NPR POLITICS: The Big Picture: Power And Leverage, ICYMI: Top Stories, The Russia Imbroglio: Mueller At The Door,Briefly:18NOV17

The Big Picture: Power And Leverage Allegations of sexual harassment and assault dominated again and took new turns. As female members of Congress introduced “Me Too” legislation aimed at overhauling the system for filing and settling harassment claims for congressional employees, now-Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., was accused of unwanted kissing and groping in 2006. Franken had been hotly critical of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein for accusations against him. President Trump branded Franken “Al Frankenstien.” Meanwhile, Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey said she had “no reason to disbelieve” any of the women accusing GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore of sexual assault, many of whom were teenagers at the time, but she’s voting for Moore anyway. Republicans, she said, needed the leverage in Congress, citing Supreme Court justice appointments. That was similar to the logic conservatives used to rally around Trump whenmore than a dozen women during the 2016 campaign accused him of sexual misconduct, allegations the president has denied. Speaking of votes, Republicans moved one step closer to getting their tax bill through. It passed the House and a key committee in the Senate, but Republicans still have a long way to go — first, to get it through the Senate with a repeal of Obamacare's individual mandate added to it and then to merge it with the House. And do it all by Christmas. — Domenico Montanaro, NPR's lead political editor

ICYMI: Top Stories Taxes galore: The House has narrowly approved a $1.4 trillion tax overhaul, clearing the first major hurdle in the Republican effort to cut taxes and rewrite the tax code. The measure would sharply reduce corporate tax rates and double the standard deduction many individuals take, reports NPR’s Brian Naylor. Meanwhile, despite the Senate tax overhaul undergoing some big changes, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., says he still can’t support it. Neither the Senate nor the House proposal does much for the lowest-income Americans, and some higher-income people could gain a lot, reports NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben. Senate expulsion: There is no precedent for expelling a duly elected Senate member for actions committed before he or she took office. In fact, there is little precedent for expelling senators at all. No one has been expelled from the Senate since the Civil War, NPR's Ron Elving reports. 2020 talk: The next presidential election may seem far away, but there’s already plenty of speculation about who might be on the Democratic ticket. Joe Biden says he has "no plans" for that challenger to be him. The former vice president and Senate veteran is out with a book that recounts his son Beau’s diagnosis and death from brain cancer, as NPR’s Domenico Montanaro writes.   Nuclear concerns: Critics of President Trump in the Senate are questioning whether anything could stop him from launching a nuclear attack unilaterally, reports NPR’s David Welna. Republican allies of the president argue these kinds of concerns undercut America’s position in the world.  Dysfunction in D.C.: On the campaign trail, Trump promised to clean things up in Washington. But the swamp is still pretty swampy, NPR's Peter Overby writes. One veteran lobbyist calls the ethical climate in the capital worse than anything he’s seen in his career.   — Barbara Sprunt, NPR politics producer The Russia Imbroglio: Mueller At The Door White House officials are expecting some unusual guests in the short work week before Thanksgiving: investigators from the FBI. The team headed by Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller is set to interview a number of current administration officials, a top White House attorney tells NPR, although the official details are scarce about who specifically is involved. "I sort of have a blood oath with Mueller that I don't get into that," White House lawyer Ty Cobb told NPR's Tamara Keith. There have been suggestions, however, that Mueller's team may want to talk with communications director Hope Hicks, senior adviser Jared Kushner and White House counsel Don McGahn and people on his staff. There have been reports that Mueller's investigators may already have spoken with policy adviser Stephen Miller. One thing Cobb did say is that he expects the sessions to wrap up by Thanksgiving. And the DOJ Russia probe may wrap up not long after that, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has said. Or not — the only person who knows the answer is Mueller. Briefly: “My story has never changed,” Attorney General Jeff Sessionstold the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. A “toothless” old law could have new fangs, thanks to special counsel Robert Mueller. Read the full weekly imbroglio update on NPR.org on Sunday. Here is last week’s update. — Philip Ewing, NPR national security editor

