Dianne Feinstein - Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association

Feinstein Shocked Trump Won’t Take Her Opinion on 9th Circuit Vacancy

Cortney O'Brien — Fri, 12 Oct 2018 18:03:53 +0000

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) was a major player in the bombshell allegation against Judge Brett Kavanaugh that resulted in one of the most unfortunate Supreme Court nominations in recent memory. Now, she’s dumbfounded as to why President Trump is so resistant to her suggestions for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. After all, she has acted in “good faith.

Sen Dianne Feinstein@SenFeinstein

The decision to move forward on 9th Circuit nominees without consultation or responding to my acceptance of the White House’s offer reflects President Trump’s desire to stack the court. I expect my blue slips to be honored as I was acting in good faith.

“I repeatedly told the White House I wanted to reach an agreement on a package of 9th Circuit nominees, but last night the White House moved forward without consulting me, picking controversial candidates from its initial list and another individual with no judicial experience who had not previously been suggested.

“I met with Don McGahn on June 27 to discuss the vacancies and explained that Senator Harris and I strongly opposed Daniel Collins. I also told him Kenneth Lee had problems because he failed to disclose to our judicial selection committees controversial writings on voting rights and affirmative action.

“Last week, a reporter contacted my office stating that multiple sources close to the White House said I had rejected an offer that included Lucy Koh, James Rogan and Daniel Collins. This was false; no offer had been made or rejected—either formally or informally. In fact, as soon as I learned from the reporter about this alleged package I immediately wrote to Don McGahn saying I would accept this White House proposal of Lucy Koh, James Rogan and a third nominee from the White House’s list. There was no response to my letter.

“The decision to move forward with these nominees without consultation or responding to my acceptance of the White House offer reflects President Trump’s desire to remake the court. I expect my blue slips to be honored as I was acting in good faith.

”Feinstein demanded that Trump at least consider her candidates, because she was acting in “good faith.

“Surely she knows that Trump, Grassley, and other Republicans will not soon forget the way Feinstein led the Democrats’ war on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. It all started when Feinstein received that now infamous letter from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford back in July. Ford claimed that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were both in high school. Feinstein did not notify Chairman Chuck Grassley of the letter for weeks. It was leaked a few weeks ago, resulting in two of the most contentious weeks we’ve ever seen in Washington, as leading lawmakers suggested Kavanaugh was a rapist, he was “evil,” and worse. Feinstein insists she was not the leaker, but Republicans in Congress are investigating her office anyway.

One can only wonder why Trump would hesitate to take her advice.

Furthermore, as Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey points out, Grassley made it pretty clear last year that blue slips are merely a courtesy.

“The blue slip serves the important purpose of encouraging consultation between the White House and the Senate,” he said. “The White House has an obligation to engage in good-faith consultation with home-state senators. I won’t allow the White House to just steamroll home-state senators. But, as I’ve said all along, I won’t allow the blue slip process to be abused.”

Source: https://townhall.com/tipsheet/cortneyobrien/2018/10/12/feinstein-9th-circuit-n2527940
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The credibility of Kavanaugh’s accusers is eroding: Varney

Fox Business — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 09:19:34 +0000

The post The credibility of Kavanaugh’s accusers is eroding: Varney first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

White House receives FBI report on Kavanaugh, ‘fully confident’ he’ll be confirmed

Edmund DeMarche, Benjamin Brown | Fox News — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 09:04:29 +0000

The White House on Thursday announced that it has received the FBI’s supplemental background investigation into President Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, and is “fully confident” that he will eventually be confirmed to the Supreme Court.

The FBI was tasked by Trump last week to look into allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against Kavanaugh by three women. The investigation commenced after Dr. Christine Blasey Ford — the first woman to come forward — testified before the Senate Judiciary last week about her claims against the federal judge.

Raj Shah, the principal deputy press secretary for the White House, said the FBI report is currently “being transmitted to the Senate.”

FORD’S LEGAL TEAM CRITICIZES PROBE

“With [Senate Majority] Leader [Mitch] McConnell’s cloture filing, Senators have been given ample time to review this seventh background investigation,” Shah said in a statement posted to Twitter. “This is the last addition to the most comprehensive review of a Supreme Court nominee in history, which includes extensive hearings, multiple committee interviews, over 1,200 questions for the record and over a half million pages of documents.”

Shah said the “White House is fully confident” Kavanaugh will be confirmed to the Supreme Court in the Senate vote.

The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday, citing unnamed sources, that the White House had reviewed interview reports from the FBI’s probe into Kavanaugh and found no corroboration of the allegations of sexual misconduct.

The Journal pointed out that the FBI report may do little to provide clarity and essentially leaves senators in the same position as they were in last week: two witnesses giving different accounts on what occurred.

Attorneys for Ford slammed the FBI background investigation.

“An FBI supplemental background investigation that did not include an interview of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford — nor the witnesses who corroborate her testimony — cannot be called an investigation,” the statement read. “We are profoundly disappointed that after the tremendous sacrifice she made in coming forward, those directing the FBI investigation were not interested in seeking the truth.”

Ford told the committee that she was “100 percent” certain that Kavanaugh was her attacker. Kavanaugh has vehemently denied the allegations.

The announcement comes as senior congressional sources tell Fox News that the Senate Judiciary Committee has not received the FBI’s report on Kavanaugh. Senators will be able to view the report Thursday in a secure area off the Senate subway.

McConnell on Wednesday filed for cloture to end debate on the nomination, setting up a key procedural vote for Friday — and a possible confirmation vote as early as Saturday.

Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and committee member Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., would be given the first chance to look at the report.

Kavanaugh’s fate boils down to three Republican Senators: Jeff Flake, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WV., who is facing a re-election battle, has said he will make his decision after the FBI probe.

Republicans outnumber Democrats in the Senate 51-49, and – in the event of a tie – Vice President Mike Pence would be the deciding vote.

Rachel Mitchell, the sex-crimes prosecutor hired by the Senate Judiciary Committee to assist Republicans who questioned Ford last week, wrote in a memo released late Sunday that there seemed to be inconsistencies in her testimony and that she would not bring criminal charges against Kavanaugh.

Fox News’ Chad Pergram and Elizabeth Zwirz contributed to this report

Edmund DeMarche is a news editor for FoxNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @EDeMarche.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-receives-fbi-report-on-kavanaugh-fully-confident-hell-be-confirmed

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Want to understand why Trump keeps winning? Look at Democratic hysteria

Marc Thiessen-Fox News — Wed, 16 May 2018 02:55:32 +0000

If you want to understand why Donald Trump is president today (and why he could very well win a second term), look to the Democrats’ hysterical response to two of Trump’s major foreign policy achievements over the past week.

Last Thursday, the president traveled to Joint Base Andrews to greet three American hostages whose release he had secured from North Korea. Unlike his predecessor, Trump did it without sending the offending regime an unmarked plane loaded with hundreds of millions in hard currency. The return of these American captives should have been a moment of celebration and bipartisan unity.

So how did Democrats respond? By blasting Trump for the way he welcomed the U.S. hostages home. The pretext for their outrage was Trump’s comment thanking Kim Jong Un, who he said “really was excellent to these three incredible people” — by which Trump obviously meant releasing them. No matter. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., took the Senate floor to attack Trump for his “troubling” remarks. “Kim Jong Un is a dictator” who “capriciously detained American citizens,” Schumer declared, channeling Captain Obvious, and warned that, by praising Kim, Trump “weakens American foreign policy and puts American citizens at risk around the world.”

Seriously? How do Democrats take a positive event such as the release of American hostages and turn it into an excuse to attack Trump? Apparently, Trump Derangement Syndrome is so debilitating that Democrats can’t bring themselves to say “Good job, Mr. President,” even when he brings our hostages home. Before, Democrats complained that Trump was too belligerent toward Kim; now, they’re upset that he is too effusive. This is absurd. Trump is laying the groundwork for a high-stakes nuclear summit with Kim; of course the president is not going to publicly criticize him. People in Middle America listen to the Democrats’ reactions and think: Can Trump do nothing right in these people’s eyes?

Apparently, Trump Derangement Syndrome is so debilitating that Democrats can’t bring themselves to say “Good job, Mr. President,” even when he brings our hostages home.

Then, a few days later, Trump racked up another major achievement when he fulfilled his promise to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. Four American presidents pledged to do it, but only Trump actually did. How did Democrats respond? Not a single congressional Democrat traveled to Israel to attend the historic opening of the embassy. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham, R-S.C., said that he personally invited Democrats to join the congressional delegation, but no one took him up on the offer. “I am disappointed that not one Democrat came,” Graham said. “What does that say?” It says not a single Democrat could bring themselves to join in a celebration of what Trump had done.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., blasted Trump’s decision when he announced it in December, declaring that “moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem now may needlessly spark mass protests, fuel tensions, and make it more difficult to reach a durable peace.” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., did the same, declaring, “The future of Jerusalem is an issue that should be decided by Israel and the Palestinians, not unilaterally by the United States.” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., called Trump’s embassy move a setback while former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., declared that Trump’s action would “severely, perhaps irreparably damage” peace efforts.

Keep in mind, the past four Democratic Party platforms had called for the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. And last June, the Senate voted 90-0 (with the support of Feinstein, Murphy and Sanders) for a resolution that “reaffirms the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995,” which mandated the embassy move (a bill that passed two decades ago with Pelosi’s vote). Americans see Trump being criticized for doing exactly what Congress demanded, and his Democratic and Republican predecessors promised, and they rightly see hypocrisy.

No matter what Trump does, the Democratic reaction is the same: Outrage. When Democrats can’t even praise Trump unreservedly for bringing American hostages home or show up when he fulfills a plank of the Democratic Party platform by moving our embassy to Jerusalem, it further convinces millions of Americans who abandoned the Democratic Party in 2016 that they made the right decision.

Marc Thiessen is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Thiessen served as chief speechwriter to President George W. Bush and to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/05/16/want-to-understand-why-trump-keeps-winning-look-at-democratic-hysteria.html

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