Navy Veteran Arrested in Connection With Trump Ricin Letter

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A U.S. Navy veteran in Utah was arrested Wednesday in connection with suspicious envelopes that were sent to President Donald Trump and top military chiefs.

William Clyde Allen III, 39, was taken into custody in in the small northern Utah city of Logan, said Melodie Rydalch, a spokeswoman for the state’s U.S. attorney’s office.

The arrest comes after authorities confirmed an investigation into two envelopes once thought to contain ricin and later found to be castor seeds, the substance from which the poison is derived. They can cause injury if swallowed.

The FBI said there were potentially hazardous chemicals involved with their operation in Utah on Wednesday, but declined to give additional details. No attorney was immediately listed for Allen.

The envelopes addressed to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and the Navy’s top officer, Adm. John Richardson, were isolated at a mail screening facility and sent to the FBI. No one was injured, and neither envelope entered the Pentagon. Mattis is traveling in Europe this week. (Read more from “Navy Veteran Arrested in Connection With Trump Ricin Letter” HERE)

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Poll: Amid Kavanaugh Confirmation Battle, Democratic Enthusiasm Edge Evaporates

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By NPR. Just over a month away from critical elections across the country, the wide Democratic enthusiasm advantage that has defined the 2018 campaign up to this point has disappeared, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll.

In July, there was a 10-point gap between the number of Democrats and Republicans saying the November elections were “very important.” Now, that is down to 2 points, a statistical tie.

Democrats’ advantage on which party’s candidate they are more likely to support has also been cut in half since last month. Democrats still retain a 6-point edge on that question, but it was 12 points after a Marist poll conducted in mid-September.

The results come amid the pitched and hotly partisan confirmation battle over Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Multiple women have accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct when he was in high school and college. He categorically denies all the allegations. The FBI is conducting a supplemental investigation into the accusations that is expected to be wrapped up by the end of this week. (Read more from “Poll: Amid Kavanaugh Confirmation Battle, Democratic Enthusiasm Edge Evaporates” HERE)

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Senators to Review FBI Report on Allegations Against Brett Kavanaugh

By ABC News. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, speaking on the Senate floor at almost 10 p.m. Wednesday night, announced that senators will review the new FBI report into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s background Thursday, including allegations made against the judge by Christine Blasey Ford.

McConnell filed a motion that will kick off the process towards a final vote.

McConnell filed cloture on the nomination, which is a motion to bring debate to a close. The senate will hold a cloture vote on Friday, and if it passes, it’s likely the senate will hold a final vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation sometime Saturday.

(Read more from “Senators to Review FBI Report on Allegations Against Brett Kavanaugh” HERE)

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Harvard Poll: Without Corroboration of Allegations, Large Majority of Americans Want Kavanaugh Confirmed

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Let’s begin with some interesting national polling numbers about the Kavanaugh confirmation imbroglio, broken down by Democratic pollster Mark Penn. He notes that as things stand right now, Americans tip slightly against Kavanaugh’s confirmation — but absent any strong corroboration of the charges against the nominee, a substantial majority would like to see him approved (via HotAir and The Hill):

If the FBI finds no corroboration of the charges, 60 percent believe that Kavanaugh should then be confirmed, according to a weekend Harvard CAPS/Harris poll…Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), feeling rather directly the corrosive split within the nation, has the support of the country in insisting upon a brief and limited FBI investigation before the final vote. Sixty-six percent of Americans support that decision, and that includes 80 percent of Democrats, 69 percent of independents but only 45 percent of Republicans…the credibility of their testimony does not appear to be the decisive factor. Rather, the question comes down to corroboration as the standard for tipping public opinion on whether Kavanaugh should ascend to the high court. In terms of the overall needle, after the testimony was heard, 37 percent say confirm the nomination, 44 percent say reject it, and 18 percent remain undecided, with Democrats going one way and Republicans the other. But once the voters are told that the named witnesses deny any knowledge of the allegation, this shifts to 57 percent who favor confirmation — and that goes up to 60 percent, if the FBI agrees there is no corroboration.

So a supermajority of independents, and nearly half of Republicans, favor the truncated and expedited FBI probe. This reinforces the instinct and logic I laid out in recommending this course of action late last week: It adds a layer of needed legitimacy to an eventual confirmation vote, all else being equal. If the FBI cannot find corroboration for the charges against Kavanaugh, 60 percent of Americans favor confirmation. As it stands, the more people learn about the facts of the case, the more likely they are to support Kavanaugh’s approval. Penn points out that when a question correctly states that the named witnesses (by both Ford and Ramirez) cannot corroborate the accusations, confirmation support shoots up by 20 points to 57 percent.

(Read more from “Harvard Poll: Without Corroboration of Allegations, Large Majority of Americans Want Kavanaugh Confirmed” HERE)

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Capitol Police Just Arrested a Democratic Congressional Staffer in the Doxxing of GOP Senators

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By Townhall. Capitol Police on Wednesday evening arrested a Democratic congressional staffer who allegedly doxxed a handful of Republican senators and then posted their personal information online.

Jackson Cosko, 27, was charged with making public restricted personal information, witness tampering, threats in interstate communication, unauthorized access of a government computer, identity theft, second-degree burglary and unlawful entry, although additional charges could be added. . .

Last week, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) had their home addresses, home phone numbers, cell phone numbers and email addresses added to their public Wikipedia pages. The postings came as the Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Kavanaugh over Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s sexual assault allegations. All three Republican appear to believe Kavanaugh to be innocent. (Read more from “Capitol Police Just Arrested a Democratic Congressional Staffer in the Doxxing of GOP Senators” HERE)

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Suspect in Congressional Doxxing Cases Arrested

By Roll Calls. Capitol Police have arrested a suspect in the doxxing of senators and releasing personal information onto the internet. . .

Cosko is in police custody pending his first appearance, which is scheduled for Thursday at 1:30 p.m. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, according to U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson Bill Miller.

The Capitol Police investigation is ongoing, and Cosko could face additional charges, according to USCP spokesperson Eva Malecki. The case is being prosecuted by the Cyber Crime National Security Sections of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Cosko was recently an unpaid intern for Texas Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee. He no longer works there and the office is “cooperating with law enforcement.”

He previously worked for Democratic Sens. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and California’s Barbara Boxer, who has since retired. (Read more from “Suspect in Congressional Doxxing Cases Arrested” HERE)

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Police Won’t Investigate Domestic Violence Allegations Against Keith Ellison. Here’s Why.

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By Townhall. On Wednesday, the Minneapolis Police Department said they would not investigate domestic violence allegations against Rep. Keith Ellison, who also serves as the Democratic National Committee’s deputy chair. MPD said they won’t conduct an investigation due to a conflict of interest, or the appearances of a conflict of interest, the Associated Press reported.

Minnesota Democratic officials asked MPD to conduct an investigation into allegations made by Ellison’s ex-girlfriend, Karen Monahan, after their attorney found her claims to be unsubstantiated. . .

Ellison allegedly called Monahan a “f–king b–ch” and dragged her off a bed by her feet. The allegations were thrown into the public eye when Monahan’s son posted on Facebook detailing what he had witnessed and evidence he found on his mother’s computer. (Read more from “Police Won’t Investigate Domestic Violence Allegations Against Keith Ellison. Here’s Why.” HERE)

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Citing Conflict, Minneapolis Police Won’t Look Into Claim Against Keith Ellison

By Star Tribune. The DFL Party’s attempt to find a law enforcement agency willing to investigate a domestic abuse claim against U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison was mired in uncertainty Wednesday, after the Minneapolis Police Department said it would seek to refer the case to another jurisdiction.

Earlier Wednesday, the DFL asked Minneapolis police to investigate after both a city attorney and a county prosecutor declined to review a report the party commissioned that did not substantiate the allegation. . .

“Due to a conflict of interest, or the appearance of a conflict of interest, the Minneapolis Police Department will not be handling the matter involving Congressman Keith Ellison,” read a police statement. It said the department is in communication with other law enforcement agencies to which it may refer the case. Ellison’s son, Jeremiah Ellison, is a member of the Minneapolis City Council. (Read more from “Citing Conflict, Minneapolis Police Won’t Look Into Claim Against Keith Ellison” HERE)

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FBI Expands Probe, Interviews Kavanaugh Friend Who Hosted Party Mentioned in Calendar

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By Townhall. According to both national and local Denver news sources, FBI agents participating in the Brett Kavanaugh investigation spent time interviewing Tim Gaudette on Tuesday. Gaudette, who is now living in the Park Hill neighborhood of Denver, Colorado, was a high school classmate of Kavanaugh’s at Georgetown Prep.

The FBI’s interview with Gaudette is significant, because of an alleged July 1, 1982 gathering referenced on Judge Kavanaugh’s high school calendar. The event was supposed to have taken place at “Timmy’s” house. The “Timmy” referenced is known to be Tim Gaudette. . .

