The following article by Brett Samuels was posted on the Hill website February 1, 2018:
Former FBI Director James Comey on Thursday expressed appreciation for the FBI standing up against “weasels and liars” as debate rages over a classified memo that purports to show political bias within the Justice Department.
“All should appreciate the FBI speaking up. I wish more of our leaders would,” Comey tweeted.
Continue reading “Comey praises FBI for speaking up against ‘weasels and liars’”
The following article by Joe Williams was posted on the Roll Call website February 2, 2018:
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Republicans leave the Greenbrier resort on Friday buoyed by their reflections of the accomplishments of the past year. But they also depart with little consensus on how to address the long to-do list awaiting them in Washington, D.C.
Much of the public portion of the GOP retreat was spent touting the recent tax overhaul, cuts to federal regulations, a record number of judicial appointments and an optimistic economic forecast. But the silence on contentious lingering issues such as health care, government spending and immigration was deafening.
What was meant to serve as a time for Republicans to hone their message and come away with a unified position on their 2018 agenda gave way to contradicting answers and vague statements of optimism. Continue reading “Republican Retreat Heavy on Boasting, Short on Strategy”
The following article by Rachael Bade and Burgess Everett was posted on the Politico website February 1, 2018:
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Republican lawmakers often complain when President Donald Trump’s controversial comments suck up the headlines and undercut their messaging. But this week, they tripped over their own feet.The firestorm over whether to release a classified, GOP-crafted memo alleging FBI misconduct has totally drowned out the House-Senate GOP retreat here in West Virginia. Republicans wanted to tout their tax bill and advocate for their 2018 priorities, from infrastructure to military spending. But the controversial document of their own making seemed to be the only thing reporters wanted to talk about.
The rank and file and leadership alike were peppered with questions about the memo drafted by aides to House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes. Fully seven out of the nine questions asked during a joint news conference with Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell centered on it. Reporters grilled them on the FBI director’s opposition to unveiling the document and whether they thought Nunes, a Trump-loyalist, should remain chairman. Continue reading “FBI memo firestorm engulfs GOP retreat”
The following commentary from the Editorial Board of the Washington Post was posted on their website February 1, 2018:
“WHAT THIS is not is an indictment of our institutions, of our justice system,” House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said Thursday about the now infamous “Nunes memo.” “It does not impugn the Mueller investigation or the deputy attorney general,” the speaker insisted. Is this cynicism or naivete?
Discrediting law enforcement is the memo’s transparent purpose and why it has been embraced by President Trump. Written mainly by the staff of Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the loose-cannon chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the memo reportedly makes the case that the FBI abused spying authorities as it sought permission to surveil a former Trump adviser. The Justice Department called its potential release, which Mr. Trump reportedly intends to approve, “extraordinarily reckless.” The FBI released its own startling public statement citing “grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.” Adam Schiff (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, wrote in a Post op-ed that the Nunes memo “cherry-picks facts, ignores others and smears the FBI and the Justice Department.” Continue reading “A process that tarnishes the House”
The following commentary by Joe Scarborough was posted on the Washington Post website February 1, 2018:
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves,” Cassius counseled his friend and fellow republican Marcus Brutus. In Shakespeare’s telling of the tragedy of Julius Caesar, the triumphant general returns to Rome and is feared to be plotting to become an emperor capable of laying waste to the Roman republic. But Brutus takes to heart Cassius’s reminder that loyalties flow first to the republic and not to political friends. He acts on the warning, helps to kill Caesar and then dies a miserable death. Alas, no one lives happily ever after.
This week’s story line out of Washington is less grim but still of great concern. Despite daily reminders that President Trump holds democratic traditions in deep contempt, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and his Republican caucus are allowing themselves to become co-conspirators in the president’s push to compromise U.S. constitutional norms. While no one expects the GOP to take grisly cues from Shakespeare, is it too much to ask that Ryan place grave national security concerns from the Justice Department ahead of his political peonage to Trump? Continue reading “Trump’s enablers are misreading the stars”
The following article by Anemona Hartocollis was posted on the New York Times website February 1, 2018:
Religious colleges would be able to bar openly same-sex relationships without fear of repercussions.
Religious student groups could block people who do not share their faith from becoming members.
Controversial speakers would have more leverage when they want to appear at colleges.
A 590-page higher-education bill working its way through Congress is a wish list for a wide range of people, groups and colleges saying that their First Amendment rights — freedom of speech, religion or assembly — are being trampled. Many of them are religious, right-leaning or both, and the Republicans behind the bill have eagerly taken up the cause, correcting what they see as antipathy toward conservative beliefs on American campuses. Continue reading “Republicans Stuff Education Bill With Conservative Social Agenda”
The following article by Declan Walsh was posted on the New York Times website February 1, 2018:
CAIRO — When it comes to securing a second term in power, Egypt’s president is leaving little to chance.
Potential rivals in the March election have been sidelined, jailed or threatened with prosecution. The news media is largely in his pocket. On polling day, Egyptians will have a choice between President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and one of his most ardent supporters — an obscure politician drafted at the 11th hour to avoid the embarrassment of a one-horse race.
As he cruises toward victory, Mr. Sisi need not worry either about foreign censure: President Trump has hailed the Egyptian leader as a “fantastic guy,” and most other Western leaders have been largely silent. Continue reading “As Strongmen Steamroll Their Opponents, U.S. Is Silent”
The following article by Elizabeth Castillo was posted on the Politico website February 1, 2018:
An overwhelming majority of Americans believe that President Donald Trump should agree to an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller and that the exchange should be under oath, according to a poll released on Thursday.
Seventy-one percent of 806 adults in the poll said the two should meet, with 82 percent saying the interview should be under oath, according to the poll from Monmouth University.
While the degree of support for those positions tracked with political affiliation, there was still general agreement, regardless of party affiliation: 85 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of independents and 51 percent of Republicans said the president should speak to Mueller, who is leading the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Continue reading “Poll: Vast majority says Trump should talk with Mueller under oath”
The following article by Burgess Everett and Rachael Bade was posted on the Politico website February 1, 2018:
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — President Donald Trump said Thursday that Speaker Paul Ryan called him the other day and said he’d “never ever seen the Republican Party so united.” Yet on Trump’s key priorities, congressional Republicans are painfully split.
After spending barely 24 hours together at a ritzy resort here in the West Virginia mountains, Senate Republicans bade farewell to their House counterparts on Thursday afternoon with no clear path forward on immigration, infrastructure or how to raise the debt ceiling. House Republicans spent part of the getaway regurgitating long-running gripes with the Senate filibuster.
Trump tried to talk past those differences with a speech promoting Republican solidarity. “There is a great coming-together that I don’t think either party has ever seen for many, many years,” he declared. Continue reading “Trump’s talk of GOP ‘unity’ a myth”
The following article by Eric Tucker and Chad Day was posted on the Associated Press website February 2, 2018:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FBI Director James Comey scorned the memo that was released by House Republicans after being declassified Friday by President Donald Trump, saying it doesn’t add up to much. “That’s it?” Comey said on Twitter.
“Dishonest and misleading memo wrecked the House intel committee, destroyed trust with Intelligence Community, damaged relationship with FISA court, and inexcusably exposed classified investigation of an American citizen. For what?” Comey wrote, adding: “DOJ & FBI must keep doing their jobs.” Continue reading “Fired FBI Director Comey Slams GOP Memo: ‘That’s It?””
