Mueller asked U.S. intelligence officials about Trump - sources

[webfact]

Mueller asked U.S. intelligence officials about Trump - sources

 

FILE PHOTO: CIA Director Mike Pompeo delivers remarks at "Intelligence Beyond 2018," a forum hosted by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in Washington, U.S., January 23, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior U.S. intelligence officers including CIA Director Mike Pompeo have been questioned by the U.S. special counsel's team about whether President Donald Trump tried to obstruct justice in the Russia probe, sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

 

Such questioning is further indication that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's federal investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and potential collusion by Trump's campaign includes examining the president's actions around the probe.

 

In interviews last year with Pompeo, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Admiral Mike Rogers, Mueller's team focussed on whether Trump had asked them to lean on former FBI Director James Comey, the sources said.

 

Comey said after he was dismissed by Trump in May that the president had fired him to try to undermine the agency's Russia investigation. His dismissal led to Mueller's appointment to take over the FBI probe and is central to whether Trump may have committed obstruction of justice.

 

Mueller also asked the officials if Trump tried to shut down intelligence investigations into Russian election meddling and into contacts between Russian officials connected with President Vladimir Putin's government and associates of Trump or his campaign, the sources said on condition of anonymity.

 

Pompeo's questioning was first reported by NBC News on Wednesday, a day after the Justice Department said Mueller's office questioned Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week.

 

Discussions have been under way about the possibility of Mueller's team interviewing Trump, according to a person familiar with the talks.

 

Comey told congressional investigators in June that Trump had demanded his loyalty, asked him to drop a probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn and repeatedly pressed him to announce publicly that Trump was not under investigation.

 

Flynn has since pleaded guilty to a charge brought by Mueller of lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

 

Mueller's office interviewed Comey shortly after he was fired, a source close to the investigation told Reuters.

 

Representatives for the CIA declined to comment on whether Pompeo had been interviewed.

 

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 campaign using hacking and propaganda to try to tilt the race in Trump's favour. Russia has denied it. Trump has denied collusion with Russia and calls the probe a witch hunt. After Comey's accusation in June about the circumstances of his firing, Trump also denied any obstruction of justice.

 

Former White House strategist and Trump campaign aide Steve Bannon is expected to be questioned by Mueller's team about Flynn and Comey by the end of the month, NBC and CNN reported.

 

(Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Frances Kerry)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-01-25

[DoctorG]

#releasethememo

[Berkshire]

1 hour ago, DoctorG said:

#releasethememo

Are you a Russian by chance?

 

["#Releasethememo" is now the top trending hashtag among Russian bots and trolls on Twitter and other platforms, according to the German Marshall Fund's "Hamilton 68" website, which tracks Russian influence campaigns.]

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/release-the-memo-campaign-russia-linked-twitter-accounts-2018-1

[boomerangutang]

Trump can repeat lies every day in his campaign to convince his easily-convinced sheeple that he never did anything illegal.   Yet former and current US intel experts aren't as susceptible to brainwashing as Trump's fans.  Intel professionals will likely tell the truth when interviewed - as opposed to Trump insiders like Sessions, Lewindowski, Bannon, Hicks and others in Trump's cabal.

 

The US body-politic has had over a year to host the infection of Trumpism.  It will take a long time, and lots of medicine to get rid of that infection, and even then the remedy (Mueller's investigation and Congressional action) won't be total.

 

Can the US and its institutions survive the harm that Trumpism is inflicting upon it daily?  I think so, but it will be badly battered in the process.

[siamike]

Watching the Trump-Mueller-Russia-Republicans-Democrats story play out over this last year is a bit like watching Game of Thrones.  The villainous wants-to-be-king (Trump) has taken the thrown by nefarious means having employed clandestine  help from another realm (Russia), which, unknown by the King, has it's own hidden agenda of destabilizing the King's region.  King Trump has surrounded himself with power-hungry allies whom are all willing to lay down their careers when it suits their own power grabbing agenda.  But the rightful heirs to the thrown also have powerful allies whom are attempting to uncover and disclose to the kingdoms people all the corruption the King has used in his ascension to the thrown.  Knowing that their own survival depends on the King's continued reign, the King's allies (republicans) continue to make every effort to fend off the ever tightening noose of the surrounding forces.  

 

Who will be victorious??  

 

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode. 

[RobFord]

[mike324]

1 hour ago, Berkshire said:

Are you a Russian by chance?

 

["#Releasethememo" is now the top trending hashtag among Russian bots and trolls on Twitter and other platforms, according to the German Marshall Fund's "Hamilton 68" website, which tracks Russian influence campaigns.]

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/release-the-memo-campaign-russia-linked-twitter-accounts-2018-1

I agree these bots are way too much, spamming all the CNN comments on facebook with fake accounts. I guess that is the only way to persuade the public for their own cause. If enough people believe and talk about it, it will influence the gullible ones.

[DoctorG]

3 hours ago, Berkshire said:

Are you a Russian by chance?

 

["#Releasethememo" is now the top trending hashtag among Russian bots and trolls on Twitter and other platforms, according to the German Marshall Fund's "Hamilton 68" website, which tracks Russian influence campaigns.]

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/release-the-memo-campaign-russia-linked-twitter-accounts-2018-1

Are you misinformed by chance?

Both Twitter and Google have confirmed that bots are not involved and the overwhelming majority of posts are from Americans.

 

Only an authoritarian would want to withhold evidence from the public. I guess that is why the Dems do not want it released. There may be nothing of substance in the memo, but then again, there just might be. Let the people see and decide.

[Briggsy]

#Releasethetaxreturns

#ReleasetheTrumpcompanyownershipdocuments

#Releasethecondobeneficialownerlist

#Releasethemoneytraildocumentation

#ReleasetheRussiaemails

#Releasethepeepeetape

#Releaseeveryoneyoueverscrewedfromthenondisclosureclauses

#ReleaseMelania

 

[Srikcir]

3 hours ago, siamike said:

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode. 

As Trump said at a recent cabinet meeting: "Welcome back to the studio."

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/368311-trump-welcomes-media-to-cabinet-meeting-welcome-back-to-the-studio

[Berkshire]

2 hours ago, DoctorG said:

Are you misinformed by chance?

Both Twitter and Google have confirmed that bots are not involved and the overwhelming majority of posts are from Americans.

 

Only an authoritarian would want to withhold evidence from the public. I guess that is why the Dems do not want it released. There may be nothing of substance in the memo, but then again, there just might be. Let the people see and decide.

I provided a link but you just provided made-up info.  Typical Trump supporter.

 

Heck, even Trump's own Justice Department is not keen on this memo...

 

[The Justice Department is urging the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, whose staff has compiled a secret memorandum purporting to show "shocking" political bias within the FBI, to give the department a chance to see the memo and warning that first sharing information from the memo with reporters would be "unprecedented" and dangerous.

Furthermore, the department said certain allegations of impropriety are completely unfounded.]

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/doj-warns-house-intel-chairman-purported-secret-memo-000103551--abc-news-topstories.html

[dunroaming]

Let's get to the point where they can expose Trump for what he is.  All this drip feeding is OK but does it constitute progress?

[kamahele]

8 hours ago, DoctorG said:

#releasethememo

Oh, the Republican and Russian mantra. This is not some memo that they discovered during the investigation. Republicans wrote the misleading memo and now are making a drama about releasing it. They can release it if they want or they can read it into the record on the House floor.

[riclag]

11 minutes ago, kamahele said:

Oh, the Republican and Russian mantra. This is not some memo that they discovered during the investigation. Republicans wrote the misleading memo and now are making a drama about releasing it. They can release it if they want or they can read it into the record on the House floor.

It appears they are going through parliamentary procedures in making  this come out to the public. 

[Ron19]

Flame posts have been removed.

[joecoolfrog]

7 hours ago, xerostar said:

The anti-Trumpists will be choking when they learn the truth. The truth is still being supressed by the MSM, hence the above article. Anyone that follows the fake news posted by CNN will not be aware of the developments that show Trump to be innocent of collusion with the Russians.
In contrast Obama, and the Clintons will be tried and convicted of treason along with Mueller and his team of sneaky democrats. Why do you think Hillary and a number of high ranking people have been wearing ankle bracelets ? Since the truth about their hoax to frame Trump, the Clintons have been busy trying to hide all the evidence of their wrong-doing by destroying hard drives, deleting files and assasinating people who could testify against them. So far 60 people known to the Clintons have died in suspicious circumstances since the election.

Sent from my SM-N915F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Keep the strap on your tin foil helmet nicely tightened.

[Slip]

7 hours ago, DoctorG said:

Are you misinformed by chance?

Both Twitter and Google have confirmed that bots are not involved and the overwhelming majority of posts are from Americans.

 

Only an authoritarian would want to withhold evidence from the public. I guess that is why the Dems do not want it released. There may be nothing of substance in the memo, but then again, there just might be. Let the people see and decide.

This is not true.  What I have seen Twitter say is that the majority of the posts are from Americans.  What I have not seen either of them say is "bots are not involved".

 

This is the way that the Russia/ Trump propaganda network functions.  They amplify each other.  Specifically the US based agents/ traitors/ Trump/ WH staff/ the GOP/ deplorables/ white supremacists spread the message of their Russian overlords.

[Trouble]

One year of investigation and Mueller is just now interviewing these intelligence heads? Christ, this is pathetic.