Editor’s Note: Samantha Vinograd, a CNN national security analyst, served on the National Security Council during President Barack Obama’s administration from 2009 to 2013. Follow her @sam_vinograd. The views expressed in this commentary are her own. The Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats on Tuesday was like the Super Bowl for national security wonks. The best players were on the field and it seemed like the whole world was watching. National security experts from around the world – not to mention world leaders and foreign intelligence services – were tuned into the public hearing to get a taste of what key members of the US intelligence community say are the biggest worldwide threats facing our country. The director of National Intelligence, and the directors of the CIA, FBI, Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency put great time and effort into preparing written testimony and answering senators’ questions. The briefing followed the pattern of past hearings, highlighting strategic threats and some tactical ones, with an expected focus on the White House’s abuse of the security clearance system and the Trump administration’s attacks on the FBI. Undoubtedly, many observers walked away from the briefing thirsting for more answers, but the most pressing question was this: Was President Trump listening? To really listen, he’d have to get the message that nothing on Russia has changed – and that’s the problem. From cyberthreats to WMD and terrorism, there’s a lot of ground to cover in these briefings, and members of the committee rightfully used the majority of their time to question witnesses primarily about Russian interference in our 2016 election, ongoing information warfare campaigns and their intent and capability to interfere in elections going forward. The level of danger posed by Russia – and Russia’s ability to strategically destroy the foundations of our democracy – monopolized the hearing because it should be monopolizing our policy focus and response. But there’s no news in that: The intelligence community has agreed, at least since it published its public intelligence assessment in January 2017, that Russia interfered in the 2016 election and intends to do so again. The committee has assessed, since at least June, that Russia is engaged in an ongoing psychological and cyberoperations campaign to influence, confuse and demoralize its intended audience. It’s important that the American people heard these unanimous assessments again on Tuesday, but, again, was President Trump paying attention? Related video FBI: Porter background check done in July 2017 Director of National intelligence Dan Coats indicated that no single agency is currently in charge of coordinating a response to Russian election meddling. I served on the White House National Security Council for four years and this is typically what NSCs do – they coordinate interagency policy development and responses. In December, the Washington Post reported that the President hadn’t held a single cabinet-level meeting on Russia and that he doesn’t like Russia analysis to come his way. So as valuable as the intelligence community’s assessments are (and hopefully they keep sounding the alarm bells publicly and privately), they don’t fulfill their full purpose unless used to craft policy responses. In the case of Russia, that would mean doing what the NSC is supposed to do, developing a plan to protect our election infrastructure, to work with tech companies to have better defenses against cyberoperations and bots and trolls and more. There’s not much reason, based on the President’s previous disregard for intelligence analysis of the Russia threat, to think this time will be different, but let’s all hope the President has finally started to listen. There are also a lot of other strategic priorities to focus on, from domestic issues (Coats referenced our fractious political process) to global concerns like North Korea and China. Coats responded to some important questions on Kim Jong Un’s motivations, sharing the intelligence community’s assessment that Kim Jong Un will not give up his nuclear weapons. In light of Vice President Mike Pence’s recent statements that the US is open to diplomatic talks with North Korea if they denuclearize, there seems to be a miscommunication here – at best. If Pence knew or believed that his intelligence agencies don’t think Kim will denuclearize, why would he indicate an opening to talks if and when they do? Coats made US policy on North Korea look disorganized (again) and exposed the fact that we just don’t have good intelligence on Kim and his cohorts. This is one of the risks of these public briefings – the world, including malign actors, get insights into our vulnerabilities. Related video Sources: 30-40 WH officials lack full security clearance Another significant element of Tuesday’s briefing was its shift in tone on the government’s relationship with the tech sector. Google, Twitter and Facebook have been the focus of a lot of congressional scrutiny over the last year, as details of Russia’s manipulation of digital platforms came to light. Twitter has announced 1.4 million users may have been exposed to content in the run up to the 2016 election (a number that keeps getting revised upward), with Facebook reporting 126 million. This is probably the tip of the spear. To date, the discussion between big tech companies and Capitol Hill has been strained at best with lawmakers putting the onus on tech companies to do better, to identify and flag Russian content, and more. Today’s hearing had a different tone. FBI director Christopher Wray talked about the need to build partnerships with the tech community (DHS Secretary Nielson is actually in Silicon Valley this week) – and that may be an opening for a more productive conversation between the two sectors. Tech companies have advanced machine learning tools they can apply to tracking Russian activity and the public sector has more intelligence and information about the full threat picture. A final takeaway from the briefing is that the system operating between the White House and the intelligence community is broken when it comes to the security clearance and classification process. Historically, the intelligence community provides appropriately cleared individuals with access to sensitive information. On Tuesday, Wray outlined how he had voiced concerns over ousted White House staffer Rob Porter’s clearance because of documented accusations of domestic abuse, completed an investigation as a result and briefed the White House. Wray’s comments – and the allegations that have come to light about Porter – suggest that the White House, again, disregarded intelligence community guidance. Sign up for CNN Opinion’s new newsletter.Join us on Twitter and Facebook There’s been a lot of misinformation coming out of the White House since the Porter news broke. Deputy press secretary Raj Shah and press secretary Sarah Sanders have thrown a lot of red herrings out there to distract away from the fact that we had a systemic breakdown in the clearance system: interim clearances, like the one Porter used to work in the White House for over a year, are not supposed to be open-ended. And Wray’s comments to the committee indicate that the interim clearance probably should have been revoked.  The FBI’s investigation into Porter raised red flags, and yet the White House decided to keep Porter on. That’s unprecedented and dangerous. It’s like inviting foreign intelligence into the White House – Porter was a major blackmail risk because he allegedly held secrets of domestic abuse. A he said-she said between the White House and the FBI will likely ensue and continue, in the briefing room and on the President’s Twitter feed. Let’s just be clear-eyed about one thing: These contradictions help Russia and hurt the US. The internal finger-pointing confuses the American public and undermines confidence in our clearance systems and our institutions. That’s exactly what Vladimir Putin wants. Are you listening, Mr. President?


NEW: Source: Ethan Couch has been transferred to an immigration holding facility in Mexico City Mexican authorities say Tonya Couch is en route to Los Angeles Officials say legal proceedings for Ethan Couch in Mexico could take weeks or months While her son’s attorneys filed paperwork to block Mexican authorities from deporting him, the mother of “affluenza teen” Ethan Couch left Mexico Wednesday and was on the way to Los Angeles, Mexican government sources said. Texas prosecutors have said Tonya Couch will be charged with hindering the apprehension of a juvenile, and if convicted, faces between two and 10 years in jail. A Mexican immigration official with knowledge of the case said Ethan Couch’s attorneys had filed a writ to seek protection and block his deportation. If the teen confirms his wish to go forward with that approach, the case would go to trial, and proceedings could take months, the official said. “At this time we do not have a time frame. We do not know if the Mexicans have the highest priority on this case like we do here in America,” Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Richard Hunter told reporters Wednesday. “It’s on their time schedule. We’ve seen these things happen as quickly as two weeks to two months.” The law caught up with Ethan Couch, 18, and his mother in Mexico on Monday after the pair went missing earlier this month. He was on probation for killing four people in a drunk driving accident in 2013, when he was 16. At the time, many were outraged that a judge sentenced him to probation instead of jail time, slamming his now-notorious “affluenza” defense. Even if a Mexican immigration court does decide to send Couch back to the United States, he might not face much time behind bars. Violating his probation by fleeing to Mexico may earn Couch a maximum of 120 days in jail, said Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson. Anderson told CNN Wednesday that the punishment, which he considers lenient, is infuriating. “He doesn’t believe the rules apply to him, he doesn’t believe the laws apply to him,” the sheriff said. Related video Fugitive 'affluenza' teen captured in Mexico Opinion: Ethan Couch recklessly abused court’s trust What kind of justice Couch could face this time will depend on whether he is treated as an adult or a juvenile for his alleged probation violation. Prosecutors want to see Couch in an adult court, but because the alleged violation happened in the juvenile system, Couch effectively would start with a clean slate in the adult probation system. As a result, the adult court judge could not punish Couch for violations he committed as a juvenile. The maximum he could get would be 120 days. But if he is treated as a juvenile, the sentence would be lighter, Wilson said. Anderson said he supports the district attorney’s request to transfer Couch’s sentence from the juvenile system to the adult court system.  Even if the time behind bars is short, the requirements for probation as an adult are much more strict than for juveniles, he added. Related video Sheriff: 'Affluenza' teen, mom had 'going away party' Though he’s an adult now, Couch was 16 when he was sentenced for the original crime. If he is punished for a violation in the juvenile probation system, that would have him in jail until his 19th birthday on April 11, 2016, about 102 days. But moving Couch to the adult system holds a potential advantage for prosecutors. If he ends up on adult probation and violates that, he could land in jail for up to 40 years, Wilson said. He also could get more time on top of that, if he is convicted of new crimes as an adult. The cure for ‘affluenza’ is prison Outrage, but not surprise over ‘affluenza’ teen on the lam It wasn’t so much Ethan Couch’s original crime that drew the nation’s ire as it was the punishment doled out for it. In June 2013, Ethan Couch plowed into a stranded motorist and three people who were helping her. All four were killed. Two people riding in the bed of the teen’s pickup were tossed in the crash and severely injured. One is no longer able to move or talk because of a brain injury, while the other suffered internal injuries and broken bones. Three hours after the crash, tests showed Couch had a blood alcohol content of 0.24, three times the legal limit, prosecutors said. Prosecutors wanted to see Couch behind bars for 20 years, but instead he was sentenced to probation and rehab. During the trial, a psychologist testified that Couch suffered from “affluenza” – he was the product of wealthy, privileged parents who never set limits for the boy. Opinion: All the injustice money can buy The sentence and that term triggered widespread outrage, and the Couches’ alleged fleeing has drawn attention back to his case. In mid-December a warrant was issued for Couch to be taken into custody after his probation officer couldn’t reach him. He appeared to have dropped off the radar after a video emerged that allegedly showed him at a party where alcohol was consumed. Couch had been ordered to stay away from drugs and alcohol for the duration of his probation. The U.S. Marshals Service tracked Couch to Mexico using electronic surveillance, including tracking a cell phone believed to be linked to him, an official briefed on the investigation told CNN. The Marshals Service alerted Mexican authorities, who detained Couch and his mother, the official said. They were found in an apartment in the Pacific resort city of Puerto Vallarta, and Couch had changed his look. His normally reddish blond hair and goatee were dyed a dark color. It’s unlikely the pair had gone to Mexico for a vacation, said the sheriff, Anderson. “I don’t think you go on a vacation and disappear, and don’t tell anybody, and cut your hair and dye your hair, and hide out in a shabby apartment in a resort town. … They fought so hard to keep him out of trouble when he killed four innocent people drinking three times the legal limit of alcohol, there’s no doubt in my mind that when the video came out that showed him at that party and he was facing a possible revocation of probation, they made a conscious decision to run, and they did,” Anderson said. The pair entered Mexico as tourists and exceeded their allowed length of stay. When captured, they were turned over to the custody of immigration authorities in Puerto Vallarta. Tuesday, a representative in Jalisco state for Mexico’s National Institute of Immigration said the Couches would be “deported voluntarily.” “Their wish is to return to the state of Texas. This is what they have requested,” Ricardo Vera said. Since then, Ethan Couch apparently changed his mind. He was moved Wednesday to an immigration holding facility in Mexico City where he will be held during his legal proceedings there, a Mexican government source said. Families of the people killed by Couch were relieved the teen and his mother were captured, attorney Todd Clement said. “I think it’s particularly satisfying to families that, indeed, it appears that his mother, Tonya, may have committed a crime and may finally be held accountable as well,” he said. Related video Victims' attorney: Ethan Couch case 'bad for society' Kevin McConnell, whose son Lucas – 12 years old at the time – was injured in the crash caused by Couch, was happy at the news of the detentions, but confounded, too. “Oddly enough, my first reaction was, ‘Really? Puerto Vallarta?’” McConnell told CNN’s New Day Wednesday. Of all the places to hide, McConnell said, the popular resort town seemed like the latest in a string of bad decisions made by mother and son. Brain-injured teen receives $2 million in ‘affluenza’ case CNN’s Catherine E. Shoichet, Ed Lavandera, Mayra Cuevas, Fidel Gutierrez, Ana Melgar, Evan Perez and Roxanne Garcia contributed to this report.


