Here are my observations and opinions from my selected news of the day.

ROSENSTEIN STILL ACCOUNTABLE – On May 1, 2018, during a Law Day appearance, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein took what he thought was a softball question from a CNN reporter, Adam Mill* recalls in a piece he has written for American Greatness.

“Just like a search warrant,” Rosenstein told a CNN reporter, “in order to get a FISA search warrant you need an affidavit signed by a career federal law enforcement officer who swears (he raises his right hand for effect) that the information in the affidavit is true and correct to the best of your knowledge and belief.  And it’s wrong … that person is going to face consequences … you can face discipline or even prosecution.”

“So is Rod Rosenstein wiling to be held accountable for false statements made over his signature on a FISA warrant application?” Mill asks.  Rosenstein’s signature appears on the bottom of one of the FISA applications for Carter Page.

The Horowitz report listed a number of false statements in FISA warrants certified by Rosenstein.  He claimed he first learned of the DNC funding of the Steele dossier from news media accounts but, “did not recall whether he knew it at the time he approved the third renewal.”

Learning about things in the media was a convenient response by President Obama, who said he learned about Clinton’s e-mail address, “the same time that everybody else learned it, through news reports.”  He cited the same thing when asked about Fast and Furious, NSA spying on Angela Merkel, the IRS targeting of conservative groups, the Justice Department’s wiretapping of AP and Fox reporters, the VA “waiting list” scandal, and the Air Force One photo-op over the Statue of Liberty.

So, will Rosenstein be held accountable?  Horowitz can only point a finger, and he did so a number of times in his report.  You may recall that Hillary Clinton skated because they couldn’t pin her on “intent.”

I believe Rosenstein must be concerned about the “consequences” he referred to in that response he made to the reporter.  U.S. Attorney John Durham is still on the hunt, and can bring criminal charges.  Then there’s the overhanging threat of a lawsuit by Carter Page.

*Adam Mill is a pen name.

THE MC CAIN FUNNEL REVISITED – Regular readers may recall my report of how the late Sen. John McCain sent his aide, David J. Kramer (no relation) to the UK to secure a copy of the Steele dossier on Donald Trump, which he turned over to the FBI on December 9, 2016, only to be disappointed to learn that the agency already had a copy.

Now we learn that DOJ IG Michael Horowitz’s report refers to “a collection of 16 Steele election reports, five of which Steele had not given the FBI.  McCain had obtained these reports from a staff member (Kramer) at the McCain Institute (at Arizona State University). The McCain Institute staff member had met with Steele and later acquired the reports from (Glenn) Simpson (of Fusion GPS).”

It is believed that it was Kramer who provided the dossier to BuzzFeed, which published the full dossier on January 10, 2017.

Mc Cain admitted to providing a copy of the dossier to Comey, maintaining that he had “an obligation” to do so, even though Trump had already been elected.

I have always seen it as another opportunity for him to avenge Trump for insulting his POW experience.  McCain stuck another knife in with his “thumbs down” vote on the repeal of ObamaCare.

HOW WOULD MC CAIN VOTE ON IMPEACHMENT? – “His visceral hatred of Trump suggests that he would vote to convict, but his need to confound would point the other way.  Who knows?” wrote Mark Pollot, J.D., Constitutional Law & Civil Rights, University of San Diego School of Law.

 CORY BOOKER SHOWS SHALLOWNESS of liberal thinking when he says, “(abortion rights) should matter to men – to everyone – because women are people.”

Someone needs to remind him that millions of the babies killed in abortions would have been women.

FINALLY, two stories that further point to the demise of journalism as we once knew it.

Despite the fact that Phoenix has become the site of many major sports events over and above that of its hometown professional teams, including the Phoenix (Scottsdale) Open on the PGA circuit and bowl games, the city’s pathetic newspaper, the Arizona Republic, refuses to hold its presses to publish contest results its readers can review in the morning.  Such was the case with the report of Clemson’s win over Ohio State in the Play-Station Fiesta Bowl, a College Football Playoff semi-final game, Saturday night.

The morning headline read, “TENSE GAME,” with a sub-head of No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Clemson battle late in CFP semifinal.”

To add to the “rag” status of the paper, it published a story with a headline that could have been improved by a high school journalist – “Clemson, Ohio State fans cheer their teams.”  Duh!

Then there’s the announcement that the Newseum, a facility dedicated to exploring the world through the eyes of journalists in Washington DC, will close on December 31, 2019 after struggling financially for several years.  I have to believe that the low opinion the media in the “fake news era” figured into the decision to close the facility where adult tickets cost $25.

MY LAUGH-OF-THE-DAY – Apology Joe Biden has said, “we have a president who believes he is above the law.”  Then, two days ago, he said he “will not comply with a subpoena,” should he be asked to testify at the Senate impeachment trial.

May God continue to bless the United States of America.