Donald Trump’s Son-In-Law Met With Russian Ambassador In Trump Tower

This is pretty much the definition of “rolling disclosure.”

From Michael Flynn, to Attorney General Jeff Sessions to now senior adviser & son-in-law Jared Kushner being involved with Russian officials.

How much more is there to come?

From the New York Times:

Michael T. Flynn, then Donald J. Trump’s incoming national security adviser, had a previously undisclosed meeting with the Russian ambassador in December to “establish a line of communication” between the new administration and the Russian government, the White House said on Thursday.

Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and now a senior adviser, also participated in the meeting at Trump Tower with Mr. Flynn and Sergey I. Kislyak, the Russian ambassador. But among Mr. Trump’s inner circle, it is Mr. Flynn who appears to have been the main interlocutor with the Russian envoy — the two were in contact during the campaign and the transition, Mr. Kislyak and current and former American officials have said.

But the extent and frequency of their contacts remains unclear, and the disclosure of the meeting at Trump Tower adds to the emerging picture of how the relationship between Mr. Trump’s incoming team and Moscow was evolving to include some of the president-elect’s most trusted advisers.

The White House has repeatedly sought to play down any connections with Mr. Kislyak. Attorney General Jeff Sessions acknowledged this week that he had met twice with him during the campaign, despite previous denials.

The New Yorker reported this week that Mr. Kushner had met with Mr. Kislyak at Trump Tower in December. Hope Hicks, a White House spokeswoman, confirmed on Thursday that Mr. Flynn was also at the meeting in response to questions from a New York Times reporter.

It is common and not improper for transition officials to meet with foreign officials. But all meetings between Trump associates and Russians are now significant as the F.B.I. investigates Russian interference in the American election and whether anyone close to Mr. Trump’s campaign was involved.

“They generally discussed the relationship and it made sense to establish a line of communication,” Ms. Hicks said. “Jared has had meetings with many other foreign countries and representatives — as many as two dozen other foreign countries’ leaders and representatives.”

When first asked in January about Mr. Flynn’s contacts with Mr. Kislyak, the White House said that there had been only a text message and phone call between the men at the end of December, and that both came before the United States imposed sanctions. That was quickly contradicted by news reports.

AG Jeff Sessions Announces He Will Recuse Himself From Any Investigations Into Russian Involvement In U.S. Elections

After calls from both Republican and Democratic members of Congress, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has announced he will recuse himself from any Department of Justice investigations looking into Russian interference in the recent 2016 Presidential election.

From Huffington Post:

“I have now decided to recuse myself from any existing or future investigations of any matter relating in any way to the campaign for president of the United States,” Sessions said at a press conference at the DOJ. “This announcement should not be interpreted as confirmation of the existence of any investigation or suggestive of the scope of any such investigation, because we in the Department of Justice resist confirming or denying the very existence of investigations.”

Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente will step into Sessions’ role for any election-related investigations, Politico’s Eric Geller reported.

On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that Sessions met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak two times last year. Since then, the attorney general has faced growing bipartisan demands from Congress that he recuse himself from the investigations.

Dan Rather: “The Fuse Is Lit”

Dan Rather

Legendary newsman Dan Rather took to his Facebook today to announce “the fuse is lit” for what could be a big scandal on the hands of the Trump administration and Republicans regarding the current Jeff Sessions alleged perjury debacle.

Every once in a while in Washington, the fuse is lit for what seems to be a big scandal. Much more rarely does that fuse lead to an explosion of the magnitude we are seeing with Russia and the new Administration, and frankly the Republicans in Congress. How can anybody say, with all this billowing smoke and sights of actual flames, that there is no need to at least independently investigate whether a fire is burning down the very pillars of our democracy?

The pressure is obviously starting to mount as leading Republicans are now calling for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from the Russia investigation. This comes in the wake of serious and credible evidence reported by a vigilant press that the Attorney General, mind you the top law enforcement man in the United States, perjured himself in testimony to the Senate about meeting the Russian ambassador during the election. Sessions is but the latest person close to President Trump who seems to be ensnared in a story that is more worthy of Hollywood melodrama than the reality of the governance of our country. Democrats are calling for Sessions to resign, and this story could move very quickly.

We are well past the time for any political niceties or benefits of the doubt. We need an independent and thorough investigation of Russia’s meddling in our democracy and its ties to the President and his allies. We don’t know what we don’t know. Perhaps there are perfectly innocuous reasons for why Mr Trump won’t release his tax returns, why he has continued to speak admirably about President Putin and why his aides and advisors seem to be so close to Russia. That’s why we need an investigation. If the air is to be cleared, it needs to be cleared. And if there is deep rot, it needs to be exposed. And quickly.

The press is doing an admirable job. But there is only so much it can do without such things as subpoena powers. Let’s just make this clear. This is about a foreign and hostile power trying to influence our election while being in contact with close aides to the presidential campaign that the Kremlin wanted to win. Furthermore, there are serious questions about Mr Trump’s longstanding ties to Russian money and influence peddlers. We don’t know where this might go, but it isn’t going away.

Alec Baldwin Considering Standing In For Trump At White House Correspondents Dinner

Alec Baldwin

On last night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Alec Baldwin explained how “his” Donald Trump impersonation came to him moments before he stepped out to his first dress rehearsal as the Trumpster on Saturday Night Live.

He also did not – fingers crossed! – rule out showing up at this year’s White House Correspondents Dinner as the president.

Watch below:

Jeff Sessions: “Those Remarks Are Unbelievable To Me”

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, under fire for apparently lying under oath during his confirmation hearings last month regarding any communications with Russian officials, responded to the allegations this morning.

Last month, when asked about communication between the Trump campaign (where he was a surrogate) Sessions said, “I’m not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign, and I did not have communications with the Russians.”

Today his response was more nuanced: “Well I have not met with any Russians at any time to discuss any political campaign. And those remarks are unbelievable to me and are false. I don’t have anything else to say about that.”

Watch below:

Did Attorney General Jeff Sessions Lie Under Oath?

From the New York Times:

On Wednesday, a Justice Department official confirmed that Mr. Sessions had two conversations with Ambassador Kislyak last year, when he was still a senator, despite testifying at his Jan. 10 confirmation hearing that he had no contact with the Russians. At that hearing, Mr. Sessions was asked what he would do if it turned out to be true that anyone affiliated with the Trump team had communicated with the Russian government in the course of the campaign. He said he was “not aware of any of those activities.”

“I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I didn’t have — did not have communications with the Russians, and I’m unable to comment on it,” Mr. Sessions said at the time.

However, Justice officials acknowledged that Mr. Sessions had spoken with Mr. Kislyak twice: once, among a group of ambassadors who approached him at a Heritage Foundation event during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July and, separately, in an office meeting on Sept. 8. The contacts were first reported by The Washington Post.

Sarah Isgur Flores, Mr. Sessions’s spokeswoman, said “there was absolutely nothing misleading about his answer” because he did not communicate with the ambassador in his capacity as a Trump campaign surrogate.

Watch below the moment in question from Jeff Sessions’ confirmation hearing. It seems to me Sessions clearly denies any “communications with the Russians.” I would think the Russian Ambassador to the U.S. would count among those contacts?

“Beauty And The Beast” To Feature Disney’s First Ever “Exclusively Gay Moment”

Josh Gad as “LeFou”

“My, what a guy, that Gaston!”

According to a new interview in Attitude Magazine with Beauty and the Beast director Bill Condon, the upcoming live-action film will feature a subplot revealing a long hidden romance in the fairy tale.

Condon describes the surprise as “Disney’s first ever ‘exclusively gay moment’ on film.”

LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston. He’s confused about what he wants. It’s somebody who’s just realising that he has these feelings. And Josh makes something really subtle and delicious out of it. And that’s what has its payoff at the end, which I don’t want to give away. But it is a nice, exclusively gay moment in a Disney movie.

Also, in related LGBT news, it seems Howard Ashman, the lyricist for the songs for the animated film, had just been diagnosed with AIDS when he was approached to do the film. It was his idea, apparently, to make the character of “The Beast” one of the two main characters, which was a departure for the traditional story. Ashman saw a parallel to his own situation.

“He (The Beast) was cursed and this curse had brought sorrow on all those people who loved him and maybe there was a chance for a miracle and a way for the curse to be lifted,” says the filmmaker. “It was a very, very concrete thing that he was doing.”

Watch the new clip from Beauty and the Beast featuring Luke Evans as “Gaston” and Book of Mormon’s Josh Gad as “LeFou.”

Texas Sportscaster Dale Hansen Takes On Transphobes Over Trans Wrestler Mack Beggs

Dale Hansen

Back in 2014, as sports pundits were having their yucks about newly out football player Michael Sam, WFAA’s venerable Dallas sportscaster Dale Hansen spoke truth to power regarding the new landscape ahead for professional sports team owners and challenged them to be wise moving forward.

Last night, Hansen delivered an op-ed on his newscast regarding Texas teen Mack Beggs, a transgender high school student who won his weight class in the state wrestling competition. Beggs was forced to wrestle in the girls’ division due to University Interscholastic League (UIL) rules.

The UIL holds that athletes must compete according to the information on their birth certificate. In this case, that meant Beggs had to compete in the girls division.

But UIL rules also state that no athlete may use performance enhancing drugs – like testosterone – unless they are prescribed by a doctor. Obviously, as Beggs is transitioning, he is taking testosterone under the care of his doctor.

All of this comes together in that Mack Beggs is not to “blame” for any of the inconsistencies here. This is a high school athlete who just wants to compete. Beggs had requested to wrestle in the boy’s division,  but was denied.

But I’m not nearly as articulate as the ever-wise Hansen. Here’s the text via WFAA :

I would have thought in 2017 – or maybe I just hoped in 2017 – we would be done arguing about birth certificates… but obviously we’re not.

Seventeen-year old Mack Beggs, a junior at Euless Trinity who was born a girl and is now in the process of becoming a boy, wins the girls’ state wrestling tournament Saturday. So the argument has started again.

Mack wanted to wrestle against the boys. The UIL says he had to wrestle the girls. And that’s not fair for anybody involved in this argument.

Mack has been taking testosterone and it shows. There’s a reason we have rules in sports against steroids, and it was an incredibly unfair advantage for him. It was also unfair to the girls who had to wrestle him.

The question is, “When does a girl become a boy, and when does a boy become a girl?” or “When can you play games against those you identify with and not what a piece of paper says you are?”

That answer is way above my pay grade. But someone has to find a better answer than what we’re being given now.

As I said when I wrote about Missouri football player Michael Sam, I’m not always comfortable when a man tells me he’s gay. I don’t understand his world. But I do understand he’s a part of mine. And I am saying the same thing now about Mack Beggs.

Transitioning is a struggle I cannot imagine. It is a journey I could not make… and it is a life that too many cannot live.

The problems that Mack Beggs is facing and dealing with now remind me again that I don’t have any problems. He needs our support, and he does not need a group of old men in Austin telling him who to wrestle because of a genetic mix-up at birth.

We have argued long enough about birth certificates. It’s an argument that needs to end. You don’t have to understand – I myself don’t understand. But Mack Beggs is not the problem so many people make him out to be. He’s a child simply looking for his place in the world, and a chance to compete in the world.

Do we really not have the simple decency to allow him at least that? Because it seems to me it’s the very least we can do.

Watch below as Hansen reminds us how common sense and compassion come together.

A post shared by Bleacher Report (@bleacherreport) on Feb 28, 2017 at 3:51pm PST

(h/t Towleroad)

NYC: 12th Annual “Broadway Backwards” At The Al Hirschfeld Theatre

The Broadway community will come together once again for Broadway Backwards, an annual celebration of unity, equality and love through gender-reversed performances of classic showtunes.

This 12th annual evening is produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and benefits Broadway Cares and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in New York City.

The star-studded event features performances of quintessential Broadway tunes with a twist: men sing songs originally intended for women, and vice versa. Artists will perform the great songs of musical theatre while freeing themselves of the bounds of gender norms. It’s a show where gender doesn’t matter, but love does.

This exhilarating evening will include one-of-a-kind, unforgettable performances from celebrated stars of stage and screen including Sierra Boggess, Tony winner Len Cariou, Tony nominee Carolee Carmello, Robert Creighton, Ariana DeBose, Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo, Tony nominee Santino Fontana, Lora Lee Gayer, Tony winner John Glover, four-time Grammy Award nominee Josh Groban, Tony winner Cady Huffman, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Rachel Bay Jones, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Tony winner Levi Kreis, Eric Petersen, Tony nominee Andrew Rannells, Megan Sikora, Elizabeth Stanley, Bobby Conte Thornton, two-time Golden Globe winner, Tony nominee and Oscar nominee Kathleen Turner, six-time Emmy Award winner Bruce Vilanch, Rachel York and Jersey Boys original cast members Dominic Nolfi, Michael Longoria and Daniel Reichard.

Tickets are no longer available online. Additional tickets at various price levels may become available. Sign up for our waiting list to be contacted if more tickets are released.

Creator Robert Bartley will return to direct the show. He will be joined by Mary-Mitchell Campbell as music supervisor and Laura Bergquist as music director. Choreography will be created by Bartley, Christopher Rice and Adam Roberts.

Last year’s inspiring performance raised a record $480,287. It featured a 67-person cast of Broadway and television’s best, backed by a live onstage orchestra.

What began as a small, grassroots concert performed at The Center in 2006 quickly grew into a highly-anticipated event presented in Broadway’s best theatres. In its 11 editions, Broadway Backwards has raised more than $2.8 million for Broadway Cares and The Center.

Monday, March 13, 8 pm
Al Hirschfeld Theatre
302 West 45th Street, NYC

(source)

Matt Baume On Exactly WHO So-Called “Bathroom Bills” Actually Protect

Matt Baume

Super-smart guy Matt Baume has looked at the data, and he concluded: so-called “bathroom bills” do protect people – just not the ones they say.

What’s the REAL reason for “bathroom bans”? Those are laws that prevent transgender people from using the bathroom unless it matches their birth certificate. The politicians pushing them claim that they just want to protect people. And they’re right — stopping trans people from using the bathroom will protect people. But not the people they say.

Watch Baume break down the stats for you below: