Category: Clinton Emails

Trump Accuses Ex-FBI Director Comey of ‘Crimes’ and Calls for Him to Be Investigated By a ‘Special Council’

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President Donald Trump continued a Twitter flurry Saturday morning by accusing former FBI Director James Comey of “crimes” and demanding to know why Attorney General Jeff Sessions or a “special council” have not investigated him.

Starting bright and early Saturday morning, Trump has furiously tweeted — ten times in 2 hours — on a variety of subjects from Hillary Clinton to Obamacare.

“So many people are asking why isn’t the A.G. or Special Council [sic] looking at the many Hillary Clinton or Comey crimes. 33,000 e-mails deleted?” Trump tweeted before defending his son, Donald Trump Jr. over his emails, writing: “My son Donald openly gave his e-mails to the media & authorities whereas Crooked Hillary Clinton deleted (& acid washed) her 33,000 e-mails!”

You can see those tweets and quite a few more below:

[Raw Story]

Reality

Donald Trump demanding investigations of his political rivals and those in law enforcement who investigated him screams that he is completely innocent.

Let’s step through each claim:

Donald Trump Jr. openly gave emails

Trump’s eldest son released the emails just minutes before The New York Times published a report detailing the contents of the emails, which show that Trump Jr. was told before the meeting that the information about Clinton was part of a Russian government effort to help his father’s presidential campaign.

Democrats are obstructionists

No, one of the parties has an idea for healthcare for this country, Democrats, and they passed it and it is called the Affordable Care Act. Republicans only want to take it away.

And just the previous week, ten Democrats put forth a plan to mend the ACA that did not involve removing 22 million Americans from healthcare coverage.

Republicans, on the other hand, made obstructionism their party identity for 8 years during the Obama Administration.

Hillary Clinton sold Russia Uranium

Clinton did not sell a uranium mine to Russia, she was Secretary of the State Department when they and, this is important, 9 total agencies signed-off on a sale of an energy company to a Canadian-based Russian subsidiary. Again, very important, she didn’t have the power to approve or reject the deal.

Hillary Clinton acid washed 33,000 emails

You can’t “acid wash” emails, that’s not a thing.

Trump: Why is Clinton Not Investigated But I Am?

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President Trump on Thursday questioned why Hillary Clinton isn’t the subject of Russia-related investigations but he is.

“Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are?” Trump tweeted.

“Crooked H destroyed phones w/ hammer, ‘bleached’ emails, & had husband meet w/AG days before she was cleared- & they talk about obstruction?” he added, in reference to the investigation into Clinton’s private email server.

Trump has previously called into question the Clinton campaign, referencing potential contacts between her campaign staff and the Kremlin.

“What about all of the contact with the Clinton campaign and the Russians? Also, is it true that the DNC would not let the FBI in to look?”  Trump asked on March 20.

Later that month, Trump asked why the “fake news” did not cover “ties” between the Kremlin and Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta.

“Why doesn’t Fake News talk about Podesta ties to Russia as covered by @FoxNews or money from Russia to Clinton – sale of Uranium?” Trump tweeted at the time.

The president has also accused former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who presided over the Justice Department while it conducted the investigation into Clinton’s private server use, of making “law enforcement decisions for political purposes.”

The U.S. intelligence community concluded last year that Russia interfered in the presidential election specifically to help Trump defeat Clinton, the Democratic nominee.

The Justice Department, FBI and Senate and House Intelligence committees are investigating Russian election meddling, including possible ties between Trump’s team and Russia.

In addition, a special counsel is reportedly probing whether Trump obstructed justice by firing former FBI Director James Comey last month. Comey testified that Trump leaned on him to “let go” of the bureau’s probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

[The Hill]

Reality

Okay let’s step through these one at a time.

Clinton did not sell a uranium mine to Russia, she was Secretary of the State Department when they and, this is important, 9 total agencies signed-off on a sale of an energy company to a Canadian-based Russian subsidiary. Again, very important, she didn’t have the power to approve or reject the deal.

Hillary Clinton destroyed her old phones “with a hammer” because destroying old devices is standard operating procedure, and state.gov emails would have been on government servers, not on her phone.

You can’t “bleach” emails, that’s not a thing.

