Trump shoots down reporter's question on Rod Rosenstein during event with South Korean president

President Trump on Tuesday declined to answer a reporter’s question on his confidence in Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

Instead, the president asked for questions more relevant to visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in, whom he was sitting next to in the Oval Office.

"What is your next question, please?” Trump said. “I have the president of South Korea here, okay? He doesn't want to hear these questions, if you don't mind."

Trump is asked whether he has confidence in Rod Rosenstein: "What is your next question, please … I have the president of South Korea here. He doesn't want to hear these questions, if you don't mind." pic.twitter.com/aGD3wO1kIS

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) May 22, 2018

President Moon arrived at the White House Tuesday to meet with Trump for a series of meetings ahead of the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Kim and Moon held historic talks last month in the demilitarized zone between the North and South, when the two declared a “new era of peace.”

However, the chances of a summit between Trump and Kim have been on the decline in the last week when Pyongyang threatened to cancel the meeting after the U.S. and South Korea engaged in a scheduled joint military exercise.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/trump-reporter-rod-rosenstein

Marco Rubio: Trump losing trade talks with China

Marco Rubio: Trump losing trade talks with China

President Trump is on the losing end of trade negotiations with China because some members of his team have a short-sighted view of the talks, according to Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

“They are trying to cut some short-term deal that opens up the Chinese market a little bit, primarily things China was going to do anyway, in exchange for avoiding a trade war in the short term,” Rubio told reporters in the Senate on Tuesday.

Trump pulled back on possible tariffs on $150 billion worth of Chinese goods in response to China's failure to enforce U.S. intellectual property rights, and is now debating a broader deal with China without the threat of tariffs.

Trump also frustrated China hawks through his recent willingness to reverse sanctions imposed on a tech company that helped Iran evade U.S. sanctions. Rubio regards the company, called ZTE, as an espionage threat, which exacerbates his frustration at the idea of using the sanctions as a bargaining chip in trade talks. The Trump administration has said it's not using the ZTE sanctions to bargain for more market access, but there are few details on the pending deal, which has some, like Rubio, suspicious that Trump is about to trade one for the other.

“This goes beyond a simple trade dispute,” he said. “They are undertaking a plan to undermine and supplant the United States' standing in the world economically … So, this is a long term geopolitical matter.”

The Senate Banking Committee voted earlier in the day to bar Trump from easing sanctions on ZTE unless the administration could certify that the company is no longer violating U.S. law — a high bar, given that the company was punished previously for lying about its compliance with sanctions on Iran.

“If the president and his team won’t follow through on tough sanctions against ZTE, it’s up to Congress to ensure that it happens,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday on the floor. “Both parties have come together today to strongly rebuke ZTE and the administration’s soft approach.”

Rubio and other U.S. officials, including Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai, have warned that Chinese tech companies cooperate with intelligence agents for hacking and cyber espionage.

“They want to control global telecom,” the Florida Republican said during a recent Fox News interview. “They want to make it difficult for the American military to communicate with commanders and each other. They want to embed themselves in the technology of other countries.”

Rubio took aim Tuesday at a disagreement within the Trump administration about the purpose of the talks, as well as the president’s reported decision to cut a deal that slashes the trade deficit by $200 billion.

“This is not just about cutting some short term deal [in which] they open up their economy a little bit more and it’s worth $200 billion or whatever,” he said. “This is about changing the structure of our economic relationship, to the point where they can't steal intellectual property.”

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/marco-rubio-trump-losing-trade-talks-with-china

>>1508735

These people are not reporters any more they are just constant harassers, I think you are correct, if he stopped selecting them, then either they change their ways or go away.

Mike Pompeo 'convinced' Iranian people will force leaders to change

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday he's “convinced” the Iranian people will force their government to abandon its provocative behavior in the face of tough U.S. sanctions, he told reporters Tuesday.

"I'm convinced that the people of Iran, when they can see a path forward which will lead their country to stop behaving in this way, will choose that path,” Pompeo said at the State Department.

Pompeo, who outlined a plan to impose “unprecedented” sanctions on the Iran in order to force a “fundamental strategic shift” by Iranian leaders, argued that he’s not making any unreasonable requests of the regime.

"There aren't a special set of rules that we set forward yesterday for Iran,” he said. “We simply asked them to behave the way normal, non-belligerent nations behave.”

To comply with the list of U.S. demands, which range across 12 areas, Iranian leaders would have to abandon central goals of the revolution that brought them to power — “its threats to destroy Israel,” for instance, and a ballistic missile program that the regime came to regard as an existential priority in response to the Iran-Iraq War.

But Pompeo indicated the U.S. has no choice but to force Iran to make these tough decisions.

"Should we allow them to be terrorists?” Pompeo said in response to dubious questions from reporters. “Is that one we should compromise on?”

Pompeo’s strategy relies on success in bringing crippling economic pressure on the regime.

"The Iranian people get to choose,” he said. “The Iranian people get to choose for themselves the kind of leadership they want, the kind of government they want."

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/mike-pompeo-convinced-iranian-people-will-force-leaders-to-change

White House 'looking into' EPA barring reporters from summit

The White House is looking into why reporters were barred and forcibly removed from an Environmental Protection Agency summit on dangerous chemicals Tuesday.

"Certainly, we'll look into the matter," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said at the daily press briefing Tuesday afternoon.

She had no comment on whether the White House would contact EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt about the incident, saying only that the agency has released a statement on the matter and that she would be referring all inquiries to the EPA "as we look into the incident."

After the incident, in which an Associated Press reporter was forcibly removed from attempting to enter EPA headquarters, the agency said it would allow all reporters to attend during the afternoon session.

CNN, E&E News, and the AP were barred from the meeting, while 10 news outlets were allowed to cover the first hour of the morning session.

EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox first said the banned news outlets could not attend the day-and-a-half long meeting because of a lack of space.

“This was simply an issue of the room reaching capacity, which reporters were aware of prior to the event,” Wilcox said in a statement. “We were able to accommodate 10 reporters, provided a livestream for those we could not accommodate and were unaware of the individual situation that has been reported.”

Wilcox later sent out a new statement saying all media, including the previously barred outlets, could attend the afternoon session, from 1 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.

The AP reporter, Ellen Knickmeyer, said an adviser to Pruitt later called to apologize for the incident and that officials were looking into it. He also invited her to attend the afternoon session.

“We are pleased that the EPA has reconsidered its decision and will now allow AP to attend the remainder of today’s meeting,” AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton said. “The AP looks forward to informing the public of the important discussions at the water contaminants summit.”

The summit, attended by state, local, tribal, industry, and nonprofit officials, is focused on the challenge of removing toxic chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAs, from water supplies.

The chemicals have been linked with thyroid defects, problems in pregnancy, and certain cancers. They are found in Teflon nonstick pans, food packaging, firefighting foam and other products.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/white-house-looking-into-epa-barring-reporters-from-summit

>>1508937

>>1508951

Iranian's had a up rising about a month ago calling out their leaders saying they had been lied to about America, and that they (the leaders) had been stealing from them for years.

I can definitely see this coming and it's about time they have feared their government for long enough.

>>1509005

I definitely think it's time for a deeper dig on him, kind of wondering if he has some hidden money there.

>>1509025

That is absolutely true, they used to be quite a country at one point and time, very educated, both men and women. This regime came in a ended all of it.

>>1508873

Love the oldie but goodie song!!, but I am guessing you are suggesting something like Moon is spilling a lot of relevant info?

>>1509056

I remain on the side of a Torso Brace.

>>1509202

Not sure if the body armor and brace would work together, I mean I guess if it were custom fit, it might be. But I believe with all of the falls she has had, that Torso Brace is most likely.

>>1509352

meant to point this at >>1509259