Democratic Senator Asks ‘Outrageous’ Question About Trump — Mike Pompeo Finally Loses It

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went off on Democratic New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall on Thursday over what he deemed to be an “outrageous” question about President Trump’s tax returns . . .

“Given that the president refuses to disclose his tax returns, how can you assure the American people that American foreign policy is free of his personal conflicts of interest?” Udall asked.

“Senator, I find that question bizarre,” Pompeo responded.

“You don’t want to answer it then?” Udall pressed. “You want to describe it as bizarre and not give me an answer?”

“Yes I do,” Pompeo said angrily. “I think that’s indicative of my answer, Senator. I’ve been incredibly involved in this administration’s policy now for some 16 months and I’ve seen literally no evidence of what you are scurrilously suggesting.” (Read more from “Democratic Senator Asks ‘Outrageous’ Question About Trump — Mike Pompeo Finally Loses It” HERE)

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One Republican Senator Is Coming To The Aid Of DOJ Whistleblowers

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Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley disputed claims Thursday that a congressional subpoena would be necessary in certain cases for a government employee to give lawmakers testimony about wrongdoing while being ensured appropriate legal protections from their agency.

“I want to clear up a few things. I have been seeing reports that individuals within our federal law enforcement agencies want to talk to Congress about problems they have seen on the job. But, the reports say these individuals want to be subpoenaed by congressional committees, rather than coming forward voluntarily,” Chairman Grassley said in a floor speech.

He went on to say, “There is a perception that without a subpoena, they have no legal protection against retaliation for cooperating with Congress. That is nonsense and a misperception that has been fomented by FBI and DOJ leadership for many years.”

The Daily Caller first reported late Tuesday night that FBI agents would be willing to testify before lawmakers on Capitol Hill about the problems plaguing the bureau if they receive a subpoena, arguing that Congress would have to pay their legal fees if they are mandated to reveal what they know.

Grassley’s floor speech disagreed with the agents’ assumption that a subpoena would better protect them from agency retaliation than the Whistleblower law that he spearheaded, saying, “I’ve worked hard to strengthen legal protections, especially for FBI employees. You have a right to cooperate with Congressional inquiries, just as you have a right to cooperate with the Inspector General. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.” (Read more from “One Republican Senator Is Coming To The Aid Of DOJ Whistleblowers” HERE)

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Amazon Echo Secretly Recorded Family’s Conversation, Sent It To Random Person

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The Echo device in your room could be secretly recording your conversation — and in some cases, could send it to a random person, according to a report from local Seattle TV network KIRO7. . .

The report said the family was alerted by a colleague in Seattle who had received the audio file. After confirming the audio file was indeed a recording of their private conversation, the family went on to unplug all of their Alexa-powered devices, the report said. . .

In a statement to CNBC, Amazon blamed Alexa misinterpreting background conversation as a set of commands to send a message to a contact:

Echo woke up due to a word in background conversation sounding like “Alexa.” Then, the subsequent conversation was heard as a “send message” request. At which point, Alexa said out loud “To whom?” At which point, the background conversation was interpreted as a name in the customers contact list. Alexa then asked out loud, “[contact name], right?” Alexa then interpreted background conversation as “right”. As unlikely as this string of events is, we are evaluating options to make this case even less likely.

The incident raises privacy concerns of voice-assistant devices, like the Echo, as they gain more popularity. These devices are typically placed in living rooms and kitchens, and are capable of listening to private conversations, although Amazon claims that they are only supposed to be activated when the “Alexa” command word is triggered. (Read more from “Amazon Echo Recorded Family’s Conversation, Sent It To Random Person” HERE)

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Trump Cancels North Korea Summit

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By CNBC. President Donald Trump canceled his historic nuclear summit with Kim Jong Un on Thursday, accusing North Korea of “tremendous anger and open hostility.”

The meeting, which would have marked the first face-to-face encounter between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader, was set for June 12 in Singapore.

“Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting,” Trump wrote in a letter to Kim, which was released Thursday morning. The president dictated every word of the letter himself, a senior White House official told reporters.

