Author: Deb Riechmann
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Senate intel leaders pledge Russia probe cooperation
WASHINGTON — Pledging cooperation, the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee said Wednesday they would steer clear of politics in their panel’s probe of Russian interference in last year’s election. They made a point of putting themselves at arm’s length from the House investigation marked by partisanship and disputes. Richard Burr of…
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Justice Dept. asks for more time on wiretapping evidence
WASHINGTON — Facing a Monday deadline, the Justice Department asked lawmakers for more time to provide evidence backing up President Donald Trump’s unproven assertion that his predecessor wiretapped his New York skyscraper during the election. The request came as the White House appeared to soften Trump’s explosive allegation. The House intelligence committee said it would…
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McCain to Trump: Provide wiretap evidence or retract claim
WASHINGTON — The House intelligence committee is asking the Trump administration for evidence that the phones at Trump Tower were tapped during the campaign as its namesake has charged, a request reinforced Sunday by an influential Republican senator who says the president must either come up with the evidence or retract his claim. “I think…
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Trump says for first time: I think Russia hacked Dems
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump speculated Wednesday that U.S. intelligence agencies might have leaked details about a classified briefing with him that included unsubstantiated allegations that Russia had collected compromising sexual and financial information about him. He said any such information was not true: “It’s all fake news. It’s phony stuff. It didn’t happen.” “I…
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Classified report on Russia, election hacking going to Trump
Max Woodard, 8, takes advantage of a snow day by sledding down a hill behind the Fine Arts Center near Monument Valley Park on Thursday, January 5, 2017. Photo by Stacie Scott, The Gazette STACIE SCOTT
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Trump faces hurdles to reinstating waterboarding
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump backs waterboarding and his pick for CIA director has called those who have done it “patriots” not “torturers.” Yet a Trump administration faces steep legal and legislative hurdles to reinstate the interrogation practice that simulates drowning. Under a law approved last year, all government employees, including intelligence agents, must abide…
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Lawmakers say Edward Snowden is no whistleblower
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save WASHINGTON — A House intelligence committee report is calling National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden a “serial exaggerator and fabricator” who doesn’t fit the profile of a whistleblower. Snowden’s attorney denounced the committee’s report, released…
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New report will fuel debate over closing Guantanamo prison
WASHINGTON — A new report on Guantanamo detainees tells the stories of former al-Qaida bomb makers and bodyguards as well as low-level militant cooks and medics who have been transferred or cleared for release — despite fears they are at risk of returning to battle. Many of the detainees have been held without charge for…
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US concluded in 2010 that Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl walked away
WASHINGTON — A Pentagon investigation concluded in 2010 that Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl walked away from his unit, and after an initial flurry of searching the military decided not to exert extraordinary efforts to rescue him, according to a former senior defense official who was involved in the matter. Instead, the U.S. government pursued negotiations…
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Official: Pentagon probing alleged spy operation
WASHINGTON — A Defense Department official is under investigation for allegedly hiring private contractors to gather intelligence on suspected insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan, a U.S. official said Monday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the case, told The Associated Press that Michael D. Furlong directed a defense contract to…