This might be the most conspiratorial thing I've said in this therad:
I SERIOUSLY am starting to think the Russians killed Seth Rich.
RUSSIA 🇷🇺 / РОССИЯ THREAD—DJT IMPEACHED TWICE-US TREASURY SANCTS KILIMNIK AS RUSSIAN AGENT—UKRAINE Peace?
- Thread starter ☑︎#VoteDemocrat
- Start date
This idiot, he just can't help but fukk up. HOW did he ever get this far......
N.K. is going to pay a heavy price very soon. :BishopEddieLong:
:ALERTRED::ALERTRED::ALERTRED::ALERTRED:
Top Republican Says He’s Writing Bill to Protect Special Counsel Probe
Sen. Lindsey Graham says he will introduce legislation next week that would lessen the power of a president to fire a special counsel
Byron TauUpdated July 27, 2017 1:37 p.m. ET
Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks during a committee hearing Wednesday. Photo: Ron Sachs/Zuma Press
By
Byron Tau
WASHINGTON—A senior Republican senator said Thursday he is crafting legislation to protect the independence of the special counsel investigation into Russian activity during the 2016 election, a response to President Donald Trump’s criticism of the probe, which he has called a “witch hunt.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) told reporters Thursday that he will introduce a bill next week that would curtail the power of the president to fire a special counsel under some circumstances without approval from a federal judge.
The legislation will say that “a special counsel cannot be fired when they were impaneled to investigate the president or his team unless you have judicial review of the firing,” Mr. Graham said. He said the legislation would apply to Mr. Trump and future presidents.
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“We need a check and balance here,” said Mr. Graham, who as a member of the House of Representatives in the 1990s helped manage impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton over perjury and obstruction of justice allegations.
According to a January report from the U.S. intelligence community, Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election was directed at the highest levels of its government. Its tactics included hacking state election systems; infiltrating and leaking information from party committees and political strategists; and disseminating through social media and other outlets negative stories about Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and positive ones about Mr. Trump, the report said.
‘Any effort to go after Mueller could be the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency’
—Sen. Lindsey Graham
The investigation into the meddling, including whether anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign colluded in the effort, is being led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, a former prosecutor and former head of the FBI. Mr. Trump cannot directly remove Mr. Mueller and Justice Department regulations require any firing to be for “misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or for other good cause”—though the president could ask the leadership at the Justice Department to terminate Mr. Mueller.
Mr. Trump has called the probe a “witch hunt” and has suggested that if the special counsel investigation started looking into his finances, that would be a “violation” of its mandate. Mr. Trump has declined to say whether he would try to remove Mr. Mueller.
From the Archives
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is taking over the investigation into potential links between President Trump's campaign and Russian officials. WSJ's Shelby Holliday explains just how broad his authority can go. (Originally published May 19, 2017)
Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) said it would be "explosive" if the White House dismissed special counsel Robert Mueller, in comments at the WSJ CFO Network annual meeting. (Originally published June 13, 2017)
Mr. Trump has expressed his displeasure with Attorney General Jeff Sessions in interviews and on Twitter, criticizing the former Alabama senator’s decision to recuse himself from management of the Russia investigation. Because Mr. Sessions is recused, he cannot make any decisions around the special counsel, including firing him.
In a Wall Street Journal interview this week, Mr. Trump described himself as “very disappointed in Jeff Sessions.” On Twitter, he has repeatedly said that Mr. Sessions should investigate Mrs. Clinton instead.
Mr. Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation in March after questions were raised about his contacts with the Russian ambassador during last year’s election. The investigation was managed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein until Mr. Trump fired FBI director James Comey in May.
A week after the firing of the FBI director, Mr. Rosenstein put Mr. Mueller in charge of the investigation in an effort to insulate it from political pressure. Special counsels operate outside the normal Justice Department chain of command.
Mr. Trump’s public musings about removing his attorney general over his handling of the Russia matter raised alarm on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers from both parties are warning the president not to take any steps to undermine the investigation.
“If Jeff Sessions is fired, there will be holy hell to pay,” said Mr. Graham. “Any effort to go after Mueller could be the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency.”
He said Mr. Trump was proposing “turning democracy upside down” by subverting the independence of the Justice Department.
Other members of Congress also warned Mr. Trump against firing Mr. Sessions and trying to use his power to make a recess appointment when Congress goes home for two weeks in August. The Senate has frequently held “pro forma” sessions in recent years in part to block the White House from making such appointments.
“If you’re thinking of making a recess appointment to push out the attorney general, forget about it,” said Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican.
In 2012, former President Barack Obama made several temporary appointments during brief Senate breaks, in an effort to overcome Republican resistance to his nominees. The Supreme Court later ruled he exceeded his constitutional authority.
Mr. Graham’s legislation would need to be approved by the Republican-controlled Senate and House of Representatives, where many Republicans have been more protective of Mr. Trump than in the Senate.
The president could also veto the legislation, which could be overturned by two-thirds of the House and Senate.
If Mr. Sessions is fired by Mr. Trump or resigns, the Senate could deny Mr. Trump the ability to permanently replace him. The attorney general must be approved by the Senate, and even conservative Republicans warned the president this week that confirming a new attorney general would be difficult.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, tweeted this week that the committee’s schedule for the year was already set and “no way” included room to consider an attorney general nomination.
Write to Byron Tau at byron.tau@wsj.com
Appeared in the July 28, 2017, print edition as 'Curb Sought On Trump in Russia Case.'
@DonKnock @SJUGrad13 @88m3 @Cali_livin @Menelik II @wire28 @smitty22 @Reality @fact @Hood Critic @ExodusNirvana @Blessed Is the Man @THE MACHINE @OneManGang @dtownreppin214 @The Taxman @JKFrazier @tmonster @blotter @BigMoneyGrip @Soymuscle Mike
Top Republican Says He’s Writing Bill to Protect Special Counsel Probe
Sen. Lindsey Graham says he will introduce legislation next week that would lessen the power of a president to fire a special counsel
Byron TauUpdated July 27, 2017 1:37 p.m. ET
Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks during a committee hearing Wednesday. Photo: Ron Sachs/Zuma Press
By
Byron Tau
WASHINGTON—A senior Republican senator said Thursday he is crafting legislation to protect the independence of the special counsel investigation into Russian activity during the 2016 election, a response to President Donald Trump’s criticism of the probe, which he has called a “witch hunt.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) told reporters Thursday that he will introduce a bill next week that would curtail the power of the president to fire a special counsel under some circumstances without approval from a federal judge.
The legislation will say that “a special counsel cannot be fired when they were impaneled to investigate the president or his team unless you have judicial review of the firing,” Mr. Graham said. He said the legislation would apply to Mr. Trump and future presidents.
Newsletter Sign-up
“We need a check and balance here,” said Mr. Graham, who as a member of the House of Representatives in the 1990s helped manage impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton over perjury and obstruction of justice allegations.
According to a January report from the U.S. intelligence community, Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election was directed at the highest levels of its government. Its tactics included hacking state election systems; infiltrating and leaking information from party committees and political strategists; and disseminating through social media and other outlets negative stories about Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and positive ones about Mr. Trump, the report said.
‘Any effort to go after Mueller could be the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency’
—Sen. Lindsey Graham
The investigation into the meddling, including whether anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign colluded in the effort, is being led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, a former prosecutor and former head of the FBI. Mr. Trump cannot directly remove Mr. Mueller and Justice Department regulations require any firing to be for “misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or for other good cause”—though the president could ask the leadership at the Justice Department to terminate Mr. Mueller.
Mr. Trump has called the probe a “witch hunt” and has suggested that if the special counsel investigation started looking into his finances, that would be a “violation” of its mandate. Mr. Trump has declined to say whether he would try to remove Mr. Mueller.
From the Archives
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is taking over the investigation into potential links between President Trump's campaign and Russian officials. WSJ's Shelby Holliday explains just how broad his authority can go. (Originally published May 19, 2017)
Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) said it would be "explosive" if the White House dismissed special counsel Robert Mueller, in comments at the WSJ CFO Network annual meeting. (Originally published June 13, 2017)
Mr. Trump has expressed his displeasure with Attorney General Jeff Sessions in interviews and on Twitter, criticizing the former Alabama senator’s decision to recuse himself from management of the Russia investigation. Because Mr. Sessions is recused, he cannot make any decisions around the special counsel, including firing him.
