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President Obama's Surprise Revelation of Sealed Benghazi Indictment

President Barack Obama gestures during his news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Aug. 9, 2013. The president said he'll work with Congress to change the oversight of some of the National Security Agency's controversial surveillance programs and name a new panel of outside experts to review technologies. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

 

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By MIKE LEVINE (@mlevinereports)

Aug. 9, 2013

President Obama surprised aides when he revealed today the existence of a sealed indictment in the Benghazi, Libya, attack, leaving some wondering if he crossed a legal line.
At a press conference at the White House, President Obama was asked whether justice would come to those responsible for the terrorist attack nearly a year ago in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador.
"[W]e have informed, I think, the public that there's a sealed indictment," the president responded. "It's sealed for a reason. But we are intent on capturing those who carried out this attack, and we're going to stay on it until we get them."
That marked the only official confirmation so far of a sealed indictment in the Benghazi case. For days, officials across the law enforcement and intelligence communities have refused to publicly confirm reports of a sealed indictment.
After all, according to federal law, "no person may disclose [a sealed] indictment's existence," and a "knowing violation … may be punished as a contempt of court." Contempt of court carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail.

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A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, called the president's disclosure "crazy."
"Doesn't the law apply to the president too?" the official asked, and then jokingly added, "I guess he could pardon himself."
In fact, though, the president is effectively immune from breaking the law when it comes to a sealed indictment, according to a former prosecutor in the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section
"The [president], by virtue of his position, can't violate any non-disclosure/confidentiality rule," said Peter Zeidenberg, now in private practice in Washington. "One of the perks of being the head of the executive branch: Nothing he says is technically a leak. If he does it, it is authorized."
However, Zeidenberg acknowledged "an argument could be made that a sealed matter can only be unsealed by a court."
Zeidenberg helped lead the investigation into who leaked the secret identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame in 2003 and the subsequent prosecution of vice presidential aide "Scooter" Libby for lying to federal officials about his role in all of it.
After the president's remarks, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, where the sealed indictment is believed to have been filed, still declined to comment about reports of a sealed indictment in the Benghazi probe. An email asking specifically about the president's remarks was not immediately returned.
Despite the president's chosen words, a White House official insisted he "was simply referencing widely reported information and was not asked about, nor did he comment on any specific indictment."
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment,
ABC News' Mary Bruce contributed to this report

Obama’s Untraceable Donations: $100M’s from Overseas? Campaign Turns Off AVS Verification?

October 6, 2012, 11:02 am by Maggie M. Thornton 4 Comments

59

Maggie’s Notebook
Saudi Arabia is the largest funder of terrorism in the world. How many Saudi Riyals would they commit to keep Barack Obama in office? How many Egyptian pounds will the Muslim Brotherhood give back from the billions we give them, to keep Obama in office? How will the Federal Election Commission know what is fraudulent and what is not? They did, after all, allow a Guyana-Born naturalized American to file to run for the Presidency, forcing us to fund a defense of Natural-born status. Here’s the latest on Abdel Hassan. Is Hassan a Muslim? Yes he is. I don’t think Saudis wants a nuclear Iran with mentally deranged Ayatollahs in charge, but neither do they want another George W. Bush or Mitt Romney in the Oval Office.

According to the sources, a taxpayer watchdog group conducted a nine-month investigation into presidential and congressional fundraising and has uncovered thousands of cases of credit card solicitations and donations to Obama and Capitol Hill, allegedly from unsecure accounts, and many from overseas. That might be a violation of federal election laws. Get the details at Libertarian Republican

It’s okay be Americans of Arab descent, or American Muslims who donate to Obama, but it isn’t okay to do so fraudulently from any place in the world, including from inside the U.S. Has that happened? I have no doubt that it has and is. Our government offices are out-of-control and baldly Liberal-leaning. Our government has no shame and I’m sick of it, and sick of paying for it, both through my tax dolars and the demise of my country.
Powerline April 2, 2012:

The Obama campaign even went the extra mile to raise campaign funds by failing to adopt standard protections against fraudulent and illegal giving. Federal law prohibits foreign contributions and requires the disclosure of identifying information for contributions in excess of $200. Campaigns must accordingly keep running totals for each donor and report them once they exceed $200…
The Obama campaign was able to take these donations because it had turned off the standard Address Verification System that screens credit-card charges for matching names and addresses.
As we and other noted, the 2008 Obama campaign’s records revealed big contributors with names like “Doodad Pro” (employer: “Loving,” profession: “You”) and “Good Will (same employer and profession). Both donated via credit card. I believe it was Pamela Geller who reported some donations came from overseas — raising the question of whether Obama was accepting donations from foreigners. (It can also screen cards issued by foreign banks.)
The McCain campaign used AVS and provided a searchable database of all donors, including those who fell below the $200 threshold. The Obama campaign chose not to use the AVS system to screen donations. (The McCain campaign rejected such donations through the use of the AVS system.) You can find a good description of the AVS and CVV fraud prevention devices here.

