Leid Stories

President Chaos is living up to his Leid Stories moniker, and is at the center of several swirling political storms that have transfixed the nation—chief among them his dramatic firing of the former FBI director, James Comey; a federal investigation into Trump’s possible “collusion” with Russia to sway the 2016 presidential race in his favor and against Hillary Clinton; and whether some actions he has taken and is contemplating taking, including military action against other countries are within his sole power and authority.

A partisan mainstream media claim they’re reporting the “truth” about what’s going on, and yet their political biases and prejudices are so clear and intentional. Leid Stories elicits listeners’ views and analyses of the current political climate in the United States.

 

It’s “Free Your Mind Friday” on Leid Stories—our weekly open forum for the exchange of information, opinions and ideas, and you decide what’s important. It’s a delicious soup, and you’re invited to add your own unique flavor.

Call 888-874-4888 and be in the mix!

Washington is still reeling from the seemingly out-of-nowhere firing Tuesday of FBI Director James Comey by President Donald Trump. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, delivered a one-two punch that knocked Comey out of his prized position. Comey had done a bad job with the Hillary Clinton email investigation, they told Trump. By implication, other major investigations currently under way could suffer the same fate in Comey’s hands and rob Trump of political victories he needs.

Did Comey mishandle the Hillary Clinton email investigation, as Trump and his advisers believe? Did he have reason to “go soft” on her and husband Bill? Despite claims of doing things by the book, was Comey a compromised lawman?

Leid Stories examines these and related questions about James Comey.

FBI Director James Comey was on a recruiting trip in Los Angeles yesterday when he learned that he’d been fired by President Trump and that his deputy, Andrew Mc Cabe, temporarily will head the bureau.

Trump and Justice Department officials said that Comey violated Justice Department rules and procedures by publicly discussing certain aspects of the DoJ’s investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private email server. And based on how Comey was handling the Clinton probe as a whole, his bosses (and especially Trump) said, it appeared Comey was too lenient on Clinton and her targeted associates.

Comey’s firing has become the latest, and perhaps most stunning, development in U.S. partisan politics. Leid Stories discusses key aspects of the drama that might more fully answer why Comey was fired.

The ongoing probe into President Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s alleged dealings with and unreported income he earned from high-level Russian officials is at center stage in Washington. The spillover has enmeshed the Obama administration and the former president himself, who had fired Flynn and hard warned Trump against hiring him, allegedly because Flynn was considered a security risk.

The congressional probe widens as it continues, and one thing is clear: Trump’s administration is chaotic, mirroring the president’s own style. He’s being shown as erratic and blithely dismissive of important issues, reluctant to take advice, and makes his own rules.

Leid Stories asks: Is the Flynn probe—added to Trump’s multiple infractions since taking office—making a case for Trump’s impeachment?

On May 10, when Bethune-Cookman University—a historically Black university in Daytona Beach, Fla.—holds its spring commencement, the sendoff message to graduates will be delivered by Betsy DeVos, the vacuous secretary of education whose top priority is to dismantle and destroy public education. B-CU President Edison O. Jackson totally rejects the argument that inviting DeVos to speak is an insult to the B-CU community, and, most specifically, its founders.

On June 8, Medgar Evers College holds its commencement ceremony and its choice of keynote speaker, who also is to be conferred an honorary doctorate, is Hillary Clinton. The announcement has not yet been made publicly, but already there is a backlash against President Rudy Crew’s action. Like Jackson, Crew is adamant that the invitation to Clinton will stand, even though many regard Clinton and her shoddy history as completely inconsistent with those of the assassinated civil rights activist after whom the college is named.

Leid Stories discusses the political cord that connects both events.

It’s Free Your Mind Friday” on Leid Stories, the best open forum in Radioland.

Let’s hear what you have to say about current events, this week’s programs, or any subject you consider worthy of further discussion or debate.

Break from the herd. Call 888-874-4888 and be heard! 

Leid Stories listeners discuss the full dimensions of the following question: What does Hillary Clinton mean when she says that she’s just “a private citizen and part of the resistance?”

It’s no secret that a different set of rules seems to apply when it comes to prosecuting killer cops. Indictments are hard to come by; prosecutors tend to undercharge; cases are routed through alternative channels such as administrative hearings; procedural errors deliberately are made during the course of a trial to make appeals easier; evidence and/or witnesses mysteriously cannot be located; and settlements are urged rather than having a jury hear the case, especially if conviction appears likely.

Several high-profile cases involving police killings of Black men recently have been declared closed, but questions abound about whether justice truly was served, given the disparate and sympathetic treatment accorded the killer cops.

It may be a new administration, says Leid Stories, but the old dual system of justice seems alive and well.

Leid Stories listeners share their views about the impact Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office has had on their lives and on their political views.