Congress Can Ask For Intel Info But There Is No Guarantee That They May Get It

 

Lawmakers Can Ask For Intel Info, But They Still Might Not Get It -- The Hill 

Lawmakers who want access to classified information have to ask for it.

But that doesn’t mean they’ll get it. [WATCH VIDEO] While government contractors such as NSA leaker Edward Snowden and others with high-level security clearances can view classified government secrets, members of Congress face a much tougher burden: consent from their peers.

Some members of Congress are grumbling that the Obama administration left them in the dark about the existence of far-reaching spy programs.

But House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Tuesday defended the process.

Read more ....  

My Comment: Where is the Congressional oversight? This is outrageous .... and grumbling is the best that these elected officials can do!!!! If I was in their shoes .... I will be screaming bloody murder.

Are President Obama's International And National Agendas Now 'Scorched'?

U.S. President Barack Obama has defended his country's surveillance of phone records.

Analysis: Obama's Agenda Scorched In Firestorm -- USA Today

WASHINGTON — President Obama, meet the second-term curse.

Revelations that the U.S. government has been collecting a massive database of telephone usage by millions of Americans — citizens not suspected of any wrongdoing — created a firestorm Thursday that would be damaging for any administration. But it is is especially problematic for Obama because it stokes controversies he already was struggling to contain and reinforces criticism that has dogged him from the start.

Republicans have long depicted Obama as an advocate of a big, dangerous and overreaching government, back to the federal bailout of the auto industry he undertook during the financial crisis that greeted his first inauguration. That has been their fundamental philosophical objection to his signature Affordable Care Act, now just months away from implementation of its major provisions.

Read more ....

My Comment: The growing Sunni-Shiite conflict in the Middle East. Iran's nuclear program. Chinese expansionism. The U.S. fiscal, debt, and economic crisis. The domestic agenda. These .... and other issues .... have now been eclipsed by the NSA's surveillance programs on American citizens. Throw in the other scandals (Benghazi, AP/FOX reporters being targeted, IRS) .... the focus can no longer be on your agenda .... it has to be on damage control. In short .... President Obama's agenda will probably be put on the back-burner for the rest of the year, and with elections slated for next year his agenda will probably be pushed back until after next year's Congressional elections.

When The U.S. Government Targets Half The Country

An Antidote To Cynicism Poisoning -- Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal

Restoring public faith will require a full investigation of the IRS's politicization.

The Benghazi scandal was and is shocking, and the Justice Department assault on the free press, in which dogged reporters are tailed like enemy spies, is shocking. Benghazi is still under investigation and someday someone will write a great book about it. As for the press, Attorney General Eric Holder is on the run, and rightly so. They called it the First Amendment for a reason. But nothing can damage us more as a nation than what is happening at the Internal Revenue Service. Elite opinion in the press and in Washington doesn't fully understand this. Part of the reason is that it's not their ox being gored, it's those messy people out in America with their little patriotic groups.

Those who aren't deeply distressed about the IRS suffer from a reluctance or inability to make distinctions, and a lack of civic imagination.

An inability to make distinctions: "It's always been like this." "Presidents are always siccing the IRS on their enemies." There's truth in that. We've all heard the stories of the president who picked up the phone and said, "Look into this guy," Richard Nixon most showily. He got clobbered for it. It was one of the articles of impeachment.

Read more ....

My Comment: Peggy Noonan gets to the heart of the problem. A special prosecutor will have to be appointed .... and people will have to be put in jail to change this culture of intimidation and abuse. Failure to do so will undermine what is probably the most important department (after the military) in the U.S. government.

The IRS Scandal Continues To Grow In The U.S.

Coburn: Constituents Linking IRS Audits To Mitt Romney Donations -- The Hill

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said Thursday his constituents have suggested they were audited by the Internal Revenue Service because they donated to Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign.

Coburn made the charge during an interview on MSNBC. [WATCH VIDEO]

"What I would tell you, is our whistleblower side is lit up," Coburn said Thursday on the news channel. "And I got a phone call yesterday and one of the things I want to know is, everybody that contributed to Romney, I want to know what their audit rate was because the indications out of Oklahoma are right now is if you happened to be a conservative and wealthy and gave to Romney, you had an audit where you'd never gotten an audit before.

