An active duty Marine with ties to Sacramento was arrested Thursday for allegedly killing two women in their San Bernardino County home.
Social media accounts under the name of 22-year-old Rafael Ari Aikens indicate he attended local high schools in the Sacramento area. Several of the friends on his Facebook page list home cities as Sacramento and Folsom.
Aikens was arrested by authorities Thursday in his assigned housing unit at the U.S. Marine Corps base known as Twentynine Palms. The arrest came after investigators determined he was a person of interest in a March 24 double homicide case.
The two women were found dead in a home located in the San Bernardino city of Twentynine Palms after deputies received a 911 call just past midnight. They were identified as Twentynine Palms residents Renee Metcalf, 62, and her 32-year-old daughter Christy McKissic, said Cindy Bachman, a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman
Both women suffered from multiple gunshot wounds. An unharmed 10-year-old girl was also found inside the home, which is roughly 10 miles from the military base.
Aikens was an active duty U.S. Marine who enlisted in December 2014 and was deployed to the Middle East from April 2015 to September 2016, according to 1st Lt. Matthew Gregory, a spokesman with the 1st Marine Division. Aikens worked as a machine gunner during his tour abroad. His end of enlistment was slated for December 2018.
Aikens is being held at the San Bernardino County West Valley Detention Center with bail set at $2 million. He is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.
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An active duty Marine with ties to Sacramento was arrested Thursday for allegedly killing two women in their San Bernardino County home.
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More than 100 gay men had been detained, the newspaper said. It said it had the names of three murder victims, and that it suspected many others had died in extrajudicial killings.
On this edition for Saturday, April 1, key members of the Trump administration make financial disclosures and Venezuela undergoes a constitutional crisis. Also, a closer look at the long-divided island of Cyprus and National Geographic addresses climate change. Hari Sreenivasan anchors from New York.
RT |
Putin: Tycoon Deripaska accused of ties with Trump's aide should speak in Congress
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Russian Hacking And The Baltic States – Analysis
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Obama spying looks even worse than Trump claimed
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Spy chiefs were 'worried by Michael Flynn's ties with Moscow' BEFORE he was appointed Trump's National Security ...
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Trump's White House struggles to get out from under Russia controversy
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Here's what we know so far about Team Trump's ties to Russian interests
Washington Post Congress and U.S. intelligence agencies are scrutinizing connections between Russia and theTrump campaign as they investigate evidence that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Here are members of Team Trump who are known to have Russian ... Trump should do everything he can to clear his name on RussiaCNN The real danger in the Trump-Russia scandalThe Week Magazine Russian billionaire with business ties to former Trump campaign manager willing to testify before CongressThe Independent CNBC -Jalopnik -Huffington Post UK -Big Story AP - Associated Press all 227 news articles » |
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Daily Beast |
The Walls Close In On Trump
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Company linked to Trump-Russian dossier has its own Kremlin connection, US senator says
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Russia 'mobilised thousand-strong troll army' during US elections
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Company linked to Trump-Russian dossier has its own Kremlin ...
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snopes.com |
Is President Donald Trump Considering Resignation?
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The Independent |
Mike Flynn could finally end Donald Trump's lucky streak
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Salon |
Putin's greatest success: We may never all agree on the truth behind Russiagate
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Watters: The Media's Obsession With Michael Flynn
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Raw Story |
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Daily Mail |
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Michael Flynn Failed to Disclose Income From Russia-Linked Entities
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In the span of about an hour, Army reservist Tres Peterson bought a gun, drove to his ex-fiancee's home, fatally shot her, her mother, a family friend and their family dog, then turned the gun on himself.
Updates on the
Investigation of Foreign Interference in 2016 US Presidential Elections
Part 1 - March 2017:
Trump affair as the crisis of the Western Civilization: Updates On The Investigation Of The Foreign Interference In 2016 US Presidential Elections - When will you "cause a storm", Mr. Comey?! | The FBI "investigation" is indeed, "absurd", not because it is unjust or unjustified, but because it is grossly inadequate - by Michael Novakhov
_________________________________________________________________
Part 2 - April 2017
Recommended Articles and Searches | Comments
4.1.17
M.N.: Predictions:
Within the next six months, Trump and Pence will be out, with Trump facing a prison term. Paul Ryan will become the next President - a very good replacement. The train has left the station and is moving somewhat slowly but surely.
In Russia, Putin, very likely, will be out (I do not see how he could politically survive the Trump debacle), or dead (from the illness, suicide, or both) - I do not wish it to you, Vovchick; I just prognosticate. Medvedev might be bypassed (with the lack of mass appeal and popularity cited as a problem), Sergei Ivanov will likely become the next Russian President; the signs of the power struggle for the succession are evident.
(Excuse the frankness and the bluntness of these assessments. Politics, just like no doubt, the political commentary, are the high potential lethality occupations, and the most of the practitioners, unless they are more of the "practitionerds", are well aware of it, and are prepared for it by default.)
S. Ivanov appears to be more pragmatic, much less nationalistic, and more West, especially the Scandinavian model oriented. The accompanying changes in the Russian political system and the geopolitical orientations look almost inevitable, and are visible even now.
Merkel will be out in Germany.
The new structures of Global Security will be formed.
Elections 2016 will be fully investigated and the lessons will be learned.
Within the next six months, Trump and Pence will be out, with Trump facing a prison term. Paul Ryan will become the next President - a very good replacement. The train has left the station and is moving somewhat slowly but surely.
In Russia, Putin, very likely, will be out (I do not see how he could politically survive the Trump debacle), or dead (from the illness, suicide, or both) - I do not wish it to you, Vovchick; I just prognosticate. Medvedev might be bypassed (with the lack of mass appeal and popularity cited as a problem), Sergei Ivanov will likely become the next Russian President; the signs of the power struggle for the succession are evident.
(Excuse the frankness and the bluntness of these assessments. Politics, just like no doubt, the political commentary, are the high potential lethality occupations, and the most of the practitioners, unless they are more of the "practitionerds", are well aware of it, and are prepared for it by default.)
S. Ivanov appears to be more pragmatic, much less nationalistic, and more West, especially the Scandinavian model oriented. The accompanying changes in the Russian political system and the geopolitical orientations look almost inevitable, and are visible even now.
Merkel will be out in Germany.
The new structures of Global Security will be formed.
Elections 2016 will be fully investigated and the lessons will be learned.
And zis is not the April 1 joke, zis iz for real!
___________________________________________________
CBS News |
Pressure builds for Michael Flynn to testify without immunity
CBS News WASHINGTON -- Pressure continues to mount for former national security adviser Michael Flynn to testify before Congress about possible connections between the Trump campaign and Russia, CBS News correspondent Errol Barnett reports. Flynn was fired ... The White House doesn't sound so keen on granting immunity to Michael Flynn anymoreWashington Post Michael Flynn told by White House to seek immunityBoston Herald Senate Intelligence Committee Denies Immunity To Michael Flynn In Russia ProbeHuffington Post NBCNews.com -The Hill -USA TODAY -Wall Street Journal all 973 news articles » |
NEWS: The World and Security Review: http://newslinksandbundles.blogspot.com/ The main news stories from the major sources; selected, compiled, and occasionally commented on by Mike Nova
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CBS News |
FBI investigating Trump associates' Russia ties from as early as March 2016
CBS News April 1, 2017, 7:10 AM | The federal investigation into communications between members of President Trump's campaign team and Russian intelligence is apparently widening. FBI Director James Comey had told Congress last week that his agents are ... FBI 'conducting investigation on Trump campaign officials'Daily Mail all 141 news articles » |
April 1, 2017, 5:11 PM (IDT)
Need some election interference? The Russian Foreign Ministry is ready to help — or so it says in its Facebook April Fools' Day message, offering an audio file of a purported new automated telephone switchboard message for Russian embassies. "To arrange a call from a Russian diplomat to your political opponent, press 1," the recording begins, in Russian and English. Press 2 "to use the services of Russian hackers," and 3 "to request election interference.” A ministry duty officer confirmed that the post was an official joke. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday emphatically denied allegations of Russian meddling in the US presidential election.
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Fortune |
How a Reporter Outed Undercover Accounts Likely Belonging to FBI Boss James Comey
Fortune You don't have to be an expert computer cracker to be a great sleuth. There's likely already a wealth of publicly available information on your target, whomever that may be, from which to draw. Experts call the material obtained through this kind of ... FBI probing whether Trump aides helped Russian intel in early 2016CBS News How to Hide Online Better Than the Director of the FBIGizmodo FBI Director James Comey? Or @projectexile7 on Twitter?CNET Minneapolis Star Tribune -AOL -CNN -Newsweek all 183 news articles » |
WND.com |
WikiLeaks exposes how CIA masks hacks to blame foreign countries
WND.com (Washington Examiner) WikiLeaks on Friday released what it claims to be a stolen CIA code that would prevent hacking and virus attacks from being traced back ... WikiLeaks' latest release of CIA cyber-tools could blow the cover on ...Washington Post CIA Has Tools for Framing Russia, China, Others for HacksThe New American Latest WikiLeaks dump exposes CIA methods to mask malwarePCWorld Heavy.com all 48 news articles » |
Lawfare readers are surely aware that on Thursday, the lawyer for former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn went public with a statement seeking immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony to either of the congressional intelligence committees investigating Russia-Trump matters. Flynn's attorney offered a teaser: "Flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit." The Wall Street Journal reports that Flynn's lawyer also approached the FBI with the same offer.
A common view among the media and pundits seems to be that Flynn's move is a sign of weakness—that he is legitimately scared of prosecution and looking for protection. But that may not be the best read of the publicly-known facts.
Alex Whiting at Just Security has outlined a procedural reason to think that Flynn is not making a serious overture to criminal enforcement authorities: his lawyer is not behaving in the way that an experienced defense attorney would if truly intent on a deal with prosecutors and the FBI. In that case, seeking a private proffer session, not making a splashy public announcement, would be the right way to proceed.
Flynn and his lawyers may actually think that he has a rather low chance of being successfully prosecuted. There are a number of reasons why that could be so. And if that is right, Flynn's actions might be best understood as a smart play by someone seeking a clear win, rather than a desperate attempt to minimize losses.
Who Would Indict Flynn, and for What?
While the FBI is headed by someone (Director James Comey) who seems genuinely committed to getting to the bottom of the Russia-Trump mess, the FBI can only recommend criminal charges. Prosecutors at the Department of Justice are the ones who decide. But while Attorney General Jeff Sessions—like Flynn, a member of Donald Trump's inner circle during the campaign—has recused himself from "from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the United States,” that arguably does not cover the crimes with which Flynn might be charged.
Based on what is now publicly known, Flynn seems to have the most criminal exposure about three matters. First, he might be charged under the false statements statute with lying to the FBI about his December communications with Sergey Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the United States. But that communication occurred over a month after the campaign ended. (And in any event, FBI sources have told the press that charges are unlikely, seemingly because of Flynn's ability to muddy the waters by parsing what he was asked and what he said.) Second, Flynn may have some criminal exposure under the Foreign Agents Registration Act for his dealings last year with the Turkish government. But that occurred in his capacity as a private consultant, working through his company Flynn Intel Group. Of course, clients likely sought him out because of his close ties to the Republican nominee for president, but that does not mean the actions are campaign-related. Third, some have raised the issue of whether Flynn truthfully disclosed on his SF86 security clearance form payments he received from Russian-government linked entities during 2015. Lies on this form can be prosecuted, again under the false statements statute. But this does not seem to be clearly campaign-related; for instance, Flynn was apparently paid for giving a speech at a gala dinner in Russia.
So Jeff Sessions might well be the ultimate decisionmaker on whether Michael Flynn is criminally charged. If he is, I would bet good money that Flynn gets a pass—all the more so because FARA violations and problems on security clearance forms are rarely pursued criminally. That is, Sessions would have a plausible-sounding story to tell that criminal prosecution is not the correct resolution.
If Sessions is not the decisionmaker—either because he broadens his recusal or because Flynn's criminal exposure concerns campaign-related matters within the scope of the existing recusal—the Deputy Attorney General will be in charge. Assuming he is confirmed by the Senate, that will be Rod Rosenstein, a respected career prosecutor who is currently United States Attorney for the District of Maryland. Rosenstein was put in that position by President George W. Bush, who also tried to seat him on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Because this White House seems to prize loyalty to President Trump above all else—and has blocked senior appointments sought by cabinet members like Secretary of State Rex Tillerson when the nominee was thought insufficiently Trumpist—Rosenstein will have to affirmatively prove that he is willing to aggressively and independently go after a key Trump ally.
The Pardon Power
Even if DOJ indicted Flynn, or was seen to be moving in that direction, Flynn could appeal to his former boss, President Trump, for a pardon. The Supreme Court has confirmed that a pardon issued under the president's Article II constitutional power can be preemptive—coming before charges are filed. And a pardon can also be a blanket one—covering any possible crimes that may have been committed. President Gerald Ford famously issued a pre-prosecution blanket pardon to Richard Nixon.
DOJ has an office that, in the ordinary course, processes and advises the president on pardon applications. While this office has its own rules and standards, a president may choose to disregard all of that. Trump's doing so in order to protect Flynn (and hence himself and other members of his orbit) would of course produce a firestorm of criticism and cries of cover up. But if there is any president who seems willing to ignore considerations of probity and propriety, it's Trump. (See Ben Wittes and Quinta Jurecic on the president's character.) Trump is already on record, via Twitter, supporting Flynn by calling the investigations of him a "witch hunt." Trump also publicly praised Flynn as "a wonderful man" who had been treated "very, very unfairly"—after having fired him.
The White House could even claim a sort of precedent for a Flynn pardon. President George H.W. Bush pardoned six people implicated in the Iran-Contra scandal. Bush had been Vice President during the events in question, was a potential witness in criminal cases against his former colleagues, and was believed by the independent counsel investigating the matter, Lawrence Walsh, to have been intentionally obstructionist. Walsh was furious about the pardon and accused Bush of perpetrating a cover-up. In response, Bush said the independent counsel's prosecutions were merely the "criminalization of policy differences."
Immunity from Congress
If it isn't particularly likely—again, based on what is now publicly known—that Flynn will be successfully prosecuted, why go public seeking immunity? The answer is that even relatively narrowly drawn immunity granted by a congressional committee could end up blocking later prosecutions for the full array of misconduct in which Flynn might have engaged. In other words, the prize sought here is very valuable.
Congress has the statutory power to grant immunity to witnesses testifying before either house or a committee or subcommittee of either house. The Attorney General (or, if recused, the person acting in his or her stead) can delay the issuance of the court order granting immunity, but cannot block it. Congress has a practice of coordinating with law enforcement and prosecutors about immunity grants, but nothing in the law requires this.
As the Senate Intelligence Committee has rebuffed the immunity request, Flynn is probably hoping that House Intelligence Chair Devin Nunes, who already appears to be solidly in the tank for Trump on the Russia matter, will offer him broad immunity. But the statute requires that a congressional committee approve the request for immunity "by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of the full committee." The committee has thirteen Republican and nine Democratic members, so Nunes would need to hold together his Republicans and pick up two Democrats. Flynn would have to offer pretty interesting testimony to get two Democrats to go along with this—something much more than a bare promise of "a story to tell."
It's not impossible to imagine this happening, however. The stakes in the Russia-Trump inquiries are enormous, for the country and for the two political parties. There may well be Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee who decide that whether Michael Flynn serves a year or two in jail or not is much less important than getting to the bottom of what happened.
It's probably a long shot, though, for Flynn, to get immunity from one of the intelligence committees in the near term. Democrats will probably want to get a better sense of what the FBI is uncovering and what other witnesses besides Flynn are saying before offering immunity to a key player like Flynn. But there's no downside to trying for Flynn, and the upside for him is potentially large.
The Iran-Contra Immunity Fiasco
The immunity statute grants only "use immunity." An immunized witness before Congress does not get blanket immunity for the entire transaction about which he or she testifies. Rather, no testimony under the court order granting congressionally-requested immunity, "or any information directly or indirectly derived from such testimony," "may be used against the witness in any criminal case, except a prosecution for perjury, giving a false statement, or otherwise failing to comply with the order."
Why seek such apparently limited use immunity from Congress? In practice, use immunity can turn into full transactional immunity. It turns out that it can be devilishly difficult for prosecutors in a later criminal case to prove that no evidence they are presenting was "directly or indirectly derived" from immunized testimony before Congress.
The prosecutions of Oliver North and John Poindexter for Iran-Contra crimes fell apart in just this way. Both were granted use immunity by a select congressional committee investigating Iran-Contra, and the public testimony under the immunity grants was televised. In the later criminal prosecutions, the D.C. Circuit ruled that protecting the defendants' Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination essentially required the prosecution to affirmatively demonstrate that none of its witnesses were in any way affected by that testimony. This proved impossible.
Witnesses can compound the problems for prosecutors by ranging widely in their immunized congressional testimony. If Flynn were immunized by Congress, it would be for testimony about Russia. But a friendly House committee member, say Chairman Nunes, might lead him to talk about his potentially illegal work for Turkey, thereby extending the immunity in practice to that topic.
There will surely be more public revelations about these matters in the days and weeks to come, revelations that could entirely change what we think we know now. But at present, it does not seem likely to me that Flynn is seeking immunity from the congressional committees because he and his lawyers apprehend a clear and present danger of jail time. Flynn seems rather to be seeking to gain maximum advantage from the congressional committees' and public's legitimate interest in his testimony, and the possibility that Republicans on the House committee might be willing to use their power to help protect him. If House Republicans do this, it will likely be because they assume that Flynn, even though he would be testifying under oath and could not avoid being questioned by Democrats, would do his very best to give testimony that was favorable to President Trump.
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News Reviews and Opinions: Rex Tillerson's Complaint: "Lavrov won't dance!" P... by noreply@blogger.com (Mike Nova)
News Reviews and Opinions: Rex Tillerson's Complaint: "Lavrov won't dance!" P...: Fred Astaire - I Won't Dance, from Roberta Rex Tillerson: Lavrov won't dance: not allowed! "But it was at lunch that...
NEWS: The World and Security Review: http://newslinksandbundles.blogspot.com/ The main news stories from the major sources; selected, compiled, and occasionally commented on by Mike Nova
Buffalo News |
Buffalo man charged with striking security gates at One FBI Plaza
Buffalo News A Buffalo man has been arrested for a Thursday night incident in which a vehicle struck two security gates at the FBI building downtown. Robert Lowe, 35, is charged with trespassing and felony criminal mischief in the 10:40 p.m. incident, a Buffalo ... |
A leading Republican U.S. senator has called for deeper Justice Department investigations into the Washington lobbying firm connected to the explosive dossier compiled on President Donald Trump during last year’s election campaign and the firm’s alleged Russian ties.
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Remarks by the White House press secretary made it clear that President Trump has abandoned the goal of forcing President Bashar al-Assad of Syria from office.
Hands raised, Trump aides rush to try to testify on Russiaby By JOSH LEDERMAN and ERIC TUCKER
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Their reputations at risk, a coterie of President Donald Trump's associates caught up in the swirling debate about Trump and Russia are turning to a similar if unusual playbook: volunteering to testify to Congress, before even being asked....
Russia has accused the United States and its allies of "slander" as the U.S. top diplomat and Pentagon chief denounced Russia’s actions in Ukraine and elsewhere.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- As Salvador Rendon was being arraigned last year on charges he had engaged for years in sexual intercourse with dogs, animal-rights activists descended on Warren, Ohio, to make their case: The state needed an anti-bestiality law....
USA TODAY |
'Press 3' for election interference, Russian ministry voicemail jokes
USA TODAY In a cheeky bout of April Fools' Day fun, the Russian foreign ministry has posted a proposed voicemail message for its embassy answering machines to help callers seeking Russian hackers or requesting interference in elections. The "pilot" audio was ... Even Russia's got jokes on April Fools' Day. Oh, and they're about the election.Mashable Russia pokes fun at hacker scandal with switchboard messageToronto Star Russian Foreign Ministry poked fun at hacker scandalNH1 News MINA -TASS -Rare.us all 16 news articles » |
AP-NORC Poll: Majority of Americans favor Russia probeby By JONATHAN LEMIRE and EMILY SWANSON
NEW YORK (AP) -- A slim majority of Americans favor an independent investigation into the Trump campaign's ties with the Russian government, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that showed public views about the controversy driving congressional investigations are sharply divided along party lines....
