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Shaken Lawmakers Soften Partisan Tone While Uniting in Concern

New York Times – WASHINGTON — Representative Chuck Fleischmann stood just outside the House chamber in the Capitol on Wednesday morning recounting his harrowing survival of a shooting rampage aimed at a group of lawmakers practicing for an annual charity baseball game. He was still wearing his cleats and red jersey with “Republicans” emblazoned across the front.

Congressional leaders promised to explore ways to increase protection and find ways to pay for it. But lawmakers were also adamant that they could not let risks to their safety drive them away from the public contact essential to doing their jobs properly.

“We are not going to run and hide,” said Representative Martha McSally, Republican of Arizona.

Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader, expressed a similar sentiment in calling for the game to go forward Thursday despite the unsettling assault.

“We cannot let that be a victory for the assailant or anyone who would think that way,” she said.

There was widespread relief on Capitol Hill that the toll was not higher given the unexpected nature of the attack on an early morning baseball practice and the many lawmakers who were vulnerable. Lawmakers praised as heroes the Capitol and Alexandria, Va., police officers who took on the gunman and limited what all agreed could have been catastrophic.

The day’s sense of togetherness was evident as some House members crossed the center aisle of the chamber to sit among colleagues in the other party.

Ms. Pelosi made a subtle reference to the usual partisan sentiment in the House after Speaker Paul D. Ryan brought members to their feet with his emotional declaration that “an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.”

“To my colleagues,” Ms. Pelosi said, “you’re going to hear me say something you’ve never heard me say before. I identify myself with the remarks of the speaker.”

Calls for civility and less-charged language were widespread, a recognition that both parties have been too eager to fan the political flames.

“We, as Republicans and Democrats, have to come together and say, as a team, and as members of Congress in the greatest country in the history of the world, that this hate and this rhetoric has got to be toned down,” said Rodney Davis, an Illinois Republican who was at the practice.

“I have no illusion as to how politically divided we are,” Gwen Moore, Democrat of Wisconsin, said while she expressed confidence that “together, we will be able to heal, support one another and weather this storm.”

Members of Congress and political leaders have called for partisan de-escalation after previous traumatizing events only to see the toxic tone roar back. Given the yawning political divide and the sharp disagreement on the direction of the nation, it will remain a challenge to hold the more divisive political instincts at bay for long.

Source: US Government Class

Capitol Police played key role in saving people’s lives, officials say

CBS News – Rep. Steve Scalise’s presence at the congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, where a shooting unfolded Wednesday morning may have saved a number of lives, Sen. Rand Paul said Wednesday.

As a member of House leadership, Scalise, the House majority whip, had members of dignitary protection traveling with him at the practice. That’s the only reason why Capitol Police were at the scene when shots were fired, Paul said.

• Bernie Sanders says Alexandria shooter was campaign volunteer
• Alexandria Shooting: What are Virginia’s gun laws?

“The only reason they were there was because we had a member of leadership on our team,” Paul said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “If Scalise wouldn’t have been on the team…him being there, he probably saved everybody else’s life because if you don’t have a member of leadership there, there probably would have been no security there.”

He added that if they had not been there, “It would have been a massacre.”

Scalise was among at least five people shot and he was transferred to MedStar Washington Hospital Center to undergo surgery. He had been shot in the hip. His office said he was in “stable condition” and that he was in “good spirits” before entering surgery.

Tim Slater, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Washington, D.C. field office, confirmed that Scalise was traveling with a protection team.

“I’m sure it made a significant difference,” Slater said of the officer’s’ presence as the shooting transpired.

Capitol Police Chief Matthew Verderosa confirmed that two Capitol Police officers engaged fire with the gunman, who has now been identified as James T. Hodgkinson. He would not reveal how many Capitol Police officers were on the scene initially.

Plain-clothes Capitol Police officers protect senior members of Congress, including Scalise. They are part of a separate division within Capitol Police — the department of protective services. They look and act like Secret Service but are separate entities. They also protect Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, and others. They also investigate threats against members of Congress. Scalise, as House Majority Whip, generally travels in an armored SUV with two plain clothes Capitol Police officers with him.

Paul said he was in the batting cage at the time that he heard the first shot and then a “rapid succession of shots.” He said there was a ten-foot fence between him and the field and he saw Scalise had been shot, but was moving and dragging himself through the dirt. He saw two staffers laying down, one of whom then climbed a 15 to 20-foot fence who then hid behind a tree with Paul. He said he heard at least 50 to 60 gunshots and then he finally heard Capitol Police responding.

“We’re actually very lucky they were there,” he said.

CBS News’ Walt Cronkite and Jillian Hughes contributed to this report.

Source: US Government Class

France’s Emmanuel Macron faces test in parliamentary elections

CBS News – PARIS — French voters are choosing lawmakers in the lower house of parliament on Sunday in a vote that is crucial for newly-elected president Emmanuel Macron.

A total of 7,882 candidates are running for 577 seats in the National Assembly in Sunday’s first round of the two-stage legislative elections. Top vote-getters advance to the decisive second round June 18.

Polls suggest the elections will strongly favor Macron’s party and dramatically shake up French politics, punishing the traditional left and right parties and leaving no single strong opposition force.

Macron’s year-old centrist movement, Republic on the Move, is seeking an absolute majority to be able to implement his campaign promises, which include simplifying labor rules and making it easier to lay off workers in hopes of boosting hiring.

The government outlined the main themes of a major labor reform that has already angered French unions and is likely to prompt tensions over the summer.

Macron also plans to quickly pass a law to strengthen security measures — effectively making the state of emergency permanent, after multiple Islamic extremist attacks in France — and another one that he says will put more ethics into French politics.

The government needs a new Assembly in place to vote on the bills.

Macron called on French voters to give him a “majority to make changes” on the night of his victory May 7. “That’s what the country wants and that’s what it deserves,” he said.

A minimum of 289 seats is required to secure an absolute majority.

According to the latest polls, Macron’s movement appears in a position to win potentially as many as 400 seats.

The candidates of Republic on the Move include many newcomers in politics, like a retired bullfighter, a fighter pilot and a mathematical genius. Half of them are women.

Candidates from the conservative Republicans party are expected to arrive in second position, and other parties with possibly more than 100 seats. The Socialists, who dominated the last Assembly, are expected to suffer a stinging defeat and win just a few dozen seats.

In the wake of far-right Marine Le Pen‘s qualification for the presidential runoff, the National Front party is expected to get its highest-ever score — but does not appear able to become the major opposition force Le Pen had hoped for. Polls project it could win about a dozen seats, in part because of a voting system that favors the biggest parties.

Le Pen herself is running for a seat in Henin-Beaumont in northern France.

Far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, who came in a strong fourth place in the presidential vote with nearly 20 percent support, is running for a parliamentary seat in the southern city of Marseille. His movement could obtain between 10 and 20 seats.

Parisian voter Thibault Gouache says he’s keen to see fresh faces in the parliament.

“The most important thing is changing the people that do politics,” he told The Associated Press. Many candidates have already served multiple terms and “are disconnected to the reality of what we live on a day by day basis.”

The turnout rate is expected to be low for France, with possibly only half of the voters going to the polls.

To win in the first round, candidates need an absolute majority and support from at least a quarter of the district’s registered voters.

Otherwise, all contenders who get at least 12.5 percent of the votes of registered voters advance to the second round.

The French Parliament is made up of two houses, the National Assembly and the Senate. The legislative elections don’t concern the Senate, which is currently run by a conservative majority.

The National Assembly always has the final say in the voting process of a law.

Source: US Government Class

Comey testimony: Trump team denies accusations, tries to turn tables on ex-FBI boss

FoxNews – President Trump’s legal team shot back Thursday at James Comey’s Senate testimony, defending the president in a brawny statement against the fired FBI director’s more damaging claims and asserting Comey himself could now be in legal jeopardy for his admission he’d leaked details of “privileged” conversations.

Trump’s personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, also said Comey’s testimony backed up Trump on key points — affirming that the president “never sought to impede” the Russia probe, and that while he was FBI director, Comey told Trump several times he wasn’t the subject of an investigation.

The president’s lawyer issued the rebuttal in a written statement that he read to reporters during a brief post-hearing appearance.

The statement sought to shield Trump and shift scrutiny onto Comey, who on Thursday delivered dramatic testimony that stopped short of accusing Trump of obstruction of justice but made numerous other allegations.

Kasowitz tried to rebut them one by one.

Despite Comey’s claims to the contrary, he emphasized Trump “never, in form or substance, directed or suggested” that Comey drop an investigation into ex-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Kasowitz also denied Trump asked Comey for a pledge of loyalty, contradicting Comey’s story and setting up a “he said-he said” between the former FBI boss and the president.

Kasowitz also cast doubt on Comey’s explanation as to why he decided to leak a memo describing the Flynn conversation after Trump had fired him as FBI director.

“Although Mr. Comey testified he only leaked the memos in response to a tweet, the public record reveals that the New York Times was quoting from these memos the day before the referenced tweet, which belies Mr. Comey’s excuse for this unauthorized disclosure of privileged information and appears to be entirely retaliatory,” the statement said.

The New York Times wrote its first story about private conversations between Comey and Trump on May 11, though the Times made no mention of a memo existing to allegedly substantiate the encounter. The following day Trump sent an infamous tweet implying he had recorded the discussion himself: “James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!”

Comey suggested that tweet prompted him to leak his notes. Four days later the first story appeared in the press citing an alleged Comey memo.

Kasowitz, meanwhile, pointedly raised the question Thursday of whether Comey’s leak amounts to a legal problem for him: “We will leave it to the appropriate authorities to determine whether this leak should be investigated along with all those others being investigated.”

Though Trump did not tweet or make a direct statement about Comey’s testimony, he did reference fighting back during a speech he gave to religious conservatives as Comey’s testimony was wrapping up.

“They will lie, they will obstruct, they will spread their hatred and their prejudice, but we will not back down from doing what is right,” Trump said. “We will fight and win, and we will have an unbelievable future. An unbelievable future. And it’s going to be together.”

Though Trump, a well-established prolific tweeter, has not sent a message from his account since Wednesday morning, he was certainly represented on the social media network. The Republican National Committee tweeted from its @GOP account, often hashtagging posts “#bigleaguetruth.”

“So according to Comey, @POTUS never asked to stop the investigation and Russia didn’t change a single vote. Good to know. #BigLeagueTruth,” one message read.

One of Trump’s children, Donald Trump Jr., was also tweeting a rapid-response defense of his dad.

Writing about Comey’s assertion that Trump intimated Comey should drop the Flynn investigation, Trump Jr. wrote: “Knowing my father for 39 years when he ‘orders or tells’ you to do something there is no ambiguity, you will know exactly what he means.”

Source: US Government Class

Top intel officials skirt questions about Trump conversations

CBS – Top intelligence leaders testified Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Scheduled to testify:

• Dan Coats — Director of national intelligence 
• Andrew McCabe — Acting FBI director 
• Mike Rogers — NSA director 
• Rod Rosenstein — Deputy attorney general 

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Rogers, Coats decline to comment on conversations they’ve had with Trump, though Rogers said he’s never “been directed to do anything illegal, immoral, unethical or inappropriate” as NSA director
• The four officials decline to discuss whether they’ve taken notes or issued memos related to the Russia probe
• Burr rips witnesses for not answering questions surrounding Comey firing and Russia probe

The hearing was focused on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), though there were a slew of questions involving the firing of former FBI Director James Comey and Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

This comes a day before Comey is set to testify publicly before Congress for the first time on Thursday since President Trump fired him as FBI director last month.

Burr rips witnesses for not answering questions

Burr said he had one final message that he wants the witnesses to deliver to the Trump administration. He said that in cases where there’s sensitivity of activities, there is a mechanism for congressional oversight whereby officials can brief and notify the Gang of Eight, which includes congressional leadership in both the House and Senate and on both sides of the aisle.

“At no time, should you be in a position to come to Congress without an answer,” Burr warned them.

Warner says “the president is not above the law”

Warner said that he’s come out of the hearing “with more questions than when I went in.” He said that Coats and Rogers were both willing to characterize their conversations with the president, arguing that they didn’t feel pressure, but Warner ridiculed them for not sharing the content of those discussions.

Warner said he’s “pretty frustrated” that there is a deference to a special prosecutor and he said while their “feelings response” is important, so is the contents of their communications with Trump.

“The president is not above the law,” Warner said.

Warner asked if it would be concerning if the president intervened in an investigation.

“If anybody obstructs an investigation, that would be a subject of concern,” Rosenstein said, adding that it would investigated appropriately.

Cotton seeks to clarify how 702 works with U.S. citizens

Cotton, who has introduced a permanent extension of FISA, asked the officials if FISA’s Sec. 702 allows the intelligence agencies to collect information on U.S. citizens. Rogers explained that they collect intelligence on foreigners outside the U.S. since NSA is a foreign intelligence organization. Rosenstein explained that if a foreigner is inside the U.S., the intelligence agencies have to rely on other provisions of FISA. Cotton asked McCabe what happens if an ISIS terrorist comes to the U.S., and he said that the NSA notifies the FBI and they work together to pursue coverage under a FISA statute.

King grills Rogers and Coats about why they’re not answering questions

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, spent several minutes grilling Rogers and Coats about why they aren’t answering questions regarding the Comey firing or the Russia probe.

Asked if the White House was invoking executive priviledge, Rogers said he wasn’t aware of that. King then asked why he isn’t answering questions. Rogers said, “I feel it isn’t appropriate, senator” and added that he stands by his comment and he’s not going to repeat himself and he said he doesn’t mean it in a contentious way. King said that his questions are intended to be contentious.

McCabe explains FBI involvement with 702

Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, asked McCabe what happens when the FBI wants to follow up on or pursue a U.S. person in or outside the U.S. McCabe explained that they would seek a FISA warrant under Title I. Asked if the FBI ever seeks collection under 702, McCabe said that if the FBI has a full investigation on a foreign person in a foreign place, the bureau would nominate that person for 702 coverage at the NSA.

McCabe is asking about his conversations with Comey

Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, asked McCabe if he had a conversation with Comey about the president asking for Comey’s loyalty. McCabe said he isn’t in a position to comment because those matters fall within the scope of the special counsel’s investigation. McCabe said he wants Comey to speak for himself when he testifies before the Intelligence panel on Thursday morning.

Wyden asks officials whether they ever took notes or issued memos related to Russia probe

Coats said he doesn’t take notes, Rosenstein said he rarely takes notes and that he’s not going to answer questions on the Russia investigation. McCabe said he’s not going to comment on any conversations he’s had or if he wrote any notes. Rogers echoed that answer.

Rubio presses officials whether anyone has asked them to influence an ongoing probe

The Florida Republican asked if Coats and Rogers have ever been asked to influence an ongoing investigation. Coats said he’s not prepared to answer in an open session. Rubio asked them if anyone ever asked them to issue a statement that wasn’t true and Rogers and Coats refused to answer.

Rogers explains the NSA’s unmasking process

The unmasking process for the NSA, Rogers said, is defined in writing and in terms of who has the authority to unmask, he said there are 20 individuals in 12 different positions including Rogers. He said that the NSA outlines in writing what criteria will be applied in the request to unmask.

Rogers said that when a U.S. person is referenced in an intelligence report, they don’t identify the person. Some of the recipients of the report, he said, will sometimes come back to the NSA and ask who the unnamed individuals are.

The criteria: He said that the recipient must request in writing that the person’s identity be unmasked, the request must be made on the basis of the official’s duties and the basis of the request must be that the official needs the identity to understand the intelligence he or she is reading. One of the 20 individuals, he said, would then agree or disagree to unmask and if the NSA unmasks, the unmasking goes back only to the person who made the request.

Coats also declines to comment on specific conversations with Trump

Warner brought up reports about the president asking Rogers and Coats to downplay the Russia investigation and that the president asked him and the CIA director to intervene with then-FBI Director James Comey.

Coats said he doesn’t believe “it’s appropriate for me to address that in a public session.”

Rogers comments on report that Trump asked him to downplay Russia probe

Warner raised reports about the president asking Rogers and Coats to downplay the Russia investigation. He asked Rogers whether in his experience, if it would be typical for the president to ask questions, to bring up an ongoing FBI probe, particularly if that probe involves people associated with the president or his campaign.

Rogers said he’s “not going to discuss theoreticals” and he’s not going to discuss specific conversations with the president. But, he said he would make one comment. He said in the more than 3 years that he has served as NSA director, he said, “I’ve never been directed to do anything illegal, immoral, unethical or inappropriate.” He said he does not “recall feeling pressured” to do something.

Warner said he’s disappointed with his answer.

Coats reveals case that he classified to illustrate the value of Sec. 702

He said that as a result of 702, the U.S. was able to find and kill ISIS’s finance minister, Haji Iman, in March 2016. Coats said that the NSA, along with its intelligence community partners, spent over two years from 2014 to 2016 looking for Iman.

He explained that the NSA learned of a person “closely associated” with Iman and collected intelligence on the associate, forming a robust network. The NSA and its tactical partners, Coats said, combined the information and was able to identify Iman and track his movements. This allowed U.S. forces, he said, to attempt an apprehension of Iman in March 2016. The operation led to shots being fired at U.S. forces, which led to the killing of Iman and other associates at that location.

Coats defends FISA’s Sec. 702, urges Congress to reauthorize the surveillance program

Coats, the director of national intelligence, in his opening joint statement, said that intelligence collection under 702 has produced and continues to produce “significant intelligence” that he said is “vital” to protect the nation from international terrorism, cyber threats and proliferation. He said it contains strong protections for privacy.

Coats said that since FISA was implemented a decade ago, there has been rigorous oversight over the program.

He said that in the nearly 10 years since Congress enacted legislation that established FISA there have been “no instances” of intentional violations of 702. He said that it may not be used to target U.S. persons anywhere in the world and cannot be used to target anyone in the U.S., regardless of their nationality.

“We have never, not once, found an intentional violation of the program. There have been unintended mistakes,” he said. “None of these mistakes has been intentional.”

Warner says he will address reports surrounding Comey firing, Russia probe

Warner, the top Democrat on the panel, acknowledged reports that Trump was thinking of the Russia probe when he fired Comey as FBI director. He said that lawmakers will have the opportunity Wednesday to ask Rosenstein about his role in the Comey firing. He highlighted reports that said that the president asked at least two leaders of the intelligence agencies to publicly downplay the Russia investigation and asked Coats and CIA Director Pompeo to pull back on the Russia probe.

“If any of this is true, it would be an appalling and improper use of our intelligence professionals,” Warner said.

Burr highlights need to approve “critical” foreign intelligence surveillance tool

The chairman said that the panel’s hearing highlights the most critical foreign intelligence tool — FISA — which he said expires on Dec. 31 unless Congress reauthorizes it. He spoke about Sec. 702 of Title 7 which he said provides the capability to target foreigners located outside the U.S. but whose foreign communications happen to be routed to and acquired in the U.S.

Burr said that the program is “exceptionally critical” to protecting Americans at home and abroad and in preventing terror attacks.

He acknowledged that there may be discussion about Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Source: US Government Class