Pelosi flexes muscle over party in impeachment debate, but ‘dam’ could collapse

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., reflects on President Donald Trump's statement that he would accept assistance from a foreign power.  (AP)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has wielded her power to quash a faction of Democrats rallying for President Trump’s impeachment, but frustrated members within the party say the president is one misstep away from “that dam collapsing,” according to a Sunday report.
Since reassuming leadership over the house, Pelosi has thwarted her party’s liberal wing from going forward with impeachment proceedings, encouraging them to instead focus on other issues like health care.
“I don’t think there’s anything more divisive we can do than to impeach a president of the United States, and so you have to handle it with great care,” Pelosi told CNN on Sunday. “It has to be about the truth and the facts to take you to whatever decision has to be there.”
Some lawmakers say their deference to Pelosi is out of respect for the speaker’s political expertise, and agree that impeachment would do more harm than good.
“She is the single smartest strategist that we’ve ever had…People are not wanting to second guess her because she’s been right on so many fronts,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., told the Washington Post.
But other Democratic lawmakers, like Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., admit they toe the party line out of fear.
“One, you want to be a team player and support the leader’s position, but secondly you’re worried about your own self and…what can happen if you don’t follow along,” Schrader told the paper.
Some argue that President Trump’s defiance of congressional investigators will eventually break the divide between moderate Democrats and its liberal wing.
Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, D-Va., described Pelosi’s hold over Democrats as “fragile” because “we’re kind of one event, one piece of explosive testimony, one action by Trump away from that dam collapsing.”
The Democrats’ pro-impeachment camp howled this week after Trump said in an interview with ABC that he’d be willing to listen if a foreign government had dirt on an opponent. Yet despite the familiar refrain of impeachment, Pelosi didn’t budge an inch on impeachment after Trump’s comments.
Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

Iran & the Democrats Cartoons

Iranian President Tells Global Partners to send ‘Positive Signals’ or Else

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani pose for a photo prior to their talks on a sideline of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Friday, June 14, 2019. Rouhani has called for closer cooperation between Tehran and Moscow amid rising regional tensions. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 11:01 AM PT — Saturday, June 15, 2019

Tension surrounding Iran continues to rise after the nation makes its latest threat toward global powers.
Speaking from a conference in Central Asia, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said, it is ‘necessary’ that all sides of the 2015 nuclear pact show ‘positive signals’ to Iran.
Rouhani said they will continue to digress and ultimately withdraw from the international nuclear pact unless signatories take action to restore relations.
Since the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany are the only remaining partners to the pact.
In response Russian President Vladimir Putin said he will double down on his commitments to Iran and urged other signatories to do the same.
‘Everyone is concerned about the state of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to Iran’s nuclear program. The U.S. leaving this agreement has significantly unraveled its execution. We believe the only sensible decision is for all deal participants to honor their commitments. This is what Russia intends to do’ Putin said.
Iran did not specify what actions it will take or say what ‘positive signals’ it expects to see from its global partners.

Lindsey Graham says impeachment talks will only get Trump elected

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., believes a push for President Trump's impeachment by congressional Democrats will only lead to his re-election.
"To my Democratic colleagues in the House, if you bring impeachment after [Special Counsel Robert] Mueller issued his report ... then it's going to blow up in your face," Graham told Fox News' Jeanine Pirro on Saturday's installment of "Justice with Judge Jeanine."
"You're being unfair to the president and he's going to get re-elected," he said.

When asked about escalating tensions with Iran, Graham praised Trump for pulling out of the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal and for applying sanctions against the country.
He urged the president to stand tough and not let Iran flex its muscle over the Strait of Hormuz, an international shipping gateway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The waterway separates Iran and the United Arab Emirates and is 21 miles across at its narrowest point.
The strait is critical to the oil industry, with it being used to ship more than 22 million barrels of oil and products per day in the first half of 2018.
"To President Trump, do not let them take over the Strait of Hormuz," Graham said. "Keep the pressure on and if they continue to do this, sink their navy like Ronald Reagan did back in the '80s."
Iran threatened to close the strait earlier this year and the U.S. blamed the country for attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman earlier this week. Graham touted Trump's confrontational style of diplomacy, saying it has yielded positive results.
"He has put Iran on the run. He's taken on China. He's got [Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro on the ropes," Graham said. "I love this man's foreign policy."

Trump backs bill to ban flag-burning: ‘A no brainer!’

Some Republicans in Congress on Friday reintroduced a proposal calling for a ban on burning the American flag – and they’ve already won an endorsement from President Trump.
“All in for Senator Steve Daines as he proposes an Amendment for a strong BAN on burning our American Flag. A no brainer!,” the president wrote in a Twitter message Saturday.
The proposal is being sponsored in the Senate by Sens. Steve Daines of Montana and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota and in the House by Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas. It calls for the U.S. Constitution to be amended so Congress would have “constitutional authority to ban the desecration of the United States flag.”
“The American Flag is a symbol of freedom – and it should always be protected,” Daines wrote Friday.
Added Cramer: “A flag worth dying for is a flag worth protecting.”
“Adding a Constitutional amendment to protect this symbol of freedom and liberty is not an attack on another Constitutional amendment,” he continued, “rather, it is an affirmation of the unifying principles our nation stands for.”
The amendment would be necessary because the Supreme Court has ruled in the past that flag-burning is a form of free speech protected by the First Amendment.
The new proposal was reintroduced Friday, which was Flag Day – and coincidentally President Trump’s 73rd birthday.

