May 31, 2019

What Prompted Trump's New Attacks on Mueller

May 31, 2019 at 9:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard

The New York Times‘ Maggie Haberman told CNN that she doesn’t believe President Trump ever actually read the Mueller report and that seeing Robert Mueller discuss his findings on television “spooked him.”

Said Haberman: “When he hears Mueller say that on TV, again, him interpreting everything through the screen that is in front of him, I think that that had much more resonance than almost anything else that has happened.”

She added: “He saw Mueller in the box, and I think that that spooked him.”

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https://politicalwire.com/2019/05/31/what-prompted-trumps-new-attacks-on-mueller/

May 31, 2019

Attorney General Barr: Mueller's Legal Analysis Did Not Reflect the View of the DOJ

Source: Mediaite


By Ken Meyer May 31st, 2019, 7:28 am

Attorney General Bill Barr disputed Robert Mueller’s legal assessments this week in response to the special counsel’s comments regarding President Donald Trump’s possible obstruction of justice.

In an interview with CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford, Barr was asked about why he chose to clear Trump on obstruction based on the evidence from Mueller’s report, even though the special counsel did not. Barr argued that his analysis determined that Mueller’s findings “would not amount to obstruction” as a matter of law.

“In other words,” Barr said, “we didn’t agree with the legal analysis — a lot of the legal analysis in the report. It did not reflect the views of the Department. It was the views of a particular lawyer or lawyers, and so we applied what we thought was the right law.” Barr also faced questions about critics who say he was too soft on the president and in contradiction of the assessments from Mueller’s report.

“The bottom line was Bob Mueller identified some episodes,” Barr replied. “He did not reach a conclusion. He provided both sides of the issue, and his conclusion was he wasn’t exonerating the president, but he wasn’t finding a crime either.”

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Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/tv/attorney-general-barr-muellers-legal-analysis-did-not-reflect-the-view-of-the-doj/

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Video @ the link, above

May 31, 2019

Republican Chuck Grassley Blasts Trump Tariff Announcement: A Misuse of Presidential Authority

Source: Mediaite


Republican Chuck Grassley Blasts Trump Tariff Announcement: A Misuse of Presidential Authority

By Caleb HoweMay 30th, 2019, 11:25 pm

President Trump dropped a trade war bomb on Thursday when he announced his intent to put in place new and harsh tariffs on goods from Mexico until the “illegal Immigration problem is remedied.” And among the many worried, negative reactions was one from Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, in a strongly worded statement.

“Trade policy and border security are separate issues. This is a misuse of presidential tariff authority and counter to congressional intent,” the statement begins. “Following through on this threat would seriously jeopardize passage USMCA, a central campaign pledge of President Trump’s and what could be a big victory for the country.”

Putting this in the context of harming Trump’s own signature USMCA (the replacement for NAFTA) is a smart frame, an effort to show that the tariffs are in conflict with the administration’s own trade goals.



Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/news/republican-chuck-grassley-blasts-trump-tariff-announcement-a-misuse-of-presidential-authority/

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Here’s the full statement.

Trade policy and border security are separate issues. This is a misuse of presidential tariff authority and counter to congressional intent. Following through on this threat would seriously jeopardize passage USMCA, a central campaign pledge of President Trump’s and what could be a big victory for the country. President Trump should consider alternatives, such as imposing a fee on the billions of dollars of remittances that annually leave the United States to Mexico, which only encourage illegal immigration and don’t help the U.S. economy. It could fund border security measures and would put economic pressure on Mexico without imposing a financial burden on U.S. consumers or harming American jobs. I’ve long supported reforms to remittance law, which haven’t become law because of opposition from big banks and other financial interests. Mexico must help get the border crisis under control and the president should use appropriate authorities to apply pressure. I’ve also called for a Safe Third Country Agreement so that Mexico cannot simply pass the buck to the United States. Mexico has a leading role to play here when asylum seekers are traversing their country without regard to the law and without consequence. Congress must also immediately fully fund border security and interior enforcement. Democrats should come to the table in a reasonable way and work to put an end to the security and humanitarian crisis on the border. I support nearly every one of President Trump’s immigration policies, but this is not one of them. I urge the president to consider other options.

May 31, 2019

Barr Breaks With Trump: Obama Officials Did Not Commit Treason

By Ken MeyerMay 31st, 2019, 8:28 am

Attorney General Bill Barr broke with President Donald Trump this week by throwing cold water on the idea that the Obama-era Justice Department committed “treason” with how they oversaw the start of the 2016 Russia investigation.

As Barr fielded numerous questions about Robert Mueller in his interview with CBS’ Jan Crawford, he was asked if he thinks Barack Obama‘s administration engaged in treasonous conduct as they handled their probe on whether the Trump campaign was connected to Russia’s election interference. Trump has accused the previous administration of treason for this matter on multiple occasions.

Crawford: “You don’t think they committed treason?”

Barr: “Not as a legal matter, no.”

Crawford: “But you have concerns about how they conducted the investigation?”

Barr: “Sometimes people can convince themselves that what they’re doing is in the higher interest, the better good. They don’t realize that what they’re doing is really antithetical to the democratic system we have.”

The statement from Barr comes after Trump granted him the authority to declassify all documents and information pertaining to 2016 surveillance of the president’s campaign. The intelligence community has also been ordered to cooperate with Barr’s investigation of alleged, improper “spying.”

Video, via CBS.

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/barr-breaks-with-trump-obama-officials-did-not-commit-treason/

May 30, 2019

Twitter is eroding your intelligence. Now there's data to prove it.

By Isaac Stanley-Becker May 30 at 4:48 AM

Twitter, used by 126 million people daily and now ubiquitous in some industries, has vowed to reform itself after being enlisted as a tool of misinformation and hate. But new evidence shows that the platform may be inflicting harm at an even more basic level. It could be making its users, well, a bit witless.

The finding by a team of Italian researchers is not necessarily that the crush of hashtags, likes and retweets destroys brain cells; that’s a question for neuroscientists, they said.

Rather, the economists, in a working paper published this month by the economics and finance department at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, found that Twitter not only fails to enhance intellectual attainment but substantially undermines it.

“It’s quite detrimental,” Gian Paolo Barbetta, a professor of economic policy at the private research university and the paper’s lead author, said in an interview with The Washington Post. “I can’t say whether something is changing in the mind, but I can say that something is definitely changing in the behavior and the performance.”

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/05/30/twitter-hurting-intelligence-not-smart-study/

May 29, 2019

Chris Christie: Mueller's Statement 'Definitely Contradicts' What AG Barr Said in His Summary

Chris Christie: Mueller’s Statement ‘Definitely Contradicts’ What AG Barr Said in His Summary

By Colby HallMay 29th, 2019, 12:31 pm

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie called into a special ABC News report that followed Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s rather stunning public press appearance, the first and only appearance since he started as Special Counsel just over two years ago.

Christie, a former US attorney himself and longtime friend and political ally of President Donald Trump, raised some eyebrows when he noted a clear contradiction between what Special Counsel Mueller said in Thursday’s press conference and what Attorney General William Barr said in the four-page summary released just days after receiving the 400+ page report.

Christie agreed with ABC News anchor George Stephanoupolous’ observation that Mueller’s comments have taken away the overall investigation away “from the legal processes and put it right back into the political arena.”

Christie — calling in over the phone — added “those comments by Bob Mueller about the other processes — obviously impeachment being the only constitutional way — definitely contradicts what the Attorney General said when he summarized Mueller’s report and said he then had to draw the conclusion on that. Mueller clearly contradicts that today in a very concise way.”

video at the link, below:
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/chris-christie-muellers-statement-definitely-contradicts-what-ag-barr-said-in-his-summary/

May 29, 2019

Mueller: Russia Tried to 'Damage' Clinton Campaign: Meddling 'Deserves Attention of Every American'

Mueller Says Russia Tried to ‘Damage’ Clinton Campaign: Meddling ‘Deserves Attention of Every American’

By Caleb EcarmaMay 29th, 2019, 11:42 am

In what Robert Muller says are his final public words about his investigation into 2016 election tampering, the departing special counsel said Russians interfered in the race “to damage” former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and argued the Kremlin attack “deserves the attention of every American.”

