RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/02/trump-russia-collusion-investigation-criminalization-policy-disputes/

The word covers every contact between anyone connected to Trump and anyone connected to Russia, with no need to show that a crime was committed.

What a weasel word “collusion” is.

In Washington, Senator Richard Burr (R., N.C.), chairman of the Intelligence Committee, has now seen fit to pronounce that, after two years of investigation, the panel has found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian regime. Meanwhile, in a nearby courtroom, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s senior staffer, Andrew Weissmann, told a federal judge that an August 2016 meeting between the then-chairman of the Trump campaign and a suspected Russian intelligence officer “goes . . . very much to the heart of what the special counsel is investigating” — which sure sounds like Mueller’s collusion hunt is alive and well.

What gives?

Readers of these columns know that the “collusion” label has been a pet peeve of your humble correspondent since the media-Democratic “Putin hacked the election” narrative followed hard on the declaration of Donald Trump’s victory in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, November 9, 2016.

The reason for the collusion label is obvious. Those peddling the “Putin hacked the election” story have always lacked credible evidence that Trump was complicit in the Kremlin’s “cyber-espionage.” They could not show a criminal conspiracy. Connections between denizens of Trump World and Putin’s circle might be very intriguing, and perhaps even politically scandalous. But only a conspiracy — an agreement by two or more people to commit an actual criminal offense, such as hacking — would be a reasonable basis for prosecution or impeachment.

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/andrew-mccarthy-mccabe-rosenstein-and-the-real-truth-about-the-25th-amendment-coup-attempt

Ever wonder why people hate lawyers? Consider Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s non-denial denial of his participation in discussions of an attempted coup against the duly elected president of the United States.

The story is being given a second life thanks to the hype surrounding the rollout of a new book by Andrew McCabe, the former deputy director of the FBI.

McCabe, of course, was fired after an inspector general investigation found that he leaked investigative information and then lied about it. He has been referred to the Justice Department for consideration of a false-statements prosecution.

There is no doubt that, when he was acting FBI director after President Trump’s May 2017 firing of Director James Comey, McCabe huddled with Rosenstein to mull over options for removing the president from office.

But we have known this for six months – ever since The New York Times published its bombshell report. Indeed, at the time, I wrote a column about it for National Review titled “Rod Rosenstein’s Resistance – weasel words, weasel moves from an emotionally overwrought deputy AG eager to ingratiate himself with Democrats.”

In “Jihadist Psychopath,” a vital recently published book the author Dr. Jamie Glazov, reveals the steps by which, “Islamic Supremacists are duplicating the sinister methodology of psychopaths who routinely charm, seduce, capture, and devour their prey.”

Indeed, Islamists now openly admit that a group of Malaysian Islamic scholars have long planned to build a modern-day global Islamic state ruled by Sharia. Once a closely guarded secret, the Islamists have grown emboldened and are hard at work, plotting societal devastation.

Read on, to learn of the instance in which I personally confronted their methodology:

Sharia-supremacist Muslims use innocent-sounding standard interfaith dialogues as a key strategy to destroy Western civilization and install a Caliphate–a global Islamic state ruled by Shari’a law. They openly declare their intent, as they did at New York’s Chautauqua Institution last summer in a seminar I attended with approximately 40 other people.

The Chautauqua “Islam and Sharia” seminar was one of many daily Islamic programs led last summer by Khaled and Sabeeha Rehman. Who are they?

Conn Carrol
Communications Director for Sen Mike Lee (R-UT)

The WH did not make one executive action today. In reality they made three, only one of which involved an emergency declaration.

First, the WH announced they would be funding $601 million in wall construction from the Treasury Forfeiture Fund, relying on 31 U.S.C. § 9705. This does not require an emergency declaration.

Second, the WH announced they would be funding $2.5 billion in wall construction under 10 U.S.C. § 284 (this is MilCon $ for combating drug trafficking). This does not require an emergency declaration.

Finally, the WH announced they would be funding $3.6 billion under 10 U.S.C. § 2808. This money doesrequire an emergency declaration.

According to the WH this money will be spent sequentially so the § 9705 money will be spent first then the § 284 money then the § 2808 money.

So depending on how fast they can begin construction, they will have to spend over $5 billion (including the $1.3 billion in fencing appropriations) before any of the emergency money is ever tapped.

“The “emergency” funds may not be tapped till the other, less controversial funds are depleted. Plaintiffs may not have standing to challenge the diversion of “emergency” funds till those funds are in fact allocated.”

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/02/11/washington_is_missing_a_chance_to_cut_the_federal_workforce_139431.html

Both parties have adopted a mantra of protecting federal employees during the recent government shutdown and ongoing showdown over immigration. Last month, all House Democrats and 29 Republicans voted to increase federal pay by 2.6 percent. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the effort was about “treating federal employees with the respect they deserve and compensating them for the financial stress the Trump-McConnell shutdown has inflicted on them.”

But the reality is federal employees are hardly victims. While it’s true that many are hard-working patriots who could earn significantly more in the private sector, many are not. Still, politicians reflexively defend the status quo out of fear of a political backlash. Their goal is not to protect federal employees or taxpayers, but themselves.

Setting priorities and making smart cuts to lower-priority positions, particularly during a shutdown or crisis, is far more compassionate and responsible than collectively punishing not only all federal employees, but the country and generations that follow.

At OpenTheBooks.com, we’ve documented the bloat in the federal workforce.

Today, there are more than 1.3 million federal employees in administrative agencies who cost taxpayers $114 billion in cash compensation alone. There are more than 91,000 federal employees who out-earn the governor of the state in which they are based. Compensation is so out-of-control that painters, mechanics, electricians, and welders employed by federal agencies now out-earn governors.