NATION/WORLD
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
East Oregonian
Page 7A
SUPREME COURT NOMINEE
FBI probing Trump-Russia links,
I’ll be unbiased or
wiretap claims bogus, says Comey ‘hang up the robe’
By ERIC TUCKER
and EILEEN SULLIVAN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The
FBI is investigating whether
Donald Trump’s associates
coordinated with Russian
officials in an effort to sway
the 2016 presidential elec-
tion, Director James Comey
said Monday in an extraor-
dinary public confirmation
of a probe the president has
refused to acknowledge,
dismissed as fake news and
blamed on Democrats.
In a bruising five-hour
session, the FBI director
also knocked down Trump’s
claim that his predecessor
had wiretapped his New
York skyscraper, an assertion
that has distracted White
House officials and frustrated
fellow Republicans who
acknowledge they’ve seen no
evidence to support it.
The revelation of the
investigation of possible
collusion with Russians, and
the first public confirmation
of the wider probe that
began last summer, came in
a remarkable hearing by one
branch of government exam-
ining serious allegations
against another branch and
the new president’s election
campaign.
Tight-lipped for the most
part, Comey refused to offer
details on the scope, targets
or timeline for the FBI inves-
tigation, which could shadow
the White House for months,
if not years. The director
would not say whether the
probe has turned up evidence
that Trump associates may
have schemed with Russians
during a campaign marked
by email hacking that inves-
tigators believe was aimed at
helping the Republican defeat
Democrat Hillary Clinton.
“I can promise you,” the
FBI director vowed, “we will
follow the facts wherever
they lead.”
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
FBI Director James Comey takes a break after three hours of testifying on Capitol
Hill in Washington, Monday before the House Intelligence Committee hearing on
allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Comey for the first time
put himself publicly at odds
with the president by contra-
dicting a series of recent
tweets from Trump that
asserted his phones had been
ordered tapped by President
Barack Obama during the
campaign.
“With respect to the pres-
ident’s tweets about alleged
wiretapping directed at him
by the prior administration,
I have no information that
supports those tweets, and
we have looked carefully
inside the FBI,” Comey said.
The same was true, he added,
of the Justice Department.
His confirmation of the
Russia-links investigation was
striking given the FBI’s historic
reluctance to discuss its work.
But Comey said the intense
public interest in the matter
— and permission from the
Justice Department — made it
appropriate to do so.
Comey said the collusion
inquiry began last July as
part of a broader probe
into Russian meddling in
American politics, meaning
Trump was elected president
as associates remained under
investigation for possible
connections to Russia.
Clinton allies on Monday
contrasted Comey’s silence
during the campaign with
public comments he made
last year when closing out an
investigation into Clinton’s
email practices and then,
shortly before Election Day,
announcing that the probe
would be revived following
the discovery of additional
emails. Many Democrats
blame Comey’s public
updates with stoking worries
about Clinton’s trustwor-
thiness and turning voters
against her.
Comey
acknowledged
that “some folks may want
to make comparisons to past
instances” where he and other
officials were more open,
but he said those were about
concluded investigations.
In the current case, it’s not
clear how long it will take for
the FBI to decide if a crime
was committed, but counter-
intelligence investigations are
known for being complicated
and time-intensive — and for
frequently concluding without
charges. Comey would not
commit to a timetable.
Regardless
of
the
outcome, the investiga-
tion is unquestionably an
unwelcome distraction for
an administration that has
struggled to move past ques-
tions about ties to Russia.
The White House tried anew
Monday to distance itself
from two former senior
members of Trump’s team,
Paul Manafort and Michael
Flynn, who have been under
scrutiny for foreign contacts.
Rep. Devin Nunes, the
California Republican who
chairs the committee, told
Comey that revelations about
the investigation had placed a
“big gray cloud” over people
trying to lead the country.
“The faster you can get to
the bottom of this, it’s going
to be better for all Ameri-
cans,” he said.
WASHINGTON (AP)
— Supreme Court nominee
Neil Gorsuch pledged to be
independent or “hang up
the robe” as the U.S. Senate
began rancorous hearings
Monday on President
Donald Trump’s conserva-
tive pick to fill a Supreme
Court seat that
has been vacant
for more than a
year.
Gorsuch
sought to take
the edge off
Democratic
complaints that
he has favored
the
wealthy
and powerful
in more than 10 Gorsuch
years as a federal
judge. The 49-year-old
Coloradan told the Senate
Judiciary Committee he has
tried to be a “neutral and
independent” judge and has
ruled both for and against
disabled students, prisoners
and workers alleging civil
rights violations.
“But my decisions have
never reflected a judgment
about the people before
me, only my best judgment
about the law and facts
at issue in each particular
case,” Gorsuch said. That
was his opening statement
a day ahead of expected
pointed questioning from
committee Democrats.
A
Supreme
Court
confirmation hearing is a
major occasion on Capitol
Hill — the last one was in
2010 — but Monday’s was
overshadowed by a sepa-
rate event in the Capitol
complex. On the House
side, FBI Director James
Comey was testifying that
the bureau is investigating
Russian meddling in last
year’s election and possible
links and coordination
between Russia and associ-
ates of Trump.
Blending
the
two
hearings, Democratic Sen.
Richard Blumenthal of
Connecticut referred to
“a looming constitutional
crisis” that the Supreme
Court might need to
resolve. The court’s eight
current justices
are
roughly
divided ideolog-
ically between
conservatives
and liberals.
The Russian
story line as
well as Trump’s
verbal attacks on
federal judges
both during the
campaign and as
president have
fed into Democratic efforts
to force Gorsuch to break
publicly with the man who
nominated him. Gorsuch
already has told some
senators in private meetings
that he found the criticism
of the judges disheartening.
But Blumenthal said the
nominee needs to make a
statement “publicly and
explicitly and directly.”
For their part, Republi-
cans uniformly portrayed
Gorsuch as a genial,
principled judge whose
qualifications make him
eminently suitable for the
nation’s highest court. “I’m
looking for a judge, not
an ideologue,” Sen. John
Kennedy of Louisiana said.
Actual questioning is to
begin Tuesday. Committee
chairman Chuck Grassley,
an Iowa Republican, said he
expects a committee vote
on Gorsuch’s nomination
on April 3, which would
allow the full Senate to
take up the nomination that
week. Gorsuch could be on
the bench by the time the
justices meet for a round of
arguments in mid-April.
BRIEFLY
Al-Qaida steps up
violence against
Syrian government
BEIRUT (AP) — Under
pressure from fellow
insurgents and escalating
airstrikes by the U.S.-led
coalition, Syria’s al-Qaida
branch is stepping up violence
against President Bashar
Assad’s strongholds with
precise, high-profile attacks,
including a surprising breach
of the capital in the most
serious infiltration in years.
Sunday’s attack, in which
insurgents used tunnels
they control in northeastern
Damascus neighborhoods
to hit government positions,
appears to have caught the
Syrian military off guard.
It was a grim reminder that
the fighting is far from over,
despite significant advances
by Assad’s forces against
rebels across the country in
the past year.
The government dispatched
some of its elite forces to halt
the offensive, which began
shortly before sunrise with
two suicide bombers from an
al-Qaida-linked group. The
bombers, a Saudi and a Syrian,
detonated their explosives-
laden trucks against army
positions on the eastern edge
of the capital amid a barrage
of artillery shells that landed in
the heart of Damascus.
Dozens of insurgents
penetrated the city’s defenses
and captured several blocks
northeast of Damascus,
triggering fierce clashes that
lasted for hours before the
fighters were pushed back to
where they started.
Electronics banned
in some flights
WASHINGTON (AP)
— The U.S. government is
temporarily barring passengers
on certain flights originating
in eight other countries from
bringing laptops, iPads,
cameras and most other
electronics in carry-on luggage
starting Tuesday.
The reason for the ban
was not immediately clear.
U.S. security officials
would not comment. The
ban was revealed Monday
in statements from Royal
Jordanian Airlines and the
official news agency of
Saudi Arabia.
A U.S. official told
The Associated Press the
ban will apply to nonstop
flights to the U.S. from 10
international airports serving
the cities of Cairo in Egypt;
Amman in Jordan; Kuwait
City in Kuwait; Casablanca
in Morocco; Doha in Qatar;
Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi
Arabia; Istanbul in Turkey;
and Abu Dhabi and Dubai
in the United Arab Emirates.
The ban was indefinite.
A second U.S. official
said the ban will affect
nine airlines in total, and
the Transportation Security
Administration will inform
the affected airlines Tuesday.
British exit to
begin on March 29
LONDON (AP) —
Britain will begin divorce
proceedings from the
European Union on March
29, starting the clock on two
years of intense political and
economic negotiations that
will fundamentally change
both the nation and its
European neighbors.
Britain’s ambassador to the
EU, Tim Barrow, informed
European Council President
Donald Tusk of the exact start
date on Monday morning.
“We are on the threshold
of the most important
negotiation for this country
for a generation,” Brexit
Secretary David Davis said.
“The government is clear in
its aims: a deal that works
for every nation and region
of the U.K. and indeed for
all of Europe — a new,
positive partnership between
the U.K. and our friends
and allies in the European
Union.”
BUTTE CHALLENGE
LIVING WELL: BETTER
CHOICES, BETTER HEALTH
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Must pre-register, call 541-667-3509
HEALTHY FRIDAYS
FREE health screenings & health coaching: Blood
pressure checks, weigh-ins, body mass
index, cholesterol and glucose.
First Friday of every month
8am-11am
SATURDAY , MAY 6 , 2017
5K Run, 5K Walk, 10K Run, Kid's Butte Scoot
GSMC Conference Center 7 (by Education Dept)
KNOW YOUR NUMBERS!
FREE blood pressure checks at Hermiston and
Stanfield Senior Centers. One in three adults has
high blood pressure, we encourage everyone to
know their numbers. Open to everyone!
11:00am - 12:00pm
Third Wednesday of each month
STANFIELD SENIOR CENTER
Fourth Thursday of each month
HERMISTON SENIOR CENTER
Information or to register
call (541) 667-3509
or email
healthinfo@gshealth.org
www.gshealth.org
All races begin & end at Hermiston's Butte Park
DRAWINGS • FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
Online registration & race information at
WWW.BUTTECHALLENGE.COM
Register online by April 22nd to order a
custom technical race T-Shirt
All proceeds benefi t THE HERMISTON
CROSS COUNTRY PROGRAM
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!