Presumptuous Politics

Saturday, April 2, 2016

State Dept Cartoon

State Dept suspends review into 'top secret' Clinton emails

Anyone Surprised by this??

The State Department has suspended its internal review into whether former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or her top aides mishandled emails containing information now deemed `top secret."
Spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said Friday the department had paused the review to avoid interfering with an ongoing FBI investigation into Clinton's use of a private server while she was America's top diplomat. She said the decision was made after the department sought the FBI's advice on how to proceed with the review and received word that it should follow its standard practice. Trudeau said the department's standard practice is to place internal reviews "on hold while there is an ongoing law enforcement investigation underway."
An FBI spokesman did not immediately respond to request for comment.
"Of course, we do not want our internal review to complicate or impede the progress of their ongoing law enforcement investigation," Trudeau told reporters. "Therefore, the State Department at this time is not moving forward with our internal review." Trudeau said the department would "reassess next steps" in the internal review process once the FBI completes its probe.
The department began the internal review in January when it announced that it had classified 22 emails that Clinton sent or received as "top secret" and would not be releasing them. None of the emails was marked classified at the time it was sent.
One aspect of the internal review, which was being conducted by the bureaus of Diplomatic Security and Intelligence and Research, was to investigate whether any of the information in the emails was classified at the time of transmission. If and when it is completed, the review could result in counseling, warnings or other action against employees if it finds the information was mishandled.

Pro-Clinton group files DOJ report alleging Trump-Carson appointment deal

WASHINGTON -- A pro-Clinton watchdog group has filed a complaint with the Justice Department alleging that Donald Trump may have promised former candidate Ben Carson a job in the administration in exchange for his endorsement last month.
The American Democracy Legal Fund, a “political accountability” group launched by David Brock, the conservative-turned-liberal operative known in political circles as a Clinton “hit man,” filed the complaint in a letter to DOJ on March 29, according to a POLITICO report.
It was one of several complaints filed by the group this week. According to reports, Brock’s watchdogs filed no less than three complaints with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders over contributions and political action committee (PAC) activities.
The letter involving Trump asks Raymond Hulser, of the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section, to investigate a possible violation of the federal statute that prohibits any candidate from promising --willfully or otherwise -- a future government position in exchange for campaign support.
Punishment for breaking this law could mean up to two years in prison.
“Dr. Carson’s comments indicate that Mr. Trump used the promise of a role in his administration to secure Dr. Carson’s support for his presidential campaign,” Brad Woodhouse, head of the American Democracy Legal Fund, in the letter.
According to POLITICO, the complaint focuses on an interview Carson, who dropped out of the race on March 4, gave to Newsmax TV on March 14, three days after he publicly gave his endorsement to Trump.
“Carson was vague about what he and Trump had discussed the day before the endorsement,” wrote reporter Nick Gass, but said Trump “would surround himself with very good people.”
Carson has repeatedly denied that there was any quid pro quo. “That’s just not true,” he told Brianna Golodrya of Yahoo News on March 16.
It is the second complaint the group has filed against Trump, the first being with the FEC, alleging that the candidate did not disclose that he reportedly paid actors to appear at his campaign kick-off rally. Brock’s group also filed a complaint against Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H. this week.

Trump now says abortion laws should not be changed

WASHINGTON – Donald Trump now says abortion laws should not be changed.

It's a pendulum swing for the Republican presidential contender on an issue that's caused him grief since he said earlier in the week there should be "some form of punishment" for women who get abortions if the procedure is outlawed.
He backed off that remark under fierce criticism, saying if abortion were no longer legal, abortionists should be penalized for performing the procedure — not the women who have it.
Now he's shifted anew, in a "Face The Nation" interview being broadcast Sunday.
In an excerpt broadcast Friday on "CBS Evening News," Trump said about abortion: "The laws are set. And I think we have to leave it that way."
He declined several times to say whether he thinks abortion is murder. "I have my opinions on it, but I'd rather not comment on it," he said. Asked if he disagrees with those who consider the procedure to be murder, he said, "No, I don't disagree with it."
His spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, said Trump meant that abortion laws won't change until he's president. "Then he will change the law through his judicial appointments and allow the states to protect the unborn," she said. That's not a distinction he made in the interview.
The abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America responded partly tongue-in-cheek to Trump's comment that abortion laws should be left alone. "Donald Trump has seen the light," the group said in a statement, quickly adding, "April Fools."
The group's president, Ilyse Hogue, said Trump's grasp of abortion policy has been "all over the place this week" but added, "We know that misogyny would rule in a Trump White House and that never bodes well for reproductive health care or advancing women's equality."
Trump, the Republican front-runner, has hit a rough patch in his campaign as he heads into the Wisconsin primary Tuesday. His campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, has been charged with simple battery, accused of grabbing a reporter's arm. He faced a backlash for comments about rival Ted Cruz's wife and managed to displease both sides in the abortion debate with his now-retracted comment that women who get abortions should be punished.
"I think I've had many bad weeks and I've had many good weeks," he said in the interview Friday. "I don't see this as the worst week in my campaign."

Palin calls on Republicans to unify behind Trump candidacy at GOP dinner

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin went to bat for Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump at the Milwaukee County GOP dinner Friday night.
Palin called on Republicans to unify behind Trump’s candidacy. She said he’s the only candidate who understands that “common sense is an endangered species in Washington.” She also touted Trump as the only candidate who has created private-sector jobs, saying “He builds big things.”
"Donald Trump is the only one who really understands this reality. He's the only one who creates private sector jobs, balances budgets and builds things, he builds big things," she said.
Trump didn’t attend the dinner.
Palin also attacked the other Republican candidates on their immigration policies at the dinner. She accused Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich of “seducing (illegal immigrants) with gift baskets.”
There were also some chuckles in the crowd when Palin said Trump is the only one who "talks rationally" about foreign policy and national security.
Cruz received high praise at the dinner from Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. He endorsed Cruz Monday and called the senator a “rock star” before Cruz took the stage. Walker is also planning to join Cruz on the campaign trail in Wisconsin Sunday.
Cruz noted that Walker is one of five former Republican presidential candidates who are now backing his campaign. The others are Rick Perry, Carly Fiorina, Jeb Bush and Lindsey Graham.
"That is the very real manifestation of the unity we need across this country," he said. "If we are divided, we will lose the primary and hand the general election to Hillary Clinton."
Cruz said nominating Trump would be a "train wreck."
"That's actually not fair to train wrecks," Cruz said. "Nominating Donald Trump elects Hillary Clinton."
In his speech at the same event, Kasich cast himself as an independent-minded Republican, saying he understands the frustration felt by Trump backers.
"The Republican Party has been my vehicle and not my master," Kasich said. "I've never wanted to be a professional politician — in fact, I don't even like politics."
Kasich, whose only primary victory has come in his home state of Ohio, is hoping to survive the primary season and win the nomination at the GOP convention in Cleveland in July.
"We are going to have a contested convention," said former four-term Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson when he introduced Kasich, noting that Abraham Lincoln won the nomination 156 years ago going into the convention as the underdog.
The anti-Trump forces have been working to stop the billionaire businessman in Wisconsin, a state that will help determine whether he can emerge from the primaries with enough delegates to avoid a contested convention. Wisconsin awards 18 delegates to the statewide winner, and divides 24 delegates among the winner in each eight congressional districts.
If Cruz sweeps all the delegates in Wisconsin, Trump will need to win 57 percent of the remaining delegates in other states to collect the 1,237 he needs to clinch the nomination. So far, he has won 48 percent of all delegates awarded.
In the latest Fox Business Poll, Cruz holds a 10-point lead over Trump in Wisconsin.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Reince Priebus Cartoon

'One shot at the queen': FBI, AG intensify focus on Clinton email probe

As the FBI enters the final phases of its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of an unauthorized email server for government business, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and FBI Director James Comey are meeting frequently to discuss the progress and handling of the highly sensitive case, a source told Fox News.
Among the issues discussed in the meetings, which have been taking place several times per week, are who will be interviewed and in what order, according to an intelligence source close to the ongoing case. Emails released by the State Department have already shown Clinton and several key aides used the personal, unsecured network to send more than 1,000 messages which have been deemed classified.
“In a case like this you get one shot at the queen,” the source, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said referring to Clinton, the former secretary of state and current front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination. “The pressures are enormous on the agents, as the case has to be airtight and perfect.”

