Mark Krikorian,  Mallory Quigley, Rich Noyes, and Virginia Senator Mark Obenshain joined WMAL on Tuesday morning!

Mornings on the Mall

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION NEWS:

• Montgomery County, MD has allegedly let an illegal alien accused of rape walk on bail despite having a detainer on file, according to ICE. Rodrigo Castro-Montejo, 25, was accused of raping an intoxicated woman last week, and the Salvadorean national walked from jail after posting $1,000 bail. He is now a free man walking the streets awaiting his court appearance on Sept. 6.
• Two men accused of raping an 11-year-old girl are in police custody in Montgomery County, Maryland, County Executive Marc Elrich confirmed Wednesday. According to a statement from Elrich, the two suspects are undocumented immigrants. After determining the two men entered the country illegally, S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requested that the county notify them if the two men become eligible for release. Montgomery County will comply with ICE’s request, Elrich said in the statement. Until then, the suspects will remain in custody in Montgomery County as the local legal process progresses.

5am – D PLANNED PARENTHOOD:

• Planned Parenthood to stop taking Title X funds rather than comply with abortion ‘gag rule’ (LA Times) Planned Parenthood said Monday it will withdraw from the federal Title X program that helps low-income people access contraception rather than comply with what it calls a new Trump administration “gag rule” that prohibits it from providing abortion referrals to those patients. The announcement comes amid a protracted legal battle with the White House over changes to the nearly 50-year-old Title X program, which annually provides $286 million to healthcare providers to fund family planning services such as birth control. The administration required grantees to explain by Monday how they would comply with the new rule. All seven Planned Parenthood facilities that are direct grantees in the program and hundreds of “sub” grantees that received funding through a third party will withdraw from Title X, said Alexis McGill Johnson, acting president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Nationwide, Planned Parenthood currently serves 1.5 million low-income people under the program.
• Planned Parenthood whistleblower gets $3M from Arizona court after wrongful termination (Fox News) An Arizona court awarded a former Planned Parenthood clinic director $3 million in damages for being wrongfully terminated after she reported that the organization, where she worked for 17 years, was endangering the health and safety of its patients. Mayra Rodriguez sued the controversial organization  – which provides abortions among other services – in October 2017, alleging she got terminated after repeatedly reporting the “high complication rates” of one doctor. She accused the doctor of falsification of affidavits and patient records, performing incomplete abortions and failure to report a minor who had an adult partner. Last Friday, a jury unanimously awarded Rodriguez $3 million in damages after a two-week trial. Rodriguez, who was an illegal immigrant during her employment at Planned Parenthood, said the company tried to use her immigration status against her after the termination.

5am – E         Bodyguard for CNN’s April Ryan charged with assault for forcibly removing journalist from event (New York Post) CNN political analyst April Ryan — who has repeatedly blasted President Trump for attacking and vilifying the press — got her bodyguard to forcibly remove a journalist from an event she was speaking at in New Jersey, leading cops to charge him Monday with assault. “This was more than just an assault on me,” tweeted New Brunswick Today editor Charlie Kratovil. “This was an assault on freedom of the press.” Kratovil claims he was violently tossed from the New Jersey Parent Summit on Aug. 3 by Ryan’s goon after spending two hours inside filming other guests and speakers without any problems. Kratovil had been invited to The Heldrich Hotel, where the event was held, by a public relations firm and asked to cover it. Video posted online shows him sitting in the audience as Ryan takes the stage and starts speaking. Moments later, her bodyguard — Joel Morris, 30, of Illinois — comes into view and is told something by Ryan. He promptly walks over to Kratovil and allegedly attempts to take his video camera. A tussle allegedly ensues and Morris winds up walking Kratovil out of the venue — with his arm twisted around his back, the journalist says.

6am – A/B/C RASIDA TLAIB and ILHAN OMAR:

• Tlaib gets emotional as Omar calls for Congress to act over Israel travel restrictions (Fox News) An emotional Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib on Monday held back tears during a news conference as she and Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar condemned Israel’s recent decision to impose restrictions on visiting the country, with the Democrats calling for Congress to get involved. “As a young girl visiting Palestine to see my grandparents and extended family, I watched as my mother had to go through dehumanizing checkpoints – even though she was a United States citizen and a proud American,” she said.
• Ilhan Omar claims Trump wants to pit Muslims and Jews against each other (Washington Examiner) Ilhan Omar claimed in a Monday press conference with Rep. Rashida Tlaib that President Trump is attempting to create animosity between Muslims and Jews. “We know Donald Trump would love nothing more than to use this issue to pit Muslims and Jewish Americans against each other,” the Minnesota Democrat said Monday. “The Muslim community and the Jewish community are being ‘othered’ and made into the boogeyman by this administration.” “We cannot — we cannot let Trump and Netanyahu succeed in hiding the cruel reality of the occupation from us. So I call on all of you to go. The occupation is real. Barring members of Congress from seeing it does not make it go away. We must end it together.”

6am – D Interview – Mark Krikorian – executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies

TOPIC: Two rape cases by illegal aliens in the same sanctuary county in Maryland

• Montgomery County, MD has allegedly let an illegal alien accused of rape walk on bail despite having a detainer on file, according to ICE. Rodrigo Castro-Montejo, 25, was accused of raping an intoxicated woman last week, and the Salvadorean national walked from jail after posting $1,000 bail. He is now a free man walking the streets awaiting his court appearance on Sept. 6.
• Montgomery Co. will comply with ICE detainer for 2 men accused of raping 11-year-old girl
• Statement from ICE: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer on Aug. 12 with the Montgomery County (Maryland) Detention Center on unlawfully present Salvadoran national Rodrigo Castro-Montejo following his arrest for rape and other related charges. On Aug. 13, the facility failed to honor the detainer, and released Castro from custody.”

6am – E Thrifty bride keeps wearing $365 wedding dress to get her ‘money’s worth’ (Fox News) One thrifty newlywed in the U.K. keeps reliving the magic of her big day by wearing her bridal gown time and time again — to the grocery store, on a paddleboarding trip, and even while doing chores around the house. Though Dawn Winfield-Hunt tied the knot with husband Steve earlier in August, she hasn’t quite been ready to put the special dress behind her. “Usually you only get to wear your dress once and then you put it in a box and forget about it,” the 57-year-old woman said of the gown, according to The Sun. “But I liked mine and decided to wear it the following day for a BBQ with friends and everyone loved it.”

6am – F Newt Gingrich trying to sell Trump on a cheap moon plan (Politico) The proposal, whose other proponents range from an Air Force lieutenant general to the former publicist for pop stars Michael Jackson and Prince, includes a $2 billion sweepstakes pitting billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and other space pioneers against each other to see who can establish and run the first lunar base, according to a summary of the plan shared with POLITICO. That’s far less taxpayer money than NASA’s anticipated lunar plan, which relies on traditional space contractors, such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, and is projected to cost $50 billion or more. Backers of the novel approach have briefed administration officials serving on the National Space Council, several members of the group confirmed, though they declined to provide specifics of the internal conversations. Trump has yet to weigh in on the idea, at least publicly. But the proposal, designed to offer a big incentive for private players who are already planning their own moon missions, comes as the president expresses skepticism that NASA can achieve his goal of returning American astronauts to the moon by 2024 without bold departures from the status quo.

7am – A Interview – Mallory Quigley – spokesperson, Susan B Anthony List

• Planned Parenthood to stop taking Title X funds rather than comply with abortion ‘gag rule’ (LA Times) Planned Parenthood said Monday it will withdraw from the federal Title X program that helps low-income people access contraception rather than comply with what it calls a new Trump administration “gag rule” that prohibits it from providing abortion referrals to those patients. The announcement comes amid a protracted legal battle with the White House over changes to the nearly 50-year-old Title X program, which annually provides $286 million to healthcare providers to fund family planning services such as birth control. The administration required grantees to explain by Monday how they would comply with the new rule. All seven Planned Parenthood facilities that are direct grantees in the program and hundreds of “sub” grantees that received funding through a third party will withdraw from Title X, said Alexis McGill Johnson, acting president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Nationwide, Planned Parenthood currently serves 1.5 million low-income people under the program.
• “Today, Planned Parenthood showed its true colors by prioritizing abortion over family planning, refusing to comply with the Protect Life Rule and dropping out of the Title X program,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “President Trump’s Title X Protect Life Rule is a huge victory for the majorityof taxpayers who reject taxpayer funding of abortion. The Protect Life Rule does not reduce family planning funding by a single dollar, it simply directs taxpayer funding to family planning providers who stay out of the abortion business. Women have the most to gain from this news. With community health alternatives vastly outnumbering Planned Parenthood facilities nationwide, on average, these health centers would see an additional two clients per week. This is a huge win for women’s health.”

7am – B/C 2020 NEWS

• Elizabeth Warren Kicks Off Policy Speech To Native Americans With An Apology (Daily Caller)

Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren apologized for her claim of Native American ancestry during a Monday appearance at a candidate forum in Sioux City, Iowa.“Now before I go any further, I want to say this. Like anyone who’s been honest with themselves, I know that I have made mistakes. I am very sorry for harm I have caused,” Warren remarked during the event. “I have listened and I have learned a lot, and I am grateful for the many conversations that we’ve had together.”

• Elizabeth Warren Scrubs Website Of Native American DNA Results (Daily Caller) Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has removed sections of her campaign website that had disputed claims about her heritage, including the results of a DNA test that showed she had scant traces of Native American ancestry. Until Sunday, Warren’s website included a video of the Democrat receiving the results of the genetic test, which showed that she had between 1/64th and 1/1024th Native American ancestry. Warren initially touted the results as a vindication of her claims throughout her academic career that she has Cherokee ancestry.
• Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, calling for a national “atonement” over the treatment of Native Americans, vowed Monday to rescind medals of honor for those who fought against them and even take down President Andrew Jackson’s portrait from the Oval Office if she’s elected.

7am – D – Interview – Rich Noyes- the Media Research Center (MRC)’s Research Director and a senior editor at NewsBusters.org

TOPIC: A messy two weeks for liberal media:

• Leaked Transcript Of NYT Staff Meeting Reveals Leadership’s Plan For Reporting On Trump For Next Two Years (Daily Wire) On Monday, New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet presided over a “crisis townhall meeting” of the Times’ staff after the paper was met with massive backlash from readers for a straightforward headline deemed too kind to Donald Trump by his Democratic opponents. On Thursday, Slate published a leaked transcript of the 75-minute meeting that includes Baquet openly laying out the new agenda for the Times on how it covers Trump.
• Democrats face backlash for participating in Mark Halperin’s book: ‘They are enabling him and re-traumatizing the victims’ (CNN) Mark Halperin, who has tried to make a comeback since he was exiled from the news industry in 2017 over allegations of sexual harassment and assault, has inked a book deal with Regan Arts, Politico reported on Sunday. Halperin’s book is called “How to Beat Trump: America’s Top Political Strategists on What It Will Take,” Politico reported, and will come out in November. Playbook says Halperin spoke to more than 75 top Democrats for the book. They reportedly include: Jill Alper, David Axelrod, Bob Bauer, Donna Brazile, James Carville, Tad Devine, Anita Dunn, Karen Dunn, Adrienne Elrod, Jennifer Granholm, Ben LaBolt, Jeff Link, Jim Margolis, Mike McCurry, Mark Mellman, Amanda Renteria, John Sasso, Kathleen Sebelius, Bob Shrum, Ginny Terzano, and David Wilhelm.
• CNN has bad week amid April Ryan, Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon news: ‘It was quite embarrassing’ (Fox News) The liberal news network started off the week making headlines for the wrong reasons. “CNN Tonight” host Don Lemon was accused in a civil suit of a sexually charged assault of a bartender in New York’s posh Hamptons area last year. The same evening that the Lemon news broke, on Tuesday, video circulated of CNN political analyst April Ryan looking on while a local news editor appeared to be violently removed from an event where she was a keynote speaker. The Lemon and Ryan headlines came less than 24 hours after video of “Cuomo Prime Time” namesake Chris Cuomo threatening a man who called him “Fredo” went viral, capturing the attention of President Trump in the process.
• CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell caught on hot mic talking about sex harassment (NBC News) “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell was caught on a hot mic during a segment on sexual harassment appearing to say: “Sounds like somebody else here.”The comment was made during a Tuesday night package on Placido Domingo, the opera legend accused by eight singers and a dancer of sexual harassment and abuse of power, detailed in an Associated Press report.
• STUDY: Cable News Is a Playground for Congressional Democrats (MRC Newsbusters) Congress may be almost evenly divided these days, but not on the liberal cable news networks. A new study by the Media Research Center finds that CNN and MSNBC host Democratic Representatives and Senators seven times more frequently than their Republican counterparts, and most often use Democratic talking points to question members of both parties.

7am – E Illinois state senator apologizes for mock Trump assassination photos at fundraiser (Fox News) A Democratic state senator from Illinois came under fire over the weekend after pictures were posted online showing his supporters at a fundraising event performing a mock assassination on President Trump. “The tolerant left,” wrote a Facebook user in response to the incident. Photos posted by a woman who witnessed the mock assassination on Friday night show supporters of Sen. Martin Sandoval, who represents Illinois’ 11th District — including parts of Chicago — acting out in front of guests, according to WCIA. One of them can be seen pointing a fake machine gun at a man wearing a Trump mask and Mexican costume. The individual appears to simulate being shot — grabbing his chest and leaning back. In another photo, Sandoval can bee seen standing next to the person holding the gun. Sandoval released a statement on Sunday, apologizing for the incident — which he called “unacceptable.” “I don’t condone violence toward the President or anyone else,” the lawmaker said, according to WCIA. “I apologize that something like this happened at my event.”

8am – A         Interview – Virginia Senator Mark Obenshain – Chairman of the Crime Commission

TOPIC: Virginia’s Crime Commission kicks off hearings on mass shootings

• The Virginia State Crime Commission began a two-day meeting Monday as part of the ongoing General Assembly session on public safety that began on July 9, 2019 and will reconvene on November 18. Monday’s meeting included seven hours of expert testimony and presentations on firearms, mental health, and criminal justice. “These two days of meetings are the start of the systematic review the Crime Commission was asked to undertake as part of the legislature’s ongoing work during the Special Session convened earlier this year,” said Crime Commission Vice Chairman Rob Bell. “The Crime Commission is a deliberative, bi-partisan body that will present evidence-based suggestions on what legislation should be considered when the General Assembly reconvenes in November.” “As we learned from experts, there are a wide-variety of causes and circumstances that lead to gun violence,” said House Majority Leader Todd Gilbert, a member of the Commission. “The academic and expert research in this area is ongoing and evolving, and we are learning more about the root causes of these terrible tragedies. What we’ve heard from our experts so far confirms that this issue requires a detailed, thorough examination, and not political soundbites. I look forward to working with my fellow Commission members to make recommendations to the General Assembly that will save lives.”

8am – B/C  Barr/ Epstein News:

• After Epstein’s death, attorney general replaces leader at Bureau of Prisons (Washington Post) Hugh J. Hurwitz, the agency’s acting head, will be replaced by Kathleen Hawk Sawyer, who served as Bureau of Prisons director from 1992 to 2003. Barr also appointed Thomas R. Kane to serve as her deputy, a position currently vacant. “I am pleased to welcome back Dr. Hawk Sawyer as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons,” Barr said in a statement. “Under Dr. Hawk Sawyer’s previous tenure at the Bureau, she led the agency with excellence, innovation, and efficiency, receiving numerous awards for her outstanding leadership.” Barr said Hurwitz would return to his previous role as an assistant director for the bureau’s reentry programs. The attorney general did not mention the Epstein case in his announcement. Critics of the Bureau of Prisons have said Epstein’s death, along with other security failures, should spur overdue changes inside the federal prison system. For example, no one has been charged in last year’s killing of Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger at a West Virginia The bureau also was hit with a hiring freeze — since lifted — at the beginning of the Trump administration, and union officials say that MCC and many other facilities do not have enough employees to operate effectively.
• Paul Manafort Seemed Headed to Rikers. Then the Justice Department Intervened. (NY Times) Paul J. Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman who is serving a federal prison sentence, had been expected to be transferred to the notorious Rikers Island jail complex this month to await trial on a separate state case. Manhattan prosecutors were surprised to receive a letter from the second-highest law enforcement official in the country inquiring about Mr. Manafort’s case. The letter, from Jeffrey A. Rosen, Attorney General William P. Barr’s new top deputy, indicated that he was monitoring where Mr. Manafort would be held in New York. And then, on Monday, federal prison officials weighed in, telling the Manhattan district attorney’s office that Mr. Manafort, 70, would not be going to Rikers. Instead, he will await his trial at a federal lockup in Manhattan or at the Pennsylvania federal prison where he is serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for wide-ranging financial schemes, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
• Jeffrey Epstein signed will just two days before suicide (New York Post) Jeffrey Epstein signed his will just two days before he hanged himself in his Manhattan jail cell — leaving behind a nearly $600 million fortune, according to court papers exclusively obtained by The Post on Monday. The court document, filed in the US Virgin Islands, where the convicted sex molester owned two isles — including one that locals dubbed “Pedophile Island’’ — was filed Aug. 8. The 66-year-old former hedge-fund manager was worth $577,672,654, or about $18 million more than he previously stated in court papers while futilely trying to land bail on federal sex-trafficking charges, the new documents show.
• Jeffrey Epstein was sent three 12-year-old French girls as ‘birthday gift’ (New York Post) Jeffrey Epstein once had three 12-year-old girls from poor families flown in from France as a sick birthday present for himself, according to newly unearthed court documents. Virginia Giuffre — who has claimed Epstein and his gal pal Ghislaine Maxwell coerced her into being a “sex slave” when she was 15 — said in court papers that the girls who were flown in were molested by the financier and returned to France the following day. Giuffre said Epstein had described to her how the girls had massaged him and performed oral sex, according to the Daily Mail. “He went on to tell me how Brunel bought them in Paris from their parents, offering them the usual sums of money, visas, and modeling career prospects,” she said, according to the news outlet. “Laughing the whole way through, Jeffrey thought it was absolutely brilliant how easily money seduced all walks of life, nothing or no one that couldn’t be bought.”
• Prince Andrew ‘Appalled’ By Allegations Against Epstein, Denies Any Participation (Daily Caller) Prince Andrew is “appalled” by the allegations against Jeffrey Epstein and denies any knowledge or participation in the financier’s alleged offenses, according to a statement Monday.Britain’s Mail published footage Sunday that allegedly showed Prince Andrew, Britain’s duke of York, inside Epstein’s Manhattan home in 2010, NBC News reported.“The Duke of York has been appalled by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged crimes,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement Monday to NBC News. “His Royal Highness deplores the exploitation of any human being and the suggestion he would condone, participate in or encourage any such behavior is abhorrent.”

8am – D         Sen. Kamala Harris Said She’s Not ‘Comfortable’ With Bernie’s Health Care Plan, Which She Cosponsored (Daily Caller) California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris claimed during a fundraiser this weekend that she “has not been comfortable” with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Medicare-for-all plan, despite cosponsoring the legislation last year.“I believe in capitalism, but capitalism is not working for most people,” Harris assured a group of wealthy donors during a series of fundraisers in the Hamptons. Harris also attempted to clarify her position on health care, stating, “I have not been comfortable with Bernie’s plan” and insisting that her own plan would not get rid of private insurance. However, despite claiming now that she is uncomfortable with the Medicare-for-all proposal, Harris cosponsored the 2018 version of the legislation. Other 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, also signed their names onto Sanders’ plan.

8am – E         Germany To Strip Asylum Status of ‘Refugees’ Who Go Home on Holiday (Breitbart) Bavarian centre-right leader Horst Seehofer said that the government would be looking to strip Syrians who visit their home country on holiday of their asylum status, saying that those who regularly travel to the country cannot make a serious claim that they are being persecuted there, Kronen Zeitung reports.