Trump-Russia Collusion: An Incomplete [For Now} Timeline

Ken AshfordElection 2016, L'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

June 16th, 2015: Donald Trump announces his candidacy for President of the United States. Circa Summer 2015: The US government alleges that Russian hackers first gain access to DNC computer networks. Circa August 2015: Trump staff arranges first meeting between Trump and General Flynn, according to Flynn’s account in an August 2016 interview with The Washington Post. “I got a phone call … Read More

Collusion, Baby!

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

.@RealDonaldTrump since November: Russian collusion is a big fat hoax @DonaldJTrumpJr now: Yes, there was collusion – here are my emails — West Wing Reports (@WestWingReport) July 11, 2017 With a few days off for breathless recovery, the Trump-Russia collusion scandal has been a steady stream of bombshells. A bug one dropped yesterday: Donald Trump Jr (a minor player up … Read More

Get Your Head In The Game!

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

At this week’s G-20 summit in Germany, one subject the world’s most powerful leaders are discussing is why Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman did not cooperate with U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials as they investigated cyberattacks against the Democratic National Committee, President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter this morning. He did not explain why Podesta, who did not work … Read More

U.S. Government Ethics Chief Resigns

Ken AshfordPolitical Scandals, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Because of course. Being the ethics chief in the Trump Administration must be a thankless and busy job.  And clearly, Shaub took a swipe at Trump in the second paragraph there. Shaub clashed with the White House over and over again regarding financial conflicts of interest, Kellyanne Conway promoting Ivanka’s jewelry, Hatch Act violations, etc.  He was always ignored. Shaub … Read More

Trump Doesn’t Consider Intelligence Agencies To Be On His Team

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

This is a very interesting exchange between a reporter and President Trump in Poland earlier today: .@HallieJackson: “You THINK it was Russia, your intelligence agencies say it WAS Russia, why won’t you say it was?” https://t.co/uUyeTu9chV — NBC News (@NBCNews) July 6, 2017 Note Trump’s response to Hallie Jackson.  He notes the reports that 17 intelligence agencies said it was … Read More

The First Hard Evidence of Collusion

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

And it comes from the staunch conservative outlet, The Wall Street Journal. New: GOP operative sought Clinton emails from Russian hackers, implied he was working with Mike Flynn. https://t.co/25qjKRRYRA — Shane Harris (@shaneharris) June 29, 2017 WSJ writes: Before the 2016 presidential election, a longtime Republican opposition researcher mounted an independent campaign to obtain emails he believed were stolen from … Read More

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