CLG News

UK Prime Minister Johnson's Conservative Party wins majority of seats in Britain's Parliament | 13 Dec 2019 | Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party officially won a majority of seats in Britain's Parliament -- a decisive outcome to a Brexit-dominated election that should allow Johnson to fulfill his plan to take the U.K. out of the European Union next month. Johnson said it looked like the Conservatives had "a powerful new mandate to get Brexit done." The victory makes Johnson the most electorally successful Conservative leader since Margaret Thatcher, another politician who was loved and loathed in almost equal measure. It is a disaster for left-wing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who faced calls for his resignation even as the results rolled in.

Burned by the midnight oil: Furious Republicans unload on Nadler after 'bush league,' 'Stalinesque' impeachment delay | 13 Dec 2019 | Republicans erupted with unbridled fury and frustration late Thursday as House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., abruptly wrapped up an all-day marathon hearing on the adoption of two articles of impeachment against President Trump by delaying a planned vote on the matter until Friday morning. Ranking Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., raised an immediate objection as Nadler began leaving, saying it was "the most bush-league stunt” he had ever seen. "Mr. Chairman, there was no consulting with the ranking member on your schedule for tomorrow -- you just blew up schedules for everyone?" Collins asked incredulously. "You chose not to consult the ranking member on a scheduling issue of this magnitude? This is the kangaroo court we're talking about. Not even consult? Not even consult? 10 a.m. tomorrow??" Texas GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert called out the tactic as "Stalinesque," and other Republicans essentially heckled Nadler's conduct as unbelievable and "outrageous."

'Now we WILL get Brexit done': Boris Johnson hails huge Tory victory as election results puts him on track for SEVENTY-FOUR majority - as Jeremy Corbyn announces he is on way out after worst Labour result since 1935 --The prediction shows voters handing the Tories a whopping 362 seats with Labour collapsing to just 199 --The result would mean a huge 74 Commons majority and be the worst Labour showing in modern history | 12 Dec 2019 | Boris Johnson hailed a 'mandate to get Brexit done' today as he marched his new blue-collar Tory army towards a staggering election landslide. With Labour's 'red wall' of Leave-backing strongholds imploding, the PM said he had been given a 'powerful' vote of confidence by the British people. The speech at his count in Uxbridge and South Ruislip came with experts forecasting the Conservatives are on track to rack up 362 seats in the first December election for nearly a century, with Labour collapsing to 199 - down 63 on 2017. Jeremy Corbyn announced this morning that he will quit as leader in the wake of the humiliation, swiping at 'disgusting' media attacks on him, saying he still believed his hard-Left platform was 'popular', and blaming Brexit for preventing 'normal political debate'.

Judiciary Committee to vote Friday on sending articles of impeachment to House floor | 12 Dec 2019 | The House Judiciary Committee debated two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump late into Thursday night before Chairman Jerry Nadler gaveled the hearing out to take final votes Friday morning. The committee had been expected to approve the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress against the President on two party-line votes Thursday, following a contentious, marathon debate where lawmakers clashed over the allegations against Trump and the repercussions of voting to impeach him. Instead, Republicans erupted at Nadler when he announced the vote would not take place until 10 a.m. Friday...The markup lasted late into the evening Thursday, stretching longer than 14 hours as Republicans used the one tool available to them in the markup: the ability to extend it with additional amendments and debate.

Clinton-appointed judge in Texas blocks Trump from using military funds for border wall | 10 Dec 2019 | A federal judge on Wednesday blocked President Trump from using Defense Department funds for the construction of his border wall. Judge David Briones of the US District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled in favor of El Paso County, Texas, and Border Network for Human Rights [for cheap labor for US corporations], which had argued Trump's national emergency declaration using billions in Pentagon funds for the wall was an overreach. The plaintiffs also accused the White House of using the funds for a situation that did not meet the bar for an "emergency" under the National Emergencies Act. Briones, a Clinton appointee, had previously ruled the county could bring the case because they had suffered reputational harm as a result of the funds diversion.

