Gregg Jarrett: Donald Trump Jr. did not violate campaign laws -- Pelosi and others are wrong

The law is common sense. Yet, it is created by lawmakers who seem to be lacking any sense at all.  Many of them do not understand their own laws.    

Nancy Pelosi recently proved this point. The House Minority Leader held a news conference, surrounded by like-minded Democrats, during which she declared that Donald Trump Jr. had broken campaign laws when he met with a Russian lawyer during last year’s presidential campaign to obtain negative information on the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.  Here is what Pelosi said:

“This is a campaign violation: soliciting, coordinating, or accepting something of value --opposition research, documents, and information—from a foreign national. Plain and simple.”       
In truth, it is plain and simple that Pelosi is wrong. And so are many others who have joined the chorus of condemnation based on laws they have surely never read. Allow me to help them out.  
The Federal Election Commission is the independent regulatory agency which enforces campaign laws enacted by Congress.  On its government website, the FEC makes it clear that it is perfectly lawful for foreign nationals to be involved in American political campaigns:  
“Even though a foreign national cannot make campaign contributions, he or she can serve as an uncompensated volunteer for a campaign or political party”.
The Commission goes on to explain that foreigners are “allowed to attend campaign strategy meetings and events”. They are allowed to contribute ideas, information, and even advice. They are allowed to open their mouths and speak.
None of this is considered to be a donation or “anything of value” under the campaign statutes, as some Democrats and many in the media allege.  To the contrary, the Commission specifically states, “an individual may volunteer his or her personal services to a campaign without making a campaign contribution”. 
The same language is found in both the Federal Election Campaign Act (52 USC 30101 8-B) and the Code of Federal Regulations (100.74):
“The value of services provided by any individual who volunteers on behalf of a candidate or political committee is not a contribution.”
Why are foreigners on American soil allowed to volunteer their services and provide information to political campaigns in U.S. elections? The reason should be obvious –the Constitution.    
The First Amendment gives Americans the freedom to associate with whomever they want, including Russians. It gives people the freedom to exchange ideas and information , even with Russians. As long as the information is neither stolen nor classified, there is no crime. There is no civil wrong.  
We do not criminalize free speech and free association in America.  Yet, there is this false mentality that all Russians are boogeymen.  And talking to them is somehow a crime.  It is not.  The founders of our Constitution would be mortified at that notion.
One commentator recently said, “Donald Trump Jr. had an absolute duty to notify the FBI”. Why? Where is that law or duty written?  If it is not a crime to exchange information with a Russian, why should the FBI be notified? Why would FBI agents be interested in legal activity? Trust me, they are not. Even if a citizen learns of a crime, there is no affirmative duty imposed by law to report it to law enforcement.
Talking with a Russian and gathering information is not a crime.  Yet Pelosi and others allege that the president’s son may also be guilty of conspiracies to commit espionage and defraud the government.
As explained in an earlier column, the Trump Jr. meeting is not treason because we are not at war with Russia. It is not collusion in any criminal sense, because that only applies to anti-trust cases.  It is not conspiracy to defraud the government, because the statute requires deceit and dishonesty. And it is not a violation of election laws, because foreign nationals are specifically permitted to volunteer personal services and information to political campaigns.  As for espionage…seriously? What U.S. secrets or classified information is Pelosi talking about?  
Democrats and even some Republicans, like Gov. Chris Christie, are perpetuating the myth that laws must have been broken without ever knowing or studying the law. And many in the media are so ignorant of basic laws and oblivious to the Constitution, they are complicit in misinforming the public.
Rarely do we see a reporter or anchor ask a lawmaker the tough, challenging question, “What laws, specifically, have been broken? Can you identify a precise statute?” The answer would be a deafening silence.
Our Constitution was never intended to embody a political point of view. It was made for people of fundamentally differing views. Unfortunately, those in Washington who should know that… do not.  
And the media, which owes its existence to that esteemed document, seem to have forgotten its precious guarantees of freedom.

Schumer: If Trump fires Mueller it’ll cause ‘cataclysm’ in DC

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer predicted Sunday that a "cataclysm" could be triggered if President Trump fires Special Counsel Robert Mueller or pardons himself.

The high-ranking senator from New York made the comments on Sunday during an interview on ABC’s This Week despite Trump’s lawyers saying on the same program that pardons are not being discussed.

"It would be one of the greatest, greatest breaking of rule of law, of traditional democratic norms of what our democracy is about," Schumer said. "It would cause a cataclysm in Washington.''
A sitting president may have constitutional power to grant pardons but Trump’s legal team claims they have not discussed it with him.
"We're not researching the issue because the issue of pardons is not on the table,'' Jay Sekulow, one of Trump's personal attorneys, said on ABC. ”There's nothing to pardon from.''
The president and his inner circle are facing Congressional and FBI investigations for possible collusion with Russia in its interference with the 2016 presidential election. Mueller is also examining a broad range of transactions involving Trump's businesses as well as those of his associates, a person familiar with the probe said.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, Trump suggested that Mueller would be crossing a “red line” if he looked into the allegations. He also mentioned pardons in a series of tweets on Saturday.
The president also suggested on Twitter that Mueller and his legal team have conflicts of interest of their own, because of donations made to Democratic candidates.
Trump’s incoming White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci said on Fox News Sunday that the president brought up the issue of pardons in the Oval Office recently, but that he does not need to use it.
"There's nobody around him that has to be pardoned,'' Scaramucci said. “He was just making the statement about the power of pardons.''
Sekulow also said on Sunday that Trump's legal team is monitoring potential conflicts even though they have not made an issue with the deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein appointing Mueller after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation.
"We're going to be constantly evaluating that situation,'' Sekulow said on ABC. "And if an investigation were to arise and we thought that the conflict was relevant, we would raise it without question.''

VP Pence: President Trump Delivering Agenda at a ‘Historic Pace’

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence walk out with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis following Trump’s visit to the Pentagon, Thursday, July 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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Vice President Mike Pence touts President Trump’s first few months in office, saying he’s delivering his agenda at a ‘historic pace.’
In a Fox News op-ed published Sunday, Pence claimed the president has taken bold action to restore prosperity, keep Americans safe and secure, and hold government accountable.
He added the President is just getting started and will continue to work with congress on health care reform, tax reform, and kick-starting the economy.
Additionally, Pence said serving under President Trump is the greatest privilege of his life.

Trump Cartoons

Vice President Mike Pence: Trump's triumphs are many after only six months and he's just getting started

In the first six months of this administration, President Donald Trump has fought every day to deliver on his promises to the American people. At a historic pace, this president has taken bold action to restore prosperity, keep Americans safe and secure, and hold government accountable.

President Trump has signed more than 40 bills and nearly 40 executive orders on everything from health care to energy, infrastructure and more.

While the previous administration turned to federal agencies to enact its agenda, President Trump has signed more laws to slash through federal red tape than any president in American history and has saved businesses up to $18 billion a year in costs.
And whereas the last administration stifled the use of America’s vast energy resources, President Trump has put a renewed emphasis on American energy – approving the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, rolling back the Clean Power Plan, and putting America First by withdrawing from the Paris climate accord.
President Trump inherited an economy that would barely budge – but under his watch, American businesses small and large have already created more than 800,000 new jobs since January. Company after company is responding to the president’s agenda with optimism – investing billions of dollars in American jobs, American workers and America’s future.
As the father of a United States Marine, I couldn’t be more proud to serve alongside a president who cares so deeply about the men and women of the armed forces of the United States of America.
After years of so-called “sequestration” and budget cuts to our armed forces, President Trump has already signed the largest increase in defense spending in nearly 10 years and called for the greatest investment in military readiness since the days of President Ronald Reagan.

It is the greatest privilege of my life to serve as vice president to a president who is fighting every single day to restore an America of freedom, prosperity and opportunity for all.

And this president calls our enemy by its name – radical Islamic terrorism – and with the leadership of this commander-in-chief our armed forces are taking the fight to ISIS on our terms on their soil.
When it comes to security here in the homeland, President Trump has taken decisive steps to secure our borders and enforce our laws – a direct contrast with the previous administration.
And while illegal immigration was rampant in recent years, our administration has been working with local law enforcement to take drug dealers, members of gangs like MS-13, and other violent criminals off our streets. Illegal crossings at our southern border are down by more than 60 percent since the start of this year.
After the previous president tried to stack the courts with liberal jurists, our president made a commitment to appoint federal judges who will uphold the Constitution and the God-given liberties enshrined there. Look no further than the newest Supreme Court Justice, Neil Gorsuch.
President Trump’s accomplishments are nothing short of historic. But as the president likes to say, at this White House that's just what we call a good start.
President Trump will not rest and he will not relent until we keep our promise to the American people and repeal and replace ObamaCare.
President Trump has called on the Congress to do its job, and we will continue to work with both the House and Senate to give the American people health care reform built on the principles of personal responsibility, free-market competition and state-based reforms.
President Trump is firmly committed to passing the largest tax cut since the days of President Reagan. We’re going to cut taxes across the board for working families, small businesses and family farms.
We’ll simplify the tax code. We’ll eliminate the alternative minimum tax. We’ll make the code flatter and fairer for everyone. And under President Trump, we will repeal death taxes once and for all.
And to get this economy moving again, we’re going to cut business taxes in America so that companies in this country can compete with companies around the world and create good jobs right here in America.
We’ll end the broken system that penalizes companies for calling America home. And we’ll cut taxes on trillions of dollars that are locked away overseas so that American businesses can invest in America’s future.
It is the greatest privilege of my life to serve as vice president to a president who is fighting every single day to restore an America of freedom, prosperity and opportunity for all.
So with boundless faith in the American people, with faith in President Trump’s vision and determination, and with faith in God who has ever watched over this Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, I say with confidence: We will make America safe again. We will make America prosperous again. And to borrow a phrase, we will Make America Great Again.
Mike Pence is vice president of the United States.

Stuart Varney: Trump has already made America $4 trillion richer (with just six months in office)

It’s Thursday, July 20th. As of today, Donald Trump has been president for 6 months. The media coverage of the president is overwhelmingly negative: the press remains contemptuous, and they're pushing to get him out before he completes his first term.
Investors might think differently. The great success of the Trump presidency thus far, is not what he's done, but what he promises to do, namely, get the economy going again.  Evidently, investors believe he might yet get it done.
Look at this: since his election win, the Trump rally has added $4.1 trillion to the nation's wealth. Anyone with a 401k, an IRA, college savings, retirement savings, mutual funds. Anyone with a dime in the market has taken a piece of that $4 trillion.
Also, during this presidency, 5 American companies have emerged as global technology leaders. You know their names: Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Facebook. It’s a technology world, and American companies have seized the future.
I find it astonishing that the world of money is so exuberant, while the political world is so contemptuous of this president and his policy of growth.
One brief aside, can anyone tell me the democrats' growth plan? Do they have one? They apparently still cling to the belief that if we taxed the rich, and give to the poor, shackle capitalism and open the borders, we will somehow grow. Nonsense. Six months in, the left is mired in hate.
Let’s hope, hate loses, and growth wins.
Six months in, it’s the hope of growth that’s making America $4 trillion richer.
Adapted from Stuart Varney’s “My Take” on Thursday July 20, 2017.
Stuart Varney joined FOX Business Network (FBN) as an anchor in 2007 and is the host of "Varney & Co." (9-11 AM/ET) on weekdays. Click here for more information about Stuart Varney.

Pres. Trump Slams Washington Post, New York Times on Twitter

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One in Naval Air Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Va Saturday, July 22, 2017, en route to Dulles International Airport, in Dulles, Va. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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President Trump is blasting the mainstream media for using illegal leaks to target members of his Administration.
The President slammed the Washington Post on social media Saturday after an article was published accusing Attorney General Jeff Sessions of speaking to Russian officials about the campaign.
Sessions has since denied the allegations.
President Trump demanded the DOJ and the Special Counsel investigate the illegal leaks, as well as Hillary Clinton’s alleged ties to Moscow as part of the Russia probe.
And in another tweet, the President condemned The New York Times for ruining the effort to catch the world’s most wanted terrorist.
The Commander-in-Chief blasted the mainstream news outlet for foiling the Pentagon’s efforts to catch ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in 2015.
The president was referring to a Friday interview, where a top U.S. military official said The Times leaked an intelligence lead about the whereabouts of Al-Baghdadi, allowing him to escape capture.
The New York Times responded to the President’s tweet, saying the Pentagon had no objections to the story at the time it was published.

VP Pence Addresses Ohio GOP at Annual Dinner in Columbus

Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the the Ohio Republican Party State Dinner Saturday, July 22, 2017, in Columbus, Ohio.

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Vice President Mike Pence discusses President Trump’s priorities during a speech at the annual dinner for Ohio’s Republican Party.
The event was held on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus on Saturday.
During the speech, the Vice President touched on several topics, including the economy and illegal immigration.
On the topic of health care reform, Pence said the Administration will continue the fight to repeal and replace Obamacare.
“Republicans know inaction is not an option. America needs to be delivered from Obamacare, and congress needs to act to repeal and replace Obamacare and they need to do it now,” said Pence.
This is the second time Pence has been in the Buckeye state in a month.

Russian Putin Cartoons

Spicer says Trump didn't want him to quit, but 'too many cooks' at White House

Outgoing White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Friday that President Trump did not want him to resign but Spicer felt there were “too many cooks in the kitchen” promoting the president’s message.

“I just thought it was in the best interest of our communications department, of our press organization, to not have too many cooks in the kitchen,” Spicer told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in an interview hours after he resigned from the White House on Friday.

Spicer quit in apparent protest after Trump tapped Anthony Scaramucci as White House communications director. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was promoted Friday to replace Spicer.

" ... my decision was to recommend to the president that I give Anthony and Sarah a clean slate to start from.”

“He wanted to bring some new folks in to help rev up the communications operation, and after reflection, my decision was to recommend to the president that I give Anthony and Sarah a clean slate to start from,” Spicer told Hannity.
White House chief of staff Reince Priebus also spoke to Hannity about the shakeup, saying Spicer is leaving on good terms.
“Sean leaving doesn’t mean that Sean isn’t going to be out there supporting President Trump and it doesn’t mean that President Trump isn’t going to be out there supporting Sean Spicer,” Priebus said.
Priebus added, “I’ve seen how the world around the president works and it’s very healthy and he cares about his people.”
Spicer's departure marks the end of a rocky tenure in which the president's top spokesman at times struggled to keep pace with Trump's sometimes-chaotic leadership style -- and a swirl of controversies.
During the 2016 election cycle, Spicer was the chief strategist and communications director of the Republican National Committee. He later came to the White House along with Priebus, the former RNC chairman who is now Trump's chief of staff.
Spicer hasn’t had the rosiest relationship with the media since joining the White House. He’s clashed with reporters over “fake news” and said repeatedly the president was fed up with news reports that were “patently false.”
In February, he came under fire for barring reporters from several media outlets from participating in a scheduled press briefing.
His prickly relationship with the press was widely mocked on "Saturday Night Live" with Melissa McCarthy playing Spicer.

Deal with Senate panel lets Trump Jr., Manafort avoid public testimony

A U.S. Senate panel has agreed to let President Trump’s eldest son and his former campaign manager testify behind closed doors next week in connection with its probe into possible Trump administration ties to Russia.

Both Donald Trump Jr. and former campaign manager Paul Manafort confirmed the deal reached with the Senate Judiciary Committee, ABC News reported.

The agreement allows both Trump Jr. and Manafort to avoid public testimony when the committee conducts a hearing next week on Capitol Hill.
The Trump administration has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Russia.
A statement from the office of committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the deal means the panel no longer needs to subpoena Trump Jr. and Manafort to appear before them.
“Both Donald Trump Jr. and Paul Manafort, through their attorneys, have agreed to negotiate to provide the committee with documents and be interviewed by committee members and staff prior to a public hearing,” the statement said. “Therefore, we will not issue subpoenas for them tonight requiring their presence at Wednesday’s [July 26] hearing but reserve the right to do so in the future.”
Committee ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., tweeted Friday afternoon, “The Judiciary Committee will talk to Trump Jr. & Manafort before they testify in public, but we will get answers.”
Both Trump Jr. and Manafort have come under scrutiny following revelations that they attended a June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower with a Russian attorney and at least five other people.
According to emails released by Trump Jr., the prospect of potentially damaging information about 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was touted as a reason for the meaning. But Trump Jr. later said the focus of the meeting turned to Russian adoptions.
Meanwhile, President Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, who also attended the meeting in Trump Tower, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Monday and the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, in connection with their Russia probes.

Sen. Cruz Says Failure to Pass Health Care Bill Could Hurt GOP in 2018

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Texas Senator Ted Cruz warns his GOP colleagues inaction on health care reform could result in problems in the 2018 midterm elections.
Earlier Friday Cruz said republicans should be worried about losing their seats if a health care bill isn’t passed.
He added voters should hold GOP senators accountable.
Additionally, Cruz says republicans will look like fools if they break campaign promises like repealing and replacing Obamacare.
Cruz then said he believes GOP senators are close to unifying behind a health care bill, and hopes a vote takes place soon.

Trump Administration Stops Postponement for Illegals

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A new report indicates the Trump administration is taking measures to deport illegals more quickly.
The study by Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse shows the administration has stopped the practice of deferring deportations in immigration court.
Attorneys for the DHS are no longer asking for prosecutorial discretion where only illegals who commit violent crimes are prioritized for deportation.
During the first five months of President Trump’s time in office, less than 100 illegals per month have been given prosecutorial discretion.
That’s far less than the same time of five months in 2016 under Obama where 24,000 illegals were given discretion monthly.

Sen. Kamala Harris Cartoons

Democrats Harris, Kennedy dismiss talk of challenging Trump in 2020

President Donald Trump has been in office for only six months, but that hasn’t prevented political junkies from speculating about which Democrats may try to oppose him in the 2020 presidential race.

An upcoming scheduled appearance in New Hampshire by U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters of California has already sparked talk that she might run, as Fox News reported Thursday.

