James Comey urges voters to choose Democrats, warns that 'history has its eyes on us'

Former FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday said “history has its eyes on us” and encouraged people to vote for Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections.  (AP)

Former FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday said “history has its eyes on us” and encouraged Americans to vote for Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections.
Comey, who was fired by President Donald Trump in May 2017, issued a tweet urging Americans to snub Republicans this November.
“This Republican Congress has proven incapable of fulfilling the Founders’ design that ‘Ambition must … counteract ambition,’” tweeted the former FBI director, a longtime supporter of Republicans. “All who believe in this country’s values must vote for Democrats this fall. History has its eyes on us.”
The move to endorse Democrats comes after the controversial summit in Helsinki, Finland on Monday between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump drew the fury from both the left and right for not unequivocally siding with the American intelligence community on whether Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.
He said that though he has great confidence in the U.S. intelligence community, the Russian president gave a “strong and powerful” denial. He added that he doesn't “see any reason why” Russia would be behind election meddling and suggested both Russian and the U.S. are to blame for strained relations.
Comey criticized the president’s conduct at the summit as well, saying, “This was the day an American president stood on foreign soil next to a murderous lying thug and refused to back his own country. Patriots need to stand up and reject the behavior of this president.”
The president has since backtracked on his remarks during the press conference with Putin, telling reporters on Tuesday that he misspoke and insisting that he fully accepts the U.S. intelligence community's conclusions regarding Russian interference efforts.
"I came back and said 'What is going on, what’s the big deal?'” Trump said, adding that he looked up the transcript and "realized that there is a need for some clarification."
He said he meant to say he doesn’t see why Russia "wouldn't" be responsible for interference. “I said the word 'would' instead of 'wouldn't' ... sort of a double negative," he insisted.
"I accept our intelligence community's conclusion that Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election took place," he added, but noted that "It could be other people also."

Rod Rosenstein Cartoons

Resolutions to impeach Rosenstein at least days away, sources say

Wall Street Journal columnist and Fox News contributor says the FBI and the Department of Justice have been obstructionist in turning over documents that Congress needs to perform its oversight function.
Republican House members could be days away from the release of article of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, sources told Fox News on Monday.
Sources said there could be two separate resolutions to impeach Rosenstein but there is hope among some members of Congress to vote on the issue prior to the House’s August recess.
The deputy attorney general oversees Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia.
Politico reported last week that Reps. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, both members of the House Freedom Caucus, are leading the effort.
Politico’s story on the possible impeachment filing against Rosenstein came on the same day that Rosenstein announced Mueller’s 12 indictments against Russian military intelligence officials on charges linked to the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Speculation that President Donald Trump might fire Rosenstein increased in April, after FBI agents conducted raids at the office and home of Michael Cohen, the president’s former personal attorney, the Hill reported.
The 29-page indictment lays out how, months before Americans went to the polls, Russians schemed to break into key Democratic email accounts, including those belonging to Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Stolen emails, many politically damaging for Clinton, appeared on WikiLeaks in the campaign's final stretch.
VIDEO: WHO IS ROD ROSENSTEIN?
Rosenstein called for a unified approach to countering foreign meddling.
"When we confront foreign interference in American elections, it is important for us to avoid thinking politically as Republicans or Democrats and instead to think patriotically as Americans," he said. "Our response must not depend on who was victimized."
Fox News' Chad Pergram, Edmund DeMarche, Dom Calicchio and The Associated Press contributed to this report

Trump says Mueller probe has 'driven a wedge' between US and Russia, says Putin calls it a 'shame'

President Trump said Monday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation has "driven a wedge between us and Russia" following his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Maybe we’ve just knocked down that wedge, but it has driven a wedge and President Putin said that," Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity in an exclusive interview. "One of the early things he said when we started was, 'It's really a shame, because we could do so much good' ... And they drove a phony wedge, it's a phony witch hunt, rigged deal with guys like [FBI agent] Peter Strzok and [former FBI Director] James Comey and [former FBI Deputy Director Andrew] McCabe ... and you can imagine who else. It's a real shame."
Monday's summit took place three days after a grand jury indicted 12 Russian intelligence operatives on charges related to cyberattacks on Democratic organizations during the 2016 election campaign. At a news conference following the meeting, Putin offered to have Russian prosecutors question the indicted operatives and added that Mueller's team of investigators could be present for questioning, if U.S. officials would "reciprocate."
Trump told Hannity he was "fascinated" by Putin's suggestion, but then appeared to dismiss it, saying that the special counsel's team "probably won't want to go."
"The 13 angry Democrats? You think they're going to want to go? I don't think so," said Trump, using one of his usual phrases to describe Mueller's investigators.
The president added that the Russian leader was "incensed even talking about" the indictments and pointed out that Putin "said there was absolutely no collusion" between the Trump campaign and Russia in 2016.
"I think it's a shame ... we're talking about all of these different things and we get questions on the witch hunt," Trump said. "And I don’t think the people out in the country buy it, but the reporters like to give it a shot. I thought that President Putin was very, very strong."
In an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace, Putin said he was "not interested" in the Mueller investigation, calling it part of "the internal political games of the United States."
PUTIN DENIES HAVING DIRT ON TRUMP, CALLS MEDDLING CHARGE 'UTTERLY RIDICULOUS'
Trump told Hannity that he and Putin had "a very long meeting, and it was a good meeting."
"It was just the two of us and interpreters," Trump said, "and at the end of this meeting, I think we really came to a lot of good conclusions."
He continued, "I think we’re doing really well with Russia as of today. I thought we were doing horribly before today ... I think we really had a potential problem."
The president said the biggest issue between Russia and the United States has been nuclear proliferation, pointing out how the two countries account for "90 percent" of the world's nuclear weapons "and we've had a phony, witch hunt deal drive us apart."
"I know President Obama said global warming is our biggest problem, and I would say that no, it’s nuclear warming is our biggest problem by a factor of about five million," Trump said. "The nuclear problem ... we have to be very careful."
The president added that Putin told him "he wants to be very helpful with North Korea." However, Trump said: "We’re doing well with North Korea [so] we have time. There’s no rush, it has been going on for many years.
"You know, we got our hostages back, there’s been no testing, there’s been no nuclear explosions … there’s been no rockets going over Japan, no missiles going over Japan [for] nine months and the relationship is very good, you saw the nice letter [Kim Jong Un] wrote," Trump said. "And so, I think a lot of good things are happening. But President Putin is very much into making that all happen."
KIM JONG UN SENDS TRUMP A 'VERY NICE' LETTER, TEASES POSSIBLE SECOND MEETING
Trump also criticized the media coverage of his conduct at last week's NATO summit in Brussels, where he raised concerns about other members of the alliance not honoring their pledges to spend two percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on the military.
"The media was very unfair," he said. "I raised $44 billion and the secretary general [of NATO] said, 'He raised $44 billion and it was only President Trump,' because I said, 'Otherwise, we're going to have to start thinking about our relationship to NATO.' I also said this: NATO is wonderful, but it helps Europe a lot more than it helps us. And yet we’re paying for 90 percent of it.
"So, I was amazed [that] much of the media said that I was tough – very tough and nasty to foreign leaders and I really wasn’t at all. But I did say, 'You have to pay up,'" Trump added.
The president later returned to the Russia investigation, slamming Strzok over his testimony before House lawmakers last week and calling him a "total phony."
"It's a very dishonest deal and, you know, you have to find out, who did Peter Strzok report to, because it was Comey and it was McCabe, but it was also probably Obama," said Trump. "[Strzok is] a disgrace to our country. He’s a disgrace to the great FBI. A disgrace. And how he’s still being paid is beyond belief."

Harvard-linked research chief apologizes after asking mom with biracial toddler if she lives in 'affordable housing'

Theresa Lund, executive director of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, said that she’s “terribly sorry” and her comments were “inappropriate and wrong.” She added that “there was no reason for me to ask what type of unit she lives in.”  (Facebook)

A Harvard University-affiliated research center employee dubbed “Sidewalk Sussie” apologized on Monday after being caught on camera asking a neighbor and the woman’s biracial daughter to get away from her home because they were making noise and asked if they lived in “affordable housing.”
Theresa Lund, executive director of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, told the Boston Globe that she’s “terribly sorry” and her comments were “inappropriate and wrong.” She added that “there was no reason for me to ask what type of unit she lives in.”
The conflict occurred in Cambridge on Saturday after Lund came out of her apartment to berate Alyson Laliberte and her biracial toddler for allegedly making noise by walking on the sidewalk outside the building.
“I’m sitting here because you’re preventing my children from sleeping. Would you like me to do that to your kids?” Lund told Laliberte, according to the video posted her on Facebook.
Laliberte fired back: “Who is even watching your kids right now. Are you? Cause you’re not, you’re here with me and my kid.”
The research center employee then questioned whether Laliberte is poor. “Are you one of the affordable units? Or are you one of the Harvard units?” Lund asked.
On social media, the mother slammed and accused Lund, who’s white, of racism. “It was totally discriminating and racist of her... or maybe it was because my daughter is biracial who knows,” Laliberte wrote.
“I have no idea who this woman is and the fact that she thinks she has some kind of authority over me is crazy!” she added.

Rand Paul sides with Trump on Russia, says critics 'motivated' by dislike of president

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Monday expressed his approval of President Donald Trump’s handling of Russia despite the tsunami of criticism the president faced after his press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“It’s gotten so ridiculous that someone has to stand up and say we should try to engage even our adversaries and open up our lines of communication,” Paul told Politico after the controversial press conference.
“We’re going to talk to the president about some small steps in order to try to thaw the relations between our countries,” the senator added, noting that he’s set to travel to Russia early next month to continue the dialogue that Trump started.

"We’re going to talk to the president about some small steps in order to try to thaw the relations between our countries."
- Rand Paul, R-KY.

WATCH: PUTIN SITS DOWN WITH FOX NEWS 
Paul said he hopes to meet with Trump before the trip to “to see if there’s anything he wants us to follow up on.” The trip, in his view, will allow the U.S. to eventually start working with Russia to stop civil war in Syria, denuclearize North Korea and get Russian military out of Ukraine.
When it came to Trump’s remarks following the one-on-one meeting, Rand broke ranks with most Republicans and criticized those slamming the president.

"Republicans that are making the criticism are either the pro-war Republicans like McCain and Graham or the anti-Trump ones like Sasse ... They are motivated by their persistent and consistent dislike of the president."
- Rand Paul, R-KY

“Republicans that are making the criticism are either the pro-war Republicans like (Sen. John) McCain and (Sen. Lindsey) Graham or the anti-Trump ones like (Sen. Ben) Sasse,” he told Politico “They are motivated by their persistent and consistent dislike of the president.”
Trump drew fury from Republicans after saying both Russia and the U.S. are to blame for strained relations and by not standing behind the U.S. intelligence assessments that Russia meddled in the 2016 elections.
Trump said he has great confidence in the intelligence community, but Putin gave a “strong and powerful” denial. He said he doesn't “see any reason why” Russia would be behind election meddling.
“There is no question that Russia interfered in our election and continues attempts to undermine democracy here and around the world," House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said shortly after the press conference in Helsinki, Finland.
SCHOEN: PUTIN ATE TRUMP'S LUNCH 
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called Trump’s performance “disgraceful” and issued a lengthy statement criticizing the president for kowtowing to the Russian president.
“President Trump proved not only unable, but unwilling to stand up to Putin. He and Putin seemed to be speaking from the same script as the president made a conscious choice to defend a tyrant against the fair questions of a free press, and to grant Putin an uncontested platform to spew propaganda and lies to the world,” McCain in a statement, calling the president’s comments at the press conference “a recent low point in the history of the American Presidency.”
But it’s no surprise that Rand, and a handful of other Republican lawmakers, are embracing Trump’s approach to Russia. Last year, the senator from Kentucky voted against a sanctions bill against Russia.
As a libertarian-leaning Republican, he also long opposed the hawks – like national security adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo – in the Trump administration, who in his view, seek confrontation rather than dialogue.
“We have a lot of areas ... we should be talking about,” Paul told Politico about Russia. “We won’t get anywhere on it if we just say we want ... to put more sanctions on them and tomorrow they’ll surrender and do what we want.”

California judge forces LA Times to alter story about detective with alleged ties to Mexican mafia

A federal judge on Saturday directed the Los Angeles Times to amend a story about a California police detective who was accused of working with the Mexican mafia after sealed court documents were accidentally made available online.
The article described a plea agreement between prosecutors and 45-year-old detective John Saro Balian. But the plea deal, which was supposed to be filed under seal, was accidentally made available in a public online database of federal court documents, according to the Times.
Shortly after the article was posted on Saturday morning, Balian’s attorney sought a temporary restraining order, which the judge granted later that afternoon.
“To the extent any article is published prior to issuance of this order, it shall be deleted and removed forthwith,” U.S. District Judge John F. Walter’s wrote in a ruling.
Following the decision, the Times removed any references about the sealed agreement, though pledged to challenge the ruling.

"We believe that once material is in the public record, it is proper and appropriate to publish it if it is newsworthy."
- The Los Angeles Times’ executive editor Norman Pearlstine.

“We believe that once material is in the public record, it is proper and appropriate to publish it if it is newsworthy,” said the Times’ executive editor Norman Pearlstine.
“Typically, courts take into account if information was already published. Where it is no longer secret, the point of the restraining order is mooted,” said Kelli Sager, an attorney representing newspaper. “To order a publication to claw it back doesn’t even serve the interest that may be intended.”
Peter Scheer, former executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, told the outlet that writing about the plea deal was “fair game” as it was put in the public domain.
“A news organization that wishes to write about the content has the right to do so under the 1st Amendment,” he said. “Whether or not a journalist should is a matter of editorial discretion or journalistic ethics. It’s a separate matter. It’s not a legal matter.”
Detective Balian pleaded guilty last week to three counts, including lying to investigators about his ties to organized crime, accepting a bribe and obstructing justice after tipping off a top criminal about a federal raid, the Los Angeles Times reported.
His stint as an allegedly corrupt detective came to an end after the FBI’s Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force identified him as a person of interest after investigating links between the Mexican Mafia and Armenian organized crime.
One informant told the authorities that Balian tipped off a gang member in Los Angeles about an incoming raid. “Tell your boy Bouncer that he’s the No. 1 on the list for tomorrow,” Balian allegedly said, according to the Times.
Balian also allegedly gave the informant locations of marijuana grow and stash houses and told him to “hit them” before the authorities could sweep the locations.
He currently remains on unpaid leave and last Friday a judge denied his request to be released on bond.

Mexican national gets prison time for faking citizenship, stealing $350G in benefits

Andres Avelino Anduaga, a Mexican national, was ordered to pay back $360,908.85 in restitution to the Social Security Administration and other agencies

Andres Avelino Anduaga, a Mexican national who impersonated an American citizen for more than 30 years, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for stealing more than $350,000 in government benefits from government agencies, Fox 5 San Diego reported.
He was also reportedly ordered to pay back $360,908.85 in restitution to the Social Security Administration, the California Department of Health Care Services and the county of San Diego.
The report, citing court documents, said in 1980, he used a birth certificate belonging to a U.S. citizen to obtain a California driver’s license and a Social Security card, then used his new false identity to commit a variety of crimes.
“This is one of the longest frauds, and one of the highest-dollar losses, if not the highest, that I’ve ever seen,” Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey D. Hill, told The San Diego Union-Tribune. Hill was assigned to investigate fraud cases. “It’s also the longest custodial sentence (for Social Security fraud) at least since I arrived in 2014.”
Immigration records showed he'd been deported in 1994 and again in 2000.
Fox 5 San Diego, citing prosecutors, reported that through 2016, he pulled in nearly $250,000 in illicit Social Security benefits. As a result, he also got MediCal health benefits that he was not eligible for and caused a loss to the state of California at above $100,000, the report said, citing the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He reportedly admitted that he was able to travel freely between the U.S. and Mexico using a passport that he obtained via the same stolen identity he used to defraud public assistance programs.

Air Force paid about $10G for toilet seat cover: report

The Air Force last week admitted to paying out about $10,000 apiece to replace three toilet seat covers on a Vietnam-era cargo plan that is still being used, a report said.  (U.S. Air Force)

Now that’s a royal flush.

The Air Force last week admitted to paying out about $10,000 apiece to replace toilet seat covers on a Vietnam-era cargo plan that is still being used, The Washington Post reported.

The toilet seat covers on the C-5 Galaxy is no longer in production so the government needed to purchase customized ones, the report said. The government purchased the covers three times and as recent as last year, the report said.
“We are not now, nor will we in the future buy that aircraft part at that price, because we can now do so more cheaply using 3-D printing,” a spokesman told the paper. “Using this new process allows us to make parts that are no longer in production and is driving major cost savings.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, pushed for an investigation into the spending, ABC News reported. The call came after an interview with Will Roper, the assistant secretary of the Airforce for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, and DefenseOne.
Grassely said government waste is not in itself new. During the President George H.W. Bush administration, oversight efforts uncovered soap dishes that cost $117 and pliers that cost nearly $1,000.
Roper told the website in May, "You'll think, 'There's no way it costs that, No, it doesn't, but you're asking a company to produce it and they're [busy] producing something else.”
Military.com reported that Roper was making the case for 3D printing in the Air Force.
The Air Force said it will now rely on 3-D printing that will lower the price tag to $300.

Trump celebrates making NATO 'strong and rich again' after summit just hours before meeting Putin

President Donald Trump on Monday touted his success for making NATO “strong and rich again” at a summit last week just hours before he is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Received many calls from leaders of NATO countries thanking me for helping to bring them together and to get them focused on financial obligations, both present & future,” Trump tweeted. “We had a truly great Summit that was inaccurately covered by much of the media. NATO is now strong & rich!”
The tweet came just hours before the president will be attending a highly-anticipated summit with Putin in Helsinki, Finland.
Last week, Trump raised concerns about other NATO countries not meeting the established obligations to spend two percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) on the military.
“What good is NATO if Germany is paying Russia billions of dollars for gas and energy? Why are there only 5 out of 29 countries that have met their commitment? The U.S. is paying for Europe’s protection, then loses billions on Trade. Must pay 2% of GDP IMMEDIATELY, not by 2025,” Trump tweeted Wednesday.
He took a swipe at Germany over its energy project with Russia, a project vehemently opposed by NATO members in Eastern Europe, which say it directly threatens the security of their countries as Russia will able to use its vast energy resources as a way to have leverage over Western Europe.
The harsh criticism prompted NATO leaders to pledge their “unwavering commitment” to boost spending on defense. The U.S. and European allies signed a declaration asserting they are “committed to improving the balance of sharing the costs and responsibilities of alliance membership.”
NATO PLEDGES TO BOOST DEFENSE SPENDING AFTER STERN WORDS FROM TRUMP
The Trump-Putin meeting also comes at a peculiar time for the Russian government. On Friday, the Department of Justice issued indictments charging a dozen Russian intelligence officers with hacking the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign and the Democratic Party during the 2016 election.
It’s yet to be seen whether Trump will attempt to pressure Putin to extradite the indicted intelligence officers to the U.S. to face justice.
In an interview with CBS News on Saturday, Trump said he “hadn’t thought” about asking Putin to extradite the Russian citizens, but later noted that he will “Certainly I'll be asking about it." He also blamed the DNC for "allowing themselves to be hacked."

Elizabeth Warren Pocahontas Cartoons

Will Hillary persist in 2020? Her actions suggest ‘yes’

There’s been buzz circulating lately that Hillary Clinton may still have her eye on the Oval Office and is considering stepping back in the ring to take another shot at the 2020 Democrat presidential nomination. Because quitters never win, or something.

On its face, it sounds like pure insanity. However, she’s spent the last year and a half fixated on the 2016 election, traveling all over and telling anyone who will listen why it’s not her fault she lost.

She even went so far as to write a book, “What Happened.”  Her publisher could have saved a few trees and sent her a two-word email - you lost.
Perhaps the basket of excuses she’s been carrying around is really her misguided attempt at trying to rehab her image and set the stage for round three in 2020.  When you think about it that way, the idea she’d actually run again sounds less like pure insanity and starts to sound absurdly believable.
This week former adviser to Bill Clinton, Lanny Davis, publicly discouraged her from running, “for her sake and her family’s sake.” Reading between the lines, she’s either seriously considering another run or someone important in Clinton world wants her to go for it. It’s highly unlikely that a former senior adviser like Davis would come out and make such a statement otherwise.
The Democrats are in such disarray with no known message or direction, it’s almost as if they’re spinning around in a game of musical chairs and they have no clue where they’ll end up next.
President Trump is an anomaly to them, they can’t wrap their mind around his appeal. While on one hand they think he should be easily beatable, their dirty little secret is they don’t really have a good candidate like Barack Obama they can all rally around. The Democratic Party is already fractured, and a third run for Hillary would only further demonstrate the extent of just how fractured.

If she’s really interested in breaking glass ceilings she will get out of the way and let someone else take a crack at it.

The Democrat strategy moving forward seems to be disorganized chaos. Protesting by screaming in the streets, threatening reporters outside the Supreme Court, sending out press releases railing against “xx” for the Supreme Court before we even know who “xx” is.
They’ve jumped from DACA, to kids being separated from their parents at the border, to now Supreme Court justice nominations. Each one was the moral outrage of the moment for liberals, only to be left in the dust when the next political soundbite popped up for them.
Making sure the Clintons do their part to contribute to the moral outrage, and possibly positioning her for 2020, the Clinton-linked group Demand Justice was formed following the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. Its purpose is to put pressure on senators to oppose President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee and is run by Hillary’s 2016 press secretary, Brian Fallon.
Of note, the group has no restrictions on lobbying, can back candidates, and isn’t required to disclose donors. Keep in mind, this initiative was underway before the president even picked a nominee, adding to the hysteria and scare tactics the far left has engaged from the time Justice Kennedy announced his retirement until President Trump nominated Judge Kavanaugh to replace him.
Politics has pervaded government to the point that Hillary and her friends on the left now believe they are one and the same. If you listen to the - sometimes incoherent - rants, protests, and opposition to President Trump’s judicial nominees, it’s never about the rule of law or the Constitution. It’s about their demands. They want their boxes checked by activists who dress up as judges.
Outside of politics Hillary is lost. Her actions post-election reveal it’s all she ever aspired to, and she doesn’t appear to be letting it go.
If she were really interested in making the world better and helping those less fortunate, she would have spent the last 17 months focusing her efforts elsewhere rather than being obsessed with an election she lost.
From a purely political perspective I don’t know a Trump supporter who wouldn’t welcome her running for a third time. It would almost ensure him another four years in office.
However, from a woman’s perspective, it’s like watching another woman chase after the guy who keeps telling her to go away.  It’s embarrassing. 
If she’s really interested in breaking glass ceilings she will get out of the way and let someone else take a crack at it. Truly being a champion of other women sometimes means enthusiastically and graciously standing behind other women, instead of flaunting your sense of entitlement and continually bulldozing your way in front of them.
Opinion

Lauren DeBellis Appell, a freelance writer in Fairfax, Virginia, was deputy press secretary for then-Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., in his successful 2000 re-election campaign, as well as assistant communications director for the Senate Republican Policy Committee (2001-2003).

Judge has second thoughts hours after praising Trump administration for family reunifications

In this June 28 photo, protesters chant, "Families belong together!" as they walk to the front doors of the federal courthouse in Brownsville, Texas.  (AP)

The same judge who praised the Trump administration for its “collaborative” effort to reunite families separated at the border is now saying he's having second thoughts about whether the government is acting in “good faith.”

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw criticized the administration late Friday evening, calling into question the safety of a new plan filed by the Department of Justice to reunite more than 2,500 children over the age of 5 by the July 26 deadline.

After Friday’s hearing, the DOJ filed a reunification plan that would meet the July 26 deadline via "truncated" procedures to verify parentage and perform background checks, which exclude DNA testing and other steps to reunify families of children under 5.
The administration said the abbreviated vetting puts children at significant safety risk but is needed to meet the deadline.
Chris Meekins, the deputy assistant health and human services secretary for preparedness and response, said that while he is committed to meeting the deadline, he does not believe "placing of children into such situations is consistent with the mission of HHS or my core values."
Sabraw fired back, second-guessing remarks he'd made hours earlier.
"It is clear from Mr. Meekins' declaration that HHS either does not understand the court's orders or is acting in defiance of them. … At a minimum, it appears he is attempting to provide cover to defendants for their own conduct in the practice of family separation, and the lack of foresight and infrastructure necessary to remedy the harms caused by that practice.”
He said that the official’s statement “calls into question” his earlier comment that the government was acting in “good faith.” Sabraw said that safe reunification could and will occur by July 26.

Pentagon: China Spying On Major U.S.-led Military Exercises After Being Disinvited

FILE – The Pentagon is seen in this aerial view in Washington, in this March 27, 2008 file photo. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 6:26 PM PT – Sat. July 14, 2018

The Pentagon is accusing China of spying on U.S.-led military exercises near Hawaii.
Navy officials confirmed the U.S. Pacific Fleet is monitoring a Chinese surveillance ship, in a statement to CNN.
It’s located just outside of U.S. territorial seas.
This comes after Beijing was disinvited from the exercises back in May, over its aggression in the South China Sea.
U.S. officials say they expect the Chinese vessel to stay put and don’t anticipate any disruption to the on-going exercises.
The exercises are held every two years and feature around 25 thousand personnel from over 20 countries.

HHS departures signal new secretary's 'no-nonsense' approach: report

Two U.S. Health and Human Services appointees left the agency this week after months of igniting controversy on social media, according to a report.
The departures signaled what one HHS source described as a "no-nonsense" and "highly professional" management approach being taken by HHS Secretary Alex Azar, Politico reported.
“There could be more changes to come as the secretary gets fully on board and staffed up,” the source told the news outlet.

“There could be more changes to come as the secretary gets fully on board and staffed up.”
- HHS source

Azar has been leading the agency since January, when the Senate confirmed his appointment by President Donald Trump.
The Politico report identified the two HHS staffers who've left the agency as Gavin Smith, a policy adviser who resigned Friday, and Tim Clark, the agency’s White House liaison, who is expected to depart in the coming weeks.
Prior to his HHS appointment, Clark was the Trump campaign’s California chairman. On more than one occasion, Clark punctuated tweets with the hastag "#SpiritCooking," in reference to a debunked conspiracy theory that Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta engaged in Satanic ritual, the report said.
Smith gained a reputation for routinely mocking critics of the president, for example referring to U.S. senators as "crazy" or "clueless."
The appointees’ incendiary posts had long been a headache for HHS, which received heightened attention after a Politico report. 
Azar’s predecessor Tom Price resigned after reports of his use of “costly” private jets and fractious leadership.
Azar, 51, is married with two children. Prior to joining HHS, he lived in Indiana with his family for about a decade, according to his Health and Human Services Department biography.
The Yale-educated lawyer also attended Dartmouth College, where he graduated summa cum laude, according to the biography.
Azar, who once clerked for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, has spent a large chunk of his career in the healthcare industry.
He previously served as general counsel of HHS and later as deputy secretary of HHS under former President George W. Bush.
Fox News' Madeline Farber contrinbuted to this story.
Editor's Note: After this story was published, Fox News received an email from Riley N. Althouse, press assistant in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at HHS. The message, attributed to Peter Urbanowitz, chief of staff, said the following:
“Mr. Clark has long planned this position change and delayed that move for several months to assure a smooth transition for the new Secretary. He has been a huge help and strong partner in our success.”
Bradford Betz is an editor for Fox News. Follow him on Twitter @bradford_betz.

Rod Rosenstein Cartoons

Mueller's indictments of 12 Russians could have waited, former US diplomat says

John Negroponte served in several high-level positions under five presidents.  (Fox Business)

A former high-level diplomat from President George W. Bush’s administration said Friday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller could have waited until after next week’s Trump-Putin summit before announcing indictments against 12 Russian military intelligence officers.
“It could have just as well waited until the president had left Europe,” John Negroponte, a former deputy secretary of state, told journalist Krystal Ball in an interview that will appear online Monday. Ball co-hosts the program “Rising,” on Hill.TV.
Negroponte, who also served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and is a former director of national intelligence, added that he believes the Trump-Putin summit should proceed, regardless of the indictments.
"If it's been scheduled, it's important that these two heads of state meet,” Negroponte told Ball, according to the Hill. “Russia is a permanent member of the [U.N.] Security Council, it's a nuclear weapons state, it has global reach -- whether it's in the Middle East, or in the Korean Peninsula, or elsewhere -- and I think it behooves us to have that kind of dialogue.”

"If it's been scheduled, it's important that these two heads of state meet. Russia is a permanent member of the [U.N.] Security Council, it's a nuclear weapons state, it has global reach ... and I think it behooves us to have that kind of dialogue.”
- John Negroponte, former U.S. diplomat

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced Friday that Mueller had charged 12 Russian intelligence officers with crimes related to the 2016 hacking of the Democratic National Committee.
Rosenstein said Trump was briefed about the indictments earlier in the week and was “fully aware” of them before the announcement, Business Insider reported.
The presidents of the U.S. and Russia are scheduled to meet Monday in Helsinki, Finland. Trump has faced pressure from lawmakers in both parties to raise the issue of Russian meddling in the 2016 election during the meeting with Putin.
Others, in wake of the indictments, have urged Trump to simply cancel the meeting.
“Cancel the Putin meeting. Now,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tweeted Friday.
Trump told reporters Friday morning that he planned to address election meddling with Putin, but he believed the Mueller investigation was a “witch hunt.”
“I think that we're being hurt very badly by the — I would call it the witch hunt,” Trump said during a news conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May, the Washington Post reported.
Trump then addressed the meddling issue.
“I know you'll ask, 'Will we be talking about meddling?’ And I will absolutely bring that up,” the president said, according to the Post. “There won't be a Perry Mason here, I don't think, but you never know what happens, right? But I will absolutely, firmly ask the question.”

Democrat's 'Purple Heart' remark at Strzok hearing spurs veterans to plan protest march

SMIRKY

 

 

 

 

Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (IDIOT)

Some veterans in Tennessee say they're planning a protest march following a congressman's comment this week that embattled FBI official Peter Strzok deserved a Purple Heart for enduring a House panel's grilling over allegations of bias against President Donald Trump.
Sean Higgins, an Air Force veteran from Memphis, is leading the upcoming march, the Tennessean reported. Higgins told the paper that many constituents of Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen are “pissed as hell” after Cohen said Strzok deserved the military award.
“How do you compare someone getting wounded in combat to someone getting in trouble for message he sent? How can Cohen claim (Strzok) get a Purple Heart for that?” Higgins said.
The Purple Heart typically is awarded to members of the U.S. military who are wounded in combat or given posthumously to those killed in combat.

“How do you compare someone getting wounded in combat to someone getting in trouble for message he sent?"
- Sean Higgins, U.S. Air Force veteran

Cohen, 69, defended Strzok, who was being questioned Thursday on Capitol Hill over a series of anti-Trump text messages he sent to his former co-worker and lover, Lisa Page, while investigating Russian election meddling and Hillary Clinton’s email server.
"If I could give you a Purple Heart, I would," Cohen told Strzok, accusing his GOP counterparts of attempting to undermine Strzok and Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe.
Higgins said that 30 veterans have so far committed to marching, including Army veteran Darien Price of Memphis, who told the paper he was “blown away” by Cohen’s statement.

“It is disrespectful to those alive who wear the Purple Heart but especially to families who lost loved ones to who fought for this country."
- Darien Price, Army veteran

“It is disrespectful to those alive who wear the Purple Heart but especially to families who lost loved ones to who fought for this country," said Price, who was denied his Purple Heart until Cohen's office stepped in. "Truly saddening.”
Retired Staff Sgt. Johnny "Joey" Jones, a Marine Corps veteran who received a Purple Heart after losing both of his legs and suffering other permanent injuries in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Afghanistan, told “Fox & Friends” on Friday that Cohen's remarks were "disgraceful."
Following public outcry, Cohen backpedaled on his remarks during a joint hearing Friday.
“I regret mentioning the Purple Heart medal at yesterday’s hearing,” Cohen said. “My intent was to speak metaphorically to make a broader point about attacks against the FBI and Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation into a Russian attack on our country.
“I have nothing but the highest respect for members of the armed forces, especially those who have been awarded Purple Hearts, as well as the hard working men and women at the FBI. We are safe because of their service and sacrifice," he said.
Higgins, a former VA hospital employee in Memphis, told the Tennessean he had previously tried working with Cohen for years in attempts to improve the hospital’s conditions before publicly blowing the whistle.
Higgins, who had been reporting problems in the VA since he was hired in 2007, was fired from his position for the third time in June 2017, and is appealing the firing, WREG-TV in Memphis reported. He appealed his first two firings and was hired back each time.
The march, which is also in protest of the VA hospital's treatment of veterans, has not been given a date.

'Cal 3' backer urges court to dismiss lawsuit opposing California break-up plan

The sponsor of the "Cal 3" initiative to split California into three states asked the state's Supreme Court on Friday to dismiss a lawsuit calling for the proposal to be pulled from the November ballot.
Tim Draper, a venture capitalist who spent more than $1.7 million supporting the initiative, told the court in a letter that there’s not enough time to properly consider the legal challenge to his effort.

Venture capitalist Tim Draper is the sponsor of the "Cal 3" initiative.  (Fox Business)

He said he wasn't properly served with the lawsuit, giving him less time to respond.
"I have been given just a day or two to respond to a complex, multi-faceted attack on my Constitutional right to initiative," Draper wrote. "This Court's long history of jealously guarding the exercise of initiative power should not be cavalierly disregarded now, especially on such a truncated timetable."
OPPONENTS OF PROPOSED CALIFORNIA BREAKUP SUE TO PULL IT OFF BALLOT 
The Planning and Conservation League, an environmental group, filed the lawsuit Monday, arguing that Draper's plan exceeds the scope of an initiative because it would drastically alter California's government and constitutional framework.
“The dislocation and the disruption that would be caused by something as great as this just can’t be understated,” said Carlyle Hall, a lawyer working on the lawsuit. “This will not make things better.”

“The dislocation and the disruption that would be caused by something as great as this just can’t be understated. This will not make things better.”
- Carlyle Hall, lawyer, Planning and Conservation League

The initiative could harm the environment if California’s strong environmental protections are scrapped and replaced with something weaker, which could happen if the state were split, Hall said.
Draper argued the "Cal 3" measure doesn't go beyond what can be accomplished in an initiative. If passed by voters, it would be only the first step toward dividing the state, he said.
The Cal 3 initiative would break the state into Northern California, California and Southern California.
Passing at the ballot box is just the first hurdle.
The measure then directs the governor to ask the U.S. Congress for the ultimate approval — likely a tall order.
If Congress were to give a green light, it would then be up the state's Legislature to determine exactly how the split would happen, including how the state's debts would be divided.
Each of the three states would determine their own governance structure.
Supporters of dividing California argue the nation's most populous state has become ungovernable because of its size, wealth disparities and geographic diversity.
CALIFORNIA 'THREE STATES' PLAN OK'D FOR NOVEMBER BALLOT
Meanwhile, Michael Salerno, a law professor at the University of California, Hastings, described the proposal as having profound ramifications if approved.
“It would not surprise me if the court took this off the ballot,” he said.
Although California as it exists today is heavily Democratic, the newly proposed Southern California might not be. Democrats have only a slim registration advantage over Republicans in that region.