Watergate journalists Woodward and Bernstein issue warning about Donald Trump's attacks on media - Independent

Watergate journalists Woodward and Bernstein issue warning about Donald Trump's attacks on media

'Mr President, the media is not fake news', says Woodward

The veteran journalists who first uncovered the Watergate scandal have spoken out against Donald Trump’s attacks on the media, warning the US President against undermining the country’s free press.

Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward’s investigations led to the indictments of a number of White House officials and, eventually, the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.

Speaking at length at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the duo talked about the growing tension between the White House and the media, with Bernstein emphasising the importance of strong reporting “especially now”.  

Donald Trump was not present to hear the comments, instead holding a rally of his supporters. It was the first time a President has not attended the first White House Correspondent’s Dinner of their tenure since 1981. Then, Ronald Reagan was recovering from an assassination attempt – but he still managed to make some comments over the phone.

Carl Bernstein opened with remarks about President Nixon’s demonisation of the media in what had been an attempt to take attention away from his and many of his administrations’ misconduct.

“Richard Nixon tried to make the conduct of the press more the issue in Watergate instead of the conduct of the President and his men. We tried to avoid the noise and let the reporting speak.”

He continued by talking about the Nixon administration’s record of lying. “Almost inevitably, unreasonable government secrecy is the enemy and usually the giveaway about what the real story might be. When lying is combined with secrecy, there is usually a pretty good road map in front of us”.

In the course of their speeches, they largely refrained from making direct parallels with the Trump administration. Nonetheless their comments struck a chord with the audience, who applauded rigorously.

Bernstein commented on the nature of the Watergate sources. “Almost all of our sources in Watergate were people who had, at one time or another, been committed to Richard Nixon and his presidency”.

Mr Trump’s fledgling presidency has also been stalked by leaks from the White House, the result of which meant that “unflattering” private conversations and meetings were brought to public attention. Press Secretary Sean Spicer reportedly ordered that all staff hand in their phones to be checked in an effort to plug the leaks.

Bob Woodward challenged the President’s continued accusations that the media propagate “fake news”, and said: “The effort today to get this best obtainable version of the truth is largely made in good faith”.

“Mr President, the media is not fake news. Let’s take that off the table going forward”.

Trump's first 100 days – by the numbers - Fox News

Trump's first 100 days – by the numbers

President Trump hit his 100th day in office on Saturday, with the White House claiming they've accomplished more in the opening stretch than any president since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Fox News took a look at the stats, and broke down the first 100 days by the numbers. From meetings with foreign leaders to golf outings to a flurry of executive orders, here’s what Trump has done in his first 100 days:

Signed 28 bills and resolutions into law

The White House says Trump has signed more legislation in his first 100 days than any president since Harry Truman. It's technically true; Trump signed 28 bills and resolutions into law in his first 100 days, though they generally were not major pieces of legislation. Thirteen of the 28 bills signed were done under the Congressional Review Act to roll back Obama-era regulations.

Here are the other 15 bills Trump signed into law:

· Jan. 20—signed S.84, a bill to allow the appointment of someone for secretary of defense who has not been retired from the Armed Forces for at least seven years. Gen. Jim Mattis had only been retired for three years, requiring a waiver from Congress in order to be confirmed for the Cabinet post—Trump signed this on Inauguration Day.

· Jan. 31—signed H.R.72, the GAO Access and Oversight Act of 2017, which authorized the Government Accountability Office to obtain federal agency records required to discharge GAO duties.

· Feb. 28—signed H.R. 255, Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act.

· Feb. 28—signed H.R. 321, Inspiring the Next Space Pioneers, Innovators, Researchers, and Explorers (INSPIRE) Women Act.

· March 13—signed H.R. 609, a bill to designate the Department of Veterans Affairs health care center in Center Township, Butler County, Pa., as the “Abie Abraham VA Clinic.”

· March 21—signed S. 442, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Transition Authorization Act.

· March 28—signed S. 305, the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act.

· March 31—signed H.R. 1362, a bill to name the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based clinic in Pago Pago, American Samoa, the “Faleomavaega Eni Fa’aua’a Hunkin VA Clinic.”

· March 31—signed S.J. Res 1, a joint resolution to approve the location of a memorial to commemorate and honor members of Armed Forces who served in active duty in Operation Desert Storm or Operation Desert Shield.

· April 3—signed H.R. 1228, a bill to allow the appointment of members of the Board of Directors of the Office of Compliance to replace members whose terms expire during 2017.

· April 18—signed H.R. 353, the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act.

· April 19---signed S. 544, a bill to amend Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to change the termination date for the Veterans Choice Program.

· April 19—signed S.J. Res 30, a joint resolution to reappoint Steve Case as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents for the Smithsonian Institution.

· April 19—signed S.J. Res 35, a joint resolution to appoint Michael Govan as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents for the Smithsonian Institution.

· April 19—signed S.J. Res 36, a joint resolution to appoint Roger Ferguson as a citizen regent of Board of Regents for the Smithsonian Institution.

Signed 30 executive orders

Trump signed 30 executive orders in his first 100 days. By comparison, during their first 100 days, President Barack Obama signed 19, George W. Bush signed 11, and Bill Clinton signed 13. The last time any president came close to Trump in signed orders was President Lyndon B. Johnson, who signed 26.

Click here to review Trump's executive orders.

Visited 11 states for events

Trump has traveled to 11 states for 13 events outside of Washington, D.C., since he took the oath of office-- not including weekend trips to Mar-a-Lago, or Saturday's visit to Pennsylvania.

· Pennsylvania: Jan. 26—Trump went to the GOP retreat in Philadelphia

· Delaware: Feb. 1—Trump visited Dover Air Force Base for the arrival of the remains of a U.S Navy SEAL killed in combat.

· Florida: Feb. 6—Trump went to U.S. Central Command in Tampa and gave a speech.

· South Carolina: Feb. 17 –Trump went to North Charleston for the introduction of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.

· Florida: Feb. 18—Trump went to Melbourne for his first rally since he became president.

· Maryland: Feb. 24—Trump attended CPAC outside Washington.

· Virginia: March 2—Trump gave a speech aboard the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier.

· Florida: March 3—Trump discussed education at St. Andrews Catholic School in Pine Hills.

· Michigan: March 15—Trump gave a speech at the American Center for Mobility in Detroit.

· Tennessee: March 15—Trump held a rally in Hermitage on the 250th birthday of Andrew Jackson.

· Kentucky: March 20—Trump had a rally in Louisville to promote the first GOP plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

· Wisconsin: April 18—Trump signed the “Buy American, Hire American” executive order in Kenosha.

· Georgia: April 28—Trump spoke at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum in Atlanta.

Had in-person meetings with 15 foreign leaders

Trump has met with 15 foreign leaders in his first 100 days, five of which were leaders of Middle Eastern countries.

· United Kingdom: British Prime Minister Theresa May, held joint press conference

· Jordan: King Abdullah II (twice)

· Japan: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, held joint press conference

· Canada: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, held joint press conference

· Israel: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, held joint press conference

· Peru: President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski

· Saudi Arabia: Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman Abdulaziz Al Saud

· Ireland: Prime Minister Edna Kenny

· Germany: Chancellor Angela Merkel, held joint press conference

· Iraq: Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi

- Denmark: Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen

· Egypt: President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi

· China: President Xi Jingping

· Italy: Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, held joint press conference

- Argentina: President Mauricio Macri

Held 1 solo press conference, held 8 with foreign leaders

Trump only gave one solo press conference in the first 100 days. The rest were joint press conferences with foreign leaders.

Spent 7 weekends at Mar-a-Lago

Trump has spent seven of the 13 weekends of his presidency at his Palm Beach property, Mar-a-Lago, which many refer to as the ‘southern White House’.

In total, Trump has spent 25 days at Mar-a-Lago—10 full days, 15 half days—that’s an estimated 419 ¼ hours in Palm Beach County as president.

· Feb. 3-6: the weekend included a Super Bowl watch party and the 60th Annual Red Cross Ball at Trump International.

· Feb. 10-12: Trump hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Mar-a-Lago, went golfing, and had a news conference in response to a North Korean missile launch.

· Feb. 17-20: Trump had a rally in Melbourne, Fla.

· March 3-5: Trump spent the weekend in Palm Beach.

· March 17-19: Trump, the first lady, and their son Barron went to Mar-a-Lago. Trump visited his Trump International Golf Club, and Vice President Pence stopped by on March 18.

· April 6-9: Trump had Chinese President Xi Jinping for a visit -- and ordered missile strikes on Syria from the situation room in Mar-a-Lago.

· April 13-16: Trump and his family spent Easter weekend at Mar-a-Lago, got in a couple of rounds of golf, and attended Easter mass at Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea.