In a Wall Street Journal interview this week, Mr. Trump described himself as “very disappointed in Jeff Sessions.” On Twitter, he has repeatedly said that Mr. Sessions should investigate Mrs. Clinton instead.
Mr. Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation in March after questions were raised about his contacts with the Russian ambassador during last year’s election. The investigation was managed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein until Mr. Trump fired FBI director James Comey in May.
A week after the firing of the FBI director, Mr. Rosenstein put Mr. Mueller in charge of the investigation in an effort to insulate it from political pressure. Special counsels operate outside the normal Justice Department chain of command.
Mr. Trump’s public musings about removing his attorney general over his handling of the Russia matter raised alarm on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers from both parties are warning the president not to take any steps to undermine the investigation.
“If Jeff Sessions is fired, there will be holy hell to pay,” said Mr. Graham. “Any effort to go after Mueller could be the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency.”
He said Mr. Trump was proposing “turning democracy upside down” by subverting the independence of the Justice Department.
Other members of Congress also warned Mr. Trump against firing Mr. Sessions and trying to use his power to make a recess appointment when Congress goes home for two weeks in August. The Senate has frequently held “pro forma” sessions in recent years in part to block the White House from making such appointments.
“If you’re thinking of making a recess appointment to push out the attorney general, forget about it,” said Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican.
In 2012, former President Barack Obama made several temporary appointments during brief Senate breaks, in an effort to overcome Republican resistance to his nominees. The Supreme Court later ruled he exceeded his constitutional authority.
Mr. Graham’s legislation would need to be approved by the Republican-controlled Senate and House of Representatives, where many Republicans have been more protective of Mr. Trump than in the Senate.
The president could also veto the legislation, which could be overturned by two-thirds of the House and Senate.
If Mr. Sessions is fired by Mr. Trump or resigns, the Senate could deny Mr. Trump the ability to permanently replace him. The attorney general must be approved by the Senate, and even conservative Republicans warned the president this week that confirming a new attorney general would be difficult.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, tweeted this week that the committee’s schedule for the year was already set and “no way” included room to consider an attorney general nomination.
Write to Byron Tau at byron.tau@wsj.com
Appeared in the July 28, 2017, print edition as 'Curb Sought On Trump in Russia Case.'
@DonKnock @SJUGrad13 @88m3 @Cali_livin @Menelik II @wire28 @smitty22 @Reality @fact @Hood Critic @ExodusNirvana @Blessed Is the Man @THE MACHINE @OneManGang @dtownreppin214 @The Taxman @JKFrazier @tmonster @blotter @BigMoneyGrip @Soymuscle Mike
They've been trying to push that for months. It's too late at this point. Not only that, the DOJ's ethics team most likely went through everything before Mueller even got hired.
China’s State Media Slams Trump’s ‘Emotional Venting’ on Twitter
By CHRIS BUCKLEY and AUSTIN RAMZYAUG. 1, 2017
Propaganda at a museum in Sinchon, south of Pyongyang, North Korea, last month. China argues that the North will not return to negotiations unless the United States and its northeast Asian allies take conciliatory steps. Ed Jones/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
BEIJING — After President Trump pilloried China in 48 tweeted words, accusing it of failing to tame its neighbor and longtime ally North Korea, Beijing issued its own rebuke to Mr. Trump — in a cutting editorial of 1,000 Chinese characters from Xinhua, the official news agency.
“Trump is quite a personality, and he likes to tweet,” said the Xinhua response issued late Monday and widely displayed on Chinese news websites. “But emotional venting cannot become a guiding policy for solving the nuclear issue on the peninsula,” it said, referring to the divided Korean Peninsula.
The United States, it added, “must not continue spurning responsibility” for the volatile standoff with North Korea, “and even less should it stab China in the back.”
The unusually personal nature of the editorial, together with comments delivered earlier that day by China’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York, show North Korea is becoming the main dispute threatening to tear at Mr. Trump’s initially friendly relationship with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
“I am very disappointed in China,” Mr. Trump declared on Twitter on Sunday, after North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in defiance of United Nations sanctions.
I am very disappointed in China. Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017
Despite China’s big trade surplus with the United States, he continued in a second tweet, saying, ‘they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk.”
...they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk. We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017
China’s rebuke to Mr. Trump didn’t use exclamation marks. But the Xinhua editorial broke with Beijing’s usual public reticence when Mr. Trump has taken China to task over trade imbalances, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Taiwan and other sources of tension.
“Taking out this outrage on China is clearly finding the wrong target,” it said, warning such broadsides could be dangerous.
“What the peninsula needs is immediately stamping out the fire, not adding kindling or, even worse, pouring oil on the flames,” Xinhua said. The tensions could, it added, “evolve into a localized conflict, or even the outbreak of war, with unthinkable repercussions.”
Chinese diplomats and the state news media have consistently argued that Washington and its allies should not rely so much on China to defuse tensions created by North Korea’s growing nuclear weapons and missile capabilities. On Friday, North Korea tested a ballistic missile that experts have said could have the range to hit California.
The United States secretary of state, Rex W. Tillerson, has turned up pressure on China to help isolate and cajole North Korea. “China and Russia bear unique and special responsibility for this growing threat to regional and global stability,” he said in a statement after the launch.
But the Chinese government argues that North Korea won’t back down and return to negotiations over its weapons programs unless the United States and its northeast Asian allies, South Korea and Japan, take conciliatory steps. In particular, China has proposed that North Korea freeze its nuclear and missile programs in exchange for a halt to major military exercises by American and South Korean forces on the Korean Peninsula and off its coast.
As the tensions with North Korea have escalated, Mr. Trump has often treated Mr. Xi in public as a friend who was valiantly, though unsuccessfully, trying to bring North Korea around. “At least I know China tried!” Mr. Trump said on Twitter in June.
While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 20, 2017
Now that friendly facade appears to be cracking. But Mr. Trump also has a long record of harsh criticisms of China, stretching back to his election campaign and much earlier. “China controls North Korea,” he said in 2013. “They are using the Norks to taunt us,” he said, using slang for North Koreas.
China controls North Korea. So now besides cyber hacking us all day, they are using the Norks to taunt us. China is a major threat.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2013
The Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, Liu Jieyi, said on Monday it was up to the United States and North Korea to find a solution to the current standoff, not China.
“People talk about China a lot,” he said at a news conference to mark the end of China’s July term in the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council. “If the two principal parties refuse to move toward what is required by the Security Council resolutions — de-escalation of tension, negotiations to achieve denuclearization and peace and stability and also resume dialogue — then no matter how capable China is, China’s efforts will not yield practical results because it depends on the two principal parties.”
He said that China had upheld United Nations sanctions against North Korea, while Pyongyang and Washington were heightening tensions by carrying out missile tests and the American side was raising the prospect of new, unilateral sanctions and even the potential for military strikes.
“Instead of de-escalating tension we see of course further testing that we oppose and we also see language and action from elsewhere that heightens tension, talking about ‘all options on the table,’” he said.
Mr. Liu also criticized the United States’ deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense antimissile system in South Korea, which China opposes. He reiterated China’s support for a proposal to freeze North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests in exchange for the United States and South Korea halting large-scale military exercises on the Korean Peninsula.
@DonKnock @SJUGrad13 @88m3 @Cali_livin @Menelik II @wire28 @smitty22 @Reality @fact @Hood Critic @ExodusNirvana @Blessed Is the Man @THE MACHINE @OneManGang @dtownreppin214 @The Taxman @JKFrazier @tmonster @blotter @BigMoneyGrip @Soymuscle Mike
Fake News huh?
Or all the other vile racist shyt she pandered too at faux news. An incredibly disgusting human being....
This is why we don't dismantle the State Department. These dumbasses going to get us wrecked.
I'm just so scared about another black president breaking this country apart because "they" can't handle it