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Before the angry mob of breathless Democrats gets too spun up and ahead of itself, the anti-Trumpers should calm down and try to absorb just how preposterous it is to suggest that President Trump may have committed a criminal offense by supposedly obstructing justice during the Russia/Michael Flynn investigation.

Consider for a moment what would have happened if Trump had placed an op-ed in a prominent newspaper, arguing that the investigation into his campaign and former national security adviser Flynn was misguided, a wasteful use of government resources, and that he thought it should stop.To do so would be foolish, but not criminal.

Similarly, what if the president paraded up and down Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the Justice Department with a bullhorn shouting, Stop the Flynn investigation!?

It would be unwise and inappropriate, but no one would say the president committed a crime. And he certainly could not be charged with obstruction of justice.

So, if the presidents wishes about an investigation can be loud and public, how is it possible that he violated the law by having a private conversation with a member of his own administration? How can it be that a bold position made in public would be legal, yet an arguably reserved position made in private is somehow considered criminal?

When it comes to obstructing justice before an audience, does size matter? I would love to hear from lawyers about this.

Anyway, everyone should also carefully consider the arguments made by constitutional scholar Alan Dershowitz. Dershowitz presented some compelling legal insight. The president, he writes, is the head of the unified executive branch of government, and the Justice Department and the FBI work under him and he may order them to do what he wishes.

Former FBI director James B. Comey likewise confirmed during yesterdays testimony that, as a legal matter, [the] president is the head of the executive branch and could direct, in theory, we have important norms against this, but direct that anybody be investigated or anybody not be investigated. I think he has the legal authority because all of us ultimately report in the executive branch up to the president.Norms are important, and Trump is not big on playing by the rules, but that does not mean he has broken a law.

Comeys testimony should be enough to let this issue of criminality fade away, but the Democrats and their allies in the media are heavily invested in bringing the president down. Yesterday did not go as they wanted it to, andthe Democrats rage wont let them see the truth.

Again, Dershowitz argues, it is important to put to rest the notion that there was anything criminal about the president exercising his constitutional power to fire Comey and to request hope that he let go the investigation of General Flynn.

Democrats will continue to lash out and contort Comeys testimony, but the facts speak for themselves. President Trump has not asked anyone to lie, he has not prevented anyone from performing his or her legal obligations, and he has most certainly not obstructed justice.

Comeys testimony was not flattering toward the president, but, as I wrote yesterday, it did more to help Trump than to hurt him. No matter how much the Democrats and mainstream media outlets try to spin a crime out of the straw that was Comeys testimony, the facts just do not take us there.

The president still has the advantage of being innocent. If the Democrats want to impeach Trump, they will have to keep looking. Im sure they will.

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Trump committed no crime. Democrats need to get over it. - Washington Post (blog)

BBC News

Democrats say Dodd-Frank repeal is 'wrong choice' BBC News Democrats are slamming a Republican bid to dismantle financial rules put in place after the 2008 crisis as the "wrong choice" for the country. House Republicans approved a sweeping measure on Thursday that would ease rules on banks, weaken consumer ... and more »

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Democrats say Dodd-Frank repeal is 'wrong choice' - BBC News

Sacramento Bee

Universal health care is the new litmus test for Democrats Sacramento Bee With Obamacare imperiled, the California Senate's decision to embrace Medicare for All cements this state's leadership in the resistance to President Donald Trump. Following California's lead, Democrats nationally are embracing plans to expand Medicare ... and more »

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Universal health care is the new litmus test for Democrats - Sacramento Bee

Congressional Democrats claim their Republican colleagues are blocking them out of talks about how to proceed with the House-passed healthcare reform bill through reconciliation, a legislative process that allows passage of a budget bill and prevents it being filibustered in the Senate.

"To accomplish this 'Robin Hood in reverse' approach without bipartisan support, Republicans are using an arcane process known as reconciliation. That's not a term that's likely to come up at coffee shops around the country, but it's important," Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in the party's weekly address. "Reconciliation amounts to 'my-way-or-the-highway,' not both parties working together to solve the nation's problem as Americans expect them to."

Wyden complained the current version of the bill, which would repeal and replace Obamacare, was "deeply unpopular" in the House, partially because it contains the "basic architecture that takes from middle-class Americans to give large tax breaks to the well-to-do."

Other Democrats have taken issue with Republicans for not holding a hearing on the Senate version of the American Health Care Act. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., called out Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, when he said Democrats were welcome to offer ideas and suggestions for the legislation. "When you are saying that you inviting us, for what? We don't even know. We have no idea what is being proposed," McCaskill replied.

Republicans are looking to use a procedural tactic to fast-track the healthcare legislation through the Senate, which would allow the GOP to continue closed-door meetings to hash out the details that they can agree on to obtain to 51 votes needed to pass it. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., indicated this week that a vote on the healthcare legislation would happen "in the near future." Republican senators have been meeting to discuss the legislation, and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters that he expects a vote on the healthcare legislation by the end of July.

Wyden railed over the bill's Medicaid restructuring plan, which includes language to cut spending on the government program by more than $800 billion.

"Bottom line, without Medicaid, America moves a giant step backwards to the days when healthcare was reserved for the healthy and the wealthy," Wyden added.

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Democrats slam GOP senators' efforts to fast-track healthcare bill - Washington Examiner

WASHINGTON Rep. Trey Gowdy is known as a dogged investigator of Hillary Clinton. Now Democrats wonder whether the South Carolina Republican will pursue President Donald Trump with the same vigor he used in going after the Democratic presidential candidate.

Later this month, Gowdy, 52, is set to become chairman of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where he will lead official scrutiny of the Trump administration, including a budding investigation into possible ties between Russia and Trump's campaign.

Gowdy led a two-year investigation into the deadly 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, focusing heavily on Clinton's role as secretary of state. It was the committee's probe that revealed Clinton used a private email server for government work, prompting an FBI investigation that proved to be an albatross in her campaign.

House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans say the four-term lawmaker and former federal prosecutor is the right man for the job. Democrats are not convinced.

"When push gets to shove, I think Trey's a reliable partisan and that's why Ryan picked him," said Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va.

In 2014, House Speaker John Boehner selected Gowdy "as a very junior member to head up the Benghazi panel to go after Hillary Clinton. That was not an accident," Connolly said. "Having done his duty well, Paul Ryan has now tapped him to head oversight, where your job obviously is to protect the man in the White House. So vigorous oversight is not on the agenda."

The House Republican Steering Committee on Thursday recommended Gowdy for the chairmanship, replacing Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who is leaving Congress on June 30. Gowdy beat out Oklahoma Rep. Steve Russell. The full House Republican conference is expected to confirm the choice next week.

Rep. Mark Sanford, another South Carolina Republican who briefly considered running for the oversight post, said Gowdy has "a steady prosecutorial mind" and a keen understanding of issues facing the committee.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., a close friend and former colleague of Gowdy in the House, said "no one works harder and is more committed to the truth and the rule of law than Trey."

Connolly, a member of the oversight panel, stressed that he likes Gowdy personally and praised his skills as a former prosecutor and lawmaker. But he said Gowdy knows his role in the GOP leadership.

"I don't think Paul Ryan is worried about that streak of independence showing itself any time soon and certainly not in the context of Donald Trump and the Russia thing," he said.

Ryan, in a statement, said Gowdy "possesses the experience and deep commitment to transparency and accountability" needed as oversight chairman. "He has proven that he will always look out for taxpayers and seek answers from the bureaucracy. Trey has my absolute confidence, and I know he will do an outstanding job," Ryan said.

Gowdy led the Benghazi inquiry from May 2014 through last July. The committee's 800-page report accused the Obama administration of lethal mistakes, but it produced no "smoking gun" pointing to wrongdoing by Clinton, even as Gowdy threatened to seek a federal investigation into whether she lied to the committee under oath in 2015.

In the end, Gowdy did not sign a perjury complaint against Clinton filed by House Republicans. The July 2016 complaint to the Justice Department was made by Chaffetz and House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.

Gowdy said in a statement Thursday he was "grateful" for "this opportunity to serve." The statement focused on the committee's institutional responsibilities and made no mention of specific lines of inquiry.

Sanford, a Trump critic, said some constituents have expressed concerns about the partisan focus of the Benghazi investigation.

"I try to convince them my experience with Trey has been most even-handed, and it's my hope and expectation that he has the same approach to the committee at large," he said.

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the senior Democrat on Oversight, served with Gowdy on the Benghazi panel, where Cummings also was the top Democrat. While the men initially pledged to work together, their relationship descended into partisan bickering by the time the investigation ended last summer.

Still, Cummings congratulated Gowdy in a statement and promised to "support his efforts whenever we can."

Gowdy takes over the oversight panel just as it is poised to investigate Trump's firing of James Comey as FBI director amid the FBI's probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible connections between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Gowdy is already familiar with the questions over Trump's Russia ties due to his seat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which has conducted a probe of its own since allegations of Russian efforts to influence the presidential election surfaced late last year.

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Follow Matthew Daly: https://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC

The rest is here:
Democrats: Will new GOP oversight chairman pursue Trump? - Fox News