Nadler: Committee has launched 'formal impeachment proceedings' against Trump

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., confirmed on Thursday evening that his committee has officially launched "formal impeachment proceedings" into the alleged misconduct of President Trump.
Appearing on CNN, Nadler said people shouldn't be "hung up on the semantics" since his committee is "investigating" the facts and evidence.
He said that he "wasn't waiting" for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who has been publicly reluctant to support impeachment, but added that she's been "very cooperative" with his investigation.
But after being pressed as to whether his investigation was considered "formal impeachment proceedings," Nadler insisted that's what it is.
“This is formal impeachment proceedings,” Nadler said. “We are investigating all the evidence, we’re gathering the evidence and we will at the conclusion of this, hopefully by the end of the year, vote to, vote articles of impeachment to the House floor or we won’t. That’s a decision that we’ll have to make. But that -- that’s exactly the process we’re in right now.”
"All right, so when you say formal impeachment proceedings, have you started drafting or preparing articles of impeachment should you need them?" host Erin Burnett asked.
“There are articles of impeachment introduced a number of months ago and referred to the committee,” Nadler responded. “As the investigation proceeds, we may want to draft our own articles of impeachment that may more closely fit the evidence. We’ll see.”

Biden says ‘poor kids’ just as bright as ‘white kids’ in latest gaffe

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the 2020 Democratic primary frontrunner, made another gaffe Thursday when he told a crowd in Iowa that “poor kids are just as bright and talented as white kids.”
Biden, who famously directed supporters to a wrong number during last month’s debate -- and recently misidentified the sites of recent mass shootings -- quickly corrected himself after some applause from the crowd at the Asian & Latino Coalition PAC, and finished, “wealthy kids, black kids, Asian kids.”
Biden, who in 2006 drew criticism with a comment about Indian-Americans moving to Delaware, the state that Biden represented when he served in the U.S. Senate, also told a crowd at the Iowa State Fair that “we choose science over fiction. We choose truth over facts.”
Biden, like all of the Democratic candidates, has put blame on President Trump’s rhetoric for playing a role in the recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. He said Trump is “using the language of “ white nationalists. He told CNN earlier this week that Trump talks about Muslims  and people of color in “almost subhuman terms.”
Trump on Monday called on the nation to condemn white nationalism, but he didn’t apologize for his incendiary rhetoric on race, from referring to illegal immigration as an “invasion” to his recent Twitter attacks on black members of Congress.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Graham: New Bruce Ohr docs show FISA warrant against ex-Trump campaign aide a 'fraud'

New documents highlighting top Justice Department official Bruce Ohr's contact with ex-British spy Christopher Steele are the latest troubling development for the DOJ in 2016.
That's the claim from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who said Thursday on "Hannity" that he believes there was deep corruption in the department during that year's U.S. presidential election.
"Here's what we're looking at: Systematic corruption at the highest level of the Department of Justice and the FBI against President Trump and in favor of Hillary Clinton," Graham said.
Host Sean Hannity then asked Graham whether officials "lied purposefully" on a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant application to surveil former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
"The best you could say is that they were incompetent," Graham responded. "The most likely outcome is that they wanted a result."
"I think the insurance policy is what we're seeing here, getting into the Trump campaign," Graham continued. "The FISA warrant against Carter Page was a fraud, I believe. The counter-intelligence investigation is something we have to look at very closely."
On Thursday evening, newly released records obtained by Fox News showed the FBI formally documented the bias of Steele shortly after the November 2016 presidential election, yet continued to use his unverified dossier in multiple FISA court warrant application renewals.
The documents, first obtained by Judicial Watch, also reveal that top Justice Department official Bruce Ohr maintained contact with Steele for at least six months after Steele was fired by the FBI for unauthorized media contacts in November 2016.
The summaries of FBI interviews with Ohr, known as 302s, show that Ohr knew by September 2016 -- a month before the initial application to surveil the Trump campaign -- that Steele was "desperate" that Donald Trump not be elected president.
A source close to the matter told Fox News "this had the effect of putting a senior DOJ official on notice that a witness/source had an extreme bias" -- yet the FISA warrant application went through in October 2016 with multiple renewals.
In his interview with Hannity, Graham claimed if a Republican operative acted in a way similar to Steele, the news would receive wall-to-wall media coverage.
"You could not turn on your television," he said.
Fox News' Gregg Re and Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.

Democrat Gun Control Cartoons

El Paso and Dayton shootings stir gun debate, will DC react or is cycle repeating?

 Strategists made sure that initiatives prohibiting gay marriage were on the ballot in key states heading into the 2004 presidential election. Support for those measures coaxed Republicans to the polls to help re-elect President George. W

Since then, the furor over same-sex marriage faded from the public consciousness. It simply dissolved as a political issue. Ohio state representative Candice Keller (R) seems to be in the minority on the issue. Keller attributed the recent string of mass shootings to “transgender, homosexual marriage, and drag queen advocates,” among other things.
Bottom line: the divisiveness of same-sex marriage eroded quickly in America. Things “changed” on a dime.
It was popular in the early 1990s to pillory the Central Intelligence Agency for failing to forecast the fall of the Eastern Bloc in 1989 and disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991. But it’s a misnomer to assert that CIA analysts “missed the call.”
U.S. intelligence officials started seeing signs of a possible shift if not the outright collapse of Eastern European governments and the Soviet Union as early as 1985. However, those not dialed-in to intelligence dispatches stumbled on this front because, well, the Berlin Wall and Soviet Union “had always been there.” The existence of the Berlin Wall, the thermonuclear threat posed by the U.S.S.R. and the Cold War defined global paradigms for decades. Then when things went poof, the metamorphosis appeared abrupt. Those not paying close attention didn’t anticipate the shift.
And so, people wonder if the dual mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton are a turning point.
Observers anticipated a shift after Columbine. After Virginia Tech. After Sandy Hook. After former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) was shot. After the baseball practice shooting which nearly killed House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA). After Orlando. After Las Vegas. After Parkland.
People often predict a shift in the immediate aftermath of each melee. But after a few weeks, things revert to where they stood before. There’s no Congressional action. Things calm down. Then the massacres start again and the cycle repeats.
Why would anyone possibly think things would change this time?  If things didn’t change after someone shot up a kindergarten…if things didn’t change after individuals shot not one but two Members of Congress….
So do El Paso and Dayton change things? Are there palpable if subtle changes on the firearms issue? Or this like the CIA and the Soviet Union? Are the rest of us blind to changes gurgling below the surface? Are people inured to potential political changes with mass shootings, because, like with the Berlin Wall and the U.S.S.R., they’ve “always been there?” Is the pattern inculcated so deeply into our psyches that changes are imperceptible because the sequence just repeats after each shooting?
Unclear.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) put Republicans on notice this week. The New York Democrat accused Republicans of a “cop out” if they attempt to pass “a tepid version” of “red flag” legislation. “Red flag” bills allow authorities to intercede with mentally disturbed or threatening persons if they attempt to access weapons. Schumer demanded Senate Republicans pair red flag language with “House-passed universal background checks legislation.”
President Trump said Wednesday he hoped to “do something on background checks like we’ve never done before.” But after the Parkland shooting in February, 2018, Mr. Trump also said, “we’re going to be doing very strong background checks.”
This is why people suspect El Paso and Dayton are no different than Charleston or Columbine or Aurora. There’s always talk. And yet…
“They’re going to make all of these glorious statements,” predicted Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) speaking at the National Press Club. “After Sandy Hook, remember that? And nothing happened.”
But let’s be clear why things don’t appear to change.
The first problem deals with pragmatism. Lawmakers aren’t certain what exactly would change if they passed new laws. Enhanced background checks would definitely avert tragedy in some instances but not in others. The same with red flag laws. That said, lawmakers may argue that passing legislation could be worth it if it makes a dent in the slaughter scourge.
The second problem is mathematical. The House and Senate generally lacked the votes to advance gun-related legislation. There’s a reason the prohibition on “assault weapons” expired 15 years ago. Congress lacked the votes to renew it. By the same token, there’s also a reason why the Democratically-controlled House approved two bills on background checks last winter. The House had the votes.
Many argue that the issue is with the raw availability of firearms in the U.S., and, to some degree, “assault weapons.”
When asked about barring military-style, high-capacity guns, President Trump said “there is no political appetite for that at this moment.”
He’s right. Such legislation can’t make it through the House – even in this environment. It certainly isn’t ripe in the Senate. The universe of possibilities to “change things” is limited in the current political climate.
But here’s something which deserves attention:
President Trump has made broad use of executive power when Congress can’t or won’t go along with something he likes. Many Congressional Republicans utterly howled when President Obama used executive orders for “DACA” and other issues when Congress was paralyzed to act. Yet, some of the same Republicans who were apoplectic about what they interpreted as extra-Constitutional action by Mr. Obama, were silent when President Trump used the same maneuvers. Some Democrats warned that Mr. Trump abused his executive powers to bypass Congress and redirect money to his border wall against the wishes of Congress. The same with the administration hawking arms to Saudi Arabia.
These ploys could establish new precedents for executive powers – whether its President Trump or someone else.
It’s possible that Mr. Trump’s liberal use of executive authority could open the door for a potential Democratic president to make dramatic changes on firearms if Congressional paralysis persists: A ban on assault weapons. Deeper background checks. Prohibitions on high-capacity magazines. Pick ‘em. Such gambits would definitely render the “change” which so many predicted after each mass shooting since Columbine.
But, no one knows whether Mr. Trump or someone else will win the 2020 presidential race. It’s far from certain that a hypothetical Democratic president would burn political capital on this issue.
So, some are still trying to discern a “moment” or an “event” when things may shift on mass shootings.
Perhaps things just kind of change overnight like they did with same-sex marriage. Maybe the tectonic plates are already in motion, but it’s indecipherable, - ala the crumbling of the Eastern Bloc. Or maybe, just maybe, everything on this issue is in stasis. And nothing ever, ever, ever changes.

Miami Dolphins owner fires back after anti-Trump activists plan Equinox, SoulCycle boycotts

Stephen Ross, owner of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, fired back Wednesday at critics of President Trump, defending his plans to host a fundraiser for Trump on Friday at his Hamptons home on New York’s Long Island.
Trump himself is expected to attend the event, at which donors can have their photo taken with the president for $100,000 or attend a private roundtable discussion with him for $250,000, according to the Washington Post.
After news of the fundraiser emerged, anti-Trump activists called for boycotts against Equinox and SoulCycle, two fitness brands in which Ross, 79, a longtime GOP donor, is an investor. The boycott efforts received numerous endorsements from celebrities, including comedian Billy Eichner and model Chrissy Teigen.

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross speaks to reporters March 11, 2015 in Davie, Fla. (Getty Images)

In one Twitter message, Eichner – a voice actor in "The Lion King" movie and a former host of the comedy show “Billy on the Street” -- suggested Ross was “enabling racism and mass murder” by supporting Trump.
At least one Dolphins player, receiver Kenny Stills, has commented publicly against Ross hosting the fundraiser. But in a statement Wednesday, Ross defended his right to do so.
“I have always been an active participant in the democratic process,” Ross said in a statement, according to Bloomberg. “I have known Donald Trump for 40 years, and while we agree on some issues, we strongly disagree on many others and I have never been bashful about expressing my opinions.”

“I have always been an active participant in the democratic process. I have known Donald Trump for 40 years, and while we agree on some issues, we strongly disagree on many others and I have never been bashful about expressing my opinions.”
— Stephen Ross

Ross added that he wanted to help support Trump’s reelection campaign because he likes to “engage directly and support the things I deeply care about.”
The critics argued that Ross’s decision to back Trump was in conflict with many of the causes he claims to support, such as racial equality and LGBTQ rights. They pointed out that the Equinox brand has advertised itself as being LGBTQ-friendly.
“Hey @Equinox - what’s your policy for canceling memberships once a member finds out your owner is enabling racism and mass murder?” Eichner, who is openly gay, wrote on Twitter.
He added in a separate message: “Never thought I’d have to ask this but … Do Nazis own Crunch?”
Stills said Ross’s support for Trump was in conflict with the mission of the Ross Initiative for Sports Equality, the billionaire’s effort to fight racial discrimination through athletics.
“You can’t have a non profit with this mission statement then open your doors to Trump,” Stills wrote on Twitter.
Stills is a political ally of former NFL player Colin Kaepernick., the Washington Post noted.
Teigen posted a series of messages criticizing Equinox and SoulCycle.
“Everyone who cancels their equinox and soul cycle memberships, meet me at the library,” she wrote in one message. “Bring weights.”
In another, she wrote: “Oh and f--- soulcycle but I thought that way before this anyway.”
Even former CBS anchorman Dan Rather commented on the controversy.
"So Stephen Ross, the owner of SoulCycle, the Miami Dolphins and Equinox Fitness is hosting a big fundraiser for Trump,” Rather wrote. Many of his customers aren’t happy. People can’t vote out the president at the ballot box until next November. Will they vote with their pocketbooks sooner?"
SoulCycle Chief Executive Melanie Whelan, meanwhile, tried to downplay Ross’s involvement with the company, Bloomberg reported.
“We believe in diversity, inclusion and equality,” Whelan wrote on Twitter. “Mr. Ross is a passive investor and is not involved in the management of SoulCycle.”

More Trump donors who also gave to Castro brothers say they're irked by Dem's tweet

Idiots

When U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro apparently tried to shame more than 40 prominent San Antonians for donating money to President Trump, he also seems to have alienated some individuals who gave to Castro and his twin brother as well.
Joaquin Castro, who has been serving in Congress since 2013, is the brother of Julian Castro, a former San Antonio mayor and Obama Cabinet member who is seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
“Sad to see so many San Antonians as 2019 maximum donors to Donald Trump," Joaquin Castro tweeted Monday, listing the Twitter handles of several owners of local businesses. “Their contributions are fueling a campaign of hate that labels Hispanic immigrants as ‘invaders.’”
Now the Washington Free Beacon is reporting an additional Trump donor also contributed to Castro's congressional campaign and The Washington Examiner found a third as well as three others listed in the tweet who made contributions to his brother's mayoral campaign, according to FEC records.
Philanthropist and former Valero Energy CEO William Greehey donated at least $10,000 to Joaquin Castro's congressional campaigns between 2011 and 2013, the Free Beacon reported. Businessman Gregory Kowalski, who was also listed, gave $1,421 to Castro's campaign in 2011.
"It is just amazing to me that he would do that. ... Then he's calling me a racist because I'm supporting Trump. I mean, this is just ridiculous.” Greehey told the Examiner. “There's a lot of things you don't like about the president and his tweeting, but here Castro is doing the same thing with his tweeting.”

"He's calling me a racist because I'm supporting Trump. I mean, this is just ridiculous."
— Valero Energy CEO William Greehey, who reportedly donated to both Trump and Joaquin Castro

Edward Steves, owner of a manufacturing company, said he hosted a fundraiser at his house for Julián Castro's mayoral bid that raised more than $300,000. Donald Kuyrkendall, president of a San Antonio-based real estate company, also contributed to the mayoral campaign.
“Were his intentions to incite people to picket Bill Miller's barbecue or to come to Don Kuyrkendall’s house, you know, assault my wife, make nasty comments?” Kuyrkendall asked, according to the Examiner. “I'm just hopeful that none of this gets serious and that my grandchildren and children will be not intimidated by this stuff.”

 “I'm just hopeful that none of this gets serious and that my grandchildren and children will be not intimidated by this stuff.”
— Donald Kuyrkendall, past donor to Julian Castro

Another Julián Castro donor, retired real estate CEO Ed Kelley, told the Examiner he considers the former HUD secretary as a friend, but that his brother's tweet "did not leave a good taste in my mouth."
Previously, Fox News previously reported that Wayne Harwell, owner of a local real estate development company whose name appeared on Castro's list, donated money to Castro’s congressional campaign. But Harwell suggested that after Castro's Twitter message, he won't be supporting Castro anymore.
“I was also on a list of people that gave to Castro and if he dislikes me enough that he wants to put my name out there against Trump, I’m not going to give money to him,” Harwell told Fox News. “Obviously Castro feels pretty strongly against me.”
According to Federal Election Commission records, Harwell donated $1,000 to Castro’s campaign in September 2011.
“I’m pretty independent, but I support Trump,” Harwell explained.
Joaquin Castro has remained defiant amid the widespread backlash and dismissed the criticism since what he posted was "public" information. He said Wednesday morning that it wasn't his "intention" for anyone to be harassed and that he "didn't create the graphic" but only "shared it."
Several GOP lawmakers -- including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.; House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La.; and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas -- as well as members of the press condemned the tweet, calling it "dangerous."
President Trump reacted to the controversy Wednesday evening, blasting both Castro brothers on Twitter.
"I don’t know who Joaquin Castro is other than the lesser brother of a failed presidential candidate (1 percent) who makes a fool of himself every time he opens his mouth," Trump tweeted. "Joaquin is not the man that his brother is, but his brother, according to most, is not much. Keep fighting Joaquin!"
Fox News' Brooke Singman and Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.

Twitter locks out McConnell's campaign for posting video of calls for violence at his home

Idiots

Twitter locked accounts belonging to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's re-election campaign and several prominent conservatives Monday, after they posted videos of left-wing protesters gathered outside McConnell's Kentucky home -- with one demonstrator calling for someone to stab McConnell "in the heart" and for McConnell to break his "raggedy" neck.
The episode prompted the McConnell campaign, known as "Team Mitch," to slam Twitter for political bias, saying the social media platform had effectively blamed the victim. Meanwhile, observers noted, Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro remains active on Twitter, even after he posted the names of San Antonio residents who donated to Trump.
“This morning, Twitter locked our account for posting the video of real-world, violent threats made against Mitch McConnell," McConnell campaign manager Kevin Golden said in a statement. "This is the problem with the speech police in America today."
Golden continued: "The Lexington-Herald can attack Mitch with cartoon tombstones of his opponents. But we can’t mock it. Twitter will allow the words 'Massacre Mitch' to trend nationally on their platform. But locks our account for posting actual threats against us. We appealed and Twitter stood by their decision, saying our account will remain locked until we delete the video.”
McConnell, 77, has been resting at home since tripping on his patio fracturing his shoulder on Sunday -- and the Team Mitch account posted images showing him at his residence. In the wake of this weekend's deadly mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, the hashtag "Massacre Mitch" trended on Twitter -- and some activists took their case to McConnell's residence.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., addresses the audience gathered at the Fancy Farm Picnic in Fancy Farm, Ky., over the weekend. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

In a livestream video of the protest, Black Lives Matter Louisville leader Chanelle Helm, standing with other demonstrators outside McConnell's home, said that he "should have broken his little raggedy, wrinkled-(expletive) neck" rather than fracturing his shoulder.
"Just stab the m----- f----- in the heart," Helm said, after a fellow demonstrator referenced a McConnell voodoo doll.
Helm told the Lousville Courier-Journal in an interview on Wednesday that she had no regrets.
"McConnell doesn’t care about people who actually do break their necks, who need insulin, who need any type of medication, because they want to stop and prevent health care for all," Helm said. "And that is something that every American out here wants. There’s only a few Americans who don’t want that, and those people are politicians and their cronies."
As of late Wednesday, the Team Mitch had not deleted the offending tweet containing the video. Twitter's policy for accounts violating its rules on certain offending content is to require the account owners to delete offending tweets in order for their access to be restored unless the conduct is so severe it warrants an indefinite suspension.

CNN's Brian Stelter criticized McConnell for offering prayers after recent mass shootings.

Its most recent tweet, made late Tuesday, Team Mitch called the threats outside McConnell's home "serious calls to physical violence" and said law enforcement had been notified.
Twitter declined to provide an on-the-record comment. Because the video included an explicit call for violence, and took place steps away from McConnell's residence, it apparently violated Twitter's rules for anyone to post the video -- including McConnell and his supporters.
But another Twitter user who posted the video, The Daily Wire's Ryan Saavedra, said Twitter simply does not want the "Left's pure hatred exposed because it damages the narrative that many at Twitter have."
"By suspending me for telling the truth, Twitter is making it clear that they seek to control the news media and only allow content on their platform that does not expose the evil, projection, and hypocrisy of the political Left," Saavedra wrote. "Do not be surprised if they permanently ban me."
Saavedra added: "By suspending McConnell's re-election campaign for exposing the violent rhetoric directed at McConnell, which was allowed to foment on Twitter for days, Twitter is interfering in the 2020 elections in a manner to help Democrats and hurt Republicans."
Capitol Hill communications director Ben Goldey said that he, too, had been locked out of Twitter.
"My account was temporarily suspended after posting a video of far-left activists chanting death threats at Senator McConnell," Goldey wrote on Twitter. "Meanwhile, @Castro4Congress tweet, targeting his own constituents by name and employer is still up and does not violate Twitter’s Rules."

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has blamed McConnell for 'Team Mitch' staffers posing with a cardboard cutout of her. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Former McConnell aide and political commentator Scott Jennings also called the situation inexplicable.
"Mitch McConnell has people on his yard threatening to “stab the motherf******” in the heart” & @twitter suspends MCCONNELL from its platform," Jennings wrote on Twitter. "This nation needs to heal & this platform is actively removing voices from the conversation who can help find solutions. Absolute garbage."
On Tuesday, McConnell's campaign accused New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of encouraging threats against the senator and "trying to dox some underage kids" after she blasted a group of McConnell-supporting boys who took a controversial photo with a cardboard cutout of her during a recent Kentucky political event.
"Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and liberal Twitter personalities are trying to dox some underage kids for taking a photo with a cutout at the Fancy Farm political picnic and are cheering on thousands of accounts calling for Senator McConnell to 'break his neck,’" Team Mitch tweeted.
In a tweet Monday, Ocasio-Cortez did not explicitly call for harassment or threats but she prompted a wave of negative reactions to the boys when she suggested that their gestures -- "groping" and "choking" the cut-out, as she alleged -- represented the "culture" of McConnell's campaign.
After Ocasio-Cortez's tweet, McConnell's campaign responded by distancing itself from the photo and condemning it, clarifying that the boys weren't employees of the campaign.
“Team Mitch in no way condones any aggressive, suggestive, or demeaning act toward life-sized cardboard cutouts of any gender,” campaign spokesman Kevin Golden said.
Golden added: “These young men are not campaign staff, they’re high schoolers and it’s incredible that the national media has sought to once again paint a target on their backs rather than report real, and significant news in our country."
McConnell's campaign compared the photo to one that a former aide to President Obama took after his election in 2008. The photo, posted at the end of 2008, showed Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau appearing to grope a cardboard cut-out of Hillary Clinton, then Obama's choice for secretary of state. Some suggested that the Ocasio-Cortez photo was a riff on the Clinton one.
The situation quickly spiraled. The Daily Beast posted a tweet claiming that McConnel's campaign had "essentially" told Ocasio-Cortez that "boys will be boys" -- prompting Ocasio-Cortez, and later Newsweek, to falsely imply that McConnell's campaign had, in fact, used that phrase.
"How a lie gets laundered," wrote Washington Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy.