On the george w. Bush administrations torture program. Then as the Trump Administrations proposed to relax standards for Border Patrol agents, we look at major new developments in the case of Anastasio Hernandez rojas, a beaten immigrant who was and tasted that by u. S. Border patrol in 2010 near here in san diego. Please help me. Courts what u. S. Border agents did not witness, eyewitness videos of the incident got the sounds of hernandezrojas pleading and screaming for his life. Amy the u. S. Government recently agreed to pay out 1 million to his family. Now the Interamerican Commission on human rights is vowing to investigate his death. We will get the latest. Plus, we look at how environmental activists here in san diego, california, are fighting to barry Radioactive Nuclear waste on the california popular beach. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Were on the road in san diego, california. The white house was rocked by yet another major scandal tuesday after the New York Times reported that President Trump personally asked fbi director james comey to end the agencys investigation into trumps former National Security advisor Michael Flynn. The times reports trump made the extraordinary request to comey during an Oval Office Meeting february 14, one day after trump fired flynn for lying both publicly and privately about his contacts with russian officials. Trump reportedly asked Vice President mike pence and attorney general Jeff Sessions to leave the room before making the request to comey, saying i hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go. The times based its report on two sources who cited a memo written by then fbi director comey after the meeting. On tuesday night, jason chaffetz, the republican chair of the House Oversight committee, called on the fbi to to turn over all memoranda, notes, summaries and recordings of discussions between trump and comey. Week after comey was fired amidst reports the fbi director was seeking additional of russia. Senate floor,the new york democrat and Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer told his colleagues history is watching. Concerns about our National Security, the rule of law, the independence of our nations highest Law Enforcement agencies are mounting. In country is being tested unprecedented ways. I say to all of my colleagues in the senate, history is watching. Amy the ranking democrat on the house intelligence committee, adam schiff of california, said comey should return to capitol hill to testify, and promised to subpoena all relevant materials. Meanwhile, the New York Times is also reporting that President Trump asked james comey during the february 14 Oval Office Meeting to consider imprisoning journalists who report on leaks of classified information. In a statement, bruce brown of the Reporters Committee for freedom of the press wrote no president gets to jail journalists. Reporters are protected by judges and juries, by a congress that relies on them to stay informed, and by a Justice Department that for decades has honored the role of a free press by spurning prosecutions of journalists for publishing leaks of classified information. The New York Times has reported that israel was the source of highly classified intelligence that President Trump reportedly disclosed to Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian AmbassadorSergey Kislyak at the white house last week. At a tuesday News Conference, National Security adviser h. R. Mcmaster sought to minimize damage from trumps disclosure. A yes or no question. Did the president share classified information with the russians in that meeting . Weas i mentioned already, dont say what is classified and what is not classified. What i will tell you again is what the president shared was wholly appropriate. In the russian president Vladimir Putin offered this morning to share with the u. S. Congress a recording of the Oval Office Meeting between trump, foreign minister lavrov, and ambassador kislyak. It is not clear whether such a recording exists. The Trump Administration part all u. S. Media while allowing a photographer from the russian state media agency inside the oval office. The mounting white house scandals have led some lawmakers to openly discuss impeaching President Trump. On monday, Texas Democratic congressman al green said trump should be removed from office for obstructing the fbis investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 election. Congress members Maxine Waters of california, Tulsi Gabbard of hawaii, Keith Ellison of minnesota, and other House Democrats have also raised the possibility of impeachment. As has maine independent senator angus king, who spoke thursday evening with cnns wolf blitzer. If these allegations, senator, are true, are we getting closer and closer to the possibility of yet another impeachment process . Reluctantly, i have to say yes, simply because instruction of justice is such a serious offense. Amy President Trump welcomed turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the white house tuesday, praising the authoritarian leader and promising to continue supplying turkey with u. S. Weapons. Erdogan praised trumps election victory as a legendary triumph, while objecting to the administrations decision to arm Syrian Kurdish forces in the ypg militia. Erdogan also repeated his demand that the u. S. Extradite fethullah gulen, a turkish dissident living in the poconos in pennsylvania whom erdogan , blames for leading a failed coup attempt in 2016. After tuesdays white house meeting, members of president erdogans security detail attacked a peaceful protest held by antierdogan protesters outside the turkish ambassadors residence in washington, d. C. Video of the incident shows men in suits punching and kicking protesters carrying the flag of the kurdish ypd party. Nine people were hurt, with two of the protesters hospitalized with serious injuries. Police made two arrests. In breaking news from afghanistan, gunmen armed with explosives have stormed the offices of the National Television and Radio Station in jalalabad. At least two people have been killed and more than a dozen wounded. Officials warn the numbers of casualties is expected to rise. In iraq, the journalistic Monitoring Group airwars reports a u. S. Led Coalition Airstrike on mosul flattened a civilian home monday, killing eight members of a single family. The reported airstrike killed resident alhaj alaa alsafi, his wife, mother, sons, brother, and sisterinlaw. In kansas, imprisoned Army WhistleblowerChelsea Manning walked free from Fort Leavenworth prison this morning after spending seven years behind bars for leaking more than 700,000 classified files and videos to wikileaks about u. S. Foreignpolicy and the wars in iraq and afghanistan. Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2013 after she was convicted under the world war iera espionage act. In january, president obama commuted her sentence shortly before leaving office. Manning is already the longestheld whistleblower in u. S. History. Meanwhile, puerto rican independence activist Oscar Lopez Rivera is set to be freed freed today after 35 years in prison, much of the time spent in solitary confinement. In february, lopez rivera was transferred to serve the remainder of his sentence. He is slated to return or shockoe thursday, where he will be welcomed in a celebration featuring lawmakers of puerto rican descent, including those get there is and roberto maldonado. Mexico, hundreds of journalists protested outside the interior Ministry Tuesday to demand an end to the violence against reporters and media workers. The protest was held only hours after the funeral of awardwinning journalist javier valdez, who was killed by gunmen on monday. Another journalist sonia , cordova, was also shot and wounded monday in a separate attack that left her son dead. On tuesday, multiple digital mexican Media Outlets also went on a 24hour strike, refusing to publish anything but a black banner with information about assassinated journalists. This is awardwinning journalist Carmen Aristegui speaking at the protest in mexico city. For us, valdez has been converted into an emblematic case. His death should imply deep ins for us. Hot year old as and those who are lost their lives on this pass should be a driving force for us. No to the silence. No to the selfcensorship. Note to the fear. We have courage to keep informing, keep reporting, keep investigating, keep announcing, keep sring opinions and speak out. Speak out. Speak out. Amy in britain, Labour Party LeaderJeremy Corbyn on tuesday rolled out his partys manifesto ahead of a general election set for next month. The platform proposes raising taxes on corporations and the wealthiest 5 of earners. The revenue would go towards health care,versal in and to Public University tuition, free child care, housing subsidies, and other programs. This is Jeremy Corbyn, speaking tuesday. Because people want a country run for the benefit of the many, not the few. For the lastse seven years, our people have lived through the opposite. In britain for the rich and the elites in the vested interests. States,k in the united a federal judge in mississippi has sentenced a gulfport man to 49 years in prison monday for murdering a transgender teenager, in the firstever hate crime prosecution involving a transgender victim. Joshua vallum, who pleaded guilty in 2015 to killing 17yearold mercedes williamson, was sentenced under the Matthew Shepard and james byrd, jr. Hate crimes prevention act. In a statement, attorney general Jeff Sessions praised the sentencing, even though thensenator sessions voted against the hate crimes bill in 2009. Williamson was one of at least 21 transgender people murdered in the u. S. In 2015. So far this year, at least 10 transgender people have been murdered nationwide. In georgia, a panamanian immigrant has reportedly committed suicide in ice custody after he was held 19 days in solitary confinement. Federal Authorities Say they found 27yearold jean jimenezjoseph unresponsive, with a sheet around his neck, early monday morning at the Stewart Detention Center south of columbus. Human Rights AdvocacyGroup Project south told democracy now the suicide of this young immigrant at stewart is a horrific tragedy that could have been prevented. Stewart can hold more than 1700 people and is run by core civic, the private Prison Company formerly known as Corrections Corporation of america. A yearlong investigation found deplorable conditions at the facility and lack of adequate access to mental healthcare. Court records show judges there order more deportations than anywhere else in the country. Critics call it the black hole of the immigration system and have called for its closure. In more news from georgia, prisons officials killed 45yearold death row prisoner j. W. Ledford with a lethal dose of the barbiturate pentobarbital early wednesday after the u. S. Supreme court rejected a challenge to the method of the execution. Lawyers argued there was a high risk the injection would not render ledford fully unconscious, exposing him to an unconstitutionally cruel and unusual death. The high court rejected that motion and denied ledfords request to be executed by firing squad. And in philadelphia, civil rights attorney Larry Krasner is positioned to become the citys next District Attorney after overwhelmingly winning democratic primary elections on tuesday. Krasner has represented protesters with black lives matter, act up, occupy philadelphia and other , progressive groups. Hes a longtime opponent of Capital Punishment whos promised never to seek death penalty. Krasner opposes police stopandfrisk policies and told the intercept he hopes to create a team that will investigate and prosecute police and Public Officials for abuses. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We are on the road in san diego, california. President trump is facing yet another major scandal. The New York Times is reporting trump personally asked fbi director james comey to end the agencys investigation into trumps former National Security advisor Michael Flynn. We are going to turn to republican senator john mccain. I think we have seen this movie before. I think it is reaching the point where it is a watergate size and scale and a couple of other scandals that you and i have seen. Shoe a centipede that the continues to drop. Every couple of days, there is a reallyect of this unhappy situation. Amy now we turn to new york democrat Chuck Schumer. In a week full of revelation after revelation on a day when we thought things could not get any worse, they have. By the report in the New York Times that allege that the president tried to shut down an active fbi investigation into a close political associate. Removedre only one day from stunning allegations that the president may have doubled the oldest classified information to a known adversary. Concerns about our national law, the the rule of independence of our nations highest Law Enforcement agencies are mounting. Tested iny is being unprecedented ways. Colleagues inf my the senate, history is watching. Amy the New York Times reports that the president made the extraordinary request to james comey during an Oval Office Meeting on february 14, one day after trump fired flynn for line publicly and privately about its contacts with russian officials. Trump reportedly asked Vice President mike pence and attorney general Jeff Sessions to leave the room before asking comey to drop the investigation mike flynn. After the meeting, comey wrote a memo quoting the president saying i hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go. In addition, President Trump reportedly urged comey to consider jailing reporters for publishing classified information. Trump fired comey last week days after he requested more resources for the fbis probe into russian meddling in the 2016 election. On tuesday night, jason chaffetz, the republican chairman of the House Oversight committee, called on the fbi turn over all memoranda, notes, summaries, and recordings of discussions between trump and comey. The times report came just a day after the Washington Post revealed intelligence to Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian AmbassadorSergey Kislyak at the white house. We are joined now by john kiriakou, who spent 14 years at the cia as an analyst and case officer. In he became the first cia 2007, official to publicly confirm the bush administrations use of waterboarding. In january 2013, kiriakou was sentenced to 2. 5 years in prison after pleading guilty to confirming the identity of a covert officer to a reporter, who actually did not publish it. Hi