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Comey memos contained far more sensitive info than previously known, FBI filing reveals

Former FBI Director James Comey included a slew of sensitive and classified information in a series of comprehensive personal memos -- including not only the details of his conversations with President Trump, but also the "code name and true identity" of a confidential source, according to a court-ordered filing by the Justice Department late Monday.

The filing acknowledges that Comey maintained a far more detailed and lengthy private paper trail than was previously known, and that federal investigators apparently hoped to use Comey's contemporaneous, secretive writings to test the truthfulness of Trump's comments as part of a then-ongoing obstruction of justice inquiry.

Comey meticulously outlined "foreign intelligence information obtained from and through" the key human source, "information about whether the FBI initiated coverage through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) on a particular individual," relevant "sources and methods" used in the FBI's investigation, as well as "information concerning the President's foreign policy decisionmaking," according to the DOJ.

All of that information is "currently and properly classified," the DOJ noted.

Additionally, Comey's memos included documentation of "non-public interactions" between "specific foreign governments and officials" and U.S. government officials. Disclosing those details, the DOJ insisted, "could reasonably be expected" to "affect the United States' relationship with those countries."

Former FBI Director James Comey said “history has its eyes on us” and encouraged people to vote for Democrats in the midterm elections.

Former FBI Director James Comey said “history has its eyes on us” and encouraged people to vote for Democrats in the midterm elections. (AP)

On Sunday, House Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes, R-Calif., announced a series of criminal referrals related to leaks and lies to Congress -- and specifically singled out what he called the "horrific" leaks of the private conversations between Trump and the leaders of Australia and Mexico.

The explanations came amid a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit by CNN against the FBI, which seeks to publicly reveal not only the full contents of Comey's mysterious memos, but also the FBI's sealed explanations to a D.C. federal court in October 2017 as to why the memos needed to remain hidden from the public eye.

TRUMP TELLS FOX NEWS HE WILL DECLASSIFY AND RELEASE SECRET DOCS RELATED TO RUSSIA PROBE

The FBI further disclosed that it had sought to keep Comey's writings hidden during Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe in part because releasing Comey's memos could "reasonably be expected to affect the testimony of people knowlegeable about the conversations" -- an apparent reference to Trump.

That comment came in a sealed declaration filed with a Washington, D.C. federal district court by then-FBI Deputy Assistant Director in the Counterintelligence Division David Archey on October 13, 2017, when multiple media reports indicated that Mueller was investigating the president for possibly obstructing justice.

"Laying out a comprehensive case that Trump obstructed justice," read the title of one October 2017 column by Washington Post opinion writer Jennifer Rubin, who self-identifies as a conservative on Twitter.

COMEY ADMITS HIDING MEMOS FROM SENIOR DOJ LEADERSHIP

Archey, who was the top FBI agent on Mueller's team following the removal of anti-Trump FBI agent Peter Strzok, was named last month to lead the FBI's Richmond, Va. field office.

FBI Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok is seated to testify before the the House Committees on the Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform during a hearing on "Oversight of FBI and DOJ Actions Surrounding the 2016 Election," on Capitol Hill, July 12, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

FBI Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok is seated to testify before the the House Committees on the Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform during a hearing on "Oversight of FBI and DOJ Actions Surrounding the 2016 Election," on Capitol Hill, July 12, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Washington District Court Judge James E. Boasberg, an Obama appointee who was also tapped by Chief Justice John Roberts for a seat on the FISA court, issued an order last week demanding the FBI hand over "clean and redacted copies of the documents in dispute here."

That order apparently covered the Comey memos and documents relating to the declarations, and prompted the FBI's response filing on Monday.

UH-OH: AG BARR REVEALS HE'S REVIEWING FBI'S CONDUCT IN THE RUSSIA PROBE

However, while the FBI agreed to reveal Archey's partially redacted declaration and another follow-up statement to the court, it argued that Comey's memos should remain sealed, in part because they contain classified or sensitive information.

The FBI also promised to file a follow-up to explain the redactions in the Archey declaration by next week.

Comey's memos, whose existence and contents were partially leaked to the media by a Comey friend with Comey's knowledge following his termination, served as a catalyst for Mueller's appointment in May 2017.

The memos were more widely shared within the government than previously known, three sources familiar with the matter told Fox News last year -- although Comey later admitted to hiding the memos from some senior DOJ officials. Last April, the DOJ gave lawmakers redacted versions of five of the memos.

