May 18, 2017


News and Views


IS FOX GOING TO BECOME A MORE MAINSTREAM PRODUCER OF NEWS NOW? I DO HOPE SO. AN ARTICLE SEVERAL MONTHS AGO CLAIMED THAT THE SONS ARE MORE ORIENTED TOWARD WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE TRUTH AND FAIRNESS. I HOPE THAT WILL BE THE CASE. HIS WIFE IS QUOTED BELOW AS SAYING HE WAS A LOVING HUSBAND AND FATHER, WHICH MAKES ME THINK THAT HE MUST HAVE HAD GENUINELY GOOD CHARACTERISTICS, BECAUSE A MISTREATED WIFE IS RARELY IN LOVE WITH HER HUSBAND. OTHER THAN MESSING AROUND WITH MULTIPLE OTHER WOMEN, MAYBE HE WAS GENTLE AT HOME.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/roger-ailes-dead-at-77/
By STEFAN BECKET CBS NEWS May 18, 2017, 8:47 AM
Roger Ailes, former Fox News chief, dead at 77

Former Fox News chief executive Roger Ailes has died, his wife said in a statement Thursday morning.

"I am profoundly sad and heartbroken to report that my husband, Roger Ailes, passed away this morning," Elizabeth Ailes said. "Roger was a loving husband to me, to his son Zachary, and a loyal friend to many."

Ailes was 77. Fox News confirmed Ailes' death Thursday morning.

gettyimages-142710763.jpg
Roger Ailes on April 11, 2012 in New York City. STEPHEN LOVEKIN / GETTY IMAGES

The founder of Fox News and longtime Republican political operative had a profound influence on American life, building Fox News into a powerhouse that transformed the media landscape and conservative politics.

Ailes was forced to resign from Fox News in July 2016 in the wake of sexual harassment allegations leveled by former employees.

For decades, Ailes worked as a media consultant for Republican politicians, serving as an adviser to Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He was close with President Trump, helping Mr. Trump prepare for debates during the 2016 campaign after his ouster from Fox News.

What it was like to work at Fox News under Roger Ailes
Play VIDEO
What it was like to work at Fox News under Roger Ailes

Ailes founded Fox News with media titan Rupert Murdoch in 1996, building the network into the highest-rated cable news channel on television. Over two decades, Ailes turned Fox into an incredibly lucrative media property, making billions in profits for its parent company.

His resignation in 2016 was a shocking fall from grace. Lawsuits filed by former hosts Gretchen Carlson and Andrea Tantaros alleged Ailes created a toxic culture at the network where sexual harassment was permitted. Carlson said she was fired for refusing Ailes' sexual advancements, and Tantaros alleged Fox News was "steeped in intimidation, indecency and misogyny."

Ailes denied the sexual harassment allegations but was forced to resign in the wake of the lawsuits. Carlson reached a $20 million settlement with parent company 21st Century Fox in September 2016. The company apologized to Carlson, saying she "was not treated with the respect and dignity that she and all of our colleagues deserve."

At least six other women have come forward with allegations against Ailes and top Fox News executives. Longtime host Bill O'Reilly, who was one of Ailes' earliest hires at the network, was forced to resign after settlements totaling millions of dollars came to light in April.



THIS IS MY IDEA OF A VERY GOOD ARTICLE. IT IS WRITTEN IN STRAIGHTFORWARD ENGLISH WITH NO UNEXPLAINED JARGON, AND METHODICALLY DEVELOPS ITS’ POINTS. MY FRESHMAN ENGLISH PROFESSOR WOULD GIVE IT AN “A.”

IN ADDITION, IT IS FULL OF INTERESTING INFORMATION THAT I HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE, AND ABOUT A FACTFINDING TECHNIQUE WHICH HAS BECOME A PART OF THE FABRIC OF OUR DEMOCRACY. WE ARE GROWING BEYOND THE DECISIONS IN “SMOKE-FILLED ROOMS” LEVEL TO A MORE TRANSPARENT KIND OF LAW. THAT MAKES ME FEEL VERY PLEASED AND HOPEFUL ABOUT OUR CURRENT VERY DISTURBING CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS. I SEE IN THE LAST PARAGRAPH THAT THE PUBLIC MAY NOT SEE THE SPECIAL COUNSEL’S REPORT, BUT THAT CONGRESS WILL. I DO HOPE SOMEBODY WILL MAKE THE SALIENT POINTS PUBLIC, BECAUSE WE THE CITIZENRY NEED TO KNOW WHAT IT SAYS. SUNLIGHT DESTROYS MILDEW AND OTHER SUCH EVILS.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-powers-and-limits-of-robert-muellers-new-job-as-special-counsel/
AP May 18, 2017, 9:22 AM
The powers and limits of Robert Mueller's new job as special counsel

WASHINGTON -- A look at the powers and limits of Robert Mueller's new job as special counsel looking at possible links between Russia and Trump campaign associates.

Q. What will Mueller do as special counsel?

A. Mueller is supposed to carry on the investigation that former FBI Director James Comey told Congress about before he was fired by President Donald Trump. That includes any links between Trump campaign associates and Russia, as well as "any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation," according to the letter appointing him.

Q. What are a special counsel's powers?

A. Under Justice Department regulations, a special counsel has all the authority of a U.S. attorney, including the ability to initiate investigations, subpoena records and bring criminal charges. One difference, however: Special counsels get to choose whether they inform the Justice Department what they're up to. Before taking "significant" actions, however, the special counsel must notify the attorney general.

Q. Could a special counsel investigate things beyond simply the Russia connection?

A. Mueller has a broad mandate to determine the course of an investigation, but not an unlimited one. If he decides that something outside the scope of the letter appointing him needs investigating, he would have to ask for permission to expand his probe.

Q. What's the difference between a special counsel and a special prosecutor or an independent counsel?

A. Independent counsels or special prosecutors don't exist anymore. These are titles that were established by law following Watergate, and they expired in 1999. The Justice Department created regulations to keep the concept alive in the form of the special counsel. Patrick Fitzgerald, the former U.S. attorney appointed to investigate the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame, was one.

Q. Who will work for the special counsel, and what sort of budget will Mueller have?

A. The Justice Department is supposed to supply staff for a special counsel - but Mueller can request specific people, or request the hiring of staff from outside the Justice Department. While working for Mueller, the staff will report to no one else. Mueller will have to propose a budget to the Justice Department within the next 60 days - and update it annually, for as long as the investigation runs. There is no expiration date for Mueller's authority.

Q. Could Trump fire Mueller?

A. No, but Attorney General Jeff Sessions' deputy, Rod Rosenstein, could. Special counsels can be fired only by the "personal action" of the attorney general. Since Sessions has recused himself from the Trump Russia investigation, Rosenstein - who signed the letter appointing Mueller as "acting attorney general" - is the only person with the authority to curtail Mueller's work. Such a firing would require a finding of incapacity, misconduct or "good cause." Whatever the reason, Rosenstein would have to inform Mueller in writing.

Q. Will the results of the investigation become public?

A. Not necessarily. When a special counsel closes shop, he or she must give the attorney general a confidential report explaining the decision to bring charges or drop the matter. The attorney general would have to notify Congress of the conclusion, but can decide whether to make the special counsel's report public.



http://www.cbsnews.com/live/?ftag=CNMe94798
SENATORS REACT TO LATEST ON RUSSIA PROBE
Heard From Dep. AG Rosenstein Behind Closed Doors
CBS NEWS VIDEO.



http://www.nbcnews.com/card/rod-rosenstein-brief-senators-closed-door-meeting-n761686
FACEBOOK MAY 18 2017, 3:21 PM ET

Rod Rosenstein to Brief Senators in Closed-Door Meeting

Senators are heading into an all-Senate briefing with Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein this afternoon, where both parties will be able to hear from the man whose memo was initially crediting for the firing of former FBI Director James Comey.

The meeting is behind closed doors, but it may help senators better understand the lead-up to Comey's ouster. The White House initially said that the president had fired Comey at the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Rosenstein, who wrote a memo hanging the recommendation on Comey's alleged mismanagement of the bureau's Hillary Clinton email investigation. But in an exclusive interview with NBC News' Lester Holt, Trump reversed the official explanation by saying he’d been wanting to fire the FBI director since he was elected — and gave Russia as the rationale.

"When I decided to [fire Comey], I said to myself, I said you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story," Trump told Holt.

Rosenstein will give a similar briefing to the House tomorrow.

FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL MAY 18 2017, 3:21 PM ET


http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/democrats-vs-trump/house-dems-smash-fundraising-records-ahead-midterms-n761466
POLITICS DEMOCRATS VS. TRUMP MAY 18 2017, 9:53 AM ET
STORYLINE DEMOCRATS VS. TRUMP
House Dems Smash Fundraising Records Ahead of Midterms
by ALEX SEITZ-WALD

House Democrats have already raised more money in online contributions this year ahead of the midterms than they did during all of 2015, the most recently comparable year, a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee official told NBC News.

The unusual fundraising haul is the latest sign that President Donald Trump is motivating Democrats in extraordinary ways as the party looks to win back the 24 seats it needs to retake the House of Representatives in next year's midterm elections and put Rep. Nancy Pelosi back in the Speaker's chair.

The DCCC raised $20 million in online contributions since the start of the year from contributions averaging just $18, according to the group, beating the $19.7 million the committee raised during 2015, the last off-year ahead of an election year.

The campaign arm of House Democrats said more than 2.2 million people joined the committee's grassroots email lists since the beginning of January, including 156,00 new donors.

"The DCCC is actively building the largest battleground in a decade, and that's a testament to the grassroots energy that we're witnessing every day, in every corner of America," said DCCC Spokesman Tyler Law. "Our record smashing grassroots, online fundraising haul is further evidence that House Democrats are on offense while Republicans are in a full meltdown."

The DCCC is known for its apocalyptic email fundraising solicitations, but they seem to be working. Even as their Republican counterparts generally outraise Democrats overall, House Republicans have had less success with small-dollar online contributions.

The Na­tion­al Re­pub­lic­an Con­gres­sion­al Com­mit­tee has been working to improve that, and touted breaking their own 2015 record in the first months of 2017 — but the haul­ was only $1.7 mil­lion, according to the National Journal.

Trump has been a windfall for groups and individuals seen as fighting his agenda, from the American Civil Liberties Union to Georgia Democratic congressional candidate Jon Ossoff, who is on track to shatter some all-time fundraising record.

For instance, when the House voted in favor of the GOP bill repeal the Affordable Care Act earlier this month, the liberal blog Daily Kos raised more money in 5 hours than they had for Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren in an entire year, the group's political director, David Nir, told NBC News.

ALEX SEITZ-WALD
TOPIC ELECTIONS
FIRST PUBLISHED MAY 18 2017, 9:53 AM ET



THIS WILL MAKE SYRIA AND RUSSIA VERY UNHAPPY, BUT THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT OF SYRIA IS MOST OF THE PROBLEM WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF ISIS’ POWER THERE, I READ. WHEN “THE PEOPLE” GET ANGRY ENOUGH THEY WILL REBEL, HENCE THE “JIHADIST MOVEMENT.” ISIS (ISLAMIC STATE) AND AL QAEDA WERE UNDER THAT UMBRELLA UNTIL ISIS REJECTED THE DOMINANCE OF AL QAEDA. IT’S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT AL-QAEDA GOT ITS’ START IN AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN IN 1988, ACCORDING TO THIS ARTICLE: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/isis-vs-al-qaeda-jihadisms-global-civil-war/.

1988 SEEMS TO ME TO BE A VERY LONG TIME AGO, BUT IT CHANGED THE WORLD, AND NOT FOR THE BETTER, EVEN FOR THE MIDDLE EASTERN CULTURES. THEIR PEOPLE REMAIN EITHER VERY WEALTHY OR DESTITUTE. POWER OR “GREATNESS” IS NOT AN EQUAL THING FROM PLACE TO PLACE, NOR EVEN HERE IN THE US.

IN THIS ARTICLE BELOW, WE ARE AGAIN INVOLVED MILITARILY THERE, AND THOUGH I DISLIKE TRUMP, I THINK WE NEED TO BE ACTIVE IN OUR RESISTANCE TOWARD ISIS. THEY ARE LIKE RAMPAGING BARBARIANS IN THE WAY THEY CONDUCT THEIR WARFARE. I HAVE A PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW THAT THE HUMAN CREATURE CAN BE SO VERY CREATIVE, BUT CAN REVERT TO THE STATE OF AN “ANIMAL” WITHIN SECONDS. OUR ANIMAL INSTINCTS FOR THE PROTECTION OF OURSELVES AND OTHERS ARE GOOD, BUT THE DESTRUCTION THAT OCCURS IS TERRIBLE.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-aircraft-strike-syrian-regime-forces-al-tanf-base/
CBS/AP May 18, 2017, 12:44 PM
U.S. aircraft conduct strike on Syrian army convoy

BEIRUT -- The U.S. sent aircraft to strike Syrian regime vehicles on Thursday that violated a deconfliction zone set up around al-Tanf, an army base where special forces are training Syrian militias, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports.

The Syrian regime has violated the zone two times in the past few days, Martin reports.

In one incident, 27 regime vehicles drove within 18 miles of al-Tanf, which breached the 34 mile radius of the army convoy. U.S. aircraft attempted to buzz the regime, but when the convoy didn't turn around, they conducted a strike against some of the vehicles.

In the second incident, an unarmed Syrian SU-22 fighter-bomber entered the deconfliction zone and was intercepted by a pair of F-22 fighter aircraft.

It remains unclear as to why the Syrians violated the zone. Martin reports that Syrian forces are pushing eastward towards the Euphrates River Valley, which hints to the idea that the regime may have been doing reconnaissance on their flank.

The base was attacked by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in April. Last summer, Syrian fighters trained by the U.S. who operated out of al-Tanf were bombed by Russian jets.

ISIS attacks Syrian state-held areas

The Islamic State group attacked several government-held villages in central Syria on Thursday, capturing at least one of them in violence that left 52 people dead, including 11 women and 17 children.

Some of the women were beheaded and others had their limbs amputated. Children's bodies were mostly dismembered due to the fact they were beaten with heavy objects such as bricks or stones. Most of the men died from shelling or heavy machine gun fire.

Hospital officials say 120 people were wounded in the attack.

Fighting ISIS -- 35 PHOTOS

Fighting ISIS

The attack in the central Hama province targeted villages where most residents belong to the Ismaili branch of Shiite Islam, raising fears the extremists might massacre them, as they have in other minority communities in Syria and Iraq.

The villages are located near the town of Salamiyeh and the highway that links the capital, Damascus, to the northern city of Aleppo, but state media said traffic was not affected.

The attacks come as goverment [sic] forces are on the offensive against the extremists in other parts of Syria, mostly in the northern province of Aleppo and the central Homs region and to the east.

U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led forces are meanwhile marching toward the extremists' de-facto capital of Raqqa, in northern Syria.


TERRIBLE, BUT NOT TERRORISM. IT’S JUST “DEMON RUM,” ALTHOUGH ANOTHER REPORT SAID HE WAS HEARING VOICES.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/times-square-car-strikes-multiple-pedestrians-new-york/
By STEFAN BECKET CBS NEWS May 18, 2017, 12:17 PM
Car slams into pedestrians in Times Square, killing 18-year-old woman

NEW YORK -- At least one person was killed and 22 others wounded after a car drove through a crowd of pedestrians in Times Square just before noon Thursday.

The driver, 26-year-old Richard Rojas from the Bronx, is in custody and has two prior arrests for driving while intoxicated, officials said.

Officials said Rojas made a U-turn onto a sidewalk in Times Square. Rojas traveled on the sidewalk for three blocks, striking an 18-year-old woman who died of her injuries.

Speaking to reporters Thursday afternoon, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the crash was not an act of terror.

"Based on the information we have at this moment, there is no indication this was an act of terror," de Blasio said.

Rojas had been arrested in 2008 in Queens and 2015 in Manhattan for drunk driving, officials said at the press conference.

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People attend injured pedestrians a moment after a car plunged into them in Times Square in New York on May 18, 2017. JEWEL SAMAD / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Rojas is a U.S. citizen and former member of the armed services. He was being transported to a facility to be tested for drugs and alcohol.

President Trump has been briefed on the situation, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said.

The car, a red Honda, struck the victims at 43rd Street and 7th Avenue in midtown Manhattan, the FDNY said. Rojas was seen being hauled into a police car.

The area was packed with New Yorkers and tourists enjoying unseasonably warm temperatures at lunch hour. The car was propped up on security barriers that protect pedestrian plazas in Times Square, which is open to limited vehicle traffic.

"The car just came and hit the pole out of nowhere," a witness told CBS New York. "Everybody was just running, everybody was concerned for their lives."

Police closed off the area and buildings were on lock down.