The three-judge panel is weighing arguments on whether to extend the temporary restraining order on Trump's travel ban "If the U.S. does not win this case as it so obviously should, we can never have the security and safety to which we are entitled. Politics!" Trump tweeted. The challenge to President Donald Trump’s refugee order has escalated toward an epic showdown over presidential power, judicial authority and American identity. By their questions in a hearing Tuesday, three US appeals court judges made plain that even at this early procedural stage they are concerned about the administration’s potential targeting of Muslims along with possible risks to national security. The judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals also expressed unease with how quickly they were being pressed to consider looming dilemmas of refugee policy with no lower court hearings yet on both sides’ evidence. Related article Travel ban hearing: Fiery judges put lawyers on their heels “Courts must act fast!” Trump tweeted late Monday, as he warned about “a threat from radical Islamic terrorism.” Trump’s natural impatience conflicts with the usual tendencies of the federal judiciary, which even in dangerous times attempts, as Chief Justice John Roberts has observed, “calmly to poise the scales of justice.” Trump’s January 27 order suspending refugee admissions for at least 120 days and barring people from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the US for at least 90 days, has engendered more public protest and litigation than any of Trump’s policy moves or Cabinet appointments to date. More than anything else, it cuts to the core of the nation’s character. Related article Law is on DOJ's side in court showdown Among the “friend of the court” briefs filed ahead of the Ninth Circuit hearing was one from technology companies that addressed lost talent and revenue related to the ban but first highlighted America’s reputation as a nation that welcomed immigrants. “A quarter of us have at least one parent who was born outside the country,” it said, referring to population statistics. “Close to half of us have a grandparent born somewhere else. Nearly all of us trace our lineage to another country.” The order also raises concerns that the nation would favor Christians over Muslims. The directive gives priority to refugee claims based on religious persecution but only “if the religion of the individual is a minority religion” in his home country. Given the list of countries targeted, the challengers say, that provision discriminates against Muslims. In the administration’s written filings and during arguments Tuesday, the federal government argued that the order was neutral with respect to religion and rightly focused on countries that have been breeding grounds for terrorism. While trial judges across the country have been reviewing claims that the order exceeds the president’s statutory and constitutional power, Tuesday’s hearing marked the first time a federal appeals court took up a piece of the controversy. Related article Homeland chief: 'Thousands' of Syrian fighters could reach US It heard the Trump administration’s appeal of US District Court Judge James Robart’s order in a case brought by officials in Washington state and Minnesota preventing enforcement of the travel ban while litigation is underway. Trump condemned Robart, referring to him as a “so-called judge” and deeming his ruling “ridiculous.” Wednesday morning, he insisted the government must win the case. “If the U.S. does not win this case as it so obviously should, we can never have the security and safety to which we are entitled. Politics!” Trump tweeted. If the U.S. does not win this case as it so obviously should, we can never have the security and safety to which we are entitled. Politics! Appeals court judges expressed doubts about the government’s terrorism claims but also pressed Washington state Solicitor General Noah Purcell about the broad reach of the order. They questioned whether to consider comments by Trump during the presidential campaign, such as the promise of “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” The Washington and Minnesota lawyers say judges should look to such statements and “distinguish a sham” purpose from a sincere one. Trump administration lawyers counter that the order can only be read on its face. They stress overall that judges “are particularly ill equipped to second guess” the President on security risks. Related article Trumpolicy: Day 19 If the administration loses at this stage, it is likely to appeal to the Supreme Court for reinstatement of the ban. But at this early point, with the Supreme Court still down a justice from last year’s death of Antonin Scalia, it might be disinclined to take up the matter. The current bench is divided 4-to-4 along ideological and political lines. Trump’s nominated successor to Scalia, US Appeals Court Judge Neil Gorsuch, is unlikely to be on the bench before late spring. How Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ comments can hurt his travel ban case Still many more chapters could unfold in the dispute already raising comparisons to past legal clashes over presidential power at times of war and national crisis. For the challengers, the dispute particularly recalls the 1944 case of Korematsu v. United States, in which the Supreme Court upheld a World War II executive order moving Japanese-American citizens into detention camps. Related article Showdown on Trump ban in 140 characters Since regarded as an egregious infringement on civil rights and one of the high court’s worst decisions ever, Korematsu often emerges at judicial confirmation hearings. During Chief Justice John Roberts’ 2005 confirmation hearings, Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, asked whether Roberts would be a “Korematsu justice” and allow individuals to be targeted based on nationality or religion. Roberts responded that the government was unlikely to resort ever again to such internment camps, yet also emphasized the need for constitutional vigilance when national security is under threat. Roberts told senators he was reminded of a judicial motto tracing to the 1807 treason trial of Aaron Burr, that a judge’s obligation even in dangerous times is “calmly to poise the scales of justice.”


Editor’s Note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is the host of SiriusXM’s radio’s daily program “The Dean Obeidallah Show” and a columnist for The Daily Beast. Follow him @deanofcomedy. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his. For more on humor, watch CNN’s “The History of Comedy” Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Dean Obeidallah: On Saturday, "Saturday Night Live" wrapped its best season in its 42-year history The comedy show went beyond being a form of satirical news -- it became the news, writes Obeidallah “Saturday Night Live’s” season finale opened with Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump, singing the classic Leonard Cohen song, “Hallelujah.” I bet the real Trump was also saying “hallelujah” as this show’s season came to a close. While millions of Americans will miss “SNL” when it goes on summer hiatus, Donald “President for now” Trump (as “SNL” dubbed him last night) and his supporters must be ecstatic the show is going on break. This was very possibly “SNL’s” best season in its 42-year history, and for two reasons. First, its political comedy went beyond simply being a form of satirical news – it became the news. “SNL” made headlines with its season opener on October 1, 2016, when America met Baldwin as Trump in a parody of the first presidential debate. (Can you believe that was only seven months ago?!) The “SNL” debate sketches that followed seemed to be as anticipated and discussed as the actual debates themselves. Kate McKinnon’s superb Hillary Clinton impression, together with Baldwin’s Trump, was a “yuge” hit. As a result, “SNL” saw its ratings skyrocket and will end this season with its highest TV ratings in nearly 25 years. But beyond TV ratings, “SNL” was everywhere – thanks to social media. Countless clips from this season’s sketches went viral, from Melissa McCarthy’s hilarious Sean Spicer impressions to the envelope-pushing commercial parody about Ivanka’s new perfume, “Complicit,” to Steve Bannon as the Grim Reaper dictating what Trump should do as president. But “SNL’s” season was also newsworthy for another reason. The show got under Trump’s thin skin and caused him to lash out. One of the most alarming moments came in October when Trump jaw-droppingly called for “SNL” to be canceled because, as he tweeted, the show was “unfunny” and part of the “media rigging election!” Related article In Trump's America, comedians lead the resistance Think about that for a moment – the GOP presidential nominee was calling for a comedy show to be canceled because he didn’t like the way it was mocking him. No wonder Trump admires autocratic leaders like Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who effectively banned Egypt’s version of “The Daily Show” because he didn’t like the way it portrayed him. Bassem Youseff, the show’s star comedian, was subsequently forced to flee Cairo and go into exile. Even as President-elect, Trump continued to attack “SNL” – and not just on Twitter. In December, only a month before being sworn in as the 45th President, there was Trump on the “Today” show telling Matt Lauer that the show was “terrible” and Baldwin’s impression was “mean spirited.”  He even somewhat menacingly added, “who knows how long that show is going to be on.” ‘SNL’ just had its biggest season in 23 years. Now what? I worked at “SNL” for eight seasons, from the end of Bill Clinton’s presidency through most of George W. Bush’s time in office. “SNL” comically fileted these two presidents weekly.  The sketches about Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal were especially cutting. But neither Clinton nor Bush publicly whined that “SNL’s” comedy was biased or unfair. Thankfully “SNL,” under the leadership of longtime producer Lorne Michaels, didn’t back down.  Even in last night’s episode, which was light on political sketches, “Weekend Update” anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che served up some great jokes about Trump. One of the best was Jost noting that Trump denied telling then-FBI Director James Comey to stop the investigation into Michael Flynn. Jost quipped, “This sets up a real dilemma.  Who are you going to believe? The head of the FBI, or the guy who’s definitely lying?” Sign up for CNN Opinion’s new newsletter.Join us on Twitter and Facebook So for now Trump can breathe a sigh of relief. But before he gets too relaxed, “SNL” recently announced it will air four live prime-time “Weekend Update” specials in August that will feature some cast members. It looks like Trump’s break from “SNL” may be ending right as the special counsel’s investigation into the Trump’s campaign possible collusion with Russia is heating up. That’s horrible for Trump, but it’s great for “Saturday Night Live.”


Thousands of miners are suing mining firms over exposure to silicosis Silicosis is an incurable lung condition that affects gold miners in southern Africa It's the biggest class action lawsuit in South African history and involves most of the gold mining industry The most striking thing about Joseph Mothibedi is his voice – it is raspy, a metallic whisper. It’s the sound of a man slowly dying. His thin fingers trembling, Mothibedi leans over his simple hot plate and puts a tea kettle on the boil. The 58-year-old former gold miner looks reduced in his old blue work shirt. It hangs off his bony shoulders as he spreads margarine on a slice of white bread for afternoon tea. He slowly sips it in his barren brick house near an old mine-dump. “Just listen to my voice,” he says, “I have problems with my lungs. I can’t even walk fast or far. It is very hard for me.” Mothibedi is stricken with silicosis, an incurable lung condition that affects gold miners in southern Africa. Silicosis develops over long periods of time. Fine silica dust lodges deep inside miners’ lungs as they extract gold, day after day, year after year. As the silica particles accumulate, lung function becomes severely limited. The miners have shortness of breath, lose weight, become prone to heart disease and, in the most severe cases, an early death. Several studies estimate that there are at least two hundred thousand current and former miners in the region suffering from the disease. Researchers have called it a pandemic. On Friday, thousands of gold miners were given the go ahead to proceed with their landmark class action suit – the biggest in South Africa’s history – against mining firms. South Gauteng High Court Judge Phineas Mojapelo ruled that there is “sufficient common action to satisfy a class action.” “Almost the entire gold mining industry is involved in this case. The scope and magnitude of the proposed silicosis case is unprecedented,” said Mojapelo. The suit, in part backed by prominent U.S. litigation firm Motley Rice, alleges that the companies should have known the harmful effects of silica dust in their mines and didn’t do enough to stop it. The South African Chamber of Mines, which counts several of the defendants in the suit as its members, told CNN that the companies have been working to improve dust management and eliminate silicosis risks and are offering to set up a medical fund for the plaintiffs in the case. “The companies are all defending themselves in the class action. However, they do recognize that silicosis is a significant legacy issue,” says Alan Fine, a spokesman for the industry group. Why the wealth of Africa does not make Africans wealthy But Doctor Rhett Kahn doubts the sincerity of those companies. He has treated silicosis patients for decades. “The companies don’t care about the miners, their dust levels are high. I believe they are illegally high,” Kahn says. “In a country that is supposed to be the democratic flagship of the world, this is totally unacceptable.” Kahn and his wife Janet run a small general practice clinic in Welkom, a somewhat faded mining town that was once a thriving center of the gold industry that is long past its boom years. Miners, many too sick to work, come to Kahn’s busy practice from around Welkom, but also from neighboring Mozambique and Lesotho to get help.  Janet guides them through the maze of medical paperwork. Rhett says they sometimes wait here for days. The history of gold mining in South Africa is one of riches and neglect. The veins of gold found in the Witwatersrand in the late 1800s sparked a gold rush that transformed the country’s largely agricultural economy into an industrial powerhouse. In 1970, more than 20 percent of South Africa’s GDP depended on the mining sector, including gold. Lately, its importance is much diminished. The foundation of South Africa’s wealth was built on the backs of black miners. Mining industry segregation was a crucial element in the racist policies that culminated in decades of apartheid rule. Despite the risks, millions of black migrant workers from rural South Africa and neighboring states flooded the mines as cheap labor. Until 1993, white miners were paid substantially higher compensation for silicosis-related illnesses. According to researchers like Jock McCulloch, silicosis rates were vastly underestimated among black miners for decades. McCulloch and other researchers say that the rates haven’t got any better since apartheid ended more than twenty years ago. “It’s as bad as it was during apartheid,” says Kahn. South Africa’s mining magnate Miners with proven silicosis can apply for compensation from a government fund – but many die before the complicated paperwork is complete. Mothibedi says he got a one-time payment of around 5,000 dollars in 2008. It was meant to last him a lifetime. Now, he depends on disability grants. When Mothibedi grew up in nearby Lesotho, he saw the mines as the only opportunity to further himself. “When I started to work in the mines I wanted to just make money and go back to school and study,” he says. “But when I started seeing people making money I thought I could save money and start my own business.” He slowly moved up to one of the few more senior jobs at the mines that black miners could hope to get during apartheid, all the while sucking in the dust that that would ruin his lungs. Silicosis put an end to Mothibedi’s dreams. “I feel helpless. This sickness has destroyed everything in my life,” he says. MORE: Is this the world’s worst job?


Russian hackers are being blamed for interfering in the US election The Kremlin denies any Russian state involvement in hacking Some analysts say they fear the Internet is being used to undermine democracy Russian hackers have already scored key goals in their apparent bid to disrupt the US presidential election, according to researchers monitoring the closely fought political campaign. Allegations of dumping sensitive data, infiltrating official servers, manipulating online blogs and even hacking voter records, say analysts, have fueled concerns Moscow is trying to influence the election outcome. Related article Russian intelligence agencies behind US election hacks, lawmakers say “Anything that undermines the legitimacy of the electoral process is bad news for democracy,” said professor John Naughton, co-director of the Technology and Democracy Project at Cambridge University in the UK. “Even the idea of Russian involvement could be seen by some as confirmation that the election is flawed,” he told CNN. The Kremlin categorically denies any Russian state involvement in hacking. Hacking groups linked with different wings of the powerful Russian intelligence services – code-named Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear – were detected inside a Democratic Party server earlier this year, according to CrowdStrike, the US Internet security firm hired to investigate the theft of thousands of emails. Some of the emails, later released online, contained embarrassing details of the Democratic Party’s inner workings, including correspondence revealing how opposed some party officials were to Hillary Clinton’s rival, Bernie Sanders. Related article How Russian hacking has tied US government in knots The damaging revelations eventually forced Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz to step down as Democratic National Committee chair in what could be an unprecedented example of the Kremlin not covertly, but directly, intervening in US politics. A joint statement from the Office of the US Director of National Intelligence and Department of Homeland Security pinned blame for the hacking on the Russian leadership. “We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorized these activities,” the statement read. Just how deep does the alleged Russian penetration go remains the subject of an FBI investigation. But allegations have surfaced of Russian hackers attempting to access US voter records, of trying to sabotage the physical ballot and of unleashing its troll army – Internet bloggers paid by the Kremlin to spread false information online – in support of Republican nominee Donald Trump. Related video Trump: 'I know nothing about Russia' Both Trump and the Kremlin deny any links to hacking or to each other, but the issue again surfaced in the second US presidential debate on Sunday. “We have never in the history of our country been in a situation where an adversary, a foreign power, is working so hard to influence the outcome of the election,” said Clinton, the Democratic Party nominee, during a heated exchange in the debate. “And believe me, they are not doing it to get me elected. They are doing it to influence the election for Donald Trump.” Suspicions have been fueled by the tightly controlled Russian media, which have made no secret of their preference for a Trump presidency. Whatever the truth, the Putin factor has emerged as a key issue in the US presidential campaign and that in itself may be interpreted as a victory by the Kremlin. Related video Russia gives Trump good press President Vladimir Putin has long sought to cast Russia as a powerful force on the international stage, able to influence events and make its views heard. Researchers say the idea that Russia is thought of as being powerful enough to influence a US election may be satisfying to a leader like Putin. The issue of US electoral intervention also raises broader, much darker concerns – that go way beyond Russia – about the way the Internet can now be used not just to promote democracy but also to undermine it. “Only now are we beginning to see the long-term impact of the technology,” Naughton warned. “We are beginning to find out what the Internet really means.”


