Even as his in-laws were going through the process, Mr. Trump was denouncing it. In November, he tweeted, “CHAIN MIGRATION must end now! Some people come in, and they bring their whole family with them, who can be truly evil. NOT ACCEPTABLE!”
...
Since initial reports emerged in February that the Knavses had obtained permanent residency in the United States, there has been a lack of clarity about when or how the couple received green cards. And unless the couple themselves divulge the timeline of their citizenship process, the applications and petitions are protected by privacy law.
Under immigration statutes, the Knavses would have needed to have their green cards for at least five years in order to apply for citizenship, along with fulfilling character, residency and civic knowledge requirements. The time to process an application for naturalization in New York City typically ranges from 11 to 21 months, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Their lawyer said that the couple had met the five-year requirement, but added, “I can’t give further comment.”
which claims (apparently based on "previously unreleased emails and memos") that Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr of DOJ was in extensive contact with Christopher Steele and the Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson "before, during and after the election." It also reports that the FBI used Ohr of the DOJ as a middleman to get information from Steele, even though the FBI had officially stopped using Steele as a source of information.
This is a telling op-ed if only to show that government agencies can bend/break their own rules. The piece also notes that Ohr's wife Nellie was employed at Fusion GPS "on the Trump/Russia research project" during this period (when she started there, whether she still works there, etc. is not clear from the story).
My response: the story raises concerns about following ethical protocols and rules of conduct but doesn't seem to be of huge interest UNLESS Ohr was feeding Steele's information/rumors about Trump to the DNC or Clinton's campaign. My guess is that Trump supporters like kurtster see this article as evidence that there is a Deep State conspiracy against Trump.
"Ohr’s own notes, emails and text messages show he communicated extensively with Steele and with Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson. Those documents have been turned over in recent weeks to investigative bodies in Congress and the DOJ, but not reviewed outside the investigative ranks until now.
They show Ohr had contact with Steele in the days just before the FBI opened its Trump-Russia probe in summer 2016, and then engaged Steele as a “confidential human source” assisting in that probe.
They also confirm that Ohr later became a critical conduit of continuing information from Steele after the FBI ended the Brit's role as an informant."
...
FBI officials now admit they continued to receive information from Steele through Ohr, identifying more than a half-dozen times its agents interviewed Ohr in late 2016 and 2017, to learn what Steele was saying.
That continued reliance on Steele after his termination is certain to raise interest in Congress about whether the FBI broke its own rules.
But the memos also raise questions about Ohr’s and the Justice Department’s roles in the origins of building a counterintelligence case against the Republican presidential nominee, based heavily on opposition research funded by his rival's campaign, the DNC and the DNC’s main law firm, Perkins Coie.
Also this from the piece:
"Calendar notations and handwritten notes indicate Ohr followed up on Steele’s offer and met with Simpson on Aug. 22, 2016. Ohr’s notes indicate Simpson identified several “possible intermediaries” between the Trump campaign and Russia.
One was identified as a “longtime associate of Trump” who “put together several real estate deals for Russian investigators to purchase Trump properties.” Another was a Russian apparently tied to Carter Page, Ohr’s note of his Simpson contact indicated."
Hundreds of documents
obtained through FOIA help show the unprecedented influence of three
Mar-a-Lago members over the Department of Veterans Affairs. The
documents reveal that Marvel Entertainment chair Ike Perlmutter, lawyer
Marc Sherman, and Palm Beach doctor Bruce Moskowitz have an arrangement
with President Trump and the VA leadership that "is without parallel in
modern presidential history." The trio hover "over public servants
without any transparency, accountability or oversight. The Mar-a-Lago
Crowd spoke with VA officials daily, the documents show, reviewing all
manner of policy and personnel decisions. They prodded the VA to start
new programs, and officials travelled to Mar-a-Lago at taxpayer expense
to hear their views. 'Everyone has to go down and kiss the ring,' a
former administration official said."
Having spent most of my life as an immigrant, this makes me seethe. It is so unfair to punish people for doing something perfectly legal. Especially the Obamacare part - that's insurance, not welfare. And not getting citizenship because of it wasn't part of the deal.
Yeah, I could never get that worked up about that idea, although it would be significant if Ohr fed info from Steele to Clinton's campaign. That would give reason for real conspiracy concern. Kurtster, I never did get an answer from you on this, IIRC: let's assume for the sake of conspiracy-thinking that Strzok was hopelessly biased against Trump and somehow skewed the Russia investigation before Mueller removed him. How would Strzok's biased influence remain in effect after he was removed from the investigation?
"When Mars sends its little green people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending beings that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with them. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're bringing ray-guns. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good Martians."
"When Mars sends its little green people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending beings that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with them. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're bringing ray-guns. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good Martians."
if you dont pay taxes? how much in taxes, do you work full time? I dont think its a simple answer. Then again, I dont know much about the issue. Apparently a rule change in 96 made it much harder for immigrants to get benefits (which seems to imply this new rule has no real teeth in the discussion/argument, other than stopping immigration): https://www.nilc.org/issues/economic-support/overview-immeligfedprograms/
I don't think this is the tack you want to take on this argument.
There is a shakey argument for restricting services to those here illegally (although I would argue that they largely self restrict due to our draconian enforcement efforts). But this is talking about legal immigrants. Green card holders, those here legally under other visas and permits. This is myopic, short sighted, and I would argue has a solid underpinning and a lot of support from a very racist group.
Yeah. We can't afford to pay universal health care, to fix Puerto Rico, get clean water for Flint, education for our children, etc.; but we can afford a goddam "space force".
I don't think it's a fair question, I don't even think it is legal. If you pay taxes, citizen or not, you should have the right to the services those taxes pay for. Whether that simple logic holds up in court is anybody's guess though. Common sense and simple logic both being in such short supply... c.
if you dont pay taxes? how much in taxes, do you work full time? I dont think its a simple answer. Then again, I dont know much about the issue. Apparently a rule change in 96 made it much harder for immigrants to get benefits (which seems to imply this new rule has no real teeth in the discussion/argument, other than stopping immigration): https://www.nilc.org/issues/economic-support/overview-immeligfedprograms/
I don't think it's a fair question, I don't even think it is legal. If you pay taxes, citizen or not, you should have the right to the services those taxes pay for. Whether that simple logic holds up in court is anybody's guess though. Common sense and simple logic both being in such short supply... c.
