Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

Part 167, some of Russian meddling, and related, material from F6 big ones. These posted Monday, 03/19/18, covering February 28,
2018, and headed, Cruel & Unconstitutional: ACLU Denounces SCOTUS Ruling Approving Indefinite Immigrant Detention
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=139383921

The twelve and thirteenth

The US government cannot be trusted so long as Donald Trump runs it

Published on Jun 9, 2017 by Vox
Trump’s behavior casts a shadow over everyone who serves him.
That is the simple, chilling takeaway of James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The question is whether Republicans will admit it to themselves, and if so, what they will do about it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCHMgAQfvZE [with (over 4,000) comments]

*

How should the media cover a White House that isn't afraid to lie?

Published on Feb 1, 2017 by Vox
The Trump administration isn’t afraid to get caught lying. That poses a real
challenge for journalists and news networks grappling with government propaganda.
Strikethrough is a new Vox video series breaking down challenges in journalism and news media under the Trump presidency.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ8cMiYb3G5cghzLdchzalWpQJnhRYZgO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hlk3TBJdWwE [with (approaching 4,000) comments]

Eighteenth and next two

Mueller eyes Trump collusion, Hope Hicks out after "truth bombs"
The Beat with Ari Melber
2/28/18
After Mueller interviews, witnesses tell NBC the focus is on Trump, what he knew and when. Ari Melber on why it shows Mueller is looking into Trump's
"personal criminal liability". Fmr. Federal Prosecutor Joyce Vance on why Mueller is looking at "the core question of collusion with Russia".
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari-melber/watch/mueller-eyes-trump-collusion-hope-hicks-out-after-truth-bombs-1173404739976

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Fmr. Trump aide: I believe Trump Jr. told Trump about Russians offer of "dirt"

The Beat with Ari Melber
2/28/18
Fmr. Trump aide Sam Nunberg on why Mueller investigators were "not happy" with him in his interview with the Special Counsel probe
and he suggests what Trump knew about Don Jr.'s secret meeting with Russians. Plus why he's "surprised" Hope Hicks is out.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari-melber/watch/fmr-trump-aide-i-believe-trump-jr-told-trump-about-russians-offer-of-dirt-1173394499916 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXQ0rWLkKR4 [with comments]

*

Dem Rep: Trump Russia probe "all the markings of Watergate"

The Beat with Ari Melber
2/28/18
California Democrat Rep. Ted Lieu compares Trump’s “brazen” and “suspicious” obsession with WikiLeaks to Nixon’s White House scandal.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari-melber/watch/dem-rep-trump-russia-probe-all-the-markings-of-watergate-1173444675518 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHZMC9DN65U [with comments]

Skip three to this pair

Mueller examining Trump efforts to oust Sessions: Report
All In with Chris Hayes
2/28/18

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is examining President Trump's apparent efforts to
oust Attorney General Jeff Sessions last summer, reports the Washington Post.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/mueller-examining-trump-efforts-to-oust-sessions-report-1173620803774

*

Mueller wants to know what Trump knew about hacked emails

All In with Chris Hayes
2/28/18
Mueller is now pursuing the central question in the Russia saga: whether Trump was involved in a conspiracy to influence the 2016 election.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/mueller-wants-to-know-what-trump-knew-about-hacked-emails-1173634627988 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3oazzD61wk [with comments]

Skip one to this packet of nine

Kushner's business got loans after White House meetings: Report
All In with Chris Hayes
2/28/18
The company of a private equity billionaire - who met on multiple occasions with Jared Kushner at the
White House - lent millions to Jared Kushner's family real estate firm, reports the New York Times.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/kushner-s-business-got-loans-after-white-house-meetings-report-1173644867707

--

Loans to Kushner business followed meetings at White House: NYT
The Rachel Maddow Show
2/28/18
Jesse Drucker, business and taxes reporter for The New York Times, talks with Rachel Maddow about new reporting that companies
loaned hundreds of millions of dollars to the Kushner family business after meeting with Kushner at the White House.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/loans-to-kushner-business-followed-meetings-at-white-house-nyt-1173801027527

*

'Javanka' faction falling apart as Hope Hicks, others quit W.H.

