VA launches probe into allegations of misconduct at Cincinnati VA

The Department of Veterans Affairs has launched a formal probe into allegations of “misconduct that adversely affects the care of the veterans at the Cincinnati” VA, Fox News learned late Friday.
The VA began a series of what were described to Fox News as “cryptic” phone calls to Congressional offices, advising them of a form inquiry by the VA Inspector General.
Multiple offices in the Ohio and Indiana delegations received the calls around 5 p.m. Friday, Fox News was told. The calls were scripted and the person from the VA phoning the offices would not deviate nor answer questions about the inquiry. They also didn’t ask for nor express willingness to speak to Congressional aides who handle veterans’ issues for lawmakers.
Several sources indicated that the caller from the VA became “nervous” or “elusive” when pressed about the investigation.
The script went like this:
“As the investigation by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Medical Inspector (OIG) continues, the VA Office of Inspector General is launching an investigation at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center (VAMC). The OIG investigation was initiated at the request of the VA. To ensure no conflict of interest during the investigation, the Cincinnati VMAC will be temporarily realigned from the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 10 office in Cincinnati, OH to VISN 4 in Pittsburgh, PA.”
Dr. David Shuklin, the VA’s Under Secretary for Health, has asked the Inspector General to probe the still-vague matter.
An email obtained by Fox News says Jack Hetrick, the director of the VA Network covering Cincinnati, “has rescued himself form any and all decisions regarding the facility since his wife has a professional and personal relationship with the physician involved.”
Several Congressional offices told Fox News they are livid about when and how they were notified: Scripted, mysterious calls to Congressional receptionists moments before the close of business on a Friday before the holiday weekend.
“The VA is obviously trying to bury this given the timing of the announcement, said one Congressional source.

Sen. Harry Reid calls on Grayson to drop out of Senate race

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Friday called for U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson to drop out of the race for a Senate seat in Florida, but Grayson angrily denounced the move and said he has no plans to follow Reid's suggestion.
Reid said in a statement that Grayson claims to be progressive but seems to have "no moral compass." He said Grayson used his office to unethically promote a hedge fund that until recently had been based in the Cayman Islands.
"His actions aren't just disgraceful to the Democratic Party, they disgrace the halls of Congress," Reid said.
Grayson, who is from the Orlando area, is running in the Democratic primary to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.
Grayson's business activities have come under scrutiny for the past several months. The New York Times on Thursday reported that Grayson promoted his international travels, some with congressional delegations, to solicit business for a hedge fund he controlled.
Reid's decision to take sides in a Democratic primary is unusual. But the Democratic establishment has been getting behind U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, seeing him as the stronger general election candidate in a swing state.
Grayson in his own statement said Reid is relying on a "false and misleading hyped story to try to pressure me out of this race."
"I never used my Congressional office to advance any business interest or for personal gain, and to say so is utterly deceitful," he added. "I resent the attack on my `morality,' and I question the morality and judgment of any elected official, much less one in my own party, who would sink so low as to engage in such a smear."
Grayson, a liberal firebrand who has said the GOP health plan was to hope people die quickly, has contended he is the only true Democrat in the race and has taken his own flurry of shots at Murphy.
Republicans have four major candidates: U.S. Rep. Ron Desantis, a tea party favorite backed by conservative groups; U.S. Rep. David Jolly, a former Washington lobbyist and congressional aide; Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera; and businessman Todd Wilcox, who has never run for political office.
Carlos Beruff, a wealthy Manatee County homebuilder, is also likely to jump into the GOP primary.

