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Obvious Double Standard on Recusals Proves Russia Probe Is About Getting Trump

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By The Federalist. The installation of Matthew Whitaker as the acting attorney general has the recusal pundits barking like shelter dogs in the presence of a trespassing squirrel. In case you’re wondering how the recusal rules work, it’s simply a matter of whether it helps or hurts Trump.

Don’t believe me? See if you can detect a pattern. Since Whitaker might reign in the special counsel, he must be recused, they argue. Similarly, when it appeared former attorney general Jeff Sessions might help Trump, he acceded to demands he recuse himself. But Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is a proven thorn in the president’s side with an obvious conflict of interest, so no demands for recusal there.

Judge Rudy Contreras’s friendship with disgraced FBI agent Peter Strzok and lawyer Lisa Page at the same time he was reviewing Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant applications from Strzok did not require recusal from considering the application. But the Trump appointee with authority to consider a search warrant of Trump’s lawyer’s private office was recused, leading to the raid to look for evidence that likely could have been obtained by subpoena.

The recusal pundits called for the recusal of newly confirmed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh because he might side with the president in future cases. Yet when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg calls Trump a “faker” and openly expresses dismay at the prospect of his presidency, she need not recuse. Don’t bother reading the underlying rules on conflict of interest, because there’s only one test that matters: Would the recusal help get Trump? . . .

Forcing Whitaker to recuse himself from the Robert Mueller probe would “protect” it by restoring oversight responsibility to Rosenstein. This seems to be a bipartisan goal. Republicans have joined the Democrats and the media to knowingly caution against the imprudence of stopping the Mueller “investigation.” But before we start contemplating tortured recusal arguments, it’s worth asking, “What is Mueller is supposed doing, anyway?” (Read more from “Obvious Double Standard on Recusals Proves Russia Probe Is About Getting Trump” HERE)

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Trump Says Mueller Team Has ‘Gone Absolutely Nuts’

By USA Today. Criticized for picking an acting attorney general who has a history of speaking out against Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, President Donald Trump launched another attack Thursday against the special counsel.

Claiming that “the inner workings of the Mueller investigation are a total mess,” Trump tweeted that investigators “have found no collusion and have gone absolutely nuts. They are screaming and shouting at people, horribly threatening them to come up with the answers they want.”

Trump did not detail his complaints, though he described Mueller’s team as “a disgrace to our Nation.”

Lawmakers criticized Trump for appointing aide Matt Whitaker as acting attorney general to replace dismissed Jeff Sessions, a move they said was designed to impede the Russia investigation.

Sessions had recused himself from the Mueller investigation. Whitaker is in a position to supervise an inquiry he has repeatedly criticized in interviews over the past year-and-a-half. Whitaker suggested that defunding could stop the Mueller investigation. (Read more from “Trump Says Mueller Team Has ‘Gone Absolutely Nuts'” HERE)

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Watch: Trump Reveals What He’s Going to Do Next Time Acosta Misbehaves

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President Donald Trump revealed in an exclusive interview with “FOX News Sunday,” which is set to air on Sunday, that the next time CNN’s Jim Acosta misbehaves during a news conference that he will be thrown out or the news conference will immediately end.

“A federal judge who you appointed has just ruled that you must give CNN reporter Jim Acosta his press pass back,” Fox News Chris Wallace said. “Your reaction to the ruling, sir.” . . .

“We’re doing that, were going to write them up right now,” Trump continued. “It’s not a big deal and if he misbehaves we’ll throw him out or we’ll stop the news conference.” . . .

“We’re writing them now. We’ll have rules of decorum you know you can’t keep asking questions,” Trump replied. “We had a lot of reporters in that room, many many reporters in that room and they were unable to ask questions because this guy gets up and starts you know doing what he’s supposed to be doing for him and for CNN and you know just shouting out questions and making statements too.”

(Read more from “Watch: Trump Reveals What He’s Going to Do Next Time Acosta Misbehaves” HERE)

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Iran to Be Declared in Breach of Chemical Weapons Bans

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The Trump administration is set to announce that Iran is not in compliance with the Chemical Weapons Conventions, marking a significant departure from that of the Obama administration, which refrained from making such a declaration amid efforts to solidify the landmark nuclear agreement.

The declaration comes in the aftermath of a flurry of activity by both the White House and State Department highlighting Iran’s malign activities across the globe. A bevy of economic sanctions on Iran were reimposed earlier this month, and the chemical weapons action is likely to further tighten the noose on the Iranian regime as part of what the administration has called a “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran. . .

