Category: Ron Wyden

Obama denies Trump’s claim he wiretapped him

WASHINGTON: A spokesman for Barack Obama on Saturday rejected claims by US President Donald Trump that the then-president had wiretapped Trump in October during the late stages of the presidential election campaign, saying it was “simply false.” Trump made the accusation in a series of tweets, without citing evidence, just weeks into his administration and amid rising scrutiny of his campaign’s ties to Russia.

AP source: Senators want materials saved for Russia probe

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., right, walks with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, following a closed-door intelligence briefing by FBI Director James Comey. less Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., right, walks with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, following … more Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., left, and Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., walk to a closed intelligence briefing with FBI Director James Comey, Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Democrats running Tea Party playbook against Trump

Senate Democrats are dispensing with talk of cooperation and preparing to fight President Trump across the board, delaying his nominees where possible and filibustering his Supreme Court pick if necessary. Despite their minority status in the Senate, Democrats are under increasing pressure from their progressive base to stand up to a president they consider authoritarian and illegitimate.

Trump assures CIA of support

President Donald Trump visits the CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., where he told members of the intelligence community, “I am so behind you.” President Donald Trump visited the CIA’s headquarters in northern Virginia on Saturday afternoon, his first full day in office, making a gesture of goodwill after he criticized the intelligence community in the run-up to his inauguration.

Senate confirms Trump’s picks for defense, homeland security

The Republican-led Senate, taking little time to fill two critical national security posts, overwhelmingly confirmed a pair of retired Marine generals tapped by President Donald Trump to run the Pentagon and secure America’s borders. A little more than an hour later, Vice President Mike Pence administered the oath of office to James Mattis to be defense secretary and John Kelly to lead the Department of Homeland Security.

From ‘Avatar’ to ‘Borat’ and ‘The Devil…

Mnuchin came under the scrutiny of Senate Democrats Thursday for his film financing operation, which has assisted in paying for more than 100 Hollywood movies over the last decade. U.S. Treasury secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin’s hedge fund has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in at least 116 Hollywood movies over the past decade, making him one of the most prolific film financiers in recent time.

Treasury Nominee Steven Mnuchin’s ‘Avatar’ Profits Shelter Attacked at Confirmation Hearing

On Thursday morning, Steven Mnuchin, the president-elect’s nominee to head the U.S. Treasury Department, appeared before the Senate Finance Committee. Although the bulk of the confirmation hearing was expected to focus on his positions on tax reform and his role during the mortgage crisis nearly a decade ago, his Hollywood connections got some heavy attention with an attack on where his profits from Avatar were funneled.

Senators push IC on whether Russia hacked GOP

For the second time in less than a week, leaders of the intelligence community sat before senators to discuss and defend their conclusion that Russia directed a comprehensive information operations campaign to influence the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. Last week, the Senate Armed Services Committee grilled Director of National Intelligence James Clapper; Marcel Lettre, the Defense Department’s under secretary for intelligence; and Michael Rogers, director of the National Security Agency and head of U.S. Cyber Command, about whether the U.S. had responded forcefully enough to Russia to deter future hacking and information operations.

Dems want probe of Trump Cabinet pick over stock sales

Top Senate Democrats said Thursday that the House ethics office should investigate whether stock sales by a congressman who is now one of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks broke any laws. The Democrats cited a Wall Street Journal report last month that Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., had traded over $300,000 worth of shares in health care companies over the past four years while pushing legislation that might affect those stocks’ values.

Obama renominates Rosenworcel as FCC commissioner, kicking off battle with Republican leaders

Democratic FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel was renominated on Wednesday as one of several nominations sent to the Senate by outgoing President Barack Obama. Democratic FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel has been renominated by outgoing President Barack Obama, a move that will likely draw a battle from Republican leaders, who desire to create a GOP majority-led commission.

Trump’s wiretap tweets come as NSA surveillance programs are up for renewal this year

Nearly four years after National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden blew the lid off domestic spying, the vast surveillance programs cherished as the “crown jewels” of the U.S. intelligence establishment are about to spring back into public debate – and not just because of Donald Trump’s allegation that he’s been the subject of wiretaps. The legal framework for some of the broadest U.S. surveillance programs, authorized for a five-year period in 2012, will expire Dec. 31 unless Congress reauthorizes it.