Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Sessions to announce investigations into intelligence leaks: source
Attorney General Jeff Sessions will soon announce several criminal leak investigations, Fox News has learned.
A U.S. official familiar with the
discussions said Tuesday that the planned announcement surrounding
stepped-up efforts on leak investigations has “been in the works for
some time and will most likely happen sometime in the next week.”
The news comes in the wake of days of intense
pressure on Sessions, with President Trump lashing out and expressing
his “disappointment” with the attorney general, through tweets,
interviews and news conferences.The investigations will look at news reports that publicized sensitive intelligence material, according to officials who have been briefed on the matter.
Meanwhile, it appears that Sessions has no plans to step down at this point.
A source familiar with the conversation tells Fox News that Sessions’ chief of staff, Jody Hunt, recently told White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus that the attorney general had no intention of resigning.
Anthony Scaramucci, Trump's new communications director, said Tuesday that he was prepared to "fire everybody" to stop unauthorized information coming from the press office.
Speaking to reporters, Scaramucci said that he was "not doing an investigation. I'm just going to get the leaking to stop." He stressed that he had "the authority from the president to do that."
"You're either going to stop leaking or you're going to get fired," Scaramucci said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Jake Gibson is a producer working at the Fox News Washington bureau who covers politics, law enforcement and intelligence issues.
Senate Republicans who defected on health care test vote
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, left, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Ak., were the only Republicans to vote against Tuesday's motion to proceed (AP) |
Vice President Mike Pence was needed in the Senate
Tuesday to cast the tie-breaking vote on a motion to move forward with a
bill to overhaul ObamaCare after two Republicans voted "no."
The votes by Sens. Susan Collins,
R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Ak., eliminated the GOP's margin of error
on the motion. Every other Republican senator voted "aye," while every
Democratic senator joined Collins and Murkowski in voting "no."
Collins and Murkowski are among several moderate
Senate Republicans concerned about possible Medicaid cuts in any
ObamaCare overhaul. In separate statements last week, both women opposed
an attempt by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to pass
legislation repealing ObamaCare without new legislation in place.
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Collins, who did not vote for the 2015 repeal, said that ObamaCare is "so interwoven in our health care system that to repeal it completely with no idea what it's going to be replaced with is not the right approach."
As for potential political consequences of their votes, Murkowski is not due to come up for re-election until 2022. Collins' turn will come in 2020, though she has not ruled out stepping down to run for governor of Maine next year.
Scaramucci: “If they don’t stop leaking I’m going to put them out on Pennsylvania Ave.”
Washington, D.C- Trey Yingst, OAN Chief White House Correspondent
The new White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci is cracking down on leaks. Already, one staffer has resigned as a result.
Michael Short, a former White House Press Assistant, resigned Tuesday after reports surfaced that he would be fired.
The resignation comes following a tumultuous week at the White House. On Friday Press Secretary Sean Spicer resigned following the news that Scaramucci would be the new Communications Director.
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Scaramucci said the President has given him full authority to fire anyone in the administration if they leak to the press.
“You wanna sell postcards to the tourists outside the gate or work in the West Wing?” Scaramucci asked outside the West Wing.
When asked how he would address future leaks, Scaramucci said he would ‘fire everyone’ if necessary.
President Trump has expressed frustration with leaks coming out of his administration, leaving open questions about more resignations in the coming days.
Beijing Demands U.S. End Flights Over China’s Illegally Occupied Islands
China has been expanding its maritime activity over the past few years. (Reuters/PHOTO) |
Pearson Sharp
China takes an aggressive approach to defending islands its occupying illegally, warning U.S. aircraft to stay away.
A pair of armed Chinese fighter jets swooped in to harass a U.S. Navy Reconnaissance plane flight over the East China Sea on Sunday.
U.S. officials say the dangerous behavior nearly caused a collision.
One of the Chinese jets dove under the American plane, then climbed suddenly and popped up just in front of the U.S. pilots.
China dismissed the claims saying it didn’t happen, and then rushed to scold the U.S. for flying over its annexed territory.
Both of the Chinese jets were carrying air-to-air missiles, posing a legitimate threat to the unarmed Navy plane.
The U.S., the UN, and numerous nations in the region—including Japan, the Philippines, and Vietnam—have condemned China’s expansion.
Earlier this month, the U.S. sailed a destroyer near one of China’s annexed islands.
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
McCain to return to Senate on Tuesday ahead of crucial health care vote
Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., will return to the
Senate on Tuesday -- the day of a crucial vote to open debate on
legislation to repeal and replace ObamaCare, his office announced on
Monday night.
McCain, 80, has been recovering at home in Arizona following a brain tumor diagnosis.
“Senator McCain looks forward to returning to the
United States Senate tomorrow to continue working on important
legislation, including health care reform, the National Defense Authorization Act, and new sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea," his office said in a statement.With McCain's return - and barring any other absences - there will now be a full complement of senators on hand for the health care test vote.
JOHN MCCAIN HAS BRAIN TUMOR, HOSPITAL SAYS
That includes 52 Republicans and 48 senators who caucus with the Democrats. Republicans can lose only two votes and have Vice President Pence vote to break the tie and start debate.
A tweet from McCain's account Monday night read: "Look forward to returning to Senate tomorrow to continue work on health care reform, defense bill & #RussiaSanctions."
McCain was diagnosed with a brain tumor following a July 14 craniotomy to remove a blood clot from above his left eye, the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix said last week.
The hospital's examination of the tissue revealed that a primary brain tumor, know as a glioblastoma, was associated with the blood clot.
TRUMP CALLS OBAMACARE 'BIG, FAT, UGLY LIE'
Earlier Monday, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, discussed plans to get McCain back to the Senate.
"They were trying to get approval [from his doctors] for his travel arrangements. I've personally volunteered to rent an RV," Cornyn said, according to Politico.
Fox News' Chad Pergram and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump asks if The Washington Post is an Amazon 'lobbyist weapon'
President Trump took to Twitter late Monday to call
out The Washington Post and asked if Amazon’s billionaire-owner Jeff
Bezos is using the paper as a “lobbyist weapon against Congress.”
“Is Fake News Washington Post being
used as a lobbyist weapon against Congress to keep Politicians from
looking into Amazon no-tax monopoly?” Trump tweeted.
Bezos bought the paper in 2013. He made the purchase as an individual and Amazon.com Inc. was not involved.Trump was apparently upset with the paper's report on Syria.
Amazon.com collects state sales taxes in all 45 states with a sales tax and the District of Columbia, according to their website. State governments have sought to capture sales taxes lost to internet retailers, though they have struggled with a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that retailers must have a physical presence in a state before officials can make them collect sales tax.
This is not the first time that Trump has taken aim at the website’s use of the tax system. In June, Trump took to Twitter and blasted the “#AmazonWashingtonPost, sometimes referred to as the guardian of Amazon not paying internet takes (which they should).”
Both Amazon and The Post, in June, did not respond to Trump’s tweet.
Kim Ruebin, a senior fellow in the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, told CBS’ MoneyWatch at the time, "They're (Amazon) being good citizens, and they're collecting the taxes and remitting it. … If you want more and more of your deliveries to be done in a day or two, you actually need warehouses and physical presence in places to get your goods to other places."
Bezos was one of a number of technology executives who visited the White House recently for a strategy session on modernizing government.
In 2015, he wrote that Bezos bought the Post “for purposes of keeping taxes down at his no profit company, @amazon.” He added that “If @amazon ever had to pay fair taxes, its stock would crash and it would crumble like a paper bag. The @washingtonpost scam is saving it!”
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