'Deafening silence:' Obama, 2016 Dems mum on recent police deaths

A Fargo police officer fatally shot responding to a routine domestic disturbance call. A 25-year police veteran killed while trying to serve a warrant outside Atlanta. These are just the latest tragedies of cops murdered while performing their sworn duty -- "to protect and serve."
But while President Obama and the Democratic candidates vying to succeed him are putting America's police departments on trial in the court of public opinion in response to a rash of deadly police shootings, the murder of police officers on America's streets is being met with a “deafening silence.”
“I cannot recall any time in recent years when six law enforcement professionals have been murdered by gunfire in multiple incidents in a single week,” National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund CEO Craig W. Floyd said in a statement Friday. “Already this year there have been eight officers shot and killed, compared to just one during the same period last year and represents a very troubling trend."
The relative silence on officer deaths contrasts with the Democratic candidates’ often fiery language on police brutality against African Americans. When it came to the issue of law enforcement at Thursday night’s Democratic debate, the candidates focused almost exclusively on “police reform.” Vermont Sen. Sanders said he’s “sick and tired” of seeing unarmed black people shot by police, likening heavily equipped departments to “occupying armies” – a reference to Ferguson, Mo. and elsewhere. Hillary Clinton hit similar points.
This, amid a rash of violence against police across the country. Jason Moszer, the police officer in Fargo, N.D., was shot during a standoff with a domestic violence suspect Wednesday and died from his injuries the next day. Police Maj. Greg Barney, separately, was shot dead at an apartment complex outside Atlanta, Ga.
So far in 2016, eight officers have been shot to death, with most of those deaths occurring in the past week, way up from this time last year.
Violence against police peaked in 2011 with 72 officers killed as a result of felonious incidents, the highest since 1994. It dropped to 27 deaths in 2013, but nearly doubled to 51 officers killed in 2014.

Law Enforcement Officers Killed in the Line of Duty | FindTheData

After two Maryland sheriff’s deputies were fatally shot earlier this week, Attorney General Loretta Lynch did meet with officials from the Major County Sheriff’s Association at their winter meeting in Washington.  She said in a statement she was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy, calling it an “appalling and senseless crime, carried out against two dedicated guardians of the public.”
But on the campaign trail, anti-police violence is essentially a non-issue, even as candidates are quick to speak out on the alleged mistreatment of civilians at the hands of cops -- often before the facts of the situation are fully known.
Sheriff Paul Babeu of Pinal County, Ariz, told FoxNews.com the recent trend can be traced to Obama’s premature comments about the 2009 arrest of Professor Henry Louis Gates, who was briefly arrested after trying to break into his own house after losing his keys. Though the more complex aspects of the case were not yet known, Obama said “the police ... acted stupidly” and pointed to past discriminations against blacks and Latinos by police.
“That’s his lens on how he sees our heroes and our protectors,” Babeu, who is also a Republican congressional candidate, said. “That’s who he is and Clinton is lockstep in with him.”
“There is an absolute deafening silence from the leaders of our country [on anti-police violence], and it tells us where we are at this time in our society,” he said.
The choice of emphasis for the two 2016 presidential hopefuls can perhaps be tied to their bid to woo a more diverse electorate in Nevada and South Carolina.
Clinton has ramped up rhetoric protesting police brutality in recent weeks, and she used strong language in her speech in New Hampshire after Tuesday’s primary.
“We still have to break through the barriers of bigotry. African American parents shouldn’t have to worry about their children being harassed, humiliated and even shot for the color of their skin,” she said.
Sanders, who has been struggling to grow his appeal among black Democrats, has also jumped on the issue. Notably in August, when asked about the execution of a Texas police officer, Sanders called it “an outrage” but quickly pivoted to anti-black violence by cops.
“On the other hand, what we also have to understand, it is not acceptable in this country when unarmed black people get dragged out of cars or get shot,” Sanders said, although he did not specify an incident.
The Democratic candidates also have been careful in addressing these issues as they interact with members of the Black Lives Matter movement. In July, then-candidate Martin O’Malley was forced to apologize after telling protesters at a Netroots conference “All lives matter.” The seemingly benign statement caused booing from the audience; O’Malley apologized and went on to say “black lives matter” a number of times at Democratic debates. He never repeated the term “all lives matter.”
Sanders had a run in with BLM activists as well, when in August he had activists steal his microphone, as he was forced to stand to one side as they listed their demands and made a statement.
On the Republican side, candidates are speaking more about violence against police. Front-runner Donald Trump has called the police the “most mistreated” people in America.
“By the way, the police are the most mistreated people in this country, I’ll tell you that — the most mistreated people,” Trump said in January at the Fox Business debate in South Carolina.

Trump Cartoon

State Dept. IG subpoenaed Clinton Foundation in 2015

If the shoe fits, wear it.

The Clinton Foundation was subpoenaed last fall by State Department investigators for records relating to charity projects that might have come before the department when Hillary Clinton was secretary of state, a source confirmed Thursday.   
The development was first reported by The Washington Post. A representative for the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation confirmed the details to Fox News.
The Post first reported that the State Department inspector general subpoena sought documents on foundation projects that might have needed approval from the department during Clinton’s tenure in charge.
The subpoena also reportedly sought records on Clinton aide Huma Abedin.
Abedin has come under scrutiny for serving for several months in 2012 in multiple roles – working for the department and the foundation, as well as Clinton herself and a consulting firm
And multiple media reports over the past year – seized upon by Republicans -- have raised questions about whether foundation donors used their contributions to seek influence with the State Department.
The Clinton presidential campaign has rejected such assertions. Meanwhile, questions about Abedin’s role and the foundation largely have been overshadowed by the controversy over Clinton’s use of a personal server and email system while secretary. That matter is under investigation by the FBI.
According to the Post, the scope and status of the IG inquiry that prompted the subpoena is not clear. A foundation official told the newspaper that the foundation is not the focus.

Cruz campaign pulls ad over appearance by adult film actress

Ted Cruz's latest political ad turned out to be too hot for TV. 
The Texas senator's campaign confirmed late Thursday that it had pulled a commercial hitting Florida Sen. Marco Rubio over illegal immigration because one of the actresses had previously appeared in pornographic films.
The actress in question, Amy Lindsay, described herself as a Christian conservative and a Republican in an interview with Buzzfeed News late Thursday. She also tweeted her displeasure that the video was pulled from the airwaves.
Cruz campaign spokesman Rick Tyler said Lindsay had responded to an open casting call for the ad.
"Unfortunately, she was not vetted by the production company," Tyler said. "Had the campaign known of her full filmography, we obviously would not have let her appear in the ad."
An Internet Movie Database page in Lindsay's name lists her as appearing in several movies with titles like "Carnal Wishes" and "Insatiable Desire". She is also listed as having appeared in the TV series "Star Trek: Voyager" and the 1996 film adaptation of Henry James' novel "The Portrait of a Lady."
Lindsay's acting background was first reported by the Daily Caller.
The ad, titled "Conservatives Anonymous" featured a faux self-help session in which voters lamented their past support for Rubio.
"I voted for a guy who was a Tea Party hero on the campaign trail then he went to D.C. and played patty cake with Chuck Schumer and cut a deal on amnesty," one of the participants, a middle-aged man, tells the group.
The group moderator asks him: "Does that make you angry?"
"Angry? No, it makes me feel dumb for trusting him," the middle-aged man says.
Lindsay played a woman who tells another group member, "Maybe you should vote for more than just a pretty face next time."
Responding to the ad before it was pulled, Rubio accused Cruz of changing positions on a pathway to citizenship and other immigration issues, telling Fox News: “He's willing to say or do anything to win an election.”
“He portrays himself as some sort of immigration purist," Rubio added. "The bottom line is when immigration reform was being debated in Washington, Ted Cruz was a passionate spokesperson on behalf of legalizing people that are in this country illegally, so he either wasn't telling the truth then or he isn't telling the truth now."

AP FACT CHECK: Clinton, Sanders on health care, donors and more

In their latest debate, Hillary Clinton glossed over the big-money donors juicing her White House ambitions while Bernie Sanders offered disputed numbers behind his plan for a government-financed health system.

A look at some of the claims in the Democratic presidential debate and how they compare with the facts:

CLINTON: "We have more than 750,000 donors and the vast majority are giving small contributions. ... We both have a lot of small donors."

THE FACTS: Her presidential run is being supported by wealthy donors in ways that Sanders' is not.

Last year's fundraising reports show that Sanders raised fully 72 percent of his campaign money from people who gave $200 or less, while for Clinton those donors accounted for just 16 percent of her funds.

