Richard Blumenthal: Democrats May Subpoena Full Mueller Report If It’s Not Released

By Josh Hammer

On Thursday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) confirmed that congressional Democrats may seek to subpoena the impending full report of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, in the event newly confirmed Attorney General William Barr chooses to redact or otherwise only partially release the much-anticipated document.

Bloomberg reports:

“The public will feel rightly that there is a coverup” if details are withheld, [Blumenthal] told CNN Thursday.

Blumenthal, who is on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he hopes the Republican-led panel would be among the congressional committees that seek to compel the release of any details that aren’t forthcoming. The subpoenas could seek the full report or even Mueller himself. “A Senate or House committee can subpoena anyone,” he said.

As Bloomberg notes, Mueller is expected to submit his report’s final prosecutorial decisions to Barr as early as next week. Barr, as Attorney General, then retains ultimate discretion as to how to act (or not) upon the report’s conclusions and recommendations.

As Roll Call notes, Barr has been noncommittal as to whether he would permit Mueller to testify before Congress, as well as whether he would resist a hypothetical subpoena for Mueller’s report.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, echoed Barr’s comments last month. As CNN reported, at the time, Nadler told Anderson Cooper at the time: “If necessary, our committee will subpoena the report. If necessary, we’ll get Mueller to testify. The American people need the information here.”

As The Daily Wire reported earlier today, CNN appears to be actively attempting to lower its viewers’ expectations as to what to expect from the Mueller report’s impending release:

Asked by “New Day” host Alisyn Camerota Wednesday if he believed the Mueller investigation would find “enough” to take down Trump, former National Intelligence Director and rabid anti-Trump CNN analyst James Clapper attempted to temper the audience’s expectations.

“That’s the big question,” Clapper said. …”I think the hope is that the Mueller investigation will clear the air on this issue once and for all. I’m really not sure it will, and the investigation, when completed, could turn out to be quite anti-climactic and not draw a conclusion about that.”

The Mueller investigation has been dominating news cycles for much of the past week, due in no small part to the firestorm caused by fired former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s remarkable “60 Minutes” interview with Scott Pelley, in which McCabe claims that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had openly discussed the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment after President Trump’s firing of then-FBI Director James Comey. Last week, The Daily Wire’s Emily Zanotti reported:

The New York Times reports that McCabe claims “top Justice Department officials were so alarmed by President Trump’s decision in May 2017 to fire James B. Comey, the bureau’s director,” that they reached out to individual Cabinet members to judge their receptiveness to triggering the removal clause of the 25th Amendment, which allows the Cabinet to “vote out” a president who is incapacitated or otherwise unable to fulfill the duties of his job.

McCabe also claims that Comey’s firing “prompted Mr. McCabe to order the bureau’s team investigating Russia’s election interference to expand their scope to also investigate whether Mr. Trump had obstructed justice.”

 

THE INDEPENDENT MEDIA JUST SAVED AMERICA FROM A BLOODY RACE WAR (THAT THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA WAS TRYING TO START)

The independent media just saved America from a bloody race war (that the mainstream media was trying to start)

America was just saved by the same independent media that the tech giants are trying to wipe out

Natural News – FEBRUARY 21, 2019

In reviewing the Jussie Smollett fiasco, it’s important to note that Smollett staged his hate crime hoax in a location where he believed it would be caught and recorded on a surveillance camera. The purpose of this was to have video footage that the media would play up nationwide, fomenting an outbreak of racially-charged violence that would ultimately lead to a full-blown race war across America (which the media, of course, would blame on Trump).

This is the goal of the left-wing media, which now functions as a cabal of enemy combatants in a civil war they started. And I have no doubt that Barack Obama and his “community organizers” are behind the whole thing. Smollett is well known to be a cohort of Obama, and this is exactly the kind of thing Obama continues to direct from his “bunker” command center near the White House. (See photo, below, of Smollett and the Obamas together.)

The independent media blow the hoax wide open (and the Chicago police did a damn fine job, too)

Yet the hoax was revealed thanks to the efforts of the independent media and old school police work by the Chicago PD, not the “mainstream” media news cartels (which pushed endless lies and propaganda to prop up the hoax for as long as possible).

It was indy media that asked the first questions about the flimsy story that Smollett pushed on the world. Too many things didn’t add up, and while the left-wing media swallowed the hoax without asking a single critical question, the independent media pointed out the many holes in Smollett’s story, such as the fact that he refused to hand over his full phone records to the police… or his claim that he was attacked by two men but somehow managed to hold on to his Subway sandwich the entire time, even walking home with it. Other facts highlighted by the independent media also blew holes in the Smollett story, such as the observation that Smollett was spotted on camera walking home with the fake noose still around his neck. Why would a victim of an attempted lynching continue to wear the noose? And why would he wait 40 minutes to call the police? Why didn’t he desperately shout to the doorman of his apartment to call the police, explaining he had just been attacked?

Get more news like this without being censored: Get the Natural News app for your mobile devices. Enjoy uncensored news, lab test results, videos, podcasts and more. Bypass all the unfair censorship by Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Get your daily news and videos directly from the source! Download here.

None of it added up. But the left-wing media didn’t care. The fake hate crime hoax fit their narrative of America as a racist nation filled with homophobic Trump supporters, and the delicious ingredients in that recipe made such an enticing narrative that the media couldn’t resist. So they risked a race war breaking out across America to try to once again demonize Trump supporters and “keep the hate alive” (which is a key job of the left-wing media these days).

America was just saved by the same independent media that the tech giants are trying to wipe out

All this underscores the importance of speech diversity in a free society. Dissenting voices are sometimes the most important voices of all, since they question the official narrative of lies and deception. This is exactly why systematic censorship of the independent media by the dishonest, fascist tech giants is so dangerous to Democracy.

In this case, it was the dissenting voices — the independent media — that exposed the hoax and very likely stopped the outbreak of racial violence from taking place. In other words, while the mainstream media was actively pushing for a race war in America, the independent media threw water on the embers before it become a firestorm. In response, numerous “journalists” in the media are publicly admitting they are disappointed and saddened that the hate crime wasn’t real. They actually wish for hate crime violence in America, and they don’t even try to hide their dark desires anymore.

Yes, we’ve actually reached the point of insanity in America where “mainstream” media journalists actively wish for hate crimes and race wars. And they are willing to lie and deceive the public to try to make that happen.

If anyone should be censored and de-platformed today it’s CNN, the NYT and the Washington Post. Those are the organizations spreading dangerous lies in a deliberate effort to spark a nationwide race war. They are complicit in the plot to destroy America, and they are acting with extreme malice in trying to carry out their intended agendas to see America rip itself apart.

So why do the tech giants selectively censor the independent media while granting the lying left-wing media near-total control over the public narrative? Because the tech giants want to destroy America, too. They’re all in on it. It’s a plot to bring down this nation, blame white people, depose Trump, silence all dissent and sweep in an authoritarian regime run by deranged, fraudulent Leftists.

Brighteon.com/6002684589001

https://www.brighteon.com/embed/6002684589001

USA Today Editor-In-Chief Apologizes For Editing College Yearbook With Blackface Images

By Paul Bois

For some inexplicable reason, February 2019 has turned into the month where blackface photos in college yearbooks come back to haunt people. Just weeks after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam‘s blackface controversy, reports surfaced that USA Today Editor-in-Chief Nicole Carroll actually edited the 1988-89 Arizona State University yearbook that featured two images of people dressed in blackface.

According to The Wrap, Carroll published a lengthy apology on Thursday for her role in editing the images in the yearbook, which featured two people at a Halloween party dressed as Mike Tyson and Robin Givens. She denounced the images as “horrible” while apologizing for any “hurt” she may have caused.

