Cruz challenger Beto O'Rourke dinged for saying 'nothing more American' than kneeling during anthem

Beto O’Rourke, the Democrat challenging GOP Sen. Ted Cruz in the midterm elections, is being slammed by Republicans for saying there is “nothing more American” than kneeling during the national anthem.
“Comments like his are a slap in the face to every man and woman who has ever served our nation and put their lives on the line to defend American values,” Republican Party of Texas Chairman James Dickey said Thursday.
O’Rourke, a Democratic congressman, was asked at a recent campaign event about NFL players who kneel during the anthem. O’Rourke replied, “I can think of nothing more American than to peacefully stand up, or take a knee for your rights anytime, anywhere, any place.”
While Republicans decried the remark, liberals are celebrating it.
“His answer was perfect,” said the liberal news site NowThis, which posted video of the exchange.
Actor Kevin Bacon tweeted his thanks to O’Rourke. And basketball star LeBron James saluted O’Rourke for his “candid thoughtful words!”
Cruz, the conservative senator elected in 2012, has hit back on the campaign trail.
“When Beto O’Rourke says he can’t think of anything more American, well I got to admit, I can,” Cruz said during a recent stop in Corpus Christi, referencing American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who salute the flag.
He is also drawing attention to the praise O'Rourke has gotten from Hollywood celebs.
“Most Texans stand for the flag, but Hollywood liberals are so excited that Beto is siding with NFL players protesting the national anthem that Kevin Bacon just retweeted it,” Cruz said.
It comes as O’Rourke – who has benefited from favorable national media attention, sympathetic magazine profiles and comparisons to the Kennedys – is gaining ground on Cruz in polls.
A NBC News/Marist Poll released this week shows Cruz ahead of O’Rourke by just 4 points, with 49 percent support to O'Rourke's 45 percent.

Cruz challenger Beto O'Rourke's campaign denies asking VFW to remove flags for campaign event

Beto O'Rourke is running for Ted Cruz's seat in the Senate. His campaign says it did not ask a VFW to take down flags ahead of a campaign event.  (AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez, File)

Members of Rep. Beto O'Rourke's Senate campaign deny they ever asked for flags to be taken down for a campaign event at a Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Texas.

O'Rourke, who's trying to unseat Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, has been crisscrossing the state holding town halls. One of them was in August at a VFW post in Navasota, northwest of Houston.

The commander of the post, Carl Dry, said he rents out the hall for lots of different events. But Dry said before the O'Rourke town hall, a young woman with the campaign asked take take down venue flags.
Dry explained there are two large flags hanging on the wall in the main hall, one for the United States and one for the state of Texas. There are also two standing flags on either side. Mr. Dry said after he told the young woman "no," a young man then came up and asked the same question. This time he replied, "Not just no, but hell no." He added, "I was a little hot they'd ask, especially at a VFW hall."
But Chris Evans, communications director with the O'Rourke campaign, said that simply didn't occur. Evans told Fox News: "Our campaign absolutely did not request that any flags be removed or taken down from the walls. It is incorrect to say that we did."
Evans added that the campaign has hosted dozens of town halls in VFW posts across the state, at which they "ensure that the flags are prominently and respectfully displayed."
The flag dust-up follows reports of O'Rourke's defending athletes who kneel during the national anthem in protest of racial injustice and police violence, an issue the Cruz campaign has highlighted in its campaign events and online.
As for Dry, he said being head of a VFW post, he won't weigh in on politics, but added "As far as I'm concerned, it's a non-issue."

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Kavanaugh hearings see flood of document releases as Dems claim to flout Senate rules

