Republicans lawmakers report irregularities in the FBI’s investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email server that suggest the bureau had evidence to believe the former Secretary of State and her staff broke federal laws.
Congressional investigators told The Hill they possess written statements indicating a belief by FBI agents that laws were broken Clinton and her aides transmitted classified information through her private email server.
Republicans on three House committees and the Senate Judiciary Committee have based their findings on recent interviews and document productions, including an analysis of the multiple drafts of former FBI director James Comey’s exoneration of Clinton.
Investigators on Capitol Hill said drafts of the statement acknowledged there was “evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information.”
The May 2, 2016 draft of Comey’s statement featured a passage that read:
“The sheer volume of information that was properly classified as Secret at the time it was discussed on email (that is, excluding the “up classified” emails) supports an inference that the participants were grossly negligent in their handling of that information.”
Comey’s final language mirrored that draft, when he said, “although there is evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.”
The FBI also confirmed that a key witness lied to the FBI during his interviews. The witness was the computer technician who deleted Clinton emails from her private server in 2015 after a congressional subpoena had been issued for them.
The technician’s admission came a year after making the false statement. He was never charged for lying to the FBI, a federal felony to which former Trump national security adviser Mike Flynn pleaded guilty.
The most jarring irregularity Republican lawmakers say they found was confirmation that the FBI began drafting an exoneration of Clinton before the former Secretary of State and other key witnesses were interviewed.
A senior law enforcement official who spoke under conditions of anonymity told The Hill, “the leadership had a sense of where the evidence was likely headed and the idea was they would begin drafting their conclusions and if we found anything that changed that sense we’d alert them.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, blasted the move.
“Making a conclusion before you interview key fact witnesses and the subject herself violates the very premise of good investigation. You don’t lock into a theory until you have the facts. Here the evidence that isn’t public yet shows they locked into the theory and then edited out the facts that contradicted it.”
Grassley’s staff also received a sworn affidavit from an FBI agent that contradicted claims by Comey. The former FBI director told Grassley the bureau investigated whether Clinton and her staff were guilty of unlawful destruction of government records.
The FBI agent in question stated the bureau did not address that issue.
These revelations cast further doubt on the objectivity of the FBI investigation that ultimately let Clinton off the hook.
One Douglas County deputy died and four more were wounded along with two civilians Sunday morning at a Highlands Ranch apartment complex. The shooter was also shot and is believed dead, the Sheriff’s Office said in a tweet at 9:32 a.m.
The Sheriff’s Office announced at 10:02 a.m. that the slain officer would soon be moved from Littleton Adventist Hospital in a procession. “Expect heavy law enforcement presence and traffic congestion on Broadway, C470 and SB I-25,” the Sheriffs Office tweeted.
Deputies were responding to a domestic disturbance call when shots were fired from the home in the 3400 block of County Line Road near Colorado Boulevard before 6 a.m., Lauren Lekander, DCSO spokeswoman said.
Denver 7 reported hearing shots fired as a reporter later arrived at the scene.
“We have SWAT out there setting up and preparing to go in right now,” Lekander said at about 7:15 a.m.
Early during the incident, the Sheriff’s Office said only that a number of officers were shot. “We have multiple officers down,” said Deputy Jason Blanchard of the incident at Copper Canyon Apartments in Highlands Ranch.
“We are not giving numbers or status at this point, we are still working on getting the suspect in custody.”
Residents were told to stay inside and avoid windows and exterior walls.
Steven Silknitter lives in the complex.
He was working elsewhere when he heard about the shooting. He called home waking up his fiance.
She woke to hear “a barrage” of gunfire in the dark, said Silknitter.
“She was pretty scared. She kept saying how loud it was.”
Silknitter lived in Aurora during the 2014 Aurora Theater shooting. “Where do you move to? It’s everywhere.”
Three of the injured were taken to Skyridge Medical Center in Lone Tree with non-critical injuries, said Linda Watson, a hospital spokeswoman. She couldn’t say if the injured were officers. Another four have been taken to Littleton Adventist Hospital, said Alyssa Parker, a hospital spokeswoman.
Parker couldn’t say how serious their injuries are.
Due to the size of the investigation an emergency shelter was set up at East Ridge Recreation Center, located at 9568 University Blvd. in Highlands Ranch. Anyone who has been displaced can go there, the Sheriff’s Department said.
Multiple law enforcement vehicles, Douglas County Sheriff, South Metro and Littleton fire rescue vehicles came and went from the scene.
“There is still a lot of activity out here,” Larry Ryckman, Denver Post editor at the scene, said at 9:30 a.m.
Video broadcast by Denver 7 showed an Arapahoe County Sheriff Bomb Squad truck at the scene.
In a Code Red the Sheriff’s office told residents to shelter in place, avoid windows and stay away from exterior walls.
An investigation is in progress and most of County Line Road is closed down from Colorado Boulevard to University Boulevard. C-470 is closed from Quebec Street to University Boulevard.
Parker Police Department, Lone Tree Police, Castle Rock Police and Colorado State Patrol are involved in the incident.
Procession for the deceased officer will take place soon from @LittletonHosp. Expect heavy law enforcement presence and traffic congestion on Broadway, C470 and SB I-25 #CopperCanyonOIS
**Copper Canyon OIS Update**- Deputies responded to a domestic disturbance resulting in shots fired. 5 deputies shot by suspect. 1 deputy confirmed deceased. 2 civilians also shot by suspect. Suspect shot & believed to be dead & no longer a threat. #CopperCanyonOIS
Due to the size and cope of this investigation an emergency shelter has been set up @ East Ridge Rec Center, located at 9568 University Blvd. in Highlands Ranch. If anyone has been displaced from their homes due to this event please feel free to head there.
UPDATE 0513 this morning deputies responded to he Copper Canyon Apartments for a Domestic Disturbance. During the Investigation, shots were fired and multiple deputies were injured. No status on the deputies and no status on civilian injuries. Please avoid this area.
Due to this incident, the following agencies are on accident alert. Douglas County, Parker Police Department, Lone Tree Police Department, Castle Rock Police Department and Colorado State Patrol.
A Code Red was sent out regarding this incident. Any citizens in the affected area are instructed to shelter in place, avoid windows and stay away from exterior walls.
DCSO is working an officer down call in the area of County Line Rd between Colorado Blvd and University Blvd. This is an active event, please avoid the area.
Lock all 3 of these POS’s up. Hell yes they are hypocrites.
The Justice Department’s inspector general said the department suffered from “systemic” problems regarding sexual harassment complaints over the last five years, according to a Washington Post report that peculiarly failed to mention former President Barack Obama or Attorney Generals Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch.
The DOJ requires “high level action” to solve the issue, which includes mishandling or ignoring complaints of sexual misconduct, according to the IG’s report. Over the last five years, the number of sexual misconduct allegations has increased and includes “senior Justice Department officials across the country,” according to WaPo.
Despite the issue increasing in severity during Obama’s second term, Washington Post reporter Sari Horwitz declined to mention senior administration officials, even though the “most troubling allegations” according to the IG, happened under their watch.
One woman, who was allegedly the victim of repeated groping and “sexually charged comments” became so distressed by her harasser that she “was terrified I was going to get in the elevator and he would be in there.”
On top of complete negligence in the handling of the complaint, the DOJ allowed “potential criminal assault violations,” according to the IG report. Despite these serious allegations, the IG’s office “found no evidence in the case file that a referral was made to the [Inspector General] or any other law enforcement entity.”
Theodore Atkinson, who worked in the DOJ as an attorney in the Office of Immigration Litigation under Holder according to his LinkedIn, admitted to stalking a female coworker, hacking into her personal email account and constructing a “fictitious online profile to entice her,” the IG wrote. For his behavior, Atkinson simply received a “written reprimand and reduction in title,” with no suspension or pay cut.
Atkinson was, however, recently given a “Special Commendation Award from the Civil Division.”
The WaPo investigation describes a number of other incidents that were reported but ultimately ended with no serious reprimands, including one sexual harassment case brought against a female top prosecutor in Oregon.
“Sexual harassment and misconduct is one of the very important areas we have to focus on and take seriously because of all the reasons the public is seeing now,” the IG said. “People’s attitudes have to change. Our interest is shining light on this kind of activity.”
Superficially, Lynch appeared to make gender and sexual harassment issues a top priority. In 2015, Lynch announced $2.7 million in grants to “strengthen the Justice System’s Response to Sexual Assault,” a DOJ press release stated at the time.
“The Department of Justice is committed to doing everything it can to help prevent, investigate and prosecute these horrendous crimes – including working to ensure that our greatest partners in this effort, the state and local law enforcement officers on whom we all rely, have the tools, training and resources they need to fairly and effectively address allegations of sexual assault and domestic violence,” Lynch said.
That same year, Lynch’s department issued new guidelines “to help law enforcement agencies prevent gender bias in their response to sexual assault and domestic violence, highlighting the need for clear policies, robust training and responsive accountability systems,” a press release reads.
Thank Obama For This Mess and Don’t For Get Nikki Was Excited To Meet Barry.
Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, noted this week that there is mounting evidence showing that Iran is indeed arming Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen in violation of the U.N. resolution that codifies the nuclear deal between the Islamic Republic and world powers into international law.
