Mnuchin Says He ‘Wouldn’t Minimize” Chance of Tariffs on All Chinese Imports
Treasury secretary, attending a meeting among G-20 finance ministers and central bankers in Latin America, also played down Trump remarks on currency markets
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin meets in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Friday with Brazilian Minister of Finance Eduardo Guardia.
By Jeffrey T. Lewis
Updated July 21, 2018 9:03 a.m. ET
BUENOS AIRES—U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he “wouldn’t minimize” the possibility that the U.S. will impose tariffs on all $500 billion worth of goods that the U.S. imports from China, amplifying a threat President Donald Trump made in a television interview earlier in the week.
Mr. Mnuchin was speaking ahead of a meeting among G-20 finance ministers and central bankers here.
While he echoed the president on China, the Treasury secretary also played down comments Mr. Trump made earlier in the week about the Federal Reserve and currency markets. Mr. Trump said in a tweet and in a television interview he wasn’t happy that the Fed is raising short-term interest rates, which he said is undermining administration efforts to rev up U.S. economic growth. It was unusual because the White House usually refrains from commenting on monetary policy.
Mr. Mnuchin said he and the president still “fully” supported Fed independence. He also said the U.S. isn’t trying to interfere in foreign-exchange markets after Mr. Trump accused China and the European Union of manipulating their currencies to make their economies more competitive.
The president has threatened tariffs on $500 billion in Chinese imports before. On July 6 on Air Force One, the president told reporters tariffs could eventually hit $550 billion in imports from China.
When asked during Friday’s CNBC interview, “Will you ever get to 500, though?” Mr. Trump responded that he is “ready to go to 500,” referring to the approximate dollar value of Chinese goods exported to the U.S. last year.
“I’m doing this to do the right thing for our country. We have been ripped off by China for a long time,” he said.
Earlier this month, the U.S. imposed levies on $34 billion of Chinese exports of machinery, components and electronics. Also scheduled are tariffs on $16 billion of Chinese electronics and other components.
The U.S. has identified a further $200 billion in Chinese goods the U.S. may target for tariffs, for a total of $250 billion. Anything further, Mr. Trump has said, depends on the extent to which China retaliates.
Write to Jeffrey T. Lewis at jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Bizarre conspiracy theory suggests celebrities including the Pope and even ROYALS who have been snapped with black left eyes are in the secret ILLUMINATI society (and puts the bruises down to an 'initiation ritual') - Daily Mail
Bizarre conspiracy theory suggests celebrities including the Pope and even ROYALS who have been snapped with black left eyes are in the secret ILLUMINATI society (and puts the bruises down to an 'initiation ritual')
Stars including Elizabeth Hurley and Boy George have been seen with black eyes
Others who've been pictured with bruising include George W. Bush and the Pope
Conspiracy theorists have asked why so many celebrities have had black eyes
By JACQUI DEEVOY FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 20:06 AEST, 20 July 2018 | UPDATED: 00:48 AEST, 21 July 2018
A bizarre conspiracy theory has emerged suggesting that celebrities seen sporting a black left eye are part of the Illuminati.
Elizabeth Hurley, Boy George and Robert Downey Jnr are among the A-listers who have been photographed with bruising in the eye area in recent years.
Former US President George W. Bush, along with the Pope, Prince Philip and Prince Andrew, have all also been photographed with black eyes.
According to some conspiracy theorists, the black left eye is part of a cult or 'Illuminati' high-level initiation ritual during which the pledger is said to be forced to 'eat pain' in a quest to become more powerful.
Conspiracy theorists have come up with a bizarre reason for why celebrities have sported black left eyes. Elizabeth Hurley shared a snap of herself with bruising in 2017
Boy George was pictured with bruising around his left eye at the Brit Awards in 2014. He said at the time it was 'fashion victim' make-up
The Pope, pictured in 2017, has also been pictured with a black eye, which was said to have been caused by a collision while he was riding his 'pope-mobile' +11
The Pope, pictured in 2017, has also been pictured with a black eye, which was said to have been caused by a collision while he was riding his 'pope-mobile'
Author and internet radio show host Sherry Shriner - who wrote the book Interview With The Devil, in which she claimed to converse with Lucifer - has spoken of the link between these black eyes and 'soul scalping'.
According to Shriner, government leaders, people on TV with their own shows and hundreds of popular entertainers have sold their souls to Satan.
'You cannot be on TV now, without signing on the dotted line. The bizarre recurrence of facial bruises on Illuminati politicians and entertainers has resulted in speculation that their souls have been replaced in a satanic ritual called "soul scalping",' she said.
Shriner, who died earlier this year, believed all the powerful people in the world have been soul scalped.
She said that this can one done in a number of ritualistic ways, all of which result in a 'possession', whereby the human soul is removed and the body taken over by the demonic entity.
In conspiracy circles, this process is also known as a 'walk-in'. Some people believe the blackened eye is a result of soul scalping.
Robert Downey Jr. appeared to have bruising around his left eye while attending a glitzy event back in 2005
Adam Sandler, pictured in 2011, previously joked his black eye was caused by a pregnant Drew Barrymore's unborn child punching him
The late David Bowie also appeared to sport a black eye while performing in 2005, which was described as being 'just for theatrics'
Meanwhile, celebrities have come up with various explanations for how they got their black eyes over the years.
When actor Adam Sandler was asked by Jimmy Kimmel four years ago how he got his black eye, he joked a pregnant Drew Barrymore's unborn child had punched him.
In other interviews, the actor had claimed the bruising was the result of playing basketball.
Boy George claimed the shiner he sported at the Brit Awards in 2014 was 'fashion victim' make-up, while the David Bowie's black eye, seen in 2005, was described as being 'just for theatrics.'
Meanwhile, George W. Bush has been quizzed about his shiners each time he's been spotted with them.
He attributed the first one - in 1992 - to a rather over-zealous snowballing from his grandchildren, the second in 2004 to a fall off his bike, and, more recently, he claimed he'd been hit in the face by a microphone stand, when it swung around and whacked him during a speech.
Royals have also been photographed with black eyes in the past, including Prince Philip. He is pictured here in 2004
Prince Andrew was also pictured with bruising under the eye while attending the Countess Mountbatten of Burma's funeral in June 2017
Video playing bottom right...
The Pope was said to have hit his eye when riding through the streets of Cartagena, Columbia in the 'Pope-mobile' last year.
Several news reports stated that he had made a joke about the injury, saying that he'd been punched.
Conspiracy theorists have pointed out that even members of the royal family have been spotted with black eyes over the years.
Prince Philip was seen with one in both 2013, when a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said he had 'woken up with it', and in 2015.
Prince Andrew also sported a shiner when he attended the Countess Mountbatten of Burma's funeral in June 2017.
When asked at the time about the injury, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: 'This is not something we would comment on.'
George W Bush has been pictured with black eyes on a number of occasions, including in 2002 (above)
Former Democrat leader Harry Reid was pictured with bruising around his left eye in 2011
Other celebrities who have sported black eyes in the past include the former Democrat leader Harry Reid.
Ironically, US TV personality and gossip columnist Perez Hilton said his black eye was given to him by Polo Molina - the manager of the Black-Eyed Peas.
Cosmetic surgery can, of course, result in a temporary bruising around the eye area, so many are dismissed as being a result of this.
However, conspiracy theorists believe the number of famous folk who fall prey to this particular injury seems startlingly high.
There are many theories, including the suggestion that the black left eye is part of a cult or 'Illuminati' high-level initiation ritual.
The bruised left eye has also been referred to as the 'Illuminati shiner', a mark given to those who have scaled their way to the top of the elite pyramid.
US TV personality and gossip columnist Perez Hilton said his black eye was given to him, ironically, by the manager of the Black-Eyed Peas
Some researchers suggest a link between the bearers of black eyes to the worship of the Egyptian sun god Horus, whose left eye was black and represented the moon and whose right eye was white and represented the sun.
The story goes that he lost his left eye in a fight with his brother Set. Could the bruising of the left eye be a nod to this perhaps?
In the past, it was believed that a black eye was the 'devil's mark', as noted in the 1879 Freeman's Journal 'a black eye'.
However, many have been left wondering. In an article on America First Patriots, writer Noah Christopher questioned why so many politicians have black eyes.
He says: 'Sure, it's possible that a bunch of politicians just randomly started running into things and getting black eyes all around the same time.
'And sure, some like McCain have very rational explanations like medical treatment, but I find it fairly odd.'
Reddit users have also given their points of view, with one also suggesting it was 'bizarre' how many celebrities have black eyes.
One wrote: 'It is bizarre as hell how many of them have black eyes. I grew up fighting, a LOT, even some bar fights and have had maybe one black eye in my whole life and not nearly as bad as those.
'Just like a stripe under my eye. Chances are slim to have so many in political "high" places like that with one.'
Stars including Elizabeth Hurley and Boy George have been seen with black eyes
Others who've been pictured with bruising include George W. Bush and the Pope
Conspiracy theorists have asked why so many celebrities have had black eyes
By JACQUI DEEVOY FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 20:06 AEST, 20 July 2018 | UPDATED: 00:48 AEST, 21 July 2018
A bizarre conspiracy theory has emerged suggesting that celebrities seen sporting a black left eye are part of the Illuminati.
Elizabeth Hurley, Boy George and Robert Downey Jnr are among the A-listers who have been photographed with bruising in the eye area in recent years.
Former US President George W. Bush, along with the Pope, Prince Philip and Prince Andrew, have all also been photographed with black eyes.
According to some conspiracy theorists, the black left eye is part of a cult or 'Illuminati' high-level initiation ritual during which the pledger is said to be forced to 'eat pain' in a quest to become more powerful.
Conspiracy theorists have come up with a bizarre reason for why celebrities have sported black left eyes. Elizabeth Hurley shared a snap of herself with bruising in 2017
Boy George was pictured with bruising around his left eye at the Brit Awards in 2014. He said at the time it was 'fashion victim' make-up
The Pope, pictured in 2017, has also been pictured with a black eye, which was said to have been caused by a collision while he was riding his 'pope-mobile' +11
The Pope, pictured in 2017, has also been pictured with a black eye, which was said to have been caused by a collision while he was riding his 'pope-mobile'
Author and internet radio show host Sherry Shriner - who wrote the book Interview With The Devil, in which she claimed to converse with Lucifer - has spoken of the link between these black eyes and 'soul scalping'.
According to Shriner, government leaders, people on TV with their own shows and hundreds of popular entertainers have sold their souls to Satan.
'You cannot be on TV now, without signing on the dotted line. The bizarre recurrence of facial bruises on Illuminati politicians and entertainers has resulted in speculation that their souls have been replaced in a satanic ritual called "soul scalping",' she said.
Shriner, who died earlier this year, believed all the powerful people in the world have been soul scalped.
She said that this can one done in a number of ritualistic ways, all of which result in a 'possession', whereby the human soul is removed and the body taken over by the demonic entity.
In conspiracy circles, this process is also known as a 'walk-in'. Some people believe the blackened eye is a result of soul scalping.
Robert Downey Jr. appeared to have bruising around his left eye while attending a glitzy event back in 2005
Adam Sandler, pictured in 2011, previously joked his black eye was caused by a pregnant Drew Barrymore's unborn child punching him
The late David Bowie also appeared to sport a black eye while performing in 2005, which was described as being 'just for theatrics'
Meanwhile, celebrities have come up with various explanations for how they got their black eyes over the years.
When actor Adam Sandler was asked by Jimmy Kimmel four years ago how he got his black eye, he joked a pregnant Drew Barrymore's unborn child had punched him.
In other interviews, the actor had claimed the bruising was the result of playing basketball.
Boy George claimed the shiner he sported at the Brit Awards in 2014 was 'fashion victim' make-up, while the David Bowie's black eye, seen in 2005, was described as being 'just for theatrics.'
Meanwhile, George W. Bush has been quizzed about his shiners each time he's been spotted with them.
He attributed the first one - in 1992 - to a rather over-zealous snowballing from his grandchildren, the second in 2004 to a fall off his bike, and, more recently, he claimed he'd been hit in the face by a microphone stand, when it swung around and whacked him during a speech.
Royals have also been photographed with black eyes in the past, including Prince Philip. He is pictured here in 2004
Prince Andrew was also pictured with bruising under the eye while attending the Countess Mountbatten of Burma's funeral in June 2017
Video playing bottom right...
The Pope was said to have hit his eye when riding through the streets of Cartagena, Columbia in the 'Pope-mobile' last year.
Several news reports stated that he had made a joke about the injury, saying that he'd been punched.
Conspiracy theorists have pointed out that even members of the royal family have been spotted with black eyes over the years.
Prince Philip was seen with one in both 2013, when a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said he had 'woken up with it', and in 2015.
Prince Andrew also sported a shiner when he attended the Countess Mountbatten of Burma's funeral in June 2017.
When asked at the time about the injury, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: 'This is not something we would comment on.'
George W Bush has been pictured with black eyes on a number of occasions, including in 2002 (above)
Former Democrat leader Harry Reid was pictured with bruising around his left eye in 2011
Other celebrities who have sported black eyes in the past include the former Democrat leader Harry Reid.
Ironically, US TV personality and gossip columnist Perez Hilton said his black eye was given to him by Polo Molina - the manager of the Black-Eyed Peas.
Cosmetic surgery can, of course, result in a temporary bruising around the eye area, so many are dismissed as being a result of this.
However, conspiracy theorists believe the number of famous folk who fall prey to this particular injury seems startlingly high.
There are many theories, including the suggestion that the black left eye is part of a cult or 'Illuminati' high-level initiation ritual.
The bruised left eye has also been referred to as the 'Illuminati shiner', a mark given to those who have scaled their way to the top of the elite pyramid.
US TV personality and gossip columnist Perez Hilton said his black eye was given to him, ironically, by the manager of the Black-Eyed Peas
Some researchers suggest a link between the bearers of black eyes to the worship of the Egyptian sun god Horus, whose left eye was black and represented the moon and whose right eye was white and represented the sun.
The story goes that he lost his left eye in a fight with his brother Set. Could the bruising of the left eye be a nod to this perhaps?
In the past, it was believed that a black eye was the 'devil's mark', as noted in the 1879 Freeman's Journal 'a black eye'.
However, many have been left wondering. In an article on America First Patriots, writer Noah Christopher questioned why so many politicians have black eyes.
He says: 'Sure, it's possible that a bunch of politicians just randomly started running into things and getting black eyes all around the same time.
'And sure, some like McCain have very rational explanations like medical treatment, but I find it fairly odd.'
Reddit users have also given their points of view, with one also suggesting it was 'bizarre' how many celebrities have black eyes.
One wrote: 'It is bizarre as hell how many of them have black eyes. I grew up fighting, a LOT, even some bar fights and have had maybe one black eye in my whole life and not nearly as bad as those.
'Just like a stripe under my eye. Chances are slim to have so many in political "high" places like that with one.'
North Korea's ex-poet laureate has a human-rights message for Trump - NBC News
North Korea's ex-poet laureate has a human-rights message for Trump
"The whole population is not just under a physical form of dictatorship, it's also an emotional or a psychological form of dictatorship."
by Alexander Smith / Jul.21.2018 / 5:36 AM ET
A former senior North Korean official has warned President Donald Trump he cannot just focus on denuclearization but must also deal with Kim Jong Un's human-rights abuses if there is any hope of achieving peace and stability.
Jang Jin Sung served as poet laureate to Kim's late father, Kim Jong Il. He describes his former role as a propaganda chief for the regime as a "psychological warfare officer."
Image: Jang Jin SungNorth Korean defector Jang Jin Sung.The Walk Free Foundation
Jang spoke with NBC News this week after a report highlighted his homeland's status as the world's worst perpetrator of "modern slavery."
The North Korean government is well known for its atrocities, which the United Nations and others have said are just as bad if not worse than those committed by the Nazis.
And yet, at their historic summit last month, Trump repeatedly praised Kim as "tough" and made little mention of his regime's dire human-rights record.
Instead the meeting produced a vague and much-criticized agreement that pledged to work toward "the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
Jang, 45, said this was a mistake.
"When people try to separate the nuclear issue from the human-rights issue, it's not really possible because these things are both working toward the same cause. They both uphold a political system that prioritizes Kim in every aspect, " he said when asked about the summit.
The Kim dynasty developed its nuclear program as an insurance policy against regime change by the U.S. and its allies: attack us and we'll annihilate Seoul, Tokyo or potentially even San Francisco.
For Jang, North Korea's human-rights abuses should be seen in the same way, a means to keep the population down and prevent any challenge domestically.
"This is a system that needs bombs, this is a system that inherently and essentially commits crimes against humanity," he said. "The only real, permanent solution, whether that's on nuclear issues or human rights, is one that deals that with both. Unless you have political transformation, you won't make any genuine progress on these issues."
Image: North KoreaSpectators watch a television news broadcast featuring a statement by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on a screen outside a train station in Pyongyang.Ed Jones / AFP - Getty Images file
The Trump administration and many Americans might feel that eliminating the threat of a nuclear strike on the U.S. is a higher priority than liberating the people in faraway North Korea.
But focusing on denuclearization while failing to address North Korea's harsh dictatorship could have disastrous knock-on effects in the future, according to experts like Elliott Abrams, who served as deputy national security adviser to President George W. Bush.
"As long as there is brutal one-man rule, the only thing needed to destroy any progress that has been made [in the nuclear talks] is a whim by that man," Abrams wrote last month for the Council on Foreign Relations, where he is a senior fellow.
Jang's job in North Korea involved posing as a South Korean poet and writing glorifying odes to the Kims. These were then published in a North Korean newspaper, making the population believe that they were the envy of their capitalist neighbors to the south.
Putin hails ‘successful’ Trump meeting
He defected in 2004 after he read South Korean books, which he had access to because of his job, and realized the truth about his country. He is now a bestselling author living in South Korea.
He is also a panelist for the Global Slavery Index, which released a report Wednesday saying North Korea was the worst country in the world for "modern slavery."
Of an estimated 40 million people held in modern slavery worldwide, at least 2.6 million are in North Korea — one in ten members of the population.
Andrew Forrest, founder of the Walk Free Foundation, the human rights group that compiled the study, said this was "a very conservative number" that included only people who met the strict definition of slavery.
Image: North KoreaA woman walks past portraits of late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on the facade of a building in Pyongyang.Ed Jones / AFP - Getty Images file
This is anyone remunerated only enough to exist and not allowed to leave their work.
While they may not meet this criteria, the rest of the population are by no means free, living as they do in a country that controls almost every aspect of public life.
Much of the international focus has been on the most extreme of North Korea's crimes: upward of 80,000 people detained in labor camps where murder, rape and torture are rife; public executions for trivial crimes; and the death of American student Otto Warmbier.
But Jang said it was also important to highlight the "rule-by-terror" that almost all of the population, outside the elite, are subjected to every day.
"The whole population is not just under a physical form of dictatorship, it's also an emotional or a psychological form of dictatorship," he said.
Wednesday's report highlighted how children are forced to do hard labor, with their payment given straight to their school or the central government.
Adults are made to work what are known as "battles" — shifts of 70 to 100 days straight without a day off, it said. Refusal means a cut in rations and most wages remain unpaid.
"It is the most oppressive regime in the world," Forrest said.
"The whole population is not just under a physical form of dictatorship, it's also an emotional or a psychological form of dictatorship."
by Alexander Smith / Jul.21.2018 / 5:36 AM ET
A former senior North Korean official has warned President Donald Trump he cannot just focus on denuclearization but must also deal with Kim Jong Un's human-rights abuses if there is any hope of achieving peace and stability.
Jang Jin Sung served as poet laureate to Kim's late father, Kim Jong Il. He describes his former role as a propaganda chief for the regime as a "psychological warfare officer."
Image: Jang Jin SungNorth Korean defector Jang Jin Sung.The Walk Free Foundation
Jang spoke with NBC News this week after a report highlighted his homeland's status as the world's worst perpetrator of "modern slavery."
The North Korean government is well known for its atrocities, which the United Nations and others have said are just as bad if not worse than those committed by the Nazis.
And yet, at their historic summit last month, Trump repeatedly praised Kim as "tough" and made little mention of his regime's dire human-rights record.
Instead the meeting produced a vague and much-criticized agreement that pledged to work toward "the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
Jang, 45, said this was a mistake.
"When people try to separate the nuclear issue from the human-rights issue, it's not really possible because these things are both working toward the same cause. They both uphold a political system that prioritizes Kim in every aspect, " he said when asked about the summit.
The Kim dynasty developed its nuclear program as an insurance policy against regime change by the U.S. and its allies: attack us and we'll annihilate Seoul, Tokyo or potentially even San Francisco.
For Jang, North Korea's human-rights abuses should be seen in the same way, a means to keep the population down and prevent any challenge domestically.
"This is a system that needs bombs, this is a system that inherently and essentially commits crimes against humanity," he said. "The only real, permanent solution, whether that's on nuclear issues or human rights, is one that deals that with both. Unless you have political transformation, you won't make any genuine progress on these issues."
Image: North KoreaSpectators watch a television news broadcast featuring a statement by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on a screen outside a train station in Pyongyang.Ed Jones / AFP - Getty Images file
The Trump administration and many Americans might feel that eliminating the threat of a nuclear strike on the U.S. is a higher priority than liberating the people in faraway North Korea.
But focusing on denuclearization while failing to address North Korea's harsh dictatorship could have disastrous knock-on effects in the future, according to experts like Elliott Abrams, who served as deputy national security adviser to President George W. Bush.
"As long as there is brutal one-man rule, the only thing needed to destroy any progress that has been made [in the nuclear talks] is a whim by that man," Abrams wrote last month for the Council on Foreign Relations, where he is a senior fellow.
Jang's job in North Korea involved posing as a South Korean poet and writing glorifying odes to the Kims. These were then published in a North Korean newspaper, making the population believe that they were the envy of their capitalist neighbors to the south.
Putin hails ‘successful’ Trump meeting
He defected in 2004 after he read South Korean books, which he had access to because of his job, and realized the truth about his country. He is now a bestselling author living in South Korea.
He is also a panelist for the Global Slavery Index, which released a report Wednesday saying North Korea was the worst country in the world for "modern slavery."
Of an estimated 40 million people held in modern slavery worldwide, at least 2.6 million are in North Korea — one in ten members of the population.
Andrew Forrest, founder of the Walk Free Foundation, the human rights group that compiled the study, said this was "a very conservative number" that included only people who met the strict definition of slavery.
Image: North KoreaA woman walks past portraits of late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on the facade of a building in Pyongyang.Ed Jones / AFP - Getty Images file
This is anyone remunerated only enough to exist and not allowed to leave their work.
While they may not meet this criteria, the rest of the population are by no means free, living as they do in a country that controls almost every aspect of public life.
Much of the international focus has been on the most extreme of North Korea's crimes: upward of 80,000 people detained in labor camps where murder, rape and torture are rife; public executions for trivial crimes; and the death of American student Otto Warmbier.
But Jang said it was also important to highlight the "rule-by-terror" that almost all of the population, outside the elite, are subjected to every day.
"The whole population is not just under a physical form of dictatorship, it's also an emotional or a psychological form of dictatorship," he said.
Wednesday's report highlighted how children are forced to do hard labor, with their payment given straight to their school or the central government.
Adults are made to work what are known as "battles" — shifts of 70 to 100 days straight without a day off, it said. Refusal means a cut in rations and most wages remain unpaid.
"It is the most oppressive regime in the world," Forrest said.
Microsoft Says It Stopped Cyberattacks on Three 2018 Congressional Candidates - TIME
Microsoft Says It Stopped Cyberattacks on Three 2018 Congressional Candidates
Posted: 19 Jul 2018 12:53 PM PDT
(Bloomberg) — Microsoft Corp. said it identified and stopped attempts to launch cyberattacks on three 2018 congressional candidates using a phony version of its website.
The targets, who it didn’t identify, were “all people who because of their positions might have been interesting from an espionage standpoint, as well as an election disruption standpoint,” Tom Burt, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for customer security and trust, said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado on Thursday.
Burt said the attackers tried to use a phony Microsoft web page to make “phishing” attacks on the candidates. Working with the government, Burt said the company removed the internet domain and prevented the attacks from succeeding.
He said that Microsoft saw the same tactic attempted during the 2016 Democratic Convention in Philadelphia, at which the company provided protection.
A Facebook Inc. executive on the same panel at the Aspen conference said that in April, the company removed a few hundred pages on the service controlled by the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency, which has been indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for an alleged social media campaign aimed at interfering in the 2016 U.S. election.
Monika Bickert, Facebook’s head of product policy and counterterrorism, said the accounts were spreading Russian language advertisements in Russian-speaking countries.
Michael Cohen Secretly Taped Trump Discussing Payment to Playboy Model - New York Times
Michael Cohen Secretly Taped Trump Discussing Payment to Playboy Model
The Justice Department is investigating the involvement of President Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, in paying women to tamp down embarrassing news stories about Mr. Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign.CreditJeenah Moon/Reuters
By Matt Apuzzo, Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt
July 20, 2018
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, secretly recorded a conversation with Mr. Trump two months before the presidential election in which they discussed payments to a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump, according to lawyers and others familiar with the recording.
The F.B.I. seized the recording this year during a raid on Mr. Cohen’s office. The Justice Department is investigating Mr. Cohen’s involvement in paying women to tamp down embarrassing news stories about Mr. Trump ahead of the 2016 election. Prosecutors want to know whether that violated federal campaign finance laws, and any conversation with Mr. Trump about those payments would be of keen interest to them.
The recording’s existence appears to undercut the Trump campaign’s denial of any knowledge of payments to the model. It further draws Mr. Trump into questions about tactics he and his associates used to keep aspects of his personal and business life a secret. And it highlights the potential legal and political danger that Mr. Cohen represents to Mr. Trump. Once the keeper of many of Mr. Trump’s secrets, Mr. Cohen is now seen as increasingly willing to consider cooperating with prosecutors.
The former model, Karen McDougal, says she began a nearly yearlong affair with Mr. Trump in 2006, shortly after Mr. Trump’s wife, Melania, gave birth to their son, Barron. Ms. McDougal sold her story for $150,000 to The National Enquirer, which was supportive of Mr. Trump, during the final months of the presidential campaign, but the tabloid sat on the story, which kept it from becoming public. The practice, known as “catch and kill,” effectively silenced Ms. McDougal for the remainder of the campaign.
Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, confirmed in a telephone conversation on Friday that Mr. Trump had discussed payments to Ms. McDougal with Mr. Cohen in person on the recording. He said that it was less than two minutes long and that Mr. Trump did not know he was being recorded, and he claimed that the president had done nothing wrong.
Mr. Giuliani said there was no indication on the tape that Mr. Trump knew before the conversation about the payment from the Enquirer’s parent company, American Media Inc., to Ms. McDougal.
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“Nothing in that conversation suggests that he had any knowledge of it in advance,” Mr. Giuliani said. The recording cuts off, according to three people familiar with it, and it is not clear how the discussion ended.
Mr. Giuliani initially indicated the men discussed a payment from Mr. Trump to Ms. McDougal — separate from the Enquirer’s payment — to buy her story. Later, he said Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen had actually discussed buying the rights to Ms. McDougal’s story from the Enquirer. Such a move would have effectively reimbursed the newspaper for its payments to her, though Mr. Giuliani disputed that characterization.
That payment was never made, Mr. Giuliani said, adding that Mr. Trump had told Mr. Cohen that if he were to make a payment related to Ms. McDougal, to write a check rather than send cash, so it could be properly documented.
A person close to Mr. Cohen disputed Mr. Giuliani’s description of the discussion over how to pay A.M.I. for the rights to Ms. McDougal’s story and suggested the tape would back up Mr. Cohen.
Neither of Mr. Giuliani’s descriptions of the conversations explains why, when The Wall Street Journal revealed the existence of the A.M.I. payment days before the election, Mr. Trump’s campaign spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, said, “We have no knowledge of any of this.” She said Ms. McDougal’s claim of an affair was “totally untrue.”
Mr. Cohen’s lawyers discovered the recording as part of their review of the seized materials and shared it with Mr. Trump’s lawyers, according to the three people briefed on the matter.
“Obviously, there is an ongoing investigation, and we are sensitive to that,” Mr. Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny J. Davis, said in a statement. “But suffice it to say that when the recording is heard, it will not hurt Mr. Cohen. Any attempt at spin cannot change what is on the tape.”
Mr. Cohen rejected repeated requests for comment. Mr. Trump ignored shouted questions about it from reporters as he left the White House on Friday afternoon and departed for a weekend at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J.
David J. Pecker, the chairman of A.M.I., is a friend of Mr. Trump’s, and Ms. McDougal has accused Mr. Cohen of secretly taking part in the deal — an allegation that is now part of the F.B.I. investigation.
“It can’t be more than a minute and a half,” Mr. Giuliani said, referring to the length of the conversation. “Twice someone walks in — someone brings soda in for them. It’s not some secret conversation.”
He added: “Neither one seems to be concerned anyone would hear it. It went off on irrelevant subjects that have nothing to do with this. It’s a very professional conversation between a client and a lawyer and the client saying, ‘Do it right.’”
Because the tape showed Mr. Trump learning about the A.M.I. payment, it actually helps Mr. Trump, Mr. Giuliani argued. “In the big scheme of things, it’s powerful exculpatory evidence,” he said. The person close to Mr. Cohen disputed that claim but would not elaborate.
The recording is potential evidence in the campaign finance investigation, but became tied up in a legal fight over what materials are protected by attorney-client privilege and thus off limits to prosecutors. It is not clear whether a federal judge has ruled on whether prosecutors can listen to the recording.
For a decade, Mr. Cohen served as one of Mr. Trump’s most trusted fixers, aggressively taking on journalists, opposing lawyers and business adversaries. He frequently taped his conversations, unbeknown to the people with whom he was speaking. New York law allows one party to a conversation to tape conversations without the other knowing.
Mr. Cohen used to say he would take a bullet for Mr. Trump, but the relationship soured in the aftermath of the F.B.I. raids in April. In one conversation, Mr. Cohen’s lawyers inquired whether Mr. Trump planned to pardon him, but Mr. Trump’s lawyers gave no indication that the president would do so, according to two people familiar with the discussion.
Mr. Cohen has publicly and privately discussed the idea of cooperating with the F.B.I. In an interview with ABC News this month, Mr. Cohen seemed to openly invite prosecutors to talk to him.
“My wife, my daughter and my son have my first loyalty and always will,” Mr. Cohen said. “I put family and country first.” The words got Mr. Trump’s attention, and he asked people if they thought Mr. Cohen was trying to send a message, either to him or the Justice Department.
The Cohen investigation began with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, who is investigating the Trump campaign’s links to Russia. But as the Cohen case became increasingly focused on Mr. Cohen’s personal business dealings and his campaign activities unrelated to Russia, Mr. Mueller referred it to federal prosecutors in Manhattan, who are now leading the investigation.
The wide-ranging search warrants served on Mr. Cohen this spring show that prosecutors are investigating Mr. Cohen’s involvement in payments to silence women about their relationships with Mr. Trump. In addition to Ms. McDougal’s arrangement, prosecutors also sought evidence of payments to the adult film star Stephanie Clifford, who is better known as Stormy Daniels.
Mr. Trump has denied knowing about those payments, though people familiar with the arrangement have said he was aware of them. But his denial helped suppress public allegations of an affair during the final months of the campaign.
Such payments, depending on how and why they were made, could represent campaign finance violations — a case that harks back to the failed prosecution of the former Democratic senator John Edwards, who tried to hide a pregnant mistress during his presidential campaign.
Mr. Cohen’s case is unusual because the payment to Ms. McDougal was made by American Media Inc. In August 2016, A.M.I. bought the rights to her story about Mr. Trump for $150,000 and a commitment to use its magazines to promote her career as a fitness specialist.
Among the matters prosecutors are investigating is whether A.M.I. considered selling or reassigning Ms. McDougal’s contract to a third party, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
Federal agents are also scrutinizing Mr. Cohen’s personal financial dealings and whether he committed fraud by lying about his assets on bank forms. In particular, the authorities are scrutinizing taxi medallions that Mr. Cohen owned, and whether he accurately accounted for their value, according to several people close to the case.
The Times needs your voice. We welcome your on-topic commentary, criticism and expertise.
Matt Apuzzo and Michael S. Schmidt reported from Washington, and Maggie Haberman from New York. William K. Rashbaum contributed reporting from New York.
The Justice Department is investigating the involvement of President Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, in paying women to tamp down embarrassing news stories about Mr. Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign.CreditJeenah Moon/Reuters
By Matt Apuzzo, Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt
July 20, 2018
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, secretly recorded a conversation with Mr. Trump two months before the presidential election in which they discussed payments to a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump, according to lawyers and others familiar with the recording.
The F.B.I. seized the recording this year during a raid on Mr. Cohen’s office. The Justice Department is investigating Mr. Cohen’s involvement in paying women to tamp down embarrassing news stories about Mr. Trump ahead of the 2016 election. Prosecutors want to know whether that violated federal campaign finance laws, and any conversation with Mr. Trump about those payments would be of keen interest to them.
The recording’s existence appears to undercut the Trump campaign’s denial of any knowledge of payments to the model. It further draws Mr. Trump into questions about tactics he and his associates used to keep aspects of his personal and business life a secret. And it highlights the potential legal and political danger that Mr. Cohen represents to Mr. Trump. Once the keeper of many of Mr. Trump’s secrets, Mr. Cohen is now seen as increasingly willing to consider cooperating with prosecutors.
The former model, Karen McDougal, says she began a nearly yearlong affair with Mr. Trump in 2006, shortly after Mr. Trump’s wife, Melania, gave birth to their son, Barron. Ms. McDougal sold her story for $150,000 to The National Enquirer, which was supportive of Mr. Trump, during the final months of the presidential campaign, but the tabloid sat on the story, which kept it from becoming public. The practice, known as “catch and kill,” effectively silenced Ms. McDougal for the remainder of the campaign.
Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, confirmed in a telephone conversation on Friday that Mr. Trump had discussed payments to Ms. McDougal with Mr. Cohen in person on the recording. He said that it was less than two minutes long and that Mr. Trump did not know he was being recorded, and he claimed that the president had done nothing wrong.
Mr. Giuliani said there was no indication on the tape that Mr. Trump knew before the conversation about the payment from the Enquirer’s parent company, American Media Inc., to Ms. McDougal.
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“Nothing in that conversation suggests that he had any knowledge of it in advance,” Mr. Giuliani said. The recording cuts off, according to three people familiar with it, and it is not clear how the discussion ended.
Mr. Giuliani initially indicated the men discussed a payment from Mr. Trump to Ms. McDougal — separate from the Enquirer’s payment — to buy her story. Later, he said Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen had actually discussed buying the rights to Ms. McDougal’s story from the Enquirer. Such a move would have effectively reimbursed the newspaper for its payments to her, though Mr. Giuliani disputed that characterization.
That payment was never made, Mr. Giuliani said, adding that Mr. Trump had told Mr. Cohen that if he were to make a payment related to Ms. McDougal, to write a check rather than send cash, so it could be properly documented.
A person close to Mr. Cohen disputed Mr. Giuliani’s description of the discussion over how to pay A.M.I. for the rights to Ms. McDougal’s story and suggested the tape would back up Mr. Cohen.
Neither of Mr. Giuliani’s descriptions of the conversations explains why, when The Wall Street Journal revealed the existence of the A.M.I. payment days before the election, Mr. Trump’s campaign spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, said, “We have no knowledge of any of this.” She said Ms. McDougal’s claim of an affair was “totally untrue.”
Mr. Cohen’s lawyers discovered the recording as part of their review of the seized materials and shared it with Mr. Trump’s lawyers, according to the three people briefed on the matter.
“Obviously, there is an ongoing investigation, and we are sensitive to that,” Mr. Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny J. Davis, said in a statement. “But suffice it to say that when the recording is heard, it will not hurt Mr. Cohen. Any attempt at spin cannot change what is on the tape.”
Mr. Cohen rejected repeated requests for comment. Mr. Trump ignored shouted questions about it from reporters as he left the White House on Friday afternoon and departed for a weekend at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J.
David J. Pecker, the chairman of A.M.I., is a friend of Mr. Trump’s, and Ms. McDougal has accused Mr. Cohen of secretly taking part in the deal — an allegation that is now part of the F.B.I. investigation.
“It can’t be more than a minute and a half,” Mr. Giuliani said, referring to the length of the conversation. “Twice someone walks in — someone brings soda in for them. It’s not some secret conversation.”
He added: “Neither one seems to be concerned anyone would hear it. It went off on irrelevant subjects that have nothing to do with this. It’s a very professional conversation between a client and a lawyer and the client saying, ‘Do it right.’”
Because the tape showed Mr. Trump learning about the A.M.I. payment, it actually helps Mr. Trump, Mr. Giuliani argued. “In the big scheme of things, it’s powerful exculpatory evidence,” he said. The person close to Mr. Cohen disputed that claim but would not elaborate.
The recording is potential evidence in the campaign finance investigation, but became tied up in a legal fight over what materials are protected by attorney-client privilege and thus off limits to prosecutors. It is not clear whether a federal judge has ruled on whether prosecutors can listen to the recording.
For a decade, Mr. Cohen served as one of Mr. Trump’s most trusted fixers, aggressively taking on journalists, opposing lawyers and business adversaries. He frequently taped his conversations, unbeknown to the people with whom he was speaking. New York law allows one party to a conversation to tape conversations without the other knowing.
Mr. Cohen used to say he would take a bullet for Mr. Trump, but the relationship soured in the aftermath of the F.B.I. raids in April. In one conversation, Mr. Cohen’s lawyers inquired whether Mr. Trump planned to pardon him, but Mr. Trump’s lawyers gave no indication that the president would do so, according to two people familiar with the discussion.
Mr. Cohen has publicly and privately discussed the idea of cooperating with the F.B.I. In an interview with ABC News this month, Mr. Cohen seemed to openly invite prosecutors to talk to him.
“My wife, my daughter and my son have my first loyalty and always will,” Mr. Cohen said. “I put family and country first.” The words got Mr. Trump’s attention, and he asked people if they thought Mr. Cohen was trying to send a message, either to him or the Justice Department.
The Cohen investigation began with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, who is investigating the Trump campaign’s links to Russia. But as the Cohen case became increasingly focused on Mr. Cohen’s personal business dealings and his campaign activities unrelated to Russia, Mr. Mueller referred it to federal prosecutors in Manhattan, who are now leading the investigation.
The wide-ranging search warrants served on Mr. Cohen this spring show that prosecutors are investigating Mr. Cohen’s involvement in payments to silence women about their relationships with Mr. Trump. In addition to Ms. McDougal’s arrangement, prosecutors also sought evidence of payments to the adult film star Stephanie Clifford, who is better known as Stormy Daniels.
Mr. Trump has denied knowing about those payments, though people familiar with the arrangement have said he was aware of them. But his denial helped suppress public allegations of an affair during the final months of the campaign.
Such payments, depending on how and why they were made, could represent campaign finance violations — a case that harks back to the failed prosecution of the former Democratic senator John Edwards, who tried to hide a pregnant mistress during his presidential campaign.
Mr. Cohen’s case is unusual because the payment to Ms. McDougal was made by American Media Inc. In August 2016, A.M.I. bought the rights to her story about Mr. Trump for $150,000 and a commitment to use its magazines to promote her career as a fitness specialist.
Among the matters prosecutors are investigating is whether A.M.I. considered selling or reassigning Ms. McDougal’s contract to a third party, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
Federal agents are also scrutinizing Mr. Cohen’s personal financial dealings and whether he committed fraud by lying about his assets on bank forms. In particular, the authorities are scrutinizing taxi medallions that Mr. Cohen owned, and whether he accurately accounted for their value, according to several people close to the case.
The Times needs your voice. We welcome your on-topic commentary, criticism and expertise.
Matt Apuzzo and Michael S. Schmidt reported from Washington, and Maggie Haberman from New York. William K. Rashbaum contributed reporting from New York.
Moments before vote, McConnell withdraws Trump judicial nominee - CBS News ( source ; AssociatedPress )
AP July 20, 2018, 9:23 AM
Moments before vote, McConnell withdraws Trump judicial nominee
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, talks to the media following the Republicans' weekly policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington Dec. 12, 2017. REUTERS/YURI GRIPAS
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday abruptly withdrew one of President Trump's appellate court nominees when it became apparent he did not have enough support to pass.
The decision came just minutes before the confirmation vote and after senators voiced concerns about his college writings.
McConnell indicated that the administration would be withdrawing the nomination of Ryan Bounds, an assistant U.S. attorney in Oregon, to serve on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Republicans have been able to use their thin majority to push several of Mr. Trump's nominees over the finish line despite overwhelming Democratic opposition. Arizona Sen. John McCain's absence has given the GOP even less cushion, with Republicans holding a 50-49 voting edge.
That edge evaporated when Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina said he needed more information about Bounds.
"After talking with the nominee last night and meeting with him today, I had unanswered questions that led to me being unable to support him," Scott said.
A person familiar with Scott's thinking said he had concerns about some of Bounds' writings. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Scott was not detailing his concerns publicly.
Scott said he felt like he needed "more information," and other Republicans joined him in asking for that. He said Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was one of those senators.
McConnell is doing his part to remake the judiciary
Commentary: The real reason conservatives will bet big on Kavanaugh
The two senators from Bounds' home state, Democrats Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, had objected to the nomination, saying the Trump administration hadn't consulted them about it. They highlighted writings from Bounds' years at Stanford University that they said revealed alarming views on race, workers' rights and the gay community. They also complained that Bounds did not provide his Stanford Review opinion columns to a judicial selection committee in Oregon that makes recommendations for federal judges.
Bounds, 45, was asked about the writings during the confirmation hearing and in questionnaires submitted by senators, and he apologized. In one column titled "Lo! A Pestilence Stalks Us," he appeared to mock LGBT students as being too sensitive when a group of intoxicated athletes vandalized a statue celebrating gay pride. In the same column, he seemed to mock Latino students for being too sensitive when they complained about the termination of a Latino administrator.
Bounds said the article didn't show sufficient respect for the concerns of the students involved. "I apologize for that; it is not in keeping with how I have lived my life," Bounds said.
Bounds also told senators that he did not believe he needed to submit pre-law school writings to the judicial selection committee.
"Senator Wyden's office explicitly told me the committee sought to review materials going back only 'as far as law school,' and so I identified and (to the extent practicable) produced all such materials without regard to whether they were potentially controversial," Bounds said.
While Democrats objected to Bounds' writings and the process used to advance him, Republican senators focused on his work as a lawyer.
"Fairness, impartiality, intellectual rigor. To sum it up, in the words of one legal peer, quote, 'Ryan has all of this, and more,'" McConnell said Thursday morning, hours before pulling the nomination. "So, I look forward to voting to confirm this excellent nominee, and I urge all my colleagues to join me."
Democrats were incensed that Republicans were moving ahead despite the objections of both home-state senators, saying the GOP was discarding Senate courtesy and tradition.
The Senate gives lawmakers a chance to weigh in on a judicial nominee from their home state by submitting a blue-colored form called the "blue slip." A positive blue slip signals the Senate can move forward with the nomination process. The blue slip is designed to generate consultation between the executive branch and Congress. The two Oregon senators signaled their objections by not returning blue slips, which would generally stall a nomination.
This time, Republicans opted to move forward anyway, which meant that if Bounds had been confirmed, it would have been the first time since at least 1956 and possibly much longer that a nominee had been confirmed without positive blue slips from both home-state senators.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee from California, called Bounds "a deeply flawed nominee who concealed his views during the nominations process, which is why I strongly opposed him in committee."
Merkley and Wyden said they had spoken in detail with colleagues in recent days about Bounds but were afraid the issue was getting lost.
"I'm still somewhat surprised that we had a successful outcome," Merkley said. "I do not feel this individual was the right person to serve on the bench, but I'm very pleased my colleagues had a long discussion about it over lunch and decided to take the course you saw them take by asking the president to withdraw the nomination."
Moments before vote, McConnell withdraws Trump judicial nominee
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, talks to the media following the Republicans' weekly policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington Dec. 12, 2017. REUTERS/YURI GRIPAS
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday abruptly withdrew one of President Trump's appellate court nominees when it became apparent he did not have enough support to pass.
The decision came just minutes before the confirmation vote and after senators voiced concerns about his college writings.
McConnell indicated that the administration would be withdrawing the nomination of Ryan Bounds, an assistant U.S. attorney in Oregon, to serve on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Republicans have been able to use their thin majority to push several of Mr. Trump's nominees over the finish line despite overwhelming Democratic opposition. Arizona Sen. John McCain's absence has given the GOP even less cushion, with Republicans holding a 50-49 voting edge.
That edge evaporated when Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina said he needed more information about Bounds.
"After talking with the nominee last night and meeting with him today, I had unanswered questions that led to me being unable to support him," Scott said.
A person familiar with Scott's thinking said he had concerns about some of Bounds' writings. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Scott was not detailing his concerns publicly.
Scott said he felt like he needed "more information," and other Republicans joined him in asking for that. He said Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was one of those senators.
McConnell is doing his part to remake the judiciary
Commentary: The real reason conservatives will bet big on Kavanaugh
The two senators from Bounds' home state, Democrats Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, had objected to the nomination, saying the Trump administration hadn't consulted them about it. They highlighted writings from Bounds' years at Stanford University that they said revealed alarming views on race, workers' rights and the gay community. They also complained that Bounds did not provide his Stanford Review opinion columns to a judicial selection committee in Oregon that makes recommendations for federal judges.
Bounds, 45, was asked about the writings during the confirmation hearing and in questionnaires submitted by senators, and he apologized. In one column titled "Lo! A Pestilence Stalks Us," he appeared to mock LGBT students as being too sensitive when a group of intoxicated athletes vandalized a statue celebrating gay pride. In the same column, he seemed to mock Latino students for being too sensitive when they complained about the termination of a Latino administrator.
Bounds said the article didn't show sufficient respect for the concerns of the students involved. "I apologize for that; it is not in keeping with how I have lived my life," Bounds said.
Bounds also told senators that he did not believe he needed to submit pre-law school writings to the judicial selection committee.
"Senator Wyden's office explicitly told me the committee sought to review materials going back only 'as far as law school,' and so I identified and (to the extent practicable) produced all such materials without regard to whether they were potentially controversial," Bounds said.
While Democrats objected to Bounds' writings and the process used to advance him, Republican senators focused on his work as a lawyer.
"Fairness, impartiality, intellectual rigor. To sum it up, in the words of one legal peer, quote, 'Ryan has all of this, and more,'" McConnell said Thursday morning, hours before pulling the nomination. "So, I look forward to voting to confirm this excellent nominee, and I urge all my colleagues to join me."
Democrats were incensed that Republicans were moving ahead despite the objections of both home-state senators, saying the GOP was discarding Senate courtesy and tradition.
The Senate gives lawmakers a chance to weigh in on a judicial nominee from their home state by submitting a blue-colored form called the "blue slip." A positive blue slip signals the Senate can move forward with the nomination process. The blue slip is designed to generate consultation between the executive branch and Congress. The two Oregon senators signaled their objections by not returning blue slips, which would generally stall a nomination.
This time, Republicans opted to move forward anyway, which meant that if Bounds had been confirmed, it would have been the first time since at least 1956 and possibly much longer that a nominee had been confirmed without positive blue slips from both home-state senators.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee from California, called Bounds "a deeply flawed nominee who concealed his views during the nominations process, which is why I strongly opposed him in committee."
Merkley and Wyden said they had spoken in detail with colleagues in recent days about Bounds but were afraid the issue was getting lost.
"I'm still somewhat surprised that we had a successful outcome," Merkley said. "I do not feel this individual was the right person to serve on the bench, but I'm very pleased my colleagues had a long discussion about it over lunch and decided to take the course you saw them take by asking the president to withdraw the nomination."
Trump Putin: Incredulity as Russian leader is invited to visit US - BBC News
Trump Putin: Incredulity as Russian leader is invited to visit US
20 July 2018
"That's going to be special" - US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats learns of the Putin visit while at an event
President Donald Trump has invited Russian leader Vladimir Putin to visit the US, in a move that drew startled laughter from a US intelligence chief.
"That's going to be special!" said Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, when he was told about the invitation during a live interview.
The political fallout is continuing from Mr Trump's first summit with Mr Putin in Finland on Monday.
Democrats are demanding the notes from the two leaders' private talks.
Your toolkit to help understand the story
Trump's 'most serious mistake'
"Until we know what happened at that two-hour meeting in Helsinki, the president should have no more one-on-one interactions with Putin," said Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, in a statement. "In the United States, in Russia, or anywhere else."
CNBC
✔
@CNBC
Trump on Putin: "I'll be his worst nightmare" if things don't work out, "but I don't think it'll be that way." https://cnb.cx/2uPcWOC
10:40 PM - Jul 20, 2018
The Republican president's 18 months in office have been dogged by investigations into whether any of his aides colluded with alleged Russian attempts to sway the 2016 election in his favour. Mr Trump and Mr Putin have poured scorn on the claims.
In a CNBC interview televised on Friday, Mr Trump said he and Mr Putin "get along well", even if they did not always see eye to eye.
"It wasn't always conciliatory in that meeting," Mr Trump said. "We discussed lots of great things for both countries, frankly."
He did not offer further details.
Mr Trump also vowed to be the Russian leader's "worst nightmare" if their relationship ever turns sour, and said former President Barack Obama had been Mr Putin's "total patsy".
Trump prepares a sequel
By Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington
Donald Trump has tweeted that the summit with Mr Putin was a "great success" and people at "higher ends of intelligence" loved his Helsinki news conference. As if to underline that point, plans are already under way for a sequel - this time in Washington DC.
Never mind that the White House has spent three days trying to clean up the political fallout from the summit amid bipartisan criticism, or that the special counsel investigation into Russian meddling in 2016 continues apace.
Trump says he "misspoke" at Putin summit, but is it too late? Anthony Zurcher explains
Mr Trump may have been encouraged by recent opinion polling showing that while the public at large is uneasy with Mr Trump's Russia policies, his Republican base - by a sizeable majority - is fine with his performance.
