July 18, 2017
News and Views
ALL ROADS LEAD TO MOSCOW
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-fbi-pick-scrubbed-russia-related-case-law-firm-bio-article-1.3262922
Trump’s FBI pick scrubbed Russia-related case from law firm bio
BY MEERA JAGANNATHAN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Updated: Tuesday, June 20, 2017, 7:25 PM
Photograph -- French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Donald Trump attend the traditional Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, France, July 14, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau
54 PHOTOS
VIEW GALLERY -- Donald Trump in the White House
JAN. 12, 2005 FILE PHOTO -- Then-Assistant Attorney General Christopher Wray in 2005. (LAWRENCE JACKSON/AP)
Photograph -- President Trump has yet to formally send Wray’s nomination to the Senate. (ERIC THAYER/REUTERS)
President Trump’s pick to head the FBI eighty-sixed a case involving the Russian government from a bio on his law firm’s website this year, according to a report Tuesday.
White-collar crime defender Christopher Wray — tapped to head the agency after James Comey’s surprise firing — scrubbed “an energy company president in a criminal investigation by Russian authorities” from a list of clients on his law firm bio, CNN’s KFile first reported.
A bullet point for the 2006 case had appeared on the King and Spalding site as recently as November, according to the Wayback Machine’s internet archive. Very little else had been modified or removed from the page since 2009, per CNN.
Wray joined the Justice Department in 2001, going on to serve as the assistant attorney general overseeing the DOJ’s criminal division and playing significant roles in the Enron probe and War on Terror efforts. In 2005, he joined the private firm King and Spalding — defending Fortune 100 companies and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie during the Bridgegate scandal.
What you need to know about Christopher A. Wray
Trump earlier this month abruptly announced he would nominate Wray for FBI director — a gig that requires Senate confirmation — roughly 24 hours before Comey’s much-hyped Senate testimony on the Russia probe and his interactions with the President.
Wray himself tweaked the online bio in early 2017, a King and Spalding spokesperson told the Daily News — maintaining the change was independent from any consideration for a government job.
"Chris represented a U.S. client who was in a bitter dispute against — repeat — against the Russian government. And beyond this case in which he opposed the Russian government, Chris has not personally represented any Russian companies or persons associated with the Russian government,” the firm said in a statement.
“His work on this matter was in 2006, over a decade ago and shortly after he had returned to the firm from his government service. Updating his bio was a housekeeping chore that he got around to making on January 12, 2017, well before he had any conception that he might leave a highly successful practice as partner at King & Spalding. "
Trump to nominate Christopher Wray as new FBI director
Reached by The News, a Justice Department spokesperson referred inquiries to King and Spalding.
Trump has yet to officially nominate Wray to lead the spy agency. Asked on Thursday why the nomination had not yet been sent to the Senate, Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders attributed the delay to “a pretty lengthy paperwork process.”
IT’S THE WHITE HOUSE THAT DECIDES ON SECURITY CLEARANCES? HOW AWKWARD. MAYBE TRUMP SHOULD RECUSE HIMSELF. OF COURSE, THE DEPT OF STATE UNDER SESSIONS ISN’T MUCH BETTER. A HILL ARTICLE SAID THAT KUSHNER HAS CHANGED HIS APPLICATION FOR A CLEARANCE A NUMBER OF TIMES ALREADY, AND ADDED AN UNBELIEVABLE 100 NAMES. WHETHER THOSE ARE BUSINESS CONTACTS WITHIN THE WHOLE WORLD COMMUNITY OR NOT, THAT’S A LOT OF INDIVIDUAL CONNECTIONS, IT SEEMS TO ME, AND DOES SEEM TO ME TO SHOW AN UNHEALTHY INTERNATIONAL WEB OF POWER AND FINANCE. PLENTY OF ROOM THERE FOR BUYING THE GOVERNMENTS OF OTHER COUNTRIES. SEE THE FOLLOWING SEVERAL ARTICLES.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-democrats-ask-for-kushner-security-clearance-review/
AP July 17, 2017, 2:39 PM
Senate Democrats ask for Kushner security clearance review
Three Senate Democrats are calling on the White House to review and possibly revoke Jared Kushner's security clearance.
They are pointing to the revelation of a meeting with Russian contacts during President Donald Trump's campaign.
Kushner is a senior adviser to Trump and his son-in-law. Along with other Trump officials, he attended a June 2016 meeting with a Russian lobbyist who indicated she had damaging information about Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Kushner disclosed the meeting on his security clearance paperwork, but Democrats have questioned how much he disclosed.
Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Al Franken of Minnesota and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii say in a letter to the White House that given the meeting, Kushner's top access "may pose a danger to this country."
http://www.businessinsider.com/jared-kushner-100-contacts-russia-foreign-security-clearance-2017-7
Jared Kushner added more than 100 names to his list of foreign contacts in updated security clearance forms
Eliza Relman
Jul. 13, 2017, 10:09 AM
Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and top White House adviser, added more than 100 names to a list of foreign contacts that he submitted to the FBI earlier this year in applying for a government security clearance, according to a new report in The New York Times.
