November 6, 2016

Comey says FBI stands by decision to not pursue case against Clinton

Comey says FBI stands by decision to not pursue case against Clinton
By JOSH GERSTEIN 11/06/16 03:30 PM EST Updated 11/06/16 04:31 PM EST
. . .
In a letter sent to House and Senate committee leaders, Comey said FBI agents had completed their review of all messages to or from Clinton on a laptop seized last month from the estranged husband of a Clinton aide and had found nothing momentous.

"Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to Secretary Clinton," Comey wrote. "I am very grateful to the professionals at the FBI for doing an extraordinary amount of high-quality work in a short-period of time."
. . .

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/fbi-director-comey-says-agency-stands-by-decision-to-not-pursue-case-against-clinton-230842

November 6, 2016

Trump Just Told The Truth . . . Two horrifying policy announcements (Huffington Post)

Trump Just Told The Truth, And It’s More Terrifying Than His Racism And Lies
Grant Stern
11/05/2016 05:37 pm ET | Updated 9 hours ago
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-just-told-the-truth-its-more-terrifying_us_581e495ce4b0102262411844?section=us_politics

Donald Trump just released a pair of true statements about policy . . .

only days from the election ending, Donald Trump’s campaign just released the Republican nominee’s plan to cut $100 billion dollars in federal climate change spending over eight years, presumably to pay for the ridiculous tax cuts to the rich he proposes.

In late October, Trump also announced another policy; to turn America’s highways and byways into a for-profit business venture . . .

The Trump private roads and transportation plan was unveiled on Oct. 27th, but the full impact took a few days to be understood.

When the Republican candidate claims at rallies to want a trillion dollars in infrastructure spending, naturally voters assume that the assets would be publicly owned and free to use.
. . .
In fact, Trump’s transportation infrastructure plan would privatize most of the new construction, make it all toll driven and concentrated in wealthy areas . . .

Luckily, Bloomberg noticed something amiss and reported extensively on the pernicious Trump campaign climate change spending plan:

Donald Trump says he would save $100 billion over eight years by cutting all federal climate change spending—a sum his campaign says would be achieved by eliminating domestic and international climate programs.
. . .
Anyone who doesn’t want new taxes on driving, big giveaways to the ultra-wealthy and to end America’s investment in a green economy had better come to grips with the sad facts of the situation

As you can see, when Donald Trump tells the truth about his plans for America, it’s definitely more terrifying than his racism and lies.

November 6, 2016

Tim Kaine: Some FBI Employees Are ‘Actively Working’ To Help Trump

Here is the link to the story. Embedded in the story looks like a video link.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tim-kaine-fbi_us_581e970ee4b0e80b02ca9001

Tim Kaine: Some FBI Employees Are ‘Actively Working’ To Help Trump
11/05/2016 11:20 pm ET Updated 3 hours ago

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine accused people in the FBI of “actively working” in support of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign on Saturday, becoming the most prominent politician yet to level the charge after a week of extraordinary FBI leaks that appear to be intended to influence the outcome of the election.

In an interview with Fusion’s Alicia Menendez, Kaine speculated that FBI Director James Comey wrote his letter to Congress because “he knew that the FBI was not only a leaky sieve, but there were people within the FBI actively working ― actively working ― to try to help the Trump campaign.” Calling the situation “absolutely staggering,” Kaine said the events of the past eight days have been “a massive blow to the integrity” of the FBI.
. . .

Kaine said, “There are clearly people in the organization” who are trying to “put their thumb on the scale in an election."

November 4, 2016

FBI examining fake documents targeting Clinton campaign

FBI examining fake documents targeting Clinton campaign
Reuters POLITICS | Thu Nov 3, 2016 | 7:42pm EDT
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-documents-idUSKBN12Y2WY

By Mark Hosenball | WASHINGTON

The FBI and U.S. intelligence agencies are examining faked documents aimed at discrediting the Hillary Clinton campaign as part of a broader investigation into what U.S. officials believe has been an attempt by Russia to disrupt the presidential election, people with knowledge of the matter said.

U.S. Senator Tom Carper, a Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, has referred one of the documents to the FBI for investigation on the grounds that his name and stationery were forged to appear authentic, some of the sources who had knowledge of that discussion said.

In the letter identified as fake, Carper is quoted as writing to Clinton, “We will not let you lose this election,” a person who saw the document told Reuters.

