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The Scandal That Just Resurfaced Could Turn Hillary’s White House Dream Into A Nightmare

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Photo Credit: WNDWhitewater — a term that many associate with the long-running investigations into a handful of scandals that surrounded Bill and Hillary Clinton during the early years of the Clinton presidency — Whitewater may once again rear its ominous head.

This Friday, the Clinton library is due to release new documents, including some that are expected to include Whitewater files. And very soon a new book will be published, authored by the first federal prosecutor to probe the financial dealings of the former president and his wife who wants to be a future president.

Read more from this story HERE.

Aides Knew of Possible White House Link to Cartagena, Colombia, Prostitution Scandal

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Photo Credit: Saul Loeb / Getty As nearly two dozen Secret Service agents and members of the military were punished or fired following a 2012 prostitution scandal in Colombia, Obama administration officials repeatedly denied that anyone from the White House was involved.

But new details drawn from government documents and interviews show that senior White House aides were given information at the time suggesting that a prostitute was an overnight guest in the hotel room of a presidential advance-team member — yet that information was never thoroughly investigated or publicly acknowledged.

The information that the Secret Service shared with the White House included hotel records and firsthand accounts — the same types of evidence the agency and military relied on to determine who in their ranks was involved.

The Secret Service shared its findings twice in the weeks after the scandal with top White House officials, including then-White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler. Each time, she and other presidential aides conducted an interview with the advance-team member and concluded that he had done nothing wrong.

Meanwhile, the new details also show that a separate set of investigators in the inspector general’s office of the Department of Homeland Security — tasked by a Senate committee with digging more deeply into misconduct on the trip — found additional evidence from records and eyewitnesses who had accompanied the team member in Colombia.

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A New, More Sinister IRS Scandal

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Photo Credit: PJ Media

Photo Credit: PJ Media

Yesterday was a significant day in the IRS abuse scandal. The scandal evolved from being about pesky delays in IRS exemption applications to a government conniving with outside interests to put political opponents in prison.

Emails obtained by Judicial Watch through the Freedom of Information Act reveal Lois Lerner cooking up plans with Justice Department officials to talk about ways to criminally charge conservative groups that are insufficiently quiet.

Larry Noble, a law professor now with the Soros-funded Campaign Legal Center, was cited in the emails as someone agitating to jail conservatives who “falsely” report on IRS forms that they are not engaged in political speech. Lerner talked about setting up meetings with Justice Department election lawyers who wanted to talk about making Noble’s dreams a reality — this after Senator Sheldon Whitehouse raised the idea of criminal charges for conservatives who are not sufficiently quiet, charges that they falsely completed an IRS tax exemption form.

Their theory is a favorite among speech regulators in the Soros-funded left and academia. It goes like this: “Too much speech is bad (unless unions do it.) Groups who talk about things leftists find uncomfortable are necessarily political and thus should never have 501(c) tax exempt status. Criminally charge any group that said on their IRS tax exempt form that they were not political if they say things the left finds uncomfortable. Get Eric Holder’s Justice Department on the case.”

The emails obtained by Judicial Watch reveal this is essentially what was going on behind the scenes at the IRS, DOJ, and with outside leftist interests.

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Arrival of Obamacare Puts Focus on IRS Tax-Credit Scandal

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Photo Credit: APThere’s no doubt congressional investigators have their hands full probing allegations the Internal Revenue Service targeted conservative non-profit groups. But now a different IRS scandal — involving the chronic, ongoing, mind-bogglingly wasteful mismanagement of a popular tax credit program — demands Congress’s attention because it has taken on new importance with the arrival of Obamacare.

The program is the Earned Income Tax Credit, through which the federal government gives out between $60 billion and $70 billion to low-income working Americans each year. It’s known as a “refundable” tax credit, but it is basically a transfer payment, in which the IRS sends a check — perhaps even $5,000 every year — to workers who have little or no tax liability.

The problem is, the IRS does little to determine whether recipients actually qualify for the money. A recent report by the IRS inspector general says the agency has given out somewhere between $110 billion and $132 billion in improper Earned Income Tax Credit payments in the last decade. In that time period, between 21 and 30 percent of tax credit payments went to people who didn’t qualify for them.

That is bad enough. But what infuriates lawmakers is that the IRS refuses to do anything about it. Agency officials told the inspector general they couldn’t fix the problem because the tax credit program is very complicated, and also because they are afraid vigorous enforcement would discourage legitimately qualified recipients from applying for credits. And the IRS is not only not working to reduce improper payments, it is refusing to report those payments to Congress as required. The bottom line, in the words of inspector general Russell George: “The IRS is unlikely to achieve any significant reduction in Earned Income Tax Credit improper payments.”

Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has heard that before. “The IRS has repeatedly ignored the fraud and abuse in the Earned Income Tax Credit program, which has already cost Americans over $100 billion,” Camp said in a statement Monday. “Americans should be confident that their tax dollars are being used properly, but that confidence has been shattered by the blatant disregard this agency has shown for monitoring refundable tax credits and better protecting taxpayers.”

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John Kerry: Damage To U.S. Image Abroad Due To Shutdown; Fails To Mention NSA Spy Scandal (+video)

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Photo Credit: AFPJohn Kerry told a liberal think tank Thursday that the recent government shutdown has hurt America’s image abroad. He failed to mention the NSA spy scandal, which at least 21 countries have condemned.

Ironically, as reported by cnsnews.com, Kerry’s appearance at a Center for American Progress conference came on the same day that German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle summoned the U.S. ambassador to warn friendship was at stake over the alleged bugging of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cell phone.

Also on Thursday, European Union leaders meeting in Brussels discussed allegations of widespread NSA spying, and said afterwards that “a lack of trust [between the U.S. and E.U.] would prejudice the necessary cooperation in the field of intelligence gathering.”

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Facing Threats of Termination, Official at Heart Of IRS Scandal “Retiring”

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Photo Credit: Getty/AFP

Photo Credit: Getty/AFP

Facing a possible firing, the Internal Revenue Service official at the center of the agency’s tea party scandal retired Monday, ending one chapter in a ruckus that has engulfed the tax-collection agency since spring.

Lois Lerner headed the IRS division that handles applications for tax-exempt status when she was placed on paid leave in May. While she was in charge, the agency acknowledged that agents improperly targeted tea party groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status during the 2010 and 2012 elections.

Lerner first disclosed the targeting at a law conference in May, when she was asked a planted question about IRS treatment of political groups. Less than two weeks later, she refused to answer questions at a congressional hearing, citing her constitutional right not to incriminate herself.

A day after the hearing she was placed on paid leave at the age of 62.

Lerner’s retirement came as a review board was set to propose that she be fired, said a statement by Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, the top Democrat on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee.

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Clinton Beating Rape Rap Paved Way for Others

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Photo Credit: WND

Photo Credit: WND

With Barack Obama dogged by multiple scandals – from Benghazi to NSA surveillance to rampant IRS abuses – many Americans are asking whether he can make it through his second term.

Likewise, with sex scandals in the news – from ex-congressman Anthony Weiner to former New York governor Eliot Spitzer to San Diego Mayor Bob Filner – many are asking how such disgraced leaders can possibly believe they can re-assume positions of power and public trust.

The approaching anniversary of one of the most extraordinary presidential scandals in history may well hold the answer to both questions.

Fifteen years ago, perhaps the most serious allegation ever levied against a sitting U.S. president – a nationally televised accusation of forcible rape, widely regarded by the public as credible – came to light. Yet Bill Clinton not only survived the allegation, he also survived an impeachment that included other sexually lurid charges and went on to become the beloved elder statesman of the Democratic Party.

It was Juanita Broaddrick who in 1998 first went public with the story of alleged rape two decades earlier, reportedly on April 25, 1978. In February 1999, she told her story to a national TV audience on “Dateline NBC” to Emmy-winning reporter Lisa Myers.

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Political System Offers Choice Between Lesser of Two Evils, Results In Evil of Two Lessers

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Photo Credit: Irish Central As the country lurches from scandal to scandal, an unending budget impasse, a new norm of part time jobs and unemployment of over 7% …Many of us ask how did we get here?

The political forces in this country serve us up “choices” on the ballot for candidates that many of us feel are distasteful and unqualified. Yet we are forced to choose between the lesser of two evils in order to cast a vote. Or worse, it estranges millions of voters from the system, who stay home and don’t vote at all.

Because of this, notoriously inept candidates can tell the voters to hold their nose and vote for them, because their opponent is even worse.

Some candidates don’t have to excel or have accomplished anything of note besides being slick talking politicians, or community organizers groomed for political office. They can bypass executive skills or real life accomplishments that should qualify a candidate for the office.

When was the last time a majority of American citizens enthusiastically went to the ballot box and voted for a presidential candidate of their choice? The last time was when Ronald Reagan swept 48 states to win in a landslide for his 2nd term.

Since that time we have been faced with a choice between carefully scripted, flawed candidates, who never live up to their glossy campaign brochures…And our country is suffering as a result.

From presidential candidates on down to the mayoral races, the scenario is repeated…..Really, in a city of 8.3 million the current crop of mayoral choices are the best and brightest New York can come up with?

Perhaps it’s time to grab hold of an idea that can completely change the political landscape in our country. An idea that would turn millions of apathetic voters into enthusiastic voters willing to get involved in the system again and force the political system give us candidates that we WANT to vote for, for a change.

It’s time to put a new choice on all of the ballots in America. This choice would be the 500 lb gorilla in the living room. The choice is called “NONE OF THE ABOVE”

With just the threat of “none of the above” hanging over their heads, political parties would have to be very careful about who they put on the ballot, because we have a new option: A morning after pill for the American voter.

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Ed Farnan is the conservative columnist at IrishCentral, where he has been writing on the need for energy independence, strong self defense, secure borders, 2nd amendment, smaller government and many other issues. His articles appear in many publications throughout the USA and world. He has been a guest on Fox News and a regular guest on radio stations in the US and Europe.

White House Now Calling Benghazi Phony Scandal

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Photo Credit: APThe White House said bluntly Wednesday that it considers the controversy over the Benghazi attack to be among the so-called “phony scandals” that President Obama has been complaining about in recent speeches — even as new questions were being raised about the lack of progress in the investigation.

Press Secretary Jay Carney was asked at the daily briefing about Obama’s repeated claim — which he asserted most recently during a speech in Tennessee on Tuesday — that Washington is getting distracted by phony scandals. Asked what the president was referring to, Carney listed the scandals over the IRS targeting of conservative groups and over Benghazi.

“What we’ve seen, as time has passed and more facts have become known, whether it’s about the attacks in Benghazi and the talking points or revelations about conduct at the IRS, that attempts to turn this into a scandal have failed,” Carney said.

Carney was specifically referring to claims by GOP lawmakers that the administration misled the public about the nature of the attack, by stressing the connection to an anti-Islam film. The administration denies this. But lawmakers continue to have concerns that extend far beyond the so-called Benghazi talking points.

Read more from this story HERE.

Top Weiner Aide Goes on Four-Letter Tirade After Intern Gives “Tell-All” Interview (+video)

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Photo Credit: TPMTop Weiner Aide Trashes Intern Who Wrote Campaign Tell-All

By Hunter Walker. Tuesday was an angry day in Weinerland.

The campaign staff awoke to see their former intern, Olivia Nuzzi, on the front cover of the Daily News. Inside the paper was an article bylined by Nuzzi in which she told a rather unflattering tale of her experience working on Anthony Weiner’s mayoral bid.

Now, Team Weiner is firing back. TPM called Weiner’s communications director Barbara Morgan to discuss an unrelated story Tuesday and she went off on a curse-filled rant about Nuzzi, describing her as a fame hungry “b**ch” who “sucked” at her job. Morgan also called Nuzzi a “slutbag,” “t**t,” and “c**t” while threatening to sue her.

On Monday, Nuzzi, a college student and writer, published a story on the blog NSFWCORP that claimed multiple sources on the campaign told her there had been “six departures” from Weiner’s team, more than had been previously disclosed. She also claimed that staffers had been underpaid and that the former campaign manager, Danny Kedem, left over the weekend because Weiner “lied to him about the timing of his sexting scandal.”

Nuzzi’s post on NSFWCORP was followed up by Tuesday’s Daily News cover story in which she claimed Weiner incorrectly called multiple interns “Monica” and said people only joined Weiner’s campaign to curry favor with his wife, Huma Abedin, a close aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Along with these allegations, Nuzzi wrote in the Daily News that “a lot” of Weiner’s staff had “short résumés,” including Morgan, who Nuzzi derisively noted “last worked as the press secretary for the New Jersey state education commissioner.” Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: CNNWeiner spokesperson apologizes for trash-talking about ex-intern

By Ashley Killough. Anthony Weiner¹s communications director apologized Tuesday night for bashing a former intern in a scathing interview laced with four-letter words.

“In a moment of frustration, I used inappropriate language in what I thought was an off the record conversation,” Barbara Morgan said in a statement to CNN. “It was wrong and I am very sorry.”

Morgan added that she called and apologized Tuesday night to the former intern, Olivia Nuzzi.

Talking Points Memo, a left-leaning news organization, published a report late Tuesday night, quoting Morgan as she responded to a New York Daily News article written by Nuzzi, who described an unflattering account of Weiner¹s New York City mayoral campaign.

“(Morgan) went off on a curse-filled rant about Nuzzi, describing her as a fame hungry ‘b**ch’ who ‘sucked’ at her job. Morgan also called Nuzzi a ‘sl*tb*g,’ ‘tw*t,’ and ‘c**t’ while threatening to sue her,” the TPM article stated. Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: APHuma Abedin to take break from job with Hillary Clinton

By Maggie Haberman. Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton’s transition office chief and the wife of embattled New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner, is expected to take extended vacation time from her job with the former first lady in the coming days, sources told POLITICO.

The move is not a leave of absence, two sources familiar with the move insisted, and it’s not precisely clear when she will depart for her vacation time from her day job.

It was a loose plan she’d had for weeks, since Hillary Clinton has close to no schedule next month – the Clintons are expected to vacation in the monied East Hampton enclave on Long Island – and Abedin had been expected to take the final few weeks leading up to the mayoral primary to be with her husband.

But she decided to stick to it as current events in her husband’s campaign have unfolded, the sources said. Weiner has spent the last week answering questions about fresh sexting incidents after he left Congress in 2011, and Abedin has been the subject of a string of rough headlines since she spoke at a press conference with her husband and said she loved and believed in him.

“Huma is not taking a leave of absence, but she will be taking vacation time in August to support her family during Anthony’s campaign,” said a Weiner campaign source. “She had always intended to do this.” Read more from this story HERE.