Category: Authoritarian

Trump on whether he’ll pardon Michael Flynn: ‘We’ll see’

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President Donald Trump gave a cryptic answer to reporters on Friday when he was asked whether he will consider pardoning his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

“I don’t want to talk about pardons for Michael Flynn yet. We’ll see what happens. Let’s see,” Trump said. “I can say this: When you look at what’s gone on with the FBI and Justice Department, people are very, very angry.”

Flynn’s recent guilty plea centered on false statements he made to investigators last January about his contacts with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak during Trump’s transition to the presidency. Flynn is now cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Mueller’s work has come under heightened scrutiny in recent days, after revelations that two FBI agents who worked on the investigation had exchanged text messages critical of Trump. One of the agents was immediately ousted from the investigation, and the other had already ended her assignment with Mueller’s team.

Trump has also spoken in defense of Flynn in recent weeks, complaining via Twitter that Flynn was treated unfairly by the DOJ in comparison to Trump’s former Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

“So General Flynn lies to the FBI and his life is destroyed, while Crooked Hillary Clinton, on that now famous FBI holiday ‘interrogation’ with no swearing in and no recording, lies many times…and nothing happens to her?” Trump wrote earlier in December. “Rigged system, or just a double standard?”

[Business Insider]

Media

White House threatened CNN reporter to not to ask Trump questions at bill signing

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CNN reporter Jim Acosta said Tuesday that the White House warned him not to ask President Trump a question during a bill signing event, claiming that press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggested his access at future events could be revoked if he did.

Acosta’s claim comes a day after he clashed with Sanders about media accuracy during a press briefing.

The White House press pool rotates print and broadcast reporters from different outlets on a schedule to cover events at the White House. Reporters, during the events, are allowed to ask the president and other officials questions.

At the Tuesday event, Acosta asked the president about his attack against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) earlier in the morning in which he suggested the New York senator would “do anything” for a campaign contribution.

The question, which Trump did not respond to, took place after he signed off on the National Defense Authorization Act for the 2018 fiscal year. In his remarks about the measure, he touted that his administration has accelerated “the process of fully restoring America’s military might.”

Acosta has repeatedly clashed during the administration with White House officials during press briefing, including Sanders and senior aide Stephen Miller.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Acosta’s tweet.

[The Hill]

Trump’s lawyer wants second special counsel to probe investigators

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President Trump‘s legal team said Tuesday it would like a new special counsel to be appointed to probe individuals investigating Russian election meddling.

“The Department of Justice and FBI can not ignore the multiple problems that have been created by these obvious conflicts of interests. These new revelations require the appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate,” one of Trump’s lawyers, Jay Sekulow, said in a statement.

Sekulow’s statement calling for a second special counsel, which was first reported by Axios, comes after Fox News published an article on Monday that said the wife of an official in the Justice Department was employed during the campaign by Fusion GPS, the opposition firm behind a controversial dossier of Trump opposition research.

The president’s attorneys, according to Axios, fault the FBI and the Justice Department under Attorney General Jeff Sessions for the probe into Russia’s election meddling and any potential ties between Trump campaign staff members and the Kremlin.

Trump has repeatedly called the probe a “witch hunt,” arguing Democrats are using Russia’s attempts to interfere in last year’s presidential election as an excuse for their loss.

“As the phony Russian Witch Hunt continues, two groups are laughing at this excuse for a lost election taking hold, Democrats and Russians!” Trump said in July.

[The Hill]

Reality

Trump’s lawyers display a fundamental misunderstanding of how special councils work. First, there has to be a crime, and Mueller and the FBI haven’t committed one. Second, a Special Council office was created because of the recusals of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Rod Rosenstein. And finally, a President of the United States calling for an investigation into the investigators, who have already secured two indictments and another two pleas, is not what happens in a democracy.

Trump tweets that he ‘seldom’ watches CNN and MSNBC — shortly after both networks cover a report on his viewing

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President Trump tweeted on Monday morning that he does not watch as much television as a recent New York Times report claimed, adding that he “seldom, if ever,” tunes in to CNN or MSNBC.

The tweet posted just 28 minutes after MSNBC wrapped up a segment about the Times report and 30 minutes after CNN did the same.

The timing could be a coincidence. Or it could mean that Trump was doing the very thing he denied — watching CNN and MSNBC — shortly before he tweeted.

The Times reported on Saturday that “around 5:30 each morning, President Trump wakes and tunes into the television in the White House’s master bedroom. He flips to CNN for news, moves to ‘Fox & Friends’ for comfort and messaging ideas, and sometimes watches MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ because, friends suspect, it fires him up for the day.”One of the Times journalists who reported the story, Peter Baker, appeared on “Morning Joe” on Monday to discuss the president’s TV habit.“He likes this jolt of television he doesn’t agree with,” Baker said of Trump. “It’s kind of hate-watching. He watches something that he knows is going to rile him up. It’s like a big cup of caffeine. Most people try to avoid things that make them upset, but I think that President Trump — he gets a charge out of it.”

Trump biographer Michael D’Antonio appeared on CNN around the same time that Baker was on MSNBC and said that “people who have been around the president for any real period of time know that he is a television addict. He’s probably watching us right now.”Perhaps he was.

The White House did not respond to an inquiry about whether Trump was watching and responding to CNN and MSNBC.

[Washington Post]

Reality

Also, just the day before, Trump was critical of the coverage on CNN and MSNBC, tweeting anger that they were not covering the health of the economy. Again, this was just the day before.

Trump rails against news media in tweets: ‘A stain on America!’

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President Trump is again railing against the news media, calling them a “stain on America.”

In a tweet Sunday, Trump blasted the lack of attention over what he described as “false and defamatory stories” written by the “Fake News Media.”

Over the past two weeks, ABC News and CNN have issued corrections and clarifications on two stories that initially had been unflattering to the president but didn’t live up to scrutiny.

And on Saturday, Trump demanded and received an apology from a Washington Post reporter who tweeted a photo of Trump’s Florida rally on Friday that made it look sparsely attended.

Trump tweeted about each misstep soon after it took place, and multiple media outlets, including presidential favorite Fox News, also reported on the errors. But Trump complained Sunday that the erroneous reports had drawn “very little discussion.”

[Los Angeles Times]

Trump: ‘Fake news’ media doesn’t cover economic progress

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President Trump early Sunday praised the growth of the United States economy and slammed “the fake news” for its coverage of the subject.

“Things are going really well for our economy, a subject the Fake News spends as little time as possible discussing!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

“Stock Market hit another RECORD HIGH, unemployment is now at a 17 year low and companies are coming back into the USA,” he added.

“Really good news, and much more to come!”

According to CNNMoney, the latest numbers reported by the government last week showed the unemployment rate stayed at a 17-year low.

Trump often takes credit for such success, writing on Twitter that his administration is contributing to stock market records and job numbers.

“Stock market hit yet another all-time record high yesterday,” Trump said on Nov. 7.

“There is great confidence in the moves that my Administration … is making. Working very hard on TAX CUTS for the middle class, companies and jobs!”

Trump on Sunday also said that Congress is getting closer to reaching a final version of the tax-reform bill.

“House and Senate working very hard and smart. End result will be not only important, but SPECIAL!” the president tweeted.

[The Hill]

Trump suggests reporter be fired over inaccurate crowd size tweet he already apologized for

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President Donald Trump singled out a Washington Post reporter for repeated criticism Saturday evening, suggesting he be fired even after the reporter apologized for tweeting a misleading photo he had already deleted.

The reporter, Dave Weigel, had posted a photo of a near-empty stadium with the caption “Packed to the rafters,” inaccurately suggesting it was taken during Trump’s Florida rally on Friday. In fact, the photo was taken before the rally began.

“@DaveWeigel @WashingtonPost put out a phony photo of an empty arena hours before I arrived @ the venue, w/ thousands of people outside, on their way in,” Trump tweeted. “Real photos now shown as a I spoke. Packed house, many people unable to get in. Demand apology & retraction from FAKE NEWS WaPo!”

Weigel apologized to Trump within minutes and noted he had already deleted the inaccurate tweet.

“Sure thing: I apologize. I deleted the photo after @dmartosko told me I’d gotten it wrong. Was confused by the image of you walking in the bottom right corner,” Weigel tweeted.

“It was a bad tweet on my personal account, not a story for Washington Post. I deleted it after like 20 minutes. Very fair to call me out,” Weigel later tweeted.

But Trump continued to target Weigel even after the apology, accusing him of being deliberately misleading.

“.@daveweigel of the Washington Post just admitted that his picture was a FAKE (fraud?) showing an almost empty arena last night for my speech in Pensacola when, in fact, he knew the arena was packed (as shown also on T.V.). FAKE NEWS, he should be fired,” Trump tweeted.

[Business Insider]

Trump: CNN made ‘vicious and purposeful mistake’

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President Trump on Saturday accused CNN of making a “vicious and intentional mistake” when the network was forced to correct an erroneous news report related to the Trump/Russia probe.

In an early morning tweet, Trump called on the news network to fire “those responsible,” and commented that an ABC reporter who was suspended for a separate erroneous report should be fired as well.

“Fake News CNN made a vicious and purposeful mistake yesterday. They were caught red handed, just like lonely Brian Ross at ABC News (who should be immediately fired for his “mistake”),” Trump wrote. “Watch to see if @CNN fires those responsible, or was it just gross incompetence?”

In a second tweet, the president suggested CNN change their slogan after the report to “the least trusted name in news.”

