Tag: United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

The committee has also authorized subpoenas for five former White House officials who were mentioned in the Mueller report – including former White House counsel Don McGahn – that could shed light on allegations of obstruction of justice. Schiff called the facts in the report “damning,” adding, "whether they could or should have resulted in the indictment of the President or the people around him, they are damning. Watch more: GOP Senate Intel chair appeared to brief White House counsel on FBI investigation in 2017, report says Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr appeared to brief the White House counsel’s office about the targets of the FBI’s Russia investigation in March 2017, the special counsel’s report says. In a footnote, the report states that the White House counsel’s office was briefed by Burr on the "existence of 4-5 targets," citing notes from former deputy White House Counsel Annie Donaldson. The chairman’s stewardship over the committee’s bipartisan and fact-based investigation over the last two years speaks for itself.” Trump ignored reporters' questions as he left the White House President Trump and first lady Melania Trump just left the White House. None of the attendees who spoke to special counsel Robert Mueller — Sessions and at least two of his Senate aides — told Mueller that Russian meddling came up during the meeting. Sessions rebuffed efforts to stop recusal At the direction of President Trump, White House counsel Don McGahn and other aides made extensive and repeated attempts to prevent then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions from recusing himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, according to special counsel Robert Mueller's report. In his remarks prior to releasing the redacted report from special counsel Robert Mueller, Attorney General William Barr said that President Trump's lawyers were given the chance to read a final version of the redacted report before it was publicly released. The Ethics in Government act Barr references covers independent counsels (Robert Mueller, instead, was a special counsel). David Kendall, a lawyer for then-President Bill Clinton during Ken Starr's independent counsel investigation, sent a letter to Starr requesting that those named in his report be allowed to see the report before its release.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., on Sunday said there are "enormous amounts of evidence" linking the Trump campaign to Russia — the same day House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said there's "direct evidence" of collusion between the two. The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee disputed on NBC's "Meet the Press" recent remarks by Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C. claiming that the committee hasn't found "factual evidence" of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. Warner, referring to "the litany of what we know," said, "the ongoing negotiations about Trump Tower, well into the campaign, I believe the fact that Mr. Trump knew about the dump of the Wikileaks material, the fact that clearly the meeting at Trump Tower meeting which was not described appropriately, in terms of offering dirt," were all evidence. "There’s no one that could factually say there’s not plenty of evidence of collaboration or communications between Trump Organization and Russians." Warner, however, did note that he'd be withholding full judgment until the Senate Intelligence Committee finishes its investigation into the 2016 presidential campaign. Meantime on Sunday, House Intel Chair Schiff said on CBS' "Face the Nation" that he believes "there is direct evidence in the emails from the Russians through their intermediary offering dirt on Hillary Clinton as part of what is described in writing as the Russian government effort to help elect Donald Trump." “They offer that dirt. There is an acceptance of that offer in writing from the president’s son, Don Jr., and there is overt acts and furtherance of that… That to me is direct evidence," Schiff added. The Senate committee's investigation is separate from that of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is also probing Russian election interference, questions of collusion and possible obstruction of justice by the Trump campaign. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Good Tuesday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today. _____________________ • President Trump, after a call with King Salman of Saudi Arabia, speculated that “rogue killers” might be behind the disappearance of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and said he would send Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to meet with the king. Read the story. • Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts released DNA results showing that she has some Native American ancestry, hitting back at Mr. Trump’s mocking of her claims about her heritage and signaling her intent to run for president in 2020. • Mr. Trump visited Florida on Monday to tour the damage from Hurricane Michael. • The pharmaceutical industry announced that television ads for drugs would direct viewers to websites where they could find information on prescription prices. • The Trump campaign more than doubled its spending over the past three months as the president worked to rev up the Republican base ahead of the midterms. Now, Republicans have taken up her cause. Find out how much money is behind the most competitive House races.

The Senate Judiciary Committee released nearly 2,000 pages of testimony and exhibits related to a 2016 meeting between Trump aides and a Kremlin-connected lawyer. During his testimony before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, who has been under scrutiny for his conduct and spending, admitted to some of the accusations against him while denying he was wholly to blame. Michigan State University reached a $500 million settlement with 332 victims of Larry Nassar, the former Olympic doctor convicted of sexually abusing young female athletes. The Senate Intelligence Committee voted to advance the nomination of Gina Haspel, Trump’s pick to be CIA director. Today on The Atlantic The 9.9 Percent: “The meritocratic class has mastered the old trick of consolidating wealth and passing privilege along at the expense of other people’s children,” writes Matthew Stewart in this month’s cover story. Lingering Mysteries: It’s been a year since Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to lead the investigation into Russia’s election interference. (Natasha Bertrand) The Great Immigration Bargain: Reihan Salam argues that it’s possible for President Trump to implement the restrictionist immigration agenda he wants—he just has to accept that a sweeping amnesty is the only way to make it happen. (Nick Corasaniti, The New York Times) How House Republicans Are Trying to Win the Midterms: They’re bombarding voters who are less likely to support traditional GOP candidates with Trump-specific digital advertising. (David M. Drucker, Washington Examiner) ‘They’ve Had a Whole Year’: The special counsel’s probe isn’t likely to wrap up any time soon, but that’s not stopping Trump’s team from pressuring Robert Mueller to do so. (Darren Samuelsohn, Politico) A Historic Win: On Tuesday, Paulette Jordan won the Democratic nomination in Idaho’s governor’s race, bringing her one step closer to becoming the nation’s first Native American governor.