Lawmakers probe US funding for Soros groups, left-wing causes in Europe

Report alleges George Soros is meddling in foreign affairs

George Soros' alleged meddling in European politics has caught the attention of Congress.
Concerns about Soros' involvement most recently were raised by the Hungarian prime minister, who last week lashed out at the Soros "empire" and accused it of deploying "tons of money and international heavy artillery."
But days earlier, Republican lawmakers in Washington started asking questions about whether U.S. tax dollars also were being used to fund Soros projects in the small, conservative-led country of Macedonia.
Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., led a group of House lawmakers in writing to Ambassador Jess Baily -- an Obama appointee -- demanding answers. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, also expressed concerns about USAID money going to Soros' Open Society Foundations as part of a broader concern that the U.S. Embassy has been taking sides in party politics.
“I have received credible reports that, over the past few years, the US Mission to Macedonia has actively intervened in the party politics of Macedonia, as well as the shaping of its media environment and civil society, often favoring groups of one political persuasion over another,” Lee said in his letter.
Together, the concerns reflect growing conservative pushback against Soros' operations in Europe.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban last week ripped the Hungary-born billionaire's "trans-border empire." Orban has been one of the central European voices speaking out against the push by E.U. leaders to absorb Syrian refugees and has been criticized for his hardline stance.
Soros' Open Society Foundations -- one of the billionaire's biggest groups operating across the globe -- fired back, saying Orban was trying to deflect attention from other issues.
“The Open Society Foundations for over 30 years have supported civil society groups in Hungary who are addressing profound problems in education, health care, media freedom and corruption," Laura Silber, the organization's chief communications officer, said in a statement to The Associated Press. "Any attacks on this work and those groups are solely an attempt to deflect attention from government inability to address these issues."
The group's stated goal is “to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens” but critics claim it's a front for Soros’ hard-left political maneuverings.
Former Macedonian PM Nikola Gruevski says Soros has a "decisive influence" on his country’s politics.
“If it were not for George Soros behind it with all the millions he pours into Macedonia, the entire network of NGOs, media, politicians, inside and out ... the economy would be stronger, we would have had more new jobs,” he said in a recent interview with Macedonia’s Republika newspaper.
Macedonia, while small, is a broadly conservative country. It has a flat rate tax of 10 percent, a small-government philosophy and a ruling conservative party (VMRO-DPMNE) that has greeted the election of President Trump warmly and pledged to work with him.
Lee’s staff recently met with Macedonia lawmakers, who also passed on a white paper from a citizen’s initiative called “Stop Operation Soros” which alleges U.S. money has been funding hard-left causes in the country -- including violent riots in the streets, as well as a Macedonian version of Saul Alinsky’s far-left handbook “Rules for Radicals.”
In an extensive 40-page dossier, the group alleges USAID money is being used to fund activists and exclusively left-wing media groups as a way to sway the country’s politics.
The Open Society Foundations did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News.
On the Soros connection, Lee’s letter asked if the Mission has “selected the Open Society Foundations as the major implementer of USAID projects in Macedonia” and if the group has been perceived to have political bias in Macedonia.
In a reply dated Feb. 9, the State Department told Lee that the Mission in the country has worked to advance U.S. interests “in a non-biased, non-partisan, objective and transparent manner.” The letter claimed U.S. government assistance has not funded partisan political activities in Macedonia, but noted that from 2002 to the present, USAID had provided three grants to Foundation Open Society – Macedonia (FOSM).
One of these grants is outlined on the USAID website. Between 2012 and 2016, USAID gave almost $5 million in taxpayer cash to FOSM for “The Civil Society Project,” which “aims to empower Macedonian citizens to hold government accountable.” USAID’s website links to www.soros.org.mk, and says the project trained hundreds of young Macedonians “in youth activism and the use of new media instruments.”
The letter from the State Department to Lee said USAID also recently funded a new Civic Engagement Project which partners with four organizations, including FOSM. It was not clear how much this project would cost, but Smith put the figure at $9.5 million.
“The money is very significant, in fact there is still money in the pipeline, from 2017 to 2021, 9.5 million,” Smith said in a recent radio interview with the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins. “It’s one thing to do election monitoring, which is a very noble cause to make sure there’s free and fair elections, but it’s quite another thing to be backing parties that Soros and his gang want to see in control of that country.”
It isn’t the only time Soros has worked with the State Department. Among the emails of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta released by Wikileaks was one from 2011 in which Soros urged Hillary Clinton to take action in Albania over recent demonstrations in the capital of Tirana.
Soros asked Clinton to “bring the full weight of the international community to bear on Prime Minister Berisha and opposition leader Edi Rama to forestall further public demonstrations and to tone down public pronouncements” and appoint a senior European official as mediator.
Within a few days, an envoy was dutifully dispatched.
Former Macedonian PM Gruevski cited the WikiLeaks emails as proof “[Soros] can go visit top leading American officials whenever he wants to, arranges meetings day in day out and has significant influence.”
While Soros has often been a bogeyman for the American right, the liberal businessman has kept a steady pressure and funding of left-wing causes within America as well.
“This guy is a spider with lots of webs,” GOP strategist Brad Blakeman told Fox News' "Strategy Room." “He controls numerous third-party groups, where he uses his influence. We’ve seen it internally with Black Lives Matter, the demonstrations taken place after the inaugural -- this is what he does.”
After violent left-wing activists rioted at Berkeley in protest of a lecture by Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos, The Daily Caller reported that the main group behind the protests -- Refuse Facism -- was backed by The Alliance for Global Justice -- which in turn is backed by The Tides Foundation, a Soros-funded group.
Soros also has donated to Media Matters and has been a major financial contributor to the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank founded by Podesta.

Hunt is on: Leakers pursued by Team Trump could face hard time

President Trump has vowed to hunt down whoever is leaking classified information about him and his team, and if he succeeds in unmasking the sources of illegal disclosures, they could face hard time.
Trump himself has been plagued by leaks about his meeting schedule and phone calls to heads of state. But the most damaging leaks to his month-old administration have been those that cost retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn his post as national security adviser. Flynn had to resign after information came out about his December phone call to a Russian ambassador.

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Flynn had to step down after leaks exposed his talks with a Russian diplomat. (Associated Press)

Trump pulled the plug on Flynn for misleading Vice President Pence about the substance of the call, but said the discussion itself was not improper. It was the current or former government officials who he suspects turned classified information over to the press that broke the law, the president said.

" ... the leak environment has just kicked into hyper drive.”
- Thomas Dupree, former deputy assistant attorney general

“The real scandal here is that classified information is illegally given out by ‘intelligence’ like candy,” Trump tweeted this week. “Very un-American!”
In recent years, even leakers who claimed to be whistle blowers and cloaked their motives in patriotism have found the law takes a dim view of their activities. Trump on Thursday said the Justice Department will look into the issue, and it is a good bet that Flynn’s replacement, who has not yet been named, will also be charged with rooting out loose-lipped bureaucrats.
“Leaks are prevalent in Washington, [but] I think what makes this different is the leak environment has just kicked into hyper drive,” Thomas Dupree, former deputy assistant attorney general, told Fox News. “In the first few weeks of this administration, we have seen a multitude of leaks on a variety of subjects – from national security to immigration, to the conversation that Flynn had with the Russians – it’s just every direction.”

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Chelsea Manning served hard time, but her sentence was commuted by President Obama. (AP Photo/US Army)

While some may see leaks as part of the Capitol Hill game, and “whistleblowers” to be admired, what’s happening now seems to have moved beyond giving background information to reporters and into the realm of criminality.
Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, and Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., have written to the Department of Justice Inspector General requesting an official probe into how classified information has been handled.
“The release of classified information can, by definition, have grave effects on national security,” Chaffetz wrote in the letter.

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Chaffetz says national security is at risk. (Associated Press)

Any leakers who are exposed could face serious time in prison.
“They [the penalties] can be pretty serious,” said Dupree “There are a number of provisions in the federal, criminal statutes – Title 18 and elsewhere – that provide everything from fines, to even jail time, for people who leak classified, highly sensitive, national security information.”
Some recent examples:

• Chelsea Manning, who was sentenced to in 2013 to 35 years in prison for providing more than 700,000 government files to WikiLeaks. Manning’s sentence was later commuted by President Obama.
• Jeffrey A. Sterling, who was sentenced to 3 and ½ years in prison for disclosing national defense information and obstructing justice after disclosing classified information to a New York Times reporter.
• Shamai K. Leibowitz, a linguist for the FBI, who was sentenced to 20 months in prison for leaking secret documents to a blogger.

Although suspicion has swirled around a handful of former Obama administration insiders, no one has been identified as a leaker of information damaging to Trump. And none of the leaks themselves have been proven illegal. But Trump, who vowed during his campaign to “drain the swamp,” is finding the first order of business is plugging leaks.

 

'UNWAVERING' COMMITMENT: Pence tries to assure Europe that US will support partnership

Vice President Pence on Saturday worked to assure NATO allies that the United States would be “unwavering” in its commitment to the trans-Atlantic alliance.
Pence, in his first overseas trip as vice president, told the Munich Security Conference that President Donald Trump intends to "stand with Europe." He sought to calm nervous European allies who remain concerned about Russian aggression and have been alarmed by the U.S. president’s positive statements about his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
"Today, on behalf of President Trump, I bring you this assurance: The United States of America strongly supports NATO and will be unwavering in its commitment to our trans-Atlantic alliance," Pence said.
MCCAIN IN GERMANY SAYS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IN ‘DISARRAY’
During his address to foreign diplomats and security officials also sought to reassure international partners who worry that Trump may pursue isolationist tendencies.
Pence said the U.S. would demand that Russia honor a 2015 peace deal agreed upon in Minsk, Belarus, to end violence in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russia-backed separatists.
"Know this: The United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground which as you know President Trump believes can be found," Pence said.
Pence met afterward with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who addressed the conference just before the vice president. Merkel stressed the need to maintain international alliances and told the audience, with Pence seated a few feet away, that NATO is "in the American interest."
The vice president’s comments come just weeks after Trump called NATO obsolete, according to a Bloomberg Politics reports about an interview the then-president elect gave to a German paper.
 “It’s obsolete, first because it was designed many, many years ago,” Trump said. “Secondly, countries aren’t paying what they should” and NATO “didn’t deal with terrorism.”
On Saturday, Pence said the U.S. would demand that Russia honor a 2015 peace agreement aimed to end fighting in Ukraine between government forces and Russian-backed separatists.
"Know this: The United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground which as you know President Trump believes can be found," Pence said.
Pence also reinforced the Trump administration's message that NATO members must spend more on defense.
NATO's 28-member countries committed in 2014 to spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense within a decade. But only the U.S. and four other members of the post-World War II military coalition are meeting the standard, Pence said.
Failure to meet the commitment, he said, "erodes the very foundation of our alliance."
"Let me be clear on this point: The president of the United States expects our allies to keep their word, to fulfill this commitment and, for most, that means the time has come to do more," Pence said.
James Jeffrey, a U.S. ambassador to Iraq during the Obama administration, said Pence looked "like an adult.” The question is will Trump listen to him?"
The visit, which will include a stop in Brussels on Sunday and Monday, comes amid worries in Europe about Russian aggression and Trump's relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Pence has also scheduled meetings Saturday with the leaders of the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko — countries dealing with the threat of Russian incursion. Pence also planned to meet with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.
"The vice president has sent reassuring messages through his own engagement but that hasn't been enough to dispel the concerns that you see in many parts of Europe," Jeff Rathke, a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said. "There are such grave challenges that the U.S. and Europe faces that it only heightens the desire for additional clarity from Washington."

Out of Control College Student Cartoons

Netanyahu: US, Israel have 'grand mission' to confront Iran threat

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News' "Hannity" Thursday night that his country and the United States have a "grand mission" to confront the threat of a nuclear Iran.
Netanyahu, who met President Donald Trump at the White House Wednesday, told host Sean Hannity that Tehran's aggressive rhetoric toward Israel is meant to mask their intentions against the U.S.
"They want to have [intercontinental ballistic missiles] that can reach your country. That’s what they’re working on right now. Remember, you’re the Great Satan [to them]," Netanyahu said. "They believe that they’re destined to govern the world. Anybody that doesn’t agree with them, they’ll be able to subjugate or kill, and they’re working on the means to achieve that."
Netanyahu described his meeting with Trump as a "historical moment," as well as "a meeting of the minds and a meeting of the hearts."
 "I feel we have now, as the president says, an even stronger alliance," the prime minister said. "A new day, he called it. Maybe a new age."
Netanyahu again criticized the Iran nuclear deal, a key source of his frustration with the Obama administration.
"The deal essentially said this, it said no bomb today, 100 bombs tomorrow, in ten years," he said. "Now the assumption was, people [would say] ‘Well, OK, we’re kicking the can down the road.’ But this nuclear can of a single bomb then becomes the capacity to make dozens and dozens of bombs. And Iran doesn’t change its attitude."
"Since the signing of the deal," Netanyahu said, "Iran has become more aggressive, more deadly, sponsoring more terrorism … with more money, a lot more money.
"They’ve killed Americans all over the place. They’ve sponsored terrorism against Americans all over the place. Now they’re going to build ICBMs that can reach the United States and have multiple warheads to do that? That’s horrible," he added. "It’s dangerous for America, dangerous for Israel, dangerous for the Arabs. Everybody now understands it and there’s an American president who understands it and we’re talking about what to do about this common threat."

Wisconsin students group demands free tuition for black students

Colleges out of Control.

The student government at the University of Wisconsin-Madison?

The student government at the University of Wisconsin-Madison said on Wednesday that black students should be offered free tuition and housing because blacks were legally barred from education during slavery and university remains out of reach for black students today.
The Associated Students of Madison said in a resolution that suburban high school students are over-represented. The group said consideration of ACT and SAT scores in applications upholds "white supremacy" because it restricts opportunities for the poor.
The college has proposed measures aimed at improving diversity.
"The university's rhetoric suggests that it is committed to diversity and inclusion, so this legislation compels the university to move towards action — which is imperative," the resolution's author, ASM Student Council Rep. Tyriek Mack, said in a statement. "If no one challenges the university's empty promises, then the racial composition will remain stagnant."
VIDEO: COLLEGE STUDENTS WEAR PINS TO ID WHITE PRIVILEGE
The resolution demands free tuition, free housing and no fees for all black people, including former inmates.
The proposal calls for 10 percent of donations from the college to bolster financial aid and study the feasibility of test-optional and geographically weighted admissions.
Madison enrollment is currently made up of about two-percent of black students.
University spokeswoman Meredith McGlone noted that the proportion of "students of color" has grown from 11 percent to 15 percent over the last decade.
McGlone said the Chancellor proposed giving first-generation transfers from two-year schools free tuition for a year, contingent on funding in state budget, and a recent $10 million donation will be invested in expanding the Chancellor's Scholarship Program.
In August the university proposed building a black cultural center that would introduce discussions about social differences, along with expanding ethnic studies courses and diversity training for all faculty and staff.
In-state undergraduate tuition has been frozen for four years and Gov. Scott Walker has proposed a 5 percent tuition cut for resident undergraduates in the second year of the upcoming state budget.
Chinese graduate student Yuhong Zhu said the resolution is awkward and he'd rather see more scholarships than a blanket offer of free access.
"I wouldn't appreciate if the school offered me free tuition just because I'm a minority," he said. "We should at least have to work hard for it."

Kremlin reportedly ordered state media to tone down Trump coverage

The Kremlin on Thursday ordered state media to tone down its rosy coverage of President Trump as concerns about Russia’s future relationship with the new administration grow, a report said.
The crackdown on favorable Trump coverage comes at a time when U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies conduct several investigations to determine the extent of contacts Trump’s aides had with Russia during and after the 2016 election campaign, Bloomberg reported.
A person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Russian President Putin’s staffers feel viewers no longer find the coverage of Trump’s transition into power interesting.
Some of the more popular segments on Russian TV invovle Trump's pledge to "drain the swamp."
Trump’s election was hailed in Russia as a possible new beginning between Washington and Moscow.
However, the intensive coverage of Trump on Russia TV went above the level of what the Kremlin wanted, Bloomberg reported. Trump received more mentions on TV than Putin did in January – the first time Putin did not hold the title since 2012, according to Interfax.
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s resignation played a role in Trump’s coverage in Russia. Flynn was reportedly covered as a “sympathetic voice” in Washington for Russia.
Trump’s tweet on Crimea also raised the eyebrows of the Kremlin. Trump on Wednesday accused Putin of seizing the region from Ukraine in a series of tweets.

CIA Director Pompeo denies agency hides intelligence from Trump

CIA Director Mike Pompeo

 

CIA Director Mike Pompeo on Thursday denied allegations that the agency was hiding intelligence from President Trump.
Pompeo called reports that the agency was keeping intelligence from Trump “dead wrong.” He added that the reports damage the “integrity of thousands of professional intelligence officers.”
"The CIA does not, has not, and will never hide intelligence from the president, period. We are not aware of any instance when that has occurred," Pompeo said in a statement Thursday in an attempt to dispute reports that the spy community is withholding information from the commander in chief.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that in some cases officials opted not to tell the president how they collected information. The paper, citing both former and current officials, said the decision to hold back information underscored the mistrust between the Executive Branch and spies.
Additionally, a government official told Fox News that Trump has in fact been receiving what’s known as the President’s Daily Brief, noting that it does not routinely include raw data or discussion of sources and methods.
The Journal report points out that, historically, intelligence officials have held back information about how spies gather information, but in those cases, the information was not held back due to concerns over the president’s trustworthiness.
Pompeo’s statement came on the same day that a senior White House official told the Associated Press the administration had asked billionaire Stephen Feinberg to lead a review of the U.S. intelligence community. Feinberg is the co-founder of Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm.
Feinberg has been asked to make recommendations on improvements to efficiency and coordination between the various intelligence agencies, the official said. His position was not to become official until he completed an ethics review, said the official, who wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
However, Trump later appeared to back off the idea, saying somebody else might not be needed because it could be handled by Pompeo, FBI Director James Comey and Dan Coats, the president's nominee to be director of national intelligence who has not yet been confirmed.
"They're in position so I hope that we'll be able to straighten that out without using anybody else," Trump said at a news conference.
He said Feinberg was a "very talented man, very successful man" who has offered his services to the administration. "You know, it's something we may take advantage of. But I don't think we're (going to) need that at all because of the fact that you know, I think that we are gonna be able to straighten it out very easily on its own.”