THE WHITE HOUSE
Saturday, April 1, 2017
Trump urges former adviser
Flynn to cut immunity deal
By CHAD DAY,
EILEEN SULLIVAN
and JULIE PACE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Pres-
ident Donald Trump urged
his former national security
adviser to strike an immunity
deal Friday, even as congres-
sional investigators rebuffed
Michael Flynn’s offer of
cooperation in exchange for
protection from prosecution.
Trump
tweeted
that
Flynn, the adviser he fired
in February, should ask for
immunity because he’s facing
“a witch hunt.”
The White House also
tried to quell a firestorm
over its role in helping a top
Republican lawmaker see
secret intelligence reports.
Rep. Adam Schiff went to
the White House to view
materials that he said were
“precisely the same” as what
House intelligence committee
chairman Devin Nunes
viewed there last week.
“The White House has yet
to explain why senior White
House staff apparently shared
these materials with but one
member,” said Schiff, who
met with Trump for about 10
minutes while he was at the
White House.
The congressional investi-
gations into Russian election
interference and the Trump
campaign’s possible Russian
ties have become a near-
daily distraction for a new
administration struggling to
find its footing. Trump has
vigorously denied that his
campaign coordinated with
Russia during the election.
The president weighed
in on Flynn the day after
the ousted national security
adviser’s attorney confirmed
the immunity discussions
with intelligence committees
in both the Senate and House
that are investigating Russia’s
meddling in the 2016 presi-
dential election.
A congressional aide
confirmed that preliminary
discussions with the Senate
intelligence
committee
involved immunity but
that it was too early in the
East Oregonian
Trump’s approach to intel
agencies: anxiety, distrust
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House’s handling
of intelligence reports on the Russia investigation has been
labeled unorthodox and, to the Democrats, suspicious.
But when it comes to Donald Trump’s relationship with
his spy agencies, that’s par for the course.
Since taking office, Trump has challenged the integrity
of intelligence officials, moved to exert more control over
U.S. spying agencies and accused his predecessor of using
government spycraft to monitor his presidential campaign.
This week, Trump’s White House is facing allegations
that it funneled secret intelligence reports to a top Repub-
lican investigating his campaign’s possible ties to Russian
officials as well
as
Moscow’s
interference in the
2016 election.
The approach
appears to be
based, at least in
part, on the White
— Michael Hayden,
House’s anxiety
former
head of CIA and NSA
over the Russia
investigations,
which threaten to seriously weaken his presidency. It
also reflects a deep distrust of the intelligence commu-
nity among his political advisers, including government
newcomers who have never dealt with classified informa-
tion or covert programs.
“It reveals a chasm of ignorance about how stuff is
done,” said Michael Hayden, the former head of the CIA
and National Security Agency.
Trump, with the backing of political advisers Steve
Bannon and Jared Kushner, initially sought to put Wall
Street billionaire Stephen Feinberg in charge of a review of
the intelligence agencies. An early iteration of the review
explored eliminating the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence, the umbrella agency created after the Sept. 11,
2001, attacks to streamline and coordinate intelligence.
Officials say they viewed the agency as an unnecessary
and bloated bureaucracy that can manipulate or distort
information.
But the review was recalibrated after Dan Coats — who
was confirmed earlier this month as Trump’s intelligence
director — vigorously complained about being under-
mined in the midst of his confirmation hearings, according
to U.S. officials. Coats is now leading the review, though
it does not include potentially scrapping the office he now
runs, according to the officials.
“This is going to be more on the ‘trim and optimize’
as opposed to ‘dismantle,’” said L. Roger Mason, Jr., an
executive with the nonprofit Noblis and a member of the
Trump transition team that focused on the national intelli-
gence directorate.
Trump’s White House has looked for other ways seize
the reins.
Officials have expressed an interest in having more raw
intelligence sent to the president for his daily briefings instead
of an analysis of information compiled by the agencies,
according to current and former U.S. officials. The change
would have given his White House advisers more control
about the assessments given to him and sidelined some of the
conclusions made by intelligence professionals.
One official said the focus on accessing more raw intelli-
gence appeared to be more of a priority under the short tenure
of Michael Flynn. He was replaced by H.R. McMaster, an
Army lieutenant general who was expected to exert more
control over the NSC but has found himself struggling to
overcome skepticism among Flynn holdovers who have the
ear of Bannon.
“It reveals a chasm
of ignorance about
how stuff is done.”
AP photos
President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with the National Association of
Manufacturers Friday in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington.
National Security Adviser Michael Flynn speaks during the daily news briefing Feb.
1 at the White House, in Washington.
investigation to set terms.
The aide was not authorized
to discuss private conversa-
tions and spoke on condition
of anonymity. The Justice
Department did not immedi-
ately respond to a request for
comment.
It was unclear from
Trump’s tweet whether he
was advising the Justice
Department or the congres-
sional panels to give his
former adviser immunity. The
president is not supposed to
direct ongoing investigations.
White House spokesman
Sean Spicer said Trump just
wants Flynn to testify, and
there are no concerns that
Flynn could implicate the
president in any wrongdoing.
Schiff said committee
leaders would be discussing
the issue with their Senate
counterparts and the Justice
Department.
“We should first acknowl-
edge what a grave and
momentous step it is for
a former national security
adviser to the president of
the United States to ask for
immunity from prosecution,”
Schiff said in a statement.
Flynn’s attorney, Robert
Kelner, said no “reasonable
person” who has a lawyer
would answer questions
without assurances that he
would not be prosecuted,
given calls from some
members of Congress
that the retired lieutenant
general should face criminal
charges.
Flynn seemed to have a
different view last September
when he weighed in on the
implications of immunity
on NBC’s “Meet the Press,”
criticizing Democratic pres-
idential candidate Hillary
Clinton and her associates in
the FBI’s investigation into
her use of a private email
server.
“When you are given
immunity, that means that
you have probably committed
a crime,” Flynn said during
the interview.
His own lawyer, Kelner,
said Thursday, “General
Flynn certainly has a story to
tell, and he very much wants
to tell it, should the circum-
stances permit.”
Trump spokesman Spicer
said the president “thinks
he should go out and tell his
story.”
Flynn’s ties to Russia have
been scrutinized by the FBI
and are under investigation
by the congressional commit-
tees. Both panels are looking
into Russia’s meddling in the
election and any ties between
Trump associates and the
Kremlin.
Since July, the FBI has
been conducting a counterin-
telligence investigation into
Russia’s interference in the
election and possible coordi-
nation with Trump associates.
In September, Flynn
weighed in on the implica-
tions of immunity on NBC’s
“Meet the Press,” criticizing
Democratic
presidential
candidate Hillary Clinton and
her associates in the FBI’s
investigation into her use of a
private email server.
“When you are given
immunity, that means that
you have probably committed
a crime,” Flynn said during
the interview.
A spokesman for Nunes,
the Republican chairman
of the House intelligence
committee, said the panel has
not offered an immunity deal
to Flynn.
The committee “had a
preliminary
conversation
with Michael Flynn’s lawyer
about arranging for Flynn
to speak to the committee,”
spokesman Jack Langer said.
“The discussions did not
include immunity or other
possible conditions for his
appearance.”
New orders target trade abuses
WASHINGTON
(AP)
— President Donald Trump
signed a pair of executive
orders Friday focused on
reducing the trade deficit just
days before he holds his first
meeting with his Chinese
counterpart.
Trump’s aides insist the
timing is coincidental, but the
administration is touting the
moves as evidence of it taking
an aggressive but analytical
approach to closing a trade
gap that is largely due to the
influx of goods from China.
Some experts say the orders
suggest the president may be
taking a softer tack on trade.
The first order gives the
Commerce Department 90
days to assemble a report on
the factors behind the trade
deficit, while the second
seeks to increase collection
of duties on imports.
In remarks in the Oval
Office, Trump said he’d seen
first-hand as he travelled the
country how bad trade deals
had hurt American workers.
“The jobs and wealth
have been stripped from our
country,” he said, vowing to
Page 9A
put that to an end. “We’re
bringing manufacturing and
jobs back to our country.”
The president had been
expected to sign the orders
after giving his remarks, but
left before he had. A White
House official said he signed
the orders later.
Several economists said
it’s unlikely the planned
report would address the
broader economic forces
behind the trade imbalance,
since it would track trade
deficits country-by-country
and
product-by-product.
And the order on trade duties
appears to duplicate the
standards of a trade enforce-
ment act signed into law by
then-President Obama in
2016, according to congres-
sional staff.
“It seems like there is less
here than meets the eye,” said
Robert Scott, director of trade
and manufacturing policy
research at the left-leaning
Economic Policy Institute.
Coupled
together,
the orders appear to be a
symbolic shot at China,
which accounted for the vast
majority— $347 billion —of
last year’s $502 billion trade
deficit.
Trump referenced his
meeting with China in his
remarks in the Oval Office.
“We’re going to get down
to some very serious busi-
ness,” he said. “It’s been very
bad what’s been happening
to our country, in terms of
our companies and in terms
of our jobs.”
But Peter Navarro, director
of the White House National
Trade Council, stressed the
orders had nothing to do with
Trump hosting President Xi
Jinping of China at his estate
in Florida next week.
“Nothing we’re saying
tonight is about China.
Let’s not make this a China
story. This is a story about
trade abuses, this is a story
about an under-collection of
duties,” he told reporters at a
Thursday evening briefing.
Trump took an adversarial
tone with China in a Thursday
evening tweet, but he also
appeared to dampen expecta-
tions about the meeting with
Xi at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
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Trump paying $25M to settle lawsuits
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A
judge on Friday approved
an agreement for President
Donald Trump to pay $25
million to settle lawsuits
over his now-defunct Trump
University, ending nearly
seven years of legal battles
with customers who claimed
they were misled by failed
promises to teach success in
real estate.
U.S.
District
Judge
Gonzalo Curiel said the
agreement represents an
“extraordinary
amount”
of money for customers to
recover. Plaintiff attorneys
say about 3,730 people will
get at least 90 percent of their
money back.
The ruling settles two
class-action lawsuits and
a civil lawsuit by New
York Attorney General
Eric Schneiderman that
had dogged the Republican
businessman throughout the
presidential campaign.
Trump fueled the contro-
versy by repeatedly assailing
Curiel, insinuating that the
Indiana-born judge’s Mexican
heritage exposed a bias.
Trump had vowed never
to settle. But he said after the
election that he didn’t have
time for a trial, even though
he believed he would have
prevailed.
The White House referred
requests for comment to
the Trump Organization,
which didn’t immediately
respond. Under terms of the
settlement, Trump admits no
wrongdoing.
Attorneys for the former
customers say the money
will allow people to retire
debt-free and overcome
other financial obstacles. The
attorneys waived their fees,
raising individual payments.
“Over the past seven
years, our goal has always
has been to help these
everyday Americans move
forward with their lives,”
attorney Amber Eck said.
The Democratic New
York attorney general said
the ruling “will provide relief
— and hopefully much-
needed closure — to the
victims of Donald Trump’s
fraudulent university.”
“Trump
University’s
victims waited years for
compensation, while Presi-
dent Trump refused to settle
and fought us every step of
the way — until his stunning
reversal last fall,” said Schnei-
derman, who is contributing
$1.6 million of his $4 million
portion of the settlement to
former customers.
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Court Place
Pendleton, OR 97801
541-276-5053
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