Facebook Allowed Obama Campaign to Access Personal Data; Radio Show Host Explodes Facebook Controversy

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By Daily Mail. Facebook allowed the Obama campaign to access the personal data of users during the 2012 campaign because they supported the Democratic candidate according to a high ranking staffer.

Carol Davidsen, who worked as the media director at Obama for America and has spoken about this in the past, explained on Twitter that she and her team were able to ingest massive amounts of information from the social network after getting permission from Facebook users to access their list of friends.

‘Facebook was surprised we were able to suck out the whole social graph, but they didn’t stop us once they realized that was what we were doing,’ wrote Davidsen.

She wrote that, not only did Facebook not try to stop them, but the company said they’d made a special exception for them.

‘They came to office in the days following election recruiting & were very candid that they allowed us to do things they wouldn’t have allowed someone else to do because they were on our side,’ she tweeted. (Read more from “Facebook Allowed Obama Campaign to Access Personal Data” HERE)

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Radio Show Host Explodes Facebook Controversy

By WND. Reuters jumped in to attack, stating: “Facebook Inc’s shares fell more than 4 percent … after media reports that a political consultancy that worked on President Donald Trump’s campaign gained inappropriate access to data on 50 million Facebook users.”

The report said even “the head of European Parliament said on Monday that EU lawmakers will investigate whether the data misuse has taken place, adding the allegation is an unacceptable violation of citizens’ privacy rights.” . . .

But what really was the “inappropriate access” or the “data misuse”?

Figments of strong imaginations, apparently, contends talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh.

“Facebook is not a victim here, and Cambridge Analytica is by no means the only entity which has Facebook’s own data collection,” he said Monday. “Facebook collects the data. Cambridge Analytica is like any other outfit that found a way to access it, and it’s not illegal. (Read more from “Radio Show Host Explodes Facebook Data-Mining Controversy” HERE)

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This Driving Law Just Prompted Cops to Seize $92,000

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By WND. The Institute for Justice is reporting lawmakers in Wyoming have banned the practice by officers of “badgering” drivers stopped on traffic infractions to sign pre-written waivers transferring title to property, including cash.

The bill, “Roadside waiver of property rights prohibited,” was signed recently by Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead.

It states plainly, “A law enforcement officer may not request, require, or in any manner induce any person to execute a document purporting to waive, for purpose of forfeiture under this section, the person’s interest in or rights to property seized.”

And finally, it allows confiscation “after a hearing and a finding of probable cause as required” by the law . . .

IJ reported the law was in response to a case in which Wisconsin musician Phil Parhamovich had his “entire life savings” of $91,800 seized by highway patrol officers. (Read more from “This Driving Law Just Prompted Cops to Seize $92,000” HERE)

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Wyoming Bans Roadside Waivers Used to Seize Cash on Highways

By IJ. Last week, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead signed a bill that bans law enforcement from using roadside waivers to pressure motorists to give up their own hard-earned cash. During traffic stops, officers have badgered drivers into signing pre-written waivers that not only waive their rights to their property, but also waive their right to the limited protections offered by the state’s civil forfeiture laws.

Wyoming now joins Texas and Virginia in banning roadside waivers. Sponsored by Rep. Charles Pelkey, the bill, HB 61, passed the legislature with only two votes against it. HB 61 will take effect on July 1.

“Due process doesn’t happen on the side of a road and we’re pleased to see Wyoming ban this abusive tactic,” said Institute for Justice Attorney Dan Alban. “But the state’s civil forfeiture laws remained unchanged, and still need major reform. No one should lose their property without being convicted of a crime.”

The new law is a direct response to a case in which the Institute for Justice represented Wisconsin musician Phil Parhamovich, who had his entire life savings—$91,800—seized on I-80 near Cheyenne. In March 2017, Phil was pulled over by the Wyoming Highway Patrol for not wearing his seatbelt. During the stop, several law enforcement officers searched Phil’s minivan and found no drugs or anything illegal. But they did find his cash. Phil had spent years saving up that money and planned to use it as the down payment for a recording studio in Madison once used by Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins. (Read more from “Wyoming Bans Roadside Waivers Used to Seize Cash on Highways” HERE)

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Hacker Who Turned in ‘Chelsea’ Manning Dies From Unknown Circumstances at 37

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Adrian Lamo, the hacker who turned Chelsea Manning in to the FBI for leaking classified government documents on Wikileaks, has died . . .

‘With great sadness and a broken heart I have to let know all of Adrian’s friends and acquaintances that he is dead,’ Mario Lamo posted. ‘A bright mind and compassionate soul is gone, he was my beloved son.’ . . .

Kate Flavin, a spokeswoman for Sedgwick County’s regional forensic science center told Business Insider that an autopsy is being conducted and will determine the cause of death . . .

Lamo became a star in the hacker community, but that all changed a few years later when he outed former US Army soldier Chelsea Manning as the person who dumped thousands of classified government documents on WikiLeaks.

Lamo and Manning struck up a friendship online in 2010. Manning, who was going by the name Bradley at the time before transitioning into a female, confided in Lamo that [he] had copies of thousands of documents the US government wanted to remain classified. (Read more from “Hacker Who Turned in ‘Chelsea’ Manning Mysteriously Dies at 37” HERE)

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Trump’s Attorney Wants $20 Million From Stormy Daniels

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By The Daily Wire. Lawyers for Essential Consultants LLC, the company, set up by President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen, reportedly to negotiate with – and eventually pay – Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an affair she had with Trump before the 2016 election, filed a motion late Friday claiming Daniels may owe up to $20 million in damages if she speaks out on the affair.

Essential Consultants filed the claim as part of an effort to remove the case from California court to Federal court, noting that Donald Trump has only minimal contacts with the state of California, and that the amount of money at issue in the lawsuit is significant. A personal attorney for Donald Trump is also expected to file in support of the motion.

Cohen and his company say that Daniels owes a million dollars for each violation of the agreement she signed just before Donald Trump was elected President. They claim that, on at least 20 separate occasions, Daniels revealed information ostensibly protected by the agreement, putting her on the hook for at least $20 million, and potentially more if she keeps speaking on the subject. (Read more from “Trump’s Attorney Wants $20 Million From Stormy Daniels” HERE)

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Trump’s Lawyers Seek $20 Million in Damages From Porn Star Stormy Daniels

By CNBC. A law firm representing U.S. President Donald Trump and the corporation that paid porn actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 in what she called hush money over an alleged affair with Trump said in a court filing that it was seeking at least $20 million in damages for multiple violations of a nondisclosure agreement.

In a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California made public on Friday, the Blakely Law Group also asked for a lawsuit by Daniels that seeks to nullify the agreement to be moved to a federal district court from a county court . . .

Daniels has alleged that she had an affair with Trump that began in 2006 and lasted several months.

Michael Cohen, a private lawyer for Trump, has said he paid Daniels $130,000 of his own money during the 2016 presidential election campaign. Cohen has not explained why he made the payment and has not said if Trump was aware of it.

Attorney Michael Avenatti, who represents Daniels, said on Friday: “This is simply more of the same bullying tactics from the president and Mr. Cohen. They are now attempting to remove this case in order to increase their chances that the matter will ultimately be decided in private arbitration, behind closed doors, outside of public view and scrutiny. (Read more from “Trump’s Lawyers Seek $20 Million in Damages From Porn Star Stormy Daniels” HERE)

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Billionaire Koch Brothers Rail Against Trump’s Popular Economic Nationalism

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The billionaire GOP mega-donor Koch brothers are continuing to oppose President Trump’s economic nationalist agenda, now calling his recent pro-American worker tariffs “crony capitalism.”

Charles and David Koch are two of the Republican Party’s biggest billionaire donors, supporting an agenda of endless, multinational free trade agreements and open borders to keep U.S. wages stagnant.

While recent efforts by the Kochs have focused on pushing Republican lawmakers to pass an amnesty for millions of illegal aliens in the country, the ideologically-globalist donors now have their eyes focused on opposing Trump’s 25 percent tariff on imported steel and 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum, both designed to increase American manufacturing.

In an interview with Bloomberg, James Davis—the Koch brothers’ spokesperson—called Trump’s popular, pro-American worker tariffs “crony capitalism.” . . .

