CNN And WaPo Working On 20-40 Sexual Misconduct Stories

CNN and Washington Post are working on exposing "20-30 congressional members" for sexual harassment, claims Michael Trujillo, former LA City Commissioner and Hillary Clinton"s California Field Director during her 2008 bid for the White House. 

Michael Trujillo

SOURCES: @CNN and @washingtonpost working on exposing 20-30 congressional members 4 sexual harassment. #DC

— Michael Trujillo (@mikehtrujillo) December 7, 2017

Former Wall St. Journal reporter Neil King adds to Trujillo"s figure, saying he hears the number "may top 40"

Hearing the total may top 40. https://t.co/SIRQ9B4YLE

— Neil King (@NKingofDC) December 7, 2017

Trujillo - a political advisor who has worked on over 39 political and legislative campaigns across the country, and was dubbed part of the "Clinton"s Dream Team" by MSNBC, made the claim late last week. If true, this would implicate over 10% of male members of congress - unless woman are on the list - which, in any event, would likely lead to a massive self-draining of at least part of the swamp.

Rep Al Franken (D-MN)

Word of the potential new allegations comes on the heels of several high profile retirements in the wake of sexual misconduct claims. Last Thursday, Senator Al Franken announced his resignation:

Sen. Al Franken: “Today I am announcing that in the coming weeks I will be resigning as a member of the United States Senate.” https://t.co/VdXwEXAW0J pic.twitter.com/hDnUs8IuOB

— CNN (@CNN) December 7, 2017

Franken denied the validity of the eight allegations against him, stating "some of the allegations against me are simply not true. Others I remember differently." 

The day before Franken announced his resignation, 88-year-old Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) "retired" as the longest serving House member and founding member of the Black Caucus. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi had encouraged the House Ethics Cmte to "proceed expeditiously" as it investigates accusations against Conyers. The review began after reports Conyers reached a $27k settlement with a former aide who said she was fired for rejecting his sexual advances; since then, Conyers has been accused of harassment by other women. Conyers has acknowledged the settlement but denied sexual harassment claims.

Republican Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ) also announced his resignation last week while under threat of an ethics probe for a sexual harassment allegation lodged by a woman in his office after Franks who says he offered her $5 million to be a surrogate mother for his children, and that she and another female employee were worried that he wanted to have sex as a means of impregnating them. 

Andrea Lafferty, the executive director of the Traditional Values Coalition, said that one of the women approached by Mr. Franks told her about the encounter last year, and said that Mr. Franks entreated her repeatedly to be a surrogate mother, at one point offering $5 million.

 

“She rebuffed him many times,” Ms. Lafferty said. -NYT

The allegations against Franks caused Speaker Paul Ryan to meet with him and ask for his resignation.

NEW: House Speaker Paul Ryan says he met with Trent Franks Wednesday about allegations he found `serious and requiring action." Told him he should resign. (Franks in earlier statement says he spoke to two female staffers about being surrogate moms) pic.twitter.com/j5mDJVbfnW

— Laura Litvan (@LauraLitvan) December 7, 2017

Meanwhile, Senator and former Clinton running mate Tim Kaine (D-VA) thinks Franken"s resignation sets a new precedent. As Vanity Fair notes:

Given that Congress’s Office of Compliance—the only recourse staffers have to report abuse—is all but explicitly designed to protect lawmakers, a reckoning over sexual harassment on Capitol Hill is long overdue. Democrats, unlike Republicans, are mostly cheering the sea change, even as some wonder whether Franken’s resignation may have set a harsh new precedent. “This does establish a new standard for this body,” Senator Tim Kaine told reporters on Thursday. “And that standard is: behavior before you were elected is fair game for determining whether you should be here.” He added, “If that’s the standard, we have to be committed to trying to apply that in an evenhanded way.”

An interesting comment by Kaine... Now that the Russiagate investigation appears to be stalling out and Special Counsel Robert Mueller"s team revealed to be highly politicized and stacked with several anti-Trump investigators, it"s apparently time for the President"s enemies to shift the narrative again - as several Trump accusers are holding a press conference Monday morning to call for a congressional investigation into sexual misconduct. 

NEW: Women who have publicly accused President Trump of sexual harassment and assault will speak at a news conference, hosted by @bravenewfilms, Monday at 10:30 a.m. ET. The women are calling for an investigation by Congress of sexual misconduct by the president. pic.twitter.com/MSPevMF0os

— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 11, 2017

The women are uniting for the first time to demand the probe and share details of their allegations against the President, according to the release. The press conference will be hosted by a documentary group that previously released a film about allegations against Trump.

Eight Trump Accusers

The President has denied the allegations, while the White House said in October that its official position is that all of the women are lying. Trump called the allegations "total fiction" when they emerged in October, 2016 - weeks before the election - the first such claims against Trump in his 50 year career. 

"These are stories that are made up, these are total fiction. You"ll find out that, in the years to come, these women that stood up, it was all fiction," Trump said. "They were made up. I don"t know these women, it"s not my thing to do what they say."

So - it appears we"re in for quite the show; with CNN and WaPo rumored to have 20-40 stories in the works against members of congress, while a gaggle of Trump accusers assemble to rehash claims which first surfaced weeks before the 2016 election. Time for more popcorn and a barrage of very angry Trump tweets. 

Senator Al Franken Officially Confirms His Resignation In Senate Speech

Update (11:55AM EST): After weeks of speculation, the #MeToo movement has just claimed its latest conquest with Senator Al Franken of Minnesota officially confirming his resignation on the Senate floor.

“Today I am announcing that in the coming weeks I will be resigning as a member of the United States Senate.”

Sen. Al Franken: “Today I am announcing that in the coming weeks I will be resigning as a member of the United States Senate.” https://t.co/VdXwEXAW0J pic.twitter.com/hDnUs8IuOB

— CNN (@CNN) December 7, 2017

Of course, Franken"s resignation came only after he once again denied the validity of the allegations against him saying "some of the allegations against me are simply not true. Others I remember differently."

Sen. Al Franken: "Some of the allegations against me are simply not true. Others I remember differently." https://t.co/f7XdWdiEFY pic.twitter.com/AOuyW6Q7Jo

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) December 7, 2017

It"s unclear if Franken recalls this picture "differently"...

* * *

Yesterday, following the "retirement" of John Conyers (D-MI), the chants for Senator Al Franken to follow suit reached a fevered pitch on the suggestion that anything less would simply be racist.  The chaos gradually escalated throughout the day with Minnesota Public Radio eventually "confirming" that Franken would resign today...a confirmation that Franken subsequently denied (we covered the chaos here). 

Now, The Hill is seemingly once again "confirming" an imminent resignation by reporting that Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton would likely tap Lt. Governor Tina Smith to replace Franken should he choose to resign in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations.

Alas, the back and forth suspense over Franken"s future in the Senate has nearly come to an end as he is set to deliver a speech on the Senate floor at 11:45AM EST.

Senator Franken is scheduled to deliver a speech from the Senate floor at 11:45 AM ET.

— Sen. Al Franken (@SenFranken) December 7, 2017

So what say you?  Will Franken remain defiant amid growing calls for his resignation or step down in disgrace?  Tune in below to find out...

Seven Female Democratic Senators Demand Franken Resign Amid New Sexual Misconduct Allegations

Following reports of more sexual misconduct allegations, Senator Al Franken is facing a revolt among his female Senate "collegaues" as seven female senators are demanding his resignation... "let someone else serve!"

Despite his apology and genuflection, further allegation shave appeared and that appears to have been the tipping point for Franken"s peers.

As Bloomberg reports, within minutes of each other, seven female senators - Senators Patty Murray of Washington, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii,  Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Kamala Harris of California, and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconisn - and two males (Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Sherrod Brown of Ohio) posted messages on Facebook and Twitter saying Franken of Minnesota must resign.

We suspect in the interst of virtue-signaling that every female Democratic Senator will quickly pile on.

"I consider Senator Franken to be a friend and have enjoyed working with him in the Senate in our shared fight to help American families," Gillibrand wrote on Facebook.

 

"I have been shocked and disappointed to learn over the last few weeks that a colleague I am fond of personally has engaged in behavior towards women that is unacceptable,"

 

"While Senator Franken is entitled to have the Ethics Committee conclude its review, I believe it would be better for our country if he sent a clear message that any kind of mistreatment of women in our society isn’t acceptable by stepping aside to let someone else serve."

"Sexual harassment and misconduct should not be allowed by anyone and should not occur anywhere. I believe the best thing for Senator Franken to do is step down," Harris said in her statement.

Franken has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct.

