Repost from DeSmog Blog
[I highly recommend the DeSmog News & Alerts. Sign up here. – R.S.]
News & Alerts – Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science
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Monthly Archives: January 2019
Former chief of FBI Counterintelligence: Trump a ‘clear and present danger’
Reprint from RawStory.com
[Editor: Incredible 6-minute interview at the end of this story! Be sure to watch! Note that Laufman is calling on ALL OF US to speak out now. – R.S.]
Trump ‘is a clear and present danger’ to national security’: Ex-DOJ counterintelligence head
By BOB BRIGHAM, 14 JAN 2019 AT 22:15 ET
SNBC anchor Rachel Maddow brought the former chief of the Justice Department’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section to discuss the latest revelations in scandals involving Russia swirling around President Donald Trump.
David Laufman served as a federal prosecutor and ran the D.O.J.’s counterintelligence division at the time the FBI, according to a New York Times report, began a counterintelligence investigation into President Trump.
Maddow noted a tweet by Laufman, which she said, “sent a shiver down my spine.”
Now is the time for all good men (and women) to come to the aid of their country https://t.co/CHkIZnocW6
— Law Offices of David H. Laufman, PLLC (@DavidLaufmanLaw) January 13, 2019
“It was a tipping point, among the data points we’re familiar with through the public actions of the special counsel, other investigative reporting,” he explained. “I spent 25 years in public service, mostly in the national security space and I feel I have a moral obligation to speak up when I see action taken by the president or the members of the administration that in my judgment undermine the national security of the United States.”
“The notion that the president of the United States would be trying to conceal details of conversations with a leader of our principle foreign adversary was positively chilling,” he continued.
“When you describe the president as acting in a way that is counter to the national security interest of the United States, those of us who don’t think of this in legalistic terms, those of us who are civilians trying to make sense of this moment in history and thinking about our own responsibility which you’re calling us to think about here, do you mean in blunt terms that the continuing existence of this presidency is a threat to the national security of the United States?” Maddow asked. “Do you think the president is that kind of a threat?”
“I think there’s a culmination of things we can point to in the public record now, the unbelievable acquiescence to Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, that was positively shocking to those of us who worked in the national security, all of the charging documents, people associated with the president, all of those point to a reasonable inference — and it’s a painful anguishing thing to acknowledge — that the president of the United States is a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States,” he concluded.
Watch:
KQED: Big Oil, Small Town: Valero’s Election Influence in Benicia’s Politics
Repost from KQED NEWS Public Radio
[Editor: This is a GREAT audio report. Only 12 minutes – well worth the time! – R.S.]
Big Oil, Small Town: Valero’s Election Influence in Benicia’s Politics
Valero spent $200,000 in last year’s Benicia city council election to help elect two candidates who were less critical of the company than others. That’s created tension between the oil refiner and the city, leading people to question how much influence Valero should have in local politics. On Tuesday Benicia will discuss the possibility of new campaign finance laws that could limit corporate influence in its small town.
For the audio interview, go to kqed.org/news/11717774/big-oil-small-town-valeros-election-influence-in-benicias-politics
Guest: Ted Goldberg, KQED News Editor
Mayor’s thoughts for Council consideration on public campaign financing, etc.
From an E-Alert by Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson
Council meeting: …dark money
By Elizabeth Patterson, January 12, 2019The city council meeting agenda and packet with staff reports and recommendations are available on-line here. Items of interest include:
[excerpt…] The second item of interest for consideration is Council Member Campbell’s two-step process request to consider updates to the city’s campaign ordinances.
Staff is recommending the council provide direction on whether the Santa Clara model and any other proposed updates should be considered and whether updates should be discussed and reviewed by an ad hoc group or by the Open Government Commission prior to consideration by the Council.
Other ideas that can be considered are:
- “Public Campaign Financing Won Big on Tuesday”:That was one of the headlines after last year’s elections that nationally had the highest turnout for 50 years. Voters overwhelmingly passed Fair Elections matching funds systems in Denver, Colorado with 69% of the vote, in Baltimore, Maryland with 76% of the vote, and in New York City with 72%. Great news in the fight to get politicians out of the Big Money fundraising game!
To what extent can cities utilize this strategy? For instance, some cities have adopted ordinances for candidates who pledge voluntary campaign expenditures limits but the candidate is targeted by an outside committee known as PACs spending nearly ten times what a candidate can spend. So the city provides public funds to supplement the targeted candidate not equal to what is being spent by the PAC but helpful.
Common Cause discusses public financing in this booklet.
- When we set up the Open Government Commission, the first batch of applicants had many great ideas – many of which have been adopted – but not including having a city website similar to the City of Livermore for guidance on how to be a “smart voter”. While the League of Women Voters does this and other organization, it may make sense to have the resources available on a city webpage.
- Another concept is “participatory-budgeting” government which engages the public in decision making. Why this idea is included in a discussion about campaigning is that a more engaged public is a more informed public. At the end of the day, that is the goal so that voter decisions are based on information and not fear or “bad for Benicia” speak. Some ideas to blend the public financing and “participatory” government could be explored further upon council direction.