Lindsey Graham: DOJ's non-answer on Rosenstein recusal is pure 'gobbledygook'

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., criticized the Justice Department for sidestepping recent inquiries he'd made about Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's possible recusal from the Russia probe.

On May 31, Graham sent Rosenstein a letter asking if he would recuse himself from overseeing special counsel Rober Mueller's probe, given a potential conflict of interest.

On Wednesday, the DOJ responded to Graham's inquiry. Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd wrote to Graham that Rosenstein "would recuse from all or part of any matter if recusal were deemed appropriate by Department officials who are informed about the matter," but up until that time, "he has a responsibility to fulfill his oath to well and faithfully execute the duties of his office.”

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Graham took a shot at the non-answer during a Wednesday interview on Fox News.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/lindsey-graham-dojs-non-answer-on-rosenstein-recusal-is-pure-gobbleydook

Kim Jong Un worried about assassination attempts in Singapore: Report

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is concerned about security and potential attempts on his life at his upcoming summit with President Trump in Singapore, according to a report.

Singapore will be the farthest Kim has traveled from the hermit nation since ascending to power after his father Kim Jong Il died in 2011, per Bloomberg.

The historic meeting, to be held at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island, is set to take place on June 12 following its temporary cancellation at the behest of Trump.

It was reinstated after a White House visit from Kim Jong Un's spy chief, Kim Yong Chol, on June 1.

Bloomberg also reported that Trump was considering hosting Kim Jong Un for a follow-up discussion at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., if the first round of in-person discussions go off without a hitch.

Delegations from both countries are continuing to hammer out final details for the event, including how North Korea will pay for its accommodation.

In preparation for the summit, Trump has started receiving daily briefings on the rogue nation’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/kim-jong-un-worried-about-assassination-attempts-in-singapore-report

Journalists spread those Melania health rumors, and now they're blaming Trump for it

National media figures, who just came off a news cycle suggesting first lady Melania Trump’s 20-plus-day absence could be due to something far more sinister than kidney surgery, responded indignantly Wednesday after President Trump accused them of rumor-mongering.

The funny thing here is: Trump is completely right. The entire “Where is Melania?” news cycle was trash. The people who winked along with the the absurd conspiracy theories, which included everything from botched plastic surgery to spousal abuse, deserve all the criticism they get.

It’s true that the first lady was out of the public eye for an extended period of time. The White House explained she was tucked away following kidney surgery. Her casual appearance this week at a Gold Star event at the White House would certainly seem to suggest that nothing is amiss.

Trump and his staff are not the ones who come out of this episode looking foolish and disingenuous. That honor would go to the journalists who used her absence as an opportunity to push anti-Trump conspiracy theories.

Consider, for example, Atlantic senior editor David Frum, who tweeted on June 2, “Suppose President Trump punched the First Lady in the White House (federal property = federal jurisdiction), then ordered the Secret Service to conceal the assault. POTUS has Article II authority over Secret Service. Is that obstruction?”

Or consider senior Rolling Stone writer Jamil Smith, who said elsewhere, "I wish that I didn’t suspect that the prolonged, poorly explained public absence of Melania Trump could be about concealing abuse. I wish that it was a ludicrous prospect. I wish that the @POTUS wasn’t a man with a history of abusing women, including those to whom he is married.”

Such speculation, as immoral as it maybe, is still different from reporting. So let’s look at the many news articles that sprung up around the viral, baseless conspiracy theories.

“‘Missing' Melania Trump returns to FLOTUS duty at White House,” read a headline published by USA Today.

Yahoo News’ “lifestyle” section ran an article titled, “Intriguing Theories About Melania Trump’s Absence,” wherein the author gave oxygen to a number of theories, including “she bailed” and “Her Disappearance Is an Elaborate Ruse to Make the Media Look Bad.”

Politico even published an article, titled “White House silence on Melania stokes conspiracy theories,” that make it sound as if the Trump administration is to blame for the conspiracies

On Wednesday, after the first lady provided the press with proof of life, the president tweeted, “The Fake News Media has been so unfair, and vicious, to my wife and our great First Lady, Melania. During her recovery from surgery they reported everything from near death, to facelift, to left the W.H. (and me) for N.Y. or Virginia, to abuse. All Fake, she is doing really well!”

You know what? He’s right. Media figures engaged in some really, really stupid rumor-mongering, and those musings were later elevated by newsrooms. True, the press didn’t cover the rumors as fact, but they covered and reported them nonetheless.

And after all that, some in media still see Trump as the bad guy in all of this.

“Trump is conflating random Twitter commenters [sic] with ‘the media’ here. A common tactic of bad faith critics. But disappointing to see POTUS do it,” CNN’s Brian Stetler said in response to Trump’s “fake news” tweet. The New York Times took this laughable angle: “Trump Defends Melania Trump and Spreads Conspiracies About Her in the Process.”

It’s a stretch to accuse Trump of being the disingenuous one here when the argument hinges on the distinction between what members of the press say on a public formal basis and what they publish within their respective newsrooms. Yes, newsrooms didn’t formally report her “near death,” spousal abuse, etc. – they just repeated all of the rumors that journalists and other news commentators had generated publicly on social media.

There is indeed a difference between thoughts on Twitter and formal reporting, but the issue here is: This news cycle is based 100 percent on loony theories espoused by members of the press. Is that how journalism works – make news on social media with irresponsible speculation, then report on it?

Further, this news cycle wasn't driven by just some random people on Twitter "with big followings.” It was driven by a senior editor at the Atlantic and a senior writer at Rolling Stone, among others. The news write-ups flowed from their widely shared comments.

Put more simply, this entire clown show is 100 percent on the media, not on Trump.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/journalists-spread-those-melania-health-rumors-and-now-theyre-blaming-trump-for-it

>>1654571

>>1654577

>>1654642

I agree anyone in his position would feel the same way, who to trust when you have been through the things this man and country has been through. None of this is just about him any more, his family, his country, his people.

Trump wants to shrink welfare programs and rename HHS: Report

The Trump administration is seeking to reorganize the federal government, including combining welfare programs and renaming the Health and Human Services Department, according to a report.

The White House Office of Management and Budget is expected to release a report in June, which will also suggest cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department, per Politico.

Despite proposing sweeping changes, the administration will need congressional approval to move programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, from the Department of Agriculture to HHS for oversight, as well as to modify HHS' name.

Sources told Politico HHS' amended name will likely have "welfare" in the new title.

OMB declined to comment to the news outlet, and HHS referred press inquiries to OMB.

The recommendations follow a memorandum President Trump issued in March 2017 that required every executive agency to conduct an internal review of how their funding is being abused and what changes they can pursue to operate more efficiently.

OMB Director Mick Mulvaney was then tasked with coming up with a plan to "reorganize the executive branch and eliminate unnecessary agencies," which included a period of public consultation.

The streamlining of welfare programs lines up with Heritage Foundation research that found 14 departments and agencies administered 89 abusive programs, totaling more than $800 billion annually in taxpayer costs.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-shrink-welfare-programs-rename-health-human-services

>>1654707

>>1654721

Refreshing to watch the MSM squirm for a change, takes me back to election night. I enjoyed watching the utter state of shock these people were in.

Mueller team seeks witness phones to inspect encrypted messaging tech

Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators are asking witnesses to give them their personal phones so the devices can be inspected for encrypted messaging applications and possible communications between President Trump's associates, according to a report.

Mueller's team has been making the request of witnesses interviewed as part of the federal Russia probe since April, searching for apps such as WhatsApp, Confide, Signal, and Dust, per CNBC.

A spokesman for Mueller declined to respond to the news outlet's request for comment.

The report follows prosecutors for the special counsel's office accusing former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort of trying to tamper with potential witnesses using encrypted text messages sent in WhatsApp and Telegram ahead of his federal court trial in Washington, D.C.

Prosecutors allege in court documents filed Monday that Manafort "repeatedly contacted" two former employees in April in the hope of securing "materially false testimony" from them about the Hapsburg group, a collection of European leaders Manafort once incorporated in a lobbying strategy on behalf of Ukraine.

Manafort, 69, was indicted by Mueller — who took over the federal Russia investigation in May 2017 — in both Washington, D.C., and Virginia.

In Washington, Manafort has been charged with money laundering and lying about his lobbying work. In Virginia, Manafort has been charged with laundering money, as well as bank and tax fraud.

Manafort has pleaded not guilty in both cases.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/mueller-team-seeks-witness-phones-to-inspect-encrypted-messaging-tech

Phil Bredesen spent $460,691 bankrolling liberal Democratic candidates

Democrat Phil Bredesen has a money problem. It isn’t personal finances. The former two-term governor of Tennessee has a net worth north of a quarter-billion. It isn’t electoral funds either. The current Senate candidate has more than $3.7 million on hand.

It is a political money problem. Bredesen donated nearly half-a-million to liberal politicians.

Bredesen has branded himself as a sort of pro-Trump Democrat in his race against Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Bob Corker. He says that he isn’t “the toy of the national Democratic Party.” Campaign contributions filed with the Federal Election Commission and the Tennessee Campaign Finance database say he is a party favorite thanks to $460,691 in campaign contributions.

For the last three decades, Bredesen has given faithfully from his pharmaceutical fortune. He has contributed to congressional and Senate and presidential campaigns of dozens of major liberal candidates since 1983. Now that money could come back and haunt his current ambitions in a state President Trump won by 26 points.

Bredesen spokeswoman Alyssa Hansen didn’t dispute the money, but pointed instead to his “long track record of being an independent leader.” The political generosity won’t be a problem, she insisted, because Bredesen has been very clear that he believes the Democratic Party is "an organization, not a religion."

Regardless of whether the Democratic Party is or isn't a partisan cult, Bredesen has showered the party’s anointed with cash. He gave $4,000 to former President Bill Clinton’s campaign and leadership committees. He spent $9,000 supporting both of former Vice President Al Gore’s failed presidential campaigns. He dropped former President Barack Obama a $5,000 line and then gave another $30,000 to Obama’s affiliated victory fund. When Bredesen was "with her" though, he was especially generous. The Democrat gave ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton $2,700 then turned around and sent a whopping $33,400.00 to her victory fund.

That spending will make it especially difficult for Bredesen to continue comparing himself to Trump. And indeed, Blackburn and a handful of pro-Trump outside groups, like the Committee to Defend the President, plan on making that comparison impossible.

“Phil Bredesen can claim he’s a moderate Democrat all he wants to try and get elected, but his mega-donations paint an entirely different picture,” committee spokeswoman Amanda Head said in a statement. “Bredesen’s donations confirm that he is determined to advance the failed Obama policies of the past — the same policies that 1.5 million Tennesseans rejected when they elected President Trump.”

If Bredesen has been putting his money where his political heart is, it will be hard to argue with that assessment.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/phil-bredesen-spent-460-691-bankrolling-liberal-democratic-candidates

ICE agents pull off one of the largest raids in the last decade, arrest 114 at Ohio gardening centers

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Ohio pulled off the largest workplace raid the region had seen in over a decade.

Khaalid Walls, ICE spokesman for the Northeastern region (Ohio, Mich., N.Y.) confirmed to the Washington Examiner that officers arrested 114 individuals at two different Corso's Flower and Garden Centers. one in Sandusky and the other in Castalia.

The operation begain at 7:00 am Tuesday morning and lasted until late in the evening.

Most of the 114 arrested were Mexican nationals, and Walls added that ICE began investigating the centers in October 2017 after a series of tips.

Steve Francis, the special agent in charge of the operation, wanted to make clear to local business owners that "if your business is operating legitimately, there’s nothing to fear."

"If you are hiring illegal aliens as a business model,," he continued, "we will identify you, arrest you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”

The raid was made public the same day as new data from Customs and Border Protection showed a 1.9 percent bump in border apprehensions in May, making it the third consecutive month to bear such a trend.

Additionally, border apprehensions were up 160 percent from May 2017.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/ice-agents-pull-off-one-of-the-largest-raids-in-the-last-decade-arrest-114-at-ohio-gardening-centers

>>1654822

I am thinking he is entrenched in the cult behavior, and is covering for it to say it's a conspiracy without actually saying it.

Paul Ryan backs Trey Gowdy: FBI acted properly by using informant with Trump campaign

House Speaker Paul Ryan said he supports a recent assessment by Rep. Trey Gowdy that the FBI acted properly when it used an informant to speak to members of President Trump’s campaign team.

And Ryan told reporters Trump should not pardon himself.

Gowdy, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said on Fox News last week, “I am even more convinced that the FBI did exactly what my fellow citizens would want them to do when they got the information they got and that it has nothing to do with Donald Trump.”

Ryan said Wednesday he supports Gowdy’s statement, although it has drawn backlash from people who believe the Obama administration was spying on Trump for political purposes.

“I think Chairman Gowdy’s initial assessment is accurate,” Ryan said, adding that “we have some more digging to do,” and more interviews to conduct.

Congress is also waiting for the FBI to turn over documents lawmakers have requested about the matter. Republicans have accused the Department of Justice of stonewalling on the document requests.

“It would be helpful if we got this information earlier,” Ryan said. “If we got all the information earlier we could wrap this up.

Reporters asked Ryan if Trump had the power to pardon himself.

“I don't know the technical answer to that question but I think obviously the answer is he shouldn’t, and no one is above the law,” Ryan said.

Trump tweeted Monday, “I have the absolute right to pardon myself,” in response to what he has described as a witch hunt by special counsel Robert Mueller into alleged collusion between the Russians and Trump’s presidential campaign.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/paul-ryan-backs-trey-gowdy-fbi-acted-properly-by-using-informant-with-trump-campaign

Obama secretly gave Iran access to US financial markets: Senate report

The Obama administration secretly gave Iran access to the U.S. financial system, even after telling Congress that Iran would continue to be barred from the U.S. market, a new Senate report said Wednesday.

Republicans on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, part of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, released a report early Wednesday that said this access was given to Iran during the talks. The report said Iran was never able to access the market because two U.S. banks refused to participate, but said the Obama administration's effort was contrary to the plans it conveyed to Congress.

"As the United States negotiated with Iran, one important U.S. interest consistently remained off-limits: Iran would not be granted access to either the U.S. financial system or the U.S. dollar. Foreign financial institutions were free to conduct business with the government of Iran and Iranian entities, but U.S. financial institutions continued to be barred from engaging Iran," the report said.

"Senior U.S. government officials repeatedly testified to Congress that Iranian access to the U.S. financial system was not on the table or part of any deal," it stressed.

"This notwithstanding, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, at the direction of the U.S. State Department, granted a specific license that authorized a conversion of Iranian assets worth billions of U.S. dollars using the U.S. financial system," it added. "Even after the specific license was issued, U.S. government officials maintained in congressional testimony that Iran would not be granted access to the U.S. financial system."

The report noted that in 2015, former President Barack Obama's Treasury Secretary Jack Lew testified in the Senate that Iran would "continue to be denied access to the [U.S.] financial and commercial market."

A followup letter from Treasury said Iranian banks "will not be able to clear U.S. dollars through New York, hold correspondent account relationships with U.S. financial institutions, or enter into financing arrangements with U.S. banks."

And in early 2016, Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., asked about reports that the U.S. was willing to give Iran some access to U.S. financial markets. Treasury replied in June, "The administration has not been and is not planning to grant Iran access to the U.S. financial system."

But the report found that in February of 2016, the U.S. quietly issued a license allowing Iran to access the U.S. financial system.

Specifically, it said an Iranian bank, Bank Muscat, was allowed to move about $5.7 billion through the U.S. financial system."

"For the duration of the specific license, Bank Muscat was authorized to use the U.S. financial system to convert additional future Iranian deposits, known as 'fresh funds,'" the report said. "One Bank Muscat executive wrote this was a “gigantic breakthrough which has assured Iran of almost full global financial inclusion."

That excitement was short-lived, however. The report said the Obama administration encouraged two U.S. banks to help Iran, but they refused.

"A State Department official even suggested that Secretary Kerry or Secretary Lew should contact the U.S. banks and encourage them to facilitate the conversion," the report said. "Both banks declined to complete the transaction due to compliance, reputational, and legal risks associated with doing business with Iran."

The report is likely to bolster Republican complaints about how the Obama administration was not upfront with Congress about how the Iran nuclear agreement, which the GOP says was already too generous to Iran and didn't do enough to verifiably require Iran to give up its nuclear weapons program.

The report made several recommendations in light of its findings, including that the Trump administration should be "aware" of Iran's recent access to the U.S. financial system as it tries to renegotiate the Iran deal.

It said Congress should require the Treasury Department to provide details of any license it gave to Iran, and ensure that all current sanctions against Iran are enforced in full.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/obama-secretly-gave-iran-access-to-us-financial-markets-senate-report

>>1654916

>>1654921

Both I believe are deep state, Ryan was transparent about it pretty much, while Gowdy was the grand stander imitation, with much talk and no action on his menu. He had great sound bites, but, never completed the job.

Trump signs VA Mission Act into law to give veterans more healthcare choices

President Trump signed a new veterans bill into law Wednesday that will allow people who have served in the military to seek care at private sector medical facilities, fulfilling a promise he made early on in the 2016 election to provide veterans with greater access to healthcare.

“All during the campaign, I would go out and say, ‘Why can’t they just go see a doctor instead of standing in line for weeks and weeks and weeks?’” Trump recalled during a signing ceremony in the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday.

Under the law, if a Veterans Affairs hospital is unable to “meet the needs of a veteran in a timely manner, that veteran will the have the right to go right outside to a private doctor,” the president declared, describing the legislation as “so simple and yet so complex.”

The so-called VA Mission Act passed Congress last month with broad support among lawmakers from both parties, and will now be implemented by the leadership team at the Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition to allowing veterans to receive care from private sector providers, the law expands access to the VA’s caregiver program, which until Wednesday was exclusively available to post-9/11 veterans.

“No matter when you served or where you fought, if at some point you were in that uniform, then you deserve our absolute best,” Trump said.

The law also includes new guidelines for identifying and addressing VA facilities that are in need of repair, and an initiative that aims to prevent opioid addiction among veterans by closely monitoring controlled substance prescriptions by VA providers.

“This is truly a historic moment,” Trump told attendees before signing the bill on Wednesday.

The president was joined by several lawmakers who played a key role in advancing the legislation, including Reps. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., the first female fighter pilot to fly in combat, Peter King, R-N.Y., and Sens. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/trump-signs-va-mission-act-into-law-to-give-veterans-more-healthcare-choices

Chuck Schumer wants senators to use the August session to expand Obamacare

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to use the August work period to work on Democratic healthcare initiatives.

“Democrats believe that health care coverage needs to be universal and more affordable,” Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote to McConnell, R-Ky. “Premiums, deductibles, and the cost of care are still too high for many. To that end, I urge you to dedicate the new three-week August work period to considering legislation that would lower the cost of health care and prescription drugs.“

McConnell announced on Tuesday that most of the August recess would be scrapped. He said the Senate will remain in session to clear a backlog of Trump administration nominees and legislation to fund the federal government.

Schumer wants the GOP to instead agree to consider a list of bills authored by Democrats that would broaden Obamacare.

He cited increased premiums that the insurance parties blame on the death of the individual mandate, which required people to purchase health insurance.

Democrats want the GOP to consider legislation that would create a drug czar who would focus on lowering the cost of prescription drugs, a bill to expand Medicare so people younger than 65 could enroll, and a measure to incentivize states to expand Medicaid. Democrats also want to vote on a bill to provide federal subsidies to insurance companies, which they said would lower insurance premiums.

“I request that you allow time in August for debate and votes on this much-needed legislation,” Schumer wrote. “Americans are ready for the president and Congressional Republicans to stop making the problem worse and instead work in a bipartisan manner to improve our country’s health care system. We believe this previously unscheduled session time can be put to good use to finally help Americans secure the affordable health care the president and Congressional Republicans have thus far failed to deliver. “

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/chuck-schumer-wants-senators-to-use-the-august-session-to-expand-obamacare

Athenahealth co-founder exits as activist fund Elliott Management presses $7 billion offer

Athenahealth Inc.'s co-founder is stepping down from his role as chief executive officer as the company's board considers a takeover bid from activist investor Paul Singer.

Singer’s firm, Elliott Management, is urging Athenahealth’s board to approve its estimated $7 billion offer after the firm rejected previous claims that shareholders wanted a deal.

“The board has authorized a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives, including a potential sale or merger or continuing as an independent company under new leadership,” newly appointed executive chairman Jeff Immelt, the former General Electric CEO, said in a statement.

Athenahealth co-founder Jonathan Bush is vacating both the role of CEO as well as his seat on the Athenahealth board, effective immediately. Immelt and Chief Financial Officer Marc Levine will run day-to-day operations.

“Working for something larger than yourself is the greatest thing a human can do," Bush said in the statement. "A family, a cause, a company, a country – these things give shape and purpose to an otherwise mechanical and brief human existence. Athenahealth is a near once-in-a-lifetime example of such a thing. With that lens on, it’s easy for me to see that the very things that made me useful to the company and cause in these past 21 years are now exactly the things that are in the way."

A spokeswoman declined to comment on whether Elliott's offer spurred the management shakeup. The company said in its statement there is “no assurance that the review being undertaken will result in a merger, sale or other business combination.”

The news had no immediate impact on Athenahealth’s stock.

In a report following the announcement, Piper Jaffray said a number of other companies could pursue an acquisition of Athenahealth, including icrosoft, Oracle and Salesforce. The investment firm said the $160 a share bid from Elliott is low and rose its price target to $179 based on the news of Bush's departure.

"Financial buyers are also keen on the company's recurring revenue and strong ability to drive incremental margins. We believe there will be no shortage of bidders," Piper Jaffray analysts Sean Wieland and Nina Deka wrote.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/business/athenahealth-co-founder-exits-as-activist-fund-elliott-management-presses-7-billion-offer

>>1654977

Indeed! Like a chained pit bull, kek

>>1655097

Absolutey