[h=2]ABC Policy Required Stephanopolous to Disclose His $75,000 Clinton Foundation Donation[/h]ABC News actually responds to Free Beacon inquiry
EMAIL
BY: Brent Scher
May 18, 2015 5:00 am
ABC News policy required that George Stephanopolous disclose his contributions to the Clinton Foundation to management before covering stories related to it, according to an ABC spokesman who responded to a Washington Free Beaconinquiry.
Stephanopolous issued an on-air apology on Friday’s Good Morning America after it wasdiscovered by the Washington Free Beacon’s Andrew Stiles that he had covered news directly related to the Clinton Foundation without disclosing that he contributed $75,000 to it.
“Staff need to disclose personal donations to a charitable organization to us before covering a story related to that organization,” said Julie Townsend, who heads ABC’s news communications. “He had not disclosed the Foundation donations to us before he interviewed Peter Schweizer,” the author of Clinton Cash.
Townsend also noted that “employees are not permitted to make political contributions,” but that “personal charitable donations are allowed.”
Stephanopolous confirmed his contributions to the Clinton Foundation on Thursday, stating that he “should have taken the extra step of personally disclosing my donations to my employer and to the viewers on air during the recent news stories about the Foundation.”
Stephanopolous went further in his Friday apology, saying it was a mistake for him to donate to the foundation in the first place.
“I now believe directing personal donations to that foundation was a mistake,” he said.
This entry was posted in Politics and tagged 2016 Election, ABC, Clinton Foundation, George Stephanopoulos,Hillary Clinton. Bookmark the permalink.
George Stephanopoulos / AP
BY: Brent Scher
May 18, 2015 5:00 am
ABC News policy required that George Stephanopolous disclose his contributions to the Clinton Foundation to management before covering stories related to it, according to an ABC spokesman who responded to a Washington Free Beaconinquiry.
Stephanopolous issued an on-air apology on Friday’s Good Morning America after it wasdiscovered by the Washington Free Beacon’s Andrew Stiles that he had covered news directly related to the Clinton Foundation without disclosing that he contributed $75,000 to it.
“Staff need to disclose personal donations to a charitable organization to us before covering a story related to that organization,” said Julie Townsend, who heads ABC’s news communications. “He had not disclosed the Foundation donations to us before he interviewed Peter Schweizer,” the author of Clinton Cash.
Townsend also noted that “employees are not permitted to make political contributions,” but that “personal charitable donations are allowed.”
Stephanopolous confirmed his contributions to the Clinton Foundation on Thursday, stating that he “should have taken the extra step of personally disclosing my donations to my employer and to the viewers on air during the recent news stories about the Foundation.”
Stephanopolous went further in his Friday apology, saying it was a mistake for him to donate to the foundation in the first place.
“I now believe directing personal donations to that foundation was a mistake,” he said.
This entry was posted in Politics and tagged 2016 Election, ABC, Clinton Foundation, George Stephanopoulos,Hillary Clinton. Bookmark the permalink.
Former Clinton Aide Barred by Obama State Department for job, does job anyway:
an examination by The New York Times suggests that Mr. Blumenthal’s involvement was more wide-ranging and more complicated than previously known, embodying the blurry lines between business, politics and philanthropy that have enriched and vexed the Clintons and their inner circle for years.
While advising Mrs. Clinton on Libya, Mr. Blumenthal, who had been barred from a State Department job by aides to President Obama, was also employed by her family’s philanthropy, the Clinton Foundation, to help with research, “message guidance” and planning of commemorative events, according to foundation officials. During the same period, he also worked on and off as a paid consultant to Media Matters and American Bridge, organizations that helped lay the groundwork for Mrs. Clinton’s 2016 campaign.
Don't worry liberals, he was paid by Hillary's foundation. For advising on Libya.
an examination by The New York Times suggests that Mr. Blumenthal’s involvement was more wide-ranging and more complicated than previously known, embodying the blurry lines between business, politics and philanthropy that have enriched and vexed the Clintons and their inner circle for years.
While advising Mrs. Clinton on Libya, Mr. Blumenthal, who had been barred from a State Department job by aides to President Obama, was also employed by her family’s philanthropy, the Clinton Foundation, to help with research, “message guidance” and planning of commemorative events, according to foundation officials. During the same period, he also worked on and off as a paid consultant to Media Matters and American Bridge, organizations that helped lay the groundwork for Mrs. Clinton’s 2016 campaign.
Don't worry liberals, he was paid by Hillary's foundation. For advising on Libya.
[h=1]EXCLUSIVE: Hillary hides from reporters with SECOND secret party of the day as her security forces race across Iowa at 95 MPH to dodge pursuing journalists[/h]
PUBLISHED: 23:42 EST, 18 May 2015 | UPDATED: 03:16 EST, 19 May 2015
For reporters trying to cover the opening months of Hillary Rodham Clinton's second presidential campaign, Waterloo, Iowa might be her Waterloo.
On Monday night the Clinton camp held a private campaign party at the home of a wealthy pharmacist in the central Iowa town – a longtime Democratic Party figure – and Daily Mail Online was the only media outlet to make it to the address.
Other press outlets can't be faulted, however: Clinton's aides kept the existence of the party a secret, leaving it off of the schedule circulated to reporters who cover her events in a rotating 'pool.'
Daily Mail Online only found the location after trailing the candidate's motorcade at a distance for an 85 miles trek, at speeds reaching 95 mph.
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO
+5
SCENE OF THE DODGE: Hillary Clinton's motorcade cruised from Mason City, Iowa to Waterloo, Iowa at speeds topping 95 MPH, arriving at a secret party hosted by Bob and Cheryl Greenwood in their palatial home
+5
Bob Greenwood, pictured with his wife Cheryl, is a pharmacist who unsuccessfully ran for the Iowa state legislature in 2012 and served three terms on the Waterloo, Iowa city council. The Greenwoods hosted a Monday night party for Hillary Clinton that was hidden from reporters
+5
IT'S ALL FUN AND GAMES: Clinton laughed with local campaign organizer Sara Marino at an earlier campaign stop, the only Monday event that the campaign told journalists about
Clinton's motorcade arrived at the 5,000-square-foot Waterloo home of Bob and Cheryl Greenwood at 6:30 pm, with five escort vehicles accompanying her maroon minivan.
The ordinary Chrysler rental was a surprising stand-in for Scooby, the black custom conversion van that had previously ferried Hillary through Iowa and New Hampshire.
The Greenwoods' neighbors were expecting traffic in their upscale cul-de-sac subdivision.
'This has been in the works for weeks,' one elderly attendee said as she walked down Muirfield Street. 'We've been counting the days.'
She followed two middle school-age children at a distance up the tree-swept street. They carried copies of books for Clinton to autograph.
It's a scene that might have done Clinton a world of good to have preserved on video: cars lining up on a neighbor's lawn like a summer concert parking lot, kids in their Sunday Best on a Monday and locals arriving with 'Hillary 2016' buttons already pinned and stickers neatly pressed on.
A middle-aged woman said as she left and walked toward a nearby church parking lot that there were 'about 75 people' inside. 'We had a blast. A grand time,' she crowed. 'You should have seen it!'
Almost no one did. The press corps wasn't welcome.
Hillary's motorcade hits 95 mph to get to dinner party on time
+5
MAROON SCOOBY, UNLOADED: Clinton and her entourage bedded down for the night at the Hilton Garden Inn in Waterloo, Iowa, racing to the back entrance so the candidate could sneak in without interacting with hotel guests
An earlier afternoon event in Mason City, Iowa, managed to attract a swarm of photographers and cable news correspondents who grabbed images of the arriving motorcade even though the location was a tightly held secret.
'Hillary will attend a grassroots-organizing event at a Mason City home,' the campaign's press schedule read, noting its location only as 'Mason City, IA.'
It was the only item on Clinton's agenda – officially. Reporters shouted questions as Clinton left, but she acknowledged no one.
In Waterloo, they didn't have the chance to be actively ignored.
'It's maddening,' a print journalist who was in Mason City for Monday's earlier event said in the evening, asking to remain anonymous for the sake of her career.
BOB GREENWOOD, Hillary's host on Monday night, brought about 75 Clinton supporters to his 5,000 square foot mansion in Waterloo, Iowa
'We can't do our job if the Clinton campaign freezes us out and tells us there aren't any more events for the day – and then they race to Waterloo for an event. Don't they understand that they need us as much as we need them?'
