The Serious Side - part 4

My husband just mentioned: "The videos have to be real, otherwise they wouldn't be on Twitter!"

party animal - not! wrote:As of ten minutes ago breaking news:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42166663

Words fail me and the implications are massive.  
But the cynical part of me says that he can't get any of his plans sorted out so he does this instead...........

PAN, this man is twisted.  Talk resurfaced this morning that Trump is not stable and his bizarre behavior does put our country at great risk.  He did feed his base with these retweets but did it at the expense of American moral principles.  What is almost equally as disgusting was Sarah Sanders attempting to defend his racist retweets by making arrogant comments about national security and Theresa May condemning Trump’s actions.

I’m still coming to terms with Matt Lauer being fired.  Whatever he has done it must be pretty bad that the network wouldn’t give him any benefit of the doubt.

Donnamaraie - The NBC statement said that Lauer's improper behavior may not have been an isolated incident. I think they wanted to keep the situation under control and not end up with a Charlie Rose type media circus. Women may continue to come forward to accuse Lauer, but NBC will be able to say "We fired him as soon as we found out."

Do ya know this has gone a tad crazy.....

I go out for dinner with my friends who WILL NOT complain if there dish is BAD....I say "tell the waiter, he will be more than happy to bring you something you might like"....NO!....so waiter/waitress comes round and asks if everything is alright, "it's fabulous" say my friends....they never complain, UNTIL AFTERWARDS....WTF


SOME WOMEN NEED SERIOUS HELP...


If you do the same....join the end of the Harvey que.....

Ladies teach your daughters to assert at every possible occurrence....It doesn't have to be nasty...."get real, Harvey! put your pants on for Gods sake, your not in my league" is exactly the same as "This fish is not to my taste/expectation, do you mind if I change it"....

Zero tolerance with a kind voice and a polite manner does the trick every time .....

WWHS,
I'd like every woman / girl (and every man as well, of course) to reply to any unappropriate behaviour.
BUT... remember, the young women were gojng to meet Weinstein, no 1 in Hollywood, somebody you wouldn't want to annoy to have a chance for a job. A young man who accused Kevin Spacey to have harassed him, described it quite good JMO. He said that he admired him so much, so he couldn't believe what was going on - while his father sat next to them. And even afterwards he wasn't sure if he could trust his memory and afraid nobody would believe him.

They simply weren't on the same level as Weinstein, Spacey and everybody else. Remember: "They let you do everything, you can grab them by the p...y". And that's not because they admire them so much but because they felt exactly the same way as this young man..

IMO you can't compare it to the situation in a restaurant you just described. My sister and her husband are exactly like these women. We've been invited to really fine restaurants with a perfect service and fantastic food, and they will always find a way to complain about it, to find nuances to critisize. But they feel they are in a position of power, are superior to them, for them it's a way of ego boost (at least that's my impression), while it's embarassing for everybody else to sit next to them. If there's something to critisize, do it when the waiter asks you if you're enjoying your meal.

Carolhathaway - That's exactly why this kind of thing still goes on. We don't speak up in the moment. IMO it's either behavior that you can live with or it isn't, and if it isn't you have to put a stop to it when it happens - not 5 or 10 or 20 years later. Way too much damage can be done in that time.

If you decide that you can live with it to maybe get/keep a job then I'm not so sure you have the right to call yourself a "victim". (I HATE that word!) You become complicit in the abuser's behavior. You let them get away with it. There were no consequences so they feel safe and free to do it to someone else. IMO if you don't get the word out that this person is a pervert, then you are enabling their behavior and can't expect things to change.

Lizzy,
we all know that it's a tricky issue. I see things very differently from the way I thought about them twenty years ago. I guess it's called 'growing up' or 'mature'. And maybe I see several things as sexual harassment I didn't recognize when they happened.
When my swimming coach visited me when I started going to university, he tried to kiss me. I told him that I wasn't interested, and he left immediately. I always asked myself if I'd sent him signals which made him think that I was interested - I can't remember one single moment but never talked about it.
Would my opinion change if I heard that he did the same with every other young woman he had trained before? Would I speak up if I heard that he'd really harassed others to support them? I don't know.
When my boss touched my back in an unappropriate way at work I was only 16. Since he refused to have done anything, I didn't know if I could trust myself and if it was really wrong. Several years ago, I found out that he'd done this with every young woman who started working, my collegues called it 'testing if you wore a bra'. Should we've spoken out against him? Probably...

But what if somebody touched you unappropriately, you told him that you don't want it, and he simply said that you misunderstood him and excused. And years later, you found out that he'd raped others. Should you shut up or say what he'd done to you to support the others? It's a tricky thing...

I think the other problem for the victims is the fact that instead of support they get blamed. What was she wearing, they met in a hotel.It is important to realize that  sexual harassment is wrong and not anyone's fault. No one has the right to touch you or say vile things to you.
I think speaking up years later can be a good thing , let's be real leopard's don't change their spots. They will continue to do the same things until they are called on it. People need to know there are consequences for their actions and for some in these cases it is losing everything.I have no pity for any of them they knew what was right and wrong and chose to do wrong
with their power.

Very interesting and admirable interview with Brendan Cox the widower of the MP, Jo Cox by Anderson Cooper in the wake of Trump's tweets:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H2nfL8kaUE

Yes Brenden Cox said it very well. It must pain him to see the leader of the UK’s closest ally in essence defend a hate group whose sympathizer was responsible for his wife’s death. The bottom line is that there is no excuse or justification for Trump to have retweeted those disgusting videos. If he really cared about our national security he should have addressed his concerns in an articulate way using his own words. He doesn’t because he could care less about our national security. It’s about his ego and stirring up his base.

On the sexual harassment discussion I understand the motives for why women don’t speak up when they feel harassed or worse actually assaulted by men in power. Just look at all the women coming out now to tell their stories. Almost every one of them were motivated not to speak up because they were embarrassed or felt that they would not be believed. Alone they have no power against powerful men. They are talking now because there is power in numbers. It has been common knowledge for far too long that women end up being victimized twice. Once by the perpetrator and again by those who judge.

A couple of things with reference to THE tweets:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-42182457/uk-home-secretary-amber-rudd-why-trump-retweets-were-wrong
(this was before Theresa May spoke to the press and warns Trump of the implications to all the joint intelligence agencies through Five Eyes)

https://twitter.com/davidaxelrod/status/936110641521229824

Donnamaarie - I understand the motivations of women on the receiving end of inappropriate sexual behavior. I've been there myself - as have most of the women I know. My feeling is that if these men aren't called out for their behavior right away they aren't going to stop.

 If you can't stop the jerk in his tracks by telling him to cut it out, scream bloody murder then go to HR. If going to HR isn't an option or doesn't solve the problem, go to someone higher up the ladder. If that isn't an option, spread the word to all the other women you work with about what happened. If you have to, quit. There are other jobs. If the behavior is serious enough, go to the police. If the man is a public figure, go to the press.

There are options. Speaking up may have unpleasant consequences but if we don't, nothing changes. Bottom line, in situations like these, where someone does something to us, we're not the ones who should feel ashamed or embarrassed - they are - and if we don't call them out, they won't - and they won't stop.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5132475/Trump-whacks-NYT-saying-lobby-against-tax-bill.html

[size=34]Trump declares war on the 'failing' New York Times after it tells readers how to lobby senators AGAINST his tax bill - and accuses it of being 'pipe organ for Democrats'[/size]
By NIKKI SCHWAB, U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 09:34 EST, 30 November 2017 | UPDATED: 13:04 EST, 30 November 2017

    
'The Failing @NYTimes, the pipe organ for the Democrat Party, has become a virtual lobbyist for them with regard to our massive Tax Cut Bill,' Trump wrote. 'They are wrong so often that now I know we have a winner!' he added, seemingly referencing a tweet he sent out Monday where he suggested news organizations should compete for a 'FAKE NEWS TROPHY!' 
The Fox & Friends hosts, and then Trump, were riled up over the New York Times' op-ed board's Twitter push yesterday to get Americans to call their senators to sway the lawmakers to vote no on the Republican tax reform bill. 
Scroll down for video 


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President Trump lashed out at the New York Times Thursday morning after the paper's op-ed board took over the @nytopinion account Wednesday and tweeted out the phone numbers of senators people could call to stop the Republican tax bill 


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Parroting the hosts of Fox & Friends, who made similar points on television this morning, President Trump called the Times a 'lobbyist' for the Democratic Party 


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Fox & Friends' Brian Kilmeade pointed out that the Times issued new social media guidelines a month ago, a point that President Trump made on his Twitter account shortly thereafter 


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President Trump is pictured coming home Wednesday night after giving a speech on tax reform in the suburbs of St. Louis
Not 10 minutes into the Thursday morning broadcast, Fox & Friends' Steve Doocy called out the Times. 
'The New York Times, the Gray Lady, it looks as if has been rented out to the Democrats because yesterday they essentially turned over everything to stop this tax bill,' Doocy. 
The op-ed board took the @nytopinion account and tweeted numerous times about what senators to call, with the messages including the senators' phone numbers in D.C. and also in their states.  
'The NYT Editorial Board is urging Senators to vote against the tax bill,' one tweet said. 
All of the tweets used the hashtag, #thetaxbillhurts. 
Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade suggested that the Times was breaking its own social media policy. 


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The New York Times' editorial board took over the @nytopinion Twitter handle on Wednesday and asked Americans to contact certain senators to pressure them to vote against the Republican tax reform bill 


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The Times' editorial board provided phone numbers for both the senators' Washington and state offices 


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The Times' editorial board also offered suggested talking points, while using the hashtag #thetaxbillhurts 


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In this tweet, the New York Times' editorial board asks Americans to pressure retiring Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, who has the reputation of being a deficit hawk 
'In social media posts, our journalists must not express partisan opinions, promote political views, endorse candidates, make offensive comments or do anything else that undercuts The Times's journalistic reputation,' he said, reading guidelines that were introduced by Times executive editor Dean Baquet in October. 
The guidelines were put in place to keep individual journalists and editors working for the Times from posting content on their personal social media channels that might sully the newspaper's reputation. 
The president caught a whiff of this point too and sent out a second tweet on the matter. 

RELATED ARTICLES

'The Failing @nytimes has totally gone against the Social Media Guidelines that they installed to preserve some credibility after many of their biased reporters went Rogue!' Trump wrote Thursday morning, tagging @foxandfriends in his tweet, so Twitter watchers were aware of his source. 
In a follow-up segment on Fox & Friends, where the major points were all brought up again, ex-Rep. Jason Chaffetz laid the issue out.
'But to start putting telephone numbers and to move to advocacy and actually call not just the senators' office, but the districts and they're putting out hashtags to do this, that's just new stuff,' the former Republican lawmaker complained. 'And you're right, against what they said they were going to do a month ago,' he added, referring to the new social media rules.

LizzyNY wrote:Donnamaarie - I understand the motivations of women on the receiving end of inappropriate sexual behavior. I've been there myself - as have most of the women I know. My feeling is that if these men aren't called out for their behavior right away they aren't going to stop.

 If you can't stop the jerk in his tracks by telling him to cut it out, scream bloody murder then go to HR. If going to HR isn't an option or doesn't solve the problem, go to someone higher up the ladder. If that isn't an option, spread the word to all the other women you work with about what happened. If you have to, quit. There are other jobs. If the behavior is serious enough, go to the police. If the man is a public figure, go to the press.

There are options. Speaking up may have unpleasant consequences but if we don't, nothing changes. Bottom line, in situations like these, where someone does something to us, we're not the ones who should feel ashamed or embarrassed - they are - and if we don't call them out, they won't - and they won't stop.

Thank you Lizzy....That was what I was trying to say!!!

We should all make an effort to "deal" with problems head on, on the spot....what is the saying "Delays are Dangerous".....Immediate action is best....

I know sometimes this is impossible to do....but in my experience a few softly measured but succinct words on the spot saves anger and hurt later....

Don't give time in your head to would have/should have....Keeping your powder dry is overrated.....

Hashtag... CallOutOnTheSpot....

Thinking about this....Look at The Donald.....

No words would sort him out he is a law unto himself.....But a good punching bag for practice ....I am going to practice for 1 minute a day, looking in the mirror and imagining The Donald has very inappropriately and publicly put his hand on my ass....and whispered nasty things in your ear...

Look in the mirror and practice and re practice you reaction.....Hard wire it into your responses, your brain....

The next time someone says or does something inappropriate.....YOU WILL BE READY.....You will be on auto pilot and unstoppable....You won't need to think or access or feel embarrassment....You will react with lightening speed.....

There is a reason why the army/ngo's practice drills non-stop....it works....

A couple of my own experiences on this subject - which must have existed since the beginning of time.

As a schoolgirl walking home in school uniform (blazer etc) at about the age of 13, I was accosted - and I froze. That's what happens.

Fast forward a few years and walking a large dog on a well used country path a chap with no trousers ran towards me - I ran. In both instances the guys were apprehended.

These things colour your opinion and cautious nature about men for years obviously.

In the workplace it was a case of telling them to knock it off even if they are only making suggestive remarks - nip it in the bud so to speak!

It's never right, but in the entertainment industry you do sense that there are some of both sexes who have, and possibly still do, regard it as open season to getting a job - the phrase the casting couch comes to mind. And none of it is right - but I'm not sure that some of both sexes don't make that calculation and hope to gain advantage - one way or the other..........

Lizzie--there are often options. But I think sometimes there are no good options.  If you are a single mom with kids working in a small town restaurant?  May not be so easy to get another job, for example.  Ideal would be if there were protections for those speaking out, but unfortunately current system does not usually work this way.

Party animal-- interesting re you froze in that one instance. Read an article about "flight or fight" instincts recently and it said that for a lot of people the instinct is to freeze instead.  This needs to be acknowledged when women are taken to task for not "fighting." If freezing is their instinct, it would be very hard to control this in a moment of crisis.  Then of course, they are taken to task for not doing the "right thing."  Just adds to the  shame they feel and lowers levels of reporting. 

Look at Matt Lauer-- the woman in his office who was in an unwanted sexual encounter did not fight, but she passed out and the company nurse had to be called!!

Fava - There is no one-size-fits-all response to these situations. If you are financially responsible for others you have a difficult decision to make. You make a judgement call. Is the behavior obnoxious and annoying but not dangerous? Can you tolerate it? If not, you weigh your options.

If talking to the harasser doesn't work, what about talking to the other workers or to his wife? If the behavior is physically threatening you have to speak up -and get out. No job is important enough to put yourself in harm''s way for a paycheck and some pervert's pleasure. And if you don't report him he'll go on and do it to someone else.

Bottom line: They're in the wrong - not us. The shame is on them - not us!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ushome/index.html

[size=34]Flynn's bombshell guilty plea: Trump ORDERED me to talk to the Russians and now I'll tell Mueller everything to 'set things right' says disgraced national security adviser who lied to the FBI[/size]

• Former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn has a plea hearing scheduled Friday morning in Virginia where he is set to plead guilty
  
  
• He has been a focus of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation 
  
  
• Mueller's office charged him with making 'false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements' - an offense which carries a maximum sentence of five years
  
  
• Criminal information says he made false statements to the FBI just four days after Trump took office
  
  
• He lied about what he had said to then Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, the information from the special counsel says 
  
  
• Willing to testify against Trump, family members, and White House reports ABC
  
  
• Fingerprinted and photographed at FBI field office in Washington 
  
  

By GEOFF EARLE DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 09:27 EST, 1 December 2017 | UPDATED: 13:58 EST, 1 December 2017

    


Former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn will provide 'full cooperation' to Special Counsel Robert Mueller in his Russia probe after his stunning guilty plea in federal court Friday morning.
'My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the special counsel’s office reflect a decision I made in the best interest of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions,' Flynn said in a statement. 
Flynn plead guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russia's ambassador to the U.S., in the latest bombshell development in the Russia investigation that has ensnared leading advisors of President Donald Trump.
Although he pleaded guilty to just a single count, it is what Flynn was prepared to tell investigators that immediately exploded across the political landscape.   
Flynn has promised to provide 'full cooperation' to Mueller's team, ABC News reported.


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Here to deal: Mike Flynn and his wife Lori arrived in court in Washington D.C. to plead guilty to a federal judge of lying to the FBI. He faces five years - but is almost certain to have made a deal with Robert Mueller which could implicate others
A confidante told the network Flynn was prepared to testify 'against Trump, against members of his family, and others in the White House,' Brian Ross reported on air, and that Trump 'ordered and directed him to contact the Russians.  
Flynn is facing extraordinary legal and financial pressures. According to the report, he was facing 'serious financial problems' and wanted to do the 'right thing for his country.' 
Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office charged Flynn with lying to the FBI about Russia as well as efforts to derail a UN Security Council resolution, in the second major legal action against a top Trump campaign or White House official.
Flynn said in a statement: 'After over thirty-three years of military service to our country including five years in combat away from my family and then my decision to continue to serve the United States, it has been extraordinarily painful to endure these many months of false accusations of treason and other outrageous acts.'

[size=10][size=18]Flynn leaves court after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI




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'Such false accusations are contrary to everything I’ve ever done and stood for,' Flynn said.
'But I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong. Through my faith in God I am working to set things right. My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the special counsel’s office reflect a decision I made in the best interest of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions,' he continued.     


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Guilty: Criminal liar Mike Flynn arrives at court in Washington D.C. to plead guilty to lying to the FBI, an offense carrying up to five years in prison
White House lawyer Ty Cobb issued a blistering statement calling Flynn – who as a defense intelligence official was fired by President Obama only to be hired by Trump – a 'former Obama administration official.  
'Today, Michael Flynn, a former National Security Advisor at the White House for 25 days during the Trump Administration, and a former Obama administration official, entered a guilty plea to a single count of making a false statement to the FBI,' said Cobb.
'The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn.,' the president's lawyer said.
'The conclusion of this phase of the Special Counsel's work demonstrates again that the Special Counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion.' 
According to a statement of the offense released by Mueller's office, Flynn on December 29 called a member of Trump's presidential transition team, who was with other senior transition members at Mar-a-Lago.
Flynn and the officials discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia, as well as 'the potential impact of those sanctions on the incoming administration’s foreign policy goals’ and that members of the transition ‘did not want Russia to escalate the situation.’ 
Immediately after the call, according to the statement of offense, Flynn called Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergei Kislyak and requested that Russia 'not escalate the situation.' 
On December 30, just days later, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a statement stating Russia would not take retaliatory action – the preference Flynn heard about from Mar-a-Lago. 
A judge accepted Flynn's guilty plea Friday morning, CNN reported. The maximum sentence is five years. 
'Yes, sir,' Flynn, a retired three-star general said when the judge asked about his guilty plea.  
Judge Rudolph Contreras accepted the plea and said: 'There will be no trial and there will be probably no appeal,' AFP reported.
According to an information released by Mueller's office, Flynn willfully made 'false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements in a matter within the jurisdiction' of the U.S. government, including the FBI.


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Family support: Mike Flynn's wife Lori was at his side as he arrived in court. The two were high school sweethearts and married in 1981
Flynn arrived at court in Washington, D.C., with his wife Lori at his side. 
The nature of the charge, which did not come from a federal grand jury, immediately raised the possibility of a guilty plea that would involve cooperation with Mueller's expansive probe.

The stunning development put  a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general and close friend of the president in a criminal courtroom and planting the sprawling investigation led by the no-nonsense former FBI director squarely in the White House.


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Ready to deal: Mike Flynn, whose brief White House career is now being subjected to Robert Mueller's forensic scrutiny is in cout and due to plead guilty to lying to the FBI


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This is it: Rober Muller is netting his biggest fish as he takes down Mike Flynn, who was Trump's National Security Advisor, with a guilty plea to a small count - a clear sign a deal is in the works

[size=18]Has he flipped? Flynn team stops communication with White House




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Received the lies: Sergey Kislyak was Russia's ambassador to the U.S. when Flynn spoke to him before Trump's inauguration. Four days later Flynn lied to the FBI about what he said to the Putin diplomat


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[size=18]Former Trump advisor Michael Flynn charged with lying to the FBI




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TEAM TRUMP FOR PRISON 2018: THE AIDES FACING JAIL ALREADY - SO WHO WILL MUELLER TARGET NEXT?

PAUL MANAFORT 

Trump campaign manager March - August 2016
Manafort, 68, was charged with conspiracy against the US, conspiracy to launder, and other charges, after US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia undertook a campaign of hacking and misinformation to tilt the election in Trump's favor. He pleaded not guilty in October to a 12-count indictment by a federal grand jury.
RICK GATES 

Business associate and deputy to Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort 
Gates, 45, was indicted along with his business associate, Paul Manafort after the first charges from the probe of possible Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election were unsealed. He pleaded not guilty to a 12-count indictment 
GEORGE PAPADOPOULOS

Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, March 2016 - January 2017
Papadopoulos, 30, pleaded guilty on October 5 to making false statements to investigators about his conversations with overseas sources about potential Russian dirt on Hillary Clinton. 

It also brought to fruition something the president sought to avoid. Fired FBI Director James Comey testified that Trump told him Feb. 14 about Flynn: 'I hope you can let this go.'
Flynn's hearing took place before U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras at a D.C. federal courthouse.
According to the information, which includes just a single count, Flynn lied just days before President Trump took office about his contacts with Russia's then ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak.
Mueller's team has been investigating Russian interference in the U.S. elections, as well as possible obstruction of justice and other issues.
According to the feds, Flynn stated that on December 29 he 'did not ask the Government of Russia's Ambassador to the United States ('Russian Ambassador') to refrain from escalating the situation in response to sanctions that the United States had imposed against Russia that same day.'
That relates to the sanctions President Obama slapped on Russia shortly before leaving office for election interference.
Flynn also stated that he 'did not recall the Russian Ambassador subsequently telling him that Russia had chosen to moderate its response to those sanctions as a result of his request.' 
Russia ultimately chose that course of action, failing to retaliate even after Obama confiscated diplomatic compounds that Trump would later return.
Flynn's contacts with Russia took place while the prior administration was already in place – and Trump and his team did not yet have formal governing power.
Flynn also stated that in an additional instance, on December 22, 2016, he 'did not ask the Russian Ambassador to delay the vote on or defeat a pending United National Security Council resolution; and that the Russian Ambassador subsequently never described to Flynn Russia's response to his request.'
The Security Council resolution condemned Israel for new settlement activity. In a rare diplomatic break from a key ally, the Obama administration abstained from the resolution.
According to a report in Foreign Policy, Trump's transition team vigorously tried to lobby against the resolution, breaking with tradition that the U.S. government speak with one diplomatic voice.
Flynn himself called foreign ambassadors of security council members, including Uruguay and Malaysia. 
According to the information, Flynn made his false statements to the FBI on January 24 of this year – just four days after Trump took office. 
According to the statement of offense, a 'very senior' member of the transition 'directed' Flynn to reach out to foreign leaders about the UN resolution – 'including Russia' – to find out where the leaders stood. 
Lying to the FBI is a felony charge which carries a fine and up to five years in prison.
In March, Flynn's attorney, Robert Kellner, stated with respect to congressional investigators probing Russia that 'General Flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit,' implying a willingness to cooperate.

RELATED ARTICLES

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Investigators early on focused not only on Flynn, but on his son, Michael Flynn, Jr.
CNN reported last month that Flynn was concerned about legal exposure born by his son.
The information released by the FBI does not mention other areas reportedly under investigation – including including potential violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Flynn filed amended reports after disclosures of work he had done on behalf of the government of Turkey.


A critical person in Trump's campaign and national security team, Flynn was present for consequential decisions during the formative days of the administration and functioned as a main conduit for contacts with Russian officials. 

[size=18]Flynn arrives at the courthouse to face charges in Russian probe




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He could be an essential witness for Mueller as he investigates potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.
In recent days White House lawyers have downplayed the significance of Flynn's legal troubles for the president, drawing a clear line between Flynn's personal baggage and his work on the Trump campaign and the administration.
The feeling of suspense around the Mueller investigation only deepened this week with the cancellation of grand jury testimony, an ABC News report that Flynn's attorney was meeting with Mueller's team and the revelation Wednesday that Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, had been questioned about Flynn earlier this month by special counsel prosecutors.

The cutting of contact with Trump's legal team came last week after Kushner was questioned by Mueller's investigators, which occurred earlier this month.


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In the Oval: Mike Flynn was photographed in the Oval Office with then chief strategist Steve Bannon. He had lied to the FBI just four days earlier


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Notorious figure: Kisylak (right) was in communication with Flynn before Trump took office - but long after the inauguration he was invited to the Oval Office with Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, for a meeting with Trump which was photographed by Russian media, not American reporters



Key figure: Flynn worked for Turkey whose president Recep Tayyip Erdogan will now move into the spotlight of the Russia collusion probe but Putin remains in the spotlight


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Spoke to Mueller: Jared Kushner spent 90 minutes speaking to Mueller's prosecutors about Flynn and whether there was any exculpatory information on him
The questioning was brief - 90 minutes or less - and tightly focused on Flynn. It was in part aimed at determining whether Kushner had any exculpatory information on Flynn, according to a person familiar with Mueller's investigation. 
Kushner and Flynn were both prominent figures in the Trump campaign, the presidential transition and the early days of the Trump administration.
The two also took part in discussions during the presidential transition with Sergey Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the United States at the time, about establishing a backchannel between the two countries, a possible indication of prosecutors' interest given Mueller's mandate to probe contacts between Trump associates and the Kremlin.
Flynn was forced to resign from the White House in February after officials concluded that he had misled them about his contacts with Kislyak during the transition period. 
Weeks before he was fired, he was interviewed by the FBI about that communication, and former FBI Director James Comey has said Flynn was under investigation for potentially lying to federal agents about the nature of their conversation.
Mueller's grand jury had planned in coming days to hear testimony from an employee of a public relations company that worked with Flynn's firm on $530,000 worth of lobbying and investigative research for a Turkish businessman. 
The testimony was slated to focus on Flynn's firm's interactions with congressional staff. But it was abruptly postponed by prosecutors.
The details of Kushner's questioning and the postponement of the grand jury testimony were confirmed by people familiar with Mueller's investigation. 
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation.
Asked about the meeting with Mueller, Kushner's attorney, Abbe Lowell, did not elaborate on the nature of the question, saying only in a statement his client 'has voluntarily cooperated with all relevant inquiries and will continue to do so.'

Mueller's spokesman, Peter Carr, has yet to comment on the special counsel's ongoing investigation that has now stretched into its seventh month.
Instead, the special counsel has decided to speak in indictments and plea agreements. In the meantime, Washington - and the country - wait for the next one.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ushome/index.html

[size=34]Did Trump KNOW Flynn was guilty when he 'asked Comey to go easy on him'? President is accused of obstruction of justice after tweeting that he fired National Security Advisor because he lied to the FBI[/size]

• The president tweeted his thoughts on Flynn's guilty plea on Saturday afternoon
  
  
• He defended Flynn's actions while he was part of the Trump campaign, describing them as 'lawful'  
  
  
• Trump described it as a 'shame' that Flynn lied and said this was why he fired him
  
  
• Earlier, he said he was 'not worried' about Flynn's admission that he was dishonest 
  
  
• Flynn dramatically entered a guilty plea to the FBI's charge of making false statements about his 2016 contact with Russian officials 
  
  
• He will now help Special Prosecutor Mueller as he continues to probe the Trump campaign's contact with Russia 
  
  

By JENNIFER SMITH and GEOFF EARLE, DEPTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 10:18 EST, 2 December 2017 | UPDATED: 14:26 EST, 2 December 2017

    

President Trump has been accused of obstruction of justice after tweeting that he knew Michael Flynn lied to the FBI and that this was why he fired him - a crime if he then went on to ask James Comey to 'go easy on him' in the Russia probe as is claimed. 
On Saturday, Trump tweeted that he knew Flynn lied to federal investigators over his contact with Russian officials and that this is why he fired him in February. 
It was an attempt by Trump to defend Flynn who he said had acted lawfully while serving as his National Security Advisor. 
'I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!' he said.  
The tweet was published as the president was stuck in traffic in his motorcade while leaving a Republican fundraising event in New York City.
It stunned political pundits and Democrats who quickly linked it to Trump's apparent request of former FBI Director James Comey to go 'easy' on Flynn the day after he was fired.
'The president asked his FBI Director to let his National Security Advisor off the hook for committing the crime of lying to the FBI. 
'When Comey refused, he was fired. There's your obstruction case,' said Jon Favreau, one of Barack Obama's speech writers. 
Scroll down for video 





President Trump addressed Michael Flynn's admission that he lied to the FBI, tweeting on Saturday that he knew about the dishonesty and that it was why he fired him - an admission which some say now implicates him for obstructing justice 


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Earlier in the day, he said he was 'not worried' about what Flynn may now tell investigators 

[size=10][size=18]Trump ‘not worried’ about Michael Flynn’s guilty Russia plea



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Political journalist Matthew Miller echoed his astonishment. 
'Oh my god, he just admitted to obstruction of justice. If Trump knew Flynn lied to the FBI when he asked Comey to let it go, then there is your case. 
'Never tweet.* *Especially if you’re going to tweet an admission to a crime,' he said.  
President Trump has never admitted asking Comey to 'go easy' on Flynn.    
In June, fired FBI Director James Comey testified that in regards to Flynn, Trump told him on February 14: 'I hope you can let this go.' 
Comey said he was talking about Flynn, who he fired days earlier. 












Obama White House staffers and political journalists were stunned by the president's tweet and said it proved obstruction of justice 
Trump's Saturday tweet on Saturday turned all talk of collusion into questions of obstructions of justice. Critics said it was enough for him to be impeached if it could be proven that he indeed asked Comey to drop the investigation.  
The president was unperturbed by Flynn's admission of guilt and told reporters earlier in the day that it did not incriminate him or anyone in his camp.   

Asked if he was worried about what Flynn will now reveal, Trump said without a beat: 'No I am not. What has been shown is what has been shown is there's been absolutely no collusion so we're very happy.' 
He refused to say whether or not he would stand by Flynn, saying only: 'We'll see what happens'. 
He then tried to steer reporters' attention to Republicans' overnight victory in the Senate where they managed to approve a drastic tax overhaul bill in the early hours of the morning. 


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On Friday, Flynn suddenly admitted lying to the FBI about not having contact with Russian officials when he was part of Trump's team  


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On June 8, former FBI Director James Comey testified that the president asked him to 'go easy' on Flynn on February 14. Flynn was fired on February 13


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Comey was fired on May 9. He testified earlier this year that he believes he was let go for not dropping the investigation into Flynn and into the White House's possible collusion with Russia - a claim Trump has always denied 
'Frankly, last night was one of the big nights,' said Trump, before making his way on to the South Lawn to board Marine One. 
He went on to a fundraising breakfast in New York City where he continued to bask in the win.
As Trump brushed off Flynn's sudden admission of guilt, the disgraced army general was rebuked by former comrades. 
Among them was Lt. General. Mark Hertling who said he acted in 'hubris and vengeance' by agreeing to meet officials to further Trump's presidential run.



'Mike Flynn went over the top, and that was the first indicator that something was desperately wrong with this guy,' Hertling said of Flynn's apparent obsession with a Trump election victory. 
'I think something went wrong toward the end of his career; that demons got ahold of him, and for one reason or another, hubris and vengeance took over where, in the past, there had been professionalism,' he said. 
Several White House sources say Jared Kushner is who Flynn claims ordered him to contact Russian officials on December 22 to discuss a United Nations resolution on Israel.
Former White House National Security Advisor K.T. Mcfarland, who currently works as the U.S. ambassador to Singapore, has also been accused of speaking to Flynn on December 29 about Russian sanctions in a meeting at Mar-A-Lago.


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Trump was unperturbed by Flynn's sudden admission of guilty on Saturday and maintained his position that it does not incriminate him or anyone else in his campaign 


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The president boarded Marine One on the South Lawn after delivering the remarks on Flynn 


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He went straight to Joint Base Andrews to board Air Force One and be taken to New York 



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Jared in the crosshairs: NBC and CNN named Kushner as the mystery senior Trump official who Flynn, in testimony under oath, says ordered him to contact Russia


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Former White House National Security Advisor K.T. Mcfarland (right) has also been accused of speaking to Flynn (left) on December 29 about Russian sanctions in a meeting at Mar-A-Lago


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Sergey Kislyak was Russia's ambassador to the U.S. when Flynn spoke to him before Trump's inauguration. Four days later Flynn lied to the FBI about what he said to the Putin diplomat
Their names emerged on Friday as former National Security Advisor Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors delving deeper into the actions of Trump's inner circle before he took office in January.
A federal statement of offense against Flynn states that a 'very senior' member of the Trump transition team 'directed' Flynn to reach out to foreign leaders about a UN resolution – 'including Russia' – to find out where the leaders stood.
The information laid out by prosecutors against Flynn outline a series of conversations undertaken by Flynn to influence a UN security resolution about Israel during the final days of the Obama administration.
Now that Kushner has been identified as that 'very senior' member, the focus of the investigation moves even closer to Trump.
The 1799 Logan Act, which is rarely invoked in prosecutions, makes it a federal crime to negotiate with foreign governments who have a dispute with the U.S.. Flynn's contacts with Russia took place while the prior administration was already in place – and Trump and his team did not yet have formal governing power.
In addition, Kushner was still a private citizen at the time and real estate developer who quickly became a close confidante and advisor to his father-in-law's presidential campaign.


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Notorious figure: Kisylak (right) was in communication with Flynn before Trump took office - but long after the inauguration he was invited to the Oval Office with Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, for a meeting with Trump which was photographed by Russian media, not American reporters
Outside of any testimony Flynn may be able to provide, Kushner has other potential exposure – having failed to disclose numerous foreign contacts including with Russians on his SF-86 form, which was required to gain his security clearance.
Flynn has promised to testify 'against Trump, against members of his family, and others in the White House.'
The former trusted aide said he will provide 'full cooperation' to Special Counsel Robert Mueller in his Russia probe after his stunning guilty plea in federal court Friday morning.
'My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the special counsel’s office reflect a decision I made in the best interest of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions,' Flynn said in a statement.

I LET DOWN MY COUNTRY BUT I'M NOTA TRAITOR: FLYNN'S EXTRAORDINARY STATEMENT...

After over thirty-three years of military service to our country including five years in combat away from my family and then my decision to continue to serve the United States, it has been extraordinarily painful to endure these many months of false accusations of treason and other outrageous acts.
Such false accusations are contrary to everything I’ve ever done and stood for. 
But I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong. 
Through my faith in God I am working to set things right. 
My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the special counsel’s office reflect a decision I made in the best interest of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions.' 

Judge Rudolph Contreras accepted Flynn's guilty plea and the maximum sentence is five years in prison.
Contreras said: 'There will be no trial and there will be probably no appeal.'
Flynn reportedly caved in to plead guilty in the least 24 hours after mounting emotional and financial pressure. He also wanted to do the 'right thing for his country.'
He said in a statement: 'After over thirty-three years of military service to our country including five years in combat away from my family and then my decision to continue to serve the United States, it has been extraordinarily painful to endure these many months of false accusations of treason and other outrageous acts.'   
When he left court with his wife, they rushed to the Alexandria, Virginia home of his son Mike Flynn Jr and spent time with his grandson, Travis.
His son - who had been a focus of FBI interest previously for his links to Russia - tweeted a statement of thanks.
Flynn's plea shook political Washington, even as it sent Wall Street into a tailspin.
The Dow Jones industrial average briefly dropped 350 points, although it closed down only 41 points on the day.
The White House had planned a 'pool spray' of the president's meeting with Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj of Libya, but abruptly cancelled an event with cameras and reporters Friday morning.
White House lawyer Ty Cobb issued a blistering statement about Flynn who previously worked as a defense intelligence official that was first fired by President Obama only to be hired by Trump months later.
'Today, Michael Flynn, a former National Security Advisor at the White House for 25 days during the Trump Administration, and a former Obama administration official, entered a guilty plea to a single count of making a false statement to the FBI,' said Cobb.

'The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn.,' the president's lawyer said.
'The conclusion of this phase of the Special Counsel's work demonstrates again that the Special Counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion.'
Mueller's team has been investigating Russian interference in the U.S. elections, as well as possible obstruction of justice and other issues.
According to a statement of the offense released by Mueller's office, Flynn lied just days before Trump took office as president about his contacts with Russia's then ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak.
Flynn stated that on December 29 he 'did not ask the Government of Russia's Ambassador to the United States ('Russian Ambassador') to refrain from escalating the situation in response to sanctions that the United States had imposed against Russia that same day,' according to the feds.
That relates to the sanctions President Obama slapped on Russia shortly before leaving office for election interference.
But on December 29, Flynn called a member of Trump's presidential transition team, who was with other senior transition team members at Mar-a-Lago.
Flynn and the officials discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia, as well as 'the potential impact of those sanctions on the incoming administration’s foreign policy goals’ and that members of the transition ‘did not want Russia to escalate the situation.’

TEAM TRUMP FOR PRISON 2018: THE AIDES FACING JAIL ALREADY - SO WHO WILL MUELLER TARGET NEXT?

PAUL MANAFORT 

Trump campaign manager March - August 2016
Manafort, 68, was charged with conspiracy against the US, conspiracy to launder, and other charges, after US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia undertook a campaign of hacking and misinformation to tilt the election in Trump's favor. He pleaded not guilty in October to a 12-count indictment by a federal grand jury.
RICK GATES 

Business associate and deputy to Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort 
Gates, 45, was indicted along with his business associate, Paul Manafort after the first charges from the probe of possible Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election were unsealed. He pleaded not guilty to a 12-count indictment 
GEORGE PAPADOPOULOS

Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, March 2016 - January 2017
Papadopoulos, 30, pleaded guilty on October 5 to making false statements to investigators about his conversations with overseas sources about potential Russian dirt on Hillary Clinton. 

Immediately after the call, according to the statement of offense, Flynn called Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergei Kislyak and requested that Russia 'not escalate the situation.'
On December 30, just days later, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a statement stating Russia would not take retaliatory action – the preference Flynn heard about from Mar-a-Lago.
Flynn also stated that he 'did not recall the Russian Ambassador subsequently telling him that Russia had chosen to moderate its response to those sanctions as a result of his request.
Flynn also stated that in an additional instance, on December 22, 2016, he 'did not ask the Russian Ambassador to delay the vote on or defeat a pending United National Security Council resolution; and that the Russian Ambassador subsequently never described to Flynn Russia's response to his request.'
The Security Council resolution condemned Israel for new settlement activity. In a rare diplomatic break from a key ally, the Obama administration abstained from the resolution.
Trump's transition team vigorously tried to lobby against the resolution, breaking with tradition that the U.S. government speak with one diplomatic voice.
Flynn himself called foreign ambassadors of security council members, including Uruguay and Malaysia.
According to the information, Flynn made his false statements to the FBI on January 24, 2017 – just four days after Trump took office.
Flynn was 'directed' by a 'very senior' member of the transition team to reach out to foreign leaders about the UN resolution – 'including Russia' – to find out where the leaders stood.
Mueller alleges that Flynn willfully made 'false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements in a matter within the jurisdiction' of the U.S. government, including the FBI.
Lying to the FBI is a felony charge which carries a fine and up to five years in prison.
Back in March, Flynn's attorney, Robert Kellner, stated with respect to congressional investigators probing Russia that 'General Flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit,' implying a willingness to cooperate.
The stunning developments on Friday brought to fruition something the president sought to avoid.
Fired FBI Director James Comey testified that in regards to Flynn, Trump told him on February 14: 'I hope you can let this go.'
Investigators early on focused not only on Flynn, but also on his son.
The information released by the FBI does not mention other areas reportedly under investigation – including potential violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Flynn filed amended reports after disclosures of work he had done on behalf of the government of Turkey.
As a critical person in Trump's campaign and national security team, Flynn was present for consequential decisions during the formative days of the administration and functioned as a main conduit for contacts with Russian officials.
He could be an essential witness for Mueller as he investigates potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.
In recent days White House lawyers have downplayed the significance of Flynn's legal troubles for the president, drawing a clear line between Flynn's personal baggage and his work on the Trump campaign and the administration.
Kushner and Flynn were both prominent figures in the Trump campaign, the presidential transition and the early days of the Trump administration.
The two also took part in discussions during the presidential transition with Kislyak about establishing a back-channel between the two countries.
That was a possible indication of prosecutors' interest given Mueller's mandate to probe contacts between Trump associates and the Kremlin.
Flynn was forced to resign from the White House in February after officials concluded that he had misled them about his contacts with Kislyak during the transition period.
Weeks before he was fired, he was interviewed by the FBI about that communication, and former FBI Director James Comey has said Flynn was under investigation for potentially lying to federal agents about the nature of their conversation.
Mueller's grand jury had planned in coming days to hear testimony from an employee of a public relations company that worked with Flynn's firm on $530,000 worth of lobbying and investigative research for a Turkish businessman.
The testimony was slated to focus on Flynn's firm's interactions with congressional staff. But it was abruptly postponed by prosecutors.
The details of Kushner's questioning and the postponement of the grand jury testimony were confirmed by people familiar with Mueller's investigation.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation.
Asked about the meeting with Mueller, Kushner's attorney, Abbe Lowell, did not elaborate on the nature of the question, saying only in a statement his client 'has voluntarily cooperated with all relevant inquiries and will continue to do so.'
Mueller's spokesman, Peter Carr, has yet to comment on the special counsel's ongoing investigation that has now stretched into its seventh month.
Instead, the special counsel has decided to speak in indictments and plea agreements. In the meantime, Washington - and the country - wait for the next one.     

[size=34]The fallen military hero who could bring down a president: How Mike Flynn marched into Trump's inner circle – and now his lies and links to Russia threaten the presidency itself [/size]

BY ALANA GOODMAN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM 
Mike Flynn was a three-star decorated Army general and the guardian of America’s top military secrets – and now he is poised to end his career with a sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to lying to federal investigators.
The 58-year-old Army veteran worked his way up the military ranks for over three decades, from second lieutenant in military intelligence in 1981 until he retired as a three-star lieutenant general in 2014.
He has served in both Democratic and Republican administrations. He was appointed by President Obama as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency from 2012 to 2014, the agency that oversees U.S. military intelligence operations. 
But that tenure ended in a bitter firing amid claims that he veered into conspiracy theories. Others laughed about ‘Flynn facts’, the fake claims he had fallen for despite being at the pinnacle of military intelligence. 
Flynn’s tenure in the Trump administration was considerably shorter – and even more disastrous for all concerned. 


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Mike Flynn was a three-star decorated Army general and the guardian of America’s top military secrets – and now he is poised to end his career with a sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to lying to federal investigators


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Mike Flynn and his wife Lori arrived in court in Washington D.C. on Friday to plead guilty to a federal judge of lying to the FBI. He faces five years - but is almost certain to have made a deal with Robert Mueller which could implicate others


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According to the information, which includes just a single count, Flynn lied just days before President Trump took office about his contacts with Russia's then ambassador to the U.S.


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In this image made from a video taken on December 10, 2015 and made available on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, Michael Flynn, left, sits next to Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Moscow
He lasted just 24 days as President Trump’s National Security Advisor before he was fired amid allegations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russian officials during the presidential transition.
The conservative movement’s embrace of Flynn – an Obama-era official and lifelong Democrat until he led the ‘lock her up’ chants at the Republican convention in 2016 – was just one of the unexpected spectacles of the last election cycle.
Flynn’s tough-talking approach to national security and his vocal denunciations of political Islam and his public clashes with the Obama administration endeared him to many on the political right.
But Flynn’s time as a conservative icon was short-lived. He was ousted as Trump’s National Security Advisor in February, and has been under investigation by federal law enforcement and congress over the past year.
Now Flynn faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to lying to federal investigators about his conversations with the Russian ambassador.

Flynn was born in December 1958. His parents, who he once described as strong Democrats, traveled the world for his World War II veteran father’s military career before settling down in Middletown, Rhode Island.
Growing up, Flynn shared bunk beds and a small bedroom with his brother Chris – he is one of nine children, who remain close - before he left home to attend college at the University of Rhode Island.
Flynn was known among friends and family members as the more outgoing brother, according to a 2011 profile of the former general in the Newport Daily News. He also loved ‘cheap cars’ and ‘pizza’ and rock music – especially the songs of Lou Reed. 


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In this undated photo provided by Joe Flynn, Michael Flynn, left, stands with his mother Helen Flynn, right, near a football field, in Middletown, Rhode Island 


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Packed in: The Flynns were brought up in this 1,200 square ft beach house, which his mother Helen ran as a 'bunkhouse', his brother Jack said
One family member told the paper that Flynn’s outlook was largely shaped by the ‘scrappy, no BS Irish-Catholic humble start [he] had in Newport.’ Flynn went on to attend the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, and was commissioned into the Army as an intelligence officer in 1981.
Growing up so close to the ocean in Rhode Island, Flynn, along with his siblings, became strong swimmers and surfers. And the retired military man became known for his skateboarding style and boldness in the water.
And while he was at the center of the Mueller probe in July, months before he was charged, Flynn was spotted surfing with his sister. 
His military career eventually took him to Washington, where he served as the president’s intelligence advisor for the Joint Staff from 2007 to 2008, and later as an intelligence advisor on Afghanistan.
Flynn became a three-star general – one of 230 active Army generals at the time – and was appointed to lead the Defense Intelligence Agency by President Obama in 2012.
Flynn lasted just two years at the agency before his military career ended when Obama dismissed him as defense intelligence chief in 2014. 
Flynn claimed he was pushed out for holding tougher views than the Obama administration about Islamic extremism, others claim it was due to his clashes with others in the administration and ‘turbulence’ at the agency – including the damaging intelligence leaks from Edward Snowden in 2013. 


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One of Flynn's brother revealed the ex-three star general did not want to take national security role but Trump pressed him


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Flynn set up a company accepting speaking fees from Russian entities after he was forced from service into retirement by Obama administration in 2014

[size=18]Flynn at RNC: Can't have president who is above the law




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Writing an op-ed for the New York Post in July 2016, Flynn said: 'The military fired me for calling our enemies radical jihadis. I knew then it had more to do with the stand I took on radical Islamism and the expansion of al Qaeda and its associated movements. 
He blamed his dismissal on 'the bureaucracy' and said that things had gotten 'too politicized.'   
After leaving the Obama administration, Flynn went into private sector and founded a lobbying and consulting firm called Flynn Intel Group. That decision now seems to have set in motion his doom. 
His clients have included foreign businesses, including a Dutch firm with ties to the Turkish government.
The company, Inovo, owned by Turkish-American businessman Ekim Alpetkin, paid Flynn over $500,000 last fall to lobby on its behalf.
Flynn, who was also advising the Trump campaign at the time, was asked by the company to conduct research into Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, an adversary of Turkish President Recep Erdogan. 
Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, has been accused of engineering an unsuccessful coup against Erdogan. Flynn was reportedly hired to investigate Gulen and put together a film about the case.  
Although Flynn registered as a lobbyist, he did not register as a foreign agent at the time. 
He retroactively filed foreign agent registration papers this year, after his attorney’s acknowledged the project’s potential benefit to the Turkish government and Alpetkin’s links to Turkish officials. 


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Investigators early on focused not only on Flynn, but on his son, Michael Flynn Jr (pictured with Flynn), making the military man concerned about legal exposure born by his son 



Flynn Jr has propagated the view that Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, according to CNN



He has also speculated that Sen. Marco Rubio, who lost to Trump in the Republican primary campaign, was secretly gay and indulged in cocaine



Flynn has also come under fire for accepting $35,000 from the Russian state-sponsored news channel RT to speak at its 10th anniversary gala in Moscow in 2015. Damningly, he sat beside Putin.
Over the past few years, Flynn had grown increasingly vocal in his criticism of political Islam and its connection to terrorism.
In 2016, Flynn called Islamism a ‘vicious cancer inside the body of 1.7 billion people’ that ‘has to be excised.’
Flynn became a prominent surrogate for Donald Trump during the 2016 election, at one point drawing speculation that he might be chosen as a vice presidential candidate. 
He admitted he submitted his name for consideration, despite being registered as a Democrat. 
He ultimately joined the Trump campaign as an advisor and gave a speech supporting the candidate at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
During the campaign, Flynn often denounced Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server to send classified information while serving as secretary of state. At one rally, he encouraged the audience’s chants of ‘lock her up!’ and declared, ‘If I did a tenth of what she did, I’d be in jail today.’
Flynn’s son, Mike Flynn Jr., went further with his criticism of Clinton, and his comments became a magnet for controversy during the campaign and the presidential transition. 
The younger Flynn, who worked alongside his father on the presidential transition and the Trump campaign, appeared to endorse the ‘Pizzagate’ internet theory promoted by critics of Clinton last December. 
The theory alleged that Hillary Clinton aide John Podesta was involved in a child sex trafficking ring supposedly run out of the Comet Ping Pong pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C.
Although the theory was never substantiated, one man was arrested last winter for carrying a gun to the restaurant and firing several shots after reading about the ‘Pizzagate’ allegations online. Nobody was injured and the man was arrested and taken into custody on the spot.
‘Until #Pizzagate proven to be false, it'll remain a story. The left seems to forget #PodestaEmails and the many "coincidences" tied to it,’ wrote Flynn Jr. on Twitter.
Flynn Jr. also previously claimed on Twitter that minorities only voted for Obama because of his skin color, and promoted theories that Marco Rubio used cocaine and participated in ‘gayish’ dance parties. 
Flynn Jr. was let go by the Trump transition team last December, shortly before his father was tapped as Trump’s National Security Advisor in January. 
The elder Flynn lasted less than a month in the job before he was fired for allegedly misleading Vice President Pence about his conversations with the Russian ambassador.
But those days when he did serve saw him at the heart of the administration. ‘He was always in the room, and on every call,’ one official told The New Yorker.
That may be what will make Trump and those around him sweat most. 


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Mike Flynn's son Mike Jr posted this picture in June of the disgraced national security adviser and his sister Barbara Redgate surfing in June


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The Flynn family grew up surfing on Rhode Island where they lived in Middletown and Mike was known for his willingness to go into riskier waters


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Flynn is from an Irish Catholic family of blue-collar Democrats. Pictured: Flynn at a church in Ohio in 2016


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Mike Flynn's wife Lori was at his side as he arrived in court. The two were high school sweethearts and married in 1981


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A US official said that Flynn was in frequent contact with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on the day the Obama administration imposed sanctions on Russia after US intelligence reported that Russia had interfered with the US elections
Federal officials say Flynn had multiple contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak after the election and during Trump’s presidential transition. The calls between Flynn and Kislyak were allegedly intercepted through intelligence gathering by the Obama administration.
Flynn’s name was later released to the Washington Post – which reported that Flynn and the Russian ambassador discussed the possibility of the Trump administration repealing Russian sanctions.
According to federal investigators, Flynn asked Russian Ambassador Kislyak to hold off on any political retaliation last December in response to the Obama administration’s decision to increase sanctions on Russia in the wake of the presidential election.
The Obama administration had placed the sanctions on Russia last year, after multiple U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that the Russian government was involved in hacking the Democratic National Committee. 
Intelligence officials claimed Russia released thousands of embarrassing emails to Wikileaks related to the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton, in an attempt to tip the presidential election in favour of Trump.
Prosecutors said Flynn also asked the Russian ambassador to delay voting on a UN resolution that was critical of Israel during a conversation last Dec. 22, but told investigators that he did not recall discussing this.  
These revelations came shortly after Vice President Mike Pence publicly defended Flynn and said the National Security Advisor did not discuss sanctions with Russian officials. 
After the Washington Post report, Flynn was fired and administration officials said he had lied to the vice president. 
At the time, Flynn’s lawyers dismissed the allegations as ‘unfounded allegations, outrageous claims of treason, and vicious innuendo.’ Flynn has not publicly commented on the matter since February.
But he was clearly deeply in trouble, and financially close to ruin. He and his family launched an appeal for cash for his defense fund, and while his son told how his father was surfing regularly, in reality he was sweating over his own and his family’s future.
Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators about the conversations on Friday.
Flynn is the second subject to plead guilty in connection to the Mueller probe. Former Trump national security advisor George Papadopoulos also pleaded guilty in October for lying about his Russian contacts.
Former Trump campaign officials Paul Manafort and Rick Gates pleaded not guilty to financial-related crimes in October.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5139137/Trump-says-not-worried-Flynns-guilty-plea.html




[size=34]Trump's LAWYER is blamed for tweet that led to President being accused of obstruction of justice: Adviser was allegedly behind post that implied Trump knew Flynn had lied to the FBI when he 'asked Comey to go easy on him'
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• Trump's account tweeted on Saturday that he knew Flynn lied when he fired him
  
  
• It appeared to be an attempt to prove that there was no collusion with Russia 
  
  
• Instead, it fueled talk of the president committing a felony himself
  
  
• But on Saturday inside sources said that John Dowd, Trump's lawyer wrote it
  
  
• It's unclear whether Trump saw the tweet before it was posted on his account 
  
  
• Trump allegedly asked James Comey to ease off Flynn after Flynn was fired
  
  
• If he did that knowing Flynn lied to FBI, he would have been obstructing justice
  
  
• Flynn has admitted to lying to FBI; Trump denies telling Comey to back off  
  
  

By JAMES WILKINSON  and JENNIFER SMITH and GEOFF EARLE, DEPTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 10:18 EST, 2 December 2017 | UPDATED: 02:11 EST, 3 December 2017


    

Insiders have denied that President Trump was behind a tweet made on his Twitter account that appeared to incriminate him.
The Saturday tweet, written in Trump's voice, said that the president knew Michael Flynn lied to the FBI and that this was why he fired him in February.
That led to claims that the president could be prosecuted for obstruction of justice, as he reportedly told James Comey to stop investigating Flynn after firing him. 
But later that same day, two sources told The Washington Post that his personal lawyer, John Dowd, had authored the tweet.
It's not clear whether Trump saw it before it was sent.
Scroll down for video 



This tweet by Donald Trump led to accusations that the president had obstructed justice after allegedly telling James Comey to back off Michael Flynn while also knowing that Flynn lied to the FBI. But now the White House says his personal lawyer made the tweet


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The tweet was fired off while Trump was stuck in traffic in a motorcade in New York City, leading to critics accusing him of committing a crime

[size=10][size=18]Trump ‘not worried’ about Michael Flynn’s guilty Russia plea



[/size][/size]

The tweet said the president knew Flynn had lied to federal investigators over his contact with Russian officials but that he never needed to because all his their interactions were 'lawful'.
'I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI,' it said. 'He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!'
The tweet was sent while Trump's motorcade was stuck in traffic as it left a Republican fundraising event in New York City. 
It appeared to be an attempt by the president to defend Flynn and disprove suspicion that there was any collusion between his aides and the Kremlin.
Instead, it placed scrutiny back on him and fueled talk of a different offense entirely.


Democrats were quick to jump on it, saying that if - as claimed - Trump allegedly asked then-FBI head James Comey to 'go easy' on Flynn after his firing, he had obstructed justice.

Flynn was fired on February 13. At the time, the president said the decision was based on him misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his interaction with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak on December 22. 
He did not admit to knowing Flynn lied in an interview with the FBI in January. 


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Now two inside sources are claiming that John Dowd, the president's personal lawyer, is the one who made the tweet, taking the blame off Trump's shoulders
On February 14, Trump met with FBI Director Comey. Comey claims he was asked during this meeting to 'go easy' on Flynn and drop the investigation into Russian collusion. 
He was fired on May 9 and says it was because he never complied with this alleged request.   
The president has never admitted asking him to 'go easy' on Flynn and said that he fired him over his handling of the Hillary Clinton email scandal - which many say won him the election - months earlier.  


Incredulous Democrats tweeted their disbelief over Trump's remarks on Saturday. 
'The president asked his FBI Director to let his National Security Advisor off the hook for committing the crime of lying to the FBI. 
'When Comey refused, he was fired. There's your obstruction case,' said Jon Favreau, one of Barack Obama's speech writers.  
Political journalist Matthew Miller echoed his astonishment. 
'Oh my god, he just admitted to obstruction of justice. If Trump knew Flynn lied to the FBI when he asked Comey to let it go, then there is your case. 
'Never tweet.* *Especially if you’re going to tweet an admission to a crime,' he said.  
President Trump has never admitted asking Comey to 'go easy' on Flynn.    
In June, fired FBI Director James Comey testified that in regards to Flynn, Trump told him on February 14: 'I hope you can let this go.' 
Comey said he was talking about Flynn, who he fired days earlier. 












Obama White House staffers and political journalists were stunned by the tweet and said it proved obstruction of justice on the part of the president


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Earlier on Saturday, Trump spoke outside the White House to say he was 'not worried' by Flynn's admission of guilt because it still did not prove Russian collusion
Trump's Saturday tweet turned all talk of collusion into questions of obstructions of justice. Critics said it was enough for him to be impeached if it could be proven that he indeed asked Comey to drop the investigation.
The president was unperturbed by Flynn's admission of guilt and told reporters earlier in the day that it did not incriminate him or anyone in his camp.   

Asked if he was worried about what Flynn will now reveal, Trump said without a beat: 'No I am not. What has been shown is what has been shown is there's been absolutely no collusion so we're very happy.' 
He refused to say whether or not he would stand by Flynn, saying only: 'We'll see what happens'. 
He then tried to steer reporters' attention to Republicans' overnight victory in the Senate where they managed to approve a drastic tax overhaul bill in the early hours of the morning. 


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On Friday, Flynn suddenly admitted lying to the FBI about not having contact with Russian officials when he was part of Trump's team  


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On June 8, former FBI Director James Comey testified that the president asked him to 'go easy' on Flynn on February 14, the day after Flynn was fired 


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Comey was fired on May 9. He testified earlier this year that he believes he was let go for not dropping the investigation into Flynn and into the White House's possible collusion with Russia - a claim Trump has always denied 



Comey revelled in Flynn's guilty plea on Friday and tweeted this Bible verse 

[size=34]HOW WE GOT HERE: TRUMP, FLYNN, COMEY AND RUSSIA[/size]

December 22, 2016: A 'very senior member' of the Trump transition team tells Flynn to 'contact officials from foreign governments, including Russia' to discuss U.N. resolution on Israeli settlements
According to prosecutors, Flynn and Kislyak have a conversation in which Flynn asks Russia to vote against the resolution or to delay it. 
December 15: Flynn texts Kislyak to wish him a Merry Christmas 
December 28: Obama announces punitive measures on Russia for interfering in the campaign
December 29: Prosecutors say Flynn calls unnamed senior WH official who was at Mar-a-Lago to ask what he should say to Kislyak about measures. 
Flynn asked Kislyak to dial down Russia's response to Obama's announcement and he agreed. This is what is alleged in charging documents which Flynn has now pleaded guilty to
January 20: Trump is sworn in 
January 22: Flynn is sworn in
January 24: Flynn is interviewed by FBI about December conversations with Kislyak. During this interview, he lied about what they discussed - namely claiming it was not an inappropriate request from him for them to dial down their response to Obama's announcement
January 26: Acting AG Sally Yates tells WH special counsel Flynn lied to the press, who he has since told that he did not discuss sanctions    
February 9: Vice President Mike Pence learns of Yates' warning
February 13: Flynn resigns at the president's request. He says it is because he 'incorrectly' briefed Pence about Kislyak phone calls. 
Trump gives a statement saying he fired Flynn because he lied to Vice President Pence. 
February 14: President and James Comey meet with others in the Oval Office. Afterwards, he asks him to stay behind to discuss the investigationin to Flynn. 
Trump allegedly tells Comey that Flynn 'is a good guy,' saying he hopes Comey 'can let this go.'
May 9: Trump fires Comey, claiming it is because of his handling of Hillary Clinton's email scandal months earlier
May 17: Mueller appointed to take over Russia probe 
June  8: Comey testifies about the meeting in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Trump denies it through his attorneys and in the media, saying: 'No collusion, no obstruction, he's a leaker. We want to get back to running our great country.' 
November 30: FBI files charges against Flynn
December 1: Flynn pleads guilty and agrees to cooperate with investigators
December 2: Trump at first says he is 'not worried' about Flynn's contact with Russian officials. At 12.14pm the tweet is posted

'Frankly, last night was one of the big nights,' said Trump, before making his way on to the South Lawn to board Marine One. 
He went on to a fundraising breakfast in New York City where he continued to bask in the win.
As Trump brushed off Flynn's sudden admission of guilt, the disgraced army general was rebuked by former comrades. 
Among them was Lt. General. Mark Hertling who said he acted in 'hubris and vengeance' by agreeing to meet officials to further Trump's presidential run.
'Mike Flynn went over the top, and that was the first indicator that something was desperately wrong with this guy,' Hertling said of Flynn's apparent obsession with a Trump election victory. 
'I think something went wrong toward the end of his career; that demons got ahold of him, and for one reason or another, hubris and vengeance took over where, in the past, there had been professionalism,' he said. 
Several White House sources say Jared Kushner is who Flynn claims ordered him to contact Russian officials on December 22 to discuss a United Nations resolution on Israel.
Former White House National Security Advisor K.T. Mcfarland, who currently works as the U.S. ambassador to Singapore, has also been accused of speaking to Flynn on December 29 about Russian sanctions in a meeting at Mar-A-Lago.



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Jared in the crosshairs: NBC and CNN named Kushner as the mystery senior Trump official who Flynn, in testimony under oath, says ordered him to contact Russia


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Former White House National Security Advisor K.T. Mcfarland (right) has also been accused of speaking to Flynn (left) on December 29 about Russian sanctions in a meeting at Mar-A-Lago


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Sergey Kislyak was Russia's ambassador to the U.S. when Flynn spoke to him before Trump's inauguration. Four days later Flynn lied to the FBI about what he said to the Putin diplomat
Their names emerged on Friday as Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors delving deeper into the actions of Trump's inner circle before he took office in January.
A federal statement of offense against Flynn states that a 'very senior' member of the Trump transition team 'directed' Flynn to reach out to foreign leaders about a UN resolution – 'including Russia' – to find out where the leaders stood.
The information laid out by prosecutors against Flynn outline a series of conversations undertaken by Flynn to influence a UN security resolution about Israel during the final days of the Obama administration.
Now that Kushner has been identified as that 'very senior' member, the focus of the investigation moves even closer to Trump.
The 1799 Logan Act, which is rarely invoked in prosecutions, makes it a federal crime to negotiate with foreign governments who have a dispute with the US. Flynn's contacts with Russia took place while the prior administration was already in place - and Trump and his team did not yet have formal governing power.
In addition, Kushner was still a private citizen at the time and real estate developer who quickly became a close confidante and adviser to his father-in-law's presidential campaign.


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Notorious figure: Kisylak (right) was in communication with Flynn before Trump took office - but long after the inauguration he was invited to the Oval Office with Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, for a meeting with Trump which was photographed by Russian media, not American reporters
Outside of any testimony Flynn may be able to provide, Kushner has other potential exposure – having failed to disclose numerous foreign contacts including with Russians on his SF-86 form, which was required to gain his security clearance.
Flynn has promised to testify 'against Trump, against members of his family, and others in the White House.'
The former trusted aide said he will provide 'full cooperation' to Special Counsel Robert Mueller in his Russia probe after his stunning guilty plea in federal court Friday morning.
'My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the special counsel’s office reflect a decision I made in the best interest of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions,' Flynn said in a statement.

I LET DOWN MY COUNTRY BUT I'M NOTA TRAITOR: FLYNN'S EXTRAORDINARY STATEMENT...

After over thirty-three years of military service to our country including five years in combat away from my family and then my decision to continue to serve the United States, it has been extraordinarily painful to endure these many months of false accusations of treason and other outrageous acts.
Such false accusations are contrary to everything I’ve ever done and stood for. 
But I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong. 
Through my faith in God I am working to set things right. 
My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the special counsel’s office reflect a decision I made in the best interest of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions.' 

Judge Rudolph Contreras accepted Flynn's guilty plea and the maximum sentence is five years in prison.
Contreras said: 'There will be no trial and there will be probably no appeal.'
Flynn reportedly caved in to plead guilty in the least 24 hours after mounting emotional and financial pressure. He also wanted to do the 'right thing for his country.'
He said in a statement: 'After over thirty-three years of military service to our country including five years in combat away from my family and then my decision to continue to serve the United States, it has been extraordinarily painful to endure these many months of false accusations of treason and other outrageous acts.'   
When he left court with his wife, they rushed to the Alexandria, Virginia home of his son Mike Flynn Jr and spent time with his grandson, Travis.
His son - who had been a focus of FBI interest previously for his links to Russia - tweeted a statement of thanks.
Flynn's plea shook political Washington, even as it sent Wall Street into a tailspin.
The Dow Jones industrial average briefly dropped 350 points, although it closed down only 41 points on the day.
The White House had planned a 'pool spray' of the president's meeting with Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj of Libya, but abruptly cancelled an event with cameras and reporters Friday morning.
White House lawyer Ty Cobb issued a blistering statement about Flynn who previously worked as a defense intelligence official that was first fired by President Obama only to be hired by Trump months later.
'Today, Michael Flynn, a former National Security Advisor at the White House for 25 days during the Trump Administration, and a former Obama administration official, entered a guilty plea to a single count of making a false statement to the FBI,' said Cobb.

'The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn.,' the president's lawyer said.

THE TRUMP AIDES ALREADY FACING JAIL - SO WHO WILL MUELLER TARGET NEXT?

PAUL MANAFORT 

Trump campaign manager March - August 2016
Manafort, 68, was charged with conspiracy against the US, conspiracy to launder, and other charges, after US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia undertook a campaign of hacking and misinformation to tilt the election in Trump's favor. He pleaded not guilty in October to a 12-count indictment by a federal grand jury.
RICK GATES 

Business associate and deputy to Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort 
Gates, 45, was indicted along with his business associate, Paul Manafort after the first charges from the probe of possible Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election were unsealed. He pleaded not guilty to a 12-count indictment 
GEORGE PAPADOPOULOS

Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, March 2016 - January 2017
Papadopoulos, 30, pleaded guilty on October 5 to making false statements to investigators about his conversations with overseas sources about potential Russian dirt on Hillary Clinton. 

'The conclusion of this phase of the Special Counsel's work demonstrates again that the Special Counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion.'
Mueller's team has been investigating Russian interference in the U.S. elections, as well as possible obstruction of justice and other issues.
According to a statement of the offense released by Mueller's office, Flynn lied just days before Trump took office as president about his contacts with Russia's then ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak.
Flynn stated that on December 29 he 'did not ask the Government of Russia's Ambassador to the United States ('Russian Ambassador') to refrain from escalating the situation in response to sanctions that the United States had imposed against Russia that same day,' according to the feds.
That relates to the sanctions President Obama slapped on Russia shortly before leaving office for election interference.
But on December 29, Flynn called a member of Trump's presidential transition team, who was with other senior transition team members at Mar-a-Lago.
Flynn and the officials discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia, as well as 'the potential impact of those sanctions on the incoming administration’s foreign policy goals’ and that members of the transition ‘did not want Russia to escalate the situation.’
Immediately after the call, according to the statement of offense, Flynn called Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergei Kislyak and requested that Russia 'not escalate the situation.'
On December 30, just days later, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a statement stating Russia would not take retaliatory action – the preference Flynn heard about from Mar-a-Lago.
Flynn also stated that he 'did not recall the Russian Ambassador subsequently telling him that Russia had chosen to moderate its response to those sanctions as a result of his request.
Flynn also stated that in an additional instance, on December 22, 2016, he 'did not ask the Russian Ambassador to delay the vote on or defeat a pending United National Security Council resolution; and that the Russian Ambassador subsequently never described to Flynn Russia's response to his request.'
The Security Council resolution condemned Israel for new settlement activity. In a rare diplomatic break from a key ally, the Obama administration abstained from the resolution.
Trump's transition team vigorously tried to lobby against the resolution, breaking with tradition that the U.S. government speak with one diplomatic voice.
Flynn himself called foreign ambassadors of security council members, including Uruguay and Malaysia.
According to the information, Flynn made his false statements to the FBI on January 24, 2017 – just four days after Trump took office.
Flynn was 'directed' by a 'very senior' member of the transition team to reach out to foreign leaders about the UN resolution – 'including Russia' – to find out where the leaders stood.
Mueller alleges that Flynn willfully made 'false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements in a matter within the jurisdiction' of the U.S. government, including the FBI.
Lying to the FBI is a felony charge which carries a fine and up to five years in prison.
Back in March, Flynn's attorney, Robert Kellner, stated with respect to congressional investigators probing Russia that 'General Flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit,' implying a willingness to cooperate.
The information released by the FBI does not mention other areas reportedly under investigation – including potential violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Flynn filed amended reports after disclosures of work he had done on behalf of the government of Turkey.
As a critical person in Trump's campaign and national security team, Flynn was present for consequential decisions during the formative days of the administration and functioned as a main conduit for contacts with Russian officials.
He could be an essential witness for Mueller as he investigates potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.
In recent days White House lawyers have downplayed the significance of Flynn's legal troubles for the president, drawing a clear line between Flynn's personal baggage and his work on the Trump campaign and the administration.
Kushner and Flynn were both prominent figures in the Trump campaign, the presidential transition and the early days of the Trump administration.
The two also took part in discussions during the presidential transition with Kislyak about establishing a back-channel between the two countries.
That was a possible indication of prosecutors' interest given Mueller's mandate to probe contacts between Trump associates and the Kremlin.
Flynn was forced to resign from the White House in February after officials concluded that he had misled them about his contacts with Kislyak during the transition period.
Weeks before he was fired, he was interviewed by the FBI about that communication, and former FBI Director James Comey has said Flynn was under investigation for potentially lying to federal agents about the nature of their conversation.
Mueller's grand jury had planned in coming days to hear testimony from an employee of a public relations company that worked with Flynn's firm on $530,000 worth of lobbying and investigative research for a Turkish businessman.
The testimony was slated to focus on Flynn's firm's interactions with congressional staff. But it was abruptly postponed by prosecutors.
The details of Kushner's questioning and the postponement of the grand jury testimony were confirmed by people familiar with Mueller's investigation.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation.
Asked about the meeting with Mueller, Kushner's attorney, Abbe Lowell, did not elaborate on the nature of the question, saying only in a statement his client 'has voluntarily cooperated with all relevant inquiries and will continue to do so.'
Mueller's spokesman, Peter Carr, has yet to comment on the special counsel's ongoing investigation that has now stretched into its seventh month. 

[size=34]The fallen military hero who could bring down a president: How Mike Flynn marched into Trump's inner circle – and now his lies and links to Russia threaten the presidency[/size]

BY ALANA GOODMAN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM 
Mike Flynn was a three-star decorated Army general and the guardian of America’s top military secrets – and now he is poised to end his career with a sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to lying to federal investigators.
The 58-year-old Army veteran worked his way up the military ranks for over three decades, from second lieutenant in military intelligence in 1981 until he retired as a three-star lieutenant general in 2014.
He has served in both Democratic and Republican administrations. He was appointed by President Obama as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency from 2012 to 2014, the agency that oversees U.S. military intelligence operations. 
But that tenure ended in a bitter firing amid claims that he veered into conspiracy theories. Others laughed about ‘Flynn facts’, the fake claims he had fallen for despite being at the pinnacle of military intelligence. 
Flynn’s tenure in the Trump administration was considerably shorter – and even more disastrous for all concerned. 


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Mike Flynn was a three-star decorated Army general and the guardian of America’s top military secrets – and now he is poised to end his career with a sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to lying to federal investigators


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According to the information, which includes just a single count, Flynn lied just days before President Trump took office about his contacts with Russia's then ambassador to the U.S.


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In this image made from a video taken on December 10, 2015 and made available on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, Michael Flynn, left, sits next to Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Moscow
He lasted just 24 days as President Trump’s National Security Advisor before he was fired amid allegations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russian officials during the presidential transition.
The conservative movement’s embrace of Flynn – an Obama-era official and lifelong Democrat until he led the ‘lock her up’ chants at the Republican convention in 2016 – was just one of the unexpected spectacles of the last election cycle.
Flynn’s tough-talking approach to national security and his vocal denunciations of political Islam and his public clashes with the Obama administration endeared him to many on the political right.
But Flynn’s time as a conservative icon was short-lived. He was ousted as Trump’s National Security Advisor in February, and has been under investigation by federal law enforcement and congress over the past year.
Now Flynn faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to lying to federal investigators about his conversations with the Russian ambassador.

Flynn was born in December 1958. His parents, who he once described as strong Democrats, traveled the world for his World War II veteran father’s military career before settling down in Middletown, Rhode Island.
Growing up, Flynn shared bunk beds and a small bedroom with his brother Chris – he is one of nine children, who remain close - before he left home to attend college at the University of Rhode Island.
Flynn was known among friends and family members as the more outgoing brother, according to a 2011 profile of the former general in the Newport Daily News. He also loved ‘cheap cars’ and ‘pizza’ and rock music – especially the songs of Lou Reed. 


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In this undated photo provided by Joe Flynn, Michael Flynn, left, stands with his mother Helen Flynn, right, near a football field, in Middletown, Rhode Island 


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Packed in: The Flynns were brought up in this 1,200 square ft beach house, which his mother Helen ran as a 'bunkhouse', his brother Jack said
One family member told the paper that Flynn’s outlook was largely shaped by the ‘scrappy, no BS Irish-Catholic humble start [he] had in Newport.’ Flynn went on to attend the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, and was commissioned into the Army as an intelligence officer in 1981.
Growing up so close to the ocean in Rhode Island, Flynn, along with his siblings, became strong swimmers and surfers. And the retired military man became known for his skateboarding style and boldness in the water.
And while he was at the center of the Mueller probe in July, months before he was charged, Flynn was spotted surfing with his sister. 
His military career eventually took him to Washington, where he served as the president’s intelligence advisor for the Joint Staff from 2007 to 2008, and later as an intelligence advisor on Afghanistan.
Flynn became a three-star general – one of 230 active Army generals at the time – and was appointed to lead the Defense Intelligence Agency by President Obama in 2012.
Flynn lasted just two years at the agency before his military career ended when Obama dismissed him as defense intelligence chief in 2014. 
Flynn claimed he was pushed out for holding tougher views than the Obama administration about Islamic extremism, others claim it was due to his clashes with others in the administration and ‘turbulence’ at the agency – including the damaging intelligence leaks from Edward Snowden in 2013. 


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Flynn set up a company accepting speaking fees from Russian entities after he was forced from service into retirement by Obama administration in 2014

[size=18]Flynn at RNC: Can't have president who is above the law



[/size]
He blamed his dismissal on 'the bureaucracy' and said that things had gotten 'too politicized.'   
After leaving the Obama administration, Flynn went into private sector and founded a lobbying and consulting firm called Flynn Intel Group. That decision now seems to have set in motion his doom. 
His clients have included foreign businesses, including a Dutch firm with ties to the Turkish government.
The company, Inovo, owned by Turkish-American businessman Ekim Alpetkin, paid Flynn over $500,000 last fall to lobby on its behalf.
Flynn, who was also advising the Trump campaign at the time, was asked by the company to conduct research into Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, an adversary of Turkish President Recep Erdogan. 
Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, has been accused of engineering an unsuccessful coup against Erdogan. Flynn was reportedly hired to investigate Gulen and put together a film about the case.  
Although Flynn registered as a lobbyist, he did not register as a foreign agent at the time. 
He retroactively filed foreign agent registration papers this year, after his attorney’s acknowledged the project’s potential benefit to the Turkish government and Alpetkin’s links to Turkish officials. 


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Investigators early on focused not only on Flynn, but on his son, Michael Flynn Jr (pictured with Flynn), making the military man concerned about legal exposure born by his son 



Flynn Jr has propagated the view that Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, according to CNN



He has also speculated that Sen. Marco Rubio, who lost to Trump in the Republican primary campaign, was secretly gay and indulged in cocaine



Flynn has also come under fire for accepting $35,000 from the Russian state-sponsored news channel RT to speak at its 10th anniversary gala in Moscow in 2015. Damningly, he sat beside Putin.
Over the past few years, Flynn had grown increasingly vocal in his criticism of political Islam and its connection to terrorism.
In 2016, Flynn called Islamism a ‘vicious cancer inside the body of 1.7 billion people’ that ‘has to be excised.’
Flynn became a prominent surrogate for Donald Trump during the 2016 election, at one point drawing speculation that he might be chosen as a vice presidential candidate. 
He admitted he submitted his name for consideration, despite being registered as a Democrat. 
He ultimately joined the Trump campaign as an advisor and gave a speech supporting the candidate at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
During the campaign, Flynn often denounced Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server to send classified information while serving as secretary of state. At one rally, he encouraged the audience’s chants of ‘lock her up!’ and declared, ‘If I did a tenth of what she did, I’d be in jail today.’
Flynn’s son, Mike Flynn Jr., went further with his criticism of Clinton, and his comments became a magnet for controversy during the campaign and the presidential transition. 
The younger Flynn, who worked alongside his father on the presidential transition and the Trump campaign, appeared to endorse the ‘Pizzagate’ internet theory promoted by critics of Clinton last December. 
The theory alleged that Hillary Clinton aide John Podesta was involved in a child sex trafficking ring supposedly run out of the Comet Ping Pong pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C.
Although the theory was never substantiated, one man was arrested last winter for carrying a gun to the restaurant and firing several shots after reading about the ‘Pizzagate’ allegations online. Nobody was injured and the man was arrested and taken into custody on the spot.
‘Until #Pizzagate proven to be false, it'll remain a story. The left seems to forget #PodestaEmails and the many "coincidences" tied to it,’ wrote Flynn Jr. on Twitter.
Flynn Jr. also previously claimed on Twitter that minorities only voted for Obama because of his skin color, and promoted theories that Marco Rubio used cocaine and participated in ‘gayish’ dance parties. 
Flynn Jr. was let go by the Trump transition team last December, shortly before his father was tapped as Trump’s National Security Advisor in January. 
The elder Flynn lasted less than a month in the job before he was fired for allegedly misleading Vice President Pence about his conversations with the Russian ambassador.
But those days when he did serve saw him at the heart of the administration. ‘He was always in the room, and on every call,’ one official told The New Yorker.
That may be what will make Trump and those around him sweat most. 


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Mike Flynn's son Mike Jr posted this picture in June of the disgraced national security adviser and his sister Barbara Redgate surfing in June


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The Flynn family grew up surfing on Rhode Island where they lived in Middletown and Mike was known for his willingness to go into riskier waters
Federal officials say Flynn had multiple contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak after the election and during Trump’s presidential transition. The calls between Flynn and Kislyak were allegedly intercepted through intelligence gathering by the Obama administration.
Flynn’s name was later released to the Washington Post – which reported that Flynn and the Russian ambassador discussed the possibility of the Trump administration repealing Russian sanctions.
According to federal investigators, Flynn asked Russian Ambassador Kislyak to hold off on any political retaliation last December in response to the Obama administration’s decision to increase sanctions on Russia in the wake of the presidential election.
The Obama administration had placed the sanctions on Russia last year, after multiple U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that the Russian government was involved in hacking the Democratic National Committee. 
Intelligence officials claimed Russia released thousands of embarrassing emails to Wikileaks related to the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton, in an attempt to tip the presidential election in favour of Trump.
Prosecutors said Flynn also asked the Russian ambassador to delay voting on a UN resolution that was critical of Israel during a conversation last Dec. 22, but told investigators that he did not recall discussing this.  
These revelations came shortly after Vice President Mike Pence publicly defended Flynn and said the National Security Advisor did not discuss sanctions with Russian officials. 
After the Washington Post report, Flynn was fired and administration officials said he had lied to the vice president. 
At the time, Flynn’s lawyers dismissed the allegations as ‘unfounded allegations, outrageous claims of treason, and vicious innuendo.’ Flynn has not publicly commented on the matter since February.
But he was clearly deeply in trouble, and financially close to ruin. He and his family launched an appeal for cash for his defense fund, and while his son told how his father was surfing regularly, in reality he was sweating over his own and his family’s future.
Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators about the conversations on Friday.
Flynn is the second subject to plead guilty in connection to the Mueller probe. Former Trump national security advisor George Papadopoulos also pleaded guilty in October for lying about his Russian contacts.
Former Trump campaign officials Paul Manafort and Rick Gates pleaded not guilty to financial-related crimes in October.

This is actually a really good explanation of what all the legal jargon means. Well done, Daily Mail!!

Anyone here in Utah on Monday?

https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandWithBearsEars?src=hash

Did anybody hear about that?

https://mobile.twitter.com/USUN/status/937128503325143041

Carolhathaway - I hadn't heard about this, but it's no big surprise. Trump sends out his hired hypocrites to do all kinds of disgusting things behind our backs while we're all focused on the big-picture shenanigans in D.C..

He's dismantling our country piece by piece to line the pockets of his millionaire cronies. To hell with the environment, to hell with education and health care, to hell with any kind of future for anyone who doesn't kiss his butt. If Kim Jong Un does bomb the US, I hope he aims at Washington D.C. and Trump and all his Republican suck-ups are the only ones in town!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5144275/Trump-lawyer-says-president-incapable-obstruction.html

[size=34]The president CAN'T obstruct justice –because he's the president: Trump lawyer unveils possible Nixon-like defense against Mueller probe (if the president says it's legal, it's legal)[/size]

• Donald Trump's lawyer says the president 'cannot obstruct justice'
  
  
• John Dowd said it was an impossibility 'because he is the chief law enforcement'
  
  
• Special prosecutor Robert Mueller is probing possible obstruction
  
  
• Trump fired FBI diretor James Comey and according to Comey asked him to let an investigation of former security advisor Mike Flynn go
  
  
• Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI on Friday
  
  
• Dowd wrote a tweet by Trump saying 'I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI'
  
  
• The tweet implied Trump knew Flynn had lied to investigators
  
  
• Dowd told ABC he was being 'sloppy' when he wrote it and did not admit obstruction 
  
  

By GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 11:11 EST, 4 December 2017 | UPDATED: 11:18 EST, 4 December 2017

    

President Donald Trump's lawyer has rolled out a new defense that his client couldn't have committed obstruction of justice because he's the president. 
The legal argument by Trump lawyer John Dowd comes amid an ongoing probe of Russian election interference where possible obstruction could feature prominently. 
The president 'cannot obstruct justice because he is the chief law enforcement officer under [the Constitution's Article II] and has every right to express his view of any case,' Trump's lawyer, John Dowd, told Axios. 
Dowd's claim follows a Trump tweet on Saturday about former national security advisor Mike Flynn, using language that some legal observers say amounted to an acknowledgement that he committed obstruction.
The tweet – which Dowd on Sunday says he wrote – contained language saying Trump knew Flynn had lied to the FBI when he fired him in February. 


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Trump's personal lawyer, John Dowd has admitted that he crafted a controversial tweet that appeared on the President's personal account on Saturday. He said the president 'cannot obstruct justice' 
In another key event in special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, former FBI Director James Comey testified that Trump pressured him to back off a probe of Flynn, asking him to 'see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go.' Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI.
Dowd's statement immediately brought comparisons to Watergate, where Nixon was in fact facing an article of impeachment based on obstruction.
Trump tweeted on Saturday: 'I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!' Trump wrote.
After the tweet drew immediate controversy, Dowd said it was in fact he who composed it. 



MY LAWYER WROTE THIS: This tweet by Donald Trump led to accusations that the president had obstructed justice after allegedly telling James Comey to back off Michael Flynn while also knowing that Flynn lied to the FBI. But now the White House says his personal lawyer made the tweet


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Dowd argued that the president cannot commit obstruction because he is the nation's chief law enforcement officer under the Constitution


+4


John Dowd is part of President Trump's legal team, and says he wrote the president's recent tweet about Mike Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI 
Speaking to ABC News, the lawyer said the social media post was 'my mistake' and that he had not intended 'to break news' in writing it. He said he used 'sloppy' language. 
Dowd's admission did not clarify if Trump actually knew about Flynn's deception when he dismissed him in February or whether the President knew the tweet had been published on Saturday.
He hadn't meant to say Trump had advance knowledge of Flynn lying to the FBI, but had only learned of it recently.  

RELATED ARTICLES

+4


The claim brought comparisons to President Richard Nixon's claim that 'when the president does it, that means it is not illegal'
'The tweet did not admit obstruction. That is an ignorant and arrogant assertion,' Dowd told Axios.
The tweet got sent while Trump's motorcade was stuck in traffic as it left a Republican fundraising event in New York City.
Flynn was fired on February 13. At the time, the President said the decision was based on him misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his interaction with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak on December 22, 2016. 
Former Obama White House counsel Bob Bauer told Axios: 'It is certainly possible for a president to obstruct justice. The case for immunity has its adherents, but they based their position largely on the consideration that a president subject to prosecution would be unable to perform the duties of the office, a result that they see as constitutionally intolerable.'
Dowd's statement evoked claims by President Nixon about presidential prerogatives following his decision to resign while facing possible impeachment including on an obstruction charge.
'Well, when the president does it, that means it is not illegal,' he told David Frost in one their one-on-one interviews.

I always thought that you've got something called 'checks and balances' like in every other democracy. Must be a rumor but I guess tgat's fake news...

If this weren't such a tragic time for our country, I'd load up a bowl with popcorn and sit back and enjoy the coming show.

Donald tRump, the Tweeter-in-Chief is clinically mentally ill, and decompensating before our eyes. That's in addition to being a compulsive and pathological liar, crook, and intellectually challenged excuse for a human. His arrogance is exceeded only by his stupidity, and that's what will bring him and his organized crime family down.

And the Republicans lie to get what they want, then lie to get out of their lies. They're complicit in treason, and whatever morals they profess are readily exchangeable for power and money. I hope they all burn in their selectively Christian hells.

Way2Old - Couldn't agree more.Getting rid of Trump and his cronies would be satisfying, but it would only open the door for Pence and his uber-conservatives to slither in. They're almost as dangerous as he is because they're not as stupid, but they are just as mean and unprincipled.

It astounds me that people for whom money is the most important thing in the world - more important than the well being of their fellow citizens - have the nerve to call themselves Christians. Their actions couldn't be further from the teachings of Christ.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5149003/Wisconsin-Gov-Scott-Walker-drug-test-food-stamp-users.html

[size=34]Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker moving ahead with plan to drug-test food stamp users despite federal block and silence from Trump administration[/size]

• Walker tried to get this off the ground in 2016 but hit a federal roadblock
  
  
• He was told to wait while a previous legal challenge by Florida was ruled on
  
  
• Walker tried to the get the Trump administration to weigh in, but they kept quiet
  
  
• Now he's introduced the rule himself; Legislature has four months to review it
  
  
• It will then take a year to come into effect - barring federal or opposition lawsuits 
  
  
• Critics say the money is better spent on improved access to rehab services 
  
  

By JAMES WILKINSON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM 
PUBLISHED: 15:05 EST, 5 December 2017 | UPDATED: 15:10 EST, 5 December 2017

    


Wisconsin governor Scott Walker is pushing on with his plan to drug-test food stamp users despite resistance from federal courts.
Walker proposed the idea in 2015, but a conflict between a similar proposal from Florida and Barack Obama's administration saw it stalled.
He has since reached out to the Trump administration, but with them still having not taken action, he is now pressing on with his plan.


+3


Scott Walker (seen Friday) will push on with his drug-testing rule that would see able-bodied, childless food stamp users tested. He was previously told to wait for a federal dispute to end


+3


Walker was told to wait until the government ruled on Florida's own attempt to impose such a law, after it entered a stand-off with the federal courts. Walker asked the Trump administration to intervene, but they have kept quiet
Walker's rule would mean mandatory testing for those food stamp applicants who are childless and able-bodied.
If they fail, they are eligible for state-funded rehabilitation treatment, if they can't afford it themselves.
Florida had attempted to create a drug test requirement for those applying for food stamps, but it hit a roadblock in 2014 in the federal appeals court.
Federal laws prohibit states from placing any more requirements on food stamp provision, and the move was declared a violation of constitutional protections against unreasonable searches.
The following year Walker filed a federal lawsuit in order to try to get approval to test food-stamp applicants.

RELATED ARTICLES

But because the Obama administration hadn't declined Florida's attempt, Wisconsin was told to wait.
Walker attempted to get the incoming Trump administration to rule on the decision in December so that his own suit could continue, but they have remained quiet.
Now Walker - who says he has the authority to push the plan into action - is carrying on regardless.
He believes that just 220, or 0.3 per cent, of the 67,400 people who apply for food stamps each year in Wisconsin are likely to test positive.


+3


The Legislature has four months to look over Walker's proposal. If it's accepted it will take a year to come into effect - assuming lawsuits from the opposition don't hold it back
The Legislature has four months to review the plans; if accepted they will not be implemented for a year.
Even then they'll likely face lawsuits from opponent - and that's if they're not officially blocked by the federal government. 

Jon Peacock, research director for family advocacy group Kids Forward, said the state would be better off investing in better access to effective drug treatment programs
Walker says that the plans are a way to ensure that drug-free people get into the workforce, but critics say that there are much better ways to achieve that aim.
Jon Peacock, research director for family advocacy group Kids Forward said that 'investing in broader access to effective drug treatment programs, rather than spending scarce state resources on the administration of drug screening and testing requirements,' would have a far better effect.
The budget that Walker signed this year also called for parents of children aged 6-18 on the food stamp program to be tested.
And he called for drug screening for all all able-bodied, childless adults applying for Medicaid BadgerCare health benefits, 
Both rules are inactive, pending federal approval.

[size=18]Scott Walker reveals Wisconsin's new 2017 hunting season rules



[/size]

Lizzy, tRump will fire Pence, among others, before he resigns. He will never allow someone he thinks he "made" to replace him, especially since it's now public knowledge that Pence tried to replace him on the ticket. tRump will make a deal with Ryan for a pardon... or he'll think he has one.

Every lawyer the Democratic party has ever paid should right now be drafting court motions to void the results of the election, to coincide with impeachment/indictment, so there's no chance of any Republican administration. And that includes every GOP member in Congress who rode in on the treasonous coattails of the Occupant through benefit of straight Republican ticket votes with tRump at the top of the ballot.

Does Walker really think that anybody who's on drugs, will stop using them in order to get food stamps? No, they will steal instead...

More to the point, any adult on food stamps likely has children who need to eat, who don't have anything to do with their parents'/guardians' drug use.

Republicans think they'll be purging Black and Latino or Hispanic people from assistance. But most people receiving food assistance are children, pre-Social Security older adults, and working poor Whites.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5150649/Amid-warnings-Trump-forges-ahead-Jerusalem-capital.html

[size=34]Trump will recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital despite international outcry from Iran, Russia, Turkey, China, Palestinians and the Pope[/size]

• President Trump is set to announce he's recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capitol city, and starting the process of moving the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv
  
  
• International outcry was swift and furious ahead of speech expected at lunchtime in the U.S.
  
  
• Palestinians said it would be 'a kiss of death to the two-state solution' and Trump is 'declaring war in the Middle East'
  
  
• Pope Francis said he was 'profoundly concerned' and appealed that 'everyone respects the status quo of the city' 
  
  
• China, which has good ties with Israel and the Palestinians, expressed concerns over 'possible aggravation of regional tensions'
  
  
• Iran's supreme leader said Trump's new stance represented 'incompetence and failure'
  
  
• Russia, a key Middle East player, expressed concern about a 'possible deterioration' there
  
  

By ASSOCIATED PRESS and DAVID MARTOSKO, US POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM 
PUBLISHED: 03:56 EST, 6 December 2017 | UPDATED: 08:52 EST, 6 December 2017

    

America's friends and foes unleashed fierce criticism on Wednesday ahead of President Donald Trump's announcement recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital which is expected lunchtime Wednesday.
While Israel welcomed the news, Palestinian officials declared the Mideast peace process 'finished' and Turkey announced it would host a meeting of Islamic nations next week to give Muslim countries' leaders an opportunity to coordinate a response. 
The Arab League scheduled an emergency meeting on Saturday and in the West bank Hamas declared Friday a 'day of rage', raising the specter of mass violence in the occupied territories.
The Pope made a plea for Trump to rethink urgently and spoke out at his weekly general audience in Rome .
'I make a heartfelt appeal so that all commit themselves to respecting the status quo of the city, in conformity with the pertinent resolutions of the United Nations,' Pope Francis said.
The pope told thousands of people at his general audience: 'I cannot keep quiet about my deep concern about the situation that has been created in the last few days.'

Scroll down for video 


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President Donald Trump will say Wednesday that the U.S. officially recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and that the U.S. will begin the process of moving its embassy there from Tel Aviv


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Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Member Hanan Ashrawi says moving the US embassy to Jerusalem would be "the death knell of any peace process"


+10


Pope Francis said he was 'profoundly concerned' and appealed that 'everyone respects the status quo of the city'


+10


Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital is a 'red line' for Muslims
The harsh global reaction cast questions about the feasibility of a brewing U.S. peace plan that is expected to be presented by the White House in the near future.
Trump would effectively be making a declaration of war, the Palestinians' chief representative to Britain said Wednesday.
'If he says what he is intending to say about Jerusalem being the capital of Israel, it means a kiss of death to the two-state solution,' Manuel Hassassian said in a BBC radio interview.
'He is declaring war in the Middle East, he is declaring war against 1.5 billion Muslims [and] hundreds of millions of Christians that are not going to accept the holy shrines to be totally under the hegemony of Israel,' Hassassian added. 
The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state and fear that Trump's declaration essentially imposes on them a disastrous solution for one of the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
'There is no way that there can be talks with the Americans. The peace process is finished. They have already pre-empted the outcome,' said Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi. 'They cannot take us for granted.'
The U.S. decision 'destroys the peace process,' added Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. Top Palestinian officials were meeting Wednesday to plot their course forward.
U.S. officials said late Tuesday that Trump will recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, despite intense Arab, Muslim and European opposition to a move that would upend decades of U.S. policy and risk potentially violent protests. Trump was expected to unveil his plan in a speech later Wednesday.
Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Facebook that 'Our historical national identity is receiving important expressions every day.' He said he would comment further later in the day.
Other members of his Cabinet were more forthcoming. Education Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the nationalist Jewish Home party, praised what he called Trump's 'bold and yet natural' move.
'The sooner the Arab world recognizes Jerusalem as our capital, the sooner we will reach real peace. Real peace that is not predicated on an illusion that we are going to carve up Jerusalem and carve up Israel,' Bennett told The Associated Press on the sidelines of the Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference.
International leaders, however, swiftly criticized Trump's plan.

[size=10][size=18]EU warns Trump against recognizing Jerusalem as Israeli capital



[/size][/size]




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'That they claim they want to announce [Jerusalem] as the capital of occupied Palestine is because of their incompetence and failure,' Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said


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Palestinians burned a poster of Trump during a protest in Bethlehem, West Bank, on Tuesday
Pope Francis said he was 'profoundly concerned' and appealed that 'everyone respects the status quo of the city.' 
China, which has good ties with Israel and the Palestinians, expressed concerns over 'possible aggravation of regional tensions.' 
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said during a news briefing that the status of Jerusalem was a complicated and sensitive issue and China was concerned the U.S. decision 'could sharpen regional conflict.'
'All parties should do more for the peace and tranquility of the region, behave cautiously, and avoid impacting the foundation for resolving the long-standing Palestine issue and initiating new hostility in the region,' Geng said. 
Russia, a key Mideast player, expressed its concern about a 'possible deterioration.' 
Two leading Lebanese newspapers published front-page rebukes of Trump.
Britain's Foreign Minister, Boris Johnson, who had already expressed concern about the U.S. decision, on Wednesday said it was now time for the Americans to present their peace plan for the region.
Trump's Mideast team, led by his adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have spent months meeting with Israeli, Palestinian and Arab leaders. Details of their long awaited plan remain a mystery.

[size=18]Boris voices 'concern' over Trump's embassy move to Jerusalem



[/size]



+10


Trump's relationship with Chinese presidenet Xi Jinping could be in danger after Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the status of Jerusalem was a complicated and sensitive issue and the U.S. decision 'could sharpen regional conflict'
'Clearly this is a decision that makes it more important than ever that the long-awaited American proposals on the Middle East peace process are now brought forward,' Johnson told reporters in Brussels.
In his speech, Trump was expected to instruct the State Department to begin the multi-year process of moving the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city. It remained unclear, however, when he might take that physical step, which is required by U.S. law but has been waived on national security grounds for more than two decades.
The officials said numerous logistical and security details, as well as site determination and construction, could take three or four years to sort out.
To that end, the officials said Trump would delay the embassy move by signing a waiver, which is required by U.S. law every six months. He will continue to sign the waiver until preparations for the embassy move are complete.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity pending Trump's announcement, said the decision was merely an acknowledgment of 'historical and current reality' rather than a political statement and said the city's physical and political borders will not be compromised.

[size=18]Trump likely to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital



[/size]



+10


Trump's decision drew intense Arab, Muslim and European opposition to a move that would upend decades of U.S. policy and risk potentially violent protests


+10


In this Sept. 24, 2015 file photo, Palestinians pray during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, near the Dome of the Rock Mosque in the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's old city
They noted that almost all of Israel's government agencies and parliament are in Jerusalem, rather than Tel Aviv, where the U.S. and other countries maintain embassies.
Still, the declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital carries deep symbolic significance and could have dangerous consequences. The competing claims to east Jerusalem, the section of the city captured by Israel in 1967, have frequently boiled over into deadly violence over the years.
East Jerusalem is home to the city's most sensitive Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, as well as its 330,000 Palestinian residents.
The United States has never endorsed the Jewish state's claim of sovereignty over any part of Jerusalem and has insisted its status be resolved through Israeli-Palestinian negotiation.
The mere consideration of Trump changing the status quo sparked a renewed U.S. security warning on Tuesday. America's consulate in Jerusalem ordered U.S. personnel and their families to avoid visiting Jerusalem's Old City or the West Bank, and urged American citizens in general to avoid places with increased police or military presence.
Trump, as a presidential candidate, repeatedly promised to move the U.S. Embassy. However, U.S. leaders have routinely and unceremoniously delayed such a move since President Bill Clinton signed a law in 1995 stipulating that the United States must relocate its diplomatic presence to Jerusalem unless the commander in chief issues a waiver on national security grounds.
Key national security advisers – including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis – have urged caution, according to the officials, who said Trump has been receptive to some of their concerns.

[size=34]WHY IS JERUSALEM CONTESTED?[/size]

Jerusalem has been a contested site for centuries, and today three major world religions – Judaism, Islam and Christianity – lay claim to various holy sites and monuments there. 
Crucially, Israel calls it its capital, but the Palestinians say the east of the city is their capital.
The establishment in 1948 of the state of Israel included its declaration of Jerusalem as the capital.
But the war which followed left the city split between west and east along religious lines.
For the two-thirds of Jerusalem residents who are Jews, they live in the world's holiest city, the capital of the original Israelite Kingdom of Judah and the former location of ancient Jewish temples. The Western Wall, a site where Jews make pilgrimages to pray, is nearby.


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Israeli soldiers after capturing East Jerusalem from Jordan in 1967. Israel later annexed the area and declared it part of its capital - something the international community refuses to recognize
Muslims, who comprise nearly all the rest, consider the walled Old City in Jerusalem sacred too. What Jews call the Temple Mount is known in Islam as Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary). It contains the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.
Palestinians controlled the site until Israelis captured it from Jordan during the Six-Day War in 1967. 

Christians are only about 2 per cent of Jerusalem's population, but they see the city as the site of Jesus Christ's cruxificion and resurrection from the dead.
Israelis consider Jerusalem – all of it – to be their 'eternal capital.'
Palestinians want their own sovereign nation with East Jerusalem as its capital, and have made that a condition of pursuing a 'two-state solution' to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Israel's Knesset passed a law in 1980 officially annexing East Jerusalem, but no other nation has ever recognized it as legal.
Most countries avoid the issue by having embassies in Tel Aviv which is Israel's largest city and its economic capital.  






Trump has spoken of his desire to broker a 'deal of the century' that would end Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
U.S. officials, along with an outside adviser to the administration, said the president's speech was not aimed at resolving the conflict over Jerusalem.
He isn't planning to use the phrase 'undivided capital,' according to the officials. Such terminology is favored by Israeli officials and would imply Israel's sovereignty over east Jerusalem.
One official also said Trump would insist that issues of sovereignty and borders must be negotiated by Israel and the Palestinians. The official said Trump would call for Jordan to maintain its role as the legal guardian of Jerusalem's Muslim holy places, and reflect Israel and Palestinian wishes for a two-state peace solution.
Elsewhere, however, reactions were skeptical, especially across the Muslim world. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the 'whole world is against' Trump's move, and the supreme leader of Iran, Israel's staunchest enemy, condemned Trump.
The state TV's website quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying that 'the victory will ultimately be for the Islamic nation and Palestine.'
Iran does not recognize Israel, and supports anti-Israeli militant groups like Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas. 
That they claim they want to announce Quds as the capital of occupied Palestine is because of their incompetence and failure,' Khamenei said, using the Arabic name for Jerusalem.

This is ridiculous he needs to stay out of this. 

My daughter told me about something she read. Someone stated he is doing this to goad terrorist to attack us so that 
he can say see look what they did and I am right about Muslims.

Annemarie, he loves and thrives on chaos. He ran a campaign touting chaos and upheaval and his loyal supports are all in .... it seems.

Disgusting and dangerous man running our country.

I agree, but he is not running the our country he is destroying it.

Way2Old4Dis wrote:More to the point, any adult on food stamps likely has children who need to eat, who don't have anything to do with their parents'/guardians' drug use.

Republicans think they'll be purging Black and Latino or Hispanic people from assistance. But most people receiving food assistance are children, pre-Social Security older adults, and working poor Whites.

Way2,
the description under the pic of Walker heavily competing for the 'ugliest sweater award' says:
'Scott Walker (seen Friday) will push on with his drug-testing rule that would see able-bodies, childless food stamp users tested...'
If he would want it for families / drug-addicted parents as well, it would certainly be even more violating as it already is...

Yes, after it hasn't worked out so far to start a war with North Corea, he needs another issue he can set another region on fire.

I wouldn't mind if Jerusalem was the capital and the whole world agreed. But since this city is important for all religions, it should be neutral (as much as it can be). I've talked to several peolle who visited Jerusalem and were so impressed about the spirit and tolerance of the different religions.

Annemarie,
of course it's possible that he's trying to provoke muslims to attack the States. I've read comments that this decision was already made in 1995 by Pres. Clinton. Does anybody know about that?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5151885/Democrat-Al-Green-forces-vote-Trump-impeacment.html

[size=34]'This president is unfit. He has committed high misdemeanors': Democrat Al Green will force a vote on Trump's impeachment TODAY as the president gives his Israel speech[/size]

• Green endorsed impeachment against Trump after the president's claim there were 'very fine' people on both sides of the Charlottesville race riot
  
  
•  Is using a 'privileged' motion to get around House Republicans' iron fist today
  
  
• 'This president is unfit. He has committed high misdemeanors. Andrew Johnson was impeached for less,' Green argued on Wednesday
  
  
• Lawmakers will easily thwart the effort with a motion to table. But they will be on the record on the topic, nonetheless 
  
  
• Impeachment is something that House Democratic leadership has already rejected 
  
  

By FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 09:46 EST, 6 December 2017 | UPDATED: 10:14 EST, 6 December 2017

    


Rep. Al Green, a Texas Democrat, will force the House to vote on articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump this afternoon.
Green announced the move yesterday and told C-SPAN during an appearance this morning on Washington Journal: 'This president is unfit. He has committed high misdemeanors. Andrew Johnson was impeached for less, and articles of impeachment will be brought against him today.'
The lower chamber is set to take up the measure just after 1 pm, at the zenith of Trump's legacy-defining Israel speech, during which he will announce the eventual relocation of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO 


+2


Rep. Al Green, a Texas Democrat, will force the House to vote on articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump this afternoon. Green announced the move yesterday on the House floor
Lawmakers will easily thwart the effort with a motion to table. But they will be on the record on the topic, nonetheless.
At least five House Democrats are expected to vote to proceed, including Green, who first endorsed impeachment after Trump's commentary on the Charlottesville race riot.
Congressmen Steve Cohen, Luiz Gutierrez and Adriano Espaillat and Congresswoman Marcia Fudge introduced five articles of impeachment against Trump in mid-November.
How many other Democrats will join the group of rebels is unknown. Impeachment is something that House Democratic leadership has already rejected.
Green said Tuesday from the House floor that he would formally present the articles for a vote this afternoon.
He's using a 'privileged' motion to get around Republicans' iron-fisted control of the House docket.
A spokesperson for House Speaker Paul Ryan declined to comment. 
A 'dear colleague' letter that Green distributed accused Trump of inciting 'hatred and hostility' and using his position to further attitudes that have 'sown discord within American society.'
Green argued in the release that Trump need not have been found to have committed any actual crimes to be impeached for high misdemeanors. 
Johnson was impeached solely for bringing 'contempt, ridicule and disgrace' to the office, he pointed out, and for verbal harassment that was generally determined to be unbecoming of the nation's highest representative.

RELATED ARTICLES

+2


'This president is unfit. He has committed high misdemeanors,' Green said Wednesday of Trump
Green said Wednesday on C-SPAN that Trump's harmful rhetoric is enough to impeach him.
He has called neo-Nazis protesting in Charlottesville 'very fine people' and referred to Rep. Frederica Wilson, a black Democratic member, as 'wacky' during the Gold Star widow phone call dispute. He also said that professional football players who kneel during the national anthem are SOBs, Green said.
'The b is a dog. He called the mothers of these professional athletes. dogs. That's unacceptable,' Green stated.
Trump's retweets last week of an anti-Mulism fringe group that's based in Britain was also 'unacceptable,' Green said on C-SPAN.
'He will tolerate the KKK to a greater extent than he will Islam. That's all unacceptable.'
Green assessed that he would now be called 'uncivil' for assaulting Trump in this manner, which he said is hypocritical against the backdrop of the president's own uncouth remarks.

'My friends, like it or not, we have we have elected a bigot as president,' he said.
In his letter, Green said of Trump: 'Although he may not be the first bigot in the White House, he is the first who routinely uses Twitter and other public statements to feed an alt-right hate machine, antithetical to the constitutionally protected interests of many minorities, women, Muslims, and the LGBTQ community.'

[size=18]House Democrats file five articles of impeachment against Trump



[/size]


The Texas Democrat, who was seen cordially interacting with the president during Trump's visit to the state September in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, says he does not want to impeach the president, but he believes it is the correct action to take.
'History will be my final judge, and vindication my eternal reward,' he stated at the end of his dear colleague letter.
He said Wednesday on C-SPAN, 'When you're doing the right thing, you have a good deal of comfort in knowing that you may not be judged properly by the people who are your contemporaries but those who look through the vista of time, they will judge your properly.'
Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader in the House, has firmly opposed the movement to impeach Trump, despite her disagreements with the Republican president.
She told CNN last month, 'It's not someplace that I think we should go.
'I don't want to dampen anybody's enthusiasm for what they believe, because a lot of people in our country think that the president should be impeached,' she said. 'But that... isn't what our election is about.'
Pelosi encouraged her caucus to focus on 'meeting the needs of the American people, stopping this tax bill right now, which is an insult to the intelligence of the American people, an assault on their financial security.
'That's what we should be talking about,' she said. 
Responding on Wednesday, Green said that Trump has 'brought shame and dishonor on the presidency. 
'So I have no quarrels with what other people will say. I have great respect for them, but it's not about them,' he stated.

No one wants Trump gone more than I do, but the consequences of impeaching him are truly horrible. Mike Pence as president? That's like all Trump's evil intentions with a brain behind them.

I hate to say it, but I think Pelosi is right. Wait out the rest of Trump's presidency as long as possible, fighting his agenda all the way. Then make sure he can't get re-elected.

Maybe Mueller will get him for treason or collusion or money-laundering and conspiracy - or any of the dozens of other financial crimes he has probably committed. Maybe the women who are accusing him of sexual assault will win their case. Maybe he'll gorge himself to death on Big Macs at McDonald's. One can only hope.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5152783/Trump-officially-recognizes-Jerusalem-Israels-capital.html

[size=34]'Jerusalem IS Israel's capital': I will move our embassy there AND make peace with the Palestinians says Trump as he defies the world's warning he will set the Middle East on fire with dramatic change of policy[/size]

• President Trump announced he's recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital city, and starting the process of moving the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv
  
  
• 'Today we finally acknowledge the obvious, that Jerusalem is Israel's capital. This is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality,' he said
  
  
• 'Many presidents have said they want to do something, and they didn't do it; whether it's through courage or they change their mind I can't tell you,' he said during a cabinet meeting before his world-shaking speech
  
  
• Palestinians said it would be 'a kiss of death to the two-state solution' and Trump is 'declaring war in the Middle East'
  
  
• Hamas said Trump has opened 'the gates of hell' 
  
  
• Pope Francis said he was 'profoundly concerned' and appealed that 'everyone respects the status quo of the city' 
  
  
• China, which has good ties with Israel and the Palestinians, expressed concerns over 'possible aggravation of regional tensions'
  
  
• Iran's supreme leader said Trump's new stance represented 'incompetence and failure'; Russia expressed concern about a 'possible deterioration' there
  
  
• Moving the embassy to Jerusalem will unfold over 'years,' a senior White House official said; 'It won't be immediate, it won't be months, it won't be quick'
  
  

By DAVID MARTOSKO, US POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM  and WIRES
PUBLISHED: 13:13 EST, 6 December 2017 | UPDATED: 14:05 EST, 6 December 2017

    

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that America formally recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital city, changing decades of U.S. policy in a brief afternoon speech and casting the move as a bid to preserve, not derail, aspirations for regional peace.
Appearing in the White House's Diplomatic Reception Room against an elaborate backdrop of Christmas decorations, He also said the United States embassy in Israel would, over time, be moved there from Tel Aviv.
Israel is the only country where the United States has an embassy in a city that the host nation does not consider its capital.
'I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,' Trump said. 'While previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver. Today I am delivering.'
'When I came into office I promised to look at the world's challenges with open eyes and very fresh thinking,' he said, leaning heavily on a mid-1990s federal law that demanded the embassy's relocation.
'We have declined to acknowledge any Israeli capital – at all,' Trump added. 'But today we finally acknowledge the obvious, that Jerusalem is Israel's capital. This is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality.'
'It is also the right thing to do. It is something that has to be done.' 





Scroll down for video and to read the complete speech


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Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capitol on Wednesday and launched a process to move the U.S. embassy there, casting his decision as an act of political courage


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The president signed a proclamation after his short speech, backed up by Vice President Mike Pence


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'Today we finally acknowledge the obvious, that Jerusalem is Israel's capital; this is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do,' Trump said


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In flames: In Gaza Palestinians burned the U.S. and Israeli flags as Trump's announcement later on Wednesday was revealed


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Palestinians burned a poster of Trump during a protest in Bethlehem, West Bank, on Tuesday in anticipation of the announcement


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Trump spoke to cameras in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House, surrounded by Christmas trees as he spoke about tensions between Muslims and Jews


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Trump cast his decision on Wednesday morning as an act of political courage, saying previous presidents had never had the guts to do what he did on Wednesday
Every president since Bill Clinton has exercised a waiver in the Jerusalem Embassy Act, effectively kicking the can down the road. Trump said that has brought the world 'no closer to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.'
A major theme in Trump's unprecedented statement was his claim that it shouldn't interfere with longer-term peace negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. 
But the Palestine Liberation Organization said after his speech that it had destroyed hopes for a two-state solution.
The terror group Hamas said Trump had opened 'the gates of hell.' 
'This decision is not intended in any way to reflect a departure from our strong commitment to facilitate a lasting peace agreement,' the president insisted. 'We want an agreement that is a great deal for the Israelis and a great deal for the Palestinians.'
'We are not taking a position of any final status issues, including the specific boundaries of the Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem or the resolution of contested borders,' he continued. 
This is a day that is long overdue. Jerusalem has been, and always will be, the eternal, undivided capital of the State of Israel.
Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan 
'Those questions are up to the parties involved. The United States remains deeply committed to helping facilitate a peace agreement that is acceptable to both sides. I intend to do everything in my power to help forge such an agreement.'
Trump said the United States will continue to support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian standoff, 'if agreed to by both sides.'
'In the meantime, I call on all parties to maintain the status quo at Jerusalem's holy sites,' he said. 
'Jerusalem is today, and must remain, a place where Jews pray at the Western Wall, where Christians walk the Stations of the Cross and where Muslims pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque,' Trump added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trump's policy shift 'historic' and quickly pledged to continue giving Muslims and Christians access to their sacred places in Jerusalem's Old City. 
The president's decision ... comes at the wrong time and unnecessarily inflames the region
Democratic Sen. Mark Warner 
Trump insisted that ordering a move of the embassy's location would 'immediately begin the process of hiring architects, engineers and planners so that a new embassy, when completed, will be a magnificent tribute to peace.'
America's friends and foes unleashed fierce criticism before Trump made official what the White House previewed for reporters Tuesday night.
But Trump stuck to his guns, calling his decision an act of political courage. 
The president previewed his 'big announcement' during a cabinet meeting, which he said concerns 'Israel and the Palestinians in the Middle East. And I think it's long overdue.'
'Many presidents have said they want to do something, and they didn't do it. Whether it's through courage or they change their mind I can't tell you. But a lot of people have said we have to do something, and they didn't do it.'



President Donald Trump will say Wednesday that the U.S. officially recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and that the U.S. will begin the process of moving its embassy there from Tel Aviv. Benjamin Netanyahu was largely silent about the move but his Cabinet welcomed it



Rebukes spread: In Britain, Prime Minister Theresa May said she would challenge Trump and at the Vatican Pope Francis said he was 'profoundly concerned' and appealed that 'everyone respects the status quo of the city'


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More opprobrium: Turkey's president Recey Tayyip Erdogan, who met King Abdullah of Jordan on Tuesday, had called the move on Jerusalem a 'red line'. His spokesman on Wednesday said it was a 'grave mistake that will virtually eliminate the fragile Middle East peace process'.

[size=10][size=18]Palestinians torch Trump photos in protest against embassy move



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THE WORLD REACTS TO TRUMP'S MOVE 

'I pray to the Lord that its identity is preserved and strengthened for the benefit of the Holy Land, the Middle East and the whole world and that wisdom and prudence prevail to prevent new elements of tension from being added to a global context already convulsed by so many cruel conflicts.' –Pope Francis
'Jerusalem obviously should be part of the final settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians - a negotiated settlement that we want to see. We have no plans ourselves to move our embassy.' –Boris Johnson, British Foreign Secretary 
'Our historical national identity is receiving important expressions every day.' –Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister 
'Declaring Jerusalem a capital is disregarding history and the truths in the region, it is a big injustice/cruelty, shortsightedness, foolishness/madness, it is plunging the region and the world into a fire with no end in sight.' –Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag
'He is declaring war in the Middle East, he is declaring war against 1.5 billion Muslims, hundreds of millions of Christians, that are not going to accept the holy shrines to be totally under the hegemony of Israel.' –Manuel Hassassian, chief Palestinian representative to Britain
'That they claim they want to announce [Jerusalem] as the capital of occupied Palestine is because of their incompetence and failure,' –Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei     

While Israel welcomed the news, Palestinian officials declared the Mideast peace process 'finished' and Turkey announced it would host a meeting of Islamic nations next week to give Muslim countries' leaders an opportunity to coordinate a response. 
In Gaza, U.S. and Israeli flags were burned and in the West Bank Hamas declared Friday a 'day of rage,' raising the specter of mass violence in the occupied territories.
Israeli security forces braced for violence as well.
The Pope made a plea for Trump to rethink urgently and spoke out at his weekly general audience in Rome .
'I make a heartfelt appeal so that all commit themselves to respecting the status quo of the city, in conformity with the pertinent resolutions of the United Nations,' Pope Francis said.
The Roman Catholic Pontiff told thousands of people at his general audience: 'I cannot keep quiet about my deep concern about the situation that has been created in the last few days.'
A Turkish government spokesman said that the move will plunge the region and the world into 'a fire with no end in sight.'
In the UK Prime Minister Theresa May said she would challenge the country's closest ally. 
'I'm intending to speak to President Trump about this matter,' May told MPs.
'Our position has not changed, it has been a long standing one and it is also a very clear one.
'It is that the status of Jerusalem should be determined in a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and Jerusalem should ultimately form a shared capital between the Israeli and Palestinian states.' 
The harsh global reaction cast questions about the feasibility of a brewing U.S. peace plan that is expected to be presented by the White House in the near future.
Trump would effectively be making a declaration of war, the Palestinians' chief representative to Britain said Wednesday before the president's speech.
'If he says what he is intending to say about Jerusalem being the capital of Israel, it means a kiss of death to the two-state solution,' Manuel Hassassian said in a BBC radio interview.
'He is declaring war in the Middle East, he is declaring war against 1.5 billion Muslims [and] hundreds of millions of Christians that are not going to accept the holy shrines to be totally under the hegemony of Israel,' Hassassian added. 


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Trump complained during a late morning cabinet meeting at the White House that 'many presidents have said they want to do something, and they didn't do it; whether it's through courage or they change their mind I can't tell you'


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Contested city: Jerusalem is the holiest city of three religions and until now, never recognized by the U.S. or most other countries as Israel's capital. Trump's move upends what had long been U.S. policy, that recognition would be part of the peace process
The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state and fear that Trump's declaration essentially imposes on them a disastrous solution for one of the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
'There is no way that there can be talks with the Americans. The peace process is finished. They have already pre-empted the outcome,' said Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi. 'They cannot take us for granted.'
The U.S. decision 'destroys the peace process,' added Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. Top Palestinian officials were meeting Wednesday to plot their course forward.
Congressional leaders on the Republican side of the aisle were overwhelmingly supportive in Washington on Wednesday.
'This is a day that is long overdue,' said Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. 
'Jerusalem has been, and always will be, the eternal, undivided capital of the State of Israel.' 
But Democrats were openly critical.
Trump's decision 'comes at the wrong time and unnecessarily inflames the region,' Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia insisted. 
'This announcement upends long-standing U.S. policy and international agreements that the status of Jerusalem should be determined as part of a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, not unilaterally.'

[size=18]Pope Francis says he can't hide 'deep concern' over embassy move



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Moving the embassy will be a long process.
'This will be a matter of some years. It won't be immediate, it won't be months, it won't be quick,' a senior administration official said Tuesday night.
'For instance,' he said, 'the United States was looking at moving out of Grosvenor Square in London for a long, long time. And I think that took something like eight years to get done and will be done in early 2018.'
'It is a practicable impossibility to move the embassy tomorrow,' another official said. 'There are about 1,000 personnel in the embassy in Tel Aviv. There is no facility they can move into in Jerusalem, as of today.'
'It will take some time to find a site, address security concerns, design a new facility, fund a new facility – working with Congress, obviously – and build it. So this is not an instantaneous process.' 
Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Facebook that '[o]ur historical national identity is receiving important expressions every day.' 
Other members of his cabinet were more forthcoming. Education Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the nationalist Jewish Home party, praised what he called Trump's 'bold and yet natural' move.

