President Donald Trump has termed special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into the allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US elections as “the world’s most expensive witch hunt” as he trashed a media report that said an emissary representing the governments of Saudi Arabia and the UAE offered help to his campaign.
Trump said Mueller was turning to other leads around the world after finding no collusion or obstruction of justice in its ongoing probe.
The president was reacting to a story in The New York Times that George Nader, purportedly representing the two Persian Gulf states, met with Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, at Trump Tower in August 2016.
The paper reported that Nader told Trump Jr that Saudi and UAE princes were interested in helping his father win the election and that an Israeli social media expert who also attended the meeting suggested ways to help manipulate public opinion. According to the newspaper, Trump Jr reacted approvingly to the offer, though it is unclear whether any plan was put into action by the campaign.
“Things are really getting ridiculous. The Failing and Crooked (but not as Crooked as Hillary Clinton) @nytimes has done a long & boring story indicating that the world’s most expensive witch hunt has found nothing on Russia & me so now they are looking at the rest of the World!” Trump said in a series of tweets.
“At what point does this soon to be USD20,000,000 Witch Hunt, composed of 13 Angry and Heavily Conflicted Democrats and two people who have worked for Obama for 8 years, STOP!. They have found no collusion with Russia, no obstruction,” he said.
He then went on to target Mueller’s team, calling for an investigation into former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton instead of him.
“But they aren’t looking at the corruption… .in the Hillary Clinton Campaign where she deleted 33,000 Emails, got US45,000,000 while Secretary of State, paid McCabes wife USD700,000 (and got off the FBI hook along with Terry M) and so much more. Republicans and real Americans should start getting tough on this Scam,” Trump alleged.
“Now that the Witch Hunt has given up on Russia and is looking at the rest of the World, they should easily be able to take it into the Mid-Term Elections where they can put some hurt on the Republican Party,” Trump said.
This week marked the one-year anniversary of Mueller’s appointment as special counsel. Trump has repeatedly attacked the investigation as a “witch hunt” and claimed that the probe is biased against him. — PTI
09:00 Day after ‘pleading’ to stop firing, Pak violates ceasefire again:
In yet another ceasefire violation, Pakistani Rangers today fired mortar shells on border outposts at several places in Jammu and Kashmir’s Arnia sector, prompting retaliation by the Border Security Force personnel guarding the International Border.
The mortar firing from across the border started around 0700 hours in Arnia sector of Jammu and was still continuing when last reports were received, a senior Border Security Force official told PTI.
“Three border outposts are under fire from the Pakistani Rangers and the personnel deployed there are also retaliating to silence the Pakistani guns,” the official said.
“However, there was no immediate report of any casualty in the shelling,” he said.
Last night, Pakistani troops fired small arms and mortars, targeting Narayanpur area of Ramgarh sector in Samba district, hours after “pleading” with the BSF to stop firing, after being pounded with heavy artillery that left a trooper dead across the border.
The BSF also released a 19-second thermal-imagery footage, showing the destruction of a Pakistani picket across the border, in retaliation to the unprovoked firing and shelling along the IB.
The BSF has lost two of its jawans in the latest round of unprovoked firing along the IB in Jammu region since May 15.
Four civilians were killed and 11 others injured on Friday in the Jammu area due to the firing, which increased in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s day-long visit to Jammu and Kashmir on May 19. — PTI
08:51 Solution to combat surging fuel prices soon: Petroleum minister:
Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that the increase in fuel prices was due to reduced production of oil in Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and hike in crude oil price in the international market.
Petrol prices on Saturday touched a record high of Rs 76.24 per litre and diesel climbed to its highest-ever level of Rs 67.57 as the oil PSUs passed on four weeks of relentless rise in international oil prices to consumers.
Noting that people, especially the middle-class, have to suffer due to price hike of oil, the minister said the government would try to work out a solution soon to deal with the situation.
“It’s not in our hand. There is less production of oil in OPEC countries. The government will soon come out with a solution,” he told reporters in Bhubaneswar.
Pradhan, however, did not spell out the details.
Stressing the need for stable and moderate oil prices, he said the surging fuel prices have negative impact on consumers and the Indian economy.
With global crude prices soaring, the minister has already pressed OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia to keep prices stable and moderate, saying that spike in rates would have a negative impact on Indian consumers as well as on the economy.
Pradhan had conveyed India’s concerns when Saudi Arabian Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih called him recently. — PTI
08:43 Rahul, Priyanka pay homage to their father: Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra pay their respects to their father, ex-prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary.
08:36 Former Congress president and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi pays homage to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 27th death anniversary at Vir Bhumi in New Delhi.
08:25 PM leaves for Russia for informal summit with Putin:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left for Russia for an informal summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi.
During their informal summit, the two leaders will primarily focus on pressing global and regional issues, including impact of the United States withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.
Official sources have said the two leaders will meet for four to six hours for the “agendaless” talks where deliberations on bilateral issues are likely to be very limited.
They said the issues on the table may include economic impact on India and Russia in the wake of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, situation in Afghanistan and Syria, threat of terrorism, and matters relating to the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS summits.
The sources said the possible impact of the US sanctions against Russia under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act on Indo-Russia defence cooperation might also figure during the talks between Modi and Putin.
India is not going to allow its defence engagement with Russia to be dictated by any other country, the sources have said, adding New Delhi has been lobbying with the Trump administration on the issue.
The aim of the informal summit is to use the friendship and trust between the two countries to create convergence on key global and regional issues, the sources said.
Source: Rediff