Saturday, June 17, 2017 10:54:31 PM
Russian Cyber Hacks on U.S. Electoral System Far Wider Than Previously Known
Attackers said to take measure of voting systems, databases
A ‘red phone’ warning to the Kremlin from Obama White House
June 13, 2017
Russia’s cyberattack on the U.S. electoral system before Donald Trump’s election was far more widespread than has been publicly revealed, including incursions into voter databases and software systems in almost twice as many states as previously reported.
In Illinois, investigators found evidence that cyber intruders tried to delete or alter voter data. The hackers accessed software designed to be used by poll workers on Election Day, and in at least one state accessed a campaign finance database. Details of the wave of attacks, in the summer and fall of 2016, were provided by three people with direct knowledge of the U.S. investigation into the matter. In all, the Russian hackers hit systems in a total of 39 states, one of them said.
The scope and sophistication so concerned Obama administration officials that they took an unprecedented step -- complaining directly to Moscow over a modern-day “red phone.” In October, two of the people said, the White House contacted the Kremlin on the back channel to offer detailed documents of what it said was Russia’s role in election meddling and to warn that the attacks risked setting off a broader conflict.
The new details, buttressed by a classified National Security Agency document recently disclosed by the Intercept, show the scope of alleged hacking that federal investigators are scrutinizing as they look into whether Trump campaign officials may have colluded in the efforts. But they also paint a worrisome picture for future elections: The newest portrayal of potentially deep vulnerabilities in the U.S.’s patchwork of voting technologies comes less than a week after former FBI Director James Comey warned Congress that Moscow isn’t done meddling.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-06-13/russian-breach-of-39-states-threatens-future-u-s-elections [in full at/see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132192209 and preceding (and any future following)]
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Jeff Sessions personally asked Congress to let him prosecute medical marijuana providers
June 13, 2017
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is asking congressional leaders to undo federal medical marijuana protections that have been in place since 2014, according to a May letter that became public Monday [ https://www.scribd.com/document/351079834/Sessions-Asks-Congress-To-Undo-Medical-Marijuana-Protections ].
The protections, known as the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, prohibit the Justice Department [ https://www.congress.gov/amendment/113th-congress/house-amendment/748/text ] from using federal funds to prevent certain states "from implementing their own State laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana."
In his letter, first obtained by Tom Angell of Massroots.com [ https://www.massroots.com/news/exclusive-sessions-asks-congress-to-undo-medical-marijuana-protections ] and verified independently by The Washington Post, Sessions argued that the amendment would "inhibit [the Justice Department's] authority to enforce the Controlled Substances Act." He continues:
"I believe it would be unwise for Congress to restrict the discretion of the Department to fund particular prosecutions, particularly in the midst of an historic drug epidemic and potentially long-term uptick in violent crime. The Department must be in a position to use all laws available to combat the transnational drug organizations and dangerous drug traffickers who threaten American lives."
Sessions's citing of a "historic drug epidemic" to justify a crackdown on medical marijuana is at odds with what researchers know about current drug use and abuse in the United States. The epidemic Sessions refers to involves deadly opiate drugs, not marijuana. A growing body of research (acknowledged by the National Institute on Drug Abuse [ https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana-medicine ]) has shown that opiate deaths and overdoses actually decrease in states with medical marijuana laws on the books.
That research strongly suggests that cracking down on medical marijuana laws, as Sessions requested, could perversely make the opiate epidemic even worse.
[...]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/06/13/jeff-sessions-personally-asked-congress-to-let-him-prosecute-medical-marijuana-providers/ [with embedded videos, and comments]
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White Evangelicals Are Why America Can’t Have Nice Things
Evangelicals see themselves as the most persecuted group in America, despite not actually knowing any of the people they feel are getting a better deal.
By Brynn Tannehill
06/13/2017 08:42 am ET | Updated June 14, 2017
Since the election, there has been no shortage of confusion over why expertise [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/21/books/the-death-of-expertise-explores-how-ignorance-became-a-virtue.html ], facts [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/02/22/gop-voters-know-trump-is-telling-them-the-truth-and-the-media-is-lying-to-them/ ], and even reality itself [ http://www.alternet.org/media/rachel-maddow-poll-reveals-trump-voters-live-alternate-state-reality ], are rejected by Trump supporters. In fact, these same individuals are far more likely to believe fake news stories [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/12/07/why-conservatives-might-be-more-likely-to-fall-for-fake-news/ ] on hoax news sites than centrist or even left leaning voters. They are also likely to believe lies even when they have been presented with incontrovertible proof that the information is false.
There has been considerable discussion as to why this situation exists. One contributing factor was the Russian disinformation campaign [ http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/perspectives/PE100/PE198/RAND_PE198.pdf ] designed to undermine faith in US institutions [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/russian-propaganda-effort-helped-spread-fake-news-during-election-experts-say/2016/11/24/793903b6-8a40-4ca9-b712-716af66098fe_story.html ], including the media. Part of this effort was designed to make Americans believe that truth is unknowable [ http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21706498-dishonesty-politics-nothing-new-manner-which-some-politicians-now-lie-and ], and to give up.
Another set of factors are confirmation bias [ http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-frimer-skitka-motyle-motivated-ignorance-20170104-story.html ] and media bubbles [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/arts/the-battle-over-your-political-bubble.html ]. People seek out, and believe, information that supports their world view. This is reinforced on social media where co-believers and algorithms [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filter_bubble ] ensure that you see information that is consistent with your world view, even if that information is completely wrong.
Another related factor is the so-called “death of expertise.” Conservatives are significantly less likely to trust science than liberals [ https://www.eenews.net/assets/2012/03/28/document_cw_01.pdf ]. A December 2016 YouGov poll found [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/poll-civil-service-experts_us_5849d515e4b04c8e2baeede9 ] 71 percent of Trump voters, agree that “Everyday Americans understand what the government should do better than the so-called ‘experts,’ compared with only 46 percent of Clinton voters.
Thus, the cabinet, and senior appointed positions have been filled with people who have little to no experience with the functions they have been put in charge of. While the effects of some of these appointments (e.g. Ben Carson at Housing and Urban Development) may not be apparent for years, others have immediate impact. Dysfunction at the Department of State results in diplomatic incidents whose effects ripple outwards at nearly the speed of light in the age of social media [ https://www.vox.com/world/2017/3/10/14882684/state-department-mexico-briefing ].
Policy and governance based on misinformation, ignorance, or against the advice of experts is unlikely to be successful. Whatever good comes of it is based purely on luck. Indeed, White House Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon admits that the purpose of these appointments is to render the government agencies they’re in charge of incapable of functioning [ http://fortune.com/2017/02/25/bannon-trump-cabinet-cpac/ ].
What hasn’t been addressed previously is the question of what the people most likely to believe falsehoods have in common? Who actually believes random conservative idiots with money [ http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/17/politics/betsy-devos-grizzly-bears-donald-trump-guns/ ] and a fear of grizzly bear attacks in schools are better at running government agencies than people with experience and education? Who completely rejects science? What sorts of people are completely out of touch with America and the world as it exists today?
A recent Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) survey appears to have answered all of these.
It’s white Evangelical Christians.
A recent Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) [ https://www.prri.org/ ] survey of 2031 Americans found that White Evangelicals hold views as a group that are not only profoundly out of step with the rest of American culture, they are absurdly out of touch with reality.
The study found that white Evangelicals are now the only remaining major religious group where a majority is in favor of allowing businesses to refuse service to LGBT people.
Where the loss of connection with reality becomes apparent is in the perception of persecution. Fifty-seven percent of white Evangelicals believe there is “a lot” of discrimination against Christians. However, only 46 percent of this same group perceives LGBT people being discriminated against, and only 44 percent see a lot discrimination against Muslims. Similarly, 43 percent see “a lot” of discrimination against white people, but only 27 percent see a similar level of discrimination against black people.
White Evangelicals are heavily insulated from other groups. Seventy percent of Americans have a friend or family member who is gay and 63 percent of Republicans do as well. However, only 53 percent of white Evangelicals do, the lowest of any group surveyed, including people over 65 years old. The PRRI survey also found that 21 percent of Americans have a friend or family member who is transgender, and 11 percent of Republicans. Again, white Evangelicals were the lowest of any group at only 8 percent.
Despite not actually knowing any LGBT people, this demographic feels fully competent to dictate policy to them, including healthcare. This would be akin to letting a group of people who had never seen an airplane, much less been in one or flown it, write the Federal Aviation Administration’s manual for pilots [ https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/media/aim.pdf ].
In short, white Evangelicals see themselves as the most persecuted group in America by a wide margin, despite not actually knowing any of the people they feel are getting a better deal. This is entirely nonsensical given that the party they elected is effectively control of 68 out of 99 states legislative bodies [ http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/14/1598918/-Republicans-now-dominate-state-government-with-32-legislatures-and-33-governors ], 33 out of 50 state governor’s offices, the Executive Branch, and both Houses of the legislative branch. By nearly every statistical measure, white Evangelicals, and even more so those supporting the administration [ https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-mythology-of-trumps-working-class-support/ ], are better off financially than the people they feel are getting a better deal (blacks and LGBT people in particular).
Eighty-one percent [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/evangelicals-election_us_5820d931e4b0e80b02cbc86e ] of white Evangelicals supported Trump. No other group broke as strongly for him, including the reliably Republican Mormon [ http://religionnews.com/2016/11/15/most-mormons-planned-not-to-vote-for-trump-what-the-heck-happened/ ] demographic. This demographic is also demonstrably living in a bubble isolated from other Americans. They have a skewed perception of reality, believing that despite their wealth and control of government, Muslims, gays, and blacks are getting better deal in America than they are in part because they don’t actually know any.
As a result, there is strong evidence to suggest that the Venn diagram of people who reject science, expertise, and factual news has a very high degree of overlap with the white Evangelical demographic. As a result of this deliberate ignorance and social isolation, the ability of many branches of the Federal government to function is in jeopardy. Education, clean air, clean water, health care, good diplomatic relations, and civil rights protections for everyone who isn’t white and Christian are all in deep trouble.
White Evangelicals are why America can’t have nice things.
©2017 Oath Inc. Part of HuffPost MultiCultural/HPMG News
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-america-cant-have-nice-things_us_593fdc48e4b0b65670e56dc8 [with comments] [and see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=26706638 and preceding and following, http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=27485225 and preceding and following, http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=129013333 and preceding and following]
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The Hoarding of the American Dream
In a new book, a Brookings scholar argues that the upper-middle class has enriched itself and harmed economic mobility.
Jun 16, 2017
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/06/the-hoarding-of-the-american-dream/530481/ [with comments] [id.]
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How The Religious Right Pioneered Propaganda As News
Wally McNamee via Getty Images
Before Fox News, there was Pat Robertson’s ‘700 Club,’ where I was an executive producer.
By Terry Heaton
06/16/2017 12:10 pm ET
So-called “fake news” took center stage on several occasions during former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week. More than once, Comey pointed to specific articles by the New York Times as not true or completely false. However, he did validate others, including one in which he himself had been the Times’ source. The fake news meme has become one of the most troubling arguments in the history of contemporary journalism, ever since Donald Trump used the term to describe CNN at his first press conference as president.
Americans find themselves drowning in this unseemly and childish battle for the soul of news and information purveyance, and the undiscussed problem is that the entire mess is built on the false narrative of “the liberal (elite) press.” I know, because I was among the people who advanced the concept and shaped the discussion in the early ‘80s, as senior and executive producer of Pat Robertson’s flagship television program The 700 Club.
Before Fox News, there was The 700 Club with CBN News and “TV Journalism With A Different Spirit.” We knew what we were doing in the exploitation of the word “liberal,” and truth-telling demands its deconstruction today. The all-or-nothing split between conflicting political narratives has reached its pinnacle with the election of Donald Trump, and it needs to be hacked into a million pieces.
William F. Buckley was among the first to give the word “liberal” a pejorative interpretation, but it was the wordsmith William Safire writing for Spiro Agnew who in 1969 elevated it to a political talking point in his famous speech that opened the war against the press during Richard Nixon’s secret battles in Vietnam. The word became the central weapon in a strategy that involved attacking the messenger instead of changing the message.
That political strategy has been so effective to date that it has given birth to the idea that mainstream news is actually “fake news” and not to be believed in the administration of President Donald Trump. The number of people who now believe this falsehood is staggering, and it poses a real threat to our democracy.
At The 700 Club, we exploited attacking the press in order to insert ourselves to the right of everybody else in presenting a Biblical, a.k.a. Republican perspective on current events. We offered a daily news program that expressed Republican party talking points that we marketed as a Christian worldview. Thus began the shifting of evangelicals to the GOP and the shifting of the GOP to the right. We served as the intellectual wing of the Moral Majority, although there was no theological love lost between Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell.
So let’s look at these events closely, because it has a direct bearing on the conflict today. Let me be very clear: the right-wing “news” that we created was a political response to the progressive nature of news and information. It’s important to understand this, because “right-wing news” is oxymoronic. There is no such thing, because the right represents olds, not news. By definition, news is new, and new is progressive. That conservatives view this as a bias is fine, but elevating that to some evil command-and-control mechanism for political liberals is a false narrative. Rush Limbaugh has made a living off of this phony hegemony, as well as Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, and whole host of mostly broadcasting personalities. Why? Because it sells and has been selling for almost 50 years.
But it’s entirely false, for the press is not the purveyor of fake news. That title belongs with those who create stories for political gain and clickthroughs. It may be politically expedient to label the mainstream as fake, but in order to do so, one’s source must be propaganda and nothing else. To us in the early ‘80s, it was easy to stake our claim in the world of journalism without complaint, because the press thought us outside Hallin’s Sphere of Legitimate Controversy and therefore unnecessary to cover. In his 1986 book The Uncensored War, Daniel C. Hallin identified three spheres of coverage by the Washington press corps.
Ron Powers once said of us on CBS Sunday Morning that we were “so slanted as to be vertical,” but for the most part, we operated without notice, which gave us the time to write our playbook, the one borrowed in order to create Fox News.
The editorial commentators of media companies determine their political leanings, not the content of the news itself. To behave otherwise is a violation of journalistic ethics and tenets, and no self-respecting news outlet would deliberately compromise its relationship with viewers or readers for political gain. It’s just not their cultural role. Only political propagandists are permitted such luxury, and where that is disguised as news, it cannot be trusted. And yet many people do, because their ears have been trained by people such as myself to identify clever social engineering as information they need in order to get back what they feel has been taken from them or get what feel they deserve from life.
We need to grow out of childish ranting that “Billy started it” or “everybody is doing it too” and let our inner adults take over. Democracy doesn’t stand a chance without an independent Fourth Estate.
Terry Heaton is the author of ‘The Gospel of Self: How Jesus Joined the GOP [ http://www.orbooks.com/catalog/gospel-self-terry-heaton/ ].’
©2017 Oath Inc. Part of HuffPost MultiCultural/HPMG News (emphasis in original)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-the-religious-right-pioneered-propaganda-as-news_us_5943e1d6e4b01eab7a2d130a [with comments] [id.]
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Fox News Is Dropping Its ‘Fair & Balanced’ Slogan
Now with a new tagline.
The decision was made last August after Ailes’s ouster by Fox News co-president Jack Abernethy, because the phrase had “been mocked”.
June 14, 2017
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/06/fox-news-is-dropping-its-fair-and-balanced-slogan.html [with comments] [id.]
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When Will Trump Lose His Base?
06/16/2017 Updated June 16, 2017
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/when-will-trump-lose-his-base_us_5943d6c6e4b024b7e0df4b02 [with comments] [id.]
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Texas Governor Signs Christians First ‘Religious Freedom’ Adoption Law
June 16, 2017
New adoption law allows discrimination against non-Christians: Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed into law legislation allowing publicly funded agencies to deny non-Christians the ability to adopt a child in need.
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In other words, publicly funded agencies in Texas will be free to discriminate against non-Christians and any other “undesirables” who fail to conform to the dictates of conservative Christianity.
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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2017/06/texas-governor-signs-christians-first-religious-freedom-adoption-law/ [with comments] [id.] [and see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=131346698 and preceding and following, http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=131547372 and preceding (and any future following), http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=131901209 and preceding (and any future following)]
Texas governor signs anti-LGBTQ adoption bill into law
Child placement agencies allowed to discriminate against LGBTQ adoptive parents under guise of "religious freedom"
June 16, 2017
https://www.metroweekly.com/2017/06/texas-governor-signs-anti-lgbtq-adoption-bill/ [no comments yet] [id.]
The Deadly Consequences Of Texas’ Anti-LGBT Adoption Bill
As the deadline to veto the anti-LGBT measure approaches, the lives of thousands of Texas foster children hang in the balance.
06/15/2017
For a state that prides itself on being “pro-life,” Texas lawmakers sure seem hell-bent on ensuring that children in the state’s foster care system experience the absolute worst possible outcomes.
House Bill 3859 [ http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&Bill=HB3859 ], which passed the Legislature [ https://www.texastribune.org/2017/05/21/senate-passes-religious-protections-child-welfare-agencies/ ] last month, allows child placement agencies that receive taxpayer money to claim religious objections to certain groups of people—effectively giving them a license to deny adoption and fostering opportunities to LGBTQ, single, or non-Christian parents. Assuming Gov. Greg Abbott doesn’t veto HB 3859 before a Sunday, June 18 deadline, the law will also allow these publicly funded child welfare services to send LGBTQ foster children to so-called “conversion therapy.”
For the almost 30,000 children in Texas foster care, the consequences of HB 3859 will be devastating—and yes—potentially deadly.
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-deadly-consequences-of-texas-hb-3859_us_5942d4b4e4b0d188d027fca6 [with embedded video, and comments] [id.]
TX governor signs bill allowing providers to deny LGBTQ youth child welfare services
Governor Abbott.
Beginning in September, child welfare agencies in Texas can refuse service to LGBTQ children and families.
Jun 16, 2017
https://thinkprogress.org/texas-governor-signs-religious-freedom-lgbtq-youth-discrimination-bill-749cf6b94ec0 [with comments] [id.]
Texas Enacts ‘Anti-Sharia’ Law
16 Jun 2017
Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law House Bill 45, more commonly known as “American Laws for American Courts,” or ALAC. It prohibits the use of any foreign law in the state’s courts, specifically in family cases that involve marriage or parent-child relationship matters.
One of the bill’s co-authors Representative Jeff Leach (R-Plano) thanked the governor, who signed HB 45 on Wednesday. Leach called the law “vitally important bill to further safeguard and protect our Constitutional rights!” In the last legislative session, Leach authored the comparable yet unsuccessful ALAC measure, House Bill 562 [ http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2015/03/20/american-laws-for-american-courts-resolution-passed-in-north-texas-city/ ].
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http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/06/16/texas-enacts-anti-sharia-law/ [with comments] [id.] [and see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132078524 and preceding and following, http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132088301 and preceding and following]
Texas Governor Who [Illegally] Chopped Down Old Tree Will Chop Down Law Protecting Old Trees
June 15 2017
The liberty-lovin’ Texas Legislature meets once every two years, which isn’t always enough time to enact a liberty-lovin’ agenda. Which is why, last week, Gov. Greg Abbott called the legislature in for a special July session covering issues like abortion, property taxes, and school financing—the statehouse equivalent of summer school.
And then, in the middle of an ambitious 19-item agenda [ https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-special-session ], there was this: a bill to pre-empt local laws protecting old trees.
For Abbott, the arboreal beef is personal.
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http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/06/15/texas_governor_who_chopped_down_old_tree_will_chop_down_law_protecting_old.html [with comments] [id.]
Joe Straus Likens Gov. Abbott’s Special Session Menu to Horse Poo
Texas House Speaker Joe Straus on Gov. Greg Abbott's special session of the 2017 Legislature: "With all this manure, there must be a pony in here somewhere."
Jun 16, 2017
Last week, during Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s often-postponed news conference to announce that, yes indeed, the Texas Legislature would convene for a special session beginning July 18 [ http://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2017/06/06/gov-abbott-rewards-the-hostage-takers-adds-bathroom-bill-to-special-session-menu ], he rattled off 20 items he’d like to git er dunn.
On Wednesday, San Antonio’s own Joe Straus criticized Abbott’s artisanal, handheld menu of legislative issues, and likened the governor’s farm-to-fork entrées to manure-to-mouth table scraps.
According to the Texas Tribune [ https://www.texastribune.org/2017/06/14/straus-special-session ], the Texas House Speaker – talking to a crammed room of superintendents and school board members at the Texas Association of School Boards’ yearly summer leadership institute – blasted the Texas Senate’s so-called cloak-and-dagger strategy of focusing on piddly bathroom bill legislation rather than tackling real-deal issues such as public-education funding.
Straus’ opening salvo included “a joke about an optimistic boy who surprises his psychiatrist when he gets excited by ‘a room full of horse manure,’ reports the Trib. “The boy said, ‘With all this manure, there must be a pony in here somewhere,’” said Straus during the TASB conference at the Marriott Rivercenter.
Two bills that rotted in the Texas House during the 2017 Lege – establishing a commission to study school finance reform, and creating a voucher-esque program to bankroll private school and homeschooling costs for kids with disabilities – are among the 20 items Abbott laid out for the special session, which can last up to 30 days.
“Even if we approved vouchers, they still cut out the vast majority of the funding we had proposed for public schools, so there was hardly anything left,” said Straus, who added that the Senate made approximately $1 billion in public school funds go poof.
[...]
http://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2017/06/16/joe-straus-likens-gov-abbotts-special-session-menu-to-horse-poo [no comments yet] [id.]
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Full: AG Rosenstein Testifies at Senate Budget Hearing 6/13/17
Published on Jun 13, 2017 by President Trump [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfyW3Nw6poE6V04jhMdflag , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfyW3Nw6poE6V04jhMdflag/videos ]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=034Z-1x35jY [with comments]
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Hearing: Department of Justice Budget (EventID=105999)
Streamed live on Jun 13, 2017 by HouseAppropsGOP [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMaSlF09S0fpoRshS2t_7XA / https://www.youtube.com/user/HouseAppropsGOP , https://www.youtube.com/user/HouseAppropsGOP/videos ]
The House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee holds a hearing on the FY 2018 budget request for the Department of Justice. Subcommittee Chairman John Culberson presides. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein testifies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSsF5vNndes [comments disabled]
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President Trump has Lunch with Members of Congress
Published on Jun 13, 2017 by The White House
Washington, DC
[no official transcript (yet) availoable at/via https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-and-remarks , https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings , or https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-and-releases ]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FUGJFEQvTE [with comments]
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President Trump Makes a Statement on Healthcare
Published on Jun 13, 2017 by The White House
Milwaukee, WI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9Rsq0sm6tw [with comments]
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The Senate’s three tools on health care: Sabotage, speed and secrecy
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
(Olivier Douliery/Bloomberg)
By Andy Slavitt
June 10, 2017
Andy Slavitt was acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from 2015 to 2017.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had a problem when the American Health Care Act arrived from the House last month. What to do with a bill that is clogging your agenda but only 8 percent of Americans want you to pass and members of your own caucus swore was dead on arrival? McConnell couldn’t have missed the town halls filled with angry Americans who rely on Medicaid and see the Affordable Care Act’s protections for those with preexisting conditions as a godsend. The House bill — which the Congressional Budget Office estimates would cause 23 million [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/24/us/politics/cbo-congressional-budget-office-health-care.html ] to lose coverage and end those protections for many — threatened all of that.
Faced with that reality, McConnell could have started over and had the Senate develop its own legislation, perhaps even working with Democrats on a bipartisan alternative that could withstand the test of time. Instead, McConnell put a plan in place to pass something close to the House bill using three simple tools: sabotage, speed and secrecy.
• Sabotage: Given the unpopularity of the AHCA, Republicans have just one argument: Obamacare has failed. The GOP premise is “bad” beats “dead.” The problem is the facts don’t support this. Medicaid — which accounts for the bulk [ http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/jan/15/rand-paul/medicaid-expansion-drove-health-insurance-coverage/ ] of the ACA coverage expansion — is successful, popular and bipartisan. The ACA’s individual insurance exchanges got off to an uneasy start, but after five years, insurer filings and independent reports all point to profitable insurers and stable or stabilizing markets — at least until President Trump intervened to rattle insurers.
