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TubbersUK

TubbersUK's Journal
TubbersUK's Journal
April 19, 2018

Justice Department watchdog to report on Clinton-related FBI leaks [AND THE NY FBI-GIULIANI LEAK]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A long-awaited U.S. Justice Department internal watchdog report on former FBI chief James Comey’s public disclosures on Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state and whether FBI employees leaked information to try to hurt her 2016 presidential bid is expected to be issued next month.


The report also is expected to address whether active and retired FBI agents in New York leaked information about investigations of the Clinton Foundation charitable organization and the discovery of a trove of Clinton-related emails.

Law enforcement officials previously told Reuters the information was leaked to former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, an adviser to the Trump campaign who subsequently discussed the contents on Fox News.

Horowitz’s office also has sought to determine whether such leaks influenced Comey’s decision 11 days before the election to announce the reopening of the Clinton email investigation. Law enforcement sources with knowledge of the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at the time a fear of leaks from within his own agency helped prompt Comey to make that public disclosure.



Report to be published in May apparently.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-comey-justice/justice-department-watchdog-to-report-on-clinton-related-fbi-leaks-idUSKBN1HQ2K2
April 16, 2018

The Hill: Judge rejects Trump's bid to block access to Cohen materials

Source: The Hill

A federal judge dealt a blow to Michael Cohen, the president’s embattled personal lawyer, in a closely watched court decision on Monday afternoon.

Judge Kimba Wood of federal District Court in Manhattan denied an attempt by Cohen and President Trump to stop prosecutors from reviewing the materials that the FBI seized from his office, home and hotel room last week, according to multiple reports.

Cohen's legal team had asked for a temporary restraining order so that they could review the files and then turn over to prosecutors those that were "responsive, non-privileged items" — a request the government called unprecedented.

But in a victory for Cohen, Wood did order the government to create a database of what was taken from Cohen and share it with his legal team, according to The Associated Press.

Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/383428-judge-rules-cohen-can-see-seized-documents-before-prosecutors?__twitter_impression=true

April 12, 2018

Husband of former Trump household aide scores government job


A home improvement contractor married to one of Donald and Melania Trump’s former household staffers is now working as an official at the Environmental Protection Agency, the latest example of someone with a personal connection to the Trump family finding work in the administration.

New Jersey-based Steve Kopec joined EPA’s Region 2 office in New York as a special assistant on Dec. 18, according to a memo obtained by POLITICO. “Steve comes to us from private industry, where he fashioned his career around customer service and organizational efficiencies,” EPA Region 2 Administrator Pete Lopez wrote in the memo. “Steve is an experienced manager with skills in team building, management and organization.”



https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/02/trump-household-aide-government-job-386727

Different version of same story:

The husband of Melania Trump’s cleaning lady just got a job in a vital federal agency

https://washingtonpress.com/2018/02/02/husband-melania-trumps-cleaning-lady-just-got-job-vital-federal-agency/


ICYMI

From December.


April 2, 2018

With the West Wing finally calm, Trump is contemplating a multi-front campaign against Jeff Bezos.

Now, according to four sources close to the White House, Trump is discussing ways to escalate his Twitter attacks on Amazon to further damage the company. “He’s off the hook on this. It’s war,” one source told me. “He gets obsessed with something, and now he’s obsessed with Bezos,” said another source. “Trump is like, how can I fuck with him?”

According to sources, Trump wants the Post Office to increase Amazon’s shipping costs. When Trump previously discussed the idea inside the White Hose, Gary Cohn had explained that Amazon is a benefit to the Postal Service, which has seen mail volume plummet in the age of e-mail. “Trump doesn’t have Gary Cohn breathing down his neck saying you can’t do the Post Office shit,” a Republican close to the White House said. “He really wants the Post Office deal renegotiated. He thinks Amazon’s getting a huge fucking deal on shipping.”


Advisers are also encouraging Trump to cancel Amazon’s multi-billion contract with the Pentagon to provide cloud computing services, sources say. Another line of attack would be to encourage attorneys general in red states to open investigations into Amazon’s business practices. Sources say Trump is open to the ideas. (The White House did not respond to a request for comment.)

Even Trump’s allies acknowledge that much of what’s fueling Trump’s rage toward Amazon is that Amazon C.E.O. Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post, sources said. “Trump doesn’t like The New York Times, but he reveres it because it’s his hometown paper. The Washington Post, he has zero respect for,” the Republican close to the White House said. While the Post says that Bezos has no involvement in newsroom decisions, Trump has told advisers he believes Bezos uses the paper as a political weapon. One former White House official said Trump looks at the Post the same way he looks at the National Enquirer. “When Bezos says he has no involvement, Trump doesn’t believe him. His experience is with the David Peckers of the world. Whether it’s right or wrong, he knows it can be done.”



😯😯😯

Gobsmacking stuff!

ETA:

https://twitter.com/rolandscahill/status/980953879985651712

Roland Scahill

Verified account

@rolandscahill
9m9 minutes ago
More
If he could, Donald Trump would jail Jeff Bezos and take his assets...





https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/04/trump-war-with-amazon-and-the-washington-post-is-personal

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