Public outrage centered on the news that Comey wrote in one of his memos that Trump had told him, "I hope you can let this go," amid reports that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had lied to the FBI and senior White House officials about his contacts with Russia's government.

Flynn was later charged with one count of lying to FBI agents in the White House. Prosecutors said they waived Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) charges related to Flynn's lobbying work in Turkey because of his cooperation.

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Trump, for his part, promised to "declassify and release" key FBI FISA warrant applications and related documents -- including the entirety of a FISA application to surveil a Trump aide that relied heavily on an unsubstantiated, leaked dossier created by an anti-Trump ex-British spy working for a firm hired by the Hillary Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee.

Mueller's investigation completed last month without securing the indictment of a single American for collusion with Russia or obstruction of justice.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Optimism over trade, Brexit boost European shares; UBS, Swedbank fall

The German share price index DAX graph at the stock exchange in Frankfurt
The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, February 19, 2019. REUTERS/Staff

March 15, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – European shares rose on Friday breaching a five-month high hit a day earlier as investors cheered positive signals over U.S.-China trade talks and after UK lawmakers voted to delay a potentially chaotic exit from the European Union.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.1 percent at 0826 GMT, piercing the Oct. 5 high set on Thursday and on track for its biggest weekly gain in a month.

All the major bourses were in positive territory, although London’s FTSE 100 outperformed the pack, lifted by its heavyweight oil and mining stocks on higher metals and crude prices. Trade-sensitive DAX was up 0.1 percent.

The mood was also boosted by growing expectations that Britain will not leave the European Union without a deal on March 29 following Thursday night’s parliamentary vote.

Technology stocks were the biggest gainers, up 0.6 percent, after better-than-expected results from U.S. chipmaker Broadcom overnight and boosted by hopes that Washington and Beijing will resolve their trade spat that has rattled financial markets.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He spoke by telephone with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, with the two sides making further substantive progress on trade talks, Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

The prospect of the trade talks taking longer than expected tempered some of the gains, and there was still no clarity on how close the two economic powers are on reaching an agreement.

Among individual moves, shares were driven by legal dramas.

UBS was down 1.3 percent after Switzerland’s top bank said it is bulking up its litigation provisions to deal with a French court slapped it with a hefty penalty last month.

Swedbank dropped 1.9 percent as the Danske Bank moneylaundering scandal deepens.

A Swedish TV program reported that an internal report by Swedbank dated last September showed transactions totaling more than $10 billion between “suspicious” customers in Swedbank and Danske Bank had been done between 2007-2015 in the Baltics.

Wirecard sank almost 7 percent after Citi downgraded the German card payments company. The shares have plunged almost 40 percent since January.

(Reporting by Josephine Mason; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Source: OANN

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2014 Little Rock police memo: SWAT team served all warrants

Lawyers for a man who claims police lied to obtain a no-knock arrest warrant for him say a 2014 memo from Little Rock police shows the department had a policy to use SWAT teams, which are typically only used for high-risk situations, to execute all search warrants.

Civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Michael Laux released an internal police memo Tuesday in which a sergeant calls the department's use of its SWAT team to execute all search warrants a "mandate" from the Office of the Chief of Police.

But a document from two years prior says the SWAT Unit serves "hazardous warrants" in which violence or weapons are expected.

Last week, Houston's police chief said his department will no longer use SWAT teams to serve "no-knock" warrants after police killed a couple during an exchange of gunfire while serving a warrant. Police later said an officer lied to obtain the warrant.

Source: Fox News National

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Trump to Skip ‘So Negative’ White House Reporters’ Dinner

President Donald Trump says he'll be skipping this year's annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner again and holding a rally instead.

Trump is criticizing the dinner as he departs the White House en route to California, telling reporters he doesn't want to attend "because the dinner is so boring and so negative."

He says he likes "positive things" instead.

Trump also says his team has yet to settle on a rally location, but assures "it'll be a big one."

Trump had suggested earlier that he might attend this year's dinner after organizers scrapped the usual format featuring a comedian and instead invited Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow to speak.

Presidents traditionally attend the dinner, but Trump has skipped it the last two years.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Israeli researchers say Sodom salt cave is world's longest

Israeli researchers said Thursday they have surveyed what they now believe to be the world's longest salt cave, a network of twisting passageways at the southern tip of the Dead Sea.

A recently completed survey of the Malham Cave determined the labyrinthine cavern stretches more than 10 kilometers (6 miles) in length. That puts it well ahead of Iran's Namakdan Cave, previously thought to be the longest salt cave.

