Friday, August 1, 2014

JUDGE ORDERS DOJ TO RELEASE FAST AND FURIOUS DOCUMENTS WITHHELD FROM CONGRESS UNDER OBAMA EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE CLAIM


Political Conservative News & Opinion


The Battle That Put U.S. Attorney General
Eric Holder In Contempt Of Congress

Katie Pavlich, Townhall — Thanks to a Freedom of Information Act Lawsuit pursued against the Department of Justice by government watchdog Judicial Watch, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has ruled documents being withheld from Congress under President Obama's claim of executive privilege must be turned over. Obama made the claim on the same day Attorney General Eric Holder was voted in criminal and civil contempt of Congress in June 2012.

"This order forces the Obama DOJ, for the first time, to provide a detailed listing of all documents that it has withheld from Congress and the American people for years about the deadly Fast and Furious gun running scandal," Judicial Watch released in a statement.

The FOIA lawsuit has been ongoing for 16-months and is now proceeding after a lengthy delay. The Justice Department originally asked the court for an indefinite hold on a FOIA request from Judicial Watch, citing executive privilege and an ongoing investigation. That indefinite hold request was shot down more than a year ago.

The documentation DOJ is required to now turn over is a "Vaughn index" of "all requested Fast and Furious materials from a June 2012 Judicial Watch FOIA request."
A Vaughn index must: (1) identify each document withheld; (2) state the statutory exemption claimed; and (3) explain how disclosure would damage the interests protected by the claimed exemption." In ordering the DOJ to provide Judicial Watch the Vaughn index, the Court ruled, “In this circuit, when an agency is withholding documents under exemption claims, courts require that the agency provide a Vaughn index so that the FOIA requester – at a distinct informational disadvantage – may test the agency’s claims.”
“Once again, Judicial Watch has beat Congress to the punch in getting key information about another Obama scandal – this time, the Fast and Furious outrage,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. “A federal court has ordered the Obama administration to produce information that could, for the first time, provide specific details who in the administration is responsible for Fast and Furious lies to Congress and the American people. This is a battle that put Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, saw Nixonian assertions of executive privilege by Barack Obama, and a hapless Congress in face of all this lawlessness. Finally, we may get some accountability for Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and the countless others murdered as a result of the insanely reckless Obama administration program.”

This is a huge step forward. » Full Article

About the Author
Katie Pavlich is the News Editor at Townhall.com. Follow her on Twitter @katiepavlich. She is also the author of the New York Times Best Seller Fast and Furious: Barack Obama’s Bloodiest Scandal and the Shameless Cover-Up. » Full Bio

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» Townhall

NEWSBUSTED: AUGUST 1, 2014


The Green Light For Conservative Laughter!
Starring Jodi Miller


Topics for this Edition of NewsBusted
Environmental Groups
EPA
Mak Zuckerberg
Hillary Clinton
JetBlue Pilot
2016 Democratic Ticket
Elizabeth Warren
Fake Obamacare Applicants
Rachel Maddow
Illegal Aliens

About NewsBusted
The Media Research Center’s NewsBusted comedy show, with jokes about politics, Hollywood and liberal media bias.

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NEWS BRIEFS: AUGUST 1, 2014


Current Events And Commentaries

What Do You Call A President
Who Helps Our Enemies?

The Record Is Very Clear...

Lead Story by Allan Erickson, Western Journalism —
The world is aflame, it is happening on Obama’s watch, the Democrats have been in power for eight years, and Americans are increasingly furious over serial failures by the regime in Washington. Talk of impeachment is a side-show. Many people say Obama should be tried for treason because he has provided aid and comfort to jihadists, our sworn enemies.

How credible is this accusation? Consider recent history.

In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood is now on the run and Morsi is in prison, but Barack Obama helped Morsi come to power and propped up his Sharia-based regime by funding the Brotherhood, paving the way by helping remove Mubarak from power.

Remember that the Brotherhood is the long-standing jihadist organization that gave birth to Al Qaeda. The Brotherhood, like Iran and many others, considers the U.S. the great Satan. The Brotherhood calls for our complete annihilation. Details of some of Obama’s direct support for the Brotherhood can be studied here, here and here.

Making matters worse, Obama has welcomed Brotherhood members into our government. Many of these Brotherhood operatives hold sensitive positions inside our security apparatus. This would be comparable to FDR allowing Nazis to serve in the Defense Department in 1942.

Additionally, in an almost hysterical attempt to cobble together a cease-fire in Gaza, the Obama Administration recently sought the favor of Qatar and Turkey, both totally hostile to our ally Israel, both firm supporters of Hamas, both nation states which fund Hamas. It is as if Obama is trying to save Hamas while talking tough about supporting Israel, more evidence of this regime’s pattern of corruption and deception. This report claims Kerry and Obama are not only trying to save Hamas, they are trying to restore the Brotherhood in the process.

Furthermore, you remember Obama’s red line in Syria, the one that turned pink, and then vanished? Guess what? Funding for jihadists including Al Qaeda in Syria is also part of the treasonous Obama legacy.

An excerpt from this article reads:
“The Syrian opposition groups are increasingly dominated by radical Islamists, many of them foreign fighters who, the UN says, are involved in numerous crimes committed in Syria. According to estimates of defense consultancy IHS Jane’s, more than a half of the forces fighting to topple President Bashar Assad government are jihadists.”
Now that an earnest investigation into Benghazi has commenced, many observers predict we will finally get confirmation the U.S. helped transfer Libyan weapons to jihadists in Syria with Turkish assistance and that a large part of the deterioration in Benghazi at the consulate had to do with those weapons transfers.

It should be noted as well that Obama’s illegal military action to topple Qaddafi turned Libya into a war zone where tribal rivalries play out in violence across the country and where terrorists find free reign to train and wage jihad.

Finally, Obama has consistently refused to support liberation movements in Iran and elsewhere, and, he has consistently funded and supported jihadist movements as noted, including Hamas and Hezbollah. Please do not forget Obama purposefully pulled out of Iraq prematurely allowing ISIS to take half the country, slaughtering thousands.

The record is very clear. The man who would be king, one claiming to be a Christian, is in reality a jihadist sympathizer and collaborator who funds, helps and comforts our enemies, a man who therefore deserves to be charged with treason.

Photo Credit: Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com

The views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by WesternJournalism.com.

» The U.S. Is Quietly Establishing Ebola Quarantine Centers
By Dave Hodges, The Common Sense Show —
Fatality rates can reach 90% and the incubation period is two to 21 days. THERE IS NO VACCINE OR CURE (CDC)..Even if there was not a present immigration crisis at the border, there is a significant outbreak of Ebola in a seven country region of West Africa. With modern air travel, this government should be enacting protocols to limit the chances for Ebola from coming into the United States. Instead, President Obama is having ICE and DHS load up the busses and planes, at taxpayers expense to ship them throughout the United States without going through a minimum of a three week health screening period (i.e. Ebola’s incubation period). This is highly irresponsible and could be considered to be an act of treason being committed against the people of the United States. Under federally mandated quarantine procedures, here is what the CDC and President Obama are mandated to do in the present crisis. Here is what is supposed to happen as described by the CDC...

» Feds Would Exercise Draconian Emergency Powers If Ebola Hits U.S.
By Paul Joseph Watson, Alex Jones’ Infowars —
Model State Emergency Health Powers Act "could turn governors into dictators." Under the legislation, public health authorities and governors would rely on expanded police powers to; - Force individuals suspected of harboring an “infectious disease” to undergo medical examinations. - Track and share an individual’s personal health information, including genetic information. - Force persons to be vaccinated, treated, or quarantined for infectious diseases ... As we highlighted yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has measures in place for dealing with an outbreak of a communicable disease which allow for the quarantine of “well persons” who “do not show symptoms” of the disease.

» Senator Ted Cruz Warns: If Senate Doesn’t Act, Internet Will Be Taxed In November
By Matthew Burke, Tea Party News Network (TPNN) —
Keeping the internet tax-free “should unite us all,” said Senator Ted Cruz on Thursday, while requesting unanimous consent to pass H.R. 3086, which would make permanent the temporary ban on internet access taxes. Senator Cruz, in pushing for “internet tax freedom,” warned that if the Senate, led by Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid, doesn’t act, taxes will kick in this November. Sen. Cruz said on the Senate floor that keeping the internet free from federal taxes should be something both parties can agree upon. “You know, there’s not a lot of agreement in this town on much of anything, including what time of day it is,” Sen. Cruz joked. “And yet on internet taxes, in 1998 President Bill Clinton signed the law banning internet taxes...

» Justice Ginsburg: Buying Contraceptives For Others Is One Of The ‘Obligations That Citizens Have’
By Tatiana Lozano, CNS News —
Providing women with cost-free health-insurance coverage for contraceptives is one of the “obligations” of citizenship, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Wednesday in an interview with Yahoo’s Katie Couric. “Some people say there’s something troubling about mandating a private company though, to do something that is against their deeply held religious beliefs. What would you say to those people?” Couric asked Ginsburg, one of four dissenting justices in the court’s landmark Burwell v. Hobby Lobby decision...

» Governor Signs New Abortion Buffer Zone Law Following Supreme Court Ruling
By Heather Clark, Christian News Network —
BOSTON – The governor of Massachusetts has signed a new abortion buffer zone bill into law in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling that declared such free speech-free zones as being unconstitutional. As previously reported, last month, the high court unanimously ruled against a Massachusetts law that restricted free speech in areas within 35 feet of abortion facilities. While the court had differing views as to why the law was problematic, Chief Justice John Roberts outlined that the law was too broad and cut off more speech than necessary to achieve the government’s interests in “public safety.”...

» Israeli Analyst: Hamas Has 3,000 Elite Soldiers Ready To Die In Suicide Attacks On Israel
By Sara Carter, TheBlaze —
An Israeli analyst told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Friday morning that he received information from reliable sources that 3,000 Hamas elite soldiers told their families goodbye and appear ready to carry out suicide attacks on Israel. Middle East analyst Gershon Baskin said that all the fighters were equipped with suicide vests and that they had expected to die in terrorist attacks. Baskin spoke just hours after a Hamas suicide attack, believed to have been conducted by the group’s militant wing Ezzedine al-Qassam brigade, killed two Israeli soldiers. During the surprise Hamas attack, which happened two hours into the 72-hour agreement for a cease fire, the militants captured an Israeli officer...

» Hill Source: Sessions ‘Very Encouraged’ By House Immigration Bill Changes
By Matthew Boyle, Breitbart —
Senate Budget Committee ranking member Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) isn't saying either way whether he's backing the new House immigration bill, but a hill source tells Breitbart News that he's "very encouraged" by what's happened thus far on Friday. “Senator Sessions is very encouraged by the significant developments in the House,” a congressional source told Breitbart News. Over the past week plus, Sessions has been a major player in the goings-on of this immigration war. When Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) introduced the House GOP leadership recommendations on behalf of the working group Speaker John Boehner set up, Sessions called the plan’s failure to mention President Obama at all—never mind his executive amnesty plans—an “institutional surrender” to Obama’s “planned illegality.”...

» US Islamic Preacher Commands ‘Jihad’ On Israel
By Paul Bois, Truth Revolt —
“Global Zionism is unadulterated evil besetting all people."
he Times of Israel has reported that a U.S. Islamic preacher named Sheik Mohamed Elimam, based in Chicago, has been preaching Jihad against Israel amidst the recent incursion into Gaza during his weekly Friday sermons. In the video released Thursday by the Middle East Media Research Center, Elimam is seen calling global Zionism an "unadulterated evil besetting all people" and advising his congregation to join the fight in Gaza. “Oh, those of you who want to wage jihad for the sake of Allah, Palestine is calling you and Gaza is crying out for your help,” Elimam said. “If you are true believers, real mujahideen, hasten to Palestine.”...

» Italian Journalist Leaves Gaza, Tells Truth Once Free From Hamas Retaliation: Hamas Killed Those Kids
By Pamela Gellar, Atlas Shrugs —
An Italian reporter, after leaving Gaza, confirms that it was a Hamas rocket that hit a school playground, killing 10 kids, but Obama sent Hamas 50 million bucks anyway, while he cancelled tourist visa applications for Israelis. “Media cover-up of Hamas crimes starting to unravel”.. How many more of the civilian casualties have been cause by Hamas and Islamic rockets that fell short or misfired? Like Israel says happened at a U.N. school and shelter. We likely never will know because Hamas is so fast to cover up the scene and intimidates reporters...

—Daily Cartoon—

Kerry Steps In

» Cartoonist: Eric Allie is an editorial cartoonist with the Pioneer Press, and his cartoons are syndicated internationally by Cagle Cartoons.