This Is How Chuck Grassley Will Proceed With Kavanaugh’s Accuser

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By Townhall. Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley detailed how he will handle the situation and accusations made by professor Christine Blasey Ford in a statement Monday afternoon.

“Anyone who comes forward as Dr. Ford has deserves to be heard, so I will continue working on a way to hear her out in an appropriate, precedented and respectful manner.

“The standard procedure for updates to any nominee’s background investigation file is to conduct separate follow-up calls with relevant parties. In this case, that would entail phone calls with at least Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford. Consistent with that practice, I asked Senator Feinstein’s office yesterday to join me in scheduling these follow-ups. Thus far, they have refused. But as a necessary step in evaluating these claims, I’ll continue working to set them up.

“Unfortunately, committee Republicans have only known this person’s identity from news reports for less than 24 hours and known about her allegations for less than a week. Senator Feinstein, on the other hand, has had this information for many weeks and deprived her colleagues of the information necessary to do our jobs. The Minority withheld even the anonymous allegations for six weeks, only to later decide that they were serious enough to investigate on the eve of the committee vote, after the vetting process had been completed.

(Read more from “This Is How Chuck Grassley Will Proceed With Kavanaugh’s Accuser” HERE)

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Grassley: Feinstein Refusing to Cooperate on Kavanaugh Accuser

By The Daily Caller. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley blasted ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein for her handling of high-school-era sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

The allegations against Kavanaugh surfaced Sunday after his accuser, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, granted an interview to The Washington Post. Ford detailed how she sent an anonymous letter to Feinsten regarding the alleged encounter months earlier. Feinstein said she forwarded Ford’s letter to the FBI for review but never made the allegations public until stories began to surface around the letter itself after Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings ended. . .

The chairman explained that “the standard procedure for updates to any nominee’s background investigation file is to conduct separate follow-up calls with relevant parties. In this case, that would entail phone calls with at least Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford,” adding, “I asked Senator Feinstein’s office yesterday to join me in scheduling these follow-ups. Thus far, they have refused. But as a necessary step in evaluating these claims, I’ll continue working to set them up.” (Read more from “Grassley: Feinstein Refusing to Cooperate on Kavanaugh Accuser” HERE)

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Lisa Page Bombshell: FBI Couldn’t Prove Trump-Russia Collusion Before Mueller Appointment

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By The Hill. To date, Lisa Page’s infamy has been driven mostly by the anti-Donald Trump text messages she exchanged with fellow FBI agent Peter Strzok as the two engaged in an affair while investigating the president for alleged election collusion with Russia.

Yet, when history judges the former FBI lawyer years from now, her most consequential pronouncement may not have been typed on her bureau-issued Samsung smartphone to her colleague and lover.

Rather, it might be eight simple words she uttered behind closed doors during a congressional interview a few weeks ago.

“It’s a reflection of us still not knowing,” Page told Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) when questioned about texts she and Strzok exchanged in May 2017 as Robert Mueller was being named a special prosecutor to take over the Russia investigation.

With that statement, Page acknowledged a momentous fact: After nine months of using some of the most awesome surveillance powers afforded to U.S. intelligence, the FBI still had not made a case connecting Trump or his campaign to Russia’s election meddling. (Read more from “Lisa Page Bombshell: Fbi Couldn’t Prove Trump-Russia Collusion Before Mueller Appointment” HERE)

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Paul Manafort Could Flip on a Big Fish — but That Might Not Be Trump

By NBC News. Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, pleaded guilty to two counts in his new Washington criminal case, and admitted guilt in the 10 counts outstanding from his earlier trial in federal court in Virginia. The shocking part is this: He agreed last week to cooperate with federal prosecutors. A more accurate statement would be that federal prosecutors have agreed to “cooperate” him. As with most cooperation agreements, Manafort will have to “come clean” and be completely forthcoming with documents and information, and voluntarily testify in court.

If Manafort gives the government substantial assistance, the sentencing benefits are significant. The government will file a motion for a “downward departure” from the sentencing guidelines for cooperation, and for an additional reduction (up to three “levels”) for “acceptance of responsibility.” These alone can reduce the sentence by decades.

Many are suggesting Trump should be worried about this situation, because Manafort very likely could have impressed special counsel Robert Mueller with what he knows about Trump. It’s also been suggested that Manafort has ended up in the worst situation by waiting so long to cooperate. (Read more from “Paul Manafort Could Flip on a Big Fish — but That Might Not Be Trump” HERE)

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Report: Federal Prosecutors Weighing Criminal Charges Against Former Obama White House Counsel

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An attorney who served as White House counsel in the Obama administration is under investigation for his role in dealings linked to the case against Paul Manafort, according to a report from CNN, citing sources “familiar with the matter.”

Manafort, who briefly served as Donald Trump’s campaign manager, was the target of an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Manafort pleaded guilty on Friday to conspiring to defraud the United States and conspiring to obstruct justice, both having to do with dealings in Ukraine that took place years before his involvement with the Trump campaign.

CNN reported Friday that attorney Greg Craig, who was White House counsel from 2009 to 2010, is under scrutiny over whether he lobbied for Ukrainian leaders without registering as a foreign agent.

The investigation also touches on the firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where Craig was a partner at the time.

Craig’s actions were taken after he left the White House, according to the report.

Connections between Manafort, the firm and Craig were revealed in filings in the Manafort case.

Craig’s attorney William Taylor III said his client did nothing wrong.

“Greg Craig was not required to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act,” Taylor said in a statement, Law.com reported.

Craig himself would not comment on the investigation.

This is not the first controversial case for Taylor, who represented Fusion GPS, the firm involved in the production of a dossier of discredited claims against Trump.

NBC News reported that Craig was the supervisor of Alex van der Zwaan, a Skadden lawyer who has pleaded guilty to lying to prosecutors and about communications concerning the Ukrainian politician for whom Manafort was also working.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and Justice Department have not yet decided if they will file charges against either Craig or the law firm, CNN reported.

The law firm was paid more than $4.6 million, which Manafort sought to hide, the court filing said.

Bloomberg reported that the law firm is also facing questions of conflict of interest in the issues surrounding former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Skadden lawyers, which would have included Craig, may have violated their ethical responsibilities through their actions, said Rebecca Roiphe, who provides instruction on legal ethics at New York Law School.

“Skadden could face some problems with disciplinary authorities in D.C., assuming this is as bad and as baseless as described,” she said. (For more from the author of “Report: Federal Prosecutors Weighing Criminal Charges Against Former Obama White House Counsel” please click HERE)

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Nunes Warns Democrats Will Be ‘Frightened’ by Declassified Trump-Russia Documents

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House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes said during a speech last week that President Donald Trump is close to declassifying documents pertaining to the Trump-Russia investigation.

Nunes, a California Republican, also warned that Democrats and journalists are likely to be “frightened” by the information contained in the warrants that were sought under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

Nunes made the comments Thursday at an event hosted by the Center for Security Policy, where he informed his listeners that the FISA court warrants the president might soon declassify would probably be bad news for Democrats.

Should this declassification occur, it would come months after a July document release by the Justice Department that proved the multiple FISA court warrants for surveillance of Trump campaign member Carter Page leaned heavily on information compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele.

That dossier was later found to be compromised, which cast doubt to be cast on the process that allowed it to be considered as evidence. Republicans accused the FBI of manipulating the use of FISA after it was found the dossier had been financed by Democrats and the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.

The Washington Free Beacon reported that Nunes’ speech was cause for hope among conservatives, as he informed his audience that Democrats likely have a lot to be nervous about.

Nunes noted that Democrats have largely gone silent on the issue of the FISA documents since parts of them were released to the public.

“And you know why? Because I think they’re going to be frightened by what you see,” he said.

“We knew that the dossier, the dirt, and the fake news stories made up the bulk of the FISA,” Nunes said.

“We thought that would be enough to finally get the mainstream news media to actually engage in this process and see that something had gone wrong,” he noted.

“But what did they do? They buried it. They buried it, and switched the story to say ‘Oh no, no, no, it was actually somebody else’ — there were all sorts of deflections.”

Nunes’ prediction caused a stir on social media.

Nunes said the declassification of these documents could shed light on Obama-era FBI and Justice Department improprieties, which could help significantly improve Republican’s chances in the midterm elections.

“It’s not just going to be economic growth and running on the economy,” he said. “It’s also going to be about what the other side did to play dirty, to dirty up a (presidential) campaign — but not do it through campaign tactics, but do it by corrupting the FBI and the DOJ.”

Nunes’ assessment of the current political climate is that it’s leaning in a direction that’s good for Republicans.

“The reason that they have this fight … the reason that they’re actually willing to corrupt the FBI and the DOJ — they’re doing it because we’re winning, folks,” Nunes said.

“We’re winning and I think we have a good chance to win this fall if we keep the faith, stay on message, and help out our colleagues.” (For more from the author of “Nunes Warns Democrats Will Be ‘Frightened’ by Declassified Trump-Russia Documents” please click HERE)

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Cory Booker Hit With Ethics Complaint for Violating Senate Rules

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An ethics complaint has been delivered to the chairman and co-chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics against Sen. Cory Booker.

The accusation against the New Jersey Democrat was made by Judicial Watch, and the group announced Wednesday in a news release that it had “hand-delivered a letter” to the leaders of the committee.

Their complaints against Booker stem from his unsolicited confession that he broke Senate rules while handling documents in the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Booker openly told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he would be breaking their rules, noting that he would accept the consequences of that choice.

The reasons Booker gave for this choice included his belief that the system was not functioning correctly, and he didn’t see that there was any good reason for the documents to be listed as classified.

The letter sent by Judicial Watch cited social media posts by Booker, where he openly bragged about breaking the committee rules, both on Twitter and Facebook.

In his Facebook post, Booker not only admitted to the violations but objected to the rules themselves, saying, “The classification of many documents as ‘Committee Confidential’ is a sham.”

Booker went on to acknowledge the possible repercussions of his actions:

“Senator Cornyn of Texas threatened me with expulsion during the hearings. Now he is threatening ethics charges. As I said then, I say it now: Bring it.”

“But he won’t,” Booker said. “He knows this is a sham process that can’t be defended. In this, he is all bluster, or as they say in his state of Texas: He is all hat and no cattle.”

Judicial Watch’s letter provided a portion of the Standing Rules of the Senate as the foundation for their belief that Booker’s actions are an ethics violation.

“By publicly releasing Committee Confidential records, Sen. Booker appears to have violated provisions 5 and/or 6 of Rule 29 of the Standing Rules of the Senate (Rev. Jan. 24, 2013), which stipulate:

“5. Any Senator, officer or employee of the Senate who shall disclose the secret or confidential business or proceedings of the Senate, including the business and proceedings of the committees, subcommittees and offices of the Senate shall be liable, if a Senator, to suffer expulsion from the body; and if an officer or employee, to dismissal from the service of the Senate, and to punishment for contempt.

“6. Whenever, by the request of the Senate or any committee thereof, any documents or papers shall be communicated to the Senate by the President or the head of any department relating to any matter pending in the Senate, the proceedings in regard to which are secret or confidential under the rules, said documents and papers shall be considered as confidential, and shall not be disclosed without leave of the Senate.”

Booker’s actions regarding the rules and regulations of the Senate prompted Judicial Watch to make this request of the ethics committee:

“We hereby request that the Senate Ethics Committee conduct a preliminary investigation into whether Sen. Booker violated Senate Rules by releasing Committee Confidential records through his social media accounts.” (For more from the author of “Cory Booker Hit With Ethics Complaint for Violating Senate Rules” please click HERE)

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Man Dies in Rare Shark Attack

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For the second time in a month, a shark has attacked a man swimming off the coast of Massachusetts, but this time the victim died from the attack, police said.

The Saturday incident followed an Aug. 15 attack that left a New York State man hospitalized, Fox News reported.

Saturday’s attack was reported by the Wellfleet Police Department on its Facebook page.

“Around noontime today (9/15) a male swimmer at Newcomb Hollow Beach was bitten by what is believed to be a shark. The male victim mid 20’s was pulled from the water, provided emergency first aid to include CPR. The male victim was transported to Cape Cod Hospital by the Wellfleet Fire Department, w(h)ere he passed from the injuries,” the statement said.

The National Park Service and Massachusetts State Police are also investigating.

