US citizen fighting for ISIS surrenders to US-backed forces in Syria

Mohamad Jamal Khweis 

Jan. 14, 2014: ISIS marching in Raqqa, Syria.  (AP) 

A U.S. citizen fighting for ISIS surrendered to U.S.-backed fighters in Syria, two U.S. military officials confirmed to Fox News on Thursday.

It was not immediately clear where or when the surrender took place, but one official said it occurred in northern Syria in an area controlled by a U.S.-backed militia called the Syrian Democratic Forces. The SDF is a Kurdish and Arab army that has been fighting ISIS.

The man was not immediately identified and it was not clear where he was being held.
Col. Ryan Dillon, a U.S. military spokesman for the coalition against ISIS, would not comment on the surrender. Dillon deferred to the State Department on the issue. 
The U.S. military command told the Daily Beast they were aware of the report.
“We are aware of the report that a U.S. citizen believed to be fighting for ISIS surrendered to Syrian Democratic Forces on or about Sept. 12," the command said in a statement. "As a precondition for Coalition support, SDF and Iraqi forces have pledged to observe international laws and the laws of armed conflict. Foreign fighters who are captured or surrender to SDF partners in Syria will be safeguarded and transported humanely, and their home nations will be contacted regarding the next steps."
The statement added: “The Coalition defers questions pertaining to captured ISIS fighters to their relative nations' Departments of State or equivalent agencies. The Coalition's mission is to defeat ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and we will pursue ISIS fighters regardless of nationality.”
The unidentified man is not the first American to be seized for participating in combat for ISIS. In March 2016, Mohamad Jamal Khweis, of Virginia, joined ISIS and then surrendered to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters. Khweis later expressed regret for joining the terror group.

Trump, Putin reportedly agree to defeat ISIS in Syria

Nov. 11: U.S. President Trump and President Putin talk during the family photo session at the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam.  (Reuters)

President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a joint statement on Saturday vowing to continue the fight against ISIS in Syria until the militants are completely defeated, Reuters reported, citing the Kremlin.

The statement was released after the two leaders chatted briefly during the APEC summit in Danang, Vietnam, Reuters reported, citing the Kremlin.

The statement reportedly said both Washington and Moscow agree that there is no military solution to the conflict and both countries expressed a commitment to Damascus’ sovereignty.
The two leaders chatted on Saturday while they walked to a “family photograph” at the summit and donned matching silk button-down shirts the day before, holding true to the tradition of wearing local attire at annual display of cooperation among world leaders.
The White House and the Trump administration earlier appeared to downplay Trump's possible meetings with Putin during the summit.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders blamed a scheduling conflict for why the two would not have a formal meeting. But she said it was “possible” and “likely” that they would have a less formal encounter.

Reuters  (President Trump and President Putin take part in a "family photo.")

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters in Beijing on Thursday that there was no reason to schedule a formal meeting between Trump and Putin if the two countries are unable to make significant progress on issues including Syria and Ukraine.
"The view has been if the two leaders are going to meet, is there something sufficiently substantive to talk about that would warrant a formal meeting," he said.
It was reported on Thursday that Washington and Moscow were nearing an agreement on Syria for how they hope to resolve the Arab country’s civil war once ISIS is defeated.
The U.S.-Russian agreement that was being discussed focused on three elements, officials told The Associated Press: "deconfliction" between the U.S. and Russian militaries, reducing violence in the civil war and reinvigorating U.N.-led peace talks. The officials weren't authorized to discuss the deliberations and requested anonymity.

Mueller and Manafort Cartoons

Cal Thomas: Trump, Mueller and Manafort -- Get ready for more magical thinking

In considering the indictment of former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and an associate, I am reminded of former Bill Clinton aide and defender James Carville’s line about the ability of a grand jury to “indict a ham sandwich.”

Manafort and a longtime business partner, Rick Gates, pleaded not guilty to all 12 counts against them. Manafort is under house arrest after posting an outrageously high bond of $10 million. Gates’ bond was set at $5 million. George Papadopoulos, who was a foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign, has pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the FBI about his foreign contacts with several top Russian officials.

Predictably, the major media are celebrating this as the beginning of the end of the nascent Trump presidency. Within hours of the announced indictments, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof rushed into print with a column titled “Will Manafort Sing? If so, it may mark the beginning of the end of this presidency.”
Look for more of this wishful thinking that the establishment, the Democrats and all of the mainstream media have been hoping for since Trump won the election.
What Manafort stands accused of has nothing to do with the 2016 election, or with Russian “collusion.” No one, so far, has produced any evidence the Russians affected the election’s outcome. This is all about overturning the results and keeping “the swamp” full for those who live in it and reject change.
Real collusion might be in the significant share of U.S. uranium sold to the Russians during Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state (she signed off on the deal), followed by a $500,000 fee paid to her husband for a speech in Moscow and the millions of dollars that subsequently flowed into the Clinton Foundation from uranium investors.
Special counsel Robert Mueller and Congress should investigate that Russian connection, along with the role of the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign (and the earlier Republican role) in creating an anti-Trump dossier that has been shown to be a fraud and yet was used to justify the appointment of Mueller. If the reason for Mueller’s appointment is fraudulent, how can it be said that his investigation, which includes staff attorneys who made donations to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, is not tainted?
Among the many problems with this investigation is that it has no legal, subject or monetary limits. If Mueller and his associates are unable to prove collusion with the Russians, one can count on them coming up with something else. Far-left members of Congress, such as Maxine Waters, D-Calif., openly state that their objective is to “take out” the president, and they don’t mean to lunch.
There is also the matter of leaks from the grand jury. Not surprisingly, the details of the indictments matched the leak to CNN. Unless that network employs mind readers and engages in paranormal activity, those leaks are felonies and the leakers should be prosecuted.
Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress are firing up investigations of their own, including long-overdue looks into various questionable and possibly illegal activities by the Clintons. Congress is the proper avenue for such investigations, not special counsels, who can “go rogue” if they wish.
These seemingly endless accusations and investigations are what so much of the country hates about Washington, the “D.C.” that increasingly seems to stand for “dysfunctional city.”
No matter which party controls government, the other party does all it can, by whatever means, to undermine those elected. This behavior solves no problems. It is only about grabbing and holding onto power.
Given the many moving parts in the Mueller probe and the loss of focus on the primary reason for it, the government may have a difficult time proving its case in court. But with unlimited funds and a staff of lawyers who have Democratic affiliations, you can bet they will try to make more than a ham sandwich out of it.
Cal Thomas is America's most widely syndicated op-ed columnist. His latest book is "What Works: Common Sense Solutions for a Stronger America". Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribune.com.

Radioactive cloud floating over Europe is nothing to worry about, experts say

FILE: Steam is emitted from the cooling tower at a nuclear power plant in Brussels. Authorities reportedly said the cloud poses only an “extremely low” risk of contaminating vegetation.  (AP)

Don’t mind the cloud of radioactive pollution floating over Europe – it’s harmless, the French nuclear safety institute IRSN said Thursday.

Officials in Europe said they began detecting unusually high levels of ruthenium 106, a radioactive atom that does not occur naturally, near France in the last week of September.

The IRSN immediately “mobilized all its means of radiological monitoring of the atmosphere and conducted regular analysis of the filters from its monitoring stations,” the agency said in a press release.
IRSN director Jean-Marc Peres told Reuters that the leak likely came from a nuclear fuel treatment site or center for radioactive medicine in Russia or Kazakhstan, not a nuclear reactor.
The radioactive cloud poses only an “extremely low” risk of contaminating mushrooms and other foodstuffs that are imported into France, the IRSN said in a statement.
“The potential health risk associated with this scenario is also very low,” the IRSN said.
In January, the IRSN similarly assured Europeans that the small amounts of nuclear radiation that were blooming throughout Europe were nothing to worry about.

Anthony Weiner wants pen pals in prison, report says

“Carlos Danger” is looking for a pen pal.

Former Rep. Anthony Weiner, who reported to prison this week to begin a 21-month sentence for sexting with a 15-year-old girl, is hoping to stay in contact with the outside world.

Weiner’s away message on his personal email addresses provide specific instructions on how to stay in contact with the disgraced Congressman, the New York Post reported Thursday.
“Thanks for reaching out,” the message says. “Starting November 6^th, I’ll be away for a while but I would love to stay in touch. As quaint as it may sound, the best way to reach me is by sending a letter. When you write, ill get you the information about how email might work.
“So please include your full mailing address here and of course include it when you write,” Weiner says in the message. “And although you didn’t ask — yes, you may send me books via Amazon. (No crockpots or washers/dryers though)”
Weiner then provides information on how to contact him via the “Federal Medical Center” in Massachusetts.
ANTHONY WEINER SCANDALS: FROM POLITICS TO SEXTING CASES
Weiner, whose political career and later run for New York City mayor was derailed because of continuous sexting incidents — sometimes under a “Carlos Danger” pseudonym — was sentenced in September after he pleaded guilty in May to a charge of transmitting sexual material to a minor.

Trump: Roy Moore will 'step aside' if sexual misconduct allegations are true

Former Alabama Chief Justice and U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore speaks to supporters Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017, in Montgomery, Ala., after he forced a Senate primary runoff with Sen. Luther Strange to fill the U.S. Senate seat previously held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)  (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

