The Hemingway Report

Friday, March 10, 2017

'President Obama would not do that': Pelosi says Trump's wiretapping claim 'couldn't possibly be true'- and FBI Director Comey should come out and say so

Before you read this. Remember what the 'Rock Solid Authority On All Things' said about Trump prior to the election.

And also recommended voting for ObamaCare to find out what's in it. And I would pay $375,000 for a home based solely on a photo of the front door.

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House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi says there's no way that former President Barack Obama had Donald Trump wiretapped in the lead up to the election, and FBI Director James Comey should say so.

A member of the House Intelligence Committee, Pelosi questioned whether Trump understands the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the law that allows the government to monitor the calls of foreign agents suspected of terrorism or espionage.

'President Obama would not do that,' she told reporters attending a Christian Science Monitor breakfast. 'We do not use FISA against the American people.'

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters attending a Christian Science Monitor breakfast that there's no way that former President Barack Obama had Donald Trump wiretapped in the lead up to the election, and FBI Director James Comey should say so

Trump has provided no evidence that Obama had his calls monitored.

And while several news reports indicated that FBI could have been spying on his business in connection with a probe into his alleged ties to the Russians, the White House has provided no direct evidence of that, either.

Any surveillance of Trump Tower would require a court order.

In accusing Obama of having him spied on, Trump suggested that the former president committed a felony.

Pelosi said Trump's claim 'couldn't possibly be true.'

His business may have been the target of an FBI investigation, she said, 'But we really don't know...I can't know in a way that I can say here.'

The Democratic leader encouraged FBI Director Comey to address Trump's allegations openly if he has information that contradicts the president.

'Theoretically do I think that a director of the FBI, who knows for a fact that something is mythology but misleading to the American people, and he should set the record straight? Yes I do think he should say that publicly.'

Comey has not commented on the matter directly, although more than one published report has said that he pushed the Justice Department to refute Trump's claim.

The White House has also urged Comey to issue a firm statement, yet he hasn't.

Yesterday evening Comey met with congressional leaders on Capitol Hill, including Pelosi, who are part of what is known as the 'Gang of Eight' to perform a routine national security briefing.

The California congresswoman said she was unable to comment on that discussion while affirming that she again called for an independent commission 'to investigate the Russian connection.'

'What did the Russians have on Donald Trump that has him talking about flirting with the idea of not having sanctions on Russia, undermining the START treaty, even belittling the greatness of America, as he does, so what's that about?'

Pelosi suggested Sunday that Trump made the wiretapping allegation against Obama as distraction tactic, saying on Twitter that 'misdirection is a tool of authoritarians.'

Speaking about the charge at Friday's invite-only breakfast, she again wondered, 'What is going on there?

Comey, seen here on Wednesday in Boston, has not commented on Trump's charges on the record. But more than one published report has said that he pushed the Justice Department to refute Trump's claim

'I mean really, I think that he crossed the line with that,' she said. 'But it's red meat for his base. You know they believe almost anything he says.'

The House minority leader brought up Trump's campaign claim that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue in New York and still have his voters' support. His charge against Obama is a similar test, she said.

'He's shooting the truth on Fifth Avenue, or Mar-a-Lago, wherever he happens to be, occasionally at the White House,' she said.

House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes said Tuesday that he has not been presented with evidence to back up Trump's assertion on Twitter Saturday.

'We are supposed to be kept up to speed on any pertinent counterintelligence investigation,' he said. 'If Trump or any other political campaign, or anybody associated with Trump, was under some type of investigation, that clearly should have risen to the Gang of Eight level.'

Still, he said the committee will look into the allegation, as the White House has requested.

Pelosi said Friday that intelligence panel shouldn't be spending its time investigating the charge.

'No. They should be investigating the Russian connection to undermine our democracy. That's what they should be investigating,' she said.

'This is, you throw out something, and say waste your time investigating something.'

Continuing, Pelosi said of the Trump charge, 'It couldn't possibly be true. It couldn't possibly be true, because that is not how our system works.'

'So, if you're talking about a FISA, as a president, I'm not even sure he understands the whole FISA thing. Maybe he does, but it's complicated,' she argued. 'But if he does, good for him, that would be one.'

Dennis Kucinich: I was wiretapped too. If it happened to me, it could happen to Trump

Please check this out.

If Barry's capable of wiretapping a minion like (Democrat) Kucinich... you think they wouldn’t go after Trump?

Video 331

Let's hope she tricked us and just disconnected it

Video 330

Comey warns there is no longer 'absolute privacy' in US

Maybe the title should have been:

Comey warns Trump there is no longer 'absolute privacy' in US

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FBI Director James Comey said Wednesday that Americans should no longer have the expectations of complete privacy.

Comey, who was the keynote speaker at a cybersecurity conference at Boston College, said there is no longer “absolute privacy” in the U.S., Politico reported.

“Even our memories aren’t private," he said. "Any of us can be compelled to say what we saw. In appropriate circumstances, a judge can compel any of us to testify in court on those private communications. There is no place in America outside of judicial reach."

Comey’s comments came less than 24 hours after WikiLeaks released files from the CIA which appear to show that the agency has the ability to hack cars, TVs and smartphones.

Comey did not reference the wiretapping controversy during his speech to law enforcement officials and private-sector business leaders.

“All of us have a reasonable expectation of privacy in our homes, in our cars, and in our devices. But it also means with good reason, in court, government through law enforcement can invade our private spaces,” Comey said.

He said the FBI is renewing a focus on the challenges posed by encryption. He said there should be a balance between privacy and the FBI's ability to lawfully access information. He also said the FBI needs to recruit talented computer personnel who might otherwise go to work for Apple or Google.

"The cyber threats we face are enormous. I don't know if we can stay ahead of them. And I think to say otherwise would be hubris," Comey said.

Comey added that he plans to serve his entire 10-year term despite the wiretapping controversy.

"You're stuck with me for another 6 1/2 years," he said.

ACLU files ethics complaint against Sessions with Alabama Bar Disciplinary Commission

Catherine HerridgePublished March 09, 2017

The ACLU has submitted an ethics complaint with the Alabama State Bar Disciplinary Commission against Attorney General Jeff Sessions, alleging the former senator violated the code of conduct during his confirmation hearing testimony.

Code of conduct? Where was the radical left ACLU when lard ass met Bill on the tarmac in Phoenix, AZ while his wife was under FBI investigation? Lynch blew the 'appearance of impropriety' out of the water!

This is total bullshit.

"Mr. Sessions is the Attorney General of the United States and violated Rule 8.4 of the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct," according to the complaint filed Thursday by the ACLU's Chris Anders, deputy director at the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, where he represents the ACLU before Congress and the executive branch.

"Mr. Sessions made false statement during sworn testimony on January 10, 2017 and in a subsequent written response to questions January 17, 2017." Anders continued, "Rule 8.4 (c) of the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct states that it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to 'engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation."

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL COMPLAINT

On March 2, Sessions told reporters at the Justice Department that he will recuse himself from “any existing or future investigations” regarding the 2016 presidential campaign, responding to bipartisan pressure to step aside from a probe into Moscow meddling amid revelations he spoke twice with Russia’s ambassador and didn’t disclose it to Congress.

In a press conference, Sessions pushed back forcefully, however, on allegations he misled lawmakers. Though he testified during his confirmation hearing that he had no “communications” with Russia during the campaign, when he was a top surrogate for then-candidate Donald Trump, Sessions defended his answer as “honest and correct.”

“I never had meetings with Russian operatives or Russian intermediaries about the Trump campaign,” he said.

Sessions said he did not intend to mislead anyone, suggesting he was referring in that hearing only to discussions about the campaign. Still, Sessions said he would write to the Senate Judiciary Committee to “explain this testimony for the record.”

"Jeff Sessions is an honest man," Trump said in a statement released later that day. "He did not say anything wrong. He could have stated his response more accurately, but it was clearly not intentional. This whole narrative is a way of saving face for Democrats losing an election that everyone thought they were supposed to win."

Earlier this week, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, accused Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., of asking a "gotcha question" after a heating exchange during a confirmation hearing for Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein to become deputy attorney general.

Franken had confronted Rosenstein over Sessions' two previously undisclosed meetings last year with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. when asked if he would prosecute any potential illicit contact between Trump's presidential campaign and Russian officials.

"I consider what Sen. Franken asked Sessions at that late moment, that that story had just come out, as a gotcha question," Grassley said. The Iowa senator then went on to say Franken had new information that Sessions was not aware of during his confirmation hearing.

When asked for comment about the complaint, the Department of Justice referred Fox News back to Sessions' letter sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 6, which served as a supplement to his testimony before the committee on January 10.

Anders told Fox News “few events are more corrosive to a democracy than having the future Attorney General make false statements under oath about a matter the Justice Department is investigating."

“No attorney, whether just starting out as a new lawyer or serving as the country’s top law enforcement officer, should lie under oath,” he added. “The Alabama bar must investigate this wrongfully and fairly.”

How do you investigate it wrongfully and fairly at the same time?

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