British Lord Justice Mark Warby denied former President Donald Trump’s request to appeal the dismissal of his case against Christopher Steele and his company, Orbis Business Intelligence, in a London court.
Steele is a former British spy who worked at the Russia desk for Britain’s secret intelligence service, formally known as MI6. His work on the so-called Steele Dossier alleged salacious details about Trump’s private life and suggested that he worked with Russia to influence the 2016 election.
The ex-president sought permission to appeal the judgment in his data privacy case. In February, Judge Karen Steyn ordered Trump to pay 300,000 British pounds to the Orbis Intelligence Business for their legal costs in bringing a frivolous lawsuit.
Steele told reporters, “We now look forward to receiving the interim payment from Donald Trump and a further costs award once the court has adjudicated the details.”
The Trump team has not...
Steele is a former British spy who worked at the Russia desk for Britain’s secret intelligence service, formally known as MI6. His work on the so-called Steele Dossier alleged salacious details about Trump’s private life and suggested that he worked with Russia to influence the 2016 election.
The ex-president sought permission to appeal the judgment in his data privacy case. In February, Judge Karen Steyn ordered Trump to pay 300,000 British pounds to the Orbis Intelligence Business for their legal costs in bringing a frivolous lawsuit.
Steele told reporters, “We now look forward to receiving the interim payment from Donald Trump and a further costs award once the court has adjudicated the details.”
The Trump team has not...
- 4/3/2024
- by Anushka Desai
- Uinterview
Pay no attention to the discredited informant facing prison time.
GOP officials were scrambling Wednesday after Alexander Smirnov, a key witness in the impeachment proceedings against President Biden, was accused of being informed by Russian intelligence.
Smirnov was arrested last Thursday after Special Counsel David Weiss charged him on suspicion of providing the FBI with fraudulent information. Smirnov, an FBI informant for over a decade, was further discredited after a DOJ report Tuesday indicated he was not only lying to the FBI about Biden, but had “contacts with multiple foreign intelligence agencies.
GOP officials were scrambling Wednesday after Alexander Smirnov, a key witness in the impeachment proceedings against President Biden, was accused of being informed by Russian intelligence.
Smirnov was arrested last Thursday after Special Counsel David Weiss charged him on suspicion of providing the FBI with fraudulent information. Smirnov, an FBI informant for over a decade, was further discredited after a DOJ report Tuesday indicated he was not only lying to the FBI about Biden, but had “contacts with multiple foreign intelligence agencies.
- 2/21/2024
- by Jeremy Childs
- Rollingstone.com
Former President Donald Trump sued the firm that created the Steele Dossier in a London court seeking “vindication over “false” allegations that he participated in sexual acts with Moscow call girls and paid bribes to Russian officials.
Trump, 77, filed suit against Orbis Business Intelligence, a consultancy started by Christopher Steele, a former MI6 officer.
Trump has claimed that his data was not protected and wants compensation for the emotional distress it has caused him.
Steele previously ran the secret intelligence service’s Russia desk and wrote the Steele dossier, which claimed Trump had been “compromised” by the Russian security service, the Fsb, in 2015.
In a witness statement, Trump stated that the dossier contained “numerous false, phony or made-up allegations.”
He denied any participation in “sex parties” while in St. Petersburg, as well as the allegations that he hired sex workers for deviant acts and gave the Russian authorities “sufficient material to blackmail me.
Trump, 77, filed suit against Orbis Business Intelligence, a consultancy started by Christopher Steele, a former MI6 officer.
Trump has claimed that his data was not protected and wants compensation for the emotional distress it has caused him.
Steele previously ran the secret intelligence service’s Russia desk and wrote the Steele dossier, which claimed Trump had been “compromised” by the Russian security service, the Fsb, in 2015.
In a witness statement, Trump stated that the dossier contained “numerous false, phony or made-up allegations.”
He denied any participation in “sex parties” while in St. Petersburg, as well as the allegations that he hired sex workers for deviant acts and gave the Russian authorities “sufficient material to blackmail me.
- 12/4/2023
- by Baila Eve Zisman
- Uinterview
In a dramatic legal maneuver, Donald Trump is gearing up for a fierce legal battle to debunk what his lawyer calls “shocking and scandalous claims” made in a controversial dossier penned by former British spy Christopher Steele. The ex-president, undeterred, is adamant about proving the allegations false, contending that they have grievously tarnished his reputation. […]
The post Trump’s Legal Battle: Ex-President Fights Back Against Damaging Claims in Explosive Court Showdown appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Trump’s Legal Battle: Ex-President Fights Back Against Damaging Claims in Explosive Court Showdown appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 10/18/2023
- by Grady Owen
- ShockYa
In the final days of the Cold War, a young diplomat arrived at the Soviet Consulate in San Francisco. Agents in the FBI’s San Francisco field office kept a close eye on the personnel coming and going from the consulate. The six-story building in one of the city’s toniest neighborhoods long served as a hub of espionage activity. The newly-arrived Soviet diplomat in his twenties, Evgeny Fokin, soon raised suspicions that he was a Kgb officer operating under diplomatic cover on his first overseas posting. “I do remember he was an intelligence officer.
- 2/17/2023
- by Seth Hettena
- Rollingstone.com
When the members of the House’s new subcommittee on the “weaponization of government” took their seats for the first time on Thursday afternoon, chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) promised its first hearing would expose the “political nature of the Justice Department.”
To make this point, Republican senators who testified before the committee offered falsehoods about Hillary Clinton and Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) began his testimony with a vow that it would sound like something “out of some fiction spy thriller.” Fiction indeed: Grassley falsely...
To make this point, Republican senators who testified before the committee offered falsehoods about Hillary Clinton and Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) began his testimony with a vow that it would sound like something “out of some fiction spy thriller.” Fiction indeed: Grassley falsely...
- 2/9/2023
- by Kara Voght
- Rollingstone.com
Click here to read the full article.
When Barbara Walters interviewed Monica Lewinsky for that special episode of 20/20 back in 1999, a total of 74 million Americans tuned in to ABC to watch.
Seventy four million. That was one quarter of the entire U.S. population at the time. The interview averaged a 48 share, meaning that nearly half of all TV sets in use at the time were watching Walters.
By now much has been written about Walters’ groundbreaking career at NBC and ABC, in the mornings on Today and in the evenings on the ABC Evening News. She changed how TV news anchors were paid (today’s 8-figure deals would not exist had Walters not paved the way) and transformed daytime TV with The View.
