Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Holder: Snowden did 'public service,' but should still be punished
Edward Snowden performed a "public service" in stoking a national debate about secret domestic surveillance programs, but he should still return to the U.S. to stand trial, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a podcast released on Monday.
As a National Security Agency contractor, Snowden leaked classified details in 2013 of the U.S. government's warrantless surveillance of its citizens before fleeing the country. He now lives in Russia and faces U.S. charges that could land him in prison for up to 30 years.
In a podcast interview with CNN political commentator David Axelrod, Holder said that Snowden had grown concerned that the domestic spying programs weren't providing a "substantial" return of useful intelligence even before even before he revealed the secrets.
Axelrod is a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, while Holder served as attorney general from 2009 to 2015.
"We can certainly argue about the way in which Snowden did what he did, but I think that he actually performed a public service by raising the debate we engaged in and by the changes that we made," Holder said. "Now, I would say doing what he did in the way he did it was inappropriate and illegal."
Holder said Snowden's leaks harmed American interests abroad and put intelligence assets at risk.
"He's got to make a decision," Holder said of Snowden. "He's broken the law. In my view, he needs to get lawyers, come on back and decide what he wants to do — go to trial, try to cut a deal."
He said Snowden should have to face consequences for his actions, including prison time.
"But in deciding what an appropriate sentence should be, a judge could take into account the usefulness of having that national debate," Holder added.
Snowden has repeatedly said he would be willing to return to the United States if the federal government would provide him a fair trial. However, Snowden says he is concerned that under federal espionage laws he would not allow him to present a whistleblower defense, arguing in court he acted in the public interest.
Senate report slams VA watchdog for 'systemic' failures in probe of Wisconsin hospital
A Senate committee's report into overprescription of powerful painkilling drugs at a Wisconsin VA hospital slammed the agency's inspector general's office for discounting key evidence, narrowing its inquiry and failing to make its report on the matter public.
The report by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which will be released Tuesday and was first obtained by USA Today, says the VA watchdog's investigation into the Tomah (Wis.) VA Medical Center was "perhaps the greatest failure to identify and prevent the tragedies at the Tomah VAMC."
According to the report, the Inspector General's office began investigating claims that opiates were being overpresecribed to Tomah patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 2011.
The investigation, led by physician Allan Mallinger, lasted until 2014, but failed to examine whether the opiates were being prescribed in dangerous combinations with other drugs, nor whether employees felt threatened with retaliation if they raised concerns.
The watchdog's report, made public last year, failed to find that the Tomah VAMC's chief of staff, Dr. David Houlihan, and nurse practitioner Deborah Frasher, had committed any wrongdoing, though "potentially serious concerns" were raised about the high level of opiates prescribed.
Instead of making the report public, the inspector general's office briefed local VA officials and closed the case. Assistant Inspector General for Healthcare Inspections John Daigh, who made the decision to keep the report secret, told Senate investigators he could not "publish reports that repeat salacious allegations that I can’t support."
The following year, the VA opened its own investigation after Marine Corps veteran, Jason Simcakoski, died at age 35 of "mixed drug toxicity". It found that Houlihan and Frasher had failed to meet the standard of care in the vast majority of cases, and removed them from their positions at the Tomah facility.
"In just three months, the VA investigated and substantiated a majority of the allegations that the VA OIG could not substantiate after several years," the Senate committee's report stated.
"The reasons the problems were allowed to fester for so many years is because ... for whatever reason, for years, the inspector general lacked the independence and had lost the sense of what its true mission was, which is being the transparent watchdog of VA system," said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., the committee chair.
GOP convention no-shows threaten to undercut Trump unity push
Even as Donald Trump and Republican Party bosses
diligently work Capitol Hill in hopes of bringing the party together
after a fractious presidential primary, convention planners could still
be looking at a block of empty seats for the July convention.
A growing roster of senior GOP figures – from governors to senators to, most notably, nearly every living GOP presidential nominee – is vowing to skip the convention in Cleveland, despite the candidate starting to win over the rank-and-file.
In an unconventional election season where Trump has capitalized on an anti-establishment fervor, the case can be made that Trump does not need the blessing of party elders, or their attendance.
“Trump is a master entertainer and more than likely going to put together a convention program that attempts to highlight his strengths and sideline some of the major absences,” Republican strategist Ron Bonjean told FoxNews.com.
Still, since wrapping up the nomination, Trump and his surrogates have been regularly meeting with Hill Republicans, showing at least an effort to pursue party unity – a message that high-profile absences in Cleveland could undercut.
Trump hit the unity theme again Sunday night, as he responded to the latest prediction that an independent candidate would soon enter the race. On Twitter, Trump warned, “if the GOP can't control their own, then they are not a party.”
Yet Trump’s contemporaries will be nowhere near Cleveland.
Of all the living Republican presidential nominees and former presidents, only Bob Dole is expected to attend – and even then, only “briefly,” for the purpose of catching a luncheon hosted by his law firm, a source told Fox News earlier this month.
Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush have said they will not attend, as have 2008 nominee John McCain and 2012 nominee Mitt Romney. Former 2016 White House candidate Jeb Bush also is expected to skip.
Of them, Romney is working most actively against Trump, having delivered a major address attacking his candidacy and frequently sparring with the now-presumptive nominee on Twitter. He also reportedly has been the focus of efforts to recruit an independent candidate, though so far to no avail.
Others claim to be skipping in order to focus on their own election battles – some of those potentially made more challenging by Trump’s primary success.
McCain seemingly counts himself among that group. The Arizona senator is facing a tough re-election fight in a state with a heavy Hispanic population, and has said Trump complicates his race.
New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte also has said she will not be attending the convention, citing a tough re-election battle.
"Unlikely," Ayotte told CNN. "I've got a lot of work to do in New Hampshire, I have my own re-election and I'm going to be focusing on my voters in New Hampshire."
Other lawmakers in tight election battles who do not plan to be in Cleveland include: North Carolina’s Richard Burr, Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, Kansas’ Jerry Moran, Missouri’s Roy Blunt, and Illinois’ Mark Kirk, according to McClatchyDC.
FoxNews.com reached out as well to Republican governors for an attendance tally.
Most of those RSVPs remain outstanding, but representatives for Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and Wyoming Gov. Matthew Mead told FoxNews.com they would not be in Cleveland. Mead’s spokesman cited a busy summer as the reason for the governor not making it.
No-shows could be more common for lawmakers in the House, where a faction remains skeptical of Trump’s candidacy. Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., a co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus, told The Hill about 10 other conservatives are planning not to attend.
Many lawmakers and their staff remain tight-lipped about whether they’re attending, and their rationale.
Asked for comment on whether Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., would show up, a representative for the senator sent FoxNews.com a Boston Globe article in which Flake is quoted as saying, “I’ve got other things to do.” Meanwhile, a rep for South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley linked to a YouTube video in which the governor said she was undecided on whether to go.
This may be because Republicans are still evaluating how to deal with Trump’s victory.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, for one, is rumored to be close to endorsing the billionaire, though he hasn’t yet. Now that Trump has reached the necessary 1,237 delegates to clinch the nomination, according to the latest AP tally, more top GOP lawmakers could feel pressured to step in line.
Marco Rubio, once an outspoken Trump rival who sold #NeverTrump merchandise on his website, said Sunday he will get behind the presumptive nominee.
“I want to be helpful,” the Florida senator said on CNN's "State of the Union."
The big unknown is whether Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who suspended his campaign in early May, will similarly get on board.
While the absence of major figures at the convention could damage the party’s ability to present a united front against likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, some argue that Trump will be able to manage the dissension in the ranks.
“The absences won’t hurt Trump’s ability to unite the party,” Bonjean said, “but he must keep his focus now on Hillary Clinton and avoid getting into fights with other Republicans that may not agree with his pending nomination.”
It is not unheard of for Republicans, especially those in tight re-election races, to skip the national convention when political waters look choppy.
In 2008, several top Republicans chose to skip. Some were due to urgent state issues -- like then-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger grappling with a budget stalemate or Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal dealing with Hurricane Gustav. Gustav even forced then-President Bush not to attend, making him the first sitting president since Lyndon Johnson not to attend his party’s convention. Instead, he delivered his address by satellite hookup from the White House.
Sens. Pat Roberts, of Kansas; Susan Collins, of Maine; Gordon Smith, of Oregon; and Elizabeth Dole, of North Carolina, also stayed home from the GOP convention in order to campaign. At that time, Bush’s approval ratings were hovering around 30 percent.
This was a departure, however, from the 2000 convention where various interest groups in the party all came together behind their candidate with a single-minded determination to take back the White House. It didn't hurt that Bush was leading in the polls and had seen his last primary challengers fade away months before.
At that convention, there were no reports of prominent Republicans choosing not to attend.
Adam Shaw is a Politics Reporter for FoxNews.com. He can be reached here or on Twitter: @AdamShawNY.
A growing roster of senior GOP figures – from governors to senators to, most notably, nearly every living GOP presidential nominee – is vowing to skip the convention in Cleveland, despite the candidate starting to win over the rank-and-file.
In an unconventional election season where Trump has capitalized on an anti-establishment fervor, the case can be made that Trump does not need the blessing of party elders, or their attendance.
“Trump is a master entertainer and more than likely going to put together a convention program that attempts to highlight his strengths and sideline some of the major absences,” Republican strategist Ron Bonjean told FoxNews.com.
Still, since wrapping up the nomination, Trump and his surrogates have been regularly meeting with Hill Republicans, showing at least an effort to pursue party unity – a message that high-profile absences in Cleveland could undercut.
Trump hit the unity theme again Sunday night, as he responded to the latest prediction that an independent candidate would soon enter the race. On Twitter, Trump warned, “if the GOP can't control their own, then they are not a party.”
The latest headlines on the 2016 elections from the biggest name in politics. See Latest Coverage →
Of all the living Republican presidential nominees and former presidents, only Bob Dole is expected to attend – and even then, only “briefly,” for the purpose of catching a luncheon hosted by his law firm, a source told Fox News earlier this month.
Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush have said they will not attend, as have 2008 nominee John McCain and 2012 nominee Mitt Romney. Former 2016 White House candidate Jeb Bush also is expected to skip.
Of them, Romney is working most actively against Trump, having delivered a major address attacking his candidacy and frequently sparring with the now-presumptive nominee on Twitter. He also reportedly has been the focus of efforts to recruit an independent candidate, though so far to no avail.
Others claim to be skipping in order to focus on their own election battles – some of those potentially made more challenging by Trump’s primary success.
McCain seemingly counts himself among that group. The Arizona senator is facing a tough re-election fight in a state with a heavy Hispanic population, and has said Trump complicates his race.
New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte also has said she will not be attending the convention, citing a tough re-election battle.
"Unlikely," Ayotte told CNN. "I've got a lot of work to do in New Hampshire, I have my own re-election and I'm going to be focusing on my voters in New Hampshire."
Other lawmakers in tight election battles who do not plan to be in Cleveland include: North Carolina’s Richard Burr, Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, Kansas’ Jerry Moran, Missouri’s Roy Blunt, and Illinois’ Mark Kirk, according to McClatchyDC.
FoxNews.com reached out as well to Republican governors for an attendance tally.
Most of those RSVPs remain outstanding, but representatives for Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and Wyoming Gov. Matthew Mead told FoxNews.com they would not be in Cleveland. Mead’s spokesman cited a busy summer as the reason for the governor not making it.
No-shows could be more common for lawmakers in the House, where a faction remains skeptical of Trump’s candidacy. Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., a co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus, told The Hill about 10 other conservatives are planning not to attend.
Many lawmakers and their staff remain tight-lipped about whether they’re attending, and their rationale.
Asked for comment on whether Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., would show up, a representative for the senator sent FoxNews.com a Boston Globe article in which Flake is quoted as saying, “I’ve got other things to do.” Meanwhile, a rep for South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley linked to a YouTube video in which the governor said she was undecided on whether to go.
This may be because Republicans are still evaluating how to deal with Trump’s victory.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, for one, is rumored to be close to endorsing the billionaire, though he hasn’t yet. Now that Trump has reached the necessary 1,237 delegates to clinch the nomination, according to the latest AP tally, more top GOP lawmakers could feel pressured to step in line.
Marco Rubio, once an outspoken Trump rival who sold #NeverTrump merchandise on his website, said Sunday he will get behind the presumptive nominee.
“I want to be helpful,” the Florida senator said on CNN's "State of the Union."
The big unknown is whether Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who suspended his campaign in early May, will similarly get on board.
While the absence of major figures at the convention could damage the party’s ability to present a united front against likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, some argue that Trump will be able to manage the dissension in the ranks.
“The absences won’t hurt Trump’s ability to unite the party,” Bonjean said, “but he must keep his focus now on Hillary Clinton and avoid getting into fights with other Republicans that may not agree with his pending nomination.”
It is not unheard of for Republicans, especially those in tight re-election races, to skip the national convention when political waters look choppy.
In 2008, several top Republicans chose to skip. Some were due to urgent state issues -- like then-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger grappling with a budget stalemate or Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal dealing with Hurricane Gustav. Gustav even forced then-President Bush not to attend, making him the first sitting president since Lyndon Johnson not to attend his party’s convention. Instead, he delivered his address by satellite hookup from the White House.
Sens. Pat Roberts, of Kansas; Susan Collins, of Maine; Gordon Smith, of Oregon; and Elizabeth Dole, of North Carolina, also stayed home from the GOP convention in order to campaign. At that time, Bush’s approval ratings were hovering around 30 percent.
