Tag: FBI

Ryan backed Nunes in spat with Justice Dept. over Russia documents, sources say

The following article by Laura Jarrett, Evan Perez and Manu Raju was posted on the CNN website January 5, 2018:

(CNN) — House Speaker Paul Ryan backed his fellow congressional Republican, House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, during a meeting over the Russia investigation Wednesday, capping off a months-long dispute between the committee and the Justice Department, multiple sources with the knowledge of the situation told CNN.

CNN reported Wednesday that Ryan met with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI head Christopher Wray in his Capitol Hill office, but details emerged Thursday providing new insight into how a nasty inter-branch dispute has quietly subsided — at least for now.

Continue reading “Ryan backed Nunes in spat with Justice Dept. over Russia documents, sources say”

Top FBI, DOJ officials huddle with Ryan to talk dossier

The following article by Karoun Demirjian and Matt Zapotosky was posted on the Washington Post website January 4, 2018:

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, left, leaves the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday after a meeting with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.). (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Top federal law enforcement officials huddled with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Wednesday afternoon to discuss a request from congressional investigators for documents related to a dossier alleging connections between President Trump and Russia, according to people familiar with the meeting, and hours later, a deal was apparently reached.

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray requested the meeting, according to Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined to comment. Continue reading “Top FBI, DOJ officials huddle with Ryan to talk dossier”

Christmas Eve, Trump on Twitter: New attacks on FBI official, decrying ‘Fake News’

The following article by Laura King was posted on the Los Angeles Times website December 24, 2017:

Credit: Punyaruk Baingern/Shutterstock.com

President Trump launched a Christmas Eve attack on FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, whom he accuses of favoritism toward his former opponent, Hillary Clinton, and also returned to a longtime favored theme, excoriating the news media for failing to sufficiently extol his accomplishments.

 

Continue reading “Christmas Eve, Trump on Twitter: New attacks on FBI official, decrying ‘Fake News’”

House Republicans quietly investigate perceived corruption at DOJ, FBI

The following article by Kyle Cheney and John Bresnahan was posted on the Politico website December 20, 2017:

The group was born out of frustration over the Justice Department’s refusal to explain how it used a disputed dossier.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, who previously had recused himself from the panel’s Russia investigation, arrives ahead of White House Senior Advisor and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s interview on Capitol Hill on July 25. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images

A group of House Republicans has gathered secretly for weeks in the Capitol in an effort to build a case that senior leaders of the Justice Department and FBI improperly — and perhaps criminally — mishandled the contents of a dossier that describes alleged ties between President Donald Trump and Russia, according to four people familiar with their plans.

A subset of the Republican members of the House intelligence committee, led by Chairman Devin Nunes of California, has been quietly working parallel to the committee’s high-profile inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. They haven’t informed Democrats about their plans, but they have consulted with the House’s general counsel. Continue reading “House Republicans quietly investigate perceived corruption at DOJ, FBI”

FBI deputy grilled by House Intel amid concerns over bias

The following article by Katie Bo Williams was posted on the Hill website December 19, 2017:

© Victoria Sarno Jordan

FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe arrived at the Capitol Tuesday afternoon to face a grilling from the House Intelligence Committee amid concerns among some Republicans who believe the bureau is hopelessly biased against President Trump.

He testified for close to eight hours in a rescheduled interview that came amid the committee’s sprawling investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election. Continue reading “FBI deputy grilled by House Intel amid concerns over bias”

F.B.I. Warned Hope Hicks About Emails From Russian Operatives

The following article by Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo was posted on the New York Times website December 8, 2017:

WASHINGTON — F.B.I. officials warned one of President Trump’s top advisers, Hope Hicks, earlier this year about repeated attempts by Russian operatives to make contact with her during the presidential transition, according to people familiar with the events.

The Russian outreach efforts show that, even after American intelligence agencies publicly accused Moscow of trying to influence the outcome of last year’s presidential election, Russian operatives were undaunted in their efforts to establish contacts with Mr. Trump’s advisers. Continue reading “F.B.I. Warned Hope Hicks About Emails From Russian Operatives”

Trump says Hillary Clinton repeatedly lied to the FBI. The FBI disagrees.

The following article by Luke Barnes was posed on the Think Progress website December 4, 2017:

Former FBI director James Comey ridiculed the notion over the summer.

Credit: Evan Vucci/AP)

In an attempt to control the fall-out from Michael Flynn pleading guilty to lying to the FBI, Donald Trump tried to equate Flynn’s actions with those of former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, pleaded guilty over the weekend and is now cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible Russian collusion with the Trump White House. Naturally, however, the President thought that Flynn had been treated “very unfair”.

“Hillary Clinton lied many times to the FBI”, Trump told reporters ahead of boarding Marine One for a trip to Utah. “Nothing happened to her. Flynn lied, and they destroyed his life. I think it’s a shame. Hillary Clinton, on the 4th 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 it’s like they ruined his life. It’s unfair.” On Saturday Trump had also tweeted about the indictment, complaining that Flynn pleading guilty showed how the system was “rigged”. Continue reading “Trump says Hillary Clinton repeatedly lied to the FBI. The FBI disagrees.”

Trump lawyer says president knew Flynn had given FBI the same account he gave to vice president

The following article by Carol D. Leonnig, John Wagner and Ellen Nakashima was posted on the Washington Post website December 3, 2017:

President Trump’s denials about former national security adviser Michael Flynn are raising new questions about obstruction of justice. (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

President Trump’s personal lawyer said Sunday that the president knew in late January that then-national security adviser Michael Flynn had probably given FBI agents the same inaccurate account he provided to Vice President Pence about a call with the Russian ambassador.

Trump lawyer John Dowd said the information was passed to Trump by White House counsel Donald McGahn, who had been warned about Flynn’s statement to the vice president by a senior Justice Department official. The vice president said publicly at the time that Flynn had told him he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian diplomat — a statement disproved by a U.S. intelligence intercept of a phone call between Flynn and then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Continue reading “Trump lawyer says president knew Flynn had given FBI the same account he gave to vice president”

Pentagon investigating troubling questions after deadly Niger ambush

The following article by W.J. Hennigan and Brian Bennett was posted on the Los Angeles Times website October 19, 2017:

Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, troubled by a lack of information two weeks after an ambush on a special operations patrol in Niger left four U.S. soldiers dead, is demanding a timeline of what is known about the attack, as a team of investigators sent to West Africa begins its work.

The growing list of unanswered questions and inability to construct a precise account of the Oct. 4 incident have exacerbated a public relations nightmare for the White House, which is embroiled in controversy over President Trump’s belated and seemingly clumsy response this week to console grieving military families. Continue reading “Pentagon investigating troubling questions after deadly Niger ambush”

FBI investigates Russian government media organizations accused of spreading propaganda in U.S.

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the headquarters of “Russia Today” television channel in Moscow in 2013. (Yuri Kochetkov / Pool Photo)

The following article by David S. Cloud, Tracy Wilkinson and Joseph Tanfani was posted on the Los Angeles Times website September 13, 2017:

The FBI is investigating two Russian government-funded media organizations that operate in the United States following accusations that they were part of a massive Kremlin operation to help swing last year’s presidential election to Donald Trump.

Russia Today, Moscow’s flagship English language television broadcaster, and Sputnik News, a radio and wire service funded by the Kremlin, claim to be legitimate news gathering organizations, no different from the BBC.

But the FBI is exploring whether the two Russian organizations should be required to register as foreign agents, invoking a U.S. law originally passed before World War II to prevent the spread of Nazi propaganda. Continue reading “FBI investigates Russian government media organizations accused of spreading propaganda in U.S.”