Politico – by Josh Gerstein

A federal judge has rebuffed the State Department’s drive to shut down a Republican National Committee Freedom of Information Act lawsuit over the emails of top aides to Hillary Clinton.

The Justice Department turned heads with a court pleading last month that asked a judge to excuse State from complying with the GOP requests because they could take “generations” to process. One estimate State offered for an early formulation of the requests was 75 years.   Continue reading “Judge rebuffs State Department move to escape GOP requests for Clinton aides’ emails”

Reuters

U.S. prosecutors sued on Wednesday to seize more than $1 billion in assets they said were tied to an international scheme to launder money stolen from the Malaysian state fund 1MDB, which was overseen by Prime Minister Najib Razak, and used to finance the Hollywood film “Wolf of Wall Street” and to buy property and famous works of art.

Civil lawsuits filed in federal court did not name Najib, referring instead to “Malaysian Official 1.” Some of the allegations against this official are the same as those in a Malaysian investigation over a $681 million transfer to his personal bank account.   Continue reading “U.S. sues to seize $1 billion in assets tied to Malaysian state fund”

Yahoo News – by Dan Whitcomb

(Reuters) – A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a petition by two brothers who led the armed occupation of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon to be freed ahead of their trial, citing in part what he said was an aborted jailbreak attempt by one of them.

Ammon and Ryan Bundy, who spent a month in January holed up at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon to protest federal land control in the West, sought their release from custody during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Portland on Monday ahead of their September trial.   Continue reading “Judge refuses to free Oregon standoff leaders before trial”

Aljazeera

At least 56 civilians, including 11 children, have been killed in US-led air strikes against areas in Syria held by the Islamic State of Syria and the Levant group (ISIL, also known as ISIS), a monitoring group said.

“We believe that the raids which were carried out Tuesday were by US [or] allied planes, but it was by mistake,” Observatory director Rami Abdel-Rahman told DPA news agency.   Continue reading “US-led air strikes kill 56 civilians in Syrian town”

Reuters

When the U.S. Congress returns in September from a summer recess, it is expected to consider legislation called the Blue Lives Matter Act that would make killing a police officer a hate crime, a step first taken by Louisiana earlier this year.

Debate in Louisiana over the law enacted in May pitted police unions, which supported tougher hate-crime sentences for police assailants, against civil rights groups, which felt police did not face the historic discrimination hate-crime laws were intended to address.   Continue reading “U.S. police deaths build momentum for law to treat attacks as hate crimes”

Reuters

In a last-ditch effort to revive a White House plan to protect up to 4 million immigrants from deportation, the Obama administration on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rehear a case on which the eight-member court was split 4-4 last month.

The June 23 high court decision left in place a lower court ruling that blocked the plan, which has never been in effect. The court is currently one justice short following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February.   Continue reading “Obama administration asks Supreme Court to rehear immigration case”

Newser

Turkey’s state-run news agency says courts have ordered 85 generals and admirals jailed pending trial over their roles in a botched coup attempt. Dozens of others are still being questioned, the AP reports. Anadolu Agency said Tuesday that those formally arrested include former air force commander Gen. Akin Ozturk, alleged to be the ringleader of the July 15 uprising, and Gen. Adem Huduti, commander of Turkey’s Second Army, which is in charge of countering possible threats to Turkey from Syria, Iran, and Iraq. Authorities have rounded up thousands alleged to have been involved in the coup, in which at least 208 government supporters and 24 coup plotters were killed. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to rule out bringing back the death penalty.   Continue reading “Turkey Jails 85 Generals, Admirals Over Failed Coup”

Yahoo News

The floor of the Republican National Convention erupted into chaos Monday amid an attempt by the Never Trump forces to change the rules of the event, but the efforts were defeated, thwarting the movement to stop the real estate mogul’s path to the nomination.

Delegates engaged in dueling chants of “roll call vote” and “USA” on the floor after the chair forced a voice vote, and judged that those who favored the existing rules prevailed. Colorado’s delegation even walked off of the floor in protest amid the chaos.    Continue reading “Republican Convention Floor Erupts in Chaos as Never Trump Forces Thwarted”

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The Last Great Stand – by Voice of Reason

As the article below points out, with Hillary Clinton seeming more and more likely to be elected this November, one thing people should not be permitted to forget, so it’s incumbent upon those of us who know, to keep telling people about how time and time again, those who could have potentially threatened the success of the Clinton family, have died in unusual fashion.    Continue reading “How Many Associates Suffered Mysterious Deaths Working For the Clintons?”

UPI – by Andrew V. Pestano

CLEVELAND, July 18 (UPI) — “Make America Safe Again” will be Monday’s theme when the Republican National Convention begins in Cleveland where speakers including Duck Dynasty‘s Willie Robertson, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Melania Trump will take center stage.

Other speakers include U.S. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, U.S. Marine Corps veteran John Tiegen, who fought in the 2012 Benghazi, Libya, attack, and actor Scott Baio.   Continue reading “GOP convention kicking off with ‘Make America Safe Again’ theme”

Politico – by Josh Gerstein

Hillary Clinton’s lawyers are expected to appear before a federal judge Monday morning in a bid to keep her from being forced into videotaped, sworn testimony about her email system, but they’re keeping their options open if things don’t go their way.

In a little-noticed passage in a court filing last week, Clinton’s legal team laid the groundwork for a potential appeal that could allow the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee to delay any deposition for weeks or months, perhaps even until after the November election.   Continue reading “Clinton preserves option to stall deposition”

NBC News

Donald Trump shifted the parameters of his proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States, calling for “extreme vetting” of people from “territories” with a history of terror, NBC News reported.

During an interview Sunday with “60 Minutes,” he said people from suspicious “territories” will receive extra scrutiny when trying to enter the country.   Continue reading “Trump Shifts on Muslim Ban, Calls for ‘Extreme Vetting’”

LA Times – by James Queally

The head of Cleveland’s police union said Sunday he would ask Ohio Gov. John Kasich to suspend open-carry gun rights for a week after several police officers were gunned down in Baton Rouge, La.

“It’s a heartbreaking day,” said union president Steven Loomis. The union’s attorneys are also asking Kasich to declare a state of emergency in the city during the Republican National Convention, which begins Monday.   Continue reading “Cleveland police union leader calls for suspending open-carry gun law during GOP convention”

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IJR – by John Cardillo

Let me begin by saying that I despise conspiracy theories. They cheapen tragedies and insult the memories of the victims. As a former member of the NYPD, and a New Yorker on 9/11, nothing aggravates me more than hearing morons like Rosie O’Donnell contradict engineers and architects with her version of how and why the Towers fell. And there might not be a person on this planet more annoying and chill inducing than Alex Jones.   Continue reading “I’m Former NYPD: Here’s Why I Suspect There Was More Than One Shooter In Orlando”

Washington Post

Wayne Simmons was a professional football player, a drug trafficker, a nightclub doorman, a Fox News guest analyst and an intelligence adviser in Afghanistan.

What Simmons, 62, was not, according to all available evidence, was a CIA agent. In federal court in Virginia on Friday, just before he was sentenced to 33 months in prison, he apologized for lying about his security clearance, his criminal history and his finances.   Continue reading “Fox News commentator who feds say faked a CIA career sentenced to 33 months in prison”

Yahoo News

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Forces loyal to Turkey’s president quashed a coup attempt in a night of explosions, air battles and gunfire that left at least 161 people dead and 1,440 wounded Saturday. Authorities arrested thousands as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that those responsible “will pay a heavy price for their treason.”

The chaos came amid a period of political turmoil in Turkey — a NATO member and key Western ally in the fight against the Islamic State group — that critics blame on Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian rule. Staying in power by switching from being prime minister to president, Erdogan has shaken up the government, cracked down on dissidents, restricted the news media and renewed fighting with Kurdish rebels.   Continue reading “Turkey quashes coup; Erdogan vows ‘heavy price’ for plotters”

The Hill – by John M. DeMaggio

The non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is executed by all who have access to classified and sensitive information. It is beyond doubt that Hillary Clinton executed one of these while secretary of State. It is also beyond doubt that she violated her NDA, the “special confidence and trust” that such access confers, and the law.

This standard NDA delineates the conditions and prohibitions of disclosing, storing and maintaining classified and sensitive compartmented information (SCI). These documents repeatedly refer to the specific statutes under the laws that govern transgressions of these requirements as well as acknowledgement and awareness of the “special confidence and trust” that this access confers.   Continue reading “Hillary signed on the dotted line — and then broke the law”