Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon subpoenaed over questions about White House tenure - ABC News

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon subpoenaed over questions about White House tenure

By BENJAMIN SIEGEL TARA PALMERI Jan 16, 2018,

WATCHSteve Bannon subpoenaed by the special counsel to appear before grand jury: The New York Times

The House Intelligence Committee subpoenaed former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon Tuesday after members said he refused to answer questions about his time in the Trump White House and on the Trump transition team during a roughly ten-hour-long interview behind closed doors.

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Later Tuesday, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News that Bannon had been subpoenaed to appear before Special Counsel Robert Mueller's grand jury.

On Capitol Hill, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the committee's top Democrat, told reporters Bannon's counsel conferred with the White House after he was served with the committee subpoena during the interview and told the panel Bannon would still not answer any questions about the transition, administration or any conversations he had with President Trump after leaving the White House last year.

The source familiar with the matter said the White House had instructed Bannon not to answer questions about his time during the transition and the White House unless and until the committee and the White House can reach agreement on the proper scope of questioning in light of executive privilege concerns.

“The scope of this assertion of privilege, if that's what it is, is breathtaking. It goes well beyond anything that we've seen in this investigation,” Schiff said. “This was effectively a gag order by the White House preventing this witness from answering almost any question."

In a statement to ABC News, Bannon attorney William Burck said, "Executive privilege belongs to the President of the United States. It’s not Mr. Bannon’s right to waive it.”

Earlier Tuesday, when asked whether the White House had told Bannon not to answer certain questions, press secretary Sarah Sanders responded, "No one has encouraged him to be anything but transparent. But there is a process of what that looks like and what that process should go through."

"Look, we've been completely cooperative throughout this entire process. We're going to continue to be cooperative. But we're also going to maintain some of the executive privileges here at the White House that have been practiced for decades and that need to be maintained," Sanders added.

The same source familiar with the matter, while confirming Mueller's subpoena of Bannon, said that the White House has not placed any restrictions on Bannon’s testimony to Mueller and that he is free to cooperate fully with Mueller’s investigation and answer any questions Mueller’s team poses to him.

Meuller's office has not responded to a request for comment from ABC News.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., confirmed he signed off on the committee subpoenas. An aide to Nunes said one subpoena is for Bannon's testimony and another is for documents the aide said Bannon failed to provide to the committee.

Schiff suggested that Bannon refused to answer questions about conversations with Michael Flynn, any conversations in the White House around the time the New York Times first reported on the controversial Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer, and questions regarding any potential obstruction of the Russia investigation.

“Whether he was ever given any instructions that he felt might hinder the Russia investigation is of interest to us, whether he was witness to any actions to obstruct the investigation is of deep interest to us. If he's precluded from answering any questions during transition or administration and many questions even after he left the White House, obviously we're not able to do our job,” Schiff said.

Asked what prompted the subpoenas, Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, the Republican overseeing the committee's Russia's investigation since Nunes recused himself, told reporters "We weren't getting all the answers that we wanted and so we subpoenaed Mr. Bannon to try to compel answers."

Bannon was “vociferously defending Trump” behind closed doors, according to a source close to Bannon. “It got heated. He was showing his loyalty to Trump.”

Bannon not only declined to answer questions about his time in the White House and transition but also about transition emails, according to committee members.

“Unfortunately, there were a lot more non-answers than answers to many of the questions,” Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, told CNN in an interview. “ I think we'll have to have Steve Bannon back."

Bannon is one of several Trump campaign aides expected to appear before congressional Russia investigators this week on Capitol Hill. Corey Lewandowski, Trump's first campaign manager, is scheduled to testify before the House Intelligence Committee later this week.

Tuesday's interview came after Bannon resigned as executive chairman of Breitbart News following the release of Michael Wolff’s tell-all book "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House."

The book includes harsh comments from Bannon on the controversial June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between campaign officials and a Russian lawyer. Bannon, according to Wolff, called the meeting "treasonous" and "unpatriotic," but has since retracted his criticism of Donald Trump Jr.'s participation.

In the book, Bannon also suggested Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation would focus on money laundering, something congressional investigators hoped to question him about.

ABC News' Ali Dukakis contributed to this report.

Trump has the lowest approval rating in his first year in office of any president in history He is a full 10 per cent behind the second lowest - Independent

17/1/2018

Trump has the lowest approval rating in his first year in office of any president in history

He is a full 10 per cent behind the second lowest

Clark Mindock New York @ClarkMindock

Mr Trump's approval ratings are lower than any other president in history

President Donald Trump is finishing off his first year with the lowest approval rating of any president in history.

He comes in 10 per cent behind the next lowest, with a 39 per cent average for the year, according to new polling data from Gallup. He’s behind President Bill Clinton, who finished his year with a 49 per cent average in his first year in office.

The relatively low polling follows after a tumultuous year in which Mr Trump has been frequently criticised for policies and rhetoric that have served to exacerbate divisions in the United States.

Trump administration will ask Supreme Court to let it end DACA

During that time, a growing percentage of the American populace began to question his fitness for office as well, and insider reports indicating a chaotic White House have fuelled that speculation.

Th low approval ratings are unusual for an American president so early into their first time. Generally speaking, Americans have tended to give a new president the benefit of the doubt, leading to higher approval ratings.

Mr Trump’s current approval rating, based upon Gallup’s one-week average, rests just below his yearly average, at 38 percent. Fifty-seven per cent of Americans indicated that they disapprove of Mr Trump during the week. His lowest approval rating in a week average this year — 35 per cent — was still higher than the lowest point for at least three presidents in modern polling history.l

But there are positive notes in the polling averages.

Mr Trump enjoys high support from Republicans in the country, with 83 per cent of those voters saying they approve of his time in office.

He also has relatively high approval ratings when it comes to opinions on his record with the economy. A recent Quinnipiac poll shows that more Americans think that Mr Trump is helping the economy than hurting it — 37 per cent to 29 per cent — although most say that Mr Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, deserves that credit.

Vegans warned about choosing products linked to companies that also trade in 'animal exploitation' - Independent

16/1/2018

Vegans warned about choosing products linked to companies that also trade in 'animal exploitation'

'We're sure that many vegans will be horrified that they are unwittingly supporting the milk and dairy industries'

Ryan Butcher @ryanjohnbutcher

Britain's growing number of vegans have been urged to be "savvier" when it comes to choosing products which are owned by companies with roots in the meat and dairy industries.

Ethical Consumer magazine has released a list of brands it says are owned by companies compatible with the vegan lifestyle, and a list of brands it says are owned by companies that are at odds.

It said that some of the best-loved vegan-friendly brands like Linda McCartney and Vitalite are owned by companies and umbrella corporations that trade on "animal exploitation".

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However, some of that the brands in the cross hairs of Ethical Consumer are not directly marketed as being solely for vegans.

Among those being targetted are Alpro, Provamel and Soya Soleil, which are all owned by French food multi-national Groupe Danone, whose annual turnover is almost £19bn.

However, Ethical Consumer has labelled the firm, a "major player in the global fresh dairy products market", with products like Activia yoghurts also being made by the company.

Danone's website describes the company as being a producer of "essential dairy and plant-based products".

Pure produces dairy and gluten free spreads including soya, sunflower and olive, which are suitable for vegans.

However, Ethical Consumer pointed out that it is owned by the Kerry Group, an Irish-based billion pound company whose other well known brands include Richmond's sausages, Wall's sausages, Cheesestrings and Dairygold.

And in fact, in 2016 Pure rolled out a selection of ready meals that included green Thai chicken curry and Singapore chicken noodles.

Vitalite’s owners Dairy Crest also produce a wide range of cheeses and butters, including Cathedral City and Clover.

Ethical Consumer's research also uncovered links between the meat industry and Linda McCartney.

The brand is currently owned by the US-based Hain Celestial, a company involved in the American poultry industry as well as being the owner of Ella’s Kitchen baby food, many varieties of which contain meat.