After beginning with a bizarre series of document releases that prompted one top Democrat to compare himself to Thracian gladiator Spartacus, the third day of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings centered on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation -- and a string of emails from earlier in the nominee's career, more than a decade ago.
As Democrats questioned Kavanaugh, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., on Thursday afternoon released a new batch of documents that appeared to be labeled "committee confidential," meaning they were cleared to be viewed only by the Senate Judiciary Committee, not the public.
Booker tweeted that the entire nominating process was a "sham," and claimed he was running the risk of being expelled from the Senate for breaking its rules by posting the Bush-era documents, which included Kavanaugh's thoughts on racial profiling in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks and his assessment of the Supreme Court's views on Roe v. Wade.
A Judiciary Committee spokesperson confirmed to Fox News late Thursday that at least some of the emails Booker had released were still "committee confidential" when he published them hours earlier, suggesting Booker had in fact violated Senate rules, although Republicans had said earlier in the day that they had cleared many of the documents for public release on Wednesday night.
Also on Thursday, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif. -- another potential 2020 presidential contender -- circled back to a combative, mysterious moment during Wednesday's hearing, when she suggested Kavanaugh was hiding information intentionally.
Harris had asked Kavanaugh whether he ever had discussed Mueller or his Russia probe with anyone at Kasowitz Benson Torres, the nearly 300-member law firm founded by Marc Kasowitz, a former personal attorney to President Trump. Kavanaugh demurred at the time, saying, "I'm not sure I know everyone who works at that law firm."
On Thursday night, Harris offered some more information about the foundation for her line of questioning.
"I received reliable information that you had a conversation about the special counsel or his investigation with the law firm that has represented President Trump," Harris began. "I will ask you again and for the last time -- yes or no, have you ever been part of a conversation with lawyers at the firm Kasowitz Benson Torres about Special Counsel Mueller or his investigation?"
"The answer is no," Kavanaugh eventually replied. Harris moved on quickly, peppering Kavanaugh with an aggressive series of rapid-fire questions on everything from gay marriage rights to separations of illegal immigrant families at the border.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., had pressed Kavanaugh on the Kasowitz issue earlier.
"Your answer was vague," Blumenthal charged. "Have you discussed the special counsel investigation with anyone outside the group of judges on the D.C. Circuit [Court of Appeals]?"
"I've had no inappropriate discussions with anyone," Kavanaugh said. "If you're walking around in America, it's coming up, senator, so people discuss it."
WATCH: KAMALA HARRIS WARNS KAVANAUGH TO 'BE SURE ABOUT YOUR ANSWER' ON MUELLER DISCUSSIONS
Blumenthal's questioning echoed Harris' tone on Wednesday, when she briefly silenced the hearing room by flatly telling Kavanaugh, "I think you're thinking of someone, and you don't want to tell us."
The moment prompted another outburst from demonstrators. In total, 69 protesters were charged with unlawfully demonstrating in the Senate complex on Thursday, including 37 in the hearing room, according to Capitol Police officials. On Wednesday, 73 people were arrested and charged, including 66 from the hearing room.
For the most part, the day's questions focused on documents opaquely referenced by Democrats on Wednesday that Booker and other senators released Thursday.
Democrats pointed, for example, to a 2003 email that had been marked "committee confidential" in which Kavanaugh wrote: "I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land at the Supreme Court level since Court can always overrule its precedent, and three current Justices on the Court would do so."
Kavanaugh, then a lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, was being asked for his opinion on a draft op-ed to be bylined by pro-life women. He repeatedly told Democrats that the email reflected only his opinion on the views of "legal scholars," and were not necessarily a fair reflection of his own opinions.
Crucially, that opinion seemed to be shared Thursday by Maine pro-choice Republican Susan Collins, considered a key swing vote in Kavanaugh's potential confirmation.
"I am told that he was editing an op-ed for clarity and was merely stating a fact that three judges on the court were anti-Roe,” Collins said. “If that’s the case then, and it’s not expressing his view, then I’m not sure what the point is.” Collins later told Politico she would review the matter again over the weekend.
Democrats also highlighted a 2001 email referenced on Wednesday in which Kavanaugh seemed dismissive of Department of Transportation regulations that gave preference to minority-owned companies, even where they did not offer the most competitive bid on a particular contract.
"The fundamental problem in this case is that these DOT regulations use a lot of legalisms and disguises to mask what in reality is a naked racial set-aside," Kavanaugh wrote, as part of his analysis that conservative members of the Supreme Court would “realize as much in short order and rule accordingly.” Kavanaugh on Thursday defended the email as an assessment of his views on the Supreme Court's probable take on the matter.
Earlier Thursday, Sen. Booker, D-N.J., claimed he was taking a dramatic risk by publicizing emails from 2002 that he had said on Wednesday indicated that Kavanaugh was open to racial profiling.
“I am going to release the email about racial profiling and I understand that the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate,” Booker announced, adding later: “This is about the closest I'll probably ever have in my life to an, ‘I am Spartacus’ moment.”
But in a strange twist, Republicans on the Judiciary Committee said that the George W. Bush library and the Justice Department had cleared several of the documents for public release the previous night, suggesting that Booker, in fact, was not risking anything by going public with the documents. Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee had hinted Wednesday that the documents would come out, saying there was "no reason" to keep them private.
However, on Thursday afternoon, Booker continued publicly releasing documents that he said had been marked "committee confidential," posting on Twitter, "We will continue to release more committee confidential documents to draw attention to this sham process."
Late Thursday, a Senate Judiciary Committee spokesperson confirmed to Fox News that at least some of the documents Booker released were still "committee confidential" when he released them.
One of the 12-page email chains that Booker ultimately provided showed that, in 2002, Kavanaugh wrote that he "generally" favored racially neutral security measures in the long term. But he acknowledged that administration officials would need to "grapple" with the viability of a potential interim solution that included race as a consideration, suggesting that until race-neutral policies could be effectively implemented, national security concerns in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks could demand another approach.
Another email chain released by Booker later Thursday showed Kavanaugh admitting to "venting" in 2001 about reported changes to a bill providing funding both religious and non-religious drug and alcohol treatment centers.
"A religious drug treatment center should be no better -- but also no worse -- in the eyes of the government than a non-religious drug treatment center," Kavanaugh wrote, by way of arguing that the Constitution requires that faith-based organizations should not receive preferential treatment, but should still receive a "neutral" and fair shake.
Despite the tense atmosphere, there were pointed moments of levity. At one point, at the insistence of Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Kavanaugh introduced several girls on a softball team he has coached through the years, rattling off their names and grade levels one by one. When he finished, the hearing room, which on dozens of occasions this week played host to loud and hostile anti-Kavanaugh protesters, broke out into applause.
And even though Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn sparred with Sen. Booker earlier in the day as he appeared to flout Senate rules, the two shared laughs about book recommendations as the hearing concluded at the end of the evening.
Kavanaugh and members of the Judiciary Committee then headed into a private executive session. On Friday at 9:30 a.m., hearings will continue with a series of outside witnesses, including members of the nonpartisan American Bar Association, which recommended Kavanaugh as highly qualified.

Miss America contestant advances after response to NFL protest

Miss Virginia Emili McPhail raised some eyebrows after one of her answers during the Miss America contest.  (Facebook)

A Miss America contestant was selected as one of Thursday’s preliminary winners thanks in part to her response about NFL players kneeling in protest during the playing of the national anthem.

Miss Virginia Emili McPhail was asked what advice she would give players on whether to kneel or stand during the anthem, the Associated Press reported.

Calling it “a right you have,” McPhail waded into the polarizing issue, adding “but it’s also not about kneeling; it is absolutely about police brutality.”
Some NFL players have said they take a knee during the playing of the anthem to protest police brutality and social injustice.
The anthem protest has deeply divided the country, with some calling it disrespectful to the American flag and the military. President Trump has repeatedly criticized the NFL and the players over their actions.
After the competition, McPhail was asked by reporters if she was concerned that her answer would alienate those with opposing views.
“You’re entitled to your own opinion, but I stood up for what I believed was right,” McPhail said.
The protest was started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, sparking a wave of blacklash and support. Kaepernick, who is not signed by a team, was recently announced as the newest face of Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign.
The third and final preliminaries will be held Friday. The next Miss America will be crowned Sunday in Atlantic City.

Former FBI official McCabe under grand jury probe: report

Federal prosecutors have impaneled a grand jury to investigate former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe following the Department of Justice inspector general’s report alleging that McCabe approved a media disclosure to advance his personal interests.
The Washington Post reported that the grand jury has summoned more than one witness and the case is still underway. It remains unclear who were summoned to testify.
The existence of the panel indicates that the authorities are treating McCabe’s actions during his time at the FBI seriously and may even press charges if sufficient evidence is found. The grand jury is often used as an investigative tool to gather evidence, though it may not necessarily lead to charges.
Michael R. Bromwich, counsel for McCabe, indicated in a statement to Fox News that the grand jury was impaneled a month ago and said that it’s unlikely McCabe will be prosecuted, unless there’s pressure from the “high levels of the administration, and said the leak about the grand jury was a distraction from a “disastrous week” for Trump.
“Today's leak about a procedural step taken more than a month ago -- occurring in the midst of a disastrous week for the president -- is a sad and poorly veiled attempt to try to distract the American public. We remain confident that a thorough review of the facts and circumstances related to this matter will demonstrate that there is no basis on which criminal charges should be brought,” he said.
McCabe has been criticized by Republicans and Trump over his connections to the Democratic Party and for his opposition to the Trump administration.
Republicans point to allies of the Clinton family who made sizable donations to McCabe's wife’s political campaign. McCabe's name was also mentioned in the infamous “insurance policy” text message between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who worked on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe before being removed.

"Today's leak about a procedural step taken more than a month ago -- occurring in the midst of a disastrous week for the President -- is a sad and poorly veiled attempt to try to distract the American public."
- Michael R. Bromwich, counsel to Andrew McCabe

McCabe was fired in March ahead of his planned retirement following a bombshell report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz, claiming McCabe lied to investigators and former FBI Director James Comey at least four times, three of them under oath. Comey backed the findings of the DOJ watchdog, which then sent a criminal referral to the U.S. Attorney in Washington.
The former deputy director reportedly authorized a leak to a newspaper reporter about the contents of a telephone call on August 2016 in order cast himself in a positive light in the upcoming story about an investigation involving Hillary Clinton. While McCabe had the authority to authorize such a disclosure, the inspector general determined that the authorization was aimed at advancing his own rather than the bureau’s interests.
McCabe insisted his ouster was part of the Trump administration’s “ongoing war on the FBI and the efforts of the special counsel investigation” into Russian meddling in the 2016 elections.
He set up an online fundraiser following his firing to cover potential legal costs, and it attracted more than $550,000 in contributions. He later announced that he would stop accepting donations.

California Dems Newsom, Feinstein drop to single-digit leads in latest poll

Two of California's best-known Democrats are slipping in the polls as the calendar advances closer to Election Day.
In fact, both Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein have only single-digit leads over their opponents, the results show.
In the race for governor, a Probolsky Research poll, conducted between Aug. 29-Sept. 2, shows Newsom leading Republican businessman John Cox by a mere 5 points, with 17 percent of respondents undecided, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Feinstein faces similar problems, with the poll showing her with only an 8-point advantage over progressive challenger Kevin de León. A quarter of the respondents told the pollsters they remain undecided.
Both Cox and de León have cut their opponents' leads since the primaries in June. Newsom took 34 percent of the vote while Cox received 25 percent. In California's "jungle primary" system, the two top finishers face off in the general election, regardless of party.
In the U.S. Senate race, Feinstein received support from 44 percent of voters while de León received only 12 percent -- though other candidates ran as well.
The Hispanic vote has been a source of frustration for Newsom, who has basically split that constituency with Cox, despite Hispanics historically preferring Democrats, the Chronicle reported.
For Feinstein, one worry is support among the Republicans, who have no candidate of the Senate race. De León, despite positioning himself as a more progressive candidate than Feinstein, has 5-point lead among Republicans. Still, nearly half of Republicans in the poll said they are undecided.
De León has been relentlessly attacking Feinstein from the left for not being progressive enough. Amid the chaotic Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, the progressive Democrat attacked Feinstein for adhering to the process rather than joining the protesters.
“We should be praising the protesters and standing outside with them, not apologizing for their actions,” he tweeted. “We need a senator from California who will stand up and #RESIST not #ASSIST.”
The attack from de León followed Feinstein's apology Wednesday after a protest broke out during the Kavanaugh hearing.
“I'm sorry for the circumstances,” the senator told Kavanaugh. “We'll get through it.”
Cox, meanwhile, has been campaigning on the ground and went to the state’s multiple Division of Motor Vehicle offices with a promise that “help is on the way” to those waiting in lines.
“This is a great reference point for everything John talks about,” campaign spokesman Matt Shupe told the Chronicle. “It's about bringing more transparency to government. It's about approaching issues like a businessman. It's about reforming a government entity that nobody is happy with.”

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