House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) on Tuesday declined to say whether he worked with the White House on the anti-FBI memo written by members of his staff, the Daily Beast reports.
His refusal came during a closed-door committee meeting, during which Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) asked Nunes if his staffers engaged with the White House as they wrote the memo alleging improper surveillance by the FBI during the 2016 presidential election.
That memo has created a political firestorm in recent weeks with leading Republican figures demanding the release of the memo while simultaneous deferring to the Trump administration on whether to actually release it. Democrats have accused the Nunes memo of being a political ploy designed to provide cover to Donald Trump in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
As the Beast reports, Nunes told Quigley, “I’m not answering” when asked point-blank about possible communications with the White House.
Nunes’ non-denial recalls a similar effort he made last year on behalf of the Trump administration. In March the House Intelligence Committee chairman held a press conference alleging former President Barack Obama’s Justice Department “unmasked” Trump officials.
Just a reminder of what is actually in the #NunesMemo
“I have read it and I can best describe it as a brain washing document … that amounts to conspiracy theories.” — @RepSwalwell
— HawaiiDelilah (@HawaiiDelilah) January 30, 2018
According to Nunes, people related to the Trump transition team (which the House intel chairman was himself on) were swept up in “incidental surveillance” and improperly monitored by the former administration.
It was later reported Nunes received that information during a clandestine meeting with two White House officials—the day after former FBI Director James Comeys’ devastating testimony before Nunes’ committee.
According to Trump, Nunes’ press conference “somewhat vindicated” his baseless claim that Obama “wire tapped” Trump Tower in 2016. As the News Yorker’s Ryan Lizza reported last year, in the aftermath of that unsubstantiated claim, the White House put out an “all-points bulletin” to “find something” that would validate Trump’s charge.
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, has said “the unmasking thing was all created by Devin Nunes.”
https://twitter.com/JanzforCongress/status/958920796008693761
https://twitter.com/rjoseph7777/status/958911076426424320
https://twitter.com/Evan_Rosenfeld/status/958907863602098176
https://twitter.com/RepAdamSchiff/status/958897790469464064
Exclusive: Trump asked Rosenstein if he was ‘on my team’
By Pamela Brown, Evan Perez and Laura Jarrett, CNN
Updated 4:29 PM ET, Wed January 31, 2018
Washington (CNN)Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein visited the White House in December seeking President Donald Trump’s help. The top Justice Department official in the Russia investigation wanted Trump’s support in fighting off document demands from House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes.
But the President had other priorities ahead of a key appearance by Rosenstein on the Hill, according to sources familiar with the meeting. Trump wanted to know where the special counsel’s Russia investigation was heading. And he wanted to know whether Rosenstein was “on my team.”
The episode is the latest to come to light portraying a President whose inquiries sometimes cross a line that presidents traditionally have tried to avoid when dealing with the Justice Department, for which a measure of independence is key. The exchange could raise further questions about whether Trump was seeking to interfere in the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is looking into potential collusion by the Trump campaign with Russia and obstruction of justice by the White House.
https://twitter.com/MKhan47/status/958789221061361665
https://twitter.com/TheRoot/status/958788419970371584
Thanks for this educational article, SG2. I am going to read the book.
Paul Ryan Is the Silent Partner in Trump’s War on the Rule of Law
By
Jonathan Chait
Siding with the GOP, Ryan sees possible ‘malfeasance’ at the FBI
01/31/18 12:54 PM
By Steve Benen
With many federal law enforcement officials, including Donald Trump’s handpicked FBI director, pushing back against the release of the “Nunes memo,” is there any chance they might get some help from House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.)?
Apparently not. Here’s what the Wisconsin Republican told reporters at a Capitol Hill briefing yesterday:
Yes, now that you mention it, it was kind of amusing to hear Ryan talk about the importance of executive branch oversight after House Republicans have done effectively nothing to check Donald Trump over the last year. His comments about “transparency” weren’t much better given the circumstances.
The comments followed an unconfirmed Fox News report that the Speaker, in comments to reporters at a breakfast yesterday, said in reference to the memo and the FBI, “Let it all out, get it all out there. Cleanse the organization.”
“CLEANSE” THE WHITE HOUSE,MOFO, and you also too.
This Ayn Rand bitch needs to go.
Watchdog requests investigation of Paul Ryan for allowing Trump to use State of the Union feed for fundraising
The watchdog group Public Citizen on Wednesday requested that the U.S. Congress launch an immediate investigation into Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) after President Donald Trump was allowed to use live video of the State of the Union address to raise funds for his campaign.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Public Citizen said it had filed a complaint to have the House Ethics Committee and Office of Congressional Ethics to “investigate whether Speaker Paul Ryan violated House rules by allowing the Trump campaign to use a broadcast of the State of the Union address for campaign fundraising purposes.”
According to the statement, Trump’s use of the live feed may run afoul of House rules.
Rule V of the Rules of the House of Representatives states that the speaker is responsible for administering official broadcasts and recordings of floor proceedings and that these official audio and visual transmissions shall not be used for partisan campaign activities. The State of the Union address was broadcast from the floor of the House, which was then livestreamed on Trump’s reelection campaign Facebook page and Twitter feed. New donors were encouraged to make a campaign contribution in exchange for having their names listed in a crawl at the bottom of the screen.
“Donald Trump commercialized and corrupted yet another national institution, making this just the latest disgraceful degradation by Trump of the presidency and our public institutions,” Public Citizen President Robert Weissman said. “This blatant selling of the presidency also appears to violate rules, which is why we are filing today’s complaint. Putting donors’ names on the screen essentially says, ‘This presidency is brought to you by Goldman Sachs, Dow Chemical, Koch Industries and Murray Energy.’”
###
Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/2018/01/watchdog-requests-investigation-paul-ryan-allowing-trump-use-state-union-feed-fundraising/
How soon the media move on from #45’s SOTU white nationalist GARBAGE. Now it’s train crashes and back to the FBI & Nunes memo.
https://twitter.com/RawStory/status/958765183492648960
Anyone in #45’s circle are SHADY as fuck
https://twitter.com/DKElections/status/958757455508459521
Gowdy can go play his banjo, now.
HMMMMMM, HMMMMMM, HMMMMM
https://twitter.com/TGowdySC/status/958750202206318592
I just read on another site that a federal seat has opened that includes S.C. I think Gowdy wants to become a federal judge, so he’s resigning because he wants a new job in the federal court system that he can use to further f*ck up our federal judiciary.
I pray he fails.
https://twitter.com/ABC/status/958753371523035136
Well. Well. Looky here, folks!
https://twitter.com/RawStory/status/958752802385416199
WTF is going on? All the RATS ARE JUMPING SHIP.
Well, they want to escape the barrel before the bigger rats eat.
https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/958753066454577152
Michelle Obama Dishes To Ellen About Melania Trump’s Inauguration Gift
Now we know what was inside that Tiffany box.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michelle-obama-ellen-melania-trump-inauguration-gift_us_5a719833e4b0ae29f08c555f
https://twitter.com/edatpost/status/958747275576082432
https://twitter.com/ryanjreilly/status/958749299742945280
It’s a diversion tactic. Who cares about Mendez. He’s damaged goods.
REMEMBER: #45, GOP & RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA
https://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP/status/958746296592093184
https://twitter.com/PaulPage/status/958743492771090438
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD5uPZzBr5c
Train carrying GOP lawmakers to West Virginia retreat collides with truck
An Amtrak train carrying Republican lawmakers to an annual retreat in West Virginia has collided with at least one vehicle, according to one person aboard the train.
The train is carrying members of the House and Senate, some of their spouses and children and aides, although it was not immediately clear if all members of the GOP conference are on board.
Information about injuries was not immediately available.
Around 11:20 a.m., there was “a very loud bang, crash and lurch and the train appears to be on the tracks,” the person said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2018/01/31/gop-retreat-train-collides-with-truck-no-serious-injuries-reported/?utm_term=.3cf1f1fa03b0&wpmk=1&wpisrc=al_news__alert-politics–alert-national
A shooting at republicans baseball game with one republican shot, a train filled with republicans on their way to a retreat hit by truck
Gurrrrrrrrl……………………
Apparently, the truck driver was killed. LORD.
I know. My heart goes out to his loved ones.
https://twitter.com/axios/status/958744266586705921
https://twitter.com/RawStory/status/958744067118166017
TO GOP
https://twitter.com/DianneG/status/958743654977466368
https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/958741679829372929
https://twitter.com/NewsThisSecond/status/958743733503234048
That train carrying the GOP hitting the truck is like the GOP & #45′ s behaviors & policies hitting Americans
To be clear, I don’t condone anyone being hurt.
https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/958741656169263110
Lemme guess, folks in the truck got injured?
https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/958742421726203904
But Obama tried for 8 years to get an INFRASTRUCTURE BILL PASSED, ALSO TOO!
The cupboard is bare: Trump runs out of new ideas
01/31/18 08:43 AM
By Steve Benen
There’s a standard criticism of any State of the Union address: they tend to offer laundry lists of presidential priorities, which every chief executive asks Congress to advance. Some presidents have been more effective than others in presenting these laundry lists, but ultimately, the problem seems largely unavoidable.
That is, in theory. One of the oddities of Donald Trump’s State of the Union was the absence of a laundry list – because the Republican president doesn’t seem to have much of an agenda. NBC News’ analysis touched on an important detail:
https://twitter.com/HallieJackson/status/958740741286703104
Trump’s infrastructure ‘plan’ is not what it appears to be
01/31/18 09:20 AM
By Steve Benen
It’s become a running joke for those who cover the White House: in Trump World, every week is “Infrastructure Week.” It tends to get laughs because Donald Trump and his team have repeatedly suggested some kind of ambitious plan is in the works, but they never follow through with anything of value.
And so it seemed notable that the president brought up the issue in his State of the Union – and included a new price tag:
The dollar figure was apparently jarring to Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), who told Politico last night that “$1.5 trillion, I think, kind of sucked the oxygen out of the room for a moment, as no one expected a number that big.” He added, “And the obvious thing is, where are we with debt and deficit and how are we going to be able to pull it together?”
The answer is, you won’t be able to pull it together – because Trump’s infrastructure “plan” isn’t real in any meaningful sense.
The HuffPost’s Igor Bobic summarized the issue nicely:
How much longer do we have to put up with this orange POS who media has to grade, dissect, and fact check for LIES? Total waste of our brain power to witness a WHITE NATIONALIST in our White House
Dave Leonhardt of NYT :
Add: WHITE NATIONALIST
Breaking: Train carrying republicans to retreat hits trash truck
Why 16 members of CBC did NOT attend the “WHITE NATIONALISTS SHITHOLE RALLY” last night
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
What a cutie!
Stacey Abrams Is In A Race To Become The First Black Female Governor In America
If she wins Georgia’s Democratic primary in May and the November general election, history will be made
n a world of black firsts and barrier breakers, Stacey Abrams is looking to shake things up in Georgia. She comes from modest beginnings, one of six children of Methodist ministers, which influenced her decision to seek public office in 2006. She became the first woman to lead either party in the Georgia General Assembly and the first African-American to lead the House of Representatives. Now, she’s running for Governor of Georgia and could become the first black female governor.
Abrams made a career as a tax attorney and later became the deputy city attorney in Atlanta.
https://blavity.com/stacey-abrams-is-in-a-race-to-become-the-first-black-female-governor-in-america?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Blavity%20Daily%20Newsletter%2013118&utm_content=Blavity%20Daily%20Newsletter%2013118+CID_dc7ae623c042049978a8d03d779b4299&utm_source=Campaign%20Monitor&utm_term=race%20to%20become%20the%20first
https://twitter.com/thehill/status/958722816362401797
https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/958672398693388288
THIS CaC needs to BE GONE
https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/958710978065108999
Watch what this MOFO does, not what he says.