But the news anchor, who died Friday at the age of 93, also fundamentally changed a core piece of the TV journalism repertoire: The interview.
Walters took...
When Barbara Walters interviewed Monica Lewinsky for that special episode of 20/20 back in 1999, a total of 74 million Americans tuned in to ABC to watch.
Seventy four million. That was one quarter of the entire U.S. population at the time. The interview averaged a 48 share, meaning that nearly half of all TV sets in use at the time were watching Walters.
By now much has been written about Walters’ groundbreaking career at NBC and ABC, in the mornings on Today and in the evenings on the ABC Evening News. She changed how TV news anchors were paid (today’s 8-figure deals would not exist had Walters not paved the way) and transformed daytime TV with The View.
But the news anchor, who died Friday at the age of 93, also fundamentally changed a core piece of the TV journalism repertoire: The interview.
Walters took...
- 12/31/2022
- by Alex Weprin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Jan. 6 committee concluded its final hearing on Thursday by voting unanimously to subpoena Donald Trump, the man Vice Chair Liz Cheney described as the “central cause” of what happened that day. The former president responded with a furious Truth Social posting spree, calling the committee a “Bust” that is dividing the country while pinning the blame for the violence on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (who, unlike Trump, spent the riot trying to marshall forces to stop it).
Trump followed up his rantings on Truth Social with even more rantings beneath his office’s letterhead,...
Trump followed up his rantings on Truth Social with even more rantings beneath his office’s letterhead,...
- 10/14/2022
- by Ryan Bort
- Rollingstone.com
Donald Trump in the final days of his presidency repeatedly threatened to out government sources involved in the Trump-Russia investigation, an anti-Deep State revenge fantasy he still obsesses over to this day, according to two former senior Trump aides and another person familiar with the matter.
One of these sources tells Rolling Stone that in the days after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the then-president, sometimes while brandishing pieces of paper, would loudly complain that none of the identifying facts in the highly sensitive Russia documents should be blacked-out. Trump would insist,...
One of these sources tells Rolling Stone that in the days after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the then-president, sometimes while brandishing pieces of paper, would loudly complain that none of the identifying facts in the highly sensitive Russia documents should be blacked-out. Trump would insist,...
- 10/13/2022
- by Asawin Suebsaeng and Adam Rawnsley
- Rollingstone.com
It’s pretty clear at this point that Donald Trump is never going to move past losing the 2020 election. He’ll be complaining about it for the rest of his life, just as he’ll never stop complaining about the Russia investigation — which he’s now suing Hillary Clinton, James Comey, and a host of others over, claiming they conspired to falsely accuse him of collusion ahead of the 2016 election.
The 108-page lawsuit, filed Thursday in a Florida federal court, accuses the defendants — including Clinton, Comey, Christopher Steele, Peter Strokz,...
The 108-page lawsuit, filed Thursday in a Florida federal court, accuses the defendants — including Clinton, Comey, Christopher Steele, Peter Strokz,...
- 3/24/2022
- by Ryan Bort
- Rollingstone.com
Grey Seal Media, the London-based film and TV consultancy, has hired Luke Hill, former partner at law firm Sheridans.
Hill brings with him film and television clients including: recently formed B-Side Management and its sibling production company run by Matimba Kabalika; BAFTA breakthrough winner Joy Gharoro-Akpojoto; Noughts + Crosses director Koby Adom and his production shingle Dbk Productions; New Wave Agency; and Blue Zoo Animation. Hill represents musicians including country soul star Yola, fellow Americana artist Allison Russell and Hadestown creator Anaïs Mitchell. He also sits on the board of the Americana Music Association UK.
Grey Seal Media was formed in 2020 by Clare Hardwick with a goal of bridging the gap between the film and TV community and the corporate and financial world. To date, its clients include Anonymous Content, Blumhouse and A24 Films in the US, and BBC Studios, Passion Pictures, and Christopher Steele’s Magic Strand in the...
Hill brings with him film and television clients including: recently formed B-Side Management and its sibling production company run by Matimba Kabalika; BAFTA breakthrough winner Joy Gharoro-Akpojoto; Noughts + Crosses director Koby Adom and his production shingle Dbk Productions; New Wave Agency; and Blue Zoo Animation. Hill represents musicians including country soul star Yola, fellow Americana artist Allison Russell and Hadestown creator Anaïs Mitchell. He also sits on the board of the Americana Music Association UK.
Grey Seal Media was formed in 2020 by Clare Hardwick with a goal of bridging the gap between the film and TV community and the corporate and financial world. To date, its clients include Anonymous Content, Blumhouse and A24 Films in the US, and BBC Studios, Passion Pictures, and Christopher Steele’s Magic Strand in the...
- 9/9/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Washington — Clocking in at nearly 1,000 pages and drawing on three-and-a-half years of work and more than a million documents, the latest report by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is perhaps the most complete accounting yet of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election to damage Hillary Clinton and help elect Donald Trump.
The report is the fifth and final volume of the Senate intelligence committee’s attempt to understand what the Russian government did, what the Trump campaign did, the actions taken by each side’s representatives, and why.
The report is the fifth and final volume of the Senate intelligence committee’s attempt to understand what the Russian government did, what the Trump campaign did, the actions taken by each side’s representatives, and why.
- 8/18/2020
- by Andy Kroll
- Rollingstone.com
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1249418405951799309It was a very different Easter Sunday for Donald Trump and the world. The President became the first Commander-in-Chief to take in services remotely, tuning in to the presentation by Rev. Robert Jeffress at the First Baptist Church in downtown Dallas.
The church has hosted past Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush in its 152-year history.
More from Deadline'Last Week Tonight': John Oliver Talks Government's Messy Treatment Of Essential Workers And Unemployed Impacted By Coronavirus'Fox & Friends' Weekend Co-Host Jedediah Bila Blasts Donald Trump For Chris Wallace Criticism: "Seriously. Enough."President Donald Trump Tweetstorm - The Saturday Edition
Before the service, President Trump offered one message of hope – in New York City, one of the coronavirus epicenters, hospital bed capacity has been more than was needed, and medical personnel are being deployed elsewhere.
He also had a video recorded message for his constituents.
The church has hosted past Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush in its 152-year history.
More from Deadline'Last Week Tonight': John Oliver Talks Government's Messy Treatment Of Essential Workers And Unemployed Impacted By Coronavirus'Fox & Friends' Weekend Co-Host Jedediah Bila Blasts Donald Trump For Chris Wallace Criticism: "Seriously. Enough."President Donald Trump Tweetstorm - The Saturday Edition
Before the service, President Trump offered one message of hope – in New York City, one of the coronavirus epicenters, hospital bed capacity has been more than was needed, and medical personnel are being deployed elsewhere.
He also had a video recorded message for his constituents.
- 4/12/2020
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
An aggressive President Donald Trump warmed up for his appearance later today at the annual Army-Navy football game with some smash-mouth tweeting.
In an unusually busy early morning, the Commander-in-Tweet treated his Democrat foes like it was Ravens vs. Jets, running over them with taunts, threats and retweets. The game plan appears to be aggressive targeting of the 31 Democrats in Trump-won congressional districts, who must be feeling like a rookie cornerback facing Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers.
We’ll update as more communications roll-in. The tweetstorm so far:
The newly signed Usmca is a sweet relief to farmers in rural districts like mine, writes @RepTedBudd https://t.co/oZ5nUvUgHY
— WSJ Editorial Page (@WSJopinion) December 14, 2019
Enough! These Democrats in Trump districts said they were with @realDonaldTrump. They lied! – Now now its time to hear from Our Movement. Here’s a complete thread of their handles & phone #s. Call non-stop, tweet at them,...
In an unusually busy early morning, the Commander-in-Tweet treated his Democrat foes like it was Ravens vs. Jets, running over them with taunts, threats and retweets. The game plan appears to be aggressive targeting of the 31 Democrats in Trump-won congressional districts, who must be feeling like a rookie cornerback facing Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers.
We’ll update as more communications roll-in. The tweetstorm so far:
The newly signed Usmca is a sweet relief to farmers in rural districts like mine, writes @RepTedBudd https://t.co/oZ5nUvUgHY
— WSJ Editorial Page (@WSJopinion) December 14, 2019
Enough! These Democrats in Trump districts said they were with @realDonaldTrump. They lied! – Now now its time to hear from Our Movement. Here’s a complete thread of their handles & phone #s. Call non-stop, tweet at them,...
- 12/14/2019
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
The Guardian headline reads: “DOJ Internal watchdog report clears FBI of illegal surveillance of Trump adviser.”
If the report released Monday by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz constitutes a “clearing” of the FBI, never clear me of anything. Holy God, what a clown show the Trump-Russia investigation was.
Like the much-ballyhooed report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the Horowitz report is a Rorschach test, in which partisans will find what they want to find.
Much of the press is concentrating on Horowitz’s conclusion that there was no evidence...
If the report released Monday by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz constitutes a “clearing” of the FBI, never clear me of anything. Holy God, what a clown show the Trump-Russia investigation was.
Like the much-ballyhooed report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the Horowitz report is a Rorschach test, in which partisans will find what they want to find.
Much of the press is concentrating on Horowitz’s conclusion that there was no evidence...
- 12/10/2019
- by Matt Taibbi
- Rollingstone.com
Robert Mueller remains a frustrating character in our national drama. In the historic testimony he gave before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, the former special counsel played the doddering professor to a class of grandstanding law students ready to impale or embrace him on the sharp teeth of their arguments.
He gave them little to work with.
Mueller wouldn’t use the word “impeachment.” He refused to read from his own report. He answered most questions with a terse, sometimes inaudible: “That’s accurate.” Or: “Correct.” Or: “I’m not going to address that.” He wouldn’t validate or invalidate theories about obstruction of justice or Russian conspiracies.
Mostly he would say, “If it’s in the report, I support it.”
Also Read: Robert Mueller Hearings: 5 Breakout Moments (So Far)
Even those things weren’t uttered with the confidence you’d expect, given his reputation. His answers came across as tentative,...
He gave them little to work with.
Mueller wouldn’t use the word “impeachment.” He refused to read from his own report. He answered most questions with a terse, sometimes inaudible: “That’s accurate.” Or: “Correct.” Or: “I’m not going to address that.” He wouldn’t validate or invalidate theories about obstruction of justice or Russian conspiracies.
Mostly he would say, “If it’s in the report, I support it.”
Also Read: Robert Mueller Hearings: 5 Breakout Moments (So Far)
Even those things weren’t uttered with the confidence you’d expect, given his reputation. His answers came across as tentative,...
- 7/24/2019
- by Sharon Waxman
- The Wrap
President Donald Trump was benevolent in his Father’s Day Twitter addresses to the world. He honored the obvious, saluting Dads across the nation, a group including his “worst and most vicious critics,” and found time to give a shout-out to Fox News correspondent Pete Hegseth, who became engaged.
Those kindnesses out of the way, the Commander-in-Tweet also gloated about the low turnouts at nationwide impeachment rallies, and called for a poll on whether the New York Times or Washington Post is more dishonest and deceitful, a premise that may need slight adjusting.
The President also subtly poked the proverbial lion with an umbrella when he asked about a potential development at the end of his next term. “Do you think the people would demand that I stay longer?”
The tweetstorm so far:
Almost 70% in new Poll say don’t impeach. So ridiculous to even be talking about this subject...
Those kindnesses out of the way, the Commander-in-Tweet also gloated about the low turnouts at nationwide impeachment rallies, and called for a poll on whether the New York Times or Washington Post is more dishonest and deceitful, a premise that may need slight adjusting.
The President also subtly poked the proverbial lion with an umbrella when he asked about a potential development at the end of his next term. “Do you think the people would demand that I stay longer?”
The tweetstorm so far:
Almost 70% in new Poll say don’t impeach. So ridiculous to even be talking about this subject...
- 6/16/2019
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
On Wednesday night, ABC released a clip of President Trump telling George Stephanopolous that he doesn’t feel he needs to contact the FBI if a foreign government offered him dirt on his 2020 opponent, and that he would be willing to court to any such offers. “If somebody called from a country [and said] we have information on your opponent. Oh. I think I’d want to hear it,” the president said.
As Federal Election Commission Chair Ellen Weintraub pointed out on Twitter, this is illegal. It’s pretty simple. There is no gray area.
As Federal Election Commission Chair Ellen Weintraub pointed out on Twitter, this is illegal. It’s pretty simple. There is no gray area.
- 6/14/2019
- by Ryan Bort
- Rollingstone.com
In a string of tweets this morning, President Donald Trump attempted to clarify his explosive comments to ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that he would not alert the FBI if foreign governments offered him dirt on his fellow Americans in a political race.
During the Stephanopoulos interview, Trump, when asked whether he would notify the FBI or listen to information offered from the foreign countries, said, “maybe you do both.”
Among other attempted explanations today, Trump accused the “Fake News Media” of leaving out some of his Stephanopoulos interview – “the part that matters.” He did not specify which part that would be. But in one tweet today (see them all below), Trump offered a clue as to what he meant by suggesting that the “foreign governments” with whom he has recently met are “the Queen of England (U.K.), the Prince of Wales, the P.M. of the United Kingdom, the P.
During the Stephanopoulos interview, Trump, when asked whether he would notify the FBI or listen to information offered from the foreign countries, said, “maybe you do both.”
Among other attempted explanations today, Trump accused the “Fake News Media” of leaving out some of his Stephanopoulos interview – “the part that matters.” He did not specify which part that would be. But in one tweet today (see them all below), Trump offered a clue as to what he meant by suggesting that the “foreign governments” with whom he has recently met are “the Queen of England (U.K.), the Prince of Wales, the P.M. of the United Kingdom, the P.
- 6/13/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Saturday to again bash John McCain. The late Arizona senator has been dead for seven months now.
Trump was triggered by a Fox News interview with former independent counsel Ken Starr, who investigated Bill Clinton. Starr said that if it were true that McCain had anything to do with the leaked memos from the Christopher Steele Russia dossier it would be “a very dark stain” against the deceased senator.
The president then tweeted, “So it was indeed (just proven in court papers) ‘last...
Trump was triggered by a Fox News interview with former independent counsel Ken Starr, who investigated Bill Clinton. Starr said that if it were true that McCain had anything to do with the leaked memos from the Christopher Steele Russia dossier it would be “a very dark stain” against the deceased senator.
The president then tweeted, “So it was indeed (just proven in court papers) ‘last...
- 3/17/2019
- by Peter Wade
- Rollingstone.com
President Donald Trump believes there Is collusion with the Russians – only it’s NBC’s Saturday Night Live that may be the guilty party.
The Commander-in-Tweet today called on the Federal Election Commission and/or the Federal Communications Commission to investigate the “not funny/no talent” comedy show, which loves to parody the President. Trump claimed it was “truly incredible” that the show’s skewering of him was like “an advertisement without consequences” for his Democratic opponents.
The President also took on favorite whipping boy CNN and the late Senator John McCain in his tweets for their role in promoting the dossier that eventually launched the Mueller probe. He also backed Judge Jeanine Pirro in her battle against Fox News, which pulled her show on Saturday night after controversial comments on Muslim Congresswoman Illhan Omar.
After all that, the President found time to wish all a Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
The Commander-in-Tweet today called on the Federal Election Commission and/or the Federal Communications Commission to investigate the “not funny/no talent” comedy show, which loves to parody the President. Trump claimed it was “truly incredible” that the show’s skewering of him was like “an advertisement without consequences” for his Democratic opponents.
The President also took on favorite whipping boy CNN and the late Senator John McCain in his tweets for their role in promoting the dossier that eventually launched the Mueller probe. He also backed Judge Jeanine Pirro in her battle against Fox News, which pulled her show on Saturday night after controversial comments on Muslim Congresswoman Illhan Omar.
After all that, the President found time to wish all a Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
- 3/17/2019
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
A federal judge in Florida handed BuzzFeed News a victory Wednesday in a defamation suit brought over the site’s publication of the infamous Steele Dossier in January of 2017.
Russian technology executive Aleksej Gubarev sued BuzzFeed, claiming that dossier contained details about him that were false. He argued that BuzzFeed’s reporters never bothered to contact him to determine the accuracy of claims that he had directly participated in hacking the Democratic Party’s computers during the 2016 campaign.
Christopher Steele’s unverified Russia dossier, which contained memorably salacious details about the Kremlin possessing some incriminating footage of Donald Trump in a hotel room, alleged Russian efforts to sway the 2016 election in Trump’s favor.
Miami-based U.S. District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro sided with BuzzFeed’s argument that publication of the document was protected by fair report privilege.
The judge found that the dossier was the subject of official proceedings — namely,...
Russian technology executive Aleksej Gubarev sued BuzzFeed, claiming that dossier contained details about him that were false. He argued that BuzzFeed’s reporters never bothered to contact him to determine the accuracy of claims that he had directly participated in hacking the Democratic Party’s computers during the 2016 campaign.
Christopher Steele’s unverified Russia dossier, which contained memorably salacious details about the Kremlin possessing some incriminating footage of Donald Trump in a hotel room, alleged Russian efforts to sway the 2016 election in Trump’s favor.
Miami-based U.S. District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro sided with BuzzFeed’s argument that publication of the document was protected by fair report privilege.
The judge found that the dossier was the subject of official proceedings — namely,...
- 12/20/2018
- by Dawn C. Chmielewski
- Deadline Film + TV
President Trump may have a hard time focusing on a host of issues relevant to running the world’s most powerful nation, but there’s one topic from which his attention never deviates: the Russia investigation. His tweets about the subject have increased dramatically as former confidants like Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort have reportedly offered to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Not even the anniversary of 9/11 prevented Trump from rousing himself out of bed to complain about the investigation, and his rants continued last week as Hurricane Florence...
- 9/18/2018
- by Ryan Bort
- Rollingstone.com
The President returned from his Saturday Virginia golfing outing looking tanned and rested. Well, at least tanned, and he wasted no time getting back into the online turf wars.
Starting last night, the President – who rebutted the attacks from Sen. John McCain’s memorial service by merely clapping back with his campaign theme, “Make America Great Again” – was back in attack mode. He began his regular Sunday storm last night, and continued this morning with vigor, taking on the Russia collusion investigation and bad trade deals.
He also found time to do a few shout-outs to supporters, including Virginia Republican Senate candidate Corey Stewart, golfer Tiger Woods, and political analyst Dan Bongino.
Today’s tweetstorm so far:
….The fact is that African/American unemployment is now the lowest in the history of our country. Same with Asian, Hispanic and almost every other group. The...
