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Conway questions why Mueller left obstruction of justice question unanswered in report

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway questioned on Sunday why Special Counsel Robert Mueller did not rule whether or not President Trump obstructed justice during the Russia investigation and argued that Mueller leaving the ruling open means that Trump has been exonerated.

“That’s not really the job of a prosecutor. The job of a prosecutor is to gather evidence and decide whether to indict or to decline to indict,” Conway said on ABC’s “This Week.” “They declined to indict. The president is not going to jail, he’s staying in the White House for five-and-a-half more years,” Conway said. “Why? Because they found no crime, no conspiracy. That was the central premise.”

In the redacted report released last Thursday, Mueller declined to make a decision on whether or not Trump obstructed justice with his efforts to curtail the special counsel’s investigation, but he did lay out in the report multiple episodes in which Trump directed others to influence or curtail the Russia investigation after the special counsel's appointment in May 2017.

KELLYANNE CONWAY REITERATES CALL FOR ADAM SCHIFF'S RESIGNATION AFTER MUELLER REPORT'S RELEASE

Those efforts "were mostly unsuccessful, but that is largely because the persons who surrounded the President declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests," Mueller wrote.

In one particularly dramatic moment, Mueller reported that Trump was so agitated at the special counsel's appointment on May 17, 2017, that he slumped back in his chair and declared: "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I'm f---ed."

In June of that year, Mueller wrote, Trump directed White House Counsel Don McGahn to call Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversaw the probe, and say that Mueller must be ousted because he had conflicts of interest. McGahn refused — deciding he would sooner resign than trigger a potential crisis akin to the Saturday Night Massacre of firings during the Watergate era.

According to the report, Trump also ordered McGahn to deny a January 2018 New York Times story that detailed the president’s efforts to have his counsel fire Mueller.

Trump also made another attempt to alter the course of the investigation, meeting with former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and dictating a message for him to relay to then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The message: Sessions would publicly call the investigation "very unfair" to the president, declare Trump did nothing wrong and say Mueller should limit his probe to "investigating election meddling for future elections." The message was never delivered.

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On the McGahn incident, Conway did not dispute the former White House counsel’s statement during her interview on Sunday, but she expressed her doubts that McGahn would have continued in his post if the events had played out the way they did in the report.

“I believe that Don McGahn is an honorable attorney who stayed on the job 18 months after this alleged incident took place,” Conway said. “If he were being asked to obstruct justice or violate the Constitution or commit a crime — help to commit a crime by the president of the United States — he wouldn’t have stayed.”

Conway added: “I certainly wouldn’t stay.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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German security chief wants captive IS suspects screened

Germany's top security official says suspected German members of the Islamic State group captured in Syria need to be screened before they can return home.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer says Germany needs to know with certainty the identities of IS fighters and their families, and what they allegedly did, "before anyone gets put on a plane."

His comments in an interview Wednesday with daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung come after U.S. President Donald Trump called on European allies to take back their citizens or risk them being turned loose.

Authorities believe Syrian Kurdish forces are holding about 50 German IS fighters and a similar number of family members. There are arrest warrants for only a handful when they return to Germany, partly due to a lack of reliable evidence against them.

Source: Fox News World

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‘Wake up’, Macron will tell Europe in major pre-Brexit speech: sources

FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron waits for the arrival of Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed at the Elysee Palace in Paris
FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, February 15, 2019. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo

February 18, 2019

By Michel Rose

PARIS (Reuters) – Emmanuel Macron will describe Brexit as a wake-up call in a speech this month in which he will outline how Europe must be more assertive in the face of rival world powers, sources close to the French president said.

His words are intended as a “warning shot” for a continent unable to project power and defend itself, said aides who described the speech as Macron’s most important since he spoke at the Sorbonne University in Paris in September 2017 urging fundamental reform of the European Union.

“This is a critical time,” a source close to Macron told Reuters. “If we Europeans don’t want to have other Brexits and become trapped in a naive defense of status quo, we have to wake up.”

Macron’s speech coincides with rising tensions in the West, which has been shaken by U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” policies and Britain’s departure from the EU. A more assertive China and Russia also pose major challenges.

