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Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano weighed in on the NSA intelligence leaks on Friday, telling NY1 that fears over government surveillance were overblown. “I think people have gotten the idea that there’s an Orwellian state out there that somehow we’re operating in. That’s far from the case,” she told Errol Louis during an appearance on Road to City Hall. Despite civil liberties advocates’ fears that monitoring efforts have gone too far, “there are lots of protections built into the system,” Ms. Napolitano said, pointing to a privacy office embedded in her own department that is “constantly reviewing our policies and...

JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO: I would describe this man as an American hero, as a person willing to risk life, limb and liberty in order to expose to the American people one of the most extraordinary violations of the American principles, value judgments and the Constitution itself in all of our history. A person so familiar with the intelligence community, as you just heard from the excerpts that you just played. He's aware of the personal danger to himself. He knows of the likelihood of prosecution. But he also understands that the government listening to half the country is not what...

... Bill Hemmer asked the judge what he thinks we need to understand about what Snowden is telling us. Judge Napolitano explained that the government has granted itself this sweeping authority without a national debate about how much privacy Americans are willing to sacrifice... He said the government wants Americans to sacrifice liberty in return for the promise of security... ...

One year ago, in June 2012, the "National Security Five" -- five members of Congress led by Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) -- called attention to U.S. government infiltration by Muslim Brotherhood (MB) operatives. Based on disturbing information from court evidence and documents, correspondence, media reports, congressional briefings, and public statements, they found that individuals with questionable loyalty to the United States held high-level security clearances and worked in key national security positions. Tragically for the security of the United States and the safety of its citizens, these five earnest members of Congress, armed with ample evidence, were roundly criticized by both...

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 20, 2013, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Would the woman most closely associated with the TSA airport stripsearches make a good presidential candidate? The abortion lobbying group EMILY's List and The Washington Post think so. This month, EMILY's List launched an initiative entitled "Madam President" dedicated to electing the first female president. The group's president, Stephanie Schriock, said she was not placing all her bets on a Hilary Clinton candidacy. "If she chooses not to, our options are far from exhausted," she said. "We have a deep bench of women leaders committed to fighting for progressive change who are up...

Judge Andrew Napolitano joined FM Newstalk 97.1 morning host Jamie Allman today to discuss the widening IRS targeting scandal. Judge Napolitano told Jamie that if Obama knew his IRS was targeting conservatives during the 2012 election, and did nothing, it is an impeachable offense. "Now it has become a question of integrity. What did he know and when did he know it? Because if he knew during his campaign that the IRS was targeting his opponents and he did nothing to stop. In other words, he let the IRS do this stuff in order to help him defeat Mitt Romney,...

Surprise, surprise the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has rejected the media’s requests for the immigration records of the Boston Marathon bombers, likely because they contain information that could further embarrass the government. After all, the feds ignored critical warnings from Russia about the older Chechen terrorist (Tamerlan Tsarnaev) and the FBI even kept the information from Boston Police, which could have kept a closer eye on him. Additionally, Judicial Watch reported days after the bombings that Tamerlan, 26, and not a U.S. citizen could have been deported years ago after a criminal arrest. Adding insult to injury, the other...

1. They must pay back taxes Jon Feere is the legal policy analyst at the Center for Immigration Studies. Despite claims from amnesty advocates, the bill does not contain a requirement that illegal immigrants pay back taxes for the many years they have been working off the books. The only requirement in the bill is that illegal immigrants must iron out any existing problems they may have with the IRS. If the IRS has ever audited the illegal immigrant and requested payment of unpaid taxes, they would be required to pay them before receiving amnesty. The reality is that the...

ICE Agent Crane to Obama: "Mr. President, you've overstepped your boundaries. It's your job to enforce the law, it's Congress' job to enact the law."- Last week, ICE union chief Chris Crane won a stunning initial court victory in his lawsuit against the Obama Administration. As we reported, Federal Judge Federal Judge Reed O’Connor told the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that they had no power to refuse to deport illegal aliens, and that he was likely to strike down Obama’s virtual “DACA” amnesty for millions of illegal aliens. The ruling stunned Washington, and Crane’s lawsuit could derail Obama’s four-year...

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon repeatedly denied knowing anything about Missouri illegally sharing its citizens private CCW information with the federal government, even after his own head of Missouri Highway Patrol contradicted him in a public hearing. Now we’ve learned that Nixon not only knew about the violation of Missouri law, but he was thanked in a letter by Janet Napolitano: DHS- Letter to Nixon- REAL ID Compliance — ongoing MO CCW Scandal (image of letter is available at site) Missouri law — signed into effect by Gov. Nixon himself — prohibits full compliance with the Real ID Act. This includes...