Clinton stretched when putting herself in Sanders' league when it comes to grassroots financing. She said they are both getting small donors and that "sets us apart" from Republican candidates. But her rate of small-dollar contributions isn't that much different than that of some of the GOP contenders.

She also minimized the impact of the super political action committee supporting her effort, saying the group was founded to help President Barack Obama and she has no say over its operations. But no candidate can control the super PACS that are devoted to helping their candidacies, yet they can be vital in White House efforts because they can raise unlimited money and spend heavily on advertising and other help.

Although Priorities USA may have formed to help Obama, it's now steered by her trusted advisers. In fact, Guy Cecil, a former Clinton staffer, was brought in to lead the group last year as a signal to her supporters that they could trust Priorities USA to serve her well.

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BERNIE SANDERS: "Our Medicare-for-all, single-payer proposal will save the average middle-class family $5,000 a year."

HILLARY CLINTON: "The numbers don't add up."

THE FACTS: More detail and analysis are needed on Sanders' plan for cradle-to-grave government-financed health care for all. But two early assessments suggest that the accounting comes up short.

The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that the tax increases in Sanders' plan would only cover about 75 percent of what Sanders says it will cost, creating a $3 trillion hole in the federal budget over 10 years.

Emory University economist Kenneth Thorpe says the proposal also underestimates the cost of having the government provide doctors' services, hospitalization, long-term care, and vision and dental care -- all without premiums, copays or deductibles.

According to Thorpe, the Sanders plan falls short by about $11 trillion over 10 years. He says the income and payroll tax increases required to pay fully for the proposal would mean 71 percent of those who now have private insurance would pay more.

Thorpe served in the administration of Bill Clinton, handling economic estimates of the former president's failed health care overhaul plan. He says he has no involvement with the Hillary Clinton campaign.
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SANDERS: "A male African-American baby born today stands a one-in-four chance of ending up in jail. That is beyond unspeakable."

THE FACTS: Sanders, like Clinton in an earlier debate, exaggerated the rate of incarceration for black males.

A 2003 report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics said, "About 1 in 3 black males, 1 in 6 Hispanic males, and 1 in 17 white males are expected to go to prison during their lifetime, if current incarceration rates remain unchanged." But that was only a projection. The report went on to say that at the time, 16.6 percent of adult black males had actually ever gone to prison, or 1 in 6.

Since then, the incarceration rate for black men has actually gone down instead of up, according to the Sentencing Project.
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CLINTON: "He wrote a foreword for a book that basically argued voters should have buyer's remorse when it comes to President Obama's leadership and legacy. And I just couldn't agree -- disagree more with those kinds of comments."

THE FACTS: Sanders didn't write a foreword to that book, "Buyer's Remorse: How Obama Let Progressives Down," by Bill Press.

Instead, he contributed a blurb that's on the back cover and says nothing about Obama: "Bill Press makes the case why, long after taking the oath of office, the next president of the United States must keep rallying the people who elected him or her on behalf of progressive causes. That is the only way real change will happen."

An out-of-context excerpt of that blurb is selectively placed at the top of the front cover: "Bill Press makes the case ... read this book," which suggests that Sanders is cheerleading the case by liberals that Obama has not been liberal enough. But that was not reflected in what Sanders wrote.

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SANDERS: "There's not one Republican candidate for president who agrees that climate change is real."

THE FACTS: Not so. Some of the GOP front-runners are clearly skeptics on climate science, but not all the party's candidates can be lumped together on this topic. Jeb Bush, in an email interview with Bloomberg BNA in July, wrote that "the climate is changing," adding, "I don't think anybody can argue it's not. Human activity has contributed to it."

And at a 2012 fundraising event, Ohio Gov. John Kasich said, "This isn't popular to always say, but I believe there is a problem with climates -- climate change in the atmosphere."

Two of the top GOP leaders in national polls -- Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz -- have been blunt and dismissive of man-made global warming.

Differences Undefined? Clinton, Sanders unite in police criticism amid testy debate

The Commie and the Demo.

While Hillary Clinton launched her harshest debate attacks yet on Bernie Sanders Thursday in a clear attempt to distinguish their differences to voters, the Democratic candidates spent almost as much time uniting in their criticism of America’s criminal justice system, the financial sector and more.
The debate fell at a time when Sanders is trying to build his momentum after his big New Hampshire win, while Clinton is trying to regain hers.
As Sanders pointedly reminded her, “You’re not in the White House yet.”
But the candidates at times offered a similar message. This was evident as they vociferously called for an overhaul of local police departments that they suggested are unfair to black people.
“We need fundamental police reform,” Sanders said, adding he’s “sick and tired” of seeing unarmed black people shot by police. He likened heavily equipped police departments to “occupying armies.”
Clinton, meanwhile, echoed those themes, joining Sanders in calling for sentencing reform while saying the country’s “systemic racism” goes deeper and must be addressed – in education, housing and the job market.
“We are seeing the dark side of the remaining systemic racism that we need to root out,” she said.
The comments were part of each candidate’s revived appeal to minority voters, a key voting bloc as the Democratic presidential primary heads to South Carolina.
But even as they stressed those issues, differences were laid bare at the PBS-hosted debate in Milwaukee. And Sanders came prepared to counter Clinton’s attacks, showing a feistier side than he did at their last showdown.
When Clinton used her closing remarks to suggest Sanders was taking shots at President Obama, Sanders called it a “low blow” and countered: “One of us ran against Barack Obama. I was not that candidate.”
He even underscored his critique of Clinton’s foreign policy by pointing to a book where Clinton said she was mentored by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
“I am proud to say that Henry Kissinger is not my friend,” Sanders said, calling him “one of the most destructive” American diplomats.
Clinton fired back that “we have yet to know” who Sanders listens to on foreign policy.
“Well, it ain’t Henry Kissinger,” Sanders said.
The two also clashed sharply over Sanders’ high-cost, big-government plans.
“We are not England. We are not France,” Clinton said.
Clinton accused Sanders of pushing programs that would grow the federal government by 40 percent. She suggested his health care promises “cannot be kept “and will be far more costly than he admits.
“We should level with the American people,” she said.
She also said Sanders’ plans would upend ObamaCare – though Sanders said he would not “dismantle” it.
“That is absolutely inaccurate,” he said, when she claimed his plans would leave many people worse off.
“In my view, health care is a right of all people … and I will fight for that,” Sanders said, adding it would take “courage.”
Clinton also criticized Sanders for voting against a 2007 immigration reform bill backed by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Sanders explained that the bill had a guest-worker program that progressive groups opposed.
“I think Ted Kennedy had a very clear idea of what needed to be done,” Clinton said.
Yet the candidates agreed in their joint criticism of the Obama administration’s recent deportation raids.
Sanders, meanwhile, once again hammered Clinton for her Wall Street ties, suggesting the financial sector’s big donations are meant to buy influence.
“Let’s not insult the intelligence of the American people. People aren’t dumb,” Sanders said. “Why in God’s name does Wall Street make huge campaign contributions? I guess just for the fun of it.”
They sparred on the issue as Sanders touted the fact he’s “the only candidate up here” who has no super PAC supporting him. A super PAC backing Clinton, he said, recently raised $15 million from Wall Street.
Clinton countered by noting that Obama took Wall Street donations too, but “when it mattered, he stood up and took on Wall Street.”
“Let’s not in any way imply here that either President Obama or myself would in any way not take on any vested interest,” she said, calling for more regulation of the financial sector.
The showdown comes as Clinton tries to reset the race, which heads next to Nevada and South Carolina. Her narrow victory in Iowa and resounding defeat in New Hampshire have raised fresh questions about her candidacy, which at one point was seen as a sure thing for the Democratic nomination.
Publicly, the Clinton campaign is voicing confidence. The campaign has been refocusing on the battle to lock down minority voter support, asserting that with their help, the former secretary of state can easily make gains against Sanders. But Sanders is at the same time making a bid to expand his own support beyond rural, white voters -- who largely decide Iowa and New Hampshire.
While the Clinton campaign is banking on minority voters as it heads into South Carolina and other delegate-rich states down the primary calendar, Tuesday’s contest exposed serious problems for her. She lost in New Hampshire across almost every demographic, including women.