Democrats Don’t Want Barr To Look Into ‘Trump-Russia Hoax’
Republican strategist Ford O’Connell argues Democrats want presumptive Democratic candidate Joe Biden to win so the Durham probe will never come out.
Are Democrats In Danger Of Losing American's Trust Over Baseless Accusations?
Democrat political analyst Kelly Hyman and GOP strategist Ford O'Connell debate a potential split in the Democratic Party after Hillary Clinton alleged Tulsi Gabbard is a Russian asset.
Mueller Report Fades From Political Conversation
Robert Mueller’s Russia report has largely faded from the airwaves less than a month after the former special counsel’s high-profile congressional testimony, a possible warning sign to Democrats that most voters have lost interest in the probe.
Even President Trump has made fewer mentions recently of the investigation that spanned 22 months of his presidency.
During a campaign-style rally in New Hampshire on Thursday, the president did not launch into his once-regular diatribes decrying the Mueller probe as a partisan “witch hunt.” Instead, Trump focused his ire on two Muslim congresswomen — Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) — and their thwarted attempt to visit Israel.
Trump is not the only one shifting focus away from the probe, which until recently dominated cable news.
In late July, discussion of Mueller’s investigation and possible impeachment were largely absent as the crowded field of Democratic presidential candidates debated each other on issues like health care and who is best positioned to beat Trump in the general election.
Fading public interest in the Mueller probe would be an unwelcome development for House Democrats, particularly as the House Judiciary Committee presses forward with its investigation into possible obstruction and potential abuses of power by the president.
Republican strategists say they also see evidence the president and Democrats are moving away from the Russia probe, arguing that neither party wants to run on the Mueller probe next year.
“Both sides at this juncture think that they don't gain anything electorally from talking about Russia. The Democrats would prefer to put all of their energy into the idea of cultural issues that Trump may be a white supremacist, that's the reason why they're moving off of it,” said Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist.
“Trump's moving off of it because he realizes, too, he gains nothing by talking about it. Because the second that Bill Barr and Mueller and everyone basically said he wasn't an agent of Russia, then pretty much the whole storyline ended,” O’Connell added.
Experts Say U.S Democrats' Call For Trump Impeachment May Be Empty Threat
U.S. Democrats continue to bang their fists on the table and demand an impeachment inquiry against U.S. President Donald Trump. But experts said the threats may never amount to action.
On Sunday, four additional Democrats called for an impeachment investigation against the U.S. president, moving closer to a majority of House Democrats who support such a move.
That makes nearly a dozen additional House Democrats since last week who have shown support for opening an impeachment inquiry, bringing the total number to 107, falling just 11 members short of a Democratic Caucus majority.
That suggests that the idea is gaining momentum, some experts said.
Democrats continue to accuse the president's 2016 campaign team of colluding with Russia in a bid to clinch the White House.
"The president was not exculpated for the acts that he allegedly committed," Mueller told a hearing last week before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
He told lawmakers that he would not say if the president had committed a crime.
After the Mueller hearings, Democrats continue to call for an impeachment inquiry. However, the threats may be just threats, experts said.
"They're not going to give it up, because they've backed themselves into a corner with their base. They continue to scream that there is collusion," Republican Strategist and TV news personality Ford O'Connell told Xinhua.
"But at the same time, they haven't begun impeachment proceedings. And the reason is because they know that with Republican control of the Senate, and nothing coming out of the Mueller hearings, officially beginning impeachment proceedings would be political suicide," O'Connell said.
Mueller's Final Statement Could Bring Democrats Closer To Impeachment
In his final statement on the report that has sparked controversy for two years, U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller Wednesday signaled the possibility that President Donald Trump committed a crime, but stopped short of saying it definitively.
If we had "confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so," Mueller said at a press conference.
Mueller added that he found "insufficient evidence to charge a broader conspiracy" on whether there was interference in the election, and announced that he would step down.
Mueller's statements seemed to indicate he suspected wrongdoing but could not prove it, prompting some key Democrats to ratchet up calls to impeach Trump.
The Mueller investigation -- which sought to find evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to clinch the 2016 elections -- took nearly two years and was concluded several months ago without finding a smoking gun. Democrats, however, are still convinced that Trump committed a crime, and continue to investigate.
Republican Strategist and TV news personality Ford O'Connell told Xinhua: "We didn't hear anything that wasn't in the report and contrary to the fanfare in the media, Mueller didn't say Trump was guilty of anything."
"In our legal system you are innocent until proven guilty," he added, noting that hard proof and facts are required in the U.S. rule-of-law system.
"What he's done here is to throw Democrats a political bone," O'Connell said of Mueller.
Why AG William Barr Is Turning Out To Become Trump’s Best Cabinet Pick
President Trump went on the offensive Wednesday attacking the Mueller investigation and demanding an inquiry into the people behind the Russia probe.
“It was an illegal investigation. It was started illegally. Everything about it was crooked, every single thing about it. There were dirty cops, these were bad people,” Trump said while speaking to reporters. “You look at [Andrew] McCabe and [James] Comey and you look at Lisa [Page] and Peter Strzok, these were bad people and this was, an attempted coup, this was an attempted take-down of a president and we beat them.”
During his second day of testimony on Capitol Hill, Attorney General William Barr said that he believes spying did occur on the Trump campaign during the 2016 election.
“Spying on a political campaign is a big deal, it’s a big deal...I think spying did occur, the question is whether it was predicated, adequately predicated. I’m not suggesting it wasn’t adequately predicated but I need to explore that.”
CivicForumPAC Chairman Ford O’Connell said Barr is “turning out to become President Trump’s best cabinet pick.”
