Presumptuous Politics

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Second suspect reportedly sought in Brussels subway bombing

Authorities are searching for a second possible suspect in Tuesday morning's suicide bombing of a subway in central Brussels, Belgian and French media reported Thursday.
The French newspaper Le Monde and the Belgian public broadcaster RBTF reported that a man carrying a large bag was seen on CCTV walking with Khalid El Bakraoui, whom authorities believe blew himself up on a train at the Maelbeek station, killing at least 20 people.
It was not immediately clear whether the unidentified man survived the blast. Neither media outlet published the CCTV images in their initial reports and Belgian prosecutors had no immediate comment.
The report came as Paris terror suspect Salah Abdeslam was due to appear in court to face magistrates after his arrest last week in the same Brussels neighborhood where he grew up. France is seeking his extradition to face potential terrorism charges for his involvement in the Nov. 13 attacks that killed 130 people in Paris. A judge is to decide whether Abdeslam should be held in custody another month.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks in Brussels and Paris, which have laid bare European security failings and prompted calls for better intelligence cooperation.
Belgian police were already searching for a man seen at Brussels Zaventem airport with two other suicide bombers, identified as Ibrahim El Bakraoui, Khalid's older brother, and Najim Laachraoui, who was already suspected of constructing the bombs used in the Paris attacks.
RTBF also reported Thursday that a message found on Ibrahim El Bakraoui's computer Tuesday night does not name Abdeslam, as had previously been suspected.
According to the broadcaster, El Bakraoui referenced Mohammed Bakkali, who was arrested last November following the Paris attacks and is suspected of renting out two hideouts to the ISIS cell in Belgium. He is also accused of spying on a top Belgian nuclear official.
"I don't know what to do, I'm in a hurry, people are looking for me everywhere," chief prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw quoted the message as saying. "If I give myself up I'll end up in a cell next to him."
The message points to a rising sense of panic among the three suicide bombers.
Police were drawn to the brothers' apartment Tuesday night thanks to a tip from a taxi driver who had unwittingly delivered them to the airport, Van Leeuw said. Inside the northeast Brussels residence they found an apparent bomb-making factory, including 33 pounds of homemade explosives and nails for use as shrapnel.
Neighbors told The Associated Press they had no idea of the brothers' activities and barely saw them until the taxi collected them and their visibly heavy bags Tuesday morning.
One neighbor, who was willing to give only his first name of Erdine, said he was about to drive his son to school when he saw the two men carrying their bags out of the building.
"The taxi driver tried to get the luggage. And the other guy reached for it like he was saying: No, I'll take it," the neighbor said.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Terrorist Cartoon

Cruz campaign clarifies call to 'patrol and secure' Muslim neighborhoods

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz’s campaign on Tuesday clarified controversial comments suggesting surveillance in Muslim neighborhoods should be intensified following the deadly bombings on Brussels' airport and subway.
Earlier in the day, the Texas senator said in a statement: "We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized."
After facing criticism for the comments, the campaign said Tuesday afternoon that the candidate is trying to say that police should have “every tool available” to provide security.
"We know what is happening with these isolated Muslim neighborhoods in Europe. If we want to prevent it from happening here, it is going to require an empowered, visible law enforcement presence that will both identify problem spots and partner with non-radical Americans who want to protect their homes,” campaign Press Secretary Catherine Frazier said in a statement.
She went on to cite the example of New York City pulling back on law enforcement efforts with Muslim communities, and said: “Ted Cruz will never allow political correctness to drive decisions about our security. ... The police should have every tool available to follow leads and take action against those who would do us harm.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, earlier had condemned Cruz's suggestion of surveillance, saying it sends "an alarming message to American-Muslims who increasingly fear for their future in this nation and to all Americans who value the Constitution and religious liberties."
The Islamic State has taken credit for the Brussels attacks that killed dozens Tuesday and wounded many more. The attacks quickly dominated the discussion on the U.S. presidential campaign trail.
Donald Trump, who spoke to Fox News as developments in Brussels were unfolding, said he had warned about such attacks. "Brussels was a beautiful city, a beautiful place with zero crime, and now it's a disaster city. A total disaster," he said.
Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders, campaigning in Arizona on Tuesday, said boosting national security and protecting civil rights must go hand-in-hand. He said he strongly disagrees with calls by some Republicans for heightened domestic surveillance of Muslims.
"That would be unconstitutional -- it would be wrong," Sanders said.
Asked about Cruz's earlier comment, none of a half-dozen conservative House Republicans meeting with reporters Tuesday criticized him and most spoke of the need to keep the country safe.
"Nearly every neighborhood is patrolled. That's what local law enforcement does," said Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., who has endorsed Cruz. He said he didn't know specifically what Cruz was referring to.

