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Whatever else is going on at the Secret Service, they've got the Obama Administration scandal playbook down pat, which is really depressing. 1. Lie about what happened - They not only misled the public about how far Omar Gonzalez penetrated the White House, they apparently were less than forthcoming with Congress. According to CBS News, "a congressional official told the Associated Press that Senate Judiciary Committee staffers who were briefed a week after the incident by the Administration were never told how far Gonzalez made it into the building." At today's hearings, House Oversight chair Darrell Issa (R-CA) referred to...

The Secret Service leaked sensitive personal information to the press about Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz as the Utah Republican was investigating the beleaguered agency, an inspector general's report said Wednesday. The Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General issued a report on Wednesday that accused Secret Service Assistant Director Edward Lowery and other agency officials of plotting to leak information about Chaffetz, including his unsuccessful attempt to join the organization. The leaks were a highly unusual breach of decorum. Lawmakers often battle with agencies, but the fights mostly stay above board and focus on...

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) investigation into the U.S. Secret Service’s disclosure of the personnel files of Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) has resulted in discipline for 41 agents. The leaker has also resigned, according to a statement by DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson. The conduct of 57 Secret Service personnel was reviewed, including 11 in the Senior Executive Service level, the highest levels of government. Of those, 41 are receiving some level of discipline....

They’re coming for your home. Right now. I suggest you save it. I can guide you, but you must do exactly as I say. Except, this isn’t The Matrix. You’re no actor, like Keanu Reeves, playing a distraught programmer-hacker named “Neo.” Nor am I an actor, like Laurence Fishburne, playing your guide “Morpheus.” This is real life, baby. Your home or apartment—and the neighborhood in which you live—is under siege. “Agents”—sans black glasses and black business suits—who work for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have written a new regulation called “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” (AFFH) that...

Before he died May 4 from complications stemming from pancreatic cancer and a stroke, former GOP Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah asked his wife, Joyce, and son, Jim, if there were any Muslims in his hospital. If so, he wanted to "go up to every single one of them to thank them for being in this country, and apologize to them on behalf of the Republican Party for Donald Trump." Joyce and Jim Bennett shared this story with The Daily Beast, as well as other tales involving his disgust with "Donald Trump's xenophobia" and proposal to ban Muslims from...

Utah lawmakers recently approved a resolution calling on Congress to ratify an amendment to the U.S. Constitution repealing the Seventeenth Amendment. Ratified in 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established direct election of U.S. senators by popular vote. Before the amendment’s ratification, senators were elected by state legislatures. The resolution, approved by the House of Representatives and sent to the state’s lieutenant governor for filing in March, was sponsored by state Sen. Alvin Jackson (R-Highland). ‘A Formal Check’ Todd Zywicki, a professor of law at George Mason University, says the Seventeenth Amendment removed a necessary safeguard against...

Today Donald J. Trump released the much-anticipated list of people he would consider as potential replacements for Justice Scalia at the United States Supreme Court. This list was compiled, first and foremost, based on constitutional principles, with input from highly respected conservatives and Republican Party leadership. Mr. Trump stated, “Justice Scalia was a remarkable person and a brilliant Supreme Court Justice. His career was defined by his reverence for the Constitution and his legacy of protecting Americans’ most cherished freedoms. He was a Justice who did not believe in legislating from the bench and he is a person whom I...

Don Willett is a Texas Supreme Court justice:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Willett David Stras is an associate justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Stras Allison Eid is a justice on the Colorado Supreme Court:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allison_H._Eid Joan Larsen is a justice on the Michigan Supreme Court.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Larsen Steven Colloton is a federal judge who has served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Colloton Raymond Gruender is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Gruender Thomas Hardiman is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hardiman Raymond M. Kethledge is a federal judge...

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has released a list of 11 potential Supreme Court justices he plans to vet to fill the seat of late Justice Antonin Scalia. Trump's picks include Steven Colloton of Iowa, Allison Eid of Colorado and Raymond Gruender of Missouri. Also on the list are: Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania, Raymond Kethledge of Michigan, Joan Larsen of Michigan, Thomas Lee of Utah, William Pryor of Alabama, David Stras of Minnesota, Diane Sykes of Wisconsin and Don Willett of Texas. Trump said in March he planned to release the list to ease concerns about his conservative credentials...

Trump's picks include Steven Colloton of Iowa, Allison Eid of Colorado and Raymond Gruender of Missouri. Also on the list are: Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania, Raymond Kethledge of Michigan, Joan Larsen of Michigan, Thomas Lee of Utah, William Pryor of Alabama, David Stras of Minnesota, Diane Sykes of Wisconsin and Don Willett of Texas. Trump had previously named Pryor and Sykes as examples of kind of justices he would choose.

The names are at the link.

remarks Published May 16, 2016 FoxNews.com Facebook117 Twitter335 livefyre1070 Email Print Now Playing White House defends Iran deal in wake of Rhodes profile Never autoplay videos The White House confirmed Monday that Obama adviser Ben Rhodes will not be allowed to testify before House lawmakers on the Iran nuclear deal, after a last-ditch attempt by Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz to pry the controversial aide loose for the hearing. Chaffetz and the White House have been engaged in an escalating feud, all on the heels of a New York Times Magazine piece where Rhodes was quoted boasting about the administration’s success...

Leading members of Congress are calling on President Barack Obama to fire one of his top advisers amid a deepening scandal over accusations the White House intentionally misled lawmakers and the American public about the contents of last summer’s comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran, according to a letter sent Monday to Obama and obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. The lawmakers are pressing Obama to fire deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes following revelations he and other officials “spearheaded the charge to mislead elected lawmakers and the American people about the Iran nuclear deal and the negotiations that led to...

The White House told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Monday that Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes won't be testifying on Tuesday about his controversial comments on the Iran deal. In a letter to Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, Neil Eggleston, counsel to President Obama, said it would raise "constitutional concerns" if Rhodes were to testify. He also said Congress has been consulted enough. "While the administration will continue to consult closely with Congress on this important matter, testimony by one of the most senior advisers to the president raises significant constitutional concerns rooted in the separation of...

Utahns aren't feeling the Bern so much anymore as it looks like they're starting to line up behind the presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump. One month after a poll showing Bernie Sanders would beat Donald Trump head-to-head in Utah, Trump has opened a lead over Sanders. He also leads Hillary Clinton after that same poll showed him tied with the likely Democratic nominee. Trump leads Sanders 43-37%, which is a significant reversal from April when Sanders led Trump 49-34%. 20% are undecided between the two. In April, Trump was tied with Hillary Clinton at 38% apiece. Now, Trump leads Clinton...

Oil and gas industry groups on Thursday sued federal agencies over revisions to land management plans in Colorado and other western states to protect the greater sage-grouse. The Western Energy Alliance and the North Dakota Petroleum Council filed the suit in North Dakota, saying the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service failed to follow proper procedures for public involvement in adopting the land use plan amendments. They also say the plans ignore sound science and will hurt western economies. Plan revisions being challenged include ones in northwest Colorado, where greater sage-grouse habitat substantially overlaps with oil and gas...

Mike Lee(R-Utah) said Wednesday that he is not ready to endorse presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump "I have not supported Donald Trump up to this point, I have not endorsed him," Lee said, according to The Washington Examiner. "I have some concerns with him. He scares me to death; so does Hillary Clinton . There is no easy choice right now." Lee had previously endorsed Ted Cruz , before the Texas senator ended his presidential bid earlier this month. At the time, he said Cruz had a "proven record of fighting for our conservative values and for the issues that...

Some students turn their backs on honorary degree recipient who was part of anti-LGBT groups. *snip* The university also awarded four honorary degrees, to businessmen Kem Gardner and George Smith, scientist Kirk Ririe and philanthropist Lynette Nielsen Gay. Gay's selection for an honorary degree was met with backlash from students and faculty, who objected to her work with two groups — World Congress of Families and Family Watch International — that advocate for marriages comprising one male and one female, and oppose rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals.

Former U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett, of Utah, who shied away from the spotlight but earned a reputation as someone who knew how to get things done in Washington, has died. He was 82. Bennett assistant Tara Tanner said he died Wednesday from complications of pancreatic cancer and a recent stroke. The Republican was first elected in 1992 and was widely seen at home as politically moderate, which at times put him at odds with Utah’s highly conservative Republican base. His middle-of-the-road reputation led to his ouster in 2010 at the state convention by delegates fueled by tea party anger. …

Advocates working to stop Donald Trump admitted Tuesday that Trump's victory in Indiana makes it harder for them to take him down now. Yet, they vowed to keep fighting. In a statement to reporters Tuesday, Never Trump PAC's senior adviser Rory Cooper said "obviously Trump's victory in Indiana makes the road ahead more challenging." "We will continue to seek opportunities to oppose his nomination and draw a clear line between him and the values of the conservative cause," Cooper said in the statement. "If nominated, he will lose in historic fashion, threatens down ballot campaigns and likely usher in a...