June 29, 2017


News and Views


SEE THE CBS NEWS FOLLOWUP STORY AND THE SEVERAL OTHERS HERE. EVEN COMBINING THE INFORMATION IN ALL OF THESE, I STILL DON’T HAVE WHAT SEEMS TO ME TO BE ONE WHOLE STORY. DISAPPOINTING. THE WSJ WOULDN’T LET ME COLLECT THEIR WHOLE STORY WITHOUT MY SUBSCRIBING, AND I’M NOT GOING TO DO THAT, SO I TOOK THE MOTHER JONES ARTICLE INSTEAD. PERSONALLY, I THINK THEY’RE A VERY GOOD NEWS SOURCE SINCE MY “BIAS” AGREES WITH THEIRS; AND THEY ARE KNOWN FOR TRUTHFUL WRITING. I DID FIND SMITH’S OBITUARY. HE DIED, FROM ALL I CAN TELL, PEACEFULLY AND NATURALLY. NO MURDER STORY HERE.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/06/the-wall-street-journal-just-published-a-bombshell-story-about-the-russia-scandal/
The Wall Street Journal Just Published a Bombshell Story About the Russia Scandal
BEN DREYFUSS JUN. 29, 2017 5:42 PM

The Wall Street Journal just dropped a bomb:

Before the 2016 presidential election, a longtime Republican opposition researcher mounted an independent campaign to obtain emails he believed were stolen from Hillary Clinton’s private server, likely by Russian hackers.

In conversations with members of his circle and with others he tried to recruit to help him, the GOP operative, Peter W. Smith, implied he was working with retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, at the time a senior adviser to then-candidate Donald Trump.

“He said, ‘I’m talking to Michael Flynn about this—if you find anything, can you let me know?’” said Eric York, a computer-security expert from Atlanta who searched hacker forums on Mr. Smith’s behalf for people who might have access to the emails.

Emails written by Mr. Smith and one of his associates show that his small group considered Mr. Flynn and his consulting company, Flynn Intel Group, to be allies in their quest.

What role, if any, Mr. Flynn may have played in Mr. Smith’s project is unclear. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Smith said he knew Mr. Flynn, but he never stated that Mr. Flynn was involved.

Mr. Flynn didn’t respond to requests for comment.

A Trump campaign official said that Mr. Smith didn’t work for the campaign, and that if Mr. Flynn coordinated with him in any way, it would have been in his capacity as a private individual. The White House declined to comment.



http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-29/comey-friend-unveils-smoking-gun-story
Comey Friend Unveils "Smoking Gun" Story
Tyler Durden's picture
by Tyler Durden
Jun 29, 2017 6:49 PM

For about a week now, Benjamin Wittes, the Brookings Institution senior fellow and noted ally of former FBI Director James Comey, has been taunting the Trump administration with tweets suggesting that another 'bombshell' story, presumably related to the Russia investigation, was in the works and set to drop any minute (we covered it all here: "Tick, Tick, Tick" Comey Ally Scrambles To Explain Why "Next Trump Bombshell" Didn't Arrive Today).

Of course, people took notice of the warnings because Wittes posted similar tweets just before the New York Times published their now infamous story on Comey's memos.

23 Jun
Benjamin Wittes ✔ @benjaminwittes
#NotesFromUnderTrump, Day 154: In honor both of the President's "WITCH HUNT" tweet and of the expected magnitude of the detonation...
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TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK pic.twitter.com/yuL0o0TBbT
10:42 AM - 23 Jun 2017

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So what was the "bombshell" story? It seems to have come in the form of a rather bizarre, and thoroughly difficult to follow, Wall Street Journal article entitled "GOP Operative Sought Clinton Emails From Hackers, Implied a Connection to Flynn."

To summarize the 'bombshell', the story is about a long-time Republican opposition researcher, 81-year-old Peter W. Smith, who apparently set out on a mission to find Hillary's 30,000 emails which the FBI confirmed had gone missing. In his efforts to find those emails, he scoured hacking chat rooms looking for clues and/or hackers that might be able to help him. The WSJ alleges that Smith may or may not have been working with Michael Flynn but, in the end, they found absolutely nothing. To summarize even further, a guy tried to find Hillary's missing emails and failed...HALT THE PRESSES!

Of course, the goal of the story is to paint some sinister plot that involved Smith and Michael Flynn enlisting the help of some Russians to hack the 2016 election...thus 'proving' the collusion angle.

Unfortunately, the story seems to prove the exact opposite which is, if Flynn was really running around on some wild goose chase looking for Hillary's missing 30,000 emails by chatting up hackers on a message board then we have to assume that means he wasn't in any way connected to the original hack which ended up on WikiLeaks.

Flynn

In any event, here is the Wall Street Journal's take:

Before the 2016 presidential election, a longtime Republican opposition researcher mounted an independent campaign to obtain emails he believed were stolen from Hillary Clinton’s private server, likely by Russian hackers.

In conversations with members of his circle and with others he tried to recruit to help him, the GOP operative, Peter W. Smith, implied he was working with retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, at the time a senior adviser to then-candidate Donald Trump.

“He said, ‘I’m talking to Michael Flynn about this—if you find anything, can you let me know?’” said Eric York, a computer-security expert from Atlanta who searched hacker forums on Mr. Smith’s behalf for people who might have access to the emails.

Emails written by Mr. Smith and one of his associates show that his small group considered Mr. Flynn and his consulting company, Flynn Intel Group, to be allies in their quest.

Of course, it's only deeper in the story that the WSJ admits they have no idea if Flynn was even involved with Smith...but no one reads an entire article so it's fairly irrelevant.

What role, if any, Mr. Flynn may have played in Mr. Smith’s project is unclear. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Smith said he knew Mr. Flynn, but he never stated that Mr. Flynn was involved.

And another irrelevant detail from the WSJ:

Mr. Smith said he worked independently and wasn’t part of the Trump campaign.

Finally, Smith apparently started his search for Hillary's emails over the Labor Day Weekend in 2016. His efforts to scour hacker forums ultimately yielded 5 groups who claimed to have the missing emails, 2 of which were Russian. However, Smith seemingly doubted the authenticity of the intelligence he received and, as a result, never leaked their contents.

His project began over Labor Day weekend 2016 when Mr. Smith, a private-equity executive from Chicago active in Republican politics, said he assembled a group of technology experts, lawyers and a Russian-speaking investigator based in Europe to acquire emails the group theorized might have been stolen from the private server Mrs. Clinton used as secretary of state.

[NOTE: LABOR DAY IN 2016 WAS SEPTEMBER 5, ACCORDING TO GOOD OLD TRUSTY WIKIPEDIA.]

In the interview with the Journal, Mr. Smith said he and his colleagues found five groups of hackers who claimed to possess Mrs. Clinton’s deleted emails, including two groups he determined were Russians.

Mr. Smith said after vetting batches of emails offered to him by hacker groups last fall, he couldn’t be sure enough of their authenticity to leak them himself. “We told all the groups to give them to WikiLeaks,” he said. WikiLeaks has never published those emails or claimed to have them.

Meanwhile, the WSJ confirms that Smith died last month at the age of 81.

So there you have it...all the makings of another salacious, 'bombshell' story with multiple references to Russians, hackers, collusion, shady dealings with Michael Flynn, etc, etc, etc....yet still no evidence of pretty much anything.



PETER W SMITH OBITUARY
HTTP://WWW.LEGACY.COM/OBITUARIES/CHICAGOTRIBUNE/OBITUARY.ASPX?PID=185474380

Peter W. Smith, 81, of Lake Forest, Ill,, passed away on May 14, 2017. . . . For more than 40 years, Peter directed private equity firms in corporate acquisitions and venture investments. . . . . Peter's active involvement in public affairs spanned 60 years. A quietly generous champion of efforts to ensure a more economically and politically secure world, he worked with the Atlantic Council of the United states for 12 years, as board vice chair, treasure and finance chairman. Other policy organizations in which Peter was active included the Heritage Foundation, Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Brookings Institution. He served as national chairman of the College Young Republicans and in later years was involved in fundraising for the Republican National Committee, GOPAC, and candidate and state party organizations. . . . . In business and political matters, he was adept at bringing people together and negotiating agreement. Among his guiding axioms: "What one says does not count; it's what the other person hears that counts." .


THIS STORY AND THE CBS ARTICLE JUST BELOW IT, SEEM TO BE SAYING THAT US INTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS HAVE A CLEAR INDICATION – AN ORAL RECORDING I HOPE – OF A SPECIFIC AND HOPEFULLY PROVABLE CONNECTION BETWEEN RUSSIAN HACKERS AND THE SMITH/FLYNN GROUP, THROUGH A THIRD PARTY. THAT’S THE ONLY THING I SAW THAT LOOKS LIKE A SMOKING GUN TO ME.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-4652840/Russian-hackers-spoke-Clinton-emails-Flynn.html
Russian hackers spoke about Clinton emails, Flynn
By Associated Press
PUBLISHED: 20:21 EDT, 29 June 2017 | UPDATED: 20:21 EDT, 29 June 2017

WASHINGTON (AP) - Russian hackers discussed during the 2016 presidential campaign whether they could obtain emails pilfered from Hillary Clinton and ultimately get them to an adviser to then-candidate Donald Trump, according to a report published Thursday by The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal said investigators probing Russian meddling in the election have examined intelligence agency reports about how hackers wanted to get emails from Clinton's server to an intermediary and then to Mike Flynn, a retired lieutenant general and senior adviser to Trump who went on to serve briefly as his national security adviser. The newspaper also references a Republican operative who was convinced emails missing from Clinton's server were in the hands of Russian hackers, and who implied in conversations that he was working with Flynn.

The newspaper said it was not clear whether Flynn played any role in the quest of the operative, Peter W. Smith, who died shortly after speaking with the newspaper. The Journal said Flynn did not respond to requests, the White House declined comment, and the campaign said Smith never worked for it and that any such action undertaken by Flynn, if true, was not on its behalf.

Congressional committees and special counsel Robert Mueller are investigating Russian influence in the election and potential coordination with the Trump campaign. Russia has been blamed for pilfering emails of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and of the DNC.

But the newspaper said Smith and the hackers were focused on some 33,000 emails that Clinton said had been deleted and that Smith believed, with no proof, were acquired by hackers. Officials have said there is no evidence Clinton's private email server was hacked.

Smith told the newspaper that he was unsure of the authenticity of emails hackers eventually did send to him and he told them to pass them to WikiLeaks, the same outfit that published the emails taken from Podesta and the committee.

"We knew the people who had these were probably around the Russian government," Smith told the newspaper. He died on May 14 at 81, about less than two weeks after being interviewed.

In emails Smith sent to potential recruits for his project, and which the newspaper reviewed, he referenced Flynn and Flynn's son, Michael G. Flynn, several times.

Mike Flynn was fired after less than a month because of revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his communications with Russia's ambassador to the United States.

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http://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-gop-operative-looked-to-get-clinton-emails-from-hacker-said-he-worked-with-flynn/
CBS NEWS June 29, 2017, 7:39 PM
Report: GOP operative looked to get Clinton emails from hacker, said he worked with Flynn

Photograph -- White House National Security Advisor Michael Flynn arrives prior to a joint news conference between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2017. REUTERS

A Republican opposition researcher, who implied he worked with Michael Flynn, launched an effort to obtain Hillary Clinton's emails that he believed were hacked by Russia, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Peter W. Smith, a GOP operative and private equity executive, launched the project over Labor Day weekend in 2016 according to the Journal. Smith told people he recruited to the effort that he was working with Flynn, who would later briefly serve as President Trump's National Security Adviser. Smith also said he was working with Flynn's son.

Smith would not tell the paper if Flynn was working with the group. However, the paper also reports that intelligence officials have obtained communications between Russian hackers in which they discuss how to obtain Clinton's emails and pass them along to Flynn through a third party.

White House tries to distance itself from former campaign chair with Russia ties
Play VIDEO
White House tries to distance itself from former campaign chair with Russia ties

Those intercepts of the hackers' conversations occurred while Smith's group was operating, intelligence officials told the paper, although they could not conclude that Smith or any members of his team were the supposed third party the Russians' discussed.

Smith's team included lawyers, technology experts, and an investigator in Europe who spoke Russian. He died ten days after he talked to the Journal, at age 81.

The team focused on obtaining the roughly 33,000 emails that had been deleted from Clinton's server – the same emails Mr. Trump had publicly encouraged Russia to find and leak last year, a comment the White House now insists was made in jest. Last year, then-FBI director James Comey said there was no evidence the server had ever been hacked, although he didn't rule out the possibility.

Clinton's private email server, which State Department watchdog ruled in 2016 violated email policy, was an issue that dogged her through the 2016 election campaign. In July 2016, Comey announced that he would not recommend charges be brought against Clinton in the matter. The State Department's inspector general said in May 2016 that hackers had tried to breach Clinton's email server

In May 2017, former FBI director Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel by the Justice Department to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election. Mr. Trump has repeatedly denied allegations that the Russian government interfered in the election to bolster his chances of winning, calling Mueller's investigation a "witch hunt."

Smith told the Journal that his team found five hacker groups that said they had possession of Clinton's emails, including two Russian ones. "We knew the people who had these were probably around the Russian government," Smith told the paper.

In one email sent entice experts to join his team, Smith said that he could introduce them to Flynn's son, and said that the son was helping with the effort. Flynn's son was at that time his father's chief of staff. Smith told other potential recruits that Flynn was working with the team.

Emails obtained by the Journal indicate that Smith and his team believed that Flynn and Flynn's consulting company were assisting their effort. Flynn was fired as National Security Adviser earlier this year for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about conversations he had had with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian Ambassador to the U.S.

Smith said that he never intended to pay for any emails, and that while he believed the Russians had attempted to hack Clinton's email server, he said he did not think they were trying to help Mr. Trump win the election.



ANOTHER SET OF WILD AND HOSTILE TWEETS HAS COME OUT ABOUT AN APPARENTLY INNOCENT WOMAN WHO, WITH JOE SCARBOROUGH, WAS PERSONALLY KNOWN TO TRUMP. TRUMP CAME TO DISTRUST AND APPARENTLY HATE SCARBOROUGH AFTER THE LATTER BEGAN OPENLY COMMENTING AGAINST HIM. HOWEVER, ALL THESE TWEET STORMS ARE, AS ONE SENATOR SAID, “NOT NORMAL.”

DO WE, PERHAPS, NEED AN OFFICIAL BOARD OF PROFESSIONALS OVERSEEING THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH OF OUR PRESIDENTS AND OTHER OFFICE HOLDERS? I THINK THAT’S A GREAT IDEA, FROM BEFORE THEIR ELECTION AND AFTERWARD, AS MENTAL HEALTH CAN DECLINE OVER TIME. IF IT WERE INSTITUTED IN LAW AND RIGIDLY ADHERED TO, IT WOULDN’T BECOME A MATTER OF A PERSONAL INSULT, BUT, ONE OF RATIONALITY, WHEN THEY WERE REQUIRED TO PROVE THEIR BACKGROUND. AT ANOTHER ARTICLE BELOW I STATED THAT WE NEED A MORE COMPREHENSIVE AND RESTRICTIVE SET OF STANDARDS ON WHOMEVER SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT, TO BE APPLIED EVEN BEFORE THEY ARE ELECTED, WHICH IS PART TWO OF THE ISSUE.

THE OVERSIGHT BOARD SHOULD, PERHAPS, BE SITUATED IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, BECAUSE THAT’S THE KIND OF PROBLEM THAT IS CAUSED BY A MENTALLY UNBALANCED OR OTHERWISE INCOMPETENT PRESIDENT. IT COULD BE COMPOSED OF CLINICAL PSYCHIATRISTS, LAWYERS, HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICIALS, AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATORS, SPECIFICALLY THE FBI. THE CONSTITUTION STATES THAT A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SHOULD BE AT LEAST 35 YEARS OLD, BE A NATURAL BORN OR NATURALIZED CITIZEN, AND ONE WHO HAS LIVED AS LONG AS 14 YEARS IN THE USA. WE HAVE NO EDUCATIONAL OR ANY OTHER TRULY COMPETENCY RELATED REQUIREMENT, AND THAT IS A MISTAKE.

IT’S CLEAR THAT WE NEED TO SHORE UP THE GOOD INTENTIONS BEHIND THE WRITING OF THE CONSTITUTION WITH PRACTICALITY, ON THIS ISSUE AND SOME OTHERS AS WELL, IN MY OPINION. OF COURSE, THAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE DEBATES, BUT THEY RARELY GO FAR ENOUGH. THEY’RE “SOFT BALL” QUESTIONS. IT SHOULD NOT BE A SURPRISE THAT AFTER SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS AS A NATION, THERE WOULD COME UP SOME LOGICAL ISSUES THAT WERE NOT PROVIDED FOR, OR EVEN “DREAMT OF IN [OUR] PHILOSOPHY.” NOW IS ONE OF THOSE TIMES.