“The 1988-89 yearbook I edited at Arizona State University included a photo of two people at a Halloween party dressed as Mike Tyson and Robin Givens. It is horrible, and of course the photo should not have been published,” wrote Carroll. “I am sorry for the hurt I caused back then and the hurt it will cause today.”

Carroll said she had no memory of the photo and learned of its existence as part of a “USA Today Network review of yearbooks” from that era.

“The image was discovered as part of a USA Today Network review of yearbooks from that time. I was shocked as I had no memory of that photo,” she continued. “I want to apologize publicly. As journalists, we must hold ourselves accountable as we do others, and it is important to call myself out for this poor judgment.”

As noted by The Wrap, Caroll’s blackface controversy adds to the litany of blackface controversies that have erupted throughout Black History Month, which has embroiled the likes of “The View” co-host Joy Behar and high profile fashion brands.

“Brands like Gucci and Burberry have been forced to apologize for racially insensitive clothing designs,” notes The Wrap. “A Katy Perry shoe design was also yanked. ‘The View’ co-host Joy Behar came in for heat after an old photo of her dressed as a ‘beautiful African woman’ began making the rounds.”

Read Carroll’s full apology:

The news is full of blackface pictures.

There can be no debate about whether or not such images are racist and hurtful. They are.

It was recently brought to my attention that I was involved in publishing such a photo when I was in college.

The 1988-89 yearbook I edited at Arizona State University included a photo of two people at a Halloween party dressed as Mike Tyson and Robin Givens. It is horrible, and of course the photo should not have been published.

I am sorry for the hurt I caused back then and the hurt it will cause today.

The image was discovered as part of a USA TODAY Network review of yearbooksfrom that time. I was shocked as I had no memory of that photo.

Clearly the 21-year-old me who oversaw the book and that page didn’t understand how offensive the photo was. I wish I had.

Today’s 51-year-old me of course understands and is crushed by this mistake.

I want to apologize publicly. As journalists, we must hold ourselves accountable as we do others, and it is important to call myself out for this poor judgment.

Also, I want to continue to grow from this.

As a journalist and editor, I have long championed diversity and inclusion in our newsroom and in our news coverage. I initiated USA TODAY’s current diversity committee. In Arizona, before I arrived at USA TODAY, our newsroom held frequent meetings with diverse communities, asking them to critique our work and help us do better. They always did.

Throughout my career, I’ve had, and will continue to have, newsroom conversations about how we can further educate ourselves and our readers about race, history and prejudice, as well as the serious issues facing women, the LGBTQ community and all marginalized groups.

And we’ll keep talking about how we are doing in recruiting and retaining journalists of color. We cannot cover America if we do not reflect America.

Accountability. Transparency. Education. Discussion.

That is how I grow.

That is how we grow.

DON LEMON: IT’S NOT JUSSIE SMOLLETT’S “FAULT” THAT HE LOST IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION

Don Lemon: It's Not Jussie Smollett's "Fault" That He Lost in the Court of Public Opinion

CNN host runs defense for actor arrested for staging his own hate crime

 | Infowars.com – FEBRUARY 21, 2019

CNN host Don Lemon ran defense for Jussie Smollett on his show last night, claiming that it’s not the actor’s “fault” that he lost in the court of public opinion.

Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi announced that Smollett was “under arrest and in custody of detectives” this morning. His bail hearing is set for 1:30pm local time.

Smollett launched a media firestorm at the end of last month when he claimed he was assaulted by two individuals who shouted “this is MAGA country” and had a noose placed around his neck.

However, evidence soon emerged clearly suggesting Smollett had paid two Nigerian brothers who worked on the show Empire with him to stage the attack.

Despite some on the left deleting old tweets that signaled vehement support for Smollett and with others keen to avoid talking about the issue altogether, Don Lemon appeared to double down by absolving Smollett of blame.

https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1098442187795161089

During a segment on his show last night, the CNN host said Smollett had “lost the fight in the court of public opinion”.

“He lost that because of how – not his fault – maybe people were – I don’t know what they were saying to him, maybe because of his representatives, who knows – but it was handled poorly,” said Lemon.

CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson pushed back, commenting, “I don’t know if it’s not his fault, Don.”

“You think it’s his fault, you think he was doing what he wanted?” asked Lemon.

If the allegations are proven true, quite how anyone but Smollett himself is to blame for staging a hate crime which according to some could have kicked off racial violence in America is somewhat baffling.

Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, Smollett’s lawyers say they will “mount an aggressive defense,” with the actor potentially facing jail time.

Jussie Smollett Offered Job At CNN After Fabricating News Story Out Of Thin Air

By The Babylon Bee

ATLANTA, GA—While Empire actor Jussie Smollett has been having a tough week so far, there appears to be a silver lining: cable news channel CNN has offered Smollett a job as an investigative reporter and on-air anchor after witnessing his skills at fabricating a story entirely out of thin air.

CNN producers were reportedly impressed throughout the ongoing saga of Smollett’s apparent hoax attack on himself. They realized early on the facts didn’t add up but were fascinated with how well the actor kept the narrative going. An HR rep quickly reached out to Smollett to see if he’d be interested in taking on a position at the news organization after news broke that the entire thing was probably fabricated.

“Smollett has exactly the kind of skills we look for at our fine organization,” said CNN correspondent Brian Stelter. “He picked a narrative, made up all the relevant facts and details, and stuck with his story in spite of glaring holes in the plot. It’s hard to find people who understand our core values here at CNN, but Smollett seems to be just the guy for us.”

The actor has accepted the offer and is now undergoing training to learn how to weave even more intricate narratives ex nihilo, according to insiders.

 

Jussie Smollett Hires Colin Kaepernick Attorney Mark Geragos as Indictment Looms

By Joshua Caplan

JussieSmollettkap2

Empire actor Jussie Smollett has hired high-powered attorney Mark Geragos amid reports he orchestrated a racist and homophobic attack on himself last month in Chicago. Fox 32 Chicago reporter Rafer Weigel, citing sources at the Chicago Police Department, tweeted Wednesday that an indictment of Smollett may come in “a matter of hours. Not days.”

Screen Shot 2019-02-20 at 3.28.22 PM

Geragos recently represented former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick in his lawsuit against the professional football league.

The report comes as police are seeking to re-question Smollett amid allegations that he staged the attack with the brothers — Abimbola “Abel” and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo — who were extras on Empire. According to CBS Chicago’s Charlie De Mar, Smollett directed one of the brothers to purchase the rope which was used in the alleged staged attack at the Crafty Beaver hardware store. De Mar also said Smollett paid the brothers $3,500 and promised an additional $500 later.

Smollett told police that two masked individuals had sprayed him with an unknown chemical substance as they hurled racist and anti-gay insults at him on January 29. The actor also claimed that his attackers had looped a thin rope around his neck and screamed “This is MAGA country!” before darting from the area.

Meanwhile, the Fox Broadcasting Company, the network behind Empire, said in a statement Wednesday that Smollett is a “consulate profession” who will remain a regular on the show.

Not only is Smollett believed to have staged the assault, but may also be behind a threatening letter sent to him on the set of Empire.

Chicago’s local CBS affiliate, WBBM Channel 2, reported Tuesday evening that the actor “orchestrated” the assault after the letter failed to garner an adequate reaction.

FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service officials are currently probing whether he played a role in the letter’s January 22 delivery. The letter, which contained powered aspirin and the phrase “Die black fag,” is undergoing analysis at an FBI crime lab, ABC News reported.

In a statement to ABC News, Smollett’s lawyers said their client was “angered” and “further victimized” by claims that staged his own attack.

“As a victim of a hate crime who has cooperated with the police investigation, Jussie Smollett is angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with,” Smollett’s lawyers, Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson, said. “He has now been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that Jussie played a role in his own attack. Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying.”

