The post Mueller: Charging the president with a crime was not an option first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The Justice Department announced Mueller would make a statement on Wednesday morning–his first in the more than two years since he was appointed as special counsel.  A senior White House official told Fox News that the White House was advised on Tuesday night of Mueller’s plans.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters Wednesday morning that President Trump was “aware” Mueller’s remarks were coming but had no comment when asked whether the White House had advanced knowledge of the substance of Mueller’s remarks. Sanders also had no comment on whether the president would make a public statement after Mueller speaks.

Meanwhile, multiple sources familiar with the situation told Fox News that Attorney General Bill Barr was aware of Mueller’s plans to deliver a statement Wednesday. One source told Fox News that Barr has also been made aware of the contents of Mueller’s statement. The attorney general, though, will not be at the Justice Department for Mueller’s appearance, and is, instead, traveling to Alaska to meet with law enforcement officials.

Mueller’s appearance comes amid mounting pressure for Mueller to testify before the House Judiciary Committee in a public setting as part of that panel’s oversight investigation of the probe and the Trump administration.

MUELLER’S OFFICE SHOOTS DOWN KEY CLAIM IN MICHAEL WOLFF’S NEW BOOK ‘SIEGE’

The committee, led by Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., has been in negotiations with Mueller to schedule a hearing for the special counsel, but it is unclear if and when he will appear.

Meanwhile, the special counsel’s office this week issued a rare denial in response to questions about controversial author Michael Wolff’s upcoming book, “Siege: Trump Under Fire,” which reportedly claims that Mueller drew up an obstruction of justice indictment against President Trump.

The post Special Counsel Robert Mueller to make statement at Justice Dept. amid pressure to testify first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Developing now, Tuesday, March 26, 2019

NO APOLOGIES FROM CNN, MAINSTREAM MEDIA: CNN, MSNBC and other members of the mainstream media are not apologizing for the way they covered President Trump and the Russia collusion investigation …Some pundits on CNN, like former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, are defending their years of analysis while others are mostly remaining silent on their coverage. Rudy Giuliani, in a heated interview Monday with CNN’s Chris Cuomo, demanded that the network apologize; Cuomo refused. Some members of the mainstream media suggested that Trump was the one who should apologize – to Robert Mueller for trashing his investigation as a “witch hunt” for two years.

Either way, the end of the Mueller investigation is not the end of the story. Democrats want the Justice Department to release Mueller’s entire report. Meanwhile, Trump allies are awaiting the results of two long-running internal probes that could expose the backstory behind the Russia probe’s beginnings — and provide more detail on documented misconduct among top FBI and DOJ officials.

• Dershowitz: CNN ‘banned’ me
• Trump Jr.: Russia collusion ‘the greatest farce ever perpetrated on our democracy’
• DOJ, FBI stonewalled House GOP request for McCabe texts, sources say

AVALANCHE OF TROUBLE FOR AVENATTI – AND HE SUGGESTS TRUMP IS TO BLAME: Michael Avenatti, former attorney for adult entertainment star Stormy Daniels, is free on $300,000 bond Tuesday as he faces serious charges in two separate federal cases in New York and Los Angeles … In New York, he is accused of attempting to extort between $15 and $25 million from sports apparel giant Nike. A suspected co-conspirator working alongside Avenatti in the alleged extortion was identified Monday by the Associated Press and Wall Street Journal as now-former CNN contributor Mark Geragos, who has represented celebrities including Michael Jackson and more recently, “Empire” star Jussie Smollett.

In addition, Avenatti is charged with wire fraud and bank fraud in a separate case out of California. In a statement to Fox News late Monday, Avenatti suggested the California case against him is politically-motivated and has ties to the Trump administration.

FUNDS TO ‘BUILD THAT WALL’ OK’ED: The Pentagon notified Congress late Monday that it authorized the transfer of up to $1 billion to erect 57 miles of “pedestrian fencing”along the U.S.-Mexico border in direct support of President Trump’s national emergency declaration from last month … The fencing, which will be 18 feet high, is to be erected in the Yuma and El Paso sectors, the statement read. The Pentagon’s announcement was made as Trump nears a victory over Democrats as the House tries to override his first veto, a vote that seems certain to fail and allow his declaration to stand. The vote, which is set for Tuesday, would keep Trump’s border emergency declaration intact.

SEEKING THE TOTAL OVERTURN OF OBAMACARE: The Trump administration on Monday told a federal appeals court that the whole Affordable Care Act must be abolished, setting for a clash between President Trump and 2020 Democratic candidates embracing “Medicare for All” system … Justice Department attorneys filed a letter with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans asking to effectively strike down the ACA in its entirety, agreeing with the landmark ruling made by a federal judge in Texas last year.

SECOND MYSTERIOUS DEATH AT DEM DONOR’S HOME RULED AN OVERDOSE: The death of second man at the West Hollywood apartment of  Democratic Party megadonor has been ruled an overdose, according to a report … Timothy Dean, 55, was the second man found dead in the apartment of donor Ed Buck over an 18-month span. Buck has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic Party candidates and is well known in LGBTQ political circles. Authorities reportedly determined that Dean died from a methamphetamine overdose.

THE SOUNDBITE

‘WORST JOURNALISTIC DEBACLE OF MY LIFETIME’ –  “It is the worst journalistic debacle of my lifetime and I’ve been in this business about 50 years. I’ve never seen anything quite this bad last this long. It was a terrible thing. There needs to be a lot of soul-searching among many leading members of the media today and going forward.” – Brit Hume, Fox News senior political analyst, eviscerating the mainstream media’s coverage of President Trump and the Russia collusion investigation.  (Click the image above to watch the full video.)

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Source: https://www.foxnews.com/us/giuliani-demands-cnn-apologize-for-trump-russia-coverage-avenatti-suggests-arrest-is-politically-motivated

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The post Giuliani demands CNN apologize for Trump-Russia coverage first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned on Wednesday, pushed out by President Donald Trump. Matthew Whitaker, Session’s chief of staff, will become acting attorney general and oversee the Mueller probe into Russian collusion with Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

What we know

• Sessions gave Trump an undated resignation letter.
• The letter says the resignation was at Trump’s “request.”
• Trump announced Sessions’ departure on Twitter and wrote: “We wish him well.”
• Whitaker will be acting attorney general until Trump names a permanent replacement.
• Whitaker has previously criticized the Mueller probe, once musing about whether an attorney general could undermine the investigation by cutting its budget.

Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump

We are pleased to announce that Matthew G. Whitaker, Chief of Staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice, will become our new Acting Attorney General of the United States. He will serve our Country well….

Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump

….We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well! A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date.

What did Sessions write in his resignation letter?

In his undated letter, Sessions wrote he was “submitting his resignation” at the request of the president.

The Wall Street Journal@WSJ

Read Jeff Sessions’ letter of resignation https://on.wsj.com/2Qrqn0V

Sessions said he had advanced Trump’s political objectives during his time as attorney general. He listed spearheading a crackdown on irregular migrants, breaking up violent “transnational gangs” and tackling the opioid epidemic among his achievements.

“Most importantly, in my time as attorney general, we have restored and upheld the rule of law — a glorious tradition that each of us has a responsibility to safeguard.”

Democrats warn Trump

Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat expected to lead the party in the House of Representatives, said the resignation was a “blatant attempt” by Trump to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible Russian collusion with the Trump campaign.

“Given his record of threats to undermine & weaken the Russia investigation, Matthew Whitaker should recuse himself from any involvement in Mueller’s investigation,” wrote Pelosi on Twitter.

Nancy Pelosi@NancyPelosi

 ·

It is impossible to read Attorney General Sessions’ firing as anything other than another blatant attempt by @realDonaldTrump to undermine & end Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation.

Nancy Pelosi@NancyPelosi

Given his record of threats to undermine & weaken the Russia investigation, Matthew Whitaker should recuse himself from any involvement in Mueller’s investigation. Congress must take immediate action to protect the rule of law and integrity of the investigation. #FollowTheFacts

The Democrats’ leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, said both houses of the US Congress needed to protect the probe.

“It would create a constitutional crisis if this were a prelude to ending or greatly limiting the Mueller investigation,” he said.

Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on Senate Judiciary Committee, also said Whitaker should “make a firm commitment not to interfere in the investigation.”

Sen Dianne Feinstein@SenFeinstein

The president has made abundantly clear that he’ll take any action he can to undermine the Mueller investigation. No one who lacks Senate confirmation should be placed in charge of this investigation, especially Matthew Whitaker who publicly criticized Mueller’s work last year.

Who is Jeff Sessions?

The Alabama Republican was the first senator to back Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Trump started publicly criticizing him after Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation in early 2017.

2013: Mr Trump goes to Russia

June 18, 2013. Donald Trump tweeted: “The Miss Universe Pageant will be broadcast live from MOSCOW, RUSSIA on November 9. A big deal that will bring our countries together!” He later added: “Do you think Putin will be going – if so, will he become my new best friend?” October 17, 2013 Trump tells chat show host David Letterman he has conducted “a lot of business with the Russians.”

September 2015: Hacking allegations raised

An FBI agent told a tech-support contractor at the Democratic National Committee it may have been hacked. On May 18, 2016, James Clapper, the director of National Intelligence, said there were “some indications” of cyberattacks aimed at the presidential campaigns. On June 14, 2016 the DNC announced it had been the victim of an attack by Russian hackers.

July 20, 2016: Mr Kislyak enters the picture

Senator Jeff Sessions – an early Trump endorser who led his national security advisory committee – met Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and a group of other ambassadors at a Republican National Convention event.

July 22, 2016: Assange thickens the plot

Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks published 20,000 emails stolen from the DNC, appearing to show a preference for Hillary Clinton over Senator Bernie Sanders.

July 25, 2016: Cometh the hour, Comey the man

The FBI announced it was investigating the DNC hack saying “a compromise of this nature is something we take very seriously.”

November 8, 2016: Trump elected

Donald Trump is elected president of the United States. On November 9, the Russian parliament burst into applause at the news.

November 10, 2016: Team Trump denies Russia link

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Rybakov said there “were contacts” between the Russian government and the Trump campaign during the election campaign. The Trump campaign issued a firm denial.

November 18, 2016: Flynn appointed

Trump named General Michael Flynn as his national security adviser. The former Defence Intelligence Agency chief was a top foreign policy adviser in Trump’s campaign. Flynn resigned in February after failing to disclose full details of his communication with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

January 26, 2017: Yates – ‘The center cannot hold’

Acting attorney general Sally Yates told White House counsel Don McGahn that Flynn made false statements regarding his calls with Kislyak. On January 30 Trump fired Yates for refusing to enforce his travel ban, which was later blocked by federal courts.

March 2, 2017: Sessions recuses himself

Trump said he had “total confidence” in Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Sessions announced he would recuse himself from any investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.

March 20, 2017: FBI examines Trump-Kremlin links

FBI Director James Comey confirmed before the House Select Committee on Intelligence that the FBI was investigating possible links between Russia and the Trump campaign.

May 9, 2017: Trump sacks Comey

In a letter announcing the termination, Trump wrote: “While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau.”

May 17, 2017: Mueller appointed special counsel

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller to look into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

August 2017: FBI seizes documents from Manafort

Shortly after Mueller convenes a grand jury for the investigation, the FBI seizes documents from one of Paul Manafort’s properties as part of a raid for Mueller’s probe. The former Trump campaigner manager stepped down in August 2016 after allegations surfaced that he had received large payments linked to Ukraine’s former pro-Russian government.

September 2017: Trump Jr.’s talks to Senate committee

Donald Trump Jr. tells the Senate Judiciary Committee he has not colluded with a foreign government. The closed-door interview relates to his June 2016 meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, which was also attended by his brother-in-law, Jared Kushner, and then campaign manager Paul Manafort. Trump Jr.’s emails, however, suggest the meeting was supposed to produce dirt on Clinton.

October 2017: Internet giants allege Russian interference

Facebook, Twitter and Google reportedly tell US media they have evidence that Russian operatives exploited platforms to spread disinformation during the 2016 US presidential election. The three companies are expected to appear before a Senate Intelligence Committee in November.

Author: Jo Harper, Kathleen Schuster

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Source: https://www.dw.com/en/donald-trump-fires-us-attorney-general-jeff-sessions/a-46201474

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The post Donald Trump fires US Attorney General Jeff Sessions first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

It’s no secret that the mainstream media loathes President Trump. The coverage of the Trump Administration has broken all records in terms of consistent, vitriolic negativity. (One study found that the coverage on the ABC, CBS, and NBC evening newscasts was critical 90 percent of the time.) This leads the media to devote ample column inches and airtime to arguably trivial smears, like the alleged Russian ties of low-level campaign aides and volunteers, the dirty laundry (real and imagined) of the president’s family members, and unverifiable allegations of past affairs  with professional strippers.

Essentially, the media has long since been weaponized in the war on Trump.

The other side of this sordid coin, however, is the media’s indifference to important, positive stories far more worthy of the public’s attention. In particular, journalists eschew any mention of President Trump’s successes and breakthroughs. The list of these political victories is a long one, although you won’t read about them in the Washington Post or the New York Times.

Lest we forget, the economy is booming. All indicators, including economic growth rates, unemployment rates, manufacturing growth, and stock market gains, are pointing to a level of dynamism unknown in the Obama years. The relaxation of bureaucratic regulations and the achievement of a historic tax reform package certainly have played a role in this economic renaissance. Whether President Trump deserves the credit for all of this good news is debatable. But the simple fact is, if he were a Democrat, the media would be crediting him much more often than they are.

Recently, thanks to President Trump’s unapologetically aggressive policy towards North Korea, including harsh rhetoric and biting sanctions, Kim Jong-un expressed a willingness to consider denuclearization, and the U.S. announced an upcoming summit between Kim and President Trump. Had President Obama achieved a diplomatic breakthrough of this magnitude, his (second) Nobel Peace Prize surely would have arrived by priority mail the very next day. Trump’s hard-won progress, though, is ignored and slighted.

Likewise, the administration’s successes in protecting U.S. technological and industrial preeminence, by preventing the foreign acquisition of critical American technology companies, and by shielding our steel and aluminum industries from unfair overseas competition, is ignored, or worse, undercut with wild speculation about possible retaliation. In both cases, Trump’s actions have clear precedents in the moves of previous administrations, including that of Barack Obama, but the media always frames Trump’s actions as entirely novel and abjectly foolish. The inconvenient truth is that real, tangible American jobs, and American workers, are safeguarded by these actions, but those stories are simply never told.

In yet another example of the media’s selective coverage, the Trump administration’s unprecedented success in reducing illegal immigration, which every administration since that of President Eisenhower has at least claimed that it wanted to achieve, is completely subsumed by the media’s focus on anecdotal accounts of allegedly virtuous illegal immigrants facing deportation. The media could, of course, tell the story of the crimes committed by the many thousands of violent illegal immigrants who no longer prowl America’s streets, thanks to President Trump. It won’t, naturally. It literally can’t, since any reporter who spoke of those crimes would be besieged with charges of “racism!”

The list of Trumpian achievements goes on: a stronger military, improved services for veterans and the firing of many incompetent VA employees, ISIS on its last legs, reams of useless regulations obliterated, an increasing realization among our allies that they must solve their own problems and provide and pay for their own defense, dozens of sterling conservatives appointed to our nation’s courts, etc. And the media’s attitude to these triumphs is invariably the same: denial, dismissal, obfuscation.

About the Author: Nicholas L. Waddy

Nicholas L. Waddy, an associate professor of history at SUNY Alfred, blogs at www.waddyisright.com.

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Source:  https://amgreatness.com/2018/03/23/burying-the-lead-the-media-ignores-trumps-victories/

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The post Burying the Lead: The Media Ignores Trump’s Victories first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.