But other Democrats – aside from obvious names such as former Vice President Joe Biden – are also drawing attention. Fresh faces being mentioned include Sen. Kamala Harris of California and Rep. Joe Kennedy III of Massachusetts.
Speculation about Harris continues to mount following her recent trip to New York’s Hamptons, where she met with Hillary Clinton supporters and major donors.
“She’s running for president. Take it to the bank,” one fundraiser told the Hill about 52-year-old Harris. “She’s absolutely going to run.”
A recent poll showed that Harris would narrowly defeat Trump if the 2020 election were held today, Breitbart News reported.
The former prosecutor and state attorney general of California gained national attention during recent Senate Intelligence Committee hearings, when her questioning of former FBI Director James Comey and others was interrupted on two occasions – once by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and once by Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C.
However, Harris quickly dismissed talk of a presidential bid while at a Recode technology conference in May.
“I’m not giving that any consideration. I’ve got to stay focused,” Harris said.
But, according to Page Six of the New York Post, the senator is scheduled to make another trip to the Hamptons soon, where she will meet with influential Democrats, including Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and former Attorney General Eric Holder.
Meanwhile, Kennedy was recently featured in a Town & Country article that dubbed him “The next president.”
The grandson of Robert F. Kennedy is also known for his stand against Trump’s promise to repeal and replace ObamaCare, as well as his support for Planned Parenthood.
But just like Harris, the 36-year-old congressman quickly dismisses talk of a run for the White House.
He added that the headline caught him by surprise.
“Furthest thing from my mind,” he said after a rally in Quincy, Massachusetts. “So, no plans on that, thanks very much.”

California judge refuses to bring back Trump's sanctuary cities ban

Americans protesting??

In a seeming act of defiance toward the Trump administration, a federal judge in San Francisco has refused to reinstate the president’s sanctuary cities order.  

The bold move to not reinstate President Donald Trump's executive order -- which sought to slash funding to cities that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities -- comes amid a battle between the State Department and local governments across the country over the edict from Washington.

The U.S. Department of Justice had asked U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick to reverse his own injunction in April against Trump's executive order. The injunction was issued in response to lawsuits by San Francisco and Santa Clara County in California.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions wrote a memo in May saying the executive order should be applied narrowly to a small number of grants and to very specific violations of immigration law. The memo said cities that "willfully refuse to comply" with federal law could lose grants from the Justice and Homeland Security departments, but not other federal funding.
The Justice Department said the memo negated the need for Orrick's injunction.
Orrick said he found Sessions' memo unconvincing, asserting it would allow the attorney general to reverse his stand at any moment.
The judge's injunction stops enforcement of the executive order across the country, and allows the lawsuits to go forward.
And Orrick's refusal to reverse it strikes another blow to Trump's attempt to punish cities that give safe haven to those in the country illegally.
On Friday, Sessions is scheduled to visit Philadelphia, where officials have said its local law enforcement will not act as immigration agents — a stance Sessions has challenged as unconstitutional.
During a speech to law enforcement officials in Las Vegas, Sessions recently singled out Philadelphia, saying the City of Brotherly Love is "advertising" its policy and "protecting criminals."
Sessions' trip comes on the heels of a New York Times interview published this week in which Trump expressed frustration with Sessions for recusing himself from the FBI probe into Russian influence on the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Jobless Claims Plunge to 233,000, Lowest Level in 2 Months

Job seeker Dalvin Jones, left, chats with Valmira Haxhimusa during the Opportunity Fair and Forum employment event in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

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Fewer people are filing for unemployment.
A new jobless claims report shows new claims for unemployment benefits dropped to 233,000 in the second week of July.
That’s the lowest level in two months.
Investors expected there would not be a drop, and the numbers would remain steady from the previous week.
Historically low unemployment levels from the past few months are one of the biggest signs of a healthy U.S. economy.

Turkish State News Agency Reveals Location of U.S. Troops in Syria

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Pentagon officials say a Turkish state run news agency published the location of U.S. military posts in Syria.
A Pentagon spokesman said the information puts U.S. troops in danger.
The news report published on Tuesday named the locations of 10 U.S. military posts in Northern Syria .
In some cases the story detailed the number of U.S. and French troops in the area.
Relations between the two nations have been rocky since the U.S. began supplying Kurdish YPG fighters with weapons to drive ISIS out of Syria.
Turkey considers the YPG a branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party.

LGBT Activist Cartoons

LGBT activists mock Christian ministry's decision to reclaim rainbow

The man behind the world-famous Ark Encounter has decided to reclaim "God's rainbow" - announcing the massive ark exhibit will be permanently bathed in rainbow lights.

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"We now have new permanent rainbow lights at the Ark Encounter so all can see that it is God's rainbow and He determines its meaning in Genesis 6," Answers in Genesis founder Ken Ham announced on Facebook.
"The rainbow is a reminder God will never again judge the wickedness of man with a global Flood—next time the world will be judged by fire," he said.
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The 500-foot-long ark is the centerpiece of the biblical theme park based in Williamstown, Kentucky. Hundreds of thousands of visitors have toured the replica of Noah's Ark.
"The Ark is lit permanently at night with a rainbow to remind the world that God owns it and He decreed it's a sign of His covenant with man after the Flood—Christians need to take back the rainbow as we do at the Ark Encounter," Ham said.

'I've been through worse': War-hero McCain tells Senate pal he'll be back

U.S. Sen. John McCain, who has been diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor, told Sen. Lindsey Graham over the phone Wednesday that he’s “been through worse,” and then went on to discuss health care and other policy issues.

McCain talked about the long road ahead regarding treatments, but said that he’s been though wars. Graham said McCain-- who is resting at his home in Arizona-- sounded resolved and determined.

“The disease has never had a more worthy opponent,” Graham said.
McCain was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for more than five years. Injuries from being tortured left the longtime Arizona senator unable to lift his arms above his head.
McCain, chairman of the Senate's Armed Services Committee, has glioblastoma, an aggressive cancer, according to doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, where McCain had a blood clot removed from above his left eye last Friday.
It’s the same type of tumor that struck McCain’s close Democratic colleague in legislative battles, the late Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.
The tumor digs tentacle-like roots into normal brain tissue. Patients fare best when surgeons can cut out all the visible tumor, which happened with McCain’s tumor, according to his office. That isn’t a cure; cancerous cells that aren’t visible still tend to lurk, the reason McCain’s doctors are considering further treatment, including chemotherapy and radiation.
In a statement on Twitter, the senator's daughter, Meghan McCain, spoke of the shock of the news and the anxiety over what happens next. “My love for my father is boundless and like any daughter I cannot and do not wish to be in a world without him. I have faith that those days remain far away,” she said.
News about the operation to remove a blood clot above his eye took many by surprise. Some theorized that McCain may have showed signs of a health issue during last month’s Senate questioning of former FBI Director James Comey. The senator appeared to struggle with his line of questioning. At one point, Comey said, “I’m a little confused, senator.”
McCain blamed his vague questions on being tired from watching an Arizona Diamondbacks game the night before.
A neurosurgeon downplayed the Senate hearing testimony as evidence of the condition, USA Today reported. Dr. Joseph Zabramski, a neurosurgeon, told the paper that McCain “was normal” after the hearing and does not see a connection.
As word spread of his diagnosis, presidents past and present along with McCain’s current and former Senate colleagues offered support in an outpouring rarely seen in Washington.
“Senator John McCain has always been a fighter. Melania and I send our thoughts and prayers to Senator McCain, Cindy, and their entire family. Get well soon,” President Trump said.
A group of senators prayed together Wednesday night after learning that McCain had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, according to one of the lawmakers.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said he asked Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., who has a master's degree in divinity, to lead the group in prayer.
"It was very emotional," Hoeven added. The group of senators was taking part in an evening meeting to discuss health care.

Sessions Reinstates Asset Forfeiture Police at the Dept. of Justice

Attorney General Jeff Sessions addresses the summer meeting of the nation’s district attorneys from around the country at the Hilton in Minneapolis, Minn., Monday, July, 17 2017. Sessions said the Justice Department will soon make it easier for local law enforcement to seize cash and property from crime suspects and reap the proceeds. (Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via AP)

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The Justice Department announces plans to step-up efforts to seize property and money from suspected criminals.
Speaking at the department this Wednesday morning, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said civil asset forfeiture is a key tool in helping law enforcement de-fund organized crime.
Politicians and lawmakers have criticized the practice, saying it allows law enforcement to seize property without an indictment or ample evidence of a crime.
However, Sessions added there will be enhanced training on the expanded asset forfeiture laws, and his department will protect the rights of all law abiding citizens.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosentein tied the effort to the push to combat the nation’s opioid crisis, suggesting it would help local law enforcement fight the rise in drug overdose deaths.

Iran Resists New U.S. Sanctions

In this photo released by official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a cabinet meeting in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, July 19, 2017. Iran’s president said Wednesday that his country will stand up to the United States and reciprocate for any new sanctions that America imposes on the Islamic Republic. (Iranian Presidency via AP)

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The president of Iran vows he will resist President Trump’s new economic sanctions against the country.
In a statement Wednesday, President Hassan Rouhani said some of the U.S. actions violate the 2015 nuclear accord.
The country’s parliament agreed Tuesday to consider increasing funding for its missile program to retaliate against the new sanctions.
This comes just one day after the Trump administration applied the sanctions over Iran’s ballistic missile program for its quote — “malign activities” — in the Middle East, which could weaken any positive contributions from the 2015 deal.

