House Judiciary Committee Vows to Hold AG William Barr in Contempt if He Does Not Testify at Mueller Hearings
Attorney General William Barr will not testify at a hearing next week, according to Fox News.
The House Judiciary Committee is vowing a contempt citation against Barr if he does not testify.
“He can run, but he can’t hide,” said Democratic Caucus chairman Hakeem Jeffries.
Barr is facing criticism after he released a redacted copy of the Robert Mueller report on the investigation of a President Donald Trump and Russian conspiracy. Barr received the report on March 22, but didn’t release the entire report until April 18.
U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, wants committee members to question Barr’s handling of the report. The Department of Justice, however, has said Congress will handle questioning.
The Department of Justice also denied the House Democrats’ request for the unredacted copy of the Mueller report.
“(Barr) is trying to blackmail the committee into not following the most effective means of eliciting the information we need,” Nadler said. “He is terrified of having to face a skilled attorney.”
DOJ spokesperson Kerri Kupec called Nadler’s demands for questioning Barr “inappropriate.” She said Barr released a report with “minimal redactions” and initially had “volunteered” to testify before Nadler insisted that staff question him.
Gavin Williamson has sworn “on his children’s lives” it wasn’t him but Theresa May has said there’s “compelling evidence” suggesting he disclosed plans to allow Chinese telecoms giant Huawei to help build the UK’s 5G network.
Mr Swayne (pictured below) told Premier that Mrs May should present the evidence to police.
“It is entirely a matter for the police as to whether a prosecution take place,” he said.
“But that’s their decision. And they would only make that decision if the evidence is presented to them.
“The Cabinet Office has said that the matter’s closed, so the police aren’t going to even consider it, because they haven’t been given the evidence.
“My view is that, at least in some forum, natural justice demands that, that evidence be produced, so that Gavin has at least the opportunity to clear his name because at the moment his reputation is completely skushed.”
Meanwhile, Britain’s most senior police officer has said police are unlikely to open a criminal investigation into the leak of secret information from the National Security Council (NSC) unless the case is referred to them by the Government.
Mr Williamson himself has said he would welcome a police probe, which he believes would “absolutely exonerate” him of leaking details of the NSC discussion.
Mr Swayne said he disagreed with Mrs May considering the matter closed.
Acquittals Upheld for Christian Converts in Algeria Who Lost Their Wives
TIZI-OUZOU, Algeria, May 2, 2019 (Morning Star News) – A convert from Islam in Algeria whose Muslim wife charged him with inciting her to change her religion won a final court battle in April – after losing her to divorce in March.
A court on April 17 upheld Rachid Ouali’s acquittal following a final appeal of the Dec. 25 verdict. The woman who had filed the charges against him divorced him on March 3.
“I’m sorry we got to this point, but my wife is under the influence of her brothers – they manipulate her,” Ouali told Morning Star News. “On several occasions she told me that she would like to come back, but she always says, ‘I cannot…’”
It is fortunate they did not have children, he said.
“I never wanted her to leave,” he said. “It is she who provoked this entire situation. On my side, I forgive her. And I am even now ready to welcome her if she decides to return. I do not think she’s even aware of what she’s doing. One day she will wake up, perhaps, and then she will become aware. We need your prayers.”
Ouali and four other Christians had been charged with inciting a Muslim to change her religion after his wife became upset when they sang a Christian song and talked about Jesus at a lunch at his friend Ali Laarchi’s house. She left for her parents’ home, where she told relatives, including two brothers, about the…
Paul Cook, Head of Advocacy at Tearfund, told Premier: “We’re really delighted that the climate change committee has come out and recommended this move to zero emissions by 2050.
“And actually, we think they can go even further. We think it ought to be 2045, at the very latest, and that we can actually get there even quicker than that.”
The CCC claims that the level of CO2 released into the atmosphere can be reduced by embracing low-carbon technologies, changes to industry and public behaviour.
Research has shown that Scotland could be carbon free as early as 2045 due to the high number of trees being planted there to absorb carbon dioxide, whilst Wales’ farming industry makes a just 95% cut to its emissions more likely.
The CCC’s report claims there’s a 50% chance of staying below the recommended 1.5C temperature rise by 2100, if other countries follow suit.
A 1.5C rise is considered the threshold for dangerous climate change.
Mr Cook told Premier that the poor are already seeing the impact of climate change and it is important that the government fully embrace CCC’s recommendations.
He said: “In thousands of communities around the world they’re seeing more extreme storms, the seasons changing, more intense rainfall crops being destroyed.
“It’s really having a huge impact on the world’s poorest people. And that’s why, for us as Christians, we should be taking this…
Mass. Democrats Support Bill Removing ‘So Help Me God’ from Oath Requirement
A proposal backed by key Massachusetts Democrats would eliminate the state constitutional requirement to say “so help me God” when taking oaths and allow public officials to cite a secular phrase instead.
The bill, S. 2211, passed the Democratic-led Joint Committee on the Judiciary last month. As a constitutional amendment, it would require passage by two consecutive legislatures and then approval by voters. The committee includes 17 members of the House and Senate.
The current Massachusetts Constitution requires “every person chosen or appointed to any office, civil or military” in the state to “solemnly swear” that “I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and will support the constitution thereof. So help me God.”
The Constitution allows Quakers to forgo the God reference and instead say, “This I do under the pains and penalties of perjury.” They also can say “affirm” instead of “swear.” Quakers oppose oaths.
Under S. 2211, the “Quakers” reference would be removed to allow “any person” to refrain from saying “So Help Me God” and “swear.” They would cite the alternate phrase.
“The history of the United States is about pluralism and an insistence that all of the country’s legal structures and forms of authority are representative of persons of every belief or a…
Daigle was up for three awards – Top Christian Artist, Top Christian Album and Top Christian Song – all of which she won.
Standing on a square stage in-the-round, she sang her hit song ‘You Say’ with minimal piano and three backing singers.
She had a captive audience for the stripped-back song which reached number 29 in the Billboard Hot 100 and has topped the Christian chart for 40 weeks.
Her album ‘Look Up Child’, from which the song came, has been top of the Christian album chart for 31 weeks.
Speaking before the performance, she said it was going to be “intimate and low-key”.
When asked why she thinks the song is still in the charts after 40 weeks, Daigle said: “I think honestly, people just want that message of hope.
“They just want something truthful to hold on to and to believe about themselves and there’s so many different ways that the world can cut you down and hurt you and I think that ‘You Say’ is just a song to kind of build people back up”.
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Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), a religious freedom charity which focuses its work in Pakistan, has thanked the Senate after it passed a bill to set the minimum marriage age at 18.
The amendment to the Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 1929 now means that underage marriage can lead to a sentence of up to three years in prison, a fine of at least Rs100,000 (equivalent of £1,100), or both.
CLAAS said this is a big win for religious minorities who have concerns that their underage girls are kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam and then marry their kidnappers.
Nasir Saeed, Director CLAAS-UK, said: “I would like to congratulate all the political parties and their representatives who supported this bill.
“The passing of this bill is a great thing, but the implementation will be equally important and if the government fails to implement this law like it has with serval other laws, then people won’t benefit from it.”
According to CLAAS, Senator Sherry Rehman, who presented the bill, was met with resistance from members of Islamist parties.
Some argued that fixing the age as 18 was inconsistent with Sharia law. She argued that since the age of voting is 18, the age of puberty should also be fixed accordingly.
The Senate passed the bill with the opposition of five votes.
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‘Kill Them Now or Kill Them Later,’ Alabama Democrat Says of Abortion
While opposing a state-wide ban on abortion, Democrat State Representative John Rogers of Alabama stated that “some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now or you kill them later.”
Alabama State Rep. John Rogers (D) on abortion: “Some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now or you kill them later. You bring them in the world unwanted, unloved, you send them to the electric chair. So, you kill them now or you kill them later” pic.twitter.com/dxPg6X759h
Yesterday, the Republican-controlled House approved a bill to make abortion a felony for doctors and providers at any point in a pregnancy, except for women at risk. The bill passed 74-3 and will now continue to the state Senate. It will likely die in the state Senate, but lawmakers hope to bring it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in the hopes of overturning Roe v. Wade.
In his opposition, Rep. John Rogers stated his belief that a woman has a choice. “You bring them in the world unwanted, unloved, you send them to the electric chair. So, you kill them now or you kill them later,” he said, according to Fox News.
He continued to question what would happen for children who were born “retarded” or “half-deformed.”
Snowboarder, Rev Steven Young snowboarded down the slopes on Wednesday at Manchester’s Chill Factore blessing the snow as he went with holy water from a special silver bucket.
He performed some snowboarding tricks on the rails and jumped several feet into the air showing his snowboarding skills off to the max.
During Steven’s descent, Greater Manchester’s Rock Choir performed Beyonce’s ‘Halo’ as the vicar made his way down the slope and gave thanks for the fun the snow centre provides to young and old all year round.
He also praised the end of another European winter season as skiers and snowboarders passed by him on the slope, before wishing everyone who uses the slope over the summer a safe and enjoyable time.
The vicar has already visited Chill Factore this year, having fulfilled a charity challenge to complete a run down the slopes of each of the UK’s six indoor snow centres in a single day, raising £1,403 for North London Hospice.
After the ceremony, Steven said: “It was great to perform the blessing as I snowboarded down the slope and to see so many people get involved in the ceremony afterwards.
“I’m passionate about promoting an inclusive, diverse and vibrant society – a setting where all are welcome – and Chill Factore offers a place to do just this.
“This ceremony is a great way for the community to connect,…
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Every human being that’s born into this world has two destinies, a natural destiny and a divine destiny. Your natural destiny is based on your parentage, nationality, education, peers, environment, and everything that’s natural to this world. All of these can affect you and determine the course of your life. For example, there’re some who are rich, not by virtue of anything that they’ve done, but because of the family in which or to which they’re born. That’s natural destiny at work.
Some people suffer, not because they were responsible for the problem but because they just happened to live in a particular place. There’re certain places that are filled with crime and violence and those who live there are victims of the lawlessness. That’s natural destiny. However, there’s the divine destiny, which is based on God’s choice. Two things affect divine destiny. The first one is the choice that God makes for the sake of other men. For example, the Bible says God delivered Israel from Egypt by a prophet, and by a prophet, Israel was preserved. God chose Moses to deliver other men.
Then secondly, and more importantly, is the divine destiny that begins when Jesus becomes the Lord of your life. When you declare the Lordship of Jesus over your life, God has a right to alter the circumstances of your life to align with His perfect will. That’s when He becomes your Father and starts leading you. That’s when He sends His Holy Spirit to live in you and to guide you. You’re thus separated and distinguished from the rest of the world.
Being born again, the Lord’s mark is on you; His seal designating you a child of divine destiny; His treasured and favoured possession. You’re not of this world, and therefore can’t and shouldn’t be affected by the natural courses of life; the corruption, evil, and decadence prevalent in this world of darkness. Now your journey in life is one direction only: from glory to glory; upward and forward, as you walk in His Word daily.
PRAYER Dear Father, thank you for the blessing of your Word, which indeed is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Thank you for the enlightenment it has given me. I’m thus better equipped to be all you created me to be, and fulfil my divine destiny in you, for your glory, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY: 2 Corinthians 5:17; Jeremiah 1:5; Ephesians 1:11
1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: John 1:1-18 & 2 Samuel 15-17
2 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Mark 7:14-23 & Numbers 6
Rhapsody of Realities 3rd May 2019 Devotional was written by Pastor Pastor Chris Oyakhilome (D.Sc., D.D.). President of Loveworld Inc. aka Christ Embassy Int’l.
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