Comey is 'delusional' if he thinks Horowitz FISA report vindicates him, lawyer says | 10 Dec 2019 | Former FBI director James Comey was quick to claim vindication after the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) report findings were released Monday -- but Republican attorney Joe diGenova found his claim of innocence "delusional." "I think the problem with Mr. Comey is he is delusional," diGenova said Tuesday on Fox Nation's "Witch Hunt." Comey claimed an apparent victory over the FBI's handling of the Trump-Russia probe in 2016, saying criticism of the probe "was all lies" after Justice Department Inspector General (IG) Michael Horowitz said investigators found no intentional misconduct or political bias surrounding efforts to launch the 2016 investigation. Comey, however, seemingly ignored the portion of Monday's report where Horowitz faulted the bureau's handling of surveillance warrants during his time as director.

6 dead in New Jersey shootout, including officer and three civilians, police say | 10 Dec 2019 | A police officer, three civilians and two suspects were killed Tuesday afternoon during a shootout and standoff in Jersey City, New Jersey, authorities said. The deadly mayhem started when the slain officer was investigating a murder and approached two suspects -- when one of them opened fire, shooting the officer in the head and killing him, law enforcement sources told NBC News. The two suspects then fled in a rental van and holed up in a grocery store a few blocks away, near Martin Luther King Drive and Bidwell Avenue, about 8 miles southwest of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, law enforcement sources said. The suspects and three civilians were killed inside that grocery store in the ensuing gunbattle, sources said.

Samoan Measles Outbreak: What's Really Going On? | 09 Dec 2019 | As of November 28, 2019 Samoa has now confirmed 42 measles-related fatalities. Since the launch of the measles re-vaccination campaign in mid-November, the Samoan Ministry of Health has vaccinated more than 50,000 individuals in both Upolu and Savai'i.

• Beginning of July 2018 two infants die after MMR vaccination.
• Shortly after, the Samoan government halts the country's immunization program.
• September 3, 2019, Samoan Ministry of Health goes on the record to declare there are no measles outbreaks in Samoa.
• Next to no measles cases reported across the country despite the low vaccination rates.
• October 1st sees UNICEF delivers 115,500 doses of the measles vaccine to Samoa.
• The measles incubation period is from 7-21 days.
• The Samoan Ministry of Health launched its MMR campaign shortly after the vaccines arrived.
• Mid-late October measles outbreak begins.
• On November 15 the acting Prime Minister of the Samoan government declares a state of emergency for a measles outbreak.

Are we to believe that there is zero correlation between the massive vaccination campaign and the outbreak of the measles? Anyone with a shred of common sense can see the connection. It's simply not just a coincidence and the timeline fits...The government of Samoa refuses to release information as to whether the children died before or after vaccination and refuses to release the serotype of the virus to see whether it's being caused by the vaccine or of its a wild measles virus.

Dems expected to announce at least 2 articles of impeachment against Trump on Tuesday | 09 Dec 1019 | House Democrats are preparing to announce at least two articles of impeachment against President Trump on Tuesday, Fox News has learned. The articles of impeachment will focus on obstruction of Congress and abuse of power, but all details aren't settled yet, Fox News is told. A markup session by the Judiciary Committee to prepare the articles would come either Wednesday or Thursday. Notably absent from the planned charges was a "bribery" count.

Confidential documents reveal U.S. officials lied about the war in Afghanistan, hid evidence that $1T conflict was 'unwinnable' | 09 Dec 2019 | A confidential trove of government documents obtained by The Washington Post reveals that senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth lied about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable...The U.S. government tried to shield the identities of the vast majority of those interviewed for the project and conceal nearly all of their remarks. The Post won release of the documents under the Freedom of Information Act after a three-year legal battle...Since 2001, the Defense Department, State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development have spent or appropriated between $934 billion and $978 billion, according to an inflation-adjusted estimate calculated by Neta Crawford, a political science professor and co-director of the Costs of War Project at Brown University. Those figures do not include money spent by other agencies such as the CIA and the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is responsible for medical care for wounded veterans.

Durham rejects some findings by Justice Department Inspector General that tend to clear FBI in Trump-Russia probe | 09 Dec 2019 | John H. Durham, the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut who is leading a Justice Department probe into the origins of the Russia collusion investigation, is disputing Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz's conclusions that the bureau was justified in opening its counter terrorism investigation of President Donald J. Trump's 2016 campaign... "...[O]ur investigation is not limited to developing information from within component parts of the Justice Department. Our investigation has included developing information from other persons and entities, both in the U.S. and outside of the U.S. Based on the evidence collected to date, and while our investigation is ongoing, last month we advised the Inspector General that we do not agree with some of the report’s conclusions as to predication and how the FBI case was opened," Durham said in a statement released Monday afternoon by the justice department.

