 |
| FBI Director Christopher Wray. |
Attorney General Jeff Sessions — at the public urging of President Donald Trump — has been pressuring FBI Director Christopher Wray to fire Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, but Wray threatened to resign if McCabe was removed, according to three sources with direct knowledge.
Wray's resignation under those circumstances would have created a media firestorm. The White House — understandably gun-shy after the Comey debacle — didn’t want that scene, so McCabe remains.
Sessions told White House Counsel Don McGahn about how upset Wray was about the pressure on him to fire McCabe, and McGahn told Sessions this issue wasn’t worth losing the FBI Director over, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Why it matters: Trump started his presidency by pressuring one FBI Director (before canning him), and then began pressuring another (this time wanting his deputy canned). This much meddling with the FBI for this long is not normal.
"Not normal" is a real understatement here.
If Wray had actually resigned that would mean that Trump would have lost two FBI directors in his first year.
And what is more troubling is that both of them would have been related to an ongoing investigation of the president himself, and his campaign.
We are functioning more like a banana republic every day it seems.
Kebler elf time....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.politicususa.com/2018/01/23/mueller-interviews-jeff-sessions-obstruction-justice-noose-tightens-around-trump.html
Donald is almost done undermining the U.S. then I suspect Putin will make his move. It's sad but if the naysayers paid attention, they'd know that past governments in history have been undermined like ours before by people like Donald. Sadly, no one heeds history and we keep going back.
ReplyDeleteDemocrats didn’t cave on the shutdown
ReplyDeleteDemocrats are funding CHIP for six years and reopening the government without losing their shutdown leverage.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/1/22/16920532/shutdown-deal-democrats
fact, there is evidence that at least one Russian was murdered because of Steele’s revelations: Gen. Oleg Erovinkin of Russia’s State Security Service (FSB). On the morning of Dec. 26, 2016, Erovinkin, age 61, was found dead in his car in central Moscow. Life News, known to be a Kremlin mouthpiece, first claimed on its website that Erovinkin had been “killed,” but then quickly changed its story, saying simply that Erovinkin had “died.”
ReplyDelete"Erovinkin, who joined the KGB (the FSB’s predecessor) in 1976, had in the mid-1990s worked in the Russian Presidential Administration, where his job was to monitor compliance with security procedures. (He was known as “the keeper of the Kremlin’s secrets.”) He then served under Igor Sechin when the latter was deputy premier and subsequently followed Sechin to Rosneft in 2012, after Sechin became CEO of the state oil giant.
Of all the officials who serve under Putin, Sechin is the most powerful. Erovinkin, as chief administrator at Rosneft, was Sechin’s right-hand man and must have known everything about Sechin's contacts with Americans. Those included the former head of ExxonMobile, now Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. (Sechin once said he felt thwarted by U.S. imposed sanctions that kept him from riding motorcycles in America with his friend Tillerson.)"
"Steele wrote in his dossier that “a Russian source close to Rosneft President [sic] Igor Sechin” had confided details of a secret July 2016 meeting in Moscow between Sechin and Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page. The two had allegedly discussed bilateral energy cooperation between the United States and Russia, along with the lifting of Ukraine-related economic sanctions against Russia. As a quid pro quo, Sechin was said to have offered Page and his associates the brokerage of a 19 percent stake in Rosneft, which was due to be privatized. Page reportedly indicated that Trump, if elected president, would lift sanctions."
"He reluctantly admitted meeting with Russian vice premier Arkady Dvorkovich and also with Andrei Baranov, who is head of investor relations at Rosneft, a top management position that would put Baranov in frequent contact with Sechin. (Significantly, Baranov was awarded a medal “for service to his country” by Putin in March 2017.)"
"The plan to privatize part of Rosneft was not known outside of Rosneft’s top management at this time and it was a contentious issue, as was the proposed purchase by Rosneft of controlling shares in the oil company Basneft, which occurred in October. (The sale of 19.5 percent of Rosneft shares to Qatar and the commodities giant Glencore was announced in early December.)
"While the Ulyukaev case and the Rosneft transactions certainly contribute to the air of conspiracy around Erovinkin’s death, it is more than likely that the Steele dossier DID HIM IN" the fallout from it in Russia, including at least one highly probable murder, suggests that much of what Steele reported IS FACT"
https://www.thedailybeast.com/was-this-russian-general-murdered-over-the-steele-dossier?ref=home
Americans do want a thorough investigation so we can put the shithole and hanging dingleberries away for life, but this is getting very boring. The secret society of American's is bias against a liar, cheat and crooks rigging our elections and making late night great again. We do not appreciate a bunch of crooked mobsters playing government or mingling with foreign mafia. Nope we do not like treasonous scabs, espionage by morons or money laudering useful idiots. Nope we do not like it at all. Stay tuned for the big F U to the gop rnc fleas and ticks for the shithole foundation of dumbshits.
ReplyDelete$eXxx BULLing MonEy
Deletelol.
DeleteOT: Jesse, you didn't share with us the 8.2 earthquake news.
ReplyDeleteBirdbrain
7.9
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_earthquakes_in_Alaska
Tsunami warnings canceled after magnitude-7.9 earthquake off Alaska
Deletehttps://www.cnn.com/2018/01/23/us/alaska-earthquake/index.html
Dear cousin Birdbrain, that 8.2 was just a fracking fart from russie with love for rump. Nothing to report.
DeleteThere is going to be another racist Trump shutdown in the coming weeks
ReplyDeletehttps://www.rawstory.com/2018/01/going-another-racist-trump-shutdown-coming-weeks/
"“Russia ultimately BEAR$ responsibility”
ReplyDeletehttps://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/23/rex-tillerson-russia-syria-359092
CRIMEa!
Trump’s attacks on FBI deputy director backfire as FBI chief he appointed ties his hands
ReplyDeletehttps://shareblue.com/trumps-attacks-on-fbi-deputy-director-backfire-as-fbi-chief-he-appointed-ties-his-hands/
(THREAD) BREAKING NEWS: A major event has occurred in the Trump-Russia investigation: Special Counsel Bob Mueller has interviewed one of his primary targets, Attorney General Jeff Sessions. This thread analyzes what it means for Trump and the nation. I hope you'll read and share.
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/955827909704519682
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/955827909704519682.html
2/the first member of the president's Cabinet to be interviewed by Mueller, What's newsworthy is he appears—from all the evidence we have—to be one of the primary targets of the investigation.
Delete3/ An investigative "target" is someone you believe may have committed a crime, and who you don't expect you would cut a deal with to get them to testify against someone higher up in the hierarchy of the organization
4/ the president and vice president; second, top individuals from the Trump campaign: Don Jr., Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner, Michael Flynn, and Sessions.
Pence—so far—doesn't seem to be a target.
6/ The president is known to be under investigation for Obstruction, Money Laundering. Conspiracy charges— involving Computer Crimes—and campaign-finance charges
12/ Manafort knows the value of his cooperation diminishes with each day—and there's no reason to think Mueller can suddenly "turn up the pressure," beyond the fact of an indictment, during the pretrial discovery process—so Manafort has pretty clearly made his choice on flipping.
13/ he doesn't want to snitch; he knows or was told he's considered (unalterably) a primary target; he made an offer to flip and was refused; he thinks he can beat his charges; he's waiting to see if more serious (Russia) charges arise.
16/ See why Mueller interviewing Sessions is major international news: either the Attorney General of the United States is a primary target in a criminal probe, or he's a target Mueller *needs* to get to the President of the United States.
19/ Mueller isn't just looking at Sessions for things he may've done to protect Trump—lie to Congress (Perjury) and pen a fraudulent justification for firing Comey (Obstruction)—but his willful, clandestine, illicit actions with respect to Russia.
23/ (Sessions is a key *witness* in the Trump-Russia investigation is inarguable—a team of [nonpartisan] career professionals at the Department of Justice determined that he was, which is precisely why he recused himself from the investigation in March of 2017.)
27/ Sessions isn't a *necessary* witness on the Obstruction case—Mueller can make it without him—and because Mueller doesn't *need* Sessions to make out a Perjury case against him, I think we should assume that Mueller is *most* interested in asking Sessions about Russia.
33/ Sessions ran Trump's NatSec team. So he was Papadopoulos' boss as Papadopoulos was meeting with Kremlin agents; he was Page's boss as Page was meeting with Kremlin agents; he was J.D. Gordon's boss as Gordon was changing the GOP platform to benefit Putin—then lying about it.
34 ' Sessions' national security team: emails from Papadopoulos, Page, Clovis, Kubic, Dearborn, Manafort, Lewandowski, and others.'
38/ Instead of immediately contacting the FBI and/or firing Papadopoulos—which was *his* job to do—Sessions *allegedly* shut Papadopoulos down. But he then knowingly allowed Papadopoulos to continue his extensive efforts to connect the Trump campaign to the Kremlin *unabated*.
42'all of this leaves out Sessions' knowing participation in the big charade surrounding Comey's firing—which Sessions tried to help Trump convince the American people was because of Comey's handling of the *Clinton email investigation*, not the Trump-Russia probe.'
46/ As you can see from the executive privilege primer offered in Tweet #44, Sessions *cannot* assert executive privilege to avoid answering a question. Only Trump can assert executive privilege, and he must do so *formally* and in a manner that's *narrowly tailored by question*.
" it's a *major* development in the Trump-Russia probe and very, very bad news for Trump."
NORAH O'DONNELL, CBS: "What's being done to make sure [Russian election interference] doesn't happen in 2018, and in the next presidential election in 2020?"
ReplyDeleteMIKE POMPEO, CIA: "It's a great question, Norah—it's a very important question. I can't answer it."
https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/955639476918906880
BREAKING (WASHINGTON POST): Papadopoulos' Fiancée Says “There’s a Lot to Come” From Him on Trump-Russia Ties, Says Mueller Has Interviewed Her "Extensively"
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/955592203564474368
Trump has been "frozen out" of shutdown talks and "isn't happy about it." Can't get McConnell or Schumer on the phone - one staffer calling them "every 30 seconds."
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/RogueSNRadvisor/status/955475897124995072
Two people close to the WH told me this AM Trump was “absolutely fuming” because Sessions didn’t report back in detail on how his interview went with Mueller’s team. Apparently Trump was “begging” Sessions to tell him what questions were asked & Sessions wouldn’t tell him much.
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/funder/status/955830199941324801
NEW: Sen. Feinstein, Rep. Schiff urge Facebook & Twitter to investigate involvement of Russian bots in pushing "Release the Memo" campaign: "If reports are accurate, we are witnessing an ongoing attack by the Russian government through Kremlin-linked social media actors."
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/funder/status/955843168360189952
JEFF SESSIONS PUSHED FBI DIRECTOR TO CLEAR OUT TOP BUREAU STAFF AMID TRUMP-RUSSIA INVESTIGATION: REPORT
ReplyDeletehttp://www.newsweek.com/jeff-sessions-donald-trump-fbi-786630
Trump Hasn’t Destroyed Obama’s Legacy. He’s Revealed How Impressive It Was.
ReplyDeletehttps://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/trump-hasnt-destroyed-obamas-legacy.html
America is violent with a big death wish and horrendous leaders, if you can call them leaders. On the highway to hell.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thedailybeast.com/cia-director-mike-pompeo-gives-latest-indication-trump-is-considering-preemptive-strike-on-north-korea
Latest Indication Trump Is Considering Preemptive Strike on North Korea
The spy agency is briefing the president about a ‘limited strike,’ which analysts warn could easily escalate into nuclear war.
"Pompeo would not answer if options exist for Trump to attack North Korea short of a nuclear war. Analysts warn a limited strike would lead to such a war should North Korea retaliate and prompt escalation. He indicated instead the administration was developing a range of options spanning from diplomacy to war, so Trump will not face a binary choice between inaction and potential nuclear devastation.
Delete“We’re working to prepare a series of options to make sure that we can deliver a range of things so the president will have the full suite of possibilities. The president is intent on delivering this solution through diplomatic means,” Pompeo told AEI’s Marc Thiessen.
“We are equally at the same time ensuring that if we conclude that is not possible, that we present the president a range of options to achieve what is his stated intention,” Pompeo continued, which he later described as to “denuclearize permanently” North Korea"
"Pompeo said he would “leave to others to address the capacity or the wisdom of a preemptive strike. From an intelligence perspective, we’re trying to ensure that all the various options that the president might want to consider are fully informed, that we understand what’s really going on and the risks associated with each of those decisions as best we can identify them for him.”
"Pompeo on Monday told CBS News that North Korea was a “handful of months” away from being able to reliably deliver a nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile to the
United States." he “hoped to be able to say that a year from now as well,” the CIA director clarified at AEI that he was not suggesting his satisfaction over STALLing the North Koreans’ advanced missile program."
"Seoul, the South Korean capital, is a city of 10 million people in range of North Korea’s frightening array of artillery, and most scenarios for a conflict presume the city’s annihilation in the opening stage of a war."Pyongyang on Tuesday announced that the first day of the Olympics, February 8, will be a national holiday celebrating its army, carrying the prospect of a high-profile demonstration of its military capacity—and a tacit threat as the world assembles for the games."
"“This is a threat to the whole world.”"
FBI Chief’s Reported Threat to Resign Over Trump Pressure Is Weirdly Encouraging
ReplyDeletehttps://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/fbi-director-reportedly-threated-to-quit-over-trump-pressure.html
the Then and NOW lOOk
ReplyDelete'mortified; mortifying
transitive verb
1 obsolete :to destroy the strength, vitality, or functioning of
2 : to subdue or deaden (the body, bodily appetites, etc.) especially by abstinence or self-inflicted pain or discomfort mortified his body for spiritual purification
3 :to subject to severe and vexing embarrASSment : SHAME
humiliate:
to reduce (someone) to a lower position in one's own eyes or others' eyes : to make (someone) aSHAMEd
or embarrASSed
Sorry -wrong thread Posting...Been moved...
Delete