Top U.S. Senators said over the weekend that they are introducing a bipartisan resolution calling for military strikes against Iran if its terror proxies in the Middle East kill any U.S. soldiers or if Hezbollah opens up a second front against Israel.
Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) made the remarks during a CNN interview Sunday morning with Dana Bash on &#8220;State of the Union.&#8221;
The segment comes after Hamas murdered 1,400 Israelis in an unprecedented terrorist attack last month and Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terrorist group in Lebanon, has conducted small scale attacks against Israel as it weighs whether to launch a full-scale attack.
&#8220;It basically says, if the war expands, if Hezbollah opens up a second front in the north against Israel in a substantial way to overwhelm Iron Dome, then we should hit the Islamic Republic of Iran,&#8221; Graham said. &#8220;There is no Hamas without the Ayatollahs&#8217; support. There is no Hezbollah without the Ayatollahs&#8217; support. The great Satan in the region is not Israel or the United States. It&#8217;s Iran.&#8221;
Graham said that he and Blumenthal just came back from the region and that Israel had begged them to deter Iran from entering the war as they deal with wiping out the Hamas terrorist organization inside Gaza.
&#8220;If any of our troops are killed in Syria and Iraq by Iranian-backed militias, I think that&#8217;s an expansion of the war,&#8221; Graham said. &#8220;So, the resolution puts Iran on notice that all this military force in the region will be coming after you if you expand this war by activating Hezbollah or killing an American through your proxies in Syria and Iraq. And they need to hear that. They need to believe that.&#8221;
Graham&#8217;s remarks come after there have been at least 31 attacks from Iranian-backed terrorists on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria over the last two weeks, according to a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/escalating-militia-attacks-on-u-s-troops-risk-washington-tehran-confrontation-f2308361">report</a> from The Wall Street Journal.

A picture taken on August 20, 2010 shows

Top U.S. Senators Warn Military Will Strike Iran Under Two Conditions

Hamas

Hezbollah

Iran

Israel

Lindsey Graham

Military

Richard Blumenthal

Top lawmakers on the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations are asking for the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fbi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FBI</a> and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-justice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Justice</a> to provide unredacted documents on Saudi Arabia’s “role” in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/9-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">9/11</a> as numerous records on the subject have remained classified.
In a <a href="https://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/services/files/4A131859-DDBB-4A6D-8D88-EA7A76631F14" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ron-johnson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ron Johnson</a> (R-WI) ask for unredacted documents so they can better understand <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/saudi-arabia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Saudi Arabia</a>’s connection to 9/11.
“No one was more affected by these attacks than the families of those whose lives were lost on that day, and who have struggled to obtain accountability ever since. Our inquiry into Saudi Arabia’s attempts to influence U.S. affairs has underscored, yet again, the need for transparency, particularly regarding Saudi Arabia’s connection to the 9/11 attacks,” the senators wrote on Sunday, one day before the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people. 
The senators said that they had previously asked in July for “the U.S. government finally provide full transparency into what it knows about the attacks, particularly as it relates to Saudi Arabia’s involvement,” but had not yet heard back. 
They said that they asked again on August 8 for an unredacted copy of a record on “Operation Encore,” but had not yet received a single document from the FBI or the DOJ. &#8220;Operation Encore&#8221; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/11/senate-sept11-saudi-arabia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was</a> the name given by the FBI to describe links between Saudi nationals and the terrorists who crashed the planes on 9/11. 
“Your failure to respond to our letter only adds to our concerns about the U.S. government’s longstanding refusal to provide full transparency to the American public, and particularly for the families of 9/11 victims, about Saudi Arabia’s role in the 9/11 attacks,” the senators wrote. 
Blumenthal and Johnson said that if the federal entities did not respond to their new call for unredacted documents, they could turn to other methods to ensure compliance with their request. 
Families and survivors of the 9/11 attacks have long pushed for more U.S. officials to press Saudi Arabia on the terrorist attacks. Ahead of President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia in July 2022, the families and survivors asked Biden to discuss the attacks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
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“Please stand where no other President since 9/11 has stood, with the September 11 community in our pursuit for justice, and prioritize a full and complete discussion of the Saudis’ continued denial of their complicity in the attacks,” the families said in a <a href="https://911familiesunited.org/9-11-families-president-biden-must-demand-saudi-accountability-for-the-september-11-attacks/">letter</a>.
Although Biden has released some 9/11 documents, they have remained heavily redacted and lawmakers and victims have continued to push for more information.

