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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.

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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)

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Michelle Obama tells of lessons, scars of being first lady - The Philadelphia Tribune

In her first public appearance in Colorado since leaving the White House, former first lady Michelle Obama had a message for women: Seize your power and dont let go.

Sitting for an armchair conversation in front of 8,500 people, Obama was relaxed, personable and playful but still serious as she talked on a range of topics around education for girls, health and nutrition and female empowerment all things she worked on as first lady at the Womens Foundation of Colorados 30th anniversary Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center.

The crowd was a mix of young and old and predominately women. The events popularity forced organizers to open up more seats. Obama was greeted by an extended standing ovation and a few calls of we love you.

Jason Bahr, Getty Images for The Women's Foundation of Colorado

Former First Lady Michelle Obama speaks, emphasizing that women must celebrate their strength, during a live conversation with The Women's Foundation of Colorado President and CEO Lauren Y. Casteel at Pepsi Center on July 25, 2017 in Denver.

Jason Bahr, Getty Images for The Women's Foundation of Colorado

Former First Lady Michelle Obama speaks, emphasizing that women must celebrate their strength, during a live conversation with The Women's Foundation of Colorado President and CEO Lauren Y. Casteel at Pepsi Center on July 25, 2017 in Denver.

Jason Bahr, Getty Images for The Women's Foundation of Colorado

Former First Lady Michelle Obama emphasized that women must celebrate their strength during a live conversation with The Women's Foundation of Colorado President and CEO Lauren Y. Casteel at Pepsi Center on July 25, 2017 in Denver.

Jason Bahr, Getty Images for The Women's Foundation of Colorado

Former First Lady Michelle Obama speaks, emphasizing that women must celebrate their strength, during a live conversation with The Women's Foundation of Colorado at Pepsi Center on July 25, 2017 in Denver.

WFCO President and CEO Lauren Casteel commented that Obama broke a glass ceiling by becoming the first black first lady. She then asked which of the falling glass shards cut the deepest.

The shards that cut me the deepest were the ones that intended to cut, she said, referencing being called an ape and people talking about her bottom. 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.

She said she cant pretend like it doesnt hurt because that lets those who do the hurting off the hook.

Women, we endure those cuts in so many ways that we dont even notice were cut, she said. We are living with small tiny cuts, and we are bleeding every single day. And were still getting up.

But Obama said women should own their scars. Referring to failure, she said those wounds hurt deeply but they heal with time. If women own their scars, they can encourage younger girls who are getting their first cuts.

Although Obama largely stayed away from politics, she took a few thinly veiled shots at the current president receiving cheers from the crowd. She reiterated that she would not be seeking public office, much to the crowds verbal dismay. But she said she and Barack Obama intend to stay in public service.

She warned people against the notion that the nation is falling apart. Instead she said its a young country that will learn from its mistakes and successes.

The people in this country are universally good and kind and honest and decent, she said. Dont be afraid of the country you live in. The folks here are good.

Instead of waiting on national policies, she said women need to take charge every day in their own lives and their community. And for the men in attendance, she said its important for them to be in girls lives, valuing their thoughts and voices.

She criticized a one-size-fits-all education system that values speed of learning, pushing out women who learn differently than men from STEM fields.

Michelle and Barack Obama have been on speaking tours after a post-presidency vacation. Similar toTuesdaysconversation, Michelle Obama has largely steered clear of politics, focusing instead on topics that she advocated for as first lady, includingeducation for women andhealth and nutrition for schoolchildren.

She spoke at the American Institute of Architectures annual conference in April, The Partnership for a Healthier America summit in May and the Pennsylvania Conference for Women in October.

The WFCO event served as a fundraiser for the organization.Among the speakers were Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne, former first lady of Colorado and WFCO co-founder Dottie Lamm and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.

WFCO was founded in 1987 to address the feminization of poverty as Colorado and areas across the world saw women more likely to live in poverty.

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Michelle Obama urges women to seize their power while not ...

The crowd attending President Trumps Monday evening speech to the Boy Scouts of Americas National Jamboree appeared to boo former President Barack ObamaBarack ObamaThe Memo: Justice Department veterans reeling over Sessions drama Trump military transgender ban prompts protests EPA transition official dismisses climate science strategy as 'silliness' MORE at one point.

By the way, just a question. Did President Obama ever come to a jamboree? Trump asked the crowd, which booed in response.

While Obama never addressed the gathering in person, he did record a video message to the National Jamboree in 2010, noting the history of the Boy Scouts and the organizations service to the United States as it marked its 100th anniversary.

The Boy Scouts of America is wholly non-partisan and does not promote any one position, product, service, political candidate or philosophy. The invitation for the sitting U.S. President to visit the National Jamboree is a long-standing tradition and is in no way an endorsement of any political party or specific policies," the organization said in a Monday night statement.

The sitting U.S. President serves as the BSAs honorary president. It is our long-standing custom to invite the U.S. President to the National Jamboree.

Updated 9:31 p.m.

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Obama booed at Trump Boy Scout rally - TheHill

Andrew M. Slavitt, the former head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has been trolling Republicans over health care on Twitter, posting hundreds of tweets each week that attack their proposals as meanspirited and wrong.

Kathleen Sebelius, Mr. Obamas first secretary of health and human services, will soon embark on a monthlong bus tour designed to pressure members of Congress to oppose the health care laws repeal.

And a few blocks from the Capitol, a political war room run by Leslie Dach, one of Mr. Obamas top health care officials, is coordinating a nationwide anti-repeal campaign by liberal think tanks, local resistance groups, sympathetic governors, medical and insurance lobbyists, Democratic activists, polling experts and academics.

Conceived in the hours after Mr. Trump was elected in November, the group, called Protect Our Care, is at the heart of the effort to oppose a repeal. It hosts strategy calls at 8:30 and 9:45 every morning to develop talking points, plan TV ads and discuss the latest vote counts from the House and Senate.

The most important thing is that people understand what repeal means for them, Mr. Dach said. And what repeal means is millions losing their insurance, costs going up, not down, and anxiety coming back in their lives.

The Obama aides have helped direct about $6 million toward television ads by Save My Care, a separate group in Washington.

The aides insist they are just one part of a broader liberal network that has been organically animated by anger about the Republican efforts to repeal the health care law. But they bring years of experience to the political fight, and their efforts have not gone unnoticed.

In late February, Mr. Trump accused his predecessor of being the hidden hand behind town hall meetings where angry citizens accused lawmakers of trying to take away their health care. I think that President Obama is probably behind it, because his people are certainly behind it, Mr. Trump told Fox News at the time.

In fact, the former president has made only a few public comments on the repeal effort, once using Facebook to denounce the fundamental meanness at the core of this legislation. His current advisers say Mr. Obama has had little direct involvement in managing the day-to-day campaign, though he is regularly briefed on the subject.

His former aides have taken a more active role.

Anita Dunn, Mr. Obamas onetime communications director, is helping to spread the anti-repeal message, placing opinion articles in newspapers and distributing letters, including one from a group representing 7,000 Catholic nuns who oppose repealing the health law.

Meaghan R. Smith, who served as the communications director at the Department of Health and Human Services under Mr. Obama, and Lori Lodes, who was the spokeswoman at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, have become the de facto press secretaries for the effort, working to influence stories written by political and health care reporters.

And Kristie Canegallo, who was Mr. Obamas deputy chief of staff for policy implementation, is directing frequent strategy sessions with the opposition leadership. She has essentially reprised her White House role as the logistics person responsible for ensuring that a sprawling bureaucracy stayed on task as the health care law went into effect.

Ms. Canegallos conference calls have continued almost nonstop, even while she was on vacation in Australia, according to one participant.

Weve had a simple goal from the beginning, which is to stop the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, to protect Medicaid, Mr. Dach said in an interview this week.

Part of that strategy involved a public effort to broadly portray the Republican repeal effort as a threat to peoples existing health care choices.

Mr. Slavitts tweets are revered among Obama alumni for their sharp edges. Last week, when the Congressional Budget Office released its latest estimate of the effects of the Republican bill, Mr. Slavitt did not mince words.

NEW CBO is out & a disaster, he tweeted. 22 million people lose coverage & insurance markets die.

Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior adviser to Mr. Obama; Tommy Vietor, one of his national security spokesmen; and Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett, his speechwriters; have used their popular podcast, Pod Save America, to regularly rail against the Republican repeal effort.

Among the episode titles: Kill Bill Vol. 2.

But the campaign against repeal is also more targeted, aimed directly at a handful of Republican senators who have expressed concern about the effects that scrapping the Affordable Care Act could have on their poorest constituents.

In an opinion article about the Republican repeal effort, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. warned that it would lead to a massive cut in Medicaid and have a dramatic impact on budgets. Aimed at Senator Dean Heller, a Nevada Republican, the article appeared in The Reno Gazette-Journal.

After Mr. Heller and Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Republican of West Virginia, voted on Tuesday to open debate on repealing the health law, Save My Care released television ads on Wednesday chiding both of them.

Senator Capito just broke her promise by casting the deciding vote to repeal our health care, the narrator says. Because of Capito, over 100,000 West Virginians could lose their insurance.

That vote marked a setback in the battle to save Mr. Obamas legacy. But in the hours since, the opposition campaign has celebrated a bit. Votes on several variations of repeal legislation failed to pass the Republican-controlled Senate on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Still, the former aides to Mr. Obama said they did not intend to drop their guard. When a repeal bill failed to pass in the House in March, they relaxed their efforts, only to see the legislation roar back to life a few weeks later.

The lesson here is eternal vigilance, Ms. Dunn said. We all prematurely celebrated after the first House vote. Until we can control one body, we cant afford to walk away.

Excerpt from:
Former Obama Aides Lead Opposition to Health Care Repeal - New York Times