Eric Holder | William Barr Is Unfit to Be Attorney General

12 December 19 Folks We Need to Kickstart this Fundraiser Yesterday was as dead as a doornail and today is looking really bad early as well. Take a moment to hit the donation link and help out. Very important. Marc Ash Founder, Reader Supported News Sure, I'll make a donation! Update My Monthly Donation If you would prefer to send a check: Reader Supported News PO Box 2043 Citrus Hts CA 95611

12 December 19 It's Live on the HomePage Now: Reader Supported News DO YOU GIVE A DAMN ABOUT READER SUPPORTED NEWS? - This organization is built literally on community service and community support. The two are 100% interdependent. That is why you get what you expect from RSN. We need you folks, in reasonable numbers, to contribute. In solidarity. / Marc Ash, Founder Reader Supported News Sure, I'll make a donation! Eric Holder | William Barr Is Unfit to Be Attorney General Eric Holder, The Washington Post Holder writes: "As a former U.S. attorney general, I am reluctant to publicly criticize my successors. I respect the office and understand just how tough the job can be. But recently, Attorney General William P. Barr has made a series of public statements and taken actions that are so plainly ideological, so nakedly partisan and so deeply inappropriate for America's chief law enforcement official that they demand a response from someone who held the same office." READ MORE US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump presents check from Trump foundation to Puppy Jake Foundation. (photo: Rick Wilking/Reuters) Trump Pays Million in Damages Ordered by Judge Over Misuse of Charity Funds, According to NY Attorney General David A. Fahrenthold, The Washington Post Fahrenthold writes: "President Trump has paid million in court-ordered damages for misusing funds in a tax-exempt charity he controlled, the New York attorney general said Tuesday." EXCERPTS: The money was split among eight charities, according to a statement from New York Attorney General Letitia James (D). The charities were the Army Emergency Relief, the Children’s Aid Society, Citymeals-on-Wheels, Give an Hour, Martha’s Table, the United Negro College Fund, the United Way of National Capital Area, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, according to the statement.  In addition, Trump agreed to distribute the remaining $1.8 million left in the Donald J. Trump Foundation to the same eight charities. In all, each charity received $476,140.41.  “Funds have finally gone where they deserve — to eight credible charities,” James said in the statement. “My office will continue to fight for accountability because no one is above the law — not a businessman, not a candidate for office, and not even the president of the United States.”  In a statement, attorneys for Trump said: “The legacy of the Trump Foundation — which gave away many millions to those in need at virtually no cost — is secure.” They did not answer a reporter’s query about whether Trump intended to count the court-ordered $2 million payment on his taxes as a charitable deduction.  In the 2000s, Trump began to use the charity in ways that benefited himself or his businesses, according to the attorney general’s lawsuit. He used the charity’s cash to buy paintings of himself and sports memorabilia and to pay $258,000 in legal settlements for his for-profit clubs.  Charity leaders are barred from using their nonprofits’ money for personal benefit.  Trump also used the charity to boost political campaigns — first, Pamela Bondi’s Florida attorney general campaign, and then his own 2016 campaign. Trump gave away Trump Foundation checks onstage at rallies, despite strict rules barring nonprofit charities from participating in political campaigns.  READ MORE Donald Trump Jr. rides a horse in the Mongolian countryside during his hunting trip this summer. (photo: Instagram) Donald Trump Jr Went to Mongolia, Got Special Treatment From the Government and Killed an Endangered Sheep Jake Pearson and Anand Tumurtogoo, ProPublica Excerpt: "His adventure was supported by government resources from both the U.S. and Mongolia, which each sent security services to accompany the president's eldest son and grandson on the multiday trip. It also thrust Trump Jr. directly into the controversial world of Mongolian trophy hunting - a polarizing practice in a country that views the big-horned rams as a national treasure." READ MORE Rep. Ocasio-Cortez. (photo: Senate Democrats) AOC: I Don't Go on Fox News Because of 'White Supremacist Sympathizer' Tucker Carlson Justin Baragona, The Daily Beast Baragona writes: "Progressive lawmaker Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on Wednesday blasted Fox News host Tucker Carlson as a 'white supremacist sympathizer,' pointing to his 'unmitigated racism' as the main reason she does not appear on the conservative network." READ MORE Kentucky Democratic governor Andy Beshear. (photo: Bryan Woolston/AP) Kentucky's New Democratic Governor to Restore Voting Rights to Over 100,000 Former Felons Dareh Gregorian, NBC News Gregorian writes: "Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced in his inaugural address Tuesday that he'll sign an executive order this week restoring voting rights to more than 100,000 people who've been convicted of felonies." READ MORE Saudi women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul. (photo: Marieke Wijintjes) White House Veterans Helped UAE Hack Emails of Saudi Women's Rights Activist. Then She Was Arrested, Returned to Her Country and Tortured. Joel Schectman and Christoper Bing, Reuters Excerpt: "In the years after 9/11, former U.S. counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke warned Congress that the country needed more expansive spying powers to prevent another catastrophe." EXCERPT: In an interview in Washington, Clarke said that after recommending that the UAE create a cyber surveillance agency, his company, Good Harbor Consulting, was hired to help the country build it. The idea, Clarke said, was to create a unit capable of tracking terrorists. He said the plan was approved by the U.S. State Department and the National Security Agency, and that Good Harbor followed U.S. law.  READ MORE Yupik men prepare a boat to fish for salmon on the Bering Sea. (photo: Andrew Burton/Getty) Arctic Report Card 2019: Extreme Ice Loss, Dying Species as Global Warming Worsens Sabrina Shankman, Inside Climate News Shankman writes: "When dead salmon wash ashore along the coast of the Bering Sea, the problem is much bigger than dead fish. It's a sign of deeper trouble cascading through the Arctic's ecosystems." For indigenous communities on the Bering Sea, a way of life is at risk as climate change hits fish populations and ricochets through ecosystems.

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