Trump ‘saving’ Judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ginsburg: report

Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative stalwart, is rumored to be President Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court should Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat become available, according to an Axios report that cited close confidants of the president.
Barrett, 46, was considered to replace Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy last year, but the president said he was “saving her for Ginsburg,” the report said.
Trump reportedly told people "I'm saving her for Ginsburg" as recently as two days before he nominated Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, according to Axios. The report could not be independently verified by Fox News, but Barrett has been mentioned as a favorite by Trump in the past.
Trump advisers were concerned that Barrett, who staunchly opposes abortion, would alienate GOP moderates like Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, the report said. They were also confident that Republicans would maintain their control of the Senate and nominating another conservative judge to the Supreme Court wouldn’t be necessary at the time, the report said.
Ginsburg, who turned 86 last month, is unlikely to retire while Trump is in office. Health problems -- including undergoing lung cancer surgery in December -- kept her away from the bench for several months. She returned in February and is reportedly now in good health.
Trump appointed Barrett to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 2017. Barrett, who is open about her Catholicism, was grilled by Democrats during her Senate confirmation. Should Barrett be nominated to the Supreme Court, a contentious confirmation process would undoubtedly play out.

Wife of former Defense secretary calls photo with Biden misleading

FILE 2015: The photograph of Vice President Joe Biden standing behind ex-Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s wife went viral. Stephanie Carter called the picture misleading. (Getty)

The photographs taken during the swearing-in of then-Defense Secretary Ash Cater in 2015 that showed Vice President Joe Biden standing behind the ex-cabinet member's wife with two hands on her shoulders and-- at times-- his nose nuzzled against her hair, were misleading and "extracted from what was a longer moment between close friends," Stephanie Carter said in a post on Medium.
The photographs from the Feb. 17, 2015 ceremony made their way back into the public eye in recent days after recent allegations against Biden. Nevada’s Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Lucy Flores alleged in an article Friday that the former vice president "plant[ed] a big slow kiss" on the back of her head.
Bill Russo, a spokesman for Biden, told the Associated Press that the former vice president doesn’t remember kissing Flores.
"In my many years on the campaign trail and in public life, I have offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support and comfort," Biden said in his own statement Sunday. "And not once -- never -- did I believe I acted inappropriately.  If it is suggested I did so, I will listen respectfully. But it was never my intention."
Carter titled her post, "The #MeToo Story That Wasn’t Me." She said her intention was to set the record straight that the moment was simply a longtime friend supporting another friend. But she wrote that Biden could sense she was nervous and "kept his hands on my shoulders as a means of offering his support."
The photograph made its rounds in 2015, but she wrote that she believed it would blow over without comment. She admitted that "clearly that was wishful thinking."
Carter made it clear that she supports Flores' "right to speak her truth and she should be, like all women, believed."
Several women who worked for Biden stepped forward over the weekend to vouch for his character, but Republicans used the alleged episode to raise questions about a potential Biden candidacy for 2020, in a post #MeToo era. Even some Democrats see a potential flaw in the candidate that could hurt his chances.
“It looks different in 2019,” said Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist, told the AP.
Kellyanne Conway, the White House adviser, told “Fox News Sunday”: "First of all, this woman Lucy is very bold to come forward, and I would remind the audience that she shares Joe Biden’s political party. He was there to help to Democratic Party of Nevada, and her candidacy, so it’s quite bold for her to go up against the highest levels of her own political party."
Carter said she was disappointed that the photograph was misused. When she met with the Bidens again, she "told them I felt awful that after he had generously taken time out of his day to swear in an old friend, his attempt to support me had become a joke and even more — supposed proof positive that he didn’t understand how to respect women."
"I won’t pretend that this will be the last of that picture, but it will be the last of other people speaking for me," she wrote.
The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Former House Oversight Cmte Chair: Revoke Schiff’s security clearance

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., pushes ahead with their oversight of the Trump administration at a hearing to examine to examine “Putin’s Playbook,” how the Russian government works to undermine its adversaries, especially the U.S., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 28, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

 

The former chair of the House Oversight Committee calls on Congressman Adam Schiff’s (D-CA) security clearance to be revoked.
Jason Chaffetz comments came in response to the aftermath of the Mueller Report on Thursday, and Attorney General William Barr.
The former-Utah republican lawmaker claims Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, has lost the confidence of his colleagues.
Schiff has been accused of making unfolded allegations in past months, which were ultimately debunked following the release of the Special Counsel’s findings.
Cheffetz says if Schiff’s security clearance were to be revoked he would no longer be able to serve on the Intel Committee.

Manager of CBS employees’ credit union stole $40M over 20 years, authorities say

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A credit union set up to serve employees of CBS was shuttered last week after its manager was accused of embezzling $40 million over 20 years, according to reports.
The suspect, identified as Edward Martin Rostohar, 62, was a 30-year employee of the Studio City, Calif.-based credit union, reports said. He was arrested at his Studio City home and charged with bank fraud and identity theft, authorities said.
If convicted on both counts, he faces up to 32 years in prison and a $1 million fine, Deadline Hollywood reported.
Prosecutors say Rostohar, as manager, made online payments to himself from his employer or forged a fellow employee’s signature on checks made out to him. He gambled away much of the money and also financed a lavish lifestyle that included flights on private jets and purchases of expensive watches and sports cars, Variety reported,
The alleged scheme began sometime before 2000, but suspicions were finally raised March 6 of this year, when another credit union employee discovered a $35,000 check made out to Rostohar with no record of the reason justifying the large sum, prosecutors said.
That employee then conducted an audit and learned that checks totaling $3.7 million had been made out to Rostohar since January 2018, according to prosecutors.
Rostohar was suspended from his job soon after, then arrested after his wife called 911, saying her husband had stolen money from his employer and was planning to leave the U.S., prosecutors said.
Authorities said Rostohar later told them he had been stealing for 20 years, taking more than $40 million over that time. The information was later confirmed by the National Credit Union Administration, authorities said.
Prosecutors said the accounts of CBS employees were taken over from the shuttered credit union and assumed by University Credit Union of Los Angeles.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Chris Rock slams Jussie Smollett at NAACP awards: 'What the hell was he thinking?'

Jussie Smollett might have been a no-show at Saturday night's NAACP Image Awards in Hollywood but that didn't stop comedian Chris Rock from blasting the "Empire" star.
"They said 'No Jussie Smollett jokes' ... What a waste of light skin. Do you know what I could do with that light skin? That curly hair? My career would be out of here! I'd be running Hollywood," said Rock, who was on hand to present the award for Outstanding Comedy Series.

"They said 'No Jussie Smollett jokes' ... What a waste of light skin. Do you know what I could do with that light skin? That curly hair? My career would be out of here! I'd be running Hollywood!"
— Chris Rock

He continued: "What the hell was he thinking? You're 'Jessie' from now on. You don't get the 'u' no more. That 'u' was respect. You ain't getting no respect from me!"

"What the hell was he thinking? You're 'Jessie' from now on. You don't get the 'u' no more. That 'u' was respect. You ain't getting no respect from me!"
— Chris Rock

Smollett was nominated -- but lost -- for best supporting actor in a television drama for his role as Jamal Lyon on the Fox series. He was edged out by "Grey's Anatomy" star Jesse Williams.
Smollett has been nominated for the award four years in a row and won in 2017.
The award was handed out during the untelevised portion of the show Friday night.
Leading up to the event, NAACP Image Awards host and "Black-ish" actor Anthony Anderson said in light of the charges against Smollett being dropped, he hopes the "Empire" actor will win for his work on the show.
Smollett has been in the middle of a firestorm for weeks in Chicago.
He is accused of staging an anti-gay, racist attack on himself in January in order to promote his career.
He has denied the charges from the start and says two men approached him, beat him, threw bleach on him and tied a rope around his neck before shouting, "This is MAGA country," in reference to President Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again."
On Tuesday, the Cook County State Attorney's Office dropped all charges against Smollett, who was previously facing 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false report that he was the victim of a hate crime.
After the surprise announcement, Smollett said, "I would not be my mother’s son if I was capable of one drop of what I’m accused of."

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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.