Posts

Buried From Trump Tower Meeting: Translator Telling FBI ‘No Collusion’

/0 Comments/in , /by

Just days after news of the infamous Trump Tower meeting drew the attention of Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, the translator present told the FBI there was no talk of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, according to recently released documents.

This exculpatory evidence – which backed accounts of Donald Trump Jr. and other campaign officials in attendance – was not mentioned in Special Counsel Mueller’s final report two years later. And the silence in the interim occurred as sinister theorizing on cable TV and in the press helped shape a public impression of the June 9, 2016 meeting as central to collusion.

The new documents record that on July 12, 2017, four days after the New York Times first disclosed the meeting, relying on government leaks, the FBI interviewed Anatoli Samochornov, a freelance translator with long ties to the U.S. government who had been engaged by the Russian side. Elaborating the day after its initial report, the Times used more leaks to report that Trump Jr. had agreed to the meeting because he was told that a Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, would provide damaging information on Hillary Clinton.

Whatever the suspicions raised by the Trump son’s emailed response, “If it’s what you say I love it,” the meeting didn’t live up to the billing, judging from what the translator told the FBI. Bureau notes show he told agents, “There was no discussion of the 2016 United States presidential election or Collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign.” The agent notes also state, “There was no smoking gun according to Samochornov. There was not a discussion about ‘dirt’ on Hillary Clinton. Samochornov did not think Hillary Clinton was mentioned by name.” (Read more from “Buried From Trump Tower Meeting: Translator Telling FBI ‘No Collusion'” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Stocks Skyrocket as President Presents ‘All of America’ Program to Fight Coronavirus

/0 Comments/in , /by

By Breitbart. President Donald Trump unleashed a huge rally in stocks on Friday as he promised to “unleash every authority, tool, and resource” to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

The major stock indexes each recorded their best day since October 2008, when stocks rallied in response to the federal government’s plan to fight the financial crisis. The rally reversed much of the losses of the previous day, the worst single day for U.S. stocks since 1987.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1985 points to hit 23185, a rise of 9.36 percent. The S&P 500 ascended 9.29 percent. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 9.34 percent. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 7.6 percent.

The rally picked up steam as the White House event went on and several corporate leaders announced how their companies would contribute to the fight against the pandemic. Oil prices spiked higher as the president announced the U.S. would be purchasing oil for its strategic reserves. (Read more from “Stocks Skyrocket as President Presents ‘All of America’ Program to Fight Coronavirus” HERE)

______________________________________________

As Coronavirus Spreads, Businesses Announce Nearly 900 Layoffs and the Total Could Rise Sharply

By USA Today. The coronavirus is already forcing companies to lay off workers and the job losses are likely to mount rapidly as the global health crisis drags on.

U.S. companies have announced 893 job cuts as a result of the outbreak, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas. The losses include 145 drivers at the Port of Los Angeles amid stalled shipments from China, 360 by Oyo Hotels and 250 by Christie Lites, a stage lighting company.

Canceled events led to 300 layoffs, including 175 related to the South by Southwest technology and media conference in Austin, Texas, Challenger says.

Basic Fun, a toymaker based in Boca Raton, Florida, eliminated 18 jobs. Company CEO Jay Foreman told CNBC the firm has been hit with both supply disruptions from China and reduced demand. (Read more from “As Coronavirus Spreads, Businesses Announce Nearly 900 Layoffs and the Total Could Rise Sharply” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

WATCH: Trump Suspends All Travel From Europe for 30 Days; Mega Actor Tom Hanks and Wife Say They’ve Tested ‘Positive’ for Coronavirus; Worldwide Peak Will Come Next Winter, Scientific Model Predicts

/0 Comments/in , /by

By New York Intelligencer. In his address to the nation on Wednesday, President Trump announced that in an effort to stop new coronavirus cases from entering the United States all travel from Europe to the United States would be suspended for 30 days, beginning Friday at midnight. The president added that the restrictions would not affect travel from the United Kingdom.

“These prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo, but to various other things as we get approval,” Trump said. “Anything coming from Europe to the United States is what we are discussing.” Except that was not what the administration was discussing: White House officials later had to clarify that Trump bungled the speech, which Trump read from a teleprompter, and that only travelers, not cargo, would be suspended.

(Read more from “Trump Suspends All Travel From Europe for 30 Days” HERE)

______________________________________________

Mega Actor Tom Hanks and Wife Say They’ve Tested ‘Positive’ for Coronavirus

By Daily Caller. Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson announced Wednesday that they both have tested “positive” for the coronavirus while in Australia for pre-production on an Elvis Presley film.

“Hello, folks,” the 63-year-old actor tweeted in a lengthy message to his millions of followers about coronavirus. The post was noted by Deadline magazine. “Rita [Wilson] and I are down here in Australia. We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches.”

“Rita had some chills that came and went,” he added. “Slight fevers too. To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the Coronavirus, and were found to be positive.”

(Read more from “Mega Actor Tom Hanks and Wife Say They’ve Tested ‘Positive’ for Coronavirus” HERE)

______________________________________________

Coronavirus: Worldwide Peak Will Come Next Winter, Scientific Model Predicts

By Sky News. Scientists are warning that even if coronavirus transmissions dip as we head into the spring and summer, such a reduction shouldn’t be mistaken for an end to the outbreak.

Instead a reduction of cases during the summer should be seen as a precious opportunity to prepare for next winter, when a new model suggests the virus could infect 100 times more people.

In a paper currently undergoing peer-review, research scientists from universities in Basel and Stockholm have modelled the effects of seasonal variation on COVID-19 – the prevalent strain of coronavirus – transmission rates.

Their model suggests we are currently experiencing a “small peak in early 2020 in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere” which will be followed by “a larger peak in winter 2020-21”.

Based on other coronaviruses, the researchers believe the transmission rate will indeed drop as we head into spring and summer but then rise again, infecting as many as a 100 million people in total. (Read more from “Coronavirus: Worldwide Peak Will Come Next Winter, Scientific Model Predicts” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Supreme Court Gives Trump Win by Allowing ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy to Continue

/0 Comments/in , /by

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a win to President Trump on Wednesday by allowing his administration to enforce the “Remain in Mexico” asylum policy as litigation surrounding it continues.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals had said a week earlier that it would block the policy in Arizona and California, the two border states where its authority extends. The Trump administration then turned to the Supreme Court for relief.

“The application for stay presented to Justice Kagan and by her referred to the Court is granted, and the district court’s April 8, 2019 order granting a preliminary injunction is stayed pending the timely filing and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari,” the Supreme Court said in an order, which noted that Justice Sonia Sotomayor opposed the Trump administration’s stay application.

The high court action came a day before the lower court order was to have taken effect. Instead, the “Remain in Mexico” policy will remain in force while a lawsuit challenging it plays out in the courts.

The Justice Department responded Wednesday by saying the high court’s order restores “the government’s ability to manage the Southwest border and to work cooperatively with the Mexican government to address illegal immigration.” (Read more from “Supreme Court Gives Trump Win by Allowing ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy to Continue” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Trump Campaign Says Nearly 40% of Audience at Recent Rally Were Dems, Independents

/0 Comments/in , /by

President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign suggested Monday that more than 15,000 people who attended the president’s rallies in 2020 were Democrats and independents.

Roughly 16% of attendees at a North Charleston, South Carolina rally were black people, 28% of the audience didn’t vote in 2016, and nearly 40% of them were either Democrats or Independents, the Washington Examiner reported, citing campaign sources.

“We know from data gathered from rallies that a significant percentage of rally registrants and attendees have voted infrequently in federal elections, but they are motivated to come out to see President Trump,” campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told the Examiner.

“We also know that the president’s record of accomplishment on behalf of all Americans appeals to a wide swath of voters, including men and women, in all demographics, in all regions. He also speaks to the ‘forgotten Americans’ who politicians have left behind for decades,” he added. . .

Data also shows that 18,500 of the 67,000 people who attended Trump rallies over the past two months were Democrats and independents. (Read more from “Trump Campaign Says Nearly 40% of Audience at Recent Rally Were Dems, Independents” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Christopher Steele Refuses to Cooperate With U.S. Prosecutor Looking Into Origins of Trump-Russia Probe

/0 Comments/in , /by

Dossier author Christopher Steele will not cooperate with U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, telling an audience at Oxford University that he believes U.S. investigators have acted in “bad faith.”

Steele, a former British spy, said at the Oxford event on Friday that he and his firm, Orbis Business Intelligence, had already “done our duty” by cooperating with a Justice Department inspector general’s (IG) investigation of the FBI’s surveillance of Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

According to The Daily Beast, which attended the Oxford event, Steele also criticized the IG, saying that he cooperated with the probe for “four or five months,” and observed “very bad qualities” on the part of government officials. He said some acted in “bad faith.”

Reuters reported on Friday that Durham’s team has recently approached Steele seeking an interview. The former MI6 officer rejected the request because he believes that he would not be treated fairly, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Numerous questions remain unanswered about how Steele collected information for his dossier, and how many of his allegations about Trump associates turned out to be inaccurate. (Read more from “Christopher Steele Refuses to Cooperate With U.S. Prosecutor Looking Into Origins of Trump-Russia Probe” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Trump Campaign Sues CNN Over ‘False and Defamatory’ Statements, Seeks Millions in Damages

/0 Comments/in , /by

President Trump’s re-election campaign filed a libel lawsuit against CNN on Friday for publishing “false and defamatory” statements about seeking Russia’s help in the 2020 election.

“The complaint alleges CNN was aware of the falsity at the time it published them but did so for the intentional purpose of hurting the campaign while misleading its own readers in the process… the campaign filed this lawsuit against CNN and the preceding suits against The New York Times and The Washington Post to hold the publishers accountable for their reckless false reporting and also to establish the truth,” Senior Legal Adviser to Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. Jenna Ellis told Fox News.

Fox News obtained the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia where CNN is located. It states in part that CNN claimed Trump’s campaign “assessed the potential risks and benefits of again seeking Russia’s help in 2020 and has decided to leave that option on the table.”

The complaint said that CNN was well aware the statements were false “because there was an extensive record of statements from the Campaign and the administration expressly disavowing any intention to seek Russian assistance” but promoted the claim anyway.

The complaint said that Trump’s legal team sent CNN a request to retract and apologize last month but CNN executives refused. The Trump campaign now seeks “millions of dollars” through litigation. (Read more from “Trump Campaign Sues CNN Over ‘False and Defamatory’ Statements, Seeks Millions in Damages” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

President Trump Has a New Chief of Staff

/0 Comments/in , /by

President Trump announced Friday night North Carolina Congressman Mark Meadows will serve as his next chief of staff. Current and Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has been appointed to a diplomatic position overseas.

“I am pleased to announce that Congressman Mark Meadows will become White House Chief of Staff. I have long known and worked with Mark, and the relationship is a very good one,” Trump tweeted Friday evening. “I want to thank Acting Chief Mick Mulvaney for having served the Administration so well. He will become the United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland. Thank you!”

Mulvaney was President Trump’s third chief of staff, serving in the position after General John Kelly and former RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. He took the position in December 2018. (Read more from “President Trump Has a New Chief of Staff” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

WATCH: Liberals Mocked President Trump for Saying Coronavirus Mortality Rate Was Lower Than Initially Reported

/0 Comments/in , /by

By The Blaze. Liberals, like the Daily Show’s Trevor Noah, mocked President Donald Trump when he argued the coronavirus’ mortality rate was likely lower than the 3.4% estimate offered by the World Health Organization. Film producer Andy Ostroy called the president a “gaslighting sociopath” and “reckless,” while Vox’s Aaron Rupar accused Trump of spreading a “blizzard of dangerous misinformation.” But now a senior health official says the president is probably right.

At a press briefing on Friday morning, Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Admiral Brett Giroir declared, “The best estimates now of the overall mortality rate for COVID-19 is somewhere between 0.1% and 1%.”

Giroir noted the figure is “lower than you heard probably in many reports,” but that the real mortality rate is “not likely in the range of 2% to 3%.” . . .

Giroir cited several reasons for why health officials believe the actual mortality rate for COVID-19 is likely significantly lower than 3.4%. He listed first that the real number of people who have been infected with the virus is harder to track and likely much larger. As the denominator (number of people with the disease) goes up, overall mortality rate goes down. (Read more from “Liberals Mocked President Trump for Saying Coronavirus Mortality Rate Was Lower Than Initially Reported” HERE)

______________________________________________________________

Trump Praises CDC Amid Coronvirus Outbreak, Calls Washington Governor ‘a Snake’ During Visit to Agency

By USA Today. President Donald Trump tried to calm nerves amid the global outbreak of coronavirus while touring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Friday, but the visit took a political turn after he slammed Washington state’s Democratic governor who is grappling with the rapidly growing epidemic.

Trump said he warned Vice President Mike Pence not to trust Gov. Jay Inslee during his Thursday visit to Washington state, which has been among the hardest hit areas across the U.S. with 10 deaths reported so far. Inslee previously ran for the Democratic presidential nominee and has in the past been critical of the president.

“I told Mike not to be complimentary of that governor because that governor is a snake,” he told reporters while donning a “Keep America Great” hat at the CDC in Atlanta. “We have a lot of problems with the governor.”

In a series of tweets Friday evening, Inslee said: “My single focus is and will continue to be the health and well-being of Washingtonians,” adding that “the vice president’s visit and our teams are working well together.” (Read more from “Trump Praises CDC Amid Coronvirus Outbreak, Calls Washington Governor ‘a Snake’ During Visit to Agency” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

WATCH: Journalists Spread Fake News About Coronavirus and Trump… Again

/0 Comments/in , /by

By Daily Caller. Journalists used Twitter to spread fake news about President Donald Trump and the coronavirus, falsely reporting that he suggested it was okay to go to work if you have the illness.

Trump’s statement came during a Wednesday interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity. Trump said that many people with the coronavirus could have a mild form of it. He added that many would “get better just by, you know, sitting around and even going to work. Some of them go to work, but they get better.”

Huffpost wrote an article about the comments and included a viral tweet from Matt Rogers, the chief strategist of Politidope, Inc., a for-profit social impact organization.

Rogers’s tweet included a clip of Trump speaking about the virus. He claimed that the president was “telling the country it’s okay to go to work with Coronavirus.” The clip shows Trump saying that people do go to work, not instructing them to go to work. . .

MSNBC host Chris Hayes used Rogers’s viral tweet as well. He tweeted Roger’s comments and warned people not to go to work with coronavirus. Bob Cesca, director and political commentator, also doubled down on the claim using Roger’s tweet.

(Read more from “Journalists Spread Fake News About Coronavirus and Trump… Again” HERE)

___________________________________________________

Trump Says He Still Has to Shake Hands, Despite Coronavirus Concerns

By NPR. President Trump, a self-professed germophobe, said Thursday night that despite concerns over transmitting the coronavirus, he will continue to shake hands with people.

At a town hall meeting in Scranton, Penn., televised by Fox, Trump was asked if he has made any changes to his habits since the outbreak.

Trump responded that “if there was ever a time where you convince people not to shake hands this could be it.” But Trump went on, “you can’t be a politician and not shake hands.”

In fact, health experts say shaking hands is a practice best avoided as it can easily transmit viruses from one person to the next. (Read more from “Trump Says He Still Has to Shake Hands, Despite Coronavirus Concerns” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE