Congressman embarrassed by naked selfie threatened to report woman to police if she exposed secret sex life - Washington Post

Congressman embarrassed by naked selfie threatened to report woman to police if she exposed secret sex life

Texas Representative Joe Barton, 68, known for oil and gas advocacy and managing Republican baseball team, forced to apologise after explicit photo circulated on Twitter

Mike DeBonis, Elise Viebeck

Representative Joe Barton Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters

Representative Joe Barton, who apologised on Wednesday for a lewd photo of him that circulated on the Internet, told a woman to whom he had sent sexually explicit photos, videos and messages that he would report her to the Capitol Police if she exposed his behaviour, according to a recording reviewed by The Washington Post.

The woman spoke to The Post after the lewd photo was published on Tuesday by an anonymous Twitter account. She shared a secretly recorded phone conversation she had with Barton in 2015 in which he warned her against using the explicit materials “in a way that would negatively affect my career.”

The woman described encounters and contact spanning a five-year period that began online after she posted a message on Barton's Facebook page in 2011, leading to the sexually explicit exchanges and ultimately a pair of physical sexual encounters in Washington and Texas. Over time, she said, she became aware of and corresponded with multiple other women who engaged in relationships with Barton, who represents a suburban Dallas district and is one of the most senior Republicans in the House.

Republican apologises after nude selfie emerges online

The woman, who is not married, spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect her privacy.

In the 2015 phone call, Barton confronted the woman over her communications with the other women, including her decision to share explicit materials he had sent. In that context, he mentioned the Capitol Police, a comment the woman interpreted as an attempt to intimidate her.

“I want your word that this ends,” he said, according to the recording, adding: “I will be completely straight with you. I am ready if I have to, I don't want to, but I should take all this crap to the Capitol Hill Police and have them launch an investigation. And if I do that, that hurts me potentially big time.”

“Why would you even say that to me?” the woman responded. "... The Capitol Hill police? And what would you tell them, sir?”

Said Barton: “I would tell them that I had a three-year undercover relationship with you over the Internet that was heavily sexual and that I had met you twice while married and had sex with you on two different occasions and that I exchanged inappropriate photographs and videos with you that I wouldn't like to be seen made public, that you still apparently had all of those and were in position to use them in a way that would negatively affect my career. That's the truth.”

In a statement late on Wednesday, Barton said a transcript of the recording provided by The Post may be “evidence” of a “potential crime against me.”

He said that he received word Wednesday that the Capitol Police are opening an inquiry. While there is no federal law prohibiting the disclosure of intimate photos of adults without consent, The Dallas Morning News on Wednesday reported that the Twitter photo of Barton could violate a 2015 Texas law banning so-called “revenge porn,” which is the portrayal of another person's intimate body parts and distributing the images without consent.

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“This woman admitted that we had a consensual relationship,” Barton said. “When I ended that relationship, she threatened to publicly share my private photographs and intimate correspondence in retaliation. As the transcript reflects, I offered to take the matter to the Capitol Hill Police to open an investigation. Today, the Capitol Police reached out to me and offered to launch an investigation and I have accepted. Because of the pending investigation, we will have no further comment.”

The woman said she never had any intention to use the materials to retaliate against Barton.

A request for comment from the Capitol Police was not immediately returned late on Wednesday.

Earlier Wednesday, Barton acknowledged “sexual relationships with other mature adult women” that he said took place while he was “separated from my second wife, before the divorce.”

“Each was consensual,” he said in a statement. “Those relationships have ended. I am sorry I did not use better judgement during those days. I am sorry that I let my constituents down.”

Barton, 68, is the fifth-longest serving Republican in the House, now in his 17th term. He is a former chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and now serves as vice chairman of the panel.

The Texas native has built a reputation on Capitol Hill as a fierce advocate for the oil and gas industry and a reliable vote for conservative legislation. A member of the Freedom Caucus, Barton regularly receives top scores from socially conservative groups such as the Family Research Council that analyse members' stances on positions such as abortion and gay rights.

But he is not known as an outspoken culture warrior. In 1998, amid the scandal over President Bill Clinton's affair with a White House intern, Barton was quoted in The Los Angeles Times saying, “I personally don't care a fig about what he does in his bedroom with his wife or any other sexual partners he may have, but I do care if he lies under oath.”

Barton was still married to his second wife when his relationship with the woman began. His wife filed for divorce in April 2014, according to court records; the divorce was made final in February 2015. A spokeswoman for Barton did not respond to a question about when his separation began.

Besides the recording of the phone call, the woman shared text and social-media messages she exchanged with Barton, as well as a 53-second cellphone video Barton recorded of himself while masturbating. The conspiracy theory website InfoWars obtained a copy of the video and published it on Wednesday night, though the video appeared to have been removed from the site several hours later.

The lewd Twitter photo that Barton acknowledged on Wednesday appears to have been captured from that video. The woman said she did not post the image herself. She shared phone numbers for Barton that match his personal and government-issued cellphones. Barton was not abusive or coercive in his interactions, the woman said, but said she felt he was “manipulative and dishonest and misleading” in his dealings with her and other women.

“It's not normal for a member of Congress who runs on a GOP platform of family values and conservatism to be scouring the Internet looking for a new sexual liaison,” she said, explaining her motive for coming forward.

The woman said Barton first reached out to her in 2011 after she posted a comment about politics on his Facebook page. As the two struck up a friendship, they would exchange messages for hours, including when he was on the House floor or in committee meetings, she said.

Soon, Barton began flirting, making suggestive comments and sending explicit messages, she said. She described feeling uncomfortable with his advances at first.

“He says to me, 'Do you want me to send you a picture of myself?' I said, 'Oh no, no. Please do not do that.' It kind of started there,” she said.

In the spring of 2012, the woman flew to Washington, where he gave her a tour of the Capitol building, she said. The two slept together during that visit, and he reimbursed her in cash for her flight, she said.

In 2014, she visited him in Texas, where the two slept together for the second and final time, she said. He again paid for her travel, she said.

“I was in it for the politics connection,” the woman said of their relationship. “I was kind of unwittingly drawn into it with him because of just the amazement of having a connection to a congressman.”

The Washington Post

Robert Mugabe has been 'granted immunity and allowed to remain safely in Zimbabwe' under resignation deal - Daily Mail

Robert Mugabe has been 'granted immunity and allowed to remain safely in Zimbabwe' under resignation deal

Mugabe is said to be remaining in the capital, Harare, with ex-first lady Grace

He has secured guarantees of protection, including immunity from prosecution

By GARETH DAVIES FOR MAILONLINE 23 November 2017 | UPDATED: 20:44 AEDT, 23 November 2017

Robert Mugabe has been granted immunity and allowed to remain safely in Zimbabwe under a resignation deal, sources have said.

As Zimbabwe prepares to swear in a new leader after 37 years, attention is turning to the fate of Mugabe and his wife - the hated 'Gucci Grace'.

The 93-year-old Mugabe, who resigned on Tuesday as lawmakers began impeaching him, has kept a low profile since his stunning speech to the nation on Sunday night in which he defied calls to step down.

He is said to remain in the capital, Harare, with former first lady Grace but it is not clear under what terms.

Speculation he has secured guarantees of protection, including immunity from prosecution, were confirmed by sources this morning.

Robert Mugabe has been granted immunity and allowed to remain safely in Zimbabwe under a resignation deal, sources have said

Robert Mugabe has been granted immunity and allowed to remain safely in Zimbabwe under a resignation deal, sources have said

Longtime deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa, fired by Mugabe earlier this month, is set to be sworn in Friday after making a triumphant return to the country.

He greeted a cheering crowd Wednesday night.

Family friends of Mugabe and members of his security detail told MailOnline that the military were prepared to let the 93-year-old leave the country unharmed, but had a very different opinion when it came to his second wife - dubbed Gucci Grace because of her love of lavish shopping sprees.

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One of his Mugabe's protection team told MailOnline: 'The generals promised him he could leave safely.

'The generals were insisting that Grace must be prosecuted. It was a burning issue on Tuesday.

'I don't know what the outcome was, but they were insisting that they might forgive the old man but not Grace.'

Mr Mnangagwa pledged to be a 'servant' to the people of Zimbabwe and promised a 'new age of democracy' for the country after four decades of dictatorial rule under his predecessor

Mr Mnangagwa pledged to be a 'servant' to the people of Zimbabwe and promised a 'new age of democracy' for the country after four decades of dictatorial rule under his predecessor

Zimbabwe's President Designate Emmerson Mnangagwa, 75, on Wednesday gave his first speech to Zanu PF supporters since Mugabe resigned, claiming he was poisoned and decided to overthrow the dictator before he was 'eliminated'

Zimbabwe's President Designate Emmerson Mnangagwa, 75, on Wednesday gave his first speech to Zanu PF supporters since Mugabe resigned, claiming he was poisoned and decided to overthrow the dictator before he was 'eliminated'

Mugabe was said to be 'so depressed he couldn't lift his feet' as he watched his countrymen celebrate his departure, and was said to be confessing his sins to trusted advisor Father Mukonori.

One of the former dictator's security team said: 'He is depressed to the extent he is failing to walk. He is dragging his feet.

'Grace has been refusing to go outside into the open air all day as well,' he said. 'They both know the end has come and they are deeply depressed. Their greatest worry is what is going to happen to them and their family.'

He added: 'The issue of Grace was a burning one. The generals were going to press ahead with prosecuting her for crimes including money laundering, capturing of state assets and interfering with government business.'

It was Grace's decision to try and oust Mnangagwa from power and clear a path for her own succession to the presidency that sparked the military uprising which ultimately toppled her husband.

A member of the Mugabe family who is close to the deposed president said: 'Bob has been holding prayers and confessing with Father Mukonori and the family. He feels depressed now the whole country is celebrating about him going.'

The former dictator, who is a Catholic, has confessed to Father Fidelis Mukonori, a priest who had been mediating in his negotiations with the armed forces.

Trumpism’s goal is, at least in part, to destroy the progress achieved under the Obama administration - NBC Opinion

Trumpism’s goal is, at least in part, to destroy the progress achieved under the Obama administration.

Almost immediately after Sessions was sworn in, he rescinded an Obama administration memorandum to phase out the federal justice system’s use of private prisons. Though Obama's guidance would not have ended the scourge of the Prison Industrial Complex, it was a crucial step in the reform process.

Private prisons are less efficient, provide diminished access to health care and can often be vulnerable to corruption. They operate on market principles rather than societal or community ones. Some are incentivized to warehouse human beings.

Our mass incarceration problem is compounded by overly aggressive policing. In some cities or regions, federal review of local law enforcement has been able to serve as a check when policing goes wrong. But Sessions has registered his distaste for federal oversight of local law enforcement. This may signal an end to consent decrees — a critical process developed in wake of the 1994 uprising following the Rodney King trial. Consent decrees allow the federal government to enter into court-enforceable agreements with local police forces, based on DOJ reports documenting civil rights abuses.

The Obama Justice Department’s report on the Ferguson police department was among the most damning. While Sessions dismissed the data as “anecdotal,” the report noted that two-thirds of African Americans living in Ferguson accounted for more than 90 percent of the arrests between 2012 and 2014.

Sessions has also “empowered” U.S. attorneys to seek the harshest penalties possible for drug crimes. This is a direct reversal of Holders’ efforts to reform draconian drug laws that systematically targeted poor people of color.

It is as if Sessions’ Justice Department is operating on a set of alternative facts. Because the statistics are well known: Whites and blacks use and sell drugs at roughly the same rates, and African Americans make up roughly 13 percent of the U.S. population. Yet law enforcement records are remarkably different for each demographic. According to Human Rights Watch: "Black adults are more than two-and-a-half times as likely as white adults to be arrested for drug possession. In 2014, Black adults accounted for just 14 percent of those who used drugs in the previous year but close to a third of those arrested for drug possession." In many states, a felony conviction also means losing the right to vote.

Jeff Sessions is slowly but surely undoing America's criminal justice progress - NBC News

Jeff Sessions is slowly but surely undoing America's criminal justice progress

by James Braxton Peterson / Nov.23.2017

The Russia investigation may be undercutting Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ credibility, but it has not undermined his efforts to take the U.S. Justice Department back in time.

The time Sessions wants to go back to features an unforgiving system of mass incarceration that disproportionately targets people of color in a legal structure too often stacked against them.

To do this, the attorney general has issued a slew of policy rollbacks — unfortunate for a Justice Department that was only incrementally making progress toward equal justice under President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder.

In this sense, Sessions’ Justice Department might be the most effective unit of the Trump administration. If Trumpism’s goal is, at least in, part to destroy the progress achieved under the Obama administration, Sessions’ scorecard so far outstrips his GOP colleagues in the Cabinet and former colleagues in the Senate.

In March, for example, the nation’s top law enforcement officer visited St. Louis, next-door to Ferguson, ground zero for the Black Lives Matter movement. Sessions was in St. Louis talking about crime initiatives but also seeming to criticize one of the most useful tools for documenting police brutality: civilian cell phone videos. The choice of venue could not have been a coincidence. By focusing on “targeted police killings,” he deflected attention from the challenges now confronting law enforcement.

In fact, Sessions has had little to say on how the Justice Department might address matters of police brutality, much less on the matter of Black Lives Mattering. Instead, he has mostly showcased President Donald Trump’s belief that strong policing and incarceration are key to maintaining law and civil order.

Tesla completes construction of the world’s largest lithium ion battery - Reuters

Tesla completes construction of the world’s largest lithium ion battery

Tesla 'powerpacks' have been fully installed at a wind farm in South Australia

Sonali Paul

Tesla's batteries should provide more affordable energy for South Australians REUTERS

Tesla has completed construction of the world’s largest lithium ion battery in Australia, putting it on track to meet a 100-day deadline for switching the battery packs on, the South Australian government said on Thursday.

Tesla won a bid in July to build the 129 megawatt hour battery for South Australia, the country’s most wind power-dependent state, with a vow from chief executive Elon Musk to install it within 100 days of signing a grid connection agreement or give it to the state for free.

When the grid connection deal was signed on 29 September, Tesla was already half way through installing the battery packs.

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The Tesla Powerpacks have now been fully installed at a wind farm run by France’s Neoen, and testing is set to begin to provide grid security services in South Australia.

“While others are just talking, we are delivering our energy plan, making South Australia more self-sufficient, and providing back up power and more affordable energy for South Australians this summer,” state Premier Jay Weatherill said in a statement.

The state has yet to say how much it would pay for the battery, which is part of a A$510m (£291.38m) plan that includes diesel-fired generators to help keep the lights on following a string of blackouts over the past 18 months.

Australia’s energy market operator has warned that power supply will be tight this summer, particularly in South Australia and neighbouring Victoria, where one of the market’s biggest coal-fired power plants was shut in March.

Reuters

Score One for the Experts as Brexit Costs Grow - Bloomberg

Score One for the Experts as Brexit Costs Grow

The vote to leave the EU is taking an economic toll on Britons, before the separation even begins.

By Therese Raphael

November 23, 2017,

The long, expensive good-bye to Europe. Photographer: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

In the run-up to the U.K.'s 2016 referendum on leaving the European Union, and immediately after it, the "remain" campaign was much derided for fear-mongering. People are sick and tired of experts warning about doomsday scenarios, said Conservative politician and lead-Brexiter Michael Gove. Those warning that Brexit would cost the economy were dubbed "remoaners"; Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond was compared to Eeyore for his caution.

It was, granted, a disastrous campaign strategy: Focusing on the economic costs of Brexit ignored the very real economic pain that many Britons already felt. It overlooked the fact that many Britons were motivated by distrust of the European Union, or blamed immigrants for their own economic uncertainty. They were willing to accept some cost to be rid of that perceived burden.