There is no record of what she discussed Monday night. Bob Greenwood himself did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Neither did the Clinton campaign. Daily Mail Online received a form-letter reply instead.
'Due to the large volume of requests we receive please allow 3-5 businessdays for a response,' the message read.
Greenwood is a party loyalist – a former three-term Waterloo city councilman and a failed 2012 candidate for the state legislature who in 2013 received the American Pharmacists Association's highest award for 'government and legislative services.'
Greenwood is also the president-elect of the Iowa Pharmacy Association.
Clinton is acquiring a reputation for skirting reporters' questions. An online counter published by The Washington Post has counted the minutes – more than 39,300 of them – since she has fielded a question from a journalist.
As reporters get anxious, voters miss opportunities to hear her weigh in on Iran's nuclear ambitions, the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade proposal, and her own scandals involving alleged conflict-of-interest problems at the state department and a private email server where she secretly conducted all her electronic communications while in the Obama administration.
On Tuesday she has a small-business roundtable event scheduled in Cedar Falls, Iowa – a manicured happening of the vintage she has served to journalists before. Pre-selected Iowans will ask her pre-cleared questions on pre-arranged topics.
The maroon Scooby van will deliver Clinton on Tuesday morning to Bike Tech – a Cedar Falls cycling shop – for the staged affair.
+5
WOMAN OF THE PEOPLE: Earlier Monday in Mason City, Iowa, Clinton entertained supporters at this house and railed against wealthy hedge fund managers who earn, she said, too much money
Hillary's mystery machines have a maroon little brother
Pre-approved journalists, including Daily Mail Online, may attend. But if Clinton has another secret event up her sleeve Tuesday afternoon, the world may never know.
Few reporters will talk about their frustrations with covering Clinton. One other, a cable television news correspondent who, like the first, requested anonymity, mused on what may be in store for Team Hillary.
'Maybe by this point next year Hillary's people will be clamoring for us to interview her as Elizabeth Warren and Martin O'Malley make mincemeat out of her,' the same journalist observed. 'But for now dodging the press just comes off as arrogant and imperial. Which is not the model she ought to be trying to emulate.'
'I mean, really: If you hold a campaign party and there are 100 of us flying in to Iowa to cover you, the least you can do is tell us the event exists. We don't expect you to feed us or mix us martinis. Just don't make this presidential campaign marathon any harder or more idiotic than it needs to be.'
- Afternoon campaign event in Mason City, Iowa was closed to the press but published on media schedules
- The very existence of a second private soiree on Monday, a dinnertime party 85 miles away in Waterloo, Iowa, was kept from reporters
- Not even the press 'pool' assigned to share coverage on a rotating basis knew the 6:30 pm house party was going on
- Daily Mail Online found the location after following Hillary's new maroon 'Scooby' van at a distance while it raced at speeds up to 95 mph
- Asked for comment, Clinton campaign responded with automated form letter warning that it could take '3-5 business days for a response'
PUBLISHED: 23:42 EST, 18 May 2015 | UPDATED: 03:16 EST, 19 May 2015
47View comments
For reporters trying to cover the opening months of Hillary Rodham Clinton's second presidential campaign, Waterloo, Iowa might be her Waterloo.
On Monday night the Clinton camp held a private campaign party at the home of a wealthy pharmacist in the central Iowa town – a longtime Democratic Party figure – and Daily Mail Online was the only media outlet to make it to the address.
Other press outlets can't be faulted, however: Clinton's aides kept the existence of the party a secret, leaving it off of the schedule circulated to reporters who cover her events in a rotating 'pool.'
Daily Mail Online only found the location after trailing the candidate's motorcade at a distance for an 85 miles trek, at speeds reaching 95 mph.
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO
+5
SCENE OF THE DODGE: Hillary Clinton's motorcade cruised from Mason City, Iowa to Waterloo, Iowa at speeds topping 95 MPH, arriving at a secret party hosted by Bob and Cheryl Greenwood in their palatial home
+5
Bob Greenwood, pictured with his wife Cheryl, is a pharmacist who unsuccessfully ran for the Iowa state legislature in 2012 and served three terms on the Waterloo, Iowa city council. The Greenwoods hosted a Monday night party for Hillary Clinton that was hidden from reporters
+5
IT'S ALL FUN AND GAMES: Clinton laughed with local campaign organizer Sara Marino at an earlier campaign stop, the only Monday event that the campaign told journalists about
Clinton's motorcade arrived at the 5,000-square-foot Waterloo home of Bob and Cheryl Greenwood at 6:30 pm, with five escort vehicles accompanying her maroon minivan.
The ordinary Chrysler rental was a surprising stand-in for Scooby, the black custom conversion van that had previously ferried Hillary through Iowa and New Hampshire.
The Greenwoods' neighbors were expecting traffic in their upscale cul-de-sac subdivision.
'This has been in the works for weeks,' one elderly attendee said as she walked down Muirfield Street. 'We've been counting the days.'
She followed two middle school-age children at a distance up the tree-swept street. They carried copies of books for Clinton to autograph.
It's a scene that might have done Clinton a world of good to have preserved on video: cars lining up on a neighbor's lawn like a summer concert parking lot, kids in their Sunday Best on a Monday and locals arriving with 'Hillary 2016' buttons already pinned and stickers neatly pressed on.
A middle-aged woman said as she left and walked toward a nearby church parking lot that there were 'about 75 people' inside. 'We had a blast. A grand time,' she crowed. 'You should have seen it!'
Almost no one did. The press corps wasn't welcome.
Hillary's motorcade hits 95 mph to get to dinner party on time
+5
MAROON SCOOBY, UNLOADED: Clinton and her entourage bedded down for the night at the Hilton Garden Inn in Waterloo, Iowa, racing to the back entrance so the candidate could sneak in without interacting with hotel guests
An earlier afternoon event in Mason City, Iowa, managed to attract a swarm of photographers and cable news correspondents who grabbed images of the arriving motorcade even though the location was a tightly held secret.
'Hillary will attend a grassroots-organizing event at a Mason City home,' the campaign's press schedule read, noting its location only as 'Mason City, IA.'
It was the only item on Clinton's agenda – officially. Reporters shouted questions as Clinton left, but she acknowledged no one.
In Waterloo, they didn't have the chance to be actively ignored.
'It's maddening,' a print journalist who was in Mason City for Monday's earlier event said in the evening, asking to remain anonymous for the sake of her career.
BOB GREENWOOD, Hillary's host on Monday night, brought about 75 Clinton supporters to his 5,000 square foot mansion in Waterloo, Iowa
'We can't do our job if the Clinton campaign freezes us out and tells us there aren't any more events for the day – and then they race to Waterloo for an event. Don't they understand that they need us as much as we need them?'
There is no record of what she discussed Monday night. Bob Greenwood himself did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Neither did the Clinton campaign. Daily Mail Online received a form-letter reply instead.
'Due to the large volume of requests we receive please allow 3-5 businessdays for a response,' the message read.
Greenwood is a party loyalist – a former three-term Waterloo city councilman and a failed 2012 candidate for the state legislature who in 2013 received the American Pharmacists Association's highest award for 'government and legislative services.'
Greenwood is also the president-elect of the Iowa Pharmacy Association.
Clinton is acquiring a reputation for skirting reporters' questions. An online counter published by The Washington Post has counted the minutes – more than 39,300 of them – since she has fielded a question from a journalist.
As reporters get anxious, voters miss opportunities to hear her weigh in on Iran's nuclear ambitions, the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade proposal, and her own scandals involving alleged conflict-of-interest problems at the state department and a private email server where she secretly conducted all her electronic communications while in the Obama administration.
On Tuesday she has a small-business roundtable event scheduled in Cedar Falls, Iowa – a manicured happening of the vintage she has served to journalists before. Pre-selected Iowans will ask her pre-cleared questions on pre-arranged topics.
The maroon Scooby van will deliver Clinton on Tuesday morning to Bike Tech – a Cedar Falls cycling shop – for the staged affair.
+5
WOMAN OF THE PEOPLE: Earlier Monday in Mason City, Iowa, Clinton entertained supporters at this house and railed against wealthy hedge fund managers who earn, she said, too much money
Hillary's mystery machines have a maroon little brother
Pre-approved journalists, including Daily Mail Online, may attend. But if Clinton has another secret event up her sleeve Tuesday afternoon, the world may never know.
Few reporters will talk about their frustrations with covering Clinton. One other, a cable television news correspondent who, like the first, requested anonymity, mused on what may be in store for Team Hillary.
'Maybe by this point next year Hillary's people will be clamoring for us to interview her as Elizabeth Warren and Martin O'Malley make mincemeat out of her,' the same journalist observed. 'But for now dodging the press just comes off as arrogant and imperial. Which is not the model she ought to be trying to emulate.'
'I mean, really: If you hold a campaign party and there are 100 of us flying in to Iowa to cover you, the least you can do is tell us the event exists. We don't expect you to feed us or mix us martinis. Just don't make this presidential campaign marathon any harder or more idiotic than it needs to be.'
HROD17@CLINTONEMAIL.COM
Clinton hides from reporters...
Security forces race across Iowa at 95 MPH to dodge pursuing journalists...
Worst Day of Campaign...
NYT: Hillary circulated Sid Blumenthal 'intelligence' memos...
Paid by Foundation, MEDIA MATTERS...
Role Blurs Lines of Politics and Business...
House committee may subpoena...
VIDEO: VOTERS LOVE HER, NO MATTER WHAT...
State Dept won't release Clinton e-mails until 2016...
PRUDEN: Dems panic...
[h=2]Hillary Clinton Used Multiple Secret Email Addresses as Secretary of State[/h]‘hrod17@clintonemail.com’ revealed in newly released documents
EMAIL
BY: Brent Scher
May 18, 2015 8:00 pm
Despite past claims by Hillary Clinton that she only used one email address as secretary of state, previously unseen email records show there was at least one other email address in use.
The New York Times published new emails that were sent using the private email server set up by Clinton while she was secretary of state, and the Republican National Committee discovered that that multiple emails were sent from the “hrod17@clintonemail.com” address that Clinton’s attorney’s had previously said do not exist.
In a letter to Rep. Trey Gowdy (R., S.C.) responding to a subpoena from the Benghazi Select Committee, Clinton’s attorney David Kendall wrote that “‘hrod17@clintonemail.com’ is not an address that existed during Secretary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state.”
Kendall additionally states in the letter that “Secretary Clinton used one email account when corresponding with anyone, from Department officials to friends and family.”
Emails records show that this was not the case, as correspondence was sent from the above stated address in both 2011 and 2012.
AP
BY: Brent Scher
May 18, 2015 8:00 pm
Despite past claims by Hillary Clinton that she only used one email address as secretary of state, previously unseen email records show there was at least one other email address in use.
The New York Times published new emails that were sent using the private email server set up by Clinton while she was secretary of state, and the Republican National Committee discovered that that multiple emails were sent from the “hrod17@clintonemail.com” address that Clinton’s attorney’s had previously said do not exist.
In a letter to Rep. Trey Gowdy (R., S.C.) responding to a subpoena from the Benghazi Select Committee, Clinton’s attorney David Kendall wrote that “‘hrod17@clintonemail.com’ is not an address that existed during Secretary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state.”
Kendall additionally states in the letter that “Secretary Clinton used one email account when corresponding with anyone, from Department officials to friends and family.”
Emails records show that this was not the case, as correspondence was sent from the above stated address in both 2011 and 2012.
[h=2]Clinton Earned $2.7 Million From Companies Lobbying on Trade[/h]
EMAIL
BY: Alana Goodman
May 18, 2015 2:49 pm
Hillary Clinton raked in $2.7 million since 2014 giving speeches to companies that are backing a fast-track free trade agreement,according to CBS News.
Clinton has yet to take a position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free trade deal that is supported by the White House but opposed by many in the Democratic base, including labor unions.
Companies that have lobbied in favor of the deal include Qualcomm and the Biotechnology Industry Organization, which each paid Clinton $335,000 for speeches last year:
Labor unions, which oppose the TPP, have also poured millions into the Clinton Foundation.
Clinton has avoided taking a position the TPP since announcing her candidacy, despite pressure from the media and Democrats to weigh in on the agreement. One of Clinton’s Democratic challengers, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.)—who opposes the TPP—has been calling on Clinton to take a stance on the issue.
Clinton submitted her first financial disclosure to the Federal Election Commission last Friday. According to CBS News, she and her husband Bill Clinton earned over $25 million in speaking fees since the beginning of 2014.
This entry was posted in Politics and tagged 2016 Election, Hillary Clinton. Bookmark the permalink.
AP
BY: Alana Goodman
May 18, 2015 2:49 pm
Hillary Clinton raked in $2.7 million since 2014 giving speeches to companies that are backing a fast-track free trade agreement,according to CBS News.
Clinton has yet to take a position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free trade deal that is supported by the White House but opposed by many in the Democratic base, including labor unions.
Companies that have lobbied in favor of the deal include Qualcomm and the Biotechnology Industry Organization, which each paid Clinton $335,000 for speeches last year:
According to the disclosures released by the campaign on Friday evening, the former secretary of state earned at least $2.7 million from speeches at companies backing the trade promotion authority (TPA) that President Obama has been seeking in order to “fast track” approval of trade deals. While that’s a fraction of the $25 million Bill and Hillary Clinton earned from paid speeches from January 2014 to present, they nonetheless open the presidential candidate to criticism.
“She’s put herself in the position where people are going to question whether she was influenced by the money she was paid if she supports the trade agreements,” said Larry Noble, senior counsel at the Campaign Legal Center. “One of the problems with these situations is even if she reaches her decision for reasons she truly believes in, people are going to question it. It undermines her credibility.”
According to CBS News, Clinton earned $1.4 million alone from companies that signed a Trade Benefits America Coalition letter to congress supporting the TPP.“She’s put herself in the position where people are going to question whether she was influenced by the money she was paid if she supports the trade agreements,” said Larry Noble, senior counsel at the Campaign Legal Center. “One of the problems with these situations is even if she reaches her decision for reasons she truly believes in, people are going to question it. It undermines her credibility.”
Labor unions, which oppose the TPP, have also poured millions into the Clinton Foundation.
Clinton has avoided taking a position the TPP since announcing her candidacy, despite pressure from the media and Democrats to weigh in on the agreement. One of Clinton’s Democratic challengers, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.)—who opposes the TPP—has been calling on Clinton to take a stance on the issue.
Clinton submitted her first financial disclosure to the Federal Election Commission last Friday. According to CBS News, she and her husband Bill Clinton earned over $25 million in speaking fees since the beginning of 2014.
This entry was posted in Politics and tagged 2016 Election, Hillary Clinton. Bookmark the permalink.
Hillary Shuts Down Reporter Trying to Ask Question
12:15 PM, MAY 19, 2015 • BY DANIEL HALPER
Ed Henry of Fox News dared to ask Hillary Clinton a question at an event today in Iowa.
"Wait, wait," Clinton said, interrupting the reporter. "Maybe when I finish talking to the people here. How's that?"
Clinton continued, "I might. I'll have to ponder it. I will put it on my list for due consideration."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arrogant hypocritical corrupt bitch should be in jail!
12:15 PM, MAY 19, 2015 • BY DANIEL HALPER
Ed Henry of Fox News dared to ask Hillary Clinton a question at an event today in Iowa.
"Wait, wait," Clinton said, interrupting the reporter. "Maybe when I finish talking to the people here. How's that?"
Clinton continued, "I might. I'll have to ponder it. I will put it on my list for due consideration."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arrogant hypocritical corrupt bitch should be in jail!
DIA MEMO: BENGHAZI ATTACK PLANNED DAYS IN ADVANCE TO COINCIDE WITH 9/11
by JOHN SEXTON18 May 2015167
A new Defense Intelligence Agency Memo dated September 12, 2012 demonstrates that high-ranking U.S. officials were aware of claims by an Al Qaeda affiliate that the Benghazi attack was planned 10 or more days in advance.
The memo made public by Judicial Watch indicates that its contents are “not finally evaluated intelligence,” meaning the contents had not been judged to be accurate. The details of the memo present an alternative explanation for the Benghazi attack that was given short shrift by the Obama administration after the attack. Instead, the State Department and the White House chose to emphasize a “demonstration” (which it turned out had never happened) held in connection with a YouTube video critical of Islam.
The DIA memo, which was sent to the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs among others, states in part:
Though the DIA report is newly revealed, the gist of the information it contains was made public as early as September 13, 2012. At the time, CNN cited a British think tank focused on the Middle East as suggesting “the Imprisoned Omar Abdul Rahman Brigades” were likely responsible for the attack and had been responsible for several prior attacks in Benghazi (including the attack on the Red Cross and the British ambassador). U.S. sources cited by CNN also backed this account, seemingly echoing the contents of the DIA memo.
