NO SPIN NEWS- November 16, 2017

Yesterday, we held a live Town Hall meeting on BillOReilly.com. You can still watch it, or watch it again on BillOReilly.com.

House Passes Tax Bill in Major Step Toward Overhaul

The House passed a sweeping rewrite of the tax code this afternoon, shortly after President Trump visited Capitol Hill to address House Republicans. 

The House voted to approve the bill, 227-205. In addition to every Democrat, 13 Republicans also voted against the bill. 

This is a significant leap forward as Republicans seek to enact $1.5 trillion in tax cuts for businesses and individuals and deliver the first major legislative achievement of President Trump’s tenure. 

Republicans are under pressure to get legislation to Trump’s desk by Christmas, especially after failing in their attempt to dismantle the Affordable Care Act this year, even though their party has full control of government. 

A new analysis from Congress’s bipartisan tax referee shows that under the Senate’s version of the bill, lower-income Americans would see their taxes go up in 2021. 

The analysis roiled the Senate Finance Committee, which is debating the bill ahead of a vote expected on Friday.

Now, to hear that not a single democrat voted for this measure is almost impossible to imagine. Not a single Democrat could get behind this bill? Something doesn’t seem right. Possibly tomorrow the Senate will vote on their own plan and this will be unpredictable. If the GOP wants this to pass, they only have room for 2 Republicans to say ‘nay.’ If this doesn’t pass in the Senate, the GOP is toast.

Poll: Most Voters Believe Tax Plan Will Benefit Trump Company

According to a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll conducted last week, only a few voters believe they will personally benefit from the tax plan. 

When asked if voters believe the tax reform will help them personally, 29 percent believe their families will benefit from tax reform, 46 percent believe they will not benefit, and 25 percent don't know or do not have an opinion. 

Breaking down the results by party lines, more Republicans believe the plan will help them. 56 percent of Republican voters believe the plan will help them, while only 13 percent of Democrats and 22 percent of independents believe that. 69 percent of Democrats believe the plan will not help them, while 20 percent of Republicans and 45 percent of independents share that negative view.

Al Franken Admits to Groping, Forcibly Kissing a Woman in 2006

A growing national outcry over sexual harassment reached the Senate on Thursday, when a radio newscaster accused Al Franken, a Democrat from Minnesota, of kissing and groping her without consent during a 2006 U.S.O. tour of the Middle East before he took public office. 

Mr. Franken, who has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate, almost immediately released an apology to the newscaster, Leeann Tweeden, who said that Mr. Franken forcibly kissed her during a rehearsal and groped her for a photo as she slept. 

“The first thing I want to do is apologize: to Leeann, to everyone else who was part of that tour, to everyone who has worked for me, to everyone I represent, and to everyone who counts on me to be an ally and supporter and champion of women,” Mr. Franken wrote.

“I respect women. I don’t respect men who don’t,” he continued. “And the fact that my own actions have given people a good reason to doubt that makes me feel ashamed.” 

I despise Al Franken. I’ve known him for a long time and he is a liar, he is a despicable human being. I’ve said it before, I can’t understand how anyone in Minnesota could cast a ballot for Franken.

Will Republicans in Alabama stand behind Roy Moore?

Roy Moore is causing a lot of trouble for his party and I don’t think he’ll win in Alabama, but as he said earlier today, he plans to stay in the race. 

After walking off stage at a Birmingham rally earlier today where a dozen supporters spoke on his behalf, Roy Moore tweeted, "I've taken a stand in the past, I'll take a stand in the future and I'll quit standing when they lay me in that box and put me in the ground.”

Moore, the Republican Senate nominee, again ripped Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in accusing him of trying "to steal" the Dec. 12 election from Alabama voters. He also vowed to continue making the stand of his innocence to allegations made against him until the end of his life.

Moore has repeatedly denied the allegations made by women over the past week that they had uncomfortable romantic or sexual encounters with him as teens almost 40 years ago when he was in his 30s.  

And he's made it clear he has no plans to exit the race, despite calls from Washington and the loss of endorsements from senators and a canceled fundraising agreement with the National Republican Senatorial Committee. 

At a press briefing this afternoon, Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that President Donald Trump believes Republican U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore should step aside if sexual misconduct allegations against him are true.

Mistrial declared in Bob Menendez trial after jury deadlocks

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial ended Thursday with a jury deadlocked on all 18 counts against the New Jersey Democrat and his co-defendant, raising questions about the strength of the government’s case, but failing to lift the legal cloud that has hung over the senator for more than two years. 

U.S. District Court Judge William H. Walls declared a mistrial after jurors were not able to reach a unanimous verdict during more than 15 hours of deliberations. Federal prosecutors have not indicated whether they will retry Menendez. 

It’s interesting to analyze how much coverage the Roy Moore story got compared to Robert Menendez and Moore is not even a Senator. The Menendez story hardly got any press coverage, the network news pretty much ignored it, cable news ignored it. So why is Moore’s story covered 24/7 and Menendez is not? The only way that I can answer that question is to tell you that the American press is corrupt.

Fusion GPS Founder Had Not Verified Dossier Claims When He Briefed Reporters

The co-founder of the firm behind the anti-Trump ‘dossier’ told House investigators Tuesday that he personally discussed with members of the media allegations of Trump-Russia collusion, though he did not speak to the sources behind the claims, a source told Fox News. 

According to a source familiar with the matter, Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson refused to answer key questions during his seven-hour, closed-door appearance before the House Intelligence Committee. 

The source said he would not answer questions on his relationship with specific journalists or ties to the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton campaign, which financed the anti-Trump research via the law firm Perkins Coie.

But the source said Simpson acknowledged he did not personally look into certain aspects of the dossier -- which was authored by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele and contained salacious allegations about the Trump team’s ties to Russia. 

Simpson told investigators he never spoke to the underlying sources of the document, never traveled to Russia and did not verify the dossier beyond comparing the claims to “open source” media reporting.

The source said Simpson also told investigators he was “upset” when then FBI Director James Comey re-opened the Hillary Clinton email investigation in late October 2016, and Simpson wanted to push back.

Sessions Expands List of Sanctuary Jurisdictions That Could Lose Federal Funds

On Wednesday, the Department of Justice announced it has sent letters to 29 jurisdictions warning that they are in danger of losing federal grant money if they cannot certify compliance with a key federal immigration statute. 

The jurisdictions have until Dec. 8 to provide further information to the DOJ that local policies and laws do not contravene 8 USC 1373, a section of the immigration code that bars local officials from limiting communication with federal authorities about a person’s immigration status.

If the government asks you for information about a person’s immigration status, you have to give it to them, or you’re in violation of the U.S. code. So anyway, if the federal government under Donald Trump isn't going to punish these kinds of people that defy the federal law, if they're not going to punish them, then we're going to have more of this. More dead Kate Steinles.

Mail Time!

• Bill, I really enjoyed the Town Hall. Great questions, really made it pop.

You know what, it was the questions. It wasn't me so much, Barbara. You're very astute. The questions from the Premium Members on BillOReilly.com, fantastic. Fantastic.

• "My husband and I watched the Town Hall last night and you were awesome." That's me. "There will be lots of new Premium Members," I hope there will be. "All the questions were right on and we love the feedback. Great evening."

I appreciate that, Dianne. You know, Premium Membership is something that we want everybody to spread the word... and I'll tell you how you can do this. We've got a great new deal for Premium Members! 

• "Thanks for the podcast. The best analysis there is.” Thank you very much, Tim. “I just returned from a business trip to China. While there, China passed a new law. If you disrespect their anthem or flag, it's three years in prison." 

Wow. Think that's off the NFL controversy, Tim? Might be. So anybody, not just Chinese. So if you're an American and you go and you mock the Chinese anthem or their flag, it's three. And believe me, you'll be found guilty.

Word of the Day: Snollygoster