Tag: FBI investigation

Peter Strzok would like to clear a few things up

Peter Strzok would like to clear a few things up

“I’m sorry to bother you. But it turns out Trump just accused me of treason.”

Peter Strzok, who was still an FBI employee that day in January 2018 and couldn’t respond to the president’s attack, was appealing to his boss: “The bureau can’t let this stand,” he pleaded.

“I’m sorry, Pete,” came the response. “We’re not going to say anything.”

Nearly three years later, Strzok — who led the FBI’s Russia investigation, dubbed Crossfire Hurricane, until he was removed over several anti-Trump texts he’d sent during the election amid an affair with a colleague — is finally able to speak publicly and on his terms for the first time since he joined the FBI more than two decades ago. Continue reading.

Burr to step down as Senate Intelligence chair amid insider trading probe

Axios logoSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Thursday that Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) is stepping down from his position as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee pending an investigation into possible insider trading.

Why it matters: The news comes one day after reports that the FBI seized Burr’s phone as part of the investigation. Burr, who had access to classified briefings about the coronavirus, dumped between $582,029 and $1.56 million in March just prior to the market crash. He has denied wrongdoing.

What they’re saying:

  • McConnell: “Senator Burr contacted me this morning to inform me of his decision to step aside as Chairman of the Intelligence Committee during the pendency of the investigation. We agreed that this decision would be in the best interests of the committee and will be effective at the end of the day tomorrow.” Continue reading.

Ivanka Trump was in touch with Christopher Steele in 2007 and 2008 — and considered using his firm for Trump Organization projects: report

AlterNet logoFormer U.K. intelligence official Christopher Steele is best known for authoring the Steele dossier, which described alleged links between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia. But according to a report by ABC News, Steele was in touch with the Trump Organization long before that — specifically, Donald Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump.

ABC News reports that Steele first met Ivanka Trump at a dinner in 2007, which was nine years before her father was elected president of the United States. At the time, she was executive vice president of the Trump Organization — where she managed foreign real estate projects, and some of those projects were in parts of the world where Steele’s security firm, Orbin Business Intelligence, was doing business.

The two of them, according to e-mail exchanges obtained by ABC News, discussed the services that Orbin could possibly offer the Trump Organization in non-U.S. markets. Trump and Steele stayed in touch in the late 2000s and considered working together — although it never came about.

Continue reading

Want to Know More About: The Kavanaugh Confirmation

Major Garrett: “President Trump Openly Mocked Dr. Christine Blasey Ford Who Has Accused Brett Kavanaugh Of Sexually Assaulting Her In High School.” GARRETT: “For the first time president trump openly mocked Dr. Christine Blasey Ford who has accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in high school. The president who previously described Ford’s testimony as credible and compelling ridiculed her story’s missing details.” [This Morning, CBS, 10/3/18; VIDEO]

John Berman: “Politically Now What You Are Getting From Republicans Is A Much More Direct Attack.” BERMAN: “When Lindsay graham was shouting he was talking about process, but he has to be talking about professor’s Ford credibility. Now you have the president saying she’s not credible, and you had chuck grassley with the letter questioning the veracity of some of the things professor Ford says. It seems politically now what you are getting from Republicans is a much more direct attack in these waning days before the vote about just what professor Ford is saying in saying she’s not credible.” [New Day, CNN, 10/3/18; VIDEO]

Josh Campbell: “Why Is A Federal Judge Sitting In Front Of The United States Senate Making Statements That Other People Are Saying Are Not Consistent With The Facts. That Is The Issue.” CAMPBELL: “It’s not about drinking or what somebody has done in their past when it comes to alcohol, but why is a federal judge sitting in front of the United States senate making statements that other people are saying are not consistent with the facts. That is the issue. Why is a judge, somebody who is supposed to be fair, honest and truthful being called into question? That’s something we need to get to the bottom of.” [New Day, CNN, 10/3/18; VIDEO] Continue reading “Want to Know More About: The Kavanaugh Confirmation”

George Papadopoulos’ “limited” role in Trump’s campaign may have just gotten a whole lot bigger

The following article by Eric Lutz was posted on the mic.com website November 11, 2017:

Stephen Miller — a top aide to President Donald Trump — was reportedly in regular contact with George Papadopoulos, contradicting the White House characterization of the former foreign policy adviser as having played an “extremely limited” role on the campaign.

According to the New York Times on Friday, Papadopoulos kept Miller updated about his contacts with Russians, telling the senior adviser that the then-Republican candidate had an “open invitation” to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that he had “some interesting messages coming in from Moscow about a trip when the time is right.” Continue reading “George Papadopoulos’ “limited” role in Trump’s campaign may have just gotten a whole lot bigger”

The man who oversees the Russia investigation thinks Americans are too ‘savvy’ for Russian ads to work

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website October 26, 2017:

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein appears at the Global Cyber Security Summit in London this month. (Mary Turner/Reuters)

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein is in charge of overseeing special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The U.S. intelligence community has said explicitly that it has no opinion on whether Russian interference affected the election.

But Rosenstein does — at least when it comes to the ads for which Russia paid.

Appearing on the “Target USA” podcast from Washington’s WTOP radio station, Rosenstein said he thought American voters were too “savvy” to be influenced by such ads.

Here’s the full quote, in context: Continue reading “The man who oversees the Russia investigation thinks Americans are too ‘savvy’ for Russian ads to work”

Trump lashes out at Russia probe; Pence hires a lawyer

The following article by John Wagner and Ashley Parker was posted on the Washing Post website June 15, 2017:

President Trump has repeatedly lashed out with insults to defend himself as the Russia investigation unfolds. His latest attacks on Twitter appear to confirm he’s being investigated for obstruction of justice. (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

A heightened sense of unease gripped the White House on Thursday, as President Trump lashed out at reports that he’s under scrutiny over whether he obstructed justice, aides repeatedly deflected questions about the probe and Vice President Pence acknowledged hiring a private lawyer to handle fallout from investigations into Russian election meddling.

Pence’s decision to hire Richard Cullen, a Richmond-based lawyer who previously served as a U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, came less than a month after Trump hired his own private lawyer. Continue reading “Trump lashes out at Russia probe; Pence hires a lawyer”

Trump Team Knew Flynn Was Under Investigation Before He Came to White House

The following article by Matthew Rosenberg and Mark Mazzetti was posted on the New York Times website May 17, 2017:

In February, Michael T. Flynn stepped down as national security adviser amid a scandal surrounding his contacts with Russia before President Trump took office. By SUSAN JOAN ARCHER, DAVE HORN, A.J. CHAVAR and ROBIN LINDSAY on Publish Date February 14, 2017. Photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times.

WASHINGTON — Michael T. Flynn told President Trump’s transition team weeks before the inauguration that he was under federal investigation for secretly working as a paid lobbyist for Turkey during the campaign, according to two people familiar with the case.

Despite this warning, which came about a month after the Justice Department notified Mr. Flynn of the inquiry, Mr. Trump made Mr. Flynn his national security adviser. The job gave Mr. Flynn access to the president and nearly every secret held by American intelligence agencies. Continue reading “Trump Team Knew Flynn Was Under Investigation Before He Came to White House”

Fact Checker: President Trump’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad Twitter day

The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website March 20, 2017:


During a House Intelligence Committee hearing, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) asked FBI Director James Comey and National Security Agency head Michael Rogers about tweets President Trump sent out while the hearing was ongoing. (Photo: Matt McClain/The Washington Post/Reuters)

With the House Intelligence Committee on Monday prepared to hold hearings on Russian influence in the 2016 election, the president issued tweets that did not hold up well as the testimony unfolded. Continue reading “Fact Checker: President Trump’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad Twitter day”