During a U.N. Security Council meeting on Tuesday, Haley identified the evidence as Iranian-manufactured anti-tank guided missiles, a drone known as a kamikaze unmanned aerial vehicle and SHARK-33 explosive boat material.
“All of these weapons, recovered from attacks and planned attacks on a G20 country [Saudi Arabia], were made by Iranian weapons industries tied to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps,” said the U.S. ambassador.
“We have an opportunity to confront the Iranian regime for its actions that are clearly in violation of Security Council resolutions,” she added. “The international community must demonstrate that we are committed to ensuring accountability for the full spectrum of Iran’s malign behavior.”
Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran are regional rivals fighting a proxy war in Yemen.
“This is the Secretary-General’s fourth report on the Iranian regime’s lack of full compliance with Resolution 2231,” also said Haley, referring to the U.N. resolution that put the nuclear deal into international law form. “And it is the most damning report yet. This report makes the case that Iran is illegally transferring weapons.”
In its fourth and most recent report on the issue, U.N. Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres cautions that Iran may be ignoring the international body’s call to stop developing ballistic missiles, adding that the United Nations is probing the Islamic Republic’s suspected transfer of weapons to Houthis in Yemen.
Jeffrey Feltman, the U.N. undersecretary-general for political affairs, highlighted steps the international body can take to pressure Iran into abiding by the nuclear pact, notes CBS News.
“Based on the violations of the Secretary-General’s report, there are a few options that we can use to put pressure on Iran to adjust their behavior: The Security Council could strengthen the provisions of Resolution 2231; We could adopt a new resolution that makes clear that Iran is prohibited from all activities related to ballistic missiles,” proclaimed Feltman.
In October, U.S. President Donald Trump refused to re-certify Iran’s compliance to the controversial nuclear agreement reached by the Islamic Republic and world powers led by the previous U.S. administration in July 2015.
Haley has accused Iran of violating the terms of the agreement, recently revealing what she described as “irrefutable evidence” that the Islamic Republic broke the rules by providing military assistance to the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
In his most recent report, the U.N. secretary-general “refers to debris from missiles fired by Houthi militants from Yemen into Saudi Arabia in July and November of this year … The inventory at the warehouse in Washington removes any shred of doubt that the missiles are from Iran.”
During a press conference in Washington, DC, last week, Haley presented what she described as recovered pieces of an Iranian-made Houthi missile fired from Yemen into Saudi Arabia in November.
At least since the Houthi takeover of the Yemeni capital Sanaa in late 2014, U.S. and Saudi Arabia officials have asserted that Iran has been arming the Shiite rebels.
In March 2015, the Saudis formed a U.S.-assisted coalition to combat the Houthi threat in neighboring Yemen and restore the internationally-recognized government of Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.
The Houthis in Yemen have repeatedly fired missiles allegedly built by Iran across the border into Saudi Arabia.
Houthis have also targeted the U.S. Navy in international waters off the coast of Yemen with missiles that allegedly originated in Iran.
Tehran has long denied the assertions that it is providing military support to the Houthis.
Wealthy New York City elites are preparing to flee the state because the Republican tax bill is going to make them face the full brunt of Mayor Bill de Blasio and Democratic state leadership’s tax rates.
“Everybody I speak to brings this up. Every NYC resident I speak to asks about the feasibility involved in doing it,” Wall Street tax expert Robert Willens told Yahoo Finance. “I’ve been doing this more than 40 years, and never heard more discussion about relocating than recently.”
Wealthy New Yorkers can currently lower their federal taxable income by more than $100,000 through a provision of the tax code known as the State and Local Tax Deduction, or SALT. The average SALT deduction in the Manhattan area is at least $60,000.
The Republican bill will cap the deduction amount at $10,000, meaning wealthy New Yorkers who currently write off expensive real estate could face an extra six figures in taxable income.
President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill into law by Christmas, which is why many hedge fund and private equity managers are seriously considering getting out of New York.
New York is a state run by Democrats and one that taxes its citizens at a higher rate than any other state in the nation. The state’s combined state and local income tax burden tops California’s at 12.7 percent. That amounts to roughly $6,993.42 per New York taxpayer.
For the first time, many wealthy Manhattanites will finally feel the full burden that their state legislators and city leadership have put on them.
De Blasio is actually trying to increase millionaire New York City taxpayers’ loads as Republicans put the finishing touches on their bill.
The mayor is trying to levy a 14 percent tax increase on the city’s millionaires to pay for improvements to the city’s subway system. The governor-elect of New Jersey is looking to pull a similar tactic to raise money for public schools in the state.