Barr: Horowitz report shows FBI launched Trump campaign investigation on 'thinnest of suspicions' | 09 Dec 2019 | Attorney General William Barr said that a newly released Justice Department watchdog report showed that the FBI launched an "intrusive" investigation of President Trump's campaign "on the thinnest of suspicions." Barr also said that the report from Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz showed that, in his opinion, the FBI had an "insufficient" basis to justify steps taken in the investigation into the Trump campaign in 2016, putting him at odds with Horowitz, who concluded in the report that the bureau had an "authorized purpose" to open the investigation. "It is also clear that, from its inception, the evidence produced by the investigation was consistently exculpatory. Nevertheless, the investigation and surveillance was pushed forward for the duration of the campaign and deep into President Trump's administration," Barr said.

Devin Nunes on phone record release: 'We're definitely going to take legal action' | 07 Dec 2019 | House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said Saturday that he would be pursuing legal action after his phone records were exposed in the release of the Committee's impeachment inquiry report. On Tuesday, the Committee voted to adopt and issue the 300-page report on the findings from the panel's impeachment inquiry, accusing President Trump of misusing his office to seek foreign help in the 2020 presidential race. The report included records of calls from Nunes, presidential lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Jay Sekulow, journalist John Solomon, Fox News host Sean Hannity, Giuliani connection Lev Parnas, and other White House associates.

Supreme Court halts subpoena to Deutsche Bank for Trump records | 06 Dec 2019 | The Supreme Court on Friday granted President Trump's emergency request to temporarily block a congressional subpoena for his financial records from Deutsche Bank. The court's order came just hours after the president's legal team asked for a temporary stay of an appellate court decision ordering Deutsche Bank to comply with subpoenas from the House Financial Services and Intelligence Committees for a broad range of documents concerning Trump's finances and his businesses. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who oversees the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, issued an administrative stay of that court's decision that will be in effect until Dec. 13 while the court deliberates on whether to grant a longer stay and to give Trump's lawyers time to prepare a formal appeal.

Saudi Air Force trainee condemned US as 'nation of evil' in hate-fueled Twitter manifesto just hours before he killed three and injured eight at Pensacola naval base - as six others are arrested, including three who filmed the attack --Shooting took place on base early Friday morning, sparking a lockdown --Rep Matt Gaetz, a Republican representing Pensacola, called the shooting 'an act of terrorism' | 06 Dec 2019 | The Saudi Air Force trainee who killed three and injured eight when he opened fire at a naval base in Florida on Friday assailed the United States as 'a nation of evil' just before his shooting rampage, AFP reports. The man, identified as Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, opened fire inside a classroom at Naval Air Station in Pensacola early Friday morning. Police quickly responded to the scene and he was shot dead. Alshamrani was a second lieutenant attending the aviation school at the base...Meanwhile six other Saudi nationals were arrested near the base shortly after the attack, as investigators began to probe a terror link. Three of the six were seen filming the entire incident as it unfolded, a source told The New York Times on Friday evening.

Jobs growth soars in November as payrolls surge by 266,000 | 06 Dec 2019 | The jobs market turned in a stellar performance in November, with nonfarm payrolls surging by 266,000 and the unemployment rate falling to 3.5%, according to Labor Department numbers released Friday. Those totals easily beat the Wall Street consensus. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for solid job growth of 187,000 and saw the unemployment rate holding steady from October's 3.6%... Average hourly earnings rose by 3.1% from a year ago, while the average workweek held steady at 34.4 hours.

'With your paycheck comes some restrictions': Mike Bloomberg doubles down on censoring his journalists from investigating non-Trump candidates--Presidential candidate is founding boss of Bloomberg News --Reporters have been told to continue tradition of not investigating their boss, and to expand that policy to all 2020 Democratic White House hopefuls | 06 Dec 2019 | Billionaire presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg is refusing to buckle under pressure and change the rules of engagement for his news outlet's political reporters--who are forbidden from investigating him or any other Democratic White House hopeful. Bloomberg News journalists will 'just have to learn to live with some things,' he told CBS News in an interview that aired Friday morning. 'They get a paycheck,' the former New York City mayor lectured, 'but with your paycheck comes some restrictions and responsibilities.' ...Trump's re-election campaign said Monday that it won't issue event press credentials to Bloomberg reporters until the company reverses itself.

Judge rules Hunter Biden must give Burisma financials to court | 05 Dec 2019 | Hunter Biden's latest imprecation involves allegedly fathering a child out of wedlock with a former college basketball player named Lunden Roberts who worked at a strip club in Washington, D.C. The Western Journal confirmed that a DNA test taken by Biden showed he was almost certainly the father of the 1-year-old. According to the U.K. Daily Mail, Biden will have to turn over his financial records for the last five years, and Roberts will have to turn over records of the tips she received at the Mpire strip club in D.C., which is the place where the two of them met. Arkansas Judge Don McSpadden had originally ruled that only three years of records needed to be turned over. He also said that Hunter, 49, and Roberts, 28, needed to come up with the records within 10 days.

White House tells Democrats it won't cooperate in impeachment hearings | 06 Dec 2019 | The White House on Friday signaled it will not participate in future impeachment proceedings in the House and called on Democrats to end their impeachment inquiry. White House counsel Pat Cipollone wrote in a letter to the Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee that it would be a "reckless abuse of power" for House Democrats to adopt articles of impeachment and "would constitute the most unjust, highly partisan, and unconstitutional attempt at impeachment in our Nation's history.” The letter did not explicitly state that the White House would not participate in any House proceedings moving forward, but gave the indication that it would not cooperate and would instead shift its focus to defending President Trump in a potential Senate trial.

Stocks surge after jobs report crushes expectations | 06 Dec 2019 | Stocks opened higher Friday after the November jobs report blew past expectations. The report showed the U.S. economy added 266,000 nonfarm jobs as the unemployment rate slipped to 3.5 percent. Economists surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting the addition of 180,000 and the unemployment rate to hold at 3.6 percent...President Trump celebrated the stock market's strength in a tweet.

Naval Air Station Pensacola shooter was Saudi aviation student, investigators eye potential terror link | 06 Dec 2019 | The gunman who opened fire Friday morning at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, fatally shooting three people, has been identified as an aviation student from Saudi Arabia as investigators are looking into whether the attack is terrorism-related. The gunman was confronted and taken out by a pair of responding officers. Two people were killed at the scene while a third victim died after being rushed to a local hospital. Seven others suffered injuries and are undergoing treatment, including the two officers, one of whom was shot in the arm and the other in the knee.

Breaking: Pensacola shooter who killed at least 3 identified as Saudi national in US for aviation training | 06 Dec 2019 | The man who opened fire Friday -- killing at least three people and injuring several others -- at the Pensacola naval base was a foreign national who was in the country for training, according to new reports. The gunman was identified as a Saudi aviation student, the Associated Press reported, citing a US official. Authorities are investigating whether the attack was terror-related. Several others were injured in the shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola before the gunman was shot dead by sheriff's deputies. The station is attended by military from around the globe.

Russia ready to extend New START arms control treaty without conditions and further discussions - Putin | 05 Dec 2019 | Moscow is ready to extend the last major nuclear arms control treaty, without conditions or discussions, President Vladimir Putin said as he reiterated Russia's position on the New START treaty which expires in 2021. "Russia is ready to immediately, as soon as possible, before the end of the year, extend the New START treaty without any preconditions, so that there would be no double, triple interpretation of our position later. I'm saying this officially," the Russian president pointed out. The New START treaty, which obliges Moscow and Washington to reduce the number of its strategic nuclear missile launchers by half, was signed in April 2010. The agreement expires in February 2021, but there's an option for it to be extended until 2026.

Biden lashes out at town hall questioner in heated exchange: 'You're a damn liar, man' | 05 Dec 2019 | Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden blasted a man at an Iowa town hall as a "damn liar" Thursday -- and challenged him to a push-up contest -- after he accused the 77-year-old former vice president of being "too old" and took a swipe at son Hunter's role on the board of a controversial Ukrainian natural gas firm. During the heated question-and-answer session at the forum in New Hampton, the questioner in the audience described those two issues as his chief concerns with the presidential candidate. "I'm not a Republican," the man began... He went on to the topic of Ukraine -- specifically the lucrative job Biden's son Hunter held with natural gas firm Burisma Holdings during the Obama administration. Impeachment proceedings in Washington are focusing on Trump's effort to pressure Kiev to look into the elder Biden's role removing a prosecutor who had been looking into that firm. "But on the other hand, you sent your son over there to get a job and work for a gas company where he had no experience...In order to get access for the president...you're selling access to the president just like he was," the questioner said. Biden fired back: "You're a damn liar, man. That's not true and no one has ever said that."

Nunes sues CNN over 'demonstrably false' Ukraine report | 03 Dec 2019 | Rep. Devin Nunes, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, has filed a $435 million defamation suit against CNN over a story that alleged Nunes met with a fired Ukrainian prosecutor in an effort to dig up dirt on Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. The story -- "Giuliani associate willing to tell Congress Nunes met with ex-Ukrainian official to get dirt on Biden" -- was published Nov. 22... Shortly after the report was published, Nunes said it was "demonstrably false" but declined to elaborate. In the lawsuit, Nunes has provided the details. Nunes did travel between Nov. 30 and Dec. 3. The lawsuit says that on those dates, Nunes was in Libya and Malta. Nunes traveled to Libya to "discuss security issues with General Khalifa Haftar," the suit says.

Hillary Clinton drops biggest hint yet that she's mulling a 2020 presidential run | 04 Dec 2019 | The strongest indicator yet that Hillary's mulling a 2020 run? She appeared Wednesday, for the first time ever, on Howard Stern... As those who listen to the show know, Stern publicly begged Hillary to appear during the 2016 campaign. After Donald Trump won, Stern said one guest shot could have moved the needle her way... She hasn't closed the door on 2020. Just this past weekend, during an appearance on the UK's "Graham Norton Show," Hillary said she’d been "deluged" with pleas to run again. "I'd have to make up my mind really quickly," she said, "because it’s moving very fast."

US warship in the Gulf seizes alleged Iranian missile parts --US sailors boarded the vessel and found advanced missile components allegedly bound for Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen. | 05 Dec 2019 | A US Navy warship seized advanced missile parts believed to be linked to Iran from a boat it had stopped in the Arabian Sea as the Trump administration pressures Tehran to curb its activities in the region. In a statement on Wednesday, the Pentagon confirmed that on November 25, a US warship found "advanced missile components" on a stateless vessel and an initial investigation indicated the parts were of Iranian origin... US officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the guided-missile destroyer Forrest Sherman detained a small boat and a detachment of American personnel boarded the vessel, where the missile parts were found.

Impeachment hearing witness invokes Barron Trump's name for laughs | 04 Dec 2019 | A Stanford Law professor apologized hours after she brought up President Trump’s youngest son during Wednesday's impeachment hearing, sparking laughs from some in the House Judiciary Committee audience -- and provoking a furious response from the White House. Lawyer Pamela Karlan invoked 13-year-old Barron Trump when trying to make a point that Trump can’t rule like a king. "The Constitution says there can be no titles of nobility, so while the president can name his son Barron, he can’t make him a baron," Karlan said in the committee hearing room, prompting audible chuckles. The White House blasted Karlan as "classless" and the Trump campaign called her joke "disgusting."

Melania Trump: Lawyer who invoked Barron Trump's name for laughs at impeachment hearing 'should be ashamed' | 04 Dec 2019 | First lady Melania Trump said Stanford Law Professor Pamela Karlan, who testified at Wednesday's impeachment hearing, "should be ashamed" for invoking her 13-year-old son's name as the butt of a joke during testimony. Karlan used Barron Trump's name to illustrate her point that President Trump can't rule like a king... "A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics," the first lady tweeted. "Pamela Karlan, you should be ashamed of your very angry and obviously biased public pandering, and using a child to do it."

Pamela Karlan says she once crossed the street to avoid a Trump hotel in DC | 05 Dec 2019 | The Stanford Law School professor who sparked backlash from the White House Wednesday after invoking the president's minor son during the first day of the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment inquiry previously stated that she once crossed the street just to avoid passing one of President Trump's hotels. Pamela Karlan, who was one of three witnesses who testified before the committee on Wednesday, told a 2017 American Constitution Society panel that she couldn’t stomach walking past the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. Video of the panel from two years ago resurfaced online after Karlan's public testimony.