Hawley Campaign Not Buying McCaskill’s ‘Classified’ Reason for No Vote on Haspel

McCaskill says she can't disclose why she opposed newly instated CIA director.

Republican Josh Hawley's campaign is keeping the pressure on Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) over her vote against confirming CIA director Gina Haspel, who was officially instated on Monday.

McCaskill is working to evade the charge that her vote against Haspel was based on partisan politics by saying she had real concerns about Haspel that she can't disclose because they're based on classified material.

"I cross-examined her on the classified material," McCaskill said over the weekend, "and I was very uncomfortable with her answers."

"I wish I could explain to all my constituents the details of all that, but the law will not allow me to do so," she said. "I can tell you this, if everyone in Missouri read and listened to her answers to the questions I asked, I believe that a vast majority of Missourians would have voted the same way I did."

The Hawley campaign says it's not buying McCaskill's assurance that a majority of Missourians would agree with her if they knew her secret reason for opposing Haspel.

The campaign pointed to support for Haspel by Sen. Mark Warner (D., Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, as evidence that there were no legitimate concerns raised regarding Haspel from the classified material on her.

"The number one ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee voted for Gina Haspel," said campaign spokesperson Kelli Ford. "He has read everything anyone can read."

"If Warner can vote for her, so should Senator McCaskill," Ford said.

Hawley has used McCaskill's vote against Haspel, who was pushed over the confirmation threshold by support from six Democrats, to label her "a hard partisan who only cares about obstructing the Trump agenda."

Republican senator Tom Cotton (Ark.) similarly criticized McCaskill for prioritizing "partisan politics over national security."

"McCaskill proved once again that she is so liberal, and so reflexively opposed to the president that she cannot represent Missourians in the Senate," Cotton said.

McCaskill is viewed as one of the most vulnerable senators up for reelection in 2018 due to the wide margin of President Trump’s victory in the state in 2016. Polls show a tight race between McCaskill and Hawley, Missouri's current attorney general.

http:// freebeacon.com/politics/hawley-campaign-not-buying-mccaskills-classified-reason-no-vote-haspel/

Sam Clovis: FBI, suspected informant wanted to create 'audit trail' to justify FISA warrants

The former co-chairman of the Trump campaign who met with a suspected FBI informant said during a recent radio interview he believes the source was attempting to establish an “audit trail” that would provide the FBI with justification to obtain warrants to spy on members of the campaign.

Sam Clovis confirmed during a radio interview Monday with the “Simon Conway Show” that he met with Stefan Halper, the suspected informant, in either late August or early September 2016.

“They were trying to literally plant evidence or create an audit trail that would lead investigators on something. Then they would have justification to go back for their [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] warrants and all their other things,” Clovis said of the FBI and Halper.

Clovis said he and Halper met in the lobby of a DoubleTree hotel in Arlington, Va., for coffee, and described the gathering as an “academic meeting,” during which Halper discussed his research on China.

“The meeting wasn't very high level. It was like two faculty members sitting down in the faculty lounge talking about research,” he said. “There was no indication that this was anything other than just wanting to offer up his help to the campaign if I needed it.”

Clovis said Halper, who previously worked at the University of Cambridge and for past Republican presidential administrations, had met with Trump campaign aide Carter Page, and used that meeting as “bona fides” to secure an appointment with Clovis.

“And then I think he used my meeting as bona fides to get a meeting with George Papadopoulos,” Clovis said.

Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, pleaded guilty last year to lying to the FBI and is cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller and his team as they continue their investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Clovis said he and Halper did not have any other contact again until late September 2016, when Halper emailed him academic papers that “to this day, I have not read a single one of them.”

The former Trump campaign co-chairman, who went on to work in the Department of Agriculture but left the administration this month, said he believes Halper’s motivation was to get to Papadopoulos. But he said the FBI “misread” Papadopoulos’ relationship with the campaign.

“What unsettled me, and I think that’s accurate, is the fact of what he tried to do with George Papadopoulos, and that was to establish an audit trail from the campaign or somebody associated with the campaign, back to those Clinton emails —whether or not they existed, we don’t know,” Clovis said.

“This to me appears to have been a deliberate effort, a deliberate and intentional effort on the part of the leadership of the FBI to create something that did not exist, and that is exactly what this looks like,” Clovis said. “And I think at the end of the day that’s what we’re going to find out.”

Reports last week detailed how the FBI had a confidential source working for it as it investigated Russian meddling.

Trump has accused the bureau of embedding a “spy” in his campaign and demanded Sunday that the Justice Department investigate whether the FBI “infiltrated or surveilled” his campaign for political reasons.

But the Washington Post and other outlets reported the informant, later identified as Halper, was not planted in the campaign, but rather sought out and met with Clovis, Papadopoulos, and Page.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/sam-clovis-fbi-suspected-informant-wanted-to-create-audit-trail-to-justify-fisa-warrants

>>1505712

I thought it rather interesting, so they could justify what they were up to.

Kirstjen Nielsen says she hasn’t seen 2017 intelligence community assessment on Russian meddling

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said she hasn’t yet seen the 2017 intelligence community assessment that said the Russian government interfered in the 2016 election to help get Donald Trump elected as president.

“I do not believe that I’ve seen that conclusion,” Nielsen told reporters after a classified election security briefing early Tuesday.

The 2017 assessment said Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government “developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments. We also assess Putin and the Russian Government aspired to help President-elect Trump’s election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him.”

The 2017 report also said the CIA and FBI have “high confidence” in the judgment, and the NSA has “moderate confidence.”

“The specific intent was to help President Trump win? I’m not aware of that, but I do generally have no reason to doubt any intelligence assessment,” Nielsen said when pressed.

Later, Nielsen said she believed Russia was out to create total confusion in the election.

“What we have seen the Russians do is attempt to manipulate public confidence on both sides,” she said. “So we’ve seen them encourage people to go to a protest on one side, we’ve seen them simultaneously encourage people to go to that protest on the other side.”

Last week, the Senate Intelligence Committee completed its own review of the 2017 assessment after 14 months, to which Chairman Richard Burr, R-NC, said he had “no reason to dispute the conclusions" of that report.

“After a thorough review, our staff concluded that the ICA conclusions were accurate and on point. The Russian effort was extensive, sophisticated, and ordered by President Putin himself for the purpose of helping Donald Trump and hurting Hillary Clinton,” said Sen. Mark Warner, the committee’s top Democrat.

The House Intelligence Committee, led by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., also investigated 2016 election interference. In a report released in April, the committee said that it agreed with all of the 2017 assessment, "except with respect to Putin's supposed preference for candidate Trump."

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/kirstjen-nielsen-says-she-hasnt-seen-2017-intelligence-community-assessment-on-russian-meddling

Ex-Trump aide: Multiple government informants approached Trump campaign

Republican consultant and former Trump campaign aide Michael Caputo on Monday claimed there were multiple government informants linked to the Trump campaign and believes he was approached by another source.

“Let me tell you something that I know for a fact,” Caputo said during an interview on Fox News Monday. “This informant, this person [who] they tried to plant into the campaign … he’s not the only person who came into the campaign. And the FBI is not the only Obama agency who came into the campaign.”

“I know because they came at me,” Caputo added. “And I’m looking for clearance from my attorney to reveal this to the public. This is just the beginning.”

Caputo suggested former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and others would be penalized for their involvement as a result.

“When we finally find out the truth about this, Director Clapper and the rest of them will be wearing some orange suits,” Caputo continued.

Clapper appeared on CNN Monday and said he believed a FBI source was likely tasked with looking at the Trump campaign to protect it from foreign influence.

"I wish the president was aggressive about doing something about the Russians undermining us as he is about this informant," he said, before adding the source may now be at risk.

The comments come as multiple media reports identified Stefan Halper, an American who worked at Cambridge University, as an FBI informant who met with multiple members of the Trump campaign, including campaign advisers Carter Page and George Papadopoulos, and campaign co-chair Sam Clovis.

Trump has accused the FBI of placing a “spy” in his campaign and urged the Justice Department on Sunday to launch a probe into whether the “FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes.”

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders revealed earlier Monday the Justice Department “has asked the inspector general to expand its current investigation to include any irregularities with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s or the Department of Justice’s tactics concerning the Trump Campaign.”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/ex-trump-aide-michael-caputo-says-multiple-government-informants-approached-trump-campaign

>>1505849

Reminds me of a song with the lyric's "Going Down Going Down Now", can't get it out of my head, one of those ear worm things. kek

Chuck Schumer: Remove Kim Jong Un from commemorative coin marking summit with Trump

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on the White House Tuesday to remove North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's image from a commemorative coin released Tuesday that is meant to mark Trump's upcoming summit with Kim in Singapore.

"I urge the White House to take Kim off the coin," Schumer said. "Challenge coins are a time honored tradition and certainly appropriate in this situation, but Kim Jong Un’s face has no place on this coin."

I urge the White House to take Kim off the coin. Challenge coins are a time honored tradition and certainly appropriate in this situation, but Kim Jong Un’s face has no place on this coin. He is a brutal dictator and something like the Peace House would be much more appropriate.

"He is a brutal dictator and something like the Peace House would be much more appropriate," Schumer said. The Peace House is a building located in the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.

Schumer didn't specify exactly how to take Kim "off the coin," but his comment indicates support for minting new ones that don't include Kim.

Challenge coins are created by the White House Military Office and White House communications staff for every foreign trip taken by the president. Some have noted on Twitter that the coin calls Kim North Korea's "supreme leader."

One side of the coin features images of Trump and Kim facing each other and featuring their national flags in the background. The opposite side of the coin shows the White House with Air Force One flying above.

The White House said Monday that it had no say in what appeared on the coin, of which only 250 were made.

"These souvenir coins are only ordered after a trip has been publicly announced. The White House did not have any input into the design and manufacture of the coin," said Raj Shah, the White House principle deputy press secretary.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/chuck-schumer-remove-kim-jong-un-from-commemorative-coin-marking-summit-with-trump

>>1505913

These are great MOLES!! kek

>>1505918

Not fast enough, so as he'd shut up, kek

>>1505950

Judging by the instant reactions they have on this and other things, I agree, all they seem to want to do is just discredit President Trump in any way they can.

Republicans declare Justice Department guilty before internal investigation begins

Republicans declare Justice Department guilty before internal investigation begins

by Kelly Cohen

& Gabby Morrongiello

| May 21, 2018 10:42 PM

Print this article

The decision by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to have the Justice Department’s inspector general look into possible FBI surveillance of President Trump’s 2016 campaign has failed to allay some Republican lawmakers' fears the agency is too tainted already to be trusted with an internal investigation.

Rosenstein agreed during a meeting with Trump and senior intelligence officials on Monday that the Justice Department should “expand its current investigation to include any irregularities with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s or the Department of Justice’s tactics concerning the Trump Campaign,” according to a readout provided by the White House. The Justice Department’s internal watchdog originally launched a probe in March into the agency’s handling of a surveillance warrant for former Trump campaign Carter Page, following demands for an investigation by conservative lawmakers who felt the agency had overstepped its authority.

Some of those same lawmakers are now skeptical that the broadened inspector general probe will be handled in a timely and appropriate manner, or that the conclusion will deviate from what they already believe to be true.

“[W]e’ve seen disturbing evidence that the FBI engaged in political targeting, But the DOJ can’t be trusted to investigate themselves – Congress needs the documents too,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said in a tweet Sunday evening, urging the agency to make available to Congress the same materials it plans to review as part of its internal investigation.

Meadows, who joined two of his House colleagues last week in urging the president to intervene so the Justice Department would turn over the documents sought by congressional investigators, added on Monday that Rosenstein’s “belated referral” to the agency’s internal watchdog indicated he was aware of malpractice by the department and “he did nothing, or he’s seen the facts and believes nothing is wrong.”

The top conservative lawmaker is expected to help introduce a 12-page House resolution on Tuesday that details alleged misconduct at the Justice Department and FBI surrounding the Clinton email investigation, the Russia probe, and abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

More than a dozen GOP lawmakers have endorsed the resolution, which will call for a second special counsel to be appointed, according to a statement released by Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., on Monday.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., also suggested on Monday that the Justice Department may be incapable of appropriately investigating itself, arguing during a Fox News appearance that appointing a second outside investigation was preferable and necessary since Attorney General Jeff Sessions remains recused from the Russia probe.

“The consequence of that recusal is that Rod Rosenstein, the very individual who was signing renewals of the FISA warrants, now has the ability to send this latest allegation off to investigation land and then use that as a basis to not produce documents to Congress … ” Gaetz charged.

According to the White House, chief of staff John Kelly agreed on Monday to immediately organize a meeting between top intelligence and Justice Department officials and congressional leaders to review the information requested by Gaetz and his colleagues. Democrats had previously warned that Trump could use Rosenstein’s refusal to turn over the sensitive documents as a reason to fire him, and squeeze the ongoing special counsel investigation.

In an interview Monday with Fox News’ Martha MacCallum, Vice President Mike Pence said Trump was “grateful” that the Justice Department asked the inspector general to “look into and determine and ensure that there was no surveillance done for political purposes against our campaign.”

Still, the president’s re-election campaign managed to fundraise off the development on Monday with an email to supporters headlined: "Worse than Watergate."

"THIS COULD BE THE GREATEST POLITICAL SCANDAL IN AMERICAN HISTORY," the email declared. "I need you to sign your name right this second to join me in demanding this abuse of power gets investigated."

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/republicans-declare-justice-department-guilty-before-internal-investigation-begins

>>1506064

I wondered that too, strange isn't it?

>>1506120

Might be my eyes, but I'm seeing M, maybe?