Trump looking into revoking security clearances for Brennan, other top Obama officials

Press secretary Sarah Sanders accused former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Director James Comey, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director Michael Hayden, former National Security Adviser Susan Rice and former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe of having 'politicized' or 'monetized' their public service.
President Trump is looking into revoking the security clearances of several top Obama-era intelligence and law enforcement officials, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday, accusing them of having "politicized" or "monetized" their public service.
She made the announcement at Monday's press briefing, after Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., called on the president to specifically revoke Trump critic and former CIA Director John Brennan's clearance.
In an interview with Fox News' "The Story" Monday night, Paul told host Martha MacCallum that Brennan "should not get anywhere within 10,000 yards of the government. He should have a restraining order."
"John Brennan leaked information that almost cost the life of a double agent. ... He should have been fired for that. But he wasn’t fired by President Obama because I think he was a partisan," Paul said. "But now he’s a talking head on the outside, saying that basically President Trump should be executed – that’s what we do for treason. And so, yeah, I’m very concerned about him having privileges because of his past history."
Paul added that he would go "one step beyond" the White House and remove top-secret clearances from all retired CIA agents and officers "of any stripe."
Sanders said Trump is also looking into the clearances for other former officials and Trump critics, including former FBI Director James Comey; former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe; former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper; former National Security Adviser Susan Rice and former CIA Director Michael Hayden (who also worked under President George W. Bush).
Sanders said Trump is “exploring mechanisms” to remove the security clearances “because [the former officials] politicized and in some cases actually monetized their public service and their security clearances in making baseless accusations of improper contact with Russia.”
Sanders added that their clearances effectively give “inappropriate legitimacy to accusations with zero evidence.”
“When you have the highest level of security clearance … when you have the nation’s secrets at hand, and go out and make false [statements], the president feels that’s something to be very concerned with,” Sanders said.
However, McCabe spokesperson Melissa Schwartz said his security clearance had already been deactivated when he was fired.

President Trump is looking into revoking former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe's security clearance, but McCabe's spokesman said that clearance had already been deactivated.  (AP)

"Andrew McCabe's security clearance was deactivated when he was terminated, according to what we were told was FBI policy. You would think the White House would check with the FBI before trying to throw shiny objects to the press corps...," Schwartz tweeted Monday.
Benjamin Wittes, a friend of Comey’s, tweeted Monday afternoon that he texted the former FBI director, who told him he doesn’t have a security clearance to revoke. However, clearances can remain automatically "active" for several years after an official departs government service.
The Justice Department Office of the Inspector General declined to comment on Wittes' claims.
When asked whether former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden might have their security clearances revoked, Sanders said she did not have any further information.
The topic came into the spotlight Monday morning, with Paul’s tweets against the former CIA director.
“Is John Brennan monetizing his security clearance? Is John Brennan making millions of dollars divulging secrets to the mainstream media with his attacks on @realDonaldTrump?” Paul tweeted early Monday.
Brennan joined NBC News and MSNBC in February as a contributor and senior national security and intelligence analyst.
Late Monday, Nick Shapiro, a former CIA Deputy Chief of Staff under Brennan, said: "John Brennan hasn't made one penny off of his clearance. Not one thing he has done for remuneration since leaving the government has been contingent on him having a security clearance.
"One doesn't need a security clearance to speak out against the failings of Trump," Shapiro added. "This is a political attack on career national security officials who have honorably served their country for decades under both [Republicans] & [Democrats] in an effort to distract from [Special Counsel Robert] Mueller's investigation."
Congressional Republicans are pushing for Brennan to testify on Capitol Hill regarding the investigation into Russian meddling and potential collusion with Trump campaign associates in the 2016 presidential election.
The former CIA director has been a consistent and harsh critic of the president, blasting his performance with Putin in Helsinki as “nothing short of treasonous.”
But Brennan is not the only former intelligence official to take to the media world. In April, Comey began a media blitz promoting his new memoir, “A Higher Loyalty,” while Hayden and Rice also frequently make media appearances.
On Twitter, just minutes after the announcement from the White House briefing, Hayden responded in a tweet to several journalists that a loss of security clearance would not have an "effect" on him.
"I don't go back for classified briefings. Won't have any effect on what I say or write," Hayden tweeted.

