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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

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Following the revelation of emails confirming the New York Times Monday story about Donald Trump Jr. being told about Russian efforts to aid the Trump campaign, conservatives, Trump backers, and Trump Jr. himself resurfaced the findings of a January Politico story about Ukranian efforts to aid Hillary Clinton, arguing that Clinton allies had been just as willing to work with a foreign power as Trump Jr. seemed to be.

The widely shared Daily Caller post about the Politico story asserts that Democratic operative Alexandra Chalupa was involved in an effort by Ukraine to provide Democrats with opposition research on Paul Manaforts work as a pro-Russia political adviser in Ukrainea strategy Trump supporters claim is analogous to the Trump campaigns apparent effort to gather research on Clinton that was potentially furnished by the Russian government.

The first thing to note about thePolitico piece is that it goes to considerable lengths to differentiate the activities of Ukrainian officials during the election and the broad and evidently Kremlin-led efforts to assist Trump. Russias effort was personally directed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, involved the countrys military and foreign intelligence services, according to U.S. intelligence officials, Politicos Kenneth Vogel and David Stern wrote. Theres little evidence of such a top-down effort by Ukraine. Longtime observers suggest that the rampant corruption, factionalism and economic struggles plaguing the countrynot to mention its ongoing strife with Russiawould render it unable to pull off an ambitious covert interference campaign in another countrys election.

That said, Politicos story did raise questions about the willingness of Clinton allies and the DNC to work with foreign officials in securing information damaging to the Trump campaign, although the parallels to what Trump Jr., Kushner, and Manafort were involved in are thinner than Trump backers claim.

The Politico story doesnt implicate the Clinton campaign directly so much as it does the DNCwhich, Vogel and Stern wrote, was briefed on Manafort following a meeting between Chalupa, Ukrainian Ambassador Valeriy Chaly, and one of the ambassadors aides at the Ukrainian embassy in March 2016. Its not clear whether DNC officials were aware that Chalupa was working with Ukranian officials at that point. The story does, however, say that DNC officials encouraged Chalupa to ask for a meeting with Ukranian President Petro Poroshenko to gather more information about Manafort, a meeting that never happened:

The story goes on to quote embassy official Andrii Telizhenko as saying that the embassy was additionally working with the Hillary team itself, but the allegation isnt elaborated upon in the piece.

Its important to remember that whats ultimately concerning about Russiagate is the possibility that the Trump campaignincluding staffers now employed in the White House by the presidentworked with a hostile government whose leaders attempted to influence and disrupt the election with cyberattacks. The Chalupa story is about officials in an embassy passing along opposition research to a Democratic operative and reporters. The two episodes are not close to being the same, but that fact obviously wont stop Trumps supporters from deploying the story for yet another round of Clinton whataboutism.

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Did the Clinton Campaign Really Collude With Ukraine? - Slate Magazine (blog)

In an exclusive interview with PJ Media, the Libyan National Army (LNA) spokesman, Col. Ahmed al-Mesmari, says that President Obama and Hillary Clinton "abandoned the Libyan people to face these terrorists alone."

He also implicates the Obama administration in supporting terrorist militias -- including Libyan al-Qaeda leader Abdelhakim Belhadj and Muslim Brotherhood militias allied to al-Qaeda.

Rather than backing the LNA and the elected Tobruk-based Libyan House of Representatives (HoR) in the fight against these terror groups, the Obama administration -- along with the United Nations and the European Union -- have been trying to impose a "Government of National Accord" (GNA) that has zero constituency in Libya. Further, it is accused of working with terror-linked militias in Tripoli.

With the continuing crisis between several Arab nations -- including the Libyan HoR and Qatar -- Col. al-Mesmari discusses Qatar's role in arming and financing terrorist militias in Libya. He also connects the Muslim Brotherhood militias that have been fighting against the LNA with al-Qaeda and ISIS elements operating in the country.

Col. al-Mesmari also claims that the February 17th Martyrs Brigade -- hired by Hillary Clinton's State Department to protect the U.S. consulate in Benghazi -- cooperated with Ansar al-Sharia in attacking the consulate compound on September 12, 2012.

That attack led to the deaths of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

Libyans celebrated last week when, after three years of battle, the LNA finally liberated Benghazi from all terrorist groups in the city:

And over the past month, Col. al-Mesmari has publicly charged Qatar with direct support of terrorist groups operating in Libya:

The following is an exclusive interview I conducted by email earlier today with Col. Ahmed al-Mesmari, official spokesman for the Libyan National Army:

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1) It's been six years since the U.S.-led NATO intervention in Libya. Hillary Clinton was the leading voice in the Obama administration for the U.S. action. What responsibility does she and Obama bear for that decision?

The main responsibility falls on NATO, which interfered in Libya in 2011 to end the Gaddafi regime and destroyed all Libyan army weapons and infrastructure, only to then leave Libya alone to fight the terrorists. They took none of the necessary measures to help rebuild the Libyan Army or even help to reactivate other security facilities.

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EXCLUSIVE: Libyan Army Spox Says Obama, Clinton 'Abandoned the Libyan People to the Terrorists' - PJ Media

The United States Postal Service has been on the brink of complete bankruptcy for nearly two decades, but that didnt stop it from paying out $90,000 to cover for paid employees who took time off to campaign for Hillary Clinton.

According to an Inspector Generals report, 100 USPS workers took extended leaves of absence to hit the campaign trail on behalf of the postal unionthe National Association of Letter Carriers. The union, which had by then endorsed Hillary Clinton, used these same postal workers to supplement their grassroots political operations in swing states.

Technically, postal workers are allowed to take unpaid holidays in order to help the union, but government employees arent supposed to actively campaign for a candidate. The Inspector General is currently investigating whether the postal workers who took time off violated that precept.

Part of the investigation revealed, however, that campaigning for Clinton cost the cash-strapped agency dearly. Workers who covered for the absent, politicking employees were paid overtime to fill shifts. To make up for the 2,776 days lost, the post office shelled out more than $90,000.

In government terms thats barely a toilet seat at the Pentagon, but its still an expense the agency didnt have to incur. The USPS is struggling to make ends meet, and independent USPS office managers have to approve time offincluding union-driven unpaid leavewith an eye to saving money.

But in this case, the Inspector General said, the union appears to have pressured USPS managers to grant their members time off, spending taxpayer dollars in service of Clintons campaign.

For its part, the Post Office claims that they have a long-standing practice of letting their workers campaign, and that they were just keeping with the tradition of wasting taxpayer funds on the most unnecessary things possible.

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Broke US Postal Service Paid to Cover Employees Campaigning for Hillary Clinton - Heat Street

Hillary Clinton. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Although Clintonlost the election, she is still trying to run the Democratic Party by othermeans. The Hillreportedon July 8 that HillaryClintonis planning to campaign and fundraise for Democratic congressional candidates in 2018. The article states that she will use her Super PAC, Onward Together,as a fundraising apparatus. In aninterview shortly after launching the PAC in May 2017, she criticized theDemocratic National Committee(DNC) and implied it was useless during her presidential campaign. I mean it was bankrupt. It was on the verge of insolvency. Its data was mediocre to poor, nonexistent, wrong, she said. I had to inject money into it. Thus, she essentially told her billionaire donors that the DNC was a liability and they should donate to her Super PAC instead.

She also is looking at the House districts she won in last years presidential contest againstDonald Trumpas part of an autopsy of her failed campaign, according to two sources who have spoken to the former secretary of state, Amie Parnes, a co-author ofShattered: Inside Hillary Clintons Doomed Campaign,wrotefor the Hill. Democratic leadership has continued to useClintons strategies, even thoughDemocratic candidate Jon Ossoff received a smaller share of the vote than HillaryClintondid in the same district in Georgias special congressional election this year. Nationwide, Clintonwonwealthy suburbs in record numbers, including 23 congressional districts that are currently held by Republicans. In an op-ed for Politico, Clintonstaffer Jesse Ferguson wrote, Democratshave to solidify the support of Romney-Clintonvoters if they have any hope of retaking Congress. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)conductedfocus groups on Americans who voted for Mitt Romneyy in 2012 and Hillary Clinton in 2016 to incorporate this strategy moving forward. In July 2016, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer infamously said,For every blue collarDemocratwe lose in western Pennsylvania, we will pick up two moderate Republicans in the suburbs in Philadelphia, and you can repeat that in Ohio and Illinois and Wisconsin. He was wrong and continuing to rely on this strategy ensures that the Democratic Party will remain in the minority indefinitely.

The Hillstated that Republicans welcome HillaryClintonsinvolvement in the 2018 midterm elections. Her reputation for scandals, corruption and poor leadership provide them with even more political ammunition than House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosis unpopularity.Clintonintervening in congressional races by actively campaigning for candidates will feed into Republicans messaging that theDemocratic Partyis the party of the Clintons.

Targeting wealthy suburbs aligns with the will of theDemocratic Partyswealthiest donorsHillary Clintons closest allies. This strategy moves the party away from necessary reforms and ensures that it will remain shaped by the former first familys image. EstablishmentDemocratswould rathershiftto the center and court elites at lavish fundraisers than enact meaningful policies. All the while,working class, middle class and low income voters are increasingly disenfranchised from the party they view as beholden to corporations and the wealthy.

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Hillary Plots to Revive Clintonism in 2018 Elections - Observer

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

TRENTON, N.J. With a new poll showing voters are disgusted and outraged that Gov. Chris Christie sunned himself on a closed beach during a government shutdown last week, the term-limited governor auditioned for a sports talk radio job on Monday, brashly fighting back against angry callers.

Christie, a Republican, began co-hosting the afternoon show on New Yorks WFAN shortly after the first poll released since Beachgate showed his approval rating holding steady at a dismal 15 percent, an all-time low. Eighty percent of respondents disapproved, the Monmouth University poll showed.

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Christie brushed aside any potential concern about flagging public opinion.

The later you get in your term the less you care, he said on the air. Youre not running for re-election.

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The New Jersey governor, a big New York Mets fan, revealed that he had donned a Mets T-shirt, shorts and hat the day an NJ.com photographer in an airplane snapped pictures of him lounging in a beach chair at Island Beach State Park, which was off-limits to the public.

New Jersey doesnt have its own Major League Baseball team, and fans in the state split their loyalties mostly among the Mets, the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Christie, whos also a Dallas Cowboys fan, is filling in for host Mike Francesa on WFAN on Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon. The station said the appearances are an audition as it seeks a replacement for Francesa, whos departing.

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Christie frequently serves as a fill-in host on the station, tangling with callers over sports and politics. About an hour into Mondays four-hour show, two men from a largely liberal New Jersey town that voted against Christie twice called in between conversations about his fantasy baseball team and the New York Knicks.

One told Christie he had done a horrible job and asked what he thought of the job being done by President Donald Trump, a longtime friend whom Christie endorsed after ending his own presidential campaign.

Im enormously relieved we dont have a criminal in the White House like Hillary Clinton, Christie said.

Another caller referred to Christie, whos portly, as a fat ass and said he should have driven to another beach.

Im not the one who came on the air and swore on the air, Christie said. Youre a bum.

Christies co-host for the day defended the callers right to use the vulgar phrase on the air.

In the Monmouth poll, released Monday, 800 people were asked for the first word that came to mind to describe how they felt about Christie in the beach photos. Most said disgusted and angry, outraged. Tied for the next biggest share was jerk, profanity used.

Eighty-six percent of the respondents in the Monmouth poll said they saw the July 2 photos of Christie with his family on the closed beach.

Christie later told reporters at a news conference that he hadnt gotten any sun that day. Christies spokesman, when told of the photos, told NJ.com that the governor was telling the truth because he was wearing a baseball hat.

While the budget impasse that led to the government shutdown was caused by a dispute between Christie and the Democrat-led Legislature, it was the beach photos that made the most news, leading to headlines around the world and memes across the internet.

Christie refused to apologize for it and said he doesnt care about political optics.

This weeks news wont be much better for Christie.

Christie ally David Wildstein, who pleaded guilty to masterminding lane closures at the George Washington Bridge to create traffic jams as punishment for a Democratic mayor who wouldnt endorse Christie, is set to be sentenced Wednesday. And the Senate is holding a hearing the same day on Trumps FBI pick, Christopher Wray, who represented Christie during the bridge investigation.

Christie denied any prior knowledge of the bridge scheme and was never charged. His former deputy chief of staff and one of his appointees to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey were convicted.

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Callers heckled Chris Christie as he hosted a sports radio show today - The Boston Globe