When Barack Obama said he wanted to reward Iran for signing a nuclear deal by lifting sanctions, we warned that doing so would lead to Iran spending more money on terrorism. It wasn’t hard to figure out what the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism would do if it suddenly got a large windfall. After all, money is fungible. 

Unfortunately, Obama ignored the critics. He got his nuclear deal, and the mullahs got billions of dollars. In addition to lifting sanctions, the Obama administration sent $1.7 billion in cash, stacked on wooden pallets, to Tehran via secret Swiss flights. 

Obama hoped that this deal would “strengthen the hand of moderates” in Iran. But, as it turns out, it did nothing to cause the ayatollah’s regime to reconsider its murderous ways. 

According to a report this week by The Washington Times, the U.S. government has, as many feared, traced some of this cash directly to Iran’s main terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force and to Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Thankfully, the Trump administration has slammed the brakes on Obama’s naïve policies. The president announced in January that his administration has “sanctioned nearly 100 individuals and entities involved with the Iranian regime’s ballistic missile program and its other illicit activities.”

President Trump is also demanding that Congress and our European allies address serious flaws in the 2015 nuclear deal or he will cancel it.

By the way, Iran is not interested in negotiating with the United States. The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. officials have tried four times to discuss the status of American hostages being held by the Islamic Republic. According to the Journal, “Iran didn’t respond and … so far has refused to engage with U.S. officials.”

More Departures

In a recent report, we noted that several top FBI and Justice Department officials have left their respective agencies as the Russia collusion/Steele dossier scandal has unraveled. And, indeed, the exodus is continuing. 

Amid screaming headlines of shutdowns and budget deals, Politico quietly reported this news Thursday: “Two More Officials Cited In FBI Texts Step Down.”

The federal bureaucracy is huge and people come and go all the time. The timing of their resignations could be coincidental or there could be more going on behind the scenes, as this American Thinker article suggests.

Speaking of coincidences, check out this Daily Caller column. I am not one for conspiracy theories, but the connections between Fusion GPS, Christopher Steele, the Trump Tower meeting and a top Justice Department official are almost too remarkable to believe.

In spite of the media’s best efforts, the Left is beginning to lose control of the Trump/Russia narrative. 

Polling finds that a 55% of Americans, including 31% of Democrats, believe that the Obama administration illegally spied on the Trump campaign. In addition, 54% of Americans, including 44% of Democrats, support the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate the FBI and the Justice Department.

Meanwhile, anyone looking for real evidence of Russian collusion and meddling should take a close look at the Uranium One scandal. 

Bonnie and Clyde Strike Again

We’re learning more about just how much Lisa Page and Peter Strzok really despised the values of heartland America and why they were so motivated to help Hillary Clinton.

In newly released text messages, Strzok and Page unload on pro-life Americans attending the annual March for Life in Washington, DC. Complaining about being stuck in traffic, Strzok writes: “F—ing marchers making traffic problems.”

As bad as that was, Page replies: “I truly hate these people. No support for the woman who actually has to spend the rest of her life rearing this child, but we care about ‘life.’ A—holes.”

Of course, Washington, DC, is a liberal town. Everyone here has opinions. You can be in the FBI and be pro-abortion. 

But I don’t think it is too much to expect that our public servants be at least somewhat respectful of the hardworking men and women who pay their salaries. This kind of bigoted elitism directed at fellow Americans should not be tolerated.

We know they also hated “hillbillies” and could “smell” conservatives at Walmart. Clearly, these two are a class act, who embody all the grace and tolerance of the progressive crowd.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see them on the cover of Time‘s Valentine’s Day edition as “Couple of the Year.”

A Strange Strategy

CNN ran a story this week that struck me as really odd. Evidently, a group of so-called “Dreamers” warned that if Congress doesn’t pass a massive amnesty soon, they will leave the country. 

I can hear my father, Spike Bauer, saying, “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!”

I don’t know who came up with this idea, but if you’re trying to convince someone not to throw you out of the country, threatening to leave seems like a strange strategy to me. 

Meanwhile, we got a reminder recently of why it is so important to secure the border. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen said last week, “We have about 70 terrorists a day that we see trying to get here through some method of transportation.”

Do the math — 70 x 7 is 490 attempts each week by terrorists to enter the country. 490 x 52 weeks is more than 25,000 attempts a year.

Border security is national security. President Trump and congressional Republicans must continue to hammer that theme every single day until the wall is built.