June 3, 2017

Trump Appears Unlikely to Hinder Comey's Testimony About Russia Inquiry

Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump does not plan to invoke executive privilege to try to prevent James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, from providing potentially damaging testimony to Congress on statements the president made about an investigation into his former national security adviser, two senior administration officials said Friday.

Mr. Trump could still move to block the testimony next week, given his history of changing his mind at the last minute about major decisions. But legal experts have said that Mr. Trump has a weak case to invoke executive privilege because he has publicly addressed his conversations with Mr. Comey, and any such move could carry serious political risks.

One of the administration officials said Friday evening that Mr. Trump wanted Mr. Comey to testify because the president had nothing to hide and wanted Mr. Comey’s statements to be publicly aired. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not want to be identified discussing a decision that had not been announced.

A White House spokesman did not respond to a message seeking comment. Earlier on Friday, the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, would not say what Mr. Trump planned to do.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/02/us/politics/trump-comey-russia.html

June 3, 2017

Trump wants this photo removed from the Internet.

June 2, 2017

Connecticut Joins Movement to Follow Paris Climate Accord Despite Trump's Withdrawal

Source: Hartford Courant

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Connecticut has joined a group of states agreeing to adhere to the terms of the Paris climate agreement despite President Donald Trump's move to withdraw the U.S. from the deal.

Three states led by Democratic governors — California, Washington and Oregon — formed the United States Climate Alliance, agreeing to adhere to the restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions in the deal and to serve as representatives for the country on the issue.

"Lacking a strong partner at the federal level, states must take action on one of the most pressing global issues of our lifetime," Malloy said Friday. "Connecticut has been a national leader in combating climate change and we have no plans of slowing down our efforts," he said.

Connecticut has already set goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are more aggressive than the Paris agreement. Under the Global Warming Solutions Act, which passed the legislature in 2008, the state is committed to reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent from 2001 levels by 2050.

Read more: http://www.courant.com/politics/hc-paris-accord-states-universities-20170602-story.html

June 2, 2017

The official "Fuck Vladimir Putin" thread

Fuck that KGB asshole and the orange shitgibbon he installed.

June 2, 2017

Trump sparked a CEO revolt. Here's why

http://money.cnn.com/2017/06/02/news/companies/trump-ceo-revolt/index.html?iid=ob_lockedrail_longstory_pool

CEOs are cautious by nature, circumspect in their words and actions.

So maybe the most amazing thing that occurred Thursday wasn't that President Trump pulled out of the Paris climate deal. It was the response from the corner office: A string of CEOs loudly voiced strong opposition to his action.

"It's an absolutely bizarre and unprecedented moment in American history," presidential historian Douglas Brinkely told CNNMoney. He called the reaction a sign of just how damaged the Trump brand is in the eyes of corporate America.

"Donald Trump is such a pariah figure that companies want zero association with his brand," Brinkley said. "He's championing dirty air and polluted water. He's anti-science. Why would a Fortune 500 CEO want to be associated with that?"

When even big business starts turning away, you know the Republicans are done.

June 2, 2017

Trump officials refuse to answer whether president believes climate change is a hoax

Source: Politico

By Madeline Conway

06/02/2017 02:32 PM EDT

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt and White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Friday both refused to answer repeated questions of whether President Donald Trump believes climate change is a hoax.

The two officials faced a barrage of questions during the White House briefing, one day after Trump sparked a global backlash by announcing the United States would withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement, joining Syria and Nicaragua as the only countries holding out from the pact.

Pruitt first dodged a question about whether Trump believes in climate change by suggesting that he and the president did not even discuss the topic over the course of their deliberations.

“What's interesting about all the discussions we had through the last several weeks have been focused on one singular issue: Is Paris good or not for this country,” Pruitt told reporters. “That's the discussions I've had with the president. That's been my focus. The focus remained on whether Paris put us at a disadvantage.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/02/does-donald-trump-think-climate-change-is-a-hoax-239073

June 2, 2017

Trump's tweets 'a gold mine' for Mueller probe

Source: Politico

The president's running public commentary gives investigators real-time insight into the intent behind his actions and could create problems for him or his aides.

By Darren Samuelsohn

06/02/2017 05:07 AM EDT

President Donald Trumps Twitter feed packed with more than 35,000 time-stamped missives dating to 2009 offers a treasure trove of evidence for Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his growing team of investigators, according to lawyers and veterans of past White House scandals.

Like emails, handwritten notes or transcribed Oval Office conversations, the @realdonaldtrump account gives investigators a detailed timeline of Trumps thoughts and opinions including where they might differ from official accounts and can also be used to establish intent, which can be critical in a criminal investigation.

Trump is not a target of the FBI or congressional probes, but his tweets could all be used by investigators as they seek to establish whether the president and his associates are being truthful in the explanations they give under oath about the nature of contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian officials. Trumps tweets could ultimately cause problems for the people around Trump, including aides who sent messages under Trumps account.

Theyre a gold mine, said Peter Zeidenberg, who served on the Justice Departments special prosecution team during the George W. Bush-era Valerie Plame Wilson investigation and now works as a partner at Arent Fox. They help paint a picture.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/02/trump-tweets-russia-probes-239040

June 2, 2017

As Trump Withdraws from The Paris Agreement,Al Gore Just Became the Biggest Movie Star of the Summer

"An Inconvenient Sequel" casts Gore as the hero we need now.

There were a lot of big movie stars making the rounds at the Cannes Film Festival, but none loomed larger than Al Gore. Attending a posh dinner for the festival’s 70th anniversary, he hobnobbed with a crowd of A-listers while receiving well-wishes from distributors and filmmakers alike. “The Beguiled” director Sofia Coppola paid her respects, as did Sony Pictures Classics co-president Michael Barker and Los Angeles Times critic Justin Chang.

And so did I. Everyone in the room felt compelled to approach Gore, thank him for his continuing efforts to save the planet, and wish him good luck on the road ahead — which has only gotten rockier with the news that President Donald Trump decided to pull out of the Paris Accord. Back then, just a few weeks ago, he was the loftiest figure in a very flashy room; now, he looms even larger.

http://www.indiewire.com/2017/06/paris-climate-agreement-donald-trump-al-gore-an-inconvenient-sequel-1201836067/

Can't wait to see this!

June 2, 2017

Exclusive: Special counsel Mueller to probe ex-Trump aide Flynn's Turkey ties

Source: Reuters

Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating possible ties between the Trump election campaign and Russia, is expanding his probe to include a grand jury investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, three sources told Reuters.

The move means Mueller’s politically charged inquiry will now look into Flynn’s paid work as a lobbyist for a Turkish businessman in 2016, in addition to contacts between Russian officials and Flynn and other Trump associates during and after the Nov. 8 presidential election.

Federal prosecutors in Virginia are investigating a deal between Flynn and Turkish businessman Ekim Alptekin as part of a grand jury criminal probe, according to a subpoena seen by Reuters.

Alptekin’s company, Netherlands-based Inovo BV, paid Flynn's consultancy $530,000 between September and November to produce a documentary and research on Fethullah Gulen, an exiled Turkish cleric living in the United States. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan blames Gulen for a failed coup last July.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-flynn-turkey-exclusive-idUSKBN18T276

May 31, 2017

Kushner donated to Senator Cory Booker's races as far back as 2009...

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/05/31/nj-sen-cory-booker-campaign-donations-jared-kushner-ivanka-trump/22118536/

"On Monday, the International Business Times reported that Kushner and other affiliated donors "delivered more than $41,000 to Booker's Senate campaign in 2013." The article sites data compiled by PoliticalMoneyLine.com.

In fact, Politico released a story about one fundraising event for Booker that year which was hosted by Ivanka Trump and held at her Manhattan home.

The International Business Times piece goes on to reveal that, in 2009, Booker's mayoral run was boosted with a $20,000 contribution from Kushner, based on state records."