Yes Bill Clinton met with Lorretta Lynch on a tarmac, they probably didn’t just talk about their grandkids, but Lynch recused herself from the Hillary Clinton private email server investigation immediately afterwards. That’s why the investigation then fell to James Comey, who found so little wrongdoing he could not imagine a reasonable prosecutor could bring a case.

Trump Has Fired FBI Director James Comey

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In a stunning turn of events, FBI Director James Comey has been fired. In a letter informing Comey of his termination, President Donald Trump wrote that he made the decision on the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and newly minted deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein. “While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation,” Trump wrote to Comey, “I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau.” The president concluded his letter by noting, “I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.”

Comey, who was himself the deputy attorney general of the United States under George W. Bush, has been the director of the FBI since 2013, when he was appointed to the position by President Obama. Comey became embroiled in controversy during the 2016 presidential campaign, when his agency was placed in the extraordinary position of investigating both members of the Trump campaign for possible involvement in Russian efforts to interfere with the election and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, for her handling of classified information stored on a private email server.

The investigation into Clinton’s emails was closed in July, with Comey recommending no criminal charges. But on Oct. 28, just days before the election, Comey sent a letter to Congress indicating the investigation had been reopened because of the potential discovery of new emails related to the probe. The FBI reported a week later that it had found no evidence of wrongdoing, but Comey’s decision to send the letter is thought to have been a decisive factor in Clinton’s defeat in November. In recent testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Comey said, “It makes me mildly nauseous to think that we might have had some impact on the election, but honestly, it wouldn’t change the decision.”

In a memo to Sessions titled “Restoring Public Confidence in the FBI,” Rosenstein argues that “the FBI’s reputation and credibility have suffered substantial damage” in the past year under Comey’s stewardship. In the memo, which can be read in full here via NBC’s Katy Tur, Rosenstein states he “cannot defend” Comey’s handling of the Clinton investigation—including his decision to publicly announce in July that he was not recommending charges be brought against her—and does “not understand [Comey’s] refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken.”

In a White House press release, Trump is quoted as saying, “The FBI is one of our Nation’s most cherished and respected institutions and today will make a new beginning for our crown jewel of law enforcement.”

(h/t Slate)

Reality

Trump and some Republicans have backed the move, pointing out that Democrats wanted Comey gone just as much as they did. And this is true, but the timing of the firing is at issue. America just learned a few weeks ago, by James Comey, that the Trump team is under investigation by the FBI for collusion and for business ties with Russia, and he was very involved.

Also, Trump’s rationale for Comey’s dismissal does not pass a smell test. Donald Trump’s aides went on news shows that night and tried to explain that he wasn’t happy with how Comey handled the Hillary Clinton email investigation, which exonerated her.

But just a few weeks prior, Trump was happy with the investigation, and in an interview with Fox News he said he still had confidence in him. Also, Comey’s letter of dismissal has exactly zero references to Hillary Clinton and her emails, but it does reference the Trump-Russia investigation.

So the problem that Trump supporters, most Republicans, and Fox News is missing is Trump fired the person who was leading an investigation into his collusion with Russia and now he gets to pick a replacement.

 

Trump Hammers FBI’s Comey For Not Jailing Clinton: ‘She Was Guilty of Every Charge’

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President Donald Trump is not happy with FBI Director James Comey for not arresting former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In an interview with Fox Business, host Maria Bartiromo claimed that many people don’t understand why there are still so many appointees or staff from President Barack Obama’s administration. She was specifically talking about Comey. Still, Trump expressed confidence in the embattled director.

“When Jim Comey came out, he saved Hillary Clinton. He saved her life,” referring to Comey’s declaration that he would not be charging Clinton with a crime.

“When he was reading those charges, she was guilty of every charge, and then he said she was essentially OK,” Trump continued.

Yet, when it comes to the investigation into the Trump campaign and Russia, Trump still has confidence in Comey.

He went on to complain about the obstruction in Congress and pesky things like “the law” that blocks him from doing what he’d like to do. “I wish they’d explain better the obstructionist nature,” he said.

When it comes to former Obama advisor Susan Rice, Trump continued to claim she ordered the unmasking of the name of the American being investigated. These unmaskings are part of the responsibilities of the national security advisor.

“Does anybody really believe that,” Trump said. “What they did is horrible.”

(h/t Raw Story)

Reality

Let’s revisit James Comey’s conclusion from July 2016:

Although there is evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case. Prosecutors necessarily weigh a number of factors before bringing charges. There are obvious considerations, like the strength of the evidence, especially regarding intent. Responsible decisions also consider the context of a person’s actions, and how similar situations have been handled in the past.

In looking back at our investigations into mishandling or removal of classified information, we cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts. All the cases prosecuted involved some combination of: clearly intentional and willful mishandling of classified information; or vast quantities of materials exposed in such a way as to support an inference of intentional misconduct; or indications of disloyalty to the United States; or efforts to obstruct justice. We do not see those things here.

Trump Adviser Repeats Call For Hillary Clinton To Be Executed

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A Donald Trump adviser repeated calls for Hillary Clinton to be executed while blaming reporters for misunderstanding exactly what type of harm he wishes her.

A reporter for The Republican/MassLive.com asked Baldasaro on Tuesday, after an unrelated event in Cambridge, whether he still stands by his remarks.

Baldasaro said his comments were in accordance with U.S. law establishing the death penalty for treason. He suggested that Clinton’s use of a private email server could be considered treasonous.

“That’s aiding and abetting the enemy by those emails on letting (out) names of Secret Service special agents, our veterans, on those emails,” Baldasaro said.

Asked if he was concerned about the impact of his rhetoric on someone who might take it upon themselves to act violently, Baldasaro said, “No. … Americans are better than that.”

“What you in the liberal media consider rhetoric, I consider freedom of speech,” Baldasaro said.

Baldasaro said if people are worried about the impact of him talking about the law on treason, “Maybe they need to take it off the books if they’re that worried.” He compared it to someone saying a person who killed a police officer should get the death penalty, which is the law in New Hampshire.

Asked whether he had spoken to Trump about his views, Baldasaro said he had. “Donald Trump, he might not agree on the way I said it, but I said it as a veteran,” Baldasaro said.

Baldasaro said the law is “in black and white.”

“If people are that stupid and don’t understand, that’s not my fault,” he said.

(h/t New York Daily News, MassLive.com)

Reality

Al Baldasaro is making the assumption that Hillary Clinton’s email server was compromised, which FBI Director James Comey speculated it was likely but as of yet there is no evidence. Without proof of a hack, or the ability to prove intent, then Mr. Baldasaro’s claims of treason fall apart.

Perphas Al Baldasaro should stop reading right-wing conspiracy articles on Breitbart.com that make the same unsubstantiated claims he is parroting.

But make no mistake people understand what he is saying, and they understand the history of what has happened before when leaders incite violence.

Yitzhak Rabin, was Prime Minister of Israel in early 1990s who attempted to pursue peaceful relations with the Palestinians, culmination in the Oslo Accords. In response, in some of the Israeli press Rabi was called a traitor, and posters of him dressed as a Nazi war criminal were waved at right-wing rallies. Many critics saw him as a traitor for giving away land they viewed as rightfully belonging to Israel.

In November 1995, Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir, a right-wing extremist who opposed the signing of the Oslo Accords. Amir was motivated by the hate speech in the media.

In 2011, Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot outside a Tucson Safeway, by Jared Lee Loughner. Congresswoman Giffords was featured on Sarah Palin’s infamous ‘crosshairs’ map, which targeted legislators who voted for Obama’s health care bill.

And finally, a black man, Rakeem Jones, protested a Donald Trump rally in North Carolina. As he was being escorted out of the rally by men in “Sheriff’s Office” uniforms, Jones was punched in the face by Trump supporter John McGraw. For months Donald Trump egged his supporters on, telling them if they saw a protester to “knock the crap out of them” and to not fear repercussions because he will “defend them in court” and “pay their legal fees.“

Trump’s Dishonest Attack on Clinton After Iran Executes Nuclear Scientist

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The execution of an Iranian nuclear scientist accused of spying for the US is reverberating from Tehran to the presidential campaign trail.

Critics, including opponent Donald Trump, are slamming former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for having received emails mentioning him on her controversial personal email server.

Trump took to Twitter on Monday to link Clinton to Shahram Amiri’s death, writing, “Many people are saying that the Iranians killed the scientist who helped the U.S. because of Hillary Clinton’s hacked emails.”

The emails mentioning Amiri were were part of a tranche released by the State Department last year pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request in the wake of the revelation that Clinton used a personal server to conduct official business. The FBI has said there is no direct evidence the server was hacked, noting such evidence would be hard to come by.

The Clinton campaign fired back at GOP attacks on Monday, releasing a statement even before Trump’s tweet accusing the GOP presidential nominee of using “increasingly desperate rhetoric to attack Hillary Clinton and make absurd accusations because they have no ideas for the American people.”

The State Department Monday denied any connection between the emails mentioning the delicate case and Amiri’s execution.

State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau told reporters “there was public reporting on this topic back in 2010,” referencing a news conference in which Clinton mentioned the scientist.

“This is not something that became public when the State Department released those emails,” she added, noting that none of the emails mentioning Amiri were classified or retroactively classified as such upon their release — as some emails sent to Clinton were — a sign the Amiri material was not considered too sensitive to be made public.

“We’re not going to comment on what may have led to this event,” Trudeau added, referring to Amiri’s prosecution and execution.

Amiri was initially greeted as a hero upon returning to Iran six years ago. At the time, he had claimed he was kidnapped by American spies while on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, saying that he had been offered millions of dollars to spy on the US’s behalf but had opted to turn it down. While in the US, he seemed to appear in one video saying he was kidnapped but later in another video said he was there by choice.

On Sunday, however, Iran’s Judiciary Ministry announced Amiri had been hanged for sharing Iran’s nuclear secrets with the enemy.

“He was put on trial and was convicted and sentenced to death,” Iran judiciary spokesman Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei told reporters Monday.

“(He) not only did not make up for his crime and did not repent, he also tried to send information from prison. Anyway, after due process, he received his punishment,” he added.

US officials have said that Amiri willingly defected but then changed his mind, choosing to return to Iran to be with his family. Officials suspect he feared for the safety of his family living in Iran.

“Mr. Amiri has been in the United States of his own free will and he is free to go,” Clinton said at a July 2010 press conference.

But the appearance of veiled references to the Amiri case in Clinton’s emails has fueled another round of recriminations over her private email account.

One message, written by Richard Morningstar, acting special envoy of the US secretary of state for Eurasian energy at the time, was sent to Clinton on July 5, 2010, just days after the videos purportedly of Amiri were posted online and less than two weeks before he left the US.

The email appears to reference Amiri’s hesitation at continuing on as a defector and his wish to leave the US.

“Per the subject we discussed, we have a diplomatic, ‘psychological’ issue, not a legal issue,” Morningstar wrote. “Our friend has to be given a way out. We should recognize his concerns and frame it in terms of a misunderstanding with no malevolent intent and that we will make sure there is no recurrence. Our person won’t be able to do anything anyway. If he has to leave, so be it.”

After arriving in Tehran, Amiri repeated his allegation that he was kidnapped by American intelligence agents.

Other Clinton critics accused her of being careless with sensitive information.

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas drew a link between the emails and Amiri’s execution Sunday, saying on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” “In the emails that were on Hillary Clinton’s private server, there were conversations among her senior advisors about this gentleman.”

He continued, “That goes to show just how reckless and careless her decisions were to put that kind of highly classified information on a private server, but I think her judgment is not suited to keep this country safe.”

(h/t CNN)

Reality

Trump has been intentionally and deceitfully conflating two separate incidents of the Russian hack of the DNC emails with Hillary Clinton’s private email server.

All of the information in the emails was public knowledge back in 2010, for example in this article from CBS News:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/missing-iranian-scientist-turns-up-in-dc/

Trump is simply being dishonest in a cheap attempt to link the execution of a possible spy with an email hack that never happened, using nothing but hearsay.

A technique perfected by Fox News.

Trump Invites Russian Hackers To Influence the American Election

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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday invited Russian hackers to find and publish Hillary Clinton’s emails.

“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 [Clinton] emails that are missing,” Trump said at a press conference. “I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. Let’s see if that happens. That’ll be nice.”

The remarks came after Clinton’s camp said this week that Russian hackers were likely responsible for breaching the computer networks of the Democratic National Committee earlier this year and leaking emails of top officials to WikiLeaks for publication.

The hack, which showed top staffers considering leaking negative information about Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, led to chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz announcing her resignation.

“Russia has no respect for our country,” Trump said at the press conference. “And that’s why, if it is Russia, nobody even knows it’s Russia, it was probably China. … It shows how weak we are. It shows how disrespected we are.”

Trump also slammed the DNC for what was seen as conspiring against Sanders to ensure that Clinton won the Democratic nomination.

“I’m not gonna tell Putin what to do. Why should I tell Putin what to do?” Trump said. “It’s not even about Russia or China or whoever it is that’s doing the hacking. It’s about the things they said in those emails. They were terrible things.”

He also accused Clinton of being in on the conspiracy.

“Believe me, as sure as you’re sitting there, Hillary Clinton knew about it,” Trump said. “She knew everything. Debbie Wasserman Schultz could not breathe without speaking and getting approval from Hillary Clinton.”

Trump doubled down on his Russian hacker comments in a tweet after the press conference, but revised his language to say that if Russia already has emails, they should hand them over:

But his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, released a statement after the press conference that discouraged Russian involvement in a US election.

“The FBI will get to the bottom of who is behind the hacking,” Pence said in the statement. “If it is Russia and they are interfering in our elections, I can assure you both parties and the United States government will ensure there are serious consequences.”

A spokesman for House Speaker Paul Ryan issued a statement after the press conference pushing back on Trump’s comments.

“Russia is a global menace led by a devious thug,” Brendan Buck said, according to the statement. “Putin should stay out of this election.”

Clinton’s campaign also responded.

“This has to be the first time that a major presidential candidate has actively encouraged a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent,” senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. “That’s not hyperbole, those are just the facts. This has gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue.”

(h/t Business Insider)

Reality

This is a curious comment at a time when Trump’s Russian connections are being scrutinized. His campaign manager Paul Manafort, had worked as a consultant for the now-ousted pro-Russian government in Ukraine. And the Trump campaign worked like mad to include a more pro-Russian stance towards arming Ukraine to be added in the GOP platform.

Here’s what Trump is up to with the “Russia, please release Hillary’s 30,000 emails.” He’s intentionally conflating the State Department server with the DNC email hack so that in the minds of Americans, Hillary already had her emails hacked by Russia. But they’re two different email scandals.

Trump is trying to make them into one thing so he can say Hillary endangered national security when Russia hacked her email (which there’s no evidence they did.)

But… But… But… He was just joking!

I mean, this might have been an attempt at humor. At best one could argue Trump was half-joking, since a Russian hack would greatly benefit him and his chances of becoming president.

And if the argument really is that he is joking then to that we would say to even publicly joke that a foreign government spy on his political rival is in poor taste because it is rooting against an American, which is all beneath the office he is seeking.

But in the end… what is the punchline?

Media

Trump Struggles to Explain Clinton Server Hack Evidence

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Donald Trump insisted Thursday that the private email server Hillary Clinton used as secretary of state was hacked, but the presumptive Republican nominee couldn’t say where he learned that information.

“But is there any evidence that it was hacked other than — routine phishing –” “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt asked Trump in a sit-down interview that will air Thursday on “NBC Nightly News.”

“I think I read that,” Trump said. “And I heard it, and somebody–”

“Where?” Holt pressed him.

“—that also gave me that information. I will report back to you. I’ll give it to you,” Trump said.

U.S. officials have told NBC News that there is no evidence that hackers penetrated the server, although there is evidence of phishing attempts. Clinton’s campaign says that there is no evidence that her private server was ever hacked.

Trump’s remark comes a day after he argued that Clinton’s private server left her vulnerable to blackmail if she were president.

“Her server was easily hacked by foreign governments — perhaps even by her financial backers in Communist China — putting all of America in danger,” Trump said Wednesday in a speech that slammed Clinton. “Then there are the 33,000 emails she deleted. While we may not know what is in those deleted emails, our enemies probably do. So they probably now have a blackmail file over someone who wants to be president of the United States. This fact alone disqualifies her from the presidency.”

NBC News fact-checked some of Trump’s claims in the speech.

Trump’s campaign offered alleged examples of attempted hacks from China and other countries in a published version of his Wednesday address, but none of the cited reports say that Clinton’s server was ever successfully penetrated as the candidate argued.

(h/t NBC News)

Media

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