UK police stop sharing information on Manchester attack with U.S. after leaks
A woman looks at flowers for the victims of the Manchester Arena attack, in central Manchester Britain. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth 1/15
By Andy Bruce and Kylie MacLellan | MANCHESTER/LONDON
Thu May 25, 2017 | 6:04am EDT
British police have stopped sharing information on the suicide bombing in Manchester with the United States, the BBC reported on Thursday, because of fears that leaks to the U.S. media could hinder a hunt for a possible bomb-maker still at large.
The row came as police pressed a fast-paced investigation into Monday's bombing, which killed 22 people at a music venue packed with children and raised fears a further attack could be imminent. Troops have been deployed to guard key points and eight people have been arrested.
Authorities have said the 22-year-old bomber, British-born Salman Abedi, was part of a network and had recently returned from Libya, where his parents were born.
Police chiefs have made clear they are furious about the publication of confidential material in U.S. media, including bomb site photographs in the New York Times, saying such leaks undermined relationships with trusted security allies.
"This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorized disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter-terrorism investigation," a National Counter Terrorism Policing spokesman said in a statement.
British Prime Minister Theresa May will raise the issue with U.S. President Donald Trump when she meets him at a NATO summit in Brussels later on Thursday, a government source told Reuters.
The pictures published by the New York Times included remains of the bomb and of the rucksack carried by the suicide bomber, and showed blood stains amid the wreckage.
"I think it's pretty disgusting," said Scott Lightfoot, a Manchester resident, speaking outside a train station in the city. He criticized media for publishing such material.
"Who's leaking it? Where's it coming from? This is British intelligence at the end of the day, people shouldn't be finding out about this."
"BOMB-MAKING WORKSHOP"
The Financial Times reported that such images are available across a restricted-access encrypted special international database used by government ordnance and explosives experts in about 20 countries allied with Britain. It said the database was built around a longstanding U.S.-British system.
The BBC said Manchester Police hoped to resume normal intelligence relationships soon but was currently furious.
The bombing, which took place at the Manchester Arena indoor venue just after the end of a concert by U.S. pop singer Ariana Grande, was the deadliest in Britain since July 2005, when 52 people were killed in attacks on London's transport network.
Related Coverage [6 inside]
The Manchester attack has caused revulsion across the world because it targeted children and teenagers, who make up the bulk of Grande's fan base. The victims ranged from an eight-year-old schoolgirl to parents who had come to pick up their children.
U.S. channel ABC News reported that police had found a kind of bomb-making workshop in Abedi's home and he had apparently stockpiled enough chemicals to make additional bombs.
British news website The Independent also reported bomb-making materials which could be primed for imminent attacks had been found in the raids following the Manchester bombing. The report said one suspect device was blown up in a controlled explosion.
Britain views the United States as its closest ally, and the two countries also share intelligence as part of the "Five Eyes" network which also includes Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
After Trump defended his decision to discuss intelligence with the Russians during a White House meeting, May said last week that Britain would continue to share intelligence with the United States.
(Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Ralph Boulton)
Priebus, Bannon return to Washington after Saudi visit May 22, 2017 The decision for Priebus to return to the US was pre-planned, the White House said The Trump administration has a lot on its plate back home May 22, 2017 http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/21/politics/reince-priebus-white-house/ [with embedded video]
Trump eyeing Lewandowski, Bossie as crisis managers The president is considering tapping his former campaign officials to help his administration deal with the Mueller probe. 05/22/2017 The White House is looking to wall off the scandals threatening to overtake the president’s agenda by building a separate crisis management operation. President Donald Trump personally reached out to two of his former campaign aides – his first campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, and his deputy campaign manager, David Bossie – to sound them out about working with the administration as crisis managers, according to two people familiar with the situation. POLITICO previously reported that both men were spotted in the West Wing last week, before Trump departed on his overseas trip. [...] http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/22/trump-crisis-bossie-lewandowski-238689 [with comments]
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The Questions About Obstruction Now Spread to White House Staff Reports that presidential aides asked senior intelligence officials to help shut down the FBI investigation put those staffers in legal jeopardy. May 23, 2017 https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/05/trump-intelligence/527862/ [with comments]
President Trump Lands in Rome, Gets Rejected by Melania Again 5/23/17 Remember yesterday when First Lady Melania Trump swatted away Donald’s extended hand [ http://gizmodo.com/melania-swats-away-donalds-hand-in-latest-viral-misery-1795426910 ]? Well, the President just landed in Rome, and it looks like things are still a bit shaky in the Trump household. Donald Trump is a tremendous asshole to his wife, Melania. And the internet has seen that play out in GIF form ever since the day he was inaugurated. We have a GIF that will surely be inducted into the GIF Hall of Fame, where her smile turns to a depressed look as soon as he turns his back. Or, if not the GIF Hall of Fame, at least the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library [ http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/the-past-week-will-probably-get-an-entire-wing-in-the-f-1795153585 ]. The speculation, of course, is that Donald says something terrible to Melania before he turns his back, which seems like a pretty safe bet. [...] http://gizmodo.com/president-trump-lands-in-rome-gets-rejected-by-melania-1795472694 [with embedded video, and comments]
Democrats protest Treasury division nominee over missing Trump financial documents May 23, 2017 Leading Democratic senators are withholding votes for President Trump’s nominee to lead the Treasury Department’s terrorism and financial crimes division to protest the administration not producing records related to their probe of the Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russian officials. Top Senate Banking Committee Democrat Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and top Senate Intelligence Committee Democrat Mark R. Warner (Va.) complained during a committee confirmation vote for Sigal Mandelker that the administration is being too lackadaisical about producing documents that lawmakers have requested to supplement their probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 elections. The Wall Street Journal reported [ https://www.wsj.com/articles/financial-crimes-monitor-to-share-records-in-trump-russia-probe-1494625140 ] earlier this month that the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, better known as FinCEN, would share records with the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation. Warner and committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) had sent a letter April 26 requesting documents, including alerts of possibly suspect transactions known as “flash notices” and information prepared in relation to terrorism or money laundering cases known as “314a requests.” “While the committee has received some documents from Treasury, the information received thus far is insufficient, and we have expressed this concern,” Warner said Tuesday, following the vote to recommend Mandelker’s nomination to the full Senate. The vote was 16 to 7, with Warner, Brown and several other Democrats voting no — “a step I wouldn’t otherwise take,” Warner stressed, had the Treasury Department better complied with the request for information. “What I can’t ascertain yet is, is this truly just slow-walking or is this just trying to fully understand the nature of our request,” Warner added to reporters after the vote. Warner would not identify exactly what he hoped the FinCEN documents would reveal. But he noted that the committee is interested in seeing any evidence of “funds that may have flown into some of the Trump associates’ and Trump affiliates’ ” accounts and records related to former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s foreign income. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/democrats-protest-treasury-division-nominee-over-missing-trump-financial-documents/2017/05/23/3f7c3854-3fc1-11e7-adba-394ee67a7582_story.html [no comments yet]
Trump's casino was a money laundering concern shortly after it opened Trump's Taj Mahal casino broke anti-money laundering rules in the 1990s It was the preferred spot for Russian mobsters to gamble Episodes like this in Trump's business past will get more scrutiny from Senate investigators May 22, 2017 http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/22/politics/trump-taj-mahal/
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FEC may look into whether Trump and Russia spread fake news on Facebook
The Federal Election Commission may investigate whether Russian agents paid for Facebook ads to spread damaging stories about Hillary Clinton in the weeks ahead of the presidential election.
FEC commissioner Ellen Weintrub, a Democratic appointee, asked the agency to examine whether foreign agents illegally paid the social media service for political advertisements, in addition to related ongoing probes initiated by complaints filed by watchdog groups in December, reported Politico.
...
FEC commissioners agreed unanimously in October to prioritize investigations into complaints about foreign election contributions — which is prohibited by the Federal Election Campaign Act.
Foreign nationals are prohibited under the law from making expenditures to influence U.S. elections, and campaigns are barred from coordinating with outside entities.
The complaint also asked the FEC to investigate evidence that Trump’s campaign associates violated campaign finance laws by coordinating with Russians.
This means that not only is the FBI and Special Prosecutor looking into this, as well as the Senate and House Intelligence Committees and sub-committees, so is Financial crimes unit of the Treasury Department and now the FEC. That’s a lot of investigating for a “made up” story.
It’s important that we understand what Phase II of the hacking program was, and it included not just breaking into the DNC but actually using Twitter to break into thousands of people’s computers and phones that belong to members of the DoD. A report on this by Time Magazine [ http://time.com/4783932/inside-russia-social-media-war-america/ ] is part of why Commissioner Weintraub has begun this FEC investigation.
On March 2, a disturbing report hit the desks of U.S. counterintelligence officials in Washington. For months, American spy hunters had scrambled to uncover details of Russia’s influence operation against the 2016 presidential election. In offices in both D.C. and suburban Virginia, they had created massive wall charts to track the different players in Russia’s multipronged scheme. But the report in early March was something new.
It described how Russia had already moved on from the rudimentary email hacks against politicians it had used in 2016. Now the Russians were running a more sophisticated hack on Twitter. The report said the Russians had sent expertly tailored messages carrying malware to more than 10,000 Twitter users in the Defense Department. Depending on the interests of the targets, the messages offered links to stories on recent sporting events or the Oscars, which had taken place the previous weekend. When clicked, the links took users to a Russian-controlled server that downloaded a program allowing Moscow’s hackers to take control of the victim’s phone or computer–and Twitter account.
As they scrambled to contain the damage from the hack and regain control of any compromised devices, the spy hunters realized they faced a new kind of threat. In 2016, Russia had used thousands of covert human agents and robot computer programs to spread disinformation referencing the stolen campaign emails of Hillary Clinton, amplifying their effect. Now counterintelligence officials wondered: What chaos could Moscow unleash with thousands of Twitter handles that spoke in real time with the authority of the armed forces of the United States? At any given moment, perhaps during a natural disaster or a terrorist attack, Pentagon Twitter accounts might send out false information. As each tweet corroborated another, and covert Russian agents amplified the messages even further afield, the result could be panic and confusion.
The article goes on to describe how Russia used Twitter to target specific reporters who might be sympathetic with fake news reports, and of course the issue of the false ads paid for on Facebook.
They are also looking into whether these cyber efforts were coordinating with the Trump campaigns on voter targeting efforts which were used to aid the Russian bots and trolls.
Sources familiar with the investigations say they are probing two Trump-linked organizations: Cambridge Analytica, a data-analytics company hired by the campaign that is partly owned by deep-pocketed Trump backer Robert Mercer; and Breitbart News, the right-wing website formerly run by Trump’s top political adviser Stephen Bannon.
At first Kushner dabbled, engaging in what amounted to a beta test using Trump merchandise. “I called somebody who works for one of the technology companies that I work with, and I had them give me a tutorial on how to use Facebook micro-targeting,” Kushner says. Synched with Trump’s blunt, simple messaging, it worked. The Trump campaign went from selling $8,000 worth of hats and other items a day to $80,000, generating revenue, expanding the number of human billboards–and proving a concept. In another test, Kushner spent $160,000 to promote a series of low-tech policy videos of Trump talking straight into the camera that collectively generated more than 74 million views.
,,,
This wasn’t a completely raw startup. Kushner’s crew was able to tap into the Republican National Committee’s data machine, and it hired targeting partners like Cambridge Analytica to map voter universes and identify which parts of the Trump platform mattered most: trade, immigration or change. Tools like Deep Root drove the scaled-back TV ad spending by identifying shows popular with specific voter blocks in specific regions–say, NCIS for anti-ObamaCare voters or The Walking Dead for people worried about immigration. Kushner built a custom geo-location tool that plotted the location density of about 20 voter types over a live Google Maps interface.
Soon the data operation dictated every campaign decision: travel, fundraising, advertising, rally locations–even the topics of the speeches. “He put all the different pieces together,” Parscale says. “And what’s funny is the outside world was so obsessed about this little piece or that, they didn’t pick up that it was all being orchestrated so well.
It seems now that the FEC is going to be looking into whether these tactics weren’t just used by the Trump campaign itself, but whether they’re micro-targeting was mimicked by Russia in their push to get as much fake-news and anti-Clinton propaganda as possible — including sabotaging Bernie Facebook pages [ http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/4/25/1515243/-Bernie-groups-in-Facebook-are-being-sabotaged ] — creating an echo effect with the campaigns own efforts, and vice versa.
“I’m aware of information and intelligence that revealed contacts and interactions between officials and U.S. persons involved in the Trump campaign that I was concerned about because of known Russian efforts on such individuals,” Brennan told members of the House Intelligence Committee.
“And it raised questions in my mind whether or not the Russians were able to gain the cooperation of those individuals,” he added. “I don’t know whether or not such collusion existed. I don’t know. But I know there was a sufficient basis of information to require investigation by the [FBI] to determine whether or not U.S. persons were actively conspiring, colluding with Russian officials.”
FEC member urges escalated Trump-Russia inquiry The agency, already investigating a Trump complaint, is called on to consider reports that Russian agents bought Facebook ads. The complaint contends that there is enough evidence for the FEC to investigate whether Trump’s associates violated campaign finance laws by coordinating with the Russians. 05/23/2017 http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/23/fec-trump-russia-facebook-238695 [with comments]
FEC official worried about 'foreign money' spent on Facebook election ads At least one official at the Federal Election Commission appears to want an investigation into whether Russian agents used Facebook ads to influence the U.S. election. May 24, 2017 http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/24/technology/fec-facebook-ads/ [with embedded video]
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Full Show - The Left/Islam Is to Blame for the Manchester Terror Massacre - 05/23/2017
Tuesday, May 23, 2017[, with appearances by Tommy Robinson and Jerome Corsi, and Paul Joseph Watson hosting the fourth hour]: ISIS takes responsibility for a suicide bomb terror attack at a concert in Manchester, UK, Monday which left 22 dead and dozens more injured. The attacker was identified as 23-year-old Salman Abedi, and ISIS promises more bloodshed to come. We'll also continue looking at Trump's historic trip to the Middle East and the media's conniption fits over Infowars' White House press pass. On today's show, renowned nutritionist Dr. Mercola discusses cancer-beating tips revealed in his #1 best-selling book, "Fat for Fuel: A Revolutionary Diet to Combat Cancer, Boost Brain Power, and Increase Your Energy."
