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Virginia Democrat Sen. Mark Warner, who is vice-chairman ofthe Senate SelectCommittee on Intelligence said that the Obama administration choked by not warning the American people of potential Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election.

During an interview with CNNs Global Public Square,host Fareed Zakaria asked Warner if he thought the Obama administration choked and should have done more when it knew that the Russians were interfering.

With the value of hindsight, yes, Warner responded. But I also know that most of the information, there were so many threads coming in from both signals intelligence, from human intelligence, from actions of the FBI.No one really put all of the pieces together until after the election.

While there is no evidence that Russia changed the vote tallies or took voters off the registration roles, the Washington Post issued a detailed report about what former President Barack Obama knew about Russian interference and when it was brought to his attention.

The report highlighted how the Obama administration handled the situation, and examined whether or not the administration should have warned the American public immediately. It was the hardest thing about my entire time in government to defend, one former official admitted to WaPo. I feel like we sort of choked.

Zakaria also asked Warner if it was justified for the Obama administration to withhold knowledge of Russian interference to the American people leading up to the election because of fears that it would seem partisan.

An earlier warning to the American people would have perhaps put Americans more on guard but again thats with the value of Monday morning quarterbacking, Warner replied.

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Dem Senator Says Obama Choked On Russia - The Daily Caller

I feel like we sort of choked. That is the killer quote in an extraordinary Washington Post investigation into how Barack Obama responded to intelligence last year that Russia was running a sophisticated influence operation against the 2016 elections.

Its attributed to a former senior Obama administration official, but it captures the view of many Democrats and now many opportunistic Republicans. President Donald Trump got in on the action when he tweeted, The real story is that President Obama did NOTHING after being informed in August about Russian meddling.

Its tempting to grant Trump this point, despite Trumps own insistence during his campaign that there was no evidence Russia meddled in the election at all. Obama was the commander-in-chief when Moscow hatched this operation. It was his duty to defend our election.

But this isnt entirely fair. To start, by the time the CIA had gathered the intelligence in August about how President Vladimir Putin himself was trying to elect Trump over Hillary Clinton, the servers of the Democratic National Committee and other leading Democrats were already breached. Obamas government did inform state election officials about the prospect of hacking of voter rolls and helped make them more resilient. In the end, the Russians spread fake news and distributed the messages they hacked. They had the good fortune of a Republican candidate willing to amplify the pilfered emails. But there is no evidence that Russia changed the vote tallies or took voters off the registration rolls.

Whats more, Trump himself had in the final weeks of the election suggested the vote itself would be rigged. Had Obama been more public in warning about the Russian influence operation, he would risk undermining the legitimacy of the election in the eyes of Trumps supporters, essentially aiding Russias plan to undermine it before any votes were cast.

Rather than asking why Obama didnt do more to stop Russian meddling, the better question is why President Vladimir Putin thought he could get away with this interference in the first place. In every respect, the U.S. is more powerful than Russia. It has a much larger economy. Its military is superior. Its cyber capabilities are greater. Its diplomatic position is stronger. So why did Putin believe he could treat America like it was Estonia?

The answer is that Obama spent the first six years of his presidency turning a blind eye to Russian aggression. In his first term, Obama pursued a policy of reset with Moscow, even though he took office only five months after Russia had annexed two Georgian provinces in the summer of 2008. In the 2012 election, Obama mocked his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, for saying Russia posed a significant threat to U.S. interests. Throughout his presidency, Obamas administration failed to respond to Russian cheating on arms-control agreements. His diplomacy to reach an agreement to temporarily suspend progress on Irans nuclear program made the U.S. reliant on Russian cooperation for Obamas signature foreign policy achievement.