Davis also said that much like the Koch brothers’ recent pro-open borders ad campaign, where the billionaires call illegal aliens “patriots,” the network of organizations run by the duo have not taken “off the table” the possibility of running ads opposing Trump’s tariffs and economic nationalist agenda. (Read more from “Billionaire Koch Brothers Rail Against Trump’s Popular Economic Nationalism” HERE)

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Kim DotCom Warns President Trump to Strike Back Against Mueller – DECLASSIFY THEIR CRIMES or Be Destroyed

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By The Gateway Pundit. Kim DotCom spoke out against the Deep State in a rare interview this week.

(Read more from “Kim DotCom Warns President Trump to Strike Back Against Mueller – DECLASSIFY THEIR CRIMES or Be Destroyed” HERE)

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Kim Dotcom: The Copyright Case That Should End but Won’t

By American Thinker. It has been six years since the compound of Kim Dotcom (né Kim Schmitz), a Finnish-German dual national, was raided, north of Auckland, New Zealand. The official reason given was that his company, Megaupload, was facilitating criminal file-sharing of copyrighted movie and media files.

Kim Dotcom is not a flawless figure. He was somewhat of a famous hacker in Europe, who had relocated to the South Pacific. Everyone who meets Kim, such as Steven Wozniak, seems to find him personable. What also comes across to the observant is that Kim is rather immature; he brags about his championship computer gaming skills . . .

His reputation preceded him, and the U.S. government paints him as a criminal mastermind rather than the hacking teenager who refused to grow up that he really is.

Kim and his associates ran a site called Megaupload, an early version of cloud storage, which was used by many to upload and share copyrighted media. Hollywood was furious, but as a matter of fact, Megaupload was not the only website running such a storage system. Dropbox was started in 2007. In reality, Kim claims he worked with Hollywood to reduce piracy, and there seems to be some evidence of that. (Read more from “Kim Dotcom: The Copyright Case That Should End but Won’t” HERE)

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FBI Number 2 Fired, Sessions Releases Statement Explaining Why

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FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was fired by the Justice Department on Friday, and in a statement, Attorney General Jeff Sessions explained just why McCabe had to go.

McCabe’s termination — which occurred just days before he would have been eligible for a lifetime pension — came after the DOJ determined he displayed a blatant disregard for the truth when giving testimony to investigators about the bureau’s probe into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of private email server.

“Pursuant to Department Order 1202, and based on the report of the Inspector General, the findings of the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility, and the recommendation of the Department’s senior career official, I have terminated the employment of Andrew McCabe effective immediately,” Sessions said in a statement, according to Fox News.

“I have terminated the employment of Andrew McCabe effective immediately,” Sessions added, before noting that, “Both the OIG and FBI OPR reports concluded that Mr. McCabe had made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor — including under oath — on multiple occasions.”

The attorney general pointed out that FBI employees are expected to “adhere to the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and accountability.” Apparently, McCabe failed in that regard.

The move to fire McCabe drew praise from many, with President Donald Trump writing in a Twitter post that justice had effectively been served and that Friday was “a great day for Democracy.”

“Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI — A great day for Democracy,” Trump tweeted.

“Sanctimonious James Comey was his boss and made McCabe look like a choirboy. He knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI!”

However, The Atlantic‘s Adam Sewer suggested there is more to the story of both McCabe and former FBI Director James Comey — who Trump fired last year — and that it has much less to do with the integrity of the employees and more to do with McCabe drawing the ire of Trump himself.

According to Sewer, the termination leaves numerous questions regarding the “independence of both the Justice Department and the FBI” as special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation bears down on Washington, with McCabe’s firing effectively warning federal law enforcement officials not to “displease the president.”

McCabe had reportedly been a witness in Mueller’s investigation, which is looking into Comey’s termination last year and whether or not the current administration obstructed justice in any way.

Though Republican lawmakers in Washington hold fast to the claim that McCabe was intentionally dishonest, the former bureau employee put out a statement of his own following his termination and deemed the move to be nothing more than retaliation.

“I am being singled out and treated this way because of the role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey,” McCabe said.

