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Nine months after Donald Trump upset Hillary Clinton to win the presidency, congressional Republicans and conservative legal watchdogs are continuing to probethe scandals that dogged the Democratic campaign. And in conservative media, the churn of possible investigations has created a news cycle that operates independently of the one seen in most of the press.

The latest round of pressure for new investigations gained steamlast week, when Judicial Watchand then the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) released the latest fruitof a federal lawsuit against the Justice Department email traffic inside the agencyabout the June 2016 decision by Bill Clinton to walk across the tarmac at Phoenixs Sky Harbor airport and have a conversation with then-Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch. The meeting, first reported by a local news station that also reported being told not to photograph Lynch or Clinton, caused an instant scandal, despite a hasty attempt by Hillary Clintons campaign to describe the meeting as nonpolitical.

On Nov. 2, six days before the presidential election, ACLJ chief counsel Jay Sekulow announced that he would be suing for documents after the Justice Departmentand FBI claimed that a Freedom of Information Request turned up nothing. On Friday, Sekulow, who is now a member of the presidents legal team and a frequent advocate for him on television, reported that the lawsuit had turned up hundreds of pages of emails.

It is clear that there were multiple records within the FBI responsive to our request and that discussions regarding the surreptitious meeting between then AG Lynch and the husband of the subject of an ongoing FBI criminal investigation reached the highest levels of the FBI, Sekulow wrote. There is clear evidence that the main stream media was colluding with the DOJ to bury the story.

In a pattern similar to the long-running investigation of the September 2012 attacks in Benghazi, the emails have turned up not the redacted talking points but evidence that public affairs officers in theJustice Department, FBI and White House were communicating on how to spin the story. (The ACLJ has also unmasked an email pseudonym Lynch sometimes used, though thats not uncommon for high-profile public officials, and the emails were obviously discoverable as part of lawsuits.) On Monday night, Sekulow appeared on Foxs Hannity, which frequently editorializes on the need for more Clinton investigations, to share the findings.

Does this potentially expose its own version of collusion that theyre trying to cover up the fact they were in the fix, if you will, for Hillary Clinton and they didnt want it exposed? asked Sean Hannity. And add to that that its not an investigation, its a matter? That seems to be building a case.

Sekulow said: Yes, but add to that also, Sean, that the basis upon which James Comey said he went public was because of these meetings that weve got the documents on now. Thats the reason he said he made that public statement, because he said the integrity of the agency, the FBI, was put at risk, and the Department of Justice, by Loretta Lynchs action. But remember that she never recused herself from the actual outcome of the proceeding.

On the Tuesday episode of his radio talk show, Rush Limbaugh focused on the dismissive tone reporters used to ask questions of the government spinners and the Lynch email alias. It turns out these people are using aliases, fake names so that they would not be discovered, he said, overstating the meaning of the attorney generals dummy email. Later in the day, the president himself drew attention to the lawsuits, without naming them.

Separately, the Senate and House judiciary committees have been carrying out or exploring investigations into aspects of the 2016 campaign and Clintons years at the State Department. In July, before the start of the August recess, the House committee hollowed out a Democratic resolution intended to expand the investigation of Comeys firing and replaced it with one demanding answers about Clinton. On July 26, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) held hearings on the Foreign Agent Registration Act, suggesting that as an aide to Clinton at the State Department, Sidney Blumenthal carried out lobbying activity but never registered.

News articles reported that Mr.Blumenthaltransmitted documentation to Secretary Clinton on behalf of the Georgian Dream, a political party in the country of Georgia, Grassley said. The Justice Department never explained why it failed to require Mr.Blumenthaland his partner, John Kornblum, to register under FARA.

In a letter, which he copied to The Washington Post, Blumenthal demanded an apology from Grassley, saying he had never represented Georgia Dream or partnered with Kornblum.

You have a responsibility to yourself as well to me and to the American public to determine who gave you this false information, encouraged you to make your recent statement and the reason why, Blumenthal wrote. In light of current events, it appears to have been instigated as a means to distract and diminish the public attention from the Russian intervention in the presidential election of 2016.

In an emailed statement,Grassley spokesman George Hartmann said that the fault was with Blumenthal for declining to explain himself.

Senator Grassley has publicly written the Justice Department several times since 2015, citing news reports about Mr. Blumenthals alleged activities with respect to foreign interests, and never received any contact from Mr. Blumenthal about it until now, nor any substantive response other than the Justice Departments noting that its Foreign Agents Registration Act Unit was aware of the news reports, Hartmann said. In his letters, and at the recent hearing on the Justice Departments failure to adequately enforce the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Senator Grassley cited news reports and noted that if Mr. Blumenthal did not have to register, the Justice Department should explain why not in order to be fair to him. Mr. Blumenthal should direct his attention to the news reports and the Justice Department rather than a senator who cited the reports in the context of whether the Justice Department has been as transparent as it should be with the American peoples business.

Blumenthals letter is below.

To Senator Charles Grassley:

You owe me an apology for lying about me.

On July 26, 2017, you made a public statement about me that was completely false in every particular.

You stated: News articles reported that Mr.Blumenthaltransmitted documentation to Secretary Clinton on behalf of the Georgian Dream, a political party in the country of Georgia. The Justice Department never explained why it failed to require Mr.Blumenthaland his partner, John Kornblum, to register under FARA.

In fact, I have never represented Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili or his political party, Georgia Dream, or any other foreign entity, nor rendered them any services. I have had no contact with Mr. Ivanishivili, or his political party Georgia Dream, and made no agreement with anyone, ever, to represent him or his party. I have received no payment or benefit from Mr. Ivanishvili, his political party Georgia Dream, or any other foreign entity for representation or rendering of services covered by the Foreign Agent Registration Act.

Indeed, I have received no payment or benefit from Mr. Ivanishvili or any person I have reason to believe associated with him or his political party, ever. I have made no agreement, written or oral, with any foreign entity, at any time, relating to any matter covered by the Foreign Agent Registration Act.

Nor was John Kornblum my partner. We have never had any business or financial relationship of any kind. Ambassador Kornblum is one of the most distinguished diplomats to have served the United States. I first met him in 1986 when he was the U.S. Consul-General in Berlin and I was a reporter for the Washington Post. He played an instrumental role in the creation of President Reagans speech calling on the Russians to tear down the Berlin Wall. He also served as the U.S. ambassador to Germany.

I forwarded to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Ambassador Kornblums personal observations on the 2012 Georgian election and a letter from Mr. Ivanishvili that Ambassador Kornblum informed me he had already sent to Secretary Clinton. I made a point of writing Secretary Clinton that I was sending them to her without comment.

I also included an article fromThe Economist, reporting on the blood feud of Georgian politics, that contained negative facts about all sides, including concerning Mr. Ivanishvili. I neither expected a response from Secretary Clinton, nor received one.

Nor were there, as you claimed, any news stories, because there are no facts. There can be no news without facts. Whatever you may have read could only have been baseless smears.

Thus, there is not a scintilla of evidence for your statement. Nor would it ever be possible to have such evidence because there is none.

Whoever provided you with this false information was harming you and your reputation as well as intending to harm me.

You have a responsibility to yourself as well to me and to the American public to determine who gave you this false information, encouraged you to make your recent statement and the reason why. In light of current events, it appears to have been instigated as a means to distract and diminish the public attention from the Russian intervention in the presidential election of 2016.

I request that you therefore investigate the sources of the false information to determine whether they have been engaged in an attempt to mislead the Congress and obstruct the ongoing investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

I look forward to your early reply.

Sincerely,

SidneyBlumenthal

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Nine months after Election Day, probes of Clinton and her campaign continue - Washington Post

Donald Trump just made yet another terrifying comment about the possibility of nuclear war.At a briefing on Aug. 8, Trump said that any further threats from the North Koreans would be met with fire and fury. And it's making everyone think of the same thing: Hillary Clinton's tweet about nuclear weapons from the 2016 campaign.

A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons, Clinton warned the United States in a tweet barely a year ago.

The message was signed with Clinton's first name, a sign that she wrote it herself, as opposed to staffers. It's frighteningly relevant now, as Trump appears to levelthreats against North Korea.

Trump's comments came at a meeting at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey, where he was leading a briefing on opioid addiction, according to the Associated Press. He seemed to be responding to the recent reports that North Korea has successfully created a nuclear weapon that can fit inside its missiles, a step closer to the nation developing the ability to wage war on the United States.

North Korea had best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen, Trumpsaid. They will be met with fire, fury, and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before.

Can you give an I told you so about nuclear war?

Seriously though, this is kind ofterrifying. Fire and fury is a great line when it comes from Daenerys Targaryen, not so much when it's coming out of the mouth of the president of the United States.

Fire and fury like the world has never seen, he said. Let's hope it never has to.

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Lilli Petersen is the Night News Editor at Elite Daily. She previously covered News & Politics for Refinery29, and has also been published at The Mary Sue. She writes people and argues with things.

Lilli Petersen is the Night News Editor at Elite Daily. She previously covered News & Politics for Refinery29, and has also been published at The Mary Sue. She writes people and argues with things.

See original here:
Everyone's Using This Hillary Clinton Tweet To Mock Trump On North Korea - Elite Daily

This summer wedding season, were getting all the style inspiration we need from a certain nasty woman.

Hillary and Bill Clinton attended a friends daughters wedding in New York City Sunday. Bill looked handsome in a navy suit, which is pretty standard attire for the former president.Hillary, on the other hand, was a breath of fresh air in an unexpected beautiful blue caftan and low silver heels.

There are a few reasons this look stands out. One, its not a pantsuit. Two, it looks pretty darn comfortable to dance in, and three, its not a pantsuit.

Clinton certainly made it nice,to quote fellow guest and Real Housewife Dorinda Medley.

Want to follow Clinton's lead? Check out a few of our favorite summery caftans below.

CORRECTION:An earlier version of this story stated that Clinton wore flats with her dress. It has been changed to note she is wearing low-heeled pumps.

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Hillary Clinton Is A Mid-Summer Wedding's Dream In Kitten Heels And A Caftan - HuffPost

The lifelong Methodist considers a more Wesleyan path

Gage Skidmore

In the Atlantic today, Emma Green is reporting that Hillary might have some post-election ambitions - outside the political realm:

Green goes on to write that both Shillady and Clinton have books coming out that reflect on the 2016 race and highlight Hillarys resurgent religious focus. And no wonder - as I wrote here a while back, there was a distinctly spiritual character to her concession speech, especially her invoking of Galatians 6:9. And it is often in the wake of failure or loss that we go deeper to the bedrock of our belief and lifes purpose. That may be whats happening for Hillary in the wake of Election 16.

As a United Methodist, Id be pumped to see Hillary take the pulpit in our church and dig from that deep well of experience, disappointment, and hope in a future harvest. Preaching, not politics, is precisely what we need to strengthen us in our weariness and propel us on the path of doing real goodto inspire us to not give up, even in the age of Trump.

The Morning Email

Wake up to the day's most important news.

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Hillary Clinton, Preacher - HuffPost

If youre a pantsuit designer, does a better endorsement exist than Hillary Clinton? We think notunless Huma Abedin is also wearing your suits, in which case, it might be a tie. That pipe-dream scenario is real life for Argent , the 1-year-old suiting label by Eleanor Turner (formerly a designer at Tory Burch and J.Crew) and Sali Christeson (whose rsum is mostly finance and tech). Clinton wore the brands lavender basketweave blazer to speak at a Planned Parenthood event back in May , and Abedin has worn (and re-worn) the labels best-selling reversible suit , which inventively flips from pale gray to charcoal plaid. It wasnt a stylist who got Argents suits on two of the most influential women in America, eitherTurner and Christeson simply embraced a rare photo op. We happened to have a pop-up at a womens conference in California where Hillary Clinton was speaking, Christeson tells Vogue . It was her first major speech after the election, and it was so powerful and moving. We waited in line for a photo, and most people just took a quick selfie and moved onbut we talked to her for a few minutes and shared our product.

We literally opened our blazers and said, We make pantsuits! Turner adds with a laugh.

She got really excited because its been a personal frustration of hers. Its such a headache for every woman to find suiting, so our message resonated, Christeson continues. Clinton asked the duo to stay in touch, and Abedinwho Turner describes as the chicest woman in politicssought them out as well. Its surreal, but theyve been supporting us ever since.

Other women who look up to Clinton and Abedin can shop Argents stylish, functional, and affordable suits in its brand-new store, which opened in Washington, D.C., this weekend. It isnt Argents first pop-up, but its their largest semipermanent space with custom-designed interiorsand its offering more of the face-to-face experiences that are crucial to Argents growth. The conversations we have with women every day are really what inform our collections, Turner says. Just last night, we got an email from a woman we met a year ago who had a really important meeting coming up, so she asked us for advice on what new pieces to get. Thats so exciting to us, because we really do want to be the go-to resource for women buying work apparel. Some of them dont have the time or the know-how [to put together the right outfit], so we see it as an opportunity to help them.

As Christeson puts it, getting the perfect outfitbe it for a White House meeting, a television appearance, or a job interviewfrees up the brain space a lot of women have to waste on thinking about what theyre going to wear and whether or not its right. That can certainly apply to fashion-obsessed women, too. Perhaps the smartest thing about Argent is that its suits are appropriate for the strictest of dress codeslaw, government, financebut even the women who can wear anything to work want a suit, too. That bright red double-breasted blazer lends instant polish to a pair of old Levis, or you could feasibly wear the full suit with sneakers. Everyone wears the clothes in such a different way, Christeson says. Our goal really is to give women the opportunity to mix and match the pieces, dress them up, dress them down, and make them their own.

Argents Fall 17 collection will launch later this month, and you can expect more bright, offbeat colors and patterns and more reversible suits, which are popular with business travelers. Historically, women have had to wear gray, black, or beige, and they might not have even had pockets [in their suits], let alone had someone think about them in the design process, Christeson says. Were trying to defy that and encourage women to be bold, push the envelope, F the rules. You should go for it with your outfit and the way you [approach your] work.

I think when youre encouraging women to be individuals, you have to give them plenty of options [for color, pattern, fit, et cetera], Turner adds. Still, the new store isnt just a place to buy the pink suit you never knew you needed. Inspired by the Womens March on Washington, Turner and Christeson decided to use the store to create a community as well. Our foundation is the clothes, but we want to connect women with the opportunities and skill sets to navigate their careers, too, Christeson says. Were encouraging women to come into the store and work, use our Wi-Fi, have meetings, bring their coworkers, or even host an informal event, and were planning a few events, too. Its all geared toward community-buildingwe started by bringing our friends together, and its grown into something much bigger.

If you live in D.C. (or want an excuse to book the Acela), stop by Argents store at 1921 Eighth Street, Washington, D.C., 20001, and follow the brand on Instagram to stay up to date on those events. Fingers crossed a New York store is next.

Argents new store in The Shay in Washington, D.C. Photo: Leah Beilhart

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Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin's Favorite New Suit Label Just Opened in DC - Vogue.com