The survey was conducted by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a collection of Israeli, Bulgarian and international volunteers.

Boaz Langford, a researcher at the university's Caves Research Center, and Antoniya Vlaykova, a Bulgarian cave explorer from the European Speleological Federation, headed the expedition.

"What's unique about this cave, as opposed to other salt caves in the world, is that it's the longest in the world," Langford said, resting in a chamber of the cave dubbed the "Wedding Hall" for its salt stalactites.

Langford and Vlaykova said they plan to publish the complete map of the cave in a professional publication in the coming months.

There is no official record for the longest salt cave, and such designations are generally decided by consensus among cave researchers after an underground chamber is mapped and published.

Namakdan, which is about 6 kilometers (4 miles) in length, was identified as the longest salt cave after a study by Czech and Iranian scientists in 2006.

Salt caves are unusual and rare geological features. Because salt is highly water soluble, large salt deposits do not normally survive long on the surface. Only a handful of salt caves are larger than a kilometer (half a mile) in length. Salt caves tend to only exist in highly arid regions, like the area around the Dead Sea, which is located at the lowest point on earth and is too salty to support animal life.

The Dead Sea and Mount Sodom were formed by tectonic activity, the shifting of the Earth's plates at the northern end of the 6,000-kilometer (4,000-mile) Afro-Arabian Rift Valley. Over millions of years, successive flooding of the deep depression lay down thick layers of salt.

"The salt layers are squeezed out from the sub-surface, where they are deposited a few kilometers underground, and while being squeezed out they form a mountain, which is rising still today, at a rate of about one centimeter per year," said Amos Frumkin, a Hebrew University geologist who has studied the cave for decades.

The Malham Cave's main outlet yawns not far from a salt pillar named "Lot's wife," after the biblical character who was petrified for looking back at the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. On the mountainside above, Langford, Vlaykova and their colleagues have identified at least 19 openings where seasonal floods have percolated through Mount Sodom's rock salt to form the cave.

Yoav Negev, founder of the Israeli Cave Explorers Club, said that over two years, his group and a total of 80 volunteers from nine countries spent around 1,500 workdays measuring and mapping the cavern's recesses.

"It's above and beyond what we expected," he said.

Efraim Cohen, one of the Hebrew University cave explorers, described the process of locating the cave's entrances from the surface, rappelling down into surface shafts, squeezing through tight passages, and measuring each of the cavern's serpentine branches with lasers.

Despite the difficult environment, he said the cave's splendor makes it worth it.

"All the stalagmites and stalactites, their beauty, their color — they're really white, they're shining, they're amazing," Cohen said.

Radiocarbon dating of wood fragments found inside the cave have helped date its formation to around 7,000 years ago, making it extremely young by speleological standards.

"The reason why it's so young is because it's made of salt," Frumkin explained. "Limestone caves are much slower to form. They are usually much older. But this one is developing very fast so it's one of the youngest caves in the world."

Frumkin said that studying the cave's formation has provided researchers with information about the climate of the region over the past 7,000 years, and how that has affected the emergence of civilization. Jericho, one of world's first cities and an epicenter for the development of agriculture, is around 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the Malham Cave.

"Because the salt is so soluble, that means that every change in the climate leaves its mark in the cave," Frumkin said. "If there is more water, more rainfall, the cave is enlarged, and Dead Sea level changes, and this makes a huge difference in the morphology of the cave."

Although the scientists have completed their study, there is still more of the cave that is undiscovered, he said.

"There are some more parts, especially upper levels, which have not been surveyed yet because they are difficult to reach," Frumkin said.

Source: Fox News World

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China ratchets up pressure on Canada amid Huawei dispute

China says its suspension of the license of a second major Canadian canola exporter is justified by safety concerns, as the sides continue to feud over Ottawa's detention of a top executive of Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Wednesday that China's actions were "scientific and reasonable," but added that Canada should "take practical measures to correct the mistakes it made earlier" in dealing with the overall relationship.

China's suspension Tuesday of the license of canola seeds from Viterra Inc., citing hazardous organisms in shipments, is a blow to $2 billion worth of exports widely seen as retaliation for Canada's arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei's founder.

China earlier had halted imports from Canada's other major canola exporter, Richardson International Ltd.

Source: Fox News World

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Report: Sick student’s bag filled with empty whisky bottles

Authorities say a South Carolina middle schooler who passed out in class last week had a backpack filled with nine empty mini bottles of Fireball Cinnamon Whisky.