McCabe further stated that the move was due to his willingness to corroborate Comey’s own testimony.

“The OIG’s focus on me and this report became a part of an unprecedented effort by the Administration, driven by the President himself, to remove me from my position, destroy my reputation, and possibly strip me of a pension that I worked 21 years to earn,” he said. (For more from the author of “FBI Number 2 Fired, Sessions Releases Statement Explaining Why” please click HERE)

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Texts Reveal Personal Relationship Between Anti-Trump FBI Official and Judge Recused From Flynn Case

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By Fox News. The federal judge who presided over former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s case last year before mysteriously being recused had a personal relationship with anti-Trump FBI official Peter Strzok, according to text mesages obtained and reviewed by Fox News.

The revelations about U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras are found in a new batch of text messages between Strzok and his FBI paramour, Lisa Page.

Contreras was appointed to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) in 2016, a topic of conversation between Strzok and Page.

“Rudy is on the FISC! Did you know that?” Page texted Strzok on July 25, 2016. “Just appointed two months ago.”

“I did,” Strzok replied. “We talked about it before and after. I need to get together with him.” (Read more from “Texts Reveal Personal Relationship Between Anti-Trump FBI Official and Judge Recused From Flynn Case” HERE)

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Strzok, Page and the FBI Texting Scandal Explained

By Fox News. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election has been clouded by revelations that two former members of his team sent negative text messages about President Trump.

In the messages, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who were romantically involved, bash Trump and discuss concerns about being too tough on Hillary Clinton during an investigation into the use of her private email server. The pair exchanged some 50,000 text messages throughout the presidential election and first year of the Trump administration, many of them with anti-Trump sentiments.

In a letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson pointed out texts between Strzok and Page suggested the FBI waited nearly a month to act after finding new emails found on Anthony Weiner’s laptop during the criminal investigation into his relationship with a minor.

“Got called up to Andy’s earlier … hundreds of thousands of emails turned over by Weiner’s atty to sdny, includes a ton of material from spouse,” Strzok wrote in a text to Page, referring to Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton’s top aide and Weiner’s wife.

Johnson said the “cryptic and disjointed nature” of the texts, along with heavy redactions by the FBI, made the sequence of events unclear. (Read more from “Strzok, Page and the FBI Texting Scandal Explained” HERE)

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Police Seize First Firearms Under Florida’s New Gun Control Laws

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A Broward County judge on Friday issued what is thought to be Florida’s first order temporarily removing guns from a person under Florida’s new gun-control laws.

Four firearms and 267 rounds of ammunition were ordered removed from a 56-year-old Lighthouse Point man who experts determined was a potential risk to himself or others.

The guns and ammunition have been temporarily removed from the man under the state’s new “risk protection” law, which is also sometimes called “red flag” legislation, Lighthouse Point City Attorney Michael Cirullo confirmed.

Although the man was also taken to a hospital for involuntary psychiatric treatment under the state’s Baker Act, the civil ruling removing his access to guns and ammunition was granted under the new legislation, which permits removal of guns from people who have not been committed but are deemed a potential risk to themselves or others, according to the order signed by Broward’s Chief Judge Jack Tuter.

“We know it’s the first case of its kind in Broward County and we think it’s the first one in Florida, under the new law,” Cirullo said. “Up until the introduction of this law last week, there was no process for us to protect the public in this kind of situation.” (Read more from “Police Seize First Firearms Under Florida’s New Gun Control Laws” HERE)

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California Appoints Illegal Alien to Office

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California has its first illegal alien in state office, after Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) appointed Lizbeth Mateo to the California Student Opportunity and Access Program Project Grant Advisory Committee.

Mateo, an attorney, was born in Mexico and came to the U.S. illegally at the age of 14 with her parents, who are also illegal aliens, according to the Sacramento Bee.

She complained that illegal aliens are not adequately represented in state government, and described her appointment as a step towards correcting that alleged injustice.

“While undocumented students have become more visible in our state, they remain underrepresented in places where decisions that affect them are being made,” Mateo said, as quoted by Fox News. (Read more from “California Appoints Illegal Alien to Office” HERE)

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