Sexual Assault Storm Tells us Something Else About Power

Via The Daily Bell

Let’s talk about power. The way I see it, there are basically two types of power, political and economic. You can wield power through the government, or through your giant bank account.

In the crony world of corporate-political America, the lines are blurry. These days most people gain their political or economic power by mixing the two. But you can still tease apart whether someone’s power derives mostly from political or economic sources.

And there are all these people with either type of power who secretly behind closed doors act completely inappropriately when it comes to sexual advances.

(There’s more to the story about why the media is just now reporting these things. Read my take on the media’s plan for using sexual assault accusations as a weapon. But for our current discussion, suffice to say, most of these guys are major creeps exploiting their positions.)

So what happens to the people in each power-house when they are caught, with credible evidence?

The economically powerful in the private sector get fired. They have sponsors pulled, they have projects canceled. The power they used to take advantage sexually is seriously diminished. Even if it doesn’t cost them outright, it costs them in network connections. It costs them in reputation, and reputation is a key component of economic power.

The latest to be fired is Matt Lauer. Weinstein and Spacey lost projects and gave up lucrative deals. Mark Halperin and Charlie Rose were fired. Louie C.K. lost a whole bunch of shows and specials.

And the politically powerful are not affected. Al Franken has not resigned. John Conyers has not resigned. Some people even think Trump is getting off easy, although his controversy is more about words than actions. Bill Clinton is lucky he is from a different era. Roy Moore will become a Senator if a slim majority of Alabama voters approve.

The L.A. Times is taking politicians to task on the difference.

Congress also has more than a whiff of entitlement, accustomed to operating by its own rules while other organizations rush to protect themselves from liability.

Beyond that, some lawmakers argue that voters, not colleagues, should serve as the ultimate judges of those under scrutiny.

When Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) was asked Wednesday about the difference between quick actions taken against non-politicians and lagging moves against members of Congress like Rep. John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, he blurted out one line:

“Who elected them?” he said, referring to the private-sector figures.

This highlights the problem with holding government accountable. This shows how much easier it is to hold the private sector accountable. When people and organizations have to worry about their wallets, they respond.

The market is very effective at regulating behavior. We, the people, have the power hit the economically powerful where it hurts: their wallets.

We have no such power with politicians. In fact, the taxpayers fund their settlements! The government doesn’t stand to lose “business” no matter what its members do. They will still be funded by tax dollars, we have no choice.

And to fire them, we need to wait until the next election cycle. But even then, the politicians at fault might not be in your district. Even if they are, you need a majority to hold them accountable.

Public pressure on politicians does nothing to curtail their power unless it causes them to lose an election. But as consumers, we can immediately affect the power of people in the private sector. They don’t need a slim majority to maintain power, they need a broad customer base excited to hand over their dollars.

The private sector has built-in incentives to punish people who fall into disfavor with customers.

Political power is a creepy club of factions and games. When someone in the private sector is accused of sexual misconduct, their peers quickly disown them. They are banished, exiled, shunned, and may God have mercy on their souls.

But politicians know that their power is not subject to the same constraints as economic power.

Democrats have remained coy about whether or not Franken and Conyers should resign. Some Republicans have called for Roy Moore to drop out of the Alabama Senate race. But President Trump remains supportive. Marco Rubio says it is a “difficult situation.”

Because on the one hand, as a Republican, you want the Republican Party to keep the seat. On the other hand, I personally find the accusations against him to be credible, and I don’t think he has done or said anything in the last month that has helped himself or in any way made me feel better about it,” Rubio said. “But he’s staying in the race, the people of Alabama will have their vote and we’ll move on from there.”

So that is that, colleagues wash their hands of the situation. Let the voters decide their fate. Because that always works so well…

Power Goes to Their Head

I think power does basically the same thing to people whether it is economic or political power.

And if these people are willing to put their careers on the line for a cheap sexual thrill, imagine what else they are capable of.

I don’t know if this says something about human nature, our culture, or men in general. But the lesson I get out of it all is that power imbalances cause people to do crazy things. How easy it is for power to go to someone’s head.

Behavior that everyone knows is completely inappropriate is common among people who feel above others.

Those with economic power learn from their fall from grace. Congress’ solution? They will implement sexual harassment training for politicians and staff, and call it a day.

