Quote:In a wide-ranging press conference on the status of the committee's investigation into Russian meddling, the senators also said the committee continues to look into possible evidence of collusion between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russian officials. The intelligence community report's declassified version concluded that "Russia's goals" in the election meddling "were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate" Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, and "harm her electability and potential presidency." The report also concluded that Russia aimed to help President Donald Trump win the election.

Burr said the committee has interviewed every official who had a hand in writing the assessment, saying that staff and lawmakers spent "nine times as long" reviewing the report as the officials spent writing it. Over the past eight months, Burr said, the committee has conducted over 100 interviews that yielded nearly 4,000 pages of transcripts. It has also reviewed almost 100,000 pages of documents, ranging from highly classified intelligence to emails and cyber analysis, he said. The committee has also interviewed every relevant official from the Obama administration about President Barack Obama's response to Russia's election interference, Burr said. He said "there are concerns we continue to pursue of collusion" between the Trump campaign and Russia. He did not elaborate, except to say that the investigation is ongoing.

Quote:Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigative team interviewed the veteran British spy who compiled the explosive Trump-Russia dossier over the summer. The timeline of major, game-changing events that unfolded in the final months of the election coincided with several of the dossier's allegations of conspiracy and misconduct between several Trump associates and Russia. Questions remain about whether the events — such as a change in the GOP platform on Ukraine and the release of hacked DNC emails — were coordinated with the Russians to maximize the damaging effects on Hillary Clinton's campaign.

Quote:Nine months after its first appearance, the set of intelligence reports known as the Steele dossier, one of the most explosive documents in modern political history, is still hanging over Washington, casting a shadow over the Trump administration that has only grown darker as time has gone by.
It was reported this week that the document’s author, former British intelligence official, Christopher Steele, has been interviewed by investigators working for the special counsel on Russian interference in the 2016 election. The Senate and House intelligence committees are, meanwhile, asking to see Steele to make up their own mind about his findings. The ranking Democrat on the House committee, Adam Schiff, said that the dossier was “a very important and useful guide to help us figure out what we need to look into”. The fact that Steele’s reports are being taken seriously after lengthy scrutiny by federal and congressional investigators has far-reaching implications.
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Originally commissioned by a private firm as opposition research by Donald Trump’s Republican and then Democratic opponents, they cite a range of unnamed sources, in Russia and the US, who [url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/10/fbi-chief-given-dossier-by-john-mccain-alleging-secret-trump-russia-contacts]describe the Kremlin’s cultivation over many years of the man who now occupies the Oval Office – and the systematic collusion of Trump’s associates with Moscow to help get him there. The question of collusion is at the heart of the various investigations into links between Trump and Moscow. Even a senior Republican, Richard Burr, the chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, admitted this week it was an open question.

Burr said his committee needed to talk Steele himself to assess the dossier properly and urged him to speak to its members or staff. According to an NBC report on Friday, Steele had expressed willingness to meet the committee’s leaders. In his remarks this week, Burr said his committee had come to a consensus in supporting the conclusions of a US intelligence community assessment in January this year that Russian had conducted a multi-pronged campaign to interfere in the 2016 election, in Trump’s favour.

It is a finding that echoes the reports that Steele was producing seven months earlier. Trump has called the assessment a “hoax”, but there is no sign the three agencies that came to that conclusion, the CIA, FBI and NSA, have had any second thoughts in the intervening months.
“Many of my former CIA colleagues have taken [the Steele] reports seriously since they were first published,” wrote John Sipher, a former senior officer in the CIA’s National Clandestine Service on the Just Security website..

Quote:Nunes, the committee's chairman, stepped aside from the Russia investigation in early April following his decision to brief Trump and the press on classified intelligence — without telling his fellow committee members. But he quickly began conducting his own investigation into "unmaskings" by the Obama administration and the credibility of the dossier alleging ties between President Donald Trump's campaign team and Russia.

Nunes angered the committee's minority when he subpoenaed the opposition research firm Fusion GPS earlier this month for more information about the dossier. A Democratic committee source told CNN that the subpoenas were issued "without the minority's agreement and despite good faith engagement thus far by the witnesses on the potential terms for voluntary cooperation."

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow reported Tuesday that Nunes issued the subpoenas one day after Fusion GPS' lawyer met with a bipartisan group of committee members to discuss how they could cooperate further. The lawyer, Joshua A. Levy, issued a blistering statement, alleging that"Nunes, in bad faith, unilaterally broke our discussions with committee staff and abruptly demanded that my clients submit to a fresh inquiry."

Swalwell is not the only committee member who has raised the alarm about Nunes' actions. Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley said last month in Chicago that while Nunes stepped aside from the probe in April, he "has not fully given up" the responsibilities of that role.

"For instance, he insisted that he still be the one who signs the subpoenas," Quigley said. "So who's the boss? You can't have two people running the investigation on the House side. The subpoena power is extraordinarily important ... this has created just one issue we have in moving forward."
In June, Nunes angered the Democrats when he demanded more details from the CIA, FBI, and NSA about why Obama administration officials requested the unmasking of Trump associates last year. He also threatened to hold Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director Chris Wray in contempt of Congress last month if they did not respond to a subpoena for documents relating to the dossier.

Quigley, meanwhile, said that Nunes "is not the only" committee Republican creating problems. "I'm there as we're questioning witnesses. And some day these transcripts will be made public. Many of you are going to say, 'what the hell are they doing?'" he said. "They seem to be taking over the role of a second attorney for the witness testifying before us. And it's conflicting, and it's difficult."

• Congress agreed to sanctions on Russia because of election interfering but the White House hasn't implemented them, still..
  
• The President calls the Russian election interference a 'hoax.'
  
• His Attorney General can't really answer what the government is doing to prevent it from happening again..
  

Quote:"I think that the Trump administration is slow when it comes to Russia," Graham said when asked why he thought the administration had not yet implemented the new sanctions against Russia that Trump signed into law on August 2. "They have a blind spot on Russia I still can't figure out," added Graham, who is known for his hawkish views on Moscow...

But the president has called the sanctions legislation, which also targets Iran and North Korea, "seriously flawed." He said shortly after signing the bill that it "improperly encroaches on executive power, disadvantages American companies, and hurts the interests of our European allies."
Trump tweeted later that Congress was to blame for the US's relationship with Russia being at an "all-time & very dangerous low." He has also repeatedly called questions and media reports about Russia's election interference "a hoax," claiming that Democrats have used it as a talking point to justify Hillary Clinton's defeat in the 2016 presidential election.

"The Russia hoax continues, now it's ads on Facebook," Trump tweeted on September 22, referring to Facebook's disclosure earlier that month that Russia-linked accounts had purchased approximately $100,000 worth of political ads during the election. On Saturday, the president again criticized the explosive collection of memos alleging collusion between his campaign team and Russia. The so-called dossier was was compiled by veteran British spy Christopher Steele on behalf of the opposition research firm Fusion GPS, whose founders were subpoenaed by House Intelligence Committee Republicans earlier this month but refused to testify last week. "Officials behind the now discredited 'Dossier' plead the Fifth," Trump tweeted. "Justice Department and/or FBI should immediately release who paid for it."

The FBI and the congressional intelligence committees are reportedly using the dossier as a roadmap for their investigations, raising questions about whether Trump's public comments about the document could be construed as obstructive acts. Outside of the White House, it is unclear what steps the administration is taking to prevent Russia, or any other foreign entity, from meddling in future US elections.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, was evasive when asked by Republican Sen. Ben Sasse what steps the Justice Department has taken "in fighting foreign interference." He said that the DOJ is "probably not" prepared to deal with future interference, adding that "the matter is so complex that for most of us, we are not able to fully grasp the technical dangers that are out there."

Quote:White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Wednesday morning touted a new Washington Post report on Twitter just hours after saying it was not a credible news source. The turnaround likely reflects the content of the Post's new story, which reports that a law firm hired by Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign last year paid for the dossier that included salacious and unverified claims about President Trump and possible connections between his campaign and Russia.

• This was started by Republicans, they initiated it and paid for it first.
  
• It was only offered to the Democrats to continue after Trump won the nomination.
  
• It was no secret that it was taken over by the Democrats, that has been reported before. 
  
• The guy who wrote the dossier is a highly respected former British spy (Steele) who worked in Russia.
  
• Parts of the dossier have actually been confirmed, about meetings that took place between people from the Trump campaign and Russian operatives (and of course these were first denied by the Trumpians).
  
• The report is seriously enough for Robert Mueller to interview Steele recently.
  
• This is normal opposition research, quite something else than to collude with a foreign government, of which the Trump campaign is under investigation.
  
• Perhaps most importantly, the Democrats didn't use any info of the dossier during the campaign.
  
• And, as so often, this was brought to light by the "fake news liberal" press, which is only not considered fake news when they actually put out info that can be (ab)used by the Trumpians.
  
• When do we hear the likes of Fox or Breitbart unearthing something which might be used against Trump? Hahahaha.
  

Quote:The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative website founded by a high-profile Republican donor, was the original funder for an anti-Trump opposition research project by the firm Fusion GPS. The Free Beacon informed the House Intelligence Committee of its funding Friday. The original project was not related to Russia or Christopher Steele, who eventually produced for the firm the explosive dossier alleging ties between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia.

Quote:Special prosecutor Robert Mueller, who has been investigating potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, has filed his first charges, according to CNN. The charges, reportedly approved by a grand jury on Friday, remain under seal. Who has been charged and the nature of the charges remain unknown. CNN reported that anyone charged could “be taken into custody as soon as Monday.”

The news comes as Republicans ratchet up efforts to undermine and distract from Mueller’s probe. Even as CNN broke the news of Mueller’s charges, Fox News was pushing the idea that the special prosecutor was “under pressure to resign.” Fox News quotes a statement released Friday from Trent Franks (R-AZ), one of Trump’s most loyal allies in Congress, calling for Mueller to resign.

Quote:“The federal code could not be clearer – Mueller is compromised by his apparent conflict of interest in being close with James Comey,” Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., who first called for Mueller to step down over the summer, said in a statement to Fox News on Friday. “The appearance of a conflict is enough to put Mueller in violation of the code. … All of the revelations in recent weeks make the case stronger.”

The “revelations” Franks is referring to include the report that Democrats, including the DNC and the Hillary Clinton campaign, helped finance the partially-unverified Steele dossier, which explored Trump’s relationship with Russia. (The research was actually initiated by a conservative publication, The Free Beacon.) Another supposed “revelation” is the so-called Uranium One scandal, first advanced in July 2016 by Steve Bannon and long-since discredited.

The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, a paper owned by Fox News CEO Rupert Murdoch, called for Mueller’s resignation on Thursday. Murdoch has a close relationship with Trump and is considered a key adviser. Another Trump ally, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, called on Mueller to resign on Fox & Friends, Trump’s favorite TV show, on Friday morning.

Quote:A former federal prosecutor is increasingly worried about Mike Pompeo's CIA. The CIA may have the right to deny special counsel Robert Mueller access to Russia-related information. Pompeo recently distorted the intelligence community’s findings regarding Russian interference in the election.

Quote:Sebastian Gorka, a controversial Trump supporter who used to work in the White House, suggested that Trump should fire Mueller after the news broke. "If this man's team executes warrants this weekend he should stripped of his authority by @realDonaldTrump," Gorka tweeted. "Then HE should be investigated." 

And Corey Lewandowski, Trump's former campaign manager, called the "speculation" around Mueller "insane," in a Fox News segment on Saturday morning. "What we should be focusing on is the continued lies of the Clinton Administration," Lewandowski said.

Fox News host Sean Hannity lashed out at the media following the CNN story. "Guess;Mueller and Media working hand in hand," Hannity tweeted. "Media to be tipped off. Mueller was FBI Director Who knew of Russian crimes before Uranium one."

Longtime Republican strategist and informal Trump adviser Roger Stone also jumped into the fray, tweeting out CNN's story and captioning it, "Breaking: Mueller indicts @PaulManafort's driver for double parking." He later followed up, writing that Mueller was indicting "@PaulManafort's maid for tearing labels of sofa cushions." 

Stone spent the rest of the night unloading on several CNN reporters and commentators, including Jake Tapper, Don Lemon, and Charles Blow. He also lashed out at veteran reporter Carl Bernstein, who broke the Watergate story along with Bob Woodward. On Friday, Bernstein suggested on CNN that Mueller had filed charges earlier than expected to send a message to prospective defendants. Stone, a stalwart supporter of former President Richard Nixon, tweeted, "If Carl Bernstein says something the overwhelming odds are that it's false lied about Watergate lying lying now." 

Alt-right provocateur and Trump loyalist Mike Cernovich adopted a frequent right-wing tactic and criticized those who were behind "leaking" information about Mueller's indictments to CNN. "Leaking this is a felony but there is no rule of law with these criminals," Cernovich tweeted in response to the report. 

Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, who has backed Trump since the campaign and recently interviewed him for the network, hosted a segment shortly before the CNN story broke, during which a guest, Ed Rollins, accused the Department of Justice of building a "fake case" against Trump "based on Clinton-Fusion GPS lies."