One of the world's largest multi-nationals, Unilever, also has a stake in the booming vegan market through its dairy-free soy ice cream brand Swedish Glace.

Ethical Consumer warns that the group continues to profit from the meat and dairy industries through its other brands including Ben & Jerry’s, Hellman’s and Knorr.

The brands that Ethical Consumer claim have no links to the dairy and milk industries include Ecomil, Good Hemp, VegiDeli, Dragonfly, The Booja-Booja Company and The Coconut Collaborative.

Isola Bio, Oatly, Plamil, Taifun and Suma, among others, have also been given Ethical Consumer's seal of approval.

10 best vegan wines

Mackenzie Denyer, a researcher at Ethical Consumer, said: “It's great that so many people are now switching to vegan diets. "However, we're asking people to be savvy vegans and, as our research has shown, recognise that not all companies selling vegan brands uphold vegan principles.

“We're sure that many vegans will be horrified that they are unwittingly supporting the milk and dairy industries. The good news is that there are many vegan brands on the shelves that have no links to animal exploitation and have been championing vegan lifestyles for many years.

“The bad news is that as the vegan revolution rolls on we can expect many more companies who have no interest in ending animal exploitation scramble to get a slice of the vegan market.”

In 2016 it was reported that the number of vegans in the UK had risen by 360% in ten years.

At least 542,000 people aged 15 or over have adopted a plant-based diet in the UK, which is up from 150,000 in 2006.

Nations to consider more North Korea sanctions, U.S. warns on military option - Reuters

JANUARY 17, 2018

Nations to consider more North Korea sanctions, U.S. warns on military option

David Brunnstrom, David Ljunggren

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Twenty nations agreed on Tuesday to consider tougher sanctions to press North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned Pyongyang it could trigger a military response if it did not choose negotiations.

A U.S.-hosted meeting of countries that backed South Korea during the 1950-53 Korea War also vowed to support renewed dialogue between the two Koreas “in hopes that it leads to sustained easing of tensions” and agreed that a diplomatic solution to the crisis was both essential and possible.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has refused to give up development of nuclear missiles capable of hitting the United States in spite of increasingly severe U.N. sanctions, raising fears of a new war on the Korean peninsula.

The United States and Canada co-hosted the day-long meeting in Vancouver to discuss ways to increase pressure on Kim.

U.S. officials have reported a debate within the Trump administration over whether to give more active consideration to military options, such as a pre-emptive strike on a North Korean nuclear or missile site.

Tillerson brushed off a question about such a “bloody nose” strike, telling a closing news conference: “I’m a not going to comment on issues that have yet to be decided among the National Security Council or the president.”

However, he said the threat posed by North Korea was growing.

“We all need to be very sober and clear-eyed about the current situation ... We have to recognize that the threat is growing and if North Korea does not chose the pathway of engagement, discussion, negotiation, then they themselves will trigger an option,” Tillerson said.

“Our approach is, in terms of having North Korea chose the correct step, is to present them with what is the best option – talks are the best option; that when they look at the military situation, that’s not a good outcome for them.”

“It is time to talk, but they have to take the step to say they want to talk.”

The Vancouver meeting pledged to ensure that U.N. sanctions already in place were fully implemented and the participants said in a joint statement they agreed “to consider and take steps to impose unilateral sanctions and further diplomatic actions that go beyond those required by U.N. Security Council resolutions.” They gave no details.

Tillerson said all countries needed to work together to improve interdiction of ships attempting to skirt sanctions and said there must be “new consequences” for North Korea “whenever new aggression occurs.”

He said the meeting had agreed that China and Russia, which did not attend the Vancouver talks and sharply criticized them, must fully implement U.N. sanctions.

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Canada and the United States were demonstrating a “Cold War mentality” that would divide the international community and damage chances of an appropriate settlement on the peninsula.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrives for a photo op during the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Security and Stability on the Korean Peninsula in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Ben Nelms

“Only through dialogue, equally addressing the reasonable concerns of all parties, can a way to an effective and peaceful resolution be found,” Lu added.