“CNN’S slogan is CNN, THE MOST TRUSTED NAME IN NEWS. Everyone knows this is not true, that this could, in fact, be a fraud on the American Public. There are many outlets that are far more trusted than Fake News CNN. Their slogan should be CNN, THE LEAST TRUSTED NAME IN NEWS!” the president tweeted.

The original CNN report posted Friday inaccurately claimed that Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., received a “heads-up” email on Sept. 4 regarding a cache of hacked documents containing Democratic information that WikiLeaks planned to release to the public. Other media outlets correctly reported that Trump Jr. and other campaign officials received the email pointing them to the WikiLeaks documents on Sept. 14, after the documents had already been made public. CNN later corrected its report.

A CNN spokesperson said there will not be disciplinary action against the reporter involved, because the reporter used multiple verified sources, following CNN’s editorial process. CNN said it does not believe there was malicious intent involved.

In the ABC News case, ABC News chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross was suspended for four weeks after he reported on-air that former national security adviser Michael Flynn was prepared to testify that Trump directed him during the campaign to make contact with Russian officials. ABC later issued a correction, saying Trump made the request after the election and before he took office.

Trump’s tweets on Saturday come hours after he blasted the news network at a rally, in which he also supported controversial GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore in Alabama.

“[CNN] should have been apologizing for the last two years,” he said during a rally in Pensacola, Fla.

[The Hill]

Trump accused Clinton of lying but the FBI said she did not

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President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that Hillary Clinton had lied to the FBI, going on the offensive days after his former National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty to that same crime.

“Hillary Clinton lied many times to the FBI. Nothing happened to her. Flynn lied and they destroyed his life. I think it’s a shame,” Trump said. “Hillary Clinton, on the Fourth of July weekend, went to the FBI, not under oath. It was the most incredible thing anyone’s ever seen. She lied many times; nothing happened to her. Flynn lied, and they ruined his life. It’s very unfair.”

In alleging Clinton lies, the president is spreading a falsehood: The FBI asserts that she did not lie to them.

“We have no basis to conclude she lied to the FBI,” then-FBI Director James Comey testified under oath to the House of Representatives in July 2016 about Clinton’s handling of classified information on a private email server. “I have no basis for concluding that she was untruthful with us.”

The only accurate thing in Trump’s remarks about his former rival? That Clinton wasn’t under oath during her interview last year with the FBI.

Flynn pleaded guilty on Friday in federal court to a charge of making false statements to the FBI about his communications with Russia.

Trump’s remarks are the latest in a long stream of attacks on Clinton and defenses of Flynn since his firing. The president tweeted along the same lines on Saturday, criticizing the FBI’s decision not to record Clinton’s interview.

Trump fired Comey in May. His firing — and subsequent testimony that Trump had demanded loyalty and pressured Comey to drop his investigation into Flynn — prompted the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating the Trump team’s ties to Russia and who negotiated Flynn’s guilty plea. Trump denies that he told Comey to go easy on Flynn.

[NBC News]

No justice!’: Trump blasts ‘rigged system’ that ‘destroyed’ Mike Flynn in second set of wild Saturday tweets

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President Donald Trump took to Twitter again on Saturday evening to complain about the Department of Justice’s handling of ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn and to attack a favorite opponent, former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

“So General Flynn lies to the FBI and his life is destroyed, while Crooked Hillary Clinton, on that now famous FBI holiday “interrogation” with no swearing in and no recording, lies many times…and nothing happens to her? Rigged system, or just a double standard?” he wrote.

He continued, “Many people in our Country are asking what the ‘Justice’ Department is going to do about the fact that totally Crooked Hillary, AFTER receiving a subpoena from the United States Congress, deleted and “acid washed” 33,000 Emails? No justice!”

He went on to — once again — insist that the Russia investigation is a “witch hunt” by way of offering a left-handed compliment to ABC News for suspending Brian Ross.

“Congratulations to @ABC News for suspending Brian Ross for his horrendously inaccurate and dishonest report on the Russia, Russia, Russia Witch Hunt. More Networks and ‘papers’ should do the same with their Fake News!” he said.

Earlier on Saturday, tweets from Trump’s account raised eyebrows by appearing to be an admission of obstruction of justice. The White House frantically walked that back by blaming Trump’s personal attorney John Dowd for the reckless tweet.

Observers say that Trump is acting more erratic and is constantly fuming about the Russia investigation.

Frequently when Trump is under pressure or feeling trapped, he makes his wildest and most outlandish accusations on Twitter in an attempt to change the subject. The tweets that are now blamed on John Dowd could place Trump in considerable legal jeopardy if they are proven to be his statements.

‘No justice!’: Trump blasts ‘rigged system’ that ‘destroyed’ Mike Flynn in second set of wild Saturday tweets

 

 

 

 

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