Although Macron will use Britain’s planned departure from the EU on March 29 as the main impetus for his speech, the aim is not to offer an initiative to unblock the negotiating stalemate between London and Brussels, the source said.

The date and location of the speech have not yet been fixed.

“He won’t comment on the negotiation, or offer some kind of ‘Macron plan’ to fix the problem. The idea is to draw the lessons from Brexit,” the source said.

In Macron’s view, Brexit is part of the same phenomenon that brought Trump to power and sparked the “yellow vest” movement in France: a fear of losing out from globalization, territorial inequalities and rising contempt for the establishment.

The French leader will focus on championing a “Europe that protects” in the May 26 European election and seek to convince voters with plans aimed at reforming Europe’s trade, competition, digital and climate policies.

The speech will also seek to convince his European counterparts, who have watered down many of his Sorbonne proposals since 2017, to start thinking of the EU as a tougher geopolitical player in a ruthless world.

“The EU has done the internal regulation rather well, built a nice, peaceful area, with benign trade and regulated competition. But Europe hasn’t understood how to carry itself in a brutal world,” the source said.

(Writing by Michel Rose; additional reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey)

Source: OANN

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China to prosecute former Interpol chief for graft

FILE PHOTO: INTERPOL President Meng Hongwei poses during a visit to the headquarters of International Police Organisation in Lyon
FILE PHOTO: INTERPOL President Meng Hongwei poses during a visit to the headquarters of International Police Organisation in Lyon, France, May 8, 2018. Jeff Pachoud/Pool via Reuters/File Photo

March 27, 2019

BEIJING (Reuters) – China will prosecute former Interpol chief Meng Hongwei for graft after an investigation found he was suspected of taking bribes and breaking discipline rules, the ruling Communist Party’s anti-corruption watchdog said on Wednesday.

Meng has also been expelled from the party, it added.

Last year, Interpol, the France-based global police coordination organization, said Meng had resigned as its president after French authorities said he had been reported missing by his wife after traveling to his home country.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Source: OANN

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Roger Scruton Fired For Accurately Stating Word “Islamophobia” Was Invented by the Muslim Brotherhood

Author and philosopher Roger Scruton was fired from his position as an adviser to the UK government on housing after he accurately stated that “Islamophobia” was “a propaganda word invented by the Muslim Brotherhood”.

Scruton lost his role as chair of the Building Better Building Beautiful Commission over comments he made to the New Statesman during an interview.

Scruton said Islamophobia was “a propaganda word invented by the Muslim Brotherhood in order to stop discussion of a major issue.”

And he’s completely correct. The term “Islamophobia” was created in the 90’s by Islamists as a way of silencing criticism of Islam by labeling it as hate speech.

As Claire Berlinski writes, “The neologism “Islamophobia” did not simply emerge ex nihilo. It was invented, deliberately, by a Muslim Brotherhood front organization, the International Institute for Islamic Thought, which is based in Northern Virginia.”

Scruton, at least partly, has been fired for telling the truth.

In the same interview, Scruton also said “each Chinese person is a kind of replica of the next one.”

However, the full context of the quote was edited out of the interview, making Scruton’s statement sound racist even though he was actually talking about the Chinese Communist Party, not Chinese people as a race.

He also defended Hungarian President Victor Orban, saying Hungarians were “alarmed by the sudden invasion of huge tribes of Muslims from the Middle East” (another fact).

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Source: InfoWars

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Solomon Islands look beyond Taiwan alliance as election looms

A boy walks past a sign with voting instructions on his way to school in Honiara
A boy walks past a sign with voting instructions on his way to school in Honiara, Solomon Islands, March 11, 2019. Picture taken March 11, 2019. ISHMAEL AITOREA/Handout via REUTERS

March 20, 2019

By Charlotte Greenfield and Tom Westbrook

WELLINGTON/SYDNEY (Reuters) – As politicians hit the hustings across the Solomon Islands two weeks out from a general election in the South Pacific archipelago, the loyalty of one of Taiwan’s few remaining allies is in the balance.

Some Solomons’ candidates are promising to review lucrative, but loosening, ties with Taipei that if broken, could trigger a reshaping of diplomatic relations in a region home to a third of Taiwan’s shrinking list of allies.

Although Pacific island states offer little economically to either China and Taiwan, their support is valued in global forums such as the United Nations and as China seeks to isolate Taiwan. China see the democratically ruled island as a renegade province with no right to state-to-state ties.

In the Solomons, where two-thirds of exports go to China, many politicians are questioning whether diplomatic ties with Taiwan are still in their best interests.

“Sooner or later, when we see our country hasn’t been able to grow out of this relationship, we are at liberty to review our relations and to explore other avenues,” said former Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo, who is contesting the election.

Lilo’s views, echoed in the rival ruling Democratic Alliance Party policy manifesto, and by other candidates, have caught Taipei’s attention.

Taiwan this month sent its deputy foreign minister to the tropical capital of Honiara shore up the alliance.

President Tsai Ing-wen is also touring the South Pacific this week, visiting other allies Palau, Nauru and the Marshall Islands to “deepen ties and friendly relations”.

Already five countries have switched recognition to China since Tsai took office in 2016, leaving just 17 mostly small, undeveloped countries that formally recognize Taiwan.

Four of the six Pacific island nations aligned with Taiwan have elections this year, putting its Pacific stronghold under increasing pressure.

The elections also come at a time when traditional regional powers from the West and Japan have been boosting their presence in the Pacific due to unease at China’s growing influence there.

Last week, the new U.S. ambassador to Australia said China was using “pay-day loan diplomacy” to exert influence in the Pacific.

“The West is watching the outcome of the election in the Solomon Islands very closely. There is no doubt that there are some Solomon Islands lawmakers who would like to align with China,” said a senior U.S. diplomatic source.

“There is a legitimate worry that it will have a domino effect.”

FLASHPOINT OR CASHPOINT?

Acknowledging that China takes the position that there is “one China” and Taiwan is part of it is the “common consensus of international society”, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang.

“The Chinese government, under the one China policy and the principles of peaceful coexistence, develops friendly cooperation with countries across the world,” he said, without elaborating.

Shifting allegiances are nothing new in the South Pacific.

Vanuatu flirted with recognizing Taiwan in 2004 but ultimately stuck with Beijing, while Kiribati and Nauru have each switched sides in the past.

The Solomons have recognized Taiwan since 1983.

The chain of islands stretching across some 600,000 sq km (232,000 sq miles) of ocean is a strategic gateway to the South Pacific and was the scene of some of the fiercest fighting in World War II.

It is the largest of Taiwan-aligned Pacific countries, with access to the airfields and deepwater ports the conflict left behind.

The Solomons’ situation is further complicated by an unpredictable coalition building process after the vote, expected to last weeks before a government is formed.

FUNDING CRITICISMS

Taiwan is fighting to retain its ties.

“I think China is trying everything they can do to replace us in our diplomatic allies,” Taiwan’s deputy chief of mission to the Solomons, Oliver Liao, told Reuters in a phone interview.

He said Taipei was cautiously optimistic of retaining Honiara’s friendship because it has a long history of rural-development donations.

“Many friends here continue to share with us how much they appreciate Taiwan’s support and how they appreciate the flexibility this budgetary support allows – politicians and also the citizens.”

Its strategy, though, has come under fire.

Taiwan’s support of around $9 million a year is paid directly into a government account which lawmakers tap for projects in their far-flung provinces, with little oversight.

“In the rural areas there is no tangible development,” said Andrew Fanasia, politics reporter at the Solomon Star newspaper.

“Mostly these people blame their leaders and this fund.”

Anti-graft agency Transparency Solomon Islands says “vote buying” with cash linked to development funds is by far the most common complaint it fields, according to data it collected in 2017 and 2018.

Lawmakers say there are successes, and the government’s rural development website lists health and sanitation projects, community buildings, and text-message testimonies from citizens about improvements to their lives.

But even Taiwan’s Liao – and former prime minister Lilo – say economic progress has not been fast enough.

And in the capital, patience with the incumbents charged with disbursing Taiwan’s largesse is in short supply.

“Most students would really like to see a change in the leadership and style,” said law student Ishmael Aitorea, 25, on the phone from the student association office of the University of the South Pacific in Honiara.

“The perception is that if the old parliament members go back, nothing will change.”

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield in WELLINGTON, Tom Westbrook and Colin Packham in SYDNEY, Yimou Lee in TAIPEI and Philip Wen in BEIJING; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

Source: OANN

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USC students who may be linked to college admissions scandal can't register for classes, get transcripts, school says

Students at the University of Southern California who may be linked to the massive college bribery scheme will be limited in what they do next while their cases are under review, school officials said Monday.

The school said in a statement posted to Twitter that holds have been placed on the accounts of students who may be associated with the alleged admissions scheme, meaning that they can't register for classes or obtain their transcripts pending review of their cases.

"Following the review, we will take the proper action related to their status, up to revoking admission or expulsion," the school said.

The school did not disclose the number of students potentially affected by the review.

LORI LOUGHLIN'S DAUGHTER, OLIVIA JADE, REPORTEDLY DIDN'T FILL OUT HER OWN COLLEGE APPLICATION

USC has previously said that it has determined which applications in the current admissions cycle for Fall 2019 are connected to the bribery scheme, and they will be denied admission.

The University of Southern California says a review of students possibly connected to a college admissions bribery scandal could lead to expulsions.

The University of Southern California says a review of students possibly connected to a college admissions bribery scandal could lead to expulsions. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

"A case-by-case review of current students who may be connected to the alleged scheme is also underway," the school said. "We will make informed decisions about those cases as the reviews are completed."

More than 30 parents have been charged in the scheme in which prosecutors said college admissions consultant William "Rick" Singer took roughly $25 million in bribes from dozens of individuals to assure their children's entry into top colleges by getting them recruited for sports they didn't play and by arranging for standardized tests to be rigged.

Before his arrest, Singer actively worked on coaching students about their college applications and worked with parents who were stressed about the admissions process.

LORI LOUGHLIN'S DAUGHTER OLIVIA JADE'S CLASSMATE 'NOT SURPRISED' BY COLLEGE CHEATING SCANDAL

More than half the parents charged were trying to bribe their children's way into USC, including actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, who allegedly paid $500,000 to have their two daughters labeled as crew team recruits. Loughlin and Giannulli were each arrested and released on a $1 million bond. They've been ordered to appear in federal court in Boston on March 29 for a preliminary hearing.

Loughlin's daughter, 19-year-old Olivia Jade Giannulli, could possibly face expulsion from the school. The USC freshman is a YouTube star who goes by "Olivia Jade" on the video sharing platform as well as Instagram and Twitter, where she boasts more than 1 million Instagram followers and nearly 200,000 Twitter followers.

A spokesperson for USC confirmed to Fox News last week that Loughlin and Giannulli’s other daughter, Isabella, 20, is currently enrolled at the university.

WILL LORI LOUGHLIN'S DAUGHTER OLIVIA JADE BE EXPELLED FROM USC?

Several other schools said they are still considering what to do about students who may be tainted by the scandal.

At Yale, the president declined to comment on specific cases but said it's a "longstanding policy to rescind the admission of students who falsified their Yale College applications." Stanford similarly noted that students could be "disenrolled" or have offers of admission rescinded.

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Georgetown University said it was examining its records and "will be taking appropriate action," while Wake Forest University said a student mentioned in the indictment remains enrolled.

School officials there said they have no reason to believe the student was aware of the alleged crimes. The university said Tuesday it was redirecting $50,000 from a California foundation connected to the scheme to help first-generation college students.

The University of Southern California said in a statement it has placed holds on the accounts of those students, which prevents them from registering for classes or acquiring transcripts while their cases are under review.

The University of Southern California said in a statement it has placed holds on the accounts of those students, which prevents them from registering for classes or acquiring transcripts while their cases are under review. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Federal prosecutors said last Tuesday that some students never knew about the bribes and fraudulent entrance exams that got them into some of the nation's top universities. But some students did and were even involved in submitting false information about athletic feats in their applications, according to officials.

"The parents, the other defendants, are clearly the prime movers of this fraud. It remains to be seen whether we charge any students," U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling in Boston said last week.

Fox News'  Madeline Farber, Jessica Sager, Katherine Lam, Jennifer Earl, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk
Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk, Belarus April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

April 26, 2019

By Katya Golubkova and Andrei Makhovsky

MOSCOW/MINSK (Reuters) – Russia is confident it can soon resolve a problem of polluted Russian oil contaminating a major pipeline serving Europe and affecting supplies as far west as Germany, a senior official said on Friday at talks with importers about the issue.

Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin did not give a precise timeframe but Moscow has previously said it would pump clean oil to the border with Belarus from April 29, seeking to end a crisis hitting the world’s second-largest crude exporter.

Sorokin was speaking at talks with officials from Belarus, Poland and Ukraine in Minsk on the issue. Belarus said the issue had cost it $100 million, while analysts say alternative supply routes for refiners cannot fully fill the gap.

Poland, Germany, Ukraine and Slovakia have suspended imports of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline. Halting those supplies has knock-on effects further along the network.

The problem arose last week when an unidentified Russian producer contaminated oil with high levels of organic chloride used to boost oil output but which must be separated before shipment as it can destroy refining equipment.

Russia’s Energy Ministry said pipeline monopoly Transneft and other Russian companies had a plan to mitigate the effects of the contaminated oil. It did not give details.

Russian officials have said contaminated oil has already been pumped into storage in Russia and Friday’s talks would focus on how to partially withdraw the tainted crude from the Druzhba pipeline running via other countries.

The suspension cuts off a major supply route for Polish refineries owned by Poland’s PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos, as well as plants in Germany owned by Total, Shell, Eni and Rosneft.

Some refiners have outlined plans for alternative supplies, but analysts say other routes cannot meet the shortfall.

OIL PRICES

Ukraine’s Ukrtransnafta suspended the transit of oil through the pipeline on Thursday, closing supplies via Druzhba’s southern route to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

The pipeline issue, which has supported global oil prices, lifted Russian Urals crude differentials to an all-time high on Thursday.

With pipeline supplies to Europe shut, Russia faces a challenge of how to divert about 1 million barrels per day (bpd) that was meant to be shipped through the network to other destinations at the time when export capacity is at its limits.

State-run Russian Railways held talks with energy firms on using up to 5,000 rail tankers to transport crude, RIA news agency reported on Friday.

Concerns about the quality of Urals crude also caused delays in loadings at the Baltic port of Ust-Luga, when buyers refused to lift cargoes, resulting in a brief shutdown of the port on Wednesday and Thursday. An Ust-Luga official and traders said on Friday loadings had resumed.

Russian loading plans indicate it aims to boost Urals exports in May before the expiry of a deal on output cuts agreed with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, Reuters calculations and Energy Ministry data show.

The provisional loading plan for Russia’s Baltic Sea ports and Novorossiisk in May show exports rising to 10.7 million tonnes, the highest level in half a decade.

Minsk estimated its loss from lower oil product exports due to contaminated Russian oil at around $100 million, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported on Thursday, citing Belarusian state oil company Belneftekhim.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, in charge of government energy policy, said this week that those found responsible for contaminating the oil could be fined. He did not provide names.

(Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko in WARSAW, Sandor Peto in BUDAPEST, Jason Hovet in PRAGUE, Matthias Williams and Natalia Zinets in KIEV, Katya Golubkova, Olesya Astakhova, Gleb Gorodyankin, Olga Yagova and Maxim Rodionov in MOSCOW, Andrei Makhovsky in MINSK; writing by Katya Golubkova; editing by Michael Perry and Edmund Blair)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO - A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat
FILE PHOTO: A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – India has once again delayed the implementation of higher tariffs on some goods imported from the United States to May 15, a government official said on Friday.

The new tariff structure was to come into force from May 2, the spokeswoman said without citing reasons for the delay.

Angered by Washington’s refusal to exempt it from new steel and aluminum tariffs, New Delhi decided in June last year to raise the import tax from Aug. 4 on some U.S. products including almonds, walnuts and apples.

But since then, New Delhi has repeatedly delayed the implementation of the new tariff.

Trade friction between India and the U.S. has escalated after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans earlier this year to end preferential trade treatment for India that allows duty-free entry for up to $5.6 billion worth of its exports to the United States.

In a further blow, U.S. on Monday demanded buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers which allowed Iran’s eight biggest buyers including India to continue importing limited volumes.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar in New Delhi and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Raissa Kasolowsky)

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One of Joe Biden’s newly-hired senior advisers has seemingly had a very recent change of heart.