"And so there are a lot of questions that still have to be answered," Coburn said. "Maybe that's untrue but that's certainly the implication from people that are calling me from Oklahoma."

Read more ....

Update: IRS official on leave refused to resign, says GOP senator -- FOX News

My Comment: As I had mentioned last week ... of all the scandals hitting Washington this is the big one. The IRS impacts everyone .... and if it has been politicized to target one political group .... it should send a chill through everyone. Because IRS officials are refusing to testify and/or giving answers that are insult to the intelligence of those who are watching them .... it is a given that a special prosecutor will need to be appointed. My prediction .... in the next few weeks a Special Prosecutor will be appointed .... and I suspect that we are going to be shocked with what he will find.

Update #1: Lawrence Kudlow nails it right.

Update #2: The main stream media continues to be AWOl on this story.

Are Armed Drones Protected By The Second Amendment?

The Next Gun Debate? Armed Drones Could Be Protected By the Second Amendment -- US News and World Report

Several YouTube videos show hobbyists who have allegedly created rudimentary armed drones.

In April 2012, Rand Paul's nightmare seemingly came true nearly a year before he'd even gotten the chance to dream it. Four people were having a dinner party and playing cards when all of a sudden, a robotic plane showed up outside their window and interrupted their game with a barrage of bullets.

For 13 hours on the Senate floor this March, Paul railed on the government's willingness to use armed drones on American civilians, even suggesting that the government could use an unmanned plane to kill an American eating dinner with his family. But he never mentioned the possibility that the person flying the drone could be a neighbor.

That idea sounds farfetched, but some legal scholars think that Second Amendment rights might extend to robotic arms, including drones outfitted with weapons.

Read more ....

My Comment: I know that the above video is computer generated .... and that the spokesman (Kyle Myers) is not even Russian. But it is still a revealing video of what is possible.

Washington's IRS Scandal Continues To Grow

White House Knew IRS Probe Findings Earlier -- Washington Post

The White House offered a new account Monday of how and when it learned that the Internal Revenue Service had improperly targeted conservative groups, saying that some senior officials were informed of the findings but that President Obama was not.

The assertions came as the White House struggled to contain a political uproar over the IRS, which targeted conservative organizations for extra scrutiny, as well as over the administration’s aggressive pursuit of journalists in leak investigations and its handling of the deadly attacks in Benghazi, Libya, in September.

Read more ....

More News On The IRS Scandal

White House Says It Didn’t Loop Obama In on I.R.S. Inquiry -- New York Times
White House counsel kept IRS probe results from Obama -- Reuters
Obama chief of staff 'knew of IRS inquiry' in April -- BBC
Top White House Aides Told of Audit -- Wall Street Journal
White House: More top aides knew about IRS probe -- Kansas City/McClatchy News
White House officials knew of IRS audit findings weeks in advance -- L.A. Times
The White House’s shifting IRS account -- Politico

My Comment: If liberal organizations were also put under the microscope for extra scrutiny .... this would be a non-issue. But .... apparently no liberal non-profits were targeted. Instead .... what we have are conservative organizations, donors, supporters, critics of the Obama administration, etc. .... being targeted en masse and in huge numbers by the IRS. Here is an easy prediction .... I think we have seen nothing yet.

Senior White House Advisor: Where The President Was During the Benghazi Attack Is Irrelevant

Obama Aide: 'Irrelevant Fact' Where President Was During Benghazi Attacks -- Weekly Standard

Host Chris Wallace reminds Pfeiffer that Obama didn't really talk with Secretary Clinton, Secretary Panetta, or Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that night. "He was talking to his national security staff," Pfeiffer insists.

Asked about whether the president entered the Situation Room, Pfeiffer says, "I don't remember what room the president was in on that night, and that's a largely irrelevant fact."

Pfeiffer then argues that Wallace's questions about the president's handling of the Benghazi terror attack are "offensive."

UPDATE: Here's a full rush transcript of the exchange:

Read more ....

More News On The White House Responding To The Scandals That Are Now Enveloping Washington

Dan Pfeiffer: Legal questions in IRS scandal ‘irrelevant’ to ‘inexcusable’ actions -- Washington Post
Dan Pfeiffer: IRS Behavior ‘Inexcusable’ Whether or Not Illegal -- ABC News
WH aide clarifies 'irrelevant' comment -- USA Today
Republicans Are Ripping The White House's Dan Pfeiffer For Saying The Legality Of IRS Targeting Is 'Irrelevant' -- Business Insider
White House defends IRS handling, McConnell asserts 'culture of intimidation' -- NBC
White House Aide Chides GOP for 'Fishing Expeditions' -- Wall Street Journal
Adviser on White House scandals: "Partisan fishing expeditions" won't distract Obama -- CBS
CBS' Bob Schieffer unleashes on White House official: 'Why are you here today?' -- Washington Times

My Comment: Been traveling today, and it is only now that I am catching up on the Sunday morning talk shows. Could not believe what I have just watched. Senior Obama aide Dan Pfeiffer goes on the Sunday morning talk shows and says that where the President was during the Benghazi attack is irrelevant and the legality of who the IRS is targeting is also 'irrelevant'.

OK .....

Here is an easy prediction. The White House is not going to permit senior White House aide Dan Pfeiffer to hit the Sunday morning talk shows ever again.

Update: Even the Washington Post‘s Bob Woodward (of Watergate fame) is now ripping into the administration.

U.S. Government Was Aware That The IRS Was Targeting Conservatives Back in June 2012

Treasury Knew of I.R.S. Inquiry in 2012, Official Says -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department’s inspector general told senior Treasury officials in June 2012 he was auditing the Internal Revenue Service’s screening of politically active organizations seeking tax exemptions, disclosing for the first time on Friday that Obama administration officials were aware of the matter during the presidential campaign year.

At the first Congressional hearing into the I.R.S. scandal, J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, told members of the House Ways and Means Committee that he informed the Treasury’s general counsel of his audit on June 4, and Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin “shortly thereafter.”

Read more ....

My Comment: I know that this news story is not a defense/war/conflict post .... but many are asking for my opinion .... and so here it is.

While Benghazi is important because 4 Americans died .... and the American people have a right to know what happen even though many in Washington and the White House are trying their best to close the book .... it is the IRS scandal that is catching my attention. Even the New York Times is now acknowledging that the White House was aware that the IRS was targeting conservatives back in June 2012 .... but choose to do nothing about it. As to acting IRS commissioner Steven T. Miller's testimony today .... it is obvious that he knew what was happening .... but did not care.

I am not an American .... just a Russian national who is now a Canadian citizen looking from the outside in .... and I am just shaking my head. There is something terribly wrong in the U.S. right now .... when the IRS has been politicized to go after a specific political group, it does not take a 'political scientist and historian' to know that you are entering a very dark place .... and being one who grew up in such a place (the former Soviet Union) .... trust me on this one .... it is a place that you do not want to find yourself living in.

Update: 'Is this still America?' Congressional hearing turns into IRS smackdown as disgraced former commissioner and Treasury Inspector General face tea-party scandal questions -- Daily Mail

Washington Scandals -- A News Roundup

During Rose Garden Press Conference, Obama Refuses To Apologize For Secretly Seizing AP Phone Records, Shifts Blame To Congress For Benghazi Security Lapses, And Dodges Question About White House IRS Knowledge -- Daily Mail

* Assailed by questions over three scandals engulfing White House during Rose Garden press conference with Turkish Prime Minister
* Would not say whether anyone in his West Wing knew about the IRS targeting of the Tea Party before last week
* Offered 'no apologies' for DoJ secretly seizing phone records of Associated Press reporters over intelligence leak
* Admitted 'lessons needed to be learned' from Benghazi but said it was up to Congress to approve more money for military to provide extra security in hotspots abroad

President Barack Obama dodged questions Thursday about the IRS's targeting of conservative groups, shifted responsibility for the Benghazi attack to Congress, and said 'I offer no apologies' for the Department of Justice's secret seizure of reporter's phone records in search of a classified intelligence leak.

In a rain-soaked Rose Garden press conference originally intended to be a victory lap for the United States' relationship with Turkey, Obama stood alongside Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan and fielded questions which quickly shifted to the trio of scandals that are engulfing his administration.

Beginning in 2010, Obama's IRS targeted a list of approximately 300 tea party-related and other conservative groups for aggressive scrutiny following their applications for tax-exempt status.

Read more ....

More News And Coverage On The IRS 'Scandal'

Republicans Keep Up Pressure on White House Over IRS Scandal -- Voice of America
Obama names acting IRS chief, denies knowledge of IRS report -- NBC
Obama names budget official Werfel as acting IRS head -- Reuters
IRS Official in Charge During Tea Party Targeting Now Runs Health Care Office -- ABC News
Second top IRS official out as scandal over targeting of Tea Party groups rages on -- Daily Mail
Second Top IRS Official Quits as GOP Scrutiny Rises -- Wall Street Journal
Second IRS official out after Tea Party scandal, as outgoing commissioner faces Congress -- FOX News
If White House counsel knew about IRS abuses weeks ago - and didn't tell Obama - she should resign -- FOX News
White House counsel should resign if she knew about IRS abuses -- Lanny J. Davis, The Hill
This Is No Ordinary Scandal -- Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal

More News And Coverage On The AP Wiretapping Story

Obama defends leak probes as necessary for security, calls for balance with press freedom. -- AP
Obama: ‘No apologies’ for leaks investigation -- Washington Post
Obama Has 'Complete Confidence' In Attorney General Holder -- NPR
More mystery over AP subpoenas process at Justice Department -- Politico
Holder says he played no role in AP phone subpoena -- AP
Holder facing liberal backlash over AP records grab -- FOX News
Lawmakers Introduce Bill Requiring Court Order to Seize Phone Records -- Threat Level
Holder’s recusal and the leak investigation are unprecedented -- Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post
How to avoid another Justice raid on reporter phone records -- Christian Science Monitor editorial

More News And Coverage On Benghazi

Benghazi e-mails unleash flood of questions -- USA Today
Obama administration regroups to counter Benghazi criticism -- CNN
The Benghazi Emails: Talking Points Changed at State Dept.'s Request -- ABC News
Pickering, Mullen reject request to testify on Benghazi in private -- Miami Herald/McClatchy News
GOP lawmakers increasingly in favor of special investigative committee -- Washington Free Beacon
Democrats: Enough with Benghazi, already -- CBS
Former Obama official on Benghazi: ‘Press has been so lazy, it’s infuriating’ -- Erik Wemple, Washington Post
What really happened in Benghazi? -- Douglas E. Schoen, FOX News

What Washington Scandal(s)?

The Scandals Are Falling Apart -- Ezra Klein, Washington Post

Things go wrong in government. Sometimes it’s just bad luck. Sometimes it’s rank incompetence. Sometimes it’s criminal wrongdoing. Most of the time you never hear about it. Or, if you do hear about it, the media eventually gets bored talking about it (see warming, global).

But every so often an instance of government wrongdoing sprouts wings and becomes something quite exciting: A political scandal.

The crucial ingredient for a scandal is the prospect of high-level White House involvement and wide political repercussions. Government wrongdoing is boring. Scandals can bring down presidents, decide elections and revive down-and-out political parties. Scandals can dominate American politics for months at a time.

Read more ....

My Comment: Summarizing Ezra Klein (who obviously wants to be the next White House Press spokesman) ....

IRS as a tool used to target conservatives .... no big deal. The IRS is an independent body ..... there are no White House fingerprints on this .... someone got fired (a Bush appointee) .... end of story.

Benghazi .... a tragedy .... confusion on who did the attack and why .... normal in the fog of war/terrorism .... but the White house could do nothing about it. We released a few emails to prove to the world that we were confused .... end of story.

Seizing the AP's phone records .... nothing illegal here .... besides .... the Republicans were complaining about leaks anyway .... end of story.

Sighhhh .... this is the course of U.S. politics and how a good portion of the media covers it today.

Or .... quoting the Roman satirist and poet Juvenal .... give them more bread and circuses.

Live: President Obama To Deliver A Statement At 6 p.m. EST On The IRS Scandal

JOIN THE LIVE CHAT

VISIT WHITEHOUSE.GOV

Commentaries, Opinions, And Analysis On The Scandals Plaguing Washington -- May 15, 2013

The White House Field Guide To Scandal -- David Weigel, Syracuse.com/Slate

If you find yourself panicking about the thick cloud of scandal snaking around the Obama administration, don't. Sen. John McCain has good news for you.

