kpete
kpete's JournalClaude Taylor: "Manafort is not cooperating. He has no deal."
Breaking: Just confirmed by source with knowledge of Mueller investigation. Paul Manafort is not cooperating. He has no deal. Full stop.
https://mobile.twitter.com/TrueFactsStated/status/880401906748858369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheobamadiary.com%2F2017%2F06%2F28%2Fadd-your-voice%2F
Former Trump bodyguard on congressional witness list in Russia probe
https://twitter.com/justinhendrix/status/880386343905497089
House Russia probe eyes longtime Trump bodyguard-turned-White House aide Keith Schiller
.........
A former New York police officer, Schiller has been at Trump’s side for nearly 20 years, and is one of his closest advisers and aides -- playing the role of a body man, confidant and gatekeeper for the businessman-turned-president.
When Trump made the decision to fire FBI Director James Comey, it was Schiller who hand-delivered the letter of termination from the president to FBI headquarters.
Schiller also accompanied Kushner on an April visit to Iraq with National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/house-russia-probe-eyes-longtime-trump-bodyguard-turned/story?id=48341329
America the Beautiful
https://twitter.com/SethDavisHoops/status/880269258285920256https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/880116347233071104
awesome story:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/strangers-buy-car-for-20-year-old-who-walks-3-miles-to-work-in-texas-heat/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=39171709
FBI Interviews Employees of Russia-Linked Cyber Security Firm Kasperky Lab
by KEN DILANIAN and TOM WINTER
FBI agents on Tuesday paid visits to at least a dozen employees of Kaspersky Lab, a Russia-based cyber-security company, asking questions about that company’s operations as part of a counter-intelligence inquiry, multiple sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.
In a classic FBI investigative tactic, agents visited the homes of the employees at the end of the work day at multiple locations on both the east and west coasts, the sources said.
There is no indication at this time that the inquiry is part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling and possible collusion. Kaspersky has long been of interest to the U.S. government. Its cyber-security software is widely used in the United States, and its billionaire owner, Eugene Kaspersky, has close ties to some Russian intelligence figures, according to U.S. officials. He graduated in 1987 from the Soviet KGB-backed Institute of Cryptography, Telecommunications, and Computer Science.
Kaspersky Lab paid former national security adviser Michael Flynn $11,250 in 2015 for cyber-security consulting, according to public documents, but that was not a focus of the FBI questioning, multiple sources said.
FBI agents told employees they were not in trouble, and that the bureau was merely gathering facts about how Kaspersky works, including to what extent the U.S. operations ultimately report to Moscow.
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MORE:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-interviews-employees-russia-linked-cyber-security-firm-kasperky-lab-n777571
Obama Crushes Trump By A Huge 24 Point Margin As Americans Long For Effective Leadership
President Trump's support among independent voters has eroded since he took office. Though he still clings to a loyal base of supporters, his overall disapproval among Americans has reached record highs, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll.
Just 17 Percent Of Americans Approve Of Republican Senate Health Care Bill
Just 37 percent of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing just over five months into his tenure, while 51 percent disapprove. Forty percent of those polled strongly disapprove of Trump's performance, twice the 20 percent who strongly approved.
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Americans also think Trump has hurt the country on the global stage. Fifty-eight percent say the president has weakened the United States' position abroad, while 34 percent say he has strengthened it.
***In addition, by a 24-point margin, Americans believe former President Obama was, by far, a more effective leader in comparison to Trump, 58 percent to 34 percent. Among independents, there's an even more pronounced 36-point difference, 65 to 29 percent.***
The Rest:
http://www.npr.org/2017/06/28/534602973/trump-fails-to-reach-beyond-base-as-independents-disapproval-grows
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German audience laughs and cheers after Trump Cabinet member's video address cut off
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s video address to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s political party’s business conference in Berlin was cut off on Tuesday after Ross went over his time limit, prompting conference attendees to laugh and cheer.
Ross’s video feed at the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) conference was faded out after roughly 20 minutes for going over his time limit, according to Bloomberg.
Attendees then began to applaud and laugh at the move.
“That was the U.S. secretary of commerce, who had promised us a 10-minute statement,” the head of CDU Economic Council Werner Bahlsen said.
“As you saw, he spoke a bit slowly, so it took a bit longer. Now we look forward to the chancellor’s speech,” he continued.
http://thehill.com/policy/international/339800-commerce-secretary-wilbur-ross-video-address-cut-off-in-berlin
Boo Hoo For Trump: Park Service Issues Investigation Results Over Inaugural Photo Alteration Claims:
PARK SERVICE ISSUES INVESTIGATION RESULTS OVER INAUGURAL PHOTO ALTERATION CLAIMS
Investigative Report of Questionable Actions Allegedly Taken by NPS Officials During the 2017 Presidential Inauguration
Create Date:
Monday, June 26, 2017
We initiated an investigation after receiving a complaint concerning questionable actions allegedly taken by National Park Service (NPS) officials and employees during and after the 58th presidential inauguration ceremony at the National Mall on January 20, 2017. The complainant alleged the following:
That an NPS National Mall and Memorial Parks (NAMA) official instructed NPS employees to alter records related to crowd size estimates for the inauguration ceremony
That two NPS public affairs employees released information to the press, without authorization, about a January 21, 2017 phone call from President Donald Trump to Acting NPS Director Michael Reynolds
That one of the public affairs employees circumvented the NPS chain of command for the inauguration when responding to a request from Reynolds (although the complainant did not know what Reynolds requested, we determined that Reynolds asked the public affairs employee to help obtain inauguration photographs after the President requested them during the January 21 phone call)
That a NAMA employee assigned to the inauguration engaged in personal activities at work that interfered with the performance of his duties
***We did not find evidence to substantiate any of these allegations. All of the witnesses we interviewed denied that the NAMA official instructed staff to alter records for the inauguration or to remove crowd size information. We also found no evidence that the public affairs employees released any information to the media about the President’s phone call, or that the employee who responded to Reynolds’ request for photos was required to go through the chain of command. Regarding the final allegation, the NAMA employee’s supervisor and an official who oversaw operations at the inauguration both said that the NAMA employee fulfilled his responsibilities as assigned during the event.***
We provided our report on this investigation to the Acting NPS Director.
http://secondnexus.com/politics-and-economics/park-service-issues-investigation-results-inaugural-photo-alteration-claims/?utm_content=inf_677_1164_2&tse_id=INF_08b586105c0711e790011d41b85aaeb5
https://www.doioig.gov/reports/investigative-report-questionable-actions-allegedly-taken-nps-officials-during-2017
Finally, the truth: GOP congressman says, "We just simply don't know how to govern."
President Donald Trump, center, met with Senate Republicans in the White House on Tuesday after their health bill hit a snag.
https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/879853683051294721/8wC_WDSE?format=jpg&name=600x314
ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES
By Kristina Peterson and Richard Rubin
June 27, 2017 8:05 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON—The Republican-controlled Congress is struggling to overcome intraparty fissures that have been expanding since the rise of the Tea Party in 2010, threatening to derail their legislative ambitions this year.
On Tuesday, Senate GOP leaders opted to delay a vote on their bill that would dismantle and replace much of former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act in the face of resistance among Senate Republicans over the bill’s policy planks.
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***“It’s almost like we’re serving in the minority right now. We just simply don’t know how to govern,” said Rep. Steve Womack (R., Ark.). “How we’ve been given this opportunity to govern and we are finding every reason in the world not to is absolutely incredible to me.”***
the rest:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/intraparty-disputes-stall-republicans-legislative-agenda-1498608305
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