Part 210, some of Russian meddling, and related, material from F6 big ones. These from Wednesday, 05/23/18, covering April 12, 2018, and headed, Will Senate Dems Block Confirmation of Climate-Denying, Torture-Backing State Dept Pick Mike Pompeo? https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=141007349
Numbers six and seven
Do Fox News hosts watch Fox News?: Mueller and Rosenstein edition
Everything you need to know about Sinclair's takeover of local news
Published on Apr 12, 2018 by mediamatters4america You've heard about Sinclair injecting right-wing propaganda into local news. Here's an in-depth look into exactly how they're doing it—and why it's going to make Trump's path to re-election a whole lot easier. (Is Sinclair sneaking conservative spin into your local news? Find out on our map at https://findsinclair.com/ .) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r--dDBfhyzE [with comments]
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Boris Epshteyn Interview | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)
Real Time with Bill Maher Published on May 19, 2017 Subscribe to the Real Time YouTube: http://itsh.bo/10r5A1B Boris Epshteyn – Sinclair Broadcast Group Chief Political Analyst and former Special Assistant to President Trump – joins Bill to discuss President Trump's political future. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6sZ4whQfZs
Boris Epshteyn looks yet another liar. A guy who has extreme difficulty even conceding the established fact that the Russians meddled in the 2016 election.
and
Sinclair increases 'must-run' Boris Epshteyn segments
Mueller examining Trump letter on Comey firing that contradicts statements by Pence, others Rosalind S. Helderman, Carol D. Leonnig and Ashley ParkerWashington Post September 1, 2017, 8:13pm On the day before President Donald Trump fired former FBI director James Comey, he summoned his vice president, chief of staff, top lawyer and other senior advisers to the Oval Office. He was ready to get rid of Comey, Trump told them that Monday morning in May, and had prepared a termination letter that laid out in detail his many frustrations, which had boiled over the previous weekend at his private golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. [...] But the draft letter, which was prepared with the help of senior policy adviser Stephen Miller and described by people familiar with it as a "rant," makes clear what the White House eventually acknowledged: that Trump had essentially decided to fire Comey before he solicited recommendations from Sessions and Rosenstein. Though the letter is largely about other issues, it could shed light on Trump's state of mind regarding Comey at the time the FBI chief was leading the Russia inquiry that was emerging as a threat to Trump's presidency. Furthermore, the Oval Office discussion suggests that Pence and other top aides who echoed the initial public explanation for Comey's ouster did not provide a full accounting of Trump's decision process. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-mueller-trump-comey-letter-20170901-story.html
Published on Apr 13, 2018 by The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Michael Kosta gives a visual primer on the "taint team" that is upholding the attorney-client privilege between Trump and Michael Cohen. [originally aired April 12, 2018] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTOxnCHdgZs [with comments]
Trump insists that if he wanted to fire Mueller, it would be done Washington (CNN) - President Donald Trump said Thursday that if he wanted to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, he would have months ago. "If I wanted to fire Robert Mueller in December, as reported by the Failing New York Times, I would have fired him. Just more Fake News from a biased newspaper," Trump tweeted Thursday morning. Trump was disputing a New York Times report published Tuesday that said the President sought to fire Mueller in December following reports that Mueller was seeking Trump's financial records. CNN has also reported that Trump has wanted to fire Mueller for months. Later Thursday afternoon, the President tweeted about the Mueller investigation again, this time saying he "agreed with the historically cooperative, disciplined approach that we have engaged in with Robert Mueller (Unlike the Clintons!)." [...] https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/12/politics/donald-trump-fire-robert-mueller-tweet/index.html
Here Are Some Of The Most Explosive Claims James Comey Made In His New Book About Trump Comey likened the president's alleged crusade to obtain his loyalty to that of a mafia boss and said a bunch of other not-so-flattering things about the leader of the free world. https://www.buzzfeed.com/skbaer/james-comey-does-not-hold-anything-back-in-new-book
Mueller has interviewed a senior FBI official who may prove pivotal in the obstruction case surrounding Trump The special counsel Robert Mueller has interviewed Dana Boente, the FBI general counsel. Former FBI director James Comey called Boente right after he received a phone call from President Trump last year during which Comey said Trump asked him to "lift the cloud" of the Russia investigation. Mueller is in possession of contemporaneous notes Boente took documenting his conversation with Comey about the phone call with Trump, and they appear to corroborate critical portions of Comey's congressional testimony last year. http://www.businessinsider.com/mueller-interviews-dana-boente-notes-trump-comey-obstruction-2018-4
The release itself is significant as it marks the first public disclosure of a highly sensitive FISA request. Information included in the request had been largely reported through two declassified memos released separately by Republicans and Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, but Saturday's disclosure puts the FBI's own argument in black and white for the first time.
The more than 400-page document released Saturday, which includes the initial October 2016 FISA warrant on Page and three subsequent renewals, is heavily redacted.
[...]
The FISA warrant that was issued and renewed multiple times for Page was the subject of the memo written by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes that charged the FBI abused its surveillance powers.
Conservative critics of special counsel Robert Mueller have argued that the FISA warrant is tainted — based on the opposition research dossier on Trump and Russia that was paid for by Democrats — and that because the FISA warrant helped launch the FBI investigation into Trump and Russia, the whole investigation is tainted.
Democrats, however, say that the FISA warrant on Page was justified because of his contacts with Russia, and they argue that the FBI and Justice Department followed proper procedure in seeking and getting the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to approve the warrant.
Tabloid Company, Aiding Trump Campaign, May Have Crossed Line Into Politics
David J. Pecker, a close friend of President Trump, is the chairman of the tabloid publisher American Media Inc. Its activities before the election have entangled it in a campaign finance investigation.CreditPatrick McMullan/PatrickMcMullan.com
By Jim Rutenberg and Ben Protess
July 21, 2018
Federal authorities examining the work President Trump’s former lawyer did to squelch embarrassing stories before the 2016 election have come to believe that an important ally in that effort, the tabloid company American Media Inc., at times acted more as a political supporter than as a news organization, according to people briefed on the investigation.
It could also spell trouble for the company, which publishes The National Enquirer, raising thorny questions about when coverage that is favorable to a candidate strays into overt political activity, and when First Amendment protections should apply.
A.M.I.’s role in the inquiry received new attention on Friday with news that federal authorities had seized a recording .. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/us/politics/michael-cohen-trump-tape.html .. from Mr. Cohen in which he and Mr. Trump discussed a $150,000 deal A.M.I. struck before the election, effectively silencing a woman’s claims of an affair by buying the rights to her story and not publishing it. The men also discussed whether Mr. Trump should buy the rights away from the company, which he did not ultimately do, according to a lawyer for the president, Rudolph W. Giuliani.
The recording, from early September 2016, undercuts previous statements from Mr. Trump’s representatives that he did not know about the agreement between A.M.I. and the woman, the former Playboy model Karen McDougal .. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/20/us/ex-playboy-model-sues-to-break-silence-on-trump.html . It also raises questions about the extent of Mr. Cohen’s involvement in the deal.
From the beginning of the campaign, A.M.I. promoted Mr. Trump and savaged his opponents .. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/us/politics/trump-national-enquirer-david-pecker.html , sometimes with unsubstantiated stories alleging poor health, extramarital affairs and the use of prostitutes. A.M.I.’s chairman, David J. Pecker, is a close friend of the president and his former lawyer, and company leaders were in regular contact with Mr. Cohen, former employees have said in interviews.
By burying Ms. McDougal’s story during the campaign in a practice known in the tabloid industry as “catch and kill,” A.M.I. protected Mr. Trump from negative publicity that could have harmed his election chances, spending money to do so.
The authorities believe that the company was not always operating in what campaign finance law calls a “legitimate press function,” according to the people briefed on the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. That may explain why prosecutors did not follow typical Justice Department protocol to avoid subpoenaing news organizations when possible, and to give journalists advance warning when demanding documents or other information.
Prosecutors did not warn A.M.I. before subpoenaing executives there in the spring, people with knowledge of the process said. A.M.I., which has denied any wrongdoing, did not challenge the move.
In a recording seized by federal authorities, the lawyer Michael D. Cohen and Mr. Trump discussed a $150,000 deal A.M.I. had struck that silenced a woman’s claims of an affair.CreditSeth Wenig/Associated Press
A spokesman for the United States attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York, which is handling the inquiry, declined to comment.
Cameron Stracher, an A.M.I. lawyer, indicated that the company was cooperating with the investigation.
“A.M.I. respects the legitimate law enforcement activities by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York,” he said. But he suggested there was some give-and-take in what A.M.I. was willing to share, adding that it “has asserted and will continue to assert its First Amendment rights in order to protect its news-gathering and editorial operations.”
Mr. Cohen remains the primary focus of the investigation, but A.M.I.’s prominent place in what could become one of the biggest campaign finance scandals in recent years is unusual given the wide latitude news organizations have under the First Amendment.
While moves by prosecutors to subpoena journalists usually draw loud protest from groups that advocate press protections, there has so far been no rallying of support for A.M.I.
Bruce D. Brown, the executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said his group hadn’t mounted a staunch defense in part because the publisher had not asked for help. The situation is otherwise too murky for his group to wade into without A.M.I.’s guidance, he said.
“It’s really challenging for press advocates to get behind it because, one, we haven’t been asked, and two, we just don’t know enough about the circumstances to be out with them on it,” Mr. Brown said.
Alexandra Ellerbeck, the North America program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said the group had not been focused on A.M.I., but added, “You don’t want people doing activity that would otherwise be illegal and putting the name of press on it for protections.”
The authorities focused on A.M.I.’s payment to Ms. McDougal early on in their investigation of Mr. Cohen.
The company completed the deal with Ms. McDougal in August 2016, paying $150,000 for rights to publish fitness columns under her name and for exclusive rights to her story about the affair, which Mr. Trump’s representatives have denied. (After the campaign she negotiated permission to answer press questions about the alleged relationship, and later successfully sued to break the agreement.)
A.M.I.’s publications, including The National Enquirer, promoted Mr. Trump and attacked his opponents.
The New York Times reported in February .. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/18/us/politics/michael-cohen-trump.html .. that Ms. McDougal’s lawyer in the deal, Keith M. Davidson, was in contact with Mr. Cohen around the time of its conclusion. Mr. Davidson said then that he was informing Mr. Cohen it was complete. A.M.I. also acknowledged contacting Mr. Cohen during its talks with Ms. McDougal, though only in an effort to corroborate her claims, it said.
Ifevidence shows that Mr. Cohen was consulting with A.M.I. about the arrangement, and that the intention of the deal was to protect Mr. Trump’s election prospects, then the publisher and Mr. Cohen could be exposed to election law violations.
Corporations are barred from spending money to influence election outcomes in coordination with federal campaigns and candidates. Campaigns cannot accept individual donations of more than $5,400 per election cycle.
“If this money is spent in coordination with Trump or the campaign, then it’s a contribution to Trump and the campaign, and then it’s illegal,” said Fred Wertheimer, the founder of Democracy 21, a group supporting campaign finance regulation and enforcement.
Earlier, in 2015, A.M.I. paid $30,000 .. https://www.apnews.com/f37ecfc4710b468db6a103a245146172 .. to a Trump Organization doorman who claimed to have damaging information. After the company bought the rights, The Enquirer chose not to run the story. Executives said that was because it did not check out.
If faced with campaign finance charges — which would be extraordinary for a news organization — the company could argue that its executives did not know the ins and outs of the laws they were alleged to have violated. Under criminal provisions, prosecutors would have to prove the violation was “knowing and willful,” said Brendan Fischer, the director of federal reform at the Campaign Legal Center.
At the same time, Mr. Trump’s campaign could argue that Mr. Cohen acted on his behalf without his knowledge, as his lawyer rather than an agent of his campaign. Mr. Giuliani appeared to lay the groundwork for such an argument on Friday when he said that the conversation captured on the tape, which took place weeks after A.M.I. completed the McDougal deal, appeared to be the first time Mr. Trump had heard about the arrangement and was therefore “exculpatory.”
It is not clear whether prosecutors have reviewed the recording, which the Federal Bureau of Investigation seized during a raid of Mr. Cohen’s office this year and which became tied up in a courtroom fight over what materials attorney-client privilege should shield from prosecutors.
Mr. Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis said on Friday, “When the recording is heard, it will not hurt Mr. Cohen.”
Trump Signals Consequences for Michael Cohen Over Secret Recording
President Trump said it was “inconceivable” that his lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, would have recorded a conversation in which they discussed payments to a woman who has claimed to have had an affair with Mr. Trump.CreditAl Drago for The New York Times
By Katie Rogers and Maggie Haberman
July 21, 2018
BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J. — President Trump lashed out at his longtime lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, on Saturday, suggesting that there could be legal consequences for Mr. Cohen’s decision to record a discussion they had two months before the 2016 election about paying a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump.
“Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyer’s office (early in the morning) — almost unheard of,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter .. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1020642287725043712 . “Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client — totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong!”
[...]
In late April, the president said on Twitter that “I have always liked & respected” Mr. Cohen, and that while “most people will flip if the Government” spares them punishment, “I don’t see Michael doing that.” But this month, Mr. Cohen suggested that he was looking seriously at cooperating with prosecutors, telling ABC News that he would “put family and country first.”
While the president suggested on Saturday that Mr. Cohen’s recording may have been illegal, New York law allows one party to a conversation to tape it without the other knowing. Over the years, Mr. Cohen, in his dealings on Mr. Trump’s behalf with journalists, opposing lawyers and business adversaries, frequently taped his conversations, unbeknown to the people with whom he was speaking. Mr. Trump himself also has a history of recording phone calls and conversations.
[...]
On his way to the New Jersey golf club, the president ignored several questions from reporters about why his campaign would have denied knowledge of the payments if he was on tape discussing them with Mr. Cohen.
Katie Rogers reported from Berkeley Heights, N.J., and Maggie Haberman from New York.
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