Archive for July, 2017

Obama official Samantha Power agrees to testify before House intel panel – Fox News

Former Obama official Samantha Power, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has agreed to testify before the House intelligence committee as part of its Russia probe, Fox News has learned.

Power will join the roster of former Obama administration officials in testifying before the congressional panel as part of their probe into Russian meddling and potential collusion with Trump campaign officials in the 2016 presidential election.

Some lawmakers also want to hear from Obama administration officials over their potential role in "unmasking" the identities of Trump associates from intelligence reports last year. Power and former national security adviser Susan Rice are among the former officials who could face such questions.

Rice initially had been expected to testify at a closed-door session Tuesday before the same House panel, but is instead expected to speak to lawmakers on the Senate Intelligence Committee later this week.

Power, though, has agreed to engage with the House committee, a spokesman for the former ambassador told Fox News.

Ambassador Power strongly supports any bipartisan effort to investigate and address Russias interference in our electoral process and she wanted to engage both House and Senate Committees charged with investigating it, David Pressman, counsel to Power and partner at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, told Fox News. Ambassador Power is very much looking forward to providing any assistance and encouragement she can to bipartisan efforts aimed at addressing this serious threat to our nations security.

A date for Power to testify has yet to be confirmed, and a source close to the committee told Fox News it will not be this week.

Several other Obama officials are making an appearance on Capitol Hill this week to testify behind closed doors.

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper appeared before both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees on Monday.

MORE OBAMA OFFICIALS SCRUTINIZED IN 'UNMASKING' PROBE

Former White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough will also testify this week, Fox News was told.

All sessions with former Obama administration officials are set to be closed, according to sources on Capitol Hill.

Fox News Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

Brooke Singman is a Reporter for Fox News. Follow her on Twitter at @brookefoxnews.

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Obama official Samantha Power agrees to testify before House intel panel - Fox News

No, Malia Obama wasn’t fired by the Spanish Embassy for smoking marijuana – PolitiFact

A fake news story on FreedomCrossroads.us claimed that Malia Obama was fired from an internship for smoking marijuana.

Its summer internship season and everyone loves a juicy story on a former first daughters internship cut short due to drug busts. At least fake news sites seem to.

Dont be fooled, though. A story that Malia Obama was fired from an internship at the U.S. embassy to Spain is fake news.

A June 29, 2017, post on FreedomCrossroads.us says that the eldest daughter of former President Barack Obama was caught smoking marijuana during her internship at the Spanish embassy and sent home.

"She was caught, by Embassy Security aka the U.S. Marines on the roof of the building burning a doobie and playing with the Ambassadors carrier pigeons," the story said. "Ambassador Bedard is an avid hobbyist."

Obama did intern at the embassy, in 2016, not this year. And there were no reports of her dismissal.

This summer, Obama traveled with her family to Bali and Jakarta and is continuing an internship at the Weinstein Company movie studio she began in the spring. She is still expected to go to Harvard in the fall which the post also denied.

"She wont be starting Harvard this fall and she has no future in government, since all government jobs require drug tests," the post said.

The story said Malia Obama was caught by U.S. Marines, but thats unrealistic. They are indeed stationed at embassies, but their primary role is that of protecting classified material in the interest of the United States national security not watching over summer interns.

The post also refers to the wrong ambassador. There has never been a U.S. ambassador to Spain by the name of Bedard, and there is actually no U.S. ambassador in Spain at all right now. Trump called for the resignation of foreign ambassadors nominated by Obama at the start of his tenure, and hasnt replaced previous Spanish ambassador to Spain, James Costos, since.

We dont know whose carrier pigeons the story refers to, but there were no reports of pigeons during her internship last year, either.

This isnt the first time a fake news story about the former presidents eldest daughter has made its rounds on blogs and Facebook this year. Previous reports weve debunked said that Malia was expelled from Harvard before she even started and that she was arrested for drinking, drugs and dog-fighting.

The latest story appeared on FreedomCrossroads.us, an unreliable site that as we have noted previously, has an About Us page that claims it "uses facts that dont exist and relies more on imagination than the truth."

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No, Malia Obama wasn't fired by the Spanish Embassy for smoking marijuana - PolitiFact

Barack and Michelle Obama’s Presidential Photos Inspired This Cleveland Couple’s Engagement Shoot – PEOPLE.com

A Cleveland couple celebrated their own love by paying homage to Barack and Michelle Obamas iconic romance.

Bride-to-be Cassi Pittman and her fianc Adams engagement shoot doubled as photo re-enactments in what was supposed to be just one Obama-inspired photo, according to the pairs wedding planner, Covesa Kelly, and wedding photographer, Natasha Herbert.

I miss The Obamas SO much that when our Bride and Groom said Can we try and duplicate one of their famous shots for our engagement pics? I was like lets do an entire shoot- we can do this and this and THIS! Kelly explained on Instagram.

Because we miss them so much, Herbert echoed, adding, Our couple Cassi & Adam were channeling Michelle and Barack Obama in this engagement shoot.

The soon-to-be newlyweds chose to recreate the Obamas ESSENCE coverphoto shoot from the October 2016 issue, as well as the presidential pairs playful embrace just beforethe National Newspaper Publishers Association reception in March 2009.

In addition, Cassi and Adam modeled a pose just like the moment when Michelle snuggled up against Barack while taping for the 2015 World Expo in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House.

As African-Americans, we admire their achievements and what they represent, Pittman, who is an Assistant Professor of Sociology atCase Western Reserve University,told the Huffington Post. They have a love that just shines, and we wanted to capture that love in our photos.

Cassi and Adam are planning their wedding in December in Willoughby, Ohio.

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Barack and Michelle Obama's Presidential Photos Inspired This Cleveland Couple's Engagement Shoot - PEOPLE.com

Trump grudgingly admits Obama’s Iran nuclear deal is working – MSNBC


MSNBC
Trump grudgingly admits Obama's Iran nuclear deal is working
MSNBC
As we discussed in April, the debate over one of the Obama administration's most important foreign policy accomplishments clearly hasn't gone the Republicans' way. Two years ago, when GOP officials weren't trying to sabotage sensitive international ...
Donald Trump signs off on Obama's Iran deal, which he promised to scrapSalon
Why Obama's Iran Nuclear Deal Will Live OnThe National Interest Online

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Trump grudgingly admits Obama's Iran nuclear deal is working - MSNBC

Obama Officials to Testify in Russia Investigation, Including Those Accused of Leaks – Newsweek

Former national security adviser Susan Rice and other Obama officials are to meet the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation into allegations of collusion between Trump officials and Russia.

Rices testimony before the panel will take place this week, while SamanthaPower, Obamas ambassador to the U.N., will also testify this week, Associated Press reported.

According to CNN, Rices Tuesday testimony was delayed while the panel summoned Power, whose date to testify has yet to be set. David Pressman, a legal counsel to Power, told the network that his client was happy to cooperate with the investigation.

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Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice in Washington in July 2015. Joshua Roberts/Reuters

"Long before receiving an invitation to engage the congressional committees, Ambassador Power stressed the importance of determining the full extent of this threat to our national security and learning lessons from what has happened, he said.

The panel interviewed former National Intelligence Director James Clapper Monday, and Obamas chief of staff Denis McDonough will also testifythis week.

Donald Trump has accused Rice of committing a crime by asking intelligence analysts to disclose the names ofTrump associates investigated by U.S. intelligence. Rice has denied the allegation.

Former Senate Intelligence Committee chairman DevinNunes, who stepped aside from the panel after secret meetings he held at the White House were exposed, had called for subpoenas to be issued for Rice, Power and former CIA Director John Brennan to testify in relation to allegations of attempts toillegally unmaskTrump officials.

In May, Clapper and former acting Attorney General Sally Yates were interviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee about Russias alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election.

"The Intelligence Community Assessment concluded, first, that President Putin directed an influence campaign to erode the faith and confidence of the American people in our presidential election process. Second, that he did so to demean Secretary Clinton. And, third, that he sought to advantage Mr. Trump," Clapper, who was part of the Obamaadministration's review of the alleged Russian influence campaign, told the committee.

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Obama Officials to Testify in Russia Investigation, Including Those Accused of Leaks - Newsweek