Rice's CYA Memo

 
Obama's National Security Adviser Susan Rice is back in the news -- and that's never a good thing.  Rice was the Obama official tasked with lying on five Sunday talk shows about Benghazi.  We also know that Rice had a key role in spying on the Trump campaign.
 
Now senators investigating the Obama Administration's campaign surveillance have uncovered a really weird memo Rice wrote to herself on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2017.  The memo "memorializes" a meeting about the Russian collusion investigation that took place in the Oval Office. 
 
At that meeting were President Obama, Vice President Biden, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, FBI Director James Comey and Rice.  Here is a brief excerpt of Rice's memo:
 
"President Obama began the conversation by stressing his continued commitment to ensuring that every aspect of this issue is handled by the Intelligence and law enforcement communities 'by the book.'  The President stressed that he is not asking about, initiating or instructing anything from a law enforcement perspective. He reiterated that our law enforcement team needs to proceed as it normally would by the book."
 
Shakespeare comes to mind: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."
 
Several things make this memo odd.  As Sen. Lindsey Graham explained on Fox News last night:
 
"Number one, why should [Obama] have to say [by the book] to begin with? Number two, what brought on that conversation on January the 5th?  They knew they were going to be out of power just in days. They sent an email trail showing the president was instructing everybody doing it by the book. And when you look at what happened, it was an abuse of power not by the book." 
 
It is not at all unusual for top government officials to "memorialize" a meeting -- right after it takes place in order get key facts on paper, particularly if you are concerned about legal or political ramifications. 
 
But as Sen. Graham noted this meeting took place on January 5th.  It is highly unusual to memorialize a meeting 15 days later. 
 
So Donald Trump is just minutes away from walking into the White House, and Rice is frantically typing out a memo that reads like an alibi.  No, that's not fishy at all.
 
Senators Charles Grassley and Lindsey Graham have sent Rice a list of detailed questions and they are demanding answers by next week. 
 
Whether it's Comey's leaked memos to a friend, text messages about an "insurance policy," super-secret FISA warrants based on campaign dirt, or an exodus of top officials leaving under a cloud of suspicion, what is emerging is a disturbing image of an outgoing administration doing everything it can to destroy the incoming administration. 
 
Of course, anyone relying on the mainstream media for news has no idea about Rice's memo.  Few outlets, other than Fox News, conservative talk radio and reports like this one, are mentioning it.  Most Americans know there's a big deal about collusion with Russia, even though there is no evidence Donald Trump colluded with Russia.
 
 
 
About That Collusion. . .
 
Last week in Syria, Assad regime forces mounted a surprise attack against a base held by U.S. special operations troops and our Kurdish allies.  The U.S. called in artillery and air strikes and, according to various reports, more than 200 of the attackers were killed.
 
We are now learning that the Syrian attackers were largely Russian mercenaries.  U.S. forces did not hesitate to defend themselves.  Bloomberg described the engagement as "the deadliest clash" between Russia and the U.S. "since the Cold War." 
 
After eight years of Barack Obama allowing Russia to walk all over us, the "colluding" Donald Trump just gave Putin a black eye.
 
 
 
Obama's Painter
 
Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama made a rare public appearance yesterday.  They were at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery for the unveiling of their official paintings.
 
The Obamas were "intimately involved" in the selection process for their painters.  They accepted recommendations from the Smithsonian and then personally interviewed the top contenders.  It is inconceivable that they could have such a thorough process and never considered the artists' work. 
 
Let's put aside the issue of whether the artists did the Obamas a disservice in their paintings.  The Daily Caller notes that Kehinde Wiley, who painted former President Obama, is also known for portraits that depict black women holding the severed heads of white women.  "It's sort of a play on the 'kill whitey' thing," Wiley explained.
 
Always do the reverse test.  If George Bush had chosen an artist who painted white women holding the severed heads of black women, is there any doubt about the outrage that would have erupted? 
 
After Kathy Griffin, I had hoped that we could at least agree that severed heads are never a good idea.
 
 
 
Good News
 
The federal Department of Education is no longer investigating local public school bathrooms.  Pressed by Washington Post reporters Monday, a spokeswoman confirmed that the department was not enforcing an Obama order that sought to push the radical transgender ideology into every public school across the country.
 
"Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, not gender identity," Education Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Hill explained.  "In the case of bathrooms, however, longstanding regulations provide that separating facilities on the basis of sex is not a form of discrimination prohibited by Title IX."
 
Wow!  The government is enforcing the law as it is written, not as some liberal bureaucrat wants it to be.  Imagine that!
 
In related news, President Trump is continuing to nominate conservative judges at a swift pace.  Yesterday, he announced his eleventh wave of nominations.  Unfortunately, Senate liberals continue stalling their confirmation votes at every opportunity.
 
 
 
Go Green:  Sacrifice Your Children
 
What would you do to save the planet?  Apparently some people are so distraught over the condition of the environment that they're considering making the ultimate sacrifice and remaining childless. 
 
You can read more about the left's ludicrous idea in my latest opinion piece at The Daily Caller.

Expanding Our Media Presence
 
We need your help growing our social media audience.  Please follow me on Twitter.  Encourage your friends and family members to follow me too.  Get my thoughts on the day's headlines before you get the "End of Day."
 
I am also pleased to announce that we have launched a series of daily radio commentaries on current events and cultural news called "The End of Day Report."
 
My commentaries can be heard from 6:00 to 6:02 pm (CT) on the Bott Radio Network, which has stations from California to Tennessee.  Click here for a list of station locations.  You can also listen live online at BottRadioNetwork.com.