Manchester attack: May to tackle Trump over 'evidence' leaks The New York Times says this evidence was gathered at the scene of the attack. Theresa May is to raise concerns with Donald Trump after evidence from the Manchester Arena bombing was apparently leaked to US media 24 May 2017 UK officials were "furious [ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40038630 ]" when photos appearing to show debris from the attack appeared in the New York Times. The prime minister is expected to raise the issue with the US president when they meet at a Nato summit later. [...] http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-40040210 [and see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=131647632 and preceding (and any future following)]
Trump Praises Duterte for Philippine Drug Crackdown in Call Transcript President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines in Moscow on Monday. Mr. Duterte asked President Trump about the threat posed by North Korea, according to a transcript of their April 29 call. MAY 23, 2017 WASHINGTON — President Trump praised President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines in a phone call last month for doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem” in the island nation where the government has sanctioned gunning down suspects in the streets. Mr. Trump also boasted that the United States has “two nuclear submarines” off the coast of North Korea but said he does not want to use them. The comments were part of a Philippine transcript of the April 29 call that was circulated on Tuesday, under a “confidential” cover sheet, by the Americas division of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. In Washington, a senior administration official confirmed that the transcript was an accurate representation of the call between the two iconoclastic leaders. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss the call and confirmed it on the condition of anonymity. The White House also keeps transcripts of such calls, but they are routinely kept secret. The Philippine rendering of the call offers a rare insight into how Mr. Trump talks to fellow leaders: He sounds much the way he sounds in public, casing issues in largely black-and-white terms, often praising authoritarian leaders, largely unconcerned about human rights violations and genuinely uncertain about the nature of his adversary in North Korea. Mr. Trump placed the call and began it by congratulating Mr. Duterte for the government-sanctioned attacks on drug suspects. The program has been widely condemned by human rights groups around the world because extrajudicial killings have taken thousands of lives without arrest or trial. In March, the program was criticized in the State Department’s annual human rights report, which referred to “apparent governmental disregard for human rights and due process.” Mr. Trump had no such reservations. “I just wanted to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem,” he said. “Many countries have the problem, we have a problem, but what a great job you are doing and I just wanted to call and tell you that.” [...] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/23/us/politics/trump-duterte-phone-transcript-philippine-drug-crackdown.html [and see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=131610758 and preceding and following, https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=131627532 and following]
Trump’s Longtime Lawyer Is Defending Russia’s Biggest Bank Marc E. Kasowitz Marc E. Kasowitz, who has represented Donald Trump for more than 15 years, was recently named a lead attorney in a federal civil lawsuit against Sberbank, which is majority-owned by the Russian government. March 23, 2017 https://www.buzzfeed.com/anthonycormier/trumps-longtime-lawyer-is-defending-russias-biggest-bank [with comments]
A mentor in shamelessness: the man who taught Trump the power of publicity From left: Roy Cohn, journalist Ed Kosner and Donald Trump Roy Cohn, the lawyer who embraced infamy during the McCarthy hearings and Rosenberg trial, influenced Donald Trump to turn the tabloids into a soapbox 20 April 2016 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/apr/20/roy-cohn-donald-trump-joseph-mccarthy-rosenberg-trial [with comments]
What Donald Trump Learned From Joseph McCarthy’s Right-Hand Man Roy Cohn in Manhattan in 1982. Mr. Cohn, who made his reputation as a prosecutor in the Rosenberg espionage case and as an aide to Senator Joseph McCarthy, was Mr. Trump’s lawyer for 13 years. JUNE 20, 2016 https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/21/us/politics/donald-trump-roy-cohn.html
Trump’s Education Budget Takes Aim at the Working Class Vice President Mike Pence, President Donald Trump, and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos are seen laughing at a school-choice event in Washington, D.C. The president wants to cut funding for programs such as career and technical education and redirect that money toward school choice [i.e., government funding of private Christo-fascist 'schools']. May 23, 2017 Updated May 23, 2017 https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/05/trumps-education-budget-takes-aim-at-the-working-class/527718/ [with comments]
The Trump team’s five major shams Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. By Jennifer Rubin May 24, 2017 Between the health-care plan it supported, its tax-reform outline and its budget, the Trump administration has demonstrated an unusual degree of intellectual dishonesty. Most administrations take liberties with economic projections and re-interpretations of campaign promises, but it is rare to see a team of advisers so blatantly and ineptly trying to conceal what they are up to. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s recent testimony in front of the Senate Banking Committee (in which he insisted that the administration was for a “21st-century Dodd-Frank” but not for breaking up banks — something akin to adopting a healthy diet but not giving up chocolate sundaes at every meal) and an interview with CNBC [ ] reveal the five major head fakes the Trump administration is trying to pull off. First, the Trump administration refuses to acknowledge that it has reneged on its vow not to touch entitlements: [...] Second, the Trump administration will not admit it is engaged in a massive giveaway to the rich. [...] Third, the Trump administration has no plausible explanation for why its policies won’t lead to a mammoth increase in the debt. [...] Fourth, the Trump administration won’t own up to the anti-growth aspect of its immigration stance. [...] Fifth, the Trump administration won’t present a budget that has a ghost of a chance of passing. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/05/24/the-trump-teams-five-major-shams/ [with comments]
Trump administration warns tax receipts are coming in slowly, government could run out of cash sooner than expected Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney holds a briefing May 22. May 24, 2017 White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney on Wednesday said that tax receipts were coming in “slower than expected” and that the federal government could run out of cash sooner than it had thought. Mulvaney’s comments, which came during a House Budget Committee hearing, resurrected an issue that Congress has mostly ignored in recent months but that will soon force some tough political decisions. A few hours later, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin echoed these concerns, telling another House committee, “I urge you raise the debt limit before you leave for the summer.” “We can all discuss how we cut spending and how we deal with the budget going forward, but it is absolutely critical that where we’ve spent money, that we keep the credit of the United States as the most critical issue,” Mnuchin told the House Ways and Means Committee. “It is the reserve currency of the world.” [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/05/24/trump-administration-warns-tax-receipts-are-coming-in-slowly-government-could-run-out-of-cash-sooner-than-expected/ [with embedded video, and comments]
Ben Carson calls poverty ‘a state of mind’ during interview Tracy Grant, the Eureka Garden tenant's association president, shows Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) her apartment during Carson's visit to Jacksonville. May 24, 2017 In an interview released Wednesday, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said that a "certain mindset" contributes to people living in poverty, pointing to habits and a "state of mind" that children take from their parents at a young age. "I think poverty to a large extent is also a state of mind. You take somebody that has the right mindset, you can take everything from them and put them on the street, and I guarantee in a little while they'll be right back up there," he said during an interview on SiriusXM Radio with Armstrong Williams, a longtime friend. "And you take somebody with the wrong mindset, you can give them everything in the world, they'll work their way right back down to the bottom," Carson said. [...] Carson said during the interview that "the wrong mindset" is the product of negative parenting habits and exposure. "There's also a poverty of spirit. You develop a certain mindset," he said. [...] "I have no desire to get rid of safety nets for people who need them. I have a strong desire to get rid of programs that create dependency in able-bodied people," he said in the 2015 speech announcing his candidacy. "And we’re not doing people a favor when we pat them on the head and say, 'There, there, you poor little thing, we’re going to take care of all your needs. You don't have to worry about anything.' You know who else says stuff like that? Socialists." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/05/24/ben-carson-calls-poverty-a-state-of-mind-during-interview/ [with comments]
Ben Carson, touring affordable housing complex, gets stuck in elevator HUD Secretary Ben Carson, right, meets with officials at a Jacksonville housing complex on April 11. April 12, 2017 Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson was rescued by firefighters from a stuck elevator while touring an affordable housing development in Miami on Wednesday morning. The secretary was visiting the Courtside Family Apartments as part of a two-day listening tour in the area to learn about the challenges low-income people face finding affordable housing. The Miami Herald estimates [ http://www.miamiherald.com/real-estate/article144130049.html ] Carson was trapped for about 20 minutes. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/04/12/ben-carson-touring-affordable-housing-complex-gets-stuck-in-elevator/ [with embedded video, and comments]
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Hillary Clinton speaking in New York City at a Children's Health Fund benefit event 05/23/2017
Trump budget slashes billions from Medicaid, Social Security
All In with Chris Hayes 5/23/17
Among the $4 trillion in cuts proposed in the 2018 budget released today by the White House are billions and billions of dollars slashed from both Medicaid and Social Security. Duration: 2:05
The congressional map drawn by North Carolina Republicans after 2010 was too extreme even for Justice Clarence Thomas, who served as the deciding vote in the decision. Duration: 2:30
Brennan saw pattern of Russian op in Trump camp interactions
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/23/17
Rachel Maddow reports on highlights from former CIA Director John Brennan's testimony before the House Intelligence Committee in which he described his concerns about Russians trying to use the Trump campaign. Duration: 21:08
Trump-Russia probe hits bottleneck with requests to Treasury
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/23/17
Julie Zebrak, former senior adviser at FinCEN, talks with Rachel Maddow about how the FinCEN unit of the Treasury Department helps with investigations into financial crimes. Duration: 10:24
House Intel staffing up to follow Trump camp's money in probe
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/23/17
Congresswoman Jackie Speier talks with Rachel Maddow about how "follow the money" is proving to be fruitful guidance for the House Intelligence Committee's Trump-Russia investigation. Duration: 6:55
Intel officials may be accidental Trump-Russia probe witnesses
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/23/17
Rachel Maddow explains how Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and National Security Agency chief, Admiral Michael Rogers, could end up being called upon to corroborate each others' accounts of Donald Trump's attempts to push back on being unde... Duration: 1:54
Ex-CIA Director reveals Russian contacts with Trump campaign
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 5/23/17
Fmr. CIA Director John Brennan reveals there were "contacts and interactions" between Russia & the Trump campaign and that he briefed Paul Ryan & others in Congress on Russian interference last summer. Fmr. Acting CIA Dir. John McLaughlin joins Lawrence O'Donnell. Duration: 8:03
Warren on Trump and Russia: Number of lies seem to be stacking up
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 5/23/17
In their full interview, Lawrence O'Donnell talks to Sen. Elizabeth Warren about Trump's proposed budget cut, Michael Flynn pleading the Fifth, and how the Trump-Russia investigation may make it easier for Trump to get his legislative agenda through Congress. Duration: 14:48
Warren: Trump's agenda moving forward despite Russia probe
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 5/23/17
Lawrence O'Donnell talks to Massachusetts Senior Senator Elizabeth Warren about Trump's new budget. She shares her concern that the Russia investigation won't distract the GOP-led Congress from repealing health care and passing massive spending cuts. Duration: 5:32
Lawrence O'Donnell talks to columnist Al Hunt about President Donald Trump's first trip overseas as president and Hunt's column on the danger of "normalizing" Donald Trump's behavior. Duration: 4:45
Trump lawyers up, hiring attorney for all things Russia
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 5/23/17
On the same day fmr. CIA Director John Brennan testifies about contacts between Trump's campaign and Russia, we learn Trump is hiring a lawyer to deal with Russia matters. Our panel reacts. Duration: 10:28
In the face of new Russia reports, will GOP stand by Trump?
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 5/23/17
With the deluge of reports coming out about Pres. Trump and questions over his campaign and Russia, will the GOP on the Hill stick by him? NBC News' Mike Viqueira has more. Duration: 1:52
Fmr. CIA boss Brennan: Russians can lead Americans to treason
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 5/23/17
Two former spies, American-born Malcolm Nance & Russian-born Jack Barsky, discuss John Brennan's Capitol Hill testimony laying out how Russians can lead Americans down a 'treasonous path.' Duration: 6:13
House Republican: Inappropriate if Trump pressured intel chiefs
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 5/23/17
House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Chris Stewart responds to reports that Trump pressured intelligence chiefs, including fmr. FBI Director Comey, on the Russia investigation. Duration: 1:25
Published on May 24, 2017 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
As the President continues his tour of the world's most holy cities, God is beginning to think Trump is a little too thirsty for the Almighty One's attention.
Seth sends condolences to the victims of the terrorist bombing at a Manchester Arena concert in England and reminds everyone to treat strangers with love.
Published on May 23, 2017 by Late Night with Seth Meyers
Seth checks in on how President Trump's campaign promise to drain the Washington, D.C. swamp of insiders, lobbyists and special interest groups is going.
