Such modesty ...

Sometimes you have to laugh: (The) woman who would soon become President Trump’s pick to represent the United States at the United Nations cited the D-Day landings — a cornerstone of this unwavering Allied pledge and the basis of the Nazi defeat on the Western Front — to showcase the strength of German-American relations.

“When you talk about Germany, we have a very strong relationship with the government of Germany,” Heather Nauert, the State Department’s spokeswoman, said in June. She added: “Tomorrow is the anniversary of the D-Day invasion. We obviously have a very long history with the government of Germany, and we have a strong relationship with the government.”

- Washington Post

Rikkitic:

 

Sometimes you have to laugh: (The) woman who would soon become President Trump’s pick to represent the United States at the United Nations cited the D-Day landings — a cornerstone of this unwavering Allied pledge and the basis of the Nazi defeat on the Western Front — to showcase the strength of German-American relations.

 

“When you talk about Germany, we have a very strong relationship with the government of Germany,” Heather Nauert, the State Department’s spokeswoman, said in June. She added: “Tomorrow is the anniversary of the D-Day invasion. We obviously have a very long history with the government of Germany, and we have a strong relationship with the government.”

 

- Washington Post

 

Just when you thought they couldn't get any more stupid.

CNN - Ex-FBI Director James Comey faces sharp questions in closed-door meeting with House committee

December 7, 2018

 

Former FBI Director James Comey, under aggressive questioning from Republicans Friday, declined to answer questions about a range of matters because of special counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections, according to members from both parties.

 

Republicans tried to press Comey to divulge information about the FBI's efforts to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page as well as details about the genesis of the Russian investigation.

 

But a Justice Department attorney seated next to Comey repeatedly said he would not be able to answer those questions ...

 

[Comey] defended the Justice Department, but he would not comment on the appropriateness of the firing of then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions last month.

 

"The President's attacks broadly on the Justice Department and the FBI are something you should find deeply troubling," Comey told reporters.

 

Comey had fought the congressional subpoena in court, pushing for a public hearing before settling for some concessions.

 

A transcript of the interview with members of the House Judiciary Committee will be released as soon as possible, perhaps in the next 24 hours. ...

 

The Hill - Comey: House Republicans 'came up empty today but will try again'

 

Former FBI Director James Comey blasted his questioning by House lawmakers Friday as part of a GOP-led investigation ...

 

 

Friday's hearing was mostly attended by Republican lawmakers on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Judiciary panel, which are jointly investigating alleged bias at the Justice Department and FBI.

 

Comey had been pushing against Republican requests for the hearing for months.

 

His testimony will be released sometime Saturday and he will be returning for a second session on Dec. 17, while Republicans maintain control of the committees.

 

Democrats and other critics argue Republicans are seeking to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and potential collusion between Trump's campaign and Moscow.

 

Now there's confirmation Trump knew and authorised hush money to women plus a new Russian appears in the timeline.

 

A Russian national who claimed ties to the Kremlin told President Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, as early as November 2015 that he could use his Russian government connections to help Trump’s business and political prospects.

 

The new Russia contact was revealed Friday by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, as he outlined cooperation that Cohen has provided the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

 

The interaction between a top Trump lieutenant and a Russian citizen who claimed government ties is the latest of dozens of similar interactions that have emerged since the November 2016 election. Days after Trump’s victory, his spokeswoman Hope Hicks asserted that there had been no contacts of any kind between Trump associates and Russia.

 

The new information about Cohen is particularly significant because the contact came in the campaign’s early months and because prosecutors said the Russian national claimed to have interest in helping Trump’s campaign as well as his business.

 

“The person told Cohen that such a meeting could have a ‘phenomenal’ impact ‘not only in political but in a business dimension as well,’ referring to the Moscow Project, because there is ‘no bigger warranty in any project than consent of [the President of Russia],’ ” prosecutors wrote.

 

By the time Cohen made contact with the Russian, he had already begun work on a Trump building project in partnership with Felix Sater, a Russian-born Trump business partner. 

 

About the payments:

 

Late Friday, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York filed a document arguing that Michael Cohen, until last year President Trump’s personal attorney, should receive a substantial prison sentence for violations of federal law to which Cohen admitted guilt in August.

 

The document went further than simply articulating the punishment the government believes Cohen should receive. It also fleshed out two of those charges in particular, related to violations of campaign finance laws in 2016. For the first time, government prosecutors themselves directly implicated Trump in those violations — and added new alleged evidence to bolster Cohen’s culpability.

 

At issue are the payments to two women who alleged sexual relationships with Trump before his running for president. In August 2016, Playboy model Karen McDougal reached an agreement with American Media Inc., publishers of the National Enquirer, that ensured she wouldn’t share her story about a lengthy relationship she’d engaged in with Trump. In October of that year, adult film actress Stormy Daniels received $130,000 to similarly stay quiet about a liaison that had occurred a decade before.

 

Both of those agreements were facilitated by Cohen, as he admitted in court in August. Since Cohen was an agent of the Trump campaign — Cohen was a public surrogate on its behalf and, the Friday filing notes, had a campaign email address — neither payment could be considered an expenditure independent of the campaign but were, instead, campaign contributions in excess of federal limits. That one payment came from AMI meant that Cohen had solicited an illegal corporate contribution as well. Cohen pleaded guilty to two campaign-finance-related charges in August, saying in court that he’d undertaken the actions at Trump’s behest.

 

Cohen making that claim in court is one thing. The government making the same allegation in a court filing is another. And on Friday, the government made that allegation.

 

“With respect to both payments, Cohen acted with the intent to influence the 2016 presidential election,” the filing reads. “Cohen coordinated his actions with one or more members of the campaign, including through meetings and phone calls, about the fact, nature, and timing of the payments. In particular, and as Cohen himself has now admitted, with respect to both payments, he acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1.”

 

"Individual-1" is Donald Trump.

One of these things is not like the other ones:

BBC News - Trump chief of staff John Kelly to leave White House job

 

President Donald Trump has told reporters that his chief of staff John Kelly will leave his job by the end of the year.

 

There have been persistent reports for several days that Mr Kelly was under pressure to go.

 

Some reports said that the retired Marine Corps general's relationship with Mr Trump had deteriorated and they were no longer on speaking terms.

 

A replacement would be named "over the next day or two", Mr Trump added.

 

Mr Kelly's expected departure means Mr Trump will have had three chiefs of staff and three national security advisers since taking office in January 2017...

 

In total, 28 people have resigned or been fired from the White House during Mr Trump's administration.

 

"Only the best people"

Not even the best criminals.