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A member of the House Intelligence Committee on Saturday said the panelshould requesttestimony about the GOP operation that allegedly sought Hillary ClintonHillary Rodham ClintonCapone-era lessons can show us how to confront Putin The Memo: Trump turns to a skeptical Chicago House Democrat calls for testimony on GOP email operation MORE's emails from Russian hackers last year.

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) wants the committee, which oversees the House probe into Russian meddling in the election, toheartestimony fromMatt Tait. Tait is aU.K.-based security consultant who claims a Republican activist tried to recruit him last year as part of an operation to obtain and authenticate Clinton's emails.

Tait is also one of the only identified sources of knowledge on the operation left alive, since Peter Smith, theGOP operative heading the alleged operation, died afterpartially revealing his involvement.

"The House Intelligence Cmte should hear from Matt Tait ASAP," Castro wrote on Twitter, linking to Tait's account of his interaction with Smith'soperation.

The House Intelligence Cmte should hear from Matt Tait ASAP. The Time I Got Recruited to Collude with the Russians https://t.co/RW9GKmywW5

Castro, as a minority member of the committee, does not have the power to summon Taitbefore the panel, which is investigating both Russia's role in the 2016 election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.

Castro's call for lawmakers to speak with Tait comes as the intelligence panel prepares to interview a series of high-profile figures as part of its Russia probe, including former national security adviser Susan Rice and former Trump adviser Roger Stone.

Tait revealed in a blog post late Friday night that he was one of the anonymous sources in a Wall Street Journal report detailing Smith's efforts to connect with hacker groups in hopes thathe could obtain politically damaging emails that Clinton said she had deleted.

Smith listed several top members of the Trump campaign some of whom now work in the White House in a document aimed at recruiting investigators to help him in his search.

The Wall Street Journal noted that Smith claimed his operation was independent of the Trump campaign.

But in his poston Lawfare Blog on Friday, Tait said that he was among those that Smith tried to recruit and that he believedthe emailoperation was formed with the "blessing" of at least some Trump campaign officials.

What's more, he also said in the blog post that he warned Smith that the sources of the email leakshe was seeking were likely fronts for the Russian government. The GOP activist, he said, "didn't seem to care."

Read more:
House Democrat calls for testimony on GOP email operation - The Hill

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Dead bird in Lake County tests positive for West Nile virus

Santa Rosa grass fire sparked by lawn mower

Swimming lagoon reopens at Veterans Memorial Beach in Healdsburg

Card skimmers at the gas pump an alarming crime on the rise

Survivors of California freeway plane crash in stable condition

River days beckon holiday revelers

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ASSOCIATED PRESS | July 1, 2017, 6:25PM

| Updated 3 hours ago.

SANTA ANA A couple whose plane crashed and burst into flames on a Southern California freeway are recovering from their injuries.

KABC-TV (http://bit.ly/2tCnl1Y ) reported Saturday that the man who was piloting the aircraft is hospitalized in stable but guarded condition and his wife is in stable condition.

Fire officials earlier said the woman was his fiance.

They were the only people aboard a twin-engine Cessna 310 that crashed Friday morning on Interstate 405, just short of a runway at John Wayne Airport in Costa Mesa.

Before the crash, the pilot reported losing power in one engine.

The plane clipped a pickup, but nobody on the ground was hurt.

An off-duty firefighter pulled them from the fiery wreckage.

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Continued here:
Survivors of freeway plane crash are in stable condition - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Senate Democrat staffers are predominantly white and a majority of them are women, according to a report released by Senate MinorityLeader Charles SchumerCharles SchumerTrump claims GOP has a 'big surprise' on healthcare Senate Dems step up protests ahead of ObamaCare repeal vote Senate Dems plan floor protest ahead of ObamaCare repeal vote MORE (D-N.Y.) on Friday.

The study found that 32 percent of staffers in Democratic Senate offices are "non-Caucasian," and54 percent are women.

Thirteenpercent of Democratic staffers are African American largely in line with U.S. demographics while only 10 percent are Latino significantly less than the 17 percent that make up the country's population.

Eight percent are Asian or Pacific Islander, 4 percent are Native American and 3 percent are North African or Middle Eastern.

Senate Democrats have long faced criticism for a lack of diversity among those that work for them, and have faced increased pressure in recent months totake up minority-hiring efforts.

Former Senate Minority Leader Harry ReidHarry ReidSenate Democrat staffers are predominantly white, women Dems face identity crisis Heller under siege, even before healthcare MORE (D-Nev.) started the Senate Democratic Diversity Initiative in 2007 aimed at building Senate staffs that reflect the country's demographics. The effort has since been carried on by Schumer.

Senate Democrats have taken steps to increase diversity among staffers, passing the "Rooney Rule" in March, which requires Democrats to interview at least one minority candidate for openings on lawmakers' staffs.

The rule mirrors a National Football League hiring policy requiring teams to do the same for head coach positions and other senior roles.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) has the most diverse staff, with 66 percent identifying as "non-Caucasian." Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Mazie HironoMazie HironoSenate Democrat staffers are predominantly white, women Senate Dems step up protests ahead of ObamaCare repeal vote Senate Dem: Gorsuch, Thomas and Alito like 'horsemen of the apocalypse' MORE (D-Hawaii) are tied for second at 61 percent.

Among the Democrats with least diverse staffs are Sen. Heidi HeitkampHeidi HeitkampSenate Democrat staffers are predominantly white, women Senate Democrats: ObamaCare repeal fight isn't over yet Dem senator: Don't bet against McConnell on ObamaCare repeal MORE (N.D.) at 10 percent, Sen. Joe ManchinJoe ManchinDemocrats goinforthekillon ObamaCare repeal Senate Democrat staffers are predominantly white, women The Hill's 12:30 Report MORE (W.V.) at 9 percent and Sen. Jon TesterJon TesterDemocrats goinforthekillon ObamaCare repeal Senate Democrat staffers are predominantly white, women Trump A conservative conservationist MORE (Mont.) at 7 percent.

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Senate Democrat staffers are predominantly white, women | TheHill - The Hill

A Democratic congressman has introduced a bill to deny taxpayer funding to President Trump's voter fraud commission.

The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, created by Trump in May, received little attention until this week, when at least 20 states rejected a request to provide the commission with all publicly available voter roll data.

"As the president continues to press his blatantly false claim that voter fraud cost him the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election, he endangers the sanctity of our nation's democracy," Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, said in a statement Friday. He is the author of the legislation and co-chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus. "The commission's mission to study non-existent voter fraud cases has nothing to do with ballot security and everything to do with voter suppression and discrimination," Veasey added.

According to Congress.gov, Veasey actually introduced the bill in the House June 22.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, vice chairman of the commission, sent a letter to all 50 secretaries of state Wednesday requesting voters' full names, their addresses, their birth dates, the last four digits of their Social Security numbers, their voting histories and their political parties, if they had been recorded.

State officials mostly Democrats, but also some Republicans have objected to the request, citing concerns over privacy, politics ... and Kobach.

Kobach, a conservative candidate for Kansas governor in 2018, is a leading proponent of strict voter-identification laws. He has helped design some of the toughest voting laws in the country, which Democrats and civil rights groups allege are meant to restrict voting access by minority groups.

Trump created the commission by executive order after making an unsubstantiated claim that millions of illegal immigrants voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election and prevented him from winning the popular vote.

The commission, led by Vice President Mike Pence and Kobach, is charged with investigating voter fraud and issuing recommendations to prevent it.

It will have its first meeting July 19 in Washington, D.C.

Visit link:
Texas Democrat pushes bill to block taxpayer money from Trump's voter fraud commission - Washington Examiner

Bruce Wheeler was ready to retire from Arizona politics after years in the Legislature and on the Tucson City Council.

But it was one person who changed the 68-year-olds mind last year Donald J. Trump.

That is a game changer, he said That puts a lot of things at risk that a lot of us believe in and cherish about this country.

In the months after Trumps election, Wheeler decided he would get back into politics and challenge Republican Rep. Martha McSally in Congressional District 2 in next years midterm elections. He joins a crowded race in the Democratic Party primary.

Wheeler had flirted with the idea of running in CD2 once before in the last election cycle, but a doctor sidelined him for months after a surgery.

In 2017, Wheeler said he is ready to take on McSally.

Calling McSally a manufactured moderate, the Tucson Democrat said she didnt have to defend her voting record in the last cycle.

She didnt have to own any votes it was about repeal, repeal, Obama, Democrats and pointing fingers, Wheeler said.

And it is health care that Wheeler believes he has a record to run on, voting with statehouse Democrats and some Republicans in 2013 to expand Medicaid in Arizona.

We added 350,000 people, he said about increasing the number of residents covered.

McSally, he argued, wants to take away their insurance since she backed the Republican health-care plan being debated in Congress.

These are votes she is now going to have to own, he said.

Wheeler said he wants to go one step further supporting a single-payer health-care system for all Americans.

We are already covering the most expensive segment of the population, 65 and older, he said, noting it will be a controversial stance in a crowded field of Democrats.

It wont happen overnight, he concedes, but he is optimistic Democrats will take control of the House in 2018 and the White House in 2020.

But first he will need to secure the Democratic nomination in CD2 next year. Democrats who have either announced they are running or are testing the waters are former U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, emergency-room Dr. Matt Heinz, small-business owner Billy Kovacs, pilot Jeff Latas, small-business owner Charlie Verdin and a retired assistant secretary of the Army, Mary Matiella.

Originally posted here:
Democrat Bruce Wheeler jumps into Congressional District 2 race - Arizona Daily Star