The name of the man was not released Saturday, but The Boston Globe reported that he was 26 years old and from Revere, Massachusetts.

“We have Troopers from our Cape and Islands Detective Unit and our Crime Scene Services unit investigating along with Wellfleet Police,” said David Procopio, a state police spokesman.

The attack took place about 300 yards south of the Cape Cod beach, Procopio said.

The beach was closed after the attack, according to news outlet WCVB.

“Today is just keeping everyone out of water,” said Wellfleet Police Lt. Michael Hurley said. “There’ll be a determination later about what the town wants to do with the beaches going forward.”

Fisherman Joe Booth said the victim and a friend were boogie boarding when the man was attacked.

The victim kicked at something in the water, Booth said, adding that he saw a tail visible. He said he learned what had happened when the man’s friend dragged him to the beach.

“I was that guy on the beach screaming, ‘Shark, shark!” Booth said. “It was like right out of that movie Jaws. This has turned into Amity Island real quick out here.”

Barnstable County Commissioner Ron Beaty said he has been calling for attention to address the shark problem in the area, but has been ignored.

“It is my personal belief that the responsibility for this horrible shark attack rests squarely upon the shoulders of the aforementioned officials for their utter lack of attention and inaction regarding the growing shark problem on Cape Cod of the last few years,” he said.

The site of Saturday’s attack is about 4.5 miles form the site of the Aug. 15 attack that left William Lytton, 61, of Scarsdale, New York, hospitalized. Lytton suffered multiple injuries in the attack. He said he was able to survive by punching the shark in the gills, according to the Boston Globe.

The shark attack was the first fatal one in Massachusetts since 1936. (For more from the author of “Man Dies in Rare Shark Attack” please click HERE)

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‘Go Back to Mexico’ Remark Leads to Hate Crimes Charge

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A south Louisiana man has been booked on hate crimes charges after police say he told woman in a store to “go back to Mexico” and then attacked her parents.

Gonzales Police said 60-year-old Robert Ray of Donaldsonville approached the 19-year-old woman and made the comment at a store on Friday.

When her mother, Salome Martinez, told Ray the comment was “not a nice thing to say,” police say, Ray then pushed her to the floor. Police say Ray also hit the woman’s father, Alfredo Buitureira, with his fist and a boot when Buitureira intervened. (Read more from “‘Go Back to Mexico’ Remark Leads to Hate Crimes Charge” HERE)

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The Legal Advisor for Kavanaugh’s Accuser Is a Big Time Democratic Donor, Thinks People Who Work for Trump Are ‘Miscreants’

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The Washington Post reported this afternoon that Stanford professor Christine Blasey Ford is the woman behind the confidential letter given to Sen. Dianne Feinstein accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault as a teenager. According to the Post, Ford initially refrained from revealing the alleged information of a horrendous sexual assault due to privacy concerns for herself and her family. But she thought it was her duty to come forward on the record after the advice of Washington lawyer Debra Katz. Katz, however, has a long history of dismissing sexual assault allegations against liberal politicians, donating to left-wing causes, and even publicly demonizing all Trump advisors as “miscreants” who are worse than deplorables. . .

After Sen. Feinstein announced the accusatory letter last week, Ford decided she had to come on the record to avoid public scrutiny and speculation. It was Katz who provided the results of that polygraph test to the Post. The results “concluded that Ford was being truthful when she said a statement summarizing her allegations was accurate.”

But, readers should remember that Katz treated Paula Jones’ accusations of sexual harassment against President Bill Clinton very differently in the 1990s. According to court documents, Jones claimed that then-Arkansas governor Bill Clinton summoned her to his hotel room where she was working as a receptionist. While in the room he “unexpectedly reached over to (her), took her hand, and pulled her toward him, so that their bodies were close to each other.” She backed away, but he pursued, saying, ‘I love the way your hair flows down your back’ and ‘I love your curves. He then “put his hand on her leg, started sliding it toward her pelvic area, and bent down to attempt to kiss her on the neck, all without her consent.’ Jones claimed she said, “What are you doing?” and had to escape to a nearby sofa where she attempted to distract the governor by talking about his wife.

However, when she was sitting on the sofa, Clinton came close to her and “lowered his trousers and underwear, exposed his penis (which was erect) and told (her) to ‘kiss it.'” Jones then attempted to leave but the governor said, “‘Well, I don’t want to make you do anything you don’t want to do,’ and then pulled up his pants and said, ‘If you get in trouble for leaving work, have Dave call me immediately and I’ll take care of it.’ She left the room (the door of which was not locked), the governor ‘detained’ her momentarily, ‘looked sternly’ at her, and said, ‘You are smart. Let’s keep this between ourselves,'” according to court documents. (Read more from “The Legal Advisor for Kavanaugh’s Accuser Is a Big Time Democratic Donor, Thinks People Who Work for Trump Are ‘Miscreants'” HERE)

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‘Learn to Read in Your Gap Year, Kid’: Doofus David Hogg Calls for Nikki Haley’s Resignation After Debunked NYT Story

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Parkland activist and known ignoramus David Hogg wants the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. to “resign immediately” after he read the bogus and debunked headline from a New York Times hit piece.

The New York Times headline alleged that Haley paid tens of thousands of dollars for curtains in her official State Department residence — except the Times story quoted a Haley spokesperson who said the Obama administration made the purchase and Haley had nothing to do with it.

Did Hogg pay attention to that fact? Nope:

Dear Nikki Haley,

There are starving children in America everyday and you have the audacity to misappropriate thousands of tax dollars for your own lavish lifestyle. Resign immediately

sincerely,

America https://t.co/j9h5t50GPb

— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) September 14, 2018

The Washington Examiner’s Siraj Hashmi had to explain what the article Hogg cited actually said.

Maybe if Hogg had spent his senior year at Parkland’s school instead of touring the country to push for gun control, he might’ve learned to read. (For more from the author of “‘Learn to Read in Your Gap Year, Kid’: Doofus David Hogg Calls for Nikki Haley’s Resignation After Debunked NYT Story” please click HERE)

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Marco Rubio Praises NFL Player Notorious for Kneeling for the Anthem

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Republican Senator Marco Rubio is making headlines this week for his praise of NFL player Kenny Stills.

“No @NFL player does more community service than @KStills of the @MiamiDolphins,” Rubio tweeted Wednesday morning.

The controversy surrounding this endorsement stems from Stills’ participation in the NFL national anthem protests last season.

The Florida senator also retweeted one of Stills’ tweets which featured pictures of some of his charity work with his team, the Miami Dolphins.

“You don’t have to agree with how or why he has chosen to exercise the 1st Amendment before every game to acknowledge the hours he gives voluntarily, on his day off, to serve his fellow Americans,” Rubio said in his tweet.

The Hill reported that Stills continued his anthem protest this season, as one of just a few players who protested while The Star-Spangled Banner was played over last weekend’s games.

Undoubtedly, one of the reasons that Rubio congratulated Stills was because part of the charity work that he chose to highlight on Twitter Tuesday was directed toward veterans, calling it “powerful to be with them on this day.”

This isn’t the first time that the Florida senator has found common ground with an NFL player protesting the anthem.

“Look, I support his right to stand for what he does. I don’t agree with what he did but I support his right to do it,” Rubio told TMZ of Kaepernick’s kneeling in protest of police violence and racial discrimination.

At the time, Rubio said that he believed Kaepernick would “get a shot” at playing again “if he wants one.”

Kaepernick has certainly made it seem like he would like to play, considering that he leveled a lawsuit against the NFL team owners for not signing him after he was let go by the San Francisco 49ers.

Following his failure to obtain a spot on an NFL roster, Kaepernick recently became the face of Nike, causing a stir among conservatives who called for a boycott.

President Donald Trump, who was a competitor of Rubio’s in the 2016 presidential election, has made no secret of his opinion on the national anthem protests, making his own headlines ripping into NFL players, teams and Nike following their controversial campaign launch.

“Just like the NFL, whose ratings have gone WAY DOWN, Nike is getting absolutely killed with anger and boycotts. I wonder if they had any idea that it would be this way?” Trump tweeted after the campaign launch. (For more from the author of “Marco Rubio Praises NFL Player Notorious for Kneeling for the Anthem” please click HERE)

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