Whom To Believe? 

Last week, after President Obama met with Pope Francis, a controversy briefly erupted about what was or was not discussed between the two. Initial reports from the White House suggested Obama and Francis talked about income inequality and world peace, two issues Francis has emphasized. 

The Vatican released its own statement saying the men discussed "questions of particular relevance … such as the exercise of the rights to religious freedom, life and conscientious objection…" On those issues, Obama is clearly at odds with Catholics, evangelicals and many other faiths. 

Whom do you believe? A choice between the community organizer from Chicago or the pontiff is an easy choice for most of us. 

Evidently the White House didn't learn much from that episode of dueling press releases. Another controversy erupted this weekend regarding a phone call between Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin.

The White House quickly issued a statement indicating that Putin called Obama looking for a way out of the Ukrainian crisis. The White House statement said both presidents agreed that Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov should meet yet again to discuss a proposal to de-escalate the tension. Obama reportedly insisted that Putin "put a concrete response in writing."

The Kremlin didn't see it that way at all, and later issued its own statement about what Putin and Obama reportedly discussed. Here's the Kremlin's version of events: 
 

"Vladimir Putin drew Barack Obama's attention to the continued rampage of extremists who are committing acts of intimidation towards peaceful residents, government authorities and law enforcement agencies in various regions and in Kiev with impunity.

"In light of this, the President of Russia suggested examining possible steps the global community can take to help stabilize the situation. The two presidents agreed that specific parameters for this joint work will be discussed by the Russian and US foreign ministers in the near future.

"Vladimir Putin also pointed out that Transnistria is essentially experiencing a blockade, which significantly complicates the living conditions for the region's residents, impeding their movement and normal trade and economic activities. He stressed that Russia stands for the fair and comprehensive settlement of the Transnistria conflict…"

Reading the Kremlin's statement caused a Washington Post reporter to remark, "Were the two presidents really talking to each other? …In fact, it seems that there's only one thing the pair might agree on: They exchanged views on the phone." 

This administration is fond of reminding critics of the adage, "Politics ends at the water's edge." But in order to make that claim, the administration should not be playing politics either. 

Why publicize the call and suggest that Putin was backing off? Even if Putin was looking for a way out, it would have been better for the White House to remain silent and let events play out. 

By the way, this has happened before. Remember when the Obama White House announced its breakthrough deal over Iran's nuclear weapons program? The Islamic Republic quickly put out a statement accusing Obama of lying. 

Another Obamacare Scandal 

Today is the deadline to sign up for Obamacare. Well, sort of. That deadline, like so many other parts of the law, was unilaterally waived too -- even after government bureaucrats admitted they had no statutory authority to do so.

But as we have reported, there are serious concerns about the integrity of the data that is being collected by Obamacare websites and navigators. Not only has it been plagued by errors, causing major headaches for insurers, doctors and customers, but now there is evidence that some left-wing groups have been using the information to promote liberal candidates, especially in Texas. 

The ACLU has been pressuring California and several other states to provide voter registration forms to individuals when they sign up for Obamacare. (The 1993 "Motor-Voter" law required states to allow individuals to register to vote when they got a driver's license or signed up for public assistance.) Some states initially resisted the ACLU's demands because they did not consider the healthcare exchanges to be "public assistance." 

But California officials sided with the ACLU, and last week Covered California, the state's Obamacare exchange, began mailing voter registration forms to the roughly four million individuals who signed up for health insurance.

News broke over the weekend that a couple in La Mesa received their voter registration form from Covered California pre-checked to register them as Democrats. 

Voter fraud is generally something left to state and local officials to prosecute. But members of Congress should not remain silent about this latest Obamacare scandal. The state exchanges have received billions of taxpayer dollars from the federal government. Congress has an obligation to make sure those funds are spent appropriately. 

The Department Of Homeland Insecurity 

The Department of Homeland Security is tasked -- as the name implies -- with keeping Americans safe. For several years now, the administration has ordered DHS to take a lax approach to enforcing our immigration laws. The administration claimed it needed extra flexibility in order to focus on deporting those with criminal backgrounds.

But a shocking new report finds that DHS has actually released nearly 70,000 illegal immigrants who have criminal convictions. 

Responding to this report, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) blasted the Department of Homeland Security, saying, "The preponderance of the evidence demonstrates that immigration enforcement in America has collapsed. Even those with criminal convictions are being released.  DHS is a department in crisis."