Journalistic Independence?! Associated Press Directly Conspired With FBI to Sink Manafort

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By Politico. Lawyers for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort are crying foul over a meeting Justice Department prosecutors held with four Associated Press reporters last year as news organizations and the FBI bore down on the longtime lobbyist and political consultant.

Manafort’s defense has argued for months that the off-the-record session on April 11, 2017, was a potential conduit for improper leaks to the press about the probe that led to two criminal cases against the former Trump campaign chief.

Now, Manafort’s attorneys have fresh evidence they say bolsters their claims: two memos written by FBI agents who attended the meeting and documented their version of what transpired.

Manafort’s legal team paints the evidence as confirmation that journalists were given inside information about the investigation in violation of Justice Department policies and, perhaps, legal prohibitions on disclosure of grand jury secrets. (Read more from “Journalistic Independence?! Associated Press Directly Conspired With FBI to Sink Manafort” HERE)

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Mueller’s ‘Pit Bull’ Arranged Meeting With Reporters to Discuss Manafort Investigation

By The Daily Caller. Justice Department documents released on Friday confirm that the DOJ attorney known as Robert Mueller’s “pit bull” arranged a meeting with journalists in April 2017 to discuss an investigation into Paul Manafort.

The documents show that Andrew Weissmann arranged a meeting with DOJ and FBI officials and four Associated Press reporters on April 11, 2017, just over a month before Mueller was appointed special counsel.

Manafort’s lawyers obtained the documents on June 29 and revealed them in a briefing filed in federal court in Virginia. The attorneys are pushing for a hearing into what they say are possible leaks of secret grand jury information, false information and potentially classified materials from the meeting.

“The meeting raises serious concerns about whether a violation of grand jury secrecy occurred,” a lawyer for Manafort, Kevin Downing, wrote in a motion requesting a hearing. “Based on the FBI’s own notes of the meeting, it is beyond question that a hearing is warranted.”

Manafort’s attorneys have for months questioned whether Weissmann, the number two official on the Mueller team, leaked information about Manafort to The AP. At the time of the meeting, Weissmann served as chief of the Justice Department’s criminal fraud section. (Read more from “Mueller’s ‘Pit Bull’ Arranged Meeting With Reporters to Discuss Manafort Investigation” HERE)

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Democrats’ ‘Resist’ Strategy Against President Trump Is Backfiring

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Democrats’ “Resist” strategy against President Trump is backfiring. Polling data shows the extreme statements and policies used by Democrats are boomeranging back on them. Polls on fake news, immigration, and the Senate vote to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court show that the public strongly supports President Trump.

If the current trend continues, the blue wave will end up as a ripple and will deliver a devastating blow to the Left’s hopes of turning Congress to Democrat control.

The Left went all out to slam President Trump’s zero-tolerance policy at the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrat politicians, the left-wing media, far-left activists, and Hollywood elites went wild. They fired their full arsenal to exploit the emotion surrounding children separated from their parents after illegally crossing the border.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the separation of children from their parents was “barbaric” and added “… this is not who America is …”. Senator Kamala Harris, D-Calif., called for Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to resign; actor Alan Alda asked if it was proper for the U.S. “to use emotional torture for border control” in a tweet; and MSNBC host Rachel Maddow cried on her show discussing the issue. Just in case the public missed Maddow’s tears live, the Washington Post wrote a story about her emotional reaction to guarantee national news coverage.

However, the Left’s hope to take political leverage over child separation at the southern border failed, according to a recent Harvard/Harris poll conducted on June 24 and 25.

The poll found that 70 percent of registered voters want stricter enforcement of immigration laws, 66 percent think illegal aliens who cross the border should be sent home, and 61 percent think illegal alien parents who cross the border with children should be sent home.

While 61 percent blamed the Trump administration for separating children from their parents, 71 percent strongly backed President Trump’s decision to issue the executive order to keep children together with their parents after illegally crossing the border.

Democrat and left-wing activists’ calls to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were soundly rejected; 68 percent do not want ICE disbanded.

Upping the emotional amplitude on childhood separations resulted in the public harassment of members of the Trump administration risking further alienation of the public from the Democrat Party. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen were harassed in two separate instances in restaurants by left-wing activists.

The extremism from the Left is getting so out of hand that Democrat leaders made an effort to douse the flames before they result in voter backlash or, even worse, violence. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Pelosi criticized Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., over her comments urging public harassment of Trump administration officials.

The Democrat leaders’ effort to sway Waters failed, and she doubled down on her call for using aggressive tactics. Waters’ pushback against Democrat leaders is getting backup. About 200 black women and allies wrote a letter to Schumer and Pelosi supporting Waters.

The left-wing media’s effort to use its power and influence to harm President Trump is destroying news outlets’ credibility. According to a poll conducted by Axios/SurveyMonkey, 72 percent of adults in the U.S. think “traditional major news sources report news they know to be fake, false, or purposely misleading.” So almost three-quarters of adults believe the media is driven by politics, not the truth.

A breakdown of the results by political identification found a significant percent of Independents (79 percent) believe the media twists the facts and a majority of Democrats (53 percent) felt the same way.

Democrats’ messaging on the Supreme Court vacancy also shows that the public is growing tired of the “resist President Trump” strategy. Senator Schumer wants the Senate vote on the new Supreme Court nominee to come after the midterm elections, adding it would be the “height of hypocrisy” to hold a vote before the November elections. Schumer used the decision by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell not to vote on former President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland before the 2016 election as the basis of his criticism.

Public opinion is not on Schumer’s side. A recent NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll found that 62 percent of U.S. adults believe President Trump’s Supreme Court pick should be voted on before November.

The public is rejecting the “resist President Trump” strategy, casting serious doubt on the hope of a blue wave this fall. (For more from the author of “Democrats’ ‘Resist’ Strategy Against President Trump Is Backfiring” please click HERE)

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Thai Cave Rescue: Operation Resumes for Remaining 9 Who Are Trapped

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By CBS News. Four people were rescued Sunday from a flooded cave in Thailand where they were trapped for 16 days. The team of divers is expected to resume the mission Monday to rescue the remaining eight boys and their soccer coach.

The boys, ages 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach became stranded when they went exploring in the cave after a practice game. Monsoon flooding blocked off their escape and prevented rescuers from finding them for almost 10 days.

The four who were rescued were taken to a hospital in Chiang Rai for evaluation. Two divers were assigned to each child to help them navigate the dangerous, narrow passageways. The next phase could begin Monday after rescue teams replenish the supply of oxygen tanks along the route. It could take two to four days complete the mission, officials said.

On Friday, the death of a former Thai navy SEAL underscored the risks. The diver, the first fatality of the rescue effort, was working in a volunteer capacity and died on a mission to place oxygen canisters along the route.

Chiang Rai acting Gov. Narongsak Osottanakorn said Saturday that mild weather and falling water levels in recent days had created the “perfect” conditions for an underwater evacuation. Those conditions won’t last if the rain resumes, he said. (Read more from “Thai Cave Rescue: Operation Resumes for Remaining 9 Who Are Trapped” HERE)

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Thai Cave Rescue: Remaining Trapped Boys Wait to Escape

By BBC. . .Rescuers decided to go ahead with the hazardous operation because of fears of rising waters. The group have been trapped since 23 June.

Activity at the dive site early on Monday suggests that the operation to free the remaining members of the group may be under way or about to resume.

At least seven ambulances have driven towards the cave entrance.

The first stage of the mission ran “smoothly” and the rescued boys were in “good health”, according to the Thai authorities.

But with heavy rainfall overnight and more forecast for the coming days, divers will need to work quickly to free those still trapped. On Saturday, Narongsak Osottanakorn, governor of the Chiang Rai province, said that teams had a three to four-day window to carry out their operation. (Read more from “Thai Cave Rescue: Remaining Trapped Boys Wait to Escape” HERE)

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Listen: GOP Rep. Receives Threatening Voicemails, Emails Because of This Facebook Post

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Last weekend, the Idaho Republican Party held their annual convention. One of the main speakers during the event was newly-elected NRA President Oliver North. Naturally, Oliver’s presence brought gun control proponents out to protest.

During one of the convention’s breaks, Idaho State Rep. Priscilla Giddings (R) walked outside and noticed a group of protestors calling for gun control. Giddings read their signs and decided to pose for a picture with them. She then shared the following post on Facebook:

Little did the girls in the picture know that Giddings, a former combat pilot and current major in the Air Force Reserves, utilized firearms during multiple deployments in the Middle East. The most ironic sign of them all was the one girl’s call to ban…artillery. . .

While Giddings says she stands with the young women and will defend their right to free speech, she said she hopes they can gain a greater understanding of the Second Amendment, which is what was meant by her post. . .

The post made its way around social media. Reporters throughout the state even threw their two cents in:

(Read more from “Listen: GOP Rep. Receives Threatening Voicemails, Emails Because of This Facebook Post” HERE)

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Man Arrested After Attacking Texas Teen Wearing ‘MAGA’ Hat

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Authorities in Texas say a suspect is in custody after viral video footage depicted an apparently unprovoked attack at a San Antonio fast-food restaurant.

Kino Jiminez, 30, was arrested in Universal City and is expected to face charges including theft of a person.

Witnesses said the man violently ripped a Donald Trump campaign hat from a 16-year-old boy’s head before throwing a drink at him.

According to Hunter Richard, the man grabbed the “Make America Great Again” cap from his head so forcefully that he also ripped out several hairs.

The incident occurred on Tuesday at a Whataburger location and an area bar soon identified the suspect as a part-time employee who had been fired for his behavior.

“It came to our attention earlier this evening that a part-time employee was captured on cell phone video assaulting another person at a local eatery,” Richard wrote in a Facebook post. “The assault took place, presumably, because this employee did not agree with the other individuals political stance.”

Richard confirmed shortly after the incident that he had filed a police report against the man.

Whataburger issued a statement in response to the video recorded in one of its restaurants, as reported by KABB.

“We were shocked to see this video and certainly don’t condone this type of customer behavior in our restaurants,” the company’s corporate communications office wrote. “To be clear, no Whataburger employees were involved or witnessed the incident, and we ask that questions be directed to San Antonio PD as we continue supporting their efforts. – Whataburger Corporate Communications.”

As part of the social media attention Richard has received as a result of the video, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted his offer to replace the stolen hat.

“If someone can get me this young man’s information I’ll get him a new #maga hat… SIGNED by #potus!!!” the president’s eldest son wrote.

As the video spread widely this week, Richard told reporters that he had seen “mixed opinions” expressed online, adding that he never expected the incident to attract as much publicity as it had.

“I was looking at the comments by some people and they are like, ‘This is uncalled for,’” he said. “And other people are like mixed opinions, but I didn’t think it would blow up to what it is now.”

Though the teens say they uploaded the video in hopes that it would lead to the suspect’s identification, the original clip has been viewed more than 1.4 million times as of Friday morning. (For more from the author of “Man Arrested After Attacking Texas Teen Wearing ‘MAGA’ Hat” please click HERE)

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Man Dies Protecting His Children From Polar Bear

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By ABC News. . .Aaron Gibbons, 31, was at a popular fishing and hunting place on Sentry Island in Hudson Bay, approximately 10 kilometers from the hamlet of Arviat on the western shore, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Gibbons’s uncle, Gordy Kidlapik.

When Gibbons saw the bear, he jumped in between his children and the animal and told his kids to run to the boat, Kilapik told ABC News via direct message on Twitter. . .

Gibbons’ children ran and called for help on CB radio, Kidlapik said on Twitter, referring to Gibbons as “qangiaq,” the Inuinnaqtun word for nephew.

“The victim was unarmed at the time of the attack,” officials said. “The polar bear was put down by another adult as other individuals were on the island nearby.” . . .

“Research suggests that polar bear attacks are typically associated with nutritional stress in the animal,” Churchill Wild told ABC News in a statement. “We don’t know yet the circumstances surrounding this incident nor the motivation for the attack so we aren’t in a position to provide an educated comment as to the cause.” (Read more from “Man Dies Protecting His Children From Polar Bear” HERE)

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‘He Died a Hero’: Canadian Man Mauled by Polar Bear While Protecting His Family

By The Guardian. A father in the northern Canadian territory of Nunavut is being hailed as a hero after he died protecting his three young children from a polar bear attack. . .

“The bear started to stalk or charge one of his children,” he said. “He told his children to run back to the boat and put himself between his children and the bear.”

His school-age children made it safely to the boat and called for help on the CB radio. Kidlapik was among those who heard the call, describing it as “heartbreaking”.

Police said Gibbons was pronounced dead at the scene. “He died a hero,” said Kidlapik. (Read more from “‘He Died a Hero’: Canadian Man Mauled by Polar Bear While Protecting His Family” HERE)

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Democrats’ 2018 Slogan Is a Godsend for Republicans

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Democrats love frivolous slogans. The party that brought us “Bush Lied, People Died” (he didn’t) to “No War For Oil” (there wasn’t) has now delivered Republicans an election year boon with just two simple words: “Abolish ICE.” Democrats ranging from Statue of Liberty scaling activists to congressional candidates to bona fide U.S. senators have adopted the motto, which demands the dissolution of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The embrace of “Abolish ICE” as a campaign trail motto exposes Democrats as the party of ignorance, lawlessness, and open borders. All three are big losers with the American people, and Republicans should troll Democrats into shouting, “Abolish ICE!” at every turn.

ICE, which stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is an agency within the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats have recently targeted the agency for separating illegal alien families at the U.S. border with Mexico. While the family separation policy has existed since 1997 and was robustly enforced at various points during the Obama administration with nary a peep from Democrats, the great irony is that it isn’t ICE separating families at the border. Rather, it’s up to Customs and Border Protection, which operates Border Patrol, to arrest foreign nationals crossing the southern border illegally. Democrats calls to “abolish ICE” for separating families at the border illustrate their ignorance of the very laws they wish to ignore.

But while Democrats are frequently wrong, they’re never in doubt. They may not know what ICE does, but their demand to abolish it highlights their increasing lawlessness. In recent weeks, a major Democrat lawmaker has openly called for mob terror against Republican officials. Left-wing commentators and activists within such movements as Black Lives Matter have suggested abolishing the police—whatever that means. The New York Democratic Socialists of America, of which Democrat congressional nominee Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a member, recently declared, “Abolish ICE. Abolish prisons. Abolish cash bail. Abolish borders.” By taking aim at law enforcement per se, Democrats offer a vision of America governed not by duly enacted law passed by representative institutions but rather a country governed by the caprices and prejudices of men, popular sovereignty be damned. (Read more from “Democrats’ 2018 Slogan Is a Godsend for Republicans” HERE)

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Watch: College Students Say They Despise Trump’s SCOTUS Nominee, but Here’s What They Don’t Realize

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By The Blaze. One of the most contentious political issues over the next several months will be President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee and the fight for Republicans to confirm that person before the midterm elections this November.

College Reform’s Cabot Phillips recently asked students at New York University about Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, where the students offered up strong opinions — despite the fact that Trump has yet to announce who it is. . .

[Watch the opinions below

When asked what qualities the students believe shape a quality Supreme Court justice, students offered qualities such as “black,” “woman,” and “liberal.” They said the justice should not be a “swing-vote,” a reference to Anthony Kennedy, the court’s retiring justice.

The students also said Trump should listen to the American people when deciding who to nominate. When Phillips countered with the fact that former President Barack Obama nominated two liberal justices to the court and didn’t listen to conservative voices then, the students were unable to defend their suggestions.

Trump is slated to formally announce his nominee for the Supreme Court on Monday, July 9. His shortlist has reportedly been narrowed down to three justices: Amy Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, and Raymond Kethledge. (Read more from “Watch: College Students Say They Despise Trump’s SCOTUS Nominee, but Here’s What They Don’t Realize” HERE)

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Two Nominees Are Now Trump’s Greatest Focus for Top Court, NBC News Says

By CNBC. None of the four contenders being considered as President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court has been excluded, but the greatest focus has fallen on two candidates: Brett Kavanaugh and Thomas Hardiman, a source with first-hand knowledge of the process told NBC News.

Kavanaugh sits on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Hardiman is a judge on the 3rd Circuit of Appeals.

The other two front-runners are Amy Coney Barrett Barrett of the 7th Circuit of Appeals and Raymond Kethledge of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

CNBC reported last week that Trump privately indicated to a small group that he had settled on a nominee to succeed Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. (Read more from “Two Nominees Are Now Trump’s Greatest Focus for Top Court, NBC News Says” HERE)

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Socialist Ocasio-Cortez Changes Misleading Bio After Truth Exposed

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the self-declared “democratic-socialist” from the Bronx, is accused of changing her biography on her campaign website days after she was criticized for misleading voters about where she grew up.

Ocasio-Cortez received national acclaim after she defeated 10-term congressman Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) in the New York Democratic primary last month. She will be running as the Democratic candidate for New York’s 14th congressional district this November and is almost guaranteed to win. . .

As the Journal News noted, Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign biography originally stated: “She ended up attending public school 40 minutes north in Yorktown, and much of her life was defined by the 40-minute commute between school and her family in the Bronx.”

However, the sentence was rather misleading. It was later revealed that Ocasio-Cortez’s “girl from the Bronx” moniker was dishonest because her family moved away from New York City when she was 5 years old. They moved about an hour north to the ritzy suburb of Yorktown Heights in Westchester County, one of the wealthiest counties in the U.S.

The website biography has since been updated, but it still doesn’t explicitly state that Ocasio-Cortez’s move to Westchester County was permanent. (Read more from “Socialist Ocasio-Cortez Changes Misleading Bio After Truth Exposed” HERE)

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Did This Senator Just Accidentally Reveal Who Trump Will Nominate to the Supreme Court?

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Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the longest serving member currently in the Senate, wrote an op-ed for Deseret News on Friday explaining what Americans should expect after President Donald Trump formally announces his nominee for the Supreme Court. . .

Hatch, who has sat through the confirmation hearings for all nine current Supreme Court justices, predicted Democrats will initiate “confirmation wars” in the coming months because Trump is unlikely to nominate an activist judge who will protect the progressive agenda.

[The clue is the pronoun used in his writing.]

“Given their vision of a politicized judiciary, we should not be surprised when Democrats cry bloody murder at the announcement of the president’s Supreme Court nominee. The coming meltdown on the left is sure to be as sensational as it is predictable,” Hatch wrote. . .

“Just as he did with Neil Gorsuch, the president has promised to nominate an impartial judge, a wise and seasoned jurist committed to upholding the Constitution at all costs. But no matter the nominee’s background or credentials, progressives will do everything they can to paint her as a closet partisan, if not an outright extremist,” Hatch wrote.

He then added: “And I will devote all my energies to ensuring that we confirm the kind of Supreme Court justice America needs: a justice who says what the law is, not what she wants it to be; a justice who calls balls and strikes instead of swinging for the fences; a justice whose foremost allegiance is to the American people and to the Constitution.” (Read more from “Did This Senator Just Accidentally Reveal Who Trump Will Nominate to the Supreme Court?” HERE)

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