Taking advantage of those now well-documented efforts to sabotage the ACA, McConnell is reportedly telling his members they have no choice but to pass a replacement. By acting fast, McConnell hopes to minimize the continuing and mounting evidence of sabotage as insurers file rates in places such as North Carolina [ http://www.journalnow.com/business/business_news/local/trump-effect-on-health-care-nc-s-most-popular-plan/article_ddc05550-de45-5208-a58b-5979e1169f23.html ] and Pennsylvania that explicitly break out the specific impact of Trump’s sabotage.
• Speed: As he watched House members scrupulously avoid constituents while on recess, McConnell clearly recognized that his best bet would be to hold a vote before the July 4 recess [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-health-202/2017/06/09/the-health-202-why-mitch-mcconnell-wants-to-pass-a-health-care-overhaul/5939bde8e9b69b2fb981dcb3/ ] in hopes this would minimize pressure on vulnerable senators such as Nevada’s Dean Heller — who won his seat by a mere 12,000 votes [ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/nov/7/heller-retains-senate-seat-nevada/ ] in a state where more than 200,000 will lose Medicaid coverage [ https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/nevada/heller-other-gop-senators-urge-7-year-phaseout-of-medicaid-expansion/ ].
So last week McConnell deployed [ http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/6/7/1669740/-McConnell-starts-fast-track-process-for-Trumpcare-in-the-Senate ] Rule XIV, a fast-track procedure [ https://www.senate.gov/CRSpubs/88c49b6d-83d7-402a-9c15-9c9ecf7decbc.pdf ] that bypasses the committee process and moves the bill directly to the floor. Just as in the House, we’re on track to have a vote with no hearings (there were more than 100 for the ACA [ http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2017/03/07/examining-the-house-republican-aca-repeal-and-replace-legislation/ ]). Knowing the coverage loss will be significant, McConnell plans to vote within only days, or possibly even hours, of the release of the CBO score. Moving fast leaves opponents, and the public, with no time to catch up to the details.
• Secrecy. None of this will work if the content of the bill cannot be kept secret for as long as possible. A small group of Republicans is amending the House bill behind close doors. And for all the talk of having the Senate start over and fix the bad House bill, their reported changes appear to be minimal, and to follow the blueprint laid out by Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn [ http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/cbo-estimate-revised-house-health-care-bill-changes-little ] (R-Tex.) that: “80 percent of what the House did we’re likely to do.” The ACA’s expansion of Medicaid would end. The caps on Medicaid spending imposed by the House bill would remain. With state approval, insurers would still be able to offer Swiss cheese policies that drop benefits people with preexisting conditions need most.
The secrecy is also necessary for backroom deals. Given the opioid crisis in her state, one would think the AHCA’s severe Medicaid cuts would mean Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.) would never support it [ http://www.businessinsider.com/obamacare-medicaid-expansion-states-in-danger-opioid-epidemic-2017-2 ]; the majority of opioid treatments in her state are provided by Medicaid. Similarly, one would think there is no price that would cause Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) to sign on to a deal whose consequences for her state [ http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/06/news/economy/alaska-health-care-reform/index.html ] would be worse than any other state [ https://www.adn.com/politics/2017/03/10/what-the-new-house-healthcare-plan-means-for-alaska/ ]. But McConnell is counting on being able to buy their votes relatively cheaply: possibly with a small “opioid fund” and an extra few years before the Medicaid expansion ends in certain states.
Of course there’s a better way. Not long ago, Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy (La.), Susan Collins (Maine) [ http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/14/senate-obamacare-repeal-bipartisan-talks-238320 ] and Capito talked about finding solutions that would lead to more people covered, not fewer. That’s an approach that could bring many Democrats to the table. Given the Senate’s narrow margins, by voting no, the three of them or others have the power to change the course we’re on and put health-care reform on a path to long-term political stability. And McConnell himself might not even mind. Something short of 50 votes will preserve the Senate’s role as our deliberative body with the good judgment not to bow to the political winds, particularly when the country needs its checks and balances to work like never before.
Read more:
Topher Spiro: How the Senate health-care bill will drop people with preexisting conditions
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/06/14/how-the-senate-health-care-bill-will-drop-people-with-preexisting-conditions/
Dana Milbank: What Republicans are doing while you’re distracted by Sessions and Comey
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-is-a-weapon-of-mass-distraction/2017/06/13/a10f651e-506f-11e7-be25-3a519335381c_story.html
Paul Waldman: How the Republican Coward Caucus is about to sell out its own constituents — in secret
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/06/13/how-the-republican-coward-caucus-is-about-to-sell-out-its-own-constituents-in-secret/
Jennifer Rubin: What stops Republicans from behaving rationally
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/06/13/what-stops-republicans-from-behaving-rationally/
Jennifer Rubin: Trump’s presidency becomes a legal swamp
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/06/12/trumps-presidency-becomes-a-legal-swamp/
The Post’s View: The CBO report proves the GOP health-care bill is no rescue plan
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-cbo-report-proves-the-gop-health-care-bill-is-no-rescue-plan/2017/05/24/7c1dbf0c-40bc-11e7-adba-394ee67a7582_story.html
Jennifer Rubin: The CBO confirms: The Republican health-care bill is rotten legislation
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/05/24/the-cbo-confirms-the-republican-health-care-bill-is-rotten-legislation/
Catherine Rampell: Want to know what Trumpcare would do to the country? Look at the implosion in Iowa.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/want-to-know-what-trumpcare-would-do-to-the-country-look-at-the-implosion-in-iowa/2017/05/22/958d6b56-3f2a-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html
The Post’s View: Betrayal, carelessness, hypocrisy: The GOP health-care bill has it all
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/betrayal-carelessness-hypocrisy-the-gop-health-care-bill-has-it-all/2017/05/04/8b9e9b62-30eb-11e7-8674-437ddb6e813e_story.html
© 2017 The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-senates-three-tools-on-health-care-sabotage-speed-and-secrecy/2017/06/10/11bad38e-4d5a-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html [with embedded video, and comments] [and see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=129917087 and preceding and following, http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=129924281 and preceding and following, http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=129961788 and preceding and following]
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AP sources: Trump tells senators House health bill ‘mean’
President Donald Trump speaks [YouTube above] before having lunch with Republican Senators and White House staffers in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, June 13, 2017.
Jun 13, 2017
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump told Republican senators Tuesday that the House-passed health care bill he helped revive is “mean” and urged them to craft a version that is “more generous,” congressional sources said.
Trump’s remarks were a surprising slap at a Republican-written House measure that was shepherded by Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and whose passage the president lobbied for and praised. At a Rose Garden ceremony minutes after the bill’s narrow House passage on May 4, Trump called it “a great plan.”
The president’s criticism, at a White House lunch with 15 GOP senators, also came as Senate Republican leaders’ attempts to write their own health care package have been slowed by disagreements between their party’s conservatives and moderates.
Trump’s characterizations seemed to undercut attempts by Senate leaders to assuage conservatives who want restrictions in their chamber’s bill, such as cutting the Medicaid health care program for the poor and limiting the services insurers must cover. Moderate GOP senators have been pushing to ease those restrictions.
Facing expected unanimous Democratic opposition, Republicans will be unable to pass a Senate bill if just three of the 52 GOP senators vote “no.” Alienating any of them could make approving the measure trickier for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who’s been hoping for a vote before Congress’ July 4 recess.
Trump’s comments were described by two GOP congressional sources who received accounts of Tuesday’s White House lunch. They spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal a closed-door conversation.
Their descriptions of Trump’s words differed slightly.
One source said Trump called the House bill “mean, mean, mean” and said, “We need to be more generous, more kind.” The other source said Trump used a vulgarity to describe the House bill and told the senators, “We need to be more generous.”
Two other congressional GOP officials confirmed that the general descriptions of Trump’s words were accurate.
The sources say the president did not specify what aspects of the bill he was characterizing.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined to comment, telling reporters aboard Air Force One Tuesday evening, “We don’t comment on rumors or private conversations.”
[...]
After the meeting with senators, Trump flew to Wisconsin, where, for the second week in a row, he highlighted [YouTube above] the stories of people whose health care premiums have increased — people the White House has dubbed “Obamacare victims.”
After meeting with two such couples after landing in Milwaukee, Trump pointed to “millions of American families” he said “continue to suffer from Obamacare while Congressional Democrats obstruct our efforts to rescue them.”
Trump did not discuss the House GOP health care plan in any detail, but said the Senate is getting ready to do something.
https://apnews.com/b5383189b4dc4dea94890f13846c2639/AP-sources:-Trump-tells-senators-House-health-bill-'mean [with embedde video]
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Centene Will Enter Health Insurance Exchanges in 3 New States
Centene will enter health insurance exchanges in three new states for 2018, in addition to expanding its presence in six other marketplaces.
June 13, 2017
Centene Corporation will expand its presence in a number of state health insurances exchanges in 2018, building on its successful 2017 marketplace results. The payer is planning to enter the Kansas, Missouri and Nevada health insurance exchanges. It will also expand its 2018 footprint in six existing markets: Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Texas, and Washington.
[...]
https://healthpayerintelligence.com/news/centene-will-enter-health-insurance-exchanges-in-3-new-states
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The GOP’s fantastically anti-democratic quest to kill health care in the dark
June 14, 2017
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell once had passionate views about how carefully Congress should consider sweeping changes to the health-care system.
“Fast-tracking a major legislative overhaul such as health care reform or a new national energy tax without the benefit of a full and transparent debate does a disservice to the American people,” McConnell said in 2009 [ http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-healthcare-congress-idUSTRE53N6LC20090424 ], referring to the two big issues of the moment. Democrats using such means, he added, “would make it absolutely clear they intend to carry out their plans on a purely partisan basis.”
Republican hypocrisy is now so rampant that it’s typically ignored or, worse, granted the political class’s all-purpose form of absolution: “Everybody does it.”
But everybody doesn’t do it. McConnell is trying to eviscerate the Affordable Care Act using methods completely at odds with how the law was originally brought to life [ http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/28/politics/supreme-court-health-timeline/index.html ] in the early Obama administration. The ACA was debated for more than a year and went through an elaborate hearing and amendment process that included some changes urged by Republicans [ http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/mar/16/luis-gutierrez/rep-gutierrez-says-hundreds-republican-amendments-/ ].
By contrast, the bill Senate Republicans are writing is being held as close as the nuclear codes. In the meantime, President Trump and his administration (including, most recently, Attorney General Jeff “I don’t recall [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/06/13/4-takeaways-from-jeff-sessionss-feisty-testimony-to-congress-about-russia/ ]” Sessions) keep providing McConnell excellent cover as their assorted outrages dominate the news and deflect attention from Capitol Hill. The wrecking squad works in the shadows knowing that if the public were given time to absorb the damage in store for millions of Americans [ https://www.cbo.gov/publication/52752 ], the pushback would be enormous.
Cleverly, Senate Republicans say their coverage-destruction bill will be better than the one Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.) pushed through the House. (Trump helpfully described the House measure as “mean” during a meeting Tuesday with Republican senators.) Well, great, and a Category 4 hurricane is a bit less harrowing than a Category 5. Most of us would prefer to avoid both.
One of the so-called improvements that has leaked out: People will be thrown off Medicaid more slowly [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/senate-gop-aiming-to-conclude-divisive-health-care-push--one-way-or-the-other/2017/06/06/0eda4ed2-4a40-11e7-bc1b-fddbd8359dee_story.html ] under McConnellcare than under Ryancare. But they’ll still be thrown off, and to pay for this reprieve, the Senate would reportedly include additional cuts to Medicaid elsewhere [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-health-202/2017/06/13/the-health-202-conservative-groups-balk-at-possibility-of-retaining-obamacare-taxes/593ed553e9b69b2fb981dcf0/ ]. To finance all their tax cuts for the rich, Republicans will have to gut insurance for a lot of people one way or another.
[...]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-gops-fantastically-anti-democratic-attempt-to-kill-health-care-in-the-dark/2017/06/14/0903e284-5134-11e7-91eb-9611861a988f_story.html [with comments]
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The Saucy Sock Puppet of the Trump-Nominated Judge
An attorney up for a federal bench seat made his views plain while writing blog posts under a pseudonym.
06.14.17
Progressive groups are banding together in an effort to defeat the judicial nomination of John Bush, a Kentucky attorney who took pot shots at liberals and others while blogging under the pseudonym G. Morris [ https://www.buzzfeed.com/zoetillman/one-of-trumps-judicial-nominees-blogged-under-a-pen-name ], and once cheered a sign warning vandals who “trespassed and stole my Palin-McCain sign,” that if they do it again, “you will find out what the 2nd Amendment is all about!!!”
Bush, 52, chairs the Louisville chapter of the conservative Federalist Society and is on the list of potential Supreme Court nominees assembled by the conservative Heritage Foundation for then-candidate Donald Trump when he needed to convince evangelicals of his bona fides on abortion rights.
Bush’s credentials as an anti-abortion advocate are front and center in his record as an attorney working with the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, which lists “Right to Life” as one of its areas of litigation, and in his many pseudonymous posts on “Elephants in the Bluegrass,” the blog founded by his wife, Bridget Bush. She’s on the board of Kentucky Opportunity Coalition, a “dark money” group that doesn’t disclose its donors and that raised $14 million for fellow Kentuckian and Senate leader Mitch McConnell’s reelection.
Writing as G. Morris, Bush equated abortion with slavery as the “two greatest tragedies in our country.” He called the effort to find an alternative to embryonic stem cell research a “liberal pet peeve.” And when he thought the Affordable Care Act wouldn’t pass, he cheered: “The witch is dead.”
An unabashed Trump supporter, he ripped Ted Cruz, who sits on the judiciary committee, as a “sore loser” during the campaign and wrote from the Republican National Convention about whether Hillary Clinton would look better in black stripes or orange.
Bush disclosed his online identity on the questionnaire [ https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Bush%20SJQ.pdf ] judicial nominees submit to the Senate Judiciary Committee. His comments there are the sort that have traditionally concerned senators, and his blogging life is likely to dominate Wednesday’s hearing as he contends for a lifetime seat on the Sixth Circuit, which has jurisdiction over Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, states expected to generate a number of court cases related to reproductive freedom.
[...]
Also appearing on the witness stand Wednesday morning will be another prolific blogger, Damien Schiff, nominated for a 15-year term on the Federal Claims court. Writing under his own name, he has called Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy a “judicial prostitute” because the Reagan-appointed Kennedy doesn’t always vote with the Court’s conservative bloc. “It would be wonderful for reporters to ask (senators) if they believe Kennedy is a judicial prostitute, and if not, how can they justify a vote for Damien Schiff,” Nan Aron said at the conclusion of the call with reporters.
[...]
http://www.thedailybeast.com/the-saucy-sock-puppet-of-the-trump-nominated-judge
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One of the most prestigious brands in medicine is jumping into Obamacare
Delos Cosgrove, Chief Executive and President, Cleveland Clinic at the Washington Post RNC Convention Headquarters last summer.
June 15, 2017
At a time when many health insurers are exiting the exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act or thinking about it, one of the top-ranked hospitals in the country is jumping in — and they're doing it through an alliance with a health insurer co-founded by Ivanka Trump's brother-in-law, Joshua Kushner.
Cleveland Clinic, a nonprofit academic medical center, is partnering with Oscar Health to sell individual insurance plans in five northeast Ohio counties. The plans will be available on the exchanges, where people can use government subsidies to purchase health coverage as well as off the exchanges, where people bear the full cost of their health coverage.
[...]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/06/15/one-of-the-most-prestigious-brands-in-medicine-is-jumping-into-obamacare/ [with comments]
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Secrecy Surrounding Senate Health Bill Raises Alarms in Both Parties
Defending the Republicans’ approach, Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, said this week that there had been “gazillions of hearings” on repealing the Affordable Care Act over the years.
JUNE 15, 2017
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/15/us/politics/secrecy-surrounding-senate-health-bill-raises-alarms-in-both-parties.html [with comments]
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I’ve covered Obamacare since day one. I’ve never seen lying and obstruction like this.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55277721/683871042.0.jpg)
Jun 15, 2017
Republicans do not want the country to know what is in their health care bill.
This has become more evident each day, as the Senate plots out a secretive path toward Obamacare repeal — and top White House officials (including the president) consistently lie about what the House bill actually does.
There was even a brief moment Tuesday where Senate Republicans flirted with the idea of banning on-camera interviews in congressional hallways, a plan quickly reversed after outcry from the press.
[...]
https://www.vox.com/health-care/2017/6/15/15807986/obamacare-lies-obstruction
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Governors from both parties slam House ObamaCare bill, call for bipartisan Senate approach
06/16/27
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/338157-governors-of-both-parties-call-for-bipartisan-senate-approach-on-healthcare [with comments]
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Great Moments in Congressional Hallway History | Full Frontal on TBS
Published on Jun 13, 2017 by Full Frontal with Samantha Bee [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18vz5hUUqxbGvym9ghtX_w , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18vz5hUUqxbGvym9ghtX_w/videos ]
We almost lost access to congressional hallway interviews today, but then we didn't. Here's a celebration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1dFb45jsVw [with comments]
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Full Show - The American People Face the Greatest Propaganda Assault in History - 06/13/2017
Published on Jun 13, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
Tuesday, June 13th 2017[, with appearances by Lionel, Roger Stone and Steve Pieczenik]: Deep State Goes After Trump - Former FBI Director Mueller has hired a Clinton Foundation lawyer for the investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 elections. Alex Jones hosts as he takes on attacks from all media outlets after his interview with Megyn Kelly triggered millions of liberals. We'll discuss the media's reaction to the controversial Trump-themed "Julius Caesar" play in NYC. Also, we examine Europe's continuing struggle to fight radical Islam and the slow-motion collapse of Venezuela.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyFUE1OwSZE [with comments] [also at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0qhVH72xTs (additional text adapted from; with comments)] [and again, see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132104408 and preceding and following, http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132139395 and following]
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WATCH LIVE: Jeff Sessions Testifies
Streamed live on Jun 13, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEwHStxKUlM [with comments]
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FULL HEARING: Jeff Sessions Testifies About Russia, Comey Firing at Senate Intel Committee Hearing
Published on Jun 13, 2017 by FOX 10 Phoenix
Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ highly anticipated testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday will be public, committee leaders announced, agreeing to calls from numerous lawmakers and the AG himself to put the hearing on the record.
The attorney general over the weekend agreed to speak to the same committee that heard last Thursday from fired FBI Director James Comey, to answer questions regarding the Russia investigation.
It had been unclear whether the attorney general would speak in closed or open session. But the committee put out a statement Monday saying the hearing is now set to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday in open session.
A Justice Department spokesperson said Sessions requested the hearing be public.
Transcript: Jeff Sessions' testimony on Trump and Russia
06/13/2017 Updated 06/13/2017
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/13/full-text-jeff-session-trump-russia-testimony-239503 [with comments]
Why Did Jeff Sessions Really Meet With Sergey Kislyak?
The attorney general says he was acting as a senator, but a review of his activities that summer shows ambassadors seeking him out as a Trump surrogate
Jun 13, 2017
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/06/why-did-jeff-sessions-really-meet-sergey-kislyak/530091/ [with comments]
Donald Trump Jr. Sticks Up For Jeff Sessions During His Senate Testimony
The president’s eldest son called the hearing a “witch hunt train wreck” on Twitter.
06/13/2017 Updated June 13, 2017
Just as he did last week during the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-jr-james-comey_us_593965a9e4b0061054804ba6 ], President Donald Trump [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/donald-trump ]’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/donald-trump-jr ], tweeted during the Senate Intelligence Committee testimony of Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday.
[...]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-jr-jeff-sessions_us_59403a1de4b09ad4fbe3b24f [with embedded video, and comments]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i1mKhZRi8I [with comments]
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Infowars Nightly News LIVE - Dems Russian Narrative Implodes Again
Streamed live on Jun 13, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNMRzeowYw0 [with comments]
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NEW: Trump administration cold to new Russia sanctions
All In with Chris Hayes
6/13/17
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is questioned by Sen. Bob Menendez and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the Trump administration's plans on Russian sanctions. Duration: 0:43
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/new-trump-administration-cold-to-new-russia-sanctions-966597187876
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Cory Booker: Sessions should not be attorney general
All In with Chris Hayes
6/13/17
The Democratic Senator from New Jersey tells Chris Hayes that Jeff Sessions' testimony before the Intelligence Committee 'is just another example' of why Sessions should not have his current job. Duration: 5:30
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/cory-booker-sessions-should-not-be-attorney-general-966801987630
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Hayes: Why did 3 Trump associates lie about Kislyak?
[the YouTube title: "Rep. Jim Jordan: My Interactions With Robert Mueller Have Been Disappointing"]
All In with Chris Hayes
6/13/17
‘It doesn’t strike you as weird that three people close to the president, under penalty of perjury, gave misleading or false answers about meeting with Russian officials?’ asks Chris Hayes of GOP Rep. Jim Jordan. Duration: 5:52
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/hayes-why-did-3-trump-associates-lie-about-kislyak-966800451952 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlGB25HA0cM [with comments]
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Senator Kamala Harris persists again
All In with Chris Hayes
6/13/17
Senator Harris was interrupted by a male colleague during an Intelligence Committee hearing for the second time in one week. Duration: 2:11
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/senator-kamala-harris-persists-again-966807619632 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khQgEePN_mw [with comments]
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Nixon-era fmr. Rep.: Sessions testimony a ‘cover-up’
All In with Chris Hayes
6/13/17
Former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman, who served on the Judiciary Committee during its drafting of the articles of impeachment against then-President Nixon, says Sessions' refusal to answer questions is 'what I call in good old Watergate language a cover-up.' Duration: 5:08
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/nixon-era-fmr-rep-sessions-testimony-a-cover-up-966807619991
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How Republicans used an ATM to hide from reporters
All In with Chris Hayes
6/13/17
Thing 1/Thing 2: The secret GOP plan to hide from reporters, and how one Republican defended it with an excuse about ATMs. Duration: 2:14
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/how-republicans-used-an-atm-to-hide-from-reporters-966807107931 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nji72YjUBuQ [with comments]
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Warren grills Republican on secret health care bill
All In with Chris Hayes
6/13/17
Senator Elizabeth Warren pressed Republican Bill Cassidy for information about the GOP health care bill that's being drafted in secret. Duration: 1:20
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/warren-grills-republican-on-secret-health-care-bill-966812227531
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Trump team desperate to explain Comey firing
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/13/17
Rachel Maddow shows what a rarity it is for an FBI director to be fired and runs through the series of failed explanations for Donald Trump's firing of James Comey up to today's refusal by Jeff Sessions to answer questions in the Senate. Duration: 25:52
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-team-desperate-to-explain-comey-firing-966863427613 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyNPf7XvWOQ [with comments]
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New Trump team strategy: refuse to answer Trump Russia questions
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/13/17
Rachel Maddow looks at the emerging pattern of Trump White House officials who are using specious, non-legal excuses to refuse to answer certain questions in Trump=Russia Congressional hearings. Duration: 6:10
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/new-trump-team-strategy-refuse-to-answer-trump-russia-questions-966872643950
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Senator Schumer: 'Sessions is in dereliction of his duty'
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/13/17
Senator Chuck Schumer, top Senate Democrat, talks with Rachel Maddow about Trump officials making non-legal excuses for not answering questions from members of Congress in the Trump-Russian investigation. Duration: 6:20
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/senator-schumer-sessions-is-in-dereliction-of-his-duty-966839875866
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Schumer: Republicans hiding health bill because they're ashamed
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/13/17
Chuck Schumer, top Senate Democrat, talks with Rachel Maddow about why Republicans are hiding the drafting of their version of an Obamacare replacement. Duration: 4:10
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/schumer-republicans-hiding-health-bill-because-they-re-ashamed-966828611846
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Schumer: Logical that 'fearless prosecutors' would worry Trump
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/13/17
Senator Chuck Schumer, top Democrat in the Senate, talks with Rachel Maddow about possible explanations for why Donald Trump fired Preet Bharara after first telling him he could stay as U.S. attorney. Duration: 1:37
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/schumer-logical-that-fearless-prosecutors-would-worry-trump-966836803738
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Maddow: Trump's lawyer may need a lawyer
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/13/17
Rachel Maddow relays a new report claiming that Donald Trump's lawyer, Marc Kasowitz boasted of getting former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara fired by telling Donald Trump, "This guy is going to get you." Duration: 1:21
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/maddow-trump-s-laywer-may-need-a-lawyer-966877763787 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKM3dcxhXQk [with comments]
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Lawrence: The answer that could be Jeff Sessions' downfall
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
6/13/17
As Lawrence O'Donnell explains, in the matter of Jeff Sessions versus James Comey, only one of them can be telling the truth. Duration: 8:18
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/lawrence-the-answer-that-could-be-jeff-sessions-downfall-966860867608 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMFiVXNUC4M [with comments]
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Watergate prosecutor: 'Sessions was not even a credible witness'
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
6/13/17
Jeff Sessions stonewalled in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee today, says fmr. Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman, not answering questions he should have been required to under oath. Lawrence O'Donnell also discusses with Ron Klain and Karine Jean-Pierre. Duration: 7:49
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/watergate-prosecutor-sessions-was-not-even-a-credible-witness-966864963876
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Exclusive: Sen. Franken says Sessions violated his recusal
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
6/13/17
In an exclusive interview with Lawrence O'Donnell, Sen. Al Franken responds to what Jeff Sessions said today about his now-infamous answer to Sen. Franken that he "did not have communications with the Russians." Duration: 9:53
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/exclusive-sen-franken-says-sessions-violated-his-recusal-966867523606 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvwGvGT0vdI [with comments]
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After Sessions hearing, White House still has no Russia strategy
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/13/17
After a fiery and frustrating appearance in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee from Atty General Sessions, the White House reportedly still has no strategy to deal with questions over Russia. Duration: 7:57
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/after-sessions-hearing-white-house-still-has-no-russia-strategy-966879299568
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Jeff Sessions said 'I don't recall' a lot during Senate hearing
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/13/17
Over and over again, Attorney General Jeff Sessions answered question after question from Senate Intelligence Committee members by saying, 'I don't recall.' Duration: 1:20
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/jeff-sessions-said-i-don-t-recall-a-lot-during-senate-hearing-966895171512 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkFsgU_WLko [with comments]
*
Jeff Sessions changing his story on meetings with Russians?
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/13/17
During his Senate testimony, Jeff Sessions seemed to offer a new version of events behind his meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Julia Ioffe of The Atlantic joins MSNBC's Brian Williams. Duration: 2:57
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/jeff-sessions-changing-his-story-on-his-meetings-with-russians-966880835567 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3QPRstb3A0 [with comments]
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Senators weren't happy with how often Sessions wouldn't answer
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/13/17
Jeff Sessions left senators confused after refusing to answer questions during his Senate testimony. Fmr. Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks & fmr. DOJ lawyer Carrie Cordero join. Duration: 3:53
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/senators-weren-t-happy-with-how-often-sessions-wouldn-t-answer-966889539751
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White House: Trump has the right to fire Special Counsel Mueller
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/13/17
Will Pres. Trump fire Special Counsel overseeing the FBI's Russia investigation Bob Mueller? The Washington Post's Ashley Parker & New York Times' Jeremy Peters discuss. Duration: 7:13
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/white-house-trump-has-the-right-to-fire-special-counsel-mueller-966900291672
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Rumors over Robert Mueller's Fate & Jeff Sessions in the Senate Hot Seat: The Daily Show
Published on Jun 13, 2017 by The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
The media fixates on a rumor that President Trump is considering firing special prosecutor Robert Mueller, and beleaguered Attorney General Jeff Sessions defends his honor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi4eT7WVzX4 [with comments]
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Jeff Sessions Can't Recall What He Forgot To Remember
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
The Senate intelligence committee has questions. Attorney General Jeff Sessions doesn't have answers.
[originally aired June 13, 2017]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK6L1F695fY [with comments]
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Dennis Rodman Visits The 'Stoner Paradise' Known As North Korea
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
After all of President Trump's campaign promises, who would have thought the man with bizarre hair negotiating with North Korea would be Dennis Rodman?
[originally aired June 13, 2017]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZxGMLW_1Nw [with comments]
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'Real News Tonight' Clearly Influenced Trump's 'Jobs' Tweet
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
President Trump appears to have turned away from 'Fox & Friends' to watch another show that dishes out compliments unconditionally.
[originally aired June 13, 2017]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBxFPzoF6rE [with comments]
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Melania Trump Gets Emotional About Moving Into The White House
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
The First Lady of the United States opens up about her big move from New York City to Washington, D.C.
[originally aired June 13, 2017]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h01Z2LLtw7U [with comments]
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Jeff Sessions Testifies; GOP Writes Secret Health Care Bill: A Closer Look
Published on Jun 13, 2017 by Late Night with Seth Meyers
Seth takes a closer look at Attorney General Jeff Sessions' Senate testimony and President Trump's allies call for the firing of the special counsel in charge of the Russia investigation, Robert Mueller.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhcFhg0NtWQ [with comments]
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"Day 145" Jeff Sessions Defiant, Invokes Executive Privilege as Trump hands over Power to Trannies
Published on Jun 13, 2017 by Bravo Alternative Media [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVV0_xnA_z-ALo6kZJz2WXA , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVV0_xnA_z-ALo6kZJz2WXA/videos ]
On "Day 145" of the Donald Trump White House Regime we find out that Jeff Sessions is Defiant and Invokes Executive Privilege before the Senate Intelligence Committee, he says "I Don't recall". This has become a Global Embarrassment, The Trump Rich Asshole Club. It is Official now the Country Power Structure has been turned over to the Military Industrial Complex and this Month (June) They Celebrate Trannies ! This is beyond bizarre !
Texas cops find $1M worth of meth-laced lollipops
Six hundred pounds of the drug-laced candy had been loaded into the back seat of the vehicle, according to police. “They had so many narcotics in their vehicle they couldn’t close the back hatch of their car.”
June 14, 2017
http://wfla.com/2017/06/14/texas-cops-find-1m-worth-of-meth-laced-lollipops/ [no comments yet]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7ezazaDijE [with comments]
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North Texas mayors reject protectionist “Buy American” iron and steel bill
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price
The mayors of Dallas and Fort Worth are siding with Canadian officials over the potentially negative impact a “Buy American” iron and steel measure could have on Texas-Canada trade relations.
June 14, 2017
The mayors of two North Texas cities are siding with Canadian officials over the potentially negative impact a “Buy American” iron and steel measure could have on Texas-Canada trade relations.
Both Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, who are on a trade mission to Toronto and Montreal this week, said they had concerns with a law that will require large state projects — such as buildings, roads and bridges — to purchase iron and steel from an American supplier if the cost doesn’t exceed 20 percent more than the price of cheaper, foreign imports.
The measure [ http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/history.aspx?LegSess=85R&Bill=SB1289 ] was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott [ https://www.texastribune.org/directory/greg-abbott/ ] Friday and goes into effect Sept. 1.
The law has grabbed the attention of several Canadian officials, who wrote [ https://www.texastribune.org/2017/05/16/canadian-officials-upset-republican-buy-american-iron-and-steel-bill/ ] in a May 15 letter to Texas senators that they were “deeply concerned” with how the law would impact Texas-Canada trade. They asked members of a legislative conference committee to tack on an amendment that would exempt Canadian steel, but their request was denied.
"I didn’t like that [law],” Rawlings said in an interview on BNN, Canada's Business News Network. “I think it was pointed at China, but it has some repercussions here in Canada, and we need to go back and talk to [Abbott] about that.”
In a statement to The Texas Tribune on Wednesday, Price said she was concerned with some of the unintended consequences the measure could have on "our positive Texas-Canada trade relationship" and planned to work with lawmakers to "explore potential changes to this law."
"It is critical we support our strong trade relationship with Canada, while also promoting efforts to support the American marketplace and American jobs,” she said.
[...]
According to Canadian officials, Canada is the top export destination for U.S. steel products, representing roughly $9.7 billion in trade last year. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said in a written statement that she had met with both Texas mayors on Monday and was hoping to work with Texas lawmakers to seek an exemption for the province.
“The strong relationship between Ontario and Texas is long-standing and vital to the economies of both regions,” she wrote. “We are disappointed that Texas has passed discriminatory Buy American provisions.”
Creighton [the bill's originator] has previously said [ https://www.texastribune.org/2017/05/03/trump-their-side-republicans-hopeful-buy-america-iron-and-steel-bill/ ] that the aim of his bill was not to penalize Canada but to ensure "foreign governments like China and Turkey can’t create a foreign steel market that would gut the American market."
“We stand firm for Texas jobs and manufacturers and against communist China flooding the market to hurt those stakeholders,” he said.
[...]
https://www.texastribune.org/2017/06/14/north-texas-mayors-reject-protectionist-buy-american-iron-and-steel-bi/ [with comments]
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Full Show - Liberal Terrorist Shoots Congressman On Trump's Birthday - 06/14/2017
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
Wednesday, June 14th 2017[, with an appearance by Jerome Corsi, and Roger Stone hosting the fourth hour]: Republicans Targeted by Leftist Gunman Amid Baseball Practice - A leftist gunman is dead in Virginia after shooting at Republicans practicing baseball. We'll look at the motivations that led to the incident, and also look at the aftermath of a building fire in London described as "hell on earth." Actor Antonio Sabato Jr. joins the show to discuss his congressional run, his RNC endorsement of Donald Trump and the subsequent blacklist that followed. Also, former NSA technical director turned whistleblower William Binney and documentary filmmaker Friedrich Moser discuss "A Good American," a look at the NSA's role in 9/11.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtH_9nizuUc [with comments] [also at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WczdS3li94 (additional text adapted from; with comments)] [and again, see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132193307 and preceding and following] [and see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=127897647 and preceding and following]
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Senate Approves Russia Sanctions, Limiting Trump's Oversight
Schumer arrives to talk to media on Capitol Hill on May 23, 2017.
(Yuri Gripas / Reuters)
A new bipartisan deal prohibits the president from rolling back sanctions without Congress’s approval.
By Aria Bendix
Jun 14, 2017
In an overwhelming vote of 97-2, the U.S. Senate approved a new round of sanctions on Russia in response to the nation’s likely interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as its involvement in the Syrian civil war. The deal also prevents President Trump from loosening or rolling back restrictions on Russia without Congress’s approval, representing one of the most significant GOP-enforced checks on the president to date. Only two GOP senators, Utah’s Mike Lee and Kentucky’s Rand Paul, voted against the sanctions. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, a democrat, was absent for the vote.
The decision comes amid an ongoing investigation to determine whether members of the Trump administration colluded with Russian officials to influence the results of the election—and could signal a growing bipartisan concern over Trump’s reported sympathy toward Russia. On Tuesday, ahead of the vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Trump administration “has been too eager—far too eager, in my mind—to put sanctions relief on the table.” He added that the new sanctions will “send a powerful, bipartisan statement that Russia and any other nation who might try to interfere with our elections will be punished.”
Before Tuesday, the U.S. had already imposed sanctions [ https://www.state.gov/e/eb/tfs/spi/ukrainerussia/ ] on Russia for its annexation of Crimea and aggressive military action [ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-russia-ukraine-violence-us-condemns-aggressive-moscow-vladimir-putin-a7560486.html ] in Ukraine. The latest round of sanctions expands the list [ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40278569 ] of blacklisted businesses and individuals in Russia, targeting anyone “conducting malicious cyber activity on behalf of the Russian government.” The sanctions also pertain to those supplying weapons to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is backed by Russia. The U.S. has frequently accused the Assad regime of carrying out human rights abuses [ https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/05/us-syria-sanctions-human-rights-mass-killing/526956/ ], the latest of which reportedly involved cremating the remains of thousands of hanged prisoners. Finally, the sanctions target Russia’s mining, metal, shipping, and railway sectors, parts of its energy sector, and individuals who have conducted business with its intelligence or defense sectors.
While the new sanctions package still awaits approval from the House of Representatives and a signature from the president, Tuesday’s sweeping bipartisan support suggests the deal is unlikely to be vetoed. In an effort to ensure the deal’s approval, senators also attached it as an amendment to a popular bill sanctioning Iran for its ballistic missile testing. Still, some Democrats are worried about how the White House will respond. One of the bill’s key negotiators, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, told reporters [ http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/14/senate-passes-russia-sanctions-trump-limits-239553 ] that “people in the White House, we hear, are making calls in the House to try to stop [the bill], slow it, weaken it, dilute it.”
On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson argued the Trump administration should have more oversight over future sanctions. While Tillerson admitted that “Russia must be held accountable for its meddling in U.S. elections,” he added: “We would ask for the flexibility to turn the heat up when we need to, but also to ensure that we have the ability to maintain a constructive dialogue.” The president, he said, should have the authority to “adjust sanctions to meet the needs of what is always an evolving diplomatic situation.”
But, for some of the deal’s most ardent supporters, diplomatic relations—or lack thereof—between the U.S. and Russia are less ambiguous. “Vladimir Putin’s brazen attack on our democracy is a flagrant demonstration of his disdain and disrespect for our nation,” said Arizona Senator John McCain shortly before the vote. “This should not just outrage every American, but it should compel us to action.” If Tuesday’s vote is any indication, most senators agree that firm action is necessary, but question whether Trump or his advisors feel the same.
Copyright © 2017 by The Atlantic Monthly Group
https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/06/senate-approves-russia-sanctions-that-limit-trumps-power/530382/ [with comments]
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Putin sarcastically offers Comey political asylum in Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking to the media after his annual televised call-in show in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 15, 2017. Putin has his annual live call-in show, a TV marathon lasting for hours in which he may for the first time declare his intention to seek another term in 2018, comment on the latest opposition protest and talk about Russia-U.S. ties and other issues.
Jun 15, 2017
MOSCOW (AP) — Wading into the furor surrounding the investigations of the Trump White House, President Vladimir Putin used a national call-in show Thursday to disparage what he called U.S. “political infighting” that is blocking better relations with Russia.
The Russian leader even sarcastically offered political asylum to fired FBI Director James Comey.
Putin mixed the tough talk with benevolent promises about the Russian economy to disgruntled callers complaining about decrepit housing and low salaries during the four-hour marathon intended to burnish his father-of-the-nation image. But the 64-year-old wouldn’t say if he plans to seek another term in the 2018 election, although he is widely expected to do so.
Putin reaffirmed his denial of allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that the Kremlin meddled in the 2016 U.S. election, saying that Russia has openly expressed its views and hasn’t engaged in any covert activities.
He also tried to turn the tables on the U.S., saying it has sought to influence Russian elections by funding nongovernmental organizations as part of its aspirations for world domination.
“Turn a globe and point your finger anywhere, you will find American interests and interference there,” he said.
Putin also likened Comey to Edward Snowden, a contractor who leaked thousands of secret documents from the National Security Agency and has been living in Russia since being granted asylum in 2013.
“It sounds and looks very weird when the chief of a security agency records his conversation with the commander in chief and then hands it over to media via his friend,” Putin said.
“What’s the difference then between the FBI director and Mr. Snowden?” he asked. “In that case, he’s more of a rights campaigner defending a certain position than the security agency chief.”
On an acerbic note, he added that if Comey “faces some sort of persecution in connection with that, we are ready to offer political asylum in Russia to him as well.”
The remarks reflected Putin’s frustration with the investigations into alleged links between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia. The inquiries have dogged the White House, shattering Moscow’s hopes for improving ties with Washington.
He called the allegations a reflection of “exacerbating political infighting.”
On a conciliatory note, Putin added that Russia still hopes for normalization of ties with the U.S.
“We don’t see America as our enemy,” he said.
He said Moscow and Washington could cooperate to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and pool efforts to tackle the North Korean nuclear and missile problem.
The two countries also could cooperate on global poverty and preventing climate change, he said, adding that the U.S. remains the essential player on climate despite Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris accord.
Moscow also hopes that the U.S. could play a “constructive role” in helping settle the Ukrainian crisis, he said.
During the tightly choreographed show, Putin said the country has climbed out of recession despite ongoing Western sanctions, adding that the restrictions have forced Russians to “switch on our brains” to reduce dependence on energy exports.
He deplored the U.S. Senate’s decision Wednesday to impose new sanctions as yet another attempt to “contain” Russia, but he insisted that such measures have only made the country stronger.
The Senate voted to punish Moscow for the alleged election meddling by approving a wide-ranging package of sanctions that target key sectors of Russia’s economy and individuals who carried out cyberattacks.
The bill follows several rounds of other sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the European Union over Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and its support for pro-Russia insurgents in eastern Ukraine.
Putin argued that Russia has done nothing to warrant the Senate move, calling it an “evidence of a continuing internal political struggle in the U.S.”
[...]
https://www.apnews.com/93574365220f471887b5d585ce474e12/Putin-sarcastically-offers-Comey-political-asylum-in-Russia
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Amid uproar, Southern Baptists condemn ‘alt-right’ movement
Barrett Duke, chairman of the 2017 Committee on Resolutions, answers questions at a news conference following the passage of nine resolutions on Tuesday, June 13, 2017 in Phoenix. The Southern Baptist Convention, home to prominent evangelical supporters of President Donald Trump, adopted a statement on moral leadership at the group’s annual meeting Tuesday that avoided pointed criticism of current political officeholders.
Jun 14, 2017
PHOENIX (AP) — Southern Baptists on Wednesday formally condemned the political movement known as the “alt-right,” in a national meeting that was thrown into turmoil after leaders initially refused to take up the issue.
The denomination’s annual convention in Phoenix voted to “decry every form of racism, including alt-right white supremacy as antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ” and “denounce and repudiate white supremacy and every form of racial and ethnic hatred as a scheme of the devil.”
Tuesday night, Southern Baptist officials who oversaw the resolutions had refused to introduce a different repudiation of the “alt-right,” which emerged dramatically during the U.S. presidential election, mixing racism, white nationalism and populism.
Barrett Duke, who leads the resolutions committee, had said the original document contained inflammatory and broad language “potentially implicating” conservatives who do not support the “alt-right” movement.
Introducing the new statement Wednesday, Duke apologized “for the pain and confusion that we created,” but said the committee had been concerned about potentially giving the appearance of hating their enemies. Duke said the committee members “share your abhorrence of racism” and were grateful for the chance to “speak on ‘alt-right’ racism in particular and all racism in general.”
The resolution was adopted after a short but emotional discussion.
“We are saying that white supremacy and racist ideologies are dangerous because they oppress our brothers and sisters in Christ,” said the Rev. Russell Moore, who leads the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, the Southern Baptist public policy arm. “If we’re a Jesus people, let’s stand where Jesus stands.”
Charles Hedman of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in South Bend, Indiana, said far-right groups had been distributing racist material outside the convention hall Tuesday night. He said some pastors had told him they would have to leave the denomination if the convention failed to denounce white supremacy Wednesday.
“We must stand strong,” Hedman said. “We must all issue an apology that we didn’t act on this yesterday.”
The initial proposal that Southern Baptists had rejected came from a prominent black Southern Baptist pastor, the Rev. William McKissic of Arlington, Texas. His resolution repudiated “retrograde ideologies, xenophobic biases and racial bigotries of the ‘alt-right’ that seek to subvert our government.”
After McKissic made an unsuccessful plea for reconsideration from the floor of the Phoenix meeting late Tuesday, pressure began building online and at the convention for the Southern Baptists to say something.
Several Southern Baptists were panicked, contending that silence would be misinterpreted as support for white supremacy. The denomination was formed in the 19th century in defense of slaveholders and has been trying to overcome its racist history.
[...]
Debate also underscored ongoing tensions among Southern Baptists whether Donald Trump, a thrice-married casino and real estate mogul, was morally fit to be president.
Moore vehemently condemned candidate Trump. At the same time, several prominent Southern Baptists, including former presidents of the denomination, signed on as evangelical advisers to the Republican’s campaign. They remain among the president’s most steadfast supporters.
When Trump won with 80 percent of the white evangelical vote, Moore faced a backlash within the denomination. That landslide support for Trump left black evangelicals feeling alienated and disappointed given their concerns about Trump’s past treatment of blacks, his rhetoric about Mexicans and his promised policies.
https://www.apnews.com/af8bbb6403ad4218a72acd1789e1ce80/Amid-uproar,-Southern-Baptists-condemn-'alt-right'-movement
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‘Jesus never complained about racism’: Alt-Right Leader Richard Spencer blasts Southern Baptists for opposition to white supremacy
06/15/17
http://www.ibtimes.com/alt-right-leader-richard-spencer-responds-after-southern-baptist-convention-condemns-2552712 [no comments yet] [also at/title adapted from http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/jesus-never-complained-about-racism-richard-spencer-blasts-southern-baptists-for-opposition-of-white-supremacy/ (with comments)]
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Six Michigan officials criminally charged in Flint water crisis
Jun 14, 2017
Six current and former Michigan and Flint officials were criminally charged on Wednesday for their roles in the city's water crisis that was linked to an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease that caused at least 12 deaths, the state's attorney general said.
Five of the officials, including Michigan Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon, were charged with involuntary manslaughter stemming from their roles in handling the crisis, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said in a statement.
Involuntary manslaughter is a felony that carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
Lyon, 49, was also charged with one count of misconduct in office. The felony charge carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.
Four current and former state and Flint officials were also charged with involuntary manslaughter. The four had all been previously charged with lesser crimes in connection with the water crisis.
The state's chief medical executive, Eden Wells, was charged Wednesday with obstruction of justice and lying to police.
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder said in a statement that Lyon and Wells have his "full faith and confidence" and would remain on duty and help in Flint's recovery.
An attorney for Lyon could not be reached for comment. It was not immediately known if Wells had an attorney.
Schuette said his team had not spoken with Snyder as part of the investigation.
"We attempted to interview the governor. We were not successful," Schuette said. He declined to elaborate.
Previously, Schuette, when asked if Snyder was a target in the investigation, said there were no targets but "nobody is off the table."
Some critics have called for high-ranking state officials, including Snyder, to be charged. Snyder previously said he believed he had not done anything criminally wrong.
"The governor isn't going to speculate on where the investigation is or is not headed, but he continues to cooperate fully," Snyder's spokeswoman Anna Heaton said.
Snyder's attorney, Brian Lennon, said in a statement that Snyder was made available to testify under oath this spring after being told a subpoena would be produced, but that never occurred. He added that Snyder previously testified under oath to Congress.
Wednesday's charges stem from more than 80 cases of Legionnaires' disease, including the fatalities, that were believed to be linked to the water in Flint after the city switched its source to the Flint River from Lake Huron in April 2014.
Lyon was aware of the Legionnaires' outbreak in Genesee County at least one year before he informed the public, according to court documents. His deliberate failure to inform the public resulted in the death of Genesee Township resident Robert Skidmore, 85, from Legionnaires' in December 2015, the documents said.
Wells lied to police about when she became aware of the outbreak, according to the documents. She also threatened a team of independent researchers who were studying the source of the disease, court documents said.
[...]
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-michigan-water-idUSKBN195234
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Michigan officials vow to fight charges over Flint water crisis: reports
Jun 15, 2017
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-michigan-water-idUSKBN1962UY
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Special counsel is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice, officials say
By Devlin Barrett, Adam Entous, Ellen Nakashima and Sari Horwitz
June 14, 2017
The special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election is interviewing senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether President Trump attempted to obstruct justice, officials said.
The move by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/deputy-attorney-general-appoints-special-counsel-to-oversee-probe-of-russian-interference-in-election/2017/05/17/302c1774-3b49-11e7-8854-21f359183e8c_story.html ] to investigate Trump’s conduct marks a major turning point in the nearly year-old FBI investigation, which until recently focused on Russian meddling during the presidential campaign and on whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Investigators have also been looking for any evidence of possible financial crimes among Trump associates, officials said.
Trump had received private assurances from then-FBI Director James B. Comey starting in January that he was not personally under investigation. Officials say that changed shortly after Comey’s firing.
