Adam Schiff: Intel agencies went 'dark' on Trump-Russia investigation after Comey fired

Intelligence agencies stopped updating the House Intelligence Committee about the counterintelligence into President Trump's 2016 campaign after former FBI Director James Comey was fired, Chairman Adam Schiff said on Tuesday. Ahead of testimony by Attorney General William Barr, Schiff opened up what could be another line of questioning he faces from members of the Senate and House Judiciary committees.

"We were getting periodic counterintelligence briefings up until the point where James Comey was fired," Schiff, D-Calif., said on MSNBC. "At that point, the most significant counterintelligence investigation in recent history went into a black hole and the [Justice] Department and the intelligence community stopped fulfilling their statutory obligation to keep us fully informed of any significant counterintelligence activity. "So they've been dark now for a year and a half," he added. "And that, I think, violates the statute. We're insisting on getting full answers now."

The FBI's original Russia investigation, which began in July 2016, was later wrapped into special counsel Robert Mueller's inquiry looking into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion between Trump's campaign and the Kremlin. Mueller was appointed special counsel by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein eight days after Trump fired Comey in May 2017. The House Intelligence Committee is one of a handful of Democrat-controlled panels that have revved up investigations into the president this year. Part of this push is to obtain the findings of the counterintelligence investigation, which Schiff said is supported by ranking member Devin Nunes, R-Calif.

"In a very atypical illustration of bipartisanship vis-a-vis the Russia investigation, Mr. Nunes and I have sent two joint requests now to the Department demanding this information," Schiff said. "We're prepared if necessary to use compulsion to get it. We want Mueller to testify, we want the underlying evidence, we want to make sure we get answers."

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/adam-schiff-intel-agencies-went-dark-on-trump-russia-investigation-after-comey-fired

Pompeo: ‘Military force is available’ to oust Maduro ‘if that’s what it takes’

President Trump is willing to use “military force” to oust Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared Tuesday evening. “We hope there can be a peaceful resolution and that Maduro will leave without violence,” Pompeo told Fox News’ Bret Baier. “We’re watching those who are engaged in violence and we will hold them accountable. But the president has made very, very clear that we are going to ensure that Venezuelan democracy is restored.”

Pompeo made those comments in response to Venezuelan accusations that the United States has deployed 3,000 people to the U.S. Embassy in neighboring Colombia “planning for war” against Venezuela. The top U.S. diplomat declined to comment on the exact number of Americans at the embassy — “they change from day to day,” he demurred — but left the distinct impression that Trump means for Maduro to leave the easy way or the hard way. “If the question is, is the United States prepared to consider military action if that’s what it takes to restore the democracy there in Venezuela, the president’s been consistent and unambiguous about that, that the option to use military force is available if that’s what is ultimately called for,” he said.

Pompeo’s comments advanced the American threat of military force beyond previous U.S. stipulations “all options are on the table,” aired to deter the potential threats against opposition lawmaker Juan Guaidó. Trump recognized Guaidó as the legitimate interim president of Venezuela in January, after Maduro took the oath of office based on an election that regional observers deemed fraudulent, but the heir to the late socialist President Hugo Chávez has clung to power with Russian and Cuban support and the practical loyalty of the Venezuelan military. Pompeo’s comments advanced the American threat of military force beyond previous U.S. stipulations “all options are on the table,” aired to deter the potential threats against opposition lawmaker Juan Guaidó. Trump recognized Guaidó as the legitimate interim president of Venezuela in January, after Maduro took the oath of office based on an election that regional observers deemed fraudulent, but the heir to the late socialist President Hugo Chávez has clung to power with Russian and Cuban support and the practical loyalty of the Venezuelan military. “I hear sometimes people saying, well, the United States is considering an invasion. The invasion has taken place,” Pompeo said. “The Cubans have thousands of their officers inside of Venezuela today. They are not there with the consent of the government; they’re there with the consent of the thug Nicolás Maduro, but not Juan Guaidó, the duly elected leader of the Venezuelan government today. And for the Russians it’s the same.”

That external support was critical earlier Tuesday morning, according to Pompeo, when Maduro came close to admitting defeat as Guaidó rallied the Venezuelan troops who have defected to his side and called for the rest of the military to abandon Maduro. “He had an airplane on the tarmac, he was ready to leave this morning, as we understand it, and the Russians indicated he should stay,” Pompeo said in a CNN interview. “He was headed for Havana … the fact that Maduro’s plane was parked on the tarmac and he was preparing himself to depart is a fact.”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/pompeo-military-force-is-available-to-oust-maduro-if-thats-what-it-takes

>>6378393

He has lost all of his contacts..McCabe, Comey, Strozk, Preistap, possibly Page.. the river of information ran dry for him on that end, KeK..

Comey friend alarmed by Rosenstein's 'private conversations' with Trump

A "good friend" of former FBI Director James Comey indicated there is cause for concern in Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's resignation letter. In announcing his resignation on Monday, Rosenstein thanked President Trump for "the courtesy and humor you often display in our personal conversations.”

While Comey has remained silent in the 24 hours since the letter went public, Benjamin Wittes, editor-in-chief of Lawfare, reacted to that passage with uneasiness. "The deputy attorney general shouldn't be having 'personal conversations' with the president," he said.

Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller to be special counsel in charge of the Russia investigation just eight days after Trump fired Comey in May 2017 and oversaw its operations. He was also a witness in Mueller's investigation. Rosenstein's long-expected resignation, effective May 11, comes days after the publication of a bombshell Washington Post report about how Rosenstein fought to not get fired by tweet last fall after it came to light that he told Justice Department officials about wearing a “wire” to record conversations with Trump and that he had discussed invoking the 25th Amendment against the president to remove him from office. “I give the [Mueller] investigation credibility,” Rosenstein said in a call with the president. “I can land the plane.”

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., says he would like Rosenstein to come in for a hearing. "Rod Rosenstein was a witness. Rod Rosenstein was a participant in what led to the firing of James Comey, and he should not have had any role in whether the obstruction case rose to the level of a prosecutable crime," Schiff said at a Washington Post Live event on Tuesday.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/comey-friend-alarmed-by-rosensteins-private-conversations-with-trump

https://twitter.com/Comey/status/986723024538931201

https://twitter.com/benjaminwittes/status/1122974576932196354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

>>6378483

Indeed, he lost in a very big way..no more stories to tell to get ahead of a narrative he doesn't like.

Hunter Biden breaks up with brother Beau’s widow

Hunter Biden and Hallie Biden, the widow of his late brother Beau, have reportedly broken up. They started dating in 2017 after Beau Biden died from brain cancer in 2015. Page Six reported it is unclear why the couple ended their relationship, but sources said the situation is “amicable.” Hallie Biden provided no comment when reached by Page Six.

The pair's relationship started while Hunter Biden was still married to his then-wife Kathleen. In the D.C. Court divorce filing, Kathleen Biden cited irreconcilable differences due to how he spent "extravagantly on his own interests (including drugs, alcohol, prostitutes, strip clubs and gifts for women with whom he has sexual relations), while leaving the family with no funds to pay legitimate bills." Hunter Biden said in January the troubles with his personal life would not affect if his dad, former Vice President Joe Biden, decided to run for president. "Even though my life has been played out in the media, because I am a Biden, my father never once suggested that the family’s public profile should be my priority. The priority has always been clear for my dad, as it is, now, for me: Never run from a struggle. Love people and find a way to love yourself," Biden said in a letter to Vanity Fair. "What you fail to realize, in asking such a question, is that my father has always been proud of me — whether when I was volunteering for the Jesuits, or working as a lawyer. And he remains proud of me today. He loves me. And he loves the American people far too much to let any form of adversity stand in the way of service," he said about his affair.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, who announced last week he would seek the Democratic nomination for president, said of the relationship, "We are all lucky that Hunter and Hallie found each other as they were putting their lives together again after such sadness. They have mine and Jill’s full and complete support, and we are happy for them."

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/hunter-biden-reportedly-breaks-up-with-brother-beaus-widow

>>6378621 I caught that, but I also caught this, look at how Hunter is handling the face of the little boy…Like father like son…Joe has used this same gesture before.

>>6378627 Agreed, and they don't look good either.

Journalist Claims Media, Government Are Lying About Venezuela

A freelance journalist who spent a month this year in Venezuela accused the U.S. government and media of distorting the ongoing crisis in the country, during a Tuesday night appearance on Tucker Carlson’s show. Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaidó called for a military uprising against socialist dictator Nicholas Maduro on Tuesday. Maduro is viewed by the Trump administration to be an illegitimate leader after they determined his re-election to be full of fraud and corruption.

“Your viewers won’t be shocked to hear this, Tucker, but the fake news media are lying about the situation in Venezuela,” stated Anya Parampil, who was in Venezuela in February. “Let me put it for you this way. Imagine if Hillary Clinton had refused to admit defeat after losing to President Trump in 2016 and banded together a group of 24 U.S. soldiers and attempted to take the White House by force. I don’t think that she would be walking freely on the streets the way that Juan Guaido is right now in Caracas and I certainly think that the news media will be calling it rightfully a coup.” “The opposition has no popular support. Juan Guaido proves today once again that he will only ride into power on the back of the U.S. tank and what’s more we hear about a humanitarian crisis there, Tucker, but we never hear is that is the intended result of U.S. sanctions, which have targeted Venezuela since 2015,” she continued. “President Trump if he truly cared about the American — or the Venezuelan people, and American people for that matter, he would end this disastrous policy, he would end the sanctions and he would look into John Bolton’s eyes, into Elliot Abrams’ eyes and Mike Pompeo’s eyes and say, you are fired.”

Columbia, Peru and Brazil came out in support of the military uprising in Venezuela against Maduro. Following opposition forces beginning a military operation to overthrow Maduro, Venezuela’s neighbors endorsed Guaidó, and called for a meeting to address the military uprising. The Daily Caller followed up with Parampil and asked her to explain why she believes the United States is backing Guaido. She said: Regime change has had bipartisan support in countries that resist the US sphere of influence from Yugoslavia to Iraq to Libya to Syria, and now Venezuela. Because Guaido and his shadow administration have promised to privatize Venezuela’s natural resources, which include the largest oil reserves in the world, he satisfies foreign policy elites in both parties, as well as their corporate paymasters. Bolton has even admitted that US companies would like to get their hands on Venezuela’s oil. It is their interests which many elected Democrats and Republicans both represent: not the desires of the Venezuelan people, and certainly not the US public, which elected Trump because he promised to end these wars. It is time for Trump to fire his national security team—which is lying to him—and abandon this failed and destructive coup policy. Not only is his legacy as president at stake, but the lives of millions of Venezuelans hang in the balance. They will be the first casualties if the deadly sanctions continue or if the regime change operation escalates into a military intervention.

https://www.dailycaller.com/2019/04/30/venezuela-guaido-maduro-tucker-trump/

>>6378684

Dem's philosophy… if you say it repeatedly and long enough..overtime it will be true, even if it never was…Hillary's campaign has already shown us that.