DOJ to appeal San Fran DACA ruling, will ask Supreme Court to end program

The Justice Department on Tuesday said it plans to appeal a lower-court ruling that blocked the Trump administration from ending an Obama-era program aimed at shielding immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children from deportation.

In a separate release, the Justice Department said it will also seek a review by the U.S. Supreme Court –even before a ruling from the appeals court.

Last week, a San Francisco-based federal judge blocked the Trump administration from reversing the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program, which has shielded more than 700,000 people from deportation since its inception.
“It defies both law and common sense for DACA—an entirely discretionary non-enforcement policy that was implemented unilaterally by the last administration after Congress rejected similar legislative proposals and courts invalidated the similar DAPA policy – to somehow be mandated nationwide by a single district court in San Francisco,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement Tuesday.
Sessions added that the Justice Department would also be “taking the rare step of requesting review on the merits of this injunction by the Supreme Court so that this issue may be resolved quickly and fairly for all the parties involved.”
The president has been vocal on the San Francisco ruling, tweeting just hours after the announcement that America’s court system is “broken” and “unfair.”
“It just shows everyone how broken and unfair our Court system is when the opposing side in a case (such as DACA) always runs to the 9^th Circuit and almost always wins before being reversed by higher courts,” President Trump tweeted.
In September, Trump ended DACA, which had been in place since 2012.
The president is currently negotiating with lawmakers over comprehensive immigration reform, which would include his campaign promise of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, while Democrats are pushing to protect immigrants under DACA.

Trump cites federal report on foreign-born terrorists to urge immigration reform

President Donald Trump on Tuesday used a new report from the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security — revealing that nearly three out of four individuals convicted on international terrorism charges in the U.S. were foreign-born — to call for immigration reform.

The DHS and DOJ released the report  to “be more transparent with the American people,” abiding by the guidelines of Trump’s March 6 executive order, more commonly known as the travel ban. 

According to the report, at least 549 people were convicted of international terrorism-related charges in the U.S. between September 11, 2001 and December 31, 2016. Of those convicted, 254 were not U.S. citizens, 148 were foreign-born and received citizenship and 147 were citizens by birth.
It also noted that the DHS in 2017 denied U.S. entry to 2,554 people on the terror watch list.
Trump reacted to the report by tweeting: “We have submitted to Congress a list of resources and reforms we need to keep America safe, including moving away from a random chain migration and lottery system, to one that is merit-based.”

....we need to keep America safe, including moving away from a random chain migration and lottery system, to one that is merit-based. https://t.co/7PtoSFK1n2

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018

The president has made it clear in recent meetings on immigration with lawmakers from both parties that he wants to end the visa lottery program, aimed at increasing immigrant diversity, and chain migration, when immigrants enter the U.S. through sponsorship from family members already settled in the country.

I am calling on Congress to TERMINATE the diversity visa lottery program that presents significant vulnerabilities to our national security. pic.twitter.com/tW4wOlI4vu

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 2, 2017

The report also found that from October 1, 2011 to September 30, 355,345 non-U.S. citizens were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of deportation after being convicted of an “aggravated felony” or two or more felony offenses. In addition, 370,098 non-U.S. citizens were deported for the same offenses during that time period.
A senior administration official said Tuesday that the report “is part of the administration’s efforts to illuminate basic statistics that should be at the hands of the American people to inform public discourse on the issue,” The Hill reported.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions reacted to the report on Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight" Tuesday.
"We have immigration, we want immigration, but we want to vet these people," Sessions said. "We want to know who they are and make sure they're going to be productive people, people who will flourish in America, who are going to not be terrorists, not be criminals and that’s exactly correct for America."
Sessions added that the U.S. should "tighten up on our admission of people from dangerous areas of the globe, where we can’t vet, where we have high numbers of terrorists that live in those areas. We should certainly be more careful and limit that kind of immigration."

Arrested ex-CIA officer suspected of compromising US informants in China: report

The former CIA officer arrested Monday for unlawfully retaining classified information may have helped China execute or imprison several U.S. informants, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

Jerry Chun Shing Lee, 53, unlawfully possessed top secret information whose disclosure could cause “exceptionally grave damage to the National Security of the United States,” the FBI wrote in the affidavit supporting his arrest.

Lee, whose security clearance was terminated when he left the CIA in 2007, improperly retained books containing “true names and phone numbers of assets and covert CIA employees,” the affidavit read.
The New York Times was the first to report that U.S. officials believe that Lee may have played a key role in outing US informants working in China, who started to go dark in 2010.
One of those officials was shot to death in front of coworkers in the courtyard of a Chinese government building, as a clear warning to other potential traitors, according to sources cited by The Times.
The paper cited sources who said Lee, who began working for the CIA in 1994, left because he was unhappy at his career progression there.
Between 18 and 20 key CIA sources in China were systematically jailed or killed from 2010 to 2012, in what US officials described as one of the worst intelligence failures in decades, according to the Times.
The losses were reportedly reminiscent of the significant damage caused by rogue agents Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen, who became Russian spies.
The FBI said that its inquiry, which began in 2012, involved luring Lee back to the U.S. and searching his hotel rooms in Hawaii and Virginia.
As evidence mounted, the FBI interviewed Lee several times in 2013.
Lee never mentioned possessing classified information during those interviews, according to the arrest affidavit.
It is unclear whether Lee will be charged in the informants' deaths.

Fake News Cartoons

French Pres. Calls for Law Against Fake News, Spurs Free Speech Fears

France’s President Emmanuel Macron is ordering a law to foil efforts to disseminate false information during electoral campaigns.
In a New Years speech to journalists, Macron said he is ordering a new “legal arsenal” whereby news outlets must reveal their owners and where their money comes from.
The new law could see a cap on money to produce content, and allow emergency actions to block websites.
French regulators could suspend media controlled or influenced by foreign powers.
Russian outlets like RT and Sputnik, whose coverage was seen as favoring Conservative candidate Marine Le Pen, could be censored.
Media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders is also watching.

Secretary General of Reporters without Borders Christophe Deloire talks to the Associated Press in Paris, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan for a law against false information around election campaigns is drawing criticism from media advocates, tech experts and others. They say it’s impossible to enforce and smacks of methods used by authoritarians, not democracies. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

“We are not opposed to the principle of a law against fake news, but the point is to be able to write a law without endangering the freedom to reveal things about political, social, and economical life,” said Christophe Deloire, Secretary General for Reporters Without Borders.
Some fear banning fake news will backfire on human rights grounds, because there is no legal definition on the term.
Government shutdowns of websites may also have unintended effects, such as satirists and journalists being accidentally targeted.

North Korea Fires Back After South Korean President Thanks U.S.

North Korea suggested it may not be sending athletes to compete in the Winter Olympics after all.
Last week, there was a sign of optimism amid the North Korean nuclear crisis after much anticipated talks between the north and south.

In this photo provided by South Korea Unification Ministry, the head of South Korean delegation Lee Woo-sung, right, and the head of North Korean delegation Kwon Hyok Bong, left, exchange documents at the North side of Panmunjom in North Korea, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. North Korea’s delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea will include a 140-member orchestra, the two sides agreed Monday, while discussions continue over fielding a joint women’s hockey team. (South Korea Unification Ministry via AP)

“I think President Trump deserves big credit for bringing the inter-Korean talks,” stated South Korea President Moon Jae-in.
However, following the comments thanking President Trump for bringing the north to the negotiating table, the rogue regime is now back on the attack.
Through its state-run news outlet, North Korea called Moon’s ‘thank you’ a sordid act, adding it casts doubt on the future relationship between the two countries.
The broadcaster went on to threaten the regime’s exit from the Olympics, saying the train destined to carry the country’s delegation to the games hasn’t yet departed.
The two sides had earlier released a joint statement promising to hold a new round of talks, and officials were hopeful on the progress being made.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in answers reporters’ question during his New Year news conference at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. Moon said Wednesday he’s open to meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un if certain conditions are met, as he vowed to push for more talks with the North to resolve the nuclear standoff. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP)

President Trump was also optimistic after speaking on the phone with President Moon last week.
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has yet to speak out on the latest controversy surrounding his regime.

Bannon faces grilling on Russia

Former White House chief strategist and ex-Trump campaign manager Steve Bannon will testify before the House Intelligence Committee Tuesday as part of its Russia probe, in what will be his first appearance on Capitol Hill since the Michael Wolff book firestorm.

Bannon, who stepped down as executive chairman of Breitbart News last week following a dramatic falling out with the president over Wolff’s anti-Trump book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” will be interviewed behind closed doors by congressional investigators probing Russian meddling and potential collusion with Trump campaign associates during the 2016 presidential election.

A source close to the committee told Fox News that Bannon would likely be questioned over information in Wolff’s book.
In the book, Bannon slams the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., son-in-law Jared Kushner and campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Bannon called their infamous June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower with Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya during the campaign “treasonous” and “unpatriotic.”

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon will testify behind closed doors Tuesday as part of the House Intelligence Committee's Russia probe.  (AP)

RUSSIAN LOBBYIST, UNNAMED TRANSLATOR ATTENDED TRUMP TOWER MEETING WITH RUSSIAN LAWYER
“Even if you thought that was not treasonous, or unpatriotic, or bad s**t, and I happen to think it’s all of that, you should have called the FBI immediately,” Bannon said in the book.
Bannon also said Trump Jr. would “crack like an egg” in any possible public testimony about the situation.
RUSSIAN LAWYER WHO MET TRUMP JR.: 'I WOULD HAVE' CONTACTED CLINTON, TOO, IF SHE COULD HELP 
Trump Jr. fired back on Twitter, calling Bannon an “opportunist” who brought “a nightmare of backstabbing, harassing, leaking [and] lying” to the White House.
Bannon, who left his post at the White House in August, was a dominant figure in the novel -- which enraged the president enough to have his personal attorneys demand the publisher halt the book’s publication -- a request that was ultimately rejected. The lawyers also sent a “cease and desist” notice to Bannon, arguing he violated a non-disclosure agreement signed during the campaign by disclosing confidential information in speaking to the media about the campaign, and disparaging members of the Trump family.
The president issued a multi-paragraph blistering takedown of “sloppy Steve” Bannon, after excerpts released early revealed the information in the Wolff book.
“Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency,” Trump said in the statement. “When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind.”
STEVE BANNON STEPS DOWN AS EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF BREITBART NEWS 
Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski also is expected to testify this week before the House Intelligence Committee.

Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is expected to testify before the House Intelligence Committee mid-week.  (Reuters)

“I have nothing to hide. I didn’t collude or cooperate or coordinate with any Russian, Russian agency, Russian government or anybody else, to try and impact this election,” Lewandowski said on WABC’s “The Rita Cosby Show.” “I’ll be happy to come out and set the record straight about my lack of involvement with any type of foreign entity.”
Lewandowski was replaced by Manafort in June 2016 ahead of the Republican National Convention. Manafort has been indicted on money laundering charges as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
The former top Trump campaign officials are testifying before the committee, as Democrats, like committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff, D-Calif., claimed that Republicans would prematurely “shut down” the investigation.
“It appears Republicans want to conduct just enough interviews to give the impression of a serious investigation,” Schiff said last month.
A source close to the committee’s majority told Fox News that it was “funny” that Schiff has accused Republicans of “prematurely ending the investigation at the behest of Trump and Bannon.”
“New witnesses are still being interviewed,” the source told Fox News Monday. “It’s almost as if Schiff prematurely launched this critique, whose purpose is to provide an excuse for why Democrats, after a full year of investigating, can’t prove any of the collusion allegations they’ve been making.”
Schiff has called for at least a dozen more witnesses to testify before the committee, including Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.

Is DACA deal headed for disaster?

Will there be a DACA deal?

My sense is that both sides want one—but the chances are increasingly slim.

The Democrats may be less inclined to cooperate now that President Trump is on the defensive after global media criticism that he assailed "s---hole countries"—although the Washington Post, National Review’s Rich Lowry and others say aides are now insisting that the president said "s---house countries." Hole or house is a distinction without a difference, in my view.
The uproar prompted the president to tell reporters Sunday that "nah, I'm not a racist. I'm the least racist person you have ever interviewed, that I can tell you."
Trump also played down the notion of a DACA compromise, saying, "Honestly, I don't think the Democrats want to make a deal."
Democratic lawmakers want to save nearly 800,000 dreamers from deportation, but they’re not wild about pouring billions into Trump's border wall and taking other steps he's demanding on immigration.
Given the rhetoric from Dick Durbin and others that Trump was espousing racist views when he said he didn't want more immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and Africa as opposed to Norway, the Democrats are less inclined to give ground. (Yes, this has gotten tied up with Friday’s government-shutdown deadline, but nobody thinks that will actually happen.)
And Trump got strong blowback from his base, before the "s" hit the fan, for his willingness to cut a deal on the dreamers. Conservative commentators, led by Ann Coulter, called his stance a betrayal and complained about "amnesty."
The White House initially chose not to deny the Washington Post report that Trump had said "s---hole." The president later said he had used "tough" language but not that exact word, and now the administration has moved to a more forceful denial. Durbin says Trump used the word several times, Republican lawmakers either dispute it or say they didn't hear it, but Lindsey Graham did admonish the president for his wording during the White House meeting.
Trump yesterday tweeted a whack at the Senate Democratic whip, who earned a dimunitive nickname:
"Senator Dicky Durbin totally misrepresented what was said at the DACA meeting. Deals can't get made when there is no trust! Durbin blew DACA and is hurting our Military."
Any immigration compromise was always going to be tough, given the raw emotions surrounding the issue. That's why both George W. Bush and Barack Obama failed to pass immigration reform, leading to Obama's executive order shielding the dreamers.
As Rand Paul said on "Meet the Press": "Both sides now are destroying the setting in which anything meaningful can happen."
We seem to be back at Washington's default setting, where gridlock rules and compromise is eternally elusive. The essence of a political deal is that each side accepts something it doesn't want—tougher border security and immigration limits versus leniency for those brought here illegally as kids—to obtain important benefits.
But emotions are running so high—against Trump, against Democratic leaders, about immigration itself—that the good will needed to do such deals seems to be evaporating.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m.). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz.