Giuliani slams Strzok for refusing to admit different versions of Trump dossier

Rudy Giuliani on Thursday slammed the “totally phony” Russia probe after anti-Trump FBI agent Peter Strzok refused to identify the individuals who apparently handed the bureau three different copies of the salacious Trump dossier.
“Isn't that called collusion or conspiracy to gin up a totally inappropriate, totally illegally wire based on national security? And doesn't it taint the entire Russian probe?” Giuliani told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on “The Ingraham Angle.”
“That’s a disgrace, [Special Counsel Robert] Mueller should be ashamed of himself. Those Democrats trying to protect that liar, Strzok, should be ashamed of themselves. And every FBI agent I know wants to see this guy drummed out of the bureau,” he said.

“That’s a disgrace, [Special Counsel Robert] Mueller should be ashamed of himself. Those Democrats trying to protect that liar, Strzok, should be ashamed of themselves. And every FBI agent I know wants to see this guy drummed out of the bureau."
- Rudy Giuliani

Giuliani said the dossier led to fake news and the “national intelligence wiretap” of the Trump campaign officials.
“So how much of it is infecting the investigation today? We may never know, which is why I think the investigation is totally phony,” he added.
The inquiry into the dossier occurred during a fiery exchange earlier between Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Strzok, who appeared before a joint House committee about his role in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Jordan pressed Strzok about an email he sent to his colleagues, including FBI lawyer Lisa Page with whom he had an extramarital affair, indicating that he has seen different versions of the infamous Trump dossier from three different sources.
Jordan said he had the email the he sent to Page and several others with the subject: “BuzzFeed is about to accomplish the dossier.”
“It says this, ‘Comparing now the set is only identical to what (Sen. John) McCain had, parentheses, it has differences from what was given to us by (Mother Jones’ David) Corn and (Fusion GPS founder Glenn) Simpson.’ Did you write all that?” Jordan asked.
Strzok refused to answer and declined to confirm whether there were three copies of the dossier the FBI had its hands on, saying he can’t answer under the directive of the bureau.
McCain’s copy was identical to the copy that Buzzfeed gave the bureau, Jordan said, citing the email.
Jordan went on to press Strzok on whether he interacted with the Fusion GPS, noting that Simpson said last year in his testimony that nobody from his company was in contact with the FBI.
Strzok spoke for himself as said he never interacted with Simpson or Corn. “Sir, I can tell you I never had contact with Fusion, with Mr. Simpson, with Mr. Corn.”

Liberal Hollywood Cartoons

George Lopez uses water bottle to pretend to urinate on Trump's star in Hollywood

Trash

Comedian George Lopez was recently seen in a TMZ video emptying a small water bottle onto President Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, acting as though he was urinating.
It was unclear when the footage was taken, but the celebrity website posted the video Wednesday.
Late last year, the comedian was booed off stage at a juvenile diabetes event in Denver over an anti-Donald Trump routine that fell flat with the crowd, the New York Post reported.
The event -- where tables were sold from $5,000 to $100,000 -- appeared to be a disaster.
An attendee commented on a YouTube video that “George was asked nicely to stop making Trump jokes by a man in the front row who just donated $250K.” But “George doesn’t, continues. Gets booed.”
In the latest video, Lopez appeared to be in front of a small group of people in the new video and the person filming appeared to laugh. When Lopez ran out of water, he said, "Alright, let's go."
Los Angeles police in 2016 arrested a man who pleaded no contest to destroying Trump’s star with a sledgehammer and pickax about a week after Trump was elected.
James Otis eventually told reporters, “Upon reflection after my arrest, I had said I was proud and felt very good about destroying Mr. Trump’s star. However, now I realize I was wrong, that I shouldn’t have done it.”
He agreed to pay $4,400 and perform 20 days of community labor, CBS News reported.

For Trump it looks like a bad time to arrive in Britain -- Actually, it's ideal. Here's why

FILE -- January 27, 2017: U.S. President Donald Trump greets British Prime MinisterTheresa May as she arrives at the White House.  (REUTERS/Carlos Barria)

President Donald Trump will have to learn some new names in London. Earlier this week, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and David Davis, who led Britain’s arrangements for exiting the EU, resigned out of dissatisfaction with the government’s plans for Brexit.
On the surface, this looks like a bad time for Trump to arrive. Actually, it’s ideal.
The resignations happened because much of the British government — including Prime Minister Theresa May — treat Brexit as a problem to be managed, not an opportunity to be exploited. Most Tory activists want to leave the EU, as does a narrow majority of Conservative Members of Parliament (MP).
The Conservative Party is formally committed to leaving, and the fact that Britain will be exiting is enshrined in law. But May and her fellow Remainers want what’s known as a Kit-Kat Brexit — a coating of Brexit hiding a wafer of Remain.
Johnson and Davis resigned because the government’s effort to decide what it wants out of Brexit — known as the Chequers Plan--wouldn’t actually take the U.K. all the way out of the EU.
The Plan calls on Britain and the EU to develop a “common rule book” for goods. In practice, this would give the EU a veto over Britain’s ability to negotiate free trade deals with other nations, including the U.S. Nor would it give the U.K. much in other areas that it cares about.
Moreover, there’s no reason to believe the EU would agree to the Chequers Plans. The EU has consistently argued that Britain can’t have full access to the EU’s Common Market in goods unless it accepts the free movement of people — in other words, uncontrolled immigration.
And since the Chequers Plan is only Britain’s starting proposal, it will certainly be watered down even further as Britain negotiates with the EU.
The dissatisfaction in the Conservative Party isn’t limited to Johnson and Davis. The Chequers Plan is widely regarded as a betrayal of the Brexit Referendum, of the Party’s commitment to leaving, and of the promises that May herself has made.
In normal times, this might lead a Conservative MP to challenge May’s leadership. And that might indeed happen. But right now, almost no one wants an election. The British people are tired of them. The Conservative Party isn’t ready. It would enter the election divided, and that rarely leads to smashing victories. In short, May is powerful precisely because she is weak: If Conservative MPs got rid of her, many of them might lose their jobs in the resulting election.
None of this will be settled soon. It’s hard to see how the Chequers Plan can survive in its current form. Moves are already afoot in the Commons against it. And it’s hard to see how even a government as spineless as the one led by Theresa May could accept the EU’s likely demand that Britain keep its borders open.
And if it does, the Conservative Party — and indeed Labour — will face with another political rebellion, similar to the one that created the now nearly-defunct U.K. Independence Party (UKIP).
The U.S. can play an important role in this crisis, though not a decisive one. Donald Trump is not popular in Britain. (Expect to read about major protests in London on Friday.) And Trump and May do not enjoy a close personal friendship.
But Trump does bring something worthwhile: a strong commitment to negotiating a free trade area with Britain as soon as possible. Of course, the U.K. will want to do deals with many countries, but the U.S. matters more than anyone else.
May has already admitted that the Chequers Plan creates “a challenge for us in relation to the United States and standards”—a polite way of admitting that the U.K. cannot hope to do a deal with the U.S. based on mutual recognition of standards if it is committed to agreeing on standards with the EU.
As the U.S. Ambassador to the U.K., Woody Johnson, has said, the Chequers Plan has left a US-UK trade deal “totally up in the air.”
Trump’s to-do list in Britain is both short and important. After congratulating Britain on spending 2 percent — or close to 2 percent — of its GDP on defense, he should tell May that he will move heaven and earth to conclude a free trade agreement with Britain by the time it formally exits the EU, at the end of March 2019 — but that he can do this only if Britain isn’t bound by an EU rulebook.
That is a plain statement of fact. It is also what the Australians — among others — have already told the British. Whether this will be enough to encourage the British government to drop its defensive attitude to Brexit is impossible to know. But Trump needs to say this as clearly, as convincingly, as repeatedly, and as publicly as he possibly can.
The alternative is simple: Britain remains de facto in the EU; it is drawn into promoting the EU’s regulatory agenda; the Conservative Party loses the next election to Jeremy Corbyn’s far-left Labour Party, and Trump enters 2020 having done nothing in trade except impose tariffs on all and sundry.
Trump may not be able to avert this. The May government may be bent on throwing away its opportunities, no matter what he says. Or May’s own opponents may bring her down. But if Trump does not try, the best opportunity to rescue the situation, and Trump’s own legacy on trade, will be lost.

Trump calls out Sessions over FBI lawyer Lisa Page's no-show at Congress

President Trump in an early morning tweet Thursday nudged Attorney General Jeff Sessions to act over FBI lawyer Lisa Page’s refusal to comply with subpoena and testify before Congress.
“As I head out to a very important NATO meeting, I see that FBI Lover/Agent Lisa Page is dodging a Subpoena & is refusing to show up and testify,” Trump tweeted early Thursday morning.
He continued, “What can she possibly say about her statements and lies. So much corruption on the other side. Where is the Attorney General?”
Sessions has been the target of Trump in the past. The presiden slammed him for recusing himself from the Russia-collusion investigation and for his “weak position” on former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s “crimes.”
“The Russian Witch Hunt Hoax continues, all because Jeff Sessions didn’t tell me he was going to recuse himself...I would have quickly picked someone else. So much time and money wasted, so many lives ruined...and Sessions knew better than most that there was No Collusion!” Trump tweeted last month.
Trump also aired out his frustration with Sessions’ lack of fervor in tackling allegations of government surveillance abuse, calling out his “disgraceful” decision to instruct the Department of Justice's inspector general to probe the allegations.
“Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!” Trump tweeted.
Trump’s remarks came as Page defied a subpoena to appear on Wednesday before the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform Committees, even as her lawyer claims she “will cooperate with this investigation.”
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Bob Goodlatte said Wednesday that U.S. Marshals were called in to serve Page with a subpoena to testify and accused her of “apparently” having “something to hide.”
Attorney Amy Jeffress told Fox News that Page didn’t testify on Wednesday as they didn’t have enough time to prepare, noting that she would ask lawmakers to schedule another date for the interview behind closed doors.
Members of Congress seek to grill Page regarding about her anti-Trump text messages with embattled FBI agent Peter Strzok, with whom she had an affair. Strzok, meanwhile, is set to testify publicly for the first time on Thursday before House Republicans who are investigating bias at the FBI.

Stormy Daniels arrested while performing at strip club, Avenatti says

Stormy Daniels' lawyer tweeted early Thursday that she was arrested while performing at a Columbus strip club.  (AP)

Stormy Daniels, the porn star who claims to have had an affair with President Donald Trump, was arrested early Thursday while performing at a strip club in Columbus, Ohio, her lawyer told Fox News.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she had sex with Trump in 2006 when he was married, which Trump has denied. She's suing Trump and his former longtime personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen and seeking to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement that she signed days before the 2016 presidential election.
Columbus police did not confirm the arrest to Fox News. The strip club where she was scheduled to perform, Sirens, also did not indicate any arrest was made.
Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, wrote in a follow-up tweet that she was arrested for "allegedly allowing a customer to touch her while on stage in a non sexual manner."
An Ohio law prohibits anyone who isn’t a family member to touch a nude or semi-nude dancer.
"Are you kidding me? They are devoting law enforcement resources to sting operations for this? There has to be higher priorities," he wrote.“This was a setup & politically motivated,” he said. “It reeks of desperation. We will fight all bogus charges.”
Despite being on the books for more than a decade, the Dispatch reported in September of 2017 that the law is seldom used. A spokesman from the Franklin County Sherriff’s office in Columbus told the paper that they had no recorded instances of it ever being cited.
Avenatti, who confirmed to Fox News that he sent out the tweets, said she will likely be charged with a misdemeanor and be released on bail.

Gun Ban Cartoons

New York Dem running for US House seat backs gun ban -- but won't say so publicly

New York Democratic Congressional candidate Tedra Cobb said she supports a ban on some firearms, but admitted that she will never say so in public out of fear of losing the election.  (Tedra Cobb campaign)

A Democratic congressional candidate in New York state said she supports a ban on some firearms, but admitted that she will never say so in public out of fear of losing the election.
"When I was at this thing today, it was the first table I was at, a woman said, ‘How do you feel about assault rifles?' And I said they should be banned," Tedra Cobb is heard telling a group of teens in a video posted Monday, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
"And I said, you know, people were getting up to go, to go get their lunch because it was a buffet, and I just said to her, 'I want you to know, Cindy, I cannot say that,” Cobb added.

"When I was at this thing today, it was the first table I was at, a woman said, ‘How do you feel about assault rifles?' And I said they should be banned."
- Tedra Cobb

The candidate, who’s running against Republican incumbent Elise Stefanik in New York's 21st Congressional District, in the northernmost part of the state, was rebuked by others for her silence on the issue in the public.
Cobb explained that she cannot publicly come out in support of a gun ban as that will doom her election chances.
"And she said, ‘Well, I want you to,' and I said, ‘I won't win,'" Cobb said. "I said Moms Demand [Action] says, and Tricia Pleau [member of the gun-control group Moms Demand Action] said, ‘Do not say that you want an assault rifle ban because you will not win.'"
Cobb has a platform for addressing gun violence nationwide, including the expansion of universal background checks and banning of bump stocks. But none of her official proposals suggest banning any type of firearms.
The Republican Party jumped on the issue, issuing a stark attack on Cobb, calling her “wildly out of touch” and accused her of “lying to voters.”
"Tedra Cobb knows that she's wildly out of touch with the district, so she's desperately trying to hide her liberal agenda from voters," Chris Martin, regional press secretary of the National Republican Congressional Committee, told the Free Beacon.
“First, she was forced to admit that she raised taxes over 20 times [as a St. Lawrence County official], and now she's being exposed for lying to voters about her support for an assault weapons ban and taking guns away from law-abiding citizens,” he added.
Lukas Mikelionis is a reporter for FoxNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @LukasMikelionis.