President Trump on Thursday believes Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore “will do the right thing and step aside” if the sexual misconduct allegations against him are true, the White House said in a statement.
Speaking to reporters following the president’s Asia trip on Air Force One, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also cautioned against a rush to judgment.
“Like most Americans, the president believes we cannot allow a mere allegation, in this case one from many years ago, to destroy a person’s life," Sanders said. "However, the president also believes that if these allegations are true, Judge Moore will do the right thing and step aside."
Moore lashed out earlier at what he called "the Obama-Clinton machine's liberal media lapdogs" after The Washington Post reported on a woman's claims that the former judge and staunch social conservative initiated a sexual encounter with her when she was 14.
In a series of tweets Thursday evening, Moore claimed "The forces of evil will lie, cheat, steal –– even inflict physical harm –– if they believe it will silence and shut up Christian conservatives."
Amid calls for him to drop out of the race, Moore added, "Our nation is at a crossroads right now — both spiritually and politically. Our children and grandchildren’s futures are on the line. So rest assured — I will NEVER GIVE UP the fight!"
The Post story centered on allegations made by Leigh Corfman, now 53. She told the newspaper that Moore, then an assistant district attorney, first approached her in 1979 outside a courtroom in Alabama where she was sitting with her mother. On another occasion, she said Moore, then 32, took her to his home in the woods and kissed her.
During a subsequent visit, Corfman reportedly claimed he took off her shirt and pants; touched her over her bra and underwear; and guided her hand to his underwear. She said the two did not have sexual intercourse, and that she ended up getting dressed and asking Moore to take her home, according to the Post.
“I wanted it over with – I wanted out,” she told the Post, apparently recalling her train of thought at the time. Moore did take her home, she said.
The report caused immediate problems for Moore with his own party as he heads into the Dec. 12 election against Democrat Doug Jones. Several GOP senators called on him to step aside if the allegations are true – and at least one senator, Arizona’s John McCain, said he should drop out regardless.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who backed Moore’s rival Luther Strange in the GOP primary, said in a statement: "If these allegations are true, he must step aside."
Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., head of the Senate GOP campaign arm, called the allegations “deeply troubling” and said: “If these allegations are found to be true, Roy Moore must drop out of the Alabama special Senate election.”
Jones' campaign told multiple news outlets: “Roy Moore needs to answer these serious charges.”
But Moore’s campaign issued a statement saying the report is “baseless” and false.
“National liberal organizations know their chosen candidate Doug Jones is in a death spiral, and this is their last ditch Hail Mary,” Moore campaign chairman Bill Armistead said. “Judge Roy Moore is winning with a double-digit lead. So it is no surprise, with just over four weeks remaining, in a race for the U.S. Senate with national implications, that the Democratic Party and the country’s most liberal newspaper would come up with a fabrication of this kind.
“This garbage is the very definition of fake news and intentional defamation,” he said.
The Post noted that the legal age of consent in the state is 16, and sexual contact by anyone 19 or older with anyone between 12 and 16 years old is considered second-degree sexual abuse.
The statute of limitations, though, has long since passed.
The Post interviewed three other women who were teenagers at the time who claimed Moore pursued them when he was in his 30s, though he did not force them into any type of sexual relationship.
“I have prayed over this,” Corfman told the Post as to why she came forward, “All I know is that I can’t sit back and let this continue, let him continue without the mask being removed.”
Alabama's Republican governor, Kay Ivey, responded: “These allegations are deeply disturbing. I will hold judgment until we know the facts. The people of Alabama deserve to know the truth and will make their own decisions.”

Al Green Cartoons

Mattis Talks Regional Security at NATO Defense Ministers Meeting

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, right, speaks with U.S. Secretary for Defense Jim Mattis during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and his NATO counterparts start two days of talks in Brussels looking to expand the military alliance’s command structure and drum up more troop contributions for Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

OAN Newsroom

Defense Secretary James Mattis joins other allied defense ministers in Brussels to assess and discuss the situation in North Korea and Afghanistan.
During the two day meeting, Mattis will decide whether to approve the North Atlantic Command.
The new regional base and its forces would focus on keeping Atlantic shipping lanes safe from enemy submarines.
Meanwhile, NATO’s chief says the alliance has been making significant progress adapting to the changing security landscape.
“Today, we will take decisions on the next steps in our deterrence and defense to ensure that we have a command structure fit for changing times, that we can reinforce our forces quickly and effectively, and that our cyber defenses are even more robust,” stated NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
The secretary general says the 29 member alliance will increase the number of troops in Afghanistan by next year in order to send a message to the Taliban.

House Dem's new demand: Impeach Trump by Christmas

Texas Democrat Al Green said Wednesday he’s giving his colleagues in the House a Christmas deadline to vote on impeaching President Trump.

“I now announce that before Christmas, there will be a vote on the chief inciter of racism, bigotry, hatred, xenophobia, sexism and ethnocentrism,” he said on the House floor, adding that he prayed the United States will “continue to reject what the inciter in chief, Donald J. Trump has been causing this country to have to endure.”

This is hardly the first time Green has called for impeaching the president, though he hasn't put a timeframe on it until now.
Last month, Green unveiled formal articles of impeachment, though it never made it to the House floor for a vote. At the time, Green said he wanted to give lawmakers extra time to read through the proposal.
Green’s resolution covered four articles of impeachment.
One accused the president of “inciting white supremacy, sexism, bigotry, hatred, xenophobia, race-baiting, and racism by demeaning, defaming, disrespecting and disparaging women and certain minorities.” Another alleged Trump brought “shame and dishonor to the office of the presidency by associating the majesty and dignity of the presidency with causes rooted in white supremacy, bigotry, racism, anti-Semitism, white nationalism and neo-Nazism.”
GREEN INTRODUCES ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT AGAINST TRUMP
While acknowledging conservatives aren’t likely to jump on board and kick Trump out of the Oval Office, Green said, “Whatever others will do is their choice. My conscience dictates that I will vote to impeach.”
There’s not much enthusiasm among most congressional Democrats to impeach.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly downplayed talk of impeachment and on Sunday told CNN it wasn’t one of her legislative priorities.

12 Months of Trump: Year since election brings economic boom, deepening divisions, probe politics

A year ago today, President-elect Donald Trump – perhaps the only politician not shocked by his historic victory – rallied supporters with a vow to apply his bigger-and-better business style to the country as a whole.

“America will no longer settle for anything less than the best,” he declared. And after a divisive election, the next commander-in-chief pledged to be “president for all Americans.”

Twelve months later, the changes are seismic.
It is indisputable that the candidate who ran as the get-things-done, board-room executive was great for Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained nearly 29 percent since Election Day 2016. The S&P 500 is up 21 percent.
After a rocky first quarter, economic growth also has picked up to around 3 percent under Trump, while the unemployment rate has dipped from 4.8 percent in January to 4.1 percent.
Trump marked his election anniversary Wednesday with a tweet congratulating the "DEPLORABLES" who voted for him.
The Trump team and its allies on Capitol Hill are vowing a bigger economic shot in the arm soon if they can muscle through a massive tax overhaul in the coming weeks and months – aiming to unleash growth by slashing corporate tax rates, simplifying the tax system and boosting the standard deduction.
But the deal isn’t yet sealed, and congressional leaders are cautious given their repeated failure to pass an ObamaCare overhaul as promised during the campaign.
While the president has struggled to get his legislative agenda passed on Capitol Hill, Trump often boasts of his nomination – and the successful Senate confirmation – of Neil Gorsuch to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court when talking up his accomplishments to conservative audiences.
Elsewhere, 12 months of Trump have brought mounting complications.
NOT-YET-UNITED STATES
In the days after Trump’s election, Gallup conducted a poll finding a record 77 percent of Americans think the country is divided on key values. The country hasn’t demonstrated much unification since then. Trump’s inauguration was countered with massive protests in cities across the country. Far-left activists have since rioted on college campuses and far-right demonstrators – including neo-Nazis – have taken to the streets, notably in Charlottesville where a counter-protester was killed in August.

Moderate Republicans are increasingly speaking out against the president, like Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, who plans to retire.  (AP)

The president’s scorched-earth approach to politics – largely conducted via his Twitter account – also has fueled divisions on Capitol Hill, where moderate Republicans are increasingly speaking out against the president and bucking the White House on key votes like health care, even when it invites his Twitter wrath. The most outspoken are those, like Sens. Bob Corker and Jeff Flake, who plan to retire.
PROBE POLITICS
Meanwhile, a backdrop of investigations and grievances over those investigations has kept both sides of the political aisle in an outrage cycle.
In a stunning sequence of events that started with Trump’s firing of James Comey at the FBI, Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to investigate Russian meddling in the election and possible collusion with Trump associates. The first indictments were announced last week, though they didn’t speak specifically to campaign collusion with Moscow. The investigation is ongoing, as are related congressional investigations – giving Democrats, especially book-touring Hillary Clinton, a hook for continuing to question the fairness of the 2016 race.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to investigate Russian meddling in the election and possible collusion with Trump associates.

But Republicans have increasingly countered with allegations of their own, with some even calling for the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate Obama and Clinton-era controversies – including claims that the Clinton email case was mishandled and questions over how much the FBI relied on a research firm that commissioned an unverified anti-Trump dossier. It has recently emerged that the research was funded with help from the Clinton campaign and Democratic Party.
IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN
Nothing energized Trump’s base during the campaign like his promises to get tough on illegal immigration, build a wall and institute extreme vetting for refugees and others entering the country.

The Customs and Border Protection agency recently unveiled prototypes of a new wall design from several contractors.  (Reuters)

Implementing those policies hasn’t been easy, but the Trump administration has sought to make a hard break from the Obama years: Shortly after taking office in January, the president signed an executive order temporarily banning immigration from several majority-Muslim countries while restricting entry for some Syrian refugees. That led to protests across the country and federal court challenges, which forced the administration to revise the order. The ban expired last month, as the administration keeps pursuing revised rules.
Trump also tasked his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, with ramping up enforcement of immigration laws, including cracking down on sanctuary cities by threatening to deny them federal funding. Trump also announced plans to end DACA, the Obama-era executive action protecting young immigrants from deportation, while calling on Congress to pass a remedy. All of this has been complicated by Trump’s public criticism of Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation.
The wall along the southern border has yet to be built – and Mexico still insists it won’t pay for it, as Trump promised during the campaign – but the Customs and Border Protection agency recently unveiled prototypes of a new wall design from several contractors.
REGULATION ROLLBACK
Gridlock in Congress has not stopped the president from unraveling former President Barack Obama’s executive action legacy, with Trump portraying his regulatory rollbacks as a boon for business.

Gridlock in Congress has not stopped the president from unraveling former President Barack Obama’s executive action legacy.

That includes withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement, green-lighting the Dakota Access and Keystone XL oil pipelines, moving to roll back the Clean Power Plan and using the Congressional Review Act, an obscure rule-killing law, to wipe out a wave of last-minute regulations pushed through before he took office.
THE WORLD IS STILL A DANGEROUS PLACE
The president has spent a considerable amount of his time over the last 12 months dealing with threats – at home and abroad.
As the Islamic State orchestrated terror attacks and declared a caliphate in Iraq and Syria during the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump famously promised during to “bomb the sh-t” out of ISIS. Last month, after the liberation of Raqqa, the president boasted that “more progress” had been made “against these evil terrorists in the past several months than in the past several years.”
Tensions with North Korea, however, have escalated since Trump took office, with the president mocking leader Kim Jong Un as “Little Rocket Man” over the country’s nuclear program. During a speech in South Korea this week, the president warned North Korea: “Do not underestimate us. And do not try us." As for the nuclear threat from Iran, Trump announced last month that he would decertify the 2015 Obama-era Iran nuclear deal, while leaving to Congress whether to restore sanctions.

President Trump has mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as “Little Rocket Man.”  (AP)

In recent months, the president has flown on Air Force One to sites of deadly disasters in the country, including hurricanes in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico. He also traveled to Las Vegas last month after the massacre at a country music festival – the deadliest mass shooting in United States history. Democrats have reiterated their calls for new gun control measures in the wake of more mass shootings, including after the slaughter of a Texas church last weekend, but the NRA-backed president has suggested he has no appetite for restricting the gun ownership of law abiding Americans.
ORDER IN THE WEST WING?
There’s been no shortage of drama, rivalries and turnover inside the West Wing. Many aides -- including national security adviser Mike Flynn, chief strategist Steve Bannon, chief of staff Reince Priebus, press secretary Sean Spicer -- joined the White House at the beginning of the administration but have since been fired or resigned from their positions. Anthony Scaramucci lasted just 10 days in office. And the presence of Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as White House aides has complicated dynamics.
But some of that drama has calmed since this summer’s selection of retired Marine general and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly for White House chief of staff. Kelly has attempted to bring order to an unruly West Wing environment as the president pushes Congress to pass a tax reform package, a campaign promise Republicans acknowledge having to fulfill after failing so far to repeal ObamaCare.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has attempted to bring order to an unruly West Wing as chief of staff.

In an op-ed for USA Today on Wednesday marking the anniversary of the election, Vice President Pence argued that tax reform would pass in the Republican-controlled Congress by the end of the year.
“It has been a year of accomplishments, and we’re just getting started,” Pence said. “Before this year is out, we’ll pass historic tax cuts for the American people. And with President Trump’s leadership, I know: We will Make America Great Again.”

Donna Brazile on campaign tell-all: 'I wanted the American people to see what happened'

Part 1: Former interim DNC chair addresses claims that the Democratic National Committee slanted the nomination in favor Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders, dysfunction in the Clinton campaign and more. #Tucker

Former interim head of the Democratic National Committee Donna Brazile appeared to back away Wednesday from some of the most sensational claims made in her recently released tell-all about last year’s presidential election.

In an interview on Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight," Brazile described her book as a "forensic examination" of the failures of the DNC and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

"I wanted to write this book to tell my story," Brazile told host Tucker Carlson of her memoir, called "Hacks." "I wanted the American people to see what happened."
During a wide-ranging interview, Brazile said she leaked questions at a Democratic primary town hall to members of Hillary Clinton’s campaign because she didn’t want the candidates to be "blindsided."
"That’s the greatest spin I’ve ever heard" Carlson laughed in response. "I didn’t want them blindsided? That’s so good, you should do this for a living. That is hilarious."
"Wikileaks sought to divide us," Brazile responded. "These were active measures where you got to see the things I gave to Hillary. You never got a chance to see the things I gave to [Sen.] Bernie [Sanders] or [former Maryland Gov.] Martin O’Malley."
Previously released excerpts from Brazile's book accused Clinton's top male campaign staffers of sexist treatment. But on Wednesday night, Brazile ascribed her conflicts with campaign manager Robby Mook to "generational" differences.
"Remember, I come from the old school," Brazile said. "I come from the school [where] you actually knock on doors, you talk to people, you try to get their support [and] then you try to get them out on Election Day. Robby comes from a school that is a lot different … they do algorithms, they do data modeling."
Brazile called the Clinton campaign "condescending and dismissive" toward her and complained that she didn't have total control of the party's resources.
Another excerpt from Brazile’s book that has been made public accused her predecessor as DNC chair – Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz – of indulging in costly perks, including a “chief of staff and a body woman,” even as the party wrestled with a cash crunch that left it dependent on the Clinton campaign.
But on Wednesday, Brazile defended Wasserman Schultz’s handling of the DNC’s hacking that resulted in the release of a trove of emails by Wikileaks last summer.
“When [the hack] was brought to her attention, she immediately reached out to get cybersecurity experts on board … along with our cyber attorney, they provided the FBI with everything that they requested.”
When Carlson pressed her on why the DNC did not turn over its servers to the FBI, Brazile answered, “we were still running a party,” adding that the party spent “over $60,000” to assist the hacking investigation.
"After I received my FBI briefing in August, do you know what I wanted to do?” Brazile asked Carlson. "I wanted to go over to the Pentagon. I didn’t want to go back to the DNC. I wanted somebody to put yellow tape around the DNC. I was scared. We were under attack."

Political Cartoons 2017

Texas shooting: Gun laws aren't the problem, government incompetence is

In the wake of a Baptist church shooting that left 26 people dead Sunday, Democratic politicians and pundits once again took to social media and cable news to denounce those who they deem to be the true monsters in the entire situation –  National Rifle Association members and Christians offering thoughts and prayers.

The NRA was denounced a “terrorist organization” that was “drenched in the blood” of the victims of gun violence.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. – who looks like a pining presidential candidate – was of course out front in a rush to the microphones. He demanded that we all do “something,” without ever actually disclosing what that something might be. Apparently, what he really wants is confiscation of firearms from law-abiding Americans, who are now once again facing media backlash for a crime they had nothing to do with.
But as was revealed Sunday, in what is becoming a common theme in these mass shootings, no amount of background checking would have stopped the shooter in Sutherland Springs, Texas from purchasing his firearms, because the federal government failed to do it’s job properly. It’s not the first time.

If federal employees cannot perform the simplest of tasks of enforcing laws already on the books meant to keep people safe, then those employees need to be released and their agencies eliminated.

While serving in the U.S. Air Force, shooter Devin Patrick Kelley was convicted of domestic assault against his wife. He pleaded guilty to multiple charges stemming from incidents including physically striking his wife and choking and kicking her. He also pleaded guilty to assaulting his stepson, severely enough to crack the young child’s skull.
Kelley’s court-martial conviction should have disqualified him immediately from purchasing any kind of firearms. So what happened? The Associated Press reported:
“Under Pentagon rules, information about convictions of military personnel in crimes like assault is supposed to be submitted to the FBI’s Criminal Justice Investigation Services Division for inclusion in the National Criminal Information Center database. For unspecified reasons, the Air Force did not provide the information about Kelley as required.”
The AP report continued: “Acknowledging its mistake, the Air Force said in a written statement that the top two Air Force officials – Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein – have ordered a review of the Kelley case by the Air Force Office of the Inspector General.”
Because of a law passed in 1996, it’s illegal for anyone convicted a domestic abuse crime to purchase a firearm, something some of our dutiful lawmakers in Congress seem to not be aware of.
Because Kelley’s court records were never submitted the FBI database, Kelley sailed through several background checks and purchased up to four known firearms. Great work, guys.
This also appears to not just be a bad slip in judgment but a systematic problem. The Trace reported: “… the military has no distinct charge for domestic violence, notes Grover Baxley, a former judge advocate general who now practices military law as a civilian. ‘We see this all the time,’ Baxley said. ‘There is no specific domestic violence article.” Instead, military prosecutors charge abusers with other offenses, like assault. A scan of active records shows that the Department of Defense has just a single misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence on file with the National Criminal Instant Background Check System, or NICS.”
A chart accompanying the report shows a startling statistic. The military has submitted “zero records for members subject to domestic violence restraining orders” to federal authorities. This isn’t one or two bad apples falling through the cracks. This is a tree shaking them all to the ground.
But even when the FBI has all the data needed to flag someone from purchasing a gun, there have been examples of gross incompetence as well.
Dylann Roof shot and killed nine people during evening services at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., in 2015.
Roof was not legally permitted to own a firearm due to an unlawful drug possession charge from earlier that year. Roof’s record listed the wrong arresting agency and because of this error, he was able to legally purchase the weapon he used in the shooting. Victims of family members killed by Roof have filed suit against the U.S. government because of this avoidable error.
Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho, who killed 32 people and then committed suicide at the school in 2007, was under years of mental health observation. In 2005 he was accused of harassing female students and ordered by a court-appointed special justice, who declared him mentally ill, to attend treatment.
The justice declared that Cho “presents an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness.” Because Cho was never actually institutionalized, his state records were never sent to the FBI database, and he was able to purchase his weapons. Families of the victims settled with  Virginia for $11 million in damages over the lapse.
A 2012 report from Mayors Against Illegal Guns found similar lapses in the background check system. As NPR reported: “The Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined why states aren't submitting records in a July report. Some cited bureaucratic barriers, others technical ones, like switching from paper-based to computer systems. And some states contend it violates their laws to forward mental health records to the federal database. A few states are changing their laws.”
It should not matter if these incidences are occurring because of a political correctness stigma around mental health, or just dumb laziness. If federal employees cannot perform the simplest of tasks of enforcing laws already on the books meant to keep people safe, then those employees need to be released and their agencies eliminated.
The National Rifle Association and lawful gun owners are not involved in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. During the shooting in Texas, a former NRA instructor was instrumental in stopping Kelley’s rampage – a rampage that could have been prevented had our government not been asleep at the wheel again. But sure, let’s turn over our health care to the government now.

