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A member of the House Oversight Committee said Saturday that he wants former senior Obama administration official Ben Rhodes to testify on Capitol Hill.

Speaking to conservativeradio host Hugh Hewitt on MSNBC, Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) addressed the leaks that have doggedthe Trump administration since January.

"Ifyou look at some of the leaks that have come out, for example, when the presidents having a conversation with a foreign leader, there may be a memo thats created, distributed to the National Security Council. The next thing you know, its on the front page of the paper," DeSantis said.

"Look, theres only so many places that would come from. And the Obama holdover working with Rhodes, thats a place weve been encouraged to look," addedDeSantis, who chairs the panel'snational security subcommittee.

DeSantis said he would defer to Oversightchairman Rep. Trey GowdyTrey GowdyGOP lawmaker wants former Obama aide to testify Overnight Cybersecurity: FBI pick says Russia probe not a 'witch hunt' | Massive Verizon data leak | Agencies restricted from using Russian security software GOP Rep. Gowdy slams Trump team for 'amnesia' on Russia meetings MORE (R-S.C.), who is also a member of the House Intelligence Committee, on whether Rhodes would be asked to testify, but said he hoped the former deputy national security adviserdid appear.

"I would like to bring him in to talk to him about it, because I want to figure out how all this information was getting out from the FISA intercept," DeSantis said, referring to information obtained under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

DeSantis said that the intelligence panel has "brought in some pretty big names" as part of its investigation into alleged leaks surrounding the Trump administration, but declined to offer details.

The GOP lawmaker also addressed former FBI Director James Comey authorizing a friend to share with The New York Times details from a memo he wrote about his interactions with President Trump that he said bothered him.

"Do you think theres a crime involved in the leaking of those memos?" Hewitt asked.

"I dont know, yet. I think that it was certainly improper to do it if its a government record," DeSantis responded.

"I dont know that it violates a federal statute. If there was classified information contained within that, then I think that probably is a violation of federal law."

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GOP lawmaker wants former Obama aide to testify - The Hill

Barack Obamas presidential library foundation has reportedly lifted the donor restriction imposed while he was in the White House, resulting in million-dollar gifts from such corporations as Microsoft and Exelon.

The foundation reported Friday that eight donors have pledged at least $1 million and that it has raised $1.2 million in the second quarter of 2017.

The list of million-dollar donors would bring total fundraising amounts to at least $8 million toward the projected $500 million cost of the library-museum for the South Side of Chicago. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2021.

The foundation started in 2014 and reportedly raised $5.4 million in its first year. However, the foundations total fundraising amounts since its start are unclear.

The foundation on Saturday did not immediately return requests for that amount.

A foundation official recently told the Chicago Sun-Times that the organization lifted its self-imposed donor "restrictions" when Obama left office in January but will continue to vet and publicly disclose all large contributions.

The foundation was previously not accepting contributions from for-profit groups, federal lobbyists and foreign nationals.

Other million-dollar donors reported Friday by the foundation include Ann and John Doerr and the Hutchins Family Foundation.

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Obama library foundation now allows corporate donations, millions roll in - Fox News

Pro-Trump media websites are pushing the doubtful allegation that former President Barack Obama hacked Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. These fringe websites, that often peddle fake news and conspiracy theories,have also previously alleged that Obama has surveilled and targeted Trump Tower and the Supreme Court overall, and some of these websites have claimed that Obama is trying to take down President Donald Trump by forming a shadow government.

On July 12, the pro-Trump alternative-mediablog Big League Politicsclaimedthat Roberts was hacked by a Deep State surveillance operation overseen by Obama administration CIA director John Brennan and Obama director of national intelligence James Clapper. The blog pointed to audio supposedly from a real estate billionaire explaining the program to former Maricopa County, AZ, Sheriff Joe Arpaio and associate Mike Zullo and saying, John Roberts, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, was hacked. (Arpaio and Zullo arediscredited figureswho have pushed the false conspiracy theory that Obamas birth certificate is fake). The author of the piece,Patrick Howley, also wrote that this supposed hack by Obama officials provides some more context for why Roberts voted in 2012 to uphold the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, suggesting the two are related. The blog, which alsoemployspro-Trump trollCassandra Fairbanks, has previously pushedotherdubiousclaims hyped by the alternative-media ecosystem.

The report was picked up bypro-Trump websiteThe Gateway Pundit, which called the tapes evidence that Roberts was hacked. Following suit,fake news purveyorsran with the story, withBefore Its NewsandYourNewsWirerepublishing at least parts of the Big League Politics article,Conservative PatriotandThe Washington Feedcalling the report a bombshell, andAmerican Todaycalling Roberts the latest victim of the Obama hacking. The Big League Politics, Gateway Pundit, and Conservative Patriot articles have received at least 1,900, 7,300, and 3,600 Facebook engagements, respectively, according to social media analytics website BuzzSumo.

The conspiracy theory comes after thepro-Trump fringe previously hypedFox analyst Andrew Napolitanos claim that Obama spied on the Supreme Court, and after fringe media outletsstaunchlydefendedTrumps false claim that Obama wiretapped Trump Tower. Fringe media outlets have alsorepeatedly chargedthat Obama is trying to thwart Trumps presidency by forming a shadow government.

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Far-right media are now accusing Obama of spying on John Roberts - Salon

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This crazily realistic video forgery of Obama was generated by a lip-syncing AI - Digital Trends

Some of the happiest campers around right now are the folks who worked for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

And they are in full gloating mode.

Having been stunned that Donald Trump beat their candidatealong with most of the mediathey are quite publicly relishing the latest twist in the Russia investigation and the uproar over the presidents son.

Now its hardly shocking, with Democrats controlling nothing in Washington, that the opposition would want something to cheer about.

But whats fascinating is the snarky and taunting tone that some of them are taking on Twitter. Having dealt with them over the years, they were generally measured and cautious when they were in top government and campaign positions.

They are exuding an aura of vindication after months of talking about Russian interference in the election, sometimes spiking the digital football.

Now of course its Twitter, and theyre out of office, so theyve got plenty of latitude. And the president, with his wrestling-video approach, has been known to play rough on Twitter.

But theres a real finger-in-the-eye quality to many of these tweets. One might even say they are trolling the Trump White House.

Not all the Democrats are playing this way. David Axelrod and Josh Earnest, for example, tend to be more balanced in their commentary.

Brian Fallon, who was Clintons chief campaign spokesman, reveled in the news about Trump Jr. having met with a Russian lawyer who he was told had anti-Hillary oppo:

Turning his attention to Jared Kushner: It's about the son-in-law, stupid.

And Fallon dragged in a criminal case involving Kushners father, who has nothing to do with this: Jared giving up bro-in-law wld be pretty mean. OTOH Jared's dad went to jail for setting up his bro-in-law w/hooker. Now whos sounding mean?

Jennifer Palmieri, who was Clintons communications director, did a serious tweetstorm on the Don Jr. story:

She also seized on the role of Rob Goldstone, the heavyset British publicist who brokered the Don Jr. meeting, linking to a campaign debate when Trump said the hacking might not have been done by Russians but by some random obese guy:

Think we've found Trump's mythic 400 lb hacker: Goldstone!

Dan Pfeiffer, who was Obamas communications chief and later counselor, took shots at the House speaker and Fox News:

Donald Trump Jr may have arranged the meeting, but let's not forget Kushner broke the law when he lied about it on his security form. Kushner amended the form after numeorus omissions.

Pfeiffer also mocked the presidents penchant for battling the media:

Tommy Vietor, former spokesman for Obamas National Security Council, is the most sarcastic:

Vietor even dragged a notorious murder defendant into his criticism:

Last week it was John Podesta, the former Clinton campaign chairman, who unloaded on Trump, calling him our whack job POTUS and telling him to get a grip man. But that was different, for Podesta was responding to Trump calling him disgraceful and saying from the G-20 summit that he had failed to turn over the DNC server to the FBI. Podesta didnt work for the DNC.

It may be that Twitter is prime ground not just for potshots but for venting. The former Democratic officials often seem to be commiserating and clowning with their liberal compatriots. They sure dont sound like theyre trying to persuade folks who might be more favorably disposed toward the president.

Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m.). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz.

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Twitter taunts: Ex-Hillary and Obama aides reveling in the ...