Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 5-18-18

White House And Political News
Senate Testimony About Trump, Jr.’s Meeting With Russians Released
Donald Trump, Jr. among others tied to President who at- tended the meeting at Trump Towers in June 2016.
Stand-Off Between Trump And North Korea Could Nix Summit
Pres. Donald Trump
gave a nonchalant reaction on Wednesday to the threats by North Korea about the possi- ble cancellation of an upcom- ing summit meeting.
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, threatened to can- cel the meeting, first, by lash- ing out at U. S.-South Korea military drills, saying they could lead to the summit being scrapped. Then, he warned that if the White House re- quired the dismantling of its nuclear arsenal up front, there was little point in talking.
Pres. Trump’s maneuver to praise the N. Korean leader and then slap his hand, by flex- ing his military muscle with South Korea is not sitting well.
The White House is saying it was still “hopeful” the meet- ing will happen — but that Mr. Trump would be fine if it did
President Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un.
not.. “And if it doesn’t, we will continue the maximum pres- sure campaign that has been ongoing.”
White House officials said they were taking North Korea’s latest warnings in stride, in part because Mr. Kim, not Mr. Trump, had sought the meeting.
The meeting is scheduled
for June 12 in Singapore. When Mr. Trump was asked on Wednesday about the prospects for the summit to go off as planned, he was non- committal, telling reporters in the Oval Office, “We’ll have to see.” Mr. Trump said he would still insist on the denu- clearization of the Korean
Peninsula in the talks.
The Senate Judiciary Com- mittee released 2,500 pages of congressional testimony on Wednesday.
The information provides a new window into the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting which Donald Trump Jr. was promised damaging Russian government information about Hillary Clinton — from Na- talia Veselnitskaya, who turned out to be a Kremlin-con- nected lawyer.
The episode has been a cen- terpiece of special counsel Robert S. Mueller, III's in- vestigation of whether there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Some of the key findings were:
1. Trump, Jr. was clearly anxious for dirt on Hillary Clinton.
This is key because Trump, Jr. wasn't completely clear about what he was talking about in the email. His initial explanation of the meeting suggested that it was primarily about adoptions, al- though that explanation quickly
fell apart.
2. Trump, Jr. says Presi-
dent Trump may have person- ally influenced misleading explanations about the meeting.
Trump, Jr. said he didn't know about his father's direct in- volvement and actively discour- aged it, but he said he thinks Trump may have influenced the messaging about the meeting through then-White House com- munications aide Hope Hicks.
3. Trump, Jr. says he does- n't recall whether a key call with a blocked phone number was his father.
Trump, Jr. has said he never told his father about the meeting. But one particular phone call has raised lots of eyebrows.
4. Meeting attendees say no valuable information was pro- vided
It's clear that Trump, Jr. in- tended to get opposition research from Veselnitskaya in the meeting, but part of his defense has long been that he was unsuc- cessful in doing so — that the meeting was a bust.
Fox Pays $10M T0 Settle Race And Gender Lawsuits
The parent company of Fox News has paid approxi- mately $10 million to settle 18 lawsuits filed by former employees.
The cases arose from in- tense scrutiny of Fox's work- place culture after it was convulsed by a sexual harass- ment scandal.
The cases primarily in- volved allegations of racial discrimination against the
Kelly Wright was among some of the Black employees at Fox News who filed suit.
network, along with several gender bias and retaliation claims.
Parent 21st Century Fox and the plaintiffs' attorneys at the law firm Wigdor LLP settled the cases after rounds of mediation and negotia- tions. Both sides released a brief joint statement an- nouncing the deal, though terms and details were not disclosed.
Coroner Rules Black Man’s Death At Hands Of Police A ‘Homicide’
NEW ORLEANS, LA — A coroner has ruled the death of 22-year-old Keeven Robin- son, a black man, while in the custody of four white police offi- cers, a homicide.
According to reports, Robinson’s death was caused by “significant” trauma to his neck consistent with compres- sional asphyxia, Dr. Gerry Cvi- tanovich said in a press conference Monday (May 14) Cvitanovich also said he deliv- ered the news to Robinson’s mother prior to informing the press, “At this point, the man- ner of death is homicide.”
Cvitanovich explained the forensic definition of murder as “death caused by the actions of another,” but the doctor also de- tailed homicide doesn’t indicate criminality, which means the de- tectives may not be charged.
Robinson was taken into custody by police from New Or- leans’ Jefferson’s Parish on sus- picion he was selling drugs. Robinson reportedly tried to get away in his car, but crashed. He attempted to run on foot and hopped over several fences be- fore being captured by law en- forcement.
Keeven Robinson, 22, was choked to death by officers.
Reportedly during the strug- gle, Robinson stopped breath- ing. Officers took him to Oschner Medical Center but doctors were unable to revive him.
“We know at that moment [de- tectives] used force during that arrest in order to make the ar- rest, an effective arrest after a pursuit and after a foot chase,” Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said at the Monday press conference.
When asked if the cops in- volved used a chokehold, Joseph said he wasn’t aware. He also noted police are “not trained” to use the chokehold on suspects, but aren’t “forbidden from doing that.”
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