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Hillary Clinton used potentially as many as 13 different Blackberrys to send email from her personal account — and sometimes misplaced them — according to FBI records released on Friday.

The FBI released two documents — a report on the bureau's interview with Clinton and the report on the investigation into her use of personal email and handling of classified information — on Friday, the latest in the unusually transparent aftermath of the Clinton investigation.

Earlier this summer, the FBI did not recommend charges against Clinton. At the time, FBI director James Comey took the unusual step of publicly detailing the results of the investigation and explaining the bureau's recommendation. In those remarks, Comey criticized Clinton's actions at length, however.

While the broad contours of the report follow what Comey told the public earlier this summer, the report provides more details. For instance, the FBI determined that while there was no evidence that Clinton had been hacked, the determination was inconclusive:

The FBI also reported that someone had breached an email account belonging to an aide to Bill Clinton:

FBI report

The reports also detail the history of Clinton's email server, her use of multiple email devices and email practices at the State Department, and how individual emails that were found to have contained classified information were handled. In some cases, particularly emails that pertained to the drone program, Clinton and other former State officials defended their emails as already known to the public because of media reports.

The reports also provide a sharper picture of how Clinton operated at the State Department, and handled sensitive information. Notably, Clinton used as many as eight devices during her tenure, many of which could not be recovered by FBI officials.

The report also provides significantly more insight into how the emails submitted to the State Department were selected by Clinton's staff. After an initial review, performed through keyword searches and a review of recipients and senders, two key Clinton officials — Cheryl Mills and David Kendall — performed a final review to determine what was "work related."

FBI report

The FBI report also provides insight into the timeline that Clinton's emails were deleted. In late 2014, Mills requested a protocol change for when Clinton's emails would be deleted. After the New York Times broke the story that Clinton had used a personal email account during her tenure at the State Department, according to the FBI, a staffer whose name is redacted began the deletion.

Donald Trump's campaign responded to the contents of the report in a statement on Friday, saying it shows Clinton cannot be trusted with the presidency.

"Clinton’s reckless conduct and dishonest attempts to avoid accountability show she cannot be trusted with the presidency and its chief obligation as commander-in-chief of the U.S. armed forces," said senior Trump adviser Jason Miller.

In a statement released later on Friday, Trump himself said, “Hillary Clinton’s answers to the FBI about her private email server defy belief. I was absolutely shocked to see that her answers to the FBI stood in direct contradiction to what she told the American people. After reading these documents, I really don’t understand how she was able to get away from prosecution.”

House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement that the report "cast doubt" on the Justice Department's decision not to press charges against Clinton, adding that Clinton should not be able to access classified information.

According to the report of Clinton's interview with the FBI, Clinton did not know that a parenthetical "c" at the beginning of a paragraph indicated that a piece of information was classified. Comey alluded to this in his testimony before Congress earlier this year, when he said she was "not particularly sophisticated" in her handling of classified information.

The report also revealed more detail about Clinton's conversations with former Secretary of State Colin Powell about using a private email account while at state.

Read the full report below:

John Moore / Getty Images

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A political action committee claiming to support Republican nominee Donald Trump has been running radio ads soliciting donations — raising hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result. A BuzzFeed News review of federal election filings, however, found no evidence the PAC is spending the money to help elect Trump.

Liberty Action Group PAC, which was formed in January, has aired hundreds of radio ads during shows like Rush Limbaugh’s and Sean Hannity’s saying they are helping Trump win the presidency. At times, estimates have shown it’s one of the largest radio advertisers this election.

But the group has no clear connection to Trump and records show the group hasn’t donated any money to his campaign. One of its two founders appears to be a college student with no political experience, and in one instance, appeared to be linked to another liberal PAC which did robocalls for Hillary Clinton.

The group has taken in almost $800,000 dollars, according to FEC records, but those records reveal little about where money is being spent and to whom it is going.

The group’s largest expenditure — more than $450,000 — is for a “media consultant.” No information is given as to who that media consultant is. Other expenditures like “cashed checked” for $1,000 and $3,500 are equally ambiguous. No address or purposes is given on any of the disbursements at all from the group in federal filings. Just last month the FEC sent the PAC a letter asking for more information, saying the group “failed to include the address, and purpose,” on spending disbursements. And, despite the massive amount being spent radio ads and robocalls — and there have been many of those –– the group has failed to note any money was spent on independent expenditures.

