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Sen. Mark Warner issued a warning to his GOP counterparts, saying that if he determines the Intelligence panel cannot properly conduct an independent investigation, I will support empowering whoever can do it right. | AP Photo

Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, says he won't tolerate 'White House interference.'

By Austin Wright

02/25/17 10:08 AM EST

Updated 02/25/17 10:41 AM EST

The top Democrat on the Senate committee investigating President Donald Trumps ties to Russia says he has grave concerns about the independence of the probe following a report that the panels Republican chairman helped the White House knock down negative news stories.

Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Saturday he called Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and CIA Director Mike Pompeo to express his concerns.

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But Warner did not go so far as to say he was giving up on the Intelligence Committees probe, which many Democrats consider the best hope for getting to the bottom of the ties between the Trump campaign and Moscow given that GOP leaders have made clear they won't agree to a select committee or independent commission.

I will not accept any process that is undermined by political interference, Warner said in a statement. "I am consulting with members of the Intelligence Committee to determine an appropriate course of action so we can ensure that the American people get the thorough, impartial investigation that they deserve, free from White House interference.

Warner also issued a warning to his GOP counterparts, saying that if he determines the Intelligence panel cannot properly conduct an independent investigation, I will support empowering whoever can do it right.

His warning is a nod to the many Democratic lawmakers and a few Republicans who have called for an independent commission or select committee to investigate the issue.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, both issued statements Saturday saying the new developments heightened the need for an independent commission.

We must have a truly independent commission to investigate the actions of the President, his campaign, his associates, and Russian officials and agents, Cummings said. The American people will not stand for an investigation that is tainted, that inappropriately shares information with the President's team, or that serves as nothing more than the President's political mouthpiece."

On Friday night, The Washington Post reported that the White House had enlisted intelligence officials and key members of Congress including Burr and House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) to call media outlets to challenge allegations about repeated communications between Trump associates and Russia.

The House Intelligence Committee is also investigating communications between Trump aides and Russia.

A spokesman for Nunes, Jack Langer, said the congressman had already been reaching out to media outlets about the issue and contacted an additional reporter after the request came from the White House.

"Chairman Nunes made inquiries into the allegations published by the New York Times and couldn't find evidence to support them," Langer said. "So he told that to multiple reporters, and then a White House aide asked if he would speak to one more. So he spoke to that reporter as well, telling that person the same thing he told the other reporters."

Burr also told the Post he reached out to news outlets and said he felt he was doing nothing wrong, adding: I felt I had something to share that didnt breach my responsibilities to the committee in an ongoing investigation.

Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, blasted the White Houses behavior, saying intelligence professionals are not there to serve as the President's PR firm.

For its part, the intelligence community must resist improper efforts like these by the Administration to politicize its role, and in Congress we will have to redouble our vigilance to ensure that the community is never compelled to do otherwise, Schiff said.

Also on Friday night, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) called for a special prosecutor to oversee an investigation into Trump associates' ties to Russia, saying Attorney General Jeff Sessions should not be involved.

Its unclear if Issa, who was a major supporter of Trump during the presidential campaign, was aware of the Posts report when he made the remarks on HBO's "Real Time" with Bill Maher.

"You cannot have somebody, a friend of mine Jeff Sessions, who was on the campaign and who is an appointee," Issa, the former chairman of the House oversight committee, said. "You're going to need to use the special prosecutor's statute and office to take not just to recuse. You can't just give it to your deputy. That's another political appointee."

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Top Democrat has 'grave concerns' about Trump-Russia investigation - Politico

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KEVIN MCCALLUM AND ROBERT DIGITALE

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | February 25, 2017, 4:41PM

| Updated 5 hours ago.

Santa Rosa police launched an investigation into an apparent double homicide Saturday after discovering the body of a man in a Montgomery Village house and hours later finding a slain woman in a home on the citys west side.

Police said they have a person in custody on unrelated charges and that there was no remaining public safety risk in the case, said Sgt. Josh Ludtke.

At this point, we are looking at a person of interest that has direct ties to both victims, Ludtke said.

That person is Dalton Carlson, 32, who was arrested Friday morning on drug and other charges at the west side home where the slain woman was discovered Saturday afternoon, Ludtke said.

Carlsons bail had been set at $5,000 but was revoked Saturday after the bodies were discovered. Ludtke declined to provide the victims names or to say what ties Carlson had to them, citing the ongoing investigation.

Shortly before 11 a.m. Saturday, officers responded to a call to help an injured person in a home in the 2600 block of Valley Center Drive, less than a block from the Montgomery Village shopping Center on the citys east side.

Friends of the victim had gone to the home to check on his welfare and found his body, Ludkte said. When officers arrived, they summoned detectives to begin an investigation.