U.S. officials say discussion of a military strike option has lost some momentum since North and South Korea held formal talks for the first time in two years this month and Pyongyang said it would send athletes to the Winter Olympics that South Korea will host next month.

‘NOT TIME FOR REWARD’

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said in Vancouver that the world should not be naive about North Korea’s “charm offensive” in engaging in talks with the South.

Slideshow (13 Images)

“It is not the time to ease pressure, or to reward North Korea,” he said. “The fact that North Korea is engaging in dialogue could be interpreted as proof that the sanctions are working.”

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said she hoped the dialogue would continue well beyond the Olympics, but stressed that existing sanctions must be applied more rigorously.

Tillerson said North Korea must not be allowed “to drive a wedge” through allied resolve or solidarity and reiterated Washington’s rejection of a Chinese-Russian proposal for the United States and South Korea to freeze military exercises in return for a freeze in North Korea’s weapons programs.

A senior State Department official said U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis briefed the Vancouver participants over dinner on Monday and stressed the U.S. preference for a diplomatic solution, while keeping a military option on the table.

“It was a chance to raise people’s confidence that we have thought through this, that we definitely prefer a diplomatic solution,” the official said.

China says Canada meeting on North Korea showed 'Cold War' mentality

Nations at North Korea meeting agree to consider more sanctions

Nations at North Korea meeting agree to consider more sanctions

Russia and China have been accused of not fully implementing the U.N. sanctions, something they deny.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, speaking on Tuesday in the West African state of Sao Tome, said everyone should cherish the present easing of tension on the Korean peninsula.

But history shows that each time tensions ease, there could be interference or backsliding, Wang added.

“Now is the time to test each side’s sincerity,” he said. “The international community must keep its eyes wide open, and see who is really the promoter of a peaceful resolution to the peninsula nuclear issue and who will become the saboteur who causes a return to tensions.”

A U.S. official said Susan Thornton, the State Department’s senior diplomat for East Asia, would travel to Beijing from Vancouver to brief China on the outcome. He said he expected Tillerson to provide readouts to his Russian and Chinese counterparts.

Reporting by David Ljunggren and David Brunnstrom; Additional reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver, Michelle Nichols at the United Nations, Philip Wen in Beijing and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish and Lisa Shumaker

Peter Thiel Made an Offer to Buy Gawker, the Website He Helped Close - TIME Business

Peter Thiel Made an Offer to Buy Gawker, the Website He Helped Close Posted: 11 Jan 2018 02:29 PM PST (NEW YORK) – Venture capitalist Peter Thiel has made an offer for Gawker, hoping to overcome legal hurdles and rival bidders for the online news site the billionaire helped shutter by funding litigation against it, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Gawker, which has been inactive for more than a year, is conducting an auction of its remaining assets, including its domain names and nearly 200,000 archived articles. Most of its assets, including its sister pages Deadspin, a sports site, and Jezebel, a feminist blog, were bought in 2016 for $135 million by media company Univision Holdings Inc. Thiel has not said why he wants Gawker, though the potential acquisition would let him take down stories regarding his personal life that are still available on the website, and remove the scope for further litigation between him and Gawker. Thiel, who is Facebook Inc’s first major investor and a co-founder of payment service PayPal Inc, did not respond to a request for comment. Gawker‘s bankruptcy plan administrator Will Holden, of consulting firm Dacarba LLC, and the website’s bankruptcy attorney Gregg Galardi, of law firm Ropes & Gray LLP, have tried to block Thiel’s bid, according to court papers. Galardi in late November asked a U.S. bankruptcy court judge to deny Thiel’s request to bid, according to court papers. He also argued Thiel is “not a ‘proper’ purchaser” because he could end up as the target of litigation, according to court papers. Thiel funded former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker after the site published a sex tape featuring Hogan. The former wrestler, whose real name is Terry Bollea, won a $140 million judgment against the site, and later settled for $31 million. Gawker in 2007 published a story about Thiel’s homosexuality. Multiple bidders have submitted offers for the site, Holden said in a phone interview on Thursday. Holden will choose a winner as soon as this month, and then request approval for the deal from a U.S. bankruptcy court judge, the sources said. If Holden excludes Thiel’s bid, Thiel could ask the judge to consider it if it is higher than rival offers. The value of Thiel’s bid could not be learned, though the sources said Gawker is only now worth a few million dollars. Kevin Lee, the co-founder and executive chairman of Didit, a marketing firm, said he also submitted a bid, without disclosing its value. If successful, Lee said, he plans to use the site to raise money for readers’ preferred charities. The terms of the Univision sale restrict new articles from being published on Gawker until March 9. A group of former Gawker employees this week abandoned their effort to bid, one of the sources said. They had launched a campaign seeking $500,000 in donations through fundraising site Kickstarter, but failed to reach their goal and have returned the approximately $90,000 they did collect.

Bitcoin jolted by regulation worries, tumbles 11 percent on extended sell-off - Reuters

JANUARY 17, 2018

Bitcoin jolted by regulation worries, tumbles 11 percent on extended sell-off

Hideyuki Sano, Tommy Wilkes

TOKYO/LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin skidded more than 11 percent on Wednesday, extending a precipitous downturn in fortunes with investors spooked by fears regulators might clamp down on an asset whose value has skyrocketed in the past year. Sparks glow from broken Bitcoin (virtual currency) coins in this illustration picture, December 8, 2017.

The price of the world’s biggest and best known cryptocurrency fell to as low as $10,065 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, a six-week low and close to half the peak price of almost $20,000 it reached in December.

Other cryptocurrencies plunged as well. Ethereum and Ripple were both down heavily after reports South Korea and China could ban cryptocurrency trading, sparking worries of a wider regulatory crackdown.

“There is a lot of panic in the market. People are selling to try and get the hell out of there,” said Charles Hayter, founder of Cryptocompare, which owns cryptocurrencies.

“You have more regulatory uncertainty...and because of these falls you have these other outfalls,” he said, referring to the collapse of some cryptocurrencies in the recent slump in prices.

With South Korea, Japan and China all making noises about a regulatory swoop, and officials in France and the United States vowing to investigate cryptocurrencies, there are concerns that global coordination on how to regulate them will accelerate.

Officials are expected to debate the rise of bitcoin at the upcoming G20 summit in Argentina in March.

“Cryptocurrencies could be capped in the current quarter ahead of the G20 meeting in March, where policymakers could discuss tighter regulations,” said Shuhei Fujise, chief analyst at Alt Design.

At its lows on Tuesday, bitcoin suffered its biggest daily decline in four months. It was a far cry from its peak close to $20,000 in December, when the virtual currency had risen nearly 2,000 percent over the year.

Tuesday’s decline followed reports that South Korea’s finance minister had said banning trading in cryptocurrencies is still an option and that Seoul plans a set of measures to clamp down on the “irrational” cryptocurrency investment craze.

Separately, a senior Chinese central banker said authorities should ban centralised trading of virtual currencies as well as individuals and businesses that provide related services.

“Bitcoin is deciding whether this is the moment to crash and burn,” said Steven Englander, head of strategy at New York-based Rafiki Capital.

“My conjecture is that cryptocurrency holders are trying to decide whether to abandon bitcoin because its limitations mean it will be superseded by better products or bet that it can thrive despite them.”

WILD SWINGS

Cryptocurrencies enjoyed a bumper year in 2017 as mainstream investors entered the market and as an explosion in so-called initial coin offerings (ICOs) - digital, token-based fundraising rounds - drove demand.

While many observers say the recent falls show that the bubble has burst, those backing the nascent markets say that regulation is welcomed and wild price swings to be expected.

“The volatility of bitcoin - and other crypto currencies - is an expected, and important, part of the journey to becoming a mature asset class. We expect the volatility to continue throughout 2018 but fundamentally believe that bitcoin is still in a bull market,” said Christopher Keshian, co-founder of $APEX Token Fund.

Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency by market value, was down 18 percent since Tuesday, according to website CoinMarketCap.

Ripple, the third biggest, has lost 25 percent of its value over the past 24 hours and was quoted at $1.03, down from a high of $3.81 on Jan 4.

Bitcoin futures maturing on Wednesday on the Cboe Global Markets Inc’s Cboe Futures Exchange were at $10,070, with 1,586 contracts traded, after having opened at $10,850.

“The run-up in bitcoin created a mystique of one-way trading which is being shaken, but the pricing requires faith that there will always be demand,” Englander wrote.

“This is far from guaranteed given the existence of alternatives with better characteristics.”

Reporting by Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo; Writing by Vidya Ranganathan; Editing by Mark Heinrich

Just nine of the world's richest men have more combined wealth than the poorest 4 billion people - Business Insider UK

17/1/2018

Just nine of the world's richest men have more combined wealth than the poorest 4 billion people

Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett lead the pack

Sarah Jacobs Business Insider

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos recently reached a net worth of $105 billion, making him the richest person in the world — and ever in history.

A recent study released by Oxfam found that the top 1% has owned more wealth than the rest of the world's population since 2015. And the eight richest have the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of the world — nearly 4 billion people. If these top billionaires continue to see returns on their wealth, we could see the world's first trillionaire in as little as 25 years.

Currently, there are over 1,500 billionaires in the world, with more than 560 in the US alone. China, Germany, and India each have 100 or more billionaires who call the countries home, according to a report from UBS.

Ahead, nine of the world's wealthiest people — according to Forbes' Billionaire List — that have more wealth than half the world's population. Net worth estimates are current as of January 16.

9. Larry Page — $52.2 billion

The CEO and co-founder of Google sits at number nine with a net worth of $52.2 billion.

8. Larry Ellison — $60.4 billion

In 1977, Larry Ellison co-founded the software company Oracle, which originally was launched with $2,000 of funding, $1,200 of which came out of Ellison's own pocket. Ellison stepped down as CEO in 2014, but continues to be involved with the company.

7. Carlos Slim Helu and family — $67.6 billion

Carlos Slim Helu controls Latin America's largest mobile telecom firm, América Móvil, of which he is a chairman. Helu also owns stakes in various mining, real estate, and consumer goods businesses — including The New York Times. He is the richest man in Mexico.

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6. Bernard Arnault — $68.7 billion

Bernard Arnault has been the CEO of LVMH, which houses brands such as Louis Vuitton, Sephora, and Dom Perignon, since 1989. Combined, the brands under LVMH sold $40 billion in sales in 2016.

5. Mark Zuckerberg — $72 billion

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg founded the website in his Harvard dorm room 13 years ago and has since become one of the richest people in the world. He and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have committed to give away 99% of their wealth before they die.

4. Amancio Ortega — $75.8 billion

Amancio Ortega is the wealthiest man in Europe, and co-founded fashion retailer Zara's parent company Inditex in 1975. His real-estate portfolio includes properties in London, New York, Madrid.

3. Warren Buffett — $90.1 billion

Wildly successful investor Warren Buffett is CEO of Berkshire Hathaway which owns over 60 companies. Although he still lives a somewhat modest lifestyle, he became a billionaire at age 32. In 2010, Buffett, alongside Bill Gates, created The Giving Pledge — promising to donate at least half of their fortunes to charities.

2. Bill Gates — $91.9 billion

Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft in 1975, and has continued his involvement with the company as a technology advisor and board member. Gates also has investments in Canadian National Railway, AutoNation, and more. He and his wife Melinda founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which aims to help kindergarten through 12th grade students in the US.

1. Jeff Bezos — $108.9 billion

Founder and CEO of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos owns nearly 17% of the company. In 2013 he purchased the Washington Post for $250 million, and he also owns an aerospace company, Blue Origin. In 2017, Bezos made $19.3 billion.