Faces Of Evil: Bill Clinton, Al Franken, Charlie Rose and Glenn Thrush All Face New Sexual Misconduct Allegations

Have we entered a time when justice will begin to prevail in America?  For decades, celebrities, politicians and those in other positions of power have been engaging in very serious sexual misconduct, and victims have felt powerless to do anything about it.  But now thanks to Harvey Weinstein, the dam appears to be breaking and all of a sudden a flood of allegations is coming out.  On Monday, we learned of brand new accusations against Bill Clinton, Al Franken, Charlie Rose and New York Times journalist Glenn Thrush.

Let’s start with Thrush, because many find his case to be the most ironic.  The New York Times is supposed to be a paragon of political correctness, and yet it is being alleged that one of their most highly decorated reporters has been sexually harassing women for a very long time…

Vox interviewed multiple women who alleged sexual misconduct against Thrush, including unwanted groping and kissing.

Laura McGann, the editorial director at Vox and the author of the story, described an incident at a bar five years ago, when she and Thrush were colleagues at Politico.

“He slid into my side of the booth, blocking me in,” she wrote. “I was wearing a skirt, and he put his hand on my thigh. He started kissing me. I pulled myself together and got out of there, shoving him on my way out.”

She wrote that she found a “pattern” in Thrush’s behavior through interviews with other women.

Thrush has already been suspended by the New York Times, and this is likely the end of his journalistic career.

Meanwhile, eight different women have come forward to accuse Charlie Rose of making “unwanted sexual advances”…

And just minutes ago, the Washington Post reported that eight women have come forward to accuse legendary Emmy-winning broadcast journalist Charlie Rose made unwanted sexual advances toward them, including lewd phone calls, walking around naked in their presence, and groping their breasts, butts or generals.

The women were either employees or aspired to work for Rose at “the Charlie Rose Show”. The alleged harassment spans from the late 1990s to as recently as 2011. The women ranged in age between 21 to 37 at the time the harassment took place. Rose, 75, has a show that airs on PBS. He also co-hosts “CBS This Morning” and is a contributing correspondent at “60 Minutes”.

Like Thrush, Rose has been suspended by both CBS and PBS, and his journalistic career is probably over too.

Moving over to the world of politics, a second woman has come forward to accuse Senator Al Franken of sexual misconduct.  According to Lindsay Menz, Al Franken put his full hand on her bottom as they were taking a photo together at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010…

As her husband was getting ready to take their picture, Menz says that Franken ‘pulled me in really close, like awkward close’ and then ‘put his hand full-fledged on my rear’.

‘It was wrapped tightly around my butt cheek. It wasn’t around my waist. It wasn’t around my hip or side. It was definitely on my butt. I was like, ** ** ***, what’s happening,’ she said.

She said the moment last four seconds, and that immediately after the photo was taken, she left Franken’s side without saying a word.

This took place a full two years after Franken had already been in office, and it may be the final nail in the coffin that finally forces him to resign.

Meanwhile, four new women have come foward to accuse former president Bill Clinton of sexual harassment.  The following comes from the Daily Mail…

The new allegations refer to incidents that took place more than 10 years ago, in the early 2000s, when Clinton was hired by Ron Burkle, the playboy billionaire investor, to work at his Yucaipa companies.

Clinton helped Burkle generate business and flew around the world with a flock of beautiful young women on Burkle’s private jet, which was nicknamed ‘Air **** One.’

The four women, who have not yet revealed their identities, were employed in low-level positions at the Burkle organization when they were in their late teens and claim they were sexually assaulted by the former president.

After all these years, is the truth finally starting to catch up with Bill Clinton?

Of course Clinton and Franken are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to sexual misconduct in Washington.  As I wrote about yesterday, 264 cases of sexual harassment in Congress have been settled since the beginning of 1997, and the total amount of money paid out in those settlements has been $17,250,854.  The American people deserve to know who was accused of sexual harassment in all of those cases, because it was taxpayer money that was used to pay all of those settlements.

In my new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters”, I talk about the consequences of turning our back on God as a society.  Just about every form of evil that you can possibly imagine is multiplying all around us, and we definitely need to turn back to God.

But the fact that light is being shined in some very dark places gives me hope.  I truly do believe that we can change this nation, and that includes taking back our very corrupt government.

It is when things are the darkest that light is needed the most, and let all of us rise up and be lights at this very dark time.

