The report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller on the Russia meddling probe proves that President Donald Trump couldn't be prosecuted for obstruction of justice, a former independent counsel said Thursday.

Fox News contributor Sol Wisenberg said that while parts of Mueller’s report were “very, very embarrassing” for Trump, it does not support an obstruction of justice charge.

“Well, I’ve read maybe about 30 or 40 pages of the 400 to 500-page report… I went straight to the obstruction part,” he said on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.”

READ THE ROBERT MUELLER REPORT

Wisenberg, who served as Deputy Independent Counsel during the Whitewater and Clinton-Lewinsky investigations, concluded that nothing he saw in the report “comes close to any case law that I know that would support an obstruction of justice charge.”

“Nothing, in my view, and I’ve been very consistent on this, that comes close to criminal obstruction of justice,” he said. “Whether or not Congress wants to look at it as part of a political impeachment, that’s something different.”

WATCH: AG BARR SPARS WITH A REPORTER DURING NEWS CONFERENCE AHEAD OF MUELLER REPORT RELEASE

Wisenberg went on to praise the “brilliant strategy” by Trump’s attorneys to not have the president interviewed by Mueller’s team. He reiterated that it would have been “suicidal” for the administration had Trump been allowed to be interviewed.

“Not necessarily that they were trying to frame him, but it’s always dangerous for a person in a white collar investigation, who is at minimum a subject, to go in for that kind of questioning when the prosecutors know the case, top to bottom, backward and forwards,” he said, adding that while he did not agree with all of the tactics of Trump’s lawyers throughout the investigation, this was a “brilliant and tactical decision.”

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Mueller’s report, which was released late Thursday morning, notes that the special counsel could not clear Trump on obstruction of justice. Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein decided that the information laid out in the report showed no prosecutable obstruction by the president or his administration.

Source: Fox News Politics

FILE PHOTO: Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun attends a launch ceremony of the new flagship phone Xiaomi Mi 9 in Beijing, China February 20, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo

March 22, 2019

By Josh Horwitz

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Smartphone retailers in China say it’s a tough sell of late with consumers reluctant to upgrade, put off by chill economic winds.

Even so domestic brands led by Huawei have made big strides, wooing consumers with top-notch hardware and innovative features as they move upmarket in the $500-$800 price range. The result: a loss of share in a key segment for Apple Inc and fresh price cuts for iPhones by Chinese retailers.

“Of those people who are upgrading, there are many switching from Apple to Chinese brands but very few switching from Chinese brands to Apple,” said Jiang Ning, who manages a Xiaomi store in the northern province of Shandong.

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, Xiaomi Corp, Oppo and Vivo once sought to grab share in the world’s biggest smartphone market with value-for-money devices, but consumer demand for better phones has prompted strategic rethinks.

“People are more attached to their phone than ever and have higher expectations for the function and experience it offers. The response has been constant upgrading of hardware specs,” Alen Wu, global vice president at Oppo, told Reuters.

He Fan, CEO of Huishoubao which buys and resells used phones, said he has seen a consumer shift to Huawei from Apple, driven by the Chinese love of selfies and emphasis on camera quality. Huawei has had a tie-up with German camera maker Leica since 2016.

“Huawei’s cameras have become noticeably better than Apple’s in that they suit the tastes of Chinese consumers more,” he said.

Compared to dual-cameras common in most smartphones, Huawei’s P20 Pro device boasts three rear-facing cameras, with the additional one improving zoom capabilities.

It is one of several new devices in its P20 and Mate 20 lines, which helped Huawei’s share of the $500-$800 segment in China surge to 26.6 percent last year from 8.8 percent, data from research firm Counterpoint shows.

Apple, by contrast, saw its share of the segment tumble to 54.6 percent from 81.2 percent, also hurt by its decision to move even further upmarket with the iPhone X series.

“Most Chinese smartphone buyers are not ready to shell out beyond $1,000 for a phone,” said Neil Shah, research director at Counterpoint. “This left a gap in the below-$800 segment, which Chinese vendors grabbed with both hands.”

(For a graphic on ‘Chinese smartphones increase share of home market’ click https://tmsnrt.rs/2HvsyQi)

Shipments of phones priced above $600 in China grew 10 percent in 2018, data from research firm Canalys shows. By contrast, the overall market shrunk 14 percent, marking a second year of contraction.

OVERSEAS GAINS

The weaker cachet for Apple in China was underscored this month when several major retailers simultaneously cut iPhone prices for a second time this year.

A 64GB iPhone 8 sold at Suning.com Co Ltd now costs 3,899 yuan ($580), roughly 25 percent less than it did in December. That’s also lower than its $599 price tag in the United States, where iPhones typically cost less to buy than in China. Most iPhone models through to the iPhone 8 series have seen prices in China cut, albeit not equally.

In earnings too, it seems to be a tale of divergent fortunes. Apple’s October-December revenue from the Greater China region fell by about a quarter from a year earlier. Greater China currently accounts for 15.6 percent of its overall revenue.

Huawei, the world’s No. 2 smartphone maker, has estimated revenue for 2018 rose 21 percent, which analysts attribute in large part to robust smartphone sales.

More broadly, fewer sales for Apple means fewer customers for its App Store and media streaming services. The shift to higher-end phones by Chinese brands has also meant greater inroads in overseas markets.

Huawei’s shipments in Europe jumped 55 percent in the latest quarter and it now has 23.6 percent market share, according to Canalys. That’s not far behind Samsung Electronics and Apple which saw small declines in shipments.

OPPO, VIVO

If Huawei is taking the lion’s share of turf that Apple once had in China, Oppo and Vivo – brands owned by electronics hardware conglomerate BBK – are the newest threats.

In June, Vivo launched the Nex which starts from 3,898 yuan ($610) and in July, Oppo launched the Find X, priced at 4,999 yuan ($755).

The models mark the first time the brands have priced a phone above $600, a sharp departure from their roots selling $300-$500 models to young consumers in second-tier cities.

The devices came with features unavailable in the iPhone, including under-the-glass fingerprint sensors and “notchless” displays, both of which increase the size of usable screen.

Xiaomi too is going upmarket, announcing in January it would split off its low-budget Redmi range of phones into a sub-brand. In doing so, it is taking a leaf out of Huawei’s book which has for years sold cheaper devices under the Honor brand, helping differentiate its products.

Redmi will target international markets and e-commerce sales, while the flagship Xiaomi brand will target China and offline retail markets, company founder Lei Jun told reporters.

Last month, Xiaomi unveiled the Mi 9, its latest flagship device with a price tag of 2,999 yuan ($450). But the company also said it might be the last time a Xiaomi flagship phone would be priced under 3,000 yuan.

“Xiaomi’s flagship series phones were once always set at 1,999 yuan,” said Lei. “This was a contributing factor to our rise, but it also became an obstacle to our growth,” he said.

(For a graphic on ‘Chinese smartphones increase share of home market’ click https://tmsnrt.rs/2Hx2KD4)

(Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Additional reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco, Paul Sandle in Barcelona and the Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Edwina Gibbs)

Source: OANN

FILE PHOTO: The company logo of AAC Technologies Holdings Inc is displayed at a news conference in Hong Kong, China August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

February 26, 2019

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Shares of Apple Inc supplier AAC Technologies were set to slide 10 percent on Tuesday after the acoustic component maker said it expected its first-quarter profit to fall by up to 75 percent due to reduced orders.

AAC shares were set to open at HK$53, compared with a flat broader market.

(Reporting by Anne Marie Roantree and Donny Kwok; Editing by Stephen Coates)

Source: OANN

Former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos told “Fox and Friends” Friday morning that he was “shocked” Robert Mueller accurately described why he was “illicitly targeted” and reiterated the report’s findings that there was no collusion.

“I was actually really impressed and quite frankly shocked that Bob Mueller told the truth about why I was illicitly targeted and it really had nothing to do with Russia. It had to do with my ties to Israel,” Papadopoulos said.

“I was actually really impressed and quite frankly shocked that Bob Mueller told the truth about why I was illicitly targeted and it really had nothing to do with Russia. It had to do with my ties to Israel.”

— George Papadopoulos

TRUMP'S WRITTEN -- AT TIMES SNARKY -- ANSWERS TO MUELLER'S QUESTIONS REVEALED

“Now, this is why this is really important. Because if I was targeted for my ties to Israel, and I had all these various spies approaching me while I was just joining the campaign and they were discussing Israel with me,” he continued. “

“I think that's very disturbing and probably is going to reveal quite frankly how this entire investigation started.”

Papadopoulos went on to respond to mainstream media outlets and media figures such as CNN’s Jim Acosta who pointed to his case, for which he was sentenced to 12 days in prison for making false statements to federal prosecutors, as the evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.

“There was no collusion and of course I wasn't colluding because I have never met a Russian official in my entire life. Let alone on the campaign or the transition team,” Papadopoulos said.

“There was no collusion and of course I wasn't colluding because I have never met a Russian official in my entire life. Let alone on the campaign or the transition team.”

— George Papadopoulos

“Quite comically the guy at the epicenter of this fake collusion story Joseph Mifsud was outed yesterday by the Italians living next to the U.S. Embassy for the last year,” he added, referring to Maltese Professor Joseph Mifsud who Papadopoulos claimed told him in an April 2016 meeting that the Russians had “dirt” that could damage Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign.

SPECULATION RAGES OVER PAPADOPOULOS TIPSTER'S ROLE: WHO WAS MALTESE PROF WORKING FOR?

It has long been suggested – in court documents filed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team, by Democrats on Capitol Hill and in the media – that Mifsud was connected to Russian intelligence, though others insist that he more closely associated with Western governments and their intelligence agencies, a view shared by Papadopoulos.

“Quite frankly, I don't think anybody is buying that this guy was some Russian intermediary or Russian spy trying to collude with me. Quite frankly, even people like Rudy Giuliani are going public and stating that he was probably part of some sort of setup,” he said.

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“That's why my case is so fascinating and important moving forward, like I stated because there was targeting of me for my ties to Israel which attracted all of these spies and two who was running these guys and where did it come from?

“Was it the Obama administration? Was it the head of the U.K. Government? We’ll have to find out.”

Source: Fox News Politics

Katie Pavlich has weighed in on Sen. Kamala Harris’ pledge that, if elected president, she will sign a series of executive orders on gun control if Congress fails to pass comprehensive legislation in her first 100 days in the Oval Office.

On “Fox & Friends” Wednesday, Pavlich said Harris should be more concerned with fixing the problems "that are already in the system of government not doing its job," not with going after legal gun owners who are obeying the law.

During a town hall hosted by CNN Monday night, Harris, D-Calif, said that if a bill from Congress did not make it to her desk, she would unilaterally mandate background checks for customers purchasing a firearm from any dealer who sells more than five guns a year.

KAMALA HARRIS PLEDGES EXECUTIVE ORDER ON GUN CONTROL IF CONGRESS DOESN'T ACT IN HER FIRST 100 DAYS

Dealers who violate the law, she said, would have their licenses revoked. The other executive orders would prohibit fugitives from purchasing a firearm or weapon, as well as close the loophole that allows some domestic abusers to purchase a firearm if their victim is an unwedded partner.

“As we’ve seen in the past with Democrats and a number of other Democrats on the campaign trail now, when they say ‘common sense’ or ‘reasonable gun safety laws,’ they're actually talking about gun bans,” Pavlich said.

“It was interesting to me to watch Kamala Harris speak more harshly of Second Amendment rights than she did about the Boston bomber voting and about felons who are in prison now. She was more willing to convict gun owners in saying ‘you don't have the courage to actually pass gun safety laws,’ when the fact is, that it’s actually pro-gun groups and regular everyday Americans who have been at the forefront of making sure that felons don't have guns, putting safety into their communities through education in different programs, training programs for children, to make sure that they're not around guns.”

Pavlich added: “So when she’s proposing universal background checks, what she’s really doing is saying, that if you're a father who wants to pass down a gun to your son you can't do that unless you go through some kind of bureaucratic process or get a license to do so from the federal government."

KAMALA HARRIS ADMITS 'UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES' IN ANTI-TRUANCY LAW WHILE SHE WAS CALIFORNIA AG

"And when she talks about gun safety laws, she’s really talking about a ban on assault weapons, which, if you look at the data, according to the Clinton Justice Department, that didn't actually have an effect on crime, and the majority of crimes in this country that are committed with guns are committed with handguns. And so when it comes to actually addressing the issue of violent crime and firearms, she’s going after the Second Amendment rights of regular, everyday Americans. She’s not actually addressing the issue.”

Pavlich said she doesn’t think Harris’ pledge would be popular in several states.

“Gun confiscation, gun control by executive fiat, taking away the Second Amendment rights of Americans through tyrannical executive orders without any kind of due process. That doesn't play well in places like Ohio and Michigan, even Wisconsin,” she said.

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“The reason why we're talking about gun control in a political sense is because we have seen these mass shootings which are absolutely horrific and awful but if you actually look at the facts of these cases, it is the federal government and the local government failing and they’re using Second Amendment rights and law-abiding Americans as a scapegoat for it,” said Pavlich.

“Parkland is the perfect example of that. Government failed at every single level, the local school district level, the local sheriff level, and the federal government level. When you saw the church shooting in South Carolina, Dylann Roof, he wasn’t supposed to be able to pass a background check and yet he did, he slipped through the cracks in the FBI background check system.”

Source: Fox News Politics

DAVIDSONVILLE, Md. – The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is working to determine what charges might be appropriate to bring against a Maryland man who was videotaped tackling a federally protected pelican.

The Baltimore Sun reports Hunter Hardesty, of Davidsonville, posted the video of the apparent attack online on Thursday. Commission officer and spokesman Bobby Dube says Hardesty enticed the pelican and then jumped on it. He says authorities are considering possible animal cruelty charges.

The video shows Hardesty learning over the water near the edge of a harbor that's geotagged to the Florida Keys. It shows him then jumping off the harbor and landing on top of the pelican, launching a scuffle punctuated by the laughter of onlookers.

The bird then slapped Hardesty across the face with its beak and fled.

___

Information from: The Baltimore Sun, http://www.baltimoresun.com

Source: Fox News National

JERUSALEM – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is renewing calls for a resolution to a festering dispute between Qatar and four other Arab nations, all America's Mideast partners.

On a visit to Kuwait, Pompeo says the crisis that has roiled the Gulf Cooperation Council for almost two years is hindering efforts to combat regional threats posed by Iran, the Islamic State group and others.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates began a boycott of Qatar in June 2017, alleging that Qatar funds extremists and has too-cozy ties to Iran. Qatar has long denied funding extremists, but Doha shares a massive offshore natural gas field with Tehran.

Pompeo is in Kuwait on the first leg of a Mideast tour that will take him next to Israel and Lebanon.

Source: Fox News World