NEW: Omar Khadr is released Thursday on bail while he appeals conviction, group tweets Canadian public safety minister says Khadr hasn't changed his ideology In plea deal, Khadr admitted to throwing grenade in firefight that killed Army medic Former Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr, who’s serving a prison sentence in Canada for murdering an American soldier, won a court ruling that will release him on bail while he appeals his conviction, the Alberta Court of Appeal said Thursday. Justice Myra Bielby ruled that Khadr – who pleaded guilty to murder, attempted murder, providing material support for terrorism, spying and conspiracy – can be released because, she said, “there was no clear evidence there would be irreparable harm if he was released.” Under a plea deal with U.S. military prosecutors in October 2010, Khadr admitted to throwing a grenade during a 2002 firefight in Afghanistan that killed Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer, a member of a U.S. Army Special Forces unit. Khadr agreed to the plea deal under the condition that he would serve most of the sentence in Canada, his attorneys said. As part of the deal, Khadr received an eight-year sentence with no credit for time served. Dennis said: "After you Omar, please open the door". For first time in 13 years. He is FREE to do so. #Khadr #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/fQSk186BU2 Parliament member Steven Blaney, who also is minister of public safety and emergency preparedness, criticized the judge’s decision. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government opposed Khadr’s release, saying the convict remains a danger. “We are disappointed with today’s decision, and regret that a convicted terrorist has been allowed back into Canadian society without having served his full sentence,” Blaney said in a statement. “Omar Khadr pleaded guilty to heinous crimes, including the murder of American Army medic Sgt. Christopher Speer,” Blaney said. “By his own admission, as reported in the media, his ideology has not changed.” 1/2 We regret that a convicted terrorist has been allowed back into Canadian society without having served his full sentence 2/2 We are disappointed with the decision. Our Thoughts and prayers are with the family of Sgt Christopher Speer during this difficult time Supporters of Khadr praised the ruling, calling it a victory for human rights, according to the website Free Omar Khadr Now. The group said Khadr had written a letter to it, saying he will stay in Edmonton, Alberta. “Since I’ve come to Edmonton I’ve been feeling more connected to this beautiful city and it’s wonderful people. Everytime I see somebody new or somebody writes to me I feel that I belong to Edmonton and that makes my heart warm,” Khadr’s letter said, according to the group. The group contended that Khadr pleaded guilty under torture at Guantanamo. “Having been obtained by torture and other impermissible coercion, Mr. Khadr’s acceptance of the plea bargain is not and cannot be considered an admission of guilt,” the group said. The group tweeted a photograph of Khadr’s release Thursday. Bail conditions require Khadr to live with his attorney under a curfew and with electronic monitoring, among other restrictions, his attorneys said. In 2012, Khadr was transferred from Guantanamo naval base in Cuba to his homeland of Canada to serve the remainder of his sentence. His case has sparked controversy among Canadians. Many say they think his sentence was too lenient. Others, noting his capture at age 15, say he should have been treated as a child soldier and point to alleged mistreatment while in custody. CNN’s Paula Newton contributed from Canada. CNN’s Michael Martinez wrote and reported from the Los Angeles bureau. CNN’s Chuck Johnston also contributed.


Here’s a look at the life of Mike Pompeo, former US secretary of state and director of the CIA. Birth date: December 30, 1963 Birth place: Orange, California Birth name: Michael Richard Pompeo Father: Wayne Pompeo, machinist Mother: Dorothy (Mercer) Pompeo Marriages: Susan (Mostrous) Pompeo (date unavailable publicly-present); Leslie (Libert) Pompeo (1986-1997, divorced) Children: with Susan Pompeo: Nicholas Education: United States Military Academy, West Point, B.S., 1986; Harvard Law School, J.D., 1994 Military service: US Army, 1986-1991, Captain Religion: Christian/ Presbyterian First person to have served as both CIA director and secretary of state. Graduated first in his class at West Point Military Academy. Pompeo says he loves Revolutionary War history, country music, show tunes and college basketball. Served as a deacon and Sunday School teacher at his church in Kansas. 1986-1989 - US Army officer in charge of patrolling the border between West Germany and East Germany and Czechoslovakia during the Cold War. 1994-1996 - Tax litigator at the the Washington, DC law firm of Williams & Connolly. 1998 - Co-founds Thayer Aerospace, an aerospace manufacturing company. 2006-2010 - Serves as president of Sentry International, a manufacturing company that produces oil drilling equipment. January 3, 2011-January 23, 2017 - Serves as the Congressman for Kansas’ 4th District. He is reelected three times. 2014 - Is appointed to the House Select Committee to investigate the attack on the US embassy in Benghazi. January 16, 2016 - Arguing for a “fundamental upgrade to America’s surveillance capabilities,” he co-authors an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal with David B. Rifkin Jr., stating, “Congress should pass a law reestablishing collection of all metadata, and combining it with publicly available financial and lifestyle information in a comprehensive, searchable database.” November 18, 2016 - US President-elect Donald Trump announces Pompeo’s nomination to lead the CIA. January 23, 2017 - Confirmed by the Senate, 66-32, and sworn in as head of the CIA. March 13, 2018 - Trump announces Pompeo’s nomination to replace Rex Tillerson as the next secretary of state. April 18, 2018 - Trump announces via Twitter that Pompeo visited North Korea over Easter weekend and met with leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang. April 26, 2018-January 20, 2021 - Serves as the 70th US secretary of state. May 7-10, 2018 - Pompeo heads back to Pyongyang to finalize the agenda for the upcoming summit between the United States and the Korean Peninsula. Three detained Americans – Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak-song and Kim Sang Duk, also known as Tony Kim – are freed and arrive back at Joint Base Andrews with Pompeo. May 30, 2018 - Pompeo meets with senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol in New York ahead of the proposed summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Kim Yong Chol is the most senior North Korean official to visit the United States in 18 years. June 12, 2018 - Trump and Kim meet in Singapore, marking the first meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader. July 9, 2018 - Makes an unannounced visit to Afghanistan and meets with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. October 7, 2018 - Meets with Kim in Pyongyang, in preparation for a second summit between Trump and Kim. October 16, 2018 - Two weeks after the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Pompeo visits Saudi Arabia to meet with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Pompeo says the leaders “strongly denied” any knowledge of what happened to Khashoggi as reports begin to filter out that the journalist was killed and dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul during a botched interrogation. November 27, 2018 - In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Pompeo defends the Trump administration’s support for Saudi Arabia in light of the outrage over the killing of Khashoggi. Pompeo stresses the need for strong US-Saudi ties to counter the regional threats posed by Iran. January 9, 2019 - Makes an unannounced visit to Iraq and meets with Iraqi officials. January 22, 2019 - Less than a week after a deadly ISIS-claimed attack in Syria, Pompeo delivers remarks to the World Economic Forum. He says, “It should not go unnoticed that we’ve also defeated the ISIS caliphate in Syria and Iraq alongside more than six dozen nations in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.” June 13, 2019 - Pompeo blames Iran for an attack on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, saying that the assessment is based on intelligence. July 7, 2019 - In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Pompeo announces the creation of a new committee, the Commission on Unalienable Rights. The committee will examine the definition of human rights. Pompeo says the phrase has grown vague since the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. September 27, 2019 - Pompeo is subpoenaed by three House committees for failure to produce documents relating to Trump and associates reported efforts to pressure Ukraine into assisting with Trump’s reelection. On October 4, he fails to meet the subpoena deadline. October 2, 2019 - During a news conference in Italy, Pompeo admits that he was on the July 25 phone call in which Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden. January 24, 2020 - A reporter for National Public Radio says that Pompeo screamed obscenities and demanded she prove she could find Ukraine on an unmarked map after she asked – and Pompeo refused to answer – whether he owed former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch an apology. The alleged incident takes place after the taping of an interview that aired on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” May 6, 2020 - Pompeo says the US does not have certainty about the origin of the coronavirus pandemic, despite originally claiming that there was “enormous evidence” the virus originated in a Chinese lab. May 15, 2020 - Trump fires State Department inspector general Steve Linick after Pompeo recommends Linick be removed. Days later, Pompeo tells The Washington Post that he asked Trump to remove Linick because the independent watchdog was “undermining” the department and wasn’t performing in a way that the top US diplomat wanted him to. July 31, 2020 - Pompeo is subpoenaed by the chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, Representative Eliot Engel, to turn over documents related to the Bidens and Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings. August 25, 2020 - Representative Joaquin Castro, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, announces an investigation has been opened into Pompeo’s decision to address the Republican National Convention. The decision to speak to the political convention in prerecorded remarks from Jerusalem breaks with longstanding precedent of sitting secretaries of state avoiding partisan politics, particularly while abroad. September 18, 2020 - Engel agrees to withdraw the subpoena he issued in July against Pompeo after the State Department turned over more than 16,000 pages of documents related to the Bidens and Burisma Holdings. January 19, 2021 - With one day left in his tenure as secretary of state, Pompeo takes to his Twitter account, denouncing “all the -isms,” including multiculturalism, saying “they’re not who America is. They distort our glorious founding and what this country is all about. Our enemies stoke these divisions because they know they make us weaker,” he writes. January 26, 2021 - Hudson Institute announces that Pompeo has joined as a fellow. April 16, 2021 - The State Department’s independent watchdog finds that Pompeo and his wife, Susan, violated federal ethics rules by making over 100 personal, non-work related requests to department employees – from ordering gifts to booking salon appointments and taking care of the family dog. June 15, 2021 - Pompeo launches a new political group aimed at supporting conservative candidates. Champion American Values PAC (CAVPAC) will “help Republicans take back majorities” in the House of Representatives and the Senate and build conservative state legislatures and governorships, Pompeo says in a statement. August 9, 2022 - Pompeo meets with the US House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack, according to US Representative Zoe Lofgren. January 24, 2023 - Pompeo’s memoir “Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love” is published.


Journalist Glenn Greenwald said he does not believe President Barack Obama’s decision to commute Chelsea Manning’s prison sentence would affect the fate of former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who has been in Russia since 2013. The difference, according to Greenwald, is that Manning, a former Army soldier, has shown remorse for her actions, while Snowden remains defiant over his leaks of information on American intelligence and surveillance operations. “I think its very unlikely that President Obama intends to commute Snowden’s sentence let alone pardon him because he doesn’t in any way say that what he did was wrong,” said Greenwald, speaking Tuesday on CNN’s “AC360.” He’s quite proud of what he did except for the fact that he should have done it earlier.” Greenwald said the US at this time is not officially seeking the extradition of WikiLeaks leader Julian Assange, but that Trump’s election could offer a glimmer of hope for the 45-year-old Australian, who is holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. “What might actually affect Julian Assange’s situation is that Donald Trump has become an admirer of WikiLeaks … and he is about to become president,” Greenwald told Anderson Cooper. In the final weeks of the Obama administration, more than a million of Snowden’s supporters have petitioned the White House to pardon him. The White House said on Tuesday, however, that Snowden had not submitted official documents requesting clemency. “Mr. Snowden has not filed paperwork to seek clemency from this administration,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said. Snowden is accused of espionage and theft of government property.


Editor’s Note: Karen Jacobsen is associate professor of research at The Fletcher School at Tufts University and the acting director of the Feinstein International Center (Friedman School of Nutrition), where she also directs the Refugees and Forced Migration Program. The views expressed are her own. Karen Jacobsen: News that attacker in Paris may have come in on wave of refugees may make countries less willing to accept them Wrong reaction, she says: Refugees will come; what's needed is a global response, and support by U.S., EU for countries that step up It now seems possible that at least one of the terrorists in the Paris attack on Friday entered the European Union hidden among the wave of refugees arriving on European shores. Even if this turns out not to be so, the fear that terrorists are hiding amongst refugees will increase and will be used by anti-immigrant politicians. That refugee or migrant movements might include terrorists has always been a threat and a worry to countries of immigration. It is part of the risk of welcoming strangers, just as we all take calculated risks when we allow people we don’t know well into our homes. Related article "We are angry and defiant" How will the presence of terrorists among the refugees – real or now increasingly feared – affect the willingness of Europeans to welcome refugees? Many who before Friday were willing to allow refugees into their countries and to help them will be given pause. Anti-immigrant movements and politicians such as Marine Le Pen in France and Donald Trump in the United States will seize the opportunity to create momentum against immigration and block border entry. Is this the solution? Even before Friday, European countries that were previously welcoming, such as Sweden and Germany, were pulling back.  But sealing borders with razor wire and having police on trains requesting papers are the kinds of images Europeans will surely shrink from, given their history – and such actions will not prevent desperate refugees from finding ways to enter Europe. Nor can the United States and the rest of the world stand by and watch while ratcheting up their anti-immigrant rhetoric. The United States and Europe must work together to find reasonable ways  to manage the current refugee flow into Europe and to utilize more creative and effective intelligence to monitor terrorist plans. Related article How ISIS threatens the West The fact is Europe will not be able to quickly and easily absorb hundreds of thousands of refugees, and open-door policies that create impetus for migrants to leave their countries will lead to more desperate journeys and deaths at sea, especially now the winter storm season is coming upon us. This is why now is the moment for a truly global effort to address the refugee crisis, a movement not necessarily led by Europe and the United States but one that still should be well supported by them. First, it is essential to direct that support to Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, as spillover from the conflict in Syria and Iraq overwhelms them, both in terms of their hosting more than 4 million refugees and in dealing with bomb attacks. This past week, Lebanon also experienced a horrific bomb attack by ISIS, when 43 people were killed in Beirut, with much less of a global outpouring of sympathy. The EU has pledged a 3 billion euro fund to support these countries. This is a good start, but it is only in the planning and pledging stage. Second, global efforts to address the refugee crisis can involve other, more distant, countries, which are able and should be induced to take refugees. Countries such as Brazil, which accepts refugees from Syria, should be lauded and supported in their efforts to welcome asylum seekers and resettle refugees. Indeed some Syrians have already recognized the Brazilian opportunity and headed that way. Countries willing to take refugees – and the communities within these countries, willing to host them – must be recognized and rewarded. The attacks in Paris on Friday are yet another wake-up call. Until the conflicts in the Middle East are resolved, the spillover– both in the form of terrorist attacks and refugee flows – will be felt much farther afield. Paris is the latest target, but it will not be the last.  Refugees and the conflict that displaces them are a global problem and need a global response. Join us on Facebook.com/CNNOpinion.Read CNNOpinion’s Flipboard magazine.


Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday that the United States “remains as concerned today as at the outset” of the ongoing eight-month dispute between Qatar and other Gulf state nations. “It is critical that all parties minimize rhetoric, exercise restraint to avoid further escalation and work toward a resolution,” Tillerson said in Washington during a session of the inaugural US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue. He spoke alongside Defense Secretary James Mattis, as well as the Qatari Foreign and Defense Ministers. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have broken diplomatic relations with Qatar over what they say is the country’s support of terrorism. Tillerson called for all sides to work toward a solution to the impasse in order to deal with the threats posed by ISIS as well as Iran. Gulf allies have repeatedly criticized Qatar for alleged support of the Muslim Brotherhood, a nearly 100-year-old Islamist group considered a terrorist organization by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Qatar has denied that it funds or supports extremist groups. The proxy wars in the region being waged by Saudi Arabia and Iran are also playing a role in the ongoing dispute, with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and others accusing Qatar of voicing support for Iran. During Tuesday’s event, the United States and Qatar signed multiple memorandums of understanding between the two countries on issues including human trafficking and agreed to a creation of a bilateral group on labor practices. On Monday, the two sides signed an agreement on civil aviation. Qatar hosts the largest concentrated military presence in the Middle East at the Al Udeid Air Base, which has been critical to supporting US military operations in the Middle East. Mattis said the base was “critical” in the battle to defeat ISIS as well as playing a role with the US strategy in Afghanistan.


A Trump campaign source confirmed his scheduled meeting with Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Monday Hillary Clinton Clinton also met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Monday Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both met with world leaders in town for the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, but the two presidential contenders did so with vastly different goals. Both Clinton and Trump met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Monday, as the grueling presidential contest enters its final weeks. The “Jon Stewart of Egypt” takes on Donald Trump Clinton, who served for four years as President Barack Obama’s secretary of state, also met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. While the stakes are high for both candidates, there is likely more on the line for Trump who, as a foreign policy novice, is still looking to prove his chops before the first presidential debate next Monday. Trump used the meetings to try to convince voters that despite his often explosive personality he is qualified to serve as commander in chief. The key for the blunt businessman is the visuals of the meeting, hoping that voters see a president as they observe him with a world leader. “I will say that with all the folks being in New York, I’ve had a lot of calls from a lot of different people on the basis that I’m doing well and, you know, they seem to think it’s important to maybe meet,” Trump said Monday on Fox News. “I don’t want to comment specifically on who but a couple of people are coming over.” He later said, “I’ve already met with a couple,” but refused to say which ones. Clinton used the meetings with the three world leaders, in contrast, to stress her facility with high-level diplomacy gained by years of experience on the world stage. Her meetings are also certain to be watched in various parts of the world for signs of how she would direct US foreign policy as president. Clinton addressed prickly topics with each world leader, according to aides in the room. Clinton touched on North Korea and the rise of China with Japan’s Abe, while Clinton addressing the need for a more vibrant – and free – civil society with Egypt while she met with Sisi. While reporters were in the room, Clinton told Sisi that she looked forward to talking about the “path we are taking in order to build up a new civil society, a new modern country that upholds the rule of law, that respects human rights and liberties.” Trump also met with Sisi on Monday evening in New York where the two discussed “the strategic bilateral relationship between the US and Egypt,” according to a Trump campaign statement after the meeting. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn (ret.), two of Trump’s top foreign policy advisers, joined Trump for the meeting. “Mr. Trump expressed to President el-Sisi his strong support for Egypt’s war on terrorism, and how under a Trump administration, the United States of America will be a loyal friend, not simply an ally, that Egypt can count on in the days and years ahead,” the Trump campaign said. The Republican nominee, who has faced widespread condemnation in the Muslim world for his proposal to ban Muslims from the U.S. and his blanket statements about Islam, also shared his “high regard for peace-loving Muslims,” the campaign added. The campaign also said Trump called the US-Egypt relationship “vital to help promote peace and stability in the Middle East.” Sisi is the second foreign leader Trump has met with since becoming the Republican nominee. He first met with the Mexican president in Mexico last month. Sitting with Poroshenko, Clinton said she was looking forward to talking about the challenges Ukraine faces, primarily “the very real problems and threats from Russian aggression.” Clinton added that she was “anxious to know how we can be supportive of those efforts.” Clinton’s meetings were announced before Trump’s, and a senior advisor to the former top diplomat said Friday that they were less about furthering a political argument than preparing her to hit the ground running immediately if she wins the White House. “If she is elected, she wants to be sure she is prepared (not only) to handle the challenges but to seize the opportunities on Day One,” said a senior Clinton advisor granted anonymity to talk about her foreign policy views. “While she has remained a candidate, she is also focused on what it would take to govern if she wins.” The meetings also set up possible contrasts that could pose a challenge for Trump given Clinton’s lengthy record on the international stage as both secretary of state and first lady. Trump has tried to shore up his foreign policy credentials before, taking a trip last month to meet Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto earlier this year. The meeting ended awkwardly after Trump said they never talked about his proposed border wall, but Peña Nieto said he told Trump during the meeting that Mexico would not pay for it. Clinton’s campaign seized on the public back-and-forth between the Mexican leader and Trump, with the Democratic nominee calling it Trump’s “embarrassing international incident.” “When you see that he can’t even go to a foreign country without getting into a public feud with the president, I think the answer is clear: Donald Trump does not have the temperament to be our commander in chief,” Clinton told voters in Ohio after the meeting. For her part, Clinton has decided to forgo the standard foreign tour as a candidate because her aides feel she doesn’t need to burnish her foreign policy credentials. Instead, she’ll take the opportunity afforded in her home state to hobnob with foreign heavyweights – and try to score political points. Clinton’s meeting with Poroshenko, in the eyes of her aides, attempted to highlight the differences between the Democratic and Republican nominee on policy toward Moscow. Clinton’s campaign and other Democrats have accused Trump of cozying up to Putin, who has built his foreign policy on thwarting US goals and failing to confront Moscow over its annexation of Crimea in Ukraine. Clinton’s adviser said that she believed that Washington needed to do more to stand up to Russian “aggression” in Ukraine and to allow the Kiev government to defend itself. Currently, the Obama administration has offered logistical help to Ukraine’s armed forces but has fallen short of lethal assistance as some Republicans have championed. The official did not say, however, whether Clinton would move toward lethal aid but said that she would take a look at any requests from the Ukrainians. Clinton’s meeting with Sisi will make waves in the Middle East because of the recent estrangement between the Egyptian President’s government and the Obama administration. Clinton, according to an aide in the room, “emphasized the importance of respect for rule of law and human rights to Egypt’s future progress” and “discussed ways to deepen counterterrorism cooperation, particularly in the fight against ISIS.” Clinton also used the meeting to call for the release of US citizen Aya Hijazi, who has been imprisoned in Egypt since 2014 after operating a non-profit in the country. Clinton’s adviser cautioned that the meeting on Monday did not augur any kind of policy change towards Egypt. But nevertheless, the official said, Clinton does understand the complexity and complications of US relations with Egypt, a nation that is pivotal to the balance of power in the Middle East, is facing its own terror threats and would be critical to any renewed effort at Israeli-Palestinian peace. Sisi assumed power following a coup against the elected Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt in 2013. Clinton had been secretary of state when the US helped push Egypt’s longtime strongman Hosni Mubarak from power after a popular uprising, but was seen as less pro-active than other members of Obama’s cabinet in cutting loose a crucial, long-standing US ally. “There are a lot of things that the Sisi government is doing that are concerning,” the official said. Trump’s positions on foreign policy, among them on Egypt, are more opaque than those of Clinton. But in his terrorism speech in August, he vowed to work with leaders in the Middle East – including Sisi – who “recognize that this ideology of death” must be extinguished. Clinton’s meeting with Abe comes at a time of increased tensions in Asia following North Korea’s latest nuclear weapons test. The meeting will likely highlight Clinton’s commitment to US alliances in Japan and South Korea and the US belief that it is up to China to do more to convince its ally in Pyongyang to turn away from its nuclear path. Clinton, according to an aide, discussed “the threat from North Korea” and “relations with China” during the meeting. And Abe brought up the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a massive 12-country trade deal that the Japanese prime minister has backed and Clinton has rejected. There is significant concern among US allies the region about the prospect of a Trump presidency – not least because the GOP nominee has warned that both nations must pay more to keep US forces in their countries and raised the possibility that Pyongyang’s growing threat could force both states to develop their own nuclear weapons, a step neither nation wants to take. CNN’s Jeremy Diamond and Tom LoBianco contributed to this report.


Democrat on the House oversight committee have questions about Michael Flynn The questions are related to why the former national security adviser had clearance Democrats on a key House panel are pressing the White House on why former national security adviser Michael Flynn was allowed to maintain top-level security clearances despite allegations of security concerns while Flynn was at the White House. Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, specifically cites Acting Attorney General Sally Yates’ explicit warning to White House counsel Don McGahn that Flynn was likely vulnerable to blackmail by Russians, based on intelligence reports she reviewed. Cummings cites Yates’ public comments that, rather than asking about Flynn’s possible security breach, McGahn reportedly asked why the White House should be handling it. Cummings, in his letter released Wednesday, notes that Flynn continued holding his security clearance, despite the warning from Yates. Cummings cites an executive order requiring employees to have their security clearance preemptively suspended if they are suspected of being a national security risk. “In general, when there are credible allegations that employees may be unfit to continue accessing classified information, security clearances are supposed to be suspended while the allegations are investigated,” Cummings wrote in his letter, sent June 21. In the letter, Cummings describes “parallel concerns” with Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a senior adviser. The lawmaker notes Kushner’s undisclosed phone calls with Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak, and undisclosed meetings he had with Kislyak and the CEO of Vnesheconombank, a state-run Russian bank under US sanctions. A spokeswoman for House oversight committee Chairman Trey Gowdy declined comment Wednesday. Gowdy did not sign on to the request from Cummings, but was alerted beforehand that the request was being sent. A White House spokesman deferred comment on Flynn to the Marc Kasowitz, Trump’s outside counsel. A spokesman for Kasowitz declined comment. Flynn has long been in the crosshairs of congressional and federal investigators and has had previous problems with his national security clearance application. The House panel revealed in April that Flynn failed to reveal payments from RT-TV, a Russian state-run media outlet, in likely violation of federal reporting laws. Lawyers for Flynn did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday. A senior White House official said Cummings sent his request to the wrong place. If he has any questions about Flynn, they should be sent to the Pentagon, because that’s who issued Flynn’s clearance, the official said. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer defended Flynn’s security clearance in April. “Let’s walk through that for a second. General Flynn was a career military officer who maintained a high-level security clearance throughout his career in the military. His clearance was last reissued by the Obama administration in 2016 with full knowledge of his activities that occurred in 2015, as you point out. So the issue is – he was issued a security clearance under the Obama administration in the spring of 2016,” Spicer said. A spokesperson for Kushner did not respond to a CNN request for comment. Kushner’s attorney has previously acknowledged that Kushner did not include the foreign contacts on his security clearance form because it was submitted prematurely. CNN is told that Jared Kushner has since provided the FBI a list of his foreign contacts, as required for his security clearance. But Kushner has become a new focus for federal and congressional investigators curious about his efforts to establish a backchannel with Russian President Vladimir Putin – although he is not the target of any probe. Senate investigators have been negotiating with Kushner to bring him in for an interview, but that is not expected to happen until after July 4. Other House Democrats, led by Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia, asked the FBI to revoke Kushner’s clearance in an April 13 letter, citing similar concerns that he had not disclosed his meetings with Russian officials.


“I smacked my head on the bathroom floor,” a bloodied and bandaged President Barack Obama says, “as I was so shocked by North Korea’s hydrogen bomb detonation!” This is satirical political comedy, Pyongyang style. A recent episode of the snappily named “The stage of optimism that Songun presented – Volume 11,” which airs on state-controlled Korea Central Television (KCTV), lampooned the US leader and “oppressed” South Koreans ahead of the North’s nuclear warhead test this month. “So, Mr. President, you were testing the hardness of your skull while the North was testing its hydrogen bomb?” an actor playing Obama’s secretary asks him. Later in the show, Seoul’s envoy to the US is described as a “bitch on the run,” while her Japanese counterpart is called a “monkey.” According to NK News, a specialist website focused on North Korea, “this is the first time the North has explicitly used US and South Korea-related satire in its comedy.” Though the show aired on September 1, according to NK News, before the latest weapons test, its tone is consistent with Pyongyang’s bullish rhetoric around its nuclear program. On Wednesday, the North dismissed a US B-1 bomber flyover of South Korea as “bluffing” and “blustering” by Washington, and warned the US to “stop their rash actions.” In March, Pyongyang released a video portraying the nation engaging in nuclear war with the US. “This is America’s last chance,” the video warned, over footage of a missile striking Washington DC and the Stars and Stripes engulfed in flames. North Korea’s fiery propaganda – which is intended for audiences at home – doesn’t always go as planned. A documentary intended as a portrayal of a happy family in North Korea became something of a PR nightmare for Pyongyang when the filmmaker used his rare access to the country to produce a film about the inner workings of its propaganda machine. Jung-eun Kim contributed to this report.


The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is set to vote Monday on Mike Pompeo to be the next secretary of state, but the vote could prove to be a historic snub on the man vying to be the country’s top diplomat. Democrats on the committee as well as Republican Sen. Rand Paul are expected to vote against Pompeo, which would lead the committee to report out his nomination without a favorable recommendation. But Republicans are still expected to bring his nomination to the floor anyway for a vote where Pompeo is on track to be confirmed. Related article It was a jam-packed news week -- even with President Trump away from DC The committee’s chairman, Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that the nominee should be “confirmed overwhelmingly,” and one of the chamber’s more moderate Republicans, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, told NBC she planned to vote for Pompeo’s confirmation. On Thursday, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp became the first Democrat to formally announce her support for Pompeo, which, assuming no other Republicans come out in opposition, would give him the votes he needed to win the nomination. Trump’s pick to replace Pompeo leading the CIA, Gina Haspel, isn’t scheduled to have her confirmation hearing until May 9, but late last week the agency declassified an internal memo that absolves Haspel of responsibility for destroying videotapes showing the waterboarding of terrorism suspects in 2005, an issue that’s been a key sticking point for senators weighing her confirmation. The agency argues this memorandum should satisfy some of those demands, but some Democrats were not pleased with the release so expect the issue to come up continue popping up this week. Related article Trump's CIA pick faces growing Hill scrutiny over destruction of interrogation tapes Haspel has been meeting with senators from both parties ahead of her hearing, and those one-on-one discussions are expected to continue this week. Democrats will also press Republican leaders to seek a floor vote on a bipartisan bill to protect Special Counsel Bob Mueller from being fired by President Donald Trump. That bill is scheduled to be voted on in the Judiciary Committee Thursday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said last week he would not bring such a proposal to the floor, saying the legislation isn’t necessary, but members from both parties on the Judiciary Committee have said they’ll continue moving forward with the legislation. “Obviously the views of the majority leader are important to consider, but they do not govern what happens here in the Judiciary Committee,” the committee’s chairman, Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley told reporters last week. “If consideration on the floor was the standard for approving a bill in committee or not, we wouldn’t probably be moving any bills out of this committee.” RELATED: What happens if Mueller is fired? Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson, Trump’s pick to head the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, will appear before a Senate committee Wednesday. Jackson, who currently serves as White House physician, spent last week meeting with members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, trying to assuage some concerns of Democratic senators, who raised issue with Jackson’s lack of management experience and whether the administration will push for privatization of veterans’ health care, a move that was staunchly opposed by the former VA Secretary, David Shulkin. Related article Trump's VA pick says he's 'got what it takes' to be secretary While House Intelligence Committee Republicans have concluded their Russia investigation, Democrats on the committee have vowed to continue their probe into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Their first witness to appear before Democrats since Republicans ended their interviews will be Christopher Wylie, the former employee who blew the whistle on Cambridge Analytica, a company tied to the Trump campaign that handled data on millions of American Facebook users. Wylie will appear before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday and the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday. It’s not yet clear whether Republicans will participate in the interviews before the two House panels, though Republican members have been invited to take part. Two embattled members of the President’s Cabinet – Attorney General Jeff Sessions and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt – will appear before the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday to testify on behalf of their respective department’s 2019 fiscal year budgets. Both are expected to face tough questioning on issues that have made headlines in recent weeks. Pruitt has continued to hold on to his job at the Environmental Protection Agency – and the President’s favor – despite mounting investigations about financial expenditures made under his tenure. Sessions, who regularly draws the President’s ire, is expected to face questions regarding the ever-expanding Russia probe. Related article EPA inspector general to begin second review of Pruitt's security detail The Senate convenes at 3 p.m. ET Monday and has a cloture vote on circuit court nominee Kyle Duncan, who Democrats voted against in the Judiciary Committee after raising concerns about his views on gay rights. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee could vote on a new Authorization for the Use of Force to provide formal congressional approval for the military action taking place around the world against ISIS and other terror groups. The new measure, a compromise written by the committee’s chairman, Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, Democratic committee member Tim Kaine, and other members, would require Congress to review the AUMF every four years and vote to change it or end if it lawmakers have the votes to do so. It’s possible this committee vote gets kicked over until after the next recess. RELATED: Ryan downplays need for Congress to authorize strikes on Syria And, the House will vote on the FAA reauthorization this week. It’s expected to pass with bipartisan support. And in a bit of international news, following the White House’s first State Dinner, French President Emmanuel Macron continues his state visit Wednesday, heading to Capitol Hill to address a joint session of Congress. His speech coincides with the 58th anniversary of former French President Charles de Gaulle’s address to a joint session of Congress, per a senior administration official. CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, Betsy Klein and Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.


Princess Michael of Kent apologized after coming under fire for wearing a controversial brooch to a Buckingham Palace lunch attended by Prince Harry’s fiancée, Meghan Markle. She was pictured wearing a blackamoor-style brooch that depicted an African figure on her coat on her way to the royal family event Wednesday. Related article Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's engagement photos are like no other royal couple's It’s unclear whether Princess Michael wore the item of jewelry in Markle’s presence at the palace. The American actress has previously written about the challenges of being the child of a white father and African-American mother. Blackamoor, a decorative style that depicts African people as exoticized figures, is widely considered offensive. Media reports showing Princess Michael wearing the brooch prompted Twitter users to label her at worst overtly racist and at best out of touch. “The brooch was a gift and had been worn many times before. Princess Michael is very sorry and distressed that it has caused offense,” her representative said in a statement Friday. Former royal chef Darren McGrady tweeted that Princess Michael’s decision to wear the brooch was an “appalling show of disrespect and jealousy.” Appalling show of disrespect and jealousy from Princess Michael of Kent. She has never gotten over being the "foreigner not really welcome into the family" Meghan however will be welcomed with open arms and adored by everyone. The princess, who was born Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz in the former Czechoslovakia, is married to the Queen’s first cousin. Related article Meghan Markle is royal family's unconventional bride-to-be In a 2015 article for New York University on blackamoor art, writer Anneke Rautenbach described the Italian decorative style as being tied in with ideas of racial conquest. “The motif emerged as an artistic response to the European encounter with the Moors – dark-skinned Muslims from North Africa and the Middle East who came to occupy various parts of Europe during the Middle Ages,” she wrote. “Commonly fixed in positions of servitude – as footmen or waiters, for example – the figures personify fantasies of racial conquest.” Art historian Adrienne L. Childs, an associate of Harvard University’s Hutchins Center, described in a 2012 presentation how the blackamoor “became the ultimate symbol of the objectified black male body.” Related article British royals' complicated relationship with Africa According to the royal family’s official website, Princess Michael is an international lecturer on topics of history and art, and has written several historical books. Prince Harry and Markle, who announced their engagement last month, will wed on May 19 in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, west of London. They published a set of official engagement photos Thursday, a day after the royal lunch. The couple will spend their first Christmas as an engaged couple with Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family at Sandringham, the Queen’s country estate in rural Norfolk, around 100 miles north of London. CNN’s Milena Veselinovic and Daniel Nikbakht contributed to this report.


