monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

U.S. and EU officials will meet next week in Washington for more talks about risks to air travel after a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday did not, as some industry watchers had expected, extend a cabin ban on large electronics devices.
[...]
The U.S. administration official said intelligence "continues to point to terrorist groups targeting commercial aviation and they are gradually pursuing innovative methods to undertake their attacks including smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items."

"We did share additional information with our European partners today," the official added.
... ... ...

Fears that a bomb could be concealed in electronic devices prompted the United States to announce in March that it would restrict passengers from bringing devices larger than cellphones onto flights originating from 10 airports, including those in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey. Britain followed suit with restrictions on a slightly different set of routes.

Trump was influencing Comey to let the investigation of Flynn go.

Britt Hume was on TV last night and made the comment that he has never seen this level of hysteria and vitriol in the response of the MSM and the opposition party to any president.

WASHINGTON — Enemies from within have launched a “deep-state” smear campaign, news organizations are acting with ulterior motives, and the worst attacks are yet to come.

Pushing back against the biggest threat so far to Donald Trump’s young presidency, his most fervent supporters are building alternative narratives to run alongside the “establishment” media account — from relatively benign diversions to more bizarre conspiracies.

(...)

As Americans process a dizzying week of damning revelations about the president — his firing of the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey; his disclosure of highly sensitive intelligence to the Russians; and his plea to Mr. Comey to drop the bureau’s investigation of his fired national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn — Mr. Trump has found shelter on the right, where the collective judgment of the conservative media and the Republican Party so far seems to be to dismiss the allegations as “fake news,” shift the blame and change the subject.

(...)

In the conservative media, an alternate story line has already taken shape. In this story, Mr. Comey, an embittered and opportunistic employee whom Mr. Trump fired, is now trying to redeem himself with retroactively released — and unseen — memos of his version of events. On “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday morning, one of the hosts, Brian Kilmeade, expressed disbelief. “If you write it down, does that mean it’s true?” he asked.

18 U.S. Code § 4 - Misprision of felony

Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

28 U.S. Code § 1361 - Action to compel an officer of the United States to perform his duty

The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any action in the nature of mandamus to compel an officer or employee of the United States or any agency thereof to perform a duty owed to the plaintiff.

On “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday morning, one of the hosts, Brian Kilmeade, expressed disbelief. “If you write it down, does that mean it’s true?” he asked.

Some Republicans remain skeptical. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., wondered why, if the memo exists, Comey had not informed Congress of such a conversation about ending an investigation.

“Somebody is going to have to do more than just have anonymous sources on this one for me to believe that there’s something there. "I actually believe the director might have told us that there'd been a request like that, and it was never mentioned by him," Burr said. "So somebody's going to have to do more than have anonymous sources on this one for me to believe that there's something there.

No I am claiming Trump was attempting to influence Comey to let the investigation go. I didn't say influenced, I said influencing. Tenses makes a difference.

Meanwhile there's plenty of hysteria and vitriol to go around — I guess the reason Mr. Hume only mentioned the MSM is because we're all used to hearing this level of apoplectic alarm emanating from the right wing media.

In the conservative media, an alternate story line has already taken shape. In this story, Mr. Comey, an embittered and opportunistic employee whom Mr. Trump fired, is now trying to redeem himself with retroactively released — and unseen — memos of his version of events. On “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday morning, one of the hosts, Brian Kilmeade, expressed disbelief. “If you write it down, does that mean it’s true?” he asked.

It's ridiculous to assume Comey was susceptible to corruption just because Trump believes EVERYBODY has a price.

I like the suggestion that even the slightest doubt about Comey's "version of events" somehow amounts to "hysteria and vitriol" and "apoplectic alarm," eh?