I can tell you there have been people that have been making threats privately and publicly against me for quite some time and I think they should understand by now the Department of Justice is not going to be extorted.

(Courtesy: C-Span)

Said: Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein responding to a question from the CNN reporter Laura Jarrett about possible articles of impeachment by the House Freedom Caucus over his handling of document requests.

Her question was "As you think about the importance of separation of powers on the day, any reaction on the news that certain members of the House Caucus have drafted articles of impeachment?" 

Answering the question, Rosenstein said: “I saw that draft. I don't know who wrote it. It illustrates the important principle of the rule of law. We make mistakes. That is not to say we are flawless. But the way we operate is if we can accuse someone of wrongdoing, we have to have admissible evidence, credible witnesses and be able to prove our case in court and fix our signature to the charging documents. There is a lot talk about FISA applications and many people I see talking about it seem not to recognize what a FISA application is. It is like a search warrant. In order to get a FISA search warrant, you need an affidavit signed by a career federal law enforcement agent. If it is wrong, that person is going to face consequences - you can face discipline or even prosecution. That is the way we operate. We have people who are accountable. I just don't have anything to say about documents like that nobody has the courage to put their name on an State leakage that way, but I can tell you there have been people that have been making threats privately and publicly against me for quite some time and I think they should understand by now the Department of Justice is not going to be extorted. We are going to do what is required by the rule of law and any kind of threats will not affect the way we do our job. We have a responsibility. We take an oath. You raise your right hand and swearing of to defend the United States - swear in an oath to defend the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic. That is your responsibility. Everybody in the department takes that oath. If they violate it, they know they will be held accountable.”

Rosenstein was speaking on the rule of law, the first amendment, and the mission of the justice department at the Newseum in Washington. 

Watch full speech of Rod J. Rosenstein here.

"The prime minister (Narendra Modi) has a duty to safeguard and fight for all of the people of India, not just those who are allied with him politically."

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing 

a rally in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh

Photograph: @BJP4India/Twitter

Said: The editorial board of The New York Times in its 'Opinion' editorial titled "Modi’s Long Silence as Women in India Are Attacked" published today. "The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher. It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed section," informs the NYT website.

The editorial board writes on Mr. Modi's silence on the recent "horrifying rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl" at Kathua, in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, and also on another case of a rape in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh, in which a state lawmaker from his party is the main accused: "Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India tweets frequently and considers himself a talented orator. Yet he loses his voice when it comes to speaking out about the dangers faced by women and minorities who are frequent targets of the nationalist and communal forces that are part of the base of his Bharatiya Janata Party."

The editorial board observes that "Mr. Modi’s silence is as perplexing as it is distressing." Referring to the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case in Delhi, the editorial says: "He (Mr. Modi) seems to have failed to learn the lesson of his predecessors." The then government led by the Congress party, lost the 2014 parliamentary elections for its heartlessness. "The B.J.P. won the elections in large part because Mr. Modi promised to make the government more responsive to the needs of Indians who were left behind by a government dogged by corruption scandals and widely considered rudderless," the board noted. "Instead, he (Mr. Modi) has exhibited a pattern of silence and deflection that is deeply worrying to anybody who cares about the health of the world’s largest democracy," the NYT board members conclude.

Read full editorial here.

“The United States essentially has three Russia policies: the president’s, the executive branch’s and Congress’s.”

Angela Stent

Said: Angela Stent, a former White House official and professor at Georgetown University. Angela was quoted in a piece "Trump, a reluctant hawk, has battled his top aides on Russia and lost" in Washington Post today by Greg Jaffe, John Hudson and Philip Rucker.

The authors describe the slow transformation of Donald Trump from a Putin's fan to a reluctant Putin basher during his presidency. This transformation has been due to the contribution of his free and frank key members of administration, in general, and right minded tough Generals, in particular. The key role played by the Congress, dominated by members having anti-Putin sentiments, making Trump to sign the bill approving new sanctions on Russia in late July, is seen as the major blow to Trump’s efforts to reach out to Putin. This bill was cleared with a veto-proof majority. Perhaps, Trump had planned to change the world by befriending with Putin whom he considered the most important and powerful. 

According to the authors, some European diplomats in Washington still find it difficult to believe tthat the recent tough moves against Syria and Russia have Trump’s full support. They are asking: “This wouldn’t be the policy unless Trump supports it. . . . Yes?” Russia analysts seem just as mystified.

The authors end with Angela Stent's quote on Donald Trump. “This is a man who if he had his druthers would be pursuing a much more open and friendly policy with Russia,” said Angela Stent, a former White House official and professor at Georgetown University. “The United States essentially has three Russia policies: the president’s, the executive branch’s and Congress’s.”

Read full story here.

Sizing Up Business in Russia & Eurasia: Reflections from 25 Years of Teaching

To celebrate 25 years of Dr. Trevor Gunn teaching at Georgetown University, CERES hosted a dialogue with Drs. Gunn and Angela Stent on "Sizing Up Business in Russia & Eurasia: Reflections from 25 Years of Teaching."

Watch the programme below.

“I would be lying to you if I told that I am not [worried].”: Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen

Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen said in a phone conversation on Tuesday with CNN's Don Lemon: "I am unhappy to have my personal residence and office raided. But I will tell you that members of the FBI that conducted the search and seizure were all extremely professional, courteous and respectful. And I thanked them at the conclusion."

Asked if he was worried, Cohen said; "I would be lying to you if I told that I am not. Do I need this in my life? No. Do I want to be involved in this? No." 

Read full story here.

Michael Cohen: Trump's loyal fixer 

Anderson Cooper 360 

CNN's Gloria Borger investigates President Donald 

Trump's longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen. 

Source: CNN

It is of utmost importance for an MP to continue winning his/her own seat. Never mind the political party.

Said Dinesh Trivedi, a TMC Lok Sabha MP, in his column in Indian Express "If Congress wins Karnataka, BJP revolt will take the shape of a tsunami."

The moral of the story? Never try to predict election results. If Congress wins Karnataka, the revolt within the BJP will take the shape of a tsunami. Those who entered the party in 2014 just to win, will be the first ones to look for greener pastures as they never came to BJP for ideological reasons in the first place. It is of utmost importance for an MP to continue winning his/her own seat. Never mind the political party.

Read the full story here.

The president has de-spined the GOP. One by one, congressional leaders have got their spines removed

Richard Cohen

Said Richard Cohen, Opinion writer in Washington Post under "Trump has performed a medical miracle on the Republican Party"

"The first person to be filleted in this matter was Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), the speaker of the House. He was averse to Donald Trump, but he subordinated the larger agenda of opposing an anti-democratic president to a smaller agenda of tax cuts and regulatory reform. Ryan would make a splendid president of any chamber of commerce.

The other leaders have been similarly de-spined. They chortle among themselves as Trump says in the morning that he will veto this bill or that bill, and in the afternoon signs it. They say nothing about the rhetorical mugging of Mexico or his long-held and mysterious adulation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. They stay silent while being soaked in a rain of lies, dignity running off them and splashing into the Washington gutter."

Read the full story....

“U.S. multinational firms are the global grandmasters of tax avoidance schemes that deplete not just U.S. tax collection but the tax collection of most every large economy in the world.”

Said: Edward D. Kleinbard, a former corporate tax adviser to such companies who is now a law professor at the University of Southern California, as reported in The New York Times by Jesse Drucker and Simon Bowers. 

The report titled "After a Tax Crackdown, Apple Found a New Shelter for Its Profits" is based on the secret corporate records (Paradise Papers) from Appleby, a Bermuda-based law firm that caters to businesses and the wealthy elite. 

"These documents reveal how big law firms help clients weave their way through the gaps between different countries’ tax rules. Appleby clients have transferred trademarks, patent rights and other valuable assets into offshore shell companies, avoiding billions of dollars in taxes. The rights to Nike’s Swoosh trademark, Uber’s taxi-hailing app, Allergan’s Botox patents and Facebook’s social media technology have all resided in shell companies that listed as their headquarters Appleby offices in Bermuda and Grand Cayman, the records show," says the article.

“U.S. multinational firms are the global grandmasters of tax avoidance schemes that deplete not just U.S. tax collection but the tax collection of most every large economy in the world.”

The above quote in the article comes from a lawyer Edward D. Kleinbard who, the article says, has worked as a corporate tax adviser to such companies in their tax avoidance management. 

Isn't it interesting that this lawyer is now a law professor at the University of Southern California?   

His profile page says: "Kleinbard received his JD from Yale Law School, and his MA in History and BA in Medieval and Renaissance Studies from Brown University. Kleinbard was for over 20 years a partner in the New York office of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. "

You can watch Kleinbard deliver "Searching for our Fiscal Soul" at TEDX Livermore on Youtube.