Sec of State Clinton Claims Fault for Benghazi Attack in Heated Hearing, VIDEO & REPORT 23JAN13

SEC OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON slams back at the hypocritical repiglicans and tea-baggers in Congress during her testimony on the attack on our consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Sen Durbin D IL tells it like it is with his comment in response to the attacks on Sec Clinton and the Obama administration when he said "I do want to make one point, for the record here, about whether the American people are told everything right away, in the right way, so that they can be fully informed. And I would like to refer to five words for them to reflect on: Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

We were told by every level of government here there were Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that justified a war, the invasion of the United States. We're still searching for those weapons. They didn't exist. Thousands of Americans lost their lives.

We could have a hearing on that, if you'd like." Check out these videos and the story from the PBS NewsHour...

Watch the Full Clinton-Paul Exchange from the Benghazi Hearing

Watch the Full Clinton-McCain Exchange from the Benghazi Hearing

Watch the Full Clinton-Johnson Exchange from the Benghazi Hearing

REPORT    AIR DATE: Jan. 23, 2013

Secretary of State Clinton Claims Fault for Benghazi Attack in Heated Hearing

SUMMARY

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke before Senate and House committees about the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Gwen Ifill reports on Clinton's taking responsibility for the inadequate security as well as her rejection of claims from Republicans that the Obama administration had deceived the nation.

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GWEN IFILL: Secretary of Clinton – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified for the first time today about last September's deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Her testimony before Senate and House committees was at times tense and even emotional.

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HILLARY CLINTON, Secretary of State: As I have said many times, I take responsibility, and nobody is more committed to getting this right. I am determined to leave the State Department and our country safer, stronger and more secure.

GWEN IFILL: From the start, Sec. Clinton made clear she accepts ultimate blame for security failings before the attack that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. She told a Senate hearing this morning, it's not just about policy; it's personal.

HILLARY CLINTON:  I stood next to President Obama as the Marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at Andrews. I put my arms around the mothers and fathers, the sisters and brothers, the sons and daughters, and the wives left alone to raise their children.

GWEN IFILL: But sparks flew when Senate Republicans accused the Obama administration of deceiving the nation by initially suggesting the Benghazi attack was something other than terrorism.

VIDEO: Watch Secretary Clinton's Testimony on Consulate Attack in Libya

Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin:

SEN. RON JOHNSON, R-Wis.: We were misled that there were supposedly protests and then something spread out of that, an assault sprang out of that. And that was easily ascertained that that was not the fact.

SEN. RON JOHNSON: And the American people could have known that within days, and they didn't know that.

HILLARY CLINTON:  With all due respect, the fact is, we had four dead Americans. Was it because of a protest? Or was it because of guys out for a walk one night and decided they would go kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make?

It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator. Now, honestly, I will do my best to answer your questions about this, but the -- the fact is that people were trying in real time to get to the best information.

GWEN IFILL: Republican John McCain pressed Clinton on why U.S. consular staff evacuated from Libya to Germany weren't questioned sooner.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, R-Ariz.: I categorically reject your answer to Sen. Johnson about, well, we didn't ask these survivors, who were flown to Ramstein the next day, that they -- that this was not a spontaneous demonstration.

To say that it's because an investigation was going on? The American people deserve to know answers, and they certainly don't deserve false answers.

So, here we are four months later and we still don't have the basic information. Now, if you want to go out and tell the American people what happened, you should at least have interviewed the people who were there, instead of saying, no, we couldn't talk to them because an FBI investigation was going on.

HILLARY CLINTON:  Well, Senator, I understand your very, very strong feelings.

You knew Chris. You were a friend of Chris. You were one of the staunchest supporters of the efforts to dislodge Gadhafi and try to give the Libyan people a chance. And we just have a disagreement. We have a disagreement about what did happen and when it happened with respect to explaining the sequence of events.

We did get to talk to the D.S. agents when they got back to this country. We did so. It was not before September 15. We had no access to the surveillance cameras for weeks, which helped to answer a number of questions.

GWEN IFILL: The challenges continued later in the day before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

REP. DANA ROHRABACHER, R-Calif.: Over and over and over again, it was repeated that we had enraged the Islamic terrorists which, by the way, what's that do?

When you say that we enraged the Islamic terrorists, that means we're at fault, they're not at fault.

HILLARY CLINTON:  I want to be clear that, of course, it was a terrorist attack.

The very next day, I called it an attack by heavily armed militants on our compound. I think there is still, however, questions about exactly what caused it, who the attackers were.

GWEN IFILL: In the Senate, Kentucky. Republican Rand Paul said Clinton, who is leaving office shortly, should have be.en fired first.

SEN. RAND PAUL, R- Kentucky.: I'm glad that you're accepting responsibility. I think that ultimately with your leaving, you accept the culpability for the worst tragedy since 9/11. And I really mean that. Had I been president at the time, and I found that you did not read the cables from Benghazi, you did not read the cables from Ambassador Stevens, I would have relieved you of your post. I think it's inexcusable.

GWEN IFILL: Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois accused Republicans of applying a double standard.

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN, D-Ill.: I do want to make one point, for the record here, about whether the American people are told everything right away, in the right way, so that they can be fully informed. And I would like to refer to five words for them to reflect on: Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

We were told by every level of government here there were Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that justified a war, the invasion of the United States. We're still searching for those weapons. They didn't exist. Thousands of Americans lost their lives.

We could have a hearing on that, if you'd like.

GWEN IFILL: While the Benghazi attack was the main focus, Clinton also turned her attention to upheaval elsewhere in North Africa.

HILLARY CLINTON:  Benghazi did not happen in a vacuum. The Arab revolutions scrambled power dynamics and shattered security forces across the region. Instability in Mali has created an expanding safe haven for terrorists who look to extend their influence and plot further attacks of the kind we saw just last week in Algeria.

GWEN IFILL: In Mali, elements of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, known as AQIM, have seized a large swathe of territory, prompting France to intervene militarily with airpower and ground troops.

The U.S. military is providing transport flights to aid the French, and Clinton said other assistance is still under consideration.

HILLARY CLINTON:  But it is a necessary struggle. We cannot permit northern Mali to become a safe haven. People say to me all the time, well, AQIM hasn't attacked the United States.

Well, before 9/11, 2001, we hadn't been attacked on our homeland since, I guess, the War of 1812 and -- and Pearl Harbor. So you can't say, well, because they haven't done something they're not going to do it.

This is not only a terrorist syndicate; it is a criminal enterprise.

GWEN IFILL: Clinton also said the recent crisis at a natural gas plant in Algeria is more evidence of the growing threat of AQIM.

Islamist militants seized the site last week, and the Algerian military struck back. The Algerian government says at least 37 foreign hostages were killed, including three Americans.

Clinton conceded many questions remain about that incident.

HILLARY CLINTON:  And let me offer our deepest condolences to the families of the Americans and all of the people from many nations who were killed and injured in that recent hostage crisis. We're in close touch with the government of Algeria. We stand ready to provide assistance. We are seeking to gain a fuller understanding of what took place so we can work together with Algerians and others to prevent such terrorist attacks in the future.

GWEN IFILL: Clinton is expected to be back before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tomorrow, to introduce her likely successor, Sen. John Kerry.

JEFFREY BROWN: Online, you can watch some of the more heated exchanges from the hearing, as well as read the full testimony transcript.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/jan-june13/clinton_01-23.html

ALLEN, JOHNSON AT ODDS OVER EARMARKS 20APR12

george allen continues his propaganda campaign in an attempt to deceive, mislead and flat out lie about his fiscal record as governor of Virginia and as a US Senator from Virginia. He is against earmarks and proud of all the earmarks he got for Virginia. He says legislators should publicly claim their earmarks and then refuses to do so. He claims to have reigned in spending in Richmond while increasing it over 45%. And now he has famed earmark hunter Sen ron johnson r WI coming to campaign for him. We know allen is a liar, it is interesting Sen johnson is willing to put his reputation on the line with this endorsement. One can only conclude they are birds of a feather. This from Tim Kaine's campaign......
As Anti-Earmarker Ron Johnson Visits VA, Will George Allen Explain What Made Him So "Proud" Of "Every Single Earmark" He Sponsored As A Senator?

Richmond, VA - Just one week ahead of his first primary debate with Tea Party challengers Radtke, Jackson, and Marshall, George Allen is trotting out Tea Party darling Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson.  As a Senator, Johnson co-sponsored the "Earmark Elimination Act of 2011" -- making his visit to Virginia today to campaign with 'proud' Senate earmarker George Allen even more awkward.  Johnson's endorsement is just the latest attempt by George Allen to disguise a career-long record of big spending.

"No amount of elbow-rubbing from the Tea Party will erase the $3 trillion George Allen added to our national debt or the tens of thousands of earmarks he supported as a Senator," said Kaine for Virginia Communications Director Brandi Hoffine.  "Time and again, George Allen has promised Virginians that he would govern as a 'fiscal conservative.' But instead, he grew spending by more than 45 percent as Governor and turned a record surplus into a record deficit as Senator.  Now, he's campaigning for reelection on the same hypocritical rhetoric of fiscal responsibility, but Virginians aren't buying it.  In fact, the harder George Allen tries to rewrite his fiscally reckless record, the more obvious it is that he helped create our economic problems during his last term in the Senate and has no solutions to fix them.

"There's only one candidate in this race with a proven record of balancing budgets and cutting spending, and that's Tim Kaine."

Johnson's rescue mission to Virginia to help excite conservatives who aren't buying Allen's claims of fiscal conservatism must be particularly embarrassing for Allen who likes to call himself the "original tea partier."

Background:

ALLEN'S EARMARK HYPOCRISY

March 2006: Allen Said, “Every Single Earmark I’ve Gotten, I’m Proud Of;” Allen Said Legislators Who Attach Earmarks Should Be Identified.PolitiFact reported, “Allen clearly sought pork for Virginia. ‘Every single earmark I’ve gotten, I’m proud of,’ he told a town hall meeting in Chesterfield County on March 20, 2006, according to a Richmond Times-Dispatch article. Allen said then that legislators who attach earmarks to appropriations bills should be identified.” [PolitiFact, 4/18/12]
• A Few Months Later, Allen Refused To Identify Earmarks He Requested In Fiscal Year 2006.  PolitiFact reported, “A few months later, Allen and other members of Virginia's congressional delegation refused cooperate with a Times-Dispatch reporter’s request to identify the earmarks they requested during fiscal 2006.” [PolitiFact, 4/18/12]
2012: Allen’s Current Position Is That There Should Not Be Earmarks Until The Budget Is Balanced. PolitiFact reported, “In this year’s campaign, Allen is calling for a ban on earmarks until the federal budget is balanced. Afterwards, earmarks would require a two-thirds majority.” [PolitiFact, 4/18/12]
• Allen Helped Turn A Surplus Into A Deficit In His Very First Full Fiscal Year In The Senate. [Office of Management And Budget, Historical Data]
April 2012: Allen Said Earmark Sponsors Should Be Identified, Acknowledged That “Surreptitious” Earmarking Was A Problem In The Past. On the Leland Conway Hour, Allen said, “I don’t think there ought to be any earmarks whatsoever until you get to a balanced budget and then there should be a 2/3rds vote for earmarks. And there ought to be the, obviously, the transparency. If there’s an earmark, a Member should put their name associated with it rather than making it surreptitious approach of earmarking, which was one of the problems previously.” [Leland Conway Hour, WRVA 1140AM, 4/19/12]

JOHNSON HAS WORKED TO END EARMARKS

Johnson Cosponsored The Earmark Elimination Act of 2011 On January 30, 2012. [S.1930, Cosponsored on 1/30/12]

Johnson Co-Sponsored DeMint’s Resolution On Earmarks, Saying "As I Promised During My Campaign, I'll Vote For The Elimination Of Earmarks Every Opportunity I Get.”On his campaign website, Ron Johnson said, "As I promised during my campaign, I'll vote for the elimination of earmarks every opportunity I get and am pleased to co-sponsor Senator DeMint's resolution. I'm looking forward to the orientation sessions next week as an opportunity to begin learning the rules of the institution so I can be effective for Wisconsin.” [Ron Johnson For Senate Blog Post, 11/12/10]
• Johnson On Helping To Stop Earmarks: "This Is An Important Signal To The American Public That We Are Serious About Restoring Fiscal Sanity To This Nation."[Wisconsin State Journal, 11/18/10]
ALLEN CALLS HIMSELF 'ORIGINAL TEA PARTIER'

Allen Claimed He Was “The Original Tea Partier” During A Radio Interview. According to WMAL, Allen claimed he was “the original Tea Partier” in an interview: “Former Virginia Senator George Allen wrapped up the first day of his campaign to regain the seat he lost to Democrat Jim Webb in 2006 with an extensive interview on the Mark Levin Show on 630 WMAL.  The interview covered a broad range, from Allen's contention that he is 'the original Tea Partier' to his legacy as the son of a Redskins football legend, to his analysis of the upcoming Super Bowl between the Steelers and Packers.”  [WMAL, 1/25/11]

ALLEN HAS LONG HISTORY OF FISCAL IRRESPONSIBILITY; HELPED CREATE OUR CURRENT ECONOMIC MESS
  PolitiFact: As Governor, Allen Increased Spending 45.6%; His Claim That He Reined In Spending Rated “False.” In September 2011, PolitiFact Virginia wrote, “The general fund was almost $6.8 billion when Allen took office. At the end of his term, he proposed a $9.9 billion general fund budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1998. That means Allen endorsed $3.1 billion in additional general fund spending when he was governor -- a 45.6.percent rise. . . . Our ruling: Allen takes credit for ‘reining in state spending’ when he was governor. . . . We rate the statement False.” [PolitiFact Virginia, 9/12/11]

Allen Took America's Largest Budget Surplus And Turned It Into A Record Federal Deficit. When George Allen took office in the United States Senate in January 2001, “the federal budget surplus for fiscal year 2000 amounted to at least $230 billion, making it the largest in U.S. history,” according to CNN. By July 2003, after Allen was in office for only two years, the budget deficit had already hit a record $455 billion. [CNN, 9/27/2000; Chicago Tribune, 7/16/03]

As Senator, Allen Voted For Every Appropriations Bill That Came Up, Adding Over $3 Trillion To The National Debt. PolitiFact Virginia wrote, “Under the budgets approved during Allen’s term, debt climbed by $3.202 trillion. Congress sets budgets through a series of appropriations bills, and Allen supported all of the roughly four dozen bills to hit the Senate floor during his term. . . . Radtke said debt increased by $3 trillion during Allen’s Senate term, a figure equal to $16,000 per second. The actual figures were $3.202 trillion, or $16,896.68 per second.”  [Richmond Times-Dispatch, “PolitiFact Virginia,” 4/15/11]

Allen Voted for Every Deficit-Growing, Budget-Busting Bush Budget. [Vote 74, 3/16/06; Vote 363, 12/21/05; Vote 114, 4/28/05;  Vote 58, 3/12/04;  Vote 134, 4/11/03; Vote 98, 5/10/01; Vote 86, 4/6/01]
http://www.kaineforva.com/news/allen_johnson_at_odds_over_earmarks#When:17:04:23Z