Mediaboss Marketing

Ben Rhodes and Susan Rice / Getty Images

BY: Adam Kredo July 27, 2017 7:08 pm

Key lawmakers are threatening to cancel the authorization of sensitive U.S. spy operations until congressional leaders investigate efforts by former top Obama administration officials to leak highly classified national security information in what many believe was a targeted campaign to undermine the Trump administration, according to senior congressional sources familiar with the situation.

Key Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee are pressuring Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R., Va.) to investigate former senior Obama administration officials believed to be responsible for these anti-Trump leaks, including former United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power, National Security Adviser Susan Rice, and National Security Council official Ben Rhodes, according to sources who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon about mounting frustration over Congress's failure to adequately investigate these leaks.

Lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee are prepared to halt key spy operations related to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, until Congress performs a full investigation into how damaging classified surveillance information targeting the Trump campaign and administration officials was leaked to the press.

The House Intelligence Committee is engaged in a separatebut related probe into efforts by Obamaofficials to "unmask," or formally identify individuals named in classified intelligence community reports related to Trump and his presidential transition team. That investigation is currently focussed on Power, Rice, and former CIA Director John Brennan.

Sources in the Trump administration and Congress believe the classified intelligence information was"weaponized"andlater leaked to the press in order to handicap the Trump administration's credibility and national security priorities.

Still, senior Republican members of Congress do not feel that enough is being done to hold those responsible for the leaks accountable.

By threatening to withhold the reauthorization of section 702 of the FISA Actwhich permits the U.S. intelligence community to intercept communications outside of Americalawmakers believe they can force a thorough investigation into these Obama aides, who are suspected of exploiting FISA laws to gather and later leak sensitive intelligence damaging to Trump allies.

Congress is "not going to reauthorize a program if no one is held accountable for breaking the law," said one senior congressional source familiar with the situation. "No one is being held accountable and Congress has done no oversight."

Goodlatte is said to have initially been "really taken aback" by the stiff opposition to reauthorizing section 702, but is now making moves to examine the former administration's role in classified leaks and potential opportunities to question these officials.

Republican members on the committee are said to be "all united" in their desire to investigate former Obama officials such as Rhodes, Rice, and Power, sources said.

These lawmakers "want answers on these Obama officials in order to continue [spy] authorizations they may have abused," one congressional source said. "The members in the conference and these committees have reached a boiling point."

Senior Trump administration officials, as well as those in Congress, have named former Obama administration officials such as Rice and Rhodes as key suspects in the dissemination of classified national security information.

Rep. Ron DeSantis (R., Fla.), chair of the House Subcommittee on National Security, which deals with these issues, told the Free Beacon earlier this month that Rhodes and others must be held accountable for any role they might have had in the leaking of classified information.

"I think Congress and some members on the Intelligence Committee can call Ben Rhodes to testify," DeSantis said at the time. "He may be able to invoke executive privilege from when Obama was president, but he definitely can't do that in any interactions he's had since then."

DeSantis further identified Rhodes and other senior Obama administration officials as being "involved with feeding journalists some of these [leaks]. I believe he's in touch with people on the National Security Council. It would be absolutely legitimate as part of leak investigation to bring him in and put him under oath, and I would absolutely support doing that."

The Free Beacon first disclosed last week that Power, a key Obama confidante, was emerging as central to the investigation into efforts by Obama administration officials to identify individuals named in classified intelligence community reports related to Trump and his presidential transition team.

Power's role in this unmasking effort is believed to be particularly questionable given her position as the U.N. ambassador, a post that does not typically require such sensitive unmasking activities, according to former U.S. officials and other sources.

"Unmasking is not a regular occurrenceabsolutely not a weekly habit. It is rare, even at the National Security Council, and ought to be rarer still for a U.N. ambassador," one former senior U.S. official told the Free Beacon.

View original post here:
Congress Could Halt Spy Authorization Over Obama Aides' Anti-Trump Leaks - Washington Free Beacon

You cant deny it. Michelle Obama shattered a glass ceiling when she became the first Black first lady in the United States.

In her first public appearance since leaving the White House, the former first lady was asked which shards of glass had cut her the deepest.

In response, she referenced an incident in which a West Virginia county employee called her an ape.

The shards that cut me the deepest were the ones that intended to cut, Obama replied, according to the Denver Post. Knowing that after eight years of working really hard for this country, there are still people who wont see me for what I am because of my skin color.

There were no video cameras allowed at the event, but CNN has verified the remarks the Post reported with the Womens Foundation of Colorado.

Tuesdays speech at the Pepsi Center in Denver was part of the Womens Foundation of Colorados 30th anniversary fundraising celebration.

Seated in a comfortable armchair in a talk-show format, Obama was met with cheers when she made brief remarks about the current administration and boos after saying she wouldnt be running for public office.

Michelle is a rarity in todays society, said Mattye Crowley, one of the events 8,300 attendees. We have witnessed for over eight years people picked and tormented her every move, and she stayed true to herself.

The former first lady told the audience how best to empower girls from a young age. She said a large portion of that responsibility falls on education.

If we want girls in STEM, we need to rethink how we deliver education, Obama told the crowd, using the acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Teachers, a kind word can mean the world to a young girl.

While serving as first lady, she launched several campaigns aimed at education.

Reach Higher inspires students to complete education past high school, and Let Girls Learn helps facilitate educational opportunities for young girls in developing countries.

Earlier this year, CNN reported on an internal memo that the Trump administration would discontinue Let Girls Learn, but the White House denied the claim the program would be changed.

They may have left the White House, but the Obamas arent going away anytime soon.

Public service and engagement will be a part of my life and my husbands life forever, Obama said.

She stayed away from current politics, but did mention the campaign slogan of her husband, former President Barack Obama.

It was never yes he can; it was yes we can, Obama said. When we put so much on a person, on a leader, we absolve ourselves of doing anything else. Were all on a journey together we are all figuring this out. We all want someone who will fix things, but were going to have to fix it together.

The Obamas largely kept out of the public eye in the first few months of President Donald Trumps presidency. Theyre busy writing memoirs, which will likely be released in 2018.

Some final words of wisdom from Obama?

Surround yourself with other powerful people, dont be afraid to fail and protect what you love.

What is going on within us [women] that we dont feel worthy enough to protect the things we value? she said. (CNN)

Read more from the original source:
Michelle Obama tells of lessons, scars of being first lady - The Philadelphia Tribune

Following another failure on the Obamacare repeal effort, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., expressed hope Wednesday night that his conference could eventually get something done on healthcare, but would have to change its strategy.

After speaking at the Young Americans for Liberty National Convention, the senator made clear that in order to get anything done, Republicans have to find a lowest common denominator. "I think it makes more sense to start small and work big," Paul told the Washington Examiner. "They started with such an enormous bill, and then by the end they were throwing everything in there but the kitchen sink. I mean, they threw an extra hundred billion in at the very end."

The best way to get something done, Paul said, is for the Senate to craft a skinny bill to send to the House and avoid a conference committee altogether.

Paul has refused to support the Better Care Reconciliation Act primarily because of how much federal money it promises to insurance companies, something the senator called the epitome of crony capitalism in his speech to the YAL audience.

If the bill ends up in a conference committee, Paul said, it will end up looking more like the BCRA. "I think if it goes to conference committee again and they load it up with all the pork, I won't vote for it. If they pass the skinny bill that both conservatives and moderates can vote for, I think then you've got a chance to just send it over directly to the House."

There are still concerns about how insurance markets would respond to an Obamacare repeal, especially a "skinny" repeal, which would focus less on stabilizing the marketplace as the BCRA did and more on simply repealing Obamacare. Paul spoke of his effort to work association health plans, which would allow those in the individual market to group together and create bigger and more-diverse risk pools, into a skinny repeal proposal.

However, Paul also said that without true repeal, there is no hope for stabilized markets.

"The insurance market is a disaster now, and no matter what you do, unless you're willing to repeal all the regulations, it will be a disaster in 2018," Paul said.

"It's not the fault of Republicans. It's the fault of Obamacare."

See more here:
Rand Paul says Republicans should seek 'lowest common denominator' on healthcare negotiations - Washington Examiner

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell walks through the Capitol on Thursday. Drew Angerer / Getty Images

In the rushed process of trying to come up with legislation, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released an analysis even later on Thursday night. Republicans only released the part of the score that analyzed only the impact on the deficit. Shortly afterward, Democrats and the CBO released the rest of the analysis, which found that 16 million people would lose their health insurance in 2018. Premiums would rise 20 percent each year over the next decade, the analysis found.

It's still unclear if Republicans have the 50 votes they need to pass it. A late-night concession from House Speaker Paul Ryan, promising to enter into negotiations with the Senate to produce a beefed-up version of a health care bill, secured the votes of many Republicans.

"If moving forward requires a conference committee, that is something the House is willing to do," House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement. "The reality, however, is that repealing and replacing Obamacare still ultimately requires the Senate to produce 51 votes for an actual plan."

Ryan's wobbly statement about a conference committee, however, didn't convince everyone. He spoke on the phone with more than half a dozen senators over the phone later in the evening, giving them his "assurances" that the House would enter into a conference committee. His statement, however, indicated that if an agreement is reached in House and Senate negotiations, the Senate would vote on it first.

But holdouts remain, including Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and John McCain, R-Ariz., both of whom have been critical of the secretive process. The positions of Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, are unknown.

Related:

Republicans can only afford to lose the support of two Republicans in order for it to pass. Vice President Mike Pence is prepared to be the tie-breaking vote.

The vote is expected to take place at some point late into the night or early morning, in whats been called a "Vote-a-Rama," where senators will vote consecutively on as many amendments as they want.

The skinny repeal is far from Republicans campaign promise of also rolling back Medicaid expansion, insurance subsidies, taxes, and insurance regulations.

Over the past two days, Republicans rejected a plan that would have partially repealed and replaced Obamacare and a measure that would have just repealed it. The repeal vote was the same bill that passed the Senate and the House in 2015 when former President Barack Obama vetoed it.

"It was deeply disappointing to see those six Republicans who voted for repeal in 2015 to turn around and vote against it last night," said Tim Phillips, head of the Charles and David Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity.

The rest is here:
Republicans Release 'Skinny' Obamacare-Repeal Bill - NBCNews.com

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and others are standing up for Attorney General Jeff Sessions after President Trump suggested he wants Sessions to resign. (The Washington Post)

For arguably the first time, Republicans are starting to draw red lines in an effort tosavePresident Trump from himself.

As Trump weighs firing one or both of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and special counsel Robert Mueller, a pair of GOP senators is promising measures to thwart or dissuade him.Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said Wednesday that his panel would not confirm a new attorney general to replace Sessions this year. Then Thursday morning, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said he would introduce legislation to protect Muellerand warned it could be the beginning of the end of Trump's presidency if he tried to fire the special counsel.

Both moves are unprecedented.For perhaps the first time, Senate Republicans with real sway are talking about concrete steps tocounteract Trump's impulses and prevent constitutional crises.

Republicans have spent plenty of time talking tough about Trump, mind you. Plenty of them said Trump's comments about women on that Access Hollywood tape were beyond the pale, and some even urged him to drop out of the presidential race. Many of these same members, such as Rep.Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), would later embrace Trump. (Chaffetz has since retired from Congress.)

Like Graham, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has been among the most vocal Trump critics in the GOP, including givingabrutal speech denouncing Trump's worldviewin February in Munich. But even that speech didn't call out Trump by name, andMcCain has frustrated Trump's opponents by not backing up his words with actions, such as voting against Trump's agenda.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), too, has been called upon to occasionally denounce Trump. And sometimes he has obliged. But he has also assumed a nonconfrontational approach to dealing with the president, repeatedly brushing off his tweets including as recently as Thursday morning in favor of trying to work with Trump to get things done.

There have been some threats of legislation or actions by Republicans to stop Trump. In January, for instance, GOP senators led by McCain threatened a bill to prevent Trump from lifting sanctions against Russia. Similarly, Graham in March suggested he might call for a special committee to look into Trump's baseless allegation that President Barack Obama wiretapped him.

But this is the first time the stakes have been this high. And Grassley and Graham are going on-record withspecific actions and threats.

Look, politics is an inherently disingenuous business. Sometimes you say something with a little extra conviction to send a message, or you make threats that you're not 100 percent committed to backing up. Politicians also have to deal with the realities of alienating a president who has significant sway over whether they can pass their agenda. There is no doubt Republicans, after denouncing Trump repeatedly on the campaign trail and seeing him win anyway, have grown gun-shy. This is the moment he's gone too far and I can cut him off, they've thought so many times, only to be proven wrong in short order.

I'm not one of those people who thinks McCain can't denounce Trump one day and vote for his agenda the next. McCain is a conservative Republican, so he tends to support Republican legislation. He wants to replace Obamacare, so he voted to move forward with a debate on doing just that this week, despite his reservations about the process.

But at some point, Republicans who think Trump is truly flirting with a constitutional crisis will need to back up their tough rhetoric with actions. Grassley and Graham seem to be at least edging toward doing that perhaps recognizing the uniquely fraught options Trump is apparently considering.

We'll see how much follow-through there is. But at some point, the rubber must meet the road, or it just amounts to a bunch of talk.

Update: Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) is also speaking out now, telling Trump not to plan on a possible recess appointment to replace Sessions. "Forget about it," Sasse said. Sasse didn't appear to threaten specific action, though Republicans as a whole could thwart a recess appointment.

The rest is here:
Republicans are starting to draw red lines on Trump firing Sessions and Mueller - Washington Post