A short time later, around the lunch hour, officers located the mans vehicle on the west side of town in the area of Glenbrook Avenue and Heather Drive.

Shortly after 12:30 p.m., a resident called police to report the discovery of a dead woman in a single-family home in the 1500 block of Glenbrook Drive, a residential area near West Third Street and Stony Point Road.

Detectives were called in based on the environment of that scene, according to a press release, which described the deaths as homicides but did not say how the two people are suspected to have died.

All I can say is it appears to be, in both case, pretty violent, Ludtke said of the manner of death.

Ernie and Betty Engle live next-door to the Glenbrook home where the woman was found dead Saturday. They said there was police activity at the home on Friday morning and again on Saturday around noon.

Betty Engle said she was sitting in her kitchen Friday morning when she spotted a man who she didnt recognize as her neighbor wearing black clothing poking around on the roof of the next-door house.

What is he doing? I said to myself, Engle said. He just wasnt looking right.

Police and firefighters responded and Carlson, who was acting irrationally, was taken into custody, Ludtke said. He was arrested on suspicion of being on drugs and violating a restraining order, Ludtke said.

When asked where he lived, Carlson gave officers two addresses the same ones where the homicides took place, Ludtke said.

Police at that time had no reason to suspect he had been in the Glenbrook home and werent able to gain entry, Ludtke said. He said its certainly possible that the woman was already dead inside the home at that time.

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We dont know when she was killed, he said. We are working on that timeline right now.

Around noon Saturday, the Engles watched as authorities returned to the Glenbrook home for the report of the womans body. Later, they saw a woman they assumed to be a relative standing outside sobbing hysterically, Betty Engle said.

Ernie Engle said his neighbors name was Dalton. The man had multiple outdoor security cameras, grew marijuana in the home and was obviously concerned about somebody messing around with his property, Engle said.

Police on Saturday afternoon towed a silver Hyundai sedan that was parked at the end of Heather Street for at least a day. Neighbor Ken Nichols said he called police about it and when officers came to tow the vehicle away, an officer indicated it was involved in a double homicide, Nichols said.

He said officers were reviewing surveillance video from his home and those of other neighbors in an effort to learn more about the vehicle and its occupants, Nichols said.

Ludtke said the Hyundai belonged to the male victim who lived in the Montgomery Village home, but he declined to identify the victim.

Detectives are aggressively working leads to determine what happened in both cases, the release said.

Both homes were blocked off with yellow crime scene tape at about 4:45 p.m. But the Valley Center Drive home had the larger presence of crime scene investigators, plus about four police technician vans or larger vehicles. The Glenbrook Avenue home had only two squad cars parked out front.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 707-521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com.

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Detectives investigate apparent double homicide in Santa Rosa - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

(1 of ) In this photo taken Feb. 7, 2017, released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an arrest is made during a targeted enforcement operation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) aimed at immigration fugitives, re-entrants and at-large criminal aliens in Los Angeles. The Trump administration is wholesale rewriting the U.S. immigration enforcement priorities, broadly expanding the number of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally who are priorities for deportation, according to a pair of enforcement memos released Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. (Charles Reed/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via AP) (2 of ) Grassroots Immigrations Programs Director Cristina Parker talks about the challenges facing immigrants living illegally in the United States, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017, in Austin, Texas. Around the country, President Donald Trump's efforts to crack down on the estimated 11 million immigrants living illegally in the U.S. have spread fear and anxiety and led many people to brace for arrest and to change up their daily routines in hopes of not getting caught. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (3 of ) Grassroots Immigrations Programs Director Cristina Parker talks about the challenges facing immigrants living illegally in the United States, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017, in Austin, Texas. Around the country, President Donald Trump's efforts to crack down on the estimated 11 million immigrants living illegally in the U.S. have spread fear and anxiety and led many people to brace for arrest and to change up their daily routines in hopes of not getting caught. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (4 of ) Wilfredo Mendoza, of Boston, left, and Christina Villafranca, of Malden, Mass., right, displays a placards during a rally called "We Will Persist," Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017, in Boston. According to organizers the rally was held to send a message to Republicans in Congress and the administration of President Donald Trump that they will continue to press for immigration rights and continued affordable healthcare coverage. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) (5 of ) Gabriela Baraja, right, and her sons Melvin Garcia, left, and Antonio Garcia pose for a photo at their home in Chicago on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017. As President Donald Trump moves ahead with a nationwide immigration crackdown, school principals in Chicago have been given a simple order: Do not let federal immigration agents in without a criminal warrant. Barajas was brought to the U.S. illegally as a child but is allowed to stay as part of a federal program launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Don Babwin)

MARTIN ESPINOZA

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | February 24, 2017, 2:25PM

| Updated 5 hours ago.

Undocumented immigrants across Sonoma County are asking a commonly held question these days: What rights do I have if federal immigration officers knock on my door or arrive at my workplace?

