At first official event, Pence, Trump set sights on Clinton, vow to restore prosperity, safety to America

Donald Trump and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence appeared on stage for the first time as a presidential and vice-presidential ticket Saturday, warning Americans about the perils of electing Hillary Clinton and vowing to make the country safe and prosperous again.
“I am here to introduce the man who will be my partner in the campaign and in the White House to fix the rigged system,” Trump said at a Hilton hotel in New York City. “I found a leader who will help us deliver a safe society and a prosperous society.”
Before bringing Pence on stage, Trump delivered a blistering stump speech that touted his agenda and attacked Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. The real estate mogul argued that Clinton's failures as secretary of state have led to a rise in global terror attacks that are destroying the world.
“The Middle East is out of control,” said Trump, who planned to hold an event Friday announcing Pence as his running mate but was forced to postpone it because of Thursday's terror attack in Nice, France, that killed at least 84 people.
“Hillary Clinton led (President) Obama right down a horrible path. … Iraq, Syria, horrible," Trump said. "Now we’re seeing unrest in Turkey.”
Trump instead tweeted on Friday that he’d selected the 57-year-old Pence, taking away much of the drama that typically comes with announcing a vice presidential nominee.

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“I thank Donald Trump for having the confidence in us. I accept your invitation to run and serve as vice president of the United States,” Pence said Saturday.
“Let’s come together as a party, as a movement, to make America great again," Pence also said, while suggesting that he knew as early as Wednesday that he would be the nominee.
Pence, who also acknowledged growing up as a Democratic supporter, called Trump a “builder, a fighter and a patriot."
“Americans can choose a leader who will fight to make America great again, or we can elect someone who personifies failed establishment,” he said. “Seven-and-a-half years of Obama and Hillary Clinton weakened the world.”
He said Trump wants to cut taxes while Clinton plans to raise them and that Trump wants to repeal ObamaCare “lock, stock and barrel,” while Clinton is pushing a progressive agenda to expand government-backed, mandatory health insurance.
The selection of Pence, who went from dark horse to leading contender in a matter of days, should help Trump galvanize support from the party’s conservative base ahead of the Republican National Convention, which starts Monday in Cleveland.
Pence, a former member of the House Republican leadership, was among a handful of finalists in a public vetting process that included meetings and campaign events with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
He was selected from a relatively small short-list of candidates -- those liked by Trump and willing to stake their political future on the unconventional and unpredictable White House contender.
Top Trump advisers vigorously denied reports that Trump considered making a late change, with campaign chairman Paul Manafort saying Trump "never waffled once he made his decision."
Despite the claim, the Clinton campaign on Saturday released a web video contrasting clips of Trump touting his decisiveness with the timeline of the past few days. As the video ends, the words on the screen read, "Donald Trump. Always Divisive. Not so Decisive."
And Trump said Saturday that he locked onto Pence in early May when he won Indiana’s presidential primary, in large part due to Pence’s fiscal record -- delivering a balanced budget, creating a $2 million state surplus and allowing Indiana to have a AAA bond rating.
“That’s as good as it gets. The turnaround has been incredible,” said Trump, calling Pence’s early support for Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz his “single, greatest non-endorsement.”
Pence, who emerged relatively late in the vice presidential stakes, almost immediately gives the Trump campaign much-needed social conservative credentials without the kind of political baggage that Democrats had hoped to exploit in other finalists like Christie or Gingrich.
Still, the Clinton campaign has already gone on the attack, calling Pence “the most extreme pick in a generation.”
Pence, who spent 12 years in Congress and until Friday was in a tough gubernatorial re-election bid, could also help Trump with critical fundraising, considering his general election campaign has roughly $1.3 million in the bank as of the last filing.
Clinton’s campaign has $42 million and a network of donors assembled through the candidate’s lengthy career in politics.
Pence’s deputy chief of staff was a former spokesman for Koch Industries, and his chief of staff in Congress later ran the Koch brothers’ political umbrella organization.
Still, Pence is not without some negatives, particularly his handling last year of the so-called Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The original law allowed Indiana residents and companies being sued by a private party to cite their religious beliefs as a defense. The national criticism was so damaging that it forced Pence and the state legislature to revise the law to clearly prohibit businesses from denying services to customers based on their sexual preference or gender choice.
Some supporters thought Trump had top-tier candidates in Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and first-term Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, who might have helped Trump better connect with women voters.
However, both dropped out earlier this month. Corker declined after appearing with Trump at only one campaign event.
Pence, a Catholic, earned a law degree from Indiana University in 1986 and ran two unsuccessful congressional campaigns before getting elected in 2000.

Cleveland beefs up security measures in wake of Nice terror attack

The area around the Republican National Convention site in Cleveland increased security measures Friday to thwart a similar attack to what occurred in Nice, France Thursday, adding concrete traffic dividers and tall metal fences.
According to Reuters, security experts said police, U.S. Secret Service agents and other law enforcement officials have viewed vehicles – similar to the truck that plowed through a crowd during Bastille Day festivities in Nice killing 84 revelers – as a potential threat since the early stages of planning for the convention.
However, the decision to add the protective barriers around the Quicken Loans Arena was taken before the attack. Ron Rowe, a high-ranking agent with the Secret Service, said Tuesday that some of the barriers would be going up that day, according to Reuters.
Security officials have mostly focused on stopping a car or truck bomb similar to one that hit the World Trade Center in 1993 and the Oklahoma City federal office building in 1995.
"A vehicle-borne attack is always something you're concerned about," Jason Porter, vice president for the central region of security provider Pinkerton, said.
Officials haven’t said whether the Nice attack had altered their plans for Cleveland, but did confirm earlier in the week that the Dallas police shootings did.

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Police Chief Calvin Williams noted the city had changed its security plans in light of last week’s murder of five police officers in Dallas but said he would not elaborate for obvious reasons.
Williams said planning has been exhaustive and “Cleveland is prepared. We invite people to come here enjoy the convention, exercise your constitutional rights and we’re here to assist you in doing that.”
The 74 different agencies providing security will be overseen and coordinated by the US Secret Service. “I don’t sleep well to begin with,” said Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy. He added that when there is an event the size of a convention, with all of its tension and dynamics, an emergency is unavoidable.
“Every event has some incident. The key is: do you have a good plan in place? Do you have good leadership that can adapt and be flexible to whatever is thrown your way? And I'm confident that here in Cleveland we have that," Clancy said.

Tensions rise between US, Turkey after failed coup as flights from key airbase are grounded

The U.S. and Turkey traded harsh words Saturday in the wake of a failed military coup against the Ankara government, while all air missions against the ISIS terror group out of Turkey were grounded.
Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook confirmed that power had been cut to the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey, near the Syria border. Cook also confirmed that Turkey had halted all military flights out of the base, including those by its own jets.
The Pentagon said it was trying to get permission to resume air operations from the base, while adjusting mission operations in the meantime.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavosoglu, for the second time in as many days following the attempted takeover, that left at least 265 people dead and 1,400 wounded.
Despite the support for Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government by the Obama administration during the coup, the country's labor minister suggested Washington was behind the uprising. Meanwhile, Erdogan himself bluntly requested the extradition of Pennsylvania-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Erdogan blamed for inspiring the coup, saying, "If we are strategic partners, then you should bring about our request."
Although he didn't outline any threat, Erdogan's emphasis on U.S.-Turkish counterterrorism cooperation raised the prospect of a prolonged closure of Incirlik if he didn't get his way.
Stung by the criticism, the State Department fired back. In a readout of the telephone call between Kerry and Cavosoglu, the department said Kerry told his fellow diplomat, "public insinuations or claims about any role by the United States in the failed coup attempt are utterly false and harmful to our bilateral relations."
Kerry reiterated U.S. support for Turkey's democratically elected government, according to the State Department readout, and urged authorities to respect the rule of law and safeguard civilian life as they respond to the coup attempt. Kerry also said Turkey needed to respect due process as it investigates those it believes were involved in the plot.
Earlier, on a visit to Luxembourg, Kerry told reporters the U.S. would entertain an extradition request for Gulen if the Turks provided evidence of wrongdoing. Erdogan has long accused Gulen, a former ally, of trying to overthrow the government, but Washington has never found the claims compelling.
"We fully anticipate that there will be questions raised about Mr. Gulen," Kerry told reporters. "And obviously we would invite the government of Turkey, as we always do, to present us with any legitimate evidence that withstands scrutiny. And the United States will accept that and look at it and make judgments about it appropriately."
A Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations, said Turkey was preparing a formal extradition request with detailed information about Gulen's involvement in illegal activities. He said the coup attempt was seen as "one more thing to add to an already extensive list."
In a statement, Gulen said he condemned, "in the strongest terms, the attempted military coup in Turkey" and sharply rejected any responsibility or knowledge of who might be involved.
Kerry said the U.S. had no indication beforehand of the coup attempt, which began as he and Russia's foreign minister were in a Russian government villa in Moscow, locked in negotiations over Syria.
"If you're planning a coup, you don't exactly advertise to your partners in NATO," Kerry said. "So it surprised everyone. It does not appear to be a very brilliantly planned or executed event."
Late Saturday, the State Department also issued a new travel warning, suggesting U.S. citizens "reconsider travel to Turkey at this time."

Saudi Arabia Cartoons

US government releases secret chapter from 9/11 report

Rep. King: We don't have the full picture on Saudi Arabia

The U.S. government on Friday released a once-secret chapter from a congressional report on the 9/11 attacks that addresses Saudi connections to some of the hijackers, a move sure to recharge speculation over what -- if anything -- Saudi government officials knew.
Under wraps for 13 years, the report contains numerous redactions but states some hijackers "were in contact with, and received support or assistance from, individuals who may be connected to the Saudi Government."
The documents were posted Friday by the House intelligence committee, after being declassified.
The report questioned whether Saudis who were in contact with the hijackers after they arrived in the U.S. knew what they were planning. The document -- known as the so-called "28 pages" -- names people the hijackers associated with before they carried out the attacks. It identifies individuals who helped the hijackers get apartments, open bank accounts, attend local mosques and get flight lessons.
The document says Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi national who helped two of the hijackers in California, was suspected of being a Saudi intelligence officer. The 9/11 Commission report found him to be an "unlikely candidate for clandestine involvement" with Islamic extremists. The new document says that according to FBI files, al-Bayoumi had "extensive contact with Saudi government establishments in the United States and received financial support from a Saudi company affiliated with the Saudi Ministry of Defense. ... That company reportedly had ties to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida," which orchestrated the attacks.
The document also points to Osama Bassnan, who lived across the street from two of the hijackers in California. According to an FBI document, Bassnan told another individual that he met the hijackers through al-Bayoumi. Bassnan told an FBI asset that "he did more than al-Bayoumi did for the hijackers."
The office of the Director of National Intelligence on Friday also released part of a 2005 FBI-CIA memo that said "there is no information to indicate that either (Bayoumi) or (Bassnan) materially supported the hijackers wittingly, were intelligence officers of the Saudi government or provided material support for the 11 September attacks, contrary to media speculation."
There also is stinging criticism of the intelligence community and previous administrations for not taking the “issue” of Saudi ties to terror groups seriously.
One of the reasons for the “limited understanding” of the extent of Saudi Arabia’s support and financing of terror groups, the report said, was a reluctance to investigate them “due to Saudi Arabia’s status as an American ‘ally.’”
“It should be clear that this Joint Inquiry has made no final determination as to the reliability or sufficiency of the information,” said the report, adding that extensive investigation was outside the committee’s mission.
Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, expressed support for the decision to release the previously classified material but noted “that this section does not put forward vetted conclusions, but rather unverified leads that were later fully investigated by the Intelligence Community.”
Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff, D-Calif., applauded the disclosure but acknowledged it would not end the years of debate about the role of Saudi Arabia preceding the 9/11 attacks.
“I know that the release of these pages will not end debate over the issue, but it will quiet rumors over their contents – as is often the case, the reality is less damaging than the uncertainty,” said Schiff.
Later investigations found no evidence that the Saudi government or senior Saudi officials knowingly supported those who orchestrated the attacks. But lawmakers and relatives of victims, who don't think all Saudi links to the attackers were thoroughly investigated, campaigned for more than 13 years to get the final chapter of the 2002 congressional inquiry released.
Former President George W. Bush originally classified the chapter to protect intelligence sources and methods and perhaps to avoid upsetting Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. ally.
President Obama later ordered a declassification review of the chapter, which Congress released on Friday.
The congressional panel that compiled the report was made up of bipartisan members of the Senate and House intelligence committees. The separate 9/11 commission released the findings of its investigation two years later.
Until now, the classified documents have remained in a secure basement room at the Capitol for the last 14 years – and the subject of intense debate.
Those who argued for their release believed the pages would shed light on the dark relationship between Saudi Arabia and terrorism.
Of the 19 who carried out the 9/11 attacks, 15 were Saudi citizens; the government has long had a complicated relationship with terrorists and terror organizations.
Saying it would clear up “any lingering suspicions” about its role in the attacks, the government of Saudi Arabia supported calls for the release of the secret pages.
“Since 2002, the 9/11 Commission and several government agencies, including the CIA and the FBI, have investigated the contents of the ‘28 Pages’ and have confirmed that neither the Saudi government, nor senior Saudi officials, nor any person acting on behalf of the Saudi government provided any support or encouragement for these attacks,” Saudi Ambassador to the United States Abdullah Al-Saud said in a statement.
It was clear, however, that the Saudis were less than cooperative with investigators following the attacks. One FBI official described post-Sept. 11, 2001 investigation in which he provided the Saudis with copies of individuals’ passports and they responded that “they had no record of the subjects.”
White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters the release of the pages “does not change the assessment of the U.S. government that there’s no evidence the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials funded Al Qaeda.”
In June 2015, Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky joined with Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden to introduce a bill requiring President Obama to declassify and make available to the public the redacted 28 pages.
Former Florida Sen. Bob Graham, the former chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and co-chair of the bipartisan joint congressional inquiry, recently told "60 Minutes" he believed the hijackers had connections and support from the Saudi government, as well as wealthy individuals and charities.
This past June, the CIA's Office of the Inspector General released a report on its own internal investigation. The inquiry, which concluded in 2005, was said to be inconclusive and found no evidence the Saudi government knowingly and willingly supported Al Qaeda terrorists.
Under increasing pressure from the victims' families and lawmakers, Obama said in April his administration would declassify the pages.

Sen. Warren meets with Clinton amid VP speculation

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a potential running mate for Hillary Clinton, met with the presumptive Democratic nominee Friday – as the Clinton campaign confirmed she held several meetings about her vice-presidential selection process.
Warren, frequently touted as a pick who would help bring disenfranchised Bernie Sanders supporters on board, met Clinton for about an hour, Fox News learned. Warren endorsed Clinton last month.
"On Friday, Secretary Clinton held a series of campaign-related meetings at her Washington home, including several about her vice presidential selection process,” campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said.
Warren was omitted Friday from the list of candidates set to speak at the upcoming Democratic convention in Philadelphia. Fox News was previously told she was set to speak on July 25, the same day as Sanders is slated to speak.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro also met with Clinton, the Associated Press reported.
The meetings came as presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump announced Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate.

Dem knives come out for Pence pick, moments after Trump tweet

Donald Trump's tweet announcing his running mate was not even moments old when the Democrats' knives came out to attack Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as "extreme" and "divisive" -- and unload their opposition research.
Almost immediately after Trump named Pence, Hillary Clinton’s campaign blasted out an email Friday calling him “the most extreme VP pick in a generation.”
Clinton’s campaign outlined its talking points against the governor, pointing specifically to his record on LGBT and abortion rights, as well as his free-market economic policies.
“By picking Mike Pence as his running mate, Donald Trump has doubled down on some of his most disturbing beliefs by choosing an incredibly divisive and unpopular running mate known for supporting discriminatory politics and failed economic policies that favor millionaires and corporations over working families,” John Podesta, chairman of Hillary for America, said in a statement.
Trump certainly gave Democrats time to prepare. Speculation was centering on Pence earlier in the week, and by Thursday it was widely expected he would be the choice. Still, Trump postponed a planned press conference on the topic Friday morning due to the terror attack in France.
While that event is now set for Saturday, Trump confirmed on Twitter shortly before noon that he selected Pence.

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By that point, Democrats were ready with their lines of attack, even as conservatives largely praised Trump for his pick.
The Podesta email claimed Pence “spearheaded an anti-LGBT law that legalized discrimination against the LGBT community” -- a reference to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which the state later revised -- and notes that he led the battle to defund Planned Parenthood. It also took him to task for opposing raising the federal minimum wage.
“This new Trump-Pence ticket stands in dramatic contrast to Hillary Clinton’s vision of our future - one where we are stronger together, where unity prevails over division and the economy works for all Americans, not just those at the top,” Podesta said.
Clinton’s rapid response team went to work immediately, not only dropping the lengthy email to followers but also tweeting out a series of images summarizing their arguments against Pence and using the pick to call for donations.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley also took to Twitter to remind the public that Pence had criticized Trump not so long ago for his call for a temporary ban on Muslim immigration.
Republicans, meanwhile, mostly praised the choice, seen by analysts as a way for Trump to build inroads with the social conservative base -- and Congress, where Pence previously served.
"Mike Pence comes from the heart of the conservative movement -- and the heart of America," House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement. "I can think of no better choice for our vice-presidential candidate. We need someone who is steady and secure in his principles, someone who can cut through the noise and make a compelling case for conservatism. Mike Pence is that man."
Tea Party Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin said in a statement that Pence “provides the opportunity to give GOP voters still undecided about Donald Trump a reason to unite and to vote for a more principled ticket.”

Pence echoes Trump's call for immigration ban

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence echoed presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump’s call for an immigration ban Friday night in an interview on “Hannity.”
“I am very supportive of Donald Trump’s call to temporarily suspend immigration from countries where terrorists represent a threat to the United States,” Pence said.
Trump announced on Twitter earlier that Pence would be his running mate.
Pence seemed to back off a previous statement he made on Twitter in 2015, bashing Trump’s call to temporarily ban Muslims from immigrating to the U.S. after the San Bernardino, Calif. terror attack.
Instead, Pence insisted that “we got to do something different.” He added that because top U.S. security officials have all said that Islamic State have used the refugee crisis to infiltrate the West, that’s why Trump’s call made sense.
“The American people need to know who these people are,” he said. “We have a proud tradition of refugee resettlement in my own state of Indiana … but that has to be subordinated to the safety and security of the American people.”

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He took a jab at the presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, calling her plan to increase the number of refugees in the U.S. “irresponsible” given the state of the world. He noted that President Obama temporarily suspended the Iraqi refugee program in 2009 when two Iraqi refugees were found to be plotting an attack in Kentucky.
Pence said the Trump can be the leader that the U.S. needs. He believes that at the GOP convention next week in Cleveland that more people will start to rally around Trump.
“He’s the people’s choice. We had a competitive primary with enormous number of talent and Donald Trump emerged because he understands the anxiety and aspirations of the American people.
“He’s a good man and will be a great president of the United States.”