Megyn Kelly Cartoon

Illinois lawmaker's daughter charged in staple gun attack on political rival

Good Old Democrats, don't you just love them.

An Illinois state lawmaker’s daughter has been charged in connection with a staple gun attack on one of her mother’s political rivals, police said Friday.
Jessica Soto and her boyfriend Bradley Fichter, both 26, of Chicago, were charged with three counts of aggravated battery in a March 6 attack on Robert Zwolinski, Reuters reported.
Zwolinski was defeated by state Rep. Cynthia Soto, D-Chicago, in a primary election for the state's 4th District Tuesday.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Jessica Soto and Fichter were stapling pro-Soto campaign flyers to a building when Zwolinski and his girlfriend drove by, got out of their car and approached them. An argument then ensued.
Cook Couny prosecutors said Fichter punched Zwolinski in the eye and Soto joined in the squabble. Soto then allegedly used the staple gun on Zwolinski's face. The politician suffered multiple injuries.
Frank Avila, the couple’s lawyer, accused Zwolinski of starting a fight with his clients and possibly putting a staple in his own head just for attention. He told Judge Maria Kuriakos Cecil that Zwolinksi is the one who should be facing charges.
"Taking down somebody's sign and ripping it down is destruction of property," Avila argued.
Zwolinski posted photos on social media of a staple sticking out of his forehead, a bloodied head and a swollen nose apparently from the alleged attack.
"The girl was yelling, while I was on the ground fighting the man off of me, 'This is Soto's territory! This isn't your territory,'" he said.
Bond was set at $25,000 each and Soto and Fichter were both ordered not to go near Zwolinski, his girlfriend or his campaign headquarters.

Trump called for a boycott of The Kelly File

Source: Secret meeting with White House led to Rice, Rhodes Benghazi testimony

She didn't care then and she doesn't care now. 

 

Appearances by top presidential advisers Susan Rice and Ben Rhodes before the House Benghazi committee earlier this year weren’t always a sure thing – the testimony was only secured after a secret meeting in January between panel head Trey Gowdy and White House officials, a source tells Fox News.
The source familiar with the negotiations said the White House originally said no to the request to have National Security Adviser Rice and deputy Rhodes speak to the committee probing the 2012 Benghazi attacks.
But Gowdy, R-S.C., stepped in to personally negotiate for their appearances at the secret meeting, held late January in Charlotte, N.C., with members of the White House Counsel’s office.
It was during that meeting, where both parties traveled outside of Washington, where the details were finalized and agreed to.
Rice and Rhodes, considered central witnesses in the investigation particularly over their role in crafting the administration’s faulty narrative blaming protests over an anti-Islam video, ended up testifying individually for four hours apiece.
Asked Friday about the meeting that apparently led to that testimony, the White House did not respond directly.
“I will just say as a general matter that the White House and the administration has, despite what Republicans acknowledge is the pure political motivation of that committee, has sought to cooperate with them, only because they're a co-equal branch of government,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said, claiming the administration has “cooperated with them repeatedly and provided them access to senior administration officials and access to thousands of pages of documents and emails and other materials.”
Fox News also has learned new details about the upcoming Saturday testimony of former CIA Director David Petraeus. 
After Petraeus testified in January behind closed doors, he agreed to a second session, which was described to Fox News as an opportunity to “close the loop” on several issues after new information came to light from the Rhodes and Rice testimony.
The second session is expected to take place in a secure area of the Capitol at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday. Few members of the committee will be there, officials told Fox News. The meeting will mostly include counsel for the committee.

Trump supporters, protesters clash outside rally in Salt Lake City

Supporters of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump and protesters clashed after a rally in Utah on Friday.
Crowds who chanted “Donald Trump” were met with “Mr. Hate Out of Our State” as police in riot gear blocked the entrance to the Infinity Event Center in Salt Lake City. Protesters tried to rush the door of the building and got into screaming matches with Trump supporters who were barred from entering the venue.
According to KSTU-TV, people who were exiting the building were being pelted with rocks. Some were seen protesters tearing down a security tent that the U.S. Secret Service used to screen attendees before they entered the building.
"Like I said, overall, you know our officers were on standby, we were just hoping everything was peaceful, and, no problems whatsoever, and fortunately it turned out just as we anticipated," Salt Lake City Police Det. Cody Lougy told KSTU-TV.
Lougy told the Salt Lake Tribune that he didn’t think anyone was arrested.
According to the paper, the heated demonstrations outside the Infinity Event Center weren’t the only protests around the city.
Tony Yapias, the director of Proyecto Latino, played a voice mail message over a loudspeaker he received Friday morning of someone telling him to leave the U.S. Yapias told the Tribune that Trump’s rhetoric is playing a part in the increased tension drawn toward Latinos.
He said the rally – which was attended by about 150 people – was to show that the Hispanic community in Utah will not back down from his hate speech. Some in the crowd were heard chanting “Get out Trump” in Spanish.
Trump spoke to a crowd people in Salt Lake City and took a shot at former presidential candidate and Utah resident Mitt Romney, who said he was going to support Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the state’s caucuses.
"Are you sure he's a Mormon? Are we sure?" he jokingly asked his crowd at the Infinity Event Center.
Romney, who has made Utah his adopted home, said Friday that he plans to vote for Cruz in the state's Tuesday caucuses. He made the announcement on his official Facebook page as Kasich was speaking to about 600 people during a town hall at Utah Valley University.
Romney has campaigned with Ohio Gov. John Kasich in other states but stopped short of endorsing him. In addition to his position as a prominent member of Utah's dominant faith, Romney is also revered in the state for leading a turnaround of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
It's unclear to what degree his endorsement of Cruz may sway GOP voters in the Tuesday caucuses. The Texas senator was already expected to have a leg up on the other Republican contenders because of his emphasis on religious liberties and backing from Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee.