Nunes, Gowdy accuse DOJ of launching anonymous attacks on congressional investigator

Two senior House Republicans are accusing the Justice Department of being behind “anonymous attacks” in the press targeting a House Intelligence Committee GOP staffer who helped author the committee’s well-publicized memo alleging surveillance abuse by the FBI and DOJ during the 2016 election.
The same House staffer is also a driving force behind the latest Russia records standoff.
"I would have a lot more respect for DOJ or House committee Democrats if they would take out their frustrations on members of Congress, and leave staffers alone,” South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, told Fox News on Monday. “The members make the final decision and are responsible for them, not staffers."
"Attacking staffers, planting false stories, and endangering national security by leaking sensitive information to the press, including information about intelligence sources -- this is what the DOJ is doing, and this why trust in the DOJ is rapidly eroding in Congress,” said California Rep. Devin Nunes, the GOP chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
In response to the GOP committee chairmen, Justice Department spokesperson Sarah Isgur Flores said, “As Deputy Attorney General [Rod] Rosenstein has said repeatedly, we don't put a lot of stock in anonymous sources over here and we are committed to continuing to work with Chairmen Gowdy and Nunes to accommodate their requests.”
Nunes and Gowdy were reacting to a weekend New York Times report that cited anonymous sources in detailing growing tension between the parties, amid a contentious request for records involving an individual and intelligence reporting that may have been used for the Russia case, as well as in obtaining surveillance warrants.
Citing a former federal law enforcement official, The New York Times reported that Rosenstein, who oversees the Russia probe, felt "misled" by Nunes' staff over House Intelligence Committee investigator Kash Patel's travel to London last year.
The newspaper, citing the same official, reported Rosenstein wanted to know if Patel was attempting to interview former British spy Christopher Steele, the author behind the salacious anti-Trump dossier.
But the House Intelligence Committee says the staffer was already in London on committee business.
“The story that Kash flew to London to meet with Christopher Steele is false, no matter how many times it’s reported,” House Intelligence Committee staff director Damon Nelson said.
Nelson said he asked Patel and another staffer to try to make contact with Steele’s lawyer as part of an effort to obtain an address to send Steele an invitation to testify to the committee.
“Anonymous DOJ officials who imply to reporters that Kash has ever been dishonest about this are spreading an outright falsehood,” Nelson said. “If the anonymous DOJ officials want the truth, they can talk to me.”
In its story, The New York Times also reported that top officials at the Justice Department are worried these congressional Republicans “are simply mining government secrets for information they can weaponize against those investigating the president,” like Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
In a statement to Fox News, Nunes backed up Patel as an "absolutely crucial committee investigator who’s always two steps ahead of the DOJ.”
“In fact we suspect his effectiveness is exactly why the DOJ are launching anonymous attacks on him in the press," Nunes said.
Gowdy said he interacts with Patel often.

"Attacking staffers, planting false stories, and endangering national security by leaking sensitive information to the press, including information about intelligence sources - this is what the DOJ is doing."

“I benefit from him giving me the other side of the argument,” Gowdy said. “He is a great career prosecutor and defense attorney. It is sad when you pick on staffers who are doing the right thing for their member or committee."
The New York Times story also reported that House Speaker Paul Ryan encouraged Gowdy go with Nunes “to help keep the meeting civil” at the Justice Department last Thursday to go over the committee’s records request.
But a source close to Ryan pushed back against that reporting, saying Gowdy was always going to the meeting.
“The original plan as widely reported was for Chairmen Nunes and Gowdy to go down to DOJ on Thursday afternoon,” the source said. “The speaker didn’t have anything to do with setting that meeting up or choosing its attendees.”
Asked for comment, a New York Times spokeswoman said, "We are confident in the accuracy of our reporting."

Palestinian Terrorist Cartoons

Michael Goodwin: Israel braces for historic celebration and violence as US embassy moves to Jerusalem

Relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is highly contested with Iran who is already bitter about President Trump's decision to pull out of the JCPOA; Doug McKelway reports.
With apologies to an old bread commercial, you don’t have to be Jewish to marvel at what is happening in Israel. And to be nervous.
The ancient land is bracing for both historic celebrations and escalating Arab violence. Throw in the possibility there will be more Iranian rocket attacks and the week ahead is shaping up as an extreme metaphor for the good, the bad and the ugly of Israel’s modern existence.
Monday brings the belated fulfillment of an old promise — that the United States would move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. President Trump’s decision makes good on his campaign pledge, and shames prior presidents who made the same pledge but went wobbly when they got to the White House.
Trump’s recognition that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital confirmed a reality widely understood by both Arabs and Jews but that foreign governments denied out of fear that acknowledging the truth would spark Palestinian violence. As if the bomb makers and knife wielders needed an excuse.

Democratic rep's bill would give 'poor' pols crashing in their offices cheap housing

Rep. Dan Donovan, R-NY, is one of several representatives who bunk overnight in their offices.  (Congress)

A Democratic congressman wants to create affordable housing in Washington, DC — for members of the House.
As the nation’s capital struggles with a homeless crisis, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson plans to introduce legislation as soon as this week calling for a study into converting a vacant residence hall blocks from the US Capitol into cheap housing for the well-paid politicians.
“I think that building should be available to members of Congress who have found housing costs to be prohibitive,” Thompson told The Post — referring to House members who rake in at least $174,000 a year.
“It can be the affordable-housing-availability option,” he said.
The move follows a recent Post exposé about the scores of House members — including Reps. Gregory Meeks, D-NY, and Dan Donovan, R-NY — who bunk overnight in their offices, claiming they can’t afford DC apartments in addition to their homes.
The average monthly rent on a studio apartment in Washington is $1,591, down 3 percent over the past year, according to a report this month from Rentcafe.com.
Meanwhile, DC — which has an estimated homeless population of 6,904 people — is spending $80,000 a night to house 600 families in hotels.
But Thompson has his eye on a two-story brick building for House members. It was built in the 1940s as a dormitory for nurses and sits in what’s now a posh neighborhood of pricey townhouses.
The government-owned property was most recently occupied by high-school students who were working as House pages. But it’s been empty since that program was shut down in 2011, following the scandal that forced Rep. Mark Foley, R- Fla., to resign in disgrace for sending lewd online messages to several former male pages.

Sarah Sanders says whining kids best practice for dealing with CNN's Jim Acosta

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says dealing with her small children has helped her deal with CNN's Jim Acosta.

While White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders cherishes her role as a mother to three children 6 years and under, she doesn’t shy away from the fact that there are difficult motherhood days – similar to dealing with CNN’s Jim Acosta.

“Both of them whine pretty regularly. They both like to ask the same questions and sometimes their tone needs to be adjusted a little bit. So I think that having kids has prepared me for the job that I have right now,” Sanders responded to the Daily Caller question: “What’s more difficult: Dealing with your children on an onerous day or dealing with [CNN reporter] Jim Acosta?”

“In all seriousness, I think that having kids is great preparation for anything – especially a job you need patience for and they have certainly prepared me for this one,” said Sanders, in the Mother's Day interview that also included White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway and White House Strategic Communications Director Mercedes Schlapp.
The 35-year-old Sanders also expressed gratitude that her children are still too young to read “some of the negative stories that exist out there,” and that she tries to protect them from such backlash as much as possible – while offering some words of wisdom for other working moms.
“I try to make sure I’m very intentional with the time that I have with my kids,” Sanders continued. “I’m gonna miss some of the moments, but the ones that I do have, I really try to focus on them, put my phone aside, block out some of the stress of work and really focus my time and attention on what they want to talk about and really zero in on them.”
And as much as the prominent White House figure values working with the Trump administration, she emphasized that it was not the most crucial role in her life.
“I love my job. It’s an honor to work for the president, but there are a lot of people that have had this job before and there are a lot of people who are going to have it after,” Sanders added. “The most important, influential job I have is being a mom. There are a number of people who can do the job I have. Only one person can be the mom to my kids. So that’s certainly the most important and influential role I’ll ever have. I’m trying hard not to screw it up.”

Trump calls for 'changes to our thought process on terror' after Paris attack

President Trump tweeted Sunday night, “Changes to our thought process on terror must be made,” following the latest attack linked to the Islamic State in France after less than two months of calm.
“At some point countries will have to open their eyes & see what is really going on. This kind of sickness & hatred is not compatible with a loving, peaceful, & successful country!” Trump wrote.
A 20-year-old Frenchman born in Chechnya rampaged through a festive Paris neighborhood Saturday evening slashing passers-by with a knife, investigators said. The man, identified as Khamzat Azimov, killed one person and wounded four others in a festive area near Paris’ old opera house. Police shot him to death as he charged them, witnesses said.
ISIS quickly claimed responsibility for the Saturday night attack via its Amaq news agency, saying Azimov was a “soldier” of the terror group.
In a video before the attacks, as Fox News reported, Azimov apparently called on ISIS supporters living in the West to immigrate to the group’s so-called “caliphate,” or else carry out attacks locally.
“They have closed the doors of immigration in our faces, so let’s strike them in the center of their homes,” the man said in French, adding, “We are on the truth ... despite the alliance of all these unbelievers against us, they will not fulfill their goal.”
Trump often has made the case that Europe ought to respond more to terrorism like the U.S. does.
In early May to the National Rifle Association, Trump claimed that gun-toting Parisians could have thwarted Islamic State attackers at Paris’ Bataclan concert hall.
Trump sparked controversy as some in France took offense at his "trigger-firing" hand gesture imitating the Bataclan attackers. Multiple extremists with explosive belts and assault weapons killed 130 people in the 2015 attacks on the Bataclan, Paris cafes and the national stadium.
Laying out his case for dropping the Iran nuclear deal, Trump contended, "If we do nothing, we know exactly what will happen. In just a short period of time, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror will be on the cusp of acquiring the world’s most dangerous weapons."
Along those lines, Trump is set to host NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House Thursday to discuss NATO’s role in the international fight against terrorism.
Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron professed a sunny, best-friends relationship, telling Trump that together the U.S. and France would defeat terrorism, curtail weapons of mass destruction in North Korea and Iran, and act together on behalf of the planet.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States would lend a hand in the Paris investigation.
“The French authorities with all the intelligence help the United States can provide will do our best to unpack this in the coming hours,” Pompeo said on “Fox News Sunday.”
In a statement released Sunday evening, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders added: “Acts like this only strengthen the resolve of the global coalition to defeat ISIS and drive it out of existence.”

Mother's Day Cartoons

Bloomberg slams pols for 'epidemic of dishonesty,' calls it a greater threat than terrorism

During a commencement speech at Rice University in Texas, the 76-year-old millionaire criticized politicians for their “extreme partisanship,” claiming that it has led to an unprecedented tolerance for dishonesty in politics.  (AP)

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg took aim at Washington on Saturday, asserting that Americans are facing an “epidemic of dishonesty” that poses a greater threat to U.S. democracy than terrorism or communism.
During a commencement speech at Rice University in Texas, the 76-year-old billionaire criticized politicians for their “extreme partisanship,” claiming that it has led to an unprecedented tolerance for dishonesty in politics.
"The greatest threat to American democracy isn't communism, jihadism or any other external force or foreign power," he said. "It's our own willingness to tolerate dishonesty in service of party, and in pursuit of power."
Bloomberg referenced the 1990s, when Democrats staunchly defended then-President Bill Clinton against charges of misconduct and dishonesty, all while Republicans joined together to attack his ethics and personal morality. He said that just the reverse is happening in today’s White House.
He also talked about climate change as another example of “alternate realities” created by politicians’ “endless barrage of lies.”
"If 99 percent of scientists whose research has been peer-reviewed reach the same general conclusion about a theory, then we ought to accept it as the best available information — even if it's not a 100 percent certainty," Bloomberg said.
“How did we go from a president who could not tell a lie to politicians who cannot tell the truth?"
He added that a climate of tolerance for “dishonest politicians” has been made worse by “a chorus of enablers who defend their every lie.”
“When we tolerate dishonesty, we get criminality. Sometimes, it's in the form of corruption. Sometimes, it's abuse of power. And sometimes, it's both,” Bloomberg said.