Senate Committee Wants Comey's Testimony and Memos on Trump (UPDATE: Special Counsel Appointed)

The Justice Department announced this afternoon they have appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as a special counsel to oversee the investigation into any sort of relationship between the Russian government, President Donald Trump's associates during the election, and any sort of possible effort to manipulate the election.

Mueller will answer to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and has been asked to investigate in three semi-specific areas:

• Any links or coordination between the Russian government and anybody associated with Trump's presidential campaign
• Any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation
• Any matters within the scope of the authorized jurisdiction of special counsel. This includes any federal crimes that may arise from attempts to interfere with the investigation, such as perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, witness tampering, et cetera.

The second item would seem to cover an investigation of whether Trump attempted to interfere with the investigation or attempted to convince Jim Comey to shut it down. The third item would seem to cover any new attempts to try to meddle with Mueller's investigation.

http://reason.com/blog/2017/05/17/senate-committee-wants-comey-memos-on-tr 

There’s no evidence whatsoever of any crime, so expect major convictions

have heard about “Witch-Hunts” all of my life. When I was a small child, Senator Joe McCarthy (R-Wis.) and the House Un-American Activities Committee were said by the left-wingers to be on a “witch-hunt” for Communists in the government. That’s what the left alleged against Richard Nixon when he was a young Congressman from Yorba Linda, too. The allegation was a bit misleading, though, because as far as we know, there are no such things as witches. There’s Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi and they are not nice, but no one could prove that there are even such things as witches, let alone that there are witches in high office.

But there were Communists and Communist sympathizers and friends of our murderous enemy, Stalin’s Russia, in high places in government. One need only mention Alger Hiss and Harry Dexter White, at State and Treasury respectively, to make the point. There really was something worth looking for — traitors who were demonstrably agents of an enemy.

Now, we have a new kind of witch-hunt going on against the administration and the person of Donald Trump. The allegation is that there was some kind of control of the 2016 Presidential Campaign exercised by the Russia and that the control ran by some kind of collusion between Russia and Donald Trump. And now, with the appointment of Mr. Mueller as a Special Prosecutor in this case, we see a REAL witch-hunt hit high gear. This one is a REAL witch-hunt because there is no evidence at all of any kind whatsoever that there was any collusion with the Russians by Trump. There is no evidence that the Russians controlled Trump or anyone in his campaign.

https://spectator.org/witch-hunting-for-trump/ 

It’s a Coup!

During the last eight years, the far left and their cohorts in the Democratic Party were successfully on their way to transforming our Constitutional Republic from a country of laws into a country of men. They arrogantly believed the last election was theirs to be had with Hillary Clinton at the helm to continue Obama's legacy of "leading from behind." Their mission is the "transformation of our free market, our sovereignty, and our culture to a Socialist/Communist New World Order. They didn't count on billionaire Donald Trump, who had never before held office, to throw a wrench into their radical agenda by injecting himself into our body politic, and in return they are waging a relentless coup to have him removed from office.

They have termed this coup "The Resistance" and with the aid of our activist judicial system, educational institutions, Hollywood, the press, and social media; they are leading a full blown war against President Trump on various fronts. With the aid of the propaganda media establishment, akin to the old Soviet Union's Pravda, they proudly obstruct President Trump's every move. Their aim is impeachment, but to impeach they need to have grounds; thus, they have concocted a conspiracy theory of Russian collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians without a shred of evidence to support that theory.

Not a day goes by without an accusation by Democrats in search of a crime. When President Trump used an Executive Order to initiate his travel ban from countries known to be hotbeds of Islamic terrorism, the Left used the courts to stop his ban from taking effect. Although President Trump had the statutory authority to execute the ban pursuant to section 1182(f) and 1185 (a) of Title 8, they succeeded in halting the ban by filing their lawsuits in Federal District Court within the far left 9th Circuit (the most overturned court in the country), dominated by Clinton and Obama appointed judges, well known for its judicial activism and disregard of Constitutional principles. Consequently, Muslim refugees who cannot be vetted for lack of documentation continue to stream onto our shores and increase the risk of terror attacks on the mainland.

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/05/its_a_coup.html#ixzz4hRzUJNhr 

There is Collusion — Between the Media and Democrats

Just five months in, 2017 is going down in history as the year that gave us the worst media bias America has ever witnessed.
It’s worse than slanted, it’s flat-out rigged against our president and he knows it. Yesterday at the Coast Guard Academy commencement ceremony, President Trump said, “Look at the way I have been treated lately, especially by the media. No politician in history, and I say this with great surety, has been treated worse or more unfairly.”
The days of honest, ethical journalism guided by facts, not political motives, have been replaced by agenda-driven activism by political operatives masquerading as mainstream media journalists.
Each and every week, they have manufactured a continual cycle of “fake news” crises about the Trump administration for the sole purpose of smearing the Republican leader so that Democrats can take back power in the midterms and 2020.
Hopefully voters are savvy enough to see through the daily smear campaign against our president by The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Huffington Post, the New York Daily News, the AP and scores of other left-leaning media outlets whose reporters wake up every morning with one goal: take down Trump.

http://www.gopusa.com/?p=24574?omhide=true 

Newsworthy Items 2

This item explains the why the center left's is so discombobulated by Trump.  Quote: "Writing in 1944, Ludwig von Mises wrote that the debate over the future of freedom is not only about beating back socialism, communism, fascism, interventionism, and so on. There is broader discussion to be had. The core problem is the ideology of statism, a word he took from the French term etatism. It identified a view that the state should always and in everything be the central power, organizing principle, and spiritual core of any society. It must be the final judge, the final arbiter, the center of our loyalties, the one indispensable institution because it alone is deserving of our highest devotion and ideal. It must be forever built, larger and larger, taking on ever more responsibility and taking ever more money and power from the rest of us.  The president is supposed to at least pretend to be the high priest of the statist religion. That's his job, according to this outlook.  Everything seemed to being going so well under the Obama administration, which was so earnest, so decorous, so civil. He was funny, smart, respectful of process, and sincere in his pronouncements. He ran on hope and change but governed as the person who kept hope for a new freedom and any radical change at bay."    https://fee.org/articles/trump-defiles-the-sanctity-of-government-and-it-drives-the-center-left-mad/?  

If you want to know what Democrats really think of most Americans, this item will give you needed insight.  Quote: "A Democratic lawmaker from California referred to Middle America as "Podunk, USA," during a committee meeting last week, several sources inside the meeting told the Washington Free Beacon.  Remarks by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D., Calif.) during a closed-door Energy and Commerce Committee meeting with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai raised eyebrows from those present.

The moment occurred when Eshoo pushed back against Pai when he was discussing expanding broadband access to rural areas."    http://freebeacon.com/politics/democrat-refers-middle-america-podunk-usa/?    You will recall that during the election cycle Hillary labled those who supported Trump as "irredeemable deplorables".  There can no longer be any doubt that the Democrat party is all in for itself and its political agenda with little or no regard for the people they claim to care about.

I do not always agree with Alan Dershowitz's opinions but I usually do agree with him when addressing matters of law.  This is such a case. Quote: "The debate over the proprietary of the president's actions, about which I have opined repeatedly, should continue, but let's take the allegations of criminal obstruction of justice out of this important debate. There is more than enough fodder for a debate over the merits and demerits of the president's actions without mudding the waters with absurd charges of criminality.

Partisanship seems to have no limits these days. Both parties are equally at fault, as are extremists among the public and within the media. It is getting harder and harder to have a nuanced debate about complex political issues.  'Everything is either evil or good, nothing has elements of both. Actions either deserve criminal indictment or the Nobel Prize. Nobody benefits from this kind of discussion.  So, let's agree to disagree about important issues, but let's not distort the debate with extremist slogans like "lock her up" or "obstruction of justice."     http://www.newsmax.com/AlanDershowitz/obstruction-justice-president-Alan-Dershowitz/2017/05/11/id/789650/?

 

The Comey firing gave the Democrats another opportunity to expose their hypocrisy.  Here is what former President Clinton did.  Quote: "July 19th, 1993 proves Trump was right to fire Comey. That was the date Slick Willy himself — former President Bill Clinton — did the same thing! The liberal media doesn’t want to admit it… but Clinton axed William Sessions just a few months into his presidency, and the circumstances are quite familiar. So where was the liberal outrage then?  There was none."   https://thehornnews.com/revealed-july-19th-1993-proves-trump-100-right-wow/ 

 

Ask yourself this question.  If this were a Republican would the mainstream media be all over it and reporting it as proof of how awful and corrupt Republicans are.  Quote: "If there was one thing the liberal media does with the greatest of ease, it would be pretending the corruption of Democrats doesn’t exist. That talent was on full display Thursday as the Big Three Networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) as well as Univision and Telemundo, ignored the conviction of former Florida Democratic Congresswoman Corrine Brown. “Corrine Brown has been found guilty on 18 fraud and tax evasion charges,” reported Fox News’ Bret Baier during Special Report."     http://www.libertyheadlines.com/network-news-ignores-former-dem-congresswoman-convicted-corruption/?  I second this motion...term limits for elected officials will help curb corruption like that displayed by Ms. Brown and anyone else regardless of political affiliation.   https://townhall.com/columnists/pauljacob/2017/05/14/another-argument-for-term-limits----convicted-n2326572?

 

This writer speculates that this notion espoused by the political left may eventually split the country.  Quote: "Jimmy Kimmel could have said, “Obamacare may not be perfect and it may have been sold with a lot of lies, but I believe it’s worth it for everyone else to pay more so the small percentage of the population with pre-existing conditions and no insurance can be covered.” That pitch may not be a political winner, but at least it would be an honest argument. Instead, Kimmel is essentially arguing that ONLY people who agree with him care about the healthcare of children and the rest of us want children to die.  This sort of rhetoric has become commonplace on the Left and it’s not just dishonest, it’s evil. It’s bad for the country. It could even potentially split the country apart one day because we won’t be able to continue to live with each other. In fact, we’ve already reached the point where California’s threats to secede are being met with cries of “faster please, what can we do to help?” from millions of conservatives." https://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2017/05/13/the-liberal-lie-so-big-it-may-one-day-split-the-country-n2326353?  

 

We will just have to wait and see what comes of this, if anything.   Quote: "While Democrats and the mainstream media claim President Donald Trump terminated FBI Director James Comey because of what he might have found in an Russia meddling probe, the fact there will be a new leader at the bureau may have unintended consequences for scandal-plagued and twice-failed candidate Hillary Clinton.  The investigation into her emails and the immunity deals granted to Clinton and her aides may be revisited, Brian Weidner, a veteran former FBI agent warns.  “I would be surprised if they did not review all the investigations regarding HRC and come up with [a] conclusion regarding prosecution. The statute of limitations hasn’t come into play yet,” Weidner said in an email to Fox News."    http://www.wnd.com/2017/05/uh-oh-hillary-fbi-could-reopen-emailgate/

 

This is a display of common sense.  Legal immigrants oppose illegal immigration.  Quote: ""Surprise," says the headline. "Stunned," were supporters of the sanctuary policies, Tavernise report:  "Democrats oppose deportation on the grounds that it breaks up families, Mr. Ma said. But so do other aspects of the justice system -- without setting off the same outcry.  'If a single mother commits a crime and has to go to jail,' he said, 'we don't say, 'Oh, we can't do that, because it will break her family.'  This perspective baffled the sanctuary bill’s supporters."  Why? Immigrants have at least as much at stake in a credible immigration policy as their fellow Americans who were born here. Immigration policy continues to effect immigrants long after they arrive. In fact, immigrants and their children are often the first to feel the effects of the next wave."     https://www.numbersusa.com/blog/immigrants-oppose-illegal-immigration-native-born-americans-shocked

 

This is an item that reveals yet again the gross hypocrisy of the political left.  Quote: "The Constitution limits the powers of government. The Founders wrote a document that told the government what it cannot do. The Democrats do not like that because they want the government to do everything — just so long as they are in charge.  This ridiculous double-standard is why the Democrats have kept losing. They consistently blow their wads on the outrage of the minute, and people have stopped listening because the Democrats have now become the party of “No you won’t” instead of “Yes we will.”  Their sudden cries of “Constitutional crisis!” should at best be mocked. Because we know that the moment they get back in power, they’ll go right back to trying to ignore it." http://www.redstate.com/joesquire/2017/05/13/people-dont-believe-constitution-think-facing-constitutional-crisis/?

 

Despite left leaning protestors irrational and irresponsible behavior Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education, is a true winner that deserves praise from all quarters.  This item explains.  Quote: "Parents know what's best for their children. Survey after survey show the majority of minority voters in America support school choice. For example, The Black Alliance for Educational Options poll in 2015 showed the majority of African-American voters surveyed support charter schools – Tennessee 67%, Louisiana 65%, New Jersey 65%, Alabama 54%. An American Federation for Children poll in 2016 shows 75 percent of Latinos support school choice.  Betsy DeVos’ critics are the ones who are tone deaf to these voters' plea for change. If they think their heckling, protesting, shouting, booing and shaming will force Secretary DeVos to change course, they do not know her at all. Betsy DeVos is the "iron" lady in America's education field. She has given 30 years of her time to advocate for school choice. There's no way she is changing course now. Her perseverance should be good news to all parents who want to choose the best education solution for their children."    https://townhall.com/columnists/helenraleigh/2017/05/13/hats-off-to-iron-betsy-n2326110?

This man is so massively hypocritical it is hard to put him and his super boosted ego into perspective.  Guess who it is.   http://conservativetribune.com/look-what-obama-accidentally/?

One of the irrational components of liberals/progressives philosophy is their views regarding religious liberty and separation of church and state.  Their hypocritical dishonesty is blatantly obvious as this piece points out.     http://www.wnd.com/2017/05/rebellion-grows-against-muslim-indoctrination-in-schools/

Given the abysmal job the mainstream media is doing how is this even possible.   http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/study-media-jobs-salary-soar-38-in-dc-crash-22-nationally/article/2622763

You will recall that acting Attorney General Sally Yates refused to enforce President Trump's Executive Order banning persons from select Middle Eastern countries and declared it to be unconstitutional.   This piece establishes that she was wrong and why she was fired by Trump.     http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/05/09/ted-cruz-sally-yates/  This item extends the discussion an suggests that the firings of both Yates and Comey are consistent with his intent to drain the DC swamp.    http://www.americanlibertyreport.com/articles/sally-yates-accused-of-leaking-info-to-the-press/

This is just one more of hundreds if not thousands of reasons why illegal immigration must be brought under control.    http://eaglerising.com/43720/dui-suspect-who-nearly-killed-boy-in-car-crash-had-been-deported-15-times/

This item highlights the havoc the Clintons have wreaked over the years with their unethical and in this case illegal behavior.  They do the dirty deeds but others pay the price.   https://townhall.com/columnists/michaelbarone/2017/05/12/james-comey-is-the-latest-victim-of-the-clintons-n2325467?

George Burns

Newsworthy Items 1

Unless something is done to stop it this illness will infect and destroy the entire country.  Quote: "Think the state of California couldn’t possibly drift any further to the far left? Think again.  On May 8th, the California State Assembly passed a bill that will allow members of the Communist Party to work openly within the state’s government. Given our nation’s never-ending fight against the backward and dangerous ideology of communism, allowing open communists to openly work within the government seems like a new low even for Californian legislators.  Nevertheless, the California State Assembly thought it was a good idea, for reasons certainly known only to them.  During the 1940s and 1950s at the height of the “Red Scare”, laws across the nation were passed that allowed for people working within the government to be fired if it was found out that they were a practicing communist. For the most part, lawmakers have considered these laws a good idea, even once the Red Scare died down. After all, communism has a tendency to spread through a nation like a virus, and there’s no sense in taking any risk of letting it take root in the United States government."     http://www.conservativezone.com/articles/california-welcomes-communists-to-work-in-government/   This is the legacy of the political left/progressive's 100 plus years of war against the spiritual, moral, civil and fiscal foundations that built our country.   If the socialists and political left ultimately succeed in completely undermining those foundations the first half of the last century will return with a vengeance and the consequences will be much worse. Notably the US Communist Party supported Hillary during the last election.  That support alone should have signaled the significance of the changing face of the Democratic party and its socialist allies.  Following her loss there has been a notable increase by Democrat party elders, apparatchiks in media, academia and followers in the use of vitriolic language and exhibiting disturbing behavior against anyone who disagrees with their leftist political agenda.  That is history repeating itself.  If this does not change serious troubles lie ahead.  Seemingly the political left does not care about the ongoing example of what their political agenda always produces as represented by the complete collapse of the once rich country of Venuszueala.

This item is noteworthy only because it provides a comparison of current White House occupants with Hillary who was rude to and dismissive of those who protected her as well as the Obamas who treated them as servants/considered them bothersome.  I'm not being mean.  The facts are very well documented.    http://conservativetribune.com/ivankas-family-secret-service/?

When asked at a senate hearing Obama's CIA Director James Clapper, Quote: "Have you used unmasking on President Trump, any of his campaign staff or any US Senators?...…Clapper bowed his head in shame and said, “YES.”  Presumably he did so at the behest of Obama.  If not, then who?  Have you heard anyone in the Democrat party or the mainstream media demand an investigation into this admission of blatant violations of the law during Obama's reign?   https://libertywriters.com/2017/05/trump-right-cia-director-clapper-just-leaked-something-huge-government-spying/

George Soros just will not go away.  This item summarizes his ongoing funding support to disrupt anything the Trump administration tries to do. He is a really, really bad man.  Quote: "The groups leading a campaign targeting corporations that may benefit from Trump administration policies have received millions from liberal billionaire George Soros."   http://freebeacon.com/issues/soros-funded-groups-behind-anti-trump-corporate-targeting-campaign/?

The political left is totally discombobulated.  They are all over the map with their outrageous behavior.  Quote: "In a shocking move on Tuesday, President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, who was just three years in to his 10-year term with the agency. While some observers could say this was a long time coming for the scandal-ridden bureau, Democrats in Washington, D.C. and the media are already comparing this to Watergate.  This not only makes no sense – it reveals Democratic lawmakers are unapologetic hypocrites." And, "Some Democratic lawmakers are calling for an independent prosecutor to investigate the recent events – and Republicans should allow them to do so because it kills two birds with one stone.  First, it can put the nail in the coffin of the Trump-Russia myth. Second, it allows Trump to portray Democratic Senators as being purely obstructionist. These are both wins for the Trump administration and the Republican Party as a whole."  http://www.conservativezone.com/articles/democrats-are-delusional-about-james-comey/   These former FBI assistant directors agree with Trump's firing of Comey.   http://www.westernjournalism.com/former-fbi-assistant-directors-weigh-comeys-firing/?

This is an excellent analysis which undermines efforts by the political left to impugn Trump for his firing of the FBI Director.  Their irrational and childish behavior speaks volumes as to their character.  Quote: "On Tuesday, James Comey, the former director of the F.B.I. was fired by President Donald Trump. Like much that Trump does, it was met with cries of “constitutional crisis.” Which on their face are laughable. But there is a broader question lurking below the surface of the debate, which goes to the fundamental problem with our current political state: Should the president, in his capacity as executive, be able to fire any executive branch employee? The answer to that question gets at the heart of our political morass.  As the Heritage Foundation’s Ronald Pestritto explains in a paper examining the birth of the administrative state, the founders believed that man was inherently self-interested, and that any proper government must check man’s self-interest. That is the basis for the American system of checks and balances.  As Pestritto further explains, it is why three distinct branches of government were called for in the Constitution. Each branch was set with limited roles. The executive was granted only the powers to administer government. That would include hiring and firing.  The founders set up checks on that power to administer, by giving Congress the power of the purse, and the judiciary the power to interpret laws. Each branch was co-equal. Each action of those branches was set to be ultimately checked by the people, at the ballot box."    https://www.conservativereview.com/articles/heres-why-trumps-authority-to-fire-comey-ensures-your-liberty

