REP BARBARA COMSTOCK R VA RESPONDS TO MY LETTER ON This is not a distraction: Tell your House Republican to defend our democracy REP Barbara Comstock ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE TRUTH? 25MAI17

REP barbara comstock r VA is afraid of the truth, she will not support HR356 the Protecting Our Democracy Act, she will not sign the discharge petition to bring this bill to the US House floor for a vote. As a devote of rep paul ryan (ayn rand incarnate) r WI and a supporter of the drumpf/trump-pence administration rep comstock is willing to sacrifice the truth, willing to keep our Republic open to manipulation by putin and his cabal of oligarchs rather than support an independent commission to investigate the ties between Russia and the drumpf/trump-pence 2016 presidential campaign and administration. Here is her response to me and my second letter to her. And I posted my original letter to her on her facebook page.

Dear Mr. Schwanke,           Thank you for contacting me about the ongoing investigation regarding potential ties between the administration and the Government of Russia.  I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond.           Following the firing of former FBI Director James Comey on May 9, 2017, I called for an independent investigation that the American people can trust.  With Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel, the American people can have confidence in a fair and thorough investigation as well as confidence in the eventual outcome.           Thank you again for contacting me.  It is a privilege to serve Virginia’s Tenth District.  I may also be contacted at my Sterling office at 703-404-6903, or my Washington, D.C. office at 202-225-5136.  By visiting my website at http://comstock.house.gov, you can sign up to receive my email newsletters and follow my efforts to serve you.  If I may ever be of service, please do not hesitate to contact me.        Sincerely, Barbara Comstock Member of Congress

Dear Rep Comstock,

Referencing your response to my letter (below) you did not address the issue. I told you I expect you to support HR356, the Protecting Our Democracy Act and to sign the discharge petition to bring it to the floor of the US House for a vote. The American people have a right to know everything about Russian involvement in the 2016 Presidential campaign and the the Trump-Pence campaign and administration. Your obstruction of an independent commission to investigate Russian interference in the election and involvement in the Trump-Pence administration shows you are willing to take part in a cover-up and keep the truth from the American people. You are placing party over the the people and that is wrong. You need to reconsider and to support HR356 and sign the discharge petition.

Dear Mr. Schwanke,           Thank you for contacting me about the ongoing investigation regarding potential ties between the administration and the Government of Russia.  I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond.           Following the firing of former FBI Director James Comey on May 9, 2017, I called for an independent investigation that the American people can trust.  With Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel, the American people can have confidence in a fair and thorough investigation as well as confidence in the eventual outcome.           Thank you again for contacting me.  It is a privilege to serve Virginia’s Tenth District.  I may also be contacted at my Sterling office at 703-404-6903, or my Washington, D.C. office at 202-225-5136.  By visiting my website at http://comstock.house.gov, you can sign up to receive my email newsletters and follow my efforts to serve you.  If I may ever be of service, please do not hesitate to contact me.        Sincerely, Barbara Comstock Member of Congress

This is not a distraction: Tell your House Republican to defend our democracy REP Barbara Comstock ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE TRUTH? 24MAI17

WAG THE DOG. The drumpf/trump-pence (YES,  NOT MY vp mike pence is part of this) administration is doing everything they can to distract the American people from their involvement in Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election. HR356, the Protecting Our Democracy Act, is a bill to create an independent commission to investigate the drumpf/trump-pence campaign's and administration's ties to Russia detrimental to the American Republic. If the drumpf/trump-pence administration has nothing to hide then their republican allies in the US House should be willing to sponsor this bill and sign the discharge petition to bring this to the House floor for a vote over the objection of speaker paul ryan r WI. Please click here and send your republican member of congress a letter (OK to copy and paste my letter below or the letter from Daily Kos at the bottom of this post) demanding they support HR356 and sign the discharge petition. Rep barbara comstok, r VA 10th congressional district (my rep in the US House) are you afraid of the truth?

MY LETTER TO rep barbara comstock r VA
The appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate Trump's ties to Russia was an important step. However, the special counsel’s job is limited to criminal activity. An independent commission is needed to uncover the truth about Russia’s attack on our democracy in 2016 and recommend measures to make sure it never happens again. Sign the discharge petition to bring the Protecting Our Democracy Act (HR 356) to the floor and vote to create an independent commission to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election. If this administration has nothing to hide then they and rep paul ryan shouldn't be blocking this bill from coming to the House floor for a vote.  As one of your constituents I want to know whose side are you on Rep Comstock? What are you afraid of finding out? Can you handle the truth?