But according to the Washington Post, Kavanaugh’s July 1, 1982 calendar entry “has become the focus of lawmakers’ concerns.” Democratic senators on the committee have questioned whether or not that gathering could have been the location of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s alleged sexual assault. Ford claims that while she is “100%” sure that Brett Kavanaugh was her attacker, she does not recall the specific date, time, or place of said assault. . .

Tim Gaudette’s attorney, Kenneth Eichner, confirmed to the Washington Post that his client was indeed interviewed on Tuesday in Denver by the FBI, but declined to comment further.

The recent FBI interview with Gaudette came after President Donald Trump authorized the FBI to broaden the scope of the Kavanaugh investigation. The FBI had already conducted interviews with Mark Judge, another high school classmate of Kavanaugh’s. Judge has repeatedly denied having any knowledge of the alleged sexual assault on Dr. Ford, and has also denied the now largely-discredited accusations from Julie Swetnick–namely, that both Judge and Kavanaugh were present at parties where women were routinely drugged and gang-raped. (Read more from “FBI Expands Probe, Interviews Kavanaugh Friend Who Hosted Party Mentioned in Calendar” HERE)

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The FBI Confidential Kavanaugh Report: Who’s Allowed to Read It and Where

By NBC News. The much-awaited FBI’s supplemental background investigation will be delivered on Wednesday night to Capitol Hill, added to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s current file, and lawmakers will start reading it on Thursday morning.

What will be delivered, according to aides and senators, are the “302” forms of the FBI interviews, which summarize the contents of the interviews. The FBI, which has spent only a few days on the investigation, will not be submitting a conclusion as to who’s telling the truth in the case.

All 100 Senators will have access to the new information, but not their staffs. There also are 10 Judiciary Committee staffers who have access to the secret Kavanaugh file, which is a paper report — there are no pdf’s or emails of it. And it will not be made public.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has said he wants a confirmation vote this week, said on the Senate floor Wednesday night that the FBI report would be provided by the FBI to the Senate that night. McConnell set a key procedural vote for Friday that would set the stage for a possible full Senate vote as early as Saturday. (Read more from “The FBI Confidential Kavanaugh Report: Who’s Allowed to Read It and Where” HERE)

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Bombshell: Ford Lied Under Oath

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By Daily Wire. A new letter, released by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), states that a former boyfriend of Christine Blasey Ford says that he personally witnessed her coaching someone on how to take a polygraph test, despite the fact that she testified under oath that she had never done so.

“The full details of Dr. Ford’s polygraph are particularly important because the Senate Judiciary Committee has received a sworn statement from a longtime boyfriend of Dr. Ford’s, stating that he personally witnessed Dr. Ford coaching a friend on polygraph examinations,” Grassley wrote.

Ford’s ex-boyfriend said in his letter that Ford coached Monica L. McLean on how to pass a polygraph test, saying that she “explained in detail what to expect” during the polygraph and how to be “less nervous” about the test.

A source familiar with the matter told The Daily Wire that there is potentially a second witness who can corroborate the claims made by Ford’s ex-boyfriend.

(Read more from “Bombshell: Ford Lied Under Oath” HERE)

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Trump Mocks Kavanaugh Accuser Christine Blasey Ford

By Washington Post. President Trump mocked the account of a woman who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh of assault and told a Mississippi crowd that the #MeToo movement was unfairly hurting men.

Trump, in a riff that has been dreaded by White House and Senate aides, attacked the story of Christine Blasey Ford at length — drawing laughs from the crowd. The remarks were his strongest attacks yet of her testimony.

“ ‘I don’t know. I don’t know.’ ‘Upstairs? Downstairs? Where was it?’ ‘I don’t know. But I had one beer. That’s the only thing I remember,’ ” Trump said of Ford, as he impersonated her on stage.

“I don’t remember,” he said repeatedly, apparently mocking her testimony. (Read more from “Trump Mocks Kavanaugh Accuser Christine Blasey Ford” HERE)

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ICE Arrests 150 Criminal, Previously Deported Illegals

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The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency arrested 150 criminal and previously deported illegal aliens across the Los Angeles, California region this week.

ICE officials say about 40 percent of the illegal aliens arrested in the sweep had been previously released by state or local officials in accordance with California’s “sanctuary state” policy, which gives safe haven and shelter to all illegal aliens, including those with criminal convictions. . .

“The state laws preventing ICE from working in the jails is significantly impacting public safety by letting serious repeat offenders back out onto our streets,” ICE official Thomas Giles said in a statement.

“Our presence would be focused in the jails, rather than in the streets, and safer for all involved, if ICE could again coordinate transfers of criminal aliens with local jails,” Giles said.

ICE officials say all illegal aliens who were arrested in the raid who are not being criminally prosecuted will be deported from the U.S. Illegal aliens who were previously deported “are subject to immediate removal from the country,” ICE officials said. (Read more from “ICE Arrests 150 Criminal, Previously Deported Illegals” HERE)

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Study: Consequences Cut Illegal Immigration

By Free Beacon. Prosecuting illegal immigrants, or banning them from obtaining a visa, substantially reduces their likelihood of attempting to cross the border a second time, a new study concludes.

Although it only discusses a policy rolled out between 2008 and 2012, the study may have major implications for President Donald Trump’s zero tolerance approach to immigration enforcement, which still requires the prosecution of most childless border crossers.

The paper is a collaboration between two university professors and three researchers with the government-funded Institute for Defense Analyses. To conduct their analysis, the authors obtained detailed, person-level data on apprehensions at the southwestern border between fiscal years 2005 and 2012. They used fingerprint data to link repeated apprehensions, building a picture of who crossed the border and at what time.

The researchers were interested in the effect of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Consequence Delivery System program. Rolled out between 2008 and 2012, the CDS set up three different levels of sanctions for the people that USBP apprehends: precluding the detained person from acquiring a visa in the five years following detention, repatriating the person at a location far away from where they entered (to stymie efforts to reconnect with smugglers), and criminal prosecution. (Read more from “Study: Consequences Cut Illegal Immigration” HERE)

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Navy SEAL Drops Truth Bomb on Kavanaugh Accuser Believers

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Robert O’Neill, the famous Navy SEAL who helped kill Osama bin Laden, says the “believe survivors” refrain surrounding Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh’s accuser is never used in conjunction with the 2012 Benghazi terror attack.

The SEAL Team 6 member who took out the United States’ most wanted terrorist during operation Neptune’s Spear added some military perspective this weekend to the controversy surrounding President Trump’s top pick to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. O’Neill asked his social media followers why sexual misconduct allegations — like those leveled by California college professor Christine Blasey Ford towards Judge Kavanaugh — are supposed to be believed wholesale by the public, while Benghazi terror attack survivors like Kris Paronto are seemingly ignored.

Ms. Blasey Ford claims that Judge Kavanaugh attempted to rape her at an unspecified home during the summer of 1982. Individuals she cited as witnesses have failed to corroborate her claims. . .

Mr. O’Neill’s tweet references the terrorist siege in Libya that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, foreign service officer Sean Smith, and CIA contractors Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty at a CIA compound. (Read more from “Navy SEAL Drops Truth Bomb on Kavanaugh Accuser Believers” HERE)

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Fraud Soars as More Men Sneak Children Into U.S. to Exploit ‘Family Loophole’

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By Washington Examiner. Men now make up about 40 percent of illegal immigrant parents trying to sneak children into the U.S., as they leap to take advantage of the “family loophole” that means illegal immigrants who come with children get treated more leniently.

Fraud also has soared, with the Border Patrol identifying 150 cases from May to August of adults, men or women, pretending to be families to take advantage of the loophole.

Those 150 cases work out to an annual rate of 450 a year — or nearly 10 times the 46 cases recorded in all of 2017.

The numbers, which The Washington Times obtained from the Department of Homeland Security, signal the growing shift in immigration patterns as would-be migrants and the smugglers who shepherd them on their journey north exploit the soft underbelly of U.S. policy to gain a foothold here.

Jessica Vaughan, policy studies director at the Center for Immigration Studies, said children have become “pawns and deportation shields,” carried on the dangerous journey north and deployed to try to earn their parents more leniency. (Read more from “Fraud Soars as More Men Sneak Children Into U.S. to Exploit ‘Family Loophole'” HERE)

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Italian Pro-Refugee Mayor Under House Arrest on Illegal Migration Charges

By Reuters. A town mayor in the south of Italy, known for his innovative approach to welcoming asylum seekers, was put under house arrest on Tuesday for allegedly favoring illegal migration, angering supporters but pleasing the anti-immigration interior minister.

Domenico Lucano, 60, mayor of Riace, a hilltop medieval town in Italy’s poor Calabria region, was put under home confinement by the finance police in the early hours, the local prosecutor’s office said.

A statement said Lucano and his partner, Tesfahun Lemlem, had organized arranged marriages with “particular ruthlessness” between local citizens and immigrant women and had set up “simple yet efficient” systems aimed at bypassing rules for migrants to be granted entrance to Italy.

Lemlem was banned from living in the town area, it added. (Read more from “Italian Pro-Refugee Mayor Under House Arrest on Illegal Migration Charges” HERE)

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