December 2, 2018

Kremlin hopes Putin and Trump can hold talks before June next year

Source: Reuters



DECEMBER 2, 2018 / 6:51 AM / UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The Kremlin hopes that U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin can meet and hold talks before a G20 summit in Japan in June next year, a Kremlin aide said on Saturday.

Trump canceled a planned meeting with Putin at the G20 summit in Argentina this weekend citing unease over Russia’s Nov. 25 seizure of three Ukrainian navy ships and their crews.

Trump and Putin instead had a very brief meeting when they bumped into each other on the sidelines of the summit in Buenos Aires, but did not hold proper talks.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters he hoped it would be possible for the two leaders to meet properly before too long.


Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-g20-argentina-putin-trump/kremlin-hopes-putin-and-trump-can-hold-talks-before-june-next-year-idUSKBN1O10DS?il=0

December 2, 2018

Comey says he's reached agreement with Republicans for congressional testimony

Source: The Hill



BY MEGAN KELLER - 12/02/18 10:59 AM EST

Former FBI director James Comey tweeted Sunday that he had reached a deal with Republican lawmakers regarding his testimony before Congress.

"Grateful for a fair hearing from judge. Hard to protect my rights without being in contempt, which I don’t believe in," Comey wrote on Twitter.

"So will sit in the dark, but Republicans agree I’m free to talk when done and transcript released in 24 hours," he added.

"This is the closest I can get to public testimony."

https://twitter.com/Comey/status/1069254085591863296

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/419333-comey-says-he-agreed-to-testify-privately-and-have-transcript-released

December 2, 2018

On Actual Vote Fraud In N.C. Race, Trump Is Silent

Oliver Willis

December 2, 2018 5:36 am

Evidence is mounting that voter fraud may have benefitted a Republican congressional candidate in North Carolina.

Yet despite Trump’s obsession with voter fraud, he is suddenly silent now that his own party — and a candidate he personally endorsed — might be in trouble for it.

Mark Harris declared victory after vote tallies showed him leading Democrat Dan McCready by a narrow 905-vote margin in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District. But the state board of elections has now twice declined to certify these results due to serious concerns about voting irregularities. And the Associated Press has officially revoked its projection that Harris had won, making the race once again “too close to call.”

The board of elections will be holding an evidentiary hearing “to assure that the election is determined without taint,” said Joshua Malcolm, vice chairman of the North Carolina State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement.

There is a lot to investigate — including shocking allegations that someone associated with the Harris campaign coordinated an effort to either throw away or fraudulently fill in absentee ballots cast by Democratic voters.

This isn’t the same kind of “voter fraud” that Trump and Republicans love to spread conspiracy theories about. They claim that in-person voter fraud is rampant — but in reality, it’s so rare that it’s practically nonexistent.

more
http://www.nationalmemo.com/on-actual-vote-fraud-in-n-c-race-trump-is-silent/

December 2, 2018

Sherrod Brown: 'Don't know' if I'm best candidate to challenge Trump in 2020

BY MICHAEL BURKE - 12/02/18 10:16 AM EST

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who is mulling a bid for president in 2020, said Sunday that he doesn't know if he would be the best candidate to challenge President Trump.

“I don’t know. … I’ve said before, I didn’t dream all my life to be president, I wanted to play center field for the Cleveland Indians. That door has apparently closed," Brown said on CNN's "State of the Union."

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1069241543318532097

But Brown added that he has been "pretty overwhelmed" with the number of people who approached him about running after the midterm election and said he believes his record of supporting workers would appeal to voters across the country.

Brown said he would fight for "better tax and trade policies," better health care and better consumer protections.

more
https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/419328-sherrod-brown-dont-know-if-im-best-candidate-to-challenge-trump-in

December 2, 2018

Roger Stone says he hasn't spoken to Trump about potential pardon

[blockquotehttps://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1069238800876859392

https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1069237652379987968



The news article regarding the comments;
https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/419324-roger-stone-says-he-hasnt-spoken-to-trump-about-potential-pardon

December 2, 2018

Senate Republican: 'Big mistake' if Cohen lied to intelligence committee

BY MEGAN KELLER - 12/02/18 09:49 AM EST

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said Sunday that President Trump's former personal attorney allegedly lying to a congressional committee is a "big mistake" and he's glad special counsel Robert Mueller is taking it "seriously."

