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Former FBI counterintelligence official Peter Strzok agreed to avoid treating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton harshly in a 2016 interrogation about her private email system, over concerns Mrs. Clinton might retaliate after becoming president.

Mr. Strzok was fired by the FBI for unprofessional conduct, including text messages criticizing then-candidate Donald Trump and supporting Mrs. Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. He is suing the Justice Department claiming he was improperly fired. As part of the suit, the department released an August 2018 letter from the FBI to Mr. Strzok outlining the reasons for his dismissal.

Mr. Strzok was the leader of both the Clinton email investigation and the FBIs counterintelligence investigation of alleged collusion between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia.

Both the FBI inspector general and U.S. Attorney John Durham are investigating whether the FBI acted improperly in conducting the Trump campaign probe.

One text message revealed an exchange between Mr. Strzok and his mistress, Lisa Page, on how to approach interview of Mrs. Clinton.

One more thing, [Clinton] may be our next president, Ms. Page stated. The last thing you need [is] going in there loaded for bear. You think shes going to remember or care that it is more [Department of Justice] than FBI conducting the interrogation?

Agreed, Mr. Strzok replied.

The letter said in a footnote that the discussion was related to the number of people who would take part in the Clinton interview that was conducted on July 2, 2016.

Mr. Strzok later told the FBI that the text did not mean that we should treat [Clinton] differently because shes our next president and claimed he made no decision based on anything Clinton might be or [might] become.

Despite finding 81 emails containing classified information ranging from confidential to top-secret, then-FBI Director James B. Comey announced in October 2016 that the Justice Department would not prosecute Mrs. Clinton for mishandling classified information.

The FBI reviewed more than 40,000 text messages between Mr. Strzok and Ms. Page, an FBI lawyer at the time, messages that were sent on their FBI cell phones.

Mr. Strzok also speculated that the Clinton email probe helped Trump get elected and that the special counsel investigation headed by former FBI Director Robert Mueller would lead to impeachment.

For me and this case, I personally have a sense of unfinished business, Mr. Strzok said. I unleashed it with [the Clinton email investigation]. Now I need to fix it and finish it. Who gives a [expletive], one more A[ssistant] D[irector] [vs.] an investigation leading to impeachment?

DNI restricts open source intel

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has imposed new restrictions on an open source intelligence agency and a congressional China commission wants the limits removed.

The CIA-based Open Source Enterprise (OSE), which translates and disseminates news and documents from around the world, recently imposed a ban on accessing the online service from outside the government.

Access to OSE was limited earlier this year to people in government agencies who must log in to the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System. JWICS is a Defense Intelligence Agency network used by the military, Pentagon civilians, and employees of the State, Justices and Homeland Security departments to access classified information.

Before the restrictions were imposed, OSE was accessible to a wider range of government officials and government contractors.

Information supplied by the OSE is unclassified and is used by members of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

The commission is opposing the restrictions because it limits access to the OSEs repository of translated Chinese-language material.

One recommendation in the latest annual commission report urged Congress to direct the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to restore the unclassified Open Source Enterprise website to all of its original functions for U.S. government employees.

Access to the Open Source Enterprise should also be expanded by making appropriate materials available to U.S. academic and research institutions, the report said.

OSE was once known as the CIAs Foreign Broadcast Information Service and made most its reports available to the public.

A DNI spokeswoman had no immediate comment.

Larry Wortzel, a member of the China commission, said the OSEs restrictions are hampering work on China.

To work on China using Chinese open source documents, if you are not on JWICS, you need to read Chinese, Mr. Wortzel said.

Steven Aftergood, an open-government advocate with the Project on Government Secrecy, said he supports the push for wider access.

The commissions recommendation is exactly on target, he said.

The great virtue of open source intelligence is that, in most cases, it can be widely shared without the classification restrictions that limit the distribution of other forms of intelligence, he added. So recent moves to curtail access to the products of the Open Source Enterprise make no sense. In fact, they are counterproductive.

Mr. Aftergood said OSE should go beyond the commission recommendation and allow the public to access some open source intelligence.

At a time in our country when even some of the most basic facts seem to be in dispute, the [U.S. intelligence community] has a responsibility to help inform the public whenever it can do so without compromising its primary mission, Mr. Aftergood said. Sharing open source products is one of the most promising ways of doing that.

China watcher on Hong Kong violence

Willy Wo Lop Lam, the Hong Kong journalist known for breaking major stories on Chinese affairs, is warning that Beijing likely will impose stricter controls on the restive region.

Beijing has seized upon the growing unrest in Hong Kong as evidence that the Special Administrative Region (SAR) should introduce more draconian laws on national security, which would enable the SAR administration to rule with an iron hand, Mr. Lam told Inside the Ring. One country, two systems is being undermined as never before.

The Chinese government allowed Hong Kong to keep its capitalist economic system and relative democratic political system as part of the 1997 handover from British rule to Beijings control.

It is possible Beijing has also deployed more police from nearby Guangdong Province into Hong Kong, Mr. Lam noted. The Hong Kong police have apparently been given authority by Beijing to treat protesters with what many consider to be an unnecessarily high degree of violence, so as to provoke more anger on the streets.

Police have stepped up the use of violence to counter protesters who confronted police with bricks and Molotov cocktails.

A key battle between police and protesters in recent days was centered on Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Thousands of protesters were holed up there for several days, surrounded by police who fired tear gas at protesters who three gasoline bombs. More than 1,000 protesters who left the campus were arrested and small group remained as of Wednesday, according to press reports from the region.

So far we see no endgame to the confrontation between protesters and police with Beijing refusing to grant any concessions in the way of genuine political and electoral reform for Hong Kong, Mr. Lam said.

Contact Bill Gertz on Twitter @BillGertz.

Original post:
Inside the Ring: Details of FBI counterspy bias revealed - The Washington TImes

If you were like me, you spent most of 2016 convinced Hillary Clinton was gonna win the election handily, that Trump didnt have a prayer, the Supreme Court would be lost, every insane policy and executive order of Barack Obama would go unchallenged, and essentially become permanent, and America as we know it would continue its descent toward socialism.

Except that didnt happen. Thanks to Donald Trump, we didnt get a President Hillary. We were spared a third Obama term and the nation now has a chance. I fully admit that my vote in 2016 was more a vote against Hillary than it was a vote for Trump. Saving us from the disaster that would have been a Hillary presidency is more than enough reason to be thankful for Donald Trump, but his record as president gives us plenty of reasons to be happy he won, aside from just saving us from a Hillary presidency. So, on this Thanksgiving, I thought it would be appropriate to compile a list of reasons to be thankful for President Trump. There are certainly more reasons than the ones below, so before you feast with your families today, feel free to share your own reasons youre thankful for President Trump.

It seems like such a simple thing, to follow the rule of law, but for too long, presidents from both parties have seen some form of amnesty as a solution to fixing our immigration system. Not Trump. Hes ended catch-and-release and has been enforcing our immigration law at the border and in the interior of the United States. He even successfully managed to get Mexico to use their law enforcement to prevent caravans of migrants from getting into the United States and has reduced the quota of refugees to a more manageable amount.

That Barack Obama got two Supreme Court picks was painful enough, but the mere thought of Obama choosing a replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia after his death in February 2016 was truly devastating. That Mitch McConnell was able to prevent that from happening was a miracle in itself, and Trumps election meant that the gamble would pay off. Or would it? Many on the right werent entirely convinced that Trump would govern like a conservative or nominate conservatives to the courts. His choice to fill that vacancy was his first test, and he passed it with flying colors with the nomination of Neil Gorsuch and since then hes proven himself over and over again, nominating conservatives to lower courts, changing the balance from liberal to conservative. One out of every 4 active judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals have been appointed by President Trump, said Adam Kennedy, deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of communications at the White House, in an interview with The Daily Signal. Make no mistake about it, Trumps impact on the judiciary will be felt for generations.

The unprecedented smear campaign against Trumps second Supreme Court pick would have had any other Republican president throw in the towel. Not Trump. A target of endless smears himself, Trump knew that giving in and withdrawing Kavanaughs nomination over uncorroborated accusations from people being groomed by powerful people on the left would not only damage his presidency, but it would further empower the Democrats. Trump stood behind Brett Kavanaugh unflinchingly against the smearsas did the GOP.

Whenever theres a change in power at the White House, the new president attempts to make his mark by reversing achievements of his predecessor, but Trump has done so better than anyone could have anticipated. Trump has gotten us out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Iran Deal, and the Paris Climate Accords. Hes rolled back Dodd-Frank, dismantled Obamacare, ended burdensome regulations the list goes on and on.

Barack Obama cut military funding and turned his back on our veterans. President Trump has given them the support they should expect from a commander-in-chief. Hes rebuilt and modernized our military, increased defense spending. His change in strategy in the Middle East saved us from embarrassing defeats in Afghanistan and Iraq. Hes made more progress in achieving a denuclearized North Korea, and is actively confronting Iranian aggression. And, of course, defeating ISIS is an accomplishment that cant be understated.

Im not sure whose interests Obama had in mind while he was in the White House, but America was at the bottom of his list. Trump, however, has been very clear about advocating for Americas interests above those of other countries. Whatever his enemies want to say about his so-called trade war, hes successfully managed to negotiate new trade deals that better serve Americas interests. Hes also managed to cut spending to the United Nations and get NATO allies to contribute spend towards defense.

Trumps willingness to stand up to Democrats has rubbed off on the GOP in ways I never expected, Senator Lindsey Grahams epic slam of the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee changed the trajectory of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings. With few holdouts, the Republican Party has defended President Trump against endless smears by the left, starting back with the Russian collusion hoax. Despite a flurry of negative media coverage, the GOP has stood with near full unity, crushing Democrats hopes of a bipartisan impeachment, or perhaps a successful one, as moderate Democrats are starting to get cold feet. Had Democrats made a serious attempt at impeaching George W. Bush, I highly doubt GOP unity in opposition to those efforts would have been as strong as it is today. Republicans have believed for a long time that if they play nice with Democrats theyll be paid back with some reward. With the exception of Senator Mitt Romney, and a couple of others who have retired or jumped ship, the rest of the GOP has abandoned this fantasy.

How often have we experienced a politician running a campaign on big promises who fails to deliver? All the time, right? Well, Trump has proven himself to be the genuine article. When he makes a promise, he follows through. Americans on both sides of the aisle agree. Even his harshest critics cant deny itCNN actually called him a keeper of promises. What more proof do you need? And since you asked, yes, hes been building the border walland its working. To be fair, hes not always succeeded in fulfilling promises, due activist judges stopping various efforts like ending DACA (though he did get rid of DAPA) but his list of promises kept is easily the most impressive of our lifetimes.

Barack Obama spied on Trumps campaign and abused the FISA court system to do it. Do you think there would be an investigation of this abuse if Trump hadnt won? Not a chance. The lawlessness that defined the Obama years will get exposed. According to Senator Lindsey Graham, the DOJ Inspector Generals report on FISA abuse will be stunning and damning. Others predict it will ruin careers. One thing is for sure, had Hillary won, none of this would be getting looked into at all, and corrupt liberals in the Deep State would be operating in full force without concern of accountability.

Thanks to Trump, the economy is on fire. After years of stagnation, Trumps election got things moving again. The stock market is at a record high, unemployment at a historic low, consumer confidence is strong, GDP is beating expectations, the manufacturing industry (once thought to be in trouble) is creating jobs. Thanks to Trump, the middle class is seeing a boom stronger than his predecessors ever saw. The Trump economy is so good women and minorities have never done better, and there are more job openings than unemployed workers to fill them. The economy is doing so well that Democrats have tried to give Barack Obama credit for it.

_____

Matt Margolis is the author of Trumping Obama: How President Trump Saved Us From Barack Obama's Legacy and the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattMargolis

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Ten Reasons to Be Thankful for President Trump This Thanksgiving | News and Politics - PJ Media

Many conservatives including Trump-haters are grateful that Hillary Clinton is not the American president. (Pixabay)

Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

As we celebrate another Thanksgiving on the advent of a new decade, its a perfect time to reflect on the many things were grateful for.

For conservatives, topping the list is that Hillary Clinton is not president. Woo-hoo! Talk about dodging a bullet.

While the Left never moved past the 2016 election, the Right certainly did. Millions of Americans are happy that Donald Trump is president, despite the nonstop attacks he has endured from Never-Trumpers, the radical left, and their media minions.

In contrast, Hillary is still chewing her cud, bloviating and blaming everything and everyone for her dumpster-fire campaign. Meanwhile, rational people are glad that Crooked H is in their rear-view mirror.

Also, it is because of Hillarys disastrous candidacy that many Independent voters (like me) chose Donald Trump instead of her. So on behalf of a grateful nation, thank you Hillary.

The U.S. economy is on fire under President Trump.Unemployment is at record lows for all demographic groups, including women, black Americans, Latinos, and Asian-Americans.

Consumer spending a leading indicator of sentiment about the economy is robust. This is because Americans are ignoring the medias chronic fear-mongering in the hopes of triggering a recession.

While Europe and Asia are experiencing significant downturns, the U.S. economy remains strong.

Tim Quinlan, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities, wrote in a report: At a time when recession risk dominates most economic discussions, the strength of the U.S. consumer is among the more compelling examples of an economy that is still firing on all cylinders.

One of the most dramatic developments of the Trump presidency is that the scales have fallen off the publics eyes.

Many Americans now see the mainstream media for what they are: Left-wingpolitical activists masquerading as objective journalists.

While the situation is regrettable, its a good thing for the public to be aware of the biased news theyre being fed so they can combat left-wing brainwashing.

Before Donald Trump became president, people on the political Right generally ignored media smears and fake-news campaigns.

President Trump is the first Republican to fight back against this systemic, leftist indoctrination. And for that alone, Trump has revolutionized the Right.

While the Democrats won control of the House of Representatives in November 2018, the party has been embroiled in a civil war thats seething beneath the surface.

Basically, theres a tug-of-war going on between moderate Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer and the far-left socialists like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Ilhan Omar.

One jarring illustration of this internal strife occurred in July 2019, when Ocasio Cortez pulled the Race Card on Pelosi, the leader of the Democratic Party. The irony of leftists destroying each other with race-baiting taunts they usually reserve for conservatives is hilarious.

If youre an American citizen or legal resident who can read this, you are one of the luckiest people in the world. You live in the greatest nation on Earth, and you have access to a cell phone or an Internet-connected computer.

We all take so many blessings for granted. But if you enjoy general good health, have food to eat, a roof over your head, and one or two people in the world who care about you, you are very fortunate.

I live in a high-rise building in Manhattan. One of my neighbors is a blind lady. Every morning, you can see her commuting to work using her walking stick to navigate the hectic NYC streets and subways.

I also sometimes see her at the gym, walking on the treadmill (she is totally blind). Despite her handicap, this lady is one of the nicest, cheeriest people youll ever meet.

So on this Thanksgiving, consider these words of blind author Helen Keller:I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.

Professor: Citizenship is a racist concept and open borders is not radical idea

Samantha Chang is a senior staff writer for BizPac Review. Based in New York City, she is a law school graduate and a longtime financial editor.

Excerpt from:
5 things conservatives are grateful for this Thanksgiving: Hillary is No. 1! - BizPac Review

Hillary Clinton said she is fielding a plethora of calls urging her to rethink her decision to sit out of the 2020 race.

"As I say, never, never, never say never," the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee told BBC Radio 5 Live host Emma Barnett when asked if she was ruling out a future in public office.

"I will certainly tell you, I'm under enormous pressure from many, many, many people to think about it," Clinton said. "But as of this moment, sitting here in this studio talking to you, that is absolutely not in my plans.

Clinton, 72, admitted that she thinks all the time about what kind of president she would have been if she had won the 2016 election instead of President Trump.

Of course I think about it. I think about it all the time, Clinton said.

If Clinton is a late entrant into the 2020 race, shell have missed the window to be on the Democratic primary ballot in several states, including the Nov. 15 deadline for New Hampshire, the first state to hold its primary.

The filing deadline for Alabama was earlier this week, and Arkansass deadline is today. Several other Super Tuesday states have deadlines in December.

[Opinion: Hillary 2020 rumors are getting louder]

Link:
Hillary Clinton: 'I'm under enormous pressure' to run in 2020

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (born October 26, 1947) is an American politician. She was the 67th United States Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013. Clinton was the Democratic Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election. She is a former U.S. Senator, First Lady of the United States and First Lady of Arkansas.

Hillary Clinton

From 2009 to 2013, she was the 67th Secretary of State, serving under President Barack Obama. Before that, she was the junior United States Senator from New York from 2001 to 2009. She is married to former President of the United States Bill Clinton in 1975. When her husband was president, she had the title of First Lady of the United States. She was a candidate in the 2008 election of a new President. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Hillary Clinton was the first former First Lady to be elected to the U.S. Senate and to hold a federal cabinet-level position.[1] She ran for re-election to the Senate in 2006, which she won, and was considered by many in the media and politics as having a good chance to win in the race for the Democratic Party's US presidential nomination in 2008, but she lost to Barack Obama.

In April 2015, Clinton announced that she would be running for president once again for the 2016 United States presidential elections.[2] During the Democratic presidential primaries, Clinton faced challenges from United States senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders. On June 6, 2016, Clinton reached the number of delegates to become the presumptive Democratic Party nominee.[3] She lost the election to Donald Trump on November 8, 2016.

Hillary Diane Rodham was born in Chicago. She was raised in Park Ridge, a suburb located 15 miles (24km) northwest of downtown Chicago. Her parents were Hugh E. Rodham and Dorothy Emma Howell Rodham. She is of Welsh, English, French and French Canadian ancestry.[4][5] Hillary grew up with two younger brothers, Hugh and Tony.

She studied at Maine East High School and Maine South High School. She finished high school in 1965, and enrolled at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

In 1969, Rodham entered Yale Law School. She received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Yale in 1973. Then, she began a year of post-graduate study on children and medicine at the Yale Child Study Center.

When she was First Lady, she tried to change the health care system. Some people didn't like it when the planning meetings were kept secret away from the public. In the end, too many people did not want the changes that she wanted.

Another major event during the time she was First Lady was when the public found out in 1998 that Bill Clinton had a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky in the mid 1990s. There was stress in the marriage partly because Bill had to go to trial (impeachment) because he was accused of lying to the court (during a deposition).

When she decided that she wanted to be Senator, she chose New York even though she never lived there. Some accused her of "carpetbagging" because of this. She went on to win the election and won a second term in 2006.

When the war between the United States-led coalition and Iraq was about to start, she voted in favor of the war. Now she is opposed to the war and wants American troops to stop fighting rebel Iraqis.

Hillary Clinton had raised more money than anybody else in the 2008 Presidential campaign, but later had big money problems for her campaign by May 7, 2008. She lost the party nomination to Barack Obama, but she campaigned for Obama after this.

In mid-November 2008, Obama and Clinton talked about whether she could be the next U.S. Secretary of State in his presidency.[6] On November 21, there were reports that said Hillary Clinton had accepted his offer.[7]

During her term as Secretary of State, Clinton used her position to make women's rights and human rights a focus of U.S. initiatives. She became one of the most traveled secretaries of state in American history. She promoted the use of social media to convey the country's positions. She also led U.S. diplomatic efforts in responding to the Arab Spring and military intervention in Libya.

Clinton did not want to serve a second term as secretary. Once Barack Obama won his re-election, he announced that John Kerry would succeed Clinton as secretary. Clinton left office on February 1, 2013.

In 2016 Clinton became the first woman in the History of the United States to be a major party presidential candidate.[8] Clinton did not want to run for president in 2016, but after much of a majority support from the Democratic party, on April 12, 2015, speculation ended as Clinton formally announced her candidacy via email and the release of a video saying, "Everyday Americans need a champion. And I want to be that champion." In the polls, Clinton maintained her lead for the nomination although she faced several challenges from Senator Bernie Sanders. A NBC/Wall Street Journal poll conducted in May found Clinton and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump in a tie, but the same poll found that if Sanders were the Democratic nominee, 53% of voters would support him to 39% for Trump.[9] Clinton and Trump were the least popular likely candidates in the poll's history, while Sanders received a 43% positive, 36% negative rating.[10] This made it difficult for her campaign due to her unpopularity showed in the polls.[10]

Clinton became the presumptive nominee by Superdelegates on June 6, 2016.

Clinton lost the general election to Donald Trump winning 227 of the electoral college to Trump's 304. Clinton won the popular vote however 48% to Trump's 46%.

In April 2017, Clinton said that she will not seek public office again.[11]

While working as a faculty member at the Law School of the University of Arkansas, she married Bill Clinton on October 11, 1975. He was also working as a faculty member at the same university. Both knew each other and were classmates at the Yale Law School. Their only child is daughter Chelsea Clinton, born on February 27, 1980.

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Hillary Clinton - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia