Red Bluff Daily News

June 01, 2016

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ByDebRiechmann The Associated Press WASHINGTON After the political convention con- fetti is swept away, a more sobering tradition of the presidential election be- gins: The regular, top-se- cret intelligence briefings for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee. Started by President Harry S. Truman, the briefings are designed to get the candidates, before they walk into the Oval Of- fice, up to speed on prob- lems around the globe. Truman, who was Frank- lin D. Roosevelt's vice president for almost three months before Roosevelt died, first learned about the Manhattan Project to develop an atomic bomb only 12 days into his presi- dency, and he pledged not to leave any future com- mander in chief behind the ball. There's an old politi- cal saw about how a White House candidate believes firmly in his or her for- eign policy views — until that first top-secret brief- ing. In his recent book, for- mer CIA Director Michael Hayden says these reve- lations are known as "aw s—-" moments — as in, "Aw s—-, wish we hadn't said that during that cam- paign stop in Buffalo." If Clinton is the Dem- ocratic nominee, much of the intelligence informa- tion she receives probably will sound familiar. As sec- retary of state until 2013, Clinton was one of Presi- dent Barack Obama's se- nior advisers who were privy to the President's Daily Brief — the high- est level intelligence doc- ument prepared in the United States. The intelligence brief- ings could be eye-opening for New York business- man Donald Trump. The Republican's loose-lipped campaign remarks have left some intelligence and foreign policy officials wor- ried about whether he can keep the nation's secrets. Trump has said in inter- views that he's looking for- ward to the briefings. Director of National Intelligence James Clap- per, whose office arranges the briefings, was asked recently what he would want to say to Trump to help educate the political newcomer about foreign policy and perhaps even counter some of his ideas, such as temporarily ban- ning Muslims from enter- ing the United States. Clapper bristled and said the question falsely implied that the U.S. in- telligence agencies would have a separate message for each candidate. "There's a long-stand- ing practice of briefing each of the candidates once they are officially des- ignated. And that sort of shifts into higher gear, in terms of detail, after the president-elect is known," Clapper said. "It's not de- signed to shape anybody's world view. We just brief as we normally would — each of them — and they (the briefings) have to be exactly the same." But Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Dem- ocrat on the House Intel- ligence Committee, said he believes many people share his deep concern about Trump's inexperi- ence with handling classi- fied information. ELECTION 2016 Intelligence briefings come with presidential nomination By Jonathan Lemire and Jill Colvin The Associated Press NEW YORK Under pres- sure to account for money he claimed to raise for vet- erans, an irritated Donald Trump lambasted the news media Tuesday for pressing the issue and listed chari- ties he said have now re- ceived millions of dollars from a fundraiser he held in January. Phone calls to all 41 of the groups by The Associ- ated Press brought more than two-dozen responses Tuesday. About half re- ported checks from Trump within the past week, typi- cally dated May 24, the day The Washington Post pub- lished a story questioning whether he had distributed all of the money. Trump, the presump- tive Republican presiden- tial nominee, told report- ers at a testy news confer- ence in New York that the fundraiser, held at the same time as a Fox News GOP debate he was boycotting, raised $5.6 million. He pre- viously had declined to dis- close which charities had received the funds, and his campaign has gone back and forth about how much was raised. "The money's all been sent," Trump said at the news conference at Trump Tower on Tuesday. He repeatedly criticized the press for making the money an issue, saying re- porters "should be ashamed of themselves" for asking where the money had gone. Throughout the event, Trump slammed the me- dia as "unbelievably dis- honest" for its treatment of the issue and dismissed an ABC reporter as "a sleaze." He said many times that he didn't want credit for the fundraising but seemed peeved that he wasn't thanked for it. "Instead of being like, 'Thank you very much, Mr. Trump,' or 'Trump did a good job,' everyone's say- ing, 'Who got it? Who got it? Who got it?' And you make me look very bad," Trump complained, taking on reporters in the room. "I have never received such bad publicity for doing such a good job. The Trump campaign listed donations to 41 vet- erans groups, including one not yet been sent money due to a vetting issue. The Associated Press spoke or left messages Tuesday with each of the organizations. Among the checks sent out on May 24 was $1 mil- lion from Trump himself, sent to the Marine Corps- Law Enforcement Founda- tion, a group that provides scholarships to the chil- dren of Marines and fed- eral agents killed in the line of duty. Trump's campaign had previously told the newspaper that Trump's promised $1 million dona- tion had already been dis- tributed. Trump's campaign man- ager Corey Lewandowski had originally told the Post that the event had raised about $4.5 million — less than the $6 million origi- nally announced by Trump — because some who'd pledged contributions had backed out. Lewandowski also said all the money had been given out. Trump had claimed dur- ing the fundraiser that he'd raised $6 million through a combination of pledges from wealthy friends, the public and $1 million from himself after the splashy telethon-style fundraiser he held in Iowa in January in place of the Fox debate. But his campaign re- fused for months to dis- close which charities had received the money, lead- ing some news organiza- tions and critics to question whether the money raised was less than he had said. "It was very unfair that the press treated us so badly," Trump complained. Trump hadn't appeared to want to keep the dona- tions private when he pre- sented a series of checks to veterans groups at cam- paign events in the weeks after the fundraiser. On Jan. 30, just before the Iowa caucuses, he gave a $100,000 check to the Puppy Jake Foundation, which provides service dogs to wounded veterans. Rep- resentatives from the foun- dation, accompanies by sev- eral service dogs, accepted the check at the Adler The- ater in Davenport, Iowa, where Trump was being in- terviewed on stage by Jerry Falwell Jr. The next day, in Council Bluffs, Trump presented another check, also for $100,000, to Partners for Patriots, which also pro- vides service dogs to dis- abled veterans. The check presentations trickled off after several days. On Tuesday, about a dozen local New York veterans protested out- side Trump Tower, hold- ing signs such as "Vets vs. Hate." "Veterans are a very di- verse group of people. How dare he suggest we endorse his hateful rhetoric?" said Claude Copeland, 34, who said he had served in Iraq for the Army in 2003. Said Perry O'Brien, also 34, who served in Afghan- istan as a specialist in the Army: "Vets are not for sale. He is demeaning to POWs, Muslims, Mexicans and women who, unlike, Trump, actually sacrificed for their country." But one of the veterans who joined Trump for his news conference, Al Bal- dasaro, a New Hampshire state representative, came outside to heckle the anti- Trump vets, calling them "political pawns." POLITICS Trump details fundraising for vets RICHARDDREW—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Donald Trump reads from a list of donations to veteran's groups, during a news conference in New York, on Tuesday. By Catherine Lucey and Emily Swanson The Associated Press DES MOINES, IOWA Super- delegates. Closed-off prima- ries. Complicated caucuses. Many Americans are not happy with the way presi- dential candidates are cho- sen and have little faith in the fairness of either the Democratic or Republi- can system, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Pub- lic Affairs Research. According to the survey, the public prefers open pri- maries to those that are closed to all but party mem- bers. They like primaries in- stead of caucuses, and they oppose the party insiders known as superdelegates, who have a substantial say in the Democratic race. "It's kind of like a rigged election," said Nayef Jaber, a 66-year-old Sanders sup- porter from San Rafael, Cal- ifornia. "It's supposed to be one man, one vote." Changing the primary process has become a rally- ing cry for Democrat Bernie Sanders. Presumptive Re- publican nominee Donald Trump has also criticized the system. According to the poll, 38 percent of Americans say they have hardly any confi- dence that the Democratic Party's process for select- ing a presidential nominee is fair; 44 percent say the same of the Republican Par- ty's process. Just 17 percent of Republi- cans and 31 percent of Dem- ocrats have a great deal of confidence in their own par- ty's system being fair. "The common man needs to be included more," said Gwendolyn Posey, 44, a reg- istered independent from Sparks, Oklahoma, who said she could not cast a ballot for Texas Republican Ted Cruz because she had not changed her registration to Republican in time. Sanders has little if any chance of catching up to ri- val Hillary Clinton in votes or delegates, but still hopes to influence the party plat- form, as well as spark debate about the rules. Trump has also called the Republican process "rigged." Both parties have com- plex mechanisms for choos- ing presidential nominees, with each state holding caucuses or primaries un- der different rules. Candi- dates earn delegates to back them at the summer nomi- nating conventions, with a certain number required to clinch the nomination. Democrats embraced su- perdelegatesin1982tomake sure party leaders have a say in who is nominated. By giv- ing key insiders more voice, leaders hoped to avoid what some saw as a mistake in 1972, when George McGov- ern won the nomination but was a weak general election candidate. About 15 percent of the total delegates this year are superdelegates, and critics say this group has given Clinton an advan- tage. She holds a command- ing lead over Sanders, how- ever, even without counting the superdelegates. Supporters of Sanders are especially incensed about the use of superdelegates, who can back any candidate at the convention regardless of how people voted in pri- maries and caucuses. Re- publicans have no equiva- lent to superdelegates. Fifty-three percent of Americans say the Demo- crats' use of superdelegates is a bad idea, according to the polls, while just 17 per- cent say it's a good idea. Among Democrats, 46 per- cent say it's a bad idea and only 25 percent say it's a good idea. Sanders has also called for more open primaries, slamming states that won't allow independent voters to participate, as well as ones where people must regis- ter with a party in advance. Americans generally also say that open primaries are more fairthan closed prima- ries, 69 percent to 29 per- cent. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say open primaries are the most fair, 73 percent to 62 percent. The defense of closed primaries is that these are party events, designed for party members to pick their candidate for the general election. Just how difficult it is to register with a party for voting varies by state, with some allowing same day registration and others requiring registration weeks or months in advance. PRIMARY PROCESS Po ll : Am er ic an s wa nt nomination system changed | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016 6 B

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