"I certainly do think that lying to the [Senate] Intelligence Committee, which I am a part of, is a big mistake for whoever does it and creates lots of problems for the committee itself," Blunt told "Fox News Sunday," adding that one lie can throw off an entire investigation and waste hours of work. The Senate Intelligence Committee has investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election.

"I’m glad to see the special prosecutor seeing that particular crime seriously," he added.

Cohen pleaded guilty last week to making misstatements to Congress while testifying about his contacts with Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign.

more
https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/419323-senate-republican-im-glad-mueller-is-taking-lying-to-the-senate

December 2, 2018

Trump says he expects to meet with North Korea's Kim early next year

Source: The Hill



BY BRETT SAMUELS - 12/02/18 08:35 AM EST

President Trump said late Saturday he expects to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in January or February.

The president told reporters aboard Air Force One as he traveled home from the G-20 Summit in Argentina that three sites have been suggested for a follow-up meeting with Kim. He did not specify where the sites were.

Asked if Kim would visit the U.S. at some point, Trump said "at some point, yeah."

"We're getting along very well," Trump said. "We have a good relationship."



Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/419315-trump-says-he-expects-to-meet-with-north-koreas-kim-in-january-or

December 2, 2018

Senate Republican: Skeptics of Trump trade policy should be encouraged

BY MEGAN KELLER - 12/02/18 09:32 AM EST

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said Sunday that skeptics of President Trump's trade policies should be encouraged by recent developments.

"People like me who’ve really been concerned about the president’s stated trade policy can take some encouragement about what happened in the last couple days," Blunt told "Fox News Sunday."

"The signing of the U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement, that's a big step that six months ago or even just a few weeks ago we were concerned we would not be making that kind of progress."

"And on the Chinese front...we need more specifics here," Blunt said, regarding the ceasefire reached with the U.S. in what has been an escalating trade war.
"This has hurt a lot of Missouri farm families and farm families all over the country, but the president's goal to get China in a better and fairer place on trade is the right goal."

more
https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/419321-blunt-skeptics-of-trump-trade-policy-should-be-encouraged

December 2, 2018

Trump assents to shutdown delay

Source: Politico



By ANDREW RESTUCCIA 12/02/2018 07:55 AM EST

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — President Donald Trump said he would back a two-week delay of a government shutdown after the death of former President George H.W. Bush.

"If they [lawmakers] come, which they have, to talk about an extension because of President Bush's passing, I would absolutely consider it and probably give it,” he told reporters while returning overnight Saturday from the G-20 summit in Argentina.

The government had been scheduled to shut down once funding runs out on Dec. 7 as lawmakers spar over funding for a border wall.

Bush is set to lie in state at the Capitol this week after his death late Friday.

###

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/02/trump-assents-to-shutdown-delay-1037152

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/02/trump-assents-to-shutdown-delay-1037152

December 2, 2018

Bush's Death Highlights Trump's Isolation

December 1, 2018 at 2:56 pm EST By Taegan Goddard

Politico: “President George H.W. Bush was a war hero, an internationalist who played a consequential role in maintaining the post-war world order. In domestic politics, he is remembered as a pillar of the Republican establishment, a pragmatist who pined for a ‘kinder, gentler nation.'”

“President Donald J. Trump represents a starkly different strain of Republicanism, and a rejection of nearly all of Bush’s values. And as Trump played global statesman at the G-20 summit here against the backdrop of a former president’s passing, many world leaders clearly missed the predictability of the Bush years and the America he represented.”

###

https://politicalwire.com/2018/12/01/bushs-death-highlights-trumps-isolation/