The post Faces Of Evil: Bill Clinton, Al Franken, Charlie Rose and Glenn Thrush All Face New Sexual Misconduct Allegations appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

BREAKING: Photo Shows Senator Al Franken’s Alleged Sexual Assault of Fmr Playboy Playmate

Senator Al Franken has been accused of sexual assault and a photo has been released which allegedly shows the assault of a news anchor and former Playboy model.

Former Playboy Model Accuses Senator Al Franken Of "Kissing And Groping" Her Without Consent

The anti-sexual harassment backlash started with the Harvey Weinstein expose claimed its latest victim on Thursday when news anchor, former Playboy Playmate and sports broadcaster Leeann Tweeden accused Minnesota"s Democratic Senator Al Franken of "kissing and groping" her without her consent in 2006.

In an essay published this morning on KABC, Tweeden accused Franken of groping her, without her consent, while she was asleep and provided a photo as evidence.

I’ve decided it’s time to tell my story. #MeToohttps://t.co/TqTgfvzkZg

— Leeann Tweeden (@LeeannTweeden) November 16, 2017

The incident happened in December 2006, when she and Franken, then a comedian, were on a USO Tour to "entertain our troops."

Tweeden, a morning radio anchor on Los Angeles station KABC, said she was part of a United Service Organizations (USO) tour in 2006 to entertain troops stationed in the Middle East. At the time, Tweeden said, she was “a TV host and sports broadcaster, as well as a model familiar to the audience from the covers of FHM, Maxim and Playboy,” and did not expect to play a large part in the performance.

She wrote that it was her ninth time on such a tour, which Franken, then a comedian, headlined. Tweeden said she agreed to play a part in one of Franken’s skits. “When I saw the script, Franken had written a moment when his character comes at me for a ‘kiss’. I suspected what he was after, but I figured I could turn my head at the last minute, or put my hand over his mouth, to get more laughs from the crowd,” she wrote.

According to Tweeden, Franken insisted on rehearsing the kiss backstage, and “continued to insist” over her protestations until she agreed so he would stop “badgering” her.

“We did the line leading up to the kiss and then he came at me, put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth,” Tweeden wrote. “I immediately pushed him away with both of my hands against his chest and told him if he ever did that to me again I wouldn’t be so nice about it the next time.”

"It wasn’t until I was back in the U.S. and looking through the CD of photos we were given by the photographer that I saw this one," she wrote on KABC. "I felt violated all over again. Embarrassed. Belittled. Humiliated," she wrote. "How dare anyone grab my breasts like this and think it’s funny?"

In the photograph published in Tweeden’s essay, Franken is looking into the camera and grinning as he reaches toward Tweeden’s chest. Tweeden’s eyes are closed, and the person sitting next to her also appears to be asleep.

“I couldn’t believe it. He groped me, without my consent, while I was asleep,” Tweeden wrote. “I told my husband everything that happened and showed him the picture.”

"I wanted to shout my story to the world with a megaphone to anyone who would listen, but even as angry as I was, I was worried about the potential backlash and damage going public might have on my career as a broadcaster," she wrote. "But that was then, this is now. I’m no longer afraid."

She said she is sharing her story because there may be others.

"I want the days of silence to be over forever," she wrote.

Tweeden also issued a direct statement to Franken.

"Senator Franken, you wrote the script. But there’s nothing funny about sexual assault. You knew exactly what you were doing. You forcibly kissed me without my consent, grabbed my breasts while I was sleeping and had someone take a photo of you doing it, knowing I would see it later, and be ashamed."

Ironically, back in January 2016, Franken tweeted that "@HillaryClinton is a progressive voice that will fight back against attacks on women"s rights, and #ImWithHer."

@HillaryClinton is a progressive voice that will fight back against attacks on women"s rights, and #ImWithHer. pic.twitter.com/IFumzEmhMC

— Al Franken (@alfranken) January 22, 2016

Shortly after the report was published, Franken apologized to Tweeden saying “I certainly don’t remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann. As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but wasn’t. I shouldn’t have done it.”

* * *

It"s unclear if that will be enough: Tweeden said that over a decade later, she is "still angry" about what she says Franken did.  “Every time I hear his voice or see his face, I am angry. I am angry that I did his stupid skit for the rest of that tour,” she wrote. “Senator Franken, you wrote the script. But there’s nothing funny about sexual assault.”

Tweeden"s comments come amid increased reports of sexual harassment in the workplace, including on Capitol Hill. Multiple women in Congress have come forward to say they have been victims of sexual harassment, prompting lawmakers to call for reform.

Rep. Jackie Speier said Tuesday the House has paid out $15 million in harassment settlements over more than a decade, though a spokesperson later clarified that figure does not only account for sexual harassment claims. She said at a Tuesday hearing that two current members of Congress, one Republican and one Democrat, have been accused of sexual harassment.

Her comments come after multiple women have accused GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore of sexual misconduct. Moore is facing growing calls from top Republicans to step aside in the Alabama race, though he has indicated he plans to continue running.

It remains to be seen if the public backlash against the Democratic Senator will be sufficient to prompt his resignation.

Tweeden"s full report can be read here.

U.S. Has 3.5 Million More Registered Voters Than Live Adults - A Red Flag For Electoral Fraud

Via Investors.com,

American democracy has a problem - a voting problem.

According to a new study of U.S. Census data, America has more registered voters than actual live voters. It"s a troubling fact that puts our nation"s future in peril.

The data come from Judicial Watch"s Election Integrity Project. The group looked at data from 2011 to 2015 produced by the U.S. Census Bureau"s American Community Survey, along with data from the federal Election Assistance Commission.

As reported by the National Review"s Deroy Murdock, who did some numbers-crunching of his own, "some 3.5 million more people are registered to vote in the U.S. than are alive among America"s adult citizens. Such staggering inaccuracy is an engraved invitation to voter fraud."

Murdock counted Judicial Watch"s state-by-state tally and found that 462 U.S. counties had a registration rate exceeding 100% of all eligible voters. That"s 3.552 million people, who Murdock calls "ghost voters." And how many people is that? There are 21 states that don"t have that many people.

Nor are these tiny, rural counties or places that don"t have the wherewithal to police their voter rolls.

California, for instance, has 11 counties with more registered voters than actual voters. Perhaps not surprisingly — it is deep-Blue State California, after all — 10 of those counties voted heavily for Hillary Clinton.

Los Angeles County, whose more than 10 million people make it the nation"s most populous county, had 12% more registered voters than live ones, some 707,475 votes. That"s a huge number of possible votes in an election.

But, Murdock notes, "California"s San Diego County earns the enchilada grande. Its 138% registration translates into 810,966 ghost voters."

State by state, this is an enormous problem that needs to be dealt with seriously. Having so many bogus voters out there is a temptation to voter fraud. In California, where Hillary Clinton racked up a massive majority over Trump, it would have made little difference.

But in other states, and in smaller elections, voter fraud could easily turn elections. A hundred votes here, a hundred votes there, and things could be very different. As a Wikipedia list of close elections shows, since just 2000 there have been literally dozens of elections at the state, local and federal level decided by 100 votes or fewer.

And, in at least two nationally important elections in recent memory, the outcome was decided by a paper-thin margin:

In 2000, President Bush beat environmental activist and former Vice President Al Gore by just 538 votes.

Sen. Al Franken, the Minnesota Democrat, won his seat by beating incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman in 2008. Coleman was initially declared the winner the day after the election, with a 726-vote lead over Franken. But after a controversial series of recounts and ballot disqualifications, Franken emerged weeks later with a 225-seat victory.

Franken"s win was enormous, since it gave Democrats filibuster-proof control of the Senate. So, yes, small vote totals matter.

We"re not saying here that Franken cheated, nor, for that matter, that Bush did. But small numbers can have an enormous impact on our nation"s governance. The 3.5 million possible fraudulent ballots that exist are a problem that deserves serious immediate attention. Nothing really hinges on it, of course, except the integrity and honesty of our democratic elections.

Trump, Bannon Said To Weigh Firing Mike Flynn Over Russian Phone Calls Scandal

(ZHE) Top White House aide and policy adviser, Stephen Miller, sidestepped repeated chances during Sunday news shows to publicly defend embattled National Security Adviser Michael Flynn following reports that he engaged in conversations with Russian diplomat(s) about U.S. sanctions before Trump’s inauguration. The uncertainty came as Trump was dealing with North Korea’s apparent first missile launch of the year and his presidency, along with visits this week from the leaders of Israel and Canada.

Pressed repeatedly, Stephen Miller said it wasn’t up to him to say whether the president retains confidence in Flynn. “It’s not for me to tell you what’s in the president’s mind,” he said on NBC. “That’s a question for the president.”

