- [John] Tonight,Democrats call out members
of their own party for anti-Semitism
at a Pro-Israel Conference in Washington.
- [Jenna] This amid afrenzy on Capitol Hill,
as Democrats react to the Mueller Report.
- [John] Plus (bomb explodes) tension
in the Gaza Strip with Israeliair strikes Hamas targets,
and militants in Gaza firing back.
- [Jenna] All this and more
tonight on Faith Nation.
(upbeat music)
- Leaders of the Divided States of America
uniting around a common cause.
Welcome to Faith Nation, I'm John Jessup.
- And I'm Jenna Browder.
- Well it's not everyday you see leadership
in both parties unitedbehind a single message,
and that message, support for Israel.
- While members of theGOP look to solidify
their relationship with the Jewish State,
Democratic leadershiptried to quiet naysayers
from their own party.
Amber Strong has more on theattempt to repair the rift.
- Support for Israel hastraditionally been bipartisan
and politicians at thisyear's AIPAC made that clear,
but this year traditionalvalues in support
of the Jewish state has seencracks along political lines.
- Anti-Semitism has noplace in the Congress
of the United States of America.
(audience clapping and cheering)
- [Amber] Top members ofthe Trump administration
sought to send a clearmessage to Jewish supporters.
The GOP has their back.
- Let me go on record,anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism.
The Trump administrationopposes it unequivocally,
and we will fight for it relentlessly.
- [Amber] Charges ofanti-Semitism among Democrats
came after controversial comments
from Freshman Congresswoman Ilhan Omar,
suggesting support ofIsrael equals dual loyalty.
That was coupled with a tweet suggesting
congressional support of Israel was
quote all about the Benjamins.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
says support of Israel isabout common values, not money.
- From this Benjamin, it'snot about the Benjamins.
- [Amber] Adding to thecharge, several Democrats
seeking the White Housein 2020 stayed away
from this year's gathering.
- Anyone who aspires to thehighest office in the land
should not be afraid tostand with the strongest
supporters of Israel in America.
- [Amber] But many keyDemocrats in attendance
tried to make clear the fewdon't speak for the majority.
- By the way, there are62 Freshman Democrats.
You hear me?
62, not three.
- [Amber] In fact of the 62 freshman,
seven are Jewish.
- I cannot stand and stay silent
when the entire DemocraticParty is castigated
as Jew haters, when what we really need
is leadership that unitesthis nation and the world.
- [Amber] Party leaderssay their fight against
things like the BDSmovement and anti-Semitism
is consistent.
- When someone says that beingJewish and supporting Israel
means you're not loyal to America,
we must call it out.
When someone looks at a neo-Nazi rally
and sees some very finepeople among its company,
we must call it out.
- While presidential hopeful Kamala Harris
didn't attend this year's conference,
she did meet with AIPAC representatives,
a move that's growingire from progressives.
Amber Strong, CBN News in Washington.
- Thank you Amber.
Well Democrats response to the AIPAC rift
within their own partywas the least of the drama
up on Capitol Hill today.
CBN News Capitol Hillcorrespondent Abigail Robertson
joins us now from the Hill.
Abigail, first to the issue of Obamacare.
The Justice Department hasdeclared the individual mandate
of the Affordable CareAct unconstitutional.
What does that mean for the law,
and why do you think theWhite House and Republicans
seem to be renewing theirfocus on healthcare?
- Well what that meansJenna is it would dismantle
Obamacare as we know it,
and Democrats are jumping on this.
Senate Minority LeaderChuck Schumer said that
this spells a lot oftrouble for Republicans,
and many Democrats believethat they won so strongly
in 2018 because they ranon protecting healthcare.
Senate Republicanleadership this afternoon
admitted that they don'thave an alternative right now
to the Affordable Care Act if this goes
the way that PresidentTrump would like it to
in the courts, but PresidentTrump remained adamant
this afternoon that he wantsto see Obamacare dismantled
and replaced with aRepublican alternative.
Take a look.
- The Republican Party will soon be known
as the party of healthcare.
- Remember Republicanscould not get a replacement
for Obamacare passed when they controlled
both the House and Senate,so it is very unlikely
with a Democrat controlledHouse that they would
get another opportunityto get that accomplished.
- Abigail, today was a big House vote
to override a presidential veto
that Democrat led House votewas meant as a show of force
after President Trump's first veto
knocked down the Senate'sbipartisan rebuke
of the President's nationalemergency declaration
on the southern border wall.
This vote really neverhad a chance, did it?
- Nope, not really.
They needed a 2/3 majority in the House,
and while Democrats control the House,
they fell far short of that number.
The final vote came out to 248 to 181,
and even with 14 Republicans voting
with Democrats, they stilldid not come even close
to that 2/3 majority that they needed
to pass the override.
- Abigail there was supposedto be another big vote
up on the Hill today.
Why did Senators decide to hold off
on Green New Deal resolution?
- Well Senate MajorityLeader Mitch McConnell
really want to bring theGreen New Deal to the floor
to get Democrats on therecord on this legislation,
and Republicans have pointed out
that there are a lot of Democrats,
particularly those who arerunning for president in 2020
that cosponsor this legislation
that aren't even planningon voting for it.
They instead would vote presentand they won't support it
when it comes to the floor,
so they're saying that whywould they have a legislation
that they won't even vote for.
But Democrats on the other hand have said
that they want Republicansto bring an alternative
to the table to offer up something else
on climate change, andSchumer even pointed out
that this afternoon wasone of the first times
that McConnell said that he agrees
that climate change is an issue,
so they're calling onRepublicans to offer up
some kind of alternativeto the Green New Deal.
Bring something else to the table.
- Quickly here, we have little time.
The President had a reactionto the Mueller Report today.
What did he have to say?
- Well President Trumptold reporters on the Hill
that the Mueller Reportcould not have gone better,
and he's also accusing those of starting
the counterintelligenceinvestigation of treason.
Take a look.
- No collusion, noobstruction, no nothing.
I think it went very high up.
I think what happened is a disgrace.
I don't believe ourcountry should allow this
ever to happen again.
This will never happen again.
We cannot let it ever happen again.
It went very high up andit started fairly low,
but with instructions from the high up,
this should never happento a president again.
We can't allow that to take place.
- Yesterday Senate JudiciaryChairman Lindsey Graham,
said that he would like aspecial council appointed
to investigate the otherside of the Mueller Report,
and what happened in the FBIand Department of Justice
when what he calls shady behavior.
- Abigail Robertson, always keeping on top
of all things on Capitol Hill.
Thank you Abigail.
- Well joining us now is Ronald Kessler,
and New York Times best selling author,
and former Washington Postinvestigative reporter
and contemporary of BobWoodward and Carl Bernstein.
Ron, thanks so much for being here today.
Great to have you.- Great to be with you.
Thank you.
- You know, firstquestion, now that we have
the Mueller Report out of the way,
some Republicans are callingfor another investigation
into the Obama administration,
and if they meddled with the 2016 election
and tried to defeat then candidate Trump.
Is this the right move?
What do you think?
- I think that theindividuals do have to be
held accountable, andthere's one individual
who actually started this whole thing,
and that's Andrew McCabe,the acting FBI Director.
In his book, he actually cites the reason
that he opened thisinvestigation of Trump,
and it's unbelievable.
He says in the book that it's because
of Trump's interviewwith Lester Holt of NBC,
in which Trump said, "I fired Comey,
"and I thought about this Russia thing."
But then he went on tosay, "and I realized."
He twice said, "I realizedthat by doing that,
"I'm probably prolongingthe FBI investigation."
Well where did that appear in his book?
Nowhere.
McCabe omitted that fromthe book dishonestly,
deliberately, because itwould undercut his position.
Of course to start an FBI investigation
based on someone saying something on TV
is absurd to begin with.
But this shows how the whole investigation
of Trump specifically was a real hoax.
- Ronald speaking of books,you wrote a book last year
called The Trump White House:
Changing the Rules of the Game.
It essentially highlights how the media
failed to report or underplayedTrump's accomplishments
in the White House.
How do you rank this accomplishment,
how he came out on topof the Mueller Report
and how the media's reporting it?
- I've known Trump for two decades
and invariably he wins, nomatter what the issue is,
he wins, and this is just another example
of his winning.
He sees beyond the corners.
He sees things that others don't see.
He latched onto the wall issue way before
it became a big issue,
and I do say in the book
that he will be seen as oneof the greatest presidents
based on the results,which are unbelievable.
Now certainly we all cringe sometimes
at some of his comments,
but what's more important,
the lowest blackunemployment rate in history,
lowest female unemploymentrate in history,
getting rid of ISIS?
It's simply endless.
Why do we hire a president,is to get those results.
- Yesterday we had JohnSolomon on from the Hill,
and he talked about the comparisons
of Watergate to now, with theRussian Mueller investigation
and the media coverage of it.
We want to roll that sound bite of him,
and then Ron we'll get your reaction.
Let's go ahead and see that.
- I think all the credibilityand all of the public trust
that the industry gainedfrom Watergate 50 years ago
was eroded by this.
When you tell the Americanpeople there's a scandal
and you don't have the goods,
and you're pontificating about it,
when it's not really there factually,
you've really wounded the industry.
I think all of that allure that we gained
as an industry after Watergate,
it's been reallytarnished from this story.
- So Ron, what do you think?
Do you think this has reallyhurt the media's reputation?
- Well sure.
You know, I sat next toWoodward and Bernstein
during Watergate.
Every night I heard themdiscussing their sources,
arguing with each other,
and I guarantee you that if any of us
had engaged in the dishonestreporting that goes on today,
we would have been fired immediately.
I mean, that's how muchthings have changed,
totally undercutting thecredibility of the media today.
- Ron, how do we move on from here?
How do we make things better?
- I think the only solutionus the marketplace,
and that means thatoutlets that are dishonest,
that report literally fake news,
have to wither.
Otherwise it's just goingto continue, unfortunately.
I think people are tuning out,
they're getting sick of it.
They want to see some positive reporting
such as you guys do,
and we can just hope for the best.
But meanwhile we do have these outlets,
such as yours that do tell the truth,
and I really appreciate that.
- [John] Well Ronald Kessler,we really appreciate you
being here tonight.
Thank you so much.- Thank you.
- [Jenna] Thank you Ron.
- Jenna.
- Well the Trump administrationtaking more steps tonight
toward protecting the livesof unborn babies overseas.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announcing
the U.S. will stop providing money
to foreign non-governmental organizations
that perform or actively promote abortions
as a method of family planning,
essentially closing aloophole to what Pompeo
called a back door end run around
the Reagan era Mexico City policy
President Trump reinstated in 2017.
- Well tonight allcharges have been dropped
against actor Jussie Smollett.
In a stunning turn of events today,
prosecutors dropped all 16 felony charges
against the Empire star.
The charges alleged Smollettstaged his own attack
and then lied to Chicago police about it.
Well today Smollett spoke outmaintaining his innocence.
Here is what Ben Shapiro,a conservative commentator,
had to say about it.
Actor Jussie Smollett off the hook.
The policemen, they laid outthe evidence in this case,
in that press conferencethat we all saw last month.
Why do you thinkprosecutors now have decided
to just drop these charges?
- It seems to me that there are only
a couple of possible explanations.
One is that the prosecutorswere initially attempting
to intervene in this case.
Kim Foxx who is the DA in this case,
apparently was tryingto intervene with CPD.
She then supposedly recused herself,
but it was her office thatdecided to let Smollett off.
So it's possible that shehad political motivations
for letting Smollett off.
Obviously she's at odds with the heads
of the Chicago Police Department.
Possibility number two, it seems to me,
is that the prosecutiondecided that they didn't
want to prosecute Smollettbecause they were afraid
that Smollett's defense attorneys
were going to make anissue out of Chicago PD's
racial history, or theDA's racial history,
and just didn't want themedia scrutiny on her
at this point.
Neither one of those is a good excuse
for letting off the mostnotorious hate crime hoaxer
of the last several years.
- Ben, could it be thatJussie Smollett is innocent,
is the victim, as a lotof people are saying?
- No, that's a bunch of crap (laughs).
I mean not to put toofine a point on that,
but no, that is notcredible in this light,
as his story originally was deeply flawed,
and CPD has announcedthey have a signed check
to the people who apparently did this.
His initial accusations about the accusers
did not match who thepeople who actually ended up
apparently beating him up.
The evidence is fairly clear.
They have a video of the two brothers,
the Nigerian brothers,with whom he was friends
actually buying the goodswhich they performed
this fake crime.
Smollett's behavior all theway through was dishonest.
No, the chances thathe was an actual victim
of a hate crime are zero or below.
- And he is not the onlyone with strong words
about these latest developments.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuelcalled today's move
a whitewash of justice, by prosecutors.
He says this is somethingthat all Americans
should be outraged by.
(drum bang)
- [John] When we come back,crisis in the Gaza Strip.
How tensions there areescalating after days
of cross-border fire on both sides.
Next.
(upbeat music)
- Tonight tension in Gazaafter a night of rockets
and heavy fire exchanged on both sides.
Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip
mark the second day ofcross-border fighting
between Hamas and Israel,
as Gaza militants firedrockets into Israel.
The latest surge in violence began Monday
causing Israeli PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu
to cut short his visit to the U.S.
- Joining us now is CBN NewsMiddle East Bureau Chief
Chris Mitchell.
Chris, you just returned from Sderot
and talked with residents
who slept in bomb shelters overnight.
First, where do thing stand now
as far as a possible cease fire,
and what's the mood like there?
- Well right now John,
Israel's saying there is no cease fire.
Hamas says there was,
but right now Israel was still preparing
for a possible continued retaliation.
Israeli Prime MinisterNetanyahu cut his visit short
to Washington, D.C., but hedid have a videotape message
by live satellite to the AIPAC Conference,
where he said they wereprepared to do anything possible
to stop these rocket attackscoming into Southern Israel,
and even beyond.
- Well some Israelipublications are reporting
that the Hamas rocket thathit that home near Tel Aviv
was ordered by Iran.
What are you hearing about that?
- Well not surprising thatIran would try to do this.
They had a setback whenthe United States said that
the Golan Heights would besovereign Israeli territory.
They're trying to push back,
and they might be tryingto affect the elections
just coming up in a couple of weeks.
So Iran being involved withHamas, trying to instigate this,
is no surprise.
- Why don't we stick right there.
So that attack overshadowedwhat was supposed
to be big news for Israel.
President Trump withPrime Minister Netanyahu
at his side, signing that proclamation
officially recognizing the Golan Heights
as Israeli territory.
You reported perhapsthat, that was Hamas's
attempt to sway theupcoming Israeli elections.
How does that potentiallyaffect how people
vote at the poles?
- Well, it's really puts Netanyahu
in a very delicate position.
If he goes too soft on Hamas,
he might be accused of allowing Hamas
to go ahead and indiscriminatelyfire into Israel.
If he goes too hard,that could be difficult
for him politically too.
But he's saying right now that this
is not a political matter,
this is matter of national security.
You have to take him at his word for that,
but as you said, thisreally did overshadow
a historic announcement by President Trump
to declare that that the Golan Heights
was sovereign Israeli territory.
Israeli's been waiting more than 50 years
for someone to recognize that,
and President Trump has done it,
and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said,
"President Trump hasmade history once again."
- Do you think other nationswill quickly follow suit
like they did with the Jerusalem Europe?
- I'm not sure about that John.
I don't know if they'll go too far.
Right now a lot of nationsare trying to decide
if they're going to bringtheir embassy's to Jerusalem.
I think that might be abridge too far for them,
but it really makes a big difference
when the U.S. is standing behind Israel
on the Golan Heights.
It's a very strategic landto so many geopolitics here
with Syria, Russia, Hezbollah.
It means a big deal.
- Chris, a question alot of people are asking
is why didn't Iron Dome defense system
intercept that rocket?
- That's a great question John.
I had read that it wasa nonlinear trajectory
by the rocket and theIron Dome for some reason
didn't pick that up.
If that's true, that could be
a very difficult situation for Israel.
Last night it did shoot down many rockets
that were fired out of Gaza,
but that one could be problematicgoing into the future.
- Chris, final question for you.
When it comes to unrestin the Middle East,
people often quote Psalms 122 which says,
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem."
Can you remind people whyit's important to pray?
- Well it's so important John.
Prayer makes a difference.
You know we talked tosomebody there in Sderot
on the Gaza border.
His name was Elliahu, and he said,
Thank you for Christians,our brothers and sisters.
Praying for us.
He says, we need thephysical defensive shield
of the Iron Dome, butwe need the spiritual
defense of the people praying for us.
It really makes a differencefor the people here
in Israel, that people are standing
with them in prayer.
It means a whole lot.
It's just like Psalm 122 says,
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem."
It also says in Psalms thatthe Lord watches over Israel,
but those prayers are sonecessary for the people
here in Israel, southern border
all the way up to thenorthern border as well.
- Well Chris, we appreciateyou being a watchman.
Chris Mitchell, CBNMiddle East Bureau Chief,
thanks for being with us.
- Great to be with you John.
(drum bang)
- Coming up, howincreasing the minimum wage
could put a damper on small business.
(upbeat music)
The push to raise theminimum wage to $15 an hour
is growing across the country.
Supporters say it's necessary
to lift millions out of poverty.
- They're saying boosting the minimum wage
could cost workers jobs, andforce businesses to close.
Caitlyn Burke has the story.
- Things get frozen.
- [Caitlin] Tom Knapphas always loved cars.
- This is a passion ofmine in high school.
I went to college for it.
I went to an automotive college for it.
- [Caitlin] After earning his degree
in automotive management,Knapp ran this shop
for three years before buyingit from his former boss.
- I worked at a dealership when I was
right out of high school,and did not like it,
so I knew that private shopwas the only way to do it.
- [Caitlin] As a small business owner,
Knapp knew he would face some challenges,
like changing technology.
- You can't advertise in the newspaper,
and radio ads are disgustinglyexpensive for small business,
so you gotta learn how to getyourself out there other ways,
and social media hasbeen the newest thing.
- What he didn't expectwas the Grand Bargain,
a new Massachusetts state law
that went into effect January 1st,
and requires an increasein the minimum wage.
This year employers must pay $12 an hour,
that will gradually increaseover the next four years
until it reaches $15 an hour.
- I was trying to add more employees.
The issue is to hire a C level technician,
you can't afford to paythem that much money.
That's grossly overpaidfor the job that they do,
oil changes and simple things like that.
The same way with an office manager.
I can't hire someone to answer the phones
for that kind of money.
It would put me out of business.
- [Caitlin] Two jobs now likely lost,
and dreams of expansion put on hold.
Other employers here worryit will mean layoffs,
or worse.
Durgin-Park, a BostonRestaurant since 1827,
when John Quincy Adams was president
closed at the beginning of the year,
the owner citing the minimum wage increase
as one of the main reasons.
Massachusetts didn't start this trend.
First came Seattle, thenCalifornia, New York,
Washington, D.C., andnow Democrats in Congress
want a national $15 minimum wage.
- We now have an opportunityand a responsibility
to restore the value of the minimum wage,
lift millions of hard workingAmericans out of poverty
and boost the economyof Main Street America.
- There's deep partisandivide on the issue.
Democrats pushing forthe Raise the Wage bill
to move forward through Congress.
Republicans calling it a radical idea
from the far left.
- They don't know what's happening
in the economy right now.
They're obviously detached.
Unemployment is at itslowest level in 49 years.
Wages are up.
The economy is booming.
Everywhere I go in my District,
people are saying what weneed are more skilled workers.
We have 7.3 million jobsunfilled in this country.
- [Caitlin] Scott says theincrease would simply provide
someone the basic essentialsof living in the U.S.
- Workers should not be forced
to work for poverty level wages
regardless of where they live.
- [Caitlin] ButRepresentative Foxx points out
that only 2.3% of the American workers
make minimum wage.
- Minimum wage jobs are launching pads
to go into other jobsthat will pay a lot more.
I doubt very many of us who started,
who are now working, didn'tstart out at minimum wage,
but the idea's not to stay at minimum wage
all your life, but to move up.
- [Caitlin] The Raisethe Wage Act it expected
to eventually pass the House,
but will likely hit a roadblock
in the Republican held Senate.
While that may stop anational minimum wage hike,
employers in states like Massachusetts
must grapple with the consequences.
- I'm hoping that thevolume eventually increases
and I can just put it offfor a little while longer,
but honestly, it's probablymore a situation where
I'll have to continueworking in the business
and continue doing the jobs myself.
- [Caitlin] Caitlin Burke, CBNNews, Boston, Massachusetts.
- You know Jenna, I havea sneaking suspicion that,
that's going to be a campaignissue for the 2020 candidates,
at least on the Democratic side.
- I think you might be right.
- Well, just have to wait and see.
Well that's gonna do itfor tonight's Faith Nation.
- Have a great evening.
(upbeat music)