CNN’s story was followed a couple days later by a widely-circulated report by AFP, which cited an Al Qaeda source saying the attack was in fact revenge for the death of Abu Yahya as called for in the video released by Ayman al-Zawahiri.
So was the attack pre-planned as Al Qaeda claimed, or was it a spontaneous as the White House tried to emphasize? Even now the argument is ongoing. Last week former CIA Director Mike Morell once again downplayed the role planning played in the attack on the Benghazi compound. In an excerpt from his new book published by Politico magazine, Morell says it is a myth that “the attacks were well-organized, planned weeks or even months in advance.” Morell does allow that some of the attackers, “may have been inspired by a call Ayman al-Zawahiri— the leader of al Qaeda in Pakistan—had made just the day before for Libyans to take revenge for the death of a senior al Qaeda leader of Libyan origin in Pakistan.” However, he seems to limit the planning as a result of Zawahiri’s message to know more than a few hours. In his own view the attack on the so-called Temporary Mission Facility took place, “with little or no advance planning, extremists in Benghazi made some phone calls, gathering a group of like-minded individuals to go to the TMF.”
There is no doubt that the State Department and the White House also preferred the demonstration-in-response-to-a-video narrative. The State Department pushed to alterthe talking points about the attack such that any mention of prior attacks — which might have suggested a clear and predictable pattern of escalating attacks in Benghazi — was dropped. State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland wrote that “the penultimate point could be abused by Members [of Congress] to beat the State Department for not paying attention to Agency warnings…” Later, after changes were made, Nuland would add “These don’t resolve all my issues or those of my building leadership.” Eventually, all references to prior warnings and attacks was dropped.
Despite the State Department’s best efforts, investigations would find conclusively that the agency failed to stop a preventable attack by ignoring intelligence reports focused on growing militancy in Libya and by failing to upgrade site security despite repeated requests from Ambassador Stevens.
The State Department was not alone in preferring the video explanation for the incident. The White House worked up its own talking points to help prepare Susan Rice for her appearance on a series of Sunday talk shows the Sunday after the attack. The White House document, which was revealed in response to an FOIA request by Judicial Watch, had as its second messaging goal to, “underscore that these protests are rooted in an internet video, and not a broader failure of policy.”
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Big Government, Benghazi, Hillary Clinton
from the above: Despite the State Department’s best efforts, investigations would find conclusively that the agency failed to stop a preventable attack by ignoring intelligence reports focused on growing militancy in Libya and by failing to upgrade site security despite repeated requests from Ambassador Stevens.
by JOHN SEXTON18 May 2015167
A new Defense Intelligence Agency Memo dated September 12, 2012 demonstrates that high-ranking U.S. officials were aware of claims by an Al Qaeda affiliate that the Benghazi attack was planned 10 or more days in advance.
The memo made public by Judicial Watch indicates that its contents are “not finally evaluated intelligence,” meaning the contents had not been judged to be accurate. The details of the memo present an alternative explanation for the Benghazi attack that was given short shrift by the Obama administration after the attack. Instead, the State Department and the White House chose to emphasize a “demonstration” (which it turned out had never happened) held in connection with a YouTube video critical of Islam.
The DIA memo, which was sent to the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs among others, states in part:
The attack on the American consulate in Benghazi was planned and executed by The Brigades of the Captive Omar Abdul Rahman (BCOAR). BCOAR is also responsible for past attacks on the Red Cross in Benghazi and the attack on the British Ambassador, they have approximately 120 members…
The attack was planned ten or more days prior on approximately 01 September 2012. The intention was to attack the consulate and to kill as many Americans as possible to seek revenge for U.S. killing of Aboyahiye ((ALALIBY)) in Pakistan and in memorial of the 11 September 2001 atacks on the World Trade Center buildings.
Aboyahiye is an alternative spelling for the al-Qaeda terrorist Abu Yahya al-Libi. Abu Yahya was a Libyan who at one time was considered a possible heir apparent to Osama bin Laden. He escaped from a U.S. prison and spent several years promoting al Qaeda and was killed by a drone strike in North Waziristan in June 2012. Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri released a video announcing Abu Yahya’s death on September 10, 2012, i.e. timed for the anniversary of 9/11. That video also called for revenge attacks in response to his death.The attack was planned ten or more days prior on approximately 01 September 2012. The intention was to attack the consulate and to kill as many Americans as possible to seek revenge for U.S. killing of Aboyahiye ((ALALIBY)) in Pakistan and in memorial of the 11 September 2001 atacks on the World Trade Center buildings.
Though the DIA report is newly revealed, the gist of the information it contains was made public as early as September 13, 2012. At the time, CNN cited a British think tank focused on the Middle East as suggesting “the Imprisoned Omar Abdul Rahman Brigades” were likely responsible for the attack and had been responsible for several prior attacks in Benghazi (including the attack on the Red Cross and the British ambassador). U.S. sources cited by CNN also backed this account, seemingly echoing the contents of the DIA memo.
CNN’s story was followed a couple days later by a widely-circulated report by AFP, which cited an Al Qaeda source saying the attack was in fact revenge for the death of Abu Yahya as called for in the video released by Ayman al-Zawahiri.
So was the attack pre-planned as Al Qaeda claimed, or was it a spontaneous as the White House tried to emphasize? Even now the argument is ongoing. Last week former CIA Director Mike Morell once again downplayed the role planning played in the attack on the Benghazi compound. In an excerpt from his new book published by Politico magazine, Morell says it is a myth that “the attacks were well-organized, planned weeks or even months in advance.” Morell does allow that some of the attackers, “may have been inspired by a call Ayman al-Zawahiri— the leader of al Qaeda in Pakistan—had made just the day before for Libyans to take revenge for the death of a senior al Qaeda leader of Libyan origin in Pakistan.” However, he seems to limit the planning as a result of Zawahiri’s message to know more than a few hours. In his own view the attack on the so-called Temporary Mission Facility took place, “with little or no advance planning, extremists in Benghazi made some phone calls, gathering a group of like-minded individuals to go to the TMF.”
There is no doubt that the State Department and the White House also preferred the demonstration-in-response-to-a-video narrative. The State Department pushed to alterthe talking points about the attack such that any mention of prior attacks — which might have suggested a clear and predictable pattern of escalating attacks in Benghazi — was dropped. State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland wrote that “the penultimate point could be abused by Members [of Congress] to beat the State Department for not paying attention to Agency warnings…” Later, after changes were made, Nuland would add “These don’t resolve all my issues or those of my building leadership.” Eventually, all references to prior warnings and attacks was dropped.
Despite the State Department’s best efforts, investigations would find conclusively that the agency failed to stop a preventable attack by ignoring intelligence reports focused on growing militancy in Libya and by failing to upgrade site security despite repeated requests from Ambassador Stevens.
The State Department was not alone in preferring the video explanation for the incident. The White House worked up its own talking points to help prepare Susan Rice for her appearance on a series of Sunday talk shows the Sunday after the attack. The White House document, which was revealed in response to an FOIA request by Judicial Watch, had as its second messaging goal to, “underscore that these protests are rooted in an internet video, and not a broader failure of policy.”
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Big Government, Benghazi, Hillary Clinton
from the above: Despite the State Department’s best efforts, investigations would find conclusively that the agency failed to stop a preventable attack by ignoring intelligence reports focused on growing militancy in Libya and by failing to upgrade site security despite repeated requests from Ambassador Stevens.
He will be on that forever.
I'm more concerned that he posted a video telling a reporter, who interrupted some sort of round table discussion that didn't involve the Fox News reporter, that she would get back to him later. I mean, is that a story??? Looks like she handled the interruption very well.
46% Want Stephanopoulos Banned From Campaign Coverage
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
George Stephanopoulos, a senior ABC News anchor, was caught last week hiding $75,000 in donations to the Bill and Hillary Clinton Foundation just after he grilled on air the author of a book critical of the foundation and Mrs. Clinton. He also was scheduled to moderate a presidential campaign debate before the media found out about the donations.
Forty-six percent (46%) of Likely U.S. Voters think ABC should ban Stephanopoulos from any programming related to the presidential campaign since Hillary Clinton is running for president. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 36% disagree and oppose banning him from presidential campaign coverage. Eighteen percent (18%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/may_2015/46_want_stephanopoulos_banned_from_campaign_coverage
