Senate Intel panel head steps aside amid COVID-19 insider-trading probe

Yahoo – AFP, May 14, 2020

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr is suspected of selling stocks
on non-public information on the threat of the coronavirus pandemic (AFP Photo/
Andrew Harnik)

Washington (AFP) - The Republican chairman of the powerful US Senate Intelligence committee stepped down from his position Thursday after the FBI seized his cellphone in a probe of alleged insider stock trading tied to the coronavirus pandemic.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Richard Burr would be stepping aside temporarily while the FBI investigation is ongoing.

"We agreed that this decision would be in the best interests of the committee and will be effective at the end of the day tomorrow," McConnell said in a statement.

Burr is under investigation over whether he used his insider access to highly classified intelligence to sell stocks in February -- before the coronavirus pandemic struck, and while Americans were being told the virus's threat was low.

The Los Angeles Times said federal agents wielding a warrant seized his cellphone late Wednesday at his Washington home.

Earlier they accessed Burr's personal files on his iCloud account, and information from that led them to the phone, the newspaper reported, quoting law enforcement officials.

NBC News also reported on the cellphone seizure, citing an unnamed senior law enforcement official.

Dumped stocks, warned donors

One of the most respected and relatively non-partisan Republican senators, the North Carolina lawmaker came under investigation after reports showed he had dumped stocks and warned donors of the looming COVID-19 pandemic in February -- as the White House played down the danger.

Burr, who receives almost daily briefings from the US intelligence community on threats to the country, himself wrote on the Fox News website on February 7 that the US government was "better prepared than ever" for the COVID-19 virus, assuring Americans that they were well-protected.

But on February 13 the North Carolina senator and his wife suddenly sold off between $628,000 and $1.7 million in stocks, the ProPublica media group revealed in March, citing financial filings.

On the same day, Burr's brother-in-law sold as much as $280,000 worth of shares, ProPublica reported last week.

Since then stock markets have plunged as the disease swept the world. Nearly 1.4 million Americans have been confirmed infected and over 84,000 died, more than any other country.

Burr, who receives much of the same intelligence that the White House does, clearly had a different private view of the threat than the government's public stance.

Two weeks after his share sales, Trump assured the public that the 15 US coronavirus cases so far reported could be the peak.

The same day Burr told a private gathering of wealthy donors that coronavirus was a threat akin the 1918 Spanish Flu, which killed tens of millions.

"There's one thing that I can tell you about this: It is much more aggressive in its transmission than anything that we have seen in recent history," he said.

Shrugging off Trump, FBI tackles right-wing extremists

Yahoo – AFP, Paul HANDLEY, August 25, 2019

Guns, ammunition and tactical gear seized by police near Los Angeles after
arresting a man who threatened a mass shooting (AFP Photo/Handout)

Guns, ammunition and tactical gear seized by police near Los Angeles after arresting a man who threatened a mass shooting (AFP Photo/Handout)

Washington (AFP) - One man had three assault rifles, extra-large magazines and a gas mask. Another had over 18 weapons, including sawed-off shotguns, AR-15s, and a grenade launcher.

Earlier this year, the two might not have drawn the attention of US law enforcement.

But ever since a young racist slaughtered 22 at a Texas Walmart, and another man murdered 10 in Ohio three weekends ago, the FBI has arrested at least seven right-wing extremists in what appears to be a more earnest effort to target white nationalist threats in the United States.

Vaults of guns, crates of ammunition

These are some examples of the deeply disturbing cases.

On August 8, a 23-year-old Las Vegas security guard who communicated with neo-Nazis was arrested with bomb-making materials and indications he might target a synagogue or gay nightclub.

A week later, a Connecticut man, 22, was detained after suggesting online that he would carry out a mass shooting. At his home, investigators found multiple hand and long guns, camouflage outfits, titanium body armor and a combat helmet.

On August 12, an 18-year-old who voiced support for mass shootings was indicted for threatening to kill law enforcement officers. At his home, he had a vault full of weapons and 10,000 rounds of ammunition.