The president campaigned on closer ties with Russia, a goal that had been thwarted during his first year in office. With his base still behind him, Mr Trump appears ready to press on with his efforts.
What do we know of the plan for a Putin visit?
Mr Putin, in power in Russia since 2000, last visited the US in 2015, when he met President Barack Obama, Mr Trump's predecessor, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York to discuss the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.
Mr Putin said he would meet the US "halfway" over access to indictees
On Thursday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted that discussions about a visit by Mr Putin to Washington DC this autumn were already under way.
Russia's ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, could not confirm whether an invitation had already been issued.
He told the BBC: "The problem is there's so much talk today, so much fake news, so much distortion, about what happened at this summit.
"Such negativity for some reason - I don't understand why the Western media think it's bad that two presidents are meeting. What's bad about it?"
Has US intelligence chief 'gone rogue'?
The announcement of a second summit appeared to come as a surprise to Mr Trump's director of national intelligence.
"Say that again," Mr Coats said when an NBC News presenter broke the news to him during a live interview at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.
He said he did not yet know what Mr Trump and Mr Putin had discussed during their meeting, at which only the pair and their interpreters were present.
The White House is said to be furious about the director of national intelligence's remarks.
"Coats has gone rogue," one senior official told the Washington Post.
What was Putin's 'incredible offer'?
At the post-summit news conference in Helsinki, Mr Putin offered access to 12 Russians indicted in absentia by the US authorities for allegedly hacking Democratic Party computers, on condition Moscow authorities could question 12 Americans over other matters.
Mr Trump first praised the suggestion as an "incredible offer", but White House press secretary Sarah Sanders later said the president disagreed with it.
No extradition treaty exists between the two countries.
Mr Putin singled out US-born financier Bill Browder, accusing him of massive tax fraud, which he denies.
Mr Browder was instrumental in the US imposing sanctions in 2012 on top Russian officials accused of corruption in the Magnitsky affair.
"I'm thankful that Donald Trump has no intention of handing me over to Vladimir Putin to have me killed in a Russian prison," Mr Browder told the BBC on Thursday.
One of the other Americans on Russia's list was a former US ambassador to Moscow, Michael McFaul.
Media captionRussian ambassadors react to Trump remarks at Helsinki summit
The idea of allowing Russia to quiz US citizens sparked outrage and the US Senate voted 98-0 against it. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it was "not going to happen".
Mr McFaul tweeted his gratitude to senators.
Michael McFaul
✔
@McFaul
98-0. Bipartisanship is not dead yet in the US Senate. Thank you all for your support.
5:26 AM - Jul 20, 2018
20 July 2018
"That's going to be special" - US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats learns of the Putin visit while at an event
President Donald Trump has invited Russian leader Vladimir Putin to visit the US, in a move that drew startled laughter from a US intelligence chief.
"That's going to be special!" said Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, when he was told about the invitation during a live interview.
The political fallout is continuing from Mr Trump's first summit with Mr Putin in Finland on Monday.
Democrats are demanding the notes from the two leaders' private talks.
Your toolkit to help understand the story
Trump's 'most serious mistake'
"Until we know what happened at that two-hour meeting in Helsinki, the president should have no more one-on-one interactions with Putin," said Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, in a statement. "In the United States, in Russia, or anywhere else."
CNBC
✔
@CNBC
Trump on Putin: "I'll be his worst nightmare" if things don't work out, "but I don't think it'll be that way." https://cnb.cx/2uPcWOC
10:40 PM - Jul 20, 2018
The Republican president's 18 months in office have been dogged by investigations into whether any of his aides colluded with alleged Russian attempts to sway the 2016 election in his favour. Mr Trump and Mr Putin have poured scorn on the claims.
In a CNBC interview televised on Friday, Mr Trump said he and Mr Putin "get along well", even if they did not always see eye to eye.
"It wasn't always conciliatory in that meeting," Mr Trump said. "We discussed lots of great things for both countries, frankly."
He did not offer further details.
Mr Trump also vowed to be the Russian leader's "worst nightmare" if their relationship ever turns sour, and said former President Barack Obama had been Mr Putin's "total patsy".
Trump prepares a sequel
By Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington
Donald Trump has tweeted that the summit with Mr Putin was a "great success" and people at "higher ends of intelligence" loved his Helsinki news conference. As if to underline that point, plans are already under way for a sequel - this time in Washington DC.
Never mind that the White House has spent three days trying to clean up the political fallout from the summit amid bipartisan criticism, or that the special counsel investigation into Russian meddling in 2016 continues apace.
Trump says he "misspoke" at Putin summit, but is it too late? Anthony Zurcher explains
Mr Trump may have been encouraged by recent opinion polling showing that while the public at large is uneasy with Mr Trump's Russia policies, his Republican base - by a sizeable majority - is fine with his performance.
The president campaigned on closer ties with Russia, a goal that had been thwarted during his first year in office. With his base still behind him, Mr Trump appears ready to press on with his efforts.
What do we know of the plan for a Putin visit?
Mr Putin, in power in Russia since 2000, last visited the US in 2015, when he met President Barack Obama, Mr Trump's predecessor, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York to discuss the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.
Mr Putin said he would meet the US "halfway" over access to indictees
On Thursday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted that discussions about a visit by Mr Putin to Washington DC this autumn were already under way.
Russia's ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, could not confirm whether an invitation had already been issued.
He told the BBC: "The problem is there's so much talk today, so much fake news, so much distortion, about what happened at this summit.
"Such negativity for some reason - I don't understand why the Western media think it's bad that two presidents are meeting. What's bad about it?"
Has US intelligence chief 'gone rogue'?
The announcement of a second summit appeared to come as a surprise to Mr Trump's director of national intelligence.
"Say that again," Mr Coats said when an NBC News presenter broke the news to him during a live interview at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.
He said he did not yet know what Mr Trump and Mr Putin had discussed during their meeting, at which only the pair and their interpreters were present.
The White House is said to be furious about the director of national intelligence's remarks.
"Coats has gone rogue," one senior official told the Washington Post.
What was Putin's 'incredible offer'?
At the post-summit news conference in Helsinki, Mr Putin offered access to 12 Russians indicted in absentia by the US authorities for allegedly hacking Democratic Party computers, on condition Moscow authorities could question 12 Americans over other matters.
Mr Trump first praised the suggestion as an "incredible offer", but White House press secretary Sarah Sanders later said the president disagreed with it.
No extradition treaty exists between the two countries.
Mr Putin singled out US-born financier Bill Browder, accusing him of massive tax fraud, which he denies.
Mr Browder was instrumental in the US imposing sanctions in 2012 on top Russian officials accused of corruption in the Magnitsky affair.
"I'm thankful that Donald Trump has no intention of handing me over to Vladimir Putin to have me killed in a Russian prison," Mr Browder told the BBC on Thursday.
One of the other Americans on Russia's list was a former US ambassador to Moscow, Michael McFaul.
Media captionRussian ambassadors react to Trump remarks at Helsinki summit
The idea of allowing Russia to quiz US citizens sparked outrage and the US Senate voted 98-0 against it. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it was "not going to happen".
Mr McFaul tweeted his gratitude to senators.
Michael McFaul
✔
@McFaul
98-0. Bipartisanship is not dead yet in the US Senate. Thank you all for your support.
5:26 AM - Jul 20, 2018
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