The Rachel Maddow Show
2/28/18
Rachel Maddow reports on the resignation of White House communications director Hope Hicks, her legal context in the Trump Russia
scandal, her political context as an ally of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner in the White House, and her personal context for Donald Trump.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/-javanka-faction-falling-apart-as-hope-hicks-others-quit-w-h-1173820995812 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_0VIx3Yx-8 [with comments]

*

Mueller queries getting at heart of Russia collusion question
The Rachel Maddow Show
2/28/18
Carol Lee, national political reporter for NBC News, talks with Rachel Maddow about new reporting that special counsel
Robert Mueller is asking interviewees whether Donald Trump knew about hacked DNC e-mails before they were released.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/mueller-queries-getting-at-heart-of-russia-collusion-question-1173836355633

*

'Watergate babies' almost gone from Congress
The Rachel Maddow Show
2/28/18
Rachel Maddow points out that with the retirement of Rep. Rick Nolan, there will be only one remaining "Watergate
baby," legislators voted in as part of a backlash in the wake of the Watergate scandal, left in Congress.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/-watergate-babies-almost-gone-from-congress-1173843011798

*

Nixon scandal produced electoral windfall for Democrats
The Rachel Maddow Show
2/28/18
Michael Beschloss, NBC News presidential historian, talks with Rachel Maddow about the historical parallels for the criminal
prosecution of former Donald Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and the resignation of his close adviser Hope Hicks.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/nixon-scandal-produced-electoral-windfall-for-democrats-1173858371878

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Top DoJ officials dining together seen as message to Trump
The Rachel Maddow Show
2/28/18
Rachel Maddow shares a photo of Attorney General Jeff Sessions having dinner with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Solicitor
General Noel Francisco, a conspicuous display seen as a message for Donald Trump who has directed his ire at Sessions again on Twitter.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/top-doj-officials-dining-together-seen-as-message-to-trump-1173855299963

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Lawrence: Hope Hicks made Sean Spicer look competent

The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
2/28/18
The W.H. Communications Director says she will resign one day after revealing to the House Intel Cmte. she tells "white lies" for
Trump. Lawrence O'Donnell examines Hicks' record of bad decision-making in a job that requires her to make the White House look good.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/lawrence-hope-hicks-made-sean-spicer-look-competent-1173831747847 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TM9l2fqtcE [with comments]

*

Earnest on top Trump aide departure: Hope Hicks 'loyal to a fault'
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
2/28/18
Hope Hicks' resigned as WH Communications Director only one day after her controversial testimony to the House Intel Cmte, which
Barbara McQuade says seems like a "perfect coincidence." Josh Earnest and Eugene Robinson also join Lawrence O'Donnell.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/earnest-on-top-trump-aide-departure-hope-hicks-loyal-to-a-fault-1173829699620

Leave one to these three

Trump White House hammered by bad headlines as Hicks resigns
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
3/1/18
The last day of February saw a barrage of negative news - on the Mueller probe, on Jared Kusher, Atty. General Sessions, &
more - for the Trump White House as its Communications Director, longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks, announced she is resigning.
©2018 NBCNews.com
[originally aired February 28, 2018]
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/trump-white-house-hammered-by-bad-headlines-as-hicks-resigns-1173858371941

*

Mueller probing when Trump learned about DNC email hack

The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
3/1/18
NBC News broke the exclusive report that Robert Mueller's team is working to learn whether Trump knew about the DNC email
hacks before the public and is probing the relationship between Trump confidant Roger Stone & Wikileaks boss Julian Assange.
©2018 NBCNews.com
[originally aired February 28, 2018]
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/mueller-probing-when-trump-learned-about-dnc-email-hack-1173871171926 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v74pzLpIMdA [with comments]

*

Did Kushner use White House to benefit his family business?
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
3/1/18
The New York Times is reporting that Jared Kushner's family business got over $500 million in loans from companies
after officials from those companies visited the White House. Those companies deny any quid-pro-quo occurred.
©2018 NBCNews.com
[originally aired February 28, 2018]
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/did-kushner-use-white-house-to-benefit-his-family-business-1173872707710

Leave two to this one

Hope Hicks Told the Truth About Lying for Trump

Published on Mar 2, 2018 by Mike Malloy
For a brief but glorious moment, we had Hope.
On Tuesday, White House communications director Hope Hicks did what for the Trump White House was extraordinary, if not unprecedented: She admitted to lawmakers that working for President Trump required her to lie.
On Wednesday, she announced her resignation.
There was no connection made between those two events by Hicks or by the president in announcing her departure, which was characterized as entirely voluntary and under consideration for some time. Yet, whether the two events were connected or not, Hicks had done something that is incompatible with serving in this administration: She told the truth about the lies.
Full story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/hope-hicks-says-she-lies-for-trump-thats-encouraging/2018/02/28/09e61982-1cc3-11e8-9de1-147dd2df3829_story.html
[originally aired February 28, 2018]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34gf6z3-dAU [with comments]

To "stashed February 28, 2018:"

Conservatives Who Are Horrified By Trump Let Themselves Off The Hook
“Too many on the right are trying to cover themselves in glory, promoting their suddenly contrarian and anti-Trump views in a bid to cover their own asses."
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-smith-never-trump-misogyny_us_5a95e36fe4b0e6a523025307

Hope Hicks Reportedly Admits To Lying, And Now People Want Answers
The White House communications director said her job requires “white lies,” The New York Times reports.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hope-hicks-white-lies_us_5a96402be4b0e6a523028375

Jared Kushner’s Lawyer Mounts Strong Defense For A Privileged, Power-Hungry Prince
Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Trump’s son-in-law, hung a jury at a mock trial of Shakespeare’s Hamlet by arguing insanity. He even made a “stable genius” joke.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jared-kushner-lawyer-abbe-lowell_us_5a959be1e4b03a8f3a231de2

NEED to IMPEACH

( https://youtu.be/X9xeeQlDbeQ )
https://www.needtoimpeach.com/

Hope Hicks to Leave Post as White House Communications Director - excerpted at/further to https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=138923499
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/28/us/politics/hope-hicks-resign-communications-director.html

Trump berated Hope Hicks for telling Congress she sometimes lies for him - and that was her 'final straw': report
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/02/trump-berated-hope-hicks-telling-congress-sometimes-lie-final-straw-report/

Hope Hicks' totally ridiculous explanation for why she quit
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/28/politics/hope-hicks-analysis/index.html

more: https://www.google.com/search?q=hope+hicks

Kushner’s Business Got Loans From Companies After White House Meetings
Apollo, the private equity firm, and Citigroup made large loans [over $500 million] last year to the family real estate business of Jared Kushner, President Trump’s senior adviser.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/28/business/jared-kushner-apollo-citigroup-loans.html

Timeline:
1) Trump promises to close the carried interest tax loophole that benefits private equity
2) Apollo (private equity firm) founder starts meeting with Jared Kushner
3) Kushner receives huge loan from Apollo
4) Trump reverses position on carried interest loophole
https://twitter.com/MichaelSLinden/status/969032605143326720?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

New York regulator asks Deutsche, other banks about Kushner loans: source
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-kushner/new-york-regulator-asks-deutsche-other-banks-about-kushner-loans-source-idUSKCN1GC2UF

Jared Kushner’s Ties to Banks Under Scrutiny
New York agency seeks information from several banks on finances of Trump’s son-in-law
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-aide-jared-kushners-ties-to-banks-under-scrutiny-1519846125

more: https://www.google.com/search?q=kushner+loans

Kushner loses access to top-secret intelligence
A memo sent Friday downgraded the presidential son-in-law and adviser and other White House aides who had been working on interim clearances.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/27/jared-kushner-security-clearance-downgrade-427178

More Than 30 Trump Aides Lose Top Secret Clearance, Sources Say
Officials have been downgraded to lower-level security status
Kelly crackdown comes after Porter domestic abuse revelations
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-28/more-than-30-white-house-aides-said-to-lose-top-secret-clearance

