“According to a source close to Cohen, Cohen has told friends that he expects to be arrested any day now. (Reached for comment, Cohen wrote in a text message, “Your alleged source is wrong!”) The specter of Cohen flipping has Trump advisers on edge,” reportsVanity Fair.
Cohen, whose New York office was raided by the FBI in April, is under investigation for crimes ranging from campaign finance violations to bank fraud.
Following the raid, Stephen Ryan, an attorney for Cohen said in a statement that the raid was conducted based on a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller.
“The decision by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York to conduct their investigation using search warrants is completely inappropriate and unnecessary,” said Raid. “It resulted in the unnecessary seizure of protected attorney-client communications between a lawyer and his clients.
“These government tactics are also wrong because Mr. Cohen has cooperated completely with all government entities, including providing thousands of non-privileged documents to the Congress and sitting for depositions under oath,” he added.
Shortly after the raid, President Trump called the law enforcement action “disgraceful,” while flanked by members of his Cabinet.
TheBeat w/Ari Melber
✔@TheBeatWithAri
Breaking: Trump responds to Michael Cohen raid “It’s a disgrace… it’s an attack on our country”
“It’s frankly, a real disgrace. It’s an attack on our country in a true sense. It’s an attack on what we all stand for,” the president said.
“It’s a total witch hunt. I’ve been saying it for a long time. I’ve wanted to keep it down. We’ve given, I believe, over a million pages worth of documents to the special counsel.
“They continue to just go forward, and here we are talking about Syria… and I have this witch hunt constantly going on, for over 12 months now, and actually much more than that. You could say it was right after I won the nomination, it started. And it’s a disgrace. It’s frankly, a real disgrace. It’s an attack on our country in a true sense. It’s an attack on what we all stand for,” he added.
President Donald Trump unloaded on Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau Saturday for remarks the G7 summit host made on trade, announcing the U.S. will not endorse the communique signed by the seven largest advanced economies in the world.
“Based on Justin’s false statements at his news conference, and the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs to our U.S. farmers, workers and companies, I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!” Trump tweeted.
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
Based on Justin’s false statements at his news conference, and the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs to our U.S. farmers, workers and companies, I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!
“PM Justin Trudeau of Canada acted so meek and mild during our @G7 meetings only to give a news conference after I left saying that, “US Tariffs were kind of insulting” and he “will not be pushed around,” the President added. “Very dishonest & weak. Our Tariffs are in response to his of 270% on dairy!”
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
PM Justin Trudeau of Canada acted so meek and mild during our @G7 meetings only to give a news conference after I left saying that, “US Tariffs were kind of insulting” and he “will not be pushed around.” Very dishonest & weak. Our Tariffs are in response to his of 270% on dairy!
President Trump was responding to Trudeau’s remarks on trade between the U.S. and Canada, in which the prime minister warned his government would take retaliatory measures if new tariffs were introduced.
I Said HELL NO and I Mean It .
“I highlighted directly to the president that Canadians did not take it lightly, the United States’ move forward with significant tariffs on our steel and aluminum industry,” began Trudeau. “[I] particularly did not take lightly the fact that it’s based on national security reason that for Canadians who either themselves or whose parents or community members have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with American soldiers in far off lands, in conflicts from the First World War onwards, that it’s kind of insulting.”
“And I highlighted it was not helping in our renegotiation of NAFTA and that it would be with regret but it would be with absolute certainty and firmness that we move forward with retaliatory measures on 1 July – applying equivalent tariffs to the ones that the Americans have unjustly applied to us,” Trudeau continued.
Trudeau finished with a warning to Trump, saying “Canadians are polite, we’re reasonable, but we also will not be pushed around.”
CNN Politics
✔@CNNPolitics
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he will with “absolute certainty” impose retaliatory measures on July 1 to answer US President Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum: “We will not be pushed around” https://cnn.it/2Jm3In4
Can He Give Up Obama? If Not Tell Him To Go Milk A Brahman Bull.
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is set to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee soon, but he apparently has made a request for immunity in exchange.
According to CNN, McCabe is requesting “the Senate Judiciary Committee provide him with immunity from prosecution” in exchange for testimony on the handling of the Clinton email probe:
“Under the terms of such a grant of use immunity, no testimony or other information provided by Mr. McCabe could be used against him in a criminal case,” wrote Michael Bromwich, a lawyer for McCabe, to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, who has requested McCabe testify next week.
This comes as a DOJ inspector general report on the FBI and DOJ’s handling of Clinton probe is expected very soon. President Trumptweeted this morning, “What is taking so long with the Inspector General’s Report on Crooked Hillary and Slippery James Comey. Numerous delays. Hope Report is not being changed and made weaker! There are so many horrible things to tell, the public has the right to know. Transparency!” Bromwich said in the letter to Grassley he’s willing to give the committee emails that “demonstrate that Mr. McCabe advised former Director Comey, in October 2016, that Mr. McCabe was working with FBI colleagues to correct inaccuracies before certain media stories were published.”
Grassley has also, per CNN, invited both James Comey and Loretta Lynch to testify too.
Barack Obama is speaking out about how he wants to use the film projects he develops with Netflix to heal the political divide and tell America’s stories.
Earlier this week, Netflix announced it is partnering with Barack and Michelle Obama to develop original content for the video streaming giant. Initially, no real details were released — including the actual price tag of the contract. But three days later Obama has filled in some of the blanks about his plans, Business Insider reported.
Speaking at a Las Vegas tech conference hosted by cybersecurity company Okta, Obama waxed poetic about the “stories” Americans have to tell and said he wants to use his multi-year contract with Netflix to help “train the next generation of leaders.”
Barack Obama said he relied on “stories” to fuel his political career. “Everyone has a story that is pretty sacred” about their life, Obama said. Listening to people’s stories is what helped him better serve, he explained.
“We want to tell stories. This [Netflix deal] becomes a platform. We are interested in lifting people up and identifying people doing amazing work,” Obama said, adding, “We did this in the White House.”
Obama related meetings to hear the stories of Hamilton creator and Broadway producer Lin-Manuel Miranda and rocker Bruce Springsteen, and he noted that identifying talent in a similar fashion is his intent with Netflix.
Obama said he wants to produce stories “we think are important, and lift up and identify talent, that can amplify the connections between all of us. I continue to believe that if we are hearing each other’s stories and recognizing ourselves in each other, then our democracy works.”
“We are all human. I know this sounds trite, and yet, right now globally, we have competing narratives,” Obama said.
The ex-president also warned against “tribalism,” saying that when people feel threatened, “We go tribal. We go ethnic. We pull in, we push away.”
He concluded saying he wants to use Netflix to help “set up institutions based on rule of law and a sense of principals and the dignity and worth of every individual.”
Finally, after noting there is still a “clash” in the country, Obama told the crowd what he hopes his new work will do.
“I’m putting my money on the latter way,” Obama said. “That’s what we hope to be a voice to, through Netflix and through my foundation, where we’re identifying and training the next generation of leaders here in the United States and around the world. So they can start sharing their stories and cooperating.”
Why Didn’t The So-Called Black Jesus Obama Do This .
President Donald Trump pardoned the first black heavyweight boxing champion Thursday.
Jack Johnson was convicted by an all-white jury in 1913 of transporting a woman across state lines. Johnson was convicted for violating the Mann Act, which made it illegal to transport women across state lines for “immoral” purposes, and served close to one year in prison.
The pardon comes after Johnson’s great-great niece had been pushing for a posthumous pardon. Actor Sylvester Stallone was also a huge advocate for Johnson’s pardon and joined Trump in the Oval Office for the pardon announcement.
Johnson was charged due to racially motivated injustice, Trump said and hopes this pardon will help “to correct a wrong in our history,” ABC News reported.
“I am taking this very righteous step, I believe, to correct a wrong that occurred in our history, and to honor a truly legendary boxing champion, legendary athlete and a person that, when people got to know him, they really liked him and they really thought he was treated unfairly,” Trump said.
Trump Pardons Jack Johnson
“It’s my honor to do it. It’s about time,” Trump continued. “He represented something that was both very beautiful and very terrible at the same time.”
Trump also invited other heavyweight champions to the Oval Office for the announcement including, Lennox Lewis and Deontay Wilder.
Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona has pushed for Johnson’s pardon for years, even introducing legislation requesting for a pardon for Johnson in 2004, which was struck down by former President Barrack Obama. (RELATED: Trump Pardons Navy Sailor Who Did ‘Nothing’ Compared To Hillary)
Johnson’s pardon was met with praise by many, including former heavyweight champion George Foreman.
The pardon comes one week after Trump was attacked as a “racist” for calling MS-13 gang members “animals” at a White House roundtable meeting.
The last posthumous pardon was done by former President George W. Bush who pardoned Boston-born businessman Charles Winters in 2008.
I Thought Gays Were Suppose To Be Smart! But Wait They Do Stick Things Up The Rear So I Guess Not.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Friday that he believes the FBI was using a “confidential informant” rather than a “spy” to keep tabs on the 2016 Trump campaign.
Graham admitted that he isn’t sure if the use of a confidential informant was appropriate, but would not call the informant a “spy.”
Both Are Democrats With R’s In front Of Their Names.
“A confidential informant is not a spy,” Graham said, according to a show transcript. “I don’t know if there’s a reason to have a confidential informant following a campaign.”
“There should be some rules about surveilling a major party nominee’s campaign,” he added. “And there probably is not any.”
Hewitt asked specifically if he thinks Trump was wrong to call the informant a spy, and Graham said, “I don’t think he’s a spy.”
TheBeat w/Ari Melber