Democrats Ask Deutsche Bank to Produce Documents on Trump Family Loans House Democrats ratchet up pressure on German lender Seeking details also about handling of Russian mirror trades May 24, 2017 Updated May 24, 2017 Democratic lawmakers asked Deutsche Bank AG to hand over its findings on two politically charged matters -- its banking on behalf of now-President Donald Trump and trades from the bank’s Moscow operation that helped move some $10 billion out of Russia. Representative Maxine Waters of California and four other Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee asked [ https://democrats-financialservices.house.gov/uploadedfiles/ltr_fsc_to_john_cryan_deutsche_bank_mirror_trade_and_trump_accounts_5.23.17.pdf ] the Frankfurt-based lender for its internal report [ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-14/deutsche-bank-found-systemic-failure-behind-russia-cash-flight ] about its conduct in the Russian “mirror trading” scandal. They also asked for any internal review of Trump’s business dealings with the bank, descriptions of which have surfaced in news reports. The lawmakers asked whether the bank’s loans to Trump, made years before the New York developer ran for president, “were guaranteed by the Russian government, or were in any way connected to Russia.” A copy of the letter sent to the bank was reviewed by Bloomberg News. [...] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-24/deutsche-bank-asked-for-documents-on-trump-loans-russian-trades [with embedded video]
Democrats urge Deutsche Bank to audit accounts held by Trump and family The letter singled out a Russian mirror trading scheme at Deutsche’s former Moscow branch that allegedly allowed $10bn to flow out of Russia. Lawmakers want to see all communication relating to the underwriting of loans made to Trump and family in order to determine financial ties to Russia 24 May 2017 Democrats on Capitol Hill are putting pressure on Deutsche Bank to hire an independent auditor to review private accounts held by Donald Trump and his family [ https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/12/us-senator-presses-deutsche-bank-for-details-of-trump-loans ], in order for Congress to determine whether the US president has financial ties to Russia. Maxine Waters, the top ranking Democrat on the House financial services committee, also said she wanted Deutsche to hand over all communication and documentation relating to the underwriting of loans made to Trump and his immediate family members, including all assets and guarantees that were used to collaterise the loans. Deutsche extended about $300m in loans to Trump before he became president, even as the former reality television star and businessman was being shunned by other financial institutions because of his poor track record and string of failed businesses. [...] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/24/deutsche-bank-trump-accounts-audit-democrats-russia
Deutsche Bank examined Donald Trump's account for Russia links After Trump’s election in November, Deutsche Bank ‘double-checked’ its records, a source said. Bank looked for evidence of whether loans to president were underpinned by guarantees from Moscow, Guardian learns 16 February 2017 The scandal-hit bank that loaned hundreds of millions of dollars to Donald Trump [ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump ] has conducted a close internal examination of the US president’s personal account to gauge whether there are any suspicious connections to Russia, the Guardian has learned. Deutsche Bank [ https://www.theguardian.com/business/deutschebank ], which is under investigation by the US Department of Justice and is facing intense regulatory scrutiny, was looking for evidence of whether recent loans to Trump, which were struck in highly unusual circumstances, may have been underpinned by financial guarantees from Moscow. The Guardian has also learned that the president’s immediate family are Deutsche clients. The bank examined accounts held by Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, her husband, Jared Kushner, who serves as a White House adviser, and Kushner’s mother. [...] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/16/deutsche-bank-examined-trump-account-for-russia-links
Full Show - Trump Meets the Pope, Approval Ratings Rise - 05/24/2017
Published on May 24, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
Wednesday, May 24th 2017[, with Roger Stone hosting the fourth hour]: The Manchester suicide bomber received terrorist training abroad and had ties to al-Qaeda. Also, President Trump visits Pope Francis at the Vatican today. Dr. Group of Global Healing Center will be in studio discussing recent victories in the fight against big corporations and how to avoid common household toxins.
Scientists just published an entire study refuting Scott Pruitt on climate change Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt speaks with coal miners in Sycamore, Pa., in April. May 24, 2017 In a sign of growing tensions between scientists and the Trump administration, researchers published a scientific paper [ http://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-02520-7 ] Wednesday that was conceived and written as an explicit refutation to an assertion by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt about climate change. The study, in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, sets up a direct test of a claim by Pruitt, made in written Senate comments [ https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/6d95005c-bd1a-4779-af7e-be831db6866a/scott-pruitt-qfr-responses-01.18.2017.pdf ] following his confirmation hearing, that “over the past two decades satellite data indicates there has been a leveling off of warming.” After reviewing temperature trends contained in three satellite data sets going back to 1979, the paper concludes that the data sets show a global warming trend — and that Pruitt was incorrect. “Satellite temperature measurements do not support the claim of a ‘leveling off of warming’ over the past two decades,” write the authors, led by Benjamin Santer of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Santer co-authored the study with three Livermore colleagues and scientists from MIT, the University of Washington in Seattle and Remote Sensing Systems, which keeps one of the three satellite temperature data sets. “In my opinion, when incorrect science is elevated to the level of formal congressional testimony and makes its way into the official congressional record, climate scientists have some responsibility to test specific claims that were made, determine whether those claims are correct or not, and publish their results,” said Santer in an interview, when asked about the framing of the research. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/05/24/scientists-just-published-an-entire-study-refuting-scott-pruitt-on-climate-change/ [with embedded video, and comments]
the study:
Tropospheric Warming Over The Past Two Decades Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 2336 (2017) doi:10.1038/s41598-017-02520-7 Published online:24 May 2017 Abstract Satellite temperature measurements do not support the recent claim of a “leveling off of warming” over the past two decades. Tropospheric warming trends over recent 20-year periods are always significantly larger (at the 10% level or better) than model estimates of 20-year trends arising from natural internal variability. Over the full 38-year period of the satellite record, the separation between observed warming and internal variability estimates is even clearer. In two out of three recent satellite datasets, the tropospheric warming from 1979 to 2016 is unprecedented relative to internally generated temperature trends on the 38-year timescale. Introduction After a recent Senate confirmation hearing, Scott Pruitt – the new Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – received a written question regarding observed warming estimates. In response, Mr. Pruitt claimed that “over the past two decades satellite data indicates there has been a leveling off of warming”1. We test this claim here. In the following, we assume the satellite data referred to by Mr. Pruitt are measurements of the temperature of the lowest layer of the atmosphere (the troposphere). These measurements were the focus of recent Congressional testimony2. We update and extend the analysis in ref. 3 using satellite temperature data spanning the period from January 1979 to December 2016. [...] http://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-02520-7 [full text]
The Trump Organization Says It's 'Not Practical' to Comply With the Emoluments Clause Trump at a January press conference where he promised to donate payments from foreign governments to the Treasury. The president’s business tells lawmakers it is too difficult to track all its foreign revenue in accordance with constitutional requirements, and it hasn’t asked Congress for a permission slip. May 24, 2017 https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/05/trumps-company-isnt-tracking-all-the-money-it-gets-from-foreign-governments/527997/ [with comments]
How a dubious Russian document influenced the FBI’s handling of the Clinton probe
FBI Director James B. Comey makes a statement at FBI headquarters on July 5. (Cliff Owens/AP)
Amanda Renteria in Washington in April 2014. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
By Karoun Demirjian and Devlin Barrett May 24, 2017
A secret document that officials say played a key role in then-FBI Director James B. Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation has long been viewed within the FBI as unreliable and possibly a fake, according to people familiar with its contents.
In the midst of the 2016 presidential primary season, the FBI received what was described as a Russian intelligence document claiming a tacit understanding between the Clinton campaign and the Justice Department over the inquiry into whether she intentionally revealed classified information through her use of a private email server.
The Russian document cited a supposed email describing how then-Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch had privately assured someone in the Clinton campaign that the email investigation would not push too deeply into the matter. If true, the revelation of such an understanding would have undermined the integrity of the FBI’s investigation.
Current and former officials have said that Comey relied on the document in making his July decision to announce on his own, without Justice Department involvement, that the investigation was over. That public announcement — in which he criticized Clinton and made extensive comments about the evidence — set in motion a chain of other FBI moves that Democrats now say helped Trump win the presidential election.
But according to the FBI’s own assessment, the document was bad intelligence — and according to people familiar with its contents, possibly even a fake sent to confuse the bureau. The Americans mentioned in the Russian document insist they do not know each other, do not speak to each other and never had any conversations remotely like the ones described in the document. Investigators have long doubted its veracity, and by August the FBI had concluded it was unreliable.
The Russian document did not contain a copy of the email, but it described some of the contents of the purported message.
In the supposed email, Wasserman Schultz claimed Lynch had been in private communication with a senior Clinton campaign staffer named Amanda Renteria during the campaign. The document indicated Lynch had told Renteria that she would not let the FBI investigation into Clinton go too far, according to people familiar with it.
Current and former officials have argued that the secret document gave Comey good reason to take the extraordinary step over the summer of announcing the findings of the Clinton investigation himself without Justice Department involvement.
Comey had little choice, these people have said, because he feared that if Lynch announced no charges against Clinton, and then the secret document leaked, the legitimacy of the entire case would be questioned.
From the moment the bureau received the document from a source in early March 2016, its veracity was the subject of an internal debate at the FBI. Several people familiar with the matter said the bureau’s doubts about the document hardened in August when officials became more certain that there was nothing to substantiate the claims in the Russian document. FBI officials knew the bureau never had the underlying email with the explosive allegation, if it ever existed.
Yet senior officials at the bureau continued to rely on the document before and after the election as part of their justification for how they handled the case.
Wasserman Schultz and Benardo said in separate interviews with The Washington Post that they do not know each other and have never communicated. Renteria, in an interview, and people familiar with Lynch’s account said the two also do not know each other and have never communicated. Lynch declined to comment for this article.
Moreover, Wasserman Schultz, Benardo and Renteria said they have never been interviewed by the FBI about the matter.
Comey’s defenders still insist that there is reason to believe the document is legitimate and that it rightly played a major role in the director’s thinking.
“It was a very powerful factor in the decision to go forward in July with the statement that there shouldn’t be a prosecution,” said a person familiar with the matter. “The point is that the bureau picked up hacked material that hadn’t been dumped by the bad guys [the Russians] involving Lynch. And that would have pulled the rug out of any authoritative announcement.”
Other people familiar with the document disagree sharply, saying such claims are disingenuous because the FBI has known for a long time that the Russian intelligence document is unreliable and based on multiple layers of hearsay.
“It didn’t mean anything to the investigation until after [senior FBI officials] had to defend themselves,” said one person familiar with the matter. “Then they decided it was important. But it’s junk, and they already knew that.”
An FBI spokesman declined to comment. Comey did not respond to requests for comment.
The people familiar with the Russian document spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss its contents. No one familiar with it asked The Post to withhold details about its origins to safeguard the source.
Several of them said they were concerned that revealing details now about the document could be perceived as an effort to justify Trump’s decision to fire Comey [ 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 ], but they argued that the document and Comey’s firing are distinct issues. Most of the people familiar with the document disagree strongly with the decision to fire the director, but they also criticized current and former officials who have privately cited the document as an important factor in the decisions made by Comey and other senior FBI officials. Comey told lawmakers he would discuss it with them only in a classified session.
Email not obtained
After the bureau first received the document, it attempted to use the source to obtain the referenced email but could not do so, these people said. The source that provided the document, they said, had previously supplied other information that the FBI was also unable to corroborate.
While it was conducting the Clinton email investigation, the FBI did not interview anyone mentioned in the Russian document about its claims. At the time, FBI agents were probing numerous hacking cases involving Democrats and other groups, but they never found an email like the one described in the document, these people said.
The appearance of possible conflict arising from the Phoenix meeting led FBI leadership to want to show it had reached the decision independently, without political interference from the Justice Department.
About a month after Comey’s announcement, FBI officials asked to meet privately with the attorney general. At the meeting, they told Lynch about a foreign source suggesting she had told Renteria that Clinton did not have to worry about the email probe, because she would keep the FBI in check, according to people familiar with the matter.
“Just so you know, I don’t know this person and have never communicated with her,’’ Lynch told the FBI officials, according to a person familiar with the discussion. The FBI officials assured her the conversation was not a formal interview and said the document “didn’t have investigative value,’’ the person said.
Nevertheless, the officials said, they wanted to give the attorney general what is sometimes referred to as a “defensive briefing’’ — advising someone of a potential intelligence issue that could come up at some future point.
The agents never mentioned Wasserman Schultz to Lynch but told her there was some uncertainty surrounding the information because of “possible translation issues,” according to a person familiar with the discussion.
Lynch told them they were welcome to speak to her staff and to conduct a formal interview of her, the person said. The FBI declined both offers.
‘I’ve never heard of him’
Renteria, a California Democrat, first heard of the Russian document and its description of her role when a Post reporter called her.
“Wow, that’s kind of weird and out of left field,’’ she said. “I don’t know Loretta Lynch, the attorney general. I haven’t spoken to her.’’
Renteria said she did know a California woman by the same name who specializes in utility issues. The Loretta Lynch in California is a lawyer who once did campaign work for the Clintons decades ago involving the Whitewater investigation. Bloggers and others have previously confused the two women, including during Lynch’s nomination to be attorney general.
Wasserman Schultz and Benardo, the alleged emailers, were also perplexed by the Russian document’s claims.
Wasserman Schultz said: “Not only do I not know him — I’ve never heard of him. I don’t know who this is. There’s no truth to this whatsoever. I have never sent an email remotely like what you’re describing.’’
She added that she had met Lynch, the former attorney general, once briefly at a dinner function.
Benardo said of Wasserman Schultz: “I’ve never met her. I’ve only read about her.”
“I’ve never in my lifetime received any correspondence of any variety — correspondence, fax, telephone, from Debbie Wasserman Schultz,’’ he said. “If such documentation exists, it’s of course made up.’’
As for Renteria, Wasserman Schultz said she knew who she was from past political work but had “virtually no interaction” with her during the 2016 campaign. “I was definitely in the same room as her on more than one occasion, but we did not interact, and no email exchange during the campaign, or ever,’’ she said.
When asked, the individuals named in the document struggled to fathom why their identities would have been woven together in a document describing communications they said never happened. But others recognized the dim outlines of a conspiracy theory that would be less surprising in Russia, where Soros — the founder of the organization Benardo works for — and Clinton are both regarded as political enemies of the Kremlin [ http://www.reuters.com/article/russia-soros-idUSL1N13P22Y20151130 ].
“The idea that Russians would tell a story in which the Clinton campaign, Soros and even an Obama administration official are connected — that Russians might tell such a story, that is not at all surprising,” said Matt Rojansky, a Russia expert and director of the Kennan Institute [ https://www.wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute ] at the Wilson Center. “Because that is part of the Kremlin worldview.”
The secret intelligence document has attracted so much attention recently that Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) asked Comey about it during the director’s final public appearance in Congress as FBI director before he was fired.
Comey said that he had spoken with the heads of the congressional intelligence committees about the document privately but that it was too sensitive to discuss it in public.
“The subject is classified, and in an appropriate forum I’d be happy to brief you on it,” he told the Senate Judiciary Committee. “But I can’t do it in an open hearing.”
Sources: Comey acted on Russian intelligence he knew was fake
By Dana Bash, Shimon Prokupecz and Gloria Borger Updated 3:14 PM ET, Fri May 26, 2017
Washington (CNN) — Then-FBI Director James Comey knew that a critical piece of information relating to the investigation into Hillary Clinton's email was fake -- created by Russian intelligence -- but he feared that if it became public it would undermine the probe and the Justice Department itself, according to multiple officials with knowledge of the process.
As a result, Comey acted unilaterally last summer to publicly declare the investigation over -- without consulting then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch -- while at the same time stating that Clinton had been "extremely careless" in her handling of classified information. His press conference caused a firestorm of controversy and drew criticism from both Democrats and Republicans.
Comey's actions based on what he knew was Russian disinformation offer a stark example of the way Russian interference impacted the decisions of the highest-level US officials during the 2016 campaign.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday [the article just above] that this Russian intelligence was unreliable. US officials now tell CNN that Comey and FBI officials actually knew early on that this intelligence was indeed false.
In fact, acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe went to Capitol Hill Thursday to push back on the notion that the FBI was duped, according to a source familiar with a meeting McCabe had with members of the Senate intelligence committee.
The Russian intelligence at issue purported to show that then-Attorney General Lynch had been compromised in the Clinton investigation. The intelligence described emails between then-Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and a political operative suggesting that Lynch would make the FBI investigation of Clinton go away.
In classified sessions with members of Congress several months ago, Comey described those emails in the Russian claim and expressed his concern that this Russian information could "drop" and that would undermine the Clinton investigation and the Justice Department in general, according to one government official.
Still, Comey did not let on to lawmakers that there were doubts about the veracity of the intelligence, according to sources familiar with the briefings. It is unclear why Comey was not more forthcoming in a classified setting.
Sources close to Comey tell CNN he felt that it didn't matter if the information was accurate, because his big fear was that if the Russians released the information publicly, there would be no way for law enforcement and intelligence officials to discredit it without burning intelligence sources and methods. There were other factors behind Comey's decision, sources say.
In at least one classified session, Comey cited that intelligence as the primary reason he took the unusual step of publicly announcing the end of the Clinton email probe.
In that briefing, Comey did not even mention the other reason he gave in public testimony for acting independently of the Justice Department -- that Lynch was compromised because Bill Clinton boarded her plane and spoke to her during the investigation, these sources told CNN.
Multiple US officials tell CNN that to this day Russia is trying to spread false information in the US -- through elected officials and American intelligence and law enforcement operatives -- in order to cloud and confuse ongoing investigations.
Uninsured ranks still to grow by tens of millions under latest House health-care bill, CBO says Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) answers questions about health-care legislation on March 8. May 24, 2017 Health-care legislation adopted by House Republicans earlier this month would leave 23 million more Americans uninsured within a decade, the Congressional Budget Office projected Wednesday — only a million fewer than the estimate for the House’s earlier bill. The finding, which drew immediate fire from Democrats, patient advocates, health industry officials and some business groups, could complicate Republicans’ push to pass a companion bill in the Senate. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/uninsured-ranks-still-to-grow-by-tens-of-millions-under-latest-house-health-care-bill-cbo-says/2017/05/24/81a42648-40b0-11e7-8c25-44d09ff5a4a8_story.html [with embedded video and document, and comments]
In the United States, 30 million workers are now covered by noncompete agreements. Andrew Caballero/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
By Paul Krugman MAY 22, 2017
American conservatives love to talk about freedom. Milton Friedman’s famous pro-capitalist book and TV series were titled “Free to Choose.” And the hard-liners in the House pushing for a complete dismantling of Obamacare call themselves the Freedom Caucus.
Well, why not? After all, America is an open society, in which everyone is free to make his or her own choices about where to work and how to live.
Everyone, that is, except the 30 million workers now covered by noncompete agreements, who may find themselves all but unemployable if they quit their current jobs; the 52 million Americans [ http://kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/pre-existing-conditions-and-medical-underwriting-in-the-individual-insurance-market-prior-to-the-aca/ ] with pre-existing conditions who will be effectively unable to buy individual health insurance, and hence stuck with their current employers, if the Freedom Caucus gets its way; and the millions of Americans burdened down by heavy student and other debt.
The reality is that Americans, especially American workers, don’t feel all that free. The Gallup World Survey [ https://lanekenworthy.net/is-big-government-bad-for-freedom-civil-society-and-happiness/ ] asks residents of many countries whether they feel that they have “freedom to make life choices”; the U.S. doesn’t come out looking too good, especially compared with the high freedom grades of European nations with strong social safety nets.
And you can make a strong case that we’re getting less free as time goes by.
Let’s talk first about those noncompete agreements, which were recently the subject of a stunning article in The Times [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/13/business/noncompete-clauses.html ] (the latest in a series), plus a report from the Obama administration pushing for limits to the practice.
Noncompete agreements were originally supposed to be about protecting trade secrets, and therefore helping to promote innovation and investment in job training. Suppose that a company trying to build a better mousetrap hires a new mousetrap engineer. Her employment contract might very well include a clause preventing her from leaving a few months later for a job with a rival pest-control firm, since she could be taking crucial in-house information with her. And that’s perfectly reasonable.
At this point, however, almost one in five American employees is subject to some kind of noncompete clause. There can’t be that many workers in possession of valuable trade secrets, especially when many of these workers are in relatively low-paying jobs. For example, one prominent case involved Jimmy John’s, a sandwich chain, basically trying to ban its former franchisees from working for other sandwich makers.
Furthermore, the terms of the clauses are often defined ridiculously widely. It’s as if our hypothetical mousetrap engineer were prohibited from seeking employment with any other manufacturing firm, or in any occupation that makes use of her engineering skills.
At this point, in other words, noncompete clauses are in many cases less about protecting trade secrets than they are about tying workers to their current employers, unable to bargain for better wages or quit to take better jobs.
This shouldn’t be happening in America, and to be fair some politicians in both parties have been speaking up about the need for change (although few expect the Trump administration to follow up on the Obama administration’s reform push). But there’s another aspect of declining worker freedom that is very much a partisan issue: health care.
Until 2014, there was basically only one way Americans under 65 with pre-existing conditions could get health insurance: by finding an employer willing to offer coverage. Some employers were in fact willing to do so. Why? Because there were major tax advantages — premiums aren’t counted as taxable income — but to get those advantages employer plans must offer the same coverage to every employee, regardless of medical history.
But what if you wanted to change jobs, or start your own business? Too bad: you were basically stuck (and I knew quite a few people in that position).
Then Obamacare went into effect, guaranteeing affordable care even to those with pre-existing medical conditions. This was a hugely liberating change for millions. Even if you didn’t immediately take advantage of the new program to strike out on your own, the fact was that now you could.
But maybe not for much longer. Trumpcare — the American Health Care Act — would drastically reduce protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions. And even if that bill never becomes law, the Trump administration is effectively sabotaging individual insurance markets, so that in many cases Americans who lose employer coverage will have no place to turn — which will in turn tie those who do have such coverage to their current employers.
You might say, with only a bit of hyperbole, that workers in America, supposedly the land of the free, are actually creeping along the road to serfdom, yoked to corporate employers the way Russian peasants were once tied to their masters’ land. And the people pushing them down that road are the very people who cry “freedom” the loudest.
Top Russian Officials Discussed How to Influence Trump Aides Last Summer
Paul Manafort, then the Trump campaign chairman, at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July. Win McNamee/Getty Images
By MATTHEW ROSENBERG, ADAM GOLDMAN and MATT APUZZO MAY 24, 2017
WASHINGTON — American spies collected information last summer revealing that senior Russian intelligence and political officials were discussing how to exert influence over Donald J. Trump [ http://www.nytimes.com/topic/person/donald-trump ] through his advisers, according to three current and former American officials familiar with the intelligence.
The conversations focused on Paul Manafort, the Trump campaign chairman at the time, and Michael T. Flynn, a retired general who was advising Mr. Trump, the officials said. Both men had indirect ties to Russian officials, who appeared confident that each could be used to help shape Mr. Trump’s opinions on Russia.
Some Russians boasted about how well they knew Mr. Flynn. Others discussed leveraging their ties to Viktor F. Yanukovych, the deposed president of Ukraine living in exile in Russia, who at one time had worked closely with Mr. Manafort.
The intelligence was among the clues — which also included information about direct communications between Mr. Trump’s advisers and Russian officials — that American officials received last year as they began investigating Russian attempts to disrupt the election and whether any of Mr. Trump’s associates were assisting Moscow in the effort. Details of the conversations, some of which have not been previously reported, add to an increasing understanding of the alarm inside the American government last year about the Russian disruption campaign.
The information collected last summer was considered credible enough for intelligence agencies to pass to the F.B.I., which during that period opened a counterintelligence investigation that is continuing. It is unclear, however, whether Russian officials actually tried to directly influence Mr. Manafort and Mr. Flynn. Both have denied any collusion with the Russian government on the campaign to disrupt the election.
John O. Brennan, the former director of the C.I.A., testified Tuesday about a tense period last year when he came to believe that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was trying to steer the outcome of the election. He said he saw intelligence [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/23/us/politics/john-brennan-russia-trump-campaign-cia.html ] suggesting that Russia wanted to use Trump campaign officials, wittingly or not, to help in that effort. He spoke vaguely about contacts between Trump associates and Russian officials, without giving names, saying they “raised questions in my mind about whether Russia was able to gain the cooperation of those individuals.”
Whether the Russians worked directly with any Trump advisers is one of the central questions that federal investigators, now led by Robert S. Mueller III, the newly appointed special counsel, are seeking to answer. President Trump, for his part, has dismissed talk of Russian interference in the election as “fake news,” insisting there was no contact between his campaign and Russian officials.
The White House, F.B.I. and C.I.A. declined to comment, as did spokesmen for Mr. Manafort. Mr. Flynn’s lawyer did not respond to an email seeking comment.
The current and former officials agreed to discuss the intelligence only on the condition of anonymity because much of it remains highly classified, and they could be prosecuted for disclosing it.
In his congressional testimony, Mr. Brennan discussed the broad outlines of the intelligence, and his disclosures backed up the accounts of the information provided by the current and former officials.
“I was convinced in the summer that the Russians were trying to interfere in the election. And they were very aggressive,” Mr. Brennan said. Still, he said, even at the end of the Obama administration he had “unresolved questions in my mind as to whether or not the Russians had been successful in getting U.S. persons, involved in the campaign or not, to work on their behalf again either in a witting or unwitting fashion.”
Mr. Brennan’s testimony offered the fullest public account to date of how American intelligence agencies first came to fear that Mr. Trump’s campaign might be aiding Russia’s attack on the election.
By early summer, American intelligence officials already were fairly certain that it was Russian hackers who had stolen tens of thousands of emails from the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton’s campaign. That in itself was not viewed as particularly extraordinary by the Americans — foreign spies had hacked previous campaigns, and the United States does the same in elections around the world, officials said. The view on the inside was that collecting information, even through hacking, is what spies do.
But the concerns began to grow when intelligence began trickling in about Russian officials weighing whether they should release stolen emails and other information to shape American opinion — to, in essence, weaponize the materials [ https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/us/politics/russia-hack-election-dnc.html ] stolen by hackers.
An unclassified report by American intelligence agencies released in January stated that Mr. Putin “ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. presidential election.”
Before taking the helm of the Trump campaign [ https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/20/us/politics/paul-manafort-trump.html ] last May, Mr. Manafort worked for more than a decade for Russian-leaning political organizations and people in Ukraine, including Mr. Yanukovych, the former president. Mr. Yanukovych was a close ally of Mr. Putin.
The Russian government views Ukraine as a buffer against the eastward expansion of NATO, and has supported separatists in their yearslong fight against the struggling democratic government in Kiev.
He continued to insist that Russia could be an ally even after Moscow’s seizure of Crimea [ https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/19/world/europe/ukraine.html ] the following year, and Obama administration officials have said that contributed to their decision to push him out of the D.I.A.
But in private life, Mr. Flynn cultivated even closer ties to Russia. In 2015, he earned [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/us/politics/michael-flynn-russia-paid-trip.html ] more than $65,000 from companies linked to Russia, including a cargo airline implicated in a bribery scheme involving Russian officials at the United Nations, and an American branch of a cybersecurity firm believed to have ties to Russia’s intelligence services.
The biggest payment, though, came from RT, the Kremlin-financed news network. It paid Mr. Flynn $45,000 to give a speech in Moscow, where he also attended the network’s lavish anniversary dinner. There, he was photographed sitting next to Mr. Putin.
A senior lawmaker said on Monday that Mr. Flynn misled Pentagon investigators about how he was paid for the Moscow trip. He also failed to disclose the source of that income on a security form he was required to complete before joining the White House, according to congressional investigators.
But after misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of the calls, Mr. Flynn was fired as Mr. Trump’s national security adviser after a tumultuous 25 days in office.
First on CNN: AG Sessions did not disclose Russia meetings in security clearance form, DOJ says Sessions met with Russian ambassador at least twice in 2016 Those meetings were not noted on his security clearance form Updated May 24, 2017 Washington (CNN) — Attorney General Jeff Sessions did not disclose meetings he had last year with Russian officials when he applied for his security clearance, the Justice Department told CNN Wednesday. Sessions, who met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at least two times last year, didn't note those interactions on the form, which requires him to list "any contact" he or his family had with a "foreign government" or its "representatives" over the past seven years, officials said. The new information from the Justice Department is the latest example of Sessions failing to disclose contacts he had with Russian officials. He has come under withering criticism from Democrats following revelations that he did not disclose the same contacts with Kislyak during his Senate confirmation hearings earlier this year. [...] http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/24/politics/jeff-sessions-russian-officials-meetings/ [with embedded video]
Republican candidate 'body-slams' Guardian reporter in Montana
Audio obtained of Greg Gianforte attacking a reporter on eve of a special election to fill a congressional seat vacated by a member of the Trump administration 24 May 2017 The Republican candidate for Montana’s congressional seat slammed a Guardian reporter to the floor on the eve of the state’s special election, breaking his glasses and shouting, “Get the hell out of here.” [...] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/24/greg-gianforte-bodyslams-reporter-ben-jacobs-montana [with the audio in an embedded non-YouTube video], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQwu4wff7lI [the Guardian Wires upload of the embedded non-YouTube video with the audio; with comments]
Greg Gianforte: Fox News team witnesses GOP House candidate 'body slam' reporter In this March 6, 2017, file photo, Greg Gianforte, right, receives congratulations from a supporter in Helena, Mont. Montana voters are heading to the polls Thursday, May 25, 2017, to decide a nationally watched congressional election amid uncertainty in Washington over President Donald Trump's agenda and his handling of the country's affairs. May 24, 2017 The race to fill Montana's sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives took a violent turn Wednesday, and a crew from the Fox News Channel, including myself, witnessed it firsthand. As part of our preparation for a story about Thursday's special election to air on "Special Report with Bret Baier," we arranged interviews with the top two candidates, Republican Greg Gianforte and Democrat Rob Quist. On Wednesday, I joined field producer Faith Mangan and photographer Keith Railey in Bozeman for our scheduled interview with Gianforte, which was to take place at the Gianforte for Congress Bozeman Headquarters. Faith, Keith and I arrived early to set up for the interview in a room adjacent to another room where a volunteer BBQ was to take place. As the time for the interview neared, Gianforte came into the room. We exchanged pleasantries and made small talk about restaurants and Bozeman. During that conversation, another man — who we now know is Ben Jacobs of The Guardian — walked into the room with a voice recorder, put it up to Gianforte's face and began asking if him if he had a response to the newly released Congressional Budget Office report on the American Health Care Act. Gianforte told him he would get to him later. Jacobs persisted with his question. Gianforte told him to talk to his press guy, Shane Scanlon. At that point, Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. Faith, Keith and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the reporter. As Gianforte moved on top of Jacobs, he began yelling something to the effect of, "I'm sick and tired of this!" Jacobs scrambled to his knees and said something about his glasses being broken. He asked Faith, Keith and myself for our names. In shock, we did not answer. Jacobs then said he wanted the police called and went to leave. Gianforte looked at the three of us and repeatedly apologized. At that point, I told him and Scanlon, who was now present, that we needed a moment. The men then left. To be clear, at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte, who left the area after giving statements to local sheriff's deputies. As for myself and my crew, we are cooperating with local authorities. It is not clear if charges will be filed against Gianforte at this time. [...] http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05/24/greg-gianforte-fox-news-team-witnesses-gop-house-candidate-body-slam-reporter.html [with a different YouTube upload of the same video with the audio]
GOP candidate has financial ties to US-sanctioned Russian companies Greg Gianforte’s investment raises some conflict of interest concerns, according to a sanctions policy expert, because ‘betting on Russia’s economy is problematic’. Congressional candidate Greg Gianforte owns shares in Russian index funds $250,000 invested in funds with holdings in Gazprom and Rosneft 28 April 2017 A Republican congressional candidate has financial ties to a number of Russian companies that have been sanctioned by the US, the Guardian has learned. Greg Gianforte, who is the GOP standard bearer in the upcoming special election in Montana, owns just under $250,000 in shares in two index funds that are invested in the Russian economy to match its overall performance. [...] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/28/greg-gianforte-republican-candidate-congress-russia-companies
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Legislature approved a sweeping package of new abortion limits Friday, despite the legal challenges they’re likely to provoke and nearly a year after the U.S. Supreme Court dismantled a 2013 law that prompted more than half the state’s abortion clinics to close.
The bill sent to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott includes a measure that federal courts have already blocked in several states — a ban on a commonly used second-trimester abortion procedure known as dilation and evacuation.
Abbott is still expected to sign what amounts to Texas Republicans’ counterpunch to last year’s Supreme Court ruling, which struck down tough rules on abortion clinics and doctors and changed the landscape of abortion access in the nation’s second-largest state.
“That’s why the courts are there,” Republican state Sen. Charles Schwertner said moments before the state Senate gave its final approval. “We shouldn’t be afraid to pass laws that we think are necessary, proper and right.”
The bill would also require the burial or creation of fetal remains — a requirement that a federal judge has already blocked in Texas after the state health rules were changed at Abbott’s behest last year. The measure also would ban the sale or donation of fetal tissue, even though federal law already prohibits the sale of fetal tissue.
The New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, which helped challenge the 2013 Texas law, called the new package of anti-abortion limits “reminiscent” of the law struck down last year and signaled that another court challenge is ahead.
“It’s just going to have the state embroiled in litigation,” Democratic state Sen. Jose Rodriguez said before the 22-9 vote.
Texas had 41 abortion clinics in 2012 and now has about 20. In April, Planned Parenthood re-opened its first abortion clinic in Texas since the Supreme Court ruling, resuming operations in Waco.
On the eve of the special election, Guardian Reporter Ben Jacobs tweeted that GOP candidate Greg Gianforte 'body slammed' him. Buzzfeed News' Alexis Levinson was on the scene and reports what she saw. Duration: 6:14
Sanders: CBO score on AHCA 'disaster' for Republicans
All In with Chris Hayes 5/24/17
The senator from Vermont responds to the news that the Republican health care plan would result in 23 million less Americans having health insurance, according to CBO analysis. Duration: 6:26
Exclusive: Guardian reporter on Gianforte 'body slam'
All In with Chris Hayes 5/24/17
Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs gives his account of what happened at a Montana campaign event where he alleges GOP candidate Greg Gianforte 'body slammed' him. Duration: 7:37
Senate learns consequences of passing House health bill
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/24/17
Rachel Maddow reports on the CBO's assessment of health care bill passed by House Republicans who voted without knowing the costs of the bill, but which now faces a more informed Senate vote. Duration: 1:26
Trump blurts classified submarine intel to Philippine president
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/24/17
Rachel Maddow reports on the revelation that Donald Trump, while on the phone with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, revealed the classified location of U.S. submarines. Duration: 1:48
Sessions failed to disclose Russian meetings on security forms
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/24/17
Rachel Maddow reports the latest in a string of failures by Donald Trump staffers failing to disclose meetings with Russians, in this case Jeff Sessions leaving off his meetings from his security clearance form. Duration: 1:50
Senate Intel briefed on cyber firm with odd Trump-Russia ties
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/24/17
Rachel Maddow reports on the Senate Intelligence Committee being briefed on Kaspersky Lab, a Russia-linked cyber firm that happens to have paid money to Mike Flynn and had an employee charged with treason in Russia. Duration: 7:39
Rachel Maddow reports on the claim by Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs (and mounting evidence) that Republican special election congressional candidate Greg Gianforte "body slammed" Jacobs after being asked a question. Duration: 9:53
Trump loans, Russian money laundering eyed in Congressional query
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/24/17
Greg Farrell, investigative reporter for Bloomberg News, talks with Rachel Maddow about how two seemingly disparate stories about Russian money laundering and Deutsche Bank loans to Donald Trump are being lumped together in a new Congressional query. Duration: 6:20
'War Machine' movie examines rationale for US Afghanistan policy
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/24/17
Elise Jordan, MSNBC political analyst, talks with Rachel Maddow about the movie "War Machine," based upon the reporting work of the late Michael Hastings about the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. Duration: 8:25
Report: Russians hoped to use Trump aides for influence
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 5/24/17
The New York Times reports Trump's campaign aides were the target of a Russian influence operation during the 2016 election. Plus, the House Intel Committee is getting ready to subpoena Michael Flynn. Ari Melber speaks with Joy Reid, David Frum, and Malcolm ... more Duration: 14:52
Reporter releases recording of alleged assault by GOP candidate
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 5/24/17
On the eve of Montana's special election, Greg Gianforte allegedly "body slams" Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs. Ari Melber talks to local NPR reporter Sally Mauk. Charlie Sykes and Joy Reid weigh in on whether Trump's combative rhetoric contributed to the incident. Duration: 13:49
W.H. mum on report Russia discussed influencing Flynn & Manafort
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 5/24/17
Day 125 of the Trump White House brought yet another major headline on Russia and the Trump campaign. Our political panel reacts as the White House declines to comment. Duration: 7:07
Sen. Chris Murphy: Feels like the walls are closing in on Trump
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 5/24/17
Discussing the latest New York Times report that Russian officials last summer discussed how to influence Trump aides, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy says we're getting closer to the truth. Duration: 2:07
GOP Senator Mike Rounds: Russia definitely interfered in 2016
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 5/24/17
Despite the doubts expressed by Pres. Trump, Armed Services Cmte. member Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) says he definitely believes Russia meddled in the 2016 election. Duration: 2:09
GOP Senator Mike Rounds defends work Trump's done so far
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 5/24/17
While Pres. Trump does not have a key legislative victory to tout after four months in office, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) says Trump has accomplished quite a bit so far. Duration: 1:30
Report backs up journalist who says GOP candidate attacked him
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 5/24/17
Political reporter Ben Jacobs says GOP House candidate Greg Gianforte body slammed him. And now a FOX News team's report backs up the reporter's version of events. MSNBC's Brian Williams has more. Duration: 6:42
Did Trump obstruct justice? Fmr. Watergate prosecutor says maybe
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 5/24/17
Former Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks examines the reporting we've heard so far on what Pres. Trump allegedly said to his intelligence chiefs and explains whether there is a case for a crime. Duration: 1:58
Published on May 25, 2017 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Fresh off of his fat joke about the President at the Vatican on Wednesday morning, Pope Francis stops by The Late Show to keep the Trump burns rolling.
Trump's Cruel Budget Breaks His Campaign Promises: A Closer Look
Published on May 24, 2017 by Late Night with Seth Meyers
Seth takes a closer look at the release of President Trump's first full budget and mounting evidence that POTUS tried to obstruct justice in the Russia investigation.
Former US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Merkel join each other on stage, in front of the Brandenburg Gate, on Thursday, May 25.
The panel is titled, “Being Involved in Democracy: Taking on Responsibility Locally and Globally”, Merkel and Obama are to speak about how to engage young people in the political process. It is part of a programme of events held to honour the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.
Obama in Berlin for landmark church assembly Former US President Barack Obama addressed the church congress saying "we can not hide behind a wall." This year, the 500th anniversary of the Reformation is the featured topic, with many big names making an appearance. Rockstar welcome Thousands of people cheered when Barack Obama took to the stage in front of the Brandenburg Gate on Thursday. The former US president participated in a public discussion that was part of the Protestant "Kirchentag," or Church Day, in Germany's capital. 25.05.2017 http://www.dw.com/en/obama-in-berlin-for-landmark-church-assembly/a-38961665 [with embedded videos]
Obama tells adoring crowd in Berlin: ‘We can’t hide behind a wall’ Women carrying German and US flags wait for Obama and Merkel to appear. Former US president gets hero’s welcome as he reunites with Angela Merkel and urges crowd to ‘fight those who divide us’ 25 May 2017 Barack Obama [ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/barack-obama ] received a hero’s welcome when he reunited with Angela Merkel for the first time since leaving office, calling on the audience to engage in democracy and telling the tens of thousands in Berlin: “We can’t hide behind a wall.” Speaking in front of the Brandenburg Gate, which was once cut off by the Berlin Wall, the former US president was greeted with cries of “Barack, Barack” as he urged the 70,000-strong crowd to “push back against those trends that would violate human rights or suppress democracy or restrict individual freedoms” and to “fight against those who divide us”. He said he was heartbroken by the suicide bombing in Manchester [ https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/25/two-more-men-arrested-over-manchester-bombing ] on Monday, which killed 22 people. Calling the world a “very complicated place”, he said: “We can see the terrible violence that took place just recently in Manchester. It is a reminder that there is a great danger of terrorism and people who would do great harm to others just because they’re different. How heartbroken we are by the loss of life, and we grieve with the families.” Obama called Merkel “one of my favourite partners throughout my presidency”. He said she had done “tremendous work” and he staunchly defended her refugee policy, which has come in for much criticism [ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/15/angela-merkel-refugees-policy-donald-trump ]. In an angry confrontation with the chair of the Protestant church in Germany [ https://www.theguardian.com/world/germany ], Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Merkel was asked why many refugees who arrived in the influx of about 900,000 in 2015 were now being sent home. Bedford-Strohm said he had received hundreds of letters from people who, having sponsored refugees, helping them with everything from learning German to finding a job or a place in school or university, were devastated to be told they now had to leave. “I know I don’t make myself very popular with this,” Merkel said, as crowds booed her. But she added that the system of processing asylum applications was being speeded up so people who were found not to be eligible could be sent back sooner. “We need to be careful that we really help those who need our help and of those there are plenty enough in the world,” she said. Obama said he recognised the dilemma Merkel faced, trying to help those in need while protecting Germany’s own citizens. He said leaders had an ongoing challenge to communicate to their own populations that the globalised nature of the modern world meant there were also selfish reasons for wanting to provide help to countries in need. “When we provide development aid to Africa or we are involved in conflict resolution in areas where war has been taking place, [or] we make investments to try to deal with climate change … these things we do not do just for charity, not just because it’s the right thing to do or out of kindness. “If there are disruptions in those countries and conflicts and bad governance, war and poverty, in this new world that we live in, we can’t isolate ourselves, we can’t hide behind a wall,” he said. His veiled references to his successor, Donald Trump, who has proposed building a wall between Mexico and the US [ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/22/donald-trump-envoys-head-to-mexico-cracks-emerge-border-wall-plan ], who denies climate change [ https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/mar/18/the-scientists-taking-the-fight-to-trump-climate-change-epa ] is taking place and who is making moves to cut the US aid budget [ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/04/white-house-confirms-dramatic-cuts-foreign-aid-budget ], earned him rousing applause, as members of the audience held up banners saying: “Can we keep you,” “We miss you,” and “Welcome back, Mr President”. [...] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/25/barack-obama-draws-crowd-of-tens-of-thousands-in-berlin [with embedded video]
How Obama not so subtly undercuts Trump "In this new world we live in, we can’t isolate ourselves. We can’t hide behind walls," the former president said in Berlin. Obama’s calculated but opaque opposition to Trump was on full display in Berlin. 05/25/2017 Updated 05/25/2017 http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/25/how-obama-undercuts-trump-238814 [with comments]
European Visits by Trump and Obama Are a Study in Contrasts Former President Barack Obama and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany as they left the stage after a panel discussion at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on Thursday. MAY 25, 2017 BERLIN — The contrast could not have been more stark. Chancellor Angela Merkel [ http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/angela_merkel/index.html ] of Germany [ http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/germany/index.html ] started Thursday in Berlin with the 44th president — the one she has called “dear Barack.” She spent the afternoon in Brussels with the 45th, Donald J. Trump [ http://www.nytimes.com/topic/person/donald-trump ], whose election she greeted with a stern reminder to respect shared values like equality and freedom. Mr. Obama [ https://www.nytimes.com/topic/person/barack-obama ] was in Berlin to help celebrate 500 years since Martin Luther’s Reformation, and received a rock-star welcome from tens of thousands at the Brandenburg Gate. It was all bonhomie, waves and warm words, as the former president praised Ms. Merkel’s “outstanding work, not just here but around the world,” particularly with refugees. Barely two hours later, Ms. Merkel was among the European leaders who greeted Mr. Trump coolly at NATO [ http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/n/north_atlantic_treaty_organization/index.html ] headquarters in Brussels, where few casual words, let alone warm ones, were exchanged, as the new American president once again castigated allies for not paying their fair share of bills. For Europeans, the juxtaposition served as an unavoidable reminder of the contrasts between the men — their personal styles, their relations with America’s allies and the values and priorities they embody. It was also a demonstration, however coincidental, of the political shadow boxing that has found an unlikely arena in Europe, the new center of the contest between liberal democracy and far-right populism. [...] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/25/world/europe/obama-trump-merkel-germany.html
President Donald Trump shoved aside the prime minister of Montenegro to put himself front and center for a photo opp during a tour of NATO's new headquarters Thursday. (May 25)
During a press event with other Western leaders at NATO headquarters in Brussels, President Trump said "NATO members must finally contribute their fair share." Watch the full speech here.
Why Trump's prime minister shove pleased Putin Frida Ghitis: Trump's body language and speech at the NATO summit troubled US allies and pleased Vladimir Putin Instead of reassuring NATO allies of his unconditional commitment to the organization, he chided them, writes Ghitis May 25, 2017 http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/25/opinions/trump-nato-mistakes-opinion-ghitis/ [with embedded videos]
Trump Drops the Mic on Trainwreck NATO Meeting by Calling Germans “Very Evil” Oh god, he's talking again. The second half of his big trip abroad is not going well. May 25, 2017 http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/05/donald-trump-germany-evil [with embedded videos]
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Trump Reportedly Called Germans ‘Very Bad,’ Vowed To Stop German Car Sales In The U.S. “See the millions of cars they are selling in the U.S. Terrible.” 05/25/2017 During a meeting with top leaders of the European Union, President Donald Trump said “the Germans are bad, very bad,” according to participants in the room who spoke to German newspaper Der Spiegel. Trump’s specific criticism was that Germany’s auto industry exported cars. “See the millions of cars they are selling in the U.S. Terrible,” Der Spiegel reports [ http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/donald-trump-bei-der-eu-die-deutschen-sind-boese-sehr-boese-a-1149282.html ] he said. “We will stop this.” In January, Trump threatened to slap a 35 percent tax [ http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-germany-autos-idINKBN150187 ] on German auto imports. “If you want to build cars in the world, then I wish you all the best. You can build cars for the United States, but for every car that comes to the USA, you will pay 35 percent tax,” he said. “I would tell BMW that if you are building a factory in Mexico and plan to sell cars to the USA, without a 35 percent tax, then you can forget that.” Trump’s new comments impugning the Germans for exporting cars were made in a meeting with the European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, and the European Council president, Donald Tusk. Juncker, Der Spiegel reports, supported the Germans. Another German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, reported that E.U. representatives felt their U.S. counterparts did not understand that the E.U. negotiates trade agreements as a single entity, rather than on a country-to-country basis. That is, the U.S. can negotiate trade deals with the E.U. as a whole, but not individually with the separate members of the E.U. Der Spiegel reported that Gary Cohn, the director of Trump’s National Economic Council, appeared to believe that the U.S. could negotiate different trade deals with Germany and Belgium. This is not the first time this basic misunderstanding has cropped up. When German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the White House in March, she had to explain how E.U. trade deals were negotiated almost a dozen times, a senior German official told the Times of London [ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/angela-merkel-donald-trump-explain-eu-trade-11-times-germany-chancellor-us-president-a7699591.html ]. “Ten times Trump asked [Merkel] if he could negotiate a trade deal with Germany. Every time she replied, ‘You can’t do a trade deal with Germany, only the EU,’” the official said. “On the eleventh refusal, Trump finally got the message, ‘Oh, we’ll do a deal with Europe then.’” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. The revelations came hours after Trump publicly blasted the U.S.’s European partners in the NATO defense alliance, accusing them of owing American taxpayers billions of dollars because they have previously not met the alliance’s defense spending requirements. He also failed to affirm that his administration would meet its commitment to militarily support them if needed. [..] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-germans-very-bad_us_5927503be4b06f60805323dc [with comments]
Did the Turkish President’s Security Detail Attack Protesters in Washington? What the Video Shows MAY 26, 2017 The New York Times reviewed videos and photos to track the actions of 24 men, including armed members of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s security detail, who attacked protesters in Washington last week. Many of the protesters were American citizens. The men kicked people lying on the ground and put a woman in a chokehold just a mile from the White House. They outnumbered the protesters nearly two to one. [...] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/05/26/us/turkey-protesters-attack-video-analysis.html
Russian Hackers Are Using ‘Tainted’ Leaks to Sow Disinformation 05.25.17 Over the past year, the Kremlin’s strategy of weaponizing leaks to meddle with democracies around the world has become increasingly clear, first in the US and more recently in France. But a new report by a group of security researchers digs into another layer of those so-called influence operations: how Russian hackers alter documents within those releases of hacked material, planting disinformation alongside legitimate leaks. A new report [ https://citizenlab.org/2017/05/tainted-leaks-disinformation-phish/ ] from researchers at the Citizen Lab group at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Public Affairs documents a wide-ranging hacking campaign, with ties to known Russian hacker groups. The effort targeted more than 200 individuals, ranging from Russian media to a former Russian prime minister to Russian opposition groups, and assorted government and military personnel from Ukraine to Vietnam. Noteworthy among the leaks: A Russia-focused journalist and author whose emails were not only stolen but altered before their release. Once they appeared on a Russian hactivist site, Russian state media used the disinformation to concoct a CIA conspiracy. [...] https://www.wired.com/2017/05/russian-hackers-using-tainted-leaks-sow-disinformation/ [with comments]
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How Alleged Russian Hacker Teamed Up With Florida GOP Operative Political consultant Aaron Nevins received documents from hacker ‘Guccifer 2.0’ and posted some on his blog May 25, 2017 Updated May 25, 2017 The hacking spree that upended the presidential election wasn’t limited to Democratic National Committee memos and Clinton-aide emails posted on websites. The hacker also privately sent Democratic voter-turnout analyses to a Republican political operative in Florida named Aaron Nevins. [...] https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-alleged-russian-hacker-teamed-up-with-florida-gop-operative-1495724787
Full Show - Left’s Plan to Impeach Trump Leaked, Muslims Celebrate Manchester Attack - 05/25/2017
Published on May 25, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
Thursday, May 25th 2017[, with Anthony Cumia hosting the fourth hour]: Globalists Panic - Former President Barack Obama is giving speeches in Europe in a desperate attempt to upstage President Trump, but it isn't working. Clinton insider Larry Nichols reveals what's going and breaks news about the Watergate scandal never before revealed! Mike Cernovich also explains how anti-Trump operatives are fueling the leaks from the White House and now from the UK. And British journalist Tommy Robinson explains the aftermath of the Manchester attack.
Pentagon confirms airstrike killed more than 100 civilians in Mosul, blames ISIS explosives Civil defense personnel search for bodies in the rubble of a building in the Mosul al-Jadida neighborhood of Mosul. May 25, 2017 IRBIL, Iraq — A U.S.-led airstrike carried out on a building in Mosul in March detonated a cache of Islamic State explosives, killing more than 100 Iraqi civilians, the Pentagon said Thursday. An unclassified summary [ http://www.inherentresolve.mil/News/News-Releases/Article/1193707/executive-summary-of-the-/ ] of the U.S. military investigation into the March 17 incident determined that the 500-pound bomb used in the strike set off additional explosives that were placed in the building by the Islamic State, causing the collapse of the structure. The blast killed two Islamic State snipers and 105 civilians, including four in an adjacent house in western Mosul’s al-Jadida district, the summary said. Thirty-six additional civilians who were allegedly killed could not be accounted for, because of “insufficient evidence to determine their status or whereabouts.” In the days after the strike, some reports said that more than 200 bodies were pulled from the rubble. The strike is probably the single deadliest civilian casualty incident in the nearly three-year-old air campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Following the public outcry from the strike, the U.S.-led coalition sharply decreased the number of sorties over Mosul in April, according to data analyzed by the nonprofit monitoring group Airwars [ https://airwars.org/ ]. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/05/25/pentagon-confirms-airstrike-killed-more-than-100-civilians-in-mosul-blames-isis-explosives/
In the Fight Against the Islamic State, U.S. Airstrikes Have Killed Hundreds and Possibly Thousands of Civilians The number of civilians killed in American-led airstrikes in Iraq and Syria spiked this year, as efforts to retake Islamic State strongholds intensified and as some procedures for approving airstrikes were changed. MAY 25, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/05/25/world/middleeast/airstrikes-iraq-syria-civilian-casualties.html
The investigation of Jared Kushner fits a very troubling pattern May 25, 2017 Jared Kushner has just been revealed [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/jared-kushner-now-a-focus-in-russia-investigation/2017/05/25/f078db74-40c7-11e7-8c25-44d09ff5a4a8_story.html ] as the senior White House adviser who is under investigation in the Russia probe — which is news that comes as little surprise. Indeed, when The Washington Post reported last week that a then-unnamed top Trump adviser was a focus [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russia-probe-reaches-current-white-house-official-people-familiar-with-the-case-say/2017/05/19/7685adba-3c99-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html ], many quickly assumed it was Kushner. But while those assumptions were based on his known contacts with Russians and his status as one of few senior White House aides, there's another reason his naming fits the puzzle: He's related to Trump. Kushner's ability to even work in the White House has been the subject of plenty of debate [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/10/donald-trumps-first-attempt-to-ignore-the-law/ ] because he is Trump's son-in-law. (Kushner has made concessions to try and avoid violating a federal anti-nepotism law, including forgoing a paycheck.) And a big reason anti-nepotism laws exist is to avoid the corruption that all too often comes with installing your relatives in positions of power. As any expert on corrupt authoritarian regimes throughout history will tell you, those regimes' wrongdoing will often run through family members with official titles. It isn't clear what possible crimes might be under investigation, and it's important to emphasize that Kushner hasn't been charged with anything. We don't know where this will lead, if anywhere. But here's a key part of The Post's story [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/jared-kushner-now-a-focus-in-russia-investigation/2017/05/25/f078db74-40c7-11e7-8c25-44d09ff5a4a8_story.html ]: "In addition to possible coordination between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign to influence the 2016 presidential election, investigators are also looking broadly into possible financial crimes — but the people familiar with the matter, who were not authorized to speak publicly, did not specify who or what was being examined." In other words, this isn't just about whether Kushner or anyone else facilitated collusion with Russia during the 2016 campaign; indeed, the two meetings he had with Russians that have been spotlighted actually came in December, after Trump was elected. Federal investigators appear to be cluing on some other potential crimes that may or may not be related to that. Kushner met with Russian Ambassdor Sergey Kislyak and then with Sergey Gorkov, the head of Vnesheconombank, which faced U.S. sanctions after Russia's annexation of Crimea. Beyond that, there aren't many details. If it does lead down a path to corruption allegations, though, there will be plenty of I-told-you-sos. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/05/25/the-investigation-of-jared-kushner-fits-a-very-troubling-pattern/ [with embedded video, and comments]
Meet the Real Jared Kushner He’s a lot tougher than he looks. May 25, 2017 He was supposed to be the calm one, cool and unflappable under his Ray-Bans and beltless blue bespoke suits. If Steve Bannon was the Rumpelstiltskin of the administration, donning multiple half-tucked dress shirts at a time and always carrying a clutch of briefing papers and barreling through the administrative state, Jared Kushner, through pedigree and temperament, could reach out one of his long, elegant fingers and tap everyone in the West Wing on the shoulder and urge them to just cool out a bit. In a White House sullied by ties to Russia and all sorts of unsavory characters from the fringe, Kushner was set to float above, surrounding himself with fellow figures from the elite worlds of Manhattan finance and real estate and deep-sixing the harder-edged ideas of the White House’s “nationalist” wing. Except that this isn’t quite how it has gone in the White House over the last several months. It was Kushner who reportedly pushed for the firing of FBI Director James Comey over the objections of Bannon. And it was Kushner who was the lone voice urging for a counterattack after Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the appointment of a special prosecutor, according to the New York Times. And it is now Kushner whose family’s business activities leave him open to the same level of charges of conflict of interest that have dogged his wife and father-in-law, and Kushner who appears to be as closely tied to the Russian government as anyone serving in the White House: NBC News and the Washington Post reported Thursday that the FBI is taking a close look at his contacts with the Russians. [...] http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/05/25/jared-kushner-russia-fbi-donald-trump-215191 [with comments]
‘Anyone ... with a pulse’: How a Russia-friendly adviser found his way into the Trump campaign Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser for President-elect Donald Trump, speaks at a news conference at the RIA Novosti news agency in Moscow on Dec. 12. Page said he was meeting with businessmen and politicians during his visit. May 25, 2017 As Donald Trump surged in the Republican primary polls in the early months of 2016, his outsider campaign faced growing pressure to show that the former reality-TV star and noted provocateur was forming a coherent and credible world view. So when Carter Page, an international businessman with an office near Trump Tower, volunteered his services, former officials recall, Trump aides were quick to make him feel welcome. He had come with a referral from the son-in-law of Richard Nixon, New York state Republican Party chairman Ed Cox, who had conveyed Page’s interest to the campaign, Cox said. A top Trump adviser, Sam Clovis, then employed what campaign aides now acknowledge was their go-to vetting process — a quick Google search — to check out the newcomer. He seemed to have the right qualifications, according to former campaign officials — head of an energy investment firm, business degree from New York University, doctorate from the University of London. Page was in. He joined a new Trump campaign national security advisory group, and, in late March 2016, the candidate pointed to Page, among others, as evidence of a foreign policy team with gravitas. But what the Google search had not shown was that Page had been on the FBI’s radar since at least 2013, when Russian officials allegedly attempted to use him to get information about the energy business. By the summer of 2016, Page, who had been recently named as a Trump adviser, was under surveillance by FBI agents who suspected he may have been acting as an agent of the Kremlin. As part of its broader investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, the FBI continues to examine how Page joined the campaign and what conversations he may have had with Russian officials about the effort to interfere with the election — with or without the knowledge of Trump and his team — according to people familiar with the matter. The Senate Intelligence Committee has also zeroed in on Page, asking him for records of all his contacts with Russians during the campaign, all financial interactions he had with Russia and all communications he had with Trump campaign staff. [...] Multiple people familiar with campaign operations, most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said that Page and others were brought into the fold at a time of desperation for the Trump team. As Trump was starting to win primaries, he was under increasing pressure to show that he had a legitimate, presidential-caliber national security team. The problem he faced was that most mainstream national security experts wanted nothing to do with him. “Everyone did their best, but there was not as much vetting as there could have been,” former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said. Another longtime campaign official put it this way: “Anyone who came to us with a pulse, a résumé and seemed legit would be welcomed.” “We were not exactly making due diligence the highest priority,” another campaign veteran added. A White House spokeswoman referred questions to Trump’s campaign. Michael Glassner, who currently serves as manager of Trump’s campaign committee, declined to comment. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/anyone--with-a-pulse-how-a-russia-friendly-adviser-found-his-way-into-the-trump-campaign/2017/05/25/32438f72-4014-11e7-8c25-44d09ff5a4a8_story.html [with embedded video, and comments]
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Infowars Nightly News - The Next Syria? ISIS Takes Philippine Town
Streamed live on May 25, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
'Body slammed' reporter Ben Jacobs still shaken up
All In with Chris Hayes 5/25/17
After being attacked by a GOP candidate, the Guardian reporter says, 'it's surreal to be in the middle of a news story when your job is to report the news.' Duration: 3:39
What Al Franken said to Ted Cruz that left him speechless
All In with Chris Hayes 5/25/17
Senator Franken has a new book out, in which he shares perhaps one of the deepest cuts against Ted Cruz - one that literally left the ever-loquacious senator speechless. Duration: 2:48
Trump-Russia probe turns its attention to Jared Kushner: NBC News
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/25/17
Matt Zapotosky, who covers the Justice Department for the Washington Post, talks with Rachel Maddow about the new revelation that Donald Trump son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner is a person of interest in the FBI's Trump-Russia investigation. Duration: 17:10
FBI scrutiny of Kushner complicates parallel investigations
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/25/17
Barbara McQuaid, former U.S. attorney, talks with Rachel Maddow about the legal and investigatory implications of Donald Trump senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner being under scrutiny in the Trump-Russia investigation. Duration: 5:04
Family ties could upset Trump Russia investigation defense
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/25/17
Michael Beschloss, NBC News presidential historian, talks with Rachel Maddow about whether any precedent exists for Donald Trump's elevating of his own son-in-law and the tension the Trump-Russia investigation is likely to put on that relationship. Duration: 4:53
DoJ withholds James Comey memos from House Oversight Committee
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/25/17
Rachel Maddow reports on the Department of Justice letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz that it is not releasing James Comey's memos until it finishes assessing the impact on other investigations, including the special counsel. Duration: 2:03
Exclusive: Misunderstanding at root of Comey resources question?
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/25/17
Rachel Maddow looks at contradictions in the story of James Comey asking for more resources for the Trump-Russia investigation and notes the importance of a correct understanding of the issue in the context of any aspects of the investigation that include obstruction. Duration: 14:31
Watergate prosecutor: Jared Kushner should be concerned
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 5/25/17
As NBC News first reported, Jared Kushner is "under scrutiny" in the FBI's Russia investigation, meaning the probe is now in the Trump White House and in the Trump family. Should Kushner keep his job? David Frum & Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks join Joy Reid. Duration: 7:01
Report: Subject of FBI probe kept advising Trump team on Russia
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 5/25/17
Paul Manafort was in contact with Trump's team months after he resigned from the Trump campaign and months after the FBI's Russia investigation began, according to a new POLITICO report. POLITICO's Ken Vogel and Mother Jones' David Corn join Joy Reid. Duration: 7:24
What does it mean for Trump that FBI's eyeing Kushner?
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 5/25/17
NBC News was first to confirm that Trump aide & son-in-law Jared Kushner is under scrutiny in the FBI's Russia Probe. So what does it mean for the Trump White House. Our expert panel reacts. Duration: 7:35
Stone-faced world leaders listen as Trump blasts NATO allies
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 5/25/17
In a jolting departure from decorum, Pres. Trump used his speech at a NATO meeting in Brussels to criticize American allies. MSNBC's Brian Williams discusses with our political panel. Duration: 6:12
Report: WH staff limits Trump's screen time during foreign trip
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 5/25/17
Mike Allen of Axios and Jeremy Peters of The New York Times join to discuss how the White House staff has reportedly tried to keep Trump off Twitter and focused during his first trip overseas. Duration: 3:45
Mike Allen of Axios joins MSNBC's Brian WIlliams sharing a detail from his latest reporting of the one and only app the President of the Untied States finds when he looks at his phone. Duration: 0:28
The Pope & glowing orbs: Viral hits from Trump's foreign trip
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 5/25/17
The Internet's had a lot of fun with some of the more interesting moments since Pres. Trump's first foreign trip began. Author and former advance man Josh King joins MSNBC's Brian Williams. Duration: 4:44
Greg Gianforte, Trump and the First Amendment: A Closer Look
Published on May 25, 2017 by Late Night with Seth Meyers
Seth takes a closer look at how some Republicans are dealing with increased scrutiny in light of the Trump-Russia scandal and their unpopular health care plan - like Greg Gianforte body slamming a reporter.
Introduced by President Paula Johnson, Hillary Rodham Clinton ’69, former secretary of state and global champion for women, addressed the members of the Wellesley College Class of 2017 and an international audience of their family and friends at Wellesley’s 139th Commencement Exercises on May 26, 2017.
The permissiveness of Republican leaders who acquiesce to violence, collusion, and corruption is encouraging more of the same.
By David Frum May 26, 2017
In the annals of the Trump era, May 25, 2017 will deserve a special mark. Four remarkable things happened on Thursday, each of which marks a way that this presidency is changing the nation.
The first remarkable thing was President Trump’s speech at the NATO summit in Brussels. Many European governments had hoped—which is a polite way to say that they had suggested and expected—that Trump would reaffirm the American commitment to defend NATO members if attacked. This is the point of the whole enterprise after all! Here’s how it was done [ https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/05/remarks-president-obama-nato-summit-press-conference ] by President Obama at the NATO summit after the Russian invasion of Crimea:
First and foremost, we have reaffirmed the central mission of the Alliance. Article 5 enshrines our solemn duty to each other—“an armed attack against one … shall be considered an attack against them all.” This is a binding, treaty obligation. It is non-negotiable. And here in Wales, we’ve left absolutely no doubt—we will defend every Ally.
Nations in the family of NATO, old or new, know this: Anyone who would choose you for an enemy also chooses us for an enemy. Never again in the face of aggression will you stand alone.
The second remarkable thing that happened that day was the publication by The Wall Street Journal [ https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-alleged-russian-hacker-teamed-up-with-florida-gop-operative-1495724787 ] of a report detailing direct contacts between a Republican political operative and Russian hackers. The Florida-based Republican, Aaron Nevins, received and published Russian-hacked material—and in return, advised the hackers how to release their material to increase its damage to Democratic candidates. Nevins was not himself a high-ranking person in the Republican world. But the information Nevins obtained from Guccifer 2.0 was used by other Republican campaigns [ https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/us/politics/house-democrats-hacking-dccc.html ], including the national Republican congressional effort and Paul Ryan’s own super PAC. The earlier claim that Republicans were purely passive and unwitting beneficiaries of Russian espionage in the 2016 election has now been pierced. In at least one instance, the cooperation was active, conscious, and initiated on the American side, not the Russian: collusion, in a word.
The FBI is focusing on a series of conversations that Kushner had in December with Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak.
At the time, Kushner had already spent months trying to arrange fresh financing for a troubled building his family owns, 666 Fifth Avenue.
After one of those meetings, Kislyak arranged a meeting between Kushner and Sergey Gorkov, the powerful chief executive of a major Russian bank, Vnesheconombank, also known as VEB.
The U.S. had imposed financial sanctions on VEB because of Russian President Vladimir Putin's military incursions in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea. (During this period the Russians were also meeting with Flynn, Trump's incoming national security adviser.)
VEB has close ties to the Kremlin, and Gorkov attended a training academy for members of Russia's security and intelligence services. A Trump spokeswoman has described Kushner's meetings with the Russians as routine, which they may have been given his role at the time as Trump's liaison to foreign powers.
But given the significance of 666 Fifth Avenue to Kushner and his family's fortunes, it's also possible that he saw the Russians as potential investors.
Fourth and finally, May 25 witnessed the “day after” reaction of Republican and conservative talkers and politicians to the violent assault on a reporter by the Republican candidate in the Montana special House election, Greg Gianforte. A remarkable number of those talkers condoned the attack, either outright or by pointing to other bad things that have happened elsewhere on earth at various points in the past. Rush Limbaugh went furthest [ http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/05/25/rush-limbaugh-studly-and-manly-gianforte-beat-up-smug-and-arrogant-reporter/ ], theatrically condemning the attack—but denigrating the reporter as a “smug and arrogant" Millennial “pajama boy” (a hugely derisive term [ http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2013/12/opinion-rich-lowry-obamacare-affordable-care-act-pajama-boy-an-insufferable-man-child-101304 ] in the conservative political lexicon) and praising Gianforte as “manly and studly.” (It’s hard to miss in some of the commentary from Trump’s elderly base a nostalgic yearning for lost physical prowess—and intense resentment of the vitality of younger generations with different views.)
Half a century ago, conservative commentators often blamed the riots of the 1960s on the “moral holiday [ https://www.amazon.com/Riot-Makers-Technology-Social-Demolition/dp/0870000780 ]” declared by permissive authorities. Leaders who might have delegitimized violence instead acquiesced in it, thus inviting more of it. For many conservatives, May 25 was a moral holiday of their own.
These four events each represent one of the great themes of the Trump era:
• The anti-alliance pro-Russia tilt of administration policy
• Collusion with hostile foreign nations for domestic political advantage
• Use of political power for personal financial advantage
• The breakdown of inhibitions and the weakening of sanctions against political violence.
On May 25, one bright burst of news illuminated who Trump is—what he has done—and where he is trying to lead the nation. Will he succeed in taking America to that place? He and his supporters have repeatedly tested the limits of political impunity, and thus far they have survived. Yes, the FBI continues to function, pending the appointment of its next director. Yes too, the special counsel continues to investigate, subject to whatever action the attorney general and president may take against him. But Greg Gianforte is headed to Congress. Jared Kushner and Donald Trump will soon return to the West Wing. There, they’ll continue to deploy the powers of the presidency to protect themselves. They’ll leverage dark and dangerous forces in American society to help them. Someday, maybe, they will cease to get away with it. But not yet.
Full Show - Cancer of Political Correctness Killing Western Society - 05/26/2017
Published on May 26, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
Friday, May 26th 2017[, with an appearance by Craig Sawyer, and Mike Cernovich hosting the fourth hour]: Montana Republican 'Body Slams' Reporter - Then Election: In a stunning defeat for Democrats, Republican Greg Gianforte wins the special election for the U.S. House seat in Montana after supposedly "body-slamming" a Guardian reporter. And a German woman becomes a viral sensation after posting a video about her injuries from a migrant beating. On today's show, author and behavioral researcher Gad Saad discusses Bill C-16 in Canada, which outlaws not respecting someone's "gender pronoun," and the West's capitulation to Islamism.
Russian ambassador told Moscow that Kushner wanted secret communications channel with Kremlin
By Ellen Nakashima, Adam Entous and Greg Miller May 26, 2017
Jared Kushner and Russia’s ambassador to Washington discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Trump’s transition team and the Kremlin, using Russian diplomatic facilities in an apparent move to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from monitoring, according to U.S. officials briefed on intelligence reports.
Ambassador Sergey Kislyak reported to his superiors in Moscow that Kushner, son-in-law and confidant to then-President-elect Trump, made the proposal during a meeting on Dec. 1 or 2 at Trump Tower, according to intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by U.S. officials. Kislyak said Kushner suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States for the communications.
The meeting also was attended by Michael Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser.
The White House disclosed the meeting only in March, playing down its significance. But people familiar with the matter say the FBI now considers the encounter, as well as another meeting Kushner had with a Russian banker, to be of investigative interest.
Kislyak reportedly was taken aback by the suggestion of allowing an American to use Russian communications gear at its embassy or consulate — a proposal that would have carried security risks for Moscow as well as the Trump team.
Neither the meeting nor the communications of Americans involved were under U.S. surveillance, officials said.
The White House declined to comment. Robert Kelner, a lawyer for Flynn, declined to comment. The Russian Embassy did not respond to requests for comment.
Russia at times feeds false information into communication streams it suspects are monitored as a way of sowing misinformation and confusion among U.S. analysts. But officials said that it’s unclear what Kislyak would have had to gain by falsely characterizing his contacts with Kushner to Moscow, particularly at a time when the Kremlin still saw the prospect of dramatically improved relations with Trump.
Kushner’s apparent interest in establishing a secret channel with Moscow, rather than relying on U.S. government systems, has added to the intrigue surrounding the Trump administration’s relationship with Russia.
To some officials, it also reflects a staggering naivete.
The FBI closely monitors the communications of Russian officials in the United States, and it maintains a nearly constant surveillance of its diplomatic facilities. The National Security Agency monitors the communications of Russian officials overseas.
Current and former U.S. intelligence officials said that although Russian diplomats have secure means of communicating with Moscow, Kushner’s apparent request for access to such channels was extraordinary.
“How would he trust that the Russians wouldn’t leak it on their side?” said one former senior intelligence official. The FBI would know that a Trump transition official was going in and out of the embassy, which would cause “a great deal” of concern, he added. The entire idea, he said, “seems extremely naive or absolutely crazy.”
Kushner’s interactions with Russians — including Kislyak and an executive for a Russian bank under U.S. sanctions — were not acknowledged by the White House until they were exposed in media reports.
It is common for senior advisers of a newly elected president to be in contact with foreign leaders and officials. But new administrations are generally cautious in their handling of interactions with Moscow, which U.S. intelligence agencies have accused of waging an unprecedented campaign to interfere in last year’s presidential race and help elect Trump.
Obama administration officials say members of the Trump transition team never approached them about arranging a secure communications channel with their Russian contacts, possibly because of concerns about leaks.
The State Department, the White House National Security Council and U.S. intelligence agencies all have the ability to set up secure communications channels with foreign leaders, though doing so for a transition team would be unusual.
Trump’s advisers were similarly secretive about meetings with leaders from the United Arab Emirates. The Obama White House only learned that the crown prince of Abu Dhabi was flying to New York in December to see Kushner, Flynn and Stephen K. Bannon, another top Trump adviser, because U.S. border agents in the UAE spotted the Emirate leader’s name on a flight manifest.
Russia would also have had reasons of its own to reject such an overture from Kushner. Doing so would require Moscow to expose its most sophisticated communications capabilities — which are likely housed in highly secure locations at diplomatic compounds — to an American.
The Post was first alerted in mid-December to the meeting by an anonymous letter, which said, among other things, that Kushner had talked to Kislyak about setting up the communications channel. This week, officials who reviewed the letter and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence said the portion about the secret channel was consistent with their understanding of events.
For instance, according to those officials and the letter, Kushner conveyed to the Russians that he was aware that it would be politically sensitive to meet publicly, but it was necessary for the Trump team to be able to continue their communication with Russian government officials.
In addition to their discussion about setting up the communications channel, Kushner, Flynn and Kislyak also talked about arranging a meeting between a representative of Trump and a “Russian contact” in a third country whose name was not identified, according to the anonymous letter.
Kushner Is Said to Have Discussed a Secret Channel to Talk to Russia President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, at the White House last week. MAY 26, 2017 WASHINGTON — Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, spoke in December with Russia’s ambassador to the United States about establishing a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and Moscow to discuss strategy in Syria and other policy issues, according to three people with knowledge of the discussion. The conversation between Mr. Kushner and the ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, took place during a meeting at Trump Tower that Mr. Trump’s presidential transition team did not acknowledge at the time. Also present at the meeting was Michael T. Flynn, the retired general who would become Mr. Trump’s short-lived national security adviser, the three people said. [...] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/us/politics/kushner-talked-to-russian-envoy-about-creating-secret-channel-with-kremlin.html
Senate Intelligence Committee requests Trump campaign documents Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.), left, and Vice Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) speal with the media on May, 16. May 26, 2017 The Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential race, has asked President Trump’s political organization to gather and produce all Russia-related documents, emails and phone records going back to his campaign’s launch in June 2015, according to two people briefed on the request. The letter from the Senate arrived at Trump’s campaign committee last week and was addressed to the group’s treasurer. Since then, some former staffers have been notified and asked to cooperate, the people said. They were not authorized to speak publicly. The demand follows a Senate request months earlier for the campaign committee to preserve documents. Dozens of former staffers are expected to be contacted in the coming days to make sure they are aware of what they are required to produce and how to submit those documents, the people added. The letter was signed by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the Senate committee’s chairman, and Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), the committee’s ranking Democrat. ... [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/05/26/senate-intelligence-committee-requests-trump-campaign-documents/ [with embedded video, and comments]
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Exclusive: Trump son-in-law had undisclosed contacts with Russian envoy - sources May 26, 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, had at least three [additional] previously undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, seven current and former U.S. officials told Reuters. [...] FBI investigators are examining whether Russians suggested to Kushner or other Trump aides that relaxing economic sanctions would allow Russian banks to offer financing to people with ties to Trump, said the current U.S. law enforcement official. The head of Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, Sergei Nikolaevich Gorkov, a trained intelligence officer whom Putin appointed, met Kushner at Trump Tower in December. The bank is under U.S. sanctions and was implicated in a 2015 espionage case in which one of its New York executives pleaded guilty to spying and was jailed. The bank said in a statement in March that it had met with Kushner along with other representatives of U.S. banks and business as part of preparing a new corporate strategy. [...] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-fbi-kushner-exclusive-idUSKBN18N018 [with embedded video]
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Russian Once Tied to Trump Aide Seeks Immunity to Cooperate With Congress Oleg V. Deripaska, a Russian oligarch who is close to President Vladimir V. Putin, in Davos, Switzerland, last year. Mr. Deripaska, left, with President Putin in Yaroslavl, Russia, last year. MAY 26, 2017 Oleg V. Deripaska, a Russian oligarch once close to President Trump’s former campaign manager, has offered to cooperate with congressional committees investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election, but lawmakers are unwilling to accept his conditions, according to congressional officials. Mr. Deripaska’s offer comes amid increased attention to his ties to Paul Manafort, who is one of several Trump associates under F.B.I. scrutiny [ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/24/us/politics/russia-trump-manafort-flynn.html ] for possible collusion with Russia during the presidential campaign. The two men did business together in the mid-2000s, when Mr. Manafort, a Republican operative, was also providing campaign advice to Kremlin-backed politicians in Ukraine. Their relationship subsequently soured and devolved into a lawsuit. Mr. Deripaska, an aluminum magnate who is a member of the inner circle of the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, recently offered to cooperate with congressional intelligence committees in exchange for a grant of full immunity, according to three congressional officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue publicly. But the Senate and House panels turned him down because of concerns that immunity agreements create complications for federal criminal investigators, the officials said. Mr. Deripaska, who lives in Moscow, has long had difficulty traveling to the United States. The State Department has refused to issue him a business visa because of concerns over allegations that he was connected to organized crime, according to a former United States government official, which Mr. Deripaska has denied. [...] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/us/politics/oleg-deripaska-paul-manafort.html
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Infowars Nightly News LIVE: Veterans Rights Under Attack
Streamed live on May 26, 2017 by The Alex Jones Channel
A bombshell report from the Washington Post says President Trump's top adviser and son-in-law discussed setting up a secret communications channel between the Trump team and the Kremlin. Duration: 7:17
Republican Greg Gianforte won Montana's special congressional election one day after he was charged with physically assaulting a reporter and his campaign issued a statement lying about the incident. Duration: 3:06
Kushner sought Kremlin back channel via Russian ambassador: Washington Post
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/26/17
Adam Entous, national security reporter for The Washington Post, discusses the new revelation that Donald Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner asked the Russian ambassador to set up a back channel to the Kremlin using Russian facilities. Duration: 15:57
Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia discusses the extreme rarity of asking the Russian ambassador for a secret communication channel to the Kremlin and Jared Kushner's naivete if he did so, as is reported. Duration: 5:46
Senate widens scope of Trump-Russia probe to whole campaign
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/26/17
Congressman Jim Himes discusses another night of blockbuster news on the Trump-Russia investigation and the scope of the investigation into the Donald Trump campaign. Duration: 6:44
Three new undisclosed Kushner-Russia contacts found by Reuters
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/26/17
Ned Parker, Reuters reporter, talks about the discovery of yet more undisclosed contacts between Donald Trump senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner and Russia officials and the questions this behavior raises. Duration: 6:47
Reported concealment by Kushner of Russia contact raises alarm
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/26/17
Ken Dilanian, NBC News national security reporter, talks with Ari Melber about why the reports that Jared Kushner sought a secret communication channel with the Kremlin is a game-changer in coverage of the Trump-Russia investigation. Duration: 4:45
Rate of bad news puts Trump at disadvantage in Russia scandal
The Rachel Maddow Show 5/26/17
Jill Wine-Banks, former Watergate special prosecutor, talks with Ari Melber about how technology and social media have changed the pace of news since Watergate, putting Donald Trump at a disadvantage trying to control the Trump-Russia story. Duration: 5:59
Kushner's Russia plan: 'Extremely naïve or absolutely crazy'
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 5/26/17
New reports reveal Jared Kushner and the Russian ambassador discussed a secret communications channel with the Kremlin using Russia's diplomatic facilities and that Kushner had previously undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador. Lawrence O'Donnell unpacks. Duration: 4:22
New reports reveal that Jared Kushner and the Russian Ambassador discussed opening a secret communications channel with the Kremlin using Russian facilities. Lawrence O'Donnell is joined by Max Boot, Ken Vogel, Mieke Eoyang. Duration: 11:27
Fmr. CIA Dir. on Kushner Russia news: 'Is this a prank?'
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 5/26/17
Former acting CIA Director John McLaughlin joins Lawrence O'Donnell to share the intelligence community's reaction to reports Jared Kushner discussed a secret communications channel with the Russians. He says if a U.S. intel officer did this, it would be espionage. Duration: 5:27
The Washington Post reports that during the Trump transition, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner discussed the possibility of a secret communications pipeline with the Russians. Our full expert panel[, including Malcolm Nance,] weighs in. Duration: 15:39
Fmr. DOJ prosecutor: What is Trump aide Kushner trying to hide?
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 5/26/17
Joining MSNBC's Brian Williams, former Dept. of Justice attorney Paul Butler responds to reports Trump's son-in-law sought a communications pipeline with the Kremlin. Duration: 2:08
Kushner's reported try at a Kremlin chat pipeline was no diplomatic back channel
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 5/26/17
Presidential historian Jon Meacham explains why Jared Kushner's reported attempt to set up a secret Kremlin communication pipeline is different than past presidents' diplomatic back channels. Duration: 4:50
2 fatally stabbed on Oregon train after trying to stop man’s anti-Muslim rants, police say Jeremy Joseph Christian (Courtesy Portland Police Bureau) May 27, 2017 Two men were stabbed to death Friday on a light-rail train in Portland, Ore., after they tried to intervene when another passenger began “ranting and raving” and shouting anti-Muslim hate speech at two young women, police said. According to witnesses, a white male passenger riding an eastbound MAX train early Friday afternoon began yelling what “would best be characterized as hate speech toward a variety of ethnicities and religions,” police said. Some of the slurs were directed at two female passengers, one of whom was wearing a hijab, according to police. “This suspect was on the train and he was yelling and ranting and raving a lot of different things, including what we characterized at hate speech or biased language,” Portland police spokesman Pete Simpson said at a news conference Friday evening. At least two men tried to calm the ranting passenger down, but “they were attacked viciously by the suspect” when they did, Simpson said. “It appears preliminarily that the victims — at least a couple of them — were trying to intervene in his behavior, deescalate him and protect some other people on the train when [the suspect] viciously attacked them,” Simpson said. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/05/27/man-fatally-stabs-2-on-portland-ore-train-after-they-interrupted-his-anti-muslim-rants-police-say/ [with embedded videos, and comments] [and as to these, see also in particular (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=131610811 and preceding and following, http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=131710104 and preceding and following]
Two Killed in Portland After Trying to Stop Anti-Muslim Rant, Police Say The police investigated the stabbing deaths of two men on a Metropolitan Area Express train in Portland, Ore., on Friday. MAY 27, 2017 Two men were fatally stabbed Friday on a train car in Portland, Ore., when they tried to intervene as a fellow passenger screamed anti-Muslim insults at two women, the authorities said. The victims were attacked when they tried to calm the man, who was ranting and talking disparagingly about the women, one of whom was wearing a hijab, the police said. “It’s horrific; there are no other words to describe what happened today,” Sgt. Pete Simpson, a spokesman for the Portland Police Bureau, said at a news conference. One of the victims died in the train car, and the other at a hospital, the police said. A third man who was stabbed was being treated at a hospital. He was expected to recover. [...] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/27/us/portland-train-attack-muslim-rant.html
Portland suspect in 2 slayings on train is known for hate speech
May 27, 2017 Jeremy Joseph Christian, the man accused of aggravated murder in the brutal knife slayings of two good Samaritans on the MAX, "holds some racist and other extremist beliefs," the Southern Poverty Law Center said on Saturday. "He calls for a homeland for whites, he has anti-Semitic statements praising Nazis," said Heidi Beirich of the center in Alabama that monitors hate groups in the United States, referring to his Facebook page. [...] Christian was a participant in the April 29 "March for Free Speech" on 82nd Avenue in Montavilla. He posted an OregonLive video of the event to his Facebook page, referencing himself as "the Lizard King" as he walked among fellow protesters holding American flags and "Trump Make America Great Again" flags. [...] http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2017/05/portland_suspect_in_2_slayings.html [with comments]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXfD96hkmag [embedded; comments disabled], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8RXQz7T-OA [embedded; comments disabled]
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