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Insider Report: Clinton Aide Forfeits Law License Special From NewsMax's Most Informed Sources
Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories): Clinton White House National Security Adviser Samuel Berger, who was convicted of taking classified terrorism documents from the National Archives, has agreed to surrender his license to practice law. In a written statement issued by his attorney, Larry Breuer, Berger, 61, said: "I have decided to voluntarily relinquish my license. While I derived great satisfaction from years of practicing law, I have not done so for 15 years and do not envision returning to the profession. I am very sorry for what I did, and I deeply apologize." Berger, national security adviser from 1997 to 2001, was convicted of removing documents from the Archives in 2005 while preparing to testify before the 9/11 Commission. He was fined $50,000 and sentenced to 100 hours of community service, the Washington Times reported. The documents taken by Berger pertained to a terrorist assessment from 2000, before George W. Bush was sworn in as president. Specifically, they dealt with a report detailing the Clinton administration's response to so-called millennium terrorist threats a highly secret assessment that was, according to some reports, less than stellar.
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The report was compiled by Richard Clarke, the same counterterrorism czar under Clinton and President Bush who criticized the latter's handling of intelligence prior to 9/11. Byron York, White House correspondent for the National Review, wrote: "Clarke apparently concluded that the millennium plot was foiled by luck a border agent in Washington state who happened to notice a nervous, sweating man who turned out to have explosives in his car and not by the Clinton administration's savvy anti-terrorism work." By giving up his law license, Berger avoids being cross-examined by the Board on Bar Counsel and possibly disclosing further details of his theft. Editor's Note: 2. Chinese Missiles to Target U.S. Carriers China plans to equip its new missiles with technology enabling them to target U.S. carriers and other warships in Asia, a Japanese newspaper reported. The upgrade is part of preparations for a possible conflict over Taiwan, according to the Sankei Shimbun paper. Citing unnamed military sources in Japan and Taiwan, the paper asserted that China was developing an infrared detection system for its Dongfeng-21 missiles to give them the ability to pinpoint warships. The upgraded missiles "would discourage the United States or Japan from sending in their warships equipped with the Aegis technology designed to shoot down incoming missiles," the Web site DefenceTalk.com reported. The Dongfeng has a range of about 1,350 miles. China which considers Taiwan part of its territory has repeatedly threatened to launch an invasion of the island if it declares formal independence. Editor's Note: 3. Rudy, Hillary Lead in Florida Rudy Giuliani continues to lead all other Republican presidential hopefuls in the key swing state Florida, and Hillary Clinton is holding on to her lead among Democrats, a new poll discloses. But Democrats appear far happier with their choice of candidates than do Republicans, according to the May 11-13 survey of 1,200 likely Florida voters conducted by Strategic Vision, LLC. The poll asked Republicans who they favored for the presidential nomination in 2008, and Giuliani got 32 percent of the votes to John McCain's 20 percent. They were followed by two potential candidates who have not announced that they will run, Fred Thompson with 10 percent and Newt Gingrich with 7 percent. Mitt Romney received 5 percent, and no other GOP candidate received more than 3 percent. "Giuliani continues to dominate the Republican field in Florida as he does in nearly every state although his support declined somewhat," said David E. Johnson, CEO of Strategic Vision. "Fred Thompson appears to be emerging as the conservative alternative if he opts to run for the White House. This concept must be discouraging for Romney with the investment he is making in Florida." When Republicans were asked if they were satisfied with the current slate of announced candidates, 24 percent said yes, 47 percent said no, and 29 percent were undecided. "With nearly half of Republican voters dissatisfied with the current field of candidates, there is still an opening for one or more potential candidates to enter the race," said Johnson. Among Democrats, Clinton got 37 percent of the votes, Barack Obama got 20 percent, John Edwards garnered 19 percent, Joseph Biden received 5 percent and Bill Richardson got 4 percent. The other candidates received less than 3 percent. "Clinton increased her lead, which is a trend that we are seeing in other states," Johnson noted. "The real race seems to be for second place, where Obama lost support while Edwards increased his." Asked if they were satisfied with the field of candidates, 62 percent of Democrats said yes, 21 percent said no, and 17 were undecided. Interestingly, while only 33 percent of respondents said they approve of President Bush's overall job performance, and even smaller figure, 27 percent, said they approve of the way Congress is performing its job. Editor's Note: 4. Report: Thousands of Soldiers Sickened by Vaccine A U.S. military health officer says thousands of U.S. troops have had severe reactions to some of the vaccines they received before going overseas and the Pentagon is covering up the problem. Symptoms range from joint aches and pains to death, according to the officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to protect his job. One victim is former Marine Lance Corporal David Fey of Clermont County, Ohio, TV station WLWT in Cincinnati reported. Fey said that on Nov. 28, 2005, he was one of a group of Marines who lined up for an undisclosed injection. After receiving the shot, Fey gained 30 pounds of water, his eyes swelled up, and he developed a rash on his hand, he told WLWT. He wound up in a hospital back in Ohio, close to death from kidney failure. He survived, but says he is still in pain and awaits a kidney transplant. Fey's mom Cindy began examining her son's medical records, and she said the shot he received was not listed in the records. The military claimed he never received a shot. Eleven months later, those records were changed, with a handwritten note stating that the shot was a flu vaccine. The military health officer said the number of troops who have gotten sick after receiving vaccines is in the thousands, and he believes U.S. troops are receiving experimental vaccines. The Defense Department insists that the vaccines given to the troops are safe.
But the officer told WLWT: "This is the worst cover-up in the history of the military. When the issue of the use of the vaccine comes out, I believe it will make the Walter Reed scandal pale in comparison." Editor's Note: 5. Pope Denounces 'Authoritarian' Regimes in Latin America Pope Benedict XVI ended his recent visit to Brazil by warning against "authoritarian forms of government" a veiled shot at Venezuelan President Hugo Chαvez. Speaking to more than 160 Latin American and Caribbean bishops in Aparecida, Brazil, on May 13, the pontiff declared: "In Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in other regions, there has been notable progress toward democracy, although there are grounds for concern in the face of authoritarian forms of government and regimes wedded to certain ideologies that we thought had been superseded, and which do not respond to the Christian vision of man and society as taught by the social doctrine of the church." He added that "the Marxist system, where it found its way into government, not only left a sad heritage of economic and ecological destruction, but also a painful destruction of the human spirit." The Miami Herald reported: "Benedict's most political remarks appeared to be aimed at leaders such as Venezuelan President Hugo Chαvez and Bolivian President Evo Morales, who have been accused of ruling autocratically." The Pope also appeared to criticize indigenous leaders such as Morales, an Aymara Indian, by criticizing the revival of native religions. The Bolivian leader has threatened to remove Catholic instruction from the nation's schools.
Pope Benedict had earlier sparked controversy when he told reporters that legislators who voted in April to legalize abortion in Mexico City deserved to be excommunicated. Brazil is the world's largest Catholic country, with about 125 million members of the church. Editor's Note: 6. Rudy's Role in Courts Questioned Questions remain about presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani's conservative credentials, and "nowhere are they more pressing than on the issue of judicial nominees," according to National Review contributor Robert Alt. Giuliani demonstrated poor character judgment years ago when he attacked conservative Attorney General Edwin Meese, which creates "grave doubts" about whether he is the best man to be selecting federal judges, Alt opines. "In terms of promoting conservatism in the Justice Department or on the courts during the Reagan years, Meese's impact was unmatched," Alt's National Review article states. "It is therefore disturbing that Giuliani held Meese in utter contempt. After stepping down as U.S. Attorney, Giuliani publicly blasted Meese, claiming that he was 'probably not suited for the job that he was given as attorney general,' and that Meese 'should not have been given that job because it was beyond his abilities.'" Also, Giuliani authorized one of his assistants in the Wedtech case to call Meese a "sleaze" in open court, Alt recalled. The Wedtech case in the late 1980s involved the Wedtech Corporation, which received defense contracts under a program allowing minority-owned companies to win no-bid contracts even though the firm's majority owner was not a member of any minority. Attorney General Meese was eventually charged with complicity for his earlier role as a Wedtech lobbyist, but he was never convicted of any wrongdoing. Meese "served honorably as attorney general, and, unlike Rudy Giuliani, deserves significant credit for shaping the legal legacy of Ronald Reagan," Alt concludes. "Anyone who casts aspersions of the kind that Giuliani did against Meese calls his own judgment into questions particularly when he is asking for us to trust that judgment in picking judicial nominees." Editor's Note: 7. Expert: Global Warming a 'Joke' in Five Years A climate expert in New Zealand has added his voice to those downplaying the threat of global warming, calling it a "myth." Meteorologist Augie Auer, speaking at a meeting of farmers, said: "We're all going to survive this. It's all going to be a joke in five years. It's time to attack the myth of global warming." Auer said man's contribution to the greenhouse gases was so small that we couldn't change the climate if we tried, and water vapor was responsible for 95 percent of the greenhouse effect, according to a report in the Timaru Herald.
He asserted that carbon dioxide accounts for only 3.6 percent of the greenhouse effect. Furthermore, man's activities can be blamed for only 3.2 percent of that meaning that only about 0.12 percent of the greenhouse effect results from man's activities. "That ought to be the end of the argument, there and then," Auer declared. Instead, he said, the campaign warning of manmade global warming has "become a witch hunt." Editor's Note: 8. Tancredo to Giuliani: Clarify Your Amnesty Position Rep. Tom Tancredo has called on his Republican presidential rival Rudy Giuliani to clarify his position on amnesty after the immigration reform agreement was announced by the Senate on Thursday. Tancredo responded to this statement issued by Giuliani's communications director, Katie Levinson, on Thursday: "Rudy's top priority and main objective is to ensure our borders are secure and to stop potential terrorists and criminals from coming in. The recent Fort Dix plot is a stark reminder that the threat of terrorism has made immigration an important matter of national security." The statement was referring to the recent arrests of six Muslim men suspected of plotting to massacre U.S. troops at Fort Dix in New Jersey.
Giuliani's statement concluded: "We need to know who is coming in and who is going out of this country if we are going to deal with those who are here illegally." Tancredo has charged that the immigration reform agreement between the Senate and White House would grant "instant amnesty" to millions of people in the U.S. illegally. On Friday, his campaign issued a statement asserting that Giuliani has not made clear his position on the agreement and on amnesty. "What is really surprising, and particularly disappointing, is that Mayor Giuliani's statement does not seem to indicate where he stands on this bill," Tancredo said in the statement. "Everyone is, at least rhetorically, in favor of securing our borders, but what is unknown is Mayor Giuliani's position on amnesty. "Mayor Giuliani should be aware that if this bill was in place a year ago, the members of the Fort Dix Six who entered this country illegally would have been granted amnesty. He needs to clarify exactly how he believes we should protect this country from terrorists who have entered this country illegally." Editor's Note: 9. We Heard . . . THAT NewsMax contributor and radio host Erich "Mancow" Muller has won the Peter Lisagor Award from the Chicago Headline Club chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Mancow won in the Commentary or Criticism category for his "Chicago Tonight: Mancow Muller Commentaries" radio program in Chicago. The awards are named for Peter Lisagor, the late Washington bureau chief of the Chicago Daily News. "The modern twist on the classic commentary rule: Love 'em or hate 'em, it's hard not to watch 'em," the competition judges declared. "Mancow Muller's energy and exuberance gets you to think." In addition to his radio show, Mancow has been a frequent contributor on the Fox News Channel and various other programs, and has written for NewsMax, Playboy, and Gear Magazine. THAT legendary Hollywood restaurant Morton's will close its doors for good at the end of this year. Morton's was opened in 1979 by Peter Morton, founder of the Hard Rock Cafι, and moved across the street to its present location in West Hollywood in 1994. It was a favorite gathering spot for Hollywood's movers and shakers, and the site of Vanity Fair's annual post-Oscar party. Sources close to Morton told the Los Angeles Times that a lease dispute contributed to the decision to close the eatery. THAT Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and the United Church of Christ (UCC) have filed petitions seeking to deny Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. from renewing licenses for two TV stations in New York. UCC cited media concentration in its petition against News Corp., parent company of Fox News, the magazine Broadcasting & Cable reported. "Fox's common ownership of the New York Post, WNYW, and WWOR harms me by sharply reducing the number of independent voices available to me," wrote the Rev. Sherry Taylor of UCC's Central Atlantic Conference in the petition. "Unless the licenses are denied, my right to access diverse programming will continue to be harmed." News Corp. has a waiver of the rule baring broadcast/newspaper cross-ownership, and UCC and Rainbow want the FCC to rescind the waiver. THAT prominent porn star Jenna Jameson said Democrats are better for the pornography industry and the Bill Clinton administration was "the best." In an interview with PR.com, Jameson author of "How To Make Love Like a Porn Star" said she prefers Hillary Clinton in the 2008 presidential race: "I love Hillary. I think that in some ways she's pretty conservative for a Democrat, but I would love to have a woman in office." Asked if the climate of the porn industry is different under a Democratic administration compared to a Republican one, James said: "Absolutely . . . When Republicans are in office, the problem is, a lot of times they try to put their crosshairs on the adult industry, to make a point. It's sad, when there are so many different things that are going on in the world: war, and people are dying of genocide." Demonstrating a questionable grasp of the U.S. Constitution, Jameson also declared: "The Clinton administration was the best years for the adult industry and I wish that Clinton would run again. I would love to have him back in office." Editor's Notes:
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