FBI chief: No evidence of illegal spying on Donald Trump campaign
WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Chris Wray said Tuesday that he does not consider court-approved FBI surveillance to be “spying” and said he has no evidence the FBI illegally monitored President Donald Trump’s campaign during the 2016 election. His comments at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing broke from Attorney General William Barr, who has described as “spying” FBI surveillance during its investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Barr has not said such surveillance was necessarily improper, but Trump nonetheless seized on those comments to suggest his campaign was spied on in an illegal and unprecedented act. Asked by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat-New Hampshire, if he would say that the FBI is “spying” when it investigates suspected terrorists and mobsters while following “investigative policies and procedures,” Wray replied, “Well, that’s not the term I would use.” He added: “I believe that the FBI is engaged in investigative activity, and part of investigative activity includes surveillance activity of different shapes and sizes. And to me, the key question is making sure that it’s done by the book, consistent with our lawful authorities. That’s the key question. Different people use different colloquial phrases.” Wray declined to discuss in detail the FBI’s investigation into the Trump campaign because of an ongoing Justice Department inspector general probe into the origins of the Russia inquiry. Barr has said he expects the watchdog report to be done in May or June. But asked whether he was aware of evidence that the FBI had illegally spied on the Trump campaign, Wray said, “I don’t think I personally have any evidence of that sort.” Barr is investigating whether there was a proper basis for the FBI to open a counterintelligence investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. The recently concluded investigation from Special Counsel Robert Mueller did not find a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and the Kremlin to tip the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. “The attorney general is seeking to understand better the circumstances at the department and the FBI relating to how this investigation started, and we’re working to help him get that understanding,” Wray said about the Justice Department’s review. “I think that’s part of his job and part of mine.” Barr didn’t specify what he meant when he said he believed there had been spying on the Trump campaign, though he also said that he did not mean the word in a negative way. At a hearing last week, he described “spying” as a “good English word” encompassing “all forms of covert intelligence operations” and said he wouldn’t back away from using it. The FBI obtained a secret surveillance warrant in 2016 to monitor the communications of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page, whose interactions with Russia had raised law enforcement suspicions even before he joined the campaign. The New York Times reported last week that the FBI used a woman posing as a research assistant to approach ex-Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, who was told by a Maltese professor in the spring of 2016 that Russia had “dirt” on Democrat Hillary Clinton in the form of stolen emails. In his book about his entanglement in the Russia probe, “Deep State Target,” Papadopoulos wrote that the woman, who identified herself as Azra Turk, asked him about his work with the Trump campaign. “She wants to know: Are we working with Russia?” he wrote. He described her question as “creepy” and said he told her he had “nothing to do with Russia.” Papadopoulos later pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his interactions with the professor, Joseph Mifsud.
Rauf Bolden: Breaking promises in Orange Beach
A politician once told me, “The bigger the smile, the sharper the knife.” So, it is in Orange Beach. In 2008, Mayor Tony Kennon came to power on rhetoric espousing the Republican ideal of smaller government. “Small government is a term generally used by political conservatives to describe a government with minimal involvement in public policy or the private sector,” according to a report in Wikipedia. Political conservatism has similar goals, “lower taxes, free market capitalism, free enterprise, deregulation and restrictions on labor unions,” according to a report in Wikipedia. After winning the election, Tony Kennon took the oath of office, proceeded to cut employee benefits, appropriations, vehicles, and staff, reducing Police to 35 people (Charts 1 & 2). His Council Class of 2008 was proud. Today the late Councilman Ed Carroll would not recognize the ideology he shared with Tony Kennon back in 2008. Orange Beach’s government has grown by 69.5%, yet the local population has stagnated around 5,700, according to a Edward VIII on City Data. Chart 1: Employee Comparison for City Departments 2009 and 2019 CITY DEPARTMENT- NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 2009 NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 2019 POLICE 35 62 FIRE 41 59 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 13 16 FINANCE 8 10 LIBRARY 9 8 SEWER 19 22 PUBLIC WORKS 46 71 PARKS AND RECREATION 19 20 ADMIN 6 14 TOTAL EMPLOYEES 196 282 Republican orthodoxy is woven into the fabric of Orange Beach residents. Baldwin County overwhelmingly voted for the Christian Theologian Judge Roy Moore (61.7%) in the special senatorial election in 2017 , confirming residents’ belief in small government as a conservative value. Yet somehow the Mayor of Orange Beach is not on the same page. Pre-2008, Mayor Steve Russo provided voting residents with amenities: Recreation Center, Tennis Center, Aquatic Center, Library, Senior Center, and Sportsplex. When the city’s purse was full, he gave back to the community. Post-2008, Mayor Tony Kennon’s regime generates $15 million above expenses each year, and has over $40 million in reserves. While the city’s purse is bulging, residents are given increased fees on sewer, restricted vacation rentals, and higher lodging taxes. Looking back to the pre-Kennon era resident memberships at the Recreation Center, including Pool and Tennis were $20 per year. Today the cost is approximately 400% more. It is easy to say things have changed from pro-resident to pro-money, but the analogies smack more of business fundamentals trumping our quality of life. The head scratching continues. Has government grown to service the needs of the voting residents, or has government grown to service the needs of the revenue generating tourist industry? Tony Kennon has successfully inflated the bureaucracy, completely overlooked cuts on property tax in an era of prosperity (4 mils). Residents and businesses could use a little love. Orange Beach does not have a caucus of conservative minds, canvasing for better leadership. We see a Facebook Group against the Flyover Bridge west of the Foley Beach Express and a Facebook Group against the proposed Wolf Bay Bridge near Doc’s. These do not ensure change. Transformation needs a plan, and a political voice. Conservatism “favors tradition in the face of external forces for change,” according to a report on Philosophy Basics. Encouraging more financial prospectors to make speculative investments in Orange Beach is truly an “external force for change”. Our leaders are content, moving the goal posts, accommodating real estate developments with setback variances. The mask is off the long-term plan. The size of government is directly proportional to the number of developments. As proof, subdivision planning has become more aggressive. “A main point of concern raised [by Council] about the subdivision [Broken Sound PUD, Lauder Lane and Pelican Place] itself was in reference to the small setbacks proposed for the development [40 lots]. For RS zoning [residential], front setbacks are a minimum of 30 feet, rear setbacks at least 20 feet and side setbacks require 10 feet. For Broken Sound, the setbacks are set at 18 feet in the front, 8 feet in the rear and 5 feet on the sides,” according to a report by Crystal Cole/ Islander Editor in Gulf Coast News Today. Short-term rentals will not be allowed in this subdivision. “A condition of the Broken Sound PUD approval was that house rentals shall not be less than six months,” according to a report by the City Clerk’s Office in an email. Mayor Kennon explained his thinking, approving this housing project (See Image 1), “They’re going to have to have X number of units to financially make that work, and it’s going to have to be close. In my opinion, even though these are extremely small setbacks and we all [Council Members] have our problems with that, the alternative project of apartments or more townhomes to me was a greater evil,” according to a report by Crystal Cole/ Islander Editor in Gulf Coast News Today. Tony’s logic is business centric, speaking volumes. I argue, we will wake up one morning, wondering how we missed the setback apocalypse. Image 1: Broken Sound Subdivision (PUD) with 5 ft. side setbacks Some are in opposition to stripping away city planning standards, but there is fear of mayoral retribution. Having bones of contention is an unspoken violation. Last cycle, one council member had a vision for better governance, breaking ranks, declaring a much-anticipated candidacy for Tony’s job. The candidate was immediately uninvited from the council’s internal meetings and discussions, according to sources familiar with the events. Such retribution, “is used to discourage future behavior,” according to people who spoke on the condition of anonymity. I assume Mayor Kennon has already found someone to challenge this malcontent in the 2020 election cycle. Not everyone complains about Kennon’s brand of real-estate conservatism. To his credit Mayor Kennon purchased and renovated the Event Center, painted to look like the hotel next door, appearing from the bridge to be part of the same brand-name entity, making it easier to rent out. He also rebuilt the crumbling Art Center from the ruins of the old Orange
