Tillerson raps some U.S. allies for religious freedom violations, slams IS

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson delivers remarks on the 2016 International Religious Freedom Annual report at the State Department in Washington, U.S. August 15, 2017.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. allies including Saudi Arabia and Bahrain did not uphold principles of religious freedom in 2016, while Islamic State has carried out “genocide” against religious minorities, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Tuesday.
Tillerson made the comments at the State Department while introducing the agency’s annual report on religious freedom, required by a 1998 act of Congress. The report is the first to be released during the Trump administration and covers 2016.
Saudi Arabia, Tillerson said, ought to “embrace greater degrees of religious freedom for all of its citizens.” He cited criminal penalties for apostasy, atheism, blasphemy, and insulting the Saudi state’s interpretation of Islam, as well as attacks and discrimination targeting Shi’ite Muslims.
The kingdom follows the strict Sunni Muslim Wahhabi school of Islam.
The report said Saudi Arabia has used counter-terrorism laws to target atheists and Shi’ite Muslims. The United States and Saudi Arabia have long been close partners in counter-terrorism efforts and the kingdom was the first stop on U.S. President Donald Trump’s maiden international visit.
Tillerson singled out another Gulf Arab state, Bahrain, saying it “must stop discriminating against the Shia communities.”
Bahrain’s foreign ministry said Tillerson’s remarks were “inappropriate” and showed “a deep misunderstanding of the facts.” It called on the State Department to discuss such matters directly with the kingdom before making statements.
“The history of the Kingdom of Bahrain is characterized by coexistence and religious harmony,” the ministry said in a statement. It said Bahrainis of different sects, including Shi’ites, served as government officials, judges, diplomats and other professions.
Tillerson said that in Turkey, a NATO ally, “authorities continued to limit the human rights of members of some religious minority groups.” American pastor Andrew Brunson has been jailed in Turkey since October on charges of being part of a terrorist organization, according to news reports.
Tillerson said religious freedom is “under attack” in Pakistan, citing the marginalization of Ahmadiyya Muslims, a minority sect which Pakistan considers non-Muslim.
Tillerson said Islamic State, the Sunni extremist group that has controlled parts of Iraq and Syria, “is clearly responsible for genocide against Yezidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims in areas it controls or has controlled.”
Tillerson said Iran targeted religious minorities including Baha’is and Christians, and in 2016 executed 20 people on charges including “waging war against God.” He also called out China and Sudan in his remarks.
The Chinese government tortures and imprisons thousands for practicing their religious beliefs, Tillerson said, citing the targeting of Falun Gong members, Uighur Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists. And in Sudan, the government arrests and intimidates clergy and blocks the construction of churches while tearing down existing ones, he said.
Tillerson’s decision to introduce the report contrasted with how he handled the State Department’s annual human rights report in March. He declined to unveil it in person, breaking with precedent, and drew criticism he was not giving rights issues adequate attention.
The report did not address Trump’s attempt this year to temporarily suspend refugee admissions and his decision to impose a lower cap on the number of those admissions. The report states that resettlement is a “vital tool for providing refugees protection.”
Many refugees admitted to the United States in 2016 were fleeing religious intolerance and persecution, it said.

Critics Blame Left-Leaning Antifa for Violence

Trump supporter thrown to the ground and beaten by Antifa members at Berkeley March 4 Trump.

OAN Newsroom

A group of self-described anti-fascists are sharing the blame for fueling the recent violence in Charlottesville.
Critics are blasting the left-leaning group — better known as Antifa — for its role in promoting violence, and slamming the mainstream media for ignoring it.
Antifa uses militant tactics against others who they deem as “fascists” in order to advance it’s agenda.
They claim to be battling far-right authoritarianism, but many argue they’re escalating violence instead.
On Saturday, President Trump said the violence could be attributed to many sides.
Critics hope they will be held accountable for their role in the weekend violence.

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Trump 'seriously considering' a pardon for ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio

President Trump may soon issue a pardon for Joe Arpaio, the colorful former Arizona sheriff who was found guilty two weeks ago of criminal contempt for defying a state judge’s order to stop traffic patrols targeting suspected undocumented immigrants. In his final years as Maricopa County sheriff, Arpaio had emerged as a leading opponent of illegal immigration.

“I am seriously considering a pardon for Sheriff Arpaio,” the president said Sunday, during a conversation with Fox News at his club in Bedminster, N.J. “He has done a lot in the fight against illegal immigration. He’s a great American patriot and I hate to see what has happened to him.”

Trump said the pardon could happen in the next few days, should he decide to do so.
Arpaio, 85, was convicted by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton of misdemeanor contempt of court for willfully disregarding an Arizona judge’s order in 2011 to stop the anti-immigrant traffic patrols. Arpaio had maintained the law enforcement patrols for 17 months thereafter.
The man who built a controversial national reputation as “America’s toughest sheriff” admitted he prolonged his patrols, but insisted he did not intend to break the law because one of his former attorneys did not explain to him the full measure of restrictions contained in the court order.
He is expected to be sentenced on Oct. 5 and could face up to six months in jail. However, since he is 85 years old and has no prior convictions, some attorneys doubt he will receive any jail time.

'Is there anyone in local law enforcement who has done more to crack down on illegal immigration than Sheriff Joe?'

Citing his long service as “an outstanding sheriff,” the president said Arpaio is admired by many Arizona citizens who respected his tough-on-crime approach.
Arpaio’s widely publicized tactics included forcing inmates to wear pink underwear and housing them in desert tent camps where temperatures often climbed well past 100 degrees Fahrenheit. He also controversially brought back chain gains, including a voluntary chain gang for women prisoners.
Civil liberties and prisoner advocates as well as supporters of immigrants’ rights have criticized Arpaio for years, culminating in his prosecution. He lost his bid for reelection last year.
“Is there anyone in local law enforcement who has done more to crack down on illegal immigration than Sheriff Joe?” asked Trump. “He has protected people from crimes and saved lives. He doesn’t deserve to be treated this way.”
Stopping the flow of undocumented immigrants across the southern U.S. border was a central theme of the president’s campaign. Arpaio endorsed Trump in January 2016.   
Trump indicated he may move quickly should he decide to issue a presidential pardon. “I might do it right away, maybe early this week. I am seriously thinking about it.”
Trump could decide to await the outcome of an appeal by Arpaio’s lawyers who contend their client’s case should have been decided by a jury, not a judge.
In a statement after the verdict, his attorneys stated, “The judge’s verdict is contrary to what every single witness testified in the case. Arpaio believes that a jury would have found in his favor, and that it will.”
Reached Monday for reaction to the possible pardon, Arpaio expressed surprise that Trump was aware of his legal predicament.
“I am happy he understands the case,” he told Fox News. “I would accept the pardon because I am 100 percent not guilty.”
The former sheriff said he will continue to be a strong supporter of the president regardless of whether he receives a pardon. But he also voiced concern that a pardon might cause problems for Trump, saying, “I would never ask him for a pardon, especially if it causes heat. I don’t want to do anything that would hurt the president.”
Trump has not granted any pardons so far in his presidency.

Scaramucci: If it were up to me, Bannon would be gone

Short-lived White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said Monday that if it were up to him, top adviser Steve Bannon would be gone from President Trump's administration.

But, he notes, "it's not up to me."

"The Mooch," a few weeks removed from his spectacular flameout following an expletive-laden conversation with a reporter, appeared Monday on CBS' "Late Show" with Stephen Colbert. Colbert has seen his ratings soar since Trump's inauguration with his relentless comedic attacks.
Scaramucci suggested in an earlier interview that Bannon is the source of at least some of the West Wing leaks and that his connection to Breitbart.com and its association with the far right is hurting the presidency.
Trump gave Scaramucci the White House job in late July, in part for how he deftly forced CNN to take down an incorrect online story connecting him to the Russia investigations.
However, he was fired 11 days later, after a profanity-laced phone call with The New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza and amid the arrival of retired Marine Gen. John Kelly as the new White House chief of staff.
“For the record, I thought that (call) was off the record,” Scaramucci, a former Wall Street financier and member of the Trump campaign’s finance committee, said Sunday. “That was a very deceitful thing that he did. … But we don't need to debate that anymore. That's past news. I made a mistake. I'm accountable for the mistake. I paid the consequences of that.”
Colbert showed a picture of Scaramucci and former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus glaring at each other. Scaramucci said there was "no love lost" between the two.
He said he and Priebus got along well when he was writing checks to the Republican National Committee, which Priebus once led.
Scaramucci said he knows Trump "as a compassionate person," while reiterating that he thought the president should have spoken more harshly than he did initially of the white supremacists involved in the violent protest in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Of Trump's frequent off-the-cuff remarks, Scaramucci said, "That's him wearing his heart on his sleeve."

Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg Hailed As ‘English Trump,’ Might Replace Theresa May

Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg (PA/Photo)

OAN Newsroom

A Conservative politician in Britain is reportedly discussing a bid to succeed Theresa May as prime minister.
Jacob Rees-Mogg is a popular personality on social media with over 40,000 Instagram followers, and 29,000 likes on Facebook.
He’s known as the English Donald Trump, and is the member of parliament for North East Somerset.
Recent polls suggest he is becoming more popular than Prime Minister May.
In his vision for the future of the post-Brexit Britain, Rees-Mogg aims to cut the income tax and stamp duty, and dismantle the monopolies in the domestic market.
Rees-Mogg is reportedly giving a “careful consideration” to his political ambitions.

Majority Whip Steve Scalise Set to Return to Congress After August Recess

OAN Newsroom

A Republican lawmaker says House Majority Whip Steve Scalise plans on returning to work after the August recess.
Louisiana Congressman Garret Graves says Scalise — who was seriously wounded in a shooting during a congressional baseball practice in June — is set to be back on Capitol Hill in September.
Scalise suffered damage to his abdomen, as well as his hip and leg that has required multiple surgeries
Graves added, the majority whip is working hard to keep that deadline and may be fighting off doctors at the hospital to come back.
Scalise is said to be in good spirits, and making progress in his recovery.

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