North Korea Cartoons

Top US general: North Korea might have the range, but lacks in accuracy

The second highest-ranking U.S. military official said on Tuesday that despite North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile’s range, Pyongyang does not have the ability to hit the U.S. with “any degree of accuracy,” Reuters reported.

North Korea is believed to possess hundreds of missiles capable of striking South Korea and Japan. Its recent test of an ICBM put it one step closer to its goal of developing nuclear-armed missiles capable of reaching anywhere in the United States.

“What the experts tell me is that the North Koreans have yet to demonstrate the capacity to do the guidance and control that would be required,” Gen. Paul Selva, the vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
South Korea on Monday offered talks with North Korea to ease animosities along their tense border and resume reunions of families separated by their war in the 1950s.
It was unclear how North Korea will react since it remains suspicious of new South Korean President Moon Jae-in's outreach to it. But Moon's overture, the first formal offer of talks since his inauguration in May, indicates he wants to use dialogue to defuse the international standoff over North Korea's weapons programs, despite having condemned the North's first intercontinental ballistic missile test on July 4 and vowed a firm response.
After the ICBM launch, Kim said he would never negotiate over his weapons programs as long as U.S. hostility and nuclear threats persist.
The two Koreas have been divided since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. About 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea.
Selva was asked about the U.S.’s next move in the region and said a preemptive military operation is something that should be considered.

Rand Paul: Republicans opposed to ObamaCare repeal have 'got some serious explaining to do when they go home'

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., slammed Republican senators who have said they would vote against a bill to repeal ObamaCare, telling Fox News Tuesday night that "they've got some serious explaining to do when they go home."

"People ought to keep their promise," Paul told "The Story" host Martha MacCallum. "If people are no longer for repeal, they’re going to need to go home and explain to their voters why they said they were for repeal and now they’re no longer for repeal."

Paul was referring to Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Ak., who said earlier Thursday that they would oppose an ObamaCare repeal bill without replacement legislation despite voting for a repeal measure in 2015.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced the vote on ObamaCare repeal would take place next week after a plan to replace the beleaguered health legislation collapsed for a second time.
Paul was a vocal critic of the Senate's ObamaCare replacement legislation, describing it as "a bunch of pork" and "an insurance bailout Superfund."
"If you vote for a Republican bill that keeps the [ObamaCare] death spiral and you simply say, ‘Oh, we’re going to subsidize it with $180 billion worth of taxpayer money,’ that’s not conservative, that’s not Republican, that’s not the free market, that’s not what we promised," Paul said. "I promised to vote for repeal and I’m going to keep my promise."
Paul also defended his fellow Kentuckian McConnell, telling MacCallum, "I don’t think the fault lies with leadership. I think the fault lies with those who promised to repeal and won’t now vote to repeal."

The troubling US post-prison experiment to ‘rehabilitate’ an ISIS supporter

hen a young man from Minnesota's Somali community who admitted trying to join ISIS appeared for sentencing in November, the judge made him an offer: avoid more prison time and participate in an experimental “terrorist rehabilitation.”

But two months ago Abdullahi Yusuf, 21, was back before the judge charged with violating the terms of his probation after watching a news documentary about western ISIS fighters in a halfway house where he is confined.

Critics say Yusuf’s troubles underscore the limits of trying to rehabilitate wanna-be terrorists in the U.S.
“Terrorist rehab is a joke and a total waste of U.S. taxpayer dollars,” said Col. James Williamson, who founded the group OPSEC that advocates for U.S. Special Forces. “All cases are different as are each of the individuals but as a rule, there is no such thing as rehabilitating a committed jihadist. They should be dealt with by military courts and, if not able to execute under the military courts martial, they should be locked up forever.”
This latest infraction was not Yusef’s first while undergoing de-radicalization in the halfway house.
After pleading guilty after his arrest in 2014, he was sent back to federal custody after a banned weapon – a box cutter – was found under his bed. His rehabilitation resumed after it was determined that the weapon belonged to a roommate.
When he appeared in court in May, Minnesota Federal Court Judge Michael Davis gave Yusef another chance, sending him back to the halfway house and the rehab program with a warning that further slip-ups would see him promptly back behind bars.
The judge told Yusef authorities were “working to make you well.”
Yusef is undergoing the de-radicalization as part of a sentence of 20-years-supervised release. His sentence takes into account the 21 months he spent behind bars and his cooperation with prosecutors.
Davis has made Yusef the poster boy for the first effort in the U.S. to de-radicalize rather than criminalize the offense. The judge believed Yusuf was a candidate, finding that he had been manipulated to try and join ISIS by three older Muslim freinds who are now in prison for providing support to the terror group.
The de-radicalization effort is following in the footsteps of countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria and Denmark that offer rehab for terrorists. Such programs typically take several years and consist of a combination of religious teachings, creative therapies, vocational training and counseling.
Chief Kevin Lowry of the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services to the District of Minnesota argued that terrorist rehab and de-radicalization programs are crucial for public safety, especially in Minnesota-- home to the largest Somali population in North America. In recent years more than 30 young Somali men in the state have been charged with having links to ISIS and Al-Shabab, a terror group in Somalia.
Lowry noted the trial rehab initiative is still running, and that they are continuing to train officers both in Minnesota and other states to develop new tools and strategies in the realm of rehabilitation. They are learning how the radicalization process works in the mind of a would-be terrorist and how to reverse it.
“Each individual is different, we tailor it to that person and to what enticed them. It is very important to take this seriously, we can’t allow extremism to grow,” Lowry said.
He stressed that more resources outside their scope are needed to really keep communities safe. As it stands, the program green-lighted by Judge Davis in Minnesota is designed to begin only at the time of arrest. Prevention programs to fight radicalization before it even starts are gaining some traction in local communities, yet it is still a relatively untouched area. Even more concerning, some experts say, is the lack of de-radicalization programs in prisons across the country.
“The probation office is only responsible for post-release, which means that for most of the defendants, the work will begin only after many years from now,” said Daniel Koehler, co-founder of the German Institute on Radicalization and De-Radicalization Studies (GIRDS), whom Davis personally tasked with laying the groundwork for the first U.S program given his unparalleled global experience in the field.
Koehler was tasked with assessing the convicted terrorists and training Lowry and his probation team. Since then, he noted, little has been done and the U.S overall still lacks any “comprehensive countering violent extremism strategy within federal prisons.”
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Authorities routinely complain that federal prisons have and will continue to become breeding grounds for radicalization among inmates. Furthermore, a January report by the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) entitled “U.S. Homegrown Violent Extremism Recidivism Likely” stated that “at least some of the more than 90 homegrown violent extremists incarcerated in the U.S. who are due to be released in the next five years will probably re-engage in terrorist activity, possibly including attack plotting.”
The Obama administration made a concerted effort to explore non-criminalization options, and an increasing number of U.N agencies – including those centered on education and development issues – have placed de-radicalization a top priority.
But the future of funding for de-radicalization programs under President Trump remains uncertain.
A Department of Homeland Security official told Fox News that they have no immediate plans to develop de-radicalization programs for convicted terrorists, but that they do support local efforts to create protocols and partnerships to conduct early interventions.
The Justice Department also stated that they were continuing to engage in outreach at the local level to “foster trust, improve awareness and educate communities” in the hopes of stopping radicalization before it starts. Yet the notion of de-radicalization and rehab rather than prison continues to generate debate.
Raheel Raza, President of the Council of Muslims Facing Tomorrow, which endeavors to reclaim Islam and opposes extremism, said de-radicalization can work – if only by “exposing the problem, educating the masses and eliminating the ideology.”
“President Trump should look into how such programs have worked, keeping in mind that bringing moderate, reform-minded Muslims to the table is urgent and can give important insights,” Raza said.
Leaders of other Muslim-majority countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia insist that their rehab initiatives are highly successful with low levels of re-offending. Other terrorism experts are more skeptical, and argue that these would likely be a waste of American taxpayer dollars.
“To devise a program to de-radicalize, we must first know what radicalizes them in the first place,” said Samuel Tadros, a Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom. “Is it merely violent acts? If that is the case, then no one is a radical until he actually commits an act, which makes the whole venture useless.”
Hollie McKay has been a FoxNews.com staff reporter since 2007. She has reported extensively from the Middle East on the rise and fall of terrorist groups such as ISIS in Iraq. Follow her on twitter at @holliesmckay

$5B in Student Loan Debt Could Be Gone Thanks to Missing Paperwork

Graduating students arrive for Commencement Exercises at Boston College in Boston, Massachusetts May 20, 2013. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)

OAN Newsroom
Some college graduates may not have to pay off their student loans thanks to a clerical error.
According to the New York Times, nearly 200,000 private student loans issued by the National Collegiate Student Loans Trust are missing critical paperwork.
That amounts to around $five billion in loans.
The lenders are now are part of a major lawsuit.
The loans were originally granted to students by banks, bundled and then sold to the trust.
This makes it unclear who exactly owns them.
If National Collegiate can’t prove official documentation in court a judge will be forced to throw them out.