I WOULD LIKE FOR THE MENTALLY DISTURBED OR THE BLATANTLY UNETHICAL PEOPLE TO BE DETECTED AND IMMEDIATELY ELIMINATED BEFORE THEY ARE ALLOWED TO RUN FOR OFFICE, AND NOT AFTER IT’S GOING TO BE DIFFICULT TO GET THEM OUT, AS IS THE CASE NOW. IN THE BILL CLINTON TRIAL, THE CLAIM WAS BROUGHT UP THAT IT (IN ESSENCE) DISTURBS THE POPULACE TO IMPEACH A PRESIDENT. IT’S “UPSETTING.” WELL, MY QUESTION IS, WHAT ABOUT THE DAMAGE IT DOES TO FAIL TO IMPEACH IN SOME OF THESE CASES? THAT IS A GREATER DANGER.

IN THIS CASE, I WOULD RECOMMEND EXAMINATION BY A BOARD OF PSYCHIATRISTS, THREE WOULD BE A GOOD NUMBER FOR PRODUCING A RANGE OF IDEAS, AND HOPEFULLY THAT UNEVEN NUMBER WOULD PERFORM AS A TIE BREAKER AS WELL. UNDOUBTEDLY BECAUSE IT WAS WRITTEN IN THE 1700S, THAT PART OF THE CONSTITUTION IS BASED MORE ON MORAL AND PHYSICAL ISSUES RATHER THAN ON THE PSYCHIATRIC. PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT WAS CONSIDERED BY SOME TO BE UNQUALIFIED BECAUSE HE WAS PARALYZED AND IN A WHEEL CHAIR. WE NEED PSYCHIATRIC, PHYSICAL AND MORAL QUALIFICATIONS, ESPECIALLY IN THESE CASES WHEN THE PRESIDENT MAY WELL BE DANGEROUS -- A SOCIOPATH, FOR INSTANCE. I THINK IT’S SAFE TO SAY THAT HITLER WAS A SOCIOPATH. THE CASE OF RONALD REAGAN WHO WAS WELL INTO DEMENTIA BEFORE HE LEFT OFFICE IS A SIMILAR ISSUE. IN REAGAN’S CASE, NOTHING WAS EVEN MENTIONED ABOUT IT UNTIL MUCH LATER.

I AM PARTICULARLY INCENSED IN THIS GROUP OF TWEETS, BY HIS CHOOSING A BEAUTIFUL AND INTELLIGENT FEMALE NEWS COMMENTATOR ON AN, UNFORTUNATELY, LIBERAL NEWS SITE. THAT MAKES HER A FAIR VICTIM IN HIS EYES, THUS SHIELDING FROM HIS EYES THE IDEA THAT THE THINGS HE SO OFTEN SAYS ARE IMMORAL AND UNACCEPTABLE IN A PRESIDENT. I REMEMBER, TOO, THAT HE WENT AFTER MEGYN KELLY SOME MONTHS AGO IN THE SAME WAY. IN MY EYES, HE SHOULD HAVE NO “VICTIMS” AT ALL. BERNIE SANDERS CAN SAY SOME VERY SHARP THINGS, BUT HE HAS YET, THAT I HAVE SEEN, TO GO AFTER ANYONE IN SUCH A PURELY UNFAIR AND TOTALLY PERSONAL WAY. HE ALWAYS HAS A GOOD CAUSE AND A GOOD ARGUMENT.

OF COURSE, HE DID CALL TRUMP “A PATHOLOGICAL LIAR,” AND “A BLATANT LIAR” SINCE THE ELECTION, BUT THAT’S THE SIMPLE AND OBVIOUS TRUTH. SANDERS, TO DEFEND HIS OCCASIONALLY RATHER HOT TEMPERAMENT, ALSO FOLLOWED UP HIS COMMENTS WITH SEVERAL WELL REASONED AND MODULATED STATEMENTS. HE IS ESSENTIALLY A GENTLEMAN. IN ALL THE PERRY MASON SHOWS, HE OR THE PROSECUTOR ALMOST ALWAYS DECLARES THAT SOMETHING IS “INCOMPETENT, IRRELEVANT AND IMMATERIAL.” I LOOKED THAT UP SOMETIME BACK AND IT IS A GENUINE LEGAL ARGUMENT, A SORT OF STANDARD LIKE “I FEARED FOR MY LIFE.” IT IS MY VIEW THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP IS PERSONALLY “INCOMPETENT, IRRELEVANT AND IMMATERIAL.” IN COURT IT REFERS ONLY TO EVIDENCE OR ARGUMENTS, OF COURSE, BUT IT FITS HERE SO WELL THAT I JUST HAD TO USE IT.

I ALSO FAULT THESE CBS COMMENTATORS FOR TALKING ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THE LATEST VICIOUS BOUT OF TWEETS “COMES AT A BAD TIME,” RATHER THAN THE ESSENTIAL QUALITY OF WHAT HE SAID. THAT KEEPS PUNDITS FROM BEING AS EFFECTIVE AS THEY WOULD BE IF THEY WERE TO USE A RATIONAL AND FULLER DISCUSSION AS A MEANS TO COMBAT HIM. SINCE TRUMP EMERGED ON THE SCENE EVERYBODY HAS TALKED ABOUT HIS OBSCENITY, AND IT IS A VERY DISGUSTING THING, BUT THEY NEED TO LOOK AT HIS DANGER TO DEMOCRACY EVEN MORE SO.