Photograph -- dahvtjvwaae62gk.jpg, The scene in Times Square, where a car crashed into pedestrians on May 18, 2017. JOSH SILVERMAN



UNNAMED TRUMP “ADVISERS” WERE IN CONTACT WITH RUSSIANS AT LEAST 18 TIMES. THAT IS NOT “OCCASIONAL,” OR WHATEVER THE TERM THAT WAS USED SEVERAL MONTHS AGO BY THE WHITE HOUSE WAS. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE ADVISERS’ NAMES SOON, AND HAVE THEM TESTIFY BEFORE CONGRESS.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-campaign-had-at-least-18-undisclosed-contacts-with-russians-during-2016-race/
By REBECCA SHABAD CBS NEWS May 18, 2017, 9:43 AM
Report: Trump campaign had at least 18 undisclosed contacts with Russians during 2016 race

Advisers to President Trump's 2016 presidential campaign were in contact at least 18 different times with Russian officials or other people with ties to the Russian government during the election race, according to Reuters.

These communications were previously undisclosed, and took place between April and November 2016, the report said. Current and former officials familiar with the calls and emails told Reuters that six of the contacts were phone calls between former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak. The report added that conversations between Flynn and Kislyak accelerated after the November election.

Besides the six phone calls involving Flynn, the 12 other contacts were calls, emails and text messages between Trump campaign advisers and Russian officials, or people believed to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

No evidence of wrongdoing or collusion emerged in the communications, the officials told Reuters, but they are part of the record the FBI and congressional investigators are examining, the report said, as part of the federal probes into Russian interference in the U.S. election.

The White House denied contact with Russian officials during the campaign in January, the report notes. At the time, Vice President-elect Mike Pence told CBS's "Face the Nation" that there was no contact between the Trump team and Russian officials during the election campaign.

"Of course not," Pence said when asked whether anyone from the campaign was ever in touch with Russia. "I think to suggest that is to give credence to some of these bizarre rumors that have swirled around the candidacy."

In that same interview, Pence said that Flynn's conversations with Kislyak during the transition "had nothing whatsoever to do with [U.S.] sanctions (against Russia)," a statement that later turned out to be false, and which cost Flynn his job.

This comes after The New York Times reported Wednesday night that Flynn told the Trump transition team ahead of inauguration that he was under federal investigation for secretly working as a paid lobbyist for Turkey during the campaign.



I HAVE MIXED FEELINGS FOR JOE LIEBERMAN. SEE ALSO THE WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE ABOUT HIM BELOW. HE HASN’T BEEN A TRUE DEMOCRAT FOR AS LONG AS I’VE KNOWN OF HIS POLITICS, BUT A “MUGWUMP,” LATER TO BECOME OFFICIALLY AN INDEPENDENT. STILL HE MIGHT DO WELL AS FBI DIRECTOR. I THINK HE HAS THE COURAGE TO STAND UP AGAINST PRESSURE, BUT IT IS DISCOURAGING THAT ONE OF TODAY'S ARTICLES STATED THAT TRUMP HAS SPOKEN IN FAVOR OF LIEBERMAN. AS THEY SAY IN OLD BOOKS, "THAT GIVES ME PAUSE." WE DON’T NEED PARTY POLITICS TO POLLUTE THE FBI BY ITS’ BUILT-IN BIASES. I DON’T BELIEVE HE WOULD FAIL TO ADMINISTER EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER THE LAW. IF WE GO TO A MULTIPLE PARTY SYSTEM, HE MIGHT MAKE LAWMAKING MORE EQUITABLE TO ALL, AS I WOULD LIKE TO SEE. I’M TIRED OF THE HARD LINES THAT WE NOW HAVE BETWEEN LEFT AND RIGHT. IT’S JUST THAT IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO DEPEND ON HIM FOR VOTING PROGRESSIVE ON MOST ISSUES.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/joe-lieberman-fbi-director-under-serious-consideration/
By MAJOR GARRETT CBS NEWS May 18, 2017, 1:38 PM
Joe Lieberman under serious consideration for FBI director

Photograph -- Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn. speaks with reporters on Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012, following a closed meeting with UN Ambassador Susan Rice, and acting CIA Director Michael Morell. J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP

Former vice presidential candidate and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman is being given serious consideration as FBI director, but there is some hesitation because of his maverick approach to politics.

Special counsel appointed to run the Russia investigation. Now what?
Play VIDEO
Special counsel appointed to run the Russia investigation. Now what?

