Stumbling Loretta

                                     

   By Florida Bill                                    

                                Loretta Lynch is the country's top lawyer, heading up a huge staff of attorneys and directing the activities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, yet she dribbles her legal ball from one gaffe and foolish comment to another. Her utter incompetence in the position of Attorney General appears obvious, yet she continues to muddle about her work with the backing of her friend and fellow alumnus from Harvard Law school, President Obama.
                                Fortunately, in a few short days, she will be out of a job as the lame duck administration leaves office.  But not so fast-- she has some explaining to do to the Judicial Watch Organization, which has commenced legal action against her,  and to fellow attorneys who have witnessed her unethical behavior in connection with the Hillary Clinton investigation. She may also have some explaining to do to the Inspector General who of necessity will be involving her in its investigation of the FBI and its director.  
                                She has given speeches before the American Bar Association praising the legal profession for its ethical requirements. Does her unethical conduct as head of the Department of Justice require ABA sanctions?  Also, the American Center for Law, as well as Florida Congressman Dennis Ross, have been calling for Lynch to resign for months, noting that she has "betrayed the trust of Americans" and has violated numerous federal regulations and standards of justice. 
                                  Judicial Watch is an American conservative  non-partisan watchdog group with a mission of exposing misconduct by government officials.  It has zeroed in on Lynch and has filed demands for information from her in accord with the Freedom of Information Act. 
                                 With the new administration of President Trump, the fiery senator from Alabama,  Jeff Sessions, will become Attorney General, and it is anticipated that his office (he has recused himself) will be following through with an investigation of alleged Hillary Clinton misdeeds; and that investigation will call into question the conduct of Lynch and her manipulation of the FBI under her control. 
                                                   Lynch's sneaky tarmac meeting with former President Clinton, at a time when Clinton's wife was under investigation for criminal mishandling of classified information, outraged even the nonlegal community. The meeting was considered an "egregious violation" of legal ethics and conduct as Lynch was in charge of the investigation, supervising the FBI. 
                                  Judicial Watch is seeking to determine the exact substance of the meeting in face of allegations and beliefs that former President Clinton was pushing Lynch, a woman he knew and who he had appointed to a high position while he was president, to exonerate his wife of any criminal wrong doing.  In other words, was the "fix" put in?   
                                   Several days following the private meeting with the former President, Lynch declined to resign but said that she would abide by a recommendation of the FBI as to Clinton's criminal culpability.  Three days later it was announced by FBI Director James Comey that there would be no prosecution of Mrs. Clinton. The question  of a prosecution is never within the discretion of the FBI, belonging solely to the Attorney General as head of the Department of Justice.
                                 Lynch's earlier demonstrations of her ineptitude came in comments she made while reacting to vicious murders carried out by Muslim fanatics in Orlando, Florida, and San Bernardino, California.  Following the deadly gunshot slayings in an Orlando nightclub by a self- described "Soldier of ISIS," Lynch took to the podium and babbled about the need to be kind and never turn a blind eye to the LGBT community.  The most effective response to terror, she asserted with emotion, is "compassion, unity and love."                                 
                                  After the San Bernardino killings in which a radicalized Islamic couple murdered coworkers at a company party, Lynch reacted in disconnected and maudlin fashion.  Referencing that terrorism is an evil,  Lynch declared that her  "greatest fear" was "anti-Muslim rhetoric which edges toward violence."  For that, she said, Justice department lawyers are prepared to take "aggressive action" and to prosecute where ever this caustic and hostile bombast is found. 
                                   Her inane comments in regard to Muslim terrorism (words she cannot seem to pronounce) are not confined to murders.  The attorney general also is threatening to prosecute anyone who interferes with the bathroom rights of a transgendered person as a violation of the the 1964 Civil Rights law. 
                                   While President Obama was no doubt pleased at her concern for Muslims and the transgendered,  it is numbing that the Attorney General was ignoring first amendment rights of free speech guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.  But then, it may just depend on whose ox is being gored.  When Minister Louis Farrakhan, leader of  the Nation of Islam (Black Muslims),  told his followers to "stalk and kill" policemen who are mistreating Blacks, there was never a peep from General Lynch about rhetoric "edging toward violence" against policemen.                      

                                                          Lynch's performance as Attorney General of the United States has to set a record for empty-headed commentary and unethical behavior.   Of course, she will be out as AG soon, but I perceive that Lynch is not yet "out of the woods." Stay tuned. 

                                                   XXX                                               

                               

Hillary, the Most Admired Woman

   By Florida Bill 

                              If you wish to deal in absurdities, Gallup, the polling wizard, has just the thing.  Hillary Clinton is the "most admired" woman in the country.
                              How did it manage to make that incredible determination?  It interviewed 1,028 persons by telephone over a four day period and presto--there is no one in these 50 states that residents hold in greater awe than the former First Lady and Secretary of State.
                               Pretty amazing for the 69-year-old defeated Presidential candidate who, on the campaign trail, was labeled "Crooked Hillary," and whose sneaky mishandling of classified information in violation of federal statutes made her the subject of an FBI criminal investigation which apparently is continuing, post-election.
                               Gallup, whose name is synonymous with surveys determining what people believe and think, has been around a long time.  In this "most admired" poll,  12 per cent of the individuals surveyed made Mrs. Clinton number one.  You guessed it, Michelle Obama was the second "most admired"  woman,  garnering around 8 per cent of the first place votes   
                               In the male "most admired," category,   President Obama came in on top receiving 22 per cent of the first place votes cast.   I have to wonder about the accuracy of that finding also, but it probably has more authenticity than Clinton's new medal.  Second "most admired" man was the new President, Donald Trump.
                               Gallup made a lot of mistakes in the past election in which it reported repeatedly that Clinton was a cinch winner.  Its new survey only seems to enhance its reputation for misfiring.  It raises questions as to how serious anyone should be in accepting the imprimatur of dependable old Gallup.
                               These findings probably make a lot of citizens gleeful, but there are millions who perceive some sort of a "fix." Gallup purports to produce the opinions of a sample of people who are representative of the opinions of the whole group.  That's a tall order considering that the USA is a nation with some 318 million persons residing in more than 30,000 cities town and villages across 3 million square miles of of land and water.
                                  Those who read these polls are never told the questions asked or where the "random" telephone calls go.  If the calls are directed to the residents of inner cities and liberal enclaves in California, there will be ample Obama and Hillary fans which will tilt the survey in the Obama-Clinton direction. If the phones jingling with eager pollsters are located in blue collar neighborhoods where jobs have been lost, and the Obama administration is held in disrepute, then the dial on the admiration scale is likely to tilt in a much different direction.                                                Since Mrs. Clinton's numbers are so low and the field so wide, you wonder why Gallup would give this poll any publicity at all, or even bother to report such results. Maybe it would have been more enlightening if they reported that 88 percent of those surveyed did not admire Hillary Clinton.                                                                Polls and surveys have become an integral part of reporting the news of the day. These seers are making a lucrative career out of asking the opinions of maybe 1,000 people and then firing out the results to members of the Media, pundits and columnists who then disseminate the crystal ball product (accurate to plus or minus 3%) to readers and viewers.  The heartbeat of the nation delivered via a  telephone, notebook and pencil, and of course, a computer. Yeah, sure.                          

                                                XXX

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Don't Blame the Russians

   By Florida Bill

                                         Despite all of the noise-making by unhappy, teary- eyed liberals with predictions of an historical turn-around in favor of Hillary Clinton, the electors cast their votes in the electoral college based on the popular votes of the individual states they represented. Like it or not, this is the way the electoral college is supposed to work. President-elect Trump prevailed handily and is now being fitted for his tuxedo, tails and top hat for the swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 20.
                            The final  push by the anti-Trump crowd was doomed to fail, but that did not diminish the resolve. Literally,  millions of emails were sent to electors committed to vote for the President-elect imploring them to do a 180 degree turn-around in favor of Hillary Clinton and even threatening them with harm if they did not. 
                             There are many reasons being offered for the Clinton defeat. Many blame the content of emails lifted from the Democratic National Committee and disseminated by Wikileaks for destroying the popularity of Clinton.  These cyber missives disclosed that Clinton had been fed questions to be asked at debates, and that her followers were characterizing Democratic Candidate Bernie Sanders as a "Doofus."  One referenced Mrs. Clinton by saying, "What planet is she from"? Those revelations added to the nation's dislike of the disingenuous former First Lady and Secretary of State. 
                              But the latest argument is that cyber-interference from Russians tilted the election in the favor of the wild and unfit President-elect.  It was the dirty-handed hacking of private emails, charged John Podesta, Clinton's campaign manager, which diminished her popularity.  Behind it all, he said, was President Vladimir Putin, who masterminded the scheme to close the Oval Office door on Mrs. Clinton. However the precise way in which this supposedly was accomplished has yet to be explained by Podesta or anyone else. In addition, why complain about devious Russian hacking when Clinton won the popular vote?    
                               Alongside Podesta who was sounding the loudest chant about Russian interference, was former President Bill Clinton, who had assured America of a Hillary victory with the folksy jingle that there had been "eight (years) for Bill," and now there would be "eight (years) for Hill."  And along with the alleged Russian involvement, he said,  were "angry white men" who did not like his wife. Also, he pointed out, the towering six-foot, eight inch FBI Director James Comey botched investigations and made public statements which contributed heavily to her loss. 
               For me, I am not particularly surprised that Russian intelligence agencies are hacking into Washinton activities.  Iran and China, I suspect are doing the same.  But you can be sure that Uncle Sam with its 17 intelligence agencies is keeping abreast of  the activities of Russia as well as the Middle East and elsewhere. 
                                And it is no surprise that Putin favored Trump over Clinton who he regards as incompetent and a clone of a weak and ineffective President.  Trump has said that he never met Putin and regards Russian involvement in the election as pure fantasy, or at best, questionable and undetermined.  The explanation has been fabricated by bitter democrats who spent a billion dollars on Clinton, and lost, he added.
                                But with all of the theories in, the hard truth is that Hillary Clinton proved herself to be dishonest, unlikeable and incompetent and has a 40-year history of outright prevarications.   Russia was probably happy that she lost the election, but probably didn't have any say in the matter, despite what Clinton's liberal friends in the media are saying.
                               On Dec. 19, the electors assembled in each of the 50 states and cast their votes. There were no surprises in the outcome to anyone outside Hollywood. In the end Trump, garnered 304, a winning number and Hillary Clinton captured 227.  Trump needed at least 270 of the 538 electors, and everything went according to script.           
                                After all the efforts to lobby Republican electors to desert Trump, only two did — a pair from Texas, one of whom voted for former Texas Rep. Ron  Paul and the other for Ohio Gov. John Kasich. On the Democratic side, four electors refused to cast their vote for Mrs. Clinton.
                                 On January 20, 2017, Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States. Mrs. Clinton, reportedly, will attend the ceremony alongside here husband, the 42d President. As to Clinton's political future,  I expect that she will resume delivering 20 minute speeches to rich Democrats.  For certain she will be entertaining hope that the new Attorney General, Jeff Sessions,  will be gentle in his legal evaluations of  her apparent criminal indiscretions while handling classified emails and her questionable stewardship of the Clinton Foundation with its billion dollar corpus.  

                                             XXX








                                            

The Jeff Sessions Story

   By Florida Bill  

                                                Get ready for a conservative bulldozer driven by Jefferson Beauregard "Jeff" Sessions III.  This popular four term U.S. Senator from Alabama and the first senator to endorse the candidacy of Donald Trump, has, after much delay, been sworn in as Attorney General. 
                                                With the beginning of the "Summer of Trump"  last year, Sessions jumped to the center of the action.  He was fiercely on the side of the real estate mogul who had exploded onto the political scene denouncing illegal Mexican aliens, and promising to build a wall on the southern border, and to "Make America Great Again."
                                                 Ten days after his election on November 8,  Trump announced that he would be appointing Sen. Sessions as Attorney General and that Sessions would be directing the activities of the Department of Justice of the United States, with the mission of "draining the swamp." 
                                                 The 69-year-old senator, an able and experienced lawyer, has a full plate of things to do to implement the 'law and order" policies and promises spelled-out by Trump during a hard-fought and successful campaign which extended over some 18 months. 
                                                  Sessions, who turned 70 on Christmas Eve of this election year, will be focusing on drug cartels and illegal aliens with felonies hanging over their heads and the quickest way to deport or prosecute them; and he will be laying the legal ground work for taking on sanctuary cities and shaking them until they accede to federal law.  Urban bosses like the liberal and discordant mayors of San Francisco, New York and Chicago, will now be "financially squeezed like grapefruits" into doing what the new President says is right and required by and in accord with federal statutes, a Trump supporter has said.
                                                   During the campaign, Trump labeled his opponent "Crooked Hillary" and promised her prosecution in a new Trump administration.  However,  he has apparently rolled  back on that issue, explaining that that there are other more important matters needing his attention, and that he has no desire to hurt Mrs. Clinton.   However, it is not the President's determination as to who gets prosecuted and who does not.  That discretion belongs solely to the Attorney General, and consequently, it will be up to Sessions to decide if Mrs. Clinton is to be prosecuted for her mishandling of classified emails, or for her alleged corrupt practices related to the "Clinton Foundation" with its billion dollar corpus.  
                                                 As a key member of the President's cabinet,  Sessions' appointment as Attorney General will require confirmation by the Senate in accord with federal law.   But with Republicans having a majority in that upper chamber of Congress, his approval  to serve is expected, although some Democrats are serving notice that they will oppose approval of their former colleague to the sensitive post of Attorney General.
                                                  Predictably,  liberal Democratic members will draw the racist card and accuse the senator who was born and raised in Selma, of having treated African Americans and other minorities with contempt and disdain while serving as the U.S. Attorney from the southern district of Alabama for 12 years, and for two years as attorney general from that state.  While Sessions maintains that he has always been fair to citizens, he has always opposed amnesty as a path to citizenship for undocumented residents.   His disagreement with open borders and his consistent opposition to the liberal, appeasement policies of President Obama are in sync with that of the President-elect. 
                                                In 1986, Sessions, who was then a U.S. Attorney, was nominated to be a federal judge by President Reagan. During confirmation hearings for that judicial post,  he was accused of being a racist and had opposed and was intolerant of the LGBT community and had once called an African American lawyer "boy."  Sessions said accusations against him were either fabricated or based on comments taken out of context.  Subsequently, his nomination was withdrawn without final vote of the democratic controlled senate. 
                                                  The ink was barely dry on Trump's declaration that he was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President in the late spring of 2015 when Sen Sessions locked hands with "outsider" Trump, and said he was with him for the long run.  An astute lawyer and a patriot of America, Sessions counseled Trump through the primaries and during the hard fought campaign against Clinton who spent about billion dollars to get elected.   Just days following the the election, Trump announced that the tough native of Selma was his pick as attorney general to replace the incompetent and duplicitous Loretta Lynch whose behavior in that office included significant violations of legal ethics and who voiced sympathy and "compassion" for the Islamic mad men whose goal is to turn planet earth into a global caliphate.  America and the world, will be a safer place with Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, Trump has said. 
                                                      As Attorney General, Sessions will be directing and monitoring the FBI which is the investigative arm of the justice department.  FBI Director James Comey, who was appointed to the 10-year post by President Obama in 2013, reportedly is in a state of political limbo. In Trump's judgment, Comey "caved-in" to Democratic pressure in the Clinton email investigation.  For Democrats, they charge that but for his unprofessional behavior,  Clinton would be President. Veteran bureaucrats have opined that the 55-year-old Comey is '"twisting slowly in the wind," and may resign.
                                                      Spirited and eager, Sessions has always been an achiever.  An Eagle Scout and student body president at Huntington college in Montgomery, Sessions later attended the University of Alabama law school,  graduating in 1973.  He was a captain in the army reserves and worked for a time for an Alabama law firm.  In 1981, Pres. Reagan appointed him United States Attorney from the southern district of Alabama and he served in that capacity until 1992 when he was elected attorney general of the state.  In 1994, he was elected a senator from Alabama and he was reelected three more times to that office.  In his last race for that office in 2014, he was reelected without opposition from the Democrats. 
                                                       

                                                               XXX