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Kid Rock opens Detroit's new arena, blocks newspaper from attending

Rocker-turned-maybe-politician Kid Rock retaliated this week after a Detroit media outlet published a “f----- up story” saying Rock didn't deserve to open the city's new taxpayer-funded sports arena because of his racist attitudes.

Rock denied the Detroit Free Press a press pass to attend Tuesday night's opening gig at the $862 million Little Caesars Arena.

A Free Press columnist had written that Rock represented a “middle finger to Detroiters” when he was chosen to perform the opening concert. The move signaled that people of color would not be welcome in the arena, the Detroit Free Press columnist opined.
Stephen Henderson, a Free Press editorial page editor, wrote that when “divisive performer Kid Rock” was chosen to open the arena, “it sent a message to the Detroiters who made the project possible and who have yet to see the benefits promised. It's a message that's not too far off those Jim Crow-era signs warning that blacks weren't welcome.
“This is a musician who got rich off crass cultural appropriation of black music, who used to wrap his brand in the Confederate flag — a symbol inextricably linked to racism, no matter what its defenders say,” he added.
According to the Free Press, the negative article about Kid Rock was not the paper’s position but an opinion article reflecting the views of an individual writer.
But the explanation was not sufficient for Rock’s publicist, Kirt Webster, who slammed the publication after being asked for a quote, saying: “You guys wrote a f----- up story and allowed it to be published. You want a quote, there it is.”
“To be published without doing any fact-checking on what Kid Rock has done for the city of Detroit? We don't condone bad behavior. We won't reward bad behavior,” he added.
Early Monday, the artist vented on social media and attacked his critics, claiming he will focus his philanthropic work on charities that defended him.
“They are trying to use the old confederate flag BS, etc., to stir the pot, when we all know none of this would be going on if I were not thinking of running for office,” he wrote, asking his fans to “pay no attention to the garbage the extreme left is trying to create.” (Rock had previously flirted with the idea of running for a U.S. Senate seat from Michigan.)
He added: “I am however very disappointed that none of the people, businesses or charities I have so diligently supported in Detroit have had anything to say about all these unfounded attacks from these handful of jackasses and the Detroit Free Press.
“So for the unforeseen future I will focus my philanthropy efforts on other organizations besides the ones I have supported in the past.”
As for the show, the Free Press described Tuesday's event as a "rowdy, defiant initiation," and noted in a separate story that about 200 protesters demonstrated outside the venue.

GOP senator wants full transcripts from Comey staffer interviews

Sen. Ron Johnson is demanding full transcripts from interviews the Office of Special Counsel conducted with former FBI staffers for James Comey, becoming the latest lawmaker to dig deeper after the documents raised questions about the bureau’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email case and the ex-director’s statements to Congress.

The White House on Monday accused Comey of giving “false testimony,” and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Fox News last week he wants Comey to return to Capitol Hill – saying “I smell a rat.”

Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, made his request for the full, un-redacted transcripts in a letter to Acting Special Counsel Adam Miles.
“The Committee has conducted oversight of the FBI’s investigation into Secretary Clinton’s use of a private email system. The information in OSC’s possession could further explain the scope, course, and nature of the FBI’s investigation,” Johnson wrote on Sept. 8.
The transcripts were from interviews conducted by the OSC with James Rybicki, Comey’s former chief of staff, and Trisha Anderson, the principal deputy general counsel of national security and cyber law. The Senate Judiciary Committee earlier received redacted transcripts of the interviews, revealing last month that they include claims that Comey “wrote a draft” of an "exoneration statement" for Clinton around early May 2016.
This would have been well before the bureau's early July interview with Clinton.
NEW PRESSURE ON COMEY TO RETURN TO CAPITOL HILL, AS WHITE HOUSE ACCUSES HIM OF 'FALSE TESTIMONY'
Johnson said the full transcripts “may shed light” on the FBI’s decision-making process during their investigation, the FBI’s interactions with other federal entities, and the FBI’s “distinction” between “extreme carelessness” and “gross negligence,” when referring to Clinton’s handling of her private email server.
Comey ultimately accused Clinton of being extremely careless in her handling of her personal email and server while secretary of state, but recommended against criminal charges. The claim that he drafted an exoneration statement weeks before Clinton was interviewed, however, raised questions about the bureau's handling of the case -- and about Comey's prior testimony.
Comey in June said one of the big reasons he spoke out on the case was concern over then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s infamous meeting days earlier on an Arizona tarmac with former President Bill Clinton. He also testified a year ago that he made the decision not to seek charges after the Clinton interview.
Some Republicans want Comey to return to Capitol Hill to testify and clarify his past statements. Just Monday, the White House slammed Comey’s testimony as “false.”
The interviews with Rybicki and Anderson were part of an OSC investigation into whether Comey violated the Hatch Act in October 2016. Richard Painter, former White House chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, requested an investigation after complaining that Comey may have influenced the election by telling Congress in late October that the bureau was revisiting the Clinton email probe.
Due to longstanding OSC policy, the only punishment from such a probe could be termination. So after President Trump fired Comey in May, the OSC investigation ended.
During that investigation, though, the OSC signed non-disclosure agreements with the FBI, giving them the privilege of redacting protected information. Those non-disclosure agreements bar the OSC from turning over any documents to Congress without permission from the FBI, despite Johnson’s committee having jurisdiction over the watchdog agency.
However, Johnson contends that, “Any reliance upon these non-disclosure agreements to withhold information from the Committee would be inappropriate.”
Johnson gave a deadline of Sept. 21 for the OSC to provide full transcripts, documents, and details regarding their investigation into Comey.
Both the FBI and the OSC told Fox News they had “no comment” on the interviews or on why portions of the transcripts have been redacted.
Brooke Singman is a Politics Reporter for Fox News. Follow her on Twitter at @brookefoxnews.

Clinton State Department silenced them on Benghazi security lapses, contractors say

EXCLUSIVE: Security at the State Department's Benghazi compound was so dire that another contractor was brought in to clean up the mess just two weeks before the 2012 terror attack – and was later pressured to keep quiet by a government bureaucrat under then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to two men from the American security company.   

Brad Owens and Jerry Torres, of Torres Advanced Enterprise Solutions, say they faced pressure to stay silent and get on the same page with the State Department with regard to the security lapses that led to the deaths of four Americans.

They spoke exclusively with Fox News for “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” revealing new information that undermines the State Department's account of the 2012 terror attack in Benghazi, where Islamic militants launched a 13-hour assault from Sept. 11-12 that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, foreign service officer Sean Smith and former Navy SEALS Ty Woods and Glenn Doherty.
Torres Advanced Enterprise Solutions provides security for U.S. embassy and consulate personnel around the world in some of the most dangerous locations spanning Africa, the Middle East and South America, according to the firm.
Jerry Torres remains haunted by the fact specific bureaucrats and policies remain in the State Department after the Benghazi attack despite the change in administrations. "A U.S. ambassador is dead and nobody is held accountable for it. And three guys … all died trying to defend him," said Torres, the company’s CEO and a former Green Beret.
Asked if there was a specific effort by a senior State Department contracting officer to silence them, Torres said, "Absolutely, absolutely."
Owens, a former Army intelligence officer, echoed his colleague, saying those “who made the poor choices that actually, I would say, were more responsible for the Benghazi attacks than anyone else, they're still in the same positions, making security choices for our embassies overseas now."
In 2012, Owens was the American company’s point man in Libya with extensive experience in the region. After the death of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi in the fall of 2011, Owens stressed to Fox News it was well-known that Islamic radicals including Al Qaeda-tied militias were pouring into the region and security “had deteriorated considerably.”
Based on documents reviewed by Fox News, Torres Advanced Enterprise Solutions bid on the Benghazi compound security contract in the spring of 2012. But the State Department awarded the deal to a U.K.-based operation called The Blue Mountain Group.
Owens, who had personally visited the Benghazi compound to assess security, was shocked. "Blue Mountain U.K. is a teeny, tiny, little security company registered in Wales that had never had a diplomatic security contract, had never done any high threat contracts anywhere else in the world that we've been able to find, much less in high threat areas for the U.S. government. They had a few guys on the ground," he said.
According to Torres, the Blue Mountain Group came in 4 percent lower than their bid – and they challenged the decision, claiming the American company should have been preferred over the foreign one.
Torres said State Department contracting officer Jan Visintainer responded that the State Department had the “latitude to apply” that preference or not.
And there was more: The Blue Mountain Group hired guards through another company who were not armed. 
Problems soon arose. One month before the attack -- in August 2012, with The Blue Mountain Group still in charge of compound security -- Ambassador Stevens and his team alerted the State Department via diplomatic cable that radical Islamic groups were everywhere and that the temporary mission compound could not withstand a "coordinated attack." The classified cable was first reported by Fox News.
By Aug. 31, 2012, the situation had deteriorated to the point that Owens and Torres said the State Department asked them to intervene – as Owens put it, an "admission of the mistake of choosing the wrong company."
"They came back to us and said, ‘Can you guys come in and take over security?’ Owens said. “So we were ready.”
But Torres emphasized that time was against them, saying it would have taken two-to-three weeks to get set up.
Twelve days later, the ambassador was killed. Torres learned of the attacks by watching television. He called the circumstances leading up to the tragedy "bad decision-making from top to bottom."
“There was nothing we could've done about it. If we'd had one month warning … who knows what might've happened,” Owens said.
In the chaotic days following that attack, the Obama White House blamed the attacks on an anti-Islam video and demonstration which was not accurate. As a former Green Beret, Torres was stunned: "Coming from a military background, I would expect the administration to tell the truth. So I bought into it for a minute. But I didn't believe it in the back of my mind.” He said they later figured out the video was not the culprit. The attack was a coordinated terrorist assault which included a precision mortar strike on the CIA post in Benghazi.
But as the Obama administration and Clinton’s team struggled to answer questions about the attacks, Visintainer apparently took it one step further -- summoning Jerry Torres from overseas to attend a meeting at her government office in Rosslyn, Va., in early 2013.
Torres took Fox News back to the Virginia office building where he recalled that day's events.
"[Visintainer] said that I and people from Torres should not speak to the media, should not speak to any officials with respect to the Benghazi program,” he said.
Torres said he was afraid for his company – and hasn’t spoken publicly until now.
"We had about 8,000 employees at the time. You know, we just didn't need that level of damage because these guys, their livelihood relies on the company,” he said. “I trust that our U.S. government is going to follow chain of command, follow procedures, follow protocols and do the right thing."
Another part of that conversation stuck out to Torres. He said Visintainer told him “in her opinion, that guards should not be armed at U.S. embassies. She just made that blanket statement. … And she said that they weren't required in Benghazi. So I was kind of confused about that. And she said that she would like my support in saying that if that came up. And I looked at her. I just didn't respond."
The State Department declined Fox News’ request to make Visintainer available for an interview, or have her answer written email questions.
The Blue Mountain Group did not immediately respond to questions from Fox News.
Torres and Owens said repercussions against their company continue to this day – and that of the 20 security force contracts they’ve bid on since that conversation, they’ve lost 18.
Torres and Owens are concerned another attack like the one in Benghazi could happen again because the same State Department employees responsible for the Benghazi contract remain in place and the contracting rules are outdated.
"In 1990, Congress passed a law that required contracts of this nature to go to the lowest bidder that's technically acceptable," Owens explained. "Now, what that has created is a race to the bottom, is what we call it. So basically, every company tries to cut every corner they can for these contracts."
The men say they are hopeful that changes will come with the Trump administration’s promise to "drain the swamp."
"Let's just say there's been a change at management at Department of State," Owens said. "I feel now that, given that the politics has been taken out of the Benghazi situation, now that there's no longer a candidate or anything related to it, a change of administrations, that actually, we have an opportunity here to fix the problems that made it happen."
On the fifth anniversary, Torres said he thinks about the four families who lost a father, a brother or a son in the 2012 attack, and feels sorry "for not bringing this up earlier. For not actually being there, on the ground and taking care of these guys."
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.
Pamela K. Browne is Senior Executive Producer at the FOX News Channel (FNC) and is Director of Long-Form Series and Specials. Her journalism has been recognized with several awards. Browne first joined FOX in 1997 to launch the news magazine “Fox Files” and later, “War Stories.”
Cyd Upson is a Senior Producer at FOX News.

Black Lives Matter targets Jefferson monument in Charlottesville

The divide over statues and monuments in Charlottesville, Va., appears far from over.

Just one month after a demonstration over plans to remove a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee turned violent, resulting in a woman's death, a different group of protesters has targeted a statue of U.S. Founding Father Thomas Jefferson.

The Thomas Jefferson Monument, which sits just outside a rotunda at the University of Virginia -- which Jefferson also founded -- was cloaked in black Tuesday evening, and adorned with signs reading “Black Lives Matter” and “TJ is a racist,” local media reported.
Nearly 100 students came together to deface the statue, chanting, “No Trump, No KKK, no racist U-V-A,” the Washington Times reported.
“One month ago, we stood on the front lines in downtown Charlottesville as all manner of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and neo-fascists swarmed the area,” a speaker told the crowd, the Daily Progress reported. “Two months ago, the Ku Klux Klan rallied in their safe space, fully robed and fully protected by multiple law enforcement agencies who brutalized and tear-gassed peaceful counter-protesters.”
Tuesday evening’s rally was in response to the university denying demands made last month by the Black Student Alliance, which included banning white supremacists from campus and removing Confederate plaques on the rotunda, the Daily Progress reported.
“We can and must condemn the violence of one month ago and simultaneously recognize Jefferson as a rapist, racist, and slave owner,” the unidentified speaker said, the website reported. “The visibility of physical violence from white supremacists should not take our attention away from condemning and disrupting more ‘respectable’ racists that continue to control the structures that perpetuate institutional racism.”
The university did not immediately comment on the Jefferson statue shrouding, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. No police officers were seen at Tuesday's protest, according to the newspaper.
There are 718 confederate statues and monuments in the United States, 300 of which are displayed in Georgia, Virginia, or North Carolina, a 2016 study by the Southern Poverty Law Center says.