August 2017

WaPo Video Here's how the Constitution protects leakers and whistleblowers

Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Fri, 08/04/2017 - 14:41

Yelp to open DC office

Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Fri, 08/04/2017 - 14:40

Chuck Todd: 'I look forward to ignoring' DOJ subpoena

Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Fri, 08/04/2017 - 14:40

Senate Confirms Two FCC Nominees, Chairman Pai's Confirmation Waits

On August 3, 2017, the US Senate confirmed the nominations of Jessica Rosenworcel and Brendan Carr to be members of the Federal Communications Commission. The commissioners join FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael O'Rielly to implement and enforce America’s communications law and regulations. Rosenworcel and Carr were confirmed without debate -- sorta. The full Senate confirmed 63 presidential nominees by unanimous consent. But both Rosenworcel and Carr faced a bit of drama. And Chairman Pai -- who President Donald Trump has nominated for a new, five-year term -- will have to wait on his confirmation.

AG Sessions says DOJ has tripled the number of leak probes, warns the media could be targeted in crackdown on leaks

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Justice Department was now pursuing three times as many leak investigations as the previous administration, a significant devotion of law enforcement resources to hunt down the sources of unauthorized disclosures of information that have plagued the Trump Administration. AG Sessions vowed that the Justice Department would not hesitate to bring criminal charges against people who had leaked classified information. He also announced that the FBI had created a new counterintelligence unit to manage these cases.

The Sessions news conference came against the backdrop of repeated pressure by President Trump, in public and in private, for the Justice Department and the FBI to hunt down people inside the government who have been telling reporters what was happening behind closed doors. In addition, Sessions said that after meeting with FBI and intelligence investigators, the Justice Department would review its policies affecting media subpoenas. “We respect the important role the press plays and we’ll give them respect, but it’s not unlimited,” AG Sessions said. “They cannot place lives at risk with impunity. We must balance the press’ 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.”

Reps Pallone, Doyle Provide GOP Eight Witnesses For September Net Neutrality Hearing to Ensure Diverse Perspectives

House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Doyle (D-PA) wrote to Republican Committee leaders with a list of eight additional witnesses that they say should be added for the full committee hearing on the Federal Communications Commission’s network neutrality hearing. The two Democratic Committee leaders wrote that it is the responsibility of the Minority to balance the panel of witnesses at hearings before the committee. Reps Pallone and Doyle have selected the following individuals to be invited to testify:

Jonathan Jackson is a co-founder and the Head of Corporate Branding for Blavity.
Ruth Livier is an actress, writer, and doctoral student who is a pioneer in the fight for equal representation in media.
Jesse Vollmar is co-founder and CEO of FarmLogs,
Myrna Morales is an expert in library science in Boston.
Johari Farrar is a performer with the Truthworker Theater Company.
Brandi Collins is the Senior Campaign Director for Media and Economic Justice at Color of Change.
Steven Renderos is the Organizing Director at the Center for Media Justice.
Bryan Mercer is the Executive Director of Media Mobilizing Project.

Chairman Pai Welcomes Senate Passage Of Kari's Law

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai released the following statement regarding unanimous U.S. Senate passage of Kari’s Law Act of 2017: “I am pleased that the U.S. Senate unanimously passed Kari’s Law. This legislation will help ensure that every call to 911 directly connects those in need with those who can help. I also commend Hank Hunt, Kari's father, for channeling his pain into a passion for change. Thanks to his efforts and those of many others, Americans will one day be able to call 911 and reach first responders without having to dial an access code. I hope that this critical public safety measure will soon become law.”

Chairman Pai Announces Balaguer To Serve As Deputy Director Of The Office Of Legislative Affairs

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the agency has chosen Jim Balaguer to serve as deputy director of the Office of Legislative Affairs.

Since 2010, Balaguer has served as an associate director and senior legislative analyst in the Office of Legislative Affairs, where he was the primary liaison to Congress on wireline issues, including universal service, broadband adoption, and the Internet Protocol transition. Prior to his most recent position, Balaguer served in several roles in the Office of Legislative Affairs as lead liaison on consumer protection issues, including telemarketing policy, caller ID spoofing, and disability access policy, as well as tribal telecom and international communications issues. He began his FCC career in the former Enforcement Division of the bureau that is now known as the Wireline Competition Bureau. Balaguer received an MA from George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management and a BA from Loyola University in Maryland.

After six months, Vice President Pence has now turned over all state-related AOL e-mails, his attorney says

It took nearly six months after he left the governor's office, but Vice President Mike Pence and his legal team say they have now provided Indiana officials with all e-mails from his personal AOL account involving state business. Pence attorney Karoline Jackson said that, “a complete electronic production of state records" from Pence's time as governor had been delivered to the state as of June 23. The office of Pence's successor, Gov Eric Holcomb (R-IN), said the records consist of state-related e-mails from two AOL accounts Pence used as governor. "Our office is now in the process of reviewing the records, and we anticipate being in a position to provide copies of records that are responsive to pending (public record) requests soon," Holcomb spokeswoman Stephanie Wilson said. Previously, Vice President Pence had only provided some of his AOL emails to the state, and those he did provide were in paper form, making them difficult to search.

President Trump’s itchy Twitter finger just triggered speculation about an indictment

With a tap of the thumb, President Donald Trump invited speculation that he or a family member could be indicted by a federal grand jury whose existence was reported a day earlier by the Wall Street Journal. The president retweeted a video clip from the “Fox & Friends” morning show, his favorite, in which the hosts and guest Jeanine Pirro — “Judge Jeanine” on Fox and a longtime Trump friend — cast an investigation of possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, as a politically motivated witch hunt. That the president would endorse such a view is unsurprising, but it seemed odd that he would call the attention of his 35 million followers to what came next — a discussion of indictments.

Benton

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