Four days after that, Florida police arrested a 25-year-old man who texted his girlfriend that he was planning a mass shooting and envisioned "100 good kills."

Members and supporters of the National Socialist Movement, one of the largest 

neo-Nazi groups in the US, hold a rally on April 21, 2018 in Newnan, Georgia

(AFP Photo/SPENCER PLATT)

On August 17, a 20-year-old white nationalist was arrested in Ohio for threatening a Jewish community center. At his home, he had amassed multiple semi-automatic assault rifles, high-capacity magazines, and a gas mask.

And this week, police in Long Beach, California, arrested a man for making a mass shooting threat, and found at his home several illegal assault rifles, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and high-capacity magazines.

FBI waking up

The arrests brought to light the extent of the threat of extremist ideology on the right, and its ability to motivate uniformly young, white men into acting on their hate.

They also, analysts said, mark a change after US justice authorities have been accused for years of doing little about domestic terrorism, which has now killed more Americans since 2002 than Islamist extremism.

"I think that federal law enforcement understand that this is at the highest level of concern," said Brian Levin, head of the Study for Hate and Extremism at California State University-San Bernardino.

"They are certainly devoting a decent amount of investigative resources."

President Donald Trump has been criticized for not roundly condemning white nationalists and neo-Nazis in the wake of several shootings and violent incidents, in particular after a deadly neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.

Analysts say that reticence left the FBI not fully invested in confronting the threat.

Mass shootings like the one at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas have forced US law 

enforcement to reckon with a broad threat from white nationalist extremists

(AFP Photo/Mark RALSTON)

A NBC-Wall Street Journal poll conducted earlier this month and released Sunday showed that 56 percent of those surveyed believe that race relations in the US have gotten worse since Trump's election.

The FBI feels held back from opening investigations by Trump's refusal to criticize people he considers part of his loyal voter base, former FBI terrorism supervisor Dave Gomez told The Washington Post.

"It's a no-win situation for the FBI agent and his supervisor."

850 domestic terror probes

But the agency has now clearly recognized the priority.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said in July that they have 850 open "domestic terror" investigations and have made 100 arrests so far. The majority of those cases, he said, are "what you might call white supremacist violence."

But Wray also stressed that they were targeting crimes rather than an ideology -- a sharply different approach than that for Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda sympathizers, who can be arrested for expressing support for outlawed jihadists.

Wray's predecessor Andrew McCabe said Friday that the agency is overcoming that wariness, even if it could mean encroachments on civil liberties.

"I think the FBI appears to be refocusing, and augmenting their efforts on the domestic terrorist threat," McCabe told CNN.

Now there is "a much higher degree of sensitivity... to the statements which are now seen as predictors of potentially mass shootings," he said.

Levin said the arrests also show that, after the shock of recent mass shootings, the US public is more attuned to the ideological threat and ready to report any hints by perpetrators of their radical ideologies.

"I think that has created a familiarity among the public with what certain warning signs are," he said.

Outcry as Jeffrey Epstein found dead in jail, FBI investigates

Yahoo – AFP, Peter HUTCHISON, August 10, 2019

In this undated handout photo obtained July 11, 2019 courtesy
of the New York State Sex Offender Registry shows Jeffrey
Epstein (AFP Photo/HO)

New York (AFP) - US financier Jeffrey Epstein, awaiting trial on charges he trafficked underage girls for sex, was found dead in his prison cell Saturday from an apparent suicide, officials said.

Political leaders and law enforcement officials quickly expressed shock that a high-profile detainee who had already apparently tried to end his life in late July and would presumably be under close watch could manage to commit suicide. The Justice Department and the FBI launched investigations of the jet-set hedge fund manager's death.

Epstein, a convicted pedophile who befriended numerous politicians and celebrities over the years, was found unresponsive at the Metropolitan Correctional Center from "an apparent suicide", the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said.

The disgraced financier was discovered around 6:30 am (1030 GMT) and rushed to hospital in New York where he was pronounced dead, it added in a statement.

Attorney General Bill Barr said he was "appalled" to learn of Epstein's death and had instructed the justice department's inspector general to probe how he could have died while in federal custody.

"Mr Epstein's death raises serious questions that must be answered," Barr said in a statement.

The FBI is also investigating the incident, said the DoJ.

The New York Times and other media quoted officials as saying Epstein hanged himself.

The city medical examiner's office confirmed Epstein's death but not what caused it.

It came a day after a tranche of sealed legal documents were released for the first time providing new details about what prosecutors allege was Epstein's sex-trafficking operation.

The death also comes just over two weeks after the 66-year-old was found unconscious in his cell with marks on his neck after an apparent suicide attempt.

Epstein did not appear to be showing any visible signs of injuries when he appeared in court on July 31 following that incident, to be told that his trial wouldn't begin before June of next year.

'We need answers'

The wealthy hedge fund manager had been charged with one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors.

He was denied bail last month in a New York court because he was deemed a flight risk.

Epstein denied the charges and had faced up to 45 years in prison -- effectively the rest of his life -- if convicted.

The Metropolitan Correctional Center, a federal facility in Manhattan that is often used to house suspects awaiting or during trial, is considered one of the most secure penal establishments in the US.

The infamous Mexican drug trafficker Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman spent more than two years there before being convicted and transferred to a federal prison in Colorado.

Epstein's death quickly raised questions about whether Epstein was in fact on suicide watch.

"We need answers. Lots of them," tweeted New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Michael Bromwich, a former inspector general at the Justice Department, said an investigation must "determine who is responsible."

Republican Senator Ben Sasse, who heads the Senate's judiciary oversight committee, said the government had failed Epstein's alleged victims "yet again."

"These victims deserved to face their serial abuser in court," he said.

On Friday, two thousand pages of documents focusing on testimony by a victim who claimed she was a "sex slave" of Epstein were released by a New York court.

In them, Virginia Giuffre, now an adult, claims that she was forced to have sex with well-known American political and business personalities. They have all denied the allegations.

Sexual massages

Prosecutors said Epstein sexually exploited dozens of underage teenagers, some as young as 14, at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida, between 2002 and 2005.

They claim that Epstein was "well aware that many of the victims were minors."

The girls were paid hundreds of dollars in cash to massage him, perform sexual acts and to recruit other girls, prosecutors allege.

They say Epstein had an army of recruiters, often not much older than their targets, who would approach vulnerable teens.

Epstein is also accused of paying off possible co-conspirators to "influence" them, US media have reported.

Epstein, whose friends have included President Donald Trump, former president Bill Clinton and Britain's Prince Andrew, was convicted previously of paying young girls for sexual massages at his Palm Beach mansion.

They have all denied knowing anything about his alleged crimes.

Epstein avoided federal prosecution under a plea deal that required him to admit to a single Florida state charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor and register as a sex offender.

He served 13 months in a county jail before being released in 2009.

Last month, Alex Acosta resigned as US labor secretary amid a backlash over the deal that he negotiated with Epstein in that case while he was a federal prosecutor in Florida.

Related Articles:

US hedge fund billionaire charged with sex trafficking minors


“The Battle (in the old energy) is Over”, Laguna Hills, California, US(4), July 13–14, 2019 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - New

“McCloud-3 Linear Reflections Part 1”, McCloud, California, US(5), June 28 – July 1, 2019 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

FBI looking into bid to smear Russia probe chief Mueller

Yahoo – AFP, October 30, 2018

Robert Mueller, who leads the investigation into alleged election collusion between the
Trump campaign and Russia, was reportedly the target of a scheme to tar him
with false sexual harassment allegations (AFP Photo/Saul LOEB)

Washington (AFP) - The FBI is investigating an alleged scheme to pay women to accuse Russia collusion probe chief Robert Mueller of sexual harassment in a bid to discredit him, Mueller's office said Tuesday.

The scheme was uncovered after one woman who said she worked for Mueller decades ago told several journalists she had been offered $20,000 to accuse him of sexual misconduct.

"When we learned last week of allegations that women were offered money to make false claims about the Special Counsel, we immediately referred the matter to the FBI for investigation," Mueller's spokesman Peter Carr said.

Carr did not offer any additional details, but his rare public statement made clear that Mueller's office was taking the claims seriously.

When a matter is referred to the FBI, the agency must investigate the merits of the complaint.

Mueller is a former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who was tasked last year with investigating allegations that members of President Donald Trump's campaign team colluded with Russia to sway the 2016 election.

Mueller's probe has expanded to examine possible attempts by Trump himself to obstruct the investigation, which could -- if proven -- lead to the president's impeachment.

The Hill Reporter news website said the scheme surfaced last week after they and several other outlets were contacted by an anonymous woman saying she had been offered cash to make allegations against Mueller.

The woman -- who has since disappeared -- said in an email to several reporters that the person who contacted her claimed to work for Republican lobbyist and right-wing radio host Jack Burkman, the Hill Reporter said.

On October 20, Burkman announced on his Facebook page that he had explosive evidence showing Mueller is an alcoholic, and had seven women who claimed they had been harassed by Mueller, dating back four decades or more.

Memo alleging FBI abuse released on Trump's okay

Yahoo – AFP, February 2, 2018

US President Donald Trump authorizes the release of a Republican memo alleging
 bias in an FBI probe of Russian election meddling (AFP Photo/ANDREW
CABALLERO-REYNOLDS)

Washington (AFP) - The US Congress released a Republican memo Friday alleging bias in FBI investigations into his presidential campaign moments after US President Donald Trump authorized the explosive move.

"What's happening in our country is a disgrace," Trump said, announcing that he had declassified the memo drafted by Republican Congressman and former Trump transition team official Devin Nunes.

"A lot of people should be ashamed," Trump added.

White House sources said that despite a warning from Trump-appointed FBI Director Christopher Wray, whose future is now uncertain, Trump authorized the memo's release "in full" with no redactions.

Trump's decision rocked Washington, intensifying a fight that has raised questions about the political independence of federal prosecutors and whether the president is trying to obstruct justice.

Trump's critics allege the memo is designed to undercut special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of his campaign's ties with Russia, which US intelligence agencies unanimously agree tried to tilt the election in his favor.

The memo is believed to allege that an investigation into Trump campaign officials started with allegations from a Democrat-funded research.

Those allegations will heap pressure on the upper echelons of the FBI and Justice Department, who Trump has frequently attacked, including deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees Mueller's probe.

No evidence Obama wiretapped Trump Tower: US Justice Dept

Yahoo – AFP, September 3, 2017

The FBI had previously shot down the claims, that were made as controversy
over alleged links between Trump's campaign team and Russia intensified
earlier this year (AFP Photo/NICHOLAS KAMM)

Washington (AFP) - The US Justice Department has confirmed there is no evidence to back up President Donald Trump's claim that his predecessor Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the 2016 election campaign.

"Both FBI and NSD (National Security Division) confirm that they have no records related to wiretaps as described by the March 4, 2017 tweets," the department said in a court filing dated Friday that came about in response to a freedom of information request by American Oversight, a government watchdog.

The FBI had previously shot down the claims, that were made as controversy over alleged links between Trump's campaign team and Russia intensified earlier this year.

"Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!" Trump tweeted on March 4.

"How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!" he added.

He also repeated the claim during a White House press conference with Angela Merkel later that month.

Trump's former spokesman Sean Spicer also defended the claim and cited a Fox News report which alleged that Britain's GCHQ spy agency did the wiretapping for Obama.

National Security Agency Director Admiral Mike Rogers strongly rebutted the suggestion, telling a congressional hearing in March: "That would be expressly against the construct of the Five Eyes agreement that's been in place for decades." He was referring to the intelligence alliance grouping Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.

Reacting to the findings, Austin Evers, executive director of American Oversight, said: "The FBI and Department of Justice have now sided with former Director Comey and confirmed in writing that President Trump lied when he tweeted that former President Obama 'wiretapped' him at Trump Tower.

"This filing confirms that even Trump's own Department of Justice does not believe he has credibility on a key element of the Russia investigation."

