5/27/2017

Kush that is: Ryan Lizza at the New Yorker unpacks the Kushner problem and draws attention to the fact that Kushner was especially hostile to Comey and alone among Trumps advisers wanted his to "counter-attack." One wonders why.

A high-stakes gamble: How Jared Kushner reacted to previous crises

Jared Kushner, shown with his wife Ivanka Trump during the presidential inauguration in January, has emerged as a central figure in the federal investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Taking charge of the business after his father went to prison, Kushner, 25 at the time, paid $1.8 billion in 2007 for the nation's most expensive office building.

GOP Wife: Assaulted Reporter ‘Got A Little Bit Of Montana Justice’

Fox News contributor Rachel Campos-Duffy, the wife of Republican Congressman Sean Duffy, apparently thinks it's just fine for fellow Republican Greg Gianforte to physically assault a reporter. Campos-Duffy's shocking remark - which none of the three other Fox pundits in the segment challenged - came during a discussion about then-candidate Gianforte's assault on Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs on the eve of a special election.

Making America Meaner

Last Wednesday, on the eve of his election to the House of Representatives, Montana Republican Greg Gianforte beat up Ben Jacobs, a reporter for the "Guardian" newspaper. What prompted the violence? Jacobs had asked Gianforte for his reaction to the Congressional Budget Office's report showing that the House Republican substitute for the Affordable Care Act would result in 23 million Americans losing their health insurance.

Nothing to See Here

After the blockbuster Washington Post scoo p about Kushner landed last night, the New York Times followed up to tell it like it is - that everything is just fine: Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, spoke in December with Russia's ambassador to the United States about establishing a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and Moscow to discuss strategy in Syria and other policy issues, according to three people with knowledge of the discussion. Documentary evidence or sworn testimony may emerge some day to confirm this characterization of events, but on its own terms it seems hard to believe for three reasons.

Iraq Parliament Mulls ending Freedom of Assembly

When armed men in civilian clothes kidnapped journalist Afrah Shawqi from her home on 26 December 2016, journalists and activists quickly took to the street to demand that the government take action to ensure her safety and her immediate release. Iraq's parliament is currently reviewing a draft law that, if enacted, could make this kind of response impossible.

Trumpism: White Terrorist Murders 2 after harassing Muslim-American

According to one witness, the suspect was heard saying "get off the bus, and get out of the country because you don't pay taxes here." Amidst rising rates of violence directed toward Muslims and those percieved to be Muslim in the United States, two men on a commuter train in Portland, Oregon were fatally stabbed and a third injured on Friday after they confronted a man who was allegedly yelling racial slurs at two other passengers, one of whom was wearing a hijab, local media reported.

Diplomacy

"These are the best," he said, before explaining that his ambivalent attitude towards the EU was a consequence of his experiences trying to set up businesses, notably golf resorts, on the continent. "He made a lot of references to his personal journey.

How Saudi Arabia Played Donald Trump

Fareed Zakaria: This week's bombing in Manchester, England, was another gruesome reminder that the threat from radical Islamist terrorism is ongoing. And President Trump's journey to the Middle East illustrated yet again how the country central to the spread of this terrorism, Saudi Arabia, has managed to evade and deflect any responsibility for it.