Dozens Of White House Staffers Stripped Of Top Level Security Clearance
The staffers with pending background checks were downgraded to a lower-level “secret” interim security clearance, Bloomberg reports.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/white-house-staffers-downgraded-clearance_us_5a972d30e4b07dffeb6f70d1

The White House chief calligrapher has a higher clearance than Jared Kushner
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/28/politics/white-house-calligrapher-security-clearance/index.html

The White House Family Business
Jared and Ivanka have to decide if they’ve become political liabilities.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-white-house-family-business-1519864397

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump Came to Washington Seeking Power and Glamour. They’ll Leave With Neither.
Jared and Ivanka are just the latest in a long line of presidential family members who didn’t exactly bowl Washington over. But they’re also the lamest.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/jared-kushner-and-ivanka-trump-came-to-washington-seeking-power-and-glamour-theyll-leave-with-neither

Kushner’s clearance downgrade could leave him ‘flying blind’ - AP
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/kushners-clearance-downgrade-could-leave-him-flying-blind/2018/02/28/d7d67884-1d02-11e8-98f5-ceecfa8741b6_story.html
original https://www.apnews.com/355cd61768dd493eb9eb750b5657dbb7/Kushner's-clearance-downgrade-could-leave-him-'flying-blind';;;

White House Hit With Several Shocking Reports In Less Than A Day
Trump’s relationships with Jeff Sessions, Hope Hicks and Jared Kushner have all come under fire.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mueller-trump-jeff-sessions_us_5a973f02e4b07dffeb6f7e56

more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/dLEoxGMJ2g1tcfMd_bDd3pzZleopM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
https://news.google.com/news/story/daX0uaD43xdC88Mcdpsa0oJa5c8LM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en

Trump Calls Sessions’s Handling of Surveillance Abuse Allegations ‘Disgraceful’
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/28/us/politics/trump-jeff-sessions-inspector-general-surveillance.html

Trump attacks Sessions over inquiry into alleged FBI surveillance abuses in Russia probe
“Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse,” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning. “Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/trump-attacks-sessions-over-russian-probe-n851961

Trump vs. Jeff Sessions
If he really wants FBI answers, why not declassify everything?
Editorial
Anyone who serves in a presidential cabinet understands that the job comes with people trying to undermine you. But in the Trump Administration the undermining too often seems to come from the President.
That’s the pickle Jeff Sessions finds himself in. On Wednesday morning President Trump used Twitter to call his Attorney General “DISGRACEFUL!” for asking the Justice Department’s inspector general to look into possible eavesdropping abuse by the FBI. Mr. Trump went on a similar tear in July, when he accused Mr. Sessions of being “VERY weak” in handling the Hillary Clinton investigations.
Mr. Trump prides himself on his business acumen, but we don’t know a CEO who thinks the way to get the best out of subordinates is to humiliate them in public. Mr. Sessions is Attorney General because Mr. Trump chose him. If Mr. Trump’s purpose is to goad Mr. Sessions into resigning, he ought to know that he’s unlikely to get a replacement through the Senate. That means the department would be run by someone Mr. Trump might like even less, e.g., Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein.
In his tweet the President also derided Inspector General Michael Horowitz as “an Obama guy.” It’s true his appointment dates to 2012, but the IG was also appointed to the federal sentencing commission by George W. Bush. In 2012 Mr. Horowitz released a scathing report on the Obama Justice Department’s handling of “Fast and Furious,” a botched operation that put weapons in the hands of Mexican drug cartels. Mr. Trump might also recall that when the FBI said it couldn’t find 50,000 texts between FBI lovers Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, Mr. Horowitz announced that his office had recovered them.
Unlike in July, this time Mr. Sessions responded publicly that Justice had “initiated the appropriate process” to investigate the FBI issues. He added that as long as he is AG, he’d continue to discharge his duties “with integrity and honor” and the department would do its work “in a fair and impartial manner.”
Mr. Trump has a point about investigations dragging on without conclusions. But a big reason is that key government institutions, including the FBI and Justice, have stonewalled efforts to get answers. Yet for some reason he refuses to use his presidential power to declassify the FISA court and FBI documents so the public can judge.
Instead of whining about Mr. Sessions, Mr. Trump could order him to appoint someone at Justice with the sole responsibility of making public the documents that would give the American people the answers they deserve.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-vs-jeff-sessions-1519864508

Donald Trump's public shaming of Jeff Sessions is shameful
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/28/politics/donald-trump-jeff-sessions-analysis/index.html

Can we ever figure out why Trump is shifting to high panic?
by Jennifer Rubin
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2018/02/28/can-we-ever-figure-out-why-trump-is-shifting-to-high-panic/

Mueller is reportedly scrutinizing Trump's efforts last July to force Jeff Sessions out of office
Special counsel Robert Mueller is said to be investigating President Donald Trump's heated attacks last summer on Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
At the time, Trump asked why the "beleaguered" attorney general wasn't "looking into Crooked Hillarys crimes & Russia relations."
Sessions' recusal from the Russia investigation is a key point of frustration for Trump, who once reportedly asked why he couldn't order "my guys" at the "Trump Justice Department" to do his bidding.
http://www.businessinsider.com/mueller-examines-whether-trump-tried-firing-jeff-sessions-russia-probe-2018-2

more:
https://news.google.com/news/story/dxZJnh64Nv9azzMUW3J6acwJXwayM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en
https://news.google.com/news/story/dUW3J6acwJXwayMNH8jxSb3xyv2ZM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en

Scoop: Besieged Sessions dines with Rosenstein
The symbolism was unmistakable: the three top ranking officials in the Justice Department appearing together in a show of solidarity on the same day Trump is publicly and privately raging about Sessions.
https://www.axios.com/scoop-jeff-sessions-dines-with-rod-rosenstein-1519865511-4afe726b-6642-4ca5-8ebf-e9f0600df79b.html

Jeff Sessions spotted at dinner with DOJ officials Rosenstein, Francisco
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/28/politics/doj-officials-dine-together/index.html

Rosenstein, Sessions spotted dining together hours after Trump criticism
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/376171-rosenstein-sessions-spotted-dining-together-hours-after-trump

more: https://www.google.com/search?q=sessions+dinner

A self-described sex expert says she will spill information on Trump and Russia to get out of a Thai jail
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/27/in-thai-jail-after-sex-training-a-model-who-rattled-russian-elite-asks-u-s-for-help/

Russian Escort Nastya Rybka Offers to Reveal Trump-Russia Links in Exchange for Jail Release - made video with Oleg Deripaska - Manafort client/funder - and one of the Russian government’s most influential officials, the deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko
http://www.newsweek.com/nastya-rybka-escort-trump-russia-823374

Russian model in Thai jail promises to spill Trump-Russia secrets
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/28/asia/russia-model-thai-prison-trump-claims-intl/index.html

more: https://news.google.com/news/story/di34TgDVkakfH3MwweL65hpylEa1M?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en

Mueller asking if Trump knew about hacked Democratic emails before release
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/mueller-asking-what-trump-knew-about-hacked-emails-n851941

Mueller’s Russia probe zeroes in: When did Trump decide to run?
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/muellers-russia-probe-zeroes-in-when-did-trump-decide-to-run

Confessions of a Russiagate true believer
Trump isn’t an idiot — the cover-up is likely covering up serious wrongdoing.
Feb 21, 2018
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/21/17030420/trump-russia-mueller-guilty

more: https://www.google.com/search?q=mueller+trump+wikileaks

Mueller team asks about Trump's Russian business dealings as he weighed a run for president
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/27/politics/trump-russia-investigation/index.html

Mueller is reportedly interested in Trump’s Russia business dealings before his presidential run
The special counsel is said to be asking questions about the 2013 Moscow trip.
https://www.vox.com/2018/2/27/17060494/mueller-investigation-trump-russia-business

Mueller Asking About Trump’s Russia Business Deals and Miss Universe Pageant
http://www.newsweek.com/mueller-asking-about-trumps-russia-business-deals-and-miss-universe-pageant-823226

more: https://www.google.com/search?q=mueller+trump