Rashida Tlaib's campaign paid her $17,500 in salary after Election Day, in possible violation of FEC rules: report

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., is facing questions after campaign records revealed she paid herself $17,500 as a salary after the midterm elections, in what appeared to be a violation of campaign finance rules, a report said.
Tlaib, a firebrand freshman Democrat from Detroit, has been facing scrutiny over her connections to radical anti-Israel activists and a profane call to impeach President Trump.
She caused uproar on Capitol Hill earlier this week by insinuating that Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C. -- her colleague on the House Oversight and Reform Committee -- had used Trump family friend Lynne Patton, an African-American, as a racist “prop” during former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s appearance before the panel. (Later, Tlaib and Meadows were seen sharing an embrace on the House floor, after apparently resolving their differences.)
Yet the latest filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) may land the radical congresswoman into hot water with questions on whether her campaign broke the rules after making salary payments to Tlaib after Election Day last year.
Tlaib’s campaign began paying her a salary of about $4,000 every month since May 2018 up until the general election Nov. 6 – a perfectly legal practice if the campaign chose to do so. But according to the filings, as first spotted by the Washington Free Beacon, Tlaib also paid herself $2,000 on Nov. 16 and a whopping $15,500 on Dec. 1 – weeks after the election was over, in an apparent violation of FEC statutes.
The FEC rules state that a general election candidate is allowed to dip into campaign coffers to give himself or herself a salary only up to the election date. The candidate can no longer draw a salary after the election date, or because of other reasons that ended the campaign.
“If the candidate loses the primary, withdraws from the race, or otherwise ceases to be a candidate, no salary payments may be paid beyond the date he or she is no longer a candidate,” the rules state.

“If the candidate loses the primary, withdraws from the race, or otherwise ceases to be a candidate, no salary payments may be paid beyond the date he or she is no longer a candidate.”
— Federal Election Commission rules

'RADICAL' DEMS ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, RHASIDA TLAIB EMBRACE THEIR REPUTATIONS, SLAM PRESIDENT TRUMP
A Tlaib ally, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., grabbed headlines last year after saying that due to the rules that prohibit the use of campaign funds to pay a salary after the election date, she would have trouble finding an apartment in Washington, D.C. until she began receiving a paycheck for her work in Congress.
“I have three months without a salary before I’m a member of Congress. So, how do I get an apartment? Those little things are very real,” Ocasio-Cortez told the New York Times at the time.
Tlaib’s office didn’t respond to Fox News’ request for a comment and clarification of the nature of the salary payment.
An FEC spokesperson told the Washinton Free Beacon that candidates are allowed to make payments to themselves after the election -- but only for activities that happened during the election period.
An election law and government ethics lawyer also told the outlet that Tlaib may have deflated her monthly payments during the campaign for political purposes while “knowing full well that she would make up any difference at the end by giving herself a lump sum payment.”
“That would let her skirt negative publicity, of the sort that Alan Keyes generated when he paid himself a sizable salary. An after-the-fact, lump-sum payment cuts against the purpose of the rule, which is to help the candidate pay for daily living expenses while campaigning,” the lawyer added.

Cortez Darling of the Democrats Cartoons

Despite Trump-Kim summit collapse, US-North Korea relations not back in ‘crisis mode’: Eric Talmadge

Denuclearization talks between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will continue despite the abrupt end to this week's summit, Associated Press Pyongyang bureau chief Eric Talmadge insisted Thursday.
Negotiations between the two leaders collapsed earlier in the day in Hanoi, Vietnam, where Trump had hoped to assure that North Korea would end its nuclear and missile programs while Kim was looking to convince the U.S. to remove economic sanctions against his country. The points were considered critical to any potential agreement.
During Thursday's "Special Report" All-Star panel in Hanoi, Talmadge and Daily Mail deputy U.S. political editor Geoff Earle weighed in on the political fallout of this week’s summit -- and speculated on how Trump and Kim would go forward.
Talmadge began by expressing that North Korea was “certainly surprised” and “disappointed” by the outcome of the summit and held a historic news conference afterward to get its message out.
“The North Koreans came out with a really 'big ask' right from the beginning, and so it’s not really surprising that it didn’t work out,” Talmadge said about North Korea’s desire to have all sanctions lifted. “We should keep in mind that Kim also vowed to maintain his moratorium on missile launches and nuclear tests and that’s a really big deal. So we don’t need to go right back into crisis mode. We can continue talks and I think the door was left open for that. So that’s an important outcome.”
Earle shared a bit more pessimism, telling the panel that President Trump “invested a lot in his personal diplomacy” and “doesn’t have anything to show for it.”
The Daily Mail editor added that Trunp’s walk away from the summit was a “classic negotiation tactic,” but added that North Korea was still “trying to make a bid here.”

Omar, Tlaib say critics charge 'anti-Semitism' against them as way to end debate over Israel's policies (BS)

Both are Muslims.

Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., left, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. (Associated Press)

Two outspoken freshmen congressional Democrats appeared at a progressive town hall this week, where they accused some of their Jewish colleagues of leveling anti-Semitism charges following their criticisms of Israel in order to shut down any debate over that U.S. ally's policies.
Speaking at the Busboys and Poets restaurant in Washington, U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan also touched on a variety of other issues.
“It is about the Benjamins!,” an audience member shouted at one point, referring to Omar’s now-deleted tweet linking U.S. congressional support for Israel to Jewish influence and lobbying. She apologized after a firestorm of criticism from both Republicans and Democrats.
“I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK to push for allegiance to a foreign country,” Omar stated afterward, according to New York magazine.
Omar, 37, an immigrant from Somalia, and Tlaib, 42, a Palestinian-American from Detroit, have been criticized since taking office in January over their comments about Israel, support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and remarks that some have deemed anti-Semitic.
Tlaib in January was accused of invoking an anti-Semitic slur when she criticized legislation designed to punish companies that participate in the BDS movement, which aims to pressure Israel through economic means.
The moderator began the discussion by asking what “we as a community here can do to support you criticizing Israel for some of the war crimes that it has done so that it’s not seen as ‘you’re anti-Semitic’? Because you’re not criticizing the religion, you’re not criticizing Jewish people, you’re criticizing the government policies,” according to Jewish Insider.
“What I’m fearful of — because Rashida and I are Muslim — that a lot of our Jewish colleagues, a lot of our constituents, a lot of our allies, go to thinking that everything we say about Israel to be anti-Semitic because we are Muslim,” Omar said.
“To me, it’s something that becomes designed to end the debate because you get in this space of – yes, I know what intolerance looks like and I’m sensitive when someone says, ‘The words you used Ilhan, are resemblance of intolerance.’ And I am cautious of that and I feel pained by that," she continued. "But it’s almost as if, every single time we say something -- regardless of what it is we say -- … we get to be labeled something and that ends the discussion. Because we end up defending that and nobody ever gets to have the broader debate of what is happening with Palestine.”

"It’s almost as if, every single time we say something -- regardless of what it is we say -- … we get to be labeled something and that ends the discussion.
— U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.

Omar elaborated that she doesn’t equate her Jewish colleagues' criticism of Palestinians as Islamophobic and that longtime members of Congress fought against apartheid in South Africa but still turn against her and Tlaib when they bring up support for Palestinians.
“So I know many [members of Congress] were fighting for people to be free, for people to live in dignity in South Africa… So I know that they care about these things. But now that you have two Muslims who are saying, here is a group of people that we want to make sure that they have the dignity that you want everybody else to have, we get to be called names and we get to be labeled as hateful. No, we know what hate looks like!”
The restaurant made news when a waitress was given a $450 tip on a $72.60 bill by a group of Trump supporters following his inauguration.

Cuomo appeals to Bezos to bring Amazon back to NYC: report

It may be more proof that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez isn’t the darling of all Democrats in New York.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y., has reportedly penned a full-page letter to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as he clings to hope that he can win back the tech giant and lure it to New York City, where it recently scrapped plans to build a second headquarters campus, a report said Thursday.
AMAZON PULLS OUT OF PLAN TO BUILD NYC HEADQUARTERS AFTER BACKLASH
The open letter, signed in support by more than 70 unions and politicians, including former Mayor David Dinkins, urged Bezos and Amazon executives to reconsider its decision to pull out of the project, the New York Times reported. The letter, paid for by the Partnership for New York City, was set to appear in Friday’s edition of the Times.
“We know the public debate that followed the announcement of the Long Island City project was rough and not very welcoming,” the letter reads. “But when we commit to a project as important as this, we figure out how to get it done in a way that works for everyone.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y., has reached out to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in a plea to win back the tech company, a report said Thursday. (Associated Press)

Amazon pulled out of the deal early last month after facing harsh, vocal opposition from several of the state’s lawmakers, most notably from freshman congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez. Criticism included tax breaks and subsidies worth up to $3 billion for the company and the potential for rising real estate costs in the area.
The letter went on to state that Cuomo “will take personal responsibility for the project’s state approval,” and Mayor Bill de Blasio “will work together with the governor to manage the community development process.”
Cuomo and de Blasio were largely responsible for helping bring Amazon to New York in a deal that would have seen 25,000 jobs, paying approximately $150,000 per year enter Long Island City. To some, it appeared to be a remarkable collaboration by two Democrats who rarely seem to get along.
According to a December Quinnipiac University poll, 57 percent of New York City residents support Amazon’s arrival in the region, compared to just 26 percent who oppose the deal, Fox Business previously reported.
Cuomo has also reached out to Bezos directly by phone since the deal fell through, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“I’ve had many conversations with Amazon. I hope that they reconsider,” Cuomo said Thursday at an unrelated event on Long Island, the paper reported.
But the governor added that Amazon has yet to show any signs it has changed its mind, according to the paper.
Fox News' Chris Ciaccia contributed to this report.

Ocasio-Cortez warns of 'list' for moderate Dems who vote with Republicans: report

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., listens to questioning of Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, at the House Oversight and Reform Committee. (Associated Press)

After more than two dozen moderate Democrats broke from their party's progressive wing and sided with Republicans on a legislative amendment Wednesday, New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reportedly sounded the alarm in a closed-door meeting Thursday and said those Democrats were "putting themselves on a list."
The legislation that prompted the infighting was a bill that would expand federal background checks for gun purchases, the Washington Post reported. But a key provision requiring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be notified if illegal immigrants attempt to purchase guns saw 26 moderate Democrats side with Republicans.
According to the Post, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi scolded her wayward center-leaning colleagues, telling them: "We are either a team or we’re not, and we have to make that decision.”
But Ocasio-Cortez reportedly took it a step further. She said she would help progressive activists unseat those moderates in their districts in the 2020 elections, the report said. Her spokesman Corbin Trent told the paper that she made the "list" comment during the meeting.
“She said that when activists ask her why she had to vote for a gun safety bill that also further empowers an agency that forcibly injects kids with psychotropic drugs, they’re going to want a list of names and she’s going to give it to them,” Trent said, referring to ICE.

Michael Cohen Cartoons

Under hyperpartisan questioning, did Michael Cohen damage Trump?

Michael Cohen came to Capitol Hill with a double-barreled message: He is "ashamed" of what he did for Donald Trump and here are all the terrible things the president has done.
With his words being carried by the broadcast networks as well as cable outlets, Cohen repeatedly clashed with Republicans who assailed him as a liar and crook, while Democrats tried to draw out his allegations for maximum impact.
The president's former lawyer mostly maintained his composure, though he angrily pushed back at a couple of GOP members of the House Oversight Committee who aggressively attacked him. At one point he emotionally denounced the critical lawmakers for using the same untruthful tactics that he employed for a decade in protecting Trump.
The bottom line: the daylong extravaganza probably did little to change the minds of Trump supporters who view him as a pathetic convicted criminal, or Trump opponents who view him as a reformed sinner now shining a light on the president's dark deeds.
He said he had no evidence of Russian collusion, but did paint the president as a con man who made racist statements, approved hush money payments and was told in advance by Roger Stone about the Wikileaks dump of Democratic emails (quickly denied by Stone).
Among the surprises: Cohen says he has been offered book deals, TV deals, and a movie option, but hasn't taken any of them, since he's headed off for prison. Some also aimed their firepower at Clinton loyalist Lanny Davis for representing Cohen, who said Davis is not being paid for his services. Cohen also lashed out at Trump for tweets about his family, saying the president was trying to "intimidate" him in the hope that "something bad will happen" to him, his wife or his children.
To say this was a highly negative portrait of the man he loyally served as "fixer" is an understatement. But it's also fair to say that with the exception of the disputed call from Stone, Cohen brought no bombshell charge.
The president's role in reimbursing Cohen for paying Stormy Daniels is significant, but that had already come out. His recollection of Trump disparaging "s---hole" countries run by black leaders was reported in a different context.
Cohen said he assumed that Don Jr. was referring to the infamous Trump Tower session when he whispered to his dad that an unspecified meeting was on, but had no proof.
Then there was the other Trump Tower, the one that was to be built in Moscow. Cohen said the president kept asking him about it and lied about his lack of knowledge. But that story, too, has been reported.
Cohen's assertion that Trump had him threaten schools not to release the boss's grades may be embarrassing, but is hardly high crimes and misdemeanors.
And then there was the question of whether the president told him to lie to Congress, as reported by BuzzFeed in a story that prompted a denial from Robert Mueller's office.
"Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. That's not how he operates," Cohen said. Instead, he said, "Mr. Trump had made clear to me, through his personal statements to me that we both knew were false and through his lies to the country, that he wanted me to lie."
Ranking member Jim Jordan, the most aggressive Republican, asked why Cohen didn't have Lanny Davis deny the BuzzFeed account when he appeared on television that day.
"Because I didn't think it was his responsibility to do that," Cohen said. "We are not the fact checkers for Buzzfeed."
When Cohen felt that Jordan was unfairly disputing his account of the charge to which he had pleaded guilty, the witness briefly looked unnerved and declared, "Shame on you!"
The GOP denunciations of Cohen and the hearing itself grew repetitive as the day wore on. At one point, Chris Christie said on ABC, "There hasn't been one Republican yet who's tried to defend the president on the substance."
In one of the more surreal moments, there was even a Democratic question about the mythical pee tape, with Cohen saying he has no reason to believe it exists.
Before Cohen's testimony began, the president weighed in from Vietnam, saying "he was just disbarred by the state Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time."
The bottom line: Trump's image definitely got scuffed up yesterday, but by a guy who had soiled his own reputation. I don't think the ball moved very much.