Waiter made up story about 'racist' tipper: restaurant

A Texas waiter reportedly cooked up a hoax when he claimed a racist patron stiffed him and wrote “We don’t tip terrorist” on their bill.  (Facebook)

A Texas restaurant server cooked up a steaming-hot hoax when he claimed a racist patron stiffed him and wrote “We don’t tip terrorist” on their bill, according to a new report.
“After further investigation, we have learned that our employee fabricated the entire story,” Saltgrass Steak House COO Terry Turney said Monday in a statement to the Odessa American newspaper.
“The customer has been contacted and invited back to our restaurant to dine on us. Racism of any form is intolerable, and we will always act swiftly should it occur in any of our establishments. Falsely accusing someone of racism is equaling disturbing.”
Waiter Khalil Cavil, 20, who is black, had claimed the patron stiffed him on a $108 meal and instead wrote the hateful message.
Saltgrass officials said Cavil no longer works at the restaurant, but did not reveal how they determined it was a hoax.

North Korea begins dismantling its main missile-engine test site, satellite images indicate

An American research group on Monday claimed that North Korea has begun dismantling its main missile-engine test site, a possible sign that Pyongyang is fulfilling the promises North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made to President Trump at the summit in Singapore last month.
According to an analysis of satellite imagery of the location by the North Korea-focused 38 North website-- between July 20 and 22--the North Korean government appeared to be dismantling the Sohae launch site.
Some facilities on the site were either razed or taken apart. The facilities included a rocket engine test stand, which is used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles. Another facility was identified as a space-launch vehicles and a rail-mounted processing building.
“Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the North’s intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence building measure on the part of North Korea,” analyst Joseph Bermudez wrote in the 38 North report.
Bermudez said the satellite images indicate that Pyongyang took “an important first step toward fulfilling a commitment made by Kim Jong-un.”
South Korean officials have also said they detected dismantlement activities at the site, though didn’t specify the exact nature of the activities.
The supposed dismantlement of the site comes after Trump and Kim signed an agreement to work towards the goal of “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
Trump said last month after the summit that the North has already started “destroying a major missile engine testing site.” The president didn’t identify the exact site, sparking speculations that North Korea may not be transparent about its activities.
Media reports in recent days also claimed that Trump was frustrated by the lack of progress made by North Korea in its denuclearization efforts, the New York Times reported. The president fired back on Monday, saying he’s “very happy” with how the North has been honoring the commitments made at the summit.
But while many believe the latest presumed efforts to dismantle the site may have a positive effect on denuclearizing the communist state, experts urge caution until the North completely abandons the area.
“If North Korea goes further and dismantle the entire Sohae site, that would meaningfully reduce the country’s long-range missile capability by eliminating a facility where it could fire multiple ICBMs in succession,” said Lee Choon Geun, a missile expert at South Korea’s Science and Technology Policy Institute.
He added, however, that while the first steps in dismantling the site are important, in reality, Pyongyang is giving up little as it appears the country is content with the current long-range weapons in its possession.

Iranian President Rouhani Cartoons

Tax cuts only help the wealthy, right? American paychecks show otherwise

Like you, we are seeing something wonderful and—until recently—unusual as we enter stores: taped to the front window or hanging behind the counter is a “Help Wanted” sign.
What a welcome change from previous summers! Every month this year has posted strong jobs reports, and the unemployment rate among minorities is now at an historic low. Just last month, another 213,000 jobs were added as businesses continued the longest-running job growth trend in our history.
Since Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December, Uncle Sam has been demanding less from us in tax payments. And as a result, American families across the country are better off now because they are benefiting from bigger paychecks and more jobs.
This year alone, the average household in Washington State’s 5th District will see a tax cut of 13 percent and an increase in take-home pay of more than $17,000 over the next 10 years, according to a new study from The Heritage Foundation. President Donald Trump promised a tax cut for the middle class, and that’s just what Congress delivered.
Meanwhile, residents of New York’s 15th District, one of the lowest income districts in America, saw their income taxes cut by about 30 percent. Next time you hear someone say that Trump’s tax cut benefits only the wealthy, remind them of the folks in South Bronx who will see their 2018 tax bill cut by a third.
The benefits of tax reform are just getting started, and we want to keep that momentum going.
Each year the new tax law is in place, American workers and their families will reap larger rewards. More than 650 companies are using the tax cuts for employee bonuses, pay increases, charitable contributions, and new investments. For example, Premera Blue Cross announced it is dedicating $40 million to community reinvestment. Hope House—a women’s shelter in Eastern Washington—will receive $1 million to help more women find permanent homes, according to a recent story.

Opponents of this conservative pro-growth agenda are mounting a campaign to roll back the tax cuts and reverse the great economic growth we are now seeing. We cannot let this this happen.

Inland National Bank, a regional independent community bank in Spokane, Washington, is another great example. INB announced it has shared its tax savings with its employees by raising their base pay to $15 an hour and providing bonuses.
Stories like these are being told and retold all across America. In every state, businesses have passed the benefits of the tax cuts on to their employees. And in every single congressional district, taxpayers are seeing a tax cut.
For the first time in American history, there are more jobs available than people looking for them. Rather than sitting on the sidelines, more workers are eagerly looking for work—which is readily available. A majority of the uptick in new job seekers is fueled by women, individuals with disabilities, and minorities, looking for their first job or reentering the workforce after a poor economy pushed them out many years ago.
Opponents of this conservative pro-growth agenda are mounting a campaign to roll back the tax cuts and reverse the great economic growth we are now seeing. We cannot let this this happen. Americans are better off now than they were two years ago—the economy is booming again. Since some of the tax cuts passed by Congress last year are not permanent, they instead need to be extended and made permanent.
All Americans deserve to enjoy freedom, opportunity, and prosperity. And permanently extending the 2017 tax cuts is a vital step to ensure that they—as well as their children and grandchildren—are able to do exactly that.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers represents Washington’s 5th congressional district since 2005.
Kay Coles James is the president of The Heritage Foundation.

House Intel GOP asked Trump to declassify key parts of Carter Page FISA application

Republicans on the House intelligence committee asked President Trump last month to declassify key sections of the surveillance warrant application for ex-campaign aide Carter Page, according to a letter obtained by Fox News.
The heavily-redacted application outlining the justifications for surveiling Page, which was approved and renewed several times by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), was released over the weekend after a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
“Because DOJ (Department of Justice) and FBI continue to obstruct the Committee's investigation, it is time to put the facts in the public domain,” the letter, dated June 14, states.
The 13 Republicans on the committee, including committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., state in the letter that the declassification should be consistent “with the need to protect intelligence sources and methods,” adding that the declassification will “enable the public to understand the DOJ's and FBI's basis for obtaining the FISA warrant and three subsequent renewals.”
The Republicans highlight two sections of the document as key to understanding whether FBI and Department of Justice followed proper procedures when they obtained the authority to surveil Page on October 2016.
FBI TOLD FISA COURT SEVERAL TIMES THAT CLINTON-FUNDED SPY WASN'T SOURCE FOR MEDIA REPORT
A key part of the government's application to the FISC to surveil Page was an unverified dossier containing salacious allegations about President Trump. The dossier was opposition research paid for by the DNC and Clinton campaign.
“... [W]e respectfully request that you declassify and release publicly, and in unredacted form, pages 10-12 and 17-34, along with all associated footnotes, of the third renewal of the FISA application on Mr. Page," the letter states. "That renewal was filed in June 2017 and signed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein."
The letter states, that on its face, the bureau’s reliance on the dossier appears to violate strict, internal FBI rules.
“The Committee's investigative findings include DOJ's and FBI's use of an unverified dossier of memoranda that was not subjected to proper U.S. government verification and was not handled according to FBI procedures," the letter says.
It adds: “The FBI’s own Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (known as the DIOG) prohibits the FBI from using unverified material to obtain a warrant under FISA. The unverified allegations in the dossier were nevertheless presented to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) to obtain a FISA warrant and three renewals on Mr. Page. DOJ also presented a news article that was sourced from the author of the dossier.”
That is an apparent reference to a September 2016 Yahoo News article about intelligence officials probing Page as a possible Russian operative.
Based on the weekend document release, the Yahoo News article was presented to the surveillance court as an independent intelligence stream justifying the surveillance of Page.
FISA DOCUMENT RELEASE SHOWS FBI MAY HAVE USED 'CIRCULAR REPORTING' TO JUSTIFY SPYING ON TRUMP CAMP
But London court records show that contrary to the FBI's assessments that were presented to the FISC, ex-spy Christopher Steele briefed Yahoo News and other reporters in the fall of 2016 at the direction of Fusion GPS -- the opposition research firm behind the dossier.
The lawmakers also advised the President they have requested the senior judge who oversees the FISA surveillance court “to conduct an investigation into DOJ's conduct in obtaining the FISA warrant and renewals."
The Justice Department and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News about the letter or whether the president is considering or has rejected the request. The FBI declined to comment.
Earlier this year, the House intelligence committee also called on Trump to declassify their FISA memo summarizing the warrant application for Page and subsequent renewals, which he did.
Democrats, who later released their own memo, called the declassification a danger to national security at the time, with the FBI issuing a rare public statement that the bureau had grave concerns about material omissions, they believed, impacted the memo’s accuracy.
Rosenstein also voiced reservations on the basis of endangering sources and methods.

Pelosi, DCCC says petition will block Putin's visit, misleading donors: report

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was caught pushing misleading claims about blocking a presumed visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the White House in a bid to squeeze donations from gullible donors, The Daily Caller reported.
Pelosi, in a fundraising email from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), said that with enough signatures on the petition, the Democrats will be able to block Putin’s visit, the report said.
“I will NOT allow Putin to set foot in the United States. I need 100,000 signatures to BLOCK his visit and keep our elections safe. I need you to sign before midnight,” Pelosi reportedly said in the email circulated on Sunday.
“It's obvious to me Trump is terrified of Putin, so here's what I'd like to know: Is Putin blackmailing Trump? Do Republicans know about it?” she continued. “I need 100,000 signatures before midnight to block Putin from EVER visiting the United States and attacking our November election.”

“It's obvious to me Trump is terrified of Putin, so here's what I'd like to know: Is Putin blackmailing Trump? Do Republicans know about it?”
- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi

No petition, however, could legally force Trump to back down from the possible visit by Putin later this year, the report said.
The Sunday’s fundraising email was a similar effort launched just a day before, when a DCCC email said a petition needs 50,000 signatures to bar Putin from coming to the U.S. for a visit.
The House Democrats reportedly also sent out a covert fundraising petition on Sunday, claiming that the DCCC is nearing its goal of 1.2 million signatures to “ensure protection” for Special Counsel Robert Mueller who’s investigating the alleged collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.
PELOSI CLAIMS MUELLER WAS ‘FIRED’ IN BIZARRE EMAIL TO DONORS
This isn’t the first time the top Democrat is engaging if misleading fundraising efforts. In April, Pelosi was caught fundraising off the firing of Mueller, despite him not being fired.
The California Democrat reportedly sent out an email titled “Mueller FIRED” and asked people to donate to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) amid speculations that President Donald Trump may fire Mueller in retaliation for the FBI raid on his lawyer Michael Cohen.

Trump warns Iran's Rouhani to stop the threats or suffer historic consequences

President Trump late Sunday tweeted out to Iranian President Rouhani to never threaten the U.S. again or face historic consequences.
The tweet came on the heels of Rouhani’s warning to Trump that hostile policies could lead to the “mother of all wars" with Iran.
Trump called for Rouhani to stop the rhetoric or--in caps lock-- “suffer the consequences the like of which few throughout history have ever suffered before. We are no longer a country that will stand for your demented words of violence and death. Be cautious!”
Within hours, Iranian state-owned news agency IRNA dismissed Trump's tweet, describing it as a "passive reaction" to Rouhani's remarks.
The agency, a government mouthpiece, also said Monday that Trump's comment was only mimicking and copying Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif who had in the past warned the West to "never threaten an Iranian."
Rouhani earlier warned Trump to stop "playing with the lion's tail" and threatening Iran, "or else you will regret it."
Trump earlier this year pulled the U.S. out of the international deal meant to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon and ordered increased American sanctions.
Trump has suggested Iranian leaders are "going to call me and say 'let's make a deal'" but Iran has rejected talks.
Rouhani has previously lashed out against Trump for threatening to re-impose the sanctions, as well as for moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and banning travel to the U.S. from certain Muslim-majority countries. Rouhani also said that a peace with Tehran is like "the mother of all peace."
Sources told Reuters that U.S. officials have launched an effort to foment unrest in Tehran and put pressure on the country’s leaders to end its nuclear program.