fountainofyouth
fountainofyouth's JournalLike what you see, Ajit Pai?
https://twitter.com/ashleyfeinberg/status/946924272353726464Obama issues warning on social media dangers in Prince Harry interview
Source: The Hill
Former President Obama issued a warning against "irresponsible" social media use in a wide-ranging interview with Britain's Prince Harry on Wednesday.
"One of the dangers of the internet is that people can have entirely different realities. They can be cocooned in information that reinforces their current biases," Obama told Prince Harry on BBC 4 Radio.
"The question has to do with how do we harness this technology in a way that allows a multiplicity of voices, allows a diversity of views, but doesn't lead to a Balkanization of society and allows ways of finding common ground," he continued.
The former president went on to emphasize the need for face-to-face contact.
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/366545-obama-issues-warning-on-social-media-dangers-in-prince-harry
I miss him.
GOP Congressman says it's time to 'purge' FBI of anti-Trump elements
Source: USA Today
Florida GOP Rep. Francis Rooney said Tuesday he wants leaders at the Department of Justice and the FBI to "purge" officials he says are politically biased against President Trump.
"People need a good, clean government," Rooney said in an interview on MSNBC.
In recent weeks, Republicans have sounded the alarm that bias within the law enforcement community is compromising Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's election interference and possible collusion with Trump associates.
In the interview, Rooney mentioned FBI agent Peter Strzok, whom Mueller removed from the Russia investigation after learning about texts he sent disparaging Trump. He also raised concern about Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, who was reportedly demoted for hiding ties to Fusion GPS, the company behind a notorious dossier alleging Trump's ties to Russia.
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/12/26/gop-congressman-says-its-time-purge-fbi-anti-trump-elements/982610001/
EPA chief Pruitt had office swept for surveillance bugs
Source: The Hill
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had his office professionally examined earlier this year to look for covert surveillance devices.
The EPA paid $3,000 in March to Edwin Steinmetz Associates to do a “sweep for covert/illegal surveillance devices” in Administrator Scott Pruitt’s office at the agency's Washington, D.C., headquarters, documents provided to The Hill show.
The EPA source that provided the documents on the condition of anonymity said the sweep, which came weeks after Pruitt’s arrival at the agency, did not uncover any bugs.
Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/365495-epa-chief-pruitt-had-office-swept-for-surveillance-bugs
Meanwhile, contrast with the story from yesterday about EPA employees' emails being monitored.
E.P.A. Employees Spoke Out. Then Came Scrutiny of Their Email.
Source: New York Times
One Environmental Protection Agency employee spoke up at a private lunch held near the agency headquarters, saying she feared the nation might be headed toward an “environmental catastrophe.” Another staff member, from Seattle, sent a letter to Scott Pruitt, the E.P.A. administrator, raising similar concerns about the direction of the agency. A third, from Philadelphia, went to a rally where he protested against agency budget cuts.
Three different agency employees, in different jobs, from three different cities, but each encountered a similar outcome: Federal records show that within a matter of days, requests were submitted for copies of emails written by them that mentioned either Mr. Pruitt or President Trump, or any communication with Democrats in Congress that might have been critical of the agency.
The requests came from a Virginia-based lawyer working with America Rising, a Republican campaign research group that specializes in helping party candidates and conservative groups find damaging information on political rivals, and which, in this case, was looking for information that could undermine employees who had criticized the E.P.A.
Now a company affiliated with America Rising, named Definers Public Affairs, has been hired by the E.P.A. to provide “media monitoring,” in a move the agency said was intended to keep better track of newspaper and video stories about E.P.A. operations nationwide.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/17/us/politics/epa-pruitt-media-monitoring.html
Report: Mueller focusing on obstruction of justice around Flynn
Source: Axios
Robert Mueller and his team are focusing on the days after White House officials were told Michael Flynn was vulnerable to Russian blackmail, NBC News' Carol Lee and Julia Ainsley report, citing "two people familiar with Mueller's investigation".
Why it matters: This means Mueller's team could be working to determine if Trump obstructed justice and is likely seeking out what President Trump knew about Flynn's conversations with former Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak, and subsequently, when Trump learned Flynn lied about them.
That period: January 26 to February 13, 2017.
The focus reportedly includes interviews with White House Counsel Don McGahn, who briefed Trump and senior White House staff about Yates' report that Flynn had lied to White House officials on January 26 and that he was vulnerable to Russian blackmail, according to Sean Spicer. That included Flynn's lie to Vice President Pence, which is what Trump cited in his firing statements.
Read more: https://www.axios.com/report-mueller-focusing-on-obstruction-of-justice-around-flynn-2516559523.html
Carter Page: I may have discussed Russia in emails with Papadopoulos
Source: Politico
Carter Page, a foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, said he might have exchanged emails about Russia with a fellow adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the president's campaign and possible collusion with the Russian government.
"It may of come up, yeah," Page told MSNBC's Chris Hayes when asked whether he exchanged emails with George Papadopoulos and whether the two discussed Russia.
As he has in the past, Page repeatedly declined to provide direct answer to questions about his role on Trump's campaign.
Page and Papadopoulos both served as foreign policy advisers for the campaign. Trump also named both of them when he listed off those who were shaping his views on foreign policy during an interview with the Washington Post.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/30/page-papadopoulos-russia-probe-244349
You read that correctly: Carter Page gave a TV interview this evening without an attorney next to him. It beggars belief.
Ezra Cohen-Watnick out at NSC
Source: The Hill
The senior director for intelligence on the National Security Council left the agency, the White House confirmed Wednesday.
A White House official said Ezra Cohen-Watnick, who was hired during the brief tenure of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, “has left the National Security Council [NSC].”
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/345042-ezra-cohen-watnick-out-at-nsc
Cohen-Watnick, you may recall, is the Flynn acolyte who used to work for Devin Nunes and fed him crap at the White House in March.
NSA director frustrated Trump won't accept Russia interfered in election: report
Source: The Hill
National Security Agency (NSA) Director Mike Rogers is frustrated that he has not yet convinced President Trump that U.S. intelligence indicates Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, CNN reported Wednesday.
Rogers vented frustration over his fruitless efforts to lawmakers during a recent closed-door briefing on Capitol Hill, a congressional source familiar with the meeting told the news network.
The NSA director also reportedly said the White House lacked focus about the continued threat of the Kremlin's cyber efforts, especially regarding voting systems in the U.S., another congressional source said.
The intelligence community continues to brief the president on new information on Russia's election involvement as it comes to light.
An intelligence official told CNN that while Trump does not seem less engaged when being briefed on the matter, he has expressed frustration outside of the briefings that too much attention is being paid to the ongoing probe into Russia's interference in the election.
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/339929-nsa-director-frustrated-trump-wont-accept-russia-interfered-in
GOP rep: DOJ conspiracy targeting Trump
Source: The Hill
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said Sunday that he believes there is a conspiracy within the Department of Justice to destroy President Trump.
“We have a conspiracy remaining afoot in the Department of Justice that is out to destroy this president and they’ve got to be fired, if not worse,” Gohmert told Fox News. (snip)
Gohmert called for serious legal consequences for Justice Department officials Comey talked to regarding the memos.
“We need to round up everybody he talked to, because they were all conspiring against the president,” he said.
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/337317-gop-rep-we-have-a-conspiracy-remaining-afoot-at-justice
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Current location: Washington, DC
Member since: Wed Oct 12, 2016, 12:18 AM
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