Disgraced former Sen. Al Franken on whether he'd run for office again: 'I haven't ruled it out'

Disgraced former Sen. Al Franken, who resigned last year over allegations of sexual misconduct, said Monday he hadn’t yet ruled out the possibility of running for public office again in the future.
“Well, see, if I say anything there, you'll put it in the story. I don’t know. I don't know,” Franken said during an interview with the CBS Minnesota when asked whether he will run again. “I haven’t ruled it out, and I haven’t ruled it in.”

"I haven’t ruled it out, and I haven’t ruled it in."
- Former Minnesota Sen. Al Franken

He was asked about his potential return to politics after he attended the dedication of Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig High School on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation. He managed to secure $12 million funding for a new facility there during his time in the U.S. Senate.
“That means a lot to me. It was very moving for me. It was very gratifying. I put my heart in the job,” Franken said about the project and his work as a senator. “I miss the whole job. I loved that job, I loved the job as Senator.”
Franken resigned back in December after a number of women came forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct ranging from groping to forcibly trying to kiss women.
Multiple female Democratic lawmakers called upon Franken to resign after he expressed reluctance to vacate his position, arguing that he remembers the alleged incidents differently.
FRANKEN RESIGNS FROM SENATE AMID NEW CLAIMS OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT, BACKLASH FROM DEMS
“Enough is enough,” said New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand as a wave of calls resignation calls hit Franken, with at least 36 members of his own party urged him to resign.
During the resignation speech, Franken said it was “the worst day of his political life” and insisted the claims made against him were “simply not true.” He reiterated that he remembers the incidents “differently.”
Franken’s wife Franni told the local TV station on Monday that the resignation was difficult for the family. “It has been a challenge, but we do get to spend more time together, and I think there are times that both us would like to spend less time together,” she said.

North Korea possibly constructing new intercontinental ballistic missiles: report

North Korea is reportedly constructing new intercontinental ballistic missiles, despite reassurances from President Trump that the rogue nation is “no longer a nuclear threat.”
Satellite images appear to indicate North Korea is possibly building two ICBMs at the same facility where the country produced its first long-range missiles, including the Hwasong-15 which make have the capability of hitting the U.S. East Coast, officials told The Washington Post Monday on condition of anonymity.
The intelligence suggested Kim Jong Un is continuing to build-up his arsenal instead of honoring the commitment he made with Trump last month, the newspaper reported.

North Korea shows off its missiles in a parade.  (Reuters)

“We see them going to work, just as before,” one U.S. official told the paper.
North Korea’s intention was to deceive the U.S. by misconstruing the number of warheads as well as research facilities they have, while claiming they have fully denuclearized, the Post reported, citing intelligence.
While North Korea honored its promise to return the remains of fallen U.S. soldiers during the Korean War, there have been troubling reports that Pyongyang will never truly disarm.
Reports earlier this month revealed that the hermit kingdom is building a nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine, which came on the heels of CIA and other intelligence agencies telling NBC News that North Korea has increased its production of enriched uranium.
North Korea also called the talks with a delegation led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in July “regrettable,” claiming the U.S. has undermined the spirit of the summit.
"We had expected that the U.S. side would offer constructive measures that would help build trust based on the spirit of the leaders' summit ... we were also thinking about providing reciprocal measures," Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, according to The Associated Press.
"However, the attitude and stance the United States showed in the first high-level meeting (between the countries) was no doubt regrettable," the spokesman said.
Pompeo had struck a different tone, telling reporters as he left that the talks with senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol had been “productive.”
Independent missile experts also told The Washington Post that they have found evidence that is consistent with U.S. agency findings and that there is ongoing activity.
At a Senate hearing last week, Pompeo refuted claims that the U.S, was being played by North Korea.
“I’m afraid that at this point, the United States, the Trump Administration is being taken for a ride,” said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.
“Fear not, senator. Fear not,” advised Pompeo.

ICE agents accuse Oregon mayor of abetting 'Abolish ICE' protesters

Portland, Ore. Mayor Ted Wheeler was blasted by ICE agents.  (Facebook/AP)

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Monday accused an Oregon mayor of violating the Constitution after emboldening “Abolish ICE” protesters by ordering the police to stand down and openly expressing support for their cause.
The accusations were outlined in a cease-and-desist letter sent to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, saying he actively encouraged the protesters and their cause, while making sure Portland’s police wouldn’t crack down on them, thus creating “a zone of terror and lawlessness,” the Washington Times reported.
“When the mayor gave the order that police would not support ICE employees trapped in the facility, he turned the lives of our employees over to an angry mob,” Chris Crane, president of the National ICE Council, the organization that sent the cease-and-desist letter, told the newspaper.

"When the mayor gave the order that police would not support ICE employees trapped in the facility, he turned the lives of our employees over to an angry mob."
- National ICE Council President Chris Crane,

The letter demands Wheeler to make an apology and ensure the city’s police will protect all citizens in need, including those working for a federal agency. A letter advises that the city could be sued if the mayor’s response isn’t adequate.
“The mayor stated publicly that he supported the protests, which were supposed to be about protecting immigrant families. But what about the moms and dads that we had working in that building? What about their kids?” Crane continued. “These are questions that we’ll be expecting the mayor and city of Portland to be answering in the days to come.”
PORTLAND ICE FACILITY PROTEST CAMP BROKEN UP BY FEDS AS CROWDS SHOUT ‘NOT RACIST POLICE!’
Portland is among the main centers of the nationwide movement to abolish the federal immigration authority, an idea that is increasingly being embraced by top mainstream Democrats in Congress, including U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
The city mayor’s support for the movement led to the occupation of a building being used by ICE, harassment of some ICE employees, and the creation of a camp on a city’s land.
“To all demonstrators: I urge you to keep up this effort,” Wheeler said in a press conference last week, according to The Oregonian, though advising protesters to vacate the ICE field office and the camp before the police disbands them.
He also said that the encampment, which has been branded as a biohazard by authorities, “deters from the main message” of getting rid of the immigration agency.
PORTLAND, ORE. TO CLEAN UP ‘DISGUSTING’ OCCUPY ICE CAMP, CALLING IT BIOHAZARD

Piles of debris awaited cleanup at an "Occupy ICE" camp in Portland, Ore., after police cleared out protesters earlier this week.  (KPTV-TV/FOX 12)

ICE officers alleged that some agency employees were denied assistance from the police to deal with protesters, including a disabled Marine veteran who was allegedly confronted by an activist as he was picking up his daughter from a camp.
According to the Times, the veteran was interning at the ICE office on the first day of the demonstrations against the agency. After the demonstrators surrounded the ICE field office, he managed to escape but his car was scratched and tires slashed. He was later allegedly followed by the activists, yet his calls for help were reportedly ignored by the police, who told him that they are staying out of the situation.

"When it comes to basic police protection that should transcend politics ... It comes down to life and death. [Mayor Wheeler] was irresponsible.”
- ICE Agent

“When it comes to basic police protection that should transcend politics,” another ICE employee said about the veteran’s experience, blaming the city’s mayor. “It comes down to life and death. He was irresponsible.”
The President of the National ICE Council urged the Trump administration to do more to defend the federal immigration agency.
“For now, a handful of ICE officers and staff are taking this mayor and city on all by ourselves,” he told the Times. “We’ll fight alone for the rule of law and safety of our employees nationwide if that’s what it takes, but someone on our side would be a welcome change moving forward.”

Trump Derangement Syndrome Cartoons

Trump fires back at 'insane' media after NY Times publisher calls rhetoric 'divisive' and 'dangerous'

President Trump ripped what he called "haters in the dying newspaper industry" Sunday after the publisher of The New York Times criticized Trump's rhetoric as "not just divisive but increasingly dangerous."
In a rant that took up four separate tweets, the president complained that the media had been "driven insane by their Trump Derangement Syndrome."
"[Ninety percent] of media coverage of my Administration is negative, despite the tremendously positive results we are achieving, it's no surprise that confidence in the media is at an all time low!" wrote Trump, later adding: "The failing New York Times and the Amazon Washington Post do nothing but write bad stories even on very positive achievements - and they will never change!"
Trump posted the tweets a few hours after New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger detailed a July 20 meeting between himself and Trump. Sulzberger said Trump's aides had initially requested the meeting not be made public, but added he decided to comment after Trump discussed it in another Tweet earlier Sunday.
"Had a very good and interesting meeting at the White House with A.G. Sulzberger, Publisher of the New York Times. Spent much time talking about the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by the media & how that Fake News has morphed into phrase, "Enemy of the People." Sad!" Trump wrote.
Sulzberger, who succeeded his father as publisher on Jan. 1, said his main purpose for accepting the meeting was to "raise concerns about the president's deeply troubling anti-press rhetoric."
"I told the president directly that I thought that his language was not just divisive but increasingly dangerous," he said.
Sulzberger said he told Trump that while the phrase "fake news" is untrue and harmful, "I am far more concerned about his labeling journalists 'the enemy of the people.' I warned that this inflammatory language is contributing to a rise in threats against journalists and will lead to violence."
Sulzberger, who attended the meeting with James Bennet, the Times' editorial page editor, said he stressed that leaders outside the U.S. are already using Trump's rhetoric to justify cracking down on journalists.
"I warned that it was putting lives at risk, that it was undermining the democratic ideals of our nation, and that it was eroding one of our country's greatest exports: a commitment to free speech and a free press," the publisher said.
Sulzberger added that he made clear that he was not asking Trump to soften his attacks against the Times if he thinks the newspaper's coverage is unfair. "Instead, I implored him to reconsider his broader attacks on journalism, which I believe are dangerous and harmful to our country," he said.
Despite Trump's characterization of the paper as "failing," the Times' ownership company in May reported a 3.8 percent increase in first-quarter revenue compared to the same period in 2017.
The president, who lashes out over media coverage of him and the administration that he deems unfair, has broadly labeled the news media the "enemy of the people" and regularly accuses reporters of spreading "fake news" — the term he often uses for stories he dislikes.
Last week, Trump told hundreds of people attending the annual Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Kansas City. "Don't believe the crap you see from these people, the fake news," as he gestured toward journalists at the back of the room and the crowd erupted.
He also told them to remember "what you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening."
Sulzberger said he accepted the meeting because Times publishers have a history of meeting with presidential administrations and other public figures who have concerns with the publication's coverage of them.
After Sulzberger took charge, Trump tweeted that his ascension gave the paper a "last chance" to fulfill its founder's vision of impartiality.
In the tweet, Trump urged the new publisher to "Get impartial journalists of a much higher standard, lose all of your phony and non-existent 'sources,' and treat the President of the United States FAIRLY, so that the next time I (and the people) win, you won't have to write an apology to your readers for a job poorly done!"

The unhinged anti-Kavanaugh left gears up to attack a Christian family man who feeds the homeless

The intellectual and moral compass of the political left in America was twisting in the wind hours and days before President Donald J. Trump introduced Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the Washington, D.C. federal circuit court as his nominee to replace the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court. They lost true North within moments of the announcement.
“Brett Kavanaugh is a dangerous criminal.” This statement, from Hillary Shelton, a high-ranking official at the NAACP, was made about a devoted Christian father of two young girls, who lives his faith through his dedication to public service by serving meals to the homeless in Washington, tutors underprivileged children at local elementary schools, and coaches youth basketball. Apparently, my dictionary definition of criminal dramatically differs from that of Ms. Shelton and her colleagues, but I don’t believe that Judge Brett Kavanaugh fits the description.
The radical left and the mainstream media began their work early to stop Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Hours before President Trump’s announcement, ABC Nightline promoted that night’s show with the headline “Tonight on Nightline, Terry Moran reports on the controversial Supreme Court Justice pick.”  Well-organized and well-paid protestors lined the steps of the Supreme Court with pre-printed signs with fill-in-the-blank name in anticipation of the announcement.
The leftist Women’s March sent a press release during Kavanaugh’s remarks complete with a XX mark where the name of the nominee was supposed to go. Fox News host Shannon Bream was forced to postpone her show on the steps of the Supreme Court as she feared for her safety and that of show staff because of the vile remarks and physically threatening approaches by protesters. Sitting U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who are charged with questioning and consenting on the Kavanaugh nomination, tacitly supported the mob on the court steps with their very presence and heated rhetoric. "This is a nominee who wants to pave the path to tyranny,” proclaimed Merkley.

Because the stakes are so high for the left’s activism through the courts, the fight for Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation will not be easy.

Groups such as the ACLU, Center For American Progress, and many others have already galvanized Democratic senators to attempt to “Bork” the Kavanaugh nomination, just as they did to President Reagan and Judge Robert Bork in 1987.
The professional left is well-funded and are powerful influencers in Congress. Both the public comments preceding the Kavanaugh announcement and the comments from both liberal interest groups and sitting senators since, display a literal and metaphorical frothing at the mouth to systematically defame and vilify an outstanding human and respected jurist.
These attacks are not only unfair, but utterly baseless and even dangerous. Kavanaugh is a worthy successor to Justice Kennedy, and his nomination and confirmation is the only way for Americans who respect the Constitution to ensure the integrity of this Supreme Court, the Constitution, and the rule of law for the next 20 years. Judge Kavanaugh's temperament, jurisprudence and deference to the legislative process – plus his history as a principled constitutionalist jurist – indicate that as a member of the highest court in the land, he will interpret the law, not make law.
By contrast, the American left has, over the past decades, effectively packed the Supreme Court and the federal and state judiciary with activist judges to match their leftist ideology. Fortunately, President Trump and Senate Republicans have stemmed this tide by confirming the most federal court justices in the first year and a half of any presidency.
The unprecedented assault by liberal federal judges on the rule of law and the founding principles of our Republic is a basic tenet of liberal ideology and they will spare no expense and there are no lows to which they will not sink, including assassinating the outstanding character and credentials of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, in order to take the federal courts down this path.
Because the stakes are so high for the left’s activism through the courts, the fight for Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation will not be easy, and it is up to all Americans and members of the Senate to reject the vile personal attacks that continue to pour in from the unhinged opponents of his nomination.
Judge Kavanaugh would be the most qualified jurist in America to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court. He will apply the law as written and respect the Constitution. There is nothing more threatening and criminal to the political left in America.
Timothy Head is the executive director of the Faith and Freedom Coalition.

Trump's demise has been greatly exaggerated

This time they’ve surely got him. Pack your bags, Mr. President. The game is up. Because this week we learned that . . . that . . . well, there’s this tape, see, recorded by Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen in September of 2016, during which the then-presidential candidate discussed setting up a company for the purpose of paying off alleged former paramour Karen McDougal to make her go away.
Did Trump and Cohen actually pay her off? No, but . . . but . . . c’mon, it would have been a campaign-finance violation! If it had happened. Or it was sort of a campaign-finance violation once removed, because the company that owns the National Enquirer paid for the rights to the McDougal story but then never ran anything on it, and maybe Trump knew about this!
Trump-is-doomed stories are one of the media’s favorite fairy tales. Remember when you saw “Peter Pan” when you were 4 and you actually thought that clapping for Tinkerbell would bring her back to life? Pundits think that if they cheer loudly enough for Trump to get eighty-sixed, it’ll happen. His (first?) term in office is more than a third over, and the Very Serious Commentators have been ushering him out the door the entire time. Or at least they’ve been trying to. It turns out that Trump doesn’t pay a lot of attention to the usher-pundits.
“Michael Cohen and the End Stage of the Trump Presidency,” ran a headline in The New Yorker. That was back on April 14. Writer Adam Davidson gravely averred, “This is the week we know, with increasing certainty, that we are entering the last phase of the Trump Presidency. This doesn’t feel like a prophecy; it feels like a simple statement of the apparent truth.”

Top Tennessee Dem Party official snubs 'reaching out' to Trump voters, calls them 'idiots'

Mark Brown, a top Tennessee Democratic Party’s communications official made disparaging comments about President Donald Trump and lashed out against suggestion to reach out to Trump voters, describing them as “idiots.”  (Facebook)

A top Tennessee Democratic Party’s communications official made disparaging comments about President Donald Trump and lashed out against a suggestion to reach out to his voters, describing them as “idiots.”
Mark Brown, a top communications official for the Tennessee Democratic Party currently working as the leading spokesperson to help Democrat Phil Bredesen win the Senate race against Republican Marsha Blackburn, has made a number over-the-top comments on social media, including calling the president “f---stik” and “Putin’s b----,” the Washington Free Beacon revealed.
“Exactly, f--- ‘reaching out’ to Trump voters. The idiots aren't listening,” Brown wrote in one of the tweets from 2017. In other tweets he also called Trump a “f---ing moron” and “insane f---.”

 
(Twitter)

The revelations Brown’s troubling remarks on social media came as Bredesen complained about Vice President Mike Pence's “name-calling” after he endorsed his Republican opponent and called him a liberal.
“We need @VoteMarsha in the Senate. If Marsha Blackburn’s opponent wins, Tennessee will have a liberal in the Senate who supports single-payer health care and wants to repeal our tax cuts, which he called ‘crumbs.’ He’s too liberal for Tennessee,” wrote Pence on Twitter earlier this month.
Brown’s online comments about ignoring Trump voters may hurt the party’s Senate candidate in the state, who promised to go beyond party lines and work with everyone, as Trump won Tennessee by 26 points.
Scott Golden, the chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, told the Free Beacon that the “hateful comments” from the Democratic Party’s official were “reprehensible” and called him a “professional Twitter troll” who just said what his party thinks about Trump.

"Tennessee Democratic Party spokesman Mark Brown has been doing Bredesen’s dirty work and expressing his party’s true sentiments about President Trump."
- Scott Golden, the chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party

"Phony Phil Bredesen is complaining about the Vice President calling him out for what he is: a liberal," he said. "Meanwhile, professional Twitter troll and Tennessee Democratic Party spokesman Mark Brown has been doing Bredesen’s dirty work and expressing his party’s true sentiments about President Trump.”
The Tennessee Democratic Party did not return to immediate Fox News request for a comment.