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Dec. 10, 2018 / 7:21 PM GMT

By Dartunorro Clark and Rebecca Shabad

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul on Monday singled out Sen. Mitch McConnell as the one person who can make a vote on the criminal justice reform bill happen and called for public pressure on the majority leader.

Paul, speaking at the Louisville Urban League, said McConnell, the state's senior senator, is the one person who "has the power" to allow a vote on a criminal justice reform bill and said Louisville residents should call his office and say, "Please let us have this vote."

"I will tell you that we need the help of one person. The one person who had the power to allow this vote and I'm not saying he's stopping it but there is one person. He's from Louisville, he's fairly well known and he has the power to allow or disallow this vote," Paul said, referring to McConnell.

"There's no reason we shouldn't vote. So I would say if you're in Louisville, call and say, 'Senator McConnell, all we want is a vote'. It will pass overwhelmingly."

Paul has been a zealous advocate for Congress acting on criminal justice reform, often teaming up with unlikely Senate colleagues to bring changes to the system. Last year, Paul worked with Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California to introduce a bill that would reform the country's bail system.

In coordination with White House officials, lawmakers have been working on criminal justice reform for the first two years of the Trump administration. "The First Step Act" has the best chance of passing; it currently has 31 co-sponsors in the Senate, both Democrats and Republicans. The House version of the bill passed with overwhelming support in May.

The legislation would implement the most sweeping set of reforms to the system since the 1990s by shortening some long prison sentences and improving conditions for people in prison, among other things.

President Donald Trump tweeted over the weekend that he hopes McConnell will call for a vote on the measure.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a sponsor of the bill, tweeted last week that more than half of Senate Republicans support it.

"Ldr McConnell said he would need to have 60+ votes to bring criminal justice reform up & wanted to show large amount of Republican support. We have delivered. More than 1/2 of the Republican caucus supports the First Step Act LETS VOTE!" Grassley said.

Before the midterm elections, McConnell told reporters he would hold a vote on a criminal justice reform bill if it had enough votes 60 to overcome a filibuster.

McConnell spokesman Don Stewart had no comment to NBC News on Monday on Paul's remarks, and gave no indication whether McConnell would schedule a vote in the next two weeks.

Congress has two weeks left in its lame-duck session until lawmakers return to their districts. And before the new Congress is sworn in January, lawmakers are trying to tackle a number of outstanding items, including a must-pass spending package to avoid a government shutdown.

Some conservatives, including Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., oppose the criminal justice bill. Cotton said on Twitter that some of the provisions of the bill are too lenient, suggesting it would allow "repeat offenders with lengthy, violent histories" off the hook.

Dartunorro Clark reported from New York and Rebecca Shabad from Washington, D.C.

Dartunorro Clark is a political reporter for NBC News.

Rebecca Shabad is a congressional reporter for NBC News, based in Washington.

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Rand Paul singles out McConnell on criminal justice bill ...

Lindsey Graham laughingly says his sudden embrace of of Rand Paul is a sign of what the Bible calls end times. Rand Paul jokes that their mind meld first needed couples counseling.

Long at odds when it comes to foreign policy, the South Carolina and Kentucky Republicans have discovered rare common ground: Fury over the role of Saudi Arabias crown prince in the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and frustration with the Trump administrations support for the kingdom.

The White House allies represent the hawkish and non-interventionist poles of the Republican Party. Just this summer Paul said Graham was a danger for leaving the door open to potential use of military force against North Korea. Graham shot back, There is no threat to America that Senator Paul will not retreat from.

But as a Republican-led Senate generally reluctant to challenge President Donald Trump prepares for a spirited debate over the next few days over how to deal with Saudi Arabia, Graham and Paul vividly illustrate the chambers extraordinary discontent with Trumps decision to side with the kingdom.

A Senate vote could come as soon as this week to condemn the Saudi government for a variety of alleged malfeasance, from its involvement in Yemen to its role in Khashoggis death.

Its a sign that this presidents foreign policy has gone badly askew when Rand Paul and Lindsey Graham are generally in agreement, said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, who serves with Paul on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has been meeting with Graham to discuss legislative strategies for punishing Saudi Arabia.

Paul and Grahams partnership could help set the tone as the Senate looks to upbraid the administration. Lawmakers could vote on at least one of three proposals to register congressional displeasure with the Saudi government.

Its expected that one proposal will be a Graham-sponsored nonbinding resolution expressing a sense of the Senate that Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman helped orchestrate the journalists murder on Oct. 2 inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, the retiring Foreign Relations Committee chairman who said he believes a U.S. jury would render a guilty verdict on bin Salman in 30 minutes, said Grahams resolution or a version of it is expected to pass overwhelmingly, regardless of whether Graham and Paul throw their weight behind it.

Trump has seemingly disregarded CIA reports of the strong probability that the crown prince was behind Khashoggis brutal dismemberment and has warned against disrupting a partnership that has resulted in American jobs from Saudi arm sales.

Maybe he did and maybe he didnt, Trump said in a statement regarding whether bin Salman bore responsibility.

Its possible senators end up sending a measure to the presidents desk that would block U.S. arm sales to Saudi Arabia in retaliation against the kingdoms actions. There could also be a vote on legislation to end U.S. military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, though that bill is unlikely to pass.

While Graham and Pauls support might not change Trumps mind on Saudi Arabia, together they could send a powerful message about just how far the presidents friends are willing to go to get what they want on this particular issue and that theyre working in tandem to do so.

This is not the first time the two men have agreed on controversial policies. Graham told McClatchy this past week he and Paul had both backed banning the U.S. militarys use of torture. And each is lobbying Republican leadership to pass legislation aimed at improving the federal prison system.

Paul pointed out that he and Graham also share a history of breaking from the president.

Hes been unafraid to stake his position despite what the presidents position is and so am I, Paul said of Graham. Usually its been on the opposite side, but this is a good thing were together.

Graham, who called their cooperation on Saudi Arabia a new world, joked that it was spelled out in the Bible, its the sign of the end times.

Were finding common purpose and fighting back against behavior thats so out of the norm that it cant be ignored, Graham said.

Paul, too, said the extraordinary nature of Khashoggis murder and Saudi Arabias response had brought the two together: Its an unusual set of circumstances to have someone butchered in a consulate. I think thats why youre seeing people come together because its so dramatic, its so dramatically wrong what Saudi Arabias doing.

After Paul complained about being excluded from a CIA briefing on the Khashoggi murder, Graham, who was invited to attend, stood up for his colleague. Later, Graham told McClatchy he would personally give Paul some details from that meeting, an unusual overture of collegiality between the two.

They still have differences on how to deal with the Yemen issue. Graham has been opposed to invoking the War Powers act to end U.S. support for the Saudi war in Yemen, and Paul supports taking such an action. Graham also voted with the majority last month to stop Pauls effort to prevent a $300 million sale of rocket launchers to Bahrain, a member of a Saudi-led coalition waging war in Yemen.

I dont think its one of us being right or wrong, its that we both have the same sort of strong belief that we cant let the Saudis do this, Paul said. Its a meeting of the minds and I think its good.

Its not always been so: Graham and Paul feuded on the national stage when they both ran for president in 2016, losing the nomination to Trump.

Before that, they clashed on Capitol Hill. In 2013, Graham ridiculed Paul for a 13-hour filibuster opposing President Barack Obamas drone program. In 2015, C-SPAN cameras captured Graham rolling his eyes as Paul spoke on the Senate floor against an expiring section of the 2001 Patriot Act that authorized new surveillance authorities on the American public.

In 2017, Paul called Graham a warmonger and called him out on Twitter for proposing that Congress exceed budget caps to increase defense spending. Graham reminded the social media universe that Paul opposed the GOPs last chance to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

As recently as this summer, Paul said Graham was a danger for leaving the door open to potential use of military force against North Korea. Graham shot back, there is no threat to America that Senator Paul will not retreat from.

Now, on Saudi Arabia, Graham and Paul might end up being strongest not just by agreeing with each other on principle but by actually working together.

While Graham acknowledged they might not have time to negotiate and pass legislation before the end of the year that would ban arm sales to the Saudis or impose other sanctions, he was hopeful he and Paul could be collaborators in the future.

Get Rand Paul, grow the coalition, Graham said.

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Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham find common ground on Saudi Arabia ...

Rand Paul speaking at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting on Capitol Hill, April 23, 2018. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (JTA) Sen. Rand Paul acknowledged that he had placed a hold on major funding legislation for Israel, saying he wanted time limits on assistance to the Jewish state.

The Kentucky Republican also said he wanted cuts in aid to countries he says are hostile to the United States.

While Im not for foreign aid in general, if we are going to send aid to Israel it should be limited in time and scope so we arent doing it forever, and it should be paid for by cutting the aid to people who hate Israel and America, Pauls office said in an statement emailed Tuesday to the media.

Paul said he planned to introduce an amendment to the legislation, the United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018, in coming days.The bill codifies into law the $38 billion defense aid package for Israel over 10 years that was negotiated in the final days of the Obama administration.

The Washington Free Beacon first reported Pauls hold, a parliamentary procedure that allows senators to prevent a motion from reaching a floor vote, and which usually is anonymous. The hold has been countered vigorously by major pro-Israel groups, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and Christians United for Israel, through online ads and action alerts to membership. CUFI has specifically targeted Paul through actions in Kentucky, including ads in newspapers there.

In his statement, Paul blamed AIPAC and other unnamed pro-Israel groups for not meeting his demands.

Each time Ive tried to stop giving aid to enemies of the U.S. and Israel, I have been thwarted. Often by groups that claim they are pro-Israel, he said. Why would supposedly pro-Israel groups oppose my legislation to end aid to the Palestinian Liberation Organization? Maybe its because they fear any debate on anyones foreign aid threatens a broader debate on whether we should be borrowing from foreign countries simply to send the money to other foreign countries.

AIPAC has in the past opposed radical cuts to the Palestinians, heeding in part Israeli security officials who say the assistance helps stabilize the region. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently endorsed President Donald Trumps wide-reaching cuts in assistance to the Palestinians. It is not clear yet whether AIPAC is on board with the cuts as well.

AIPAC also vigorously advocates for foreign assistance in general, which Paul opposes. The lobby believes broader foreign assistance is critical because it advances U.S. influence generally and builds support for Israel overseas, and because making Israel a special case while other countries are neglected does Israel no favors.

Asked about Pauls claims, AIPACs spokesman, Marshall Wittman, would only say, We believe it is critical for Congress to adopt this legislation before adjourning given the growing threats to Israels security from Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas.

CUFI noted in its statement that it has supported cuts to assistance to the Palestinians, and said the argument over those cuts were not germane to aid to Israel bill.

Sen. Pauls decision to hold this bill does not make America safer and does not ensure taxpayer dollars are used most efficiently quite the opposite, said CUFI Action Fund Chairwoman Sandra Parker. Aid to Israel provides the U.S. with an extraordinary return on investment.

The Senate passed the act in early August and the House of Representatives followed suit the following month. Now the Senate must pass a final version in line with the bill passed by the House.

The $38 billion deal negotiated in 2016 is the most generous ever to Israel. The act also expands a stockpile of weapons that the United States keeps in Israel, which may access the stockpile in wartime. It also enhances Israels qualitative military edge and urges space research cooperation between Israel and the United States.

Paul, a presidential candidate in 2016, alienated pro-Israel Republicans almost as soon as he became a senator in 2011, when he embraced his congressman fathers longtime call to cut defense assistance to Israel. The younger Paul later backtracked, saying he regarded Israel as a close ally, and would cut assistance only once it was clear the country was self-sufficient in its defense needs.

See more here:
Rand Paul: Aid to Israel should be limited in time and ...

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

The so-called Deep Stateof unelected bureaucrats whose agendas often are at odds with the best interest of theAmerican people isnt new.

But its drawing attentionas never before, and now Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is warning the Deep State is rising.

The Washington Examiner reportedPaul was reacting to a briefing by CIA Director Gina Haspel on the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi in which only a select fewsenators were admitted.

This is the very definition of the Deep State, the Republican senator said. The Deep State is that the intelligence agencies do things, conclude things, make conclusions, but then the elected officials are prevented from knowing about this.

If we arent told about this and Im not allowed to know about these conclusions, then I cant have oversight the Deep State grows and has more and more power.

See video of Pauls remarks:

Members of theDeep Statewithin the Trump administration have been accused of leaking informationto harm the president politically.

Just this week,WND reportedsix Deep Statersallegedly tried to infiltrate the Trump campaignon behalf of the Obama administration.

Investigative journalists already have captured on video Deep State members boastingof undermining Trump.

Haspels meeting was with leaders of the Senate Armed Services, Foreign Relations, and Intelligence Committees.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattishas insisted there is no smoking gun tying Saudi Arabias crown prince to the death of Khashoggi.

But Paul said: Ive read in the media that the CIA has said with high confidence that the crown prince was involved with killing Khashoggi. I have not seen that intelligence nor have I even seen the conclusions. Today there is yet another briefing, and Im being excluded from that. So really, this is the Deep State at work that your representatives dont know whats going on in the intelligence agencies.

Trump has said he doesnt know if anyone can definitively conclude the crown prince was involved in the death of Khashoggi, who entered the Saudi consulate in Turkey and died shortly after.

Even famed Christian leader James Dobson, a counselor to five presidents and founder of both Family Talk and the James Dobson Family Institute,has said the Deep State in Washington must be confronted.

He describes the problem without using the term Deep State. He spoke instead of unelected bureaucrats and activist judges who are widely considered to be the core of the problem.

And he explained the nations Founders provided the solution, in Article V of the Constitution,which allows for a Convention of the States.

Its the alternative to proposing amendments to the U.S. Constitution that must be ratified by two-thirds of the states.

In a statement released by the James Dobson Family Institute with Tim Clinton and Jenna Ellis recently, Dobson said: Unfortunately, an insidious power grab has been underway in our nations capital for many years and it has inflicted great damage upon our constitutional republic. Unelected bureaucrats, activist judges, and the ever-expanding scope, reach and invasion of the federal government into the lives of all Americans has far surpassed what our Founders ever intended.

Thankfully the drafters of our Constitution built in safeguards to restore the size of government to its proper limits through amendments as outlined in Article V of the U.S. Constitution, the statement says.

Of the two paths an amendment can travel, all 27 have thus far been initiated in Congress. A Convention of States is the second path, which doesnt allow a rewriting of the Constitution as some have suggested, but rather allows the state legislatures to propose needed amendments to restrain the federal government when Congress fails to act.

The statement said the genius of our Founding Fathers is on full display in the Convention of the States Article V process, which empowers We the People at a local level to continue preserving and protecting the fundamental rights of every individual and keeping Americas limited government in check.

Thirty-four states must call a convention to order and already 12 have passed the petition. A Convention of the States can and should be called, it said.

Continued here:
Rand Paul: Deep State is rising - WND - WND

Rand Paul, byname of Randal Howard Paul, (born January 7, 1963, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.), American politician who was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 2010 and began his term representing Kentucky the following year. He sought his partys nomination in the U.S. presidential election of 2016.

Rand, the middle of five children, was the son of Ron Paul, a physician who, while serving in the U.S. House of Representatives (197677, 197985, and 19972013), helped swing the Republican Party rightward and toward libertarianism. Rand attended but did not graduate from Baylor University, leaving upon his admission to medical school at Duke University. He earned a medical degree in 1988, and he went on to specialize in ophthalmology. In 1989 he met Kelley Ashby, and they married two years later.

After about 15 years of working in partnerships and clinics, Paul established his own medical practice in Bowling Green, Kentucky. In 1997 he broke away from the medical board with oversight for certification in his field, the American Board of Ophthalmology, and founded a rival certification authority, the National Board of Ophthalmology. The latter group, the board of which was made up entirely of members of his family, disbanded in 2011. He was also active in the Lions Club International, which runs eye banks and offers humanitarian aid related to eye care around the world.

While a college student, Paul was involved in several conservative organizations, and he worked for his father during the 1988 U.S. presidential election, when his father was campaigning on the Libertarian Party ticket. In 1994 Paul founded the antitaxation group Kentucky Taxpayers United, with himself at the head. Two years later he helped his father defeat an establishment Republican candidate after the elder Paul decided to run for Congress after an absence of more than a decade.

In 2009, riding a wave of anti-Washington sentiment, Rand Paul took advantage of the unpopularity of incumbent Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky and announced that he was running for the seat. Bunning subsequently withdrew from the race, and Paul, aligned with the Tea Party movement, won the Republican primary. He then easily defeated the Democratic candidate in the 2010 general election, despite controversy over a campaign trail statement in which Paul questioned the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

With Utah Senator Mike Lee, Paul founded the Tea Party Caucus upon entering the Senate in 2011. He soon became a vocal opponent of his partys leadership and establishment Republicans. Among the issues he pursued were massive cuts in federal spending. Consistent with his generally libertarian position, Pauls proposed cuts involved not only social programs but also defense allocations. In addition, he sought the abolishment of all foreign aid. Although Paul generally voted on the losing side in arguments over the budget, he was an influential voice on some issues, such as the government shutdown of 2013. Adopting philosophically consistent but not ideologically rigid positions, he forged unlikely alliances with such groups as the American Civil Liberties Union and with such individuals as Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, with whom he introduced legislation softening mandatory minimum sentencing penalties in federal cases. In April 2015 Paul announced that he was entering the U.S. presidential election race of 2016. He suspended his campaign in February 2016.

Paul wrote the books The Tea Party Goes to Washington (2011; with Jack Hunter), Government Bullies: How Everyday Americans Are Being Harassed, Abused, and Imprisoned by the Feds (2012; with Doug Stafford), and Taking a Stand: Moving Beyond Partisan Politics to Unite America (2015).

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Rand Paul | United States senator | Britannica.com