Radio America Online News Bureau

Archives for August 2019

The State of American Labor on Labor Day

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As America pauses for Labor Day, the battle between organized labor and the right to work movement remains intense. Right now, 27 states have right to work laws, which do not compel union membership or dues payments as a prerequisite for holding any job.

Last year, right to work advocates also scored a major win at the U.S. Supreme Court. Justices struck down a precedent dating back to the 1970’s to rule that government sector workers cannot be required to join government sector unions or pay dues.

So where does the debate over compulsory union membership stand now? What right to work states are witnessing major efforts to reverse those laws? And what will labor policy look like if a Democrat wins the White House next year.

Listen to the podcast as Greg Corombos discusses all of this and more with Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

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Cavuto Corrects Trump, Dems More Extreme on Abortion, Callous Canadian

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer Fox News host Neil Cavuto for rebutting President Trump’s claim that “Fox News is no longer working for us” and for reminding politicians and media outlets what the job of the press should be. They also cringe as new Pew poll numbers show 82 percent of Democrats believe abortion should be legal in most or all circumstances – a huge jump from last decade. And Jim has a lot of say after former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell states that she hopes Hurricane Dorian hits Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

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IG Report Blasts Comey, More Scrutiny Coming

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Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz blasted former FBI Director James Comey Thursday, accusing him of violating FBI policies and his own employment agreement in an effort to launch a special counsel investigation of President Trump.

The report blasts Comey for keeping personal memos after meeting with President Trump in his capacity as FBI director and then leaking memos to the media after Trump fired him as part of Comey’s effort to trigger a special counsel probe.  Then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein tapped former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III for the job just days after Trump fired Comey.

Former Justice Department official Victoria Toensing, a longtime Comey critic, says this condemnation in the IG report comes as no surprise.

“We knew that there was a recommendation for prosecution, so it wasn’t going to be wine and roses from the IG,” said Toensing.

The Justice Department ultimately decided not to prosecute Comey.

However, Thursday’s report is far from the end for Comey and ongoing review of how the Trump-Russia probe began.  In particular, Toensing is looking forward to the next offering from Inspector General Horowitz.

“I’m look for the IG report on the FISA abuse, and certainly Comey was part of that,” said Toensing.  “James Comey signed an application to the FISA court that said ‘all the material in here has been verified.’

“We know from (The Hill columnist) John Solomon’s reporting that the FBI had a diagram of a chart of all the accusations and 90 percent was not verifiable,” said Toensing.

Listen to the full podcast to hear Toensing explain why she thinks the Justice Department was absolutely right not to prosecute Comey for mishandling documents and leaking them to the media and why she believes the government must prosecute former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

She also reacts to Comey’s contention that the IG report exonerates him.

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Now What? – Ball of Collusion, Part 4

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In the final part of our conversation, “Ball of Collusion” author Andrew C. McCarthy pivots from how the Trump-Russia unfolded to where we go from here.

What answers can we realistically expect from the Justice Department’s inspector general and from Attorney General Bill Barr’s investigation? Beyond that, how badly damaged is the credibility of the Justice Department and the FBI as a result of all this and how can that reputation be repaired.

Listen to the podcast as McCarthy explains that repairing the credibility of the DOJ and FBI is directly related to whether anyone is held responsible for what those institutions did to lose so much trust in the first place.

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Kirsten Calls It Quits, Comey’s Comeuppance, O’Donnell’s Dumb Decision

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are glad to see New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand exit the 2020 Democratic presidential race, both because she had no chance and because she may have been the most obvious at pandering in the entire field – which is saying something since she was running against Beto. They also welcome the scathing report from the Justice Department’s inspector general which hammer former FBI Director James Comey for his mishandling of evidence and leaking private information to achieve a political outcome. Even more, Comey responds to the verbal beatdown by claiming he is somehow exonerated. And they’re glad to hear an apology from MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell a day after O’Donnell made allegations against President Trump on air without anyone at NBC News or O’Donnell’s source ever seeing the evidence in question.

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How DNC Emails & Trump Himself Fueled Collusion Narrative – Ball of Collusion, Part 3

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Listen to “How DNC Emails & Trump Himself Fueled Collusion Narrative – Ball of Collusion, Part 3” on Spreaker.

In the first two portions of our interview with “Ball of Collusion” author and former Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew C. McCarthy, he and Greg Corombos discuss the origins of the probe and why Special Counsel Robert Mueller waited two years to issue a report despite there being no evidence of conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

In our new podcast, McCarthy details the meandering path of the supposed genesis of the investigation, including the various human sources used to incriminate Carter Page and George Papadopoulos.  The operatives were later identified as figures such as Alexander Downer, Stefan Halper, and Joseph Mifsud.

“Papadopoulos meets this shady, Maltese professor  known as Joseph Mifsud, who I think is probably the most interesting figure in this whole narrative.  And that’s saying something, because there’s some real winners in this narrative,” said McCarthy.

Also in this podcast, McCarthy explains how the collusion narrative was falling apart from a lack of evidence before it really even got started in the summer of 2016.  But it was surprisingly revived by the hacking of DNC emails and Donald Trump’s own behavior.

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Mattis Pleads for Unity, Political Jockeying in Georgia, Omar’s Affair

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America welcome former Defense Secretary Gen. James Mattis making an urgent plea to end political tribalism because a unified America is a stronger America.  They’re also sad to learn that health problems are forcing the retirement of Georgia GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson and they’re also not thrilled that there’s another Republican-held seat headed to the ballot in 2020.  And they discuss why the allegations of Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar may raise legal issues and possibly complicate her political future.

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What Took So Long? – Ball of Collusion, Part 2

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Andrew C. McCarthy served as Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He led the successful prosecution of the “Blind Sheikh,” Omar Abdel Rahman, and his accomplices in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and other plots to attack New York City landmarks.

Now a contributing editor and columnist with National Review, McCarthy has tracked every step of of the Trump-Russia investigations. His new book is “Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.”

In the first part of our conversation, McCarthy explained to Greg Corombos how the investigation really started, the role of then-CIA Director John Brennan, and how President Obama must have known and quite likely approved the investigation.

In the book, McCarthy says there is no evidence whatsoever of conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. If that’s true, then why did the Mueller investigation take almost two years to complete?

“When you look at the indictments Mueller filed, it’s quite clear not only that there wasn’t a Trump-Russia conspiracy but that they affirmatively knew there wasn’t a Trump-Russia conspiracy,” said McCarthy.

Listen to the full podcast as McCarthy also offers a compelling case that Mueller and his team knew there was no conspiracy more than 18 months before releasing their report earlier this year.

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Gillibrand Just Needs to Go, Why Walsh Is Going Nowhere, Bedbug Brawl

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Listen to “Gillibrand Just Needs to Go, Why Walsh Is Going Nowhere, Bedbug Brawl” on Spreaker.

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America enjoy watching Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s own staffers begging her to get out of the Democratic presidential race and blast her debate performances as “obnoxious.”  They also roll their eyes as Joe Walsh presents himself as the mature, high character alternative to Trump because he stopped acting like Trump a year ago.  And they dissect New York Times columnist Bret Stephens taking umbrage at being called a “bedbug” by a university professor and bringing the comment to the provost of the school.  Jim caps off that final martini with a plea for everyone to stop bugging each other.

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How the Trump-Russia Investigation Began – Ball of Collusion, Part 1

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Former Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew C. McCarthy joins Greg Corombos for an indepth conversation about McCarthy’s new book, “Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.”

Listen to “How the Trump-Russia Investigation Began – Ball of Collusion, Part 1” on Spreaker.

In this first installment, they discuss whether the initial investigation into allegations of a Trump-Russian conspiracy were based on concrete evidence or the desire to find something. They also examine the role of then-CIA Director John Brennan in the early stages of the probe.

Finally, McCarthy responds to critics who insist he is wrong to conclude President Obama knew about the investigation during the 2016 campaign, pointing out it would be far worse for the president NOT to know that a major party nominee was allegedly conspiring with a foreign adversary.

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