False Harassment Cartoons

Trump rips ‘Lightweight’ Gillibrand over resignation call, says harassment claims ‘false’

President Trump slammed "Lightweight" Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand early Tuesday after the New York Democrat sought his resignation in connection with allegations of sexual misconduct -- claims the president called “false” and “fabricated.” 

The president was reacting to claims revived by three female accusers during a press conference and TV interview on Monday, amid an apparent effort to shift the sexual harassment spotlight from Congress to the White House. 

The women, who had previously accused the president of sexual misconduct, called for a congressional investigation into the president. Gillibrand, who helped lead calls for Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., to resign over groping allegations, in turn said on CNN that Trump should resign as well.
“Lightweight Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a total flunky for Chuck Schumer and someone who would come to my office ‘begging’ for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them), is now in the ring fighting against Trump. Very disloyal to Bill & Crooked-USED!” Trump tweeted Tuesday.
Gillibrand fired back: "You cannot silence me or the millions of women who have gotten off the sidelines to speak out about the unfitness and shame you have brought to the Oval Office."
At a press conference later in the day Tuesday, Gillibrand called Trump's comment a "sexist smear" and an attempt to "silence" her "voice." Other female lawmakers jumped to her defense, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., asking via Twitter, "Are you really trying to bully, intimidate and slut-shame @SenGillibrand?" 
Moments before engaging with Gillibrand, Trump also rejected the accounts of the three women who spoke Monday -- claiming the focus is on them because Democrats could not prove any Russia collusion.
“Despite thousands of hours wasted and many millions of dollars spent, the Democrats have been unable to show any collusion with Russia –so now they are moving onto the false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don’t know and/or have never met. FAKE NEWS!” Trump tweeted.
Trump has long rejected accusations from over a dozen women who have made such claims against him.
The three women reviving their claims spoke on NBC’s “Megyn Kelly Today” and in a press conference in New York City.
“I ask Congress to put aside their party affiliations and ask that they investigate Trump’s history of sexual misconduct,” Rachel Crooks, who claims Trump kissed her on the lips 12 years ago when she was a 22-year-old receptionist at a company in Trump Tower, said during the press conference. “If they were willing to investigate Senator Franken, I think it’s only fair they do the same for Trump.”
TRUMP ACCUSERS BAND TOGETHER, SEEK CONGRESSIONAL PROBE OF 'SEXUAL MISCONDUCT'
The women also called for Trump’s resignation, but acknowledged that was unlikely, and pushed for a congressional probe into the allegations against the president.
“In terms of resigning, it’s probably the right thing to do,” Crooks said. “But I can’t imagine he will. I think the congressional investigation is the only thing we can ask for.”
Two other women – Jessica Leeds, who claims Trump started “kissing and groping” her on a flight in the 1970s, and Samantha Holvey, a former Miss USA pageant contestant – also spoke publicly on Monday.
The White House continues to defend the president, decrying the claims as “false.”
“These false claims, totally disputed in most cases by eyewitness accounts, were addressed at length during last year’s campaign, and the American people voiced their judgement by delivering a decisive victory,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement Monday. “The timing and absurdity of these false claims speaks volumes and the publicity tour that has begun only further confirms the political motives behind them.”
Last month, Gillibrand also said in an interview with The New York Times that Bill Clinton should have resigned the presidency over his affair with Monica Lewinsky.
THE LEFT TURNS ON BILL CLINTON, BIDEN OVER BEHAVIOR TOWARD WOMEN 
She brought up Trump in the same interview.
“I think in light of this conversation, we should have a very different conversation about President Trump, and a very different conversation about allegations against him,” she said.

Kentucky State Rep. Dan Johnson commits suicide after sexual assault accusations emerge, officials say

A state representative in Kentucky shot and killed himself Wednesday evening, officials said -- just days after a report emerged in which a woman said he sexually assaulted her when she was 17.

Rep. Dan Johnson, a preacher and a Republican, shot himself on a bridge in Mt. Washington, southeast of Louisville, Bullitt County Sheriff Donnie Tinnell told WDRB. His body turned up on a riverbank near the bridge and the weapon reportedly was found at the scene. He was 57.

