March 30, 2017


News and Views

There are few comments today due to the high level of interesting news stories. Those which seemed most important to me are placed first.
See below.


http://occupydemocrats.com/2017/03/29/ceo-general-electric-just-called-us-companies-defy-trump/
The CEO Of General Electric Just Called On US Companies To Defy Trump
BY COLIN TAYLOR
PUBLISHED ON MARCH 29, 2017

One of America’s most influential CEOs, Jeff Immelt of General Electric, just took President Trump to task for his dangerous anti-climate and anti-science agenda.

POLITICO just revealed that “Immelt is calling on other companies to step up to fill the void that the administration is leaving behind,” as per an internal memo obtained by the news outlet.

In the missive, Immelt politely questions Trump’s mental faculties by saying his “imagination is at work” and calls on other American companies to pick up the baton that the White House has so carelessly discarded.

“Companies must be resilient and learn to adjust to political volatility all over the world. Companies must have their own ‘foreign policy’ and create technology and solutions that address local needs for our customers and society.

We believe climate change should be addressed on a global basis through multi-national agreements, such as the Paris Agreement. We hope that the United States continues to play a constructive role in furthering solutions to these challenges, and at GE, we will continue to lead with our technology and actions.”
Immelt went on to point out that innovation and investment into green technology is not only both environmentally prudent and profitable, but also a necessary evolution in today’s rapidly changing global economy.

The rest of the world, recognizing both the opportunities to be found and the urgent need to adapt to green technology, is moving on to bigger and better things as the United States curls up in a dirty room with the windows shut and the door locked as our President obsesses over coal like an addict does rocks in a crack pipe and wages an all-out war on science and regulations that protect both the environment and the public.

China is investing $360 billion over the next three years in environmentally-friendly technologies; countries as varied as Sweden, Costa Rica, and Kenya are all leading the charge in developing renewable energy and other green technologies. President Trump, on the other hand, just repealed the Clean Power Act and banned the use of “emissons reduction” in the Department of Energy memos.

If the White House and Congress won’t face reality, it’s up to the Immelt and the free market that Republicans worship so devoutly to take the charge and do what’s right for the American people and the future of our world as we know it.


COLIN TAYLOR
COLIN TAYLOR IS THE MANAGING EDITOR OF OCCUPY DEMOCRATS. HE GRADUATED FROM BENNINGTON COLLEGE WITH A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE. HE NOW FOCUSES ON ADVANCING THE CAUSE OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUALITY IN AMERICA.



http://occupydemocrats.com/2017/03/30/todays-senate-witness-just-revealed-trumps-allegiances-lie/
Today’s Senate Witness Just Revealed Where Trump’s Allegiances Lie
BY PETER MELLADO
PUBLISHED ON MARCH 30, 2017

After testifying under oath before the Senate Intelligence Committee at hearings into President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia earlier in the day, counter-terrorism expert and former FBI agent Clint Watts hit the cable news circuit Thursday evening where he challenged the President’s loyalties.

In a riveting interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Watts expressed his fear that the President no longer had America’s best interests in mind.

Watts said:

“…If I say things that the Trump administration doesn’t like or that counter to Putin, I’m not sure it’s not Trump first, Russia second and the rest of America third,”

Watts delivered gripping testimony earlier in the day at the Senate Intelligence Committee’s first open hearings on Trump’s ties to Russia.

Senator James Lankford (R-OK) asked Mr. Watts why he thought Vladimir Putin intervened in the 2016 presidential election at a significantly deeper level than any previous election. His answer silenced the Senate chamber.

“The answer is very simple, and it’s what nobody is really saying in this room. Part of the reason active measures have worked in this U.S. election is because the Commander-in-Chief has used Russian active measures at times, against his opponents.”

In other words, Russia hasn’t successfully sabotaged an American election before because no presidential candidate had been willing to embrace their tactics or serve as a mouthpiece for their massive misinformation campaign.

No candidate, that is, until the 2016 Republican nominee for President, Donald Trump.

Mr. Watts fears he may pay a price for his testimony, and he’s not just referring to Russia.

“I’m not confident right now that the U.S. government would actually come to bat for me. I’ve seen President Trump call for Russia to leak emails against a political opponent, I’ve seen him discredit the U.S. intelligence community to cite conspiracies that he’s seen on his Twitter feed.”

When an expert witness, testifying to expose a foreign adversary’s plot to undermine our democratic institutions, is uncertain he has the protection of the leader of those institutions he’s trying to protect, you know that leader is morally bankrupt.

You can see Mr. Watts’ full interview below.

WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW OF WATTS WITH WOLF BLITZER.



http://www.realfarmacy.com/plu-code-fruit/
If You See THIS Label On the Fruit Do Not Buy It at Any Cost!
by ANYA V

Most of us don’t know that the stickers attached to the fruits and vegetables are there for more than just scanning the price.

The PLU code, or the price lookup number on the sticker can help you determine if the product is genetically modified, organic or produced with chemical fertilizers, fungicides or herbicides.

1. A four-digit code beginning with a 3 or a 4 means the produce is probably conventionally grown. The last digits of the code represent the kind of the fruit or vegetable you are buying. For example, bananas are always labeled with the code of 4011.

2. If there are five numbers, and the first is “8″, then the product is genetically modified. The label on genetically modified banana (GE-genetically engineered of GMO) would contain the numbers 84011.

3. A five-digit number that starts with a 9 means the item is organic. Organic bananas are labeled with 94011.

EWG ( The Environmental Working Group) analyzed pesticide residue testing data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration to come up with rankings for these popular fresh produce items.



Watch this Robert Reich video on the anti-nepotism laws and Trump’s heavy reliance on family.

Lyndon Miller shared Robert Reich's live video.
March 30, 2017 2 hrs ·

Pause
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Robert Reich was live.
Yesterday at 5:03pm ·
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The Resistance Report, March 29, 2017


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Resistance Report. 199,768 likes · 1,371,657 talking about this. News from the front lines of the movement to topple Trump's regime.




http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39440795
North Carolina 'bathroom' law: Lawmakers pass repeal bill
March 30, 2017 1 hour ago
From the section US & Canada

Photograph -- Forcing transgender people into specific bathrooms was the best-known effect of HB2

North Carolina lawmakers have approved the repeal of a controversial law that limits protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

A key element banned transgender people from using toilets in accordance with their chosen gender, earning the measure the "bathroom law" tag.

The state House of Representatives and the Senate cleared the repeal bill after reaching a late-night deal.

The deal came hours before the state was to lose key basketball fixtures.

The measure now heads to Democratic Governor Roy Cooper's desk. He is expected to sign it into law.

The deal was announced late on Wednesday by Mr Cooper and Republican state lawmakers.

Mr Cooper, who ran for office on a platform of repealing the measure, known as House Bill 2, said: "It's not a perfect deal, but it repeals HB2 and begins to repair our reputation."

Majority Republican leaders Tim Moore and Phil Berger said in a joint statement: "Compromise requires give and take from all sides, and we are pleased this proposal fully protects bathroom safety and privacy."

But the terms of the deal have angered LGBT activists and some of the state's most conservative lawmakers.

'Train wreck'

The law had required transgender people to use toilets in schools and government buildings that correspond to the sex listed on their birth certificates.

Although the deal repeals the law, state legislators will remain in charge of policy on multi-occupancy restrooms.

Photograph -- State Congress Republicans Moore (L) and Berger said the deal was a compromise Image copyrightAP
Image caption

Photograph -- State Congress Republicans Moore (L) and Berger said the deal was a compromise

It creates a moratorium so that local government, state colleges and universities cannot pass measures extending non-discrimination on sexual orientation and gender identity until December 2020.

The compromise angered LGBT activists.

Equality NC executive director Chris Sgro said before the proposal was agreed that it was "a train wreck that would double down on anti-LGBTQ discrimination. North Carolinians want a clean repeal of HB2, and we urge our allies not to sell us out".

Mr Sgro added on Thursday that legal challenges could follow if lawmakers approved the measure.

Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin said: "At its core, it's a state-wide prohibition on equality."

Businesses, entertainers and sports teams had boycotted North Carolina in the wake of the law's passage last year.

Its largest city, Charlotte, lost the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star game, which was moved to another state.

"Basketball is important to North Carolina; nobody is going to deny that," Senator Ralph Hise told the Charlotte Observer.

"But we've been threatened as a state and we took the coward's act and we're backing down. I can't stand for that," he said.

Republican Sen Dan Bishop, an author of HB2, called the compromise "at best a punt, at worst it is a betrayal of principle".

Who and what have boycotted North Carolina?

Paypal
Deutsche Bank
Bruce Springsteen
Pearl Jam
The band Boston
Demi Lovato
Nick Jonas
Cirque de Soleil
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball, golf and swimming
ACC Swimming and Diving Championships

North Carolina was on Thursday set to lose its ability to host any college (NCAA) basketball championships from 2018 to 2022 "absent any change" in the House Bill 2.

The controversial bill will cost the state more than $3.67bn in lost business over 12 years, according to a recent Associated Press analysis.

Mr Cooper beat Republican Pat McCrory, who had signed the law, in an election in December.

The then-governor-elect attempted to reach a compromise over the law during a special session in December, but failed.

Critics of the bill say it has encouraged lawmakers in other states to put forward their own version of House Bill 2.

As of March, 16 states were considering bathroom bills, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Among those states are Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois and Minnesota.




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/venice-italy-police-raids-bust-alleged-terrorist-cell-arrests/
Cops bust alleged terror cell that discussed bombing tourist hotspot
CBS/AP March 30, 2017, 4:44 AM

Photograph -- Italian police take a man into custody during a raid in Venice, early on March 30, 2017. Officials say three men and a minor were taken into custody, suspected of being a jihadist terror cell. ITALIAN POLICE HANDOUT
Photograph -- The Rialto Bridge in Venice, Italy. AP

Italian police said Thursday that they had dismantled terrorist cell in operating out of the historical center of Venice, arresting three men in raids on 12 homes in the city.

A statement released by the police said the raids disrupted a jihadist organization and that investigators had “identified individuals, relationships, religious radicalization, and places where they met.”

A fourth person, a minor, was also detained in the overnight raids. All of those in custody were nationals of Kosovo with Italian residence permits.

At a news conference later Thursday, the proseuctor [sic] for Venice said one of the men was caught on a phone intercept proposing the group bomb the famous Rialto bridge.

Venice prosecutor Adelchi d’Ippolito said a search of a Venice apartment showed the suspects were getting in physical shape and watching videos of Islamic extremists on how to carry out knife attacks.

A phone intercept caught one saying: “You’ll go straight to paradise because of all the infidels in Venice. Put a bomb on the Rialto.” It wasn’t clear if the reference was bluster or indicated an imminent threat.

Venice hosts an estimated 20 million international tourists every year, including thousands of Americans. The 16th century Rialto is one of Venice’s iconic tourist draws, spanning the Grand Canal and featuring small shops on either side of the steps of the arched bridge.

Italian police have made several arrests in recent years of suspected Islamic extremists, on allegations they were recruiting fighters for jihad in Syria and Iraq, were radicalizing others or were plotting attacks domestically.


HOW LIKE REPUBLICANS TO NULLIFY A RULE ALLOWING COMMUNITIES TO BE NOTIFIED ABOUT HOW TO PREVENT SURFACE WATER POLLUTION FROM COAL MINING REFUSE

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-obscure-law-republicans-are-using-to-nix-obama-era-regulations/
The obscure law Republicans are using to nix Obama-era regulations
By REBECCA SHABAD CBS NEWS March 30, 2017, 6:00 AM

Photograph -- United States President Donald Trump speaks during a bill signing ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, March 27, 2017. Trump signed four bills, H.J. Res 37, H.J. Res 44, H.J. Res. 57 and H.J. Res. 58, that nullify measures put in place during former President Barack Obama’s administration. ANDREW HARRER/PICTURE-ALLIANCE/DPA/AP IMAGES

Congressional Republicans have been using an obscure law from 1996 to take an ax to rules finalized by federal agencies toward the end of the Obama administration -- and their elimination could have long-lasting effects.

They’ve been relying on the power of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to nullify regulations that, for example, would have provided communities with information about how to protect surface water from coal mining operations -- or one that would have directed the Social Security Administration to report the records of people with severe mental illnesses to the background check system used by licensed firearms dealers.

So far, President Donald Trump has signed into law “resolutions of disapproval” that have now overturned seven Obama-era rules.

President Trump signs bills overturning regulations
Play VIDEO
President Trump signs bills overturning regulations

Lawmakers have aggressively used the CRA to target these new regulations because they only have 60 days in session, from the start of the new Congress, to take advantage of the law’s authority to expedite the reversal process. That means Congress has until about mid-May to use this law to reverse agency-issued rules that they oppose.

Any rules that were issued from mid-June 2016 to when President Obama left office in January are eligible to be targeted. During that period, more than 450 rules were finalized, according to Sam Batkins, director of regulatory policy at American Action Forum, who has closely tracked these regulations.

“We’re seeing it used now in particular because I think President Trump has been very clear since the campaign that he would like to see fewer regulations,” said Susan Dudley, director of George Washington University’s Regulatory Studies Center. “I think that has been an invitation to Congress to look at regulations they’d like to disapprove.”

The GOP has also focused on this tool, Dudley said, because the end of a president’s term is always marked by “an uptick in regulatory activity.”

“It means it’s a target-rich environment because there are more regulations issued during the last six to eight months of a president’s term generally than otherwise,” she said.

Republicans on Capitol Hill have already set a new record with their CRA-related activity. Until now, using the CRA to reverse a rule had only been done once before -- by President George W. Bush -- for a rule issued under the Clinton administration. It was issued by the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration on standards for ergonomics in November 2000. The following March, the new Congress passed a CRA resolution to reverse the rule and Bush signed it into law.

Resolutions of disapproval through the CRA only require a simple majority in both chambers to pass and is not subject to the filibuster. Beyond just the cancellation of the rule, there are consequences to consider. Once the rule is reversed, such a rule “may not be reissued in substantially the same form” ever unless Congress were to authorize it in the future.

One of the seven rules reversed by Mr. Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress was part of the implementation of a 2007 law passed in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech mass shooting. It would have allowed the Social Security Administration to provide information to the gun background check system of people who have so severe a mental disability that they can’t perform any kind of work -- even part-time work -- and who were determined not to be able to manage their own benefits.

“It was important because there is a significant lack of information about people who shouldn’t be able to just walk into a gun store and just pass a background check,” said Lindsay Nichols, senior attorney at the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. “The Social Security Administration is essentially now barred from looking at this issue anymore. They can’t rethink it, there’s no chance to amend it. The only opportunity to fix the problem depends on Congress.”

In defense of Congress eliminating the rule, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s, R-California, office argued that “being disabled and needing help managing finances certainly shouldn’t limit a person’s Second Amendment rights.”

Congress also overturned a rule, that has not yet been signed by the president, that was issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that was meant to protect bears, wolves and other carnivores on federal public lands from Alaska’s aggressive “predator control” policy on federal refuges.

Another rule that has been nullified, that’s awaiting Mr. Trump’s signature, had been issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that would have prevented internet service providers from tracking their customers’ online behavior without their permission.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, spoke about the GOP effort to reverse the rule under the CRA on the House floor Tuesday. She argued that Republicans who disagreed with it could have gone back and tweaked it or have had it sent back to the FCC to be revised instead of using the CRA to destroy it.

“This is about profit from America’s most intimate, personal information without our knowledge or our consent,” she said. “Republicans’ use of the Congressional Review Act will do permanent damage to the FCC to keep America’s personal information safe.”

Carol Andress, director of legislative operations, climate and air at the Environmental Defense Fund, described the CRA as an “extraordinarily blunt instrument.”

“The CRA has consequences far beyond that particular rule-making. It really does have a very dramatic effect,” Andress said. “The CRA has more to do with Congress wanting to, in my opinion, use a meat ax or a sledgehammer, rather than a scalpel, and to try to accelerate and instead of doing it thoughtfully.”

Some of the other rules nullified by the president and Congress include two issued by the Department of Education that were related to teacher preparation and student aid funding as well as accountability regulations. Another rule that was reversed had been issued by the Defense Department, NASA and the General Services Administration which was designed to increase efficiency and cost savings in federal contracting by improving contractor compliance with labor laws.

Trump's executive order dismantles Obama's environmental protection effort
Play VIDEO
Trump's executive order dismantles Obama's environmental protection effort

Surprisingly, Batkins, at the American Action Forum, noticed that Republicans have not used the CRA to target Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules.

“We haven’t had a single EPA rule under the CRA yet,” he said. “Obviously, there are different ways to address past regulations, but I think after Election Day when the CRA became alive again after its 16-year dormancy period, if you told most people two education rules will be struck down, but zero EPA rules will be examined, I think that would have surprised a lot of people.”

One of the hurdles, however, to reversing EPA regulations might just be securing enough votes in the Senate. The one concerning gun limits for the severely mentally ill received some bipartisan support in the Senate, passing with 57 votes in favor of reversing it.

“Otherwise, it’s been fairly partisan and I think that’s sort of the big limiting factor to a lot of these CRA resolutions -- just getting 51 votes in the Senate,” he said.

The administration has been using other tools to roll back EPA rules. On Tuesday, the president signed a sweeping executive order to initiate the process of dismantling environmental regulations implemented under Obama that were intended to aggressively combat climate change.

In an interview with conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt, Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, was asked if he would ever been [sic] in favor of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price purposely issuing regulations that would normally be issued by a Democratic administration so that Congress could nullify them and prevent the department from ever revisiting them.

“Yeah, you know, no one’s ever pitched that idea,” Ryan said. “I’ve never thought about that. That’s pretty clever.”



http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/report-white-house-officials-aided-nunes-getting-intel-reports-n740631
POLITICS MAR 30 2017, 2:46 PM ET
White House Officials Aided Nunes in Getting Intel: Report
by ALI VITALI

Video -- Could House Intel Chairman Nunes be subject to investigation? 12:22

Two White House official [sic] were involved in giving House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes access to intelligence reports that seemed to show that President Donald Trump and his associates were incidentally included in surveillance efforts, the New York Times reported Thursday.

Nunes went on to tell reporters that the president was surveilled in some capacity. He later went to the White House to brief them on his findings, ushering in a wave of criticism from Democrats, including ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff.

Play -- Could House Intel Chairman Nunes be subject to investigation? 12:22

The New York Times, citing several current American officials, named Ezra Cohen-Watnick, the senior director for intelligence at the National Security Council, and Michael Ellis, a lawyer who works on national security issues at the White House Counsel's Office, as the officials involved in liaising with Nunes.

NBC News has not independently confirmed the New York Times report.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer dismissed questions about the New York Times report saying the press is assuming those reports are correct. Despite repeatedly being asked about the veracity of the reports, and the names cited, Spicer said the White House would not be commenting "on one-off anonymous sources that publications" publish.

He again chided reporters for an "obsession with who talked to whom and when" as opposed to focusing on the "substance" of what the investigation was finding.

Spicer also said he was "not aware of anything directly" when asked if the president directed the White House staffers to find proof of his wiretapping claims.

Spicer announced Thursday that it had sent a letter to ranking members on the House and Senate intelligence committees to view materials previously requested by members of Congress. These documents, the White House said were deemed "necessary to determine whether information collected on U.S. persons was mishandled and leaked."

Spicer would not confirm, however, that the information that would be shared was what Nunes was privy to last week.

Nunes and Schiff have both received letters from the White House, congressional sources told NBC News.

Spicer previously refused to rule out that Nunes' source, who has remained anonymous, was a White House official.

One week ago Spicer told reporters he didn't know why Nunes would brief the White House on something that they had previously briefed him on.

"I don't know why he would brief the Speaker and then come down here to brief us on something that we would have briefed him on," Spicer said last Thursday. "It doesn't really seem to make a ton of sense. So I'm not aware of it, but it doesn't really pass the smell test.

Trump has used Nunes claims as validation of his still-unsubstantiated allegation that former President Barack Obama wiretapped his phones in Trump Tower. Trump also expressed appreciation to Nunes for bringing the information to the attention of the White House.

"I somewhat do — I appreciate him coming over," Trump said last week.

Nunes, for his part, still maintains there is no evidence of Obama had Trump Tower wiretapped.




http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/dems-red-flags-kushner-sit-russian-banker/story?id=46461651&cid=clicksource_4380645_1_hero_headlines_bsq_related
Dems: Red flags from Kushner sit-down with Russian banker
By MATTHEW MOSK Mar 30, 2017, 6:22 AM ET

WATCH -- Senate to hold 1st public hearing on alleged Russia election meddling

New red flags about Jared Kushner's business dealings have emerged with his recent disclosure of a December meeting he held with the chief of a Russian development bank, leading Democratic lawmakers told ABC News.

"Mr. Kushner needs to come clean and be fully transparent with the public — immediately — about all of the businesses that he continues to profit from while he serves in the White House," Rep. Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told ABC News.

Kushner, 36, who is married to Ivanka Trump, played a central role in his father-in-law's 2016 campaign and has since taken a job as one of President Trump's senior advisers. Kushner was already facing questions about a December meeting he held with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. when reports surfaced this week about a second contact. The White House confirmed that Kushner met in December with Sergei Gorkov of VneshEconomBank, or VEB, at the suggestion of the Russian ambassador. But the substance of the previously undisclosed meeting remains something of a mystery.

A senior White House official said that the conversation was "general and inconsequential" and that Kushner took the meeting as part of his campaign role of interfacing with foreign dignitaries. But the bank described the discussion to ABC News as a "negotiation" in which "the parties discussed the business practices applied by foreign development banks, as well as most promising business lines and sectors."

The December meeting came as the Kushner Companies, the family's real estate firm, was in the midst of what it has described in public statements as "active, advanced negotiations ... with a number of potential investors" about the redevelopment of the skyscraper it owns at 666 Fifth Avenue in New York City.

On Nov. 16, Kushner dined with executives from the China-based Anbang Insurance Group to discuss a possible $4 billion redevelopment of the New York tower — a deal that reportedly fell apart this week, according to published reports. The rumored venture prompted a letter on March 24 from congressional Democrats who expressed concern about the company's entanglements with the Chinese government and about continued uncertainty about the extent to which Kushner has separated himself from the family real estate business, which he oversaw until recently.

"Even if Mr. Kushner has in fact divested from 666 Fifth Avenue, it appears his immediate family stands to benefit from a deal with Anbang, potentially violating federal ethics laws that bar 'an employee [from using] his public office for his own private gain ... or for the private gain of friends, relatives or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity,'" reads the letter, signed by Cummings and Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Tom Carper of Delaware, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Gary Peters of Michigan.

To date, neither Kushner nor the family real estate firm has explained the nature of the meeting with VEB. An official representing the Kushner firm responded to ABC News' questions Wednesday evening, saying Kushner was the only executive from his family's real estate firm to attend.

"VEB is not providing financing, lending or any other services to Kushner Companies," the official said.

The bank would not make a conventional choice as a business partner, as it is operating under the shroud of U.S. sanctions imposed after Russian incursions into Ukraine. Adding to the troubling optics of the meeting, Democrats said, was the recent involvement of a senior VEB executive, Evgeny Buryakov, in a bungled Russian spy ring in New York. In May he was sentenced to 30 months in prison for gathering intelligence for the Russian Federation as an agent under nonofficial cover, known as NOC.

Senators overseeing the Russia investigation have said they expect to ask Kushner about the meeting when he appears before the Intelligence Committee. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told ABC News he wants Kushner to share more details about the meeting so the public can understand its nature and purpose.

"Mounting evidence implicates the Trump inner circle in possible collusion with Russian meddling," Blumenthal said. "The Trump White House seems increasingly to be an ethically flawed mix of family businesses, special interests and foreign interference, putting private gain over public interest."