Ingraham: 'The People Took Their Power Back on Election Day & the Establishment Is Mad as Hell'

Laura Ingraham kicked off the inaugural edition of "The Ingraham Angle" with a powerful monologue about what America means to her and to regular Americans.
"Most of us, I think, want three things: prosperity, safety, liberty," Ingraham said. "And that includes preserving our history."
She said that Americans' love of God, family and country aren't trite relics of the past, and they are at the very core of who we are as a people.
She said the American people saw that many of their leaders were not prioritizing those same values, and that's why they elected President Donald Trump to the White House.
"The people took their power back on Election Day, and the establishment is mad as hell," Ingraham said. "Let's face it, they don't really like the American people, not very much at least."
"This show is going to be about all of this and certainly the political, the legal and the cultural battles of the day," Ingraham said. "But something more: how all of that affects your life and that of your families."
She said she cares deeply about the future of the country, and that's why she's always going to call it as she sees it.
"I'm going to get answers for you, and I'm going to hold the powerful accountable. And that includes you, Mr. President," Ingraham said. "And every night, with you, we'll continue to answer this question: What is America to me, to all of us?"

Disrespecting China's national anthem could result in three years in prison

China’s parliament is considering criminal penalties for those who disrespect the national anthem, Reuters reported Monday, citing from state news agency Xinhua.

A draft amendment to the country’s Criminal Law was submitted for deliberation at a session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee on Monday. Violators could face up to three years in prison, according to the draft.

China passed a new law in September mandating up to 15 days in police detention for those who mock the “March of the Volunteers,” which is China’s national anthem. The law also covers the Chinese territories of Hong Kong and Macau, Reuters reported.
It is not clear when the amendment would be voted on or take effect.
The report comes at a time when there is debate about NFL players in the U.S. who take a knee during the national anthem before football games. Some see the protest as disrespecting the flag, while others say the players are using their first amendment right to protest.
President Trump called on the football players to be fired or banned.
In Hong Kong, it’s the soccer fans protesting China’s national anthem. The territory’s football fans booed the anthem during a World Cup qualifier in 2015, which prompted FIFA to fine Hong Kong's football association. Hong Kong residents have growing concern over China’s perceived encroachment on its autonomy, according to Reuters.

Robert Mueller's Russia investigation Cartoons

President Trump fired back on Monday in an attempt to distance his White House from the grand jury indictments of his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and an aide, noting their crimes were committed “years” before they worked on the campaign.

The president led a chorus of critics of the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, noting that the crimes for which Manafort and his aide, Rick Gates, are charged appear to predate the presidential campaign by years.

“Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign. But why aren’t Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????” Trump tweeted Monday. “….Also, there is NO COLLUSION!”
Manafort and Gates were indicted by a federal grand jury Friday on 12 counts, including conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading Foreign Agent Registration (FARA) statements, false statements and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign banks and financial accounts. The indictments were announced Monday.
Mueller’s team also unsealed a guilty plea by former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, who admitted to making false statements to FBI agents as part of the investigation. According to court documents, Papadopoulos’ false statements were in regards to his relationship with a Russian ‘professor,’ who had ties to Russian government officials.
The special counsel probe and Russia “hoax,” as the president has described it, has cast a cloud over the Trump administration. But last week, the White House enjoyed a shift in focus, amid new revelations in the controversial Obama-era Uranium One deal and the payments behind the salacious anti-Trump dossier.
Reports last week revealed that Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee paid more than $9 million to law firm Perkins Coie, which commissioned Fusion GPS to conduct opposition research that ultimately led to the now-infamous dossier.
Over the weekend, it was revealed that the conservative Washington Free Beacon website initially funded the opposition research into then-candidate Donald Trump and other GOP contenders for the White House. Lawyers for the Free Beacon told the House Intelligence Committee that the website funded the research between fall 2015 and spring 2016.
TRUMP TWEETS ON REPORTS THAT OBAMA CAMPAIGN PAID LAW FIRM THAT HIRED FUSION GPS
But some Republicans say that the Manafort-Gates indictments provide “no evidence” in the Russian collusion narrative.
Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., who has repeatedly called for Mueller’s resignation, over the special counsel’s relationship with former FBI Director James Comey, said the indictment “doesn’t have anything to do with Donald Trump.”
“I believe that Mr. Mueller’s conflict of interest is absolutely incontrovertible, and I think this is further indication he’s headed in this direction no matter what,” Franks said on his local radio station, KTAR-FM Morning News, Monday. “It’s ironic because ostensibly his investigation is supposed to be into Donald Trump’s potential involvement with Russia, yet this doesn’t have anything to do with Donald Trump.”
MUELLER FACING NEW REPUBLICAN PRESSURE TO RESIGN IN RUSSIA PROBE
Franks added: “They may try to parlay it into something to hook President Trump in, but right now, this is par for the course. I should suggest this was kind of predictable.”
Rep. Pete King, R-N.Y., who is a member of the House Intelligence Committee, which is leading its own Russia probe, echoed a similar sentiment.
“This pre-dates the campaign entirely, and could pre-date Paul Manafort even meeting Donald Trump. This has nothing to do with the campaign,” King told Fox News on “America’s Newsroom” Monday. “The investigation still has to go forward but what I’ve seen so far, is there is no evidence at all linking the Trump campaign to Russian influence or collusion.”
The Senate Intelligence Committee is also leading a bipartisan Russia probe, and said that the indictment "doesn't change" their investigation.
"The special counsel has found a reason on criminal violations to indict two individuals and I will leave that up to the special counsel to make that determination. It doesn't change anything with our investigation," Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C. said in a statement to Fox News. "We received documents from and had interest in two of the individuals named, but clearly the criminal charges put them in the Special Counsel's purview."
But Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee said that the indictments are “significant” and a “sobering step” in the special counsel’s investigation.
“That’s why it is imperative that Congress take action now to protect the independence of the Special Counsel, wherever, or however high his investigation may lead,” Warner said in a statement Monday. “Members of Congress, Republican and Democrat, must also make clear to the President that issuing pardons to any of his associates or to himself would be unacceptable and result in immediate, bipartisan action by Congress.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also said that the president “must not, under any circumstances, interfere” with Mueller’s work.
“If he does so, Congress must respond swiftly, unequivocally, and in a bipartisan way to ensure that the investigation continues,” Schumer said in a statement Monday.
While Trump has not suggested any plans to interfere with the special counsel investigation, there are currently two pieces of legislation in the Senate, with bipartisan sponsorship, that would ensure a judicial check on the executive branch’s ability to remove a special counsel. Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are behind the bills, along with Democratic senators.
"The president is not firing the special counsel," Trump's attorney, Jay Sekulow, said on CNN Monday.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also said Monday the president has "no intention or plan to make any changes in regard to Special Counsel."
Though some argue the indictments are irrelevant to the Trump-Russia collusion narrative, former top-ranking Justice Department official under both Bush and Obama administrations, James Trusty, told Fox News that this is what happens during a broad investigation.
Last week, Mueller expanded his probe to investigate Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta’s dealings with Manafort and a Ukrainian nonprofit. The Podesta Group told Fox News last week they were “cooperating” with the special counsel’s office.
Trusty said last week that Mueller has “a lot of room to legitimately poke around and find information on one party or another.”
“It’s a cliché, but a good cliché –prosecutors go where the evidence leads them,” Trusty told Fox News last week. “When you define the mission broadly, there is a lot of room for [an independent prosecutor’s] exploration.”
Trusty said that if a special counsel’s mission is defined broadly, “it is all fair game if the independent prosecutor is doing his job the right way.”

Robert Mueller's Russia investigation Cartoons

Pres. Trump Cites GOP Anger, Unity Over Clinton-Russia Dossier

In this Oct. 26, 2017, photo, President Donald Trump speaks during an event to declare the opioid crisis a national public health emergency in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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President Trump takes to Twitter to unleash a barrage of tweets about possible ties between Hillary Clinton and the Russia dossier.
The president tweeted Sunday, that there is unity and anger among republican leaders about the lack of an investigation into Clinton’s wrongdoings. He also condemned the Uranium One Deal and the destruction of her 33,000 emails.
He also suggested all the talk about Russia comes as the GOP is making big moves to pass tax reform, claiming it’s not a coincidence it’s all happening at the same time.

Americans' 401(k)s will be safe, GOP leaders set record straight

GOP leaders are trying to ease panicked Americans who are socking away thousands of dollars annually for retirement, after lawmakers floated the idea of drastically reducing the pre-tax limit on contributions to $2,400 as part of the forthcoming tax plan.
“I think 401(k)s are very important,” said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., during an interview on Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures”. “The way we’ll look at the 401(k), we will protect it, we’ll expand the amount that you can invest, but we’ll also give you an option to actually not be taxed later in life, not to have that tax burden hovering over you in the future, but actually have greater income in the future.”
Currently, people under age 50 are able to save up to $18,000 per year in pre-tax savings in their 401(k), while those over 50 can save up to $24,000. After reports surfaced that 401(k) those contributions could be curbed as part of the tax plan, President Donald Trump set the record straight.

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• Americans' 401(k)s will be safe, GOP leaders set record straight
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“There will be NO change to your 401(k). This has always been a great and popular middle class tax break that works, and it stays!” he tweeted on Monday. He reiterated this view while talking to the press on Wednesday.

McCarthy’s comments on Sunday follow fellow lawmaker Kevin Brady, R-Texas, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, who last week dialed back on reports that contributions could be cut as part of the tax plan.

On Friday, Brady said he and fellow lawmakers are now looking into possibly raising contribution limits to $20,000 or higher.

John Boehner unleashed: Ex-House speaker curses at lawmakers, says congressman once held a knife to his throat

Ohio Republican John Boehner retired from Capitol Hill as speaker in 2015 — and now has harsh words for his House coworkers. (REUTERS/Yuri Gripas)

Former House Speaker John Boehner, who retired in October 2015, is no longer holding back his anger against several of his former colleagues in Congress.

The Ohio Republican talked to Politico Magazine in a lengthy profile Sunday about the widening political divide in America. But he saved his harshest words for conservatives who worked alongside him. Among them: Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., who became the chairman of the House Oversight Committee after Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, announced his resignation from Congress, and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who helped found the House’s Freedom Caucus, which frequently clashed with Boehner.

“Gowdy — that’s my guy, even though he doesn’t know how to dress,” Boehner said. “F--- Jordan. F--- [Jason] Chaffetz. They’re both a--holes.”
Boehner called Chaffetz a “total phony” who was more obsessed with self-promotion than the American people. Chaffetz resigned from Congress in June and joined Fox News as a contributor. He didn't immediately respond.
“Jordan was a terrorist as a legislator going back to his days in the Ohio House and Senate,” Boehner added to Politico. “A terrorist. A legislative terrorist.”

John Boehner called Rep. Jason Chaffetz, seen here in 2015, a “phony” only out for himself in a new interview. Chaffetz stepped down in 2017, and is now a contributer to Fox News. (REUTERS/Jim Bourg)

Jordan was taken aback.
“Oh, my goodness. I feel sorry for the guy if he’s that bitter about a guy coming here and doing what he told the voters he was gonna do. Wow. I feel bad for him,” Jordan told Politico. “But in the end, we were not doing what the voters elected us to do and what we told them we were going to do. We just weren’t. And I would argue the same thing is happening now.”

John Boehner said Rep. Don Young once pinned him against a wall with a knife to his throat. (Office of Rep. Don Young)

Boehner also recounted that before he was best man at Rep. Don Young's wedding, the Alaska Republican restrained him against a wall and held a 10-inch knife to knife to his throat during a fight over measures that fund projects in lawmakers’ home districts.
Boehner responded by staring Young in the eyes and saying, “F--- you.”
Young told Politico that Boehner’s recollection was “mostly true.”

Speculation swirls as Mueller indictment looms in Russia investigation

Speculation has escalated in Washington and across the country as lawmakers await the announcement of at least one indictment in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election — an announcement that could come as early as Monday.

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., predicted Sunday on ABC News’ “This Week” that two prominent Trump campaign associates believed to be at the center of the investigation — former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort — could be indicted.

MUELLER HAS FILED CHARGES IN RUSSIA-TRUMP ASSOCIATES PROBE: MULTIPLE REPORTS
“Well, you know, there are two people I think just from press reporting that it is likely to be, either Mike Flynn or Paul Manafort,” Schiff said. “We haven’t been informed of who it is, and I don’t think it would been appropriate for Bob Mueller to tell us.”
Manafort has been the subject of an investigation into his dealings in Ukraine several years ago — for which he did not file as a foreign agent until June 2017.
Flynn was a Trump surrogate during the campaign and briefly served as national security adviser before being fired for failing to fully disclose his conversations with Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s former ambassador to the United States.
The Wall Street Journal reported at least one person could be taken into custody as early as Monday.
Meanwhile, House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., told “Fox News Sunday,” ”We don’t know who’s being charged. … We don’t know what they are being charged for. We don’t know the time period.”
He added it was “kind of ironic that the people charged with investigating the law and executing the law would violate the law.”
GOWDY SLAMS MUELLER TEAM OVER LEAKS ABOUT CHARGES IN TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE
Speaking on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. — who has publicly feuded in recent days with President Trump — said he had “no knowledge” regarding the indictments, and that he’s focused on doing his job for the American people.
“I don’t know the substance. I have no knowledge. Like you, we’ll wait and see what happens,” Corker said Sunday. “But most of us are focused on the policies we have to deal with on behalf of the American people, and right now you know that’s been a sideshow.”
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, also told “Face the Nation” that Mueller’s investigation “from the very beginning … has gone along two tracks. One is the independent counsel’s investigation to see if there’s criminal wrongdoing, and it looks like we’re going to find out as early as tomorrow about some indictments in that area.”
On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump was “confident” Mueller would soon “close” his investigation.
The Justice Department’s special counsel’s office declined to comment on the reports of filed charges.