monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

I like how you dodged everything dealing with the Clinton Foundation and how it has gone to ground since she lost the election...

The UN human rights chief says Israel used "wholly disproportionate" force against Palestinian border protests which have left over 100 people dead.

Zeid Raad Al Hussein told a meeting in Geneva that Gazans were effectively "caged in a toxic slum" and Gaza's occupation by Israel had to end.

Mr Zeid told the emergency session on Gaza that the "stark contrast in casualties on both sides is... suggestive of a wholly disproportionate response" by Israel.

An Israeli soldier was "reportedly wounded, slightly, by a stone" on Monday, he said, while 43 Palestinians were killed at the site of the protests. Seventeen more Palestinians were killed away from what he called the "hot spots".

He said there had been "little evidence of any [Israeli] attempt to minimise casualties". Israel's actions might, he said, "constitute 'wilful killings' - a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention", an international law designed to protect civilians under occupation.

Mr Zeid said he supported a call for an "international, independent and impartial" investigation into the violence in Gaza, adding that "those responsible for violations must in the end be held accountable".

Rudy Giuliani just made a big two-word concession: “He can.”

That's what Giuliani said Friday morning when asked by CNN's Chris Cuomo about whether a president can obstruct justice. And it contradicts the case that President Trump's now-former lawyer John Dowd had made.

Dowd told Axios in December: “The president cannot obstruct justice because he is the chief law enforcement officer under [the Constitution's Article II] and has every right to express his view of any case.” And there is actually some legitimate debate on that point.

But apparently Giuliani disagrees. Trump's own lawyer said Friday that his client is not immune from charges of obstructing justice — which is clearly the most troubling part of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation for Trump personally. While Trump hasn't been directly linked to potential collusion with Russia, he has taken many actions as president that have caught Mueller's attention and could feasibly be seen as trying to influence the course of the investigation. So whether he can technically obstruct justice at all is a key point, and it's one Giuliani just conceded.

Here's the exchange:

Quote:

GIULIANI: The president has complete discretion to fire anybody he wants.

CUOMO: What about corrupt intent?

GIULIANI: Doesn't apply.

CUOMO: Why not?

GIULIANI: There's no evidence of that.

CUOMO: You don't think a president can obstruct justice?

GIULIANI: He can. But I think in the case of firing a subordinate who's going to be replaced by somebody else on an acting basis immediately —

CUOMO: But it's why you fired them. Corrupt intent. It's part of the legal analysis.

GIULIANI: It doesn't matter if in fact it can't result in anything. The investigation continued. The investigation expanded.

It's not clear that exempting Trump from any potential obstruction charges by virtue of his position has been a constant part of the Trump team's legal strategy. While Dowd said Trump was immune from committing such a crime in December, it hasn't been a public fixture of the team's defense. It's also important to note that Giuliani didn't appear to think firing people — like FBI Director James B. Comey — would constitute obstruction.

But it does run counter to the increasingly confrontational approach the Trump legal team is taking. And it concedes a legal debate of some legitimacy that could impact the ultimate result here. There are many other potential elements of the obstruction investigation besides firing Comey, and Giuliani has conceded one of them could feasibly be labeled “obstruction of justice.”

Of course, this only comes into play legally if Mueller were to actually attempt to charge Trump with a crime, which seems unlikely. But it could also be a factor if Congress has to decide, based upon Mueller's evidence, whether Trump committed an offense worthy of impeachment and removal from office. That's a way down the road, but Giuliani just acknowledged that something Trump did to influence the Russia investigation could technically be obstruction of justice.

talking with Giuliani and Chris Cuomo where Giuliani became unhinged when his past words debunked his words now about the President could be subpoenaed.

He has the right to take the Fifth Amendment

taking the Fifth Amendment?"

Next.

So because Trump is innocent,

Clinton IT staffer pleads 5th 125 consecutive times

Nine Obama Administration Officials Who Pled the Fifth to Congress

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday issued a proposal that would effectively stop giving government funds that subsidize birth control for low-income women to Planned Parenthood and other clinics that provide abortions.
[...]
The funding cannot be used for abortions, but abortion opponents have long complained that the money subsidizes Planned Parenthood itself.