Every day, the twists and turns of the Trump/Russia/FBI investigation make us feel like we are in the middle of a blockbuster mystery movie. New clues pop up, and locked doors suddenly open leading down unknown paths. 

First it was foreign spies, collusion and intrigue at the highest levels. Next it was the “insurance policy” to get rid of Trump. Then it was a “secret society” and the caper of missing text messages, which the best intelligence agency in the world apparently can’t recover because of a “glitch” on Samsung phones. 

On Fox News, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said an “informant” at the FBI has told the committee that this “secret society” held its meetings “off-site,” away from the Justice Department. 

Not surprisingly, 58% of voters believe the FBI is hiding something and, by an 18-point margin, they support the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the Deep State. Unfortunately, the mainstream media still refuses to cover this scandal.

Just imagine for a second that Barack Obama has come into office and it is discovered that a cadre of Bush/McCain-supporting, Rush Limbaugh-loving agents at the FBI were plotting to take him down. Does anyone really think that the major networks would not be all over that story?

How Far Did It Go?

We know that the fix was in on the FBI’s investigation of Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified information. Former FBI Director James Comey drafted his exoneration memo before Clinton was interviewed, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch apparently knew in advance that Clinton would not be charged. 

But how far up the chain of command did it really go? That’s the question posed by former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy, who makes a compelling case that the conspiracy to clear Clinton went all the way to the top. 

Barack Obama clearly wanted Hillary to win the election in order to protect his legacy. But first she had to be cleared by James Comey. Don’t forget that Obama publicly declared Clinton’s innocence on more than one occasion. Those statements effectively gave Comey his marching orders. 

And as McCarthy notes, Obama didn’t want to get implicated in the mishandling of classified intelligence either.

NFL Disses Vets

The NFL is in the middle of a raging controversy and suffering from sagging ratings because many Americans perceive the league as hostile to patriotism and too politically correct. Along comes a perfect opportunity for some positive press, and, once again, NFL executives blew it.

AMVETS attempted to purchase a $30,000 print ad for the upcoming Super Bowl program. The ad featured a color guard presenting the American flag with the hashtag, “#PleaseStand.” Incredibly, the NFL rejected the ad as “political.”

So let’s get this straight. The same NFL leadership that in the name of free speech defends the rights of its players to get political on the sidelines is denying free speech to a group of veterans (even though they were willing to pay $30,000 for that speech).

AMVETS National Commander Marion Polk blasted the NFL’s disrespectful attitude as “reprehensible and totally beyond the pale.” He is absolutely right.

Good News

Disney, JP Morgan and Starbucks have joined the growing list of businesses offering bonuses and higher wages to workers as a result of President Trump’s historic tax reform plan. 

I expect even more good news in the days ahead as more and more leading CEOs (including Clinton supporters) acknowledge that they “really like” Trump’s leadership on the economy and that the “positive impacts” of his tax reform plan are being “underestimated.”

Remember in November that every Democrat in Congress voted against the Trump tax cuts.

Gratitude to God

Vice President Mike Pence’s historic address to the Knesset continues to earn incredible accolades. During his remarks, as he was describing Israel’s history from the Holy Land to the Holocaust, he spoke a phrase in Hebrew: “Shehecheyanu, v'kiyimanu, v'higiyanu la'z'man ha'zeh.”

Most American reporters probably didn’t know its meaning, but the members of the Knesset, Israelis watching in their country and Jews around the world heard it loud and clear. As Rabbi Meir Soloveichik explains, the phrase is “an expression of gratitude to God, ‘who has kept us alive, and sustained us, and allowed us to reach this day.’”

I have worried that the damage done to the U.S.-Israel alliance during the Obama years might be irreparable. But I now believe that the bond that has been developed over the past year, under the leadership of President Trump and Vice President Pence, has made our alliance stronger than ever!

In a column in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, Rabbi Soloveichik points to something else. He writes that Pence’s speech “was a milestone in American-Israeli relations, and a window into the heart of many American Christians who, like Mr. Pence, observe Israel’s emergence with wonder and reverence." 

Rabbi Soloveichik observes:

"For many centuries the Jewish people received little love and much hate from the nations of the world. Today tens of millions of non-Jewish Americans share Mr. Pence’s sincere affection for Israel.

"As the vice president noted, certain predictions in Hebrew scripture about the Holy Land have actually come true in the past 70 years: The Jews have returned, their state has been re-formed, and the desert is blooming.

"Yet Isaiah also predicts that one day multitudes of non-Jews will be moved by devotion to the God who dwells in Jerusalem to shower love upon the people whose capital it has always been. Anti-Semitism is still rampant, of course, and Israel remains surrounded by states seeking its destruction.  But the existence of multitudes of gentiles who are also Zionists has no precedent in the Jews’ millennia-long history.”

I recently had the privilege of speaking on a panel with Rabbi Soloveichik at the Jewish Leadership Conference. You can watch it here. 

I couldn’t agree more with his point that the alliance of Christians and Jews is essential to maintaining the alliance between Israel and America, the twin pillars of Judeo-Christian civilization. 

That is why I am so proud to be part of the tremendous work of Christians United For Israel and to serve as the director of its Washington office, Christians United For Israel Action Fund.

Working together, the United States and Israel are the most powerful forces for good in this world. We share common values and we share common enemies. So with gratitude to God, and as long as He grants me breath, I will defend this great country and I will stand with Israel!