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Former U.S. officials urge Trump administration to work with Iran opposition

EXCLUSIVE: Nearly two dozen former top U.S. government officials have urged President-elect Donald Trump to work with Iran's opposition once in office, according to a letter obtained by Fox News.
A letter signed by 23 former officeholders calls on Trump to consult with the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). The group has called for free elections and freedom of religion in Iran, as well as an end to what it calls Tehran's "religious dictatorship."
IRAN DISSIDENTS SEEKING MEETING WITH TRUMP
While the Iranian government calls the group terrorists, the NCRI’s network of supporters in Iran helped the U.S. with intelligence during the Iraq invasion. The group also helped expose Iran's nascent nuclear weapons program.
"Iran's rulers have directly targeted US strategic interests, policies and principles, and those of our allies and friends in the Middle East," the letter reads, in part. "To restore American influence and credibility in the world, the United States needs a revised policy."
The letter's signatories include former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani; former Sen. Joe Lieberman; and retired Army Gen. Hugh Shelton, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Bill Clinton.
Last month, Fox obtained a letter to Trump from a group of Iranian dissidents that urged the president-elect to follow through on his campaign promise to revisit the nuclear deal between Iran and six global powers, including the U.S.
"I think what's being offered here is to say, 'Look, there is an opposition in Iran,'" former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton told Fox News. "It's a lot of different pieces, like all opposition movements [and] a lot of the groups don't get on well together, but let's be clear: There is an alternative to the ayatollahs."
The Trump transition team has not given any official response to the letter, and it's unclear whether Trump has any plans to take a meeting with Iran dissidents and groups.
Earlier Sunday, Iran's deputy foreign minister told reporters that "the new U.S. administration cannot abandon the deal." Abbas Araghchi added that the agreement "will not be renegotiated" and repeated an earlier warning by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who publicly stated, "If they tear it up, we will burn it," without elaborating.

Trump slams outgoing CIA director Brennan after criticism over Russia threat

CIA Director Brennan casts doubt on Assange's credibility

President-elect Donald Trump blasted outgoing CIA Director John Brennan on social media Sunday after Brennan said Trump does not have a “full understanding” of Russia’s power and threat to the world.
“I don’t think he has a full understanding of Russian capabilities and the actions they are taking on the world,” Brennan told “Fox News Sunday.”
He also suggested that Trump lacks a “full appreciation” of Russia’s aggression or about why President Obama imposed sanctions on the Kremlin for meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
“Mr. Trump has to understand that absolving Russia is a road that he needs to be very, very careful about moving down,” Brennan said.
Trump responded with a two-tweet message that criticized the CIA's record under Brennan and questioned whether the director had leaked a dossier of unverified allegations that Russia spies had obtained compromising personal and financial information about Trump.
The day after the dossier's contents were published by BuzzFeed, Trump posted on Twitter that intelligence agencies "should never have allowed this fake news to 'leak'" before asking "Are we living in Nazi Germany?"
Trump has repeatedly hoped for better U.S. ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he has been particularly suspicious of the entire U.S. intelligence community since it concluded Russia and Putin tried to influence the elections, in an apparent effort to help Trump defeat Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
Brennan said Trump likening the U.S. intelligence community to Nazi Germany for presumably leaking the content of an opposition-research dossier on him is “outrageous.”
"There is no interest in undermining the president elect,” he said. “Our responsibility is to understand dangers on the world stage so (Trump and his Republican administration) have the intel we have so they can make the best decision.”
However, he said Trump “needs to be disciplined” and that he’ll face numerous challenges” in his presidency that begins Friday -- with terrorism, cybersecurity, North Korea and Middle East instability among those at the top.
“So many issues on Day One,” said Brennan, who President Obama appointed to lead the CIA in 2013.

Paul previews ObamaCare replacement plan focusing on lower cost policies

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul on Sunday previewed his ObamaCare replacement plan -- in an apparent effort to take the lead in the growing GOP effort to simultaneously repeal and replace the 2010 health care law.
Paul, who was a 2016 presidential candidate, said the bill that he and other congressional Republicans have crafted attempts to “insure the most amount of people, give access to the most amount of people, at the least amount of cost."
Paul, a physician, has emerged in recent weeks as a leader in the repeal-replace effort, amid Republican concerns that fulfilling campaign vows to dismantle ObamaCare at the start of the 115^th Congress could leave tens of millions of Americans uninsured.
Incoming Republican President Donald Trump has expressed similar concerns, despite campaigning on a winning repeal-replace agenda.
Paul tweeted on Jan. 6: "I just spoke to (Trump) and he fully supports my plan to replace ObamaCare the same day we repeal it. The time to act is now."
The Republican-led Congress has already taken votes toward repealing ObamaCare under a process known as budget reconciliation, which effectively keeps Democrats from blocking the effort and requires only a simple majority for passage.
Among the other Senate Republicans trying slow the repeal process, to synch with a replacement plan, are Susan Collins, Maine; Bob Corker, Tennessee; Rob Portman, Ohio; and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
Paul suggested Sunday that the replacement plan will include more low-cost insurance plans
"One of the key reforms that we will do is, we're going to legalize the sale of inexpensive insurance," he told CNN’s “State of the Union." “That means getting rid of the ObamaCare mandates on what you can buy.”
Paul last week announced some of the early details of the plan on Fox News' "Special Report" with Bret Baier.
Paul said his plan borrows from previous GOP replacement plans and appears to have consensus among congressional Republicans.
"The ideas that we've taken for the replacement bill come from other Republicans' bills," he told Fox.
Paul said Sunday the plan also will include health saving accounts and tax credits to help customers save money.
He also suggested the plan will allow people and small businesses to create their own markets.
"There's no reason why (a business owner) with four employees shouldn't be able to join with hundreds and hundreds of other businesses that are small to become a large entity to get leverage to bring your prices down," Paul said.
However, he acknowledged rolling back Medicaid expansion as part of the ObamaCare repeal remains a “big question.”
Many Americans got coverage under Medicare expansion in states.
On the issue of Rex Tillerson’s effort to become the next secretary of state, Paul said he’ll support the former ExxonMobil CEO’s bid.
"Yes, I will vote for Rex Tillerson," said Paul, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee holding the confirmation hearings. “I was very impressed."

Trump reportedly insists healthcare replacement will have 'insurance for everybody'

