Former FBI Director self-admitted leaker: White House
Washington, April 16: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has criticised former FBI Director James Comey, whose controversial memoirs will go on sale this coming week, adding that it is time to "move on" from the Russia investigation.
"Not only has... special counsel (Robert Mueller) but a number of different congressional committees have been looking at this for over a year and come up with nothing. I think it really is getting time to move on and I certainly think the American people would appreciate Congress and the rest of the country being able to focus on some of the things that really impact them," said Sanders on Sunday on the ABC News programme "This Week", Efe news reported.
Mueller is investigating the links between the Kremlin and President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign, but is also looking into other areas such as obstruction of justice, money laundering and a number of others issues.
Sanders' remarks came at a time when Trump has been openly engaged in a media and public opinion war to undermine Comey, who in an interview to be aired Sunday night - but from which numerous excerpts have already been made public - compares the president to a "mob boss".
"James Comey is a self-admitted leaker. He lied to Congress. He's been inconsistent," said Sanders, who went on to claim that the former FBI chief has no credibility and no support from either Democratic or Republican lawmakers.
In fact, Trump on Sunday once again unloaded on the man he fired last May, a decision that is being investigated by Mueller as a possible attempt to obstruct justice in the Russia probe Comey was heading at the time.
"Slippery James Comey, a man who always ends up badly and out of whack (he is not smart!), will go down as the WORST FBI Director in history, by far!" Trump wrote in a Twitter post.
The Comey interview on ABC, the first he has given since he was fired, comes on the eve of the publication of his book titled "A Higher Loyalty," in which he recounts his recent experiences as FBI director.
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Rupee plunges 28 paise to settle at 93.44 against US dollar
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee declined 28 paise to close at 93.44 against the US dollar on Tuesday, weighed down by a steady American currency and volatile crude oil prices amid uncertainties over the progress of West Asia peace negotiations.
Positive domestic equity markets failed to boost local currency, which also had some impact of the Reserve Bank's latest move to ease curbs on speculative bets in non-deliverable forward markets, forex analysts said.
The Reserve Bank on Monday partially withdrew directives taken on April 1 to curb excessive speculation in the rupee. The banking regulator had capped the net open positions in non-deliverable forward markets at USD 100 million, mandating banks to comply by April 10.
Under revised directives, authorised dealers or banks can resume offering non-deliverable derivative contracts involving INR to resident or non-resident users, but must comply with certain restrictions on related-party transactions. Also, the USD 100-million cap in net open position is still effective.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 93.25 and fell to an intra-day low of 93.63 before ending the session 28 paise lower at 93.44 against the greenback.
On Monday, the rupee settled with a loss of 25 paise at 93.16 against the US dollar. The currency had gained 47 paise in the preceding two sessions.
Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said the rupee fell on uncertainty over US-Iran talks and a surge in crude oil prices. A strong dollar also pressured the rupee; however, positive global markets cushioned the downside.
"Traders may take cues from retail sales and ADP employment change data from the US. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 93.30 to Rs 93.90," Choudhary said.
Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst - Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities, said the rupee traded weaker as recent RBI adjustments and partial rollback of earlier currency-support measures added pressure on the local unit.
"At the same time, the dollar remains steady while crude and gold are relatively stable, with markets closely watching the outcome of US-Iran ceasefire developments expected tomorrow. The rupee is likely to remain highly event-driven, with direction dependent on geopolitical clarity and RBI stance," Trivedi said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.19 per cent to 98.09.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.70 per cent down at USD 94.81 per barrel in futures trade.
Analysts attributed the volatility in crude prices to persistent worries over disruptions of supplies of oil from the Strait of Hormuz. Also, the ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran is scheduled to expire on Wednesday.
In a latest development, Iran's chief negotiator on Tuesday said Tehran would not negotiate in the face of threats, while US President Donald Trump hinted that he was in no rush to end the conflict with Iran.
In the domestic equity markets the 30-share Sensex rose 753.03 points, or 0.96 per cent, to settle at 79,273.33, while the Nifty rose 211.75 points, or 0.87 per cent, to 24,576.60.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth about Rs 1,918.99 crore on Tuesday, according to the exchange data.
