End of Week: Sandals Update

by Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: Lernergate Update - Lois Lerner is back in the news. You will recall that Lerner was the IRS official who led the targeting of Tea Party groups. When her inquisition was exposed, her hard drive mysteriously crashed, her Blackberry was destroyed and all her emails just disappeared.

The IRS did everything it could to recover her data, but, tragically, it was all lost. Or so we were told. No one believed that and for good reason -- it wasn't true.

The IRS Inspector General's office has in fact discovered thousands of Lerner's emails on backup tapes -- tapes we were told had been disposed of and recycled.

Deputy Inspector General Timothy Camus told members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that he discovered the backup tapes were being stored at a facility in West Virginia. Contrary to the testimony of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, no one from the IRS had ever asked for them. In addition, investigators discovered at least 400 more backup tapes just two weeks ago. Those tapes were discovered after investigators realized the IRS was withholding documents from them.

Technicians are still reviewing the tapes, and they don't yet know exactly what is on them. Nevertheless, Camus said, "There is potential criminal activity."

Benghazigate Update - Newly revealed State Department emails prove that Hillary Clinton's closest advisors knew within minutes that the assault on our consulate in Benghazi was in fact a terrorist attack. The emails were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought against the State Department by Judicial Watch. Here's what they show:

• Minutes after the attack began, former Secretary of State Clinton's chief-of-staff, Cheryl Mills, and Clinton's executive assistant, Joseph McManus, received a message entitled, "U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi is Under Attack."
• They received another email 30 minutes later noting: "15 armed individuals were attacking the compound and trying to gain entrance. The Ambassador is present in Benghazi and currently is barricaded within the compound. . . . [REDACTED] is responding and taking fire."
• Two hours later a third message was received reporting that an Al Qaeda-linked group was taking credit for the attack: "Ansar al-Sharia Claims Responsibility for Benghazi Attack (SBU): "(SBU) Embassy Tripoli reports the group claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and call for an attack on Embassy Tripoli."

Yet in spite of these real time details, Clinton's State Department and Obama's White House -- contrary to advice from the Pentagon -- concocted a story about a spontaneous demonstration in response to a movie.

Just weeks before the 2012 election and after saying over and over again that "Al Qaeda was decimated and on the run," the Obama/Clinton team couldn't tell the truth and admit that Al Qaeda had just attacked our consulate, killing our ambassador and three other Americans.

This scandal is relevant because Hillary Clinton wants to be the next president of the United States. We cannot let the country suffer from collective amnesia about Clinton's role in misleading the public about the attack in Benghazi on September 11, 2012.

 Clinton Ethical Lapses - The Washington Post reported this week that the Clinton Foundation accepted millions of dollars from foreign governments while Hillary served as Obama's secretary of state. At least one donation "violated [the foundation's] ethics agreement."

One of the more problematic donations to the Clinton Foundation came from the government of Qatar, which also spent more than $5 million lobbying the State Department while Hillary was secretary of state.

Qatar has a scandalous human rights record. When Hamas fled the Syrian civil war in January 2012, it moved its headquarters from Damascus to Qatar.

I wonder how young women who are so "ready for Hillary" will feel about her foundation taking money from a government that treats women like cattle. According to Amnesty International, "Women who report rape or sexual violence in Qatar are at risk of being charged with 'illicit relations' and face prison sentences if convicted."

The Clintons, fundraising scandals, ethical lapses. . . This sounds all too familiar. American can do better in 2016.
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Gary Bauer is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families

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Tags: End of Week, Scandals Update, Lernergate, Lois Learner, emails lost, emails found, IRS, IRS Inspector General, investigation, Benghazigate Update, Benghazi, Hillary Clinton, Clinton Foundation, Clintons, fundraising scandals, ethical lapses, millions of dollars, foreign governments Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!