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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 17, 2017)
Page 8A NATION/WORLD East Oregonian Wednesday, May 17, 2017 White House denies, defends as new bombshells hit WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump personally appealed to FBI Director James Comey to abandon the bureau’s investi- gation into National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, according to notes disclosed late Tuesday that Comey wrote after the meeting. The White House issued a furious denial near the end of a tumultuous day spent beating back potentially disastrous news reports from dawn to dusk. The bombshell Comey news came as the belea- guered administration was still struggling mightily to explain Monday’s revela- tion that the president had disclosed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and the country’s ambassador to the United States. Defending Trump’s actions, officials played down the importance and secrecy of the information, which had been supplied by Israel under an intelligence-sharing agreement, and Trump himself said he had “an absolute right” as president to share “facts pertaining to terrorism” and airline safety with Russia. Yet U.S. allies and some members of Congress expressed concern bordering on alarm. As for Comey, whom Trump fired last week, the FBI director wrote in a memo after a February meeting at the White House that the new president had asked him to shut down the FBI’s investigation of Flynn and his Russian contacts, said a person who had read the memo. The Flynn investigation was part of a broader probe into Russian interference in last year’s presidential election. Comey’s memo, an apparent effort to create a paper trail of his contacts with the White House, would be the clearest evidence to date that the president has tried to influence the investi- gation. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Republican chairman of the House oversight committee, sent a letter to the FBI on Tuesday requesting that it turn over all documents Fox News host up for press secretary job NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle is in conversations with the Trump administration about replacing Sean Spicer as White House press secretary. The former first lady of San Francisco told the Mercury News in San Jose, California, on Monday that taking that job or having another press role in the White House has been “raised by a number of people” in the Trump Guilfoyle administra- tion. “I’m a patriot, and it would be an honor to serve the c o u n t r y, ” Spicer Guilfoyle said. “I think it’d be a fasci- nating job. It’s a challenging job, and you need someone really determined and focused, a great communicator in there with deep knowledge to be able to handle that position.” Guilfoyle, who is one of the co-hosts of the Fox News show “The Five,” said she’s regularly in touch with members of the administra- tion as part of her job. The network said in a statement that Guilfoyle “is a valued member of the FOX News primetime lineup, and is under a long-term contract with the network.” Guilfoyle, 48, is a former San Francisco and Los Angeles prosecutor who was married for four years to California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. The two separated in 2005 when she moved to New York to start a career in television. She was originally consid- ered for press secretary during the presidential transition, but the job went to Spicer, who was spokesman for the Repub- lican National Committee. Contradictions create credibility gap for aides AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File In this May 8 file photo, then-FBI Director James Comey speaks to the Anti-Defa- mation League National Leadership Summit in Washington. The White House is disputing a report that President Donald Trump asked Comey to shut down an investigation into ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn. and recordings that detail communications between Comey and Trump. He said he would give the FBI a week and then “if we need a subpoena we’ll do it.” The panel’s top Demo- crat, Elijah Cummings of Maryland, a constant Trump critic, called the allegation of Trump pressure on Comey “explosive” and said “it appears like a textbook case of criminal obstruction of justice.” Republicans weren’t going that far. But John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the Trump- Russia reports were “deeply disturbing” and could impede allies’ willingness to share intelligence with the U.S. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader of the Senate, said simply: “It would be helpful to have less drama emanating from the White House.” The person who described the Comey memo to the AP was not authorized to discuss it by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. The existence of the memo was first reported Tuesday by The New York Times. The White House vigorously denied it all. “While the president has repeatedly expressed his view that General Flynn is a decent man who served and protected our country, the president has never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn,” a White House statement said. Trump fired Flynn on Feb. 13, on grounds that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other offi- cials about his contacts with Russians. The intensifying drama comes as Trump is set to embark Friday on his first foreign trip, which had been optimistically viewed by some aides as an opportunity to reset an administration floundering under an inexpe- rienced president. When Trump fired Comey, he said he did so based on Comey’s very public handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe and how it affected his leadership of the FBI. But the White House has provided differing accounts of the firing. And lawmakers have alleged that the sudden ouster was an attempt to stifle the bureau’s investigation into Trump associates’ ties to Russia’s meddling in the campaign. Mark Warner of Virginia, top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, said he would ask Comey for additional material as part of that panel’s investigation. “Memos, transcripts, tapes — the list keeps getting longer,” he said. WASHINGTON (AP) tion has made it harder for — When the report burst aides to effectively advocate forth alleging that President for the president. Donald Trump had revealed “It’s always a hard job, highly classified informa- but there’s no question in tion to Russian diplomats, my mind the president has the White House quickly made it harder for his imme- dispatched Trump’s national diate staff, which is there security adviser to support him,” to declare that the said Ari Fleischer, story “as reported press secretary is false.” to Republican By the President George next morning, W. Bush. however, H.R. Trump himself McMaster ’s has raised doubts pronouncement about the credi- was undercut by bility of what his Trump himself, representatives making the aide McMaster say. He tweeted the latest to face a last week that public conflict with the boss since he’s a very active in a White House where president, it’s not always credibility problems are possible for his surrogates becoming an occupational to speak with perfect accu- hazard. racy. He also suggested Yes, the president said, “maybe the best thing to he had given information to do would be to cancel all the Russians. But there was future ‘press briefings’ and nothing wrong with that, hand out written responses he insisted. In two tweets, for the sake of accuracy???” Trump said the conversation White House Press with the diplomats was an Secretary Sean Spicer got acceptable way to provide off to a rocky start with beat facts related to airline reporters on the second day safety and terrorism, and he of the administration when declared he had “the absolute he delivered a tirade about right” to share the details. reporting on the Inaugura- Still, the day-after tion Day crowds. Trump had accounts prompted ques- already blasted the media tions about McMaster’s over its reports — accurate earlier comments on the — about the numbers. story that was first reported Kellyanne Conway, by The Washington Post. counselor to the president, These types of conflicts has also tangled with the are a near-constant in the media over the believ- Trump administration, ability of her statements, which has tangled over saying earlier this year in a accounts involving issues television appearance that ranging from the size of Flynn had Trump’s full Trump’s inaugural crowd confidence, hours before to the firing of former Trump fired him. She also National Security Adviser referred to a “Bowling Michael Flynn and Trump’s Green Massacre” that claims that President never occurred. Barack Obama wiretapped And Vice President Mike Trump Tower. Pence insisted Flynn had Trump has frequently not discussed Obama-era tasked aides and surrogates Russian sanctions with the with delivering apparently Russian ambassador to the false or misleading state- U.S., Sergey Kislyak. That ments or to aggressively was untrue, something the argue points that the presi- White House blamed on dent later contradicts. Flynn when Trump fired The conflicted informa- him a month later.
