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By Meghashyam Mali - 11/12/12 08:12 AM ET House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Pete King (R-N.Y.) on Monday said he found the FBI investigation that uncovered former CIA Director David Petraeus’s extramarital affair a “crisis” of “major proportions.” “This is a crisis of, I believe, major proportions. It’s not a usual political thing,” said King on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” King’s remarks come as lawmakers have raised questions about why they or President Obama were not informed sooner that the nation’s top intelligence officer was being investigated by the FBI.

A top House Republican on Sunday rejected President Obama's claim that recent security leaks did not come from the White House, accusing the president of using the leaks -- which detailed the administration's counterterror programs -- to "build up his reputation" before November. "He's trying to be like George Patton or John Wayne," Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., told Fox News. The gloves-off accusations from the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee follow Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to appoint two U.S. attorneys to investigate possible unauthorized leaks of classified information. Since that announcement Friday, lawmakers on both sides of...

The first Muslim elected to Congress broke into tears Thursday as he delivered his opening remarks at a hearing on radicalization in the Muslim American community. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) became heavily emotional as he spoke about a 23-year-old New York Police Department cadet and paramedic named Mohammed Salman Hamdani. Hamdani, a Muslim, was killed attempting to save people from the collapsing World Trade Center buildings on Sept. 11, 2001, following the terrorist attacks, Ellison said. Ellison was barely able to finish his statement but said he was concerned that fear-based rumors and prejudice could arise from Thursday’s hearing before...

More than 50 Democrats on Wednesday pleaded with House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Pete King (R-N.Y.) to cancel his panel’s hearing on radicalization within the Muslim American community.  A group of 56 lawmakers said in a letter to King that the hearing will jeopardize trust between Muslims in the U.S. and law enforcement officials, adding that “the stated narrow scope and underlying premises of these hearings unfairly stigmatizes and alienates Muslim Americans.”  They asked King to broaden the scope of the hearing to include extremists of all ideologies and motivations. The hearing on Thursday is titled, “The extent of radicalization...

WASHINGTON — For Representative Peter T. King, as he seizes the national spotlight this week with a hearing on the radicalization of American Muslims, it is the most awkward of résumé entries. Long before he became an outspoken voice in Congress about the threat from terrorism, he was a fervent supporter of a terrorist group, the Irish Republican Army. “We must pledge ourselves to support those brave men and women who this very moment are carrying forth the struggle against British imperialism in the streets of Belfast and Derry,” Mr. King told a pro-I.R.A. rally on Long Island, where he...

Cops and federal agents agree with Rep. Pete King that they don't get a lot of tipsters from the Muslim community - but they say that's true of many other communities. Counterterrorism and intelligence sources from the NYPD and FBI say law enforcement faces the same problem with the Mafia, drug cartels and the MS-13 gang. "Criminals are criminals. It gets dicier because Muslim extremists wrap their work in religion, but the smokescreens, the silence and intimidation are similar," an FBI source said. "What's different is the risk - the extent of the damage, the number of innocent people who can...

In the wake of the tragic shooting in Tucson this Saturday, Republican Representative Peter King (N.Y.) is introducing a bill that would bar the possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of certain government officials. The announcement comes via a statement released by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, an organization spearheaded by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Governor Mike Huckabee talked to reporters this weekend at the Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon Presidential Libraries in California while on a book tour for his new children's book Can't Wait Till Christmas. Among those reporters was KADY-TV* reporter Maria Sanchez. Huckabee said: "Whoever in our government leaked that information is guilty of treason and I think anything less than execution is too kind a penalty. They have put American lives at risk. They have put relations that will take decades to rebuild at risk. They knew well they were handling sensitive documents. They were entrusted. Anyone who had...

Congressional Democrats say they want to defend Israel -- but without taking on Israel's enemies. Bizarre choice -- so bizarre as to make their professed support for Israel practically meaningless. At issue is a resolution proposed by Rep. Pete King (R-Long Island) that calls on Washington to quit the US Human Rights Council -- which two weeks ago voted 32-3 to condemn Israel's raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla. Incredibly, not a single House Democrat -- not even from the New York delegation -- is willing to co-sponsor King's resolution "unless we take out the language about the UN," he says....

Republican Rep. Pete King (N.Y.) signaled Monday that he is reconsidering his decision not to run for Senate in 2010 . King, who last summer ruled out such a campaign, said he's actively looking at a run for statewide office this year. "Actually, I am looking at it — you know, a lot of people have come to me," King said during an appearance on "Imus in the Morning" on the Fox Business Network. "Despite what you say, to me it's a great experience being in the House," King said. "Being the top Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, I've...

Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) endorsed GOP special-election candidate Dede Scozzafava on Monday, saying a vote for her Conservative Party opponent is tantamount to a vote for the Democrats in the close 23rd Congressional District race in New York http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/63643-pete-king-a-vote-for-conservative-nominee-is-a-vote-for-dems

Congressman Pete King (R-NY) feels we should be honoring the men and women of the Armed Forces -- and not a "pedophile" and "child molester" like Michael Jackson. Standing in front of the American Legion in Wantagh, King ripped into America's celebration of the life of Michael Jackson -- instead of the people who serve in the military. It's safe to say King wasn't one of the 1.6 million people who signed up for memorial tickets.

HAVING just returned from leading a con gressional delegation to the terrorist-detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, I am more convinced than ever that President Obama's executive order to close Gitmo by next Jan. 22 is wrong and misguided and, if fully implemented, will threaten American security at home and abroad. ... If there's any scandal at Guantanamo, it is that the detainees are treated too well. Consider what I observed:

A 2010 showdown between Rep. Peter King and Hillary Clinton's Senate successor took another step toward reality yesterday as the Long Island Congressman had a favorable meeting with GOP leaders. Caroline Kennedy Through the Years View Gallery Have a look at Caroline Kennedy through the years as she launches her campaign for Hillary Clinton's New York Senate seat. The 63-year-old King (R-Seaford) had a sitdown with National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn and received his blessing for a potential 2010 run, Politico reported today. "Senator Cornyn believes Peter King would be a very formidable candidate. He believes the seat...

Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf is not entirely convinced that Caroline Kennedy, if she is David Paterson's choice to replace Hillary Clinton, would win when the seat actually comes up for election. "People have this deluded idea that it's hard to compete against a Kennedy, they should talk to Kennedy Townsend of Maryland. There is no Kennedy mythology in New York," Sheinkopf told me while I was reporting a story about Kennedy’s Senate bid in today's Observer. "She is going to have to raise $40 million like anyone else -- why is it just assumed that she will have $40 million...

Declaring that tough economic times demand that New Yorkers are represented by a real fighter in the U.S. Senate, state Republican chairman Joseph N. Mondello today urged Governor David Paterson to appoint Representative Peter T. King to that body once Senator Hillary Clinton is confirmed as U.S Secretary of State. "The Governor should put partisan politics aside and do what is in the best interests of the people of New York," Mondello declared. "We need a real fighter in the United States Senate, someone who, from the moment he steps onto the floor of that august body, never stops advancing...

Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) is preparing a run at Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D) seat in 2010, his office confirmed Tuesday. Clinton has been designated as President-elect Obama’s secretary of state and will be replaced by a Democrat appointed by New York Gov. David Paterson (D). But the last two years of Clinton’s second term will be up in 2010, with a full term available in 2012. King is one of just three GOPers in the New York congressional delegation to survive November’s elections and has a good fundraising start on the race, having banked $1.2 million as of late...

WASHINGTON (AP) — A homeland security adviser to Rudy Giuliani came under fire Thursday for claiming there were "too many mosques" in the United States — and defended himself by saying his point was that not enough Muslim leaders cooperate with law enforcement. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., the former chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee and the top GOP member on the panel, said his comments to the Politico Web site were taken out of context. Democrats said Giuliani should drop him as a campaign adviser. "I stand by everything I said other than the fact that the Politico...

A second congressman has urged the Department of Justice to investigate whether the district attorney in the Duke lacrosse sexual assault violated the rights of the defendants. Rep. Peter King, whose Long Island district includes relatives of one of the accused students, Collin Finnerty, urged Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez to begin an investigation into Mike Nifong, who asked last week to be recused from the case. "I am deeply disappointed by your apparent decision to defer a decision whether to investigate Mr. Nifong's prosecution of this case," King wrote to Gonzalez, arguing that the FBI should investigate whether the prosecutor...

Weekend Talk Show Preview - Analysis for August 19th and 20thA quick note about the show web sites.  MTP's web site has excellent resources and links to provide background on the guests and they're tending to get it posted earlier on Fridays than they used to.  I want to commend Fox for the new Coming Up on FOX News Sunday feature on their web site.  It gives a good overview and intro to the show.  Maybe they've been reading our stuff?  ABC is doing a good job of posting on their site, including a semi informative intro beyond just the...