IG to review ‘special’ program that let Clinton aide Huma Abedin have 2 jobs

The State Department inspector general plans to review a controversial program that allowed a longtime Hillary Clinton aide to work for a private firm at the same time she was working for the former secretary of state.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who originally sought a probe of Huma Abedin’s job status citing conflict of interest concerns, revealed the development on Friday – releasing a letter from Inspector General Steve Linick confirming the review.
Grassley’s questions centered on how Abedin was allowed to work as a top assistant to then-Secretary of State Clinton under a special, part-time status while also being employed at a politically connected consulting firm.
She was able to do so under a status known as “Special Government Employee.”
Linick said in his letter that his office “intends to examine the Department’s SGE program to determine if it conforms to applicable legal and policy requirements, including whether or not the program, as implemented, includes safeguards against conflicts of interest.”
The decision comes as the IG also looks at department email practices, following the revelation that Clinton exclusively used personal email, on a private server, while secretary of state. That controversy prompted Grassley, last month, to revive his long-running concerns about Abedin – questioning whether her emails would even be accessible to those looking into her records, as she reportedly was on Clinton’s server.
Grassley hailed the IG’s decision to start looking into the SGE program.
“This program is meant to be used in a limited way to give the government special expertise it can’t get otherwise,” Grassley said in a statement on Friday. “An inspector general review is necessary. Available information suggests that in at least one case, the State Department gave the special status for employee convenience, not public benefit.”
Abedin is married to former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, who resigned after a sexting scandal.
Grassley’s inquiries on the SGE status started in 2013, when he requested all communications between Abedin, after she switched from a full-time deputy chief of staff for Clinton to a part-timer, then started working for Teneo, a consulting firm that says it “brings together the disciplines of government and public affairs.”
“A number of conflict-of-interest concerns arise when a government employee is simultaneously being paid by a private company,” Grassley said in a March 19 letter to Secretary of State John Kerry that also raised concerns about Abedin and other department employees appearing to have been “improperly categorized” as SGEs.
Grassley said at the time the department’s answers so far were “largely unresponsive” and pointed to a November 2014 response that in part states “an individual may receive an SGE designation if he or she is joining the department from the private sector or is coming from another government position.”
However, Abedin came neither from the private sector nor another government position, Grassley argued.
Grassley also said the purpose of the SGE program is to help the government get temporary services from people with special knowledge and skills whose principal employment is outside the government.
A July 2013 letter from the department to Grassley said Abedin worked full-time from January 2009 to June 2012.
The State Department says Abedin was then an SGE until February 2013, essentially doing the same job that she did as a full-time employee, advising on Clinton’s schedule and travel. It also states she reviewed department ethics guidelines but was allowed to work part-time without a new security clearance.

Coexist Cartoon

Jabs at Pelosi latest sign of friction in Dem ranks

With a leadership transition on the horizon on Capitol Hill and President Obama entering his final two years in office, cracks are beginning to show in the Democratic Party.
Most recently, two House Democrats spoke out against their longtime and powerful leader, Nancy Pelosi.
Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch said on WGBH’s Greater Boston that it’s time for the House Democratic leader to step aside.
"Nancy Pelosi is not going to lead the Democrats back into the majority," Lynch said.
Fellow Massachusetts Rep. Michael Capuano, who led Pelosi’s transition in 2006 when she was elected speaker, said on the same program that she should leave leadership or change her approach.
"I think we need leadership that understands that, if something you're doing is not working ... change what you're doing," Capuano said.
Capuano later clarified, saying: “Any leader who refuses to change in the face of failure should step aside. I believe, however, that Nancy Pelosi is making the changes necessary to lead House Democrats back to electoral success, and I still believe she will do so.”
Still, both lawmakers had supported Pelosi for the post in January, despite her presiding over significant party losses in the midterms.
In another sign of internal frustration in the party, freshman Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., is now calling for lawmakers to hold elections to determine committee chairs – instead of following a seniority-based process.
Former Indiana Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh told Fox News the developments indicate “frustration because they're in the minority, a substantial minority, and you just can't get much done usually in that situation so that's kind of bubbling up.”
He said: The reality is that with -- if you're gonna get the majority again in the House, they've gotta win swing districts or even somewhat, you know, little red districts. And with all the moderates having been defeated in recent years, if the party moved to the left in the House, that's just not a great political strategy for getting back the majority in the House.”
Across the Capitol, Senate leadership is going through a significant transition.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid announced recently he would not seek re-election, and New York’s Chuck Schumer quickly rallied support for his bid to succeed Reid.
That included convincing the man ahead of him in Democratic leadership – Illinois’ Dick Durbin.
Yet when Durbin aides suggested the two had a handshake agreement on a mutual endorsement (for Durbin to be whip), Schumer spokesman Matt House told reporters: "That did not happen and they know that."
Schumer has also jabbed the White House on its Iran nuclear framework announced last week, saying he strongly believes Congress should have the right to disapprove any agreement and supports a bill allowing that.
Meanwhile, as Obama tries to generate momentum for a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren said it should raise “alarm bells” for everyone, and has accused the administration of lacking transparency.
"They refuse to make the text of the trade agreement public. If they are sure that they fixed this problem, they need to show us the new provisions, not wave their hands around and say don't worry," Warren said on an Alliance for Justice conference call on March 11.
Bayh, though, suggested the friction now could give way to better times soon for Democrats.
“I do think with a new president, potentially new leaders, certainly for Democrats in the Senate --who knows about the House -- there may be a season for governing where people might actually find more common ground, starting all over with a blank sheet of paper,” Bayh said. “That would be a good thing for the country.”

Kerry meets Cuba foreign minister in countries' highest-level talks in decades

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met his Cuban counterpart in Panama late Thursday in the highest-level discussion between representatives of Washington and Havana in more than 50 years.
The State Department said Kerry met Cuba Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez ahead of the Summit of the Americas, which begins Friday. A senior State Department official described the discussion between Kerry and Rodriguez as "lengthy and very constructive", but provided few details.
Reuters reported that the meeting in the restaurant of a Panama City hotel lasted for at least two hours, with Kerry occasionally gesticulating toward Rodriguez.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro are also in Panama to attend the summit. The two leaders are expected to interact in some form Friday, though no formal meeting is scheduled. This year marks Cuba's first appearance at the Summit of the Americas, which have been seven times since 1994.
In December, Obama and Castro announced their intention to restore diplomatic relations, beginning a painstaking process that has brought to the surface difficult issues that have long fed in to the U.S.-Cuban estrangement. Hopes of reopening embassies in Havana and Washington before the summit failed to materialize. The U.S. is still pushing Cuba to allow more freedom of movement for its diplomats, while Cuba wants relief from a sanctions regime that only Congress can fully lift.
Most controversially, some White House officials have indicated that the State Department is poised to recommend that Cuba be removed from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. Cuba has been on the list since 1982.
While in Jamaica on Wednesday, Obama signaled that he will soon act to remove Cuba from the list, a move that could come within days.
"We don't want to be imprisoned by the past," Obama said in Kingston, before flying to Panama City. "When something doesn't work for 50 years, you don't just keep on doing it. You try something new."

Fort Hood shooting victim denied benefits, despite Purple Heart decision

EXCLUSIVE -The Obama administration has finally acknowledged that those hurt and killed in the 2009 Fort Hood shootings were victims of terrorism -- and not “workplace violence,” as it was previously described. But while formal recognition of that is set for Friday, when victims will receive the Purple Heart, it may only be symbolic.
Fox News has learned as part of its ongoing investigation of the 2009 terrorist attack that the military, at least in one case, is still denying benefits for injuries sustained in the attack.
"I think it's almost unheard of for someone to receive the Purple Heart but not have their injuries deemed combat-related," Shawn Manning, who was seriously injured in the 2009 attack, told Fox News. "I know that was not what Congress intended to have happen, but it is what currently the Army has determined is going to happen."
On Nov. 5, 2009, then-Staff Sgt. Manning was shot six times by Maj. Nidal Hasan. Two bullets are still in his body -- one in his leg, the other in his back -- and he suffers from PTSD.
The 2015 defense budget -- known as the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA -- included language that meant Fort Hood victims were eligible for the Purple Heart honor because the attack was inspired by a foreign terrorist group, and not workplace violence, as the Defense Department initially labeled it.
Manning submitted new paperwork so the Army would recognize his injuries were sustained in the line of duty. But his appeal was rejected by a physical evaluation board, apparently based on a narrow interpretation of the law.
"Section 571 of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act addresses both the awarding of the Purple Heart to service members killed or wounded in attacks inspired or motivated by foreign terrorist organizations and the Defense of Freedom Medal for those members and civilians killed or wounded during the Fort Hood attack on 5 November 20009," the April 6 letter states.
"Nowhere in the act, however, does it offer combat benefits for service members permanently disabled in attacks inspired or motivated by foreign terrorist organizations. Although subsequent and guidance may change, currently, the Board has no authority to award V1/V3 (service related) designation to soldiers disabled during the Fort Hood attack. "
Manning said, “it's a great thing to finally be recognized, to stand up there and say, ‘Hey your sacrifice did mean something.’”
But he said the board’s decision means, on a practical level, his family will lose back pay, and $800 a month in benefits, adding he believes other Fort Hood survivors will face the same treatment. “I think you know it's a huge let-down. I hope that's not what the Army had intended to do."
An earlier letter in 2012 was absolute in its denial of the terrorist connection, even though the evidence showed Hasan was emailing the Al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki prior to the attack.“MAJ Hasan has been charged with criminal activity, but has not been adjudicated a terrorist. Therefore, the clear preponderance of evidence does not support that the injuries sustained were the direct result of armed conflict,” the letter said.
It went on to state Manning’s injuries were not caused by an “instrumentality of war” because Hasan’s “weapon was a private semi-automatic pistol. The army did not issue this weapons to the soldier.”
Fox News contributor and former Army Chief of Staff retired Gen. Jack Keane said the Purple Heart is much more than a medal. It is also a promise to care for the injured.
"This country has made a commitment for some time to take care of people who have those disabilities and to provide, not just medical support but financial support as well,” he said.“So, I'm convinced this is going to get fixed."
Army spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith told Fox News in a statement, “All recipients of the Purple Heart Medal under section 571 of the NDAA 2015 will receive the benefits to which they are legally entitled.In the case at issue, no final decision has been rendered, and the Soldier will have a full opportunity to present evidence at a formal hearing."
Based on the statement, Fox News followed up to ask if it is the Army's intention that the Fort Hood Purple Heart recipients would need to go to a formal hearing, as is the case with Manning,to prove their injuries are combat-related. There was no further comment from the Army.

Americans stuck in Yemen file suit demanding State Department, military rescue them

WASHINGTON –  Claiming the Obama administration turned its back on them, 41 Americans stranded in war-torn Yemen filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the State Department and Defense Department for not evacuating them -- as fighting intensifies and U.S. allies launch airstrikes.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., seeks to compel the government to use “all resources” possible to rescue the stranded Americans. The plaintiffs range in age from just a few weeks old to senior citizens.
“Despite the clear danger to Americans in Yemen – and the death of at least one American – the Obama administration has not yet taken any substantive steps to help citizens or permanent residents reach safety,” the lawsuit claims.
The suit was filed on the plaintiffs' behalf by The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Though the exact number of Americans stuck in Yemen is unknown, hundreds of people have expressed concern about loved ones in Yemen through a website set up to track and help them, Jenifer Wicks, a lawyer for CAIR, told reporters Thursday.
The political crisis in Yemen has escalated in recent months, with the country’s capital taken over by the Iran-backed Shiite rebel group known as the Houthis.
Yemen’s president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has fled the country. The U.S. embassy, meanwhile, closed its doors, leaving many Americans without a way to get home. At the same time, a Saudi-led Arab coalition is launching airstrikes against the rebels in the country, an effort supported by the U.S. government.
The suit filed Thursday is not the first warning from advocacy groups about Americans trapped in Yemen.
Last week, the groups behind the lawsuit launched the website www.stuckinyemen.com to provide assistance to Americans, or the friends and families of Americans, trying to escape Yemen.
“We honestly do not understand why the government would not help,” CAIR Director Nihad Awad said. Awad pointed to other countries, like India, China and Turkey, which have used their resources to rescue their citizens.

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April 9, 2015: CAIR Director Nihad Awad (left) listens as Abed Ayoub, policy director of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (right), discusses the plight of U.S. citizens stuck in Yemen. (Barnini Chakraborty)

India, for example, is leading the rescue of trapped foreigners in Yemen, successfully evacuating more than 550 people from 32 countries, including a dozen Americans and three Pakistanis, through a combined air, sea and rail effort.
Reports indicate the U.S. embassy advised American nationals trapped in Yemen’s capital of Sanaa to seek out help from other countries. It’s a move Abed Ayoub, policy director of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, doesn’t agree with. He says this should be the responsibility of the American government.
“It is our duty to get them out,” he said. “You can’t ship this responsibility.”
Ayoub summed up a recent conference call he had with the State Department: “We can’t do anything. Good luck.”
Asked Wednesday, in anticipation of the lawsuit, whether a federal court even had the ability to mandate an evacuation, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said she didn't know. She did not comment further on the case and, at the time, said she wasn't aware of it.
On Thursday, Jeff Rathke, another State Department spokesman, said the department is "aware of some American citizens who remain in Yemen" and that protecting them is a "top priority."
As stated in the lawsuit, at least one American has been killed in the fighting -- California resident Jamal al-Labani, killed in a mortar strike last month.
Ayoub said if the government doesn’t become more pro-active, the ADC is prepared to file more lawsuits, as it did against top Cabinet officials for failing to protect American citizens in Lebanon in 2006. The ADC pulled its case when a ceasefire was declared.
The suit urges the U.S. to use “all resources at their disposal” including “deploying military ships, vessels and airplanes and/or contracting with private commercial ship liners and airplanes” to evacuate U.S. citizens from Yemen and safely return them to America.
If that doesn’t work, it might be up to Americans to rescue themselves.
On Tuesday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Mokhtar Alkhanshali, a 26-year-old Bay Area businessesman who got stuck in Yemen, escaped by motorboat before finding a flight home.
“Yemeni Americans have been effectively abandoned in Yemen,” Alkhanshali told the Chronicle, when safely back on American soil. “No one helped me come here. I’m happy to be back, but at the same time I feel saddened by the way I came back.”

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California lawmakers advance bill requiring vaccinations for most schoolkids

SACRAMENTO, Calif. –  California lawmakers on Wednesday advanced a bill that would require schoolchildren in the state to be vaccinated amid impassioned pleas from parents and doctors, even activist Robert Kennedy Jr.
Under the proposal, parents would no longer be able to send unvaccinated kids to school with waivers citing religious or personal beliefs. Exemptions would be available only for children with health problems.
Supporters say the measure would increase the number of vaccinated young people and improve public health.
Ariel Loop told lawmakers that such a plan could have prevented her child from contracting measles at Disneyland. "My infant shouldn't have had to suffer. He shouldn't, still months later, be having complications with his eyes," she said. "I shouldn't have had to fear for his life."
Opponents, however, say vaccines can be as dangerous as the diseases they aim to fight and that the bill would trample parental rights.
Karen Kain said her daughter died of injuries from a mercury-tainted vaccine. "I stand here today before you to share my story so you can all see and hear what happens when vaccines go wrong," she said. "Who gets to make the choice now of whose babies are more important? Because there is risk, there must be choice."
The measure, SB277 from Sen. Richard Pan, was in the earliest stages of the legislative process. But it drew large crowds, including parents who brought their children. During the emotionally charged hearing, one opponent threatened to put a curse on lawmakers who voted for the bill and another woman was removed after an outburst.
The bill passed out of the Senate Health Committee on a 6-2 vote Wednesday.
If the bill passes the Legislature and signed by the governor, California would join Mississippi and West Virginia as the only states with such strict vaccine rules.
Similar efforts to reduce exemptions were proposed elsewhere after a measles outbreak in December that started at Disneyland and sickened more than 100 people across the U.S. and in Mexico. In Oregon and Washington state, however, such proposals were rejected recently.
Opponents include Kennedy, the nephew of President John F. Kennedy and son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy.
Kennedy has been promoting the film "Trace Amounts" and is editor of a book called "Thimerosal: Let the Science Speak," linking autism to the vaccine preservative thimerosal. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the mercury-containing chemical has been removed from routine childhood vaccines since 2001.
The Sacramento Bee reported that when Kennedy asked the crowd at a screening of the film on Tuesday how many parents had a child injured by vaccines, numerous hands went up.
"They get the shot, that night they have a fever of a hundred and three, they go to sleep, and three months later their brain is gone," Kennedy said. "This is a holocaust, what this is doing to our country."
At a rally ahead of Wednesday's legislative hearing, Kennedy said he had all six of his children vaccinated, but he remains concerned the pharmaceutical industry profits immensely when governments make vaccines mandatory.
Dr. Dean Blumberg, a pediatrician who testified on behalf of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the California Medical Association, said childhood vaccination has been so successful that it's easy to overstate their risks and dismiss the diseases they prevent.
"Unfortunately, there's much misinformation about vaccine safety and effectiveness," Blumberg said. "Let me be clear: There is no scientific controversy about vaccine safety and vaccine effectiveness. ... This is not open to dispute among mainstream doctors and scientists."
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, California is among 20 states that allow for exemptions based on personal belief and 48 that allow for religious exemptions.
Public health officials believe an immunization rate of at least 90 percent is critical to minimizing the potential for a disease outbreak. California's kindergarteners met that threshold at the start of this school year, according to state statistics: 2 percent were exempted because of their parents' personal beliefs and another half a percent were exempted because of their parents' religion.