President Trump and his inner circle don't know how to judge Lieberman's past as a Democrat and independent. This hasn't disqualified him, but it remains a barrier Lieberman has to surmount – if he can or if he wants to. Mr. Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions met with Lieberman at the White House on Wednesday. Sen. John McCain, in an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," gave Lieberman an enthusiastic endorsement, saying that he "is not only respected and admired, but beloved by all of us on both sides of the aisle." McCain, often a vocal critic of the president, suggested he may not have helped Lieberman's cause.

Lieberman served as Connecticut's attorney general prior to winning his senate seat in 1988, but he has no previous FBI experience. He was the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2000, but lost his primary in 2006 and returned to the Senate as an independent. He retired from office in 2012. During the 2016 presidential election, he endorsed former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

A number of members of Congress and other Republican and Democratic leaders have also called the White House to voice their support of former Michigan congressman and FBI agent Mike Rogers for director. The FBI rank and file also like the idea of Rogers as the next FBI chief, but several lawmakers have been told by the White House that "it helps us to have him out there, but he is not our kind of FBI director."

Mr. Trump and Sessions also met with three other candidates on Wednesday -- former Republican Oklahoma governor Frank Keating, acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, and former FBI official Richard McFeely.

CBS News Washington bureau chief Chris Isham and CBS News legal correspondent Paula Reid contributed to this report.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Joe_Lieberman
Political positions of Joe Lieberman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Joe Lieberman (born February 24, 1942) is an American politician, having served as a United States Senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was the party's nominee for Vice President in the 2000 election. Currently he is an Independent.

Party identification[edit]

In January 2007, Lieberman described himself as being "genuinely an Independent," saying "I agree more often than not with Democrats on domestic policy. I agree more often than not with Republicans on foreign and defense policy."[1]

Domestic policy[edit]

Abortion[edit]

Overall Lieberman has a pro-choice voting record, and in 2007 he received a grade of 100 from the abortion rights organization NARAL Pro-Choice America.[2] While running in the Democratic primaries in the 2004 presidential election, Lieberman said that as president he would "follow a policy that makes abortion safe, rare and legal."[3]

Affirmative action[edit]

In a 1995 speech before the National Press Club, Lieberman said, "this business of deciding by group, the argument that some make that some groups are genetically less able than others. That's an un-American argument." Affirmative action programs "must change because they are inconsistent with the law and basic American values of equal treatment and opportunity." He also stated that he was "against group preferences".[4]

In 1996, he expressed support for California's Proposition 209,[5] which sought to eliminate state and local government affirmative action programs in the areas of public employment, public education, and public contracting to the extent these programs involve "preferential treatment based on race, sex, gender, color, ethnicity, or national origin."[6] "Affirmative action is dividing us in ways its creators could never have intended.", he said.[7]

Since 2000, he rescinded his support for the proposition, saying that he expressed support "without understand[ing] the intent of Proposition 209",[6] and renounced any support for Proposition 209.[8] In the 2000 campaign, Lieberman assured the black voters, "I have supported affirmative action, I do support affirmative action, and I will support affirmative action because history and current reality make it necessary."[9]

Former vice presidential candidate and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman is being given serious consideration as FBI director, but there is some hesitation because of his maverick approach to politics.

Special counsel appointed to run the Russia investigation. Now what?
Play VIDEO
Special counsel appointed to run the Russia investigation. Now what?

President Trump and his inner circle don't know how to judge Lieberman's past as a Democrat and independent. This hasn't disqualified him, but it remains a barrier Lieberman has to surmount – if he can or if he wants to. Mr. Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions met with Lieberman at the White House on Wednesday. Sen. John McCain, in an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," gave Lieberman an enthusiastic endorsement, saying that he "is not only respected and admired, but beloved by all of us on both sides of the aisle." McCain, often a vocal critic of the president, suggested he may not have helped Lieberman's cause.

A number of members of Congress and other Republican and Democratic leaders have also called the White House to voice their support of former Michigan congressman and FBI agent Mike Rogers for director. The FBI rank and file also like the idea of Rogers as the next FBI chief, but several lawmakers have been told by the White House that "it helps us to have him out there, but he is not our kind of FBI director."

Mr. Trump and Sessions also met with three other candidates on Wednesday -- former Republican Oklahoma governor Frank Keating, acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, and former FBI official Richard McFeely.

CBS News Washington bureau chief Chris Isham and CBS News legal correspondent Paula Reid contributed to this report.