Beltway Insider: Trump/Comey; Romania/G20; May’s Election Implosion; Servicemen Killed; Qatar Crisis

President Donald Trump remained vigilant in his duties as his maniacal meetings with former F.B.I. Director James Comey were made public which painted the president as power-hungry, vengeful, untrustworthy, suffering from mania, and generally unfit to serve.

According to Gallup, President Trump's job approval, over the past week, remained constant at 38% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness as President increased one percentage point to 58%. 

Trump's Bumpy Week

President Donald Trump has had better weeks, granted probably pre-inauguration, with the initiation of testimony by former F.B.I. Director James Comey, a plunging confidence vote, and stymied government, this week would be better forgotten if possible.

The private meetings, which James Comey has said, were recorded as he didn't trust the President enough not to record, became part of a much larger attempt to lay out a criminal case against Trump which included Obstruction of Justice and Collusion.

Reading the takeaways across the media they point to opinions of which any person who lived through the 2016 campaign season and had chosen to become informed on any level deduced about the man who had determined to use the presidency as a research and development plan for his empire without footing any of the costs.

Initially, Trump alienated nearly every currently sitting elected Republican official as well as those not currently holding office. Even as pundits believed he would eventually need some of the establishment to form his post election government  he chose a quid pro quo government. Those who did for him were rewarded. Those who didn't knew long before the election results. He wanted loyalty.

When former FBI director James Comey stated the yet to be elected president wanted loyalty, the boundaries had not been determined for the leader of the Justice Department. Either way an investigation into Hillary or himself was eventually coming and loyalty would further or curb it.

The Russian Connection

Every person Trump has appointed has had Russian connections, in fact it appears the majority of the fringe Green Party candidates and republican hopefuls also had Russian ties.

Former Defense Secretary Michael Flynn's background was well-known to the White House, Trump may be many things and yes, he often looks dimwitted and without a plan, and conversely in business he does the due diligence and as Russia is a business venture, the facts of those who go in Trump's stead are researched.

Media have also indicated Trump was informed of the potential firestorm over Flynn's financial arrangements with Russia long before it cost the former Defense Secretary his position.

Collusion with the Cold War Enemy

Is Russian an enemy? The United States, under former President Obama, during the 2016 election had imposed sectorial sanctions against Russia and the nation was expelled from the G7 over the violating the territorial sovereignty of the Ukraine. Were they the enemy?

American business were barred from doing business with the Russians due to the sanctions. As far as the enemy, the position had effectively reverted to Cold War status, or in modern terms "frenemies."

President Trump has yet to reverse the "frenemies"  status and the sanctions and expulsion remain intact. Any person performing business with the Russians face prosecution under the law.

So is the President a power hungry, maniacal, leader? Did we need further testimony to confirm?

The facts come down to a simple statement did the president know of or participate in collusion with the Russians to guarantee him the win on election day?

From testimony we know that everyone believes he is capable of this and technology makes it possible. Also somewhere in cyber space a trail has to exist that leads directly from, even with all the masking possibilities available in the cyber world, from a member of the Trump Organization in order to implicate the President.  

Did a member of the Trump Family or extended family, as the Kushner's have been making every presidential deal possible, create a deal that would provide the Russians with sensitive technology? 

Is there a smoking gun? Is there the possibility of a Pentagon released technology that may have been dropped into the Trump Family's hand for the purpose of guaranteeing his win for another's person ulterior motivation?

With the extended reach the Research and Development arm of DARPA and other agencies have with unlimited budgets to create effective and sinister cyber ware used for any number of purposes and Trump and his quid pro quo billionaire buddies whom all have one common pursuit, the financial potential of a technology that would effectively eradicate terrorism as the world knows it could create a bidding war between nations, leaders, Defense contractors and yes, even Wall Street Law firms needed to facilitate the contracts associated with partnerships and have an even higher value to a Russian Oligarch or expelled G7 Nation.

Is Trump headed down the road to impeachment: if you believe the same prognosticator that indicated he would be elected than clear the media calendars for extended hearings as that day is coming.

White House Taping System

Principal Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, when asked directly if she could, "say definitively whether there is a taping system that allows the President to record his conversations here at the White House?"

Her reply? Nixonian at best. "I have no idea," she said.

Reverting back to the early 1970's when the same questions were poised in Senate Hearings regarding the possibility of a taping system in place that allows the President to record his White House conversations.

Granted the situations were somewhat different by this time The Washington Post's Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein had filed nearly two years of stories beginning with the burglary of the Watergate Hotel.

The current pattern, oddly similar, with then President Nixon's refusal to release the tapes citing Constitutional principal and executive privilege, and claiming they were vital to National Security. Nixon refused. With each refusal, the request for the tapes grew, over time, from the initial nine to 64 to all 3000 hours.


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A subpoena to turn over all the tapes ended with a refusal. The request by the President to terminate the special prosecutor fell to two different men; both refused. One resigned the other was terminated. The head of Justice, Robert Bork complied terminating the Special Prosecutor. Nixon, took the matter to the Supreme Court who ordered him to turn over all the tapes.

The Nixon tapes cemented the criminal allegations against the Nixon Five, the then President's top five aides who eventually went to prison and the President who later resigned from office. He was pardoned for his crimes by his Vice President, Gerald R. Ford, who succeeded him in office.

Trump Hires Attorney

President Donald Trump has retained longtime friend and New York counsel Marc Kasowitz to navigate the increasingly large pool of evidence that suggests the President's aides may have colluded with the Russian government to secure his presidency.

    

On June 8, 2017, Marc Kasowitz delivered a statement, addressing in bullets portions of James Comey's testimony.

 

During his testimony, Comey referred to memos of all of his conversations with President Trump. Kasowitz denied that "Trump asked Comey to drop the Flynn probe" and he said that "Trump never asked Comey to let the Flynn investigation go or for Comey's "loyalty."

 

Kasowitz "accused government employees" including Comey, of "actively attempting to undermine this administration with selective and illegal leaks of classified information and privileged communication".

 

According to The Washington Post neither Kasowitz (and Trump) were under oath when they disputed the contention that Comey had "told Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the days after that conversation that he didn't want to be left alone with Trump, out of concern that the president would make improper requests."

 

Kasowitz reported that Trump felt "'completely vindicated' by Comey's testimony that the president was not being investigated for colluding with Russian officials during the 2016 elections" – "even though the probe continues now with Special Counsel Robert Mueller III and appears to have expanded to included Trump's possible efforts to interfere." Wikipedia

Kasowitz, with encyclopedic knowledge of the law and part owner of Kasowitz, Benson Torres LLP, has practiced law in New York State for 39 years and represented many major firms, corporations, and figureheads during that past 24 years under the KBT umbrella.

President Trump has used the same counsel for many decades with Kasowitz representing the New York developer throughout his divorce proceedings, multiple sexual harassment allegations, bankruptcy's, and now as the President sought outside, private, counsel to handle, the possible criminal allegations that President could face.   

In the days following the president retaining Marc Kasowitz, officially as his private counsel concerning the allegation of pre-election collusion with Russia, it was reveled in all major news medias and posted on Wikipedia, "Kasowitz represented Russian Oligarch Oleg Deripaska,  a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and a business associate of Donald Trump's former Campaign manager Paul Manafort. He also represents the Russian State owned bank Sherbank."

Trump Meets with Romania President at White House

President Trump and Romania President Klaus Iohannis met this week as the President has maintained a business as usual policy preparing for the upcoming G20 in Hamburg, Germany.

The bi-lateral discussions between the two nations focused on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the continual resurgence and escalation of terrorist attacks throughout western Europe, the European Union and the World.

"I want to call on all other nations to stop immediately supporting terrorism.  Stop teaching people to kill other people. Stop filling their minds with hate and intolerance.  This is my great priority because it is my first duty as President to keep our people safe.  Defeating ISIS and other terror organizations is something I have emphasized all during my campaign and right up until the present.  To do that, stop funding, stop teaching hate, and stop the killing," President Trump said.

"NATO and the European Union do not have to compete against each other.  They have to work together. They have to work in such a manner as to produce synergetic effects.  Make NATO stronger.  Make European stronger.  Make the United States of America stronger. And this is what we decided, President Trump and I, to make our partnership stronger, better, more enduring.  And this will lead very soon to an enhanced economic exchange, to better commerce," President Klaus Iohannis said.


UK Elections: Voter’s Reinforce Concern Over Direction Shocking Parties With Near Tory Upset


May's Election Implosion

Prime Minster Theresa May is holding onto her government even in the wake of a lukewarm, non-majority, victory which left her with the task of seeking permission of Queen Elizabeth to form a monitory government in her name.

With the vocal UK media leading with glib and derogatory headlines which label the struggling leader "Dead Woman Walking," "Crackpot," "Hanging by a Thread," "Mayhem," "Queen of Denial," and "Theresa Dismay" as May seeks to maintain her position as Prime Minister forming an alliance with the Democratic Unionist Party.

Those talks following the disastrous election results seem to have produced a common ground as the DUP leader, Arlene Foster has made comments to the media of progressive statements and have noted Theresa May, for them, is the only option. No other alternative is acceptable.

"We want there to be a government. We have worked well with May. The alternative is intolerable. For as long as Corbyn leads Labour, we will ensure there's a Tory PM," a DUP member stated to The Guardian.com.

Loyalty to Ms. May's new government comes at a price, as all deals do, and for "The DUP's "price" for propping up a new Tory government will include a promise that there will be no separate post-Brexit status for Northern Ireland, the party's leader in Westminster has confirmed," The Guardian reported.

Brexit in Ten

Brexit, the result of the first power play election held one year ago that resulted in the United Kingdom voting to leave the European Union, negotiations begin in ten days.

The process for an Independet Britain will be progressively accomplished over the next two years, with many hurdles along the way, as the exit strategy for the United Kingdom is not an easy one and apparently built into the original planning to avoid a quick divorce over issues that could be resolved given time.

However putting the vote to the people, which former Prime Minster David Cameron expected to bolster his power and became his undoing, is always a chancy option especially if not needed. Ms. May, who will hold onto her position as Prime Minister, even after a stunning and unprecedented defeat in overall representation, and has now been forced to work outside her parties boundaries to form her Conservative Party government.

Ms. May and Ms. Foster, the leader of DUP Party, should be able to work together to maintain the conservative government. It also signals a change for the Democratic Unionist Party bringing the backbench representation into the forefront and possibly bringing greater strength and stability.

One lesson that can be taken from this bruising is the will of the people is a better quality of life. Societal ills remain the same, social services, homelessness, joblessness, terror, the plight of the people, wages reflective of the cost of living, equal wages, affordable housing, global food insecurities, lower taxes,  the plagues of society across the pond and people innately are the same, we all desire better, and better for our children. We want a terror free world. The Prime Minister's position is not easy and having the leader of the DUP Party has a confident isn't a defeatist option.

President Trump's London Visit Delayed

The Queen who extended the invitation, via Prime Minster Theresa May,  to meet with United States President Donald J. Trump after his historic election has confirmed the visit will be delayed. No reschedule date has been released.

Servicemen Killed

Three American Servicemen have been killed in Afghanistan and a forth injured and evacuated in what was called a Terror attack or an ambush as the Islamic State claimed responsibility to the murders.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, used the social media platform "WhatApp" to communicate the Taliban's responsibility for the killings.  

The State Department has yet to release the identities pending notification of next of kin.

Qatar Crisis

Nations within the Arab Peninsula have officially distanced themselves from neighboring Qatar, and have publicly accused the nation which sits on the Persian Gulf as actively funding and supporting the Islamic State, the Taliban, and other extremists organizations who employ Terrorist ideologies.

"The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level, and in the wake of that conference, nations came together and spoke to me about confronting Qatar over its behavior.   The time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding -- they have to end that funding -- and its extremist ideology in terms of funding.  I want to call on all other nations to stop immediately supporting terrorism.   For Qatar, we want you back among the unity of responsible nations," The President said.

For more information on President Donald Trump: www.whitehouse.gov

Sources: Whitehouse.gov, Wikipedia.com, 

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