On Tuesday, the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/usms-led-operation-triple-beam-results-327-felony-arrests-central-and-northern-new-mexico">Department of Justice</a> announced the results of a 90-day law enforcement operation, known as “Operation Triple Beam Albuquerque”: 327 known violent offenders were arrested and brought to justice.
The DOJ stated the fugitives from the law came from Bernalillo County and the Albuquerque, New Mexico metropolitan area. The DOJ detailed the various crimes the fugitives had been charged with:
<blockquote>During OTB Albuquerque, SWIFT located and apprehended 327 alleged state, local and federal fugitives, including 59 state probation and parole absconders, 10 individuals wanted for homicide, 20 for weapons offenses, 13 for sex crimes, 50 for assault, and 91 on narcotics charges. In the Santa Fe and Farmington communities, investigators made 92 arrests. The operation resulted in the seizure of 43 illegal firearms, more than 50 pounds of methamphetamine, four pounds of heroin, and two pounds of cocaine. In addition, 31 stolen vehicles were recovered and $50,000 was seized.</blockquote>
Attorney General William P. Barr stated, “I commend the work of the brave men and women of the U.S. Marshals Service on their outstanding execution of Operation Triple Beam, a nationwide effort by the Marshals to target violent, gang-related crime in some of America’s most dangerous cities. The Marshals are truly America’s fugitive hunters, with a proud tradition dating back to the founding of the United States. Their unyielding commitment to justice, in partnership with our state and local colleagues, made this initiative a great success.”
U.S. Marshals Service Director Donald Washington echoed, “We brought Operation Triple Beam, our mobile gang enforcement platform, to Albuquerque to target the gang-related fugitives fueling the violent crime in the area. The U.S. Marshals in the District of New Mexico, along with dedicated inspectors in our Investigative Operations Division, and all of our partner agencies, achieved results that illustrate our full commitment to make communities safer by addressing violent crime at its core and taking the worst of the worst off the streets. The good citizens of New Mexico have our enduring support.”
U.S. Attorney John C. Anderson added, “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to working with its law enforcement partners to combat violent crime throughout New Mexico. We commend the U.S. Marshals Service for regularly leading multi-agency operations like Triple Beam throughout the state that have made our communities safer by taking hundreds of fugitives off our streets.”
Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales III asserted, “Operation Triple Beam was an outstanding public safety effort by all personnel involved, and the unified approach for law enforcement resulted in hundreds of arrests, including many for dangerous outstanding warrants. I remain committed to collaborating with local and federal authorities to keep our children, families, and businesses safe.
The DOJ noted,“This is the second OTB conducted by the U.S. Marshals in New Mexico this year. OTB Las Cruces concluded April 12, 2019, with the arrest of 154 fugitives throughout Dona Ana County; there were 115 felony arrests within the City of Las Cruces … Since the Department of Justice reinvigorated Project Safe Neighborhoods in 2017, U.S. Marshals have launched 33 OTB collaborations of local, state, federal and tribal law enforcement agencies in some of the nation’s most violence-plagued communities, resulting in more than 6,000 arrests, 1,200 firearms confiscations, and the seizure of $1.8 million.”
&nbsp;

Welcome Sign at the entrance to Albuquerque, NM

DOJ: We Arrested 327 Violent Offenders Who Had Fled From Justice In New Mexico

Department of Justice

New Mexico

In a newly admitted &#8220;mistake&#8221; the defense has decried as &#8220;appalling,&#8221; the attorneys prosecuting former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn have been forced to admit this week that they &#8220;misidentified&#8221; the sources of the FBI notes upon which the case against Flynn has been based.
The notes on the conversation with Flynn that the prosecutors believed were written by anti-Trump agent Peter Strzok, the prosecutors admitted in a letter Tuesday, were in fact written by his partner, Joe Pientka. The admission further calls into question Strzok&#8217;s credibility, as he had insisted that Pientka was &#8220;primarily responsible&#8221; for taking the notes and writing the key document in the case, the FD-302 form. The admission also follows the defense&#8217;s accusation that the FBI deliberately altered the original 302 form to suggest Flynn had lied about his contact with a Russian ambassador
As reported by <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/doj-admits-in-michael-flynn-case-that-fbi-mistakenly-identified-peter-strzok-notes/">National Review</a>&#8216;s Tobias Hoonhout on Wednesday, in a letter sent to Flynn&#8217;s lawyer Sidney Powell, the Justice Department prosecuting attorneys were forced to admit that they had been misidentifying the sources of the notes on the FBI&#8217;s January 2017 interview with Flynn for the entirety of the case, some 18 months.
Since the FBI does not record its interviews, such notes stand in place of an official transcript. The notes incorrectly believed to have been taken by Strzok formed the basis of the official FBI document on the interview.
&#8220;We were informed that the notes we had identified as Peter Strzok’s, were actually the other agent’s notes (see Surreply, Exhibit 1), and what we had identified as the other agent’s notes were in fact Strzok’s notes (see Surreply, Exibit 2),&#8221; the prosecutors admitted to Powell in the letter.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
New letter to the Court from DOJ on the Flynn case.
They misidentified the FBI agents&#8217; notes. 🤦‍♂️
Strzok&#8217;s notes are really Pientka&#8217;s notes, and Pientka&#8217;s notes are really Strzok&#8217;s notes. <a href="https://t.co/9eTBZrymv9">pic.twitter.com/9eTBZrymv9</a>
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) <a href="https://twitter.com/Techno_Fog/status/1191860980554354688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;The FBI’s admission calls into further question the credibility of the case and of former FBI agent Peter Strzok, who told the FBI that his partner Joe Pientka was &#8216;primarily responsible for taking notes and writing the FD-302,&#8221; Hoonhout writes.
&#8220;In defending Flynn, Powell has argued that Strzok’s supposed notes were too orderly and well constructed to have been taken in the actual interview,&#8221; he explains. &#8220;Now the letter, coupled with prosecution’s release of notes last week, apparently reveal that Strzok, in fact, took the majority of the notes in the interview.&#8221;
Strzok has become a central figure in multiple cases, as he led the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton&#8217;s unsecured and unapproved private email server and was initially a member of Robert Mueller&#8217;s special counsel investigative team before being removed after evidence of his overtly anti-Trump bias came to light.
Powell recently accused the FBI of <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/flynns-lawyer-claims-fbi-tampered-with-interview-notes-demands-charges-be-dropped-due-to-outrageous-government-misconduct/">tampering</a> with the Flynn 302 document to suggest that Flynn lied about his contact with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
&#8220;Those changes added an unequivocal statement that ‘Flynn stated he did not’ — in response to whether Mr. Flynn had asked Kislyak to vote in a certain manner or slow down the UN vote [on sanctions],&#8221; Powell alleged in a 37-page motion two weeks ago. &#8220;This is a deceptive manipulation because, as the notes of the agents show, Mr. Flynn was not even sure he had spoken to Russia/Kislyak on the issue. He had talked to dozens of countries.&#8221;
&#8220;That question and answer does not appear in the notes, yet it was made into a criminal offense,&#8221; Powell stated. &#8220;The draft also shows that the agents moved a sentence to make it seem to be an answer to a question it was not.&#8221;
As National Review explains, the admission by prosecutors about confusing the source of the case&#8217;s key document was prompted by Powell demanding that the FBI search its &#8220;Sentinel Database&#8221; for all drafts of the 302 to show if any significant alterations had been made.  Flynn&#8217;s texts with his paramour FBI lawyer Lisa Page revealed that he admitted to making changes to the 302 with her help on the same day that news broke that Flynn had talked about sanctions with Kislyak. The reports cited &#8220;senior intelligence officials&#8221; as the source of the claim.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mueller-report-edited-conversation-between-trump-ashe-schow">Mueller Report Edited Conversation Between Trump, Flynn Lawyers. The Transcript Was Just Released.</a>

Peter Strzok

&#8216;Appalling&#8217;: FBI ‘Misidentified’ Anti-Trump Agent&#8217;s Notes In Case Against Mike Flynn

Michael Flynn

Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, are not giving up the fight to beat the rap in the college admissions scandal and have now pleaded not guilty to the newest charges brought against them, reports <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/lori-loughlin-to-plead-not-guilty-new-college-admissions-scandal-charges">Fox News</a>.
&#8220;Fox News obtained court documents filed by the couple Friday stating that they plan to plead not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery,&#8221; the outlet reported. &#8220;The couple also waived their right to appear at a Nov. 20 arraignment.&#8221;
Last week, the U.S. Justice Department indicted the actress and her husband on an additional charge of bribing officials at an organization that receives at least $10,000 in federal funding to get their children admitted to the University of Southern California. Should the couple be convicted of the bribery charges, they could face up to five years in prison along with a $250,000 fine. This past April, the couple pleaded not guilty against charges of mail fraud and money laundering conspiracy — a combination of charges which carries a maximum sentence of 40 years.
Sources close to the family <a href="https://people.com/tv/lori-loughlin-terrified-about-new-charges-stress/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">told People</a> in the wake of the new charges that Loughlin is now increasingly terrified that she will face jail time, fearing that prosecutors are seeking to make an example out of her.
&#8220;They feel like this is David versus Goliath,&#8221; the source reportedly said. &#8220;How do you go up against the federal government, when the government has decided to make an example out of you? How can you possibly move forward from this?&#8221;
&#8220;This stress is about to break them,&#8221; the source continued. &#8220;She is angry, she is sad, but most of all, she is terrified. It just gets worse and worse for her. And you have to remember: Nothing new has happened. They could have charged her with all of this last spring. But they waited. She feels like she is a scapegoat.&#8221;
Even if Lori Loughlin were to avoid long-term jail time by receiving a light sentence on par with actress Felicity Huffman&#8217;s 14 days, her career as a television star has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aunt-becky-booted-fuller-house-college-bribery-paul-bois">virtually destroyed</a>, having been jettisoned from her role as Aunt Becky on Netflix&#8217;s &#8220;Fuller House&#8221; and her position as a featured talent on the Hallmark Channel.
&#8220;We are saddened by the recent news surrounding the college admissions allegations,&#8221; Hallmark Channel’s parent-company Crown Media said in a statement when the admissions scandal first broke. &#8220;We are no longer working with Lori Loughlin and have stopped development of all productions that air on the Crown Media Family Network channels involving Lori Loughlin, including &#8216;Garage Sale Mysteries,&#8217; an independent third-party production. We are evaluating all creative options related to &#8216;When Calls the Heart&#8217; series.&#8221;
A source close to the family <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-lori-loughlin-regrets-not-taking-plea-deal-paul-bois">recently told People</a> that even though Loughlin now regrets not taking an initial plea deal, she still believes that she did nothing illegal in the first place.
&#8220;If she’s found guilty, she will go to jail; that is clear. And if another deal is offered to her, which I don’t think it will be, she will go to jail,&#8221; the source said. &#8220;Her only chance of avoiding jail is to beat these charges. Lori is a smart woman; she understands that. She’s scared and upset, but she’s resolved to be strong and to fight this. She will do what she has to do to protect herself and her family.&#8221;

