n the course of an exchange with Maine senator Angus King, the ex-FBI boss was asked how he took it when the president said ‚I hope or I suggest‘ – ‚Do you take that as a directive?‘

Comey replied: ‚Yes. It rings in my ear as, well, will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest.‘

Apparently prepared for precisely that analogy, King replied: ‚I was just going to quote that, in 1179, December 27th, Henry II said, who will rid me of the meddlesome priest, and the next day, he was killed.“

‚Exactly the same situation. We‘re thinking along the same lines.‘

Veröffentlicht am 23.05.2017
By casually raising the idea he’s got tapes, Donald Trump has found new trouble.

The origin of the Nixon tapes is rooted in technological incompetence as much as secrecy.

Donald Trump tweeted last month that Jim Comey had ‚better hope that there are no „tapes“ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!‘
Comey said during his Thursday hearing: ‚I‘ve seen the tweet about tapes. Lordy, I hope there are tapes!‘
‚The president surely knows if he taped me. And if he did, my feelings aren‘t hurt: Release all the tapes. I‘m good with it,‘ Comey boasted

FOX News Live HD – Watch FOX News Live Stream Now President Trump On FBI James Comey testimony

Former FBI director James Comey on Thursday accused President Donald Trump on Thursday of firing him to try to undermine the bureau‘s investigation into possible collusion between his 2016 presidential campaign team and Russia.

US-Präsident Donald Trump hat mit Kampfbereitschaft auf die Enthüllungen des früheren FBI-Chefs James Comey reagiert. „Wir werden kämpfen und gewinnen“, sagte der Präsident am Donnerstag vor Anhängern in Washington.

The Department of Justice has long taken the position that criminal charges can’t be brought against a sitting president because that would “undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions” (true enough). As long as that remains the Department’s position, Attorney General Jeff Sessions couldn’t bring charges even if he wanted to, which he doesn’t. But that’s not quite the same as saying that whether the president violated a criminal law “misses the point.” It matters because it is perhaps the most egregious in a string of incidents that underscore the president’s disdain for the rule of law… and also has some relevance to a little something that begins with the letter “i.”

Der frühere FBI-Chef James Comey hat in der Anhörung vor dem US-Senat die Regierung von US-Präsident Donald Trump der Lüge bezichtigt. Die Regierung habe seine Entlassung als FBI-Chef mit schlechter Führung und einer schwachen Position der Bundespolizei begründet. „Dies waren Lügen, schlicht und einfach“, sagte Comey vor dem Geheimdienst-Ausschuss auf eine Frage des Vorsitzenden Richard Burr (Republikaner).

I’m Julie Hirschfeld Davis, a White House correspondent at the Times, and I am joined here today by my colleagues who have been covering this saga day in and day out: Michael Schmidt, Matt Apuzzo, Charlie Savage, Adam Goldman and Rebecca Ruiz. We will be providing real-time analysis and context for Comey’s comments as we all digest what are sure to be important revelations in the continuing probe into whether the president’s advisers colluded with Russia to sway the election, and what Trump may have said or done to try to influence that investigation.

LIVE STREAM: James Comey Testimony 6/8/17: James Comey Testifies about President Trump Pressuring him .

Details of the gruesome murder of a hospital employee by members of an elite Iraqi counter-terrorist unit have been shared by photographer Ali Arkady, who in an interview with RT, recalled that the man was shot after soldiers suspected him of trying to lead them into a trap.

(7.3.2017) Gestützt von deutschen Truppen, deren „militärisches Verbindungselement“ bereits ohne Beschluss des abwesenden Bundestages im August 2014 entsendet worden war, sowie in enger Kooperation mit Tayyip Erdogan, türkischem Militär und Geheimdienst, fordert der Präsident der Regionalregierung des irakischen Kurdistan, Masud Barzani, in einem am 5. März mit der italienischen Zeitung „La Stampa“ veröffentlichten Interview die Unabhängigkeit des von ihm regierten irakischen Teilgebietes ein.

Die Eroberung von Mosul (wir berichteten, 1, 2) markiere

„wahrscheinlich den Beginn der Auflösung des Irak“,

so das Barzani-nahe Portal „Rudaw“ in einem Bericht.

Barzani bezieht sich nun in seinem vorgestern veröffentlichten Interview bezüglich seiner Forderung nach einem offiziell unabhängigen Kurdistan ausdrücklich auf das Beispiel Yugoslawien:

Ein Referendum über die Loslösung der kurdischen Gebiete vom Rest Iraks ist eine alte Forderung der Kurdenführung in Erbil. Im Jahr 2014 hatte sie eine solche Volksabstimmung schon einmal angekündigt, dann aber nach Gesprächen mit der Zentralregierung in Bagdad wieder abgesagt. Unter der Bevölkerung genießt die Idee der Unabhängigkeit großen Rückhalt.

Das bestehende Mandat definiere lediglich das Einsatzgebiet der Bundeswehr mit dem Schwerpunkt in Syrien und Irak, nicht aber den Stationierungsort. „Ein Vorauskommando der Bundeswehr wird in Kürze beginnen, für eine Stationierung unserer Kräfte in Jordanien die passenden Rahmenbedingungen bei Abkommen und Infrastruktur zu schaffen“, erklärt Otte die nächsten Schritte.
So werde zuerst das Tankflugzeug und dann die Aufklärungstornados mit den zugehörigen Fähigkeiten verlegt.

At the same time, Comey is expected to stop short of accusing Trump of “obstruction of justice.” His written testimony also confirms that he assured Trump he was not personally under investigation. The Republican National Committee and Trump’s attorney already have cited this detail as a victory for the president, confirming what he’s been saying for months.

The president‘s personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz said Trump feels „completely and totally vindicated.“

The vote was supposed to be dominated by Britain’s pending departure from the European Union, but voters are anxiously aware of the threat the country faces from international terrorism following attacks in London and Manchester.

Voter Rachel Sheard, who cast her ballot at a polling station in Borough High Street, says that while the EU was supposed to be at center stage, “I don’t think that’s in the hearts and minds of Londoners at the minute, (not) nearly as much as the security is.”

Without a doubt, today‘s terrorist attacks in Tehran will further strengthen the Islamic Iran‘s resolve in its combat against regional terrorism, extremism and violence more than before. Iran‘s message, like always, has been that terrorism is a universal problem and unity in fighting extremism, violence and terrorism with regional and international cooperation is the most important need of today‘s global community.

I hereby express my condolences to the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in these terrorist attacks during the month of God‘s feast, asking the Almighty the highest places for the martyrs, patience and reward for the bereaved families and swift recovery for the injured.

It is obvious that the powers, organs and security organisations will not abandon attempt until all aspects of the insensitive action and their overt and covert supporters are identified.

Hassan Rouhani

President of the Islamic Republic of Iran

An example of the kind of structural problems I have in mind, is in the Iranian economy. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an institution under the support and supervision of Ayatollah Khamenei, are thought to control about one third of Iran‘s economy through subsidiaries and trusts, whilst the religious foundations (Bonyads), also under direct control of Khamenei, control over 20% of the GDP. Such vast shares of the economy out of the control of the executive branch, means any elected president would have limited access to economic sources to bring the change promised during campaigns. Adding the widespread corruption and lack of accountability of economic entities raises the question: how much hope for a successful reform programme in the next four years is reality and how much is just a delusion? The same questions arise in talking about the power of executive branch in major foreign policy crises that Iran faces now, such as the Syrian civil war and relations with the US.

(20.5.2017) So spektakulär der Sieg Ruhanis ist, er wird nicht reichen, um im vierten Jahrzehnt der Islamischen Republik eine fundamentale gesellschaftliche Öffnung durchzusetzen und das konservative Establishment aus einem Teil seiner gut befestigten Bastionen zu boxen. Die polarisierte Koexistenz wird auch unter den neuen Vorzeichen weitergehen. Ruhani bleibt das rational-moderate Gesicht gegenüber der Welt, während die Hardliner im Inneren mit Justiztyrannei, Medienzensur und Schattenhaushalten permanent dazwischengrätschen.

(…)

(7.6.2017)