March 22, 2017
Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert is pushing his party’s leadership to hold a caucus briefing on the U.S. Capitol Police criminal investigation into the five congressional Information Technology (IT) workers suspected of stealing congressional data.
Source: Kathryn Watson, The Daily Caller
“I’m circulating a letter, and we’re going to ask for just that,” Gohmert told The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group Thursday following a “Conversation with Conservatives” news conference.
Congress needs to know more about three Pakistani brothers — Imran, Abid and Jamal Awan — and two of their associates, who are under criminal investigation for using a remote server to download and store data from congressional IT systems and over-billing taxpayers for computer equipment, Gohmert said.
The staffers performed IT services for dozens of Democratic members of the House Committees on Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security. Their positions gave them access to “everything,” including House member email and office files.
March 16, 2017
An Oklahoma state senator charged with child prostitution turned himself into authorities Thursday, a week after police found him a motel room with a 17-year-old boy.
Source: Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News
Republican Sen. Ralph Shortey, a leader of President Trump’s Oklahoma primary campaign, was charged in Cleveland County with engaging in child prostitution, transporting a minor for prostitution and engaging in prostitution within 1,000 feet of a church.
While the age of consent in Oklahoma is 16, the state’s prostitution statute applies to any person under the age of 18.
A tip from the teen’s father led Moore police officers to a Super 8 last week. They smelled marijuana coming from one of the rooms and discovered Shortey and the teenager inside, along with a box of condoms and lotion.
Police additionally uncovered a slew of sexually explicit messages between Shortey and the boy, including one in which the 35-year-old Republican offered him money in exchange for “sexual stuff,” according to a police report cited by the newspaper.
March 03, 2017
FBI Director James Comey has asked the US Department of Justice to publicly deny the president's assertion that his predecessor ordered his phones tapped - and so far, the Justice Department has not.
Source: Sputnik News
Comey says President Donald Trump's claim that Trump Towers was put under surveillance on the orders of former President Barack Obama is false and must be corrected, sources told the New York Times.
He is said to have made the request on March 4.The FBI and the Department of Justice refused to comment on the story, and Comey has not made an official statement.
The FBI and the Department of Justice refused to comment on the story, and Comey has not made an official statement.
J. Christian Adams, a lawyer employed by the Department of Justice under the George W. Bush administration, told Fox and Friends the next day that a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court request, which theoretically could have allowed the Obama administration to put surveillance on Trump in order to collect information about foreign powers and agents of foreign powers, would have to have gone through both the US attorney general and the head of the FBI.
"The attorney general of the United Sates has to certify FISA applications. They're done by the FBI. So you're going to have [former US Attorney General] Loretta Lynch, you're going to have James Comey… with intimate knowledge about this in the fall," he said.
"So there are documents, there are people who know."
Trump has not backed down from his allegations, and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer issued a statement early Sunday on Twitter saying the president had called for Congressional intelligence committees, which are investigating alleged Russian involvement in last year's presidential election, to investigate whether the previous administration abused executive branch power.
The New York Times says Comey is pushing for the Department of Justice to reject Trump's allegations because they suggest the FBI broke the law. It also says high-level FBI officials are worried that the idea of a court-ordered wiretap would give the public the sense that the government does indeed have real evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to interfere in the election. Though there have been many accusations, so far, little to no actionable evidence has been shown to the public of either Russian influence on the election or cooperation with the Trump campaign.
March 06, 2017
US President Donald Trump signed a new executive order on immigration after after his January order suspending immigration from seven predominantly-Muslim nations, all of which are considered to be hot spots for terrorism, was frozen by the courts.Individuals from Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia and Yemen without valid US visas have been banned from entering the US for 90 days, according to the new immigration order.
Source: Sputnik News
"For the next 90 days, foreign nationals from Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia and Yemen who are outside the United States on the effective date of the order, do not currently have a valid visa on the effective date of this order, and did not have a valid visa at 5:00 Eastern Standard Time on January 27, 2017, are not eligible to travel to the United States," the fact sheet stated.
Iraq has been removed from the list of predominantly-Muslim countries travel from which has been suspended in the new order.
The DHS also noted the executive order will take effect on March 16 at 12:01 a.m. (5:01 a.m. GMT) and "Iraqi citizens are not affected by the executive order."
US President Donald Trump’s new executive order on immigration does not include lawful permanent residents, some foreign nationals, and certain visa holders."The Executive Order does not apply to certain individuals, such as lawful permanent residents of the United States; foreign nationals admitted to the United States after the effective date of the order; individuals with a document that is valid on the effective date of the order or any date thereafter which permits travel to the United States."
Additionally, the order does not apply to dual nationals traveling on a passport issued by a non-designated country; foreign nationals traveling with diplomatic, NATO, UN, G-1, G-2, G-3 or G-4 visas; and individuals already granted asylum or refugee status in the United States before the effective date of the order.
Refugees will not be allowed to enter the United States for 120 days under a new executive order signed by President Donald Trump, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a fact sheet on Monday.
March 04, 2017
President Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower days before the 2016 presidential election in a series of tweets Saturday.
Source: Saagar Enjeti, The Daily Caller
Trump likened the tactic to McCarthyism and indicated a “good lawyer” may be making a case against Obama for the actions. Trump is likely referring to efforts by the U.S. intelligence community to monitor his campaign for contact with Russian intelligence officials.
Some Trump campaign officials allegedly had contact with Russian intelligence during the campaign, The New York Times reported in mid-February. The Justice department officials cited intercepted phone calls between the campaign officials and the intelligence officers.
Obama administration aides also spread classified intelligence related to possible Trump campaign contact with Russia around the government, TheNYT reported Wednesday. The effort centered on leaving a trail of alleged evidence for government investigators to follow.
“The only new piece of information that has come to light is that political appointees in the Obama administration have sought to create a false narrative to make an excuse for their own defeat in the election,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said in response to the allegation.
March 01, 2017
No, Hillary Clinton is not going away...
Source: Kyle Olson, The American Mirror
Someone is making “Hillary for Mayor” signs and plastering them around New York City, several photos posted on Twitter show.
There was one on an advertisement above the 34 Street-Herald Sq subway station:
Alternet’s Alexandra Rosenmann posted several other examples.
There was another in a station, one on a train and even on a convenience store entrance:
It’s not clear who’s posting the signs to create a pro-Hillary buzz.
But a January poll found Clinton would trounce Mayor Bill de Blasio in a hypothetical match up.
“…Hillary Clinton, running as an independent, tops incumbent Bill de Blasio, running as a Democrat, 49 – 30 percent,” a release for a Quinnipiac University Poll of city voters said.
“Mayor de Blasio gets a divided 45 – 46 percent job approval rating, little changed from a 47 – 47 percent approval rating in a November 16 survey … The mayor does not deserve reelection, New York City voters say 49 – 42 percent.”
“In the Clinton – de Blasio matchup, Clinton leads 61 – 29 percent among Democrats and 45 – 31 percent among independent voters. Republicans back de Blasio 28 – 18 percent. She leads among men and women and black, white and Hispanic voters. She also leads in every borough except Staten Island, which goes to de Blasio 28 – 22 percent,” according to Quinnipiac.
March 02, 2017
Ben Carson, a renowned neurosurgeon and former Republican presidential candidate, was confirmed as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Thursday.
Source: Chuck Ross, The Daily Caller
The Senate voted 58-41 to confirm the 65-year-old Carson. Six Democrats and one Independent, Maine Sen. Angus King, voted with 51 Republicans on the confirmation.
Carson had a relatively easy path to confirmation, at least compared to other Trump administration nominees. He coasted out of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs with unanimous support. His confirmation hearing in January was without controversy, as opposed to the grillings faced by other Trump cabinet nominees.
It is unclear what kind of policies Carson will implement as chief of HUD, which has a budget of nearly $50 billion and oversees issues related to fair housing practices and provides rental assistance to millions.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/02/the-doctor-is-in-senate-confirms-ben-carson-as-hud-secretary/#ixzz4acISgB8y
President Trump offered some vague goals during a tour with Carson at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Carson is the only black member of Trump’s cabinet.
“Ben is going to work with me very, very closely. And HUD has a meaning far beyond housing. If properly done, it’s a meaning that’s as big as anything there is, and Ben will be able to find that true meaning and the true meaning of HUD as its Secretary,” Trump said.
“We’re going to do great things in our African-American communities,” he added.
February 21, 2017
Santa Fe — Senator Mimi Stewart passed Senate Bill 42 which would allocate New Mexico’s Electoral College votes to the winner of the national popular vote. Under the current system, New Mexico is overlooked by presidential candidates because it is not seen to be a “battleground” or “swing state.”
Source: Silver City Sun-News
Enacting the legislation would join New Mexico in an agreement with the group of states that make up The National Popular Vote Compact and who would allocate their electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote. The compact will go into effect when the states who have signed on to reach 270 electoral votes – the amount of electoral votes needed to elect the president. To date, 10 states and DC have passed legislation needed to enter the compact for a combined total of 165 electoral votes.
“The current system of electing the President of the United States leads to the voices of New Mexico voters being overlooked and ignored,” said Senator Mimi Stewart. “Too many New Mexicans feel like they have been left out of the process in deciding who will serve as our nation’s leader. By doing our part to move towards a national popular vote we can begin the process of regaining the voters’ trust in our elections and ensure their voices are equal to every voter across the country.
”The legislation now continues to the House of Representatives where it will be heard in committee before it is considered by the entire chamber. During her tenure in the House of Representatives, Senator Stewart previously passed legislation to enter New Mexico into the National Popular Vote Compact through the House of Representatives.
February 17, 2017
Insistent Chinese Ambassador Requested Private Talk With Clinton Campaign Aides
Source: Mark Tapscott, The Daily Caller
Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai requested a meeting with Hillary Clinton’s top aides in January 2016, according to an internal email circulated among the former Secretary of State’s senior presidential campaign officials.
“Chinese Ambassador Cui invited me over to the residence Tuesday for a coffee and to make a request. He wants to have an informal, private, off the record get together with a few of us to discuss the next year and the current state of US-China affairs,” wrote Clinton campaign aide Kurt Campbell in the Jan. 7, 2016, email.
“He asked me to host a social meal at my house in the next month. He was fairly insistent and indicated that he wanted to pass along some perspectives. I told him I’d reach out to you all to see about your judgement on this and possible availability. I’m happy to make some chili and cornbread by the fire but let’s first decide whether this makes sense. Please let me know your thinking,” Campbell said.
The email is one among hundreds to and from Clinton national campaign chairman John Podesta made public by Wikileaks during the 2016 election cycle.
February 17, 2017
The owner of the Washington Post, a newspaper that has done little to hide its contempt for the current US president, has been quietly doing business with the CIA for years.
Source: Cassandra Fairbanks, Sputnik News
In 2013, it was revealed that Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Post and retail behemoth Amazon, had secured a contract for $600 million with the intelligence agency — an agency that also happens to be seemingly rebelling against President Donald Trump. The contract came just four months after Bezos purchased the newspaper.
“News media should illuminate conflicts of interest, not embody them. But the owner of the Washington Post is now doing big business with the Central Intelligence Agency, while readers of the newspaper’s CIA coverage are left in the dark,” Norman Solomon wrote for AlterNet. Despite requests to disclose its affiliation, the Washington Post repeatedly refused to post disclaimers confirming its owner’s business ties with the agency.
The contract was for a computing cloud developed by Amazon Web Services, which services all 17 agencies within America’s intelligence community.
February 14, 2017
The Start of Actual #PizzaGate Arrests? Search Warrant Executed
Source: Titus Frost, Steemit.com
Is Alderman Thomas Katsiantonis I now officially will refer to as "Pedo Kats" the first pending arrest to be seen in this #PizzaGate scandal? Here I believe we have the first potential arrest of a potentially directly connected low level individual. Will they offer him a deal to get "Pedo Kats" to testify against others that are higher up and involved? That would make a lot of sense to me. They just executed a search warrant on his businesses.
Here is the Article about the Search: https://manchesterinklink.com/state-local-federal-agents-execute-warrants-aldermans-home-businesses/
This "Pedo Kats" individual ran three businesses all of them Pizza Shops. The Pedo Pizza Shops are "Zoey's Pizza", "Grand Slam Pizza", and "Tommy K's". All of them were located in Manchester, NH.
According to the Article:
"Katsiantonis was elected to the Board of Aldermen in 2011. A democrat, he is serving his sixth term as a New Hampshire State Rep, and sits on the State-Federal Relations, and Veterans Affairs committees. According to the NH General Court website, Katsiantonis has not been present for a roll call vote since Jan. 4, 2017, and missed the last 19 votes this session, where he is listed as “not voting/not excused.” Source
February 15, 2017
Strongsville – The FBI has confirmed to Channel 3 News that they executed a raid on a Strongsville international adoption agency Tuesday morning.
Source: Chris Tye, WKYC Channel 3 News
Back in December the U.S. Department of State debarred European Adoption Consultants (EAC) from continued operation citing “a pattern of serious, willful, or grossly negligent failure to comply” with standards for international adoption.
On Tuesday the FBI raided their offices and the home of its founder – but they wouldn’t elaborate on the nature of the raid other than to say they were “executing a warrant.”
Among the allegations by the state department, the EAC "…failed to adequately supervise…preventing the sale, abduction, exploitation, or trafficking of children."
And that they failed safety procedures that prevent "…solicitation of bribes; Fraudulently obtaining birth parent consent…" to get the children here.
The organization posted on their website in December: “Despite the fact that we disagree with many, if not most, of the statement and are considering the option of appeal, we still have to make a plan of transfer of all cases by the end of this month.”
The organization can no longer transact any adoptions, which, they indicate left several families in limbo.
February 14, 2017
Former US National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has made a decision to step down as a result of a destabilization campaign by the media, intelligence community and the Democratic party, WikiLeaks said on Tuesday.
Source: Sputnik News
Flynn announced his decision to resign late Monday night. Retired Lt. Gen. Joseph Keith Kellogg Jr. has been named acting US national security adviser following Flynn's resignation.
Earlier on Tuesday, Counselor to the US President Kellyanne Conway said in an interview that Flynn's resignation has been prompted mainly by him misleading the Vice President Mike Pence and other White House officials about the contents of his conversation with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak.
February 13, 2017
The UK Law Commission has proposed an "Espionage Act" that would see leakers, whistleblowers and journalists, who break the Official Secrets Act, jailed as spies – and a charity that offers support to whistleblowers has told Sputnik it marks the first active crackdown on leakers by the UK government for some time.
Source: Sputnik News
The proposals are buried in a 326-page consultation paper, Protection of Official Data, and are claimed to be motivated by a desire to protect UK national security — although the term itself is never defined. In practice, the proposals — if adopted — would categorize leaking and whistleblowing as on a par with spying for foreign powers. Sentences would even apply if a leaker or whistleblower was not British, or in Britain.
Furthermore, overseas British embassies, intelligence and security offices, as well as data centers would be designated "prohibited places," making it an offense to publish information about them.
Under the proposals, espionage would be defined as "committed by someone who not only communicates information, but also by someone who obtains or gathers it," and there will be "no restriction on who can commit the offense."
If the proposed law had been effective in 2013, all journalists involved in the Edward Snowden exposures — even those who merely handled copies of secret documents — would've faced jail.
Sentences for breaking the act should rise from 2 to 14 years imprisonment, the Commission suggests.
February 14, 2017
Michael Flynn has resigned from the post of US President Donald Trump's National Security adviser, the White House announced on Monday.
Source: Sputnik News
According to the statement from the White House, retired Lieutenant general Keith Kellog was appointed instead of Flynn.
"President Donald J. Trump has named Lt. General Joseph Keith Kellogg, Jr. (Ret) as Acting National Security Advisor following the resignation of Lt. General Michael Flynn (Ret)," the statement said.
In his resignation letter, Flynn said that he had not provided the White House with full information about his contacts with Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak.
"Unfortunately, because of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the Vice President Elect [Mike Pence] and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian Ambassador. I have sincerely apologized to the President and the Vice President, and they have accepted my apology," Flynn said in the resignation letter revealed by the White House's press service.
February 12, 2017
North Korea has fired a ballistic missile, the Yonhap News Agency reports, citing South Korean military sources.
Source: Sputnik News
The missile was fired in the direction of the Sea of Japan at around 7:55 am February 12, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was fired from Banghyeon in North Pyongan Province; the flight path has not yet been determined.
The Pentagon has confirmed that it has detected the launch.
"The flight distance was about 500 kilometers, and South Korea and the United States are conducting a close-up analysis on additional information," South Korea's Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
South Korea's military was working on confirming whether the missile was the intermediate-range Musudan, which the country last tested late last year. The Musudan missile's range is estimated at about 3,000 kilometers. Based on the missile's launch site, North Korea experts speculate that it is the Musudan and not a longer-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The test had been expected for some time, with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un reportedly having announced a test in his New Year's Eve address to the nation. It was also suggested that the country might test an ICBM this month to mark former leader Kim Jong-il's birthday, or that it would test a medium-range weapon.
It is unknown what type of missile was fired.