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| Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday called for James Comey’s testimony in response to news that Comey’s memos about his interactions with President Trump include an allegation that Trump asked him to end the investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. “I think we need to hear from him as soon as possible in public to respond to these issues that have been raised in recent days,” McConnell said. When reporters asked if McConnell was surprised by the news, McConnell said, “I think we need to hear from him about whatever he has to say about the events of recent days, as soon as possible, before the Senate Intelligence Committee, in public,” before adding that was “all I really have to say about him.” |
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| “No politician in history,” President Trump said Wednesday, “has been treated worse or more unfairly.” The remark came during his commencement address to the graduating class of the U.S. Coast Guard. “You can’t let the critics and the naysayers get in the way of your dreams,” he said, parlaying his aggrieved feelings into a lesson for the graduates. “You can’t let them get you down… I guess that’s why we won.” View this cheat in a browser to see this video. |
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| Republican Rep. Justin Amash said on Wednesday that if the allegations in former FBI Director James Comey’s memo are true—that President Trump asked him to halt the investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn—it could be grounds for impeachment. “But everybody gets a fair trial in this country,” he added. Amash has frequently criticized the Trump administration and spoken about investigating the alleged Russian ties to Trump’s campaign. Along with North Carolina Representative Walter Jones, Amash is one of just two Republicans that have signed onto the Democratic bill that would establish an independent commission to investigate Russian interference in the presidential election. View this cheat in a browser to see this embedded tweet. |
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| Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke is joining the Trump administration. The conservative icon—best-known for his frequent appearances on Fox News and multiple controversies over inmate deaths occurring at his jail—told radio host Vicki McKenna on Wednesday that he will “accept an appointment as an assistant secretary in the Department of Homeland Security.” He specified that the position will be within the Office of Partnership and Programs, as a liaison with local governments and police departments. At least four people, including a baby, have died in Clarke’s jail; and a grand jury recommended criminal charges against several staffers last month for their role in the dehydration death of an inmate. |
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| Speaker of the House Paul Ryan told reporters Wednesday that it’s important to focus on “facts” and not rush to judgment when it comes to accusations about President Trump. The New York Times reported Tuesday evening that Trump asked then-FBI Director James Comey to stop the bureau’s investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. “We need the facts. It is obvious that there are some people out there who want to harm the president,” Ryan said, “but we have an obligation to carry out our oversight regardless of which party is in the White House, and this means before rushing to judgment, we get all the pertinent information.” Ryan emphasized the need to remain “sober” and “dispassionate.” He added, “We can’t deal with speculation and innuendo, and clearly there’s a lot of politics being played.” View this cheat in a browser to see this embedded tweet. |
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| Donald Trump Jr. on Wednesday went off-script, seemingly confirming the central conversation in ex-FBI chief James Comey’s memo—a conversation the White House has thus far said never happened. “Truth,” Trump Jr. posted in response to a tweet from Fox News star Geraldo Rivera declaring that “[Trump] hoping @JamesComeyFBI cuts @MikeFlynn some slack because he is a ‘good man’ is not #Obstruction.” Comey’s memo stated that during his meeting with Trump, the president openly said, “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.” A White House statement flatly denied the alleged conversation—”The president has never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn”—but Trump Jr.’s tweet seems to contradict that messaging. When pressed about his tweet, the junior Trump later backpedaled: “Give me a break. Me agreeing with someone’s interpretation of a theory does nothing of the sort. You’re trying way to [sic] hard.” View this cheat in a browser to see this embedded tweet. |
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| The Senate Intelligence Committee has requested that former FBI Director James Comey and acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe provide additional information on Comey’s communications with President Trump in the lead-up to his dismissal. Committee Chairman Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and Vice Chairman Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) announced in a bipartisan statement on Wednesday that Comey should testify before the committee in open and closed session and that McCabe provide any notes or memorandum left by Comey related to the White House and the Department of Justice. The news comes in the wake of a New York Times report claiming Trump privately asked Comey to “let go” the investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s communications with Russia. Comey wrote in a memo that Trump had said: “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.” |
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| Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said he would be willing to hand over to U.S. lawmakers the transcripts of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s meeting with President Trump. According to Putin, the U.S. president had not passed on any classified information to Lavrov during their Oval Office visit last week, and such transcripts, the Russian president said, would prove it. “I spoke to him [Lavrov] today,” Putin told reporters in Moscow, before joking: “I’ll be forced to issue him with a reprimand because he did not share these secrets with us. Not with me, nor with representatives of Russia’s intelligence services. It was very bad of him.” A Kremlin aide reportedly clarified that Putin’s office had a written record of the conversation as opposed to an audio one. |
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| Chelsea Manning, who was in prison on a 35-year sentence for passing classified information to WikiLeaks, has been released after serving seven years. Manning’s sentence was commuted by President Obama as one of his final acts before leaving office. Manning was in the Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas. |
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| In a new interview, Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC’s Tonight Show, spoke out for the first time about his controversial September sit-down with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Fallon, who was roundly criticized for fawning over the real-estate mogul, told The New York Times he found the online hate inescapable. “After this happened, I was devastated,” Fallon said. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just trying to have fun.” At the end of the segment, Fallon had playfully run his hands through Trump’s hair, sparking outrage online. “I didn’t do it to humanize him,” Fallon said. “I almost did it to minimize him. I didn’t think that would be a compliment: ‘He did the thing that we all wanted to do.'” View this cheat in a browser to see this video. |
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