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Vice President Joe Biden's aides were worried about "the optics" of his son, Hunter, working for a Ukrainian energy company in 2014, but they refused to raise the issue so as to not risk "a scolding" from the elder Biden, according to a report by The New York Times. The aides "enlisted State Department officials to gather facts to determine how to handle the story" of Hunter Biden's work on the board of Burisma Holdings, to which he was appointed that year, the Times reported Sunday. "Hunter Biden's activities struck many of the officials working on Ukraine policy as an...

The Secret Service will give agent protection to Ben Carson and Donald Trump while heavily upgrading Hillary Clinton's existing detail, a Washington source close to the agency’s plans confirmed to Newsmax. The deployment of agents around Republican candidates Trump and Carson is set to begin as early as next week. Approximately two dozen agents will be assigned to each candidate.

The Obama administration insisted that the Benghazi attacks that killed four Americans erupted from a protest over an anti-Muslim video because any hint of organized terrorism would have debunked President Barack Obama's assertions that his Mideast policy was working, Sen. Jim Inhofe said on Saturday. "They were pushing the video thing because it was just a matter of days before that he had made the American people think that his Middle East policy had stopped all terrorist activity," the Oklahoma Republican told Jeanine Pirro on her Fox News program. "This was a couple of months before the election. "Obviously, with...

The Justice Department begged a federal judge to not tell Fox News reporter James Rosen that it was tracking his telephone calls and emails in a probe regarding a national security leak. U.S. Attorney Ron Machen argued in 2010 that the traditional 30-day notice period did not apply to Rosen as Justice secretly monitored his Gmail account, according to new exhibits unsealed this week and disclosed by The Hill. “Where, as here, the government seeks such contents through a search warrant, no notice to the subscriber or customer of the e-mail account is statutorily required or necessary,” Machen wrote in...

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Friday that he would support women in military combat roles, but would follow that advice from his military advisers "because I would want to hear that without a political bent." "The answer is yes because they're really into it," the billionaire businessman told Chris Cuomo on CNN. "And some of them are really, really good at it. "I would really speak to the generals, because I would want to hear that without a political bent," Trump cautioned. "To the public, they say, 'yes, yes, yes,' but I would want to hear it without the...

Republicans cheered Tuesday's historic confirmation vote for Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary — Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote — slamming Democrats as obstructionists and saying that President Donald Trump was entitled to his Cabinet picks. "President Trump has assembled a first-class team for his Cabinet, and obstructing all of these confirmation votes is only delaying the important work that needs to be done," Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton said. "In my conversation with Betsy DeVos, I found her to have a deep appreciation for the value of public schools and a special concern for the needs of the...

White House chief of staff John Kelly thought President Donald Trump's remarks in a call to the widow of a Green Beret slain by Islamic State terrorists in Niger were "completely appropriate" and "respectful," press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday. "Gen. Kelly was present for the call and thought it was completely appropriate," Sanders told reporters at the daily briefing. "He thought the call was respectful — and he thought that the president did the best job he could under those circumstances to offer condolences on the part of the country." Trump has no recording of Tuesday's call to...

Franklin Graham has resigned from the Republican Party and become an independent, declaring that "I have no hope in the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, or tea party to do what is best for America. "Unless more godly men and women get in this process and change this wicked system, our country is in for trouble," Graham, 63, wrote on Facebook. Graham called on "Christians, even pastors, across the country to pray about running for office where they can have an impact. "We need mayors, country commissioners, city council members, school board members who will uphold biblical values." The budget...

Conservatives slammed the campaign to effectively end the Electoral College's role in presidential elections, saying that the National Popular Vote Compact circumvents the Constitution, saying it resembled President Barack Obama's abuse of the law through his extensive use of executive orders. "It is pretty startling," Bill Kristol, founder and editor of The Weekly Standard, told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV this week. "If they want to make the case for the popular election of presidents and a Constitutional amendment, they should make the case.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on Saturday said that to resurrect America's greatness it was necessary to revive the economy, defend the Constitution, and restore America's place in the world arena. Appearing at the conference themed "America at Its Best," Cruz told more than 3,000 attendees to the Western Conservative Summit in Denver that "the single biggest lie" is that Republicans are the party of the rich. "The rich have done fine with big government," he said. The ones most hurt by big government are those who are struggling. The event, in its fifth year, is sponsored by the Centennial Institute,...

President-elect Donald Trump Friday slammed the United Nations Security Council's vote to condemn Israel for its settlements in the West Bank, pledging that "things will be different" after his inauguration next month. . . . Trump's tweet marked an unprecedented intervention by a president-elect in the diplomatic affairs of a sitting commander-in-chief — sparking widespread accusations that he was trying to undermine Obama's position.

The National Rifle Association said Thursday that "bump stock" devices used to fully automate rifles "should be subject to additional regulation" in light of the Las Vegas massacre that killed 58 people and injured 489 others. "In the aftermath of the evil and senseless attack in Las Vegas, the American people are looking for answers as to how future tragedies can be prevented," the NRA said in statement. The National Rifle Association said Thursday that "bump stock" devices used to fully automate rifles "should be subject to additional regulation" in light of the Las Vegas massacre that killed 58 people...

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that New York Rep. Joe Crowley "got his a– kicked" in his Democratic primary Tuesday by a 28-year-old Bernie Sanders supporter "who had a lot of energy." "Last night, we had a great evening," Trump told a rally in Fargo, North Dakota, for Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer, who is facing Democratic incumbent Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in November. "We watched that television — and we were winning left and right," Trump said. "They didn't know what the hell happened.

Donald Trump will meet Monday with Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, whom key Republicans consider a possible running mate for the presumptive nominee. The pair is scheduled to meet at Trump Tower in New York City, The Washington Post reports, citing sources who asked not to be named. Corker, 63, is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He is the former mayor of Chattanooga and was first elected to Congress in 2006. He has had a key role in many foreign policy issues involving the Obama administration, including the Iran nuclear deal.

The Secret Service is investigating comments made by a Donald Trump adviser for veteran's issues for saying that Hillary Clinton should be executed for "treason." "The U.S. Secret Service is aware of this matter and will conduct the appropriate investigation," spokesman Robert Hoback told The Daily Beast on Wednesday. The adviser, New Hampshire State Rep. Al Baldasaro, told the Daily Beast earlier Wednesday that "anyone who commits treason should be shot. "I believe Hillary Clinton committed treason," he added. "She put people in danger. "When people take confidential material off a server, you're sharing information with the enemy. That's treason."...

"I don't see any way in the world that Mitt Romney would have a cabinet position in the Donald Trump administration," the former Arkansas governor told Uma Pemmaraju on Fox News... "It would really not so much be an insult to Donald Trump," he said. "It would be an insult to the supporters of Donald Trump, who went out there and faithfully stood behind Donald Trump, to give a guy a job who basically said all those supporters were following a con man. "That would be an insult to the voters..." "We had a far-reaching conversation with regards to the...

Speaker Paul Ryan was booed Tuesday after Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump mentioned him during a rally in his hometown in Wisconsin. "How do you like Paul Ryan?" Trump asked supporters at a rally in Janesville, The Hill reports. "You like him?" The boos overtook the cheers inside the Janesville Conference Center. "I was told to be nice to Paul Ryan," the developer added. "He's the speaker, he's a nice guy. "He called me the other day. He was very nice." Trump then asked the crowd whether they were Republicans and conservative. The supporters cheered in response to both questions,...

Liberal groups announced a drive Wednesday to register as many as 1 million legal immigrants in key battleground states to try to stop Donald Trump at the polls in November. "There is something unique and significant happening in the immigrant community, and I think more broadly in the Latino community," Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois told reporters, The Washington Examiner reports. "There is really a hunger for citizenship — and it's driven by the desire to participate in this year's presidential election... The effort is headed by the National Partnership for New Americans, a Washington-based coalition of immigrant-rights groups...

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge said Friday that he would not support Donald Trump as Republican presidential nominee — and that "a real possibility" existed that he might not vote at all in next year's election if that is the case. "I think he is an embarrassment to the party," Ridge, who became the nation's first secretary of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush in 2003, told Neil Cavuto on Fox News. "If he is the man who has the votes, then that's the way it will be." But when asked whether he would support the billionaire developer, Ridge...

Watch the video at the link. Ted Cruz won the fifth Republican debate in Las Vegas on Tuesday, but Donald Trump held his own and Chris Christie "helped himself," political strategist Dick Morris told Newsmax TV. "Cruz was the big winner tonight," Morris said on the "Newsmax TV Post-Debate Special," hosted by Steve Malzberg. "He was terrific in his speeches. He was aggressive, forceful and really hit it out of the park three or four times. ..."Trump did very well, not as well as Cruz — but he clearly held his own and showed people why he is so popular,"...