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Obama White House's lavish gifts from foreign friends revealed

Federal documents revealed that President Barack Obama, his family and a top official received gifts from the Cuban government and other foreign friends during his final two years in office.

Cuban cigars and rum, sculptures decorated in gold, precious gems and even jewelry adorned in diamonds and rubies — all of them among the many lavish gifts the Obama family and administration officials received from foreign governments while President Barack Obama was in office.

In most cases, the Obamas and other officials handed over the gifts to the National Archives.

Federal documents released on Wednesday revealed the gifts during Obama’s final two years in office included more than $2,000 worth of cigars, rum and other famous consumer products from the Cuban government.
Cuba gave the gifts after Obama attempted to ease tensions with the communist regime, a measure that included the easing of the U.S. ban on imported Cuban liquor and tobacco.
The documents released by the State Department’s Protocol Office revealed that Castro gave Obama 205 cigars of an unnamed brand, a humidor and cigar cutter along with the bottle of rum in 2015. The tobacco and liquor were accompanied by a carved wooden bust of Abraham Lincoln.
Obama’s deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes, meanwhile, received cigars, jewelry and a music CD — a gift package worth $670.

The Obama family was given two Argentine national football team jerseys signed by star Lionel Messi that were valued at $1,700.  (File)

Government officials are allowed to accept presents from foreign leaders and governments if refusing them would cause embarrassment. But they generally must turn them over to the National Archives if the goods are worth more than a modest amount. Officials also could reimburse the government for their value.
According to the State Department’s documents, Obama and Rhodes turned over the cigars and rum to the Secret Service and the Archives.
In 2016, Castro gave First Lady Michelle Obama a white linen dress and a large decorated ceramic plate worth an estimated $1,190. The Obamas’ two daughters also received linen dresses from Castro, two prints and a Cuban music collection on CD valued at $1,164.
Among other unusual gifts given to Obama by foreign leaders during his final year in office were a gold and silver sculpture of a Bedouin group decorated with precious gems, and a silver tone letter opener and pen worth $56,720 from Saudi King Salman. In addition, the president got a black electric bicycle worth $1,499 from the president of Argentina, who also gave the first family two Argentine national football team jerseys signed by star Lionel Messi that were valued at $1,700.
The most expensive single gift reported in 2016, however, came from the king of Morocco. He presented the first family with an ornate gold-plated brooch adorned with diamonds and rubies, a gold clutch with an emerald and diamond clasp, diamond earrings and gold teardrop earrings with diamonds and emeralds. Those were estimated to be worth $101,200, and were turned over to the National Archives, according to the documents.

Fromer CIA director John Brennan was reportedly given a $4,000 bottle of Remy Martin Louis XIII Grande Champagne Cognac.  (Remy Martin)

Expensive alcohol and tobacco products seemed to be the gifts of choice for U.S. officials, particularly those in the intelligence community.
Former CIA director John Brennan reported getting a $4,000 bottle of Remy Martin Louis XIII Grande Champagne Cognac, a $1,800 bottle of Siglo Rum and an unspecified number of cigars worth $500. The documents say those were turned over to the General Services Administration.

Gifts given to government officials must be turned over to the National Archives if the value of them is worth more than a modest amount.  (iStock)

An unnamed official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence received a similar bottle of $4,000 Remy Martin cognac. Curiously, the documents say the liquor was “retained for official use.”

Trump quiets his critics by floating immigration deal, but infuriates his base

Well, he didn't look like a guy who was utterly incapable of doing his job.

In fact, the president of the United States looked like he was grappling with a difficult issue with leaders of both parties—and with the cameras rolling.

Trump’s negotiating session was so unusual that even liberal pundits heaped praise on him for working on the sensitive subject for nearly an hour without kicking out the TV pool, which usually happens after a couple of minutes.
For Trump, actually doing the job—whether it leads to an immigration deal or not—sends a much better message than tweeting that he is a "stable genius."
Of course, much of his right wing exploded at the substance of what he was suggesting, that he could do a deal with the Dems on comprehensive immigration reform.
Still, it was a better narrative than one about Trump's mental stability, or even Oprah.
"After days in which his very fitness for office was debated," the New York Times said, "Mr. Trump appeared intent on demonstrating that he could handle the presidency. He was in command of the meeting while inviting input. He did not berate anyone. He did not call anyone derogatory nicknames. He signaled that he was open to compromise."
The paper added that the bar "was historically low" given the recent chatter about whether Trump is incapable of being president.
"He acted the part, listening intently and guiding the conversation with the control of a firm but open-minded executive," the Washington Post said. "He spoke the part, offering a mix of jesting bon mots and high-minded appeals for bipartisanship. And he looked the part, down to the embroidered '45' on his starched white shirt cuff.
"In short, President Trump on Tuesday tried to show that he could do his job."
And in more dramatic terms, the paper said Trump was trying to answer the question: "Is the 71-year-old mentally fit to be commander in chief?"
So let’s assume that Trump aced this particular class, although some detractors are saying it was just for show. The president himself said yesterday that he got rave reviews from two networks (CNN and MSNBC) for about two hours before they "went south," joking that the anchors must have received calls from their bosses.
But was it wise for him to talk about immigration legislation as a "bill of love," using the same word that caused the right to slam Jeb Bush during his primary run?
Trump said at the meeting that if the Democrats were willing to include funding for a border wall and an end to chain migration as well as legal relief for the dreamers, "I'll take the heat, I don't care. I don’t care--I'll take all the heat you want to give me, and I'll take the heat off both the Democrats and the Republicans. My whole life has been heat. I like heat."
Some conservative commentators, led by Ann Coulter, are apoplectic about what they see as the president abandoning his hard line on immigration. There’s no question that a deal would hurt Trump with at least part of his base.
But I've always maintained that Trump essentially ran as an independent candidate, one who was not part of the Republican establishment. In his first year, he went along with the GOP on just about everything, which was one reason he couldn’t get ObamaCare repealed. If he pushed through some bipartisan bills this year, I believe it would help him expand his base.
Of course, Trump has made feints in this direction before, especially on the dreamers, only to later insist on conditions that made a deal impossible. And the reason that Barack Obama and George W. Bush couldn’t push through a big immigration bill is that the politics are treacherous.
But if Trump tried moving down the bipartisan path, the second year of his presidency could look very different.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m.). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz. 

High-level Obama appointee billed public for at least $4,000 in cab rides: report

In an undated photo, Vikrum Aiyer, then chief of staff of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, poses with President Barack Obama.  (Facebook)

A high-ranking Obama administration official unlawfully billed taxpayers more than $4,000 for taxi rides from his home to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office headquarters, an internal investigation has found.

Vikrum Aiyer, who served as chief of staff of the agency, a part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, forced the taxpayers to foot a bill for at least 130 unauthorized taxi rides – the majority of which occurred during a four-month period in 2016, according to a report released Tuesday by investigators, the Washington Post reported.

Aiyer previously served as President Barack Obama’s senior policy adviser at the National Economic Council. He allegedly impersonated other current and former high-ranking agency officials, using their names on taxi receipts to avoid being caught in the unauthorized scheme.
But the ruse was soon discovered after officials started raising questions. They confronted the Patent and Trademark Office’s then-communications director – one of the names Aiyer used to bill the rides – who told investigators that he did not use the taxis as he regularly drove to work.
“The evidence … establishes that Political Appointee knowingly used the Agency’s Cab Company account for impermissible purposes on a routine basis and that he took steps to conceal his unauthorized use of this account by providing false names and false location information,” Commerce Department Investigator General Peggy Gustafson wrote in the report, according to the Post.

In an undated photograph, Vikrum Aiyer (left) speaks with President Bill Clinton.  (Facebook)

Aiyer’s use of government money to pay for his commute violated federal policy prohibiting such practices.
He did not deny the findings during an interview with investigators in December 2016. Instead, he justified the practice by saying other officials allegedly did the same.
“Political Appointee said he thought it was permissible to provide incorrect trip origin or destination information because this was the ‘protocol that was imparted to [him] by [his] bosses at the time,’ and ‘because this is how … prior bosses approach[ed] it,’ ” investigators wrote, according to the Post.
Over two years, the government paid Alexandria Yellow Cab, a company contracted to provide authorized cab services to agency’s officials, well over $4,000 for Aiyer’s rides, the report said.
While most of the cab rides took him to and from work, investigators also found that Aiyer sometimes used the agency’s cab account to “facilitate his weekend social activity ... but he made it appear otherwise when arranging for these cabs.”

Seal calls out Oprah Winfrey for hypocrisy, calls her 'part of the problem'

Seal accused Oprah Winfrey of having some knowledge of disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein's alleged misdeeds, calling her 'part of the problem' in Hollywood in a fiery Instagram post Wednesday.  (Reuters)

Internationally renowned musician Seal trashed Oprah Winfrey on social media just days after her widely praised speech at the Golden Globe Awards on sexual misconduct in Hollywood, calling her a “part of the problem for decades.”
In a fiery Instagram post Wednesday, Seal republished a pair of photos of Winfrey with disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, including one in which she appears to be kissing the producer’s cheek. Overlayed on the photos, in all-caps, is the text: “When you have been part of the problem for decades, but suddenly they all think you are the solution.”
Seal added a sarcastic comment to the right of the photographs that suggested Winfrey knew Weinstein was mistreating women.
“Oh I forgot, that's right.....you'd heard the rumours but you had no idea he was actually serially assaulting young stary-eyed actresses who in turn had no idea what they were getting into. My bad,” Seal wrote.
He added the hashtag “#SanctimoniousHollywood” to the post.
On Tuesday, comedian and “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane also spoke out against Winfrey, cautioning that celebrity power does not alone qualify a candidate for the presidency.
“Oprah is beyond doubt a magnificent orator,” MacFarlane wrote. “But the idea of a reality show star running against a talk show host is troublingly dystopian. We don’t want to create a world where dedicated public service careers become undesirable and impractical in the face of raw celebrity.”
Juanita Broaddrick, the now-75-year-old retired nurse, has alleged former President Bill Clinton raped her during his 1978 campaign for Arkansas governor, and that his wife Hillary Clinton helped him cover it up. She brought that allegation to Orpah's attention.
“Hey @Oprah #GoldenGlobes,” tweeted Broaddrick Monday. “Funny I’ve never heard you mention my name. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?Guess not. My rapist was/is your friend, Bill Clinton.”

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Gayle King may need to leave CBS role if Oprah Winfrey runs for president, observers say

"CBS This Morning" co-anchor Gayle King might have to leave the program if her longtime friend and confidant Oprah Winfrey runs for president, media watchers suggested Tuesday.

King’s close relationship with Winfrey would present a potentially significant conflict of interest that could undermine public confidence in CBS’s reporting, several commentators said.

The two women have been good friends since they both worked at a Baltimore television station in their early 20s.
On Tuesday, CBS anchors Norah O'Donnell and Jeff Glor interviewed King about Winfrey’s plans on "CBS This Morning," without mentioning the close relationship between the two women.
King, who attended the Golden Globe Awards ceremony Sunday night and spent several hours with Winfrey afterward, said her friend was intrigued by the idea of a candidacy, but didn't think she was "actively considering" it.
King added that "there are people who have said they want to be her campaign manager, who want to quit their jobs and campaign for her."
GAYLE KING: 'I ABSOLUTELY DON'T THINK THAT HER POSITION HAS CHANGED'
Tim Graham, director of media analysis for the conservative watchdog Media Research Center, said King's job "is like having an Oprah press spokesperson on staff. She's helping Oprah milk the speculation for all it's worth."
If Winfrey’s candidacy becomes real, "Gayle's gotta leave," declared CNN's morning host, Chris Cuomo.
"I have the right to change my opinion," added Cuomo, whose brother -- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo -- has been mentioned as a potential 2020 presidential contender. "Does she have to leave? Maybe she does. I guess they could do the coverage in a way where she never handles it. But it would raise questions with people."
CBS will address the apparent conflict of interest if it becomes a problem, CBS News President David Rhodes said.
"It's difficult to be part of the news when you cover the news and she helped people understand what was going on with the story," Rhodes said.
King's insight is useful as long as chatter about Winfrey's candidacy is a parlor game and not reality, said Al Tompkins, an instructor in broadcast journalism for the Poynter Institute.
"The relationship between King and Winfrey is well known and viewers can filter what they hear from Gayle through that filter," Tompkins said. "If Oprah did run, it would be a tougher relationship to navigate. ... Today, with so many people being so skeptical or cynical of what they see, hear and read in journalism, the cleaner we can keep the lines between journalists and politicians the better."
Mark Feldstein, a journalism professor at the University of Maryland, said CBS News would have to take King off campaign stories if Winfrey were to run. That could be awkward for the show's format; the three hosts often sit at a table and discuss stories or interview newsmakers together. (King and O'Donnell will soon be joined by John Dickerson, whom CBS named Tuesday as the replacement for Charlie Rose, who left "CBS This Morning" in November after allegations of sexual misconduct.)
"The public needs to be assured that the news they get is as objective as humanly possible," Feldstein said. "That obviously is not the case if an anchor is reporting on a close friend."

Trump deserves 'big credit' for sparking North Korea talks, South Korea's president says

President Trump deserves “big credit” for kicking off the first talks between Pyongyang and Seoul in more than two years, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday.

North Korea agreed Tuesday to send a delegation to next month’s Winter Olympics, which are set to begin next month in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The rival nations’ talks are the first sign of a possible thaw in their relationship.

Officials from North Korea meet with South Korea about the Winter Olympics.  (AP)

The talks were held for the first time since 2015 and Moon credited Trump for sparking them, according to Reuters.
“I think President Trump deserves big credit for bringing about the inter-Korean talks,” Moon said at a news conference. “It could be a resulting work of the U.S.-led sanctions and pressure.”
Trump and North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un have gone tit-for-tat with threats and insults over the last year as the rogue regime bolstered its nuclear strength.
The U.S. had expressed concerns that North Korea’s willingness to talk with Seoul could drive a wedge in their relationship, but Moon downplayed that notion saying the main goal was still a denuclearized peninsula.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in answers reporters' question during his New Year news conference at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul  (AP)

“The denuclearization of the Korean peninsula the two Koreas agreed upon jointly [in the past] is our basic stance that will never be given up,” Moon said.
North Korea said it would still not discuss its nuclear weapons program with South Korea because its arsenal was only aimed at the U.S.
“North Korea’s weapons are only aimed at the United States, not our brethren, China or Russia,” said Ri Son Gwon, the head of North Korea’s five-member delegation at the talks with South Korea.
Ri added discussing North Korea’s nuclear program will only damage ties with South Korea.
A hat tip from South Korea to Trump could signal another foreign policy win for the administration that started the year with a ton of momentum after defeating the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
The Trump administration authorized a more intensive air strategy, which left the so-called “caliphate” decimated. The terror group lost 98 percent of its territory it once held, U.S. military officials said in December.
U.S. officials said fewer than 1,000 ISIS fighters remain in Iraq and Syria, down from a peak of nearly 45,000 two years ago.