US stealth fighters fly over South Korea amid standoff with North

OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea –  Four U.S. F-22 stealth fighters flew low over South Korea on Wednesday in a clear show of force against North Korea, a day after South Korea's president warned of the North's collapse amid a festering standoff over its nuclear and missile ambitions.

The high-tech planes capable of sneaking past radar undetected were seen by an Associated Press photographer before they landed at Osan Air Base near Seoul. They were escorted by other U.S. and South Korean fighter jets.

Pyongyang will likely view the arrival of the planes flown from a U.S. base in Japan as a threat as they are an apparent display of U.S. airpower aimed at showing what the United States can do to defend its ally South Korea from potential aggression from North Korea.

"The F-22 `Raptor' is the most capable air superiority fighter in the world, and it represents one of many capabilities available for the defense of this great nation," Lt. Gen. Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy, deputy commander of the U.S. military command in South Korea, said in a statement.

"The U.S. maintains an ironclad commitment" to the defense of South Korea, he said.

The U.S. military would not say how long the F-22s will be deployed in South Korea.

The United States often sends powerful warplanes to South Korea in times of tension with North Korea. Last month it sent a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber to South Korea after North Korea defiantly conducted its fourth nuclear test.

The international standoff over North Korea deepened earlier this month when Pyongyang ignored repeated warnings by regional powers and fired a long-range rocket carrying what it calls an Earth observation satellite. Washington, Seoul and others consider the launch a prohibited test of missile technology.

Foreign analysts say the North's rocket launch and nuclear test put the country further along it its quest for a nuclear-armed missile that could reach the U.S. mainland.

South Korea's president on Tuesday warned North Korea faces collapse if it doesn't abandon its nuclear bomb program, an unusually strong broadside that is certain to infuriate Pyongyang.

In a speech at parliament, President Park Geun-hye said South Korea will take unspecified "stronger and more effective" measures to make North Korea realize its nuclear ambitions will result only in accelerating its "regime collapse."

Park made the speech while defending her government's decision to shut down a jointly run factory park in North Korea in response to the North's rocket launch. Pyongyang retaliated by expelling all the South Koreans there, put its military in charge of the area and cut off key communication hotlines between the Koreas.

It is unusual for a top South Korean official to publicly touch on such a government collapse because of worries about how sensitive North Korea is to talk of its authoritarian government losing power. Pyongyang has long accused Washington and Seoul agitating for its collapse.

After the rocket launch, Seoul announced that talks would begin with Washington on deploying a sophisticated U.S. missile defense system in South Korea and that the allies' annual military drills in the spring will be the biggest ever.

The deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, is opposed by North Korea, China and Russia. Opponents say the system could help U.S. radar spot missiles in other countries.

Pyongyang has also called regular U.S.-South Korea military exercises a rehearsal for a northward invasion. The allies say their drills are defensive in nature.

Whacking W.: Why Trump is attacking one Bush to stop another

Who would have thought, nearly eight years after he left the White House, that George W. Bush would become a pivotal figure in the 2016 campaign?
Yet Donald Trump has aggressively whacked the former president, who responded for the first time in a South Carolina appearance for Jeb.
It was striking to see W., who’s a more gifted speaker than his brother, because he has so doggedly avoided the limelight since leaving office. The fact that Jeb Bush brought him in, along with their mom and Laura Bush, shows that he finally sees no choice but to embrace the family name.
I first saw Jeb—who had been running with just an exclamation point!--declare he’s proud to be a Bush in New Hampshire, and he seemed more comfortable doing it than the awkward distancing act he had previously attempted. But obviously the 43^rd president is both asset and liability.
George W. left office quite unpopular after the Iraq war and the financial meltdown, creating something of an albatross for the man who would be the third President Bush. But W. is popular among Republicans in South Carolina, where his brother badly needs a strong showing after a campaign that’s been far more successful at raising money than winning votes.
Trump has made the calculation that tarnishing Bush 43 will tarnish the man who wants to be Bush 45. Or perhaps he just got angry in the CBS debate.
On that stage, Trump not only hit the former president for “a big, fat mistake” in invading Iraq, he said “they lied” about whether Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. In doing so, he sort of echoed the “Bush lied, people died” line of liberal extremists, and the next day Trump retreated a bit on the Bushies having prior knowledge that their WMD claims were false.
When Jeb said his brother “kept us safe” while Trump was creating a reality show, the billionaire hit back with the twin towers coming down on Bush 43’s watch. He has said this before, reviving talk of those intelligence warnings in 2001, but in a debate it was unusual to see a Republican candidate attacking a Republican president.
The former president didn’t mention Trump by name, but his target was unmistakable when he said in South Carolina: “I understand that Americans are angry and frustrated, but we do not need someone in the Oval Office who mirrors and inflames our anger and frustration.”
The pundits, having been burned so many times before, still wondered whether this time Trump had gone too far: He looked angry, he sounded like a Democrat, he even offered qualified praise for Planned Parenthood.
Joe Scarborough acknowledged that he thought Trump would lose 20 points after the debate, and so far that hasn’t happened. (A PPP poll conducted after the debate shows Trump still leading in South Carolina with 35 percent, followed by Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio at 18, John Kasich at 10, Ben Carson at 7, and Jeb at…7 percent.)
Rush Limbaugh said that “there were a number of occasions where Donald Trump sounded like the Daily Kos blog, where Donald Trump sounded like the Democratic Underground, sounded like any average host on MSNBC.” But Rush said this may have been part of a strategy to appeal to Dems and independents in South Carolina’s open primary.
What Trump is doing is not just dominating the news cycle, but jamming all the communications channels. He’s generating multiple stories, so if journalists don’t like the appetizers, there’s a sizzling steak over here, some fried chicken, and irresistible deserts. The other candidates hit back, and that keeps the narrative going. Even when the coverage is negative, it revolves around Trump.
So was it wise to take on George W. Bush? By reminding voters of the negative side of his presidency, especially Iraq, Trump implicitly argues that his brother would bring the same brand of military interventionism. And if that makes Trump sound a bit like a Democrat, well, remember that he’s running against the Republican establishment as well as the other party.
Trump made a mocking reference to Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” moment, the aircraft carrier landing that seemed impressive at the time but later became a symbol of overconfidence and arrogance. We may know on Saturday whether that line of attack helped accomplish Trump’s mission.
Click for more Media Buzz.
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. 