The State reports the Union County Sheriff's Office report says a search of the 13-year-old's bag also revealed another half-empty mini bottle and two unopened bottles.

The report says the boy took the whisky from his unwitting grandfather and passed out an undetermined number of bottles to other Sims Middle School students.

It says he appeared to be drunk at school and was vomiting and moving unsteadily. He was hospitalized and later released.

He was arrested and charged with drunkenness and liquor law violations possession at the school. The report says he was then released into his mother's custody.

___

Information from: The State, http://www.thestate.com

Source: Fox News National

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Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk
Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk, Belarus April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

April 26, 2019

By Katya Golubkova and Andrei Makhovsky

MOSCOW/MINSK (Reuters) – Russia is confident it can soon resolve a problem of polluted Russian oil contaminating a major pipeline serving Europe and affecting supplies as far west as Germany, a senior official said on Friday at talks with importers about the issue.

Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin did not give a precise timeframe but Moscow has previously said it would pump clean oil to the border with Belarus from April 29, seeking to end a crisis hitting the world’s second-largest crude exporter.

Sorokin was speaking at talks with officials from Belarus, Poland and Ukraine in Minsk on the issue. Belarus said the issue had cost it $100 million, while analysts say alternative supply routes for refiners cannot fully fill the gap.

Poland, Germany, Ukraine and Slovakia have suspended imports of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline. Halting those supplies has knock-on effects further along the network.

The problem arose last week when an unidentified Russian producer contaminated oil with high levels of organic chloride used to boost oil output but which must be separated before shipment as it can destroy refining equipment.

Russia’s Energy Ministry said pipeline monopoly Transneft and other Russian companies had a plan to mitigate the effects of the contaminated oil. It did not give details.

Russian officials have said contaminated oil has already been pumped into storage in Russia and Friday’s talks would focus on how to partially withdraw the tainted crude from the Druzhba pipeline running via other countries.

The suspension cuts off a major supply route for Polish refineries owned by Poland’s PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos, as well as plants in Germany owned by Total, Shell, Eni and Rosneft.

Some refiners have outlined plans for alternative supplies, but analysts say other routes cannot meet the shortfall.

OIL PRICES

Ukraine’s Ukrtransnafta suspended the transit of oil through the pipeline on Thursday, closing supplies via Druzhba’s southern route to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

The pipeline issue, which has supported global oil prices, lifted Russian Urals crude differentials to an all-time high on Thursday.

With pipeline supplies to Europe shut, Russia faces a challenge of how to divert about 1 million barrels per day (bpd) that was meant to be shipped through the network to other destinations at the time when export capacity is at its limits.

State-run Russian Railways held talks with energy firms on using up to 5,000 rail tankers to transport crude, RIA news agency reported on Friday.

Concerns about the quality of Urals crude also caused delays in loadings at the Baltic port of Ust-Luga, when buyers refused to lift cargoes, resulting in a brief shutdown of the port on Wednesday and Thursday. An Ust-Luga official and traders said on Friday loadings had resumed.

Russian loading plans indicate it aims to boost Urals exports in May before the expiry of a deal on output cuts agreed with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, Reuters calculations and Energy Ministry data show.

The provisional loading plan for Russia’s Baltic Sea ports and Novorossiisk in May show exports rising to 10.7 million tonnes, the highest level in half a decade.

Minsk estimated its loss from lower oil product exports due to contaminated Russian oil at around $100 million, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported on Thursday, citing Belarusian state oil company Belneftekhim.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, in charge of government energy policy, said this week that those found responsible for contaminating the oil could be fined. He did not provide names.

(Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko in WARSAW, Sandor Peto in BUDAPEST, Jason Hovet in PRAGUE, Matthias Williams and Natalia Zinets in KIEV, Katya Golubkova, Olesya Astakhova, Gleb Gorodyankin, Olga Yagova and Maxim Rodionov in MOSCOW, Andrei Makhovsky in MINSK; writing by Katya Golubkova; editing by Michael Perry and Edmund Blair)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO - A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat
FILE PHOTO: A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – India has once again delayed the implementation of higher tariffs on some goods imported from the United States to May 15, a government official said on Friday.

The new tariff structure was to come into force from May 2, the spokeswoman said without citing reasons for the delay.

Angered by Washington’s refusal to exempt it from new steel and aluminum tariffs, New Delhi decided in June last year to raise the import tax from Aug. 4 on some U.S. products including almonds, walnuts and apples.

But since then, New Delhi has repeatedly delayed the implementation of the new tariff.

Trade friction between India and the U.S. has escalated after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans earlier this year to end preferential trade treatment for India that allows duty-free entry for up to $5.6 billion worth of its exports to the United States.

In a further blow, U.S. on Monday demanded buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers which allowed Iran’s eight biggest buyers including India to continue importing limited volumes.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar in New Delhi and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Raissa Kasolowsky)

Source: OANN

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One of Joe Biden’s newly-hired senior advisers has seemingly had a very recent change of heart.

Symone Sanders, a prominent Democratic strategist and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., staffer in 2016, was announced as one of the big-name members of Team Biden on Thursday.

But Sanders, who has also served as a CNN contributor, is seen in resurfaced footage from November 2016 expressing her opposition to a white person leading her party after Donald Trump’s election.

“In my opinion, we don’t need white people leading the Democratic party right now,” Sanders told host Brianna Keilar during a discussion on Howard Dean potentially becoming DNC chairman.

BIDEN HIRES FORMER BERNIE SANDERS’ SPOKESPERSON AS SENIOR ADVISER

“The Democratic party is diverse, and it should be reflected as so in leadership and throughout the staff, at the highest levels. From the vice chairs to the secretaries all the way down to the people working in the offices at the DNC,” she said.

Sanders wrapped up her remarks by saying: “I want to hear more from everybody. I want to hear from the millennials and the brown folks.”

Footage of the interview was resurfaced by RealClearPolitics.

After news of her hiring broke on Thursday, Sanders backed her new boss on Twitter.

TRUMP ASSESSES 2020 DEMS; TAKES SWIPES AT BIDEN, SANDERS; DISMISSES HARRIS, O’ROURKE; SAYS HE’S ROOTING FOR BUTTIGIEG

“@JoeBiden & @DrBiden are a class act. Over the course of this campaign, Vice President Biden is going to make his case to the American ppl. He won’t always be perfect, but I believe he will get it right,” she wrote.

The hiring of Sanders has been viewed as another indication of the expected tough fight that Biden and Sanders are in for as the two frontrunners battle a deep Democratic field.

While Sanders himself didn’t torch Biden as he jumped into the race, it’s clear that many of his progressive supporters view the former vice president as a threat.

Biden’s entry into the race – at least in the early going – sets up a battle between himself and Sanders, who thanks to his fierce fight with eventual nominee Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic nomination, enjoys name ID on the level of the former vice president.

BIDEN VOWS THAT ‘AMERICA IS COMING BACK,’ SPARKING ‘MAGA’ COMPARISONS

Justice Democrats — who also called Biden “out-of-touch” – is an increasingly influential group among the left of the party. They’ve championed progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York as well as Sanders. The group was founded by members of Sanders 2016 presidential campaign.

Biden has pushed back against the perception that he’s a moderate in a party that’s increasingly moving to the left. Earlier this month he described himself as an “Obama-Biden Democrat.”

And Biden said he’d stack his record against “anybody who has run or who is running now or who will run.”

Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile – a Fox News contributor – highlighted that “Joe Biden can occupy his own lane in large part because he’s earned it. He’s earned the right to call himself whatever.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

But she emphasized that “elections are not about the past, they’re about the future…I do believe he has the right ingredients. The question is can he find enough people to help him stir the pot.”

Fox News Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who is facing increased calls for her immediate resignation, remains in poor health and is not “lucid” enough to decide whether to step down, her attorney told reporters late Thursday.

Steve Silverman, speaking outside one of Pugh’s residences which was raided by the FBI and IRS earlier in the day, said the embattled city leader could make a decision as early as next week.

“She is leaning toward making the best decision in the best interest in the citizens of Baltimore City,” he said, adding that Pugh has “several options” to consider.

“She just needs to be physically and mentally sound and lucid enough to make appropriate decisions.”

BALTIMORE MAYOR CATHERINE PUGH, ON LEAVE AMID BOOK PROBE, HAS HOMES AND CITY HALL OFFICE RAIDED BY FEDS

Silverman said Pugh met with a doctor at home Thursday and plans to do so again Friday, the Baltimore Sun reported.

In the latest image-tarnishing scandal for struggling Baltimore, the first-term Democratic mayor faces accusations that she used children’s book deals to cover up kickbacks for favorable treatment as a state lawmaker and city leader that earned her roughly $800,000 over several years.