Symone Sanders, a prominent Democratic strategist and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., staffer in 2016, was announced as one of the big-name members of Team Biden on Thursday.

But Sanders, who has also served as a CNN contributor, is seen in resurfaced footage from November 2016 expressing her opposition to a white person leading her party after Donald Trump’s election.

“In my opinion, we don’t need white people leading the Democratic party right now,” Sanders told host Brianna Keilar during a discussion on Howard Dean potentially becoming DNC chairman.

BIDEN HIRES FORMER BERNIE SANDERS’ SPOKESPERSON AS SENIOR ADVISER

“The Democratic party is diverse, and it should be reflected as so in leadership and throughout the staff, at the highest levels. From the vice chairs to the secretaries all the way down to the people working in the offices at the DNC,” she said.

Sanders wrapped up her remarks by saying: “I want to hear more from everybody. I want to hear from the millennials and the brown folks.”

Footage of the interview was resurfaced by RealClearPolitics.

After news of her hiring broke on Thursday, Sanders backed her new boss on Twitter.

TRUMP ASSESSES 2020 DEMS; TAKES SWIPES AT BIDEN, SANDERS; DISMISSES HARRIS, O’ROURKE; SAYS HE’S ROOTING FOR BUTTIGIEG

“@JoeBiden & @DrBiden are a class act. Over the course of this campaign, Vice President Biden is going to make his case to the American ppl. He won’t always be perfect, but I believe he will get it right,” she wrote.

The hiring of Sanders has been viewed as another indication of the expected tough fight that Biden and Sanders are in for as the two frontrunners battle a deep Democratic field.

While Sanders himself didn’t torch Biden as he jumped into the race, it’s clear that many of his progressive supporters view the former vice president as a threat.

Biden’s entry into the race – at least in the early going – sets up a battle between himself and Sanders, who thanks to his fierce fight with eventual nominee Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic nomination, enjoys name ID on the level of the former vice president.

BIDEN VOWS THAT ‘AMERICA IS COMING BACK,’ SPARKING ‘MAGA’ COMPARISONS

Justice Democrats — who also called Biden “out-of-touch” – is an increasingly influential group among the left of the party. They’ve championed progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York as well as Sanders. The group was founded by members of Sanders 2016 presidential campaign.

Biden has pushed back against the perception that he’s a moderate in a party that’s increasingly moving to the left. Earlier this month he described himself as an “Obama-Biden Democrat.”

And Biden said he’d stack his record against “anybody who has run or who is running now or who will run.”

Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile – a Fox News contributor – highlighted that “Joe Biden can occupy his own lane in large part because he’s earned it. He’s earned the right to call himself whatever.”

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But she emphasized that “elections are not about the past, they’re about the future…I do believe he has the right ingredients. The question is can he find enough people to help him stir the pot.”

Fox News Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who is facing increased calls for her immediate resignation, remains in poor health and is not “lucid” enough to decide whether to step down, her attorney told reporters late Thursday.

Steve Silverman, speaking outside one of Pugh’s residences which was raided by the FBI and IRS earlier in the day, said the embattled city leader could make a decision as early as next week.

“She is leaning toward making the best decision in the best interest in the citizens of Baltimore City,” he said, adding that Pugh has “several options” to consider.

“She just needs to be physically and mentally sound and lucid enough to make appropriate decisions.”

BALTIMORE MAYOR CATHERINE PUGH, ON LEAVE AMID BOOK PROBE, HAS HOMES AND CITY HALL OFFICE RAIDED BY FEDS

Silverman said Pugh met with a doctor at home Thursday and plans to do so again Friday, the Baltimore Sun reported.

In the latest image-tarnishing scandal for struggling Baltimore, the first-term Democratic mayor faces accusations that she used children’s book deals to cover up kickbacks for favorable treatment as a state lawmaker and city leader that earned her roughly $800,000 over several years.

BALTIMORE’S ACTING MAYOR SAYS HE ‘WOULD HATE TO SEE’ EMBATTLED MAYOR RETURN AFTER BOOK SCANDALS

As a state senator, 69-year-old Pugh sold $500,000 worth of her self-published “Healthy Holly” illustrated paperbacks to the University of Maryland Medical System, a major state employer whose board she sat on for nearly 20 years.

Baltimore police officers stand outside the house of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Pugh and also in City Hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Baltimore police officers stand outside the house of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Pugh and also in City Hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

UMMS reportedly paid Pugh for 100,000 copies of her books between 2011 and 2018 with the stated intention of distributing the books to schools and day care centers. But some 50,000 copies remain unaccounted for and officials are probing if they were even printed.

Pugh also made $300,000 in bulk sales to other customers including health carriers that did business with the city of Baltimore.

BALTIMORE CITY COUNCIL CALLS ON EMBATTLED MAYOR CATHERINE PUGH TO RESIGN IMMEDIATELY

The politically isolated Pugh slipped out of sight on April 1 after a hastily organized press conference where she called her no-contract book deals a “regrettable mistake.” That same day, Maryland’s governor called on the state prosecutor to investigate allegations of “self-dealing.”

Pugh took an indefinite leave of absence, citing her health deteriorating intensely after a bout with pneumonia.

Federal agents arrive at the Maryland Center for Adult Training in Baltimore. MD, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall, as well as the office of her lawyer and the home of a top aide.

Federal agents arrive at the Maryland Center for Adult Training in Baltimore. MD, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall, as well as the office of her lawyer and the home of a top aide. (Loyd Fox/Baltimore Sun via AP)

On Thursday morning, agents with the FBI and IRS searched her two Baltimore homes, her City Hall offices, and a nonprofit organization she once led. The home of at least one of Pugh’s aides was also scoured.

Silverman said federal agents also served a subpoena at his law firm, retrieving Pugh’s original financial records. They did not seek any attorney-client privileged communications, he said.

Pugh’s attorney said she was “emotionally extremely distraught” following the searches by FBI and IRS agents.

“There was nothing incriminating that came out of her home,” Silverman said.

UMMS spokesman Michael Schwartzberg told reporters that the medical system received a grand jury witness subpoena seeking documents and information related to Pugh.

Other probes against Pugh include a review by the city ethics board and the Maryland Insurance Administration.

BALTIMORE MAYOR’S $500G DEAL FOR ‘HEALTHY HOLLY’ CHILDREN’S BOOKS DRAWS SCRUTINY

In recent weeks, the calls for Pugh’s resignation have intensified with the strongest voice coming from Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who did not mince words after Thursday’s early morning raids.

“Now more than ever, Baltimore City needs strong and responsible leadership. Mayor Pugh has lost the public trust,” he said. “She is clearly not fit to lead. For the good of the city, Mayor Pugh must resign.”

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service agents search the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall.

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service agents search the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun via AP)

Many of her fellow Democrats, including those on Baltimore’s demoralized City Council and state lawmakers, are also insisting that Pugh put the citizens’ interests above any attempt to preserve her political career.

City Council member Brandon Scott called the Thursday raids “an embarrassment to the city.”

However, only a conviction can trigger a mayor’s removal from office, according to the city solicitor. Baltimore’s mayor-friendly City Charter currently provides no options for ousting its executive.

Six of Pugh’s staffers joined her on paid leave earlier this month; three of them were fired this week by the acting mayor.

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Pugh came to office in late 2016 after edging out ex-Mayor Sheila Dixon, who had spent much of her tenure fighting corruption charges before being forced to depart office in 2010 as part of a plea deal connected to the misappropriation of about $500 in gift cards meant for needy families.

She would certainly face a bruising 2020 Democratic primary if she were to return and run for reelection. Veteran City Council leader Bernard “Jack” Young, who is serving as acting mayor, said as she went on leave that he would merely be a placeholder. But this week, before the raids, he said “it could be devastating for her” if she tried to return.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations has blasted the United State and the European Union for imposing sanctions on his country, describing them as “economic terrorism.”

Bashar Ja’afari made his comments Friday in the Kazakh capital of Astana where Russia, Turkey and Iran held a new round of talks with the Syrian government and the opposition on steps to bring peace to the country.

His comments came as government-held parts of Syria are witnessing widespread fuel shortages that are largely the result of Western sanctions on Syria and its key ally Iran.

Ja’afari says: “This is economic terrorism that is escalating through unilateral economic measures.”

A final statement issued at the end of Astana’s 12th round rejected President Donald Trump’s formal recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over Syria’s occupied Golan Heights.

Source: Fox News World

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