The Morning Briefing: Senators Want Secret Clinton Investigation Info and Much, Much More

Good Wednesday morning.

Here is what’s on the president’s agenda today:

The president participates in an opportunity zone conference with state, local, tribal, and community leaders

Tomorrow is MUELLER DAY. Gird your loins.

GOP senators want to see secret memo about classified information ignored during the Clinton investigation

Senators Grassley (R-Iowa), Graham (R-S.C.) and Johnson (R-Wisc.) want to see a memo about “highly classified information” the FBI refused to investigate during the Hillary Clinton email server investigation.

According to the Republicans, the FBI drafted a memo in May 2016 saying that the information was “necessary” to complete the investigation into Clinton’s handling of classified information on her private email server.

But as the Justice Department inspector general found in a report released last year, the FBI declined to take up the matter before closing the Clinton investigation in July 2016.

That’s wild. Repeated attempts to learn about this information were rebuffed with claims it was necessary to the Mueller investigation. But that’s over now, so let’s find out why this classified information was ignored.

According to the inspector general’s report, the FBI late in the Clinton investigation “considered obtaining permission from the Department to review certain classified materials that may have included information potentially relevant to the Midyear investigation.”

In a memo drafted for Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, the FBI said that the review of the “highly classified materials was necessary to complete the investigation.” The FBI did not submit the memo, claiming, according to the IG, “that they believed this information would not materially impact the conclusion.”

There’s no reason the information can’t be turned over to the senators now, so let’s find out what classified information related the Clinton homebrew email server that wasn’t relevant to her investigation.

DOJ: asylum-seekers must be detained during deportation proceedings

Attorney General William Barr has ruled that asylum seekers who meet the “credible fear” criteria are not eligible to be released into the U.S. while they wait for a full hearing.

The ruling, which will go into effect in 90 days, states that a previous decision allowing for asylum-seekers to be released on bond while their case is being heard by an immigration judge was incorrect. Only the Department of Homeland Security has the authority to release the asylum-seekers, he wrote.

“I conclude that such aliens remain ineligible for bond, whether they are arriving at the border or are apprehended in the United States,” Barr wrote.

Oh boy.

Barr is overturning a 2005 ruling that determined that asylum-seekers are eligible for bond if they are able to exhibit they have credible fear of persecution or danger if they leave the U.S.

But the attorney general argues that, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the administration is permitted to detain all undocumented immigrants who were initially placed in expedited removal proceedings but then passed the credible fear test and were transferred to a full hearing before an immigration judge.

There are some exemptions to the new ruling: families and unaccompanied minors.

Nearly 60K known or suspected ‘aliens’ in federal prisons, DOJ says

Justice Dept. denies bond for tens of thousands of asylum seekers

We’re still talking about Ilhan Omar

Speaker of House Nancy Pelosi insisted there’s no anti-Semitic stench surrounding the Democrat Party even though, there obviously is. Yet, she keeps defending a member curiously obsessed with Jewish people.

“I don’t think that the congresswoman is anti-Semitic. I wouldn’t even put those in the same category,” Pelosi said during an interview with CNN. Well, I would.

“We have no taint of that in the Democratic Party,” she said in the interview. “Just because they want to accuse somebody of that doesn’t mean that we take that bait.” she added. She certainly ought to know about that. Making racial accusations is right out of the Democrat playbook. Disagree on policy? Racist. Disagree on legislation? Racist. Wear a MAGA hat? Racist.

Meanwhile, two freshmen Democrats failed to disclose they got some donations from Omar. I wonder why that is? Perhaps it’s an oversight.

The reelection campaigns for two freshman Democratic members of the House, Reps. Lucy McBath (D., Ga.) and Jahana Hayes (D., Conn.), failed to disclose large contributions received from the campaign of fellow freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.).

The contributions were revealed in Omar’s most recent filing, which disclosed transfers of $2,000 to both McBath and Hayes on March 27 of this year. Neither the filing from McBath nor from Hayes discloses the payments from their Minnesota colleague.

Two of her colleagues did report the money Omar donated to their campaigns and one is taking some heat for it. “By accepting her campaign cash, Lauren Underwood has made clear the reason she won’t condemn Ilhan Omar’s vile anti-Semitic rhetoric is because she doesn’t have a problem with it,” said Carly Atchison, spokeswoman for the National Republican Campaign Committee.

You bought the ticket, now take the ride.

Historical picture of the day:

Cuban President Fidel Castro speaks to a military gathering on the 20th anniversary of the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Thursday, April 17, 1981, Havana, Cuba. Fidel spoke to the 60,000 soldiers present, telling them to be ready to die for Cubas communist revolution. (AP Photo/Charles Tasnadi)

Other morsels:

Right to Print Arms

No bueno! Filming Biden’s campaign ad turns into a hot mess

Herbal supplement kratom linked to nearly 100 overdose deaths in 18 months

Another Jeffrey Epstein accuser comes forward against billionaire pedophile

WAT. New Mexico man arrested after police allegedly find dozens of diamonds in anal cavity

Rolling Stone slammed over highlighting quote that saying Notre Dame fire feels like an ‘act of liberation’

Authorities probing if Notre Dame fire was sparked by short circuit

Four years ago, an art historian used lasers to digitally map Notre Dame Cathedral. His work could help save it

Gun control group targets Nevada sheriffs over new law

Trump vetoes resolution to end US involvement in Yemen

And that’s all I’ve got, now go beat back the angry mob!