The CIA has a secret repository of information collected about Americans as part of the agency’s foreign surveillance programs, two Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee alleged on Thursday. The lawmakers said the agency hid from Congress and the public what amounts to “warrantless backdoor searches of Americans.”
Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Martin Heinrich (D-n.M.) wrote to CIA Director Bill Burns and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines in April 2021, calling for details about the program to be declassified. The CIA, they claimed, has “secretly conducted its...
Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Martin Heinrich (D-n.M.) wrote to CIA Director Bill Burns and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines in April 2021, calling for details about the program to be declassified. The CIA, they claimed, has “secretly conducted its...
- 2/11/2022
- by William Vaillancourt
- Rollingstone.com
During intelligence briefings, former President Donald Trump was “fact free” and prone to “fly off on tangents,” said James Clapper, former director of national intelligence.
Clapper’s comments come from a recently released CIA publication, Getting to Know the President, which chronicles the relationship between the intelligence community and U.S. presidents during their transition and administration. Written by retired intelligence officer John L. Helgerson, the latest chapter covers Trump and reveals how unprepared and unconventional Trump was. It is important to note, however, that this is not a neutral account,...
Clapper’s comments come from a recently released CIA publication, Getting to Know the President, which chronicles the relationship between the intelligence community and U.S. presidents during their transition and administration. Written by retired intelligence officer John L. Helgerson, the latest chapter covers Trump and reveals how unprepared and unconventional Trump was. It is important to note, however, that this is not a neutral account,...
- 11/28/2021
- by Peter Wade
- Rollingstone.com
The mark of a great actor is the ability to deliver a powerful performance, even without a lot of noise. That’s what Jeff Daniels does in Billy Ray’s ripped-from-the-headlines two-part limited series “The Comey Rule,” which hit Showtime September 27, 2020 for maximum impact ahead of the November election. For this docudrama, Daniels took on a well-known figure in recent American history — FBI Director James Comey — who went toe-to-toe with President Donald J. Trump (Brendan Gleeson), who infamously fired Comey in May 2017.
Daniels (“The Newsroom”) brings his trademark decency and gravitas to the role. (He’s also 6’3″ to Comey’s 6’8″.) Ray, Oscar-nominated for the adapted screenplay for “Captain Phillips,” pursued Daniels because “he brings instant credibility,” he said in a phone interview. “You know the guy’s telling you the truth. With someone as polarizing as Comey, that’s an important hire. Jeff is someone America already trusted. I needed...
Daniels (“The Newsroom”) brings his trademark decency and gravitas to the role. (He’s also 6’3″ to Comey’s 6’8″.) Ray, Oscar-nominated for the adapted screenplay for “Captain Phillips,” pursued Daniels because “he brings instant credibility,” he said in a phone interview. “You know the guy’s telling you the truth. With someone as polarizing as Comey, that’s an important hire. Jeff is someone America already trusted. I needed...
- 5/3/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The mark of a great actor is the ability to deliver a powerful performance, even without a lot of noise. That’s what Jeff Daniels does in Billy Ray’s ripped-from-the-headlines two-part limited series “The Comey Rule,” which hit Showtime September 27, 2020 for maximum impact ahead of the November election. For this docudrama, Daniels took on a well-known figure in recent American history — FBI Director James Comey — who went toe-to-toe with President Donald J. Trump (Brendan Gleeson), who infamously fired Comey in May 2017.
Daniels (“The Newsroom”) brings his trademark decency and gravitas to the role. (He’s also 6’3″ to Comey’s 6’8″.) Ray, Oscar-nominated for the adapted screenplay for “Captain Phillips,” pursued Daniels because “he brings instant credibility,” he said in a phone interview. “You know the guy’s telling you the truth. With someone as polarizing as Comey, that’s an important hire. Jeff is someone America already trusted. I needed...
Daniels (“The Newsroom”) brings his trademark decency and gravitas to the role. (He’s also 6’3″ to Comey’s 6’8″.) Ray, Oscar-nominated for the adapted screenplay for “Captain Phillips,” pursued Daniels because “he brings instant credibility,” he said in a phone interview. “You know the guy’s telling you the truth. With someone as polarizing as Comey, that’s an important hire. Jeff is someone America already trusted. I needed...
- 5/3/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Is it possible for something to feel dated and too soon at the same time? Watching The Comey Rule, Showtime’s two-part limited series (premiering tonight) about former FBI Director Jim Comey’s rocky four-year tenure straddling the Obama and Trump administrations, is in some ways like stepping into a distant period piece. In the opening minutes, we meet Comey on the morning of his job interview with Obama at the White House. Comey (played by Jeff Daniels) stares into his closet, mulling which navy suit to wear. His wife eventually picks one for him.
- 9/27/2020
- by Maria Fontoura
- Rollingstone.com
Showtime airs the battle between ex-fbi director James Comey and President Donald Trump and the investigation into Russian election meddling depicted in The Comey Rule on Sunday and Monday. This after ViacomCBS changed a shocking decision to relegate the $40 million star-studded series to January. Here, Billy Ray holds court on the place both men will occupy in history. Jeff Daniels plays Comey, Brendan Gleeson plays the man who fired him, and they are surrounded by a lauded cast to tell a story Ray says most viewers only think they know.
Deadline: You told James Comey when you first met him that you believed his decision to raise the alarm on Hillary Clinton’s emails again 11 days before the election allowed Donald Trump to win the 2016 election. Having immersed yourself in his decision-making process with this miniseries, how do you feel about it, and will he be remembered as being on the right side of history?...
Deadline: You told James Comey when you first met him that you believed his decision to raise the alarm on Hillary Clinton’s emails again 11 days before the election allowed Donald Trump to win the 2016 election. Having immersed yourself in his decision-making process with this miniseries, how do you feel about it, and will he be remembered as being on the right side of history?...
- 9/25/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
HBO has released a new trailer for The Perfect Weapon, an upcoming documentary about the rise of cyber warfare set to premiere October 16th at 8 p.m. Et/Pt.
The Perfect Weapon is based on David E. Sanger’s 2018 book of the same name, and the trailer opens with the journalist explaining, “Cyber is the most inexpensive, highly destructive, highly deniable weapon.” The clip then offers a succinct breakdown of the major moments that have defined the recent history of cyber warfare, which began in 2007 when the United States slipped...
The Perfect Weapon is based on David E. Sanger’s 2018 book of the same name, and the trailer opens with the journalist explaining, “Cyber is the most inexpensive, highly destructive, highly deniable weapon.” The clip then offers a succinct breakdown of the major moments that have defined the recent history of cyber warfare, which began in 2007 when the United States slipped...
- 9/25/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Chances are good that if you’re watching Showtime’s uneven but entertaining miniseries The Comey Rule, you’re not tuning in to see if Jeff Daniels is able to convincingly play 6’8″ FBI beanpole James Comey (or to marvel at Jonathan Banks’ uncanny casting as James Clapper).
No, you’re probably curious about how very Irish Brendan Gleeson (the Harry Potter films, In Bruges, Mr. Mercedes and much, much more) does getting under the apricot skin and flaxen combover of Donald Trump. Writer-director Billy Ray treats the former Celebrity Apprentice host like Harry Lime from The Third Man, making him a constant topic of ...
No, you’re probably curious about how very Irish Brendan Gleeson (the Harry Potter films, In Bruges, Mr. Mercedes and much, much more) does getting under the apricot skin and flaxen combover of Donald Trump. Writer-director Billy Ray treats the former Celebrity Apprentice host like Harry Lime from The Third Man, making him a constant topic of ...
Chances are good that if you’re watching Showtime’s uneven but entertaining miniseries The Comey Rule, you’re not tuning in to see if Jeff Daniels is able to convincingly play 6’8″ FBI beanpole James Comey (or to marvel at Jonathan Banks’ uncanny casting as James Clapper).
No, you’re probably curious about how very Irish Brendan Gleeson (the Harry Potter films, In Bruges, Mr. Mercedes and much, much more) does getting under the apricot skin and flaxen combover of Donald Trump. Writer-director Billy Ray treats the former Celebrity Apprentice host like Harry Lime from The Third Man, making him a constant topic of ...
No, you’re probably curious about how very Irish Brendan Gleeson (the Harry Potter films, In Bruges, Mr. Mercedes and much, much more) does getting under the apricot skin and flaxen combover of Donald Trump. Writer-director Billy Ray treats the former Celebrity Apprentice host like Harry Lime from The Third Man, making him a constant topic of ...
Showtime has officially released a trailer for upcoming two-night limited series “The Comey Rule,” featuring Jeff Daniels as former FBI director James Comey and Brendan Gleeson as President Trump. The miniseries, written and directed by Billy Ray and adapted from Comey’s book “A Higher Loyalty,” premieres on Sunday, Sept. 27.
Focusing on the events leading up to and following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the first part of the series looks at the earliest days of the Russia investigation and the FBI’s prove of Hillary Clinton’s emails.
In the trailer, a voice on the phone says, “Russia — we think they’re trying to sabotage Secretary Clinton’s campaign.”
“How?” asks Daniels as Comey.
“Ever spend much time on Facebook?” is the reply.
The second part of the series dives into the uneasy dynamic between Comey and Trump in the early months of Trump’s presidency. In the trailer,...
Focusing on the events leading up to and following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the first part of the series looks at the earliest days of the Russia investigation and the FBI’s prove of Hillary Clinton’s emails.
In the trailer, a voice on the phone says, “Russia — we think they’re trying to sabotage Secretary Clinton’s campaign.”
“How?” asks Daniels as Comey.
“Ever spend much time on Facebook?” is the reply.
The second part of the series dives into the uneasy dynamic between Comey and Trump in the early months of Trump’s presidency. In the trailer,...
- 8/24/2020
- by Elaine Low
- Variety Film + TV
Showtime has released the official trailer for its upcoming two-part limited series The Comey Rule, starring Jeff Daniels as former FBI director James Comey and Brendan Gleeson as President Donald Trump.
The two-part series will premiere on consecutive nights — Sunday, September 27th and Monday, September 28th — at 9:00 p.m. Et/Pt.
The Comey Rule is based on Comey’s number-one New York Times bestselling book A Higher Loyalty, along with over a year of interviews with key subjects conducted by director and screenwriter Billy Ray (Captain Phillips, Shattered Glass...
The two-part series will premiere on consecutive nights — Sunday, September 27th and Monday, September 28th — at 9:00 p.m. Et/Pt.
The Comey Rule is based on Comey’s number-one New York Times bestselling book A Higher Loyalty, along with over a year of interviews with key subjects conducted by director and screenwriter Billy Ray (Captain Phillips, Shattered Glass...
- 8/24/2020
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
As America gears up for the 2020 presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, Showtime will be taking two nights ahead of Election Day to reexamine the turbulent 2016 election between Trump and Hillary Clinton thanks to the upcoming miniseries “The Comey Rule.” Written and directed by “Captain Phillips” and “Shattered Glass” scribe Billy Ray, “The Comey Rule” is based on the bestselling book “A Higher Loyalty” and explores the relationship between Trump and former FBI director Joseph Comey.
Showtime is billing “The Comey Rule” as “an immersive, behind-the-headlines account of the historically turbulent events surrounding the 2016 presidential election and its aftermath, which divided a nation.” The miniseries’ official synopsis adds: “Rather than a biopic of one man, the series tells the story of two powerful figures, Comey and Trump, whose strikingly different personalities, ethics and loyalties put them on a collision course.”
Jeff Daniels is leading “The Comey Rule” in the title role,...
Showtime is billing “The Comey Rule” as “an immersive, behind-the-headlines account of the historically turbulent events surrounding the 2016 presidential election and its aftermath, which divided a nation.” The miniseries’ official synopsis adds: “Rather than a biopic of one man, the series tells the story of two powerful figures, Comey and Trump, whose strikingly different personalities, ethics and loyalties put them on a collision course.”
Jeff Daniels is leading “The Comey Rule” in the title role,...
- 8/24/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Showtime has announced that its miniseries on James Comey will air over two nights in late November.
The network has also released a first look at Jeff Daniels in character as the former FBI Director, and Brendan Gleeson in full Donald Trump mode.
Now titled “The Comey Rule” and based on Comey’s bestselling book “A Higher Loyalty,” the two-part, four-hour event series will take viewers on an insider’s journey down the corridors of power, where decision-makers struggle to apply old norms to a dramatic new paradigm in the face of Russia’s deep and unprecedented penetration into American politics, with our nation’s rule of law hanging in the balance.
Part one of the series examines the earliest days of the Russia investigation, the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails and their impact on Election Night 2016, when Donald Trump stunned the world and was elected president.
The network has also released a first look at Jeff Daniels in character as the former FBI Director, and Brendan Gleeson in full Donald Trump mode.
Now titled “The Comey Rule” and based on Comey’s bestselling book “A Higher Loyalty,” the two-part, four-hour event series will take viewers on an insider’s journey down the corridors of power, where decision-makers struggle to apply old norms to a dramatic new paradigm in the face of Russia’s deep and unprecedented penetration into American politics, with our nation’s rule of law hanging in the balance.
Part one of the series examines the earliest days of the Russia investigation, the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails and their impact on Election Night 2016, when Donald Trump stunned the world and was elected president.
- 6/16/2020
- by Will Thorne
- Variety Film + TV
Showtime has just set a late November premiere date over two nights for its limited series The Comey Rule, the $40 million budget adaptation of A Higher Loyalty, the book by former FBI head James Comey that is about his battles with President Donald Trump. The network released the first images of Gleeson playing Trump, and Daniels playing the former FBI chief in a series about the deterioration of their relationship that quickly became a bitter feud when Comey left his post after Trump fired him.
The decision to place the mini after the upcoming presidential elections is a bit of a puzzler, given its stellar cast and provocative premise. Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom) plays former FBI Director James Comey and Brendan Gleeson (Mr. Mercedes) plays President Donald J. Trump.
Given the president’s penchant for getting involved in media projects he disagrees with — the Justice Department just filed suit against...
The decision to place the mini after the upcoming presidential elections is a bit of a puzzler, given its stellar cast and provocative premise. Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom) plays former FBI Director James Comey and Brendan Gleeson (Mr. Mercedes) plays President Donald J. Trump.
Given the president’s penchant for getting involved in media projects he disagrees with — the Justice Department just filed suit against...
- 6/16/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that she “naively” believed some of CNN’s headlines in 2015 when she called out Donald Trump’s comments about Mexican immigrants as “racist.”
In a press briefing on Friday, PBS Newshour’s Yamiche Alcindor asked McEnany about her prior disparaging remarks about Trump, made as he was starting his presidential campaign.
“For about the first four weeks of the election, I was watching CNN and I was naively believing some of the headlines I saw on CNN,” McEnany said.
She said that she was not going to read the headlines, but added, “I very quickly came around to supporting the president. CNN hired me. I was on many eight one one panels where I proudly supported this president, who I think is one of the best presidents, if not the best president this country will ever have.”
On Thursday, CNN’s K File aired her prior comments.
In a press briefing on Friday, PBS Newshour’s Yamiche Alcindor asked McEnany about her prior disparaging remarks about Trump, made as he was starting his presidential campaign.
“For about the first four weeks of the election, I was watching CNN and I was naively believing some of the headlines I saw on CNN,” McEnany said.
She said that she was not going to read the headlines, but added, “I very quickly came around to supporting the president. CNN hired me. I was on many eight one one panels where I proudly supported this president, who I think is one of the best presidents, if not the best president this country will ever have.”
On Thursday, CNN’s K File aired her prior comments.
- 5/8/2020
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: In the last major characters cast for the CBS Studios miniseries based on the James Comey bestseller A Higher Loyalty, Damon Gupton will play Jeh Johnson, the former Secretary of Homeland Security; Joe Lo Truglio will play Jeff Sessions, the former Us Attorney General; Michael Hyatt is playing former Us Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and Spencer Garrett is playing Bill Sweeney, the assistant director in charge of the New York FBI field office who was tasked with reopening the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails.
“Johnson, Sessions, Lynch and Sweeney are real people who played real roles in this story. It’s huge to have such strong actors playing them,” said Billy Ray, who is right now directing the mini, and who scripted the adaptation based on Comey’s book.
They join Jeff Daniels (Comey), Brendan Gleeson (Donald Trump), Holly Hunter (Acting Attorney General Sally Yates), Michael Kelly (Acting...
“Johnson, Sessions, Lynch and Sweeney are real people who played real roles in this story. It’s huge to have such strong actors playing them,” said Billy Ray, who is right now directing the mini, and who scripted the adaptation based on Comey’s book.
They join Jeff Daniels (Comey), Brendan Gleeson (Donald Trump), Holly Hunter (Acting Attorney General Sally Yates), Michael Kelly (Acting...
- 11/26/2019
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Amy Seimetz has joined the cast of the CBS Studios miniseries based on the James Comey bestseller A Higher Loyalty. The co-creator and exec producer of the Starz series The Girlfriend Experience, Seimetz will play the role of Trisha Anderson, the No. 2 lawyer at the FBI’s Office of General Counsel amidst the Trump and Clinton investigations.
She joins Jeff Daniels (Comey), Brendan Gleeson (Donald Trump), Holly Hunter (Acting Attorney General Sally Yates), Michael Kelly (Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe), Jennifer Ehle (Patrice Comey), Peter Coyote (Robert Mueller), Steven Pasquale (Peter Strzok), Oona Chaplin (Lisa Page), Kingsley Ben-Adir (Barack Obama), Brian d’Arcy James (Mark Giuliano), Steve Zissis (Jim Baker), Shawn Doyle (Bill Priestap), Jonathan Banks (James Clapper), Richard Thomas (Chuck Rosenberg) and Seann Gallagher (Jim Rybicki).
Scripted and directed by Oscar-nominated writer/director Billy Ray, the mini is underway and will air next year. It’s produced by Secret Hideout,...
She joins Jeff Daniels (Comey), Brendan Gleeson (Donald Trump), Holly Hunter (Acting Attorney General Sally Yates), Michael Kelly (Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe), Jennifer Ehle (Patrice Comey), Peter Coyote (Robert Mueller), Steven Pasquale (Peter Strzok), Oona Chaplin (Lisa Page), Kingsley Ben-Adir (Barack Obama), Brian d’Arcy James (Mark Giuliano), Steve Zissis (Jim Baker), Shawn Doyle (Bill Priestap), Jonathan Banks (James Clapper), Richard Thomas (Chuck Rosenberg) and Seann Gallagher (Jim Rybicki).
Scripted and directed by Oscar-nominated writer/director Billy Ray, the mini is underway and will air next year. It’s produced by Secret Hideout,...
- 11/25/2019
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: The CBS Studios miniseries adaptation of former FBI director James Comey’s bestselling A Higher Loyalty has set more cast for major characters. Jonathan Banks has been set to play former National Intelligence Director James Clapper; Richard Thomas has been set to play former acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration Chuck Rosenberg; and Seann Gallagher will play Jim Rybicki, who served stints in the FBI and Department of Justice and was Comey’s chief of staff when the FBI Director was fired by President Donald Trump.
They join Jeff Daniels (Comey), Brendan Gleeson (Donald Trump), Holly Hunter (Acting Attorney General Sally Yates), Michael Kelly (Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe), Jennifer Ehle (Patrice Comey), Peter Coyote (Robert Mueller), Steven Pasquale (Peter Strzok), Oona Chaplin (Lisa Page), Kingsley Ben-Adir (Barack Obama), Brian d’Arcy James (Mark Giuliano), Steve Zissis (Jim Baker), and Shawn Doyle (Bill Priestap)
Billy Ray adapted and is directing the limited series,...
They join Jeff Daniels (Comey), Brendan Gleeson (Donald Trump), Holly Hunter (Acting Attorney General Sally Yates), Michael Kelly (Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe), Jennifer Ehle (Patrice Comey), Peter Coyote (Robert Mueller), Steven Pasquale (Peter Strzok), Oona Chaplin (Lisa Page), Kingsley Ben-Adir (Barack Obama), Brian d’Arcy James (Mark Giuliano), Steve Zissis (Jim Baker), and Shawn Doyle (Bill Priestap)
Billy Ray adapted and is directing the limited series,...
- 11/19/2019
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Fox News host Jeanine Pirro said on her Saturday evening show that viewers should “grab their popcorn,” as the anti-Trump conspiracy within the government is about to receive some backlash.
“They’re not going quietly into the night, ’twill be a joy to watch,” Pirro said in her opening segment of Justice With Judge Jeanine. “Grab your popcorn, Junior Mints or whatever makes you happy. The real show is about to begin. This will be true reality TV. No scripts, no rehearsals, just a gang of criminals pointing fingers at each other to save their own hides. A version of true crime and the reality show Survivor. The deep state exposed.”
Pirro claimed that nearly a dozen former and current FBI officials will hear a knock on the door soon, including former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, former FBI agent Peter Strzok and girlfriend Lisa Page, attorney James Baker, John Brennan,...
“They’re not going quietly into the night, ’twill be a joy to watch,” Pirro said in her opening segment of Justice With Judge Jeanine. “Grab your popcorn, Junior Mints or whatever makes you happy. The real show is about to begin. This will be true reality TV. No scripts, no rehearsals, just a gang of criminals pointing fingers at each other to save their own hides. A version of true crime and the reality show Survivor. The deep state exposed.”
Pirro claimed that nearly a dozen former and current FBI officials will hear a knock on the door soon, including former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, former FBI agent Peter Strzok and girlfriend Lisa Page, attorney James Baker, John Brennan,...
- 5/19/2019
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Earlier this month, President Trump declared a national emergency under the guise that undocumented immigrants represent a security threat to the United States. On Monday, a bipartisan group of 58 former national security officials released a statement explaining why the action is unwarranted. “Under no plausible assessment of the evidence is there a national emergency today that entitles the president to tap into funds appropriated for other purposes to build a wall at the southern border,” the group wrote.
Exclusive: Full Text of Declaration of 58 former senior U.S. officials refuting...
Exclusive: Full Text of Declaration of 58 former senior U.S. officials refuting...
- 2/25/2019
- by Ryan Bort
- Rollingstone.com
Updated with Anderson Cooper remarks: A Coast Guard officer stationed in Washington, D.C., stands accused of plotting a mass terrorist attack whose intended victims include prominent journalists at MSNBC and CNN and Democratic politicians.
For now, the suspect is being held only on weapons and drug charges, but at the very top of their detention memo filied today with the U.S. District Court in Maryland, prosecutors wrote: “The defendant intends to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country.”
Lt. Christopher Hasson, 49, was arrested last week at his home in Silver Spring, MD. The court documents say authorites found a hit list on his computer that named prominent media personalities including CNN’s Don Lemon, Chris Cuomo and Van Jones and MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, Chris Hayes and Ari Melber.
Also named were politicians including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Sens. Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker,...
For now, the suspect is being held only on weapons and drug charges, but at the very top of their detention memo filied today with the U.S. District Court in Maryland, prosecutors wrote: “The defendant intends to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country.”
Lt. Christopher Hasson, 49, was arrested last week at his home in Silver Spring, MD. The court documents say authorites found a hit list on his computer that named prominent media personalities including CNN’s Don Lemon, Chris Cuomo and Van Jones and MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, Chris Hayes and Ari Melber.
Also named were politicians including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Sens. Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker,...
- 2/20/2019
- by Erik Pedersen and Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
President Trump awoke Friday morning once again displeased with the state of Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation into his campaign’s relationship with Russia. In what may have been his most full-throated condemnation of the probe and those involved yet, the president structured his early-morning tirade around the absurd question of whether Mueller plans to disclose his “conflicts of interest” when he files his final report. Name-checked were Mueller; Leakin’ Lyin’ James Comey; Andrew Weissman, a prosecutor on Mueller’s team; Crooked Hillary; “conflicted” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein; Department of Justice...
- 12/7/2018
- by Ryan Bort
- Rollingstone.com
The man accused of sending pipe bombs to CNN and prominent Democrats has been indicted in Manhattan federal court on 30 counts connected to the mailing of 16 explosive devices to 13 targets.
Cesar Sayoc, 56, of South Florida was arrested on Oct. 26, five days after the first discovery of the improvised explosive devices were sent to targets including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, actor Robert De Niro and former President Barack Obama. A device sent to CNN’s New York headquarters and addressed to former CIA director John Brennan forced the evacuation of the Time Warner Center last month.
The indictment was handed down on Friday.
“Cesar Sayoc allegedly targeted former high-ranking officials such as President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and others, as well as CNN, by sending explosive packages to them through the U.S. Postal Service,” said Geoffrey Berman, U.
Cesar Sayoc, 56, of South Florida was arrested on Oct. 26, five days after the first discovery of the improvised explosive devices were sent to targets including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, actor Robert De Niro and former President Barack Obama. A device sent to CNN’s New York headquarters and addressed to former CIA director John Brennan forced the evacuation of the Time Warner Center last month.
The indictment was handed down on Friday.
“Cesar Sayoc allegedly targeted former high-ranking officials such as President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and others, as well as CNN, by sending explosive packages to them through the U.S. Postal Service,” said Geoffrey Berman, U.
- 11/9/2018
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
“I’m not gonna lie, when we came down to Miami, part of us thought we were going to take a vacation from the news,” The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah told his audience there.
The news followed him there.
“What the f*ck Florida? We come here to cover the midterm but when when we get here all everyone is talking about is the world’s worst pen pal!”
The man behind the bombs was spotted at Trump rallies, and created a Trump shrine on the windows of the van in which he was living, including “CNN Sucks” stickers and another of Hillary Clinton in the cross hairs of a gun scope. Cesar Sayoc is believed to have sent three bombs to CNN and at least one to Clinton. He also is charged with sending the pipe bombs to other Trump critics including former President Barack Obama, to Robert De Niro,...
The news followed him there.
“What the f*ck Florida? We come here to cover the midterm but when when we get here all everyone is talking about is the world’s worst pen pal!”
The man behind the bombs was spotted at Trump rallies, and created a Trump shrine on the windows of the van in which he was living, including “CNN Sucks” stickers and another of Hillary Clinton in the cross hairs of a gun scope. Cesar Sayoc is believed to have sent three bombs to CNN and at least one to Clinton. He also is charged with sending the pipe bombs to other Trump critics including former President Barack Obama, to Robert De Niro,...
- 10/30/2018
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
A third suspected pipe bomb has been intercepted en route to CNN as the man alleged to have sent 14 other pipe bombs to prominent critics of President Donald Trump was due in court today.
Those 14 bombs include two sent to CNN’s HQ in Manhattan’s Time Warner Center, and a third suspected explosive device addressed to CNN’s Atlanta offices. While the previous two bombs were addressed to critics of Trump – former CIA Director John Brennan and former National Intelligence Director James Clapper – in care of CNN, this third device was intended for CNN. Clapper is a CNN contributor, Brennan is a contributor at NBC News.
CNN reported the package looks similar to the two previously sent to the network. If confirmed the source is same, it would be the 15th pipe bomb allegedly made and mailed by Trump supporter Cesar Sayoc.
“This morning another suspicious package addressed to...
Those 14 bombs include two sent to CNN’s HQ in Manhattan’s Time Warner Center, and a third suspected explosive device addressed to CNN’s Atlanta offices. While the previous two bombs were addressed to critics of Trump – former CIA Director John Brennan and former National Intelligence Director James Clapper – in care of CNN, this third device was intended for CNN. Clapper is a CNN contributor, Brennan is a contributor at NBC News.
CNN reported the package looks similar to the two previously sent to the network. If confirmed the source is same, it would be the 15th pipe bomb allegedly made and mailed by Trump supporter Cesar Sayoc.
“This morning another suspicious package addressed to...
- 10/29/2018
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
John Oliver opened Last Week Tonight with a fleeting image of former Fox News Channel star Megyn Kelly, who has just lost her NBC News morning show after defending blackface Halloween costumes, under the words “Trickus Treatem.”
Then the HBO late-night host dove straight into discussion of Kelly’s former TV News home’s coverage of bombs sent last week to many of President Donald Trump’s most prominent critics.
Oliver noted that the sending of 14 bombs, and the arrest of Cesar Sayoc, has since been eclipsed by the assassination of 11 inside a Pittsburgh synagogue by a man who believed Jews were funding refugees coming to “slaughter” Sayoc’s “people.”
Across the week, bombs had been discovered en route to various Democratic bigwigs including donor George Soros, former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, presumed 2020 Presidential candidates Eric Holder and Kamala Harris, former CIA chief John Brennan...
Then the HBO late-night host dove straight into discussion of Kelly’s former TV News home’s coverage of bombs sent last week to many of President Donald Trump’s most prominent critics.
Oliver noted that the sending of 14 bombs, and the arrest of Cesar Sayoc, has since been eclipsed by the assassination of 11 inside a Pittsburgh synagogue by a man who believed Jews were funding refugees coming to “slaughter” Sayoc’s “people.”
Across the week, bombs had been discovered en route to various Democratic bigwigs including donor George Soros, former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, presumed 2020 Presidential candidates Eric Holder and Kamala Harris, former CIA chief John Brennan...
- 10/29/2018
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
After Cesar Sayoc Jr. drove around in a white van with a photo of Michael Moore with a bullseye on it, the Fahrenheit 11/9 director realized that this was not the first time he has seen Sayoc, who was arrested Friday in connection with a series of bombs mailed to CNN, prominent Democrats and critics of Donald Trump.
Moore took to Twitter to share a video of Sayoc in Melbourne, Florida at Trump’s first “Trump 2020 Re-election Rally” in 2017. The footage was for Fahrenheit 11/9, but didn’t make the final cut.
“My direction to my producer Basel Hamdan and our longtime collaborator Eric Weinrib was to Not film Trump, but rather only film the people who came out to see him,” said Moore in a post on his website. “My feeling was, after one month in office, we didn’t need to hear anything more from Trump’s mouth — we already...
Moore took to Twitter to share a video of Sayoc in Melbourne, Florida at Trump’s first “Trump 2020 Re-election Rally” in 2017. The footage was for Fahrenheit 11/9, but didn’t make the final cut.
“My direction to my producer Basel Hamdan and our longtime collaborator Eric Weinrib was to Not film Trump, but rather only film the people who came out to see him,” said Moore in a post on his website. “My feeling was, after one month in office, we didn’t need to hear anything more from Trump’s mouth — we already...
- 10/28/2018
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Companies in Hollywood and the media world remained on high alert Friday after the arrest of a man suspected of sending more than a dozen explosive devices to prominent organizations and individuals critical of President Trump.
CNN, which was the target of two separate bomb scares this week, has “beefed up” security dramatically, a network executive told TheWrap Friday. The executive spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
“It’s been a hell of a week,” the insider said. “I cried myself to sleep Wednesday night realizing what we had survived after having run out of the [building], then having to cover it.”
Also Read: What We Know About Bomb Suspect Cesar Sayoc Jr
A dozen packages containing pipe bombs were sent to Democratic politicians and prominent Trump critics over the past week. On Friday, authorities arrested 56-year-old Cesar Sayoc in connection with those incidents.
CNN, which was the target of two separate bomb scares this week, has “beefed up” security dramatically, a network executive told TheWrap Friday. The executive spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
“It’s been a hell of a week,” the insider said. “I cried myself to sleep Wednesday night realizing what we had survived after having run out of the [building], then having to cover it.”
Also Read: What We Know About Bomb Suspect Cesar Sayoc Jr
A dozen packages containing pipe bombs were sent to Democratic politicians and prominent Trump critics over the past week. On Friday, authorities arrested 56-year-old Cesar Sayoc in connection with those incidents.
- 10/26/2018
- by Itay Hod
- The Wrap
Michael Moore has just issued a statement following the reports that the mail-bombing suspect apprehended Friday drove around South Florida with a picture of the filmmaker on the side of his van.
Said Moore:
“The accused bomber plastered a picture of me on the side of his van, with a crosshairs target over my face. Actually, the target is over my neck, which I’ll take as a minor concession on his part.
The threat of right-wing violence against figures on the American left is not new. It is not an aberration. It is not a violation of norms. It Is the norm. Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News Channel and right-wing radio have preyed upon those who’ve seen their American Dream go up in smoke, and they have helped to create a generation of angry and violent conspiracy theorists who will believe any lie that is perpetrated on those airwaves.
Said Moore:
“The accused bomber plastered a picture of me on the side of his van, with a crosshairs target over my face. Actually, the target is over my neck, which I’ll take as a minor concession on his part.
The threat of right-wing violence against figures on the American left is not new. It is not an aberration. It is not a violation of norms. It Is the norm. Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News Channel and right-wing radio have preyed upon those who’ve seen their American Dream go up in smoke, and they have helped to create a generation of angry and violent conspiracy theorists who will believe any lie that is perpetrated on those airwaves.
- 10/26/2018
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Federal law enforcement officials laid out their case against Cesar Sayoc Jr., the Florida man arrested in connection with the series of bombs mailed to CNN, prominent Democrats and critics of President Donald Trump.
“Physical violence and the threat of violence is antithetical to our vigorous system of self-government,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said at a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.. He then announced five federal felony charges against Sayoc, 56, who is in FBI custody. The 56-year-old suspect — whose van is plastered with pro-Trump stickers and photos of well-known Democrats with crosshairs over them — is charged with interstate transportation of explosives, illegal mailing of explosives, threats against a former president and certain other persons, threatening interstate communications and assaulting current and former federal officers.
“These charges may change or expand as the investigation proceeds,” Sessions said. If convicted on all counts, he faces a...
“Physical violence and the threat of violence is antithetical to our vigorous system of self-government,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said at a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.. He then announced five federal felony charges against Sayoc, 56, who is in FBI custody. The 56-year-old suspect — whose van is plastered with pro-Trump stickers and photos of well-known Democrats with crosshairs over them — is charged with interstate transportation of explosives, illegal mailing of explosives, threats against a former president and certain other persons, threatening interstate communications and assaulting current and former federal officers.
“These charges may change or expand as the investigation proceeds,” Sessions said. If convicted on all counts, he faces a...
- 10/26/2018
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Updated: President Donald Trump commended those who apprehended Floridian Cesar Sayoc Jr. in connection with “packages and devices” that have been mailed to “high profile figures throughout the country and a media organization.”
“I am pleased to inform you that law enforcement has apprehended a suspect,” Trump said this afternoon at a previously scheduled White House meeting, calling it “an incredible job by law enforcement.”
“These terrorizing acts are despicable and have no place in our country. No place,” Trump said.
“We must never allow political violence to take root in America. We cannot let it happen and I’m committed to doing everything in my power to stop it, and to stop it now.”
“The bottom line is Americans must unify,” said Trump, who tweeted this morning suggesting the sending of “‘bomb’ stuff” – he put the word bomb in quotes – had been timed to damage Gop momentum heading into the midterm elections.
“I am pleased to inform you that law enforcement has apprehended a suspect,” Trump said this afternoon at a previously scheduled White House meeting, calling it “an incredible job by law enforcement.”
“These terrorizing acts are despicable and have no place in our country. No place,” Trump said.
“We must never allow political violence to take root in America. We cannot let it happen and I’m committed to doing everything in my power to stop it, and to stop it now.”
“The bottom line is Americans must unify,” said Trump, who tweeted this morning suggesting the sending of “‘bomb’ stuff” – he put the word bomb in quotes – had been timed to damage Gop momentum heading into the midterm elections.
- 10/26/2018
- by Lisa de Moraes and Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
A man was arrested in Plantation, Florida, Friday morning in connection with a string of pipe bomb packages mailed to prominent Democratic figures. Department of Justice spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores confirmed on Twitter that a suspect was in custody and the Doj will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. Et with developments on the case.
Shortly after the announcement, CNN broadcasted a live feed of the parking lot where Cesar Sayoc — a 56-year-old registered Republican who lives in Aventura, Florida — was taken into custody. Authorities there were towing...
Shortly after the announcement, CNN broadcasted a live feed of the parking lot where Cesar Sayoc — a 56-year-old registered Republican who lives in Aventura, Florida — was taken into custody. Authorities there were towing...
- 10/26/2018
- by Tessa Stuart
- Rollingstone.com
Robert De Niro issued a statement encouraging people to vote after it was revealed that the actor was targeted with one of a dozen mail bombs addressed to the likes of Barack Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton and other Democratic politicians and media members.
“I thank God no one’s been hurt, and I thank the brave and resourceful security and law enforcement people for protecting us,” De Niro said in the statement, a day after the explosive device was discovered at his Tribeca Productions office in New York. “There...
“I thank God no one’s been hurt, and I thank the brave and resourceful security and law enforcement people for protecting us,” De Niro said in the statement, a day after the explosive device was discovered at his Tribeca Productions office in New York. “There...
- 10/26/2018
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Updated: President Donald Trump this morning declared the “bomb’ stuff” to be “very unfortunate” — for Republicans.
Not long after TV news outlets began reporting two more explosive devices had been found, addressed to two more high-profile critics of Trump, Trump tweet-complained that Republicans had been doing “so well in early voting, and now this ‘Bomb’ stuff happens and the momentum greatly slows,” speculating that’s because the “news” is “not talking politics” and is instead focusing on the 12 bombs that were sent to his most outspoken critics.
In his latest tweet on this subject, the President of the United States put “bomb” in quote marks.
Trump’s tweet came after he was briefed that two more bombs discovered had been en route – one addressed to New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a presumed 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, and one to former National Intelligence Director James Clapper. The package intended for Clapper was...
Not long after TV news outlets began reporting two more explosive devices had been found, addressed to two more high-profile critics of Trump, Trump tweet-complained that Republicans had been doing “so well in early voting, and now this ‘Bomb’ stuff happens and the momentum greatly slows,” speculating that’s because the “news” is “not talking politics” and is instead focusing on the 12 bombs that were sent to his most outspoken critics.
In his latest tweet on this subject, the President of the United States put “bomb” in quote marks.
Trump’s tweet came after he was briefed that two more bombs discovered had been en route – one addressed to New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a presumed 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, and one to former National Intelligence Director James Clapper. The package intended for Clapper was...
- 10/26/2018
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
President Trump took to Twitter in the wee hours of Friday morning to offer some fresh venting about CNN and their critical coverage of him in recent days.
Trump took issue with what he said was blame he was receiving about various mail bombs sent out this week to the network and a number of other prominent Trump critics.
“Funny how lowly rated CNN, and others, can criticize me at will, even blaming me for the current spate of Bombs and ridiculously comparing this to September 11th and the Oklahoma City bombing,” he said. “Yet when I criticize them they go wild and scream, “it’s just not Presidential!”
Also Read: Robert De Niro Responds to Mail Bomb Threat: 'Your Vote' Is 'More Powerful Than Bombs'
Funny how lowly rated CNN, and others, can criticize me at will, even blaming me for the current spate of Bombs and ridiculously comparing...
Trump took issue with what he said was blame he was receiving about various mail bombs sent out this week to the network and a number of other prominent Trump critics.
“Funny how lowly rated CNN, and others, can criticize me at will, even blaming me for the current spate of Bombs and ridiculously comparing this to September 11th and the Oklahoma City bombing,” he said. “Yet when I criticize them they go wild and scream, “it’s just not Presidential!”
Also Read: Robert De Niro Responds to Mail Bomb Threat: 'Your Vote' Is 'More Powerful Than Bombs'
Funny how lowly rated CNN, and others, can criticize me at will, even blaming me for the current spate of Bombs and ridiculously comparing...
- 10/26/2018
- by Jon Levine
- The Wrap
Robert De Niro has made his first public comments after this week finding himself among a group of President Donald Trump-bashing voices on the receiving end of potentially explosive devices intercepted by authorities.
Said De Niro:
“I thank God no one’s been hurt, and I thank the brave and resourceful security and law enforcement people for protecting us. There’s something more powerful than bombs, and that’s your vote. People Must vote!”
While he has let his magisterial acting ability speak for him for most of his career and has eschewed a public profile, De Niro has made a notable exception with Trump. During the presidential campaign, De Niro offered to punch Trump in the face, in this video:
At the recent Tony Awards, De Niro appeared onstage to introduce Bruce Springsteen, who performed a song from his one-man Broadway show. Said an animated De Niro: “F*ck Trump.
Said De Niro:
“I thank God no one’s been hurt, and I thank the brave and resourceful security and law enforcement people for protecting us. There’s something more powerful than bombs, and that’s your vote. People Must vote!”
While he has let his magisterial acting ability speak for him for most of his career and has eschewed a public profile, De Niro has made a notable exception with Trump. During the presidential campaign, De Niro offered to punch Trump in the face, in this video:
At the recent Tony Awards, De Niro appeared onstage to introduce Bruce Springsteen, who performed a song from his one-man Broadway show. Said an animated De Niro: “F*ck Trump.
- 10/26/2018
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s hard to tell when an action taken by President Trump or the White House is intended to distract from unfavorable news coverage. But it was pretty clear when Trump revoked the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan last week. The announcement, coming at the height of former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman’s decidedly anti-Trump press tour, was dated July 26th, a sign the White House had been waiting for an opportune time to assume control of the news cycle. A senior White House official...
- 8/21/2018
- by Ryan Bort
- Rollingstone.com
James Clapper scolded former CIA Director John Brennan on CNN in an effort to hang on to his security clearance, President Donald Trump crowed on Twitter this morning, confirming suggestions that Potus is pulling security clearances to intimidate and silence current and former government officials.
Trump insisted, however, he never discussed pulling President Obama’s access to briefings, as was reported in The New Yorker.
“Fake News, of which there is soooo much (this time the very tired New Yorker) falsely reported that I was going to take the extraordinary step of denying Intelligence Briefings to President Obama,” Trump tweeted, “Never discussed or thought of!”
More accurately, what the magazine reported is that, “As Trump stepped up his public and private attacks on Obama, some of the new President’s advisers thought that he should take the extraordinary step of denying Obama himself access to intelligence briefings that were made...
Trump insisted, however, he never discussed pulling President Obama’s access to briefings, as was reported in The New Yorker.
“Fake News, of which there is soooo much (this time the very tired New Yorker) falsely reported that I was going to take the extraordinary step of denying Intelligence Briefings to President Obama,” Trump tweeted, “Never discussed or thought of!”
More accurately, what the magazine reported is that, “As Trump stepped up his public and private attacks on Obama, some of the new President’s advisers thought that he should take the extraordinary step of denying Obama himself access to intelligence briefings that were made...
- 8/21/2018
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
Updated with additional information: President Donald Trump exacted revenge on former CIA director John Brennan this afternoon, announcing he had revoked Brennan’s security clearance and warning there is plenty more where that came from.
The thunderbolt comes one day after Brennan scolded Trump for his tweet calling Omarosa a “dog” as the latest example of Trump’s failure to “live up to minimum standards of decency, civility & probity.” He told Trump his behavior is “so dangerous for our Nation”:
It’s astounding how often you fail to live up to minimum standards of decency, civility, & probity. Seems like you will never understand what it means to be president, nor what it takes to be a good, decent, & honest person. So disheartening, so dangerous for our Nation. https://t.co/eI9HaCec1m
— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) August 14, 2018
Brennan then appeared yesterday on Lawrence O’Donnell’s MSNBC program to elaborate,...
The thunderbolt comes one day after Brennan scolded Trump for his tweet calling Omarosa a “dog” as the latest example of Trump’s failure to “live up to minimum standards of decency, civility & probity.” He told Trump his behavior is “so dangerous for our Nation”:
It’s astounding how often you fail to live up to minimum standards of decency, civility, & probity. Seems like you will never understand what it means to be president, nor what it takes to be a good, decent, & honest person. So disheartening, so dangerous for our Nation. https://t.co/eI9HaCec1m
— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) August 14, 2018
Brennan then appeared yesterday on Lawrence O’Donnell’s MSNBC program to elaborate,...
- 8/15/2018
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
Washington — President Donald Trump is revoking the security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan, who has been critical of Trump in TV appearances and on Twitter.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, reading a statement from Trump, said Brennan engaged in “erratic conduct and behavior” and “has a history that calls into question his objectivity and credibility.” The statement also cited Brennan’s “wild outbursts” online and on TV about the administration and his “increasingly frenzied commentary.” Brennan is senior national security and intelligence analyst for NBC News and MSNBC.
She announced that security clearances for other former officials, including Susan Rice, James Clapper and Sally Yates, are under review. All are former Obama administration officials, but Sanders contended that they “politicized” and “in some cases monetized” their clearances. Also under review is the security clearance of Michael Hayden, the former CIA director and former head of the...
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, reading a statement from Trump, said Brennan engaged in “erratic conduct and behavior” and “has a history that calls into question his objectivity and credibility.” The statement also cited Brennan’s “wild outbursts” online and on TV about the administration and his “increasingly frenzied commentary.” Brennan is senior national security and intelligence analyst for NBC News and MSNBC.
She announced that security clearances for other former officials, including Susan Rice, James Clapper and Sally Yates, are under review. All are former Obama administration officials, but Sanders contended that they “politicized” and “in some cases monetized” their clearances. Also under review is the security clearance of Michael Hayden, the former CIA director and former head of the...
- 8/15/2018
- by Ted Johnson
- Variety Film + TV
Joe Scarborough ripped President Donald Trump on Tuesday morning, bluntly declaring that he and his administration were the most corrupt the republic had ever seen in modern times.
The moment came after Scarborough rattled off a lengthy list of Trump ethics scandals since he took office in 2017.
“Of course the list could go on and on and on,” said Scarborough. “This is the most corrupt administration in modern history.”
Also Read: 'Morning Joe': 'We Have a Treasonous President' (Video)
Among the scandals that Scarborough listed were Secret Service hotel bills at Mar-a-Lago and Trump doubling his resort’s initiation fee after he became president, the time Kellyanne Conway hawked Ivanka Trump products on live television from the White House lawn and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’ suspicious decision to hold on to stocks linked to Russian companies which he previously said he divested from.
Scarborough’s decision to list...
The moment came after Scarborough rattled off a lengthy list of Trump ethics scandals since he took office in 2017.
“Of course the list could go on and on and on,” said Scarborough. “This is the most corrupt administration in modern history.”
Also Read: 'Morning Joe': 'We Have a Treasonous President' (Video)
Among the scandals that Scarborough listed were Secret Service hotel bills at Mar-a-Lago and Trump doubling his resort’s initiation fee after he became president, the time Kellyanne Conway hawked Ivanka Trump products on live television from the White House lawn and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’ suspicious decision to hold on to stocks linked to Russian companies which he previously said he divested from.
Scarborough’s decision to list...
- 7/24/2018
- by Jon Levine
- The Wrap
President Trump is mulling the idea of revoking former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance, and might extend the slap to other former intel honchoes he feels have “politicized and in some cases actually monetized their public service security clearances” to make “baseless accusations” against the president, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters at today’s press briefing.
Sen. Rand Paul kicked off this blacklist effort today when he charged Brennan with “monetizing” his security clearance and calling for Potus to jettison him from the security clearance list.
“Not only is the president looking to take away Brennan’s security clearance; he’s also looking into the clearances of Comey, Clapper, Hayden, Rice and McCabe,” Sanders said, lobbing that grenade after being asked only about Brennan.
That’s former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former FBI Director James Comey, former National Security Advisor Director Michael Hayden,...
Sen. Rand Paul kicked off this blacklist effort today when he charged Brennan with “monetizing” his security clearance and calling for Potus to jettison him from the security clearance list.
“Not only is the president looking to take away Brennan’s security clearance; he’s also looking into the clearances of Comey, Clapper, Hayden, Rice and McCabe,” Sanders said, lobbing that grenade after being asked only about Brennan.
That’s former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former FBI Director James Comey, former National Security Advisor Director Michael Hayden,...
- 7/23/2018
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
Updated with more Trump interview: President Donald Trump told CBS News’s Jeff Glor he would hold Russian ruler Vladimir Putin accountable for election meddling “because he’s in charge of the country.”
Glor told Trump that he, Trump, had said he agreed with U.S. intelligence that Russia meddled in the election in 2016.
“Yeah and I’ve said that before,” Trump says. “I’ve said that numerous times before. And I would say that that is true, yeah.”
Just as often, Trump has said it’s just as likely to be China, some other unnamed entity, or a 400 pound guy on his bed. CBS News did not fact check Trump in real time.
Glor did, however, tell Trump, “But you haven’t condemned Putin, specifically,” and asked Potus if he holds Putin personally responsible for Russia’s election interference.
“Well, I would, because he’s in charge of the country,...
Glor told Trump that he, Trump, had said he agreed with U.S. intelligence that Russia meddled in the election in 2016.
“Yeah and I’ve said that before,” Trump says. “I’ve said that numerous times before. And I would say that that is true, yeah.”
Just as often, Trump has said it’s just as likely to be China, some other unnamed entity, or a 400 pound guy on his bed. CBS News did not fact check Trump in real time.
Glor did, however, tell Trump, “But you haven’t condemned Putin, specifically,” and asked Potus if he holds Putin personally responsible for Russia’s election interference.
“Well, I would, because he’s in charge of the country,...
- 7/18/2018
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
President Donald Trump continued his Twitter attack on Special Counsel Robert Mueller this morning.
Potus has championed a campaign to discredit Mueller’s investigation of Russian meddling in the election, this week making good on his Sunday “I hereby demand” tweet:
I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/Doj infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes – and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!
FBI Director Chris Wray and Deputy Ag Rod Rosenstein blinked and, on Thursday, House Intelligence Chair Devin Nunes and Oversight Chair Trey Gowdy will meet with Doj and FBI officials about an FBI source who reportedly met with Trump campaign participants. No Dems are invited to the meeting.
Trump this morning ratcheted up his claim the FBI spied on his campaign.
“Look how...
Potus has championed a campaign to discredit Mueller’s investigation of Russian meddling in the election, this week making good on his Sunday “I hereby demand” tweet:
I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/Doj infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes – and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!
FBI Director Chris Wray and Deputy Ag Rod Rosenstein blinked and, on Thursday, House Intelligence Chair Devin Nunes and Oversight Chair Trey Gowdy will meet with Doj and FBI officials about an FBI source who reportedly met with Trump campaign participants. No Dems are invited to the meeting.
Trump this morning ratcheted up his claim the FBI spied on his campaign.
“Look how...
- 5/23/2018
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
The Commander-in-Tweet was at it again Saturday morning, serving up a volley of Twitter remarks in what’s fast becoming a weekend tradition.
Today’s online menu from President Donald Trump was highlighted by a reference to the giant rally planned for Washington, Michigan tonight. The event, which is free to the public but ticketed, is intended as a slap against tonight’s White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, DC, which Trump is again missing thanks to his acrimonious relationships with the media.
Instead, he will likely bask in the enthusiasm of a suburban Michigan crowd, a conservative leaning section of the country that helped propel him to the presidency.
Before departing for Michigan, the president also found time to tweet out good news on South Korea (“Things are going well”), attacked former national intelligence director James Clapper (“He’s a lying machine”) and took Sen. Jon Tester to task...
Today’s online menu from President Donald Trump was highlighted by a reference to the giant rally planned for Washington, Michigan tonight. The event, which is free to the public but ticketed, is intended as a slap against tonight’s White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, DC, which Trump is again missing thanks to his acrimonious relationships with the media.
Instead, he will likely bask in the enthusiasm of a suburban Michigan crowd, a conservative leaning section of the country that helped propel him to the presidency.
Before departing for Michigan, the president also found time to tweet out good news on South Korea (“Things are going well”), attacked former national intelligence director James Clapper (“He’s a lying machine”) and took Sen. Jon Tester to task...
- 4/28/2018
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Former FBI director James Comey’s book “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership” doesn’t hit bookstores until next week, but its contents are becoming known after copies were leaked Thursday.
Among those who got their hands on the tell-all is Rachel Maddow, who read several excerpts live on her MSNBC show Thursday night.
In addition to elaborating on the widely-reported detail that Trump was obsessed about the salacious dossier complied by former MI6 operative Christopher Steele, Comey also takes great pains to imply Trump is shady.
Also Read: Stephen Colbert Jokes That Trump's Wedding Vows Referenced the Pee Tape (Video)
Here are three take-aways from the book, as excerpted on “The Rachel Maddow Show.”
1) Trump was more worried about the optics of Russian interference in the 2016 election than the geopolitical implications.
As Comey tells it, soon after the election he and several other people met with Trump’s transition team for a briefing with then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper about Russian meddling in the election.
However, in Comey’s account Trump asked only one question, “which was more of a statement: ‘But you found there was no impact on the result, right?'”
Clapper, Comey said, explained to Trump that intelligence analysts had not investigated whether or not the meddling impacted the election result, and could only say that “we found no evidence of alteration of the vote count.”
Also Read: Seth Meyers to Paul Ryan: 'You Gave Us Donald Trump. You Should Have to Live With Him' (Video)
Comey then said he was taken aback by the fact that “they were about to lead a country that had been attacked by a foreign adversary, but they had no questions about what the future Russian threat might be, nor did they ask how the United States might prepare itself to meet that threat.”
According to Comey, Trump and his team “shifted immediately” into “a strategy session about messaging on Russia. About how they could spin what we just told them.”
Comey says Reince Preibus described a hypothetical press statement “as if we weren’t there,” and that Priebus, Mike Pence, Sean Spicer and Trump “debated how to present these findings for maximum political advantage.”
Also Read: Kimmel Subtly Responds to Hannity's Threat, Says Nobody Cares He Was on 'The Man Show' (Video)
“They were keen to emphasize that… the Russians hadn’t elected Trump,” according to Comey.
2) Comey suggests Trump and his team were trying to make him (and other non political appointees) complicit in their activities.
Comey says in his book that he’d attended many intelligence briefings with Trump’s predecessors, and that George W. Bush and Barack Obama had never discussed “communications and political strategy in front of intelligence community leaders.”
“I tried to tell myself that maybe this was because Trump and his team had little experience on these matters — Trump, of course, had no experience whatsoever.”
Comey then goes on to say that the whole thing began to remind him of “New York Mafia social clubs… in the 1980s and 1990s. Comey then talks about how Mafia members distinguish between “a ‘friend of yours,’ meaning someone outside the family, and… a ‘friend of ours,’ meaning an official member of the family.”
“Holy crap,” Comey says he thought. “they are trying to make each of us an ‘amica nostra’ — friend of ours. To draw us in. The president-elect was trying to make us all part of the same family and that Team Trump had made it a ‘thing of ours.'”
3) Yes, Trump is very concerned about That Tape (You know the one we mean).
According to Comey, Trump was very concerned about the claim from the Steele dossier that Russia has blackmail material on him. Specifically, video of him with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room filmed in 2013, that has infamously come to be known as the “pee dossier”.
According to Comey, after the national security briefing ended, Trump took him aside for a private chat during which Comey attempted to broach the subject of the tape (though, he said, he avoided mentioning the urinary details).
Trump, Comey says, immediately protested that it wasn’t true. “I explained I wasn’t saying the FBI believed the allegations,” Comey writes. His intent was to make sure Trump knew the claims were becoming public “to protect the presidency from any kind of coercion, whether or not the allegations were true.”
Trump again “strongly denied” the claim, and according to Comey asked “rhetorically, I assumed, whether he seemed like a guy who needed the services of prostitutes.”
Read original story Rachel Maddow Got a Copy of James Comey’s Book — Here Are 3 Takeaways At TheWrap...
Among those who got their hands on the tell-all is Rachel Maddow, who read several excerpts live on her MSNBC show Thursday night.
In addition to elaborating on the widely-reported detail that Trump was obsessed about the salacious dossier complied by former MI6 operative Christopher Steele, Comey also takes great pains to imply Trump is shady.
Also Read: Stephen Colbert Jokes That Trump's Wedding Vows Referenced the Pee Tape (Video)
Here are three take-aways from the book, as excerpted on “The Rachel Maddow Show.”
1) Trump was more worried about the optics of Russian interference in the 2016 election than the geopolitical implications.
As Comey tells it, soon after the election he and several other people met with Trump’s transition team for a briefing with then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper about Russian meddling in the election.
However, in Comey’s account Trump asked only one question, “which was more of a statement: ‘But you found there was no impact on the result, right?'”
Clapper, Comey said, explained to Trump that intelligence analysts had not investigated whether or not the meddling impacted the election result, and could only say that “we found no evidence of alteration of the vote count.”
Also Read: Seth Meyers to Paul Ryan: 'You Gave Us Donald Trump. You Should Have to Live With Him' (Video)
Comey then said he was taken aback by the fact that “they were about to lead a country that had been attacked by a foreign adversary, but they had no questions about what the future Russian threat might be, nor did they ask how the United States might prepare itself to meet that threat.”
According to Comey, Trump and his team “shifted immediately” into “a strategy session about messaging on Russia. About how they could spin what we just told them.”
Comey says Reince Preibus described a hypothetical press statement “as if we weren’t there,” and that Priebus, Mike Pence, Sean Spicer and Trump “debated how to present these findings for maximum political advantage.”
Also Read: Kimmel Subtly Responds to Hannity's Threat, Says Nobody Cares He Was on 'The Man Show' (Video)
“They were keen to emphasize that… the Russians hadn’t elected Trump,” according to Comey.
2) Comey suggests Trump and his team were trying to make him (and other non political appointees) complicit in their activities.
Comey says in his book that he’d attended many intelligence briefings with Trump’s predecessors, and that George W. Bush and Barack Obama had never discussed “communications and political strategy in front of intelligence community leaders.”
“I tried to tell myself that maybe this was because Trump and his team had little experience on these matters — Trump, of course, had no experience whatsoever.”
Comey then goes on to say that the whole thing began to remind him of “New York Mafia social clubs… in the 1980s and 1990s. Comey then talks about how Mafia members distinguish between “a ‘friend of yours,’ meaning someone outside the family, and… a ‘friend of ours,’ meaning an official member of the family.”
“Holy crap,” Comey says he thought. “they are trying to make each of us an ‘amica nostra’ — friend of ours. To draw us in. The president-elect was trying to make us all part of the same family and that Team Trump had made it a ‘thing of ours.'”
3) Yes, Trump is very concerned about That Tape (You know the one we mean).
According to Comey, Trump was very concerned about the claim from the Steele dossier that Russia has blackmail material on him. Specifically, video of him with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room filmed in 2013, that has infamously come to be known as the “pee dossier”.
According to Comey, after the national security briefing ended, Trump took him aside for a private chat during which Comey attempted to broach the subject of the tape (though, he said, he avoided mentioning the urinary details).
Trump, Comey says, immediately protested that it wasn’t true. “I explained I wasn’t saying the FBI believed the allegations,” Comey writes. His intent was to make sure Trump knew the claims were becoming public “to protect the presidency from any kind of coercion, whether or not the allegations were true.”
Trump again “strongly denied” the claim, and according to Comey asked “rhetorically, I assumed, whether he seemed like a guy who needed the services of prostitutes.”
Read original story Rachel Maddow Got a Copy of James Comey’s Book — Here Are 3 Takeaways At TheWrap...
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