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Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) explained why Vice President Mike Pence, who headed the Trump transition team, may go down with Trump in the Russia scandal if he knew that Mike Flynn was under investigation in January 2017.

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Schiff said, Well. if this is accurate, what it says about the transition team and the President is that they were less concerned about whether Mike Flynn had a deep conflict of interest, may have violated reporting requirements or may be acting as an agent of a foreign power than they were having the guy that they wanted to have who was a personal friend apparently of the president. This is distressing at a number of levels, but I think what it underscores for the public, I think if they thought this was just a paperwork question. His failure to disclose that the was a lobbyist or register. They can now see the real world import, because if these reports are accurate and Mike Flynn was helping to make decisions even during the transition period affecting our approach to the war in Syria about we should arm the Kurds, and hes being paid by Turkey. You can see the real world impact of this conflict of interest and this failure to disclose, and of course, its worse if he did disclose it, and the White House brought him on none the less.

Vice President Pence claims that he didnt know that Flynn was being paid by Turkey until March 9, but it is being reported that Flynn disclosed to the Trump legal team that he was under federal investigation for his lobbying for Turkey on January 4.

As Schiff pointed out, the big problem for Pence is that if Flynn did report, he was under investigation in January, and Pence still made him Trumps national security adviser, that puts the Vice President in the middle of the Flynn part of the Russia scandal.

Mike Pence has a Mike Flynn problem, and if he lied about what he knew, and when he knew it, he is going to go down with Trump for the Russia scandal

Adam Schiff, Mike Flynn, Mike Pence, Pence could go down for Russia scandal, Russia scandal, RussiaGate

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Rep. Adam Schiff Explains Why Mike Pence Is Going Down For The Russia Scandal - PoliticusUSA

Some graduating seniors at the University of Notre Dame say they are planning to protest the presence of Vice President Pence at their commencement by standing up and quietly walking out of the ceremony. School officials say they wont try to stop them.

Pence will give the commencement address at the nations most prominent Catholic university on May 21 at the campus in South Bend, Ind. In the past, the university invited newly inaugurated presidents to give the address in their first year of office and six previous presidents accepted but this year was different.

Thousands of students and faculty members signed a petition asking Notre Dames president, the Rev. John Jenkins, not to invite him, saying that they did not think Trumps actions and behavior were in line with the schools values. While there were Trump supporters who wanted him to speak, the school decided to instead invite Pence, a former Indiana governor.

A coalition of student activist groups at Notre Dame called We StaND For is planning the walkout to protest policies Pence pursued as governor that they say targeted the most vulnerable. Other groups from outside the school community will, at the same time, hold a protest just south of campus to show solidarity with the students, according to Bryan Ricketts of We StaND For. One of the participating groups, South Bend Equality, wrote in a statement about why it is participating:

Our members lived in South Bend when Mike Pence was governor. We know all too well how his policies endangered or caused direct harm to public education, health care, womens rights, the environment, LGBTQ individuals, immigrants and refugees, reproductive rights, local infrastructure, the economy of our state, and more.

Other groups participating in the off-campus protest are We Stand For; We Go High! of St. Joe County, Ind.; Michiana Alliance for Democracy; Alliance for Democracy; the Nu Black Power Movement; Inclusive Michiana; Planned Parenthood of Indiana & Kentucky; and the IWW Local 26.

Paul Browne, vice president for public affairs and communications at the University of Notre Dame, said that student protest leaders have already talked to security police and other officials on campus about their plans, and the school isnt trying to stop them. He said the protesters plan to silently leave commencement at some point and do it in a respectful manner.

The action, he said, does not surprise school officials because the university has repeatedly been the scene of protests.

For example, some antiabortion activists protested President Barack Obama when he spoke at the 2009 graduation ceremony, and there were protests too for Vice President Joe Biden at the 2016 commencement, he said. Biden was there to receive the Laetare Medal, along with former Republican house speaker John Boehner; the award is the highest given to Catholics in the United States and recognizes service to the Catholic Church and society. There were protesters on campus, too, for a recent talk by conservative political scientist Charles Murray.

Its not unusual for us, he said.

Pence protest organizers are using the hashtag #WalkOutND to build support for their effort and say they expect scores of students and many more family and friends in the audience to participate. There will be about 2,000 graduating seniors at the ceremony.

Browne said the school was not concerned about the protests. Virtually our entire discussion at the moment is about the weather, he said. Thunderstorms may drive the ceremony from an outside venue, where students can have unlimited tickets for guests, to an inside auditorium where tickets will be limited, he said. (Correction: An earlier version said the six previous presidents had spoken at Notre Dame; it was six former presidents. Also clarifying wording on past protesters.)

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Notre Dame students plan to protest against Mike Pence at ... - Washington Post

THE perfect escape for the world-weary currently awaits local audiences in The Haymarket.

BATS have staged the Monty Python musical Spamalot the first local production of this smash-hit show - and their sublime slice of silliness is a genuinely laugh-out-loud treat.

First time director / choreographer Gary J Myers has bitten off a lot, but its certainly not more than he can chew. In fact, what he has served up is quite wonderful! Hes ably assisted by Neil Streeter as musical director.

Spamalot is the tale of King Arthur (a suitably regal Colin Flaherty) and his band of knights, and their quest to find the Grail / stage a musical in Basingstoke.

Along the way they encounter surly peasants, the French, the Knights of Ni, the irrepressible Black Knight, flying cows and the rest.

The show is a huge challenge for all departments sound, props, wardrobe and lighting but the society has multitasked to the max to achieve something quite special.

BATS talented actors also showcase their adaptability by demonstrating serious comedic ability and timing. Some of their stalwart performers (Ian Moseley, David Izzo) are a revelation and supporting players also do wonderful work in smaller parts: Ed Branch (French taunter), Tracey Gonzato (head minstrel), Stuart Baker (Dead Fred) and Grant Foyle (Kevin) are all fantastic.

Izzo, Nick Brannam and Pete Chandler are hysterically funny throughout the plotline about Prince Herbert whilst a brilliant Kirsty Kingham demonstrates divine comic delivery and boasts terrific vocals - as the Lady of the Lake, hilariously snarling Whatever happened to my part during The Divas Lament.

Well done to the rest of the company, too, who whizz on and off in various outfits constantly, singing, dancing, nailing punchlines and doing whatever else the show demands.

It goes without saying that Python fans will be in heaven but theres lots of general fun to enjoy, including references to other famous musicals. Other standout musical numbers include the Knights of the Round Table, You Wont Succeed in Showbiz and His Name is Lancelot.

Only the hardest heart could resist joining in with the final sing-along to Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, so partake of Spamalots cheeky joy while you can. Youll feel much better afterwards.

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Savour the sublime slice of silliness of Spamalot at the Haymarket ... - Basingstoke Gazette

President Donald Trump pressured a reluctant Michael Flynn into accepting a job as the White Houses top national security official even after Flynn warned the president that he was under investigation over undisclosed lobbying on behalf of a foreign government, The Daily Beast has learned.

The president's continued loyalty to his ousted former aide is so strong, in fact, that the two have remained in touch despite the potential that their communication could be portrayed as White House interference in a federal investigation.

Now, both men could pay a huge price for it.

He did not want to be National Security Adviser, Michael Ledeen, a friend of the retired Army general, told The Daily Beast on Thursday. He didnt want to be in the government. He wanted to go back to private life.

But Trump insisted on it, said historian Ledeen, co-author of Flynns 2016 book The Field of Fight, their manifesto for defeating Islamic militancy. He likes him, he trusted him, he was comfortable with him, he said.

Flynn was reluctant but honored when offered the post, according to a senior Trump administration official, and only accepted it at the presidents urging.

A third source with direct knowledge of Trump transition team discussions confirmed that Flynn did not want the National Security Adviser post, though he claimed Flynn was instead hoping for a position in the intelligence community, preferably Director of National Intelligence or the director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Trumps pressuring of Flynn to take the job came even though Flynn had informed the Trump transition team that he was under active FBI investigation over undisclosed lobbying on behalf of a Dutch companylobbying that, Flynn now admits, may have advanced the interests of the Turkish government.

The president's continued loyalty to his ousted former aide is so strong, in fact, that the two have remained in touch despite the potential that their communication could be portrayed as White House interference in a federal investigation.

Trumps affinity for Flynn apparently led the president to urge former FBI director James Comey, before his firing last week, to drop or ease a federal investigation of Flynn, according to Comeys written account of a meeting with the president.

Trump Wants Flynn Back

But Trump doesnt just hope that Flynn will beat the rap. Several sources close to Flynn and to the administration tell The Daily Beast that Trump has expressed his hopes that a resolution of the FBIs investigation in Flynns favor might allow Flynn to rejoin the White House in some capacitya scenario some of Trumps closest advisers in and outside the West Wing have assured him absolutely should not happen.

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Those sources said Trump didnt believe Flynn should be under investigation in the first place.

Trump feels really, really, really, bad about firing him, and he genuinely thinks if the investigation is over Flynn can come back, said one White House official.

One former FBI official and a second government official said Trump thought he owed Flynn for how things ended up and was determined to clear Flynns name and bring him back to the White House.

All of the officials spoke on the condition of anonymity so as to speak freely on sensitive matters.

After less than a month on the job, Flynn resigned when it was revealed that he had failed to disclose conversations with the Russian ambassador to Washington regarding U.S. sanctions against the country. Those conversations could feature prominently in ongoing FBI and congressional investigations into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Those investigations were why Trumps White House attorneys warned him repeatedly against communicating with Flynn after his firing, as The Daily Beast reported last week.

Apparently, the president didnt listen to his own lawyers.

The two have stayed in touch, according to a Yahoo News report Thursday, confirmed by multiple White House and administration sources.

One person close to Flynn say he has kept up lines of communication since offering his resignation to protect the president from the growing controversy involving the Trump campaigns ties to Russian government interests.

A longtime Trump confidant also confirmed to The Daily Beast that Trump had mentioned to him that he had communicated with Lt. Gen. Flynn in the past few weekslong after Flynn had been given the boot from the Trump administration.

A White House staffer recalled hearing of Trumps conversations with Flynn since his firing in February, though it was not clear what they discussed. Supposedly theyve spoken since Flynn was fired, the staffer said. The president clearly feels bad about how things went down.

News that they remained in touch flatly contradicts repeated and adamant White House denials last week that Trump and his former National Security Adviser had been communicating since Flynns ouster. Multiple White House officials claimed to The Daily Beast that no such communication had occurred due to the intervention of White House attorneys.

The White House did not respond to questions on Thursday attempting to square that discrepancy. Flynns lawyer Robert Kelner also did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Trumps plea for the FBI to step back from its probe of Flynn set off allegations by congressional Democrats of potential obstruction of justice. Revelations that Trump has been in contact with Flynnand openly mused about a new job for himcould add more heft to those allegations.

The last thing [the White House] would want is an allegation of conspiracy, witness tampering or coordination, national security attorney Mark Zaid told The Daily Beast last week. If Flynn is going to be indicted, or certainly under investigation, then I would want the president to be as far away from him as possible.

Such conversations would create huge issues, according to Zaids law partner, Brad Moss. Talking with witnesses got Nixon in trouble.

Excerpt from:
Donald Trump Talked Michael Flynn Into White House Job - Daily Beast

President Donald Trump said Thursday he thinks the appointment of special counsel for the Russia investigation is bad for the United States.

"I believe it hurts our country terribly, because it shows we're a divided, mixed-up, not-unified country," Trump said. "And we have very important things to be doing right now, whether it's trade deals, whether it's military, whether it's stopping nuclear all of the things that we discussed today. And I think this shows a very divided country."

Trump made his comments during a lunch with reporters and TV anchors.

"It also happens to be a pure excuse for the Democrats having lost an election that they should have easily won because of the Electoral College being slanted so much in their way. That's all this is. I think it shows division, and it shows that we're not together as a country. And I think it's a very, very negative thing. And hopefully, this can go quickly, because we have to show unity if we're going to do great things with respect to the rest of the world."

On Wednesday, Justice Department officials announced that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had tapped former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel, taking over the investigation into Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 election.

After the announcement, the White House issued a measured statement on the president's behalf:

"As I have stated many times, a thorough investigation will confirm what we already know there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity. I look forward to this matter concluding quickly. In the meantime, I will never stop fighting for the people and the issues that matter most to the future of our country."

But Thursday morning, Trump tweeted a more aggressive tone, calling the investigation into potential ties between Russia and his presidential campaign a "witch hunt," a sentiment he reiterated later Thursday during a joint press conference with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

Trump also asked why no special counsel was appointed for what he called "all of the illegal acts" of Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Obama administration.

In a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 78 percent of respondents said they would rather see the investigation led by an independent commission or special prosecutor, versus one led by Congress.

NBC News and CNBC's Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report.

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Trump says appointment of special counsel 'hurts our country terribly' - CNBC