The US Senators Ron Johnson Visits Kiev

Senators Push For ‘Transparency,’ Unredacted Documents On Saudi Arabia’s ‘Role’ In 9/11

Senators Push For 'Transparency,' Unredacted Documents On Saudi Arabia's 'Role' In 9/11

9/11

Christopher Wray

Congress

Department of Justice

Merrick Garland

Politics

Ron Johnson

Saudi Arabia

Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/richard-blumenthal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Richard Blumenthal</a> (D-CT) will undergo surgery on Sunday after fracturing his femur in an accident at the UConn men’s basketball victory parade.
Blumenthal, 77, was in attendance to celebrate the Huskies’ national championship Saturday morning when a person taking a video of him during the procession stumbled and fell on top of the senator, <a href="https://connecticut.news12.com/sen-blumenthal-fractures-femur-at-uconn-parade-will-undergo-surgery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to News 12 Connecticut. The third-term Democrat was reportedly in “good spirits” when he talked to the news outlet over the phone Saturday night.
Nearly 45,000 people came out to <a href="https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/sports/dog-house/heres-everything-you-need-to-know-about-saturdays-uconn-parade/3009958/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">celebrate</a> with the UConn men’s basketball team after the Huskies defeated San Diego State in the NCAA national championship game last Monday for the university’s fifth title. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz were also in attendance for the parade and addressed the fans who came to celebrate.
The Democratic senator is leading bipartisan efforts to crack down on TikTok, the social media app with ties to communist China. In February, Blumenthal <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-and-democrat-senators-join-forces-in-call-for-tiktok-crackdown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joined</a> Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) in exhorting Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to force the divestment of TikTok from its Chinese parent company ByteDance.
“TikTok, which collects the sensitive information of tens of millions of American users and plays an increasing role in our society, is well within the scope of CFIUS’s national security mandate,” Blumenthal and Moran wrote.
Blumenthal was elected to the Senate in 2010 after serving Connecticut for 20 years as attorney general.
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Dem Senator Breaks Femur At UConn Basketball Victory Parade After Person Taking Video Falls On Him

Sen. Richard Blumenthal Breaks Femur At UConn Basketball Victory Parade After Person Taking Video Falls On Him

Basketball

Connecticut

Health

U.S.

Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/richard-blumenthal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Richard Blumenthal</a> (D-CT) and Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) exhorted <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/treasury-department" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Treasury</a> Secretary <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/janet-yellen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Janet Yellen</a> to force the divestment of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tiktok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a> from ByteDance, its <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinese</a> parent company.
ByteDance, which is located in Beijing, has been accused of maintaining close ties with the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ccp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinese Communist Party</a>. Blumenthal and Moran suggested in a Thursday <a href="https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/20230216cfiustiktok.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to Yellen that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a board composed of nine cabinet-level officials charged with reviewing the national security implications of foreign investments into American companies, should compel ByteDance to jettison operations for TikTok within the United States.
“TikTok, which collects the sensitive information of tens of millions of American users and plays an increasing role in our society, is well within the scope of CFIUS’s national security mandate,” the lawmakers contended. The letter referenced CFIUS requiring that Beijing Kunlun Company <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL33388" target="_blank" rel="noopener">divest</a> itself of LGBTQ dating site Grindr and healthcare platform PatientsLikeMe four years ago under the Trump administration.
Blumenthal and Moran also noted how ByteDance acknowledged at the end of last year that staff members had “spied on the private data of journalists and others in order identify sources behind articles critical of the company.” The revelation confirmed an earlier <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tiktoks-parent-company-in-china-planned-to-use-platform-to-track-locations-of-specific-americans-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Forbes which indicated that ByteDance planned to track the location of specific American citizens.
“This bombshell disclosure demonstrates that TikTok and ByteDance cannot be trusted by CFIUS or its tens of millions of users in the United States,” the letter continued. “Therefore, CFIUS should impose structural separations and firm restrictions on ByteDance’s ability to: access Americans’ personal data; make decisions about content moderation; control its algorithmic recommendation systems; and oversee its U.S. operations.”
The two lawmakers are the latest from both sides of the aisle to observe the national security implications of permitting American consumers to utilize TikTok. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-senator-urges-apple-and-google-to-ban-tiktok-from-app-stores" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pressed</a> Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai earlier this month to remove the site from the companies’ app stores.
President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-unanimously-votes-to-ban-tiktok-on-government-devices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> legislation prohibiting TikTok from devices owned by the federal government, while several states, including Nebraska, Alabama, and Iowa, had previously banned the platform from government devices. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tiktok-ceo-will-testify-before-congress-as-national-security-privacy-concerns-grow" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testify</a> before members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee next month.
Renewed controversy over TikTok and broader Sino-American relations occurs after at least one Chinese surveillance balloon recently traversed the continental United States. The vessel crossed Montana, the home of many defense assets and missile silos, then <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chinese-spy-balloon-flies-out-of-montana-and-over-new-u-s-state" target="_blank" rel="noopener">traveled</a> over states such as Kansas and Missouri before the object was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-military-shoots-down-chinese-spy-balloon-after-biden-let-it-travel-across-country" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shot down</a> off the coast of the Carolinas.
The White House is now <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-refining-executive-order-banning-american-companies-from-investing-in-key-chinese-sectors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expected</a> to unveil an executive order that would ban American funds from enabling the development of Chinese advanced semiconductors, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and other technologies with surveillance and military applications, according to a recent <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/09/business/us-china-investing-tech-biden.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The New York Times. Yellen and other senior administration officials spent months contacting industry leaders to forecast the economic implications of the executive order, according to another <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/01/12/white-house-biden-china-executive-order-cfius" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Axios released last month. News of the nearly completed measure came as lawmakers threatened to pursue their own investment restrictions in the absence of federal plans.

Senator Blumenthal Discusses His Legislation To End US Arms Sales To Saudi Arabia

Republican And Democrat Senators Join Forces In Call For TikTok Crackdown

Republican And Democrat Senators Want Treasury Secretary To Crack Down On TikTok

China

Global Politics

Janet Yellen

TikTok

Treasury Department

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/southwest-airlines" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Southwest Airlines</a> COO Andrew Watterson said in remarks prepared for a Thursday hearing that he and fellow executives “messed up” amid the company’s holiday <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/air-travel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">travel</a> meltdown.
Southwest canceled some 16,700 flights between December 21 and December 31, even as severe winter weather subsided in the days after Christmas. Watterson said in his prewritten opening <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23602424-written-testimony-of-andrew-watterson-coo-southwest-airlines-final" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> before the Senate Commerce Committee that the disruptions prompted the company to cancel flights so that crews could position themselves to resume normal operations.
“Let me be clear: we messed up. In hindsight, we did not have enough winter operational resilience,” he remarked. “It became clear that, with the storm severely disrupting our Denver and Chicago Midway stations concurrently, we did not have enough resiliency in our operation for the severe effect this winter event had on us.”
Flight schedules for Denver and Chicago Midway, which serve as starting and ending bases for one-fourth of the company’s flight crews, were almost entirely canceled by Southwest in the days before Christmas. The same occurred at other airports across the country as the storm moved east, causing communication between employees to deteriorate amid the chaos.
“This lack of effective communication and coordination resulted in compounding, frequent, close-in flight cancellations, rather than our normal practice of batched pre-cancellations further in advance of departure times,” Watterson continued. “This created an unprecedented amount and frequency of required changes to crew schedules that overwhelmed our crew scheduling processes and technology.”
Southwest previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/southwest-reveals-how-much-holiday-flight-meltdown-will-cost-them" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimated</a> that between $725 million and $825 million will be lost in the aftermath of the cancellations. The firm reported a $220 million loss in the fourth quarter of last year and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/southwest-airlines-reports-massive-revenue-hit-after-christmas-meltdown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> investors that fallout from the company’s holiday meltdown would continue.
Watterson told lawmakers that Southwest would seek to enhance software used by crew members with a $1.3 billion information technology investment. He added that the company has gone “above and beyond” standards created by the Department of Transportation for airlines that cancel or significantly delay flights; customers received reward points amounting to $300 in value as staffers worked to reimburse passengers for meals, hotel accommodations, rental cars, and tickets purchased with other carriers during the meltdown.
“Southwest is intensely focused on reducing the risk of repeating the operational disruption we experienced in December,” Watterson added. “We are committed to running a great operation each and every day, and I have the utmost confidence that our people, processes, and technologies will do just that.”
The hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee occurs as lawmakers file legislation meant to bolster protections for consumers in the wake of the Southwest meltdown. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), both of whom are members of the Senate Commerce Committee, introduced the Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights and the Forbidding Airlines from Imposing Ridiculous Fees Act last week.
“Air travelers shouldn’t have to foot the bill for basics like a carry-on bag, a seat next to their children, or even for a sip of water, especially as airlines continue to fail passengers at every turn,” Markey said in a <a href="https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-markey-blumenthal-lead-in-introducing-legislation-to-bolster-airline-passenger-protections" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. “Our nation’s largest airlines can’t even guarantee consumers that their flights won’t be delayed or cancelled, that their luggage won’t be lost, or that they won’t get stranded at the gate because of overbooking. The status quo won’t fly any longer. We must empower regulators and uphold passengers’ rights so they are treated with dignity before, during, and after their flight.”

LaGuardia Airport

‘We Messed Up’: Southwest Executive Testifies On Holiday Meltdown Chaos

Southwest Executive Testifies Before Senators On Holiday Meltdown Chaos

Air &amp; Space

Air Travel

Ed Markey

Southwest Airlines

U.S. Senate

Sen. <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/richard-blumenthal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Richard Blumenthal</a> (D-CT) plans to reintroduce legislation creating a “bill of rights” for <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/air-travel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">airline</a> passengers following the recent logistical meltdown at <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/southwest-airlines" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Southwest Airlines</a> that left thousands of passengers stranded across the country.
The company nixed roughly two-thirds of flights during the busy Christmas travel season, even after severe winter <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/weather" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weather</a> conditions had subsided and other carriers had ceased canceling an elevated number of flights. Southwest announced a return to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/southwest-says-it-will-resume-normal-operations-on-friday" target="_blank" rel="noopener">normal operations</a> beginning on December 30; cancelation <a href="https://flightaware.com/live/cancelled/yesterday" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> provided by FlightAware show the company is currently at parity with other major airlines.
Blumenthal is submitting legislation to the new Congress that would provide various reimbursement guarantees to passengers impacted by future flight cancelations. &#8220;The kind of disaster that we saw with Southwest simply dramatizes an ongoing failure by the airlines to respect basic passenger rights,&#8221; the lawmakers said in an <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/airline-passenger-bill-of-rights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with CBS. &#8220;Rental cars, hotel, meals, no questions asked, money back.”
Similar <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/3222?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Airline+Passengers%27+Bill+of+Rights%22%2C%22Airline%22%2C%22Passengers%27%22%2C%22Bill%22%2C%22of%22%2C%22Rights%22%5D%7D&amp;s=1&amp;r=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legislation</a> filed by Blumenthal during the last Congress would have granted “protections for airline passengers from being required to involuntarily relinquish their seats,” mandated “training on the rights of passengers” for airline staff, restricted “unreasonable air carrier fees,” and provided “compensation to passengers” for delayed or canceled flights.
Other lawmakers have likewise called for increased regulations on the airline industry following the holiday travel meltdown. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) cited an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bernie-sanders-ro-khanna-tear-into-pete-buttigieg-over-southwest-airlines-fiasco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earlier admonition</a> to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in which they called for the official to establish rules guaranteeing refunds for passengers impacted by canceled or delayed flights.
“Taxpayers bailed out the airline industry during their time of need,” Sanders wrote. “It is the responsibility of the airline industry and the Department of Transportation to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that the flying public and crew members are able to get to their destinations on time and without delay.”
Share prices for Southwest have fallen more than 15% over the past month as executives scramble to win back the trust of disaffected customers. Leadership in the company’s pilot union has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-meltdown-a-year-for-the-last-five-or-six-years-southwest-pilots-blast-company-over-crisis-that-was-a-decade-in-the-making" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> the surge in cancelations was attributable to “a combination of processes, outdated technology, and infrastructure.” The airline is unique among other major carriers because flights are organized by a point-to-point system rather than a hub model.
Southwest CEO Bob Jordan remarked in a recent <a href="https://swamedia.com/releases/release-7e05ea1637937dc7354128bee7c60a1a-ceo-bob-jordan-provides-update-on-taking-care-of-our-customers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> that the firm is conducting a “thorough review” of the disruptions. “We&#8217;ve already taken immediate actions to mitigate the risk of this ever happening again, and the review work will inform additional actions and investment as well,” he said. “We&#8217;ve asked our unions to participate in this review effort as well, and likewise we are in regular communication with our Board of Directors.”
Some 54 million passengers planned to depart from airports between December 18 and January 3, marking a 20% increase in holiday travel from last year despite persistent cost pressures and other economic headwinds, according to <a href="https://media.hopper.com/research/christmas-2022-holiday-outlook" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from Hopper. The snowfall and frigid temperatures also presented obstacles to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/amazon-fedex-post-office-warn-of-delivery-delays-as-winter-weather-persists" target="_blank" rel="noopener">major delivery services</a> as Americans waited for last-minute Christmas presents: FedEx and UPS issued statements warning of delays, while Amazon and the United States Postal Service shuttered multiple locations.

Southwest Airlines Experiences Major Flight Cancellations Across U.S.

Lawmaker Calls For Airline Passenger ‘Bill Of Rights’ After Southwest Meltdown

Airline Passenger 'Bill Of Rights' Introduced By Lawmaker After Southwest Meltdown

Air and Space

Russian President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/vladimir-putin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vladimir Putin</a> is expected to annex parts of eastern and southern <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine</a> on Friday, claiming that forced referenda across four occupied regions support <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Russia</a>’s claim.
Western leaders are scrambling to respond to what many have condemned as a “land grab,” according to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/29/putin-russia-annexation-ukraine-00059545">Politico</a>. Putin’s move has raised concerns that Russia is committing itself to long-term conflict with Ukraine, and that a resolution to the war may be much farther off than European and North American leaders were hoping.
Russian state media <a href="https://ria.ru/20220927/referendum-1819941990.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Tuesday that Ukraine’s Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions voted overwhelmingly to break with Ukraine and join Russia. The referendum, which local Ukrainian officials said was coerced by Russian soldiers, took place on September 23-27. The results in each region were strikingly lopsided in favor of Russia: 99% in Donetsk, 98% in Luhansk, 87% in Kherson, and 93% in Zaporizhzhia.
Putin said in a television appearance on Thursday that “the formation of a more just world order is taking place,” according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/09/29/world/russia-ukraine-war-news#with-annexation-plans-putin-escalates-a-battle-of-wills-with-the-west" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>. He did not directly address the expected annexation, which covers an area of roughly 40,000 square miles.
“Unipolar hegemony is inexorably collapsing,” he said. “This is an objective reality that the West categorically refuses to accept.”
Officials in the U.S. condemned the results of the referendum and Putin’s claim to the regions.
“The Kremlin’s sham referenda are a futile effort to mask what amounts to a further attempt at a land grab in Ukraine. To be clear: the results were orchestrated in Moscow and do not reflect the will of the people of Ukraine,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a <a href="https://www.state.gov/russias-sham-referenda-in-ukraine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> on Thursday.
“The United States does not, and will never, recognize the legitimacy or outcome of these sham referenda or Russia’s purported annexation of Ukrainian territory,” he continued. “This spectacle conducted by Russia’s proxies is illegitimate and violates international law. It is an affront to the principles of international peace and security.”
In the U.S. Senate, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced legislation Thursday to block U.S. aid from going to regions “annexed” by Russia.
“We are dealing with Hurricane Putin, for the lack of a better word,” Graham said, according to Politico. “He’s trying to rewrite the map of Europe. He’s trying to do by force of arms what he can’t do by process.”
Blumenthal added: “It is a land grab. It’s a steal. And it is another craven, brazen tactic by Vladimir Putin to test the West’s support for Ukraine and we are having none of it.”
The United States <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2022/Sep/28/2003087045/-1/-1/1/UKRAINE-FACT-SHEET-SEP-28.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">committed</a> another $1.1 billion in security assistance – including weapons, ammunition, and other war goods – towards Ukraine’s war effort on Wednesday. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, that brings U.S. security assistance committed to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February up to about $16.2 billion.
Some national security experts put the amount of security assistance committed much higher: over <a href="https://stephensemler.substack.com/p/how-much-military-aid-has-biden-sent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$40 billion</a> since August of last year. The wide discrepancy is due to the confusing way in which the funds are pooled together, and a lack of organization in tracking them.
“There is a range of funding sources, including Presidential Drawdown Authority, Foreign Military Financing, and the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative,” Ari Tolany, U.S. program manager at the Center for Civilians in Conflict, told <a href="https://theintercept.com/2022/09/10/ukraine-military-aid-weapons-oversight/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Intercept</a> earlier this month. “It’s been tricky to trace what materiel is coming from where.”

Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin Set To Claim Wide Swaths Of Ukraine After ‘Sham’ Referenda

Department of Defense

Russia

Ukraine

South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal introduced a resolution on Tuesday to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terror.
The resolution urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to add the designation to Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
&#8220;Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate &#8212; views the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation, at the direction of President Vladimir Putin, as acts of terrorism,&#8221; the<a href="https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/5496358a-cb7d-43c4-ad73-34866ec00e87/sst-resolution.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> resolution</a> noted.
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Full text of the Graham-Blumenthal resolution calling for designation of Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism 🔽🔽 <a href="https://t.co/s0nEqRhxfm">pic.twitter.com/s0nEqRhxfm</a>
&mdash; Toby Douthat (@tobydouthat) <a href="https://twitter.com/tobydouthat/status/1524063085383884801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The U.S. currently lists only four nations as state sponsors of terror. The nations include Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria.
&#8220;Last week the Ukrainian government took a vote urging the U.S. Congress to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. So we heard their plea and we&#8217;re answering their request,&#8221; Graham <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?520119-1/senators-graham-blumenthal-news-conference-war-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
&#8220;We should be all-in in making sure that Putin is marginalized and his country is marginalized as long as his country is engaged in the matter that they are engaging in,&#8221; he added during the press conference.
Graham also spoke out against Putin in an interview on &#8220;Fox News Sunday&#8221; to call for regime change.
&#8220;If we back off prosecuting Putin as a war criminal, all the laws on the books become a joke. If we don&#8217;t get this right, China will certainly invade Taiwan,&#8221; the senator argued.
&#8220;There is no off ramp in this war. Somebody&#8217;s going to win and somebody&#8217;s going to lose,&#8221; he <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/graham-pushes-label-russia-state-135543943.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Graham noted Monday on Twitter that he also <a href="https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/1523660202758873089" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supports</a> Finland and Sweden joining NATO.
&#8220;NATO needs to get bigger, not smaller,&#8221; the senator tweeted. &#8220;If Finland and Sweden join NATO and Europe breaks away from dependence on Russian oil and gas, and Putin is declared a war criminal, that would be the best outcome for the world writ large.&#8221;
Blumenthal, who serves as the bipartisan sponsor of the resolution, has also spoken out strongly against Russia.
&#8220;Russia’s horrific inhumanity—barbaric atrocities &amp; war crimes—have richly earned its designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. I’ll be leading this resolution with Senator Graham, applying stiffer sanctions &amp; making it a true pariah among nations,&#8221; he <a href="https://twitter.com/SenBlumenthal/status/1523332910073335808" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> on Twitter Monday.
The resolution comes as missiles continue to strike civilians in Ukraine more than 70 days after Russia&#8217;s invasion launched on February 24.
&#8220;Ukraine said Russian forces fired seven missiles Monday at Odesa, hitting a shopping center and a warehouse in the country’s largest port. One person was killed and five wounded, the military said,&#8221; the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-business-nato-moscow-c8e00f7bbc4f24aa40d70a4ac2d97adb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
&#8220;Images overnight showed a burning building and debris — including a tennis shoe — in a heap of destruction in the city on the Black Sea. Mayor Gennady Trukhanov later visited the warehouse and said it &#8216;had nothing in common with military infrastructure or military objects,'&#8221; the report added.
Graham&#8217;s announcement also comes one day after Putin&#8217;s Victory Day speech that many feared could escalate the war. Putin&#8217;s words did not declare victory but instead indicated the Ukrainian invasion could be part of a long-term war.

Sen. Lindsey Graham Introduces Resolution To Designate Russia As A State Sponsor Of Terror

Terrorism

Democrats are reportedly considering a plan to boycott upcoming Senate Supreme Court confirmation hearings, and at least two Democratic Senators &#8212; Hawaii&#8217;s Mazie Hirono and Connecticut&#8217;s Richard Blumenthal &#8212; say they will not meet with nominee Amy Coney Barrett because it would &#8220;legitimize&#8221; President Donald Trump&#8217;s decision to kick off a nomination process just weeks from a presidential election.
<a href="https://www.chron.com/news/article/Democrats-debate-whether-to-engage-or-withdraw-15599222.php">The Houston Chronicle reports</a> that Democratic senators are &#8220;mapping out how they will wield their limited procedural weapons in the fight over President Donald Trump&#8217;s Supreme Court nominee&#8221; and are &#8220;grappling with a central question: How much legitimacy do they give his candidate?&#8221;
&#8220;With little power to actually derail Trump&#8217;s pick, Democrats are coming under considerable pressure from their activist base to use every tactic at their disposal to not just throw sand in the gears of the confirmation fight, but to portray the consideration of expected nominee Amy Coney Barrett as a farce that shouldn&#8217;t even occur,&#8221; the outlet notes.
Over the last week, Democrats have tried a variety of approaches, from attacking Republicans as &#8220;hypocrites&#8221; for nominating a new jurist to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg &#8212; even though at this point, Republicans control both the White House and the Senate and it is possible the president will shortly earn an additional term &#8212; to attacking Amy Coney Barrett for her large family, adopted children, and faith community.
Sunday morning, Democratic leaders tried again to redirect the argument, focusing instead on upcoming oral arguments questioning the Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act scheduled to take place at the start of the Supreme Court&#8217;s next term.
Most Democrats &#8212; like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) &#8212; are relying on the latter argument to swing voters, but at least two Senators, Hirono and Blumenthal, told media Saturday that they have no plans to &#8220;legitimize&#8221; Coney Barrett and will not even accept a casual meeting with the nominee, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hirono-blumenthal-amy-coney-barrett">per Fox News</a>.
&#8220;If Judge Barrett’s views become law, hundreds of millions of Americans living w/pre-existing conditions would lose access to their health care. In the middle of a pandemic, rushing confirmation of an extreme jurist who will decimate health care is unconscionable,&#8221; Blumenthal said on Twitter. “I will refuse to treat this process as legitimate &amp; will not meet with Judge Amy Coney Barrett.&#8221;
Hirono, at least, left open the possibility of questioning Barrett during a Senate confirmation hearing: “I will not be meeting with her, I will take the opportunity to question her when she is under oath.&#8221;
After a contentious week, however, Republicans are unlikely to take Democrats&#8217; feelings into consideration. As of Sunday, the GOP has enough votes to pass Barrett out of committee and approve her nomination on the Senate floor without Democratic defections. Republicans can afford at least three defections from their own party before Vice President Mike Pence is forced to cast a tie-breaking vote.
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/graham-says-barrett-hearings-will-begin-oct-12-lays-out-rough-timeline">The Daily Wire reported Saturday</a>, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says the Senate plans to bring Barrett&#8217;s nomination to the Senate Judiciary Committee on October 12.

amy coney barrett

Democrats Considering ‘Boycott’ Of Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings, Refuse To Meet With Amy Coney Barrett

Amy Coney Barrett

Democratic Party

Mazie Hirono

Supreme Court

Democrat senators, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), on Saturday threatened that “nothing is off the table” if Republicans hold a vote on a new Supreme Court Justice before the election.
CNN’s senior congressional correspondent Manu Raju reported that Schumer told Democrats on a call: “Let me be clear: if Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans move forward with this, then nothing is off the table for next year. Nothing is off the table.”
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Schumer tells Dems: “Let me be clear: if Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans move forward with this, then nothing is off the table for next year. Nothing is off the table,” per source on call
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) <a href="https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1307372950388199425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Twenty minutes later, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) made the same threat, tweeting, “If Republicans recklessly &amp; reprehensibly force a SCOTUS vote before the election—nothing is off the table.”
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If Republicans recklessly &amp; reprehensibly force a SCOTUS vote before the election—nothing is off the table.
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenBlumenthal/status/1307378591097815040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The threat leaves open the possibility of packing the Supreme Court, an idea many Democratic presidential candidates said they were at least open to. Left-wing media outlets have also published numerous articles suggesting that’s exactly how Democrats should respond if Republicans install a new Supreme Court Justice to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday evening. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, however, previously said he was not open to court packing.
The fact that Democrats and their media supporters are so open to court packing shows they only care about the judicial body if it is on their side, tweeted National Review editor Rich Lowry.
“That the Left has taken up court-packing so readily shows how it never really took the court seriously as a court—instead it has thought of it primarily as a quasi-legislative body useful to the extent it enshrines its policy goals,” Lowry tweeted Saturday night.
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That the Left has taken up court-packing so readily shows how it never really took the court seriously as a court—instead it has thought of it primarily as a quasi-legislative body useful to the extent it enshrines its policy goals
— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) <a href="https://twitter.com/RichLowry/status/1307538892292321280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Democrats are still sore over Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) 2016 refusal to hold a vote on then-President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. McConnell argued at the time that since the 2016 election would install a new president &#8212; either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump &#8212; the “American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice,” adding that “this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”
At the time, Democrats controlled the White House and Republicans controlled the Senate following multiple elections where Democrats lost majorities during Obama’s terms. In 2020, Republicans control the White House and the Senate, making the two situations distinct. Obama exercised his right to nominate a new Supreme Court Justice, and Republicans in the Senate exercised their right not to hold a vote. Obama had no right to get his nominee appointed just because he was nominated.
In 2016, when Obama nominated a left-leaning judge, Ginsburg herself argued the Senate should hold a vote on the nominee, saying: “There&#8217;s nothing in the Constitution that says the president stops being president in his last year.” She also said during this same interview that “Eight is not a good number,” referring to the remaining number of Supreme Court justices.
Following Ginsburg’s death, McConnell released a statement explaining the differences between the two years.
“In the last midterm election before Justice Scalia’s death in 2016, Americans elected a Republican Senate majority because we pledged to check and balance the last days of a lame-duck president’s second term. We kept our promise. Since the 1880s, no Senate has confirmed an opposite party president’s Supreme Court nominee in a presidential election year,” McConnell said.
“By contrast, Americans reelected our majority in 2016 and expanded it in 2018 because we pledged to work with President Trump and support his agenda, particularly his outstanding appointments to the federal judiciary. Once again, we will keep our promises,” McConnell added. “President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”

Chuck Schumer

‘Nothing Is Off The Table’: Democrat Senators Threaten Action If Republicans Vote For New Supreme Court Justice

Charles Schumer

Media Bias

Mitch McConnell

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

On Thursday, Congressional Democrats held a press conference flanked by Planned Parenthood president Leana Wen boasting of new legislation intended to cripple states from enacting pro-life legislation and remove pro-life laws already on the books.
The legislation has a predictably euphemistic name, the &#8220;Women&#8217;s Health Protection Act&#8221; (WHPA), and is sponsored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA).
The proposed bill would block and upend vital pro-life legislation, such as so-called &#8220;heartbeat bills&#8221; &#8212; which protect unborn babies with a detectable heartbeat from abortion &#8212; waiting periods, and mandates on ultrasounds, among other abortion restrictions.
According to pro-abortion ActForWomen.org, WHPA is described as &#8220;a federal bill that would protect the right to abortion by creating a safeguard against restrictions on abortion that apply to no similar medical care. These restrictions interfere with patients&#8217; personal decision-making and block access to safe, legal abortion care.&#8221;
According to Rep. Chu, who praised WHPA on Thursday, there are already 169 Democrat cosponsors for the bill from the House, and an increasing surge of Democrat senators signing-on.
&#8220;Our bill finally puts a stop to the state-based attacks that anti-abortion advocates have been trying to use to undermine or even reverse Roe,&#8221; Chu said at the press conference, <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/democrats-push-bill-to-block-pro-life-laws?utm_content=buffer078aa&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=theblaze">according</a> to The Blaze.
&#8220;It means no abortion bans,&#8221; she added, boasting that the bill &#8221;prohibits any non-medical restrictions on our bodies,&#8221; such as &#8220;no heartbeat bills,&#8221; waiting periods, and ultrasound mandates.
Sen. Blumenthal also spoke at the presser, championing abortion &#8220;rights&#8221; that must be &#8220;protected, once and for all and forever, against the demagogues who would restrict them,&#8221; The Blaze noted.
Blumenthal posted a video of the news conference to his Facebook page with the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SenBlumenthal/videos/2375072289204992/">caption</a>:
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Access to safe &amp; legal abortions isn&#8217;t just a women&#8217;s issue&#8212;it&#8217;s a human rights issue. Today, we introduce the Women&#8217;s Health Protection Act to guarantee a person&#8217;s right to control their own body &amp; future, everywhere in America.
We refuse to stand by as extremist state lawmakers try to undermine women&#8217;s health care. Proud to stand up with Judy Chu&amp; hundreds of our colleagues to say: It&#8217;s time to fight back against anti-choice state laws. #ActForWomen
</blockquote>
The extremist pro-abortion legislation comes in the face of pro-life wins across the nation. A number of states have recently passed heartbeat bills, such as Ohio and Georgia, and Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed the nation&#8217;s strictest pro-life bill into law last Wednesday; the law outlaws all abortion, save an exception to protect the life of the mother. In addition, Louisiana, where the governor is a Democrat, is expected to pass heartbeat legislation, too.
According to ActForWomen.org, &#8220;Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is a lead cosponsor in the Senate, and Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH) and Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL) are lead cosponsors in the House of Representatives.&#8221;
WATCH:
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<a href="https://www.theblaze.com/democrats-push-bill-to-block-pro-life-laws?utm_content=buffer078aa&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=theblaze">H/t</a> The Blaze

RADICAL: Democrat Bill Would Block States From Passing Pro-Life Laws, Upend Laws On The Books

Abortion

On Wednesday, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) climbed atop the moral ladder and from his precarious perch lambasted U.S. Attorney General William Barr, huffing that Barr &#8220;must retract his unfounded, irresponsible claim that American law enforcement &#8216;spied&#8217; on the Trump Campaign.&#8221;
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AG Barr must retract his unfounded, irresponsible claim that American law enforcement &#8216;spied&#8217; on the Trump Campaign. The only spies interfering in the 2016 campaign were Russian ones. <a href="https://t.co/1sjjeX2w6W">https://t.co/1sjjeX2w6W</a>
&#8212; Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenBlumenthal/status/1116062484945887236?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Blumenthal puffed, &#8220;As Barr admitted, there is absolutely no evidence that our nation&#8217;s own law enforcement officers did anything unlawful during their investigation into Russian meddling in our democracy. To recklessly suggest otherwise is deeply offensive.&#8221;
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As Barr admitted, there is absolutely no evidence that our nation&#8217;s own law enforcement officers did anything unlawful during their investigation into Russian meddling in our democracy. To recklessly suggest otherwise is deeply offensive&#8212;&amp; worse, it is dangerous.
&#8212; Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenBlumenthal/status/1116062486413942787?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Blumenthal patronized, &#8220;I&#8217;m deeply disappointed AG Barr has so demeaned himself &amp; DOJ by carelessly acting as a mouthpiece for Trump&#8217;s conspiracy theories. This language has a real, measurable impact on the lives &amp; safety of our men &amp; women in law enforcement. He owes them a retraction &amp; an apology.&#8221;
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I&#8217;m deeply disappointed AG Barr has so demeaned himself &amp; DOJ by carelessly acting as a mouthpiece for Trump&#8217;s conspiracy theories. This language has a real, measurable impact on the lives &amp; safety of our men &amp; women in law enforcement. He owes them a retraction &amp; an apology.
&#8212; Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenBlumenthal/status/1116062487881945088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Blumenthal&#8217;s pontificating was ripped, and fast; Sean Davis of The Federalist noted, &#8220;Are you referring to foreign spy and dossier author Christopher Steele, who was funded by Hillary and the DNC? Because he worked on behalf of a sanctioned Russian oligarch and colluded with Kremlin officials during the campaign.&#8221;
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Are you referring to foreign spy and dossier author Christopher Steele, who was funded by Hillary and the DNC? Because he worked on behalf of a sanctioned Russian oligarch and colluded with Kremlin officials during the campaign. <a href="https://t.co/XSTKpDbbVW">https://t.co/XSTKpDbbVW</a>
&#8212; Sean Davis (@seanmdav) <a href="https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/1116172977152901121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Brit Hume of Fox News echoed, &#8220;This is the last man on earth who ought to be complaining about unfounded and irresponsible claims given his innumerable such claims about Trump and Russia collusion.&#8221;
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This is the last man on earth who ought to be complaining about unfounded and irresponsible claims given his innumerable such claims about Trump and Russia collusion. <a href="https://t.co/tE5VQvVE2Z">https://t.co/tE5VQvVE2Z</a>
&#8212; Brit Hume (@brithume) <a href="https://twitter.com/brithume/status/1116126358797791232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
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But what truly makes Blumenthal&#8217;s verbiage hypocritical when he labeled Barr&#8217;s statement an &#8220;unfounded, irresponsible claim,&#8221; is that this is the same man who was openly exposed as having lied about his service in Vietnam.
In February 2017, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-tweets-dredge-up-blumenthals-vietnam-controversy">Fox News</a> outlined Blumenthal&#8217;s shady record concerning his Vietnam claims, reporting:
<blockquote>
Blumenthal received five deferments, from 1965-1970, before enlisting in the Marine Corps Reserve, though he was never sent out of the U.S. During his six years in the Reserve, Blumenthal was stationed in Washington, focusing on a slew of local projects, such as a Toys for Tots drive. During his political career, however, Blumenthal frequently walked a precarious line, often framing his service just ambiguously enough to give the impression that he had spent time fighting in Vietnam.
&#8220;I served during the Vietnam era,&#8221; Blumenthal said in 2008. &#8220;I remember the taunts, the insults, sometimes even physical abuse.&#8221; He told a gathering of families who were expressing support for returning American troops in 2003 that, &#8220;when we returned, we saw nothing like this.&#8221; Blumenthal, however, crossed the line when speaking to a group of veterans in March 2008. &#8220;We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam,&#8221; he said.
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In May 2017, Blumenthal <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/16324/watch-stolen-valor-senator-richard-blumenthal-says-hank-berrien">stated</a> on CNN&#8217;s New Day, &#8220;What we have now is really a looming constitutional crisis that is deadly serious because there is an investigation ongoing. Ultimately, there may be subpoenas to the President of the United States, just as occurred in 1973 precipitating United States versus Nixon and a similar firing of a special prosecutor. So what&#8217;s needed now is, in fact, an independent counsel and special prosecutor.&#8221;
President Trump fired back on Twitter, &#8220;Watching Senator Richard Blumenthal speak of Comey is a joke. &#8216;Richie&#8217; devised one of the greatest military frauds in U.S. history. For years, as a pol in Connecticut, Blumenthal would talk of his great bravery and conquests in Vietnam &#8212; except he was never there. When caught, he cried like a baby and begged for forgiveness, and now he is judge &amp; jury. He should be the one who is investigated for his acts.&#8221;

Vietnam Liar Blumenthal Rips AG Barr For ‘Unfounded, Irresponsible Claim’ Of Spying On Trump Campaign

Donald Trump

William Barr

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