Immigrants from terror hubs claiming 'credible fear' to seek US asylum


How Syrian refugee crisis could impact sanctions on Russia

Hundreds of illegal immigrants from terror hotspots are using what critics describe as loopholes in U.S. immigration policy to try to remain in the country indefinitely, according to data obtained by Congress.
Taking a page from the playbook used by Central American women and children to gain U.S. entry, hundreds of immigrants from Egypt, Somalia, Pakistan, Iran and Syria caught entering the U.S. last year made asylum claims to avoid deportation – and, in doing so, asserted they had a “credible fear of persecution.”
This phrase is important because it allows them to be released and work in the U.S. Prior to 2009, the U.S. held in custody many asylum seekers entering the U.S. illegally until their cases were resolved in court -- but an Obama administration policy change allowed those fearing persecution to be released.
The finding that asylum seekers from turbulent Middle Eastern and African countries are now using this phrase to gain entry and remain on U.S. soil has raised security concerns on Capitol Hill.
"These numbers illustrate vulnerabilities throughout our immigration system," Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., said Tuesday. "Dangerous criminals and potential terrorists are gaming the system without consequence. The Obama administration is compromising our national security and safety for its political agenda."
DeSantis, chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security, is set to hold a hearing Wednesday on the potential threat posed by these individuals in light of the Paris and Brussels attacks. His subcommittee obtained the findings on the methods being using to remain in the U.S. Witnesses set to appear at the hearing Wednesday are Ronald Vitiello, acting chief of the U.S. Border Patrol; and Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council.
Stats obtained by the subcommittee from October 2014 to September 2015 show that the bulk of the “credible fear” claims still are coming from Central American and Mexican immigrants. But 80 were from Syrian nationals, 191 were from Pakistani nationals, and 776 were from Somalian nationals.
"They are coming through the backdoor," Judd said. "Do I believe they have a credible fear? In a small percentage, maybe. But the vast majority we arrest are telling our agents that they are coming because they know they will be released. That's why they are coming."
Judd said illegal immigrants have found a second loophole as well. By claiming they arrived in the U.S. before 2014, immigrants are able to avoid detention and deportation.
Here's why:
In January 2014, President Obama announced his “priorities” program, which ordered agents to worry chiefly about criminals, national security risks and illegal immigrants who came into the U.S. after that date. Judd claims supervisors at the Mexican and Canadian borders have told agents not to bother turning other immigrants over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement since "they won't be deported anyway."
"President Obama said we need to take these people out of the shadows. The fact is we took them out, and now we are releasing them right back into the shadows. What was the point?” he said. “The court system is so backlogged, we're told they are never going to see a judge anyway. So just let them go."
In the past, illegal immigrants from outside Mexico were subject to expedited removal. The process allowed agents to deport non-citizens without going through a formal and lengthy removal proceeding before an immigration judge.
Now, however, Judd said anyone who claims they've been living in the U.S. continuously from prior to 2014 is not even being turned over to ICE and given a “Notice to Appear” in court. Fox News confirmed the practice with sources in two border sectors.
"At least a NTA required them to show up in court. What we have now is amnesty through policy," Judd said. "We are flat-out letting them go."
Requests for comment from the Department of Homeland Security were not returned.

Trump lashes out over hostile ad featuring his wife, vows to 'spill the beans' on Cruz spouse

The rivalry between Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump and challenger Ted Cruz turned personal Tuesday after the real estate mogul lashed out at a hostile ad featuring his wife Melania.
The ad, paid for by the anti-Trump Make America Awesome PAC, shows a nude photo of Trump's wife from a GQ magazine shoot. Overlying text reads, "Meet Melania Trump, your next first lady. Or you could vote for Ted Cruz on Tuesday."
Liz Mair, a Republican strategist in charge of the PAC, told Buzzfeed News that the Melania ad was one of three targeting Mormons of voting age ahead of Tuesday's Utah caucuses.
Trump deleted an initial response to the tweet, before ultimately posting this message.
Cruz shot back with a tweet of his own.
Mair tried to clear up the confusion with her own response to Trump. Check out Twitter / @realDonaldTrump

Trump, Clinton win Arizona prize; rivals notch victories in Utah, Idaho

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton padded their delegate totals with convincing wins in the valuable Arizona primary Tuesday night – but their respective rivals, Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders, kept the race alive with victories in the Utah and Idaho caucuses.
The Associated Press projected Vermont Sen. Sanders and Texas Sen. Cruz the winners of the Utah contest early Wednesday morning. Idaho’s Democratic-only caucuses were called for Sanders.
Though Arizona was the biggest prize on the map in Tuesday's Western contests, Sanders and Cruz won their states by huge, double-digit margins. Cruz took all of Utah's delegates by finishing with more than 50 percent of the vote.
Together, the Western contests seemed to leave the race in a familiar place: with the front-runners building their tallies and trying to shift to a general election mindset, yet unable to shake underdog rivals buoyed by their own victories and finding reason to press on.
With Sanders' two wins, he roughly split Tuesday's delegate haul with Clinton. And Cruz’s victory in Utah indeed slows Trump’s march toward the nomination on the GOP side.
Yet both candidates continue to trail significantly, and Trump still will walk away from Tuesday’s Western state races with more delegates. That’s because Arizona, as the largest remaining winner-take-all contest on the map, will allocate all 58 of its delegates to the billionaire businessman.
In Utah, 40 were at stake.
On both sides, the contests were being held in the shadow of the deadly terror attack in Brussels, a tragedy that brought national security and foreign policy hurtling back to the forefront of the campaign trail debate.
Clinton, at an event in Seattle ahead of Saturday’s Democratic contest there, touted her Arizona win -- before pivoting to take shots at the Republican candidates for their response.
Citing hardline proposals from Trump and Cruz in the aftermath of the Brussels attack, she said: “The last thing we need, my friends, are leaders who incite more fear.”
Sanders, though, showed no signs of slowing down even as Clinton seemed to look past him. He rallied a crowd of cheering supporters in San Diego just minutes earlier, railing against his usual targets: a “rigged economy” and “corrupt campaign finance system.”
“We are doing something very unusual in modern American politics. We are telling the truth,” Sanders said.
At stake on the Democratic side Tuesday were 75 delegates in Arizona; 33 delegates in Utah; and 23 in Idaho.
Meanwhile, a frenzy of activity and turnout snarled polling places earlier Tuesday across the Western contests, leading to waits of over two hours at some locations in Arizona. In Utah, the state Democratic Party's website crashed due to high traffic. And Democratic leaders kept locations open longer than planned in Idaho.
The Western state contests, for Republicans in particular, marked one of the last chances to set the tone of the race before a lull in the primary calendar. Democrats have another round of contests this weekend, but Republicans will compete in only one state over the course of the next four weeks.
Amid efforts by his rivals to force an “open” convention in July, Trump has voiced confidence in recent days that he can clinch the GOP nomination by winning 1,237 delegates before then. Both Trump and Clinton have been eager to turn to a general election battle, each expecting to face the other in November.
But Trump likely will have to wait at least until late April, when the next round of major contests is held, to have a chance at driving his remaining rivals out of the race.
On the Democratic side, Sanders is clinging to hope that as the race turns from Clinton’s Southern stronghold to Western and other states, he can start to make up his gaping delegate deficit. His road to victory remains incredibly narrow.
The underdogs’ goal on the Republican side may be more attainable: Win just enough delegates to hold Trump under the requisite 1,237 delegates and trigger a contested convention in Cleveland.
As of early Wednesday morning, Trump had 739 delegates to Cruz’s 465. Ohio Gov. John Kasich trailed with 143.
From the start, Arizona's primary seemed custom-made for a Trump victory. The state has long dealt with illegal immigration problems, and the Republican front-runner's central campaign promise is to build a wall across the entire southern U.S. border. Trump also enjoyed the backing of former Arizona GOP Gov. Jan Brewer and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, two of the most outspoken voices on illegal immigration.
Yet Cruz was poised to do well in Utah. Mormons are a large voting bloc there, and Trump lost to Cruz in Mormon-heavy Idaho earlier this month. Fellow Mormon and outspoken Trump critic Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, also pushed to get out the vote for Cruz in recent days.
As voters went to the polls Tuesday, national security once again was front and center, in the aftermath of the Brussels terror bombings for which the Islamic State has taken responsibility.
Earlier, Trump called for an end to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program and told Fox News, “I’ve been talking about this for a long time.”
Cruz went more directly at President Obama and his immigration policies, including his plan to allow tens of thousands of Syrian refugees into the United States.
“The time for the president’s political correctness has passed,” Cruz said. “We absolutely have to revisit our immigration policy across the board to prevent Islamic terrorists from coming in.”
On the Democratic side, Sanders desperately was looking for a win after getting swept in five March 15 contests.
As of early Wednesday, Clinton had 1,681 delegates to Sanders’ 927. It takes 2,383 to clinch the Democratic nomination.
Sanders invested a lot of time in the Western contests. He was the only 2016 presidential candidate to skip speaking Monday at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington to stay on the campaign trail.

Brothers linked to Paris attackers reportedly identified as suicide bombers at Brussels airport

The suicide bombers who attacked the Brussels airport on Tuesday morning were identified Wednesday as two brothers who were known to the police for links to organized crime, but also had ties to the ISIS cell that carried out last November's attacks in Paris.
Belgian state broadcaster RTBF, citing a police source, reported that Khalid and Ibrahim El-Bakraoui were the two black-clad bombers who blew themselves up in the airport's departure hall, killing at least 14 people.
Also Wednesday, the Belgian newspaper DH identified the third airport attacker, believed to still be at large, as Najim Laachraoui. Laachraoui, 25, is believed to have constructed the bombs used in the Paris attacks.
RTBF reported that Khalid El-Bakraoui, 27, rented an apartment in the Forest section of the city that was raided by authorities March 15. In that raid, a police sniper killed a man identified as Mohamed Belkaid, 35, an Algerian with links to ISIS. Authorities also reportedly found an ISIS flag and a Kalashnikov rifle and ammunition, as well as several detonators that may have been meant to be used in Tuesday's attacks.
In addition to the airport bombings, a third explosion Tuesday targeted a subway stop in central Brussels, killing at least 20 people. Authorities have not said whether the blast was the result of a suicide bombing, nor have they named a suspect in that attack.
The March 15 raid led to Friday's arrest of Paris attack suspect Salah Abdeslam after one of his fingerprints was discovered in the raided apartment. Politico Europe, citing a senior Belgian official, reported that Abdeslam was supposed to take part in Tuesday's attacks. The report did not specify what role Abdeslam would have played.
Over the weekend, Belgium's Foreign Minister disclosed that Abdeslam had been preparing further attaccks, saying the suspect was "ready to restart something from Brussels."
The Guardian also reported that one of the El-Bakraoui brothers had rented a safe house in Charleroi, Belgium, that was used by Paris attackers Abdelhamid Abaaoud and Bilal Hadfi as a rendezvous point prior to the attacks that killed 130 people in the French capital. The paper also reported that one of the brothers had provided weapons and ammunition to the terrorists who attacked the Bataclan concert hall on that deadly night.
Laachraoui is thought to have built the suicide vests used by the Paris attackers, according to a police official who told the Associated Press that Laachraoui's DNA was found on all of them and in a Brussels apartment where they were made.

DH reported that in October 2010, Ibrahim El-Bakraoui, 30, was convicted of shooting at police with a Kalashnikov during an attempted robbery. He was sentenced to nine years in prison. In February 2011, the paper reported, Khalid El-Bakraoui was sentenced to five years' probation in connection with a string of carjackings.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Montana Democrat Cartoon

Gun-toting owners at Utah eatery show support for Second Amendment

When patrons stroll into Utah’s Sea Bears Ogden Fish House they typically have one of two questions, co-owner Tony Siebers said: What’s with the kilt or what’s with the guns?
That’s because the restaurant workers – Tony, his wife and co-owner, Monika, and their four children – wear kilts around their waists and guns on their hips, KSL reported. The symbols are nods to the Scottish fare and the family’s stance as staunch supporters of the right to bear arms.
"We're big supporters of open carry and the Second Amendment," Tony, 46, told FoxNews.com during a busy lunch rush on Monday. "Out here in the West it's a little more common."
Tony said the business hasn't had any issues with customers that may be uncomfortable around guns. And, more often than not, he said the customers are carrying, too.

"People continually come up to the counter and say, 'Hey, I like that you carry and I've got my concealed license and I'm carrying, too,'" he said. "It's all been positive dialogue because we have like-minded people who really support the Second Amendment and support open- or concealed-carry."

The family first decided to bring guns into the business about a year ago to ward off any would-be criminals while the Siebers counted their money after closing or restocked supplies. But while they were waiting for concealed-carry permits to be approved, Monika began openly carrying, according to The Standard-Examiner.
Tony wears either an EAA revolver or SCCY 9-mm. and his 22-year-old twin sons Collin and Chase both favor .357 Magnums. Monika carries a Smith & Wesson M&P 9-mm. in her holster. The couple’s other children, son Austin, 19, and daughter Toli, 14, don’t carry.
Tony told FoxNews.com none of his family has ever had to use their weapon and he's had no problems with customers who carry, either.
"Never ever," he said. "And like I said, it's not those people you worry about. They use it for protection only."

Sea Bears got its distinctive nickname due to the couple's three boys, as "Siebers" turned into the playful "Sea Bears."
“When they were growing up, their friends gave them a nickname,” Tony told KUTV. “They said, ‘Oh, the sea bears are here.’ That’s where the name came from.”
The restaurant opened two years ago in Ogden, a city of about 85,000 people that sits around 10 miles east of the Great Salt Lake. The menu mostly boasts Monika’s creations, but the fish and chips is the eatery’s staple item.
“We’ve been in this location for two years and this location has been really good to us,” Tony told KUTV. “It keeps getting better and better.”

Montana GOP officials fight to 'close' primary, in complication for Trump

Montana Republicans are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to step in as early as this week and force the state to “close” its upcoming primary so only GOP voters can participate -- in a case that could pose complications for Donald Trump.
The Republican front-runner so far has done better in "open" primaries, where members of both parties can vote, than in "closed" primaries limited to Republican voters only.
Montana, set to vote June 7, has had an “open primary” since 1912.
But state GOP officials want to change all that, in a bid to keep out Democrats and other “cross-over” voters who might sway the outcome. They argue keeping the primaries open infringes on their constitutional right of association.
“This is a First Amendment right,” state Republican Party lawyer Matthew Monforton told FoxNews.com.
He said the looming primary is particularly important because it would allow people to flood the system in an incredibly close Republican race. If the system is left unchecked, Monforton believes outside groups could unfairly influence the state’s winner-take-all primaries, where Montana’s 27 presidential delegates are up for grabs.
While the primary is set for June, it's possible the race will still be competitive at that point -- though Trump on Monday voiced confidence in his ability to get the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination.
Montana’s Republican Party filed the original lawsuit in 2014, but escalated the matter to the Supreme Court earlier this month. On March 11, Monforton filed an emergency injunction to the court seeking to block non-GOP voters from participating in the upcoming primary.
“Without relief from this court, non-members and Democratic-aligned institutions will soon exploit Montana’s open primary and seek to nominate Republican candidates opposed by the majority of Republican voters,” Monforton wrote.
In a rare one-sentence order Wednesday, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy asked Montana Attorney General Tim Fox, a Republican, to respond to Monforton’s appeal of a lower-court order, which denied his request to block the June primary for Republicans in Montana.
Fox has until Tuesday to respond.
Monforton dismissed Fox, calling him “a liberal Republican” whose political ambitions are what’s driving his refusal to close the state GOP primary.
Calls to Fox for comment were not immediately returned.
Currently, Montana primary voters are free to choose either a ballot that only lists Republican candidates or one that lists Democratic candidates. No proof of party affiliation is required, and voters can request both parties’ ballots. They cannot vote in both, but no one is asked which ballots they ultimately choose.
The unexpected move by the Supreme Court to weigh in last week has given Monforton’s case much-needed momentum.
“We were certainly pleased,” Monforton told FoxNews.com of the Supreme Court’s response. “These emergency applications are the longest of long shots.”
It claimed the open primary violates its First Amendment freedom of association rights by allowing non-party members a vote and thus setting up a scenario where nominees are not chosen by a majority of Republicans.
Though the case pre-dates Trump's entry into the race, Monforton believes the current open system would help Trump -- and a closed primary would aid his top rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Indeed, Trump does seem to be doing better in open Republican primaries than his opponents. The New York businessman has come out ahead in 13 out of 16 states with open primaries including Massachusetts, North Carolina and Illinois. In states with closed primaries like Nevada, Florida and New Hampshire, Trump has taken the top prize in only six out of 14 states.
The outcome of the Montana challenge also could have an impact in state races. This year, 40 Republican legislatives races in the state have contested primary elections. Many feature tough matchups between conservatives and moderate candidates -- who could attract “cross-over” voters in an open primary.