Presumptuous Politics : Nov 2, 2016

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

John Kasich Pledge Cartoons

Early-absentee voters can still change ballots in at least four states

Ballot remorse? You can change your vote in these 4 states

Millions have already cast ballots in the presidential race -- but for anyone feeling voter's remorse, a little-known election-law quirk allows for a do-over in some states.
At least four states allow voters to change or cancel their early-absentee ballots, including battlegrounds Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The details vary from state to state.
In Wisconsin, absentee voters can change their ballots as many as three times before Election Day.
Wisconsin voters have gone for the Democratic nominee every presidential election year since 1988. This year, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump trails Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the state by roughly 6 percentage points, according to the RealClearPolitics poll average.
But Wisconsin GOP Rep. Sean Duffy thinks voter concerns about Clinton -- including new revelations last week about her ongoing email controversy -- might encourage early-absentee voters to change their minds.
“Hard folks on the right and the left are not going to change their mind,” Duffy told “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday. “But you have these people in the middle who are ping-ponging as the information comes out. ... And as they have a gut check … no doubt that’s going to drive them to Donald Trump and put him over the top.”
Wisconsin voters can either request a new, mail-in ballot before 5 p.m. on Nov. 3 or complete a new in-person absentee ballot before 5 p.m. on Nov. 5.
Roughly 22 million Americans have already cast a vote -- through a combination of absentee ballots, voting by mail or at the polls.
The 2016 White House race, with seven days remaining, continues to be a close contest between Trump and Clinton, with Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein significantly trailing the two major-party candidates.
Pennsylvania also allows absentee voters to change their mind by voting in person on Nov. 8 Election Day.
“The really important one is Pennsylvania because that is one of the states that Donald Trump says is a must-win for him,” political analyst Erin McPike told Fox News on Tuesday. “That is the real state to watch.”
In Michigan, absentee voters can change their ballots by getting a new one from their local clerk’s office by 4 p.m. on Nov. 7.
The fourth state, Minnesota, has voted for the Democratic nominee every presidential election since 1976.
The state allows absentee voters to change ballots three ways, but the deadline is Tuesday.
They can, after cancelling their ballot, request a new mail-in ballot, vote in person before 5 p.m. on Nov. 7 or vote on Election Day.

Trump encourages Wisconsin early-absentee voters with 'buyer's remorse' to support him instead

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump spent Tuesday night at a campaign stop in Wisconsin encouraging voters who filed early-absentee ballots for Hillary Clinton to change their votes to support him.
Trump highlighted the developments since Friday's announcement from the FBI that it would revisit the Clinton email probe while speaking to a crowd in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
"For all those voters who have buyer’s remorse, Wisconsin is one of those several states where you can change your early ballot if you think you’ve made a mistake," Trump told supporters.
"A lot of stuff has come out since your vote," he added. "If you live here, or Michigan, Pennsylvania, or Minnesota, you change your vote to Donald Trump."
In Wisconsin, voters can change their minds up to three times, but the deadline for doing so is Thursday.
Changing votes is very rarely done, the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College told the Associated Press.
Trump also took time during his rally to hit Clinton presidential campaign Chairman John Podesta and interim chair of the Democratic National Committee Donna Brazile over emails released by WikiLeaks which appeared to show her sending the Clinton campaign a question before a CNN town hall event while she was a contributor at the network.
"Could you imagine if Reince got the question for a debate and found out," Trump told supporters, referencing Republican National Committee Chair Reince Preibus. "It would be a double electric chair."
He also used a line from his hit-TV show "The Apprentice."
"John Podesta, if he worked for me I would fire him so fast, like 'The Apprentice,'" Trump said. "I would say 'John, you’re fired!'”

What about the pledge? Ex-rivals still split on endorsing Trump despite debate vow

