Tag: Elijah Cummings

SUBPOENAED: Giuliani tapped for documents relating to Ukraine

by Breck Worsham, posted in law, news, politics

WASHINGTON — Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani has been subpoenaed by the House Intelligence Committee to turn over documents relating to the impeachment efforts against Donald Trump.

Giuliani received a letter on Monday from Reps. Adam Schiff, Elijah Cummings, and Eliot Engel demanding he surrender any and all documents relating to efforts he and President Trump may have taken to persuade the government of Ukraine to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden or any members of his family.

“Pursuant to the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry, we are hereby transmitting a subpoena that compels you to produce the documents set forth in the accompanying schedule by October 15, 2019,” the letter states.

The letter then goes on to call out several recent interviews in which Giuliani said he’d asked a Ukrainian prosecutor for information about former Vice President Joe Biden.

“In addition to this stark admission, you stated more recently that you are in possession of evidence—in the form of text messages, phone records, and other communications—indicating that you were not acting alone and that other Trump Administration officials may have been involved in this scheme,” the letter continues.

“Our inquiry includes an investigation of credible allegations that you acted as an agent of the President in a scheme to advance his personal political interests by abusing the power of the Office of the President. A growing public record, including your own statements, indicates that the President, you, and others appear to have pressed the Ukrainian government to pursue two politically motivated investigations,” the letter goes on.

“Your failure or refusal to comply with the subpoena, including at the direction or behest of the President or the White House, shall constitute evidence of obstruction of the House’s impeachment inquiry and may be used as an adverse inference against you and the President,” it concludes.

The document states Giuliani has until Oct. 15 to produce evidence in the form of text messages, telephone records and other documentation that shows he was not acting alone, and that other Trump administration officials may have been involved.

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EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE: Trump blocks Census docs from Congress as contempt vote approaches

by Breck Worsham, posted in law, news, politics, Uncategorized

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday asserted executive privilege to block details surrounding his administration’s decision to add citizenship questions to the 2020 Census from reaching Congress.

The move came in direct challenge to a subpoena issued by the House of Representatives Oversight Committee as they prepare to vote on holding two members of Trump’s Cabinet – Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Attorney General William Barr – in contempt of Congress over the issue.

On Wednesday, however, a defiant Trump refused to back down.

“When you have a census and you’re not allowed to talk about whether or not somebody’s a citizen or not, that doesn’t sound so good to me. … It’s totally ridiculous that we would have a census without asking,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Democrats, however, countered that the decision to include the questions had little to do with citizenship and more to do with race.

“Is it really about citizenship? No. It’s about reducing the number of people of color being counted in the census. That’s exactly what it’s about,” Representative Rashida Tlaib told members of the media when questioned on the matter.

“This does not appear to be a good faith effort at negotiation,” Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings said during a meeting he convened to vote on holding Ross and Barr in contempt. “Instead it appears to be another example of the administration’s blanket defiance of Congress’s constitutionally mandated authority. … This begs the question: what is being hidden?”

The matter has been a long fought one for the Trump administration. A ruling is due from the U.S. Supreme Court by the end of the month regarding the Trump administration’s appeal of a judge’s ruling that blocked the addition of the questions as a violation of federal law.

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WITCH HUNT: Dems demand records detailing communications between Trump and Putin

by Breck Worsham, posted in law, news, politics, Uncategorized

WASHINGTON — House Democrats are pressing to receive communication records related to President Trump’s communications with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Democratic leaders announced on Monday.

The move follows allegations by Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) that the president had at one point attempted to have the records of those communications destroyed.

“President Trump, on multiple occasions, appears to have taken steps to conceal the details of his communications with President Putin from other administration officials, Congress, and the American people,” the trio wrote, citing a Washington Post report that claimed such.

The lawmakers further alleged that Trump “may have been manipulated or withheld from the official record in direct contravention of federal laws, which expressly require that Presidents and other administration officials preserve such materials.”

Democrats claim manipulating or withholding such records would violate the Presidential Records Act, which was instituted as a result of President Nixon’s Watergate controversy.

“These allegations, if true, raise profound national security, counterintelligence, and foreign policy concerns, especially in light of Russia’s ongoing active measures campaign to improperly influence American elections,” the chairmen wrote in separate letters to White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Schiff and his cohorts are also demanding that White House and State Department employees with knowledge of the Trump-Putin talks and interpreters who were present at such meetings make themselves available for interviews with the committees.

Republicans swung back at the allegations Monday, calling the effort just another ploy by Democrats to try to impeach Trump.

“With their Russian collusion allegations imploding, the Democrats are weaponizing congressional committees to try to manufacture some new case to use to impeach the president,” Jack Langer, a spokesperson for Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said in a statement to The Hill. “After they hyped the collusion hoax for more than two years, I don’t know how anyone can view them as honest investigators as opposed to zealous, partisan operatives.”

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BUSTED! FBI INFORMANT: Barack Obama knew of Clinton Uranium One deal- Did nothing to stop it

by Breck Worsham, posted in crime, news, politics

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former president Barack Obama was briefed not once, but twice on the details surrounding the Uranium One scandal and did nothing to stop it, says an FBI informant.

In a bombshell report published Thursday by The Gateway Pundit (https://tinyurl.com/y7s3ycem), an FBI informant is quoted as saying the 44th president knew of a plot by the Clinton Foundation to arrange nuclear sales to Russia for profit but did nothing to prevent it.

The informant, Douglas Campbell, told congressional investigators that Moscow paid millions of dollars to a U.S. lobbying firm which wound up benefitting both the Obama administration and the charity organization run by Bill and Hillary Clinton.

In a 10 page statement, Campbell said Russian nuclear officials “told me at various times that they expected APCO to apply a portion of the $3 million annual lobbying fee it was receiving from the Russians to provide in-kind support for the Clinton’s Global Initiative.”

“The contract called for four payments of $750,000 over twelve months. APCO was expected to give assistance free of charge to the Clinton Global Initiative as part of their effort to create a favorable environment to ensure the Obama administration made affirmative decisions on everything from Uranium One to the U.S.-Russia Civilian Nuclear Cooperation agreement,” the statement continued.

Bill Clinton allegedly received a $500,000 speaking fee from a Russian backed bank, according to published reports (according to published reports (https://tinyurl.com/y9x32rex) and the Clinton Foundation received millions of dollars from insiders involved with the Uranium One deal.

Attorneys for Bill and Hillary Clinton say the payment Bill Clinton received for the speaking engagement had nothing to do with the Uranium One deal and that suggestions otherwise are simply attempts by Republicans to distract from the ongoing investigation into Russian interference into the 2016 presidential election.

During an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity”, Campbell’s attorney Victoria Toensing said her client has exposed a “strategic plan” by Russian President Vladimir Putin to “take over the uranium industry.”

“[The Russians] were so confident that they told Mr. Campbell with the Clinton’s help, it was a shoo-in to get CFIUS [The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States] approval,” Toensing said. “They were so confident in that that they even had him open up the new office because they were planning on the kind of business they were going to do as soon as CFIUS approved it.”

Democrats on Thursday denied Campbell’s claims, calling the allegations more “wild allegations” by Republicans.

“Republicans have been talking directly to this individual while refusing to grant Democratic members access, despite multiple requests,” House oversight and intelligence committee members Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said in a statement. “During this same time period, Republicans have been making wild and unsubstantiated allegations against Secretary Clinton on national television based on this individual’s information.”

Republican lawmakers have called for a formal investigation into the matter.

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BANNON BANISHED: TRUMP STRATEGIST REMOVED FROM NATIONAL SECURITY COUNSEL ROLE

by Breck Worsham, posted in Uncategorized

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Embattled Trump key strategist Steve
Bannon was removed from the National Security Council on Wednesday, White House officials have confirmed.

Bannon, who was initially placed on the National Security Council after Trump’s inauguration to ensure that Trump’s intentions to downsize and streamline operations at the NSC were carried out, was removed on the orders of Trump, himself, say sources inside the administration.

According to these same sources, the president no longer felt Bannon’s presence was necessary in the light of Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster’s appointment to replace Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who was asked to resign after conflicting surfaced regarding his communications with a Russian ambassador.

A source with knowledge of the decision said Bannon can “still attend any meeting” where his expertise is needed.

The news was met with a great deal of gloating by Democrats who criticized Bannon’s placement in the role to begin with.

In a statement released on Wednesday after Bannon’s removal had been announced, Rep. Elijah Cummings, (D)- Md, called Bannon “wholly unqualified” and questioned whether House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes had any dealings with Bannon during his investigation of possible surveillance of the Trump team.

“We need to know what in the world is going on,” Cummings said.

Flynn’s son, Michael Flynn, Jr., slammed Trump’s decision to remove Bannon, and questioned the president’s true intent when it comes to “defeating our enemy,” writing on Twitter:

“Fact 1: Flynn/Bannon most loyal to DJT (both out at NSC)

Fact 2: McMaster wont say “Radical Islam”

Is WH serious abt defeating our enemy?”

The younger Flynn also criticized McMaster for refusing to use the term “radical Islam,” a term that Trump himself uses in relation to Islamist extremists and terrorist groups before retweeting a video which declared that Steve Bannon’s removal was a win for Islam (https://twitter.com/mflynnJR?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fblogs%2Fblog-briefing-room%2Fnews%2F327428-michael-flynn-jr-blasts-bannon-removal-from-national-security).

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