In the shadows, Russian spies targeted Americans abroad. As I reported in 2011 for the Washington Times, Russias intelligence services had stepped up this campaign of harassment during the reset. This included breaking into the homes of NGO workers and diplomats. In one case, an official with the National Democratic Institute was framed in the Russian press on false rape charges. In 2013, when the Obama administration appointed Michael McFaul to be his ambassador in Moscow, the harassment got worse. McFaul complained he was tailed by cameramen from the state-owned media every time he left the Embassy for an appointment. He asked on Twitter how the network seemed to always know his private schedule.

The Washington Post reported that these incidents continued throughout the Obama administration. In June 2016, a CIA officer in Moscow was tackled and thrown to the ground by a uniformed guard with Russias FSB, the successor agency of the KGB.

In 2011, the former Republican chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Christopher Kit Bond, told me: Its not the intelligence committee that fails to understand the problem. Its the Obama administration.

This lax approach to Russia was captured in the memoir of Obamas former defense secretary, Robert Gates. He wrote that Obama at first was angry at his FBI director, Robert Mueller, and his CIA director, Leon Panetta, for recommending the arrest in 2010 of a network of illegal Russian sleeper agents the FBI had been tracking for years.

The president seemed as angry at Mueller for wanting to arrest the illegals and at Panetta for wanting to exfiltrate the source from Moscow as he was at the Russians, Gates wrote. He quoted Obama as saying: Just as were getting on track with the Russians, this? This is a throwback to the Cold War. This is right out of John le Carr. We put START, Iran, the whole relationship with Russia at risk for this kind of thing? Gates recounts that the vice president wanted to ignore the entire issue because it threatened to disrupt an upcoming visit from Russias president at the time, Dmitry Medvedev.

After some more convincing, Obama went along with a plan to kick the illegal spies out of the country in exchange for some Americans. But the insight into the thinking inside his Oval Office is telling.

Eventually, Obama responded to Russian aggression after its stealth invasion of Ukraine in 2014. He worked closely with European allies to impose sanctions on Russia for their violation of Ukraines sovereignty. But he never agreed to sell the Ukrainians defensive weapons. In the final years of his presidency, as Wired magazine has recently reported, the Russians engaged in bold cyberattacks against Ukraines electric grid. So far, the U.S. has not responded openly to that either.

Even after Russias invasion of Ukraine, the Obama policy toward Russian aggression was inconsistent. As Foreign Policy magazine reported in May, Obamas State Department slow-rolled a proposal from the U.S. Mission to the United Nations to lay out a set of options to punish Russias client Syria for its use of chlorine bombs against its own citizens in 2014. Russia and the U.S. forged the agreement in 2013 to remove chemical weapons from the country. In 2015, the Obama administration did nothing to deter Russia from establishing air bases inside Syria, preferring instead to support John Kerrys fruitless efforts to reach a cease-fire agreement with Russia in Syria. That inaction now haunts the U.S. as Russia declared its own no-fly zone this month in Syria, after U.S. forces shot down a Syrian jet.

All of this is the context of Putins decision to boldly interfere in the 2016 U.S. elections. Perhaps Putin would have authorized the operation even if Obama had responded more robustly to Russias earlier dirty tricks and foreign adventures. But its easy to understand why Putin would believe he had a free shot. Russia probed American resolve for years. When Obama finally did respond, it was too late to save Ukraine and too late to protect our election.

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg View columnist. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

Go here to see the original:
Obama choked on Russia long before 2016 election - Yakima Herald-Republic

As a White House official insisted Sunday that the Senate is on the verge of passing a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, a key opponent of the bill said exactly the opposite.

Were getting close, White House Director for Legislative Affairs Marc Short said on Fox News Sunday. We hope that [when senators] come back the week after [their July 4th] recess, well have a vote.

But Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), one of the main conservative critics of the bill as currently written, suggested on the same show the legislation should be junked and process of writing it begun anew.

I dont think were getting anywhere with the bill we have, Paul said. Were at an impasse.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell delayed a vote until after the recess, saying he and his leadership team are still working toward getting at least 50 people in a comfortable place to vote for the bill.

Paul argued that the Senate should pass two bills one to repeal the Affordable Care Act that President Barack Obama shepherded through Congress, and another to replace it with the GOPs alternative.

Paul said the current bill has become the kitchen sink, and is lit up like a Christmas tree full of billion-dollar ornaments.

Paul did say that he hopes the Senate can get health care legislation passed before Congress takes its August recess.

Originally posted here:
White House Says Health Care Vote Is Close; Rand Paul Says Not So Much - HuffPost

This is a rush transcript from "Fox News Sunday," July 2, 2017. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS HOST: Im John Roberts, in for Chris Wallace.

While President Trump fights to fulfill a major campaign promise, repealing and replacing ObamaCare, the administration scored victories this week on immigration and upholding the travel ban.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF SESSIONS, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: They've been reviewed (ph). So, I think it was a great victory for the president.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Health care is working along very well. We can have a big surprise with a great health care package.

ROBERTS (voice-over): Well break down the president's agenda going forward with Marc Short, President Trumps director of legislative affairs. It's a "Fox News Sunday" exclusive.

(on camera): Then, with a growing number of Republican senators opposing the partys ObamaCare replacement plan, the president is now considering an immediate repeal and replacement later.

SEN. BEN SASSE, R-NEBRASKA: Every Republican in the U.S. Senate except for one has already voted for repeal in the past, let's do that first.

SEN. RAND PAUL, R-KENTUCKY: And now you have two bills, boom, you get it done in five minutes. The president seems open and interested in the idea.

ROBERTS (voice-over): Well discuss what Congress can do to repeal ObamaCare and get a replacement passed with Republican Senator Rand Paul and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin.

Senators Paul and Manchin only on "Fox News Sunday."

Plus, the president shifts focus off of the agenda, creating a media firestorm with several tweets attacking cable news hosts. Well ask our Sunday panel if the president's tweets are hurting his agenda.

All right now on "Fox News Sunday."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: And hello again from Fox News in Washington.

Senate Republicans have yet to bring their ObamaCare replacement to the floor for vote. Some suggesting separating repeal and replacement as two different bills.

Well, now, a group of senators is calling on Leader McConnell to shorten or altogether cancel the upcoming August recess in order to make meaningful progress on several legislative issues including health care.

Joining us now to discuss the administration's agenda, President Trumps director of legislative affairs, Marc Short. And we should point out that this is Marc Shorts very first appearance on any Sunday show.

So, we are glad to have you here.

MARC SHORT, WHITE HOUSE LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS DIRECTOR: Thanks for having me.

ROBERTS: You are the man who is tasked with being the foot soldier between the White House and Congress in terms of getting the presidents agenda through, where are we really with health care?

SHORT: Look, John, were getting close. The American people know that ObamaCare is failing. They know that insurance rates have continued to skyrocket. They know that insurers are fleeing markets. And last year alone, 83 insurers have left the market. People know that this is a dramatic situation.

ROBERTS: So, how --

SHORT: It's a crisis. Where we are is the president this weekend is continuing to make calls to members to try to get the Senate package across the finish line. We believe that our package will help to lower premium cost, help provide better quality care for patients and returns the relationship between the patient and his or her doctor without the government being in the middle.

ROBERTS: So, when you say were getting, how close are you?

SHORT: Well, look, weve gone through a long process in the House and got it completed and passed in the House. We now are in the Senate where theres been obviously a lot of procedural delays in this process. We are at the point of scoring two separate bills throughout the course of this recess this week. So, we hope that we come back the week after recess, well have a vote.

ROBERTS: Lets talk about these two bills, because you mentioned this to me earlier in the week. Youve got two different bills, variations on the same theme, that are going to go to Congressional Budget Office for scoring. Whats in those bills?

SHORT: Well, so, whats in the bill is that it will help to get rid of the individual mandate. It will get rid of taxes to make this easier on the American people. One thing that raises rates so much, John, thats really less understood in America is when you're on individual exchanges. The mandates the federal government puts on are so ridiculous that men are forced to carry coverage for mammograms, women are forced to carry coverage for prostate issues, it's absurd. And the American people know this. Were going to get rid of many of those regulations and mandates to lower cost.

ROBERTS: What's the difference between the two bills that are going to go (INAUDIBLE)?

SHORT: One has an amendment, thats called the Consumer Freedom Act that Senator Cruz and Senator Lee have offered that will help continue to reduce those regulations. And one is being scored without.

But let's talk about the CBO scoring for a second, because CBO scoring has indicated when they initially scored ObamaCare that 25 million people will be on the ObamaCare exchanges. In fact, there are only 10 million. So, when the press reports that 22 million people are going to lose coverage, it's a ridiculous number. Of that 22 million, seven million --

ROBERTS: But the press has only reported what the CBO says.

SHORT: They reported what CBO says but the CBO credibility should be certainly -- should be questioned at this point. Seven million of those people are people that don't exist. Theyre people that is based upon a baseline that CBO put out in 2014, even though the actual number is way down here.

There's another 7 million people they say will choose to leave the market that they say are losing insurance. That's not losing, that's choosing.

ROBERTS: And yet --

SHORT: And take another 4 million people in Medicaid and they say that's 4 million people who get Medicaid today will choose, if they don't have a mandate, to leave. That's 18 million people right there, John.

ROBERTS: And yet, you keep on submitting these bills to CBO for scoring because I know thats the process.

But let me ask you about this, this idea to repeal ObamaCare and then replace it at a later date. This is something the president even suggested. Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Rand Paul of Kentucky are both suggesting it. Will that even fly because Leader McConnell is saying, thanks but no thanks?

SHORT: Well, look, John, just in December of 2015, 49 current senators, as Ben Sasse has told you, 49 of the senators supported repeal. And if provided --

ROBERTS: Because they knew it would never become law.

SHORT: Well, I think that's a pretty tough messaging to go back to your constituents and say, I actually voted for it because I knew it wouldnt become law. I think they are pretty committed to knowing how much ObamaCare is failing. The last 15 or 18 months, it's only gotten worse. Premiums have only gotten higher.

In Nevada alone, two more insurers pulled out this week. So, now, in 18 counties in Nevada, 14 have no insurer next year. It's a true crisis and we need to do something about it.

ROBERTS: Yet, Dean Heller is saying, no way Im signing on this bill.

SHORT: Well, you know, look, I think Dean Heller voted for that repeal effort and the way that we look at is to say if the replacement part is too difficult for pulpits to come together, then let's go back and take care of the first step in repeal.

And even those 49, there's another member, Todd Young from Indiana, who when he was in the House voted for the bill, too. So, you have 50 members on record having voted for that recently. So, that's an option.

And then, at that point, if you've repeal it, you can come back with a replacement effort that could be more bipartisan.

ROBERTS: Are you concerned, though, that if you did do it in two pieces, you did replace first, then you did replacement later, that you might end up with repeal and never get around to replacing it?

SHORT: Look, John, we stated in our preferences is to pass the bill the Senate has right now. Thats what we think needs to be done. We think that help solve many of the problems Americans are facing.

And there are other legislative vehicles going on at the same time. Just last week the House passed Med Now which helps to limit the amount of lawsuits. So, it helps us to actually lower premiums. So, there's actions going on. This is not a one-size-fits-all.

ROBERTS: Senator Schumer is saying, hey, come work with us. Listen to what he said earlier in the week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, D-NY, MINORITY LEADER: I challenge them again: invite all of us to Blair House, the first day we get back from recess. If you think were not serious? Try us.

Democrats are ready to turn the page of health care. When will my Republican friends realize it's time for them to do the same?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Marc, the president says over and over again that the Democrats are nothing but obstructionists. Were not going to get a single Democratic vote to repeal and replace ObamaCare. There's the offer from the Senate majority leader.