He definitely is trying to wipe out the citizens of Puerto Rico
UH HUH
UH HUH
An Air Force sergeant recorded herself ranting about her black subordinates. Now she’s suspended. https://t.co/bkR5g2KbR5
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/MichaelSkolnik/status/958536357265182723
WHITE MALE DOMESTIC TERRORISTS!
https://twitter.com/JoeNBC/status/958715900596817921
Yeah, “Intern” Joe, see how that works?
Love this…
https://twitter.com/Mndspeak88/status/958457002425974785
LOL
Bwa ha ha ha ha
Ha ha, this is funny. I didn’t watch the SOTU Klan Rally, but I can imagine this…
https://twitter.com/KieseLaymon/status/958585187918647296
Yes, #45 could read like a kindergartner, and his supporters and the GOP would have wet dreams, ad long as what he says & does benefits them.
https://twitter.com/RawStory/status/958714813739360256
Another one of #45’s thugging & grifting CABAL
Meanwhile:
CDC: 37 children have died from flu this season
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/370887-cdc-37-children-have-died-from-flu-this-season
The Real Aim of The Secret (Nunes) Memo Is The Mueller Investigation
The Zombie-eyed Granny killer is complicit with #45 & his RUSSIAN cabal in collusion & obstruction.
@maggieNYT
9h9 hours ago
More Maggie Haberman Retweeted Chris Hayes
A Kennedy speaking Spanish is … not the same as a Hispanic politician delivering this response
………………………
1, A White Man speaking fluently to them shows respect, you ass kissing harpy.😠
2. Yet ANOTHER reminder why I am happy that Wolff’s book shyt all over hers😄
I responded to Maggie …
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart. — Nelson Mandela
There you go! Educate these bobble-headed stenographers!
Have a seat Maggie.
A comment at BJ:
More Sahil Kapur Retweeted Yashar Ali 🐘
Stormy Daniels basically confirms on Kimmel’s show that this statement denying her Trump affair is fake — she says the signature isn’t hers.
“I do not know where it came from.”
Didn’t waste one moment watching Dolt45 or the pundits who want to grade the Unqualified White Man on a Curve 😠
Same.
I don’t want to even hear about him anymore. I just want him out of the WH.
Neither did I .Binged watched Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix.
Lips Pursed
Jake Tapper really asked Kamala Harris why the CBC refused to clap when the racist white president tried to take credit for his black predecessor’s accomplishment. https://t.co/RPhGTNBpT5
— Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) January 31, 2018
“Americans are dreamers.” – @realDonaldTrump Wait..let us fix that…you meant, @realDonaldTrump, that DREAMers are Americans too? #SOTU pic.twitter.com/FaYHmDN1Ih
— AmnestyInternational (@amnestyusa) January 31, 2018
“Americans are dreamers too” is the new “all lives matter.” #sotu
— Chloe Angyal (@ChloeAngyal) January 31, 2018
Kennedy addresses Dreamers in Spanish, then translates:
“To all the Dreamers watching tonight, let me be clear: Ustedes son parte de nuestra historia. Vamos a luchar por ustedes y no nos vamos alejar.
You are a part of our story. We will fight for you. We will not walk away.”
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) January 31, 2018
He was on point
This Luis Gutierrez statement on Trump’s speech is something pic.twitter.com/J02zqZ9wnE
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) January 31, 2018
Good Morning Everyone 😄😄😄
https://twitter.com/funder/status/958504228670099456
https://twitter.com/maddow/status/958487507343200256
I’ll go with “COOKED UP BY THE WHITE HOUSE FOR $1000, ALEX!
Good morning, everyone!
Good Morning, SG2 and Everyone :)
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/26/b6/e1/26b6e1afd629b2dfa1853be4ab0238a7.jpg