Showing posts with label Crime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crime. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

HILLARY: I am not a crook!

By Investor's Business Daily

Scandal: RNC Chairman Reince Priebus reminds us of the similarity between the 18-1/2-minute gap that doomed a presidency and an email server wiped clean by a lawyer who served on a Watergate committee staff.

Hillary Clinton should know better, know that the cover-up is often worse than any crime, for she once worked as a member of the impeachment inquiry staff for the House Judiciary Committee investigating the "third-rate burglary" at the Watergate Hotel that doomed Richard Nixon's presidency.

The end came when tapes of presidential conversations were found and became public knowledge with one tape containing that famous 18-1/2-minute gap of erased silence that spoke volumes about the cover-up of the break-in at DNC headquarters.

As RNC Chair Reince Preibus notes, as Richard Nixon's claim that "I am not a crook" unraveled, it was due to the fact that he did not destroy those tapes when he could have. Maybe it was vanity, stubbornness or just garden variety stupidity and arrogance, but he didn't burn them or wipe them clean, even if it might have saved his presidency.

Hillary Clinton has, in different words, said that she is not a crook and that she did nothing wrong in having a private email account on a personal server through which she conducted all her government business in violation of both the letter and spirit of federal statutes.

The Invasion Continues Apace

By Jessica Vaughan

More than 2,000 illegal alien juveniles have been apprehended and taken into federal custody in each of the last several months, according to DHS statistics. While Obama administration officials emphasize that these numbers are lower than last year, they are still the second highest level ever for arrests of illegal alien minors, about midway between 2013 and 2014 levels. Most of those apprehended are male teenagers, with the largest number from Guatemala. The statistics confirm that Central Americans still see a strong incentive to head to the United States now, and that the drop in apprehensions reported last August and September was temporary.

While taking custody of roughly 2,000 illegal alien juveniles per month since the start of the 2015 fiscal year last October, ICE reports removing well under 200 juveniles per month. The largest number of these (41 percent) were sent home to Mexico.

The majority of illegal alien juveniles taken into ICE custody are ultimately released to family members in the United States, and only a small number are ever repatriated. About 90 percent of the recent Central American arrivals who had hearings scheduled last summer and fall failed to appear at their immigration hearings and have melted into the larger illegal alien population.

Monday, March 30, 2015

HOTEL SHOWERS, GRILLS AND WOOD-BURNING STOVES: EPA meddling in our lives reaches a zenith

By Paul Chesser

Those in business who have to oblige the Environmental Protection Agency (or the state government agencies that carry out federal laws) on a daily basis know there’s an endless list of issues upon which the cabinet agency can (and does) interfere and obstruct. But a few recent examples reveal the extent to which the government regulators are willing to extinguish our individual freedoms.

Attention this week is trained on the Supreme Court, where a costly Obama regulation on mercury emissions from utilities’ coal-fired power plants is under a challenge. That’s a big issue that addresses whether EPA conducted a proper cost-benefit analysis for limiting those emissions, which has major implications related to the cost of electricity, but is otherwise complex for the layman.

But other areas of increased meddling are more plain – and obnoxious.

SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS: Apparently, DC Insiders Can Legally Avoid Paying Taxes

You learn something new every day: did you know that government insiders can receive "certificates of divestiture" that allow them to "indefinitely defer" paying taxes on proceeds from stock sales?

The Daily Caller's Richard Pollock reports:

When Andy Slavitt reported for work as deputy administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last June 10, he pocketed at least $4.8 million in tax-free income from major health-care companies.

...CMS officials ... initially issued a categorical denial to TheDC that Slavitt had sought and received a special “certificate of divestiture,” a loophole which allowed him to indefinitely defer capital gains taxes on the sale of millions of dollars in equities.

But when TheDC produced two certificates of divestiture issued to Andrew and Lana Slavitt — both dated July 9 and signed by the Office of Government Ethics’ general counsel David J. Apol – the agency backtracked.

The special certificates permitted Slavitt to sell 23,711 shares of United Health Group stock and avoid capital gains taxes on the transaction [...on July 9th,] Slavitt pocketed $1.9 million in tax-free income.

That same day, OGE permitted him to sell 11,670 additional shares in the Swiss private equity firm of Partners Group Private Equity, which, according to an Office of Government Ethics official, included underlying health-care investments.

The Swiss per share market price for the stock on July 9 was $249. Slavitt was able to cash in the stock for $2.9 million in tax-free income.

And what exactly is a "certificate of divestiture" (PDF)?

If you are an executive branch employee of the Federal Government or plan to become one, at
some point you may have to sell certain assets to avoid a conflict of interest or the appearance of a
conflict. Under tax rules, the sale of an asset may cause you to have a taxable capital gain which must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service. However, to make it easier for you and your family to comply with ethics rules, the tax laws provide that before you sell your asset, the Director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) may issue a Certificate of Divestiture (called a CD) which will allow you to defer the capital gains tax. The CD does not eliminate the capital gains tax; it simply defers payment of the tax to some future date.

In reading the applicable statute and regulatory guidance, I could find no timeline for repayment of capital gains taxes.

I guess some animals really are more equal than others.


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

HILLARY'S DAMAGED CANDIDACY: The Stench of Corruption Follows Her Wherever She Goes

By Investor's Business Daily

Scandal: Hillary's emails may be only the tip of an iceberg that could include Clinton Foundation donations to shield Boko Haram from being designated a terrorist group and her brother's involvement in a Haitian gold mine.

We doubt Team Hillary was thrilled or her critics surprised Tuesday when the Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security named Mrs. Clinton's brother, Tony Rodham, in a report about a firm that allegedly received preferential treatment from the Obama administration.

The firm, Gulf Coast Funds Management, with Tony Rodham listed as its chief executive, allegedly benefited from what the report says was "politically motivated" intervention of then-United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Majorkas, whom president Obama promoted to be the No. 2 official at DHS even as he was under investigation.

Friday, March 27, 2015

DUDE: Private Emails Reveal Ex-Clinton Aide's Secret Spy Network

by Jeff Gerth, ProPublica, and Sam Biddle, Gawker

This story was co-published with Gawker.

Update, March 27, 6:48 p.m.: This story has been updated to include responses from the FBI and the State Department.

Starting weeks before Islamic militants attacked the U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, longtime Clinton family confidante Sidney Blumenthal supplied intelligence to then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gathered by  a secret network that included a former CIA clandestine service officer, according to hacked emails from Blumenthal's account.

The emails, which were posted on the internet in 2013, also show that Blumenthal and another close Clinton associate discussed contracting with a retired Army special operations commander to put operatives on the ground near the Libya-Tunisia border while Libya's civil war raged in 2011.

Blumenthal's emails to Clinton, which were directed to her private email account, include at least a dozen detailed reports on events on the deteriorating political and security climate in Libya as well as events in other nations. They came to light after a hacker broke into Blumenthal's account and have taken on new significance in light of the disclosure that she conducted State Department and personal business exclusively over an email server that she controlled and kept secret from State Department officials and which only recently was discovered by congressional investigators.

The contents of that account are now being sought by a congressional inquiry into the Benghazi attacks. Clinton has handed over more than 30,000 pages of her emails to the State Department, after unilaterally deciding which ones involved government business; the State Department has so far handed almost 900 pages of those over to the committee. A Clinton spokesman told Gawker and ProPublica (which are collaborating on this story) that she has turned over all the emails Blumenthal sent to Clinton.

GOWDY: Hillary Clinton Wiped Her Email Server Clean

Try and contain your surprise: Hillary Clinton is engaged in a world-class cover up:

Hillary Rodham Clinton wiped her email server “clean,” permanently deleting all emails from it, the Republican chairman of a House committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi attacks said Friday...

...Clinton, a likely Democratic presidential candidate, faced a Friday deadline to respond to a subpoena for emails and documents related to Libya, including the 2012 attacks in a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya.

The Benghazi committee demanded further documents and access to the server after it was revealed that Clinton used a private email account and server during her tenure at State.

Gowdy said he will work with House leaders to consider options. Speaker John Boehner has not ruled out a vote in the full House to force Clinton to turn over the server if she declines to make it available...

...Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said the former secretary of state has failed to produce a single new document in recent weeks and has refused to relinquish her server to a third party for an independent review, as Gowdy has requested... “Not only was the secretary the sole arbiter of what was a public record, she also summarily decided to delete all emails from her server, ensuring no one could check behind her analysis in the public interest,” he said.

It is likely, according to former federal attorney Shannen W. Coffin, it is likely that Hillary's activities constitute a series of felonies.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

LOVELY: The Clinton Global Influence-Peddling Racket Initiative Received Cash from... Iranian Front Group

Why not? It's the Clintons!

Daniel Halper reports that Hill and Bill have received significant "contributions" from a front group for Iran's Mullahs and their terror proxies:

As President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry close in on a nuclear deal with Iran, it's worth remembering that the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation received money from "a front for the government of Iran" called the Alavi Foundation.

The front gave the Clintons $30,000 between April 2005 and March 2006, according to tax forms. This occurred years after law enforcement officials tied the group to Iranian radicals. “The center is funded by the New York-based Alavi Foundation, which law enforcement officials say is closely tied to the mullahs who dominate Iran,” the Washington Post reported in 2003.

In a court document, the head of the NYPD intelligence division stated that the Alavi Foundation is ‘totally controlled by the government of Iran’ and ‘funds a variety of anti-American causes’ with ties to Hezbollah and Hamas.

In 2009, U.S. attorney Preet Bharara stated that the Alavi Foundation is a "front for the government of Iran... [its] affairs have been directed by various Iranian officials, including Iranian ambassadors at the United Nations, in violation of a series of U.S. laws."

But, remember, it's the Clintons. Laws don't apply to them. They only apply to us.


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

BERGDAHL CHARGED WITH DESERTION: Remember these famous figures who once lauded Bergdahl?

By Joseph Perticone

U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was officially charged with desertion on Wednesday. In light of that charge, these politicians, journalists and political personalities might want to consider walking back some of the statements listed below.

The White House:

Vice President Joe Biden:

TESTIMONY: Obama's Executive Amnesties Violate Federal Law AND The Constitution

By Kris Kobach

The Senate Judiciary Oversight Subcommittee held a hearing yesterday on the implications of Texas v. United States - the case 26 governors and attorneys general brought against President Obama’s executive amnesties. Kris Kobach, the Kansas Secretary of State and former immigration advisor to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, cited three reasons why the executive amnesties are unlawful: “(1) the executive actions do not comply with the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA); (2) even if they did comply with the APA, they would still be in direct violation of substantive provisions of federal law; and (3) even if they did not violate federal law, they would still be unconstitutional.”

Below are excerpts from his testimony.

On APA Non-Compliance:

“The APA requires that agencies implementing federal statutes in whole or in part do so through rulemaking… An administrative action that establishes criteria for exception from removal from the United States and defines a class with affirmative eligibility for benefits is quintessentially a “rule” under the APA… DHS has set out in [directives] a determination of future rights, privileges, and benefits. In so doing, the Administration has attempted to bury, outside of the APA, rulemaking decisions that have the ‘inherently arbitrary nature of unpublished ad hoc determinations.’… A central facet of the APA is the exposure of a proposed rule to public comment and criticism…By attempting to make this policy change through executive fiat, DHS avoided this public scrutiny and plainly violated the terms of the APA.”

On Violations of Federal Law:

“In 1996…(f)rustrated with executive non-enforcement of federal immigration laws, Congress enacted the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA)…Congress inserted several interlocking provisions…to require removal when immigration officers encounter illegal aliens…8 U.S.C. § 1225(a)(1) requires that “an alien present in the United States who has not been admitted…shall be deemed for purposes of this chapter an applicant for admission.” This designation triggers 8 U.S.C. § 1225(a)(3), which requires that all applicants for admission “shall be inspected by immigration officers.” This in turn triggers 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A), which mandates that “if the examining immigration officer determines that an alien seeking admission is not clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to be admitted, the alien shall be detained for a proceeding under section 1229a of this title.” The proceedings under 8 U.S.C. § 1229a are removal proceedings in United States Immigration Courts.

“The DACA and DAPA Directives order the ICE officers to violate these provisions of federal law by declining to place certain aliens into removal proceedings, when federal law clearly requires them to place such aliens into removal proceedings...

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

YES, REALLY: Obama Tacitly Endorses Iranian EMP Attack on U.S.

By Investor's Business Daily

Threatened: A translated military handbook showing Tehran's support for a nuclear electromagnetic pulse attack on the U.S., and the presence of Iranian warships off our coast, show that Israel isn't the mullahs' sole target.

Last month in a speech to his air force commanders, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, boasted of Tehran's achievement in enriching uranium to the 20% level.

A BBC transcript of his speech showed that twice the assembled air force commanders chanted, "Death to America." Is there something about this that President Obama does not understand?

This is the same ayatollah, Obama assured us in his speech to the Iranian people five years after he ignored and failed to hear cries during the 2009 Green Revolution, who had issued a fatwa against the development of nuclear weapons.

Fatwa? Fat chance. Sadly, we have reached the point where a U.S. president trusts American security not even to a piece of parchment but to an Iranian mullah's fatwa.

Iran's true intentions were documented by a column by Peter Vincent Pry, executive director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security, a congressional advisory board.

