country.
What a racist dick.
How I made the list is almost as unbelievable as getting put on the list in the first place. A blogger published a roughly 15-second sound bite of me saying, “all options should be on the table” when it comes to a president, regardless of party affiliation, overstepping his or her executive boundaries.
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The SPLC put me on the list in 2013; I was in Congress then, a Spanish-speaking Republican, frequently seen in English and Spanish media. At the time, years before the issues were en vogue, I supported immigration reform as well as criminal justice reform, both policies clearly racist AF.
My “hater” ass made that SPLC hate list with some notable figures, including a neo-Nazi gunman “who stormed into a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, murdering six people before killing himself.” Sounds about right. The SPLC also put another member of Congress on the list: Senator Rand Paul. This guy despises minorities so much that, like me, he is a vocal opponent of the War on Drugs, rightly pointing out how it disproportionately harms minorities in our country.
What a racist dick.
How I made the list is almost as unbelievable as getting put on the list in the first place. A blogger published a roughly 15-second sound bite of me saying, “all options should be on the table” when it comes to a president, regardless of party affiliation, overstepping his or her executive boundaries.
Read the entire article
March 13, 2018
In 150-Page Report, House Intel Republicans Find No Evidence Of Collusion
- Republicans on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence have completed a 150-page report
- Lawmakers assert there is no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government
- The report will also detail how the infamous Steele dossier “made its way from Russian sources to the Clinton campaign”
- Republicans on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence have completed a 150-page report that asserts there is no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government.
The report will also make a more surprising claim: that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meddling in the 2016 campaign was not aimed at helping President Donald Trump defeat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
That assertion is at odds with a Jan. 6, 2017, assessment issued by the intelligence community about Russian meddling in the election.
The committee announced the release of the report on Monday, 426 days after the panel started its investigation into Russian interference in the election. Seventy-three interviews have been conducted in that time span, and more than 300,000 documents have been reviewed, according to committee Republicans.
“We have found no evidence of collusion, coordination, or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians,” reads an overview of the report, which the committee released Monday.
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March 12, 2018
Daniel McCarthy on Tariffs: ‘The Republican Party Was Built on Economic Nationalism’
Daniel McCarthy, the editor of the conservative Modern Age, told hosts Matthew Boyle and Amanda House on Breitbart News Saturday that the “Republican party was built on economic nationalism.”
Boyle first discussed McCarthy’s op-ed in the New York Times, which makes the case for President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum as well as his “America First” economics.
McCarthy wrote in the New York Times:
For 25 years, free-trade orthodoxy has been a bipartisan consensus among America’s policy elite. Conservatives might editorialize about it more, but liberal presidents arguably advanced free trade the most, from Bill Clinton’s signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement to Barack Obama’s negotiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. (George W. Bush, by contrast, put tariffs on steel, though he did so without the trade-war rhetoric that Mr. Trump has relished.) With his signing on Thursday of a tariff order, Mr. Trump appears once again to be setting himself against the mandarins of both parties.
McCarthy told Boyle and House that the economic nationalism was a pillar of the Republican party up until recent memory.
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Boyle first discussed McCarthy’s op-ed in the New York Times, which makes the case for President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum as well as his “America First” economics.
McCarthy wrote in the New York Times:
For 25 years, free-trade orthodoxy has been a bipartisan consensus among America’s policy elite. Conservatives might editorialize about it more, but liberal presidents arguably advanced free trade the most, from Bill Clinton’s signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement to Barack Obama’s negotiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. (George W. Bush, by contrast, put tariffs on steel, though he did so without the trade-war rhetoric that Mr. Trump has relished.) With his signing on Thursday of a tariff order, Mr. Trump appears once again to be setting himself against the mandarins of both parties.
McCarthy told Boyle and House that the economic nationalism was a pillar of the Republican party up until recent memory.
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March 9, 2018
OLEG DERIPASKA OP-ED: The Ever-Changing ‘Russia Narrative’ Is False Public Manipulation
In the comedy movie “Wag the Dog,” a fictitious U.S. president is on the cusp of losing an election over a real scandal. So a political spin doctor and Hollywood producer hired by his campaign instead distract the public by manufacturing “the appearance of a war” with Albania. The spin doctor explains: “It’s not a war, it’s a pageant. We need a theme, a song — some visuals.” The producer ascribes Albania a false motive against the United States: “They want to destroy our way of life!” The story line keeps changing to explain away emerging, inconvenient realities.
The ever-changing “Russia narrative” in American politics is today’s “Wag the Dog” scenario. Technology and the disintegration of evidence-based journalism permit a surprisingly small number of individuals to destroy bilateral or multilateral relations. Their motivation in shifting from an inconvenient reality into their desired reality is power and military-industrial commercial interests.
When I attended the Munich Security Conference in February, the extraordinary, coordinated message of a panel of U.S. senators was summarized by moderator Victoria Nuland, former assistant secretary of state under President Barack Obama, as: “Deep State-proud loyalists giving]broad reassurance about continuity.” One of the panelists, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), said: “What the Breitbart crowd would call the ‘Deep State’ is what many of us would call ‘knowledgeable professionals.’” The panel’s uniform message was essentially: Ignore Donald Trump and increase your defense budget to 2 percent, because the generals who are ‘operationalizing policy’ remain in charge.
When you owe the world $18 trillion, the only way to get them to “pay 2 percent for defense” is to manufacture a boogeyman. Russian novelist and pacifist Leo Tolstoy observed: “There is no war which was not hatched by the governments, the governments alone, independent of the interests of the people.”
What has been inelegantly termed the “Deep State” is really this: shadow power exercised by a small number of individuals from media, business, government and the intelligence community, foisting provocative and cynically false manipulations on the public. Out of these manipulations, an agenda of these architects’ own design is born.
Read the entire article
The ever-changing “Russia narrative” in American politics is today’s “Wag the Dog” scenario. Technology and the disintegration of evidence-based journalism permit a surprisingly small number of individuals to destroy bilateral or multilateral relations. Their motivation in shifting from an inconvenient reality into their desired reality is power and military-industrial commercial interests.
When I attended the Munich Security Conference in February, the extraordinary, coordinated message of a panel of U.S. senators was summarized by moderator Victoria Nuland, former assistant secretary of state under President Barack Obama, as: “Deep State-proud loyalists giving]broad reassurance about continuity.” One of the panelists, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), said: “What the Breitbart crowd would call the ‘Deep State’ is what many of us would call ‘knowledgeable professionals.’” The panel’s uniform message was essentially: Ignore Donald Trump and increase your defense budget to 2 percent, because the generals who are ‘operationalizing policy’ remain in charge.
When you owe the world $18 trillion, the only way to get them to “pay 2 percent for defense” is to manufacture a boogeyman. Russian novelist and pacifist Leo Tolstoy observed: “There is no war which was not hatched by the governments, the governments alone, independent of the interests of the people.”
What has been inelegantly termed the “Deep State” is really this: shadow power exercised by a small number of individuals from media, business, government and the intelligence community, foisting provocative and cynically false manipulations on the public. Out of these manipulations, an agenda of these architects’ own design is born.
Read the entire article
March 8, 2018
The Ninth Circuit Just Allowed Children To Sue Trump Over Global Warming
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday in favor of 21 children and young adults suing the U.S. government for not doing enough to protect their constitutional right to a stable climate.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judges refused to grant mandamus relief and block the U.S. District Court in Oregon from hearing the suit, which was originally filed by the environmental group Our Children’s Trust in 2015.
A federal judge in Oregon ruled in 2016 the 21 youngsters had standing to sue. President Donald Trump’s administration and oil and gas groups appealed the decision in June 2017. They asked judges to “end this clearly improper attempt to have the judiciary decide important questions of energy and environmental policy” and upset the balance of powers. The Ninth Circuit disagreed.
“There is enduring value in the orderly administration of litigation by the trial courts, free of needless appellate interference,” Judge Sidney Thomas wrote on behalf of the court.
“If appellate review could be invoked whenever a district court denied a motion to dismiss, we would be quickly overwhelmed with such requests, and the resolution of cases would be unnecessarily delayed,” Thomas wrote.
The ruling is a victory for environmental activists seeking to use the courts to force the Trump administration to issue regulations to phase out fossil fuels. Julia Olson, Our Children’s Trust chief counsel, said the ruling gives a “green light for trial.”
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The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judges refused to grant mandamus relief and block the U.S. District Court in Oregon from hearing the suit, which was originally filed by the environmental group Our Children’s Trust in 2015.
A federal judge in Oregon ruled in 2016 the 21 youngsters had standing to sue. President Donald Trump’s administration and oil and gas groups appealed the decision in June 2017. They asked judges to “end this clearly improper attempt to have the judiciary decide important questions of energy and environmental policy” and upset the balance of powers. The Ninth Circuit disagreed.
“There is enduring value in the orderly administration of litigation by the trial courts, free of needless appellate interference,” Judge Sidney Thomas wrote on behalf of the court.
“If appellate review could be invoked whenever a district court denied a motion to dismiss, we would be quickly overwhelmed with such requests, and the resolution of cases would be unnecessarily delayed,” Thomas wrote.
The ruling is a victory for environmental activists seeking to use the courts to force the Trump administration to issue regulations to phase out fossil fuels. Julia Olson, Our Children’s Trust chief counsel, said the ruling gives a “green light for trial.”
Read the entire article
March 7, 2018
Justice Dept Sues California For Using Sanctuary Cities To Skirt Fed Law
The Department of Justice sued the state of California Tuesday for using so-called sanctuary laws to violate aspects of the U.S Constitution.
The Trump administration and the Justice Department alleged late Tuesday night that three California laws obstruct enforcement of federal immigration law and harm public safety. The lawsuit comes as President Donald Trump continues to escalate a protracted battle against city ordinances that protect illegal aliens.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions will reference the lawsuit in a speech Wednesday at the California Peace Officers Association’s 26th Annual Law Enforcement Day. “We are fighting to make your jobs safer and to help you reduce crime in America. And I believe we are going to win,” according to an excerpt from the AG’s prepared speech.
California’s Democratic politicians howled indignation at the move.
“At a time of unprecedented political turmoil, Jeff Sessions has come to California to further divide and polarize America. Jeff, these political stunts may be the norm in Washington, but they don’t work here. SAD!!!” Gov. Jerry Brown told his Twitter followers shortly after the lawsuit was filed.
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The Trump administration and the Justice Department alleged late Tuesday night that three California laws obstruct enforcement of federal immigration law and harm public safety. The lawsuit comes as President Donald Trump continues to escalate a protracted battle against city ordinances that protect illegal aliens.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions will reference the lawsuit in a speech Wednesday at the California Peace Officers Association’s 26th Annual Law Enforcement Day. “We are fighting to make your jobs safer and to help you reduce crime in America. And I believe we are going to win,” according to an excerpt from the AG’s prepared speech.
California’s Democratic politicians howled indignation at the move.
“At a time of unprecedented political turmoil, Jeff Sessions has come to California to further divide and polarize America. Jeff, these political stunts may be the norm in Washington, but they don’t work here. SAD!!!” Gov. Jerry Brown told his Twitter followers shortly after the lawsuit was filed.
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March 6, 2018
Embattled Netanyahu Looks To Trump For Greater US Involvement In Syria
President Donald Trump hosted Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday at the White House, where the embattled Israeli leader made the case for a stronger U.S. response to Iranian military activity in Syria.
Netanyahu, who is facing legal troubles at home, has pushed for Washington and Jerusalem to form a united front against Tehran. In recent months, he has warned that Israel will retaliate against Iran for what he says is an Iranian military buildup along Israel’s border with Syria and Lebanon.
“I intend to discuss a series of issues with (Trump), but foremost Iran, its aggression, nuclear ambitions and aggressive actions in the Middle East, including along our very border,” Netanyahu told reporters ahead of his visit, according to Reuters.
Netanhayu’s visit comes as he is embroiled in a political corruption scandal. Israeli police recommended in February that he be indicted on bribery and breach of trust charges, following a 14-month investigation into his alleged acceptance of gifts and participation in a legislative quid pro quo scheme. Netanyahu has also been questioned by police in connection with a third corruption probe.
Under increasing pressure on the domestic front, Netanyahu hopes the Trump administration can provide support for his foreign policy and national security initiatives against Iran. One area of common ground is the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which both Netanyahu and Trump have criticized for its limited duration and the fact it does not address Tehran’s ballistic missile program or its support for anti-Israel militants throughout the region.
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Netanyahu, who is facing legal troubles at home, has pushed for Washington and Jerusalem to form a united front against Tehran. In recent months, he has warned that Israel will retaliate against Iran for what he says is an Iranian military buildup along Israel’s border with Syria and Lebanon.
“I intend to discuss a series of issues with (Trump), but foremost Iran, its aggression, nuclear ambitions and aggressive actions in the Middle East, including along our very border,” Netanyahu told reporters ahead of his visit, according to Reuters.
Netanhayu’s visit comes as he is embroiled in a political corruption scandal. Israeli police recommended in February that he be indicted on bribery and breach of trust charges, following a 14-month investigation into his alleged acceptance of gifts and participation in a legislative quid pro quo scheme. Netanyahu has also been questioned by police in connection with a third corruption probe.
Under increasing pressure on the domestic front, Netanyahu hopes the Trump administration can provide support for his foreign policy and national security initiatives against Iran. One area of common ground is the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which both Netanyahu and Trump have criticized for its limited duration and the fact it does not address Tehran’s ballistic missile program or its support for anti-Israel militants throughout the region.
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March 5, 2018
Trey Gowdy: A Second Special Counsel ‘May Be Unavoidable’
Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy said in an interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo Sunday that “we’re trending perhaps towards another special counsel” to investigate the Department of Justice.
“You know, Maria, this Democrat memo makes me smile. If it were up to Adam Schiff, if it were up to him it would have been a haiku, and not a memo because he did everything he could to keep us from finding out any of the information that was in either one of those memos,” he said.
“So Congress has proven itself incapable of investigating this FISA abuse. DOJ should not be looking into it. We need an independent arbiter that’s either the inspector general or special counsel.”
Gowdy also said, “Maria over the weekend, I’d counted up almost two dozen witnesses that the inspector general would not have access to, were he alone conducting this investigation, so I think we’re trending perhaps towards another special counsel because of this unique fact pattern and the fact that there are witnesses outside the reach of the inspector general.”
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“You know, Maria, this Democrat memo makes me smile. If it were up to Adam Schiff, if it were up to him it would have been a haiku, and not a memo because he did everything he could to keep us from finding out any of the information that was in either one of those memos,” he said.
“So Congress has proven itself incapable of investigating this FISA abuse. DOJ should not be looking into it. We need an independent arbiter that’s either the inspector general or special counsel.”
Gowdy also said, “Maria over the weekend, I’d counted up almost two dozen witnesses that the inspector general would not have access to, were he alone conducting this investigation, so I think we’re trending perhaps towards another special counsel because of this unique fact pattern and the fact that there are witnesses outside the reach of the inspector general.”
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March 2, 2018
Report: Andrew McCabe Authorized Media Leaks, Misled Investigators
The Department of Justice’s internal watchdog will criticize former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe for authorizing leaks to the media and giving misleading statements to investigators about doing so, according to two new reports.
McCabe, 49, authorized FBI officials to speak to the media for articles prior to the 2016 election, including one about an ongoing investigation into the Clinton Foundation, according to a report being prepared by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
The FBI No. 2 also misled watchdog investigators when they initially asked about the media disclosures, according to The Washington Post.
The New York Times also reported details of Horowitz’s report, which is expected to be released in March or April.
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McCabe, 49, authorized FBI officials to speak to the media for articles prior to the 2016 election, including one about an ongoing investigation into the Clinton Foundation, according to a report being prepared by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
The FBI No. 2 also misled watchdog investigators when they initially asked about the media disclosures, according to The Washington Post.
The New York Times also reported details of Horowitz’s report, which is expected to be released in March or April.
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March 1, 2018
House Intel Dems Are Accused Of Inaccurate Leaks Of Hope Hicks Testimony
Democrats on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence are being accused once again of leaking inaccurate information about the panel’s Russia investigation, this time from testimony given on Tuesday by White House communications director Hope Hicks.
In an interview on CNN on Wednesday, Rep. Tom Rooney, a Florida Republican, accused Democrats of leaking Hicks’ comment in her nine-hour interview that she has told “white lies” on behalf of President Donald Trump.
Hicks’ remarks were first reported by The New York Times. Numerous other outlets picked up the story, touting it as a bombshell.
But Rooney told CNN’s Erin Burnett that Hicks’ comments — as reported by the press — were innocuous. He also asserted that Hicks fell victim to “a trap” set by Democrats. The White House aide tendered her resignation on Wednesday, and it is unknown whether her testimony had anything to do with the decision.
“We’ve interviewed scores of witnesses and now we’ve gotten to the point now where we’re literally bringing people in for nine hours just so the Democrats can leak to the press something as ridiculous as ‘white lies,'” said Rooney, who was in the room when Hicks was being interviewed.
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In an interview on CNN on Wednesday, Rep. Tom Rooney, a Florida Republican, accused Democrats of leaking Hicks’ comment in her nine-hour interview that she has told “white lies” on behalf of President Donald Trump.
Hicks’ remarks were first reported by The New York Times. Numerous other outlets picked up the story, touting it as a bombshell.
But Rooney told CNN’s Erin Burnett that Hicks’ comments — as reported by the press — were innocuous. He also asserted that Hicks fell victim to “a trap” set by Democrats. The White House aide tendered her resignation on Wednesday, and it is unknown whether her testimony had anything to do with the decision.
“We’ve interviewed scores of witnesses and now we’ve gotten to the point now where we’re literally bringing people in for nine hours just so the Democrats can leak to the press something as ridiculous as ‘white lies,'” said Rooney, who was in the room when Hicks was being interviewed.
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