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The leaders of the House Intelligence Committee said Wednesday that they had seen no evidence to support President Donald Trumps claim that he was wiretapped by President Obama before he took office.

We dont have any evidence that that took place," Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said at a news conference with Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the panel.

I have seen no evidence that supports the claim that President Trump made, Schiff said.

In a series of tweets a few weekends ago, Trump accused President Barack Obama of wiretapping him and he urged Congress to investigate the claim.

FBI Director James Comey will testify before the committee at a public hearing Monday and will be questioned about Trump's claim, the lawmakers said.

The panel is conducting an investigation into Russias interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, including whether the FBI and intelligence agencies collected information into contacts between Trump associates and Russian government officials.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Wednesday threatened to subpoena Comey for information about whether the agency received a federal warrant to conduct surveillance on Trump, his campaign or his Manhattan headquarters.

If the FBI does not provide an answer, Graham said, Congress would need to establish a special House-Senate committee to examine Russias influence on the 2016 election.

Original post:
House leaders dispute Trump's claim Obama wiretapped him; Comey to testify - Chicago Tribune

In his final year in office, former President Barack Obamas administration spent a record $36.2 million defending itself from Freedom of Information Act lawsuits, according to a new Associated Press analysis.

When the money is broken down, the AP found that the biggest chunks were spent by the Justice Department ($12 million), the Department of Homeland Security ($6.3 million) and the Pentagon ($4.8 million).

The Obama administration also deniedaccess to requested documents and information more than any previous administration. The AP report revealedthat Obamasgovernment set a record for times federal employees told citizens, journalists and others that, despite searching, they couldnt find a single page of files that were requested.

Thenews wire also concluded that the Obama administrationset the record for outright denial of access to files by refusing to quickly consider requests described as newsworthy.

The AP offered this critique of Obamas oft-repeated promise to be the most transparent administration in history:

The figures reflect the final struggles of the Obama administration during the 2016 election to meet President Barack Obamas pledge that it was the most transparent administration in history, despite wide recognition of serious problems coping with requests under the information law. It received a record 788,769 requests for files last year and spent a record $478 million answering them and employed 4,263 full-time FOIA employees across more than 100 federal departments and agencies. That was higher by 142 such employees the previous year.

While control of the executive branch has changed parties, it does not necessarily mean more transparency is on the way.

President Donald Trump has not spoken much about government transparency. And last week,several journalists criticized Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for deciding to travel to Asia this week without a press pool to document his stops in Japan, South Korea and China.

CNNs Jake Tapper described the decision as insulting to any American who is looking for anything but a state-run version of events.

The Washington, D.C., bureau chiefs at CNN, the Washington Post, Fox News, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, NPR and otherswrote in a letter to Tillersons staff that they were deeply concerned about the secretary of state choosing to ditch the media.

The rest is here:
Obama admin spent record amount of money fighting FOIA lawsuits - TheBlaze.com

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Posted: Mar 15, 2017 11:13 AM

A free and independent press is criticalfor America to prosper.

Our press is pretty free as far as I know but lacks fairness.

As my colleague, Fox News Radios Todd Starnes, points out, Newsrooms are the least diverse place in America.

The mainstream media views each new day under President Donald Trump as another day to de-legitimize his presidency and cut him down as a human being.

The best example of this washow the press changed their coverage in real time on the night of November 8, 2016 when their favored candidate, Hillary Clinton, lost in an electoral upset to the one theyd mocked since his ride down the escalatorin Trump Tower.

For the past eight years the press didnt cover certain stories even though they were occurring but with Trump in the Oval Office, the mainstream media has suddenly jumped up their game in holding the administration accountable.

The media is still on a witch hunt for dirt on Trump. No surprise, thats part of the medias job, but we see a huge double standard in how theyre covering Trump compared to how they covered the Obama years.

NBC released the 2005 Access Hollywood tapes right before the election, and Trumps poll numbers predictably plummeted. Then on Tuesday night, Rachel Maddow had a countdown to Trumps tax returnsget this, from 2005 and totaling only two pages. Instead of pointing to facts, she led with questions and speculations questioning Trumps legitimacy as president.

None of this should come as a surprise from the same media that overlooked President Obamas many gaffes one being that he campaigned in all 57 states and failed to look into his unknown past.

The mainstream media is giving it their all to make the Trump-Russia connection, with MSNBC making baseless claims almost 24/7. Yet, they ignored Obamas 30-year history with questionable characters like his mentor and card-carrying Communist member, Frank Marshall Davis, then-Pastor Jeremiah Wright who famously said, God d**n America, and domestic terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn. Although Obama acknowledged them in his memoir, the media discredited their ties to him as right-wing conspiracy theories.

This is extremely frustrating, and it should anger all Americans, because regardless of politics, we deserve better.

Weve heard a lot about the rising anti-Semitism since the election, damage done to Jewish cemeteries and threats against Jewish community centers and schools. This is horrible, news-worthy material.

But it isnt something new under Trump its been going on for some time now.

In fact, there were more than 7,000 anti-Semitic incidents under Obama, but they were largely ignored, according to journalist Seth J. Frantzman.

Then theres the attack on Secretary Ben Carson for comparing slaves to immigrants a similar comment was made by Obama just last year!

Not to get redundant here, but Senator Marco Rubio was attacked for telling Americans they have to prioritize healthcare if they want it the same argument Obama made to pass Obamacare.

The latest schooling of the media occurred when they feigned outrage at President Trumps latest prosecutor purge,backing off only when they learned Clinton and Obama did the same thing.

In a similar fashion, Trump revealed he wanted to make massive cuts to the federal government, gutting waste anywhere possible. The media acted like this was the first time its been done before, but President Clinton and Speaker Gingrich did a similar thing in the '90s.

The press has a job to do inform the American public, but as of late, the mainstream media has been too busy lying or ignoring crucial facts in their stories to further their propaganda.

The media wants to make you think President Trump is illegitimate and corrupt even though his actions havent been outside the mainstream, especially when compared to his radical predecessor, Obama.

Its just one story after another. Trump acts. The media cries wolf. At some point, the mainstream media has to have a come-to-Jesus-moment or were in for some sort of breaking point.

To paraphrase George Orwell, we need to call on the media to do a revolutionary act in a time of universal fake news, report the facts.

See original here:
The Mainstream Media Was AWOL During the Obama Years - Townhall

Former President Barack Obamatook a break from hitting Broadway with his daughter Malia, showing off his more relaxed style andwelcoming rounds of applause on the sidewalkto escape to Hawaii for (another) warm weather getaway.

While the Obamas spent plenty of time in the Aloha State during their eight years in the White House they traveledthere every December into January for the holidays this is Obamas first post-presidency trip tothe state where he was born.

And while hes there, hes partaking in one of his favorite activities: golf.

Obama wore a white polo and blue shorts for the occasion, as well as a wide smile (which has been present on his face since pretty much the exact moment he left office.)

FROM COINAGE: This Is How Much It Would Cost to Paint the White House (And More Crazy Facts)

Obamas time on the golf course during his eight years in office was criticized by current President Donald Trump. However, since the 45th president was sworn into office in January, Trump himself has taken several golfing trips.

The Obamas have been getting a lot of sun time in since leaving the White House.After now-President Trumps inauguration, they flew directly to Palm Springs, and then took a trip to Richard Bransons private island in the British Virgin Islands, where he was spotted grinning widely while indulging in water sports including kite surfing.

See more here:
Former President Barack Obama Grins While Golfing in His Home State of Hawaii - PEOPLE.com

The Obama administration doled out more than $77 million to promote the former presidents signature health-care legislation in what could be its final full year of existence, contracts obtained by The Post on Sunday reveal.

They show the federal government contracted with Democratic-leaning p.r. firm Weber Shandwick to spend $74.15 million on July 28, 2016, and another $3.69 million on Sept. 9, 2016, promoting the plan.

Of that, $64 million funded an advertising blitz including TV, digital and radio $4 million went to creative development and production, $5 million to direct response marketing, $2 million to campaign strategy, $1 million to branding and $1.5 million to encourage small business enrollment.

An official of the current White House dismissed the Obama administrations last-ditch efforts to try to swell enrollment numbers.

Tens of millions in hard-earned taxpayer funds spent on TV ads wont sell a fundamentally flawed approach to health care, the official told The Post.

The Weber Shandwick contract was signed by Pam Jenkins, president of the firm. Its chairman, Jack Leslie, was picked by Obama in 2009 to be chairman of the US African Development Foundation.

Leslie donated $1,000 to Obamas 2012 re-election campaign and $2,700 in December 2015 to Hillary Clintons failed presidential campaign.

Jenkins and Leslie did not provide comment.

I firmly believe that nobody will be worse-off financially in the process that were going through, Price said on NBCs Meet The Press. Understanding that theyll have choices that they can select the kind of coverage that they want for themselves and for their family, not the government forces them to buy.

But Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) urged his House colleagues not to walk the plank and pass the bill because the GOP would suffer the consequences in the next election. Cotton told ABCs This Week that he believes the measure will cause premiums to rise and price people out of the health-care system.

Im afraid that if they vote for this bill, theyre going to put the House majority at risk next year, he said.

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Obama admin spent $77M to hype ObamaCare in 2016 - New York Post