Conservative Blogger
Friday, September 23, 2016
House intel chairman threatens to subpoena bin Laden files
The Republican chairman of the House intelligence committee says he's prepared to take what may be unprecedented action to get the remaining Usama bin Laden documents from the nation's top military and intelligence agencies – and subpoena the files.
"If they don't provide these documents to the committee by October 11th, then we're going to have to subpoena them -- which I don't want to have to do but it appears like we've run out of all options," Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., told Fox News. "For the administration to basically mislead the American people for this many years is flat-out wrong."
Nunes is seeking documents and relevant analysis, which is thought to comprise at least 50 reports. In a Sept. 22 letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, and Defense Department Undersecretary for Intelligence Marcel Lettre, Nunes says the law required them to comply nearly two years ago based on Section 313 of the Intelligence Authorization ACT (IAA) for fiscal 2014. This section mandated a "complete declassification of the Abbottabad documents within 120 days."
"Making the material widely available for public analysis will serve the public interest and help to demystify bin Laden and al-Qaida without compromising national security," Nunes wrote. "The anemic pace of the declassification review and release of the Abbottabad documents is an insufficient response to congressional direction."
The congressional letter also provides new detail about the amount of intelligence recovered by Navy SEALs during the 2011 raid in Pakistan that killed bin Laden.
There are enough documents to fill a "small college library," Nunes wrote -- but only a fraction is public. The letter goes on to describe that documents "came from the information on over 100 thumb drives, hard drives, cell phones, paper files and other documents."
The letter said the 216 documents released to date “represent only a minuscule percentage of the documents deemed to have intelligence value and an exponentially smaller percentage of the total Abbottabad document collection.”
In the months after the raid that killed the Al Qaeda leader, the administration characterized bin Laden as isolated, with a terror network on the run and in disarray. Critics charge that subsequent reviews by CIA and military analysts at CENTCOM in Florida suggest the Al Qaeda leader was engaged with his affiliates outside the region, maintained a significant relationship with Iran, and had a plan to globalize the terror network.
The top White House spokesman rejected criticism the documents are being slow-rolled because of conflicting narratives.
"No, because that's not the criteria that’s being used to evaluate the release of this information," Josh Earnest said in response to a question from Fox News’ White House correspondent Kevin Corke. "Again, I guess you would just have to ask the ODNI (Office for the Director of National Intelligence) for an update on the status of that declassification effort.”
A spokesman for Clapper said they “have received the letter and will respond directly to the Committee."
Trump calls for unity in Charlotte, says there is no right to violence
Donald Trump struck a measured tone and called for unity when speaking about the riots in Charlotte, North Carolina today at a shale conference in Pittsburgh.
"We need to become one America nation united by shared principles,shared values as American citizens. And we have to respect our flag. We all have to walk a mile in someone else's shoes, to see things in their eyes and to get to work fixing our very wounded country," he said.
However, he also condemned the violence in Charlotte, saying it "must come to a very rapid end."
"There is no right to engage in violent disruption and threaten the safety and peace of others," he said. "Everyone is entitled to live in safe communities."
He praised the actions of the police, saying it is very difficult to be a police officer.
Email shows federal immigration bosses in OT push to swear in new citizens 'due to election'
An internal Obama administration email shows immigration officials may be literally working overtime to swear in as many new “citizen voters” as possible before the Nov. 8 presidential election, a powerful lawmaker charged Thursday.
The email, from a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field office chief and part of a chain of correspondence within the agency, urges the unnamed recipient to swear in as many citizens as possible “due to the election year.”
“The Field Office due to the election year needs to process as many of their N-400 cases as possible between now and FY 2016,” reads the email, which was disclosed to FoxNews.com by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who chairs the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
“If you have cases in this category or other pending, you are encouraged to take advantage of the OT if you can,” the email continues. “This will be an opportunity to move your pending naturalization cases. If you have not volunteered for OT, please consider and let me know if you are interested.”
Parts of the email were redacted before it was disclosed to FoxNews.com, but it was sent by the branch chief of the Houston Field Office District 17. It was not clear to whom it was addressed.
“I couldn’t have said it better!” reads the July 21 note introducing the forwarded missive. “It’s the end of the year crunch time, so let’s get crunchy! Go Team Houston! Thanks for all your hard work!”
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“Your department seems intent on approving as many naturalization cases as quickly as possible at a time when it should instead be putting on the brakes and reviewing past adjudications,” the senator’s letter read.
Johnson referred to a report this week from the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General that found at least 858 people from terror hotspots and other countries of concern had been mistakenly granted citizenship despite facing orders of deportation under other identities.
"Considering that USCIS already has a troubling record of inadequate review of naturalization applications, and mistakenly giving away citizenship to terrorists, criminals and other fraudsters, it is disturbing that they are now in full and blind rubber stamp mode to crank out new citizens," said Jessica Vaughan, director of Policy Studies for the Center for Immigration Studies.
In a USCIS planning document submitted to Congress earlier this year, USCIS reported it expected to receive 828,000 total applications this year, up from a planned 815,000 last year, an increase of 13,000, Vaughan said.
A DHS official did not immediately offer comment on the matter.
The effort is reminiscent of a similar bid to bring in new voters when Bill Clinton ran for re-election in 1996, said Claude Arnold, a retired U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations.
"I am not at all surprised by this revelation," Arnold said. "This is a repeat of the Clinton election playbook. Then it was to help re-elect Bill Clinton, this time it is to help elect Hillary Clinton."
The all-out push shows the Obama administration is using levers to help Clinton win, said Dan Stein, president of Federation for American Immigration Reform.
"In the pursuit of a partisan advantage, one party has decided integrity in the system is irrelevant," Stein said. "They don’t really care about checking backgrounds or verifying status and eligibility – it is more about increasing the number of eligible voters in the upcoming election."
Top Democrats determine that Russia behind spate of cyberattacks
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| Cybersecurity expert talks signs Russia hacked US emails |
A joint statement from Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Adam Schiff point a finger at Russia for the recent hacking of political computer systems, which have targeted Democrats and party-affiliated groups.
Federal officials have been investigating the cyberattacks at the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Election data systems in at least two states have also been breached.
"Based on briefings we have received, we have concluded that the Russian intelligence agencies are making a serious and concerted effort to influence the U.S. election," the two lawmakers from California said. "At the least, this effort is intended to sow doubt about the security of our election and may well be intended to influence the outcomes of the election. We can see no other rationale for the behavior of the Russians."
Russian president Vladimir Putin has repeatedly denied claims that Moscow was behind any of the security breaches.
“There’s no need to distract the public’s attention from the essence of the problem by raising some minor issues connected with the search for who did it,” Putin told Bloomberg News earlier this month. “But I want to tell you again, I don’t know anything about it, and on a state level Russia has never done this.”
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Earlier this month, Lisa Monaco, President Barack Obama's homeland security adviser, said it would be difficult for someone to hack into America's voting systems in a way that could alter the outcome of an election. She said election systems by and large are not hooked up to the internet and are diffusely operated by state and local governments.
Asked whether the U.S. might respond to the hacking, Monaco said "Stay tuned."
Lawmakers from both parties have called for a U.S. response to the hacking.
"When we have an adversary who so brazenly strikes at the heart of our democratic process, I think that indicates how low they believe the cost of that behavior is going to be," Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., said Thursday at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing where she questioned top military officials about the recent cyberattacks.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Trump praises 'stop-and-frisk' police tactic at African-American town hall
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump praised the controversial "stop-and-frisk" police tactic Wednesday, saying it "worked incredibly well" when it was used in New York City.
Trump was speaking at a town hall moderated by Fox News' Sean Hannity at a mostly black church in Cleveland, Ohio when he was asked how he would stop violence in black communities.
In response, Trump pointed to "stop-and-frisk", which allows police to stop and search any person officers deem suspicious.
"I think you have to [do it]," Trump said. "We did it in New York, it worked incredibly well and you have to be proactive."
"Now, we had a very good mayor, but New York City was incredible, the way that worked, so I think that could be one step you could do."
"Stop-and-frisk" drew complaints from New York City minorities, who claimed they were being disporportionately stopped for searches by officers. In 2013, a federal court ruled that the practice was unconstitutional and its use has since been scaled back.
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Trump appeared to criticize the female officer involved in the Tulsa shooting, saying the victim "was doing everything he was supposed to do."
"I don't know if [the officer] choked," Trump said. "He was walking. His hands were high. He was walking to the car. He put the hands on the car. Now, maybe she choked. Something really bad happened."
Fox News Poll: Trump tops Clinton in battlegrounds Nevada, N. Carolina, Ohio
Donald Trump narrowly leads Hillary Clinton in the battleground states of Nevada, North Carolina, and Ohio.
That’s according to Fox News statewide likely voter polls conducted Sunday through Tuesday evenings.
Trump is helped by strong support from working-class white voters, while Clinton is hurt by a lackluster performance among younger voters and women.
In each state, Trump’s advantage is within the margin of sampling error. Here’s how the numbers breakdown state-by-state:
Nevada
Trump has a three-point advantage over Clinton among likely voters in the Silver State (43-40 percent). Libertarian Gary Johnson receives eight percent. Nevada voters also can cast a ballot for “none of these,” and that option takes four percent. Green Party candidate Jill Stein is not on the ballot in Nevada.
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The Democrat is trailing expectations among women and younger voters.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE NEVADA POLL RESULTS
Those under age 45 are almost equally likely to back Clinton (42 percent) as they are to back Trump (39 percent) -- and Johnson garners double-digit support (11 percent).
Women in Nevada backed Barack Obama over Mitt Romney by a 16-point margin in 2012, according to the Fox News Exit Poll. Clinton’s up by just six points.
Both Clinton and Trump supporters have a high degree of vote certainty (93 percent each).
“There is a huge geographic disparity in Nevada,” notes Democratic pollster Chris Anderson, who conducts the Fox News Poll with Republican Daron Shaw. “Clinton is ahead in Vegas and urban areas, while Trump leads outside Vegas and in rural areas -- this is an obvious advantage for Clinton in get-out-the-vote efforts.”
The race is mostly unchanged in a head-to-head matchup without Johnson: Trump 46 vs. Clinton 42 percent.
Views of President Obama’s job performance are divided: 49 percent approve, while 48 percent disapprove. He won Nevada in both 2012 (by 6.7 points) and 2008 (by 12.5 points).
North Carolina
In North Carolina, Trump is up by five points among likely voters. He receives 45 percent to Clinton’s 40 percent, and 6 percent favor Johnson. Stein is not on the ballot.
Whites back Trump by a 31-point margin (58-27 percent), while blacks support Clinton by 82 points (85-3 percent).
Independents favor Trump (41 percent) over Clinton (24 percent) and Johnson (14 percent).
And while voters under age 45 prefer Clinton by 46-32, Johnson gets 11 percent of them.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE NORTH CAROLINA POLL RESULTS
Ninety-five percent of Trump supporters and 90 percent of Clinton backers feel certain of their vote choice.
In the two-way ballot, Trump’s also up five (47-42 percent).
North Carolina was red in 2012 (Romney by two points) and blue in 2008 (Obama by less than one point). By a 50-46 percent margin, more voters disapprove than approve of Obama today.
Ohio
The Buckeye State is another must-win for Trump, and the poll finds him up by five points among likely voters: 42-37 percent. Johnson receives six percent and Stein gets two percent.
Trump’s edge over Clinton comes mainly from independents (+20 points) and working-class whites (+26). Clinton’s up by just three points among women. Obama won them by 11 in 2012.
Most of Clinton’s (89 percent) and Trump’s supporters (88 percent) are certain they will back their candidate.
“Clinton’s mistakes on the campaign trail have driven many disaffected Republicans into Trump’s camp,” says Shaw. “Just as consequential is the fact Trump is ahead of Clinton among independents by 17-20 points in these states. If that holds, he might actually pull this off.”
Meanwhile, by a 58-30 percent margin, voters approve of the job Republican John Kasich is doing as governor. Among those who approve, 45 percent support Trump, 33 percent back Clinton, and 7 percent Johnson.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE OHIO POLL RESULTS
Without third-party candidates in the mix, it’s Trump over Clinton by 45-40 percent.
Currently, 47 percent of voters approve of the job Obama is doing, while 48 percent disapprove. He won Ohio in both 2012 (by three points) and 2008 (by almost five points).
“Trump has been much more disciplined in his comments recently and is almost certainly benefiting from keeping his attacks focused on Clinton as opposed to other Republicans or Gold Star families,” says Anderson.
Meanwhile, Clinton trails Trump by two points among voters living in union households. That voting bloc went for Obama over Romney by 23 points in 2012.
Senate Races
The polls, released Wednesday, also ask about the senate races in these key states, and find the races within the margin of error in Nevada and North Carolina, while Republican Rob Portman holds a double-digit lead in Ohio. In each state, the GOP senate candidate fares slightly better than Trump.
There’s good news for Republicans in Nevada, where they hope to pick up the seat of the retiring Democratic Senate Leader Harry Reid. Joe Heck leads his Democratic opponent Catherine Cortez Masto by seven points: 43-36 percent. Independent American Party candidate Tom Jones trails with 6 percent and “none of these” gets 5 percent.
In North Carolina, incumbent Sen. Richard Burr bests Democratic challenger Deborah Ross by 43-37 percent, with Libertarian Sean Haugh at 6 percent.
Ohio Sen. Rob Portman holds a 14-point lead over Democrat Ted Strickland: 51-37 percent. The incumbent senator tops the former governor by 28 points among independents. Portman also garners the support of most Republicans (88 percent), as well as 15 percent of Democrats. He won the seat in 2010 with 57 percent of the vote.
“Winning the four-to-five seats needed to regain control of the senate becomes a tricky proposition for the Democrats if the GOP gains the Reid seat and Burr holds on,” notes Shaw. “The Democrats have to win their tight races in Pennsylvania and Indiana, and even that might not be enough.”
There’s also a gubernatorial race in North Carolina. Republican incumbent Pat McCrory tops Democrat Roy Cooper by 46-43 percent. Libertarian Lon Cecil receives 3 percent.
The Fox News Poll is conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R). The polls were conducted September 18-20, 2016, by telephone (landline and cellphone) with live interviewers among a sample of likely voters selected from statewide voter files in Nevada (704), North Carolina (734), and Ohio (737). Bilingual interviewers were used in Nevada. In all three states the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for the total sample of likely voters.
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