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The Trump administration on Friday slashed $400,000 in federal funding for a Chicago group that is one of the few U.S. groups that combats white extremism but denied it is now focusing only on fighting radical Islamists.

A grant announcement by the Department of Homeland Security eliminated funding for the Chicago-based Life After Hate, which was initially awarded the money in January during the closing days of the Obama administration.

Life After Hate, run by a former skinhead, is among a handful of domestic programs dedicated to helping people leave white power groups including neo-Nazi organizations and the Ku Klux Klan, and it was the only one of the original grant recipients dedicated solely to combatting white extremism.

The co-founder of Life After Hate, Christian Picciolini, said in an emailed statement, "While it's disappointing that DHS broke its promise to us by changing the rules to the grant after we'd already won it, it is more alarming that the current administration is refusing to acknowledge that white nationalist extremists are a major domestic terrorist threat."

Picciolini has publicly criticized the Trump administration for ties to white extremists. He pledged to continue serving those in need.

In all, Homeland Security awarded $10 million to 26 police and community organizations, none of which has a specific mission to counter groups in the so-called "alt-right," a hodge-podge of white supremacists, white populists and white nationalists, many of whom supported Trump for president.

The agency said the grants, awarded under the Combatting Violent Extremism program, will target "all forms of violent extremism, including the rising threat from Islamist terrorism." Spokesman David Lapan this week denied the program is now concentrating only on Islamic extremism.

Grant applications were re-evaluated based on factors including whether an organization had a track record of combatting violent extremism, the department said, and groups that didn't were eliminated.

Ten other Obama-approved grants also were cut, including $867,000 for the University of North Carolina to produce anti-jihadist videos and $393,800 for the Muslim Public Affairs Council Foundation, which was critical of the move to cut funding for Life After Hate.

"The Trump administration's mishandling of the grant process underscores two fundamental flaws in its (Combatting Violent Extremism) policy: It focuses on criminal investigations in a non-criminal space, and it turns a blind eye to white supremacist violence," the group said in a statement.

The Claremont School of Theology in Los Angeles, which has a division for Islamic studies that had been awarded $800,000 by the Obama administration, opted out of the program under Trump.

Jihad Turk, president of the Bayan Claremont Islamic Graduate School, said questions existed about the government's approach under Obama, and they got worse under Trump.

"When Trump took over we waited to see which way he would go," Turk said in a telephone interview. "Everyone sees the direction he is going, and the rhetoric has only escalated."

New grant recipients include the Tennessee-based Nashville International Center for Empowerment, which works with refugees and immigrants and received $445,110; four police agencies; and the National Governor's Association, which received $500,000.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said the agency is "stepping up efforts to counter terrorist recruitment and radicalization," and he sought a thorough review of the grant program after taking office. That review led to the new list.

"We will closely monitor these efforts to identify and amplify promising approaches to prevent terrorism," Kelly said in a statement.

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Trump slashes grant money awarded by Obama to Chicago group combating white extremism - Chicago Tribune

Jennifer Palmieri's comments came after the release of an investigation by The Washington Post revealed how former President Barack Obama and his aides wrestled with when to release the highly sensitive intelligence, as they feared being accused of trying to influence the election themselves.

By Jake Lahut

06/23/2017 06:27 PM EDT

Jennifer Palmieri, Hillary Clinton's former communications director, said on Friday that the Obama administration "made the best decisions they could" when deciding when to publicly disclose evidence that Russian officials tried to interfere with the 2016 election.

Palmieri's comments came after the release of an investigation by The Washington Post revealed how former President Barack Obama and his aides wrestled with when to release the highly sensitive intelligence, because they feared being accused of trying to influence the election themselves.

Story Continued Below

"And you know, I know that the Obama White House is in a very difficult situation, and they made the best decisions they could," Palmieri, who previously served as Obama's White House communications director, said on MSNBC.

"We call those 51-49 decisions. I'm sure you experienced them," she said to host Nicolle Wallace, who served as a communications director for the George W. Bush White House.

"We called them 'crummy and crummier,'" Wallace joked.

Clinton has widely blamed Russian officials' meddling including the hack of the Democratic National Committee and of her campaign chairman, John Podesta for her election loss, but she has not publicly and directly criticized Obama for not earlier disclosing the interference attempts.

Palmieri credited the White House's reluctance as ultimately being in the national interest.

"I think they did it in the best interest of the country," Palmieri said, adding that Democrats should have sounded a greater alarm at the hacks and that the news media should have covered the interference more thoroughly.

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Link:
Palmieri: Obama officials 'made the best decisions they could' on Russia hacking - Politico

Theres a new trend in headlines in media outlets on the left of the political spectrum. Both on the record and as anonymous sources familiar with xyzs thinking, former Obama White House officials clog the airwaves and ink.

Take the Washington Post, ever ready to cast shade with its rallying cry that democracy dies in darkness. Their recent groundbreaking story interviewed a number of Obama sycophants in their struggle to adjust to a Trumpian world. No, thats not actually snark on my part. Thats the real headline.

Ordinary people in middle America couldnt care less if former Obama staffers are sad. They have little interest in the Russia investigations. Instead, the working class wants real news that affect their lives right now they want to hear about issues like tax reform, healthcare, and immigration. But the Post still doesnt understand that. The outlets misguided focus shows readers just how out of touch the editorial staff of the major relic media outlets are. The Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and others still cling to the coastal, condescending view of the remainder of the country.

The United States isnt just Manhattan, regardless of what the New Yorker would have you believe. Look at the medias endorsements in last years election: all but two major newspapers endorsed Hillary ClintonHillary Rodham ClintonTrump notes 'election meddling by Russia' in tweet criticizing Obama Former Obama advisor calls Fox state sanctioned media Biden rips Senate GOP healthcare bill, says it 'isn't about healthcare' MORE, who bragged about putting coal miners out of work and failed to make more campaign stops in the Americas heartland.

There has been no honest effort by mainstream media journalists to get to know or understand middle America. After the 2016 election, the nations leading political writers and analysts had an opportunity to better understand both their profession and the nation as a whole. So far, neither has occurred. Part of the reason is due to the large chasms between small town and urban America.

For years, conservative pundits have been quick to claim that the heartland is an almost mythical real America. As the differences between the coasts and hinterlands increase, that picture is rapidly becoming more valid. Half the country voted for Donald TrumpDonald TrumpKobach fined over Trump meeting memo OPINION: Dear media, Americans don't care about Obama's legacy Make Americas classroom and workplaces safe again MORE but if you watch CNN, you would think only Vladimir Putin chose him.

People outside the Beltway care about issues that directly affect them and their families. The unemployment rate may be at a historic low, but there are deep underlying issues for millions of Americans. In a way, the Great Recession never ended for them. Many work several jobs with reduced health coverage thanks to ObamaCare.

Rural areas struggle under the burden of regulations and taxes imposed by their urban overlords with some states facing actual bankruptcy. Many resent that these policies promulgated by Chicago, San Francisco, New York, and others benefit the well-connected and well-to-do while the moms and pops of Main Street keep their businesses alive with shoestring and gum.

Democrats only seem interested in flyover country when it benefits them, like Hillary Clintons transformation from Arkansas first lady to denigrating the basket of deplorables. Left-wing media outlets (forgive me for repeating myself) are replete with rural hate. According to the elites, its not the coasts that are in the bubble its the vast majority of the land area of the country!

Perhaps the Washington Post is right to cast Ben Rhodes and company in a sympathetic light. Not because of their policy failures or vanishing credibility, but because they are still foolish enough to believe their own product. American voters intentionally steered far away from emerging socialism and the Road to Serfdom. There wasnt much farther they could get from Barack ObamaBarack ObamaTrump notes 'election meddling by Russia' in tweet criticizing Obama Trump slams Obama for doing 'nothing' about Russia before the election OPINION: Dear media, Americans don't care about Obama's legacy MORE than Donald Trump.

Here is a major opportunity for folks with degrees to learn more or anything about folks with calloused hands and those who know how to drive a standard transmission. Political life doesnt end at the D.C. beltway. The rapid decline of traditional media shows not just a technological shift, but a conscious one as well. People who grew up reading Time magazine for its moderate roots slowly were turned off by the relentless pushing of demagogic and an ever more alien social and political agenda. If they wanted relentless lefty propaganda thinly veiled as entertainment, they would turn on John Oliver or Samantha Bee.

The legacy media is much too interested in salvaging whatever they can from President Obamas crumbling legacy. With ObamaCare next on the chopping block, his Iran non-treaty treaty falling apart, and Cuba policy overturned, there is precious little to the transformational politics promised by the former novice U.S. senator from Illinois.

Kristin Tate is a conservative columnist and author of the book Government Gone Wild: How D.C. Politicians Are Taking You For a Ride And What You Can Do About It. She was recently named one of NewsMaxs 30 Most Influential Republicans Under 30.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.

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OPINION: Dear media, Americans don't care about Obama's legacy - The Hill (blog)

Former U.S. President Barack Obama and his family arrived Friday on the resort island of Bali to begin a vacation in Indonesia, where he lived for several years as a child, officials said.

Obama, his wife and daughters Malia and Sasha arrived on a private jet at the military airport in the provincial capital, Denpasar, base commander Col. Wayan Superman said.

They then drove to a resort in Ubud, an arts and culture center amid hills and rice paddies where they will spend most of their vacation on Bali.

He said they were accompanied by Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, and would also visit Yogyakarta, an ancient city on the main island of Java where his mother, Ann Dunham, did anthropological research.

Obama moved to Indonesia in 1967 at age 6 after his divorced mother remarried an Indonesian man. She stayed on after the marriage broke up, working as an anthropologist and development aid worker, but Obama returned to Hawaii when he was 10 to live with his grandparents.

Foreign ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo had invited Obama to take a holiday in the country after leaving office.

Jokowi also invited the Obamas to visit the Bogor Palace in West Java during their nine-day trip.

Local media reported that the Obamas would visit Borobudur, a 9th-century Buddhist temple complex located near Yogyakarta.

Obama is also scheduled to speak at an Indonesian Diaspora Congress in Jakarta on July 1.

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Obama begins nostalgic vacation in Indonesia with his family - ABC News

He said he considered having elections systems designated as critical infrastructure, a classification that would allow for the same cybersecurity protections available to the financial services and transportation sectors.

But the reactions to that idea, at least from several state election officials who control elections, ranged from neutral to negative, Mr. Johnson said.

Around mid-August, Mr. Johnson said, federal officials began hearing reports of scanning and probing of some state voter database registries. In the weeks after, intelligence officials became convinced the Russians were behind those efforts, though he said it was not until January that they were in a position to say that.

The administration formally accused the Russian government on Oct. 7, when Mr. Johnson and James R. Clapper Jr., then the director of national intelligence, released a statement saying the Russians had leaked information intended to interfere with the U.S. election process.

That was not soon enough for some Democrats, who have criticized the Obama administration for waiting until a month before the election to reveal its concern. Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the committees senior Democrat, pressed Mr. Johnson to explain their rationale.

Why wasnt it more important to tell the American people the length and breadth of what the Russians were doing to interfere in an election than any risk that it might be seen as putting your hand on the scale? Mr. Schiff asked. Didnt the public have a compelling need to know?

Asked why former President Barack Obama did not make his own announcement that a foreign power was meddling in the election process, Mr. Johnson suggested administration officials believed just his involvement would inherently politicize the facts.

We were very concerned that we not be perceived as taking sides in the election, injecting ourselves into a very heated campaign or taking steps to delegitimize the election process and undermine the integrity of the election process, he said.

Noting that the hacking happened at the direction of Vladimir Putin himself, Mr. Johnson said he was moved to try to shield the nations election system by the unprecedented nature of Russian interference in the last election.

What I mean is that we not only saw infiltrations, but we saw efforts to dump information into the public space for the purpose of influencing the ongoing campaign, he said, referring to the disclosure of hacked emails.

Republicans also seized on the statement in January by James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, that the D.N.C. refused to turn over its servers to investigators after it was discovered that the servers had been hacked.

Representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, a Republican who is helping to lead the committees investigation into Russian interference, asked Mr. Johnson why a victim in this case, the D.N.C. would not turn over evidence of a crime.

If they had turned the server over to you or Director Comey, maybe we would have known more, Mr. Gowdy said.

Im not going to argue with you, sir, Mr. Johnson said. That was a leading question, and Ill agree to be led.

Lawmakers were focusing largely on an issue they agreed presented a profound problem for the country: foreign interference in the nations democratic process and its pernicious effect on voter confidence.

Whether our guy won or next time your guy wins, said Representative Tom Rooney, Republican of Florida, if interference persists then we really do cease being the country that we are.

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A version of this article appears in print on June 22, 2017, on Page A16 of the New York edition with the headline: Obama Officials Were Wary of Detailing Hacking.

Read more:
Obama White House Knew of Russian Election Hacking, but Delayed Telling - New York Times