CBS NEWS
"Transcript: Representative Adam Schiff on 'Face the Nation'"
CBSNews
6 MARCH 2022
The following is a transcript of an interview with Democratic Representative Adam Schiff of California that aired Sunday, March 6, 2022, on "Face the Nation."
MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to FACE THE NATION.
We now want to go to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff.
He's a Democrat from California and joins us from the Los Angeles area.
Good morning to you.
REPRESENTATIVE ADAM SCHIFF: Good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to start on Ukraine.
The United States purchases about 600,000 barrels of Russian petroleum products a day.
Speaker Pelosi said that oil should be banned.
The White House says it's looking at options.
What is that option?
Does a solution come from Congress or is this something President Biden needs to act on?
REP. SCHIFF: I think it could come from either place.
I think there's very strong bipartisan support to cut off Russian oil and gas sales to the United States.
It's anathema, I think, to many of us in Congress that while we were sanctioning them and trying to cripple their economy that way would help them in any way by purchasing their petroleum.
But I think the administration wants to make sure that we work with our allies.
This will have an impact to - potentially on global oil prices, including here at home, where in Los Angeles now gas is over $5 a gallon.
So he wants to make sure that we understand the impact on the global supply.
But I think there is strong support to show solidarity with Ukraine, but also to make sure that American dollars aren't supporting the Russian war machine in any way.
MARGARET BRENNAN: How quickly does that need to happen?
I mean, this is Putin's lifeline.
It's a cash cow.
REP. SCHIFF: Well, I think we like to act on it very quickly.
At the same time, you know, we have to be circumspect about the fact that Russia will probably find somewhere else to sell that oil and gas to.
So the impact ultimately on Russia may not be as powerful as we would like.
It's why we have to continue to explore additional ways to really crush the Russian economy.
But I have to say I'm enormously impressed with how the world has come together with how here in Congress, in a very partisan Congress, Democrats and Republicans are uniting around this tough sanction package, as well as providing more defensive military support to Ukraine.
There is enormous solidarity with the brave people of Ukraine.
MARGARET BRENNAN: There is solidarity, but it seems that Vladimir Putin is willing to suffer the consequences of those sanctions.
And the Russian people are, the military is not stopping its advance, at least that we can see.
What will happen if, as President Zelensky is predicting he loses his life in this Russian attack, what will the United States do then?
REP. SCHIFF: Well, he has, I think, been an incredibly courageous wartime leader.
This was, I believe, another miscalculation by Putin, who believes Zelensky was weak, would not be able to lead a country to war.
But in fact, he has proved to be enormously strong and not only rallied Ukrainians, but I think rallied people around the world.
I don't want to contemplate what might happen in his absence, although I do think the Ukrainian people will fight on and we will continue to support them.
But obviously, we're doing everything we can, supplying, I think, real time intelligence to help protect him, as well as to give Ukrainians the information they need to defend themselves.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The U.S. and global powers, as we spoke to Secretary Blinken about, are potentially on the cusp of a new diplomatic deal with Iran, a renewed version of this nuclear program should the Biden administration present that to Congress for review?
Do you want to take a look at it?
REP. SCHIFF: Well, I'm certainly going to want to look at it and study it and assess the merits of it.
I think it will come down ultimately to whether it is a, essentially re-entering the deal that the Trump administration pulled America out of or it is substantially different - new and different deal.
If it's the latter then I think it will require a vote in the Congress.
If - if it's the former, then the administration may be able to do that on its own.
Ultimately, I think the decision to pull out was disastrous.
Iran has moved forward both in terms of its enrichment, but also in terms of its expertise.
And ultimately, we're going to have to weigh the impact of that on any new agreement.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You are the chair of intelligence, you know, well, Iran's espionage activities and the operations they've tried to carry out on US soil, including this attempt to kidnap a New York based journalist.
There are also threats against former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other Trump officials.
Should this new deal with Iran include a promise to stop carrying out those kind of operations on U.S. soil?
REP. SCHIFF: Well, I would love a nuclear deal to include prohibitions on Iran's malign activities, a cessation of its missile and drone program.
But the question is not what I would like, but rather whether a deal that is confined to curbing Iran's ability to get a bomb is a good deal.
And I think if we can take off the table, any pathway to a bomb for year - for Iran, that in itself is worthwhile.
These other malign activities of Iran's, their plots against the U.S. personnel or Americans around the world we can deal with and have to deal with separately, and we should deal with them aggressively.
But I wouldn't say that we should neglect to stop their nuclear program because of these other activities.
We need to go after all of this, not necessarily in one agreement.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Before I let you go, I want to ask about the January six committee.
There was a development this week, a court filing claiming there is now evidence that President Trump broke the law in his efforts to overturn the election in 2020.
Do you think that the attorney general is moving fast enough with his enforcement?
REP. SCHIFF: What we made clear in our filing to the court is we believe there's a good faith basis to conclude that the former president and his campaign may have violated any number of federal laws, including obstructing an official proceeding, the joint session, and defrauding the American people.
And I do think that the Justice Department ought to be looking at these issues and ought to be investigating in particular just to give one very graphic example the former president on the phone with the secretary of state in Georgia demanding that he find 11,780 votes that didn't exist, but the precise number he would need to overtake President Biden.
I think if anyone else had engaged in that conversation, they would be under investigation and it should be no different for the former president.
So I think the department is diligently pursuing those who attack the Capitol that day.
But there were multiple lines of effort to overturn the election that may have violated the law, which also should be investigated.
MARGARET BRENNAN: All right.
Chairmanship, thank you for your time this morning.
We'll be right back.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... d=msedgntp
THE MAGA-MAN DONALD TRUMP
Re: THE MAGA-MAN DONALD TRUMP
NEWSWEEK
"'Trump Will Be Charged,' Kirschner Concludes After AG Garland's Remarks"
Jason Lemon
10 MARCH 2022
Former U.S. Army Prosecutor Glenn Kirschner concluded that former President Donald Trump "will be charged" in connection with the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and the effort to overturn the 2020 election results after new remarks from Attorney General Merrick Garland.
In an interview with NPR that aired on Thursday, Garland said "everyone" who committed crimes related to January 6 would face accountability.
"We begin with the cases that are right in front of us with the overt actions and then we build from there," the attorney general said.
"And that is a process that we will continue to build until we hold everyone accountable who committed criminal acts with respect to January 6."
Hundreds of Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol after the then-president at a nearby rally urged them to march to the federal legislative building and to "fight like hell."
More than 780 of Trump's supporters have been indicted for their actions that day, with some saying in court that they believed they were carrying out Trump's orders.
Kirschner, who now works as a legal analyst for MSNBC and NBC News, shared a screenshot of the NPR article with Garland's remarks on Thursday.
"Accordingly, the only rational conclusion that can be drawn from AG Garland's promise is that . . . TRUMP. WILL. BE. CHARGED. Because #JusticeMatters," the attorney wrote.
In a follow-up post, Kirschner warned Trump allies that they should be concerned as well.
"New interview of AG Garland by NPR's Carrie Johnson in which he promises to hold 'everyone' accountable for their J6 crimes."
"You hear that [Steve] Bannon, [Roger] Stone, [Jeffrey] Clark, [John] Eastman, [Mo] Brooks, Rudy [Giuliani], [Donald Trump] Jr., fake electors & others?"
"And, most importantly, TFG?" Kirschner wrote.
TFG is an acronym for "the former guy," which is a reference to Trump as the former president.
Garland, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, has faced criticism from some Trump critics for not already announcing an investigation into the former president.
Some legal analysts have surmised that there is already enough evidence in the public record for an indictment.
Others have assessed that the attorney general is wary of investigating a former president, as many will view such an action as politically motivated.
"We are not avoiding cases that are political or cases that are controversial or sensitive," Garland told NPR.
"What we are avoiding is making decisions on a political basis, on a partisan basis."
Harvard constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe and former federal prosecutor Dennis Aftergut urged Garland to appoint a special counsel to probe Trump in a Wednesday opinion article for The Washington Post.
They argued this would shield the attorney general from accusations of political bias.
"The time has come for Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to investigate Donald Trump."
"That step offers the best way to reassure the country that no one is above the law, justice is nonpartisan and fears of political fallout will not determine the decision on whether to bring charges," they wrote.
The House select committee investigating the events of January 6 argued in court this month that Trump, with the help of his allies, perpetrated a fraud on the U.S. public as part of a plan to overturn Biden's election win.
Trump has repeatedly attacked the congressional committee, saying that the two GOP members — Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois — are not really Republicans.
He has said that the committee's "sole goal" is to block him from running for president again if he chooses to do so.
Trump continues to claim that Biden won due to widespread voter fraud, but no evidence has emerged corroborating the allegations.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's press office for comment.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... d=msedgntp
"'Trump Will Be Charged,' Kirschner Concludes After AG Garland's Remarks"
Jason Lemon
10 MARCH 2022
Former U.S. Army Prosecutor Glenn Kirschner concluded that former President Donald Trump "will be charged" in connection with the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and the effort to overturn the 2020 election results after new remarks from Attorney General Merrick Garland.
In an interview with NPR that aired on Thursday, Garland said "everyone" who committed crimes related to January 6 would face accountability.
"We begin with the cases that are right in front of us with the overt actions and then we build from there," the attorney general said.
"And that is a process that we will continue to build until we hold everyone accountable who committed criminal acts with respect to January 6."
Hundreds of Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol after the then-president at a nearby rally urged them to march to the federal legislative building and to "fight like hell."
More than 780 of Trump's supporters have been indicted for their actions that day, with some saying in court that they believed they were carrying out Trump's orders.
Kirschner, who now works as a legal analyst for MSNBC and NBC News, shared a screenshot of the NPR article with Garland's remarks on Thursday.
"Accordingly, the only rational conclusion that can be drawn from AG Garland's promise is that . . . TRUMP. WILL. BE. CHARGED. Because #JusticeMatters," the attorney wrote.
In a follow-up post, Kirschner warned Trump allies that they should be concerned as well.
"New interview of AG Garland by NPR's Carrie Johnson in which he promises to hold 'everyone' accountable for their J6 crimes."
"You hear that [Steve] Bannon, [Roger] Stone, [Jeffrey] Clark, [John] Eastman, [Mo] Brooks, Rudy [Giuliani], [Donald Trump] Jr., fake electors & others?"
"And, most importantly, TFG?" Kirschner wrote.
TFG is an acronym for "the former guy," which is a reference to Trump as the former president.
Garland, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, has faced criticism from some Trump critics for not already announcing an investigation into the former president.
Some legal analysts have surmised that there is already enough evidence in the public record for an indictment.
Others have assessed that the attorney general is wary of investigating a former president, as many will view such an action as politically motivated.
"We are not avoiding cases that are political or cases that are controversial or sensitive," Garland told NPR.
"What we are avoiding is making decisions on a political basis, on a partisan basis."
Harvard constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe and former federal prosecutor Dennis Aftergut urged Garland to appoint a special counsel to probe Trump in a Wednesday opinion article for The Washington Post.
They argued this would shield the attorney general from accusations of political bias.
"The time has come for Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to investigate Donald Trump."
"That step offers the best way to reassure the country that no one is above the law, justice is nonpartisan and fears of political fallout will not determine the decision on whether to bring charges," they wrote.
The House select committee investigating the events of January 6 argued in court this month that Trump, with the help of his allies, perpetrated a fraud on the U.S. public as part of a plan to overturn Biden's election win.
Trump has repeatedly attacked the congressional committee, saying that the two GOP members — Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois — are not really Republicans.
He has said that the committee's "sole goal" is to block him from running for president again if he chooses to do so.
Trump continues to claim that Biden won due to widespread voter fraud, but no evidence has emerged corroborating the allegations.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's press office for comment.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... d=msedgntp
Re: THE MAGA-MAN DONALD TRUMP
FOX NEWS
"Former Marine Col. condemns Biden's 'woke' focus in military amid Ukraine war: 'This is insane'"
Tyler O'Neil
15 MARCH 2022
FIRST ON FOX: Retired Marine Col. Mitchell Swan, a Republican candidate for Georgia's 10th Congressional District, released a video ad Tuesday opposing President Biden's "woke" focus in the military amid Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
"The biggest European land war since World War II, and where is our military focused: Gender Dysphoria and woke training," Swan says in the video, first provided to Fox News Digital.
"THIS IS INSANE!"
"Putin’s reviewing nuclear options while we assess transgender therapy options," the retired Marine colonel adds.
"As a retired colonel who led Marines overseas, I know that this woke indoctrination will destroy our military, and that’s why I oppose transgenders in our ranks."
He concluded the ad by pledging to "fight woke policies on every front" if he wins the election.
"Compulsory DOD ‘Diversity and Inclusion Training’ has become a tool of LGBTQ supporters to normalize sodomy, sinful behavior, and transgender lifestyles throughout our Armed Forces, while also waging a culture war on those traditional Christian family values many service members were raised upon," Swan said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.
"This tears at the moral fabric and cohesion of our military forces."
"Furthermore, it erodes combat readiness and desecrates over 200 years of American military culture," he added.
"A strong military is essential to preventing escalating situations like Ukraine and Afghanistan."
"Allowing transgender individuals to serve sends a message to our adversaries that we are more focused on social experimentation than on the defense of our nation."
Swan retired as a colonel after 30 years of service in the United States Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve.
He led Marines overseas, helped direct operations in the Pacific, and shaped U.S. policy in the Middle East, according to his campaign.
The candidate has urged the U.S. military to reverse its policy embracing transgender identity, warning that welcoming individuals with gender dysphoria into the ranks may weaken military performance and sends a message of weakness to America's adversaries in crises such as Ukraine and Afghanistan.
In previous comments to Fox News Digital, Swan noted that "serving in the military is not a right," so the military holds "strict ‘selective service’ standards."
"In fact, many individuals with certain conditions, such as bedwetting and sleepwalking are disqualified from military service," he noted.
"They are not disqualified because they are bad people, but because these symptoms are considered mental and emotional issues that are not conducive to combat environments."
"Gender dysphoria is no different and should be treated the same; that it is not conducive to enhancing military performance or unit morale."
Former President Obama allowed troops who identify as transgender to serve in the military according to their self-identified gender.
Former President Trump reversed this policy, requiring troops to serve "in their biological sex," while allowing transgender troops who joined under Obama to remain in their positions.
The Trump DOD policy excluded people with "psychosexual conditions" such as "transsexualism, exhibitionism, transvestism, voyeurism," and more.
President Biden reversed Trump's policy, returning to the Obama policy.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/forme ... d=msedgntp
"Former Marine Col. condemns Biden's 'woke' focus in military amid Ukraine war: 'This is insane'"
Tyler O'Neil
15 MARCH 2022
FIRST ON FOX: Retired Marine Col. Mitchell Swan, a Republican candidate for Georgia's 10th Congressional District, released a video ad Tuesday opposing President Biden's "woke" focus in the military amid Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
"The biggest European land war since World War II, and where is our military focused: Gender Dysphoria and woke training," Swan says in the video, first provided to Fox News Digital.
"THIS IS INSANE!"
"Putin’s reviewing nuclear options while we assess transgender therapy options," the retired Marine colonel adds.
"As a retired colonel who led Marines overseas, I know that this woke indoctrination will destroy our military, and that’s why I oppose transgenders in our ranks."
He concluded the ad by pledging to "fight woke policies on every front" if he wins the election.
"Compulsory DOD ‘Diversity and Inclusion Training’ has become a tool of LGBTQ supporters to normalize sodomy, sinful behavior, and transgender lifestyles throughout our Armed Forces, while also waging a culture war on those traditional Christian family values many service members were raised upon," Swan said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.
"This tears at the moral fabric and cohesion of our military forces."
"Furthermore, it erodes combat readiness and desecrates over 200 years of American military culture," he added.
"A strong military is essential to preventing escalating situations like Ukraine and Afghanistan."
"Allowing transgender individuals to serve sends a message to our adversaries that we are more focused on social experimentation than on the defense of our nation."
Swan retired as a colonel after 30 years of service in the United States Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve.
He led Marines overseas, helped direct operations in the Pacific, and shaped U.S. policy in the Middle East, according to his campaign.
The candidate has urged the U.S. military to reverse its policy embracing transgender identity, warning that welcoming individuals with gender dysphoria into the ranks may weaken military performance and sends a message of weakness to America's adversaries in crises such as Ukraine and Afghanistan.
In previous comments to Fox News Digital, Swan noted that "serving in the military is not a right," so the military holds "strict ‘selective service’ standards."
"In fact, many individuals with certain conditions, such as bedwetting and sleepwalking are disqualified from military service," he noted.
"They are not disqualified because they are bad people, but because these symptoms are considered mental and emotional issues that are not conducive to combat environments."
"Gender dysphoria is no different and should be treated the same; that it is not conducive to enhancing military performance or unit morale."
Former President Obama allowed troops who identify as transgender to serve in the military according to their self-identified gender.
Former President Trump reversed this policy, requiring troops to serve "in their biological sex," while allowing transgender troops who joined under Obama to remain in their positions.
The Trump DOD policy excluded people with "psychosexual conditions" such as "transsexualism, exhibitionism, transvestism, voyeurism," and more.
President Biden reversed Trump's policy, returning to the Obama policy.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/forme ... d=msedgntp
Re: THE MAGA-MAN DONALD TRUMP
REUTERS
"U.S. Capitol riot probe to reveal new details on attack, Cheney says"
By Richard Cowan
March 21, 2022
WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress' probe of the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol will reveal new details of that day's events and may recommend new criminal penalties for officials who fail to uphold their duties, Representative Liz Cheney said on Sunday.
"There will be legislative recommendations and there certainly will be information" on the attack the public has not yet heard, Cheney told NBC-TV's "Meet the Press."
Cheney is one of two Republicans on the nine-person U.S. House of Representatives select committee that has been holding closed-door sessions over the past several months as it interviews witnesses about events leading up to and during the attack by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.
The committee is expected to hold public hearings later this spring.
Cheney said a top priority will be making recommendations, including possible "additional enhanced criminal penalties."
Such penalties, Cheney added, would be aimed at "the kind of supreme dereliction of duty that you saw with former President Trump when he refused to tell the mob to go home after he provoked that attack on the Capitol."
Cheney told NBC that her work on the committee has only raised her distress about what unfolded that day.
"I have not learned a single thing since I have been on this committee that has made me less concerned or less worried about the gravity of the situation and the actions that President Trump took and also refused to take while the attack was underway," she said.
Thousands of Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol, battling with police and sending lawmakers running for their lives after Trump in a fiery speech near the White House repeated his false claims that his election defeat was the result of widespread fraud.
Multiple courts, state election officials and members of Trump's own administration have rejected that claim as untrue.
Trump has been openly flirting with the possibility of running again in 2024 at a series of rallies.
Cheney and Representative Adam Kinzinger, who also serves on the special committee, were among the only 10 Republicans who voted early last year to impeach Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 attack.
One police officer who battled rioters on Jan. 6 died the day after the attack and four who guarded the Capitol later died by suicide.
Four rioters also died, including a woman who was shot by a police officer while trying to climb through a shattered window.
About 140 police officers were injured during the hours-long attack.
Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Scott Malone and Bill Berkrot
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-cap ... 022-03-20/
"U.S. Capitol riot probe to reveal new details on attack, Cheney says"
By Richard Cowan
March 21, 2022
WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress' probe of the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol will reveal new details of that day's events and may recommend new criminal penalties for officials who fail to uphold their duties, Representative Liz Cheney said on Sunday.
"There will be legislative recommendations and there certainly will be information" on the attack the public has not yet heard, Cheney told NBC-TV's "Meet the Press."
Cheney is one of two Republicans on the nine-person U.S. House of Representatives select committee that has been holding closed-door sessions over the past several months as it interviews witnesses about events leading up to and during the attack by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.
The committee is expected to hold public hearings later this spring.
Cheney said a top priority will be making recommendations, including possible "additional enhanced criminal penalties."
Such penalties, Cheney added, would be aimed at "the kind of supreme dereliction of duty that you saw with former President Trump when he refused to tell the mob to go home after he provoked that attack on the Capitol."
Cheney told NBC that her work on the committee has only raised her distress about what unfolded that day.
"I have not learned a single thing since I have been on this committee that has made me less concerned or less worried about the gravity of the situation and the actions that President Trump took and also refused to take while the attack was underway," she said.
Thousands of Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol, battling with police and sending lawmakers running for their lives after Trump in a fiery speech near the White House repeated his false claims that his election defeat was the result of widespread fraud.
Multiple courts, state election officials and members of Trump's own administration have rejected that claim as untrue.
Trump has been openly flirting with the possibility of running again in 2024 at a series of rallies.
Cheney and Representative Adam Kinzinger, who also serves on the special committee, were among the only 10 Republicans who voted early last year to impeach Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 attack.
One police officer who battled rioters on Jan. 6 died the day after the attack and four who guarded the Capitol later died by suicide.
Four rioters also died, including a woman who was shot by a police officer while trying to climb through a shattered window.
About 140 police officers were injured during the hours-long attack.
Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Scott Malone and Bill Berkrot
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-cap ... 022-03-20/
Re: THE MAGA-MAN DONALD TRUMP
CNBC
"Judge says Trump likely broke the law by trying to obstruct Congress from confirming Biden win"
Dan Mangan @_DANMANGAN
PUBLISHED MON, MAR 28 2022
KEY POINTS
* Ex-President Donald Trump likely broke the law by “corruptly” attempting to obstruct the confirmation of Joe Biden’s Electoral College win by Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, a federal judge said.
* Judge David Carter wrote that Trump with his ally, lawyer John Eastman, “launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history.”
* Eastman wrote a memo detailing how Vice President Mike Pence could reject the certification of Biden’s White House win by a joint session of Congress.
* “Their campaign was not confined to the ivory tower — it was a coup in search of a legal theory,” Carter wrote.
* The judge rejected Eastman’s bid to withhold documents from a select House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Ex-President Donald Trump likely broke the law by “corruptly” attempting to obstruct the certification by Congress of President Joe Biden’s Electoral College win on Jan. 6, 2021, a federal judge said in a civil court ruling Monday.
Judge David Carter wrote that Trump with his ally, lawyer John Eastman, “launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history.”
“Their campaign was not confined to the ivory tower — it was a coup in search of a legal theory,” Carter wrote in the ruling upholding a subpoena for nearly all of 111 documents from Eastman sought by the select House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
If the plan “had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution,” wrote Carter in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruling.
The decision does not mean that Trump or Eastman will be prosecuted for the suspected crime.
Eastman, while a professor at Chapman University, had written a memo that had detailed how Vice President Mike Pence could reject the certification of Biden’s election wins in seven states by a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6.
If that had happened, Congress could say Trump won the Electoral College, or send the election to the House of Representatives, which could have picked Trump as the winner due to the fact that Republicans controlled a majority of state delegations in that chamber.
Pence did not go along with that plan, saying he did not have such power to reject individual states’ election results.
The vice president’s decision infuriated Trump, who with Eastman has falsely claimed that Biden’s victory was a sham enabled by widespread ballot fraud.
Carter noted that Trump and Eastman, according to the select House committee, on Jan. 2, 2021, hosted a briefing that urged several hundred state legislators from states won by Biden “to ‘decertify’ electors” for Biden.
The judge also cited the fact that Trump that same day called Georgia’s secretary of state and urged him to “find” enough votes for Trump to overturn Biden’s election in that state, warning of “public anger and threatened criminal consequences” when that official, Brad Raffensperger, pushed back on the requests.
Two days later, Eastman met with Trump in the Oval Office, along with Pence and the vice president’s chief of staff and counsel, where Eastman “presented only two courses of action for the Vice President on January 6: to reject electors or delay the count.”
On Jan. 5, a day before Congress was due to confirm Biden as the next president, Eastman again met with Pence’s counsel and chief of staff, saying, “I’m here asking you to reject the electors,” the ruling noted.
“Based on the evidence, the Court finds it more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021,” Carter wrote in his 44-page ruling.
“If the country does not commit to investigating and pursuing accountability for those responsible, the Court fears January 6 will repeat itself.”
Carter’s stinging comments came in his decision that ordered Eastman to disclose 101 documents to the select House committee.
The judge wrote that 10 other documents should not be turned over to the committee, finding that they are privileged because they constitute attorney work product.
Eastman’s lawyer Charles Burnham said in a statement that Eastman intends to comply with Carter’s order, but also said that the judge’s ruling relied on evidence “cherry picked by the committee.”
“Dr. Eastman has an unblemished record as an attorney and respectfully disagrees with the judge’s findings,” Burnham said.
“Dr. Eastman asks all persons interested in this case to join him in calling upon the January 6th committee to release all the evidence so the courts and the public can reach accurate conclusions about the matters involved.”
Spokespeople for Trump and the House committee did not immediately return requests for comment on Carter’s ruling.
A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment.
Eastman spoke at a rally for Trump held outside the White House on Jan, 6, 2021, where the then-president and his allies called on Congress and Pence to block Biden’s victory.
“And all we are demanding of Vice President Pence is this afternoon at 1:00 he let the legislators of the state look into this so we get to the bottom of it, and the American people know whether we have control of the direction of our government, or not,” Eastman told the crowd that day.
“We no longer live in a self-governing republic if we can’t get the answer to this question."
"This is bigger than President Trump."
"It is a very essence of our republican form of government, and it has to be done,” Eastman said.
“And anybody that is not willing to stand up to do it, does not deserve to be in the office."
"It is that simple.”
Trump soon after took the podium, where he praised Eastman and his plan.
“John is one of the most brilliant lawyers in the country, and he looked at this and he said, ‘What an absolute disgrace that this can be happening to our Constitution,’” Trump said.
“Because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election."
"All he has to do, all this is, this is from the No. 1, or certainly one of the top, constitutional lawyers in our country."
"He has the absolute right to do it,” Trump said.
Shortly afterward, a mob of Trump supporters invaded the Capitol complex and swarmed the halls of Congress.
The riot disrupted for hours the proceedings confirming that Biden would become president later that month.
Five people died in connection with the riot, including a Capitol Police officer, and more than 100 other cops were injured.
“As the attack progressed, Dr. Eastman continued to urge Vice President Pence to reconsider his decision not to delay the count,” Carter wrote in his ruling.
“In an email to Vice President Pence’s counsel Greg Jacob at 2:25 pm on January 6, Dr. Eastman wrote: ‘The ‘siege’ is because YOU and your boss did not do what was necessary to allow this to be aired in a public way so the American people can see for themselves what happened,′” the ruling noted.
Eastman later refused to willingly produce any documents sought by the House committee investigating the riot, and asserted his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination 146 times when he was deposed by that panel, Carter wrote in his ruling.
— Additional reporting by Kevin Breuninger.
Data also provided by Reuters
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/28/judge-s ... n-win.html
"Judge says Trump likely broke the law by trying to obstruct Congress from confirming Biden win"
Dan Mangan @_DANMANGAN
PUBLISHED MON, MAR 28 2022
KEY POINTS
* Ex-President Donald Trump likely broke the law by “corruptly” attempting to obstruct the confirmation of Joe Biden’s Electoral College win by Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, a federal judge said.
* Judge David Carter wrote that Trump with his ally, lawyer John Eastman, “launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history.”
* Eastman wrote a memo detailing how Vice President Mike Pence could reject the certification of Biden’s White House win by a joint session of Congress.
* “Their campaign was not confined to the ivory tower — it was a coup in search of a legal theory,” Carter wrote.
* The judge rejected Eastman’s bid to withhold documents from a select House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Ex-President Donald Trump likely broke the law by “corruptly” attempting to obstruct the certification by Congress of President Joe Biden’s Electoral College win on Jan. 6, 2021, a federal judge said in a civil court ruling Monday.
Judge David Carter wrote that Trump with his ally, lawyer John Eastman, “launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history.”
“Their campaign was not confined to the ivory tower — it was a coup in search of a legal theory,” Carter wrote in the ruling upholding a subpoena for nearly all of 111 documents from Eastman sought by the select House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
If the plan “had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution,” wrote Carter in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruling.
The decision does not mean that Trump or Eastman will be prosecuted for the suspected crime.
Eastman, while a professor at Chapman University, had written a memo that had detailed how Vice President Mike Pence could reject the certification of Biden’s election wins in seven states by a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6.
If that had happened, Congress could say Trump won the Electoral College, or send the election to the House of Representatives, which could have picked Trump as the winner due to the fact that Republicans controlled a majority of state delegations in that chamber.
Pence did not go along with that plan, saying he did not have such power to reject individual states’ election results.
The vice president’s decision infuriated Trump, who with Eastman has falsely claimed that Biden’s victory was a sham enabled by widespread ballot fraud.
Carter noted that Trump and Eastman, according to the select House committee, on Jan. 2, 2021, hosted a briefing that urged several hundred state legislators from states won by Biden “to ‘decertify’ electors” for Biden.
The judge also cited the fact that Trump that same day called Georgia’s secretary of state and urged him to “find” enough votes for Trump to overturn Biden’s election in that state, warning of “public anger and threatened criminal consequences” when that official, Brad Raffensperger, pushed back on the requests.
Two days later, Eastman met with Trump in the Oval Office, along with Pence and the vice president’s chief of staff and counsel, where Eastman “presented only two courses of action for the Vice President on January 6: to reject electors or delay the count.”
On Jan. 5, a day before Congress was due to confirm Biden as the next president, Eastman again met with Pence’s counsel and chief of staff, saying, “I’m here asking you to reject the electors,” the ruling noted.
“Based on the evidence, the Court finds it more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021,” Carter wrote in his 44-page ruling.
“If the country does not commit to investigating and pursuing accountability for those responsible, the Court fears January 6 will repeat itself.”
Carter’s stinging comments came in his decision that ordered Eastman to disclose 101 documents to the select House committee.
The judge wrote that 10 other documents should not be turned over to the committee, finding that they are privileged because they constitute attorney work product.
Eastman’s lawyer Charles Burnham said in a statement that Eastman intends to comply with Carter’s order, but also said that the judge’s ruling relied on evidence “cherry picked by the committee.”
“Dr. Eastman has an unblemished record as an attorney and respectfully disagrees with the judge’s findings,” Burnham said.
“Dr. Eastman asks all persons interested in this case to join him in calling upon the January 6th committee to release all the evidence so the courts and the public can reach accurate conclusions about the matters involved.”
Spokespeople for Trump and the House committee did not immediately return requests for comment on Carter’s ruling.
A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment.
Eastman spoke at a rally for Trump held outside the White House on Jan, 6, 2021, where the then-president and his allies called on Congress and Pence to block Biden’s victory.
“And all we are demanding of Vice President Pence is this afternoon at 1:00 he let the legislators of the state look into this so we get to the bottom of it, and the American people know whether we have control of the direction of our government, or not,” Eastman told the crowd that day.
“We no longer live in a self-governing republic if we can’t get the answer to this question."
"This is bigger than President Trump."
"It is a very essence of our republican form of government, and it has to be done,” Eastman said.
“And anybody that is not willing to stand up to do it, does not deserve to be in the office."
"It is that simple.”
Trump soon after took the podium, where he praised Eastman and his plan.
“John is one of the most brilliant lawyers in the country, and he looked at this and he said, ‘What an absolute disgrace that this can be happening to our Constitution,’” Trump said.
“Because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election."
"All he has to do, all this is, this is from the No. 1, or certainly one of the top, constitutional lawyers in our country."
"He has the absolute right to do it,” Trump said.
Shortly afterward, a mob of Trump supporters invaded the Capitol complex and swarmed the halls of Congress.
The riot disrupted for hours the proceedings confirming that Biden would become president later that month.
Five people died in connection with the riot, including a Capitol Police officer, and more than 100 other cops were injured.
“As the attack progressed, Dr. Eastman continued to urge Vice President Pence to reconsider his decision not to delay the count,” Carter wrote in his ruling.
“In an email to Vice President Pence’s counsel Greg Jacob at 2:25 pm on January 6, Dr. Eastman wrote: ‘The ‘siege’ is because YOU and your boss did not do what was necessary to allow this to be aired in a public way so the American people can see for themselves what happened,′” the ruling noted.
Eastman later refused to willingly produce any documents sought by the House committee investigating the riot, and asserted his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination 146 times when he was deposed by that panel, Carter wrote in his ruling.
— Additional reporting by Kevin Breuninger.
Data also provided by Reuters
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/28/judge-s ... n-win.html
Re: THE MAGA-MAN DONALD TRUMP
REUTERS
"Biden says budget targets Trump's 'fiscal mess,' raises taxes on wealthy"
By Andrea Shalal and Trevor Hunnicutt
March 28, 2022
WASHINGTON, March 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday submitted a $5.79 trillion budget plan to Congress that calls for record peacetime military spending and further aid for Ukraine, while raising taxes for billionaires and companies and lowering government deficits.
Biden's budget proposal for the 2023 fiscal year starting Oct. 1, lays out his administration's priorities, including campaign promises to make the wealthy and companies pay more tax.
It is merely a wish list as lawmakers on Capitol Hill make the final decisions on budget matters.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress looked forward to working on Biden's "bold fiscal blueprint."
Republicans and moderate Democrats killed similar tax proposals in the 2022 budget.
The plan was based on economic assumptions from November, well before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has exacerbated previous inflationary pressures on energy and food prices, but Biden's top economic adviser Cecilia Rouse said the administration still sees the U.S. economy strengthening and inflation easing over the coming year.
"The budget I am releasing today sends a clear message to the American people (about) what we value: first, fiscal responsibility, second, safety and security, and thirdly ... the investments needed to build a better America," Biden told reporters at the White House.
The Democratic president said he was calling for higher defense spending to strengthen the U.S. military and "forcefully respond to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s aggression against Ukraine" with $1 billion in additional U.S. support for Ukraine’s economic, humanitarian, and security needs.
The document offers fresh insight into Biden's thinking as he attempts to halt the largest war in Europe since World War Two and prepares for a Nov. 8 midterm election that could see his Democratic Party lose control of Congress.
His administration is "making real headway cleaning up the fiscal mess I inherited", Biden said, and would reduce the federal deficit by more than $1.3 trillion this year with $1 trillion in further reductions planned over the next decade.
“For most Americans the last few years were very hard, stretching them to the breaking point."
"But billionaires and large corporations got richer than ever," he said, adding, "That's not fair."
The U.S. federal government, on the hook for rising healthcare and social spending, especially for older Americans, has spent more money than it has taken in for each of the last 20 years.
BILLIONAIRES TAX
Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, said Biden's tax hikes would harm U.S. workers and the overall economy, while increasing deficits.
Under Biden's policies, deficits as a share of the economy would fall to 5.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) this year and stay below 5% over the next decade.
That compares to 14.9% of GDP in 2020, the last year of the Trump administration, the White House said.
Biden's plan increases spending on community policing, efforts to fight gun crime, and bigger investments in crime prevention and community violence interventions, as well as some $50 billion in added funding to address the critical shortage of affordable housing.
The plan does not include line items for bolstering climate change, healthcare, education, and manufacturing competitiveness, after disagreements within the Democratic party sank Biden's "Build Back Better" bill.
Instead, it has a deficit-neutral reserve fund to allow lawmakers to negotiate those items, Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said.
It introduces a new minimum tax requiring the very wealthy to pay at least 20% of their income in taxes, including on the gains on investments that have not been sold.
That tax would apply to 0.01% of American households - those worth over $100 million - with more than half of the new revenue coming from households worth more than $1 billion, the White House said.
It would reduce the government deficit by $360 billion over the next decade.
The budget plan also targets U.S. corporate buybacks, requiring company executives to hold on to company shares that they receive for several years after a stock buyback.
The budget would raise the corporate tax rate to 28% while making changes to the corporate tax code to reward job creation and investment.
It calls for $773 billion for the Department of Defense, plus $40 billion for defense-related programs at the FBI, Department of Energy and other agencies.
Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has intensified concerns about European security, while the Biden administration continues to invest in research and development of hypersonic missiles and other modern capabilities.
The United States is not directly engaged against Russia in the Ukraine war but is giving Kyiv weapons and extensive assistance.
Working with European allies, it also has imposed heavy economic sanctions against Russia.
Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Andrea Shalal; Additional reporting by Mike Stone, David Lawder and Susan Heavey; Editing by Mark Porter, Heather Timmons, Bill Berkrot and Aurora Ellis
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bidens ... 022-03-28/
"Biden says budget targets Trump's 'fiscal mess,' raises taxes on wealthy"
By Andrea Shalal and Trevor Hunnicutt
March 28, 2022
WASHINGTON, March 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday submitted a $5.79 trillion budget plan to Congress that calls for record peacetime military spending and further aid for Ukraine, while raising taxes for billionaires and companies and lowering government deficits.
Biden's budget proposal for the 2023 fiscal year starting Oct. 1, lays out his administration's priorities, including campaign promises to make the wealthy and companies pay more tax.
It is merely a wish list as lawmakers on Capitol Hill make the final decisions on budget matters.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress looked forward to working on Biden's "bold fiscal blueprint."
Republicans and moderate Democrats killed similar tax proposals in the 2022 budget.
The plan was based on economic assumptions from November, well before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has exacerbated previous inflationary pressures on energy and food prices, but Biden's top economic adviser Cecilia Rouse said the administration still sees the U.S. economy strengthening and inflation easing over the coming year.
"The budget I am releasing today sends a clear message to the American people (about) what we value: first, fiscal responsibility, second, safety and security, and thirdly ... the investments needed to build a better America," Biden told reporters at the White House.
The Democratic president said he was calling for higher defense spending to strengthen the U.S. military and "forcefully respond to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s aggression against Ukraine" with $1 billion in additional U.S. support for Ukraine’s economic, humanitarian, and security needs.
The document offers fresh insight into Biden's thinking as he attempts to halt the largest war in Europe since World War Two and prepares for a Nov. 8 midterm election that could see his Democratic Party lose control of Congress.
His administration is "making real headway cleaning up the fiscal mess I inherited", Biden said, and would reduce the federal deficit by more than $1.3 trillion this year with $1 trillion in further reductions planned over the next decade.
“For most Americans the last few years were very hard, stretching them to the breaking point."
"But billionaires and large corporations got richer than ever," he said, adding, "That's not fair."
The U.S. federal government, on the hook for rising healthcare and social spending, especially for older Americans, has spent more money than it has taken in for each of the last 20 years.
BILLIONAIRES TAX
Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, said Biden's tax hikes would harm U.S. workers and the overall economy, while increasing deficits.
Under Biden's policies, deficits as a share of the economy would fall to 5.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) this year and stay below 5% over the next decade.
That compares to 14.9% of GDP in 2020, the last year of the Trump administration, the White House said.
Biden's plan increases spending on community policing, efforts to fight gun crime, and bigger investments in crime prevention and community violence interventions, as well as some $50 billion in added funding to address the critical shortage of affordable housing.
The plan does not include line items for bolstering climate change, healthcare, education, and manufacturing competitiveness, after disagreements within the Democratic party sank Biden's "Build Back Better" bill.
Instead, it has a deficit-neutral reserve fund to allow lawmakers to negotiate those items, Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said.
It introduces a new minimum tax requiring the very wealthy to pay at least 20% of their income in taxes, including on the gains on investments that have not been sold.
That tax would apply to 0.01% of American households - those worth over $100 million - with more than half of the new revenue coming from households worth more than $1 billion, the White House said.
It would reduce the government deficit by $360 billion over the next decade.
The budget plan also targets U.S. corporate buybacks, requiring company executives to hold on to company shares that they receive for several years after a stock buyback.
The budget would raise the corporate tax rate to 28% while making changes to the corporate tax code to reward job creation and investment.
It calls for $773 billion for the Department of Defense, plus $40 billion for defense-related programs at the FBI, Department of Energy and other agencies.
Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has intensified concerns about European security, while the Biden administration continues to invest in research and development of hypersonic missiles and other modern capabilities.
The United States is not directly engaged against Russia in the Ukraine war but is giving Kyiv weapons and extensive assistance.
Working with European allies, it also has imposed heavy economic sanctions against Russia.
Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Andrea Shalal; Additional reporting by Mike Stone, David Lawder and Susan Heavey; Editing by Mark Porter, Heather Timmons, Bill Berkrot and Aurora Ellis
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bidens ... 022-03-28/
Re: THE MAGA-MAN DONALD TRUMP
REUTERS
"White House blasts Trump's call for Putin to release info on Hunter Biden"
Reuters
March 30, 2022
WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday criticized Donald Trump's request for Russian President Vladimir Putin to release potentially damaging information on U.S. President Joe Biden's son, calling the move particularly poorly timed as war rages in Ukraine.
Reporters asked White House spokesperson Kate Bedingfield about the former president's comments on the "Just the News" TV program that raised unsubstantiated questions about Hunter Biden's former business dealings in Russia.
Trump said, "I think Putin would know the answer to that."
"I think he should release it."
His comment came as Western nations are trying to persuade Putin to end his five-week-long assault on Ukraine, the biggest European war since World War Two.
Russia calls its actions there a "special military operation."
"What kind of American, let alone an ex-president, thinks that this is the right time to enter into a scheme with Vladimir Putin and brag about his connections to Vladimir Putin?"
"There is only one, and it's Donald Trump," Bedingfield said.
Trump's remarks came the week that a federal judge ruled he "more likely than not" committed a felony by trying to overturn his election defeat on Jan. 6, 2021, and as his business remains under investigation.
During the military buildup preceding the invasion of Ukraine, Trump praised Putin as a "genius."
Once the attack had commenced, he condemned it as "appalling."
Trump's long-running search for information on Hunter Biden that could be politically damaging to Joe Biden led to the first of his two impeachments, over what presidential aides said was an effort to withhold nearly $400 million in military aid and a White House visit unless Ukrainian officials announced investigations into Biden.
During his 2016 presidential campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton, the Republican publicly suggested Russian hackers could help find Clinton emails, saying, "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails."
Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Writing by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Scott Malone, Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/white- ... 022-03-30/
"White House blasts Trump's call for Putin to release info on Hunter Biden"
Reuters
March 30, 2022
WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday criticized Donald Trump's request for Russian President Vladimir Putin to release potentially damaging information on U.S. President Joe Biden's son, calling the move particularly poorly timed as war rages in Ukraine.
Reporters asked White House spokesperson Kate Bedingfield about the former president's comments on the "Just the News" TV program that raised unsubstantiated questions about Hunter Biden's former business dealings in Russia.
Trump said, "I think Putin would know the answer to that."
"I think he should release it."
His comment came as Western nations are trying to persuade Putin to end his five-week-long assault on Ukraine, the biggest European war since World War Two.
Russia calls its actions there a "special military operation."
"What kind of American, let alone an ex-president, thinks that this is the right time to enter into a scheme with Vladimir Putin and brag about his connections to Vladimir Putin?"
"There is only one, and it's Donald Trump," Bedingfield said.
Trump's remarks came the week that a federal judge ruled he "more likely than not" committed a felony by trying to overturn his election defeat on Jan. 6, 2021, and as his business remains under investigation.
During the military buildup preceding the invasion of Ukraine, Trump praised Putin as a "genius."
Once the attack had commenced, he condemned it as "appalling."
Trump's long-running search for information on Hunter Biden that could be politically damaging to Joe Biden led to the first of his two impeachments, over what presidential aides said was an effort to withhold nearly $400 million in military aid and a White House visit unless Ukrainian officials announced investigations into Biden.
During his 2016 presidential campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton, the Republican publicly suggested Russian hackers could help find Clinton emails, saying, "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails."
Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Writing by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Scott Malone, Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/white- ... 022-03-30/
Re: THE MAGA-MAN DONALD TRUMP
Associated Press
"Jan. 6 panel puts Garland in 'precarious' spot, ups pressure"
FARNOUSH AMIRI and MICHAEL BALSAMO
Sat, April 2, 2022
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol are increasingly going public with critical statements, court filings and more to deliver a blunt message to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice.
President Donald Trump and his allies likely committed crimes, they say.
And it’s up to you to do something about it.
“Attorney General Garland, do your job so we can do ours,” prodded Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia.
“We are upholding our responsibility."
"The Department of Justice must do the same,” echoed Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
Their rhetoric, focused this week on two contempt of Congress referrals approved by the committee, is just the latest example of the pressure campaign the lawmakers are waging.
It reflects a stark reality: While they can investigate Jan. 6 and issue subpoenas to gather information, only the Justice Department can bring criminal charges.
Committee members see the case they are building against Trump and his allies as a once-in-a-generation circumstance.
If it's not fully prosecuted, they say, it could set a dangerous precedent that threatens the foundations of American democracy.
The lawmakers seem nearly certain to send a criminal referral to the Justice Department once their work is through.
It all puts Garland, who has spent his tenure trying to shield the Justice Department from political pressure, in a precarious spot.
Any criminal charges related to Jan. 6 would trigger a firestorm, thrusting prosecutors back into the partisan crossfire that proved so damaging during the Trump-Russia influence investigation and an email probe of Hillary Clinton.
Garland has given no public indication about whether prosecutors might be considering a case against the former president.
He has, though, vowed to hold accountable “all January 6th perpetrators, at any level” and has said that would include those who were “present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy.”
It's already the largest criminal prosecution in the department's history — for rioters who entered the Capitol building on Jan. 6 as well as members of extremist groups who are accused of planning the attack.
More than 750 people have been charged with federal crimes.
Over 220 riot defendants have pleaded guilty, more than 100 have been sentenced and at least 90 others have trial dates.
Parts of the department's investigation have overlapped with the committee's.
One example is in late January when Justice announced it had opened a probe into a fake slate of electors who falsely tried to declare Trump the winner of the 2020 election in seven swing states that Joe Biden won.
Three days later, lawmakers subpoenaed more than a dozen people involved in the effort.
But the Jan. 6 committee wants more.
Their message was amplified this week when a federal judge in California — District Judge David Carter, a Bill Clinton appointee — wrote that it is “more likely than not” that Trump himself committed crimes in his attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election.
The practical effect of that ruling was to order the release of more than 100 emails from Trump adviser John Eastman to the Jan. 6 Committee.
But lawmakers zeroed in on a particular passage in the judge’s opinion that characterized Jan. 6 as a “coup.”
“Dr. Eastman and President Trump launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history."
"Their campaign was not confined to the ivory tower — it was a coup in search of a legal theory,”
But experts caution that Carter's opinion was only in a civil case and does not meet the longstanding charging policy the Justice Department is required to meet.
Justin Danilewitz, a Philadelphia-based attorney and former federal prosecutor, noted the department faces a higher burden of proof in court to show that presidential immunity should not apply.
And he said the legal advice Trump received from Eastman “undermines an inference of corrupt or deceitful intent."
The department will be guided by the evidence and law, he said, "but the social and political ramifications of a decision of this kind will not be far from the minds of Attorney General Garland and his staff.”
“A decision to bring or not bring criminal charges will have significant ripple effects," he added.
Taylor Budowich, a Trump spokesperson, called the judge’s ruling an “absurd and baseless ruling by a Clinton-appointed Judge in California.”
He called the House committee’s investigation a “circus of partisanship.”
Another point of friction with the Justice Department is the effort to enforce subpoenas through contempt of Congress charges.
The House approved a contempt referral against former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in December after he ceased cooperating with the Jan. 6 panel.
While an earlier contempt referral against former Trump adviser Steve Bannon resulted in an indictment, the Department of Justice has been slower to decide whether to prosecute Meadows.
“The Department of Justice is entrusted with defending our Constitution,” Rep. Liz Cheney, the Republican committee chair, said at a hearing this week.
“Department leadership should not apply any doctrine of immunity that might block Congress from fully uncovering and addressing the causes of the January 6 attack.”
A decision to pursue the contempt charges against Meadows would have to come from career prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington before senior Justice Department officials would weigh in and decide how to proceed.
Bringing a case against Meadows would be more challenging for prosecutors than the case against Bannon, in large part because Bannon wasn’t a White House official during the insurrection.
The Justice Department has long maintained that senior aides generally cannot be forced to testify if a president invokes executive privilege, as Trump has done.
And bringing charges could risk undermining the longstanding principle that lets the executive branch of the government keep most discussions private.
While the majority of committee members have turned up the pressure on Garland, one member, Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, has not gone as far.
“I feel strongly that we restore the tradition of respect for the independence of the law enforcement function,” Raskin told reporters this week.
“That was one of the things that got trashed during the Trump period."
"And so I think that Congress and the president should let the Department of Justice and attorney general do their job.”
“Attorney General Garland is my constituent,” Raskin added, “and I don’t beat up on my constituents.”
https://news.yahoo.com/jan-6-panel-puts ... 19109.html
"Jan. 6 panel puts Garland in 'precarious' spot, ups pressure"
FARNOUSH AMIRI and MICHAEL BALSAMO
Sat, April 2, 2022
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol are increasingly going public with critical statements, court filings and more to deliver a blunt message to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice.
President Donald Trump and his allies likely committed crimes, they say.
And it’s up to you to do something about it.
“Attorney General Garland, do your job so we can do ours,” prodded Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia.
“We are upholding our responsibility."
"The Department of Justice must do the same,” echoed Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
Their rhetoric, focused this week on two contempt of Congress referrals approved by the committee, is just the latest example of the pressure campaign the lawmakers are waging.
It reflects a stark reality: While they can investigate Jan. 6 and issue subpoenas to gather information, only the Justice Department can bring criminal charges.
Committee members see the case they are building against Trump and his allies as a once-in-a-generation circumstance.
If it's not fully prosecuted, they say, it could set a dangerous precedent that threatens the foundations of American democracy.
The lawmakers seem nearly certain to send a criminal referral to the Justice Department once their work is through.
It all puts Garland, who has spent his tenure trying to shield the Justice Department from political pressure, in a precarious spot.
Any criminal charges related to Jan. 6 would trigger a firestorm, thrusting prosecutors back into the partisan crossfire that proved so damaging during the Trump-Russia influence investigation and an email probe of Hillary Clinton.
Garland has given no public indication about whether prosecutors might be considering a case against the former president.
He has, though, vowed to hold accountable “all January 6th perpetrators, at any level” and has said that would include those who were “present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy.”
It's already the largest criminal prosecution in the department's history — for rioters who entered the Capitol building on Jan. 6 as well as members of extremist groups who are accused of planning the attack.
More than 750 people have been charged with federal crimes.
Over 220 riot defendants have pleaded guilty, more than 100 have been sentenced and at least 90 others have trial dates.
Parts of the department's investigation have overlapped with the committee's.
One example is in late January when Justice announced it had opened a probe into a fake slate of electors who falsely tried to declare Trump the winner of the 2020 election in seven swing states that Joe Biden won.
Three days later, lawmakers subpoenaed more than a dozen people involved in the effort.
But the Jan. 6 committee wants more.
Their message was amplified this week when a federal judge in California — District Judge David Carter, a Bill Clinton appointee — wrote that it is “more likely than not” that Trump himself committed crimes in his attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election.
The practical effect of that ruling was to order the release of more than 100 emails from Trump adviser John Eastman to the Jan. 6 Committee.
But lawmakers zeroed in on a particular passage in the judge’s opinion that characterized Jan. 6 as a “coup.”
“Dr. Eastman and President Trump launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history."
"Their campaign was not confined to the ivory tower — it was a coup in search of a legal theory,”
But experts caution that Carter's opinion was only in a civil case and does not meet the longstanding charging policy the Justice Department is required to meet.
Justin Danilewitz, a Philadelphia-based attorney and former federal prosecutor, noted the department faces a higher burden of proof in court to show that presidential immunity should not apply.
And he said the legal advice Trump received from Eastman “undermines an inference of corrupt or deceitful intent."
The department will be guided by the evidence and law, he said, "but the social and political ramifications of a decision of this kind will not be far from the minds of Attorney General Garland and his staff.”
“A decision to bring or not bring criminal charges will have significant ripple effects," he added.
Taylor Budowich, a Trump spokesperson, called the judge’s ruling an “absurd and baseless ruling by a Clinton-appointed Judge in California.”
He called the House committee’s investigation a “circus of partisanship.”
Another point of friction with the Justice Department is the effort to enforce subpoenas through contempt of Congress charges.
The House approved a contempt referral against former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in December after he ceased cooperating with the Jan. 6 panel.
While an earlier contempt referral against former Trump adviser Steve Bannon resulted in an indictment, the Department of Justice has been slower to decide whether to prosecute Meadows.
“The Department of Justice is entrusted with defending our Constitution,” Rep. Liz Cheney, the Republican committee chair, said at a hearing this week.
“Department leadership should not apply any doctrine of immunity that might block Congress from fully uncovering and addressing the causes of the January 6 attack.”
A decision to pursue the contempt charges against Meadows would have to come from career prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington before senior Justice Department officials would weigh in and decide how to proceed.
Bringing a case against Meadows would be more challenging for prosecutors than the case against Bannon, in large part because Bannon wasn’t a White House official during the insurrection.
The Justice Department has long maintained that senior aides generally cannot be forced to testify if a president invokes executive privilege, as Trump has done.
And bringing charges could risk undermining the longstanding principle that lets the executive branch of the government keep most discussions private.
While the majority of committee members have turned up the pressure on Garland, one member, Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, has not gone as far.
“I feel strongly that we restore the tradition of respect for the independence of the law enforcement function,” Raskin told reporters this week.
“That was one of the things that got trashed during the Trump period."
"And so I think that Congress and the president should let the Department of Justice and attorney general do their job.”
“Attorney General Garland is my constituent,” Raskin added, “and I don’t beat up on my constituents.”
https://news.yahoo.com/jan-6-panel-puts ... 19109.html
Re: THE MAGA-MAN DONALD TRUMP
REUTERS
"Trump attempt at a coup to be a focus of U.S. House hearings, lawmaker Raskin says"
By Richard Cowan
April 18, 2022
WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) - Then-President Donald Trump attempted a coup on Jan. 6, 2021, and that will be a centerpiece of committee hearings in Congress next month, said Democrat Jamie Raskin, a committee member who led the prosecution of Trump's second impeachment.
On that day in 2021, Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building, encouraged by the Republican president in a speech outside the White House to protest formal congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden's victory over Trump in a November 2020 election.
"This was a coup organized by the president against the vice president and against the Congress in order to overturn the 2020 presidential election," Raskin said in an interview with Reuters, National Public Radio and The Guardian newspaper, when asked what he has learned so far from the committee's probe.
U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson, who chairs the special House of Representatives committee organized by Democrats to look into events leading up to the Jan. 6 assault, has told reporters he expects public hearings to resume in May.
"We're going to tell the whole story of everything that happened."
"There was a violent insurrection and an attempted coup and we were saved by (then-Vice President) Mike Pence's refusal to go along with that plan," said Raskin, a member of the House special committee.
It was unclear whether Raskin, during the interview, was expressing only his thoughts or the thinking also of fellow lawmakers serving on the special committee made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans.
In July 2021, a new book said senior uniformed military leaders had been concerned about a potential coup, but in a statement then Trump said he had never threatened or spoken to anyone about a coup.
Shortly after organizing last year, the House panel held an initial hearing with testimony from four police officers who said they were beaten and taunted with racial insults as they tried to defend the Capitol from attackers.
The violence capped months of Trump arguing the election had been stolen from him through massive voter fraud, a claim he still asserts despite its rejection by numerous court rulings, Trump's own Justice Department and recounts sanctioned by his fellow Republicans.
'TO SEIZE THE PRESIDENCY'
Raskin said the hearings will lay out for the public the steps the former president and his associates took to try to stay in power despite a clear-cut defeat.
Had the rioters succeeded in preventing the certification, Raskin said, Trump "was prepared to seize the presidency" and likely declare martial law.
He said the committee had yet to decide whether to try to seek testimony from Trump or Pence.
Every four years, the vice president is charged with overseeing the formal count in Congress of presidential elections.
Pence rejected pleas to set aside the November 2020 result, which would have paved the way for the House of Representatives to in effect conduct a second election, with Republicans holding an advantage that could have installed Trump for a second term.
The attack left four people dead on Jan. 6.
One Capitol Police officer who fought with rioters died the next day.
About 800 people have been charged with crimes relating to the attack.
The House panel has collected more than 100,000 documents, with investigators conducting more than 800 interviews, according to lawmakers.
"We don't have a lot of experience with coups in our own country and we think of a coup as something that takes place against a president," Raskin said.
But Jan. 6, 2021, was different, he said, because it did not involve the military or other faction attacking the president.
"It's what the political scientists call a self-coup ... it's a president fearful of defeat, overthrowing the constitutional process," Raskin said.
The House of Representatives twice impeached Trump, the second time following the Capitol assault.
The U.S. Senate acquitted Trump both times.
At political rallies since then, the former president has dropped hints he might run again in 2024.
Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Howard Goller
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump- ... 022-04-18/
"Trump attempt at a coup to be a focus of U.S. House hearings, lawmaker Raskin says"
By Richard Cowan
April 18, 2022
WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) - Then-President Donald Trump attempted a coup on Jan. 6, 2021, and that will be a centerpiece of committee hearings in Congress next month, said Democrat Jamie Raskin, a committee member who led the prosecution of Trump's second impeachment.
On that day in 2021, Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building, encouraged by the Republican president in a speech outside the White House to protest formal congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden's victory over Trump in a November 2020 election.
"This was a coup organized by the president against the vice president and against the Congress in order to overturn the 2020 presidential election," Raskin said in an interview with Reuters, National Public Radio and The Guardian newspaper, when asked what he has learned so far from the committee's probe.
U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson, who chairs the special House of Representatives committee organized by Democrats to look into events leading up to the Jan. 6 assault, has told reporters he expects public hearings to resume in May.
"We're going to tell the whole story of everything that happened."
"There was a violent insurrection and an attempted coup and we were saved by (then-Vice President) Mike Pence's refusal to go along with that plan," said Raskin, a member of the House special committee.
It was unclear whether Raskin, during the interview, was expressing only his thoughts or the thinking also of fellow lawmakers serving on the special committee made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans.
In July 2021, a new book said senior uniformed military leaders had been concerned about a potential coup, but in a statement then Trump said he had never threatened or spoken to anyone about a coup.
Shortly after organizing last year, the House panel held an initial hearing with testimony from four police officers who said they were beaten and taunted with racial insults as they tried to defend the Capitol from attackers.
The violence capped months of Trump arguing the election had been stolen from him through massive voter fraud, a claim he still asserts despite its rejection by numerous court rulings, Trump's own Justice Department and recounts sanctioned by his fellow Republicans.
'TO SEIZE THE PRESIDENCY'
Raskin said the hearings will lay out for the public the steps the former president and his associates took to try to stay in power despite a clear-cut defeat.
Had the rioters succeeded in preventing the certification, Raskin said, Trump "was prepared to seize the presidency" and likely declare martial law.
He said the committee had yet to decide whether to try to seek testimony from Trump or Pence.
Every four years, the vice president is charged with overseeing the formal count in Congress of presidential elections.
Pence rejected pleas to set aside the November 2020 result, which would have paved the way for the House of Representatives to in effect conduct a second election, with Republicans holding an advantage that could have installed Trump for a second term.
The attack left four people dead on Jan. 6.
One Capitol Police officer who fought with rioters died the next day.
About 800 people have been charged with crimes relating to the attack.
The House panel has collected more than 100,000 documents, with investigators conducting more than 800 interviews, according to lawmakers.
"We don't have a lot of experience with coups in our own country and we think of a coup as something that takes place against a president," Raskin said.
But Jan. 6, 2021, was different, he said, because it did not involve the military or other faction attacking the president.
"It's what the political scientists call a self-coup ... it's a president fearful of defeat, overthrowing the constitutional process," Raskin said.
The House of Representatives twice impeached Trump, the second time following the Capitol assault.
The U.S. Senate acquitted Trump both times.
At political rallies since then, the former president has dropped hints he might run again in 2024.
Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Howard Goller
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump- ... 022-04-18/
Re: THE MAGA-MAN DONALD TRUMP
CNN
"Obama all but names Putin as behind hacking, told him to 'cut it out'"
By Kevin Liptak, CNN White House Producer
Updated 9:01 PM ET, Fri December 16, 2016
Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama on Friday all but named Russian President Vladimir Putin as behind Moscow's alleged attempts to meddle in the US election, vowing retaliation for the moves and defending himself against criticism his administration acted too slowly.
Without directly answering whether Putin ordered up the cyberactivity that US intelligence says was meant to bolster Donald Trump, Obama described government in Russia as tightly controlled by the man at the top.
"Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin," he said.
"This happened at the highest levels of the Russian government."
Obama said he personally confronted Putin about the hacking in September on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in China, telling the Russian leader to "cut it out" and warned of "serious consequences if he didn't."
"In fact, we did not see further tampering of the election process," Obama said of the aftermath of that conversation.
"But the leaks through WikiLeaks had already occurred."
Obama, however, did not say whether he has addressed with Putin Russian's post-election hacking activity which has continued largely unabated, US officials briefed on the investigation this week told CNN.
The outgoing President's year-end press conference was dominated by questions about Russia and its influence in last month's vote.
After unleashing a string of putdowns about Russia, describing America's Cold War adversary as "a weaker country" that "doesn't produce anything anyone wants to buy except oil and gas and arms," Obama conceded the country could exploit political divisions in the United States.
"They can impact us if we lose track of who we are."
"They can impact us if we abandon our values," Obama said.
He attacked Republicans for siding with an arch-enemy of the United States because of their dislike of Democrats.
"Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave," Obama said of recent GOP praise of Russia.
He warned, "Mr. Putin can weaken us just like he is trying to weaken Europe if we start buying into notions that it is okay to intimidate the press or lock up dissidents."
Obama's given Trump advice
Referring the relationship between his White House and the incoming Trump administration, Obama said Friday there was no "squabbling" between the sides, even amid a roiling debate over Russia's intrusion into the US election.
The President noted he had made "some pretty specific suggestions" to successor Donald Trump about "maintaining the effectiveness, integrity, cohesion of the office," he said during his news conference Friday.
"He has listened," Obama said.
"I can't say that he will end up implementing, but the conversations themselves have been cordial as opposed to defensive in any way."
Obama said he would "always make myself available to him" during his tenure for counsel and advice.
On the alleged Russia hacks, he said the issue should be confronted on a bipartisan basis.
"What we have simply said are the facts," Obama said.
"Based on uniform intelligence assessments, the Russians were responsible for hacking the DNC, and as a consequence, it is important for us to review all elements of that and make sure we are preventing that kind of interference through cyberattacks in the future."
"That shouldn't be a partisan issue," Obama went on.
"My hope is the President-elect is similarly going to be concerned that we don't have foreign influence in our election process."
Despite his assurances, his White House has increasingly been engaged in an escalating rift with Trump's transition team over Moscow's intrusion into the US vote.
At the same time, Obama is working to foster a productive relationship with his successor in a bid to influence his presidential decision-making.
Promised response to Moscow
Some Democrats have argued the White House was slow in naming Russia as the hacking culprit, though Obama and his aides argue that pushing the intelligence community to make that assessment earlier would have appeared like political interference.
In an interview with NPR that aired Friday, Obama attempted a balance, saying it was clear Trump and his team knew what Russia's intentions were, but arguing the issue shouldn't become mired in partisan politics.
"It requires us not to re-litigate the election, it requires us not to point fingers, it requires us to just say, here's what happened, let's be honest about it, and let's not use it as a political football but let's figure out how to prevent it from happening in the future," Obama said.
He said Trump would be wise to uphold a US commitment to international norms.
"I had a conversation with the President-elect about our foreign policy generally, and the importance of us making sure that in how we approach intelligence gathering and how we think about fighting terrorism and keeping the country secure ... that we recognize America's exceptionalism, our indispensability in the world in part draws from our values and our ideals," Obama said.
On Friday, he said that Russia's cyber meddling "was not some elaborate complicated espionage scheme," arguing instead that a hyperpartisan political environment led to an obsession with leaked emails.
"I'm finding it curious that everybody is suddenly acting surprised that this looked like disadvantaging Hillary Clinton because you guys wrote about it everyday," Obama said.
"This was an obsession that dominated the news coverage."
Overall, Obama contended, Clinton was "treated unfairly" in the presidential contest.
"I think the coverage of her and the issues was troubling," Obama said.
Criticism of Syria
It comes as Obama also finds himself reckoning with a worsening humanitarian emergency in Syria, where Russian and Iranian-backed government forces recently retook the city of Aleppo.
Obama has called Syria a deeply frustrating crisis that haunts him daily.
He condemned the situation Friday, harshly accusing the Syrian regime, along with Moscow and Tehran, of slaughtering civilians in Aleppo.
"We have seen a deliberate strategy of surrounding, besieging and starving innocent civilians," Obama said.
"Responsibility for this brutality lies in one place alone: the Assad regime and its allies Russia and Iran," Obama declared.
"The blood for these atrocities are on their hands."
On China, where Trump has called for a different course, Obama said it was "fine" to reexamine the longstanding "One China", which spells US recognition of Taiwan as a part of China.
But Obama said it was essential Trump familiarize himself with the consequences of his moves, saying his team should be briefed by current officials.
"What I have advised the President-elect is that across the board on foreign policy, you want to make sure that you're doing it in a systematic, deliberate, intentional way," Obama said.
"He should want his team to be fully briefed on what's gone on in the past and where the potential pitfalls may be, where the opportunities are, what we've learned from eight years of experience."
The President led off the traditional Q-and-A session by touting his achievements from his time in office, starting off by noting that Thursday saw the biggest number of Obamacare sign-ups -- 670,000 people -- in a single day.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services said that it was due to this "extraordinary demand" that the deadline to sign up for coverage beginning on January 1, 2017, has been extended until December 19.
The news comes just weeks ahead of lawmakers reconvening for the new session of Congress on January 3.
Republicans intend to move swiftly to repeal major parts of the Affordable Care Act through a budget reconciliation bill.
CNN'S MJ Lee contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/16/politics/ ... onference/
"Obama all but names Putin as behind hacking, told him to 'cut it out'"
By Kevin Liptak, CNN White House Producer
Updated 9:01 PM ET, Fri December 16, 2016
Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama on Friday all but named Russian President Vladimir Putin as behind Moscow's alleged attempts to meddle in the US election, vowing retaliation for the moves and defending himself against criticism his administration acted too slowly.
Without directly answering whether Putin ordered up the cyberactivity that US intelligence says was meant to bolster Donald Trump, Obama described government in Russia as tightly controlled by the man at the top.
"Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin," he said.
"This happened at the highest levels of the Russian government."
Obama said he personally confronted Putin about the hacking in September on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in China, telling the Russian leader to "cut it out" and warned of "serious consequences if he didn't."
"In fact, we did not see further tampering of the election process," Obama said of the aftermath of that conversation.
"But the leaks through WikiLeaks had already occurred."
Obama, however, did not say whether he has addressed with Putin Russian's post-election hacking activity which has continued largely unabated, US officials briefed on the investigation this week told CNN.
The outgoing President's year-end press conference was dominated by questions about Russia and its influence in last month's vote.
After unleashing a string of putdowns about Russia, describing America's Cold War adversary as "a weaker country" that "doesn't produce anything anyone wants to buy except oil and gas and arms," Obama conceded the country could exploit political divisions in the United States.
"They can impact us if we lose track of who we are."
"They can impact us if we abandon our values," Obama said.
He attacked Republicans for siding with an arch-enemy of the United States because of their dislike of Democrats.
"Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave," Obama said of recent GOP praise of Russia.
He warned, "Mr. Putin can weaken us just like he is trying to weaken Europe if we start buying into notions that it is okay to intimidate the press or lock up dissidents."
Obama's given Trump advice
Referring the relationship between his White House and the incoming Trump administration, Obama said Friday there was no "squabbling" between the sides, even amid a roiling debate over Russia's intrusion into the US election.
The President noted he had made "some pretty specific suggestions" to successor Donald Trump about "maintaining the effectiveness, integrity, cohesion of the office," he said during his news conference Friday.
"He has listened," Obama said.
"I can't say that he will end up implementing, but the conversations themselves have been cordial as opposed to defensive in any way."
Obama said he would "always make myself available to him" during his tenure for counsel and advice.
On the alleged Russia hacks, he said the issue should be confronted on a bipartisan basis.
"What we have simply said are the facts," Obama said.
"Based on uniform intelligence assessments, the Russians were responsible for hacking the DNC, and as a consequence, it is important for us to review all elements of that and make sure we are preventing that kind of interference through cyberattacks in the future."
"That shouldn't be a partisan issue," Obama went on.
"My hope is the President-elect is similarly going to be concerned that we don't have foreign influence in our election process."
Despite his assurances, his White House has increasingly been engaged in an escalating rift with Trump's transition team over Moscow's intrusion into the US vote.
At the same time, Obama is working to foster a productive relationship with his successor in a bid to influence his presidential decision-making.
Promised response to Moscow
Some Democrats have argued the White House was slow in naming Russia as the hacking culprit, though Obama and his aides argue that pushing the intelligence community to make that assessment earlier would have appeared like political interference.
In an interview with NPR that aired Friday, Obama attempted a balance, saying it was clear Trump and his team knew what Russia's intentions were, but arguing the issue shouldn't become mired in partisan politics.
"It requires us not to re-litigate the election, it requires us not to point fingers, it requires us to just say, here's what happened, let's be honest about it, and let's not use it as a political football but let's figure out how to prevent it from happening in the future," Obama said.
He said Trump would be wise to uphold a US commitment to international norms.
"I had a conversation with the President-elect about our foreign policy generally, and the importance of us making sure that in how we approach intelligence gathering and how we think about fighting terrorism and keeping the country secure ... that we recognize America's exceptionalism, our indispensability in the world in part draws from our values and our ideals," Obama said.
On Friday, he said that Russia's cyber meddling "was not some elaborate complicated espionage scheme," arguing instead that a hyperpartisan political environment led to an obsession with leaked emails.
"I'm finding it curious that everybody is suddenly acting surprised that this looked like disadvantaging Hillary Clinton because you guys wrote about it everyday," Obama said.
"This was an obsession that dominated the news coverage."
Overall, Obama contended, Clinton was "treated unfairly" in the presidential contest.
"I think the coverage of her and the issues was troubling," Obama said.
Criticism of Syria
It comes as Obama also finds himself reckoning with a worsening humanitarian emergency in Syria, where Russian and Iranian-backed government forces recently retook the city of Aleppo.
Obama has called Syria a deeply frustrating crisis that haunts him daily.
He condemned the situation Friday, harshly accusing the Syrian regime, along with Moscow and Tehran, of slaughtering civilians in Aleppo.
"We have seen a deliberate strategy of surrounding, besieging and starving innocent civilians," Obama said.
"Responsibility for this brutality lies in one place alone: the Assad regime and its allies Russia and Iran," Obama declared.
"The blood for these atrocities are on their hands."
On China, where Trump has called for a different course, Obama said it was "fine" to reexamine the longstanding "One China", which spells US recognition of Taiwan as a part of China.
But Obama said it was essential Trump familiarize himself with the consequences of his moves, saying his team should be briefed by current officials.
"What I have advised the President-elect is that across the board on foreign policy, you want to make sure that you're doing it in a systematic, deliberate, intentional way," Obama said.
"He should want his team to be fully briefed on what's gone on in the past and where the potential pitfalls may be, where the opportunities are, what we've learned from eight years of experience."
The President led off the traditional Q-and-A session by touting his achievements from his time in office, starting off by noting that Thursday saw the biggest number of Obamacare sign-ups -- 670,000 people -- in a single day.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services said that it was due to this "extraordinary demand" that the deadline to sign up for coverage beginning on January 1, 2017, has been extended until December 19.
The news comes just weeks ahead of lawmakers reconvening for the new session of Congress on January 3.
Republicans intend to move swiftly to repeal major parts of the Affordable Care Act through a budget reconciliation bill.
CNN'S MJ Lee contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/16/politics/ ... onference/