While Trump has yet to comment on the allegations against Flynn, the White House said in an anonymous statement Friday the president had full confidence in Flynn. But officials have been mum since then amid fallout from reports that Flynn addressed U.S. sanctions against Russia in a phone call late last year. The report, which first appeared in The Washington Post, contradicted both Flynn’s previous denials, as well as those made by Vice President Mike Pence in a televised interview.

Now we know why the administration has been so quiet about the fate of Flynn. As the WSJ reports, the White House is reviewing “whether to retain Flynn amid a furor over his contacts with Russian officials before President Donald Trump took office, an administration official said Sunday.” Flynn has apologized to White House colleagues over the episode, which has created a rift with Vice President Mike Pence and diverted attention from the administration’s message to his own dealings, the official said.

“He’s apologized to everyone,” the official said of Mr. Flynn.

Still, the WSJ concedes that Trump’s views toward the matter aren’t clear. In recent days, he has privately told people the controversy surrounding Mr. Flynn is unwelcome, after he told reporters on Friday he would “look into” the disclosures.  At the same time, Trump also has said he has confidence in Mr. Flynn and wants to “keep moving forward,” a person familiar with his thinking said. Close Trump adviser Steve Bannon had dinner with Mr. Flynn over the weekend, according to another senior administration official, and Bannon’s view is to keep him in the position but “be ready” to let him go, the first administration official said.

The paper also adds that Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, hadn’t yet weighed in on Flynn’s future yet as of Sunday evening.

For those who may not have followed the story, Flynn initially said that in a conversation Dec. 29 with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, he didn’t discuss sanctions imposed that day by the outgoing Obama administration, which were levied in retaliation for alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Flynn now concedes that he did, administration officials said, after transcripts of his phone calls show as much. He also admits he spoke with the ambassador more than once on Dec. 29, despite weeks of the Trump team’s insisting it was just one phone call, officials said.

If Flynn had promised any easing of sanctions once Mr. Trump took office, he may have violated a law that prohibits private citizens from engaging in foreign policy, legal experts have said. That would mark the first instance of a person close to Mr. Trump found to have inappropriate links to Russia, a subject U.S. officials have been investigating for months.

U.S. intelligence services routinely intercept and monitor conversations with Russian diplomats, officials have said. While the transcripts of the conversations don’t show Mr. Flynn made any sort of promise to lift the sanctions once Mr. Trump took office, they show Flynn making more general comments about relations between the two countries improving under Mr. Trump, people familiar with them said.

Flynn’s alleged lies have angered VP Mike Pence, who in television interviews vouched for Flynn, administration officials said. Pence and Flynn spoke twice on Friday, one official said quoted by the WSJ.

Reince Priebus is leading the Trump administration’s review of Flynn.

Some administration officials are hopeful Mr. Flynn would resign on his own, a person familiar with the matter said. Some people close to Mr. Trump already are speculating on possible successors, including retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who advised Mr. Trump during the campaign and who is chief of staff of the National Security Council.

Jettisoning Mr. Flynn might end one controversy, but would potentially feed perceptions of a disorganized White House, some people close to Mr. Trump said. That’s one reason the White House might be hesitant to cut ties to Mr. Flynn, they added.

Meanwhile, Democrats smell blood and want Flynn out immediately.

As pressure built on White House officials, Democrats on Sunday pressed for an independent investigation into Mr. Flynn’s conversations with Russia’s ambassador.

“Either he was lying about discussing it or he forgot,” said Sen. Al Franken (D., Minn.), speaking Sunday on CNN. ”You don’t want a guy in either of those scenarios to be in that position.”

Franken has also called for an independent investigation into the Trump campaign’s and the administration’s ties to Russia, citing allegations of Kremlin interference in the 2016 U.S. election and Mr. Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns, as candidates have done since the 1970s. “We don’t know what [Mr. Trump] owes Russia,” Mr. Franken said. “We don’t know how many Russian oligarchs have invested in his business.” At the same time Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D., R.I.), who lead the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subpanel on crime and terrorism, already have launched an investigation of Russia’s efforts to influence the U.S. election.

While the situation remains liquid, two things are certain: Trump will have a “kneejerk response” tweet momentarily, and the market will interpret this latest tremor inside the White House as even more bullish.

By Tyler Durden / Republished with permission / Zero Hedge / Report a typo