"When Iran-Contra was going on, President Reagan was still able to work with Congress," said McCain to Capitol Hill reporters today. "Legislation was passed, et cetera." That scandal captivated Washington and the world, and "everyone thought that it would damage President Reagan, but it didn't."

There, isn't that soothing? Three stories, doing varying amounts of damage, may only add up to the same Richter scale score as the story that nearly destroyed the Reagan presidency. The invincible Republican investigation of Benghazi, the IRS's early admission that it hassled Tea Party groups, two U.S. attorneys' snooping into Associated Press phone records -- it's all being rolled together into a grand narrative of presidential crisis. In his weekly chat with reporters, Democratic House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer confused the IRS story and the AP story, answering one with his talking points for the other. He apologized. Then he did it again.

Read more ....

Commentaries, Opinions, And Analysis On The Scandals Plaguing Washington

D.C. turns on Obama -- Mike Allen and Jim Vandehei, Politico
The Insiders: Don’t stall Mr. President: It’s time for a special prosecutor. -- Ed Rogers, Washington Post

Obama, the uninterested president -- Dana Milbank, Washington Post
Obama loses mainstream media support as Benghazi, IRS, AP scandals grow -- Dan Gainor, FOX News
Analysis: Once a beacon, Obama under fire over civil liberties -- Joan Biskupic and David Ingram, Reuters
Benghazi’s smoking guns: Obama’s response was a circus with no sideshow -- Jonah Goldberg, Washington Times
Capitol succumbs to scandal fever -- Nick O'Malley, Sydney Morning Herald
Obama’s second term clouded by controversies -- Dan Balz, Washington Post
The Note: Scandal Creep -- Michael Falcone, The Note/ABC News
What we know Obama doesn't know grows daily -- Andrew Malcolm, Investors.com
Benghazi, IRS, AP scandals -- will buck ever stop with Obama? -- Douglas E. Schoen, FOX News
Obama's Self-Inflicted Scandal -- Richard A. Epstein, Foreign Policy
Spate of US spying revelations reminiscent of covert surveillance of Watergate era -- Simon Carswell, Irish Times
IRS controversy: What's the potential fallout? -- Stephanie Condon, CBS
The IRS Scandal Is Entering Fallout Mode -- Adam Martin, New York Magazine
Let Me Start: Damage control -- Hardball Staff/MSNBC
Obama's 'juice' squeezed by scandals? -- Linda Feldmann, Christian Science Monitor
Obama's dangerous new narrative -- Alexander Burns and John F. Harris, Politico
Is Anyone Home in the White House? -- John Hinderaker, Power Line
Hillary Clinton Has The Most To Lose From Obama's Scandals -- Josh Kraushaar, The Atlantic
How Can We Understand Benghazi Without Probing the CIA's Role? -- Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic
What Is It About Benghazi? -- Andrew B. Wilson, American Spectator
Axelrod on Benghazi: 'This Story Is BS' -- Weekly Standard
The Benghazi scandal’s female factor -- Frank J. Gaffney Jr., The Washington Times

Scanda Fever Grips Washington -- A News Roundup May 15, 2013

Obama Engulfed By Triple Scandal Crisis: White House Faces Fury Over Benghazi Cover-Up, Tax Probes On Right Wing Groups And Spying On Reporters' Phone Calls -- Daily Mail

* Press secretary Jay Carney insists the White House had no knowledge of the IRS's admitted plan to subject right-wing groups to closer scrutiny
* Carney also says the administration was unaware of the Justice Department's seizure of Associated Press phone records until 'yesterday'
* The administration continues to spin Benghazi, telling reporters that 'politicization' and comparisons with Richard Nixon are Republicans' fault
* Asked what action Obama will take on the IRS scandal, Carney responded only, 'We'll see'
* One-THIRD of committees in the House of Representatives are now investigating the Obama administration
* Criminal investigation is launched into the AP phone records, with Attorney General Eric Holder recusing himself from the probe

The White House struggled to deflect a barrage of questions today as it scrambled to contain three growing scandals lapping at Obama's door.

The usually unflappable Obama press secretary Jay Carney faced a torrid grilling in his daily briefing and could only claim the White House was ignorant - or blame Republicans for the deep water the Obama administration has found itself in.

The swell of criticism over the administration’s actions following the 2012 terror attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya has reached a new crescendo.

Read more ....

More News On The Scandals Plaguing The White House

Obama administration has more than three scandals -- Washington Times
White House reels from 3 scandals -- Boston Herald
Multiple controversies suddenly plague Obama -- McClatchy News
Obama faces a raft of scandals -- Iol News
White House in full damage-control mode -- Washington Times
In scandal-plagued Washington, lawmaker struggles to keep track of issues -- Yahoo News/The Ticket

Attorney general orders criminal review of IRS -- L.A. Times
FBI starts criminal probe of IRS as report details unfair treatment -- McClatchy News
IRS Scandal Reaches Farther Than Just Cincinnati -- The Note/ABC
The IRS wants YOU — to share everything -- Politico
Scandal-scarred IRS rejects key Treasury Department recommendations -- Washington Times
Report blames IRS scandal on lax oversight, confused staff -- L.A. Times
House speaker suggests jail time for violations in IRS scandal -- Reuters

Eric Holder points finger at his DEPUTY who secretly obtained journalist's phone records as Obama is forced to say he has 'confidence' in the Attorney General -- AP
Attorney General Eric Holder Had Stepped Back From AP Leak Investigation -- ABC News
Holder Isn't Sure How Often Reporters' Records Are Seized -- NPR
U.S. attorney general says he didn't make AP phone records decision -- Reuters
Media coalition letter of protest to Attorney General Eric Holder -- Washington Post

Commentaries, Opinions, And Analysis On The Many Scandals Plaguing Washington

AP, IRS, Benghazi: How Can Americans Trust President Obama Now? -- Crystal Wright, The Guardian

The only 'political circus' is all the controversies in the Obama administration. Republicans and America want answers

How can Republicans in Congress work with President Obama when they can't trust him to be an honest broker or treat them with respect? If Obama isn't blaming Republicans for his inability to advance his agenda, he's calling them names. During Monday's White House press conference, Obama reiterated his disgust with the GOP's doggedness to get to the bottom of what happened in Benghazi.

"The whole issue of talking points, frankly, throughout this process has been a sideshow," said Obama. Belittling comments like these don't warm Republicans' hearts to help Obama advance one scintilla of an issue in his second term.

Read more ....

More Commentaries, Opinions, And Analysis On The Scandals Plaguing Washington

The trio of scandals engulfing the White House -- Jena McGregor, Washington Post
Obama Besieged on Many Fronts -- Voice of America
IRS, Benghazi, AP: The Problems Pile Up for Obama -- Alexis Simendinger, Real Clear Politics
Pressure on Benghazi, IRS, leaks investigation pose big hurdles for Obama’s second-term hopes -- Washington Post
Benghazi, IRS, AP scandals -- will buck ever stop with Obama? -- Douglas E. Schoen, FOX News
IRS Audits, Benghazi, Sebelius: Obama’s Second Term Is Scandal Heaven -- Eleanor Clift, Daily Beast
Obama is Counting on a Double Standard -- Jonathan S. Tobin, Commentary
Did political spin hide the truth of Benghazi? -- Gloria Borger, CNN Chief Political Analyst
Sebelius strong-arming can’t compete with Benghazi, IRS, AP -- Mike Hashimoto, Dallas News
Media who spin for Obama are getting lonely as scandals pile up -- Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post
Democrats in Triage Mode on White House Scandals -- Shane Goldmacher, The Atlantic
First Thoughts: Then there were three -- Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Brooke Brower/NBC News
Are Obama’s Scandals Reaching Critical Mass? -- John Steele Gordon, Commentary
Obama finds his legacy -- Wesley Pruden, The Washington Times
Obama’s Cronkite moment: Did the president lose Jon Stewart -- and his millennial base -- last night? -- Alex Seitz-Wald, Salon
Obama's Benghazi woes won't end unless he comes clean -- Karl Rove, FOX News
Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, former Vice President Dick Cheney call Benghazi a cover-up -- Adam Edelman, New York Daily News
Holder, Carney Under Attack as Scandal-Gate Widens -- John Avlon, Daily Beast
A Long Afternoon for White House’s Carney -- Wall Street Journal
Jay Carney’s tough day -- David Nakamura, Washington Post
Britt Hume observes media 'firestorm' at Jay Carney's press conference -- Examiner
Calm Down, People: Obama's Second Term Was Already in Tatters -- Garance Franke-Ruta, The Atlantic
Are IRS, Benghazi flaps affecting Obama's standing with US public? -- Peter Grier, Christian Science Monitor
39% of people who think Benghazi is America's biggest scandal can't find it on a map -- Elias Groll, Passport/Foreign Policy

