The mess Rod Rosenstein made

"The mess Rod Rosenstein made" https://t.co/uGVFp2w9O8 pic.twitter.com/tYvr334XrI

— The Hill (@thehill) May 22, 2018

Many liberals and critics are under the mistaken belief that President Trump is violating the rule of law and civil liberties by criticizing the Robert Mueller investigation and by ordering the Justice Department’s Inspector General to investigate whether or not the FBI spied on his 2016 presidential campaign. In fact, the president is behaving totally lawfully, and it is Robert Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein who are acting unconstitutionally and who are violating Trump’s civil liberties....

The unconstitutionality of Mueller’s appointment renders everything he has done since May 17, 2017, unconstitutional as well. This includes obtaining a log of calls by President Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen, and his referral of Cohen to the United States attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York. Both the logging and the referral are examples of what the Supreme Court calls the fruit of a poisonous tree.

When an official uses government power in an unconstitutional way, anything that results from it is subject to the exclusionary rule and is not admissible in court. Since the investigation by the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York was started due to an arguably unconstitutional call log that violates both the Appointments Clause and attorney-client privilege, the federal courts should hold that any prosecutions that result of Cohen or anyone else that grew out of the Mueller referral are unconstitutional and null and void.....

Did the White House Push Firms to Dump the House Obamacare Lawsuit?

◼ Judicial Watch intends to find out. - US News

The conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch is seeking proof that Obama administration officials helped strong-arm two law firms into ceasing work on the House of Representatives' planned lawsuit against the administration.

The House voted in July to authorize the lawsuit, which would challenge the administration’s delay of the Affordable Care Act’s employer health insurance mandate. The resolution gave House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, authority to hire outside attorneys for the case, and he did so.

But the suit has not been filed three months after the unusual House vote, due in part to unreliable law firm partnerships.

Politico reports that political pressure from clients motivated the two firms to discontinue their work with the House. But Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton believes that pressure came – either directly or indirectly – from the executive branch.

What do you say to someone who lets Occupy protestors break laws for 100 days, but won't let vets see their own memorial? Trey Gowdy exposes hypocrisy of National Park Service Director over memorial closures…

◼ Trey Gowdy went after the National Park Service Director today and asked him why it took him over 100 days to enforce federal regulations with Occupy groups camping out in national parks but when it comes to the veterans, their memorials were closed on the first day and he can’t cite a single federal regulation requiring him to do so. - The Right Scoop





◼ THIS IS HOW YOU PROVE A POINT... - IJ Review via Conservative Daily

Hikers have to be wary of boundaries.

◼ Which parks in the Bay Area are open and closed? - SF Chronicle

The partial shutdown of the federal government creates the possibility that a walk in the country could start on a perfectly legal trail in a state park and end with a citation on adjacent federal land.

Even among federal agencies that control land - including the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - there are different access rules under the partial shutdown.

The crazy quilt of land jurisdiction and regulations has caused widespread confusion about what is a national park and therefore closed. Alcatraz Island, for example, is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is off-limits. Nearby Angel Island is a state park and unaffected by the partial shutdown.

Many people think it's fine to hike the trails at Point Reyes National Seashore. It's not - Point Reyes is an outpost of the National Park Service, and people can't even drive on Limantour Road, let alone take a hike....

GOP Congressman’s Epic Obamacare Admission

◼ Representative Sean Duffy (R-WI) took MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell to task Tuesday for her stubborn defense of President Obama’s unwillingness to negotiate on Obamacare to end the government shutdown. - Conservative Videos

When Mitchell claimed that a delay of the individual mandate was a “nonnegotiable demand”, Rep. Duffy demanded to know why the administration would delay the mandate for big businesses and not for individuals, and why only Jon Stewart had asked why the two should be treated differently.
Read more at http://conservativevideos.com/2013/10/msnbc-host-left-speechless-gop-congressmans-epic-obamacare-admission/#boUsG9HyDQdLyqT8.99

In other words, Obama won't sign popular, widely-supported funding measures to help alleviate the effects of the shutdown because if he did, the "heat" and "pressure" on Republicans would evaporate.

◼ Obama: GOP Hostage-Taking Tactics are Reckless...Unlike My Own, Of Course - Guy Benson/TownHall

Obama said he's "tempted" sign House-passed bills that would fund Head Start, FEMA, the FDA, NIH, and the like, but he can't. (As a sidenote, he's already done so once during this skirmish, and he's backing another piecemeal bill). Why not? The key quote:

"But here's the problem. What you've seen are bills that come up where Republicans are feeling political pressure, and they but a bill forward. And if there's no political heat, if there's no television story on it, then nothing happens."

In other words, Obama won't sign popular, widely-supported funding measures to help alleviate the effects of the shutdown because if he did, the "heat" and "pressure" on Republicans would evaporate. Which sounds an awful lot like hostage taking. He is holding popular appropriations hostage to getting the whole government funded within his preferred parameters. That's politics as usual. But he can't sit on his high horse about Republicans' terrible, horrible tactics when he's essentially doing the exact same thing. He says he'll negotiate with GOP leaders after they accede to his requests. Fine, but what incentive would he have to budge in the future when his refusal to budge while the heat is hottest has contributed to the current shutdown? And why should Republicans trust him to compromise in good faith later, when they'll hold fewer cards?

...our truth-to-power titans in the White House press corps couldn't muster one question on these cynical actions specifically designed to inflict pain on the very citizens the government exists to "serve."

OBAMA'S PRIORITIES: Almost half a BILLION for public broadcasting, but NOTHING for families of fallen troops

◼ The very partial shutdown of the federal government has served to expose the real values of the Obama administration. - Thomas Lifson/American Thinker

...PBS NewsHour, National Public Radio and Sesame Street got a taxpayer subsidy during the shutdown, but not would-be cancer patients at the NIH....

Stars and Stripes reports that this weekend "Defense Department officials acknowledged that the shutdown had halted the $100,000 payouts given to fallen troops' families, usually paid within a few days of their deaths...."

The only coverage I have seen has been in New Media, all of it negative due to Obama's hypocritical exception for his cronies as he wages war on veterans

◼ SHUTDOWN VICTIM: AMNESTY RALLY MEDIA COVERAGE - John Nolte/Breitbart

While Obama is bullying octogenarian World War II veterans out of their memorial and refusing to fund cancer treatments for children, the president did make an exception that allowed for "Several thousand AFL-CIO and SEIU sponsored pro-amnesty demonstrators began rallying on Capitol Hill on Tuesday afternoon[.]"

Obviously, like the trips our aging WWII veterans booked to visit a memorial the Obama administration blocked, Tuesday's amnesty rally had been scheduled for some time, and for maximum media impact. But thus far I have seen absolutely no coverage of the rally on any of the cable news networks, and a quick look at the front pages of today's major left-wing political publications shows no coverage whatsoever.

‘Closed for King Obama’: Grand Canyon business owners protest shutdown

◼ A small group of business owners who depend on Grand Canyon tourism for their livelihood marched to the park gates today to protest the government shutdown. - Twitchy

Part of the group walking up to Grand Canyon for #shutdown protest. pic.twitter.com/MlkLa0IGLr

— Michelle Lee (@myhlee) October 8, 2013

People showing up for #shutdown protest outside Grand Canyon. Sign says "Closed 4 King Obama." pic.twitter.com/sl98CHSmx0

— Michelle Lee (@myhlee) October 8, 2013

Mr. President @BarackObama, reopen America’s National Parks or let the states do it. #GrandCanyon #Lead http://t.co/kkPKt9B7RE

— Jan Brewer (@GovBrewer) October 5, 2013

◼ Grand Canyon Cites People For Entering Closed Park

All of the citations will be handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Wright says each of the 21 citations issued as of Monday has a mandatory order to appear in federal court.

◼ At Yellowstone: PARK RANGERS TURN 'GESTAPO'... - Newburyport News

The shutdown of the U.S. federal government has provided new excuses to not provide information to the public for an administration that is already known to be hostile and evasive towards the media.

◼ OBAMA ADMIN GOES QUIET AS PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICES CLOSE OVER SHUTDOWN - Kerry Picket/Breitbart

As a result of the shutdown, numerous press shops and public affairs offices have been shuttered across the federal government, making it more difficult for reporters to get responses from various departments and agencies...

Obama Just Caved. Why Aren’t Republicans Noticing?

◼ President Obama effectively caved into Republican demands Tuesday when he said he’d be open to short term increase in the debt ceiling and a brief extension of funding for the federal government. - Keith Koffler/White House Dossier

Obama, who spoke today during a hastily called White House news conference, even tied the length of the extensions to negotiations demanded by Republicans.

“If they can’t do it for a long time, do it for the period of time in which these negotiations are taking place,” he said....

Republicans stood firm. Even Boehner. They can now reap their reward.

Democratic insiders said there was queasiness at the prospect of the first lady raising millions from wealthy donors and campaigning for Democratic causes while thousands of federal employees are furloughed because of the partial government shutdown.

Queasiness?

◼ Michelle Obama cancels Bay Area fundraisers - SF Chronicle

Among the planned events was an intimate roundtable with White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett at the home of Ali Pincus, co-founder of the upscale Internet shopping site One Kings Lane.

House sends tenth funding bill to Senate

◼ Members passed the Head Start for Low-Income Children Act, H.J.Res. 84, in a 248-168 vote. But while Democrats again called on the GOP to pass the Senate's clean spending bill, 23 Democrats supported the GOP resolution; only two Republicans opposed it. - Pete Kasperowicz/The Hill

"The nine bills the House has passed since Oct. 1 to reopen the government — this will be the tenth — constitute nearly one-third of the federal government's discretionary budget," he said. "These ten bills fund very critical programs, cleanly, as the Senate has demanded, and have been supported on a bipartisan basis in this House.

"So why are these bills still sitting on Harry Reid's desk? Why is the Senate not making every stride they can to help our nation's disadvantaged children, hungry families and our veterans?"

George Orwell - "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." Signs say National Mall closed, but immigration reform rally is a go

◼ Rally for Illegal Aliens ALLOWED on 'Closed' National Mall... - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner @charlesspiering

Even though isolated barricades with "closed" signs remained on the National Mall on Tuesday, the setup for the immigration reform rally said otherwise.

A giant stage with lights and an "Immigration Reform Now" banner was set up in the center of the mall, along with three large portable screens.

On one side of the mall, more than 100 porta potties were set up for protesters who will attend the rally today.

As several groups of musicians performed sound checks, a lone National Park Service employee arrived to survey the scene, but referred me to the Park Service communications office and left when I asked her why she was called into work today.

◼ Pro-Amnesty Forces Rally on National Mall - BREITBART

Scores of Democratic House members also began arriving shortly after 12:30 PM on golf carts. House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is scheduled to speak as well, as are many different labor union officials. Washington, D.C. mayor Vince Gray is slated to address the group too.

MEANWHILE:
◼ SHUTDOWN THEATER: TAKE A HIKE, WAR HEROES, WE’VE GOT AN IMMIGRATION RALLY TO HOLD - John Hayward/Human Events @Doc_o
◼ Video: Veterans arrested at Vietnam War memorial in NYC - HotAir
◼ Runner Fined $100 At Valley Forge Amid Government Shutdown - CBS Philadelphia

“From a safety standpoint, I like running down there, along with the scenery,” he says.

But on Sunday, Bells says there were two rangers waiting with their car lights flashing when he returned. They slapped him with the $100 citation.

◼ Examiner Editorial: Obama manipulated vets, seniors, children in shutdown - Washington Examiner

Somebody, starting in the Oval Office, should be ashamed.

The World War II Memorial exists thanks to some $200 million in private donations — plus $15 million or so from Washington: In other words, the feds paid for the grass. But the thug usurpers of the bureaucracy want to send a message: In today’s America, everything is the gift of the government, and exists only at the government’s pleasure, whether it’s your health insurance, your religious liberty, or the monument to your fallen comrades. The Barrycades are such a perfect embodiment of what James Piereson calls “punitive liberalism”

◼ Shutdown Simulacrum: Just because it’s a phony crisis doesn’t mean it can’t be made even phonier. Mark Steyn

...America has no budget process. That’s why it’s the brokest nation in history. So a budgeting process that can’t control the budget in a legislature that can’t legislate leads to a government shutdown that shuts down open areas of grassland and the unmanned boat launch on the Bighorn River in Montana. Up next: the debt-ceiling showdown, in which we argue over everything except the debt. The conventional wisdom of the U.S. media is that Republicans are being grossly irresponsible not just to wave through another couple trillion or so on Washington’s overdraft facility. Really? Other countries are actually reducing debt: New Zealand, for example, has a real budget that diminishes net debt from 26 percent of GDP to 17 percent by 2020. By comparison, America’s net debt is currently about 88 percent, and we’re debating only whether to increase it automatically or with a few ineffectual strings attached....

Democrats shut down the government to prove it can run health care.

Democrats shut down the government to prove it can run health care. pic.twitter.com/CUHW50y9Ua

— Rep. Steve Stockman (@SteveWorks4You) October 7, 2013

@ReElectStockman If you add an "i" it would be more correct. Democrats shut down government to prove it can "ruin" your health care. #tcot

— Steve Newcomer (@SteveNewcomer) October 6, 2013

$3.15 TRILLION OF SPENDING GOES ON DESPITE ‘SHUTDOWN’

◼ One surprising aspect of the partial federal government so-called “shutdown” is what a small portion of the budget is actually affected, in turn bringing attention to just how little impact Congress can have on spending through the normal budget process. - Robert Romano/Human Events

Some $2.5 trillion of federal outlays — more than 66 percent of all spending — is categorized as so-called “mandatory” spending. This is money that is automatically spent without any vote in Congress....

In addition, some 2.6 million out of 3.4 million federal employees remain on the jobaccording to CNN, including active duty military. When you add another 589,000 postal employees, in total 3.189 million out of 4.139 million federal workers — a whopping 77 percent — are still working.

"Is it worth standing up and saying the Emperor has no clothes, we’re out of money, and that we should start to balance our budget and not spend money we don’t have?”

◼ RAND PAUL ON THE SHUTDOWN: “STANDING UP AND SAYING THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES.” - John Hayward/Human Events @Doc_o

NBC Nightly News features children turned away from National Institutes of Health, ignores Dem funding opposition

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

◼ After Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a funding bill for the National Institutes of Health, NBC Nightly News has run two feature stories about children and other patients who could not enroll in a cancer clinical trial at NIH because of the “shutdown.” - Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion In neither story was the Republican funding bill or Democratic rejection of funding mentioned.
Anyone who pays even a little attention knows that it is Democrats, and Democrats alone who have blocked funding for NIH child clinical trials.

Yet in the entire segment on NBC tonight, not a word was mentioned about why there is no funding. All that is mentioned is a generic and presumably bi-partisan failure to reach an agreement.

DOJ Breaks Own Rules In Shutting Down AMBER Alert Website

◼ Yesterday, I wrote about how the government had apparently declared the safe recovery of missing children as “non-essential” with the shuttering of the AMBER Alert website. - Townhall

Now it turns out that they are breaking their own rules in regards to what is essential and vital during a government shutdown. According to the U.S. Department of Justice FY 2014 Contingency Plan, one of the categories of activities that will continue is:

5. Those related to ‘emergencies involving the safety of human life of the protection of property,’ i.e., where there is a reasonable likelihood that the safety of human life or the protection of property would be compromised, in some significant degree, by delay in the performance of the function in question.