Five people briefed on the interview requests, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said that Daniel Coats, the current director of national intelligence, Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, and Rogers’s recently departed deputy, Richard Ledgett, agreed to be interviewed by Mueller’s investigators as early as this week. The investigation has been cloaked in secrecy, and it is unclear how many others have been questioned by the FBI.
The NSA said in a statement that it will “fully cooperate with the special counsel” and declined to comment further. The office of the director of national intelligence and Ledgett declined to comment.
The White House now refers all questions about the Russia investigation to Trump’s personal attorney, Marc Kasowitz.
“The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal,” said Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Kasowitz.
The officials said Coats, Rogers and Ledgett would appear voluntarily, though it remains unclear whether they will describe in full their conversations with Trump and other top officials or will be directed by the White House to invoke executive privilege. It is doubtful that the White House could ultimately use executive privilege to try to block them from speaking to Mueller’s investigators. Experts point out that the Supreme Court ruled during the Watergate scandal that officials cannot use privilege to withhold evidence in criminal prosecutions.
The obstruction-of-justice investigation of the president began days after Comey was fired on May 9 [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/comey-misstated-key-clinton-email-evidence-at-hearing-say-people-close-to-investigation/2017/05/09/074c1c7e-34bd-11e7-b373-418f6849a004_story.html ], according to people familiar with the matter. Mueller’s office has taken up that work, and the preliminary interviews scheduled with intelligence officials indicate that his team is actively pursuing potential witnesses inside and outside the government.
The interviews suggest that Mueller sees the question of attempted obstruction of justice as more than just a “he said, he said” dispute between the president and the fired FBI director, an official said.
Investigating Trump for possible crimes is a complicated affair, even if convincing evidence of a crime were found. The Justice Department has long held that it would not be appropriate to indict a sitting president. Instead, experts say, the onus would be on Congress to review any findings of criminal misconduct and then decide whether to initiate impeachment proceedings.
Comey confirmed publicly [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-director-to-testify-on-russian-interference-in-the-presidential-election/2017/03/20/cdea86ca-0ce2-11e7-9d5a-a83e627dc120_story.html ] in congressional testimony on March 20 that the bureau was investigating possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russians.
Comey’s statement before the House Intelligence Committee upset Trump, who has repeatedly denied that any coordination with the Russians took place. Trump had wanted Comey to disclose publicly that he was not personally under investigation, but the FBI director refused to do so.
Soon after, Trump spoke to Coats and Rogers about the Russia investigation.
Officials said one of the exchanges of potential interest to Mueller took place on March 22, less than a week after Coats was confirmed by the Senate to serve as the nation’s top intelligence official.
Coats was attending a briefing at the White House with officials from several other government agencies. When the briefing ended, as The Washington Post previously reported [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/top-intelligence-official-told-associates-trump-asked-him-if-he-could-intervene-with-comey-to-get-fbi-to-back-off-flynn/2017/06/06/cc879f14-4ace-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html ], Trump asked everyone to leave the room except for Coats and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
Coats told associates that Trump had asked him whether Coats could intervene with Comey to get the bureau to back off its focus on former national security adviser Michael Flynn in its Russia probe, according to officials. Coats later told lawmakers that he never felt pressured to intervene.
A day or two after the March 22 meeting, Trump telephoned Coats and Rogers to separately ask them to issue public statements denying the existence of any evidence of coordination [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-asked-intelligence-chiefs-to-push-back-against-fbi-collusion-probe-after-comey-revealed-its-existence/2017/05/22/394933bc-3f10-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html ] between his campaign and the Russian government.
Coats and Rogers refused to comply with the president’s requests, officials said.
It is unclear whether Ledgett had direct contact with Trump or other top officials about the Russia probe, but he wrote an internal NSA memo documenting the president’s phone call with Rogers, according to officials.
As part of the probe, the special counsel has also gathered Comey’s written accounts of his conversations with Trump [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/notes-made-by-former-fbi-director-comey-say-trump-pressured-him-to-end-flynn-probe/2017/05/16/52351a38-3a80-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html ]. The president has accused Comey of lying about those encounters.
Mueller is overseeing a host of investigations involving people who are or were in Trump’s orbit, people familiar with the probe said. The investigation is examining possible contacts with Russian operatives as well as any suspicious financial activity related to those individuals.
Last week, Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/comey-testimony-trump-senate-hearing/2017/06/07/afadf87c-4bd0-11e7-bc1b-fddbd8359dee_story.html ] that he had informed Trump that there was no investigation of the president’s personal conduct, at least while he was leading the FBI.
Comey’s carefully worded comments, and those of Andrew McCabe, who took over as acting FBI director, suggested to some officials that an investigation of Trump for attempted obstruction may have been launched after Comey’s departure, particularly in light of Trump’s alleged statements regarding Flynn.
“I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning, but that’s a conclusion I’m sure the special counsel will work towards, to try and understand what the intention was there, and whether that’s an offense,” Comey testified last week.
Mueller has not publicly discussed his work, and a spokesman for the special counsel declined to comment.
Accounts by Comey and other officials of their conversations with the president could become central pieces of evidence if Mueller decides to pursue an obstruction case.
Investigators will also look for any statements the president may have made publicly and privately to people outside the government about his reasons for firing Comey and his concerns about the Russia probe and other related investigations, people familiar with the matter said.
Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week that he was certain his firing was due to the president’s concerns about the Russia probe, rather than over his handling of a now-closed FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of state, as the White House had initially asserted. “It’s my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation,” Comey said. “I was fired, in some way, to change — or the endeavor was to change the way the Russia investigation was being conducted.”
The fired FBI director said ultimately it was up to Mueller to make a determination whether the president crossed a legal line.
In addition to describing his interactions with the president, Comey told the Intelligence Committee that while he was FBI director he told Trump on three occasions that he was not under investigation as part of a counterintelligence probe looking at Russian meddling in the election.
Republican lawmakers seized on Comey’s testimony to point out that Trump was not in the FBI’s crosshairs when Comey led the bureau.
After Comey’s testimony, in which he acknowledged telling Trump that he was not under investigation, Trump tweeted that he felt “total and complete vindication.” It is unclear whether McCabe, Comey’s successor, has informed Trump of the change in the scope of the probe.
Read more:
Here’s what we know so far about Team Trump’s ties to Russian interests
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/trump-russia/
A guide to the five major investigations of the Trump campaign’s possible ties to Russia
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/trump-russia-investigations/
‘I expect loyalty,’ Trump told Comey, according to written testimony
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/i-expect-loyalty-trump-told-comey-according-to-written-testimony/2017/06/07/46413298-4bab-11e7-a186-60c031eab644_story.html
Top intelligence official told associates Trump asked him if he could intervene with Comey on FBI Russia probe
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/top-intelligence-official-told-associates-trump-asked-him-if-he-could-intervene-with-comey-to-get-fbi-to-back-off-flynn/2017/06/06/cc879f14-4ace-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html
Inside Trump’s anger and impatience — and his sudden decision to fire Comey
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-trumps-anger-and-impatience-prompted-him-to-fire-the-fbi-director/2017/05/10/d9642334-359c-11e7-b373-418f6849a004_story.html
© 2017 The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/special-counsel-is-investigating-trump-for-possible-obstruction-of-justice/2017/06/14/9ce02506-5131-11e7-b064-828ba60fbb98_story.html [with embedded videos, and (over 21,000) comments]
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Mueller Seeks to Talk to Intelligence Officials, Hinting at Inquiry of Trump
Robert S. Mueller III in 2012.
J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and MATT APUZZO
JUNE 14, 2017
WASHINGTON — Robert S. Mueller III [ http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/robert_s_iii_mueller/index.html ], the special counsel examining Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, has requested interviews with three high-ranking current or former intelligence officials, the latest indication that he will investigate whether President Trump obstructed justice, a person briefed on the investigation said on Wednesday.
Mr. Mueller wants to question Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence; Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency; and Richard Ledgett, the former N.S.A. deputy director.
None of the men were involved with Mr. Trump’s campaign. But recent news reports have raised questions about whether Mr. Trump requested their help in trying to get James B. Comey, then the F.B.I. [ http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/f/federal_bureau_of_investigation/index.html ] director, to end an investigation into the president’s former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn. Last week, Mr. Coats and Admiral Rogers declined to answer questions [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/07/us/politics/nsa-intelligence-senate-trump-russia.html ] before Congress about the matter.
Mr. Mueller’s office has also asked the N.S.A. for any documents or notes related to the agency’s interactions with the White House as part of the Russia investigation, according to an intelligence official.
The Washington Post first reported on Wednesday [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/special-counsel-is-investigating-trump-for-possible-obstruction-of-justice/2017/06/14/9ce02506-5131-11e7-b064-828ba60fbb98_story.html (in full just above)] that Mr. Mueller had requested the interviews with the intelligence officials.
It has been clear since Mr. Mueller was appointed last month [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/us/politics/robert-mueller-special-counsel-russia-investigation.html ] that he was likely to scrutinize the president’s actions. Mr. Trump has said he is willing to be interviewed by Mr. Mueller’s agents, and Mr. Comey said he was sure [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/08/us/politics/comey-hearing-trump-russia.html ] that the special counsel would investigate the possibility of obstruction.
In recent days, Mr. Trump is said to have considered firing Mr. Mueller but to have been talked out of it by aides [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/us/politics/robert-mueller-special-counsel-trump.html (in full above)]. If the president is under investigation for obstruction, a move to fire Mr. Mueller would prove more complicated politically.
The F.B.I.’s gathering information about the possibility of a crime does not necessarily mean prosecutors are building a case against the president. In the early stages of investigations, F.B.I. agents typically want to gather all the facts. Agents then present those facts to prosecutors, who decide whether they want to take the case.
Mr. Mueller’s requests are among his first publicly known acts since he took over the investigation last month, after it was publicly revealed that Mr. Comey had written a memo [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/16/us/politics/james-comey-trump-flynn-russia-investigation.html ] about how Mr. Trump asked him to halt the inquiry into his fired national security adviser, Mr. Flynn.
In testimony on Capitol Hill last week [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/07/us/politics/james-comey-statement-testimony.html ], Mr. Comey said Mr. Mueller had a copy of that memo and several others Mr. Comey had written about his interactions with Mr. Trump.
A spokeswoman for the White House referred all questions on the matter to Mr. Trump’s outside lawyer, Marc E. Kasowitz. A spokesman for Mr. Kasowitz said, “The F.B.I. leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal.”
The scrutiny of Mr. Trump’s actions is part of a ripple of unintended consequences that began when the president, frustrated by the cloud of investigations [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/us/politics/trump-russia-comey.html ] into Russian collusion, fired Mr. Comey last month. “When I decided to just do it, I said to myself — I said, ‘You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story,’” Mr. Trump told NBC [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/18/us/politics/fact-check-donald-trump-james-comey-russia-border-wall-tax-cut.html ]. He then said: “I might even lengthen out the investigation, but I have to do the right thing for the American people. He’s the wrong man for that position.”
The White House could try to assert executive privilege to keep the intelligence officials from discussing conversations between them and the president with Mr. Mueller. But that could set up a fight in court, where judges have generally held that criminal investigators can demand information that would normally be privileged.
In his memos, Mr. Comey said Mr. Trump had encouraged him to end an F.B.I. investigation into Mr. Flynn, an effort that Mr. Comey called “very disturbing.” There is a broad federal inquiry underway into Mr. Flynn’s actions. Among the issues being examined are whether he misled investigators [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/us/politics/michael-flynn-fifth-amendment-russia-senate.html ] about his ties to Russia, and his failure to disclose that he was working as a foreign agent of Turkey [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/us/politics/michael-flynn-turkey.html ] from August to November 2016: the same time he was advising the Trump campaign.
The Justice Department appointed Mr. Mueller last month to investigate whether members of the Trump campaign colluded with Russian operatives to influence the outcome of last year’s presidential election. Mr. Mueller inherited the criminal investigations into Mr. Flynn and Mr. Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort. He was also given the authority to investigate obstruction.
While Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, has not said what exactly prompted him to appoint Mr. Mueller, his decision came after The New York Times published details about an Oval Office meeting Mr. Comey had with the president at the White House in February. During the meeting, the president brought up Mr. Flynn and told Mr. Comey, “I hope you can let this go,” according to the memo. Mr. Comey told the Senate that he viewed that as a clear directive from the president to drop the investigation.
A former senior official said Mr. Mueller’s investigation was looking at money laundering by Trump associates. The suspicion is that any cooperation with Russian officials would most likely have been in exchange for some kind of financial payoff, and that there would have been an effort to hide the payments, probably by routing them through offshore banking [ http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/o/offshore_banking/index.html ] centers.
Adam Goldman, Matthew Rosenberg and David E. Sanger contributed reporting.
© 2017 The New York Times Company
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/14/us/politics/mueller-trump-special-counsel-investigation.html
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Even Trump’s Aides Blame Him for Obstruction Probe: ‘President Did This to Himself’
Trump ‘shot himself in the foot again with this cockamamie scheme to get Mueller to play ball.’
“Keep him away from Twitter, dear God, keep him away from Twitter.”
06.14.17
http://www.thedailybeast.com/even-trumps-aides-blame-him-for-obstruction-probe-president-did-this-to-himself
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Trump Blasts “Witch Hunt” Amid Obstruction of Justice Inquiry
He also suggested that investigators invented the ”phony collusion” claims against him.
Jun. 15, 2017
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/06/trump-blasts-witch-hunt-amid-obstruction-of-justice-inquiry/ [with comments]
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Trump, DeVos 'Betray' Students With Gift to Predatory For-Profit Schools
"Students cheated by their school are entitled to loan forgiveness," wrote Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.
The Department of Education will delay Obama-era rules designed to help students defrauded by for-profit colleges
June 14, 2017
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/06/14/trump-devos-betray-students-gift-predatory-profit-schools [with comments]
Betsy DeVos Moves to Help For-Profit Schools Defraud Students
Betsy DeVos arriving at her Senate confirmation hearing on January 17, 2017.
The Education Department just froze two key protections for students.
June 15, 2017
https://www.thenation.com/article/betsy-devos-moves-to-help-for-profit-schools-defraud-students/ [with comment]
Betsy DeVos rolls back regulations holding for-profit colleges accountable
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos with President Donald Trump in Wisconsin on Tuesday.
Trump’s team just killed two brand-new rules to protect students—and taxpayers—from scams like Trump University.
Jun 15, 2017
https://thinkprogress.org/devos-forprofit-foxes-henhouse-337f4fec3ab4 [with comments]
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Infowars Nightly News LIVE - Liberal Hate Becomes Real Terror
Streamed live on Jun 14, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKlexQrq0WI [with comments] [and again, see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132193307 and preceding and following]
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Democrats Launch Terror Attack On Trump's Birthday
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
via YouTube Capture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxCyvAcSb7o [with comments] [and again, see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132193307 and preceding and following] [a must-watch]
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First Shots Fired In Second US Civil War! What Will You Do?
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
via YouTube Capture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf6u2x_Qakg [with comments] [and again, see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132193307 and preceding and following] [a must-watch]
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What it means that Trump is under investigation
All In with Chris Hayes
6/14/17
Washington Post reporter Sari Horwitz explains the breaking report that Special Counsel Robert Muller has widened the investigation to look into the president and obstruction of justice. Duration: 3:56
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/what-it-means-that-trump-is-under-investgation-967699011895
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Trump investigation puts WH officials in tough position
All In with Chris Hayes
6/14/17
Former chief Justice Department Spokesman Matthew Miller explains why top Trump administration officials may not be able to avoid testifying about the president. Duration: 5:04
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/trump-investigation-puts-wh-officials-in-tough-position-967702595796
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Jeffries: Game will go on and we'll 'all come together'
All In with Chris Hayes
6/14/17
‘We are going to compete, both Democrats and Republicans…and then we’ll all come together as Americans afterwards,’ says Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, along with his Republican colleague Leonard Lance, in the wake of the shooting at a Republican congressional baseball practice. Duration: 4:19
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/jeffries-game-will-go-on-and-we-ll-all-come-together-967705667704 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPepPcyPOlc [with comments]
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Fmr. Giffords intern: 'I refuse to be terrorized'
All In with Chris Hayes
6/14/17
Daniel Hernandez, who helped save the life of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords when he was her intern, says ‘there’s so much work that we should have done and continue to need to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again.' Duration: 6:56
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/fmr-giffords-intern-i-refuse-to-be-terrorized-967707715560 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqrMhgNi1oE [with comments]
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At what point would House GOP turn on Trump?
All In with Chris Hayes
6/14/17
How bad does it have to get for House Republicans to turn on the President? Jason Johnson, Jennifer Rubin, Josh Barro, and Chris Hayes discuss. Duration: 3:33
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/at-what-point-would-house-gop-turn-on-trump-967707715779
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Gunman injures congressman, four others in shooting rampage
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/14/17
Rachel Maddow reports on what is known so far about the mass shooting at a Republican congressional baseball team practice, the shooting suspect, James Hodgkinson, killed by police, and the heroics of those who responded to the shooting. Duration: 11:58
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/gunman-injures-congressman-four-others-in-shooting-rampage-967765571680
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Special counsel investigating Trump for obstruction: WaPo
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/14/17
Adam Entous, national security reporter for the Washington Post, talks with Rachel Maddow about breaking news that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Donald Trump for possible obstruction of justice in the firing of James Comey. Duration: 9:05
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/special-counsel-investigating-trump-for-obstruction-wapo-967769155880 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfajWodC8qw [with comments]
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Rep Scalise severely wounded in mass shooting
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/14/17
Rachel Maddow reports on an update on the condition of Rep. Steve Scalise, who was badly wounded in a mass shooting at a Republican congressional baseball practice, and talks with Amber Phillips, reporter for the Washington Post, about the harrowing scene. Duration: 6:07
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/rep-scalise-severely-wounded-in-mass-shooting-967778883616
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Former mayor reveals details of talks with suspected gunman
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/14/17
Bill Euille, former mayor of Alexandria, Virginia, talks with Rachel Maddow about his past encounters with the suspected gunman, killed by police after opening fire on a Republican congressional baseball practice. Duration: 7:42
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/former-mayor-reveals-details-of-talks-with-suspected-gunman-967790659701 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I5u_kEHewA [with comments]
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Criminal charges filed in Flint water crisis
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/14/17
Congressman Dan Kildee talks with Rachel Maddow about the shooting at a Republican congressional baseball practice and the criminal charges, including involuntary manslaughter, being filed by the Michigan attorney general against officials in the Flint water crisis. Duration: 6:12
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/criminal-charges-filed-in-flint-water-crisis-967795267743
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Criminal investigation of Trump a turning point in Russia probe
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/14/17
Ari Melber, MSNBC chief legal correspondent, talks with Rachel Maddow about the legal implications of the revelation that Donald Trump is being investigated for obstruction of justice for firing James Comey over the Russia investigation. Duration: 5:35
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/criminal-investigation-of-trump-a-turning-point-in-russia-probe-967836739575
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Report: Trump now under investigation for possible obstruction
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
6/14/17
The Washington Post was first to report special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Trump for obstruction of justice, a turning point in the widening probe. WaPo reporter Devlin Barrett and W.H. experts Richard Painter and Ron Klain join Lawrence O'Donnell. Duration: 16:44
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/report-trump-now-under-investigation-for-possible-obstruction-967763523969 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG8XNut5zBQ [with comments]
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Report: Mueller probe looking into possible financial crimes
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
6/14/17
Lawrence O'Donnell talks to David Ignatius and David Cay Johnston about a Washington Post report that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating possible financial crimes among Trump associates. Duration: 6:06
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/report-mueller-probe-looking-into-possible-financial-crimes-967770179958
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Lawrence: Not all mass shootings created equal
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
6/14/17
Lawrence O'Donnell explains why this shooting was different than most and dedicates the last word to the Capitol Police who saved lives at a congressional baseball practice. Duration: 5:17
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/lawrence-not-all-mass-shootings-created-equal-967768643799 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNwp7804gy8 [with comments]
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Team Trump doesn't deny report Mueller is investigating Trump
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/14/17
With reports now stating Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Pres. Trump for possible obstruction of justice, the president's personal legal team denied absolutely nothing in those reports. Our panel reacts. Duration: 7:14
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-news/watch/team-trump-doesn-t-deny-report-mueller-is-investigating-trump-967786563705
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Candidate Trump warned Clinton would face investigations
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/14/17
At the end of the 2016 campaign, Candidate Trump warned repeatedly Hillary Clinton's ability to govern would be hurt by 'years' of investigations. The Washington Post's Philip Rucker reacts. Duration: 1:50
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/candidate-trump-warned-clinton-would-face-investigations-967794243623 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19VCxCEuUGs [with comments]
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Lawmakers & other witnesses describe terrifying Virginia shooting
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/14/17
Republican Rep. Steve Scalise was among four people wounded when a gunman opened fire at a Virginia baseball field. Those on hand, including several lawmakers, describe what they saw. Duration: 1:35
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/lawmakers-other-witnesses-describe-terrifying-virginia-shooting-967800387770
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Fmr. NYPD Commissioner Bratton: 'We cannot live in fear'
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/14/17
Former NYPD Commissioner and MSNBC Senior Law Enforcement Analyst Bill Bratton reacts to the shooting that occurred while lawmakers were holding baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia. Duration: 2:51
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/fmr-nypd-commissioner-bratton-we-cannot-live-in-fear-967817283608
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Can Special Counsel Robert Mueller indict Pres. Trump?
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/14/17
What happens if Special Counsel Mueller investigates the president and finds evidence of obstruction? MSNBC's Brian Williams talks to AP White House Correspondent Jonathan Lemire. Duration: 0:50
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/can-special-counsel-robert-mueller-indict-pres-trump-967810115819 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mAi5wCAEIA [with comments]
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Sessions’s Southern-Fried SnoozeFest | June 14, 2017 Part 1 | Full Frontal on TBS
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
What Jeff Sessions's hearing lacked in authentic southern charm, it more than made up for in incomprehensibility.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk99d2015so [with comments]
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Child Brides | June 14, 2017 Part 2 | Full Frontal on TBS
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
From the files of "Fucked Up But Still Legal," we present minors getting married.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0lwiInZG1E [with comments]
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The Rikers Debaters | June 14, 2017 Part 3 | Full Frontal on TBS
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Brace yourself for an honest-to-god positive Rikers story. Produced by Razan Ghalayini. For more info on The Rikers Debate Project, visit http://rikersdebateproject.org/ .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meMod3F6sIg [with comments]
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Sessions ‘n Cotton’s Movie Talk | Full Frontal on TBS
Published on Jun 15, 2017 by Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Two of America’s most famous film critics discuss art mirroring life.
[originally aired June 14, 2017]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl4FewtXLrY [with comments]
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Another Uber Sexist Steps Down: The Daily Show
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Uber's David Bonderman resigns over his sexist comment to fellow board member Arianna Huffington, and Michelle Wolf tears apart a tired stereotype.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPAESQEQoms [with comments]
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Sen. Kamala Harris: 'Hysterical' Or 'A Woman Doing Her Job?
Published on Jun 15, 2017 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
A Trump surrogate labeled Sen. Kamala Harris 'hysterical' after her questioning of Jeff Sessions during Tuesday's Senate hearing.
[originally aired June 14, 2017]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYw7MGYmUoQ [with comments]
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The Threat From The Russians Is Real
Published on Jun 15, 2017 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Recent cyber hacks on the U.S. electoral system are only the latest revelations regarding Russian influence on the 2016 Election.
[originally aired June 14, 2017]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amjmxtd_Htc [with comments]
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this is part 3 of a 4-part post, which concludes with my next post, a reply to this post; part 2 is the post to which this is a reply -- the following 'see also (linked in)' listing is common to all 4 parts
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Attackers said to take measure of voting systems, databases
A ‘red phone’ warning to the Kremlin from Obama White House
June 13, 2017
Russia’s cyberattack on the U.S. electoral system before Donald Trump’s election was far more widespread than has been publicly revealed, including incursions into voter databases and software systems in almost twice as many states as previously reported.
In Illinois, investigators found evidence that cyber intruders tried to delete or alter voter data. The hackers accessed software designed to be used by poll workers on Election Day, and in at least one state accessed a campaign finance database. Details of the wave of attacks, in the summer and fall of 2016, were provided by three people with direct knowledge of the U.S. investigation into the matter. In all, the Russian hackers hit systems in a total of 39 states, one of them said.
The scope and sophistication so concerned Obama administration officials that they took an unprecedented step -- complaining directly to Moscow over a modern-day “red phone.” In October, two of the people said, the White House contacted the Kremlin on the back channel to offer detailed documents of what it said was Russia’s role in election meddling and to warn that the attacks risked setting off a broader conflict.
The new details, buttressed by a classified National Security Agency document recently disclosed by the Intercept, show the scope of alleged hacking that federal investigators are scrutinizing as they look into whether Trump campaign officials may have colluded in the efforts. But they also paint a worrisome picture for future elections: The newest portrayal of potentially deep vulnerabilities in the U.S.’s patchwork of voting technologies comes less than a week after former FBI Director James Comey warned Congress that Moscow isn’t done meddling.
[...]
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-06-13/russian-breach-of-39-states-threatens-future-u-s-elections [in full at/see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132192209 and preceding (and any future following)]
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Jeff Sessions personally asked Congress to let him prosecute medical marijuana providers
June 13, 2017
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is asking congressional leaders to undo federal medical marijuana protections that have been in place since 2014, according to a May letter that became public Monday [ https://www.scribd.com/document/351079834/Sessions-Asks-Congress-To-Undo-Medical-Marijuana-Protections ].
The protections, known as the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, prohibit the Justice Department [ https://www.congress.gov/amendment/113th-congress/house-amendment/748/text ] from using federal funds to prevent certain states "from implementing their own State laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana."
In his letter, first obtained by Tom Angell of Massroots.com [ https://www.massroots.com/news/exclusive-sessions-asks-congress-to-undo-medical-marijuana-protections ] and verified independently by The Washington Post, Sessions argued that the amendment would "inhibit [the Justice Department's] authority to enforce the Controlled Substances Act." He continues:
"I believe it would be unwise for Congress to restrict the discretion of the Department to fund particular prosecutions, particularly in the midst of an historic drug epidemic and potentially long-term uptick in violent crime. The Department must be in a position to use all laws available to combat the transnational drug organizations and dangerous drug traffickers who threaten American lives."
Sessions's citing of a "historic drug epidemic" to justify a crackdown on medical marijuana is at odds with what researchers know about current drug use and abuse in the United States. The epidemic Sessions refers to involves deadly opiate drugs, not marijuana. A growing body of research (acknowledged by the National Institute on Drug Abuse [ https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana-medicine ]) has shown that opiate deaths and overdoses actually decrease in states with medical marijuana laws on the books.
That research strongly suggests that cracking down on medical marijuana laws, as Sessions requested, could perversely make the opiate epidemic even worse.
[...]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/06/13/jeff-sessions-personally-asked-congress-to-let-him-prosecute-medical-marijuana-providers/ [with embedded videos, and comments]
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White Evangelicals Are Why America Can’t Have Nice Things
Evangelicals see themselves as the most persecuted group in America, despite not actually knowing any of the people they feel are getting a better deal.
By Brynn Tannehill
06/13/2017 08:42 am ET | Updated June 14, 2017
Since the election, there has been no shortage of confusion over why expertise [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/21/books/the-death-of-expertise-explores-how-ignorance-became-a-virtue.html ], facts [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/02/22/gop-voters-know-trump-is-telling-them-the-truth-and-the-media-is-lying-to-them/ ], and even reality itself [ http://www.alternet.org/media/rachel-maddow-poll-reveals-trump-voters-live-alternate-state-reality ], are rejected by Trump supporters. In fact, these same individuals are far more likely to believe fake news stories [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/12/07/why-conservatives-might-be-more-likely-to-fall-for-fake-news/ ] on hoax news sites than centrist or even left leaning voters. They are also likely to believe lies even when they have been presented with incontrovertible proof that the information is false.
There has been considerable discussion as to why this situation exists. One contributing factor was the Russian disinformation campaign [ http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/perspectives/PE100/PE198/RAND_PE198.pdf ] designed to undermine faith in US institutions [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/russian-propaganda-effort-helped-spread-fake-news-during-election-experts-say/2016/11/24/793903b6-8a40-4ca9-b712-716af66098fe_story.html ], including the media. Part of this effort was designed to make Americans believe that truth is unknowable [ http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21706498-dishonesty-politics-nothing-new-manner-which-some-politicians-now-lie-and ], and to give up.
Another set of factors are confirmation bias [ http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-frimer-skitka-motyle-motivated-ignorance-20170104-story.html ] and media bubbles [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/arts/the-battle-over-your-political-bubble.html ]. People seek out, and believe, information that supports their world view. This is reinforced on social media where co-believers and algorithms [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filter_bubble ] ensure that you see information that is consistent with your world view, even if that information is completely wrong.
Another related factor is the so-called “death of expertise.” Conservatives are significantly less likely to trust science than liberals [ https://www.eenews.net/assets/2012/03/28/document_cw_01.pdf ]. A December 2016 YouGov poll found [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/poll-civil-service-experts_us_5849d515e4b04c8e2baeede9 ] 71 percent of Trump voters, agree that “Everyday Americans understand what the government should do better than the so-called ‘experts,’ compared with only 46 percent of Clinton voters.
Thus, the cabinet, and senior appointed positions have been filled with people who have little to no experience with the functions they have been put in charge of. While the effects of some of these appointments (e.g. Ben Carson at Housing and Urban Development) may not be apparent for years, others have immediate impact. Dysfunction at the Department of State results in diplomatic incidents whose effects ripple outwards at nearly the speed of light in the age of social media [ https://www.vox.com/world/2017/3/10/14882684/state-department-mexico-briefing ].
Policy and governance based on misinformation, ignorance, or against the advice of experts is unlikely to be successful. Whatever good comes of it is based purely on luck. Indeed, White House Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon admits that the purpose of these appointments is to render the government agencies they’re in charge of incapable of functioning [ http://fortune.com/2017/02/25/bannon-trump-cabinet-cpac/ ].
What hasn’t been addressed previously is the question of what the people most likely to believe falsehoods have in common? Who actually believes random conservative idiots with money [ http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/17/politics/betsy-devos-grizzly-bears-donald-trump-guns/ ] and a fear of grizzly bear attacks in schools are better at running government agencies than people with experience and education? Who completely rejects science? What sorts of people are completely out of touch with America and the world as it exists today?
A recent Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) survey appears to have answered all of these.
It’s white Evangelical Christians.
A recent Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) [ https://www.prri.org/ ] survey of 2031 Americans found that White Evangelicals hold views as a group that are not only profoundly out of step with the rest of American culture, they are absurdly out of touch with reality.
The study found that white Evangelicals are now the only remaining major religious group where a majority is in favor of allowing businesses to refuse service to LGBT people.
Where the loss of connection with reality becomes apparent is in the perception of persecution. Fifty-seven percent of white Evangelicals believe there is “a lot” of discrimination against Christians. However, only 46 percent of this same group perceives LGBT people being discriminated against, and only 44 percent see a lot discrimination against Muslims. Similarly, 43 percent see “a lot” of discrimination against white people, but only 27 percent see a similar level of discrimination against black people.
White Evangelicals are heavily insulated from other groups. Seventy percent of Americans have a friend or family member who is gay and 63 percent of Republicans do as well. However, only 53 percent of white Evangelicals do, the lowest of any group surveyed, including people over 65 years old. The PRRI survey also found that 21 percent of Americans have a friend or family member who is transgender, and 11 percent of Republicans. Again, white Evangelicals were the lowest of any group at only 8 percent.
Despite not actually knowing any LGBT people, this demographic feels fully competent to dictate policy to them, including healthcare. This would be akin to letting a group of people who had never seen an airplane, much less been in one or flown it, write the Federal Aviation Administration’s manual for pilots [ https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/media/aim.pdf ].
In short, white Evangelicals see themselves as the most persecuted group in America by a wide margin, despite not actually knowing any of the people they feel are getting a better deal. This is entirely nonsensical given that the party they elected is effectively control of 68 out of 99 states legislative bodies [ http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/14/1598918/-Republicans-now-dominate-state-government-with-32-legislatures-and-33-governors ], 33 out of 50 state governor’s offices, the Executive Branch, and both Houses of the legislative branch. By nearly every statistical measure, white Evangelicals, and even more so those supporting the administration [ https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-mythology-of-trumps-working-class-support/ ], are better off financially than the people they feel are getting a better deal (blacks and LGBT people in particular).
Eighty-one percent [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/evangelicals-election_us_5820d931e4b0e80b02cbc86e ] of white Evangelicals supported Trump. No other group broke as strongly for him, including the reliably Republican Mormon [ http://religionnews.com/2016/11/15/most-mormons-planned-not-to-vote-for-trump-what-the-heck-happened/ ] demographic. This demographic is also demonstrably living in a bubble isolated from other Americans. They have a skewed perception of reality, believing that despite their wealth and control of government, Muslims, gays, and blacks are getting better deal in America than they are in part because they don’t actually know any.
As a result, there is strong evidence to suggest that the Venn diagram of people who reject science, expertise, and factual news has a very high degree of overlap with the white Evangelical demographic. As a result of this deliberate ignorance and social isolation, the ability of many branches of the Federal government to function is in jeopardy. Education, clean air, clean water, health care, good diplomatic relations, and civil rights protections for everyone who isn’t white and Christian are all in deep trouble.
White Evangelicals are why America can’t have nice things.
©2017 Oath Inc. Part of HuffPost MultiCultural/HPMG News
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-america-cant-have-nice-things_us_593fdc48e4b0b65670e56dc8 [with comments] [and see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=26706638 and preceding and following, http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=27485225 and preceding and following, http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=129013333 and preceding and following]
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The Hoarding of the American Dream
In a new book, a Brookings scholar argues that the upper-middle class has enriched itself and harmed economic mobility.
Jun 16, 2017
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/06/the-hoarding-of-the-american-dream/530481/ [with comments] [id.]
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How The Religious Right Pioneered Propaganda As News
Wally McNamee via Getty Images
Before Fox News, there was Pat Robertson’s ‘700 Club,’ where I was an executive producer.
By Terry Heaton
06/16/2017 12:10 pm ET
So-called “fake news” took center stage on several occasions during former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week. More than once, Comey pointed to specific articles by the New York Times as not true or completely false. However, he did validate others, including one in which he himself had been the Times’ source. The fake news meme has become one of the most troubling arguments in the history of contemporary journalism, ever since Donald Trump used the term to describe CNN at his first press conference as president.
Americans find themselves drowning in this unseemly and childish battle for the soul of news and information purveyance, and the undiscussed problem is that the entire mess is built on the false narrative of “the liberal (elite) press.” I know, because I was among the people who advanced the concept and shaped the discussion in the early ‘80s, as senior and executive producer of Pat Robertson’s flagship television program The 700 Club.
Before Fox News, there was The 700 Club with CBN News and “TV Journalism With A Different Spirit.” We knew what we were doing in the exploitation of the word “liberal,” and truth-telling demands its deconstruction today. The all-or-nothing split between conflicting political narratives has reached its pinnacle with the election of Donald Trump, and it needs to be hacked into a million pieces.
William F. Buckley was among the first to give the word “liberal” a pejorative interpretation, but it was the wordsmith William Safire writing for Spiro Agnew who in 1969 elevated it to a political talking point in his famous speech that opened the war against the press during Richard Nixon’s secret battles in Vietnam. The word became the central weapon in a strategy that involved attacking the messenger instead of changing the message.
That political strategy has been so effective to date that it has given birth to the idea that mainstream news is actually “fake news” and not to be believed in the administration of President Donald Trump. The number of people who now believe this falsehood is staggering, and it poses a real threat to our democracy.
At The 700 Club, we exploited attacking the press in order to insert ourselves to the right of everybody else in presenting a Biblical, a.k.a. Republican perspective on current events. We offered a daily news program that expressed Republican party talking points that we marketed as a Christian worldview. Thus began the shifting of evangelicals to the GOP and the shifting of the GOP to the right. We served as the intellectual wing of the Moral Majority, although there was no theological love lost between Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell.
So let’s look at these events closely, because it has a direct bearing on the conflict today. Let me be very clear: the right-wing “news” that we created was a political response to the progressive nature of news and information. It’s important to understand this, because “right-wing news” is oxymoronic. There is no such thing, because the right represents olds, not news. By definition, news is new, and new is progressive. That conservatives view this as a bias is fine, but elevating that to some evil command-and-control mechanism for political liberals is a false narrative. Rush Limbaugh has made a living off of this phony hegemony, as well as Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, and whole host of mostly broadcasting personalities. Why? Because it sells and has been selling for almost 50 years.
But it’s entirely false, for the press is not the purveyor of fake news. That title belongs with those who create stories for political gain and clickthroughs. It may be politically expedient to label the mainstream as fake, but in order to do so, one’s source must be propaganda and nothing else. To us in the early ‘80s, it was easy to stake our claim in the world of journalism without complaint, because the press thought us outside Hallin’s Sphere of Legitimate Controversy and therefore unnecessary to cover. In his 1986 book The Uncensored War, Daniel C. Hallin identified three spheres of coverage by the Washington press corps.
Ron Powers once said of us on CBS Sunday Morning that we were “so slanted as to be vertical,” but for the most part, we operated without notice, which gave us the time to write our playbook, the one borrowed in order to create Fox News.
The editorial commentators of media companies determine their political leanings, not the content of the news itself. To behave otherwise is a violation of journalistic ethics and tenets, and no self-respecting news outlet would deliberately compromise its relationship with viewers or readers for political gain. It’s just not their cultural role. Only political propagandists are permitted such luxury, and where that is disguised as news, it cannot be trusted. And yet many people do, because their ears have been trained by people such as myself to identify clever social engineering as information they need in order to get back what they feel has been taken from them or get what feel they deserve from life.
We need to grow out of childish ranting that “Billy started it” or “everybody is doing it too” and let our inner adults take over. Democracy doesn’t stand a chance without an independent Fourth Estate.
Terry Heaton is the author of ‘The Gospel of Self: How Jesus Joined the GOP [ http://www.orbooks.com/catalog/gospel-self-terry-heaton/ ].’
©2017 Oath Inc. Part of HuffPost MultiCultural/HPMG News (emphasis in original)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-the-religious-right-pioneered-propaganda-as-news_us_5943e1d6e4b01eab7a2d130a [with comments] [id.]
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Fox News Is Dropping Its ‘Fair & Balanced’ Slogan
Now with a new tagline.
The decision was made last August after Ailes’s ouster by Fox News co-president Jack Abernethy, because the phrase had “been mocked”.
June 14, 2017
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/06/fox-news-is-dropping-its-fair-and-balanced-slogan.html [with comments] [id.]
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When Will Trump Lose His Base?
06/16/2017 Updated June 16, 2017
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/when-will-trump-lose-his-base_us_5943d6c6e4b024b7e0df4b02 [with comments] [id.]
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Texas Governor Signs Christians First ‘Religious Freedom’ Adoption Law
June 16, 2017
New adoption law allows discrimination against non-Christians: Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed into law legislation allowing publicly funded agencies to deny non-Christians the ability to adopt a child in need.
[...]
In other words, publicly funded agencies in Texas will be free to discriminate against non-Christians and any other “undesirables” who fail to conform to the dictates of conservative Christianity.
[...]
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2017/06/texas-governor-signs-christians-first-religious-freedom-adoption-law/ [with comments] [id.] [and see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=131346698 and preceding and following, http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=131547372 and preceding (and any future following), http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=131901209 and preceding (and any future following)]
Texas governor signs anti-LGBTQ adoption bill into law
Child placement agencies allowed to discriminate against LGBTQ adoptive parents under guise of "religious freedom"
June 16, 2017
https://www.metroweekly.com/2017/06/texas-governor-signs-anti-lgbtq-adoption-bill/ [no comments yet] [id.]
The Deadly Consequences Of Texas’ Anti-LGBT Adoption Bill
As the deadline to veto the anti-LGBT measure approaches, the lives of thousands of Texas foster children hang in the balance.
06/15/2017
For a state that prides itself on being “pro-life,” Texas lawmakers sure seem hell-bent on ensuring that children in the state’s foster care system experience the absolute worst possible outcomes.
House Bill 3859 [ http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&Bill=HB3859 ], which passed the Legislature [ https://www.texastribune.org/2017/05/21/senate-passes-religious-protections-child-welfare-agencies/ ] last month, allows child placement agencies that receive taxpayer money to claim religious objections to certain groups of people—effectively giving them a license to deny adoption and fostering opportunities to LGBTQ, single, or non-Christian parents. Assuming Gov. Greg Abbott doesn’t veto HB 3859 before a Sunday, June 18 deadline, the law will also allow these publicly funded child welfare services to send LGBTQ foster children to so-called “conversion therapy.”
For the almost 30,000 children in Texas foster care, the consequences of HB 3859 will be devastating—and yes—potentially deadly.
[...]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-deadly-consequences-of-texas-hb-3859_us_5942d4b4e4b0d188d027fca6 [with embedded video, and comments] [id.]
TX governor signs bill allowing providers to deny LGBTQ youth child welfare services
Governor Abbott.
Beginning in September, child welfare agencies in Texas can refuse service to LGBTQ children and families.
Jun 16, 2017
https://thinkprogress.org/texas-governor-signs-religious-freedom-lgbtq-youth-discrimination-bill-749cf6b94ec0 [with comments] [id.]
Texas Enacts ‘Anti-Sharia’ Law
16 Jun 2017
Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law House Bill 45, more commonly known as “American Laws for American Courts,” or ALAC. It prohibits the use of any foreign law in the state’s courts, specifically in family cases that involve marriage or parent-child relationship matters.
One of the bill’s co-authors Representative Jeff Leach (R-Plano) thanked the governor, who signed HB 45 on Wednesday. Leach called the law “vitally important bill to further safeguard and protect our Constitutional rights!” In the last legislative session, Leach authored the comparable yet unsuccessful ALAC measure, House Bill 562 [ http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2015/03/20/american-laws-for-american-courts-resolution-passed-in-north-texas-city/ ].
[...]
http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/06/16/texas-enacts-anti-sharia-law/ [with comments] [id.] [and see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132078524 and preceding and following, http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132088301 and preceding and following]
Texas Governor Who [Illegally] Chopped Down Old Tree Will Chop Down Law Protecting Old Trees
June 15 2017
The liberty-lovin’ Texas Legislature meets once every two years, which isn’t always enough time to enact a liberty-lovin’ agenda. Which is why, last week, Gov. Greg Abbott called the legislature in for a special July session covering issues like abortion, property taxes, and school financing—the statehouse equivalent of summer school.
And then, in the middle of an ambitious 19-item agenda [ https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-special-session ], there was this: a bill to pre-empt local laws protecting old trees.
For Abbott, the arboreal beef is personal.
[...]
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/06/15/texas_governor_who_chopped_down_old_tree_will_chop_down_law_protecting_old.html [with comments] [id.]
Joe Straus Likens Gov. Abbott’s Special Session Menu to Horse Poo
Texas House Speaker Joe Straus on Gov. Greg Abbott's special session of the 2017 Legislature: "With all this manure, there must be a pony in here somewhere."
Jun 16, 2017
Last week, during Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s often-postponed news conference to announce that, yes indeed, the Texas Legislature would convene for a special session beginning July 18 [ http://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2017/06/06/gov-abbott-rewards-the-hostage-takers-adds-bathroom-bill-to-special-session-menu ], he rattled off 20 items he’d like to git er dunn.
On Wednesday, San Antonio’s own Joe Straus criticized Abbott’s artisanal, handheld menu of legislative issues, and likened the governor’s farm-to-fork entrées to manure-to-mouth table scraps.
According to the Texas Tribune [ https://www.texastribune.org/2017/06/14/straus-special-session ], the Texas House Speaker – talking to a crammed room of superintendents and school board members at the Texas Association of School Boards’ yearly summer leadership institute – blasted the Texas Senate’s so-called cloak-and-dagger strategy of focusing on piddly bathroom bill legislation rather than tackling real-deal issues such as public-education funding.
Straus’ opening salvo included “a joke about an optimistic boy who surprises his psychiatrist when he gets excited by ‘a room full of horse manure,’ reports the Trib. “The boy said, ‘With all this manure, there must be a pony in here somewhere,’” said Straus during the TASB conference at the Marriott Rivercenter.
Two bills that rotted in the Texas House during the 2017 Lege – establishing a commission to study school finance reform, and creating a voucher-esque program to bankroll private school and homeschooling costs for kids with disabilities – are among the 20 items Abbott laid out for the special session, which can last up to 30 days.
“Even if we approved vouchers, they still cut out the vast majority of the funding we had proposed for public schools, so there was hardly anything left,” said Straus, who added that the Senate made approximately $1 billion in public school funds go poof.
[...]
http://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2017/06/16/joe-straus-likens-gov-abbotts-special-session-menu-to-horse-poo [no comments yet] [id.]
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Full: AG Rosenstein Testifies at Senate Budget Hearing 6/13/17
Published on Jun 13, 2017 by President Trump [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfyW3Nw6poE6V04jhMdflag , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfyW3Nw6poE6V04jhMdflag/videos ]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=034Z-1x35jY [with comments]
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Hearing: Department of Justice Budget (EventID=105999)
Streamed live on Jun 13, 2017 by HouseAppropsGOP [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMaSlF09S0fpoRshS2t_7XA / https://www.youtube.com/user/HouseAppropsGOP , https://www.youtube.com/user/HouseAppropsGOP/videos ]
The House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee holds a hearing on the FY 2018 budget request for the Department of Justice. Subcommittee Chairman John Culberson presides. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein testifies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSsF5vNndes [comments disabled]
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President Trump has Lunch with Members of Congress
Published on Jun 13, 2017 by The White House
Washington, DC
[no official transcript (yet) availoable at/via https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-and-remarks , https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings , or https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-and-releases ]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FUGJFEQvTE [with comments]
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President Trump Makes a Statement on Healthcare
Published on Jun 13, 2017 by The White House
Milwaukee, WI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9Rsq0sm6tw [with comments]
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The Senate’s three tools on health care: Sabotage, speed and secrecy
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
(Olivier Douliery/Bloomberg)
By Andy Slavitt
June 10, 2017
Andy Slavitt was acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from 2015 to 2017.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had a problem when the American Health Care Act arrived from the House last month. What to do with a bill that is clogging your agenda but only 8 percent of Americans want you to pass and members of your own caucus swore was dead on arrival? McConnell couldn’t have missed the town halls filled with angry Americans who rely on Medicaid and see the Affordable Care Act’s protections for those with preexisting conditions as a godsend. The House bill — which the Congressional Budget Office estimates would cause 23 million [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/24/us/politics/cbo-congressional-budget-office-health-care.html ] to lose coverage and end those protections for many — threatened all of that.
Faced with that reality, McConnell could have started over and had the Senate develop its own legislation, perhaps even working with Democrats on a bipartisan alternative that could withstand the test of time. Instead, McConnell put a plan in place to pass something close to the House bill using three simple tools: sabotage, speed and secrecy.
• Sabotage: Given the unpopularity of the AHCA, Republicans have just one argument: Obamacare has failed. The GOP premise is “bad” beats “dead.” The problem is the facts don’t support this. Medicaid — which accounts for the bulk [ http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/jan/15/rand-paul/medicaid-expansion-drove-health-insurance-coverage/ ] of the ACA coverage expansion — is successful, popular and bipartisan. The ACA’s individual insurance exchanges got off to an uneasy start, but after five years, insurer filings and independent reports all point to profitable insurers and stable or stabilizing markets — at least until President Trump intervened to rattle insurers.
Taking advantage of those now well-documented efforts to sabotage the ACA, McConnell is reportedly telling his members they have no choice but to pass a replacement. By acting fast, McConnell hopes to minimize the continuing and mounting evidence of sabotage as insurers file rates in places such as North Carolina [ http://www.journalnow.com/business/business_news/local/trump-effect-on-health-care-nc-s-most-popular-plan/article_ddc05550-de45-5208-a58b-5979e1169f23.html ] and Pennsylvania that explicitly break out the specific impact of Trump’s sabotage.
• Speed: As he watched House members scrupulously avoid constituents while on recess, McConnell clearly recognized that his best bet would be to hold a vote before the July 4 recess [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-health-202/2017/06/09/the-health-202-why-mitch-mcconnell-wants-to-pass-a-health-care-overhaul/5939bde8e9b69b2fb981dcb3/ ] in hopes this would minimize pressure on vulnerable senators such as Nevada’s Dean Heller — who won his seat by a mere 12,000 votes [ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/nov/7/heller-retains-senate-seat-nevada/ ] in a state where more than 200,000 will lose Medicaid coverage [ https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/nevada/heller-other-gop-senators-urge-7-year-phaseout-of-medicaid-expansion/ ].
So last week McConnell deployed [ http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/6/7/1669740/-McConnell-starts-fast-track-process-for-Trumpcare-in-the-Senate ] Rule XIV, a fast-track procedure [ https://www.senate.gov/CRSpubs/88c49b6d-83d7-402a-9c15-9c9ecf7decbc.pdf ] that bypasses the committee process and moves the bill directly to the floor. Just as in the House, we’re on track to have a vote with no hearings (there were more than 100 for the ACA [ http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2017/03/07/examining-the-house-republican-aca-repeal-and-replace-legislation/ ]). Knowing the coverage loss will be significant, McConnell plans to vote within only days, or possibly even hours, of the release of the CBO score. Moving fast leaves opponents, and the public, with no time to catch up to the details.
• Secrecy. None of this will work if the content of the bill cannot be kept secret for as long as possible. A small group of Republicans is amending the House bill behind close doors. And for all the talk of having the Senate start over and fix the bad House bill, their reported changes appear to be minimal, and to follow the blueprint laid out by Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn [ http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/cbo-estimate-revised-house-health-care-bill-changes-little ] (R-Tex.) that: “80 percent of what the House did we’re likely to do.” The ACA’s expansion of Medicaid would end. The caps on Medicaid spending imposed by the House bill would remain. With state approval, insurers would still be able to offer Swiss cheese policies that drop benefits people with preexisting conditions need most.
The secrecy is also necessary for backroom deals. Given the opioid crisis in her state, one would think the AHCA’s severe Medicaid cuts would mean Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.) would never support it [ http://www.businessinsider.com/obamacare-medicaid-expansion-states-in-danger-opioid-epidemic-2017-2 ]; the majority of opioid treatments in her state are provided by Medicaid. Similarly, one would think there is no price that would cause Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) to sign on to a deal whose consequences for her state [ http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/06/news/economy/alaska-health-care-reform/index.html ] would be worse than any other state [ https://www.adn.com/politics/2017/03/10/what-the-new-house-healthcare-plan-means-for-alaska/ ]. But McConnell is counting on being able to buy their votes relatively cheaply: possibly with a small “opioid fund” and an extra few years before the Medicaid expansion ends in certain states.
Of course there’s a better way. Not long ago, Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy (La.), Susan Collins (Maine) [ http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/14/senate-obamacare-repeal-bipartisan-talks-238320 ] and Capito talked about finding solutions that would lead to more people covered, not fewer. That’s an approach that could bring many Democrats to the table. Given the Senate’s narrow margins, by voting no, the three of them or others have the power to change the course we’re on and put health-care reform on a path to long-term political stability. And McConnell himself might not even mind. Something short of 50 votes will preserve the Senate’s role as our deliberative body with the good judgment not to bow to the political winds, particularly when the country needs its checks and balances to work like never before.
Read more:
Topher Spiro: How the Senate health-care bill will drop people with preexisting conditions
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/06/14/how-the-senate-health-care-bill-will-drop-people-with-preexisting-conditions/
Dana Milbank: What Republicans are doing while you’re distracted by Sessions and Comey
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-is-a-weapon-of-mass-distraction/2017/06/13/a10f651e-506f-11e7-be25-3a519335381c_story.html
Paul Waldman: How the Republican Coward Caucus is about to sell out its own constituents — in secret
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/06/13/how-the-republican-coward-caucus-is-about-to-sell-out-its-own-constituents-in-secret/
Jennifer Rubin: What stops Republicans from behaving rationally
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/06/13/what-stops-republicans-from-behaving-rationally/
Jennifer Rubin: Trump’s presidency becomes a legal swamp
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/06/12/trumps-presidency-becomes-a-legal-swamp/
The Post’s View: The CBO report proves the GOP health-care bill is no rescue plan
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-cbo-report-proves-the-gop-health-care-bill-is-no-rescue-plan/2017/05/24/7c1dbf0c-40bc-11e7-adba-394ee67a7582_story.html
Jennifer Rubin: The CBO confirms: The Republican health-care bill is rotten legislation
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/05/24/the-cbo-confirms-the-republican-health-care-bill-is-rotten-legislation/
Catherine Rampell: Want to know what Trumpcare would do to the country? Look at the implosion in Iowa.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/want-to-know-what-trumpcare-would-do-to-the-country-look-at-the-implosion-in-iowa/2017/05/22/958d6b56-3f2a-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html
The Post’s View: Betrayal, carelessness, hypocrisy: The GOP health-care bill has it all
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/betrayal-carelessness-hypocrisy-the-gop-health-care-bill-has-it-all/2017/05/04/8b9e9b62-30eb-11e7-8674-437ddb6e813e_story.html
© 2017 The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-senates-three-tools-on-health-care-sabotage-speed-and-secrecy/2017/06/10/11bad38e-4d5a-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html [with embedded video, and comments] [and see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=129917087 and preceding and following, http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=129924281 and preceding and following, http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=129961788 and preceding and following]
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AP sources: Trump tells senators House health bill ‘mean’
President Donald Trump speaks [YouTube above] before having lunch with Republican Senators and White House staffers in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, June 13, 2017.
Jun 13, 2017
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump told Republican senators Tuesday that the House-passed health care bill he helped revive is “mean” and urged them to craft a version that is “more generous,” congressional sources said.
Trump’s remarks were a surprising slap at a Republican-written House measure that was shepherded by Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and whose passage the president lobbied for and praised. At a Rose Garden ceremony minutes after the bill’s narrow House passage on May 4, Trump called it “a great plan.”
The president’s criticism, at a White House lunch with 15 GOP senators, also came as Senate Republican leaders’ attempts to write their own health care package have been slowed by disagreements between their party’s conservatives and moderates.
Trump’s characterizations seemed to undercut attempts by Senate leaders to assuage conservatives who want restrictions in their chamber’s bill, such as cutting the Medicaid health care program for the poor and limiting the services insurers must cover. Moderate GOP senators have been pushing to ease those restrictions.
Facing expected unanimous Democratic opposition, Republicans will be unable to pass a Senate bill if just three of the 52 GOP senators vote “no.” Alienating any of them could make approving the measure trickier for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who’s been hoping for a vote before Congress’ July 4 recess.
Trump’s comments were described by two GOP congressional sources who received accounts of Tuesday’s White House lunch. They spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal a closed-door conversation.
Their descriptions of Trump’s words differed slightly.
One source said Trump called the House bill “mean, mean, mean” and said, “We need to be more generous, more kind.” The other source said Trump used a vulgarity to describe the House bill and told the senators, “We need to be more generous.”
Two other congressional GOP officials confirmed that the general descriptions of Trump’s words were accurate.
The sources say the president did not specify what aspects of the bill he was characterizing.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined to comment, telling reporters aboard Air Force One Tuesday evening, “We don’t comment on rumors or private conversations.”
[...]
After the meeting with senators, Trump flew to Wisconsin, where, for the second week in a row, he highlighted [YouTube above] the stories of people whose health care premiums have increased — people the White House has dubbed “Obamacare victims.”
After meeting with two such couples after landing in Milwaukee, Trump pointed to “millions of American families” he said “continue to suffer from Obamacare while Congressional Democrats obstruct our efforts to rescue them.”
Trump did not discuss the House GOP health care plan in any detail, but said the Senate is getting ready to do something.
https://apnews.com/b5383189b4dc4dea94890f13846c2639/AP-sources:-Trump-tells-senators-House-health-bill-'mean [with embedde video]
*
Centene Will Enter Health Insurance Exchanges in 3 New States
Centene will enter health insurance exchanges in three new states for 2018, in addition to expanding its presence in six other marketplaces.
June 13, 2017
Centene Corporation will expand its presence in a number of state health insurances exchanges in 2018, building on its successful 2017 marketplace results. The payer is planning to enter the Kansas, Missouri and Nevada health insurance exchanges. It will also expand its 2018 footprint in six existing markets: Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Texas, and Washington.
[...]
https://healthpayerintelligence.com/news/centene-will-enter-health-insurance-exchanges-in-3-new-states
*
The GOP’s fantastically anti-democratic quest to kill health care in the dark
June 14, 2017
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell once had passionate views about how carefully Congress should consider sweeping changes to the health-care system.
“Fast-tracking a major legislative overhaul such as health care reform or a new national energy tax without the benefit of a full and transparent debate does a disservice to the American people,” McConnell said in 2009 [ http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-healthcare-congress-idUSTRE53N6LC20090424 ], referring to the two big issues of the moment. Democrats using such means, he added, “would make it absolutely clear they intend to carry out their plans on a purely partisan basis.”
Republican hypocrisy is now so rampant that it’s typically ignored or, worse, granted the political class’s all-purpose form of absolution: “Everybody does it.”
But everybody doesn’t do it. McConnell is trying to eviscerate the Affordable Care Act using methods completely at odds with how the law was originally brought to life [ http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/28/politics/supreme-court-health-timeline/index.html ] in the early Obama administration. The ACA was debated for more than a year and went through an elaborate hearing and amendment process that included some changes urged by Republicans [ http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/mar/16/luis-gutierrez/rep-gutierrez-says-hundreds-republican-amendments-/ ].
By contrast, the bill Senate Republicans are writing is being held as close as the nuclear codes. In the meantime, President Trump and his administration (including, most recently, Attorney General Jeff “I don’t recall [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/06/13/4-takeaways-from-jeff-sessionss-feisty-testimony-to-congress-about-russia/ ]” Sessions) keep providing McConnell excellent cover as their assorted outrages dominate the news and deflect attention from Capitol Hill. The wrecking squad works in the shadows knowing that if the public were given time to absorb the damage in store for millions of Americans [ https://www.cbo.gov/publication/52752 ], the pushback would be enormous.
Cleverly, Senate Republicans say their coverage-destruction bill will be better than the one Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.) pushed through the House. (Trump helpfully described the House measure as “mean” during a meeting Tuesday with Republican senators.) Well, great, and a Category 4 hurricane is a bit less harrowing than a Category 5. Most of us would prefer to avoid both.
One of the so-called improvements that has leaked out: People will be thrown off Medicaid more slowly [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/senate-gop-aiming-to-conclude-divisive-health-care-push--one-way-or-the-other/2017/06/06/0eda4ed2-4a40-11e7-bc1b-fddbd8359dee_story.html ] under McConnellcare than under Ryancare. But they’ll still be thrown off, and to pay for this reprieve, the Senate would reportedly include additional cuts to Medicaid elsewhere [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-health-202/2017/06/13/the-health-202-conservative-groups-balk-at-possibility-of-retaining-obamacare-taxes/593ed553e9b69b2fb981dcf0/ ]. To finance all their tax cuts for the rich, Republicans will have to gut insurance for a lot of people one way or another.
[...]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-gops-fantastically-anti-democratic-attempt-to-kill-health-care-in-the-dark/2017/06/14/0903e284-5134-11e7-91eb-9611861a988f_story.html [with comments]
*
The Saucy Sock Puppet of the Trump-Nominated Judge
An attorney up for a federal bench seat made his views plain while writing blog posts under a pseudonym.
06.14.17
Progressive groups are banding together in an effort to defeat the judicial nomination of John Bush, a Kentucky attorney who took pot shots at liberals and others while blogging under the pseudonym G. Morris [ https://www.buzzfeed.com/zoetillman/one-of-trumps-judicial-nominees-blogged-under-a-pen-name ], and once cheered a sign warning vandals who “trespassed and stole my Palin-McCain sign,” that if they do it again, “you will find out what the 2nd Amendment is all about!!!”
Bush, 52, chairs the Louisville chapter of the conservative Federalist Society and is on the list of potential Supreme Court nominees assembled by the conservative Heritage Foundation for then-candidate Donald Trump when he needed to convince evangelicals of his bona fides on abortion rights.
Bush’s credentials as an anti-abortion advocate are front and center in his record as an attorney working with the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, which lists “Right to Life” as one of its areas of litigation, and in his many pseudonymous posts on “Elephants in the Bluegrass,” the blog founded by his wife, Bridget Bush. She’s on the board of Kentucky Opportunity Coalition, a “dark money” group that doesn’t disclose its donors and that raised $14 million for fellow Kentuckian and Senate leader Mitch McConnell’s reelection.
Writing as G. Morris, Bush equated abortion with slavery as the “two greatest tragedies in our country.” He called the effort to find an alternative to embryonic stem cell research a “liberal pet peeve.” And when he thought the Affordable Care Act wouldn’t pass, he cheered: “The witch is dead.”
An unabashed Trump supporter, he ripped Ted Cruz, who sits on the judiciary committee, as a “sore loser” during the campaign and wrote from the Republican National Convention about whether Hillary Clinton would look better in black stripes or orange.
Bush disclosed his online identity on the questionnaire [ https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Bush%20SJQ.pdf ] judicial nominees submit to the Senate Judiciary Committee. His comments there are the sort that have traditionally concerned senators, and his blogging life is likely to dominate Wednesday’s hearing as he contends for a lifetime seat on the Sixth Circuit, which has jurisdiction over Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, states expected to generate a number of court cases related to reproductive freedom.
[...]
Also appearing on the witness stand Wednesday morning will be another prolific blogger, Damien Schiff, nominated for a 15-year term on the Federal Claims court. Writing under his own name, he has called Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy a “judicial prostitute” because the Reagan-appointed Kennedy doesn’t always vote with the Court’s conservative bloc. “It would be wonderful for reporters to ask (senators) if they believe Kennedy is a judicial prostitute, and if not, how can they justify a vote for Damien Schiff,” Nan Aron said at the conclusion of the call with reporters.
[...]
http://www.thedailybeast.com/the-saucy-sock-puppet-of-the-trump-nominated-judge
*
One of the most prestigious brands in medicine is jumping into Obamacare
Delos Cosgrove, Chief Executive and President, Cleveland Clinic at the Washington Post RNC Convention Headquarters last summer.
June 15, 2017
At a time when many health insurers are exiting the exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act or thinking about it, one of the top-ranked hospitals in the country is jumping in — and they're doing it through an alliance with a health insurer co-founded by Ivanka Trump's brother-in-law, Joshua Kushner.
Cleveland Clinic, a nonprofit academic medical center, is partnering with Oscar Health to sell individual insurance plans in five northeast Ohio counties. The plans will be available on the exchanges, where people can use government subsidies to purchase health coverage as well as off the exchanges, where people bear the full cost of their health coverage.
[...]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/06/15/one-of-the-most-prestigious-brands-in-medicine-is-jumping-into-obamacare/ [with comments]
*
Secrecy Surrounding Senate Health Bill Raises Alarms in Both Parties
Defending the Republicans’ approach, Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, said this week that there had been “gazillions of hearings” on repealing the Affordable Care Act over the years.
JUNE 15, 2017
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/15/us/politics/secrecy-surrounding-senate-health-bill-raises-alarms-in-both-parties.html [with comments]
*
I’ve covered Obamacare since day one. I’ve never seen lying and obstruction like this.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55277721/683871042.0.jpg)
Jun 15, 2017
Republicans do not want the country to know what is in their health care bill.
This has become more evident each day, as the Senate plots out a secretive path toward Obamacare repeal — and top White House officials (including the president) consistently lie about what the House bill actually does.
There was even a brief moment Tuesday where Senate Republicans flirted with the idea of banning on-camera interviews in congressional hallways, a plan quickly reversed after outcry from the press.
[...]
https://www.vox.com/health-care/2017/6/15/15807986/obamacare-lies-obstruction
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Governors from both parties slam House ObamaCare bill, call for bipartisan Senate approach
06/16/27
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/338157-governors-of-both-parties-call-for-bipartisan-senate-approach-on-healthcare [with comments]
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Great Moments in Congressional Hallway History | Full Frontal on TBS
Published on Jun 13, 2017 by Full Frontal with Samantha Bee [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18vz5hUUqxbGvym9ghtX_w , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18vz5hUUqxbGvym9ghtX_w/videos ]
We almost lost access to congressional hallway interviews today, but then we didn't. Here's a celebration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1dFb45jsVw [with comments]
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Full Show - The American People Face the Greatest Propaganda Assault in History - 06/13/2017
Published on Jun 13, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
Tuesday, June 13th 2017[, with appearances by Lionel, Roger Stone and Steve Pieczenik]: Deep State Goes After Trump - Former FBI Director Mueller has hired a Clinton Foundation lawyer for the investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 elections. Alex Jones hosts as he takes on attacks from all media outlets after his interview with Megyn Kelly triggered millions of liberals. We'll discuss the media's reaction to the controversial Trump-themed "Julius Caesar" play in NYC. Also, we examine Europe's continuing struggle to fight radical Islam and the slow-motion collapse of Venezuela.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyFUE1OwSZE [with comments] [also at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0qhVH72xTs (additional text adapted from; with comments)] [and again, see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132104408 and preceding and following, http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132139395 and following]
*
WATCH LIVE: Jeff Sessions Testifies
Streamed live on Jun 13, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEwHStxKUlM [with comments]
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FULL HEARING: Jeff Sessions Testifies About Russia, Comey Firing at Senate Intel Committee Hearing
Published on Jun 13, 2017 by FOX 10 Phoenix
Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ highly anticipated testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday will be public, committee leaders announced, agreeing to calls from numerous lawmakers and the AG himself to put the hearing on the record.
The attorney general over the weekend agreed to speak to the same committee that heard last Thursday from fired FBI Director James Comey, to answer questions regarding the Russia investigation.
It had been unclear whether the attorney general would speak in closed or open session. But the committee put out a statement Monday saying the hearing is now set to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday in open session.
A Justice Department spokesperson said Sessions requested the hearing be public.
Transcript: Jeff Sessions' testimony on Trump and Russia
06/13/2017 Updated 06/13/2017
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/13/full-text-jeff-session-trump-russia-testimony-239503 [with comments]
Why Did Jeff Sessions Really Meet With Sergey Kislyak?
The attorney general says he was acting as a senator, but a review of his activities that summer shows ambassadors seeking him out as a Trump surrogate
Jun 13, 2017
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/06/why-did-jeff-sessions-really-meet-sergey-kislyak/530091/ [with comments]
Donald Trump Jr. Sticks Up For Jeff Sessions During His Senate Testimony
The president’s eldest son called the hearing a “witch hunt train wreck” on Twitter.
06/13/2017 Updated June 13, 2017
Just as he did last week during the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-jr-james-comey_us_593965a9e4b0061054804ba6 ], President Donald Trump [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/donald-trump ]’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/donald-trump-jr ], tweeted during the Senate Intelligence Committee testimony of Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday.
[...]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-jr-jeff-sessions_us_59403a1de4b09ad4fbe3b24f [with embedded video, and comments]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i1mKhZRi8I [with comments]
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Infowars Nightly News LIVE - Dems Russian Narrative Implodes Again
Streamed live on Jun 13, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNMRzeowYw0 [with comments]
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NEW: Trump administration cold to new Russia sanctions
All In with Chris Hayes
6/13/17
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is questioned by Sen. Bob Menendez and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the Trump administration's plans on Russian sanctions. Duration: 0:43
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/new-trump-administration-cold-to-new-russia-sanctions-966597187876
*
Cory Booker: Sessions should not be attorney general
All In with Chris Hayes
6/13/17
The Democratic Senator from New Jersey tells Chris Hayes that Jeff Sessions' testimony before the Intelligence Committee 'is just another example' of why Sessions should not have his current job. Duration: 5:30
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/cory-booker-sessions-should-not-be-attorney-general-966801987630
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Hayes: Why did 3 Trump associates lie about Kislyak?
[the YouTube title: "Rep. Jim Jordan: My Interactions With Robert Mueller Have Been Disappointing"]
All In with Chris Hayes
6/13/17
‘It doesn’t strike you as weird that three people close to the president, under penalty of perjury, gave misleading or false answers about meeting with Russian officials?’ asks Chris Hayes of GOP Rep. Jim Jordan. Duration: 5:52
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/hayes-why-did-3-trump-associates-lie-about-kislyak-966800451952 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlGB25HA0cM [with comments]
*
Senator Kamala Harris persists again
All In with Chris Hayes
6/13/17
Senator Harris was interrupted by a male colleague during an Intelligence Committee hearing for the second time in one week. Duration: 2:11
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/senator-kamala-harris-persists-again-966807619632 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khQgEePN_mw [with comments]
*
Nixon-era fmr. Rep.: Sessions testimony a ‘cover-up’
All In with Chris Hayes
6/13/17
Former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman, who served on the Judiciary Committee during its drafting of the articles of impeachment against then-President Nixon, says Sessions' refusal to answer questions is 'what I call in good old Watergate language a cover-up.' Duration: 5:08
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/nixon-era-fmr-rep-sessions-testimony-a-cover-up-966807619991
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How Republicans used an ATM to hide from reporters
All In with Chris Hayes
6/13/17
Thing 1/Thing 2: The secret GOP plan to hide from reporters, and how one Republican defended it with an excuse about ATMs. Duration: 2:14
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/how-republicans-used-an-atm-to-hide-from-reporters-966807107931 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nji72YjUBuQ [with comments]
*
Warren grills Republican on secret health care bill
All In with Chris Hayes
6/13/17
Senator Elizabeth Warren pressed Republican Bill Cassidy for information about the GOP health care bill that's being drafted in secret. Duration: 1:20
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/warren-grills-republican-on-secret-health-care-bill-966812227531
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Trump team desperate to explain Comey firing
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/13/17
Rachel Maddow shows what a rarity it is for an FBI director to be fired and runs through the series of failed explanations for Donald Trump's firing of James Comey up to today's refusal by Jeff Sessions to answer questions in the Senate. Duration: 25:52
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-team-desperate-to-explain-comey-firing-966863427613 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyNPf7XvWOQ [with comments]
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New Trump team strategy: refuse to answer Trump Russia questions
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/13/17
Rachel Maddow looks at the emerging pattern of Trump White House officials who are using specious, non-legal excuses to refuse to answer certain questions in Trump=Russia Congressional hearings. Duration: 6:10
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/new-trump-team-strategy-refuse-to-answer-trump-russia-questions-966872643950
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Senator Schumer: 'Sessions is in dereliction of his duty'
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/13/17
Senator Chuck Schumer, top Senate Democrat, talks with Rachel Maddow about Trump officials making non-legal excuses for not answering questions from members of Congress in the Trump-Russian investigation. Duration: 6:20
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/senator-schumer-sessions-is-in-dereliction-of-his-duty-966839875866
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Schumer: Republicans hiding health bill because they're ashamed
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/13/17
Chuck Schumer, top Senate Democrat, talks with Rachel Maddow about why Republicans are hiding the drafting of their version of an Obamacare replacement. Duration: 4:10
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/schumer-republicans-hiding-health-bill-because-they-re-ashamed-966828611846
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Schumer: Logical that 'fearless prosecutors' would worry Trump
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/13/17
Senator Chuck Schumer, top Democrat in the Senate, talks with Rachel Maddow about possible explanations for why Donald Trump fired Preet Bharara after first telling him he could stay as U.S. attorney. Duration: 1:37
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/schumer-logical-that-fearless-prosecutors-would-worry-trump-966836803738
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Maddow: Trump's lawyer may need a lawyer
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/13/17
Rachel Maddow relays a new report claiming that Donald Trump's lawyer, Marc Kasowitz boasted of getting former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara fired by telling Donald Trump, "This guy is going to get you." Duration: 1:21
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/maddow-trump-s-laywer-may-need-a-lawyer-966877763787 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKM3dcxhXQk [with comments]
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Lawrence: The answer that could be Jeff Sessions' downfall
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
6/13/17
As Lawrence O'Donnell explains, in the matter of Jeff Sessions versus James Comey, only one of them can be telling the truth. Duration: 8:18
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/lawrence-the-answer-that-could-be-jeff-sessions-downfall-966860867608 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMFiVXNUC4M [with comments]
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Watergate prosecutor: 'Sessions was not even a credible witness'
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
6/13/17
Jeff Sessions stonewalled in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee today, says fmr. Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman, not answering questions he should have been required to under oath. Lawrence O'Donnell also discusses with Ron Klain and Karine Jean-Pierre. Duration: 7:49
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/watergate-prosecutor-sessions-was-not-even-a-credible-witness-966864963876
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Exclusive: Sen. Franken says Sessions violated his recusal
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
6/13/17
In an exclusive interview with Lawrence O'Donnell, Sen. Al Franken responds to what Jeff Sessions said today about his now-infamous answer to Sen. Franken that he "did not have communications with the Russians." Duration: 9:53
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/exclusive-sen-franken-says-sessions-violated-his-recusal-966867523606 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvwGvGT0vdI [with comments]
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After Sessions hearing, White House still has no Russia strategy
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/13/17
After a fiery and frustrating appearance in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee from Atty General Sessions, the White House reportedly still has no strategy to deal with questions over Russia. Duration: 7:57
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/after-sessions-hearing-white-house-still-has-no-russia-strategy-966879299568
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Jeff Sessions said 'I don't recall' a lot during Senate hearing
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/13/17
Over and over again, Attorney General Jeff Sessions answered question after question from Senate Intelligence Committee members by saying, 'I don't recall.' Duration: 1:20
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/jeff-sessions-said-i-don-t-recall-a-lot-during-senate-hearing-966895171512 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkFsgU_WLko [with comments]
*
Jeff Sessions changing his story on meetings with Russians?