If our government cannot perform simple tasks like filling our criminal record forms and entering information into databases, then why in the world would we burden federal employees with new gun laws that do nothing but restrict the constitutional rights of citizens and vendors in full compliance with the law?
Start with enforcing the federal laws on the books before attempting one of those “conversations” about curtailing rights. When our government gets that right, then we can have a larger discussion about the Second Amendment.

Stephen L. Miller has written for Heat Street and National Review Online. Follow him on Twitter at @redsteeze.

Trump blames Gillespie for loss in VA race: He 'did not embrace me'

President Trump criticized Republican Ed Gillespie within moments of his projected loss in Tuesday's Virginia gubernatorial race, suggesting he fell short because he did not “embrace” Trump's agenda. 

“Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for. Don’t forget, Republicans won 4 out of 4 House seats, and with the economy doing record numbers, we will continue to win, even bigger than before!” Trump tweeted from Seoul, South Korea on Tuesday night, minutes after the gubernatorial race was called for Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam.

The president repeatedly had urged voters to support Gillespie leading up to Tuesday's vote. The Republican nominee, though, kept a certain distance from the president throughout the campaign, even as he adopted some of the president's tough immigration policies.
But while Gillespie tried to strike a balance in the swing state -- the only southern state Trump lost in last year's presidential election -- Democrats worked hard to tie Gillespie to the president at every turn.
One controversial ad showed minority children seemingly being chased by a driver in a pickup truck, decked out with a Confederate flag and a “Gillespie for governor” bumper sticker. The ad concluded with a scene of a Charlottesville-like rally, with a narrator asking: “Is this what Donald Trump and Ed Gillespie mean by the ‘American Dream?’”
The ad was removed after extensive backlash.
Other mailers from Northam’s camp boasted that he is “standing up to Trump and Gillespie’s politics of fear and hate.”

 (Mailer from the Northam campaign sent to Virginia voters this campaign season. )

Northam campaigned with Democratic power players like former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden and even had a fundraiser headlined by Hillary Clinton.
Meanwhile, Gillespie garnered Republican support with a fundraiser hosted by former President George W. Bush. He was also joined by Vice President Pence on the campaign trail, but not Trump.
The Trump-referendum strategy has not been particularly successful for Democrats in House special elections this year, which the president referenced in his tweet Tuesday night. He referred to special elections in Kansas, Montana, Georgia, and South Carolina—Republicans won all four of those races.

Democrats Northam, Murphy win gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey

Democrat Ralph Northam, left, won the gubernatorial race in Virginia as Democrat Phil Murphy, right, won in New Jersey.

Democrats rode to victory in Tuesday's hotly contested gubernatorial elections, as Ralph Northam defeated Republican Ed Gillespie in Virginia and Phil Murphy beat Republican Kim Guadagno in New Jersey.
The victories -- especially the win in Virginia -- are a shot in the arm to the beleaguered Democratic Party, which has lost four special congressional elections to Republicans since Donald Trump was elected president a year ago.
Northam, Virginia's lieutenant governor, won with the support of federal government employees and non-white voters, according to the Fox News Voter Analysis.
Northam garnered 54 percent to Gillespie's 45 percent, with 99 percent of precincts reported.
As he began his victory speech late Tuesday night in Fairfax, Northam was briefly ushered off stage by security after several pro-sanctuary cities protesters in the crowd began heckling him. Once he returned to the stage, Northam vowed to work to unite the state.

Democratic nominee Ralph Northam, left, defeated Republican Ed Gillespie, right, on Tuesday in the state's gubernatorial contest.  (AP)

“We need to close the wounds that divide, and bring unity to Virginia," he said. "Whether you voted for me or not, we are all Virginians. And I hope to earn your confidence and support as we move forward."
Speaking in Richmond, Gillespie told supporters he had conceded to Northam.
“Obviously, wish it had gone the other way, but I thank those who voted,” Gillespie said.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez celebrated the wins by saying voters in Virginia and New Jersey “rejected a Trump-Pence agenda” -- though the voter analysis suggested President Trump was not a major factor at the ballot box.
Meanwhile, Trump reacted to the results by saying Gillespie, whom he supported, did not adequately embrace him during the race.
"Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for," the president tweeted. "Don’t forget, Republicans won 4 out of 4 House seats, and with the economy doing record numbers, we will continue to win, even bigger than before!"
Ahead of Tuesday’s elections, the president repeatedly tweeted his support for Gillespie in the race to replace Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe in Virginia. Polling in recent weeks had seemed to show Gillespie gaining ground on Northam in Virginia, the only southern state lost by Trump in 2016.
FULL ELECTION DAY COVERAGE
Towards the end of the campaign, Gillespie, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, emphasized issues embraced by Trump during the presidential campaign, vowing to crack down on sanctuary cities and the MS-13 gang.
The race between Gillespie and Northam had gotten particularly nasty in recent weeks, with each side accusing the other of running ads that were out of line and racially tinged.
VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL RACE GUIDE
Last week, a liberal group called the Latino Victory Fund released a television ad showing immigrant and minority children in Virginia being chased down the road by a man in a pickup truck with a Confederate flag and a Gillespie bumper sticker. Republicans decried the ad, accusing Democrats of fear-mongering. The group behind it eventually took the ad down after last week’s terrorist attack by truck in New York.
Meanwhile, Democrats repeatedly protested ads from Gillespie accusing Northam of voting for bills that would lead to a threat increase from the MS-13 gang. In a video posted on Twitter after he voted Tuesday, McAuliffe warned about a possible Republican upset and called on voters to reject the “bigoted, racist ads that Ed Gillespie has run against Ralph Northam”
“I do not want you waking up like you did after the presidential election last November and saying, ‘how could this possibly happen?’” McAuliffe said.
VIRGINIA, NEW JERSEY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES SPAR OVER SANCTUARY CITIES
Gillespie and Northam also sparred over the highly charged issue of removing Confederate monuments in the state. Northam's campaign attempted to tie Gillespie to the white supremacist violence this summer in Charlottesville, something Gillespie's campaign called an "ugly character smear."
Northam’s team portrayed the race as a referendum against Trump, labeling Gillespie “Trump's chief lobbyist” because of his former lobbying career.
The gubernatorial elections come as the national Democratic Party finds itself in disarray over former DNC interim chairman Donna Brazile’s new book claiming the DNC rigged the nomination for Hillary Clinton over rival Bernie Sanders in 2016.

Democratic nominee Phil Murphy, right, defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, left, in New Jersey.  (AP)

In New Jersey, Murphy -- a former Goldman Sachs executive and U.S. ambassador to Germany -- will succeed outgoing Republican Gov. Chris Christie, who has seen his approval numbers take a drastic hit and is term-limited after eight years in office.
Christie's deep unpopularity made Lt. Gov. Guadagno's campaign an uphill climb from the start.
Like Gillespie, Guadagno spent the campaign railing against sanctuary cities, releasing an ad drawing attention to Murphy’s comments in support of New Jersey being a “sanctuary state” and telling the story of an illegal immigrant who was convicted of killing several students in 2007.
“Murphy doesn’t have our backs,” the ad’s narrator said. Referencing criminal illegal immigrants, the narrator added: “He has theirs.”
Like Northam in Virginia, Murphy responded by accusing Guadagno of channeling Trump.
“Kim Guadagno should be ashamed of herself for the way she’s politicizing the deaths of three children and painting a community with the broad brush of a murderer, a tactic she must have gleaned from President Trump,” Murphy said in response to the ad. “To say the least, these are not New Jersey’s values.”

Trump, speaking in Seoul, warns North Korea: 'Do not underestimate us'

Speaking in front of South Korea’s National Assembly Wednesday morning, President Trump warned North Korea: "Do not underestimate us."

"Today, I hope I speak not only for our countries, but for all civilized nations, when I say to the North: Do not underestimate us. And do not try us," Trump said. "We will defend our common security, our shared prosperity, and our sacred liberty," the president said to cheers.

"We will not allow American cities to be threatened with destruction," he continued. "We will not be intimidated. And we will not let the worst atrocities in history be repeated here, on this ground we fought and died so hard to secure."
The comments contrasted remarks the president made earlier in the week, in which he appeared open to possible talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
During a news conference with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday, Trump argued that "it makes sense for North Korea to come to the table and make a deal that is good for the people of North Korea and for the world."
"I do see certain movement," Trump said.
But a day earlier, while in Tokyo, the president argued that "the era of strategic patience" with North Korea was finished and defended his previous rhetoric regarding the country.
That tone matched his speech on Wednesday.
"The world cannot tolerate the menace of a rogue regime that threatens with nuclear devastation," Trump argued, while advocating for "peace through strength."
"All responsible nations must join forces to isolate the brutal regime of North Korea," he said.
"It is our responsibility and our duty to confront this danger together - because the longer we wait, the greater the danger grows, and the fewer the options become," he continued. "And to those nations that choose to ignore this threat or, worse still, to enable it: The weight of this crisis is on your conscience."
TRUMP LANDS IN JAPAN, KICKING OFF FIRST ASIA TRIP
The speech in South Korea comes amid a 13-day trip to Asia that has already seen the president visit Japan and South Korea with stops in China, Vietnam and the Philippines still on the docket. 

Guns don't kill people, people kill people Cartoons