Former Clinton adviser defends her -- 2 months later -- from criticism by likely 2020 Dem Pete Buttigieg

Call it a delayed reaction.
A former top aide to Hillary Clinton expressed outrage Friday night, more than two months after expected 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg shared his views on why Clinton lost to Donald Trump in 2016.
In a January profile in the Washington Post Magazine, Buttigieg -- the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Ind., who has formed an exploratory committee in anticipation of a White House run -- provided some post-mortem commentary on the 2016 election.
“Donald Trump got elected because, in his twisted way, he pointed out the huge troubles in our economy and our democracy,” Buttigieg said back then. “At least he didn’t go around saying that America was already great, like Hillary did.”
Two months later, Nick Merrill, the former Clinton aide, finally issued his rebuttal via Twitter.
“This is indefensible," Merrill wrote about Buttigieg's comments. "Hillary Clinton ran on a belief in this country & the most progressive platform in modern political history. Trump ran on pessimism, racism, false promises, & vitriol.
“Interpret that how you want, but there are 66,000,000 people who disagree. Good luck,” Merrill added.
Buttigieg, who served in Afghanistan as a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve and is South Bend's first openly gay mayor, has seen a recent surge in the polls, ranking fifth in the most recent Quinnipiac survey with support from 4 percent of Democratic respondents.

Valerie Plame, outed CIA agent and Trump critic, plans US Senate run in New Mexico: report

Former CIA employee Valerie Plame Wilson testifies at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington March 16, 2007. (Reuters)

Valerie Plame, the former CIA operative who was at the center of an intelligence leak when her identity was publically revealed during the George W. Bush administration, plans to run for a U.S. Senate seat in New Mexico as a Democrat, according to reports.
Plame told the Washington Examiner on Friday that she would "like another opportunity to serve my country." Her disclosure follows the announcement Monday by U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., that he will not seek re-election.
Plame, 55, has a been vocal critic of President Trump, at one point raising nearly $90,000 on a crowdsourcing site to buy a stake in Twitter in hopes of banning the president from the social media platform. She also hosted a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton’s super PAC in 2014 and another for Clinton's presidential campaign.
FORMER CIA OPERATIVE VALERIE PLAME WILSON 'FELT HIT IN THE GUT' WHEN IDENTITY WAS REVEALED
But Plame could face a revival of the anti-Semitism allegations she faced in 2017 after retweeting an article in the Unz Review titled “America’s Jews Are Driving America’s Wars.” (The website was founded by former California GOP gubernatorial candidate Ron Unz.)
“First of all, calm down. Re-tweets don't imply endorsement,” Plame said in her initial response. “Yes, very provocative, but thoughtful. Many neocon hawks ARE Jewish." She later added: "OK folks, look, I messed up. I skimmed this piece, zeroed in on the neocon criticism, and shared it without seeing and considering the rest."
She later apologized and resigned from the board of the Ploughshares Fund, which provides grants for projects aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, according to the Examiner.
The ex-spy moved to New Mexico in 2007 after making headline following her outing during the Bush presidency. Journalist Robert Novak revealed Plame’s identity in a 2003 column that cited “two administrative officials” as sources. Plame claimed the revelation was payback from the Bush administration for an op-ed authored by her then-husband, former U.S. ambassador Joe Wilson, that questioned the intelligence used to invade Iraq.
Lewis “Scooter” Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted in 2007 of perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements in connection with the leak. He was pardoned last year by President Trump. Plame later wrote a best-selling memoir, "Fair Game," about the ordeal that was made into a movie.
In 2017, Plame and Wilson quietly divorced after nearly two decades of marriage, the Examiner reported.
Others contemplating bids for Udall’s seat include Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, New Mexico's Democratic Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and freshman Democratic Rep. Deb Haaland, the news site said.
Possible Republican opponents include Mick Rich, a former Senate candidate and former New Mexico Lt. Gov John Sanchez.

Trump: Revoke NY Times, WashPost Pulitzers

President Donald Trump on Friday said The New York Times and Washington Post should have their Pulitzer prizes revoked now that the Mueller report showed no collusion between himself or anyone on his campaign and the Russian government.

Trump took his argument to Twitter Friday night:
"So funny that The New York Times & The Washington Post got a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage (100% NEGATIVE and FAKE!) of Collusion with Russia - And there was No Collusion! So, they were either duped or corrupt? In any event, their prizes should be taken away by the Committee!"
The president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., was quick to agree, tweeting:
"He’s right... unless they give Pulitzer’s for fiction. #fakenews"
The New York Times' communications team on Friday stood by the paper's stories, tweeting:

"We're proud of our Pulitzer-prize winning reporting on Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. Every @nytimes article cited has proven accurate."

 

 

AG Barr to Release Redacted Copy of Mueller Report in Mid-April

U.S. Attorney General William Barr plans to issue a redacted copy of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's nearly 400-page investigative report into Russian interference in the 2016 election by mid-April, he said in a letter to lawmakers on Friday.
"Everyone will soon be able to read it on their own," Barr wrote in the letter to the top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate and House Judiciary committees.

He said he is willing to appear before both committees to testify about Mueller's report on May 1 and May 2.
Mueller completed his 22-month investigation probe into whether President Donald Trump's campaign colluded with Russia on March 22. On Sunday, Barr sent a four-page letter to Congress summarizing Mueller's findings.
Barr told lawmakers that Mueller's investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired with Russia in its election interference activities.
Mueller left unresolved the question of whether Trump obstructed justice during the investigation. Barr said that based on the evidence presented, he concluded it was not sufficient to charge the president with obstruction.

Lawmakers have since been clamoring for more details, with Democrats calling for a full release of the report. At a rally on Thursday in Michigan celebrated the end of the investigation and what he called "lies and smears and slander."
Barr said in his letter on Friday that certain information must be redacted before the report is release, including secret grand jury information, intelligence sources and methods and information that by law cannot be public or might infringe on privacy.

He said that while Trump has the right to assert executive privilege on some materials, that "Trump has stated publicly that he intends to defer to me." Because of that, he said, there are no plans for the Justice Department to submit the report to the White House for a privilege review.
Trump addressed the news during a brief media appearance at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida Friday afternoon, saying he welcomes whatever Barr decides to do.

"I have great confidence in the attorney general. If that is what he would like to do, I have nothing to hide," Trump said. "This was a hoax. This was a witch hunt.
"I have absolutely nothing to hide and I think a lot of things are coming out with respect to the other side."

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Big question on DOJ's Russia probe: 'What kind of show was Comey running?': William McGurn

Former FBI Director James Comey may not be doing himself any favors by going public with his thoughts on the Mueller report, Wall Street Journal “Main Street” columnist William McGurn argued Thursday.
Comey sat down with NBC News anchor Lester Holt and described his confusion regarding Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s decision on obstruction-of-justice charges against President Trump.
During Thursday's All-Star panel segment on Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier," McGurn -- as well as Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano and Democratic strategist Leslie Marshall -- weighed in on the fallout of the Mueller report and whether Comey’s involvement in the Russia probe deserves more scrutiny.
McGurn called for the Mueller report to be released “as public as possible” but also wants “all the other stuff,” including the FISA application that helped catapult the entire Russia investigation.
“You have to ask what kind of show was James Comey running,” McGurn said. “A lot of the people around him have been replaced by Christopher Wray and you have Andrew McCabe possibly facing perjury charges for the IG [inspector general] reports. ... I’m not sure the FBI’s going to come out of that looking very good.”
Judge Napolitano began by telling the panel that the “indefensible” Comey was “beloved” by the rank and file within the FBI -- but that might no longer be the case since his ouster in 2017 and his insistence that a publicly released Mueller report might have “page after page” in black due to redactions.
Meanwhile, Marshall pumped on the brakes of impeachment and warned Democrats of being caught up in “investigation after investigation.”

Trump, in fiery first rally since Mueller vindication, calls on Dems to stop 'ridiculous bullsh--'

In his first major rally since Special Counsel Robert Mueller cleared him of any collusion with Russia, President Trump took the stage before a boisterous full house at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Thursday night -- and proceeded to tear into Democrats and the FBI as unintelligent "frauds" who tried desperately to undermine the results of the 2016 election.
"The Democrats have to now decide whether they will continue defrauding the public with ridiculous bullsh--," Trump said to thunderous applause, "-- partisan investigations, or whether they will apologize to the American people."
Trump continued to unload on his opponents: "I have a better education than them, I'm smarter than them, I went to the best schools; they didn't. Much more beautiful house, much more beautiful apartment. Much more beautiful everything. And I'm president and they're not."
Addressing counterprotesters outside the arena and progressives in general, Trump asked: "What do you think of their signs, 'Resist?' What the hell? Let's get something done."
Later, Trump vowed to "close the damn border" unless Mexico halts two new caravans he said have been approaching the United States rapidly. Trump also hit at fraudulent asylum applicants, saying liberal lawyers often have coached them in a "big fat con job" to claim they've feared for their lives when they make it to the border.
The economy, Trump said to sustained cheers, "is roaring, the ISIS caliphate is defeated 100 percent, and after three years of lies and smears and slander, the Russia hoax is finally dead. The collusion delusion is over. ... The single greatest political hoax in the history of our country. And guess what? We won."
"I love campaigning against the Green New Deal," Trump remarked at one point. "One car per family -- you're going to love that in Michigan."
Trump predicted that the former DOJ and FBI officials who pushed the collusion theory and authorized secret surveillance warrants against members of his campaign -- whom he incidentally called "major losers" -- would soon have "big problems."
Trump also characterized the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee as "little pencil-neck Adam Schiff, who has the smallest, thinnest neck I've ever seen," and someone who is "not a long-ball hitter."
Schiff, D-Calif., who fiercely pushed collusion claims, has vowed to continue investigating Trump despite Mueller's findings -- even as Republicans have called for his resignation.
Trump's rally prompted thousands of supporters to line the streets hours beforehand in a festive atmosphere that included vendors selling "Make America Great Again" hats and holding supportive signs.

People waiting for President Donald Trump to speak at the rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Thursday. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The evening was something of a homecoming: Trump became the first Republican in over two decades to win Michigan in the 2016 presidential election, edging out Hillary Clinton thanks, in part, to his decision to cap off his campaign with a final rally in Grand Rapids shortly after midnight on Election Day. "This is our Independence Day," Trump told roaring attendees then.
Thursday night's event, though, was a mixture of homecoming and all-out victory parade, in the wake of Mueller's conclusions. Enthusiastic fans -- including many who stood by Trump amid a torrent of unproven allegations that he conspired with Russia to sway the 2016 election -- began to encircle the Van Andel Arena as early as 3:30 a.m.
Trump relived the Election Day rally on Thursday, telling the crowd that he got home at 4 a.m. in the morning and told Melania Trump that he had an "incredible crowd" late into the evening and thought, "How the hell can I lose Michigan? And guess what: We didn't lose Michigan."

President Donald Trump speaking at the rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Trump also dropped what he called "breaking news" for locals, promising, "I'm going to get full funding of $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which you've been trying to get for over 30 years. It's time."
Trump noted that MSNBC and CNN's ratings "dropped through the floor last night," while Fox News' ratings were "through the roof."
Retired cabinet maker Ron Smith, 51, was one of the supporters who arrived to Thursday's rally early. He told the Detroit News outside the arena that although "Republicans in Congress are trying to put stumbling blocks in his path," nevertheless, "Donald Trump comes in here and gets stuff done.”
Separately, Trump called the Jussie Smollet case an "embarrassment" both to Chicago and to the U.S. and vowed to continue border wall construction.
Trump also decried Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat who seemingly endorsed the practice of killing some infants after birth earlier this year.
"In recent months, the Democrat Party has also been aggressively pushing extreme late-term abortion, allowing children to be ripped from their mother’s womb up until the moment of birth," Trump said. "In Virginia, the governor stated he would even allow a newborn baby to be executed."
Senate Democrats blocked a GOP-led effort after Northam's remarks that would have established the standard of care owed to infants who survive failed abortions.
In remarks to reporters before he left the White House earlier in the day, Trump previewed a wide-ranging rally on everything from the economy to health care and border security. But there was little doubt the president would devote a good deal of time to a victory lap on Russia.
Trump also promised to save the Special Olympics, after the Education Department proposed cuts to the program in its latest budget.
"The Special Olympics will be funded. I just told my people, I want to fund the Special Olympics and I just authorized a funding of the Special Olympics," Trump said. "I've been to the Special Olympics. I think it's incredible and I just authorized a funding. I heard about it this morning. I have overridden my people. We're funding the Special Olympics."
In a fiery, exclusive interview with Fox News' "Hannity" Wednesday night, Trump vowed to release classified documents that could shed light on the Russia probe's origins. He also accused FBI officials of committing "treason" -- slamming former FBI Director James Comey as a "terrible guy," former CIA Director John Brennan as potentially mentally ill, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., as a criminal.

President Donald Trump arriving at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Mich., for his rally. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Redacted versions of FISA documents already released have revealed that the FBI extensively relied on documents produced by Christopher Steele, an anti-Trump British ex-spy working for a firm funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee, to surveil Trump aide Carter Page. At least one senior DOJ official had apparent concerns Steele was unreliable, according to text messages exclusively obtained last week by Fox News.
The leaked dossier, and related FBI surveillance, kickstarted a media frenzy on alleged Russia-Trump collusion that ended with a whimper on Sunday. Trump, on Thursday, told the crowd in Michigan that the dossier was "dirty."
Michigan Democrats, meanwhile, organized a counter-rally nearby, with the party saying it wanted to issue a "call for action and solutions on the fundamental issues facing us all, like health care, education, clean water, equality, immigrant rights, support for our military veterans, jobs, the economy and more."
A handful of protesters separately waved "socialist alternative" flags and yelled, "No Trump, no KKK, no fascists, USA," according to local reports.
Republicans have maintained that Trump has a good chance to win Michigan again in 2020, although changing demographics could present some headwinds. In November, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer defeated a Trump-backed candidate to claim the state's governorship.
"Democrats are in a pickle and they put themselves here" by trumpeting the investigation, said Brian "Boomer" Patrick, communications director for GOP Michigan Rep. Bill Huizenga. "All the eggs were in one basket on the Mueller report."
At the end of the rally, Trump remarked, "the Democrats took the people of Michigan for granted. With us, you will never be forgotten again."

Capitol Police Drain the Swamp at Bernhardt Hearing

Masked swamp creatures showed up Thursday at the confirmation hearing of Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt — creating a two-hour political theatre performance, The Washington Post reported.

Quoting a statement from the activists from the Clean Water Fund, Environment America, and Public Citizen, the Post reported the demonstration was aimed at drawing attention to Bernhardt's "long list of conflicts of interest with the oil & gas industry, and highlighting his historic anti-environmental past."

As the hearing got underway, some protesters donned masks resembling the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Others were clad in swamp-inspired green couture and wore masks of Bernhardt's face. The protesters were apparently not escorted out of the room until nearly two hours into the hearing, the Post reported.

The environmental group Greenpeace also took part in the protest, calling Bernhardt "a former oil and gas lobbyist who previously worked to help corporate polluters get their hands on public lands."
Bernhardt was nominated by President Donald Trump in February; he has been acting secretary since Jan. 2, when Ryan Zinke resigned amid multiple ethics probes.

He has drawn criticism for his background as a veteran lobbyist who has helped orchestrate the push at the Interior Department to expand oil and gas drilling, the Post reported.