Trump is facing multiple investigations into alleged collusion with Russia, including one led by special prosecutor Robert Mueller who was appointed following Trump's sacking of former FBI director James Comey.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman on Wednesday confirmed that the Kremlin last year received an email from a lawyer working for Donald Trump about building a Trump Tower skyscraper in Moscow -- despite assertions by the then candidate that he had no current business ties to the country.

During his successful presidential campaign, Trump praised Putin as a strong leader and called for a reset in relations with Moscow, but ties have since deteriorated sharply, with the US imposing fresh sanctions on Russia and both countries ordering each other to scale back their number of diplomats.

Pressure piles on Trump with son-in-law under FBI scrutiny

Yahoo – AFP, Jim Mannion, May 26, 2017

White House special advisor Jared Kushner has accompanied President
Donald Trump, his father-in-law, on his first trip abroad to the Middle East
and Europe (AFP Photo/Thomas COEX)

Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump's son-in-law and top aide, Jared Kushner, has been caught in the spotlight of an FBI probe into Russian meddling, US media reported, heaping more pressure Friday on the embattled US president.

The latest bombshell ensures that Trump will be thrust right back into the Russia scandal upon his return to Washington this weekend, after making his international debut with a tour of the Middle East and Europe.

Besides the Kushner development, which strikes at Trump's core by drawing his family into the crisis, the White House also faces a cascade of other worries in the coming week.

Fired former FBI director James Comey has promised to testify at an as yet unscheduled open session before the Senate Intelligence Committee, sometime after Monday's Memorial Day holiday.

And the White House staff itself could be facing upheaval. CBS News reported that Trump is expected to consider plans for a shakeup of his communications operation on his return from Europe.

Kushner at center stage

But Kushner, the polished 36-year-old who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, is likely to take center stage in the coming days.

Reserved in public, he was on prominent view during Trump's first presidential trip, as befits a trusted behind-the-scenes adviser involved in everything from Middle East peace to an initiative to streamline the US bureaucracy.

The Washington Post reported that investigators are focusing on meetings he held in December with Moscow's ambassador to Washington and the head of a Russian bank that has been under US sanctions since 2014.

"Mr Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about these meetings," his lawyer Jamie Gorelick said in a statement.

"He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry."

The Post and other media were careful to note that their sources did not say Kushner was a "target" of the investigation, nor that he was accused of any wrongdoing.

If he were a "target," it would suggest Kushner was a main suspect of the investigation.

The Post reported last week that the Russia investigation had been extended to a top White House official as a "significant person of interest."

Kushner is the only person currently in the White House known to be under investigation.

Former US national security advisory Michael Flynn is a key figure of interest in 

several probes into Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 election (AFP

 Photo/NICHOLAS KAMM)

Russia contacts

At least four other former campaign aides or advisers have been reported to be under FBI scrutiny as well -- former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former campaign manager Paul Manafort, sometime Trump adviser Roger Stone, and ex-campaign adviser Carter Page.

The FBI investigation is now being overseen by Robert Mueller, a respected former FBI director who was given broad powers to pursue the case as a special counsel after Trump abruptly fired Comey on May 9.

The key question before the FBI is whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in its effort to tilt the 2016 US election in the Republican's favor, which included a damaging hack of Democratic campaign emails.

Trump has denied any collusion, calling the probe "the greatest witch hunt" in American political history.

Former CIA director John Brennan revealed this week that intelligence chiefs had been looking into suspicious contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials since mid-2016.

The Senate and House Intelligence Committees also are investigating, but not with an eye to bringing criminal charges.

In early December, after Trump had won the elections, Kushner and Flynn met in New York with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Kushner also met that month with Sergei Gorkov, chairman of VneshEconomBank, a state bank under US sanctions since July 2014.

Both those meetings have since been publicly acknowledged by the White House, but Kushner initially failed to declare them on forms submitted to obtain a security clearance.

His lawyer later said it was a mistake, telling the Federal Bureau of Investigation that he would amend the forms.

In Trump's house

But those links place Kushner uncomfortably close to Flynn, who was fired in January for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of his subsequent conversations with Kislyak.

"The FBI's Russia investigation reached Trump's backyard, and now it's in his house," the Democratic National Committee said in a statement. "Kushner's security clearance should be suspended until the FBI's findings are complete."

David Axelrod, former president Barack Obama's chief campaign strategist, said the focus on Kushner was not a surprise.

"Not just because he had contacts with Russians, but because he was such an integral part of both the campaign and the post campaign period," he told CNN. "Jared Kushner was central to the operations of that campaign."

AFP graphic on the meetings between members of the Trump administration and Russian ambassador to US, which were initially undeclared pic.twitter.com/4BulNv7zXn

— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 26, 2017

Why did Trump oust FBI chief -- and what happens next?

Yahoo – AFP, Ivan Couronne, May 10, 2017

Donald Trump says his decision to fire the FBI director was motivated strictly
by James Comey's mishandling of a high-stakes probe into the emails of his
presidential rival, Hillary Clinton (AFP Photo/JIM WATSON)

Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump sent a shockwave through Washington by firing James Comey, the FBI's powerful director since 2013 who played an outsized role in American politics during and after the US election.

Democrats suspect the Republican leader of seeking to hamper an FBI investigation into the possibility Trump's campaign colluded with what US intelligence says was a Russian effort to sway the 2016 vote.

The president says his decision was motivated strictly by Comey's mishandling of a high-stakes probe into the emails of his presidential rival, Hillary Clinton.

Here are answers to some of the questions raised by Comey's ouster:

Why was Comey fired?

Officials said Trump based his decision to fire Comey on a three-page memo from new Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a respected former federal prosecutor who was confirmed in his post on April 25.

Rosenstein's letter lists a string of failings in Comey's handling of the final stages of a drawn-out probe into Clinton's use of a private email server as secretary of state -- which the Democrat says cost her the presidency.

Based on his deputy's assessment, Attorney General Jeff Sessions made the recommendation that Comey be removed from his post, upon which Trump acted immediately.

A protester holds a placard in front of the White House during a protest 

demanding an independent investigation into the Trump administration/Russia 

ties (AFP Photo/JIM WATSON)

Rosenstein faulted Comey for publicly announcing, in a bombshell news conference on July 5 last year, that the FBI was closing its probe into the matter without recommending charges -- while describing Clinton's conduct as "extremely careless."

"It is not the function of the director to make such announcements," Rosenstein wrote, noting that public statements on whether to press charges normally fall to federal prosecutors and the Justice Department -- acting on advice from the FBI.

"Compounding the error, the director ignored another longstanding principle: we do not hold press conferences to release derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal investigation."

Finally, Rosenstein criticized Comey for announcing -- on October 28, 11 days before the presidential election -- that the FBI was reopening its investigation following the discovery of a cache of new emails on the laptop of a Clinton aide's husband.

Comey's revelation triggered a political earthquake -- which Democrats believe tipped the scales against their candidate -- even though the newly-discovered emails turned out to contain nothing of significance.

The FBI director had argued he had a duty to keep Congress informed of the state of play -- and all the more so with an election looming -- despite the Federal Bureau of Investigation's tradition of silence on such matters.

Why fire him now?

Trump's stated reason for firing Comey was greeted with overwhelming skepticism from Democrats as well as some Republicans, and many US political observers.

Back in October, Trump was outspoken in praising Comey's handling of the email probe, and he kept the FBI director in his post upon taking office -- in what critics saw as a tacit reward for his role in damaging Clinton's chances.

The Republican had seized upon Comey's damning assessment of Clinton's "careless" practices as a major line of attack during the campaign.

But on March 20, Comey informed Congress that the FBI was investigating possible coordination between members of the Trump campaign team and Russia -- a scenario the president dismissed as "fake news."

Comey also flatly rejected Trump's explosive claim that he was wiretapped by his predecessor Barack Obama.

According to Politico, the president -- increasingly exasperated by the attention given to allegations of Russian election meddling -- had been looking to fire Comey for more than a week.

The political website reported that the letters from Rosenstein and Sessions were written to provide a rationale for doing so.

The White House says Rosenstein wrote his letter of his own accord, and that it triggered Trump's decision.

What about the Russia probe?

