The New O’Keefe Video

Ken AshfordFake News, L'Affaire Russe, Right Wing and Inept Media, Wiretapping & SurveillanceLeave a Comment

WH spox Sarah Sanders: “There’s a video circulating now, whether it’s accurate or not I don’t know.” Encourages everyone in nation to watch. — Steve Peoples (@sppeoples) June 27, 2017 So, the White House spokesman wants people to watch a video even though she doesn’t know if it is accurate.  How’s that for devotion to the truth? The video is … Read More

Trump Again Tweets Against His Self-Interest

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

The reason that President Obama did NOTHING about Russia after being notified by the CIA of meddling is that he expected Clinton would win.. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2017 Sooooo…… is Trump finally admitting that Russia meddled?  Because he rarely admits that. Maybe this says it best: Let me get this right: Trump says Obama colluded/obstructed by … Read More

What’s This Tweet About?

Ken AshfordCourts/Law, L'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Trump’s not busy enough. He’s got free time to watch TV and get defensive. His tweets this morning railed against the “fake news” media and how there was no proof that his campaign (or, in his phrasing, he himself) colluded with Russia to affect the outcome of the election. (He also incorrectly claimed that the investigation had only been going … Read More

Trump Does Not Deny He Is Under Investigation

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Polls, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Amid a terrible day involving attempted assassination of Congressmen, one piece of news managed to break through: Trump is under investigation by special counsel Mueller for obstruction of justice.  The obstruction of justice investigation into the president began days after Comey was fired on May 9 with the team actively pursuing potential witnesses inside and outside the government. The White … Read More

The Sessions Sessions

Ken AshfordCongress, Constitution, Courts/Law, L'Affaire Russe, Republicans, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Ok, I’ll liveblog SOME of Sessions hearing before the Senate Intel Committee, but again, I expect he’ll talk about what he wants to talk about and then filibuster (or rely on executive privilege) when trapped in a corner. 2:56 pm Sessions has no recollection of meeting, talking to Russian ambassador or other Russian official at the Mayflower hotel. Here’s a notable … Read More

Sessions To Testify Before Senate Intelligence Committee

Ken AshfordCongress, L'Affaire Russe, Republicans, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

2:30 today. The thing to remember is that Sessions WANTED this testimony. So this is likely to his benefit. Or Trump’s. Sessions was once on the periphery of the Trump-Russia scandal. I mean, sure, he failed to disclose at his confirmation hearings that he met with the Russians twice during the campaign. But he fixed that as soon as the … Read More

Can Trump Fire Mueller?

Ken AshfordCourts/Law, L'Affaire Russe, Republicans, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

This is complicated and I don’t have much time. So hold on. Trump does not have the legal authority to fire special prosecutor Mueller directly, but that doesn’t mean Trump can’t TRY.  For Trump to fire Mueller, he TECHNICALLY must order the Attorney General to fire Mueller.  If Trump tried to fire Mueller directly, Mueller could (and probably would) choose … Read More

The Comey Memos — Part Two

Ken AshfordConstitution, Courts/Law, L'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

So some idiot at Redstate is making the argument that the Comey Memos were leaked in contravention of the law: The documents leaked by Comey were official government records. Period. They were created by a government employee (Comey) while acting in his official capacity (FBI director) on a government-issued laptop while sitting in a government car driven by another government … Read More

Did Comey Break The Law By Revealing His Memo Contents To The Press?

Ken AshfordCourts/Law, L'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

No, and in fact, if Trump goes after Comey for dong that, Trump could get in deeper trouble. Here’s why: As the news broke, I was on the phone with Stephen Kohn, partner at a law firm focused on whistleblower protection. We’d been talking about where the boundaries lay for Comey in what he could and couldn’t do with the … Read More

Not To Be Forgotten

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

One of the most telling and damaging points Comey made was that even after being informed there was absolutely no doubt Russia had mounted a huge effort to interfere with and undermine the credibility of the US election process, Donald Trump never even asked what was being done to prevent further interference by Russia. He was completely incurious about how … Read More

Breaking: Full Text of Comey Prepared Remarks Tomorrow

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Chairman Burr, Ranking Member Warner, Members of the Committee. Thank you for inviting me to appear before you today. I was asked to testify today to describe for you my interactions with President-Elect and President Trump on subjects that I understand are of interest to you. I have not included every detail from my conversations with the President, but, to … Read More

Previewing Comey’s Big Testimony On Thursday

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony Thursday to the Senate Intelligence Committee promises to be one of the most highly anticipated congressional appearances in years. Indeed, for a comparable high-stakes hearing, you have to go back to 2015, when Hillary Clinton testified before the House Benghazi Committee. Or 1991, when Anita Hill testified in Clarence Thomas’ Supreme Court confirmation hearing. … Read More