[size=18]President Trump promises 'big announcement' on Israel




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'That they claim they want to announce [Jerusalem] as the capital of occupied Palestine is because of their incompetence and failure,' Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said

[size=18]EU warns Trump against recognizing Jerusalem as Israeli capital




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A laborer hangs a U.S. national flag on a lamp post along a street where the U.S. consulate in located in Jerusalem
'The sooner the Arab world recognizes Jerusalem as our capital, the sooner we will reach real peace. Real peace that is not predicated on an illusion that we are going to carve up Jerusalem and carve up Israel,' Bennett told The Associated Press on the sidelines of the Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference.
The Family Research Council, an American evangelical Christian group, was enthusiastic.
'America's foreign policy, as it pertains to Israel, is coming into alignment with this biblical truth: Jerusalem is the eternal and indivisible capital of the Jewish state,' the group's president Tony Perkins said. 
International leaders, however, swiftly criticized Trump's plan.
China, which has good ties with Israel and the Palestinians, expressed concerns over 'possible aggravation of regional tensions.' 
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said during a news briefing that the status of Jerusalem was a complicated and sensitive issue and China was concerned the U.S. decision 'could sharpen regional conflict.'

BUILD AN EMBASSY? WHY NOT HANG A NEW SIGN INSTEAD?

Any building where an American ambassador has his or her residence and regular office is technically an embassy.
It's like the concept of Air Force One, which is not a specific aircraft: Any plane the President of the United States rides on, even if it's a single-engine crop-duster, is technically Air Force One.
The U.S. already has a consulate in Jerusalem, meaning that a new sign on the door and new accommodations for Ambassador David Friedman would technically acomplish what President Trump wants.
But the White House says it will go through a years-long process instead, not moving Friedman and his staff until Congress funds and the State Department builds a brand new facility.
'We don't just put a plaque on a door and open a mission,' a senior administration official said Tuesday evening.
'There are major security, structural concerns and very, very strict guidelines anywhere in the world that have to be followed before that flag goes up or that plaque goes on. Jerusalem is no exception to those rules.'
In January former U.S. Ambassador to the United nations John Bolton told DailyMail.com that the State Department could – and should – take the quicker route.
'You can move the embassy by changing the name-plate on the consulate, and then build a permanent embassy in due course,' he said. 'The sooner they do it the better.'
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee added that the State Department should 'do it – do it quickly, do it boldly. In fact, my advice to them is don't announce you're going to do it.'
'Do it and announce you just did it,' said Huckabee.
'You do it, and you just say, "Yesterday we moved the embassy." ... It would be totally unnecessary and counterproductive to say, "We're going to start laying a building cornerstone," and it just creates an environment for tension that's unnecessary.'
 

'All parties should do more for the peace and tranquility of the region, behave cautiously, and avoid impacting the foundation for resolving the long-standing Palestine issue and initiating new hostility in the region,' Geng said. 
Russia, a key Mideast player, expressed its concern about a 'possible deterioration.' 
Two leading Lebanese newspapers published front-page rebukes of Trump.
Britain's Foreign Minister, Boris Johnson, who had already expressed concern about the U.S. decision, on Wednesday said it was now time for the Americans to present their peace plan for the region. 
'Jerusalem obviously should be part of the final settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians - a negotiated settlement that we want to see,' Johnson said.
'We have no plans ourselves to move our embassy.' 
In Brussels Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tried to dampen down the reaction.
'The president is very committed to the Middle East peace process,' Tillerson told reporters at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.
He said a small team led by Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner - a 36-year-old former property developer - has been 'engaged in a quiet way' in the region to try to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
'We continue to believe there is a very good opportunity for peace to be achieved and the president has a team that is devoted to that entirely,' Tillerson said.
Trump's Mideast team have spent months meeting with Israeli, Palestinian and Arab leaders. Details of their long awaited plan remain a mystery.
'Clearly this is a decision that makes it more important than ever that the long-awaited American proposals on the Middle East peace process are now brought forward,' Johnson told reporters in Brussels.
In his speech, Trump was expected to instruct the State Department to begin the multi-year process of moving the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city. It remained unclear, however, when he might take that physical step, which is required by U.S. law but has been waived on national security grounds for more than two decades.

[size=18]Boris voices 'concern' over Trump's embassy move to Jerusalem



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Trump's relationship with Chinese presidenet Xi Jinping could be in danger after Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the status of Jerusalem was a complicated and sensitive issue and the U.S. decision 'could sharpen regional conflict'

To that end, the officials said Trump would delay the embassy move by signing a waiver, which is required by U.S. law every six months. He will continue to sign the waiver until preparations for the embassy move are complete.

IT'S INSANE, SAY PALESTINIANS IN JERUSALEM

Palestinians seethed with anger and a sense of betrayal over President Trump's decision to recognize the disputed city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Many heard the death knell for the long-moribund U.S.-sponsored talks aimed at ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel. They also said more violence could erupt.
'Trump wants to help Israel take over the entire city. Some people may do nothing, but others are ready to fight for Jerusalem,' said Hamad Abu Sbeih, 28, an unemployed resident of the walled Old City.
'This decision will ignite a fire in the region. Pressure leads to explosions,' he said.

'This is insane. You are speaking about something fateful. Jerusalem is the capital of the state of Palestine and neither the world nor our people will accept it,' said Samir Al-Asmar, 58, a merchant from the Old City who was a child when it fell to Israel.
'It will not change what Jerusalem is. Jerusalem will remain Arab. Such a decision will sabotage things and people will not accept it.'
 

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity pending Trump's announcement, said the decision was merely an acknowledgment of 'historical and current reality' rather than a political statement and said the city's physical and political borders will not be compromised.
They noted that almost all of Israel's government agencies and parliament are in Jerusalem, rather than Tel Aviv, where the U.S. and other countries maintain embassies.
Still, the declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital carries deep symbolic significance and could have dangerous consequences. The competing claims to east Jerusalem, the section of the city captured by Israel in 1967, have frequently boiled over into deadly violence over the years.
East Jerusalem is home to the city's most sensitive Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, as well as its 330,000 Palestinian residents.
The United States has never endorsed the Jewish state's claim of sovereignty over any part of Jerusalem and has insisted its status be resolved through Israeli-Palestinian negotiation.
The mere consideration of Trump changing the status quo sparked a renewed U.S. security warning on Tuesday. America's consulate in Jerusalem ordered U.S. personnel and their families to avoid visiting Jerusalem's Old City or the West Bank, and urged American citizens in general to avoid places with increased police or military presence.
Trump, as a presidential candidate, repeatedly promised to move the U.S. Embassy. However, U.S. leaders have routinely and unceremoniously delayed such a move since President Bill Clinton signed a law in 1995 stipulating that the United States must relocate its diplomatic presence to Jerusalem unless the commander in chief issues a waiver on national security grounds.
Key national security advisers – including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis – have urged caution, according to the officials, who said Trump has been receptive to some of their concerns.

[size=18]Theresa May to speak to Donald Trump about Jerusalem comments



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[size=34]THREE FAITHS AND THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF HISTORY HAVE SHAPED THE EMBASSY BATTLE [/size]

Jerusalem has been a contested site for centuries, and today three major world religions – Judaism, Islam and Christianity – lay claim to various holy sites and monuments there - all of them on the Temple Mount. 
The crux is that Jews see the West Wall as their holiest site as this is all that remains of the Jewish temple after its destruction by the Romans; Christians see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as their holiest site because it was where Christ rose from the dead; and Muslims see the Dome of the Rock as their holiest site because the Prophet Muhammad began his journey to heaven there.

Three faiths, one city: Jews revere the Western Wall, Christians the Holy Sepulchre and Muslims the Dome of the rock
The importance of each has echoed down history. Medieval maps put Jerusalem in the center of the world, the Crusades tried to capture the city for Christians and the holy sites changed hands repeatedly in the Middle Ages. 
By the 1800s Jerusalem had a population of just 8,000 people and was a backwater in the Ottoman Empire but that was to change rapidly as colonial powers fought over the Middle East, Christian revivalists moved into the city and Zionism became a significant political movement among the world's Jews.
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire left Britain in charge of the heterogeneous city and its growing New Jerusalem as settlement spread beyond the city walls. 
Jewish immigration boomed and tensions grew, with a pogrom in 1920, then growing attacks from Zionist groups on British forces. It was to presage a bloody aftermath of World War II as Jewish militias steppes up attacks on the British.
But the immediate roots of Trump's dramatic announcement lie in the messy history of the Middle East after World War II.
The U.N. plan which set up separate Jewish and Israeli states in what had been British-controlled Palestine in 947 said Jerusalem was to be a 'separated body' administered by the United Nations.
The State of Israel was declared in 1948 and over the next year recognized by countries including the U.S. - but crucially on the basis of the U.N. plan, meaning Jerusalem could not be the capital.


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Israeli soldiers after capturing East Jerusalem from Jordan in 1967.
Conflict which rolled into 1949 ended in an armistice which left Israel controlling the west of the city and Jordan the east, and Israel's president called the city Israel's 'eternal capital'.
But the world largely did not follow. The U.S., which wanted a negotiated settlement to replace the armistice of 1949, built its embassy in Tel Aviv, and most other countries followed. 
The situation was upended in 1967 when the Six Day War's spectacular victories gave Israel control of Jerusalem and the West Bank. 
That ushered in a new era for Israel, which took control of East Jerusalem and made it separate legally from the West Bank, and over the years repeatedly rejecting the 1947 U.N. position of the city's special status.
Repeated efforts to settle the issue have involved the final status of Jerusalem being part of the negotiations towards a deal.
The U.S., which has been in support of the major past efforts, kept its embassy in Tel Aviv as a result, and other major countries did the same. 
Tel Aviv is the undoubted economic capital of Israel but the country's parliament and president are in Jerusalem and diplomats have to go there to be officially recognized and for many meetings with the country's government.
A handful of smaller countries have from time to time recognized Jerusalem as capital and even had embassies there, but no major country has until now made that declaration.
In Israel and Palestine both sides appear determined to have Jerusalem as their capital and no peace plan has ever got far enough to test whether potential compromises which have been offered - such as an international trust administering the holy sites, and the creation of a Palestinian capital in the suburbs - would actually happen.
Currently the city is roughly two-thirds Jewish and one third Muslim, and the historic Christian community makes up just two per cent of the population. 




[size=18]Arab League sends warning to Trump over Jerusalem decision


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Trump has spoken of his desire to broker a 'deal of the century' that would end Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
U.S. officials, along with an outside adviser to the administration, said the president's speech was not aimed at resolving the conflict over Jerusalem.
He isn't planning to use the phrase 'undivided capital,' according to the officials. Such terminology is favored by Israeli officials and would imply Israel's sovereignty over east Jerusalem.
One official also said Trump would insist that issues of sovereignty and borders must be negotiated by Israel and the Palestinians. The official said Trump would call for Jordan to maintain its role as the legal guardian of Jerusalem's Muslim holy places, and reflect Israel and Palestinian wishes for a two-state peace solution.
Elsewhere, however, reactions were skeptical, especially across the Muslim world. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the 'whole world is against' Trump's move, and the supreme leader of Iran, Israel's staunchest enemy, condemned Trump.
The state TV's website quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying that 'the victory will ultimately be for the Islamic nation and Palestine.'
Iran does not recognize Israel, and supports anti-Israeli militant groups like Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas. 
'That they claim they want to announce Quds as the capital of occupied Palestine is because of their incompetence and failure,' Khamenei said, using the Arabic name for Jerusalem.

[size=34]TRUMP'S SPEECH DECLARING JERUSALEM ISRAEL'S CAPITAL[/size]

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'When I came into office, I promised to look at the world's challenges with open eyes and very fresh thinking.
'We cannot solve our problems by making the same failed assumptions and repeating the same failed strategies of the past. All challenges demand new approaches.
'My announcement today marks the beginning of a new approach to conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
'In 1995, Congress adopted the Jerusalem Embassy Act urging the federal government to relocate the American Embassy to Jerusalem and to recognize that that city, and so importantly, is Israel's capital. This act passed congress by an overwhelming bipartisan majority. And was reaffirmed by unanimous vote of the Senate only six months ago.
'Yet for over 20 years, every previous American president has exercised the law's waiver, refusing to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem or to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital city. Presidents issued these waivers under the belief that delaying the recognition of Jerusalem would advance the cause of peace. Some say they lacked courage but they made their best judgments based on facts as they understood them at the time. Nevertheless, the record is in.
'After more than two decades of waivers, we are no closer to a lasting peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
'It would be folly to assume that repeating the exact same formula would now produce a different or better result. Therefore, I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. While previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver.
'Today I am delivering. I've judged this course of action to be in the best interests of the United States of America and the pursuit of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. This is a long overdue step to advance the peace process. And to work towards a lasting agreement.
'Israel is a sovereign nation with the right, like every other sovereign nation, to determine its own capital. Acknowledging this is a fact is a necessary condition for achieving peace. It was 70 years ago that the United States under President Truman recognized the state of Israel.
'Ever since then, Israel has made its capital in the city of Jerusalem, the capital the Jewish people established in ancient times. Today, Jerusalem is the seat of the modern Israeli government. It is the home of the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, as well as the Israeli Supreme Court. It is the location of the official residence of the prime minister and the president. It is the headquarters of many government ministries.
'For decades, visiting American presidents, secretaries of State and military leaders have met their Israeli counterparts in Jerusalem, as I did on my trip to Israel earlier this year.
'Jerusalem is not just the heart of three great religions, but it is now also the heart of one of the most successful democracies in the world. Over the past seven decades, the Israeli people have by the a country where Jews, Muslims and Christians and people of all faiths are free to live and worship according to their conscience and according to their beliefs.
'Jerusalem is today and must remain a place where Jews pray at the Western Wall, where Christians walk the stations of the cross, and where Muslims worship at Al-Aqsa Mosque. However, through all of these years, presidents representing the United States have declined to officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. In fact, we have declined to acknowledge any Israeli capital at all.
'But today we finally acknowledge the obvious. That Jerusalem is Israel's capital. This is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do. It's something that has to be done.
'That is why consistent with the Jerusalem embassy act, I am also directing the State Department to begin preparation to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This will immediately begin the process of hiring architects, engineers and planners so that a new embassy, when completed, will be a magnificent tribute to peace.
'In making these announcements, I also want to make one point very clear. This decision is not intended in any way to reflect a departure from our strong commitment to facilitate a lasting peace agreement.
'We want an agreement that is a great deal for the Israelis and a great deal for the Palestinians. We are not taking a position of any final status issues including the specific boundaries of the Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem or the resolution of contested borders. Those questions are up to the parties involved.
'The United States remains deeply committed to helping facilitate a peace agreement that is acceptable to both sides. I intend to do everything in my power to help forge such an agreement. Without question, Jerusalem is one of the most sensitive issues in those talks. 
'The United States would support a two-state solution if agreed to by both sides. In the meantime, I call on all parties to maintain the status quo at Jerusalem's holy sites including the Temple Mount, also known as Haram al-Sharif. Above all, our greatest hope is for peace. The universal yearning in every human soul.
'With today's action, I reaffirm my administration's longstanding commitment to a future of peace and security for the region. There will, of course, be disagreement and dissent regarding this announcement. But we are confident that ultimately, as we work through these disagreements, we will arrive at a peace and a place far greater in understanding and cooperation. This sacred city should call forth the best in humanity.
'Lifting our sights to what is possible, not pulling us back and down to the old fights that have become so totally predictable. Peace is never beyond the grasp of those willing to reach it.
'So today we call for calm, for moderation, and for the voices of tolerance to prevail over the purveyors of hate. Our children should inherit our love, not our conflicts. I repeat the message I delivered at the historic and extraordinary summit in Saudi Arabia earlier this year: The Middle East is a region rich with culture, spirit, and history. Its people are brilliant, proud and diverse. Vibrant and strong.
'But the incredible future awaiting this region is held at bay by bloodshed, ignorance and terror.
'Vice President Pence will travel to the region in the coming days to reaffirm our commitment to work with partners throughout the Middle East to defeat radicalism that threatens the hopes and dreams of future generations.
I't is time for the many who desire peace to expel the extremists from their midsts. It is time for all civilized nations and people to respond to disagreement with reasoned debate, not violence. And it is time for young and moderate voices all across the Middle East to claim for themselves a bright and beautiful future.
'So today, let us rededicate ourselves to a path of mutual understanding and respect. Let us rethink old assumptions and open our hearts and minds to possible and possibilities.
'And finally, I ask the leaders of the region political and religious, Israeli and Palestinian, Jewish and Christian and Muslim to join us in the noble quest for lasting peace.
'Thank you. God bless you. God bless Israel. God bless the Palestinians and God bless the United States.'

Well


Studio city on fire too?

It’s me, the closet fire to Studio City is in the famous multimillion dollar neighborhood of Bel-Air .... about a 20 minute drive to Studio City. Rupert Murdoch has a home on one of the streets where some houses are on fire. Really awful and devastating fires in Southern California, especially in Ventura. There is big concern tonight because the winds are supposed to get stronger and it will be much harder for firefighters to contain these fires.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5153669/Why-Jerusalem-important-SAM-GREENHILL-explains.html

[size=34]Why is Jerusalem important, what makes Donald Trump's intervention so toxic and does anyone else recognise the city as Israel's capital?: SAM GREENHILL explores why today's announcement is so incendiary[/size]
By SAM GREENHILL FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 18:07 EST, 6 December 2017 | UPDATED: 08:00 EST, 7 December 2017

    




What is the status of Jerusalem?
Israel set up its parliament in West Jerusalem when the state of Israel was proclaimed in 1948. The move followed the United Nations’ vote to partition Palestine on the basis of the British pledge known as the Balfour Declaration that paved the way for a homeland for the Jewish people.
Israel occupied 78 per cent of the land, with the remaining 22 per cent split between Gaza and the West Bank.
Then, in 1967, during the Six-Day Arab-Israeli war, Israel annexed Arab-controlled East Jerusalem, including the Old City. Israel has claimed ever since that both parts of the city are its ‘undivided’ capital.
However, Palestinians want East Jerusalem as their capital. Most countries, including Britain, do not recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and keep their embassies in Tel Aviv.


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The Temple Mount in the Old City is the most sacred place in Judaism — the site of Solomon’s Temple said to have housed the Ark of the Covenant and destroyed in 586 BC by King of Babylon. The compound includes Islamic shrines the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque
Why is Jerusalem so important to both sides?
Chiefly because of its religious history. The Temple Mount in the Old City is the most sacred place in Judaism — the site of Solomon’s Temple said to have housed the Ark of the Covenant and destroyed in 586 BC by King of Babylon.
The site is also the third holiest shrine in Islam, known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif (‘Noble Sanctuary’). It was the scene of Prophet Muhammad’s ‘Night Journey’ ascension from Earth to Heaven in 621. The compound includes Islamic shrines the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The city is also sacred to Christians — Jesus attended a temple in the Old City and was crucified on a hill outside its walls. But it also has hugely important implications for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.


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What has Donald Trump done and why is his intervention so toxic?
Until now, peacemakers have pursued the strategy that Jerusalem would be part of an overall negotiated settlement, with its status decided in the latter stages of peace talks, with agreement on both sides. But if America jumps to a conclusion on the city’s status now — and takes Israel’s side — many fear it will undermine the chances of a peace deal. It could also damage America’s position as an ‘honest broker’ between the two sides.
It does not take much to spark violence in the Middle East. In 2000, the Second Intifada — two bloody years of Palestinian suicide bombings and Israeli military killings — started after a visit by the then leader of the Israeli opposition, Ariel Sharon, to the Old City site.
How can the status of Jerusalem be peacefully resolved?
Jerusalem is described as the most intractable part of the world’s most intractable conflict. But one of the main planks of the peace process is a two-state solution — in which Jerusalem would serve as capital of both states: East Jerusalem for Palestine, West Jerusalem for Israel.
About a third of the people living in Jerusalem are Palestinians. An uneasy co-existence is lived out day-to-day, under the watchful eyes of clusters of armed Israeli police.


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Jerusalem is governed by a mayor and city council whose members are elected to four-year terms. Palestinian Arabs living in East Jerusalem have the right to vote in Israeli elections, but most refuse to do so
Though there is generally free movement around the divided capital, Israeli security forces set up checkpoints to seal off Palestinian neighbourhoods in times of tension, such as a wave of stabbings in 2015.
Since 1967, Israel has built a dozen settlements, home to about 200,000 Jews, in East Jerusalem. These are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
Jerusalem is governed by a mayor and city council whose members are elected to four-year terms. Palestinian Arabs living in East Jerusalem have the right to vote in Israeli elections, but most refuse to do so.
How does Trump justify moving the U.S. embassy?
The U.S. embassy is currently in Tel Aviv. To move it to Jerusalem would be a powerfully symbolic and inflammatory gesture in support of Israel and in defiance of Palestinians.
But technically Trump has a legal framework: in 1995, amid lobbying from pro-Israel Americans, the Republican-controlled Congress passed a law, the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which instructs the President to move the embassy. But all Presidents since Bill Clinton have signed a waiver every six months to prevent that happening.


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Mr Trump could now have catastrophically undermined his own Middle East strategy of trying to forge peace — not just between Israel and Palestinians, but also between Israel and Saudi Arabia’s Sunni Muslims
So why has he done this now?
Mr Trump’s move seems driven not by diplomatic calculations, but by a campaign promise and his current low ratings.
In 2016, he appealed to Christian evangelicals and ardently pro-Israel American Jews by vowing to move the embassy. His pledge was extremely popular with these voters, including casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who donated $25 million to the Trump cause. Mr Adelson expressed anger when Mr Trump signed the waiver in June to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv. Advisers said this week Mr Trump was making good on his promise.
Why are all the Arab countries so hostile to the move?
Opinion polls show that at least 90 per cent of Arabs view Israel as their main enemy. So no Arab regime can risk provoking internal political upheaval by appearing to side with the U.S.
Mr Trump could now have catastrophically undermined his own Middle East strategy of trying to forge peace — not just between Israel and Palestinians, but also between Israel and Saudi Arabia’s Sunni Muslims.


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Opinion polls show that at least 90 per cent of Arabs view Israel as their main enemy. So no Arab regime can risk provoking internal political upheaval by appearing to side with the U.S
He wants the Saudis to take on and curb the growing influence of Iran’s Shia Muslims — the Sunni’s mortal enemies — and their allies in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. The Saudis could now be forced to abandon their gradual clandestine move towards open acceptance of the Jewish state.
Do other countries recognise Jerusalem as the capital?
The world — including China — is virtually united in not recognising Israel’s claim to Jerusalem as its undivided capital.
One exception is the Pacific island of Vanuatu, which recognised it in May this year. Its late president, Baldwin Lonsdale, was an evangelical Christian who was described as having ‘a strong connection to the Jewish people and to Israel’.
Taiwan also considers Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. However, Israel does not even recognise Taiwan as a country.
Russia’s position is slightly ambiguous but seems to leave room for the city to be Israel’s capital in the event of a peace deal. 

So  here is the lady who has made claims about Al Franken, who is making a statement today. Very very interesting

https://twitter.com/LenaSG1/status/938699796512215040

Apparently she is a friend of Roger Stone's, pal of Trump

The last comment to that post echoes my thoughts exactly. Sen. Franken should not resign until Trump does. Trump is accused by 20-s0me-odd women of everything from sexual assault to rape. He is a sexual predator. Franken is not a predator or rapist - he's just a jerk.

I think Franken has been such a good Senator and is one of our more prolific advocates for getting to the truth of all things Trump.  It is a shame that he has resigned.  He has owned up to his inappropriate behavior in answer to his accusers.  Like Lizzy said he’s neither a rapist or a serial predator.  Nor is he a pedophile.  He has done some really stupid stuff though.  And if there aren’t more skeletons in his closet he could have overcome this if he had been investigated by the Ethics Committtee.  I’m not sure he should have resigned but I think politically he had little choice.  I think the Democrats are building a case against Republicans for the 2018 elections.  If they don’t clean house, so to speak, they can’t really rail against Trump and that god awful excuse for a man, Roy Moore in making the case that Republicans lack a moral compass.

As one political commentator said this morning on T.V. he should resign, take stock of his actions, continue to be involved in the political process and come back in a couple of years and run again.  If he is earnest the constituents of Minnesota probably will have him back.

Donnamarie - I agree with your assessment of Franken's situation and I really hope he runs again. IMO he's the kind of politician we need in Washington.

It ticks me off to see his own party play politics with his career - especially the women's contingent of the Senate. It's not just that they're building a case against the Republicans for the next election. They're doing exactly what Trump does - pandering to their base. They want the women's vote and are bypassing established procedure (the Ethics Committee) to get it. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? It's a little hypocritical to bypass due process to get votes to fight a low-life who obstructs due process. - Also. where are their voices being raised in support of the women accusing Trump of assault? Seems to me it's awfully quiet on that front. Hypocrites!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5158403/Bernie-Sanders-says-Trump-think-resigning.html

[size=34]Bernie Sanders says Donald Trump's 'p***ygate' tape in which he admits to assaulting women should get him to 'think about resigning'[/size]

• Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said on Thursday that President Donald Trump should 'think about resigning' over sexual assault allegations against him
  
  
• Sanders referenced the Access Hollywood interview from 2005 in which Trump is overheard telling interviewer Billy Bush that he grabs women by their genitalia 
  
  
• Hours after Sanders' appearance on CBS This Morning, Democrat Al Franken announced that he would resign from the Senate amid groping allegations 
  
  
• Franken's announcement comes just days after Democratic Rep. John Conyers resigned his seat in Congress over sexual misconduct allegations
  
  
• Trump and the Republican Party are being criticized for continuing to support Moore, who is accused of sexual misconduct with girls who were in their teens
  
  

By ARIEL ZILBER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 22:56 EST, 7 December 2017 | UPDATED: 02:54 EST, 8 December 2017

    

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said on Thursday that President Donald Trumpshould 'think about resigning' because he was caught on tape admitting to groping women.
Sanders appeared Thursday on CBS This Morning to discuss the sexual assault allegations against Minnesota Senator Al Franken and Judge Roy Moore, the Republican nominee for the Alabama Senate seat.
When asked about the spate of allegations being made against public figures in the entertainment world and on Capitol Hill, Sanders said: 'We have a president of the United States who acknowledged on a tape widely seen all over the country that he assaulted women.
'So I would hope maybe the president of the United States might pay attention to what's going on and also think about resigning.'


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Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said on Thursday that President Donald Trump should 'think about resigning' because he was caught on tape admitting to groping women





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Sanders referenced the Access Hollywood interview from 2005 in which Trump (left) is overheard telling interviewer Billy Bush (right) that he grabs women by their genitalia. Trump and Bush are seen above with soap opera star Arianne Zucker
Sanders referenced the Access Hollywood interview from 2005 in which Trump is overheard telling interviewer Billy Bush that he grabs women by their genitalia.
Trump has also been accused by more than a dozen women of sexual harassment and assault.

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Last month, the White House once again refuted the claims of Trump's accusers.
Hours after Sanders' appearance on CBS This Morning, Franken announced that he would resign from the Senate amid groping allegations – but maintained his innocence and blasted Trump for bragging about 'his history of sexual assault.'
Franken's announcement comes just days after Democratic Rep. John Conyers, the longest serving member of the House, resigned his seat in Congress over sexual misconduct allegations.


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Sanders spoke on Thursday hours before Al Franken (left) announced he would resign over groping allegations made by numerous women. John Conyers (right), the longest serving member of the House, resigned his seat in Congress over sexual misconduct allegations


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Franken fell under pressure from fellow Democrats, who are pummeling President Trump and the Republican Party for continuing to support Roy Moore (above), the Alabama Senate candidate who is accused of sexual misconduct with girls who were in their teens
He fell under extraordinary pressure from fellow Democrats, who are pummeling President Trump and the Republican Party for continuing to support Moore, who is accused of sexual misconduct with girls who were in their teens. 
Sanders on Thursday called for a 'cultural revolution' to change the way women are treated.
He reiterated his call for Franken to step down, joining 30 other lawmakers.
When asked what compelled Sanders to call for the Minnesota Democrat's resignation from the Senate, he said: 'I think the additional evidence that came forward but I think what we have got to recognize as a nation, that this is a problem impacting not only high profile men.
'What I worry about right now as I speak is that in restaurants, in offices all over this country where you have bosses that are not famous, there is harassment, women are being intimidated, and we need a cultural revolution in this country.'
One of Trump's accusers, Summer Zervos, filed a defamation lawsuit against the president in a New York court.


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Trump has also been accused by more than a dozen women of sexual harassment and assault. One of Trump's accusers, Summer Zervos (seen right with attorney Gloria Allred), filed a defamation lawsuit against the president in a New York court
Trump's lawyers argued this week that the president should be immune from the suit because he's too busy and important.
Zervos' suit claimed that Trump had 'branded her a liar' when he refuted her allegations that he'd sexually assaulted her in 2007.
In the motion to dismiss and strike the lawsuit, Trump's lawyer Marc Kasowitz dismissed Zervos' allegations saying that the assault had never happened and her suit was 'politically motivated.'
Zervos was also accompanied by her other lawyer Gloria Allred, who is representing dozens of other women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct.
Judge Jennifer Schecter is due to issue a ruling. Zervos had filed her lawsuit in January, three days before Trump's inauguration. 

TIMELINE: WHEN DONALD TRUMP HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF ASSAULT, GROPING OR LEWD BEHAVIOR 

[size=19]1980 - Jessica Leeds [/size]
Jessica Leeds, a 74-year-old former businesswoman who lives in Manhattan, told the New York Times on Wednesday she was 'assaulted' by Trump on a flight when she was 38.
Leeds explained how she was sat beside Trump in first class on a flight, when the Republican nominee lifted the arm-rest between then and allegedly began touching her. 
'He was like an octopus,' she told the Times. 'His hands were everywhere.'

[size=19]1989 - Ivana Trump[/size]
The Donald's first wife claimed she was 'violated' by him after a violent attack, documents filed as part of the couple's divorce claimed, according to the Daily Beast.
Ivana distanced herself from the claims last year when Trump started his campaign.
Early 1990s - Kristin Anderson 

Kristin Anderson
Kristin Anderson was out with friends, chatting up a storm at a Manhattan nightspot, when she felt fingers creep up her miniskirt, slide up her inner thigh and then touch her vagina through her panties.
The man who touched her was none other than Donald Trump, Anderson - now 46 - told theWashington Post.
She said the incident took place in the early 1990s, when she was in her early twenties and an aspiring model.

 
 [size=19]1993 - Jill Harth[/size]

Jill Harth
Jill Harth, a makeup artist, accused Trump of 'attempted rape' stemming from an incident in 1993. 
Harth told the Guardian the incident in question took place during a visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago mansion in January of that year.
'He pushed me up against the wall, and had his hands all over me and tried to get up my dress again,' she told the newspaper. 'I had to physically say: 'What are you doing? Stop it.''  
 
 
1993 - Vendela Kirsebom

Vendela Kirsebom
Former supermodel Vendela Kirsebom exclusively told DailyMail.com that Donald Trump's 'vulgar' and 'sexist' remarks about the size of women's breasts forced her to switch tables at a White House dinner party.
The sports Illustrated cover model claims her night at a 1993 Vanity Fair event was ruined because she was sat next to the billionaire.
Recalling the 'excruciating' night, Kirsebom, 49, said: 'Everything he said was so vulgar.
'I couldn't listen to his nonsense for an entire night so I asked if I could be moved.'
1996 - Lisa Boyne

Lisa Boyne
Lisa Boyne, CEO of a health food company, claims that in the summer of 1996 she saw Trump make a series of women walk up and down a restaurant table so that he could announce whether they were wearing underwear.
'It was the most offensive scene I've ever been a part of,' she told The Huffington Post Thursday. 'I wanted to get the heck out of there.'
According to Boyne, she and friend Sonja Tremont - better known today as Sonja Morgan of 'Real Housewives of New York' - had been invited to dinner in Manhattan with Trump and late modelling agent John Casablancas.


[size=19]1997 - Four Miss Teen USA contestants[/size]
Mariah Billado and three other contestants claimed to Buzzfeed that Trump walked into dressing rooms prior to the pageant while competitors were naked.
'I remember putting on my dress really quick because I was like, 'Oh my god, there's a man in here'.' 
Bilado told the website, before adding Trump said something like: 'Don't worry, ladies, I've seen it all before'.
[size=19]1997 - Miss USA contestant Temple Taggart[/size]
Temple Taggart, a former Miss Utah, told the New York Times earlier this year that Trump kissed her on the lips during the pageant.
'I thought, 'Oh my God, gross'... I think there were a few other girls that he kissed on the mouth. I was like 'Wow, that's inappropriate',' she told the newspaper.
Taggart has also sat down for an interview with NBC News.
'When I first heard the leaked tape, it's very unsettling... you don't want to hear anyone talking about women like that,' she said in a promotion clip for the interview.
1997 - Cathy Heller 
Cathy Heller, now 63, claims the billionaire kissed her on the mouth without her consent in 1997 while she attended a Mother's Day luncheon with her family at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
She told The Guardian on Saturday: 'He took my hand, and grabbed me, and went for the lips,' she said. 
She claims she held back but he persevered. 'And he said, 'Oh, come on.' He was strong. He grabbed me and went for my mouth and went for my lips.' 
Trump denied the accusation, claiming she was motivated by a personal vendetta to have her family's membership fees reimbursed. 
[size=19]2000 - Miss USA contestant Bridget Sullivan[/size]

Bridget Sullivan
Bridget Sullivan told Buzzfeed earlier this year that the then-owner of the pageant walked through the backstage area to wish contestants good luck, despite the fact many of them were naked at the time.
'The time that he walked through the dressing rooms was really shocking. We were all naked,' Sullivan said.
She went on to describe Trump as a 'creepy uncle', saying he would 'hug you just a little low on your back.' 
Buzzfeed spoke  with four other contestants from that year - none whom remembered Trump walking through the dressing room when contestants were naked. 
[size=19]2001 - Miss USA contestant Tasha Dixon[/size]

Tasha Dixon
Tasha Dixon told CBS News earlier this year walked into the changing rooms at the pageant without warning, meaning many of the competitors were naked or not fully dressed.
'Our first introduction to him was when we were at the dress rehearsal and half naked changing into our bikinis,' Dixon said in an interview. 'He just came strolling right in. 
'There was no second to put a robe on or any sort of clothing or anything. Some girls were topless. Other girls were naked.'
[size=19]2003 - Mindy McGillivray[/size]

Mindy McGillivray
Mindy McGillivray, 36, told the Palm Beach Post that Trump grabbed her backside after she helped a photographer who was covering a concert at Trump's Mar-a-Lago mansion. 
McGillivray, who was 23 at the time, said she was with Ken Davidoff at the Mar-a-Lago on January 24, 2003.
'All of a sudden I felt a grab, a little nudge. I think it's Ken's camera bag, that was my first instinct,' she told the newspaper. 
'I turn around and there's Donald. He sort of looked away quickly.'
[size=19]2004 - Trump discussed what he thought it would be like to have  sex with a teenage Lindsay Lohan on the Howard Stern Show[/size]
'She's probably deeply troubled and therefore great in bed,' Trump told Stern when asked by the shock jock if he could imagine bedding 'troubled teen' Lindsay Lohan.
Trump went on to say: 'How come the deeply troubled women, you know, deeply, deeply troubled, they're always the best in bed?'
At the time of the interview, Lohan was just 18-years-old. Trump was 58.
The conversation continued with Trump speaking about a friend he described as 'a great Playboy' and who he said only wants to date 'crazy' women. 
[size=19]2005 - Rachel Crooks[/size]

Rachel Crooks
Rachel Crooks was a 22-year-old working as a receptionist at Bayrock Group, a real estate company based in Trump Tower in Manhattan, when she says Trump kissed her on the mouth without permission while in an elevator in 2005.
'It was so inappropriate,' Ms. Crooks told the New York Times. 'I was so upset that he thought I was so insignificant that he could do that.'
Crooks told the newspaper the incident took place after she shook hands with Trump in an elevator and he allegedly refused to let go. She says he then began kissing her on the cheeks, before then kissing her lips.
[size=19]2005 - Donald Trump admits he would 'inspect' pageant contestants backstage[/size]
Donald Trump bragged about the extra power he had during an interview with Howard Stern in April 2005, the tapes of which have been released by CNN.
'I'll tell you the funniest is that I'll go backstage before a show and everyone's getting dressed,' Trump said about the pageant.
'No men are anywhere, and I'm allowed to go in, because I'm the owner of the pageant and therefore I'm inspecting it…. 'Is everyone OK'? You know, they're standing there with no clothes. 'Is everybody OK?'
'And you see these incredible looking women, and so I sort of get away with things like that.'
[size=19]2005 - Trump brags about being able to grope women without consent to Billy Bush on the set of Access Hollywood[/size]
'You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful - I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait,' he was heard saying to Billy Bush on the set of Access Hollywood in 2005 in a recording published by the Washington Post last Friday.
'And when you're a star they let you do it.  You can do anything. Grab them by the p****. You can do anything.' 
[size=19]2005 - Natasha Stoynoff [/size]
Natasha Stoynoff recounted how she had traveled to Mar-a-Largo to interview Trump and his wife, Melania, in December 2005. 
She said Donald took her into a room he really wanted to see, before forcing himself on her.
'We walked into that room alone, and Trump shut the door behind us. I turned around, and within seconds, he was pushing me against the wall, and forcing his tongue down my throat,' she wrote for People.
Stoynoff went on to say how she was rescued when a butler walked in, however when the two were alone again shortly after Trump told her they were 'going to have an affair'. 
2007 - Summer Zervos - contestant on The Apprentice
Summer Zervos, who was a contestant on the fifth season of The Apprentice, said Trump groped and kissed her in his room at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2007.
She claims that she reached out to Trump a year after she left the show to speak about possible business opportunities, and when she met with him he kissed her 'open mouthed' multiple times, and at one point placed his hand on her breast.
She claims he then had her lie in bed with him she said telling her he wanted to watch 'telly telly', but soon after began 'thrusting his genitals' at her despite her pleas asking him to stop.
Zervos broke down in tears throughout press conference, saying at one point: 'You do not have the right to treat women as sexual objects just because you are a star.'
2009 -  Called Khloe Kardashian 'a fat piglet' 
Trump made rude and offensive comments about Khloe Kardashian's physical appearance and weight while she filmed Celebrity Apprentice back in 2009, according to multiple people who worked on the set.
'He said: 'Why don't we fire Khloe? She is a fat piglet. Why did we get the ugly Kardashian?'' a source told Huffington Post. 
[size=19]2010 - Friend of CNN anchor Erin Burnett[/size]
Erin Burnett detailed an encounter that a friend had with Trump in March 2010 in the boardroom at Trump Tower, when he allegedly tried to kiss her without permission. 
The woman told Burnett, according to CNN: 'Trump took Tic Tacs, suggested I take them also. He then leaned in, catching me off guard, and kissed me almost on lips. I was really freaked out. 
'After (the meeting), Trump asked me to come into his office alone. Was really unsure what to do. ... Figured I could handle myself. Anyway, once in his office he kept telling me how special I am and gave me his cell, asked me to call him. I ran the hell out of there.'
[size=19]2013 - Miss USA contestant Cassandra Searles[/size]
Searles, who won Miss Washington in 2013, said Trump tried to seduce her, groped her, and treated the women in the pageant 'like cattle', according to Yahoo News.
'Do y'all remember that one time we had to do our onstage introductions, but this one guy treated us like cattle and made us do it again because we didn't look him in the eyes?' she wrote in June. 
'Do you also remember when he then proceeded to have us lined up so he could get a closer look at his property?
'Oh I forgot to mention that guy will be in the running to become the next President of the United States.'
She then added: 'He probably doesn't want me telling the story about that time he continually grabbed my a** and invited me to his hotel room.' 

There was also a story that came out around the time of the Access Hollywood tape about Trump having sex with a 13 year old girl procured for him by a friend who is some sort of high-class pimp. The story circulated for a while and then disappeared. I don't know if it was disproved or if there are other reasons why it went away. It would seem to fit with his pattern of behavior.