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Anonymous ID: 2a044a Jan. 21, 2019, 1:18 p.m. No.4850647   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0659

Baker Testimony Reveals Perkins Coie Lawyer Provided FBI With Information on Alfa Bank Allegations

 

Closed-door testimony by former top FBI lawyer James Baker revealed that Michael Sussmann, a lawyer and partner at Perkins Coie, gave Baker information alleging a Russian bank was communicating with a server in Trump Tower—an allegation later proven false. Sussmann, whose firm had been retained by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, provided information to Baker and at least one journalist ahead of the FBI’s application for a FISA warrant on Trump campaign foreign policy advisor, Carter Page. Perkins Coie was also the law firm who had hired Fusion GPS—on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the DNC—which in turn hired former British MI6 agent Christopher Steele to produce the dossier that has become known as the Steele dossier.

 

Sussmann’s identity as an outside source to Baker had previously been reported. But new details regarding the specific information that Sussman provided to Baker, their interactions and timing, along with the FBI’s response were revealed in Baker’s testimonies. Baker’s testimonies before the House judiciary and oversight committees were conducted on Oct. 3 and Oct. 18 in an unclassified setting with legal counsel present. The transcripts have not been publicly released, but were obtained for this article. (Note: Sussmann’s name is spelled incorrectly as “Sussman” in the transcript from Day One. The transcript from Day Two contains the correct spelling.)

 

Sussmann’s name came up during the first day of Baker’s testimony when he was asked whether it was “normal practice for general counsel to talk to confidential human sources?” Baker acknowledged that he had a “personal relationship” with Sussmann as they had previously “both worked in the criminal division together at the Department of Justice.” Sussmann had sought out Baker directly, going so far as to make an appointment in advance. As the FBI’s general counsel, Baker advised senior FBI leaders, including FBI Director James Comey and Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, on the legal aspects of key investigations and served as the liaison with the Department of Justice (DOJ).

 

The significance and importance of Baker’s position within the FBI was noted by the lawmakers. At one point during testimony, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) asked Baker, “is it fair to say that any materials passed by the FBI general counsel automatically have a reliability and a level of credibility attached to them? You’re the FBI’s general counsel, if you’re getting information from an outside source and passing it, [sic] on that means something.” Baker responded, “I suppose so, Congressman.” By using his personal relationship with Baker, Sussmann was able to ensure that the information he was bringing to the FBI would immediately receive investigative attention. Which is precisely what happened.

 

https://www.theepochtimes.com/baker-testimony-reveals-perkins-coie-lawyer-provided-fbi-with-information-on-alfa-bank-allegations_2773855.html

Anonymous ID: 2a044a Jan. 21, 2019, 1:30 p.m. No.4850821   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0854 >>0938 >>0955 >>1129 >>1200

Union Is Banking on Key House Committee Democrats in ‘Living Wage’ Push

 

Strategists for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) smell victory in the House of Representatives in 2019 for their $15-an-hour “Living Wage” campaign, but just to be sure, they invested heavily last year in Democrats who are on a key committee. The union contributed more than $335,000 during the 2018 campaign to 25 of the 27 Democrats on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission (FEC) data by Leonard Robinson III of the Capital Research Center (CRC). The Democrats’ Raise the Wage Act of 2019 was introduced in the House last week by committee Chairman Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), who got $46,000 from SEIU.

 

Scott was joined by 180 other House Democrats, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of California and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, in co-sponsoring the proposal. The bill gradually increases the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2024, from the current $7.25 per hour. The measure would also “index future minimum wage increases to median wage growth” and kills “subminimum wages for tipped workers, youth workers, and workers with disabilities,” according to committee Democrats. The measure also was introduced last week on the Senate side of Congress by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and 30 other Senate Democrats, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Other Democrats on the House panel receiving significant amounts from SEIU include Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who got $55,000; Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), who got $47,000; and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), with $40,500.

 

Mike Watson of CRC, who worked with Robinson on the SEIU study, noted that Grijalva may have received significantly more than Scott because the latter had no major party opposition in 2018, while the Arizonan did last year and in the 2016 election. Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) and Rep. Gregorio Killi Sablan (D-Northern Marianas) were the only Democrats on the panel who received no contribution from SEIU in 2018. Watson pointed out that the Northern Marianas representative is a non-voting member of the House and that SEIU had endorsed Trone’s Democratic primary opponent in 2018. The union did back Trone in the general election. With 181 House Democrats co-sponsoring the measure, the bill is likely to be approved by the lower chamber with little trouble. Scott plans to move the bill through the committee and report it to the floor as quickly as possible. But the bill is just as likely not to make it through the Republican-controlled Senate, and even if it did, President Donald Trump would veto it.

 

https://www.theepochtimes.com/union-banking-on-key-house-committee-dems-in-living-wage-push_2773830.html

Anonymous ID: 2a044a Jan. 21, 2019, 1:43 p.m. No.4850961   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1051 >>1129 >>1200

Chinese Scientist Behind Gene-Edited Babies Fired by University

 

SHENZHEN, China—A Chinese scientist who created what he said were the world’s first “gene-edited” babies evaded oversight and broke ethical boundaries in a quest for fame and fortune, state media said on Jan. 21, as his former university said he had been fired. He Jiankui said in November that he used a gene-editing technology known as CRISPR-Cas9 to alter the embryonic genes of twin girls born that month, sparking an international outcry about the ethics and safety of such research.

 

Hundreds of scientists around the world condemned He and said any application of gene editing on human embryos for reproductive purposes was unethical. Chinese authorities also denounced He and issued a temporary halt to research activities involving the editing of human genes. A report by state-run media Xinhua cited recent findings from an investigation by local health authorities, where it found that He had “deliberately evaded oversight” and raised funds himself to carry out the procedure in order to “seek personal fame and profit,” adding that he had forged ethical review papers in order to enlist volunteers for the procedure.

 

The Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in the city of Shenzhen, said in a statement on its website that He had been fired. “Effective immediately, SUSTech will rescind the work contract with Dr. He Jiankui and terminate any of his teaching and research activities at SUSTech,” the statement said. Though Chinese authorities have consistently denied involvement, images of He’s “Ethical Review Application Form” have since circulated online. Visible in the photo are an official stamp from the Shenzhen Hemei Women and Children’s Hospital and signatures of seven Ethics Committee members. Meanwhile, China observers also note that such an expensive project would not have been possible without support from high-level authorities—especially as SUSTech claimed that He was on unpaid leave since Feb. 2018.

 

https://www.theepochtimes.com/chinese-scientist-behind-gene-edited-babies-fired-by-university_2773517.html