Vatican responds to Trump's criticism of Pope Francis' border trip

The Vatican responded late Tuesday to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's criticism of Pope Francis' plan to visit the border wall that separates Mexico from the U.S.
The pope is scheduled to visit the fence between the border cities of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas Wednesday. He is expected to stop at the fence, give a blessing in honor of asylum-seekers on the other side and pray for those who died trying to get there.
In an interview with Fox Business Network last week, Trump said that he did not believe Francis understood what he called "the danger of the open border we have with Mexico."
"I think Mexico got him to [visit the border] because Mexico wants to keep the border just the way it is because they’re making a fortune and we’re losing," Trump added.
In a statement, Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said, "The pope always talks about migration problems all around the world, of the duties we have to solve these problems in a humane manner, of hosting those who come from other countries in search of a life of dignity and peace."
Immigration is a theme close to the pontiff's heart. He has demanded that countries welcome those fleeing poverty and oppression and denounced what he calls the "globalization of indifference" toward refugees.
The pontiff touched on the issue in his address to Congress this past September, when he urged lawmakers not to be “fearful of foreigners” and reminded them that many are “descended from immigrants.”
It's a message that hasn't gone down well with some in the U.S., at a time when border apprehensions of families and unaccompanied minors rose significantly in the last three months of 2015.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to build a wall along the entire border with Mexico – and make Mexico pay for it. All along, he's made combating illegal immigration a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, claiming credit for kickstarting the debate which now features heavily in the GOP primary race.

Clinton Barking Dog Cartoon

Disgraced Missouri professor seen yelling profanity at police in new video

A since-suspended University of Missouri professor is seen yelling profanities at police officers trying to clear activists blocking traffic in a video that surfaced late Sunday night of an October protest.
Assistant Professor of Communication Melissa Click was suspended from her position in late January after she was charged with misdemeanor assault following a different videotaped skirmish with a student journalist in November. The prosecutor has said he’ll drop the charge in a year if Click completes community service, though her position at Missouri is still being reviewed.
The new video of Click tangling with police officers during an Oct. 10 Homecoming Parade could complicate the matter. The Missourian obtained the police body camera footage through an open records request.
“Her conduct and behavior are appalling, and I am not only disappointed, I am angry that a member of our faculty acted this way,” Interim Chancellor Hank Foley said in a statement emailed to The Missourian. “Her actions caught on camera last October are just another example of a pattern of misconduct by Dr. Click – most notably her assault on one of our students while seeking ‘muscle’ during a highly volatile situation on Carnahan Quadrangle in November.”
In the new video, Click can be seen in the same group as several student protesters who were blocking the Homecoming Parade route. As officers attempt to direct the group back onto the sidewalk, Click forces herself between a police officer and graduate student Jonathan Butler, who is also a prominent campus activist. Click tells the officers to “get your hands off the children” and then uses a profanity against an officer who grabs her shoulder as he tries to direct her back onto the sidewalk.
“We must have high expectations of members of our community, and I will address these new revelations with the Board of Curators as they work to complete their own review of the matter,” Foley said in the statement.
Click first gained notoriety after a video surfaced of her during a Nov. 9 demonstration by student activists who took issue with perceived racial bias at the university. A YouTube video shows Click confronting videographer Mark Schierbecker, apparently trying to block him from shooting video on the public quad. When Schierbecker asks to speak to Click, she tells him to leave.
“No, you need to get out,” she says, pointing away and then apparently grabbing Schierbecker’s camera. “You need to get out. You need to get out.”
When Schierbecker refuses to leave, Click yells to a nearby group: “Who wants to help me get this reporter out of here? I need some muscle over here.”
In an interview with The Missourian on Friday – before the new video became public – Click admitted the November incident was a “mistake” but hoped to still keep her job.
“My mistake is just one part of who I am,” she said. “I want to stay at MU. I deserve to be heard and I deserve to be treated fairly, and I’m going to fight to be treated fairly. I think it’s everybody’s right to be treated fairly.”

Supreme Court Short List? Deep bench of potential nominees to succeed Scalia

While the skirmish lines are forming in Congress over President Obama’s nomination of a successor to the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia – the president first will have to make his choice known before the battle can be joined.
Though Obama had not been expecting to make a Supreme Court nomination in the final months of his second term, Scalia’s death triggers a rigorous selection process that begins with an informal list of nominees this administration -- and those before it -- keep in the event of a sudden vacancy. Serious vetting only begins, however, when a vacancy occurs or is announced.
And Obama will have plenty of names from which to choose. While not an official “short list,” the following list of potential nominees is based on past nominations and discussions with sources, including government officials involved in the selections of Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan:
Loretta Lynch, attorney general
The North Carolina native became the nation’s top law enforcement officer last year, after a bitter confirmation fight in the Senate. She served two stints as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, earning a reputation as a tough prosecutor in several high-profile financial and terrorism-related cases. Most recently in the AG role, she filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Ferguson, Mo., Police Department over what she called its unconstitutional violation of the rights of the largely minority community. If successfully nominated, the daughter of a Baptist minister and a school librarian would be the first African-American woman on the high court.
Judge Patricia Millett, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit     
Millett was named in 2013 to a bench considered a stepping stone to the high court -- where four current justices once served. Formerly a private Washington-based appellate attorney -- Obama called her "one of the nation's finest"-- who also had more than a decade of experience in the U.S. Solicitor General's office, Millett argued 32 cases before the Supreme Court, the second-most ever for a female lawyer. Sources of both ideological stripes call her fair-minded, no-nonsense and non-ideological.
Judge Sri Srinivasan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit   
Srinivasan was named to the court in 2013, months before Millett joined him. The son of Indian immigrants – who was born in India and raised in Kansas -- Padmanabhan Srikanth Srinivasan was the principal deputy solicitor general at the Justice Department, and argued more than two dozen cases before the Supreme Court. He would be the high court's first Asian-American. Known as low-key, practical and non-ideological, he may not excite many progressives, or give conservatives much to dislike.
Judge Paul Watford, 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Watford was named to the appeals court in 2012. He clerked for conservative-libertarian federal Judge Alex Kozinski on the 9th Circuit, and later for liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Supporters call the Orange County, Calif., native an ideological moderate, which may not sit well with progressives seeking a stronger liberal voice.

Supreme Court Nominations By President | Graphiq

Judge Jacqueline Hong-Ngoc Nguyen, 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
The Vietnam-born Nguyen was named to the court in 2012 after two years as a federal district court judge. She, too, would make history as the high court's first Asian-American justice. She is already the first Asian-American woman to sit a on a federal appeals court and is a former state judge, federal prosecutor and private attorney. She moved with her family to the U.S. when she was 10, just after the fall of then-South Vietnam to the Communists.
Kamala Harris, California attorney general 
Harris was elected to her current job in 2010. Harris is a former San Francisco district attorney and author of "Smart on Crime." Her political savvy, ethnic background (part-African-American, part-Asian-American), law enforcement credentials and early support of Obama's candidacy make her a favorite for any high court vacancy.
Kathryn Ruemmler, former Obama White House Counsel
Ruemmler left her government position for private practice in spring 2014. She most famously helped lead the prosecution in the Enron fraud case in 2006. She earned high praise in the White House for helping spearhead the legal defense of Obama’s health care overhaul law. She also supervised the vetting for the Kagan and Sotomayor high court nominations, though she has no judicial experience.
Judge Jane Kelly, 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Kelly is only the second woman to serve on the St. Louis-based court, appointed in 2013. She spent most of her legal career as a federal public defender in Iowa. One of her biggest fans is fellow Iowan Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Judge David Barron, 1st Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Confirmed in May 2014, Barron formerly served as acting assistant attorney general in Obama administration, then went to Harvard Law School as a professor. He clerked for Justice John Paul Stevens.
Judge Diane Wood, 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals  
Wood has sat on the bench since 1995. Twice a finalist for the high court vacancies in 2009 and 2010, she is considered a mainstream liberal and well-regarded by many legal analysts as a strong, articulate judge. She served in both the Reagan and Clinton Justice Departments.
Judge Merrick Garland, D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Garland was a finalist for the high court seats that went to Sotomayor and Kagan, and is a possible compromise choice, considered a relative judicial moderate on the high-profile appeals court. Four current justices came directly from the D.C Circuit. Garland was a former associate deputy attorney general and supervised the criminal prosecution of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. His perceived "moderate" views may not sit well with some liberals.

Supreme Court Nominations in Recent History | InsideGov

While Obama says he plans to nominate a Scalia successor, Republicans in the Senate are threatening to hold up the confirmation – in hopes that a Republican president will be able to make the selection next year. If the decision does fall to a Republican president, the following are a few possibilities:
Paul Clement, former U.S. solicitor general
Clement is considered by many one of the best lawyers of his generation. The Wisconsin native went to Harvard Law School and later clerked for Justice Scalia. He served as solicitor general under President George W. Bush and earned raves for his persuasive, conversational style at oral arguments before the justices. Now as a private attorney, he has become the go-to guy among conservatives to lead appeals over a variety of hot-button issues: health care reform, same-sex marriage, immigration enforcement and gun rights.
Judge Brett Kavanaugh, D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Kavanaugh began his job May 2006 in a court that has seen several of its former members make the jump to the Supreme Court. A former top official in the George W. Bush White House, his nomination to the prestigious D.C. circuit was held up for three years by Democrats who accused him of misleading over whether he helped formulate policy on the detention and questioning of accused terrorists held overseas. He is considered one of the brightest young conservative legal minds.
Judge Diane Sykes, 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Sykes is a former private lawyer, county judge and justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. She is a Federalist Society member, and her profile has been increasing among many conservatives.
Sen. Mike Lee, Republican from Utah
The rising GOP star may have the best credentials of any lawmaker to be a justice. Lee is a former appellate and constitutional lawyer, both in Utah and Washington, who twice clerked for Justice Samuel Alito, on both the federal appeals and later Supreme Court.

George W. hits the campaign trail, amid taunts from Trump over his legacy

Despite deliberately avoiding post-presidency politics, George W. Bush hit the campaign trail for a Monday night rally in North Charleston, S.C. with his brother, Republican White House candidate Jeb Bush.
"We need to nominate someone who can win in November, all the talk doesn't matter if we can't win," George W. Bush told supporters. "We need someone who can take a positive message across the entire country."
In promoting his brother's past experience of dealing with recovering from eight hurricanes slamming Florida, Bush spoke of his own experience of being thrust into the role of a wartime president during the Sept. 11 attacks.
"I've seen Jeb in action. He'll be a strong and steady hand with dealing with the unexpected," he said.
While not bringing up any of the other candidates in the race, the former president said Americans are yearning for a "strong leader," but that in his opinion, strength comes from "integrity and character."
"The strongest person isn't the loudest in the room," he said.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, George W. Bush said he found it "interesting" that foreign policy is a central campaign issue, unlike in the 2000 presidential election.
"I hope the voters take a look at who’s got the clearest-eyed view of the world, and who’s got a plan to deal with those who will do us harm," Bush told Hannity.
"I’ve looked at Jeb’s plan, I know how solid it is. The other thing that’s needed in the White House – and Jeb understands this – is you set a goal: defeat ISIS," he said. "Then you call upon the people who know how to help you achieve that goal, that would be the military and intelligence community. And Jeb respects them, and that’s what you really want."
"The lessons of 9/11 are being forgotten by a lot of people and that is [that] the human condition elsewhere matters to our national security," the 43rd president added. "If we let down our guard against this group of thugs, they will hurt us again. And the good thing is Jeb won’t let down his guard."
The plan is to boost the former Florida governor’s popularity ahead of this weekend’s South Carolina Republican primary. The move comes as Donald Trump turns up the heat on Jeb over his brother -- the country’s 43^rd president -- and his legacy on Iraq and 9/11.
But as the gloves come off in the Republican race, some say it’s unclear whether Trump’s tactic to discredit the Bush administration and paint Jeb as a repeat president could backfire.
“In a normal election year, arguing that a former president of one’s party lied his way into a war would be political suicide, but in this year, it might show that Trump is more his own man than all of the other candidates,” Lara Brown, director of George Washington University’s political management program, told FoxNews.com.
Trump’s game plan will be tested in South Carolina, a still Bush-friendly southern state.
“There is no state, outside of Texas, that has a stronger relationship with the Bush family,” she said.
Lee Atwater, who helped establish the South Carolina primary in 1980, was former President George H.W. Bush’s consultant in 1988, and his more than 25-point win there is what secured his path to the nomination, Brown said.
South Carolina also helped former President George W. Bush in 2000 bounce back from a loss he suffered in New Hampshire to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Fast forward to today and the strong political ties to the Bush family still exist. For example, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a long-time friend of the Bush family, has already endorsed Jeb Bush for the 2016 run.
During Saturday night’s debate, the billionaire businessman delivered multiple blows to the Bush administration, blaming him for the War in Iraq and 9/11.
“The World Trade Center came down during the reign of George Bush,” Trump said Saturday. “He kept us safe? This is not safe.”
He then zeroed in on Iraq.
“The war in Iraq was a big, fat mistake,” Trump said. “They (the Bush administration) lied. They said there were weapons of mass destruction. There were none.”
“In other words, Trump wasn’t simply attacking former President George W. Bush’s decision to go to Iraq,” Brown said. “Instead, he was attacking all of the Republicans in South Carolina for standing by the Bush family. It should be a bridge too far.”
Jeb Bush denounced Trump for attacking his family, calling it a “blood sport.”
“I’m sick and tired of him going after my family,” Bush said.
Jeb Bush told CNN that “there’s a lot of interest in my brother coming.”
“He’s been helpful all along in a lot of different ways,” Bush said. “Giving me advice and helping me to raise money. Doing all sorts of things. But this is the appropriate time for him to do something he has not done before. This is the right time, when it’s important and when people are watching.”
Bush has been trailing in the polls and struggled in the first few debates to gain traction and air time while other candidates such as Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz grabbed most of the headlines.
Bush was unable to convincingly carve out the narrative that he is his own man and not a replica of his father's and brother’s administrations.
Some strategists say the big return of W. to the campaign trail, which was once seen as a political liability, is now just the right shot of adrelienine Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign needs.
“The political calculus is very different now than what Jeb thought it would be a few months ago,” Flip Pidot, Republican strategist and CEO at American Civics Exchange told FoxNews.com’s Strategy Room.
“He needs something, even though (former President George W. Bush)” might not be “universally loved, even among Republicans,” Pidot said.

Hillary Clinton plays literal attack dog in effort to shore up Nevada

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton turned to animal impersonations Monday as the former secretary of state ramped up her effort to secure victory over surging Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in this Saturday's Nevada caucuses. 
Speaking before a crowd in Reno, Clinton described how she would like to fact-check various Republican claims. He began her story with a recollection of a political ad that aired on the radio in Arkansas. The ad featured a dog that the announcer claimed would bark any time a candidate said an untrue statement.
"We need to get that dog and follow him around and every time they say these things, like, 'oh the Great Recession was caused by too much regulation," Clinton said before yelping, "Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf!" to general applause.
Clinton and her opponent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, have criss-crossed the Silver State in recent days. On Sunday, they wound up at opposite ends of a pew in the same Las Vegas church.
Sanders' ground game is catching up to the Clinton machine as well. The so-called Democratic socialist's campaign has over 100 staffers on the ground and has more than doubled its paid staff here since last month, along with spending double on his television spots compared to Clinton - $2.93 million to Clinton’s $1.46 million.
Adding to the uncertainty is a relative lack of polling coupled with a sense of the momentum being behind Sanders in the wake of his thumping victory over Clinton in last week's New Hampshire primary. Showing the importance her team has placed on Saturday's caucuses, Clinton skipped a campaign event in Florida, sending her husband, former President Bill Clinton, to stump in her stead.
As in Iowa and New Hampshire, Sanders has publicly pinned his hopes in Nevada to voter turnout. "Everything in my political gut tells me that we have the momentum here in this state," he told a rally in Las Vegas Sunday, "and if people come out in large numbers on caucus day, we’re going to win."
It is possible to win the Nevada caucuses, but lose the all-important battle for Democratic National Convention delegates. That's exactly what happened to Clinton in 2008 against then-Senator Barack Obama.
The Clinton campaign may not have helped its cause in Nevada with comments made last week by campaign spokesman Brian Fallon in which he compared Nevada to the more racially and ethnically homogenous Iowa and New Hampshire.
"There’s an important Hispanic element to the Democratic caucus in Nevada," Fallon said. "But it’s still a state that is 80 percent white voters. You have a caucus-style format, and [Sanders will] have the momentum coming out of New Hampshire presumably, so there’s a lot of reasons he should do well."
That remark reportedly angered allies of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, with one telling Politico that Reid had "pushed hard to move Nevada near the front of the primary calendar precisely because of its diversity."

Jeb Cartoon

Trump hit hard in debate, but can the attacks in SC break through?

Much of the media is convinced that Donald Trump had a lousy debate in South Carolina.
“Trump Bludgeoned In Nasty GOP Debate,” said Politico, whose “insiders” (who utterly failed to predict the Trump phenomenon) said The Donald had “flopped.”
The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza branded Trump one of the debate’s losers, with Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio (and moderator John Dickerson) the winners.
Rich Lowry, whose National Review has savaged Trump, offered this frustrated headline: “Trump Half-Crazed, But Does Anyone Care?”
My own view is that while Cruz and Bush landed some blows, Trump punched back quite hard. The reason the CBS debate, and the campaign, turned so ugly is that the other Republicans know this is probably their best shot at derailing the Trump express.
I was surprised that Trump used as much of his high energy as he did to go after Jeb, who trails him badly in the polls. Bush may have gotten under his skin in this debate. Cruz held back for the first 90 minutes, then seemed to unload every anti-Trump attack line he had been saving up all at once.
Keep in mind that the media have often turned thumbs down on Trump’s debates and controversial comments, only to discover that they didn’t hurt him among Republican voters. About the only concession he’s made to South Carolina is to announce that he’ll stop cursing.
Of course, Trump did attack George W. Bush over 9/11 and the Iraq war and went a step further, saying he and his administration lied about Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction. Trump also defended Planned Parenthood’s non-abortion services. I’m sure we’ll hear more about this, but it also plays to his self-description as a “common-sense conservative,” not a doctrinaire one.
For all the ink spilled on South Carolina as the land of dirty tricks, none of the punches thrown have been below the belt. Unless you count Cruz having to pull an ad that featured a soft-core porn actress, a silly controversy that became a distraction.
The attacks on Trump have gotten so noisy that they may have trouble breaking through the static. And they mostly recycle past charges that haven’t stuck.
A Cruz ad accuses The Donald of having been a sleazy businessman. Since Trump has said he gave big bucks to politicians to help him on the real estate front, the charge is not exactly new.
The ad says Trump has abused eminent domain for his own profit, dramatized by footage of an elderly widow whose home the billionaire wanted for an Atlantic City casino parking lot. Left unsaid is that he offered the woman $1 million and the project fizzled in any case. After Mitt Romney was portrayed as unfeeling for laying off thousands, a single example feels small.
(Trump responds in tweet form that he might have to sue Cruz for not being a natural-born citizen.)
Bush’s Super PAC also looks backward, to Trump’s shifting position on abortion and his insults directed at John McCain and Megyn Kelly. (Trump mocks him for bringing in his mother and now his brother as surrogates.)
Meanwhile, Rubio makes a present-tense charge, portraying Trump as having no foreign policy experience other than building hotels abroad.
The recitations of Trump’s past heresies have been tried several times, to no avail. His supporters don’t seem to care that he once gave money to Democrats, took liberal positions in New York or worked what he now calls a corrupt system as a businessman. In their eyes, his successful real estate career is a plus.
As the media have learned, when it comes to Trump, the wayback machine usually malfunctions.
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. 

Putin, Obama agree on closer cooperation over Syria

?

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama spoke by phone about the continuing conflict in Syria, as forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and backed by Russian air power pressed an offensive around Aleppo, the country's largest city, officials in Moscow and Washington said Sunday.
Both sides said the two leaders discussed a possible cease-fire in Syria, but separate statements issued in the Russian and U.S. capitals suggested continued diplomatic jockeying. The conversation between Messrs. Putin and Obama followed an international security conference in Munich last week, where top Russian officials warned that relations between the Kremlin and the West were descending into Cold War-style confrontation amid the Syria crisis.
On Sunday the Kremlin issued a statement saying that the phone call was at Washington's initiative, and that the two leaders agreed to "intensify cooperation through diplomatic agencies and other entities" to implement an agreement reached in Munich to determine the technicalities of a Syria cease-fire.
"In particular, Mr. Obama emphasized the importance now of Russia playing a constructive role by ceasing its air campaign against moderate opposition forces in Syria," the White House said.
Though diplomats have discussed a cease-fire in Syria that could take effect soon, doubt persists about whether the deal will hold. Russia's intervention with a massive bombing campaign in Syria has given the Kremlin an upper hand in bolstering Mr. Assad. U.S. officials complain that the Russian bombing campaign is doing little to dislodge Islamic State from Syria, and is targeting instead moderate opponents of Mr. Assad, some of whom are supported by the U.S.
The White House said the two presidents discussed the simmering conflict in Ukraine, where Moscow has been supporting separatists on Russia's border. The U.S. and Europe have dangled the possibility of lifting economic sanctions against Russia if it helps implement a peace accord signed last year in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, and the White House said Mr. Obama "also urged combined Russian-separatists forces to fulfill their Minsk obligations, especially adhering to the cease-fire" and ensuring that international monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have access to rebel-held areas.
Western diplomats say Russia has been trying to downplay its role in Ukraine while it uses its intervention in Syria to raise its profile as a player on the world stage.
In its statement Sunday, the Kremlin said Mr. Putin in his conversation with Mr. Obama "once again stressed the importance of creating a common front against terrorism with the rejection of double standards…emphasizing the need to establish a solid working relationship between the militaries of Russia and the United States."

Top Senate Democrat slams proposed Obama cuts to counterterror programs

NEW YORK –  Sen. Charles Schumer is slamming a White House proposal that would reduce funding for counterterrorism programs across the country by nearly $300 million.
The New York Democrat is pushing President Barack Obama to reconsider the cuts.
Schumer notes that the cuts to the Urban Area Security Initiative were included in the proposed 2017 budget released last week by the White House. The initiative helps fund programs in cities across the U.S. to prevent extremist attacks, or respond to and recover from them. The proposed budget would cut the funding from $600 million to $330 million.
"These proposed cuts are ill-advised and ill-timed and they must be reversed. End of story," Schumer said in a statement to The Associated Press. "In light of recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, and the vow by our extremist enemies to launch more attacks on our shores, it makes no sense to propose cuts to vital terror-prevention programs like UASI."
Schumer, who decried the cuts at a news conference on Sunday, said the program is necessary to adequately fund counterterrorism programs in high-density urban areas like New York City.
"New York City remains terror target number one and the NYPD relies on these programs to keep us safe," he said.
In New York, a portion of the funds are used for the fire department's response training and the NYPD's counterterrorism training programs and the active shooter training course. The money also helps pay for teams that patrol at local airports, transit hubs and waterways. Elsewhere in the New York area, the funds cover the cost of other training exercises, including multi-jurisdictional response drills.
The White House released a statement saying the proposed budget provides "robust funding to support a sustainable and effective approach for combating terrorism."
"In addition, the budget provides $100 million for a new Regional Preparedness Grants Competition and $39M for grants to help States prepare for and respond to complex coordinated terrorist attacks, both of which offer New York City additional opportunities to secure funding for counterterrorism efforts," the White House said.

'In complete repose': Scalia died of natural causes, investigators say

The body of late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was being flown to northern Virginia from Texas late Sunday after investigators determined there was no foul play in the 79-year-old's death.
Jose Amezcua, a manager at Sunset Funeral Homes, told Fox News that he personally loaded Scalia's casket onto a private plane bound for Fairfax, Va. at El Paso International Airport. Terry Sharpe, assistant director for operations at the airport, told the Associated Press a private plane carrying Scalia's body departed around 8 p.m. EST. Scalia's body was accompanied to the airport by U.S. marshals.
Presidio County Judge Cinderela Guevara told Fox News that she determined Scalia had died of natural causes. Guevara also said that she had spoken to local investigators and U.S. marshals, as well as Scalia's family and personal physician, before determining that an autopsy was not necessary.
Guevara said Scalia's doctor told her that the justice was suffering from minor ailments, but did not elaborate further.
The owner of the Cibolo Creek Ranch, the West Texas resort where Scalia spent his final hours, told reporters Sunday that Scalia was part of a group of about 35 weekend guests and had arrived at the ranch at around noon Friday.
John Poindexter said Scalia ate dinner with the group and was his "usual, personable self". According to Poindexter, Scalia retired to his room at around 9 p.m., saying he wanted a long night's sleep.
Scalia was found dead in his room Saturday morning. Poindexter said he was found "in complete repose" and added it was obvious that he had "passed away without any difficulty" in the night.
Guevara says the formal declaration of death was made at around 1:52 p.m. Saturday.
A procession that included about 20 law enforcement officers brought Scalia's body to the El Paso funeral home more than three hours from the ranch. Kristina Mills, a history teacher at nearby Chapin High School, came to the funeral home to pay her respects and brought flowers.

"Recognizing his contribution to serving our country just compelled me to come," she told the Associated Press. "I wanted to do yellow roses because for him dying in Texas. I didn't want his family to have bad memories of Texas."

In the nation's capital, President Barack Obama ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the high court, where Scalia served for three decades, and other federal buildings throughout the nation and U.S. embassies and military installations throughout the world.

Even while the flags were being lowered, the campaign-year political heat began to rise over the vacancy on the nine-member court.

At issue is whether Obama, in his last year in office, should make a nomination and the Republican-led Senate should confirm that choice in an election year. Obama pledged Saturday that he would submit a nomination to replace Scalia on the court "in due time."

The Constitution gives the Senate "advice and consent" powers over a presidential nomination to the Supreme Court. Ted Cruz, one of the two GOP senators running for president, told NBC's "Meet the Press" that the GOP-controlled Senate would be doing its job by blocking a nomination by a president with less than a year left in office.
"We're advising that a lame-duck president in an election year is not going to be able to tip the balance of the Supreme Court," Cruz said.
But the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which would hold hearings on a nominee, said it would be "sheer dereliction of duty for the Senate not to have a hearing, not to have a vote."
Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy told CNN's "State of the Union" that he believes McConnell is "making a terrible mistake. And he's certainly ignoring the Constitution."

Cruz Spanish Speaking Cartoon

Supreme Court Justice Scalia dead at 79

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the judicial standard-bearer of the conservative movement and the court's most provocative member, died Saturday. He was 79.
‎His death means President Obama could have an unprecedented chance to try to shift the balance of the court during his final year in office -- setting up a Senate battle in the heat of an election year.
Obama said he planned "to fulfill my constitutional responsibility to nominate a successor in due time."
The U.S. Marshals Service in Washington confirmed Scalia's death at a private residence in the Big Bend area of south Texas.
The service's spokeswoman, Donna Sellers, says Scalia had retired for the evening and was found dead Saturday morning when he did not appear for breakfast.
"He was an extraordinary individual and jurist, admired and treasured by his colleagues," Chief Justice John Roberts said on behalf of the high court and retired justices. "We extend our deepest condolences to his wife, Maureen, and his family."
Scalia used his keen intellect and missionary zeal in an unyielding attempt to move the court farther to the right and to get it to embrace his "originalist" view of judging after his 1986 appointment by President Ronald Reagan.

The Life of Antonin Scalia | Graphiq

His 2008 opinion for the court in favor of gun rights was his crowning moment in more than 30 years on the bench.
"President (Obama) and first lady extend their deepest condolences to Justice Scalia's family," principal deputy press secretary Eric Schultz said in a statement.
Scalia was a strong advocate for privacy in favoring restrictions on police searches and protections for defendants' rights.
But he also voted consistently to let states outlaw abortions, to allow a closer relationship between government and religion, to permit executions and to limit lawsuits.
Scalia advocated tirelessly in favor of originalism, the method of constitutional interpretation that looks to the meaning of words and concepts as they were understood by the Founding Fathers.
Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill honored Scalia and his contributions to America.
"Justice Scalia did more to advance originalism and judicial restraint than anyone in our time, and it all started with just two words: 'I dissent,' " said House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. "I knew him. I respected him. I looked up to him. We all did."
New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the next likely Democratic Senate leader, tweeted: "While we disagreed on many issues, Justice Scalia was a brilliant man & a great son of Queens w/ a genuine joy for life."
GOP presidential candidates, hours before their debate in South Carolina, also remembered Scalia.

"We have lost a great man and a great Supreme Court Justice," said retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, a strong conservative. "For the past three decades, his towering intellect and trenchant wit has characterized the deliberations and decisions of the high court."
Scalia's impact on the court was muted by his seeming disregard for moderating his views to help build consensus.
His impact on the court was muted by his seeming disregard or moderating his views to help build consensus, though he was held in deep affection by his ideological opposites Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan.
Scalia and Ginsburg shared a love of opera. He persuaded Kagan to join him on hunting trips.
His 2008 opinion for the court in favor of gun rights drew heavily on the history of the Second Amendment and was his crowning moment on the bench.
He could be a strong supporter of privacy in cases involving police searches and defendants' rights.
Indeed, Scalia often said he should be the "poster child" for the criminal defense bar.
But he also voted consistently to let states outlaw abortions, to allow a closer relationship between government and religion, to permit executions and to limit lawsuits.
He was in the court's majority in the 2000 Bush v. Gore decision, which effectively decided the presidential election for Republican George W. Bush.
"Get over it," Scalia would famously say at speaking engagements in the ensuing years whenever the topic arose.
Bush later named one of Scalia's sons, Eugene, to an administration job, but the Senate refused to confirm him.
Eugene Scalia served as the Labor Department solicitor temporarily in a recess appointment.
A smoker of cigarettes and pipes, Scalia enjoyed baseball, poker, hunting and the piano.
He was an enthusiastic singer at court Christmas parties and other musical gatherings, and once appeared on stage with Ginsburg as a Washington Opera extra.
Ginsburg once said that Scalia was "an absolutely charming man, and he can make even the most sober judge laugh." She said that she urged her friend to tone down his dissenting opinions "because he'll be more effective if he is not so polemical. I'm not always successful." 

Donald Trump's Closing Statement at GOP Debate.

Marco Rubio Says Ted Cruz Can't Speak Spanish, Cruz Responds In Spanish (YouTube)

Fireworks erupt between Trump and Bush, Rubio and Cruz at GOP debate

Sparks flew at the toughest and liveliest GOP primary debate yet Saturday night, as Donald Trump and Jeb Bush clashed over the Middle East and George W. Bush’s legacy, trading insults at a rapid clip – and the two Cuban-American senators in the race accused each other of lying on immigration and even questioned each other’s Spanish-speaking skills.
And just when it seemed Trump and Ted Cruz might steer clear of each other, the two leading Republican candidates entered the ring toward the end of the debate when the Texas senator questioned the billionaire businessman’s pro-life credentials.
“You are the single biggest liar. You’re probably worse than Jeb Bush,” Trump said.
Cruz stood his ground, charging that Trump would “appoint liberals” to the Supreme Court if elected.
The issue of judicial appointments was front and center at the CBS News-hosted debate in Greenville, S.C., in the wake of Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, with candidates like Cruz saying it underscores the high stakes in this election. Several candidates called for a delay in any high court appointment or confirmation.
But the barbed and often personal exchanges Saturday marked a new phase of the race, as the candidates charge into next week’s critical South Carolina primary. The clashes left Ohio Gov. John Kasich – the affable, second-place finisher in the New Hampshire primary – making an appeal for peace in the GOP field, albeit one unlikely to be heeded.
“I think we’re fixing to lose the election to Hillary Clinton if we don’t stop this,” Kasich said.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, too, warned about the coming general election and said, “We cannot be tearing each other down.”
The appeals came shortly after Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio accused each other of being soft on illegal immigration. It’s an argument they’ve had before – Cruz faults Rubio for backing a comprehensive immigration reform bill that included a path to legal status, and Rubio says Cruz was on board with that effort – but this time, it became more heated. And after Cruz accused Rubio of saying on Univision he wouldn’t rescind President Obama’s immigration executive orders on day one, Rubio quipped:
“I don’t know how he knows what I said on Univision because he doesn’t speak Spanish,” Rubio said.
Cruz, then, immediately began debating Rubio in Spanish. Rubio continued, saying Cruz “lies about all sorts of things” and indeed supports legalizing illegal immigrants.
“Simply false,” Cruz said.
As the Rubio-Cruz battle heated up, so did the long-simmering feud between Trump and Bush.
“This is a man who insults his way to the nomination,” Bush said of Trump.
With Bush attempting a comeback in the race after a fourth-place finish in New Hampshire, Trump faced a feistier debate rival on stage Saturday night than he has before – boosted in part by what seemed to be a sympathetic audience.
The audience often booed Trump when he took on Bush, though Trump once again accused them of representing Bush’s “special interests and lobbyists.”
Their most personal dispute came when Trump accused Bush of promoting a policy that would get the U.S. mired more deeply in the Middle East – and blamed the former Florida governor’s brother for the problems there.
Trump initially took issue with Jeb Bush’s call to confront ISIS while also taking on Syria’s Bashar Assad and sidelining Russia.
“Jeb is so wrong,” Trump said. “You have to knock out ISIS. .... You decide what you have to do after. You can’t fight two wars at one time.”
Bush, though, said Russia is not a U.S. ally, and Assad’s hold on power prevents a resolution in the war. Trump then went on to repeatedly slam the decision under the George W. Bush administration to enter Iraq in the first place, calling it a “big fat mistake” that “destabilized the Middle East.”
“They lied” about WMDs, he said.
“I am sick and tired of him going after my family,” Jeb Bush countered, saying he’s proud of his brother’s efforts to keep the country safe.
Trump then invoked 9/11: “The World Trade Center came down … That’s not keeping us safe.”
Rubio, who has often been at odds with Bush, leapt to his brother’s defense, saying the Bush administration “kept us safe.”
Jeb Bush joked that he was rescinding Trump’s invitation to an upcoming rally with George W. Bush on the campaign trail.
The fireworks flew after the debate started on a somber note, discussing the legacy of Supreme Court Justice Scalia and the impact his death Saturday will have.
Several candidates urged President Obama to refrain from nominating anybody to fill the vacancy, and wait for the next president to make that decision. Trump, though, said he doesn’t expect Obama to wait, and called on Senate Republicans to hold up any nomination.
“It’s called delay, delay, delay,” Trump said.
Trump called Scalia’s death a “tremendous blow to conservatism.”
Kasich urged Obama to put the “country first” and not move forward with a nomination, a plea echoed by Rubio. Obama, though, said minutes before the start of the debate that he indeed plans to nominate a successor.
The GOP candidates, meanwhile, used opening remarks to honor Scalia’s legacy.
Cruz called him a “legal giant” who “changed the arc of American legal history.” He said Scalia’s death also “underscores the stakes of this election.”
“We are one justice away from a Supreme Court that will strike down every restriction on abortion” by states, threaten gun rights and “undermine” religious liberty, Cruz said. He said he would appoint a strict constitutionalist if elected.
Scalia’s death thrusts the issue of judicial appointments into the 2016 race, raising the possibility that the next president immediately will have to fill a high court vacancy. While Obama vowed Saturday to nominate a successor, it’s unclear whether he can get any appointee confirmed in the Republican-led Senate.
While the prospect of a Supreme Court vacancy now looms over the race, the South Carolina primary already was heating up on several fronts in recent days, with the candidates trading accusations on immigration and other issues.
The debate Saturday reflects that tougher tone, in a state notorious for bare-knuckle primary battles. Trump at one point accused Cruz of trying to spread rumors in the state that he’s not running in South Carolina – likening that to his campaign’s actions in Iowa, where representatives spread false rumors that Carson was dropping out.
“Nasty guy, now I know why he doesn’t have one endorsement from any of his colleagues,” Trump said.
Even Kasich struggled to avoid the fray, as Bush criticized him for expanding Medicaid under ObamaCare and said that would create more debt.
“He knows that I’m not for ObamaCare,” Kasich said, before vowing to stay “positive. “
The GOP field is now down to six candidates -- after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Hewlett Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina dropped out following low finishes Tuesday in the New Hampshire primary.
A big question Saturday night, and going forward, was whether Rubio could regain his momentum – following last weekend’s lackluster performance. A withering attack by Christie on Rubio, which had the Florida senator repeating himself, appeared to hurt him in the New Hampshire primary. Rubio himself blamed his debate performance in part for his fifth-place finish in the state. He finished behind Trump, Kasich, Cruz and Bush. Christie, though, is no longer on stage or in the race.
Most polling in South Carolina still shows Rubio third, with Trump and Cruz in the top two positions, respectively.

VA Cartoon

Trump: Pope doesn't understand US-Mexico immigration issue

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has a message for Pope Francis: Stay in your lane.
Trump called out the pope during a recent Fox Business Network interview, saying the pontiff didn’t fully comprehend the immigration challenges between the U.S. and Mexico.
“So I think the pope is a very political person and I think that he doesn’t understand the problems our country has,” Trump said.
Trump added he didn’t think the pope “understands the danger of the open border we have with Mexico.”
He added, “And I think Mexico got him to do it because Mexico wants to keep the border just the way it is because they’re making a fortune and we’re losing.”  
Trump has vowed for months to build a wall along the border with Mexico – and make Mexico pay for it. All along, he's made combating illegal immigration a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, claiming credit for kickstarting the debate which now features heavily in the GOP primary race.
But the pope has gently, but clearly, weighed in on the immigration debate in America, and the heated rhetoric on the issue.
In his address to Congress last September, Pope Francis  urged lawmakers not to be “fearful of foreigners” and reminded them that many are “descended from immigrants.”
Pope Francis heads to Mexico Friday for a one-week trip.
Among other things, the pontiff, the child of immigrants himself, is expected to address Mexico’s immigration problem.

NC sheriff puts 'In God We Trust' decals on patrol cars thanks to local church

A North Carolina sheriff’s department began placing large “In God We Trust” decals on its patrol cars this month in a project officials are quick to say won't cost taxpayers a dime.

The phrase is being added to marked vehicles used by the Rutherford Sheriff Department and with the Fairview Baptist Church in Golden Valley picking up the $400 tab, it could head off complaints from atheists that the decals amount to illegal government support of religion.

“We’re not doing to this to thumb in the eye anyone. We’re trying to do this for unity’s sake."
- Rev. David Ledford

“We looked at it as an opportunity to show our patriotism,” Sheriff Chris Francis told Fox Carolina. “I want to make sure that my deputy sheriffs know what ‘In God We Trust' means and how blessed we are to be citizens in America, to live in western North Carolina and to be able to support our nation’s motto.”
Wisconsin-based atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation has clashed with dozens of police departments around the country over similar stickers.
"FFRF reminds the agencies that citizens trust law enforcement officers to attend to their secular duties, not spend taxpayer time placing religious messages on patrol cars to the exclusion of the 23 percent of Americans who are not religious," reads a letter the foundation sent to departments, including Rutherford.
Foundation Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor concludes the letters asking the departments to remove "In God We Trust" from their vehicles to "respect the rights of conscience of all citizens, including those who in good conscience reject belief in a god."
But Rutherford officials believe the church paying for the stickers removes any reasonable objection. The church funding will pay for decals on the department’s fleet of 50 marked vehicles and any additions or replacements.
Francis said he expects the decals to draw positive feedback fron many but acknowledged that not everyone will be happy.
Nevertheless, he said he hopes other sheriffs will follow suit.
“I wish that more localities would show their patriotism, show what they believe in,” he said. “I think our nation would be in a different place if they would.”
Fairview pastor the Rev. David Ledford told FoxNews.com he has been surprised at the reaction, including some criticism on social media.
“We’re not doing to this to thumb in the eye anyone,” the pastor said. “We’re trying to do this for unity’s sake.
“The way we look at it, if somebody is against it, well they carry money in their billfold that says ‘In God We Trust’ on it,'" he said. "Its’ contrary to say we can’t put something like that on government building  or a government vehicle.”

VA launches probe into allegations of misconduct at Cincinnati VA

The Department of Veterans Affairs has launched a formal probe into allegations of “misconduct that adversely affects the care of the veterans at the Cincinnati” VA, Fox News learned late Friday.
The VA began a series of what were described to Fox News as “cryptic” phone calls to Congressional offices, advising them of a form inquiry by the VA Inspector General.
Multiple offices in the Ohio and Indiana delegations received the calls around 5 p.m. Friday, Fox News was told. The calls were scripted and the person from the VA phoning the offices would not deviate nor answer questions about the inquiry. They also didn’t ask for nor express willingness to speak to Congressional aides who handle veterans’ issues for lawmakers.
Several sources indicated that the caller from the VA became “nervous” or “elusive” when pressed about the investigation.
The script went like this:
“As the investigation by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Medical Inspector (OIG) continues, the VA Office of Inspector General is launching an investigation at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center (VAMC). The OIG investigation was initiated at the request of the VA. To ensure no conflict of interest during the investigation, the Cincinnati VMAC will be temporarily realigned from the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 10 office in Cincinnati, OH to VISN 4 in Pittsburgh, PA.”
Dr. David Shuklin, the VA’s Under Secretary for Health, has asked the Inspector General to probe the still-vague matter.
An email obtained by Fox News says Jack Hetrick, the director of the VA Network covering Cincinnati, “has rescued himself form any and all decisions regarding the facility since his wife has a professional and personal relationship with the physician involved.”
Several Congressional offices told Fox News they are livid about when and how they were notified: Scripted, mysterious calls to Congressional receptionists moments before the close of business on a Friday before the holiday weekend.
“The VA is obviously trying to bury this given the timing of the announcement, said one Congressional source.