Attorney General Jeff Sessions during his confirmation hearing in January.

By Steve Neavling
Ticklethewire.com

President Trump once again blasted his own attorney general in a tweet Wednesday, blaming Jeff Sessions for failing to investigate the Obama administration’s role in Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

“Question: If all of the Russian meddling took place during the Obama Administration, right up to January 20th, why aren’t they the subject of the investigation? Why didn’t Obama do something about the meddling? Why aren’t Dem crimes under investigation? Ask Jeff Session!,” the president urged his 48 million followers, originally misspelling his AG’s name.

Question: If all of the Russian meddling took place during the Obama Administration, right up to January 20th, why aren’t they the subject of the investigation? Why didn’t Obama do something about the meddling? Why aren’t Dem crimes under investigation? Ask Jeff Sessions!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 21, 2018

The tweet was just the latest attack on the social media platform blaming everyone but the Russians for election interference, which led to the indictment last week of 13 Russians accused of waging a disinformation campaign to help Trump get elected.

Trump also berated Sessions over four days on Twitter, calling his AG “beleaguered” and claiming Sessions was “very weak” on “Hillary Clinton’s crimes.”

Trump has attacked Sessions since he recused himself from the Russia investigation, allowing the deputy attorney general to appoint a special counsel to probe election interference and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

Russian President Vladimir Putin

By Steve Neavling
Ticklethewire.com

President Trump, facing mounting criticism for his failure to repudiate the Kremlin for interfering the 2016 presidential, is now considering new sanctions against Russia.

Three senior administration officials told Reuters that imposing sanctions is a slow legal process and not an indication that the president is unwilling to act against Russia. 

“The process on sanctions is long; it’s arduous; it’s not pretty, but when the evidence is there and we’re ready, we go ahead with the sanctions,” one official said.

They didn’t provide details of the plans.

A bi-partisan bill in Congress last summer was overwhelmingly approved to impose sanctions against Russia after Republicans and Democrats accused the president of being soft on the Kremlin.

Trump officials fired back Wednesday, saying sanctions were imposed in July against two Russian entities accused in an indictment of interfering in the election.

President Trump, via White House

By Steve Neavling
Ticklethewire.com

President Trump’s accusations that Democrats and former President Obama are to blame for Russia’s meddling relies on a faulty comparison and fails to take into account his own inaction amid bi-partisan calls from Congress to impose sanctions against the Kremlin, according to several fact checks by media outlets. 

Trump also claimed on Twitter that “I have been much tougher on Russia the Obama, just look at the facts. Total Fake News!” He suggested in another tweet that then Justice Department should investigate “crimes” committed by Democrats and Obama for failing to stop Russian interference.

What Trump fails to mention is his persistent claims that Russia’s involvement in the election was “a hoax” perpetuated by the “fake news.”

While it’s true that Obama didn’t act aggressively enough against the Russians, his administration announced a plan to deter Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine and imposed sanctions on the Kremlin after the incursion.

Trump has failed to act on a sanctions bill passed almost unanimously by Congress after Republicans and Democrats accused the president of being soft on Russia.

Even as allegations mounted that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, Trump often complimented Putin during the campaign, calling him a “genius.” 

David Hogg discounted the conspiracy theory on CNN on Tuesday.

By Steve Neavling
Ticklethewire.com

The soaring popularity of a discounted, right-wing conspiracy theory that claims last week’s Florida school shooting was an FBI plot was underscored Wednesday when YouTube’s top trending video featured a segment on the baseless allegations.

The video, originally posted in August, claimed that David Hogg, a survivor of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., was an “actor,” not a classmate.

In the video, the 17-year-old was featured in an interview with the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles to discuss a dispute between a lifeguard and a swimmer.

The video, which received more than 200,000 views in about 12 hours, was copied and re-uploaded by a YouTube user named “mike m,” who wrote new caption: “DAVID HOGG THE ACTOR …”

Since the massacre that killed 17 people, the conspiracy theory has gained traction among Trump supporters and others on the far right who believe – or want you to believe – that the shooting was an FBI plot to seize power from Americans.

The video was removed by YouTube for violating its policy on bullying and harassment.

On CNN on Tuesday, Hogg disputed the outrageous claims.

“I’m not a crisis actor,” Hogg told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on “AC360” Tuesday. “I’m someone who had to witness this and live through this and I continue to be having to do that.”

He added, “I’m not acting on anybody’s behalf.”