12 ex-intel officials slam Trump for 'ill-considered and unprecedented' action against Brennan

Drain the Swamp Mr. President.

Twelve former senior intelligence officials issued a statement late Thursday criticizing President Trump’s “ill-considered and unprecedented” decision to strip former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance.
“The president’s action regarding John Brennan and the threats of similar action against other former officials has nothing to do with who should and should not hold security clearances — and everything to do with an attempt to stifle free speech,” the statement reads.
“As individuals who have cherished and helped preserve the right of Americans to free speech — even when that right has been used to criticize us — that signal is inappropriate and deeply regrettable.”
Among the signers are six former CIA directors -- including retired Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, who was a potential candidate for secretary of state in the early days of the Trump administration.
Also in the group: five former deputy directors of the CIA, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, whose name reportedly appeared on a White House list of ex-officials who may soon join Brennan in losing their security clearances.

"As individuals who have cherished and helped preserve the right of Americans to free speech — even when that right has been used to criticize us — that signal is inappropriate and deeply regrettable."
- The joint statement from 12 former intelligence officials.

The dozen stressed that while they don’t necessarily agree with comments made by Brennan, who’s become a frequent guest on liberal news channels, they believe he has the right to voice them.
The statement came just a day after the White House revoked Brennan’s security clearance following a review of access granted to several top Obama-era intelligence and law enforcement officials.
The Trump administration said Brennan “has a history that calls his credibility into question,” and accused him of “leveraging” the clearance to make “wild outbursts” and claims about the administration.
“The president has a constitutional responsibility to protect classified information and who has access to it, and that’s what he’s doing is fulfilling that responsibility in this action,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said.
In a series of tweets, Trump also tweeted comments critical of Brennan, including that he “has gone off the deep end”.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Cartoons

Make election ballots English-only, Arizona GOP candidate says, igniting debate

A voter casts her ballot in Wisconsin's primary election, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018.  (Telegraph Herald via AP)

Election ballots should be printed in English only, a Republican running to be Arizona's next secretary of state said last weekend in a comment that drew pushback from both sides of the aisle.
Candidate Steve Gaynor's remarks came during a GOP candidate forum in Wickenburg last Saturday, the Arizona Republic reported.
"My printing plant in L.A. printed an information pamphlet not too long ago. It had 18 languages on it," Gaynor, the owner of a printing business in Southern California, said, according to the paper. "I would be the first to say it should be -- ballots, information pamphlets, all the material in our country -- should be in English."

"My printing plant in L.A. printed an information pamphlet not too long ago. It had 18 languages on it."
- Steve Gaynor, GOP candidate for Arizona secretary of state

Many in the crowd booed, the report said.
Incumbent Secretary of State Michele Reagan, who is among Gaynor's opponents in the state's GOP primary Aug. 28, accused Gaynor of "pandering" to far right-wing groups, the Republic reported.
Another candidate for secretary of state, state Sen. Katie Hobbs, D-Phoenix, said Gaynor's remarks were worrisome, the report said.
Maggie Acosta, lead canvasser for a progressive voter advocacy group, told the Republic that Spanish-language materials were crucial in Arizona because many of the state's voters who speak and read English still prefer to cast a ballot in their first language, to make sure they cast their votes correctly.
“A lot of the people are willing to (vote), yet they are afraid that they’re going to make a mistake on something," Acosta said. "They get discouraged and they’d just rather not vote."
The federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires that some districts provide election materials in other languages for minority citizen groups who speak different languages, according to the report.

“A lot of the people are willing to (vote), yet they are afraid that they’re going to make a mistake on something. ... They get discouraged and they’d just rather not vote."
- Maggie Acosta, leader canvasser

Based on U.S. Census data demographics, 10 of Arizona's 15 counties must provide voting materials in languages other than English, the Republic reported. About 900,000 Arizona voters are eligible to receive translated ballots under the law, the report said, citing Census data.
Gaynor said the counties should be able to decide if they want to print materials in Spanish. 
He added that learning English would help immigrants "assimilate into American society," the Republic reported.

Trump supporter says he took beating after protesting Social Distortion singer's politics

Mike Ness, 56, is the lead singer of the punk rock band Social Distortion.  (Instagram)

A supporter of President Trump claims that Mike Ness, lead singer of the rock band Social Distortion, spat on him and repeatedly punched him in the head after he protested Ness's criticism of the president at a concert.
The confrontation allegedly took place July 17 at a show in Sacramento, Calif., when concertgoer Tim Hildebrand, 30, held up his middle finger to convey his disagreement with Ness.
The 56-year-old lead singer was “badmouthing President Trump and America,” Hildebrand told CBS 13 Sacramento.
“I pretty much said, 'I paid for your music, not your politics,'” Hildebrand told the station. “I stood pretty much with my silent protest with my middle finger up for the next two songs.”