Editor’s Note: This article includes images of a man being shot. Four Palestinians were killed and hundreds wounded Friday in the West Bank and Gaza during violent clashes between Israeli troops and protesters opposed to US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Roughly 2,500 Palestinians rolled burning tires and hurled firebombs and rocks at police in several West Bank cities, and another 3,500 clashed with soldiers along the security fence in Gaza, the Israeli army said. The Palestinian Health Ministry said two people were killed in Gaza, both of them shot in the head. The ministry identified them as Yaser Sukar, 23, killed in Shujaiyya, east of Gaza City; and Ibrahim Abu Tharaya, 29, shot during clashes along Gaza’s border with Israel. Tharaya was a wheelchair-bound double amputee, the ministry said. He was regularly photographed at protests in Gaza waving a Palestinian flag from his wheelchair. “Throughout yesterday extremely violent riots erupted along the border of the Gaza strip,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. “IDF troops fired selectively towards main instigators. Claims were received about two dead Palestinians. The claims regarding the circumstances of the death of a Palestinian with no legs who participated in the riots will be reviewed.” Two more Palestinians died in the West Bank, the Health Ministry said. They were identified as Basel Mustafa Muhammad Ibrahim, 29, from Anata; and Mohammad Ameen Aqel, who was fatally wounded in the Ramallah neighborhood of al-Bireh. Israeli police say Aqel was shot after carrying out a stabbing attack on a border police officer during a demonstration. Photos taken of Aqel show him wearing what appeared to be an explosive belt. Police have not said whether they believe the belt was real or a fake. At least 367 others were injured – seven critically – and taken to hospitals in the West Bank and Gaza, according to the health ministry. Most of them were suffering from injuries caused by tear gas and rubber bullets. The situation around Gaza remained tense heading into the weekend, as Israel warned Gaza’s Hamas leadership on Thursday that it would not tolerate continued rocket fire from the coastal enclave. Since Trump’s announcement over a week ago, 16 rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel, Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis told Israel’s Army Radio on Thursday. Manelis acknowledged that most of the rockets had not been fired by Hamas, but were in fact launched by smaller Islamist organizations. Israel has repeatedly said it holds Hamas responsible for any projectiles fired from Gaza. Tens of thousands of worshipers came to the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City for Friday prayers. After prayers were over, hundreds stayed behind to protest. Some waved the flags of countries most critical of Trump’s announcement, including those of Turkey and Malaysia. Thousands of Jordanians also gathered to protest in downtown Amman, and local television aired live footage of smaller protests elsewhere in the country. Trump’s move last week to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and commit to moving the US Embassy to the holy city prompted international criticism and sparked protests across the world. The announcement, which upended seven decades of US foreign policy, delighted Israeli officials but was condemned by Palestinian leaders, who see East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Related video Why Jerusalem's holy sites are so significant Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki told reporters last week that the leadership had decided there would be “no formal communications” with US officials in the wake of Trump’s Jerusalem decision. Jordan’s King Abdullah has also been critical of Trump’s announcement, saying last week that there was “no alternative to a two-state solution, and Jerusalem is key to any peace agreement.” Abdullah is the custodian of the Muslim holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. CNN’s Oren Liebermann reported from Jerusalem. Ray Sanchez and James Masters wrote from New York and London. CNN’s Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report from Amman, Jordan.


Spicer is scheduled to give a briefing Tuesday Recent briefings have been off-camera White House press secretary Sean Spicer will return to the briefing room on Tuesday to address reporters on-camera for the first time in eight days. His on-camera return to the lectern comes as frustrations about press access at the White House have come to a head. Spicer took questions for less than a half-hour on Monday, refusing to allow reporters to record audio or video of the briefing while rebuffing a series of questions about the most pressing topics of the day. Why you should care about increasing secrecy in White House and Senate Tuesday’s briefing also comes as White House officials are mulling a new role for Spicer in the West Wing that might take him out of the briefing room for good. Here are seven questions Spicer may face: Spicer is reportedly being considered for a role overseeing the White House communications and press operations. It would also take him away from the White House lectern, where his performance has been the subject of intense scrutiny. Spicer is sure to face questions about the eight-day gap in any on-camera briefings from the White House – and whether this is a trend that will continue. Foreign leaders arriving at the White House to visit the President almost always roll in through the front gate, their limousine driving down a White House driveway lined with military guard before stopping in front of the West Wing doors – President Donald Trump waiting with an outstretched hand. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko won’t get any of that, instead meeting with Vice President Mike Pence before dropping into the Oval Office for a brief visit. That’s raising a slew of questions, particularly in light of Trump’s adversity toward criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin, who annexed Ukrainian territory and continues to support Ukrainian separatists. A select group of Senate Republicans are continuing to craft a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare behind closed doors and Democratic pressure is growing. Related article Sean Spicer might be leaving White House podium Spicer on Monday couldn’t say whether Trump or members of his legislative team had seen the text of the bill. Trump is scheduled to meet with his legislative team for lunch, before Spicer heads to the briefing room. Voters are heading to the polls today in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, a historically Republican seat that Democrats are hoping to flip amid dissatisfaction with Trump and his policies. Related article 5 things to watch in Georgia's high-stakes House special election The race is already tighter than it should be, and a Democrats are hoping to win will send shudders down the spines of Republicans up for reelection in 2018. The US shot down a pro-Syrian regime drone in the Syrian skies on Monday, just days after the US shot down a Syrian government warplane. The downings have been consistent with US policy, but have led to increased tensions in the region as Russia cut off a key military-diplomatic channel with the US and threatened to shoot down American planes over Syria. Trump and his White House have refused for more than a month to confirm or deny whether the President in fact records conversations at the White House, as he suggested in a tweet in early May about former FBI Director James Comey. Trump has teased an announcement soon – but the White House continues to stonewall reporters on the question. Spicer on Monday would only say “it’s possible that we have an answer to that by the end of the week.” Spicer on Monday would only say that Trump “has confidence in everyone who serves him in this administration.” That was off-camera, though, and reports continue to swirl that the President remains unhappy with the special counsel’s investigation.


Sixteen people were killed, more than 100 injured in two attacks Protesters made a call for unity after the violence Half a million people took part in a colorful peace protest in Barcelona on Saturday after Spain’s Catalonia region was hit with two terror attacks that killed 16 people. The march was organized on social media with the hashtag #NoTincPor – Catalan for “I am not afraid” – a slogan shouted repeatedly by the protesters as they made their way down the Passeig de Gràcia shopping avenue. Spanish King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy attended the protest, which was also a show of Barcelona’s unity and cultural diversity. Protesters held signs saying “No to Islamophobia” as they marched alongside members of the city’s Muslim community. Some Muslim marchers held signs reading “I am Muslim. I am not a terrorist,” and “Islam is peace.” “The solution is peace. Peace is equal for all,” one protester told CNN Espanol. Another woman in the crowd looked dejected and said simply, “it’s enough already.” Marchers handed roses to the police and paramedics to thank them for their response to the attacks, and some adorned their vehicles with the flowers. The Catalan Police confirmed that around 500,000 people attended the protests. On its Twitter account, police posted pictures of the march and wrote: “Today there is only one message and it is the rejection of terrorism. Respect all cultures and let’s say #Imnotafraid #NoTincPor.” Protesters also added their tributes to a mountain of roses laid at Las Ramblas, where a driver plowed a van into crowds on August 17, killing 14 people and leaving more than 100 others injured. The death toll from the Barcelona attack rose from 13 to 14 on Sunday, when the Catalan government announced that a 51-year-old German woman had also died from her injuries. The government did not name the woman. Police believe 22-year-old Morrocan national Younes Abouyaaqoub was the driver in the attack. He is also accused of killing a man as he hijacked a vehicle to escape the attack scene. Abouyaaqoub was killed during a police operation on Monday. Another victim died in a second attack in the early hours of August 18, when a vehicle mowed down pedestrians in the coastal town of Cambrils. Five assailants in the car were shot dead by police at the scene. They and Abouyaaqoub were wearing fake suicide belts when they were killed, police said.


Hope Hicks has occasionally told fibs on behalf of her boss, but they only amounted to white lies, according to what little we’ve heard spill out after her closed-door testimony Tuesday with congressional investigators. She did not answer questions about her time at the White House, joining former President Donald Trump aide Steve Bannon in claiming those communications are privileged. And she was reticent at first to discuss the transition period. It’s not exactly clear when the white lies may have occurred. Hicks argued she hasn’t had to lie about substantive issues for Trump, according to the source with knowledge of her Tuesday comments that spoke to CNN’s Manu Raju and Jeremy Herb. That the White House communications director should have to lie on behalf of her boss, who is a serial boaster, stretcher of the truth and documented outright fibber, should not be surprising. That she would admit to even the smallest fib in the context of testimony about Russian election meddling is something else entirely. Even a white lie implies intentional misleading. While Hicks’ testimony was not before special counsel Robert Mueller, he is unlikely to take very kindly to lies, even those of the white variety. Lying to the FBI – if that’s what happened here – is no joke. Witness: Three people tied to the Trump campaign (former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former campaign official Rick Gates and former campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos) have pleaded guilty as part of Mueller’s probe. All of them admitted lying to the FBI. A Dutch lawyer, the son-in-law of a Russian billionaire, has also pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI as part of the special counsel inquiry. CNN’s Marshall Cohen, Tal Yellin and Liz Stark have tracked all of the developments. It’s also against the law to lie to Congress. Even for a President or his staffers. The impeachment charges pass in the House against Bill Clinton back in 1998? One was for lying under oath to a federal grand jury about his affair with Monica Lewinsky. The other was for obstruction – inducing others to lie on his behalf about the affair. We should add here the normal caution that we’ve documented before: we’re still a long, long, long way from any possibility of the kind of serious impeachment effort against Trump. But it’s because they worry he might lie to Mueller that Trump’s aides have tried to sway him against an interview with Mueller’s team, according The New York Times. His lawyers have argued to Mueller’s team they have not met the threshold to have such a meeting. Lies are often the thing in Washington. Related article Kushner, Russia bombshells rock the White House Former Gen. James Cartwright leaked information to journalists. But it was lying about the leaks that drew his guilty plea in 2016. It was lies that brought down Scooter Libby during the George W. Bush administration. There are a lot of things we don’t know about the white lies Hicks described behind closed doors on Capitol Hill, including the context around which Hicks admitted them. That’s extremely important information that will hopefully come out very soon. Maybe there’s a reasonable explanation for all of this. It’s also not clear what Hicks may have said to Mueller’s team. She was scheduled to be interviewed late in 2017, after charges had been brought against Gates and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the guilty plea of Papadopoulos. Gates changed to a guilty plea earlier this month. The White House doesn’t want staffers to talk in case they one day want to exert executive privilege, which is sort of a backhand way of trying to exert executive privilege without actually doing it.