Obama Scandals vs. Watergate

My article today in Front Page Magazine:

Obama Scandals vs. Watergate

By Matthew Vadum

How does President Barack Obama compare to Richard Nixon who was nearly impeached in 1974 for corruption and egregious abuses of power?

The short answer? Not well.

Obama’s serial acts of malfeasance have cost hundreds of lives while Nixon’s caused no loss of life. Both attacked their political enemies using taxpayer resources and tried to rig the system to favor their side.

But Nixon, unlike Obama, didn’t come from what bestselling author Michelle Malkin termed a “culture of corruption.” Nixon lost the 1960 presidential election to Democrat John F. Kennedy probably because Democrats committed massive vote fraud. In a move some consider noble or patriotic, he refused to put the country through a drawn out fight over the election result. Nixon was not a so-called people person. He was a political outsider who fought hard and bitterly for whatever political victories he achieved. He wasn’t regarded as much of a dirty trickster, at least he wasn’t until he ascended to the presidency.

Obama, on the other hand, might as well have been heir to Chicago crime boss Al Capone. Obama was a community organizer who taught left-wing activists how to blackmail and pressure governments and corporations into doing their bidding. He preached class warfare and hatred against productive members of society. Obama specialized in having his political opponents knocked off the ballot. He unsealed court records to embarrass his adversaries. He launched his career in electoral politics in the 

home of unrepentant Weather Underground terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn.

When Obama does something noble or on the straight-and-narrow it’s probably a mistake on his part.

Let’s recall the bad things that Richard Milhous Nixon actually did while in the White House:

A President’s Enemies List?

My article from today's Front Page Magazine:

A President’s Enemies List?

By Matthew Vadum

President Obama’s use of the Internal Revenue Service to vex and harass his political opposition is yet more proof that he is far more interested in hunting down his domestic adversaries than Islamic terrorists.

Congressman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) said revelations the Obama IRS singled out conservative groups for special scrutiny ought to “send a chill” up Americans’ spines.

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee told Fox News that the tax-collection agency’s recently revealed strong-arming of political organizations “is as dangerous a problem the government can have.”

“This is something that we cannot let stand. It needs to have a full investigation.”

News that President Obama has been playing Chicago-style Saul Alinsky hardball with political activists on the Right provides more fodder to Obama’s critics in Congress — some of whom are now taking a hard look at impeaching the president and removing him from office.

Some commentators draw parallels with President Richard Nixon, noting he came dangerously close to impeachment for unleashing the IRS on his enemies.

What Did Obama Know and When Did He Know It?

My article from the May 10, 2013 issue of Front Page Magazine:

What Did Obama Know and When Did He Know It?

By Matthew Vadum

Congressional testimony this week showed the appalling lengths to which the Obama administration went to cover-up its mishandling of last fall’s terrorist attack at the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, but President Obama’s precise role in the cynical operation remains hidden.

Americans still don’t know what President Obama knew and when he knew it. We don’t know what exactly he did when he learned on Sept. 11, 2012 that U.S. officials in Benghazi were under attack. Obama may have gone to bed while the attack was in progress, leaving others in the administration to develop a politically expedient cover story calculated to get the Obama administration past the finish line last Election Day.

Obama’s advisers, with the president’s consent or not, opted to tell lies to get their man reelected, and to deal with the consequences of those untruths later. They knew they could count on the mainstream media to snooze on the job and dismiss the investigation to come as a partisan witch-hunt.

The manufactured storyline emphasized Obama’s increasingly hollow claim that “al-Qaeda is on the path to defeat and Osama bin Laden is dead.” It allowed the president to escape much needed scrutiny about his lame approach to national security and the threat that Islamism poses to the United States.

Although three State Department whistleblowers testified Wednesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the testimony of one witness in particular was especially unfavorable to the Obama administration.

During the hearing, star witness Gregory N. Hicks, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Libya during the attacks, explained to Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) that U.S. military personnel were not allowed to come to the aid of U.S. officials in Benghazi, a mere 400 nautical miles away.

“They remained in Tripoli with us,” Hicks said. “The medic went with the nurse to the hospital and his skills to the treatment of and care of our wounded.”

Chaffetz asked how the personnel reacted to being ordered to stand down.

“They were furious,” Hicks answered. “I can only say, well, I will quote [Army] Lieutenant Colonel [Steve] Gibson — he said ‘this is the first time in my career that a diplomat has more balls than somebody in the military.’”

I'll be on the Andrea Tantaros Show re Benghazi at 10:15 Eastern this morning

I'll be on the Andrea Tantaros Show talking about my article, Obama's Benghazi Propagandist, at 10:15 Eastern this morning.

Obama’s Benghazi Propagandist

My article from the May 8, 2013, issue of Front Page Magazine:

Obama’s Benghazi Propagandist

By Matthew Vadum

A young White House speechwriter may be responsible for concocting the official lies about last September’s deadly terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

The Obama administration’s rapidly unravelling narrative about what happened at the U.S. consulate in Libya’s second-largest city may have been cooked up by creative writer Ben Rhodes, the president’s 30-something Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting.

The origin of the administration’s desperate election-season fabrications may come up today as a congressional committee hears from three government whistleblowers who are expected to contradict the administration’s version of the events of Sept. 11, 2012.

There is little doubt now that the Obama White House twisted the facts for partisan political advantage.

Stephen F. Hayes of the Weekly Standard reports that the CIA’s talking points about what happened in Benghazi were manipulated by senior Obama administration officials as they “knowingly misled the country” in the days following the attacks.

That fog of misinformation was apparently calculated to deflect blame away from the Obama administration last September and October long enough to get an embattled president with an embarrassing national security record reelected.

Obama's Lifeline to the Boston Bomber

My article from the May 2, 2013 issue of Front Page Magazine:

Obama's Lifeline to the Boston Bomber

By Matthew Vadum

The Obama administration is reportedly negotiating a plea bargain that would spare the life of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and that could allow the FBI to continue interrogating the suspect about other terrorist plots.

NBC News reports that federal prosecutors and Tsarnaev’s lawyers “have begun very early discussions about a possible deal in which he could avoid the death penalty in return for a full accounting to the FBI of what happened and why as investigators continue working to find those answers for themselves.”

Talk of a legal settlement that would allow Tsarnaev to escape execution comes after high-powered attorney Judy Clarke, a death-penalty specialist from San Diego, was added to Tsarnaev’s legal defense team earlier this week. U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler approved Clarke’s appointment Monday.

Clarke is credited with helping to secure life sentences for clients facing the death penalty such as Jared Loughner, “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, and 1996 Olympics bomber Eric Rudolph. Clarke’s fees will reportedly be paid by U.S. taxpayers.

John Kerry: National Security Menace

My article from the April 26, 2013 issue of Front Page Magazine:

John Kerry: National Security Menace

By Matthew Vadum

Secretary of State John Kerry’s credibility has taken a major hit with the revelation that his favorite Middle Eastern dictator has been killing his own people with illegal chemical weapons.

Kerry’s abominable judgment, coupled with his anti-Americanism, has blinded him for a long time to the threat posed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. For years Kerry functioned as an unofficial lobbyist for Assad in Washington, D.C., making excuses for him and doing his bidding in Congress.

So it must have pained Kerry yesterday to admit that someone he not-too-long-ago called his “dear friend” used Sarin in at least two known attacks against rebels in Syria’s increasingly blood civil war, according to reports.

The United Nations designates Sarin as a weapon of mass destruction. Its manufacture and stockpiling are prohibited under the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes Sarin (also known by the military designation GB) as

“a nerve agent that is one of the most toxic of the known chemical warfare agents. It is generally odorless and tasteless. Exposure to sarin can cause death in minutes. A fraction of an ounce (1 to 10 ml) of sarin on the skin can be fatal.”

The pressure will now be on President Obama, who said last summer that if Syria used chemical weapons such an action would be a “game-changer” for the United States.

Russia’s Multiple Warnings About Tamerlan Tsarnaev

My article from the April 25, 2013 issue of Front Page Magazine:

Russia’s Multiple Warnings About Tamerlan Tsarnaev

By Matthew Vadum

Russian authorities warned the Obama administration repeatedly — not merely once — that Boston Marathon bombing mastermind Tamerlan Tsarnaev could be an Islamic terrorist, but those admonitions went unheeded in Washington, D.C.

It’s a depressingly familiar tale of intelligence failures, official lies, politically correct posturing, and bureaucratic bungles coming from an administration that has little interest in protecting Americans from the Islamic terrorist threat, a danger President Obama refuses even to acknowledge.

Time magazine previously reported that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) warned the U.S. government about Tsarnaev a single time two years ago, after he frequented a radical mosque in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, during a six-month visit to that politically unstable, jihadist-friendly Russian republic. The mosque is reportedly a terrorist hangout.

But the Boston Globe now reports there were several such warnings.

Saudi Connection to Boston Bombing?

My article from the April 23, 2013 issue of Front Page Magazine:

Saudi Connection to Boston Bombing?

By Matthew Vadum

Questions remain about whether there is a Saudi connection to the Boston Marathon bombing last week and if the Obama administration has been interfering in the investigation of the Islamic terrorist attack.

These questions take on greater urgency as Islamic terrorist organizations continue preparing attacks. Canadian authorities yesterday upended an ambitious terrorist plot that could have killed hundreds of Americans and Canadians.

In the spotlight is Saudi visa student Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi (also spelled al-Harbi) who was injured in the marathon bombing blast and was initially considered a suspect in the deadly terrorist attack that killed three bystanders and hospitalized close to 200 others. There is a prominent Alharbi clan in Saudi Arabia. Many individuals with the surname Alharbi are reportedly active in al-Qaeda.

Glenn Beck’s news website, The Blaze, reported yesterday that Alharbi was placed on the “no-fly” list as a potential terrorist after he was detained by federal authorities last week. A Department of Homeland Security source said the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center (NTC) created an “event” file on Alharbi under section 212 (3b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the part of the federal statute that deals with aliens involved in terrorism. The file is important enough that it has reportedly been read by members of Congress.

Manhunt

My article from the April 19, 2013 issue of Front Page Magazine:

Manhunt

By Matthew Vadum

Dramatic events are unfolding in Boston. As of 8am EDT, an MIT police officer has been killed by the suspects on Cambridge campus. One Boston Marathon bombing suspect is dead and another is on the run. Reports indicate that the bombers, who turn out to be brothers, are from Chechnya. We will keep you posted as the breaking news comes in.

One Boston Marathon bombing suspect is dead, while the other one is on the run. The search for these terrorists was significantly helped by bombing victim Jeff Bauman, whose legs were traumatically amputated below the knee by the blast. He  looked into the eyes of one of the suspects at the finish line two and a half minutes before the explosion — his brother, Chris Bauman, told reporters. “He woke up under so much drugs, asked for a paper and pen and wrote, ‘bag, saw the guy, looked right at me,” Chris Bauman said. “I’ve had many times alone with him, and yes, he told me every single detail.”

From intensive care, Jeff Bauman gave a physical description to the FBI which enabled investigators to narrow their search as they reviewed hours of surveillance video from around the scene of the explosions Monday.

Investigators determined that one bomb was housed in a pressure cooker concealed in a backpack. The second bomb, also hidden in a backpack, was housed in a metal container but it is not yet clear if the container was a pressure cooker.

Unreleased video footage reportedly shows that the two suspects remained at the scene to watch the explosions.

“When the bombs blow up, when most people are running away and victims were lying on the ground, the two suspects walk away pretty casually,” according to an unnamed federal law enforcement official. “They acted differently than everyone else.”