President-elect Donald Trump revealed in an interview with The Washington Post that he’s almost finished with a plan to replace ObamaCare and vowed to have “insurance for everybody.”
Trump declined to reveal the pertinent details of the new healthcare plan, but told The Post in the interview published Sunday night that drug companies will be forced to negotiate on Medicare and Medicaid prices. He also plans to fight pharmaceutical companies over drug prices.
The president-elect insisted that his plan for replacing the Affordable Healthcare Act is all but finished, and added that care would have “lower numbers, much lower deductibles.” He went as far to say that he’s ready to reveal it alongside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan.
“It’s very much formulated down to the final strokes. We haven’t put it in quite yet but we’re going to be doing it soon,” Trump said during the interview with the paper.
He added that he’s still waiting for Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., to be confirmed as his secretary for health and human services. A hearing for his confirmation has yet to be scheduled.
PAUL PREVIEWS OBAMACARE REPLACEMENT PLAN FOCUSING ON LOWER COST POLICIES
Congressional Republicans took the first big step last week in their seven-year trek to dismantle President Obama’s healthcare law, passing a budget that would ease the passage of a bill that would replace ObamaCare. The budget — the Senate approved it Thursday — bars Democratic senators from blocking that future legislation with a filibuster.
The budget "gives us the tools we need for a step-by-step approach to fix these problems and put Americans back in control of their healthcare," Ryan, R-Wis., said after the vote.
Though Trump wants a quick repeal and replace of the law, there’s likely to be months of debate and infighting before the new law could be passed. Much of Friday's debate underscored the sharp-elbowed politics of the issue.
"People in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio, screwed," said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., citing places where he said voters would suffer from the health law's repeal — which also were normally reliably Democratic states that Trump won on Election Day. Continuing the theme of highlighting Trump voters, Jeffries added, "People in Appalachia and rural America, screwed."
Democrats praised the law for extending coverage to tens of millions of Americans and helping many millions more afford policies and buy prescriptions. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., said rather than "repeal and replace," Republicans should name their effort "repeal and repent" because of the harm they were about to cause to voters.
No. 3 House GOP leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana aimed his rhetoric at Democrats defending one of Obama's proudest legislative achievements, a law that Republicans say missed its goals of cutting consumers' medical costs and increasing access to doctors.
"This should not be about preserving somebody's legacy," Scalise said. "It should be about fulfilling those promises to the American people that were broken."
THOUSANDS ATTEND US RALLIES TO SUPPORT OBAMA HEALTH LAW
Approval of the budget means Senate Democrats won't be allowed to filibuster the future repeal-and-replace bill — a pivotal advantage for Republicans. They control the Senate 52-48, but it takes 60 votes to end filibusters, which are endless procedural delays that can scuttle legislation.
Congressional Republicans have made annulling Obama's law and replacing it a top goal for the past seven years. GOP rifts and an Obama veto prevented them from achieving anything other than holding scores of votes that served as political messaging.
Trump insists that the new law will be better despite worries from Congress and the possibility of putting 20 million Americans at risk of losing their health coverage.
“We’re going to have insurance for everybody. There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen with us.”

Pence urges Americans to unite on Inauguration Day, says he's 'disappointed' in Lewis' comments

Vice President-elect Mike Pence on Sunday called for congressional Democrats, and all Americans, to unite under incoming President Donald Trump, and said he was “disappointed” in Rep. John Lewis for questioning the legitimacy of Trump’s presidency and urged him to reconsider his Inauguration Day boycott.
“Donald Trump won this election fair and square,” Pence told “Fox News Sunday.” “The American people know that.”
Lewis, D-Ga., a civil rights icon, said in an interview airing Sunday on NBC that he didn’t see Trump as a “legitimate president,” amid evidence Russia tried to hurt the candidacy of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
“While I have great respect for John Lewis and for his contributions, particularly to the civil rights movement, I was deeply disappointed to see someone of his stature question the legitimacy of Donald Trump’s presidency and to hear him say he was not attending the inauguration," Pence said. "I hope he reconsiders.”
Lewis joins a handful of congressional Democrats who say they won’t attend Inauguration Day on Friday, when Trump, a Republican, becomes the country’s 45^th president.
"I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected. And they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton," Lewis said in his interview with NBC's "Meet the Press."
On Saturday, Trump retaliated against Lewis for the remarks.
“Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart,” Trump tweeted.
Trump, in a follow-up tweet Saturday, said Lewis should spend more time helping his "crime invested" district, instead of "falsely complaining about the election results."
"All talk, talk, talk -- no action or results. Sad." Trump concluded.
Pence argued Sunday that Trump “has the right to defend himself.”
He also said that Lewis -- who was severely beaten in the historic, 1960’s “Bloody Sunday” civil rights protest -- acted irresponsibly in using that stature to attack Trump.
“It was an act of irresponsibility,” Pence said. “It’s just deeply disappointing to me, and I hope [Lewis] reconsiders.”

Jennifer Holliday backs out of inauguration, apologizes to LGBT people

To her it's all about MONEY!