Multiple sources with knowledge of the matter confirmed that next week the Trump administration will transmit a formal finding to Congress regarding Iran’s non-compliance with the conventions, which ban stockpiling and use of these lethal weapons. . .

“No one who’s actually an adult is surprised by this news,” said the source, who could only speak on background about upcoming actions. “The Iranians have never met an arms control agreement they didn’t violate. That’s why the nuclear deal was such a transparent joke. The IAEA verifies what it’s allowed to verify and on everything else the Iranians cheat. The Trump administration should draw the logical conclusion and force the Europeans out of the deal, which so far they’ve refused to do.” (Read more from “Iran to Be Declared in Breach of Chemical Weapons Bans” HERE)

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Trump Effect: Booming Economy Creates Another 848,000 Millionaires…in a Year

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The tax cuts passed by President Trump in 2017 have created a solid foundation for economic growth. U.S. worker wages have reached its highest levels in a decade. Over three million new jobs created, three million working class families benefitting from bonus checks averaging $1,000 or more, and record unemployment, sinking to 3.7 percent.

The Dow Jones, while volatile now, had a 5,000-point surge in 2017, the largest annual gain in its history. Second quarter growth reached four percent, while third-quarter growth was a solid 3.5 percent. . .

The Trump effect has also created more wealth over the past year, with 878,000 Americans becoming millionaires over the past year (via Washington Examiner):

“Looking at the number of millionaires, we see that there are 42.2 million millionaires worldwide, which is up 2.3 million over the previous 12 months. Our research indicates that the United States added 878,000 new millionaires – representing around 40 percent of the global increase – to its already sizable stock,” the bank said.
. . .

“Total wealth and wealth per adult in the United States have grown every year since 2008, even when total global wealth suffered a reversal in 2014 and 2015. The United States has accounted for 40 percent of all increments to world wealth since 2008, and 58 percent of the rise since 2013. While not wishing to cast doubt on the ‘Trump Effect’ on financial markets, it seems inevitable that the uninterrupted spell of increasing wealth in the United States will come to an end at some time. Fortunately, there are signs that wealth inequality is no longer rising, which should mitigate the impact of any setback on the middle classes.”

(Read more from “Trump Effect: Booming Economy Creates Another 848,000 Millionaires…in a Year” HERE)

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Trump Admin Meets With Pro-Life Groups to Review Experiments on Aborted Babies’ Remains

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Trump administration health officials are meeting with national pro-life leaders in hopes of resolving concerns over the pro-life administration’s continued funding of medical research using tissue obtained from aborted babies.

In August, a notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) surfaced detailing a contract to the fetal tissue procurement firm Advanced Bioscience Resources, Inc. (ABR) to acquire “Tissue for Humanized Mice.” The tissue was meant to give mice a “humanized” immune system for the purpose of drug testing.

Forty-eight pro-life leaders representing LifeSiteNews, the Center for Medical Progress, Susan B. Anthony List, Priests for Life, Operation Rescue, and other groups sent a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar on September 11 demanding the contract’s cancellation. Eighty-five U.S. House members sent a letter to FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, as well.

The administration terminated the contract in September and promised to review all remaining research involving fetal tissue, but concerns remained over nearly $100 million in tax dollars that continued to pay for other research using tissue and organs from aborted babies.

Last week, the administration began to arrange meetings to discuss cancelling the remaining projects, Politico reported Tuesday. Both sides of the issue will be represented, with scientists who use fetal tissue invited to defend their work and pro-life groups such as Susan B. Anthony List invited to critique it. (Read more from “Trump Admin Meets With Pro-Life Groups to Review Experiments on Aborted Babies’ Remains” HERE)

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Results: Poll Reveals If Americans Prefer Trump or Pelosi

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. . .According to the latest survey from Rasmussen Reports, Nancy Pelosi is more unpopular across the country than President Trump.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 45% of Likely U.S. Voters think Trump is at least somewhat likable, including 27% who think he’s very likable. Fifty-five percent (55%) think Trump is not likable, with 43% who believe he’s not at all likable.

By comparison, Pelosi is viewed as likable by 35% of voters. Fifty-seven percent (57%) don’t think the California Democrat is likable. These figures include 10% who say Pelosi’s very likable and 35% who say she is not at all likable.

Further, President Trump has a larger coalition and backing from Republicans than Pelosi does from Democrats.

A closer look at the numbers shows that most Republicans (76%) see Trump as likable. Fifty-five percent (55%) of Democrats feel that way about Pelosi, but a sizable 34% don’t think she’s likable.

(Read more from “Results: Poll Reveals If Americans Prefer Trump or Pelosi” HERE)

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Republican Activists Claim 15 Ballot Box Tags as Proof of Florida Election Fraud

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Bikers for Trump leader Chris Cox bustled through the throng of protesters at the Broward County elections office at the heart of the Florida recount fandango, drawing attention to colored zip-tie tags found on the ground near the building’s loading dock.

Mr. Cox and a crowd of Republican activists are convinced that the 15 red and orange tags were cut off ballot boxes before the votes reached the election office, which could be a violation of state law, evidence of vote tampering or nothing at all.

“This election is a fraud,” Mr. Cox said in a video of the scene posted on Facebook. “It’s pretty disgusting here. I’m glad that you’re not here because this isn’t anything you want to see.”

In Palm Beach, state Democratic Party officials on Wednesday called another in a series of conferences to accuse Republicans of sabotaging the vote count with phony fraud allegations. . .

The Florida recount, with Republican candidates leading close senatorial and gubernatorial races, has spawned an electoral free-for-all of political activists, partisan lawyers and party honchos angling for an advantage. (Read more from “Republican Activists Claim 15 Ballot Box Tags as Proof of Florida Election Fraud” HERE)

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President Trump Just Announced Brett Kavanaugh’s Replacement

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During an event at the White House Tuesday afternoon, President Trump announced he will nominate Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Administrator Neomi Rao to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. Rao will fill a vacancy filled by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Here is Rao’s bio from the White House website:

Neomi Rao is a former professor of structural constitutional law, administrative law, and legislation and statutory interpretation at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. Administrator Rao founded the Law School’s Center for the Study of the Administrative State and focused her scholarship on the political and constitutional accountability of administrative agencies and the role of Congress. Additionally, Administrator Rao’s comparative analysis of the use of dignity in constitutional law has been widely cited in the United States and abroad. She also served as a Member of the Administrative Conference of the United States and on the Governing Council of the ABA Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice.

(Read more from “President Trump Just Announced Brett Kavanaugh’s Replacement” HERE)

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Top Trump Official to Be Fired – Here’s the Important Reason Why

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President Donald Trump has decided to replace Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in the coming weeks after becoming increasingly frustrated with her performance on immigration enforcement.

“Trump canceled a planned trip with Nielsen this week to visit U.S. troops at the border in South Texas and told aides over the weekend he wants her out as soon as possible,” The Washington Post reported, citing five current and former White House officials. “The president has grumbled for months about what he views as Nielsen’s lackluster performance on immigration enforcement and is believed to be looking for a replacement who will implement his policy ideas with more alacrity.”

Trump has been dissatisfied with Nielsen’s performance dating back for months, most notably slamming her during a 30-minute meeting in May after the number of illegal aliens entering the U.S. through the Southern Border soared for the second consecutive month. . .

A DHS official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the Post that Trump needs to nominate a replacement who has “executive-branch experience” to help the department run more smoothly. . .

“Former colleagues who worked with Nielsen were astonished when Kelly pushed to install her at DHS because she had never led a large organization, let alone one with so many responsibilities,” the Post added. “Nielsen worked on disaster-management response in the Bush White House, then in the private sector and academia as a cyber security expert before returning to DHS to work as chief of staff under Kelly when he was Homeland Security secretary during Trump’s first six months in office.” (Read more from “Top Trump Official to Be Fired – Here’s the Important Reason Why” HERE)

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Dispute Between Michelle Obama and Donald Trump Shows Our Need to Forgive

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Former first lady Michelle Obama wrote in her new book that she will never forgive Donald Trump for questioning Obama’s birth certificate. . .

When told about Obama’s comments, Donald Trump hit back by saying that he’d never forgive President Obama for his handling of the U.S. military. . .

For all of his strong rhetoric, Trump seemed to understand why such language is of another kind when he took on Hillary Clinton for her claim that Trump supporters were “deplorable” and “irredeemable.” Many people focused on the “basket of deplorables” comment, but in the second presidential debate of 2016 Trump said he thought the “irredeemable” language was worse:

We have a divided nation, because people like her — and believe me, she has tremendous hate in her heart. And when she said deplorables, she meant it. And when she said irredeemable, they’re irredeemable, you didn’t mention that, but when she said they’re irredeemable, to me that might have been even worse.

. . .

When we forgive one another — including for their grievous sins against us — it shows us that we truly believe God has forgiven us. The Catechism says, “Inasmuch as we sin greatly against God every day and yet He forgives it all through grace, we must always forgive our neighbor who does us harm, violence, and injustice [and] bears malice toward us…. If you do not forgive, do not think that God forgives you.”

(Read more from “Dispute Between Michelle Obama and Donald Trump Shows Our Need to Forgive” HERE)

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