US Politics Mega-thread - Page 7157

Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano is being kept off the air indefinitely amid the controversy over his unverified claims that British intelligence wiretapped Trump Tower at the behest of former President Obama.

Fox News did not respond to inquiries about Napolitano’s status Monday. Napolitano was conspicuously missing from the network’s coverage of the confirmation hearings on Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch — an event in which he typically would have played a significant role. He has not been on the air since Thursday.

People familiar with the situation who could speak only on the condition of anonymity said Napolitano is not expected to be on Fox News Channel any time in the near future. Napolitano was not available for comment.

On March 4, President Trump first tweeted the accusation that Obama ordered his “‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory.”

“Nothing found,” Trump tweeted. “This is McCarthyism!”

The tweet has been widely discredited, but last week, Napolitano heightened the controversy — and caused a major embarrassment for Fox News — when he presented a scenario on several programs that backed the accusation.

The former New Jersey Superior Court Judge, citing unnamed sources, said that the British foreign surveillance agency, the Government Communications Headquarters, “most likely” provided Obama with transcripts of Trump’s recorded calls.

“By bypassing all American intelligence services, Obama would have had access to what he wanted with no Obama administration fingerprints,” Napolitano wrote in a column on FoxNews.com.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer cited Napolitano’s charge last week when asked why President Trump continues to stand by his initial claim. The British spy agency sharply denounced Napolitano’s allegations, saying they are “utterly ridiculous and should be ignored."

That rebuttal did not stop President Trump from citing Napolitano as a source again when he was asked about the wiretapping claims at a Friday news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“You shouldn’t be talking to me; you should be talking to Fox News,” said Trump, who described Napolitano as “a very talented lawyer.”

Fox News gives its analysts much more latitude than correspondents and anchors in regard to what they can say on the network.

But Napolitano said on one program that "Fox News has spoken to intelligence community members who believe that surveillance did occur, that it was done by British intelligence.”

Fox News, however, did no such thing, forcing its anchors to walk back Napolitano’s statement.

“Fox News knows of no evidence of any kind that the now-president of the United States was surveilled at any time, in any way,” Shepard Smith told viewers Friday.

In a statement read on the Fox News program “MediaBuzz” on Sunday, Napolitano defended his comments. He said he “reported what the sources told me, reported it accurately and I do believe the substance of what they told me.”

On Monday, FBI Director James Comey testified before Congress that he had “no information” supporting Trump’s claims.

A private plane owned by a Russian oligarch who has ties to President Donald Trump and his secretary of commerce flew into cities where Trump was campaigning before the November election at least twice, flight data and photographs have shown.

The timing has raised questions about whether Trump met with the oligarch, Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, while their planes were parked at the same time in Las Vegas in late October and then in Charlotte, North Carolina, in early November.

...

Photos had been circulating on social media of Rybolovlev's Airbus A319, dubbed M-KATE, along with theories about why the jet — which spends most of its time flying between major European cities like London, Berlin, and Zurich, with sporadic trips to Los Angeles, Miami, and the Caribbean, according to flight records — flew to Charlotte the same day Trump did and stayed there for 22 hours afterward.

Flight-tracking data reviewed by Business Insider showed that M-KATE's stops in Las Vegas and Charlotte on October 30 and November 3 are indeed outliers.

...

Rybolovlev, a multibillionaire who was an early investor in one of the world's most lucrative fertilizer companies, bought a Palm Beach property from Trump for $95 million in 2008, two years after Trump had put it on the market for $125 million (after purchasing it for $41 million in 2004.)

2008 was a rough year for Trump. According to PolitiFact, that was the year Trump Entertainment Resorts missed a $53.1 million bond interest payment and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize.

Rybolovlev's cash infusion into Trump's bank account is believed to be the most expensive home sale in US history. At that point, big banks were highly reluctant to loan to Trump, who had lost them money, as he wrote in his 2007 book, "Think Big: Make it Happen in Business and Life."

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plans to skip an April 5-6 meeting of NATO foreign ministers for a U.S. visit by the Chinese president and will travel to Russia later in the month, U.S. officials said on Monday, a step allies may see as putting Moscow's concerns ahead of theirs.

Tillerson intends to miss what would be his first meeting in Brussels with the 28 NATO members to attend President Donald Trump's expected April 6-7 talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, four current and former U.S. officials said.

The decisions to skip the NATO meeting and to visit Moscow risked feeding a perception that Trump may be putting U.S. dealings with big powers before those of smaller nations that depend on Washington for their security, said two former U.S. officials.