Critics on social media were quick to attack the proposal. Here are some samples:
According to the Washington Times, amendments can be added to the Constitution if two-thirds of both the House and Senate agree on a proposal and then three-fourths of the states ratify it, or if two-thirds of state legislatures call a convention to propose changes to the Constitution, and then three-fourths of the states ratify the change.

Immigrants’ sponsors to be on hook for ‘every dollar’ if new arrivals end up on dole, new Trump appointee warns

Sponsors of legal immigrants to the United States received word Friday that they’ll be on the hook “for every dollar” if those immigrants end up receiving welfare funds or other public support instead of earning a living and paying taxes.
The message came Ken Cuccinelli, a former Virginia state attorney general who last week became acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) following his appointment by President Trump.
“If the sponsored immigrant receives any federal means-tested public benefits, the sponsor will be expected to reimburse the benefits-granting agency for every dollar of benefits received by the immigrant,” Cuccinelli wrote in a USCIS memo.

“If the sponsored immigrant receives any federal means-tested public benefits, the sponsor will be expected to reimburse the benefits-granting agency for every dollar of benefits received by the immigrant.”
— Ken Cuccinelli, acting director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

'Enforceable contract'

In addition, the same message instructed agents who work for USCIS to remind applicants and sponsors that “the Affidavit of Support is a legal and enforceable contract between the sponsor and the federal government.”

Ken Cuccinelli, a former Virginia state attorney general, is now acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (Associated Press)

According to Cuccinelli, all federal agencies dealing with immigration issues will be working to update or initiate procedures and regulations to make sure that immigrants who are ineligible for public benefits do not receive them, in accordance with a May 23 directive from the president.
“The President has made it a priority to ensure that every individual who seeks to come to the United States is self-sufficient, temporarily or permanently,” Cuccinelli wrote. “The principle of self-sufficiency has been enshrined in our immigration laws since the 1800s, and we as an agency must ensure that immigrants who become part of this great country abide by this principle.”

“The President has made it a priority to ensure that every individual who seeks to come to the United States is self-sufficient, temporarily or permanently.”
— Ken Cuccinelli, acting director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Cuccinelli took over at USCIS last Monday, coming to the job with a reputation as a hardliner on immigration issues. For example, he has been an advocate for denying citizenship to American-born children of parents living in the U.S. illegally and for limiting in-state tuition at public universities to citizens or legal residents.
He replaced Lee Francis Cissna, who reportedly had lost President Trump’s confidence.

Critical of McConnell, others in GOP

But Trump likely named Cuccinelli an acting director because his chances of winning Senate confirmation were said to be slim, Roll Call reported.
The outspoken Cuccinelli, as president of the Senate Conservatives Fund, a political action committee that has opposed many incumbent Republicans, has been critical of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and others in the GOP.
“Mitch McConnell has filled the Senate with people like Lisa Murkowski, John McCain, Shelley Moore Capito, Lamar Alexander and Dean Heller who all promised the voters they would repeal Obamacare, but when the time came to do it they refused,” Cuccinelli wrote in an August 2017 fundraising memo, according to Roll Call. “Instead of admitting his mistake, McConnell is blaming the President for having ‘excessive expectations’ even though he was the one who set those expectations with years of empty promises!”
Trump’s appointment of Cuccinelli came as the president is dealing with a growing crisis as tens of thousands of Central American migrants cross the U.S.-Mexico border each month, overwhelming the system, and he has struggled to deliver on his signature issue of reduced immigration and tighter border security.
Fox News’ Andrew O’Reilly and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Democrats are Still Crying Cartoons

President Trump has no plans to dismiss White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway

In this April 30, 2019 photo, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway talks with reporters outside the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 1:20 PM PT — Friday, June 14, 2019

Allegations of misconduct against Kellyanne Conway come to a head, following claims of Hatch Act violations. In an interview Friday, the president declared he has reviewed Conway’s alleged misconduct and will not fire the White House counselor despite calls from a government watch dog group to do so.
“No, I’m not going to fire her, I think she’s a terrific person, she’s a tremendous spokesperson,” he stated. “She’s been loyal…she’s just a great person.”
The remarks came after the Office of Special Counsel sent an official report to the White House Thursday, urging Conway be removed from the federal government. U.S. officials alleged Conway repeatedly violated the lesser-known Hatch Act, which is a law prohibiting federal officials from using their authority to interfere with or sway elections.
The 17 page document reportedly outlined more than half a dozen television interviews and tweets from Conway, which reportedly violated the act by projecting opinion on current presidential candidates in her official capacity. However, the president said he received a very strong briefing on the matter and “based on” what he’s seen believes she should not be dismissed.
“I would certainly not think based on what I saw yesterday — how could you do that?” he asked “They have tried to take away her speech, and I think you’re entitled to free speech in this country.”
The White House has called the counsel’s allegations “deeply flawed” and argued the law was applied too broadly in Conway’s case, which potentially interferes with First Amendment rights.
Conway has firmly denied these violations and called them “political fuel” back in May.
“We’ve got outside groups who have political agendas trying to file actions against me…doesn’t make them true and it doesn’t make them relevant,” she stated.
Moving forward, the House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on Conway’s actions June 26th. It’s unclear whether she will appear amid the president’s ongoing refusal to allow current and former White House advisers to testify to Congress.