Golfed 16 times

Trump has gone on at least 16 golf outings since becoming president—all of which have been on Saturdays and Sundays and at Trump-branded courses.

· 13 have been at Trump International in West Palm Beach

· 1 at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Fla.

· 2 at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va.

Fox News' Bryan Murphy and Amy Leedecke contributed to this report.

Brooke Singman is a Reporter for Fox News. Follow her on Twitter at @brookefoxnews.

It’s Officially Tax Day in the U.S. Here Are Five Things to Know - TIME

It’s Officially Tax Day in the U.S. Here Are Five Things to Know

Posted: 18 Apr 2017 02:33 AM PDT

(WASHINGTON) — Tuesday is Tax Day, that dreaded day when millions of procrastinators rush to fulfill their civic duty by filing state and federal tax returns.

But for most, it’s not that bad. Sure, the forms are complicated and yes, there is math. But tax season also generates about $300 billion in refunds, a significant boost to the U.S. economy.

Five things to know about Tax Day:

Most Get Refunds

The IRS so far has processed 101 million tax returns from individuals and about 80% have qualified for refunds. The average refund is $2,851, an increase of $53 over last year.

By the end of filing season, the IRS expects to process 150 million returns. That’s after millions file for automatic six-month extensions.

Chances of Getting Audited Are Slim

The number of people audited by the IRS in 2016 dropped for the sixth straight year, to just over 1 million. That’s less than 1% of filers.

The last time so few people were audited was 2004. Since then, the U.S. has added about 30 million people.

The IRS blames budget cuts as money for the agency shrank from $12.2 billion in 2010 to $11.2 billion last year.

Read More: The History Behind the Holiday Tha’s Pushing Tax Day Back to April 18

But rich people beware. The higher your income, the more likely you are to be audited. Agents audited 5.8% of returns that reported more than $1 million in income.

Returns Down, Refunds Delayed

Tax season got off to a slow start because the IRS delayed refunds for more than 40 million low-income families as part of the agency’s efforts to fight identity theft.

The delays affected families claiming the earned income tax credit and the additional child tax credit. The tax breaks are geared to benefit the working poor, and many families claim both.

The tax filing season started Jan. 23. But a new law required the IRS to delay tax refunds for people claiming these credits until Feb. 15.

The delay was designed to give the agency more time to screen the returns for fraud. Throughout the tax filing season, the number of tax returns processed by the IRS has been lower than last year.

As of April 7, the IRS had received 104 million tax returns and processed 101 million. Both numbers are down about 3.5% from last year.

People Illegally in U.S. Pay Taxes

There is a common myth that people in the U.S. illegally don’t pay taxes. But data from both the IRS and the Social Security Administration says otherwise.

Yes, some work in the underground economy. But in 2015, the Social Security Administration estimated that immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally paid $100 billion in Social Security payroll taxes over the previous decade. They paid the taxes even though few will ever be able to collect benefits.

How does Social Security know when it receives taxes from immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally? One way is by tracking reported wages in which the Social Security number does not match the name the agency has on file.

Read More: How to Get Free Food on Tax Day

Some of these are clerical errors or unreported name changes. But the agency estimates that a majority of the wages come from immigrants who have made-up Social Security numbers or used someone else’s.

Also, the IRS has issued more than 20 million Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) to foreigners.

The ITINs are supposed to be used by foreigners who have some form of U.S. income, and therefore owe U.S. taxes. However, the tax agency believes that many of them are used by people who are working in the U.S. illegally.

Tax Day Isn’t Much of a Deadline If You’re Due a Refund

The IRS doesn’t like to talk about it, but penalties for filing late federal tax returns apply only to people who owe money. The penalty is a percentage of what you owe. If you owe nothing, there is no penalty.

But it doesn’t make much sense to file late if you are owed a refund. And beware — if you have unpaid taxes, the late fees add up quickly.

The failure-to-file penalty is generally 5% of your unpaid tax bill for every month, or part of a month, you are late. It kicks in on April 19. In general, the maximum penalty is 25% of your original tax bill.

There also is a penalty for failing to pay your tax bill, separate from the penalty for failing to file at all, but it’s much smaller. That’s because the IRS wants you to file a return even if you don’t have enough money to pay your bill.

The failure-to-pay penalty is 0.5% of your unpaid taxes for every month, or part of a month, you don’t pay.