Legal experts say the answer is not much different than if the question were asked by a U.S. citizen. In such situations, the same rights are granted by the Constitution and afforded anyone who sets foot in this country.

If U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, come to your home, the San Francisco-based Immigration Legal Resource Center, or ILRC, recommends staying calm. Do not run away and do not provide false information.

The ILRC advises documented and undocumented immigrants they have the following rights and can take these actions:

* You have the right to remain silent. You can refuse to speak to an ICE agent. Immigrant advocates recommend not answering any questions, especially about your birth place, immigration status or how you entered the United States. If your encounter is with a local law enforcement agent, ILRC recommends that you only give your name.

* You have a right to speak to a lawyer and the right to make a phone call. Make sure you carry the phone number for an immigration lawyer with you at all times, advocates say.

* You have the right to demand a warrant before letting anyone into your home. Do not open the door to authorities without a warrant. You do not need to open the door unless an ICE agent shows you a warrant signed by a judge with your specific and correct name and address on it. If they say they have one, do not open the door for them to show it to you. Ask them to slip it under the door or through a window.

* You have the right to refuse to sign anything before you talk to a lawyer. Do not sign paperwork you dont understand. Doing so could eliminate your right to speak with a lawyer or have a hearing in front of an immigration judge. This may result in you being deported immediately without a hearing.

The American Civil Liberties Union said that only a warrant issued by a court and signed by a judge allows officers the right to enter your home. A warrant issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or ICE and signed by a DHS or ICE employee is not sufficient for entry into your home.

The ACLU further advises:

* If agents force their way into your home or property, do not attempt to resist.

* If you wish to exercise your rights, state, I do not consent to your entry or to your search of these premises. I am exercising my right to remain silent. I wish to speak with a lawyer as soon as possible.

* Everyone in the residence may also exercise the right to remain silent.

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What are your rights as an undocumented immigrant? - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

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Tallahassee's Democratic mayor, Andrew Gillum, is 'seriously ... - Miami Herald

"Six states -- only six states have Democratic governors in (Democratic majority) state legislatures. In the last eight years -- more than 900 seats in state legislatures went from Democrat to Republican. And it's mostly the legislatures that draw the congressional districts," she said to Rep. Keith Ellison, a Minnesota liberal who is a frontrunner in the race.

That takeover of state-level politics by Republicans didn't happen overnight. It's been part of a methodical push that has allowed the GOP to outpunch its weight in Congress. Control of state houses helps lead to safer congressional districts in most states.

One remedy, alluded to at points by each of the candidates, is the need to re-focus away from national politics.

"Donald Trump has gotten to be like a computer virus in the American political system," said South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg. "He ties up our minds and our processing power with these equations that don't even have any solutions until the system overheats and breaks down."

He added later that, "Our opponents on the Republican side have patiently and cleverly built majorities at the state house level, Congress... It's not just about the White House. And when we fail to recognize that, we get into a whole lot of trouble, even when we have the White House, having our policies obstructed and trapped. And as you wind up in a situation like we are right now, where we don't have it, that's where we're really left out."

Jaime Harrison, the South Carolina Democratic Party chairman, blamed the organizing arm of former President Barack Obama's campaigns with draining resources and focus from local parties.

"State parties in this country are broken," said Harrison. "There are state parties in this country, right now, in two years, have - either they're defending one of the 25 US Senate seats or they have a governorship or they're trying to win back their state house and they barely have $35,000 cash-on-hand."

Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez, who was a member of Obama's administration and has the backing of many established Washington Democrats, didn't disagree.

"We're too short term all too frequently," said Perez, whose voice was hoarse from "going all over the country."

"We have got to win up and down the ballots, from the dog catcher all the way up, and that is how we're going to be ready," he said.

Idaho Democratic Party executive director Sally Boynton Brown said the national party needs to give states and state governments more leeway.

"You know, as DNC chair, yes, it's a federal position. But they have been entirely too focused on the president's position," she said.

For Republicans, it was a years-long effort built on local parties and outside groups that focused almost exclusively on state legislatures.

It also relied on grassroots activism that brought new Republicans into the political process, particularly in 2009 as Democrats, who then controlled all of Washington, were passing Obamacare and other controversial priorities.

It was a painful process for the GOP. On the way to the Congressional majority, grassroots activists targeted moderate Republicans in primaries.

Democrats, more immediately, will need to also harness the excitement and engagement they've seen at townhalls in recent weeks.

Engagement was a key message of Obama as he was on his way out of office. And now the DNC candidates are seizing on it. Buttigieg said Wednesday that people frustrated by Trump and his policies should get involved.

"Don't get mad. Get on your school board," said Buttigieg after a question about Trump's Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos.

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Powerless Democrats realize politics is local - CNN