Tony-award winning singer Jennifer Holliday has decided not to sing at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration – caving in to significant pressure from gay and lesbian fans who were outraged by her decision to put patriotism over politics.
“I sincerely apologize for my lapse of judgment, for being uneducated on the issues that affect every American at this crucial time in history and for causing such dismay and heartbreak for my fans,” Holliday wrote in a letter provided to The Wrap.
The apology came one day after she defended her participation in an interview with The New York Times.
“We’ve become such a polarized country – we’re not listening to what the Obamas have said,” she told the newspaper. “They told us to move forward with hope – they didn’t tell us to stop participating.”
 Holliday went on to say she was singing for the people – the nation.
“I voted for Mrs. Clinton, and they knew that. But if someone wants me to sing a national anthem or something, we think about America, and we go,” she said.
It wasn’t long before Holliday learned that the Trump Administration appreciates tolerance and diversity more than militant members of the LGBT community.
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“It brought a lot of threats from people already saying I’ll never work again,” she told the newspaper. “If that’s what America has come to, where we all hate and bully people, there’s no more freedom of speech.”
Welcome to my world, Holliday – the world of the gun-toting, Bible-clinging, Deplorable Americans.
“I know everybody hates me now, but that shows we are all just hateful people now — we don’t even want to work together,” she said.
And on Saturday the militant gay and lesbian community got what they wanted – nothing short of complete allegiance to their cause.
“Please know that I HEAR YOU and I feel your pain,” she wrote in her apology letter to the lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, gender neutral, asexual, questioning, non-binary, gender fluid crowd. “The LGBT Community was mostly responsible for birthing my career and I am deeply indebted to you.”

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In other words, Holliday regrets putting patriotism ahead of the personal feelings of the gay and lesbian community.
I am somewhat sympathetic to her plight. I believe this was the first time, she had been bullied by a bunch of vulgar, militant social justice warriors. It can be unnerving for first-timers.
Hell hath no fury like a lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, asexual, gender neutral, questioning, non-binary, gender fluid fan scorned.
Regardless, this ugly episode is a reminder  that we pledge allegiance to the American flag – not the Rainbow Flag.

Democrats, celebrities and Republicans defend Democratic Rep. Lewis after Trump's tweets

Sure they'll defend him because they know what side of the bread the butter is on :-)

A growing number of Democrats, Hollywood celebrities and some Republicans came to the defense of civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis amid fallout from Donald Trump's comments earlier on Saturday.
Trump said that Lewis, who has argued the president-elect won't be a legitimate leader, should focus more on fixing his Georgia district.
“Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart,” Trump tweeted.
The response on Twitter was swift. GOP Sen. Ben Sassse of Nebraska tweeted that "John Lewis and his "talk" have changed the world."
Lewis, a leader in the civil rights movement of the 1960s who was beaten by state troopers during the "Bloody Sunday" march from Selma to Montgomery in Alabama, says in an NBC's "Meet the Press" to air Sunday that he does not consider Trump a "legitimate president," and blamed the Russians for helping the Republican win the White House. "You know, I believe in forgiveness. I believe in trying to work with people. It will be hard. It's going to be very difficult. I don't see this president-elect as a legitimate president," Lewis said.
Trump, in followup tweet Saturday, said Lewis should spend more time helping his "crime invested" district, instead of "falsely complaining about the election results."
"All talk, talk, talk -- no action or results. Sad." Trump concluded.
Lewsi has said he will skip next week's inauguration of Trump at the Capitol, joining several other Democrats who have decided to boycott the historic event.
"I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected. And they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton," Lewis said.
The Lewis-Trump fued escalted on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
U.S. Intelligence agencies have said Russia meddled in the election to help Trump win. After spending weeks challenging that assessment, Trump finally accepted that the Russians were behind the election-year hacking of Democrats that roiled the White House race. However, he also emphasized that "there was absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election including the fact that there was no tampering whatsoever with voting machines."
Lewis explained his decision to stay away from the inauguration as "you cannot be at home with something that you feel that is wrong, is not right."
He said it will be the first inauguration he has missed in three decades, a time that includes Democrats and Republicans taking the oath of office.
Other Democratic lawmakers who have announced plans to skip the inauguration include Reps. Barbara Lee of California, Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Luis Gutierrez of Illinois. They cite an array of reasons, but have one at least one thing in common. All represent heavily Democratic districts.