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Trump Pardons Oregon Cattle Ranchers, Citing ‘Overzealous Appeal’ by Obama Administration

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed full pardons for two Oregon ranchers serving federal prison time for setting fire to public land.

Dwight Hammond, Jr., 76, and his son Steven Hammond, 49, were convicted in 2012 under an anti-terrorism statute and received sentences of 3 months and one year, respectively, according to the Washington Post. The relatively short sentences came despite mandatory minimum sentences of five years. Once they were out of prison, however, prosecutors challenged the judge’s decision to shorten their terms. The challenge resulted in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals sentencing them back to prison to complete five-year sentences, until Trump used his pardon power.

"The Hammonds are multi-generation cattle ranchers in Oregon imprisoned in connection with a fire that leaked onto a small portion of neighboring public grazing land," the White House said in a statement. "The evidence at trial regarding the Hammonds’ responsibility for the fire was conflicting, and the jury acquitted them on most of the charges."

The White House’s decision aligns with the judge’s original sentence, which gave both men less prison time than the mandatory minimum.

"At the Hammonds’ original sentencing, the judge noted that they are respected in the community and that imposing the mandatory minimum, 5-year prison sentence would ‘shock the conscience’ and be ‘grossly disproportionate to the severity of their conduct," the statement reads. "As a result, the judge imposed significantly lesser sentences. The previous administration, however, filed an overzealous appeal that resulted in the Hammonds being sentenced to five years in prison. This was unjust."

Supporters of the Hammonds, Ammon and Ryan Bundy, were outraged at prosecutors’ actions and occupied Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016, ostensibly over the Hammonds’ case. They engaged in an armed standoff with federal authorities, although the Hammonds turned themselves over to authorities to serve the additional time and did not heed the Bundys’ call to resist.

Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward wrote a letter to support the Hammonds’ petitions for clemency, as did Rep. Greg Walden (R., Ore.), Malheur County Sheriff Brian Wolfe and other leaders of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association and Oregon Farm Bureau, according to the Oregonian.

"It is my humble opinion that justice would be better served if these gentlemen were afforded the opportunity to return home," Ward wrote. "For Dwight to spend his remaining years with his wife. For Steven to return to his family … and to set an example that along with being a nation of laws, we are a nation of compassion and forgiveness."

Trump came to a similar conclusion, with the White House noting that both men have now served years in prison and paid $400,000 to settle a related civil suit.

"The Hammonds are devoted family men, respected contributors to their local community, and have widespread support from their neighbors, local law enforcement, and farmers and ranchers across the West," the White House said. "Justice is overdue for Dwight and Steven Hammond, both of whom are entirely deserving of these Grants of Executive Clemency."

The post Trump Pardons Oregon Cattle Ranchers, Citing ‘Overzealous Appeal’ by Obama Administration appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

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Poll: The Senate is looking grim for Democrats this year

As you probably know already, Democrats are facing a tough map in the Senate this year. They have to defend 10 seats in red states and try to pick up two additional seats in order to take control of the Senate. This morning, Axios published a poll conducted with Survey Monkey which shows that isn’t happening. The site’s headline says it all: “Democrats’ Senate dream slips away.”

The state of play: The polls shows three Democratic senators are poised to lose their seats to Republicans — Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota, Bill Nelson in Florida and Joe Donnelly in Indiana.

The site does note that the fates of Joe Manchin in West Virginia and Jon Tester in Montana have improved substantially since the last poll. And Democrats currently appear poised to pick up seats in Arizona and Nevada, though both races are still tight.

The site ran all of the matchups under six different turnout scenarios but no matter how optimistic the turnout projection was for Democrats the bottom line was still the same:

  • Even under the most optimistic scenarios for Democrats across all 13 states, they would still lose the same seats by a range of one percentage point to 14 percentage points.
  • Under Republicans’ most bullish forecast, they would actually pick up six seats, the four mentioned above plus Ohio and Missouri.