“I pretty much said, 'I paid for your music, not your politics.' I stood pretty much with my silent protest with my middle finger up for the next two songs.”
- Tim Hildebrand, supporter of President Trump

But Ness didn’t seem to take kindly to Hildebrand’s nonverbal expression. Cellphone video appears to show the lead singer motioning toward a fan in the crowd, before removing his guitar and jumping off stage. He then repeatedly throws punches for a brief moment until the camera cuts out.
Hildebrand, a Republican, said Ness took “his guitar off, jumps off the stage and proceeds to punch me multiple times in the head.”
He told the station that the singer spat in his face and that the two argued before Ness attacked him, resulting in two black eyes, a busted lip and a concussion.
“I wasn’t able to defend myself because people in the crowd were holding me back,” he said.
Security dragged Hildebrand out of the venue, where he met with officers and filed a police report, according to the station.
Sacramento police said they were investigating the incident, the station reported.
Hildebrand told the New York Times that he wasn’t the only fan to express displeasure with Ness’ political statements during the concert, as others walked out and yelled expletives toward the stage.
“If you can speak your mind but you can’t take a response or rebuttal,” he told the paper, “it shows a lot about your character.”
Social Distortion did not immediately return Fox News’ request for comment.

Trump says Cuomo ‘having a total meltdown’ after gov's earlier remark that America ‘was never that great’

President Trump fired back at New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo late Wednesday, saying the Democrat was having "a total meltdown" after he declared at an earlier bill-signing that America “was never that great.”
The Democrat made the seemingly off-hand comment as part of his rebuke of President Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan during the event in New York. But the line drew gasps from the crowd.
"We're not going to make America great again. It was never that great," Cuomo said.
In response to the remark, Trump tweeted, "Can you believe this is the Governor of the Highest Taxed State in the U.S., Andrew Cuomo, having a total meltdown!"
ANDREW CUOMO SHOCKS CROWD, SAYS AMERICA 'WAS NEVER THAT GREAT'
Cuomo fired back at the president on Twitter shortly after.
"@RealDonaldTrump: What you say would be 'great again' would not be great at all...We will not go back to discrimination, segregation, sexism, isolationism, racism or the KKK," the tweet said.
During Wednesday's event, Cuomo went on to say that the country had not yet achieved "greatness."
"We have not reached greatness, we will reach greatness when every American is fully engaged, we will reach greatness when discrimination and stereotyping against women, 51 percent of our population, is gone and every woman's full potential is realized and unleashed and every woman is making her full contribution," he said.

“We’re not going to make America great again. It was never that great,” Cuomo told the crowd in New York.  (AP)

Following the remarks, a spokeswoman for the governor stressed that he "believes America is great," which will become more evident "when every man, woman, and child has full equality. America has not yet reached its maximum potential."
"When the President speaks about making America great again - going back in time - he ignores the pain so many endured and that we suffered from slavery, discrimination, segregation, sexism and marginalized women's contributions," Cuomo's press secretary, Dani Lever, said in the statement. "The Governor believes that when everyone is fully included and everyone is contributing to their maximum potential, that is when America will achieve maximum greatness."
The New York Democrat is currently engulfed in a gubernatorial primary race against actress and activist, Cynthia Nixon. He is also considered a potential White House contender in 2020.

Graham calls for special counsel to investigate FBI's handling of Clinton emails, FISA warrant

Claiming that FBI investigations into Hillary Clinton's emails and the Carter Page FISA warrant were "corrupt to the core," U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham on Wednesday called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to handle both probes.
Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said FBI investigators were “in the tank” for Clinton and the FISA warrant process was abused -- possibly in a criminal fashion.
“What do you think Democrats would be saying if a Republican — if the RNC [Republican National Committee] -- hired a former British agent to go to Russia to get dirt on [Hillary] Clinton?” Graham asked Fox News' Laura Ingraham, host of “The Ingraham Angle.”
Graham said he's grown tired of talking about the Clinton email investigation and the 2016 FISA warrant to wiretap Page, the former Trump campaign adviser. He said an outside investigator could hopefully approach the issue with a nonpartisan perspective.
TRUMP REVOKES EX-CIA DIRECTOR'S SECURITY CLEARANCE
Democrats have said the FISA warrant application shows the Justice Department acted correctly in its probe. Democrats also point to ex-FBI Director James Comey's decision to announce the reopening of the Clnton email probe just days before the 2016 presidential election as an example of no bias.
Comey has since said that he was operating at the time in a world "where Hillary Clinton was going to beat Donald Trump."
Graham's remarks came a day after former FBI agent Peter Strzok was fired over text messages that were critical of Trump.
Strzok vigorously defended himself at a combative House hearing in July, speaking publicly for the first time since the texts were revealed. He insisted that the texts — including ones in which he called Trump a “disaster” and said “We’ll stop” a Trump candidacy — did not reflect political bias and had not affected his investigations.
Strzok was also a lead investigator on the probe into Democrat Clinton’s email server in 2016.
Trump has repeatedly taken aim at Strzok on Twitter, saying his critical text messages showed that Mueller’s investigation is a hoax.

Stormy Daniels Cartoons

Desperate anti-Trump media elevate a strange trio to discredit the president

In the media’s latest tactic to take down President Trump in the court of public opinion, anti-Trump journalists are pinning their hopes on a porn star, a corrupt lawyer and a reality TV star. It almost sounds like the beginning of a bad joke – except this is unfortunately our present reality.
While legitimate questions may exist for the president, trying to legitimize this shady trio by giving them a media makeover isn’t going to give them credibility with the general public. This may be the mainstream media’s “dream team,” but Main Street USA will be a much harder sell.
President Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, secretly recorded a conversation with Trump prior to the election in 2016. They talked about paying for Playboy model Karen McDougal’s story, in which she claimed to have had an affair with Trump.
American Media Inc., which owns the National Enquirer, had agreed to pay for McDougal’s story about the alleged affair, though the Enquirer never ended up publishing it.
The president’s legal team claimed that the recording conveniently stopped prematurely, raising questions about what was not recorded. Alan Dershowitz, Harvard law professor emeritus, said: “There’s no indication of any crime being committed on this tape.”
So, once again, there’s no “there,” there.
Reality TV star Omarosa Manigault Newman, fired three times on “The Apprentice” by Donald Trump, was fired again last year, this time from the West Wing, allegedly over ethics violations.
Though she’s never earned the reputation of “playing well with others,” Manigault Newman left Pennsylvania Ave with the promise to tell her story. Translation: hell hath no fury like Omarosa scorned.
Manigault Newman breached national security protocols on her way out the door by recording her firing by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly in the Situation Room, where recording devices are prohibited.
President Trump’s campaign filed for arbitration Tuesday against Manigault Newman, claiming she violated a 2016 nondisclosure agreement by leaking information from the Situation Room and by disparaging the president in her new gossip-filled book, “Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House.” Her surreptitious recordings of Kelly may also get her a visit from the FBI, the Secret Service or both.
The mainstream media, which salivates over all things anti-Trump, rolled out the red carpet for Manigault Newman. However, over the last couple of years when she was solidly on Team Trump – either on the campaign trail or in the White House – the media considered her a joke, especially when it came to her ongoing feud with CNN’s April Ryan.
The Brad Paisley song “Celebrity” comes to mind: ‘Cause when you’re a celebrity, it’s adios reality. You can act just like a fool, people think you’re cool, just ‘cause you’re on TV.”
Nobody thinks Omarosa’s cool, except for the liberal darlings in the mainstream media. When she’s effectively discredited she will have burned that bridge as well, and they’ll no longer have a use for her either.
The media’s other fan favorite is Stormy Daniels, the porn star and walking contradiction who’s suing the president and Michael Cohen for defamation, for denying her claim that she had an affair with Trump. Cohen paid her $130,000 as part of a nondisclosure agreement.
Meanwhile, Daniels signed a letter in January saying: "I am not denying this affair because I was paid 'hush money' as has been reported in overseas owned tabloids. I am denying this affair because it never happened.”
Confused? Stormy appears to be too.
Most reasonable people find it difficult to take seriously accusations made by these three media darlings who are paraded out as if they are pillars of society, when in fact they are famous for their flexible morals. None of them are likely to even be trusted enough to be chosen to serve on a jury at this point.
If the media are truly interested in answering legitimate questions related to the president, this isn’t the way to get it done.
The reality TV star with a vendetta, the porn star who claimed she never had an affair with Trump before she claimed she did, and the attorney who violates confidentiality by recording his clients are weak arguments for a case against an unfair, biased media grossly obsessed with “getting Trump.”
History teaches that if you’re going to go after the king, you better destroy him; because if you don’t you’ll only make him stronger. If the media are so desperate to sink this low, the result will likely be a long, last laugh for President Trump – as in a two-term presidency.
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).