FBI Gets Clearer Indication That Trump Campaign Coordinated with Russians Amid Improper Actions by Rep. Devin Nunes: WATCH

The FBI is getting a clearer picture of information that indicates that associates of Donald Trump coordinated with Russian during the 2016 campaign, CNN reports:

This is partly what FBI Director James Comey was referring to when he made a bombshell announcement Monday before Congress that the FBI is investigating the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, according to one source.

The FBI is now reviewing that information, which includes human intelligence, travel, business and phone records and accounts of in-person meetings, according to those U.S. officials. The information is raising the suspicions of FBI counterintelligence investigators that the coordination may have taken place, though officials cautioned that the information was not conclusive and that the investigation is ongoing.

Rep. Adam Schiff this afternoon told Chuck Todd this afternoon that the case was now “more than circumstantial:”

“I can tell you that the case is more than that. And I can’t go into the particulars, but there is more than circumstantial evidence now. I don’t want to go into specifics, but I will say that there is evidence that is not circumstantial and is very much worthy of investigation. So that is what we ought to do.”

Schiff on collusion btw Trump associates and Russians: “I can’t go into the particulars, but there is more than circumstantial evidence now” pic.twitter.com/JvPv74ROiM

— David Mack (@davidmackau) March 22, 2017

Schiff’s remarks came after a whirlwind afternoon during which his counterpart, House Intel Committee Chairman Devin Nunes took information directly to Donald Trump — the subject of the investigation — which should have been shared with members of the intelligence committee first.

Nunes then held a breathless press conference about what he did:

Nunes’s shocking action shows that a credible non-partisan investigation into the connections between Trump and Russia is impossible and reveals that Nunes’s motives are purely political. Many are today reiterating calls for an independent investigation.

Trump says he feels “somewhat” vindicated by Nunes: “I very much appreciated the fact that they found what they found”. pic.twitter.com/PwuEaICG2q

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) March 22, 2017

Still unclear are the contents of the intercepts that Nunes shared with Trump.

Schiff released a statement:

“This afternoon, Chairman Devin Nunes announced he had some form of intercepts revealing that lawfully gathered intelligence on foreign officials included information on U.S. persons, potentially including those associated with President Trump or the president himself. If accurate, this information should have been shared with members of the committee, but it has not been. Indeed, it appears that committee members only learned about this when the chairman discussed the matter this afternoon with the press. The chairman also shared this information with the White House before providing it to the committee, another profound irregularity, given that the matter is currently under investigation. I have expressed my grave concerns with the chairman that a credible investigation cannot be conducted this way.

“As to the substance of what the chairman has alleged, if the information was lawfully gathered intelligence on foreign officials, that would mean that U.S. persons would not have been the subject of surveillance. In my conversation late this afternoon, the chairman informed me that most of the names in the intercepted communications were in fact masked, but that he could still figure out the probable identity of the parties. Again, this does not indicate that there was any flaw in the procedures followed by the intelligence agencies. Moreover, the unmasking of a U.S. person’s name is fully appropriate when it is necessary to understand the context of collected foreign intelligence information.

“Because the committee has still not been provided the intercepts in the possession of the chairman, it is impossible to evaluate the chairman’s claims. It certainly does not suggest — in any way — that the president was wiretapped by his predecessor.”

He also spoke to CNN about Nunes’s actions.

Said Schiff:

The post FBI Gets Clearer Indication That Trump Campaign Coordinated with Russians Amid Improper Actions by Rep. Devin Nunes: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

FBI Gets Clearer Indication That Trump Campaign Coordinated with Russians Amid Improper Actions by Rep. Devin Nunes: WATCH

Hermoso Means Beautiful (Photos)

www.advocate.com/books/2017/3/22/hermoso-means-beautiful-photos

HRC Rallies with Members of Congress and former VP Biden ahead of ACA Repeal Vote

This morning, HRC members and supporters joined Members of Congress and former Vice President Biden on the steps of the Capitol to speak out against repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are working to force a vote on repeal of the ACA as soon as tomorrow.

Our message today was “#SaveACA” because the repeal of the ACA will have disastrous effects for the millions of Americans who rely on it for their healthcare.

In a devastating analysis, the Congressional Budget Office estimated last week that the Republican alternative to the ACA would result in 14 million people losing their health care coverage next year, and 24 million by 2026. The Republican plan would place in jeopardy coverage for thousands of low-income people living with HIV who have been able to obtain health insurance through the ACA’s Medicaid expansion. It would also cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which could endanger the ability of clinics to deliver preventive health services, including HIV testing and transition-related care, and would eliminate ACA’s public health and prevention fund that invests in the nation’s public health infrastructure — disproportionately affecting people living in rural and isolated areas. And today, HRC sent a letter to Congress opposing the GOP’s unconscionable plan.

The ACA is a landmark piece of legislation that provides access to healthcare for 22 million Americans, including millions of LGBTQ people. Under the ACA, state marketplaces, health plans, and their employees are prohibited from discriminating against LGBTQ people. And insurers can’t charge more if you have a pre-existing condition, such as HIV or cancer. Data shows that the LGBTQ community is less likely to have health insurance than the non-LGBTQ community. The ACA makes new coverage options available to Americans, including those without access to coverage through a domestic partner or employer and those with pre-existing health conditions. Learn more about what the ACA does for the LGBTQ community here.

We urge HRC members, supporters and allies to call their congressperson today to urge them to vote against repeal of the ACA. Call the House switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or find the direct contact information for your congressperson here.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-rallies-with-members-of-congress-and-former-vp-biden-ahead-of-aca-repea?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Internet Responds to Daily Beast Writer's Apology: Too Little, Too Late

Some commentators were underwhelmed by the apology for an article that effectely outed closeted Olympians.

www.advocate.com/media/2017/3/22/internet-responds-daily-beast-writers-apology-too-little-too-late

Price tag to protect “unusually complicated” Trumps just got even more insane

It’s well-known that President Trump and his family are racking up quite the federally-funded tab a mere three months into his administration, but now it’s been reported that the U.S. Secret Service is requesting an extra $60 million for next year to account for “the unusually complicated lifestyle of the Trump family.”

So what does an extra $60 mill get you in this day and age? Well roughly half of the additional money — $26.8 million — will go towards securing Melania and Barron in their glass tower in Midtown Manhattan.

More specifically, the Melania/Barron fund will go towards “residence security operations at the president’s private residence in Trump Tower,” with $12.5 set aside to pay for “personnel related costs in New York.”

That’s to say nothing of the additional millions spent by the city of New York at the cost of taxpayers.

Related: “Miserable” Melania refuses to share a bed with Donald, multiple sources claim

Another $33 million will be used for extra travel costs for “the president, vice president and other visiting heads of state.”

Since taking office, Trump has spent most of his weekends at Mar-a-Lago ($$$), and his sons have been traveling the world promoting Trump properties with full Secret Service details ($$$).

“There’s no time for vacation. We’re not going to be big on vacations,” then-candidate Trump said at a campaign rally last year, criticizing President Obama’s travel schedule. “The White House is this incredible place. It represents so much, and you’re there for a limited period of time. If you’re at the White House and you have so much work to do, why do you fly? Why do you leave so much?”

A source who has knowledge of internal Secret Service budget planning told the Washington Post that the request for funds was actually rejected by the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Related: Thanks to millennials, Trump’s approval ratings are worse than any president in over 70 years

So what does that mean for all of us? Well, the Secret Service will instead likely chip money away from other programs to accommodate the bloated costs. That means taking money from investigating things like cybercrime, missing and exploited children, and counterfeit-money — all operations under the purview of the Secret Service.

Meanwhile, President Trump has proposed a massive federal budget cut that even conservatives are calling “draconian.”

And here’s the real kicker — a portion of that extra $60 million will go directly into the pockets of none other than Donald Trump himself.

Take Trump Tower in Manhattan, home to Melania and Barron: To provide adequate protection to the first family, Secret Service must rent out significant space in the building.

Their landlord, of course, is the president.

www.queerty.com/price-tag-protect-unusually-complicated-trumps-just-got-even-insane-20170322?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Trump Has a ‘Shadow Government’ of Appointees to Watch Cabinet Officials

“Senior White House advisors” have been mobilized to watch over several Cabinet agencies to conduct loyalty tests and micromanage the Secretary supposedly in charge of each agency.

If it sounds creepy, it is:

The arrangement is unusual. It wasn’t used by presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush or Bill Clinton. And it’s also different from the traditional liaisons who shepherd the White House’s political appointees to the various agencies. Critics say the competing chains of command eventually will breed mistrust, chaos and inefficiency — especially as new department heads build their staffs.

Even though Trump saw fit to appoint Cabinet members who are actively dedicated against the policy areas in their care—a Secretary of Education who undermines public schools (the feeling is mutual as a result), an Environmental Protection Agency chief who denies climate change, an Interior Secretary who voted against the Endangered Species Act no fewer than 21 times while in Congress, just to provide a few examples—he will not tolerate the slightest deviation from his agenda, even if that agenda primarily seems to be loyalty to him, the WaPo adds:

This shadow government of political appointees with the title of senior White House adviser is embedded at every Cabinet agency, with offices in or just outside the secretary’s suite. The White House has installed at least 16 of the advisers at departments including Energy and Health and Human Services and at some smaller agencies such as NASA, according to records first obtained by ProPublica through a Freedom of Information Act request.

These aides report not to the secretary, but to the Office of Cabinet Affairs, which is overseen by Rick Dearborn, a White House deputy chief of staff, according to administration officials. A top Dearborn aide, John Mashburn, leads a weekly conference call with the advisers, who are in constant contact with the White House.

The aides act as a go-between on policy matters for the agencies and the White House. Behind the scenes, though, they’re on another mission: to monitor Cabinet leaders and their top staffs to make sure they carry out the president’s agenda and don’t stray too far from the White House’s talking points, said several officials with knowledge of the arrangement.

So far, the lack of subtlety or space given to conduct policy has raised some hackles:

At the Pentagon, Brett Byers acts as a go-between between Mattis’s team and the White House, largely on “bureaucratic” matters, said an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel issues.

Career officials who work near the “E” ring offices occupied by senior Pentagon staff, suspicious that Byers is not directly on Mattis’s team, came up with the Soviet-era moniker “commissar” to describe him, someone familiar with their thinking said.

Elsewhere, resentment has built up. Pruitt is bristling at the presence of former Washington state senator Don Benton, who ran the president’s Washington state campaign and is now the EPA’s senior White House adviser, said two senior administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.

These officials said Benton piped up so frequently during policy discussions that he had been disinvited from many of them. One of the officials described the situation as akin to an episode of the HBO comedy series “Veep.”

This is less about bruised egos, sharp elbows or power struggles, however, than a fledgling cult of personality building up around somebody who is new to the functions of government. Public officials are meant to serve the public, and the privilege to appoint them should be self-sufficient without instituting a new series of hurdles that only satisfy the needy, volatile whims of one person. This unsettling innovation to the executive branch bears further watching.

The post Trump Has a ‘Shadow Government’ of Appointees to Watch Cabinet Officials appeared first on Towleroad.

Trump Has a ‘Shadow Government’ of Appointees to Watch Cabinet Officials

Pence Receives “Working for Women” Award, HRC Highlights His “Achievements” in New Video

Today, HRC released a video highlighting Vice President Mike Pence’s “achievements” as he receives a “Working for Women” award from the Independent Women’s Forum, a conservative women’s organization on whose board Kellyanne Conway serves.

“What would we do without Mike Pence and his tireless efforts to ban women from making decisions about our own bodies, serve openly in the military, or earn an equal paycheck?” said Olivia Alair Dalton, SVP of Communications & Marketing for the Human Rights Campaign. “With an agenda like this, there are women everywhere who owe Mike Pence a debt they can literally never repay.”

A look back at some of Mike Pence’s historic achievements on behalf of women:

• 1997: Pence wrote that children put in day care were emotionally stunted [CNN, 7/18/16]
• 1999: Pence argued that the movie Mulan was a cautionary tale about the negative consequences of letting women serve in the military [BuzzFeed, 7/17/16]
• 2008: Pence voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act [H.R. 1338, Vote 556, 110^th Congress, 7/31/08]
• 2009: Pence voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act [H.R.11, Vote 9, 111^th Congress, 1/9/09]
• 2009: Pence voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act (Again) [H.R. 12, Vote 8, 111^th Congress, 1/9/09]
• 2009: Pence voted against hate crimes protections for LGBTQ people [New York Times, 10/8/09]
• 2010: Pence opposed allowing lesbian and bisexual women to serve openly in the military [Towleroad, 11/19/10]
• 2011: Pence led the charge to defund Planned Parenthood while in Congress [Politico, 2/16/11]
• 2011: Pence was an original sponsor of the 2011 bill to redefine rape to “forcible rape” [Washington Post, 2/1/11]
• 2015: As Governor, Pence signed bill that allowed businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ people, but eventually relented in the face of overwhelming opposition [Indianapolis Star, 3/25/15]
• 2015: Pence said he opposed adding sexual orientation to Indiana’s non-discrimination protections [ABC, “This Week,” 3/29/15]
• 2015: Pence lobbied against legislation to encourage HPV vaccinations in Indiana [Indiana Public media, 2/26/15]
• 2016: Pence signed a law that would have forced women to seek funeral services for miscarriages [Vox, 10/3/16]
• 2016: Pence proudly stood by Donald Trump after Trump’s comments bragging about sexual assault were made public [CBS News, 10/10/16]

www.hrc.org/blog/mike-pence-receives-working-for-women-award-hrc-highlights-achievements?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Woman Killed in Baltimore Is Eighth Trans Murder Victim of 2017

The 38-year-old woman’s name has yet to be released.

www.advocate.com/crime/2017/3/22/woman-killed-baltimore-eighth-trans-murder-victim-2017

How does Zac Efron stack up to the original “Baywatch” hunks?

Baywatch is only the latest ’80s remake to roll down the Hollywood conveyor belt that brought us such reboots as 21 Jump Street and Dukes of Hazzard, but the burning question remains: Will the muscly manflesh quotient be anywhere near as high as the original lifeguard drama at its Speedo-clad peak?

Related: How Baywatch’s Jaason Simmons Came Out To His Costars, Even Though They Knew He Was Gay

And more importantly, how does Zac Efron stack up to the parade of cheesecake that bounded through each of Baywatch‘s eleven seasons?

Here’s Zac Efron:

And here’s David Chokachi:

Zac Efron again:

Michael Bergin: 

Once again…  Zac Efron: 

Jeremy Jackson: 

And here’s Zac Efron again, in the latest trailer for the film: 

www.queerty.com/zac-efron-stack-original-baywatch-hunks-20170322?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29