FROM DAILY KOS

There is a lot of news coming out of Washington, D.C. this week and that is likely by design. Donald Trump and Republicans think that as long as we are fighting their agenda, we won't be able to continue pushing for an investigation into Trump's ties to Russia. But as the scale and scope of the Trump administration's corruption unfolds, one thing has become abundantly clear: We cannot let Donald Trump off the hook. Tell your Republican member of Congress: Choose country over party. Defend democracy by supporting a floor vote on the Protecting Our Democracy Act. Click here to sign. Even if you've already sent a letter, please send another one. Republicans need to know it’s their job to choose country over party. SEND A LETTER House Democrats, joined by two Republicans, have filed a discharge petition to force a vote on legislation that would create a bipartisan, independent commission with full subpoena power to investigate Trump's ties to Russia. If successful, a discharge petition would allow the Protecting Our Democracy Act (HR 356)—legislation that creates an independent commission—to bypass Speaker Paul Ryan and finally get a floor vote. And if not successful, the petition would pinpoint individual Republicans who refused to consider the issue, without the option of hiding behind Ryan’s refusal to allow a vote. A discharge petition only requires a simple majority of the House—218 members. As of this writing, 193 members have already signed onto the petition. We just need 25 more House Republicans to join. Will you help us increase the pressure on your member of Congress, Craig? Send a letter to your Republican member of Congress: Sign the discharge petition to bring the Protecting Our Democracy Act (HR 356) to the floor and vote to create an independent commission to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election. SEND A LETTER The American people are due an impartial, thorough and independent investigation into the relationship between Donald Trump and the Russian government. An organized resistance is the best path to finally getting answers. Thank you for everything you do to defend our communities and this democracy. Keep fighting, Monique Teal, Daily Kos COPY AND PASTE THIS LETTER TO YOUR REP, AND BE SURE TO ADD YOUR OWN COMMENTS! Please support the Protecting Our Democracy Act (HR 356). Appointing a special prosecutor to investigate Russia's attack on our democracy was an important step. But while the special counsel will announce whether there are criminal charges, an independent commission would release a detailed report of what happened, who knew what when, and what steps are needed to prevent future interference in our elections and hold Trump accountable. Sign the discharge petition to bring the Protecting Our Democracy Act (HR 356) to the floor and vote to create an independent commission to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Jeff Sessions Met Twice With Russian Ambassador During Trump Campaign & British, Dutch Passed Along Intel About Meetings Between Trump Team and Russia & Can Jeff Sessions Be Prosecuted for Perjury? 1&2MAR17

IF the Attorney General of the United States is allowed to get away with perjury and possible treason then the drumpf/trump-pence administration and the republican controlled congress will have a green light to become (if they aren't already) the most corrupt government we have suffered under since pres warren g harding in the 1920's and pres richard nixon's administration in the 1970's (note both were republicans). jeff sessions should resign as A.G. and be charged with perjury, at the least he must be investigated and face charges for his crimes against the American people and our Republic. This from the ACLU and +Mother Jones .......

Our attorney general may have committed perjury and a foreign government may have interfered in our democracy.

The American people need answers about Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential campaign – and what role Attorney General Jeff Sessions may have played.

Join the ACLU and call on Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente, the official in charge of this investigation, to appoint a special prosecutor.

Following revelations that Sessions didn’t tell the whole truth at his confirmation hearing about his contact with Russian officials during the 2016 presidential campaign, Sessions recused himself from leading the investigation into Russian involvement – passing that responsibility to Boente.

But recusal isn’t enough – only an independent special prosecutor can ensure a full investigation free of partisan politics and conflicts of interest, the kind of investigation the American people deserve.

Add your name now to demand that Boente appoint a special prosecutor. No one is above the law in America, no matter their political connections.

Thanks for taking action,
Anthony for the ACLU Action team

Jeff Sessions Met Twice With Russian Ambassador During Trump Campaign

KEVIN DRUMMAR. 1, 2017 9:44 PM

Monterey Herald via ZUMA; Bao Dandan/Xinhua via ZUMA

And now here comes the Washington Post on contacts between the Trump team and Russia:

Then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) spoke twice last year with Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Justice Department officials said, encounters he did not disclose when asked about possible contacts between members of President Trump’s campaign and representatives of Moscow during Sessions’s confirmation hearing to become attorney general.

One of the meetings was a private conversation between Sessions and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak that took place in September in the senator’s office, at the height of what U.S. intelligence officials say was a Russian cyber campaign to upend the U.S. presidential race.

....Officials said Sessions did not consider the conversations relevant to the lawmakers’ questions and did not remember in detail what he discussed with Kislyak.

That was Mike Flynn's initial answer too, wasn't it? That he "didn't remember" the details of a conversation from less than half a year ago. I wonder how long Sessions' version will hold up?

Can we all now agree that maybe Sessions really does need to recuse himself from the FBI's investigation of Trump's ties to Russia?

KEVIN DRUM

Kevin is a political blogger for Mother Jones. Email Kevin calpundit@cox.net. For more of his stories, click here or follow him on Facebook.

British, Dutch Passed Along Intel About Meetings Between Trump Team and Russia

KEVIN DRUMMAR. 1, 2017 9:30 PM

Metzel Mikhail/TASS via ZUMA; Dennis Brack/Black Star/Newscom via ZUMA

The New York Times reports today on new revelations about contacts between the Trump team and Russia during the last month of the Obama administration:

American allies, including the British and the Dutch, had provided information describing meetings in European cities between Russian officials — and others close to Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin — and associates of President-elect Trump, according to three former American officials who requested anonymity in discussing classified intelligence. Separately, American intelligence agencies had intercepted communications of Russian officials, some of them within the Kremlin, discussing contacts with Mr. Trump’s associates.

Some of this is coming to light as a result of deliberate efforts by outgoing Obama officials:

Mr. Trump has accused the Obama administration of hyping the Russia story line as a way to discredit his new administration. At the Obama White House, Mr. Trump’s statements stoked fears among some that intelligence could be covered up or destroyed — or its sources exposed — once power changed hands. What followed was a push to preserve the intelligence that underscored the deep anxiety with which the White House and American intelligence agencies had come to view the threat from Moscow.

....Some officials began asking specific questions at intelligence briefings,knowing the answers would be archived and could be easily unearthed by investigators....At intelligence agencies, there was a push to process as much raw intelligence as possible into analyses, and to keep the reports at a relatively low level of classification to ensure as wide a readership as possible across the government....There was also an effort to pass reports and other sensitive materials to Congress.

....Throughout the summer...European allies were starting to pass along information about people close to Mr. Trump meeting with Russians in the Netherlands, Britain and other countries....But it wasn’t until after the election, and after more intelligence had come in, that the administration began to grasp the scope of the suspected tampering and concluded that one goal of the campaign was to help tip the election in Mr. Trump’s favor. In early December, Mr. Obama ordered the intelligence community to conduct a full assessment of the Russian campaign.

As the story acknowledges, it's still unclear what all these meetings were about, but "the Russians, it appeared, were arguing about how far to go in interfering in the presidential election."

This has the feel of a scandal that will pass into urban legend without anyone ever knowing for sure what actually happened. It's pretty obvious at this point that something happened, but with every new disclosure it seems as if the truth drifts a little farther out of reach. Unless someone has a smoking gun tape somewhere, it's not clear if this story will ever get resolved.

Can Jeff Sessions Be Prosecuted for Perjury?

We asked three constitutional law professors. Here's what they said.

NATHALIE BAPTISTEMAR. 2, 2017 1:54 PM

Alex Brandon/AP Photo

Late Wednesday night, the Washington Post broke the news that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had twice met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential campaign, contacts he failed to disclose during his Senate confirmation hearings. "I did not have communications with the Russians," said Sessions during his sworn testimony. As a growing list of lawmakers call for Sessions to recusehimself from the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election—and some Democrats demand his resignation—an open question remains: Can Jeff Sessions be prosecuted for perjury?

The answer is not exactly cut and dry. At the time of his confirmation hearings, Sessions was still serving as a senator from Alabama. The Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause shields lawmakers from prosecution for lying during proceedings in the House or Senate. The clause was written with the intent to foster debate in Congress without the threat of lawsuits stifling discussion. So, since Sessions was a sitting Senator when he allegedly misled Congress, does that mean he's off the hook? Mother Jones put the question to three constitutional law experts.

"There might be other things he can be prosecuted for," says Josh Chafetz, a law professor at Cornell University, referencing laws that allow Congress to hold individuals in contempt for providing false testimony. But, says Chafetz, Sessions can't be prosecuted for perjury.

Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe sees it differently. "That would be a laughable misuse of the Speech and Debate Clause," he says. "He was testifying under oath as an [attorney general] nominee, not in the discharge of any Senatorial business of his own."

Yale Law professor Bruce Ackerman says he's inclined to believe that Sessions is not protected by the clause. Still, Ackerman says there's no decisive case law on the issue, which muddies the waters. "Only one thing is clear," he says, "Sessions must recuse 

himself, and it is incumbent on the Administration to appoint a special prosecutor."

NATHALIE BAPTISTE

Nathalie Baptiste is an editorial fellow in Washington, D.C.

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