“In a case like this you get one shot at the queen.”
- Source with knowledge of investigation

Comey and Lynch are likely involved in daily briefings on the status of the explosive investigation, said Ron Hosko, former assistant director of the FBI’s criminal investigative division.
“This in an incredibly high stakes, high-wire act,” Hosko said. “Timing is of the essence, but being right is absolutely critical. Comey must be the one to make the case that the law has been broken and a prosecution is recommended.”
Nearly a dozen people who worked with Clinton at State, as well as others linked to the Clinton family’s nonprofit foundation have received, or are expected to receive, formal interview requests from the bureau, the source told Fox News. The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday that the FBI was setting up interviews with Clinton’s closest associates and would likely seek an interview with her.
“The authority for these formal interview requests by the Bureau is granted by the Attorney General,” the source added.
The formal interview requests are now being rapidly organized to set a time, date and place for the individuals to speak with federal agents about how their names have surfaced in the FBI’s ongoing criminal investigation. The interviews would not require any statements under oath, and subjects could decline them.
As the interviews evolve, the FBI, as first reported by Fox News last fall, will explore possible violations of Criminal Code section 1001, which covers "statements or entries generally," and can be applied when an individual makes misleading or false statements that cause federal agents to expend additional resources and time. Legal experts, as well as a former FBI agent, told Fox News Section 1001 could apply if Clinton, her aides or attorney were not forthcoming with FBI agents about her emails, classification and whether only non-government records were destroyed.
High-profile names convicted of violating Section 1001 include Martha Stewart, as well as former CIA Director David Petraeus.
Clinton recently insisted to Fox News’ Bret Baier during a town hall that neither she nor her lawyers have been formally notified that they are targets of an FBI investigation.
“Absolutely not,” Clinton said.
But such formal notification typically comes at the end of a process that sometimes spans months or even years of investigation, and even then only if it is determined that a subject’s activities likely merit prosecution.
Former Clinton campaign staffer and State Department information technology specialist Bryan Pagliano, who installed Clinton’s private server, was granted immunity by the Justice Department and is cooperating with the FBI.
“His importance as a witness cannot be underestimated,” a source told Fox News.
Pagliano has first-hand knowledge of who held and used accounts on the server from Clinton’s dealings in politics, philanthropy and private enterprise. Understanding how these worlds intersected is “causing rats to leave the ship and others to sweat blood,” said the source.
Who was doing what while getting paid by whom is key to the ongoing criminal probe, as the FBI’s No. 1 priority is ferreting out public corruption. Putting the pieces together is a challenge for federal investigators and investigative journalists.
Key Clinton aide Huma Abedin told the State Department in a July 5, 2013, letter that, “in addition to my work for the Department of State, I performed work for three others.”
Those jobs included working during parts of 2012 and 2013 for the Clinton-allied firm Teneo Holdings, which paid Abedin $105,000 even as she earned another $135,000 as a State Department “consultant.” Teneo, which was founded by longtime Clinton insider Doug Band, “advised clients on communications and investor relations for 10 different merger and acquisition deals worth a total of over $60 billion,” according to Fortune magazine.
In the same letter, Abedin stressed that “it is my understanding that Teneo does not conduct business with the Department of State. I also was not asked nor did I provide insights about the Department, my work with the Secretary or any government information to which I may have had access.”
The Clinton Foundation, founded in 1997, before President Bill Clinton left the White House, was renamed the “Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Foundation” six weeks after Hillary Clinton left the State Department in February 2013. Abedin worked for the foundation before and after it was renamed.
Critics, including Republican lawmakers, have suggested that Clinton may have used her influence as Secretary of State to reward donors to the foundation, which Hosko believes is an aspect of the email investigation.
“I am certain the FBI is looking at the nexus of State and the business of the foundation enrichment,” Hosko said. “Is there a shell game being played out on a global grand scale that creates a challenging paper trail?”

Trump meets with RNC chief in DC, days after backing out of pledge

Donald Trump met with Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus Thursday, just days after the Republican frontrunner backed out of a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee.
Trump was in Washington D.C. to meet with his recently-formed team of foreign policy advisers, and met with Priebus at RNC headquarters in an unscheduled meeting behind closed doors.
Trump said in a tweet that he had a “very nice meeting” with Priebus and that he looked forward to bringing the party together.
The RNC called the meeting "productive."
"The Chairman and Mr. Trump had a productive conversation about the state of the race," Lindsay Walters, RNC national spokeswoman, said in a statement. "Meeting and phone conversations with candidates and their campaigns are common and will increase as we get closer to November."

Carl Cameron reports from Washington, D.C.

In an interview Thursday night with on Fox News' "On The Record" with Greta van Susteren, Priebus said he could not say exactly what he talked about in the meeting with Trump, but that candidates aren't "going to get the data and tools of the RNC, run to be our nominee, and tell me they’re not going to support the party."
The meeting came just two days after Trump said at a CNN town hall Tuesday he had taken back his pledge to support the nominee as “I have been treated very unfairly” and listed both the RNC and the party establishment as those responsible.
Trump had previously said he would honor the pledge only if he was treated fairly by the Republican Party.

Fox Business Network Poll: Cruz leads in Wisconsin

Ted Cruz leads Donald Trump in the Republican nomination contest in Wisconsin, according to a Fox Business Network Poll released Thursday.
Cruz garners 42 percent among Wisconsin likely GOP primary voters, while Trump receives 32 percent. John Kasich comes in third with 19 percent.
Among just those who say they will “definitely” vote, Cruz’s lead over Trump widens to 46-33 percent, and Kasich gets 16 percent.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE POLL RESULTS
There is a big gender gap. Women back Cruz over Trump by a 19-point margin (46-27 percent). The two candidates are much closer among men: Cruz gets 40 percent to Trump’s 35 percent.
Cruz’s advantage over the real estate mogul also comes from self-described “very” conservative voters, who give him a 36-point lead (61 percent Cruz vs. 25 percent Trump).
White evangelical Christians voting in the GOP primary prefer Cruz over Trump by 49-28 percent. Trump has beaten Cruz among this key voting bloc in more than 10 contests so far, according to the Fox News exit poll.
Cruz is ahead of Trump among those with a college degree (42-30 percent) as well as those without a degree (44-34 percent).
Independents can vote in Wisconsin’s open primary -- and are more inclined to back Trump (37 percent) than Cruz (26 percent) or Kasich (26 percent).
Meanwhile, independents are equally likely to opt to vote in the Republican primary (50 percent) as the Democratic primary (50 percent).
The Wisconsin primary is April 5. Even so, more than one in five likely GOP primary voters say they might change their mind over the next few days (22 percent). That includes 40 percent of Kasich supporters, 18 percent of Cruz supporters, and 15 percent of Trump supporters.
The ambivalence of Kasich supporters is better news for Cruz than Trump, as the Ohio governor’s backers are more than twice as likely to name Cruz as their second choice candidate.
Dissatisfaction with the current slate of candidates is clear.
Many wish there were another name on the ballot. If Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker were still in the race, 44 percent of GOP primary voters say they would vote for him. That puts him more than 20 points ahead of the pack: Trump gets 21 percent, Cruz 17 percent and Kasich 12 percent.
In that hypothetical scenario, 59 percent of Cruz’s supporters and 31 percent of Trump’s, defect to Walker.
Walker, one of the first GOP heavyweights to drop out of the race, endorsed Cruz Tuesday.

