[mpen-dayton] FW: "And the winner is ..." & "Robert Reich's TERRIFYING warning" & "This could END Donald Trump's Presidency" and more
FYI. Best, Munsup
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- FW: And the winner is ...
- FW: Preet Bharara recalls honorable vs dishonorable acts and actors
- FW: Robert Reich's TERRIFYING warning
- FW: This could END Donald Trump's Presidency
- FW: Zuhanyzó Japánban - Shower In Japan
- FW: American politics today
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From: Judy Burnette
Subject: And the winner is ...
From: Andrew Tierman
Subject: Preet Bharara recalls honorable vs dishonorable acts and actors
Preet Bharara: Are there still public servants who will say no to the president? - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/preet-bharara-are-there-still-public-servants-who-will-say-no-to-the-president/2017/05/14/8df915de-38d6-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html?utm_term=.457f017929db&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1
Comey Memo Says Trump Asked Him to End Flynn Investigation
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT - The New York Times - Tuesday, May 16, 2017
WASHINGTON — President Trump asked the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, to shut down the federal investigation into Mr. Trump's former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, in an Oval Office meeting in February, according to a memo that Mr. Comey wrote shortly after the meeting.
"I hope you can let this go," the president told Mr. Comey, according to the memo.
The existence of Mr. Trump's request is the clearest evidence that the president has tried to directly influence the Justice Department and F.B.I. investigation into links between Mr. Trump's associates and Russia.
Mr. Comey wrote the memo detailing his conversation with the president immediately after the meeting, which took place the day after Mr. Flynn resigned, according to two people who read the memo. The memo was part of a paper trail Mr. Comey created documenting what he perceived as the president's improper efforts to influence an ongoing investigation. An F.B.I. agent's contemporaneous notes are widely held up in court as credible evidence of conversations.
Mr. Comey shared the existence of the memo with senior F.B.I. officials and close associates. The New York Times has not viewed a copy of the memo, which is unclassified, but one of Mr. Comey's associates read parts of the memo to a Times reporter.
"I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go," Mr. Trump told Mr. Comey, according to the memo. "He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go."
Mr. Trump told Mr. Comey that Mr. Flynn had done nothing wrong, according to the memo.
Mr. Comey did not say anything to Mr. Trump about curtailing the investigation, only replying: "I agree he is a good guy."
In a statement, the White House denied the version of events in the memo.
"While the president has repeatedly expressed his view that General Flynn is a decent man who served and protected our country, the president has never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn," the statement said. "The president has the utmost respect for our law enforcement agencies, and all investigations. This is not a truthful or accurate portrayal of the conversation between the president and Mr. Comey."
In testimony to the Senate last week, the acting F.B.I. director, Andrew G. McCabe, said, "There has been no effort to impede our investigation to date."
A spokesman for the F.B.I. declined to comment.
Mr. Comey created similar memos — including some that are classified — about every phone call and meeting he had with the president, the two people said. It is unclear whether Mr. Comey told the Justice Department about the conversation or his memos.
Mr. Trump fired Mr. Comey last week. Trump administration officials have provided multiple, conflicting accounts of the reasoning behind Mr. Comey's dismissal. Mr. Trump said in a television interview that one of the reasons was because he believed "this Russia thing" was a "made-up story."
The Feb. 14 meeting took place just a day after Mr. Flynn was forced out of his job after it was revealed he had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of phone conversations he had had with the Russian ambassador to the United States.
Despite the conversation between Mr. Trump and Mr. Comey, the investigation of Mr. Flynn has proceeded. In Virginia, a federal grand jury has issued subpoenas in recent weeks for records related to Mr. Flynn. Part of the Flynn investigation is centered on his financial ties to Russia and Turkey.
Mr. Comey had been in the Oval Office that day with other senior national security officials for a terrorism threat briefing. When the meeting ended, Mr. Trump told those present — including Mr. Pence and Attorney General Jeff Sessions — to leave the room except for Mr. Comey.
Alone in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump began the discussion by condemning leaks to the news media, saying that Mr. Comey should consider putting reporters in prison for publishing classified information, according to one of Mr. Comey's associates.
Mr. Trump then turned the discussion to Mr. Flynn.
After writing up a memo that outlined the meeting, Mr. Comey shared it with senior F.B.I. officials. Mr. Comey and his aides perceived Mr. Trump's comments as an effort to influence the investigation, but they decided that they would try to keep the conversation secret — even from the F.B.I. agents working on the Russia investigation — so the details of the conversation would not affect the investigation.
Mr. Comey was known among his closest advisers to document conversations that he believed would later be called into question, according to two former confidants, who said Mr. Comey was uncomfortable at times with his relationship with Mr. Trump.
Mr. Comey's recollection has been bolstered in the past by F.B.I. notes. In 2007, he told Congress about a now-famous showdown with senior White House officials over the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program. The White House disputed Mr. Comey's account, but the F.B.I. director at the time, Robert S. Mueller III, kept notes that backed up Mr. Comey's story.
The White House has repeatedly crossed lines that other administrations have been reluctant to cross when discussing politically charged criminal investigations. Mr. Trump has disparaged the ongoing F.B.I. investigation as a hoax and called for an investigation into his political rivals. His representatives have taken the unusual step of declaring no need for a special prosecutor to investigate the president's associates.
The Oval Office meeting occurred a little more than two weeks after Mr. Trump summoned Mr. Comey to the White House for a lengthy, one-on-one dinner in the residence. At that dinner, on Jan. 27, Mr. Trump asked Mr. Comey at least two times for a pledge of loyalty — which Mr. Comey declined, according to one of Mr. Comey's associates.
In a Twitter posting on Friday, Mr. Trump said that "James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!"
After the meeting, Mr. Comey's associates did not believe there was any way to corroborate Mr. Trump's statements. But Mr. Trump's suggestion last week that he was keeping tapes has made them wonder whether there are tapes that back up Mr. Comey's account.
The Jan. 27 dinner came a day after White House officials learned that Mr. Flynn had been interviewed by F.B.I. agents about his phone calls with the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak. On Jan. 26, Acting Attorney General Sally Q. Yates told the White House counsel about the interview, and said Mr. Flynn could be subject to blackmail by the Russians because they knew he had lied about the content of the calls.
Trump defends release of classified information
David Jackson - USA TODAY - Tuesday, May 16, 2017
WASHINGTON – One day after reports he leaked "highly classified information" to top Russian officials, President Trump defended his right to share "facts" about terrorism and airline safety as part of a joint counter-terrorism effort to fight the Islamic State.
"As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety," Trump said in a pair of tweets. "Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism."
On Monday, The Washington Post reported that Trump discussed classified information with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak provided to the U.S. by another country in a way they could have used to identify secret sources and methods. The information dealt with plans by the Islamic State to use laptop computers as weapons, and was so sensitive it had been withheld from allies – and under close hold within the U.S. government as well.
Notably, neither Trump nor his advisers have explicitly denied the president shared classified intelligence.
American presidents have the power to unilaterally disclose any material – even the most secret intelligence – without going through any kind of formal process or fear of being prosecuted. While Trump is correct to say he has an "absolute right" to share any information he wants, experts say that strategy can be risky – especially because allies could lose their trust in the U.S. ability to keep secrets and might stop sharing valuable intelligence with their American counterparts.
Trump's explanation appeared to differed in tone from ones offered by aides late Monday. "The president and the foreign minister reviewed a range of common threats to our two countries, including threats to civil aviation," said national security adviser H.R. McMaster. "At no time, at no time, were intelligence sources or methods discussed and the president did not disclose any military operations that were not already publicly known."
Lawmakers from both parties demanded a full accounting of the conversation with the Russian diplomats that some feared could lead to exposure of confidential informants helping U.S. intelligence officials counter the Islamic State.
"If the report is true, it is very disturbing," said Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. "Revealing classified information at this level is extremely dangerous and puts at risk the lives of Americans and those who gather intelligence for our country."
The latest incident comes a week after Trump fired FBI director James Comey. Critics accused him of seeking to short-circuit an investigation into whether associates of the Trump campaign colluded with Russians who sought to influence last year's election.
All this also comes as Trump prepares for his first foreign trip. He leaves Friday for the Middle East and Europe.
Read Full Story:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/05/16/donald-trump-russia-classified-the-washington-post/101740022/
From: AlterNet on behalf of The Progressive Turnout Project
Subject: Robert Reich's TERRIFYING warning:
Political scientist Robert Reich:
"Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey brings us even closer to tyranny. Congress must appoint a special prosecutor NOW."
Robert Reich just issued a TERRIFYING warning about Trump's firing of FBI Director Jim Comey.
He's 100% correct!
Trump's firing of James Comey was reckless and reeked of desperation. He knows we have him cornered on his illegal connections to Russia!!
If you agree with Robert Reich that we need a special prosecutor immediately, please sign your name now:
Despite the cover-up becoming clearer by the minute, not everyone is on board with a special prosecutor.
Republicans in Congress, like Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, are telling the country to just "suck it up" and move on.
With Trump and Republicans trying to muddy the waters, it's incredibly important that we show a surge of support for courageous speakers like Robert Reich!
Do you agree with Robert Reich's demand for a special prosecutor?
http:// go.turnoutpac.org/Agree-With-Robert-Reich
Paid for by the Progressive Turnout Project and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
From: Stop Trump - EndCitizensUnited.org
Subject: This could END Donald Trump's Presidency:
Donald Trump's Presidency could be OVER:
The day after firing the FBI Director, Trump shared highly classified US Intelligence with a KNOWN RUSSIAN SPY. |
From: Charlene Bayless
Subject: FW: Zuhanyzó Japánban - Shower In Japan
This looks like a car wash----only for the body----leave it up to the Japanese!
Dusul in Japonia
From: Andrew J. Tierman
Subject: American politics today
Perhaps you have seen one or both of these ongoing series, one on YouTube [The Resistance with Keith Olbermann] and the other on Comedy Central [The President Show], the latter being biting political satire with a hilarious Trump impersonator. If you have, please excuse my enthusiasm - perhaps I am the last person to know about them. Their existence is important to American political culture and criticism, and if I make one more person aware of them, that is good. Please share with your associates, friends and family. [I may have sent you an early episode of Keith Olbermann's Resistance without realizing that it was one of a series of analyses and exhortations regarding the current Administration.]
- The Resistance, sponsored by GQ: see https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0hKMB1-xkc-XWNf9VL-LxVYysdHpjyMF or search for Keith Olbermann
- The President Show (website): see http://www.cc.com/shows/the-president-show
End of MPEN e-Newsletter
posted by lucas at 11:48 PM
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