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President Trump on Friday faulted former President Obamas administration for authorizing a security clearance for Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser.

But just remember, he was approved by the Obama administration at the highest level, Trumptold Fox News.

And when they say we didnt vet, well, Obama I guess didnt vet, because he was approved at the highest level of security by the Obama administration, Trump added.

Trump added he respects Flynns past military service and has sympathy for the retired Army lieutenant general.

I do feelbadlyfor him, he said. He served the country. He was a [lieutenant] general."

Flynn, who was forced out of Trump's White House after misleading officials about his conversation with the Russian ambassador, received a five-year renewal of his security clearance in January 2016.

The House Oversight Committee this week said Flynnmay have broken the lawby taking payments from Russia and Turkey without approval from the military and State Department.

Flynn was reportedly warned against taking such payments when he retired in 2014.

According to Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee,Flynn applied to renew his security clearance using a Form SF-86 in January 2016, a month after he traveled to Moscow to give a paid speech.

Cummings said the committee had seen "no evidence" that Flynn disclosed that payment on the form or that he sought permission before taking the payment. He noted that knowingly falsifying or concealing a material fact on an SF-86 is a felony.

Flynn was fired as Obama's Defense Intelligence Agency chief in the spring of 2014 after less than two years leading the agency.

He was ousted after clashing with top Obama national security officials, including intelligence director James Clapper.

Flynn blamed his firing on his strong views on fighting Islamic extremist groups.

He later reemerged as close adviser to Trump, even getting a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention.

Trump named Flynn his national security adviser after winning the White House, but he was forced to resign just a few weeks into the administration.

Flynn has offered to testify before the House and Senate intelligence committees that are investigating Russian meddling in the election in return for immunity from prosecution.

The committees have so far not taken him up on the offer.

Updated at 2:25 p.m.

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Trump blames Obama for vetting of Flynn - The Hill

The move, which comes months after Obama banned drilling in millions of acres in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, is the latest step in the Trump administration's attempt to roll back the former presidents environmental record and comes as Trump is rushing to stack his first 100 days with as many accomplishments as possible, primarily through the use of executive actions.

Trump, before signing the executive order at the White House, bluntly said the plan "reverses the previous administration's Arctic leasing ban."

"The federal government has kept 94% of these offshore areas closed for exploration and production, and when they say closed, they mean closed," Trump said, adding that Obama's actions "deprived our country of potentially thousands and thousands of jobs."

Trump's order charges the Interior Department to work with the Commerce Department to "streamline a permitting approach for privately funded seismic data research and collection," Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Thursday; that data helps the department assess the level of natural resources under the sea.

In turn, the Commerce Department will conduct a review of designations and expansions of national marine sanctuaries within 180 days and of all designations and expansions under the Antiquities Act of 1906, a law that gives the President the power to designate land for federal protection.

The order is Trump's 30th in his first 99 days in office, meaning the President who once decried Obama's use of executive orders has signed more in the first 100 days than any president in the last 72 years, dating all the way back to former President Harry Truman.

Zinke said he believes that reducing regulations, in combination with the President's March 28 order on energy independence, will "put us on track for American energy independence."

Environmental groups blasted the order.

"With this executive order, the Trump administration is threatening the 1,100 miles of California coastline that the citizens of California own, and that we have fought to protect from special interests," said Tom Steyer, a top Democratic donor and the president of NextGen Climate, an environmental advocacy group. "Going back to a dirty energy model is a huge mistake, and that mistake becomes more obvious every day."

Zinke said Thursday that the review won't be limited to drilling for oil or natural gas, but will include an opening for wind energy development, too.

That did not assuage environmentalists.

"No matter how much money it spends or how many lobbyists it places inside the Trump administration, 'Big Oil' can never nor will never drown out the voices of millions of Americans across the country who spoke out against dangerous offshore drilling," Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said in a statement.

Zinke said he has recently heard concerns about offshore drilling in Santa Barbara, California, and promised that he will listen to local communities when it comes to authorizing drilling.

"That's a commitment that the President made on the campaign, and another promise he's fulfilling," he said.

The rest is here:
Trump signs order looking to reverse Obama's ban on off-shore drilling - CNN

New York Times

Obama Accepts $400000 Fee for a Speech New York Times Out of office for about three months, Mr. Obama has begun the process of cashing in. In February, he and his wife, Michelle, each signed book deals worth tens of millions of dollars. And Mr. Obama's spokesman confirmed last week that he is beginning ... Obama to be paid $400000 for Cantor Fitzgerald speechCNBC 4 reasons Obama's $400000 Wall Street speech is a bad ideaWashington Post Barack Obama Is Said to Earn $400000 for an Upcoming SpeechFortune Slate Magazine -Fox News Insider -BBC News -Fox Business all 81 news articles »

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Obama Accepts $400000 Fee for a Speech - New York Times

New York Times

How a Mural of Michelle Obama Became a Lesson on Exploitation New York Times Last Friday, the artist and urban planner Chris Devins completed a mural in Chicago of the former first lady Michelle Obama. The project was funded in part by a GoFundMe campaign that collected more than $11,000. The purpose of this mural is to give ... Man Behind Michelle Obama Mural Flap Says He'll Pay Artist For Her WorkDNAinfo Mural of Michelle Obama in Chicago Neighborhood Sparks Plagiarism DebateKTLA Chicago Urban Planner Gets Called Out For Not Crediting Artist Behind Michelle Obama PictureEssence.com all 9 news articles »

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How a Mural of Michelle Obama Became a Lesson on Exploitation - New York Times

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai speaks during an internet regulation event at the Newseum on April 26, 2017 in Washington. Eric Thayer / Getty Images

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The internet is now regulated under Title II, which was created in the 1930s to regulate the Ma Bell telephone monopoly. By applying these rules to internet service providers, the FCC has more authority to regulate the behavior of internet service providers, including helping to control what consumers are charged and ensuring there is no paid prioritization online, which would create so-called fast and slow lanes.

Among the four basic points are not blocking websites for certain users, no throttling (creating a fast and slow lane), fostering more transparency between consumers and ISPs, and finally, no paid prioritization to move to the front of the line.

That all may sound great, but Pai says it's not working. He wants to go back to the internet rules instituted in 1996 under President Clinton and a Republican Congress.

"The internet is the greatest free market success in history," Pai said. However, he believes the "heavy-handed" net neutrality rules were never needed, aren't helping people as intended, and are in fact doing the reverse.

He said the rules have led to reduced investment, which he said has cost 75,000 to 100,000 jobs such as laying cable and digging trenches to help bring high-speed internet access to rural and low income areas.

The current framework, he said, is actually "widening the digital divide," because companies are avoiding rural and low-income areas because it may seem like it's "not worth the time and money to deploy there."

As a result, he said, this also reduces competition.

"There is no question that the easiest path would be to do nothing," he said. "When we are saddled with FCC rules that will deny many Americans high speed access and jobs, doing nothing is nothing doing."

"We need rules that focusing growth and infrastructure investment," he said. "We are going to deliver."

The FCC will vote at a May 18 meeting whether to formally consider Pai's proposal. That will likely pass, at which point the commission will seek public comment.

Another vote, which could happen before the end of the year, would then decide whether Pai's proposal would take effect. But for now, you won't see any immediate changes.

"This will be the beginning of the discussion, not the end," Pai said.

NBC News is owned by Comcast, the nation's largest internet service provider.

Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said in a statement, "We fully support reversal of Title II classification. We continue to strongly support a free and open internet and the preservation of modern, strong, and legally enforceable net neutrality protections."

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FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Unveils Plan to Kill Obama-Era Net Neutrality Rules - NBCNews.com