Now, though, the experts are making a comeback. Their tactics may have been clumsy, but the general thrust of their arguments -- that Brexit would be expensive, very expensive -- look more on target.

Britain's Office of Budget Responsibility, the public watchdog, has downgraded its forecast for gross domestic product growth to 1.5 percent this year and 1.4 percent in 2018, from 2.2 percent and 2.1 percent in March 2016, just before the vote. Forecasts for productivity and business investment have also been revised downward. But it's not just forecasts that are worrying; they are often wrong anyhow. It's what's happening right now.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the U.K. lags behind most other advanced countries in terms of both private and public investment. The ONS looks at gross fixed capital formation, which measures spending on non-financial assets from both government and non-government sectors. It concluded that the U.K. has the lowest average non-government investment level of any G7 nation as a percentage of GDP and the second-lowest average government sector investment. That would suggest a major plan for some supply-side investment -- infrastructure, education and the like -- is warranted.

But with a falling pound, rising inflation and a country in the throes of a historic undertaking as it disentangles itself from the EU, there is hardly room to spend.

Hammond delivered the most important economic policy set-piece of the year Wednesday with his annual budget address. His government is so unpopular and divided that he no doubt wanted to play Santa Claus: He offered handouts for key areas of the economy (among them, cut-price rail cards for the young and tax relief on the purchases of a first home) and there was some promises of home-building and road-building. But mainly he told Britons he needed to hold his ammunition. In fact, he told them, he had already put 700 million pounds aside to cover Brexit costs and was budgeting for a further 3 billion pounds.

The problem with economic data is that it's often possible to selectively paint different pictures. That was certainly the case in the immediate aftermath of the vote, when despite the pound's decline, other signs were mixed, including a remarkably robust consumer economy.

Hammond tried to put a positive spin on things, as you would expect. He found a few silver linings to highlight: a public debt that will decline for the first time in 17 years, a budget deficit that will be only 2.4 percent this year and is trending lower, a vibrant tech culture (a new tech start-up is registered every minute, he said, without mentioning how many actually survive and grow). But none of these are a sign of a Brexit-proof economy. The debt fall, for example, is largely thanks to selling off shares in the state-run bank RBS and by some accounting changes.

It takes a lot of straining these days to argue that the glass is half full. A recent piece of research from Vox analyzes the Brexit costs that have already materialized. These aren't forecasts that can be swept aside. The deterioration in the pound wasn't just a temporary, post-referendum phenomenon; it has continued and is still about 10 percent below its pre-referendum value.

Unsurprisingly, inflation followed; consumer price indices in the U.K. are rising ahead of the U.S. and the euro area, with inflation at 3 percent in October (not all of that is Brexit-related, but the authors argue that the effect is nevertheless substantial). Indeed, it rose most in some of the regions of the country that voted most wholeheartedly for Brexit, though Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, three strongly remain areas, were hit hardest by inflation; these are all regions that rely heavily on a high level of imported products, which are most hit by the fall in the pound. All in, Brexit is already costing the U.K. consumer about 404 pounds ($536) per year, according to the authors. Retailers are predicting a tough Christmas season.

All this, and Brexit hasn't even happened yet.

It's not clear whether a trade deal with Europe will result from the stalled negotiations, or a blanket withdrawal that means the imposition of tariff and non-tariff trade barriers that would hit the U.K. economy hard. But even before those big questions are settled, Britons are paying a high price for defying the warnings ahead of their 2016 vote. It's no longer just predictions. Score one for the experts.

These Are the Five Biggest Tests Facing China's Next Central Bank Chief - Bloomberg

These Are the Five Biggest Tests Facing China's Next Central Bank Chief

Bloomberg News

November 23, 2017,

From regulation to communication, many PBOC tasks are in flux

Taming debt levels will be a key responsibility for new chief

The People's Bank of China headquarters in Beijing. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

When Zhou Xiaochuan finally hands over the baton at the People’s Bank of China after a decade and a half in charge, his successor will inherit a series of headaches crowned by a debt pile racing toward 300 percent of output.

The next governor will be tasked with not just reining in that leverage without tripping up economic growth, but keeping an eye on accelerating inflation too, all as the institution’s role in a complex regulatory structure evolves. As if that wasn’t enough, they’ll also be tasked with maintaining a stable currency as it opens up to market forces and boosting communication to keep global investors in the loop.

Zhou XiaochuanPhotographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

"The PBOC is in more of bind than ever with its monetary policy," said Zhao Yang, chief China economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Hong Kong. "While it was fine to just look at inflation and economic growth targets in the past, the central bank now has to strike a balance among more targets, some of them conflicting."

China’s appointment of a new PBOC governor may be imminent, after Zhou last month signaled his retirement. Zhou is already helping set the agenda for his successor, having warned in October about the risk of a collapse in asset prices after the popping of a credit bubble. Here are five of the most pressing tasks that will be on the new chief’s docket from day one.

If the $40 trillion financial sector is a ticking time-bomb, then the PBOC governor will be among those sweating over which wire to cut. Reducing risky inter-bank lending, weeding out dangerous behavior by asset managers, and corralling internet credit will all be key tasks, all while trying to prevent funding to the real economy from cratering.

While it’s done a decent job so far with that balancing act, the central bank now also must find its place in a new regulatory structure for the bodies in charge of oversight. Whether the PBOC is the leading light of this effort or one among many may depend on the profile of the new governor. And the clock’s ticking -- the financial sector faces further shakeups now that authorities have lifted some curbs on foreign ownership.

Policy Framework

How the PBOC interacts with markets in pursuit of its nominal policy goals -- maintaining stability in the value of the currency and thereby promoting economic growth -- is undergoing a shift. From the credit quotas of the planned-economy era that focused on the quantity of money in the system, the central bank is ultimately headed toward letting short-term interest rates set the price of money, as its global peers have long done.

Under Zhou, the PBOC has developed a bewildering array of instruments to guide market rates -- but now it’s trying to focus attention on just two at a time when it’s actually increasing the range of maturities it uses.

Streamlining the policy framework will be a key task for the new governor, especially as the central bank has already announced that it’s moving to a "two-pillar" system that pairs rates policy with tools geared to regulate prices of financial assets.

Communication

Of the world’s major central banks, the PBOC talks the least. Whereas Federal Reserve and European Central Bank officials give hundreds of policy speeches each year, Zhou does just a handful.

There are signs, though, that the central bank wants to better explain itself to markets, and has slowly increased commentary this year. In an ever-more complex market environment, Zhou’s successor may have to engage in open-mouth operations a little more.

Currency Management

Managing China’s massive capital inflows and outflows, and their effect on the yuan, complicates PBOC efforts to regulate the amount and price of liquidity in the market. It’s a task they may ultimately be glad to be rid of, but for now heading toward a freer-floating yuan is something that the next governor is likely to continue.

Moving in that direction may aid another big goal for Beijing: boosting global use of the yuan. Despite the International Monetary Fund conferring a reserve-currency status last year, the currency’s share of global payments is down from a 2.79 percent peak in August 2015.

Inflation

With hefty financial-sector and currency tasks already on its plate, it would be easy for the PBOC to forget a little about its inflation mandate. With a damaging episode of runaway inflation in the 1990s in mind though, Zhou’s successor should keep a close eye on developments.

Consumer prices adjusted for food and fuel held at their fastest since 2011 in October, evidence that surging factory prices are beginning to feed through. The government’s drive to reduce pollution could also spur inflation, making a tightening of policy not unthinkable.

While PBOC has to take instruction from the State Council for major policies, the governor can always leverage his knowledge and experience to guide the direction of the policy debate, said Ding Shuang, chief economist for Greater China & North Asia at Standard Charted Bank Ltd in Hong Kong.

"It’s an important ability to make good arguments for its policies to top leaders, which helps the PBOC find a louder voice among policy makers, even though it may not enjoy full independence," he said.

— With assistance by Yinan Zhao