Trump has often praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Tillerson worked with Russia's government for years as a top executive at Exxon Mobil Corp, and has questioned the wisdom of sanctions against Russia that he said could harm U.S. businesses.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner had no immediate comment on whether Tillerson would skip the NATO meeting or visit Russia. Two U.S. officials said Tillerson planned to visit Moscow on April 12.

"It feeds this narrative that somehow the Trump administration is playing footsy with Russia," said one former U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"You don’t want to do your early business with the world's great autocrats. You want to start with the great democracies, and NATO is the security instrument of the transatlantic group of great democracies," he added.

Any visit to Russia by a senior Trump administration official will be carefully scrutinized after the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Monday publicly confirmed his agency was investigating any collusion between the Russian government and Trump's 2016 presidential election campaign.

Trump has already antagonized and worried NATO allies by referring to the Western security alliance as "obsolete" and by pressing other members to meet their commitments to spend at least 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense.

Last week, he dismayed British officials by shrugging off a media report, forcefully denied by Britain, that the administration of former President Barack Obama tapped his phones during the 2016 White House race with the aid of Britain's GCHQ spy agency.

A former NATO diplomat said he hoped there might be a way for Tillerson to attend both meetings, for example by changing the date of the NATO talks.

The former diplomat, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was vital to present a united front toward Moscow. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created in 1949 to serve as a bulwark against the Soviet Union.

"Given the challenge that Russia poses, not just to the United States but to Europe, it's critical to engage on the basis of a united front if at all possible," the diplomat said.

US authorities have secretly required airlines from 13 nations to forbid passengers from carrying any electronic or electrical device larger than a cellphone.

The new edict was distributed in an email described as “confidential” from the US transportation safety administration (TSA) on Monday.

The requirement forbids passengers from bringing laptops, iPads, Kindles and even cameras larger than mobile phones into the cabin. All such devices must be checked.

Saudi Arabia’s Saudia Airlines and Royal Jordanian airlines are among the affected countries; the full list has not been revealed to the affected airlines themselves.

The email – described as a “circular” – is not a public regulation, but airlines will be expected to enforce the new rule. Airlines were issued the circular on Monday and given 96 hours to comply; the rules apply to flights both to and from the US, according to Royal Jordanian airlines.

The circular does not address electronic flight bags (EFBs), which allow flight crews to display diagrams mapping flight patterns, maps of airports and other digital documentation, usually on an iPad.

The lack of specificity leaves airlines in the dark as to whether their employees will be cited or otherwise punished for performing the vital functions of aircraft crew as usual.

The TSA referred calls to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS would not confirm or deny existence of such a requirement: “We have no comment on potential security precautions, but will provide any update as appropriate,” David Lapan, spokesperson for DHS, said in an emailed statement to the Guardian Monday morning. Lapan declined to comment further.

By Monday afternoon, a US official had briefed Reuters that the ban followed a “terrorism threat” and was expected to be announced on Tuesday.

The official said no American carriers are impacted by the ban, which is expected to be unveiled on Tuesday by the Homeland Security Department.

Compliance has been swift: “Effective March 21st, the carriage of electronic and electrical devices inbound to the USA shall only be inbound in checked baggage except for mobile and medical devices,” according to a reservation agent at one of the affected airlines.

Royal Jordanian tweeted a reference to the restrictions, referring cryptically to “concerned US departments”. It was suggested that Royal Jordanian disobeyed the circular in part by making its existence known. The airline deleted the tweet on Monday afternoon after it had been up for several hours.

In a tweet from its official account, Saudia also warned its customers that new security measures were introduced by the TSA, and would be enforced from Tuesday.

On March 21 2017 13:24 Plansix wrote:
It is hard to tell people you are being detained if you don't have a phone. And easier to search the phone.

I already see people on twitter saying "So my laptop will be stolen if I travel on those airlines. Great."

On March 21 2017 13:25 CorsairHero wrote:

putting more lithium batteries in the cargo hold

smart

House Republican leaders are making a last-ditch attempt to win enough support to pass their Obamacare repeal, revealing an expansive series of changes to the bill on Monday night designed to woo wary GOP lawmakers.

Requested by President Donald Trump, the amendment includes perks for restive conservatives who wanted optional work requirements and block granting in Medicaid, as well as a potential olive branch to wary centrists who demanded more help for older Americans to buy insurance, POLITICO has learned.

But it is still unclear whether the changes are enough to win over the 216 Republicans needed to pass the measure in a high-profile vote planned for Thursday. GOP leadership insiders and White House officials firmly believe the changes will corral the necessary votes. But several rock-ribbed conservatives emerged from a closed-door session Monday night vowing to vote against the bill, and bragging that they have the votes to block it.

"House leadership does not have the votes to pass this very liberal bill unless they have a bunch of Democrats on board!" declared Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) while exiting the meeting. He called it a "the largest Republican welfare bill in the history of the Republican Party."

The changes to the bill come just a few hours before Trump will address the full House GOP conference. He's expected to urge them to vote for the bill. House Speaker Paul Ryan and his top lieutenants have been meeting with holdout moderates to find out what's needed to secure their support, while White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, a former Freedom Caucus member, has been working the far-right.

The mangers amendment is expected to entice some to vote "yes" on the bill, on both sides. For moderate and centrist Republicans, it would set aside funding — about $85 billion, according to Republican sources — for tax credits to help Americans between 50 and 64, who would see their premiums skyrocket under the current repeal plan. The amendment would not set up the tax credits but would instruct the Senate to do so, forcing House Republicans to take a vote on something the upper chamber would do later. It would be paid for by allowing consumers to write off less medical debt.

The boost for Baby Boomers was designed to counter the huge financial hit that Americans in that age group would take under the bill. The Congressional Budget Office said last week a 64-year-old making $26,500 would have paid about $1,700 for an insurance policy under Obamacare. But under the repeal plan, that would jump to about $14,600, CBO said.

That number scared a bunch of centrists on Capitol Hill. The powerful interest group AARP mobilized its members to oppose the bill in part because of the potentially huge cut to Baby Boomers.

Trump wanted the beefed up tax credit in part because voters that age are a core element of his constituency and helped propel him to the White House:

The bill also includes provisions nodding at anti-abortion GOP leaders. Among other changes to the repeal bill, the amendment would delete a provision that would have allowed consumers to move leftover tax credit money into a Health Savings Account. Anti-abortion groups had raised concerns that the provision might be eliminated under the Senate's strict budget rules and inadvertently allow for taxpayer funding of abortion.

After learning of the change, at least one member of the pro-life caucus— Rep. Vicky Hartzler — told POLITICO she changed her vote to "yes."

It also includes some red-meat for the right. Two of the changes, first reported on Friday, were essential to winning over the support of the Republican Study Committee. Trump met with leaders of the conservative group last week and agreed to allow work requirements in Medicaid as well as give states the option of converting their Medicaid programs into block grants. Both concessions were heralded by conservatives as necessary modifications to the health entitlement and long-term wins. Some states sought work requirement approval under the Obama administration, but were rebuffed by federal officials.

The amendment also sped up the repeal Obamacare's taxes a year earlier than originally planned, a win for conservatives who want to eliminate the Affordable Care Act as quickly a possible. It would also repeal the Cadillac tax in 2026 instead of 2025.

House GOP leaders also threw the New York delegation a bone to secure a whole host of "yes" votes. The amendment included a targeted change to Medicaid funding that’s specifically designed to garner support from New York’s delegation. It would attempt to transfer more Medicaid spending from counties to the state, by blocking New York from obtaining federal reimbursements for payments made by counties.

Rep. Chris Collins and other New York Republicans have been pushing leaders to add the amendment. Rep. Claudia Tenney told local reporters that the inclusion of the amendment would be essential to win her support for the whole repeal bill.

The amendment would also change federal Medicaid reimbursement rates for the elderly and disabled, a win for governors who were concerned about cuts.

In spite of all the changes, conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus are still defiant about the bill. Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows told reporters Monday evening that the negotiations on the bill appear to be over. But he doesn't think it's necessarily the end.

"I'm confident that we have enough concerns that a vote of 216 votes in the House would not happen today," he said.

Rand Paul is at it again.

It’s not enough for the Kentucky Republican to try to tank House Speaker Paul Ryan’s Obamacare repeal bill. He’s also driving his Senate colleagues crazy by holding up the one thing the Senate could do to quickly rebuke Russian President Vladimir Putin: pass a popular treaty ratifying Montenegro’s membership in NATO.

The dispute exploded on the Senate floor this month as Paul blocked Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) from bringing up the treaty. McCain said Paul is “working for” Putin; Paul responded that McCain is “past his prime.” But the anger toward Paul goes much deeper than just McCain — nearly the entire Senate wants to pass the treaty immediately.

“It’s a minority position, yeah,” Paul conceded with a smile.

That’s an understatement.

Senators and aides said the treaty could be passed easily if Paul would release his hold, sending a swift message to Russia that the United States isn’t stepping away from Eastern Europe, even with a NATO skeptic like Donald Trump as president. While Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is demanding a roll-call vote rather than passing the treaty with a quick request to do so unanimously, Paul is far more implacable and doesn’t want it to move forward at all.

“Montenegro doesn’t add a great deal to the national security of the United States,” Paul said in an interview. “For people who want Montenegro [in NATO], many of them want Ukraine and Georgia in there. And I think if you do that you have to be prepared to go to war with Russia.”

Due to Senate rules, Paul can single-handedly force the chamber to spend days on the measure, an impossible feat in the short term since Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is prioritizing a Supreme Court nominee and Obamacare repeal this spring.

That leaves the treaty stalled indefinitely and his colleagues steamed.

“It’s not a stunt. I disagree with him. But these are things he really believes,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who champions a more interventionist foreign policy.

“He knows the vote will be 99-1,” added one angry Republican senator who requested anonymity to speak candidly about his colleague. “He could hold the floor for days. I just think it’s typical.”

Notably, McCain’s charge that Paul is a Putin lapdog could have been a violation of Senate rules — but only if raised by another senator. No one came to his defense last week.

But Paul is unmoved, and said his message is in line with Trump’s: Adding another country to “overextended” NATO is unproductive when other countries aren’t meeting their defense spending obligations. Trump hasn’t commented publicly on the issue, but his administration may be lining up against Paul.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson fully support Montenegro’s accession into NATO. Sources said Vice President Mike Pence is also close to issuing a recommendation. Ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn was close to backing Montenegro’s entrance into NATO before he resigned.

An administration official said no final decision has been made. However, a Senate source said some White House officials have indicated support for Paul’s move to block NATO expansion because it is in line with Trump’s campaign platform.

“It was very useful what Sen. McCain did,” said Montenegrin Foreign Minister Srdjan Darmanović, who is in Washington meeting with Senate Foreign Relations Committee members and administration officials. “Sen. McCain exposed Sen. Paul being a very stubborn obstacle in the ratification.”

For Paul, it’s just one more example of him against the world. And these days it’s hard to keep track of his simultaneous fights.

Republicans close to GOP leaders in both chambers are highly annoyed at Paul’s high-profile quest to sink Ryan’s health care bill, which Paul calls “Obamacare-lite” every chance he gets. And while Democrats are entertained by his criticism of the Obamacare repeal efforts, they’re less enthused with his position on NATO.

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) is also frustrated over the treaty’s delay, sources said, but is trying to work with Paul and declining to call out the senator publicly. Paul has also been blocking several international tax treaties with other countries favored by his colleagues for years.

In the final months of the 2016 campaign, longtime Donald Trump associate Roger Stone repeatedly discussed his backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and claimed knowledge of forthcoming leaks from the group, a CNN KFile review of his public statements shows.

Stone's comments about WikiLeaks have come under increased scrutiny as the FBI and congressional committees investigate whether Trump associates were involved in Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 election.

Stone has repeatedly and publicly denied that he had any contact with Russian officials during the campaign. Stone declined to answer questions from CNN for this story. After this story was published, WikiLeaks tweeted, "WikiLeaks & Assange have repeatedly confirmed that they have never communicated with Stone."

But Stone's many statements have fueled suspicions that figures in Trump's orbit played a role in releases of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta.

On July 22 of last year, on the eve of the Democratic National Convention, WikiLeaks released nearly 20,000 internal DNC emails, which ultimately sparked the resignation of DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

"Guccifer 2.0," the online persona US intelligence officials believe is a front for Russian intelligence, claimed responsibility for the hacks.

WikiLeaks began to serially release emails from Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta in October. The US intelligence community has attributed those hacks to Russian intelligence.

Stone began discussing WikiLeaks and Assange in August 2016. Stone told a local Republican Party group in Florida on August 10 that he had "communicated with Julian Assange." In an interview later in August, Stone suggested that Assange had material that included emails deleted by Clinton aides Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills. At other times, Stone said the material released would be related to the Clinton Foundation.

On August 21, Stone tweeted that "it will soon the Podesta's time in the barrel." Stone claimed in an October 19 Breitbart post that he did not have advanced knowledge that Podesta's hacked emails would be leaked, claiming his tweet was about Podesta's business dealings.

In mid-September, Stone said on Boston Herald Radio that he expects, "Julian Assange and the Wikileaks people to drop a payload of new documents on a weekly basis fairly soon. And that of course will answer the question of exactly what was erased on that email server."

In late October, Stone told a local Florida television station he only knew of the material that would be released in "a broad sense" from a source who was a friend of Assange.

On March 20 2017 05:31 RealityIsKing wrote:


Haha, you are making me laugh so hard. You are showing that you know jack (or choose to ignore it, and have a poor sense of military strategy).

The threat is Islamic terrorism which USA have been helping to keep Europe safe, and then Merkel fucked it up by allowing them to get through Europe.