LGBTQ news and entertainment
In the aftermath of former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee this week, the New York Daily News didn’t pull any punches calling out President Trump.
Not only the word “LIAR” emblazoned across the front page, but bullet points from Comey’s testimony including:
• Trump lied about Flynn obstruction try
• Trump lied about calling Russia case a hoax
• Trump lied about why I was fired
Does he, or doesn’t he?
The House committee looking into Russian interference in the 2016 election are asking the White House to release any recordings of chats between former FBI Director James Comey and President Trump.
From The Hill:
A House panel led by Reps. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) sent a letter on Friday to White House counsel Don McGahn demanding the release of any “tapes” of conversations between Comey and Trump. The president first suggested the existence of such tapes after Comey revealed that he wrote memos of his private conversations with Trump leading up to his firing.
Conaway and Schiff are representing the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence’s Russia investigation, and a separate bipartisan group of Senate Judiciary Committee members led by Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) also sent letters requesting the notes Comey wrote documenting the same meetings with Trump.
The Senate group requested the memos from Professor Daniel Richman, the friend Comey gave his notes to, and the House group requested any memos still in Comey’s possession.
Schiff and Conaway provided a deadline of June 23.
James Comey better hope that there are no “tapes” of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017
My guess is there are no “tapes.”
This was a case of Trump saying something false to throw Comey off balance. But most probably an empty, hollow threat.
At this point, Comey is so resolute in his recounting of the “let Flynn go” story, any actual recording would most probably confirm Comey’s version of the story.
President Donald Trump tells ABC News‘ Jon Karl that he’s “100 percent” willing to testify under oath about his interactions with fired FBI director James Comey.
Answering Karl’s question today at a press event with Romania’s President, Trump asserted that Comey lied in some parts of the testimony he gave Thursday to the Senate intelligence committee.
Trump says that he never asked Comey for a pledge of loyalty, and never told Comey he hoped the investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn would go away.
When asked if there are recordings of his conversations with Comey, President Trump says he will let the American people know very shortly but, “You’re gonna be very disappointed when you hear the answer.”
It goes without saying that Trump’s rather “shaky” relationship with the truth makes it easy to believe he would happily lie under oath.
Grab your popcorn and tuned.
Pres. Trump would “100%” be willing to say under oath that he didn’t ask Comey to let Flynn investigation “go”; didn’t say “I need loyalty.” pic.twitter.com/TayObtkChX— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) June 9, 2017
President Trump’s personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, issued a statement pushing back on some of James Comey’s testimony earlier today.
Axios points to these excerpts:
“The President never… directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone, including suggesting that Mr. Comey ‘let Flynn go.’ As he publicly stated the next day, he did say to Mr. Comey, ‘General Flynn is a good guy, he has been through a lot’ and also ‘asked how is General Flynn is doing.'”
“The President also never told Mr. Comey, ‘I need loyalty, I expect loyalty” in form or substance.'”
“It is overwhelmingly clear that there have been and continue to be those in government who are actively attempting to undermine this administration with selective and illegal leaks of classified information and privileged communications. Mr. Comey has now admitted that he is one of these leakers.”
“We will leave it [to] the appropriate authorities to determine whether [these Comey] leaks should be investigated along with all those others being investigated.”
Additionally, Kasowitz said yesterday upon the release of Comey’s 7 pages of testimony that Trump feels “totally vindicated.”
Kasowitz also claimed that Comey’s releasing details of his conversations with President Trump violated executive privilege and that it constituted a “leak.”
John Dean called that “baloney.”
John Dean calls Dump’s lawyer Kasowitz’s advocacy “pure Baloney.” #ComeyDay pic.twitter.com/xpoqHjUXtO— Andrew Jerell Jones (@sluggahjells) June 8, 2017
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| Paul Ryan |
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan suggested during comments to the press today that President Trump’s request to James Comey to drop FBI investigations into Michael Flynn could stem from his lack of experience in government.
From The Hill:
“Of course there needs to be a degree of independence between [the Department of Justice], FBI, and the White House and a line of communication’s established,” Ryan told reporters.
“The president’s new at this. He’s new to government. So he probably wasn’t steeped in the long-running protocols that establish the relationships between DOJ, the FBI and White Houses. He’s just new to this.”
Another reporter later pressed Ryan on why inexperience is an “acceptable excuse” for Trump’s behavior.
“I’m not saying it’s an acceptable excuse. It’s just my observation,” Ryan replied. “He’s new at government and so therefore I think that he’s learning as he goes.”
The night before, Ryan told MSNBC’s Greta Van Susteren that it was “obviously” inappropriate for Trump to ask for Comey’s loyalty.
“The President’s new at this”: House Speaker Paul Ryan defends President Trump's interactions with James Comey https://t.co/kcvID85H8E pic.twitter.com/s1s6FkO1YW— CNN (@CNN) June 8, 2017
During an appearance on MSNBC last night, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told host Nicole Wallace regarding Trump’s unorthodox communications, “What you’re seeing is a president who is now very publicly learning about the way people react to what he considers to be normal New York City conversation.”
That sounds like Christie thinks Trump should get a break for doing things considered very, very inappropriate for a president.
Immediately “normal New York City conversation” began trending on Twitter.
New Quinnipiac Poll on President Trump shows him at his lowest level yet in this poll with 34% approval; 57% disapproval.
Also from the survey:
• 54% say Trump is too friendly to Russia, 3% say he is too unfriendly
• 68 percent of voters are “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” about Trump’s relationship with Russia
• 45% say Russia is an adversary, 8% say it is an ally
• 73% of voters approve of the appointment of Robert Mueller as a special counsel to investigate possible links or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia; 15% of voters do not approve
With much fanfare, President Trump visited Saudi Arabia last month and his administration announced that he had negotiated a $110 billion arms deal with the kingdom.
That’s what he does – makes deals. Right?
But hold on second there, Skippy. There’s a reason why Trump likes the term “fake news.”
Because that’s what he makes. Fake News.
Turns out there isn’t any “deal” in place with the Saudis.
From senior fellow Bruce Riedel at The Brookings Institute, a non-partisan think tank:
I’ve spoken to contacts in the defense business and on the Hill, and all of them say the same thing: There is no $110 billion deal. Instead, there are a bunch of letters of interest or intent, but not contracts. Many are offers that the defense industry thinks the Saudis will be interested in someday. So far nothing has been notified to the Senate for review. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the arms sales wing of the Pentagon, calls them “intended sales.” None of the deals identified so far are new, all began in the Obama administration.
None of the deals identified so far are new, all began in the Obama administration.
An example is a proposal for sale of four frigates (called multi-mission surface combatant vessels) to the Royal Saudi navy. This proposal was first reported by the State Department in 2015. No contract has followed. The type of frigate is a derivative of a vessel that the U.S. Navy uses but the derivative doesn’t actually exist yet.
Another piece is the Terminal High Altitude Air Defense system (THAAD) which was recently deployed in South Korea. The Saudis have expressed interest in the system for several years but no contracts have been finalized. Obama approved the sale in principle at a summit at Camp David in 2015.
Also on the wish list are 150 Black Hawk helicopters. Again, this is old news repackaged. What the Saudis and the administration did is put together a notional package of the Saudi wish list of possible deals and portray that as a deal. Even then the numbers don’t add up. It’s fake news.
Bringing hundreds of billions of dollars back to the U.S.A. from the Middle East – which will mean JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2017
Oh, and that “tax bill” that Trump told the world last week is currently “moving along in Congress” and “doing very well?”
Yeah, there’s no tax bill either.
According to Vox.com:
• No tax bill has been introduced to the US House of Representatives.
• No tax bill has been introduced to the US Senate.
• The White House has not released a tax plan that is detailed enough for experts to assess its economic or fiscal impact.
–@POTUS: “Our tax bill is moving along in Congress and I believe it’s doing very well.” pic.twitter.com/3ydxrv7cbN— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) June 1, 2017
Fake news, folks. Fake news.
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| Donald Trump |
In the early aftermath of the recent London attacks, President Trump took time to ridicule the Mayor of London for telling citizens there was “no reason to be alarmed.”
At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is “no reason to be alarmed!”— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017
Of course, Trump took the Mayor’s comment out of context. What Mayor Khan was addressing was the increased security measures Londoners would be seeing. The full statement was, “Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days. No reason to be alarmed.”
The Mayor’s spokesperson responded to Trump’s insult by telling reporters on Sunday that Mayor Khan “has more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump’s ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks urging Londoners not to be alarmed when they saw more police — including armed officers — on the streets.”
Right on schedule the Trumpster doubled down on his attacks on London Mayor Sadiq Khan this morning:
Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his “no reason to be alarmed” statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
Remember, the Mayor of London is in the middle of a crisis. And our president is taking time to demean him?
Other than the mayor of London being Muslim, why is Trump attacking him right now?The man is trying to deal with a terrorist attack. https://t.co/7mhKY1F5rY
— Zac Petkanas (@Zac_Petkanas) June 5, 2017
Imagine if British PM Tony Blair misquoted & repeatedly attacked NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani after 9/11. That’s basically what Trump just did. https://t.co/8gDcVmZ4Yy— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) June 5, 2017
Last night in London, three knife-wielding assailants unleashed a terror attack, the third major terrorist attack in the UK in three months.
Driving a white van, the three men killed seven and injured dozens driving across the London Bridge. They then left the van and entered the capital’s Borough Market with large hunting knives, slashing at patrons.
Within minutes, the police chased down the men and killed them.
In a statement, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days. There’s no reason to be alarmed. One of the things the police and all of us need to do is ensure that we’re as safe as we possibly can be.”
President Trump’s response to the terror attacks in London last night was to take aim at the city’s mayor and that statement.
At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is “no reason to be alarmed!”— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017
As he has done often in the past, Trump took the Mayor’s statement out of context. The mayor wasn’t saying there was no need to be alarmed by the attacks. He was clearly saying to Londoners not to be alarmed by the increased police presence people will be seeing over the next few days.
Because that’s what the mayor needs right now, the president of another country criticizing him in the middle of a terror attack.
Can you imagine Prime Minister Theresa May chiding the mayors of Orlando or Boston after their horrible attacks?
A spokesman for the mayor responded to the tweet saying, “The Mayor is busy working with the police, emergency services and the government to coordinate the response to this horrific and cowardly terrorist attack and provide leadership and reassurance to Londoners and visitors to our city.”
He added that Mayor Khan “has more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump’s ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks urging Londoners not to be alarmed when they saw more police — including armed officers — on the streets.”
Bolding is mine.