“We are formally closing the special counsel’s office and I’m resigning from the department of justice to return to private life,” Mueller began before laying out the allegations of election interference detailed in indictments.

“Russian intelligence officers who are part of the Russian military launched a concerted attack on our political system,” he said. “The indictment alleges that they used sophisticated cyber techniques to hack into computers and networks used by the Clinton campaign. They stole private information and then released that information through fake online identities and through the organization WikiLeaks. The releases were designed and timed to interfere with our election and to damage a presidential candidate.”

more + video
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/mueller-says-russia-tried-to-damage-clinton-campaign-meddling-deserves-attention-of-every-american/

May 29, 2019

Supreme Court rejects anti-transgender bathroom case & leaves inclusive policy in place

Supreme Court rejects anti-transgender bathroom case & leaves inclusive policy in place

It took a panel of federal appeals court panel of judges 15 minutes to unanimously rule in favor of transgender people. It didn't take long for the Supreme Court to agree either.

By Bil Browning Tuesday, May 28, 2019

The US Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to a Pennsylvania school district’s trans-inclusive bathroom policy. A group of students and their parents argued that they shouldn’t have to use the restroom or locker room with transgender peers.

The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the designated anti-LGBTQ hate group that masquerades as a Christian legal charity, brought the suit on behalf of the students. The group unsuccessfully argued that allowing trans students to use the same facilities was a form of sexual harassment.

A panel of federal appeals court judges had already ruled in favor of Boyertown School District in a startling quick decision. While the panel normally takes weeks or even months to rule, the three judge panel deliberated for about 15 minutes before coming back with a unanimous verdict in favor of the school district and trans students.

In a sharp rebuke to ADF and the anonymous students bringing the case, the court said forcing transgender students to use separate facilities would “publicly brand all transgender students with a scarlet ‘T,’ and they should not have to endure that as the price of attending their public school.”

more
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/05/supreme-court-rejects-anti-transgender-bathroom-case-leaves-inclusive-policy-place/

May 29, 2019

Giuliani Calls Mueller Remarks On Obstruction A 'Perversion!'

By Nicole Lafond
May 29, 2019 12:24 pm

President Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani was disappointed in special counsel Robert Mueller’s decision to again once explain that he would’ve exonerated Trump of obstruction if he were certain Trump hadn’t done it.

Giuliani called Mueller’s obstruction remarks during a press conference on Wednesday a “perversion” and a concerted effort between Mueller and the media to attack Trump.

“That’s the law. A sitting president can’t be charged. So then if that’s the case, then why did he offer all those opinions?” Giuliani said, calling into Fox News. “Why did he offer all those recommendations and suggestions? Why did he investigate? The reality is that he gave us his opinion on collusion and obstruction. His opinion is you can’t bring a case. Bob, that’s the end of it. That’s what a prosecutor does.

“You don’t prove negatives,” Giuliani continued. “It’s almost impossible to do that. What they’ve done here is a perversion, a combination of him and the media and I’m surprised with Bob. He is a better lawyer than that. I don’t know where this notion came that he has to exonerate.”

https://twitter.com/TPMLiveWire/status/1133770531394727937

more
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/giuliani-perversion-mueller-statement-obstruction

May 29, 2019

Trump Responds After Mueller Statement: 'The Case Is Closed!'

Source: Talking Points Memo



By David Taintor

May 29, 2019 11:44 am

President Trump tweeted Wednesday that “nothing changes from the Mueller Report” after special counsel Robert Mueller made a rare public appearance to announce his resignation and put a bow on his two-year investigation

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1133759237136494592

As he wrote in the report, Mueller said Wednesday that Trump couldn’t be charged.

“If we had had confidence that the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so,” Mueller said, adding, “under long-standing department policy, a president cannot be charged with a federal crime while he is in office.”

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Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-mueller-speaks