Later in the Powerline article, a reader verified to Powerline that the same thing is going on today, leading up to the November 6th election. This blog followed the lead at Powerline and made a fraudulent donation as well. See the screen shots at A Fistful of Neurons.
Today I went to the Obama donation site. Step 1 was how much I was donating. Step 2 asked for name, address, city, state, zip code and phone number. Step 3 moves to the page shown below, with one step left – I didn’t go there. I have no way to know if AVS (Address Verification System (allows verifying that the billing address for the credit card is the same as entered on the donation form) is turned off, but the CCV, the three digit number on the back of the card (maybe 4 digit as well) is not asked for on Obama’s site.
The CCV verifies that the number matches the card, with the assumption that if it does, the card holder has the card in his/her hand. Obama doesn’t have the CCV unless it is asked for in the last step, after giving the credit card number. Maybe it does, but usually the card number and the CCV are together. Notice that Romney’s site does ask for the CCV and everything is on one page to be seen by the donor.

One last thing, I’m listening to Bob Woodward on Hannity (night of 10-5-12) who is saying that there is a major, looming campaign donation scandal, involving overseas contributions and Obama’s campaign.
Remember the name DooDadPro from the Powerline story above.

According to knowlegable sources, a national magazine and a national web site are preparing a blockbuster donor scandal story.
Sources told Secrets that the Obama campaign has been trying to block the story. But a key source said it plans to publish the story Friday or, more likely, Monday. Source: Hot Air

Why would a campaign turn-off credit card verification systems?
Before the 2008 election, I spent hours at the Federal Election Commission website, documenting the donations to Obama from Arabic/sounding/seeming names, and linked back to them.
Never had so much hate mail in all my 5+ years of blogging. It was exhausting. I omitted all first/given names that sounded Western or other than Arabic. I got through the first 25 pages of the ‘A’s’ only before I gave up.  I did the same for John McCain but it was immediately clear that if I found any Arabic/sounding/seeming names in his donor list, it would be a rare find. I searched the letters A, F, H, I, M, O, U and Z and didn’t find a single donation.  This link will take you to all of Obama’s donors (supposedly) .
I’m ready for energy independence from Saudi Arabia and want to prove to Barack and Michelle Obama that they will not “equalize” my income or yours, or ever again vote against a bill and ten days later lie about it, with a lie designed to promote racial hate, call the death of a U.S. Ambassador and our Military, a bump in the road, try to take away our Second Amendment rights through programs like Fast and Furious, and that we will not forget that he has  refused to set foot on Israeli soil, while tromping all over surrounding areas and…and…and…  Many thanks to Facebook friend, Fred Hopkins for the tip.
Linked at BadBlue – the baddest news on the planet! – thank you!
Linked at Doug Ross and Larwyn’s Linx in Obama, Dems Almost Answerable to No One
Linked at SayAnythingBlog in a Saturday Linkaround – great links here!

Obama Administration to Bypass Congress, Impose Backdoor Education Agenda

Obama Administration to Bypass Congress, Impose Backdoor Education Agenda

WASHINGTON, D.C. | September 26, 2011 - On Friday, President Obama announced the administration will bypass Congress and impose a new plan to waive federal elementary and secondary education law, currently known as No Child Left Behind, in exchange for states adopting the Secretary of Education’s preferred education agenda.

Many have expressed concerns this conditional waivers plan could slow Congressional efforts to rewrite the law and create more confusion for states and schools. Details of the administration’s plan are vague, but one thing is clear: the plan will grant the secretary unprecedented authority to handpick winners and losers in our nation’s education system.

House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) outlined his concerns about the administration’s plan: “While I recognize the sense of urgency to reform current law, the Department of Education should not be granted the sweeping authority to bypass Congress,” Kline said. “Any initiative that holds temporary measures above quality, lasting reforms will create more upheaval and uncertainty for states in the long run.”

This concern has been echoed by school leaders across the country. In an NPR interview last week, Council of Chief State School Officers Executive Director Gene Wilhoit alluded to the potential confusion states could face in the coming months. “What we will have is a group of states who, if successful in getting a waiver, will be operating under this system and another group of states who will be operating under No Child Left Behind,” he said.

If added confusion and uncertainty wasn’t enough, the plan also raises legal questions. A recent Huffington Post article stated, “Under No Child Left Behind, the Secretary of Education may waive provisions of the law for states in need, but he has no explicit authority to ask states to adopt reforms in exchange. In August, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said Obama had approved plans to, in effect, reform the law without going through Congress: The secretary would waive specific provisions of the law in exchange for states agreeing to adopt favored reforms. The expanded waiver process is the administration's attempt to implement its own reforms, and the process comes with political risk.”

The nation needs long-term reforms that will enable every student to succeed, not short-term policy changes dictated by the Secretary of Education. That’s why Chairman Kline is advancing a series of targeted education bills that will roll back federal intrusion in classrooms, eliminate wasteful education spending, improve accountability, support more effective teachers, and provide more flexibility to state and local education leaders. Legislation to expand quality education opportunities for students passed the House in mid-September with strong bipartisan support.

For more information on Chairman Kline’s education reform agenda, visit www.edworkforce.house.gov.

Hamas offers fake Palestinian passport to top Muslim cleric: PNA

English.news.cn   2013-05-11 06:03:54

RAMALLAH, May 10 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Friday accused Hamas movement of offering a fake Palestinian passport to top Muslim Cleric Sheikh Yousef al- Qaradawi.
The PNA Interior Ministry said in a statement that it had sent official letters to countries that recognize the PNA, clarifying that the passport, which was given to Qaradawi, is "fake."
The PNA is ruling the West Bank and its Interior Ministry is the legal Palestinian body that is authorized to issue passports to the Palestinians or to give it to other nationalities as an honor.
Qaradawi, who began on Thursday a two-day visit to the Hamas- ruled Gaza Strip, was honored by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haneya and was offered a diplomatic red Palestinian passport.
Hamas has been ruling the Gaza Strip since it violently seized control of it in the summer of 2007. The world does not recognize the rule of Hamas of the coastal enclave and the Islamic movement is not authorized to officially issue any passport.
The PNA statement said it had urged all countries that recognize Palestinian passport to confiscate any fake one that is not issued by the legal Palestinian representative of the Palestinian people.
Right after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas deposed Haneya and his government and nominated a new Palestinian premier who formed a new Palestinian government.
However, Haneya and Hamas refused the decree of Abbas and kept ruling Gaza. Arab and global mediators have so far failed to end the division between Gaza and the West Bank and achieve reconciliation between the two rivals.
Qaradawi, 87, is the top Arab cleric for Arab Muslims. The Egyptian-born has close ties with the Muslim Brotherhood.
PNA Minister of Waqf (Islamic properties) Mahmoud al-Habbash slammed the visit of Qaradawi to the Gaza Strip, saying it "is illegal because it wasn't coordinated with the legal authority and legal leadership of the Palestinian people."

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Obama Administration to Support Anti-Israel Resolution at UN Next Week

Obama Administration to Support Anti-Israel Resolution at UN Next Week

THE WEEKLY STANDARD has learned that senior Obama administration officials have been telling foreign governments that the administration intends to support an effort next week at the United Nations to set up an independent commission, under UN auspices, to investigate Israel's behavior in the Gaza flotilla incident. The White House has apparently shrugged off concerns from elsewhere in the U.S. government that a) this is an extraordinary singling out of Israel, since all kinds of much worse incidents happen around the world without spurring UN investigations; b) that the investigation will be one-sided, focusing entirely on Israeli behavior and not on Turkey or on Hamas; and c) that this sets a terrible precedent for outside investigations of incidents involving U.S. troops or intelligence operatives as we conduct our own war on terror." source - The Weekly Standard

Obama gives nearly half a billion dollars to terror organization HAMAS

Obama gives nearly half a billion dollars to terror organization HAMAS

Washington (CNN) - The United States will contribute $400 million in development aid to the Palestinian territories and work with Israel to loosen its embargo on Gaza, President Barack Obama said Wednesday. Obama's announcement came after White House talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The money will be used to build housing, schools, water and health care systems in both the Palestinian Authority-controlled West Bank and Gaza, which is ruled by the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas. Obama called the situation in Gaza "unsustainable," and said the United States would work with its European allies, Egypt and Israel to find a "new conceptual framework" for the Israeli blockade of Gaza." source - CNN