Sen. Cruz: None of us should be happy left-wing Silicon Valley billionaires silencing conservatives

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, spoke to Shannon Bream on “Fox News @ Night” Wednesday about a Senate Judiciary Hearing where he confronted Twitter and Facebook officials about censoring and shadow banning conservatives.
“None of us should be happy to have a handful of left-wing Silicon Valley billionaires censoring what is said and silencing conservatives, silencing Christians, silencing people of faith. That's not right. And we've got to act to stop,” Cruz told Bream.
Cruz led off Wednesday’s hearing of the panel's subcommittee on the Constitution by saying that "a great many people agree that the pattern, the anti-conservative bias and the pattern of censorship we're seeing from big tech is disturbing.”
Bream mentioned that the social media platforms were private companies prompting Cruz to admit “the remedy is complicated” and bring up one possible solution.
Cruz explained that “you can't sue Twitter and Google and Facebook if they commit libel, if they commit slander” because they’re viewed as  “neutral public forums.”
Cruz added, “Well they're now engaged as partisan left-wing political speakers have no reason on earth they should have a special immunity from liability that protects them in a way that nobody else does.”
Cruz also reacted to Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, who said Republicans were ‘harassing’ big tech over conservative bias that didn’t exist.
“If conservatives have had their content removed, maybe they should look at the content they’re posting,” Hirono added.

Gillibrand pushes back against progressive call to lower voting age

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., on Tuesday appeared hesitant to jump on the progressive bandwagon to lower the voting age to 16.
During a CNN Town Hall, Gillibrand was asked by an American University student if she would consider lowering the voting age due the increased involvement of young people in politics.
“I don’t know,” Gillibrand responded. “I really don’t know.”
She said she liked the idea of lowering the voting age because it would “inspire more young people,” but also made the argument to keep the voting age at 18.
“I do like the fact that when you turn 18, you earn this right. It’s a special right, a right of passage,” Gillibrand said. “It’s also the time when you are independent from your parents as a matter of law. And so I kind of like the simplicity of 18.”
She said she would give it more thought.
When pressed by CNN anchor Erin Burnett, who noted that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, has endorsed the idea, Gillibrand doubled down, saying that 18 you’re “an adult by law” and that you can do things like “serve in the military.”
Among the 2020 candidates, Andrew Yang has come forward in support of lowering the voting age, arguing that 16-year-olds should “have a say in their own future.”

Candace Owens explodes at Ted Lieu mid-hearing after he plays short clip of her Hitler comments

Tensions at a heated House Judiciary Committee hearing on online hate speech boiled over on Tuesday, when conservative commentator Candace Owens accused Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., of distorting her comments on Hitler so flagrantly for the sake of a smear that he must "believe black people are stupid."
“In congressional hearings, the minority party gets to select its own witnesses," Lieu began. "Of all the people the Republicans could’ve selected, they picked Candace Owens. I don’t know Miss Owens; I’m not going to characterize her; I’m going to let her own words talk.”
Lieu then produced a cellphone and played a short clip of Owens' previous remarks at a conference in December, which were widely circulated in February: “I actually don't have any problem with the word 'nationalism.' I think the defintion gets poisoned by elites that want globalism. Globalism is what I don't want.  When we say ‘nationalism,’ the first thing people think about — at least in America — is Hitler. You know, he was a national socialist, but if Hitler just wanted to make Germany great and have things run well, OK then, fine. The problem is, he had dreams outside of Germany. He wanted to globalize. He wanted everyone to be German. ..."
Owens' remarks echoed those of President Trump, who has repeatedly defended nationalism against progressive attacks that the concept is intrinsically racist.
Lieu then asked committee witness Eileen Hershenov: “When people try to legitimize Adolf Hitler, does that feed into white nationalist ideology?”
But Owens soon made clear she felt Lieu had intentionally misrepresented her views to drive a false narrative not just against Owens, but also Trump and Republicans in general.
“I think it’s pretty apparent that Mr. Lieu believes that black people are stupid and will not pursue the full clip in its entirety,” Owens said.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-NY., interrupted, telling Owens, “It is not proper to refer disparagingly to a member of the committee. The witness will not do that again.”
After clarifying that she had not, in fact, called Lieu stupid, Owens continued: "As I said, he is assuming that black people will not go and pursue the full two-hour clip. He purposefully cut off -- and you didn't hear the question that was asked of me. He's trying to present as if I was launching a defense of Hitler in Germany, when in fact the question that was presented to me was pertaining to wheher I believed in nationalism, and that nationalism was bad."
As Owens went on, Lieu tapped his hands together silently.
"And what I responded is that I do not believe we should be characterizing Hitler as a nationalist," Owens said. "He was a homicidal, psychopathic maniac that killed his own people. A nationalist would not kill their own people. ... That was unbelievably dishonest, and he did not allow me to respond to it."

"I think it’s pretty apparent that Mr. Lieu believes that black people are stupid."
— Candace Owens

Owens concluded: "By the way, I would like to also add that I work for Prager University, which is run by an orthodox Jew. Not a single Democrat showed up to the embassy opening in Jerusalem. I sat on a plane for 18 hours to make sure I was there. I am deeply offended by the insinuation of revealing that clip without the question that was asked of me."
Turning to her 75-year old grandfather seated behind her, Owens remarked, “My grandfather grew up on a sharecropping farm in the segregated South. He grew up in an America where words like ‘racism’ and ‘white nationalism’ held real meaning.”
The hearing was separately derailed when a YouTube livestream of the proceedings was bombarded with racist and anti-Semitic comments from internet users.
YouTube disabled the live chat section of the streaming video about 30 minutes into the hearing because of what it called "hateful comments."

FILE - In this Dec. 17, 2018, file photo, a man using a mobile phone walks past Google offices in New York. Executives from Google and Facebook are facing Congress Tuesday, April 8, 2019, to answer questions about their role in the hate crimes and the rise of white nationalism in the U.S. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

The incident came as executives from Google and Facebook answered lawmakers' questions about the companies' role in the spread of hate crimes and the purported rise of white nationalism in the U.S. They were joined by leaders of such human rights organizations as the Anti-Defamation League and the Equal Justice Society, along with conservative commentator Candace Owens.
Neil Potts, Facebook director of public policy, and Alexandria Walden, counsel for free expression and human rights at Google, defended policies at the two companies that prohibit material that incites violence or hate. Google owns YouTube.
"There is no place for terrorism or hate on Facebook," Potts testified. "We remove any content that incites violence."
The hearing broke down into partisan disagreement among the lawmakers and among some of the witnesses, with Republican members of Congress denouncing as hate speech Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar's criticism of American supporters of Israel.
As the bickering went on, Nadler was handed a news report that included the hateful comments about the hearing on YouTube. He read them aloud, along with the users' screen names, as the room quieted.
"This just illustrates part of the problem we're dealing with," Nadler said.
Monday's hearing was prompted by the mosque shootings last month in Christchurch, New Zealand, that left 50 people dead. The gunman livestreamed the attacks on Facebook and published a long post online that espoused white supremacist views.
Owens was named in the mosque shooter's manifesto, along with eco-fascism, socialism, Trump, and other seemingly unrelated actors. The shooter, who professed affection for divisive online memes and sowing social discord, explicitly stated that his intent was to gin up division and goad different factions into attacking one another.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Barr assembles 'team' to look into counterintelligence investigation on Trump campaign in 2016, official says

Attorney General William Barr has assembled a "team" to investigate the origins of the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign, an administration official briefed on the situation told Fox News on Tuesday.
Republicans repeatedly have called for a thorough investigation of the FBI's intelligence practices and the basis of the since-discredited Russian collusion narrative following the conclusion of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe -- and they now appear to have assurances that a comprehensive review was underway.
The FBI's July 2016 counterintelligence investigation was formally opened by anti-Trump former FBI agent Peter Strzok. Ex-FBI counsel Lisa Page, with whom Strzok was romantically involved, revealed during a closed-door congressional interview that the FBI “knew so little” about whether allegations against the Trump campaign were “true or not true” at the time they opened the probe, noting they had just “a paucity of evidence because we are just starting down the path” of vetting the allegations.
Page later said that it was “entirely common” that the FBI would begin a counterintelligence investigation with just a “small amount of evidence.”
Former FBI Director James Comey would testify later that when agency initiated its counterintelligence probe into possible collusion between Trump campaign officials and the Russian government, investigators "didn't know whether we had anything" and that "in fact, when I was fired as director [in May 2017], I still didn't know whether there was anything to it."

President Trump greeting then-FBI Director James Comey at the White House on January 22, 2017. (Reuters, File)

Barr told lawmakers at a contentious hearing earlier Tuesday that he was reviewing the bureau's “conduct” in particular during the summer of 2016. The attorney general's explosive testimony marked his first Capitol Hill appearance since he revealed the central findings of Mueller’s investigation, and he indicated the full report -- with redactions -- would be made public within the week.
Mueller's investigation completed last month without securing the indictment of a single American for collusion with Russia or obstruction of justice, "despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign."
“I am reviewing the conduct of the investigation and trying to get my arms around all the aspects of the counterintelligence investigation that was conducted during the summer of 2016,” Barr said at the hearing.
Barr also was questioned about the initial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants approved to surveil members of the Trump campaign, including former Trump aide Carter Page.
Republicans have called for a careful review as to whether the FBI, in violation of Page's constitutional rights and FBI procedures, misled the FISA court or withheld exculpatory information, and Barr testified that a DOJ review of the FBI's FISA practices was in progress.
The FBI's ultimately successful October 2016 warrant application to surveil Page, which relied in part on information from British ex-spy Christopher Steele – whose anti-Trump views are now well-documented – flatly accused Page of conspiring with Russians. Page has never been charged with any wrongdoing, and he since has sued the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for defamation.
The FBI assured the FISA court on numerous occasions -- in the October 2016 warrant application and in subsequent renewals -- that other sources, including a Yahoo News article, independently corroborated Steele's claims, without evidence to back it up. It later emerged that Steele was also the source of the Yahoo News article, written by reporter Michael Isikoff.
The FBI also quoted directly from a disputed Washington Post opinion piece to argue that Trump's views on providing lethal arms to Ukraine, and working towards better relations with Russia, was a possible indicator that the campaign had been compromised.
The Trump campaign, at the time, supported only providing only defensive arms to Ukrainians, and rejected a single Republican delegate's proposed platform amendment that called for providing lethal arms. Later, the Trump administration changed course and approved lethal arms sales to Ukraine.
The FBI did not provide its own independent assessment of whether the Washington Post opinion piece contained accurate information, and did not mention that the Obama administration had the same policy towards arming Ukraine as the one Trump's team supported.
The FBI also did not clearly state that Steele worked for a firm hired by Hillary Clinton's campaign. Instead, the FBI only indicated that Steele's dossier was prepared in conjunction with a presidential campaign.
Fox News exclusively obtained internal FBI text messages last month showing that just nine days before the FBI applied for the Page FISA warrant, bureau officials were battling with a senior Justice Department official who had "continued concerns" about the "possible bias" of a source pivotal to the application.
Fox News also has been told the Justice Department's Inspector General (IG) was looking separately into whether Comey mishandled classified information by including a variety of sensitive matters in his private memos.
A DOJ court filing on Monday night revealed that Comey incorporated into his private documents, among other key details, the name and code name of a confidential human source.
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Ocasio-Cortez claims climate change is driving migrant crisis

