The much-anticipated trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort begins Tuesday, but observers hoping for evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia are likely to be disappointed.
Prosecutors working for special counsel Robert Mueller plan to call nearly three dozen witnesses and introduce 500 pieces of evidence in an effort to show that Manafort engaged in bank fraud and evaded taxes on income he received for work on behalf of a Ukrainian politician.
Among the witnesses are Manafort’s accountants and Rick Gates, a former Manafort business partner and Trump campaign aide who accepted a plea deal with Mueller in February. Tad Devine, the chief strategist for the Bernie Sanders campaign, is also on the witness list. Devine worked with Manafort on behalf of Viktor Yanukovych, the former president of Ukraine.
But the prosecutors, led by Andrew Weissmann, a Justice Department official who attended Hillary Clinton’s ill-fated Election Night party, have no plans to introduce evidence of a conspiracy between the campaign and the Kremlin.
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WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND - Government Crimes and Corruption
July 31, 2018
July 30, 2018
REPORT: FBI HAS ‘ONGOING’ RELATIONSHIP WITH LEFT-WING SPLC, WHICH ONCE PUT BEN CARSON ON AN ‘EXTREMIST WATCH LIST’
- The FBI has an ongoing relationship with the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center, Fox News host Tucker Carlson reported.
- The SPLC once placed HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson on an “extremist watch list,” before backing down and removing him four months later.
- The SPLC also works with Amazon, Twitter, Google and Facebook in their efforts to police their platforms.The SPLC’s work has been plagued by inaccuracies and the group paid out a $3.3 million settlement in April.
The FBI has an “ongoing” relationship with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a left-wing nonprofit that once placed Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson on an “extremist watch list.”
That’s according to an exclusive report from Fox News host and Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson, who broke the news on his show “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Friday.
“Well as you already know if you’ve been paying any attention at all, the Southern Poverty Law Center is a fraudulent enterprise,” said Carlson. “It’s a left-wing political group that uses ‘hate crime’ designations to target its ideological enemies and to crush people.”
“The SPLC has repeatedly been allowed to brief the FBI on alleged domestic terrorist threats to this country,” Carlson reported. “Disturbingly though, the relationship is ongoing, if you can believe it.”
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July 27, 2018
DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION, JUDICIAL WATCH SEEK TO PRESERVE COMEY’S PRIVATE EMAILS
The Daily Caller News Foundation and Judicial Watch asked a federal judge Thursday to order the Department of Justice to preserve all of former FBI Director James Comey’s personal emails that were related to two Freedom of Information Act requests.
Both groups filed their motion before U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Colleen Judge Kollar-Kotelly, who was nominated by former President Ronald Reagan.
Judicial Watch and TheDCNF filed suit against the Justice Department on April 25 as part of the FOIA requests, which seek records of Comey’s meetings and conversations with then-President Barack Obama, as well as summaries of conversations the former FBI director held with then-Vice President Joe Biden, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, and Sens. John McCain and Chuck Schumer.
The new motion asks the court to order the Justice Department to preserve all of Comey’s records related to the requests to ensure they are not destroyed.
After multiple requests from Judicial Watch and TheDCNF, the FBI on July 26 said it had sent a request to Comey to preserve federal records responsive to the FOIA requests and “asked him to return any agency records in his possession not already returned to the FBI,” the motion said.
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Both groups filed their motion before U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Colleen Judge Kollar-Kotelly, who was nominated by former President Ronald Reagan.
Judicial Watch and TheDCNF filed suit against the Justice Department on April 25 as part of the FOIA requests, which seek records of Comey’s meetings and conversations with then-President Barack Obama, as well as summaries of conversations the former FBI director held with then-Vice President Joe Biden, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, and Sens. John McCain and Chuck Schumer.
The new motion asks the court to order the Justice Department to preserve all of Comey’s records related to the requests to ensure they are not destroyed.
After multiple requests from Judicial Watch and TheDCNF, the FBI on July 26 said it had sent a request to Comey to preserve federal records responsive to the FOIA requests and “asked him to return any agency records in his possession not already returned to the FBI,” the motion said.
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July 26, 2018
GOP LAWMAKERS INTRODUCED ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT AGAINST ROD ROSENSTEIN
Republican lawmakers introduced articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the top official in the Department of Justice’s oversight of Robert Mueller’s investigation into collusion between Russia and Trump’s campaign on Wednesday.
Rep. Mark Meadows, North Carolina, and Rep. Jim Jordan, Ohio, led the charge along with nine other congress members to begin the articles after they met with DOJ officials. The other co-sponsors have not been named publicly yet.
“The impeachment articles come as evident continues to mount regarding the Department of Justice’s problematic decision making during the 2016 campaign and conduct surrounding the transition to President Trump’s administration in 2017,” a joint statement explained.
They cite a lack of accountability for the failures of the Department of Justice’s oversight of the special counsel, and the lack of cooperation between them and Congress as the reason for the decision.
“For 9 months we’ve warned them consequences were coming, and for 9 months we’ve heard the same excuses backed up by the same unacceptable conduct. Time is up and the consequences are here. It’s time to find a new Deputy Attorney General who is serious about accountability and transparency,” Meadows contributed in the statement.
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Rep. Mark Meadows, North Carolina, and Rep. Jim Jordan, Ohio, led the charge along with nine other congress members to begin the articles after they met with DOJ officials. The other co-sponsors have not been named publicly yet.
“The impeachment articles come as evident continues to mount regarding the Department of Justice’s problematic decision making during the 2016 campaign and conduct surrounding the transition to President Trump’s administration in 2017,” a joint statement explained.
They cite a lack of accountability for the failures of the Department of Justice’s oversight of the special counsel, and the lack of cooperation between them and Congress as the reason for the decision.
“For 9 months we’ve warned them consequences were coming, and for 9 months we’ve heard the same excuses backed up by the same unacceptable conduct. Time is up and the consequences are here. It’s time to find a new Deputy Attorney General who is serious about accountability and transparency,” Meadows contributed in the statement.
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July 25, 2018
FORMER SPECIAL OPS OFFICIAL ‘SHOCKED’ WHITE HOUSE ISN’T CONSIDERING STRIPPING HILLARY CLINTON’S SECURITY CLEARANCE
- Two retired colonels say former Secretary of State and failed 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton should have had her security clearance pulled.
- One, retired Col. James Williamson, was surprised Clinton was not included in the White House’s announcement that it was considering revoking six former national security officials’ security clearances.
- The colonels’ organization, OSPEC, twice asked then-Secretary of State John Kerry in 2015 to suspend the security clearances of Hillary Clinton and her aides, Cheryl Mills, Huma Abedin, and Jacob Sullivan.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was not named in the White House’s Monday announcement that it was considering revoking six former national security officials’ security clearances, a 33-year special forces veteran noticed.
President Donald Trump is considering revoking the security clearances of former CIA Director John Brennan; Comey; former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper; former Director of National Security Michael Haden; former National Security Adviser Susan Rice; and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
Those former officials have criticized Trump, yet Clinton — the president’s 2016 rival — was not included on the list.
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July 24, 2018
CARTER PAGE SCOFFS AT ‘ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS’ ALLEGATIONS OF BEING A RUSSIAN AGENT
Tucker Carlson interviewed former Trump adviser Carter Page to discuss the FISA warrants against him on Monday night’s edition of “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
Before bringing him on, Carlson noted that Page is a man who, by the fact that he actually “walks free” despite being called a Russian agent by Democrats, is a “living rebuke to this whole grotesque [Russia] hoax.”
“This [FISA] application repeatedly describes you as an agent of the Russian government, repeatedly,” Tucker told Page. “Are you aware of any criminal charges pending against you, do you expect to be charged for working for the Russian government?”
“Not only am I not aware of it, Tucker, there’s also the fact that, no question I have ever been asked by the FBI in terms of any of these fake theories related to the dossier as you’re alluding to, none of those made any sense whatsoever, so there’s not even a premise by which I could even conceivably be charged,” said Page before calling the charge “absolutely ridiculous.”
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Before bringing him on, Carlson noted that Page is a man who, by the fact that he actually “walks free” despite being called a Russian agent by Democrats, is a “living rebuke to this whole grotesque [Russia] hoax.”
“This [FISA] application repeatedly describes you as an agent of the Russian government, repeatedly,” Tucker told Page. “Are you aware of any criminal charges pending against you, do you expect to be charged for working for the Russian government?”
“Not only am I not aware of it, Tucker, there’s also the fact that, no question I have ever been asked by the FBI in terms of any of these fake theories related to the dossier as you’re alluding to, none of those made any sense whatsoever, so there’s not even a premise by which I could even conceivably be charged,” said Page before calling the charge “absolutely ridiculous.”
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July 23, 2018
GOWDY: IF COLLUSION EVIDENCE EXISTED, ADAM SCHIFF WOULD HAVE LEAKED IT
South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy said Sunday that, after 18 months of congressional investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government, he has yet to see a “scintilla” of evidence showing that there was coordination between the two sides.
The Republican also said it is unlikely that any Democrat has seen evidence of collusion because if they had, California Rep. Adam Schiff would have already leaked it.
“I have not seen one scintilla of evidence that this president colluded, conspired, confederated with Russia, and neither has anyone else, or you may rest assured Adam Schiff would have leaked it,” Gowdy said during an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”
“That’s why they’ve moved off of collusion onto obstruction of justice, which is now their current preoccupation,” he added.
Gowdy, who is a member of the House Intelligence Committee and chairman of the Committee on House Oversight & Government Reform, said he has likely seen more government documents related to the collusion investigation than anyone in Congress.
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The Republican also said it is unlikely that any Democrat has seen evidence of collusion because if they had, California Rep. Adam Schiff would have already leaked it.
“I have not seen one scintilla of evidence that this president colluded, conspired, confederated with Russia, and neither has anyone else, or you may rest assured Adam Schiff would have leaked it,” Gowdy said during an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”
“That’s why they’ve moved off of collusion onto obstruction of justice, which is now their current preoccupation,” he added.
Gowdy, who is a member of the House Intelligence Committee and chairman of the Committee on House Oversight & Government Reform, said he has likely seen more government documents related to the collusion investigation than anyone in Congress.
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July 20, 2018
TRUMP HAS BEEN SET UP, FRAMED AND RELENTLESSLY PERSECUTED BY THE AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY
The frenzied furor and fomented outrage over President Donald Trump’s reluctance to express blind trust for our “intelligence community” defy reason and reality. In their choreographed cries of contempt for Mr. Trump, the “left’s” increasingly shrill proclamations of political apocalypse make “Chicken Little” look rational. At least we’ve moved on from the impending annihilation from the nuclear war with North Korea.
Power is the only thing leftists worship, and they are unraveling in front of our eyes without it. They can’t control Mr. Trump. That alone drives them insane. They have no policies that work. Cities and states they control are criminal sanctuaries and bankrupt cesspools. Check out San Francisco, Portland and Chicago.
Each of the president’s remarkable accomplishments — from unprecedented high employment, our booming economy and the tax cuts to his historic summit with Kim Jong-un — highlights their abject failures and serves to prick their narcissistic egos. The country is doing better without them every day. Even worse, they are desperate to keep their countless crimes and abuses covered up.
We know that there are many honorable, dedicated and legitimate members of our multiple intelligence and law enforcement agencies who strive to protect us the right way every day. So, why might any of us not just declare blind trust for our “intelligence community” writ large? Let me count the ways.
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Power is the only thing leftists worship, and they are unraveling in front of our eyes without it. They can’t control Mr. Trump. That alone drives them insane. They have no policies that work. Cities and states they control are criminal sanctuaries and bankrupt cesspools. Check out San Francisco, Portland and Chicago.
Each of the president’s remarkable accomplishments — from unprecedented high employment, our booming economy and the tax cuts to his historic summit with Kim Jong-un — highlights their abject failures and serves to prick their narcissistic egos. The country is doing better without them every day. Even worse, they are desperate to keep their countless crimes and abuses covered up.
We know that there are many honorable, dedicated and legitimate members of our multiple intelligence and law enforcement agencies who strive to protect us the right way every day. So, why might any of us not just declare blind trust for our “intelligence community” writ large? Let me count the ways.
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July 19, 2018
SEN. RAND PAUL GOES AFTER JOHN BRENNAN AFTER HE CALLS TRUMP ‘TREASONOUS’
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul went after former CIA director John Brennan following his comments calling President Trump “treasonous” Wednesday on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
“The former director of the CIA, you think of that as a sober minded person, responsible person, kind of a James Bond with maybe an advanced degree. Here you have a naked partisan nut cake describing a press conference as treason,” said Carlson. “How should that make us feel as American citizens?”
“It makes me wonder whether he should be getting a government pension if he’s going to be disrespecting the commander-in-chief, calling the president treasonous. That’s about as overtop as you can imagine,” responded Paul.
Tucker then brought up that “treason is a death penalty offense” and yet that is how Brennan “is describing views.”
“You have to realize John Brennan started his illustrious career by voting for the Communist Party, you know that’s who he wanted to win the presidency, back in the 70s,” Paul said. “When he came to be head of the CIA, I filibustered him because I thought he was bad news from the very beginning.”
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“The former director of the CIA, you think of that as a sober minded person, responsible person, kind of a James Bond with maybe an advanced degree. Here you have a naked partisan nut cake describing a press conference as treason,” said Carlson. “How should that make us feel as American citizens?”
“It makes me wonder whether he should be getting a government pension if he’s going to be disrespecting the commander-in-chief, calling the president treasonous. That’s about as overtop as you can imagine,” responded Paul.
Tucker then brought up that “treason is a death penalty offense” and yet that is how Brennan “is describing views.”
“You have to realize John Brennan started his illustrious career by voting for the Communist Party, you know that’s who he wanted to win the presidency, back in the 70s,” Paul said. “When he came to be head of the CIA, I filibustered him because I thought he was bad news from the very beginning.”
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July 18, 2018
LISA PAGE CONTRADICTED PETER STRZOK’S TESTIMONY
Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe claimed on Monday that FBI lawyer Lisa Page contradicted many parts of testimony from her colleague and lover Peter Strzok.
Page testified for two days behind closed doors about her influence on the FBI’s investigations into Russia and Hillary Clinton’s emails less than one week after Strzok.
Strozk denied that texts he exchanged with Page — particularly one promising they would “stop” Trump from becoming president — were indicative of bias that affected the investigations. However, Ratcliffe alleged that Page contradicted Strzok in her testimony and even admitted that the texts “mean exactly what they say.”
“There are differences in their testimony on many cases,” Ratcliffe said on Monday. “She admits that the text messages mean exactly what they say, as opposed to Agent Strzok, who thinks that we have all misinterpreted his own words on any text message that might be negative.”
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Page testified for two days behind closed doors about her influence on the FBI’s investigations into Russia and Hillary Clinton’s emails less than one week after Strzok.
Strozk denied that texts he exchanged with Page — particularly one promising they would “stop” Trump from becoming president — were indicative of bias that affected the investigations. However, Ratcliffe alleged that Page contradicted Strzok in her testimony and even admitted that the texts “mean exactly what they say.”
“There are differences in their testimony on many cases,” Ratcliffe said on Monday. “She admits that the text messages mean exactly what they say, as opposed to Agent Strzok, who thinks that we have all misinterpreted his own words on any text message that might be negative.”
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July 17, 2018
RAND PAUL GOES AFTER RESPONSE TO TRUMP, PUTIN MEETING, SAYS IT’S ‘TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME’
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said critics of President Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladmir Putin in Helsinki, Finland have “Trump derangement syndrome” Monday on CNN.
“Let me get right to the questioning. Do you believe that President Trump’s meeting with Putin made America safer?” asked CNN host Wolf Blitzer.
“You know, I think engagement with our adversaries, conversation with our adversaries is a good idea. Even in the height of the cold War, maybe at the lowest ebb when we were in the midst of the Cuban missile crisis, I think it was a good thing that Kennedy had a direct line to Khrushchev. I think it was a good thing that we continued to have ambassadors to Russia even when we really objected greatly to what was going on, even during Stalin’s regime. So I think that it is a good idea to have engagement,” Paul said.
“And I think that what is lost in this is that I think there’s a bit of Trump derangement syndrome. I think there are people that hate the president so much that this could have easily been President Obama early in the first administration setting the reset button and trying to have better relations with Russia and I think it’s lost on people that they are a nuclear power,” Paul continued.
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“Let me get right to the questioning. Do you believe that President Trump’s meeting with Putin made America safer?” asked CNN host Wolf Blitzer.
“You know, I think engagement with our adversaries, conversation with our adversaries is a good idea. Even in the height of the cold War, maybe at the lowest ebb when we were in the midst of the Cuban missile crisis, I think it was a good thing that Kennedy had a direct line to Khrushchev. I think it was a good thing that we continued to have ambassadors to Russia even when we really objected greatly to what was going on, even during Stalin’s regime. So I think that it is a good idea to have engagement,” Paul said.
“And I think that what is lost in this is that I think there’s a bit of Trump derangement syndrome. I think there are people that hate the president so much that this could have easily been President Obama early in the first administration setting the reset button and trying to have better relations with Russia and I think it’s lost on people that they are a nuclear power,” Paul continued.
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July 16, 2018
RAND PAUL: RUSSIA IS ALWAYS GOING TO MEDDLE IN OUR ELECTIONS, JUST LIKE WE’RE GOING TO MEDDLE IN THEIRS
Russia meddled in the 2016 election in part as a retaliation against the U.S. influencing elections in eastern Europe, Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul said Sunday.
“I think really we mistake our response if we think it’s about accountability from the Russians,” Paul told Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union. “They are going to spy on us, do spy on us. They are going to interfere in our elections, we also do the same,” Paul said.
The comments, which come just a day before President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, show a realism that neither staunch Republicans or Democrats discuss, which is that Russia attempted various hacking and disinformation campaigns surrounding the 2016 election to discredit former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“I would say it’s not morally equivalent,” Paul said of Russia’s election meddling relating to America’s campaigns to influence foreign elections. “But I think in [Russia’s] mind it is. It’s important to know in your adversary’s mind the way they perceive thing. They react to our interference in their elections and one of the reasons they didn’t like Hillary Clinton, they found her responsible for some of the activity by the U.S. in their elections under the [Former President Barack] Obama administration,” Paul said.
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“I think really we mistake our response if we think it’s about accountability from the Russians,” Paul told Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union. “They are going to spy on us, do spy on us. They are going to interfere in our elections, we also do the same,” Paul said.
The comments, which come just a day before President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, show a realism that neither staunch Republicans or Democrats discuss, which is that Russia attempted various hacking and disinformation campaigns surrounding the 2016 election to discredit former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“I would say it’s not morally equivalent,” Paul said of Russia’s election meddling relating to America’s campaigns to influence foreign elections. “But I think in [Russia’s] mind it is. It’s important to know in your adversary’s mind the way they perceive thing. They react to our interference in their elections and one of the reasons they didn’t like Hillary Clinton, they found her responsible for some of the activity by the U.S. in their elections under the [Former President Barack] Obama administration,” Paul said.
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July 13, 2018
STRZOK CLAIMS HE STILL HAS TOP SECRET SECURITY CLEARANCE
Anti-Trump FBI agent Peter Strzok was given a limited security clearance ahead of his testimony before Congress on Thursday, a Justice Department official tells The Daily Caller News Foundation.
The official disclosed Strzok’s security clearance status after Strzok claimed during a joint hearing on Thursday that he has a top secret security clearance.
“You currently have what classification?” Strzok was asked by Georgia Republican Rep. Doug Collins during a joint hearing of the House Judiciary and House Oversight Committees.
“I have a top secret clearance with some SCI compartments,” replied Strzok, the former deputy director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division. “SCI” is an acronym for highly classified materials known as Sensitive Compartmented Information.
The statement appeared to be a contradiction to a claim that Attorney General Jeff Sessions made during an interview in June.
“Mr. Strzok, as I understand, has lost his security clearance,” Sessions told conservative radio host Howie Carr on June 21.
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The official disclosed Strzok’s security clearance status after Strzok claimed during a joint hearing on Thursday that he has a top secret security clearance.
“You currently have what classification?” Strzok was asked by Georgia Republican Rep. Doug Collins during a joint hearing of the House Judiciary and House Oversight Committees.
“I have a top secret clearance with some SCI compartments,” replied Strzok, the former deputy director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division. “SCI” is an acronym for highly classified materials known as Sensitive Compartmented Information.
The statement appeared to be a contradiction to a claim that Attorney General Jeff Sessions made during an interview in June.
“Mr. Strzok, as I understand, has lost his security clearance,” Sessions told conservative radio host Howie Carr on June 21.
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July 12, 2018
DEMOCRATS RELEASE LIST OF ALL THE AWESOME QUESTIONS REPUBLICANS ASKED PETER STRZOK
Congressional Democrats released a list of questions Wednesday that their Republican counterparts asked of Peter Strzok, the former FBI official who sent anti-Trump text messages while working on the Russia investigation.
Democrats published the questions in an attempt to force Republicans to release a transcript of Strzok’s 10-plus hour closed-door testimony before the House Judiciary and House Oversight Committees on June 27.
Strzok is scheduled to appear before both committees for an open hearing on Thursday.
While Democrats complained that the questions show the GOP lawmakers’ lines of inquiry appear in line with the questions that Trump supporters have raised about Strzok and the FBI’s investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government.
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Democrats published the questions in an attempt to force Republicans to release a transcript of Strzok’s 10-plus hour closed-door testimony before the House Judiciary and House Oversight Committees on June 27.
Strzok is scheduled to appear before both committees for an open hearing on Thursday.
While Democrats complained that the questions show the GOP lawmakers’ lines of inquiry appear in line with the questions that Trump supporters have raised about Strzok and the FBI’s investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government.
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July 11, 2018
EX-FBI LAWYER LISA PAGE WILL DEFY CONGRESSIONAL SUBPOENA
Former FBI attorney Lisa Page will defy a congressional subpoena to appear for a deposition on Wednesday, her lawyer said in a statement.
The House Judiciary and House Oversight & Government Reform Committees issued the subpoena to Page, who has been at the center of controversy over anti-Trump text messages that she exchanged with Peter Strzok, the former deputy chief of the FBI’s counterintelligence division.
Page and Strzok worked on the Hillary Clinton email investigation as well as the probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.
Strzok is slated to testify in a public hearing before the two congressional committees on Thursday.
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The House Judiciary and House Oversight & Government Reform Committees issued the subpoena to Page, who has been at the center of controversy over anti-Trump text messages that she exchanged with Peter Strzok, the former deputy chief of the FBI’s counterintelligence division.
Page and Strzok worked on the Hillary Clinton email investigation as well as the probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.
Strzok is slated to testify in a public hearing before the two congressional committees on Thursday.
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July 10, 2018
TRUMP ISSUES FULL PARDONS TO OREGON RANCHERS FORCED BACK INTO PRISON UNDER ANTI-TERROR LAW
President Donald Trump pardoned two Oregon ranchers forced back into prison in 2016 to serve out the rest of the mandatory minimum sentence required under an anti-terrorism law.
“The Hammonds are multi-generation cattle ranchers in Oregon imprisoned in connection with a fire that leaked onto a small portion of neighboring public grazing land,” the White House said in a statement. “The evidence at trial regarding the Hammonds’ responsibility for the fire was conflicting, and the jury acquitted them on most of the charges.
Dwight and Steven Hammond were convicted of committing arson on federal land in 2012 under an anti-terrorism law from 1996. The U.S. District Court judge who sentenced the ranchers believed the mandatory minimum sentence was too harsh, thus both men served short stints in prison.
The Hammonds served their time, but federal prosecutors appealed the case and got a federal court to overturn the 2012 judgement. The Hammonds were forced back into prison in 2016 to serve the rest of their sentences.
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“The Hammonds are multi-generation cattle ranchers in Oregon imprisoned in connection with a fire that leaked onto a small portion of neighboring public grazing land,” the White House said in a statement. “The evidence at trial regarding the Hammonds’ responsibility for the fire was conflicting, and the jury acquitted them on most of the charges.
Dwight and Steven Hammond were convicted of committing arson on federal land in 2012 under an anti-terrorism law from 1996. The U.S. District Court judge who sentenced the ranchers believed the mandatory minimum sentence was too harsh, thus both men served short stints in prison.
The Hammonds served their time, but federal prosecutors appealed the case and got a federal court to overturn the 2012 judgement. The Hammonds were forced back into prison in 2016 to serve the rest of their sentences.
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July 9, 2018
MUELLER WILL NOT PRESENT COLLUSION EVIDENCE AT MANAFORT TRIAL
Special counsel Robert Mueller said in a court filing Friday that his prosecutors will not present evidence regarding Trump campaign collusion with Russia at an upcoming trial for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
“The government does not intend to present at trial evidence or argument concerning collusion with the Russian government,” reads a filing submitted by Mueller’s team in federal court in Virginia on Friday.
The filing sheds light on one of the largest questions looming over the Manafort case. Mueller’s prosecutors have indicted Manafort in federal court in Virginia and Washington, D.C., on a slew of charges related to his consulting work for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
Manafort ended the work in 2014, and it has been unclear whether Mueller’s team planned to reveal evidence about President Donald Trump or the campaign.
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“The government does not intend to present at trial evidence or argument concerning collusion with the Russian government,” reads a filing submitted by Mueller’s team in federal court in Virginia on Friday.
The filing sheds light on one of the largest questions looming over the Manafort case. Mueller’s prosecutors have indicted Manafort in federal court in Virginia and Washington, D.C., on a slew of charges related to his consulting work for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
Manafort ended the work in 2014, and it has been unclear whether Mueller’s team planned to reveal evidence about President Donald Trump or the campaign.
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