Main news and opinions, selected, compiled, and occasionally commented on by Mike Nova
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| U.S. to Expand Intelligence Cooperation With Turkey | |||
The U.S. is beefing up joint intelligence efforts with Turkey to help that government better target terrorists in the region, in an apparent bid to alleviate Turkish anxieties as the Pentagon implements a plan to arm Kurdish forces operating inside Syria.  | |||
| Trump, Top Russian Envoy Don't Discuss Alleged Meddling in U.S. Election | |||
President Donald Trumpdidnt raise the issue of Russias alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. elections during an Oval Office meeting on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, dismissing the hacking charges as not serious.  | |||
| Frank Underwood Has Some Thoughts On Why Donald Trump Fired James Comey - HuffPost | |||
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| President Trump's Approval Rating Has Dropped to a Near-Record Low - TIME | |||
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| FBI chief aimed to expand Russia probe before Trump fired him: source - Reuters | |||
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| More very bad news for Trump: His poll numbers just hit a bunch of new lows - Washington Post | |||
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| Comey sought more resources for Russia probe days before he was fired by President Trump, officials say - Washington Post | |||
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| The first 3 words that come to voters' minds when they hear 'Trump' are 'idiot,' 'incompetent,' and 'liar' - The Week Magazine | |||
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| Trump greets Russian diplomat at center of spying allegations - New York Post | |||
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| The Guardian view on Trumps behaviour: tyrannical not presidential | Editorial | |||
The man in the White House is governing like he is the president of a banana republic, not the leader of the oldest constitutional government in modern timesThe decision of Donald Trump to fire the person overseeing an investigation into him is a turning point in the tragedy of the United States 45th presidency. At least when Richard Nixon did so, it was a blatant and doomed attempt to save his presidency. Mr Trump says he sacked his FBI director, James Comey, because he was not doing a good job and that he had been unfair to Hillary Clinton over claims of misuse of a private email server. This is not remotely credible: Mr Trump spent last years campaign saying Mrs Clinton should be locked up for such carelessness, and kept Mr Comey in place for four months after taking office. No facts have changed. Instead Mr Trump has meddled in a federal investigation, which by all accounts was expanding rather than shrinking, into plausible claims that he owes his office to the clandestine intervention by a hostile foreign spy service. Mr Trumps act is a threat to US governance. It looks ominously part of a pattern of trespassing beyond constitutional boundaries. Mr Trump fires officials who cross him. He attacks judges when they find his policies unlawful. He refuses to release his tax returns, which might reveal conflicts of interest. He uses blind trusts that are not blind, while his children comingle private and public business. Power in the Trump presidency is held by the presidents family, and what appears to be incompetent followers whose main contribution is loyalty rather than expertise. In claiming that Mr Comey had given him three private assurances that he wasnt under investigation, Mr Trump broke a protocol long-observed: that presidents do not publicly comment on an ongoing investigation. Especially one that centres on them. In short, Mr Trump is governing like he is the president of a banana republic, not the leader of the oldest constitutional government of modern times. Continue reading... | |||
| How To Know if The Trump-Russia Story Has Momentum - FiveThirtyEight | |||
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| Comey requested more resources for Russia inquiry before firing, reports say | |||
FBI directors abrupt dismissal has shaken Washington and triggered questions and fears that the US is facing its biggest constitutional crisis since Watergate The FBI director, James Comey, Comeys abrupt dismissal has shaken Washington, triggering a torrent of unanswered questions and fears that America is facing its biggest constitutional crisis since the Watergate scandal. Related: James Comey fired 'days after requesting Russia inquiry resources' live Related: Russia infiltrates White House and toys with US media over talk with Trump Continue reading... | |||
| Trump's Been Talking About His Business Interests in Russia for 30 Years - The Atlantic | |||
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| Senate is now probing the Donald Trump Taj Mahal money laundering case we told you about last month | |||
Four weeks ago Palmer Report brought you the story of the U.S. Treasury department having busted Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal hotel for money laundering in the summer of 2015. The case was visible on the Treasury’s website all along, but had gone completely unreported by any news outlet until our research team managed to dig it up. Now the Senate Intel Committee is probing that same money laundering fine. Back on April 15th, we brought you the story of how the Taj Mahal, which was part-owned by Donald Trump at the time, had been fined $10 million by the FinCEN division of the U.S. Treasury for years of money laundering violations (link). Even though our source was the U.S. Treasury website (link), we were told by the peanut gallery that the story couldn’t be “real” or else it would have been all over cable news during the election cycle. But now CNBC is reporting that the Senate Intelligence Committee is in fact asking the Treasury for details on the $10 million money laundering fine (link). This is a crucial development because this wasn’t a mere allegation of money laundering, but rather a ruling that the Taj Mahal did launder money. The fine was a civil penalty, meaning that no judge or jury were involved. But in terms of civil law, Trump’s hotel did commit money laundering. As we previously documented, Trump himself owned a declining but significant stake in the hotel during the years in which his Taj Mahal was laundering money. This will serve to significantly weaken any attempt on Donald Trump’s part to believably fend off any upcoming money laundering charges as New York State comes after him on RICO charges. We don’t know if the Senate committee saw our reporting on the Taj Mahal money laundering and decided to follow up on it, or if this is a coincidence. But it points to the importance of independent political reporting. Help fund Palmer Report The post Senate is now probing the Donald Trump Taj Mahal money laundering case we told you about last month appeared first on Palmer Report. | |||
| Donald Trump Thought of as 'Idiot,' 'Liar,' and 'Strong,' Quinnipiac Poll Shows - U.S. News & World Report | |||
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| Robert Hanssen: American Traitor - History | |||
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| What US-Russia crisis? Trump seeks closer ties in WH meeting - GoErie.com | |||
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| U.S. Senator confirms grand jury is now underway in Donald Trump case in New York State | |||
For weeks, Palmer Report has been bringing you the story of multiple federal grand juries already underway in Eastern Virginia in Donald Trump’s Russia scandal, a fact which was finally acknowledged by CNN last night. We’ve also been bringing you the story of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s own case against Trump and now a U.S. Senator has confirmed that a grand jury is also underway in that New York Case. The revelation comes from U.S Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, who conducted a television interview about the matter and then posted it to his own official Twitter account today. At around the 1:40 mark of the interview, Senator Markey first confirms what was already known: “Subpoenas have now been issued in Northern Virginia with regard to General Flynn and General Flynn’s associates.” But then he adds the detail about the separate state level case: “a grand jury has been empaneled up in New York.” Our earlier reporting on this matter, based on sourcing first shared by Democratic insider Claude Taylor and later confirmed by Republican insider Rick Wilson, is that there are two separate federal cases underway regarding Donald Trump. One is a RICO (money laundering) case and the other is a FARA (foreign agent) case. Taylor has gone on to reveal that New York AG Schneiderman is pursuing his own state level RICO case against Donald Trump and his organization and associates (link), and this appears to be the grand jury “up in New York” that Senator Ed Markey is now confirming. Watch the Senator reveal the New York grand jury information in the video below: 
The post U.S. Senator confirms grand jury is now underway in Donald Trump case in New York State appeared first on Palmer Report. | |||
| Comey firing roils Washington, prompts calls for independent investigation and divides Republicans - Washington Post | |||
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| Hourly News Summary: NPR News: 05-10-2017 5PM ET | |||
NPR News: 05-10-2017 5PM ET Download audio: https://play.podtrac.com/npr-500005/npr.mc.tritondigital.com/NPR_500005/media/anon.npr-mp3/npr/newscasts/2017/05/10/newscast170627.mp3?orgId=1&d=300&p=500005&story=527832272&t=podcast&e=527832272&ft=pod&f=500005 | |||
| Hourly News Summary: NPR News: 05-10-2017 4PM ET | |||
NPR News: 05-10-2017 4PM ET Download audio: https://play.podtrac.com/npr-500005/npr.mc.tritondigital.com/NPR_500005/media/anon.npr-mp3/npr/newscasts/2017/05/10/newscast160629.mp3?orgId=1&d=300&p=500005&story=527821036&t=podcast&e=527821036&ft=pod&f=500005 | |||
| With Awkward Timing, Trump Meets Top Russian Official - New York Times | |||
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| Stephen King's Anti-Trump Tweets Are Amazingly Relentless - HuffPost | |||
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| Russia probe: Senate requests Trump documents from agency that monitors money laundering - CNBC | |||
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| Trump meets Putin foreign minister & RUSSIA puts out photo - Daily Mail | |||
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Reuters |
FBI chief aimed to expand Russia probe before Trump fired him: source
Reuters WASHINGTON FBI Director James Comey sought to expand his agency's probe into allegedRussian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election days before President Donald Trump fired him on Tuesday, a congressional source said on Wednesday. With the ... Behind Comey's firing: An enraged Trump, fuming about RussiaPolitico Ex-FBI chief James Comey 'requested more funds for Russia probe' just days before being sacked by Donald TrumpTelegraph.co.uk Trump's firing of Comey seems 'suicidal' - but it could 'energize' the Russia probeBusiness Insider The Independent -Salon -CNN all 4,652 news articles » |
Our country could be careening towards a constitutional crisis. I spoke with @CNNnewsroom about #ComeyFiring. Watch here ↓
New York Times |
With Awkward Timing, Trump Meets Top Russian Official
New York Times WASHINGTON — What a day for President Trump's first face-to-face meeting with a top Russian official. Only hours after dismissing James B. Comey as director of the F.B.I., amid an investigation into the Trump campaign's contacts with Russian officials ... Trump Russia meeting: Sergei Lavrov praises Trump and Tillerson after talksBBC News Trump Hosts Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov And Ambassador Kislyak At White HouseNPR Trump meets Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov amid Comey firestormFox News CNN -Politico -NBCNews.com all 383 news articles » |
The New Yorker |
Donald Trump's Firing of James Comey Is an Attack on American Democracy
The New Yorker On Tuesday evening, Donald Trump acted like a despot. Without warning or provocation, he summarily fired the independent-minded director of the F.B.I., James Comey. Comey had been overseeing an investigation into whether there was any collusion ... Donald Trump Is Lying Again, Now About James ComeyNew York Times In Firing FBI Director James Comey, Donald Trump Takes His Biggest Gamble YetU.S. News & World Report “Our Democracy Is in Danger”: Key Reactions to Donald Trump's Firing of FBI Director James ComeyThe Intercept Politico -The Boston Globe -TIME all 2,364 news articles » |
CBS News |
Comey "lost the confidence" of FBI employees, says Sarah Huckabee Sanders
CBS News Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said fired FBI Director James Comey had "lost the confidence" of the "rank-and-file" FBI employees, "politicized" his role and become a "distraction" in explaining the timing of the former ... and more » |
New York Times |
McConnell Defends Trump as Schumer Calls for Special Prosecutor
New York Times Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader. “Today we'll no doubt hear calls for a new investigation,” Mr. McConnell said on the Senate floor on Wednesday, “which can only serve to impede the current work being done.” Credit Eric Thayer for The New ... McConnell defends Trump decision to fire ComeyThe Hill McConnell Reminds Schumer How Democrats Felt About ComeyNPR McConnell: 'Too much is at stake' for new investigation after Comey firingCNN New York Daily News -ThinkProgress -TIME -Media Matters for America (blog) all 119 news articles » |
Washington Times |
White House says no need for special prosecutor after Comey firing
Washington Times In the wake of President Trump's firing of FBI Director James B. Comey, the White House is rejecting lawmakers' calls for a special prosecutor to take over the agency's probe of possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. “There is clearly at ... and more » |
New York Times |
McConnell Defends Trump as Schumer Calls for Special Prosecutor
New York Times WASHINGTON — Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, on Wednesday defended President Trump's firing of the director of the F.B.I., James B. Comey, resisting Democratic calls to challenge the president and support a ... Schumer wants Sessions, Rosenstein to appear before SenateThe Boston Globe The last president to fire an FBI director? Bill ClintonLos Angeles Times all 85 news articles » |
