Olivia Beavers

Race heats up for top GOP post on powerful House Commerce Committee

Rep Greg Walden (R-OR) is retiring, opening up the top Republican spot on the House Commerce Committee. Reps. Michael Burgess (R-TX), a doctor and the most senior Republican on the panel, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) are viewed as the frontrunners. Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH) is seen as a dark horse.

GOP senators question 'unusual' message Susan Rice sent herself on Inauguration Day

Two top Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are questioning former national security adviser Susan Rice about an "unusual" message she sent to herself on Jan 20, 2017 — President Donald Trump's Inauguration Day. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) questioned Rice about why she sent a note detailing a conversation she observed on Jan. 5 between then-FBI Director James Comey and then-President Barack Obama.

CNN's Acosta: I was warned not to ask President Trump questions at bill signing

CNN reporter Jim Acosta said that the White House warned him not to ask President Donald Trump a question during a bill signing event, claiming that press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggested his access at future events could be revoked if he did. Acosta's claim comes a day after he clashed with Sanders about media accuracy during a press briefing.

Reporter says security 'manhandled' him after he asked FCC questions

Security guards reportedly “manhandled” an award-winning reporter after he asked Federal Communications Commission officials questions at a public hearing, according to a National Press Club statement.

John Donnelly, a journalist at CQ Roll Call, was removed from the scheduled press conference by security after he attempted to ask FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Michael O’Rielly questions before they arrived at the podium. Donnelly said two guards, using the backs of their bodies, pinned him to the wall while commissioners passed. They then escorted him out of the event. “I could not have been less threatening or more polite,” Donnelly said. “There is no justification for using force in such a situation.”

The security at the monthly open meeting was unusually high as the FCC voted on the high profile issue of net neutrality. “[W]e apologized to Mr. Donnelly more than once and let him know that the FCC was on heightened alert today based on several threats,” a spokesman for the FCC said.

Panel tables Breitbart request for congressional press passes

A panel of journalists voted April 25 to table a request from Breitbart News for permanent congressional press passes, apparently. The Standing Committee of Correspondents, made up up five reporters from traditional media outlets, also put off a vote to extend the right-leaning site's temporary passes, which expire on May 31. The panel reportedly expressed concerns about “more than one troubling aspect” in the information Breitbart provided. It had previously questioned the news outlet's connections to conservative donors and organizations. “The whole thing suggest to me that they’re just not ready for a credential” one panel member said, according to Politico's Hadas Gold.

President Trump slams NBC for revealing 2005 tax forms

President Donald Trump slammed NBC News early March 15 for releasing two pages of his 2005 tax forms, questioning a reporter's version of how he obtained the documents. "Does anybody really believe that a reporter, who nobody ever heard of, 'went to his mailbox' and found my tax returns? @NBCNews FAKE NEWS!" the President tweeted.

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow spent 20 minutes March 14 teasing what questions President Trump’s tax returns could answer, including potential ties to Russian banks and to corrupt Azerbaijani businessmen. David Cay Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, said on MSNBC that he received the tax forms in his mailbox. Johnston on March 15 fired back at Trump's tweet. "Gee, Donald, your White House confirmed my story. POTUS fake Tweet. Sad!" Johnston tweeted.

President Trump: Media being 'rude' to aides

President Donald Trump slammed the media for being “rude” to his representatives. "It is amazing how rude much of the media is to my very hard working representatives," he tweeted. "Be nice, you will do much better!"

China to US: Stop hacking us

China asked the US government to stop spying on and hacking other countries, after WikiLeaks revealed data showing that the CIA can hack a range of devices, including some manufactured in China. Software companies quickly tried to detect security weak points following the WikiLeak news, with some calling for more details about what the US intelligence community was doing.

Cisco routers, which are widely used to provide wireless internet, were listed as a target in the WikiLeaks data. Cisco, a California-based company, markets its routers as providing “strong security and services to enterprise, service providers, and industrial networks.” Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE also are on the list. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang asked the US to stop hacking China. "We urge the US side to stop listening in, monitoring, stealing secrets and internet hacking against China and other countries," Geng said.