Lori Loughlin, Mossimo Giannulli Appear In Boston Courthouse

Lori Loughlin Pleads Not Guilty To New Charges In College Admissions Scandal

Lawsuit

Lori Loughlin

University of Southern California

U.S. Attorney General William &#8220;Bill&#8221; Barr has been making quite a name for himself over the past couple of months.
Last month, the attorney general, following the lead of Vice President <a href="https://www.conservativereview.com/news/mike-pence-announces-trump-administration-will-fight-back-lower-court-nationwide-injunctions/">Mike Pence</a>, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/u-s-attorney-general-william-barr-end-nationwide-injunctions/">tore into</a> the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-pence-promises-challenge-nationwide-josh-hammer">erroneous notion</a> that so-called &#8220;nationwide injunctions&#8221; are an appropriate judicial remedy in our constitutional order. The practice of Article III federal judges issuing so-called &#8220;nationwide injunctions,&#8221; Barr averred, &#8220;flouts constitutional principles and stultifies sound judicial administration, all at the cost of public confidence in our institutions.&#8221; In so doing, the attorney general thus took the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/end-nationwide-injunctions-11567723072">same position</a> on the constitutional unsoundness of &#8220;nationwide injunctions&#8221; that Justice Clarence Thomas took in his <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/17-965_h315.pdf">lone Trump v. Hawaii concurrence</a> from June 2018. Justice Thomas may have gone solo in Trump — it is worth emphasizing that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-the-supreme-court-term-begins-today-here-is-what-conservatives-should-look-for">not a single other</a> purportedly conservative justice joined Thomas&#8217;s concurrence that doubted the constitutionality of &#8220;nationwide injunctions&#8221; — but the attorney general of the United States is now on record as wholly agreeing with him.
Earlier this month, the attorney general one-upped himself, delivering a <a href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/bill-barr-religious-liberty-warrior/">thunderous disquisition</a> at the University of Notre Dame that functioned as a débutante ball for Barr&#8217;s grand emergence into the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-culture-war-conservatives-congress-should-josh-hammer">culture war</a>. The speech excoriated the pernicious influence of the militant secularists who seek to chase religion wholly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-social-conservatives-must-defend-the-intrinsic-good-of-religion">out of the public square</a>. The speech was nothing short of extraordinary. As legendary jurisprudential theorist Hadley Arkes <a href="https://americanmind.org/essays/bill-barr-gives-a-speech/">put it</a>, Barr &#8220;dr[ew] deeply on some of the best things said and done in the [Western] tradition running back to Athens as well as Jerusalem.&#8221; Barr directly channeled President John Adams&#8217; admonition that &#8220;[o]ur Constitution was made only for a moral and religious [p]eople&#8221; and that it is &#8220;wholly inadequate&#8221; for anyone else. To be sure, the Left shrieked and howled at Barr&#8217;s channeling the <a href="http://libertytree.ca/quotes/Alexis.de.Tocqueville.Quote.8AF2">very best of our distinctly American political tradition</a> — an all-too easily foreseen reaction that, as Wall Street Journal columnist William McGurn <a href="http://libertytree.ca/quotes/Alexis.de.Tocqueville.Quote.8AF2">wrote</a>, nonetheless &#8220;is highly revealing of the absolutism of secularist opponents determined to marginalize and destroy anyone who dares dissent from their own uncompromising orthodoxy.&#8221;
To synthesize, the attorney general has spent the last two months both lambasting the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-pence-promises-challenge-nationwide-josh-hammer">preeminent</a> malignant tumor afflicting our constitutional fabric — that of separation of powers-distorting &#8220;nationwide injunctions&#8221; — and unabashedly siding with oppressed religious Americans in their defensive cultural struggle against revanchist secularists who refuse to countenance religion as anything other than vestigial bigotry wholly unfit for inclusion in polite society. Nothing else in our self-governing republic matters unless and until the scourge of rogue &#8220;nationwide injunctions&#8221; is curtailed and, ultimately, eliminated. The attorney general has now expressly telegraphed to the other nine members of the U.S. Supreme Court not named Clarence Thomas that he agrees with Clarence Thomas on these injunctions&#8217; lawlessness. The attorney general, furthermore, has signaled his clear sympathizing with the group of Americans today who are most consistently under cultural and legal siege from the ascendant, institutionally supported forces of overt secularism run amok: Religious Americans.
America is better off for having an attorney general, much like Ed Meese during the Reagan administration, who is so willing to expressly put his thumb on the scale of constitutional order, truth, and justice alike. America is better off for having Bill Barr.

Attorney General William Barr

HAMMER: America Is Better Off For Having Bill Barr

Judicial Branch

Judiciary

Religion

Supreme Court

William Barr

Attorney General William Barr highlighted during a short interview on Monday the credentials of U.S. Attorney John Durham — who is leading the criminal investigation into the origins of the Russia probe — as he also revealed that he is not really personally involved in the investigation.
&#8220;[John] Durham, who is the U.S. attorney for Connecticut, is in charge of the investigation. And I understand he is making great progress,&#8221; Barr told Fox News. &#8220;As you know, he’s 35-year veteran of the Department. Great reputation for nonpartisanship. He was selected by two Democratic attorneys general to do sensitive investigations for them. He is by-the-book kind of guy. He’s thorough and fair. And I&#8217;m confident he&#8217;s going to get to the bottom of things.&#8221;
The interview with Fox News in Chicago comes one week after The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/24/us/politics/john-durham-criminal-investigation.html">reported</a> that the investigation — which started out as an administrative review — had shifted into a full-fledged criminal investigation.
Regarding former intelligence officials who have criticized the investigation, Barr said: &#8220;We&#8217;ll let the chips fall where they may. I think they all know John Durham&#8217;s reputation, and we&#8217;ll just see how it how it turns out. But I do want to say that one of the reasons Mr. Durham is able to make the kind of progress he&#8217;s making is because Director Wray and his team at the FBI have just been outstanding in the support and responsiveness they&#8217;ve given.&#8221;
Barr then elaborated on why he traveled to Italy and why other countries are involved in the criminal investigation.
&#8220;Well, some of the countries that John Durham thought might have some information or be helpful to his investigation wanted preliminarily to talk to me about the scope of the investigation,&#8221; Barr said. &#8220;So I initially discussed these matters with those countries, then introduce them to John Durham and established a channel by which Mr. Durham can obtain assistance from those countries. But he is in charge of the investigation. I&#8217;m not doing the investigation.&#8221;
The Times noted that shifting the administrative review into a criminal investigation gives Durham &#8220;the power to subpoena for witness testimony and documents, to impanel a grand jury and to file criminal charges.&#8221;
&#8220;Mr. Durham has indicated he wants to interview former officials who ran the C.I.A. in 2016 but has yet to question either Mr. Brennan or James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence,&#8221; The Times added. &#8220;Some C.I.A. officials have retained criminal lawyers in anticipation of being interviewed.&#8221;
A couple of days before the Times&#8217; report, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/john-durham-investigation-possible-fbi-misconduct-expanded-new-evidence-sources">reported</a> that the investigation had &#8220;expanded based on new evidence uncovered during a recent trip to Rome with Attorney General Bill Barr.&#8221;
&#8220;The sources said Durham was ‘very interested’ to question former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan, an anti-Trump critic who recently dismissed the idea,&#8221; Fox News added. &#8220;The two Obama administration officials were at the helm when the unverified and largely discredited Steele dossier, written by British ex-spy Christopher Steele and funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee, was used to justify a secret surveillance warrant against former Trump adviser Carter Page.&#8221;

Attorney General William Barr Gives Update On Criminal Investigation Into Origins Of Russia Probe

The U.S. Department of Justice&#8217;s administrative review into the origins of the Russia investigation has a taken a major turn into a full-fledged criminal investigation.
The review, led by U.S. attorney John Durham, has shifted from being an administrative review into being a criminal investigation, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/24/us/politics/john-durham-criminal-investigation.html">reported</a>, noting that the move gives Durham &#8220;the power to subpoena for witness testimony and documents, to impanel a grand jury and to file criminal charges.&#8221;
The Times immediately tried to frame the move as being seen by many that Trump is &#8220;using the Justice Department to go after his perceived enemies.&#8221;
&#8220;Mr. Barr’s reliance on Mr. Durham, a widely respected and veteran prosecutor who has investigated C.I.A. torture and broken up Mafia rings, could help insulate the attorney general from accusations that he is doing the president’s bidding and putting politics above justice,&#8221; The Times added.
DOJ guidelines <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/ag/attorney-generals-guidelines-general-crimes-racketeering-enterprise-and-domestic#investigations">state</a> that federal investigators must have a &#8220;reasonable indication&#8221; that a crime has been committed before they can open up an investigation, and that &#8220;there must be an objective, factual basis for initiating the investigation; a mere hunch is insufficient.&#8221;
&#8220;Mr. Durham has indicated he wants to interview former officials who ran the C.I.A. in 2016 but has yet to question either Mr. Brennan or James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence,&#8221; The Times added. &#8220;Some C.I.A. officials have retained criminal lawyers in anticipation of being interviewed.&#8221;
Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/john-durham-investigation-possible-fbi-misconduct-expanded-new-evidence-sources">reported</a> on Tuesday that Barr&#8217;s investigation had &#8220;expanded based on new evidence uncovered during a recent trip to Rome with Attorney General Bill Barr.&#8221;
&#8220;The sources said Durham was &#8216;very interested&#8217; to question former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan, an anti-Trump critic who recently dismissed the idea,&#8221; Fox News added. &#8220;The two Obama administration officials were at the helm when the unverified and largely discredited Steele dossier, written by British ex-spy Christopher Steele and funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee, was used to justify a secret surveillance warrant against former Trump adviser Carter Page.&#8221;
The Daily Beast reported at the start of the month that Barr and Durham were interested in &#8220;what the Italian secret service knew about Joseph Mifsud, the erstwhile professor from Malta who had allegedly promised then-candidate Donald Trump’s campaign aide George Papadopoulos he could deliver Russian &#8216;dirt&#8217; on Hillary Clinton.&#8221;
&#8220;The Italian justice ministry’s public records show that Mifsud had applied for police protection in Italy after disappearing from Link University, where he worked and, in doing so, had given a taped deposition to explain just why people might want to harm him,&#8221; The Daily Beast continued. &#8220;A source in the Italian Ministry of Justice, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told The Daily Beast that Barr and Durham were played the tape.&#8221;
The Daily Beast added that another source with the Italian government confirmed that Barr and Durham &#8220;were shown other evidence the Italians had on Mifsud.&#8221;
Barr and Durham have also reached out to Australia and the United Kingdom as part of their investigation into the origins of the FBI&#8217;s investigation into the Trump campaign.

DOJ Administrative Review Into Russia Probe Takes Serious Turn

Donald Trump

Russia

Violent crime in America, despite experiencing an overall <a href="https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2012/crime-in-the-u.s.-2012/tables/1tabledatadecoverviewpdf/table_1_crime_in_the_united_states_by_volume_and_rate_per_100000_inhabitants_1993-2012.xls">dramatic decline</a> since the 1990s, has started to <a href="https://www.conservativereview.com/news/25-years-crime-wave-back-republicans-refuse-talk/">surge back</a> over the past few years. Amidst this distressing social trend, alas, America&#8217;s <a href="https://www.conservativereview.com/news/rnc-blasts-kamala-harris-not-pro-criminal-enough/">erstwhile</a> &#8220;law-and-order&#8221;/tough-on-crime political party has been ideologically and financially captured by pro-criminal libertarians who ally with the Left to spout hackneyed, outmoded orthodoxies like the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-dont-let-kim-kardashian-fool-you-america-josh-hammer">alleged (non-)issue</a> of &#8220;mass incarceration.&#8221; The most tangible result of this unholy alliance was the bipartisan 2018 passage of the harrowing First Step Act jailbreak law — a law enactment which President Donald Trump, viewing the <a href="https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20191004/he-was-released-early-from-prison-in-february-now-hes-wanted-for-murder-on-federal-hill">murderous early results</a>, apparently already <a href="https://www.conservativereview.com/news/trump-reportedly-regrets-passage-jailbreak-first-step-act-gullible-conservatives-supported/">regrets</a>.
Alas, the leftist/libertarian alliance on &#8220;criminal justice&#8221; issues, just highlighted during last night&#8217;s Democratic Party presidential primary debate when Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) touted her work with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on the crime-abetting issue of &#8220;<a href="https://www.conservativereview.com/news/jailbreak-epidemic-gang-member-released-6k-bail-now-accused-raping-12-year-old-girl/">bail reform</a>,&#8221;continues unabated. Which brings us to prominent libertarian lawyer/legal commentator <a href="https://www.cato.org/people/clark-neily">Clark Neily</a>, who has been on a roll, of late. Neily, who spent years with the rabidly <a href="https://ij.org/center-for-judicial-engagement/">pro-judicial power</a> libertarian legal group <a href="https://ij.org">Institute for Justice,</a> now works for the equally <a href="https://www.cato.org/blog/proper-judging-means-principled-engagement-not-judicial-deference">pro-judicial power</a> libertarian Cato Institute. Neily&#8217;s title at Cato is &#8220;Vice President for Criminal Justice&#8221; and, based on his recent musings, he appears to embody the zealous leftist/libertarian jailbreak alliance.
The precise target of Neily&#8217;s recent ire is the prosecutor. More specifically, Neily is convinced that far too many prosecutors become federal judges — and that not nearly enough criminal defense attorneys become federal judges. In a highly revealing but nonetheless sober-minded recognition of his core readership for such anti-prosecutorial musings, Neily has published on the subject at both <a href="https://www.cato.org/publications/studies/are-disproportionate-number-federal-judges-former-government-advocates">Cato</a> and, just this week, at left-wing <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/10/too-many-prosecutors-federal-judiciary.html">Slate</a>. The latter piece goes so far as to call for an outright &#8220;moratorium&#8221; on the nomination of former prosecutors to the federal bench.
I am not a former prosecutor. But I do have the benefit of education at a top law school and the experience of serving as a law clerk for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. And I believe Neily is severely misguided in his anti-prosecutor crusade.
Crucially, Neily&#8217;s Cato <a href="https://www.cato.org/publications/studies/are-disproportionate-number-federal-judges-former-government-advocates#summary-previous-studies">study</a> makes no attempt whatsoever to control for education, intellect, or legal credentials. To many lay observers, this may seem anodyne — after all, can&#8217;t former prosecutors and defense attorneys/public defenders, as classes of attorneys, be presumed to have roughly equivalent legal acumens and credentials? Well, no. For generations, gifted law students of all political stripes have seen the prosecutorial career path — be it via the Department of Justice (DOJ), local U.S. attorney&#8217;s offices, state attorneys general offices, or even local district attorneys — as a prominent avenue for vocational success. The DOJ <a href="https://www.justice.gov/legal-careers/entry-level-attorneys">Honors Program</a> has long been viewed as one of the most prestigious entry-level attorney tracks in the nation, and scores of lawyers hoping to one day be considered for a federal judgeship have routinely sought U.S. attorney&#8217;s office experience as a means of padding their resumes and evincing a demonstrable commitment to public service. Again, this holds true for lawyers and judges of all political persuasions and partisan affiliations: As but two prominent examples for those on the Left, 2016 failed Barack Obama U.S. Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland is a former federal prosecutor and current presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) is a former California attorney general.
This is simply not nearly as broadly true for those who pursue careers in the criminal defense bar — be they in private practice or working as public defenders. Leftists and libertarians can gnash their teeth and wail all they&#8217;d like, but the reality, as I <a href="https://twitter.com/josh_hammer/status/1176324820771819520">tweeted</a> last month, is that in no sane world is the median defense lawyer of the same acumen and credentials as the median prosecutor. Representing drug traffickers, gangbangers, and felons in possession of firearms is not a dream job. Again, my claim is that this holds true for prosecutors and the defense bar, viewed as a class — obviously, there will be innumerable individual dispensations to such a broad rule, when comparing class sizes of this magnitude. But anecdotally, based on (1) my own personal experience knowing many individuals who have become prosecutors and defense lawyers, (2) my own law clerk experience and thinking back to a comparison of the median prosecutor&#8217;s brief and oral argument versus the median defense attorney&#8217;s brief and oral argument, and (3) discussing the issue with other former federal appellate law clerk friends, I feel eminently comfortable making such a claim. We should feel comfortable establishing a rebuttable presumption that prosecutors, considered as a class, have superior legal credentials to defense attorneys. Based purely on my own experience, I cannot even begin to count the volume of public defender&#8217;s office legal briefs I read that were of an immensely shoddy quality.
At a bare minimum, libertarians and leftists who would seek to place a moratorium on nominating prosecutors to federal judgeships ought to be asked how they can be so sure that they are not sacrificing legal acumen or credentials. I understand that such logic is arguably circular — anti-prosecutor libertarians and leftists could respond that such a moratorium may prophylactically disincentivize smart law school graduates who may aspire for judgeships from pursuing prosecutorial careers. But the salient point is that the general prestige of many prosecutorial career paths is so deeply ingrained in our legal culture. That is not something that can be easily reversed, and I highly suspect the criminal defense bar and its apologists have no particularly compelling argument to offer for how they might be able to do so.
Prosecutors do not write our nation&#8217;s criminal statutes — they merely enforce them. To the extent leftists and libertarians — hooked as they are on the anachronistic talking points of &#8220;mass incarceration&#8221; and &#8220;low-level non-violent offenders&#8221; — have substantive issues with our criminal statutes, they ought to lobby policymakers. By all accounts, considering both <a href="https://www.conservativereview.com/news/needs-leftists-gop-texas-gov-greg-abbott-endorses-radical-ban-box-pro-criminal-mandate-employers/">state-level initiatives</a> and the aforementioned First Step Act, the pro-jailbreak cabal is quite successful in its lobbying efforts. Pro-jailbreak forces are wrong, on the policy merits, but that is an issue that can be debated in the political space. But it would be dangerous for justice and the rule of law, absent pro-jailbreak forces&#8217; ability to overcome the rebuttable presumption about the credentials of disparate vocational classes, for such forces to also take out their frustrations as part of the judicial nominations process.

Judge gavel with Justice lawyers, Businesswoman in suit or lawyer, Advice and Legal services Concept.

HAMMER: In Defense Of Prosecutors

Constitution

Crime

Drugs

Federal Government

Guns

Homicide

Kamala Harris

A new bombshell report from The Federalist&#8217;s Sean Davis alleges that the intelligence community secretly removed a requirement on whistleblower complaint forms that required whistleblowers provide first-hand knowledge of the allegations they were reporting.
&#8220;The new complaint document no longer requires potential whistleblowers who wish to have their concerns expedited to Congress to have direct, first-hand knowledge of the alleged wrongdoing that they are reporting,&#8221; Davis reported. &#8220;The brand new version of the whistleblower complaint form, which was not made public until after the transcript of Trump’s July 25 phone call with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and the complaint addressed to Congress were made public, eliminates the first-hand knowledge requirement and allows employees to file whistleblower complaints even if they have zero direct knowledge of underlying evidence and only &#8216;heard about [wrongdoing] from others.'&#8221;
The Department of Justice (DOJ) <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2019/09/26/complaint-from-so-called-whistleblower-is-riddled-with-gossip-blatant-falsehoods/">noted</a> that the whistleblower complaint did &#8220;not arise in connection with the operation of any U.S. government intelligence activity, and the alleged misconduct does not involve any member of the intelligence community. Rather, the complaint arises out of a confidential diplomatic communication between the President and a foreign leader that the intelligence-community complainant received secondhand.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Here is something seriously strange. The Disclosure of Urgent Concern Form located earlier today at DNI is only two days old according to its pdf properties. <a href="https://t.co/l8foAAj2sC">https://t.co/l8foAAj2sC</a> <a href="https://t.co/0iwXTxcgIv">pic.twitter.com/0iwXTxcgIv</a>
— Stephen McIntyre (@ClimateAudit) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateAudit/status/1177580473566093312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2019</a></blockquote>
&#8220;I talked to a DNI official and asked when these revisions were made and why. The official said the intelligence community would not comment on anything to do with the anti-Trump whistleblower,&#8221; Davis said on Twitter. &#8220;I never mentioned or asked about the anti-Trump whistleblower. If this isn&#8217;t a giveaway about the operation that was being run, I don&#8217;t know what is.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
If this isn&#8217;t a giveaway about the operation that was being run, I don&#8217;t know what is. <a href="https://t.co/cRTaMEwr5h">https://t.co/cRTaMEwr5h</a>
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) <a href="https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/1177696777459372033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2019</a></blockquote>
According to The Federalist, the previous version of the form stated:
<blockquote>&#8220;The [Intelligence Community Inspector General] cannot transmit information via the ICPWA based on an employee’s second-hand knowledge of wrongdoing,&#8221; the previous form stated under the bolded heading &#8220;FIRST-HAND INFORMATION REQUIRED.&#8221; &#8220;This includes information received from another person, such as when an employee informs you that he/she witnessed some type of wrongdoing.&#8221;
&#8220;If you think that wrongdoing took place, but can provide nothing more than second-hand or unsubstantiated assertions, [the Intelligence Community Inspector General] will not be able to process the complaint or information for submission as an ICWPA.&#8221;</blockquote>
The Federalist noted the following instances in which the whistleblower, who investigators found had an anti-Trump bias, cited second-hand and third-hand information in their complaint:
<blockquote>&#8220;I have received information from multiple U.S. Government officials,&#8221; &#8220;officials have informed me,&#8221; &#8220;officials with direct knowledge of the call informed me,&#8221; &#8220;the White House officials who told me this information,&#8221; &#8220;I was told by White House officials,&#8221; &#8220;the officials I spoke with,&#8221; &#8220;I was told that a State Department official,&#8221; &#8220;I learned from multiple U.S. officials,&#8221; &#8220;One White House official described this act,&#8221; &#8220;Based on multiple readouts of these meetings recounted to me,&#8221; &#8220;I also learned from multiple U.S. officials,&#8221; &#8220;The U.S. officials characterized this meeting,&#8221; &#8220;multiple U.S. officials told me,&#8221; &#8220;I learned from U.S. officials,&#8221; &#8220;I also learned from a U.S. official,&#8221; &#8220;several U.S. officials told me,&#8221; &#8220;I heard from multiple U.S. officials,&#8221; and &#8220;multiple U.S. officials told me.&#8221;</blockquote>
The whistleblower filed the complaint after President Donald Trump asked Ukraine earlier this summer to assist the DOJ in its ongoing investigation into the origins of the 2016 Russia probe, and to find out if there was any illegal activity that took place when former Vice President Joe Biden threatened Ukraine to fire a prosecutor that was investigating his son&#8217;s company.
Trump released the following video on his Twitter account today that highlighted the allegations surrounding the Biden-Ukraine corruption scandal:
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I AM DRAINING THE SWAMP! <a href="https://t.co/U7WxKrO6Kx">pic.twitter.com/U7WxKrO6Kx</a>
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1177669563477118976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2019</a></blockquote>

Intel Community ‘Secretly Eliminated’ Requirement Of First-Hand Whistleblower Knowledge, Report Says

Federalist

Ukraine

Two U.S. congressmen are asking the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission to reveal the details of its investigation into the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-kids-philadelphia-muslim-society-we-will-ryan-saavedra">April 2019 video</a> of Muslim children from a Philadelphia mosque performing anti-Semitic skits and singing violent songs.
<a href="https://www.memri.org/reports/children-philadelphia-muslim-society-we-will-sacrifice-ourselves-al-aqsa-will-chop-their">The shocking video</a> was presented by the Muslim American Society Islamic Center and Masjid A-Hidaya Mosque in Philadelphia in celebration of “<a href="https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/05/ummah_day_in_philadelphia.html#ixzz60XAmVhmX">Ummah Day.</a>” As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-kids-philadelphia-muslim-society-we-will-ryan-saavedra">reported</a> at the time by The Daily Wire, the video featured Muslim children singing,
<blockquote>We will chop off their heads … we will lead the army of Allah fulfilling his promise, we will subject them to eternal torture … we will defend the land of divine guidance with our bodies … sacrifice our souls without hesitation.</blockquote>
Following multiple press articles, the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations <a href="https://www.apnews.com/d3c30af9eb174e78a8b04ae201ac509b">announced</a> an investigation into the event.
But more than five months have elapsed — with no follow-up from the Commission regarding its findings. Recently, Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) and Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) sent a <a href="https://zeldin.house.gov/sites/zeldin.house.gov/files/09.12.2019-FINAL_0.pdf">letter</a> to the Commission’s executive director, Rue Landau, requesting an update of its findings and asking whether further investigation needs to be made by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The letter also informed Landau of the Muslim American Society’s (MAS) role as an “overt arm” of the Muslim Brotherhood and notes that “several senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood are designated as terrorists.” Perry and Zeldin also noted that, given the Muslim American Society has 50 chapters throughout the United States, the results of the Philadelphia investigation are of national importance in trying to understand the role played by the organization and similar groups in indoctrinating American Muslims children towards <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lee-baird-recent-conference-highlights-emboldened-martha-lee">extremist Islamism</a>.
Contacted about the letter, Landau did not respond.
The disturbing video received both local and national attention at the time, but why is there only continuing interest in the results of the Commission’s investigation from a congressman from New York and a congressman from Dauphin County, Pennsylvania?
Where are the voices coming from lawmakers in Philadelphia — or the voices from local Muslim organizations purporting to be advocates for human rights?
The Philadelphia City Council has not taken action, either. While Philadelphia Councilman Curtis Jones <a href="http://legislation.phila.gov/transcripts/Stated%20Meetings/2019/sm040419.pdf">prepared a city council resolution</a> in outrage over Pennsylvania Representative Delegate Stephanie Borowicz’s references to Jesus in a State House invocation during the swearing-in of Muslim State Representative Movita Johnson-Harrell, there has been no similar resolutions or outrage over the Muslim American Society’s promotion of songs about beheading Jews. Calls and emails to Jones and other councilmen asking if they too would add their voices in requesting an update from the Commission were ignored.
The Masjid Al-Hidaya Mosque, where the video was filmed, sits in the congressional district of Congressman Brendan Boyle and neighbors the district covered by Congressman Dwight Evans. Calls to each congressman’s local office revealed no awareness of the Zeldin/Perry letter, although staffers suggested they would investigate the matter further.
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR)’s Philadelphia chapter responded to MAS’ head-chopping video with a press release at the time: “<a href="http://www.icontact-archive.com/archive?c=536562&amp;f=87515&amp;s=92595&amp;m=992797&amp;t=fb532d90aa0066a36ae360a77a2789125f87202761881ec465f4ea390c6c3700">Muslim Community Condemns Anti-Semitism</a>.” CAIR-Philadelphia executive director Jacob Bender was careful to add: “We should be careful, however, not to conflate criticism of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians with anti-Semitism. Thousands of American and Israeli Jews like myself are critical of the oppressive policies of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.”
The CAIR-PA’s <a href="https://pjmedia.com/homeland-security/cair-philadelphias-distorted-view-of-children-singing-about-beheadings-and-of-the-san-diego-synagogue-attack/">weak response</a> is a reminder of the historic relationship between MAS and CAIR. As federal prosecutors have <a href="https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/UNITED-STATES-OF-AMERICA-Plaintiff-Appellee-v-Sabri-BENKAHLA-Defendant-A....pdf">previously argued:</a>
<blockquote>CAIR and MAS omit reference to a shared background that limits their membership to those of a particular political bent, and undercuts their credibility. The Muslim Brotherhood is a generally covert international organization whose credo is ‘Allah is our goal; the Qur&#8217;an is our constitution; the Prophet is our leader; Struggle is our way; and death in the path of Allah is our highest aspiration.’</blockquote>
CAIR-Philadelphia has a history of running substantial campaigns whenever they wish to highlight issues of concern to them. That includes a <a href="http://www.icontact-archive.com/archive?c=536562&amp;f=87515&amp;s=92595&amp;m=996529&amp;t=fb532d90aa0066a36ae360a77a2789125f87202761881ec465f4ea390c6c3700">recent effort targeting Starbucks</a> over the name on a Muslim man’s coffee cup. But they have issued no apparent follow-up regarding the MAS video — or the remedial training CAIR was <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/news/video-muslim-american-society-children-violent-mosque-philadelphia-20190515.html">supposed to have provided </a>to following the incident.
The Zeldin/Perry letter seeking disclosure of the Commission’s findings regarding MAS is a worthwhile effort. It’s a shame that local officials do not seem nearly as motivated in responding to an incident that has tarred Philadelphia’s reputation and raised serious questions about growing levels of Islamist anti-Semitism in the City of Brotherly Love.
&nbsp;
Leonard  Getz, CPA, is an associate in Philadelphia for <a href="http://www.counterislamist.org/">the Counter-Islamist Grid (CIG)</a> and a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The American Thinker, The Algemeiner, PJMedia, Lifestyles Magazine, Nostalgia Magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and elsewhere.

Philadelphia skyline

GETZ: Congressmen Demand Answers About Horrifying Anti-Semitic Video In Philadelphia

Anti-Semitism

Islam

Lee Zeldin

Muslims

Philadelphia

Radical Islam

The U.S. Department of Justice has recently sued the Baltimore County government alleging that its written test for police officer recruits was unfairly biased against black applicants. It turns out that black applicants failed the written test at a rate much greater than white applicants. That results in fewer blacks being trained and hired as police officers. John A. Olszewski Jr., Baltimore County Executive said: &#8220;A law enforcement agency should look like the community it serves. As I have said repeatedly since taking office, I am committed to increasing diversity in the county&#8217;s Police Department.&#8221;
Baltimore City uses Municipal Police Selection Test. You can examine some sample questions at its website. I&#8217;d like to know which of the questions are either unrelated to police work or racist. Many jurisdictions use The National Police Officer Selection Test. You can examine some of the sample questions at its website. Again, I&#8217;d like to know which of the questions are unrelated to police work or are racially biased questions. In addition, it has been found that MPST and POST are successful predictors of law enforcement training success and job performance.
Black performance on police exams is simply the tip of the iceberg of a truly tragic cruelty. That cruelty stands front and center when one examines the education that most blacks in Baltimore receive. Several years ago, Project Baltimore began an investigation of Baltimore&#8217;s school system. What they found was an utter disgrace. In 19 of Baltimore&#8217;s high schools, out of 3,804 students, only 14 of them, or less than 1%, were proficient in math. In 13 of Baltimore&#8217;s 39 high schools, not a single student scored proficient in math. In five Baltimore City high schools, not a single student scored proficient in math or reading. Despite these academic deficiencies, about 70% of the students graduate and are conferred a high school diploma. A high school diploma attests that the holder can read, write and compute at a 12th-grade level. Obviously, the diplomas conferred on students who have not mastered reading, writing and computing are fraudulent.
When a person who cannot read, write and compute very well takes a written employment exam, including that to become a police officer, he is going to encounter difficulties. His difficulties are not caused by any racially discriminatory aspect of the test. His difficulties are a result of not having acquired what he should have acquired by the time he finished high school. But that is not how such a person sees it. He sees that he has a high school diploma just as a white applicant has a high school diploma. To him, any difference in treatment and outcomes must be the result of racial discrimination. Thus, the U.S. Department of Justice sued, claiming that the written test for police officer recruits was unfairly biased against black applicants.
The conclusion that Baltimore County&#8217;s written test for police officer recruits was unfairly biased against black applicants is tragic. It allows Baltimore public schools to continue to produce fraudulent education. You say: &#8220;Hold it, Williams! You can&#8217;t blame everything on schools.&#8221; You&#8217;re right. One cannot blame schools and teachers for students who are hostile to the education process. One cannot blame schools and teachers for a rotten home environment or derelict parents. But there is one thing entirely within the control of educators. That&#8217;s their power to issue diplomas. When they confer high school diplomas on youngsters who cannot read, write and compute at or near a 12th-grade level, they are engaging in fraudulent conduct.
Dr. Thomas Sowell&#8217;s research in &#8220;Education: Assumptions Versus History&#8221; documents academic excellence at Baltimore&#8217;s Frederick Douglass High School and others. This academic excellence occurred during an era when blacks were much poorer and faced gross racial discrimination. It&#8217;s worthwhile reading for black people to learn the capabilities of other blacks facing so many challenging circumstances. I&#8217;m wondering when the black community will demand an end to an educational environment that condemns so many youngsters to mediocrity.
Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. To find out more about Walter E. Williams and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

Police Tape

WILLIAMS: Racist Exam Questions?