Starting last night, the President – who rebutted the attacks from Sen. John McCain’s memorial service by merely clapping back with his campaign theme, “Make America Great Again” – was back in attack mode. He began his regular Sunday storm last night, and continued this morning with vigor, taking on the Russia collusion investigation and bad trade deals.
He also found time to do a few shout-outs to supporters, including Virginia Republican Senate candidate Corey Stewart, golfer Tiger Woods, and political analyst Dan Bongino.
Today’s tweetstorm so far:
….The fact is that African/American unemployment is now the lowest in the history of our country. Same with Asian, Hispanic and almost every other group. The...
- 9/2/2018
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
A Justice Department lawyer learned from Christopher Steele, the author of the salacious Trump kompromat dossier, that Russian intelligence had Trump “over a barrel” in the summer of 2016, according to a scoop from the Associated Press.
The Doj lawyer, Bruce Ohr, worked in the office of then-deputy attorney general Sally Yates. Ohr and the author of the dossier, Steele, were long-standing buddies who bonded years earlier over an interest in defanging organized crime.
The pair met repeatedly during the 2016 campaign, according to the AP, including after Steele had approached reporters with his dossier,...
The Doj lawyer, Bruce Ohr, worked in the office of then-deputy attorney general Sally Yates. Ohr and the author of the dossier, Steele, were long-standing buddies who bonded years earlier over an interest in defanging organized crime.
The pair met repeatedly during the 2016 campaign, according to the AP, including after Steele had approached reporters with his dossier,...
- 8/31/2018
- by Tim Dickinson
- Rollingstone.com
It’s late August, a time when the news cycle traditionally slows down and television airs a good number of repeat broadcasts. The same apparently holds for President Donald J. Trump, who retweeted a number of past Twitter blasts today as a reminder that certain issues are still on his front burner.
The Commander-in-Tweet revisited his remarks on Jeff Sessions, the ongoing investigations into various aspects of the Robert Mueller investigations, and his ire at social media outlets silencing conservative dissent. He did manage to squeeze in two newer tweets, an output down from his usual pace of activity online each Sunday morning.
Below are today’s tweets so far. The first four are retweets. We’ll update if the President comes back with more later in the day:
Social Media Giants are silencing millions of people. Can’t do this even if it means we must continue to hear Fake News like CNN,...
The Commander-in-Tweet revisited his remarks on Jeff Sessions, the ongoing investigations into various aspects of the Robert Mueller investigations, and his ire at social media outlets silencing conservative dissent. He did manage to squeeze in two newer tweets, an output down from his usual pace of activity online each Sunday morning.
Below are today’s tweets so far. The first four are retweets. We’ll update if the President comes back with more later in the day:
Social Media Giants are silencing millions of people. Can’t do this even if it means we must continue to hear Fake News like CNN,...
- 8/26/2018
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
“Active Measures” could hardly be more perfectly timed. It’s a documentary that digs into the relationship between Donald Trump and the powers of Russia, and while it’s not as if the film comes up with some smoking gun that Robert Mueller hasn’t yet, it fills in the Trump-Russia connection in a dogged, rigorously reported, eyebrow-raising way.
The movie is a follow-the-money exposé, and the director, Jack Bryan, lays out the roadmap of cash by making bracing and detailed connections between all the forces at work: the snaky leader-thug Vladimir Putin; the oligarchs he placed under his thumb (except for those who wouldn’t cooperate — he got rid of them); the Russian mobsters who are enmeshed in the workings of the Putin government; and Trump himself. “Active measures” is a phrase used in Russia to describe political warfare by the security services to influence the course of world events,...
The movie is a follow-the-money exposé, and the director, Jack Bryan, lays out the roadmap of cash by making bracing and detailed connections between all the forces at work: the snaky leader-thug Vladimir Putin; the oligarchs he placed under his thumb (except for those who wouldn’t cooperate — he got rid of them); the Russian mobsters who are enmeshed in the workings of the Putin government; and Trump himself. “Active measures” is a phrase used in Russia to describe political warfare by the security services to influence the course of world events,...
- 8/25/2018
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
The President of the United States this morning directed the U.S. Attorney General to investigate his political rivals.
One day after telling Fox & Friends he only gave Jeff Sessions the job because he thought he was loyal, Trump mocked Sessions’ rare response.
“‘Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations,’ Jeff, this is Great,” Trump tweeted snidely, then directed Sessions to investigate those Trump believes to be his political rivals. Many of the names also are on Trump’s Enemies List of current and former government folks whose security clearances Trump says he plans to pull.
Sessions who had previously stayed mum when Trump has publicly throttled him over his recusal in the Russia election-tamper probe, punched back after Trump’s Fox & Friends interview, saying, “While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice...
One day after telling Fox & Friends he only gave Jeff Sessions the job because he thought he was loyal, Trump mocked Sessions’ rare response.
“‘Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations,’ Jeff, this is Great,” Trump tweeted snidely, then directed Sessions to investigate those Trump believes to be his political rivals. Many of the names also are on Trump’s Enemies List of current and former government folks whose security clearances Trump says he plans to pull.
Sessions who had previously stayed mum when Trump has publicly throttled him over his recusal in the Russia election-tamper probe, punched back after Trump’s Fox & Friends interview, saying, “While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice...
- 8/24/2018
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
Updated with additional Davis TV news appearances: Lanny Davis, lawyer representing Donald Trump’s former longtime fixer/personal attorney/bullet-taker, spent this morning traversing the TV news landscape teasing that his client has information that would be “of interest” to special counsel Robert Mueller. Davis also said that his client is such a changed man he would not accept any pardon from Trump. And, Davis plugged the GoFundMe campaign he’s launched to help his client “tell the truth about Donald Trump.” At time of publication, it had raised about $36K. “I can tell you it’s my observation that what he knows, that he witnessed, will be of interest to the special counsel,” Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos this morning on Good Morning America. Cohen “will tell the truth to everybody who asks him about Mr. Trump,” though he did not say if Cohen...
- 8/22/2018
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
During his TCA panel for his Viceland show “The Hunt for the Trump Tapes,” Tom Arnold hammered President Trump early and often, calling out the president for consistently lying, including about his supposed germaphobia.
“How many germaphobes raw dog that many porn stars?”
Arnold asked a room of TV critics. Trump’s supposed germaphobia has come up numerous times, most notably after the infamous “Steele Dossier” was published. The hard-to-believe allegation, which has never been confirmed, posited that Trump was secretly recorded by the Russian government while watching prostitutes urinate on a hotel bed in Moscow during a trip there in 2013.
Also Read: Tom Arnold Targets Mark Burnett in 'Trump Tapes' Investigation: 'He Lets That Man Do All This Bulls--'
Trump and his supporters have often referenced Trump’s massive fear of germs as proof that the “pee tape” doesn’t exist.
Arnold isn’t buying that excuse, however, and...
“How many germaphobes raw dog that many porn stars?”
Arnold asked a room of TV critics. Trump’s supposed germaphobia has come up numerous times, most notably after the infamous “Steele Dossier” was published. The hard-to-believe allegation, which has never been confirmed, posited that Trump was secretly recorded by the Russian government while watching prostitutes urinate on a hotel bed in Moscow during a trip there in 2013.
Also Read: Tom Arnold Targets Mark Burnett in 'Trump Tapes' Investigation: 'He Lets That Man Do All This Bulls--'
Trump and his supporters have often referenced Trump’s massive fear of germs as proof that the “pee tape” doesn’t exist.
Arnold isn’t buying that excuse, however, and...
- 7/26/2018
- by Tim Baysinger
- The Wrap
Michael Cohen has withdrawn his libel suit against BuzzFeed and Fusion Gps, a lawyer for the Trump attorney revealed on Thursday.
“The decision to voluntarily discontinue these cases was a difficult one,” Cohen attorney David Schwartz told Politico Thursday, which reported the news. “We believe the defendants defamed my client, and vindicating Mr. Cohen’s rights was — and still remains — important. But given the events that have unfolded, and the time, attention, and resources needed to prosecute these matters, we have dismissed the matters, despite their merits.”
Schwartz did not immediately respond to request for comment from TheWrap.
Also Read: Fox News 'Surprised' by Hannity's Ties to Trump's Lawyer, Stands by Him Anyway
The longtime Trump fixer had been suing both companies for their role in the now legendary dossier compiled by ex-British intelligence agent Christopher Steele. The dossier — which was paid for by Fusion and published by BuzzFeed — is the origin of the so-called “pee tape” and rumors that the president had a urine-filled encounter with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room in 2013.
In a statement to TheWrap, BuzzFeed defended its decision to publish the dossier.
“The lawsuits against BuzzFeed over the Steele dossier have never been about the merits of our decision to publish it. If there’s one thing Democrats and Republicans agree on today, it’s that the dossier was an important part of the government’s investigation into potential collusion between the Trump Campaign and Russia,” said BuzzFlack Matt Mittenthal.
Also Read: 'Morning Joe' Feels Sorry for 'Good Guy' Michael Cohen: 'Very Gentle' (Video)
“Its interest to the public is, and always has been, obvious. Today’s news suggests that Donald Trump’s personal lawyer no longer thinks an attack on the free press is worth his time.”
Cohen’s decision comes as his own legal troubles mount. Last week, his offices and personal apartment were raided by the FBI and this week it was revealed that — in addition to Trump — Cohen had some legal relationship with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
Read original story Michael Cohen Withdraws Libel Suits Against BuzzFeed, Fusion Gps At TheWrap...
“The decision to voluntarily discontinue these cases was a difficult one,” Cohen attorney David Schwartz told Politico Thursday, which reported the news. “We believe the defendants defamed my client, and vindicating Mr. Cohen’s rights was — and still remains — important. But given the events that have unfolded, and the time, attention, and resources needed to prosecute these matters, we have dismissed the matters, despite their merits.”
Schwartz did not immediately respond to request for comment from TheWrap.
Also Read: Fox News 'Surprised' by Hannity's Ties to Trump's Lawyer, Stands by Him Anyway
The longtime Trump fixer had been suing both companies for their role in the now legendary dossier compiled by ex-British intelligence agent Christopher Steele. The dossier — which was paid for by Fusion and published by BuzzFeed — is the origin of the so-called “pee tape” and rumors that the president had a urine-filled encounter with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room in 2013.
In a statement to TheWrap, BuzzFeed defended its decision to publish the dossier.
“The lawsuits against BuzzFeed over the Steele dossier have never been about the merits of our decision to publish it. If there’s one thing Democrats and Republicans agree on today, it’s that the dossier was an important part of the government’s investigation into potential collusion between the Trump Campaign and Russia,” said BuzzFlack Matt Mittenthal.
Also Read: 'Morning Joe' Feels Sorry for 'Good Guy' Michael Cohen: 'Very Gentle' (Video)
“Its interest to the public is, and always has been, obvious. Today’s news suggests that Donald Trump’s personal lawyer no longer thinks an attack on the free press is worth his time.”
Cohen’s decision comes as his own legal troubles mount. Last week, his offices and personal apartment were raided by the FBI and this week it was revealed that — in addition to Trump — Cohen had some legal relationship with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
Read original story Michael Cohen Withdraws Libel Suits Against BuzzFeed, Fusion Gps At TheWrap...
- 4/19/2018
- by Jon Levine
- The Wrap
Sarah Silverman has her own theory on why she thinks President Trump is so worried about the golden showers dossier referenced in James Comey's new book ... and it's got nothing to do with Melania. We got Sarah leaving Craig's Thursday night in WeHo and straight-up asked her why she thinks 45 was so upset over the so-called Christopher Steele dossier, which claims Trump watched prostitutes urinate on a hotel mattress "as a way of soiling the bed.
- 4/13/2018
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
Former FBI Director James Comey is ready to break his silence about his time working with Donald Trump.
In an interview with ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos, a clip of which aired on <em>Good Morning America</em> on Friday, Comey revealed that he requested a private meeting with Trump to warn him about the now infamous dossier that was compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele. The 35-page document details the alleged sexual interaction between Trump and prostitutes during a trip to Moscow in 2013, as well as his ties to Russia. “I’m about to meet ...
In an interview with ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos, a clip of which aired on <em>Good Morning America</em> on Friday, Comey revealed that he requested a private meeting with Trump to warn him about the now infamous dossier that was compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele. The 35-page document details the alleged sexual interaction between Trump and prostitutes during a trip to Moscow in 2013, as well as his ties to Russia. “I’m about to meet ...
- 4/13/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
President Trump is, predictably, pissed about former FBI Director James Comey spilling the tea on an alleged "golden showers" convo they had. Trump ripped into Comey Friday morning, calling him an "untruthful slime ball who was, as time has proven, a terrible Director of the FBI." The Prez also said it was his "great honor" to fire Comey. ....untruthful slime ball who was, as time has proven, a terrible Director of the FBI. His handling...
- 4/13/2018
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
Former FBI Director James Comey says he can’t be sure whether or not Donald Trump was involved in a sexually charged incident with Russian prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room in 2013.
“I honestly never thought these words would come out of my mouth, but I don’t know whether the current president of the United States was with prostitutes peeing on each other in Moscow in 2013. It’s possible, but I don’t know,” Comey told George Stephanopoulos in an interviewed teased on “Good Morning America” Friday.
Comey also revealed that when he first told Trump about the rumors that Russia was in possession of a recording of the encounter, the president-elect initially wanted him to investigate it in order to disprove its existence.
Also Read: Rachel Maddow Got a Copy of James Comey's Book -- Here Are 3 Takeaways
“He said, ‘you know, If there’s even a 1 percent chance my wife thinks that’s true, that’s terrible,'” said Comey who added that Trump’s remark about odds has stuck with him.
“I remember thinking, ‘How could your wife think there’s a 1 percent chance you were with prostitutes peeing on each other in Moscow?’ I’m a flawed human being, but there is literally zero chance that my wife would think that was true. So, what kind of marriage to what kind of man does your wife think [that] there’s only a 99 percent chance you didn’t do that?”
Rumors that the Russians were in possession of such a tape — and that President Trump could be blackmailed from it — were first brought to light in a dossier compiled by former British intelligence operative Christopher Steele. The dossier was famously published by BuzzFeed last year. Comey was the first person to inform Trump the recording’s possible existence.
Also Read: Trump Blasts 'Untruthful Slime Ball' James Comey as Fired FBI Director Releases Tell-All Book
ABC has been teasing bits from Comey’s exclusive interview with Stephanopoulos as he begins a promotional tour for his new book, “A Higher Calling.” Earlier this week, ABC dropped another nugget suggesting that Comey compared President Trump to a “mob boss.”
Once a liberal villain for his role in the Clinton email investigation, Comey has increasingly become a lightning rod for Republicans after he turned his department towards an investigation of whether the Trump presidential campaign colluded with Russia. The president ultimately fired him in an effort to stem the probe, but the move backfired and resulted in the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller.
Watch above.
Read original story James Comey Says ‘It’s Possible’ Trump Really ‘Was With Prostitutes Peeing on Each Other’ (Video) At TheWrap...
“I honestly never thought these words would come out of my mouth, but I don’t know whether the current president of the United States was with prostitutes peeing on each other in Moscow in 2013. It’s possible, but I don’t know,” Comey told George Stephanopoulos in an interviewed teased on “Good Morning America” Friday.
Comey also revealed that when he first told Trump about the rumors that Russia was in possession of a recording of the encounter, the president-elect initially wanted him to investigate it in order to disprove its existence.
Also Read: Rachel Maddow Got a Copy of James Comey's Book -- Here Are 3 Takeaways
“He said, ‘you know, If there’s even a 1 percent chance my wife thinks that’s true, that’s terrible,'” said Comey who added that Trump’s remark about odds has stuck with him.
“I remember thinking, ‘How could your wife think there’s a 1 percent chance you were with prostitutes peeing on each other in Moscow?’ I’m a flawed human being, but there is literally zero chance that my wife would think that was true. So, what kind of marriage to what kind of man does your wife think [that] there’s only a 99 percent chance you didn’t do that?”
Rumors that the Russians were in possession of such a tape — and that President Trump could be blackmailed from it — were first brought to light in a dossier compiled by former British intelligence operative Christopher Steele. The dossier was famously published by BuzzFeed last year. Comey was the first person to inform Trump the recording’s possible existence.
Also Read: Trump Blasts 'Untruthful Slime Ball' James Comey as Fired FBI Director Releases Tell-All Book
ABC has been teasing bits from Comey’s exclusive interview with Stephanopoulos as he begins a promotional tour for his new book, “A Higher Calling.” Earlier this week, ABC dropped another nugget suggesting that Comey compared President Trump to a “mob boss.”
Once a liberal villain for his role in the Clinton email investigation, Comey has increasingly become a lightning rod for Republicans after he turned his department towards an investigation of whether the Trump presidential campaign colluded with Russia. The president ultimately fired him in an effort to stem the probe, but the move backfired and resulted in the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller.
Watch above.
Read original story James Comey Says ‘It’s Possible’ Trump Really ‘Was With Prostitutes Peeing on Each Other’ (Video) At TheWrap...
- 4/13/2018
- by Jon Levine
- The Wrap
Former FBI director James Comey’s book “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership” doesn’t hit bookstores until next week, but its contents are becoming known after copies were leaked Thursday.
Among those who got their hands on the tell-all is Rachel Maddow, who read several excerpts live on her MSNBC show Thursday night.
In addition to elaborating on the widely-reported detail that Trump was obsessed about the salacious dossier complied by former MI6 operative Christopher Steele, Comey also takes great pains to imply Trump is shady.
Also Read: Stephen Colbert Jokes That Trump's Wedding Vows Referenced the Pee Tape (Video)
Here are three take-aways from the book, as excerpted on “The Rachel Maddow Show.”
1) Trump was more worried about the optics of Russian interference in the 2016 election than the geopolitical implications.
As Comey tells it, soon after the election he and several other people met with Trump’s transition team for a briefing with then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper about Russian meddling in the election.
However, in Comey’s account Trump asked only one question, “which was more of a statement: ‘But you found there was no impact on the result, right?'”
Clapper, Comey said, explained to Trump that intelligence analysts had not investigated whether or not the meddling impacted the election result, and could only say that “we found no evidence of alteration of the vote count.”
Also Read: Seth Meyers to Paul Ryan: 'You Gave Us Donald Trump. You Should Have to Live With Him' (Video)
Comey then said he was taken aback by the fact that “they were about to lead a country that had been attacked by a foreign adversary, but they had no questions about what the future Russian threat might be, nor did they ask how the United States might prepare itself to meet that threat.”
According to Comey, Trump and his team “shifted immediately” into “a strategy session about messaging on Russia. About how they could spin what we just told them.”
Comey says Reince Preibus described a hypothetical press statement “as if we weren’t there,” and that Priebus, Mike Pence, Sean Spicer and Trump “debated how to present these findings for maximum political advantage.”
Also Read: Kimmel Subtly Responds to Hannity's Threat, Says Nobody Cares He Was on 'The Man Show' (Video)
“They were keen to emphasize that… the Russians hadn’t elected Trump,” according to Comey.
2) Comey suggests Trump and his team were trying to make him (and other non political appointees) complicit in their activities.
Comey says in his book that he’d attended many intelligence briefings with Trump’s predecessors, and that George W. Bush and Barack Obama had never discussed “communications and political strategy in front of intelligence community leaders.”
“I tried to tell myself that maybe this was because Trump and his team had little experience on these matters — Trump, of course, had no experience whatsoever.”
Comey then goes on to say that the whole thing began to remind him of “New York Mafia social clubs… in the 1980s and 1990s. Comey then talks about how Mafia members distinguish between “a ‘friend of yours,’ meaning someone outside the family, and… a ‘friend of ours,’ meaning an official member of the family.”
“Holy crap,” Comey says he thought. “they are trying to make each of us an ‘amica nostra’ — friend of ours. To draw us in. The president-elect was trying to make us all part of the same family and that Team Trump had made it a ‘thing of ours.'”
3) Yes, Trump is very concerned about That Tape (You know the one we mean).
According to Comey, Trump was very concerned about the claim from the Steele dossier that Russia has blackmail material on him. Specifically, video of him with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room filmed in 2013, that has infamously come to be known as the “pee dossier”.
According to Comey, after the national security briefing ended, Trump took him aside for a private chat during which Comey attempted to broach the subject of the tape (though, he said, he avoided mentioning the urinary details).
Trump, Comey says, immediately protested that it wasn’t true. “I explained I wasn’t saying the FBI believed the allegations,” Comey writes. His intent was to make sure Trump knew the claims were becoming public “to protect the presidency from any kind of coercion, whether or not the allegations were true.”
Trump again “strongly denied” the claim, and according to Comey asked “rhetorically, I assumed, whether he seemed like a guy who needed the services of prostitutes.”
Read original story Rachel Maddow Got a Copy of James Comey’s Book — Here Are 3 Takeaways At TheWrap...
Among those who got their hands on the tell-all is Rachel Maddow, who read several excerpts live on her MSNBC show Thursday night.
In addition to elaborating on the widely-reported detail that Trump was obsessed about the salacious dossier complied by former MI6 operative Christopher Steele, Comey also takes great pains to imply Trump is shady.
Also Read: Stephen Colbert Jokes That Trump's Wedding Vows Referenced the Pee Tape (Video)
Here are three take-aways from the book, as excerpted on “The Rachel Maddow Show.”
1) Trump was more worried about the optics of Russian interference in the 2016 election than the geopolitical implications.
As Comey tells it, soon after the election he and several other people met with Trump’s transition team for a briefing with then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper about Russian meddling in the election.
However, in Comey’s account Trump asked only one question, “which was more of a statement: ‘But you found there was no impact on the result, right?'”
Clapper, Comey said, explained to Trump that intelligence analysts had not investigated whether or not the meddling impacted the election result, and could only say that “we found no evidence of alteration of the vote count.”
Also Read: Seth Meyers to Paul Ryan: 'You Gave Us Donald Trump. You Should Have to Live With Him' (Video)
Comey then said he was taken aback by the fact that “they were about to lead a country that had been attacked by a foreign adversary, but they had no questions about what the future Russian threat might be, nor did they ask how the United States might prepare itself to meet that threat.”
According to Comey, Trump and his team “shifted immediately” into “a strategy session about messaging on Russia. About how they could spin what we just told them.”
Comey says Reince Preibus described a hypothetical press statement “as if we weren’t there,” and that Priebus, Mike Pence, Sean Spicer and Trump “debated how to present these findings for maximum political advantage.”
Also Read: Kimmel Subtly Responds to Hannity's Threat, Says Nobody Cares He Was on 'The Man Show' (Video)
“They were keen to emphasize that… the Russians hadn’t elected Trump,” according to Comey.
2) Comey suggests Trump and his team were trying to make him (and other non political appointees) complicit in their activities.
Comey says in his book that he’d attended many intelligence briefings with Trump’s predecessors, and that George W. Bush and Barack Obama had never discussed “communications and political strategy in front of intelligence community leaders.”
“I tried to tell myself that maybe this was because Trump and his team had little experience on these matters — Trump, of course, had no experience whatsoever.”
Comey then goes on to say that the whole thing began to remind him of “New York Mafia social clubs… in the 1980s and 1990s. Comey then talks about how Mafia members distinguish between “a ‘friend of yours,’ meaning someone outside the family, and… a ‘friend of ours,’ meaning an official member of the family.”
“Holy crap,” Comey says he thought. “they are trying to make each of us an ‘amica nostra’ — friend of ours. To draw us in. The president-elect was trying to make us all part of the same family and that Team Trump had made it a ‘thing of ours.'”
3) Yes, Trump is very concerned about That Tape (You know the one we mean).
According to Comey, Trump was very concerned about the claim from the Steele dossier that Russia has blackmail material on him. Specifically, video of him with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room filmed in 2013, that has infamously come to be known as the “pee dossier”.
According to Comey, after the national security briefing ended, Trump took him aside for a private chat during which Comey attempted to broach the subject of the tape (though, he said, he avoided mentioning the urinary details).
Trump, Comey says, immediately protested that it wasn’t true. “I explained I wasn’t saying the FBI believed the allegations,” Comey writes. His intent was to make sure Trump knew the claims were becoming public “to protect the presidency from any kind of coercion, whether or not the allegations were true.”
Trump again “strongly denied” the claim, and according to Comey asked “rhetorically, I assumed, whether he seemed like a guy who needed the services of prostitutes.”
Read original story Rachel Maddow Got a Copy of James Comey’s Book — Here Are 3 Takeaways At TheWrap...
- 4/13/2018
- by Ross A. Lincoln
- The Wrap
When it rains it pours ... Donald Trump worried there was a small chance his wife, Melania, might believe Russian hookers peed on a hotel bed where Trump was staying ... this according to former FBI director James Comey. The hook to Comey's new book -- "A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership" -- is that Trump was extremely upset over the so called Christopher Steele dossier, in which he claimed Trump watched prostitutes urinate on a...
- 4/12/2018
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.