Senate Intelligence Committee

Loss Of A True Statesman: Florida Governor And Senator Bob Graham!

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The state of Florida and the nation has lost a true statesman, former Governor and Senator Bob Graham, who passed away at the age of 87.

Graham was a class act as Florida Governor from 1979-1987, and as a US Senator from 1987-2005.

A leader who was of Presidential stature, he was on the short list for Vice President for Bill Clinton in 1992 and Al Gore in 2000, and briefly sought the Presidency himself in 2004.

He was a very effective governor of the Sunshine state, a true star when compared to recent Republican governors Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis. His emphasis was on promotion of the environment and advancement of education.

Graham was Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee from 2001-2003, and worked to oppose the Iraq War under George W. Bush as based on faulty intelligence.

A half brother with the same last name, Phil Graham, came to own the Washington Post.

Florida has not been the same politically since Democrats such as Bob Graham left office, and as Republicans took over state government and domination of Congressional seats.

Senators Marco Rubio And James Lankford Call For Giving Joe Biden The Transition Funding And Intelligence Briefing He Is Entitled To

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Late last week, Republican Senators Marco Rubio and James Lankford of Oklahoma called upon President Trump to allow the General Services Administration bureaucrat who must sign off on intelligence briefings for President Elect Joe Biden to do so, and to give the President Elect necessary transition funding.

And yet four days later, no such action has been taken, and it undermines US National Security that could be very dangerous.

Fortunately, Vice President Elect Kamala Harris is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and can get such briefings for that reason.

Trump is acting very irresponsibly, as his time in office ticks down to just nine more weeks from this Wednesday, and he is clearly showing he has no concern about the loss of life from COVID 19, and the danger to the nation of a potential attack!

Donald Trump Is A Traitor To America, And Promoting Terrorism By White Nationalists And White Supremacists!

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It is not a pleasure for this blogger and author to write that President Donald Trump is a traitor to America, having worked with the Russians in 2016 to defeat Hillary Clinton, as made clear in the Mueller Report in 2019, and the Republican controlled Senate Intelligence Committee Report a month ago! So he is as much of a traitor, if not more, than Benedict Arnold during the American Revolution, and some are already calling him “Benedict Donald”!

But also, Donald Trump is a terrorist, inciting and promoting attacks by white nationalists and white supremacists, with such despicable followers of those philosophies murdering people in Kenosha, Wisconsin and Portland, Oregon just in the past few days, and Trump today defending the young man who came across state lines, driven by his mother, and killing two and wounding one in Kenosha!

Trump is attempting to promote a racial war, and caravans of white power people, young toughs who see Trump as their leader, have been looking for trouble and violence, ironically, recently, in mostly white cities (Portland, Seattle, Kenosha) where most demonstrators for Black Lives Matter are WHITES, with some now becoming victims!

Meanwhile, Democratic nominee Joe Biden is promoting reconciliation, and blaming Trump rightfully for claiming that only he, Trump, can overcome so called racial violence and crime, when it has been incited by his supporters going after those who protest police brutality, with most victims being whites!

Black Lives Matter protesters do not bring firearms to their demonstrations, only white supremacists and white vigilantes, encouraged by Trump.

Crime in America had reached a 50 year low before Trump took office, and much of that crime that has occurred now is due to these right wing hatemongers, as well as the human suffering going on in the midst of the Second Great Depression and CoronaVirus Pandemic, along with the growing level of police misconduct against African Americans.

It is amazing that the young man who murdered in Kenosha was not stopped by police for having a firearm being wielded by him, and try to imagine an African American man in the same circumstance!

Trump is sowing chaos in order to try to gain white suburbia and women by fear, but it will not succeed. He even tried to defend today the young man who killed two in Kenosha!

The time of George Wallace in 1968 is back, but it seems clear that Joe Biden will overcome the hate and the chaos, and is still far ahead in public opinion polls, even after the Republican National Convention.

Donald Trump will have to be held to account once he leaves office, as he is the most lawbreaking President in American history by far, much more than Richard Nixon, who looks by comparison to be a “choir boy”!

Could North Carolina Republican Senator Richard Burr Be Thorn For Donald Trump And His Son?

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Republican Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina may be a thorn for Donald Trump and his son, Donald Trump, Jr., but who would have guessed that?

Burr is a soft spoken member of the Senate since 2005 and served in the House of Representatives for the ten years from 1995 to 2005.

Burr has been Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and has been engaged in investigation of the Trump scandals, and has worked well with Ranking Member Mark Warner, Senator from Virginia.