The senior White House official also said that North Korea had suspended direct communication with the U.S. over the past week. (Read more from “Trump Cancels North Korea Summit” HERE)

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Stocks Close Lower After President Trump Cancels North Korea Summit

By CNBC. U.S. stocks closed lower Thursday after President Donald Trump announced that the hotly anticipated summit next month with North Korea was cancelled.

The meeting would have been the first face-to-face encounter between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader.

“Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting,” Trump wrote in the letter.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 75.05 points to finish at 24,811.76 by the closing bell, well off a 280-point drop following news of the cancelled summit in Singapore. The S&P 500 shed 0.2 percent to close at 2,727.76 thanks to a 1.6 percent fall in energy stocks and a slip in oil prices.

The Nasdaq composite finished largely unchanged as losses in Facebook and Intel offset gains in Netflix and Adobe. (Read more from “Stocks Close Lower After President Trump Cancels North Korea Summit” HERE)

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New Poll Reveals How America Feels About Trump’s ‘Animal’ Comment

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A majority of Americans in a new poll believe it’s fair to characterize members of the MS-13 gang as “animals,” according to the survey taken after President Trump faced controversy for remarks during an immigration meeting.

Fifty-six percent of American adults in the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll said referring to members of the gang as “animals” is fair, compared to 44 percent who said the characterization was unfair . . .

The question stems from Trump’s comments last week during an immigration roundtable. A California sheriff criticized “sanctuary cities” and said there could be an “MS-13 member I know about” that she can’t take action against because state officials are ordered to ignore federal immigration laws.

In response, Trump said, “We are taking people out of the country, you wouldn’t believe how bad these people are. These aren’t people. These are animals, and we’re taking them out of the country at a rate that’s never happened before.” . . .

Almost two-thirds said they’d back a deal that provides Dreamers with a pathway to citizenship in exchange for shifting immigration rules to prioritize merit over family ties, eliminating the diversity visa lottery, and funding “barrier security” on the southern border. (Read more from “New Poll Reveals How America Feels About Trump’s ‘Animal’ Comment” HERE)

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New Health Guide Reveals Shocking Truth About Most People’s Favorite Foods

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A new set of health guidelines, released by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) says that people can reduce their risk of cancer about 40% by completely eliminating alcohol, bacon, sausage, fatty meats, and beer from their diets . . .

The most dangerous meats include any rare or raw red meat (pork, beef, and lamb, specifically), hamburgers and hot dogs, but the WCRF and their European Union colleagues say if you want to stay cancer-free (at least, when it comes to those cancers where genetic disposition isn’t a risk factor), you should avoid all but the “occasional” bacon sandwich or sip of beer.

Being obese, they report, raises your chances of getting cancer significantly, and the easiest way to avoid obesity is to eat healthy foods, and practice a healthy and active lifestyle. If you can’t do that, though, you may need to pursue more extreme measures.

The WCRF says their study, which produced the horrifying recommendations, is the largest cancer study ever conducted, and involved more than 50 million individuals, 3.5 million of whom were eventually diagnosed with cancer. The result? The WCRF found that “no level of intake can confidently be associated with a lack of risk of bowel cancer.” (Read more from “New Health Guide Reveals Shocking Truth About Most People’s Favorite Foods” HERE)

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Deputy Accused of Covering up Alleged Assault by Broward Sheriff’s Son

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A local Miami news station released an explosive report on Thursday night about a “disturbing assault” that happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School four years to the day before the tragic shooting in February. The alleged incident involved one of the sons of Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel and was allegedly “covered up” by Officer Scot Peterson, the resource officer who infamously failed to confront the Parkland shooter.

WPLG Local 10 investigative reporter Bob Norman reported Thursday that two 17-year-old students at the school allegedly bullied a 14-year-old freshman boy, with one of the 17-year-olds holding down the student while the other 17-year-old kicked the victim, grabbed his genitals, and then grabbed the victim’s own baseball bat and began shoving it against his buttocks “simulating rape” through the boy’s clothes.

The father of a survivor of the Parkland school shooting, Royer Borges, called for an investigation into the alleged incident last week. Patch.com reports:

In a statement issued through his Fort Lauderdale attorney’s office, Royer Borges said that a then 17-year-old son of the sheriff was involved in an incident with former Deputy Scot Peterson, the former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School resource officer. Peterson was the resource officer who failed to enter the high school as a gunman gunned down students and staff inside, leaving 17 dead and others injured.

The sheriff’s son and another boy received a three-day suspension as a result of the 2014 incident in what the police report described as a simple battery. Borges said that the prior case involved a “young man who was sexually assaulted.”

(Read more from “Deputy Accused of Covering up Alleged Assault by Broward Sheriff’s Son” HERE)

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Outrage Erupts Over Nancy Pelosi’s Comments About the NFL – Here’s What She Said

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Many on the left were outraged after House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was offered the chance to criticize the NFL’s recent decision to punish players who kneel during the national anthem, and didn’t. . .

During a CNN town hall Thursday evening, the Democrat leader was less than critical about the NFL’s rule against players and other personnel who kneel during the performance of the national anthem before a game.

“I would be more okay with it if they had consulted with the players,” Pelosi responded, “I don’t think the players agreed to this. This is the owners, and, by the way, it’s the owners who would be fined.”

“I love the national anthem,” she continued. “I’m from Baltimore. That’s where it was written during the War of 1812. So I’m very possessive of it. Sometimes people say, ‘Maybe we should change the national anthem.’ No.” . . .

In an article by Eugene Scott in the Washington Post, Pelosi’s comments were criticized as an example explaining why the Democrats were unable to court the black Millennial vote.

(Read more from “Outrage Erupts Over Nancy Pelosi’s Comments About the NFL – Here’s What She Said” HERE)

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Buyer’s Remorse: Is the Mueller Investigation Helping Trump?

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After a full year of nonstop Russia collusion coverage by the mainstream media, are media types finally figuring out the error of their ways? Despite all the attacks on the president and cheering of the Mueller investigation, has the investigation actually helped Trump? The Daily Caller’s Peter Hasson has the details of how the New York Times’ Frank Bruni has reached that conclusion.

Bruni believes that the focus on the investigation has diverted attention from other things Trump has done that he believes people would not like. As examples, Bruni cites Trump’s use of an unsecured phone and Scott Pruitt. Here’s the thing Bruni doesn’t realize: A focus on what Trump has actually accomplished might be even worse for him and his fellow leftists. For example, household income is at its highest level ever in the U.S., and the rubes are giving Trump credit.

Can Cillizza handle the truth? … CNN’s Chris Cillizza asked – probably rhetorically – his followers on Twitter the following question yesterday:

This is simple, Chris. Bill Clinton wasn’t the president in 2016. Donald Trump is the president. He has the power under Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution to run the government of the United States. There is no such thing as an independent agency. That’s why we have elections.

Independent agencies not subject to control by the elected executive, nor subject to oversight by the people’s legislature, have no place in a government of, by, and for the people. I answered Cillizza on Twitter, but he probably didn’t really want responses.

Say what? … The mainstream media’s favorite arbiter of “hate groups” aka “people they disagree with” is the Southern Poverty Law Center, a once proud institution that has turned itself into a hatemonger for hire. Just how outside the mainstream is the SPLC? It just tweeted that Donald Trump and the White House staff are racists, wait for it, because they called MS-13 members “animals.”

The SPLC wasn’t talking about Trump’s misconstrued comments last week. No, it included a screenshot of a White House webpage on MS-13. You’ve got to see this ridiculousness to believe it.

(For more from the author of “Buyer’s Remorse: Is the Mueller Investigation Helping Trump?” please click HERE)

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12 Faces: Some Truly Disturbing Images of James Clapper on the View

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As The Federalist points out, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper appeared on The View today and did what was expected. He lied. Yet again.

In watching the clip, what struck me were the obvious signs of anxiety, paranoia, and deception. Judge for yourself by watching the clip or simply inspect the images I snapped below, which were not by any means cherry-picked.

Looking down, looking away, grimacing, and gesticulating wildly — why, yes, all signs of someone completely in his element and comfortable explaining their part in what will surely turn out to be the greatest political scandal in American history.

See for yourself at The Timeline of Treason. (For more from the author of “12 Faces: Some Truly Disturbing Images of James Clapper on the View” please click HERE)

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