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US Attorney General Sessions Threatens ‘Leakers’ – and Journalists

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  • ‘We Will Not Allow Rogue Anonymous Sources With Security Clearances to Sell Out Our Country’ Says Jeff Sessions

  • ‘Mr. Attorney General, Do You Plan to Prosecute Journalists?’ Reporter Asks

During his Friday televised press briefing U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the Justice Department is going to review its policies on issuing subpoenas to news organizations that publish leaked information. Sessions told reporters that while the Department “respects” the role of the free press, he cautioned, “it’s not unlimited.”

Sessions also said that senior Justice Department investigators, the FBI, as well as U.S. intelligence agencies will direct more resources into the investigations of government leaks and would prioritize prosecuting those that pass sensitive information along to the press or foreign officials.

With Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats nodding in agreement, the Attorney General warned the U.S. intelligence community, where the White House has alleged many of the leaks originate.

“I have this message for our friends in the intelligence community. The Department of Justice is open for business and I have, this morning, this warning: Don’t do it,” Sessions said. “For the past several months we have made changes and are seriously ramping up our efforts.”

A senior Administration official told NCRM Friday afternoon that much of the ongoing “leaks situation” was a direct result of the atmosphere of chaos that had enveloped the West Wing since the inauguration until just prior to the departure of White House Chief of Staff Reinhold Richard “Reince” Priebus who was ousted on July 27 and replaced by John F. Kelly, the former Secretary of Homeland Security and retired four-star Marine general.

The official noted that the lack of a cohesive West Wing staff structure with clearly delineated responsibilities and tasks, coupled with a president who oft times functions in a nearly perpetual rogue state and has been known to ignore advice from senior officials and staffers, both in and outside of the White House, had alienated numerous persons in government service alarmed by what they perceived as a destructive state of affairs. This led to the “leaks issue,” he said.

Standing beside the Attorney General was the Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, who also warned: “If you improperly disclose classified information, we will find you, we will investigate you and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”

“You will not be happy with the result,” Coats added. 

Sessions, who has been under pressure from the White House and President Donald Trump to act quickly to end what has been nearly a non-stop tidal wave of leaked information from administration and other government sources, on Friday characterized the leaks as a clear threat to national security.

“This nation must end this culture of leaks,” he said. “We will investigate and seek to bring criminals to justice. We will not allow rogue anonymous sources with security clearances to sell out our country.” 

This announcement comes less than twenty four hours after the Washington Post published verbatim written transcripts of telephone calls between the president and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and another with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull this past January 27 and 28 respectively.

“One of the things we are doing is reviewing policies affecting media subpoenas,” Sessions said. “We respect the important role that the press plays and we’ll give them respect — but it is not unlimited. They cannot place lives at risk with impunity. We must balance the press’s role with protecting our national security and the lives of those who serve in the intelligence community, the armed forces and all law-abiding Americans.” 

The President maintains that the leaks are damaging to him, and has publicly complained that Sessions has not been tough enough on leaks.

“I want the attorney general to be much tougher,” Trump said last week. “I want the leaks from intelligence agencies, which are leaking like rarely have they ever leaked before, at a very important level. These are intelligence agencies we cannot have that happen.”

During the briefing, Sessions noted, “No one is entitled to surreptitiously to fight battles in the media by leaking sensitive government information.” 

He also told reporters that the Justice Department had received as many referrals to investigate leaks in six months as in the previous three years.

Director Coats added, “I am empowered to take administrative action to deal with individuals who break the law. I will not hesitate to exercise those authorities. Anyone who engages in these criminal acts is betraying the intelligence community. We feel the pain of those betrayals intensely.”

“For those out there who may be listening or watching these announcements, or who would later learn about what is said is morning, understand this,” he said. “If you improperly disclose classified information, we will find you. We will investigate you. We will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”

This new push to have an in-depth investigation into the various leaks comes as the Justice Department’s Special Counsel, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, directs a special Grand Jury investigation into allegations of collusion between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia. Sessions told reporters that he has directed Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and the newly confirmed FBI Director Christopher Wray, to oversee leak investigations. He also said he had authorised the Department’s national security division and U.S. attorneys to prioritize cases involving “unauthorised disclosures.”

Sessions and Coats took no questions, leaving reporters to ask at the end of the briefing, “Mr. Attorney General, do you plan to prosecute journalists?”

There was no response.

Brody Levesque is the Chief Political Correspondent for The New Civil Rights Movement.
You may contact Brody at Brody.Levesque@thenewcivilrightsmovement.com 

To comment on this article and other NCRM content, visit our Facebook page.

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News

Fox News Host Suggests Trump ‘Force’ Court to Throw Him in Jail – by Quoting Him

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April 19, 2024

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The Fox News host who targeted a juror serving on Donald Trump’s criminal New York trial is now suggesting the ex-president should violate his gag order and “force” the court to throw him in jail, by quoting the Fox News host.

Jesse Watters came under fire earlier this week for profiling juror number two, sharing possibly identifying information published by a myriad of reporters but then using that information to pass judgment on her ability to serve.

“I’m not so sure about juror number two,” Watters concluded on Fox News.

Jurors, at the judge’s direction, were to remain anonymous, for their protection and the protection of the trial.

The judge excused her, after she said she felt she was not able to be impartial because friends and family were calling her asking if she had been chosen to serve on the Trump trial, after the media blitz.

New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan admonished the press for reporting the information, but some news outlets appeared to ignore his warning.

Watters on Wednesday “did a segment with a jury consultant, revealing details about people who had been seated on the jury and questioning whether some were ‘stealth liberals’ who would be out to convict Trump,” the Associated Press reported.

READ MORE: Gaetz: ‘Corrupt’ Republicans Could ‘Take a Bribe’ and Throw House to Dems, Blocking Trump Run

Trump later posted Watters’ quote on his Truth Social platform, leading some, including New York prosecutors, to ask the judge to cite him for allegedly breaking his gag order.

Judge Merchan ordered Trump to not mention witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court staff, or the family members of prosecutors and court staff, CNN has reported.

New York prosecutors told Juge Merchan Trump has violated the gag order at least ten times.

“Prosecutor Christopher Conroy described the ‘most disturbing’ example as a social media message Trump posted on Wednesday evening quoting a Fox News host as saying, ‘They are catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump Jury,'” Politico reports.

That host was Jesse Watters.

RELATED: ‘Afraid and Intimidated’: Trump Trial Juror Targeted by Fox News Dismissed

Friday afternoon, Watters appeared to egg Trump on, urging the ex-president to violate the gag order.

“I would make them put me in jail,” Watters said on Fox News. “I would have a tweet about something perhaps I said on ‘The Five’ or ‘Jesse Watters Primetime,’ and I would force them to throw me in jail.”

Watch Watters’ remark below or at this link.

 

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News

Gaetz: ‘Corrupt’ Republicans Could ‘Take a Bribe’ and Throw House to Dems, Blocking Trump Run

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17 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) says some of his fellow House Republicans would “take a bribe” to throw the razor-thin GOP majority to the Democrats if a far-right faction calls up a motion to oust Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, allowing Democrats to hand the gavel to the Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries. he warned if that happens, Democrats would immediately declare Trump ineligible to be President, pack the U.S. Supreme Court, and pass numerous laws like the American Rescue Plan.

“I do believe in a one seat majority there could be one or two or three of my colleagues who would take a bribe in one form or another in order to deprive the Republicans of a majority at all,” Gaetz said Friday on his podcast (video below.)

He added, “the risk that one or two of my corrupt Republican colleagues might take a bribe, take a walk, feign an ailment and flip this thing to the Democrats is a risk that is too high for me at this time.”

Gaetz’s fellow far-right Florida Republican member of Congress, Anna Paulina Luna, told listeners, “I heard that when, if and when the motion vacate is introduced, that there will be immediate resignations of a couple of more moderate members of Congress. And in the event that that happens, that ultimately means it does go to a Democrat speaker.”

RELATED: Jeffries Vows Democrats Will Ensure Ukraine Aid Passes as Johnson Defectors Grow

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) last month filed a “motion to vacate,” which she can use at any time to force a vote to oust the GOP Speaker, Mike Johnson. U.S. Rep. Tim Massie (R-KY) and just today, U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) has signed on as co-sponsors.

Congressman Gaetz told listeners if Democrats do take the House through a force vote to remove Johnson, Democrats would “be declaring Donald Trump an insurrectionist and setting up a barrier to him being able to become the president United States.”

“That’ll be their leadoff hitter, and then the chaser to that shot will be a massive spending package that looks a lot more like the American Rescue Plan. They will blow past every concept of every cap ever imagined. You’ll be looking at Universal Basic Income, you could be looking at packing the Supreme Court.”

Watch a short clip of Gaetz’s remarks below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Stop Bringing Up Nazis and Hitler’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Smacked Down by Democrats

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Jeffries Vows Democrats Will Ensure Ukraine Aid Passes as Johnson Defectors Grow

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19 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries vowed Friday the majority of Democrats will support Republicans’ Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and Gaza foreign aid legislation as Republican Speaker Mike Johnson lost support of another member of his conference to a faction determined to oust him.

“Democrats will provide a majority of our majority as it relates to funding Israel, humanitarian assistance, Ukraine, and our allies in the Indo Pacific,” Minority Leader Jeffries said. “It remains to be seen what Republicans will do in terms of meeting the national security needs of the American people, but it was important for House Democrats to ensure that the national security bills are going to be considered.”

Despite Republicans having a one-vote majority, more Democrats on Friday voted to move the critical and long-awaited foreign aid bills forward than did Republicans.

READ MORE: ‘Stop Bringing Up Nazis and Hitler’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Smacked Down by Democrats

The 316-94 vote included 165 Democrats and 151 Republicans voting yes, and 55 Republicans and 39 Democrats voting no.

Axios’ Juliegrace Brufke posted the list of Republicans voting against their party’s legislation.

Calling it a “rare” moment in modern congressional history to have to rely on opposition party votes to pass legislation, BBC News reports Speaker Johnson’s “hold on power is tenuous, and the legislators who oppose him – and his bid to provide aid to Ukraine – occupy some key positions within the House’s power structure.”

Amid the procedural vote to move the foreign aid funding bills forward, U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, a far-right Republican of Arizona, announced he is joining Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Congressman Tim Massie (R-KY) in formally announcing their will vote to oust Speaker Johnson.

Gosar, like Greene, is reportedly a Christian nationalist. In 2022 CNN reported his “lengthy ties to White nationalists, [a] pro-Nazi blogger and far-right fringe received little pushback for years.”

RELATED: ‘Repercussions’: Democrats and Republicans Stand Against ‘Pro-Putin’ House GOP Faction

“We’ve been very honest in our assessment of the situation from the beginning,” Jeffries on Friday also declared. “At the appropriate time as House Democrats, we will have a conversation about how to deal with any hypothetical motion to vacate.”

“Moscow Marjorie Taylor Greene, Massie, and Gosar are quite a group. But central to our conversation is to make sure that the national security legislation in totality is passed by the House of Representatives.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

 

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