SEE THE CBS ARTICLE HERE AND THEN THE WIKIPEDIA BIOGRAPHY OF MIKA BRZEZINSKI BELOW. GO TO: HTTP://WWW.SMH.COM.AU/WORLD/BERNIE-SANDERS-CALLS-DONALD-TRUMP-A-PATHOLOGICAL-LIAR-20170212-GUB8VG.HTML; AND HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/MIKA_BRZEZINSKI. PATHOLOGICAL MEANS THAT HE IS UNABLE TO STOP HIMSELF FROM MAKING HARSH AND OFTEN RIDICULOUSLY UNTRUE STATEMENTS WITHOUT EVEN NEEDING TO DO SO, ESPECIALLY IN HIS SEEMINGLY SPONTANEOUS “TWEETING” FITS. I THOUGHT AT FIRST THAT IT WAS SHEER IGNORANCE, BUT I NOW BELIEVE IT TO BE MENTAL ILLNESS. IN SHORT, HE IS INCOMPETENT FOR THE JOB HE HAS COME INTO, AND WE ARE IN TROUBLE IF THIS CONTINUES. I WITH WE HAD THE LEGAL EXPEDIENCY OF A “VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE” IN THIS COUNTRY.


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/29/us/politics/trumps-attack-on-mika-brzezinski-comes-at-a-tense-political-moment.html?mcubz=0&_r=0
Trump’s Attack on Mika Brzezinski Comes at a Tense Political Moment
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS JUNE 29, 2017

Photograph -- Mika Brzezinski, co-host of “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, at an event in New York in 2015. Credit Andrew Toth/Getty Images

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s Twitter outburst on Thursday — a highly personal attack on MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski — reignited the controversy over his crass comments about women that nearly immolated his candidacy last year, and it imperiled his legislative agenda by drawing condemnation from women he needs to enact it.

Mr. Trump described Ms. Brzezinski, the co-host of “Morning Joe,” as “low I.Q. Crazy Mika” and claimed she was “bleeding badly from a face-lift” during a social gathering at the president’s resort in Florida in the weeks after last year’s election.

Mr. Trump’s invective threatened to further erode his support from women and independents, both among voters and on Capitol Hill, where he is in need of negotiating leverage for the stalled Senate health care bill.

“This has to stop,” Senator Susan Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine who is a crucial vote on the legislation, posted in a Twitter message. She added, “We don’t have to get along, but we must show respect and civility.”

Ms. Collins is one of three female swing voters who expressed their distaste for the “Access Hollywood” tape released during the campaign showing Mr. Trump making lewd comments about women with whom he hoped to have an affair.

Christine Matthews, a Republican pollster who specializes in the views of female voters, said the president’s use of Twitter to target a prominent woman was particularly striking, noting that he used only one derogatory word — “psycho” — to describe the show’s co-host, Joe Scarborough, and the remainder of his limited characters to hit upon damaging stereotypes of women.

“He included dumb, crazy, old, unattractive and desperate,” Ms. Matthews said.

“The continued tweeting, the fact that he is so outrageous, so unpresidential, is becoming a huge problem for him,” she added. “And it is particularly unhelpful in terms of building relationships with female Republican members of Congress whose votes he needs for health care, tax reform, and infrastructure.”

Republican leaders have adopted a strategy after such comments of condemning Mr. Trump, then backing him politically. It was unclear whether the vehemence of the latest attack would embolden members of his party to turn disdain into defiance.

“The president’s tweets today don’t help our political or national discourse and do not provide a positive role model for our national dialogue,” said Oklahoma Senator James Lankford, a Republican.

“Please just stop,” Senator Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican who opposed Mr. Trump’s nomination, wrote on Twitter. “This isn’t normal and it’s beneath the dignity of your office.”

Senior Republican leaders, including Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate majority leader, cycled through what has become a familiar series of emotions and calculations after the Twitter post, according to staff members: a flash of anger, reckoning of possible damage and finally a determination to push past the controversy to pursue their agenda with all deliberate speed.

“Obviously, I don’t see that as an appropriate comment,” House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said during a Capitol Hill news conference.

Then he told reporters he wanted to talk about something else.

Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, demanded an apology, calling the president’s Twitter posts “sexist, an assault on the freedom of the press and an insult to all women.”

Ms. Brzezinski, who has questioned Mr. Trump’s competence and mental state, was stunned by the attack, telling a close friend that “I really don’t need this.” Ms. Brzezinski’s father, Zbigniew K. Brzezinski, a former national security adviser, died in May. Her mother, Emilie Benes Brzezinski, has suffered two heart attacks since he died, according to the friend.

The ties between Ms. Brzezinski, Mr. Scarborough, Mr. Trump and his family are long and complicated. The president and Mr. Scarborough had a friendly, bantering relationship until this year when it soured as Mr. Scarborough started to regularly challenge Mr. Trump’s actions on air.


THESE NEWEST DISGUSTING COMMENTS CAUGHT ON VIDEO:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-tweets-mika-brzezinski-washington-women-react/
Trump's Twitter attack on "Morning Joe" hosts draws backlash
Facebook
June 29, 2017, 10:52 PM

President Trump has turned "crossing the line" into a political art form. But when he lashed out at the hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," he may have ventured into new territory. Now, members of both parties are calling him out. Major Garrett reports.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-attack-on-tv-anchor-comes-at-a-bad-time-for-gop-brokering-health-care-deal/
By KATHRYN WATSON CBS NEWS June 29, 2017, 4:21 PM
Congress responds as Trump's attack on TV co-host distracts from health care, other business

Photograph -- U.S. President Donald Trump speaks before signing the "VA Accountability Act" in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., June 23, 2017. CARLOS BARRIA / REUTERS

As the U.S. Senate looked to a day of negotiating on health care legislation Thursday, President Donald Trump at 8:52 a.m. began unleashing tweets attacking the IQ, mental stability and physical appearance of MSNBC "Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski.

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Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came..
8:52 AM - 29 Jun 2017
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Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
...to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!
8:58 AM - 29 Jun 2017
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White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended the president's behavior in a Thursday afternoon press briefing, saying "the American people elected a fighter," and that's what they got.

But Republicans and Democrats criticized the president for his tweets -- shocking even for Mr. Trump's Twitter account -- as the Senate struggles to propose a passable bill on health care. Mr. Trump met Wednesday with senators earlier this week as he attempts to negotiate the bill, and Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday met one-on-one with senators on Capitol Hill.

The tweets also detracted from the White House's designated policy focus of the week -- energy -- and two bills expected to pass in the House Thursday to crack down on immigrants who commit crimes and attempt to re-enter the country illegally, and on "sanctuary cities" refusing to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Mr. Trump made stricter stances on immigration -- a theme drowned out by his tweets Thursday -- a central message of his campaign.

Both Republicans and Democrats criticized the president Thursday.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), who told CBS News' "Face the Nation" last month that the president is "his own worst enemy" with counterproductive tweets, said Mr. Trump behaved "beneath the office."

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Lindsey Graham ✔ @LindseyGrahamSC
Mr. President, your tweet was beneath the office and represents what is wrong with American politics, not the greatness of America.
10:15 AM - 29 Jun 2017
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Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski told Mr. Trump to, "Stop it!"

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Sen. Lisa Murkowski ✔ @lisamurkowski
Stop it! The Presidential platform should be used for more than bringing people down.
2:45 PM - 29 Jun 2017
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Sen. Lisa Murkowski ✔ @lisamurkowski
@POTUS, do you want to be remembered for your tweets or your accomplishments?
2:47 PM - 29 Jun 2017
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Rep. Lynn Jenkins, a Kansas Republican, said the president's Twitter outburst was, "not OK."

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Lynn Jenkins ✔ @RepLynnJenkins
This is not okay. As a female in politics I am often criticized for my looks. We should be working to empower women. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/880410114456465411 …
10:32 AM - 29 Jun 2017
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Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Florida) pointed out that the shooting at a congressional baseball practice -- after which Mr. Trump himself urged unity -- was just two weeks ago. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) is still in the hospital after he was seriously injured by a shot to the hip.

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Carlos Curbelo ✔ @carloslcurbelo
Let's all remember the lessons from the Congressional shooting just a couple weeks ago. We must treat one another with decency & respect
11:41 AM - 29 Jun 2017
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Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) urged "respect" and "civility."

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Sen. Susan Collins ✔ @SenatorCollins
This has to stop – we all have a job – 3 branches of gov’t and media. We don’t have to get along, but we must show respect and civility.
11:18 AM - 29 Jun 2017
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Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colorado) used the hashtag, "StopTheTwitterTantrums."

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Rep. Mike Coffman ✔ @RepMikeCoffman
The President’s tweets are beneath the dignity of his office. It needs to stop. #StopTheTwitterTantrums
12:45 PM - 29 Jun 2017
731 731 Retweets 2,115 2,115 likes
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Democrats were even more blunt.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) called Mr. Trump's tweets, "so blatantly sexist I don't even know that there's any question about it."

"I just don't know why the Republicans, they can tolerate almost anything: a candidate beating up a reporter and then cheering him on as he arrives in Congress, the tweets of the president of the United States," Pelosi added, referring to Montana Republican Rep. Greg Gianforte's assault on a reporter the night before he was elected to Congress.

Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Florida), in a press conference with more than two dozen Democratic members of Congress, called Mr. Trump the "cyber bully in chief."

"And once again, he is ... embarrassing our nation with what I call his bloody tweets," Frankel said.

Other Democrats pointed out that Mr. Trump is hurting legislative progress. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), called the president's attacks on the media a "constant distraction."

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Chellie Pingree ✔ @chelliepingree
.@RealDonaldTrump's attacks on media have sunk to a new low. This constant distraction is hurting the ability of Rs & Ds to get work done.
11:59 AM - 29 Jun 2017
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Rep. David Cicilline (D-Rhode Island) asked anyone to tell him how the president's tweets help "create jobs" or "make health care better," issues Mr. Trump has said are among his top priorities.

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David Cicilline ✔ @davidcicilline
If anyone can tell me how these sexist attacks are going to create jobs or make health care better, let me know. https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/880410114456465411 …
11:32 AM - 29 Jun 2017
94 94 Retweets 289 289 likes

Mr. Trump didn't stop criticizing the media Thursday. As the House and Senate wrapped up their legislative business before the July 4 holiday, Mr. Trump, at a Department of Energy event with Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of Energy Rick Perry Thursday afternoon, repeated his frequent line that CNN is "fake news."



MADDOW NEWS

THE FAR-RIGHT SENATE HEALTH CARE PLAN

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trumps-ignorance-about-health-care-carries-real-consequences?cid=eml_mra_20170628
Trump’s ignorance about health care carries real consequences
06/28/17 08:00 AM—UPDATED 06/28/17 08:55 AM
By Steve Benen

Photograph -- U.S. President Donald Trump hosts an event for military mothers on National Military Spouse Appreciation Day with is wife, first lady Melania Trump, in the East Room of the White Hosue [sic] May 12, 2017 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla

A few months ago, when the House was trying to pass its far-right health care plan, Donald Trump thought some presidential pressure could help seal the deal. The president’s ignorance about the basics of the debate, however, kept getting in the way.

Politico reported in March that when the president tried to lean on the far-right House Freedom Caucus, its members found Trump charming, but it became clear “that no serious changes were going to be made” during the conversations, because “the president didn’t have sufficient command of the policy details to negotiate.”

Trump has had ample time to get up to speed in recent months, but by all appearances, he doesn’t feel like it. The president hosted a meeting yesterday with Senate Republicans – after GOP leaders scrapped a scheduled vote on the party’s far-right plan – and some came away with the impression that Trump still doesn’t know what he’s talking about. The New York Times reports today:

A senator who supports the bill left the meeting at the White House with a sense that the president did not have a grasp of some basic elements of the Senate plan – and seemed especially confused when a moderate Republican complained that opponents of the bill would cast it as a massive tax break for the wealthy, according to an aide who received a detailed readout of the exchange.

Mr. Trump said he planned to tackle tax reform later, ignoring the repeal’s tax implications, the staff member added.

This isn’t a point-and-laugh-at-the-amateur-president moment. There are practical consequences to Trump’s ignorance.

It matters, for example, that the president can’t engage in meaningful negotiations with members of Congress about the legislative details. The differences within the GOP are significant, and crafting a compromise requires a detailed understanding of how the pieces to the puzzle work together. Trump simply isn’t in a position to lead, not for lack of will, but because he simply doesn’t have the knowledge necessary to play a constructive role.

This dynamic also affects public opinion. The Republican plan is woefully unpopular, though the effort may have more support if Trump could use his high-profile platform to sell the bill’s virtues. But the president simply can’t play this role – because he doesn’t understand the proposal in any detail, and he doesn’t even try to defend the plan on the merits.

This is, not surprisingly, a point of some embarrassment for the unprepared president. Trump insisted on Twitter this morning that when it comes to health care, he “knows the subject well.” This follows his recent boast to Time magazine that he now knows “everything” there is to know about health care.

Even the most sycophantic Trump supporters probably find this hard to believe. After all, the president has literally never demonstrated any real familiarity with the details of the debate, and accounts of his private interactions with lawmakers bolster concerns that Trump simply has no idea what he’s talking about.

Either he’s ignorant about the substance of health care or he’s doing a remarkable imitation of someone who’s ignorant about the substance of health care.

Eight years ago this week, then-President Barack Obama hosted a 90-minute public forum exclusively on health care policy, fielding questions from doctors, reporters, and the public at large. Can anyone imagine Donald J. Trump doing something similar? Does anyone seriously believe he’d want to try?

It’s not too late for the president to start taking his responsibilities in this area more seriously, but I’d recommend keeping expectations low.


THE INTERESTING QUESTION OF WHY TRUMP’S SUPPORTER MANAFORT DECIDED NOW TO COME FORWARD WITH HIS SECRET, IS ONE THAT I HOPE WILL BE DISCOVERED AND PUBLICIZED SOON. IT SOUNDS EXCITING. I WILL CONTINUE TO WATCH THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOWS TO FIND OUT WHATEVER INFORMATION SHE HAS ON HIM.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/manafort-files-retroactively-as-foreign-agent-977602115791
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 6/27/17
Manafort files retroactively as foreign agent

Rachel Maddow relays reports that former Donald Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort has filed retroactively as an agent of a foreign government, the second top Trump aide to do so. Duration: 13:55


NOT SURPRISINGLY, THIS NEW DEUTSCHE BANK LAWYER IS ALSO LINKED FINANCIALLY WITH TRUMP AND KUSHNER. TRUMP HAS EVEN BEEN ALLOWED TO REFUSE SHOWING HIS TAX RETURNS, THE PURPOSE OF WHICH IS TO BARE SUCH CORRUPTION TO THE LIGHT OF DAY. WHY, OH WHY, DON’T WE DO A MANDATORY FBI, CIA, AND IRS CHECK ON THESE PEOPLE AND PUBLISH THE RESULTS IN ALL OF THE MAJOR NEWS MEDIA OUTLETS IF THEY DO DECIDE TO PROCEED FORWARD ON BEGINNING A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, WHICH SHOULD HAPPEN BEFORE THEY ARE EVEN ALLOWED TO “THROW THEIR HAT INTO THE RING.” I’VE SAID IT BEFORE: WE DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR WHAT SORT OF PERSON IS ALLOWED TO BE PRESIDENT. WE NEED TO TREAT THE PRESIDENCY AS A SERIOUS POSITION OF POWER AND NOT AS THE RESULT OF A BEAUTY PAGEANT.

ONCE THE CAMPAIGNING AND THE VOTING HAPPENS, IT IS OFTEN TOO LATE TO FIND THAT THEY ARE RACIST, SEXIST, CLASSIST, FINANCIALLY UNPRINCIPLED, MENTALLY DISTURBED OR INCOMPETENT, OR LINKED IN ANY WAY WITH ORGANIZED CRIME FROM ANY NATION, BECAUSE THEY AND THEIR FOLLOWERS MAY WELL CAUSE GREAT TROUBLE. IN TRUMP’S CASE, IT’S A FOREIGN ADVERSARY, RUSSIA, OF COURSE, AND THEIR APPARENT GOAL WAS TO BOOST TRUMP INTO OFFICE SO THEY COULD HAVE HIS COOPERATION IN ANY AND ALL MATTERS. SINCE IT SEEMS LIKELY THAT HE KNOWINGLY WENT ALONG WITH THE SCHEME; SHOULD THAT PROVE TO BE TRUE, IT’S TREASONOUS RATHER THAN MERELY CORRUPT. HE HAS ALREADY TRIED TO REMOVE THE OBAMA SANCTIONS ON THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT FOR THEIR NOW UNDISPUTED HACK OF THE DNC. THE SENATE AND THE FBI ARE BULLDOGGING HIM, I NOTICE, AND IF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WOULD STEP IN FIRMLY AND NOISILY BEHIND THEM, I THINK THE TRUMP REGIME MAY COME TO A HALT. THE APPROPRIATE STEP SEEMS TO ME TO BE IMPEACHMENT AND A CRIMINAL TRIAL IN THE FEDERAL COURTS.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/deutsche-bank-adds-lawyer-with-financial-crime-background-977619523525?cid=eml_mra_20170628
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 6/27/17
Deutsche Bank adds lawyer with financial crime background