Donald Trump took considerable heat when, during the first Republican primary debate in August 2015, he initially declined to pledge support for the party’s eventual presidential nominee.
But now that Trump is that nominee, his former primary foes are the ones who have split on honoring the pledge.
While several ex-rivals now are unabashedly Team Trump – and others have reluctantly backed him as the better of the two major-party candidates – a couple of GOP primary contenders still refuse to endorse the nominee.
The holdouts are:
John Kasich
The Ohio governor is the most defiant anti-Trump politician who was at that initial debate.
The governor has been at odds with Trump ever since bowing out of the race, declining to show his support for the nominee even when his state hosted the Republican National Convention and Trump’s nomination acceptance address.
Fox News confirmed late Monday that Kasich did not vote for Trump, either.
The governor wrote in Arizona Sen. John McCain on his absentee ballot. (According to The Plain Dealer, that vote technically will not count, since McCain is not among the approved write-in candidates in the state.)
Striking is that Kasich made the nominee pledge twice.
During the Fox News primary debate in Cleveland last August, Trump was the only one to raise his hand when asked which candidates would not pledge support for the eventual nominee. (Trump later reversed course, for a time.) Then, at another Fox News-hosted debate in March, Kasich joined Trump, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz in pledging to support the eventual nominee.
Kasich, though, has voiced deep concerns all along about Trump’s rhetoric and readiness. Demonstrating how fluid those pledges really were, Kasich, Trump and Cruz backed away from the same vow at a March debate weeks later.
Jeb Bush
The former Florida governor went from front-runner to also-ran in a matter of months after Trump stormed into the primary race, frequently making Bush a subject of his debate-stage attacks. Bush has not forgotten.
Bush, after dropping out, endorsed Cruz in March. He later congratulated Trump on securing the nomination in May, but said he will not vote for Trump or Hillary Clinton.
He wrote on Facebook: “Donald Trump has not demonstrated that temperament or strength of character. He has not displayed a respect for the Constitution. And, he is not a consistent conservative. These are all reasons why I cannot support his candidacy.”
The rest of the GOP primary field has come around, some enthusiastically – others, with considerable prodding and months after the race ended.
The supporters are:
Ted Cruz
Cruz stunned the GOP convention crowd by withholding an endorsement of Trump during his Cleveland address. But while this renewed weeks of feuding between the Texas senator and the billionaire businessman, Cruz eventually announced – in September – he would vote for Trump and urged others to do the same.
“Like many other voters, I have struggled to determine the right course of action in this general election,” Cruz said on Facebook. He said that after “many months of careful consideration, of prayer and searching my own conscience, I have decided that on Election Day, I will vote for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump.”
He also referenced the pledge, saying he wanted to keep his word to support the Republican nominee – and he finds Clinton “wholly unacceptable.”
Marco Rubio
The Florida senator now running for re-election has taken the most nuanced stance on Trump. He is supporting the nominee, but told The Weekly Standard in June he would continue to stand by his criticism of Trump from the primary campaign. He later delivered a video message to the GOP convention urging voters to elect Trump and reminding delegates that the “time for fighting” is over.
He continues to stand by his primary campaign criticism of Trump.
Scott Walker
The Wisconsin governor initially backed Cruz after dropping out of the race himself. He later indicated he would be supporting Trump and in July told Fox News he would in fact endorse Trump, while acknowledging he wasn’t his “first choice.”
Rand Paul
The Kentucky senator, despite his libertarian leanings and tough criticism of Trump during the primary, eventually told WDRB News he’ll back the billionaire. He, too, cited his pledge – a written one, not to run as a third-party candidate – in explaining his support.
Chris Christie
The New Jersey governor, while mired in controversy at home, enthusiastically embraced Trump’s candidacy back in February and campaigned for him. He had been considered for running mate, but the job ultimately went to Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.
Ben Carson
The retired neurosurgeon endorsed Trump in March and continues to speak out on the nominee’s behalf.
Mike Huckabee
The former Arkansas governor announced he was “all in” for Trump back in May, and has continued to be a strong supporter of the now-nominee.

DOJ official who penned letter on Clinton probe represented her campaign chairman

Is Obama's Department of Justice covering for the Clintons?

The Justice Department official in charge of informing Congress about the newly reactivated Hillary Clinton email probe is a political appointee and former private-practice lawyer who kept Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta “out of jail,” lobbied for a tax cheat later pardoned by President Bill Clinton and led the effort to confirm Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
Peter Kadzik, who was confirmed as assistant attorney general for legislative affairs in June 2014, represented Podesta in 1998 when independent counsel Kenneth Starr was investigating Podesta for his possible role in helping ex-Bill Clinton intern and mistress Monica Lewinsky land a job at the United Nations.
“Fantastic lawyer. Kept me out of jail,” Podesta wrote on Sept. 8, 2008 to Obama aide Cassandra Butts, according to emails hacked from Podesta’s Gmail account and posted by WikiLeaks.
CLINTON AIDE'S EMAIL TESTIMONY COULD HAUNT HER
Kadzik’s name has surfaced multiple times in regard to the FBI’s investigation of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for using a private, homebrewed server. After FBI Director James Comey informed Congress on Thursday the FBI was reviving its inquiry when new evidence linked to a separate investigation was discovered, congressional leaders wrote to the Department of Justice seeking more information. Kadzik replied.
“We assure you that the Department will continue to work closely with the FBI and together, dedicate all necessary resources and take appropriate steps as expeditiously as possible,” Kadzik wrote on Oct. 31.
The DOJ is responsible for approving the bureau’s warrant applications and ultimately for convening a grand jury.
Fox News has previously confirmed the Justice Department was opposed to Comey making public the latest Clinton revelations.
Kadzik had been an attorney with Dickstein Shapiro LLP for 18 years before he represented Podesta in the Clinton/Lewinsky investigation. He was hired in 2000 as a lobbyist for tax cheat Marc Rich, who was controversially granted a pardon by President Bill Clinton during Clinton’s final days in office. Kadzik got the job “because he was ‘trusted by [White House Chief of Staff John] Podesta,’ and was considered to be a ‘useful person to convey [Marc Rich’s] arguments to Mr. Podesta,’” according to a 2002 House Oversight Committee report.
Podesta and Kadzik kept up their relationship after Kadzik was appointed to the DOJ. In a May 5, 2015 email, Kadzik’s son, PJ, wrote to Podesta seeking a job on Hillary Clinton’s newly launched presidential campaign.
“I have always aspired to work on a presidential campaign, and have been waiting for some time now for Hilary [sic] to announce so that I can finally make this aspiration a reality,” PJ Kadzik wrote.
Podesta said he would "check around," but it's unclear what came of the request.
Kadzik was also a dinner guest of Podesta and his wife, Mary, on Oct. 23, 2015 – the day after Hillary Clinton testified before the House Benghazi committee, another email shows.

In a separate exchange about another dinner meeting, on Jan. 12, 2016, Kadzik emailed Podesta: “We on?”
Podesta replied, “Yes sorry. 7:30 at our place.”
“Great. C u then,” Kadzik wrote back the next day.
Though he said he has had "many differences" with Kadzik, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R.-S.C., said on "Fox & Friends" Tuesday that he wasn't concerned about any potential conflicts of interest.
"Peter Kadzik is not a decision maker, he is a messenger," Gowdy said.
Kadzik is still a key official in the department. He “led the successful effort to confirm Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch and Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates,” according to his DOJ biography. Lynch has come under increased scrutiny since it emerged she met privately with Bill Clinton in the days before the FBI initially said it would not seek to prosecute Hillary Clinton.

FBI releases documents on Bill Clinton's 2001 pardon of financier Rich

WASHINGTON – Only days before the presidential election, the FBI released an archive of documents from a long-closed investigation into Bill Clinton's 2001 presidential pardon of a fugitive financier, prompting questions from Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign about its timing.

The release comes amid the bureau's controversially timed review of emails from a Hillary Clinton aide.

The 129 pages of heavily censored material about Bill Clinton's presidential pardon of Marc Rich were published Monday on the FBI's Freedom of Information Act webpage and noted by one of the bureau's Twitter accounts Tuesday. Earlier in October, the FBI unit published historical files as far back as 1966 about Donald Trump's father, Fred Trump.

The Clinton campaign questioned the bureau's decision to make the file public so close to Tuesday's election.

"Absent a (Freedom of Information Act) deadline, this is odd," Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon tweeted. "Will FBI be posting docs on Trumps' housing discrimination in `70s?" Fallon's reference was to news accounts of a 1973 federal housing discrimination lawsuit, later settled, against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

In response to questions Tuesday from The Associated Press, the FBI said that the Marc Rich documents "became available for release and were posted automatically and electronically to the FBI's public reading room in accordance with the law and established procedures." The bureau said that under law, documents requested three or more times are made public "shortly after they are processed." That processing, the bureau said, is on a "first in, first out basis."

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said he saw the FBI tweet shortly before he boarded Air Force One with President Barack Obama for a trip to Columbus, Ohio, to campaign for Hillary Clinton, but was unaware that anyone at the White House was consulted about the material before it was released.

"I've not spoke to anybody who has any awareness of being consulted about that material before it was released," Earnest told reporters traveling with the president.

The newly released FBI documents are from a 2001 federal investigation into Bill Clinton's pardon at the end of his administration of Marc Rich, who was indicted in 1983 and evaded prosecution in Switzerland. Rich died in 2013.

The files briefly cited the Clinton Foundation in connection with a large donation in support of Clinton's presidential library. The FBI documents cited public records showing that an unidentified person donated to "the William J. Clinton Foundation, a foundation that supports the Clinton presidential library."

Rich's ex-wife, Denise Rich, pledged a $450,000 donation to the Clinton Foundation's project to develop and build the presidential facility. The new FBI archive does not name Denise Rich, but FBI agents sought to talk to her as part of the probe into her former husband's pardon.

Despite the extensive redactions, the FBI archive cites evidence being prepared for a federal grand jury, agents' reports and internal memos. Agents appeared to be interested in a New York dinner in which the Rich pardon may have been discussed.

The federal probe started under then-U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White, who now heads the Securities and Exchange Commission for the Obama administration. When White left office in 2003, she was replaced by James Comey, the FBI director now under fire for notifying Congress last week about his agency's decision to review emails to and from Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

The Rich investigation did not lead to federal charges under Comey and the case was closed in 2005.