Bill O’Reilly statement blasts far-left ‘brutal campaign of character assassination’

An attorney for Fox News host Bill O’Reilly released a statement Tuesday blaming “far-left” organizations for a smear campaign against him, saying that he’ll be revealing evidence of his claim.
“Bill O’Reilly has been subjected to a brutal campaign of character assassination that is unprecedented in post-McCarthyist America,” the statement from attorney Marc Kasowitz read.
The statement appeared to be in reference to the accusations of sexual harassment against O’Reilly, who is on vacation this week from his show. In recent weeks, he’s been assailed by protests and a social media campaign that has forced his show to hemorrhage dozens of advertisers.
“This law firm has uncovered evidence that the smear campaign is being orchestrated by far-left organizations bent on destroying O’Reilly for political and financial reasons,” the statement concluded. “That evidence will be put forth shortly and it is irrefutable.”
The statement offered no evidence of the claim it made.
CNN reported Tuesday that their sources claimed O’Reilly and Fox News were already in talks about his exit from the network.
The  campaign to get rid of  O’Reilly from the air began when the New York Times revealed a report saying he and Fox News had settled lawsuits to the tune of $13 million. O’Reilly responded by saying that he had settled in order to protect his children from a rancorous court battle had he chosen to fight the allegations.
But his case wasn’t aided by yet another accuser making sexual harassment claims against him Tuesday.

21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch Leftist?

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), a critic of Fox News, weighed in in the controversy saying that O’Reilly should go to jail over the sexual harassment charges.

 Leftist Democrat

Document suggests Media Matters is behind O’Reilly advertiser exodus

An email obtained by conservative radio host Glenn Beck suggests that progressive media watchdog group Media Matters orchestrated the advertiser exodus from embattled Fox News host Bill O’Reilly’s program.

“For years,” the email begins, “Bill O’Reilly has been one of the worst purveyors of misinformation on Fox News. A serial misinformer, pushing many of the most extreme, sexist, racist, homophobic, and xenophobic conservative theories on TV.”
The correspondence was written by Mary Pat Bonner, president of the Bonner Group.  According to the New York Times, Bonner served as a “donor adviser” to former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Through her firm, Bonner connects big money donors to liberal groups seeking donations. Bonner’s contracts give her company a sizable commission — around 12.5 percent — on any money she brings in. In addition to Clinton, the Bonner Group has also advised Media Matters and the American Bridge super PAC.
“The Bonner Group gets us the best fundraising product for the lowest cost,” David Brock, founder of Media Matters and American Bridge, told the Times. “In my experience, the commission incentivizes the fundraiser to meet the ambitious goals we set.”
In the email, which was sent April 13, Bonner heralds the success of her firm and Media Matters’ “advertiser education campaign” against O’Reilly.
“We are currently at a critical juncture in this campaign,” she wrote, before inviting recipients to join a couple of “update calls” on Thursday and Friday.
Bonner’s email was revealed just hours after one of O’Reilly’s lawyers, Marc Kasowitz, claimed that the Fox anchor “has been subjected to a brutal campaign of character assassination that is unprecedented in post-McCarthyist America.”
“This law firm has uncovered evidence that the smear campaign is being orchestrated by far-left organizations bent on destroying O’Reilly for political and financial reasons,” he continued. “That evidence will be put forth shortly and it is irrefutable.”
Dozens of advertisers have pulled their commercials from O’Reilly’s 8 p.m. time slot in the weeks since the Times reported that O’Reilly and 21st Century Fox, Fox News’ parent company, have settled to the tune of $13 million with at least five women who have accused the network host of sexual harassment.
And according to Media Matters, the number of brands that have shifted ads away from “The O’Reilly Factor” has topped 80, “with dozens more quietly taking the action or keeping them off in the first place.”
Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters,  said “many expect more women will come forward” with allegations against O’Reilly. He also asserted Fox News Co-President Bill Shine “will go too.” Carusone offered no evidence to support either claim.
“What’s happening now is a giant smear campaign, and they work,” Beck said on his radio program Wednesday morning, later adding that the left is “splitting the conservative movement and they’re taking the bear out of the door.”
The Wall Street Journal, which is owned by News Corp, a media conglomeration founded by Fox News CEO Rupert Murdoch, reported Tuesday night that the news network is preparing to sever ties with O’Reilly.
The Journal’s report comes the week after news broke that 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch was reportedly ready to cut O’Reilly, who is on vacation until April 24. However, at the time, Rupert Murdoch, James’ father, and 21st Century Fox Co-Chairman Lachlan Murdoch, James’ older brother, were “more inclined” to stand by the host.
But now it appears the Murdochs are nearing a unanimous decision. And in Beck’s mind, it’s all about money — not principles.
“They’re making the decision based on money, and money has nothing to do with principle,” he said, after earlier telling listeners he “would not be saying this if I had personal information” that the accusations against O’Reilly were true.
If the harassment claims end up being true, Beck said he would be “highly disappointed” with O’Reilly. “If there is evidence that something happened, that’s something different,” he said.

