Day: August 18, 2018

President Trump Expects to Revoke DOJ Official Bruce Ohr’s Security Clearance

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Bruce Ohr

President Trump said Friday he plans to revoke the security clearance of Bruce Ohr, a Justice Department official whose wife was employed at the company that was involved in producing the dossier on Trump’s links to Russia. Trump called Ohr a “disgrace” outside the White House and said, “I suspect I will be taking it away very quickly.” Ohr is under intense Republican scrutiny for his contacts with Glenn Simpson, who co-founded the opposition research firm Fusion GPS. The president also suggested he may revoke Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s security clearance, and said, “Mr. Mueller has a lot of conflicts also, directly himself.” Trump said, nevertheless, that Mueller should be allowed to finish a report on Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Trumps remarks came after he revoked the security clearance earlier this week of former CIA Director John Brennan. Twelve former senior intelligence officials have issued a statement on what they call “the ill-considered and unprecedented remarks and actions by the White House regarding the removal of John Brennan’s security clearances.” “The president’s action regarding John Brennan and the threats of similar action against other former officials has nothing to do with who should and should not…

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Keith Ellison Still Popular Among Dems Despite Abuse Allegations, Support of Cop Killers

Anthony Gockowski
Keith Ellison

Democrat Rep. Keith Ellison is facing accusations of domestic abuse from his former girlfriend, yet still managed to win in Tuesday’s primary for Minnesota attorney general. The outspoken critic of President Trump announced in June that he would be leaving his seat representing Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District, which has remained a Democratic stronghold since at least 1979 when Martin Sabo took office. On Saturday, abuse accusations against Ellison surfaced on Facebook when his ex-girlfriend’s son claimed to have seen video of the Democrat caught in the act. Karen Monahan later confirmed that what her son was claiming was true, and that she had in fact been physically dragged off of a bed by Ellison while he screamed at her. Monahan, arguing that she shouldn’t need to release the video, claims that she put her “camera on to video him,” but Ellison and his campaign have denied the accusations. “Karen and I were in a long-term relationship, which ended in 2016, and I still care deeply for her well-being. This video does not exist because I have never behaved in this way, and any characterization otherwise is false,” Ellison said in a statement, according to CBS. He also referenced the accusations…

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Commentary: Mainstream Media Is a Watchdog on Republicans, But a Lapdog for Democrats

Chris Butler
Kathleen Sebelius

This week mainstream media reporters nationwide took a posture against President Donald Trump and asserted they act with integrity and objectivity and that his attacks on them are attacks on democracy itself. Hook people in the mainstream media up to polygraph machines and ask them if they really believe that. They’ll pass with flying colors. But as someone who spent nearly 10 years in the mainstream press, I witnessed things that tell me people in the media aren’t necessarily looking out for you and your best interests. The year was 2006, and I had a newspaper job in Central Florida. The Congressional mid-term elections were coming. That election was a topic at one morning staff meeting. One reporter said far more Democrats than Republicans in the county were voting early, obviously a bad sign for the GOP. He wanted to do a story. Our editor shot him down flat. “If you publish that story then it might prompt more Republicans to get out and vote early, and I don’t want to see that happen,” our editor, who is now deceased, said at the time. This was a corporate-owned daily newspaper that served thousands of people every day. A few weeks…

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RNC Co-Chair Blasts ‘Lame-Duck Governor’ of Ohio John Kasich

Anthony Gockowski
John Kasich, Bob Paduchik

Republican National Committee (RNC) Co-Chair Bob Paduchik recently blasted Ohio Gov. John Kasich for his inability to move on from his defeat in the 2016 presidential election. Kasich recently gave a controversial interview with “ABC’s This Week” when he claimed that congressional candidate Troy Balderson did not invite President Trump to an early-August campaign rally. During the interview, Kasich claimed that Balderson told him he “didn’t” invite the president to a campaign rally after Kasich pressed him on why he chose to get the president involved in his campaign. Both Trump and Kasich backed Balderson, who is still fighting for a victory in the special election that was held early August, but reignited their 2016 rivalry. According to Bloomberg, Trump attributed the closeness of the race to Kasich’s unpopularity, while the Ohio governor responded on Twitter with an image of Vladimir Putin. Balderson has stated that he was “honored” to receive the president’s support and “welcomed” Trump to campaign with him. In response to the drama, Paduchik wrote a withering editorial that mocked Kasich as a “sore-loser” and the “antagonist-in-chief.” The RNC co-chair rebutted Kasich’s assertions by noting that “thousands of Ohio voters at the rally and millions of Americans…

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Manafort’s Judge Is Under Federal Protection After Wave Of Threats

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Paul Manafort

by Kevin Daley   Judge T.S. Ellis III revealed in open court Friday that he has received death threats relating to his presiding over Paul Manafort’s trial for bank and tax fraud at a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. The judge has since retained the protection of the U.S. Marshals Service. “I have the marshal’s protection,” Ellis said. “I don’t even go to the hotel alone. I won’t even reveal the name of the hotel.” “I had no idea this case excited this emotion in the public,” he added. BREAKING: #Manaforttrial judge won’t release names of jurors citing safety reasons. Says he is under 24/7 US Marshals protection after threats and said “I had no idea this case excited this emotion in the public.” — Paula Reid (@PaulaReidCNN) August 17, 2018 Ellis made the comments after a coalition of news organizations — including The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Associated Press, CNN, NBC, Politico and BuzzFeed — requested the names and addresses of jurors seated for Manafort’s case. [ RELATED: News Outlets Ask Manafort Judge To Release Jurors Names, Addresses ] “There is no reason to believe that extraordinary circumstances exist that would justify keeping jurors’ names sealed —…

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Attorney: Former IT Aide Imran Awan Deserves No Jail Time Because Trump, Republicans ‘Were Mean’

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DNC-Imran-Awan-Wasserman-Schultz

by Luke Rosiak  – Former House IT aide Imran Awan’s attorney, Chris Gowen, filed a memo asking that his client serve no jail time for his bank fraud conviction.  – He told an Obama-appointed judge that Trump is an “incoherent,” “desperate” president of the “Untied States.”  – He asked for lenience by saying that Republican congressmen are “pathetic.” An attorney filed a sentencing memo on behalf of former House IT aide Imran Awan, claiming that President Donald Trump, other Republicans, and “conspiratorial media” attacks serve as a sufficient substitute for jail time for his client’s bank fraud conviction. Attorney Chris Gowen, a former aide to Hillary Clinton, argued to Judge Tanya Chutkan, a President Barack Obama-appointee, that Imran should be spared jail, in part because of Trump, who engaged in “incoherent rambling” about the former IT aide. “Considering … the conduct of several government officials, including the president of the United States, Imran Awan respectfully requests this court to sentence him to time served with a fine of $4,004,” Gowen wrote in the sentencing memo filed Wednesday. Imran pleaded guilty to lying on a loan application on July 3. He was also banned from the House network in February 2017 after congressional investigators alleged he…

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In Upset Over Pawlenty, Johnson Will Face Off Against Dem Walz in Minnesota Gubernatorial Race

Anthony Gockowski
Jeff Johnson, Tim Walz

After a shocking upset over former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Republican nominee Jeff Johnson is set to face off against Rep. Tim Walz in the Minnesota gubernatorial contest. Pawlenty, the last Republican to occupy the Governor’s mansion, failed to secure the nomination from the state party, but vastly outspent the Hennepin County commissioner in his bid for his old job. Throughout the campaign, Pawlenty struggled to distance himself from his criticism of President Trump, previously calling him “unhinged and unfit.” Although Johnson had issues of his own with Trump, he managed to position himself as the Trump-favorite along the campaign trail, earning the president’s “total endorsement” after his Tuesday night win. “Jeff Johnson of Minnesota had a big night in winning the Republican nomination for Governor against a very strong and well known opponent. Thanks for all the support you showed me,” Trump tweeted. “You have my complete and total endorsement. You will win in November!” Jeff Johnson of Minnesota had a big night in winning the Republican nomination for Governor against a very strong and well known opponent! Thanks for all of the support you showed me. You have my complete and total Endorsement. You will win in November! —…

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Police Raid Anti-Pipeline Site, Destroy Their Camp And Send Them Straight To Jail

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pipeline protest camp removed

by Jason Hopkins   Law enforcement ended a lingering standoff with an anti-pipeline camp site, arresting five protesters and destroying all the makeshift homes that were built. Intense opposition has centered around the Trans Mountain pipeline project, an expansion proposal that will ultimately stretch from Alberta to British Columbia’s west coast. Construction workers for Kinder Morgan, North America’s largest infrastructure company, have been subjected to numerous environmental protests as they continue to work on the $7.4 billion-dollar crude oil pipeline. A group of environmental protesters have long congregated in a camp near a Kinder Morgan tank farm in Burnaby, British Columbia. For the past several months, Camp Cloud — the name of the protest camp site — had grown in size. Starting with a single trailer in November, Camp Cloud had grown to include numerous vehicles and trailers, a cabin, an outdoor shower, a two-story wooden “house,” and numerous tents. [ RELATED: Full-Time Work: North Dakota Pipeline Protesters Are Now Protesting In Michigan ] For months, the camp site served as a hub of local protest against the Trans Morgan pipeline. However, law enforcement finally put an end to the camp on Thursday. Workers are bulldozing a two-storey wooden structure at the camp. pic.twitter.com/JQbP7vpQQj —…

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New Video Clarifies ‘Phony Phil’s’ Claims

Jason M. Reynolds
Phil Bredesen

The Tennessee Republican Party is having fun with “Phony Phil” Bredesen’s latest campaign ad filmed outside his grandmother’s American-flag-clad house in New York state. “Phil Bredesen’s most recent campaign ad left out some crucial details, so we decided to make our own video that gives Tennesseans some helpful context,” the Tennessee GOP said in a press release. The GOP took the U.S. Senate candidate’s campaign video and inserted comments clarifying the Harvard graduate’s claims to be a regular guy who wants to stop Washington, D.C., Democrats from telling others how to live. The GOP added comical music and sound effects to complete the experience. Watch the GOP’s video is available to watch: Scott Golden, Tennessee Republican Party Chairman, said, “The lack of self-awareness in Phony Phil’s new ad is truly remarkable. Phil complains about ‘educated, secure people who love telling the rest of us how to live’, but he’s only describing himself: a Harvard-educated, limousine liberal who owns a private plane and describes himself as ‘more sophisticated’ than regular Tennesseans. Phony Phil doesn’t pass the smell test, and Tennesseans will let him know this November.” The Chattanooga Times Free Press filmed a video interview with Bredesen in which he said…

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