Comey testimony: Trump has constitutional authority to stop investigation of any person, Dershowitz says

Alan M. Dershowitz, a law professor at Harvard, wrote on FoxNews.com Wednesday that President Trump has the constitutional right to direct his FBI director to stop an investigation of anyone “by simply pardoning that person.”
“Throughout American history-- from Adams to Jefferson to Lincoln to Roosevelt to Kennedy to Obama-- presidents have directed (not merely requested) the Justice Department to investigate, prosecute (or not prosecute) specific individuals or categories of individuals,” Dershowitz wrote. “It is only recently that the tradition of an independent Justice Department and FBI has emerged. But traditions, even salutary ones, cannot form the basis of a criminal charge.”
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Dershowitz wrote the column after fomer-FBI Director James Comey's prepared remarks were released ahead of his appearance on Capitol Hill on Thursday.
Comey is set to testify that Trump sought his “loyalty” and asked what could be done to “lift the cloud” of investigation shadowing his administration. The prepared remarks detail a series of conversations between Trump and Comey about the investigation into contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia, and Comey's discomfort with the interactions.
Other legal experts say the most damning statement in Comey's written testimony concerns former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn, who was under investigation for making false statements about contacts with Russian officials.
Trump asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions and other top government officials to leave the Oval Office on Feb. 14 before urging Comey to drop the investigation of Flynn. "I hope you can let this go," Trump said, according to Comey's testimony.
Dershowitz, however, wrote that the written statement “does not provide evidence that President Trump committed obstruction of justice or any other crime.”
Obstruction of justice is a federal crime, though it's an open question whether a sitting president can be prosecuted. It's also an impeachable offense, though Republicans who control Congress are extremely unlikely to go after a president of their own party.
Dershowitz wrote, “Assume, for argument’s sake, that the president had said the following to Comey: “You are no longer authorized to investigate Flynn because I have decided to pardon him." Would that exercise of the president's constitutional power to pardon constitute a criminal obstruction of justice? Of course not. Presidents do that all the time.”
Other legal experts see the statement differently.
Julie O'Sullivan, a former federal prosecutor who teaches at Georgetown University's law school, told the Associated Press Trump's decision to clear the room before talking to Comey is evidence that suggests that Trump "was aware that what he was doing was a problem."
Trump has previously denied that he told Comey to end the investigation.
A former FBI official and a prominent Washington, D.C., law professor told the AP that they don't see a crime in what Comey reported that Trump said. Instead, the document reveals a president woefully ignorant of standard protocol and of the historic wall of independence between the FBI and the White House, an inexperience that could work in his favor and make his actions simply improper instead of actually illegal.
"I think the request is inappropriate," said Andrew Arena, a retired senior FBI official. "Whether it crosses that threshold to being criminal, I'm not there yet."

President Trump: Dems are Destroying Health Care in the U.S.

President Trump says the GOP is working hard on its health care plan, and now it’s the Senate’s turn to act.
Speaking at the Cincinnati Airport on Wednesday, the President said Obamacare is in a total death spiral, and democrats have destroyed health care in the U.S.
He said premiums are 150 percent higher under Obamacare, and the problems will only get worse if Congress fails to act.
The President went on to speak at Rivertown Marina about improving U.S. infrastructure, saying we need to rebuild our country and bring back our jobs.
He also touted last week’s jobs report showing the unemployment rate had fallen to its lowest level in 16 years.

Lawsuit Against Comey Claims FBI Illegally Spied on Govt, Trump

Former FBI Director James Comey will testify Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee and speculation about his testimony is already circulating.
On Wednesday his opening statement was released to the public.
It outlines several meetings Comey had with President Trump, but these are admittedly not corroborated.
One America News has reviewed these statements and found several inconsistencies in his remarks and actions.
Meantime, Comey is facing a lawsuit filed by an ex-intel contractor… claiming the FBI illegally spied on millions of Americans.

Iran Nuclear Cartoons

UN agency says Iran in compliance of landmark nuclear deal

Ocean Front Property in Arizona for Sale :-)

The U.N. nuclear agency says that Iran has taken its heavy water producing plant offline for maintenance, a move that keeps it from violating a landmark nuclear agreement by keeping the amount of the reactor coolant under the limits proscribed by the deal.
A confidential report by the International Atomic Energy Agency seen by The Associated Press said Friday that a May 27 inspection showed "the plant ... shut down" for maintenance. It says Tehran's heavy water stockpile then was 128.2 metric tons, just under the limit of 130 metric tons (over 143 tons.)
Heavy water cools reactors that can produce plutonium used to make the core of nuclear warheads. The IAEA last year said that Tehran had slightly exceeded the limit, but later said it was again in compliance.

Reports: Sessions offered to resign amid tensions with Trump

The relationship between President Trump and his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, has become so frayed, Sessions recently suggested that he could resign from his post, multiple media reports said on Tuesday.
Trump reportedly turned down the offer. The reported offer was not a formal one, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Trump has been angry with Sessions-- one of his most vocal and earliest supporters-- ever since Sessions recused himself in March from the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible connections between Moscow and Trump campaign aides.
Sean Spicer, the top White House spokesman, declined to say Tuesday whether Trump has confidence in Sessions.
"I have not had that discussion with him," Spicer told reporters during a White House briefing, adding: "if I haven't had a discussion with him about a subject, I tend not to speak about it."
Charles Krauthammer, a contributor on Fox News, told “Special Report” that the last time Spicer said he did not speak to Trump about a member of his administration, then-FBI Director James Comey was fired days later.
“This is really bad,” Krauthammer said. He went on, “If you can’t absorb this one issue on which he disagrees and you have to get rid of him, no one is safe (in the White House).”
ABC News reported that the frustrations between Trump and Sessions is mutual. The Justice Department declined to comment for the ABC report. FoxNews.com could not immediately confirm reports.
The New York Times, citing unnamed sources, reported that Sessions told Trump that he needed more freedom to do his job successfully and he could resign if that was what Trump wanted.
A source told the paper the conversation occurred right before Trump’s overseas trip.
On Monday, Trump took to Twitter to publicly criticize the department's legal strategy in defending his proposed travel ban barring the entry of people from certain Muslim-majority countries.
"The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.," Trump tweeted Monday, ignoring the fact that he oversees the department and signed the second version of the ban.
"The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court - & seek much tougher version!" he added.
Trump has denied any collusion with Russia, deriding the story as a "witch hunt" and "fake news" invented to explain away the Democrats' loss in November.
The New York Times reported Monday that Trump partially blames Sessions' decision to recuse himself from the investigation for the eventual appointment of a special counsel.

Anthem Insurance Pulls Out of Ohio Obamacare

Another sure sign Obamacare is on it’s way out as the nation’s second largest health insurance company says it’s done with the legislation.
Anthem announced on Tuesday it will no longer be part of the “Affordable Care Act” in Ohio by next year.
This comes after both Aetna and Humana pulled out of the market earlier this year.
Insurance companies say it’s due to the health care law’s uncertain future, unpredictable marketplace, and cost.
Anthem’s CEO is now weighing whether to remove the company entirely from Obamacare.

President Trump: No Funds to Radical Ideologies

President Trump reiterates there cannot be funding for “radical ideologies” as Middle Eastern leaders cut diplomatic ties to Qatar.
During President Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia last month, he said the world needed to strip terrorists organizations of their access to funds.
The President took to twitter on Tuesday to applaud those countries for refusing to fund extremism.
Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates all say they refuse to support extremist groups in the country.
Qatar denies any support of radical extremism, saying the crisis is “fabricated.”