President-elect Donald Trump has backed Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in casting doubt on intelligence alleging Russian meddling in the US election.
Mr Assange said Russia was not the source for the site’s mass leak of emails from the Democratic Party.
Mr Trump has now backed that view in a tweet. He wrote: „Assange… said Russians did not give him the info! “
The president-elect has repeatedly refused to accept the conclusions of the US intelligence community.
Several US agencies including the FBI and the CIA believe Russia directed hacks against the Democratic Party and the campaign of its presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
The information, released through Wikileaks and other outlets, was intended to help Mr Trump win the election, say the FBI and CIA.
On Tuesday evening, Mr Trump said an intelligence briefing he was due to receive on the issue had been delayed.
„Perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange! “ he wrote.
But US intelligence officials insisted there had been no delay in the briefing schedule.
In an interview with Fox News , Mr Assange repeated his claim that Russia was not behind the leak.
He also said a 14-year-old could have carried out one of the hacks, on the email account of John Podesta, a top aide of Mrs Clinton.
In 2010, several leading Republican figures were calling for the Wikileaks founder to be imprisoned after his website published thousands of embarrassing diplomatic cables leaked by former Army Pte Chelsea Manning.
Mr Trump tweeted twice on Wednesday morning in support of what Mr Assange said on Fox News.
However, Mr Trump has previously been critical of the Wikileaks organisation.
When asked by a Fox News reporter in 2010 to comment on leaks, he responded: „I think it’s disgraceful, I think there should be like death penalty or something. “
In another development, Mr Trump’s pick for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson , has agreed he will cut all ties with Exxon Mobil and comply with conflict-of-interest requirements. He departs with a $180m retirement package.
Meanwhile, Republicans have ditched a plan to gut the independent body that investigates political misconduct after a backlash.
The lawmakers‘ surprise vote to strip the Office of Congressional Ethics of its independence prompted public uproar and a dressing down from Mr Trump on Twitter.
The secretive move, which overshadowed the first day of the 115th Congress, was reversed in an emergency meeting.
The ethics body was set up in 2008 following a slew of scandals that resulted in several House lawmakers being jailed.
Mr Trump made cleaning up corruption in Washington a key theme of his campaign.
Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan had argued unsuccessfully against the rule change, which was adopted on Monday night in a closed-door meeting.
As the news spread, internet searches for „who is my representative“ rocketed, according to Google Trends, and constituents tried to call and email lawmakers to object.
House Republicans called an emergency meeting and abruptly voted to undo the change.

Similarity rank: 3.1

Sentiment rank: -3.5

© Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38505398
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Richard Gonzales
Former Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington in June 2012. Holder, now in private practice, has signed on to represent the California Legislature as outside legal counsel.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
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Former Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington in June 2012. Holder, now in private practice, has signed on to represent the California Legislature as outside legal counsel.
Democratic leaders of the California Legislature signaled their intention Wednesday to fight any challenges to state policies by the incoming administration of Donald Trump by hiring as outside legal counsel former Attorney General Eric Holder.
The announcement came in a joint statement issued by California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon.
„With the upcoming change in administrations, we expect that there will be extraordinary challenges for California in the uncertain times ahead,“ said the lawmakers.
Holder will assist Gov. Jerry Brown, yet-to-be-confirmed Attorney General Javier Becerra and the Legislature „to protect California’s economy and our sensible policies on climate change, health care, civil rights and immigration. This is a critical moment in the history of our nation. We have an obligation to defend the people who elected us and the policies and diversity that make California an example of what truly makes our nation great. “
The move comes amid escalating rhetoric from California leaders, all Democrats, since the election in which Trump lost the state by more than 4 million votes.
Last month Rendon called the Trump administration a “ major existential threat. “ Days later, Brown delivered a full-throated warning that California has no intention of reversing its climate change policies.
„We’ve got the scientists, we’ve got the lawyers, and we’re ready to fight,“ Brown told a group of scientists in San Francisco. „We’re ready to defend. California is no stranger to this fight. “
Holder was attorney general in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2015. He’s currently a partner in the law firm Covington & Burling. According to the Associated Press , the firm will be paid $25,000 a month for three months starting in February. The deal will be renegotiated afterward.
But it’s not going over well with Republican lawmakers.
„The state’s incoming attorney general has spent decades in Washington working on federal policies,“ said Assemblyman Chad Mayes, R-Yucca Valley, in a statement quoted by the Sacramento Bee. „It’s not clear why legislative Democrats needed to hire a D. C. insider to litigate the exact same issues. “
In a statement offered by de Leon’s office, Holder said he was honored to help the Legislature „as it considers how to respond to potential changes in federal law that could impact California’s residents and policy priorities. I am confident that our expertise across a wide array of federal legal and regulatory issues will be a great resource to the legislature. „

Similarity rank: 3.2

Sentiment rank: 0

© Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/04/508265259/california-lawmakers-prepare-for-trump-hire-ex-attorney-general-eric-holder?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news
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Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf officially announced the appointment of the city’s newest police chief on Wednesday. „I am so excited to be in Oakland and be your chief of police,“ Anne Kirkpatrick said during the news conference. „I think it’s the greatest opportunity in America policing today. „She is Oakland’s first female police chief, filling a void left open for seven months as the new head of a force that’s been rocked by scandal and a succession of leaders. „I do have the courage to hold officers accountable, but that includes myself,“ Kirkpatrick said. „But also to the men and women of the Oakland Police Department, in this chief, I have the courage to stand by you. „Schaaf said community input was the cornerstone of Kirkpatrick’s selection. „Oaklanders wanted a leader with integrity, able to change culture,“ she said. Kirkpatrick has 34 years of law enforcement experience. A former chief in Spokane, she most recently worked in Chicago, appointed by Mayor Rahm Emmanuel to lead reform efforts there. Some hope she’ll do the same here. „We’ve got to give her a chance, like we do everybody. Just got to give her a chance to see what’s going to happen,“ Oakland NAACP spokesperson Cynthia Adams said. In Oakland, Kirkpatrick will not only have to gain the trust of a skeptical community but also the support of the rank and file. „Through all these turbulent times, Oakland police officers have been working hard for this community and now we hope we have an equally hard-working chief of police to guide us into the New Year,“ Barry Donelan said. Unlike prior chiefs, Kirkpatrick does plan to live where she works. „I just told everybody I’ve got to save up some money, y’all are expensive,“ she said.

Similarity rank: 3.2

Sentiment rank: 4.6

© Source: http://abc7news.com/news/anne-kirkpatrick-introduced-as-oaklands-new-police-chief/1686182/
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President-elect Donald Trump is considering an overhaul of the office of the Director of National Intelligence — and Mr. Trump could leave the director post vacant as part of the restructuring, sources tell CBS News’ Major Garrett.
Mr. Trump has been critical of the intelligence agencies after claims in early December that Russia had interfered in the U. S. election. Mr. Trump mocked the intelligence communities on Twitter on Tuesday, claiming his briefing had been delayed.
The briefing will be held on Friday, but sources told CBS News’ Jeff Pegues on Wednesday that the meeting had always been scheduled for Friday.
President-elect Donald Trump expressed more skepticism on Wednesday of the U. S. intelligence community’s conclusions about Russian cyberattacks. …
In a possible sign of a contentious relationship, Mr. Trump on Wednesday sent a tweet that appeared to agree with Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, someone the president-elect had once denounced. Assange published the NSA leaks from Edward Snowden in 2013, and intelligence sources tell CBS News’ Jeff Pegues that the NSA has yet to recover from those disclosures.
Mr. Trump’s fellow Republicans quickly distanced themselves from the comments praising Assange. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is a member of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called Assange a “fugutive from the law with a history of undermining U. S. interests.”
In December, President Obama ordered a full review by the intelligence community of any possible hacking that targeted the presidential election, and results of that report are expected to be presented to Mr. Obama on Thursday.
The heads of the NSA, FBI, DNI and FBI will have an “unprecedented” meeting with Mr. Trump on Friday in New York City, CBS News’ Jeff Pegues reports. Law enforcement sources say this will be the first meeting between the president-elect and FBI director James Comey, whose future at the FBI is unclear after his Oct. 28th decision to reopen the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server. Many on Clinton’s team — and it’s been suggested that Clinton herself agrees — have blamed Clinton’s loss on Comey’s announcement.

Similarity rank: 5.3

Sentiment rank: 4.8

© Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-considering-overhaul-of-director-of-national-intelligence-major-intelligence-agency/
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