[Due to an unforeseen and extended power outage, we were unable to post yesterday's "End of Day" report. Below is Wednesday's report.]
Beyond Bizarre
As we edge closer to Inauguration Day, there has been yet another vicious attempt by leftists in the government and the media to delegitimize and destroy the Trump presidency before he takes office. The headlines today are beyond bizarre.
I won't repeat the scurrilous smears being made. But I do want to comment about the briefing President-elect Trump received from intelligence officials.
You may recall that last week Donald Trump received a briefing from top intelligence officials, some of which was leaked to major media outlets the day before. Angered by the obvious breach of confidence, the president-elect demanded an investigation.
Just as Obama has politicized the IRS and other government agencies, Trump and many others fear that our intelligence agencies have been corrupted too. And with good reason.
So with Trump having scheduled a major press conference for this morning, sources inside and outside the intelligence community once again started leaking information. The thrust of the leaks is that Russia has damaging personal information about President-elect Trump, which it may use to blackmail or compromise him.
These leaks are proving exactly what Trump suggested -- that important parts of our government essential for national security have been weaponized to destroy not our enemies, but conservatives.
"A Tremendous Blot"
Some left-wing commentators have said that it is a very dangerous thing for an incoming president to question the loyalty or motives of those in the intelligence community. Generally, I agree.
However, what is far more dangerous is an intelligence community that may be using its substantial powers to undermine a democratically elected administration, which won in large measure because of the disgust the American people felt over the direction in which their country was headed.
The president-elect is justifiably angry. This morning he tweeted, "Intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to 'leak' into the public. One last shot at me. Are we living in Nazi Germany?"
At a press conference this morning, President-elect Trump thanked news agencies that refused to publish these unsubstantiated allegations. And he added that it was "disgraceful" and a "tremendous blot" against the intelligence agencies if they leaked it.
During the press event, Trump had an extraordinary exchange with CNN reporter Jim Acosta. Watch it here.
Can you imagine any reporter behaving this badly with Barack Obama?
By the way, Obama prosecuted more journalists and whistleblowers than all previous presidents combined. You would think journalists would be outraged with Obama. Instead, they swoon over him. So you know it's all about ideology.
When asked what reforms Trump would recommend for the media, he suggested finding reporters "with a moral compass." Good for him!
In all my years in Washington, I have never seen the political and media establishment so committed to destroying an incoming president.
I suspect I wore out my welcome with many readers asking for support at the end of the year. But we are right in the middle of this battle constantly being called on for assistance. Already our resources are being stretched.
Some on the left are already plotting to impeach or remove Trump from office. If you don't support us, please support an organization you trust. Stay engaged!
Really Fake News
Perhaps the biggest fake news story of the day comes to us courtesy of outgoing President Barack Obama, who delivered his farewell address last night. I could go on for pages, but I promise I will restrain myself. Perhaps the most outrageous thing Obama said was this:
". . . no foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland these past eight years."
Tell that to the relatives of those killed at Fort Hood, San Bernardino, Orlando, Boston, Chattanooga, Little Rock and Fort Lauderdale.
Obama has uttered this claim repeatedly. You have to parse it a dozen times to try to understand what he is attempting to say because it defies reality. It is also a telling (and frightening) glimpse into the left's mindset.
At first glance, Obama appears to be suggesting that our homeland has not been attacked by terrorists in the past eight years. That is certainly what he wants everyone to believe because the left doesn't see these massacres as acts of radical Islamic terrorism, but rather "gun violence." It treats each attack as an unrelated, random criminal act.
The left refuses to admit the obvious. The foreign terrorist organization that is attacking us, Mr. President, is radical Islam!
Hearing Obama's delusional rhetoric is like being subjected to the state-controlled broadcasts of the Soviet propaganda machine. Honest journalists -- those with "a moral compass" -- should be outraged, and they should demand that Obama stop deceiving the American people about the danger that is confronting Western Civilization.
Hearing Highlights
There were many moments conservatives could applaud from yesterday's Senate confirmation hearing for Sen. Jeff Sessions to be our next attorney general. But I will mention only three.
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) suggested that Attorney General Sessions would be "inhumane" when it comes to immigration. Sessions replied:
"Well, you are wrong, Senator Durbin. I'm going to follow the laws passed by Congress. . . I do believe that if you continually go through a cycle of amnesty that you undermine the respect for the law and encourage more illegal immigration into America. I believe the American people spoke clearly in this election. I believe they agreed with my basic view."
During an exchange on abortion, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) asked, "You have referred to Roe v. Wade as 'one of the worst colossally erroneous Supreme Court decisions of all time.' Is that still your view?"
"It is," Sessions answered. "I believe it violated the Constitution and really attempted to set policy and not follow law."
Lastly, I applaud Senator Ted Cruz for his blistering indictment against the left's disrespect for the Constitution. Cruz went through a litany of examples from the past eight years when Obama bent the rules and broke the law to accommodate his agenda, while his left-wing allies stood by silently or cheered from the sidelines.
It was Senator Cruz at his finest, and a great example of what so many conservatives admire about the Texas senator. Watch it here.