To decide to call Donald Trump Jr. back for further questioning after having done so in 2017 is causing an uproar from many Republicans who want to drop the issue and move on, and are willing to cover up for Trump.

But Burr is a traditional conservative, and his voting record offers no hope of an open mind on most issues, and yet, he could now cause grief for Donald Trump and his son, hard to explain, but still welcome.

Three Potential Democratic Presidential Contenders In 2020 From Virginia: Terry McAuliffe, Tim Kaine, Mark Warner

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As the 2020 Presidential campaign begins, there are three potential candidates who come from Virginia, which has become a very “Blue” state.

Former Governor Terry McAuliffe has hinted he plans to run. He is probably the most controversial of the three Virginians, having been the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee during the first George W. Bush term, as well as Chair of the Hillary Clinton 2008 campaign for President, and co-chairman of the reelection campaign of President Bill Clinton in 1996. He is certainly the most hard nosed politician of the three Virginians.

Senator Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton’s Vice Presidential running mate, may run, but does not seem drawn to the idea of running at this point. Many observers feel that Kaine did not help Hillary Clinton, and was a lackluster campaigner. Also, Kaine is seen as moderate in a party moving to the left rapidly.

Senator Mark Warner, also seen as a moderate, and about the wealthiest member of Congress, has long been thought of as a potential candidate, and he has been very active in pursuing the Russian Collusion investigation in the Senate, as the ranking member or Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Interesting point is that all three Virginians have been Governors of their state, and all three have been seen as successes in that position, leading to Kaine and Warner being elected to the Senate.

But none of these three seem at this point, even if they announce, to be likely to win the Democratic nomination.

The one who might have the best chance is Warner, but although he is a more dynamic person than Kaine, it still seems unlikely that he will get very far in the various primaries and caucuses in 2020.

But of course no one can be sure what will happen in any Presidential campaign, so it will be interesting to see if any of these three Virginia politicians move forward toward the nomination in 2020.

Independence Day 2018: The Greatest Crisis In American History, With Evidence Of Russian Collusion In Our Government

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Today is Independence Day, the 242nd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

America has gone through many crises and challenges over those 242 years.

But now we face the reality of what is the greatest crisis in our years of independence, with evidence of Russian collusion in our government, and likely continuing into the future.

This is not a conspiracy theory, but reality, as even the Republican controlled Senate Intelligence Committee, under the leadership of North Carolina Republican Senator Richard Burr, asserts, with the entire committee unanimous in its conclusion that the intelligence agencies and national security apparatus has been accurate in its assessment.

Donald Trump is clearly a traitor, undermining our democracy and our history of proud independence, and ready to sell America down the river.

And yet his party, with a few exceptions, remains unwilling to face the challenge presented by Donald Trump, and the damage he is doing to our national security, foreign policy, and alliance system with the nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which has promoted a stable world since the end of World War II.

There are widespread feelings of despair and hopelessness being expressed, including when this blogger gives lectures on public affairs and history to groups all over South Florida.

Many feel the country is being destroyed by a vehement base of ignorant, prejudiced, and clueless people who fail to see the damage that has been done by Donald Trump in the three years since he announced his candidacy.

But the nation and its good majority cannot give up, must resist in every way possible, and restore our democracy and heritage, so that our children and grandchildren can live in a land still affected by the vision of the Founding Fathers in the 18th century!

The Constitutional Crisis Has Arrived: Trump’s Direct Interference With Mueller Investigation, Justice Department, And FBI

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Here we are on May 21, 2018, Day 486 of the Trump Presidency, and Donald Trump has gone off the deep end, with his challenge to interfere directly with the Robert Mueller investigation, and the role of the Justice Department and the FBI in that controversy.

Robert Mueller, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and FBI Head Christopher Wray are now presented with a crisis that requires total courage, principle, and dedication to the rule of law.

And Republicans in Congress, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and the members of the Senate who are involved in the Intelligence Committee and Judiciary Committee, as well as those in the House of Representatives committees, have a reckoning with history.

if they choose to bend to Donald Trump’s will, they will be condemned forever in history, and there is no more room for concessions.

It is time for Congress to join the responsible news media and demand the resignation of Donald Trump, or a rapid move toward impeachment.

No person matters more than the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and Donald Trump must be brought down to avoid a potential move toward an authoritarian government that could lead to the end of the American nation as we know it.