SHORT: John, the Senate -- the president is absolutely right.

ROBERTS: The Senate minority leader, right.

SHORT: The president is absolutely right. They have been obstructionists. Weve heard from senators who have said, look, we know the markets are collapsing. We know people are losing insurance. It's devastating our state.

I can't be with you on repeal because that was one of President Obama's signature accomplishments, but we can be with you on replace. So, if this is the route we go, then there's that opportunity.

But it's quite just ingenuous I think for Senator Schumer to talk about getting together when today, right now today, we had 49 members of our folks that we put up for Senate confirmation approved. At the same point in Obama's administration on July 1st, he had 179. We have one quarter -- what Senator Schumer has often said rather disingenuously is to say its because we are not getting nominees. We have 133 nominees sitting in front of the Senate right now waiting to get hearings in order so they can get confirmation.

So, Senator Schumer might talk about bipartisanship, but he has no interest in bipartisanship whatsoever.

ROBERTS: So, back to the Republicans. So, weve got Sasse and weve got Rand who are pushing this idea of repeal first, replace later. Yet, at the same time, you got Senator Cruz of Texas and Senator Lee of Utah who are saying, well, we've got some other ideas. And they are trying to process forward.

Are you worried that theyll push it so far to the right that you're going to lose a lot of those moderates that you need to have?

SHORT: No, not at all. We support Senator Cruz and Senator Lees efforts. This is similar to efforts that transpired in the House and we think it's perfectly appropriate, his amendment. And so, we hope it's part of the process and bringing everybody together.

ROBERTS: Tax reform, the president has been many, many times that you need to do health care first so you get a bigger pot of money for tax reform. The Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says, no, we can probably do tax reform without doing ObamaCare reform first. Which is it and what's the timetable for this?

SHORT: John, we looked at them both this year, thats the bottom line. We plan to get health care completed in the summer. We looked to move to tax reform in the fall. We look to complete it before the end of the year.

ROBERTS: And do you need to do health care reform first?

SHORT: We need to do both, John. The American people are getting crushed by the ObamaCare taxes and we need tax reform in this country because we need to get the economy growing again. It has suffered for far too long and dismal growth ever since the recession in 2008-2009. What will provide growth is tax relief and were going to get to it this year.

ROBERTS: One of the big issues is whether or not you do tax reform thats deficit neutral so that after 10 years, it can become permanent or whether it's more important to do tax cuts first. So, which part of that is more important, deficit neutral or getting the tax cuts?

SHORT: Whats most important is get the economy growing so people get back to work.

ROBERTS: So, that means tax cuts?

SHORT: That -- in our mind, that means tax relief. But there's also an idea that Senator Toomey has put out that suggests that the budget window can be moved from 10 years to 20 years, which I think is an attractive option to allow us to do that. But we are focused on getting Americans back to work. And, John, that's why unemployment today -- because of the many regulatory relief that this president provided, it's down to 4.3 percent. The lowest it's been in 16 years.

ROBERTS: I want to ask about the presidents tweets, because it's not necessarily in your wheel house, but it does kind of crossed into your area because youve got have to deal with all those folks on Capitol Hill who very often are rolling their eyes over what the president tweets and have said, Mitch McConnell has said he's not particularly fond of it. We saw with Susan Collins and others said about the presidents tweet regarding Mika Brzezinski.

Does he make your job more difficult with what he does?

SHORT: Look, John, I don't recall during the presidential campaign, many members in Congress being excited by the presidents tweets and he won the campaign. Congressional approval rating is about 11 percent or 12 percent right now. The president knows that he needs to get around the mainstream media to get his story out.

And part of that story is actually what we've accomplished on Capitol Hill. This is the first administration to get a Supreme Court justice confirmed in the first 100 days since 1881. He signed 42 bills into law to date. Fourteen of those under Congressional Review Act helped to roll back the burdensome Obama regulation.

ROBERTS: So, youre saying its not a problem?

SHORT: It actually helps to now -- the CRA repealing much of that legislation has enabled the economy to save $18 billion in compliance cost. We just passed the V.A. Accountability Act, the president signed and delivered on yet another promise to the American people. He signed the omnibus bill that begin to rebuild the military and to build the border wall.

ROBERTS: So, despite diverting from his agenda or so, it would seem at least in the public view from time to time, you're still getting done what you need to get done?

SHORT: Were getting done what we need to get done in record pace. And the American -- the president is focused on returning jobs to the American people.

ROBERTS: Theres one other thing I want to ask you quickly before we run out of time here and again, this isnt in your wheelhouse but it does cross over to some degree. This election -- the commission, the Presidential Commission on Election Integrity that the president has set up, secretaries of state of at least 27 states have said, were not going to give you the voter data that you want because we don't think that this is a legitimate quest. And to some degree, some secretaries of state are suggesting that the president is just seeking to legitimize the claim that he made earlier this year about the fact that he lost the popular vote because of massive election fraud.

What do say to the secretaries of state, including some Republicans like Delbert Hosemann of Mississippi?

SHORT: John, there's nothing more important than ensuring the integrity of the American vote. One man, one vote. The vice president of the United States is leading this commission. It's a bipartisan commission.

This information is publicly available, but wouldn't be great if the secretary of state were willing to apply and be part of this to ensure the voter integrity of the United States? I don't think that's too much to ask.

ROBERTS: Well, Mississippi secretary of state, again, Delbert Hosemann, has invited you all to jump in the Gulf of Mexico, which at this time of year wouldn't be a bad idea.

(LAUGHTER)

ROBERTS: Marc Short, thanks for joining us today.

SHORT: John, thanks for having me.

ROBERTS: And welcome to the Sunday show.

SHORT: Have a wonderful Independence Day.

ROBERTS: Thank you. You, too.

Coming up next, Senators Rand Paul and Joe Manchin on where things stand on health care reform in the Senate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Efforts to repeal and replace ObamaCare stalled this week when Republicans delayed a vote on their plan, putting it off until after their return from the Fourth of July recess. Will they have enough votes, though, to pass the bill?

In a few minutes, well be joined by Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia. But first, joining us now is Republican Senator Rand Paul, whos among a group of Republicans opposing the current bill, and has some ideas on how to get repeal and replacement through.

Senator Paul, good to talk to you this morning.

Let me start off with a tweet that the presidents in earlier, which was actually what convinced her to come on the July 4th weekend. The president tweeting, quote: If Republican senators are unable to pass what they're working on now, they should immediately repeal and then replace at a later date.

The president appears to be listening to you. You mentioned this to him on Wednesday, though your colleague from Nebraska, Ben Sasse, is also claiming credit for this. But Senator McConnell has said thanks, but no thanks.

So, will this idea even fly?

Read the original post:
Sen. Rand Paul on push to repeal then replace ObamaCare - Fox News

Note: This episode originally ran in 2011.

Six years ago, we traveled to a place where people are trying to live without government interference. A place where you can use bits of silver to buy uninspected bacon. A place where a 9-year-old will sell you alcohol.

We find marijuana and moonshine, cash registers stuffed with gold, a rogue manicurist, and a libertarian version of the Chairman of the Federal Reserve (but don't call him that!).

It's the Porcupine Freedom Festival, known to its friends as PorcFest. This is the summer festival for people who think we should return to the gold standard and abolish the IRS.

At the end of the story, we return with an update on PorcFest from 2017. We'll tell you what has changed with the times since we were last here.

Music: "Cheyenne Shuffle" and "Now Son." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook.

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts or PocketCast.

Original post:
Episode 286: Libertarian Summer Camp - NPR