Here’s the graphic produced by Axios:

Looking at these comparisons, several of these races appear to be over, but there are still a few where Dems lead but narrowly, like Nevada and Arizona. Real Clear Politics Senate electoral map currently has the Senate races split 48 Republicans to 44 Democrats (safe plus likely and leaning) with 8 tossup seats. If Republicans take Florida and Tennessee, they only need one more seat (maybe North Dakota) to maintain their slim majority.

The fact that this is happening the day after Trump nominates his second Supreme Court Justice puts in perspective what is at stake. If Republicans maintain control of the Senate, that gives the president two more years where any retirement from the court is left to him to replace. That would make things tougher on Justices Ginsburg (85) and Breyer (79) who would have to hold out until at least 2021 for any hope of a liberal replacement.

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California City Goes Full Socialist: Free $500 A Month To Residents In New Welfare Program

No work, no problem: Here’s $500.
That’s the latest proposal in a California city, which is set to become the first in the nation to deploy a "universal basic income" (UBI). Under the plan,100 residents of Stockton will receive $500 a month in cash, with no strings attached. Work, don’t work, whatever.
The free-money program will start in 2019 and run for 18 months, costing the city $900,000.

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ABC: ‘Reliably Conservative’ Kavanaugh Sends ‘Shivers’ Down Spines of Liberals

The ideological labels appeared as Terry Moran informed viewers of the “solidly conservative choice.” Later, he underlined: “Kavanaugh has been reliably conservative throughout most of his career dating back to 1989 when he was a student writing for the Yale Law Journal.” (“Reliably liberal” is not a term often used by journalists when Democrats have a Supreme Court pick.) 

Using hyperbolic language, Moran fretted that the nomination is “sending shockwaves through the nation and shivers down the spines of liberals.” The journalist reminded viewers of liberal anger: 

A transcript is below. Click “expand” to read more. (Thanks to the MRC’s Curtis Houck for the transcript.)

ABC’s Nightline
07/10/18
12:56:23 p.m.
27 seconds

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Supreme Decision]

JUJU CHANG: Plus, supreme decision. 

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I will nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. 

CHANG: What you need to know about President Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court and the confirmation battle ahead. Democrats and Republicans facing pressure to vote against their own parties. Protests raging tonight with immigration policy, gun reform, and abortion rights potentially hanging in the balance. 

(….)

1:11:49 a.m.
7 minutes and 31 seconds

CHANG: We turn now to the hotly anticipated announcement. President Trump nominating Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill a Supreme Court seat that will be vacated by Justice Anthony. His confirmation promises to be an epic partisan battle with fierce debate over how a conservative majority on the high Court could affect restrictions on everything from immigration and affirmative action to abortion rights. Here’s ABC’s Terry Moran. 

WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCER: The President of the United States. 

TERRY MORAN: It was straight out of a network play book. A primetime announcement to an audience on the edge of its seats. President Trump naming his Supreme Court nominee. 

TRUMP: It is my honor and privilege to announce that I will nominate judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States supreme court. [SCREEN WIPE] There is no one in America more qualified for this position and no one more deserving. 

BRETT KAVANAUGH: Mr. President, I am grateful to you and I’m humbled by your confidence in me. 

MORAN: Kavanaugh, a solidly conservative choice with an impressive pedigree. 

KAVANANUGH: My judicial philosophy is straightforward. A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. 

SUPREME COURT PROTESTERS: Protect Roe now! Protect Roe now!

MORAN: Tonight the courthouse steps already the front lines of long-standing culture wars. Kavanaugh, if confirmed, would replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement 12 days ago —

DAN HARRIS [on 06/27/18]: Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announcing he will retire. This leaves a major opening on the Supreme Court of the united States. 

MORAN: — sending shockwaves through the nation and shivers down the spines of liberals, who had come to rely on Kennedy’s swing vote on social issues. That decision opening up a second seat for President Trump to fill on the bench, allowing him to help shape the country’s highest court for generations to come. [TO MORAN] From a political standpoint, purely political, what do you make of this nomination tonight? 

RICK KLEIN: This is a very traditional pick. It’s the kind of pick you could imagine a Jeb Bush or a Marco Rubio or a Ted Cruz picking.

MORAN: A Maryland native, Brett Kavanaugh was raised Roman Catholic, attending the Tony Georgetown Prep before going on to study at Yale both as undergrad and then again as a law student. At 53, he has served in the same court that produced Supreme Court justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Warren Burger, and John Roberts. Kavanaugh has been reliably conservative throughout most of his career dating back to 1989 when he was a student writing for the Yale Law Journal. 

KATE SHAW: He ultimately was one of the authors of the Starr Report to congress that recommended a number of grounds for impeaching president Clinton including, you know, a number of misstatements, obstruction of justice, things of that nature. 

MORAN: Kavanaugh went on to serve as counsel under the Bush administration and is considered an establishment choice for the nomination. 

TOM BOSSERT: You’ll find him to be a very calm and thoughtful man. 

MORAN: Tom Bossert, former Homeland Security Adviser under President Trump, knows Brett Kavanaugh well from his time at the Bush White House. 

BOSSERT: What people will be most surprised about over the coming days and weeks will probably be the human side of Judge Kavanaugh. He is a very soft, very kind, very smart individual. 

MORAN: Despite overwhelming support tonight, his record has raised red flags for some conservatives. 

SHAW: In a couple of cases, he voted either to uphold or to decline to decide cases involving challenges to ObamaCare, right? The Affordable Care Act and those are viewed by some on the right as a signal that he might not be kind of as solid a conservative as the President should select. 

MORAN: But one of the biggest questions is how fully he would fulfill this campaign promise. 

TRUMP [on 10/19/16]: I am putting pro-life justices on the court. 

COKE ROBERTS: He did say tonight that he did believe in interpreting laws and the Constitution as they are written but also as history and precedent has determined, so that leaves him a lot of wiggle room there. 

MORAN: And Roe vs. Wade is now a precedent that’s two generations or more old.

ROBERTS: Yes. I think the most likely thing than a direct overthrow, at least at the beginning, is an erosion. 

SUPREME COURT PROTESTERS: Hey, hey! Ho, ho! The patriarchy has got to go!

MORAN: But in these deeply divided times, the road to confirmation for any of the candidates would be a partisan fight. 

SENATE MINORITY LEADER CHUCK SCHUMER: This is the most important Supreme Court vacancy for this country in at least a generation. 

MORAN: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is already vowing to confirm Kennedy’s successor by fall before the midterm elections. 

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL: The Senate stands ready to fulfill its constitutional role by offering advice and consent on President Trump’s nominee to fill this vacancy. 

MORAN: But Democrats are still seething over the last time there was a Supreme Court opening in 2016 when Justice Antonin Scalia died suddenly, it was McConnell who blocked a vote on Barack Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland until after the presidential election and then implemented the so-called nuclear option to get President Trump’s pick Neil Gorsuch confirmed with a simple majority vote after Democrats triggered that move. [TO KLEIN] Going forward, then, can the Democrats find a way to stall until after the midterm elections? 

KLEIN: The big question for Democrats is how much to play out the process and they’re going to demand every document. They’re going to demand all of the records, everything that he said or has done. They’ll do their best to stretch this out. 

MORAN: Kavanaugh will need 50 votes plus the Vice President for confirmation, which could come a number of ways, with 51 Republicans in the Senate. All eyes are on the conservatives who have voted against the party line and these Democrats who defied their party too when they voted for Gorsuch. Earlier today, other Senate Democrats warning the President’s pick would have a serious impact on the direction of the country. 

SCHUMER: It is near impossible to imagine that President Trump would select a nominee who isn’t hostile to our health care law and health care for millions and millions and millions of Americans, who isn’t hostile to a woman’s freedom to make her own health care decisions. 

MORAN: Kennedy was the man in the middle, often the swing vote who sided with conservatives plenty but surprised people on social issues from race and civil rights to abortion and also on environmental law. [TO ROBERTS] What’s at stake here at the Supreme Court? 

ROBERTS: Decades of jurisprudence and Brett Kavanaugh is 53 years old. Given life terms these days, he could easily be there for 40 years and this — now, this Court is decidedly on the right. 

MORAN: Outside the court, that battle line already drawn. Demonstrations on both sides of the abortion debate. 

PROTESTERS: Pro-choice!

STUDENTS FOR LIFE OF AMERICA’s TINA WHITTINGTON: We have a Supreme Court that is going to be stacked to a side of respecting life and law who will give us an opportunity to even have a place at the table.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD’s KELLEY ROBINSON: There’s a lot at stake here and like I said, access to safe and legal abortion is on the line right now. That’s why we’re out here because we know that there’s too much at stake to stay home. 

MORAN: In the end, it is this key issue that could sway two Republican senators who have made it clear they want Roe vs. Wade upheld. As voices quiet outside the courthouse tonight, many see a fight coming, a battle not just for the bench but for the direction of the country. For Nightline. I’m Terry Moran in Washington.
 

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Keith Ellison Won’t Rule Out Impeaching Supreme Court Justices If Democrats Win Congress

DNC Deputy Chairman Keith Ellison said on Monday that if the Democrats retake control of the House and the Senate this fall that they could potentially impeach Supreme Court Justices.
"Assuming the Democrats take the House and Senate in November … is there any possibility that the legislative branch will remove a Supreme Court Justice?" a person asked Ellison at a Supreme Court Community Forum in Minneapolis.

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JUDICIAL WATCH: New HHS Docs Reveal ‘Unaccompanied Alien Children’ Processed by Obama Admin Included MS-13 Killers, Drug Smugglers

JUDICIAL WATCH: New HHS Docs Reveal ‘Unaccompanied Alien Children’ Processed by Obama Admin Included MS-13 Killers, Drug Smugglers

Cristina Laila
by Cristina Laila
July 10, 2018


Nancy Pelosi’s angels (MS-13 killers)

On Tuesday, conservative watchdog group, Judicial Watch released new documents containing over 1,000 summaries of Significant Incident Reports (SIRs) revealing the “Unaccompanied Alien Children” processed by the Obama administration included admitted murderers, rapists, drug smugglers, prostitutes, and human traffickers.

Via Judicial Watch:

The resulting documents show that, in fiscal year 2014, there were 24,680 Significant Incident Reports filed with Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Examples of incident reports below are organized into four general categories:

  1. UACs admitting to murder, belonging to MS-13, threatening others with rape, admitting to drug smuggling, molesting other UACs and seriously assaulting other UACs or staff;
  2. UACs who were raped and/or molested en route to the United States or in the United States;
  3. U.S. Government contractors and employees allegedly assaulting or having sexual relationships with UACs; and
  4. Other incidents, crimes, abuse and self-harm.

Examples of UACs admitting to murder, belonging to MS-13, threatening others with rape, admitting to drug smuggling, molesting other UACs and seriously assaulting other UACs or staff include:

  • A male UAC at a BCFS shelter in Fairfield, CA admitted that he was “forced to kill” while working for the Gulf Cartel in Mexico
  • A male UAC being cared for at the Heartland International RC Facility reported that he had been an MS-13 gang member for a year before coming to the U.S.
  • A male UAC cared for at the Heartland ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) facility reported to staff that he had been “made to” kill three people by a drug cartel.
  • A male UAC housed at the KidsPeace shelter (apparently a reference to the KidsPeace facility in Bethlehem, PA) reportedly told another male UAC there: “I am a rapist. I am going to rape you.”
  • A UAC at Morrison Paso (Morrison Child and Family Services Center – Paso Secure in Portland, OR) informed a Youth Care Worker (YCW) there that “all of the kids here at Paso are snorting white pills” and that “some residents had brought [the pills] into the facility” and “all the residents are snorting the white pills and at all the times of the day”
  • A male UAC in the care of Heartland ICRC reported that he was an MS-13 gang member who had been selling drugs. He told social workers that “the reason the gang members made the kids use drugs was to get them addicted.”
  • A female UAC at the Sandy Pines (Jupiter, FL) facility attacked a staff member with a chair after being told to stop inappropriate sexual behavior toward another female UAC. After being restrained, she threatened to stab an unidentified person with a knife she kept in her room. The report concludes by saying, “UAC will continue to work on identifying and implementing coping skills to manage her mood.”
  • A male UAC at a Baptist Child and Family Services (BCFS) shelter in Baytown, TX said he’d worked as a human smuggler, charging $6,000-$8,000 per person he crossed into the United States
  • A female UAC at the BCFS shelter in Lackland AFB was alleged by other UACs to be the daughter of a coyote (human smuggler) and reportedly was passing information to her father via telephone from the shelter

There are also examples of UACs who were raped and/or molested en route to the United States or in the United States and examples of U.S. Government contractors and employees allegedly abusing, assaulting or having sexual relationships with Unaccompanied Alien Children, says Judicial Watch.

President of Judicial Watch Tom Fitton had this to say about the Obama administration’s humanitarian nightmare:

“The Obama administration presided over a humanitarian and public safety nightmare in its handling of ‘unaccompanied alien children. The incident reports also support the Trump administration’s contention that the UAC crisis, which continues, includes murderers, rapists, drug smugglers and human traffickers being routinely allowed into the United States.”

It took Judicial Watch THREE YEARS to obtain these documents through FOIA after getting the runaround from bureaucrats.

You can support Judicial Watch by clicking here.

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Leftists’ Biggest Gripe With Kavanaugh Is an Unverified Report of Him Calling Hillary a B**** 2 Decades Ago

If liberals are trying to build up national opposition to President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, this isn’t the way to do it.

In a sign of just how desperate Democrats are getting at the prospect of a Supreme Court that includes a majority of justices who actually believe in the Constitution, opponents of Judge Brett Kavanaugh have been digging pretty deep to find something to smear him with.

But one of the biggest gripes so far borders on laugh-out-loud land.

In a Twitter post that was published earlier this month, but is gaining traction after Trump announced Monday that Kavanaugh is his high court nominee, Washington Post national reporter Robert Costa drew attention to one expected line of Democrat attack:

An excerpt of a book published 15 years ago by a conservative-turned-liberal gay writer recounting his memory of an event that occurred at a cocktail party in 1997.

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Costa’s tweet passed along an excerpt of David Brock’s “Blinded by the Right,” which had in turn been passed on to him as part of “oppo research” against Kavanaugh.

“Sources pt’ing to David Brock’s book ‘Blinded by the Right,’” Costa wrote. “Kav alleged to have mouthed an expletive re HRC. Pg. 306.” (The expletive was “b****.” The term that should technically be reserved for female dogs.)

Seriously? Democrats are trying to sabotage Kavanaugh’s nomination by dredging up alleged memories, now more than two decades old, of a vocal supporter of Hillary Clinton who claims he might have seen Kavanaugh mouth an offensive word about Hillary?

It’s entirely possible Kavanaugh didn’t like the then-first lady. Much of the country hadn’t liked her for years by that point.

And from Kavanaugh’s unusual vantage point of being part of independent counsel Kenneth Starr’s long-running investigation into the Clinton White House (that would culminate in Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial in 1998), Kavanaugh might have had more reason to dislike Hillary than most.

But for liberals to try to use this alleged incident to attack Kavanaugh as possibly intemperate, possibly given to anger issues or even “misogynistic” (bet the house that one comes up), is a sign that shows how desperate they are.

And some social media responses show how Trump supporters are going to mock the effort – and with good reason.

RELATED: Women’s March Releases Statment Attacking Trump’s SCOTUS Decision, Completely Forget His Name

Leave aside the fact that the anecdote is coming from an inherently unreliable source. (Brock was a right-wing writer in the 1990s who attacked liberals and the Clintons regularly before changing sides. People like that are rarely trusted by either side.)

Leave aside the fact that the memory is now 21 years old, and was only worthy of a glancing mention even when the book was being written.

The real issue at hand is President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

An exit poll of the 2016 election showed that a majority of Trump voters considered appointments to the Supreme Court their No. 1 priority, according to CNN. An “attack” like the one Costa is tweeting about will only remind the country of just how glad they are that Hillary Clinton is not the one doing the appointing these days.

The Democrats might be desperate these days. Stooping to “smears” like this will just show they’re stupid, too.

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