Ukraine Official: Biden Probe Not Linked to Military Aid

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Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said on Thursday that U.S. ambassador Gordon Sondland did not explicitly link military aid to Kiev with opening an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Interfax Ukraine reported.

Trump and his allies are accused by Democrat opponents of freezing nearly $400 million in security aid to Ukraine to pressure President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to open investigations into Biden, Trump’s main rival for the 2020 presidential race. . .

“Ambassador Sondland did not tell us, and certainly did not tell me, about a connection between the assistance and the investigations. You should ask him,” Prystaiko said about Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union.

Prystaiko’s comments came a day after William Taylor, the acting ambassador to Ukraine, testified in the first televised hearing of the impeachment inquiry.

In a disclosure that drew the most attention, Taylor pointed to Trump’s keen interest in getting the eastern European ally to investigate Biden and reiterated his understanding that $391 million in U.S. security aid was withheld from Kiev unless it cooperated. (Read more from “Ukraine Official: Biden Probe Not Linked to Military Aid” HERE)

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Trump Intervenes in Three War Crime Cases

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President Trump has intervened in three military justice cases, issuing at least two pardons where U.S. service members have been accused of war crimes, The Washington Post reported on Friday. The president’s actions have been expected as officials have debated the president’s involvement in the cases over the past several weeks. . .

According to The Post, Former Special Forces officer Army Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn was charged with murdering a suspected Taliban bombmaker in 2010. Golsteyn maintains his killing of the suspected bombmaker had been legal. In the second case, Former Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance was convicted of murder after he ordered his troops to open fire on three individuals in Afghanistan. In the third case, Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward Gallagher, a Navy Seal, was convicted of posing with the corpse of an Islamic State militant. (Read more from “Trump Intervenes in Three War Crime Cases” HERE)

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The Impeachment Hearing ‘Bombshell’ That Wasn’t; Case Against Trump Is FALLING Apart

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By Nate Madden.

The following is an excerpt from Blaze Media’s Capitol Hill Brief email newsletter:

The House impeachment inquiry held its first public hearing, and the word of the day was “hearsay.” The main point of criticism for the testimonies of diplomats Bill Taylor and George Kent was their lack of firsthand information about the matter being investigated, or as one House member put it, “hearsay on hearsay on hearsay.” Taylor reiterated that he wasn’t on the Trump-Ukraine phone call and has never met with President Trump or spoken to acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. One Democrat on the committee, however, tried to make the case that “hearsay can be much better evidence than direct.”

In fact, the lone “bombshell” revelation at yesterday’s hearing was Taylor’s testimony that a member of his staff reportedly told him about an overheard phone conversation between Ambassador Gordon Sondland and the president, where the president supposedly mentioned “investigations.” Trump, however, responded to the claim saying, “I know nothing about that. First time I’ve heard it.”

Overall, the outcome of the event was fairly predictable. The White House press secretary called the hearing “boring” and “a public joke.” The president told reporters he was too busy to watch it. House Republicans are sticking to the position that there remains no proof of a quid pro quo arrangement. Most voters are unlikely to change their views on the subject, according to a recent survey. But this was all just day one of these public hearings. With more open testimony scheduled this week and next week at least, we’ve got a long slog ahead of us. (For more from the author of “The Impeachment Hearing ‘Bombshell’ That Wasn’t” please click HERE)

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David Bossie: Impeachment Case Against Trump Is Falling Apart – Democrats Want to Hurt Him in 2020 Election

By Fox News. The supposedly devastating case for the impeachment of President Trump that partisan Democrats have been hyping in endless media interviews began falling apart Wednesday as the House Intelligence Committee opened its televised witch hunt against the president.

Desperate Democrats know they have no chance of removing President Trump in a trial in the Republican-controlled Senate. But they are determined to use their House majority to impeach him and send their ridiculous case against him to the Senate for a pointless trial for one reason only: to hurt his reelection chances.

This is what the whole disgraceful publicity stunt Democrats are calling an impeachment inquiry is all about – pure politics and nothing else.

Absurdly, these hearings were sparked by a routine phone call between President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.

A so-called whistleblower hiding behind a cloak of anonymity started this whole costly and time-wasting nonsensical impeachment process. It will ultimately collapse – but not until Democrats have days of free TV time to level their baseless charges against the duly elected president of the United States. (Read more from “David Bossie: Impeachment Case Against Trump Is Falling Apart – Democrats Want to Hurt Him in 2020 Election” HERE)

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ICE Agents Arrested Thousands of Sexual Predators in 2019

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement revealed Thursday that it arrested well over 3,700 sexual predators in the past fiscal year, as the agency’s announcement coincided with its grand opening of a facility dedicated to monitoring convicted sexual predators traveling internationally.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigative unit of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), announced it initiated 4,224 child exploitation cases during the 2019 fiscal year, which began in October 2018 and concluded at the end of September. Those cases led to a total of 3,771 criminal arrests, and the identification or rescue of 1,066 victims.

The numbers reflected a significant uptick — 18% — from the previous fiscal year. It’s a result, HSI contended, of its commitment to ending crimes against children.

“HSI’s agents, in cooperation with our law enforcement partners, work tirelessly to find and bring to justice, individuals who commit these heinous crimes,” acting special agent in charge of HSI Seattle Eben Roberts said in a prepared statement. “Moreover, we are dedicated to rescuing from harm’s way our most precious population — our children — and those who seek to harm them should consider this a warning.”

ICE published a short list of individuals arrested by HSI agents in the Pacific Northwest area, who were later convicted of various child exploitation crimes, such as child pornography, and the sexual abuse and molestation of minors. (Read more from “ICE Agents Arrested Thousands of Sexual Predators in 2019” HERE)

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New Poll Reveals How Americans Feel About Medicare for All

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Nearly half of likely U.S. voters oppose Medicare for All, according to a Rasmussen national poll published Thursday.

The poll found 46% of likely U.S. voters oppose the universal health care plan similar to those proposed by 2020 Democratic candidates like Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, while 39% are in favor of such a program, the poll shows.

Additionally, the survey also found that 56% of people making under $30,000 a year wouldn’t want to pay any more in taxes in exchange for a program like Medicare for All; 40% of 18- to 39-year-olds would not be willing to pay more taxes; and 45% of black individuals would not be willing to pay more taxes.

Among Democratic voters specifically, 32% are willing to pay any cost in higher taxes in exchange for Medicare for All.

The poll, which asked 1,000 likely voters if they support Medicare for All and had a margin of sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points, shows a decrease in support compared to a similar Rasmussen poll published Sept. 18. That poll found that 41% of likely voters opposed the universal health care program while 44% were in favor. (Read more from “New Poll Reveals How Americans Feel About Medicare for All” HERE)

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A DHS Operation Discovered ‘Over 600’ Children Being ‘Recycled’ by Border Traffickers

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Over 600 children were “recycled” by human traffickers looking to exploit loopholes in the American immigration system during the past fiscal year, a federal immigration official told lawmakers on Wednesday.

At a hearing to evaluate border statistics during fiscal year 2019 — which ended in September — Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting deputy director Derek Benner told the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee that the figure was a result of a DHS initiative called “Operation Noble Guardian” to identify situations “where fraudulent families were released into the interior, and then the children were separated from those unrelated adults and they were taken to an airport and flown back” to Central America.

“We’ve identified over 600 children that have been recycled in this methodology,” Benner explained. “We interviewed several of the children as they were departing the United States, and some of them had indicated they’ve made the trip as many as eight times with separate, unrelated adults every time.”

Benner explained during his opening statement that the recycling process is migrants seeking to use children as “passports” when apprehended at the border so that they can be released into the United States interior rather than face deportation at the border.

The Trump administration has made efforts to combat the practice of human smugglers using children to evade detention, most notably through an executive order from earlier this year that allowed federal authorities to keep family units in detention past the court-set mandate. However, that effort is currently facing a challenge in the federal court system and is expected to end up before the Supreme Court. (For more from the author of “A DHS Operation Discovered ‘Over 600’ Children Being ‘Recycled’ by Border Traffickers” please click HERE)

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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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