The ketchup trail: Today's news for February 15th

(hat tip to Gary Larson's The Far Side)

CNN:

Trump aides were in constant touch with senior Russian officials during campaign

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 these officials. The communications were intercepted during routine intelligence collection targeting Russian officials and other Russian nationals known to US intelligence.

Among several senior Trump advisers regularly communicating with Russian nationals were then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort and then-adviser Michael Flynn. 

That sounds all too serious and bad, doesn't it? And then we get to this:

Officials emphasized that communications between campaign staff and representatives of foreign governments are not unusual. However, these communications stood out to investigators due to the frequency and the level of the Trump advisers involved. Investigators have not reached a judgment on the intent of those conversations. 

Wait a minute...this is "not unusual"? The only thing that makes this "unusual" is the level of the advisers?

To the entire mainstream media today, you guys all get the bear for this story:

Come back when you have a real news story.

But now that we have a shark frenzy over the ketchup bottle in the water...

CNN:

Rand Paul on Flynn: 'Makes no sense' to investigate fellow Republicans

Republican Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday an investigation into the resignation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn would be excessive and it would not make sense to investigate other Republicans.

"I think that might be excessive. It looks like the President has handled the situation, and unless there's some kind of other evidence of malfeasance, this sounds like something that was internal White House politics and it looks like the President's handled it," Paul told the "Kilmeade and Friends" radio show.

Flynn resigned Monday evening amid revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about conversations he had in December with Russia's ambassador to the US about sanctions placed on Russia. Pence had defended Flynn on television and denied he discussed sanctions after initial reports of the conversations.

Paul would have been fine if he had stopped there, but then he rambled into ketchup-filled waters:

"I just don't think it's useful to be doing investigation after investigation, particularly of your own party. We'll never even get started with doing the things we need to do, like repealing Obamacare, if we're spending our whole time having Republicans investigate Republicans. I think it makes no sense."

At least Paul is honest about his partisanship.

In other news of Trump-brand ketchup...

The Hill:

House panel votes against requesting Trump's tax returns

The House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday rejected a Democratic push to ask for President Trump's tax returns.

The amendment, offered by Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) to the panel's oversight plan, was voted down on a party-line vote.

Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) sent committee chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) a letter earlier this month asking him to request the returns from Treasury so that the committee could review them in a closed meeting and consider whether they should be made public.

The chairmen of the Ways and Means Committee, Senate Finance Committee and Joint Committee on Taxation can request tax returns from Treasury under federal tax law.

Put aside the partisan aspects of this and consider the broader ramifications: Congress can request the tax returns of ANY person, any time they like. On top of that, there is nothing to stop them from publicizing what is in those tax returns. This is in direct violation of privacy rights.

Here is another reason to consider the income tax as a violation of human rights. But why let human rights get in the way of a good political witch hunt?