monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

Horotwitz doesn't even have the authority to prosecute a crime

The Justice Department’s inspector general report on the FBI’s activities ahead of the 2016 election and then-FBI Director James Comey’s conduct contains some pretty tough criticism. It says Comey “clearly and dramatically” departed from FBI norms in the Hillary Clinton email investigation and made a “serious error of judgment” in sending a letter to Congress just days before the election letting them know he was reopening the probe.

Comey’s reaction to the 500-page report was largely: Well, fair enough.

He penned an op-ed in the New York Times published just after the document came out saying he doesn’t agree with all of the inspector general’s conclusions, but he respects them. And he thinks the report was good, even if it doesn’t cast him in the best light.

“All of our leaders need to understand that accountability and transparency are essential to the functioning of our democracy, even when it involves criticism,” Comey wrote. “This is how the process is supposed to work.”

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In the Times op-ed, Comey points out that he encouraged the review of the FBI’s actions when he was still the bureau’s director and “wanted a second set of eyes” on the “agonizing decisions” he and his team made in the 2016 campaign. Even if the inspector general disagreed, Comey wrote he was “confident” that the report “would find the FBI team made them without regard for political favor or partisanship.”

He says he hopes it will be a lesson for the future.

“All of our leaders need to understand that accountability and transparency are essential to the functioning of our democracy, even when it involves criticism,” Comey wrote. “This is how the process is supposed to work.”

FBI employees received 'improper' gifts from reporters, routinely leaked to media without authorization

"We identified instances where FBI employees improperly received benefits from reporters, including tickets to sporting events, golfing outings, drinks and meals, and admittance to nonpublic social events," reads the report by the inspector general, Michael Horowitz.

Along with the FBI's cozy relationship with the media, Horowitz's report charges that officials in the bureau at "all levels of the organization" leaked information to reporters without authorization.

In a chart attached to the report, the IG identified dozens of FBI officials who spoke to reporters without permission, including several special agents, special agents in charge, secretaries management and program analysts, attorneys, an "FBI executive," a deputy assistant director and an assistant director.

"We have profound concerns about the volume and extent of unauthorized media contacts by FBI personnel that we have uncovered during our review," the IG continued. "These leaks highlight the need to change what appears to be a cultural attitude among many in the organization."

Remarkably, at least two unauthorized phone calls to reporters came from an "unattributed FBI HQ phone number," the IG report says -- suggesting that some employees at the bureau were brazenly leaking information from phones in the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Of course none of this was motivated by political considerations, eh?

One wonders why.....

Classified Israeli report raises questions about Trump-Kim summit

Footage of President Trump saluting a top North Korean general during this week’s summit meeting with the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, set off debate on Thursday over military and diplomatic protocol.

The scene was part of a 42-minute documentary that aired on state television two days after the two leaders met in Singapore, offering another window into the historic encounter.

While greeting North Korean dignitaries after his initial handshake with Mr. Kim, Mr. Trump proceeded down the line shaking hands, the video shows. When Mr. Trump offered his hand to Gen. No Kwang-chol, who was recently promoted to defense chief, the general saluted instead.
Mr. Trump quickly raised his own hand and saluted back.

Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, a retired United States Army general, criticized the gesture in a statement.

“It is wholly inappropriate for the commander in chief of our armed forces to salute the military of our adversary, especially one which is responsible for a regime of terror, murder and unspeakable horror against its own people,” General Eaton said.

Others pointed out that with North and South Korea still technically at war (a formal peace treaty was never signed), it was inappropriate for Mr. Trump to salute the general of an adversary.

But some defended the salute, pointing out that General No had initiated it and saying that Mr. Trump was being polite in return.

The documentary, which included scenes not previously broadcast, appeared on the state-run KCTV and was enthusiastically presented by the North Korean television mainstay Ri Chun-hee. Much of the program, which followed Mr. Kim throughout his trip, was overlaid with soaring patriotic music and breathless narration.

The video was bookended by two scenes from Pyongyang, the North’s capital: Mr. Kim’s departure on an Air China flight amid enthusiastic waves from military officers; and his return home to another waving crowd of officers.

The footage also showed a smiling Mr. Kim strolling through the streets of Singapore with Vivian Balakrishnan, the country’s minister for foreign affairs, as cameras flashed and dozens of people raised their smartphones to take photos.

“With the Singapore summit, North Korean media is portraying him as an international statesman as well, a leader who has brought North Korea into the world, including meeting with the president of the United States,” said Charles Armstrong, a historian and professor of Korean studies at Columbia University. “North Korean media has been saturated with glitzy photos of Singapore in recent days.”

“In a sense, Singapore is presented as the kind of society Kim says he wants North Korea to become: affluent and high-tech but under strong leadership,” Mr. Armstrong said.

In the United States, Mr. Trump’s salute caused some Americans to examine history and search for precedents.
As commander in chief, presidents have long been saluted by members of the United States military, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that President Ronald Reagan began returning the gesture. Since then, presidents often salute members of the American military.

But the protocol for when it is appropriate for a president to salute those outside the American military has remained murky, and former presidents have drawn criticism for their saluting etiquette.
President Barack Obama was criticized in 2014 for saluting a military officer while holding a cup of coffee.

“Trump was caught off guard by the North Korean general saluting him after he tried awkwardly to shake his hand, then Trump saluted him back,” Mr. Armstrong said. “I’m sure he had no idea who No Kwang-chol was, but the U.S. president saluting North Korean generals no doubt played very well in North Korea.”

military prisoners convicted of a crime must not salute: since the salute, as mentioned above, is an expression of fellowship, saluting someone while being imprisoned is akin to saying the salutee is as much of a criminal as the saluter, which can end in a WORLD of **** for the saluter.

However, enemy prisoners of war CAN be saluted according to their rank, and it is seen as a sign of respect and fairness for a soldier of the imprisoning army to salute the imprisoned officer.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday a Justice Department inspector general’s report that concluded there was no bias in how the FBI handled its investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails was wrong, saying there was “total bias.”