Baltimore

Police

Race

Racism

Justice Department (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz has finished his investigation into the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) abuses during the 2016 election committed by then-President Barack Obama&#8217;s DOJ and, specifically, the FBI.
Horowitz wrote a letter to congressional leaders to inform them that his team of investigators was in the process of finalizing the report — and preparing to turn it over to the DOJ and FBI so that classified material could be redacted.
Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/doj-inspector-general-submits-report-on-alleged-fisa-abuses-to-attorney-general">reports</a>: &#8220;Horowitz and his investigators have probed how the infamous, anti-Trump dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele was used to secure the original Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant for former Trump aide Carter Page in October 2016, as well as for three renewals. Horowitz&#8217;s team has questioned why the FBI considered Steele a credible source, and why the bureau seemed to use news reports to bolster Steele&#8217;s credibility.&#8221;
&#8220;I am writing in connection with the [DOJ] Office of the Inspector General&#8217;s ongoing Examination of the [DOJ] and the FBI&#8217;s Compliance with Legal Requirements and Policies in Applications Filed with the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Relating to a certain U.S. person,&#8221; Horowitz wrote in his letter, adding, &#8220;the team has reviewed over one million records and conducted over 100 interviews, including several of witnesses who only recently agreed to be interviewed.&#8221;
&#8220;We have now begun the process of finalizing our report by providing a draft of our factual findings to the [DOJ] and the FBI for classification determination and marking,&#8221; Horowitz continued. &#8220;This step is consistent with our process for reports such as this one that involve classified material. Once we receive the marked document back from the [DOJ] and the FBI, we will then proceed with our usual process for preparing final draft public and classified reports, and ensuring that appropriate reviews occur for accuracy and comment purposes.&#8221;
The Daily Caller <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2019/09/13/doj-inspector-general-fisa-abuse/">reported</a> that Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) disclosed the development from Horowitz in a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler and asked Nadler to invite Horowitz and FBI Director Christopher Wray to testify in front of the committee after the report has been redacted.
&#8220;Earlier today, Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz notified Attorney General William Barr of the completion of his investigation into possible abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance of Act (FISA) by DOJ officials during the 2016 presidential election,&#8221; Collins said. &#8220;After the DOJ has a chance to review and comment on the report, it will be sent to the Judiciary Committee and made public.&#8221;
In a tweet, Collins added: &#8220;#FISA oversight falls squarely within the Judiciary Committee’s jurisdiction. We must address concerns outlined in the IG&#8217;s report. I&#8217;m calling on the chairman to schedule a hearing as soon as possible after Congress receives the report.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FISA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FISA</a> oversight falls squarely within the Judiciary Committee’s jurisdiction. We must address concerns outlined in the IG’s report. I&#8217;m calling on the chairman to schedule a hearing as soon as possible after Congress receives the report.<a href="https://t.co/FIyuI7nXDb">https://t.co/FIyuI7nXDb</a>
— Rep. Doug Collins (@RepDougCollins) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepDougCollins/status/1172601540621873153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
The latest developments come after former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe had his appeal to avoid criminal prosecution rejected this week.
&#8220;U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu has recommended moving forward with charges against McCabe, a CNN contributor, though no indictment has been handed down,&#8221; Fox News added.
This is a breaking news story; refresh the page for updates.

michael_horowitz.jpg

DOJ Inspector General Has Finished FISA Abuse Investigation

Barack Obama

Surveillance

During the preliminary hearing this week in the criminal case against undercover journalists David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, a &#8220;semi-retired&#8221; Planned Parenthood executive admitted that the abortion business had no ban on altering abortion procedures in order to better harvest baby body parts that would later be sold, allegedly for a profit.
According to reporting from Lianne Laurence at <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/abortion-director-at-daleiden-hearing-we-had-no-ban-on-changing-technique-to-harvest-better-baby-body-parts">LifeSiteNews</a>, &#8220;Doe 10,&#8221; the former medical director at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles until 2013, &#8220;admitted under questioning Wednesday by Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society and lawyer for Daleiden, that the Planned Parenthood affiliates she worked in had no rule against changing the abortion procedure &#8216;technique&#8217; in order to obtain better baby body parts.&#8221;
As noted by Laurence, &#8220;federal consent rules stipulate a doctor cannot change the method of a medical procedure without a patient&#8217;s consent.&#8221;
&#8220;&#8216;Doe 10&#8217; testified that Planned Parenthood abortionists &#8216;would never change the method&#8217; but admitted Planned Parenthood began making the distinction between &#8216;technique&#8217; and &#8216;method&#8217; after the [Center for Medical Progress] undercover videos were released,” the report noted.
&#8220;We had to grapple with fallout from videos,&#8221; the abortion executive, who is not allowed to be named, admitted to the court. &#8220;We had to be more specific.&#8221;
Mr. Breen, who is representing Daleiden, emphasized to the outlet that &#8220;Doe 10&#8221; was essentially playing semantics. &#8220;There is no distinction between &#8216;method&#8217; and &#8216;technique&#8217; in the law, and there is no distinction between method and technique in medical ethics,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;And so this artificial distinction that Planned Parenthood abortion doctors created so that they could get better fetal tissue is absolutely illegal and unethical and our witnesses, when we get to put on our case for the defense, they’re going to talk about that,&#8221; Breen noted.
The attorney claimed that changing the abortion procedure to better harvest aborted babies&#8217; body parts likely puts a woman at greater risk. &#8220;We&#8217;re getting testimony that switching the fetus position from the normal position of vertex to breech increases dilation so you can get better fetal tissue, well, what does increasing dilation also do, it causes harm or can cause harm to a woman’s cervix which then can cause her to be unable to carry a pregnancy down the road,&#8221; he explained.
Daleiden and Merritt, journalists for the Center for Medical Progress facing up to ten years behind bars, were charged with 15 felonies in March of 2017 for their shocking undercover videos about the abortion industry. &#8220;Doe 10&#8221; is featured in their work, which has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/42352/fifth-circuit-panel-center-medical-progress-josh-hammer">corroborated as undoctored by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit</a>, allegedly haggling over prices of fetal remains while sipping wine and joking about wanting a &#8220;Lamborghini.&#8221; She also spoke about adjusting abortion procedure technique to make it less &#8220;crunchy,&#8221; therefore keeping baby body parts better intact.
As noted by the <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/planned-parenthood-was-just-forced-to-admit-in-court-to-harvesting-aborted-fetal-parts">Washington Examiner</a> earlier in the week, &#8220;Doe 7&#8221; &#8220;admitted&#8221; during the preliminary hearing &#8220;to procuring fetal tissue from the abortions she performed at Planned Parenthood,&#8221; as well as &#8220;being familiar&#8221; with the embattled StemExpress.
&#8220;She testified that she was aware of cases where money had been exchanged as part of such transactions,&#8221; the report said. &#8220;It is worth noting that StemExpress and Planned Parenthood Northern California are both under ongoing FBI and U.S. Department of Justice investigation for selling fetal organs and tissue illegally.&#8221;

David Daleiden

Planned Parenthood Exec Makes Major Admission About Baby Body Part Harvesting

Abortion

Center for Medical Progress

Planned Parenthood

On Tuesday, Senator Ben Sasse (R-NB) <a href="https://www.sasse.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/1b35b35b-5b79-4447-9cab-5c176cb8fa50/08-13-19-lettertowilliambarr.pdf">wrote a letter</a> to Attorney General William Barr demanding that the Department of Justice rip up Jeffrey Epstein’s 2008 non-prosecution, non-investigation agreement so that co-conspirators could be brought to justice.
Sasse wrote, “Too many of Epstein’s secrets have gone to the grave with him, and the Department must not allow his death to be one last sweetheart deal for his co-conspirators. The victims of Epstein’s international sex trafficking ring deserve justice. In order to bring Epstein’s co-conspirators to justice, the Department of Justice should rip up the non-prosecution, non-investigation agreement entered into by Epstein and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida in 2008.”
The 2008 agreement allowed Epstein immunity from federal charges, permitting him to face state charges that Sasse referred to as a “slap-on-the-wrist sentence that went largely unenforced.”
Sasses added, “The idea that wealth and connections can buy injustice — the only plausible explanation for such pathetically soft terms for a serial child rapist at the heart of a massive international criminal enterprise — is wholly and completely inconsistent with the basic notions of fairness and equality that undergird the rule of law enshrined in our Constitution … This crooked deal cannot stand.”
Sasse concluded, “Only by ensuring that this shameful agreement does not command the force of law in shielding Epstein’s fellow rapists and exploiters can we ensure that some measure of justice is finally delivered to Epstein’s victims who have been let down time and time again by their government. The federal government failed to bring Jeffrey Epstein to justice. We cannot allow Epstein’s accomplices to escape, too.”
Sasse has been pushing for a complete investigation into Epstein’s 2008 plea deal for months; during Barr’s confirmation hearings in January, Sasse urged Barr to conduct a “full and thorough” investigation.
<a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-william-p-barr-delivers-remarks-grand-lodge-fraternal-order-polices-64th">Speaking in New Orleans</a> at the Grand Lodge Fraternal Order of Police&#8217;s 64th National Biennial Conference on Monday, Attorney General Barr stated, “I was appalled – indeed, the entire Department was – and frankly angry, to learn of the MCC’s failure to adequately secure this prisoner. We are now learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and that demand a thorough investigation. The FBI and the Office of Inspector General are already doing just that. We will get to the bottom of what happened at the MCC and we will hold people accountable for this failure.”
He continued, “Let me assure you that this case will continue on against anyone who was complicit with Epstein. Any co-conspirators should not rest easy. The victims deserve justice, and we will ensure they get it.”
<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7356783/Ben-Sasse-tells-Barr-rip-Jeffry-Epstein-plea-deal-conspirators-no-safe-harbor.html">The Daily Mail</a> noted, “Documents unsealed in Manhattan federal court last week revealed how Epstein arranged for young girls to perform nude ‘massages’ and other sex acts. His private jet, the Lolita Express, was reportedly set up with a bed where guests had group sex with young girls … Bill Clinton and Epstein were friends, and after reviews of the Lolita Express flight log, it appears Clinton had been on board at least 26 times.”

