Benghazi investigators hoped to question Clinton IT specialist about possible destruction of evidence

Investigators on the Benghazi Select Committee had hoped to question former Clinton IT specialist Bryan Pagliano over the possible destruction of evidence, known in legal circles as “spoliation,” a congressional source told Fox News.
However, in an August 31 letter to Congress, Pagliano’s attorney said the former 2008 campaign staffer who installed and managed Clinton’s personal server and left his IT job at the State Department in February 2013, the same month Clinton stepped down as secretary, would “respectfully assert his Fifth Amendment right” before the Benghazi Select Committee.
“The matters for which Mr. Pagliano’s testimony and documents are being sought by the Select Committee are also the subject of investigative activity by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice,” the letter said.
According to the 2014 Black’s Law Dictionary, spoliation is “the intentional destruction, mutilation, alteration, or concealment of evidence…If proved, spoliation may be used to establish that the evidence was unfavorable to the party responsible. Also termed ‘spoliation of evidence.’”
While it is not known exactly when or who “wiped” Clinton’s personal server, it seems the move came after October 2014,when the State Department requested personal emails be returned as part of her business records.
On his Linked-In account, Pagliano said he served as “strategic advisor and special projects manager” for “a geographically diverse customer base of over 50,000 users around the world” from May 2009 - February 2013.
Committee Republicans have long argued they do not have all the documents that should be available to the investigation, after Clinton, using her personal discretion, purged some 30,000.
Former Clinton policy aide Jake Sullivan, who testified Friday before the Benghazi Committee, has direct knowledge of the policy decisions that established a U.S. consulate in eastern Libya with substandard security that did not meet State Department requirements, as well as direct knowledge of the 2012 attack  there and the administration's response.

The Benghazi emails released in May to Congress contained only130 references to Sullivan in an online search, yet the most recent records released Monday contained more than 1,300.

Fox News put additional questions to Pagliano’s attorney, Mark J. MacDougall, Friday about whether his client played a direct role or had knowledge of the server scrub, but MacDougall said there was nothing further to add beyond the letter.
An intelligence source who confirmed to Fox that the FBI’s “A-team” was handling the Clinton email case, described the investigation as “moving along well,” adding investigators remain “confident” deleted records can be recovered because whoever did the scrub may “not be a very good IT guy. There are different standards to scrub when you do it for government vs. commercial.”
The disparities seem difficult to reconcile, also given the most iconic image of Clinton on her blackberry aboard a C-17 military plane  was during a 2011 trip to Libya, but the Select Committee said no records were provided from this period.

Gay Cartoon

EXCLUSIVE: Kentucky Clerk: 'This is a fight worth fighting'

UPDATE: A federal judge has ordered a defiant Kentucky clerk to jail after she refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning told Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis she would be jailed until she complied with his order to issue the licenses. Davis said "thank you" before she was led out of the courtroom by a U.S. marshal. She was not in handcuffs.
Bunning also warned deputy clerks around the state that they could suffer the same fate should they refuse to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
Davis has refused to issue marriages licenses for two months since the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage. She argues that her Christian faith should exempt her from signing the licenses.

I’m very steadfast in what I believe. I don’t leave my conscience and my Christian soul out in my vehicle and come in here and pretend to be something I’m not. It’s easy to talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?
- Kim Davis, clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky

Liberty Counsel attorney Mat Staver, who is representing Davis,  called the ruling “outrageous.”
“If this country has come to this point where a judge jails someone like Kim Davis for their religious convictions – then we have lost our religious liberty,” Staver told me.
He said Davis will be fingerprinted and photographed “just like a criminal.”
“This cannot be tolerated,” he said. “This is ultimately going to spark a huge debate around the country. This is not the kind of country – this is not the America that our founders envisioned.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Kim Davis could become the first Christian in America jailed as a result of the Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage.
“I’ve weighed the cost and I’m prepared to go to jail, I sure am,” Mrs. Davis told me in an exclusive interview. “This has never been a gay or lesbian issue for me. This is about upholding the word of God.”
“This is a heaven or hell issue for me and for every other Christian that believes,” she said. “This is a fight worth fighting.”
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Davis is the clerk of Rowan County, Ky. – a small patch of earth in the northeastern part of the state. She was elected last November – taking the place of her mother, who held the position for nearly 40 years.
It’s fair to say that issuing marriage licenses was something of a family business – until the day the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.
Davis is a devout Apostolic Christian, and she knew that should gay marriage become legal, she could not and would not sign her name on a same-sex marriage certificate.
“I would have to either make a decision to stand or I would have to buckle down and leave,” she said, pondering her choices. “And if I left, resigned or chose to retire, I would have no voice for God’s word.
So when that day came, she issued an edict: No more marriage licenses would be issued in Rowan County. It was a decision that would bring down the wrath of militant LGBT activists and their supporters.
“They told my husband they were going to burn us down while we slept in our home,” she said. “He’s been told that he would be beaten up and tied up and made to watch them rape me. I have been told that gays should kill me.”
Liberty Counsel, the public interest law firm that represents Davis, says forcing her to issue same-sex marriage licenses violates her religious beliefs. But the courts don’t seem interested in that argument.
A federal judge ordered her to issue the licenses, an appeals court upheld that decision and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene. Should Davis continue to defy the law, she could be fined or sent to jail.
No matter what the court decides, Davis says she will not violate her religious beliefs – and she will not resign her post.
“I’m very steadfast in what I believe,” she told me. “I don’t leave my conscience and my Christian soul out in my vehicle and come in here and pretend to be something I’m not. It’s easy to talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?”
The mainstream media and the activists have been ruthless. They’ve portrayed her as a monster – a right-wing, homophobic hypocrite. She’s been smeared by tabloid-style reports on her checkered past. They’ve written extensively about her failed marriages.
It’s true, she’s been married four times. But what’s missing in the mainstream media coverage is the context. Her life was radically changed by Jesus Christ in 2011, and since then she has become a different person.
“My God in heaven knows every crack, every crevice, every deep place in my heart,” she said. “And he knows the thoughts that are in my mind before I even think them. And he has given me such a beautiful and wonderful grace through all of this.”
She once lived for the devil, but now she lives for God. She’s a sinner saved by grace.
“I had created such a pit of sin for myself with my very own hands,” she told me.
So how does she handle the reporters and talking heads who call her a hypocrite?
“All I can say to them is if they have a sordid past like what I had, they too can receive the cleansing and renewing, and they can start a fresh life and they can be different,” she said. “They don’t have to remain in their sin, there’s hope for tomorrow.”
Davis did not seek the national spotlight. She had no intention of becoming a spokeswoman for religious liberty, and she bristles at the idea that she is a hero of the faith.
“I’m just a vessel God has chosen for this time and this place,” she said. “I’m no different than any other Christian. It was my appointed time to stand, and their time will come.”

Iran thumbs nose at US even as Obama rallies support for nuke deal

Even as President Obama was securing the Senate support necessary to assure passage of the nuclear deal with Iran, Tehran's top defense officials were scoffing at U.S. claims the pact will restrict the Islamic Republic's military ambitions.
The president has been twisting arms and Secretary of State John Kerry reassuring lawmakers that the deal between Iran and the P5 +1 - members of the UN Security Council plus Germany - will ensure international inspections and bar Iran from ever developing nuclear weapons. This week, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., became the 34th member of the Senate to back the controversial and unpopular deal, meaning that if it is defeated in a vote as expected, Obama will have enough support to sustain his certain veto. But Iran's military brass has answered the U.S. nose-counting by thumbing their nose at America.
“Iran does not plan to issue permission for the [International Atomic Energy Agency] to inspect every site," Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan told Al Mayadeen News Wednesday. "U.S. officials make boastful remarks and imagine that they can impose anything on the Iranian nation because they lack a proper knowledge of the Iranian nation.”

"U.S. officials make boastful remarks and imagine that they can impose anything on the Iranian nation because they lack a proper knowledge of the Iranian nation.”
- Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan

Iran’s official FARS news agency added that “Dehqan had earlier underlined that Tehran would not allow any foreigner to discover Iran's defensive and missile capabilities by inspecting the country's military sites.”
On the same day, a top Iranian general told troops preparing for a massive military drill involving up to 250,000 men that “the U.S. and the Zionists should know that the Islamic Revolution will continue enhancing its preparedness until it overthrows Israel and liberates Palestine.”

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Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan vowed that international inspectors will not have access to key sites. (Reuters)

The bluster from Iran is in sharp contrast to the message Obama and Kerry conveyed to lawmakers to line up support for the deal, which lifts international sanctions and frees up $150 billion in Iranian funds frozen when the Islamic Republic took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days beginning in 1979. Over the following three decades, Iran has, according to U.S. officials, been the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism while constantly calling for war with Israel and America. In return, Iran agreed to allow international inspectors to monitor its facilities and ensure that it did not build nuclear weapons. But troubling conditions have emerged, including that Iran will not allow Americans to take part in the inspections and will conduct its own monitoring of the key Parchin military site and turn over findings to international inspectors.
Obama has gone to great lengths to assure skeptics that the deal assures genuine oversight of the Iranian nuclear program, and in an August 19 letter to Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., he said the deal is the best chance to keep Iran from getting nuclear weapons, which he acknowledged would pose a major threat to Israel.
"It is my steadfast conviction that a nuclear-armed Iran would present a profound security threat to us and to our partners, particularly Israel,” Obama wrote.
Critics of the deal wonder why its supporters listen to Obama regarding Iran's intentions and ignore Iran.
“Within the last 24 hours, Iran has said that the U.S. is the enemy of mankind," said Benjamin Weinthal, a research fellow at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "These highly jingoistic statements from Iran don’t bode well for the enforcement of the agreement.
“There is all this euphoria about Obama securing congressional support for the Iran nuclear deal, but I think it’s worth pointing out that in context a little more than one-third of the Senate supports the deal," Weinthal added. "Given that all the major attitude surveys in the U.S. show a majority of Americans oppose the deal, and a majority of the Senate and the House of Representatives oppose the deal, [Obama] is on very flimsy ground.”
The deal is deeply unpopular in Israel, which has been the target of Iranian threats for years, as well as attacks from the terrorist groups it funds. Israelis fear that the cash infusion to Iran, through unfreezing of funds and the lifting of economic sanctions, will result in new terror attack in the short term and a graver, nuclear threat in the future.
“We are not against a deal,” a spokesman for Israel’s foreign ministry told FoxNews.com. “We are against this particular deal, because it does not cater to the real dangers represented by Iran. A stronger deal, which would encompass not only the nuclear aspect but also the terrorist activities of Iran, would have been much better.”
Officials in Jerusalem also note that a significant majority of the American public oppose the deal and sympathize with Israel’s predicament.
“The American people get it,” an official Israeli source told today’s Jerusalem Post. “They understand the dangers to Israel. Iranian leaders openly say they will continue their terrorism and aggression, and they will now – with the sanctions relief – have enhanced resources to do, so because the deal will give them billions of dollars.”

Arby's fires manager, suspends clerk who allegedly refused to serve Florida police officer

The Arby's fast food chain announced late Thursday that it had fired a Florida restaurant manager and suspended a clerk after a female police officer said she had been denied service because she was a cop.
Arby's spokesman Jason Rollins confirmed to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that manager Angel Mirabal, 22, and clerk Kenneth Davenport, 19, had been disciplined.
The chain known for its roast beef sandwiches became the center of a national firestorm after an incident Tuesday night, when Pembroke Pines Police Sgt. Jennifer Martin, 34,  pulled up to the drive-thru and ordered a meal. When she handed over her credit card to pay, Davenport allegedly refused to ring her order up. That prompted Mirabal to say "He doesn’t want to serve you because you are a police officer."
Sgt. Martin finally received her food, but said she was too uncomfortable to eat it, so she returned it and got a refund. The next day, the department tweeted about the incident, which Chief Dan Giustino called "unacceptable."
"I am offended and appalled that an individual within our community would treat a police officer in such a manner," he said in a statement.
Davenport has said the controversy stemmed from a misunderstanding, and Maribal's comment was an attempt at a joke. Davenport told the Sun-Sentinel he was unable to ring up Martin's order due to the number of other customers he was servicing. He said Mirabal made his remark after Davenport asked him for help with the transaction.
"We don't hate cops,” Davenport told reporters Wednesday. "We don't hate anybody. We're just trying to get people out of the drive-thru."
On Thursday, WSVN reported that Arby's rivals took advantage of the flap between the police and the restaurant. McDonald's partnered with a local radio station to deliver bags of pancakes and Egg McMuffins to the department Thursday morning. The station reported that a local Whole Foods store put out a spread of its own, while residents supplied donuts and coffee from a local Dunkin' Donuts.
"We're here today to show our love for the community and the people that take care of us as first responders in the community," one woman said.

US monitoring reports Russia has stepped up Syria presence

The White House and State Department said Thursday that it was monitoring reports that Russia is carrying out military operations in Syria's civil war on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad, with both warning that such actions would further destabilize Syria's perilous situation.
Syrian state media reported this week that Russian forces were fighting alongside Assad's army. The Times of London reported Thursday that video shot by a militia loyal to Assad and aired on SANA, Syria's state-run television station, showed troops backed by an armored vehicle. The newspaper also reported that Russian voices could clearly be heard in the film, which claimed to show government forces fighting rebels in the Latakia Mountains, near Syria's Mediterranean coast.
We are aware of reports that Russia may have deployed military personnel and aircraft to Syria, and we are monitoring those reports quite closely," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Thursday
"Any military support to the Assad regime for any purpose, whether it's in the form of military personnel, aircraft supplies, weapons, or funding, is both destabilizing and counterproductive."
State Department spokesman Mark Toner echoed Earnest's message, saying "we have seen various reports that Russia may be deploying military personnel ... we're unclear what these might be used for." Toner added that he was "not sure that we have contacted [Moscow] about this yet."
"Russia has asked for clearances for military flight to Syria," a U.S. official was quoted as telling Britain's Daily Telegraph, "[but] we don't know what their goals are ... Evidence has been inconclusive so far as to what this activity is."
Observers have long believed that Russian military advisers are working with Assad as part of Moscow's longstanding support for Syria's regime. However, the video shown by SANA, if confirmed to be genuine, would be the first time Russian forces have been seen taking part in actual combat operations.
However, it was not immediately clear whether the Russians shown in the video were regular soldiers or civilian contractors, which would provide Moscow with deniability. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously claimed that Russians fighting in Ukraine are volunteer civilian contractors.
The Times also reported that rebel activists in the area where the video was purportedly shot say the mountaintop town of Slunfeh, east of the port of Latakia, as a listening post run by Russian troops.
"The Russians have been there a long time,” one activist told The Times. "There are more Russian officials who came to Slunfeh in recent weeks. We don’t know how many but can assure you there has been Russian reinforcement."
The military relationship between Russia and the Assad regime in Damascus is longstanding. Many Syrian army officers have been trained in Moscow and Russia leases a naval facility at the Mediterranean port of Tartus. The SANA video was not the only sign that Russia has stepped up its involvement in the four-year-old conflict.
On Tuesday, a Twitter account linked to the al-Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda-linked group fighting against Assad, claimed to show Russian aircraft and drones over Idlib province in northwestern Syria. The Times reported that last month, photographs uploaded to a shipping blog showed a Russian vessel loaded with military vehicles passing through the Bosphorus Strait, heading to the Mediterranean.
Russian military involvement in Syria, if confirmed, would add a new layer of complexity to a war that has killed an estimated 220,000 people and displaced over 4 million, according to United Nations estimates. The conflict has facilitated the rise of the ISIS terror group, drawn in the United States as the head of a coalition launching airstrikes against ISIS, as well as the trainer and supplier of rebel groups who are asked to fight a three-way battle against Assad and ISIS.
In recent months, Syrian government forces have begun to lose ground to rebel groups, including ISIS, a situation that may have forced Moscow to increase its support. Last month, President Obama said that Russia and Iran, the Damascus regime's other key supporter, recognize "the trend lines are not good for Assad."

Clinton Phone Cartoon

RNC asking GOP presidential candidates to pledge not to run as independent

The Republican National Committee on Wednesday began reaching out to several GOP presidential campaigns, asking if their candidates would sign a pledge not to run as an independent in 2016, multiple campaign sources told Fox News.
“The RNC reached out to us today about signing the pledge in order not to run as an independent,” said one source with a leading GOP presidential campaign.
RNC sources told Fox News that the plan has been in the works for weeks.
The pledge states in part that if the GOP contender does not become the nominee: “I will endorse the 2016 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is," and "I will not seek to run as an independent or write-in candidate nor will I seek or accept the nomination for president of another party.”
The pledge follows concerns that leading Republican candidate Donald Trump will run as a third-party candidate if he fails to win the GOP nomination. Such a move would likely result in Trump taking enough votes with him to possibly sink the Republican Party’s chances of defeating the Democratic nominee and taking the White House.
A GOP source with direct knowledge of the meeting told Fox News that the pledge would be at the center of a scheduled meeting Thursday between Trump and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus in New York City. Trump was scheduled to hold a press availability Thursday afternoon.

More on this...

• Perry reacts to polling near bottom of GOP primary pack

• Expectations high for Fiorina heading into second GOP debate

During the Aug. 6 Republican debate, Fox News moderator Bret Baier asked the main-stage candidates to raise their hand if they would not pledge to support the eventual nominee and not run as an independent if they lost the nomination. Trump was the only candidate to raise his hand, to a smattering of boos from the Cleveland crowd.
The Associated Press reported that RNC officials had been working privately with Trump's campaign for several weeks to avert the possibility of Trump making a third-party run. In recent days, Trump has suggested he would soon decide whether to rule out an independent campaign.
"I think a lot of people are going to be very happy," he said Saturday in Nashville.
Late Wednesday, a spokesperson for Ohio Gov. John Kasich confirmed that Kasich would sign the pledge, making him the first GOP candidate to go on record that he would do so. Former New York Gov. George Pataki's campaign confirmed to Fox late Wednesday that he had signed the pledge, while former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush did the same when asked by the Associated Press.
The pledge also follows Virginia and South Carolina GOP state parties making a similar pledge effort.

Obama wins critical backing on Iran deal, virtually ensuring survival in Congress

 Sen. Barbara Mikulski, DumbAss

The Obama administration now appears to have enough support in Congress to stave off Republican efforts to reject the president's controversial Iran nuclear deal, after a retiring Maryland Democratic senator came out Wednesday morning in favor of the pact. 
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., announced her support for the deal as Secretary of State John Kerry delivered a lengthy and detailed address in Philadelphia defending the accord.
In his speech, Kerry disputed what he called "false information" circulating on the deal. He said, contrary to the views of many critics, that the deal provides "access" to keep Iran in check, preserves "every option" to respond if Iran balks, and has elements that will last "for the lifetime of Iran's nuclear program."
"President Obama and I are convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that the framework that we have put forward will get the job done," Kerry said.
But, with Mikulski's endorsement locked down, the speech served more as a public reminder of the administration's stance than a last-minute appeal for support.
Mikulski becomes the 34th senator to support the deal -- giving President Obama enough backing to sustain a veto of a Republican bill opposing it, should that bill pass in a vote later this month. Unless an announced supporter flips his or her vote, Obama would appear to have the crucial coalition in place to preserve the agreement on Capitol Hill.

More on this...

