John Kerry Cartoons

Cal Thomas: Democrats’ Kavanaugh smears yet another effort to reverse 2016 election results

In statement released by the White House, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh says he is 'willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee in any way the Committee deems appropriate to refute this false allegation, from 36 years ago, and defend my integrity.'
The woman who alleged in a confidential letter that as a high school student in Maryland in the ’80s Brett Kavanaugh “pinned her to a bed on her back and groped her over her clothes, grinding his body against hers and clumsily attempting to pull off her one-piece bathing suit and the clothing she wore over it” has now revealed her identity to (surprise!) the Washington Post.
Christine Blasey Ford, who the Post says is now a 51-year-old research psychologist in northern California, originally said she did not want to tell her story or reveal her identity. Then the story went public without her consent. The letter eventually found its way to the office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, and Feinstein, citing Ford’s wish to remain anonymous, refused to share it with her Democratic colleagues. “I have, however,” Feinstein wrote in a statement, “referred the matter to federal investigative authorities.”
“An FBI spokesperson confirmed that the bureau had received the referral … and included it as part of Kavanaugh’s background file,” writes the Los Angeles Times, “as per the standard process.”
Ford claims she didn’t tell anyone about the alleged assault until 2012 when she was in couples therapy with her husband, but even then she didn’t mention Kavanaugh’s name. If this sounds like a replay of Anita Hill’s last-minute allegations against Clarence Thomas during his confirmation hearings, it should. In football a late hit can bring a penalty. In politics it’s all part of the game.

In football a late hit can bring a penalty. In politics it’s all part of the game.

Kavanaugh denies any inappropriate behavior took place, and as of this writing, both he and Ford have agreed to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, a la Anita Hill. Already two Republicans, Jeff Flake of Arizona and Bob Corker of Tennessee, both of whom are leaving at the end of their terms, have called for a delay in Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote, which plays into the hands of Democrats trying to block him from the court.
Some Democrats and liberal activists apparently determined to preserve the Supreme Court’s leftward shift have chosen to get down in the mud, throwing it at a highly qualified nominee for the Supreme Court. Even Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg bemoaned how these confirmation hearings have become “a highly partisan show.”
The smear is nothing new in politics, but while it once might come back to stain the one throwing the mud, it is now regarded as a legitimate tool for achieving one’s political goals. The end not only justifies the means, but to the left, it mandates the means.
Republicans should fight back, labeling the smear tactics and those who employ them as demeaning and sullying their office. If one can’t win a civil debate over issues and law, then an elected official should not receive the public’s trust.

Is it any wonder why good people don’t want to serve in government? Who wants to face an avalanche of mud?

“Have you no shame?” was a line made famous during the Army-McCarthy hearings in the 1950s when Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis., claimed to have a list of communists who had infiltrated the federal government. The left rode the “McCarthyism” horse for decades, accusing any Republican or conservative of emulating McCarthy when they opposed the liberal agenda or criticized producers of movies and TV programs they believed contributed to the moral decline of the nation.
This letter should be seen for what it is — a last-minute, desperate attempt to prevent Kavanaugh’s confirmation and part of a broader plan to reverse the results of the 2016 election. This smear campaign includes not only Ford’s perfectly timed letter, but also the New York Times op-ed from an unnamed “official” in the Trump administration and many of Bob Woodward’s “sources” in his new book “Fear.”
These tactics should be denounced immediately, or they will be repeated. Is it any wonder why good people don’t want to serve in government? Who wants to face an avalanche of mud?

Keith Ellison domestic violence accuser says Democratic party doesn't believe her story

The woman who accused Minnesota Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison of domestic abuse said on Monday that Democrats don’t believe her story and threatened to isolate her over the allegations.
Karen Monahan, a former girlfriend, came forward last month alleging that Ellison sent her threatening text messages and once screamed obscenities at her as he dragged her off a bed by her feet.
Ellison has denied the accusations, saying he “never behaved this way.” He did acknowledge he was in a relationship with the woman.
The allegations didn’t lead to any immediate action against the congressman, except for the announcement that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) would review the accusations. He went on to win the Democratic primary election for Minnesota attorney general.
DNC CO-CHAIR, MINNESOTA REP. KEITH ELLISON DENIES ABUSE ALLEGATIONS FROM EX-GIRLFRIEND
Monahan slammed the Democratic Party for its response to her allegations when compared to its treatment of Christine Blasey Ford. Ford has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of attempting to force himself onto her during at a high school party nearly four decades ago, prompting prominent Democrats to get behind Ford’s allegations.
“No, they don't,” Monahan tweeted in response to a question whether the party believes women’s stories. “I've been smeared, threatened, isolated from my own party. I provided medical records from 2017, stating on two different Dr. Visits, I told them about the abuse and who did it. My therapist released records stating I have been dealing and healing from the abuse.”
She added: “Four people, including my supervisor at the time, stated that I came to them after and shared the exact story I shared publicly, I shared multiple text between me and Keith, where I discuss the abuse with him and much more. As I said before, I knew I wouldn't be believed.”
Her comment came after another user pointed to comments made by Peter Daou, a Democratic strategist and former advisor to Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, who wrote in a tweet that the Kavanaugh accuser will be “attacked, smeared, and demonized” and that people must “believe women.”
Many other Democrats and progressives – who stayed silent when the accusations against Ellison emerged – came out in support of Ford, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Tom Perez, chairman of the DNC, who urged to investigate the claims and Kavanaugh.
Monahan went to reiterate that her story has nothing to do with politics. “I have nothing to prove to anyone, I simply shared my story. People can believe it or not. I don’t need anyone to affirm my humanity, I affirmed it,” she wrote in another tweet.
“The fact that both parties only care if it scores political points is hypocritical,” she added. “Do you think a person who has dealt with any form of abuse by politicians is thinking about politics? No, we & are families are trying to heal.”

Trump to declassify the 'insurance policy' in the Strzok-Page text, Nunes says

Rep. Devin Nunes, the House Intelligence Committee chairman, told Fox News exclusively on Monday that he believes President Trump’s order to declassify several documents related to the FBI Russia investigation will expose the “insurance policy” that was referred to in text messages between FBI figures Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.
In a text from Strzok to Page dated Aug. 15, 2016, the pair discussed “an insurance policy” in the event that Donald Trump went on to win the presidential election.
“I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office – that there’s no way he gets elected – but I’m afraid we can’t take the risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40,” the text read.
The text messages between Strzok and Page have been used by Trump to bolster his claim that the Russia collusion investigation is a “rigged witch hunt.” Democrats, by and large, don’t look at these texts as helpful in their case, but claim that the agents were never influenced by their comments.
Nunes said he believes the declassification will provide exculpatory evidence for the president. He said the new information will shed new light on the dozen or so 302s from Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, which could show the interactions between ex-British spy Christopher Steele, Fusion GPS and “many other rotten apples” within the FBI.
“A lot of people think that the insurance policy was getting the FISA warrant on [former Trump campaign aide] Carter Page,” he told Laura Ingraham, host of “The Ingraham Angle.” “We actually believe it was more explicit than that.”
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump had ordered the documents released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Justice Department "[a]t the request of a number of committees of Congress, and for reasons of transparency."
House Intelligence Committee ranking member Adam Schiff, D-Calif., called Trump's decision "a clear abuse of power."
"[Trump] has decided to intervene in a pending law enforcement investigation by ordering the selective release of materials he believes are helpful to his defense team and thinks will advance a false narrative," Schiff said. "With respect to some of these materials, I have been previously informed by the FBI and Justice Department that they would consider their release a red line that must not be crossed as they may compromise sources and methods.
"This is evidently of no consequence to a President who cares about nothing about the country and everything about his narrow self-interest," Schiff added.
Trump also ordered the Justice Department to release text messages from a number of the key players in the Russia investigation "without redaction" -- including Ohr, Strzok, Lisa Page, former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
A Justice Department spokesperson told Fox News that the DOJ and FBI "are already working with the Director of National Intelligence to comply with the President's order."
ODNI spokesperson Kellie Wade told Fox News: "As requested by the White House, the ODNI is working expeditiously with our interagency partners to conduct a declassification review of the documents the President has identified for declassification."
Nunes said the president’s orders are clear and anticipates the copies being sent out to the press in days.
“This is really full transparency for the American people,” Nunes said.

Rubio asks DOJ to determine if Kerry violated federal laws meeting with Iranian officials

Florida Senator Marco Rubio asked the Department of Justice on Tuesday to determine whether former Secretary of State John Kerry violated federal laws by holding meetings with the Iranian foreign minister.  (AP)

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., requested that the Justice Department look into whether former Secretary of State John Kerry violated federal laws by meeting with the Iranian foreign minister, a move already blasted by top Trump administration officials.
In a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday obtained exclusively by Fox News, Rubio said that Americans “deserve to know that U.S. laws are enforced regardless of any individual’s past position.” He encouraged the department to determine whether Kerry violated the Logan Act or the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
The Logan Act prohibits unauthorized personnel to negotiate with a foreign government in relation to any disputes with the U.S., whereas the Foreign Agents Registration Act is a statute that requires persons or companies acting on behalf of foreign governments, political parties or individuals to disclose details of their interactions.
Last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blasted his predecessor for "actively undermining" U.S. policy by holding meetings with Mohammad Javad Zarif since leaving office. Pompeo called it "unseemly and unprecedented" and "beyond inappropriate."
"You can't find precedent for this in U.S. history, and Secretary Kerry ought not to engage in that kind of behavior," Pompeo said.
Pompeo, who said he would leave the "legal determinations to others," lambasted Kerry for engaging with "the world's largest state-sponsor of terror" and telling Iran to "wait out this administration."
Reports of Kerry’s meetings with Zarif first surfaced in May. Kerry confirmed the two had met several times during a radio interview.
Kerry said he had met three or four times with Zarif since he left office, but had not since Pompeo took the job in April. One of the meetings was held in Norway, another in Germany and a third is reportedly said to have happened at the United Nations headquarters, which is not technically on American soil.
While meetings between private U.S. citizens and foreign officials are not illegal or in violation of federal regulations, Josh Rosenstein, a partner with the Washington law firm Sandler Reiff and specialist in lobbying compliance, told The Associated Press there are too many unanswered questions – specifically in regards to where the meetings took place and what was specifically discussed.
"The devil's always in the details," Rosenstein told the AP. "Simply offering advice to a foreign government doesn't make you a foreign agent."
Kerry told the radio show he was not coaching the Iranians on how to handle the Trump administration, but “rather tried to elicit from him (Zarif) what Iran might be willing to do in order to change the dynamic in the Middle East for the better."
President Trump, who withdrew from the agreement in May, also chimed in on social media late Thursday in regards to Kerry’s meetings with Zarif and the “very hostile Iranian regime.”
"John Kerry had illegal meetings with the very hostile Iranian Regime, which can only serve to undercut our great work to the detriment of the American people," Trump tweeted. "He told them to wait out the Trump Administration! Was he registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act? BAD!"
Kerry’s spokesman Matt Summers said in a statement "There's nothing unusual, let alone unseemly or inappropriate, about former diplomats meeting with foreign counterparts,” while shifting the focus on “political theatrics.”
“What is unseemly and unprecedented is for the podium of the State Department to be hijacked for political theatrics," he said.