Chaffetz Blasts DOJ: No More Press Conferences On Leakers "Until You Have Some People In Handcuffs"

Since election day, the Trump administration has been hit with an unprecedented number of intelligence leaks as classified information seems to be flowing quite freely from Obama holdovers occupying various government agencies and members of the intelligence community directly to various mainstream media outlets.  At this point, one has to wonder why the Washington Post and the New York Times shouldn"t just have an office setup inside the NSA with server access and the highest security clearance...taxpayers might actually some money if we didn"t have to pay for our spies to sneak around Washington passing info to journalists.

But, some hope was offered last week by AG Jeff Sessions and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats who, after months of doing basically nothing, finally announced a plan to crackdown on leakers.  Meanwhile, Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein took to the Sunday talk show circuit this past weekend for some more "tough talk" saying the DOJ will prosecute any "case that warrants prosecution no matter what their position is."

“We"re after the leakers. We’re not after
journalists we’re after people who are committing crimes.  We"re going to devote the resources we need to identify who is responsible for those leaks and who has violated the law and hold them accountable." 

"If we identify anybody, no matter what their position is, if they violated the law and that case warrants prosecution, we"ll prosecute it."

But former House Oversight Committee Chair, and now Fox News political analyst, Jason Chaffetz is calling the bluff of the suddenly eager Deputy Attorney General saying that he "comes with absolutely zero credibility on this" issue after repeatedly refusing to investigate, much less prosecute, Hillary Clinton for lying under oath and/or her litany of other federal crimes. 

"[Rod Rosenstein] comes with absolutely zero credibility on this."

"Remember last year when we had Director Comey come before the Oversight Committee, I was the Chair, I asked him if he looked at Hillary Clinton, whether or not she told the truth under oath.  He said he needed a request from Congress so myself and Bob Goodlatte, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, sent that request to the Department of Justice and it"s never been answered."

"So, if they want to start, lets start with Hillary Clinton and whether or not she lied under oath.  And lets also go back to the State Department who had an open investigation.  They reopened it July 7th of 2016.  They"ve never closed it.  Nearly 300 people who are dealing in classified information in a nonsecure setting, why didn’t they ever close that investigation? They need to answer those questions. Start with that. They come with zero credibility on this issue."

"There becomes a point where you actually have to answer these things.  Don"t do another press conference until you have some people in handcuffs.  This is classified information.  It"s against the law to just leak it out and give it to whoever you want."

So what say you on Rosenstein?  Dedicated public servant intent upon tracking down and prosecuting leakers or just another political hack who will say whatever is most politically expedient at any given time to maintain his power base?  Time will tell.

Would You Hire Someone Who Gets 218 Days off a Year? You Already Have

(ANTIMEDIA) Washington, D.C. — Know of any jobs that pay $174,000 a year, plus benefits, for only working 147 out 365 days? You may laugh off the notion, but in fact, the answer is yes, you do. Because that’s what your elected House representatives make, and the number 147 is how many days they’re actually working during a congressional session.

According to an official calendar posted by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the United States House of Representatives will have 218 days off in 2017. Members of the Senate, who earn the same salary as their congressional counterparts, put in a bit more time, but the difference is marginal at best.

In fact, members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate get the entire month of August off. Yes, you read that correctly, Americans. The people you’re electing to represent you get a solid month-long vacation each year. More than that, technically, as the calendar shows congressmen are out of session from July 29 until September 4.

Some members of Congress, however, feel they deserve more. One such individual is the outgoing representative from Utah, Jason Chaffetz. He recently told The Hill that he believes congressmen should receive an additional $2,500 a month stipend for housing.

Claiming the pay bump would allow him and other members of Congress to “have your spouse join you here” in Washington, D.C., Chaffetz added that if he “wasn’t buying as many airline tickets” to fly back home to see his family, if would be far less expensive to serve as an official of the United States government.

To be clear, Chaffetz is suggesting that taxpayers should collectively dole out an additional $30,000 a year per lawmaker. This, if it came to pass, would mean an additional $16 million in taxes annually for Americans.

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FBI Withholds Russia Probe Docs Requested By House Intel Committee

House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz said today that the FBI had decided to withhold documents, including memos, notes, summaries, and recordings, requested by his committee in regards to the ongoing Russia probe. This was revealed in a letter sent by Chaffetz to the FBI responding to the agency’s decision to withhold documents requested by the Committee on May 16, 2017.

The FBI"s denial to cooperate is presented below:

According to a statement by the Oversight Committee, "Chaffetz requested memos, notes, summaries, and recordings to assist in the Committee’s investigation of the FBI’s independence, and which are outside the scope of the Special Counsel’s investigation."

The documents are due June 8, 2017, but that may not happen as it appears the FBI is suddenly unwilling to cooperate.  

As Chaffetz elaborates, after a New York Times report that former Federal Bureau of  Investigation Director James Corney memorialized the content of phone calls and meetings with the President in a series of memoranda, he requested those memoranda and any related notes, summaries, and recordings. The FBI is withholding those documents, citing to the appointment of Robert Mueller as Special Prosecutor. According to a letter from your staff: "In light of this development and other considerations [the Bureau] is undertaking appropriate consultation to ensure all relevant interest implicated by your request are properly evaluated.

The letter states:

“The Committee has its own, Constitutionally-based prerogative to conduct investigations. But the Committee in no way wants to impede or interfere with the Special Counsel’s ability to conduct his investigation.  In fact, the Committee’s investigation will complement the work of the Special Counsel. Whereas the Special Counsel is conducting a criminal or counterintelligence investigation that will occur largely behind closed doors, the Committee’s work will shed light on matters of high public interest, regardless of whether there is evidence of criminal conduct.

“The focus of the Committee’s investigation is the independence of the FBI, including conversations between the President and Comey and the process by which Comey was removed from his role as director.  The records being withheld are central to those questions, even more so in light of Comey’s decision not to testify before the Committee at this time.”

“I am seeking to better understand Comey’s communications with the White House and Attorney General in such a way that does not implicate the Special Counsel’s work.”

As Chaffetz concludes, "Congress and the American public have a right and a duty to examine this issue independently of the Special Counsel"s investigation. I trust and hope you understand this and make the right decision-to produce these documents to the Committee immediately and on a voluntary basis."

The American public is certainly looking forward to the FBI"s release of the full content of the Comey"s memos, not only those relating to his meetings with Trump, but just as importantly, with Loretta Lynch, as well as Barack Obama and/or Hillary Clinton.

Full text of Chairman Chaffetz letter can be viewed here.
Full text of FBI letter can be viewed here.

Comey-Probing Congressman Announces Early Resignation From Politics

Juat a month after comments that he had begun exploring employment possibilities outside of Congress, Politico reports Rep. Jason Chaffetz is expected announce today that he is resigning before the end of this congressional term, according to three sources familiar with his plans.

As Politico details, Chaffetz did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.

Multiple sources say he will leave Congress on June 30.

Chaffetz, 50, is chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the top investigative body in the chamber.

He recently subpoenaed James Comey"s memos, and invited the fired FBI director to testify next week before his panel.

Additionally, the U.S. prosecutor overseeing price-fixing probes is said to step-down...(via Bloomberg)

Brent Snyder, the head of criminal enforcement at the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust division, is stepping down, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Chaffetz Demands FBI Hand Over All Comey's Notes, Memos, & Recordings Related To Trump

Update: Jason Chaffetz office just released the letter sent to the FBI"s Andrew McCabe demanding all Comey-Trump related memos...

Trump and/or Comey are getting increasingly boxed in here - one or other is going to be proved a liar soon enough.

*  *  *

As we detailed earlier, following the New York Times latest Trump bombshell (see "Comey"s Revenge: Leaks Memo To NYT Saying Trump Asked Him To End Flynn Investigation"), the impeachment word seems to be getting tossed around a little more loosely this evening.  And, given the serious accusations levied by former FBI Director James Comey, the Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Jason Chaffetz, has  just promised that he will "get the Comey memo, if it exists," which was backed up by the not so thinly veiled threat: "I have my subpoena pen ready."

.@GOPoversight is going to get the Comey memo, if it exists. I need to see it sooner rather than later. I have my subpoena pen ready.

— Jason Chaffetz (@jasoninthehouse) May 16, 2017

Meanwhile, in the following Q&A with NBC, Chaffetz says his committee has already started "drafting the necessary paperwork" to get Comey"s memo to the extent it is not handed over voluntarily.

"If the memo exists, I need to see it and I need to see it right away.  We are drafting the necessary paperwork to get the mom so we will find out in a hurry if its out there."

"I want to read the memo first but on the surface that seems like an extraordinary use of influence to try to shutdown an investigation being done by the FBI.  I don"t know if it"s true yet but I want to find out if that"s actually out there."

????Chaffetz to NBC:"If the memo exists, I need to see it and I need to see it right away. We are drafting the necessary paperwork to get [it]" pic.twitter.com/rF2g8qWm7v

— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) May 16, 2017

House Oversight Committee Confirms Flynn Likely Broke Law On Overseas Payments

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn likely broke the law by failing to disclose foreign income he earned from Russia and Turkey, the heads of the House Oversight Committee said Tuesday.

As The Washington Post reports, committee chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said they believe Flynn neither received permission nor fully disclosed income he earned for a speaking engagement in Russia and lobbying activities on behalf of Turkey when he applied to reinstate his security clearance, after viewing two classified memos and Flynn"s disclosure form in a private briefing Tuesday morning.

"Personally I see no evidence or no data to support the notion that General Flynn complied with the law," Chaffetz told reporters following the briefing.

"He was supposed to get permission, he was supposed to report it, and he didn"t," Cummings said.

Chaffetz confirmed that Flynn had failed to reveal the more than $45,000 he was paid to speak at a 2015 gala for RT, the Kremlin-run TV network, as well as the money he was paid by an air freight company and a cybersecurity firm with direct connections to Russia. Chaffetz added that the White House had refused to provide his committee with information and documents related to Flynn"s security clearance and payments from organizations tied to the Russian and Turkish governments. The committee made six requests, and the White House cited reasons it could not comply with each of them, Cummings said.

One has to wonder about the Trump team"s vetting process and perhaps more notable is that now that Cheffetz is not running for re-election, he has nothing to fear from political fallout from the White House or GOP in general.

Who's Really Behind The Soft-Coup? Obama-Founded Activist Group Offers Anti-Trump Protest "Guide"

"The left is intentionally fighting to remain relevant," remarks Armstrong Economics" Martin Armstrong, adding that "the hatred spewing out of their mouths is really off the wall." Furthermore, Armstrong warns the Obama administration is behind the so-called "soft coup" under way and as The Post reports, an Obama-tied activist group training tens of thousands of agitators to protest Trump"s policies plans to hit Republican lawmakers even harder this week.

Organizing for Action, a group founded by Obama and featured prominently on his new post-presidency website, is distributing a training manual to anti-Trump activists that advises them to bully GOP lawmakers into backing off support for repealing ObamaCare, curbing immigration from high-risk Islamic nations, and building a border wall. As The NY Post details,

In a new Facebook post, OFA calls on activists to mobilize against Republicans from now until Feb. 26, when “representatives are going to be in their home districts.”

The protesters disrupted town halls earlier this month, including one held in Utah by House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz, who was confronted by hundreds of angry demonstrators claiming to be his constituents.

The manual, published with OFA partner “Indivisible,” advises protesters to go into halls quietly so as not to raise alarms, and “grab seats at the front of the room but do not all sit together.” Rather, spread out in pairs to make it seem like the whole room opposes the Republican host’s positions. “This will help reinforce the impression of broad consensus.” It also urges them to ask “hostile” questions — while keeping “a firm hold on the mic” — and loudly boo the the GOP politician if he isn’t “giving you real answers.”

“Express your concern [to the event’s hosts] they are giving a platform to pro-Trump authoritarianism, racism, and corruption,” it says.

The goal is to make Republicans, even from safe districts, second-guess their support for the Trump agenda, and to prime “the ground for the 2018 midterms when Democrats retake power.”

“Even the safest [Republican] will be deeply alarmed by signs of organized opposition,” the document states, “because these actions create the impression that they’re not connected to their district and not listening to their constituents.”

After the event, protesters are advised to feed video footage to local and national media.

“Unfavorable exchanges caught on video can be devastating” for Republican lawmakers, it says, when “shared through social media and picked up by local and national media.”

After protesters gave MSNBC, CNN and the networks footage of their dust-up with Chaffetz, for example, the outlets ran them continuously, forcing Chaffetz to issue statements defending himself.

The manual also advises protesters to flood “Trump-friendly” lawmakers’ Hill offices with angry phone calls and emails demanding the resignation of top White House adviser Steve Bannon.

A script advises callers to complain: “I’m honestly scared that a known racist and anti-Semite will be working just feet from the Oval Office … It is everyone’s business if a man who promoted white supremacy is serving as an adviser to the president.”

None other than Robert Reich is front and center in the "Townhall Disruption Guide"...

Additionally, as Axios notes, Progressive groups are circulating information about town hall meetings on a MoveOn.org-powered website, "Resistance Recess."

More than a dozen major groups in the institutional left are involved, with groups like Planned Parenthood and unions like SEIU organizing protests. The former Hillary Clinton super PAC Priorities USA is running localized digital ads — its first paid ads since the election — to spotlight Republican town halls. Democratic leaders like Bernie Sanders and Chuck Schumer will lead events.

What"s in store:

• "Resistance Events" will target everyone from Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton (Wednesday evening) to Indiana Rep. Jackie Walorski (Tuesday morning) to Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Saturday morning). Protesters can find them by locale or zip code on resistancerecess.com.


• Nobody is safe. Not even the members ducking town halls. Our Revolution, the group that spun off from Bernie Sanders" presidential campaign, will launch a map tomorrow showing every congressional district in the country that they intend to swarm next Saturday.


• Shannon Jackson, Our Revolution"s executive director, says they"ve already got close to 200 events planned around the country and will be rallying outside nearly every Republican congressional office.

Resisting the resistance: House Republicans have been intensely prepping for these confrontations. At least 175 members attended Obamacare "listening sessions" — which were really detailed policy briefing sessions — convened by House Majority Whip Steve Scalise.

Finally, Martin Armstrong concludes by remarking that the Obama administration intentionally set the stage knowing what they were doing was designed to undermine and cripple the Trump Administration. The sanctions on Putin were also intended to prevent Trump from reversing the tension created by Obama to create an international conflict. These leaks appear to be part of an intentional plot by Obama/Left to allow his supporters within the intelligence community to topple Trump if they can. Obama waited until he had just 17 days left in office to sign an executive order to expand the power of the National Security Agency (NSA) allowing it to share globally intercepted personal communications with the government’s 16 other intelligence agencies before any application of top secret or privacy protection would be attached. Obama never did this while he was in office. Whenever a politician does something like this, there is ALWAYS a hidden agenda. This Obama executive order changed everything with regard to national security that was put in place by an executive order dating back to Ronald Reagan. Obama opened the flood gates and this I personally believe was a treasonous act showing the Democrats adopted a strategy to under,mine Trump from the outset and to create massive civil unrest.

Trump must reinstate the national security procedures that have been in place since Ronald Reagan and fire everyone in intelligence appointed by Obama. Clean the swamp must start right there and NOW! Obama knew he would set up a shadow government and refuse to leave Washington. He seems to be working harder now while as President he may have played golf more than any other president.

Proof that Obama is behind the civil unrest is the fact he has taken to Twitter.

We asked. You answered. https://t.co/mAJvko6VqR

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 17, 2017

As he states boldly to believe in that the people can bring about change through their own action. He is implying to rise up and create civil unrest on a massive scale.

Obama has been behind this entire affair of creating civil unrest and I believe is deliberately undermining national security with his moles strategically placed within the intelligence community to undermine the government. That is unquestionable TREASON and the press will only attack Trump and never defend the country. When Obama won, you did not see the other 46% set fires and try to bring down the government. The left always demands it is their way or no way. This is why we will move into civil war in the years ahead. Independents just say live and let live – don’t bother me and I will not bother you. Leftists say you can live only as they command – they cannot sleep at night worrying what independents are doing. It’s like the Hunger Games – suppress all freedom is their agenda.

BLM Agent Daniel P. Love Named in Investigation

by Shari Dovale

REDOUBT NEWS

The truth is being revealed, as we all prayed that it would.

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Agent Daniel P. Love has been breaking the law for years. Using and abusing his authority to run his own personal fiefdom. Bullying citizens until they commit suicide. All while believing he was above the law. Or so a report released last month seems to indicate.

Yet, when the information was released, the report redacted his name and the public was left to guess at who it was referring to. There was enough information to conclude that the investigation likely focused on Love, but it was only this week that this was proved to be true.

On February 14^th, a letter from U.S. Reps. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, named Daniel P. Love and questions an investigation that points to the deletion of hundreds of documents the day before a congressional investigative committee issued a subpoena for these documents.

The letter asks the Office of the Inspector General to further investigate Love. It outlines witness tampering, destruction of documents, and obstruction of a congressional investigation. As felonies, someone should be heading for prison, if the allegations are proved to be true.

The Congressional letter indicates that several documents were destroyed in February 2016, so it would seem that Love’s behavior did not limit itself, but continues like a reign of terror.

Chaffetz is particularly interested in finding out who leaked the info of the subpoena, and specifically mentions that former BLM Director Neil Kornze was provided, as a courtesy, advance notice of the congressional document request, as the dates seem very coincidental.

Love was also the agent in charge of the Bunkerville fiasco which resulted in good patriot citizens being incarcerated unjustly for over a year. The first trial of six prisoners began this month in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Love is the prosecutions star witness and I, for one, am looking forward to the defense being able to cross examine this man.I would much prefer, however, for the government to release all of these political prisoners now.

(The three page letter follows. It may be slow to load.)

Protesters Around the US Have Started Speaking Out Against Local Representatives

(ANTIMEDIA)  —  On Friday morning, protesters blocked newly-confirmed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos from entering a school in Washington, D.C.

The day before that, Representative ’s words were drowned out by taunts from a raucous crowd in Utah.

On Tuesday, over 100 protesters showed up at the congressional office of Arizona Representative Martha McSally.

And last weekend, California Representative Tom McClintock’s town hall speech was met with such hostility that he had to be escorted from the premises by police.

There may have been others. There certainly will be more in the days to come. We know that for certain because last week the Washington Post told us so.

“What’s organizing people is that they’re fearing for the country they grew up in,” Neera Tanden, Hillary Clinton advisor and president of the Center for American Progress, told the Post. “People are definitely seeing the purpose of working through the political process to oppose him.”

The him, of course, is Donald Trump. There could be no other him in a Democrat’s mind. But the “process” being referred to by Tanden is, as we speak, going through a metamorphosis — one the Clinton aide seems not to notice.

The Post’s article on Sunday opened with the following:

“A super PAC formed to reelect Barack Obama in 2012 is driving activists to congressional town halls.”

It doesn’t seem like much. Innocuous, even. But upon reflection, it’s actually a game changer.

The Post, after noting that Neera Tanden’s Center for American Progress (CAP) was “founded by Clinton administration exiles,” went on to detail the trend that’s taking shape:

“CAP Action, the political arm of Tanden’s think tank, is one of several progressive and center-left groups urging activists to attend congressional town halls.”

How many of the protesters are showing up at Republican doorsteps at the behest of progressive super PACs, and how many are there of their own volition, is an unknown. But the effect has been the same — and immediate. From a February 7 report by Politico:

“House Republicans during a closed-door meeting Tuesday discussed how to protect themselves and their staffs from protesters storming town halls and offices in opposition to repealing Obamacare, sources in the room told Politico.”

Citing those sources, the news outlet continues:

“Among the suggestions: having a physical exit strategy at town halls, or a backdoor at congressional offices to slip out of, in case demonstrations turn violent; having local police monitor town halls; replacing any glass office-door entrances with heavy doors and deadbolts; and setting up intercoms to ensure those entering congressional offices are there for appoints, not to cause chaos.”

The effect has been so great, in fact, that some Republicans are now declining speaking engagements in fear of what Martha McSally — the Arizona representative who was confronted by over 100 protesters at her office last Tuesday — called a “political ambush.”

Stating that “the Democratic Party and progressive establishment have almost entirely adopted the demands of a restive, active and aggressive base,” the Washington Post, in last week’s article, said the Democrats are “hopeful that the new activism” embraces the idea of electoral politics — new activism that apparently condones super PACs spending funds on protests at enemy lines. And it’s a form of activism the Post just gave credibility to:

“Yet even now, at every level of national Democratic politics, the discussion of how the party can win back voters it lost is subsumed by the argument about how to oppose Trump,” wrote the newspaper. “The answer is always: as much as possible. And for the moment, that does seem to be engaging a broad, new population of activists.”

And it’s a form of “activism” the conservative super PACs are certain to make use of, now that the precedent has been set — and, again, sanctified by the Washington Post itself.

So it’ll be interesting, to say the least, to read the comments from Democrats when it’s their turn to worry about escape routes. And heavy doors. And deadbolts.

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GOP Chair Of House Oversight Committee Declines Calls To Investigate Flynn Situation

Earlier today, and to our complete surprise, no less, Nancy Pelosi joined in the chorus of angry liberals calling for further investigations into Trump"s ties to the Kremlin.  The House Minority Leader expressed her faux outrage via a statement posted to twitter calling for, among other things, "a bipartisan, independent, outside commission to fully investigate Russia"s influence on the Administration and the election."  Ironically, we "do not recall" Pelosi asking for an "independent commission" when actual, tangible evidence emerged proving that Hillary and her team intentionally ignored a Congressional subpoena calling for the preservation of email records...we assume she just forgot.

Despite the outrage, Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), Chair of the House Oversight Committee, confirmed earlier today that his panel won"t investigate the circumstances that led to Michael Flynn stepping down Monday as President Trump"s national security adviser.  Instead, Chaffetz deferred to the House Intelligence Committee, which is already investigating Russia"s attempt to influence the presidential elections, a scope that includes campaign communications with the Russian government.  Per The Hill:

"I think that situation has taken care of itself. I know that the Intel committee is looking into the hacking issue."

"I think he did the right thing stepping down."

"It really is the purview of the Intel Committee. They really are the only ones that can look at that type of information, particularly when you’re talking about interactions with a nation state like that. It’s not something the Oversight Committee can actually look at because sources and methods are the exclusive purview of the Intel Committee."

Of course the "Swarm Of Angry Protesters" that took over a Chaffetz town hall meeting last week in Utah, amid chants of "Do Your Job", will likely not be very happy with his decision.

Meanwhile, Chaffetz"s assertion that the "situation had taken care of itself" didn"t stop the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Elijah Cummings, from demanding a "full classified briefing" to determine "who else within the White House is a current and ongoing risk to our national secruity."

Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, called for a full classified briefing about the circumstances leading to Flynn"s departure from all the relevant agencies.

"Now, we in Congress need to know who authorized his actions, permitted them, and continued to let him have access to our most sensitive national security information despite knowing these risks. We need to know who else within the White House is a current and ongoing risk to our national security," Cummings said in a joint statement with Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

Of course, there"s only one logical conclusion to be drawn from all of this, namely that Jason Chaffetz is most likely a Russian spy and should be thoroughly investigated immediately...

Utah Congressman introduces bill to strip police powers from BLM, Forest Service

January 26, 2017

The undeniable perception was that Bureau of Land Management (BLM) agents using dogs, Tasers, armored vehicles, full body armor and automatic weapons to confront a rancher who was delinquent with his grazing fees, constituted a terrifying overreaction.

