Report: Trump Admin Secretly Pressured State Dept To Lift Russia Sanctions

Immediately after entering the White House, the Trump administration embarked on a secret, forceful push to lift economic sanctions against Russia, Yahoo News reported Thursday.

Senior Trump officials went toe-to-toe with former Obama administration and State Department staffers scrambling to curtail their efforts and to stall an order to develop a plan that would lift sanctions and restore access to Russian diplomatic compounds in Maryland and Long Island, according to Yahoo.

“There was serious consideration by the White House to unilaterally rescind the sanctions,” Dan Fried, who was chief U.S. coordinator for sanctions policy until February, told Yahoo.

The Trump administration’s effort ultimately fell short, thwarted in part by a series of damaging news reports about senior officials’ undisclosed conversations with Russian officials.

This campaign to pressure the State Department is one of several efforts by Trump associates to relieve economic pressure on Russia. Ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn spoke to Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. about lifting new sanctions the day the Obama administration announced them in late December. Trump’s personal attorney also reportedly hand-delivered to Flynn’s office a Ukrainian lawmaker’s “peace plan” that called for ending U.S. sanctions against Russia.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/trump-a ... -sanctions

Can Paul Ryan actually privatize Medicare?

If House Speaker Paul Ryan has his way, the 115th Congress won’t just repeal Obamacare, it will dramatically reform Medicare, turning the program into a form of private insurance.

Ryan has long supported the controversial idea and, immediately after the election, he suggested that any Obamacare reform should include Medicare reform. Another key player, House Budget Chairman Tom Price, said Medicare reform was a top priority for the unified Republican government.

President-elect Donald Trump has yet to commit to further privatization of Medicare—which could cause a tidal wave of unease among senior citizens—and a Trump spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment. At a minimum, though, Ryan’s Medicare plans are a topic of negotiation between the speaker and the president-elect.

Could it actually happen? The tools appear to be in place. Even with the threat of a filibuster by Democrats in the Senate, GOP leaders could use a parliamentary maneuver to make big Medicare changes on a simple majority vote in both chambers. But the path remains fraught with challenges. Trump has never shown much interest in entitlement reform and, at times, even has spoken about protecting Medicare. And Ryan also must navigate a maze of competing interests among GOP lawmakers, including Senate Republicans who have voiced lukewarm support, at best, for Ryan’s favored Medicare changes.

It’s a game that Ryan has long played successfully. To earn his colleagues’ support over the years, as POLITICO detailed earlier this year, the speaker has made a series of compromises, resulting in contradictory or mathematically tenuous proposals. But now that the GOP has a unified government, the stakes—and rewards—are much higher. To finally accomplish his dream of privatizing Medicare, Ryan must figure out how to reconcile these competing priorities
—without losing the support of ever-cautious lawmakers or Trump.

http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/20 ... are-000241

‘Am I a f*cking baby?’: Report details the moment Trump turned on ex-campaign chairman Paul Manafort

Donald Trump’s final straw with Paul Manafort occurred when his former campaign chairman “allowed” a New York Times report detailing how campaign aides were using cable TV interviews to give then-candidate Trump advice, the Daily Mail reports.

According to Devil’s Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump and the Storming of the Presidency, by Bloomberg’s Joshua Green, Trump grew irate over an article published on Aug. 13, 2016, and confronted Manafort about the report’s contents.

“How can anybody allow an article that says your campaign is all f*cked up?” Trump demanded of Manafort.

The article, titled “Inside the Failing Mission to Tame Donald Trump’s Tongue,” described an irate and volatile candidate whom aides were afraid to approach in person.

“You think you’ve gotta go on TV to talk to me?” Trump reportedly asked Manafrot, “You treat me like a baby!”
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“Am I like a baby to you?” he continued. “I sit there like a little baby and watch TV and you talk to me? Am I a f*cking baby, Paul?”

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/am-i-a- ... -manafort/

Trump held secret hour-long meeting with Putin at G20 with only Russian translator present
Meeting described as a breach of national security protocol

Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a second, previously undisclosed meeting at the G20 summit earlier this month in Germany, a White House official has confirmed.

The meeting followed the two leaders’ formal two-hour meeting on 7 July in which Mr Trump said Mr Putin denied allegations that he directed efforts to meddle in the 2016 US presidential election.

The second meeting, which took place some hours later, was only attended by Mr Putin, Mr Trump and Mr Putin’s translator. It had not previously been disclosed by the White House.

The White House official did not say how long the second meeting took place or what was discussed.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 48061.html

Teague wrote:

Report: Trump Admin Secretly Pressured State Dept To Lift Russia Sanctions

Immediately after entering the White House, the Trump administration embarked on a secret, forceful push to lift economic sanctions against Russia, Yahoo News reported Thursday.

Senior Trump officials went toe-to-toe with former Obama administration and State Department staffers scrambling to curtail their efforts and to stall an order to develop a plan that would lift sanctions and restore access to Russian diplomatic compounds in Maryland and Long Island, according to Yahoo.

“There was serious consideration by the White House to unilaterally rescind the sanctions,” Dan Fried, who was chief U.S. coordinator for sanctions policy until February, told Yahoo.

The Trump administration’s effort ultimately fell short, thwarted in part by a series of damaging news reports about senior officials’ undisclosed conversations with Russian officials.

This campaign to pressure the State Department is one of several efforts by Trump associates to relieve economic pressure on Russia. Ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn spoke to Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. about lifting new sanctions the day the Obama administration announced them in late December. Trump’s personal attorney also reportedly hand-delivered to Flynn’s office a Ukrainian lawmaker’s “peace plan” that called for ending U.S. sanctions against Russia.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/trump-a ... -sanctions

Oh look! So right after getting in they tried to do Russia/Exxon's bidding.

How much shit do the Russians have on Trump

scott1328 wrote:Not shit. Urine.

It's hard to see any Trump ties to Russia except for...

[Reveal] Spoiler: "these things"

the Flynn thing
the Manafort thing
the Tillerson thing
the Sessions thing
the Kushner thing
the Wray thing
the Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius "Russian Law Firm of the Year" thing
the Carter Page thing
the Roger Stone thing
the Felix Sater thing
the Boris Ephsteyn thing
the Rosneft thing
the Gazprom thing
the Sergey Gorkov banker thing
the Azerbajain thing
the "I love Putin" thing
the Lavrov thing
the Sergey Kislyak thing
the Oval Office thing
the Gingrich/Kislyak phone calls thing
the Russian Business Interests thing
the Emoluments Clause thing
the Alex Schnaider thing
the hack of the DNC thing
the Guccifer 2.0 thing
the Mike Pence "I don't know anything" thing
the Russians mysteriously dying thing
Trump's public request to Russia to hack Hillary's email thing
the Trump house sale for $100 million at the bottom of the housing bust to the Russian fertilizer king thing
the Russian fertilizer king's plane showing up in Concord, NC during Trump rally campaign thing
the Nunes sudden flight to the White House in the night thing
the Nunes personal investments in the Russian winery thing
the Cyprus bank thing
Trump not releasing his tax returns thing
the Republican Party's rejection of an amendment to require Trump to show his taxes thing
the election hacking thing
the GOP platform change to the Ukraine thing
the Steele Dossier thing
the Sally Yates can't testify thing
the intelligence community's investigative reports thing
the Trump reassurance that the Russian connection is all "fake news" thing
the Chaffetz not willing to start an investigation thing
the Chaffetz suddenly deciding to go back to private life in the middle of an investigation thing
the appointment of Pam Bondi who was bribed by Trump in the Trump University scandal appointed to head the investigation thing
the The White House going into cover-up mode, refusing to turn over the documents related to the hiring and firing of Flynn thing
the Chaffetz and White House blaming the poor vetting of Flynn on Obama thing
the Poland and British intelligence gave information regarding the hacking back in 2015 to Paul Ryan and he didn't do anything thing
the Agent M16 following the money thing
the Trump team KNEW about Flynn's involvement but hired him anyway thing
the let's fire Comey thing
the Election night Russian trademark gifts thing
the Russian diplomatic compound electronic equipment destruction thing
the let's give back the diplomatic compounds back to the Russians thing
the let's back away from Cuba thing
the Donny Jr met with Russians thing
the Donny Jr emails details "Russian Government's support for Trump" thing
now Trump's secret second meeting with his boss Putin thing

Trump ends covert CIA program to arm anti-Assad rebels in Syria, a move sought by Moscow

President Trump has decided to end the CIA’s covert program to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels battling the government of Bashar al-Assad, a move long sought by Russia, according to U.S. officials.

The program was a central plank of a policy begun by the Obama administration in 2013 to put pressure on Assad to step aside, but even its backers have questioned its efficacy since Russia deployed forces in Syria two years later.

Officials said the phasing out of the secret program reflects Trump’s interest in finding ways to work with Russia, which saw the anti-Assad program as an assault on its interests. The shuttering of the program is also an acknowledgment of Washington’s limited leverage and desire to remove Assad from power.

Pulsar wrote:https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-ends-covert-cia-program-to-arm-anti-assad-rebels-in-syria-a-move-sought-by-moscow/2017/07/19/b6821a62-6beb-11e7-96ab-5f38140b38cc_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_no-name%3Apage%2Fbreaking-news-bar&tid=a_breakingnews&utm_term=.c37123a1877c

Trump ends covert CIA program to arm anti-Assad rebels in Syria, a move sought by Moscow

President Trump has decided to end the CIA’s covert program to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels battling the government of Bashar al-Assad, a move long sought by Russia, according to U.S. officials.

The program was a central plank of a policy begun by the Obama administration in 2013 to put pressure on Assad to step aside, but even its backers have questioned its efficacy since Russia deployed forces in Syria two years later.

Officials said the phasing out of the secret program reflects Trump’s interest in finding ways to work with Russia, which saw the anti-Assad program as an assault on its interests. The shuttering of the program is also an acknowledgment of Washington’s limited leverage and desire to remove Assad from power.

proudfootz wrote:

Trump ending covert attempts to overthrow sovereign nation?

So it's not all bad news.

CdesignProponentsist wrote:

proudfootz wrote:

Trump ending covert attempts to overthrow sovereign nation?

So it's not all bad news.

Ahh good. The slaughter will be much easier now.

chango369 wrote:I know that we have a fair number of Canadians on the forum, so I thought I'd post this. Well done Toronto!

Toronto hotel dumps Trump’s name

Scot Dutchy wrote:Never buy in the sales.