LOVELY: Obama Accused of Obstructing Battle against Boko Haram to Promote Axelrod's Nigerian Muslim Client

By James Simpson

When the notorious Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram, kidnapped 278 school girls from the town of Chibok in northeastern Nigeria last year, Michelle Obama began a Twitter hashtag campaign, #BringBackOurGirls. But behind the scenes, the Obama administration was undermining Nigeria’s efforts to take the battle to the terrorists. Obama refused to sell Nigeria arms and supplies critical to the fight, and stepped in to block other Western allies from doing so. The administration also denied Nigeria intelligence on Boko Haram from drones operating in the area. While Boko Haram was kidnapping school girls, the U.S. cut petroleum purchases from Nigeria to zero, plunging the nation’s economy into turmoil and raising concerns about its ability to fund its battle against the terrorists. Nigeria responded by cancelling a military training agreement between the two countries.

The Nigerian presidential election is coming up Saturday, March 28, 2015. AKPD, the political consulting group founded by Obama confidante David Axelrod, is assisting Retired Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim presidential candidate from Muslim-dominated northern Nigeria, where Boko Haram was spawned and wields the most influence. Buhari is well-known throughout the country, having led as “Head-of-State” following a military coup in 1983. He was dislodged following another coup in 1985.

Monday, March 23, 2015

TREY GOWDY: Hillary must turn over her illegal email server or "face the full powers of the House"

By Victoria Taft

Congressman Trey Gowdy, who heads the Select Committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi attack, sent a letter this week to former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Gowdy’s letter firmly requests that Clinton turn over her email server by April 3rd to a neutral third party, or he plans to litigate:

Saturday, March 21, 2015

NAPA Ad Features Hillary Clinton as the Annoying Mother-In-Law

I wonder what Hillary charged NAPA for her brilliant acting performance as the freakishly annoying Mother-In-Law?



Oh, that Barney Rubble. What an actor.


Related: "Why Hillary Clinton's Email Habits Annoy So Many People".

BLUE STATE UTOPIA: Chicago Public Schools Circle the Drain

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Chicago Public School system is facing a catastrophic penalty as a result of decades of borderline criminal Democrat fiscal mismanagement.

Chicago’s deep financial problems worsened Friday as a Wall Street bond-rating agency dramatically downgraded the credit of the city’s school system — triggering penalties that could come to more than $200 million.

...Chicago Public Schools is required to maintain a certain credit rating under the terms of complex debt “swap” deals with financial institutions. Failure to do so could activate termination clauses in the deals and CPS could have to make payments to the financial institutions.

Friday’s report from Fitch means CPS has dropped below the threshold for terminating the deals. According to Fitch, CPS could be forced to pay $263 million in penalties as a result...

...Even after closing a record number of schools, cutting administrative costs and raising property taxes, CPS has projected a budget deficit of more than $1 billion for the coming school year.

Interestingly, the Chicago Democrat machine is being torn asunder by the conflict between the unions and city leaders like Rahm Emanuel. Union leadership continues to fleece taxpayers while insisting that their unsustainable retirement benefits can be maintained. Emanuel, faced with these mathematical impossibilities, is suggesting that the unions must be reined in. Pass the popcorn.

Friday, March 20, 2015

As Relations With Israel Plummet To New Low, Obama Cuts Video for Iran Praising the Ayatollah

By Weasel Zippers


Anyone think it’s a coincidence Obama chose today to release his Nowruz message (it begins on the first day of spring)?


Who, then, is "treasonous"?


Read more at WeaselZippers.us

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

THE BETRAYAL PAPERS: Colonized by the Muslim Brotherhood

NOTE: This essay is a supplement to the first four parts in a five-part series from the Qatar Awareness Campaign. Previously: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

This supplementary article puts Parts I-IV in some perspective. It’s a condensed version that attempts to paint a picture of the domestic problem in terms that are easily accessible to those who are not already deeply familiar with the issues. A variety of factors are explored, from Congressional complicity to the silence of the press.

Part V will be released next week.


The Betrayal Papers — And the Press Says Nothing…

The United States of America, primarily through the political left and Democrat Party, has been virtually colonized by the Muslim Brotherhood. Also known by their Arabic name, Ikhwan, they are a totalitarian, terrorist Islamic group that seeks our destruction because we are a free people.

We witness the Muslim Brotherhood’s planned destruction of America in many areas of contemporary life. A purposefully weak economy fails to produce the capitalist dynamism that has defined America for generations, and many millions remain unemployed. Abroad, the Muslim Brotherhood’s domination of American foreign policy instigated and backed the failed “Arab Spring,” which may ultimately result in Iranian domination of the Middle East. We feel their suffocating effects on our democracy every day, as our freedoms, traditions, opportunities, and rule of law slip away. The people suffer as prices continue to rise and the public sinks into a bottomless pit of debt.

The hostile, conquered government in Washington strangles our liberty each time Obama, like a self-crowned emperor, passes new regulatory laws without Congress.

The Little Pantsuit That Couldn't (Tell the Truth)

By Investor's Business Daily

Emailgate: The refusal of State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki to answer a simple yes or no question — did Hillary Clinton sign separation form OF-109? — is proof of a cover-up of a felony by the former secretary of state.

You'd think that if Clinton didn't sign separation form OF-109 or was not asked to, the State Department and Team Hillary would have just said so.

After all, it would be easier to deflect questions about getting special treatment than acknowledging the committing of a felony by essentially lying under oath with the false claim that you have returned all government materials in your possession, including your emails.

As former DOJ lawyer Shannen Coffin first pointed out, OF-109 is more than a promise that you have not absconded with some office supplies.

It's meant as a reminder that you can't take your work product with you, and that the employee is required to sign under penalty of perjury something akin to the threat of prosecution that looms just above the signature line on your Form 1040 at tax time.

Monday, March 16, 2015

SECURITAY: Hillary's Super-Secret, Super-Secure Email Server Can Only Be Accessed with a... Web Browser

Crowd-sourcing at its finest.

Marc Perkel reveals that Hillary Clinton's personal email server has web access enabled, which means an intrepid password-guesser might be able to access all of the Pantsuit's yoga emails.

Although we don’t know what IP address Clinton’s real email is on. It’s interesting to note IP addresses in the DNS for the clintonemail.com domain. Most host names like www.clintonemail.com all map to some holding page of no importance. However that host mail.clintonemail.com maps to a different IP address 64.94.172.146, which is in a data center in the New York area, Internap.com. Interesting that her “home server” resolves to a data center. Seems worth investigating to me. mail.presidentclinton.com resolves to the same IP address and also uses MxLogic.

So I thought, what if she has web mail? And sure enough – I GOT A LOGIN PROMPT! https://mail.clintonemail.com And I have verified by the SSL certificate that this is indeed the clintonemail.com server – still online! Click here and type in mail.clintonemail.com

I already tried hillary2016 for the password and that didn’t work. But I’m looking at this and thinking WTF!

Is Hillary’s server secure? It get’s a B rating here. Only supports weak protocols...


Gee, no security risk here. No, nothing to see, just move along.


Hat tips: RF and BadBlue Tech News.

REVEALED: Obama using the U.N. to enter a "binding" Iran nuclear agreement without Congress

By David Gerstman

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday (Google link) that Secretary of State John Kerry is still upset about the open letter Sen. Tom Cotton (R – Ark.) wrote last week that was signed by 46 other Republican senators arguing that it was Congress’ role to review treaties.

Mr. Kerry said on Saturday in Egypt that these American lawmakers were “wrong.”

“It is almost inevitable it will raise questions in the minds of the folks with whom we’re negotiating as to whether or not they are negotiating with the executive department and the president, which is what the constitution says, or whether there are 535 members of Congress,” Mr. Kerry told reporters in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

“Let me make clear to Iran…that from our point of view, this letter is incorrect in its statements,” he added. “As far as we are concerned, the Congress has no ability to change an executive agreement.”

It strikes me as odd that Kerry is doubling down on his non-binding argument. An executive agreement is not binding, unlike a treaty, and therefore not subject to Congressional review. It’s also odd that he claims, “as far as we are concerned.”

Shouldn’t the Constitution be the standard by which the Republican claims are judged? Finally, there’s Kerry’s famous declaration at the time the Joint Plan of Action was signed in November 2013 that the agreement was not based on trust. So if the agreement is not based on trust and it’s non-binding what “mechanism” will there to be verify that Iran isn’t overtly or covertly pursuing an illicit nuclear program?

More and more I’m convinced that Cotton’s reason for writing the letter was to smoke out the administration on this point.

It wasn’t unknown that the administration was portraying the emerging agreement with Iran as “non-binding.” Armin Rosen of Business Insider, for example, suggested this a week before Kerry and other administration officials admitted it. The problem of course with the administration’s position is, as Rosen wrote last week:

The US wouldn’t have a firm legal obligation to uphold the agreement, so Iran would have a built-in reason to assume American bad faith and push the limits of a future deal. In other words, without a legal guarantee on the US side, compliance with an agreement is potentially diluted Tehran’s side as well — and remember, this is a regime that hid the existence of two secret nuclear facilities and operated 20,000 uranium enrichment centrifuges in defiance of repeated UN Security Council resolutions.

One problem with Kerry’s harping on the Cotton letter is that it reinforces the weakness of the agreement that the United States is negotiating with Iran. The other problem is that despite the administration’s claim that the deal it is negotiating is non-binding, there is an effort to make this deal binding – on the United States.