Category Archives: news

“Insurance Policy” on Trump Revealed in Transcripts: Want to See?

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by Daveda Gruber:

On Tuesday House Judiciary Committee Republicans released hundreds of pages of transcripts from last year’s closed-door interview with ex-FBI attorney Lisa Page.

The long and drawn out Russian meddling probe  ultimately brought up and gave center stage to explosive texts between then-lovers Page and her partner then-FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok.

The transcripts from last year’s interview with Page brought to light revealing new details about the bureau’s controversial internal discussions regarding an “insurance policy” against then-candidate Donald J. Trump.

Page got her name recognized when it was revealed by the Justice Department inspector general that she and Strzok exchanged numerous anti-Trump text messages. Page and Strzok were deeply involved in the FBI’s initial counterintelligence investigation into Russian meddling. They investigated potential collusion with Trump campaign associates during the 2016 election. Later, they both served on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team.

In the text messages that were shared by Page and Strzok the so-called “insurance policy” was mentioned on numerous occasions.

During her interview with the Judiciary Committee in July 2018, Page was questioned about the texts. Page answered questions for about 10 hours total on July 13 and July 16.

Page ultimately confirmed that the “insurance policy”  referred to the Russia investigation. She explained that officials were proceeding with caution, concerned about the implications of the case while not wanting to go at “total breakneck speed” and risk burning sources as they presumed Trump wouldn’t be elected anyway.

Page also confirmed that investigators only had a “paucity” of evidence at the start.

The full text of the questions can be seen here:

Lisa Page Interview Day 1 by on Scribd

Lisa Page Interview Day 2 by on Scribd

After the questioning began, then-Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., asked about the text sent from Strzok to Page in August 2016.

The text reads, “I want to believe the path you threw out in Andy’s [McCabe’s] office—that there’s no way he gets elected—but I’m afraid we can’t take the risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.”

FBI agents had named the investigation into the Trump campaign, “Crossfire Hurricane.”

Page said, “So, upon the opening of the crossfire hurricane investigation, we had a number of discussions up through and including the Director regularly in which we were trying to find an answer to the question, right, which is, is there someone associated with the [Trump] campaign who is working with the Russians in order to obtain damaging information about Hillary Clinton. And given that it is August, we were very aware of the speed and sensitivity that we needed to operate under.”

Page also said that, “if the answer is this is a guy just being puffery at a meeting with other people, great, then we don’t need to worry about this, and we can all move on with our lives; if this is, in fact, the Russians have coopted an individual with, you know, maybe wittingly or unwittingly, that’s incredibly grave, and we need to know that as quickly as possible.”

If you read the transcripts, you will see that it was never expected that Trump would be the President of the United States. In fact, the D.C. swamp agreed and Page said that all they needed was an allegation, and claimed “it is entirely common, particularly in a counterintelligence investigation, that you would only have—you would have a small amount of evidence” in launching a probe.

The pair worked on the FBI’s investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private email server and then Page served a short detail on Mueller’s team and then returned to her post at the FBI in 2017.  She then ultimately left the bureau in May 2018.

Strzok was removed from Mueller’s team after the texts were discovered and was reassigned to the FBI’s Human Resources Division. He was fired in August 2018.

Recently, former FBI Deputy Director McCabe, said he did not recall ever discussing the “insurance policy” with Strzok or Page.

I believe that “Andy’s” bubble burst with revelations that Page remembered the situation clearly.

Permanent Daylight Saving Time Alright with Trump

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by Daveda Gruber:

Many of us lost an hour of sleep this past weekend and that includes President Trump. Apparently, our president is tired of switching clocks as much as we are.

Daylight Saving Time began on Sunday morning and every year since I can remember we all lose an hour of sleep in exchange for the longer daylight hours of spring.

Not every state in the U.S. observes Daylight Saving Time. Arizona and Hawaii take a pass while the rest of us made that spring forward this past weekend.

Trump took to Twitter to give us a message about Daylight Saving Time. He tweeted:

I did tweet to our president explaining my thoughts.

The main purpose of Daylight Saving Time, which is called “Summer Time” in many places in the world, is to make better use of daylight. We change our clocks during the summer months to move an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening.

Daylight Saving Time has been used in the U.S. and in many European countries since World War I. It was originally proposed as an Act to preserve daylight and provide standard time for the United States. It was enacted on March 19, 1918. It both established standard time zones and set summer DST to begin on March 31, 1918.

Changing the clocks is “a way of conserving fuel needed for war industries and of extending the working day,” according to the Library of Congress. Still it was it was only designed to be temporary. The law was repealed as soon as the war was over.

The issue of daylight saving emerged again during World War II. On Jan. 20, 1942, Congress re-established daylight saving time.

Most of the United States begins Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and reverts to standard time on the first Sunday in November. In the U.S., each time zone switches at a different time. In the European Union, Summer Time begins and ends at 1:00 a.m.

Over twenty years later, in 1966, former President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Uniform Time Act that declared daylight saving time a policy of the U.S. It established uniform start and end times within standard time zones. The policy is regulated by the Department of Transportation.

Not all states participate in the rush to change the clocks. Hawaii, most of Arizona and several U.S. territories, including American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, do not observe daylight saving time.

Trump would need to work with Congress in order to repeal the 1966 Johnson-era law. Last week, Republican Florida Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott filed a bill to extend daylight saving time for the entire year. It is called the Sunshine Protection Act. The Florida legislature voted to adopt the measure last year, but in order for it to take effect, Congress must change the federal law, and Trump must sign it.

Trump’s tweet on Monday morning seemed to signal that should such a proposal make it to his desk, he would sign it.

Losing an hour in the spring is more difficult to adjust to than gaining an hour in the fall. It is similar to airplane travel; traveling east we lose time.

The topic of saving time has caused a nationwide debate since its inception. Many argue that the policy is unnecessary and disturbs sleep patterns. I know it disturbs me. My dog is also affected. Her sleep is important, right?

Supporters say it saves energy because people tend to spend more time outside when it’s lighter out. The DOT claims it also “saves lives and prevents traffic injuries,” because visibility is better when the daylight hour is extended.

And don’t blame cows or farmers for losing sleep. Cows have been given a bad reputation lately for their flatulence which is often blamed as a significant source of greenhouse gases, owing to the erroneous belief that the methane released by livestock is in the flatus. In cows, gas and burps are produced by methane-generating microbes called methanogens, that live inside the cow’s digestive system.

House Rep. Alexandria Orcasio-Cortez D-N.Y. doesn’t take kindly to cows in her Resolution the “Green New Deal.”

Check out this video:

R. Kelly Gets Bail after Child Support Paid

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by Daveda Gruber:

For the second time in two weeks, R&B singer R. Kelly walked out of Cook County Jail. It appears that the singer has not paid child support in a while.

$161,000 in child support was paid on Kelly’s behalf before Kelly could walk out of jail.

Sophie Ansari is a spokeswoman for the Cook County Sheriff’s Department. The department operates the jail.

Ansari said that the money was posted sometime Saturday morning. It is alleged that a close friend of  Kelly said Tuesday the woman who posted bond for the singer met him on a cruise five months ago.

Don Russell, a Kelly friend and adviser, said that within a few months of meeting the R&B singer, Valencia Love posted $100,000 to help Kelly win his freedom from Cook County Jail after he spent three nights in custody.

Kelly, aged 52, was ordered into custody on Wednesday by a judge after he said that he did not have the entire $161,000 he owed in child support.

His latest three-night stay in jail came after a judge ordered him locked up for skipping out on what his ex-wife said was more than eight months of support payments for his three children.

Last month Kelly was charged with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse pertaining to four women, including three who were minors when the alleged abuse occurred.

Kelly’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, said in court last week that the singer’s finances were “a mess” after he was dropped from his record label. This followed recent boycotts of Kelly’s music.

Greenberg also claimed Kelly’s residual income from his music was limited, and that Kelly didn’t even own the rights to his hit song “I Believe I Can Fly.”

Well, Kelly may have believed he could fly but allegedly flying with underage females doesn’t seem to be the right choice.

House Dems Reject Motion Condemning Illegal Immigrant Voting

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by Daveda Gruber:

Do Democrats want an America with open borders? Well, you have to understand that the impressions they are giving surely points to that agenda.

On Friday almost all House Democrats opposed a measure condemning voting in U.S. elections by illegal immigrants.

The GOP backed a measure that would have added language to the “H.R. 1” election proposal as a part of a sweeping election reform bill.

It is really only logical, but then some people have no logic, it was written in the proposal that “allowing illegal immigrants the right to vote devalues the franchise and diminishes the voting power of United States citizens.”

As the federal law stands, non-citizens are prohibited from voting. The law doesn’t seem to be that easy to enforce. We’ve all heard about illegal voting, haven’t we?

In some cases it is easier to see when voting is manipulated. Many states have found that “dead people” vote and some measures have been taken to stop it.

It becomes more difficult to pin point voter fraud when a city such as San Francisco, which is allowing non-citizens, including illegal immigrants, to register to vote in school board elections.

All House Democrats, except for six of them, voted down the measure by 228-197.  One Republican opposed it.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) said, “It sounds like I’m making it up,” What kind of government would cancel the vote of its own citizens, and replace it with noncitizens?”

He tweeted this:

Lauren Fine, who is a spokeswoman for House GOP Whip Steve Scalise, made the point that an identical resolution was adopted by the House last September. On Friday, 41 Democrats flipped and now oppose this latest measure. How quickly they change their minds.

Fine said, “These 41 Democrats must now answer to voters why they were against illegal immigrants voting in elections six months ago, but are suddenly in favor of it now.”

Scalise took to Twitter and tweeted:

On Friday the House, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at the helm, approved the Democrat-backed election bill. It would institute public financing of congressional campaigns, require presidential candidates to disclose tax returns and make Election Day a federal holiday.

Unfortunately for the Democrats, the measure is dead on arrival in the Senate.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., sees problems with the bill.

The “H.R. 1” measure has been criticized by civil libertarians and Republicans over First Amendment concerns.

Republicans still control the Senate and that closes the case.

Does a Presidential Candidate Need Ohio to Win?

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by Daveda Gruber:

Ohio was always a priority state for any election. It has always been said that if you want to win an election, you must win Ohio. That concept seems to have been dumped.

Hillary Clinton had the support of a top Democratic super PAC that spent $133 million in 2016. The PAC says that it no longer considers Ohio a target state for the 2020 presidential election.

Why, you ask? The PAC wants to align itself with the extreme left or socialist Democratic Party.

Yes folks, the Democrats are not even trying to reach Conservative or even Independent voters. In fact, they are grasping hold of socialist leaning leaders and voters. That is the game plan.

Priorities USA is a moneyed super PAC that supported both President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign and Clinton’s 2016 run for the White House. They labeled the state a “GOP Watch,” along with states such as Texas and Iowa in a memo.

Ohio seems less likely to flip than other swing states according to the PAC.

Here is some interesting information:

Priorities USA Presidential… by on Scribd

The PAC sees Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and even traditionally red states like Georgia and Arizona more easily attainable.

Josh Schwerin is a spokesman for Priorities USA. He told the outlet. “It’s not in our initial spending plans. It is in the states to watch-and-see if an investment is worth making.”

Schwerin added, “That doesn’t mean we don’t think Ohio is winnable for a Democrat. What we think that means is if Ohio is in play, we’ll have already won the easier states and have 270 electoral votes. Our investment strategy is how to get to 270 electoral votes.”

Then Candidate Trump won Ohio by 8 percentage points in 2016 and former President Barack Obama won the state by 3 percentage points in 2012.

Priorities USA is a vehicle used by Democratic presidential candidates. It spent $126 million against President Trump and around $6.5 in support of Clinton in 2016.

There are some local Ohio Democrats who have mocked the notion that their state, the so-called “Mother of Presidents,” was no longer a swing state that a White House hopeful must carry to seal a victory.

I find this to be a rather big mistake on the Democratic side, but then, I’m not looking for a Democratic win in Ohio or any other state, for that matter.

In order to keep America from going full blown Socialist, we must have Republican voters out in the masses. We also need Democrats who do not want Socialism to take over this country and Independent voters, as well.

Stand your ground folks. This won’t be easy. There are opponents in all directions. The younger generation along with older Leftists of the American people have been drastically radicalized to the LEFT. We, on the RIGHT must fight for our freedom. Getting our vote out in 2020 will be the most important thing we ever do for our country.

Melania Trump Has a Message for the Media

 
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by Daveda Gruber:

Our beautiful and gracious First Lady Melania Trump had a message for the press as she wrapped up her “Be Best” tour. Her message was short and sweet.

FLOTUS in her closing remarks told the media to just be better.

During a town hall style discussion in Las Vegas, Melania talked about the opioid epidemic, which has claimed nearly 48,000 American lives in 2017.

Melania was quite clear as she said she wished the media would spend as much time highlighting the heartbreaking crisis as it does “idle gossip or trivial stories.”

When news media asked the first lady what else the media could do, she had the answer. She stated that the epidemic should be leading the news.

She said, “I think it should be on every media and the front pages of the newspaper, and I’m sure a lot of people would follow and go home and talk with the children and educate them, so they are responsible adults and they show them how drugs can be dangerous.”

Melania also challenged the media to “devote as much time to the lives lost, and the potential lives that could be saved, by dedicating the same amount of coverage that you do to idle gossip or trivial stories.

She stated, “When we see breaking news on TV, or the front pages of newspapers — it is my hope that it can be about how many lives we were able to save through education and honest dialogue.”

Check out this video:


Melania even delved into her own personal life as she then explained how she teaches her own 12-year-old son, Barron, “how drugs are dangerous. It will mess up your head. It will mess up your body and nothing comes positive out of it.”

The Las Vegas crowd was composed of an audience of several hundred people. It included Vegas entertainer Wayne Newton, who was seated in the theater where Elvis Presley once performed at the Westgate hotel and casino.

Melania’s “Be Best” tour also included a focus on babies born dependent on opioids.

The back and forth in the discussion brought a lighter touch when Melania answered a question about what her family’s choice for a group meal might be and she answered “spaghetti.”

The personal questions did not stop there. She was asked how much cooking she does. She answered that she leaves that to the “professionals” at the White House. She added that there’s “really no time” for her to cook.

The First Lady tweeted about her tour:

God bless our First Lady, Melania Trump.

Ilhan Omar: Hurtful Words or Anti-Semitic?

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by Daveda Gruber:

A delay looms over the consideration of a resolution condemning antisemitism over comments made by Rep. Ilhan Omar D-Minn..

Democratic leaders will put forward a vote on the House floor Wednesday to denounce antisemitism. The text of the resolution and whether Omar would be mentioned by name were left hanging but the latest text being circulated in the House does not mention Omar.

The argumentative environment  could jeopardize bringing up the measure this week because there’s a risk it might not pass.

Over the weekend Omar held her ground and tweeted:

No one had demanded that Omar should have allegiance/pledge support to Israel but she tweeted that she would refuse to “have allegiance/pledge support” to Israel as a condition of serving in Congress.

The Freshman from Minnesota has only been in Congress since January. Yet, she has been the center of controversy over numerous remarks she’s made that have been labeled anti-Semitic, as you can see from her tweets.

Anti-Defamation League Chief Executive Jonathan Greenblatt said in a recent letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that Omar’s suggestion that Jews have a divided loyalty between the U.S. and Israel is “a vile anti-Semitic slur that has been used to harass, marginalize and persecute the Jewish people for centuries.”

Greenblatt did not leave out but did condemned the attacks Omar has faced for her own Islamic faith. A resolution would “send the unambiguous message that the United States Congress is no place for hate.”

There are some lawmakers who are pushing for Omar to lose her role on a key House committee.

On Tuesday, House GOP Whip Steve Scalise tweeted:

On Tuesday, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized the planned resolution, saying other lawmakers weren’t reprimanded after controversial comments.
Ocasio-Cortez tweeted:

GOP leaders finally removed Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) from all committees for having promoted white nationalism and ¬supremacy, Democrats should insist on Omar’s expulsion from the Foreign Affairs Committee.

The House Democratic leadership would like to treat the resolution as a “suspension” measure which means that the House can bring the plan to the floor quickly with limited debate. It would need a two-thirds vote to pass.

We all have our own opinions on this matter but I do see that even I got into a little twitter debate on the subject.

I responded to Jack Murphy’s tweet:

One Twitter user was not happy with my opinion. She and I tweeted back and forth:

I didn’t answer the last response to me; should I?

Sign, Sign Everywhere a Sign

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by Daveda Gruber:

Residents and visitors to Hollywood California got a rather interesting view. A billboard was in clear sight on Friday morning. A group of Conservative street artists had put up their work of art.

A billboard, which just happened to be across the street from CNN, was taken over by the artists known as “The Fraction.”

“The Fraction” mocked CNN with their latest project that also made fun of  its president Jeff Zucker for its coverage, or lack thereof, of the summit in Hanoi, Vietnam.

This week’s summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un was actually the big news of the week.

The billboard must have been a sight to behold. I’m sure that Republican views must have caused laughter and agreement with the wording. On the other hand, Democrats may have thought it wasn’t so funny.

The billboard referred to CNN as “Communist News Network.” It also had the phrase “Keep Korea divided” with an asterisk that read “because OrangeManBad.”

The sign also featured an image of Jeff Zucker. The title given to the CNN president was “CEO, CNNPC,” a reference to the “non-playable character” meme which has depicted liberals as robotic.

Okay, I think that’s funny but I really don’t think of CNN as real new, in fact, I’ve called them “Fake News” for a very long time now.

Hollywood Reporter tweeted this:

An anonymous member of “The Faction” told The Hollywood Reporter, “When Trump speaks glowingly of Kim Jong Un it’s a tactic. Zucker and his journo-activists know this, but are more than willing to try to torpedo the summit — the future of the long-suffering North and South Korean people be damned.”

After seven hours of being seen, the sign was taken down and replaced with an advertisement for a marijuana dispensary.

Did you see either one of them? I didn’t see them in person but lyrics came into my mind when I saw the sign. The lyrics to the song say it all:

“Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind
Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?”

The two leaders at the Hanoi summit couldn’t agree on the terms of an agreement. The Trump and Kim summit ended earlier than expected.

On Wednesday CNN gave practically no coverage to the summit. They instead kept the spotlight on the turbulent congressional testimony of former Trump attorney and “fixer” Michael Cohen.

While the congressional hearing was interesting, it didn’t compare to the Summit.

Trump Puts a Damper on Cohen’s Book Manuscript

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by Daveda Gruber:

On Friday President Trump sought to discredit his onetime lawyer, Michael Cohen, by tweeting some of his thoughts on a book deal that Cohen was seeking.

The book deal that has been reportedly proposed paints Trump in a very different light that what was described by Cohen while he testified to Congress this week.

Cohen testified before a Congressional committee for three days in both public and private hearings on Capitol Hill.

Cohen was shopping the book to publishers weeks before the FBI raid on his office. It was reported that Cohen promised chapters would focus on first lady Melania Trump and Trump’s children, as well as the “unfortunate saga” of Stormy Daniels.

Trump’s tweets reflected his feeling on the matter:

The now-disbarred attorney gave disdainful testimony about Trump before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. Cohen out rightly called Trump a “racist,” a “conman” and “a cheat.”

Cohen’s testimony came after he pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a Trump real estate project in Russia as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling and potential collusion with Trump campaign associates.

Cohen has pleaded guilty to five counts of tax evasion, one count of making false statements to a financial institution, one count of willfully causing an unlawful corporate contribution, and one count of making an excessive campaign contribution.

Now the president and his Republican allies have aggressively sought to discredit the former Trump loyalist.

On Thursday, Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) wrote to Attorney General William P. Barr, asking him to investigate whether Cohen had perjured himself this week when he insisted during his testimony that he had not wanted a job in the Trump administration. Cohen said that he had been content to serve as Trump’s personal lawyer.

On Friday Republicans seized a video clip that has recently resurfaced from a November 2016 appearance by Cohen on CNN.

During the interview, Cohen is pressed by CNN’s Chris Cuomo about whether he would move from New York to Washington with Trump.

When asked if there was a chance Trump would ask him to take a job on either “the political side” or the “governmental side,” Cohen says, “I certainly hope so.” Asked if he’d go to Washington, Cohen says, “One hundred percent.”

During Wednesday’s congressional testimony, Cohen told lawmakers he was “extremely proud” to be the personal attorney for Trump as he became president.

But during his testimony Cohen said, “I did not want to go to the White House. I was offered jobs.”

Alleged contradictions seem to be surfacing from every which way. Cohen has promised to return to Capitol Hill and testify on March 6, 2019.

Cohen’s lawyer is Lanny Davis who is a longtime Clinton ally. From 1996 to 1998, he served as a special counsel to former President Bill Clinton. That fact alone makes me think that there is something rather fishy going on.

Trump said prosecutors should start looking at Democrats “where real crimes were committed.”

I agree with that 100 percent. As a Republican, I’ve been waiting for the real criminals to be arrested for what feels like a very long time.

Acosta Caught Up in Yet Another Lie

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by Daveda Gruber:

Were Jim Acosta’s feelings hurt? On Thursday President Trump didn’t call on the CNN reporter in a news conference after the abrupt end to the Hanoi summit between the U.S. and North Korea.

After the news conference Acosta claimed that Trump may have avoided  White House press corps journalists. Why, you ask? Well, Acosta believes or appeared to know the answer. He made an assumption that he and other White House press corps journalists were not called on in an effort to dodge questions about Michael Cohen.

Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, testified Wednesday on the Capitol Hill.

Acosta said, “First of all, we have to point out the obvious, which is the president steered clear largely during this news conference of the White House press corps and instead selected journalists at random from the other side of the room, where foreign journalists were seated.”

Acosta apparently forgot to mention that Trump called on at least two journalists from the White House press corps; just not Acosta. The first journalist to be called on by Trump was CBS’s Major Garrett. Also, ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, who questioned Trump on Cohen’s testimony. So, did Acosta Lie? You tell me.

The air travel distance is equal to 8,584 miles. The air travel shortest distance between United States and Vietnam is 13,814 km or 8,584 miles. If you travel with an airplane (which has average speed of 560 miles) from United States to Vietnam, It takes 15.33 hours to arrive. That’s a long flight from any airport in the U.S.. It bewilders me why a journalist who traveled that distance to cover a summit, would waste a question on  asking about a completely different subject than the one at hand.

Trump had an answer for the Cohen question, which occurred in Washington, more than 13,000 miles from Hanoi, and said, “[Michael Cohen] lied a lot. But it was very interesting because he didn’t lie about one thing, he said, ‘no collusion with the Russian hoax.’”

Other U.S.-based outlets that also questioned Trump included the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, and Bloomberg.

Acosta must have felt really scorned because he added that Trump “was calling on reporters from Russian state media, Chinese state media and Sean Hannity from Fox.” Acosta added that it “was by design because he didn’t want to really answer questions about Michael Cohen.”

The CNN star reporter then took to Twitter and tweeted:

It appears the Acosta may be jealous of Sean Hannity, who did get a question. I tweeted back to Acosta and told him what was on my mind:

Acosta later acknowledged that Trump did answer a question on Cohen, though he did observe that Trump called the testimony yesterday a “fake hearing.”

I must reiterate that questions in Hanoi related to the summit would have been more appropriate.