Saturday, June 24, 2017
Mueller's team have donated to Democrats
Three members of the legal team known to have been hired so far by special counsel Robert Mueller to handle the Russia investigation have given political donations almost exclusively to Democrats, according to a CNN analysis of Federal Election Commission records.
More
than half of the more than $56,000 came from just one lawyer and more
than half of it was donated before the 2016 election, but two of the
lawyers gave the maximum $2,700 donation to Hillary Clinton last year.
Over the weekend, news outlets including CNN
identified five attorneys that Mueller has already brought on board to
help investigate potential collusion between associates of President
Donald Trump's campaign and Russia.
The
group includes seasoned attorneys who worked on cases ranging from
Watergate to the Enron fraud scandal and have represented major American
companies in court. While only five attorneys have been publicly
identified as working on the Russia probe, there could be more on
Mueller's team.
Three of the five
lawyers have donations in FEC records. They gave overwhelmingly to
Democrats, totaling more than $53,000 since 1988. More than half of the
donations came from just one of the lawyers, James Quarles, whom Mueller
brought over from his old firm, WilmerHale.
Quarles
has given nearly $33,000 to political campaigns over the years. He gave
money to Democratic presidential candidates Michael Dukakis, Al Gore,
John Kerry, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. In addition, Quarles gave
more than $10,000 to help Democrats get elected to the House and another
$10,000 on the Senate side, including money to Senate Minority Leader
Chuck Schumer.
But Quarles is also
the only lawyer among Mueller's team for which records were available
who ever donated to Republicans. He gave $2,500 to Utah Rep. Jason
Chaffetz in 2015 and gave $250 to then-Sen. George Allen of Virginia in
2005.
Only about 30% of the
donations were for elections in 2016. But Quarles and Jeannie Rhee, who
also left WilmerHale to work on the Russia probe, gave the maximum
contribution of $2,700 to Clinton's campaign last year.
Rhee
was the second-largest donor among Mueller's known team. Rhee has
donated more than $16,000 since 2008, all to Democrats. She maxed out to
the Clinton campaign in 2016 and 2015, totaling $5,400. She also gave a
total of $7,300 to Obama's two presidential campaigns. She has already
received attention for representing the Clinton Foundation in a racketeering lawsuit brought by a conservative advocacy group, and also represented Clinton herself in a lawsuit seeking access to her private emails.
Mueller,
who was appointed to be FBI director by Republican President George W.
Bush, also hired Andrew Weissmann to join his team. Weissmann, who led
the Enron investigation, previously gave $2,300 to Obama's first
presidential campaign in 2008 and $2,000 to the Democratic National
Committee in 2006, the same year Democrats won control of Congress.
FEC records do not show any donations by Weissman in the 2016 election cycle.
There
also are no FEC records for Aaron Zebley, who left WilmerHale to work
on the Russia investigation. Zebley once represented former Hillary
Clinton aide Justin Cooper, who helped manager her private email server.
Deputy
Solicitor General Michael Dreeben has also joined Mueller's team. While
there is a Michael Dreeben in the FEC database, who is identified as a
deputy solicitor with the Justice Department and who gave $1000 to
Hillary Clinton's senate campaign in 2006, a spokesman for Mueller's
team told CNN late Monday that that is not the same person.
Former
House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who endorsed Trump and was on his
vice-presidential shortlist, suggested Monday that Mueller's team can't
be impartial because of their past donations.
"Republicans
are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair,"
Gingrich tweeted, reversing his previous praise for Mueller. "Look who
he is hiring. Check FEC reports. Time to rethink."
Deputy
Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller as special
counsel, told senators on Tuesday that he doesn't see any problems with
the political donations from some members of Mueller's legal team.
Asked
by Sen. Lindsey Graham whether political donations should prevent
attorneys from working on the investigation, Rosenstein replied, "no,
senator, it is not a disqualification. It is not."
Even
with the questions about Mueller's team, former independent counsel
Kenneth Starr, who led investigations into President Bill Clinton in the
1990s, said he has confidence in the team.
"He has his head down, he's doing his job, he's assembled a fantastic team," Starr said Monday to ABC News. "That is a great, great team of complete professionals, so let's let him do his job."
There
aren't any records of political donations from Mueller himself. A
spokesman for Mueller declined to comment Monday afternoon about the
political donations from his legal team and the criticism some of the
team were partisan.
Mueller
received near-universal praise since taking over the investigation on
May 17. But with the investigation ramping up, Trump's legal team is
looking for new ways to go on the offensive. In a TV appearance over the
weekend, one of Trump's lawyers wouldn't rule out the possibility of
firing Mueller.
CORRECTION:
This story has been updated to reflect the Mueller team spokesman
telling CNN that the Dreeben identified in FEC records as a deputy
solicitor with the Justice Department who donated to Clinton in 2006 is
not the same person working for Mueller.
CNN's Evan Perez contributed to this report.
Trump says Comey-Mueller friendship 'bothersome'
Fair investigation by Mueller? |
Comey-Mueller friendship |
President Trump on Friday called the investigation
into allegations of Russia collusion and claims he obstructed justice
“ridiculous” while saying special counsel Robert Mueller’s friendship
with fired FBI Director James Comey “is very bothersome,” during a
wide-ranging interview on “Fox & Friends” that also touched on his stalled legislative agenda and the health care debate.
“Robert Mueller is an honorable man and hopefully he’ll come up with an honorable conclusion,” Trump said, though he noted that Mueller and Comey were “very, very good friends” and also criticized the makeup of Mueller’s growing team of attorneys involved in the investigation.
“I can say that the people that have been hired are all Hillary Clinton supporters, some of them worked for Hillary Clinton,” Trump said. “I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous if you want to know the truth.”
A day earlier, Trump revealed on Twitter that he had not taped conversations between himself and Comey – addressing a question he helped raise in the first place – but on Friday he said his strategy in suggesting possible recordings was all about keeping Comey honest.
NO TAPES: TRUMP SAID HE DIDN'T RECORD COMEY
“When he found out that there may be tapes out there…I think his story may have changed,” Trump said. “I mean you’ll have to take a look at that because then he has to tell what actually happened at the events.”
He added: “[The suggestion] wasn’t very stupid. He did admit that what I said was right and, if you look further back before he heard about that, maybe he wasn’t admitting that.”
Comey had been reluctant to say in public what he later revealed he told Trump three times in private – that the president was not the subject of any FBI investigation. But after Trump’s “tapes” tweet, Comey leaked to The New York Times the contents of highly-detailed memos regarding his one-on-one meetings with Trump, a development that eventually spurred congressional testimony and ultimately led Comey to admit he assured Trump multiple times he wasn’t the subject of a federal probe.
Trump claimed a victory in getting Comey to confess the personal reassurances he’d given him – and also in instigating the testimony during which Comey stunningly revealed he engineered the post-firing leak to The Times.
“There has been no obstruction, there has been no collusion – there has been leaking, by Comey,” Trump said on Friday.
Of course, Comey’s revelations also prompted the eventual appointment of Mueller to oversee the investigation, which reportedly began focusing on if Trump obstructed the Russia investigation by firing Comey on May 9.
GOP SENATORS UNVEIL OBAMACARE OVERHAUL
Turning to the contentious battle to pass a new health care legislation, Trump said the four Republican senators -- Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Ron Johnson -- who on Thursday said they weren't yet ready to vote "yes" for the GOP's Senate bill were "four good guys and four friends of mine." He expressed optimism the quartet would eventually drop their opposition.
"I think we're going to get there, we have four very good people..and we'll see if we can take care of them," Trump said.
The president also stressed how quickly the GOP has been able to send a health care overhaul package to the Senate, even if the process has been messy at times.
"I've done in five months what other people haven't done in years," Trump said.
FOUR KEY REPUBLICANS COME OUT AGAINST GOP HEALTH BILL
And though it appeared the bill would eventually have to pass with little or no Democratic support, Trump expressed hope Democrats would eventually decide to work with Republicans on issues ranging from infrastructure funding to tax reform.
“They are, right now, obstructionists,” Trump said. “All they wanna do is obstruct. I think they’d do much better as a party if they tried to get along with us."
He added: “I think the American public is tired of obstructionists.
“Boy, would the people love to see the two parties getting together and coming up with the perfect health care plan."
“Robert Mueller is an honorable man and hopefully he’ll come up with an honorable conclusion,” Trump said, though he noted that Mueller and Comey were “very, very good friends” and also criticized the makeup of Mueller’s growing team of attorneys involved in the investigation.
“I can say that the people that have been hired are all Hillary Clinton supporters, some of them worked for Hillary Clinton,” Trump said. “I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous if you want to know the truth.”
A day earlier, Trump revealed on Twitter that he had not taped conversations between himself and Comey – addressing a question he helped raise in the first place – but on Friday he said his strategy in suggesting possible recordings was all about keeping Comey honest.
NO TAPES: TRUMP SAID HE DIDN'T RECORD COMEY
“When he found out that there may be tapes out there…I think his story may have changed,” Trump said. “I mean you’ll have to take a look at that because then he has to tell what actually happened at the events.”
He added: “[The suggestion] wasn’t very stupid. He did admit that what I said was right and, if you look further back before he heard about that, maybe he wasn’t admitting that.”
Comey had been reluctant to say in public what he later revealed he told Trump three times in private – that the president was not the subject of any FBI investigation. But after Trump’s “tapes” tweet, Comey leaked to The New York Times the contents of highly-detailed memos regarding his one-on-one meetings with Trump, a development that eventually spurred congressional testimony and ultimately led Comey to admit he assured Trump multiple times he wasn’t the subject of a federal probe.
Trump claimed a victory in getting Comey to confess the personal reassurances he’d given him – and also in instigating the testimony during which Comey stunningly revealed he engineered the post-firing leak to The Times.
“There has been no obstruction, there has been no collusion – there has been leaking, by Comey,” Trump said on Friday.
Of course, Comey’s revelations also prompted the eventual appointment of Mueller to oversee the investigation, which reportedly began focusing on if Trump obstructed the Russia investigation by firing Comey on May 9.
GOP SENATORS UNVEIL OBAMACARE OVERHAUL
Turning to the contentious battle to pass a new health care legislation, Trump said the four Republican senators -- Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Ron Johnson -- who on Thursday said they weren't yet ready to vote "yes" for the GOP's Senate bill were "four good guys and four friends of mine." He expressed optimism the quartet would eventually drop their opposition.
"I think we're going to get there, we have four very good people..and we'll see if we can take care of them," Trump said.
The president also stressed how quickly the GOP has been able to send a health care overhaul package to the Senate, even if the process has been messy at times.
"I've done in five months what other people haven't done in years," Trump said.
FOUR KEY REPUBLICANS COME OUT AGAINST GOP HEALTH BILL
And though it appeared the bill would eventually have to pass with little or no Democratic support, Trump expressed hope Democrats would eventually decide to work with Republicans on issues ranging from infrastructure funding to tax reform.
“They are, right now, obstructionists,” Trump said. “All they wanna do is obstruct. I think they’d do much better as a party if they tried to get along with us."
He added: “I think the American public is tired of obstructionists.
“Boy, would the people love to see the two parties getting together and coming up with the perfect health care plan."
Trudeau: Trump does listen, NAFTA will remain
Once the crowd in Toronto stopped laughing, Trudeau continued, "No, I can understand the laughter but there's a lot of politicians who have a deep, vested interest in being right all the time and therefore close themselves off sometimes to facts or evidence or differing opinions."
He continued, “What I’ve found from this president is he will listen to arguments made. He will look at the ensemble of facts and proposals of impacts you put together, and he will be open to shifting his position.”
Perhaps being labeled a politician who "shifts positions" falls short of praise in the U.S., Trudeau appears to show a willingness to engage in meaningful dialog with his southern neighbor.
Trudeau, 45, and former President Obama, 55, got along famously. There was speculation early on in Trump's presidency that he and Trudeau would clash. To be sure, if there is a major international topic, they disagree: trade, immigration and climate.
Trudeau is a liberal who champions free trade and has welcomed 40,000 Syrian refugees. He calls himself a feminist and women make up half his Cabinet.
He made the comments in Toronto at an event co-sponsored by The New York Times.
Perhaps the most important issue facing the two countries are Trump's plans for the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Trump has called the deal "the worst" trade deal in history and threatened to back out. Trump has since agreed to renegotiate.
Trudeau told the audience that he is “100 percent” certain that NAFTA will be in place by 2018.
“NAFTA will remain a hugely important and successful trade deal for both our countries,” Trudeau said.
Brian Mulroney, the former Canadian prime minister, said in an interview in February that he believes that Trump and Trudeau will have a fine relationship.
“I know both of them. I know their skills and some of their attributes and their talents,” Mulroney said. “I think they are going to find a lot to be happy about.”
Rep. Gowdy Condemns Leaks From Meeting with Intelligence Director
Bailey Comment: All of this crap coming from the liberal left will continue until the traitors are put in jail instead of being protected by the government. |
A top GOP congressman warns fellow lawmakers about leaking information from closed meetings after details emerge from the director of national intelligence’s private congressional testimony.
South Carolina lawmaker Trey Gowdy appeared outraged after he says his Thursday meeting with Dan Coats wouldn’t be leaked, but just hours later specific details from the meeting were given to the press.
It comes after Coats met with House investigators, reportedly about the probe into President Trump and Russia.
While Gowdy made it clear he wouldn’t leak information, others didn’t follow suit.
Gowdy said he doesn’t know who leaked the information because their were eight other people in the room.
White House wants more ‘outrage’ over Johnny Depp comments
WASHINGTON
— The White House on Friday complained about a “lack of outrage”
towards violent language aimed at President Trump, “Julius Caesar” in which the assassinated Roman emperor is dressed and made up to look like Trump.
“I
think it’s troubling, whether it’s that or Johnny Depp’s comments,”
Spicer told reporters. “It is, frankly, my belief, real troubling the
lack of outrage that we’ve seen in some of these instances where people
have said what they have said with respect to the president and the
actions that should be taken.”
Earlier,
Depp apologized for controversial remarks he made Thursday at England’s
Glastonbury Festival, during which he asked the audience, “When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?” The “21 Jump Street” actor described it as a “bad joke.”
Spicer
continued, “The president’s made it clear we should denounce violence
in all of its forms. And I think if we’re going to hold to that
standard, then we should all agree that that standard should be
universally called out.”
The
spokesman also said, “It’s concerning when you see a pattern that these
comments get made, these actions get depicted, and the lack of
attention that they get when it’s on our side.Spicer’s comments came after Trump signed a bill
designed to help fix the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“But
again, I’ll say right now that I don’t think that we should be
resorting to that kind of language with respect to anybody in our
country,” Spicer said.
The
Secret Service is “aware” of Depp’s comments, according to spokesperson
Mason Brayman. But Brayman declined to say whether the remarks would
rate a visit from agency officers. “For operational security reasons, we
do not discuss specifically or in general terms the means and methods
of how we conduct our protective responsibilities,” Brayman said.
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