There is no room now for weak, unprincipled people in our government, but rather a time for all principled people to come forward and say to Donald Trump: YOU ARE FIRED!

Cory Booker And Kamala Harris Appointments To Senate Judiciary Committee A Boost To Their Predicted Presidential Candidacies In 2020

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The appointment of New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and California Senator Kamala Harris to the Senate Judiciary Committee is a boost to both legislators, both considered likely Presidential candidates a year from now.

Booker is African American, and Harris is mixed race with a parent born in Jamaica and a parent born in India.

Both have exceptional credentials, with Booker having bachelors degree in political science and masters degree in Sociology from Stanford; a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford, where he earned an honors degree in American history; and a law degree from Yale Law School. He served on the Newark City Council from 1998-2002; as Newark Mayor from 2006-2013, and has been in the US Senate since 2013. He has also served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; and the Environment and Public Works Committee. He is an impressive orator and highly intelligent and qualified.

Kamala Harris graduated Howard University in Washington, DC, and Hasting Law School of the University of California. She worked in the San Francisco District Attorney’s office and the City Attorney’s Office, and then was elected and served as San Francisco District Attorney from 2004-2011, followed by election and service as California Attorney General from 2011-2017, and was elected to the Senate to serve beginning in 2017. She serves on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs; Budget Committee; and Intelligence Committee; as well as her recant appointment to the Judiciary Committee. She is highly regarded for her oratory and intellectual brilliance.

Having had the excellent experience of Barack Obama in the Presidency, we now have the possibility of another person who is not white being a future President, and very possibly over time, both of them, with Harris being 56 and Booker 51 in 2020, so the long range potential is clearly present, if not in 2020, for a future President Booker or President Harris or both over time!

Fox News Channel Promoting False Concept Of “Coup” Against Donald Trump By Robert Mueller, When The Threat Is Of Trump Grabbing Absolute Power!

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Fox News Channel is engaged in a full scale promotion of the concept of a “coup” being waged against President Donald Trump by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

That right wing propaganda channel, which ignorant, uninformed people think is a news channel, is stirring up hatemongers and congressional Republicans to wage war on Mueller and his investigation of the numerous Trump scandals.

Particularly disgraceful and despicable are Sean Hannity and Judge Jeanine Pirro, both highly trained in sensationalism, hyperbole, and conspiracy theories.

They are enriching themselves in the process of their sycophantic worship of the most dangerous President in American history.

One or both could be swept up in the scandals, as both have links to the White House, and are willing to spread lies on a daily basis.

Only Shepard Smith is gutsy and courageous enough to contradict these sycophants and others at Fox News Channel.

Additionally, there are a large group of principled conservatives who have been critical of and have denounced Donald Trump since before he won the Presidency in a false manner. The list of such conservatives and Republicans is long and distinguished, although it does not include many elected Republicans.

The reality is Hannity and Pirro are promoting the concept of a coup to seize absolute power, and suspend the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, and promote the closing down of a free media, and a judiciary that defends the rule of law. They are supportive of a maniacal, unstable President who admires the authoritarianism of Vladimir Putin, who clearly has a hold over him, and helped him to win the Presidential Election of 2016 in an unethical and illegal manner.

Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, warned us of the threat of the firing of Robert Mueller, and if that occurs, the people must go out into the streets of every American city in large numbers to protest and resist such unconstitutional grabbing of power by the 45th President.

One Horrible Week After Another For Trump Presidency, But The Worst Is Yet To Come!

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The Trump Presidency has been one horrible week after another, but the worst is yet to come.

No President has ever had such a disastrous start, and yet, nothing ever improves. Now, a Quinnipiac poll shows him dropping to 33 percent.

Trump is totally disorganized and undisciplined, and nothing will change his behavior, as he has been able to escape responsibility for his behavior and actions until now, and thinks he will be able to overcome obstacles yet again.

But there is news for Donald Trump, bad news.

He will be held accountable for his transgressions, his sins against the American nation. His coverup is being revealed in all its ugliness.

It will take more time for Robert Mueller, the Special Counsel, and for the Intelligence Committees and Judiciary Committees of the House of Representatives and Senate to continue their investigation of the Russian collusion, and other accusations against the 45th President.

But even if Trump fires Robert Mueller through replacement of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, he will be held to account, and faces the choice of impeachment, or indictment, or resignation, and no guarantee of a pardon or of avoiding prison, and the same for his son in law and older son.

America is a nation under laws, and Trump, with his cockiness, has met his match finally, at age 71!