Tag: Trump White House

National Security Council official behind 5G memo leaves White House

The following article by Josh Rogin was posted on the Washington Post website February 2, 2018:

Credit: Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images

The author of a memo arguing for a government takeover of development of the nation’s 5G mobile network has been removed from the National Security Council staff. The memo’s unauthorized release this week caused uproar in the telecom community and created embarrassment for the White House.

A senior administration official confirmed to me that Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert Spalding is no longer serving as NSC senior director for strategic planning. Spalding was not fired, according to the official, who said his detail had ended and was not renewed. His last day as a White House staffer was Jan. 31. Spalding was not implicated in the leak of the memo, but officials said his advocacy for the plan had gone beyond his role, contributing to the NSC leadership’s decision to send him back to the Air Force. Continue reading “National Security Council official behind 5G memo leaves White House”

Trump claims GOP memo ‘totally vindicates “Trump” in probe’

The following article by Jenna Johnson was posted on the Washington Post website February 3, 2018:

President Trump approved the release of a controversial and classified congressional memo on Feb. 2. Here are some of its main claims. (The Washington Post)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump said Saturday morning that a disputed four-page House Intelligence Committee memo that was composed by Republicans and released on Friday “totally vindicates ‘Trump’ ” in an FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, including possible ties to his campaign.

“This memo totally vindicates ‘Trump’ in probe. But the Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on,” the president wrote in a tweet at 9:40 a.m. Saturday. “Their was no Collusion and there was no Obstruction (the word now used because, after one year of looking endlessly and finding NOTHING, collusion is dead). This is an American disgrace!” Continue reading “Trump claims GOP memo ‘totally vindicates “Trump” in probe’”

Trump and Nunes torch tradition of trust between Congress and FB

The following article by Douglas M. Charles, Associate Professor of History, Pennsylvania State University, was posted on the Conversation website February 3, 2018:

President Donald Trump’s attacks on the FBI may have reached a climax.

In an apparent attempt to discredit Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, staff of the House Intelligence Committee on behalf of its chair Republican Devin Nunes of California, wrote and on Feb. 2 released a four-page memo based on confidential information made available to them by the FBI. It outlines alleged improprieties in the FBI’s investigation, specifically the monitoring of Trump’s former campaign adviser Carter Page.

Nunes in 2017 was forced to step aside from the committee’s Russia investigation because he was seen as taking direction from the Trump White House. Continue reading “Trump and Nunes torch tradition of trust between Congress and FB”

Wray tells FBI agents ‘talk is cheap’ after memo release

The following article by Brandon Carter was posted on the Hill website February 2, 2018:

FBI Director Christopher Wray sent a message to agency employees following the release of a previously classified memo alleging abuse of government surveillance powers by the Justice Department, calling on employees to “keep calm and tackle hard.”

“The American people read the papers, and they hear lots of talk on cable TV and social media,” Wray wrote in the message, which was obtained by BBC. “But they see and experience the actual work you do — keeping communities safe and our nation secure, often dealing with sensitive matters and making decisions under difficult circumstances. And that work will always matter more.” Continue reading “Wray tells FBI agents ‘talk is cheap’ after memo release”

Why I am Leaving the FBI

The following commentary by Josh Campbell was posted on the New York Times website February 2, 2018:

An F.B.I. agent going door to door in Missouri. Credit Eric Thayer for The New York Times

One of the greatest honors of my life was walking across the stage at the F.B.I. Academy and receiving my special agent badge from the director at the time, Robert Mueller. After 21 weeks of intensive training, my class swore an oath and became federal agents entrusted with the solemn duty of protecting Americans and upholding the Constitution.

After more than a decade of service, which included investigating terrorism, working to rescue kidnapping victims overseas and being special assistant to the director, I am reluctantly turning in my badge and leaving an organization I love. Why? So I can join the growing chorus of people who believe that the relentless attacks on the bureau undermine not just America’s premier law enforcement agency but also the nation’s security. My resignation is painful, but the alternative of remaining quiet while the bureau is tarnished for political gain is impossible. Continue reading “Why I am Leaving the FBI”

Nunes Memo Does Russia’s Work of Eroding Trust in American Justice

The following article by Michael Daly was posted on the Daily Beast website February 2, 2018:

To cast suspicion on the FBI, the memo notes Papadopoulos triggered the bureau’s probe—but omits that he later pleading guilty to lying about his dealings with the Russians.

Credit: Joshua Roberts<

However FBI Agent Peter Strzok felt about FBI lawyer Lisa Page, his texts to his supposed mistress became most emotional not about her but about a dire threat to our national security.

The threat that rouses such ardor in Strzok draws only a shrug from some in the White House and Congress who most loudly proclaim themselves patriots. President Trump excoriates those who go down on one knee during the national anthem, but himself goes down on both knees to an avowed enemy. Continue reading “Nunes Memo Does Russia’s Work of Eroding Trust in American Justice”

The Only Thing the Nunes Memo Proves is That It was Massively Overhyped

The following article by Abigail Tracy was posted on the Vanity Fair website February 2, 2018:

Trump miscalculated, badly, by advocating to #ReleaseTheMemo. Will it backfire?

Credit: Olivier Douliery/Pool/Bloomberg

The much-anticipated Nunes memo, released Friday after weeks of feverish build-up on the far-right, appears to be a dud. The declassified report accuses a group of current and former Justice Department and F.B.I. officials—including James Comey, his former deputy Andrew McCabe, and current Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein—of approving applications to surveil Trump campaign adviser Carter Page without disclosing that ex-British intelligence spy Christopher Steele, who compiled an intelligence dossier used in the warrant, was paid by Democratic sources and harbored anti-Trump bias. The most damning piece of evidence is the allegation that McCabe had testified in December that the warrant would not have been sought without the dossier, although two sources subsequently told The Daily Beast that particular claim is not true. Nowhere in the four-page memo is it noted that Page had already been on the F.B.I.’s radar, after he was targeted for recruitment by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service years earlier. Continue reading “The Only Thing the Nunes Memo Proves is That It was Massively Overhyped”

6 key takeaways from the GOP memo alleging FBI bias in the Russia investigation

The following article by Amber Phillips was posted on the Washington Post website February 2, 2018:

President Trump approved the release of a controversial and classified congressional memo on Feb. 2. Here are some of its main claims. (The Washington Post)

Republicans claim that when the FBI got a secret court order to spy on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page during the election, it relied “extensively” on information from a politically motivated British ex-spy who was being funded by Democrats to find dirt on Donald Trump. And it didn’t share those political motivations with a secret court that ultimately authorized the surveillance.

That’s the gist of the declassified memo written by House Republicans, which President Trump agreed Friday to release despite concerns from the FBI and Justice Department that the memo is inaccurate and risks undermining source-gathering methods and ongoing investigations. Continue reading “6 key takeaways from the GOP memo alleging FBI bias in the Russia investigation”

The Trump White House’s laughable spin that releasing the Nunes memo is all about ‘transparency’

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website February 2, 2018:

After releasing the Nunes memo on Feb. 2, President Trump said that “A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves and much worse than that.” (Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

The Trump White House and GOP leaders have zeroed in on one main justification for releasing the controversial Devin Nunes memo: It’s all about transparency. “I’ve always believed in the public’s right to know,” Vice President Pence saidThursday. “We have said all along, from day one, that we want full transparency in this process,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told CNN Wednesday.

White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly leaned into it even harder Wednesday on Fox News Radio: “Frankly, in every other case that I can remember in my lifetime where a president was in some kind of trouble, the president, the White House attempted to not release things. This president has said from the beginning . . . ‘I want everything out. I want this thing, I want the American people to know the truth.’” Continue reading “The Trump White House’s laughable spin that releasing the Nunes memo is all about ‘transparency’”

White House releases misleading document attacking diversity visa lottery

The following article by Esther Yu Hsi Lee was posted on the ThinkProgress website February 2, 2018:

The White House’s fact sheet doesn’t take into account the full picture.

Immigrants take the oath of US citizenship on January 22, 2018 in New Jersey. Credit: John Moore/Getty Images

The White House on Thursday released an extensive fact sheet calling on the elimination of the diversity visa lottery program, out of concerns of fraudulent applications and in order to “reduce waitlists in nuclear family-based and high-skilled employment immigration.”

But the claims made by the Trump administration misrepresent the program. Continue reading “White House releases misleading document attacking diversity visa lottery”