Ben Sasse

Ben Sasse Calls On DOJ To Rip Up Epstein’s 2008 Plea Deal: ‘Too Many Of Epstein’s Secrets Have Gone To The Grave With Him’

Jeffrey Epstein

<a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-william-p-barr-delivers-remarks-grand-lodge-fraternal-order-polices-64th">Speaking in New Orleans</a> at the Grand Lodge Fraternal Order of Police&#8217;s 64th National Biennial Conference on Monday, Attorney General William Barr stated in a fiery pro-police speech that the Trump administration will propose legislation calling for the swift imposition of death sentences for mass shooters or those who murder police officers.
Barr stated, “We will be proposing legislation providing that in cases of mass murder, or in cases of murder of a law enforcement officer, there will be a timetable for judicial proceedings that will allow imposition of any death sentence without undue delay. Punishment must be swift and certain.”
Noting that the troops who fought in the first Gulf War were justifiably cheered and given ticker tape parades when they returned, Barr pointed out, “But when police officers leave their precincts every morning, there are no crowds on the highway cheering you. And when you come home at the end of the day after a job well done, there are no ticker tape parades. One reason for this is that law enforcement is fighting a different type of war. We are fighting an unrelenting, never-ending fight against criminal predators in our society. While there are battles won and lost each day, there is never a final resolution – a final victory is never in sight.”
Barr saluted the police, saying, “In the final analysis, what stands between chaos and carnage on the one hand, and the civilized and tranquil society we all yearn for, is the thin blue line of law enforcement. You are the ones manning the ramparts – day in, and day out.”
Barr offered his diagnosis for some of the most dangerous trends plaguing American society: “We live in an age now when the institutions we have relied on to inculcate values and self-restraint have been under constant assault for over 50 years. As a result, we see about us increased social pathology: boys growing up without fathers; alienated and angry young men; gangs engaged in the most brutal violence; mass shootings; increasing mental illness and suicide among young people; a drug epidemic inflicting casualties beyond what we would sustain in a major war; growing domestic violence; an increase in sexual assaults and child exploitation.” He continued, “And who is expected to deal with this? As other institutions fail and abdicate, who is expected to stand their ground? Who is expected to pick up the pieces? You are. The police. The thin blue line.”
Barr acknowledged that there have been abuses, but asserted, “… these are very much the exceptions, not the rule. If anything, I continue to be amazed at the professionalism of our police officers in the most extreme circumstances.”
Barr took a shot at the Obama Administration, positing, “On the drug front, we are facing a monumental challenge. To be frank, the Obama Administration showed little interest in prosecuting the fight against dangerous drugs. A tsunami built up and has been crashing over the country, bringing death and destruction. The death toll from opioids alone is higher than we would sustain in a major war. Indeed, in a single year, we lose more people to opioids than we lost during the entire Vietnam War … I think our attack on illicit opioids is building momentum. It is going to be a long difficult road, but we are gaining real traction. As you know, this Administration has sharply increased drug trafficking prosecutions, especially as to opioids. In 2018 we prosecuted 36 percent more opioid-related offenses than we did in the previous year. Fentanyl prosecutions were up 200 percent.”
Barr said bluntly, “Obviously, the head of the snake is outside the United States. Most of the illegal drugs coming into the country – opioids, cocaine, and meth – are trafficked from Mexico by transnational organized crime, particularly the Mexican cartels. We must destroy these cartels. This is a uniquely Federal responsibility. We have destroyed cartels in the past, but we let up so that other groups were able to take their place. We cannot do that again. I don’t underestimate how hard this work is, and how long it will take.”
He concluded, “Please continue to do what you do. This Administration has your back. May God bless you and keep you safe. And may God bless the United States of America.”
Video below:
<div class="embed video fluid-video"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FJdKFBc2TtE" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div>

AG Barr

WATCH: AG Barr Gives Fiery Speech Defending Police, Proposes Swift Death For Mass Shooters And Cop-Killers

Shooting

Attorney General William Barr warned co-conspirators in the sex trafficking case involving convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein that they &#8220;should not rest easy&#8221; because the case is not over despite Epstein&#8217;s death over the weekend.
Barr, who delivered the remarks while speaking to the National Fraternal Order of Police in New Orleans, said that the case was personally important to him and the Justice Department.
&#8220;Most importantly, this case was important to the victims who had the courage to come forward, and deserve the opportunity to confront the accused in the courtroom,&#8221; Barr said. &#8220;Let me assure you this case will continue on against anyone who was complicit with Epstein. Any co-conspirators should not rest easy. The victims deserve justice, and they will get it.&#8221;
Epstein died early on Saturday morning after he was found unresponsive in his jail cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City, which quickly ignited conspiracy theories from the mainstream media.
MSNBC&#8217;s Joe Scarborough <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/joe-scarborough-msnbc-jeffrey-epstein-suicide">suggested</a> that Russia could have been involved in Epstein&#8217;s death while fellow MSNBC host Joy Ann Reid <a href="https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2019/08/10/totally-insane-msnbc-host-says-ag-william-barr-might-be-involved-in-epsteins-de-n2551477">suggested</a> that Barr was involved in Epstein&#8217;s death and then <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50523/watch-msnbcs-joy-ann-reid-insinuates-bill-barr-hank-berrien">suggested</a> that he might be involved in a cover-up.
Following Epstein&#8217;s death, Barr released the following <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/statement-attorney-general-william-p-barr-death-jeffrey-epstein">statement</a>: &#8220;I was appalled to learn that Jeffrey Epstein was found dead early this morning from an apparent suicide while in federal custody. Mr. Epstein&#8217;s death raises serious questions that must be answered. In addition to the FBI&#8217;s investigation, I have consulted with the Inspector General who is opening an investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Epstein&#8217;s death.&#8221;
Epstein&#8217;s death came after the U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) unsealed more than 2,000 documents in the case on Friday, which included accusations from one of Epstein&#8217;s alleged victims who named several alleged co-conspirators.
&#8220;The papers included affidavits and depositions of key witnesses in a lawsuit the now-33-year-old woman, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, filed against Epstein and his associate, Ghislane Maxwell in 2015,&#8221; Fox News <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50466/breaking-jeffrey-epstein-accuser-names-multiple-ryan-saavedra">reported</a>, adding that two of the men listed were &#8220;prominent Democratic politicians — former Sen. George Mitchell and ex-New Mexico governor and Clinton cabinet official Bill Richardson.&#8221;
WATCH:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">NEW: Attorney General Bill Barr: &#8220;Let me assure you that this case will continue on against anyone who was complicit with Epstein. Any co-conspirators should not rest easy.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/2UAm012vCA">https://t.co/2UAm012vCA</a> <a href="https://t.co/YGAKFg2oYg">pic.twitter.com/YGAKFg2oYg</a>
— ABC News (@ABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1160928687052562437?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>

Attorney General William Barr Testifies To House Appropriations Committee On Capitol Hill

WATCH: Barr Has Warning For Co-Conspirators In Jeffrey Epstein Sex Trafficking Case

Human Trafficking

The FBI claimed in its initial FISA warrant application and three following renewals that were used to spy on former Trump 2016 aide Carter Page that it did not believe former British Intelligence officer Christopher Steele had supplied information to a Yahoo News reporter who wrote about the investigation into Page.
The FBI used reporter Michael Isikoff’s article as justification for the warrant against Page as a way to claim it did not use Steele’s infamous and dubious “dossier” as a source for the warrant. According to newly released <a href="https://www.judicialwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/JW-v-DOJ-Ohr-302s-02107.pdf">redacted transcripts</a> of FBI interviews with DOJ attorney Bruce Ohr, it appears the FBI was aware — at least for the three renewals — that Steele was Isikoff’s source yet failed to change their reasoning.
The first FISA warrant against Page was issued on October 2016. On November 22, 2016, Ohr told the FBI that Steele, Isikoff, and Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson (who hired Steele to create the dossier on behalf of Hillary Clinton’s campaign) had been meeting.
“OHR met [redacted] in Washington, D.C. in late September, possibly close to the time when the Yahoo news article was published on September 23, 2016,” read the Ohr notes.
“Simpson and [redacted] could have met with Yahoo or Michael Isikoff jointly, but OHR does not know if they did,” they continued.
It was already known that Steele was the source for Isikoff’s article because they both said they met in mid-September 2016. The Daily Caller’s Chuck Ross <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2019/08/09/bruce-ohr-transcript-carter-page-fisa-fbi/">pointed to</a> Steele’s May 18, 2017 British court filing that he had met with several reporters, including reporters from Yahoo. Isikoff finally acknowledged in 2018 that he had met with Steele and Simpson in mid-September 2016. As Ross noted, most of the reporters briefed on Steele’s allegations ignored them for lack of evidence. Not Isikoff.
Isikoff’s admission to meeting with Steele came long after the FBI stopped renewing FISA warrants to spy on Page. Steele’s admission in court filings came a month before the final FISA warrant was issued.
But Ohr’s statements make it clear that the FBI must have or should have known that Steele was the source of Isikoff’s article. In a footnote in the FISA warrants against Page, the FBI noted “The FBI does not believe that Source #1 directly provided this information to the identified news organization that published the September 23rd News Article,” believing instead that the information indirectly made its way to that news organization.
Whether it was direct or indirect, Steele was still the source for Isikoff’s article, yet it has still been used to independently corroborate the dossier and obtain warrants against Page.
The Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General and Attorney General William Barr are each investigating the origins of the FISA warrants used to spy on Page and other Trump associates during and after the 2016 election.

Former Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr Questioned By House Cmte Oh Steele Dossier

FBI Claimed Christopher Steele Wasn’t Source For Story Alleging Russian Collusion Used In FISA Warrants. That Narrative Is Now Bust.

On Tuesday, Daily Wire Editor-at-Large Josh Hammer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbomzMNomiI">joined</a> &#8220;Tipping Point With Liz Wheeler&#8221; on One America News Network (OANN) to discuss a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50263/hammer-conservatives-must-not-go-soft-assault-josh-hammer">Daily Wire op-ed</a> he had written earlier this week. Hammer&#8217;s op-ed, entitled &#8220;Conservatives Must Not Go Soft On &#8216;Assault Weapons,'&#8221; was written in response to a <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/08/04/the-post-says-ban-assault-weapons-now/">New York Post editorial</a> calling for precisely that.
Wheeler and Hammer discussed why it is crucially important that conservatives not yield an inch on banning any new classes of semiautomatic weapons. Wheeler began by asking Hammer — who is also a constitutional attorney specializing in religious liberty — whether the term &#8220;assault weapon&#8221; has any legal relevance, or whether it is instead a term merely used as a political cudgel.
Hammer did not mince words in his response.
<blockquote>Legally speaking, [Democrats] completely fabricated it as part of the 1994 so-called &#8220;assault weapons&#8221; ban. Dianne Feinstein of California helped write this legislation. Liz, I&#8217;ve actually heard off the record from some people I&#8217;ve met in ATF — Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms — that they were contacted by Dianne Feinstein&#8217;s staff during the drafting on this law in 1994 just to ask basic rudimentary questions as to what a flash suppressor is, what a pistol grip is. They had no idea what they were doing — they literally created this term for purposes of banning a cosmetically amorphous and technically undefinable subclass of weapons just to seize and ban them from the populace. And according to DOJ&#8217;s own statistics — this ban lasted 10 years from 1994 to 2004 — it had no impact whatsoever on crime.</blockquote>
Hammer continued, mentioning how he &#8220;adore[s]&#8221; his own AR-style rifle and sending a very simple message to Democrats who would try to ban it: &#8220;Come and take it.&#8221;
<blockquote>Liz, I&#8217;m a proud AR-15 owner — I have a Daniel Defense rifle that I absolutely adore. You know what my response is to Joe Biden and to these other people who are talking about a gun buyback program? I think I speak on behalf of millions and millions of law-abiding Americans here. Four words: Come and take it. This is not happening.</blockquote>
Wheeler, channeling a <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/15pdf/15-133_7l48.pdf">Clarence Thomas dissent</a> that Hammer flagged in his Daily Wire op-ed, then mentioned how, regardless of policy efficacy, such a ban on &#8220;assault weapons&#8221; would be unconstitutional under the U.S. Supreme Court&#8217;s own tests. Wheeler then asked Hammer how, if conservatives were to cave to the Left on banning a new sub-class of semiautomatic weapons, this does not end with a full ban on all semiautomatic weapons. Hammer responded:
<blockquote>That is the million dollar question here. Fully automatic weapons, which as your viewers I&#8217;m sure know, are weapons that when you hold down the trigger, the bullets basically fire in rapid succession, are effectively banned under the National Firearms Act of 1934. There is a way to get them, but it is an incredibly arduous, expensive process that exceedingly few people go through. So we&#8217;re talking within the category of semiautomatic weapons — the weapons that, obviously, one pull of the trigger releases one cartridge.
Within that, where can you possibly stop? In the New York Post editorial that you reference, Liz, they talk about muzzle velocity. I mean, how the heck is our legislature possibly equipped to ban categories of semiautomatic weapons based on something like muzzle velocity? It makes no sense whatsoever. We&#8217;ve already eliminated fully automatic weapons from circulation, so within the sphere of semiautomatic weapons, once you cave on what the Left is calling quote-unquote &#8220;assault weapons,&#8221; the Glock 19 is next. My little Sig Sauer P238 concealed carry handgun is next. That is where they&#8217;re going and that, at the end of day, is absolutely why we cannot cave an inch on banning any new class of weapons whatsoever.</blockquote>
WATCH:
<div class="embed video fluid-video"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fbomzMNomiI" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div>

Hammer OANN 8.06.19.png

WATCH: Hammer On ‘Tipping Point With Liz Wheeler’: Conservatives Must Never Cave On ‘Assault Weapons’

Conservatism

Gun Buybacks

Gun Control

Gun Laws

Joe Biden

New York Post

Republican Party

Second Amendment

The FBI agent who headed up the investigation into Hillary Clinton&#8217;s unauthorized email server and was eventually booted off the special counsel&#8217;s investigation into Donald Trump over a series of overtly anti-Trump messages is now suing the bureau and the Department of Justice for what he says is wrongful termination.
&#8220;In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Strzok excoriates the Justice Department and FBI for their handling of his dismissal over a trove of text messages he wrote to a colleague that were critical of Trump,&#8221; <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/06/peter-strzok-lawsuit-firing-trump-texts-1448615">Politico</a> reported Tuesday. &#8220;Strzok accuses the president of inappropriately bullying law enforcement officials deciding his fate, raises questions about why his texts were leaked to the media and lambastes the administration for only defending its employees&#8217; free speech rights when they are praising Trump.&#8221;
Strzok&#8217;s lawsuit claims that both his free speech and due process rights were violated when he was terminated by the Department of Justice after his politically biased messages emerged. The leaking of those messages, he says, also violated the Privacy Act.
After being dismissed in June 2018 following a series of reports exposing the agent&#8217;s communications involving Trump with DOJ attorney Lisa Page, with whom Strzok was having an affair, Strzok&#8217;s firing was made official in August after 22 years with the bureau.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller removed Strzok from the Russia probe after evidence revealed that the agent held strong political animus against Trump, thus threatening to undermine the legitimacy of the &#8220;collusion&#8221; investigation.
In a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/world/scathing-justice-dept-watchdog-report-rebukes-james-b-comey-cites-major-missteps-by-fbi/2309/">500-page report</a> released in June, Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz condemned Trump-fired FBI Director James Comey&#8217;s handling of the Clinton investigation and accused senior FBI officials, including Strzok, of having shown a &#8220;willingness to take official action” to prevent Trump from becoming president, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-receiving-briefing-ahead-of-public-release-of-report-expected-to-criticize-fbi/2018/06/14/c08c6a5a-6fdf-11e8-bf86-a2351b5ece99_story.html">The Washington Post</a> reported.
&#8220;The inspector general did not find evidence supporting assertions made by the president and his allies that political bias inside the FBI had rigged the case to clear Clinton, but the report cited numerous instances of unprofessionalism, bias and misjudgment that hurt the bureau’s credibility,&#8221; the Post reported. &#8220;In particular, the report singled out lead agent Peter Strzok as showing anti-Trump bias that could have affected his thinking on the case during the immediate run-up to the 2016 election.&#8221;
Strzok&#8217;s lawsuit in part focuses on the leaks of his text messages, which were featured in Horowitz&#8217;s lengthy report. Among the leaked texts are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/31876/congressman-why-does-anti-trump-peter-strzok-still-james-barrett">messages</a> in which Strzok and Page blast Trump as an &#8220;idiot,&#8221; cheer on the prospect of a Clinton victory, express desperation that Trump is &#8220;not ever going to become president,&#8221; and mention an &#8220;insurance policy&#8221; in case he gets elected. (See sample text messages below.)
After Strzok was officially fired in August, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/34468/trump-goes-fired-agent-strzok-fbi-investigation-ben-shapiro">unloaded</a> on him on Twitter. &#8220;Fired FBI Agent Peter Strzok is a fraud, as is the rigged investigation he started. There was no Collusion or Obstruction with Russia, and everybody, including the Democrats, know it. The only Collusion and Obstruction was by Crooked Hillary, the Democrats and the DNC!&#8221; Trump tweeted in August. &#8220;Strzok started the illegal Rigged Witch Hunt — why isn&#8217;t this so-called &#8216;probe&#8217; ended immediately? Why aren&#8217;t these angry and conflicted Democrats instead looking at Crooked Hillary?&#8221;
Below are some of the messages between Page and Strzok revealing political bias against Trump and in favor of Clinton compiled by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/06/14/how-the-two-rogue-fbi-officials-explain-their-text-messages-about-trump/?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.03305ac9279d">The Washington Post</a>:
<blockquote>April 1, 2016
Page: “So look, you say [to your wife] we text on that phone when we talk about hillary because it can’t be traced, you were just venting bc you feel bad that you’re gone so much but it can’t be helped right now.”
July 26, 2016
Page: &#8220;Yeah, it is pretty cool. [Clinton] just has to win now. I’m not going to lie, I got a flash of nervousness yesterday about trump. The sandernistas have the potential to make a very big mistake here …&#8221;
Strzok: &#8220;I’m not worried about them. I’m worried about the anarchist Assanges who will take fed information and disclose it to disrupt. We’ve gotta get the memo [on the findings of the Clinton email server investigation] and brief and case filing done.&#8221;​
July 31, 2016
Strzok: &#8220;And damn [the opening of the investigation into possible Trump-Russia collusion] feels momentous. Because this matters. The other one [the Clinton investigation] did, too, but that was to ensure we didn’t F something up. This matters because this MATTERS. So super glad to be on this voyage with you.&#8221;
Aug. 6, 2016
Page: &#8220;This is not to take away from the unfairness of it all, but we are both deeply fortunate people. … And maybe you’re meant to stay where you are because you’re meant to protect the country from that menace [in reference to Trump and possible collusion with Russia].&#8221;
Strzok: &#8220;Thanks. It’s absolutely true that we’re both very fortunate. And of course I’ll try and approach it that way. I just know it will be tough at times. I can protect our country at many levels, not sure if that helps….&#8221;
Aug. 8, 2016
Page: &#8220;[Trump’s] not ever going to become president, right? Right?!&#8221;
Strzok: &#8220;No. No he’s not. We’ll stop it.&#8221;​
Aug. 15, 2016
Strzok: &#8220;I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s [Andrew McCabe] office — that there’s no way he gets elected — but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.&#8221;
May 18, 2017
Strzok: &#8220;For me, and this case [the Russia collusion investigation, which Strzok was a part of until being removed for bias], I personally have a sense of unfinished business. I unleashed it with [the Clinton investigation]. Now I need to fix it and finish it.&#8221;​
Strzok: &#8220;you and I both know the odds are nothing. If I thought it was likely I’d be there no question. I hesitate in part because of my gut sense and concern there’s no big there there.&#8221;
Nov. 9, 2016
Page: &#8220;Are you even going to give out your calendars? Seems kind of depressing. Maybe it should just be the first meeting of the secret society.&#8221;</blockquote>

&#8216;Anti-Trump&#8217; Agent Sues FBI, DOJ Over Firing

Hillary Clinton

Michael Horowitz

Robert Mueller

Trump Administration

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) called out a handful of Democrats on Thursday evening after the lawmakers expressed outrage over Attorney General William Barr’s decision to resume executions of federal prisoners.
The Department of Justice announced earlier in the day that the Bureau of Prisons was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/49923/ag-barr-orders-first-federal-executions-2003-here-ryan-saavedra">adopting an addendum</a> to the Federal Execution Protocol making way &#8220;for the federal government to resume capital punishment after a nearly two-decade lapse, and bringing justice to victims of the most horrific crimes.&#8221;
Cotton initially responded to two members of the progressive group known as &#8220;The Squad,&#8221; Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), after they criticized the decision.
&#8220;[Pressley] defending an Aryan Nation white supremacist who brutally murdered an 8-year old girl [and] dumped their bodies in a bayou is a little surprising,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/TomCottonAR/status/1154570513878069248?s=20">Cotton</a> replied. &#8220;Clinton DOJ sought death penalty! Just shows had radical Dems are today.&#8221;
&#8220;[Omar] also leaping to the defense of Aryan Nation white supremacist. He is the heinous one,&#8221; Cotton said in response to Omar’s contention that the death penalty is &#8220;heinous.&#8221; &#8220;His three murder victims (one an 8-year old girl) were in Arkansas. Justice for their families [and] their memories is long overdue.&#8221;
&#8220;Thank you, AG Barr,&#8221; he added.
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/IlhanMN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IlhanMN</a> also leaping to defense of Aryan Nation white supremacist. He is the heinous one. His three murder victims (one an 8-year-old girl) were Arkansans. Justice for their families &amp; their memories is long overdue. Thank you, AG Barr. <a href="https://t.co/3zjWc8GoBH">https://t.co/3zjWc8GoBH</a>
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomCottonAR/status/1154571914159038464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
Along with the decision to resume federal executions, Barr revealed that he had directed the Bureau of Prisons to schedule the executions of five death-row inmates. The first inmate scheduled is Daniel Lewis Lee, a member of a white supremacist group who had murdered a family of three, including an 8-year-old child.
The <a href="https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/jul/25/man-convicted-killing-arkansas-couple-8-year-old-g/">Arkansas Democrat Gazette</a> describes the event:
<blockquote>Prosecutors from the U.S. Department of Justice said Lee robbed and shot the victims with a stun gun, then covered their heads with plastic bags, sealed the bags with duct tape, weighed down each victim with rocks and threw the family of three into the Illinois bayou at Russelville. Authorities said the crimes were part of a scheme to steal a large cache of guns and $50,000 cash from [the victim] to use in the establishment of a whites-only nation in the Pacific Northwest.</blockquote>
Nevertheless, a host of 2020 Democratic contenders tweeted their opposition to reinstating the federal death penalty.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) called capital punishment &#8220;immoral and deeply flawed,&#8221; adding that &#8220;too many innocent people have been put to death.&#8221;
&#8220;Democrats have lost their minds!&#8221; Cotton <a href="https://twitter.com/TomCottonAR/status/1154575068044963841?s=20">responded</a>.
&#8220;There’s enough violence in the world,&#8221; <a href="http://twitter.com/TomCottonAR/status/1154577112361316352?s=20">wrote</a> Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). &#8220;The government shouldn’t add to it. When I am president, we will abolish the death penalty.&#8221;
&#8220;[Sanders] can’t even see the moral difference between death sentence after due process [and] brutal triple murder,&#8221; Cotton <a href="https://twitter.com/TomCottonAR/status/1154577112361316352?s=20">replied</a>. &#8220;Disturbing.&#8221;
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) came out against the death penalty because the American criminal justice system &#8220;has a long history of mistakes when it comes to capital punishment – especially when it comes to Black and Brown people.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ewarren</a>, I hate to break the news, but the first murderer facing execution is an Aryan Nation white supremacist. He brutally murdered an 8-year-old Arkansas girl &amp; her parents. *Clinton DOJ* sought death penalty. Dems have lost their mind since the 1990s. <a href="https://t.co/LNA5mzzYWh">https://t.co/LNA5mzzYWh</a>
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomCottonAR/status/1154578262770823168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
&#8220;[Warren], I hate to break the news, but the first murderer facing execution is an Aryan Nation white supremacist,&#8221; Cotton said. &#8220;… Dems have lost their minds since the 1990s.&#8221;
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg also expressed his opposition to capital punishment on the grounds of racism. &#8220;Justice is not equally distributed in our country. Too often, race and geography determine who lives and who dies,&#8221; Buttigieg said. &#8220;We should be joining the ranks of modern nations and abolishing the death penalty – not expanding its reach.&#8221;
&#8220;[Buttigieg] apparently not aware this murderer is an Aryan Nation white supremacist who killed an 8-year-old Arkansas girl [and] her parents,&#8221; Cotton <a href="https://twitter.com/TomCottonAR/status/1154580488511721472?s=20">responded</a>. &#8220;A jury of his peers – not race or geography – decided [he] should die for his heinous crimes. Much more than his victims got.&#8221;
&#8220;Most Americans have always believed that the death penalty is a just response to the most heinous crimes,&#8221; Cotton told The Daily Wire. &#8220;I commend the president and Attorney General Barr for reinstating the federal death penalty in order to carry out sentences imposed on five brutal murderers by juries of their peers.&#8221;
&#8220;After many years of unnecessary delay, justice will soon be done for these criminals’ many victims, including the Mueller family of Tilly, Arkansas,&#8221; he added.

Tom Cotton Calls Out 2020 Democrats For Defending ‘Heinous’ White Supremacist Against The Death Penalty

2020 Election

Tom Cotton

Imbecilic bigot Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/49887/ilhan-omar-americans-should-be-more-fearful-white-joseph-curl">claimed</a> in a recently resurfaced interview on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/47456/hammer-al-jazeeras-disgraceful-holocaust-denying-josh-hammer">Qatari propaganda network</a> Al Jazeera that Americans should be &#8220;fearful&#8221; of white men who are &#8220;causing most of the deaths within this country.&#8221; These racist and blatantly false comments came in response to a question about Islamophobia. The interviewer asked if Islamophobia might be the result of a reasonable fear people have about Islamic terrorism. Omar could have responded that we shouldn&#8217;t fear anyone based on race, ethnicity, or religion, and that each person should be judged according to his or her own merits — but instead, she took the opportunity to fear monger about the dreaded white man.
&#8220;I would say our country should be more fearful of white men across our country because they are actually causing most of the deaths within this country,&#8221; Omar said. &#8220;And so if fear was the, the driving force of policies to keep America safe — Americans safe inside of this country — we should be profiling, monitoring, and creating policies to fight the radicalization of white men.&#8221;
It goes without saying that any white politician&#8217;s career would be over and his reputation destroyed (rightfully so) if he ever uttered a phrase like &#8220;we should be more fearful of brown men&#8221; or &#8220;we should be fearful of black men.&#8221; Even if Omar&#8217;s statistical claims were correct, she would still be an irresponsible, race-baiting bigot for advocating fear of an entire race. But, as it happens, her claims are not correct. They are not even close to correct. She is not only fear mongering — she is fear mongering with phony statistics.
I will be reasonable and assume that Omar didn&#8217;t intend to be taken completely literally. The leading causes of death in America are things like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Is she suggesting that these illnesses have been engineered by the evil white man? I wouldn&#8217;t put it past her, actually, but I&#8217;ll be more generous than that. Let&#8217;s read &#8220;causing death&#8221; as &#8220;murder.&#8221; Is is true in that case? Do white men do most of the murdering in this country?
Again, not close. According to the <a href="https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf">Department of Justice</a>, white people (not just men) commit about 45% of the murders in the U.S. That seems high until you consider that white people are over <a href="https://www.chicagoreporter.com/the-us-white-majority-will-soon-disappear-forever/">60%</a> of the population. Whites are therefore underrepresented in the homicide department by about 15%. Blacks commit a little over 50% of the murders in America, despite accounting for only <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045218">13%</a> of the total population. Those are the simple facts of the matter. Facts cannot be racist. Lies can be racist. Conclusions can also be racist. Ilhan Omar took a racist lie (that white men cause most of the deaths in America) and drew a racist conclusion (that we should therefore fear white men). It&#8217;s a racism double whammy, of sorts.
For my part, I do not think we should be fearful of any race, nor do I think that any individual person of any race should be judged based on crime statistics. I do think we should be honest about those statistics, in any event.
But maybe we could be even more generous to Omar. Maybe we could give her the benefit of the doubt, even though her own statements and history show that she does not warrant such charity. Maybe we could assume that she meant her &#8220;white men cause most of the deaths&#8221; assertion to apply only to terrorism. It is often claimed, and not just by Omar, that white people are responsible for most of the domestic terrorism in America. The most common source cited for this claim is a 2017 Government Accountability Office <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/690/683984.pdf">report</a> that found that more people have been killed by right-wing terrorists than by Islamic terrorists. How did they arrive at that conclusion? Here&#8217;s a relevant passage from the report:
<blockquote>&#8230;of the 85 violent extremist incidents that resulted in death since September 12, 2001, far-right politics violent extremist groups were responsible for 62 (73%) while radical Islamist violent extremists were responsible for 23 (27%). The total number of fatalities is 106 for far right violent extremists and 119 for radical Islamist violent extremists over the approximately 15-year period. However, 52% of the deaths attributable to radical Islamist violent extremists occurred in a single event — an attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida in 2016.</blockquote>
In order to make &#8220;far-right violent extremists&#8221; the deadliest, one has to compile his aggregate numbers beginning on September 12, 2001. That seems an oddly specific date. Why not start on January 1, 2001? How about January 1, 2000? Isn&#8217;t it easier and cleaner to look at the numbers over the past 20 years, since the beginning of the new century? Well, the reason for starting on September 12, 2001 is obvious — it excludes the deadliest terror attack in American history, which was carried out by Islamic extremists. In other words, if we arbitrarily ignore the 3,000 people radical Islamists killed in one day, then Muslim terrorists have recently killed fewer people than have right-wing extremists. This is a bit like tabulating the total number of people drowned in shipwrecks except for anyone who happened to drown on April 15, 1912.
If you want to know about shipwrecks, it seems the Titanic ought to be a prominent part of that analysis. Similarly, any analysis of terrorism in the United States must obviously include the most devastating terror attack this country has ever experienced. But here&#8217;s the kicker: Even if you did begin your tabulation on September 12, 2001, deaths by Islamic terrorism still dwarf all other categories because over <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/11/9-11-illnesses-death-toll">1,000 people have died</a> from illnesses tied to 9/11 in the intervening years. Or do they also not count?
Of course, if we expand our view and look at the problem on a global scale, the threat of far-right terrorism begins to look like Pluto compared to Islamic terrorism&#8217;s Jupiter. The Global Terrorism Index found <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2018-12-05/global-terrorism-deaths-down-globally-right-wing-terror-on-rise">66 deaths</a> caused by far-right groups worldwide between 2013 and 2017. It also found that <a href="https://www.christianpost.com/news/global-terrorism-index-ranks-top-10-countries-with-highest-number-of-terror-attacks.html">18,000 </a>total people were killed by terrorists in just the year 2017 alone. Who do we imagine is carrying the bulk of that load? We know it&#8217;s not the far-right white men. They could only manage fewer than 70 deaths across both hemispheres in almost half a decade. Whoever is doing all this global killing, it&#8217;s not white people. Meanwhile, Rep. Omar prefers to live in a fantasy world of her own construction.

WALSH: Ilhan Omar Claims White Men ‘Cause Most Of The Deaths’ In America. She&#8217;s Wrong. Here Are The Facts.

Al Jazeera

Ilhan Omar

Murder

Menu