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President Barack Obama is to have lunch at the White House with defeated Republican election rival Mitt Romney, officials have confirmed.
Thursday’s face-to-face will be their first meeting since Barack Obama overcame Mitt Romney in the November 6th election.
On election night Barack Obama pledged to meet Mitt Romney for talks on how to “move this country forward”.
The pair sparred in a bitter campaign and are said to have little rapport.
Over the course of three presidential debates, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney interrupted each other frequently and sniped aggressively over policy and principle.
However, they are now to meet in the private dining room at the White House, and the press will not be permitted to cover the lunch, the White House said on Wednesday.
President Barack Obama is to have lunch at the White House with defeated Republican election rival Mitt Romney
The meeting comes as Barack Obama and the Democrats negotiate with congressional Republicans over the impending “fiscal cliff” – a combination of tax rises and spending cuts set to occur on 1 January.
The measures were partly put in place within a 2011 deal to curb the yawning US budget deficit, but also include the expiration of Bush-era tax cuts for all Americans.
During the campaign, Mitt Romney called for sharp spending and tax cuts to fix the deficit. Barack Obama insists the wealthy should pay more in taxes.
Mitt Romney has dropped out of sight since the election, and analysts say he has little influence on congressional Republicans.
In the weeks since election night, the emerging styles of the Obama daughters, and especially Malia, has taken center stage – the 14-year-old blossoming from the President’s wide-eyed “baby” into a self-assured young woman who has inherited her mother’s confidence, bold fashion sense and looks.
Wearing a shiny blue full skirt from ASOS with a neon pink Zara belt, and J. Crew flats, Malia Obama proved she has inherited her mother’s classic but bold sensibility on election night – seamlessly following in her well-heeled footsteps.
“The torch has been passed,” said the designer Gregory Parkinson, who sent out a press release after a recent sighting of the White House’s resident teenager.
Lucky magazine’s executive fashion director, Alexis Bryan Morgan, told USA Today: “I’m hard pressed to think of anyone, period, who had such great style potential at 14.
“She has all the elements that make a great fashionista. It’s really exceptional.”
Malia Obama, standing nearly as tall as her 5-foot-11 mother, now carries herself with confidence, striding alongside her mother like two-peas-in-a-poised-pod.
Unlike many teens unused to their new height, she shows no trace of awkwardness or embarrassment, instead, she embraces her lean figure with smart, yet bang-on-trend, wardrobe choices.
Seventeen fashion director Gina Kelly explained: “How her mother dresses is obviously rubbing off on Malia.
“It’s very pretty and feminine. It’s a little bit preppy-classic, but it’s never boring.”
And recent appearances throughout Washington D.C. have proven Malia Obama can certainly hold her own in the style stakes, mixing and matching bold colors and layers like a pro.
Lucky‘s Alexis Bryan Morgan added: “She’s smart in that she seems to be aware so many eyes are on her.
“[But] her style seems very genuine. It doesn’t look like somebody just put something on her on election night. She’s adding her own twist and having fun. You can’t really have style unless you’re being true to herself.”
Since turning 14 on Independence Day, Malia Obama has slowly started to tick off some age-appropriate milestones – like her first mobile phone.
Michelle Obama admitted in June that she “scared the heck” out of Malia with “days of lectures” on the dangers of talking to strangers before handing the device over.
Malia Obama proved she has inherited her mother’s classic seamlessly following in her well-heeled footsteps
And although Malia Obama, and her younger sister Sasha, 11, are forbidden from using Facebook until they are 17, Malia seems to be growing up like any other teenager, taking her first daughter responsibilities in her stride.
Since becoming the White House’s resident teenager last Independence Day, Malia Obama has slowly started to tick off some age-appropriate milestones – like her first mobile phone.
President Barack Obama, who often talks highly of both Malia, and his younger daughter Sasha, says they are kind, respectful, responsible and well-behaved girls.
Malia Obama has started to wear make-up too – with her mother’s wise counsel to guide her.
In an appearance on The View last year, Michelle Obama revealed: “We do a lot of talking. Sometimes it’s too much.
“After our… military families tour, I came in, it was 10.30 at night – we were beat, we did four cities in two days, and Malia’s like, <<Ma, I need to talk to you>>.
“And it was 10.30 and we talked. And we talked, and we talked. We talked about make-up, actually.”
In fact, it seems the only person struggling with Malia Obama’s coming-of-age is the President himself.
Barack Obama admitted in an interview last year, before her two-inch growth spurt: “Even though she’s 5ft 9in, she’s still my baby. And she just got braces, which is good, because she looks like a kid and she was getting … she’s starting to look too old for me.”
One occasion in particular came as a shock, as Michelle Obama revealed on The View.
She said: “He says he’s cool, but you know… The first time Malia went out for a party and she was dressed, she had her hair done and she’s tall, she had on a pretty dress, you could see him, he was sort of like… gulp. And I was like, <<Easy dad>>.”
President Barack Obama often talks highly of his two children, saying they are kind, respectful, responsible and well-behaved girls.
“I could not ask for better kids,” he told ABC News in June.
“I’m not anticipating complete mayhem for the next four, five years. But I understand teenage-hood is complicated. I should also point out that I have men with guns that surround them often.”
The American people have spoken and Cobbler has been voted the 2012 National Thanksgiving Turkey.
The moment of truth in Thanksgiving Decision 2012 came on Wednesday at the White House National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation, as President Barack Obama announced that Cobbler was victorious over his competitor, Gobbler, though both are winners as neither will face the chopping block.
They competed for the coveted role in a massive social media campaign with Americans invited to cast their ballots to decide which animal should receive the title. Even though Gobbler failed to nab the top prize, he will serve as an alternate in case the official bird cannot fulfill his duties.
President Barack Obama was joined by the first daughters, Malia and Sasha, to announce the winner.
“They say that life is all about second chances,” Barack Obama told a crowd of Thanksgiving revelers and reporters at the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday.
“This November, I couldn’t agree more,” he said, adding that “once again Nate Silver completely nailed it”, referencing the New York Times blogger and celebrity numbers whiz who was spot-on in his election prediction on November 6.
“The American people have spoken…and these birds are moving forward.”
Cobbler, the winning bird, voiced his delight with several gobbles that were heard throughout President Barack Obama’s speech.
Barack Obama chooses Cobbler over Gobbler as National Thanksgiving Turkey
The president joined his two daughters, Sasha – who was eager to pet the bird – while Malia decided to keep her distance, to officially offer a presidential pardon.
The presidential tradition of offering clemency to a turkey has been in place since 1963 under President John F. Kennedy.
But this year, the White House invited the people to let their voices be heard.
Early Tuesday, the official White House Facebook page posted a picture encouraging users to vote for which turkey should be the official bird of the 2012 holiday – Cobbler or Gobbler.
The White House blog compiled a short biography for the two birds, saying that both were born on a farm in Rockingham County, Virginia.
By Wednesday morning, Gobbler, a 43 lbs male with a “rare but loud” gobble, had amassed 2,223 Likes.
Gobbler was described as having a walk that was “patient but proud”, according to his profile.
Gobbler Turkey
But Cobbler seemed to be the favorite, having garnered a few hundred more Likes on Facebook, bringing his total to 2,512.
The 40 lbs male was described as having a gobble that is “frequent but quick and quiet”.
He stands at 2 feet 2 inches and according to the profile compiled by the White House, his favorite song is You’re so Vain by Carly Simon.
“Cobbler and Gobbler may look alike, but they’re no birds of a feather. Cobbler craves cranberries, is known for his strut … Gobbler, a patient but proud bird, loves to nibble on corn and enjoys any music with a fiddle.”
Cobbler Turkey
Though there can only be one winner, the remaining turkey won’t be served up at a feast.
Following the pardoning, both turkeys will be transported to Mount Vernon, the estate of George Washington, where they will be placed in a custom-made pen at the livestock facility.
But PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is crying foul – saying the Commander-in-Chief should put a stop to the “sorely outdated” ceremony and have asked the president to opt for a Tofurky roast at his Thursday feast instead.
The animal rights activists have decried the practice, accusing the president of a having “partnership with the turkey-killing industry”.
PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk wrote to Barack Obama, saying that the annual turkey pardon “makes light of the mass slaughter” of each turkey and “portrays the United States president as being in some sort of business partnership with the turkey-killing industry”.
She wrote that Tofurky – turkey made from tofu – is a “delicious, healthy” alternative to eating a turkey.
By Tuesday night, Ingrid E. Newkirk said that she received no official answer from the White House, though on the official White House page for the ceremony it was clearly stated that “no turkeys will be harmed during the selection of the National Thanksgiving Turkey”.
“It’s all gravy,” the event planners announced.
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A ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement has come into effect.
Under the deal, Israel has agreed to end all hostilities and targeted killings, while Hamas will stop attacks against Israel and along the border.
At least 157 people have died since the flare-up of violence began last week.
Both sides continued to fire on each other as the 21:00 ceasefire deadline approached, but no incidents have been reported since.
Earlier, a bomb exploded on a bus in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, leaving three people needing surgery.
Wednesday also saw at least 13 people die in Gaza.
Israel has agreed to “stop all hostilities on the Gaza Strip, land, sea and air including incursions and targeting of individuals”, the ceasefire deal says.
“All Palestinian factions shall stop all hostilities from the Gaza Strip against Israel, including rocket attacks, and attacks along the border,” it stipulates.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Kamel Amr announced the ceasefire at a news conference in Cairo with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who joined negotiations on Wednesday.
A statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had agreed to a US suggestion “to give a chance to Egypt’s proposal for a ceasefire and so give an opportunity to stabilize the situation and calm it before there will be need to apply greater force”.
For the truce to hold, Hillary Clinton said, “the rocket attacks [from Gaza] must end and a broader calm must return”.
“Now we have to focus on reaching a durable outcome that promotes regional stability and advances the security, dignity and legitimate aspirations of Palestinians and Israelis alike,” she added.
US President Barack Obama praised the Israeli leader for accepting the deal and said he would seek additional funding for the Iron Dome missile defence system, which destroyed dozens of rockets from Gaza in mid-air during the past week.
Barack Obama also thanked Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi for his efforts.
Ties between Hamas and Egypt have strengthened since Mohammed Mursi was elected earlier this year. Hamas was formed as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, to which Mohammed Mursi belongs.
Also on Wednesday, Palestinian militants fired more rockets at Israel, while Israel renewed its naval artillery bombardment of Gaza.
Israel launched its current offensive a week ago with the killing of Hamas military leader Ahmed Jabari.
The Israeli government says his assassination, and the subsequent offensive, were aimed at ending rocket fire from Gaza.
More than 150 Palestinians and five Israelis have since been killed.
Israeli officials described Wednesday’s bus explosion as a “terrorist attack”. Hamas praised it but has not said it was behind the blast.
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US Attorney General Eric Holder is reportedly staying on in his position for at least another year past President Barack Obama’s first term, according to Fox News.
Barack Obama had previously asked Eric Holder to continue in his role beyond January and Holder accepted his request, but they did not specify a timeline, the Wall Street Journal had reported earlier.
There was some uncertainty as to whether Eric Holder would stay on in the administration after he told a college audience in Baltimore earlier this month that he had not made up his mind on the matter.
“Do I think that there are things that I still want to do? Do I have some gas left in the tank?” Eric Holder mused.
Eric Holder was under fire last week as questions emerged over why he did not tell Barack Obama that ex-CIA Director David Petraeus was having an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.
He was told by the FBI that they were investigating the relationship between the director of the CIA and Paula Broadwell in late summer, but he appears not to have shared the information with anyone else.
Barack Obama did not find out about the scandal until after the election, just two days before David Petraeus resigned, even though senior officials had apparently been aware of it for months.
Attorney General Eric Holder is reportedly staying on in his position for at least another year past President Barack Obama’s first term
Eric Holder was also under fire in July, when the Republican-controlled House of Representatives charged him with contempt of Congress over the “Fast and Furious” gun-running scandal.
The charges were a reaction to Eric Holder’s refusal to turn over to lawmakers all of the Justice Department documents they demanded on the botched gun-tracking operation.
Republicans questioned how much the Justice Department – and the White House – knew about the operation, which allowed U.S. guns to be moved into Mexico in hopes of tracking them to drug traffickers.
The operation backfired when at least one of those guns was used to kill a U.S. Border Patrol agent in 2010.
The White House denied any involvement in the program.
Barack Obama said Burma is on a “remarkable journey” of reform that has much further to go, on his first visit to the South East Asian nation by a serving US president.
A desire for change had been met by an agenda of reform, he said, and he was there to extend a “hand of friendship”.
But, in a speech at Rangoon University, Barack Obama urged Burmese people to accept Muslim Rohingyas after recent violence.
Crowds of people, some waving US flags, lined the streets as he arrived.
The visit was intended to show support for the reforms put in place by Thein Sein’s government since the end of military rule in November 2010.
Activists have warned that the visit may be too hasty – political prisoners remain behind bars and ethnic conflicts in border areas are unresolved.
On Monday another prisoner amnesty was announced, with about 50 of the 66 inmates freed reportedly political detainees. About 200 political prisoners remain behind bars, activists say.
Barack Obama spent about six hours in Burma and did not visit the capital, Nay Pyi Taw.
The highlight of his visit was a speech at Rangoon University, which was at the heart of pro-democracy protests in 1988 that were violently suppressed by the military regime.
Addressing students, he said America would help to rebuild Burma’s economy and could be a partner on its journey forward.
Referring to his 20 January 2009 inauguration speech in which he pledged the US would extend a hand to any country that was willing to unclench its fist, he said: “Today I’ve come to keep my promise and extend the hand of friendship.
“But this remarkable journey has just begun, and has much further to go.
“Reforms launched from the top of society must meet the aspirations of citizens who form its foundation. The flickers of progress that we have seen must not be extinguished.”
He called for an end to communal violence between Muslims and Buddhists in the western state of Rakhine that has left more than 100,000 people displaced. They are mostly Muslim Rohingyas who are stateless and face severe discrimination in Burma.
“National reconciliation will take time, but for the sake of our common humanity, and for the sake of this country’s future, it is necessary to stop the incitement and to stop violence,” he said.
Earlier Barack Obama met Thein Sein, saying the reform process “here in Myanmar… is one that can lead to incredible development opportunities”.
He used the country name preferred by the government – US officials described the move as a “diplomatic courtesy” but not a policy shift.
Barack Obama met Burma pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the lakeside home where she spent years under house arrest
Barack Obama then met pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the lakeside home where she spent years under house arrest. She thanked the US for its support but warned that difficult times could lie ahead.
“The most difficult time in any transition is when we think that success is in sight,” she said, saying people should not be “lured by a mirage of success”.
The US president and his team also made a brief stop at Shwedagon Pagoda, the Rangoon landmark that has been at the heart of many key moments in the country’s history.
Barack Obama was accompanied by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – who was returning to Burma almost a year after her first visit.
Thein Sein’s government came to power after widely criticized polls in November 2010 that saw military rule replaced with a military-backed civilian government.
Since then – to the surprise of many – his administration has embarked on a reform process. Many – but not all – political prisoners have been freed, censorship has been relaxed and some economic reforms enacted.
Aung San Suu Kyi was freed from house arrest shortly after the polls. Her NLD party, which boycotted the elections, has since rejoined the political process. It now has a small presence in parliament after a landslide win in by-elections deemed generally free and fair in April.
In response to the reforms, many Western nations have relaxed sanctions against Burma and begun a process of engagement.
But rights groups have cautioned against a rush to embrace the South East Asian nation, warning that political prisoners remain behind bars and ethnic conflicts are unresolved.
After visiting Burma, Barack Obama headed to Cambodia to join a meeting of the Association of South East Asian Nations, in a trip that underlines the shift in US foreign policy focus to the Asia-Pacific region.
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Former CIA Director General David Petraeus has hired Robert Barnett, a top Washington lawyer, to help him navigate the fallout from a career-ending affair, Reuters has confirmed.
Robert Barnett of Williams & Connolly, is known for negotiating book deals for the political elite, from President Barack Obama to one-time vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Robert Barnett will help David Petraeus as he exits government, Reuters confirmed.
The news was first reported by Politico, which said that no book is planned.
The CIA, the Justice Department and Congress are investigating David Petraeus’ conduct over the extra-marital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.
David Petraeus has said his resignation was solely because of the affair and that he did not give classified information to Paula Broadwell.
Robert Barnett has been a partner at Williams& Connolly in Washington for 34 years, according to a biography of him posted on the firm’s website.
In that time, he has built an unconventional practice representing best-selling authors, political leaders, television news correspondents and other high-profile clients.
David Petraeus has hired Robert Barnett, a top Washington lawyer, to help him navigate the fallout from a career-ending affair
In addition to Barack Obama and Sarah Palin, other authors he has represented include novelist Mary Higgins Clark and entertainer Barbra Streisand.
Robert Barnett has also helped former government officials from across the political spectrum navigate their return to private life, including former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, former secretary of state Madeleine Albright, and former members of Congress.
He joined Williams & Connolly in 1975 and became a partner in 1978.
The news of David Petraeus attaining council comes the day after the White House announced that it did not heavily alter talking points about the attacks on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya, an official said on Saturday.
“If there were adjustments made to them within the intelligence community, that’s common, and that’s something they would have done themselves,” Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser, told reporters.
“The only edit … made by the White House was the factual edit as to how to refer to the facility.”
After a closed-door hearing with former CIA Director David Petraeus on Friday, Republican Representative Peter King said that unclassified talking points prepared by the CIA for use by lawmakers about the September 11 attack originally pointed specifically to al Qaeda involvement. Peter King said they were edited before being cleared for use.
Ben Rhodes said the White House, and also the State Department, changed references to a “conflict” at diplomatic facilities, “because the conflict in Benghazi was not formally a conflict. Other than that we worked off the points that were provided by the intelligence community, so I can’t speak to any other edits that may have been made”.
The head of the House Intelligence Committee suggested on Sunday that President Barack Obama might have known about former CIA Director David Petraeus’ extra-marital affair before the November election, and said Attorney General Eric Holder should address this question soon before Congress.
U.S. Representative Mike Rogers, a Republican, said Eric Holder’s statement that the Justice Department had not informed the president before the election implied that Holder might have told Barack Obama privately.
Mike Rogers noted that the FBI investigation of the communications between David Petraeus and his biographer Paula Broadwell arose due to concern over a counter-intelligence threat. Both David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell have said they did not share any security secrets, and investigators have said they have found no security breach.
“It probably should have been brought forward earlier as a national security threat,” Mike Rogers said.
“I’m not sure that the president was not told before Election Day. The attorney general said that the Department of Justice did not notify the president, but we don’t know if the attorney general…[notified him],” he said.
Mike Rogers said Eric Holder should come before the intelligence committees to discuss it.
“We could resolve this very quickly with a conversation in the intelligence spaces if he did have that conversation with the president.”
Barack Obama may have known about David Petraeus affair with Paula Broadwell before election
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein disagreed, saying Holder had explained to the intelligence committees there was no notification while the investigation was under way. Justice and the FBI took this approach, she said, “so there is an ability to move ahead without any political weighing-in on any side”.
David Petraeus admitted to the affair and resigned his post at the CIA three days after Barack Obama was elected to a second term on November 6.
Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham called the FBI investigation of the affair “the oddest story in the world” and doubted Barack Obama knew before the election.
“I could see how he would not know,” he said.
Barack Obama is practicing a new brand of foreign relations, appearing to flirt with Thailand’s attractive Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on his first stop of his three-day tour of Southeast Asia.
President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra could be seen laughing together and exchanging playful glances throughout a state dinner at the Government House in Bangkok on Sunday night.
They were joined by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who toasted to the U.S.-Thailand friendship with Yingluck Shinawatra.
Barack Obama is now visiting Myanmar – also known as Burma – followed by Cambodia this week.
He said it is “no accident” that he planned his first foreign trip to Asia after winning re-election.
Barack Obama is practicing a new brand of foreign relations, appearing to flirt with Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra
Speaking at a news conference on Sunday in Bangkok, Barack Obama emphasized that the U.S. is a “Pacific nation”.
Barack Obama said the Asia-Pacific region will be crucial for creating jobs in the U.S. and shaping its security and prosperity.
Barack Obama’s praised Thailand for being a supporter of democracy in Myanmar, the once-pariah state that is rapidly reforming.
He said he appreciated the Thai prime minister’s insights into Myanmar during their meetings on Sunday.
Barack Obama’s visit made quite an impression on Thailand, and adoring crowds gathered around him and chanted “Obama, Obama” as he visited the Temple of Reclining Buddha just after arriving in Bangkok.
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President Barack Obama defended Israel’s airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, but he warned that escalating the offensive with Israeli ground troops could increase the death toll and undermine any hope of a peace process with the Palestinians.
“Israel has every right to expect that it does not have missiles fired into its territory,” Barack Obama said at the start of a three-nation tour in Asia.
“If that can be accomplished without a ramping up of military activity in Gaza, that’s preferable,” he said.
“It’s not just preferable for the people of Gaza. It’s also preferable for Israelis, because if Israeli troops are in Gaza, they’re much more at risk of incurring fatalities or being wounded.”
Barack Obama’s comments came as Israel’s campaign against Hamas militants in Gaza blasted into its fifth day. Israel is at a crossroads of whether to launch a ground invasion or pursue Egyptian-led truce efforts, and Barack Obama sought to clearly defend the U.S. ally’s military rights while pushing for a halt in the violence.
From Thailand, Barack Obama also defended his decision to go to Myanmar, also known as Burma. He will be the first U.S. president to visit the country, which is moving from a brutal reign toward democracy, but still holds political prisoners and is living with ethnic violence.
Barack Obama defended Israel’s airstrikes on the Gaza Strip
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Sunday that Israel was prepared to significantly expand its military operation in Gaza. Barack Obama has been lobbying Benjamin Netanyahu along with the leaders of Egypt and Turkey to try to halt the crisis – including stopping rocket strikes on Israel.
He said Israel was justly responding to “an ever escalating number of missiles that were landing not just in Israeli territory, but in areas that are populated. And there’s no country on earth that would tolerate missiles raining down on its citizens from outside its borders”.
Barack Obama also said Palestinians will have no chance to pursue their own state and a lasting peace with Israel as long as rockets are fired into Israel. He said he hoped for a clearer process over the next 48 hours – showing how much the Mideast conflict had intruded on his diplomatic mission to Asia.
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The White House did not heavily alter talking points about the attacks on US diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, an official said on Saturday.
“If there were adjustments made to them within the intelligence community, that’s common, and that’s something they would have done themselves,” Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser, told reporters.
“The only edit … made by the White House was the factual edit as to how to refer to the facility.”
After a closed-door hearing with former CIA Director David Petraeus on Friday, Republican Representative Peter King said that unclassified talking points prepared by the CIA for use by lawmakers about the September 11 attack originally pointed specifically to al Qaeda involvement. Peter King said they were edited before being cleared for use.
Ben Rhodes said the White House, and also the State Department, changed references to a “conflict” at diplomatic facilities, “because the conflict in Benghazi was not formally a conflict. Other than that we worked off the points that were provided by the intelligence community, so I can’t speak to any other edits that may have been made”.
After David Petraeus hearing on Friday, it emerged that unclassified talking points prepared by the CIA for use by lawmakers about Benghazi attack originally pointed specifically to al Qaeda involvement
The assault on the US mission and nearby CIA annex in Benghazi has turned into a flash point between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republicans.
Republicans accuse the White House and in particular the US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, of misleading the public just after the attack by suggesting the assault was a spontaneous act instead of a planned terrorist operation. The Obama administration denies misleading anyone and says it discussed information about the Benghazi tragedy as it came in.
“What I can say is those points, and what Susan said, indicated that we believed extremists were involved in this attack,” Ben Rhodes said.
During a visit to the White House Thursday with her fellow athletes, President Barack Obama playfully put on McKayla Maroney’s trademark scowl for a photo with the gold medalist.
“Did I just do the Not Impressed face with the President..?” McKayla Maroney tweeted after the meeting.
Looking their glamorous best, the U.S. Olympics’ Fierce Five visited the White House for the first time earlier today for a private meeting with the President.
