monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

Regrettably, the prospects for a successful negotiation with Putin over the “unsatisfactory condition of Russian-American relations” are near zero for the following reasons: The Putin regime requires confrontation with the US for its very survival, while Trump must deliver “beautiful deals” that “make American great again.” If Trump were to sign a deal which does not yield real enforceable concessions by Putin on Crimea, east Ukraine, or the Middle East, Trump’s deal-making image would be shattered along with his presidency.

Two leading House and Senate committees are examining the FBI’s handling of its investigation into Russia’s possible links to Trump campaign associates and the country’s alleged interference with the 2016 presidential election.

The Senate Judiciary Committee, headed by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is investigating whether the FBI wrongly included political opposition research from Trump’s opponents in its probe, and then paid the author of that controversial report, a former British spy, to work for the FBI on its investigation. The committee’s probe began March 6 with the letter Grassley sent the FBI and was furthered Monday with requests for information from the company that did the opposition research.

“When political opposition research becomes the basis for law enforcement or intelligence efforts, it raises substantial questions about the independence of law enforcement and intelligence from politics,” Grassley said Monday.....

@hightor,
http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/the-shooting-gallery/

Grassley Launches Investigation of FBI Collusion with British Intelligence Against U.S. Government

March 6, 2017 (EIRNS)—Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today launched an investigation into the FBI’s collusion with British intelligence to bring down the government of the United States.

The Hill reports today that Grassley sent a letter to FBI Director James Comey asked for records pertaining to any agreements the agency may have had with Christopher Steele, the MI6 agent who authored the scurrilous dossier full of wild fabrications against Trump ties to Russia, which was then leaked to the press, despite the fact that Obama’s intelligence community admitted that the charges were unsubstantiated.

"In late February," The Hill writes,

"The Washington Post reported that the FBI reached an agreement with Steele whereby the British spy would continue his investigation on behalf of the bureau."

"The idea that the FBI and associates of the Clinton campaign would pay Mr. Steele to investigate the Republican nominee for President in the run-up to the election raises further questions about the FBI’s independence from politics, as well as the Obama administration’s use of law enforcement and intelligence agencies for political ends,"

Grassley wrote.

"It is additionally troubling that the FBI reportedly agreed to such an arrangement given that, in January of 2017, then-Director Clapper issued a statement stating that ‘the [intelligence community] has not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable, and we did not rely upon it in any way for our conclusions.’"

Grassley asks for all records regarding Steele’s investigation, details of the agreement between the FBI and Steele, the FBI’s policies for using outside investigators, and whether the bureau has relied on any of the information Steele has provided in seeking warrants, The Hill reports.

Russia hired 1,000 people to create anti-Clinton 'fake news' in key US states during election

So Iran took something that was bad and replaced it with something that was worse?

Griffiths AFB ! I diverted there once in an A-4 ( low on fuel) . I was met by armed MPs in a blue truck when I got out of the cockpit. I don't know what the hell they were looking for, but they finally decided it really was a Navy aircraft and we were on the same damn side. They hung around for a few minutes 'till the fuel truck arrived and gave me a fill, and then I climbed back in and left. Naval Air Stations were more friendly.

However I can understand their rougher treatment of geologists. No one likes them!

but then Russia has always been our enemy. So it shouldn't surprise us when they act like one.

Hiring liars is all the rage these days.

We can pretty much blame this whole Russian mess on Obama/Clinton, their foreign policy failed.

Just watched some of the US Senate hearings on “Russiagate.” What an embarrassment for such a distinguished body. The fear mongering, use of fake news, paranoia, and flight from reality demonstrates the political establishment and its useful idiots in the MSM are simply unhinged. To top it all off, RT is mentioned repeatedly. I say to the US Senate and the liberal lamestream media this: either RT is an omnipotent media hegemon (which it isn’t) or an insignificant fringe nuance (which it isn’t) – both narratives can’t be true at the same time. What struck me the most was this: the American political establishment and its crude media pets have no ability when it comes to self-examination. The American political establishment and its crude media have hollowed out what was left of America’s democracy. No foreign power has the means to do that – the diminishing of the American Republic is home grown. Both need to gaze into a mirror and see the ugly reflection.