Monday, April 30, 2018
Showdown builds between Comey, House: Just what did FBI director say about Michael Flynn?
The Republicans say there's a transcript — not just of Comey's testimony but of fired top FBI deputy Andrew McCabe, too — that will prove them right. But so far, the intelligence community has prevented that proof from seeing the light of day. A resolution to the matter might come as soon as the next few days.
The conflict concerns Michael Flynn, the fired national security adviser who has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in the Trump-Russia investigation. The FBI interviewed Flynn in the White House on Jan. 24, 2017. In the weeks that followed, there was significant public debate over Flynn and the Trump-Russia matter, and in March, Comey went to Capitol Hill to brief lawmakers on what was going on.
In a meeting with some members of the House, according to sources familiar with the matter, Comey told lawmakers that the two FBI agents who interviewed Flynn did not believe he had lied to them, or that any inaccuracies in his answers were intentional. Lawmakers left the briefing with the impression that Flynn would not be charged with lying to the FBI.
At the end of November 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to just that.
In February of this year, I reported that Comey had told Congress that the FBI agents involved did not think that Flynn had lied. In recent weeks, as Comey has gone on a publicity tour to promote his book, A Higher Loyalty , he has been asked on at least three occasions about the report, and each time has answered that he simply did not say what Republican sources say he said.
The most recent example came Sunday morning on NBC. "In the Washington Examiner, they report that, according to sources familiar with meetings that you had, that you told lawmakers when you were still director of the FBI that FBI agents who interviewed Flynn did not believe that Flynn had lied to them or that any inaccuracies in his answers were intentional," "Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd said to Comey. "If that's the case, what did he plead guilty to?"
"Yes, an example of how you can't believe everything you read in the media," Comey said.
"This is not true?" Todd asked.
"Not true," said Comey. "And I don't know what people heard me say, if they're reporting it accurately, what they heard me say, they misunderstood. But that's not accurate."
A few days earlier, in an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier, Comey said essentially the same thing.
"Did you tell lawmakers that FBI agents didn't believe former national security adviser Michael Flynn was lying intentionally to investigators?" asked Baier.
"No," said Comey.
"You did not—" said Baier.
"And I saw that in the media," Comey said. "I don't know what — maybe someone misunderstood something I said. I didn't believe that and didn't say that."
Two weeks ago, in Comey's first interview , ABC's George Stephanopoulos said, "There's been some reporting that at one point you told the Congress that the agents who interviewed Mike Flynn didn't believe that he had lied."
"Yeah, I saw that," said Comey. "And that — I don't know where that's coming from. That — unless I'm — I said something that people misunderstood, I don't remember even intending to say that. So my recollection is...
War: Trump goes off on lying Democrat Sen. Jon Tester for slandering Dr. Ronny Jackson
Trump’s nomination of Dr. Ronny Jackson to be Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs was questionable because Jackson arguably didn’t have the right background for it, but none of that justified the complete, slanderous character assassination perpetrated against Dr. Jackson by Democrat Sen. Jon Tester of Montana.
Jon Tester is a lying, slanderous dirtbag. The allegations he publicly aired against Dr. Jackson in the run-up to his now-aborted confirmation hearings were completely false, totally unfounded and scurrilous in every way. They are now being factually refuted by the Secret Service and by police reports of the incidents Sen. Tester completely misrepresented.
CNN gleefully ran with Tester’s slanderous allegations, because that’s what CNN does, but we’ve long known how CNN does business. Jon Tester is a public official, and he has no business engaging in character assassination of good men simply to score a partisan take-down. Yet that’s exactly what he did to Dr. Jackson.
Now normally, the stance of the White House would be that this is the way the game is played and there’s nothing you can do about it. There are already Beltway types trying to blame all this on...
Broward student publishes damning evidence proving Broward school officials neglected school safety
The findings also refute the mainstream media’s claim that firearms, specifically the AR-15, are to blame for the massacre.
What did Preston uncover?
Preston discovered that in 2014, an $800 million bond was allocated to Broward County Public Schools, with more than $100 million earmarked directly for school safety. However, many of the planned safety upgrades to county schools were delayed due to concerns over costs.
One of the delayed projects was an improvement to MSD’s fire system “that allows a delay to determine if there’s an actual fire before the alarm triggers,” according to Preston. If that improvement had been made, seeing that the murderer pulled the fire alarm, students’ lives could have been saved because they wouldn’t have left their classrooms as there was no actual fire.
In all, Preston discovered that only $5,584,512 — or about 5 percent — of $104,325,821 allocated for school safety in 2014 has been spent on it since.
But that’s not all. Preston learned that Obama-era school behavioral programs, like The Promise Program and the Behavior Intervention Program, led troubled students, like the massacre’s perpetrator, to escape punishment.
“After weeks of research, searching through thousands of pages of government documents, and speaking with dozens of officials, I have come to the conclusion that Superintendent Runcie and members of the school board have failed at their essential role in keeping our students safe. Whether that’s because of incompetence or the incentive of federal dollars is for you to decide,” Preston wrote in an article outlining his findings.
“Ultimately, no matter what laws pass, the extent, or how infrequent these shootings become, if the people who were complicit in facilitating an environment in which something like this could occur don’t face consequences, then there is no justice,” he wrote.
How did Broward County Schools react?
According to Preston, superintendent Robert Runcie called his meticulously sourced investigation “fake news.”
“Superintendent Runcie called an article referencing this report ‘fake news’ and recommended anyone interested in facts should look to Florida TaxWatch, an independent organization tasked with overseeing the distribution of the money. I reached out to Florida Taxwatch, and Vice President of Research Robert Nave has told me that my numbers are correct,” Preston wrote in his article.
Preston also outlined his findings in a tweet thread:
CONFIRMED: Former Feinstein Staffer Raised $50 Million, Hired Fusion GPS And Christopher Steele After 2016 Election
According to the report, Jones, who runs an investigative outfit called the Penn Quarter Group (PQG), told the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in March of 2017 that he had retained the services of Fusion GPS and Christopher Steele to “continue exposing Russian interference” in the 2016 election. Steele is the former British spy who authored the infamous unverified dossier of allegations against President Donald Trump.
Although Jones’ name is redacted in the report, the biographical details plus previous reporting on the matter make clear that he is the individual referenced. The report also revealed that Jones told federal investigators that he had raised $50 million from “7 to 10 wealthy donors located primarily in...
The 90 Miles Mystery Box: Episode #242
You have come across a mystery box. But what is inside?
It could be literally anything from the serene to the horrific,
from the beautiful to the repugnant,
from the mysterious to the familiar.
If you decide to open it, you could be disappointed,
you could be inspired, you could be appalled.
This is not for the faint of heart or the easily offended.
You have been warned.
Sunday, April 29, 2018
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