FBI's Comey: 'I have no information' to support Trump's wiretapping tweets
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Posted:Mar 21, 2017 11:49 pm
Last Updated:Mar 24, 2017 12:32 pm 32268 Views
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FBI Director James Comey on Monday publicly refuted President Donald Trump's claim that the Obama administration wiretapped Trump Tower before the 2016 election, saying neither he nor the Justice Department have evidence to back the president's explosive tweets.
"With respect to the president's tweets about alleged wiretapping directed at him by the prior administration, I have no information that supports those tweets. And we have looked carefully inside the FBI. The Department of Justice has asked me to assure you that the answer is the same for the Department of Justice and all its components," Comey testified before the House Intelligence Committee.
It marks perhaps the strongest rebuke yet of Trump's allegations, which the bipartisan leaders of both the House and Senate intelligence committees said they have not seen evidence to support.
National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers, who also testified Monday, said the U.S. did not ask Britain to spy on Trump. In defending Trump recently, White House press secretary Sean Spicer cited a Fox News analyst who alleged the key ally did so, prompting an angry rebuff from the intelligence agency GCHQ.
The White House has defended Trump's tweeted accusations even amid rebuttals from top congressional leaders and a key foreign ally. Despite Comey's public statement on behalf of the FBI and Justice Department, Spicer said that Trump has no plans to back away from the claim and suggested that all information may not yet be available.
Trump himself did not back down from the accusation as recently as Friday.
"On wiretapping by this past administration, at least we have something in common, perhaps," Trump told German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a joint press conference. The NSA allegedly monitored phone calls involving Merkel and her aides, straining relations with Trump's predecessor, President Barack Obama.
Following Comey's rebuttal, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on him to "retract his claim immediately."
The White House and its allies in recent days have attempted to change the interpretation of Trump's explosive tweets from earlier this month. In four separate statements on Twitter, Trump said he was the target of a wiretap.
In two, Trump put quotes around the term, which Spicer said means he may not have meant it literally. Still, in one of those tweets, Trump called it a "fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October."
Spicer argued on Thursday that Trump referred to "broad surveillance," not a physical wiretap. He contended that reporters have focused too much on the president's accusation, which he made without citing evidence, and not statements denying that Trump campaign officials had ties with Russian officials.
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Weekend joke - 3 jokes on St. Patrick's Day
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Posted:Mar 17, 2017 8:35 pm
Last Updated:Mar 21, 2017 1:55 pm 26832 Views
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Mick and Paddy were walking in Covent Garden in London. It was their first week in the capital and they were a bit naïve.
'Lord above Paddy, this is a great city,' says Mick.
'Why's that Mick?' responds Paddy.
'Well, to be sure,' explains Mick, 'where else in the world would a complete stranger come up to you, make idle chat, invite you to dinner and then offer you to spend the night at their house?'
'Begorrah, ' splutters Paddy, 'did that happen to you?'
'No,' says Mick, 'but it happens to my beautiful sister all the time.'
Kieran O'Connor always slept with his gun under his pillow. Hearing a noise at the foot of the bed, he shot off his big toe.
'Thank the Lord I wasn't sleeping at the other end of the bed,' Kieran said to his friends in Donegal's pub. 'I would have blown my head off.'
An Irishman, by the name of O'Malley proposed to his girl on St. Patrick's Day. He gave her a ring with a synthetic diamond. The excited young lass showed it to her father, a jeweller. He took one look at it and saw it wasn't real.
The young lass on learning it wasn't real returned to her future husband. She protested vehemently about his cheapness.
'It was in honour of St. Patrick's Day, 'he smiled.
'I gave you a sham rock.'
p.s. As a reminder, I am NOT the original writer of all the "Weekend jokes", so I am NOT responsible for them. Those "weekend jokes" are from my Las Vegas real estate agent weekly.
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Ryan, Senate Intel committee see no evidence of Trump wiretap
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Posted:Mar 16, 2017 5:35 pm
Last Updated:Mar 21, 2017 2:39 pm 32002 Views
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The speaker of the House, the Senate Intelligence Committee chairman and the ranking Democrat on the committee said Thursday that they've seen no evidence of President Donald Trump's accusation that he was wiretapped last year by his predecessor.
Senate Intelligence Committee chair Richard Burr and ranking member Mark Warner issued a statement Thursday, saying "based on the information available to us, we see no indications that Trump Tower was the subject of surveillance by any element of the United States government either before or after Election Day 2016."
The statement from the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee marks the clearest and strongest refutation of Trump's allegations since the President first made them two weeks ago. The senators statement also addresses Trump's more recent statement that he was not merely speaking about wiretapping specifically.
The White House on Thursday said the statement did not shake their confidence in the accusation. Press secretary Sean Spicer, asked to respond to the accusation, read an extensive litany of news reports from the podium that showed intelligence agencies' interest in Trump's activities, but none that actually corroborated Trump's claim.
"He stands by it," Spicer said, characterizing the Intelligence Committee's statement as not final. "They have yet to go through the information."
Spicer engaged in a lengthy exchange with CNN's Jim Acosta over whether the President stands by his allegation that he was wiretapped specifically and not under surveillance in general.
"We talked about this several days ago," Spicer said. "The bottom line is that the investigation by the House and Senate has not been provided all the information."
The leaders of the House Intelligence Committee have said they have yet to see any evidence of wiretapping, but have yet to flatly rule out all surveillance. House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes said Wednesday that it was possible that Trump aides were surveilled via "incidental" collection.
Ranking Democrat of the House committee Adam Schiff told CNN that he expects FBI Director James Comey to also say that he's seen no evidence of Trump's claim when the director testifies before his committee Monday.
"Because there's no evidence of this at all," Schiff told CNN. "But again you can see the President trying to say, 'Well I didn't mean what I said or what I said could mean various different things' — he was very specific in what he said. So we'll ask the director to address that very specific allegation."
Their statement came hours after House Speaker Paul Ryan said that "no such wiretap existed," citing intelligence reports to House leaders.
"The intelligence committees, in their continuing, widening, ongoing investigations of all things Russia, got to the bottom -- at least so far with respect to our intelligence community -- that no such wiretap existed," Ryan said in response to a question from CNN at a news conference.
Ryan's comment follows Trump and the White House retreating from the President's stunning accusation in a tweet two weeks ago.
"When I say wiretapping, those words were in quotes. That really covers -- because wiretapping is pretty old-fashioned stuff -- but that really covers surveillance and many other things. And nobody ever talks about the fact that it was in quotes, but that's a very important thing," Trump told Fox News Wednesday.
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Prominent US Attorney Preet Bharara says he was 'fired' after not resigning
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Posted:Mar 11, 2017 10:12 pm
Last Updated:Mar 20, 2017 10:05 am 29322 Views
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The most prominent U.S. attorney in the nation, Preet Bharara, announced Saturday that he was "fired" after he did not resign.
"Today, I was fired from my position as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York," Bharara said in a statement late Saturday afternoon. "Serving my country as U.S. attorney here for the past seven years will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life, no matter what else I do or how long I live."
Earlier in the afternoon, Bharara tweeted, "I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired."
His tweet came close to 24 hours after the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday asked all U.S. attorneys remaining as holdovers from the Obama administration to step down.
By Friday night, many who had been asked to leave -- including the U.S. attorneys in New Jersey, Rhode Island, Minnesota and Arkansas -— had publicly announced their departure.
But Bharara, who had said in November that President Trump had asked him to stay on, had still not resigned as of midday Saturday.
A Justice Department official told ABC News that Dana Boente, the acting U.S. deputy attorney general, spoke with Bharara on Saturday afternoon.
Bharara wanted to know if the request for a resignation applied to him, and he was told it did, according to the official.
A person briefed on the situation told ABC News that Bharara believed that his discussions in November with then-President-elect Trump and Sen. Jeff Sessions, who has since become attorney general, concluded with an agreement that Bharara would remain in his post during Trump's term as president.
On Thursday, Bharara received a voicemail from an assistant to Trump, asking him to call back to speak to the president, according to an official briefed on the matter. Bharara didn't know the subject and had no reason to believe he was being fired, according to the official.
Bharara believed it would be a violation of DOJ protocol to have any call with the president, so he called Sessions' chief of staff, who agreed, the official said. Bharara told the Sessions aide he would be calling Trump's assistant back out of professional respect to say that he could not speak with the president, per Justice Department policy, and that is what he did, according to the official.
Asked about the account, the U.S. attorney's office spokesperson had no comment beyond Bharara's statement and tweet from earlier today.
When Bharara was told Friday that he, along with the other U.S. attorney holdovers, would have to resign, he asked if the order applied to him given his agreement with Trump and Sessions.
The acting U.S. deputy attorney general said he did not know the answer, according to the person briefed on the matter, and as of this morning, Bharara still did not have an answer and had not submitted his resignation.
When Bharara met with Trump and Sessions in November, it was clear he was asked to stay on, according to the person briefed on the situation. What was apparently not made explicit was whether that request applied to Trump's full term or just the transition period. Bharara had believed it was for the full term.
"The president-elect asked, presumably because he's a New Yorker and is aware of the great work that our office has done over the past seven years, asked to meet with me to discuss whether or not I'd be prepared to stay on as the United States attorney to do the work as we have done it, independently, without fear or favor for the last seven years,” Bharara told reporters after his meeting with Trump at Trump Tower on Nov. 30. "I have already spoken to Sen. Sessions, who is as you know is the nominee to be the attorney general. He also asked that I stay on, and so I expect that I will be continuing to work at the Southern District.”
It is not unusual for U.S. attorneys, who are appointed by presidents, to be asked to resign when a new president takes office, especially when there is a change of party at the White House.
The Justice Department has 93 U.S. attorneys covering 94 districts. About half of those from the Obama administration had already resigned before Friday, leaving 46 still in place.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked Friday for the prompt resignations of the 46 U.S. attorneys who remain from President Obama’s administration.
On Friday night, President Trump called two of them -- Boente and Rod Rosenstein -- to inform them he has declined to accept their resignations, a senior administration official told ABC News.
Boente, the acting deputy attorney general, is the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Rosenstein, the U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland, is Trump’s nominee for deputy attorney general.
“As was the case in prior transitions, many of the United States attorneys nominated by the previous administration already have left the Department of Justice,” agency spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said in a statement Friday. “The attorney general has now asked the remaining 46 presidentially appointed U.S. attorneys to tender their resignations in order to ensure a uniform transition.”
Until new U.S. attorneys are confirmed, Flores said career prosecutors in the 94 districts will continue overseeing cases. The Trump administration has not yet nominated any new U.S. attorneys.
In place of Bharara in Manhattan, his former deputy, Joon H. Kim, is now acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Bharara said in his statement.
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Weekend joke - The Irish
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Posted:Mar 10, 2017 5:12 pm
Last Updated:Mar 27, 2024 11:57 am 26427 Views
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An Irish had not been home for over 5 years.
Upon her return, her father yelled at her,
"Where have ye been all this time?
Why did ye not write to us? Not even an X'mas card.
Why didn't ye call?
Can ye not understand what ye put yer old Mother thru?"
The girl, crying, replied, Sniff, sniff...."Dad.....I was too embarrassed,
see?
I became a ."
"Ye what!!? Out of here, ye Sinner!
You're a disgrace to this Catholic family, yer are."
"Daddy...
I just came back to give Mammy this luxurious fur coat, title deed to a 3 bedroom condo.
For my little brother Remus, this gold Rolex.
And for ye Daddy, the sparkling Mercedes limited edition convertible that's parked outside, and Yes, plus a membership to the Limerick Country Club.
She takes a breath and continues, "and an invitation for ye all to spend New Years Eve on board my yacht in the Caribbean."
"Now what was it ye said ye had become?" says Dad.
Girl, crying again, Sniff, sniff...."A Daddy!" Sniff, sniff.
"Oh! Be Jesus! Ye scared me half to death girl!
I thought ye said a PROTESTANT.
Come here and give yer old Daddy a big hug."
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South Korean President Impeached
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Posted:Mar 10, 2017 4:38 am
Last Updated:Mar 10, 2017 11:36 pm 26902 Views
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Thursday night following a bribery scandal. The Constitutional Court upheld a parliamentary motion to dismiss her and Park could now face criminal charges. Elections for a new president must now be held within 60 days and it appears as if progressive candidate Moon Jae-in is in a favorite to win. The scandal surrounding the impeached president stems from her involvement with a lifelong friend Choi Soon-sil. Choi is accused of getting bribes from companies like Samsung in return for using her relationship with Park to get favorable treatment for companies. Prosecutors recommended 13 charges against Park including abuse of power, coercion of donations and the sharing of state secrets.
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Internet quickly turns GOP's Obamacare replacement plan into a meme
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Posted:Mar 7, 2017 10:00 pm
Last Updated:Mar 11, 2017 8:56 pm 31866 Views
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The Republicans unveiled their healthcare plan on Monday night and it's looking like a weak replacement for Obamacare.
It defunds Planned Parenthood, rolls back the Medicaid expansion, restricts abortion, and lets insurers jack up premiums by 30 percent if there's a lapse in coverage. Oh! And there's a big tax cut for CEOs making more than $500,000 and a weirdly specific ban on lottery winners getting Medicaid.
Needless to say, people were not impressed, and they responded with the internet's greatest tool for self-expression: memes.
Considering a few factors — the Democrats hate it, some conservatives think it's too generous, and Republicans haven't revealed how much it would cost or how many people would lose coverage —there's a chance the bill might not pass.
Even if it dies, at least it inspired a pretty great meme.
People posted photos to compare Obama Care (Affordable Care Act) vs. GOP Replacement.
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Trump’s New Travel Ban Blocks Migrants From Six Nations, Sparing Iraq
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Posted:Mar 6, 2017 7:02 pm
Last Updated:Mar 6, 2017 8:16 pm 25916 Views
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President Trump signed an executive order on Monday blocking citizens of six predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States, the most significant hardening of immigration policy in generations, even with changes intended to blunt legal and political opposition.
The order was revised to avoid the tumult and protests that engulfed the nation’s airports after Mr. Trump signed his first immigration directive on Jan. 27. That order was ultimately blocked by a federal appeals court.
The new order continued to impose a 90-day ban on travelers, but it removed Iraq, a redaction requested by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who feared it would hamper coordination to defeat the Islamic State, according to administration officials.
It also exempts permanent residents and current visa holders, and drops language offering preferential status to persecuted religious minorities, a provision widely interpreted as favoring other religious groups over Muslims. In addition, it reversed an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria, replacing it with a 120-day freeze that requires review and renewal.
But the heart of the sweeping executive action is still intact, reflecting Mr. Trump’s “America first” pledge to safeguard against what he has portrayed as a hidden influx of terrorists and criminals — a hard-line campaign promise that resonated deeply with white working-class voters.
The new order retains central elements of the old one, cutting the number of refugees admitted to the United States each year to 50,000 from about 110,000. Mr. Trump is also leaving open the possibility of expanding the ban to other countries, or even putting Iraq back on the banned list if the country’s leaders fail to comply with a requirement that they increase intelligence sharing, officials said.
“Unregulated, unvetted travel is not a universal privilege, especially when national security is at stake,” said John F. Kelly, the homeland security secretary, appearing alongside Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson and Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building in Washington on Monday.
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Without evidence, Trump accuses Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower
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Posted:Mar 5, 2017 5:03 pm
Last Updated:Mar 13, 2017 7:58 am 31728 Views
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President Trump’s assertion that former President Barack Obama wiretapped his phones before the election dominated the political talk shows on Sunday. Trump provided no evidence to back up the claim, and a spokesman for the former president branded the accusation as “simply false.”
Across the networks, the White House defended the commander in chief’s call for a congressional investigation into the matter, while Democratic lawmakers and former Obama administration officials dismissed the accusation as absurd.
On ABC’s “This Week,” White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tried to reframe Trump’s wiretapping claim — which he stated as a fact — as something that may have happened.
“All we’re saying is let’s take a closer look,” Huckabee Sanders said. “Let’s look into this. If this happened, if this is accurate, this is the biggest overreach and the biggest scandal.”
“If, if, if, if,” host Martha Raddatz countered. “Why is the president saying it did happen?”
“I think he’s going off of information that he’s seen that has led him to believe that this is a very real potential,” Huckabee Sanders replied. “And if it is, this is the greatest overreach and the greatest abuse of power that I think we have ever seen and a huge attack on democracy itself. And the American people have a right to know if this took place.”
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., was among those who labeled the suggestion that Obama tapped Trump’s phones as nonsense.
“The president of the United States did not tap Donald Trump’s phone,” Franken said on “This Week.” “I mean, that’s just ridiculous.”
Josh Earnest, who served as White House press secretary under Obama, agreed.
“Let me just remove the mystery here and explain to you and your viewers why it is false to say that President Obama ordered a wiretap of Trump Tower,” Earnest said. “This may come as a surprise to the current occupant of the Oval Office, but the president of the United States does not have the authority to unilaterally order the wiretapping of an American citizen.”
If the FBI decided to use its wiretapping authority, Earnest explained, “it would require FBI investigators, officials at the Department of Justice going to a federal judge, and making a case, and demonstrating probable cause to use that authority to conduct the investigation.”
On CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Trump’s tweets show “the president doesn’t understand how you obtain a wiretap.”
“To make that type of claim without any evidence is, I think, very reckless,” Warner said.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper categorically denied any suggestion that communications at Trump Tower were wiretapped before the election.
“There was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president-elect at the time, as a candidate, or against his campaign,” Clapper said.
When asked by host Chuck Todd whether he could confirm or deny if a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Act order (or FISA) for such wiretapping existed, Clapper declared, “I can deny it.”
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Elon Musk Brought His 68-Year-Old Model Mom to the Oscar Parties
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Posted:Mar 1, 2017 9:43 pm
Last Updated:Mar 4, 2017 10:34 pm 30716 Views
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Elon Musk knows sometimes the best date on Oscar night is the woman who raised you. Musk brought his 68-year-old former supermodel mother Maye to the Vanity Fair Oscar party. Or perhaps Maye brought Elon?
The Musks rubbed elbows with Hollywood at the night’s most glamorous Academy Awards party. Musk dressed in a metallic checkered dress that looks far better in person than that description makes it sound. She finished the look with a fur jacket perched on her shoulders, dangling earrings that complemented her silver bob, and a deep burgundy lip.
“I was famous until Elon became famous,” Musk told New York Times last year. Now, a combination of her ’s prominence, the acceptability of diversity in age in modeling, and her own “It” factor has Musk back in the spotlight.
After a career that has taken her from Miss South Africa to New York Fashion Week to a Beyoncé video, Musk has spent the past year attending high profile events like Art Basel and the Met Gala. Last year, she walked the New York Fashion Week runway for Malon Breton.
“I just want to work,” she’s said. The industry seems to be happy to comply.
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