BALTIMORE’S ACTING MAYOR SAYS HE ‘WOULD HATE TO SEE’ EMBATTLED MAYOR RETURN AFTER BOOK SCANDALS

As a state senator, 69-year-old Pugh sold $500,000 worth of her self-published “Healthy Holly” illustrated paperbacks to the University of Maryland Medical System, a major state employer whose board she sat on for nearly 20 years.

Baltimore police officers stand outside the house of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Pugh and also in City Hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Baltimore police officers stand outside the house of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Pugh and also in City Hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

UMMS reportedly paid Pugh for 100,000 copies of her books between 2011 and 2018 with the stated intention of distributing the books to schools and day care centers. But some 50,000 copies remain unaccounted for and officials are probing if they were even printed.

Pugh also made $300,000 in bulk sales to other customers including health carriers that did business with the city of Baltimore.

BALTIMORE CITY COUNCIL CALLS ON EMBATTLED MAYOR CATHERINE PUGH TO RESIGN IMMEDIATELY

The politically isolated Pugh slipped out of sight on April 1 after a hastily organized press conference where she called her no-contract book deals a “regrettable mistake.” That same day, Maryland’s governor called on the state prosecutor to investigate allegations of “self-dealing.”

Pugh took an indefinite leave of absence, citing her health deteriorating intensely after a bout with pneumonia.

Federal agents arrive at the Maryland Center for Adult Training in Baltimore. MD, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall, as well as the office of her lawyer and the home of a top aide.

Federal agents arrive at the Maryland Center for Adult Training in Baltimore. MD, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall, as well as the office of her lawyer and the home of a top aide. (Loyd Fox/Baltimore Sun via AP)

On Thursday morning, agents with the FBI and IRS searched her two Baltimore homes, her City Hall offices, and a nonprofit organization she once led. The home of at least one of Pugh’s aides was also scoured.

Silverman said federal agents also served a subpoena at his law firm, retrieving Pugh’s original financial records. They did not seek any attorney-client privileged communications, he said.

Pugh’s attorney said she was “emotionally extremely distraught” following the searches by FBI and IRS agents.

“There was nothing incriminating that came out of her home,” Silverman said.

UMMS spokesman Michael Schwartzberg told reporters that the medical system received a grand jury witness subpoena seeking documents and information related to Pugh.

Other probes against Pugh include a review by the city ethics board and the Maryland Insurance Administration.

BALTIMORE MAYOR’S $500G DEAL FOR ‘HEALTHY HOLLY’ CHILDREN’S BOOKS DRAWS SCRUTINY

In recent weeks, the calls for Pugh’s resignation have intensified with the strongest voice coming from Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who did not mince words after Thursday’s early morning raids.

“Now more than ever, Baltimore City needs strong and responsible leadership. Mayor Pugh has lost the public trust,” he said. “She is clearly not fit to lead. For the good of the city, Mayor Pugh must resign.”

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service agents search the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall.

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service agents search the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun via AP)

Many of her fellow Democrats, including those on Baltimore’s demoralized City Council and state lawmakers, are also insisting that Pugh put the citizens’ interests above any attempt to preserve her political career.

City Council member Brandon Scott called the Thursday raids “an embarrassment to the city.”

However, only a conviction can trigger a mayor’s removal from office, according to the city solicitor. Baltimore’s mayor-friendly City Charter currently provides no options for ousting its executive.

Six of Pugh’s staffers joined her on paid leave earlier this month; three of them were fired this week by the acting mayor.

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Pugh came to office in late 2016 after edging out ex-Mayor Sheila Dixon, who had spent much of her tenure fighting corruption charges before being forced to depart office in 2010 as part of a plea deal connected to the misappropriation of about $500 in gift cards meant for needy families.

She would certainly face a bruising 2020 Democratic primary if she were to return and run for reelection. Veteran City Council leader Bernard “Jack” Young, who is serving as acting mayor, said as she went on leave that he would merely be a placeholder. But this week, before the raids, he said “it could be devastating for her” if she tried to return.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations has blasted the United State and the European Union for imposing sanctions on his country, describing them as “economic terrorism.”

Bashar Ja’afari made his comments Friday in the Kazakh capital of Astana where Russia, Turkey and Iran held a new round of talks with the Syrian government and the opposition on steps to bring peace to the country.

His comments came as government-held parts of Syria are witnessing widespread fuel shortages that are largely the result of Western sanctions on Syria and its key ally Iran.

Ja’afari says: “This is economic terrorism that is escalating through unilateral economic measures.”

A final statement issued at the end of Astana’s 12th round rejected President Donald Trump’s formal recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over Syria’s occupied Golan Heights.

Source: Fox News World

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