The fake Carper letter, which was described to Reuters, is one of several documents presented to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice for review in recent weeks, the sources said.
. . .
A spokesman for the FBI confirmed the agency was “in receipt of a complaint about an alleged fake letter” related to the election but declined further comment. Others with knowledge of the matter said the FBI was also examining other fake documents that recently surfaced.

U.S. intelligence officials have warned privately that a campaign they believe is backed by the Russian government to undermine the credibility of the U.S. presidential election could move beyond the hacking of Democratic Party email systems. That could include posting fictional evidence of voter fraud or other disinformation in the run-up to voting on Nov. 8, U.S. officials have said.

Russian officials deny any such effort.

In addition to the Carper letter, the FBI has also reviewed a seven-page electronic document that carries the logos of Democratic pollster Joel Benenson’s firm, the Benenson Strategy Group, and the Clinton Foundation, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

The document, identified as a fake by the Clinton campaign, claims poll ratings had plunged for Clinton and called for “severe strategy changes for November” that could include “staged civil unrest” and “radiological attack” with dirty bombs to disrupt the vote.
. . .

November 3, 2016

California woman accusing Donald Trump of rape when she was 13 cancels press conference amid threats

California woman accusing Donald Trump of raping her when she was 13 cancels press conference amid threats
New York Daily News

The anonymous woman behind a lawsuit accusing Donald Trump of raping her when she was an underage teen said she was too scared to go public with her allegations.

The California plaintiff, known only as “Jane Doe,” was scheduled to break her silence in a Wednesday press conference, but backed out at the last minute.

"Jane Doe has received numerous threats today, as have all the Trump accusers that I have represented,” said the woman’s attorney, Lisa Bloom.

“She is living in fear. She has decided that she is too afraid to show her face. She has been here all day, ready to do it, but unfortunately, she's in terrible fear. So we're going to have to reschedule. I apologize to all of you who came."

. . .
“Immediately following this rape, Defendant Trump threatened me that, were I ever to reveal any of the details of Defendant Trump’s sexual and physical abuse of me, my family and I would be physically harmed if not killed,” the plaintiff said in an affidavit.


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/calif-woman-accusing-trump-child-rape-break-silence-article-1.2855631

p.s. If this was already posted by someone earlier, apologies for the duplication.

Addendum 4 November:
In answer to anyone who thinks this is a fake story (!?) here is a link to Snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/2016/11/02/attorney-representing-woman-suing-trump-on-rape-charges-speaks-out/

October 31, 2016

Banana Republicans monkey around with emails : FBI Violations of Fourth Amendment -- Again

In getting the ‘new’ Clinton emails, did the FBI violate the Constitution?

Raw Story : 30 OCT 2016 AT 14:22 ET

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/10/in-getting-the-new-clinton-emails-did-the-fbi-violate-the-constitution/
. . .
In his letter, Comey says the FBI “has learned” of the existence of emails “that may be pertinent” to … Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email server during her tenure as secretary of state … although “the FBI cannot yet assess whether or not this material may be significant,”
. . .
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution states that no search warrant can be issued unless it “particularly describes the place to be searched and the things to be seized.” Did the warrant for Weiner’s laptop “particularly describe” emails sent to or received by Abedin while working at the State Department as material that could be seized as evidence of the alleged sexting crime? That seems highly unlikely.
. . .
Indeed, why were federal agents looking at any emails belonging to the suspect’s estranged spouse? Surely the FBI didn’t think Abedin was involved in the alleged sexting crime.

The agents might make the implausible claim that they saw Abedin’s emails inadvertently when looking for evidence related to the sexting crime. … the FBI could have sought a new search warrant for specific Abedin messages, swearing to a federal judge that there was probable cause those particular emails were evidence of a crime
. . .
there is clear evidence that the FBI regularly and deliberately oversteps constitutional boundaries with regard to Americans’ email messages.

In one case now pending in New Jersey, the FBI went completely beyond the limits of a search warrant to download the entire contents of a lawyer’s cellphone. Incredibly, federal prosecutors in that case are telling a federal judge they can legally keep and use the downloaded data even if the judge rules it was obtained in violation of the Constitution.
In New York City, federal court records reveal the government obtained another search warrant that clearly violated the Fourth Amendment. That one ordered Microsoft to turn over the entire contents of a web-based email account and authorized “email by email review.”
. . .
Last spring, a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress that would . . . create a National Commission on Security and Technology Challenges including experts from many sectors such as law enforcement, the technology industry, the intelligence community, and the privacy and civil liberties communities. The commission would review the laws about warrants for digital data and recommend changes in how they should be used.

That effort followed the FBI’s ill-advised attempt to get a court order forcing Apple to create and give to the government software eliminating the user privacy and security features of the iPhone.

In the wake of this week’s new evidence of further overstepping by the FBI, passing this bill should be one of the first tasks for Congress when it reconvenes after the election.

October 23, 2016

Trump Campaign Releases Statement Threatening That Trump Administration Will “Break Up” Media Conglo

Source: Media Matters

Trump Campaign Releases Statement Threatening That Trump Administration Will “Break Up” Media Conglomerates That Have Criticized Trump

The campaign of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump released a statement promising that a Trump presidential administration would “break up” media conglomerates that operate properties that have criticized Trump.

In an October 23 press release signed by senior Trump economics advisor Peter Navarro, the Trump campaign threatened presidential action against “NBC, and its Clinton megaphone MSNBC,” “the wildly anti-Trump CNN,” The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

The statement promised that as president Trump “will break up the new media conglomerate oligopolies that have gained enormous control over our information, intrude into our personal lives, and in this election, are attempting to unduly influence America’s political process.”



Read more: http://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/10/23/trump-campaign-releases-statement-threatening-trump-administration-will-break-media-conglomerates/214061

October 20, 2016

A.Word.A.Day--trumpery

"A Word A Day" is a daily email newsletter. Today's word was "trumpery". Thought I'd share it with you. It's an old word actually, with known use as old as 1481.

trumpery

PRONUNCIATION:
(TRUHM-puh-ree)

MEANING:
noun:
1. Something showy but worthless.
2. Nonsense or rubbish.
3. Deceit; fraud; trickery.

ETYMOLOGY:
From French tromper (to deceive). Earliest documented use: 1481.

USAGE:
“The room was crowded with a chilly miscellany of knick-knacks and ornaments, gewgaws, and trumpery of every kind.”
Leo Bruce; Case for Three Detectives; Academy Chicago; 1980.

“History, made up as it is of so much trumpery, treachery, and tyranny, needs deeds of valor, of sacrifice, and of heroism if it is to be palatable.”
The Medal of Honor: A History of Service Above and Beyond; Zenith Press; 2014.

See more usage examples of trumpery in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

October 20, 2016

While You Were Watching The Debate, Trump Just Launched Trump TV

While You Were Watching The Debate, Trump Just Launched Trump TV

“If you’re tired of biased, mainstream media reporting (otherwise known as Crooked Hillary’s super PAC), tune into my Facebook Live broadcast.”

posted on Oct. 19, 2016, at 9:47 p.m.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/while-you-were-watching-the-debate-trump-just-launched-trump?

In the minutes before the third and final Presidential debate, Donald Trump went live on Facebook in what may have been the inaugural broadcast of a forthcoming Trump News Network.

A little after 8:30 P.M., Trump’s official Facebook page posted the link to the live video, offering up an alternative to the mainstream broadcast. The message: “If you’re tired of biased, mainstream media reporting (otherwise known as Crooked Hillary’s super PAC), tune into my Facebook Live broadcast. Starts at 8:30 EST/5:30 PST — you won’t want to miss it. Enjoy!”

The broadcast quickly ballooned to around 200,000 concurrent viewers but quickly fell off to around 120,000. As of the middle of the debate, the feed was holding steady at around 170,000, trailing only the ABC News debate feed on the platform.

The livestream featured punditry from retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn and former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and in place of commercials, the feed was interspersed with pro-Trump ads and a special message from Ivanka Trump.
. . .

October 19, 2016

Ivanka Trump Breaks Silence On Dad's Offensive Groping Comments

OCTOBER 18, 2016, 5:45 PM EDT -- TPM LIVEWIRE

Ivanka Trump Breaks Silence On Dad's 'Offensive' Groping Comments

Ivanka Trump finally broke her silence about predatory comments her father made on a leaked hot mic tape from 2005, calling those remarks "inappropriate and offensive" in a statement to Fast Company.

Trump issued a one-sentence statement after being interviewed by the magazine for a story published Monday about the stress of the media attention during the election.

"My father's comments were clearly inappropriate and offensive and I'm glad that he acknowledged this fact with an immediate apology to my family and the American people," she said.
. . .
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ivanka-trump-hot-mic-tape-offensive