Pollpourri
If the general election ends up being Trump against Democrat Hillary Clinton, only 55 percent of GOP primary voters would be happy with their choices, while 42 percent would “seriously consider” voting for a third party candidate or not vote at all.
Among Cruz backers, over half would consider voting for a third party (43 percent) or stay home (13 percent).
This Fox Business Network Poll was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R). The telephone poll (landline and cellphone) was conducted March 28-30, 2016 with live interviewers among a random sample of 1,602 Wisconsin voters selected from a statewide voter file. Results for the 742 likely Republican primary voters have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Embattled Erdogan visits US as mysterious nemesis watches from compound in Pa. mountains

Among the mounting headaches for Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan – in Washington this week for a visit that notably does not include a formal sitdown with President Obama – is a 74-year-old Muslim cleric quietly living on a private compound in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.
Fethullah Gulen, a one-time Erdogan ally, is the head of a faith-based social movement that boasts a global following, has deep roots in Turkish society, and cultivates notable influence in the U.S. education through a network of roughly 150 secular charter schools.
But a nasty split between the two over Erdogan’s years-long crackdown on domestic dissent and Turkey’s once-open media landscape has now spread to the United States, and threatens to further destabilize an already frayed alliance.

“It is Erdogan’s way of fighting the corruption without obviously confronting the issue of corruption.”
- Professor Henri Barkey, expert on Turkey

More than 2,000 Gulen supporters have been arrested in Turkey on various charges since the 2013 split, though many were later released. And Turkish authorities recently seized control of one of Turkey’s largest newspapers, Zaman, which was associated with Gulen.
But what’s relatively new to many Americans only now hearing about Gulen is a high-profile, multimillion-dollar public relations and legal effort by the Erdogan government to extradite him to Turkey, and raise myriad questions about the propriety of the charter schools.
“This is a really dangerous group,” charged Robert Amsterdam, a lawyer whose firm Erdogan hired to launch an international investigation of the Gulen organization - particularly its business and political dealings in the U.S. “When it comes to these charter schools and Gulen, nothing is transparent.”

Turkey Overview | FindTheData

Gulen cloisters himself on the grounds of an Islamic retreat owned by Turkish Americans in Saylorsburg, Pa., and rarely gives interviews to news media. But his sermons appear online. He preaches what many consider a moderate form of Islam. And he has regularly and stridently condemned jihadist terror attacks – much more so than Erdogan, say the president’s critics – and typically advocates interfaith dialogue.
Gulen’s Hizmet movment -- meaning “service” in Turkish -- is marked by business savvy and a successful push to build political connections. The movement is believed to be worth billions of dollars.
Troubling statements from Turkey's Erdogan
“This is not a proselytizing movement. This is not a glory-of-Islam movement. This is a glory-of-the-Gulen-movement movement,” said Joshua Hendrick, an associate professor of sociology and global studies at Loyola University of Maryland who wrote a book about Hizmet.
Hendrick disputed Amsterdam’s argument the organization is dangerous. But in Erdogan’s view, Gulen is an arch-enemy of the state, whose followers represent a seditious “parallel state” within Turkey.
Gulen is specifically accused of scheming to have his followers infiltrate the Turkish government for the purpose of overthrowing Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, known by its Turkish acronym as the AKP. Gulen also faces espionage charges, and two trials are now being held in absentia.
“Those accusations are laughable; they have no evidence,” said Y. Alp Aslandogan, executive director of the Alliance for Shared Values, a New York-based organization that promotes Gulen’s teachings.
Several scholars in the U.S. interviewed by FoxNews.com also defended Gulen and criticized the Turkish prosecution of him, citing Erdogan’s aggressive crackdown.
“There is no evidence that I am aware of to support the idea that the movement is at all violent or terroristic,” Zeki Saritoprak, professor of Islamic studies at John Carroll University in Ohio, told Fox News. “Allegations to the contrary are absurd.”
Another scholar, A. Kadir Yildirim, of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, agreed. “All opposition groups, including the Gulen Movement, are being targeted by President Erdogan,” he said, listing Kurds, non-Muslim minorities and liberals as other victims of Erdogan’s autocratic tilt.
Professor Henri Barkey, director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a longtime expert on Turkey, said Gulen supporters have been scapegoated to draw attention from Turkey’s complex domestic and foreign policy problems -- which range from increased internal unrest and a Kurdish insurgency to Russia’s menacing influence in Syria and Turkey’s fraying alliance with the U.S. over – among other factors -- the Obama administration’s support for Kurdish militias in the battle against ISIS.
“It is convenient for the government to blame the Gulenists for everything,” Barkey said. “It is Erdogan’s way of fighting the corruption without obviously confronting the issue of corruption.”
One scholar argued for a more careful approach. Abraham Wagner, a lecturer at Columbia Law School and a board member at the Center for Advanced Studies on Terrorism, said the next U.S. administration should pay close attention to Hizmet activities in America.
“They are trying to undermine the (Turkish) government … We have to be aware of what they are and how they are operating,” he said. “It’s not an open and shut case. What I am urging is, let’s take a closer look at what they are doing.”
Some have done just that. A number of Gulen-affiliated schools have been investigated over accusations that include mismanagement of public funds and possible visa fraud. Amsterdam alleges the network has a history of receiving a disproportionate share of H-1B visas -- temporary non-immigrant work visas -- that allow foreign teachers to work in the U.S. He said Gulen’s U.S. charter network, however loosely organized, generates massive profits, and that “a percentage of that is going back to Turkey” and being used to foment “instability.”
Barkey said Gulen-affiliated charters aren’t necessarily engaging in illegality, but they “skirt good practices or common sense sometimes.” He said he was infuriated when he saw a recent report on the CBS program “60 Minutes” about Gulen charters that highlighted one example of a school bringing a Turkish national to the U.S. to teach English.
“You are going to tell me that a Turk, who is going to speak with an accent, is going to teach English to kids in the U.S.?” Barkey asked.
The Chicago Sun-Times also reported last year that the Justice Department launched an investigation into alleged misuse of federal grant money at Concept Schools, a Gulen-linked network of some 30 charters in Illinois and five other states. Federal officials did not respond to multiple inquiries from FoxNews.com, but Concept management said, through a spokeswoman, they “continue to cooperate with authorities.” To date, no one affiliated with a Gulen charter has been convicted of any criminal activity.
Amsterdam and other Hizmet critics also accused some Gulen-linked charters of targeting selected students to proselytize.
“Our investigation has uncovered that … there is a proselytizing campaign where these Turkish teachers, we are told, actually target youths in these schools -- not a lot, maybe four or five per class -- to bring them into the movement,” Amsterdam said.
When asked, Amsterdam, who reiterated many of the charges in a news conference in Washington Thursday, would not immediately provide specifics.
That charge, too, was met with skepticism by those who note Gulen schools are often highly regarded and more focused on science and technology instruction.
“Worldwide, to my knowledge, there has been no credible evidence of religious indoctrination at any school established or run by Hizmet sympathizers,” said Saritoprak.
Amsterdam vows his investigation is far from over. His efforts have thus far produced one court case -- a pending civil suit in U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania -- which alleges Gulen used a 2009 sermon to signal his followers in law enforcement in Turkey to falsely arrest three political opponents.
Gulen’s lawyer in that case, Michael Miller, argues U.S. law does not apply, and called it “an abuse of the U.S. courts to try to initiate a lawsuit like this as part of a global campaign, a political campaign, to harass Mr. Gulen.”
Meanwhile, Aslandogan and other Hizmet supporters want Americans to see through these anti-Gulen efforts, and recognize this as an international political fight led by the increasingly autocratic Erdogan.
“We are talking about a person with dictatorial ambitions in Turkey, and he is taking his battles to American shores,” Aslandogan said.

Saturday, April 2, 2016

Friday, April 1, 2016

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