Congressional inquiry into the Department of Homeland Security’s huge ammunition acquisitions spurred agency officials to try to explain what is going on. At current inventory levels, DHS has four to five times as many bullets for its officers as the US Army has for our troops. DHS training officer Humberto Medina pointed out that “the Army faces known enemies in numbers far smaller than we have to consider. I mean, Afghanistan’s population is tiny compared to that of the United States. And the Army can supplement with aerial and artillery bombardment. We don’t have that capacity at this time.” Medina...

One of the lessons the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is taking away from the Boston Marathon bombing is the “potential for phone cameras and video recorders being used to plan these kinds of attacks.” Secretary Janet Napolitano says DHS is “looking into the inherent threat posed by unauthorized use of these devices, especially in heavily trafficked public places. Law enforcement personnel at every level need to be on alert for people deploying these devices.” Napolitano professed to be “especially concerned that government officers in the midst of carrying out the directives of higher authorities might be intimidated by fears...

“Never before have I seen such contempt for law enforcement officers as what I’ve seen from the Gang of Eight” - Chris Crane, ICE Agent union president.- Last week, ICE union chief Chris Crane won a stunning initial court victory in his lawsuit against the Obama Administration. As we reported, Federal Judge Federal Judge Reed O’Connor told the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that they had no power to refuse to deport illegal aliens, and that he was likely to strike down Obama's virtual "DACA" amnesty for millions of illegal aliens. The ruling stunned Washington, and Crane's lawsuit could derail...

The full title - "(VIDEO) Fireworks at Napolitano hearing-DHS Sec unaware of classified doc leak and WH terror group visit" Fireworks on Capitol Hill happened at a Homeland Security Oversight hearing held by the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Congressman Louie Gohmert, Texas Republican, grilled Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano over reports (h/t Daily Beast) that an Egyptian terrorist group obtained visas and gained access to meet with top White House officials. Gohmert also went after Napolitano over Mohammed Elibiary, an individual she placed on the homeland security advisory council and, according to Gohmert, gained secret security clearance...

Above: ICE Union President Chris Crane, who filed the lawsuit against DHS.- In a stunning order, a federal judge Wednesday said that the Obama administration is likely violating the law by telling immigration agents and officers not to arrest illegal aliens they deem "low priority", in a lawsuit brought by ICE agents that could derail Obama’s plan to undermine immigration enforcement nationwide.Federal Judge Reed O'Connor said in a court order Tuesday that Congress, not the president, sets priority for arresting illegal immigrants, and said the law requires them to be put in deportation proceedings.“The court finds that DHS does not...

A federal judge said this week that the Obama administration is likely violating the law by telling immigration agents and officers not to arrest illegal immigrants they deem low priority, in a case that could upend President Obama’s enforcement policy. For the last several years the administration has said it will no longer arrest most illegal immigrants, arguing it wants to focus only on those with serious criminal records or gang ties. The Homeland Security department said it was using “prosecutorial discretion.” Immigration agents and officers sued, saying federal law requires them to make the arrests, but the Obama administration...

Big Sis: Obama Admin Can Pick Which Laws to Enforce by Matthew Boyle 24 Apr 2013, 11:10 AM PDT During her testimony on the “Gang of Eight” immigration bill before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano declared that she, President Barack Obama and other political officials at the top of this administration have the authority to decide which laws to enforce, and which ones to ignore. Napolitano made the declaration in an exchange with Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) when he was questioning her on how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have alleged...

Beck is methodically detailing how Janet Napolitano and the media are complicit in lying about or otherwise ignoring damning evidence against the Saudi "student" who was a suspect and then a person of interest and then a victim of the Boston Marathon Bombing

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, while testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee today, actually conceded that Abdul Rahman Ali Al-Harbi, the Saudi national who moved from ‘suspect’ to ‘person of interest’ to ‘witness’ to ‘victim’ all in less than 24 hours after the Boston bombings, was indeed placed on a terrorist watchlist. This is in stark contrast to what she told the Rep. Jeff Duncan at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing last week. Providing further intrigue is that one day before Napolitano conceded Al-Harbi’s watchlist status, talk show host Glenn Beck explained how difficult it was for someone...

All week, TheBlaze has been following up on the Saudi national who was initially investigated for several hours before being downgraded to merely a witness and ultimately released. Where is he now? What did authorities find in his apartment? These are just some of the questions remaining as the case continues to unfold. And earlier today, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano revealed that Abdul Rahman Al-Harbi was placed on a watch list. TheBlaze reported: But today, speaking at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on immigration reform, Napolitano responded to a question by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA). “Before the...