In April, the Times reported that Kushner failed to inform the FBI of meetings he had with the head of a major Russian state-owned bank, Sergey Gorkov, who is a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and with Russia's ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, during the presidential transition.
Since then, Kushner has reportedly updated the list of contacts three times, adding over 100 people, including Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer whom Kushner, Donald Trump Jr., and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort met with in June 2016. Trump Jr. agreed to the meeting after being promised damaging information about then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, as part of "Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."
While Kushner briefed the president on the meeting with Veselnitskaya, he left out key details and minimized the importance of the encounter, according to sources close to Kushner who spoke with the Times. Trump Jr. has insisted that nothing came of the meeting with Veselnitskaya.
Both Democrats and Republicans are now questioning whether Kushner should have a security clearance at all.
As part of a wide-ranging inquiry into the Trump campaign's possible ties to Russia, Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly investigating Kushner's communications with Gorkov and Kislyak, as well as his role in the Trump campaign and relationship with former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
In May, The Washington Post reported that Kushner and Kislyak may have discussed establishing a secret communications backchannel between the Trump transition team and the Russian government.
Reuters also reported in May that the FBI is examining whether Gorkov suggested to Kushner that Russian banks could finance Trump associates' business ventures if US sanctions were eased.
SEE ALSO: June 2-13, 2016: Donald Jr.'s controversial meeting came at a pivotal point for the Trump campaign
NOW WATCH: ABC calls out Kellyanne Conway over Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer after previously denying any contact with Russians
TRUMP GETS TO PARDON HIS OWN SON-IN-LAW OF A POTENTIALLY TREASONABLE ACTIVITY? FOX WATCHING THE HEN HOUSE AGAIN.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/16/jared-kushner-security-clearance-240575
CONGRESS
Fate of Kushner’s security clearance could ultimately lie with Trump
The president’s son-in-law and adviser has come under fire for initially failing to disclose meetings with Russian officials.
By AUSTIN WRIGHT and JOSH DAWSEY 07/16/2017 11:04 AM EDT
Photograph -- Jared Kushner has been given responsibility over a wide portfolio ranging from the opioid crisis to brokering a Middle East peace deal. | Getty
The decision over whether Jared Kushner will be stripped of his security clearance could ultimately be made by one man — his father-in-law, President Donald Trump.
Kushner’s actions — including initially failing to disclose meetings with Russian officials — would be more than enough to cost most federal employees their security clearances, according to people familiar with the security-clearance process.
“They would lose their job immediately,” said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight. “Their clearance would be gone.”
But Kushner isn’t your average federal government employee.
The vast majority of security clearance background investigations for officials at federal agencies are handled through the Office of Personnel Management, where nameless government bureaucrats and contractors look for even the slightest of inconsistencies.
“We’ll have clients who, you know, have $2,000 worth of debt that they did not disclose — they pay it off during the investigation and they still don’t get approved for security clearance,” said Joanna Friedman, an attorney with the Federal Practice Group, who has spent a decade representing employees seeking security clearances.
White House officials, though, go through a slightly different process, according to sources familiar with it. For new White House employees who don't already have a clearance sponsored by another agency, background investigations are typically conducted by the FBI, with possible involvement from the CIA. The FBI then forwards its recommendations to the White House.
The security clearance process is ultimately rooted in executive authority, not law, meaning the president himself is the ultimate arbiter. It is extremely rare for a president to wade into such an issue, experts said, but Trump does have the power, if he wanted to, to demand that Kushner keep his clearance.
“If the president wants someone to have a clearance and access to classified information, there's no one to tell him no,” said Steven Aftergood, a government secrecy expert with the Federation of American Scientists.
And this is a president who is fiercely loyal to his family.
As Trump biographer Tim O’Brien put it, “Trump has always put family first, even if family members lack the skill or experience for the type of job they're being asked to do.”
“Trump wouldn't take away his security clearance himself,” O’Brien said. “He would have to be convinced by his own attorneys and his staff that the issues had moved beyond familial loyalty. That's going to take a lot of arm-twisting and convincing.”
And it suggests Democrats and other critics who say Kushner should lose his access to classified information may end up disappointed.
Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka and serves in the White House as a senior adviser, has been given responsibility over a wide portfolio ranging from the opioid crisis to brokering a Middle East peace deal.
Not having a security clearance would hobble him from doing large swaths of his job. On many days, he receives classified briefings, according to a senior administration official — and he is often in the room with his father-in-law for sensitive decisions about classified issues.
He has traveled overseas with top military commanders and calls foreign leaders on his own.
One source said Kushner sometimes comes to National Security Council meetings "at least for part of the meeting" and that he often talks to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. are pictured.
WHITE HOUSE
Trump campaign paid $50,000 to Trump Jr.'s attorney
By MAGGIE SEVERNS
In recent weeks, though, Kushner has become the top target of Democratic outrage over the Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russia, with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California on Friday ramping up her calls for his security clearance to be revoked.
“It's absolutely ridiculous that he should have that clearance,” Pelosi said at a news conference. “It's not justified in any way. The president could revoke it in a moment, and he should.”
Federal employees often have temporary clearances for six months or more, and it is unclear whether Kushner has a permanent clearance.
Kushner initially omitted contacts with foreign officials on his security clearance application form, known as an SF-86, including meetings with Russia’s ambassador and a top Russian businessman. Kushner recently updated his SF-86 to include more than 100 foreign contacts, The New York Times reported.
And last week, it was revealed that Kushner attended a meeting last year with a Russian lawyer that was pitched as part of a Kremlin-backed effort to help the Trump campaign. A source familiar with the issue said Kushner was not told about the purpose of the meeting and did not read to the bottom of an email chain where the purpose was stated.
These and other revelations have led more than 50 House Democrats to urge the White House to revoke Kushner’s clearance.
Jamie Gorelick, a lawyer for Kushner, said her client had "prematurely" filed the first security clearance application form but has since done everything possible to be accurate and transparent with his meetings.
“Mr. Kushner’s SF-86 was prematurely submitted and, among other errors, did not list any contacts with foreign government officials," Gorelick explained. "The next day, Mr. Kushner submitted supplemental information stating that he had had 'numerous contacts with foreign officials' about which he would be happy to provide additional information.
"He has since submitted this information," Gorelick continued, "including that during the campaign and transition, he had over 100 calls or meetings with representatives of more than 20 countries, most of which were during transition. Mr. Kushner has submitted additional updates and included, out of an abundance of caution, this meeting with a Russian person, which he briefly attended at the request of his brother-in-law, Donald Trump Jr."
Omitting facts from a security questionnaire could be disqualifying if it was part of a deliberate effort to conceal them, according to federal guidelines; an inadvertent omission would not be so costly. Similarly, making "prompt, good-faith efforts" to correct the omission can mitigate security concerns.
When asked last week whether his clearance was still valid, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said: “As always, we've never discussed the security clearances.”
One government official who went through the process in the past six months said it was quite arduous.
Agents showed up at this person's house out-of-state and interviewed his parents and other family members. There were dozens of forms, along with interviews with former colleagues and friends about this person's personal and professional habits — from clients this person held in the past, to any foreign travel, to their history with alcohol and drugs.
This person said the agents appeared to be looking for even small inconsistencies in stories.
"I don't think it's that hard to get one, but if you had a meeting with a Russian government lawyer, I don't think it would be that easy," this person said. "That would be something they'd care about. They asked me if I'd ever even met with foreign clients."
For most of the more than 4 million people who have security clearances in the United States, the process works like this: They are sponsored by an agency and undergo a background investigation. The vast majority of these background investigations are handled by the Office of Personnel Management, according to OPM spokeswoman Sandy Day.
Ultimate decisions about whether to grant the clearance — called adjudication — are typically made by the sponsoring agencies. The employee is then subject to periodic reinvestigations.
But for some White House employees, background investigations are instead handled by the FBI. The president, though, has ultimate authority, since the classification system is laid out in an executive order, rather than in law.
“If the president says give this person a clearance, nothing else really matters,” said Aftergood, the government secrecy expert. “There may be political consequences to such a move, but legally and otherwise, it's entirely within the president's authority to grant such a clearance.”
Kyle Cheney and Jacob Lahut contributed to this report.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/lawyer-says-client-attended-trump-jr-meeting-russian-162409380.html?soc_trk=gcm&soc_src=dbb2094c-7d9a-37c0-96b9-7f844af62e78&.tsrc=notification-brknews
Trump Jr., ex-campaign head given nod to testify in Congress: Senator
Reuters
By Patricia Zengerle and Doina Chiacu
Reuters July 18, 2017
FILE PHOTO: Donald Trump Jr. speaks at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio U.S. July 19, 2016. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's eldest son and his former campaign chairman have been given approval by a U.S. special counsel to testify publicly to Congress as part of investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said on Tuesday.
U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein told Reuters the special counsel, former FBI director Robert Mueller, said that Donald Trump Jr. and Paul Manafort could testify. Mueller is looking into allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered to help Trump win and possible collusion between Moscow and the Republican's campaign.
Feinstein said the committee planned for the testimony to be part of a broader hearing that the committee had scheduled for Wednesday but has now been postponed. She could not confirm whether the hearing would take place next week.
If Trump Jr. were to appear before the judiciary committee, he would be the highest member of the Republican president's inner circle of relatives and White House aides to testify in Congress about the Russia allegations. Several congressional panels have investigations open.
