https://thinkprogress.org/trump-lied-about-campaign-russian-contacts-9a3e8e464f63#.ip7th0a7d Trump said no one from his campaign met with Russia, but at least 4 people did Both Trump and Pence falsely claimed the campaign had not been in contact with Putin’s regime. Then-Vice-President-Elect Mike Pence claimed in January that no one from the Trump campaign communicated with Russian meddlers. CREDIT: CBS Face the Nation President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus have for months claimed that no one from the Trump campaign had communications with Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia. It is now clear that these claims were false. As Russia — according to multiple U.S. intelligence agencies — worked to interfere in the 2016 presidential election to aid Trump and undermine Hillary Clinton, Trump and his team claimed total ignorance. But at least four Trump campaign figures apparently met with the Russian ambassador and/or other Putin representatives. These include: CREDIT: (AP Photo/Susan Walsh Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Then a U.S. Senator, Sessions repeatedly met with the Russian Ambassador in 2016 — meetings he told the Senate Judiciary Committee, under oath, he had not had. Sessions was more than just a Trump supporter and surrogate; he was chairman of the campaign’s National Security Advisory Committee. Under bipartisan pressure, Sessions announced Thursday that he would recuse himself from any Department of Justice investigations into the Trump campaign and its relationship with Russia. CREDIT: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster Former National Security adviser Michael Flynn. Flynn, a retired general and principal national security adviser for the Trump campaign, resigned just days after joining Trump’s administration. The reason given for his departure was that he had mislead the vice president and other administration officials about his back-channel discussions with Putin’s government about U.S. sanctions. Though those conversations took place during the transition period, the New York Times reported Flynn and the Russian ambassador were also in contact during the campaign. CREDIT: AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin Former foreign policy adviser Carter Page. Page confirmed on Thursday that he had met with the Russian ambassador during the 2016 Republican National Convention. At that time, Page was an unpaid foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign. Page refused to reveal the substance of the conversation, citing a confidentiality agreement. CREDIT: AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, Pool Former national security policy aide J.D. Gordon. Gordon, who was the Trump campaign’s national-security policy representative for the Republican National Convention, reportedly says he pushed to alter the party’s platform position on the Russia/Ukraine conflict to align with Trump’s pro-Russia views. He had previously downplayed his involvement in the platform process. During the convention, he also met with the Russian envoy — a meeting he characterized the meeting “an informal conversation just like my interactions with dozens of other ambassadors and senior diplomats in Cleveland.” Plus, CNN reported last month that Flynn and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort were among multiple Trump officials where were “in constant communication during the campaign with Russians known to US intelligence.” Manafort called reports of his own involvement “100% not true.” And it was reported on Thursday that Flynn and Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner met with the Russian envoy during the presidential transition period last December. In his campaign, Trump vowed to be a bulwark against dishonesty, repeatedly promising he would always tell the truth to the American people. He has broken that promise nearly every day of his presidency.
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-cla...-could-be-his-undoing-f07620fac861#.xiw6bflnt Trump claims he was wiretapped. If he’s right, it could be his undoing. It would suggest a FISA court found probable cause linking his campaign to Russian officials. President Donald Trump gestures as he steps off Air Force One at the Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, March 3, 2017, in West Palm Beach, Fla. CREDIT: AP Photo/Alex Brandon President Donald Trump surprised aides Saturday morning with an early tweetstorm accusing his predecessor of conducting surveillance against him during the presidential campaign. One former policy advisor for President Obama quickly pointed out that the president doesn’t have authority to order a wiretap. While it is possible that Trump’s communications were intercepted by American intelligence agencies, that would also suggest that a FISA court granted a surveillance warrant after finding probable cause that members of the Trump campaign team communicated inappropriately with Russia. And that could bring an avalanche of pressure onto the sitting president. If the FBI felt Trump’s campaign warranted wiretaps and a federal judge signed off on surveillance, then it could mean there was noteworthy communication between Trump’s team and influential Russian officials. In January, the Guardian reported that the FBI had submitted a formal application to the FISA court for the surveillance of four Trump campaign officials, but that the application was rejected because it was too broad. A second, more narrow application was submitted and, according to at least one report, was granted. If that’s the case, then it provides some of the most compelling evidence yet that the intelligence community believes there was direct communication between the Trump campaign and allies in Russia. Democratic lawmakers and conservatives are calling for the release of any evidence that might have provided the basis for a FISA warrant. A day earlier, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) told MSBNC he believes the FBI is in possession of transcripts which might detail communication between top Trump campaign members and Russian officials. The transcripts, which Coons said he hasn’t seen, could reveal if the Kremlin and Trump’s team colluded to influence the 2016 election. Senator suggests FBI has transcripts that might point to collusion between Trump and Russia And he wants the agency to turn them over to congressional intelligence committees.thinkprogress.org Trump is known for surprising aides with early morning tweetstorms. His latest rant also caught his staff off guard, according to Washington Posts’ Robert Costa. It’s unclear what prompted Trump’s latest off-script accusation, but unsubstantiated reports of wire-tapping have sprung up in recent weeks in articles on right-wing website Breitbart.
Hmm, so he's a little nuttier than your average Republican. I was half hoping he talked a bunch of hate and ultimately did nothing about it. I do like to fact check huffpost since I find them untrusthworthy, but the article seems unbiased enough to raise an eyebrow.
LOL The FISA warrant obtained NOTHING but Obama continued surveillance after the warrant expired. No way you can spin that one shill-boy. Its Obama, Lynch, Clapper and Brennan who are in the crosshairs now.