Earlier Wednesday evening, WDRB said Johnson took to Facebook to post about the accusations leveled against him, claiming they were “false” and “only GOD knows the truth.”
On Monday, the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting published an account from a woman claiming that Johnson sexually assaulted her in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2013.
The woman said she attended a party at his home on the night of the incident. She reportedly fell asleep on a sofa and woke up to Johnson kneeling over her, before she claimed he assaulted her. The woman said she reported the incident but Louisville police closed the case without charges.
Johnson told reporters on Tuesday that the accusations were “totally false.” But leaders of the state Republican and Democratic parties had called for the representative to resign.

His Facebook post added that PTSD “24/7 16 years is a sickness that will take my life, I cannot handle it any longer. IT Has Won This Life. BUT HEAVEN IS MY HOME.”
The post also read, “I LOVE GOD and I LOVE MY WIFE, who is the best WIFE in the world,My Love Forever ! My Mom and Dad my FAMILY and all five of my kids and Nine grandchildren two in tummies and many more to come each of you or a total gift from GOD stay strong.”
Michael Skoler, president of Louisville Public Media, which owns the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, said everyone at the organization is "deeply sad."
"Our aim, as always, is to provide the public with fact-based, unbiased reporting and hold public officials accountable for their actions," Skoler said. "As part of our process, we reached out to Representative Johnson numerous times over the course of a seven-month investigation. He declined requests to talk about our findings."

“Just terrible news from Kentucky tonight on the passing of Rep. Dan Johnson. I cannot imagine his pain or the heartbreak his family is dealing with tonight. Kelley and I pray for his loved ones,” Sen. Rand Paul tweeted.

Watchdog reveals how ex-Mueller agents' anti-Trump texts came to light

GOP members of the House Judiciary Committee press Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein over political bias exhibited in texts between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page; chief intelligence correspondent Catherine Herridge reports from Capitol Hill.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Special Counsel Robert Mueller were told in July that two FBI officials working on Mueller's Russia probe had exchanged a number of anti-Trump text messages throughout the 2016 campaign, according to the Justice Department's watchdog.

DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz revealed the information one day after Fox News obtained more than 375 of the messages between Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. The messages were published ahead of Rosenstein's Wednesday appearance before the House Judiciary Committee.

Strzok, a former deputy to the assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI, was fired by Mueller and reassigned to the FBI’s human resources division after the exchanges with Page were discovered. Page was briefly on Mueller’s team, but has since returned to the FBI.
In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Horowitz said his office requested text messages from the government-issued phones of several FBI employees involved in the Hillary Clinton email investigation.
Strzok played a key role in the email probe, changing former FBI Director James Comey’s early draft language about Clinton’s actions from "grossly negligent" to "extremely careless" and conducting the FBI interview of Clinton over the July 4 weekend in 2016.
According to Horowitz, "politically-oriented" text messages between Strzok and Page were found in his office's initial search. That led to the watchdog requesting all messages between the two through the end of last November. Those messages were produced by the FBI on July 20 of this year and Mueller and Rosenstein were informed about them a week later, on July 27.
The following day, Horowitz's office requested additional messages between Strzok and Page between December 2016 and July 28. Those messages were received on Aug. 10.
In all, more than 10,000 messages between Page and Strzok were turned over to the Justice Department watchdog. They included discussions of how to "protect the country from that menace," referring to President Trump.
One of the most notable messages, from Aug. 15, 2016, came from Strzok.
"I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office — that there’s no way [Trump] gets elected — but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk," said Strzok, possibly referring to then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe. "It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40."
The context of the message was unclear.
Another exchange, from April 2 of that year, appears to show efforts by Strzok and Page to conceal some of their conversations about Clinton during the height of the email investigation.
"So look, you say we text on that phone when we talk about Hillary because it can't be traced," Page wrote. "You were just venting, [because] you feel bad that you’re gone so much but that can’t be helped right now."

In YouTube video, Roy Moore bucks calls to concede in Alabama Senate race

Republican Roy Moore is still not conceding defeat in Alabama’s special election for a U.S. Senate seat -- 24 hours after Democrat Doug Jones claimed victory.

In a video posted to YouTube on Wednesday evening, Moore says his campaign is still waiting for the election results to be certified by the Alabama secretary of state.

