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President Trump plans to assign a New York billionaire to lead a broad review of American intelligence agencies, according to administration officials, an effort that members of the intelligence community fear could curtail their independence and reduce the flow of information that contradicts the president’s worldview. The possible role for Stephen A. Feinberg, a co-founder of Cerberus Capital Management, has met fierce resistance among intelligence officials already on edge because of the criticism the intelligence community has received from Mr. Trump during the campaign and since he became president. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump blamed leaks from the intelligence community for...

U.S. intelligence officials have withheld sensitive intelligence from President Donald Trump because they are concerned it could be leaked or compromised, according to current and former officials familiar with the matter. The officials’ decision to keep information from Mr. Trump underscores the deep mistrust that has developed between the intelligence community and the president over his team’s contacts with the Russian government, as well as the enmity he has shown toward U.S. spy agencies. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump accused the agencies of leaking information to undermine him. In some of these cases of withheld information, officials have decided not to...

Steve Bannon, the White House's top political strategist, is showing no signs of changing how the Trump administration engages the national media, even as the president's team is finding itself increasingly defending itself from the press. In a new interview, Bannon said the media remain exceptionally hostile toward this White House, but that it doesn't matter. "The opposition party is completely focused on trying to destroy Trump and his administration," Bannon told CNN. "It's not going to happen." When asked if he would like to see the White House's relationship with the press improve, Bannon said, "I could care less."

Just saw this on Fox News. No details yet.

The Trump administration has offered the job of White House national security adviser, vacated by former U.S. intelligence official Michael Flynn, to Vice Admiral Robert Harward, said two U.S. officials familiar with the matter on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear if Harward, a former deputy commander of U.S. Central Command who has Navy SEAL combat experience, had accepted the offer, according to sources. A White House spokesperson had no immediate comment.

There’s a run on Trump Wine, with stores in the Washington region selling out of bottles bearing the president’s name. Mike Mackie, co-owner of The Wine Cabinet in Reston, Va., says the brand is flying off his store shelves quicker than he can restock it for multiple reasons.

President Trump Participates in a Joint Press Conference with Prime Minister Netanyahu The White House Start time 12:00 PM EST

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows that 53% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Forty-seven percent (47%) disapprove. The latest figures include 37% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 38% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -1. (see trends).

King said, “You go back to the question of the leaks, that is a criminal action. I mean to have a wiretap of anyone, a foreign national, and to have an American come on that, an American citizen come on that tape, there is all sorts of precautions in the law, how that person’s identity has to be masked, how it can’t be made public. Yet, it was not only made public; it was leaked to a newspaper. So you have the national security advisor being taped. That could have been a legal wiretap aimed at the Russians. Yet, to...

See linked video Herridge said that identifying the American caller for surveillance purposes, in this case Flynn, "needs sign-off at the highest levels." House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) said authorization would have been needed to unmask Flynn's name. "If in fact the press reports are right, someone made the decision to deliberately listen to General Flynn's phone calls," said Nunes, calling it "unprecedented, unwarranted and flat-out wrong."

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) said Tuesday that those who leaked the contents of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s phone calls “belong in jail.” “That’s nine leakers that all belong in jail,” Nunes said. “Those nine people broke the law, clearly, by leaking classified information to anybody.” Nunes said he also wanted to know how U.S. intelligence agencies were wiretapping Flynn’s calls, which he said may also have been illegal. The chairman said there are only two ways that intelligence agencies can listen in on an American’s phone call — after obtaining a warrant, or inadvertently, such...

High-level advisers close to then-presidential nominee Donald Trump were in constant communication during the campaign with Russians known to US intelligence, multiple current and former intelligence, law enforcement and administration officials tell CNN. President-elect Trump and then-President Barack Obama were both briefed on details of the extensive communications between suspected Russian operatives and people associated with the Trump campaign and the Trump business, according to US officials familiar with the matter. Both the frequency of the communications during early summer and the proximity to Trump of those involved "raised a red flag" with US intelligence and law enforcement, according to...

JUST IN President Donald J Trump signs repeal of Dodd Frank provision

President Trump responded publicly to the news of the forced resignation of his national security advisor, Michael Flynn, asserting on Tuesday that the “real story” is the number of “illegal leaks” from U.S. government officials. Trump made the claim in an early-morning tweet.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) says he won’t open an investigation into President Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, citing executive privilege. But the committee will investigate who leaked the story that led to Flynn’s resignation and why Trump's national security adviser was being recorded, CNN reported Tuesday. Rep. Devin Nunes says the Intelligence Committee won't look into discussions between Trump and Flynn, citing executive privilege — Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 14, 2017 House Intel Chair @DevinNunes says Cmte will look into IC leaks of Flynn/Russia call. — Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 14, 2017 Flynn resigned late...

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 52% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Forty-eight percent (48%) disapprove. Seventy-nine percent (79%) of Republicans approve; 72% of Democrats disapprove. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 51% approve, while 49% disapprove.

N. Korean leader's half-brother killed in Malaysia: source SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother has been killed in Malaysia, a government source said Tuesday. Kim Jong-nam was assassinated on Monday in Malaysia, the source said without revealing details. Cable TV broadcaster TV Chosun reported that Kim was killed at an airport in Malaysia after being attacked by two unidentified female agents with "poisoned needles." The suspects fled the scene and Malaysian police suspected North Korea was behind the killing. If confirmed, Kim's case would mark the most high-profile death under the Kim Jong-un regime since...

Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus Monday night urged Republican Party leaders to swiftly schedule a vote to repeal Obamacare, a move that puts further strain on the already difficult effort to dismantle and replace the Affordable Care Act. "There's no reason we shouldn't be able to pass this ASAP -- there's also no reason we should send anything less to President Trump's desk than we did Obama's," one GOP source familiar with the vote told CNN. "No need to reinvent the wheel." The vote by Freedom Caucus members Monday night, confirmed to CNN by an aide, to press...

Washington (CNN)Embattled White House national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned Monday night, two sources tell CNN. His departure came just after reports surfaced the Justice Department warned the Trump administration last month that Flynn misled administration officials regarding his communications with the Russian ambassador to the United States and was potentially vulnerable to blackmail by the Russians.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security led a pre-dawn operation across Santa Cruz County and Daly City on Monday, arresting 10 members of the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gang. The effort, in partnership with local law enforcement, was part of a five-year investigation into the notorious street gang in the area, according to Santa Cruz Deputy Police Chief Dan Flippo. The suspected criminals, members of MS-13, are men between the ages of 20 and 40, he said.