Gov't's Amber Alert Site Shuttered: WH First Targets Veterans, Now Targeting Children, in Shutdown

Department of Justice shuts down government Amber alert system

EXAMINER.COM - The Obama administration and the Democrats have been working to force the Republicans to cave into their demands and as a result, Obama’s Justice Department, led by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, decided to make it hurt even more that if a child goes missing, don’t count on the Amber Alert support system to notify the public.

The Washington Examiner reported on Sunday that the Amber alert support system, the national missing-child warning program, has been offline because of the government shutdown.

In viewing the Justice Department amber-alert website, visitors are greeted with, “Due to the lapse in federal funding, this Office of Justice Programs website is unavailable”.

Ashe Schow of the Washington Examiner said, “So, union members could return to work, but the website to alert Americans to missing children had to be taken down?”

Via: Fox News

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DOJ, IRS Grant True the Vote Tax-exempt Status

The scandal-scarred IRS has agreed to grant tax-exempt status to True the Vote, the Texas-based “election integrity” group that became one of the tea party and conservative organizations targeted by the tax collector.

True the Vote announced Monday the IRS and the Justice Department consented late Friday to grant its application for 501(c)(3) status.

Editor's Note: Should ObamaCare Be Defunded? Vote in Urgent National Poll 

True the Vote calls itself a voters' rights organization, and was involved in efforts cleaning up voter rolls in some states, deterring fraud in Texas elections and verifying signatures in the Wisconsin governor recall election, according to the Washington Times 

But earlier this year, the group discovered it was among a slew of applications the IRS had been scrutinizing and turned around to sue the agency to force it to approve the application.

News of the Internal Revenue Service decision came the same day the retirement of Lois Lerner, the IRS official at the center of the agency's tea party scandal, was announced.

True the Vote lawyer Cleta Mitchell said the fight with the IRS is far from over.

“This lawsuit is about getting to the truth and we are not going to stop until we find out the answers to these and many other questions,” Ms. Mitchell said.

Mitchell said the IRS still needs to answer for the costs and damages that resulted from the three-year delay, and to explain why they were  looking at information the IRS's internal auditor says wasn't necessary for them to make a decision.

“We are pleased and relieved that the IRS and the DOJ are finally doing what should have been done three years ago, which is to recognize TTV as a charitable and educational organization, which we have always been and will continue to be,” True The Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht said in a statement to Breitbart News.

The group first filed for tax-exempt status in July 2010. With the belate

Via: Newsmax

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Obama Administration Threatens the Dreams of Low-Income Students in Louisiana

Days after commemorating Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the Obama Administration filed suit against the Louisiana Scholarship Program, which has providedthousands of low-income children more opportunity to make their dreams reality.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed suit to stop the program, claiming that it impedes upon “the desegregation process.” However, as Heritage explains in this Backgrounder, the DOJ’s attempt to undermine the scholarship program could keep low-income children confined to poor-performing schools. The program was expanded for the 2013–2014 school year to offer 8,000 scholarships to low-income children.

The stories of families of scholarship recipients in Louisiana, published by the Louisiana Federation for Children, show that children flourish with choice:

Via: The Foundry

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JW Sues DOJ for Records of Holder Contempt Settlement Talks

Judicial Watch has sued the “most transparent administration” in history for details of Attorney General Eric Holder’s efforts to settle contempt charges filed against him for refusing to give Congress documents related to a scandalous gunrunning experiment that let Mexican drug traffickers obtain U.S.-sold weapons.

The goal behind this disastrous Obama administration plan— known as Fast and Furious—was to then trace the guns back to Mexican cartels. Instead the agency responsible for monitoring the guns, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), lost track of hundreds of weapons that later surfaced in a number of crimes, including the murder a U.S. Border Patrol agent (Brian Terry) in Peck Canyon Arizona.

Judicial Watch has an ongoing investigation into this huge Obama administration scandal and has filed a number of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with various agencies. JW has been forced to sue both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the ATF for failing to provide records in a timely manner allotted by FOIA laws. Undoubtedly, the administration is in full cover-up mode and that includes blowing off a congressional probe.  

In fact, last June President Obama made a highly controversial decision to assert Executive Privilege to shield the DOJ’s Fast and Furious records from disclosure. Executive privilege is reserved to “protect” White House records, not the records of federal agencies, which must be made available, subject to specific exceptions under FOIA. None of this seems relevant to the commander-in-chief who has repeatedly broken his promise to run the most transparent administration in history.

The stonewalling continues and this month JW filed a FOIA lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to shed light into the closed-door proceedings where the DOJ tried to settle a contempt of Congress citation against Holder. JW is seeking access to all records of communications between the DOJ and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which issued the citation.  

In August 2012 the House Oversight Committee sued Holder to enforce subpoenas in its probe of the Fast and Furious operation. The Attorney General essentially flipped the finger at Congress and in its complaint the investigative congressional committee accuses Holder of obstruction and a “contumacious refusal to comply” with a subpoena and produce documents involving Fast and Furious. In March a federal judge ordered the two sides to enter mediation but it has done little to solve the matter because the DOJ is apparently dragging it out. Holder continues using his legal battle with Congress to keep the American people from knowing the truth about the Fast and Furious.

Via: Judicial Watch

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Holder looking to require Texas to get federal approval before changing voting laws, citing a history of racism

In response to the Supreme Court’s recent decision that states are innocent of institutional racism until proven guilty, Attorney General Eric Holder is arguing that Texas’ “history of pervasive voting-related discrimination against racial minorities” should make its voting laws subject to the Department of Justice’s oversight indefinitely.

While speaking before the National Urban League in Philadelphia on Thursday, Holder said his agency would ask a federal judge to require Texas to submit all its voting laws to the DOJ for review before they can be legally enacted because the state has a supposed history of discrimination and racism.

“And today I am announcing that the Justice Department will ask a federal court in Texas to subject the State of Texas to a pre-clearance regime similar to the one required by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act,” Holder said at the organization’s annual conference.

The Attorney General cited “evidence of intentional racial discrimination” found following the case Texas v. Holder, in addition to a ”history of pervasive voting-related discrimination against racial minorities.” He continued, saying the state would need to acquire “pre-approval” from either the Department of Justice or a federal court before implementing any future changes in voting laws.

In the case Shelby County v. Holder, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Section 4b of the Voting Rights Act, which defined a formula to single out states to undergo a pre-clearance for voting laws based on previous discriminatory practices — much like that alleged in the case Texas v. Holder — was unconstitutional. Without this provision, Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act — which Holder referenced in his remarks — becomes near impossible to implement until Congress outlines a new formula, which it has yet to do.

Via: Red Alert

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Obama Rips GOP For "Endless Parade Of Distractions, Political Posturing And Phony Scandals"

Obama Decries ‘Phoney Scandals’ That ‘Distract’ From Economic Action: ‘This Needs To Stop’

During a major speech on the economy from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois Wednesday,President Obama aimed some sharp criticism at Washington for “taking its eye off the ball” by succumbing to “an endless parade of distractions, political posturing and phony scandals.” He told the supportive audience in attendance: “I am here to say this needs to stop.”

The president lamented the “gridlock” in Congress in that has only “gotten worse” over the last six months. “If you ask some of these Republicans about their economic agenda, or how they’d strengthen the middle class, they’ll shift the topic to “out-of-control” government spending,” Obama said, “despite the fact that we have cut the deficit by nearly half as a share of the economy since I took office.” Or, even worse, they will bring up the “tried and true” boogeyman of Obamacare, “despite the fact that our businesses have created nearly twice as many jobs in this recovery as they had at the same point in the last recovery, when there was no Obamacare.”

“With an endless parade of distractions, political posturing and phony scandals,” Obama continued, alluding to the uproar from conservatives over the attack in Benghazi, the IRS targeting political groups and the DOJ subpoenaing reporters, “Washington has taken its eye off the ball. And I am here to say this needs to stop.” Instead, he said, “Our focus must be on the basic economic issues that the matter most to you – the people we represent.”

“Rebuilding our manufacturing base. Educating our workforce. Upgrading our transportation and information networks,” the president said to cheers from the crowd. “That’s what we need to be talking about. That’s what Washington needs to be focused on.”

Via: Mediaite

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Justice Dept. Dispatching 780 Observers To Monitor Tuesday’s Election

(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Justice Department announced on Friday that it is dispatching 780 department personnel and federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management to monitor Tuesday's elections in 51 jurisdictions around the country--including Queens, N.Y.

The department said that in following out its duties under the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act, and the Help America Vote Act it intended to make certain that people with disabilities, people who can't read or write, and people who don't understand English have their voting rights protected.

"The observers and department personnel will gather information on, among other things, whether voters are subject to different voting qualifications or procedures on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group; whether jurisdictions are complying with the minority language provisions of the Voting Rights Act," DOJ said in a press release.

Via: CNS News

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Obama administration acknowledged releasing illegals who didn’t fit ‘priority’ for deportation

Letters obtained by The Daily Caller show the Obama administration has acknowledged releasing illegal immigrants from law enforcement custody and back into the general U.S. population even when they are outside the qualifications outlined in the president’s new immigration policy.

In March, the administration released an illegal alien from law enforcement custody for the reason that he did not “fit” any administrative “priority” for deportation.

On March 27, according to the Fox News Channel, a “veteran” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer and one of his colleagues “were conducting surveillance on a vehicle in Newark, Del. with [license] plates that were registered to a criminal alien target.”

“During the surveillance, they observed an individual get into the vehicle. The person was detained, questioned and taken to an ICE office so that his fingerprints could be run through a federal database,” Fox News’ Todd Starnes reported in August. “The individual was not their criminal alien target. However, he was a 35-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico who had ten previous traffic violations — including driving without a license.”

When that Fox story broke, National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council president Chris Crane said the ICE agent had exercised “prosecutorial discretion” and decided to “charge [the suspect] as being in the United States illegally and let the judge sort it out.”

That National ICE Council is a subset of the American Federation of Government Employees, an AFL-CIO member labor union. (RELATED: Immigrants don’t have to prove they meet DREAM Act criteria to avoid charges, ICE union chief says)

Political leaders inside ICE ordered the agent to release that criminal alien suspect, however. Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions wrote in a letter to ICE director John Morton on Aug. 3 that the suspect was released because he wasn’t a “presidential priority.”

Via: The Daily Caller

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FAST & FURIOUS GUNS FOUND IN COLOMBIA

Authorities have found guns from Operation Fast and Furious in Columbia in August. They were confiscated in a raid on “Oficina de Envigado” leader Ericson Vargas, known as "Sebastian."

"Two rifles that were seized in February with 'Frank', the brother of Sebastian also are part of the tracking operations of the ATF, the same as 14 Five-seven guns we have found in several raids," an anonymous high-ranking source within Colombia's National Police said (translated from Spanish).

Fast & Furious was a government gun walking scheme that allowed over 2,000 guns to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. These guns are connected to the deaths of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and over 300 Mexican citizens. They have been found at twelve crime scenes across America and thousands are still missing.

El Tiempo claims an estimated 200 guns are in Medellin, Colombia in the hands of “Oficina de Envigado” and criminals “Calatrava” and “Pacheli,” and these guns were supplied by the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico. 

Via: Breitbart

JUDICIAL WATCH SUES OBAMA ADMIN FOR AMNESTY DOCUMENTS

Judicial Watch today sued the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security for documents related to President Barack Obama’s “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” executive order that allows young illegal immigrants who meet certain qualifications to get a two-year work permit and temporary amnesty. 

Judicial Watch says it is seeking the following records in its June 22, 2012, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request:

All records concerning…the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to exercise prosecutorial discretion with respect to individuals who came to the United States as children…Such records include, but are not limited to, opinions, memoranda, or legal advice rendered by the Office of Legal Counsel.

The Department of Justice had until July 24, 2012 to comply with the FOIA request, but has failed to do so to date.  On June 22, 2012, Judicial Watch submitted a similar FOIA request to the Department of Homeland Security. DHS was required to by law to respond to Judicial Watch by August 10, 2010. DHS, to date, has not responded. 

“This new Obama amnesty program is an attack on the constitutional role of Congress and runs rough shod over existing immigration law.  It is no surprise that the Obama administration doesn’t want to share the legal basis for this unilateral executive action and is violating Freedom of Information Act law to keep the American people in the dark,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton in a statement.  “President Obama and his political appointees are abusing their offices with this new amnesty program.  If the administration were confident about the legality of its actions, it wouldn’t be keeping secret the legal basis for President Obama’s extraordinary decision to unilaterally change the law.” 

Via: Breitbart

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Darrell Issa to Sue Eric Holder Monday

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa plans to sue Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday for refusing to provide documents related to the "Fast and Furious" gun-smuggling operation.

"The committee expects to file the civil contempt suit against the attorney general Monday," a Republican source said. The suit will be filed in the federal district court for the District of Columbia.

The action is the latest escalation in the dispute between House Republicans and the Justice Department over the documents, which relate to a botched gun-smuggling operation.

On June 28, the House voted to hold Holder in contempt of Congress and authorized the Oversight panel to bring suit to enforce its rights.

In Fast and Furious, agents for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allowed assault guns to "walk," which meant ending surveillance on weapons suspected to be en route to Mexican drug cartels.

The tactic, which was intended to allow agents to track criminal networks by finding the guns at crime scenes, was condemned after two guns that were part of the operation were found at Border Patrol agent Brian Terry's murder scene.

In the most recent conflict between Congress and the president over a Congressional subpoena, Democrats' and Republicans' roles were reversed.

Via: Roll Call

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