Trump threatens to 'press charges' against protesters after latest chaos

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said he was “going to start pressing charges” against the protesters who kept interrupting him on the campaign trail on Saturday.
Following Friday night’s unrest in Chicago before one his rallies, Trump was met with protests and countless interruptions in Ohio and Missouri.
“I hope they arrest these people, because honestly they should be,” Trump said to cheers from the crowd. “The only way to stop the craziness is to press charges.”
The Chicago Police Department said in a news release sent Saturday night that three men from Chicago and a 45-year-old woman from Michigan were arrested and charged for participating in a disturbance at the protest Friday night.
At a rally in Dayton, Ohio, Saturday, a man tried to breach the security buffer at the event and he was removed “rapidly and professionally,” Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said. Secret Service agents rushed the stage to protect the billionaire business mogul.
Thomas Dimassimo was identified as the barrier jumper. He was charged with inducing panic and disorderly conduct, Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer said.
Trump’s path continued onto Kansas City, Mo. where he was interrupted numerous times. At least seven individuals stalled the rally in the first few minutes.
"I think they're Bernie [Sanders] supporters," Trump said of the protesters, pointing to at least one protester the Republican frontrunner said was holding a sign in support of the Democratic presidential candidate.
Trump canceled his rally at the University of Illinois at Chicago on Friday after violence broke out in the arena where he was scheduled to speak. He spoke later to Fox News, saying he canceled the event because he didn’t want to see “people get hurt.”
He said he made the decision to cancel after meeting with law enforcement authorities. Trump also said his First Amendment rights had been violated.
Hours earlier, Trump supporters and opponents stood calmly in a line together waiting to get inside. Police horses and barricades kept the bulk of the demonstrators across the street.
Trump opponents were protesting what they called his divisive comments, particularly about Muslims and Mexicans. Dozens of UIC faculty and staff had petitioned university administrators to cancel the rally, citing concerns it would create a "hostile and physically dangerous environment."
At one point, nearly 20 officers who had been manning barricades suddenly bolted for an intersection across a street bridge over a freeway -- where protesters shouted at and jostled with police already there. An officer was seen walking from that intersection with blood on his head.
For Sunday, Trump is expected to make a stop in Bloomington, Illinois. He is expected to be met with more protests and local officials said they would be deploying extra police.

More Black than White Cartoon

Republican lawmakers slam 'diversion' of ObamaCare funds from Treasury

Republican critics say an ObamaCare program is breaking the law by shorting the U.S. Treasury -- and therefore U.S. taxpayers-- billions of dollars collected from the insurance industry.
Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa., chairman of the health subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, called it “an illegal wealth transfer from hard-working taxpayers to (insurers).”
He recently joined Republican colleagues in grilling Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell about the shortfall of money  supposed to be flowing into Treasury coffers - as mandated in the Affordable Care Act of 2010.
They followed up that hearing by sending a letter this week seeking clarification from the administration, according to The Hill.
Under the law, money is collected each year from insurers for the ACA’s reinsurance program, which helps plans taking on higher costs associated with sicker enrollees.
While $10 billion was supposed to go back to the market to pay those costs in 2014, the first year, an additional $2 billion was supposed to go to the U.S. Treasury under the law. It never arrived.
That was because not enough money was brought in to cover both, so the administration prioritized. Then HHS published a new rule saying payments would be made to insurers first in the event of a shortfall.
The rule, set in 2014, was published publicly for comment and received no reaction at the time, Burwell told a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing when the matter was raised again by lawmakers last week.
According to health care law expert Tim Jost, a professor at Washington & Lee University School of Law, the reinsurance program is not permanent and was instituted as a way to shoulder some of the burden for the new costs connected with new, at-risk enrollees who weren’t able to get adequate coverage before ObamaCare.
The reinsurance program was to collect $10 billion from insurance companies in 2014, $6 billion in 2015, and $4 billion in 2016. The Treasury would get $2 billion in 2014 and 2015 and $1 billion in 2016.
In 2014, according to reports, only $9.7 billion was collected from the industry , and 2015 totals were expected to be short, as well.
Critics say the law is clear: the Treasury gets the money and it cannot be transferred elsewhere, even if that “elsewhere” is to the insurance companies for the reinsurance program.
According to The Hill, presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., teamed up with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R- Utah, to write a letter decrying the administration’s moves.
“The statute in question is unambiguous, and the HHS regulation and recent practice violates its clear directive,” the letter read.
Jost is not so sure. He says it all depends on how the mandate is interpreted. “(The administration’s) reading of the statute is, that the reason for adopting this program was to establish a reinsurance program, and therefore if there was a shortfall the money collected should first go to reinsurance,” and if more is collected, “only then would it go to the Treasury,” Jost told Foxnews.com. “(Republicans) say that reading is wrong.”
“It’s a disagreement on how to read the statute,” he added, “but I don’t think there is anything illegal, unconstitutional or immoral in respect to what the administration is doing.”

Senators accuse State Dept. of defying Congress with $500M UN climate payment

Two Republican senators are accusing the State Department of misusing taxpayer dollars by green-lighting $500 million for a United Nations climate change program without first obtaining congressional approval.
The senators now are demanding the department justify the “cloak-and-dagger” contribution to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) – even threatening legal action.
“Lawyers cannot replace the constitutional requirement that only Congress can appropriate money,” Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., said, adding that he’s demanding a “full legal analysis.”
Gardner, in a statement to FoxNews.com, alleged the department was trying to “wave a magic wand and write a half-billion dollar check to a Green Climate Fund that they admit was never authorized by Congress.”
He also vowed to “pursue legislative action that prevents cloak-and-dagger re-programming of money outside of congressional approval.”
At the center of the dispute is whether the State Department abused its authority in shifting funds between an existing program and the climate fund.
The Obama administration – despite resistance from congressional Republicans -- has committed the U.S. to contributing $3 billion to the fund, a program established by the United Nations to help poor countries adopt clean energy technologies to address climate change. Nearly 200 other nations have agreed to provide $100 billion per year by 2020, from private and public sources.
Along with Gardner, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., maintains Congress has not allocated any funding for what he calls the “international climate change slush fund” and has in fact “prohibited the transfer of funds to create new programs.”
The State Department acknowledges the funding was never explicitly approved by Congress – but argues the department was within its authority to shift funding to the Green Climate Fund, because Congress did not explicitly prohibit funding the GCF.  
Under questioning by Barrasso at a March 8 Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Heather Higginbottom told the committee the funds were diverted from the department’s Economic Support Fund -- which provides economic funding to foreign countries -- to the GCF after a full review by department lawyers.
State Department spokeswoman Katherine Pfaff also confirmed to FoxNews.com the source of the funding was the economic fund, but could not say from which exact program the money came.
And she bluntly addressed the GOP senators’ accusation. “Did Congress authorize the Green Climate Fund? No,” she said, adding that department lawyers “reviewed the authority and the process under which we can do it."
The administration, meanwhile, has requested another $750 million for the GCF in its fiscal 2017 budget.
Higginbottom also insisted they were not required to notify Congress about the transfer from the Economic Support Fund.
At the hearing, though, Barrasso said the first installment of the $3 billion pledge was “a blatant misuse of taxpayer dollars.”
Barrasso said because the GCF technically is a new program and not authorized by Congress, the department may have violated the Anti-Deficiency Act, a law that prohibits federal agencies from obligating or expending funds in advance or in excess of an appropriation.
According to Politico, Barrasso is prepared to go to court over the issue and to seek prosecution of individuals if they are found to have violated the Anti-Deficiency Act.
The Wyoming senator’s communications director, Bronwyn Lance Chester, confirmed to FoxNews.com that “all options are being considered.”
The department may have been able to effectively use a loophole to contribute the money – namely, because Congress did not include specific language barring spending to the GCF. Analysts say this dispute could have been avoided if Congress had simply included a specific prohibition on spending for the climate fund.
“The problem is that the horse has already left the barn. There was not a specific line item in the budget prohibiting spending on the GCF. I am sure [State Department lawyers] have come up with some creative way to fund it, but it would not be an issue if Congress had explicitly prohibited it,” said H. Sterling Burnett, a senior fellow with the Heartland Institute.
Senate Republicans backed away from including a specific rider in last year’s omnibus bill after President Obama threatened to veto if such a rider were included.
“They were gutless,” said Burnett, who noted the first installment is a “drop in the bucket” when compared with the $3 billion.
Because the omnibus spending bill was silent on the GCF, the White House argued this left the door open for the administration to fund the U.N. program. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in December “there are no restrictions in our ability to make good on the president’s promise to contribute to the Green Climate Fund.”
Gardner and Barrasso also were signatories to a letter sent last year to Obama asserting the deal reached at a United Nations climate change conference in Paris, including the $100 billion-a-year Green Climate Fund, must be submitted to Congress for approval before any funding could be made.

Republican rivals say Trump campaign rallies create chaotic environments

Republican presidential rivals jockeying for position behind businessman Donald Trump took the opportunity to hit him over the violence that led to the cancellation of his rally in Chicago Friday night.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who currently has the second most delegates in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, accused the front-runner of inciting the restlessness that was seen inside the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion.
“Thirty people were arrested today over violence and then the rally was cancelled, protesters took violence into their own hands ...any campaign that disrespects the voters and a campaign that encourages violence and facing allegations against members of the press you create an environment that encourages this,” Cruz said.
Cruz was speaking to reporters at a Republican dinner in Rolling Meadows, Illinois and warned that violence at these rallies weren’t going to stop.
“The candidate urges violence to punch people in the face. This is not going to be the last incident...this is not how our politics should occur.”
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio pointed out to reporters that there isn’t violence at his campaign rallies nor are there any incidents for Cruz, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
“There is only one candidate that has violence at his events. I think potentially some of the rhetoric he has used contributed to this environment and it’s disturbing,” Rubio added.
Kasich piled onto the criticism of Trump’s rallies, saying in a statement that the “seeds of division that Donald Trump has been sowing this whole campaign finally bore fruit, and it was ugly.”
He then encouraged Americans to unite and not to fall for those who “try to divide us for personal gain.”
“I urge people to resist that temptation and rise to a higher level,” Kasich added.
Trump defended his decision to cancel his rally Friday, saying he didn’t want to see “people get hurt” after protesters packed into the arena where it was scheduled to take place. Rally-goers and protesters squared off in isolated confrontations creating a chaotic environment.
Speaking later with Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren, Trump said he had arrived in Chicago two hours earlier and about 25,000 people were trying to enter the area.
After meeting with law enforcement authorities, he said, "I didn't want to see people get hurt (so) I decided to postpone the rally...
"What we did was intelligent," Trump said. "A very good decision…a wise decision."
He also told Van Susteren, "if we had the rally, I think it would not have been a good situation." But, he added, "Our First Amendment rights have been violated."
Trump returned to the First Amendment issue in a later conversation with Fox News' Sean Hannity. "I have the right to speak and they (his supporters) have a right to listen," he said.
He also added that he was "getting a lot of credit for canceling...we did the right thing."
Hours earlier, Trump supporters and opponents stood calmly in a line together waiting to get inside. Police horses and barricades kept the bulk of the demonstrators across the street. Trump opponents were protesting what they called his divisive comments, particularly about Muslims and Mexicans. Dozens of UIC faculty and staff had petitioned university administrators to cancel the rally, citing concerns it would create a "hostile and physically dangerous environment."
Tensions outside rose only after news of the cancellation spread
At one point, nearly 20 officers who had been manning barricades suddenly bolted for an intersection across a street bridge over a freeway — where protesters shouted at and jostled with police already there. An officer was seen walking from that intersection with blood on his head. A police spokesman said later that he couldn't provide details.
There were some other isolated physical confrontations among members of the crowd. Five people were arrested overall, Chicago police said.

Trump cancels Chicago rally, says he didn't want to see anyone hurt

CHICAGO –  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump canceled one of his signature rallies Friday, saying he didn't want to see "people get hurt" after protesters packed into the Chicago arena where it was to take place.
The announcement that the billionaire businessman would postpone the rally until another day led a large portion of the crowd inside the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion to break out into raucous cheers. Meanwhile, supporters of the candidate started chanting "We want Trump! We want Trump!"
There were isolated physical confrontations between some members of the crowd after the event was canceled.
Speaking later with Fox News' Greta Van Susteren, Trump said he had arrived in Chicago two hours earlier and about 25,000 people were trying to enter the arena.
After meeting with law enforcement authorities, he said, "I didn't want to see people get hurt (so) I decided to postpone the rally...
"What we did was intelligent," Trump said. "A very good decision…a wise decision."
He also told Van Susteren, "if we had the rally, I think it would not have been a good situation." But, he added, "Our First Amendment rights have been violated."
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, second in delegates to Trump in the GOP race, said late Friday that the billionaire has created "an environment that encourages this sort of nasty discourse."
"When the candidate urges supporters to engage in physical violence, to punch people in the face, the predictable consequence of that is that is escalates," Cruz said. "Today is unlikely to be the last such incidence."
Trump returned to the First Amendment issue in a later conversation with Fox News' Sean Hannity. "I have the right to speak and they (his supporters) have a right to listen," he said.
He also added that he was "getting a lot of credit for canceling...we did the right thing."
Ohio Gov. John Kasich also took a shot at Trump. He said in a statement that the seeds of division his campaign had planted finally bore fruit, “and it was ugly.”
“Some let their opposition to his views slip beyond protest into violence, but we can never let that happen. I urge people to resist that temptation and rise to a higher level, “Kasich added.
There was no sign of Trump inside the arena on the college campus, where dozens of UIC faculty and staff had petitioned university administrators to cancel the rally. They cited concerns it would create a "hostile and physically dangerous environment" for students.
Before the announcement the event wouldn't take place, a handful of intense verbal clashes took place between Trump supporters and protesters as the crowd waited for his arrival.
For the first time during his White House bid, the crowd appeared to be an equal mix of those eager to cheer on the real estate mogul and those overtly opposed to his candidacy.
When one African-American protester was escorted out before the event started, the crowd erupted into chants of "Let them stay!"
Veronica Kowalkowsky, an 18-year-old Trump supporter, said before the event started that she had no ill will toward the protesters — but didn't think they felt the same way.
"I feel a lot of hate," she said. "I haven't said anything bad to anyone."
Protesters at the rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump rushed the arena floor in jubilant celebration after the announcement that he was calling off the event due to security concerns.
Many jumped up and down, with arms up in the air, shouting "F--- Trump!" ''Bernie! Bernie!" and "We stopped Trump!"
Kamran Siddiqui is a 20-year-old student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where the event was to take place.
He says: "Trump represents everything America is not and everything Chicago is not. We came in here and we wanted to shut this down. Because this is a great city and we don't want to let that person in here."
Siddiqui says he's a supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. He says it "feels amazing" to have stopped Trump from speaking at his own rally.
He adds: "Everybody came together. That's what people can do. Now people got to go out and vote because we have the opportunity to stop Trump."
Hours before the event was scheduled to start, hundreds of people lined up outside the arena at the University of Illinois at Chicago — a civil and immigrant rights organizing hub with large minority student populations. Trump backers were separated from an equally large crowd of anti-Trump protesters by a heavy police presence and barricades.
Some Trump supporters walking into the area chanted, "USA! USA!" and "Illegal is illegal." One demonstrator shouted back, "Racist!"
One protester, 64-year-old Dede Rottman of Chicago, carried a placard that read: "Build a Wall AroundTrump. I'll Pay for it."
However, 19-year-old Rusty Shackleford of Lombard, in line to attend the Trump rally, said he was there to "support the man who wants to make America great again."
Chicago community activist Quo Vadis said hundreds of protesters had positioned themselves in groups around the arena, and that they intend to demonstrate right after Trump takes the stage. Their goal, he said, is "for Donald to take the stage and to completely interrupt him. The plan is to shut Donald Trump all the way down."

Obama Don't Blame Me Cartoon

Finger-pointing: Obama unloads on Trump, GOP and conservative media

President Obama has a simple message when it comes Donald Trump: Don’t blame me.
But then he continues with a not-so-simple message that happens to fit with Democratic campaign themes.
The capital may be buzzing about the visit by Canada’s new prime minister, Justin Trudeau, but at yesterday's White House news conference, the press quickly got to The Donald.
CBS reporter Margaret Brennan asked whether Obama and his administration were “contributing to the rise of someone as provocative as Donald Trump.”
The president seemed bemused, saying: "I have been blamed by Republicans for a lot of things, but being blamed for their primaries and who they’re selecting for their party is novel.”
Embedded in the question, it seems to me, is the implication that the Trump phenomenon is a bad thing and Obama might bear some responsibility—beyond the obvious fact that voters often choose a president who is far different from his predecessor. Commentators have spent all kinds of ink and airtime trying to “blame” the media, the culture, and the Republican Party itself for Trump’s dominance in the primaries so far.
In fact, Obama soon pivoted to faulting the GOP—which happens to be a prime Hillary talking point. And no, I am not shocked that he is trying to help his former secretary of State (who he pretty obviously favors over Bernie Sanders) in the race to succeed him.
Obama accused the Republican Party of “creating an environment where somebody like a Donald Trump can thrive. He’s just doing more of what has been done for the last 7-1/2 years.” Then he zeroed in on immigration: “It’s not as if there’s a massive difference between Mr. Trump’s position on immigration and Mr. Cruz’s position on immigration.  Mr. Trump might just be more provocative in terms of how he says it, but the actual positions aren’t that different.”
In other words, those Republicans, they’re all a little crazy. This, of course, ignores the fact that Cruz and Rubio are aggressively attacking Trump as unqualified for the presidency, and Trump is hitting them back even harder.
And hey,when Obama spoke of a GOP “crackup” and “circus,” some Republicans and conservative commentators have used similar language in ripping Trump’s impact on the party. It’s hardly amazing that a Democrat would pile on.
But Obama also wandered into familiar territory: blaming the conservative media.
He said he regrets the “polarization” and “nasty tone” of politics, and that he does “soul-searching” about how he can better unify the country.
But the president also said—“objectively”--that “the Republican political elites and many of the information outlets -- social media, news outlets, talk radio, television stations -- have been feeding the Republican base for the last seven years a notion that everything I do is to be opposed; that cooperation or compromise somehow is a betrayal; that maximalist, absolutist positions on issues are politically advantageous; that there is a ‘them’ out there and an ‘us,’ and ‘them’ are the folks who are causing whatever problems you’re experiencing.”
Well, some conservatives have worked hard to block Obama, and the Republican Congress hasn’t been very cooperative, with the Senate even ruling out action on a Supreme Court nominee before the president has picked anyone. But that is a two-way street, and Obama and the Democrats have also failed to find common ground.
But on the business about TV and radio and social media outlets: The president of the United States has the biggest megaphone of all. He can drown out any talk show host, blogger or tweeter. He often seems to use media criticism as a crutch to explain away his shortcomings and setbacks.
And now he has a new target in the Republican front-runner who wants his job.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz.