INSIDE HILLARY’S EMAIL SERVER: The Entire Criminal Enterprise Known as the Clinton Foundation Laid Bare

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It’s a well-established fact that by setting up her private email server in the basement of her New York home, Secretary Clinton was able to avoid accountability through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

The Wall Street Journal’s Kim Strassel penned an important op-ed last night that takes a closer look at the other reason Clinton set up a non-governmental email: the Clinton Foundation. By using one private email account, Clinton was free to conduct both State Department and Clinton Foundation business—often overlapping—on the same email account. The same is likely true for close aide Huma Abedin, who in fact worked simultaneously for the State Department and the Clinton Foundation (oh, and for Clinton in a private capacity and the Clinton-tied Teneo Consulting).

Here are just a few of the reasons behind Clinton’s private server:

Lost in the classified kerfuffle is the other, lately ignored but still potent, scandal: the Clinton Foundation, and the unethical mixing of Mrs. Clinton’s public work and her personal fundraising/speech-giving/favor-doing. The more evidence that comes out, the more it looks as if that server was set up to provide an off-the-grid means for those two worlds to interact….

…Foundation cash after Russian mining approvals. More than a dozen speeches by Bill to corporations and governments with business pending before Hillary’s State Department. Dozens more donations to the foundation from companies that were lobbying the State Department. Checks to the foundation from a Swiss bank after Secretary of State Clinton solved its IRS problem. An email to Ms. Abedin, while she was at State, asking for help winning a presidential appointment for a Clinton Foundation donor.

What else? Plenty, surely. The Clinton Foundation existed in recent years to serve as an unofficial PAC for Mrs. Clinton’s expected presidential run. And Mrs. Clinton’s job at State was designed to serve the same end. Of course the business of the two was intertwined. And here’s to betting the server was maintained to facilitate that intertwinement.

This could explain mounting reports that a Hillary Grand Jury has been impaneled. (For more from the author of “INSIDE HILLARY’S EMAIL SERVER: The Entire Criminal Enterprise Known as the Clinton Foundation Laid Bare” please click HERE)

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Right After Trump Earns Carson’s Endorsement, He Gets Huge News From This Conservative Icon

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While Thursday night’s debate performances provided reporters with some substantive content, much of the political news coverage on Friday focused on the notable endorsements picked up this week by the top two GOP presidential candidates. Ahead of Tuesday’s important primaries in Ohio and Florida, prominent Republicans of all stripes began to officially name their favorite between Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Cruz added some diversity to his list of endorsements with nods from the likes of the Black Conservatives Fund, and Meghan McCain, political commentator and daughter of Arizona Sen. John McCain. Cruz wrapped up the week by securing the support of the National Review editorial board and conservative talk radio host Mark Levin.

Trump has also amassed some notable endorsements this week, including one-time rival Dr. Ben Carson. Shortly after the retired neurosurgeon formally announced his pick, Trump received the endorsement of longtime conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly.

At a campaign event Friday in St. Louis, the 91-year-old Schalfly introduced Trump with a few remarks explaining why he is her choice.

She said the brash billionaire “has the courage and energy” needed to “bring some changes.” (Read more from “Right After Trump Earns Carson’s Endorsement, He Gets Huge News From This Conservative Icon” HERE)

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Judiciary Chairman Accuses Democrats of ‘Charade’ on Supreme Court

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A Senate Judiciary Committee hearing turned into a slugfest Thursday as Republicans and Democrats traded jabs over the GOP’s blockade of President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court.

Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, accused Senate Democrats of allowing “raw politics to infect the process” by stirring up a frivolous partisan fight.

“Everybody knows any nominee submitted in the middle of this presidential campaign isn’t getting confirmed. Everyone knows that. Why the charade?” Grassley asked.

“It’s because the other side is committed to using this process to score as many political points as possible. That’s it, plain and simple,” Grassley answered.

The White House has floated several potential nominees in the past few weeks, and Obama is expected to announce his final pick soon. But that doesn’t change much for Senate Republicans.

Since Justice Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly Feb. 13, the GOP has remained adamant that his seat on the bench remain open until after the November election, for the next president to fill.

If Republicans succeed, “the work of the committee and this Congress will be shamefully incomplete,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said.

Democrats continue to blast Republicans for dereliction of their constitutional duty to offer advice and consent on judicial nominees. They want Obama to nominate and the Senate to consider a nominee as soon as possible.

Republicans have been quick to counter that they’re only following a precedent established by Vice President Joe Biden. While a senator, Biden urged the Senate to block any of President George H.W. Bush’s Supreme Court picks before the 1992 general election.

Schumer characterized that back-and-forth as “he said, she said” dribble.

“On both sides, everyone’s said a bunch of things,” Schumer said. “But let me repeat: Not once since this committee began holding hearings on Supreme Court nominees a century ago has the committee refused to report a nominee to the floor for consideration.”

To make his point, Schumer goaded Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who also sits on the Judiciary Committee, for saying he enjoys a “good scrap” in a Senate floor speech last week.

“After the president makes a nomination,” Schumer said, “let’s have the kind of serious, long, detailed, thorough debate—call it a scrap if you will—that we’ve had in the past.”

Past remarks of the third-ranking Democrat have provided Republicans with plenty of ammunition. In July 2007, Schumer called on the Senate to block any of President George W. Bush’s Supreme Court nominees. Democrats controlled the chamber at that time, and 18 months remained in Bush’s term.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., predicted that the current fight will generate a permanent standard, one “that will stand the test of time.”

“We are setting a precedent here today, Republicans are,” Graham said. In the last year of a president’s term, he said, “you’re not going to fill the vacancy of the Supreme Court based on what we’re doing here today. That’s going to be the new rule.”

Graham, who voted to confirm both of Obama’s previous nominees, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, encouraged Democrats to hold Republicans to that standard in the future.

“You could use my words against me, and you’d be absolutely right,” he said.

Bipartisan criticism swiftly poured in after the committee meeting ended.

Carrie Severino, chief counsel of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network, praised Grassley for letting “the people decide the next justice through their votes for president.”

Wade Henderson, president of the liberal Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said it would “be refreshing to see the Senate Judiciary Committee embrace its constitutional duty to advise and consent on judicial nominees.” (For more from the author of “Judiciary Chairman Accuses Democrats of ‘Charade’ on Supreme Court” please click HERE)

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Source: Clinton IT Specialist Revealing Server Details to FBI, ‘Devastating Witness’

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Former Hillary Clinton IT specialist Bryan Pagliano, a key witness in the email probe who struck an immunity deal with the Justice Department, has told the FBI a range of details about how her personal email system was set up, according to an intelligence source close to the case who called him a “devastating witness.”

The source said Pagliano told the FBI who had access to the former secretary of state’s system – as well as when – and what devices were used, amounting to a roadmap for investigators.

“Bryan Pagliano is a devastating witness and, as the webmaster, knows exactly who had access to [Clinton’s] computer and devices at specific times. His importance to this case cannot be over-emphasized,” the intelligence source said.

The source, who is not authorized to speak on the record due to the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation, said Pagliano has provided information allowing investigators to knit together the emails with other evidence, including images of Clinton on the road as secretary of state.

The cross-referencing of evidence could help investigators pinpoint potential gaps in the email record. “Don’t forget all those photos with her using various devices and it is easy to track the whereabouts of her phone,” the source said. “It is still boils down to a paper case. Did you email at this time from your home or elsewhere using this device? And here is a picture of you and your aides holding the devices.” (Read more from “Source: Clinton IT Specialist Revealing Server Details to FBI, ‘Devastating Witness'” HERE)

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Paul Ryan Received a Standing Ovation at the Republican Congressional Retreat for This Despicable Reason

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You probably never heard about this but in December, House Speaker Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) successfully pushed through Congress his $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill that will also fund visas for nearly 300,000 more Muslim migrants over the next 12 months.

The omnibus bill also funded sanctuary cities, illegal alien tax credits, and changed federal law to allow for a massive increase in low-skilled H-2B workers– an immigration expansion opposed by more than nine in ten GOP voters. Yet at the first gathering of all House Republicans since the omnibus’s passage, Politico reports that GOP lawmakers gave Ryan a standing ovation at the close of this week’s Republican Congressional retreat.

Politico writes: “Retreats like this week’s pow-wow at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor are typically contentious affairs. For the past four years, lawmakers used it as an occasion to scream at John Boehner and Eric Cantor. During their last session here, however, Ryan got a standing ovation as he made commitments to [pursue] big ideas.”

Yet neither John Boehner nor Eric Cantor joined Barack Obama to expand Muslim immigration in to the United States– a distinction which is uniquely Paul Ryan’s . . .

Interestingly, nowhere in Ryan’s priorities is the topic of immigration mentioned– even though Paul Ryan views mass immigration as part of his vision for growing the economy, along with passing President Obama’s unpopular trade policies. (Read more from “Paul Ryan Received a Standing Ovation at the Republican Congressional Retreat for This Despicable Reason” HERE)

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Ohio Judge Rules Some 17-Year-Olds Can Vote in Primary

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An Ohio judge has granted teenagers who will turn 18 before Election Day the right to vote in the state’s presidential primary elections in a new decision that could boost Bernie Sanders’s chances in the state on Tuesday.

Sanders’s team sued to change the state law, but a judge decided Friday on a different state-level case that effectively provided the same outcome.

The Vermont senator’s White House campaign has been boosted by strong support from younger voters, so the decision could prove important in the crucial state of Ohio, which has 143 delegates up for grabs.

Ohio had barred 17-year-olds from voting on primary day regardless of if they would be eligible for the general election.

But the timing of the decision, just days before the Tuesday primary, could dampen any potential gains. (Read more from “Ohio Judge Rules Some 17-Year-Olds Can Vote in Primary” HERE)

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Rubio Campaign Just Told Supporters to Vote for ANOTHER Candidate – People Are Stunned

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Rarely in American political history has a presidential candidate’s campaign urged voters to cast a ballot for his rival. As further evidence of the 2016 Republican presidential primary’s volatile nature, however, that is precisely what one campaign mouthpiece is doing ahead of Tuesday’s Ohio primary.

Marco Rubio communications director Alex Conant, who just days ago was employed to dispel CNN’s report that the Florida senator was planning an imminent campaign suspension, appeared on the network again Friday to urge Ohio Republicans to join him in an unusual strategy.

As a clear GOP voter coalition emerges to take down unconventional front-runner Donald Trump, Conant conceded the best way to achieve this goal is to back John Kasich, not Rubio, in the Ohio primary.

Currently serving as the state’s governor, polls show Kasich presents the best campaign to defeat Trump in Ohio.

“If you are a Republican primary voter in Ohio and you want to defeat Donald Trump,” Conant said, “your best chance is John Kasich.”

Of course, Rubio’s home state also hosts its primary on Tuesday — and Conant’s advice was much different to Republicans in that state.

Read more from this story, “Rubio Campaign Just Told Supporters to Vote for Kasich,” HERE.

RED ALERT: Hillary Grand Jury Convened — FBI Also Pursuing Clinton Influence Peddling

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Department of Justice officials have impaneled a federal grand jury in the Hillary Clinton email case and FBI agents have launched a second, separate investigation on political corruption involving the former secretary of state’s official activities and the Clinton Foundation, a former U.S. attorney told The Daily Caller News Foundation.

Joseph E. diGenova, who served as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia for four years, said Wednesday he believes the FBI is investigating two separate Clinton scandals.

“The Bureau has between 100 and 150 agents assigned to the case. They would not have that many people assigned to a classified information case,” he told TheDCNF, addressing Clinton’s use of a private email server located at her New York home.

“Based on reports that agents are asking questions about the foundation, it seems to me it is the subject of a second prong of the investigation,” he said.

The Department of State’s inspector general (IG) subpoenaed documents from the Clinton Foundation last fall to determine if State Department policies had been influenced by foundation activities. The State IG asked for records held by the foundation and Huma Abedin, who for six months simultaneously worked for former Secretary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation.

A number of the 55,000 pages of government-related emails that were released under a court order also show numerous emails between Clinton’s aides and the Clinton Foundation’s foreign policy director, Amitabh Desai.

The corruption probe is being led by the Justice Department’s public integrity division, a former FBI agent who requested anonymity told TheDCNF.

DiGenova said it was clear to him if a federal grand jury had been impaneled after Justice Department officials acknowledged they had issued statutory immunity to Bryan Pagliano, Clinton’s former IT chief.

“It is inconceivable to me that they could have done that without subpoenaing documents from third parties,” he told TheDCNF, “You cannot declare immunity except in the grand jury context if it was statutory immunity.”

Department of Justice officials granted Pagliano immunity from prosecution in return for full cooperation with the FBI over the operation of the private server, according to the Washington Post.

“My long experience as the United States Attorney and an independent counsel makes me conclude as a matter of professional judgment that a grand jury exists,” diGenova told TheDCNF. “It is readily apparent to me that there is at least a grand jury impaneled for the purposes of issuing subpoenas,” he said.

Matthew G. Whitaker, a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, agreed, saying “a grand jury impaneled for the purposes of issuing a subpoena makes a lot of sense.”

The Obama administration has been coy about whether or not a grand jury had been impaneled in the Clinton case. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch side-stepped the issue in a Feb. 29 Fox News interview, saying, “we don’t comment on specifics.”

DiGenova said he expected an FBI recommendation on at least one of its investigations to be sent to the Justice Department within the next 60 days.

A grand jury’s goal is to determine whether or not there is “probable cause” one or more persons have committed a federal offense. It is not an indictment. A grand jury can issue an indictment or return what is called a “no bill,” meaning there is no legal action.

It is also not clear who is the “target” of the grand jury. In a Monday interview with Fox News, Clinton insisted she was not a target of the Justice Department or of a grand jury. Clinton, however, could be the “subject” of an investigation, but not a target.

A “target” is when a prosecutor or a grand jury has substantial evidence to link a person to the commission of a crime and who, in the judgment of the prosecutor, is a defendant. While a “subject” of an investigation is a person whose conduct is within the scope of a grand jury’s investigation but may not have committed a crime.

Whitaker also said Clinton can play dumb if her lawyers have not asked the Department of Justice outright if she is a target.

“The real question is whether her lawyers have asked the feds whether she’s the subject or target of an investigation,” he told TheDCNF. “If they have not asked the question, she would not ‘know’ the answer.”

Mark Zaid, a national security lawyer, also said that empaneling a grand jury does not mean guilt.

“Even if a grand jury is impaneled, it doesn’t mean culpability,” Zaid told TheDCNF.

The Justice Department cautions that convening a grand jury in itself is not the equivalent of an indictment.

The Department of Justice did not respond to TheDCNF’s request for comment. (For more from the author of “RED ALERT: Hillary Grand Jury Convened — FBI Also Pursuing Clinton Influence Peddling” please click HERE)

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Huge: Here’s Who GOP Donors Are Pushing to Run an Independent Campaign

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A group of Republican donors and strategists has been working to persuade former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to make an independent bid for president, according to a memo outlining the plan obtained by POLITICO Florida.

The group has grown increasingly dissatisfied with New York billionaire Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner who has roiled the party’s establishment as he has surged ahead in the polls.

“The reality of the the matter is that we will have President Trump or President Clinton — if we don’t have President Rice,” read the memo, which was written by Joel Searby, a consultant with Florida-based GOP firm Data Targeting.

POLITICO reported last month about a memo that a group of donors was working on with Data Targeting to look at the viability of a third-party run amid Trump’s ascent. The newest memo, sent Thursday, is an update on the firm’s work.

“We have been in touch with Dr. Rice through her chief of staff,” read the plan, which is stamped “confidential.” “She is reluctant at this stage. We are asking for anyone wanting to assist to encourage her to run.” (Read more from “Huge: Here’s Who GOP Donors Are Pushing to Run an Independent Campaign” HERE)

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Ben Carson Just Revealed Who He’s Endorsing

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Days after former GOP presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina made her endorsement of Ted Cruz official, another one-time contender has made a decidedly less formal pronouncement of support for unconventional front-runner Donald Trump. Dr. Ben Carson, who enjoyed a tentatively cordial relationship with Trump during the first leg of the election season, said in a Fox News Radio interview on Thursday that he is “leaning” toward endorsing the brash billionaire.

When Carson began surging in the polls late last year, however, the friendship soured as Trump repeatedly and emphatically challenged his rival’s autobiography.

In attempting to make the case for Trump, Carson did not rely on public statements. Instead, he tried to reassure concerned voters that Trump is not always the controversial character they see during debates and campaign rallies.

“There are two Donald Trumps,” the retired neurosurgeon declared.

One, he explained, is the “entertainer” Americans see “on television” and “in front of big audiences.”

In private, however, Carson described “a thinking individual” who is ready to admit that “he doesn’t have all the answers.” (Read more from “Ben Carson Just Revealed Who He’s Endorsing” HERE)

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