This is a financial issue that has been known for some time by economists and many in government.  But, as usual the government regardless of the political party in power does nothing.  Quote: "As central banks appeared as omnipotent purchasers of government bonds to the un-savvy trader, the yields of the debt by no means reflect the risk of a default in the country’s payments. The decline in yields masked the rising risks from fiscal mismanagement that has been widespread. While the Federal Reserve had recently announced that it would no longer reinvest its gains on government bonds that had matured into new US securities, the US bond market will need to find new buyers to absorb the additional supply. That may not be a problem right now, but as other government debt moves into crisis, we will see the capital flight from bonds to equities unfold."  And, "As central banks appeared as omnipotent purchasers of government bonds to the un-savvy trader, the yields of the debt by no means reflect the risk of a default in the country’s payments. The decline in yields masked the rising risks from fiscal mismanagement that has been widespread. While the Federal Reserve had recently announced that it would no longer reinvest its gains on government bonds that had matured into new US securities, the US bond market will need to find new buyers to absorb the additional supply. That may not be a problem right now, but as other government debt moves into crisis, we will see the capital flight from bonds to equities unfold."    https://www.theburningplatform.com/2017/05/15/the-coming-central-bank-crisis/

More on the problem identified in the previous item. While the Federal Reserve had recently announced that it would no longer reinvest its gains on government bonds that had matured into new US securities, the US bond market will need to find new buyers to absorb the additional supply. That may not be a problem right now, but as other government debt moves into crisis, we will see the capital flight from bonds to equities unfold.   https://www.theburningplatform.com/2017/05/15/the-coming-central-bank-crisis/ 

Comey dropped some disturbing facts on the Senate just before he was fired.  They have nothing to do with his firing or investigations of Russia connections to either Hillary or Trump.  They have everything to do with Obama's nightmare Muslim policies.  Quote: "Just before he was fired, FBI Director James Comey dropped a truth bomb on the floor of the U.S. Senate: President Donald Trump was right.  Our broken refugee policy is killing us.  Accepting refugees from the Middle East has let hundreds of would-be terrorists enter the United States, he told the Senate last Wednesday. Comey testified that the FBI was investigating at least 2,000 terrorists nationwide – and about 15 percent of them got into the United States by posing as “refugees.”  “You take that 2,000-plus cases, about 300 of them are people who came to the United States as refugees,” he told North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis."     https://thehornnews.com/comey-dropped-bombshell-right-fired/Quote

Trump is having a field day with the media

Democrats and the media are coming unglued. Completely unglued. Donald Trump has their heads spinning as he trolls them non-stop. Trump fired James Comey and while no one has really said that Comey didn’t need to go, the left is all frothing at the mouth about the timing, which I suspect is no accident.
Elizabeth Warren said that Trump “no doubt” fired Comey to kill the Russia investigation.
But Acting Director Wayne McCabe said the not only will the probe go on, but that no one has attempted to interfere with it.

But McCabe told senators that the investigation – which he called “highly significant” — is continuing unimpeded.
“The work continues despite any changes in circumstances,” McCabe said. “There has been no effort to impede our investigation to date. You cannot stop the men and women of the FBI from doing the right thing, protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution.”
Comey originally had been set to testify Thursday about worldwide threats, but McCabe appeared in his place, offering assurances to lawmakers that if there was any interference he would inform them. When asked by Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., if he would promise to tell them of any moves to interfere in the probe, McCabe said: “I absolutely do.”

The NY Times reported that Comey was asking for more money for the Russian investigation days before his firing said “three congressional officials familiar with the matter” :

http://www.floppingaces.net/2017/05/12/trump-is-having-a-field-day-with-the-media/