The Trump administration has enlisted senior members of the intelligence community and Congress in efforts to counter news stories about Trump associates’ ties to Russia, a politically charged issue that has been under investigation by the FBI as well as lawmakers now defending the White House.
Acting at the behest of the White House, the officials made calls to news organizations last week in attempts to challenge stories about alleged contacts between members of President Trump’s campaign team and Russian intelligence operatives, U.S. officials said.
The calls were orchestrated by the White House after unsuccessful attempts by the administration to get senior FBI officials to speak with news organizations and dispute the accuracy of stories on the alleged contacts with Russia.
The White House on Friday acknowledged those interactions with the FBI but did not disclose that it then turned to other officials who agreed to do what the FBI would not — participate in White House-arranged calls with news organizations, including The Washington Post.
The White House insisted the officials speak on the condition of anonymity — a practice President Trump has condemned.
Well, this is troubling.
You might also remember that Reince "twice and" Priebus recently stated that he was "authorized by the top levels of the intelligence community to denounce reports on Trump campaign contacts with Russia as false."
However there is no confirmation of this which has now placed quite a lot of pressure on a certain FBI Director to come clean:
As the FBI declined to discuss the matter, pressure mounted on Comey to either counter or affirm the White House's account. Even the Trump administration urged him to come forward, which as of Friday was not happening.
"Politicized assertions by White House chief of staff Priebus about what may or may not be the findings of an FBI investigation are exactly the wrong way for the public to hear about an issue that is of grave consequence to our democracy," Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat and member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. "The American people deserve real transparency, which means Director Comey needs to come forward, in an open hearing, and answer questions."
The push on Comey to publicly discuss the bureau's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election is especially acute given his statements in the run-up to Nov. 8 that many Democrats believe cost Clinton the election. He detailed the results of the FBI's investigation at an unusual July news conference, testified on it for hours on Capitol Hill and alerted Congress less than two weeks before Election Day that the FBI would be reviewing new emails potentially connected to the case.
One would think after the Hillary Clinton debacle that Comey would feel compelled to gain a little credibility back by setting the record straight here.
But so far, nothing.
I swear the further this thing goes the more I wonder why this entire administration is not facing federal charges.
Oh that's right, all this only counts when Democrats do it.
Source http://ift.tt/2mx6tSF