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/13/17
During his Senate testimony, Jeff Sessions seemed to offer a new version of events behind his meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Julia Ioffe of The Atlantic joins MSNBC's Brian Williams. Duration: 2:57
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/jeff-sessions-changing-his-story-on-his-meetings-with-russians-966880835567 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3QPRstb3A0 [with comments]
*
Senators weren't happy with how often Sessions wouldn't answer
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/13/17
Jeff Sessions left senators confused after refusing to answer questions during his Senate testimony. Fmr. Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks & fmr. DOJ lawyer Carrie Cordero join. Duration: 3:53
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/senators-weren-t-happy-with-how-often-sessions-wouldn-t-answer-966889539751
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White House: Trump has the right to fire Special Counsel Mueller
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/13/17
Will Pres. Trump fire Special Counsel overseeing the FBI's Russia investigation Bob Mueller? The Washington Post's Ashley Parker & New York Times' Jeremy Peters discuss. Duration: 7:13
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/white-house-trump-has-the-right-to-fire-special-counsel-mueller-966900291672
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Rumors over Robert Mueller's Fate & Jeff Sessions in the Senate Hot Seat: The Daily Show
Published on Jun 13, 2017 by The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
The media fixates on a rumor that President Trump is considering firing special prosecutor Robert Mueller, and beleaguered Attorney General Jeff Sessions defends his honor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi4eT7WVzX4 [with comments]
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Jeff Sessions Can't Recall What He Forgot To Remember
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
The Senate intelligence committee has questions. Attorney General Jeff Sessions doesn't have answers.
[originally aired June 13, 2017]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK6L1F695fY [with comments]
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Dennis Rodman Visits The 'Stoner Paradise' Known As North Korea
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
After all of President Trump's campaign promises, who would have thought the man with bizarre hair negotiating with North Korea would be Dennis Rodman?
[originally aired June 13, 2017]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZxGMLW_1Nw [with comments]
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'Real News Tonight' Clearly Influenced Trump's 'Jobs' Tweet
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
President Trump appears to have turned away from 'Fox & Friends' to watch another show that dishes out compliments unconditionally.
[originally aired June 13, 2017]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBxFPzoF6rE [with comments]
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Melania Trump Gets Emotional About Moving Into The White House
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
The First Lady of the United States opens up about her big move from New York City to Washington, D.C.
[originally aired June 13, 2017]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h01Z2LLtw7U [with comments]
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Jeff Sessions Testifies; GOP Writes Secret Health Care Bill: A Closer Look
Published on Jun 13, 2017 by Late Night with Seth Meyers
Seth takes a closer look at Attorney General Jeff Sessions' Senate testimony and President Trump's allies call for the firing of the special counsel in charge of the Russia investigation, Robert Mueller.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhcFhg0NtWQ [with comments]
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"Day 145" Jeff Sessions Defiant, Invokes Executive Privilege as Trump hands over Power to Trannies
Published on Jun 13, 2017 by Bravo Alternative Media [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVV0_xnA_z-ALo6kZJz2WXA , https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVV0_xnA_z-ALo6kZJz2WXA/videos ]
On "Day 145" of the Donald Trump White House Regime we find out that Jeff Sessions is Defiant and Invokes Executive Privilege before the Senate Intelligence Committee, he says "I Don't recall". This has become a Global Embarrassment, The Trump Rich Asshole Club. It is Official now the Country Power Structure has been turned over to the Military Industrial Complex and this Month (June) They Celebrate Trannies ! This is beyond bizarre !
Texas cops find $1M worth of meth-laced lollipops
Six hundred pounds of the drug-laced candy had been loaded into the back seat of the vehicle, according to police. “They had so many narcotics in their vehicle they couldn’t close the back hatch of their car.”
June 14, 2017
http://wfla.com/2017/06/14/texas-cops-find-1m-worth-of-meth-laced-lollipops/ [no comments yet]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7ezazaDijE [with comments]
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North Texas mayors reject protectionist “Buy American” iron and steel bill
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price
The mayors of Dallas and Fort Worth are siding with Canadian officials over the potentially negative impact a “Buy American” iron and steel measure could have on Texas-Canada trade relations.
June 14, 2017
The mayors of two North Texas cities are siding with Canadian officials over the potentially negative impact a “Buy American” iron and steel measure could have on Texas-Canada trade relations.
Both Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, who are on a trade mission to Toronto and Montreal this week, said they had concerns with a law that will require large state projects — such as buildings, roads and bridges — to purchase iron and steel from an American supplier if the cost doesn’t exceed 20 percent more than the price of cheaper, foreign imports.
The measure [ http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/history.aspx?LegSess=85R&Bill=SB1289 ] was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott [ https://www.texastribune.org/directory/greg-abbott/ ] Friday and goes into effect Sept. 1.
The law has grabbed the attention of several Canadian officials, who wrote [ https://www.texastribune.org/2017/05/16/canadian-officials-upset-republican-buy-american-iron-and-steel-bill/ ] in a May 15 letter to Texas senators that they were “deeply concerned” with how the law would impact Texas-Canada trade. They asked members of a legislative conference committee to tack on an amendment that would exempt Canadian steel, but their request was denied.
"I didn’t like that [law],” Rawlings said in an interview on BNN, Canada's Business News Network. “I think it was pointed at China, but it has some repercussions here in Canada, and we need to go back and talk to [Abbott] about that.”
In a statement to The Texas Tribune on Wednesday, Price said she was concerned with some of the unintended consequences the measure could have on "our positive Texas-Canada trade relationship" and planned to work with lawmakers to "explore potential changes to this law."
"It is critical we support our strong trade relationship with Canada, while also promoting efforts to support the American marketplace and American jobs,” she said.
[...]
According to Canadian officials, Canada is the top export destination for U.S. steel products, representing roughly $9.7 billion in trade last year. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said in a written statement that she had met with both Texas mayors on Monday and was hoping to work with Texas lawmakers to seek an exemption for the province.
“The strong relationship between Ontario and Texas is long-standing and vital to the economies of both regions,” she wrote. “We are disappointed that Texas has passed discriminatory Buy American provisions.”
Creighton [the bill's originator] has previously said [ https://www.texastribune.org/2017/05/03/trump-their-side-republicans-hopeful-buy-america-iron-and-steel-bill/ ] that the aim of his bill was not to penalize Canada but to ensure "foreign governments like China and Turkey can’t create a foreign steel market that would gut the American market."
“We stand firm for Texas jobs and manufacturers and against communist China flooding the market to hurt those stakeholders,” he said.
[...]
https://www.texastribune.org/2017/06/14/north-texas-mayors-reject-protectionist-buy-american-iron-and-steel-bi/ [with comments]
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Full Show - Liberal Terrorist Shoots Congressman On Trump's Birthday - 06/14/2017
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
Wednesday, June 14th 2017[, with an appearance by Jerome Corsi, and Roger Stone hosting the fourth hour]: Republicans Targeted by Leftist Gunman Amid Baseball Practice - A leftist gunman is dead in Virginia after shooting at Republicans practicing baseball. We'll look at the motivations that led to the incident, and also look at the aftermath of a building fire in London described as "hell on earth." Actor Antonio Sabato Jr. joins the show to discuss his congressional run, his RNC endorsement of Donald Trump and the subsequent blacklist that followed. Also, former NSA technical director turned whistleblower William Binney and documentary filmmaker Friedrich Moser discuss "A Good American," a look at the NSA's role in 9/11.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtH_9nizuUc [with comments] [also at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WczdS3li94 (additional text adapted from; with comments)] [and again, see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132193307 and preceding and following] [and see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=127897647 and preceding and following]
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Senate Approves Russia Sanctions, Limiting Trump's Oversight
Schumer arrives to talk to media on Capitol Hill on May 23, 2017.
(Yuri Gripas / Reuters)
A new bipartisan deal prohibits the president from rolling back sanctions without Congress’s approval.
By Aria Bendix
Jun 14, 2017
In an overwhelming vote of 97-2, the U.S. Senate approved a new round of sanctions on Russia in response to the nation’s likely interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as its involvement in the Syrian civil war. The deal also prevents President Trump from loosening or rolling back restrictions on Russia without Congress’s approval, representing one of the most significant GOP-enforced checks on the president to date. Only two GOP senators, Utah’s Mike Lee and Kentucky’s Rand Paul, voted against the sanctions. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, a democrat, was absent for the vote.
The decision comes amid an ongoing investigation to determine whether members of the Trump administration colluded with Russian officials to influence the results of the election—and could signal a growing bipartisan concern over Trump’s reported sympathy toward Russia. On Tuesday, ahead of the vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Trump administration “has been too eager—far too eager, in my mind—to put sanctions relief on the table.” He added that the new sanctions will “send a powerful, bipartisan statement that Russia and any other nation who might try to interfere with our elections will be punished.”
Before Tuesday, the U.S. had already imposed sanctions [ https://www.state.gov/e/eb/tfs/spi/ukrainerussia/ ] on Russia for its annexation of Crimea and aggressive military action [ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-russia-ukraine-violence-us-condemns-aggressive-moscow-vladimir-putin-a7560486.html ] in Ukraine. The latest round of sanctions expands the list [ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40278569 ] of blacklisted businesses and individuals in Russia, targeting anyone “conducting malicious cyber activity on behalf of the Russian government.” The sanctions also pertain to those supplying weapons to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is backed by Russia. The U.S. has frequently accused the Assad regime of carrying out human rights abuses [ https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/05/us-syria-sanctions-human-rights-mass-killing/526956/ ], the latest of which reportedly involved cremating the remains of thousands of hanged prisoners. Finally, the sanctions target Russia’s mining, metal, shipping, and railway sectors, parts of its energy sector, and individuals who have conducted business with its intelligence or defense sectors.
While the new sanctions package still awaits approval from the House of Representatives and a signature from the president, Tuesday’s sweeping bipartisan support suggests the deal is unlikely to be vetoed. In an effort to ensure the deal’s approval, senators also attached it as an amendment to a popular bill sanctioning Iran for its ballistic missile testing. Still, some Democrats are worried about how the White House will respond. One of the bill’s key negotiators, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, told reporters [ http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/14/senate-passes-russia-sanctions-trump-limits-239553 ] that “people in the White House, we hear, are making calls in the House to try to stop [the bill], slow it, weaken it, dilute it.”
On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson argued the Trump administration should have more oversight over future sanctions. While Tillerson admitted that “Russia must be held accountable for its meddling in U.S. elections,” he added: “We would ask for the flexibility to turn the heat up when we need to, but also to ensure that we have the ability to maintain a constructive dialogue.” The president, he said, should have the authority to “adjust sanctions to meet the needs of what is always an evolving diplomatic situation.”
But, for some of the deal’s most ardent supporters, diplomatic relations—or lack thereof—between the U.S. and Russia are less ambiguous. “Vladimir Putin’s brazen attack on our democracy is a flagrant demonstration of his disdain and disrespect for our nation,” said Arizona Senator John McCain shortly before the vote. “This should not just outrage every American, but it should compel us to action.” If Tuesday’s vote is any indication, most senators agree that firm action is necessary, but question whether Trump or his advisors feel the same.
Copyright © 2017 by The Atlantic Monthly Group
https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/06/senate-approves-russia-sanctions-that-limit-trumps-power/530382/ [with comments]
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Putin sarcastically offers Comey political asylum in Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking to the media after his annual televised call-in show in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 15, 2017. Putin has his annual live call-in show, a TV marathon lasting for hours in which he may for the first time declare his intention to seek another term in 2018, comment on the latest opposition protest and talk about Russia-U.S. ties and other issues.
Jun 15, 2017
MOSCOW (AP) — Wading into the furor surrounding the investigations of the Trump White House, President Vladimir Putin used a national call-in show Thursday to disparage what he called U.S. “political infighting” that is blocking better relations with Russia.
The Russian leader even sarcastically offered political asylum to fired FBI Director James Comey.
Putin mixed the tough talk with benevolent promises about the Russian economy to disgruntled callers complaining about decrepit housing and low salaries during the four-hour marathon intended to burnish his father-of-the-nation image. But the 64-year-old wouldn’t say if he plans to seek another term in the 2018 election, although he is widely expected to do so.
Putin reaffirmed his denial of allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that the Kremlin meddled in the 2016 U.S. election, saying that Russia has openly expressed its views and hasn’t engaged in any covert activities.
He also tried to turn the tables on the U.S., saying it has sought to influence Russian elections by funding nongovernmental organizations as part of its aspirations for world domination.
“Turn a globe and point your finger anywhere, you will find American interests and interference there,” he said.
Putin also likened Comey to Edward Snowden, a contractor who leaked thousands of secret documents from the National Security Agency and has been living in Russia since being granted asylum in 2013.
“It sounds and looks very weird when the chief of a security agency records his conversation with the commander in chief and then hands it over to media via his friend,” Putin said.
“What’s the difference then between the FBI director and Mr. Snowden?” he asked. “In that case, he’s more of a rights campaigner defending a certain position than the security agency chief.”
On an acerbic note, he added that if Comey “faces some sort of persecution in connection with that, we are ready to offer political asylum in Russia to him as well.”
The remarks reflected Putin’s frustration with the investigations into alleged links between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia. The inquiries have dogged the White House, shattering Moscow’s hopes for improving ties with Washington.
He called the allegations a reflection of “exacerbating political infighting.”
On a conciliatory note, Putin added that Russia still hopes for normalization of ties with the U.S.
“We don’t see America as our enemy,” he said.
He said Moscow and Washington could cooperate to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and pool efforts to tackle the North Korean nuclear and missile problem.
The two countries also could cooperate on global poverty and preventing climate change, he said, adding that the U.S. remains the essential player on climate despite Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris accord.
Moscow also hopes that the U.S. could play a “constructive role” in helping settle the Ukrainian crisis, he said.
During the tightly choreographed show, Putin said the country has climbed out of recession despite ongoing Western sanctions, adding that the restrictions have forced Russians to “switch on our brains” to reduce dependence on energy exports.
He deplored the U.S. Senate’s decision Wednesday to impose new sanctions as yet another attempt to “contain” Russia, but he insisted that such measures have only made the country stronger.
The Senate voted to punish Moscow for the alleged election meddling by approving a wide-ranging package of sanctions that target key sectors of Russia’s economy and individuals who carried out cyberattacks.
The bill follows several rounds of other sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the European Union over Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and its support for pro-Russia insurgents in eastern Ukraine.
Putin argued that Russia has done nothing to warrant the Senate move, calling it an “evidence of a continuing internal political struggle in the U.S.”
[...]
https://www.apnews.com/93574365220f471887b5d585ce474e12/Putin-sarcastically-offers-Comey-political-asylum-in-Russia
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Amid uproar, Southern Baptists condemn ‘alt-right’ movement
Barrett Duke, chairman of the 2017 Committee on Resolutions, answers questions at a news conference following the passage of nine resolutions on Tuesday, June 13, 2017 in Phoenix. The Southern Baptist Convention, home to prominent evangelical supporters of President Donald Trump, adopted a statement on moral leadership at the group’s annual meeting Tuesday that avoided pointed criticism of current political officeholders.
Jun 14, 2017
PHOENIX (AP) — Southern Baptists on Wednesday formally condemned the political movement known as the “alt-right,” in a national meeting that was thrown into turmoil after leaders initially refused to take up the issue.
The denomination’s annual convention in Phoenix voted to “decry every form of racism, including alt-right white supremacy as antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ” and “denounce and repudiate white supremacy and every form of racial and ethnic hatred as a scheme of the devil.”
Tuesday night, Southern Baptist officials who oversaw the resolutions had refused to introduce a different repudiation of the “alt-right,” which emerged dramatically during the U.S. presidential election, mixing racism, white nationalism and populism.
Barrett Duke, who leads the resolutions committee, had said the original document contained inflammatory and broad language “potentially implicating” conservatives who do not support the “alt-right” movement.
Introducing the new statement Wednesday, Duke apologized “for the pain and confusion that we created,” but said the committee had been concerned about potentially giving the appearance of hating their enemies. Duke said the committee members “share your abhorrence of racism” and were grateful for the chance to “speak on ‘alt-right’ racism in particular and all racism in general.”
The resolution was adopted after a short but emotional discussion.
“We are saying that white supremacy and racist ideologies are dangerous because they oppress our brothers and sisters in Christ,” said the Rev. Russell Moore, who leads the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, the Southern Baptist public policy arm. “If we’re a Jesus people, let’s stand where Jesus stands.”
Charles Hedman of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in South Bend, Indiana, said far-right groups had been distributing racist material outside the convention hall Tuesday night. He said some pastors had told him they would have to leave the denomination if the convention failed to denounce white supremacy Wednesday.
“We must stand strong,” Hedman said. “We must all issue an apology that we didn’t act on this yesterday.”
The initial proposal that Southern Baptists had rejected came from a prominent black Southern Baptist pastor, the Rev. William McKissic of Arlington, Texas. His resolution repudiated “retrograde ideologies, xenophobic biases and racial bigotries of the ‘alt-right’ that seek to subvert our government.”
After McKissic made an unsuccessful plea for reconsideration from the floor of the Phoenix meeting late Tuesday, pressure began building online and at the convention for the Southern Baptists to say something.
Several Southern Baptists were panicked, contending that silence would be misinterpreted as support for white supremacy. The denomination was formed in the 19th century in defense of slaveholders and has been trying to overcome its racist history.
[...]
Debate also underscored ongoing tensions among Southern Baptists whether Donald Trump, a thrice-married casino and real estate mogul, was morally fit to be president.
Moore vehemently condemned candidate Trump. At the same time, several prominent Southern Baptists, including former presidents of the denomination, signed on as evangelical advisers to the Republican’s campaign. They remain among the president’s most steadfast supporters.
When Trump won with 80 percent of the white evangelical vote, Moore faced a backlash within the denomination. That landslide support for Trump left black evangelicals feeling alienated and disappointed given their concerns about Trump’s past treatment of blacks, his rhetoric about Mexicans and his promised policies.
https://www.apnews.com/af8bbb6403ad4218a72acd1789e1ce80/Amid-uproar,-Southern-Baptists-condemn-'alt-right'-movement
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‘Jesus never complained about racism’: Alt-Right Leader Richard Spencer blasts Southern Baptists for opposition to white supremacy
06/15/17
http://www.ibtimes.com/alt-right-leader-richard-spencer-responds-after-southern-baptist-convention-condemns-2552712 [no comments yet] [also at/title adapted from http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/jesus-never-complained-about-racism-richard-spencer-blasts-southern-baptists-for-opposition-of-white-supremacy/ (with comments)]
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Six Michigan officials criminally charged in Flint water crisis
Jun 14, 2017
Six current and former Michigan and Flint officials were criminally charged on Wednesday for their roles in the city's water crisis that was linked to an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease that caused at least 12 deaths, the state's attorney general said.
Five of the officials, including Michigan Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon, were charged with involuntary manslaughter stemming from their roles in handling the crisis, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said in a statement.
Involuntary manslaughter is a felony that carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
Lyon, 49, was also charged with one count of misconduct in office. The felony charge carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.
Four current and former state and Flint officials were also charged with involuntary manslaughter. The four had all been previously charged with lesser crimes in connection with the water crisis.
The state's chief medical executive, Eden Wells, was charged Wednesday with obstruction of justice and lying to police.
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder said in a statement that Lyon and Wells have his "full faith and confidence" and would remain on duty and help in Flint's recovery.
An attorney for Lyon could not be reached for comment. It was not immediately known if Wells had an attorney.
Schuette said his team had not spoken with Snyder as part of the investigation.
"We attempted to interview the governor. We were not successful," Schuette said. He declined to elaborate.
Previously, Schuette, when asked if Snyder was a target in the investigation, said there were no targets but "nobody is off the table."
Some critics have called for high-ranking state officials, including Snyder, to be charged. Snyder previously said he believed he had not done anything criminally wrong.
"The governor isn't going to speculate on where the investigation is or is not headed, but he continues to cooperate fully," Snyder's spokeswoman Anna Heaton said.
Snyder's attorney, Brian Lennon, said in a statement that Snyder was made available to testify under oath this spring after being told a subpoena would be produced, but that never occurred. He added that Snyder previously testified under oath to Congress.
Wednesday's charges stem from more than 80 cases of Legionnaires' disease, including the fatalities, that were believed to be linked to the water in Flint after the city switched its source to the Flint River from Lake Huron in April 2014.
Lyon was aware of the Legionnaires' outbreak in Genesee County at least one year before he informed the public, according to court documents. His deliberate failure to inform the public resulted in the death of Genesee Township resident Robert Skidmore, 85, from Legionnaires' in December 2015, the documents said.
Wells lied to police about when she became aware of the outbreak, according to the documents. She also threatened a team of independent researchers who were studying the source of the disease, court documents said.
[...]
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-michigan-water-idUSKBN195234
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Michigan officials vow to fight charges over Flint water crisis: reports
Jun 15, 2017
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-michigan-water-idUSKBN1962UY
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Special counsel is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice, officials say
By Devlin Barrett, Adam Entous, Ellen Nakashima and Sari Horwitz
June 14, 2017
The special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election is interviewing senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether President Trump attempted to obstruct justice, officials said.
The move by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/deputy-attorney-general-appoints-special-counsel-to-oversee-probe-of-russian-interference-in-election/2017/05/17/302c1774-3b49-11e7-8854-21f359183e8c_story.html ] to investigate Trump’s conduct marks a major turning point in the nearly year-old FBI investigation, which until recently focused on Russian meddling during the presidential campaign and on whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Investigators have also been looking for any evidence of possible financial crimes among Trump associates, officials said.
Trump had received private assurances from then-FBI Director James B. Comey starting in January that he was not personally under investigation. Officials say that changed shortly after Comey’s firing.
Five people briefed on the interview requests, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said that Daniel Coats, the current director of national intelligence, Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, and Rogers’s recently departed deputy, Richard Ledgett, agreed to be interviewed by Mueller’s investigators as early as this week. The investigation has been cloaked in secrecy, and it is unclear how many others have been questioned by the FBI.
The NSA said in a statement that it will “fully cooperate with the special counsel” and declined to comment further. The office of the director of national intelligence and Ledgett declined to comment.
The White House now refers all questions about the Russia investigation to Trump’s personal attorney, Marc Kasowitz.
“The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal,” said Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Kasowitz.
