Another Investigation Launched Over Congressman’s Relationship With Staffer

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The House Ethics Committee said Thursday it is investigating U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings’ relationship with his longtime girlfriend, who is on the government payroll.

The Ethics Committee didn’t identify the staffer in question, but the case clearly refers to Patricia Williams, the deputy director in Hastings’ office in his Broward-Palm Beach County district.

Williams, who is the Democratic congressman’s highest-paid staffer, and Hastings have been in a relationship for decades. And critics have raised questions about it for years.

But there’s been a sea change in society’s attitudes toward employer-employee relationships. The emergence of the #MeToo movement, in which powerful men in business, politics and the media came under new scrutiny for forcing women into sex, prompted a 2018 House rule change that prohibited sexual relationships between members of Congress and their employees.

There isn’t any indication that the Hastings-Williams relationship isn’t consensual, but the relationship appears to violate the rule that states a member of Congress “may not engage in a sexual relationship with any employee of the House who works under the supervision” of the member or on a committee on which the member serves. It doesn’t apply to couples who are married. (Read more from “Another Investigation Launched Over Congressman’s Relationship With Staffer” HERE)

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Investigation Launched Into Rep. Tlaib’s Campaign

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The House Ethics Committee announced on Thursday that it is investigating Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI) 0ver internal messages that she allegedly sent in 2018 asking her congressional campaign for money for personal expenses, which is a potential crime.

The announcement came in response to a referral that the committee received from the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), which alleged:

Rep. Tlaib’s campaign committee, Rashida Tlaib for Congress, reported campaign disbursements that may not be legitimate and verifiable campaign expenditures attributable to bona fide campaign or political purposes. If Rep. Tlaib converted campaign funds from Rashida Tlaib for Congress to personal use, or if Rep. Tlaib’s campaign committee expended funds that were not attributable to bona fide campaign or political purposes, then Rep. Tlaib may have violated House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law.

The OCE recommended that Tlaib be investigated “because there is substantial reason to believe that Rep. Tlaib converted campaign funds from Rashida Tlaib for Congress to personal use or Rep. Tlaib’s campaign committee expended funds that were not attributable to bona fide campaign or political purposes.”

“Texts and emails released by the Ethics Committee show Tlaib frantically contacting members of her staff for financial help,” Fox News’ Gregg Re reported. “The OCE also attached scans of checks made out to Tlaib from her campaign, totaling thousands of dollars.” (Read more from “Investigation Launched Into Rep. Tlaib’s Campaign” HERE)

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Rand Paul May Force Vote to Bring Hunter Biden as Witness in Impeachment Trial

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Sen. Rand Paul could force a vote on the Senate floor that would bring Hunter Biden or other White House-favored impeachment witnesses to an impeachment trial.

Paul said on Thursday he’s considering forcing votes on motions in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial allowing Trump to bring his own witnesses. The Kentucky senator and close Trump ally has urged Congress to call Hunter Biden as a witness for his work at a Ukrainian energy company. . .

Though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urged Republicans on Wednesday to limit divisive votes to bring in witnesses, senators believe they will be able to offer their own amendments on the chamber’s impeachment resolution. Some Republicans also want the Senate to call the whistleblower.

“I believe very strongly the president should be able to call his own witnesses,” Paul told reporters on Thursday. “The rules that are put forward will be amendable, so yes I will consider strongly that the president should get his full due process, which to me means bringing in his own witnesses.” (Read more from “Rand Paul May Force Vote to Bring Hunter Biden as Witness in Impeachment Trial” HERE)

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California School Shooting Suspect Used Semi-Automatic Handgun

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The Los Angeles County Sheriff Department confirmed the suspect in Thursday’s shooting at Saugus High School was a 16 year-old male student. He used a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun to carry out the attack.

At a press conference, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said the suspect shot five students early in the school day before shooting himself in the head. Police arrived within two minutes after receiving the first call. Upon arrival, they found the victims and transported those who had been shot to a nearby hospital.

Police later discovered, through watching the school’s security cameras, one of the wounded that had been taken to the hospital was the suspected shooter. He is currently in “grave” condition. Before and during the press conference, it was announced two of the wounded had died. One was a 14 year-old male and the other was a 16 year-old female.

Police added the suspect had fired all the rounds in his magazine. It also turns out that Thursday is the suspected gunman’s birthday. (Read more from “California School Shooting Suspect Used Semi-Automatic Handgun” HERE)

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WATCH: Devin Nunes Devastates Schiff, Democrats With Fiery Opening Statement; Witnesses in Trump-Ukraine Impeachment Effort Just Torched the Democrats’ Narrative

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By Townhall. During the first public impeachment inquiry hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning, House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Devin Nunes did not hold anything back and slammed Democrats for damaging the country. He also went after the media and again called on Hunter Biden to testify about allegations of corruption in Ukraine.

“In a July open hearing of this committing following the publication of the Mueller report, the Democrats engaged in a last-ditch effort to convince the American people President Trump is a Russia agent. That hearing was the pitiful finally of a three-year-long effort by the Democrats, the corrupt media, and partisan bureaucrats to overturn the results of the 2016 election. After the spectacular implosion of their Russia hoax on July 24…on July 25th, they turned on a dime and now claim the real malfeasance is the Republicans dealings with Ukraine,” Nunes said.

(Read more from “WATCH: Devin Nunes Devastates Schiff, Democrats With Fiery Opening Statement” HERE)

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It Looks Like the Star Witnesses in Trump-Ukraine Impeachment Effort Just Torched the Democrats’ Narrative

By Townhall. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) is the starting quarterback for the Democrats’ impeachment effort. The Left has taken the Trump-Ukraine story hook, line, and sinker. It’s even shoddier than the Russian collusion myth. A whistleblower alleged that Trump had shaken down the Ukrainian political leadership to investigate Hunter Biden’s board position on a Ukrainian energy company or risk having military aid withheld. The so-called whistleblower did not listen in on the call, it’s all based on secondhand information, and Ukraine did get the aid. This wasn’t even brought up during the call per the transcript released by the Trump White House. Also, during testimony today in front of the House Intelligence Committee from State Department officials Bill Taylor and George Kent, there really wasn’t any quid pro quo.

(Read more from “It Looks Like the Star Witnesses in Trump-Ukraine Impeachment Effort Just Torched the Democrats’ Narrative” HERE)

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Impeachment Hearing Accidentally Makes Case for Hunter Biden Investigation

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The impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump backfired on congressional Democrats Wednesday, when a star witness inadvertently made the case that Hunter Biden’s wheeling and dealing in Ukraine should be investigated.

Testifying before the House Intelligence Committee on the opening day of the inquiry, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent admitted that U.S. officials had been urging the Ukrainian government for some time to explain why an investigation into Burisma Holdings, the eastern European oil and gas company that employed Hunter Biden on its board of directors, was shut down. . .

Kent, who has claimed former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani engineered the firing of the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine through a “campaign of slander,” is considered a key witness for congressional Democrats as they seek to prove the president’s conduct rises to the level of impeachment.

On Wednesday, however, Kent inadvertently strengthened the argument that Republicans and the president, himself, have made that Hunter Biden’s conduct in Ukraine should be probed given his father’s role overseeing policy in the region and the allegations of corruption lodged against Burisma and its founder, Mykola Zlochevsky.

It was on the latter front that Kent’s testimony proved particularly revealing. The state department official admitted he and his colleagues believed Zlochevsky “had stolen money” and the Ukrainian prosecutor charged with investigating him shut down the case after taking a bribe. When asked if he was in favor of the Ukrainian government reopening the probe into Bruisma and Zlochevsky, Kent asserted he would “love” to see such an action so it could become clear who was bribed and to what extent. (Read more from “Impeachment Hearing Accidentally Makes Case for Hunter Biden Investigation” HERE)

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Report: High School Teacher Arrested for Threatening to Shoot Students

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A high school geometry teacher in Washington state has been arrested and booked on several charges, after allegedly threatening to shoot students at Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup. . .

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said Julie Hillend-Jones, 58, was arrested at her home Wednesday morning, when law enforcement questioned her about alleged threats she made the night before while speaking to another adult.

PCSD Detective Ed Troyer told KING-TV that Hillend-Jones “didn’t back off” from the threats she made when investigators pressed her on the claims.

“Everybody knows you don’t talk about guns or make any threats in school,” Troyer said. “If the student does it, they’re going to jail. Now we have a teacher doing it. They’re also going to jail, so she’s been booked into the Pierce County Jail.”

Hillend-Jones was immediately placed on administrative leave Tuesday evening, after her alleged threats were reported to school officials. Now, she faces at least one felony charge of threatening to bomb or injure property. (Read more from “Report: High School Teacher Arrested for Threatening to Shoot Students” HERE)

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Video: Donald Trump’s Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Defaced in Broad Daylight

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On Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was defaced yet again on Hollywood Boulevard this time in broad daylight.

The president’s star in recognition by the entertainment industry was defaced by a woman wielding a can of white spray paint, TMZ reported.

Video of the incident shows the woman walking up to the star, pulling out the spray paint, spraying over the president’s name, and then casually walking away.

Trump’s Hollywood star has been the object of repeated acts of vandalism over the years. It has been spray-painted numerous times, and one distempered leftist even took a pickaxe to the monument.

In April a man spray-painted the plaque black, then painted “Putin’s b***h” over it. Late in 2018, another man spray painted a swastika over the star. In another case in 2018, vandals placed prison bars over the star. (Read more from “Video: Donald Trump’s Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Defaced in Broad Daylight” HERE)

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State Health Department Allows Illegal Abortion Clinic to Continue Killing Babies up to Birth

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A late-term abortion facility in Ohio will remain open despite repeatedly failing to comply with the law.

Back in 2016, the Ohio Department of Health revoked the license of the Women’s Med Center in Kettering, near Dayton, for failing to have a written transfer agreement with a hospital for patient emergencies. Since then, the abortion facility and health officials have been battling in court over its license.

On Wednesday, however, Ohio Right to Life learned that the department granted a new license to the abortion facility.

“Women’s Med Center has struggled for years to meet the same requirements that all other ambulatory surgical facilities are required to meet. These laws were put in place to protect women,” said Stephanie Ranade Krider, vice president of Ohio Right to Life. “The fact that Martin Haskell continues to seek exceptions to basic health and safety rules shows where his true priorities lie: protecting his abortion business.”

Earlier this month, LifeNews reported the Ohio Supreme Court denied a request for appeal from Haskell in a court battle over its license. The news brought hope to pro-life advocates that the abortion facility would close soon. (Read more from “State Health Department Allows Illegal Abortion Clinic to Continue Killing Babies up to Birth” HERE)

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Cease-Fire Reached With Israel to End Gaza Fighting

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The Islamic Jihad militant group early Thursday announced it had reached a cease-fire with Israel. The deal, brokered by Egyptian mediaries, took effect at 5:30 a.m. local time, Islamic Jihad spokesman Musab al-Berim said.

The reported truce followed two days of violence that left at least 32 Palestinians dead, according to the Associated Press.

Berim said the cease-fire came after his group submitted a list of demands late Wednesday, including a halt to Israeli targeted killings of the group’s leaders and an easing of Israel’s 12-year blockade of Gaza.

Earlier Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was “raining rockets” across the country, with Islamic Jihad firing one projectile every seven minutes since a senior commander of the terror group was killed by the Israeli military in a targeted airstrike Tuesday morning.

Bahu Abu al-Ata, 42, and his wife were killed as they slept in their home in eastern Gaza, IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said. Conricus added that Ata was responsible for a number of recent rocket attacks on southern Israel and claimed he was actively planning new attacks.

(Read more from “Cease-Fire Reached With Israel to End Gaza Fighting” HERE)

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