And 9 (9 PM EST) is the ETA of the SCOTUS announcement.
Jilted Former EPA Aide With Sordid History Takes Full Credit For Pruitt’s Resignation
http://dailycaller.com/2018/07/08/epa-aide-pruitt-resignaton/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=atdailycaller&utm_medium=Social
A former EPA aide who said outgoing Administrator Scott Pruitt railroaded him is taking credit for the Oklahoma Republican’s resignation from the agency following a slew of probes into his spending habits.
“I hate to take a credit for a man losing his job, but I guess I’d have to say that I take the credit,” Kevin Chmielewski said Friday in an interview with The Hill. Chmielewski served as deputy chief of staff for operations at the agency during Pruitt’s tenure.
“I’ve put the breadcrumbs where they had to go and pointed to the FOIAs — the FOIAs have been 99.9 percent of it,” Chmielewski said, referring to a trove of documents he leaked after being ousted in April. “They’ve all come back, and in a lot of cases they were worse than I even knew about.”
Chmielewski told The New York Times in May that he was fired in April for taking issue with Pruitt’s excessive first-class flights and other travel and office spending. Other members of the administration disagree with that assertion. (RELATED: Career Staff, Not Pruitt, Were Behind EPA’s $43K Phone Booth
PA officials said Chmielewski was asked to resign because he failed on several occasions to notify his superiors and other staff members about his whereabouts during long trips, even though they suspected he was doing advance work. Chmielewski was unresponsive while on advance trips, including one to Hawaii, according to officials.
Chmielewski also had a run-in with a Secret Service detail during the presidential campaign — the secret service agents asked him not to get physical with protesters and let “the police do the policework,” a source with knowledge about the incident told The Washington Free Beacon. (RELATED: NYT Took Its Time Informing Readers Of Key Info About Obama EPA Chief’s Schedule)
The former EPA aide also claims to have advised journalists and environmentalists about which agency documents to seek out via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. He provided reporters with information showing staffers often convened in Pruitt’s office to nix numerous records from the agency chief’s calendar to cover up a paper trail.
Pruitt faced far-ranging questions about his alleged ethical shortcomings before eventually leaving. Democrats grilled him for allegedly paying $6,100 for a room in a condo owned by Vicki Hart, who is married to an energy lobbyist who represents clients in industries regulated by the EPA. Payments to Hart came only on dates when the EPA administrator stayed in the room.
Democrats also teed-off on Pruitt’s flight expenses. Reports from The Washington Post, Politico, and others in February show taxpayers funded at least $90,000 for Pruitt and his top aides to fly in June, which included first-class seats and a ride on a military jet. The EPA maintains the flight upgrades were required due to an uptick in security threats Pruitt has faced during his first year in office
Yeah, i took the pic at face value, too. Thought there was something salacious here. It's a guy. Just ego-filling his sense of self importance.
Woman doubles down on Trudeau's groping accusation.
I didn't know he changed his story.
http://dailycaller.com/2018/07/07/woman-alleged-trudeau-sexual-assault-doubles-down/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=atdailycaller
he woman who says she was groped by Justin Trudeau in 2000 has come forward to reiterate the allegation, in a statement issued to Canadian media on Friday.
Rose Knight, a former journalist, says she was inappropriately touched by the man who is the current prime minister of Canada. At the time of the alleged incident, Trudeau was a teacher and the son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. (RELATED: Trudeau Changes Story On Groping Allegation)
“I issue this statement reluctantly, in response to mounting media pressure to confirm that I was the reporter who was the subject of the Open Eyes editorial, published in the Creston Valley Advance in August of 2000,” Knight wrote.
“The incident referred to in the editorial did occur, as reported. Mr. Trudeau did apologize the next day. I did not pursue the incident at the time and will not be pursuing the incident further. I have had no subsequent contact with Mr. Trudeau, before or after he became Prime Minister.”
Knight, who no longer is a reporter, says she doesn’t intend to say more about her experience.
“The debate, if it continues, will continue without my involvement,” she said.
Trudeau has been evasive in his responses to the allegation, first saying nothing, then saying there was no “negative interaction” on the day in question, finally suggesting Knight was “not entirely comfortable” with the experience.
On Friday, according to a CBC News report, Trudeau again commented on the accusation.
“Over the past weeks, since this news resurfaced, I’ve been reflecting, we’ve all been reflecting, on past behaviors,” he said. “And as I’ve said, I’m confident I didn’t act inappropriately, but I think the essence of this is people can experience interactions differently and part of the lesson we need to learn in this moment of collective awakening … people in many cases, women, experience interactions in professional contexts and other contexts differently than men.