The House Intelligence Committee was scheduled to meet last evening behind closed doors to approve Adam Schiff’s impeachment report, which will kick off another round of hearings starting today in the House Judiciary Committee. 

Meanwhile, liberal media outlets are reporting that Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz allegedly determined that the FBI was initially justified in spying on the Trump campaign and that Attorney General William Barr rejects that finding. The implication of these stories is that Horowitz has essentially cleared the FBI of wrongdoing.

We will find out for sure next week when the Horowitz report is released and when he testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Chairman Lindsey Graham is dismissing the media speculation as “spin” meant to “diminish” and “downplay” its effect.

But consider this: The FBI spying began with a warrant against Carter Page. Page was never charged with a crime. We know that numerous senior officials at the FBI and Justice Department have been fired or forced out. We also know that U.S. Attorney John Durham is now conducting a criminal investigation into the Deep State’s activities in 2016. 

In spite of the media’s spin, it’s clear that not everything was done by the book. I hope Mr. Durham can conclude his investigation sooner rather than later.

Not Again?!

Starbucks is facing controversy again after a police officer in Kiefer, Oklahoma, was given a cup with "PIG" printed on the label. 

Perhaps the barista who did this is a supporter of Colin Kaepernick. As you may recall, Kaepernick wore socks to football practice that portrayed cops as pigs. (By the way, check out how he celebrated Thanksgiving. And he wonders why no NFL teams are begging him to join them!)

To its credit, Starbucks profusely apologized for the Kiefer incident. In a statement, the company declared:

This is absolutely unacceptable, and we are deeply sorry to the law enforcement officer who experienced this. We have also apologized directly to him and connected with the Chief of the Kiefer Police Department as well to express our remorse.

The Starbucks partner who wrote this offensive word on a cup used poor judgement and is no longer a partner after this violation of company policy.  This language is offensive to all law enforcement and is not representative of the deep appreciation we have for police officers who work tirelessly to keep our communities safe.

It is sad and disturbing that such an apology was even necessary. Some may say that this it is just an isolated incident, but such disrespect seems to happen with some regularity at Starbucks stores.

No doubt you recall what happened last year after a Starbucks manager in Philadelphia called the police to remove two black men who were in the store but refused to buy anything and refused to leave. Starbucks shut down its entire network of 8,000 stores to provide sensitivity training on “implicit bias” to every employee. That is exactly what they should have done.

But the coffee chain obviously still has a problem with some employees who are bringing their bigotry against police officers into the workplace. Perhaps Starbucks needs to shut down all its stores again for additional training on proper respect for law enforcement. I’m not holding my breath.

2020 Update

California Sen. Kamala Harris dropped out of the 2020 Democrat presidential primary yesterday. Harris was widely seen as a serious contender when the race began due in part to her status as a minority woman, enabling her to claim the dual mantles of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. 

Harris enjoyed a brief surge in the polls after a strong performance in the first debate, when she forcefully confronted Joe Biden over his record on civil rights, including relationships with segregationists. 

But Harris was never able to fully capitalize on the moment. Her momentum faded after a bitter exchange with Tulsi Gabbard in the second debate. And while the "top-tier" Harris is now out of the race, Gabbard is still in. 

Perhaps the final “nail in the coffin” was the news that Harris was trailing former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who just got into the race.

The California senator wasn’t the only candidate to drop out this week. Former Congressman Joe Sestak and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock also abandoned their efforts.

Meanwhile, there is one Democrat candidate who appears supremely confident. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren declared Monday that she plans “to be the last American president to be elected by the Electoral College." 

I suppose Warren thinks she will win by such a landslide that progressives will dominate everything and either they or her left-wing judges will amend the Constitution to abolish the Electoral College. 

If that happens, you can say "goodbye” to a lot more than just the Electoral College. The First and Second Amendments will also effectively be gone, along with much of our free-market economy.