• Dozens of retired US Generals back Iran nuclear deal

• Ex-lawmakers pen letter to Congress in support of Iran deal

• Rand Paul: Obama should still be nervous about Iran deal

"No deal is perfect, especially one negotiated with the Iranian regime," Mikulski said in a statement. "I have concluded that this Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is the best option available to block Iran from having a nuclear bomb. For these reasons, I will vote in favor of this deal."
Her support, though, doesn't end what has been a raging debate. Opposition to the agreement among Republicans, among ex-military leaders and in Israel remains widespread.
"Forcing a bad deal, over the objections of the American people and a majority in Congress, is no win for President Obama," said Cory Fritz, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner. "The White House may have convinced just enough Democrats to back an agreement that legitimizes Iran's nuclear program, trusts the regime to self-inspect and offers amnesty to terrorists, but this deal is far from being implemented."
The latest report warning of dire consequences from the agreement came Wednesday morning, from the Iran Strategy Council, a group of ex-senior military officials and defense analysts examining the deal for the The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. The group is co-chaired by retired Gen. James Conway, who served as Marines commandant in the beginning of the Obama administration, and retired Gen. Charles Wald.
"The [nuclear deal] will not prevent a nuclear Iran," the report said, warning of "potentially grave strategic implications" that threaten national security. "No later than 15 years, the deal's major nuclear restrictions will lapse, Iran will stand on the brink of nuclear weapons capability, and once again the United States will likely have to devote significant resources and attention to keeping Tehran from attaining nuclear weapons."
The group was referring to the sunset of major provisions after 15 years. But Kerry and others in the administration argue that even after that period, Iran will remain subject to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and have to abide by inspection requirements. Kerry also argued Wednesday that Iran's "covert pathway" to a bomb would be blocked, and that the intelligence community agrees Iran "could never get away" with establishing a "completely secret nuclear supply chain." He said rejecting a deal would hurt the U.S. and endanger the region.
Kerry also sent a letter Wednesday to all members of Congress outlining U.S. security commitments to Israel and the Gulf Arab states in light of the nuclear deal.
Republicans in Congress and running for president unanimously oppose the deal, which aims to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.
The Israeli government is vehemently against it, contending that concessions made to Iran could empower that country, which has sworn to destroy Israel. But critics struggled to use Congress' summer recess to turn the tide against the agreement, despite a multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign funded by the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC.
Only two Democratic senators have come out against the deal -- Chuck Schumer of New York and Robert Menendez of New Jersey -- while in recent weeks undeclared Democratic senators, even from red states, have broken in favor one after another.
Each side, meanwhile, has been rolling out letters of support and opposition in the run-up to a vote.
The latest came this past weekend with a full-page letter in The New York Times signed by more than 200 retired military generals and admirals opposing the deal. "This agreement will enable Iran to become far more dangerous, render the Mideast still more unstable and introduce new threats to American interests as well as our allies," the letter, which previously had been sent to congressional leaders, reads.
Even if Congress had been able to pass the disapproval resolution, it couldn't completely stop the deal, which was agreed to among Iran, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China. In July, the U.N. Security Council unanimously endorsed the nuclear deal, approving a resolution that would lift the international sanctions on Iran in 90 days.

Police say woman's lie diverted manhunt for Illinois officer's killers

Police searching for the suspected killers of an Illinois officer said the manhunt was diverted early Thursday by a woman who lied about seeing two suspicious men near the scene of the murder.
Kristen Kiefer, 30, has been charged with disorderly conduct and falsifying a police report. Authorities said she was being held at the Lake County jail pending a bond hearing.
Police said they responded to a 911 call made by Kiefer at approximately 9:20 p.m. local time in Volo, about 5 miles south of Fox Lake, where Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz was fatally shot Tuesday after he pursued three suspicious men into a swamp.
Kiefer told police she had pulled over to the side of the road with car trouble when she saw two men, one white and one black, near a cornfield. She claimed they tried to get into her car, but fled because they feared she was going to call the police.
Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Christopher Covelli says about 85 federal, state and local law enforcement officials responded to the scene after Kiefer's report. They were joined by 11 police dogs and three air support units in the search, which lasted approximately five hours.
Police said Kiefer initially insisted that her account was true, but later admitted that she had lied. She said she was seeking attention from a family that employs her as a nanny and that she chose the location because it was close to where Gliniewicz had been shot.
The search for the suspects continues.

Former Clinton aide who helped set up server to plead Fifth Amendment to avoid subpoena

A former aide to Hillary Clinton who helped set up her private email server has told at least three congressional committees that he will invoke his Fifth Amendment right to avoid testifying against his former boss, Fox News has confirmed.
Bryan Pagliano, who worked on Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign before helping install the so-called "homebrew" server system in her Chappaqua, N.Y. home, was asked to testify about the server by the House Select Committee on Benghazi, the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
"Mr. Pagliano’s legal counsel told the committee yesterday that he would plead the 5th to any and all questions if he were compelled to testify," a spokesperson for Judiciary Chairman Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, told Fox late Wednesday.
The letter from Pagliano's attorney Mark MacDougall cited the ongoing FBI investigation into whether classified national security information was mishandled when it passed through Clinton's server.
"While we understand that Mr. Pagliano’s response to this subpoena may be controversial in the current political environment, we hope that the members of the Select Committee will respect our client’s right to invoke the protections of the Constitution," MacDougall wrote.
The Washington Post reported that Pagliano had been subpoenaed by the Benghazi committee Aug. 11 and committee chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C. had ordered that he appear for questioning Sept. 10. Gowdy had also demanded that Pagliano provide documents related to all servers or computer systems controlled or owned by Clinton between 2009 and 2013.

More on this...

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• Hillary Clinton, the GOP and 2016

The Post reported last month that Pagliano had worked as an IT director on Clinton's ill-fated 2008 presidential campaign, and was asked to oversee the installation of Clinton's server to handle her correspondence while secretary of state. He was paid by a political action committee tied to Clinton until April 2009, when he was hired by the State Department as an IT specialist. The Post reported Wednesday that Pagliano left the department in February 2013 and now works for a technology contractor that provides some services to the State Department.
The Benghazi committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said that Gowdy had issued the subpoena unilaterally in an effort to smear Clinton.
"Although multiple legal experts agree there is no evidence of criminal activity, it is certainly understandable that this witness’s attorneys advised him to assert his Fifth Amendment rights," Cummings told the Post, "especially given the onslaught of wild and unsubstantiated accusations by Republican presidential candidates, members of Congress and others based on false leaks about the investigation."
Clinton, the Democratic presidential frontrunner, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing related to her private server.

Voting Democrat Cartoon

Steinle family announces lawsuit against gov't agencies in SF murder

The family of Kate Steinle, in an emotional press conference, announced a lawsuit Tuesday against government agencies that they consider partly responsible for her murder because of their handling of the illegal immigrant suspect and the murder weapon itself. 
Steinle, 32, was shot dead while walking on a San Francisco pier on July 1. Suspect Juan Francisco Sanchez, who has admitted he fired the fatal shot, is an illegal immigrant who had been deported five times before he was transferred from federal custody to a San Francisco jail earlier this year to face outstanding marijuana charges. Yet he was released in April after prosecutors dropped the pot counts, despite a federal request to detain him until immigration authorities could pick him up.
The Steinle family announced Tuesday with their legal team that they have filed three claims -- against San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, the Bureau of Land Management and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We feel as though we’ve exhausted avenues, we’re frustrated and we’re here to make sure a change is made so nobody has to endure the pain that my mom and dad and I go through on a daily basis because the system failed our sister,” Kate’s brother Brad Steinle told reporters.
The claims are the first steps in filing lawsuits against the agencies, should they deny the claims or not respond. The family, which is seeking unspecified damages, alleges a lack of oversight from the government agencies directly contributed to Steinle’s death.
The Bureau of Land Management is accused of not taking appropriate care of the handgun that was stolen and used to shoot Steinle. The claim alleges the gun was stolen after it was inappropriately stored in a backpack in an unoccupied car. Regulations say the guns need to be kept unloaded, away from ammunition and in a locked case.
Mirkarimi is accused of wrongly ignoring the ICE request to detain Sanchez -- though the sheriff has said he was only following city policy.
“There was nothing, according to the mayor, that prevented this sheriff from picking up the phone and notifying the federal agency responsible for detention and deportment that there was a man in custody with this history,” attorney Frank Pitre said.
“The sheriff, we’ve alleged in the claim filed today, acted in excess and in abuse of his authority" by restricting communication with federal agents, Pitre said.
The Steinles' claim against ICE alleges the agency had been informed by Mirkarimi that he would not follow their requests unless they issued a court warrant. Yet ICE did not obtain those documents, the claim says.
Emotions were high at the press conference, with Steinle's father telling reporters that the moments of his daughter’s death haunt him every night.
“I’m walking down the pier arm in arm with my daughter and close friend. She stops, takes a selfie, turns around and is shot. As she fell she said, 'Dad, help me.' That’s my bed time story. Every night.”
Steinle’s mother Liz told reporters that Kate is making them strong and their focus is on changing laws.
“I feel her strength, and I know she’s proud of what we’re doing. We just want to make her proud. It’s about making this a better world for everyone. These laws need to be changed. It’s not okay to have these people, who are violent felons, in the United States,” Steinle said.
Sanchez has claimed that while he fired the fatal shot, it was an accident.

The Ice War Cometh? Russia makes play for Arctic, Obama seeks more Coast Guard icebreakers

While visiting Alaska and becoming the first American president to enter the Arctic Circle, President Obama announced Tuesday he would speed up the acquisition of icebreakers to help the U.S. Coast Guard navigate an area that Russia and China increasingly see as a new frontier.
The announcement is the latest power play in the Arctic north, where melting ice has led to a race for resources and access.
Forty percent of the world's oil and natural gas reserves lie under the Arctic. Melting ice also would lead to new shipping routes, and Russia wants to establish a kind of Suez Canal which it controls. More than a Cold War, Russia may be preparing for an Ice War, and the Pentagon is taking note.
Last March, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a snap, full combat military exercise in Russia's Arctic north to mark the anniversary of his annexation of Crimea -- with 40,000 Russian troops, dozens of warships and submarines.
At the American Legion on Tuesday, the U.S. defense secretary warned against complacency.
“We do not seek to make Russia an enemy,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said. “But make no mistake: while Vladimir Putin may be intent on turning the clock back in Russia, he cannot turn the clock back in Europe. We will defend our allies.”
Russia has reestablished Soviet-era military bases across the Arctic and begun building a string of search-and-rescue stations along its Arctic shores. In April, Russia’s economic minister explained the importance.
"For us, the Arctic is mineral resources, transportation, and one also should not forget about fish and sea products, and bio-resources. The potential here is enormous," Alexey Ulyukaev said.
After invading Ukraine, Russia pulled out of the Arctic Council, a consortium of eight countries that includes the U.S.
Asked about Russia’s recent moves in the Arctic, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said: "And so do we have concerns specifically about Russia? I would say … we have concerns about how militaries conduct themselves in the Arctic, but that's for all of the Arctic Council members to discuss."
In 2007, the Pentagon also took note when Russia planted its flag on the seabed under the North Pole for the first time.
Perhaps it was no coincidence that the Kremlin just released a video of Putin working out with his prime minister -- an insight into the psyche of the Russian leader, who is trying to “flex his muscles” in more ways than one.
Meanwhile, the U.S. only has two functioning icebreakers. Russia has 41, with plans to build 11 more. Obama on Tuesday, while highlighting the effect of climate change, announced he will speed up acquisition of these coveted ships though they won’t be ready until 2020.
The commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard has warned the U.S. is already behind.
“Russia has one-eighth the gross domestic product of the United States. Clearly the Arctic is a priority for Russia,” Adm. Paul Zukunft said in February during his “State of the Coast Guard” address. “There's a new ocean opening. Coast Guard authorities mandate our presence wherever U.S. national interests require people and ships to operate.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Army, facing budget cuts, plans to pull out 3,000 troops from Alaska, in what some say is poor timing as the U.S. plays catch-up to Russia in the Arctic.

West Point professor resigns after calling legal scholars 'lawful targets'

 William C. Bradford

A professor who was criticized for writing an article calling some legal scholars treasonous and “lawful targets” in the war on terror has resigned a month after he was hired to teach a law course at the U.S. Military Academy.
An academy spokesman said William C. Bradford resigned on Sunday. He said no further details will be released because of privacy and legal constraints.
Bradford made the comments in an article for the National Security Law Journal earlier this year. In the article, he said legal scholars who criticize U.S. tactics in the war on terror are helping ISIS undermine America. He argued that such academics should be considered enemy combatants and charged with treason.
The publication, which is edited by students at George Mason University in Virginia, apologized in an editorial last week in a response to a barrage of criticism from its readers. Editor-in-Chief Rick Myers repudiated the article, saying the publication is reviewing its selection process “to ensure that we publish high quality scholarly articles.”
Bradford's 95-page article says that liberals dominate legal academia and use their position to undermine public support of U.S. military efforts to combat ISIS. He advocates a number of measures to counter “Islamist sympathizers and propagandists" in academia, including firing them, requiring loyalty oaths and charging them with treason.
"The views in the article are solely those of Dr. Bradford and do not reflect those of the Department of Defense, the United States Army, or the United States Military Academy," Lt. Col. Chris Kasker, a West Point spokesman, said Tuesday in a prepared statement.
Bradford was hired by the academy Aug. 1 and taught five lessons in a common core law course before he resigned, Kasker said.
Bradford told The Washington Post in an e-mail on Tuesday that statements in his article were "taken out of context" by people who hadn't read the entire piece.
The resignation was first reported by The Guardian.

'Blue and Brave': Illinois town rallies around police as search for officer's killer goes on

Dozens of police officers searched without success overnight for three suspects who shot and killed a 30-year veteran of the Fox Lake, Ill. police force.
Lt. Charles Joseph "Joe" Gliniewicz, 52, was shot at approximately 8 a.m. local time Tuesday after he radioed in to tell dispatchers he was chasing three men on foot in Fox Lake. Communication with him was lost soon after. Colleagues who responded found Gliniewicz shot in a marshy area near U.S. Highway 12, a main road through the village of about 10,000 people near the Wisconsin border and about 55 miles northwest of Chicago. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Lake County Undersheriff Raymond Rose told the Chicago Tribune that Gliniewicz's gun was found nearby. He added that searchers were were working with "limited descriptions" of the suspects, described by police as three males, two white and one black, who should be treated as armed and dangerous.
Helicopters aided about 100 officers who searched the area overnight, a sheriff's office spokesman said. Meanwhile, several schools in the area announced that they would be closed Wednesday due to the ongoing manhunt.
As the search went on, dozens gathered for hours along a street in the village to show their support for law enforcement officers.
Thirty-year-old Dan Raminick held a sign that said "Police Lives Matter." He lives a couple miles away and said officers came by Tuesday evening and thanked the crowd.

More on this...

• Illinois manhunt worse than a needle in a haystack?

Caitlyn Kelly, a 22-year-old student, said she felt compelled to come out after other recent police shootings. She held a sign that said "Blue and Brave."
Authorities from across the state and region poured into Fox Lake throughout the day Tuesday, some wearing tactical gear and toting high-powered rifles. Federal agencies, SWAT teams and 48 police dogs assisted in the search for the suspects, Lake County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli said.
Officers could be seen taking up positions on rooftops and along railroad tracks, scanning the terrain with rifle scopes and binoculars. Others leaned out of helicopters with weapons at the ready. Residents were urged to stay indoors. The service of a local commuter train was halted, and residents who wanted to take their dogs out to relieve themselves were told to stay in their homes — with the job of walking the pets handled by police officers.
An emotional Fox Lake Mayor Donny Schmit described the slain officer as a personal friend, a three-decade member of the department and a father of four sons.
"We lost a family member," Schmit said of the 52-year-old officer known around town as "GI Joe." ''His commitment to the people of this community has been unmatched and will be dearly missed."
"This particular officer is a pillar in my community and definitely going to be missed, and (he) touched so many lives," said Gina Maria, a 40-year-old teacher who lives in the community.
Gliniewicz's death is the third law enforcement fatality in Illinois this year, according to the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. It says firearms-related deaths in the U.S. are down 13 percent this year compared to the same period last year, Jan. 1. to Sept. 1; there were 30 last year and 26 this year.

Back to School: Let the left-wing indoctrination begin

It’s no secret that our nation’s public universities want to transform American young people into a bunch of hyper-sensitive, intellectually-neutered cream puffs. 

But now – they’re trying to deconstruct gender identity by parsing pronouns.
Across the fruited plain, institutions of higher education are turning their taxpayer-funded fiefdoms into gender neutral zones where free thought is outlawed. I’ve got several incidents to share with you – so pour yourself a glass of iced tea and prepare to be dumbfounded.
Click here to join Todd’s American Dispatch – a must-read for Conservatives!  
Consider what happened to Moriah DeMartino, a 21-year-old conservative student at Maryland’s Hagerstown Community College.

Across the fruited plain, institutions of higher education are turning their taxpayer-funded fiefdoms into gender neutral zones where free thought is outlawed.

College officials turned down her request to establish a campus chapter of Turning Point USA, one of the nation’s most influential student non-partisan conservative organizations. Instead, the college suggested she join the political science club.
“I have determined that both Republicans and Democrats, as well as any other political parties, are able to be fairly represented as members of the currently existing club, without the creation of any additional clubs,” Dean of Student Affairs Jessica Chambers told Campus Reform. 
Chambers touted the political science club as a “non-partisan, but inclusive” group that exposes students to “the principles of political science in a true objective manner with respect to all student rights.”
But Miss DeMartino tells me the advisor of the club is an “extremely liberal professor.”
“He’s the man I approached about my club and he instantly shut me down,” she said. “I’m really frustrated right now and I’m really upset.”
For the record, the college does maintain clubs for women’s rights and LGBT students – but not conservatives. No surprise, said Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk.
“More times than not administrators and deans are using their positions of power to block conservative viewpoints on campus,” Kirk told me. “We have seen this time and time again. Administrators have been trying to silence the conservative point of view.”
But when it comes to imposing draconian liberal ideology on students, no one can come close to Washington State University.
Campus Reform reports a number of professors have told students they will be punished if they use words like “illegal alien,” “male,” “and “female.”  
It’s a good thing I didn’t attend Washington State University. I would’ve flunked out during roll call.
The syllabus for a “Women & Pop Culture” class warned students that using any “oppressive and hateful language” could result in a failing grade.
Oh yeah, the professor has a problem with white folks, too.
“Students will come to recognize how white privilege functions in every day social structures and institutions,” the syllabus outlined.
Another professor told white students they are expected to “defer” to non-white students. That’s just a fancy way of telling all the pale faces to shut their pie hole.
Last week I reported on the University of Tennessee’s quest to introduce gender “inclusive” pronouns into the Big Orange lexicon. Instead of he and she, students and professors were encouraged to use words like ze and zir. 
“We should not assume someone’s gender by their appearance, nor by what is listed on a roster or in student information systems,” wrote Donna Braquet, the director of the university’s pride center. “Transgender people and people who do not identify within the gender binary may use a different name than their legal name and pronouns of their gender identity, rather than the pronouns of the sex they were assigned at birth.”
I receive correspondence weekly from parents and students who are troubled by the influence of liberal ideology on university campuses.
And it’s not just happening at public schools. Get a load of what the kids had to endure at American University – a private school in Washington, D.C. 
Incoming freshmen were instructed to introduce themselves by name, hometown and “gender pronoun,” according to Young America’s Foundation (YAF).
“I found that this school has an obsession with political correctness,” Freshman Tristan Justice told The New Guard. “Despite being informed that American University was a very liberal campus, I went to orientation with high hopes that it wasn’t as bad as it sounded, but I was wrong.”
Welcome to an education system operated by the tolerance and diversity crowd, Tristan.
I really feel bad for American moms and dads – I really do. They send off their kids to college as decent, freedom-loving people.  But they return home as gender neutral, secular progressives who can’t figure out whether to leave the toilet seat up or down.
Our institutions of higher learning need a courtesy flush, America.
Todd Starnes is host of Fox News & Commentary, heard on hundreds of radio stations. His latest book is "God Less America: Real Stories From the Front Lines of the Attack on Traditional Values." Follow Todd on Twitter@ToddStarnes and find him on Facebook.

Chinese Cartoon

Huckabee: The staggering stupidity of Iranian self-inspections

Fresh off a golf vacation at Martha’s Vineyard, President Obama is back to doling out disparaging dialogue about critics of his Iran nuclear deal.  Even now, after learning that the deal includes trusting Iran to self-inspect, the president calls opponents “crazies.”  What’s crazy, is putting trust in the hands of Iranian leaders.
They say when the cat’s away, the mice will play. But when America abdicates its leadership role in the world, the rats run riot. President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran is a rat ship.
The latest chapter in this rat-infested deal: the Obama Administration has agreed to Iranian “self-inspections”.  Letting the Iranians “self inspect” their nuclear energy facilities is like letting mass murderers run a gun shop, hoping they’ll behave.
Never in the history of international arms control agreements have American diplomats agreed to something so recklessly ridiculous as “self-inspections”. The International Atomic Energy Agency has pushed for access to the notorious military installation at Parchin for more than a decade, yet the current administration is now willing to trust Iran to “self-inspect” this secret facility?

It makes more sense to make a convicted embezzler your financial planner than to allow the Iranians to "self-inspect" their nuclear sites.

This is absolute insanity. It makes more sense to make a convicted embezzler your financial planner than to allow the Iranians to "self-inspect" their nuclear sites.
While in Israel last week, I met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, members of the Knesset, and numerous security officials. I was constantly asked, "Why does Obama trust Iran?” Iran launches rockets on Israeli children every day. This murderous regime has killed hundreds of American soldiers and has the blood of thousands of Christians, Jews, and Muslims on its hands. It shouldn't take a mushroom cloud for the American people to wake-up!
Iranian negotiators have squeezed every last concession from this Administration, and the Free World has absolutely nothing to show for it. American hostages are still rotting in Iranians prisons. John Kerry meets with Iranian “diplomats” in the morning and the mullahs still chant “death to America” in the afternoon.  Sanctions relief injects $150 billion into Iran’s economy and military, which continues to bankroll terrorism across the globe.
So why do the Iranians negotiate with such confidence? Why do they run circles around John Kerry and convince American diplomats to agree to bizarre concepts like “self-inspection"? Because the mullahs believe they aren’t just dealing with a paper tiger, they are dealing with an inflatable pussycat, full of hot air but ready to deflate at the slightest jab.
Reagan said, “Trust but verify”. Obama’s approach is “trust but vilify” – he trusts our enemies and vilifies those who disagree with him. Let’s face it, this is a horrible deal.  We need to double-down on serious sanctions and tighten the noose on Iran.
Members of Congress are currently enjoying a summer recess vacation, which they certainly don’t deserve. But in two weeks, they will return to Washington where they’ll have the opportunity to kill this deal.  This deal is dangerous, but the “self-inspection” provision makes it a rat-infested absurdity.  I pray that Washington opens its eyes before its too late.

‘Anti-gun stupidity’: Honolulu destroys $575G worth of police firearms

Second Amendment advocates are firing away at a decision by Honolulu officials to destroy $575,000 worth of perfectly good handguns in a move one critic called the “height of anti-gun stupidity.”

Some 2,300 Smith & Wesson 9 mm handguns, including at least 200 that are brand-new and in unopened boxes, were issued to the city’s police department. But with the 2,200-member force upgrading to lighter and less expensive Glock 17s, the guns were set to be permanently holstered. While it is customary throughout the country for departments to auction the guns to law-abiding citizens, including the police who once carried them, or donate them to another department, Honolulu opted to destroy them.
“Mayor Kirk Caldwell and the Honolulu Police Department agreed that they would not allow the guns to be sold to the general public and end up on the streets of Honolulu,” Honolulu Police spokeswoman Michelle Yu told FoxNews.com. “The same goes for selling the individual gun parts that could have been used to assemble a gun.”

“These guns in the hands of lawful civilians could provide an important means of self-defense, especially for low income people who can’t afford them.”
- Alan Gottlieb, Second Amendment Foundation.

Selling the guns, with mandatory background checks to ensure they were only purchased by legal owners, could have netted the city $575,000, according to Hawaii News Now. Several police officers reportedly were interested in buying old service weapons for personal use, and the department has previously sold phased-out weapons to its staff, but this time opted to melt them down two weeks ago.
Yu said no other police departments were interested in the guns.
“Law enforcement in American Samoa initially expressed interest in acquiring some of the guns, but there was a change in administration and the new administration is no longer interested,” she said. “The local sheriff’s department recently replaced their guns, and other county police departments (Kauai, Maui and Hawaii) are looking to replace their Smith & Wessons in the future.”
A representative for Smith & Wesson declined to comment, stating that the company does not provide any information regarding their customers in law enforcement.
Despite Yu’s claims, the Hawaii state sheriffs division – which uses the same gun manufacturer – told Hawaii News Now that no offer for donation was made to them.
Hawaii’s Department of Public of Safety recently replaced its Smith & Wesson firearms with different SIG Sauer models and received a credit of more than $150,000 for trading in its old guns. But Yu no trade-in discount was available and insisted “the only remaining option was to destroy the guns so they don’t end up on the street.”
Destroying working firearms, as well as valuable taxpayer property, was “the height of anti-gun stupidity and will not stop one criminal from getting a weapon,” said Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation.
“These guns in the hands of lawful civilians could provide an important means of self-defense, especially for low income people who can’t afford them,” Gottlieb said. “Or the sale of them could help pay for much needed law enforcement equipment to help keep the public safe.”
Any city the size of Honolulu could use $575,000, said Amy Hunter, spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action.
“There is no reason why these firearms couldn’t be used by law enforcement or sold to law-abiding citizens, the proceeds of which could go to much-needed infrastructure, programs, training, etc,” she said.
The Hawaii Rifle Association’s President Harvey Gerwig, together with safety training non-profit Lessons in Firearms Education President Bill Richter wrote directly to Caldwell over the issue, emphasizing that “in these times of lean budgets and continual cost cutting to needed city services, to throw away a half a million dollars seems senseless.”
“The reason your office and HPD gave for not selling to the public seemed to be a slight on those legal gun owners who would have purchased them and who supported you during your election,” the letter continued. “You should be ashamed for suggesting that the good citizens of Hawaii cannot be trusted with buying HPD’s surplus guns for fear of them falling into criminal hands when record numbers of firearms have been bought by those same citizens for the last ten years without any such problems.”
Over the last 15 years, the number of guns registered in Hawaii increased dramatically. Data released by the Hawaii Attorney General’s Office shows that 420,409 firearms were registered from 2000 to 2014, in addition to the already existing one million firearms in a state that has an estimated population of 1.4 million.
Hawaii has one of the lowest gun death rates in the nation, which some attribute to its spike in ownership per capita, while others claim it is a result of its strict gun control laws.
Caldwell’s office declined to elaborate on Yu's comments. The Hawaii Police Officers Union, did not respond to requests for comment.
But while the destruction of the guns generated criticism from the gun rights community, others have welcomed it.
“It beats putting those (guns) back on the streets,” said Ladd Everitt, spokesman for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. “There are so many loopholes in federal law that dangerous people often get guns legally in this country.
“There's a reason that Hawaii has the lowest gun death rate in the country,” he added. “They'd rather see guns destroyed than families.”

Supreme Court rules against Kentucky clerk in gay marriage case

 Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis

MOREHEAD, Ky. –  The Supreme Court on Monday ruled against the Kentucky county clerk who has refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses, and the clerk will arrive at work Tuesday morning to face her moment of truth.

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis will have to choose whether to issue marriage licenses, defying her Christian conviction, or continue to refuse them, defying a federal judge who could pummel her with fines or order that she be hauled off to jail.
"She's going to have to think and pray about her decision overnight. She certainly understands the consequences either way," Mat Staver, founder of the law firm representing Davis, said on Monday, hours before a court-ordered delay in the case expired. "She'll report to work tomorrow, and face whatever she has to face."
A line of couples, turned away by her office again and again in the two months since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage across the nation, plan to meet her at the courthouse door.
Davis stopped issuing all marriage licenses in the days after the landmark decision. Two gay couples and two straight couples sued her, arguing that she must fulfill her duties as an elected official despite her personal religious faith. A federal judge ordered her to issue the licenses, and an appeals court upheld that decision. Her lawyers with the Liberty Counsel filed a last-ditch appeal to the Supreme Court on Friday, asking that they grant her "asylum for her conscience."
Justice Elena Kagan, who oversees the 6th district, referred Davis' request to the full court, which denied the stay without comment. Kagan joined the majority in June when the court legalized gay marriage across the nation.
Meanwhile, a couple that had been turned away went to Rowan County Attorney Cecil Watkins to ask that she be charged with official misconduct, a misdemeanor defined by state law as a public official who "refrains from performing a duty imposed upon him by law or clearly inherent in the nature of his office." The crime is punishable by up to a year in jail.
Watkins cited a conflict of interest and forwarded the complaint to Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, whose office will decide whether to appoint a special prosecutor, generally a county attorney from a surrounding jurisdiction, who would decide whether to file charges.
As the clock wound down for Davis on Monday, the tension intensified between dueling groups of protesters outside her office window on the courthouse lawn.
Hexie Mefford has stood on the lawn waving a flag nearly every day for more than two months. The flag is fashioned after Old Glory, but with a rainbow instead of the red and white bars.
Mike Reynolds, a Christian protesting in Davis' defense, shouted at her that he found the flag offensive: He is an Army veteran, he complained, and they had desecrated the American flag. The two groups roared at each other. The Christians called on the activists to repent; the activists countered that their God loves all.
It was a marked difference from the cordial protests that unfolded there every day since Davis declared she would issue no licenses.
Rachelle Bombe has sat there every day, wearing rainbow colors and carrying signs that demand marriage equality. One particularly hot day, Davis, the woman she was there to protest against, worried Bombe would get overheated and offered her a cold drink. In turn, Bombe said she's checked in on Davis, whose lawyer says she's received death threats and hate mail, to make sure she's holding up despite the difficult circumstances.
"She's a very nice lady, I like her a lot," Bombe said of Davis. "We're on the opposite sides of this, but it's not personal."
On Monday, the Christians stood on the grass and sang "I am a Child of God."
The marriage equality activists chimed in after each refrain: "So are we."

State Department IT staff among those in the dark about Clinton's private email address

Members of the State Department's information technology staff were among those who were unaware that Hillary Clinton was using a private email address during her time as secretary of state, the latest release of messages from Clinton's private server revealed late Monday.

In one email, dated February 27, 2010, an IT worker on the State Department's computer "help desk" sends a message to Clinton's email address inquiring about why one of Clinton's correspondents has been getting a "fatal error" when she tries to send messages to the secretary of state.
Clinton forwarded the email to her top aide, Huma Abedin, asking "Do you know what this is [sic]". Abedin responds, "Ur [sic] email must be back up!!" and explains that a woman named Judith tried to send Clinton an email and called the department's IT team when the message was returned to her.
"They had no idea it was YOU," Abedin writes to Clinton, "just some random address so they emailed. Sorry about that. But regardless, means ur [sic] email must be back!"
Clinton's use of a private email address may have also created logistical problems communicating with State Department aides.
"Well its clearly a state vs outside email issue," wrote Abedin in August 2010, after another aide reported missing some messages from Clinton. "State has been trying to figure it out. So lj is getting all your emazils cause she's on her personal account too."
The State Department released 7,121 pages of emails from Clinton's server late Monday, the fourth and largest release since a federal judge ordered the department to undertake monthly releases of the approximately 55,000 pages of emails Clinton turned over to the State Department last year. The last batch of messages is expected to be released in April.
Clinton and her presidential campaign have repeatedly denied that she inappropriately handled classified information while secretary of state, a question that is currently the subject of a federal investigation.
The latest release also contains messages related to Clinton's iPad, which arrived in June 2010. Aide Philippe Reines informed her that the device had arrived, to which Clinton responded, "That is exciting news -- do you think you can teach me to use it on the flight to Kyev next week?"
Fox News reported in March that Hillary had requested the use of an iPad early in her tenure as secretary of state. However, security and investigative sources told Fox News in March that the device had not been certified as "secure" by the department's technical experts. However, an investigative source told Fox News that Clinton used the device despite the decision.
"I myself am not the most tech savvy person," Clinton wrote in her 2014 memoir, "Hard Choices," although I surprised my daughter and my staff by falling in love with my iPad which, I now take everywhere I travel."
Indeed, Despite approving the creation of a relatively complex email system in her home, Clinton seemed puzzled by basic technology. In a July 2010 exchange, Clinton quizzed Reines on how to charge the Apple tablet and update an application.
Reines asks Clinton if she has a wireless Internet connection, and she replies: "I don't know if I have wi-fi. How do I find out?"
Clinton has previously said she used the private server so she would not inconvenience herself by carrying separate devices for work and personal communications wherever she went. However, her use of the iPad as well as her State Department BlackBerry would appear to undercut her defense that she only wanted to use one device at a time.
The emails also contain a joke from Clinton about using multiple email addresses on her server. In a May 2010 email to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice, Clinton says Rice should "please feel free to use (whatever my current address may be!) anytime." Fox News, citing independent research data, reported in March that Clinton appeared to have established multiple email addresses for her private use, and possibly the use of her aides, under the domain of “clintonemail.com."