The Border & Illegal Aliens, And What We Are Doing About It.

[Bullheaded Texan]

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said.

“We are not going to let this country be invaded!

We will not be stampeded!

We will not capitulate to lawlessness!

This is NOT business as usual.

This is the Trump era!," the Attorney General said.
 

[Bullheaded Texan]

Weekly Update: The IG Report;
6/15/18
Inspector General Destroys DOJ and FBI Credibility
Hearing Set on Motion to Compel Email Testimony from Hillary Clinton
Major Judicial Watch Victory! The Supreme Court Decides for Clean Elections in Ohio!
DOJ Must Provide More Details on podesta-clinton Communications.
The Justice Department Inspector General’s report on the FBI’s investigation of killary clinton’s scandalous email practices is out, and as I predicted, it has destroyed the credibility of the Department of Justice and the FBI.
*It confirms what we have investigated and revealed for nearly two years. The obuma DOJ/FBI investigation of clinton was rushed, half-baked, rigged, and irredeemably compromised by anti-Trump and pro-clinton bias and actions. It is outrageous to see a politicized FBI and DOJ then so obviously refuse to uphold the rule of law.*
The IG report details repeated DOJ/FBI deference to killary clinton, her aides and their lawyers. Americans should examine the report and judge for themselves whether the over-the-top deference to killary clinton can be explained as anything other than political, especially from agencies that at the same time were actively collaborating with the clinton campaign’s Fusion GPS to spy on and target then-candidate Trump. The IG report details how at least five top FBI agents and lawyers exchanged pro-clinton and anti-Trump communications.
The IG shares the concerns of Judicial Watch and millions of Americans that this bias cast a cloud over the credibility of the clinton email and Russia investigations.
An incredible example of this bias was found in a text message of FBI official Peter Strzok, who promised to “stop Trump” from becoming President. Strzok was both the lead FBI agent on the sham clinton investigation and on the anti-Trump Russia investigation!
As we have demonstrated through independent investigations and lawsuits, there is more than enough evidence that clinton knowingly and intentionally mishandled classified information while using a non-government email system to conduct government business.
Will the Sessions Justice Department now do the right thing and conduct a clinton email investigation properly? Or will it let james comey and loretta Lying linch have the last word on killary clinton’s evident email crimes?
In the meantime, we will continue our FOIA lawsuits and investigations into the clinton email scandal and the related obuma administration cover-up.
We have numerous lawsuits and document productions regarding the issues raised by the IG, including the conduct of andrew mccabe, the clinton-lynch tarmac meeting, the Strzok-Page communications, the FBI investigation into killary clinton, and DOJ collusion with the clinton campaign.
The IG report is just the beginning! And Judicial Watch will take it from here!
Hearing Set on Motion to Compel Email Testimony from killary Clinton.
Judicial Watch doesn’t wait for IG reports or Congress – we are an independent organization that does its own investigations and lawsuits!
So, for all the noise about the clinton email investigation, Judicial Watch is the only entity still in court that may get additional testimony from k. clinton about her email practices.
A federal court just ordered a hearing for Thursday, October 11, 2018, on a motion to compel testimony about the email practices of former Secretary of State killary clinton. U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan issued the order.
This major development comes in our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit about the controversial employment status of huma abedin, former Deputy Chief of Staff to clinton.
The lawsuit, which seeks records regarding the authorization for abedin to engage in outside employment while employed by the Department of State, was reopened because of revelations about the clintonemail.com system (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:13-cv-01363)).
In 2016, killary clinton was required to submit, under oath, written answers to our questions. *clinton objected to and refused to answer questions about the creation of her email system; her decision to use the system despite warnings from State Department cybersecurity officials; and the basis for her claim that the State Department had “90-95%” of her emails.*
Judge Sullivan is considering our motion to compel answers to these questions.
In her responses sent to the court and us on October 13, 2016, crooked clinton refused to answer three questions and responded that she “does not recall” 20 times concerning her non-government clintonemail.com email system. She preceded her responses by eight “general objections” and two “objections to definitions.” The words “object” or “objection” appear 84 times throughout the 23-page document submitted to the court and Judicial Watch.
Judge Sullivan will also hear arguments on our motion to compel testimony from former State Department Director of Information Resource Management of the Executive Secretariat John Bentel (who asserted his Fifth Amendment right and refused to answer 87 questions at his deposition) and our motion to unseal the audiovisual recordings of all depositions. We took the testimony of key clinton aides and State Department senior officials, including huma abedin and cheryl mills, but the videotapes of the depositions are currently under seal.
It is not surprising that crooked clinton refused to answer key questions about her conduct. Perhaps she thought that we, like obuma’s FBI and Justice Department, would just let it go! We haven’t – and neither have the courts.

Major Judicial Watch Victory! The Supreme Court Decides for Clean Elections in Ohio

The Supreme Court issued important decision to uphold efforts by Ohio to maintain accurate voting rolls. It was a big victory for clean elections and, as you’ll see below, Judicial Watch!

It is also a clear victory for the citizens of Ohio and America who want clean and fair elections. Dirty voting rolls can mean dirty elections. The Supreme Court decision should send a signal to other states to take reasonable steps to make sure that voters who died or moved away no longer remain on their voter rolls.

Leftists opposed to election integrity suffered a big defeat with this decision. Frankly, this and their other assaults on clean election measures suggest the organized left and their politician allies want to be able to steal elections if necessary. This is also a big institutional win for Judicial Watch, because it means that our current settlement agreement with Ohio is valid and enforceable.

The Supreme Court upheld an Ohio law providing that the State had to send address confirmation notices to all registered voters who had not voted in the previous two years. This ruling has the effect of also upholding a 2014 settlement agreement between us and Ohio, which required Ohio to use that same procedure as part of a regular Supplemental Mailing designed to identify whether registered Ohio voters had moved away – one of many steps intended to fulfill Ohio’s obligations under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) to maintain the integrity of its voter list.

We filed several amicus briefs supporting Ohio’s efforts at every level of the federal court system as the case progressed from the trial court all the way up to the Supreme Court. The case was on appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which held Ohio’s process was in violation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) (Jon Husted, Ohio Secretary of State v. Philip Randolph Institute, et al. (No. 16-980)).

Our amicus brief argued that the Sixth Circuit ruling would adversely affect its settlement agreement with Ohio were it allowed to stand. We also pointed out that failing to respond to an address confirmation notice does not mean that a registration is removed from the voter rolls. It merely triggers another waiting period, which can last up to four more years, during which the registrant still has the right to vote. In all, it can take up to six years before a registration is cancelled under the process.

Attorney Robert Popper, the director of our Election Integrity Project, joined with five other former attorneys of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department in filing an amici curiae brief in the Husted case.

We previously filed a lawsuit under the NVRA against Indiana, which resulted in the state taking several actions to clean up its voter rolls. Our lawsuits against Ohio and Indiana were the first private lawsuits under the NVRA. We are currently suing Kentucky, California and Los Angeles over their failures to remove ineligible voters as required by the NVRA, and we are suing the State of Maryland and Montgomery County over their failure to release voting-related records.

We won this latest Supreme Court battle, but the Judicial Watch fight for election integrity continues across the nation.

DOJ Must Provide More Details on Podesta-Clinton Communications

The bureaucrats in The Deep State Swamp know every trick in the book for blocking inquiries into their actions. It is a good thing when the courts see through these sleights of hand. Here’s a good example.

In an unusual Saturday ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich ordered the U.S. Justice Department to provide more information about its search of former top Obama DOJ Official Peter Kadzik’s communications with then-Clinton presidential campaign chairman John Podesta, Clinton campaign officials, and others.

The court order, issued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, requires the Justice Department to provide additional details by June 15, 2018.

According to WikiLeaks, on May 19, 2015, Kadzik, using a Gmail account, sent Podesta an email appearing to tip-off Clinton’s campaign about the Justice Department’s review of Clinton’s emails:

There is a HJC oversight hearing today where the head of our Civil Division will testify. Likely to get questions on State Department emails. Another filing in the FOIA case went in last night or will go in this am that indicates it will be awhile (2016) before the State Department posts the emails.

Saturday’s order follows a June 6 hearing in our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Justice Department on January 15, 2017, for:

All email correspondence between Peter Kadzik on either his official Justice Department email account [e-mail] and any non-government employee concerning, regarding, or relating to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of non-state.gov email to conduct official government business;

All email correspondence between Peter Kadzik on either his official Justice Department email account or [e-mail] and John Podesta; and

All email correspondence between Peter Kadzik on either his official Justice Department email account or [e-mail] and any official, officer, or employee of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign.

We argue that the Justice Department has refused to provide sufficient details about the search of Kadzik’s personal email account.

Judge Friedrich found that the Justice Department’s sworn representations about Kadzik’s search of his records were “incomplete”:

Although the [Justice Department] states that “Mr. Kadzik confirmed that he did not recall ever using his personal Gmail account to send any other similar e-mails to John Podesta, or to anyone else associated with the Clinton campaign,” … this statement does not cover the full scope of Judicial Watch’s specific FOIA requests.

The court ordered the DOJ to submit a supplemental declaration by June 15, 2018, that provides any additional details regarding Kadzik’s representations regarding whether his Gmail account contained agency records or potential agency records.

The DOJ is to provide details regarding two manual searches that Mr. Kadzik reportedly conducted. Also, the DOJ is to indicate, whether Kadzik opened and reviewed individual e-mails or just reviewed the titles, and which folders Kadzik reviewed when conducting his manual searches.

We are obviously pleased that the court ordered the Justice Department to provide more details about its search for documents about Obama DOJ-Clinton campaign collusion. Yet it is disappointing that we must continually battle the Sessions Justice Department for basic information on corruption in the Obama Justice Department.

Unsurprisingly, Kadzik’s conduct related to his communications with the Clinton campaign are criticized in this week’s big IG report. And it is once again up to Judicial Watch to continue the accountability efforts on this scandal.

[Bullheaded Texan]

Starbucks Gets Million$ from U.S. Govt., Picks soros-Funded Group to Lead Anti-Bias Training.
6/13/18
When private companies close thousands of stores for an afternoon to conduct anti-bias training it usually doesn’t affect American taxpayers, but in Starbucks’ case it does.
In addition to approximately $400,000 in U.S. government contracts, the global coffeehouse chain has received millions of dollars from Uncle Sam for a "coffee yield improvement project" in Colombia, records uncovered by Judicial Watch show.
Additionally, the "anti-bias curriculum that was recently forced upon 175,000 employees was designed by a nonprofit that’s largely funded by leftwing billionaire george soros."
The group’s (Perception Institute) leadership has close ties to Democratic party politics, including Planed Parenthood and the obuma administration, Judicial Watch’s investigation found.
The special training was called to order after a manager at a Philadelphia Starbucks called police on two black men who sat in the store without buying anything. The men were eventually arrested for trespassing and the race card was quickly played.
Starbucks responded by closing 8,000 stores in the U.S. for four hours “to come together for a conversation and learning session on racial bias.” The goal, according to the company, was to take a foundational step in renewing Starbucks as a place where all people feel welcome. “Starbucks partners shared life experiences, heard from others, listened to experts on bias and racial anxiety, reflecting on the realities of bias in our society and talking about how all of us can work together to create public spaces where everyone feels like they belong,” the company wrote in a statement.
A national newspaper described it as a “dramatic move toward racial reconciliation.”
At the helm of this so-called racial reconciliation was the Perception Institute, which lists soros’ Open Society Foundation among its major supporters. The group’s executive director, Alexis McGill-Johnson, co-founded the Democrat marketing firm Brand Architects and is a former board chair for Planned Parenthood.
She was also the political director for Russell Simmons’ Hip-Hop Summit Action Network and executive director of Citizen Change, a nonprofit founded by rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs. Perception Institute’s director of research, Rachel Godsil, was “the convener for the obuma campaign’s Urban and Metropolitan Policy Committee” and an advisor to obuma’s Housing and Urban Development (HUD) transition team.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Godsil chair of the city’s Rent Guidelines Board.
Years ago, Judicial Watch obtained documents exposing "de Blasio’s dark past as an active supporter of a brutal communist regime' well known as one of Latin America’s worst human rights abusers.
The Perception Institute’s research advisor, DeAngelo Bester, is a renowned leftist who served as a project manager with the National People’s Action, an Alinskyite community-organizing group dedicated to progressive social change and economic and racial justice. Besides advising the nonprofit that helped conduct Starbucks’ racial sensitivity training Bester is executive director of the Workers’ Center for Racial Justice, a Chicago nonprofit founded by a group of unemployed and formerly incarcerated black workers.
In 2015 the group co-sponsored a black Lives Matter Splatter protest at the International Association of Chiefs of Police convention along with the malcom x Grassroots Movement, the International Socialist Organization and similar leftwing groups.
A few years ago, the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice received a $250,000 grant from Soros’ Open Society Foundation.
*soros dedicates monstrous sums of money to spread his radical globalist agenda by funding liberal media outlets, supporting leftwing politicians, advocating for open borders, fomenting public discord and influencing academic institutions.*
In the United States soros groups have pushed a radical agenda that includes promoting an open border with Mexico and fighting immigration enforcement efforts, fomenting racial disharmony by funding anti-capitalist black separationist organizations, financing the black Lives Matter Splatter movement and other groups involved in the Ferguson Missouri riots, weakening the integrity of the nation’s electoral systems, opposing U.S. counterterrorism efforts and eroding 2nd Amendment protections.
He has also funded a liberal think-tank headed by former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and the scandal-ridden activist group Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), so corrupt that Congress banned it from receiving federal funding. Judicial Watch recently published an investigative report exposing the connection between U.S.-funded entities and Soros’ Open Society Foundation to further the Hungarian philanthropist’s efforts in Central America.
Last year Judicial Watch published an investigative piece about the *U.S. government’s multi-million-dollar secret collusion with soros to destabilize the democratically elected, center-right government in Macedonia.*

[Bullheaded Texan]

BP Agent Shot in Area Where Ranchers Live in Fear of Immigrant, Drug Smugglers.
6/15/18
The shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent this week occurred in the same southern Arizona region where Judicial Watch recently met with residents and ranchers terrorized by drug and human smugglers gushing in from Mexico.
The federal agent was shot multiple times at around 4:30 a.m. while investigating sensor activity on foot in a remote part of Arivaca, according to a Border Patrol announcement. The agent, a 21-year veteran, was attacked by an “unknown number of assailants, one of whom fired several shots at the agent in close proximity,” the agency states, adding that the officer was struck several times.
The ambush occurred on a remote portion of a cattle ranch situated near the Mexican border that is often used as a passageway by aliens and drug smugglers.
The owner of the 50,000-acre property, Jim Chilton, told a local newspaper that he has seen increased traffic in the area during the last couple of months and that the nearby mountains have cartel scouts guiding drug packers and smugglers making their way into the U.S.
Chilton told a national newswire that the Border Patrol sent him an electronic mail saying the veteran federal agent was alone on his ranch when he was shot in the leg and hand. Several bullets also struck the agent’s protective vest, Chilton said.
A fifth-generation Arizona cattle rancher, Chilton has testified before Congress on the national security vulnerabilities of a poorly guarded southern border! Portions near his property are simply marked with strands of barb wire that are easily penetrated by smugglers.
“National Security demands that drug traffickers, terrorists and undocumented aliens be prevented from entering the United States at the border,” Chilton said during testimony before a House hearing several years ago. “Currently, on our ranch these people often travel 10 to 20 miles inside our country before the Border Patrol attempts to apprehend them…Our losses have been great and our sense of security in our own country has been severely damaged! We live with weapons near our bed, at the doors, in our vehicles and attached to our saddles.”
Chilton’s property is only a few dozen miles away from Sierra Vista, a Cochise County border town with equally frustrated ranchers!
As part of an ongoing investigation into the critical security issues created by the famously porous southern border, Judicial Watch recently spent time in Sierra Vista, which is located 75 miles southeast of Tucson with a population of around 44,000.
One of the ranchers, John Ladd, Judicial Watch visited said more than half a million illegal aliens of several dozen nationalities have been apprehended on his sprawling 16,500-acre cattle ranch, which has been in his family for well over a century and sits between the Mexican border and historic State Route 92. The property shares a 10 ½-mile border with Mexico, making it a popular route for human and drug smugglers evading a meager force of Border Patrol agents in the mountainous region. Ladd has also found 14 dead bodies, “I can’t guarantee there’s not a dead body somewhere in my ranch right now,” Ladd told Judicial Watch.
Other ranchers and longtime residents said that illegal aliens and drug smugglers are devastating the area and many of them live in fear! Some are too scared to enjoy a simple pastime—horseback riding on their own land.
Some portions of the border adjacent to Ladd’s property have an 18-foot iron fence, but others have a laughable wire fence that has been repeatedly penetrated by vehicles speeding through from Mexico.
The fence is such a joke that the Border Patrol installed concrete barriers along a busy two-mile stretch in front of the barb wire barrier on Ladd’s property line to stop smugglers.
Judicial Watch also visited another nearby smuggling route that’s inexplicably unprotected. The dirt road runs through the Coronado National Forest and five strands of barb wire serve as the physical boundary between the U.S. and Mexico in a remote portion of the park, which is closed to the public at night and is heavily transited by drug and human smugglers. Illegal immigration has had such a devastating impact on the area that one longtime resident wrote a book offering detailed anecdotes of what he and his family endure because they live near the Mexican border. This includes drugs and illegal aliens piling into vehicles on the road adjacent to his four-acre property and ultralight aircraft flying near his rooftop, just above the trees, en route to make a drug drop.

[Bullheaded Texan]

Leaders React To Trump’s Historic North Korean Summit.
6/15/18
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): “Today I congratulate the President on this major step and share his hope that it will begin a process that leads to an historic peace.”
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI): “For decades, American policy toward North Korea has failed, and I commend @POTUS for not accepting the status quo. As negotiations now advance, there is only one acceptable final outcome: complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization.”
Sen. David Perdue (R-GA): “This critical summit is happening because of President Trump’s leadership and unwavering resolve to make the world a safer place. We want to move toward the objectives President Trump has laid out: total denuclearization, as well as a potential peace treaty to end the Korean War, with reunification talks down the road.”
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH): “I have long called for a direct dialogue between the U.S. & #NorthKorea, and I have supported this summit with the goal of achieving a peaceful solution that includes North Korea giving up its nuclear weapons.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC): “Congratulations to President Trump bringing this about. This an historic opportunity to end the Korean War, get North Korea to give up their weapons and missiles that threaten us and the world in return for security guarantees and prosperity.”
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD): “Good news coming from Singapore. @POTUS has made early strides in making our world a safer place. A lot of work to do yet.”
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL): “The U.S./North Korea summit was a historic event and a good first step toward peace.”
Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL): “… I have confidence in @POTUS, @SecPompeo, and their team to continue pushing for a strong agreement.”
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ): “I am encouraged by the news of a successful #SingaporeSummit. @POTUS’ historic meeting moves us closer to the possibility of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula and an overall more peaceful world.”
Rep. Todd Rokita (R-IN): “We finally have a commander in chief who, rather than lead from behind, has embraced challenges and inspired a new era of American leadership and diplomacy. President Trump’s peace through strength strategy has re-asserted America back to the front of the world stage.”
Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-LA): “Once again, President Trump has shown his great leadership skills on a world stage by obtaining North Korea’s commitment to denuclearize. The global community can breathe easier this morning.”
Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD): “I am encouraged by positive reports coming from the Singapore Summit. President Trump has made more progress in the last year and a half than previous presidents made over several decades.”
Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO): “I’m encouraged with the positive news coming out of today’s summit between the U.S. and North Korea. These talks are an important step towards lasting peace in the region.”
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE): “Our President’s first meeting was successful and this effort has confounded presidents before him.”
Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH): “I applaud President Trump and those on his team working tirelessly to address the real and growing North Korean nuclear threat. The strategy used by previous administrations, both Republican and Democratic, clearly did not work, and it was time for a new approach.”
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): “Congratulations to @POTUS on the historic summit with North Korea! This is an important step towards greater peace and prosperity for the whole world.”
Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA): “President Donald J. Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is a momentous, historic undertaking to be celebrated…. I’m particularly moved, relieved and grateful for the President’s ability to get North Korea’s commitment for us to recover the remains of US Prisoners of War and our Troops Missing in Action from the Korean War.”
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN): “Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula will make America and the world more secure…. I applaud @realDonaldTrump’s efforts.”
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN): “Last night, @realDonaldTrump exemplified what it means to be a leader, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to meet with a North Korean head of state.”
Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN): “I’m proud President Trump made strides towards peace with North Korea in his meeting with Kim Jong-Un. Pursuing a strategy to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula while taking concrete steps towards de-escalation should be a significant step towards peace and global security.”
Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX): “Today’s summit in Singapore is tangible evidence that President Trump is achieving unprecedented progress with his peace-seeking efforts. Under President Trump’s leadership, this year the world witnessed Kim Jong Un cross the DMZ and embrace President Moon Jae In – an act that would have been inconceivable mere months ago.”
Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX): “Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump on his meeting with Kim Jong Un and moving forward in negotiations on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. Doing what no other POTUS has done, Trump has made history with this first meeting.”
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA): “I’m encouraged by the goals @POTUS set to denuclearize North Korea and protect America.”
Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI): “After @POTUS @realDonaldTrump met with Kim, we are closer (but of course need to solidify process) to denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.”
Governors
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R): “I commend @POTUS for taking strides to bring about peace & stability on the Korean Peninsula & congratulate him for a successful meeting in Singapore. @realDonaldTrump is right in saying only the most courageous can make peace. This truly is a historic moment for the world.”
Guam Governor Eddie Calvo (R): “This agreement paves the way for peace between the U.S. and North Korea and moves us toward the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. The Territory of Guam is thankful to our President and his stance on peace through strength policy which elevated peace within the Asia Pacific region — this is something we truly are grateful for.”
Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer (R): “Thanks to the hard work of @POTUS and @SecPompeo we are one step closer to achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula, which had seemed impossible to accomplish a little over a year ago. This is encouraging news for the Korean people and the world at large”
Maine Governor Paul LePage (R): “The #singaporesummit agreement has great potential to accomplish the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Businessmen do not fear tough negotiations. I’m especially thankful of the commitment to bring home Korean War POW/MIA remains.”
Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant (R): “President @realDonaldTrump is winning with North Korea. He will work to make the world safe again.”
Northern Mariana Islands Governor Ralph Torres (R): “Yesterday was an historic day for the United States and North Korea as President Trump has made more advancements towards securing a complete denuclearization of North Korea. I stand proudly by President Trump’s side in his efforts to establish a safer Pacific region.”
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster (R): “The transformative leadership of President @realDonaldTrump has the Korean peninsula on the precipice of peace.”
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice (R): “Many congrats to my dear friend President @realDonaldTrump. When will the world realize what a phenomenal job you have done for America and the entire world?”
Foreign Officials and International Organizations:
President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in: “The June 12 Sentosa Agreement will be recorded as a historic event that has helped break down the last remaining Cold War legacy on earth. It is a great victory achieved by both the United States and the two Koreas, and a huge step forward for people across the world who long for peace. Once again, I would like to pay my respect to President Trump who achieved a feat that no one else has ever delivered.”
Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong: “Congratulations on the successful conclusion of an historic summit meeting between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The joint statement that you signed today with Chairman Kim Jong Un is a dramatic step forward. It is a crucial first move in the long journey towards lasting peace and stability on a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.”
United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson: “We welcome that President Trump and Kim Jong Un have held a constructive summit. This is an important step towards the stability of a region vital to global economic growth and home to thousands of British Nationals and important UK interests.”
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano: “I welcome today’s Joint Statement of President Trump of the United States and Chairman Kim of the DPRK at the Singapore Summit which includes the DPRK’s commitment towards complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: “NATO welcomes the historic summit between the President of the United States and the leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. NATO strongly supports all efforts leading towards the eventual denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.”
Spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric: “The Secretary-General welcomes the holding of the Summit between the leaders of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States as an important milestone in the advancement of sustainable peace and the complete and verifiable denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.”
Advocacy Organizations, Media Commentary, and Policy Experts:
Daily Beast Contributor Gordon Chang: “President Trump has created a momentum…. And that is really the result of skillful diplomacy on the part of the President.”
Fox News’ Sean Hannity: “This could be a transformative moment for the entire presidency.”
Fox News’ Steve Hilton: “This is the right thing to do in the interest of not just people in America, but across the world.”
Fox News’ Chris Wallace: “This is a very good and encouraging start.”
Fox News National Security Analyst Rebecca Grant: “The joint document…I think the substance is there. North Korea has reaffirmed that they will denuclearize.”
Time Columnist and Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer: “Trump has accomplished more on North Korea, to date than any US President.”
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States National Commander Keith Harman: “We must have hope that this agreement will finally bring peace to the peninsula and help bring closure to thousands of families of missing American servicemen from the Korean War. The VFW salutes President Trump for bringing this issue to the table, and we thank the North Korean leader for agreeing to it.
Now the hard work to bring the initiative to fruition begins.”

[Bullheaded Texan]

Democratic lawmaker says obuma administration tried to keep ‘quiet’ how many children illegally crossed border.
6/16/18 By Diana Stancy Correll
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, said the Obama administration attempted to keep “quiet” about how many unaccompanied minors were crossing the border and that children were being held in detention centers.
“There were large numbers of people coming in,” Cuellar said in an interview with CNN on Saturday. “The obuma administration was trying to keep this quiet.”
According to the Washington Post, "nearly 70,000 unaccompanied minors" were apprehended at the border in 2014.




































Barone's Guide to Government: Trial by Jury

Watch Full Screen to Skip Ads

The comments come after the Department of Homeland Security confirmed Friday that nearly 2,000 minors were separated from guardians at the border since the Trump administration started enforcing a zero-tolerance policy to prosecute all illegal immigrants.

DHS officials verified Friday that 1,995 minors were taken away from accompanying adults while attempting to enter the U.S. between ports of entry between April 19 and May 31.

Minors who are split from their families as a result of the zero-tolerance policy will be housed by Health and Human Services.

But Cuellar pointed out that not all children crossing the border are being separated because some come alone.

“It’s not a matter that every single child we have in those centers are being separated because some of them are coming in alone,” Cuellar said.

He also pointed to immigrants bringing children across the border who are not their blood relatives in order to take advantage of U.S. immigration loopholes, which have since been rectified by Trump's zero-tolerance policy.

[Bullheaded Texan]

Trump says he won't sign 'moderate' House immigration bill.
6/15/18 by Gabby Morrongiello
President Trump, during a surprise Friday morning interview on Fox News, said he would NOT sign the "moderate" immigration bill in Congress.
[Update: Trump comments throw immigration reform vote into doubt]
The statement is likely to confuse conservative lawmakers who have been encouraged to back compromise legislation by White House adviser Stephen Miller.
House Speaker Paul Ryan is expected to bring the legislation up for a vote next week, along with a bill introduced by House Judiciary Committee Bob Goodlatte.






































The 6 blockbuster cases to watch as the Supreme Court term ends

Watch Full Screen to Skip Ads

"I'm looking at both of them," Trump told "Fox and Friends," adding that he "certainly wouldn't sign the more moderate one." He did not specify which Congressional bill he was referring to.

"I need a bill that has tremendous border security," he said.

Republican leaders have been working to craft a compromise bill for several weeks that fulfills the president's desire for enhanced border security and provides a path to permanent legal status or citizenship for young undocumented immigrants.





One of the bills emerged after House GOP leaders sought to prevent a discharge petition from reaching enough signatures to force a votes on a series of immigration bills, including a clean DACA bill that would have established a path to citizenship for beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program without any border security concessions in return.

"We're bringing legislation that's been carefully crafted and negotiated to the floor," Ryan told reporters on Thursday, adding that he couldn't "guarantee passage."

[Bullheaded Texan]

Trump clears up immigration bill confusion, pledges to back both GOP bills.
6/15/18 by Susan Ferrechio
President Trump supports both of the House GOP immigration bills up for a vote in the next few weeks, a White House spokesman said Friday.
The announcement came after House Republicans hit the pause button on a plan to vote on immigration reform next week. They stopped action after President Trump warned in an impromptu TV appearance that he “wouldn’t sign the more moderate one.”
Republicans feared Trump was talking about a bill authored by Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., which was written in concert with White House officials. It would incorporate the “four pillars” of Trump’s own immigration reform plan, including a pathway to citizenship for 1.8 million Dreamers.
A second bill, authored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., is expected to be a more conservative bill, but it is being modified. In original form, it limits immigration and provides a more difficult path to citizenship.
Republicans planned to put both Ryan and Goodlatte bills on the floor for a vote next week.
But Trump threw the vote into doubt Friday after threatening to take action against one of the bills.
The weekly schedule announcement was canceled Friday and Republicans said they won’t move the bill if Trump indeed opposes it.
But Trump was apparently talking about a process Republican moderates were pushing to force a vote on a series of bills that included Goodlatte’s measure but also two much more moderate measures that do not include Trump’s four immigration reform requirements. The vote on those measures was on the brink of happening via a discharge petition, which fell short of two signatures earlier this week.
“The President fully supports both the Goodlatte bill and the House leadership bill," White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah said later on Friday. "In this morning's interview, he was commenting on the discharge petition in the House, and not the new package.
He would sign either the Goodlatte or the leadership bills.”

[Bullheaded Texan]

Steve Bannon: Trump's ‘zero tolerance’ immigration policy doesn’t have to be justified.
6/17/18 by Kelly Cohen
Steve Bannon said Sunday that the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy doesn’t have to be justified.
“It’s zero tolerance. I don’t think you have to justify it,” the former chief strategist to President Trump said on ABC’s “This Week.” “We have a crisis on the Southern border but the elites in the city … want to manage situations to ... bad outcomes. And Donald Trump is not going to do that, he’s just not going to kick the can down the road.”
Bannon said that Trump is simply enforcing he law.
“He went to a zero tolerance policy. Zero tolerance. It is a crime to come across illegally and children get separated. I mean, I hate to say it. That’s the law and he is enforcing the law,” he explained to Jon Karl.
Steve Bannon to @jonkarl on the Trump Administration's policy of separating children from their parents illegally crossing the southern border: "I don't think you have to justify it. We have a crisis on the southern border." 6/17/18
In April, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the new Justice Department policy: Migrants who cross the border illegally will be prosecuted. Sessions said that the process could lead to adults being separated from children, and the parents being prosecuted separately.
Bannon said that morality isn’t a factor.
“The morality is the law. They are criminals when they come across illegally,” he said.
The Trump administration separated 1,995 children from 1,940 adults from April 19 to May 31, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security said Friday — or roughly 46 children per day, over a six-week period.
Sessions defended the policy this week, which has been criticized by Republicans and Democrats alike.
"If you cross the southwest border unlawfully, then the Department of Homeland Security will arrest you and the Department of Justice will prosecute you. That is what the law calls for — and that is what we are going to do," Sessions said to a law enforcement officers group Thursday.
Trump, meanwhile, has blamed Democrats in Congress for his own administration’s policy.
"I hate children being taken away," he told reporters on the White House lawn Friday morning. "That's the Democrats."

[Bullheaded Texan]

Rob Reiner denounces Robert De Niro, celebrities for anti-Trump remarks! 

 06/16/18 08:00 AM   By Tess Bonn

Director Rob Reiner denounced Robert De Niro and other celebrities for their remarks against President

During an exclusive interview with The Hill’s new TV show “Rising,” which aired on Wednesday,

  Reiner addressed the controversy surrounding actor Robert De Niro’s “Fuck---Trump” speech during the Tony Awards on Sunday.

 De Niro called the president a “fuckin idiot” and a “fucking fool,” which was met with a standing ovation.

 “You’re helping Trump by saying ‘F--- Trump,’ because he can say 'look at these people, these elitists,' ” Reiner told “Rising” co-hosts Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton.

 Reiner said he thinks celebrities are ultimately hurting Democrats when they go on expletive-ridden rants against Trump.

“There’s a very fine line between energizing the base and energizing the other side,” Reiner said.

Trump responded to De Niro’s rant two days later, saying the Academy Award-winning actor was “a very Low IQ individual” and suggesting he had "received too many shots to the head," in his roles playing boxers.

This isn’t the first time De Niro has criticized the president.

 The actor is one of Trump's harshest critics in Hollywood. In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election,

De Niro called Trump “an idiot” and said he’d like to “punch him in the face.”

 

[Bullheaded Texan]

Trump Takes Out Top Taliban Leader in Drone Strike.
6/15/18 by Jacob Wohl
Nearly three months ago, the US offered a $5 Million reward for information leading to the capture or killing of Mullah Fazlullah, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban.
Fazlullah rose to power as the leader of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) following the capture of Sufi Muhammad in 2002, eventually becoming the leader of the Pakistani arm of the Taliban in 2007.
Fazlullah was killed in a US Drone Strike in the Afghan province of Kunar Thursday morning, according to Pakistani ISI Officials who spoke to the New York Times.
NATO also confirmed that Fazlullah was killed, in a statement to Reuters early Thursday Morning.
The tracking down and killing of Fazlullah marks one of the first manifestations of a US policy shift way from bringing the Taliban to the table for negotiations and towards killing their senior leadership.
This shift seems to have taken place exactly as General H.R. McMaster left the White House and as John Bolton entered. In August 2017 National Security Adviser described Pakistan as “Iran or North Korea on steroids”.
Pakistan does not support US drone strikes on terrorists within or near their country, claiming that they threaten their sovereignty.