What Is Next In The Benghazi Investigation

If Benghazi Was A Cover Up, How High Did It Go? -- David Francis, The Fiscal Times

The controversy over the September 2012 attack against an American consulate in Benghazi reached a fever pitch over the weekend, with Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) even threatening to impeach President Obama for covering up the U.S.’s failure to protect its diplomats.

“They knew that it was a cover-up at that time, the time that it happened,” Inhofe said Saturday. “People may be starting to use the I-word before too long.”

On Monday, Obama responded to the charge that he hid information on the attacks as a “political circus” and called the controversy over administration talking points a “side show.”

“We've now seen this argument that’s been made by some folks, primarily up on the Hill, for months now,” Obama said during a joint press conference held with British Prime Minister David Cameron. “There’s no ‘there-there’ .”

Read more ....

My Comment: Senator Jim Inhofe's hinting at impeachment over the weekend is not helpful to getting a better understanding on what happened at Benghazi. Also .... after today's news conference .... it is obvious that the White House is not going to help in any probe on Benghazi. I expect that it is only after more witnesses and whistle blowers testify that a select committee and/or special prosecutor will then be appointed, and they will use their authority to get to the bottom of this story..

President Obama: Benghazi Talking Points Controversy A 'Sideshow'

Obama Stands By Benghazi Response -- Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama on Monday again defended his administration's response to an attack on a diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, and called a Republican-led investigation politically driven and a "sideshow."

Mr. Obama's comments come as Republicans are widening their probe into whether election-year politics drove the White House to meddle with intelligence information. The investigation, along with a growing Internal Revenue Service scandal, are overshadowing the White House's attempts to drive through Mr. Obama's second-term agenda.

Mr. Obama said "nobody understood exactly" what was going on in the first few days following the assault on the diplomatic mission on Sept. 11, 2012.

Read more ....

More News On President Obama's Comments On Benghazi

Obama dismisses Benghazi talking points controversy as a 'sideshow' -- NBC
President Obama Dismisses Benghazi Criticism as ‘Sideshow’ -- ABC News
"There's no there, there" on Benghazi, Obama says -- CBS
Obama calls controversy over Benghazi talking points a 'sideshow' -- L.A. Times
Obama dismisses GOP focus on Benghazi as politically motivated, undeterred GOP moves ahead -- Washington Post/AP
Obama Says Congress Benghazi Probe Becoming Political Circus -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Obama Scoffs at Libya Outcry but Vows to Act on I.R.S. Audits -- New York Times
Obama calls Benghazi controversy a 'sideshow' -- FOX News
Obama calls Benghazi talking points criticism a 'sideshow' -- Kansas City Star/McClatchy News
Obama dismisses criticism of Benghazi talking points as ‘side show’ -- Washington Post

My Comment: Calling Benghazi a "slide show" is not going to make the issue go away. There are too many questions that remain unanswered .... starting with .... and including .... the where and what he was doing on the night of the Benghazi consulate attack.

Should President Obama Be Impeached Over Benghazi?

Jim Inhofe Mulls 'I-Word' After Benghazi -- Politico

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said the fatal attacks on American diplomats in Benghazi could lead to President Barack Obama’s impeachment during a radio interview Friday.

“People may be starting to use the I-word before too long,” Inhofe said during a discussion of Benghazi on “The Rusty Humphries Show.”

“I-word meaning ‘impeachment?’” Humphries asked.

“Yeah,” Inhofe said.

Humphries pointed out it was unlikely the Senate would vote to convict Obama even if the GOP-controlled House voted to impeach.

Read more ....

My Comment: My eyes are rolling. I am not a fan of most of President Obama's policies, but it will take a hell of a lot more evidence and willful breaking of the law from this White House to even consider such a prospect. If I was advising the Republicans, I would tell then to focus on what happened at Benghazi. .... what went wrong .... who was responsible. And if they want to focus on what happened after the attack .... focus on the false narrative that was given to the American public for why this attack happened, and point fingers at those who willfully lied to the American public for political gain. The American people are not stupid .... do your work and if you can make that the case that they have been lied to, the American voters (at least 55% to 60% fo them) will exact a political price on the Democrats in the next Congressional and (maybe) Presidential elections. But talking impeachment right now .... that just makes you look small and politically selfish.

U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski Lectures The Pentagon On Respecting To Congress

Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., (left) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), listen to testimony from Reserve and National Guard leaders April 17, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The senators lead the largest committee in the U.S. Senate. They are responsible for reviewing the FY14 President's Budget Request, hearing testimony from government officials and drafting the spending plans for the coming fiscal year. Mikulski is the chairwoman of the full U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations and Durbin is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Defense. (U.S. Air Force photo/Col. Bob Thompson)

Mikulski To Pentagon: Respect Congress -- Kevin Baron, The E-Ring/Foreign Policy

Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., admonished Pentagon leaders on Wednesday for not treating members of defense oversight committees seriously or respectfully. She said they make national security decisions without adequate congressional notification, and she demanded a change in tone from those across the river.

Mikulski said defense committee chairmen seem to get plenty of attention, but backbenchers are shut out. When they do get answers from Pentagon officials, she said, it feels as if the officials are just "checking a box."

"We have been deeply troubled from time to time that we have been treated in a dismissive way," Mikulski said, in a budget hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

"We want meetings, and we want meetings that count. We don't just want meetings that give updates for decisions that were made," she told Navy Secretary Ray Mabus; Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations; and Gen. James Amos, the commandant of the Marine Corps.

Read more ....

My Comment: She is not the first politician to complain .... but at least she is not like her fellow Senator from California who wants Generals to always call her Senator.

Did Today's Training Accident That Claimed 7 U.S. Marines Was Due To Sequestration?

Reid Raises Sequester Debate After Deadly Military Training Accident -- FOX News

Just hours after an explosion killed seven Marines in his home state, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid used the fatal training accident as an opportunity to talk about the potential impact of the sequester on military readiness.

The Senate Democratic leader initially took to the floor Tuesday to mourn the deaths of the seven Marines, killed during a training exercise at Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada.

"My thoughts are with those who are injured and of course the families of those who lost loved ones," Reid said.

Read more ....

My Comment: This is coming from the man who leads a Senate that has not passed a budget in 4 years. As to his comments on today's accident .... not surprising .... many U.S. Marines are not happy with this linkage. As to what is my take .... sighhhh .... we get the politicians that we elect, and this is what the voters of Nevada want.

U.S. Senator Wants U.S. Boots On the Ground In Syria

Photo: Official portrait of Senator Lindsey Graham of SC. Wikipedia

Graham Calls For American Boots On The Ground In Syria -- The Cable/Foreign Policy

In the face of new reports alleging chemical weapons use in Syria, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called Tuesday for the United States to put American troops inside Syria to secure the WMD sites there.

The Syrian regime and the Syrian rebels have each accused the other of using chemical weapons in a rocket attack in Aleppo province that killed at least 25 people. A Reuters photographer at a hospital receiving victims of the attack relayed that victims "said that people were suffocating in the streets and the air smelt strongly of chlorine." The Russian Foreign Ministry immediately backed the regime's claim that the rebels had used chemical weapons.

Read more ....

Update #1: Graham calls for boots on the ground in Syria -- CBS
Update #2: McCain and Graham on Syria: Obama’s “red line” has been crossed, so it’s time to take action -- Hot Air

My Comment: Fortunately .... the last thing that the American public wants to see right now are U.S. boots on the ground in Syria.

Update: Oh oh .... we now have a senior Democrat Senator pushing for a more assertive U.S. role in Syria's civil war.