FBI, Justice Department Leaders Meet Over Trump Informant Allegations
Two highly classified briefings with the FBI and Justice Department took place Thursday about an FBI informant who contacted the Trump campaign.
Russia
Jewish-Christian Bible Bloc party approved by registrar
There will be a joint Jewish-Christian list that will run in the next general election, after the party registrar’s office recently approved the candidacy of a new party called The Bible Bloc Party (Gush Hatanachi in Hebrew.)
Mike Pompeo focused on North Korea denuclearization
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday said North Korean denuclearization is the ‘top national security priority,’ but the Trump administration is also focused on ‘appropriate countermeasures’ to anticipated Russian meddling in the 2018 midterms, knuckling down against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s power grab in Caracas and much, much more.
Trump questions why FBI informant received payments from government
President Trump on Tuesday asked why an FBI source who met with some members of his 2016 campaign was paid by the government, arguing the informant was ‘there to spy for political purposes.’
Media insist: FBI’s source on Trump was an ‘informant,’ not a ‘spy’
News reports have revealed the identity of a Cambridge University professor who fed information about the Trump campaign to the FBI but the national media have consistently declined to characterize the activity as spying, and are actively rejecting President Trump’s push to call it spying.
House Republicans to call for second special counsel to investigate alleged FISA abuse, Hillary Clinton probe
A group of congressional Republicans plans to introduce a resolution Tuesday calling for the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate alleged misconduct at the FBI and Justice Department.
Islamic State claims responsibility for church attack in Chechnya
The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for an attack on a church in Russia’s Chechnya republic that killed three people, the group’s Amaq news agency said on Sunday.
Rod Rosenstein asks DOJ inspector general to review possible Trump campaign infiltration
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein asked the Justice Department’s inspector general Sunday to review whether there was improper politically motivated surveillance of the Trump campaign in 2016.
Trump demands Justice Department probe if campaign ‘infiltrated’
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he will ‘demand’ that the Justice Department open an investigation into whether the FBI infiltrated his presidential campaign, an extraordinary order that came hours before his legal team said that the special counsel indicated its investigation into the president could be concluded by September.
Putin Meets Assad, Says ‘Foreign Armed Forces Will Start Leaving Syria’
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in the southern Russian city of Sochi on Thursday, Russian news agency TASS reported, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Russian missile defense system took direct hit during Israeli strikes in Syria
Russia relies heavily on foreign military sales to boost its economy. So the Kremlin scrambled to avoid bad publicity for one of its weapons systems last week after it took a direct hit during Israeli airstrikes in Syria.
Senate intel committee: Russian officials conspired to help Trump
Breaking with the House, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Wednesday endorsed a U.S. intelligence finding that Russia secretly tried to interfere with the 2016 election to boost Donald Trump and hurt Hillary Clinton, calling the accusations of Russian meddling ‘accurate and on point.’
Federal judge rejects Manafort’s bid to dismiss Mueller indictment
A federal judge on Tuesday rejected an attempt by Paul Manafort, a former Trump campaign chairman, to get an indictment against him dismissed by claiming that special counsel Robert Mueller’s appointment was flawed.
Devin Nunes: Congress has seen no ‘credible evidence’ justifying the Russia investigation
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes said Monday that Congress has yet to see any solid rationale for the Justice Department’s decision to launch the Russia investigation against President Trump, and said he’s hoping to see more when he meets with officials Wednesday.
Senate demands transcript of Russian wiretaps, FBI interview that nabbed Michael Flynn
President Trump’s former attorney says there are ‘reports’ that retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn referred to his own wiretap when he was interviewed by two FBI agents in January 2017.
Mueller may have a conflict — and it leads directly to a Russian oligarch
Special counsel Robert Mueller has withstood relentless political attacks, many distorting his record of distinguished government service.
Iran FM in Moscow as Russia moves to save nuclear deal
Iran’s foreign minister was in Moscow on Monday as Russia tries to keep the Iran nuclear deal alive in the wake of Washington’s pull-out, pushing it into rare cooperation with Europe.
Russian Nuclear Bombers Intercepted Near Alaska
Russian nuclear forces dispatch two strategic bombers into the air defense zone near Alaska on Friday and the aircraft were intercepted by American F-22 jets, the U.S. Northern Command said.
Russia seeks mediator role between Israel and Iran
Following Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in Syria, Russia has positioned itself as a mediator between the Middle Eastern rivals as it has maintained good relations with both countries.
Congress releases every Russian Facebook ad that ran during election
House lawmakers released the thousands of Facebook ads Russian operatives used to sow division in the U.S. before and after the 2016 election, ranging from blatant political messages to lighthearted memes.