As they watched Barack Obama depart from the South Lawn on the Marine One helicopter, Jordyn Wieber, Kyla Ross, Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney squealed with delight.
However, taking a leaf out of McKayla Maroney’s book, Aly Raisman looked decidedly unimpressed as a gust of wind blew the girls’ backward.
The 17-year-old eventually came around a few moments later, smiling as Gabby Douglas turned to hide from the gale-force gust.
Heading towards the Oval Office prior, the excitedly nervous girls walked in a straight line in their high-necked mini-dresses, laughing and waving to photographers.
President Barack Obama playfully put on McKayla Maroney’s trademark scowl for a photo with the gold medalist
It’s not the first time the 2012 U.S. Women’s Olympic team have had personal interaction with President Barack Obama however.
Barack Obama expressed his admiration for the team after their gold medal win in August, voicing a bewilderment with the sport that is likely shared by many of his constituents.
At a rally in Ohio on August first he said: “These gymnastics folks – I don’t understand how they do what they do.
“So I told these young ladies as I was congratulating them <<How do you not bust your head every time you’re on that little balance beam?>>”
Barack Obama phoned the members individually to congratulate them on their gold medal while aboard Air Force One.
He said to Aly Raisman: “Michelle and have watched and decided of all the Olympiads you guys amaze us the most.”
“I’m so impressed by how you bounced back and led the team. Tell your parents I’m proud of them too. I don’t think I could watch if I were them,” Barack Obama told Jordyn Wieber.
To McKayla Maroney, he said: “Way to nail that vault. It was unbelievable.”
“I was impressed by how cool you were. I don’t know how you do what you do especially the balance beam,” he said.
And to the star of the team, Gabby Douglas, Barack Obama said: “You just tore it up. I know how hard you worked to get there. Keep at it. Stay cool.”
Jill Kelley, the Florida housewife at the centre of the David Petraeus scandal, was given access to the White House on three separate occasion thanks to a lawyer friend who works for the administration, according to recent reports.
Jill Kelley and her twin sister, Natalie Khawam, had two “courtesy” meals in the mess at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as guests of a mid-level aide in September and October, a White House official said.
The socialite and her family also received a tour of the presidential residence on the weekend before the November 6 election.
Jill Kelley met the aid, an attorney, through her work with MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, where she also rubbed shoulders with the military’s top brass, including General David Petraeus.
David Petraeus’ biographer-turned-mistress Paula Broadwell also reportedly visited the White House before her illicit affair with Petraeus was made public following an FBI investigation launched with Kelley’s help.
Neither woman met with President Barack Obama during their visits, a White House official said.
Paula Broadwell, who was writing a book about David Petraeus and eventually became his paramour, attended meetings in June 2009 and June 2011 on Afghanistan-Pakistan policy in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is located in the White House complex, the official said.
The White House visits by Paula Broadwell and Jill Kelley illustrate the wide-ranging access both women enjoyed because of their ties with David Petraeus, General John Allen and others in the close-knit military community.
Jill Kelley and her twin sister, Natalie Khawam, had two courtesy meals at the White House as guests of a mid-level aide in September and October
The White House official discussed their visits on condition of anonymity because the visitors logs being cited have yet to be made public.
Tampa Bay Times reported that on November 4, two days before the presidential election and less than a week before David Petraeus tendered his resignation after acknowledging his affair with Paula Broadwell, Jill Kelley, her twin sister, Natalie Khawam, their children and her husband, Dr. Scott Kelley, went on a tour of the White House.
On October 24, Jill Kelley and Natalie Khawam had lunch in the White House with a staffer, who also had breakfast with the Kelleys on September 28.
Jill Kelley was an Honorary Consul to South Korea, which is why she said she visited the White House in September.
The attorney who ushered Jill Kelley and her family through the doors of America’s most famous residence has not been identified by the White House, saying that his name will be made public once the visitor logs are released.
However, an official said the aid had gotten to know Jill Kelley through connections to MacDill.
The man worked as a civilian lawyer in Afghanistan and got to form relationships with military personnel, who invited him to MacDill where he met Jill Kelley. He now works as a lawyer in the White House.
The new details of what uncovered David Petraeus’ months-long relationship with his biographer Paula Broadwell come as the FBI continue to search military documents Broadwell admitted to stashing in her home.
Security officials have revealed Paula Broadwell had “substantial” classified information on her computer which should have been stored more securely.
The computer was taken from Paula Broadwell’s Charlotte, North Carolina home on Monday night after she admitted to FBI investigators that she had taken classified military documents, a source told ABC.
President Barack Obama said on Wednesday there was no indication so far that any classified documents had been found but said he will not prejudge the investigation results.
Security officials have revealed Paula Broadwell had substantial classified information on her computer which should have been stored more securely
Officials continue to investigate exactly how Paula Broadwell acquired the files, but as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Military Reserve, she had security clearance to review the documents.
The government had demanded she return the documents and organized the visit to her home. Prosecutors are now deciding whether to charge her with a crime.
Paula Broadwell, who has kept a low profile since the scandal broke, was seen taking refuge at her brother’s home in the Petworth suburb of Washington D.C. on Tuesday night.
In a conference call with his national finance committee on Wednesday, Republican Mitt Romney attributes his election loss to President Barack Obama’s “gifts” that he bestowed on minorities and young people during his first term.
Mitt Romney said Barack Obama’s win was buoyed in large part by loyal Democratic constituencies including the poor that he had promised “free health care”, the immigrants that he had protected from deportation and the college-aged women that he had offered free contraceptives.
“You can imagine for somebody making $25,000 or $30,000 or $35,000 a year, being told you’re now going to get free health care, particularly if you don’t have it, getting free health care worth, what, $10,000 per family, in perpetuity? I mean, this is huge.”
“Likewise, with Hispanic voters, free health care was a big plus,” he added.
“But in addition with regards to Hispanic voters, the amnesty for children of illegals, the so-called DREAM Act kids, was a huge plus for that voting group.”
Barack Obama announced in June that he would grant temporary amnesty to some children of undocumented immigrants who met certain requirements and had clean criminal records. The program resembled the DREAM Act, which had long been stalled in Congress.
Mitt Romney chided Barack Obama over the summer for waiting so long to address immigration reform, charging that his amnesty program was politically motivated.
“He saves these sort of things until four-and-a-half months before the general election,” Mitt Romney said in June on CBS’ Face the Nation.
“I think the timing is pretty clear. If he really wanted a solution that dealt with these kids or illegal immigration in America, then this is something he would have taken up in his first three-and-a-half years, not in his last few months.”
Now Mitt Romney is saying that the program is what persuaded Hispanics to support Barack Obama.
Mitt Romney attributes his election loss to Barack Obama’s gifts that he bestowed on minorities and young people during his first term
Mitt Romney won 59% of the white vote, while Barack Obama was backed by 93% of black voters, 71% of Latinos and 60% of voters younger than 30, according to exit polls.
He said that Barack Obama directed his campaign according to the “old playbook” of targeting specific groups with promises of legislation that would persuade them to vote a certain way.
“In each case they were very generous in what they gave to those groups,” Mitt Romney said.
“With regards to the young people, for instance, a forgiveness of college loan interest, was a big gift,” Mitt Romney said.
“Free contraceptives were very big with young college-aged women. And then, finally, Obamacare also made a difference for them, because as you know, anybody now 26 years of age and younger was now going to be part of their parents’ plan, and that was a big gift to young people.
“They turned out in large numbers, a larger share in this election even than in 2008,” Mitt Romney said.
Similarly, Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney’s running mate, blamed the Republican ticket’s loss on high turnout among “urban” voters.
“I think the surprise was some of the turnout, some of the turnout especially in urban areas, which gave President Obama the big margin to win this race,” Paul Ryan told a television station in Wisconsin.
“When we watched Virginia and Ohio coming in, and those ones coming in as tight as they were, and looking like we were going to lose them, that’s when it became clear we weren’t going to win.”
Mitt Romney told his finance team that the sting of his loss was still too strong to begin mapping out his plans going forward for himself and for the Republican Party.
“I am very sorry that we didn’t win,” he said.
“I know that you expected to win. We expected to win… It was very close, but close doesn’t count in this business.”
Mitt Romney added: “And so now we’re looking and saying, <<O.K., what can we do going forward?>>. But frankly we’re still so troubled by the past, it’s hard to put together our plans from the future.”
Barack Obama’s “gifts”
Mitt Romney says President Barack Obama targeted blacks, Hispanics and young people with certain “gifts” including:
- Obamacare’s provisions allowing children to stay on their parents’ health insurance plans through age 26
- A program that caps federal student loan payments at 10% of income and forgives any remaining debt after 20 years of consistent payments
- Temporary deportation exemptions granted to young illegal immigrants who meet certain requirements
- Requirement that most employers provide health insurance covering birth control
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President Barack Obama has reiterated his call for high earners in the US to pay more in taxes, in his first news conference since winning re-election.
Barack Obama called for quick legislation to rule out tax rises on the first $250,000 of income, but refused to extend cuts for the wealthiest 2%.
“We should not hold the middle class hostage while we debate tax cuts for the wealthy,” he said.
The US faces an end-of-year “fiscal cliff” of spending cuts and tax rises.
The fiscal cliff would see the George W. Bush-era tax cuts expire in combination with automatic, across-the-board reductions to military and domestic spending.
Some $607 billion of savings and tax rises are planned, including reductions in the defence budget, the end of an employee tax holiday, changes to Medicare allowances and higher personal taxes.
The lower paid are set to lose some child and income credits, but Barack Obama has made fewer references to other portions of the stimulus deal set to expire beyond the tax cuts.
The fiscal cliff is due to take effect because Congress failed to reach a deal on deficit reduction after a stand-off over the US debt ceiling in mid-2011.
Congressional Republicans have said since last week’s US elections that they are open to raising revenue through tax reform and closure of loopholes, but oppose tax rises on the wealthy.
Glenn Hubbard, an economic adviser to Republican Mitt Romney’s failed presidential bid, writing in the Financial Times, called on fellow Republicans to accept the need for the rich to pay more tax, albeit through closing loopholes such as tax deductions.
Other Republicans favor ending the right of Americans to deduct mortgage interest payments from their taxable income – something analysts say is likely to hurt the middle classes far more than top earners.
During his news conference on Wednesday, Barack Obama was dismissive of a loophole-only reform, telling reporters that “the math tends not to work” in helping to cut the deficit.
“It really is arithmetic, not calculus,” he said.
The president has long opposed extending the Bush-era tax cuts for earnings above $250,000 a year, but gave into Republican demands in 2010 when the cuts were last up for renewal.
On Wednesday, Barack Obama said that would not happen this time.
“A modest tax increase on the wealthy is not going to break their backs,” he said.
“They’ll still be wealthy.”
President Barack Obama has reiterated his call for high earners in the US to pay more in taxes, in his first news conference since winning re-election
But the president said he was confident that the White House and Congress could reach a deal before 1 January to avoid the “fiscal cliff”, as the US economy could not afford it coming to pass.
Barack Obama suggested the immediate extension of all the expiring tax cuts except the top rate, followed by a more comprehensive reform of the tax code as well as some of the US’ largest benefits programmes, including Social Security in 2013.
In doing so, he distanced himself from some in his own party who want the combined tax rises and cuts to happen, in order to give Barack Obama a better negotiating position.
On Tuesday, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned against extending all of the tax breaks that are due to expire in January as a way of giving Washington more time to broker a deal on the deficit.
Timothy Geithner claimed doing this would create more uncertainty in the financial markets.
House Speaker John Boehner has scheduled a response to Barack Obama on Wednesday, as the White House planned to meet with congressional leaders on Friday, when both sides are expected to designate aides in search of a compromise.
Barack Obama met on Tuesday with allies from labor and liberal groups, and also invited a group of chief executives to the White House.
Earlier, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois said that “many Republicans believe now is the time to sit down and talk more revenue”, saying up to 20 Republican senators are willing to work towards accommodation.
But Senator Dick Durbin said “there is a great distance” between Republicans in the House and Senate.
“Basically it comes down to the question of whether Speaker Boehner is willing to look for a bipartisan solution.”
Deficit
The amount by which spending exceeds income over the course of a year.
In the case of trade, it refers to exports minus imports. In the case of the government budget, it equals the amount the government needs to borrow during the year to fund its spending. The government’s “primary” deficit means the amount it needs to borrow to cover general government expenditure, excluding interest payments on debts. The primary deficit therefore indicates whether a government will run out of cash if it is no longer able to borrow and decides to stop repaying its debts.
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Jill Kelley, the woman at the center of the David Petraeus sex scandal, is facing the prospect of being blackballed by the military establishment.
Jill Kelley, a 37-year-old Tampa socialite who hosted parties for the nation’s top brass, has been told today that she is no longer welcome at military HQ near her Florida home.
Her complaint over threatening emails triggered an FBI investigation that led to CIA director David Petraeus’ resignation when it came to light that he was having an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell.
In an increasingly tangled sex scandal, Jill Kelley is now at the center of an investigation over alleged “inappropriate communications” between her and General John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.
Jill Kelley and her identical twin sister Natalie Khawam rose from humble beginnings as daughter of Lebanese immigrants in Pennsylvania, to prolific networkers on the Tampa social scene close to Central Command.
However, her role in a sex scandal that may have heavy repercussions for national security led to a military official calling Jill Kelley to revoke her access pass while an investigation into the 30,000 “flirtatious” emails is carried out.
Defence Secretary Leon Panetta ordered the inquiry while President Barack Obama has given his backing to Allen while the investigation takes place.
“She did have base access but does not currently because of her involvement in an ongoing investigation,” a military official told the Tampa Tribune.
Jill Kelley, the woman at the center of the David Petraeus sex scandal, is facing the prospect of being blackballed by the military establishment
Jill Kelley was a frequent visitor to the sprawling military base. The doctor’s wife courted four star generals and other senior military figures as an unpaid liaison officer – describing herself as an “honorary consul” of South Korea – a position she achieved one official said “last August thanks to her good connections and network”.
In fact, the position of honorary consul is symbolic and has no official duties. Jill Kelley held lavish parties at her $1.3 million home overlooking Tampa Bay where the General’s and their wives were feted.
Both generals, David Petraeus and John Allen, met Jill Kelley, who friends have described as a “ferocious social climber”, when they were in charge at U.S. Central Command in 2008.
Jill Kelley has refused to speak publicly about her involvement with David Petraeus, who turned 60 last week, and General John Allen.
John Allen, 58, has denied any wrongdoing and insisted his relationship with Jill Kelley was purely platonic.
Jill Kelley has remained at her colonial style mansion during the scandal, appearing briefly in bold designer dresses for the media who have gathered outside her home.
The mother-of-three has been bombarded with offers from TV networks to conduct a sit down chat about her relationship.
Jill Kelley is the most sought after person to be named in a Washington sex scandal since Monica Lewinsky and has hired a DC lawyer. A producer from CBS TV flew from New York to Jill Kelley’s Tampa home to drop off a request for a sit down.
The producer said the aim was to “get Kelley” to New York as the bids from other networks roll in.
Friends believe Jill Kelley will agree to talk – because she desperately needs the money.
President Barack Obama says he has seen “no evidence” that former CIA director David Petraeus’ extramarital affair compromised national security.
General David Petraeus’ resignation should be a “sidenote” to his distinguished career, Barack Obama added in his first public comments on the scandal.
The general will testify to Congress about September’s attack on the US consulate in Libya, a top senator says.
Republican senators have called for a joint committee to probe that attack.
Barack Obama declined to say whether the White House should have been informed earlier of the investigation into David Petraeus.
“I am withholding judgment with respect to how the entire process surrounding General Petraeus came up. We don’t have all the information yet,” Barack Obama said.
He added that he had a lot of confidence in the FBI and that they have a “difficult job” to do.
News of the scandal shocked officials in Washington in the immediate aftermath of the US election. Congressional leaders of both parties have said they should have been informed earlier.
Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, said General David Petraeus, who stepped down on Friday, would give evidence only about the Benghazi attack, in which four Americans were killed.
He would not testify about his resignation over an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell, she added.
Confirmation that David Petraeus will attend a committee hearing comes after days of reports focusing on the fallout from the revelation that he had an extramarital affair with Paula Broadwell.
After the CIA director’s resignation, it then emerged that Jill Kelley, who filed a harassment report over emails she received that led to the discovery of the affair, was in contact with Marine General John Allen.
The link to General John Allen – currently commanding US forces in Afghanistan and nominated to be the top NATO commander in Europe – prompted the US defence secretary and the White House to stress they have complete confidence in him.
But Leon Panetta requested that Gen Allen’s nomination as Supreme Allied Commander of US and NATO troops in Europe be placed on hold, saying it was the “prudent” thing to do.
President Barack Obama says he has seen no evidence that David Petraeus’ extramarital affair compromised national security
General John Allen has denied any wrongdoing and has spoken to Gen Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to emphasize he is innocent of misconduct, a spokesman for Gen Dempsey said.
David Petraeus could appear before congressional committees as early as Thursday, although no final date for a hearing has been confirmed.
Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the general would be asked about the Benghazi attacks, which took place while he was in charge of the CIA.
The attack – initially blamed on a spontaneous protest over an anti-Islamic film – remains a divisive issue in Washington and a focal point of Republican anger.
Arizona Senator John McCain led a group of Republican senators on Wednesday calling for the establishment of a special committee to investigate the deaths of the four Americans, which included the Ambassador Christopher Stevens, in Benghazi.
They said there was need to find out whether there had been a cover-up over the attack, which Senator Lindsay Graham referred to in the same breath as Watergate and the Iran/Contra scandal.
Republicans have also criticized UN Ambassador Susan Rice, after she cited the protests as the reason for the attacks in appearances on US media.
On Wednesday, Barack Obama said Susan Rice had fulfilled her diplomatic duties with “skill and professionalism, and toughness and grace”, and that it was “outrageous” to muddy her reputation.
The president suggested that Republicans had criticized Susan Rice “apparently because they think she’s an easy target”, and said he would co-operate with congressional investigations into what happened in Benghazi.
Meanwhile, acting CIA Director Michael Morell began meetings with legislators in the Senate on Tuesday to answer questions about David Petraeus’ resignation.
Legislators are concerned about a possible breach of national security after it was reported that classified material was discovered on Paula Broadwell’s computer.
However, FBI officials have said the agency concluded in its investigation that there had not been any security breach.
President Barack Obama has made his first public comments on the scandal at a news conference, before meeting business leaders.
His remarks concentrated on his economic agenda and plans for reaching a deal to avoid a package of spending cuts and tax rises known as the “fiscal cliff”.
While David Petraeus attempts to focus on Benghazi, Pentagon investigators are also examining as many as 30,000 pages of Gen Allen’s documents.
They are said to include extensive communication between the general and Jill Kelley, a 37-year-old, married Florida socialite.
The emails are now understood to have included pet names such as “sweetheart” or “dear” but were not sexually explicit or seductive, the Associated Press reports.
In May, Jill Kelley reported anonymous, harassing emails to the FBI. The agency launched an investigation that traced the emails to Paula Broadwell and revealed her affair with David Petraeus.
Jill Kelley has been described as a “social liaison” for the MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, Florida. Home to the US Central Command, both generals have served at the base in recent years.
The Kelleys are said to have developed close friendships with General David Petraeus and General John Allen, both of whom wrote letters supporting Jill Kelley’s twin sister, Natalie Khawam, in a messy custody battle for her son.
Jill Kelley is known to have thrown extravagant parties for the officers posted there and in August was appointed as an honorary consul representing South Korea, ABC News reports.
It is reported that her Mercedes car displays consular license plates reading “JK1”.
In a recording of a phone call to police on Monday, Jill Kelley asked for diplomatic immunity to have media crews waiting outside her house removed.
“I’m an honorary consul general, so I have inviolability, so they should not be able to cross my property. I don’t know if you want to get diplomatic protection involved as well,” Jill Kelley can be heard saying.
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With President Barack Obama secured for a second term, the Beltway is abuzz with chatter over who will end up where in his imminent cabinet reshuffle.
Sources are opining that the president is considering Senator John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) for the post of Secretary of Defense instead of Secretary of State, which has been thought to be the apple of the veteran senator’s eye.
Despite his deep-rooted longing for the post of chief diplomat, it is believed Barack Obama will select Susan E. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, to fill the expected vacancy left when current Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, could soon announce her departure from Obama’s administration.
Hillary Clinton has insisted that she will be a one-term Secretary, fueling rumors she has her eye on a presidential run in 2016.
Susan E. Rice, 47, has been part of the coterie of Barack Obama advisers since the early days of his campaign for president in 2007.
But she has been on the receiving end of much criticism since she is believed to have been the driving force being the Obama administration’s initial choice to label the recent attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, in which U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed, as a violent protest as opposed to a planned terrorist attack.
Despite the negativity over her alleged influence and claims by at least one Republican senator, Senator Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) that she would have an “incredibly difficult time” being confirmed as head of the State Department in the senate, Barack Obama is expected to stand firm in his support for her nomination, sources have told The Washington Post.
Susan E. Rice, 47, has been part of the coterie of Barack Obama advisers since the early days of his campaign for president in 2007
“I cannot imagine promoting anybody associated with Benghazi at this point,” the Republican said on CBS’ Face The Nation on Sunday.
But Susan E. Rice was a shoo-in during her confirmation hearings for her post at the UN back in 2009, impressing both Democrats and Republicans alike with her grasp of foreign policy and world affairs.
So with Susan Rice rumored to be Hillary Clinton’s heir apparent, the conjecture is now that John F. Kerry would be the top choice for Defense.
Current Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, who had previously served as the Director of the CIA, assumed the role at the Pentagon after Robert Gates stepped down in July 2011.
Leon Panetta himself has said he doesn’t think he would remain in the post during Barack Obama’s second term but in a moment of candor told reporters “who the hell knows?” when he was asked about his future.
“It’s no secret that at some point I’d like to get back to California,” he said on Monday.
The Monterey native moved to DC to serve as a Congressman from 1977 to 1993 and was served as President Bill Clinton’s White House Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997.
He later served as Director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1993–1994.
And with the personnel changes expected to soon come down the pipeline, Leon Panetta could soon have his wish fulfilled.
Though John Kerry has been the top name floated as a replacement for Leon Panetta, sources told The Post that Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter and former undersecretary for policy at the Pentagon, Michele Flournoy, have also been mentioned as contenders.
John Kerry, who is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, is expected to have earned a place among Barack Obama’s top brass – especially after his defense of the president’s national security record at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte in September.
Barack Obama’s appointments are expected to be announced any day now though his press secretary, Jay Carney, remained tight lipped on any potential changes in his first press briefing since Obama’s reelection on November 9.
The President will hold a full press conference this coming Wednesday, in the White House’s East Room, where the president will take questions from the press and possibly announce major changes to his cabinet.
More than 100,000 Americans have petitioned the White House to allow their states to secede from the US, after President Barack Obama’s re-election.
The appeals were filed on the White House’s We the People website.
Most of the 20 states with petitions voted for Republican Mitt Romney.
The US constitution contains no provisions for states to secede from the union. By Monday night the White House had not responded.
In total, more than 20 petitions have been filed. One for Texas has reached the 25,000-signature threshold at which the White House promises a response.
The last time states officially seceded, the US Civil War followed.
More than 100,000 Americans have petitioned the White House to allow their states to secede from the US, after President Barack Obama’s re-election
Most of the petitions merely quote the opening line of America’s Declaration of Independence from Britain, in which America’s founders stated their right to “dissolve the political bands” and form a new nation.
Currently, the most popular petition is from Texas, which voted for Mitt Romney by some 15 percentage points more than it did for the Democratic incumbent.
The text complains of “blatant abuses” of Americans’ rights.
It cites the Transportation Security Administration, whose staff has been accused of intrusive screening at airports.
US Attorney General Eric Holder is under fire as questions emerge over why he did not tell President Barack Obama that David Petraeus was having an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell.
Eric Holder was told by the FBI that they were investigating the relationship between the director of the CIA and Paula Broadwell in late summer, but appears not to have shared the information with anyone else.
Barack Obama did not find out about the scandal until Wednesday – just two days before David Petraeus resigned – even though multiple senior politicians had apparently been aware of it for months.
The revelation that Eric Holder knew about David Petraeus’ infidelity could increase pressure on Barack Obama to replace him when he puts together his Cabinet for the next four years.
The FBI started probing emails sent by Paula Broadwell to Jill Kelley, a family friend of David Petraeus, in May 2012, and soon discovered that she had been in a romantic relationship with the decorated former general.
Towards the end of the summer, the FBI contacted Eric Holder’s office in order to seek the authority to interview Paula Broadwell and David Petraeus.
The Attorney General, a longtime ally of Barack Obama, must have known about the affair from this point, but did not tell the President about it despite the possibility it could end the career of David Petraeus, one of the most respected soldiers of his generation.
Conservatives – who have long opposed Eric Holder over his role in the botched “Fast and Furious” gun-running investigation – attacked the Attorney General over his silence.
“The idea that the White House didn’t learn of this potential problem until Election Day, I just find incomprehensible,” John Bolton, former ambassador to the UN, told Fox News.
“Did the Attorney General sit on this information for two months?”
Republican congressman Jason Chaffetz added: “Notification should have also gone to the President – immediately.”
Attorney General Eric Holder is under fire as questions emerge over why he did not tell President Barack Obama that David Petraeus was having an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell
David Petraeus’ affair: who knew what and when. The timeline of the downfall
September 6, 2011:
David Petraeus was unanimously appointed to be the head of the Central Intelligence Agency after spending over 37 years in the military.
November 2011:
David Petraeus allegedly began his affair with Paula Broadwell, a former Army reservist and doctoral researcher who was writing a biography of Petraeus.
May 2012:
The FBI first officially knew that Paula Broadwall was sending threatening emails to Jill Kelley, a family friend of David Petraeus. There is no indication that Jill Kelley had any sort of romantic affair with David Petraeus, but the threatening nature of the emails from Paula Broadwell suggest that she felt threatened in some way by Jill Kelley’s close connection to David Petraeus.
End of Summer 2012:
Paula Broadwall’s affair with David Petraeus is thought to have formally ended in July, though it was not until the end of the summer that the FBI realized it was David Petraeus emailing Paula Broadwall because he had been using a Gmail account established under a pseudonym for their personal communications, some of which was sexually explicit in nature.
At an unspecified date at the end of the summer, the FBI investigators notified the Attorney General’s office – and Attorney General Eric Holder himself – because they needed the authority to interview Paula Broadwall and David Petraeus. In telling the AG, investigators were clear that they were looking into the possibility of pressing criminal charges against Paula Broadwell for either her threats against Jill Kelley or any illegal action that stemmed from the communication with David Petraeus.
September 2012:
Paula Broadwell was first interviewed at some point in September, when she admitted to the affair and turned over her computer.
October 2012:
In mid-October, Republican Representative David Reichert was told of a national security investigation involving David Petraeus by an unidentified FBI informant. David Reichert then forwarded that tip to Eric Cantor, the House Majority leader and the one of the most powerful Republicans in the country, on October 27.
The week before the Election, late October 2012:
From there, the circle began to widen as David Petraeus himself was interviewed the week before the Election, during which he admitted the affair but said that he was not the one to give Paula Broadwall the classified documents that investigators found on her computer.
She echoed that statement during her second interview with investigators on November 2. FBI and justice department officials then discussed their findings for three days, deciding that they did not have sufficient evidence to charge either Paula Broadwall or David Petraeus on a criminal level.
Election Day, November 6, 2012:
At 5:00 p.m. on Election Day, the FBI told Director of National Intelligence James Clapper about their investigation, and he waited until Wednesday evening to tell White House officials that David Petraeus was considering resigning.
Thursday November 8, 2012:
It was not until Thursday that President Barack Obama was informed, and he met with David Petraeus that day but did not immediately accept his resignation, waiting until Friday to let the disgraced General quit.
In the hours before David Petraeus’ public announcement on Friday, the circle drastically widened and Senator Dianne Feinstein, head of the Senate Intelligence Committee learned of the plan.
Dianne Feinstein contacted David Petraeus and asked him whether he thought it was truly necessary for him to leave his post. Citing his belief in leadership coming from the top-down, he said it was the best thing for him to do.
The White House faces growing demands from Capitol Hill for answers about what the FBI and President Barack Obama knew about the David Petraeus scandal and why the president was not informed about the months-long investigation until after his re-election.
The fact that David Petraeus, who was scheduled to give testimony on Thursday about CIA intelligence surrounding the terrorist attack on the American consulate in Libya, but now that appearance has been delayed because of his resignation on Friday.
As more information is released, it is clear that Representative Eric Cantor- one of the country’s most powerful Republicans- was notified of the investigation involving David Petraeus on October 27, more than a week before the election.
Federal investigators from the FBI and the Justice Department- including Barack Obama-appointee Attorney General Eric Holder- had been aware of the ensuing scandal for months
In addition to their displeasure at being left in the dark until just hours before David Petraeus made his very public announcement on Friday, members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are concerned that the timeline of the various notifications was purposefully slowed down to allow for some degree of a cover-up over Petraeus’ scheduled testimony.
The timing of the Petraeus resignation and this week’s Benghazi hearings means the two issues have, for now, become inextricably linked.
As CIA director, David Petraeus is understood to have interviewed the CIA base chief and head of the CIA response team about what happened in Benghazi when Ambassador Chris Stevens, diplomat Sean Smith and CIA contractors Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods were killed.
At the same time, Congress wants to know why, if senior FBI figures knew of the affair in the late summer, President Barack Obama was not informed until last week and, additionally, why leaders of the House and Senate Intelligence committees learned of the resignation from the media.
According to the White House, Barack Obama was not told of the FBI investigation and David Petraeus’ affair until last Thursday, even though he meets regularly with the head of the FBI.
Some Republicans have suggested there might be a cover-up over Benghazi or that the news was held back until after the election.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat and chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Representative Mike Rogers, a Republican and chair of the House Intelligence Committee, have expressed their dismay at not having been informed earlier.
General Michael Hayden, former CIA chief, said the timing of the resignation was “mysterious”.
He told Fox News: “Hanging out there is the requirement in law to keep the intelligence committees fully and currently informed about significant intelligence activity.
“It’s not surprising that Senator Feinstein and Chairman Rogers have shown a lot of pique at not being let in on this a bit earlier.”
According to the FBI, their investigation began in the spring when Jill Kelley, described as an unofficial “social liaison” to the Joint Special Operations Command in Tampa, told a friend in the FBI that she had received harassing emails from another woman.
Jill Kelley, who is Lebanese-born, and her husband Scott were friend of David Petraeus, 60, and his wife Holly. The FBI investigation established that Paul Broadwell, 40, a married mother of two, had sent the emails.
In monitoring Paula Broadwell’s emails, it was discovered that she was receiving emails of a sexual nature from a mysterious Gmail account.
It was eventually discovered that the mysterious emails were from David Petraeus, who admitted the affair.
CIA Director David Petraeus resigned on Friday November 9 citing an extramarital affair
On October 31st, however, and before anyone else on Capitol Hill or in the White House knew, the FBI friend of Jill Kelley contacted Representative Dave Reichert regarding concerns about national security and asking for a member of the Republican congressional leadership.
Dave Reichert directed the FBI man to Representative Eric Cantor, House Majority Whip, who spoke to him and then informed the FBI of the conversation.
Ronald Kessler, a Newsmax journalist, said he was informed of the affair and FBI investigation by an FBI source on October 10th. David Petraeus and Paul Broadwell were interviewed during the week of October 29th and both admitted their affair.
Paula Broadwell was interviewed again on November 2nd, at which time the FBI is said to have concluded that no charges would be brought either for cyber stalking or security breaches.
David Petraeus has told friends he did not have an affair with Jill Kelley, 37, a mother of three. In a statement issued on Sunday, Jill Kelley asked for privacy for her and her family and neither confirmed nor denied an affair.
Speaking on CBS, Senator Lindsey Graham, a personal and confidant of David Petraeus, said: “Well, if there`s no effect of the affair on national security, I think we need to move on. But at the end of the day, the one thing that has to happen, in my view, is we’ve got to get to the bottom of Benghazi.
“I hate what happened to General Petraeus for his family and the families for those involved, but we have four dead Americans in Benghazi. We have a national security failure long in the making.
“I don`t see how in the world you can find out what happened in Benghazi before, during, and after the attack if General Petraeus doesn`t testify, so from my point of view, it`s absolutely essential that he give testimony before the Congress so we can figure out Benghazi.”
He added: “I would suggest that we have a joint select committee of House and Senate members and we do this together, not have three different committee going off in three different directions, so we can get to the bottom of it like we did in Watergate and Iran Contra. I think that would be smart for the Congress to combine resources.”
Just as with Watergate, the central issue over events surrounding David Petraeus’ resignation is crystallizing into something similar to the one Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee famously asked during the Watergate hearings: “What did the President know and when did he know it.”
Neither Robert Mueller, FBI director, not Eric Holder, attorney general, has commented on when they learned of the investigation. Both the FBI and Justice Department has said no one in the White House was told of the investigation until last week.
Rudy Giuliani, former New York mayor, compared what happened in Benghazi to Watergate and told Fox News it was essential David Petraeus testified. Even though he is now a private citizen, David Petraeus can be compelled to appear.
“The frustration is justified,” Rudy Giuliani said.
“And it’s in the national interest. Now we’re going to have a hearing next week, and the man who knows the facts, David Petraeus – he’s the only man who can really tell us what the CIA knew, what they did, why they did it, how they did it. He’s not going to testify.
“And this is a very convenient way to get the administration out of a very, very difficult situation. But is inevitable. This is like Watergate. This is inevitable. This is all going to come out.
“It may take a month, it may take five months, but this is all going to come out. And every single new cover-up they do just makes it much, much worse.”
Representative Peter King of New York, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said on MSNBC that the FBI was “derelict in its duty” when it failed to tell the White House immediately when it learned of David Petraeus’s affair.
“Once the FBI realized that it was investigating the director of the CIA or the CIA director had come within its focus or its scope, I believe at that time they had an absolute obligation to tell the president. Not to protect David Petraeus, but to protect the president.
“The fact is he is a key part of the president’s foreign policy team, maybe more than any other CIA director in recent times.
“He was going around the world negotiating various understandings and agreements, I’m aware of that.
“And to have someone out there in such a sensitive position who the FBI thought perhaps could have been compromised or was under the scope of an FBI investigation who may or may not have been having an affair at the time, that to me had to have been brought to the president or certainly to the National Security Council. If not, the FBI was derelict in its duty.”
He added: “This is a crisis, I believe, of major proportions. This is not the usual political thing. We’re not talking about the secretary of commerce or some under secretary somewhere.”
President Barack Obama faced allegations of a major political cover-up last night over the resignation of CIA Director General David Petraeus, who had an affair with married Paula Broadwell.
The US Congress is expected to investigate claims that the affair was hushed up to protect Barack Obama’s re-election campaign.
It is believed the affair was discovered by the FBI months ago, but not made public until after the election.
The FBI began an investigation in February after discovering the 60-year-old’s computer had been accessed by someone else – believed to be his 40-year-old mistress Paula Broadwell – prompting fears of a major security breach.
This led to the discovery of hundreds of explicit emails including one referring to “sex under a desk”.
A source said last night: “The real question is, what did the President know, and when?”
Frances Townsend, a former senior US government security official and now a member of the CIA Advisory Committee, said: “Whenever the FBI opens an investigation of a senior official they have to make notification of that, especially if there is an intelligence concern. It is hard to believe the White House did not know about this prior to the election.”
White House officials insist Barack Obama did not know of the affair until last Wednesday, the day after the election. He accepted David Petraeus’ resignation on Thursday, and the announcement was made on Friday.
Barack Obama faced allegations of a major political cover-up over the resignation of David Petraeus, who had an affair with Paula Broadwell
Some have alleged the scandal is a smokescreen to stop David Petraeus testifying before a Senate committee this week into the deaths of the US ambassador and three staff members in September in Benghazi, Libya. The White House has been accused of ignoring repeated warnings of an Al Qaeda terrorist attack on the embassy.
A senior Congressional staffer said last night: “What would he have told us? The resignation is incredibly convenient for the administration. Would he have revealed the CIA knew the Benghazi compound was under threat and Washington did nothing to secure it?”
Members of the House Intelligence Committee may still vote to subpoena David Petraeus and force him to testify.
The source added: “This could be another Watergate situation where it is not the event that brings down the president but the cover-up.”
Paula Broadwell began an affair with David Petraeus, married to his wife Holly for 37 years, when she was with him in Afghanistan in 2010 doing research for her biography, All In: The Education Of General David Petraeus.
She says they “bonded” over push-ups and five-mile runs in the deserts of Afghanistan.
“That was the foundation of our relationship. He goes all in to what he does,” Paula Broadwell said.
David Petraeus led American forces in Afghanistan and Iraq before taking charge of the CIA.
President Barack Obama laid a wreath of flowers at Arlington National Cemetery on Sunday in a traditional gesture as Americans marked three days of Veterans Day commemorations.
Barack Obama was joined by the First Lady, as well as Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill at the Tomb of the Unknowns.
The President said the wreath-laying is a gesture to “remember every service member who has ever worn our nation’s uniform”.
He said in a speech at the cemetery’s Memorial Amphitheater that America will never forget the sacrifice made by its veterans and their families.
Barack Obama also says that “no ceremony or parade, no hug or handshake is enough to truly honor that service”. He says the country must commit every day “to serving you as well as you’ve served us”.
Earlier, the Obamas and Bidens held a breakfast with veterans at the White House.
This year, Veterans Day falls on a Sunday, and the federal observance is on Monday.
President Barack Obama laid a wreath of flowers at Arlington National Cemetery on Sunday in a traditional gesture as Americans marked three days of Veterans Day commemorations
It’s the first such day honoring the men and women who served in uniform since the last U.S. troops left Iraq in December 2011.
It’s also a chance to thank those who stormed the beaches during World War II – a population that is rapidly shrinking with most of those former troops now in their 80s and 90s.
At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, a steady stream of visitors arrived Saturday morning as the names of the 58,000 people on the wall were being read over a loudspeaker.
Some visitors took pictures, others made rubbings of names, and some left mementos: a leather jacket, a flag made out of construction paper, pictures of young soldiers and even several snow globes with an American eagle inside.
A half-dozen women of various ages knitted intently near a pile of hand-made scarves while frail, silver-haired men sat waiting for a chance to tell their war stories Saturday as tourists and veterans filed into the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.
The museum planned a series of events to celebrate the Veterans Day weekend.
The knitters had gathered to commemorate 1940s homefront efforts to supply World War II troops with warm socks and sweaters.
At the National Cemetery in Bourne, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, about 1,000 people including Cub Scouts and Gold Star Mothers gathered on a crisp fall day for a short ceremony.
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Nate Silver, a New York Times blogger and celebrity numbers wiz, is set to make millions for his spot-on election prediction.
Nate Silver, the 34-year-old statistician who developed his own formula for predicting presidential outcomes, bet MSNB morning host Joe Scarborough $2,000 that Barack Obama would win the election on November 6.
Both men agreed to donate their winnings to charity.
Nate Silver won and is now poised to take in far more than his initial bet, Business Insider reports.
Nate Silver, who started his career analyzing baseball players’ performances, earned $700,000 for a two book deal with Penguin after calling the 2008 presidential election, according to the New York Observer.
Nate Silver, the 34-year-old statistician who developed his own formula for predicting presidential outcomes
On Election Day Business Insider proposed that Nate Silver could potentially double those earnings in 2012 with more book deals and high-paid speaking gigs if he were to successfully call the election again.
In addition to blogging for the New York Times, Nate Silver is the founder of his own much-read blog FiveThirtyEight.com.
Nate Silver was the topic of a Today show segment on Friday after successfully predicting Barack Obama’s win.
“He’s becoming a bit of a celebrity,” Today show host Andrea Canning told viewers.
“President Obama may have been the big winner this week, but coming in a close second: New York Times blogger, statistician and self-described geek, Nate Silver.”
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