The FBI's investigation into Russian election meddling -- and possible links with Trump's campaign team -- continues despite Comey's dismissal.

Where it leads -- and whether it gives rise to any criminal charges -- will be determined in large part by who succeeds Comey as director of the FBI.

The Democratic opposition is united behind a key demand: for the Justice Department to appoint a so-called special counsel to oversee the investigation.

Such a figure would enjoy more autonomy than an ordinary federal prosecutor, who answers directly to the Justice Department -- although it would still be possible for the administration to remove him under certain conditions.

In Congress, the intelligence committees of both the Senate and House of Representatives have been pursuing their own high-profile probes into suspected Russian interference for several months. The Senate judiciary committee is also actively probing the allegations.

But several lawmakers -- from both camps -- are calling for the creation of a powerful independent commission of inquiry, with a full-time staff named jointly by Republican and Democrat leaders in Congress.

The Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, on Wednesday rejected calls for either a special counsel or a commission of inquiry, which he said would only impede the work of existing probes.

Democrats slam Trump sacking of FBI chief James Comey pic.twitter.com/M7fSZXRa09

— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 10, 2017

Related Articles:

Acting FBI director McCabe contradicts White House statement on Comey dismissal - New


"Wild Cards" (3) - Nov 19 - 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

".... The Wild Card of 2016

Remember: No emotion now. You have come from another planet and you’re looking at the end of 2016 – and there is the election. Understand without bias.

So for 2016, let’s do the numerology. You add the numbers and get nine. Nine is completion in simple numerology, and when you see a nine it often means the completion of something. Often it is of a time cycle, an energy or the completion of a paradigm. But it’s very strong.

The nines are stronger than many of the other numerological aspects and you feel them. The president-elect (at this writing) is a strong wild card. He is scheduled to become the 45th president. What a coincidence! Forty-five is a nine. A nine and a nine together are more than significant. They tell a story about what is happening. I will tell you something else. This story is not finished yet and there is more coming. You don’t know what you don’t know, so don’t make up your mind in advance about any outcomes. You’re from another planet, remember? There’s no emotion, no bias, no politics and nothing to judge. Look at it for what it is.

A big stick has just been inserted into what is normal and it’s going to be turned. As the big stick turns, other things will respond that never would have responded otherwise. I wish to tell you, dear one, old soul, relax with upcoming wild cards. They do what they do on purpose so that you will have a better civilization in the future. Sometimes they show you what won’t work, and sometimes they change paradigms that would have never changed otherwise. But what you have now is a profound wild card. That is the message.

It’s so common for you to respond certain ways when you are invested in the process. The knee-jerk reaction is expected or you wouldn’t be a Human. However, for this lesson, you’re from another planet and you’re looking down and you’re seeing it. Pretend.

Isn’t that interesting about a nine and a nine together? It means that truly the end of something is here. Perhaps it’s the end of the old way things were done? Perhaps it’s a shake-up of the system so it can correct itself? Don’t dare make up your mind where it’s going, because it’s not finished yet. However, wait a moment. Did you also realize that 2017 is a “one” year? Not only is the energy one of completion with a double nine, but it moves into “a new beginning” (the definition of a one in numerology).

I have more to tell you about numerology, and also something that will be clearer about this whole situation. I will give this to you in the next channelling.

Can you relax in the face of uncertainty when it’s your own country? Can you relax in the face of not knowing what’s next? When you’re so involved, can you disengage from either side of the fray? That is the test of a Lightworker.

There’s something else coming. Dear ones, this is beautiful. No matter what you think and no matter what your reaction is to this channelling, what is happening is correct for your time and needed for your immediate future. I will speak of this later. The beauty is when you step away and see how grand it is, that Spirit cares enough that it would allow a big stick to occur that would stir your complacency at this time. The real reason? The shift is here.

How do you feel? I want you to relax and smile at what the shift has brought you. For those of you who felt all the “shift talk” was nonsense, this may be your wake-up call. It’s real. Here it comes.

This is the message of the day. I am Kryon, in love with humanity, and for good reason.

And so it is.

KRYON