This was a departure, however, from the 2000 convention where various interest groups in the party all came together behind their candidate with a single-minded determination to take back the White House. It didn't hurt that Bush was leading in the polls and had seen his last primary challengers fade away months before.
At that convention, there were no reports of prominent Republicans choosing not to attend.
Adam Shaw is a Politics Reporter for FoxNews.com. He can be reached here or on Twitter: @AdamShawNY.
Former State Dept. watchdog debunks central Clinton email claim
EXCLUSIVE: The State Department’s former top watchdog, in an interview with Fox News, rejected Hillary Clinton’s repeated claims that her personal email use was in line with her predecessors’ – while saying he would have immediately opened an investigation if he caught wind of a secretary of state using such an account.
Howard Krongard, a George W. Bush administration appointee who served as the State Department inspector general from April 2005 to January 2008, cited his own experience in challenging Clinton’s insistence that her practices were nothing out of the ordinary.
“Certainly to my knowledge at least, Secretary [Condoleezza] Rice did not have a personal server. I certainly never either sent an email to one or received an email from one,” said Krongard, who served during Rice’s tenure.
Further, he said, “I would have been stunned had I been asked to send an email to her at a personal server, private address. I would have declined to do so on security grounds and if she had sent one to me, I probably would have started an investigation.”
Krongard noted that during Clinton’s four-year term, from January 2009 to January 2013, there was no Senate-confirmed inspector general in place. Suggesting the Clintons show a pattern of avoiding oversight, Krongard indicated that Hillary Clinton benefited from the fact there was no IG during her term.
"I would’ve been the most unpopular person in that building [had I been there]," Krongard said, emphasizing that the inspector general has broad powers and the ability to rein in even the most senior political appointees. "They are the people who enforce the rules, and there was no one enforcing the rules during that time."
Krongard spoke with Fox News before the current State Department inspector general’s office, led by Steve A. Linick, issued an extensive report on email practices of previous secretaries of state.
The day that report was issued, Clinton said in an interview that her use of personal email was consistent with predecessors Colin Powell and Rice.
"Just like previous secretaries of state, I used a personal email. Many people did. It was not at all unprecedented," she said.
But, as Krongard indicated, the May 25 IG report clearly stated that Rice did not use personal email for government business. It said Powell used personal email on a limited basis to connect with people outside the department, and he worked with the State Department to secure the system. The report found Clinton did neither.
The report concluded Clinton’s use of a private server and account was not approved, and broke agency rules. The report said by the time she became secretary, the rules had repeatedly been updated, and were “considerably more detailed and more sophisticated.”
Krongard resigned from the IG position in December 2007 after accusations he blocked Iraq-related investigations, charges he denied.
Regarding the 2,100 emails on Clinton’s server found to have contained classified information -- and another 22 “Top Secret” messages containing intelligence deemed too damaging to national security to make public – Krongard questioned how that material got there. He said it would take a deliberate act for the intelligence to "jump the gap" between the classified computer networks and Clinton's personal server.
"It could be done by taking a screen shot with … a camera of a classified email, take a screen shot and send it to an unclassified network. It could be copied, but there are restrictions in the State Department and elsewhere as to what copiers can work from a classified network and it can only be a secure copier. So that may not have been easy," Krongard said.
Asked if it could happen by accident, Krongard simply said, "No."
He also challenged Clinton and State Department claims that the emails in question were “retroactively classified.”
"I don't understand it, because it was either classified by the creator or it was classified by reason of where it came from or what network it was on,” Krongard said.
Clinton consistently has claimed nothing she sent or received was marked classified at the time. While technically correct, this distinction also appears misleading. A January 2009 non-disclosure agreement signed by Clinton confirms her understanding that "classified information is marked or unmarked.”
Rather, it is the content and source that determine classification. Former intelligence officials say the emails were improperly handled by Clinton and her team and, once reviewed by the authority that originated the information, the emails were given proper classification markings.
While there is no public confirmation the Clinton server was breached, former senior military and intelligence officials -- including Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and former Defense Intelligence Agency chief Mike Flynn – have said they believe foreign intelligence services targeted Clinton's email system.
In a recent interview with Fox News, the Romanian hacker who goes by the name Guccifer said he accessed the Clinton server with ease in March 2013. Anonymous government officials were quick to dismiss the hacker's claims, while admitting he was very skilled and breached the accounts of 100 Americans, including Powell.
Catherine Herridge is an award-winning Chief Intelligence correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC) based in Washington, D.C. She covers intelligence, the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security. Herridge joined FNC in 1996 as a London-based correspondent.
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