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President Donald Trump is expected to make an announcement in the coming days on whether any recordings exist of his private conversations with former FBI Director James Comey, potentially bringing to an end one of the central mysteries of the ongoing probe that has consumed his White House .

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday that he expects an announcement "this week" on the possibility of tapes. The president fired Comey in May and then tweeted that the lawman, who was overseeing the investigation into possible contacts between Trump's campaign and Russian officials, "better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press."

Trump and his aides have since then steadfastly refused to clarify that extraordinary if ambiguous warning. The president last month told reporters that "I'll tell you about that maybe sometime in the near future" but offered no hints as to whether the tapes exists, except saying that some journalists would "be very disappointed" to find out the answer.

The House intelligence committee has asked White House counsel Don McGahn to provide an answer to the question about tapes by Friday. Under a post-Watergate law, the Presidential Records Act, recordings made by presidents belong to the people and can eventually be made public. Destroying them would be a crime.

Comey testified before the Senate that Trump asked for his loyalty and asked for him to drop the probe into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Some have raised the possibility that Trump's request constituted obstruction of justice, but the president has yet to produce the tapes that could theoretically clear his name.

The investigation was originally launched to look into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election. Trump has at times cast doubt on that conclusion, and Spicer said Tuesday that he has yet to discuss with the president whether he believes that Moscow was behind the election interference.

"I have not sat down and talked to him about that specific thing," Spicer said.

America's top intelligence officials have concluded that Russia undoubtedly interfered in America's 2016 presidential campaign. Characterizing it as the "high-confidence judgment of the entire intelligence community," Comey testified that there is no doubt that the Russians meddled "with "purpose," ''sophistication" and technology. Trump, meanwhile, has dismissed investigations into the meddling and potential collusion with his campaign associates as a "witch hunt."

Robert Mueller, the special counsel now overseeing the investigation, met Tuesday with the leaders of the House Intelligence committee. Reps. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, and Adam Schiff, D-Calif., issued a brief statement confirming the meeting but providing no details about their discussion.

Mueller is slated to meet Wednesday with top members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, including the chairman, GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and the top Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California. He'll also meet with Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.

One reason for the Capitol Hill meetings is to ensure there is no conflict between Mueller's probe and the work of the congressional committees.

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President Trump Expected to Reveal This Week If Secret Comey Tapes Exist - Fortune

Donald Trump is stooping to new lows. He evidently has no reservations about making himself, the sitting U.S. President, into the Saudis chief global lobbyist.

That Trump bought the Saudi line about the Qataris funding terrorism is very telling.

Both countries, respectively, support Wahhabist or Salafist insurgencies in various places, but that is not what the Saudis find objectionable.

The Saudis try to distract from their own actions

There is no question about the Saudis longstanding willingness to fund and arm specific terrorist groups as needed, mainly to advance allied autocracies and send young hotheads abroad, often to the West.

The Qataris pursue a different approach in the terrorism financing business.

They tend to make longer-term investments in other religious or ideological factions. And yes, these do pose an existential threat to Saudi interests.

For that reason, it is fully comprehensible why the Saudis would want to direct attention to Qatar.

What is not comprehensible is that President Trump has fallen for that very transparent act of distraction.

Trump worries about regime change too

At the same time, it is important to recognize that to be horrified by regime change is something that Donald Trump immediately gets and a fear he instinctively shars with the Saudis. No wonder he regards them as soulmates.

As is the case with the Saudi monarchy itself, Trumps entire political being is based on the conviction that anybody who dares stand in his way in any fashion is guilty of lse majest, if not worse.

That is why he had no qualms about taking sides in the bataille royale.

Europe as collateral damage: So what?

Trump also had no problems with the fact that the fallout of an actual Saudi-Qatar war is bound to go far beyond the Gulf region and the wider Middle East. It would definitely, quite literally, hit European capitals and cities.

As Mr. Trump has made plain in his pompous appearance at NATO headquarters, he is not one to worry much about the U.S.s NATO allies.

In his disturbed mind, he might even think that the Europeans who still owe him billions of dollars basically deserve a hit. So why worry? Any avenue taken to make them come to their senses is welcome.

The fallout from absolving the Saudis

Trumps sycophantic support notwithstanding, the real damage of his words is not just that Trump absolves the Saudis of any of their own responsibility for terror.

What is widely overlooked in that regard is that Trumps full-scale blessing has effectively killed the however hesitant move toward domestic reform in Saudi Arabia.

Given the deteriorating economic regime, the Saudi royals were getting ready to reform themselves, not least because, under President Obama, they no longer had reflexive U.S. backing.

Now that the Saudis arent just back in favor in Washington, but get to run Trumps table, who in Riyadh is to worry about reforms other than cosmetic ones?

Continued here:
Qatar et al.: Donald Trump as a Saudi lobbyist - Salon

Brian Klaas, Opinion contributor 3:18 a.m. ET June 21, 2017

President Trump in the Cabinet Room on June 13, 2017.(Photo: Susan Walsh, AP)

The United States government is suffering from a new phenomenon: the Trump Brain Drain. For the first time in memory, the American government is havingdifficulty recruitingthe best and the brightest at thehighest levelsof power.

Qualified public servants areturning downplum government jobs because they don't want to be exposed to the risks of serving in President Trump'sWhite House. West Wing power-brokers are lawyering up (even Trumps lawyer hashireda lawyer). A special counsel is reportedly investigating the president himself for possibly obstructing justice.

The reputational risk of working for Trumps administration is enormous, and it's not just because of the endless spiralingscandals. There's alsothe now routineTrumpian ritual of sacrificing his staff on his altar of self-sabotage.We all know the drill: Sean Spicer or Sarah Huckabee Sanders or another sacrificial lamb offers up a flimsy lie to protect Trump. (He fired Comey because he was toohard on HillaryClinton!) Trump repays the favor by contradicting his staff almost immediately on Twitter or TV. (I fired him because of the Russia thing.)

Yet working for this president has become a bewildering exercise in trying to figure out whats worse: paying exorbitant legal fees, being tossed under the proverbial bus by your boss, orrisking becoming a national punchline (we almost feel sorry for you, Sean). The loyalty that Trump infamously demands from subordinates is clearly not a two-way street.

At least there are job perks. Build your CV with the unique experience of being subpoenaed by Congress. Practice your leader worship skills as youre forced to proclaimyour fawning admiration for Trump during a public Cabinet meeting. And if those dont entice you, who wouldnt jump at the chance to work for a beleaguered president withrecord low approval ratings, a hot temper, and a stalled legislative agenda?

The United States is less safe and government is less effective when top talent must think twice about serving the president.

It's a witch hunt for Trump, whos acting like a witch

Conservatives should love the Trump presidency, but he makes it hard

Less than five months into the Trump presidency, there is a record number of vacancies. Of 558 key presidential appointments requiring Senate confirmation, only43 have beenfilled(less than 8% of the total). And before you echo the frequently tweeted but incorrect Trump accusation that this is due to Democrat "OBSTRUCTIONISTS, remember that405of the 558 positionsdont even have a nominee yet. This snails pace of selecting peoplewhich involves getting them to agree to serveis unprecedented in modern history.

When the post of FBI director opened up (through, shall we say, questionable means), at least fivededicated public servants publicly withdrew from consideration.Several seasoned veterans pulled themselves out of therunningto replace Michael Flynn as national security adviser. EvenKellyanne Conways husbandwithdrewfrom consideration for a powerful Justice Department role (perhaps he had learned some alternative factslife inside the Trump administration from a well-placed counselor?).

The Trump Brain Drain is sapping talent beyond the White House, too. Six cyber security executives toldReutersthat Trumps caustic attacks on intelligence agencies had provoked a marked surge in skilled hackers and cyber talent leaving government agencies to pursue careers in the private sector.Even lawyers, who used to flock to Trump like moths to a litigious orange flame, are now staying away. Four different law firmsdeclinedto represent Trump not only because they feared that Trump wont listen to their legal advice but also because working with Trump wouldkill recruitmentfor their firms the trickle-down economics of the Trump Brain Drain in action.

Of course, there are many, many excellent and experienced public servants in the Trump administration (Defense Secretary James Mattis, National Security AdviserH.R. McMasterand Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao spring to mind). But Trumps top day-to-day advisers are no dream team. We must call an unqualified spade an unqualified spade.

POLICING THE USA:Alook atrace, justice, media

Donald Trump's business ties explain a lot of his dictator worship

There's hardly anyone on Trump's senior staff who hasushered abill through Congress. White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, the former Republican Party chairman, has never held elective officeand came to his job withvirtually no experienceat the federal level. Two of Trumps top advisers now some of the most influential people in the world arewoefully unqualified relatives. And former Breitbart chief Steve Bannon has as much business being in the Oval Office as Russian ambassadorSergey Kislyak, yet here we are.

It gets worse. You could start a joke by saying A neurosurgeon and a wedding planner walked into a bar but there's a real-world punchline. Last week, Trumpappointedhis familyswedding planner to run federal housingin New York. Her boss, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, is an impressive neurosurgeon, but its hard to see how operating on brains is a relevant qualification for his post.

In other words, Trumps hiring decisions are compounding the recruitment brain drain because many people he selects are unprepared for their roles. Unless he changes his ways, his presidency will continue to languish from the one-two punch of his own incompetence and the governments inability to recruit top talent.

Brian Klaas is a fellow in comparative politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science and author ofThe Despot's Accomplice: How the West is Aiding and Abetting the Decline of Democracy. Follow him on Twitter@brianklaas.

You can readdiverse opinions from ourBoard of Contributorsand other writers ontheOpinion front page,on Twitter@USATOpinionand in our dailyOpinion newsletter.To submit a letter, comment or column, check oursubmission guidelines.

Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2sOUjLn

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The Donald Trump hiring crisis means America's got no talent - USA TODAY

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

You may have mocked claims about the existence of paid protesters as just another lie from the right. As it turns out, at least on this one issue, theyre actually telling the truth. The problem is, the right neglected to mention those paid protesters are part of the right wing apparatus.

The story starts last week, when the right wing decided to aim its collective outrage at a free staging of Shakespeares play Julius Caesar held in New York Citys Central Park. Mike Cernovich, a self-described member of the alt-right whothinksthe U.S. should give immigrants IQ tests, put up a YouTube video in which he offered cash to any protesters willing to disrupt the play for pay.

Ill give up to 10 people $1,000, Cernovich says in thefootage. I need you to get up with either a CNN is ISIS or Bill Clintons a rapist or The media is terrorism [sign]. And if youre able to get up and be escorted out by security, then I will give you $1,000.

In other words, Cernovich was actively and openly looking to recruit paid protesters. You know how conservatives made up that ridiculous myth about George Soros sending checks to liberals who march in protests? This is the real version of that, only sponsored by Cernovich.

The story actually gets richer, so to speak, as it continues. The night after Cernovichs offer, two protesters went to see Julius Caesar in the park. Semi-notorious right-wing media figure Laura Loomer snagged a ticket for a second-row seat that definitely should have gone to someone who actually wanted to see the play. Alt-right provocateur Jack Posobiec, whose greatest hits includepizzagateand the Seth Richconspiracy lie, also showed up. The two Trumpites told theNew Yorkerthey hadnt planned to meetwhich may or may not be trueand once they spotted each other, they sat apart so as not to arouse suspicion. Are you here for the Cernovich contest? Posobiec reportedly texted Loomer, according to the New Yorker. She responded, Just stay tuned.

In the middle of the production, Loomer stormed the stage, briefly halting the action and earning a chorus of boos from an audience that just wanted to see some Shakespeare. Theresfootageof the whole thing, including Loomer being removed from the stage as she shouts CNN is ISISthe exact phrase Cernovich suggestedover and over. As Loomer was escorted out, Posobiec stood up and began yelling Nazis and Goebbels at the audience, until he was removed. He alsorecordedhis outburst, possibly because Cernovich wants proof before hell pay out.

Loomer continued yelling even once she was put outside the venue, and police finally showed up at some point to arrest her. She was then led away, upright and intact, like a human being who does not also happen to be an unarmed black kid.

Its important to note that Loomer works for right-wing Canadian media outlet Rebel Media, and untillate May, so did Posobiec. The blogCanadalanddescribes it as a Breitbart-esque site filled with contributors who have called for a new Crusade to expel Muslims from the Holy Land, outlined what they hate about the Jews, and most recently, said thatBritish Muslims are enemy combatants, at least some of whom should beplaced into camps.

Loomer was released hours after her arrest. Rebel Media put up a Free Laura page on its website, including a link to afundraising sectionfor her legal defense fund. Loomer herself alsotweeted a request to support [her] legal defense fund. The link in the message leads to a campaign on WeSearchr, a crowdfunding site thats like a Go Fund Me for hard-right causes. As of this writing, Loomers page has banked more than $12,000. Josh Jordan, whos written for both Forbes and the conservative National Review, poined out that Loomers page previously noted she had a fundraising goal of $25,000, complete with screengrab. That target number has been erased, but the total intake keeps climbing. And presumably, while the Rebel Media Free Laura page doesnt display tallies, thereve been contributions via that site as well.

There are a few things that are curious here, that brought out the social media detectives. The first is that Rebel Media creator Ezra Levant made the Free Laura page at 6pm UTC or 2pm Eastern time, a fullfour hoursbefore Loomer was actually arrested. Its safe to assume that Levant doesnt have the power to see into the future, but that he and the team at Rebel hoped shed get arrested and planned to use the fabricated injustice to raise funds.

Theres also the matter of Loomers hefty request for donations. She faces charges of disorderly conduct and criminal trespass in the third degree. The latter is a class B misdemeanor, while the former is merely a violation, meaning its even less serious. I spoke to Matthew Galluzzo, a New York City criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor for the Manhattan District Attorneys office. He isnt representing Loomer, so he cant speak specifically to her case.

Most people charged with trespass with no criminal record are unlikely to be convicted of a crime or serve jail time, he noted, or have to pay a fine in excess of $120.

In fact, based on the charges she faces, theres no outcome that could account for the funds being requested, unless Loomer has a rap sheet as a serial killer thats been kept hush-hush. So why is Loomer raising so much money? Its unclear, and no one aside from Loomer and Rebel Media know. However, it is worth noting that Levant recently lost a libel case on appeal, which keeps him on the hook foran $80,000fine. Its also true that a company that targeted Breitbart for a boycott has done the same with Rebel Media, which has resulted in the loss of at least one majorcompanypulling ads from the site.

If it seemed incongruous that the new rightwhose members have declared themselves the defenders of free speech and conservationists of Western cultureclaimed to be so outraged by the recent staging of a Shakespeare play, this might explain why. And when the right talks about paid protesters, just assume they personally know whence they speak.

KaliHolloway is a senior writer and the associate editor of media and culture at AlterNet.

This article was made possible by the readers and supporters of AlterNet.

Header image source.

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Paid Protesters? Yes, Sent By The 'Alt-Right' - The National Memo (blog)

Police said the altercation began at a pay station inside a Santa Monica parking garage Saturday night.

Edgar Khodzhasaryan and Arsen Bekverdyan sat in one vehicle. Behind them, Antonio Foreman a bodyguard for an alt-right figure with ties to the Oath Keepers sat in another. At some point, as the men attempted to exit the garage, an argument began, which was followed by a minor traffic collision, a Santa Monica Police Department spokesman said.

The vehicles continued down the street near each other until Foremans vehicle stopped abruptly in front of the other vehicle, police said.

The victim and suspects exited their vehicles and confront[ed] each other in the roadway, police said. One of the suspects stabbed the victim and a fight ensued during which the victim [was] stabbed multiple times. The suspects returned to their vehicle and fled the location.

[The unhinged Oregon protester that the FBI has been tracking for months]

Just after 11 p.m., police discovered Foreman lying on the sidewalk. He was rushed to a hospital for treatment and remains in stable condition, police said.

Minutes later, about 11:23 p.m., police received a report that suspects involved in the stabbing may be at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica. Police found the suspects vehicle in an Emergency Room parking area and located Khodzhasaryan, 30, of Glendale, andBekverdyan, 31, of Burbank, at the hospital.

Both men have been accused of attempted murder and remain in custody on $1 million bail, Lt. Saul Rodriguez, a Santa Monica police spokesman, told The Washington Post. Information about each mans legal representation was not immediately available, and there have been no public comments from either man or an attorney.

Police declined to release Foremans name and offered an account that included no details to suggest that the attack was motivated by the victims connections to the alt-right. Rodriguez said police have no reason to think at this point that the stabbing was a hate crime.

ButTim Gionet a well-known alt-right figure who is known as Baked Alaska on Twitter and calls Foreman one of his best friends suggested on social media that Foremans race played a role in the attack. He also said that Foreman was leaving a Trump event when the incident occurred and that he was stabbed nine times.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Foreman sometimes works for the alt-right figure as his bodyguard. At the time of the attack, Foreman was not working as a bodyguard he was alone, police said.

Foreman has no health insurance, and a crowdfunding effort to help him pay for his medical bills has raised more than $8,000. The page says its goal is to raise $150,000.

Despite police claims to the contrary, the page says Foreman is the victim of an anti-white hate crime. Police did not identify the suspects race.

Anti-Trump and anti-white violence is escalating in the United States of America, the page says. From eggs, to fists, to bike locks, and now knives, everyday Trump supporters seem to be in real danger in their own country.

The page adds: Tony Foreman needs our help. Lets give it to him.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Foreman is a member of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia group.The national group presents itself as nonpartisan, but its concerns have echoed conspiratorial warnings about rigged elections and the alleged threat posed by the New Black Panther Party that are often found on the far-right fringes of the Web.

[Race riots, terrorist attacks and martial law: Oath Keepers warn of post-election chaos]

The Oath Keepers did not respond to a request for comment about Foremans association with the group.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors anti-government groups nationwide, calls the Oath Keepers one of the largest radical anti-government groups in the country.

In April, Business Insider described Gionet a former BuzzFeed employee as a 29-year-old Internet troll who used to consider himself a libertarian before switching his allegiance to President Trump after becoming fed up with political correctness run amok.

BuzzFeed turned me into a monster, he told Business Insider, recalling the moment he decided he wasnt among his kind.I was talking about the new Justin Bieber album. And I was like, Dude, that new Justin Bieber album is dope. I have to admit, I love Justin Bieber. He is totally my spirit animal. And someone came up to me and was like, Hey, bro, you cant say spirit animal, thats culturally appropriating Native American culture and thats not cool.

I was like, What? What the f are you talking about? he added. I had heard about the dangers of political correctness, but I thought this was just exaggerated, Gionet said. I thought there was no way people in real life could be like this.

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Alt-right decries attack on bodyguard as a hate crime. Police say it wasn't. - Washington Post