FBI/FOREIGN POLICY/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Sen. James Risch, the new chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, says he has disagreed with President Donald Trump on ‘many, many occasions.’ But in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY, Risch defended the president’s controversial approach to North Korea and Syria. He downplayed reports that Trump wants to withdraw from NATO. And he flatly refused to answer questions about the FBI’s reported probe into whether Trump was secretly working for Russia, or whether Congress should subpoena the notes of Trump’s interpreter in his meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin…The 75-year-old lawmaker said he was ‘stunned’ to learn of the FBI probe into whether Trump was working on Russia’s behalf, and he quickly cut off a question about it.”
–Deirdre Shesgreen, “New Senate GOP chairman on four foreign policy hot spots – and standing up to Trump,” USA Today, January 16, 2019 2:00 pm