Moore notes in the video that military and provisional ballots remained to be counted.
Ballots from overseas can continue to come in until noon next Tuesday, Secretary of State John Merrill said, according to AL.com.
Merrill said final results will be certified by the state canvassing board between Dec. 26 and Jan. 3, AL.com reported.
Election results showed that Jones defeated Moore by 49.9 percent to 48.4 percent.
In most of the remainder of the nearly five-minute-long video, Moore thanks supporters and then lists numerous ills that he believes are plaguing the country.
“Abor​t​ion, sodomy, and materialism have taken the place of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” he says.
“Even our political process,” he later notes, “has been affected with baseless and false allegations which have become more relevant than the issues which ​a​ffect our country.”
He later laments that the Alabama race was “tainted by over $50 million from outside groups who want to retain power and ​their ​corrupt ideology.
“No longer is ​this about ​​Republican or Democrat​ic​ control,” he adds. “​It has truly been said that there is not a dime's worth of difference between them. It is about a Washington establishment which will not listen to the cries of its citizenry​.”

Alabama voter Cartoons

Kaepernick's visit to meet New York prison inmates irks correction officers

This Dec. 24, 2016 photo shows San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick talking during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams. Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017 alleging that he remains unsigned as a result of collusion by owners following his protests during the national anthem. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

The city allowed Colin Kaepernick to make a surprise visit to Rikers Island Tuesday to meet with inmates — enraging correction officers who feel the stunt will only endanger them.
The former San Francisco 49ers star spoke to groups of inmates during two 45 minute sessions at the jail’s George Motchan Detention Center Tuesday morning where he pontificated on social justice issues and talked about his decision to kneel during the national anthem, sparking nationwide outrage.
“That’s crazy to me to have a person like Colin Kaepernick in prison talking about police brutality,” said an officer who attended the event. “It was insulting for me to be there.”
“In the inmate’s eyes, we are the police when they’re locked up.”
The morning started off with Kaepernick attending breakfast in the warden’s office before heading over to the “Peace Center” where he conducted two 45 minutes sessions with prisoners clad in gray jumpsuits.
The first group included 14 inmates including six adults and eight adolescents.

'F TRUMP': Texts between ex-Mueller team members emerge, calling Trump 'loathsome human,' 'an idiot'

Text messages between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page in 2016 that were obtained by Fox News on Tuesday refer to then-candidate Donald Trump as a "loathsome human" and "an idiot."

More than 10,000 texts between Strzok and Page were being reviewed by the Justice Department after Strzok was removed from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe after it was revealed that some of them contained anti-Trump content.

The messages were sent during the 2016 campaign and contain discussions about various candidates. On March 2, Strzok texted Page that someone "asked me who I’d vote for, guessed [Ohio Gov. John] Kasich."
"Seriously?! Would you not [vote] D[emocrat]?" Page responded.
"I don’t know," Strzok answered. "I suppose Hillary [Clinton]."
"I would [vote] D," Page affirmed.
Two days later, Page texted Strzok, "God, Trump is a loathsome human."
"Yet he many[sic] win," Strzok responded. "Good for Hillary."
Later the same day, Strzok texted Page, "Omg [Trump's] an idiot."
"He's awful," Page answered.
"America will get what the voting public deserves," said Strzok, to which Page responded. "That’s what I’m afraid of."
Later that same day, Strzok texted Page, "Ok I may vote for Trump."
"What?" answered Page. "Poor Kasich. He’s the only sensible man up there."
"He was pretty much calling for death for [NSA leaker] Edward Snowden," Strzok said. "I’m a single-issue voter. ;) Espionage Machine Party."
Strzok later told Page, "Exacty [sic] re Kasich. And he has ZERO appeal."
Twelve days later, after Trump took a commanding lead in the Republican delegate race with victories in key "Super Tuesday" primaries, Page texted Strzok, "I can not believe Donald Trump is likely to be an actual, serious candidate for president."
Four months later, Strzok and Page exchanged messages mocking Trump and his family at the Republican National Convention.
"Oooh, TURN IT ON, TURN IT ON!!! THE DO*CHEBAGS ARE ABOUT TO COME OUT," Strzok texted Page on July 19. "You can tell by the excitable clapping."
Later, Strzok reached out to Page again, saying, "Omg. You listening to npr? Apparently Melania’s speech had passages lifted from Michelle Obama’s…Unbelievable."
"NO WAY!" Page answered, adding "God, it's just a two-bit organization. I do so hope his disorganization comes to bite him hard in November."
On Aug. 6, Page texted Strzok a New York Times article about Muslim lawyer Khzir Khan, who became embroiled in a war of words with Trump after Khan spoke at the Democratic National Convention.
"Jesus. You should read this. And Trump should go f himself," Page wrote in a message attached to the article.
"God that’s a great article," Strzok answered. "Thanks for sharing. And F TRUMP."
Strzok, who was an FBI counterintelligence agent, was reassigned to the FBI’s human resources division after the discovery of the exchanges with Page, with whom he was having an affair. Page was briefly on Mueller’s team, but has since returned to the FBI.
House Intelligence Committee investigators have long regarded Strzok as a key figure in the chain of events that began when the bureau, in 2016, received the infamous anti-Trump "dossier" and launched a counterintelligence investigation into Russian meddling in the election that ultimately came to encompass FISA surveillance of a Trump campaign associate.
Strzok briefed the committee on Dec. 5, 2016, sources said. But within months of that session House Intelligence Committee investigators were contacted by an informant suggesting that there was “documentary evidence” that Strzok was purportedly obstructing the House probe into the dossier.
Strzok also oversaw the bureau’s interviews with ousted National Security Adviser Michael Flynn – who pleaded guilty to lying to FBI investigators in the Russia probe.
He also was present during the FBI’s July 2016 interview with Hillary Clinton at the close of the email investigation, shortly before then-FBI director James Comey called her actions "extremely careless" without recommending criminal charges.