“One of these purported suspects was Jussie’s personal trainer who he hired to ready him physically for a music video,” the statement continued. “It is impossible to believe that this person could have played a role in the crime against Jussie or would falsely claim Jussie’s complicity.”

‘Go Get Them Nick’ — Donald Trump Cheers on Covington Student Suing Washington Post

Nick Sandmann

By Charlie Spiering

President Donald Trump on Wednesday supported Covington High School student Nick Sandmann and his lawyers for suing the Washington Post.

“Go get them, Nick,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Fake News!”

Trump quoted the lawsuit which said the Post “ignored basic journalistic standards because it wanted to advance its well-known and easily documented biased agenda against President Donald J. Trump.”

The lawsuit is seeking $250 million in damages, accusing the Post of targeting and bullying Sandmann and his peers for wearing a Trump campaign Make America Great Again hats during a school trip for the March for Life.

The lawsuit claims that the Washington Post ignored the truth of the event between Sandmann and Native American activist Nathan Phillips on three different occasions.

On January 19, 20 and 21,the Post ignored the truth and falsely accused Nicholasof, among other things, “accost[ing]” Phillips by “suddenly swarm[ing]” him in a “threaten[ing]” and “physically intimidat[ing]” manner as Phillips “and other activists were wrapping up the march and preparing to leave,” “block[ing]” Phillips path, refusing to allow Phillips “to retreat,” “taunting the dispersing indigenous crowd,” chanting “build that wall,” “Trump2020,” or “go back to Africa,” and otherwise engaging in racist and improper conduct which ended only “when Phillips and other activists walked away.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

STATE ATTORNEY RECUSES HERSELF FROM JUSSIE SMOLLETT CASE

State Attorney Recuses Herself From Jussie Smollett Case

Reason for recusal unclear

By Nicole Darrah

The Cook County state’s attorney has recused herself from the investigation surrounding Jussie Smollett, as Chicago police continue to dig into the alleged hate crime attack the actor claims occurred last month.

State’s Attorney Kim Foxx recused herself on Tuesday, but it was not immediately clear why. First Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Magats will take over the case as acting state’s attorney, Fox News has learned.

JUSSIE SMOLLETT’S LAWYERS DENY HE PLANNED ATTACK AFTER CHICAGO POLICE CLAIM HE’S NO LONGER CONSIDERED A VICTIM IN CASE

Foxx’s recusal came as the Chicago Police Department rejected a tip the bureau received earlier Tuesday regarding the “Empire” actor’s case.

Screen Shot 2019-02-20 at 10.46.41 AM

Anthony Guglielmi, chief communications officer for the department, tweeted that the tip alleging that Smollett was spotted in an elevator in his building with two men who were initially considered suspects was “unfounded as it was not supported by video evidence obtained by detectives.”

Smollett, who is openly gay and black, reported that on Jan. 29, he was attacked by two masked men as he was walking home from a Subway restaurant. He claimed that the men shouted racial and anti-gay slurs at him, poured a chemical substance on him, threw a rope around his neck and shouted, “This is MAGA country!”

Investigators revealed on Friday that two suspects were questioned in connection with the alleged attack, but were released without charges “due to new evidence.”

Chicago police said on Saturday that Smollett was no longer considered a victim in their investigation.

Smollett’s attorneys, Todd S. Pugh and Victor P. Henderson, vehemently denied that the attack was a hoax, previously telling the press: “As a victim of a hate crime who has cooperated with the police investigation, Jussie Smollett is angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with.”

“He has now been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that Jussie played a role in his own attack,” the statement continued. “Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying.”

Separately, court documents recently obtained by Fox News reveal that Smollett was convicted for DUI and providing a police officer with false information. It was not immediately clear what information he lied to police about, but it’s related to a vehicular charge. Smollett’s legal team did not deny the arrest.

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