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Josh Marshall
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MUST-READ: The DOJ has a shocking new report showing how many terrorists are immigrants. They get this number by classifying people extradited to the US to stand trial on terrorism charges as 'immigrants'.

254 were not U.S. citizens;
148 were foreign-born, naturalized and received U.S. citizenship; and,
147 were U.S. citizens by birth.

Steve Bannon, former chief strategist to US President Donald Trump, has been summoned to testify before a grand jury, US media report.

He was reportedly subpoenaed by former FBI director Robert Mueller, who is leading an inquiry into alleged collusion with Russia during the 2016 election campaign.

Mr Bannon appeared separately on Tuesday before a Congressional panel.

Congress is holding its own inquiry into the allegations.

Mr Bannon was subpoenaed last week, the New York Times reports, quoting an unnamed person with direct knowledge of the matter.

However the summons could be a negotiating tactic by Mr Mueller to persuade Mr Bannon to agree to be questioned by investigators in the less formal setting of the special counsel's offices in Washington, the paper's source added.

'To Trump's dismay, a sign inquiry not winding down'
By Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington

As prosecutors hunt for criminal misdeeds, they have a number of arrows in their quiver. One of the more powerful is the grand jury subpoena.

Putting witnesses in the glare of the courtroom spotlight, in front of a panel of jurors, with every word noted and every answer compelled, can be quite revelatory.

Steve Bannon could become the first member of the Trump inner circle to get this treatment.

That he received his court summons just days after news broke that the former Trump campaign head told author Michael Wolff he thought the presidential family could be implicated in money-laundering and treasonous actions may cause some sleepless nights in the White House.

Other top Trump staffers - including former chief-of-staff Reince Priebus, press secretary Sean Spicer and White House counsel Don McGrath - have had informal interviews with the special counsel team. Bannon's subpoena may just be a means of encouraging him to be more co-operative - or a sign that Mr Mueller's investigation has a particular interest in what he has to say.

At the very least, this latest bit of news is a sign that, surely to the dismay of the president, the Russia investigation is far from winding down.

What is Mr Mueller investigating?

He was appointed by the US justice department in May of last year to oversee an investigation into possible Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Mr Trump's campaign and transition teams have been accused of colluding with Russian agents to influence the US election in the Republican candidate's favour.

US intelligence agencies, including the CIA and NSA, concluded with "high confidence" in 2016 that Russia was behind an effort to thumb the scale of the US election for Mr Trump.

Both the Russian and US presidents have poured scorn on suggestions of collusion, with Mr Trump calling it "the greatest political witch hunt in history".

Why is Steve Bannon of such interest?

He helped shape Mr Trump's "America First" election campaign message and served as one of his closest aides before being sacked in August.

But he recently fell out with Mr Trump publicly after reportedly making comments about the president and his family in a newly-published book, Fire and Fury, by Michael Wolff.

He was quoted as calling a meeting in June 2016 between Mr Trump's son Donald Jr and a group of Russians "treasonous".

What do we know about that meeting?
It took place at Trump Tower in New York and also involved Mr Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, his then-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and an influential Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya.

A Russian intermediary had contacted Mr Trump Jr with a promise to provide material that would "incriminate" Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Mr Trump Jr later defended the meeting, saying Ms Veselnitskaya had offered only "inane nonsense" but he also said he "probably would have done things a little differently" in retrospect.

How far has the Mueller inquiry progressed?

Four people have been charged:

Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, his former business associate, pleaded not guilty to charges of money laundering unrelated to the 2016 election

George Papadopoulos, a former Trump campaign adviser, admitted lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russians

Michael Flynn, a former national security adviser to the Trump administration, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI over meetings he had with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak

Why was Mr Bannon in Congress?

The House Intelligence Committee is also investigating the allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Its proceedings on Tuesday were not open to the public.

This is one of four investigations being conducted by Congress into the alleged collusion, with others launched by the Senate Intelligence Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Oversight Committee.

A former CIA officer has been arrested in the US on charges of unlawful retention of classified information.

Jerry Chun Shing Lee, a naturalised US citizen, was held at New York's JFK airport on Monday, the US justice department said.

He worked for the CIA between 1994 and 2007, when he left for Hong Kong.

The case is thought to be linked to an FBI investigation. which began in 2012, into the crippling of the CIA's spy operation in China.

In the two years prior, some 20 informants had been killed or jailed - one of the most disastrous failures of US intelligence in recent years.

But officials did not know whether to blame a mole or data hack.

When Mr Lee left the CIA in 2007, "those who knew him said he left the agency disgruntled after his career plateaued", reported the New York Times.

Mr Lee remained in Hong Kong and only returned to America in 2012 - according to one report, lured by a fake job offer.

At that time, the US justice department said in a statement, FBI agents searched his hotel rooms in Hawaii and Virginia and found two small books with secret records.

They contained handwritten notes on details such as "true names and phone numbers of assets and covert CIA employees".

Mr Lee left the US in 2013, however, and has only now been detained while on another visit.

The statement says that Mr Lee, 53, has been charged "with unlawful retention of national defence information and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, if convicted".

Mr Lee, also known as Zhen Cheng Li, began his CIA career as a case officer, maintained a top secret clearance and signed non-disclosure agreements.

He has made no public comments on the issue.

OUT!’ Trump orders CNN star Jim Acosta to leave Oval Office



President Trump kicked CNN star Jim Acosta out of the Oval Office Tuesday after the network’s senior White House correspondent badgered him with racially charged questions.

Acosta has made a habit of grandstanding and interrupting when Trump and his surrogates are available to the media. Tuesday was no exception, as Acosta yelled, “Mr. President,” three times before finally getting Trump’s attention.

“Did you say that you want more people to come in from Norway? Did you say that you wanted more people from Norway? Is that true Mr. President?” Acosta frantically shouted.

“I want them to come in from everywhere… everywhere. Thank you very much everybody,” Trump responded as Acosta continued to bark questions.

“Just Caucasian or white countries, sir? Or do you want people to come in from other parts of the world… people of color,” Acosta shouted.

Trump then pointed directly at Acosta and simply said, “Out!”

Acosta then took to Twitter, accusing White House aides of obstructing him from asking questions.

ICE plans major sweep in San Francisco area

Federal officials are planning a major sweep of the Bay Area and other Northern California areas in the coming weeks as part of an operation to target more than 1,500 undocumented immigrants in the area, The San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.

In October, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB54 into law, which effectively limits local police from cooperating with federal authorities. Thomas Homan, the acting ICE director, maintained that SB54 “threatened public safety,” and that under such circumstances, the federal government would be forced to conduct massive arrests in the communities that hold such policies.

The test is described as a “rapid-screening instrument for mild cognitive dysfunction” that focuses on “attention and concentration, executive functions, memory, language” and other mental skills. It asks patients to repeat a list of spoken words, identify pictures of animals like a lion or a camel, draw a cube or draw a clock face set to a particular time.

better yet if we removed all the liberals down to Guantanamo.

Liberal media embarrass themselves over Trump's clean bill of health