The Serious Side - part 7

At this rate Congress will be investigating the drumpf swamp forever. Apparently the man turns everyone and everything he touches into trash. Pathetic.

Yep Lizzy. He’s a criminal, a liar, a cheat ... He IS pathetic and so are all his Trump Party enablers.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6877225/Trump-calls-best-thing-happened-Puerto-Rico-slams-Dems-aid-money-gripes.html

[size=34]Trump calls himself 'the best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico' as he blasts island's 'grossly incompetent' Democratic leaders for complaining after administration sent them $91 BILLION for hurricane relief[/size]

• President Trump lashed out at Puerto Rico's government on Twitter on Monday and Tuesday
  
  
• Blasted 'incompetent and corrupt' politicians on the island and claims they squandered disaster relief funds 
  
  
• Trump slammed 'crazed and incompetent' San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz
  
  
• Cruz responded by calling Trump 'unhinged' and 'vindictive' while saying he was lying about aid money given to Puerto Rico
  
  
• Trump claimed Puerto Rico 'received more disaster relief funds than Texas and Florida combined'
  
  
• Senate Democrats killed a GOP-backed bill that would have given aid to farmers because it didn't include assistance to Puerto Rico 
  
  
• Trump responded by attacking the island's Democrat leaders: '[A]ll their local politicians do is complain & ask for more money'
  
  

By DAVID MARTOSKO, U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and WIRES
PUBLISHED: 08:56 EDT, 2 April 2019 | UPDATED: 10:57 EDT, 2 April 2019

     


President Donald Trump called himself '[t]he bet thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico' on Tuesday, amping up a more than year-long feud with the island's Democratic Party leaders.
Trump had already sent a trio of tweets late Monday criticizing Puerto Rico's government and the 'crazed and incompetent' mayor of San Juan for squandering aid money following Hurricane Maria in 2017.
'Puerto Rico got 91 Billion Dollars for the hurricane, more money than has ever been gotten for a hurricane before, & all their local politicians do is complain & ask for more money. The pols are grossly incompetent, spend the money foolishly or corruptly, & only take from USA,' he griped.
Puerto Rico is part of the United States, a territory. Its residents are U.S. citizens.

'The best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico is President Donald J. Trump,' he boasted. 'So many wonderful people, but with such bad Island leadership and with so much money wasted. Cannot continue to hurt our Farmers and States with these massive payments, and so little appreciation!'


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President Trump (left) on Monday and Tuesday lashed out at Puerto Rico and the 'crazed and incompetent' mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz (right)


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Trump called himelf '[t]he best thing that has ever happened to Puerto Rico as he boasted about sending the island $91 billion in post-hurricane aid money
'The Democrats today killed a Bill that would have provided great relief to Farmers and yet more money to Puerto Rico despite the fact that Puerto Rico has already been scheduled to receive more hurricane relief funding than any "place" in history,' Trump tweeted Monday.
'The people of Puerto Rico are GREAT, but the politicians are incompetent or corrupt,' he added.


'Puerto Rico got far more money than Texas & Florida combined, yet their government can't do anything right, the place is a mess - nothing works. 
'FEMA & the Military worked emergency miracles, but politicians like the crazed and incompetent Mayor of San Juan have done such a poor job of bringing the Island back to health.'
The 'crazed and incompetent' mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz, responded to the president's attacks.
She tweeted late Monday: 'Pres Trump continues to embarrass himself & the Office he holds. 
'He is unhinged & thus lies about the $ received by PR. HE KNOWS HIS RESPONSE was innefficient [sic] at best. 
'He can huff & puff all he wants but he cannot escape the death of 3,000 on his watch. 
'SHAME ON YOU!'


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Senate Democrats on Monday blocked a Republican disaster aid bill, saying it doesn't do enough to help Puerto Rico, which prompted Trump to lash out on Twitter


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'Puerto Rico got far more money than Texas & Florida combined, yet their government can't do anything right, the place is a mess - nothing works,' the president tweeted


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Trump then mentioned the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz
In another tweet, Cruz wrote: 'Mr President I am right here ready to call you on every lie, every hypocrisy and every ill fated action against the people of Puerto Rico. 
'My voice,and the voices of the people of Puerto Rico, will continue to unmask your insentive [sic], incapable & vindictive ways.'
Senate Democrats on Monday blocked a Republican disaster aid bill, saying it doesn't do enough to help Puerto Rico. 
The move tossed long-sought relief for victims of hurricanes, floods and western wildfires into limbo.
The vote escalated a fight between Democrats and President Trump, who opposes further rebuilding aid for the U.S. island territory, which was slammed by back-to-back hurricanes in 2017.
The 44-49 vote fell short of a majority, much less the 60 votes required to overcome a Democratic filibuster. 
It sent GOP leaders back to the drawing board but seemed unlikely to kill disaster aid efforts outright, since there is much political support to send aid to Southern farmers, wildfire-ravaged California towns and Midwestern flood victims.
Trump allies such as Sens. David Perdue, R-Ga., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., are among the strongest backers of the legislation, which has already faced significant delays.




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Trump is seen above shaking hands with Cruz during the president's visit to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria on October 3, 2017


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The 'crazed and incompetent' mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz, responded to the president's attacks. She tweeted late Monday: 'Pres Trump continues to embarrass himself & the Office he holds'


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In another tweet, Cruz wrote: 'Mr President I am right here ready to call you on every lie, every hypocrisy and every ill fated action against the people of Puerto Rico'
'We will get this done eventually,' Perdue said, promising relief to struggling farmers in his state. 
The path forward is not clear, but a leading option is for the Senate to pass a much more narrowly drawn bill simply to get the issue into a House-Senate conference committee. 
House Democrats insist the talks must produce a final measure with help for Puerto Rico.
The amount of money in dispute is relatively small, but Trump feels antipathy toward Puerto Rico's government and Senate Republicans backed him up - for now - in denying Democratic demands for more aid to rebuild its badly damaged water systems and to ease the requirement that Puerto Rico financially match a portion of the federal government's aid contribution.
Democrats say Trump has been slow to release already-appropriated funding for Puerto Rico and has exhibited little urgency in helping the island. 





Trump poor-mouthed the island's government at a meeting with Senate Republicans last week and suggested Puerto Rico has gotten too much disaster help compared with states such as Texas, using inflated numbers to make his case.
'Just as we leave no soldier behind on the battlefield, we help our fellow Americans when there's a disaster, wherever the disaster strikes. We do not abandon them. Period,' said Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
The $13.5billion Senate measure mostly mirrors a $14.2billion measure passed by the House in January, combining aid to Southern farmers, California communities devastated by last summer's wildfire, and hurricane-hit states such as Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. 
Hurricane-damaged military bases in Florida and North Carolina would receive rebuilding funds.
Democrats want to add almost $700million more to unlock further disaster aid for Puerto Rico and several states, including help to rebuild badly damaged water systems. 
Democrats are also trying to force the administration to release billions of dollars in rebuilding funds that have already been approved.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the measure is the fastest way to get aid to the hurricane-slammed South and the badly flooded Midwest, along with nutrition aid to Puerto Rico, where food stamp benefits have already been cut.
'It's our only sure path to making a law with anywhere near the urgency these Americans deserve. It is the only bill on the table with any provision for the Midwest flooding,' McConnell said. 


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Democrats say Trump has been slow to release already-appropriated funding for Puerto Rico and has exhibited little urgency in helping the island. The above image shows a woman carrying her granddaughter in her home as plastic sheet replaces the roof in April 2018

[size=18]Elizabeth Warren pledges to help Puerto Rico during visit




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'And it's the only bill on the table that could earn a presidential signature in time to deliver urgent relief on the nutrition assistance in Puerto Rico.'
The political momentum for the measure - strongly backed by Trump's allies in Georgia, Florida and North Carolina, among other states - has only been heightened by massive flooding in Midwestern states such as Nebraska and Iowa, whose nominating caucuses are the first test for Democrats hoping to challenge Trump next year. 
The GOP measure would make Midwestern states eligible for more aid, and by blocking the bill, Democratic presidential contenders in the Senate are likely to face criticism.
Trump has yet to veto a spending bill despite some tough talk, and he has signed off on $600million to ease food stamp cuts in Puerto Rico.
'I have taken better care of Puerto Rico than any man ever. We have $91billion going to Puerto Rico. We have $29billion to Texas and $12billion to Florida for the hurricane,' Trump said last week. 
'They have to spend the money wisely. They don't know how to spend the money and they're not spending it wisely.'
Trump's $91billion estimate, said a White House spokesman, includes about $50 billion in expected future disaster disbursements, along with $41billion that's already been approved. Actual aid to Puerto Rico has flowed slowly from federal coffers.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6877417/Trump-says-Republicans-wont-try-replace-Obamacare-2020-elections.html

[size=34]Trump now says Republicans won't try to replace Obamacare until AFTER 2020 elections – and only if they control both houses of Congress[/size]

• Trump has said repeatedly he wants to make the GOP the 'party of health care'
  
  
• He called for legislative action last week
  
  
• However Senate Leader Mitch McConnell stood back from the effort 
  
  
• Republicans failed to pass a bill to repeal the law when they had unified control 
  
  
• Trump now says the 'after the Election' when Republicans win the House 
  
  
• Follows report Trump officials have been in contact with conservative think tanks over legislation 
  
  
• Trump's administration is asking a federal appeals court to strike down the entire Obamacare law 
  
  
• Democrats campaigned successfully in 2018 over preserving protections for those with preexisting conditions 
  
  

By GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 09:49 EDT, 2 April 2019 | UPDATED: 10:19 EDT, 2 April 2019

     


President Donald Trump's plan to make the GOP the 'party of health care' may have to wait until next year, after the president did an about-face on his plan to push healthcare legislation.
Trump said in a series of tweets the effort would take place after the 2020 elections – when he says Republicans will once again control the House.
The move was an immediate turnaround after Trump caught Senate Republicans off guard in a private meeting last week by announcing the intended focus on health care. Senate leaders immediately said they would leave it to the White House to try to concoct a bill that could make it through the Democratic-controlled House. 
'The Republicans...are developing a really great HealthCare Plan with far lower premiums (cost) & deductibles than ObamaCare,' Trump claimed, in tweets he fired off after 10 pm Monday night.

'In other words it will be far less expensive & much more usable than ObamaCare. Vote will be taken right after the Election when Republicans hold the Senate & win....back the House,' he said.


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President Trump doesn't expect to prevail in the effort to strike down Obamacare, as he seeks to fashion the GOP into the 'party of health care'
 Trump highlighted the issue, writing that: 'Everybody agrees that ObamaCare doesn't work. Premiums & deductibles are far too high - Really bad HealthCare!' 
'Even the Dems want to replace it, but with Medicare for all, which would cause 180 million Americans to lose their beloved private health insurance,' he said, pointing to the plans favored by some Democratic presidential candidates. 
The the president talked up the still non-existent plan. 'It will be truly great HealthCare that will work for America. Also, Republicans will always support Pre-Existing Conditions. The Republican Party will be known as the Party of Great HealtCare,' the president wrote, misspelling healthcare. 'Meantime, the USA is doing better than ever & is respected again!' he added.


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Trump announced the reversal on Twitter Monday night
Trump's decision to pull back from one of the top-ranked issues for the year reflected public reticence by leading Republicans.  
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Politico last week: 'I look forward to seeing what the president is proposing and what he can work out with the speaker,' in a line pointing to the challenge that would entail. 'I am focusing on stopping the 'Democrats' Medicare for none' scheme,' McConnell added. 
Just Thursday, Trump tweeted: 'The Republican Party will become the Party of Great HealthCare!' He said the party would be 'Moving forward in Courts and Legislatively!' 


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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Politico last week: 'I look forward to seeing what the president is proposing and what he can work out with the speaker' rather than taking the issue on himself



Democrats had already seized on the issue, having campaigned heavily on healthcare in 2018. On Tuesaday, the House is set to vote on a resolution 'condemning the Trump Administration's Legal Campaign to Take Away Americans' Health Care.'
The president is also focused on the healthcare fight in the courts. Trump is telling associates he does not expect a Republican-backed lawsuit to strike down all of Obamacare in the courts will prevail – even as he champions an effort to make the GOP the 'party of health care.'
Trump made the surprise decision to talk up health legislation last week immediately after the release of a summary of Robert Mueller's Russia probe, and last week was encouraging his party to make it a signature issue going into the 2020 elections.
But he has told confidants he thinks his administration won't prevail in the lawsuit it joined, where state attorneys general and GOP governors are seeking to strike down the entire Obamacare law, Axios reported.
The publication reports that it is the president himself who is behind the effort, following inside coverage last week that the decision was a product of a bitter internal fight that split acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney from two cabinet secretaries. 
A federal judge in Texas ruled in December that the entire law was unconstitutional due to its insurance mandate, since Congress and the president already reduced the penalty for failure to get insurance to zero. 
The Trump administration joined the lawsuit after the internal split and intervened in a filing before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.


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A couple dozen members of the New Jersey Citizen Action group protest outside the Capitol as the Senate holds a second day of voting on health care legislation on Tuesday, July 25, 2017


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The Supreme Court could once again be called to decide the fate of Obamacare, as a Texas Judge's ruling makes its way to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals


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Sisters and Tea Party members of Atlanta, Georgia, Judy Burel (L) and Janis Haddon (R), protest the Obamacare in front of the U.S. Supreme Court March 27, 2012 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court continued to hear oral arguments on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act


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Opponents of the Affordable Care Act rally before the Supreme announces its decision about the constitutionality of the President's efforts on health care reform


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Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney pushed for the legal move to join the lawsuit by Republican state attorneys general and governors
It is not yet clear what type of plan the administration believes could clear the Democratic House and GOP-controlled Senate. But a conservative policy analyst told the Washington Examiner the administration is vetting policy ideas with three conservative think tanks.
The administration has been 'having conversations' on health care and has been in contact with the conservative Heritage Foundation, the Hoover Institute, and the the Mercatus Center affiliated with George Mason University, according to the report. Trump said last week his subordinates were 'working on a plan now.'

God help us. If he gets re-elected I can just see him  doing an about-face and leaving our health care system in shambles. After all the years they've had since Obamacare went into effect, the Republicans STILL DON'T HAVE A PLAN! This latest "plan" is just a ploy to get his base to vote for him again.

Does anyone else think the Dems may have made a mistake holding up the emergency relief funding to help PR get more funding?

I felt the need to counter Trump nonsense with a good news story.

[size=48]13-Year-Old Boy with Cancer Gets Sweet Surprise After Beloved Bike Is Stolen from Family Porch

Authorities with the Polk County Sheriff's Office in Florida presented Daylin Campbell with a mountain bike
By Char Adams 
April 01, 2019 10:54 AM
FB[url=https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=13-Year-Old Boy with Cancer Gets Sweet Surprise After Beloved Bike Is Stolen from Family Porch https://people.com/human-interest/daylin-campbell-bike-stolen-florida-cancer/%3futm_source=twitter.com%26utm_medium=social%26utm_campaign=social-share-article%26utm_term=6993243]Twitter[/url]
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Daylin Campbell had long dreamed of the day he’d be able to ride his new bike.
Diagnosed with leukemia last May, the Lake Wales, Florida, boy worked to regain his strength so that he could ride the bike his family got him for Christmas, according to WFTS. But the 13 year old was left devastated on March 25 when he learned someone had stolen the bike off his family’s porch.
“I thought, ‘Who would take my bike?’ ” Campbell told the station.
His mother, Canice Jordan, added, “It has sentimental value.”
A family friend wrote of the incident on Facebook last week, enlisting the help of the public to find the bike. Less than 12 hours later, according to WFTS, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd plus a deputy and captain were at the family’s doorstep with a new mountain bike.

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“Look what we got! Isn’t that pretty awesome?” Judd told the boy in video footage of the sweet surprise.
Smiling, Campbell left the porch and inspected the bike as deputies presented him with a helmet and bike lock.
“We’re excited for you. We’re sorry you lost your bike,” the deputy continued. “We’d like to find out who stole it from you, but we decided to bring you a brand new one. And you know what? This deputy and this captain made that all happen.”
RELATED: 6 Year Old with Cancer Gets Hundreds of Christmas Cards from Strangers: ‘It Lifted His Spirits’
Jordan shared photos and footage of the =68.ARAYT1FuHVSuzaF-ZsK92xKoQI_ADeaGA4E29wb3FutKAwwnykxXWu1mxelgav7OiTkPB8sPXloGeKFBAWMzcnptrqlKSi-d0THTitcA7i-ogfHOzBAbSfK9DLGFFfm42cn9GePoasJthyUj-wj945nm9LirE6CYRA1U83it_LQAMGPqx98FXJteG91E54tLd6ZWTphkCYxE8JZY&__tn__=-R]surprise on Facebook, writing that she “never expected” the deputies’ kind deed for her son.

“The bicycle stolen was special to Daylin and held sentimental value being that it was a gift for Christmas while going through his cancer treatment,” Jordan wrote. “It was definitely not the [responsibility of the] sheriff’s department to replace it, but out of the goodness of their hearts, they did without being asked.”
Authorities shared the video in their own Facebook post, revealing that Campbell is now in remission.
“It just didn’t sit well with us knowing someone stole 13-year-old Daylin Campbell’s bike off his front porch Monday in Lake Wales,” the post reads. “This week we kindly received a donated bike and surprised Daylin with it to cheer him up.”


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LizzyNY wrote:God help us. If he gets re-elected I can just see him  doing an about-face and leaving our health care system in shambles. After all the years they've had since Obamacare went into effect, the Republicans STILL DON'T HAVE A PLAN! This latest "plan" is just a ploy to get his base to vote for him again.

Does anyone else think the Dems may have made a mistake holding up the emergency relief funding to help PR get more funding?

Lizzy absolutely agree. He changed his mind because I think many in the Trump party (former Republicans) told him there’s no way they could come up with a plan anytime soon. So now Trump is going to make this a huge campaign issue. In the meantime Trump will keep screwing with Obamacare as much as he can get away with.

I think the Senate Dems did the right thing by voting against the emergency food stamp bill for PR. The funds being proposed were wholly inadequate. In fact there wasn’t even a majority of Senate Republicans who voted for the bill. Either they weren’t present or they too voted against it. That bill also included funding for flood victims in the Midwest. The House of Representatives had an emergency funding bill for PR which included much more money for PR recovery. In fact the Governor of PR was in favor of that bill over the Senate bill. The House bill was defeated by the GOP because originally it didn’t include flood victim assistance. When the Dems said they would amend thei bill to include it the GOP still opposed it. This isn’t over yet. I suspect any bill that has flood funding for the Midwest must include adequate funding for PR which includes not just substantial money for the food stamp program but much needed funds to help with reconstruction.

Donnamarie - I'm just concerned that this will be seen by the voters in the middle states as the Democrats ignoring them in favor of PR. These votes will be desperately needed in 2020.

I think the Trump Party will probably try to put out that narrative to the public.  The Dems will have to call them out.  I don’t think the Dems have any intention of
ignoring the devastation from the Midwest flooding or deny farmers much needed funds.


Annemarie, thanks for that heartwarming story about the young boy and his stolen bike.
Yes we need to hear more stories like this. More than anything I hope this boy can overcome his illness.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6880567/Trump-says-NOISE-windmills-causes-cancer-Twitter-goes-meltdown.html

[size=34]Trump is widely mocked on Twitter after claiming that the noise from windmills causes CANCER[/size]

• Trump spoke at National Republican Congressional Committee dinner Tuesday
  
  
• Went on odd tangent claiming the noise from windmills causes cancer
  
  
• Industrial wind turbine noise has been linked to stress and sleep disruption
  
  
• But there is no evidence linking windmills to cancer, particularly from the noise 
  
  

By KEITH GRIFFITH FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 02:03 EDT, 3 April 2019 | UPDATED: 06:08 EDT, 3 April 2019

     


Donald Trump has made the dubious claim that the noise from industrial wind turbines causes cancer. 
'Hillary wanted to put up wind, wind,' Trump said in wide-ranging remarks at the National Republican Congressional Committee's spring fundraising dinner in Washington DC on Tuesday. 
'If you have a windmill anywhere near your house, congratulations your house just went down 75% in value,' Trump continued.
'And they say the noise causes cancer, you tell me,' Trump said, gyrating his arm in the air and imitating a winding noise.




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Studies have been mixed when it comes to the impact of wind farms on real estate values, with some finding a negative impact on home prices of up to 40 per cent, and others finding little or no impact.
There are no studies conclusively linking the noise of industrial wind turbines to cancer. 
There are, however, scores of claims describing negative health impacts from windmills, particularly from noise.
'Exposure to wind turbines does seem to increase the risk of annoyance and self-reported sleep disturbance,' a 2014 review of the literature for PloS One indicated.   
Trump's exaggeration of the health risks from windmills drew opprobrium from his critics online. 
'Yeah I hear the windmill blows the Cancer into you...' one Twitter user wrote.
'President Genius has a long history fighting to protect people from windmill noise cancer. Just ask the folks that live near his golf course in Scotland,' another jeered, referring to Trump's longstanding opposition to wind turbines off the coast of his Scotland property.


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'And they say the noise causes cancer, you tell me,' Trump said at the dinner on Tuesday








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Another questioned the sourcing of Trump's information.
'I want someone somewhere to track down 'they'. They say windmills cause cancer, they say Obama wasn't born here, they say he's the most successful POTUS ever. They seem to have a lot to say but we never know who THEY are,' he wrote.
At another point in his roughly 80-minute remarks, Trump also revisited his odd pet peeve with the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, or EMALS, which is replacing steam-driven catapults on Ford-class aircraft carriers.
Trump has griped about the subject repeatedly in the past, voicing his preference for 'reliable' steam.
At the NRCC dinner, he told a story about talking to a sailor who advised him that the steam catapults could be fixed with a 'wrench,' whereas the electromagnetic version takes an 'Albert Einstein.'
In November, Trump raised the subject during a Thanksgiving Day call with a naval officer serving overseas, telling him: 'Steam is very reliable. Electromagnetic – unfortunately you have to be Albert Einstein to really work it properly.'
The naval officer responded: 'Yes sir. You sort of have to be Albert Einstein to run the nuclear power plant that we have here as well, but we're doing that very well.'    

[size=34]CAN THE NOISE FROM WIND TURBINES CAUSE CANCER? [/size]

Fears that low-frequency noises – such as those from wind turbines – can be harmful to humans have existed for decades.
Protestors of wind turbines cling onto claims that ‘wind turbine syndrome’ is real, despite there being no hard evidence it exists.
They claim the noise the environmentally-friendly energy sources emit can lead to nausea, sleep loss, fatigue and anxiety.
And, some even go as far to claim that the constant sound can cause cancer. Though, scientists remain dubious as no study has ever found firm proof of such a link.
Simon Chapman, a professor of public health at Sydney University, claimed there had been 17 reviews of the evidence of harm caused by wind farms.
And he argued, in a piece for The Conversation, that 'that there is no strong evidence that they make people ill'.
But he added: 'Each of these reviews have concluded that wind turbines can annoy a minority of people in their vicinity.'
Dr Nina Pierpont, a New York paediatrician, conducted a study a decade ago that looked at 10 families living near wind turbines.
It suggested that living too close to wind turbines may lead to heart disease, tinnitus, vertigo, migraines and even sleep deprivation.
However, critics hit back at how the study was carried out, and argued that it ‘provides no conclusive evidence’.

Seen this, guys? Impressive

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/aoc-green-new-deal-speech-senate-vote-climate-change-a8841566.html

Ocasio-Cortez delivers devastating address to congress after Republican calls Green New Deal elitist: 'People are dying'

'As towns and cities go underwater, as wildfires ravage our communities, we are going to pay,' Democrat congresswoman warns 

• Chris Baynes
  
  
• 6 days ago 
  
  
• 31Kshares
  
  
  
  
  

Click to follow
The Independent US
[size=16]Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed Republicans in a fiery speech after the Senate blocked a motion to take up the Green New Deal, the progressive climate changeplan spearheaded by Democrats.
The congresswoman delivered a scathing rebuke to a Republican representative who depicted the environmental proposals as elitist during a financial services committee hearing on Tuesday.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez said: “This is not an elitist issue, this is a quality of life issue. You want to tell people that their concern and their desire for clean air and clean water is elitist?



“Tell that to the kids of the South Bronx who are suffering from the highest rates of childhood asthma in the country.




“Tell that to the families in Flint, whose kids have their blood ascending in lead levels; their brains are damaged for the rest of their lives. Call them elitist.
“People are dying … This is serious. This should not be a partisan issue.”

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"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change

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Footage of Ms Ocasio-Cortez's speech has been watched more than 3.5 million times after being posted on social media.

The New York Democrat was responding to Wisconsin Republican Sean Duffy, who had claimed the Green New Deal championed by Ms Ocasio-Cortez would make housing more expensive.
“If you’re a rich liberal from maybe New York or California, it sounds great because you can afford to retrofit your home or build a new home that has zero emissions, that’s energy efficient,” he said.


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Watch more

• 
  Republican says solution to climate change is to have more babies
  

The Green New Deal calls for the virtual elimination by 2030 of greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming, which scientists warn is on course to have a catastrophic impact around the world.
The plan calls for the US to shift away from fossil fuels such as oil and coal and replace them with renewable sources such as wind and solar power. It has broad support among Democratic activists, and all six of the 2020 presidential contenders currently serving in the Senate have signed on as co-sponsors, putting it at the forefront of the party’s sprawling primary race. 

But Republicans claim the Green New Deal would devastate the economy and lead to a huge tax increase. 

Addressing that criticism before the committee, Ms Ocasio-Cortez: “We talk about cost – we’re going to pay for this whether we pass a Green New Deal or not. Because as towns and cities go underwater, as wildfires ravage our communities, we are going to pay. And we’re either going to decide if we’re going to pay to react, or pay to be proactive.
“We have the choice to lower the cost now, because I can tell you the cost of pursuing a Green New Deal will be far less than the cost of not passing it.”



Senate Republicans forced a vote on the Green New Deal on Tuesday as they sought to divide Democrats by pushing them to take a stand on the issue. The GOP-majority Senate voted 57-0 against a procedural motion to take up the nonbinding resolution, with 43 Democrats abstaining in protest over a vote they condemned as as "sham".
Ahead of the vote, Republican Mike Lee mocked the the Green New Deal as “ridiculous” and displayed pictures of dinosaurs, cartoon characters and babies on the Senate floor. He said he was treating the plan “with the seriousness it deserves”. 
 His remarks enraged Democrats, who called climate change deadly serious, citing recent floods in the US Midwest, wildfires in the west, and hurricanes in the south.

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I

https://people.com/politics/president-trump-again-says-his-father-was-born-in-germany-but-he-wasnt/

[size=48]President Trump (Again) Says His Father Was Born in Germany — but He Wasn’t

This is apparently the third time President Trump has falsely stated that his father was born in Germany
By Dave Quinn 
April 03, 2019 08:30 AM
FB[url=https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=President Trump (Again) Says His Father Was Born in Germany %E2%80%94 but He Wasn%E2%80%99t https://people.com/politics/president-trump-again-says-his-father-was-born-in-germany-but-he-wasnt/%3futm_source=twitter.com%26utm_medium=social%26utm_campaign=social-share-article%26utm_term=6997169]Twitter[/url]
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Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday that his late father was born in Germany, despite the fact that the man — real estate developer Frederick Christ Trump — was actually born in the Bronx.
The president, 72, was speaking to the press during a briefing with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg when he made the false declaration. At the time, Trump was venting his frustrations about Germany’s financial contributions to NATO.
“Germany, honestly, is not paying their fair share,” he said at the White House, quickly noting that he has “great respect” for German Chancellor Angela Merkel and “great respect for the country.”
“My father is German, was German,” Mr. Trump said. “And born in a very wonderful place in Germany, so I have a great feeling for Germany.”

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Tommy MMXIXtopher

@tommyxtopher





[ltr]Trump just said "my father is German, was German. Born in a very wonderful place in Germany." Fred Trump was born in New York.[/ltr]


59.7K
2:49 PM - Apr 2, 2019

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29.6K people are talking about this



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RELATED: Trump — After Reportedly Denying Saying ‘Tim Apple’ — Tweets That He Said It ‘to Save Time & Words’

Video of his mix-up quickly went viral, thanks to a tweet from White House press veteran Tommy Christopher.
It could be that President Trump was thinking about his grandfather, Friedrich Trump. According to The Washington Post, Friedrich was born in the German town of Kallstadt and emigrated to the U.S. in 1885. Though he landed in New York City, he settled in Seattle, Washington — buying a restaurant in November 1891 and becoming a citizen in October of the following year.
Years later, Friedrich would attempt to return to Germany to resettle, the Associated Press reported back in 2016. But he was expelled in 1905 for emigrating illegally and returned back to the United States.
According to the Post, he returned with his pregnant wife Elisabeth Trump to the U.S. where she soon gave birth to Trump’s father.
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RELATED: Trump Celebrates Autism Awareness Day … After Years of Falsely Claiming Vaccines Cause Autism
This is apparently the third time President Trump has falsely stated that his father was born in Germany.
He first made the claim in July at a NATO summit in Brussels. “I have great respect for Germany; my father is from Germany,” Trump said, according to The Post. “Both of my parents are from the E.U., despite the fact they don’t treat us well on trade.”
Later that month, Trump again made the same mistake while speaking to the press about the European Union, which he called an enemy of the United States.
“Maybe the thing that is most difficult — don’t forget both my parents were born in E.U. sectors, okay?” Trump said, The Post reported. “I mean, my mother was Scotland, my father was Germany. And — you know I love those countries.”
(Trump’s mom — Mary Anne MacLeod Trump — was a Scottish immigrant).
RELATED VIDEO: PEOPLE Writer Natasha Stoynoff Breaks Silence, Accuses Donald Trump of Sexual Attack




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Meanwhile, Trump’s criticisms of Germany’s NATO contributions is nothing new.
He’s long critiqued NATO members’ defense spending, slamming America’s allies for not dedicating the required 2 percent of their economic output to defense. Germany has especially fallen short, and hasn’t put together a clear plan to reach NATO’s alliance benchmark, Trump said on Tuesday.
“They are paying close to 1 percent,” he claimed. “It is very unfair.”
Overall, the alliance has seen an overall increase in defense expenditures, Trump boasted. “People are paying and I am very happy with the fact they are paying.”
As Trump said, much of that is thanks to Stoltenberg, who recently had his tenure extended by two years. “He’s done an excellent job, and when it came time to renew, because a lot of people wanted that job, it’s a great job, it really is, but a lot of people wanted it but I had no doubt in my mind who I wanted,” Trump said.


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C-span video missing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5M8vvEhCFI
Here it is on Youtube

AOC is far from my favorite politician but I do appreciate her when she gives the Republicans hell. I wish she didn't assume that the attention she's getting makes her right about everything. Her party's elders might just know a thing or two, too. I'm just afraid that one way or another she'll cost the Democrats support in 2020.

There is no doubt that her elders know a thing or two, but her delivery backed by accurate research seems to cut through a lot of humming and haaring (sp?) don't you think? She certainly does not mince her words! The young must love that she cuts through quite a lot of time wasting protocol - while obeying the rules. She seems so succinct that oft times she has time to yield bacl...

I have to say I quite enjoyed her examination of facts from Wilbur Ross!

PAN - I agree her approach is refreshing. However, in her youthful zeal to advance her priorities (many of which I agree with) she ignores the political realities of party politics. I think she could potentially hurt our chances of defeating drumpf.

We can't afford the kind of in-fighting that, IMO, cost Hillary a lot of votes. A lot of Bernie supporters (now also AOC supporters) didn't vote because Bernie wasn't the party candidate. This can't happen again if we want to get rid of drumpf. He's already given AOC a nickname and decided picking on her will help him win. She needs to remove herself as the face of the Democratic party. She's hurting our chances.

I like Ocasio-Cortez. She along with all the new freshmen and women are just what the Democrat Party needs in Congress. This country is changing whether we like it or not. The Trump Party comes across as just tolerating the status quo. Trump keeps trying to take this country back to the past. Democrats are forward thinking. The Green New Deal is a ‘vision’ for the future. It’s a starting point. It’s not what the Trump Party claims it to be. And they love using AOC as their punching bag. She doesn’t get it all right. She has made mistakes. Hopefully Pelosi will rein her in a bit. She’s young and inexperienced but her heart is in the right place.

Regardless of whether AOC was in Congress Trump and his Party will find any scapegoat they can and they will be pushing the socialism rant for the next two years. It’s up to the Dems in the 2020 election to get their message and vision out to the country and call out the Trumpites for what they are.

Donnamarie - I agree with you that we need new perspectives. The problem, as I see it, is that the inexperience and "enthusiasm" of the newer members is taking the party - or at least it's public image - to a place that will alienate a lot of voters - Democrats as well as Republicans. It also doesn't foster a willingness to collaborate. Nobody likes being told off by the new kid in the office. She needs to earn her bones first.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6874521/Pete-Buttigiegs-husband-takes-spotlight-race-Gent.html

[size=34]EXCLUSIVE: 'First Gent' frontrunner! Husband of presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg takes the spotlight with quirky posts about couple's rescue dogs, waiting for 'UberEats' and searching for his slippers as Pete 'crushes it' in interviews and town halls[/size]

• South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, 37,  is one of the latest Democrats to enter the 2020 presidential race
  
  
• His husband, Chasten, 29, is among a growing group of Democratic spouses in the race who could become ‘First Gent’
  
  
• Chasten, a middle school teacher who is now director of curriculum at the South Bend Civic Theater, is being touted as much of the reason for Buttigieg's success
  
  
• They married at an Episcopalian church on June 16, 2018 and live in a four-bedroom home with their two rescue dogs 
  
  
• Chasten's quirky tweets about adjusting to life in the public eye have thrust him into the spotlight, making him a favorite prospective 'First Gent' 
  
  
• Chasten left home after coming out to his family at 18, which was much earlier than candidate Buttigieg, who waited until 2015
  
  
• The South Bend, Indiana, Mayor raised an astonishing $7 million in the first quarter of his long-shot presidential campaign 
  
  
• Only Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders topped Buttigieg in last week's Emerson Poll of likely Democratic caucus-goers in Iowa
  
  

By MARTIN GOULD IN SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 14:28 EDT, 3 April 2019 | UPDATED: 16:49 EDT, 3 April 2019

     


The schoolteacher husband of presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg is quickly becoming the favorite - over the spouses of senators Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Kirsten Gillibrand - in the race to become America’s first ‘First Gent’ in 2021. 
Chasten Buttigieg, 29, whose husband Pete has suddenly taken the Democratic primary race by storm - would become both the youngest and first openly gay president if he succeeds.
And if the past couple of weeks is anything to go by, the former Chasten Glezman is the one to watch as his husband is soaring in the polls, looking a better bet to take on Donald Trump next year than any of the quartet of female senators who have declared.  
Buttigieg, the two-term mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has caught fire with Democratic voters and raised $7million the first quarter of his long-shot campaign. He is now beating not only Warren, Klobuchar and Gillibrand in the polls, but also such high-profile male candidates as Beto O'Rourke, Cory Booker and Joaquin Castro.

Only two men — Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, both more than twice his age — topped Buttigieg, 37, in last week's Emerson Poll of likely Democratic caucusgoers in Iowa.
And in a Quinnipiac national poll the Naval Reservist, who served a seven-month tour of duty in Afghanistan two years into his first mayoral term, soared to fourth behind just Biden, Sanders and Harris.


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Mayor Pete Buttigieg (right) is one of the latest Democrats to enter the 2020 presidential fray, but it's his husband Chasten Buttigieg who is leading the race in most popular candidate for 'First Gent'


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The couple are newlyweds, marrying in the Episcopalian Cathedral of St. James in South Bend, Indiana, on June 16, 2018. Pete would also become the first Episcopalian president 


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Chasten's quirky tweets about adjusting to life in the public eye have thrust him into the spotlight, making him a favorite prospective 'First Gent'


The Twitter humor of Chasten, a middle school teacher who is now director of curriculum at the South Bend Civic Theater, is being touted as much of the reason for Buttigieg's success.
'Chasten Buttigieg Is Winning the 2020 Spouse Primary,' blared a headline in Politico, which described him as 'a father of dogs, a Harry Potter fan, a theater geek, an enamored husband with a knack for choosing the right GIF' and in some circles, a 'folk hero.'


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The South Bend Mayor raised an astonishing $7million in the first quarter of his long-shot presidential campaign
'Can one of the debates be an improv show?' Chasten asked, tongue-in-cheek on March 24.
Four days earlier he tweeted about having to adapt to a more public life. 'This new exposure can be very weird, and I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to teenagers taking pictures of me and then running away giggling when I look up and see them pointing their phones at me.
'This is why I can no longer smell deodorants at Target. They're always watching.'
Chasten also posts little snippets of how life has changed since Pete became a serious presidential candidate. 'Live from the Buttigieg household where one is on their second phone interview and the other is still trying to find his slippers...' he wrote at 5.19am last Wednesday.
During a tour of South Carolina, he wrote: 'Peter: Crushing townhalls in SC. Chasten: staring out the window waiting for UberEats.'
Chasten did not respond to requests for comment on this article.
He recognized his sexuality early and came out when he was 18, much earlier that candidate Buttigieg who waited until 2015 when he wrote a newspaper article just as the Supreme Court was deciding whether same-sex marriage should be legalized nationwide.
'I was well into adulthood before I was prepared to acknowledge the simple fact that I am gay,' the mayor wrote in the South Bend Tribune. 'It took years of struggle and growth for me to recognize that it's just a fact of life, like having brown hair, and part of who I am.
'Being gay has had no bearing on my job performance in business, in the military, or in my current role as mayor,' he added.
'It makes me no better or worse at handling a spreadsheet, a rifle, a committee meeting, or a hiring decision. It doesn't change how residents can best judge my effectiveness in serving our city: by the progress of our neighborhoods, our economy, and our city services,' he added.


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The couple live in this white-columned, four-bedroom house overlooking the St. Joseph River in South Bend's historical district. Pete bought the home for a steal at $125,000 at the depth of the housing bust in 2009


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Pete and Chasten had their first date over beer and bonded over Scotch eggs at Fiddler's Hearth Pub (pictured) in South Bend, Indiana after meeting online in 2015 


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President Obama name-dropped Buttigieg, along with others, during a 2016 interview when asked who he sees as the future of the Democratic Party. The couple are pictured with Obama 
Chasten is the youngest of three brothers brought up in a conservative family in Traverse City, Michigan. His father, Terry, runs a landscaping business.
When he came out he left home. 'I don't recall my parents specifically saying I couldn't live at home anymore, but I was made to believe I needed to leave,' he told the New York Times last year.


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Chasten, a middle school teacher who is now director of curriculum at the South Bend Civic Theater, is being touted as much of the reason for Buttigieg's success
His mother Sherri told the Times: 'I don't want to say we were shocked. But, from our perspective, I was sad for him that, having two brothers that were into every sport, as roughneck as it comes, Chasten would be afraid of being perceived as different, or not as much of a man.'
He went to Chicago to get a Masters Degree in Education, earning money as a substitute teacher in Illinois public schools.
Pete and Chasten Buttigieg (pronounced Boot Edge Edge) would be the first First Couple to meet over the Internet. ‘I met him through this app called Hinge,’ said Pete. ‘As soon as I saw his picture, I saw something in his eyes. I said “I gotta meet this guy.” And then I did.
They had a lengthy courtship consisting of Facetime chats before bonding over a Scotch egg on their first date in the Fiddler’s Hearth Irish pub in South Bend in 2015.
‘Frankly, he’s one of the best things I’ve got going for me. I love him. He’s grounded. He keeps me grounded,’ Pete told CNN;’s Van Jones. 
Pete admitted that being the mayor in a blue-collar city of only 100,000 people made dating difficult. He told the New York Times that his then-aim was to date 'a little outside the television viewing area of South Bend.'
On that first date, Chasten asked whether his new potential love interest played any musical instruments. Pete told him he had performed Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue on piano with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra.
The response, Chasten admitted on Twitter, made him spit his beer on the table. In its review of the 2013 concert, the South Bend Tribune said Buttigieg had 'acquitted himself well as he executed the piece's difficult fast passages with technical precision, although technique sometimes took precedence over expressiveness.'
They married in the Episcopalian Cathedral of St. James in South Bend on June 16 last year.

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The couple adopted Truman and Buddy, their rescue dogs. Truman (left) was adopted in 2017 and Buddy, a one-eyed puggle, followed late last year


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Mayor Pete touts his diversity as a white man, telling an audience in Iowa: 'This is the only chance you'll ever get to vote for a Maltese-American, left-handed, Episcopalian, gay, war veteran, mayor, millennial'. Chasten came out to his family at 18, while candidate Buttigieg waited until 2015


The couple live in a white-columned, four-bedroom house overlooking the St. Joseph River in South Bend's historical district, that Pete bought for a bargain-basement $125,000 at the depth of the housing bust in 2009.
It is just around the corner from the house where he grew up, the son of two professors at Notre Dame University. His mom, Anne, still lives there. His dad Joseph, who immigrated from the Mediterranean island of Malta, died in January.
Pete and Chasten share their home with Truman and Buddy, their rescue dogs, both of whom have a huge social media following. Truman, born in Kentucky, was adopted in 2017 and Buddy, a one-eyed puggle, followed late last year.
So can Truman and Buddy join the long list of presidential pets, following in the pawprints of Bo and Sunny Obama, Barney Bush and Socks Clinton? 
Or is Pete Buttigieg's 2020 quest for the White House doomed, like those of dozens of candidates who promised so much but burned out in the white-hot glare of the primaries?
'This is the only chance you'll ever get to vote for a Maltese-American, left-handed, Episcopalian, gay, war veteran, mayor, millennial,' he told an audience in Davenport, Iowa.
And, for a white man, that ticks as many Democratic boxes as possible.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6882995/Trump-packed-list-ambassadors-donors-inaugural-committee.html

[size=34]How Trump packed his list of ambassadors with donors to his inaugural committee including Iceland nominee who had NEVER been there and Bahamas pick who thought it was in the U.S.[/size]

• President Donald Trump has peppered his list of ambassador picks with donors to his inaugural committee 
  
  
• They are mainly business titans who lack diplomatic experience 
  
  
• At least 14 major contributors to Trump's inauguration fund were nominated to become ambassadors, NBC News reported 
  
  
• Several of the nominees are languishing in the Senate 
  
  
• On Wednesday Senate Republicans triggered the 'nuclear option' to change Senate rules and make it easier to confirm Trump's nominees
  
  

By EMILY GOODIN, U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 16:53 EDT, 3 April 2019 | UPDATED: 16:54 EDT, 3 April 2019

     



President Donald Trump has peppered his list of ambassador picks with donors to his inaugural committee - business titans who lack diplomatic experience and several of whom have found their nominations languishing in the Senate.
Doug Manchester, Trump's pick for ambassador to the Bahamas, testified before the Senate that the island was part of the U.S. when it's actually an independent nation, NBC News revealed. 
Manchester gave $1 million to Trump's inauguration.  


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President Donald Trump has peppered his list of ambassador picks with donors to his inaugural committee


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Doug Manchester, Trump's pick for ambassador to the Bahamas, testified before the Senate that the island was part of the U.S. when it's actually an independent nation
Trump's choice to be ambassador to Iceland - Jeffrey Gunter - has never been to the country but gave $100,000 to the Trump Inaugural Committee.

And for ambassador to the United Arab Emirates - a sensitive posting in the hot bed of the Middle East that previous presidents have given to a career Foreign Service official - Trump nominated wealthy real estate developer John Rakolta, who has no diplomatic experience, but gave $250,000 to Trump's inauguration.  
At least 14 major contributors to Trump's inauguration fund were nominated to become ambassadors, donating an average of slightly over $350,000 apiece, NBC News reported. 
Six of the 14 are still waiting for their confirmation process to get through the Senate. 
The president and Senate Republicans have railed against the delay in many of Trump's nominees, not just his ambassadorial ones.


'The comprehensive campaign by Senate Democrats to delay Senate consideration of presidential nominations is now more than two years old. As I have explained in recent days, it is time for this sorry chapter to end. It's time to return this body to a more normal and reasonable process for fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities, no matter which party controls the White House,' Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell complained on the Senate floor Wednesday. 
And on Wednesday Senate Republicans triggered the 'nuclear option' to change Senate rules and reduce debate time on most presidential nominees in an effort to facilitate a quicker confirmation process for Trump's nominees. 
Trump also nominated to his ambassador list donors to his presidential campaign. 
On average, Trump-appointed ambassadors contributed $96,927.98 to his presidential campaign and other entities, Marquette University Law School found in a February study.
The average contribution of Trump's ambassadors exceeded the previous record of $60,721.83 set by President George W. Bush's ambassadors, Marquette found.   
For the past 60 years, about two-thirds of ambassadors have been career foreign service officials while one-third have been political appointees. 
But Trump's nominations have run 50 percent political appointees, 50 percent career foreign service, according to the American Foreign Service Association.
It's common for presidents to reward their largest donors with plum ambassador positions. 


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 Trump nominated wealthy real estate developer John Rakolta to be ambassador to the UAE


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Lynda Blanchard is the nominee for Ambassador to Slovenia, the home country of first lady Melania Trump


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Trump's choice to be ambassador to Iceland - Jeffrey Gunter - has never been to the country but gave $100,000 to the Trump Inaugural Committee
During his second term, President Barack Obama named 31 campaign 'bundlers' - fundraisers who raised at least $50,000 - as ambassadors, according to the Center for Public Integrity. 
Obama's national finance chair - Matthew Winthrop Barzun - was named as the Ambassador to the United Kingdom, considered the jewel posting in the ambassador crown. He raised at least $1.2 million for Obama.
Then-HBO vice president James Costos, who raised at least $500,000 for Obama, was named ambassador to Spain.
But some diplomatic experts charge Trump has appointed a higher number of donors than normal. 
His ambassador to the United Kingdom is Robert 'Woody' Johnson IV, who owns the New York Jets football team. 
Johnson donated $1 million to the inaugural committee.
Several of his ambassador nominees are getting a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, including Lynda Blanchard of Alabama, to be Ambassador to Slovenia, the home country of first lady Melania Trump.
Blanchard and her husband collectively donated $250,000 to the Trump Victory Political Action Committee.
She was a fervent Trump supporter in the 2016 election and many articles she posted to her Facebook page were from now-defunct sites that peddled false stories about Democrats. 
He also still doesn't have ambassadors in the key nations of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

So question: Is he really allowed to do this??

PAN, Donald Trump has gotten away with almost everything...short of murder. The fact that the White House gave over 25 security clearances to Administration personnel who were originally denied just shows you Trump’s total contempt for the law and ethics. So yes he is ‘allowed’ to nominate anyone he wants to ambassadorships.

We would be happy in Germany if Trump would have somebody else as US ambassador and would replace Richard Grenell who's simply a pain in the a...
He tells our government with which countries and companies they have to work together, tells our industry what to build, to whom they should sell it etc.
And he threatens everybody who dares to critisize him or doesn't shares his opinion. Really a nice guy!

Good grief - great diplomatic skills then, Carol!? I really hope he's being ignored.

Right Carol. I’ve read stories about this guy Grenell. I’ve read that German officials want him gone ...
Handpicked by Trump. A Trump wannabe.

I suspect that when the Democrats regain the White House in 2020 (so optimistic am I ) practically every Trump appointed ambassor will need to be recalled. Lots of housecleaning!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6884839/Members-Muellers-team-say-Barr-provided-accurate-conclusion-Russia-investigation.html

[size=34]Members of Mueller's team say AG Barr has not provided an accurate conclusion of the Russia investigation and warn it is MORE damaging to Trump than first thought[/size]

• Members of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team are reportedly unhappy with Attorney General William Barr's four-page summary of their investigation
  
  
• On March 24, Barr wrote a summary of the Mueller report, stating that the special counsel found no evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia
  
  
• Now an unknown number of investigators and prosecutors on Mueller's team say their findings are more damaging to Trump than Barr led the public to believe
  
  
• The unnamed members of Mueller's team did not specify what was missing from Barr's summary, according to The New York Times 
  
  

By REUTERS and ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: 00:53 EDT, 4 April 2019 | UPDATED: 07:15 EDT, 4 April 2019

     


Some of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators have warned that the findings of their probe are much more damaging for President Trump than Attorney General William Barr indicated in his four-page summary, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
Citing government officials and others familiar with the situation, the Times said some members of Mueller’s team believe Barr should have included more of their material in the summary he released on March 24 of the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.
The Times said the officials and other sources declined to flesh out why some of the special counsel’s investigators viewed their findings as potentially more damaging for the president than Barr explained.
It was also not clear how widespread among Mueller’s team, which included dozens of lawyers and investigators, are concerns about differences between Barr’s summary and Mueller’s report, the Times said.


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Members of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's (left) team are reportedly unhappy with Attorney General William Barr's (right) four-page summary of their investigation 
Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, declined to comment. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



Barr, a Trump appointee, said in the summary that Mueller did not establish that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia during the election.
Barr also said the special counsel did not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice. Barr himself subsequently concluded that Mueller’s inquiry had not found sufficient evidence to warrant criminal obstruction charges against Trump.
Trump and the White House have hailed the conclusions as a victory for the president, who has denied conspiring with Russians or obstructing justice.
The attorney general has pledged to release the nearly 400-page report by mid-April with certain portions blacked out for reasons such as protecting secret grand jury information and intelligence-gathering sources and methods.


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The New York Times reported on Wednesday that members of Mueller's team say Barr did not accurately describe the findings of their investigation, which are more damaging to President Trump (seen above at the White House on Wednesday) than originally thought
The Democratic-led House of Representatives Judiciary Committee voted on Wednesday to enable its chairman, Jerrold Nadler, to subpoena the Justice Department to obtain Mueller’s unredacted report and all underlying evidence as well as documents and testimony from five former Trump aides, including political strategist Steve Bannon.
Trump cheered the outcome of the Mueller report -  or, at least, Barr's summary of it - but also laid bare his resentment after two years of investigations that have shadowed his administration. 
'It’s a shame that our country has had to go through this. To be honest, it’s a shame that your president has had to go through this,' he said.
Democrats pointed out that Mueller found evidence for and against obstruction and demanded to see his full report. 
They insisted that even the summary by the president’s attorney general hardly put him in the clear.

[size=34]READ IN FULL: Attorney General Barr's letter to Congress summarizing the Mueller investigation findings[/size]

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Mueller’s conclusions, summarized by Barr in a four page letter to Congress, represented a victory for Trump on a key question that has hung over his presidency from the start — whether his campaign worked with Russia to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.
That was further good news for the president on top of the Justice Department’s earlier announcement that Mueller had wrapped his investigation without new indictments. 
That could deflate the hopes of Democrats in Congress and on the 2020 campaign trail that incriminating findings from Mueller would hobble the president’s agenda and re-election bid.
But while Mueller was categorical in ruling out criminal collusion, he was more circumspect on presidential obstruction of justice. 
Despite Trump’s claim of total exoneration, Mueller did not draw a conclusion one way or the other on whether he sought to stifle the Russia investigation through his actions including the firing of former FBI director James Comey.
According to Barr’s summary, Mueller set out 'evidence on both sides of the question' and stated that 'while this report does not conclude the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.'
Barr, who was nominated by Trump in December, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in May 2017 and oversaw much of his work, went further in Trump’s favor.
The attorney general said he and Rosenstein had determined that Mueller’s evidence was insufficient to prove in court that Trump had committed obstruction of justice to hamper the probe. 
Barr has previously voiced a broad view of presidential powers, and in an unsolicited memo last June he cast doubt on whether the president could have obstructed justice through acts — like firing his FBI director — that he was legally empowered to take.  

[size=34]MUELLER REPORT: Timeline of events in Mueller's investigation[/size]

Here is a timeline of significant developments in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and whether President Donald Trump's campaign conspired with Moscow.
2017
May 17 - U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appoints former FBI Director Mueller as a special counsel to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election and to look into any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and people associated with Republican Trump's campaign.
The appointment follows President Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey on May 9 and days later Trump attributed the dismissal to 'this Russia thing.'
June 15 - Mueller is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice, the Washington Post reports.
October 30 - Veteran Republican political operative and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who worked for the campaign for five pivotal months in 2016, is indicted on charges of conspiracy against the United States and money laundering as is his business partner Rick Gates, who also worked for Trump's campaign.
- Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleads guilty to a charge of lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials.
December 1 - Michael Flynn, Trump's national security adviser for less than a month who also had a prominent campaign role, pleads guilty to the charge of lying to the FBI about his discussions in 2016 with the Russian ambassador to Washington.
2018
February 16 - Federal grand jury indicts 13 Russians and three firms, including a Russian government propaganda arm called the Internet Research Agency, accusing them of tampering to support Trump and disparage Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The accused 'had a strategic goal to sow discord in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 U.S. presidential election' according to the court document filed by Mueller.
- An American, Richard Pinedo, pleads guilty to identity fraud for selling bank account numbers after being accused by prosecutors of helping Russians launder money, buy Facebook ads and pay for campaign rally supplies. Pinedo was not associated with the Trump campaign.
February 22 - Manafort and Gates are charged with financial crimes, including bank fraud, in Virginia.
February 23 - Gates pleads guilty to conspiracy against the United States and lying to investigators. He agrees to cooperate and testify against Manafort at trial.
April 3 - Alex van der Zwaan, the Dutch son-in-law of one of Russia's richest men, is sentenced to 30 days in prison and fined $20,000 for lying to Mueller's investigators, becoming the first person sentenced in the probe.
April 9 - FBI agents raid home, hotel room and office of Trump's personal lawyer and self-described 'fixer' Michael Cohen.
April 12 - Rosenstein tells Trump that he is not a target in Mueller's probe.
April 19 - Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump supporter in the election campaign, joins Trump's personal legal team.
June 8 - Mueller charges a Russian-Ukrainian man, Konstantin Kilimnik, a Manafort business partner whom prosecutors say had ties to Russian intelligence, with witness tampering.
July 13 - Federal grand jury indicts 12 Russian military intelligence officers on charges of hacking Democratic Party computer networks in 2016 and staged releases of documents. Russia, which denies interfering in the election, says there is no evidence that the 12 are linked to spying or hacking.
July 16 - In Helsinki after the first summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump publicly contradicts U.S. intelligence agencies that concluded Moscow had interfered in the 2016 election with a campaign of hacking and propaganda. Trump touts Putin's 'extremely strong and powerful' denial of meddling. He calls the Mueller inquiry a 'rigged witch hunt' on Twitter.
August 21 - A trial jury in Virginia finds Manafort guilty of five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failure to disclose a foreign bank account.
- Cohen, in a case brought by U.S. prosecutors in New York, pleads guilty to tax fraud and campaign finance law violations. Cohen is subsequently interviewed by Mueller's team.
August 31 - Samuel Patten, an American business partner of Kilimnik, pleads guilty to unregistered lobbying for pro-Kremlin political party in Ukraine.
September 14 - Manafort pleads guilty to two conspiracy counts and signs a cooperation agreement with Mueller's prosecutors.
November 8 - U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns at Trump's request. He had recused himself from overseeing the Mueller inquiry because of his contacts with the Russian ambassador as a Trump campaign official. Trump appoints Sessions' chief of staff Matthew Whitaker, a critic of the Mueller probe, as acting attorney general.
November 20 - Giuliani says Trump submitted written answers to questions from Mueller, as the president avoids a face-to-face interview with the special counsel.
November 27-28 - Prosecutors say Manafort breached his plea deal by lying to investigators, which Manafort denies. Trump says he has not ruled out granting Manafort a presidential pardon.
November 28 - Giuliani says Trump told investigators he was not aware ahead of time of a meeting in Trump Tower in New York between several campaign officials and Russians in June 2016.
November 29 - Cohen pleads guilty in the Mueller investigation to lying to Congress about the length of discussions in 2016 on plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. 'I made these misstatements to be consistent with individual 1's political messaging and out of loyalty to individual 1,' says Cohen, who previously identified 'individual 1' as Trump.
- The president criticizes Cohen as a liar and 'weak person.'
December 12 - Two developments highlight growing political and legal risks for Trump: Cohen sentenced to three years in prison for crimes including orchestrating hush payments to women in violation of campaign laws before the election; American Media Inc, publisher of National Enquirer tabloid, strikes deal to avoid charges over its role in one of two hush payments. Publisher admits payment was aimed at influencing the 2016 election, contradicting Trump's statements.
2019
January 25 - Longtime Trump associate and self-proclaimed political 'dirty trickster' Roger Stone charged and arrested at his home in Florida. Stone is accused of lying to Congress about statements suggesting he may have had advance knowledge of plans by Wikileaks to release Democratic Party campaign emails that U.S. officials say were stolen by Russia.
February 21 - U.S. judge tightens gag order on Stone, whose Instagram account posted a photo of the judge and the image of crosshairs next to it.
February 22 - Manhattan district attorney's office is pursuing New York state criminal charges against Manafort whether or not he receives a pardon from Trump on federal crimes, a person familiar with the matter says. Trump cannot issue pardons for state convictions.
February 24 - Senior Democratic U.S. Representative Adam Schiff says Democrats will subpoena Mueller's final report on his investigation if it is not given to Congress by the Justice Department, and will sue the Trump administration and call on Mueller to testify to Congress if necessary.
February 27 - Cohen tells U.S. House Oversight Committee Trump is a 'racist,' a 'con man' and a 'cheat' who knew in advance about a release of emails by WikiLeaks in 2016 aimed at hurting rival Clinton. Trump directed negotiations for a real estate project in Moscow during the campaign even as he publicly said he had no business interests in Russia, Cohen testifies.
March 7 - Manafort is sentenced in the Virginia case to almost four years in prison. The judge also ordered Manafort to pay a fine of $50,000 and restitution of just over $24 million.
March 13 - Manafort is sentenced to about 3-1/2 more years in prison in the Washington case, bringing his total prison sentence in the two special counsel cases to 7-1/2 years.
- On the same day, the Manhattan district attorney announces a separate indictment charging Manafort with residential mortgage fraud and other New York state crimes, which unlike the federal charges cannot be erased by a presidential pardon.
March 22 - Mueller submits his confidential report on the findings of his investigation to U.S. Attorney General William Barr.
March 24 - Barr releases a summary of Mueller's report, saying the investigation did not find evidence that Trump or his associates broke the law during the campaign. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders says the summary is a complete exoneration of Trump.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6886653/You-pay-Mar-Lagos-private-security-OVERRULING-Secret-Service.html

[size=34]Revealed: Mar-a-Lago's private security is OVERRULING Secret Service to decide who can get near Trump despite Chinese woman's arrest with four phones and malware[/size]

• Chinese national Yujing Zhang was arrested after first telling an agent she was heading for the club pool 
  
  
• She was allegedly carrying a thumb drive loaded with malware 
  
  
• Club members pay $200,000 and may bring guests
  
  
• They also pay annual $14,000 dues
  
  
• The feds pay $3.4 million in taxpayer dollars each time Trump visits his club 
  
  
• Secret Service says it 'does not determine who is invited or welcome'
  
  
• President Trump has 'no idea' who the people around him are, a White House official has said
  
  
• The president regularly visits the club on winter weekends and golfs nearby 
  
  

By GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 10:45 EDT, 4 April 2019 | UPDATED: 11:57 EDT, 4 April 2019

     

The security set-up at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago club is coming in for increased scrutiny after the arrest of a Chinese woman exposed how the clubs own staff decides when to waive in people who aren't on an approved list of entrants. 
Chinese woman Yujing Zhang was arrested at the club after first telling an agent she was heading for the club pool. She made it through two levels of U.S. Secret Service screening after a club official decided to let her in.
Court records say she was carrying four cellphones, a laptop, one external hard drive and a thumb drive that contained 'malicious malware.'
The Secret Service made clear in a statement issued Tuesday night after the incident that it is the club, not the agency, who determines who gains admission to the president's private club – a for-profit venture where members pay a $200,000 initiation fee. 


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The ongoing probe got a punch in the arm when Secret Service agents arrested Yujing Zhang, a Chinese woman, who tried to enter the club over the weeekend
Zhang got waived into the club despite not being on a pre-approved list of guests, and not even clearly stating her supposed connection to a club member or identifying a legitimate event she was there to attend.  

'The Secret Service does not determine who is invited or welcome at Mar-a-Lago; this is the responsibility of the host entity,' according to the agency's statement. 
'The Mar-a-Lago club management determines which members and guests are granted access to the property. This access does not afford an individual proximity to the President or other Secret Service protectees.' 
President Trump was at his near by golf club at the time of the incident last weekend. 


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President Donald Trump returns to Mar-A-Lago after a day at the golf course


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The Secret Service screens guests for security, but the club makes decisions on who is allowed to be there, according to the agency


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Li ‘Cindy’ Yang denied that she used her connections to Trump and the Republican Party to sell access to the president’s inner circle to wealthy Chinese business people


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President Trump wanted to keep Mar-a-Lago as a welcoming place to visitors even after he was elected, according to a Washington Post account.   'The president has no idea who most of the people around him at the club are,' a White House official told the paper. 'You pay and you get in.'
Agents provide physical screening for hundreds of visitors, and whose names are checked against lists collected in advance of their arrival.


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In the case of Zhang, a Mar-a-Lago staffer decided to let her in, believing her to be related to a club member with the same last name 'due to a potential language barrier issue,' according to court documents. 
According to a Secret Service agent's affidavit: 'Had ZHANG not falsely portrayed herself as a club member seeking to visit the pool, and instead advised she was there to attend the non-existent "United Nations Friendship Event'' between China and the United States, her access would have declined by U.S. Secret Service at the preliminary inspection point.'
It lists a total of seven agents who were present at checkpoints or who the woman passed by on the way to her second screening. 
Club member Cindy Yang had advertised two events for Saturday, the day of the arrest, although Zhang did not name either of them. Yang is the former owner of Orchids of Asia Day Spa, where New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was arrested and charged with soliciting prostitution. She is accused of trying to sell access to Trump by posting pictures of herself with Trump and family members at events. 
Democrats in Congress have begun investigating the security situation at the club – and whether it could pose a danger to the president or to U.S. national security.  
 House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland is set to get a Secret Service briefing Thursday.
'We want to make sure that the Secret Service is being the very best that they can be, and we want to find out more about exactly what kind of security they had down there in Florida,' Cummings said.
'I think it's very, very, very, very important that the president be protected. And I feel very strongly about that.' 
Trump said on Wednesday he's not concerned at all about security at his Florida residence. 
'I'm not concerned at all,' he said at the White House. 'I think that was just a fluke situation and I think that the person sitting at the front desk did a very good job to be honest with you.'
He also wouldn't say if security measures would change in wake of the incident.
'Secret Service is fantastic. These are fantastic people. And the end result is it was good. I think probably we'll see what happened. Where she's from. Who she is, but the result is they were able to get her and she's now suffering the consequences of whatever it is she had in mind but I would say I could not be happier with Secret Service. Secret Service has done a fantastic job from day one. Very happy with them,' he said.  
Those probing security ad the club will be touching an issue near and dear to the president.
'For the president, I think Mar-a-Lago is not so much a club, but his Xanadu,' club member and Newsmax publisher Chris Ruddy told the Associated Press. 'My feeling is he also sees it as place of destiny and fate because Mrs. Post wanted it as the winter White House,' he said, referencing Marjorie Merriwether Post, who built it.

If he doesn't want to let the Secret Service do their job, why do we have to pay for them to be there? Let his staff protect him.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6888435/Julian-Assange-kicked-Ecuadorian-embassy-HOURS-arrested-says-WikiLeaks.html

[size=34]Armed police surround Ecuadorean embassy as Julian Assange 'is set to be kicked out in HOURS and arrested after country does deal with UK authorities', WikiLeaks claims[/size]

• WikiLeaks whistleblower Julian Assange is to be kicked out of the Ecuadorean embassy, the website claims
  
  
• The site posted Tweets saying high-level sources said he would be handed to UK police 'in hours or days' 
  
  
• An arrest warrant remains in place for Mr Assange after he was accused of sex crimes against Swedish women
  
  
• Protesters arrived on the scene in the early hours after calls went out to 'protect' the WikiLeaks founder  
  
  

By ED RILEY and DARREN BOYLE and BRENDAN MCFADDEN FOR MAILONLINE and AFP
PUBLISHED: 18:23 EDT, 4 April 2019 | UPDATED: 09:01 EDT, 5 April 2019

     



Supporters of Julian Assange are gathering outside Ecuador's London embassy today after fears were raised that the WikiLeaks founder was about to be kicked out and arrested within 'hours or days.'
The website made the claims about its founder in a series of late-night Tweets citing unnamed sources in the Ecuadorean authorities as confirming Mr Assange's seven-year stay would end imminently.
Armed police were also outside the west London embassy as protestors began arriving at the building early this morning following online calls for people to 'protect' the controversial whistleblower.
They erected tents outside the door and continued to arrive throughout the day, some holding posters and banners calling for him to be allowed to leave without fear of being arrested by police.

Shortly before 7.30am today a member of staff inside the six-storey building, where the Australian has been holed up since 2012, declined to speak about the claims when asked over the intercom.
The pavement opposite is lined with more than 20 members of the world's media, many with TV cameras, after the reports emerged. 
A van later arrived at the building bearing a billboard in support of Mr Assange, and parked in a space reserved for diplomats. It was moved on at 10am after armed police officer told the organiser of the demonstration they had received a call from the embassy.


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Armed police arrive outside the Ecuadorian Embassy this morning, where Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been holed up since 2012

[size=10][size=18]P[/size][/size]



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Protesters erected tents outside the embassy overnight and used battery-powered tealights to spell out 'NO EXPULSION' as news spread that Julian Assange may be kicked out imminently


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The scene outside the Ecuadorian embassy this morning, as tents erected late last night remain on the pavement outside


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Julian Assange, pictured on the balcony of the Ecuadorean embassy in London in 2017, is to be 'kicked out' according to Wikileaks, the group he founded in a tweet (right). Assange has been in the embassy since 2012 after Swedish authorities announced they wished to interview in connection with a rape allegation 
The man who arranged the board and gave his name as Fethi said: 'I'm here to support Julian Assange. We just wonder if the police will take him away.'
Fethi, who briefly went into the embassy before he was escorted out by officials, said he does not believe Mr Assange will be expelled.
'We're going to be staying here until we see what's going on,' he said.
A picture on the billboard showed Mr Assange gagged by an American flag with the message #FreeSpeech.
Demonstrators, including one wearing a mask used by the Anonymous group, later unfurled a banner saying 'The truth will set you free! Free Julian Assange!'
Three people, including the masked supporter, held the banner as they posed for photographs in front of a large gathering of media crews.


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The pavement opposite was lined with more than 20 members of the world's media, many with TV cameras, after the reports emerged. A van later arrived at the building bearing a billboard in support of Mr Assange, and parked in a space reserved for diplomats


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Two armed officers were seen outside the building after a van arrived bearing a billboard in support of Mr Assange, and parked in a space reserved for diplomats
Assange supporter Emmy Butlin, who was part of a 'solidarity vigil' outside the embassy, said she has been demonstrating since he was first granted refuge.
She said Ecuador has changed its position since a change of government, adding: 'They have now become unwilling to protect Julian Assange, the publisher of WikiLeaks.'
'It's very clear that the negotiations of various parties - the United States with Ecuador and with the UK - to hand in this man to be tried and charged in America for espionage is well under way,' she said.
'We believe that the UK Government, which is our government, should stop cooperating with the United States, the Trump administration. They should stand by free speech, by human rights and by international law.'
Mr Assange claimed political asylum in the embassy in June 2012 after he was accused of rape and sexual assault against women in Sweden, and has been there ever since.
However earlier this week reports surfaced that the South American nation was tiring of his presence and claimed he had 'repeatedly violated' the terms of his asylum.


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Following the announcement calls were made on Twitter to fill the streets outside the building to protect Mr Assange. As of 2am protesters were seen setting up orange tents outside the embassy
In their Tweets, WikiLeaks wrote: 'A high level source within the Ecuadorean state has told that Julian Assange will be expelled within 'hours to days' using the offshore scandal as a pretext--and that it already has an agreement with the UK for his arrest.'
Two hours later they added they have 'secondary confirmation from another high-level source within the Ecuadorian state' that Assange is to be booted out imminently.
Ecuador's government said they never commented on 'rumours'. 
By 8.30am there was on demonstrator outside the embassy, but he said he expected more supporters of Mr Assange to arrive.
Ciaron O'Reilly, 59, who is originally from Australia, said he has been sleeping rough outside the building for 130 days and claimed he previously worked on anti-war campaigns with the WikiLeaks founder.
Mr O'Reilly, who has set up a makeshift shelter in a street beside the embassy, said he believes reports that Mr Assange will be expelled, adding that Ecuador 'wants to deliver the head of Julian Assange'. 


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Following the announcement calls were made on Twitter to fill the streets outside the building to protect Mr Assange. As of 2am protesters were seen setting up orange tents outside the embassy


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A single police squad car maintained a watch over the Ecuadorean embassy in west London early today (pictured) as news began to spread of the threat to expel Julian Assange from the building






Mr Assange's supporters claim the sex assault charges are a ruse to allow him to be detained so America can extradite him to face trial for revealing highly sensitive government information on his website. 
Shortly after 2am this morning, protesters did begin arriving on the west London streets that houses the embassy.
Two cars pulled up and activists erected seven tents on the pavement for the protesters to use.


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Following the announcement calls were made on Twitter to fill the streets outside the building to protect Mr Assange. As of 2am protesters were seen setting up orange tents outside the embassy
The activists, promoted by a tweet from WikiLeaks, began their vigil although nobody had heard from Julian Assange himself.
One activist spent 20 minutes with multi-coloured battery-powered tealights spelling out 'no expulsion' on the pavement outside the embassy. 
A single Metropolitan Police squad car kept watch over the slowly growing group, while a CCTV camera panned from left to right surveying the crowd.
The London force has rented an apartment overlooking the Embassy's front door to keep the building under constant surveillance.
The news of his possible imminent expulsion from the embassy comes after Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno said on Tuesday that Assange has 'repeatedly violated' the terms of his asylum in the Andean nation's London embassy.
Moreno told Ecuadorean broadcasters that 'Assange cannot lie or, much less, hack into private accounts or private phones' under the terms of his asylum.
The president said that photos of his bedroom, what he eats and how his wife and friends dance had been shared on social media.
But he did not accuse WikiLeaks of circulating hacked photos of his family and wiretapping his phone calls and private conversation.
The president said: 'We should ensure Mr Assange's life is not at risk but he's violated the agreement we have with him so many times'.







Following the announcement calls were made on Twitter to fill the streets outside the building to protect Assange


But the Ecuadorean government has previously said it believes WikiLeaks of sharing the photos, some of which show photos which date back several years to when Moreno and his family live in Geneva. 
Moreno said the terms restrict him from 'intervening in the politics of countries, or worse friendly countries'. 
The Ecuadorean government has directly referred to WikiLeaks in a complaint to a special rapporteur for the right to privacy. 
On Tuesday WikiLeaks tweeted that Moreno would take a decision about Mr Assange's fate 'in the short term' after it reported on an 'offshore corruption scandal wracking his government'.  
Mr Assange still fears extradition to the US due to his involvement in the leaking of a huge cache of classified documents in 2010.
He says Ecuador is seeking to end his asylum and is putting pressure on him by isolating him from visitors and spying on him.
Ecuador has said its treatment of Mr Assange was in line with international law, but that his situation 'cannot be extended indefinitely.'
In February Assange was issued with a new Australian passport clearing the way for him to leave the Ecuadorian Embassy.

[size=34]Julian Assange's fight for freedom: How is the WikiLeaks founder still holed up in an embassy after almost seven years?[/size]

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange came under intense scrutiny after the whistle-blowing website began releasing hundreds of thousands classified US diplomatic cables.
Here is a timeline of the key dates in his case:
2010
August: An arrest warrant is issued for Mr Assange for two separate allegations - one of rape and one of molestation - after he visits Sweden for a speaking trip. He is questioned by police in Stockholm and denies the allegations.
November: Stockholm District Court approves a request to detain the WikiLeaks founder for questioning on suspicion of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion. An international arrest warrant is issued by Swedish police through Interpol.
December: Mr Assange presents himself to London police and appears at an extradition hearing where he is remanded in custody. At a later hearing, he is granted conditional bail but is kept behind bars after Swedish authorities challenge the decision.
Mr Assange is granted conditional bail at the High Court in London after his supporters pay £240,000 in cash and sureties.
2011
February: District Judge Howard Riddle rules that Mr Assange should be extradited to Sweden and denies this would breach his human rights. Mr Assange vows to fight the decision.
November: Mr Assange loses a High Court appeal against the decision to extradite him.
2012
May: The UK Supreme Court upholds the High Court decision in the case, ruling that extradition is lawful and can go ahead. The Supreme Court later rejects a move by Mr Assange to reopen his appeal against his extradition, saying it is 'without merit'.
June 19: Mr Assange enters the Ecuadorian embassy in London, requesting political asylum. A day later, Scotland Yard confirms he will be subject to arrest for breaching his bail conditions.
August 16: Mr Assange is granted political asylum by Ecuador.
August 19: Mr Assange makes his first public appearance in two months on the Ecuadorian embassy's balcony and calls for the US government to 'renounce its witch-hunt' against WikiLeaks.
November: Ecuador's ambassador to the UK, Ana Alban, says Mr Assange is suffering a chronic lung condition after spending months inside a one-room office at the embassy. The Ecuadorian government later plays down the health fears and says Mr Assange 'does not have an urgent medical condition'.
December: Mr Assange marks the six-month anniversary inside the embassy by making a rare public appearance on balcony to say the 'door is open' for talks to break the deadlock over his campaign to avoid extradition to Sweden.


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The Ecuadorian embassy in Knightsbridge, which has been Assange's home since 2012
2013
June: Mr Assange tells a group of journalists he will not leave the embassy even if sex charges against him are dropped, because he fears moves are already under way to extradite him to the United States.
2014
July: Mr Assange loses a legal bid to have an arrest warrant issued in Sweden against him cancelled. A judge in Stockholm decided to uphold the warrant against him for alleged sexual offences against two women.
August: Mr Assange tells a press conference he will be leaving the embassy soon following speculation that he is seeking hospital treatment for heart and lung problems. He later brushes off reports that he is about to give up his fight against extradition to Sweden.
November: Mr Assange loses a legal move in a Swedish appeal court aimed at revoking his arrest warrant.
December: Mr Assange appears on the embassy's balcony to greet Noam Chomsky, the US philosopher and activist. Hollywood actor John Cusack also visits the WikiLeaks founder later in the month.
2015


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Julian Assange speaking on the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy two months after he entered in June 2012
March: Swedish prosecutors ask to question Mr Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
June: Mr Assange claims the Swedish prosecutor has cancelled an appointment to interview him at the embassy.
August 13: Swedish prosecutors drop investigations into some of the sex allegations against Mr Assange due to time restrictions. The investigation into suspected rape remains active.
August 16: Foreign Office minister Hugo Swire said Ecuador's decision to harbour Mr Assange in its embassy had prevented the proper course of justice. He said the UK continued to have a legal obligation to extradite him to Sweden, where he remained suspected of a sexual offence.
October 12: Metropolitan Police end their 24-hour guard outside the Ecuadorian Embassy. It breaks a three-year police operation which is estimated to have cost more than £12 million.
2016
February 5: The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention says Mr Assange is being 'arbitrarily detained' in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and calls on authorities to end his 'deprivation of liberty'.
The report is branded 'frankly ridiculous' by then foreign secretary Philip Hammond - a response which Mr Assange described as 'insulting'.
February 9: Swedish prosecutors say they are working on a renewed request to interview Mr Assange at the embassy.
February 22: Lawyers for Mr Assange submit papers to a Swedish court, asking for his arrest warrant to be overturned.
March 24: The Government formally asks a UN Working Group to review its finding that Mr Assange was subject to arbitrary detention, saying the opinion was 'deeply flawed'.
March 25: A Swedish court refuses to drop an arrest warrant against Mr Assange.
June 20: Ecuador reveals it has received a formal request from the Swedish authorities to interview Mr Assange.
August 9: Mr Assange files an appeal at Sweden's Court of Appeal of Svea, arguing the country must comply with the UN working group's findings that his deprivation of liberty was unlawful.
August 11: Ecuador announces that Mr Assange will be questioned by Swedish prosecutors in the embassy in London.
September 16: Sweden's Court of Appeal rejects a bid by Mr Assange to have his sex assault warrant dropped, saying no new information has emerged.
November 14: Mr Assange is questioned over the sex allegation at the Ecuadorian Embassy in the presence of Sweden's assistant prosecutor Ingrid Isgren and police inspector Cecilia Redell. The interview spans two days.
November 30: The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention rejects a request by the UK Government to review the case of Mr Assange.
2017
January 17: Barack Obama's decision to free whistleblower Chelsea Manning prompts speculation Mr Assange will end his self-imposed exile. WikiLeaks tweeted prior to the decision: 'If Obama grants Manning clemency Assange will agree to US extradition despite clear unconstitutionality of DoJ (Department of Justice) case.'
January 19: Mr Assange tells a press conference that he stands by his offer to go to the US, provided his rights are respected.
March 9: Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage is spotted leaving the embassy where Mr Assange is being held.
April 21: America's attorney general Jeff Sessions says Mr Assange's arrest is a 'priority' for the United States.
May 19: An investigation into a sex allegation against Mr Assange is suddenly dropped by Sweden's Director of Public Prosecution.
June 16: Mr Assange calls off a pre-planned speech from the embassy balcony to mark the fifth anniversary of his arrival there, following news of an 'imminent meeting' with British authorities.
2018
January 11: The UK Foreign Office turns down a request from the Ecuadorian government to grant Mr Assange diplomatic status.
Ecuador confirms it has granted citizenship to Mr Assange in December after he made a request in September.
January 26: Lawyers for Mr Assange tell a court the UK arrest warrant against him has 'lost its purpose and its function'.
February 6: Westminster Magistrates' Court says that the UK arrest warrant is still valid. Mr Assange vows to continue his legal fight. He later claims a package containing a 'threat' and white substance was sent to him at the Ecuadorian Embassy.
February 7: Visits to Mr Assange from Pamela Anderson and Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel are reported.
February 13: Westminster Magistrates' Court upholds the warrant for the arrest of Mr Assange for skipping bail, in a judgment by Senior District Judge Emma Arbuthnot.
She urges him to show the 'courage' to appear in court.
March 28: The Ecuadorian Embassy suspends Mr Assange's internet access.
The Ecuador Government says: 'The measure was adopted due to Assange not complying with a written promise which he made with the government in late 2017, by which he was obliged not to send messages which entailed interference in relation to other states.'
Supporters, including actress Pamela Anderson, musician Brian Eno, fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood and former Greek minister Yanis Varoufaki, urge Ecuador to reverse the ban.
June 7: Mr Assange receives a visit from officials from the Australian High Commission.
June 19: Vigils in several countries mark six years since Mr Assange entered the Ecuadorian Embassy.
July 30: Dame Vivienne Westwood designs a new T-shirt in support of the WikiLeaks founder, with a slogan which reads: 'I fought the law'.
August 9: The United States Senate committee asks to interview Mr Assange as part of their investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.
September 27: Mr Assange steps down as editor of WikiLeaks.
October 19: Mr Assange reveals he is to launch legal action against the government of Ecuador, accusing it of violating his 'fundamental rights and freedoms'.
November 16: The US Department of Justice inadvertently names Mr Assange in a court document which suggests the WikiLeaks founder may have been charged in secret.
December 20: Mr Assange's father calls for the end to his son's 'torment', following a visit to the embassy.
2019
January 10: A legal defence fund is launched for Mr Assange amid fears that the WikiLeaks founder is under 'increasingly serious threat'.
The Courage Foundation, which offers legal support for whistleblowers and journalists, said Mr Assange had become 'isolated' inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, with 'severe restrictions' on his communications and visitors.
January 23: Lawyers for Mr Assange say they are taking action aimed at making President Donald Trump's administration reveal charges 'secretly filed' against the WikiLeaks founder.
April 5: WikiLeaks tweets that a high level source within the Ecuadorian state has told them Mr Assange will be expelled from the embassy within 'hours or days'.
A senior Ecuadorian official says no decision has been made to remove him from the London building.

[size=34]JULIAN ASSANGE: AN EVASIVE & POLARISING FIGURE [/size]

By AFP

[size=16]
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Assange giving a press conference in 2011, a year after 'Cablegate'
A heroic campaigner for openness, or an enemy of the US state trying to avoid justice: after a decade in the limelight, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange remains an evasive and polarising figure.
The 47-year-old Australian is again in the headlines after Ecuadoran President Lenin Moreno said he had 'repeatedly violated' the conditions of his asylum at the country's embassy in London.
Assange, who won fame as the frontman of the whistleblowing website as it exposed government secrets worldwide, has lived in the embassy since seeking refuge there in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden.
He was applauded by transparency and anti-war campaigners for revealing the death of civilians, torture and clandestine military operations with the release of 500,000 US documents on the Iraq and Afghan wars.
But the United States and its allies accused him of risking lives by revealing information on sources, intelligence techniques and key infrastructure sites, with internal documents showing the US military considered him an 'enemy'.
Human rights groups and newspapers that once worked with Assange to edit and publish the war logs were also horrified when WikiLeaks dumped the documents unredacted online, including the names of informants.
He was arrested in Britain in December 2010 on allegations of sexual assault and rape in Sweden, claims he strongly denied, saying they were politically motivated.
Before the claims were dropped in 2017, Assange expressed fears that any extradition to Sweden could see his eventual transfer to the United States to face trial for the leaks.
He took political refuge in Ecuador's embassy in London in 2012, but his hosts have grown increasingly irritated by his interventions on foreign affairs.
The Ecuadoran government eventually suspended his internet access last year, saying he had breached 'a written commitment... not to issue messages that might interfere with other states'.
There are also questions about his relationship with Russia, with WikiLeaks identified in Robert Mueller's probe into interference in the 2016 US election.
According to US Attorney General William Barr's summary of his report, Mueller found that Russian government actors hacked Hillary Clinton's campaign 'and publicly disseminated those materials through various intermediaries, including WikiLeaks'.


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Pictured at the Ecuadorean embassy in 2012 after claiming asylum
EXPOSING 'TRUTH OF WAR' 
Born in Townsville, Queensland, in 1971, Assange has described a nomadic childhood and claims to have attended 37 schools before settling in Melbourne.
As a teenager he discovered a talent for computer hacking, and while has pled guilty to 25 such offences, he has only ever walked away with fines.
He created WikiLeaks in 2006 with a group of like-minded activists and IT experts, to provide a secure way for whistleblowers to leak information.
A confident speaker, he became its figurehead - and a lightning rod for criticism.
The most damaging leaks emerged in 2010, beginning with a video showing a US military Apache helicopter firing on and killing two journalists and several Iraqi civilians on a Baghdad street in 2007.
It was followed by more than 90,000 classified US military files from the Afghan war, 400,000 from Iraq, and in November that year, around 250,000 US diplomatic cables covering almost every country in the world.
FACING JUSTICE 
Although the sexual assault claims against him in Sweden were dropped, Assange still faces arrest by British police for having jumped bail, so has stayed in Ecuador's embassy near Harrods.
He has described it as like living in a space station - he exercises on a treadmill and uses a sun lamp to make up for the lack of natural light.
In 2016 a UN panel declared that he had been detained arbitrarily, but critics have said his concerns of extradition to the US are unfounded. They say he is simply hiding from justice.


+17


With no access to direct sunlight, Assange appeared pale during this appearance on British political TV show Peston On Sunday in 2016
'WikiLeaks was founded on exposing those who ignored the rule of law. Surely its editor-in-chief should recognise his duty to see it upheld,' The Guardian newspaper, which once worked with him to publish the leaks, wrote in 2016.
Assange did, however, find growing support among previous critics on the right wing and online supporters of Donald Trump. That happened when the US government institutions with which he has been locked in battle also began to investigate the US president.
'He is well aware that I thought he was waging war on the United States,' said Fox News anchor and Trump favourite Sean Hannity.
'My opinion of it has evolved largely because of what I have seen that he has done in 10 years.'[/size]

Why armed police? Are they expecting the Ecuadorians to start shooting, or Assange?

Probably Assange's supporters. IMO, if the Ecuadorians shoot anyone it'll be Assange - but then again, why bother? They're probably just thrilled to get rid of him.

As are the British government, Lizzy. He's been in there for six years - not  months that the Fail quote! And as an embassy on British soil I think they can bill the government here and just the policing alone (and anything we don't know about in that category) has cost the government millions.

I don't know if it's still going on but there have been visits from human rights lawyers and the likes of Kathy Lette used to turn up with cake (not too difficult - Harrods is round the corner!)

I  wonder where he goes if they kick him out. Will he be arrested on the spot? Will he be deported? Where to? Does Sweden still want him? Will the US have to put up with him next? I know our government wants to get its hands on him, but it honestly seems like a waste of time and money to me.  Do you think Australia would take him back?

Where do you go if nobody wants to let you in?

If there was any other U.S. President in power the U.S. would be waiting right outside the Embassy door ready to take Assange into custody. If it is up to the U.S. Intelligence community that would be the case. If Trump has any say I might think otherwise. I mean he was so damn helpful to Trump in 2016 ...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6892669/Trump-eagerly-plotting-post-presidential-memoir-says-New-York-Times-bestseller.html

[size=34]Trump is already plotting his post-presidential memoir that he claims will be a New York Times bestseller - and he can’t wait to settle some scores[/size]

• Trump reportedly wants to write a memoir to retaliate against enemies in the media, Democrats, Republicans, law enforcement and his own administration
  
  
• The president feels his memoir would be a bestseller and is motivated by authors such as Omarosa Manigault Newman and Michael Wolff writing books about him
  
  
• While he would likely receive a low seven figure deal, some publishing houses are concerned about the headaches of marketing such a controversial figure 
  
  
• Trump's, 'Crippled America,' a more political book that featured his ideas for a border wall, was the most recent publication under his name released in 2015
  
  

By MICHAEL NAM FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 20:56 EDT, 5 April 2019 | UPDATED: 00:56 EDT, 6 April 2019

     



Despite not yet finishing the term, President Trump is reportedly already eager to publish his post-presidential memoir and get some payback on detractors at the same time.
According to the Daily Beast, Trump has been discussing producing his explosive memoir that he predicts will be a New York Times bestseller since 2017.
'He sounded excited about it,' a source who was present when Trump made remarks about the book told the website. 'He said it would sell better than even 'The Art of the Deal.''


+6


President Trump arrives on Air Force One to the Los Angeles International Airport on a one day trip for a West Coast fundraiser following a trip to the border on Friday. Even as he continues his first term, Trump is reportedly eager to publish a post-presidential memoir


+6


An aerial view of people walking (right) on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border on the beach on April 5.  Trump, whose border wall idea was present in his book 'Crippled America' looks to get back into the publishing game


+6


'Crippled America,' published in 2015, the year before Trump was elected to the presidency
Trump has talked about how such a book could be weaponized to settle some scores with the media, Democrats, disloyal Republicans, law enforcement, and even people inside his own administration, according to a friend of the president. 

On at least one social occasion, this friend allegedly heard the president refer to something that just happened by saying, 'that'll go great in a book.' 


The president is reportedly motivated by the numerous books written about him, adding to his desire to get his memoir published.
He's been aggrieved by figures such as Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former friend and co-star who worked in his administration and used recordings of him for her own book, 'Unhinged', railed at former communications aide Cliff Sims for his book 'A Team of Vipers' and ended up dismissing former chief strategist Steve Bannon for his cutting remarks about Trump family in Michael Wolff's book 'Fire and Fury'.


+6


The president, who has several books under his name, reportedly is anxious to write his post-presidential memoir because of others who have made money writing about him 


+6


Omarosa Manigault Newman drew a great deal of ire from the White House after using audio recordings to leverage a book deal 


+6


Michael Wolff's bestseller 'Fire and Fury' ended Steve Bannon's tenure in the White House for including the former chief strategist's inflammatory remarks about members of the Trump family
'I think I'll save it for a book like everybody else and I'll write it,' Trump said in an October press conference when asked about accusing an unnamed lawmaker about sexual misconduct. 'I'm not giving it to you.'  
Trump's previous ghost-written book 'The Art of the Deal' has sold possibly over a million copies over its lifespan. His 'Crippled America', the last book published under his name and also a bestseller, featured his call for the construction of a southern border wall and was released a year before his election. 
However, current publishers may be less enthusiastic for future books from the president.
Some publishing houses allegedly shrank away from a seven-figure deal for a book by the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., for a book that ended up not getting published in 2018, and a number of publishing houses have voiced concerns about how to market a book by the controversial president himself.
Still, though sources say that a deal for a Trump presidential memoir would fall short of the kinds of deals former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama received, he would still be likely to garner a low seven-figure contract.

Too bad his post-presidential time can't start tomorrow. Then he could sit down with his vindictive little self and try to get even with the world. Who knows? Someone might even buy a copy. After all, you can never have too much toilet paper.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6893969/Obama-vows-support-young-activists-tackling-causes-deeply-believe-in.html

[size=34]Obama fears a 'rigid far-left wing unwilling to compromise' as he warns Democrats are creating a 'circular firing squad' targeting allies[/size]

• Former president was speaking at Obama Foundation town hall event in Berlin
  
  
• Said party infighting usually leads to 'overall effort and movement weaken(ing)'
  
  
• He said risk of 'shooting at allies because one of them is straying from purity'
  
  
• 'You can't set up a system in which you don't compromise on anything', he said
  
  
• 17 candidates are in the running for the party's 2020 presidential nomination 
  
  
• Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Beto O'Rourke among those running 
  
  
• Former vice president Joe Biden may have throw his name into the hat
  
  
• Biden has recently come under fire from both the left and the right after he was accused of being overly tactile with a number of women
  
  

By LAUREN FRUEN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and PRESS ASSOCIATION
PUBLISHED: 11:28 EDT, 6 April 2019 | UPDATED: 18:17 EDT, 6 April 2019

     


Barack Obama has warned the Democrat party is creating a 'circular firing squad' and said he worries the far-left wing is unwilling to compromise.
The former president was speaking at an Obama Foundation town hall event in Berlin, Germany Saturday when he rebuked those who 'start shooting at their allies because one of them has strayed from purity on the issues'. 
Obama said the party infighting usually leads to 'the overall effort and movement weaken(ing)', CNN reports. 
He told the crowd: 'One of the things I do worry about sometimes among progressives in the United States, maybe it's true here as well, is a certain kind of rigidity where we say, "Uh, I'm sorry, this is how it's going to be," and then we start sometimes creating what's called a "circular firing squad", where you start shooting at your allies because one of them is straying from purity on the issues.'

'You have to recognize that the way we've structured democracy requires you to take into account people who don't agree with you, and that by definition means you're not going to get 100 percent of what you want,' Obama added. 


+5


Barack Obama has warned the Democrat party is creating a 'circular firing squad' and said he worries the far-left wing is unwilling to compromise. Obama greets German Green Party member Katharina Schulze during the event 


+5


The former president was speaking at an Obama Foundation town hall event in Berlin, Germany Saturday when he rebuked those who 'start shooting at their allies because one of them has strayed from purity on the issues'
A total of 17 candidates are already in the running for the party's 2020 presidential nomination with more to come. 
Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Beto O'Rourke have all already said they are want to stand. 
Former vice president Joe Biden may have throw his name into the hat. 
Biden has recently come under fire from both the left and the right after he was accused of being overly tactile with a number of women.


Obama said: 'You can't set up a system in which you don't compromise on anything, but you also can't operate in a system where you compromise on everything.'
Obama also vowed support for young leaders in Europe and elsewhere who are trying to tackle problems such as climate change and inequality.
He told the town hall meeting that mentoring activists through his foundation may help encourage 'millions of people who are working on the values and causes that we so deeply believe in'. 

Obama speaks to emotional non-binary young person in …

+5


Former vice president Joe Biden may have throw his name into the hat. Biden has recently come under fire from both the left and the right after he was accused of being overly tactile with a number of women


+5




+5



Kamala Harris, left, and Elizabeth Warren, right, have already said they are running for president in 2020
Obama said despite Europe's wealth, social achievements and decades of peace, 'we also know that powerful forces are working to reverse many of these trends'.
He offered activists advice on a range of topics, from capitalism to mindfulness.
He also suggested that fostering reasoned debate online should be a key task to keep politics from going in a negative direction.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/06/identifying-separated-migrant-families-may-take-two-years-us-government-says

The Trump administration must be very proud

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6896889/Trump-administration-blocks-Democratic-congresswomen-prison-like-child-migrant-center.html

[size=34]Trump administration blocks Democratic congresswomen from inspecting 'prison-like' child migrant center in Florida[/size]

• Three Democratic congresswomen from South Florida were denied access to a child migrant shelter in Homestead 
  
  
• House Reps Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Donna Shalala, and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell accuse Trump administration of violating law 
  
  
• They said members of Congress must be allowed access to facility housing unaccompanied migrant children
  
  
• In February, the three lawmakers were part of a five-member delegation which toured the facility, calling it 'prison-like'
  
  
• Last week, the government announced it was expanding the shelter to accommodate the influx of migrants crossing the border from Mexico
  
  
• President Trump announced on Sunday that Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen would no longer be in her position 
  
  

By ARIEL ZILBER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and ASSOCIATED PRESS and REUTERS
PUBLISHED: 19:10 EDT, 7 April 2019 | UPDATED: 20:50 EDT, 7 April 2019

     


The Trump administration is denying three Democratic congresswomen access to a shelter for migrant kids in South Florida.
House Reps Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Donna Shalala, and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell were not permitted to enter the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children in Homestead, the Miami Herald reported on Sunday.
The denials of access were confirmed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The three members of Congress said they plan to attempt to tour the facility on Monday.


+8


House Reps Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Donna Shalala, and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell were not permitted to enter the Homestead child migrant shelter in Florida. Shalala (left) and Mucarsel-Powell (center) are seen with Rep Sylvia Garcia (far right) after touring the facility in February


+8


Schultz is seen far right with then-Senator Bill Nelson (center) and House Rep Kionne L. McGhee walking toward the Homestead facility in June 2018


+8


The denials of access were confirmed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The three members of Congress said they plan to attempt to tour the facility on Monday. Migrant children are seen above at the facility in February
They said that the Trump administration is violating the law by denying legislators access to the shelter.

‘We have had significant interest for facility visits,’ HHS told the Herald.


‘To ensure a facility visit does not interfere with the safety and well-being of our [children], we require a minimum two-week notification at the convenience and availability of the facility.
‘This has been policy since 2015.’
Schultz, Shalala, and Mucarsel-Powell blasted the administration for denying them access, calling the action ‘illegal.’
The lawmakers cited Section 234 of bill 115-245, also known as the 2019 Department of Health and Human Services Appropriations Act.






+8


Guards are seen at the Homestead shelter for migrant children in Homestead in June 2018. The Obama administration opened Homestead as a temporary shelter for up to 800 migrant teens for 10 months in 2016 
The law was amended this year and included language which states that members of Congress can’t be prevented from ‘entering, for the purpose of conducting oversight, any U.S. facility used for maintaining custody of or otherwise housing unaccompanied alien children.’
HHS would not comment on the congresswomen’s allegation that it was in violation of the law.
The three Democratic lawmakers released a joint statement which read: ‘During our last visit to Homestead, we witnessed children living in cramped, prison-like conditions.
‘The idea to force even more children into an already full detention facility is not only unsafe, but is cruel and violates basic tenets of human decency.’
In February, Mucarsel-Powell, Shalala, and Schultz were part of a five-member Congressional delegation which toured the facility.
Mucarsel-Powell says she met a girl who was separated from her aunt and had been at the center for nine months.
Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, the chairman of the Hispanic caucus, was part of the delegation.
‘What we saw today as we visited the facility was very troubling. It had a prison-like feeling,’ said Mucarsel-Powell, whose district includes Homestead, a Miami suburb.
Federal requirements implemented last year mandated more stringent background checks on their families, which slowed the children's release to family members.
The average length of stay at Homestead went up from 25 days last June to 67 days last December.


+8


A demonstrator holding a sign confronts pro-Trump supporters during the 'Keep Families Together' march outside of the Homestead temporary shelter for unaccompanied migrant children in Homestead on June 23, 2018
Last week, federal officials announced they were once again expanding the Homestead detention camp as the number of immigrants crossing into the U.S. rises.
Schulz said in a Tuesday statement that the Trump administration notified members of Congress that its capacity was growing from 2,350 to 3,200.
A Monday email from an adviser of the Department of Health and Human Services said the expansion was due to a surge of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Children who arrive without parents or legal guardians are placed in custody of the agency.
The government had announced in December that the facility in Homestead, Florida, was increasing the number of beds from 1,200 to 2,350.
About 2,000 teenagers were being detained there as of last week.
The Obama administration opened Homestead as a temporary shelter for up to 800 migrant teens for 10 months in 2016.
Comprehensive Health Services is the company that has been running the facility since then.
But it was bought by a Washington private equity company called DC Capital Partners last March before the Trump administration announced a policy that led to more than 2,700 children being separated from their families and placed in shelters.
John Kelly, who stepped down as President Donald Trump's chief of staff in January, sat on the board of DC Capital Partners right before joining the White House, first as Homeland Security secretary.
He also was a member of boards of other companies that are part of the private equity firm's portfolio.
The private equity company formed Caliburn in August by grouping Comprehensive Health Services and three other companies.
Last month, Caliburn abandoned its plans to go public as controversy grows around policies that lock up children crossing the Mexico border.

[size=18]T[/size]




+8


Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen met with President Donald Trump Sunday evening and submitted her resignation


+8


Nielsen was with President Trump when he visited the border on Friday


+8


U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan  will be acting Department of Homeland Security secretary 
The chairman of Caliburn, Thomas J. Campbell, sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission saying it no longer wishes to conduct a public offering.
The Virginia-based company said in a press release the reason was ‘variability in the equity markets,’ adding that business continues to grow.
Previous filings cited risks of ‘negative publicity’ as something that could affect share price.
In securities filings, Caliburn reported total revenue of $785 million in 2017.
That does not include two large contracts totaling more than $250 million that the federal government has awarded Comprehensive Health Services since 2018.
In a sign of dissatisfaction over the situation at the border, the Trump administration announced that Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen will no longer be in her position.
President Trump made in the announcement in a tweet, as the administration pursues an overhaul of the department responsible for immigration policy.
Her departure was first reported by CBS News, which said it was unclear whether Nielsen’s departure would be voluntary.
In another tweet, Trump said Kevin McAleenan, the current U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner, would become acting DHS secretary.
Nielsen, 46, has held the position since December 2017.
As it includes immigration and customs enforcement, her department is responsible for carrying out some of Trump’s most contentious policies as he has sought to cut back on the number of Mexicans and Central Americans entering the United States without proper documentation.
Repeatedly subjected to tough questioning by Democrats in Congress, Nielsen has overseen Trump plans such as his effort to build a wall on the border with Mexico and the separation of migrant children from their families.
Trump insists that the arrival of immigrants across the southern U.S. border constitutes a national emergency.
He recently threatened to close the border, or parts of it, if Congress did not change U.S. laws to fix what he called immigration ‘loopholes.’

Here's another concern which won't get so much attention

Grab the headlines on something else- and hope this goes unnoticied?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/08/trump-administration-sabotages-major-conservation-effort-defying-congress

land
Conservation

Trump administration sabotages major conservation effort, defying Congress
Revealed: federal support to research centers cut off as scientists fear years of successful work will go ‘down the drain’

Supported by
[size=9]About this content
Mallory Pickett
 @MalloryLPickett
Mon 8 Apr 2019 06.00 EDTLast modified on Mon 8 Apr 2019 06.02 EDT
[/size]

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 Work by one Landscape Conservation Cooperative helped the i’iwi, an endemic Hawaiian honeycreeper, listed as ‘threatened’ under the federal Endangered Species Act. Photograph: Jack Jeffrey/AP
Scientists and officials around the US have told the Guardian that the Trump administration has withdrawn funding for a large, successful conservation program – in direct contradiction of instructions from Congress.
Unique in scale and ambition, the program comprises 22 research centers that tackle big-picture issues affecting huge swaths of the US, such as climate change, flooding and species extinction. They are known as Landscape Conservation Cooperatives – or were, because 16 of them are now on indefinite hiatus or have dissolved.
“I just haven’t seen anything like this in my almost 30 years of working with the federal government,” said a scientist at the Fish and Wildlife Service who worked for one of the LCCs and wished to remain anonymous, because federal employees were instructed not to speak with the Guardian for this story. “There is this lack of accountability.”
Sign up for the US morning briefing
“Congress approved $12.5m for the existing 22 landscape conservation cooperatives,” said Betty McCollum, chair of the House interior-environment appropriations subcommittee, at a recent hearing with an interior department official. “[But] we are hearing disturbing reports from outside groups and concerned citizens that the LCC program is being altered and may not receive any federal funding.”
McCollum requested a full accounting of the situation so her committee could investigate.

[size=16]Red wolf: the struggle to save one of the rarest animals on Earth

 
Read more


The LCCs were established under the Obama administration in 2010 and staffed by the Fish and Wildlife Service, and appeared to be achieving their goals. In Hawaii, a center found that many native Hawaiian forest birds would not have any suitable habitat remaining by the end of the century, which helped get one of the birds listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act. In flood-prone areas of the Gulf coast, work by an LCC has resulted in more residents getting access to flood-insurance discounts. Another created the “California Climate Commons”, a website that aggregates studies, data visualizations and maps on how climate change will affect the state.
“No other federal program is designed to address landscape conservation needs at a national scale” in this way, according to a 2016 review by the National Academy of Sciences.



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 Flood water inundates a town along Florida’s Gulf coast during a tropical storm. Work by LCCs helped more residents access flood-insurance discounts. Photograph: Brian Blanco/Getty Images

Donald Trump made it clear from the beginning that the LCCs – and science funding in general – were not a priority for his administration. His first budget proposal as president eliminated funds for the LCCs, and for other applied research programs run through the interior department. Ensuing budget requests followed the same pattern.
But Congress decides the federal budget, and it can disregard a president’s proposals. It has consistently rejected these cuts. In 2017, a consortium of NGOs, state fish and wildlife agencies, and tribal groups came together to convince Congress that LCCs were crucial. The Congress for American Indians passed a resolution in support of the LCC network, stating that “they have played an important role in advancing western science and traditional knowledge with our local communities that are continually struggling to adapt to increasingly unpredictable and dangerous environments due to climate change.”
These petitions were successful and since then Congress has continued to fund LCCs at the same level – about $12m.
Even so, in 2017 LCCs across the country began to receive the news that they would no longer receive federal support.

Interior department sued for ‘secretive process’ in at-risk species assessment

 
Read more


“With this administration, very few things come out on email or on paper. There’s very little paper trail. It’s just, this is the way it’s going to be,” said another Fish and Wildlife Service scientist who worked for one of the LCCs.
The scientist said that federal support for the LCC program appeared to dry up after the start of an unprecedented political review of scientific research at the interior department, of which the Fish and Wildlife Service is a part. It was led by Steve Howke, a high school friend of the former interior secretary Ryan Zinke. When this review began, said the Fish and Wildlife Service scientist, “it was known that nothing associated with LCCs, would be funded” and they “basically had to kind of wind everything down”.
There was also resistance to the centers within the interior department, several scientists associated with the LCCs said, because some officials did not like the loss of control that came with their collaborative approach.
“For most of us in the program, it was pretty disappointing. We put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into getting to where we were,” says Greg Wathen, the former coordinator for the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozark LCC. “I always felt like we were right on the cusp of making some real good progress.”



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 Donald Trump has made it clear that science funding is not a priority for his administration. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Gary Tabor, a member of the LCC Network Council, a group that provided leadership for all 22 centers, said the LCCs had created a framework for the nation to address existential challenges, like natural disasters.

The latest major Trump resignations and firings

 
Read more


“That kind of architecture is now lost, and takes time to build up and it takes training the people and positioning the resources,” he said. “We’ve lost time, we’ve lost money, and we’ve lost momentum.”
According to information compiled by the FWS and shared confidentially with the Guardian, six LCCs are on hiatus, and 10 have officially dissolved. Another six continue to operate thanks to support from other sources. The California LCC is now hosted and funded by the state, for instance, and the Aleutian and Bering Sea Islands LCC in Alaska is now run by the Alaska Conservation Foundation.
A Fish and Wildlife Service representative conceded that it “no longer provides dedicated staff, administrative functions and funding for the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs)”.
The first anonymous scientist is in despair. “I’d say there could be five to six years [of work] down the drain.”

Since you’re here…

… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading and supporting our independent, investigative reporting than ever before. And unlike many news organisations, we have chosen an approach that allows us to keep our journalism accessible to all, regardless of where they live or what they can afford.
The Guardian is editorially independent, meaning we set our own agenda. Our journalism is free from commercial bias and not influenced by billionaire owners, politicians or shareholders. No one edits our editor. No one steers our opinion. This is important as it enables us to give a voice to those less heard, challenge the powerful and hold them to account. It’s what makes us different to so many others in the media, at a time when factual, honest reporting is critical.[/size]

Hopefully, congress can make him put the money where it belongs.

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1115353647238537218

What Trump said on the border......................


..and here's a little list

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1115325943952957440

Grim stories PAN. The Dems better win in 2020. There is a mess to clean up that will be left behind by Trump.

With Trump firing Nielsen and withdrawing his original nominee to head up ICE with a ‘tougher’ pick I think he and Stephen Miller are planning some nasty and cruel immigration action in the months ahead. This Administration is sick and cruel. Any true American should be ashamed of our country right now.

It's starting to look like The Night of the Long Knives tonight - and I have wondered if Miller's the President really, Donnamarie. The whole immigration thing has been his thing from the word go hasn't it?

And he shouts - I remember Jake Tapper having to tell him to calm down. Maybe his mother didn't...........

Our country is in serious trouble. It will take generations to undo the damage - political, psychological and physical - that this administration has done and is doing.

Obama was right. The Democrats are in a circular firing squad (as usual). The candidates are so eager to get the nomination that they're willing to destroy each other to pick up a few votes. Remember, it was a Dem who started the bad press for Biden because she wants a woman candidate. If that's how they're going forward they'll re-elect drumpf.

I wouldn't vote any of the women candidates at this point. Why is there so much interest in reparations ? 

That will never happen in America.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6903081/House-committee-set-grill-attorney-general-Bill-Barr-Mueller-report.html

[size=34]Bill Barr tells Congress he will make public the REDACTED Mueller report 'within a week' and tells Democrats he will NOT hand over the full findings and special counsel's evidence[/size]

• Attorney General William Barr faced members of Congress for the first time on Tuesday since taking office 
  
  
• Lawmakers asked Barr about plans to release the Mueller report 
  
  
• He said he would make public a redacted version next week
  
  
• After this 'first pass' he would consult with Judiciary chairmen
  
  
• Redactions will be color-coded based on four categories
  
  
• He wouldn't say if the White House had seen the report  
  
  
• Barr's four-page summary of the report last month set Democrats fuming
  
  
• Barr's summary said that Mueller found no evidence Trump or his campaign conspired with the Russian government during the campaign
  
  
• The attorney general also determined that there was not enough evidence to charge Trump with obstruction of justice
  
  
• Democrats are demanding that the full Mueller report be released
  
  

By GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: 09:47 EDT, 9 April 2019 | UPDATED: 11:27 EDT, 9 April 2019

     




Attorney General Bill Barr told lawmakers Tuesday he will make public a redacted version of the Mueller report within a week. 
Barr said he was sticking to a proposed timeline, an indication that he has made progress in vetting information for redactions from what he will allow to be released.  
'From my standpoint, within a week, I will be in a position to release the report to the public and then I will engage with the chairmen of both Judiciary Committees about that report,' Barr testified Tuesday.
But lawmakers at a House subcommittee hearing grilled him about the redactions he would make to the report, and tried to pin him down on what material he would withhold – as well as whether he would ever reveal why it got excised. 

'We will color-code the excisions from the report and we will provide explanatory notes describing the basis for each redaction,' Barr said, who said Mueller's team was participating in the redactions. 
He said there were four categories of redactions: information presented to grad juries; passages which would reveal intelligence sources and methods; details of ongoing prosecution cases; and information about 'incidental parties' which could harm their 'privacy and reputational interests.'
And Barr also flatly told Democrats that he will not hand over the entire report and its underlying evidence, setting up a major battle with Congress over Mueller. 
His appearance in front of one of the House Appropriations Committee subcommittees was the first time he has answered questions on Mueller - but he repeatedly refused to offer any insight into its contents.


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Attorney General William Barr testified he should be in a position to release the redacted Mueller report 'within a week'
Barr would not also directly answer a question about whether the White House had seen the Mueller report, was briefed in advance of Barr's letter, or had been briefed on its contents. 
'I've said what I'm going to say about the report today,' said Barr. 'I've issued three letters about it. And I was willing to discuss the historic information of how the report came to me and my decision on Sunday,' Barr said.
'But I've already laid out the process that is going forward to release these reports hopefully within a week, and I'm not going to say anything more about it until the report is out and everyone has a chance to look at it,' he continued.
He also wouldn't directly respond to a question about whether President Trump was accurate when he said the report was a 'complete and total exoneration' of him. 
Appropriations Committee Chair Nita Lowey of New York pointed to a passage in his letter stating that Mueller and his team included information on both sides of whether the president could potentially be charged with obstruction of justice. 
'I'm not going to discuss it any further until after the report is out,' Barr responded. 
Barr described a process for putting out  the report that could occur in two phases. Next week, he plans to release to the public a report with the redactions he has discussed. He told Lowey he would not put out the unredacted version.


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HAVE A SEAT: Barr fielded questions about redactions, and whether the White House had seen the report. He wouldn't answer that question directly


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Democrats accuse Barr of watering down Mueller's conclusions in his four-page letter


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'No, the first pass at this is going to produce a report that makes these redactions based on these four categories' described in a letter to Congress. Then, he said, he would consult with the chairmen of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees to see 'whether they need more information and see if there's a way we could accommodate that.'
Barr told lawmakers he was operating under regulations that govern the circumstances for transmitting a special counsel report to Congress.
'I am relying on my own discretion to make as much public as I can,' he told them. 
'I do think it's important that the public have an opportunity to learn the results of the special counsel's work,' said Barr. 


Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.) asked Barr about a line he included in his letter about the report, that it 'does not exonerate' the president of obstruction.
His response was terse. 'I think that’s the language from the report,' Barr said.
'That’s a statement made by the special counsel. I report it as one of his bottom-line conclusions. So I’m not in a position to discuss that further until the report is all out. And then what is meant by exonerate is not really a question that I can answer – what he meant by that,' Barr continued.
Crist asked him: 'As you sit here today you can’t opine after having read the report yourself, why it reaches that conclusion that it does not exonerate the president?'
'That’s right,' said Barr. 
The exchange was one of several during Tuesday's hearing that included long periods of silence, as lawmakers expected Barr to say more. 
House Democrats got their first chance at the hearing to grill Barr point-blank about why he cranked out a four-page summary of the Mueller report just 48 hours after he got it – and whether he softened its conclusions. 
Rep. Jose Serrano, a House subcommittee chairman, raised the issue of the 'elephant in the room' at the start of a high-stakes hearing.
He said lawmakers had 'serious concerns about the process by which you formulated your letter and uncertainty about when we can expect to see the full report.'


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Barr was asked about President Trump's claim that the report was a complete and total exoneration of him
'I believe the American people deserve to see the full report,' said Serrano. Serrano noted that Congress voted unanimously to see the full Mueller report.
'We're not here today to be in a confrontational situation with you,' said Serrano. 'What cannot happen is that somebody higher than you tells you that you don't have to answer our questions or you don't have to deal with us at all. That's not who we are as a country,' he said  
Full Committee chair Rep. Nita Lowey blasted Barr's letter early in the hearing. 
'We have no idea how long [the report] actually is' she fumed. 'All we have is your four page summary which seems to cherry pick from the report, to draw the most favorable conclusion possible for the president.'
She said of the letter Barr turned around in just 48 hours: 'Even for someone who has done this job before, I would argue it's more suspicious than impressive.' 
Barr, who faces lawmakers for the first time since taking office – also is set to get peppered with questions about the recusal process he is overseeing to determine what parts of the 400-page Mueller report he may withhold from lawmakers and from the public.
Barr has set up four categories of information he intends to vet to see whether it should be held back – prompting Democrats to demand he release the entire, un-redacted report that Special Counsel Robert Mueller assembled over two years with a budget of tens of millions.  


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In his first appearance on Capitol Hill since taking office, Attorney General William Barr arrives to appear before a House Appropriations subcommittee to make his Justice Department budget request
In addition to screening for grand jury material that by law is not to be made public, Barr wrote Congress that he would vet the Mueller report for information that would impact 'reputational interests.' 
Barr isn't coming to Congress to talk about the report, but lawmakers are expected to ask about it anyway as they anxiously wait to see it in the coming days. 
The topic of the House appropriations subcommittee hearing is the Justice Department's budget, and Barr's prepared remarks sent to the committee on Monday focused on funding requests for immigration enforcement and to combat violent crime and opioid addiction, not mentioning Mueller's report at all.
He appeared before the House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee 
Mueller sent his final report to Barr on March 22, ending his almost two-year investigation into potential ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. 
Barr released a four-page letter summarizing the report two days later and said he would release a redacted version of the full report by mid-April, 'if not sooner.'
The new attorney general's budget testimony - traditionally a dry affair, and often addressing the parochial concerns of lawmakers - comes as Democrats are enraged that Barr is redacting material from the report and frustrated that his summary framed a narrative about President Trump before they were able to see the full version. 
The Democrats are demanding that they see the full report and all its underlying evidence as Trump and his Republican allies are pushing back.
In excerpts from her opening statement released Monday night, House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., said that Barr's summary letter 'raises more questions than it answers.'
The chairman of the subcommittee, Democratic Rep. Jose Serrano of New York, also said there were unanswered questions, including 'serious concerns about the process by which you formulated your letter; and uncertainty about when we can expect to see the full report.'
Barr said in the summary released last month that Mueller didn't find a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and the Kremlin. 


He has also said that Mueller did not reach a conclusion on whether the president obstructed justice, instead presenting evidence on both sides of the question. 
Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein decided that the evidence was insufficient to establish obstruction.
Facing the intensifying concerns from Democrats that he may have whitewashed Mueller's findings, Barr has twice moved to defend, or at least explain, his handling of the process since receiving the special counsel's report. 
He has said that he did not intend for his four-page summary of Mueller's main conclusions to be an 'exhaustive recounting' of his work and that he could not immediately release the entire report because it included grand jury material and other sensitive information that needed to first be redacted.



Trump tweeted: 'The Democrats will never be satisfied, no matter what they get, how much they get, or how many pages they get. It will never end, but that's the way life goes!'


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The president attacked Mueller and his 'team of 13 Trump haters and angry Democrats' for 'illegally leaking information to the press'
He will likely be asked to further explain himself at the hearing Tuesday and at a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing Wednesday that is also on the budget.
Barr is scheduled to testify on the report itself at separate hearings before the Senate and House judiciary committees on May 1 and May 2. 
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat and chairman of the House judiciary panel, confirmed the May 2 date on Twitter and said he would like Mueller to testify.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has said he would be satisfied hearing only from Barr and not Mueller.
While Trump took a victory lap after Mueller concluded his Russia investigation, it now appears to have been premature.
The scramble to frame the investigation's findings in the best political light is sure to be renewed in coming days when Mueller's report is expected to be released in redacted form. 
Now that the American public will get a look at details beyond the four-page investigation summary written by William Barr, some Trump allies are concerned that the president was too quick to declare complete triumph and they're pushing the White House to launch a pre-emptive attack.
Trump seems to be of the same mind.
'The Democrats will never be satisfied, no matter what they get, how much they get, or how many pages they get,' Trump tweeted Monday, two days after he blasted 'Bob Mueller's team of 13 Trump Haters & Angry Democrats.'

[size=34]READ IN FULL: Attorney General Barr's letter to Congress summarizing the Mueller investigation findings[/size]

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With the goal to discredit what's coming, Trump and his allies have unleashed a series of broadsides against Mueller's team and the Democrats pushing for full release of the final report. 
No longer is the president agreeing that Mueller acted honorably, as he did the day after the special counsel's conclusions were released. 
Instead, he's joining his allies in trying to undermine the integrity of the investigators and the credibility of their probe.
'You're darn right I'm going after them again,' Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump's attorneys, told The Associated Press. 
'I never thought they did their job in a professional manner. ... Only because there is overwhelming evidence that the president didn't do anything wrong, they were forced to admit they couldn't find anything on him. They sure tried.'
While the president unleashed his personal grievances, his team seized on any exculpatory information in Barr's letter, hoping to swiftly define the conversation, according to six White House officials and outside advisers who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss private deliberations.
Those officials and advisers acknowledged that the victory lap was deliberately premature.
Trump's inner circle knows there will likely be further releases of embarrassing or politically damaging information. 

[size=18]Trump says 'nothing to hide' over release of Mueller report




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[size=34]MUELLER REPORT: Timeline of events in Mueller's investigation[/size]

Here is a timeline of significant developments in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and whether President Donald Trump's campaign conspired with Moscow.
2017
May 17 - U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appoints former FBI Director Mueller as a special counsel to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election and to look into any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and people associated with Republican Trump's campaign.
The appointment follows President Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey on May 9 and days later Trump attributed the dismissal to 'this Russia thing.'
June 15 - Mueller is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice, the Washington Post reports.
October 30 - Veteran Republican political operative and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who worked for the campaign for five pivotal months in 2016, is indicted on charges of conspiracy against the United States and money laundering as is his business partner Rick Gates, who also worked for Trump's campaign.
- Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleads guilty to a charge of lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials.
December 1 - Michael Flynn, Trump's national security adviser for less than a month who also had a prominent campaign role, pleads guilty to the charge of lying to the FBI about his discussions in 2016 with the Russian ambassador to Washington.
2018
February 16 - Federal grand jury indicts 13 Russians and three firms, including a Russian government propaganda arm called the Internet Research Agency, accusing them of tampering to support Trump and disparage Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The accused 'had a strategic goal to sow discord in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 U.S. presidential election' according to the court document filed by Mueller.
- An American, Richard Pinedo, pleads guilty to identity fraud for selling bank account numbers after being accused by prosecutors of helping Russians launder money, buy Facebook ads and pay for campaign rally supplies. Pinedo was not associated with the Trump campaign.
February 22 - Manafort and Gates are charged with financial crimes, including bank fraud, in Virginia.
February 23 - Gates pleads guilty to conspiracy against the United States and lying to investigators. He agrees to cooperate and testify against Manafort at trial.
April 3 - Alex van der Zwaan, the Dutch son-in-law of one of Russia's richest men, is sentenced to 30 days in prison and fined $20,000 for lying to Mueller's investigators, becoming the first person sentenced in the probe.
April 9 - FBI agents raid home, hotel room and office of Trump's personal lawyer and self-described 'fixer' Michael Cohen.
April 12 - Rosenstein tells Trump that he is not a target in Mueller's probe.
April 19 - Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump supporter in the election campaign, joins Trump's personal legal team.
June 8 - Mueller charges a Russian-Ukrainian man, Konstantin Kilimnik, a Manafort business partner whom prosecutors say had ties to Russian intelligence, with witness tampering.
July 13 - Federal grand jury indicts 12 Russian military intelligence officers on charges of hacking Democratic Party computer networks in 2016 and staged releases of documents. Russia, which denies interfering in the election, says there is no evidence that the 12 are linked to spying or hacking.
July 16 - In Helsinki after the first summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump publicly contradicts U.S. intelligence agencies that concluded Moscow had interfered in the 2016 election with a campaign of hacking and propaganda. Trump touts Putin's 'extremely strong and powerful' denial of meddling. He calls the Mueller inquiry a 'rigged witch hunt' on Twitter.
August 21 - A trial jury in Virginia finds Manafort guilty of five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failure to disclose a foreign bank account.
- Cohen, in a case brought by U.S. prosecutors in New York, pleads guilty to tax fraud and campaign finance law violations. Cohen is subsequently interviewed by Mueller's team.
August 31 - Samuel Patten, an American business partner of Kilimnik, pleads guilty to unregistered lobbying for pro-Kremlin political party in Ukraine.
September 14 - Manafort pleads guilty to two conspiracy counts and signs a cooperation agreement with Mueller's prosecutors.
November 8 - U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns at Trump's request. He had recused himself from overseeing the Mueller inquiry because of his contacts with the Russian ambassador as a Trump campaign official. Trump appoints Sessions' chief of staff Matthew Whitaker, a critic of the Mueller probe, as acting attorney general.
November 20 - Giuliani says Trump submitted written answers to questions from Mueller, as the president avoids a face-to-face interview with the special counsel.
November 27-28 - Prosecutors say Manafort breached his plea deal by lying to investigators, which Manafort denies. Trump says he has not ruled out granting Manafort a presidential pardon.
November 28 - Giuliani says Trump told investigators he was not aware ahead of time of a meeting in Trump Tower in New York between several campaign officials and Russians in June 2016.
November 29 - Cohen pleads guilty in the Mueller investigation to lying to Congress about the length of discussions in 2016 on plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. 'I made these misstatements to be consistent with individual 1's political messaging and out of loyalty to individual 1,' says Cohen, who previously identified 'individual 1' as Trump.
- The president criticizes Cohen as a liar and 'weak person.'
December 12 - Two developments highlight growing political and legal risks for Trump: Cohen sentenced to three years in prison for crimes including orchestrating hush payments to women in violation of campaign laws before the election; American Media Inc, publisher of National Enquirer tabloid, strikes deal to avoid charges over its role in one of two hush payments. Publisher admits payment was aimed at influencing the 2016 election, contradicting Trump's statements.
2019
January 25 - Longtime Trump associate and self-proclaimed political 'dirty trickster' Roger Stone charged and arrested at his home in Florida. Stone is accused of lying to Congress about statements suggesting he may have had advance knowledge of plans by Wikileaks to release Democratic Party campaign emails that U.S. officials say were stolen by Russia.
February 21 - U.S. judge tightens gag order on Stone, whose Instagram account posted a photo of the judge and the image of crosshairs next to it.
February 22 - Manhattan district attorney's office is pursuing New York state criminal charges against Manafort whether or not he receives a pardon from Trump on federal crimes, a person familiar with the matter says. Trump cannot issue pardons for state convictions.
February 24 - Senior Democratic U.S. Representative Adam Schiff says Democrats will subpoena Mueller's final report on his investigation if it is not given to Congress by the Justice Department, and will sue the Trump administration and call on Mueller to testify to Congress if necessary.
February 27 - Cohen tells U.S. House Oversight Committee Trump is a 'racist,' a 'con man' and a 'cheat' who knew in advance about a release of emails by WikiLeaks in 2016 aimed at hurting rival Clinton. Trump directed negotiations for a real estate project in Moscow during the campaign even as he publicly said he had no business interests in Russia, Cohen testifies.
March 7 - Manafort is sentenced in the Virginia case to almost four years in prison. The judge also ordered Manafort to pay a fine of $50,000 and restitution of just over $24 million.
March 13 - Manafort is sentenced to about 3-1/2 more years in prison in the Washington case, bringing his total prison sentence in the two special counsel cases to 7-1/2 years.
- On the same day, the Manhattan district attorney announces a separate indictment charging Manafort with residential mortgage fraud and other New York state crimes, which unlike the federal charges cannot be erased by a presidential pardon.
March 22 - Mueller submits his confidential report on the findings of his investigation to U.S. Attorney General William Barr.
March 24 - Barr releases a summary of Mueller's report, saying the investigation did not find evidence that Trump or his associates broke the law during the campaign. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders says the summary is a complete exoneration of Trump. 




Barr's letter, for instance, hinted that there would be at least one unknown action by the president that Mueller examined as a possible act of obstruction. 
A number of White House aides have privately said they are eager for Russia stories, good or bad, to fade from the headlines. 
And there is fear among some presidential confidants that the rush to spike the football could backfire if bombshell new information emerged.
'I think they did what they had to do. Regardless of what Barr reported, they needed to claim vindication,' said Republican strategist Alex Conant, who worked on Sen. Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential campaign. 
'First impressions are important. And the first impression of the Mueller report was very good for Trump.'