[In an extraordinary series of tweets on Friday morning, the US President warned that the former FBI director James Comey - a man he fired earlier this week - "better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!" The warning, widely seen as a threat, came after Comey's FBI associates leaked to the media that Trump had sought a pledge of loyalty from the ousted Director in a one-on-one dinner soon after he was elected, and that Comey rejected the demand. Comey reportedly said he could offer only "honesty" and that he was not "reliable" in the conventional political sense, angering Trump, whose campaign has been under investigation over its ties to Russia during the Presidential elections. Trump then asked him if he could pledge "honest loyalty," to which Comey is said to have replied: "You will have that."]
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/trump-triggers-political-bloodletting-internecine-warfare-in-washington/articleshow/58649828.cms Trump triggers political bloodletting, internecine warfare in Washington Chidanand Rajghatta | TNN | May 12, 2017, 10.58 PM IST WASHINGTON: An enraged President Trump escalated feuds with his critics, detractors, and even dissed his own aides on a furious Friday as Washington descended into internecine warfare and political bloodletting over alleged Russian involvement in US politics. ***In an extraordinary series of tweets on Friday morning, the US President warned that the former FBI director James Comey - a man he fired earlier this week - "better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!"*** [Emphasis added.] ***The warning, widely seen as a threat, came after Comey's FBI associates leaked to the media that Trump had sought a pledge of loyalty from the ousted Director in a one-on-one dinner soon after he was elected, and that Comey rejected the demand.*** [Emphasis added.] ***Comey reportedly said he could offer only "honesty" and that he was not "reliable" in the conventional political sense, angering Trump, whose campaign has been under investigation over its ties to Russia during the Presidential elections. Trump then asked him if he could pledge "honest loyalty," to which Comey is said to have replied: "You will have that."*** [Emphasis added.] By Trump's account, narrated in an interview to NBC, Comey sought the meeting to ask to continue his job, although FBI Directors are appointed to a ten-year term and Comey is only in his third year. But the Comey version, according to associates who spoke to the media, is that Trump summoned him to the White House and the FBI Director found it impolitic to decline the invitation. It was one of a barrage of leaks in the US media about the inner workings of the Trump White House, laying bare the insecurities of a President besieged by reports of his campaign's ties to Russia - dismissed as "fake news" by Trump. The newly-elected President, only four months into his term, has himself repeatedly jumped into the fray, getting personal with everyone from stand-up comedians who have eviscerated him with jokes to lawmakers, journalists, and even his own staff, in a daily barrage of tweets. Furious with his communications set up because they have been unable to project a coherent message (partly because he himself changes track so often), Trump tweeted on Friday morning that, "Maybe the best thing to do would be to cancel all future "press briefings" and hand out written responses for the sake of accuracy???" By way of explanation for the conflicting versions given out by the White House on the Comey firing, Trump said, "As a very active President with lots of things happening, it is not possible for my surrogates to stand at podium with perfect accuracy," while once again accusing the "fake media" of projecting the story that there was collusion between the Russians & Trump campaign which was "fabricated by Dems as an excuse for losing the election." Trump himself threw his aides and surrogates into confusion by changing the reason they cited for his firing. In the NBC interview, Trump said he would have fired Comey regardless of what the Attorney General's office said. The smoke and mirror surrounding the charges and countercharges did not contain the story that the FBI appears to believe that there is a prima facie case of the Trump campaign's ties with Russia that requires investigation, and that Comey had sought additional resources for it. Comey's successor and associates in the Bureau have indicated that they intend to pursue the case regardless of Trump's views on the matter, while infuriating the White House by expressing support and loyalty to the fired FBI chief, who the President suggested was not popular or appreciated by his colleagues. Latest Comment Compare the fired FBI Director Comey with our ex CBI chief Ranjit Sinha and Trump comes out as a boor comparable with the Gandhis who reduced the CBI to a 'caged parrot'. The parallel is striking in contrast! Jagdish Madan Amid this very public breakdown of trust, the President has sought to be personally absolved of ties to Russia, repeatedly pointing out that he has been giving a clean chit while dissociating himself from his campaign staff and associates. On Friday, the White House released a letter from two tax attorneys for Trump claiming that his only income from Russian sources in the last 10 years came from fees for hosting the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow and sales of a mansion, condo units and golf games to Russians. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