“What is amazing here about Attorney General Barr is really his by the book manner, his ability to cut through the Democratic games, and also the willingness to get to the bottom of exactly how this Russia probe came about and whether or not there was foul play here,” he said on FOX Business’ “Making Money with Charles Payne ” Wednesday.
He adds that Barr’s demeanor will calm both sides of the political aisle down.
Watch the video and read more from Lucas Manfredi at Fox Business
Villainizing China, Russia Won't Help U.S. Interests In Africa, Analysts Say
U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton on Thursday rolled out the Trump administration's new Africa strategy. Analysts said that his speech, while stroking a hostile and competitive tone against countries like Russia and China, will not help the United States expand its business, political and military engagement with Africa.
Calling China and Russia's commercial cooperation with African nations "predatory practices," Bolton asserted that the two countries' "stunt economic growth in Africa; threaten the financial independence of African nations; inhibit opportunities for U.S. investment; interfere with US military operations; and pose a significant threat to U.S. national security interests."
Darrell West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua that Bolton's comments "reflect concern over China's investments in Africa and their possible impact on U.S. interests there."
Bolton "wants to increase American investment in Africa to counter China and Russia, and make sure the United States retains a foothold on that continent," he added, noting that the U.S. strategy will not be achievable if the Trump administration cannot convince U.S. businesses to invest there.
GOP strategist and TV news personality Ford O'Connell, told Xinhua that Bolton's speech is part of "a shift of U.S. foreign policy from a focus on counter terror to a focus on China and Russia."
"U.S. foreign policy has been so geared toward the Middle East that we've ignored this (Africa) for a long time," he said. "This has the beginning of a tit-for-tat over the rest of the globe between China and the United States."
U.S. Exit From Nuclear Arms Treaty Invites New Arms Race
The United States mulling to pull out of the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty will fret over the possibility of a new round of arms race worldwide, said U.S. experts.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday announced his intention to withdraw his country from the 1987 treaty, citing Russia's violation of the deal.
On Tuesday, U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, said that the United States will file a formal notice of its withdrawal from the treaty "in due course."
Experts see that the INF treaty probably will be the latest among a string of bilateral or multilateral agreements torn up by Trump as he felt they no longer benefit the United States.
Trump felt that "the United States is not going to be taken advantage of," Republican strategist and TV personality Ford O'Connell told Xinhua.
Moreover, it showed that the Untied States wanted to re-align its relationship with Russia, O'Connell said.
Analysts also noted that pulling out of the accord could allow Washington to develop weapons banned by the agreement.
Flynn Sentencing Move Spurs Questions About Duration Of Mueller Probe
Robert Mueller’s request that a federal judge move forward with sentencing for Michael Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser, has triggered new debate over the status of the special counsel’s investigation and the value of Flynn’s cooperation.
Some observers interpreted the move, which followed months of delays in Flynn’s sentencing, as an indication that Mueller is unlikely to call Flynn to testify at any future trials that may arise from the Russia probe.
Mueller’s request for Flynn’s sentencing came days after he secured a key cooperator in Paul Manafort, the one-time Trump campaign chairman who participated in the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer that was predicated on obtaining damaging information on Hillary Clinton.
Flynn pleaded guilty in December to one count of lying to FBI agents about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States and agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s team, from submitting to interviews with government investigators to providing courthouse testimony.
Mueller had sought to delay Flynn’s sentencing four times, a sign that as of late August his cooperation was still needed months after his guilty plea. Early on, there was speculation in conservative circles that Flynn’s plea deal could be collapsing, with some alleging that Flynn had been set up by the FBI.
“On one side for the White House, I think it’s a recognition that Mueller and the special counsel’s office are done with Flynn and likely the collusion question,” said GOP strategist Ford O’Connell. “But the White House is still fuming because what you have here is an investigation in search of a crime.”
Experts Foresee Further Deterioration Of Ties As U.S. Slaps Sanctions On Russia Over Spy Poisoning
U.S. experts have said the announcement on Wednesday of fresh U.S. sanctions against Russia over an alleged nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter will further worsen the ties between Washington and Moscow.
According to senior State Department officials, the sanctions will come in two phases. The first phase will ban the granting of licenses to sell "all national-security sensitive goods or technologies" to Russia.
At the moment, such sales applications are being scrutinized on a case-by-case basis, and Washington "will be presumptively denying such applications" after the sanctions come into force.
They said unless Russia, within three months since the sanctions become effective, provides "reliable assurances" that it will no longer engage in chemical weapons use and allows on-site inspections by the United Nations or other internationally recognized impartial observers, the second batch of "more draconian" sanctions will be imposed.
The officials estimated that the sanctions may affect hundreds of millions of dollars worth of exports, dealing a blow to some 70 percent of the Russian economy and resulting in an approximately 40-percent fall in workforce.
Sergei Skripal, a 66-year-old double agent who worked for the Soviet military's intelligence services before defecting to Britain, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench outside a shopping center in the southwestern British city of Salisbury on March 4.
The British government accused Russia of masterminding the poisoning, which it said involved the use of Novichok nerve agent. Russia has denied any involvement.
In a separate case on June 30, 44-year-old Dawn Sturgess and her partner, Charlie Rowley, were hospitalized after being exposed to what British authorities confirmed was Novichok in Amesbury in southwestern England. Sturgess later died while Rowley remained in critical condition.
Given that the chance for reconciliation from Moscow is slim, U.S. experts said the sanctions may continue to hurt the Russian economy and drive further the vicious cycle of U.S.-Russia hostilities.
Ford O'Connell, a Republican and news commentator who frequently shows up on TV, told Xinhua that "this is a situation where Trump has been tough on Russia, particularly when Russia is perceived to be bad actors threatening the world order."
