U.S. Intelligence Agency News
The Daily Signal provides coverage of intelligence operations, surveillance controversies, and the role of U.S. agencies in national security and civil liberties.
-
opinion
Meet These 2 Trump Judicial Nominees Who Just Fielded Questions in the Senate
This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee considered two of President Donald Trump’s best nominations to date—Kyle Duncan for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and David Stras for the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, scheduled the hearing over the protest of Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., who refused to… -
opinion
The US-UK Alliance Is Special and Will Endure
In the past 48 hours, a political firestorm has developed across the Atlantic following President Donald Trump’s retweet of a series of video tweets from an obscure, extremist United Kingdom-based political group called Britain First. This series of retweets has led to widespread condemnation from British politicians on all sides of the political aisle. Britain… -
opinion
Podcast: The Move That Will Get Judicial Nominees Confirmed Faster
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, announced he won’t hold up two judicial nominees any more because of “blue slips.” We explain. Plus: drama at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Prince Harry’s engagement to American actress Meghan Markle. -
opinion
This Senator Is Putting an End to Democrat Stonewalling on Judicial Picks
Don’t say we didn’t warn you, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told Democrats at a rocky Senate Judiciary meeting last week. When Democrats blew up the 225-year-old judicial confirmation rules in 2013, Grassley said they’d regret it. Now, four years later, the left is finding out just how right he was. Sure, clearing the way for… -
opinion
Group That Rates Trump’s Judicial Nominees Has History of Liberal Advocacy
The consideration of federal judges with lifetime appointments is perhaps the most important and long-lasting work the Senate will do between now and the end of the year. Every senator, Republican and Democrat, took an oath to perform this duty. Nobody took an oath to outsource this duty to any outside organization. Unfortunately, some of… -
opinion
Democrats Berate Conservative Judicial Nominee for Politically Incorrect Tweets
This week, two nominees to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee, facing fierce opposition from Democrats. President Donald Trump nominated Don Willett and James Ho to seats on the federal appeals court based in Texas. Willett, currently a justice on the Texas Supreme Court, is known as the… -
news
Through God, This Mississippi Boys School Is Working to Heal the Racial Divide
GREENWOOD, Mississippi—Thomas McMillin Howard, known as “T. Mac,” describes Greenwood, Mississippi as a “backwards place.” And sadly, most people who’ve visited would agree. Separated by a bridge where the black population tends to live on one side, and the white population mostly lives on the other, Greenwood has struggled to reconnect with its racially segregated… -
opinion
Podcast: Half of Millennials Would Prefer to Live in Socialist or Communist Country
https://soundcloud.com/dailysignal/the-daily-signal-podcast-master-mixdown On today’s podcast we discussed how the emerging facts about Devin Kelley, the shooter at the Texas church, make it clear he never should have been able, under current law, to obtain a gun in the first place. We also looked at a new survey that shows half of millennials prefer socialism or communism… -
opinion
Senate Confirms 5 Trump Judicial Nominees in Strong Week for Rule of Law
The Senate confirmed five new federal judges this week, bringing President Donald Trump’s total to date to 13 jurists. The Senate voted to confirm Amy Barrett from Indiana to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Joan Larsen of Michigan to the 6th Circuit, Allison Eid of Colorado to the 10th Circuit, Stephanos Bibas of… -
opinion
Scathing Report Reveals ICE Directive Encouraging Agents to Seize Property for Financial Gain
In a shocking report last week, The Intercept—an investigative reporting outlet—released portions of an internal government manual detailing how and why federal agents should seize cash and property using powerful asset forfeiture laws. From what we’ve seen of the manual, called the “Asset Forfeiture Handbook” and used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations arm, the… -
opinion
The Special Ops Mission in Niger Was Routine and Common. Stop Politicizing It.
The loss of four special operations soldiers in Niger is a tragedy. We grieve as a nation, rightly, whenever we lose any of the brave young men and women who serve in uniform. That said, politicians and news media are turning the event into a farce. Having served as an Army Green Beret for 28 years,… -
news
Trump Says Congresswoman ‘Fabricated’ Story About His Call With Special Forces Widow
President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused a Florida congresswoman of misrepresenting the nature of his phone call to the widow of a special forces soldier who was killed in Niger last week. Trump claimed Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., who was with the wife of deceased Army Sgt. La David Johnson at the time of the… -
opinion
McConnell Wants to Ditch the Blue Slip for Judicial Nominees, and He’s Right
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., supports an important step toward fixing the backlog of judicial nominations that are piling up in the Senate. McConnell told The Weekly Standard that blue slips—the practice of asking senators from a nominee’s home state for their opinion before the Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing—should no longer be… -
opinion
There Should Be No Religious Tests for Judicial Nominees
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke Monday on the Senate floor about the case of Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In a hearing, Democrat Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Dick Durbin of Illinois, brought up the religious beliefs… -
opinion
Trump’s Decision to Ban Venezuelan Government Officials Was Long Overdue
The president took long-needed action on Sunday when he put in place travel restrictions on a number of high-profile Venezuelan officials. As part of ban, which targets eight countries, these representatives and their relatives will no longer be allowed to obtain U.S. tourism or business visas. This move should not be interpreted as a ban… -
news
Sen. Dianne Feinstein Defends Comments on Judicial Nominee’s Faith
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., on Sunday defended her controversial statements about one of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees. Amy Barrett, Trump’s nominee for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, was questioned about her Catholic faith by Feinstein at a confirmation hearing Sept. 6. “The dogma lives loudly within you, and that’s a concern,” Feinstein… -
news
University Presidents Defend Trump Judicial Nominee Questioned About ‘Dogma’
Two presidents of prestigious educational institutions have come to the defense of a Catholic nominee for an appeals court after she was questioned by a United States senator about her faith during a Senate confirmation hearing. In two separate letters, the Rev. John I. Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, and Christopher L…. -
opinion
How to Stop Democrats From Stonewalling Judicial Nominees
Oregon’s two Democratic senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, have announced they will seek to block the confirmation of 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Ryan Bounds. Last week, the senators announced they will not return blue slips to Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, for Bounds, whom President Donald Trump nominated to a… -
news
Trump Continues to Remake the Federal Judiciary
President Donald Trump submitted another slate of judicial nominees to the Senate Thursday, naming candidates to the powerful federal appeals courts based in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, California. The White House announced that Trump has named Gregory Katsas to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the nation’s second most powerful judicial… -
opinion
Al Franken Obstructs Judicial Nominee Because He’s ‘in the Mold’ of Thomas and Scalia
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., seems determined to block a judicial nominee from his home state. On Tuesday, Franken announced his intent to obstruct Minnesota Supreme Court Justice David Stras, the president’s nominee to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, by refusing to return Stras’ blue slip. Why jam up the confirmation of a well-respected state…