James Clapper Denies Tipping Off Jake Tapper on ‘Pee Dossier’ Briefing

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on Thursday denied that he tipped off CNN’s Jake Tapper about the briefing former FBI Director James Comey gave to President-elect Trump about the dossier that sparked the network’s first reporting on the dossier.

In a radio interview with Hugh Hewitt, Clapper said the “first interaction” he had with CNN “of any sort” was on May 14, 2017, when he appeared on State of the Union.

“The first interaction I had of any sort, physical or electronic, was on May 14th, 2017, when I appeared on State of the Union,” he said. “So you know, this is just sort of made up,” Clapper said, blaming House Republicans.

“So you did not tip Jake?” Hewitt asked. “No,” Clapper answered. “I did not.”

However, Clapper’s remarks conflict with what he told House Intelligence Committee investigators in a closed interview on July 17, 2017.

According to final reports by both the committee’s Democrats and Republicans, the former DNI first denied discussing the Steele dossier “or any other intelligence related to Russia hacking of the 2016 election” with journalists. But then he subsequently acknowledged discussing the dossier with Tapper.

Here is an excerpt from the Democrats’ report:

MR. ROONEY: Did you confirm or corroborate the contents of the dossier with CNN journalist Jake Tapper?

MR. CLAPPER: Well, by the time of that, they already knew about it. By the time it was — it was after — I don’t know exactly the sequence there, but it was pretty close to when we briefed it and when it was out all over the place. The media had it by the way. We were kind of behind the power curve, because the media, many media outlets that I understood had that, had the dossier for some time, as did people on the Hill.

CNN published their report on January 10, 2017 — months before May 14, 2017, as Clapper claimed he first had interaction with Tapper.

Clapper was squishy during his interview with investigators on when the discussion with Tapper took place, only saying “by the time of that, they already knew about it.” He also admits “many media outlets … had the dossier for some time.”

READ MORE: http:// www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/06/07/james-clapper-denies-tipping-off-jake-tapper-on-pee-dossier-briefing/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+breitbart+%28Breitbart+News%29

Ex-Senate aide charged with lying about reporter contacts

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former staff employee of the Senate intelligence committee has been indicted on charges of lying to the FBI about contracts with reporters.

Federal prosecutors said Thursday that James A. Wolfe, of Ellicott City, Maryland, has been arrested and indicted on three counts of false statements.

Wolfe was a longtime intelligence panel staffer and served as director of security for the committee, a position that gave him access to classified information.

Prosecutors say Wolfe lied to the FBI in December 2017 about contacts he had with three reporters. Prosecutors say he also lied about giving two reporters non-public information about committee matters.

Wolfe is expected to make his first court appearance Friday. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had a lawyer.

ONE of the indictments possibly?

http:// www.breitbart.com/news/ex-senate-aide-charged-with-lying-about-reporter-contacts/

Denuclearisation: the great divide for Kim-Trump summit

Seoul (AFP) – The issue at the top of US President Donald Trump’s agenda for his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is also the most complicated — denuclearisation.

Pyongyang’s decades-long pursuit of atomic weapons and the means to deliver them to the US have seen it subjected to multiple rounds of sanctions by the UN Security Council, US, EU and others, and tensions soared last year as the two men traded personal insults and threats of war.

Now after a rapid diplomatic rapprochement they will hold an unprecedented meeting in Singapore.

But despite the positive imagery of recent months — and the global headlines the summit will generate — the gap they will need to breach is a chasm.

“It does strike me as very difficult for Kim to give up the only thing that makes him important and that is nuclear weapons,” former US deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told reporters in Tokyo.

“The distance from where we are now to where we need to be is measured in years.”

Washington is demanding the North give up its weapons in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way (CVID).

Pyongyang, for its part, has repeatedly expressed a commitment to the denuclearisation of the peninsula, but the phrase is a diplomatic euphemism open to interpretation on both sides and the North has given no public indication of what concessions it might be offering.

READ MORE: http:// www.breitbart.com/news/denuclearisation-the-great-divide-for-kim-trump-summit/

Trump attorney says Kim Jong Un ‘begged’ for summit: report

Washington (AFP) – Donald Trump’s attorney said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un begged “on his hands and knees” for a summit with the US president, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

“They… said they were going to go to nuclear war with us, they were going to defeat us in a nuclear war,” Rudy Giuliani told a Tel Aviv investment conference, according to the newspaper. “We said we’re not going to have a summit under those circumstances.”

“Well, Kim Jong Un got back on his hands and knees and begged for it, which is exactly the position you want to put him in,” Giuliani said.

The Trump attorney said that with the summit rescheduled, the United States has the upper hand.

Singapore’s foreign minister will make a two-day trip to Pyongyang starting Thursday, as preparations for the Trump-Kim summit in the city-state accelerate.

The announcement came a day after the White House revealed that the historic June 12 meeting between the US and North Korean leaders will take place in a luxury hotel on Singapore’s resort island of Sentosa.

The summit is due to be held following a rapid detente between Pyongyang and Washington — as well as South Korea — in a turn-around from a dramatic escalation of tensions last year, when the North ratcheted up its weapons programme.

http:// www.breitbart.com/news/trump-attorney-says-kim-jong-un-begged-for-summit-report-2/

Civil Rights Commissioner: Prison Reform Bills Will Return Prisoners to ‘Criminal Careers’

A member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights warns that two prison reform bills currently being considered by the Senate will likely serve to return prisoners sooner to their neighborhoods — where it is probable they will resume their criminal activity.

In a letter sent to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, attorney Peter Kirsanow, a Republican member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, says evidence indicates that, if signed into law, the most likely outcome of the FIRST STEP Act and Smarter Sentencing Act bills “is that individuals will be freed to commit crimes sooner than they otherwise would have.”

Kirsanow, who also chairs the board of directors of the Center for New Black Leadership, states there is no evidence that the concern that “black men are disproportionately likely to be incarcerated compared to white men” will be significantly ameliorated by these bills.

Kirsanow describes both bills, stating they are “predicated on the belief that rehabilitation is not merely possible, but probable”:

The FIRST STEP bill would allow prisoners to earn up to 15 days of time credits for every 30 days of participation in “evidence-based recidivism reduction programming or productive activities.” The Smarter Sentencing Act dramatically reduces sentences for drug offenses, for example by halving the minimum sentence for individuals who traffic in methamphetamines.

However, the civil rights commissioner observes the good intentions underlying both measures are flawed since evidence shows “releasing prisoners early and reducing sentences are unlikely to have the beneficial effects promised by these bills’ sponsors.”

Kirsanow states that although data indicate those who commit crimes are more likely to re-offend than those who are not criminals, the prison reform legislation “relies on the assumption that authorities can accurately assess which offenders are likely to desist from crime.”

He writes:

READ MORE: http:// www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/06/07/civil-rights-commissioner-prison-reform-bills-return-prisoners-criminal-careers/

Google pledges not to use AI for weapons or surveillance

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google pledged Thursday that it will not use artificial intelligence in applications related to weapons, surveillance that violates international norms, or that works in ways that go against human rights. It planted its ethical flag on use of AI just days confirming it would not renew a contract with the U.S. military to use its AI technology to analyze drone footage.

The principles, spelled out by Google CEO Sundar Pichai in a blog post , commit the company to building AI applications that are “socially beneficial,” that avoid creating or reinforcing bias and that are accountable to people.

The search giant had been formulating a patchwork of policies around these ethical questions for years, but finally put them in writing. Aside from making the principles public, Pichai didn’t specify how Google or its parent Alphabet would be accountable for conforming to them. He also said Google would continue working with governments and the military on noncombat applications involving such things as veterans’ health care and search and rescue.

READ MORE: http:// www.breitbart.com/news/google-pledges-not-to-use-ai-for-weapons-or-surveillance/

Report: Soldier Charged with DUI After Chase in Armored Military Vehicle

Virginia National Guard Soldier Joshua Philip Yabut has been arrested following the alleged theft and subsequent chase of an armored vehicle into downtown Richmond, Virginia.

The 29-year-old Virginia National Guard Soldier allegedly stole an M577 Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) from Fort Pickett on the evening of June 5 and led authorities on a 60-mile chase into downtown Richmond — while tweeting. Photos, videos, and odd unrelated messages peppered his timeline.

“Meeesa jar jar binks,” said one. Another was a location and the Wikipedia entry for a different APC. Then he tweeted, “permission to execute the 0day sir,” and things like “all i wanna do is get an anime wife.” He also said he was thirsty, asked about the location of a water buffalo, and posted two copies of a selfie.

Fortunately for all involved, no one but Yabut himself came to any harm. Virginia National Guard spokesperson Cotton Puryear said, “the unit was conducting routine training at Fort Pickett when [Yabut] drove away in the armored personnel carrier” but that “the vehicle was not equipped with any weapons.” And while “the Soldier did have his personal weapon with him,” he had no ammunition. In the end, Yabut was tased by police after refusing to follow orders but was otherwise taken safely into custody.

READ MORE: http:/ /www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/06/07/soldier-charged-with-dui-after-chase-while-tweeting-in-armored-military-vehicle/

>>1665016

Lol call it all you want, it happened.