Tag Archives: Russia

The Moscow Times reports: Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Orthodox Church compared the adoption of homosexual marriage laws to the adoption of laws in fascist Germany. The Patriarch made the comments in Kyrgyzstan while promoting new translation of his book, according to RIA Novosti. The Patriarch said “so-called homosexual marriages” were a threat to families and added that “when …

CBS News reports: Carter Page, President Trump’s former campaign policy adviser, says that reports on his interactions with Russian entities are “completely false and misleading” but refused to provide a clear answer on whether the Russian government interfered in the 2016 election. Page, speaking to “CBS This Morning” on Thursday, denied having contacts with any Russian agents, adding that people …

The New York Times reports: Shifting from his previous blanket denials, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said on Thursday that “patriotically minded” private Russian hackers could have been involved in cyberattacks last year to help the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump. While Mr. Putin continued to deny any state role, his comments to reporters in St. Petersburg were …

One year ago today President Obama issued his final LGBT Pride Month proclamation. We’re not holding our breath for any recognition from the current White House, but the Democrats have come through. From DNC chairman Tom Perez:   “From Stonewall to the Supreme Court, our nation has made great strides in LGBTQ rights. LGBTQ Pride Month is an opportunity to …

From the Hollywood Reporter: It’s official: Megyn Kelly will interview Vladimir Putin one-on-one for the first episode of her Sunday night NBC series. Kelly herself made the announcement on NBC’s Today Thursday morning, reporting live from Russia. Kelly is moderating the plenary session of an economic forum in St. Petersburg on Friday (June 2), where Putin will be one of …

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration is moving toward handing back to Russia two diplomatic compounds, near New York City and on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, that its officials were ejected from in late December as punishment for Moscow’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. President Barack Obama said Dec. 29 that the compounds were being “used by Russian personnel …

The Guardian reports: Nigel Farage is a “person of interest” in the US counter-intelligence investigation that is looking into possible collusion between the Kremlin and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, the Guardian has been told. Sources with knowledge of the investigation said the former Ukip leader had raised the interest of FBI investigators because of his relationships with individuals connected to …

CNN reports: Congressional investigators are examining whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions had an additional private meeting with Russia’s ambassador during the presidential campaign, according to Republican and Democratic Hill sources and intelligence officials briefed on the investigation. Investigators on the Hill are requesting additional information, including schedules from Sessions, a source with knowledge tells CNN. They are focusing on whether …

The New Yorker reports: On May 11th Roger Stone, Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again political adviser for several decades, had just wrapped up a pair of morning television appearances when, according to two sources with direct knowledge, he received a call from the President. Just a night earlier, Trump claimed that he was no longer in touch with Stone. In the …

CNN reports: Hillary Clinton came prepared with more than one zinger about the mystery word of the day: Covfefe. At an interview hosted by Recode on Wednesday, one of the moderators brought up covfefe — a word that took on a life of its own after Trump tweeted a few minutes after midnight: “Despite the constant negative press covfefe.” (The …

The Hill reports: President Trump’s administration will cease answering questions from reporters about the investigation into the Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russia, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday. In an off-camera press briefing, Spicer told reporters that any future questions about the investigation would be addressed by Trump’s personal lawyer. “We are focused on the president’s agenda …

CNN reports: Fired FBI director James Comey plans to testify publicly in the Senate as early as next week to confirm bombshell accusations that President Donald Trump pressured him to end his investigation into a top Trump aide’s ties to Russia, a source close to the issue said Wednesday. Final details are still being worked out and no official date …

The Associated Press reports: Ex-National Security Adviser Flynn is expected to provide some documents under subpoena to the Senate intelligence panel, sources say. The president’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, has received subpoenas from the Senate intelligence committee regarding his Russian contacts and his business records. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, said last week that a subpoena from the House …

ABC News reports: One of President Donald Trump’s closest confidants, his personal lawyer Michael Cohen, has now become a focus of the expanding Congressional investigation into Russian efforts to influence the 2016 campaign. Cohen confirmed to ABC News that House and Senate investigators have asked him “to provide information and testimony” about any contacts he had with people connected to …

Via Mediaite: Kellyanne Conway appeared on Fox & Friends on Tuesday, where she pushed back against the reports that Jared Kushner wanted to set up a secret backchannel between the White House and the Russian government. Conway said that communication backchannels are not unusual in the White House, and that Kushner has volunteered to give testimony over his connections with …

The New York Times reports: France’s newly elected president, Emmanuel Macron, came out of his first meeting with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Monday with a message of stark challenge, promising French military reprisals for any use of chemical weapons by Russia’s allies in Syria and saying he would closely monitor the curtailing of civil rights for gay …

This is probably what spawned Trump’s latest tweet. CNN reports: Russian government officials discussed having potentially “derogatory” information about then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and some of his top aides in conversations intercepted by US intelligence during the 2016 election, according to two former intelligence officials and a congressional source. One source described the information as financial in nature and said …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning that “Russian officials must be laughing at the U.S.” over the ongoing investigations into Russia’s efforts to interfere in last year’s election and the significant amount of media coverage those probes have generated. Russia’s campaign of cyberattacks targeting the 2016 election, as well as the possibility of collusion between the …

Reuters reports: A chain of Russian food stores run by a devoutly religious nationalist businessman has placed signs in its windows saying gay customers will be refused entry.  “No entry for faggots,” read a wooden plate at the entrance to one of German Sterligov’s shops in central Moscow. Sterligov, 50, became a millionaire by opening a mercantile exchange shortly before …

The New York Times reports: In a statement Sunday night, Mr. Trump praised his son-in-law and the work he has done in the White House. “Jared is doing a great job for the country,” he said. “I have total confidence in him. He is respected by virtually everyone and is working on programs that will save our country billions of …