The allegations have dominated Trump's first six months in office. Russia denies meddling in the campaign, and Trump says there was no collusion.
Trump Jr., who runs the Trump Organization family business, released emails last week in which he eagerly agreed in June 2016 to meet the woman he was told was a Russian government lawyer who might have damaging information about Democratic election rival Hillary Clinton as part of Moscow's official support for his father's presidential campaign.
A man who works for a Moscow-based developer with ties to Trump was identified on Tuesday as the eighth person to attend the meeting.
Lawyer Scott Balber confirmed Ike Kaveladze's name to Reuters after CNN reported that his client had been identified by special counsel Mueller's prosecutors and was cooperating in their investigation.
The meeting appears to be the most tangible evidence of a connection between Trump's campaign and Russia, investigators in congress have said.
In addition to Trump Jr., lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, her translator, and Kaveladze, the meeting was attended by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, Trump's then-campaign manager, Manafort; publicist Rob Goldstone; and Russian-American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin.
In Moscow, Russia said it reserved the right to retaliate against the United States after a meeting in Washington ended without an agreement to return Russian diplomatic property the U.S. had seized.
Trump's predecessor President Barack Obama ordered the seizure of two Russian diplomatic compounds in New York and Maryland and the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats in December over what he said was their involvement in hacking the U.S. election campaign.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Doina Chiacu and David Alexander, Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCool)
DAVID I, STEP FORWARD PLEASE. DAVID II, WAIT AT THE HEAD OF THE LINE. THOSE NOT YET CALLED, GO TO YOUR LOCAL PRECINCTS AND REGISTER. ALL BACKGROUNDS AND AGES MAY APPLY. STONES WILL BE PROVIDED. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT BERNIE SANDERS ASKED HIS FOLLOWERS TO DO IN 2016. HIS MESSAGE HAS CLEARLY BEEN HEARD AND HEEDED. I HAVE HOPE. BERNIE SANDERS FOR PRESIDENT, 2020.
FOR ONE OF BERNIE’S GREATEST SPEECHES, GO TO HTTP://WWW.BURLINGTONFREEPRESS.COM/STORY/NEWS/POLITICS/2016/06/16/BERNIE-SANDERS-POLITICAL-REVOLUTION-MUST-CONTINIE/85949656/.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/16/trump-triggers-flood-of-democratic-candidates-240597
Donald Trump is pictured.
ELECTIONS
Trump triggers flood of Democratic candidates
By CARLA MARINUCCI and MATT FRIEDMAN
Fueled by antipathy toward President Donald Trump and high expectations about their party’s fortunes in the 2018 midterms, Democrats are lining up to run for House seats, creating crowded primary fields in some of the most competitive races in the country.
In California last week, Vietnam-era veteran Paul Kerr, who has never run for political office, jumped into the race to take on nine-term GOP Rep. Darrell Issa — the richest member of Congress. Kerr, a real estate investor and Navy veteran, is the third challenger to date seeking to defeat Issa, the high-profile former chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, who barely survived a 2016 challenge.
Issa is considered the most vulnerable of seven California GOP House members representing districts that voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. But his colleagues have even more contenders to worry about.
Eight challengers have lined up to take on Central Valley Republican Jeff Denham. An equal number have jumped into the fray against embattled San Diego-area Rep. Duncan Hunter, the focus of a Justice Department criminal investigation regarding his alleged use of campaign funds to pay for family expenses.
Controversial Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Huntington Beach, recently in the headlines for his own dealings with Russia, has seven Democrats contesting his reelection. Rep. Steve Knight of Palmdale has six.
A coast away in New Jersey, Democrats — sometimes hard-pressed to find candidates willing to take on entrenched Republican incumbents — also have a glut of willing challengers this year in two of the state's five Republican-held districts. Those districts, which include many New York City bedroom communities, are wealthy and well-educated. Clinton narrowly won the Central Jersey-based 7th District, while Trump won the North Jersey-based 11th by a slim margin.
“It’s 100 percent a testament to the grass-roots energy that’s showed up at town halls and events’’ across the country, said Drew Godinich, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is pounding out news releases highlighting vulnerable GOP incumbents. In 2018, the big difference is “not only the number — it’s the quality of these challengers,’’ he said. “Trump is obviously a part of it — and so is health care.”
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Democratic strategist Garry South, who advised presidential campaigns for Al Gore and Joe Lieberman, said the enthusiasm is especially revved-up because “Democrats need only 24 seats nationally to flip to get control of the House’’ — and more than a quarter of those may be in California.
History is on their side, he argues: Over the past 20 cycles in the first term of a presidency, Republican or Democratic, “the average number flipped has been 23 seats.”
In New Jersey, Mike DuHaime, a veteran Republican strategist who helped lead both of Gov. Chris Christie’s successful gubernatorial campaigns, as well as his unsuccessful presidential campaign, acknowledges the GOP has tough work ahead.
“It feels very much [like] the reverse of what 2010 was on the Republican side,” said DuHaime, who’s been hired by GOP Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen. “There was just an energy on the Republican side after President Obama got elected, and I feel the same energy now on the left.”
Frelinghuysen has for 24 years been the epitome of a safe incumbent. With ancestral roots in state politics that stretch to the colonial era — a New Jersey town is named after the family’s progenitor, and a Newark thoroughfare bears the family name — Frelinghuysen has not faced a serious electoral challenge in his entire congressional tenure.
In fact, when liberal filmmaker Michael Moore in 2000 sought to demonstrate the lack of competitive congressional seats, he looked to Frelinghuysen’s district. The filmmaker unsuccessfully tried to get a ficus tree on the ballot against the congressman, who is an heir to the Procter & Gamble fortune and chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
But now constituents are holding protests at Frelinghuysen’s office, some organized by a grass-roots group called NJ 11th for Change. They’re clamoring for him to hold a town hall meeting, which he has refused to do.
It’s a similar story in the Central Jersey-based 7th. Democrats say they’re surprised at just how many Democrats want a shot at GOP Rep. Leonard Lance.
Joey Novick, a progressive activist who lives in the district, organized a candidate forum in which five candidates or potential candidates showed up. Novick said he hadn’t heard about anyone seeking to challenge Lance at this point in 2015.
“That is sort of the interesting magic about this year,” he said.
Three Democratic candidates have already declared — bank executive Linda Weber, teacher Lisa Mandelblatt and attorney Scott Salmon. And at least four other people are exploring a run, including social worker Peter Jacob, who ran against Lance in 2016 and got 43 percent of the vote.
“Nobody took this district seriously. We showed up. Our campaign showed up. We knew what was at stake in 2016,” Jacob said. “People have realized there’s blood in the water now. That’s the phrase everybody is using.”
South said GOP candidates across the country now find themselves hobbled by “a horribly unpopular GOP president whose approval ratings are in the 30s, and a demoralized GOP base. And midterms are always a referendum on who controls the White House.”
Even so, conservative author Jim Lacy, a Trump delegate to the Republican National Convention from California, said Democrats — even in solidly blue California — shouldn’t get too cocky about their chances. He contends that the crowded Democratic primaries are a “good thing for Republicans,’’ because Democrats will train their fire on each other, leaving the eventual nominees bloodied and bruised going into the fall general election.
“Democratic Party politics are just as cutthroat, if not more, than the Republicans in the state recently,’’ Lacy said.
More primary candidates also increase the likelihood that simmering intraparty divisions between progressives and moderates will spill into the open.
“The more challengers, the greater the chance the wrong challenger advances to the general,’’ said Bill Whalen, a Hoover Institution fellow and a former aide to former California GOP Gov. Pete Wilson. “You’re talking about a bunch of people competing for 40 percent of the vote. So it raises the chance you’ll end up with a 'Chelsea Handler' Democrat,’’ his description of someone who’s too liberal or unsuited to the local electorate.
“All politics are local, especially in House races — and Democrats have been learning this in special elections,’’ Whalen said. “It’s not about having someone running against Donald Trump as it is having someone who’s the right local fit. You have to tailor the candidate to the district.”
SEE ALSO:
Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. are pictured.
WHITE HOUSE
Trump campaign paid $50,000 to Trump Jr.'s attorney
By MAGGIE SEVERNS
Govs. Brian Sandoval and Terence McAuliffe are pictured.
POLITICS
Governors steer clear of Trump
By GABRIEL DEBENEDETTI and MEGAN CASSELLA
ANOTHER NYT BEST SELLER, I’LL BET!
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/fbi-director-james-comey-writing-memoir-article-1.3329950
Axed FBI director James Comey writing tell-all memoir
BY MEGAN CERULLO
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Sunday, July 16, 2017, 12:22 AM
Photograph -- Former FBI Director James Comey is penning a tell-all that will cover his tenure in the Trump administration. (ALEX BRANDON/AP)
Former FBI director James Comey is reportedly penning a tell-all that will cover his short-lived tenure under President Trump.
Comey has been meeting with editors and publishers in the city over the last week, The New York Times reported Saturday.
The book will explore the principles the 56-year-old has used to navigate his legal career.
Not Released (NR)
Comey's memoir will cover his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. (ANDREW HARRER/POOL/GETTY IMAGES)
It will address the bureau’s investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email server while she was secretary of state, and Comey’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election — which led to his ouster just four years into a 10-year term.
ELECTORAL COLLEGE CHANGES PROPOSED. I AGREE WITH KING COMPLETELY ON THIS. THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE TAKES “THE PEOPLE” OUT OF THE PICTURE. SOMETIME, FOR FUN, READ THE COMMENTS MADE BY OUR FOUNDING FATHERS ABOUT THE DANGERS OF DEMOCRACY ....
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/king-reform-electoral-college-bernie-run-party-article-1.3326841
KING: Reform the Electoral College so Bernie can run third party
Shaun King
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Friday, July 14, 2017, 1:09 PM
Photograph -- Bernie Sanders ran as a Democrat because he knew the way our government is set up stacks the deck firmly against third-party candidates. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
At his core, Bernie Sanders is an anti-establishment politician who loathes the corruption and influence of outside money in both the Democratic and Republican parties. As a general rule, he doesn't attend swanky fund-raising dinners or accept the support of shady super PACs. Yet, in order to have influence in American politics, the longest serving independent in congressional history was basically forced to shape-shift himself into a Democrat. No doubt, he's a square peg in a round hole and I never got the feeling he was truly welcome. In spite of wining over 20 primary contests, hardly a single member of the Democratic establishment supported his campaign to become their nominee for President. Even today, and almost every day, I see Democratic elites tweet their agitation or downright anger that Bernie has any sway in the party whatsoever.
Yet, he remains the most popular elected official in the country. And contrary to worn-out myths about who supports Bernie the most, a recent study shows his approval ratings are actually higher among African-Americans and women than they are among all white people and men.
That means we have a problem. The people of America love Bernie Sanders. They love what he stands for. They love his policy positions. They love how he rejects outside money and speaks out against corporations and politicians who violate his core beliefs. Yet, he'll never be fully welcome in the Democratic Party.
I desperately wanted Bernie Sanders to run a third party campaign against Trump and Clinton last year, and my understanding is he very much wanted to do so as well. I actually think Bernie would have done very well against the two least-liked presidential candidates in American history, but Sanders opted not to run with an outside party. I was told by several campaign insiders that the decision wasn't an easy one. Sanders knew Clinton would struggle against Trump, he said as much throughout his campaign, and neither candidate really represented his core values, but he also knew the way our government is set up stacks the deck firmly against third-party candidates.
Sanders blasts ‘pathetic’ attack on his wife amid federal probe
According to the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, if no candidate for President of the United States reaches 270 votes in the Electoral College, the vote goes to Congress. Once there, it gets very strange. Congress chooses from among the three highest vote getters — so, theoretically, a third party candidate would be among their choices. Every member of Congress doesn't actually get a vote, though. Each state delegation gets one vote. That means that even though California has 53 members of the House, they'd only get one vote in such a scenario — putting them on par with Wyoming or other tiny states — which is ridiculous.
Not Released (NR)
In a three-way race between Trump, Clinton and Sanders in a third party, the Republican-controlled Congress would've chosen Trump as the election winner if none of the candidates managed to snag 270 electoral college votes. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
So, in this scenario, if Sanders ran for President against Trump and Clinton, and none of them reached the 270 votemark in the Electoral College, which I actually think would’ve been very likely, the House would've voted, and then chosen Trump, no matter what, because the House is controlled by Republicans. Trump won the election last year anyway, but Bernie, according to members of his campaign, refused to be responsible for the above scenario in which his candidacy officially produced a Trump presidency. Instead, he campaigned all over the country for Hillary and she still lost.
I know we have a tendency in America to think that everything in the Constitution is brilliant and sacred, but some of it is terribly outdated and useless. When these amendments were created, our nation looked so much different than it does today. Slavery was still legal. Women did not have the right to vote. The total population of the country was about 5 million people — now we have 321 million residents.
I'd like to see the Electoral College abolished. The system has deep flaws and fundamentally denies the power of a single vote to each citizen in this country. Ideally, the winner of the popular vote would simply win the election. But let's imagine for a moment that we kept the Electoral College, but amended the rules so that the winner of the most votes in the Electoral College wins the nomination — instead of requiring any candidate to reach the 270 threshold.
KING: Don't blame Sanders for congressional baseball shooting
Even then, in a Trump, Clinton, Sanders scenario, it's highly likely Trump would still win the most total votes — with Bernie and Hillary splitting votes, Bernie perhaps winning a few states Trump won, but Trump still having the most.
NARCH/NARCH30
Sanders campaigned for Clinton all over the country, but she still lost the election to Trump. (BRENDAN MCDERMID/REUTERS)
That's why I'd like to see a grand deal made. First, the rules on the Electoral College would have to be reformed to allow the candidate with the most votes to win instead of forcing it to go to Congress. Then, I'd love to see what I'm about to propose. If a time ever existed for such a thing to happen, it's right now.
http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tweets-on-senate-republican-health-care-bill-failure-obamacare-2017-7
Trump contradicts himself in tweetstorm on Obamacare repeal, suggests Republican go 'nuclear'
Bob Bryan
July 18, 2017 2 hour ago
President Donald Trump on Tuesday weighed in on the apparent failure of the Senate Republican healthcare bill via Twitter.
"We were let down by all of the Democrats and a few Republicans," the president tweeted. "Most Republicans were loyal, terrific & worked really hard. We will return!"
The Senate bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, fell apart Monday night when two more GOP senators — Jerry Moran of Kansas and Mike Lee of Utah — said they would not support a vote to bring the bill to the floor of the Senate for debate.
That left the Republican leadership with four defections on the procedural vote, called a motion to proceed — more than the three needed to block the bill. Moran and Lee joined Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky as opponents of the motion.
According to Politico, Trump was blindsided by the defections of Moran and Lee. The president was reportedly in the middle of a strategy dinner for the bill when the announcement was made, and he told Republicans they would look like "dopes" if they did not repeal the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law.
In a follow-up tweet on Tuesday, Trump once again advocated the failure of the ACA, better known as Obamacare, to bring Democrats and the public around on a Republican plan.
"As I have always said, let ObamaCare fail and then come together and do a great healthcare plan," Trump tweeted. "Stay tuned!"
The new tweets, however, seemed to contradict Trump's insistence on Monday night that Republicans immediately repeal Obamacare.
"Republicans should just REPEAL failing ObamaCare now & work on a new Healthcare Plan that will start from a clean slate. Dems will join in!" Trump said.
Additionally, Trump suggested that Republicans should get rid of the legislative filibuster — generally known as the "nuclear option" — to make it easier to pass any Obamacare replacement bill.
"The Senate must go to a 51 vote majority instead of current 60 votes," Trump tweeted on Tuesday. "Even parts of full Repeal need 60. 8 Dems control Senate. Crazy!"
Republicans, who hold 52 seats in the Senate, were using a process that would have required only 50 votes to pass the bill, since Vice President Mike Pence could break a tie. Despite this, Republicans still could not get the bill through.
If Trump were to end the executive branch's funding of Obamacare's cost-sharing-reduction payments, a critical provision that helps offset costs for insurers, it would most likely lead to an exodus of insurers from the individual exchanges and skyrocketing costs for Americans in those markets, effectively causing the collapse of the law.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Monday night that he would abandon the tactic of attempting to repeal and replace Obamacare at the same time and advance a repeal-only bill that would go into effect in two years, in which Congress could come together on a new plan.
SEE ALSO: McConnell admits defeat on Republican healthcare bill after 2 more GOP senators come out against it
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/family-of-slain-indiana-girl-hiking-liberty-german-abigail-williams/
CBS NEWS July 18, 2017, 7:53 AM
Family of slain Indiana teen hopes new sketch reignites public interest
Police released a sketch of a man suspected of killing two girls while they were on a hike in Indiana in February.
Officers believe the man accused of murdering Liberty German and Abigail Williams is 5-feet, 6-inches to 5-feet,10-inches tall, weighs between 180 and 220 pounds and has a goatee.
Their bodies were discovered a day after they went missing.
Police insist their investigation has not gone cold, but after drawing national attention and generating thousands of tips, they still don't know the suspect's name, reports CBS News correspondent Don Dahler.
Investigators hope the new sketch, drawn by an FBI artist, will reignite the public's interest.
"We're gonna get you now. We have a face to go with you," said Becky Patty, Liberty German's grandmother.
German's grandparents think police are one step closer to catching the 14-year-old's killer.
"We want to get this guy off the streets. Know what I mean? Don't want anybody to go through what we been going through," said Mike Patty, German's grandfather.
missing-indiana-girls-fam.jpg
Liberty German's grandfather, Mike Patty, and grandmother, Becky Patty. CBS NEWS
Investigators released a composite sketch Monday.
"It shows a little more facial features, it gives you a little more information on what we're looking at, who the suspect might be," said Indiana State police sergeant Kim Riley.
German shot it on her cell phone as the alleged murderer pursued her and 13-year-old Abigail Williams.
"If we can get a name or at least a location of this subject, that would be great," Riley said.
The sketch is based in part on a witness who claims to have seen the man around the time the girls disappeared on this railway trail on February 13.
Fear of the suspect apparently kept the witness from coming forward sooner.
"The person was not clear on the color of the eyes, but the person said it was definitely not blue," Riley said.
Police do know what their suspect sounds like thanks to a previously released audio snippet that was recorded by German.
"The likelihood of solving the case is still very high," said former FBI assistant director Ron Hosko.
Hosko says it's unclear how reliable the new sketch is, but at least it forces the public to pay attention again.
"It is just making that connection, it is having somebody's synapses touch and say -- I know who this is," Hosko said.
Police caution the hat the suspect is wearing in the sketch may not be accurate, and are asking the public to instead focus on the suspect's facial features.
The reward in this case is now more than $230,000.
I DIDN’T INCLUDE THESE LAST BECAUSE THEY ARE NEW, WHICH THEY AREN'T, BUT BECAUSE THEY’RE BOTH BEAUTIFUL, PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY. DO CHECK THEM OUT.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38520492
Saudi Arabian video on women's rights goes viral
5 January 2017
From the section Middle East
Video -- The viral video was released by 8ies production company
A video of a pop song that highlights the oppression of women in Saudi Arabia has amassed millions of views on social media.
The video entitled 'Hwages', loosely translated in English as 'Concerns', shows women in Saudi Arabia skateboarding, playing basketball and dancing.
Created by media production company 8ies, the video has been viewed nearly three million times on YouTube since it was uploaded in late December.
It features women in full Islamic dress taking part in various activities, singing lyrics that include: 'If only God would rid us of men'.
Saudi women playing basketballImage copyright8IES
The video appears to express women's frustration with the male-dominated society in Saudi Arabia.
Male guardians decide on what women can do, for example permission to travel abroad or to undertake higher education.
While another added: "The video clip is beautiful. With all the comedy, it shows one aspect of oppression girls are subjected to."
A third commenter said: "Foreign newspapers are mentioning it. Creatives - let the world know that there are talented people who appreciate art in Saudi Arabia. It is not all about religious police, clerics IS members and retardation."
Saudi woman driving a bumper car at a funfairImage copyright8IES
It's the latest content on social media to put the male guardianship system in Saudi Arabia under the spotlight.
In 2013, a Saudi comedian recorded the song No Woman No Drive about women not being allowed to drive.
Written by Andree Massiah, UGC & Social News team
"IT IS A FELONY TO ABUSE AN ANIMAL, BUT IT IS NOT A FELONY TO ABUSE A WOMAN." I DIDN'T KNOW THIS, BUT I DID READ IN A SECTION OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS LITERATURE AT UNC-CH LIBRARY, THAT THE VERY FIRST CHILD WELFARE CASE WAS BROUGHT BY AN ANIMAL PROTECTION ORGANIZATION. THAT SICKENS, SADDENS, AND INFURIATES ME. TO SEE WHAT I'M RAVING ABOUT, GO TO :https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publishing/insights_law_society/ChildProtectionHistory.authcheckdam.pdf.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40532760
Puppy left in airport by abused owner
7 July 2017
A three-month-old chihuahua abandoned in a Las Vegas airport toilet has been taken in by a local animal rescue.
Chewy's owner left the puppy at McCarran International Airport on 2 July with a letter explaining she was leaving an abusive partner and could not take the dog on the plane with her.
"Hi I'm Chewy," explained the note.
"My owner was in an abusive relationship and couldn't afford me to get on the flight. She didn't want to leave me with all her heart but she has no other option."
The letter Chewy was found withImage copyrightCMDR
The letter goes on to explain how her partner also hurt Chewy: "My ex-boyfriend kicked my dog when we were fighting and he has a big knot on his head. He probably needs a vet. I love Chewy so much. Please love and take care of him."
Chewy was left in a bag in the women's toilet. The lady who found the bag worried it was a suspicious item and contacted security. The canine unit was deployed to inspect the bag but the dogs knew straight away there was a puppy in there. An officer opened up the bag and found Chewy.
An employee at the airport brought Chewy to the Connor and Millie's Dog Rescue, a local shelter where he is now being looked after.
"We took him to the emergency vet and got him checked out immediately", Darlene Blair, of Connor & Millie's Dog Rescue, told the BBC.
"He did have a bump on his head but in 24 hours it was gone. He is fine and healthy and is being well taken care of."
Chewy now happy and safe at a local dogs shelter with his palImage copyrightCMDR
Image caption
Chewy is now happy and safe at a local dogs shelter
Darlene said the shelter had not been contacted by Chewy's owner. "We've had a lot of messages demanding we try to find her. The airport has been bombarded by people saying they need to find this woman.
"Chewy is going to be fine and this poor woman is out there somewhere and we don't want to draw her out. We are hoping with all our hearts that she has seen this and knows Chewy is safe and we hope she is safe.
"I wish this story would bring more attention to the fact it's a felony to abuse an animal but it's not a felony to abuse a woman."
'Tell them Chewy sent ya'
Also speaking to News 3 Las Vegas, Darlene said the incident really got to her. "You could tell by the way the note was written that the woman was in dire stress and she didn't want to give him up and she couldn't take him with her."
The shelter has since been inundated with offers of a home for Chewy.
"Chewy is safe, healthy and thriving. We have received thousands of applications and inquiries about adopting Chewy and we sincerely appreciate each and every one," the shelter posted on Facebook.
"We are hoping that Chewy's mom is in a safe place and will see Chewy's story so we can return Chewy to her if she so chooses and the circumstances are right for both of them.
"Chewy is still receiving some medical attention and is not ready for adoption yet. "
Although it has gained 1,670 online friends in the past week, the shelter is no longer accepting adoption applications for Chewy.
Instead, it urges people to adopt other animals from their local rescue centres and to "tell them Chewy sent ya".
By the UGC and Social News team
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