NY Times columnist praises Trump for winning against ISIS, hits media for not giving credit

Ross Douthat New York Times

A conservative New York Times columnist on Sunday wrote a piece on President Trump’s successful approach at taking on the Islamic State and how his strategy has gone unnoticed by the media.

Ross Douthat, who previously endorsed Hillary Clinton, wrote that the Trump administration surprised him in foreign policy, namely in the war on ISIS that Trump has won.

“If you had told me in late 2016 that almost a year into the Trump era the caliphate would be all-but-beaten without something far worse happening in the Middle East, I would have been surprised and gratified,” Douthat wrote in an column titled “A War Trump Won.”
Douthat wrote that Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq – which he calls “the defining foreign policy calamity of Barack Obama’s second term” – were effectively routed by Trump without the need of a massive ground troop invasion and without getting into a war with Russia or Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Douthat wrote that it is a “press failure” for succumbing to “the narrative of Trumpian disaster” and ignoring the story.

Video

Trump takes credit for success in fight against ISIS

“But this is also a press failure, a case where the media is not adequately reporting an important success because it does not fit into the narrative of Trumpian disaster in which our journalistic entities are all invested,” he wrote.
Earlier this month, Iraq declared its war against the Islamic State was over after more than three years of combat operations drove extremist fighters from all of the territories they once held.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced Iraqi forces were in full control of the country’s border with Syria during remarks at a conference in Baghdad, and his spokesman said the development marked the end of the military fight against ISIS.
 “Trump has avoided the temptation often afflicting Republican uber-hawks, in which we’re supposed to fight all bad actors on 16 fronts at once. Instead he’s slow-walked his hawkish instincts on Iran, tolerated Assad and avoided dialing up tensions with Russia,” Douthat wrote.
Lastly, Douthat gives credit for Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel – a move condemned by multiple countries across the globe – as recognizing that the Middle East has changed its priorities since the 1990s.
He wrote: “And the Trump strategy on Israel and the Palestinians, the butt of many Jared Kushner jokes, seems … not crazy?”
“The relatively mild reaction to recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital may be a case study in expert consensus falling behind the facts; the Arab world has different concerns than it did in 1995, and Trump’s move has helped clarify that change.”
Douthat ended the article: “So very provisionally, credit belongs where it’s due — to our soldiers and diplomats, yes, but to our president as well.”

Linda Sarsour accused of enabling sexual assault, harassment in workplace

Activist Linda Sarsour outside Trump Tower last June.

Linda Sarsour, the Pro-Palestinian activist who helped spearhead the Women's March in Washington earlier this year, allegedly enabled the sexual assault and harassment of a woman who worked for her, according to a report Sunday night.

Allegations of groping and unwanted touching were brought to the attention of Sarsour during her time as executive director of the Arab American Association, The Daily Caller reported.

Asmi Fathelbab told the website Sarsour attacked her for bringing the allegations, often threatening and body-shaming her, because the accused was a “good Muslim” who was “always at the mosque,” The Daily Caller reported.
“She oversaw an environment unsafe and abusive to women,” Fathelbab, a former employee at the Arab American Association, told The Daily Caller. “Women who put [Sarsour] on a pedestal for women’s rights and empowerment deserve to know how she really treats us.”
Reps for Sarsour did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Fathelbab told The Daily Caller that Sarsour threatened legal and professional damage if she went public with the sexual assault claims.
“She told me he had the right to sue me for false claims,” Fathelbab said, adding that the assaulter allegedly “had the right to be anywhere in the building he wanted.”
Fathelbab claimed her attacker would sneak up behind her during work and rub his crotch on her.
“It was disgusting,” Fathelbab told The Daily Caller. “I ran the youth program in the building and with that comes bending down and talking to small children. You have no idea what it was like to stand up and feel that behind you. I couldn’t scream because I didn’t want to scare the child in front of me. It left me shaking.”
Fathelbab said her allegations would result in her get written up for disciplinary action. She told The Daily Caller she was once forced to talk to a detective from the community liaison division about the consequences of making false claims to the authorities.
After her contract was finished at the Arab American Association, Fathelbab said she had trouble getting new jobs.
“She told me I’d never work in NYC ever again for as long as she lived,” Fathelbab said. “She’s kept her word. She had me fired from other jobs when she found out where I worked. She has kept me from obtaining any sort of steady employment for almost a decade.”
Sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity to The Daily Caller corroborated Fathelbab’s story.
“They made it about her weight, saying she was not attractive enough to be harassed and then swept it under the rug,” one source said.

Obama administration undermined anti-Hezbollah task force to help secure Iran nuke deal, report says

The Obama administration gave a free pass to Hezbollah’s drug-trafficking and money-laundering operations — some of which were unfolding inside the U.S. — to help ensure the Iran nuclear deal would stay on track, according to a bombshell exposé in Politico Sunday.

An elaborate campaign led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, known as Project Cassandra, reportedly targeted the Lebanese militant group’s criminal activities. But by tossing a string of roadblocks holding back the project, Obama administration officials helped allow the 35-year-old anti-Israel criminal enterprise to evolve into a major global security threat bankrolling terrorist and military operations, the report added.

“This was a policy decision, it was a systematic decision,” David Asher, who helped establish Project Cassandra as a Defense Department illicit finance analyst in 2008, told Politico. “They serially ripped apart this entire effort that was very well supported and resourced, and it was done from the top down.”
When Project Cassandra leaders, who were working out of a DEA’s Counter facility in Chantilly, Virginia, sought an OK for some significant investigations, prosecutions, arrests and financial sanctions, Justice and Treasury Department officials delayed, hindered or rejected their requests, according to Politico.
The red tape halted Project Cassandra’s efforts to curtail top Hezbollah operatives, including one of the world’s biggest cocaine traffickers who was also supplying conventional and chemical weapons used by Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad against his own citizens. That operative's code name: the “Ghost.”
Former Obama administration officials told Politico anonymously that their decisions were guided by improving relations with Iran, stalling its nuclear weapons program and freeing four Americans prisoners held by the country. They also denied they “derailed” actions against Hezbollah out of politics.
“There has been a consistent pattern of actions taken against Hezbollah, both through tough sanctions and law enforcement actions before and after the Iran deal,” Kevin Lewis who worked at both the White House and Justice Department during the Obama administration, responded.
Asher said the closer the U.S. got to finalizing the Iran nuclear deal, the more difficult it was to conduct Hezbollah investigations. After President Obama announced the deal in January 2016, Project Cassandra officials were transferred to other assignments.
“The closer we got to the [Iran deal], the more these activities went away,” Asher 49, who speaks fluent Japanese and earned his Ph.D. in international relations from Oxford University, told Politico. “So much of the capability, whether it was special operations, whether it was law enforcement, whether it was [Treasury] designations — even the capacity, the personnel assigned to this mission — it was assiduously drained, almost to the last drop, by the end of the Obama administration.”
Hezbollah was formed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in 1982 to fight Israel’s invasion of Beirut. Under the leadership of Hassan Nasrallah, who took over in 1992 after his predecessor, Abbas Mussawi, was killed in an Israeli airstrike, the group moved from seeking to implement an Iranian-style Islamic republic in Lebanon to focusing on fighting Israel and integration into Lebanon’s sectarian-based politics.
Nasrallah, now 57, has played a key role in ending a feud among Shiites, focusing attention toward fighting Israel and later expanding the group’s regional reach.

Democrat Predator Cartoons

Keeping 'Dreamers' would cost taxpayers $26B over next 10 years, feds say

Carlos Esteban and other supporters of the DREAM Act and DACA demonstrate outside the White House in Washington, Sept. 5, 2017. 

Allowing 2 million illegal immigrant “Dreamers” to remain in the U.S. would cost taxpayers $25.9 billion over the next decade, the Congresssional Budget Office says in a report released Friday.

Dreamers are the prospective beneficiaries of the DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors), legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate earlier this year to provide a pathway to citizenship for some illegal immigrants.

They would include those who've participated in DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), received temporary protected status, or have fulfilled certain educational requirements.

S. 1615, Dream Act of 2017 https://t.co/ice9hOQyld

— CBO Cost Estimates (@USCBOcostest) December 15, 2017

Under the bill, immigrants who benefited from DACA would be eligible for Medicaid, food stamps, education funding, and various other programs, provided that the applicants meet certain requirements.
Of the 11 to 12 million illegal immigrants currently in the U.S., some 3.25 million would be eligible for the DREAM Act. However, the report estimates that only 2 million would apply, 1.6 million of whom would earn legal status over the next 10 years. A remaining 1 million would become citizens with that same time period, which would allow them to sponsor relatives, the report states.
The CBO estimates that the bill would increase budget deficits by $25.9 billion over the 2018-2027 period while increasing net revenues by $0.9 billion.

H.R. 3440, Dream Act of 2017 https://t.co/3Iy4xlOmth

— CBO Cost Estimates (@USCBOcostest) December 15, 2017

DACA, originally implemented in 2012 under the Obama administration via executive order, allowed individuals who entered or the United States illegally as minors to receive a two-year period of deferred action and elligibility for a work permit.
By 2017 approximately 800,000 individuals – or Dreamers – were taking advantage of DACA. The Trump administration announced its intention to ax DACA earlier this year.

Hallmark Christmas movies under fire for spreading 'Caucasian cheer'

The Hallmark Channel is a throwback to an age when Hollywood produced family-friendly films and love stories that did not involve leather and whips.

Click here for a free subscription to Todd's newsletter: a must-read for Conservatives! 

The network has earned millions of loyal fans for broadcasting movies that promote the virtues of faith and family -- stories that tug at your heartstrings.
“We are a place you can go and feel good,” Bill Abbott, the chief executive of Crown Media, told the Washington Post.

Would Slate be just as indignant about the ethnic casting habits of BET or Univision or the LGBT-friendly Bravo television network?

“We intentionally branded ourselves as the happy place. Abbott said. “Hallmark’s tagline is ‘the heart of TV.’”
And viewership has skyrocketed since President Trump promised to make America great again – making Hallmark one of the most-watched cable television networks in the nation.
For the sake of full disclosure, I’m a fan of “When Calls The Heart,” produced by my good friend, Brian Bird. It’s a great place to escape from the unhinged rantings of Rachel Maddow and Don Lemon.
But it turns out not everyone is a fan of Hallmark. Click here to watch my Fox Radio commentary on this issue.
Slate published a scathing review of the network -- complaining about its around-the-clock Christmas movies.
"They brim with white heterosexuals who exclusively, emphatically, and endlessly bellow “Merry Christmas” to every lumberjack and labradoodle they pass. They’re centered on beauty-pageant heroines and strong-jawed heroes with white-nationalist haircuts," the Slate writer declared.
There were complaints about the lack of gay people and feminists and Muslims in Hallmark Channel's movies.
Slate also whined about what it called the network's "42 hours of sugary, sexist, preposterously plotted, plot hole–festooned, belligerently traditional, ecstatically Caucasian cheer."
It’s true that most of the stars in Hallmark’s Christmas movies have a fair complexion – but to say it’s a holiday white-out would be inaccurate.
Would Slate be just as indignant about the ethnic casting habits of BET or Univision or the LGBT-friendly Bravo television network?
"The Christmas-down-your-throat bombast, holly-jolly sexism, the characters’ zaniness and unyielding impulsiveness—it’s all very Trumpian behavior," the Slate writer said.
I say better that than the run-of-the mill pornographic debauchery that normally spews out of Hollywood.
Fortunately, for the folks over at Slate there is a perfect solution to their television viewing dilemma – just change the channel.
As for me and my house, we’re going to put an extra log on the fire, pour a cup of hot cocoa and enjoy a very Hallmark Christmas.
Todd Starnes is host of Fox News & Commentary. His latest book is “The Deplorables’ Guide to Making America Great Again.” Follow him on Twitter @ToddStarnes and find him on Facebook.

Australian man accused of brokering North Korea missile sales

Australian police have arrested a Sydney man accused of acting as an agent for North Korea by allegedly attempting to broker sales for Pyongyang including components used in ballistic missiles.

"This case is like nothing we have ever seen on Australia soil," Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan told reporters Sunday morning. "This is black market 101."

The suspect has been identified as a 59-year-old naturalized Australian citizen who was born in South Korea. He was arrested Saturday and charged over two transactions that were unsuccessful.

Video

South Korea prepares for Olympics amid threats from North

"But we estimate that if these trades were successful, we're talking tens of millions of dollars," Gaughan said.
Police allege the man was generating tens of millions of dollars for the Pyongyang regime by arranging the sale of missiles, components and expertise from North Korea to other international entities, and was trying to arrange the transfer of coal from the country to Indonesia and Vietnam.
"This man was acting as a loyal agent for North Korea who believed he was acting to serve some higher patriotic purpose," Gaughan said. "I think at the end of the day he would sell whatever he could to make money back for the North Korean government."

Video

Tillerson walks back comments about talks with North Korea

Gaughan added that there was no evidence any weapons or components passed through Australia and said the governments of Indonesia and Vietnam -- or authorities in those countries -- were not involved.

"We’re alleging all the activity occurred offshore," Gaughan said.
The suspect is the first person charged under Australia's Weapons of Mass Destruction Act and faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence. However, Gaughan said the investigation was ongoing and more charges were expected.
Police started investigating the man after a tip-off from another international agency on another matter, Gaughan said, adding that the man's activities also involved commodities including oil and gemstones.
Despite international sanctions, cash-strapped North Korea last month test-fired its most powerful missile that may be able to target the U.S. mainland.

NBC paid off producer who accused Chris Matthews of harassment, report says

Chris Matthews, pictured here in April, has hosted MSNBC's 'Hardball with Chris Matthews' since 1997.

NBC paid thousands of dollars to an assistant producer on MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews" nearly two decades ago after she brought a sexual harassment complaint against the longtime host, The Daily Caller reported Saturday.

The website, citing two sources, reported that NBC paid the woman $40,000 to settle her claim against Matthews in 1999. An NBC spokesperson told The Daily Caller the network paid a smaller, unspecified amount as part of a severance package.

The woman complained to executives that Matthews, now 71, had made inappropriate comments to her and made inappropriate jokes about her to others.
An MSNBC spokesman told The Daily Caller that Matthews had been slapped with a formal reprimand at the time the woman made her complaint. The website reported that the network decided that the complaints were "inappropriate and juvenile," but were not intended as propositions.
Matthews has hosted "Hardball" on MSNBC since 1997. He also hosted the syndicated "Chris Matthews Show" between 2002 and 2013 and has authored eight books, most recently a biography of Robert Kennedy.

The Christmas Tax Man Cartoons

Maria Bartiromo: Why tax reform matters so much

Tax reform: The key issues that could derail the bill

Both House and Senate lawmakers are working to make a deal on tax reform. Here is a look at the key issues, from health care to child credit tax relief, that could derail its passage

I’m not in the habit of giving stock tips or making market calls. I’ve never claimed to be an investment strategist. But after spending years reporting on business and finance, I was convinced on the night of Nov. 8, 2016, that the conventional market wisdom was way off target.
As the night wore on and equity traders began to grasp that Donald Trump would become president, stock markets around the world started selling off. In the U.S., trading in S&P 500 futures would eventually be halted after a 5% decline. After midnight, Paul Krugman of the New York Times opined: “If the question is when markets will recover, a first-pass answer is never.”
I didn’t see it that way. For years I’d been hearing anguished people at companies large and small bemoan the growing federal burden of taxes and regulations. Now the U.S. would have a president who intended to reduce this hardship and prioritize economic growth.
When I sat down around 10:30 on election night for a Fox News panel discussion, Dow futures were down about 700 points. Markets like certainty; it was understandable that some investors were selling. Mr. Trump seemed to present more uncertainty than Hillary Clinton, who was essentially promising a continuation of the Obama administration. Mr. Trump’s talk about ripping up the North American Free Trade Agreement, for example, created big unknowns and potentially significant risks.
Keep reading Fox Business Network anchor Maria Bartiromo's column in the Wall Street Journal.

Maria Bartiromo joined FOX Business Network (FBN) as Global Markets Editor in January 2014.  She is the anchor ofOpening Bell with Maria Bartiromo on FBN (weekdays from 9-11 AM/ET) and Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo (Sundays at 10 AM/ET) on FOX News Channel (FNC).

Newt Gingrich: Republican tax cuts are hit with fake news attacks

Republicans are wrapping up the biggest tax cut bill since 1986, despite the fact that the elite media has spent weeks attacking, distorting, and undermining the GOP tax cut legislation.

Every Democratic attack, no matter how false or distorted, has been given extensive news coverage. Liberal columnists and analysts have laboriously written and opined on television against the tax bill.

If a provision cuts taxes for millions of Americans but raises taxes for a few thousand, the elite media skips the many winners to focus on the small number of losers.
At the same time, the eight-year underperformance of the Obama administration in jobs, take-home pay, and economic growth is ignored by the elite media, while the already accelerating economic growth during the first year of the Trump presidency is underreported or downplayed.
Similarly, there is little coverage of the remarkable jump in small-business owner confidence or the equally impressive improvement in corporate CEO optimism.

The fake news game being played against the historic Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is designed to take away all of the political advantages Republicans ought to be gaining.

The fake news game being played against the historic Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is designed to take away all of the political advantages Republicans ought to be gaining.
Consider the facts:

• The Republican tax cut takes a big step toward President Trump’s campaign goal of implementing a 15 percent corporate tax rate. The corporate rate’s reduction from 35 percent to 21 percent would have been unthinkable two years ago.

• The pass-through provision to enable small businesses to also get a strong tax cut has won enthusiastic support from the National Federation of Independent Businesses and the Job Creators Network (two of the leading small business associations). Note also that the media completely distorted NFIB’s questions about early versions of the bill and presented the group’s honest concerns as total opposition. 

• The Republican tax cut bill will boost job creation and includes strong middle class and pro-family provisions. Increasing the child tax credit to up to $2,000 and doubling the standard deduction will have an incredibly positive impact on middle-class families.

• The simplification and increased deduction will allow nine out of 10 Americans to file their taxes on a form the size of a postcard. The savings in time and money that used to be spent on tax preparers will be a further advantage for most Americans.

Republicans are close to the end, but the fight isn’t over.
Republicans need to be prepared to win the argument. They have to assume the liberal media will continue to push fake stories about this legislation, and they need to be ready to counter these distorted, false claims.
In every interview, Republicans must be prepared to correct reporters and anchors when they start using phony examples and false "facts."
Republicans should use social media to reach every big winner in the tax cut bill – starting with small business owners.
Writing a good bill is only step one.
Communicating the bill effectively, despite falsehoods and distortions in fake news, is the vital second step – and it requires serious commitment.
If Republicans reach every person who is helped by this bill, they will win decisively in 2018.
The Democrats who do not vote for this bill will have to explain why they are against reduced taxes, lower unemployment, a simpler tax code and more American job creation.
Winning the argument over the tax bill may be the most crucial step toward victory in 2018.
Newt Gingrich is a Fox News contributor. A Republican, he was speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. Follow him on Twitter @NewtGingrich. His latest book is "Understanding Trump."

Gregg Jarrett: Did the FBI and the Justice Department, plot to clear Hillary Clinton, bring down Trump?

There is strong circumstantial evidence that an insidious plot unprecedented in American history was hatched within the FBI and the Obama Justice Department to help elect Hillary Clinton and defeat Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. 

And when this apparent effort to improperly influence the election did not succeed, the suspected conspirators appear to have employed a fraudulent investigation of President Trump in an attempt to undo the election results and remove him as president.

Such a Machiavellian scheme would move well beyond what is known as the “deep state,” a popular reference to government employees who organize in secret to impose their own political views on government policy in defiance of democratically elected leadership.
However, this apparent plot to keep Trump from becoming president and to weaken and potentially pave the way for his impeachment with a prolonged politically motivated investigation – if proven – would constitute something far more nefarious and dangerous.
Such a plot would show that partisans within the FBI and the Justice Department, driven by personal animus and a sense of political righteousness, surreptitiously conspired to subvert electoral democracy itself in our country.
As of now, we have no proof beyond a reasonable doubt of such a plot. But we have very strong circumstantial evidence.
And as the philosopher and writer Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal in 1850: “Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk.”
Newly revealed text messages about the apparent anti-Trump plot are the equivalent of a trout in the milk. It smells fishy. 
The Plans
The mainstream media and Democrats dismiss talk of an anti-Trump conspiracy by the FBI and Justice Department as right-wing nonsense – paranoid fantasies of Trump supporters with no basis in facts. But there are plenty of facts that lay out a damning case based on circumstantial evidence.
Recently disclosed text messages between FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page suggest there may have been two parts of the apparent anti-Trump plot.
“Part A” was to devise a way to exonerate Clinton, despite compelling evidence that she committed crimes under the Espionage Act in her mishandling of classified documents on her private email server.
Absolving Clinton cleared the way for her to continue her candidacy at a time when all polls and just about every pundit predicted she would be elected president in November 2016. If Clinton had been charged with crimes she would likely have been forced to drop her candidacy, and if she remained in the race her candidacy would have been doomed.
But “Part A” of the apparent anti-Trump plot was not enough. A back-up plan would be prudent. It seems the Obama Justice Department and FBI conjured up a “Part B” just in case the first stratagem failed. This would be even more malevolent – manufacturing an alleged crime supposedly committed by Trump where no crime exists in the law.
And so, armed with a fictitious justification, a criminal investigation was launched into so-called Trump-Russia “collusion.” It was always a mythical legal claim, since there is no statute prohibiting foreign nationals from volunteering their services in American political campaigns.
More importantly, there was never a scintilla of evidence that Trump collaborated with Russia to influence the election.
No matter. The intent may have been to sully the new president while searching for a crime to force him from office. 
But thanks to the discovery of text messages, circumstantial evidence has been exposed.
The Texts
The text messages exchanged between Strzok and Page, who were romantically involved, confirm a stunning hostility toward Trump, calling him an “idiot” and “loathsome.”
At the same time, the texts were filled with adoring compliments of Clinton, lauding her nomination and stating: “She just has to win now.”
One text between Strzok and Page dated Aug. 6, 2016 stands out and looks like the proverbial smoking gun.
Page: “And maybe you’re meant to stay where you are because you’re meant to protect the country from that menace.” (This is clearly a reference to a Trump presidency).
Strzok:  “Thanks. And of course I’ll try and approach it that way. I can protect our country at many levels .…”   
It is reasonable to conclude that Strzok had already taken steps to “protect” the country from what he considered would be a dangerous and harmful Trump presidency.
Just one month earlier, then-FBI Director James Comey had announced he would recommend that no criminal charges be filed by the Justice Department against Clinton. Given all the incriminating evidence against Clinton, Comey’s view that she should not be prosecuted made no sense by any objective standard. 
This is where Strzok played a pivotal role. As the lead investigator in the Clinton email case, he is the person who changed the critical wording in Comey’s description of Clinton’s handling of classified material, substituting “extremely careless” for “gross negligence.”
As I explained in an earlier column, this alteration of two words had enormous consequences, because it allowed Clinton to evade prosecution. This removed the only legal impediment to her election as president.
Documents made available by the Senate Homeland Security Committee also show that Comey intended to declare that the sheer volume of classified material on Clinton’s server supported the “inference” that she was grossly negligent, which would constitute criminal conduct. Yet this also was edited out, likely by Strzok, to avoid finding evidence of crimes.   
This seems to be what Page and Strzok meant when they discussed his role as protector of the republic. It appears that Strzok was instrumental in clearing Clinton by rewriting Comey’s otherwise incriminating findings.
Were Page and Strzok also referring to the investigation of Trump that was begun in July 2016, right after Clinton was absolved?  After all, Strzok was the agent who reportedly signed the documents launching the bureau’s Trump-Russia probe. And he was a lead investigator in the case before jumping to Robert Mueller’s special counsel team.           
If there is any doubt that Strzok and Page sought to undermine the democratic process, consider this cryptic text about their “insurance policy” against the “risk” of a Trump presidency.
Strzok:  “I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office – that there’s no way he gets elected – but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.…”
The reference to “Andy” is likely Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who was also supervising the investigation of Clinton’s emails at the same time his wife was receiving roughly $675,000 in campaign money in her race for elective office in Virginia from groups aligned with Clinton.
What was the “insurance policy” discussed in Andy’s office? Was it the FBI’s investigation of Trump and his associates?  Or was it the anti-Trump “dossier” that may have been used by the FBI and the Justice Department as the basis for a warrant to wiretap and spy on Trump associates? Perhaps it was both.
The Dossier
The “dossier” was a compendium of largely specious allegations about Trump, compiled by the opposition research firm Fusion GPS. The dossier was funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Comey called it “salacious and unverified.” 
Various congressional committees suspect the dossier was illegally used to place a Trump campaign associate, Carter Page, under foreign surveillance. When asked about that on Wednesday during a hearing on Capitol Hill, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein refused to answer, which sounds like an implicit “yes.”
Using a dubious, if not phony, document in support of an affidavit to obtain a warrant from a federal judge constitutes a fraud upon the court, which is a crime.
The dossier scandal recently ensnared Bruce Ohr, a top Justice Department official, who was demoted last week for concealing his meetings with the men behind the document.
Ohr’s wife worked for Fusion GPS. This created a disqualifying conflict of interest for Mr. Ohr. He was legally obligated under Justice Department regulations to recuse himself from the Mueller investigation of Russia’s role in the election, but he did not.     
Congress needs to find out whether the dossier was exploited as a pretext for initiating the Russia probe against President Trump. It would also be unconscionable, if not illegal, for the FBI and Justice Department to use opposition research funded by Clinton’s campaign to spy on her opponent or his campaign.
Both agencies have been resisting congressional subpoenas and other demands for answers, which smacks of a cover-up. Since the Justice Department cannot be trusted to investigate itself, a second special counsel should be appointed.
This new counsel should also reopen the Clinton email case and investigate the conduct of Strzok, Page, Comey and others who may have obstructed justice by exonerating Clinton in the face of substantial evidence that she had committed crimes.
If Strzok or anyone else allowed their political views to shape the investigations of either Clinton or Trump and dictate the outcomes, that is a felony for which they should be prosecuted.   
The Mueller investigation is now so tainted with the appearance of corruption that it has lost credibility and the public’s trust.
It is very much like a trout in the spoiled milk.                       
Gregg Jarrett joined FOX News Channel (FNC) in 2002 and is based in New York. He currently serves as legal analyst and offers commentary across both FNC and FOX Business Network (FBN).

Moore tells supporters 'battle is not over' in Senate race

A defiant Roy Moore told supporters on Friday that the battle for the Alabama Senate seat is "not over," despite President Trump, who backed him during the campaign, calling on him to concede.

Moore went on to email supporters asking for contributions to his "election integrity fund' so he could investigate reports of voter fraud.

"I also wanted to let you know that this battle is NOT OVER!" he wrote in the email.
Democrat Doug Jones on Tuesday defeated Moore by about 20,000 votes, or 1.5 percent, according to unofficial returns.
But Moore, who has been accused of sexual misconduct with teenage girls when he was in his 30s, has not yet conceded in the race to fill the seat that previously belonged to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Moore told supporters that the race was "close" and some military and provisional ballots had yet to be counted. Those are expected to be counted next week.
Moore said his campaign is collecting "numerous reported cases of voter fraud" to send to the secretary of state's office.
Secretary of State John Merrill has said it is unlikely that the last-minute ballots will change the outcome of the election or even trigger a recount.
Merrill said his office has investigated reports of voting irregularities, but "we have not discovered any that have been proven factual in nature."
Trump, who had endorsed Moore, called Jones to congratulate him on his win. Trump on Friday said that he believed Moore should concede the race.
The results of Alabama's Senate race will be certified between Dec. 26 and Jan. 3 after counties report their official totals.
Trump, for his part, appeared to be looking to the future.
"I think he should [concede]," Trump told reporters at the White House. "I want to support the person running. We need the seat. We'd like to have the seat." 

Manic Kim Jong Un Cartoons

Kim Jong Un's top aide executed by North Korean death squad, reports suggest

Manic

A key member of Kim Jong Un's inner circle touted as a powerful military figure mysteriously vanished from public life recently, sparking rumors he was executed by a North Korean death squad after allegations of bribery, recent reports indicated.

Hwang Pyong-so, a vice marshal who held the most senior position in North Korea’s military, hasn’t been seen in public since Oct. 13, sparking rumors of his death.

North Korean vice chairman of the State Affairs Commission Hwang Pyong-so's profile picture is shown in this undated photo.  (KCNA via Reuters)

Kim has previously dispatched his enemies via a variety of gruesome methods, including shooting them with anti-aircraft weaponry at a close distance and feeding them to a pack of ravenous dogs.
News about Hwang’s troubles within Kim’s regime emerged in mid-November, when South Korea’s spy agency reported the top aide and his deputy, Kim Won-hong, were expelled from the military’s General Politico Bureau and “punished,” Yonhap News Agency reported.

Kim Jong Un, right, and Hwang Pyong-so enjoy watching an air show in 2014.  (KCNA via Reuters)

A rare inspection on the bureau was conducted after reports of “impure attitude” toward the volatile regime. The spy agency said it was looking into details about their punishment.
“If Hwang was indeed kicked out of the Workers’ Party, it would practically mean the end of his political career, and possibly his life, though it is unknown whether or not he is still alive,” South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo reported, according to the Telegraph.
KIM JONG UN KILLED UNCLE, HALF-BROTHER OVER 'CHINA COUP PLOT,' REPORT SAYS

Kim Jong Un, left, greeting officials with Hwang Pyong-so by his side in 2015.  (Reuters)

Kim Won-hong was reportedly sentenced to one of North Korea’s prison camps. As for Hwang, many of Kim Jong Un’s recent actions indicate the man who the dictator has trusted for about a decade was executed -- possibly by the infamous firing squad that also killed Kim’s uncle Jang Song Thaek.
The two officials allegedly had been receiving favors for promotions, the Telegraph reported. Kim ordered the two officials to be punished “as a warning to others.”
Kim’s visit to the country’s Mount Paektu over the weekend hinted at Hwang’s possible execution. Kim usually visits the sacred mountain before he makes a significant decision, much like his father and grandfather had done, Korea Jongang Daily reported.
The leader previously visited the mountain with his aides in November 2013, a month before ordering the deaths of several officials, including Jang, who was branded “worse than a dog” and a “despicable human scum.” The bodies were then lit on fire with flamethrowers.

Kim Jong Un visited Mount Paektu over the weekend, an indication he may be making a significant decision.  (KCNA via Reuters)

KIM JONG UN VOWS MORE 'QUALITY' NUCLEAR WEAPONS, HONORS ROCKET SCIENTISTS
Kim also made a trip to the mountain before he executed former defense chief Hyon Yong-chol in April 2015.
North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency did not mention Hwang in its statement about Kim’s visit, but said the despot was celebrating his “big achievements in November.”
Hwang rose through the ranks and, in 2014, was named the senior deputy director in the central party, North Korean Leadership Watch reported. South Korean spies believe Kim was pitting Hwang against Choe Ryong-hae, the vice chairman of the Central Committee of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, to ensure they were forever loyal to the leader, according to Yonhap News Agency.

California housing crisis affecting middle class the most: It's 'a broken system'

For all of its claims of being an economic paradise, California is a failure when it comes to housing.

Not just low-income, affordable housing, but middle-income, working-class housing for teachers, firemen and long-time residents hoping to live anywhere near work.

"California has a housing crisis. We can't provide housing to our citizens," said Rita Brandin, with San Diego developer Newland Communities. "In Georgia, Texas and Florida, it can take a year and a half from concept to permits. In California, just the process from concept to approvals, is five years – that does not include the environmental lawsuits faced by 90 percent of projects."
Numbers tell the story of California's housing crisis.
* 75 percent of Southern Californians can't afford to buy a home, according to the state realtors association.
* 16 of the 25 least affordable communities in the US are in California, according to 24/7 Wall Street.
* Officials this year declared a homeless emergency in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange counties.
* 56 percent of state voters say they may have to move because of a lack of affordable housing. One in four say they will relocate out of state, according to University of California Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies.
 * A median price home in the Golden State is $561,000, according to the realtors association. A household would need to earn $115,000 a year to reasonably afford a home at that price, assuming a 20 percent down payment. Yet, two thirds of Californians earns less $80,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
* The household income needed to afford a median-priced home in the Silicon Valley town of Palo Alto is $450,000.
* In San Francisco, a median priced home is $1.5 million, according to the Paragon Real Estate Group.
* Home prices in California are twice the national average, and 70 percent can't afford to buy a home, according to state figures.
* Median household income in L.A. is $64,000. That's half what is necessary to buy a home.
*1 in 10 residents are considering leaving because they can't afford a place to live, according to a state legislative study, while US Census figures show 2 million residents, 25 and older, have already left the state since 2010.
* In 2016, 30 percent of California tenants put more than 50 percent of their income toward rent and utilities, according to the California Budget & Policy Center. Economists consider 30 percent the limit.
* California needs to double the number of homes built each year to keep prices from rising faster than the national average, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office.
"The biggest tragedy of California is we have stopped building houses for the middle class," said Borre Winkle with the Building Industry Association of San Diego. "Think of California's housing market as a martini class. We're building some affordable housing at the low end. Absolutely nothing in the middle and the top end is high-income housing, which subsidizes low-income housing. So that is a broken system."
In 2016, the cities of Houston and Dallas built more homes, 63,000, than the entire Golden State, which built 50,000, according to US Census Bureau figures.
"Supply and demands works," said USC real estate professor Richard Green. "People want to be here and we're not accommodating them with new housing and so the cost of the housing goes up."

"The biggest tragedy of California is we have stopped building houses for the middle class," said Borre Winkle with the Building Industry Association of San Diego. "Think of California's housing market as a martini class. We're building some affordable housing at the low end. Absolutely nothing in the middle and the top end is high-income housing, which subsidizes low-income housing. So that is a broken system."  (REUTERS)

The lack of housing is a statewide problem for which many share the blame. Current residents adamantly oppose any new project because it will aggravate traffic, already the worst in the nation. Environmentalists oppose growth because most new projects require a lot of land, which they feel contributes to sprawl. They favor infill projects of higher density, just the sort existing residents oppose.
Politicians are caught in the middle. They know businesses needs a growing population to meet labor needs, but are afraid to vote for new housing for fear of being voted out of office.
"Our long-term growth and prosperity is absolutely and fundamentally dependent upon housing that folks can afford," said Elizabeth Hansburg, a young mother who started a “Yes in My Backyard,” or YIMBY chapter in Orange County. “If we want Orange County to be prosperous in the future, we have to have housing that people can afford to live in."
YIMBY members show up at city council and planning commission meetings and advocate for more housing. They counter the typical “Not in My Backyard” groups that typically kill projects by exerting political influence.
"I just thought to myself, there is no one providing a counter argument to this. All the elected officials are hearing is no we don't want this," Hansburg said. "And I thought we needed to balance that conversation in the public sphere. Somebody needed to be there saying: ‘Yes we do want this.’ We do have a housing shortage."
According to a study commissioned by the Building Industry Association at Point Loma Nazarene University, up to 40 percent of the cost of a new home is attributable to the 45 regulatory agencies that govern home building in California.
"California is a state that just absolutely loves regulations. And the problem of housing in California is one of regulatory overreach," Winkel said. "In San Diego, 40 cents on the dollar of production of housing goes to regulations alone. It's not uncommon to have $100,000 in impact fees on a single-family house and try to sell a house with that type of cost burden."

California residents adamantly oppose any new building project because it will aggravate traffic, already the worst in the nation.  (REUTERS)

The Newland Sierra project near San Diego is still trying to build a mixed-use community with 2,100 new units on a parcel of 1,900 acres. But builders say they are only developing 775 acres, leaving 61 percent open space.
Yet, environmentalists and local opposition are already threatening to sue, or gather signatures to take the project to a vote.
"NIMBYism has now become a tool for special interests to stop projects," Brandin said. "There's an anti-growth attitude that really creates this roadblock to providing homes and that is creating a disparity. We are leaving out our working class who have to commute hours, sometimes two hours beyond our borders, to work in our city."
A similar, albeit larger project in Los Angeles fought environmental lawsuits for 20 years.
"Very often these lawsuits are not won, but it extends the time it takes to do the development and in development time really is money," Green said. "The thing about environmental groups is they just don't trust developers, period. We're one of the fastest-growing states in the country when it comes to jobs and we're not building any housing. California has the second lowest rate of homeownership in the country. Only Hawaii is lower."