Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Politically motivated hotel opening in D.C. to be safe haven for liberals
The Trump International Hotel in D.C. is housed in the Old Post Office building down the street from the White House, has seen a burst of activity since opening its doors last fall. |
An anti-Trump themed hotel marketing itself as a safe haven for liberals is planning to open in late spring 2018 in Washington, Bloomberg reported.
Boasting itself as the world’s first
politically motivated hotel, the Eaton Workshop chain of hotels will be
built around community engagement and integrating a liberal philosophy
into every aspect of the guest experience. The Washington Hotel, Eaton’s
flagship location, with subsequent sites planned in Hong Kong, San
Francisco, and Seattle by 2019.
Katherine Lo, the founder of Eaton Workshop, told
Bloomberg that the Washington location will include amenities that cater
to public activism including TED Talks-inspired fireside chats and
lectures, co-working space for progressive startups, activists, and
artists, a writer’s residency, where investigative reporters can pursue
stories and a multimedia studio where artists can create short films,
podcasts, and other content in line with Eaton’s philosophy.The lobby of the hotel will contain footage from the presidential elections of 2012 and 2016 posing the question: “How did our country get where it is today?” The minibar will include an activist toolkit that will include information on how to contact your congress member as well as material for making posters for demonstrations, Newsweek reported.
“And if we’d been open during this year’s Women’s March, I could have seen us putting poster boards and markers in the rooms,” Lo said.
Lo says that messages will be suited to each property. In Hong Kong, for instance, she wants to replace Bibles in nightstand drawers with copies of the U.N. Declaration for Human Rights.
Staff will be hired based not only for their experience in the service industry, but also for their track records in activism.
But despite proclamations of fostering diversity, Lo admits that Eaton Workshop isn’t for everyone. Lo told Bloomberg that, “the goal isn’t to bring together left and right.” Rather, the hotel will represent the antithesis of the Trump hotel, only a few blocks away from Eaton’s planned DC location.
Sessions directs prosecutors to 'evaluate certain issues' involving Uranium One and Clinton, leaves door open on special counsel
Attorney General Jeff Sessions directed senior
federal prosecutors to evaluate “certain issues” requested by
congressional Republicans, involving the sale of Uranium One and alleged
unlawful dealings related to the Clinton Foundation, leaving the door
open for an appointment of another special counsel.
In a letter first obtained by Fox
News, the Justice Department responded to July 27 and September 26
requests from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.,
and other committee members, who called for the appointment of a special
counsel to investigate the matters in question.
The letter comes on the eve of Sessions’ testimony before the same committee, scheduled for Tuesday.“The Attorney General has directed senior federal prosecutors to evaluate certain issues raised in your letters,” Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd wrote.
“These senior prosecutors will report directly to the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General [Rod Rosenstein], as appropriate, and will make recommendations as to whether any matters not currently under investigation should be opened, whether any matters currently under investigation require further resources, or whether any matters merit the appointment of a Special Counsel,” Boyd wrote.
The Justice Department does not ordinarily confirm or deny investigations, and Boyd wrote that “this letter should not be construed to do so.”
The Justice Department’s letter specifically said that some of the topics requested by Goodlatte and other committee members were already being investigated by the department’s Inspector General’s office.
The letter specifically mentioned allegations related to the FBI’s handling of the Clinton email probe, including allegations that DOJ and FBI “policies or procedures” were “not followed in connection with, or in actions leading up to or related to” then-FBI Director James Comey’s public announcement to close the Clinton email “matter” on July 5, 2016, or the letter he sent lawmakers on October 28, 2016, about newly discovered Clinton emails, and that those “investigative decisions were based on improper considerations.”
“The Department has forwarded a copy of your letters to the IG so he can determine whether he should expand the scope of his investigation based on the information contained in those letters,” Boyd wrote. “Once the IG’s review is complete, the Department will assess what, if any, additional steps are necessary to address any issues identified by that review.”
While the Justice Department did not confirm or deny an ongoing investigation into Clinton matters, administration officials pointed Fox News to the attorney general’s testimony at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in January, raising questions over whether he would recuse himself from this investigation.
“With regard to Secretary Clinton and some of the comments I made, I do believe that that could place my objectivity in question,” Sessions said in response to committee Chairman Chuck Grassley’s, R-Iowa, asking whether he could approach a Clinton investigation “impartially.” Sessions added at the time, “I believe the proper thing for me to do would be to recuse myself from any questions involving those kind of investigations that involve Secretary Clinton and that were raised during the campaign or to be otherwise connected to it.”
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller was appointed in May as a special counsel to investigate accusations of collusion between Russia and officials close to President Trump.
Blaming GOP establishment, Bannon speech warns of 'brutal 2018' race
In a blistering assault on the Republican
establishment and President Donald Trump’s political adversaries, former
White House advisor Steve Bannon predicted there will be an effort to
impeach the president if Republicans lose the House.
“Donald Trump is a blunt force instrument,” Bannon said.
In a wide-ranging speech that touched on the rise of
China, the dangers of Turkish President Recep Erdoğan and the threat
from radical Islamic terrorism, the controversial political advisor said
he thinks Trump’s opponents simply are working to throw him out of
office.“When I left the White House the very first thing I said is that I’m going after the Republican establishment, because they are trying to nullify this as much as the left.”
He warned that the political battle will play out through next year.
“The constitutional struggle that we are going to have in 2018 and the lead up to it, is going to be brutal, a brutal midterm election. It is going to be something unprecedented in American history,” Bannon predicted.
“If we get crushed, the first thing that they are going to do in the House of Representatives, they are going to impeach Donald J. Trump, I don’t care what they say.”
Bannon spoke at a New York City luncheon event sponsored by the Gatestone Institute, a “non-partisan, not for profit international policy council and think tank, dedicated to educating the public about what the media fails to report,” it says.
“Mr. Bannon seems concerned about international threats facing America,” said Gatestone’s President Nina Rosenwald, who invited him as part of the group’s fall lecture series. “We thought he might bring up topics that need addressing that nobody else is looking at.”
“We have the ability to put together a coalition that can govern for 50 years,” Bannon told the audience, but warned of a potential G.O.P. defeat because he believes that the ruling-party powers are not connected to average Americans.
“The establishment is not prepared, they don’t have a sense of urgency, and they don’t understand the working class people in Pennsylvania, in Wisconsin, in Michigan, in Minnesota and in Iowa and Ohio. What we did we can replicate. We can replicate it, though, with hard work, and wisdom. And if we blow this, we are never going to get it back. You have to understand, it is never coming back. We have the ability to change this country.”
Bannon, who is supporting some insurgent candidates in upcoming Republican primaries, did not delve into the growing sexual misconduct allegations surrounding Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore. Bannon supported Moore over President Trump’s primary pick, the incumbent Senator Luther Strange, and only mentioned the controversy briefly. He cited it as an example of what he considers the establishment’s panic.
“They’re petrified of the opposition party. You know what my super power is? I don’t give a damn. I could care less what they say about me. I could care less. It’s about action. The Republican Party and the leaders of the Republican Party are cowards. You are writing your checks to cowards. Understand this. They are there for you when it’s easy. They are there to take your check. But when something comes up like the Iran situation, they will flip the Constitution of the United States so they can have some sort of conscience for voting for that — it’s outrageous.”
He said that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell “owes his job to Donald Trump,” noting that it was Trump’s wins that swept the G.O.P. into the Senate majority.
“Wisconsin, Missouri and North Carolina were all dead in the water. They were brought across the goal line by Donald Trump. Mitch McConnell had a terrible track record of picking people to run.”
Bannon also used his Gatestone appearance to remind the attendees of the Trump administration success against ISIS, both on the battlefield and squeezing the financial pipeline that supports terrorism.
“We crushed the Caliphate of ISIS ... in 2014, the ISIS Caliphate was eight million people. It had oil fields, it had wheat fields, it had taxation, and was recruiting actively in Europe and recruiting actively in the United States. He has physically destroyed the Caliphate. If you listen to the morning talk shows, you would think that all President Trump is doing is just following Obama’s plan. It couldn’t be farther from the truth. He told General Mattis, not a war of attrition, I want a war of annihilation. I want to physically destroy the Caliphate in Mosul, in Raqqa and other cities. He’s done that, and I don’t think he’s gotten the credit.”
“The region is starting to clean up the element in the region that works with, supports and finances exporting radical Islamic terrorism to Western Europe and the United States.”
He also warned that the U.S. has to face Iranian expansion in the Middle East.
Adelson, Bannon have reportedly broken ties over GOP direction
Las Vegas Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam Ochsorn. Adelson reportedly disagrees with Stephen Bannon on key GOP elections. |
Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas billionaire and GOP
megadonor, has reportedly broken ties with Stephen Bannon over President
Trump’s former chief strategist’s campaign of challenging Republican
incumbents in 2018.
Bannon pledged to oust Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., from his leadership role while
Adelson is “supporting Mitch McConnell 100 percent,” Andy Abboud, a
spokesman for Adelson, told Politico.
The report comes out as Bannon has been seeking donors
to contribute to his efforts to unseat members of the party whom he
deems part of the “Republican establishment.”Last month, Bannon told Fox’s Sean Hannity that “no one is safe.”
Bannon aides told Politico that they were not surprised by Adelson's decision, because of Adelson’s history of supporting mainstream Republicans rather than outsiders.
Bannon praised Adelson on Sunday night at the Adelson-funded Zionist Organization of America's annual dinner.
But Adelson and his wife Miriam did not attend the event. A person close to the couple told Politico that Adelson did not attend the event because he feared an appearance with Bannon could be perceived as an endorsement his 2018 efforts.
Monday, November 13, 2017
Brady vows GOP tax plan will bring 'relief' to Americans of all income levels
Rep. Kevin Brady, the House’s top
tax-code writer, on Sunday defended the chamber’s overhaul plan against
criticism that many middle-class Americans will pay more and turn voters
against the Republican Party, vowing relief for all Americans.
“Here is where I strongly disagree,”
Brady, R-Texas, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, told
"Fox News Sunday." “I believe there is tax relief all up and down the
income level for families, regardless of what they earn.”
The lawmaker is defending the plan against criticism
from congressional Democrats and two analyses, including one in The New
York Times that concluded one-third of middle-class families will get a
tax increase. “They’re describing an America that doesn’t exist -- one where the economy never grows and one where your paycheck stays stagnant no matter what happens,” Brady said about The Times analysis. “I strongly disagree.”
Senate Democrats have also panned any GOP plan that will eliminate state and local tax deductions, warning that congressional Republicans representing suburban districts especially will face voter backlash for their support.
“The reality is many middle-class families are going to end up paying more," Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Commitee, told Fox on Sunday. “Folks in suburbs are going to get clobbered.”
The GOP-controlled House and Senate have each introduced separate plans, which must pass in each chamber before leaders can craft a compromise bill that gets passed by the entire Congress and put on President Trump's desk before the end of the year.
The major differences: The Senate bill wants to delay by one year a corporate tax cut, from 35 percent to a projected 20 percent. And the Senate bill wants to eliminate all state and local tax deductions.
“Everyone’s stressing the differences,” Brady said Sunday. “There are some, but there is far more common ground.”
He also essentially guaranteed the House plan will keep some state and local deductions and was optimistic about his committee voting on the plan in the coming days, with final passage before a self-imposed Thanksgiving deadline.
“That’s our goal,” Brady said. “That’s what we’re scheduled to do."
He also disagreed with analysis that the GOP plan will increase the federal deficit by $1.5 trillion, arguing that critics don’t take into account that the tax cuts will stimulate economic growth.
Brady repeated what House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and others in the GOP leadership have for months said about the plan, that it increases paychecks and allows Americans to decide what to do with their money before the IRS gets its hands on it.
Dems mum on whether Menendez should step down if convicted
U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J.,
arrives at a federal courthouse in Newark, N.J., for his federal
corruption trial, Oct. 26, 2017.
(Associated Press)
Top Democrats on Sunday refused to say whether Sen. Bob Menendez should step down if he’s convicted of federal bribery charges.
“I’m not going to get into the hypotheticals on either of these situations, as I said, several steps removed,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) the Senate minority whip, said on CNN's "State of the Union," also referring to GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore in Alabama. “I’m hopeful that, when all is said and done, that Bob Menendez will be returning to the Senate representing the state of New Jersey. ”
Tom Perez, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said he won’t comment on Menendez’s fate in the Senate until the federal jury in New Jersey announces its verdict.
“We’ll wait and see what happens,” he said on ABC's "This Week." The jury has not spoken yet.”
Pressed on whether Menendez , 63, should resign, Perez said jurors are still deliberating.
“The jury has not spoken yet, so I don’t like to answer what if questions,” he said.
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland also said he would withhold weighing in on Menendez.
“We’re going to leave this decision to the jury. I’m not going to get ahead of the game,” Van Hollen told "Fox News Sunday." “I’m not going to speculate about what the outcome of that jury decision will be.”
Durbin said President Trump should address the scandal enveloping Moore, who was accused of molesting a 14-year-old Alabama girl when he was a 32-year-old assistant district attorney in 1979.
The Washington Post reported last week that he also pursued romantic relationships with three other teens.
“President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party in America,” Durbin said on CNN. “It’s his responsibility to step forward and say more and do more when it comes to the situation in Alabama. ”
Trump is on the final leg of a 12-day trip to five Asian countries.
The Newark jury weighing the Menendez case will have to begin deliberations from scratch on Monday after a juror released last week said the senator is being “railroaded” and predicted a mistrial.
“It looks like a hung jury,” Evelyn Arroyo-Maultsby said last Thursday after being released due to a long-planned vacation.
Menendez has been on trial since September on charges that he provided a rich Florida doctor favors in exchange for lavish gifts — flights on a private jet, all-expense-paid vacations and $750,000 in campaign donations.
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