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., claimed climate change is a “major factor” of the global migrant crisis after earlier suggesting that the United States would have “blood on our hands” if legislation is not passed to tackle climate change.
“The far-right loves to drum up fear & resistance to immigrants,” the freshman congresswoman tweeted on Tuesday. “But have you ever noticed they never talk about what‘s causing people to flee their homes in the first place?
“Perhaps that’s bc they’d be forced to confront 1 major factor fueling global migration: Climate change.”
But for many migrants traveling from Central America, violent crime and extreme poverty are the driving forces of migration.
El Salvador has one of the highest murder rates in the world, due in part, to gangs like MS-13, which was started by Salvadoran immigrants in the U.S. and spread to El Salvador and other countries.
In Honduras, nearly two-thirds of the population, or almost 5.5 million people, live in poverty, according to the World Bank. Per capita income averages just $120 per month.
Earlier Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez discussed the role of global warming and national security at a House Oversight Committee hearing with John Kerry, the former Secretary of State, and Chuck Hagel, the former Secretary of Defense.
“So I think what we have laid out here is a very clear moral problem and in terms of leadership, if we fail to act or even if we delay in acting, we will have blood on our hands?” asked Ocasio-Cortez. “I don’t know if you’re allowed to agree with that Secretary Kerry or Secretary Hagel, but would you agree with that assessment?”
Kerry responded that “we are complicit” as long as nothing is done to stem climate change.
“And we’re going to contribute to people dying, we’re going to contribute to trillions of dollars of damage to property and we will change the face of life on this planet,” he said.
Ocasio-Cortez has championed the Green New Deal, a radical measure that calls for a massive overhaul of the nation’s economy and energy use to cut emissions. It is estimated to cost up to $93 trillion or $600,000 per household, according to studies.
A test vote on the proposal recently failed in the Senate with no senator voting to begin debate on the legislation.
Fox News' Chris Irvine and Frank Miles contributed to this report.

Climate Change Hoax Cartoons

Crowley had dirt on Ocasio-Cortez but decided not to use it in campaign

An overconfident Joe Crowley opted against using negative ammunition against Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez because he believed that he had the Democratic primary locked up and didn’t want to look weak in a race he was expected to walk away with.
Crowley, a longtime political power broker from Queens, was widely considered to be perfectly situated to become then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s successor before his stunning defeat last June that propelled the former waitress to the halls of Congress.
“Crowley had plenty of fodder he could’ve used against Ocasio-Cortez, but his top New York campaign operatives decided to take the punches and not hit back,” Politico reporters Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer write in their new book, “The Hill to Die On.”
“It wasn’t just that Crowley didn’t want to go dirty; he thought it would be a sign of weakness in D.C. if he was seen in a tight race against Ocasio-Cortez. He was supposed to be the next Democratic leader, not someone who had to fight for reelection,” the two write.
One piece of dirt Crowley decided against using was questionable financing practices of Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign — which a source said Crowley aides knew about before they became public this year.
The conservative National Legal and Policy Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission last month charging that Ocasio-Cortez’s team used two affiliated political action committees to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars into a limited-liability company to evade campaign finance laws.
Ocasio-Cortez has denied any wrongdoing.

Lori Loughlin’s name missing from list of guilty pleas in admissions scam: What it could mean for the actress

Felicity Huffman has agreed to plead guilty in the college admissions cheating scandal that has entangled wealthy parents throughout the country.
On Monday, the "Desperate Housewives" alum, 56, announced her decision, explaining that she accepts "full responsibility" for her actions of allegedly paying $15,000 disguised as a tax-deductible charitable donation so her daughter could take part in an apparently rigged college entrance exam.
However, one name that was noticeably absent from the list of 14 defendants who agreed to enter guilty pleas was fellow actress Lori Loughlin – a risk that may hurt the “Fuller House” star's chances of cutting a favorable deal down the line, according to a former prosecutor.

Actress Felicity Huffman arrives holding hands with her brother Moore Huffman Jr., left, at federal court in Boston on Wednesday, April 3, 2019, to face charges in a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal. (AP)

“Well, the deal for people who pled out today – they got the best deal possible. Again, even though there was the seven to nine [months of possible prison time], the deal is in that zero to six range – which is the lowest you’re going to get,” former New York State prosecutor Adam Citron told Fox News after the plea deals were announced on Monday.
“It obviously helps that they’re pleading quickly as not to drag out the case and it shows that they’re accountable for their actions and they’re showing remorse. I’m sure in the pre-trial interviews they present themselves as remorseful and they’re already making statements showing remorse. So these are not stupid people – they know how to act to get the best deal and also play to the court to try and get the most lenient sentence possible.”
Loughlin and designer husband Mossimo Giannulli, 55, are accused of agreeing to pay $500,000 in bribes to have their two daughters, 20-year-old Isabella and 19-year-old YouTube star Olivia Jade, designated as recruits for the USC crew team. Neither of their daughters are rowers.
Citron noted that there is a possibility the 54-year-old Loughlin hadn’t yet been offered a deal and indicated that she simply may not be a part of the first round of defendants who cut deals in their cases.
“With Lori Loughlin, it’s unclear and it’s possible that she may have not even been offered anything yet. They could be saying, ‘We’ll do these fifteen people this week and these people next week for interviews – or if they’re holding her to an offering not as beneficial with a higher jail sentence,” Citron explained.

Lori Loughlin, left, appears in this court sketch at the U.S. federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, Calif. on March 13, 2019. (REUTERS/Mona Shafer Edwards)

He continued: “If I was her attorney and she was offered something not as advantageous, my recommendation would be to kind of let the dust settle, let these people plea out and have a couple more news cycles where people start to lose attention to the case. So that’s very possible, but it’s unclear whether they’ve offered her anything yet or if they’re just waiting to offer her something when they do the next round of people.”

“If I was her attorney, I would not be happy with how she acted.”
— Former New York state prosecutor Adam Citron

When the “Beverly Hills: 90210” alum initially appeared in federal court in Los Angeles, a court sketch artist described Loughlin's demeanor as "a little arrogant." Additionally, while entering a Massachusetts court to face charges last week, Loughlin signed autographs and posed for selfies with fans – behavior that Citron says doesn’t aid her interests in the eyes of the court.

Lori Loughlin signs autographs and chats with fans the day before her court hearing in Boston for her alleged role in a nationwide college admissions scam. Loughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli are accused of using bribes to get their daughters admitted to USC. (Backgrid)

“The optics look horrible for Lori Loughlin. The court wants to see that you’re taking this seriously, that you’re remorseful, that you’re accountable for your actions and not treating it like it’s a concert. It’s a very serious proceeding with serious charges with a lot of ramifications,” said Citron. “It’s very serious – she should not have been treating this like it was a red carpet affair. She feels unquenchable – she’s not taking this seriously.”
“If I was her attorney, I would not be happy with how she acted.”
Despite Loughlin’s behavior, Citron believes it’s possible the actress could be putting on an about-face as a means of deflecting any anguish she may be facing behind the scenes.
“It’s possible that this is some sort of a defense mechanism and that she’s going home at night and she is very shaken by this, which she should be – and she doesn’t know how to react in such a situation, so her natural defense mechanism is to kind of put on a smile and wave,” the lawyer explained.
“It’s hard to say, but again – it’s going to be a question that I’m sure any pre-sentence interviewer will be asking. [Loughlin] definitely put doubt in the mind of whoever is interviewing her for the pre-sentence report with respect to how truthful she’s being if she does show that she’s remorseful. A judge could very easily at a sentencing hearing ask her that question along the lines of, ‘It appears you’re remorseful today, but how can you account for your actions at the arraignment?’”
Reps for Loughlin did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.