Democrats ask DOJ, FBI if they briefed Trump, legal team about informant

Top Congressional Democrats are calling on Justice Department and FBI officials to give them assurances that they did not give President Trump or his legal team information regarding the Mueller investigation or the classified briefing they received regarding the FBI's use of an informant during Trump's presidential campaign.

The letter pointed to the Trump legal team's call to review classified documents regarding Stefan Halper, the informant who had contact with Trump advisers, and asked the DOJ and FBI for written assurances that they did not tell Trump, his legal team or White House lawyers about the information.

The letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray was signed by by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee.

“We remain deeply troubled by President Donald Trump and his legal team’s persistent efforts to interfere with the Special Counsel’s ongoing investigation and undermine your agencies’ lawful activities,” the four lawmakers wrote in the letter.

“These developments leave us concerned that, through his legal team or otherwise, the President will continue to pressure your agencies to divulge investigative information which he, his attorneys, and his congressional allies then could manipulate or even disclose publicly for the President’s benefit," they wrote. "That would be a terrible abuse of power.”

The letter comes after Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal lawyer, said recently that the White House wants a briefing on the materials and that Trump's interview with special counsel Robert Mueller would only happen if they see the classified information.

The "Gang of Eight" — the top eight congressional leaders in both chambers — was briefed on the materials and the informant on May 24. The Democratic leaders asked that their request be met by Monday at 5 p.m.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/democrats-ask-doj-fbi-if-they-briefed-trump-legal-team-about-informant

Trump accuses Schumer, Pelosi of 'standing in our way' of cutting spending

President Trump accused Democratic leaders of hindering efforts to cut wasteful spending, but praised his own administration for “getting our government back on track.”

“The HISTORIC Rescissions Package we’ve proposed would cut $15,000,000,000 in Wasteful Spending! We are getting our government back on track,” Trump tweeted Tuesday.

The HISTORIC Rescissions Package we’ve proposed would cut $15,000,000,000 in Wasteful Spending! We are getting our government back on track.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2018

The White House sent Congress a proposal last month that would rescind $15 billion in unallocated government funds.

The House is expected to pass Trump's rescission request, though a vote on the package has yet to be scheduled in the lower chamber.

A group of nine Senate Republicans introduced the White House's proposal to cut $15 billion in spending last month, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would consider the rescission package if the House passes it first. The proposal in the upper chamber can pass with a simple majority, so the measure can pass if it receives support from all 50 voting Republican senators.

While Trump praised his administration for taking steps to cut spending, he criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for wasting government dollars.

"Imagine how much wasteful spending we’d save if we didn’t have Chuck and Nancy standing in our way! For years, Democrats in Congress have depleted our military and busted our budgets on needless spending, and to what end? No more,” he said in a second tweet.

Imagine how much wasteful spending we’d save if we didn’t have Chuck and Nancy standing in our way! For years, Democrats in Congress have depleted our military and busted our budgets on needless spending, and to what end? No more.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2018

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-accuses-schumer-pelosi-of-standing-in-our-way-with-cutting-spending

Senate GOP plots vote to rein in Trump's tariffs

Senate Republicans are considering legislation that would give Congress the authority to approve or reject some of the tariffs Trump is hoping to impose to fight unfair trade practices.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., discussed his proposal with GOP lawmakers in a closed-door lunch Tuesday. The proposal comes in response to 25 percent steel and 10 percent aluminum tariffs imposed by Trump last week against major U.S. trading partners, and tariffs he is looking to impose against China later this month.

Under current law, the president has the authority to unilaterally impose tariffs to fight unfair trade practices or for national security reasons, but Corker's proposal would make some tariffs subject to congressional approval. It's not yet clear how much support the idea has among Republicans.

“I’m going to listen to that discussion,” said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who heads the GOP conference, when asked if he backs the Corker measure. “We’ve got members who feel pretty strongly about it and we’ll see where it leads.”

Corker and co-author Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said they could try to get the measure passed as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, a must-pass bill. “If it’s an open amendment process, it might get a vote there,” Thune said.

Thune said lawmakers have long ceded authority to the executive branch on trade deals in order to expedite them. But he acknowledged it may be time to rethink it.

“There is an argument to be made that Congress ought to be more engaged and assert more of its authority on some of those issues,” Thune said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he wouldn't bring it up as a stand-alone bill, but agreed it's possible it could move as an amendment.

“Items as contentious as that’s likely to be, we’ll see, but I’m not going to call it up freestanding,” McConnell said Tuesday.

McConnell downplayed the bill after Corker discussed it with GOP lawmakers at the lunch.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/senate-gop-vote-rein-in-trumps-canada-mexico-eu-tariffs

Senators press Facebook on third-party access to user data

Senators are pressing Facebook for information on partnerships between the social media giant and mobile device manufacturers that allegedly allowed the third-party companies to access users' personal data, sometimes without explicit permission.

Facebook permitted some 60 companies to obtain data from users' friends, including those who believe they did not consent to such sharing, according to a report in the New York Times. The company defended its decision to allow that data to be shared, and said the use of any personal information was solely for the purpose of recreating a "Facebook-like" experience on the other operating systems. It also said such partnerships were being phased out.

On Tuesday, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune of South Dakota and Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, the panel's top Democrat, asked Facebook for more information on what companies it partnered with on the project, whether federal regulators had knowledge of the arrangements and why certain data was stored on servers owned by the third party businesses.

"Given the Committee's ongoing oversight of Facebook's data privacy and security practices … we write to request a further explanation on this issue," the senators wrote.

A Facebook spokesperson did not respond to request for comment.

The inquiry comes after the panel, in partnership with the Senate Judiciary Committee, brought chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg to Capitol Hill earlier this year to press him on how British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica was able to access the personal information of as many as 87 million Facebook users.

The congressional inquires stemming from the most recent allegations are likely to continue.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence panel, asked Facebook whether Chinese-owned Huawei Technologies Co., or ZTE Corp., were among those mobile device manufacturers that the Menlo Park, Calif.-based company partnered with. Warner also requested more information on what companies were able to store the personal information on their own servers.

Elected officials have charged for years that ZTE and Huawei essentially act as conduits for Chinese espionage across the globe. The federal government has sought to limit the ability of both firms to operate in the U.S. The Pentagon has banned the sale of phones from either manufacturer on military bases and the Federal Trade Commission is considering a move to effectively prevent rural carriers from using products produce by either Huawei or ZTE.

The Commerce Department in April issued a denial order in April preventing any company from selling parts or software to ZTE for seven years. The order was reportedly reversed after President Trump interjected and the firm agreed to several stipulations, including an overhaul of its U.S. executive team.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/business/senators-press-facebook-on-third-party-access-user-data

Good government means cutting congressional perks

Members of Congress are taking serious steps toward good-government reforms that would eliminate some of the more egregious taxpayer-funded perks they enjoy. The House of Representatives is poised to eliminate the lavish supports granted to former speakers of the House upon retirement, which include expensive office space and staff for five whole years after their departure from Congress.

Before the Memorial Day recess, the House Appropriations Committee unanimously approved an amendment by Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kan., to the 2019 legislative branch spending bill with language to cut off the benefit that has been on the books since 1970. The bill is expected to be considered by the House later in June.

The perk provides former speakers with office space, furnishings, franked mail privileges, and funds for office expenses and three staffers. It was first established for Speaker John W. McCormack, D-Mass., who retired in 1971 after serving in the House for 42 years. According to the Congressional Research Service, supporters of the perks argued that it was appropriate to “provide him the means to finish any Speaker-related business he felt necessary upon leaving Congress.” At first, these benefits were available for only two years, were later expanded in perpetuity, before being capped at five years in 1994.

The location of the office had been limited to the member’s district, until a 1985 law allowed it to be anywhere in the U.S. Otherwise, there were no other restrictions on the office or its rent except that it cannot be used for political purposes and is unavailable to any former speaker who takes a federally appointed or elective office.

The most recent beneficiary was former Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who kept his office open for one year in the House Longworth Office Building at a cost of $211,000. Because Boehner stepped down midsession, the primary function of his office was to assist with the transition to incoming Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. Since the inception of the benefit, former Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., has been the only speaker who declined it. He expressed concern that it “would get too cluttered with what’s private and what’s public.”

This was a problem with previous speakers. For example, the Associated Press noted that Carl Albert, D-Okla., (speaker from 1971 to 1977) used his office to “prepare speeches and help a friend on a book about the speakership.” An assistant in former Speaker Jim Wright’s office was quoted saying that the Texas Democrat “spends most of his time writing speeches for the former speaker and helping him work on a book.” Books about the speakership may be interesting, but there’s no reason taxpayers should be expected to fund their preparation.

In addition to curtailing these speaker office privileges, this bill would freeze congressional salaries for another year. Under law, members of Congress receive automatic annual cost-of-living allowance adjustments unless they vote to block them. Salaries have been frozen since 2009 at $174,000 for rank-and-file members, $193,400 for the House majority and minority leaders and the president pro tem of the Senate, and $223,500 for the speaker of the House.

The reform package is supported by the two people in the House who would stand to benefit from the perk: Ryan, who will retire at the end of the congressional session, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a former speaker herself.

This effort comes on the heels of a bill introduced by Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., which would cut off taxpayer-funded pensions for any member of Congress convicted of a felony. Whereas current law lets congressional felons collect taxpayer money until years of appeals are exhausted, Tenney’s bill would end pensions upon conviction and only restore them in the event of a successful appeal.

Neither of these efforts will, by themselves, save enough money to make a serious dent in our $21 trillion national debt. But, they are signs that Congress is at least getting serious about trimming some of the more lavish and indefensible taxpayer-funded perks they have enjoyed for too long.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/good-government-means-cutting-congressional-perks

Mia Love defends working with Democrats to force immigration vote

Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, on Tuesday defended her decision to work with Democrats to force a House vote on a series of immigration bills, an effort her Republican leaders are working to thwart.

"To me, it was all about getting a bill to the floor," she said on Fox News. "Any of the bills, one of the bills, it didn't matter."

"I was so frustrated that we weren't actually doing our job," she added. "Our job is to create a uniform rule of naturalization, not leaving it to the White House, not doing executive orders, but for us to do something."

Love and several other Republicans have signed a discharge petition that would do an end-run around GOP leaders, and call up a series of immigration bills on the floor. President Trump has indicated he is only interested in a bill to fund border security and the border wall, end chain migration, end the diversity visa lottery, and help Dreamers who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

The discharge petition would bring up other bills that Trump and GOP leaders don't support, but Love said the House should vote on as many ideas as possible to try to advance the issue. She said doing nothing is not an option.

"When we were talking to leadership about getting a bill and working the bill, we weren't getting anywhere."

"And so, this is to me about making sure that we're debating bills on the floor to the people who sent me to represent them can have a voice," she said.

Trump tried to pressure Congress into passing legislation outlining his immigration priorities by rescinding President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. But Congress has struggled to get anywhere, and meanwhile, courts have blocked Trump's move to end DACA.

The move by Love and other Republicans to force the votes has prompted GOP leaders to negotiate with their caucus to see if they can agree on a single bill, in order to avoid votes on other legislation that might split the party and favor Democrats.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/mia-love-defends-working-with-democrats-to-force-immigration-vote

Special counsel: Ryan Zinke did not violate law in mixing business with politics

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has been cleared of several potential violations of federal rules governing political activity by government officials.

A May 31 letter obtained by the Associated Press Tuesday from the Office of Special Counsel exonerated Zinke of violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits Cabinet officials from participating in political activities.

Zinke's spokeswoman, Heather Swift, was quick to point out that the secretary has always worked with ethics professionals to follow the law.

"As the Inspector General pointed out in the report earlier this year, the secretary always works with career ethics professionals and has followed all laws, rules, and regulations related to his travel," Swift wrote in an email to the Washington Examiner.

One of the incidents he was cleared of was a speech he made last June to the Las Vegas Golden Knights hockey team.

Bill Foley, the team's owner, had contributed to Zinke's Republican congressional campaigns as well as to President Trump's inauguration. The speech, as well as the flights on charter planes Zinke took to reach the venues, has been used by Democrats and groups trying to get him to resign.

Zinke addressed the team as interior secretary and spoke on the topics of leadership and the importance of teamwork, according to the special counsel. The letter said there was no evidence that his remarks were political in nature.

"Your activity did not violate the Hatch Act because you were not the impetus for those higher contributions," the special counsel's office said in its letter to Zinke.

The special counsel also cleared Zinke for a trip he made in March 2017 to the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he met with political donors. It also cleared him of seven trips he took from March 2017 to October 2017 that appeared to mix official business with politics.

The Interior Department was reimbursed for the political elements of each of the trips after it requested it be paid back, the special counsel said in the letter.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/special-counsel-ryan-zinke-did-not-violate-law-in-mixing-business-with-politics

Lindsey Graham asks Rod Rosenstein if he should recuse himself from overseeing Robert Mueller

A top Republican lawmaker has asked Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein if he thinks he should recuse himself from oversight of special counsel Robert Mueller.

In a letter dated May 31 but obtained by the Washington Examiner on Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked Rosenstein if he considers himself a potential witness in Mueller’s investigation.

“If not, why not?” he wrote. “If so, should you recuse yourself from further interactions with and oversight of the Mueller investigation?”

Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel in May 2017 after the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Rosenstein is acting attorney general in this situation, and has oversight into every move the Mueller investigation makes — he also is the only one with constitutional authority to fire the special counsel.

Mueller is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible links to the Trump campaign. He is also investigating if President Trump obstructed justice when he fired former FBI Director James Comey, which happened less than two weeks before Mueller was appointed.

Graham noted that Trump relied on a memo written by Rosenstein to fire Comey, and wondered if that could be the source of a potential Rosenstein-Mueller conflict.

Graham said on Fox News that he wants an answer “sooner rather than later” from Rosenstein. The Justice Department declined to comment on the letter.

The pressure from Graham, a Trump ally, comes as Trump has upped his public criticisms of Sessions for his recusal from all Russia related matters.

“The Russian Witch Hunt Hoax continues, all because Jeff Sessions didn’t tell me he was going to recuse himself,” Trump said in a tweet earlier Tuesday. “I would have quickly picked someone else. So much time and money wasted, so many lives ruined…and Sessions knew better than most that there was No Collusion!”

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/lindsey-graham-asks-rod-rosenstein-if-he-should-recuse-himself-from-overseeing-robert-mueller

The first person sent to prison by Robert Mueller has been deported

A Dutch attorney who was the first person sent to prison in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation has been deported from the United States.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official told the Washington Examiner that Alex van der Zwaan was removed from the country and arrived in the Netherlands today, where he was turned over to the Dutch authorities.

Van der Zwaan, 33, reported to a low-security Federal Bureau of Prisons facility near Allenwood, Penn., in May to serve his 30-day sentence. He was released Monday and immediately transferred to ICE custody.

Van der Zwaan, who worked for U.S. law firm Skadden Arps in London, pleaded guilty in February to lying to federal prosecutors about his knowledge of communications that Rick Gates — a longtime associate of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort — had with an unidentified person known as “Person A” in 2016. Van der Zwaan was told by Gates that “Person A” was a former Russian intelligence officer.

U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced him last month to 30 days in prison and a $20,000 fine.

In April, van der Zwaan’s attorney asked that his client simply leave the court, pay a fine and serve no time. His wife — who is the daughter of a Russian oligarch — lives in London and "needs him now” as she is due with their child in August, argued William Schwartz of Cooley LLP.

Van der Zwaan is the fourth person to plead guilty in Mueller investigation: Gates, Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/sole-person-to-see-jail-time-in-russia-probe-turned-over-to-ice-and-deported-to-netherlands

>>1643777

They certainly are. I think it will be a tough one to get through though.

>>1643727

You are correct. Wonder if they really believe they have a chance at this.

>>1643989

I agree, but then again I haven't been much of a fan of hers either.

>>1644085

Thanks, I agree with you on that maybe she just needs to get acclimated to the "system", lets see what she shows us.

Chris Matthews rooting against 'self-saluting' Democrats: 'There's a party attitude of elitism'

MSNBC host: 'The people feel it. There's a party going on and they ain't invited'

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews says the Democratic Party has lost its way by embracing elitists who “think they’re better than everybody.”

The host of “Hardball” sat down with this colleagues on “Morning Joe” this week to talk about changes in the Democratic Party over the course of decades. He said Americans can “feel” that Democrats are “self-saluting” individuals who are more concerned with galas and fundraisers than issues that affect most voters.

“There are real liberals, and there are phonies,” Mr. Matthews said. “They’re pie in the sky. They’re always looking to the middle distance. They think they’re better than everybody. They went to Yale Law, whatever. Whatever they got, they claim they’re better than everybody. A true democrat, lower case ‘d,’ thinks they’re no better than anybody else. That’s what a Democrat is.”

Mr. Matthews added that Democrats have eroded support among “white, black, Hispanic people, everybody” in recent years.

“There is so much elitism in the Democrat party. It’s outrageous,” he said. “And it all comes down to the notion of the meritocracy being academic based. … It’s all academic and it’s a game they’ve been playing with themselves — and it’s self-saluting. I’m telling you: The people feel it. There’s a party going on and they ain’t invited to it. … There’s too much self-saluting. Too many events that seem to be about saluting them. Too many galas. People are tired of it. I’m sick of them.”

“And by the way, I’m rooting against them,” he added. “Even though I may agree with their policies, I think there’s a party attitude of elitism and I think they got to get over it.”

The pundit ended his commentary by saying former Vice President Joe Biden’s sensibilities offer a better political blueprint for Democrats to follow.

https:// www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jun/5/chris-matthews-rooting-against-self-saluting-democ/