Rachel Maddow reports that Deutsche Bank, at the center of a lot of questions about its business practices and loans made to both Donald Trump and Jared Kushner, has hired a new lawyer with a background in tax crimes and money laundering. Duration: 6:15



THIS MADDOW COMMENTARY FEATURES A SERIES OF EMPTY TRUMP THREATS TO WELL-KNOWN PEOPLE WHO HAVE CONFRONTED HIM ON VARIOUS ISSUES. IN NONE OF THOSE CASES DID TRUMP ACTUALLY SUE. HE BACKED DOWN EACH TIME. MY FAVORITE IN THE ARTICLE IS REPUBLICAN JOHN KASICH’S AD IN WHICH TRUMP IS DIRECTLY COMPARED TO HITLER, PARAPHRASING A FAMOUS AND EXCEPTIONALLY MOVING ANTI-NAZI POEM “FIRST THEY CAME...” BY A LUTHERAN PASTOR MARTIN NIEMOELLER. DO GO TO WIKIPEDIA FOR THE FULL TEXT. IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT, YOU NEED TO. HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/FIRST_THEY_CAME_...”

FOR ANY OF US WHO REMEMBER WHEN OUR FAMILY MEMBERS CAME BACK FROM WWII MISSING LIMBS OR “SHELL-SHOCKED,” THIS POEM HAS GREAT MEANING. FOR ANY OF US WHO ARE FASCINATED BY HISTORY FOR ITS’ OWN SAKE, AND WHO STUMBLED ACROSS A STORY MORE PROFOUND THAN ANY NOVEL, BECAUSE IT IS NOT A WORK OF FICTION, THE PATH OF CURRENT EVENTS IS ALARMING. FOR US, WE CONSIDER IT A DUTY TO SPEAK OUT, MARCH IN THE STREET, PETITION CONGRESS, AND READ THE REAL NEWS, WHICH IS PUBLISHED BY THE TRIED AND TRUE NEWS SOURCES THAT WE KNOW SO WELL: CBS, NBC, MSNBC, NPR, AND OTHERS LESS WELL-KNOWN WHOSE STORIES DON’T HAVE THE TAINT OF HATRED OR TOADYING TO WHOEVER IS IN POWER TODAY, WE FEEL THE REQUIREMENT TO SPEAK UP.

I WAS READING ABOUT THE NEWS SITES WHICH RESEARCH SOURCES – SNOPES, FACTCHECK.ORG, ETC. IT WAS VERY INTERESTING, BUT IT ENDED WITH THE IDEA THAT WE STILL MUST DO RESEARCH FOR OURSELVES. THERE IS NO QUICK AND EASY PATH TO VERIFYING THINGS ON THE INTERNET, BECAUSE IT IS A TRUE JUNGLE, FULL OF DANGERS. WHEN I SEE SOME OF THE THINGS ON THE WEB, I SHOCKS ME THAT ANYONE COULD POSSIBLY BELIEVE THEM (MAN DIDN’T REALLY GO TO THE MOON), BUT OTHERS ARE MUCH MORE SUBTLE, AND THEREFORE MORE DANGEROUS. I READ THEM FOR THEIR PROPAGANDA VALUE, AND WHEN I SEE SOMETHING THAT LOOKS LIKE THE GOAL OF PUTTING ANY GROUP DOWN, I LOOK IT UP. SOME OF THE “SATIRE” IS ALSO AIMED AT CAUSING REAL HARM, SO SEARCH IT ON GOOGLE!

DEAR ONES, IT REALLY PAYS TO READ THE NEWS SO WE AREN’T SURPRISED, BUT MERELY HORRIFIED, WHEN A CHARACTER LIKE TRUMP IS ELECTED. IN 2016, SO MANY “MIDDLE OF THE ROAD” “GOOD CITIZENS” JUST LAUGHED AT TRUMP OR EVEN SAID “WE DON’T KNOW THAT THE STORIES AGAINST HIM ARE TRUE,” SO I WILL BE SOCIALLY SAFE AND GO ALONG WITH WHAT IS HAPPENING UNDER THE GUISE OF AN “ELECTION.” I AM PLEASED TO SEE THAT A REPUBLICAN NAMED JOHN KASICH SPOKE OUT TODAY AGAINST HIM FORCEFULLY, AS FROM THE BEGINNING. I HAVE NEVER VOTED FOR A REPUBLICAN, AND I REALLY DON’T LIKE THEIR TYPICAL ECONOMIC POLICIES, BUT IF KASICH RUNS I WILL DEFINITELY GIVE HIM DUE CONSIDERATION. HE DOESN’T SEEM TO BE RACIST OR “MEAN” IN DEALING WITH THE NEEDS OF THE POOR.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/another-empty-trump-lawsuit-threat-falls-flat-against-comey-978623555573
Another empty Trump threat falls flat against Comey

Rachel Maddow looks at evidence of Donald Trump's long history of trying to intimidate people he doesn't like with hollow threats of lawsuits, and notes the failure of his recent threat to file a complaint against James Comey as a setback in his attack on ... more Duration: 18:02