The office of Utah Congressman, Jason Chaffetz, issued a press release on January 24 announcing his introduction of legislation to restore equality in law-enforcement authority to Western states. The press release reads:

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) released the following statement after reintroducing two bills dealing with the 67 percent of the State of Utah that is under federal ownership.

“It’s time to get rid of the BLM and US Forest Service police. If there is a problem your local sheriff is the first and best line of defense. By restoring local control in law enforcement, we enable federal agencies and county sheriffs to each focus on their respective core missions.

“The long overdue disposal of excess federal lands will free up resources for the federal government while providing much-needed opportunities for economic development in struggling rural communities.”

Bill Details:

H.R. 622, Local Enforcement for Local Lands Act, first introduced last year, removes the law enforcement function from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service. Instead, the bill calls for deputizing local law enforcement, combined with block grant funding, to empower existing duly elected law enforcement offices to carry out these responsibilities. The bill, jointly sponsored by Utah’s Rep. Mia Love and Rep. Chris Stewart, also establishes a formula to reimburse local law enforcement based on the percentage of public land in each state. The resulting cost savings will reduce the BLM budget by five percent and the Forest Service by seven percent.

This measure is neither arbitrary nor sudden on the part of Congressman Chaffetz. Utah, and its neighbor to the west, Nevada, have been ground zero for conflicts between federal police forces, local sheriff’s departments, and citizens, some of them deadly. Taking a cue from sheriff’s organizations, ranchers, and others in rural parts of the West, Chaffetz first floated the idea last May. The Federalist Papers quoted Chaffetz:

Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz is sick and tired of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) agents and Forest Service armed to the teeth. It’s dangerous, unnecessary and sends the wrong message.

“These agents are more Rambo and less Andy Griffith than I would like,” he told the Deseret News Tuesday. So he wants to take away their guns and authority.

“Let’s not kid ourselves. The blood pressure is running high, especially in southern Utah, and I don’t want anyone to get killed,” Chaffetz said, adding his bill has the endorsement of his Utah colleagues in the House.

The Republican lawmaker said he also wants to issue subpoenas to the “out of control” federal agencies to find out why exactly they think they need submachine guns. He said he has asked them repeatedly with no satisfactory response.

“I want to know what kind of arsenal they have. I’m met with blank stares,” he said. “They’re wholly unresponsive. They don’t feel compelled to answer our letters.”

The federal government’s law-enforcement role in local disputes over resources and land has grown increasingly militant over the years. Images from the Bundy Ranch Standoff in Bunkerville, Nevada, in the spring of 2014, imprinted on the minds of millions exactly the ‘Rambo’ tactics Chaffetz referenced. The undeniable perception was that Bureau of Land Management (BLM) agents using dogs, Tasers, armored vehicles, full body armor and automatic weapons to confront a rancher who was delinquent with his grazing fees, constituted a terrifying overreaction.

In 2014, possibly in response to the Bundy Ranch Standoff, the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association drew up a resolution addressing many of the same concerns as the Chaffetz bill. Referring to the 10th Amendment which limits federal power over states and citizens, the resolution reads, in part:

Pursuant to the powers and duties bestowed upon us by our citizens, the undersigned do hereby resolve that any Federal officer, agent, or employee, regardless of supposed congressional authorization, is required to obey and observe limitations consisting of the enumerated powers as detailed within Article 1 Section 8 of the U S Constitution and the Bill Of Rights.

The people of these United States are, and have a right to be, free and independent, and these rights are derived from the “Laws of Nature and Nature’s God.” As such, they must be free from infringements on the right to keep and bear arms, unreasonable searches and seizures, capricious detainments and infringements on every other natural right whether enumerated or not. (9th amendment)

We further reaffirm that “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” (10th amendment)

Furthermore, we maintain that no agency established by the U S Congress can develop its own policies or regulations which supersede the Bill of Rights or the Constitution, nor does the executive branch have the power to make law, overturn law or set aside law.

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