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Newt Gingrich on Monday offered rare, scalding criticism of President Trump, demanding that the president explain the comments he made during his controversial press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the conclusion of their talks in Helsinki. "President Trump must clarify his statements in Helsinki on our intelligence system and Putin," the former House speaker wrote on Twitter. "It is the most serious mistake of his presidency and must be corrected—-immediately." Trump received widespread scorn on Monday after he said at the media availability that he has yet to see any compelling reason why the Kremlin would have interfered...

Anderson Cooper made it very clear how he felt about president Donald Trump's performance during his joint press conference with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. 'You have been watching perhaps one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president at a summit in front of a Russian leader certainly that I've ever seen,' began Cooper in his remarks once the press conference had ended on Monday. Cooper said this in a calm and even voice, delivering it as fact and not an opinion.

Unless I'm missing it, I'm surprised there is no thread for the Trump meeting with Putin. The media (and even some of Trump allies) are going ballistic. Trump said that both sides have contributed to the atmosphere, and while he brought up the meddling, he seemed to be open to Putin's denial and suggestion to allow Mueller to question his people in exchange for them being allowed to question Bill Browder & others. Trump questioned the intelligence agencies with regard to the Clinton investigation, for not getting the server of the DNC, and the bias of people like Strozk. He...

It remains interesting that much of the ridicule aimed at Trump involves things that liberals do as well. Case in point from the Huffington Post: The royal family adheres to a strict code of etiquette and behavior. So when the ever-boisterous President Donald Trump met with Queen Elizabeth II for tea at Windsor Castle on Friday, many expected him to serve up some awkward interactions. Of course, Trump did not disappoint. My goodness – Trump was rude to the queen?  Our leaders should respect the customs and protocols of other nations just as we expect them to respect ours.  What on earth...

All of the major television networks use their primetime entertainment shows to push a pro-gun control agenda. Liberal television executives apparently think that they have the power to change Americans’ attitudes. Not liking guns has been portrayed as cool for a long time. It is an old theme that dates back to the original 1980s MacGyver series, in which the titular character avoids using guns and expresses his aversion to them. This theme has continued with the current remake. But the push to sway public opinion really seems to have picked up. This spring on ABC’s “The Crossing,” the sheriff’s...

Hollywood director Rob Reiner told followers Friday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s latest indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers for hacking during the 2016 campaign makes it “crystal clear that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia in the attack on our Democracy.” Rob Reiner @robreiner It is now crystal clear that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia in the attack on our Democracy. At this point the only way Trump can avoid the consequences of his crimes is to invoke the Moron Defense. “I was too stupid to obstruct or conspire.” VOTE!!! 2:57 PM - Jul 13, 2018

The journalist from US political publication The Nation disrupted the meeting holding a banner that read 'Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty' A journalist has been dragged out of the Trump-Putin press conference by Secret Service agents after protesting over America's use of nuclear weapons. Political journalist and activist Sam Husseini got into a scuffle with security forces in Helskini, Finland, as Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump addressed journalists. Husseini, who writes for The Nation, held up a sign saying 'Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty' as he disrupted the conference just before the two leaders were set to take...

A reporter was forcibly removed from the President Trump and Vladimir Putin presser in Helsinki, Finland Monday morning after he reportedly brought a sign into the meeting. The journalist, identified by CNBC as Sam Husseini, an op-ed reporter with progressive publication The Nation, was initially asked by security to exit the press room, and he obliged, according to CNN. When he was brought back into the room to retrieve his things, he reportedly claimed he got the boot because of a sign that talked about the nuclear test ban treaty. CNBC reports the sign — which read “Nuclear Weapon Ban...

Everyone who works for President Trump: Quit now. Save your souls. Save your honor, such as it is. Save your reputation, such as it remains. Russia attacked our democracy. Trump has demonstrated repeatedly, and did so again with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, that he doesn’t care and won’t defend his country. If you work for this man and you call yourself a patriot, it is time for you to go. This may sound excessive, even irresponsible. Indeed, for months I have agonized over the question of public service in the age of Trump.

TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. President Trump's connections to his favorite TV network, Fox News, got even stronger last week with his appointment of Bill Shine to serve as deputy chief of staff for communications. When Roger Ailes was president of Fox News, Shine served as his vice president and was considered Ailes' enforcer. When Ailes was ousted after several women at Fox alleged he'd sexually harassed them, Shine became co-president of Fox. But then he was forced out for having helped enable a climate of sexual harassment in the Ailes era. Shine was named...

Former U.S. Army Special Forces member Jim Hanson said that the criticism President Trump is facing for meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin is hypocritical to what the Obama administration faced in 2012. Hanson, during an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” specifically called out former President Barack Obama's hot mic incident with then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and the lax media reaction to it. Obama told Medvedev that after the 2012 election, he'd “have more flexibility.”

Put aside whatever suspicions you may have about whether Donald Trump will be directly implicated in the Russia investigation. Trump is right now, before our eyes and those of the world, committing an unbelievable and unforgivable crime against this country. It is his failure to defend. The intelligence community long ago concluded that Russia attacked our election in 2016 with the express intention of damaging Hillary Clinton and assisting Trump. And it was not only the spreading of inflammatory fake news over social media. As a May report from the Republican-run Senate Intelligence Committee pointed out: “In 2016, cyber actors...

**SNIP** The Russia-interference-was-no-big-deal crowd also clings to the fact there’s no evidence of the greatest fear when it comes to election stealing — that hackers accessed electronic voting systems on election night and changed vote totals to hand the contest to Trump. And yet — buried beneath the headlines on Friday’s indictments — were two largely new revelations that dramatically elevated the possibility that Russian meddling wasn’t just morally and criminally wrong but actually went a long way toward snatching victory away from Clinton and handed it to Trump on Election Day. — Hacking of state voter rolls. — The...

Anthea Butler Democrats will lose in 2018 if they don't shut up about civility and shout about our democracy dying Rejoice, Republicans, you will have another majority on your hands, because Democratic messaging for the 2018 election cycle is nonexistent. Harsh? Not even. The unimaginative leaders of the Democratic Party — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez — have been playing nice and talking about the virtues of "civility," while the Republican Party has been accusing Democrats of backing Communism and supporting the violent street gang MS-13. (Trump has...

Mystery as IDENTICAL letters appear in 21 newspapers across 12 states slamming Trump's Supreme Court pick – and they're all signed by different people At least 21 U.S. newspapers ran identical letters to the editor opposing President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh this week Each letter was published with the name of a different 'signer,' claiming Kavanaugh threatens 'everything that we hold dear as a nation' Technique is known as 'astroturfing'; it's unclear who's behind it One editor says the woman who appeared to have emailed him the letter now denies ever sending it Three prominent liberal advocacy groups...

Top Maryland officials have asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to help ensure that the state’s election system is secure after learning that a Russian-backed firm is linked to the Maryland state Board of Elections. Gov. Larry Hogan (R), Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) and House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) sent a joint letter on Friday to Homeland Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen asking for technical assistance to evaluate the network utilized by the state board. Miller and Busch said late Friday during a hastily called news conference in Annapolis that the FBI briefed them...

Coming off a contentious NATO summit and a trip to the U.K. in which he seemed to undercut the government of America's closest ally, President Trump took aim at another Western institution just days before his high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an interview with "CBS Evening News" anchor Jeff Glor in Scotland on Saturday, President Trump named the European Union -- comprising some of America's oldest allies -- when asked to identify his "biggest foe globally right now." "Well, I think we have a lot of foes. I think the European Union is a foe, what they...

LONDON – Thousands of Trump supporters and right-wing activists took to the nation’s capital on Saturday — a day after anti-Trump protesters had dominated the city. While the displays of right-wing support were nowhere near as large as the enormous anti-Trump march that demanded the international media’s attention the day before, it was still a significant show of support for Trump from those eager to counter the claim that Trump had been unanimously rejected by Britons. The day started with a small pro-Trump rally outside the U.S. Embassy, featuring numerous red “MAGA” hats and U.S. and U.K. flags -- as...

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the American presidential election entered the final stretch in 2016, a dozen Russian military intelligence officers were scattered throughout Moscow, unleashing a massive cyber operation to disrupt the vote. That’s according to an indictment issued Friday that says the officers developed malicious computer code known as malware, hacked into Democratic Party computers and silently watched as unknowing staffers typed. The Russians stole the Democrats’ secret files. They took snapshots of their screens. They used fake emails to dupe Hillary Clinton’s staffers into exposing their passwords. And then, the indictment says, the Russians released their stolen information...

A bipartisan pair of senators are calling on the Justice Department to investigate whether Russian intelligence services posed as an Islamic extremist hacker group that sought to harass U.S. military families. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) wrote a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday asking him to investigate whether a hacking group called the “Cyber Caliphate” launched an intimidation campaign against members of military families in 2015. “If substantiated, the claims about APT28 posing as the Cyber Caliphate could be the first public evidence that influence operations have specifically targeted American military families,” Wyden and...