Fox News after Roger Ailes and Bill O'Reilly

That is the billion-dollar question surely on the mind of James Murdoch, the chief executive officer of 21st Century Fox, who is slowly but surely taking over his father's company and seeking to impose order on its most controversial asset.

Fox News supplies more than $1 billion in profit to 21st Century Fox each year, accounting for roughly 20% of its total profits. It does so largely by stoking America's partisan divides and preying on conservative anxieties -- an editorial approach Murdoch has never been entirely comfortable with, according to sources close to him.
But if you think Murdoch's discomfort will cause him to change Fox News' programming and risk tampering with the company's cash cow, think again, sources with knowledge of his thinking say.
Even with Ailes and O'Reilly out, the network looks set to stay the course as a conservative juggernaut. If anything, Fox News looks likely to become more conservative, and more friendly to President Trump, than it is now.


Replacing O'Reilly in the 8 p.m. hour is Tucker Carlson, who delights in criticizing and arguing with liberals and exposing what he sees as inconsistencies of the left-wing worldview. In the first 100 days of Trump's presidency, he has been a staunch Trump defender.
Moving to the 9 p.m. hour are the co-hosts of "The Five," the roundtable opinion program on which conservative co-hosts outnumber their liberal foils. The show's new co-host is Jesse Watters, who hosted an often controversial segment on O'Reilly's show in which he ambushed unsuspecting interviewees and, in some cases, made fun of their ethnicity.
Sean Hannity, the most unabashed and outspoken Trump cheerleader on cable news, will continue to host his show at 10 p.m. Indeed, with O'Reilly out, Hannity has become Fox's most valuable player and the man the company can't afford to lose.
Many speculated that Megyn Kelly would become the face of the network, ushering in a less partisan, more news-focused era. Kelly's departure to NBC News put the kibosh on that idea, but the more down-the-middle Fox never really made sense, because its value comes from being the only game in town for cable-watching conservatives. Indeed, it was never actually the plan, according to sources at the company.
By the same token, predictions that O'Reilly's viewers will abandon the network are likely exaggerated. It will undoubtedly be hard for Carlson to match O'Reilly's ratings. But he's already been a major ratings draw since replacing Megyn Kelly at 9 p.m. earlier this year after she left for NBC.


Moreover, if you're a 72-year-old conservative who likes to watch conservative opinion at night -- the median O'Reilly viewer was 72 -- where else are you going to go? Your choices are news (CNN's Anderson Cooper) or liberal opinion (MSNBC's Rachel Maddow). Carlson may not be O'Reilly, but the opinions he'll offer are more or less the same.
Ten years ago, Murdoch told the journalist Michael Wolff, "Fox [News] is an important brand, but it needs to develop, and, to some extent, be reformed."
That was before Fox News was making 21st Century Fox more than $1 billion a year. And if Murdoch did not reform Fox News in the last decade, there is little reason to believe he'll do it now.

Bill O’Reilly Going To Continue With His Tour

Millions of Fox News supporters were enraged to hear that political host Bill O’Reilly was let go from the station. This was in response to numerous sexual assault allegations that several women brought upon him. These allegations came with no proof and are very shady at best. These need to be investigated thoroughly to see if the truth can be found. It is too late for Bill O’Reilly to continue on Fox News, but he is far from done.

It was reported by The Hollywood Reporter that Bill O’Reilly will still go on with his “The Spin Stops Here Tour,” even though many arenas are trying to cancel it. The tour will begin in New York City on June 17th with two shows. They are both sold out and will have Dennis Miller and Jesse Watters as comedians.
The tickets currently go at $65 for a standard ticket and $500 for a VIP on Ticketmaster.
After New York City, he has many other dates planned. He will go to the NYCB Theatre at Westbury in New York. He will then go to Baltimore, Tampa, Las Vegas and Anaheim. But there is now a liberal petition that is trying to get the entire thing cancelled. This is exactly what the liberals are trying to do to Bill. They want to destroy his entire life and if he is not careful, they will. They are backed by many powerful liberal elites.

Care2 manager Julie Mastrine said she cannot say how far they will go.
“There are no plans for protests now, but we will not rule it out, either. We have not delivered the signatures yet, so it is impossible to say.”
Bill O’Reilly needs your prayers now more than ever before. He needs your support. Are you sick and tired of these hateful liberals?

Wave of Illegals Cartoons

Backlash

Justice Dept threatens sanctuary cities in immigration fight

Little Dutch Boy trying to plug the dam leak with a finger?

Dam Leak.

The Trump administration intensified its threats to crack down on so-called sanctuary cities that refuse to comply with federal immigration authorities, warning nine jurisdictions Friday that they may lose coveted law enforcement grant money unless they document cooperation.
It sent letters to officials in California and major cities including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and New Orleans, all places the Justice Department's inspector general has identified as limiting the information local law enforcement can provide to federal immigration authorities about those in their custody.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has warned that the administration will punish communities that refuse to cooperate with efforts to find and deport immigrants in the country illegally. But some of the localities remained defiant, despite risking the loss of funds that police agencies use to pay for everything from body cameras to bulletproof vests.
"We're not going to cave to these threats," Milwaukee County Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic said, promising a legal fight if the money is pulled.
CALIFORNIA GOP MOVES FORWARD WITH PLAN TO PUNISH SANCTUARY CITIES

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Attorney General Sessions speaks after he and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly toured the ports of entry and met with Department of Justice and DHS personnel in El Paso, Texas, Thursday, April 20, 2017. (Ruben R. Ramirez/The El Paso Times via AP)

Playing off Sessions' recent comments that sanctuary cities undermine the fight against gangs, the Justice Department said the communities under financial threat are "crumbling under the weight of illegal immigration and violent crime."
After a raid led to the arrests of 11 MS-13 gang members in California's Bay Area "city officials seemed more concerned with reassuring illegal immigrants that the raid was unrelated to immigration than with warning other MS-13 members that they were next," the department said in a statement.
The federal law in question says state and local governments may not prohibit police or sheriffs from sharing information about a person's immigration status with federal authorities.
The money could be withheld in the future, or terminated, if local officials fail to prove they are following the law, wrote Alan R. Hanson, acting head of the Office of Justice Programs. The grant program is the leading source of federal justice funding to states and local communities.
Kevin de Leon, leader of California's state Senate, rejected the administration's demand, saying its policies are based on "principles of white supremacy" and not American values.

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FILE - In this Jan. 25, 2017 file photo, a woman holds a sign at a rally outside of City Hall in San Francisco. The Trump administration is moving beyond rhetoric in its effort to crack down on so-called sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The Justice Department is forcing nine communities to prove they are complying with an immigration law to continue receiving coveted law enforcement grant money. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

"Their constant and systematic targeting of diverse cities and states goes beyond constitutional norms and will be challenged at every level," he said.
Leaders in Chicago and Cook County, which shared a grant of more than $2.3 million in 2016, dismissed the threat. So did the mayor's office in New York City, which received $4.3 million. The Justice Department singled out Chicago's rise in homicides and said New York's gang killings were the "predictable consequence of the city's soft-on-crime stance."
"This grandstanding shows how out of touch the Trump administration is with reality," said Seith Stein, a spokesman for the New York City mayor's office, calling the comments "alternative facts." Crime is low thanks to policies that encourage police cooperation with immigrant communities, he said.
The jurisdictions also include Clark County, Nevada; Miami-Dade County, Florida; and Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.
They were singled out in a May 2016 report by the Justice Department's inspector general that found local policies or rules could interfere with providing information to immigration agents. Following the report, the Obama administration warned cities that they could miss out on grant money if they did not comply with the law, but it never actually withheld funds.
The report pointed to a Milwaukee County rule that immigration detention requests be honored only if the person has been convicted of one felony or two misdemeanors, has been charged with domestic violence or drunken driving, is a gang member, or is on a terrorist watch list, among other constraints.
It also took issue with a New Orleans Police Department policy that it said might hinder communication with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That city received nearly $266,000 in grant money through the program in fiscal year 2016. New Orleans has used Justice Department funding to pay for testing DNA kits, police body cameras, attorneys for domestic violence victims and other expenses.
Zach Butterworth, Mayor Mitch Landrieu's executive counsel and director of federal relations, said the city drafted its policies in consultation with federal immigration and Homeland Security officials. It was reviewing the Justice Department's letter.
"We don't think there's a problem," he said.
Butterworth said the New Orleans Police Department has seen a 28 percent drop in calls for service from people with limited English since November.
"People are scared, and because of that, they're less willing to report crime," Butterworth added.
Other places also insisted they were in compliance. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, the elected head of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, said the city and county were wrongly labeled sanctuary cities.
Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele said that community is hardly succumbing to violence.
"Milwaukee County has its challenges but they are not caused by illegal immigration," he said in a statement. "My far greater concern is the proactive dissemination of misinformation, fear, and intolerance."

Iran: Group claims regime is 'in full gear' on covert work on nuclear weapons

Resistance group alleges Iran grossly violating nuclear deal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Council of Resistance of Iran

The White House responded cautiously Friday to claims by an Iranian dissident group alleging that Iran’s clandestine work on a nuclear weapon has continued unabated by the landmark nuclear deal that Tehran finalized with the Obama administration and five other world powers two years ago.
At a news conference in Washington, members of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) brandished recent satellite imagery and intelligence purportedly derived from informants inside the Iranian military to bolster their claim that the Islamic Regime is still working covertly on what nuclear experts call weaponization: the final station on the path to nuclear weapons.
“The engineering unit that is charged and tasked with actually building the bomb in a secret way for the Iranian regime is called the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research,” said Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of NCRI’s Washington office. That unit, whose Persian acronym is SPND, was first exposed by Jafarzadeh’s group in 2011, and was designated by the State Department in 2014 because U.S. officials said SPND “took over some of the activities related to Iran’s undeclared nuclear program.”
“Our information shows that their activities have been continuing in full gear, despite the JCPOA,” Jafarzadeh said, using the acronym for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which is the formal name for the nuclear deal.
NCRI’s startling claim came in the same week that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson certified to Congress that Iran is meeting the terms of the JCPOA but also announced an interagency task force to reevaluate the entire deal, saying the JCPOA is not meeting its objective. President Trump followed that up the next day by saying the Iranians “are not living up to the spirit of the agreement.”
That prompted a sharp tweet of rebuke from the Iranian foreign minister, an architect of the nuclear deal. Dr. Javad Zarif posted: “We’ll see if US prepared to live up to letter of #JCPOA let alone spirit. So far, it has defied both.”
Asked about NCRI’s allegation and supporting evidence, Michael Anton, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said only that his colleagues are “carefully evaluating” the NCRI package against “the best intelligence reporting and analysis available to the United States.”
NCRI’s satellite imagery is focused on the military base at Parchin, a site to which inspectors for the International Atomic Energy Agency have been granted only limited and tightly controlled access. The photos outline an area in the north of the sprawling base where installations surrounded by berms are visible. According to NCRI officers, the newly constructed site is known internally as “Plan 6.”
There, the dissident group alleged, a sub-unit of SPND known as METFAZ – another Persian acronym for the formal title of the Center for Research and Expansion of Technologies on Explosions and Impact – is working with high explosives in ways the NCRI said are identical to the “possible military dimension” that Western officials long suspected Iran was pursuing with its nuclear program.
Skeptics of NCRI note that it is the political affiliate of an Iranian opposition group, known as MEK, that spent fifteen years on the State Department’s list of foreign terror organizations. But many have seen NCRI’s disclosures about alleged clandestine nuclear activities or sites in Iran borne out, starting with the group’s identification of the theretofore secret installations at Natanz and Arak. Frank Pabian, an adviser on nuclear nonproliferation issues at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, was quoted in 2010 as telling the New York Times of the NCRI: “They’re right 90 percent of the time.”
To assess the imagery of Plan 6 at Parchin, Fox News consulted  a pair of nuclear scientists and arms control analysts who are among the world’s most renowned. David Albright, the trained physicist and former U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq, told Fox News the structures visible in the satellite photography are consistent with a facility that makes high explosives; but he noted that Iran has the right to do so under the JCPOA, and that the imagery yielded no outward sign that Iran was also testing high explosives at the site. Still, he believes the IAEA should press for access there. “The international inspectors should use authorities under the nuclear deal to go and look at this site, and see what's going on and start to verify a critical part of the nuclear deal,” Albright said, “namely, those activities involved in the development of nuclear weapons.”
Olli Heinonen spent nearly three decades at the IAEA, eventually rising to the level of the number-two official at the agency: deputy director-general. He has traveled to Iran for inspection tours and other business some twenty-five times. He reached a similar assessment about Plan 6, even as both men emphasized the need for more information to make determinative judgments.
“We see that the buildings are surrounded by berms; they are a distance from each other. This is a typical design for a site that works with high explosives,” Heinonen told FoxNews. “I think there are serious questions to be asked [of] the Iranian government. Most likely IAEA should have access to this site.”
Neither the IAEA nor the Iranian mission to the United Nations responded to requests for comment.

Gas stations in North Korea's main city restrict services, speculation that China is reducing supply

Drivers in Pyongyang are scrambling to fill up their tanks as gas stations begin limiting services or even closing amid concerns of a spreading shortage.
A sign outside one station in the North Korean capital said Friday that sales were being restricted to diplomats or vehicles used by international organizations, while others were closed or turning away local residents. Lines at other stations were much longer than usual and prices appeared to be rising significantly.
The cause of the restrictions or how long they might last were not immediately known.
North Korea relies heavily on China for its fuel supply and Beijing has reportedly been tightening its enforcement of international sanctions aimed at getting Pyongyang to abandon its development of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.
The issue was raised at a regular Chinese Foreign Ministry news conference in Beijing on Friday after a Chinese media outlet, Global Times, reported gas stations were restricting service and charging higher prices.
But spokesman Lu Kang gave an ambiguous response when asked if China was restricting fuel deliveries.
"As for what kind of policy China is taking, I think you should listen to the authoritative remarks or statements of the Chinese government," he said, without elaborating on what those remarks or statements are. "For the remarks made by certain people or circulated online, it is up to you if you want to take them as references."
One of China's top North Korea scholars, Kim Dong-jil, director of the Center for Korean Peninsula Studies of Peking University, said he had not heard of new restrictions on fuel to pressure Pyongyang, but said they are considered to be an option.
China's Ministry of Commerce had no immediate comments.
President Trump has said that he has a “very good relationship” with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping. The Journal, earlier this month, reported that Trump was scheduled to meet for 10 to 15 minutes, but ended up talking for three hours.
Gasoline was selling at $1.25 per kilogram at one station, up from the previous 70-80 cents. According to a sign outside a station where ordinary North Korean vehicles were being turned away, the restrictions took effect on Wednesday.
Gasoline is sold in North Korea by the kilogram, roughly equivalent to a liter (0.26 gallon).
When buying gas in North Korea, customers usually first purchase coupons at a cashier's booth for the amount of fuel they want. After filling up the tank, leftover coupons can be used on later visits until their expiration date. A common amount for the coupons is 15 kilograms (19.65 liters or 5.2 U.S. gallons).
Supply is controlled by the state.
The military, state ministries and priority projects have the best access. Several chains of gas stations are operated under different state-run enterprises -- for example, Air Koryo, the national flagship airline, operates gas stations as well.
Prices can vary from one station to another.
Traffic in Pyongyang has gotten heavier than in past years, when visitors were often struck by the lack of cars on the capital's broad avenues.
The greater number of cars, including swelling fleets of taxis, has been an indication of greater economic activity, as many are used for business purposes, such as transporting people or goods.

Trump to unveil tax cut he says could be biggest ever

President Trump on Friday said businesses and individuals will receive a "massive tax cut" under a tax reform package he plans to unveil next week.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Trump said the plan will result in tax cuts for both individuals and businesses. He would not provide details of the plan, saying only that the tax cuts will be "bigger I believe than any tax cut ever."
The president said the package will be released on "Wednesday or shortly thereafter" — just before his 100 day mark in office. He will face opposition in Congress as the possibility of a government shutdown by the end of the month lingers.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin initially set a goal of getting tax reform passed by August, but that deadline has slipped. Mnuchin now says the administration still hoped to get a bill passed well before the end of the year.
Mnuchin on Thursday said economic growth from proposed tax cuts would come close to $2 trillion over 10 years.
Steve Forbes, in an interview on Fox Business’ "Your World With Neil Cavuto,” said Trump is doing the right thing by aggressively pushing for tax cuts.
"I think he's recognized that if he doesn't get this economy moving in a way that people visibly feel it, he and the Republicans are going to be in deep trouble next year," Forbes said.
He added that Trump will have to push congressional Republicans to get the tax plan through as soon as possible, because even if it's approved in the short-term, it will take time for Americans to truly feel its effects.
"When you make an investment, it doesn't mean the building rises up the next day, or the factory rises up the next day, or the services are available the next day," Forbes said. "It takes time to make these things happen. ... Why aren't they realistic about how the world works?"
In March, a Fox News poll found that 55 percent of participants believed they pay too much in taxes, The number was down from a record 63 percent in march 2015.
Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist said this week that he's confident that tax reform will be passed despite recent delays.
Norquist said there is agreement between the White House and Republicans in the House and Senate. That includes cutting the corporate rate from 35 to 20 percent, while small businesses would go from 40 down to 25 percent, which he called "very important."