Sources: Lois Lerner’s Emails Likely Gone Forever

/7 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Getty Ex-IRS official Lois Lerner’s crashed hard drive has been recycled, making it likely the lost emails of the lightening rod in the tea party targeting controversy will never be found, according to multiple sources.

“We’ve been informed that the hard drive has been thrown away,” Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the top Republican on the Finance Committee, said in a brief hallway interview.

Two additional sources told POLITICO the same late Wednesday, citing IRS officials.

It may just be standard government procedure, but the revelation is significant because some lawmakers and observers thought there was a way that tech experts could revive Lerner’s emails after they were washed away in a computer crash in the summer of 2011. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), for example, subpoenaed her damaged hard drive earlier this week, when he asked for “all hard drives, external drives, thumb drives and computers” and “all electronic communication devices the IRS issued to Lois G. Lerner.”

“IT experts have weighed in and said yes — we can get those” emails, said Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.) earlier Wednesday.

Read more from this story HERE.

GOP Leader: Obama May Act in Iraq Without Signoff

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: The U.S. ArmyPresident Barack Obama and congressional leaders believe he does not need authorization from Congress for some steps he might take to quell the al-Qaida-inspired insurgency sweeping through Iraq, the Senate’s top Republican and Capitol Hill aides said after the president briefed senior lawmakers Wednesday.

Still, the prospect of the president sidestepping Congress raises the potential for clashes between the White House and rank-and-file lawmakers, particularly if Obama should launch strikes with manned aircrafts or take other direct U.S. military action in Iraq. Administration officials have said airstrikes have become less a focus of recent deliberations but have also said the president could order such a step if intelligence agencies can identify clear targets on the ground.

Obama huddled in the Oval Office for over an hour to discuss options for responding the crumbling security situation in Iraq with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Speaking to reporters as he returned to the Capitol, McConnell said the president “indicated he didn’t feel he had any need for authority from us for steps that he might take.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Shock Claim: Police Officer Slit Dog’s Throat

/4 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Daily Caller A Baltimore police officer is facing felony animal cruelty charges after he allegedly slit the throat of a 7 year-old dog that had already been placed under control.

The incident happened Saturday, and Baltimore police officials announced charges against the unnamed officer on Wednesday.

Sarah Gossard’s Shar Pei, Nala, was loose over the weekend when police were called to catch her.

But after using a dog pole to round up Nala, one officer made a shocking move.

“Unfortunately, at some point after the dog was contained, one of our officers used a knife and cut the dog’s throat,” said Baltimore police deputy commissioner Dean Palmere, according to WBAL.

Read more from this story HERE.

Hagel Admits Obama Ignored Law in Taliban Release

/4 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: APDefense Secretary Chuck Hagel admitted that “the trust has been broken” between the White House and Congress following the Obama administration’s decision to skirt U.S. law and release five top Taliban leaders without first consulting with lawmakers.

Hagel admitted to lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday that the administration unilaterally inked a deal with the Taliban to release five top prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay prison camp without first notifying Congress, as is legally mandated.

The deal was signed “without providing 30 days notice to Congress,” as is required by law, Hagel told lawmakers before attempting to justify the administration’s decision to ignore this law.

The White House’s decision to skirt this law has prompted the House Armed Services Committee to launch a full investigation into the matter, lawmakers revealed on Wednesday.

When asked directly by Rep. Jeff Miller (R., Fla.) if the Obama administration had complied with the law as written, Hagel responded, “No.”

Read more from this story HERE.

O’Reilly Disses His Fellow Fox Newsers

/9 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: futureatlas.comBill O’Reilly must feel pretty secure about his standing with his colleagues at Fox News, or else he’s past caring.

Answering a question from fellow Foxer Geraldo Rivera—does the right-leaning network cut President Obama enough slack? Does it treat him fairly?—the cable outlet’s prime-time star didn’t seem especially worried whose toes he stepped on.

“It depends on the hour,” the host of The O’Reilly Factor told a sold-out crowd at the 92nd Street Y Wednesday night. “If you watch Fox & Friends, [Steve] Doocy is an Obama-basher. He bashes Obama like clockwork. But the other two—Elisabeth [Hasselbeck] and Brian [Kilmeade]—they’d rather whip up a soufflé.”

“Rather whip up a soufflé”—a wonderful compliment or a withering dis? We report, you decide.

Read more from this story HERE.

U.S. Captures Benghazi Suspect in Secret Raid

/9 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: FacebookAhmed Abu Khattala had returned home Sunday night after a day of militia skirmishes in Benghazi when U.S. military commandos swarmed his residence south of the waterfront city and took him captive, quickly moving him out of Libya to a U.S. warship.

“He was isolated,” a U.S. official said. “It was pretty clean.”

One of the suspected ringleaders of the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi that killed four Americans, Abu Khattala is the first of the alleged perpetrators to be apprehended. He now awaits a transfer to the United States and a federal trial in the District.

U.S. officials said the joint Special Operations and FBI mission had been planned for months and was approved by President Obama on Friday. The Pentagon said that there were no civilian or other casualties and that all involved U.S. personnel had safely left Libya.

The administration provided few details about the operation itself, where Abu Khattala is being held or the timing of his first appearance in court. After news of the capture became public Tuesday morning, Obama, on a visit to Pennsylvania, said Abu Khattala “is now being transported back to the United States.” Administration officials said they expected him to appear in court here within days.

Read more from this story HERE.

House Budget Punishes IRS with 15% Cut, Halts Obamacare Enforcement

/6 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Washington Examiner The Internal Revenue Service is about to get slapped with a harsh payback for messing around with conservative groups, blowing wads of tax dollars on employee conferences and helping implement Obamacare.

The House Appropriations Committee is set to OK an IRS budget of $10.9 billion, $1.5 billion under President Obama’s request for fiscal year 2015, reducing the agency’s budget to 2008 levels.

The goal is to keep the tax agency focused on its “core duties,” and eliminate efforts to judge the political activities of tax-exempt groups and brake its implementation of Obamacare.

Read more from this story HERE.

Arpaio: ‘Border Patrol Is Too Busy Changing Diapers’ To Go After Illegal Immigrants

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: Sandy Huffaker / Getty ImagesMaricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says the Border Patrol is too busy babysitting to actually do their jobs.

“The Border Patrol is too busy changing diapers and not going after dope peddlers and illegal immigrants,” Arpaio told Fox News Monday night.

More than 47,000 mostly Central American unaccompanied children have been caught illegally crossing the Mexican border into Texas since October. That’s left border agents in Texas overwhelmed and unable to process so many children. Within the last week, more than 1,000 of them have been transferred to a warehouse in Nogales, Ariz., where they are being processed before being sent to shelters in various states and then reunited with family members.

Arpaio believes President Barack Obama knew this influx of illegal immigrants was going to happen in an effort to push forward immigration reform.

“I think the president knew this was going to happen, so it’s going to help him on his executive orders if Congress doesn’t take this mission up,” Arpaio told Fox News. “It might backfire because of the inhumane situations.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Lawmakers: IRS Knew for Months of ‘Lost’ Lerner Emails, More Documents Missing

/8 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: APRepublican lawmakers charged Tuesday that the IRS knew for months they had “lost” a massive trove of emails from embattled ex-IRS official Lois Lerner, but kept it “secret” until this past Friday.

The lawmakers noted that during this period, newly appointed Commissioner John Koskinen nevertheless assured Congress the agency would produce the documents, which are considered critical to their efforts to probe the targeting of Tea Party and other groups. Further, lawmakers said records from six other IRS workers appear to have gone missing as well.

“It looks like the American people were lied to and the IRS tried to cover-up the fact it conveniently lost key documents in this investigation,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., and Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., said in a statement.

Republicans on the committee said the agency knew as early as February that emails were missing.

Yet the IRS only revealed last Friday that it had lost an untold number of emails when Lerner’s computer crashed in 2011. Lerner used to head the division that handles applications for tax-exempt status.

Read more from this story HERE.

Benham Brothers, Fired By HGTV, To Speak At Conservative Gathering

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Daily Caller David and Jason Benham — the two would-be reality stars who lost their planned home renovation show on the Home and Garden Television network last month after they came under attack for their past activism on marriage and abortion — are scheduled to address conservatives at a political gathering in Washington this week.

In a phone interview with The Daily Caller on Tuesday, the Benham Brothers previewed their remarks ahead of the Road to Majority conference and reflected on HGTV’s decision to cut ties with them because of their history of speaking out against gay marriage, abortion and divorce.

“I’ll be asking political leaders to stand strong in the face of opposition, and recapping a little bit of our history, our nation’s history,” David Benham told TheDC. “Why it’s important for us to be men and women of values and stand for those values.”

“Change happens from the inside out,” Jason Benham added. “True and lasting change will only happen from the inside out. Politics oftentimes feels from the outside in.”

The Road to Majority conference, sponsored by the Faith and Freedom Coalition, bills itself as the “premier event for people of faith and conservative activists.” It will be held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel from Thursday to Saturday.

Read more from this story HERE.