Trump, Hillary Clinton and others congratulate Doug Jones on Alabama victory

President Donald Trump along with other politicians from both sides of the aisle reacted late Tuesday after Democratic Alabama Senate candidate Doug Jones defeated Republican Roy Moore in a special election.

Trump congratulated Jones in a tweet on his “hard fought victory” and said Republicans will "have another shot at the seat in a very short period of time.”

Congratulations to Doug Jones on a hard fought victory. The write-in votes played a very big factor, but a win is a win. The people of Alabama are great, and the Republicans will have another shot at this seat in a very short period of time. It never ends!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2017

Hillary Clinton also took to Twitter to congratulate citizens of Alabama for electing a senator “who’ll make them proud.”
“Tonight, Alabama voters elected a senator who'll make them proud,” Clinton tweeted. ”And if Democrats can win in Alabama, we can -- and must -- compete everywhere. Onward!”

Tonight, Alabama voters elected a senator who'll make them proud.

And if Democrats can win in Alabama, we can -- and must -- compete everywhere.

Onward!

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) December 13, 2017

Clinton was joined in her enthusiasm by former Vice President Joe Biden, who thanked Alabama in a tweet. Democrats were surely emboldened after winning one of the state's Senate seats.

Doug Jones. Thank you, Alabama. You’ve elected a man of incredible integrity, grit, and character. A fighter for working class and middle class Alabamians. He is going to make you proud in the Senate.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) December 13, 2017

It was the first Democratic Senate victory in a quarter-century in the state and proved anew that party loyalty is anything but sure in the age of Trump. The Republican loss was a major embarrassment for the president and a fresh wound for the nation’s already divided GOP.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., predicted that Jones is going to be an “outstanding senator” and lambasted Moore’s candidacy.
“Roy Moore was an awful candidate and never should have gotten to the senate. But make no mistake about it, just like Virginia, Democrats are energized, focused on the middle class and those struggling to get there, and things are looking better and better for 2018,” Schumer wrote.

Just in: @chuckschumer statement on ALSEN pic.twitter.com/jVVlN7RWt0

— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) December 13, 2017

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who has been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration, tweeted two words:  “Decency wins.”

Decency wins

— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) December 13, 2017

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., congratulated Jones on being a great candidate and said that was the reason why he won over Moore.

We elected a Democrat in deep red Alabama tonight. Why? Because @GDouglasJones was a great candidate. We had the right message. We had the wind in our sails. And we fought our hearts out.

— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) December 13, 2017

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said that Jones’ win is a “victory for showing up, fighting to the end.”

Congrats, @GDouglasJones, on your win in Alabama! This is a victory for showing up, fighting to the end, and standing for what’s right.

— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) December 13, 2017

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Fox News projected that Jones received 49.5 percent of the vote, while Moore received 48.8 percent of the vote.

Alabama Senate election: Doug Jones wins in major upset, Roy Moore won't yet concede

Democrat Doug Jones has pulled off a major upset in Alabama by defeating Republican Roy Moore in Tuesday’s special election, becoming the first Democrat to win election to the Senate from the deeply conservative state in 25 years.

"We have come so far and the people of Alabama have spoken," Jones said during a victory speech in Birmingham late Tuesday. 

But in a late-night speech to supporters, Moore refused to concede. Moore told the crowd that when the “vote is this close…it’s not over.”
With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Jones had 49.9 percent to Moore's 48.4 percent.
Moore said the campaign was looking into the state's "recount provision." Under Alabama law, a mandatory recount takes place if a candidate wins by a half percent or less.
“We also know that God is always in control,” he said.
Bill Armistead, his campaign chairman, floated a possible recount late Tuesday.
Other Republicans, though, already accepted the outcome. In a tweet, President Trump congratulated Jones on his “hard fought victory.”
“The write-in votes played a very big factor, but a win is a win,” Trump said. “The people of Alabama are great, and the Republicans will have another shot at this seat in a very short period of time. It never ends!”
A Democrat winning the special election for the seat to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions was seen as just a remote possibility several months ago.

Doug Jones, an attorney best known for prosecuting two members of the KKK for the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, initially wasn’t believed to have a realistic chance of winning the seat. Alabama hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate in 25 years.  (AP)

But Jones, a Birmingham attorney famous for prosecuting the KKK, caught a break after Moore was overwhelmed in recent weeks with multiple allegations of past sexual misconduct. Moore denied the accusations throughout the race.
Moore, the former chief justice of Alabama’s Supreme Court, has faced multiple allegations he pursued romantic relationships with teenage girls while he was in his thirties -- accusations that have dramatically shaken up the race. He has denied the claims.
The Fox News Voter Analysis, a new polling technique Fox News is testing to improve coverage, indicated 51 percent of voters on Tuesday believed the accusations against Moore.
The analysis also showed that 59 percent of voters thought Jones has strong moral character, while 57 percent said Moore doesn’t.
The dramatic Democratic win cuts the GOP’s Senate majority from 52 to 51, further dimming Republican hopes of enacting major legislation backed by President Trump. Jones likely won't be seated in Congress until January.

Because he is filling the rest of Sessions' term, Jones will not serve a full six year Senate term. The seat will be up for re-election again in 2020.

Roy Moore, a favorite of religious conservative voters with a long, colorful political history that has both fueled and complicated his rise in Alabama.  (AP)

Earlier in the day, Trump, who endorsed Moore even as other top Republicans in Washington called on the nominee to drop out of the race, on Tuesday reiterated his support by arguing Moore would vote for his agenda in Congress.
“The people of Alabama will do the right thing... Roy Moore will always vote with us,” the president tweeted.
Trump painted Jones as a liberal “puppet” of Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.
“Doug Jones is Pro-Abortion, weak on Crime, Military and Illegal Immigration, Bad for Gun Owners and Veterans and against the WALL,” Trump tweeted.
Trump won 62 percent of Alabama’s vote in the 2016 presidential race.
Most of the attention in the race, though, centered on Moore. A favorite of religious conservative voters, he has a colorful political history that has both fueled and complicated his rise in Alabama.
He first got national attention in the 1990s as a county judge when he hung a wooden Ten Commandments plaque on the wall of his courtroom.
Benefiting from his popularity after the episode, Moore then ran and won a race for chief justice of the state’s Supreme Court in 2000. But he was ousted after refusing to remove a 5,280-pound granite Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the state judicial building.
He resurrected his political career in 2012, getting elected chief justice again. But his tenure was short-lived once more: In 2016, Moore was suspended as chief justice after he directed probate judges not to issue marriage certificates to gay couples.
After Sessions’ resignation, Luther Strange, the state’s former attorney general, was temporarily appointed to the seat in April before a special election could take place. Strange was appointed by then-Gov. Robert Bentley, who later resigned in the cloud of a scandal.
Despite being endorsed by Trump and enjoying the support of a well-funded super PAC connected to Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, Strange went on to lose a runoff to Moore in September.
Last month, though, Moore was hit with multiple allegations that he initiated sexual encounters with teenagers when he was a young attorney in the 1970s.
McConnell called on Moore to drop out of the race and explored options for either removing Moore from the ballot or backing a write-in alternative. He also suggested Moore would face a Senate Ethics Committee investigation had he won.
Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, had said the Senate could take the extraordinary step of voting to remove Moore if he had won.
Alabama’s senior Republican senator, Richard Shelby, said he didn’t vote for Moore and instead wrote in the name of another Republican.
Moore, though, never backed down amid the accusations, holding multiple rallies with Trump’s former adviser, Steve Bannon, in recent weeks.
“I’m not talking about the accusers today,” Moore said after arriving at his polling location in Gallant, Alabama, on Tuesday. “I’m talking about this race... the people will answer the allegations this evening with the vote.”