The officials said Coats, Rogers and Ledgett would appear voluntarily, though it remains unclear whether they will describe in full their conversations with Trump and other top officials or will be directed by the White House to invoke executive privilege. It is doubtful that the White House could ultimately use executive privilege to try to block them from speaking to Mueller’s investigators. Experts point out that the Supreme Court ruled during the Watergate scandal that officials cannot use privilege to withhold evidence in criminal prosecutions.
The obstruction-of-justice investigation of the president began days after Comey was fired on May 9 [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/comey-misstated-key-clinton-email-evidence-at-hearing-say-people-close-to-investigation/2017/05/09/074c1c7e-34bd-11e7-b373-418f6849a004_story.html ], according to people familiar with the matter. Mueller’s office has taken up that work, and the preliminary interviews scheduled with intelligence officials indicate that his team is actively pursuing potential witnesses inside and outside the government.
The interviews suggest that Mueller sees the question of attempted obstruction of justice as more than just a “he said, he said” dispute between the president and the fired FBI director, an official said.
Investigating Trump for possible crimes is a complicated affair, even if convincing evidence of a crime were found. The Justice Department has long held that it would not be appropriate to indict a sitting president. Instead, experts say, the onus would be on Congress to review any findings of criminal misconduct and then decide whether to initiate impeachment proceedings.
Comey confirmed publicly [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-director-to-testify-on-russian-interference-in-the-presidential-election/2017/03/20/cdea86ca-0ce2-11e7-9d5a-a83e627dc120_story.html ] in congressional testimony on March 20 that the bureau was investigating possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russians.
Comey’s statement before the House Intelligence Committee upset Trump, who has repeatedly denied that any coordination with the Russians took place. Trump had wanted Comey to disclose publicly that he was not personally under investigation, but the FBI director refused to do so.
Soon after, Trump spoke to Coats and Rogers about the Russia investigation.
Officials said one of the exchanges of potential interest to Mueller took place on March 22, less than a week after Coats was confirmed by the Senate to serve as the nation’s top intelligence official.
Coats was attending a briefing at the White House with officials from several other government agencies. When the briefing ended, as The Washington Post previously reported [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/top-intelligence-official-told-associates-trump-asked-him-if-he-could-intervene-with-comey-to-get-fbi-to-back-off-flynn/2017/06/06/cc879f14-4ace-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html ], Trump asked everyone to leave the room except for Coats and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
Coats told associates that Trump had asked him whether Coats could intervene with Comey to get the bureau to back off its focus on former national security adviser Michael Flynn in its Russia probe, according to officials. Coats later told lawmakers that he never felt pressured to intervene.
A day or two after the March 22 meeting, Trump telephoned Coats and Rogers to separately ask them to issue public statements denying the existence of any evidence of coordination [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-asked-intelligence-chiefs-to-push-back-against-fbi-collusion-probe-after-comey-revealed-its-existence/2017/05/22/394933bc-3f10-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html ] between his campaign and the Russian government.
Coats and Rogers refused to comply with the president’s requests, officials said.
It is unclear whether Ledgett had direct contact with Trump or other top officials about the Russia probe, but he wrote an internal NSA memo documenting the president’s phone call with Rogers, according to officials.
As part of the probe, the special counsel has also gathered Comey’s written accounts of his conversations with Trump [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/notes-made-by-former-fbi-director-comey-say-trump-pressured-him-to-end-flynn-probe/2017/05/16/52351a38-3a80-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html ]. The president has accused Comey of lying about those encounters.
Mueller is overseeing a host of investigations involving people who are or were in Trump’s orbit, people familiar with the probe said. The investigation is examining possible contacts with Russian operatives as well as any suspicious financial activity related to those individuals.
Last week, Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/comey-testimony-trump-senate-hearing/2017/06/07/afadf87c-4bd0-11e7-bc1b-fddbd8359dee_story.html ] that he had informed Trump that there was no investigation of the president’s personal conduct, at least while he was leading the FBI.
Comey’s carefully worded comments, and those of Andrew McCabe, who took over as acting FBI director, suggested to some officials that an investigation of Trump for attempted obstruction may have been launched after Comey’s departure, particularly in light of Trump’s alleged statements regarding Flynn.
“I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning, but that’s a conclusion I’m sure the special counsel will work towards, to try and understand what the intention was there, and whether that’s an offense,” Comey testified last week.
Mueller has not publicly discussed his work, and a spokesman for the special counsel declined to comment.
Accounts by Comey and other officials of their conversations with the president could become central pieces of evidence if Mueller decides to pursue an obstruction case.
Investigators will also look for any statements the president may have made publicly and privately to people outside the government about his reasons for firing Comey and his concerns about the Russia probe and other related investigations, people familiar with the matter said.
Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week that he was certain his firing was due to the president’s concerns about the Russia probe, rather than over his handling of a now-closed FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of state, as the White House had initially asserted. “It’s my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation,” Comey said. “I was fired, in some way, to change — or the endeavor was to change the way the Russia investigation was being conducted.”
The fired FBI director said ultimately it was up to Mueller to make a determination whether the president crossed a legal line.
In addition to describing his interactions with the president, Comey told the Intelligence Committee that while he was FBI director he told Trump on three occasions that he was not under investigation as part of a counterintelligence probe looking at Russian meddling in the election.
Republican lawmakers seized on Comey’s testimony to point out that Trump was not in the FBI’s crosshairs when Comey led the bureau.
After Comey’s testimony, in which he acknowledged telling Trump that he was not under investigation, Trump tweeted that he felt “total and complete vindication.” It is unclear whether McCabe, Comey’s successor, has informed Trump of the change in the scope of the probe.
Read more:
Here’s what we know so far about Team Trump’s ties to Russian interests
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/trump-russia/
A guide to the five major investigations of the Trump campaign’s possible ties to Russia
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/trump-russia-investigations/
‘I expect loyalty,’ Trump told Comey, according to written testimony
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/i-expect-loyalty-trump-told-comey-according-to-written-testimony/2017/06/07/46413298-4bab-11e7-a186-60c031eab644_story.html
Top intelligence official told associates Trump asked him if he could intervene with Comey on FBI Russia probe
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/top-intelligence-official-told-associates-trump-asked-him-if-he-could-intervene-with-comey-to-get-fbi-to-back-off-flynn/2017/06/06/cc879f14-4ace-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html
Inside Trump’s anger and impatience — and his sudden decision to fire Comey
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-trumps-anger-and-impatience-prompted-him-to-fire-the-fbi-director/2017/05/10/d9642334-359c-11e7-b373-418f6849a004_story.html
© 2017 The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/special-counsel-is-investigating-trump-for-possible-obstruction-of-justice/2017/06/14/9ce02506-5131-11e7-b064-828ba60fbb98_story.html [with embedded videos, and (over 21,000) comments]
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Mueller Seeks to Talk to Intelligence Officials, Hinting at Inquiry of Trump
Robert S. Mueller III in 2012.
J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and MATT APUZZO
JUNE 14, 2017
WASHINGTON — Robert S. Mueller III [ http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/robert_s_iii_mueller/index.html ], the special counsel examining Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, has requested interviews with three high-ranking current or former intelligence officials, the latest indication that he will investigate whether President Trump obstructed justice, a person briefed on the investigation said on Wednesday.
Mr. Mueller wants to question Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence; Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency; and Richard Ledgett, the former N.S.A. deputy director.
None of the men were involved with Mr. Trump’s campaign. But recent news reports have raised questions about whether Mr. Trump requested their help in trying to get James B. Comey, then the F.B.I. [ http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/f/federal_bureau_of_investigation/index.html ] director, to end an investigation into the president’s former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn. Last week, Mr. Coats and Admiral Rogers declined to answer questions [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/07/us/politics/nsa-intelligence-senate-trump-russia.html ] before Congress about the matter.
Mr. Mueller’s office has also asked the N.S.A. for any documents or notes related to the agency’s interactions with the White House as part of the Russia investigation, according to an intelligence official.
The Washington Post first reported on Wednesday [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/special-counsel-is-investigating-trump-for-possible-obstruction-of-justice/2017/06/14/9ce02506-5131-11e7-b064-828ba60fbb98_story.html (in full just above)] that Mr. Mueller had requested the interviews with the intelligence officials.
It has been clear since Mr. Mueller was appointed last month [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/us/politics/robert-mueller-special-counsel-russia-investigation.html ] that he was likely to scrutinize the president’s actions. Mr. Trump has said he is willing to be interviewed by Mr. Mueller’s agents, and Mr. Comey said he was sure [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/08/us/politics/comey-hearing-trump-russia.html ] that the special counsel would investigate the possibility of obstruction.
In recent days, Mr. Trump is said to have considered firing Mr. Mueller but to have been talked out of it by aides [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/us/politics/robert-mueller-special-counsel-trump.html (in full above)]. If the president is under investigation for obstruction, a move to fire Mr. Mueller would prove more complicated politically.
The F.B.I.’s gathering information about the possibility of a crime does not necessarily mean prosecutors are building a case against the president. In the early stages of investigations, F.B.I. agents typically want to gather all the facts. Agents then present those facts to prosecutors, who decide whether they want to take the case.
Mr. Mueller’s requests are among his first publicly known acts since he took over the investigation last month, after it was publicly revealed that Mr. Comey had written a memo [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/16/us/politics/james-comey-trump-flynn-russia-investigation.html ] about how Mr. Trump asked him to halt the inquiry into his fired national security adviser, Mr. Flynn.
In testimony on Capitol Hill last week [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/07/us/politics/james-comey-statement-testimony.html ], Mr. Comey said Mr. Mueller had a copy of that memo and several others Mr. Comey had written about his interactions with Mr. Trump.
A spokeswoman for the White House referred all questions on the matter to Mr. Trump’s outside lawyer, Marc E. Kasowitz. A spokesman for Mr. Kasowitz said, “The F.B.I. leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal.”
The scrutiny of Mr. Trump’s actions is part of a ripple of unintended consequences that began when the president, frustrated by the cloud of investigations [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/us/politics/trump-russia-comey.html ] into Russian collusion, fired Mr. Comey last month. “When I decided to just do it, I said to myself — I said, ‘You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story,’” Mr. Trump told NBC [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/18/us/politics/fact-check-donald-trump-james-comey-russia-border-wall-tax-cut.html ]. He then said: “I might even lengthen out the investigation, but I have to do the right thing for the American people. He’s the wrong man for that position.”
The White House could try to assert executive privilege to keep the intelligence officials from discussing conversations between them and the president with Mr. Mueller. But that could set up a fight in court, where judges have generally held that criminal investigators can demand information that would normally be privileged.
In his memos, Mr. Comey said Mr. Trump had encouraged him to end an F.B.I. investigation into Mr. Flynn, an effort that Mr. Comey called “very disturbing.” There is a broad federal inquiry underway into Mr. Flynn’s actions. Among the issues being examined are whether he misled investigators [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/us/politics/michael-flynn-fifth-amendment-russia-senate.html ] about his ties to Russia, and his failure to disclose that he was working as a foreign agent of Turkey [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/us/politics/michael-flynn-turkey.html ] from August to November 2016: the same time he was advising the Trump campaign.
The Justice Department appointed Mr. Mueller last month to investigate whether members of the Trump campaign colluded with Russian operatives to influence the outcome of last year’s presidential election. Mr. Mueller inherited the criminal investigations into Mr. Flynn and Mr. Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort. He was also given the authority to investigate obstruction.
While Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, has not said what exactly prompted him to appoint Mr. Mueller, his decision came after The New York Times published details about an Oval Office meeting Mr. Comey had with the president at the White House in February. During the meeting, the president brought up Mr. Flynn and told Mr. Comey, “I hope you can let this go,” according to the memo. Mr. Comey told the Senate that he viewed that as a clear directive from the president to drop the investigation.
A former senior official said Mr. Mueller’s investigation was looking at money laundering by Trump associates. The suspicion is that any cooperation with Russian officials would most likely have been in exchange for some kind of financial payoff, and that there would have been an effort to hide the payments, probably by routing them through offshore banking [ http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/o/offshore_banking/index.html ] centers.
Adam Goldman, Matthew Rosenberg and David E. Sanger contributed reporting.
© 2017 The New York Times Company
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/14/us/politics/mueller-trump-special-counsel-investigation.html
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Even Trump’s Aides Blame Him for Obstruction Probe: ‘President Did This to Himself’
Trump ‘shot himself in the foot again with this cockamamie scheme to get Mueller to play ball.’
“Keep him away from Twitter, dear God, keep him away from Twitter.”
06.14.17
http://www.thedailybeast.com/even-trumps-aides-blame-him-for-obstruction-probe-president-did-this-to-himself
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Trump Blasts “Witch Hunt” Amid Obstruction of Justice Inquiry
He also suggested that investigators invented the ”phony collusion” claims against him.
Jun. 15, 2017
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/06/trump-blasts-witch-hunt-amid-obstruction-of-justice-inquiry/ [with comments]
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Trump, DeVos 'Betray' Students With Gift to Predatory For-Profit Schools
"Students cheated by their school are entitled to loan forgiveness," wrote Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.
The Department of Education will delay Obama-era rules designed to help students defrauded by for-profit colleges
June 14, 2017
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/06/14/trump-devos-betray-students-gift-predatory-profit-schools [with comments]
Betsy DeVos Moves to Help For-Profit Schools Defraud Students
Betsy DeVos arriving at her Senate confirmation hearing on January 17, 2017.
The Education Department just froze two key protections for students.
June 15, 2017
https://www.thenation.com/article/betsy-devos-moves-to-help-for-profit-schools-defraud-students/ [with comment]
Betsy DeVos rolls back regulations holding for-profit colleges accountable
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos with President Donald Trump in Wisconsin on Tuesday.
Trump’s team just killed two brand-new rules to protect students—and taxpayers—from scams like Trump University.
Jun 15, 2017
https://thinkprogress.org/devos-forprofit-foxes-henhouse-337f4fec3ab4 [with comments]
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Infowars Nightly News LIVE - Liberal Hate Becomes Real Terror
Streamed live on Jun 14, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKlexQrq0WI [with comments] [and again, see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132193307 and preceding and following]
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Democrats Launch Terror Attack On Trump's Birthday
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
via YouTube Capture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxCyvAcSb7o [with comments] [and again, see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132193307 and preceding and following] [a must-watch]
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First Shots Fired In Second US Civil War! What Will You Do?
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
via YouTube Capture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf6u2x_Qakg [with comments] [and again, see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132193307 and preceding and following] [a must-watch]
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What it means that Trump is under investigation
All In with Chris Hayes
6/14/17
Washington Post reporter Sari Horwitz explains the breaking report that Special Counsel Robert Muller has widened the investigation to look into the president and obstruction of justice. Duration: 3:56
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/what-it-means-that-trump-is-under-investgation-967699011895
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Trump investigation puts WH officials in tough position
All In with Chris Hayes
6/14/17
Former chief Justice Department Spokesman Matthew Miller explains why top Trump administration officials may not be able to avoid testifying about the president. Duration: 5:04
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/trump-investigation-puts-wh-officials-in-tough-position-967702595796
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Jeffries: Game will go on and we'll 'all come together'
All In with Chris Hayes
6/14/17
‘We are going to compete, both Democrats and Republicans…and then we’ll all come together as Americans afterwards,’ says Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, along with his Republican colleague Leonard Lance, in the wake of the shooting at a Republican congressional baseball practice. Duration: 4:19
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/jeffries-game-will-go-on-and-we-ll-all-come-together-967705667704 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPepPcyPOlc [with comments]
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Fmr. Giffords intern: 'I refuse to be terrorized'
All In with Chris Hayes
6/14/17
Daniel Hernandez, who helped save the life of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords when he was her intern, says ‘there’s so much work that we should have done and continue to need to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again.' Duration: 6:56
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/fmr-giffords-intern-i-refuse-to-be-terrorized-967707715560 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqrMhgNi1oE [with comments]
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At what point would House GOP turn on Trump?
All In with Chris Hayes
6/14/17
How bad does it have to get for House Republicans to turn on the President? Jason Johnson, Jennifer Rubin, Josh Barro, and Chris Hayes discuss. Duration: 3:33
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/at-what-point-would-house-gop-turn-on-trump-967707715779
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Gunman injures congressman, four others in shooting rampage
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/14/17
Rachel Maddow reports on what is known so far about the mass shooting at a Republican congressional baseball team practice, the shooting suspect, James Hodgkinson, killed by police, and the heroics of those who responded to the shooting. Duration: 11:58
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/gunman-injures-congressman-four-others-in-shooting-rampage-967765571680
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Special counsel investigating Trump for obstruction: WaPo
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/14/17
Adam Entous, national security reporter for the Washington Post, talks with Rachel Maddow about breaking news that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Donald Trump for possible obstruction of justice in the firing of James Comey. Duration: 9:05
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/special-counsel-investigating-trump-for-obstruction-wapo-967769155880 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfajWodC8qw [with comments]
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Rep Scalise severely wounded in mass shooting
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/14/17
Rachel Maddow reports on an update on the condition of Rep. Steve Scalise, who was badly wounded in a mass shooting at a Republican congressional baseball practice, and talks with Amber Phillips, reporter for the Washington Post, about the harrowing scene. Duration: 6:07
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/rep-scalise-severely-wounded-in-mass-shooting-967778883616
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Former mayor reveals details of talks with suspected gunman
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/14/17
Bill Euille, former mayor of Alexandria, Virginia, talks with Rachel Maddow about his past encounters with the suspected gunman, killed by police after opening fire on a Republican congressional baseball practice. Duration: 7:42
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/former-mayor-reveals-details-of-talks-with-suspected-gunman-967790659701 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I5u_kEHewA [with comments]
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Criminal charges filed in Flint water crisis
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/14/17
Congressman Dan Kildee talks with Rachel Maddow about the shooting at a Republican congressional baseball practice and the criminal charges, including involuntary manslaughter, being filed by the Michigan attorney general against officials in the Flint water crisis. Duration: 6:12
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/criminal-charges-filed-in-flint-water-crisis-967795267743
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Criminal investigation of Trump a turning point in Russia probe
The Rachel Maddow Show
6/14/17
Ari Melber, MSNBC chief legal correspondent, talks with Rachel Maddow about the legal implications of the revelation that Donald Trump is being investigated for obstruction of justice for firing James Comey over the Russia investigation. Duration: 5:35
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/criminal-investigation-of-trump-a-turning-point-in-russia-probe-967836739575
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Report: Trump now under investigation for possible obstruction
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
6/14/17
The Washington Post was first to report special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Trump for obstruction of justice, a turning point in the widening probe. WaPo reporter Devlin Barrett and W.H. experts Richard Painter and Ron Klain join Lawrence O'Donnell. Duration: 16:44
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/report-trump-now-under-investigation-for-possible-obstruction-967763523969 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG8XNut5zBQ [with comments]
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Report: Mueller probe looking into possible financial crimes
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
6/14/17
Lawrence O'Donnell talks to David Ignatius and David Cay Johnston about a Washington Post report that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating possible financial crimes among Trump associates. Duration: 6:06
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/report-mueller-probe-looking-into-possible-financial-crimes-967770179958
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Lawrence: Not all mass shootings created equal
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
6/14/17
Lawrence O'Donnell explains why this shooting was different than most and dedicates the last word to the Capitol Police who saved lives at a congressional baseball practice. Duration: 5:17
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/lawrence-not-all-mass-shootings-created-equal-967768643799 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNwp7804gy8 [with comments]
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Team Trump doesn't deny report Mueller is investigating Trump
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/14/17
With reports now stating Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Pres. Trump for possible obstruction of justice, the president's personal legal team denied absolutely nothing in those reports. Our panel reacts. Duration: 7:14
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-news/watch/team-trump-doesn-t-deny-report-mueller-is-investigating-trump-967786563705
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Candidate Trump warned Clinton would face investigations
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/14/17
At the end of the 2016 campaign, Candidate Trump warned repeatedly Hillary Clinton's ability to govern would be hurt by 'years' of investigations. The Washington Post's Philip Rucker reacts. Duration: 1:50
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/candidate-trump-warned-clinton-would-face-investigations-967794243623 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19VCxCEuUGs [with comments]
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Lawmakers & other witnesses describe terrifying Virginia shooting
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/14/17
Republican Rep. Steve Scalise was among four people wounded when a gunman opened fire at a Virginia baseball field. Those on hand, including several lawmakers, describe what they saw. Duration: 1:35
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/lawmakers-other-witnesses-describe-terrifying-virginia-shooting-967800387770
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Fmr. NYPD Commissioner Bratton: 'We cannot live in fear'
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/14/17
Former NYPD Commissioner and MSNBC Senior Law Enforcement Analyst Bill Bratton reacts to the shooting that occurred while lawmakers were holding baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia. Duration: 2:51
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/fmr-nypd-commissioner-bratton-we-cannot-live-in-fear-967817283608
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Can Special Counsel Robert Mueller indict Pres. Trump?
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
6/14/17
What happens if Special Counsel Mueller investigates the president and finds evidence of obstruction? MSNBC's Brian Williams talks to AP White House Correspondent Jonathan Lemire. Duration: 0:50
©2017 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/can-special-counsel-robert-mueller-indict-pres-trump-967810115819 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mAi5wCAEIA [with comments]
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Sessions’s Southern-Fried SnoozeFest | June 14, 2017 Part 1 | Full Frontal on TBS
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
What Jeff Sessions's hearing lacked in authentic southern charm, it more than made up for in incomprehensibility.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk99d2015so [with comments]
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Child Brides | June 14, 2017 Part 2 | Full Frontal on TBS
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
From the files of "Fucked Up But Still Legal," we present minors getting married.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0lwiInZG1E [with comments]
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The Rikers Debaters | June 14, 2017 Part 3 | Full Frontal on TBS
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Brace yourself for an honest-to-god positive Rikers story. Produced by Razan Ghalayini. For more info on The Rikers Debate Project, visit http://rikersdebateproject.org/ .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meMod3F6sIg [with comments]
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Sessions ‘n Cotton’s Movie Talk | Full Frontal on TBS
Published on Jun 15, 2017 by Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Two of America’s most famous film critics discuss art mirroring life.
[originally aired June 14, 2017]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl4FewtXLrY [with comments]
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Another Uber Sexist Steps Down: The Daily Show
Published on Jun 14, 2017 by The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Uber's David Bonderman resigns over his sexist comment to fellow board member Arianna Huffington, and Michelle Wolf tears apart a tired stereotype.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPAESQEQoms [with comments]
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Sen. Kamala Harris: 'Hysterical' Or 'A Woman Doing Her Job?
Published on Jun 15, 2017 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
A Trump surrogate labeled Sen. Kamala Harris 'hysterical' after her questioning of Jeff Sessions during Tuesday's Senate hearing.
[originally aired June 14, 2017]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYw7MGYmUoQ [with comments]
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The Threat From The Russians Is Real
Published on Jun 15, 2017 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Recent cyber hacks on the U.S. electoral system are only the latest revelations regarding Russian influence on the 2016 Election.
[originally aired June 14, 2017]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amjmxtd_Htc [with comments]
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this is part 3 of a 4-part post, which concludes with my next post, a reply to this post; part 2 is the post to which this is a reply -- the following 'see also (linked in)' listing is common to all 4 parts
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in addition to (linked in) the post to which this is a reply and preceding and (any future other) following, see also (linked in):
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=26706638 and preceding and following,
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=27485225 and preceding and following,
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http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=128826613 and preceding (and any future following)
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=128832226 and preceding and following;
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=131488509 and preceding (and any future following);
earlier this string, http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=131914404 and preceding and following,
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132042257 and preceding and following;
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=131914423 and preceding (and any future following);
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132078524 and preceding and following
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=129917087 and preceding and following,
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=129961788 and preceding and following;
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http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=131547372 and preceding (and any future following);
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http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=131885362 and preceding and following;
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132063091 (and any future following)
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http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132073967 and preceding (and any future following),
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132076345 and preceding (and any future following),
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132076348 and preceding (and any future following),
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132076692 and preceding (and any future following),
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132247758 and preceding and following,
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132262789 and preceding and following,
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132262801 and preceding and following,
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132264500 and preceding (and any future following),
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132264585 and preceding (and any future following)
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http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=132080628 and preceding and following,
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Greensburg, KS - 5/4/07
"Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."
from John Philpot Curran, Speech
upon the Right of Election, 1790
F6
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