In Mueller report's release, Trump looks for vindication, but new fights loom

Nearly two years of fevered speculation surrounding Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe will come to a head in a dramatic television finale-like moment on Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. ET, when Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein are set to hold a press conference to discuss the Mueller report's public release.
It was not immediately clear exactly when on Thursday the DOJ would release the redacted version of the nearly 400-page investigation into Russian election meddling, but the document was expected to be delivered to lawmakers and posted online by noon. With just hours to go until that moment, hopes for finality amid a deep national divide -- and persistent accusations of far-flung conspiracies -- are all but certain to remain unrealized.
Although Barr has already revealed that Mueller's report absolved the Trump team of illegally colluding with Russia, Democrats have signaled that the release will be just the beginning of a no-holds-barred showdown with the Trump administration over the extent of report redactions, as well as whether the president obstructed justice during the Russia investigation.
FOX NEWS POLL: TRUMP POPULARITY HOLDING STEADY AFTER MUELLER SUMMARY RELEASE
Trump’s legal team is preparing to issue a comprehensive rebuttal report on Thursday, to challenge any allegations of obstruction against the president, Fox News has learned.
The lawyers originally laid out their rebuttal in response to written questions asked by Mueller’s team of the president last year, according to a source close to Trump's legal team.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller drives away from his Washington home on Wednesday. Outstanding questions about the special counsel's Russia investigation have not stopped President Donald Trump and his allies from declaring victory. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

Barr has said redactions in the report's release are legally mandated.to protect four broad areas of concern: sensitive grand jury-related matters, classified information, ongoing investigations and the privacy or reputation of uncharged "peripheral" people.
Those individuals, Barr said, did not include Trump. "No, I'm talking about people in private life, not public officeholders," the attorney general said at a hearing last week.
In a filing in the ongoing Roger Stone prosecution on Wednesday, the DOJ revealed that certain members of Congress will be able to see the Mueller report "without certain redactions" in a secure setting. Stone, a longtime confidant of the president, is awaiting trial on charges including giving false statements and obstructing justice.
Barr and Rosenstein are expected to take questions at the Thursday press conference, which was first announced in a radio interview by Trump and confirmed by the DOJ, and they'll likely be pressed on the precise nature of the final redactions.
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Democrat New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler, has said he is prepared to issue subpoenas "very quickly" for the full report if it is released with blacked-out sections, likely setting in motion a major legal battle.
Grand jury information, including witness interviews, is normally off limits but can be obtained in court. Some records were eventually released in the Whitewater investigation into former President Bill Clinton and an investigation into President Richard Nixon before he resigned.

Attorney General William Barr reacts as he appears before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee to make his Justice Department budget request, Wednesday, April 10, 2019, in Washington. Barr said Wednesday that he was reviewing the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation. He said he believed the president's campaign had been spied on and he was concerned about possible abuses of government power. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Both of those cases were under somewhat different circumstances, including that the House Judiciary Committee had initiated impeachment proceedings. Federal court rules state that a court may order disclosure "preliminary to or in connection with a judicial proceeding," but prominent Democrats -- including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- have dismissed suggestions that Trump should face impeachment.
Another major area of scrutiny will be Barr's decision, along with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, that Mueller had not uncovered sufficient evidence to prosecute Trump for obstruction of justice.
In his four-page summary of Mueller's findings released late last month, Barr stated definitively that Mueller did not establish evidence that Trump's team or any associates of the Trump campaign had conspired with Russia to sway the 2016 election -- "despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign."
But on obstruction, Barr wrote that Mueller had laid out evidence on "both sides" of the issue, even as he acknowledged that it would be more difficult to prosecute an obstruction case without evidence of any underlying crime. That evidence, on Thursday, will go under the microscope.
The report may also contain unflattering details about the president's efforts to exert control over the Russia investigation. And it may paint the Trump campaign as eager to exploit Russian aid and emails stolen from Democrats and Hillary Clinton's campaign.
The report's release will also be a test of Barr's credibility, as the public and Congress judge the veracity of a letter he released relaying what were purported to be Mueller's principal conclusions.
Barr, who was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to the role of attorney general in 1991 before reclaiming the role in February, has endured withering criticism from Democrats who say he is covering for the president.
After Barr announced plans for the Thursday press conference, Nadler quickly charged that Barr "appears to be waging a media campaign" on behalf of Trump.
In a statement joined by several other Democrat committee chairs late Wednesday, Nadler called for Barr to cancel the press conference.
"This press conference, which apparently will not include Special Counsel Mueller, is unnecessary and inappropriate, and appears designed to shape public perceptions of the report before anyone can read it," the Democrats wrote. "[Barr] should let the full report speak for itself. The Attorney General should cancel the press conference and provide the full report to Congress, as we have requested. With the Special Counsel’s fact-gathering work concluded, it is now Congress’ responsibility to assess the findings and evidence and proceed accordingly.”
Mueller is known to have investigated multiple efforts by the president over the last two years to influence the Russia probe or shape public perception of it.
In addition to examining former FBI Director James Comey's firing, Mueller scrutinized the president's reported request that Comey end an investigation into Trump's first national security adviser; his relentless attacks on former Attorney General Jeff Sessions over his recusal from the Russia investigation; and his role in drafting an incomplete explanation about a meeting his oldest son took at Trump Tower with a Kremlin-connected lawyer.
But this week, Trump, who has long said that voicing his opinions about the "witch hunt" against him wasn't a crime -- showed no signs of backing down.
"Wow! FBI made 11 payments to Fake Dossier’s discredited author, Trump hater Christopher Steele," Trump wrote on Wednesday. "The Witch Hunt has been a total fraud on your President and the American people! It was brought to you by Dirty Cops, Crooked Hillary and the DNC.
On Monday, he wrote: "Mueller, and the A.G. based on Mueller findings (and great intelligence), have already ruled No Collusion, No Obstruction. These were crimes committed by Crooked Hillary, the DNC, Dirty Cops and others! INVESTIGATE THE INVESTIGATORS!"
Republicans, including House Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes, have pushed aggressively for answers into the origins of the Mueller probe, which began shortly after Trump fired Comey in May 2017.
Trump cited several justifications for terminating Comey, including what the president called his mismanagement of the Hillary Clinton email probe, and Comey's refusal to publicly announce that the president was not under investigation.
The former FBI head acknowledged in testimony in December that when the bureau initiated its counterintelligence probe into possible collusion between Trump campaign officials and the Russian government in July 2016, investigators "didn't know whether we had anything."
An op-ed in The Washington Post earlier in the week, entitled "Admit it: Fox News has been right all along," pointed to the role in the media in spreading the Russia collusion narrative.
Justice Department legal opinions say that a sitting president cannot be indicted, but Barr said he did not take that into account when he decided the evidence was insufficient to establish obstruction.
That conclusion was perhaps not surprising given Barr's own unsolicited memo to the Justice Department from last June in which he said a president could not obstruct justice by taking actions — like the firing of an FBI director — that he is legally empowered to take.
Overall, Mueller brought charges against 34 people — including six Trump aides and advisers — and revealed a Russian effort to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Twenty-five of those charged were Russians accused either in the hacking of Democratic email accounts or of a hidden but powerful social media effort to spread disinformation online.
Five former Trump aides or advisers pleaded guilty to charges unrelated to collusion and agreed to cooperate in Mueller's investigation, including former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.
Fox News' Brooke Singman, Jake Gibson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Democrats on Abortion Cartoons

Texas advances bill that would penalize doctors for not providing care to babies born after abortion try: report

The Texas House of Representatives has preliminarily approved a measure that says any doctor who does not care for an infant born alive after an abortion will be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars and possibly serve prison time in cases of gross negligence, a report said.

The “Born Alive” act passed 93 to 1 mostly along party lines, the Dallas Morning News reported and will now advance to the state Senate.
 Democrat Harold Dutton cast a “no” vote while 50 other Democrats voted “present, not voting.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hannity: Michelle Obama's divorced dad comment 'insulting'

Did former first lady Michelle Obama mean to demean divorced fathers?
Obama, in an interview with late-night host Stephen Colbert, compared America to a teenager and life under President Trump to living with a divorced father.
“Sometimes you spend the weekend with a divorced dad. That feels like fun but then you get sick," Obama told Colbert. "That is what America is going through. We’re kind of living with divorced dad.”
Fox News’ Sean Hannity said Tuesday that Obama's comments were "demeaning and insulting."
Hannity was upset with the characterization and discussed it with Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera and Tammy Bruce.
Rivera agreed with Hannity that the comments were “demeaning and insulting” but called the comments a “rare misstep.”
“She's equating, she's reduced us to a sexist stereotype with a bad parent who gives candy and lets the kids watch too much TV because we have a guilty conscience about the breakup of the marriage. I think it's a rare misstep though Sean, in fairness,” Rivera said.
“No passes here on that,” Hannity said.
Bruce called out Obama for using gender stereotypes and not only insulting to divorced fathers but women as well.
“The problem here is it's not just insulting to men and for every woman and man out in that audience who didn't quite know why she was insulting them but it relies also on the other side of the coin which is the gender stereotype of women that all women are supposed to be either great mothers or only women can raise children or only women can be good parents,” Bruce said.

Trump predicts 'Crazy Bernie Sanders,' 'Sleepy Joe Biden' will be 2 Dem 'finalists' in 2020 race

President Trump offered his thoughts Tuesday night on which two Democratic contenders he thinks will be left standing in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.
Out of the crowded pool of contenders, Trump predicted on Twitter that former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders will be the final two in the battle to be the party’s nominee.
“I believe it will be Crazy Bernie Sanders vs. Sleepy Joe Biden as the two finalists to run against maybe the best Economy in the history of our Country (and MANY other great things)!” he wrote. “I look forward to facing whoever it may be. May God Rest Their Soul!”
While Sanders, I-Vt., confirmed in February that he would be running again for president, Biden has yet to formally enter the race.
The president’s prediction came after he targeted Sanders in a separate tweet, speaking about the lawmaker’s finances.
“Bernie Sanders and wife should pay the Pre-Trump Taxes on their almost $600,000 in income,” Trump wrote. “He is always complaining about these big TAX CUTS, except when it benefits him. They made a fortune off of Trump, but so did everyone else - and that’s a good thing, not a bad thing!”
Shortly ahead of a Fox News town hall Monday night, Sanders’ presidential campaign released his 2018 returns. According to the figures, Sanders and his wife Jane paid a 26 percent effective tax rate on $561,293 in income, and made more than $1 million in both 2016 and 2017. Nearly $400,000 of his income last year came from book sales.
Sanders later fired back at the president for his remarks, tweeting that Trump seemed “scared of our campaign.”
“He should be,” he continued.
Fox News’ Jennifer Earl and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

State's Attorney Kim Foxx calls Jussie Smollett ‘washed up celeb who lied to cops’ in text message: report

Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx speaks at a news conference, in Chicago. Foxx has asked the county's inspector general to review how her office handled "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett's criminal case. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx described “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett as a “washed up celeb who lied to cops” in texts messages released Tuesday by her office in response to a public-records request by the Chicago Tribune.
Foxx compared Smollett’s case to her office’s pending indictments against R&B singer R. Kelly in text messages to Joseph Magats, her top assistant, on March 8, the paper reported
“Pedophile with 4 victims 10 counts. Washed up celeb who lied to cops, 16 (counts),” she wrote. “… Just because we can charge something doesn’t mean we should.”
"On a case eligible for deferred prosecution I think it’s indicative of something we should be looking at generally,” Foxx continued.
Smollett, who is openly gay, was indicted on 16 counts of disorderly conduct on suspicion of staging a Jan. 29 hate crime attack on himself. He claimed two men beat and shouted slurs at him and wrapped a noose around his neck.
Foxx and Magats continued to communicate via text message about aspects of the investigation. On March 3, Magats reported that he gave Foxx’s phone number to Michael Avenatti, who had joined the case, according to text messages.
“…….. so Michael Avenatti reached out. Apparently he’s coming in to represent the Nigerian brothers in Smollet. I gave him your office number,” Magats wrote.
Foxx issued a statement on Feb. 19 recusing herself from high-profile case. Prosecutors, last month, argued that Foxx never formally recused herself amid questions over her office’s decision to drop the charges against Smollett.
That decision created a firestorm of protest from local officials.
The communication between Foxx and Magats raised questions of whether she continued to take a role in the case after stepping away. In a statement Tuesday night, Foxx defended her messages to Magats.
“After the indictment became public, I reached out to Joe to discuss reviewing office policies to assure consistencies in our charging and our use of appropriate charging authority,” Foxx said in a statement obtained by USA Today. “I was elected to bring criminal justice reform and that includes intentionality, consistency, and discretion. I will continue to uphold these guiding principles.”
A representative for Smollett did not immediately return a Fox News request for comment Tuesday night.
The text messages also appeared to show that prosecutors notified Chicago police moments before the charges were dropped against Smollett, the Tribune reported.
“Eddie just called. (He) needed to know how to answer questions from press,” Foxx texted Magats, referring to Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson. She said Johnson seemed “satisfied” with her explanation that Smollett had completed community service and turned over his $10,000 bond money to the city.
John and Mayor Rahm Emanuel held a news conference that morning blasting the prosecutor’s decision, calling it a “whitewash of justice.”
The city has sued Smollett for the $130,000 in police overtime spent investigating the alleged hoax.

Bernie Sanders Cartoons

Ocasio-Cortez says cutting military aid to Israel is ‘on the table,’ slams Netanyahu as a ‘Trump-like figure’

Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez raised eyebrows during an interview Sunday when she said the possibility of cutting military or economic aid to Israel is "on the table" after the election of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ocasio-Cortez was on Yahoo News’ “Skullduggery” podcast when she said Netanyahu's election comes during a disturbing trend of "authoritarianism across the world" and called the leader a "Trump-like figure."
Netanyahu has pledged to “apply sovereignty” to Jewish settlements in the West Bank. He told Israeli Channel 12 TV that, “we will go to the next phase to extend Israeli sovereignty."
"I will impose sovereignty, but I will not distinguish between settlement blocs and isolated settlements," he continued, The Associated Press reported. "From my perspective, any point of settlement is Israeli, and we have responsibility, as the Israeli government. I will not uproot anyone, and I will not transfer sovereignty to the Palestinians."
The annexation of large parts of the West Bank could damage hope for an Israeli-Palestinian deal on the terms of a Palestinian state on lands Israel captured in 1967. The New York Times reported that American officials have discouraged any Israeli attempt to extend sovereignty in the disputed territory.
Trump has recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital early in his term. The Palestinians, who seek Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as their capital, suspended contact with the U.S.  Trump has also recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a plateau Israel captured from Syria in 1967. The move was viewed in Israel as a political gift from Trump to Netanyahu.
This is not the first time that the freshman representative talked about the tension in the region.
Ocasio-Cortez in July was forced to explain her comment on PBS’ “Firing Line” when she referred to the “occupation of Palestine.” Republicans took the comment to criticize her knowledge on the region. The host of the show, Margaret Hoover, asked a follow-up question and Ocasio-Cortez admitted, “I am not the expert on geopolitics on this issue,” but said she believed in a two-state solution.