Progressive Priorities PAC / Via Liberty Action Group PAC

At the beginning of one of the group’s ads, a soundbite of Donald Trump plays in which he says, “I am with you. I will fight for you. And I will win for you.”

The ad continues, “Attention fellow Trump supporters: Help Mr. Trump win the presidency by picking up the phone right now and calling 1-800-773-1493 to add your name to pledge to defeat Hillary and elect Donald Trump. Call in the next five minutes to get your free Trump-Pence sticker. Again, call 1-800-773-1493. That's 1-800-773-1493. Paid for by Liberty Action Group PAC. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.”

When BuzzFeed News called the numbers provided by the ad, an automated response asks for donations to fund “our get-out-the-vote TV and radio advertisements.” A representative who then answered the phone said she was located in Ohio. (The PAC’s address is listed in Austin, Texas.)

A May robocall posted online featured the PAC saying “we need your emergency support to contribute now to get out the vote campaign.” Another in June said they needed “an emergency investment” in the campaign.

“Why? Mr. Trump is no longer self funding and we now need you and millions opposed to Hillary Clinton to invest generously to help elect Donald Trump for president,” it said. “Do your part to make an emergency investment to the campaign by pressing 1 now.”

While the barebones websites for promises all “contributions go directly toward spreading the message through media to support Donald Trump,” it’s unclear how much is spent on electing Trump. On the surface, it appears much of the PACs money is being spent on raising more money.

A treasurer for the PAC, Tedla Henok, couldn’t answer questions about where money was being spent, telling BuzzFeed News that he forwarded questions about the PAC’s spending to the two directors: Joey Cammer and Robert Reyes. Requests seeking comment from Reyes through the phone, email, and Facebook were not returned.

It’s unclear how Cammer and Reyes got involved in setting up the PAC.

Cammer’s Facebook lists him a student at Texas Tech University. His public address is listed on FEC filings as a guest house for students two blocks from the University of Texas at Austin. Photos on from Cammer’s Facebook show him living at the house. The PAC’s address is listed as a co-working space in Austin. Disbursements to Cammer totaled $14,000 in the group’s July quarterly filing and $2,700 in their April filing.

Joe Cammer

Joe Cammer Facebook

Reyes role with the PAC is unclear. His LinkedIn profile lists him as a founder of “Modern Media Group LLC” and April FEC records show a $10,000 payment from the PAC to that group.

Interestingly, Henok also serves as treasurer for Progressive Priorities PAC, another Austin, Texas-based PAC that, according to Facebook postings, sent robocalls supporting Bernie Sanders and Clinton and raised nearly $300,000. The listed director of that PAC, Alexa Rotha, is Facebook friends with Cammer. The PAC’s website is nearly identical to that of Liberty Action Group PAC. Calls seemed to match the same pattern as Liberty Action Group: a short clip from Hillary Clinton following an appeal for money. Complaints about the calls have been repeatedly posted online. Earlier this year, one Twitter user noted the PACs shared a donation page. Today the two groups have near identical donation pages, but on different sites.

Rob Reyes

Rob Reyes Facebook

When asked in a phone call what the connection was between the two groups, and if the same people ran the group, Henok hung up, saying, “I am ending this call. I am not responsible for make any statement.” Facebook messages, emails, and phone calls to Roth and the PAC were not immediately returned (Reyes blocked this reporter after an inquiry).

Cammer told BuzzFeed News he had no connection to Progressive Priorities PAC and didn't know what the group was. He also said the PAC was in full compliance with FEC rules.

"We're all in compliance, there are some questions I'm sure," Cammer said.

"My brother told me that you called. I don't appreciate you calling me in personal hours, by the way, you're not special, Andrew," he added, about a 9 p.m. phone call seeking comment. "Do your job 9-5, bud."

Cammer said all of the PAC's money was spent on radio ads, "Fox radio, Sean Hannity, CBS radio." He said was not a fair assessment to say his ads solely focused on raising money for the PAC.

Cammer declined to answer further questions, but said he would get back in touch with BuzzFeed News.

Online, people have taken notice of the PAC — there are videos complaining about the group being unable to say where money was being spent have on YouTube and complaints from Republican bloggers have percolated for months. A Facebook for the group appears to have been taken down.

A public Facebook post in May complaining about calls from the PAC cites Cammer saying he was the head of the group when apologizing for not taking someone off their call list.

According to a robocall posted online, the group made calls in support Ted Cruz during the Republican primary; those calls appear to have been running as the same time as Trump ads.

WASHINGTON — On Friday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a stay of execution for Robert Jennings.

Jennings was scheduled to be executed on Sept. 14 for the 1988 murder of Elston Howard, a Houston police officer. He was sentenced to death after his trial in 1989.

The stay of execution means that this is the eighth consecutive scheduled execution date in Texas to have been withdrawn, stayed, or moved to a later date.

The unsigned opinion — from which four of the court's nine judges dissented — was a brief three pages, laying out the legal history of the case and Jennings' current request before the court. Among Jennings' arguments is that improper jury instructions prevented the jury from "properly considering and giving effect to" the mitigating evidence raised at his sentencing.

The only explanation given by the court for granting the stay was a single sentence: "After reviewing applicant’s pleadings, this Court has determined that applicant’s execution should be stayed pending further order of this Court."

This is the second Friday in a row in which the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals — the state's highest appellate court for criminal matters — issued a stay of execution with little explanation for its action. A week earlier, the court stayed the pending execution of Ronaldo Ruiz.

At this point, the next scheduled execution is the scheduled execution of Barney Fuller on October 5 — nearly six months since the most recent execution in the state, which took place April 6.

This long of a gap between executions in Texas — a state that has conducted more than 500 executions since it began executing people again in 1982 — is very rare. The only other time a gap of more than five months between executions happened in Texas in the past 20 years was between September 2007 and June 2008, when executions across the country hit a standstill because the U.S. Supreme Court had agreed to hear a case regarding the constitutionality of a lethal injection protocol.

Unlike then, however, the reasons given for withdrawing, staying, or moving the past eight execution dates in Texas have differed and have also at times, as with Friday's order, been less than transparent.

Read the order:

Suzanne Cordeiro / Getty Images

A prominent black pastor who spoke at the Republican National Convention in support of Donald Trump admitted Friday that he fabricated a number of his credentials listed on his church's website, after a CNN reporter confronted the religious leader.

Pastor Mark Burns of the Harvest Praise and Worship Center in Easley, South Carolina, falsely stated on the church’s website that he earned a bachelor’s degree, belonged to Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and had served six years in the Army Reserve.

The page of site was live while he spoke at the Republican National Convention in July, but has since been taken down.

Confronted with the inaccuracies, Burns initially blamed hackers for the the biography, then attacked the media for investigating him, then ultimately admitted he had "overstated" elements of his biography.

In an interview with CNN’s Victor Blackwell on Friday, which aired in full on Saturday morning, Burns said that he attended North Greenville University in South Carolina.

When Blackwell asked if Burns graduated from the university, Burns responded, “No, I didn’t complete the degree at North Greenville University.”

The university told CNN that Burns had only been enrolled for one semester.

“Again, the bio that’s on your website claims that you earned a bachelor of science degree,” Blackwell said. “Did you make that claim?”

After pausing for several seconds, Burns claimed that he had only agreed to an off-the-record interview.

Blackwell countered that he had not agree to go off the record and continued to press the pastor.

“We’re still rolling, I’m still asking you questions on the record. Did you make that claim that you graduated from North Greenville University?” he asked.

CNN / Via youtube.com

Burns accused Blackwell of trying to discredit him.

“This is not what I agreed to,” the pastor said. “I thought we were doing a profile and all of a sudden you’re here to try to destroy my character.”

He also suggested that the website had been hacked or photoshopped in some way.

“In reference to my website, if there's inaccurate information on there that can easily be manipulated by other people and it can be manipulated by hackers,” he said.

Wix, the hosting company that supports the church’s website, told CNN in a statement that "there is no evidence of a hack.”

Blackwell also questioned Burns on another line in his bio that asserted he was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., a black organization.

“I did without question say that I had started the process of being a part of that organization, but that's the furthest I've gotten,” Burns said.

Blackwell also questioned him about his claim that he served six years in the Army Reserve.

Burns had served in the South Carolina National Guard from 2001-2005. He was completely discharged in 2008, but "has no active Army or Army Reserve service time," according to an Army statement sent to CNN.

Burns abruptly ended the interview and quickly drove away, according to Blackwell.

The pastor issued a statement before the CNN interview aired, admitting that he “overstated several details” of his biography because he was worried that he “wouldn’t be taken seriously as a new pastor.”

He also said that the media had targeted him for being a black Trump supporter.

“It’s a shame that the political insiders and the media chose to attack me because I’m not going to stay silent about Hillary Clinton’s pandering to our community," he said.

Burns came under fire Aug. 29 when he tweeted an image of Clinton in blackface. He deleted the tweet and issued an apology, but stood by the message in his tweet.

Watch the full CNN interview below:

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LINK: Trump Surrogate Defends The “Message” Of A Cartoon He Shared Of Hillary Clinton In Blackface

Trump in Detroit on Saturday.

Evan Vucci / AP

DETROIT — Donald Trump told a black church on Saturday that the U.S. needs a "new civil rights agenda for our time," which he said must prioritize the right to education, employment, and to "live in safety and in peace."

As he continues to seek to soften his image and reach out to minorities, the Republican nominee visited Great Faith Ministries on Saturday. Inside, he took his seat beside Dr. Ben Carson, his wife, and Omarosa Manigault, Trump’s director of black outreach, perhaps best known as a former Apprentice contestant.

Trump bobbed his head and clapped to the gospel music, as news cameras watched on, and later praised black churches as the "conscience of our country" for their role in the civil rights movement.

"I am here today to listen to your message and I hope my presence here will also help your voice to reach new audiences in our country — and many of these audiences desperately need your spirit and your thought," he told the congregation in prepared remarks.

"I believe we need a civil rights agenda for our time," he said. "One that ensures the rights to a great education — so important — and the right to live in safety and in peace, and to have a really, really great job, a good-paying job and one that you love to go to every morning. And that can happen."

As he spoke, a small group of protesters demonstrated outside the church, denouncing Trump as racist and out of touch with black voters.

“Trump is insulting, racist, and does not represent Detroit,” said Laura DePalma, a Detroit organizer. “He doesn't care about systemic issues affecting black voters and we’re not backwards.”

Trump has repeatedly come under fire for his brusque overtures to black voters, in which he's described them as politically destitute with nothing to lose by voting for him.

The Clinton campaign mocked Trump for now addressing his first predominately black audience "after a campaign spent courting white supremacists and playing into misleading stereotypes about people of color."

"While Trump can attempt to reach out to African Americans, he has proven to the community time and again that he is unfit to be president and he has no interest in working with the African American community," the Democratic nominee's campaign said in a statement.

Evan Vucci / AP

The church visit and tour were first mentioned last month, as part of efforts to reach black voters. Trump has declined to do traditional outreach — speaking at the NAACP, for instance — and his limited efforts have drawn the ire of black Republicans.

One of their chief complaints is the selection of Bishop Wayne T. Jackson as interviewer and host to Trump, due to the fact he was the subject of a viral video of a controversial church ceremony and isn’t supporting Trump.

Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that there was a script for his interview with Trump.

For his part, Jackson, who presides over the church here, posted a video to the Impact Television Network’s Facebook page late Friday. With his prayer shawl clutching and a copy of the Jewish Heritage Study Bible, Jackson declared it was time to do the Lord’s business.

“You know, anybody who has a kingdom mind should be saying, ‘I’m going to pray with you, Bishop,’” said Jackson. “Because this can be a situation—an opportunity that God uses to touch not only Mr. Trump but many people who are going to be watching all over the world.”

“You should be saying this,” Jackson continued, “God save, God deliver and let your glory fall in that service.”

Having memorably fumbled the name of Second Corinthians during a January speech at a Christian university, Trump ended his remarks on Saturday with a reading from First John: "No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

"And that's so true," Trump added.

David Mack contributed to this report.

youtube.com

LINK: Black Republicans Are Furious Over The Pastor Interviewing Donald Trump

LINK: Donald Trump Knows The Bible So Well He Misquotes It At Christian University

“Every time I think of Trump, I get allergic,” the Democratic presidential nominee said while coughing.

During a speech on Monday in Cleveland, Hillary Clinton started coughing and jokingly said it was because she is allergic to her rival Donald Trump.

“Every time I think about Trump I get allergic,” said the Democratic nominee while coughing. “Boy, we have 63 days to go.”

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The speech in Cleveland was followed by Clinton's first interview with her traveling press corps on the same plane which she flies. During the interview on the place, she also repeatedly coughed and stopped her talk to get water from a staffer.

Clinton has been followed by conspiracies about her health throughout her campaign, and just last month former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said on Fox News that voters should search online for information about “Hillary Clinton illness.”

Her campaign has repeatedly denied these claims — including fake medical records that appeared on the internet. (Clinton’s doctor released a statement saying the records weren’t real.) Last year, the campaign released a letter from Clinton’s doctor detailing the candidate’s health, which the physician wrote was good.

LINK: Hillary Clinton Shows Her Strength By Opening A Pickle Jar On “Jimmy Kimmel”

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Richard Burr

Drew Angerer / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — The Koch network is unleashing its grassroots army in North Carolina to boost Sen. Richard Burr, following recent polls showing his re-election race tightening and concerns about lack of field organization from the Trump campaign hurting down-ballot candidates.

Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity, which has a heavy presence in the state, will target Burr's Democratic opponent, Deborah Ross, for her votes in favor of certain tax hikes during her time in the state legislature. AFP will start knocking on doors, making calls and sending out 500,000 mailers on the issue — the first in a series of mailers directed at Ross — this week.

The mailer, first shared with BuzzFeed News, reads: "When we needed her the most, Deborah Ross made life harder."

"In the depths of the recession when North Carolina suffered 10.7% unemployment... Deborah Ross raised your taxes and made life more expensive for everyone."

A spokesman for the group declined to give specifics on spending but called the effort "substantial." Other than the mailers, AFP will have more than a dozen full-time staff plus part time staff and volunteers knocking doors and making phone calls in the state.

The group does not have plans to air ads yet. However, an outside group linked to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is taking the lead on that front.

Senate Leadership Fund announced recently it has reserved $8.1 million in ads on behalf of Burr. The ads will begin Sept. 13 and run through Election Day. The nonprofit arm of the same group has already spent $1 million in ads on the race.

Ross, a former ACLU lawyer and state legislator, wasn't the Democrats first choice to run against Burr. But she's gained traction in recent weeks and raised more money than the incumbent in the last quarter. Democratic outside groups have endorsed Ross, but have yet to spend any significant money in the race.

The Koch network, which is staying out of the presidential race, has been active in Senate races in Wisconsin, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

Paul Morigi / Getty Images

Greta Van Susteren is leaving Fox News after 14 years at the network — invoking a clause in her contract that allowed her to exit after former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes resigned.

Fox News announced the move on Tuesday, in a statement that briefly mentioned Van Susteren and instead focused on her replacement — longtime Fox News political analyst Brit Hume. Hume will begin hosting On The Record immediately.

"As one of the best political analysts in the industry, Brit is the ideal choice to host a nightly political program while the most dynamic and captivating election in recent history unfolds," said Fox News co-presidents Jack Abernethy and Bill Shine. "Having Brit at the helm of this show will enable FOX News to continue on track to have its highest-rated year ever as the network dominates the cable news landscape."

“We are grateful for Greta's many contributions over the years and wish her continued success," they added.

Van Susteren wrote on Facebook on Tuesday, "Fox has not felt like home to me for a few years and I took advantage of the clause in my contract which allows me to leave now. The clause had a time limitation, meaning I could not wait."

View Video ›

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A source close to the situation told BuzzFeed News Van Susteren, who had a long-term contract with the network, made the decision to exit after a "financial disagreement." Fox News media correspondent Howard Kurtz reported that after Ailes resigned amid sexual harassment allegations, Van Susteren attempted to renegotiate her contract. According to the Fox News report, those negotiations stalled and she invoked what is known as a "key man" clause which allowed her to exit after Ailes's July departure. A source close to Van Susteren told New York magazine that Van Susteren made the decision to leave because she was upset with the culture at the network.

Van Susteren is the first major anchor in Fox News' lineup to leave the network post-Ailes. Other top stars at the network — including Bret Baier, Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly — also are reported to have "key man" clauses in their contracts.

Gary Cameron / Reuters

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Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum says Donald Trump’s immigration position is one that he criticized his Republican primary opponents for taking.

The former senator, who ran against Trump before dropping out after a poor finish in the Iowa caucuses, said Trump shifted from calling for mass deportations to a position of uncertainty for undocumented immigrants.

"It's a little bit nuanced from where he was, for sure,” Santorum said on the John Gibson Show on Friday. “I mean, the fact is that he is not saying everybody has to go. He is saying he's going to set priorities and focus on criminal aliens as opposed to a broader path. I think if you look at the particulars, half of the people who are here illegally are here on visa overstays. He said those people have to go home, and we know who they are, we know how to track them, we have their names, we probably have locations for all of them. I think it's a matter of enforcement, so that takes care of half the problem.”

“Then you’ve got a big chunk of folks who are illegals, and I think the area where he is backed out a little bit is on what we're going to do with those who came here illegally in the first place and have not committed any crimes,” he continued. “He's sort of left that question open. Yes, he did criticize people in the primary on that, but he's made a little bit of a shift in his policies. I don't necessarily agree with it, but that's the decision he's made."

Trump said over the weekend that perhaps some undocumented immigrants could stay, but the Republican nominee has been sending mixed messages in recent weeks.

Santorum added, "Well, look, I think people who are in this country illegally should, unless you're in a job that is simply not being done—and those are in the agricultural area. In those cases, I would provide for a work permit. After that people should return home and come back in an orderly fashion."

Arizona Sen. John McCain, when asked which presidential candidate he could work best with on the issue of immigration, answered by saying Donald Trump.

McCain, in an interview with Prescott eNews posted to their YouTube on Sunday, added that he could work with any president. He then quickly turned the discussion to criticizing Hillary Clinton.

"Who do you think you can work with the best on the topic of immigration?" McCain was asked.

"Donald Trump," responded the Arizona senator. "I'm sure that I can work with Donald Trump. I can work with any president because that's my job. I can work with any president. And I am still very offended that Hillary Clinton would lie about what she said to the family of the young man that was killed in Libya standing next to his coffin. And then saying that his family misunderstood. That's a lie. While —while they were next to the coffin — flag draped coffin. That's disgraceful."

Earlier in the interview, McCain said the border needs to be secured and then there would be a long path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. He said it would be impossible to deport 11 million people.

Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images

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Donald Trump Jr. says questions about Hillary Clinton's health are fair game.

"Of course it is, this is a person that has a track record of not taking that phone call at 3 o'clock in the morning," Trump Jr. said on the Mike Gallagher Show on Tuesday. "You need someone who is gonna be able to do this. I mean, listen, if there's one thing no one is gonna ever say, it's that my father doesn't have the energy to do this job."

"I think of course it's fair game. This is a person that's got to lead the free world. There's a reason they hide her. There's a reason they don't let her speak to people," he added. "It's because she's not very likable."

Trump Jr. said Clinton was only able to speak to "establishment elite," and said he believed Clinton was being hidden from the American people.

"I don't think you've ever seen a presidential candidate that's been as hidden from the people who are supposed to be her would-be constituents then Hillary Clinton and you got to question why that is."

WASHINGTON — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters on Tuesday GOP leaders will move to formally punish House Democrats for staging a sit-in over gun control in June.

McCarthy said several rules were broken during the sit-in, including Democrats sitting on the floor and using their phones, and confirmed leadership plans to bring sanctions against participants, which was first reported by Politico.

Although McCarthy did not provide specifics on what punishments he and Speaker Paul Ryan would seek, he insisted a price must be paid. “Are you going to let the House stand with that behavior going forward?" said McCarthy. "I think it would create real damage to the reputation of the House in the long term.”

He also said that he's had friendly conversations with Democrats wherein they've conceded they broke the rules and should be held to account. The Democrats have a slightly different version.

"That is absurd," said Drew Hammill, spokesman for Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Back in July, Pelosi all but dared the Republicans to lower sanctions against Democrats. "Make my day," she said during a press conference.

In particular, she ridiculed the idea of Democrats being punished for using their phones on the floor, noting members use them every day on the floor.

McCarthy said a House investigation was conducted into the sit-in over the summer break and the results will be made public soon.

“The investigation is coming to an end and I think the appropriate judgment will come forward," he said.

AP images

Two PACs have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars this year. They do similar calls, they have nearly identical websites, they share a treasurer, and neither has disclosed much about where the money is going.

One is pro-Trump. One is progressive.

The Democratic PAC says on its website its purpose is “spreading the Democratic message and values to the people of America.” Impressively, the group has raised six figures off contributions.

But the PAC’s close ties to a similar pro-Trump group — from a shared treasurer to extremely similar websites, contact information, and call formats — and the fact the PAC’s listed director is a 26-year-old recent college graduate with no known political experience (who a source says was unaware of the PAC’s activities) raise questions about the PAC’s purpose and what it’s spending money on.

Progressive Priorities PAC has raised nearly $300,000, and has $72,500 in the bank, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Almost all the group’s expenditures have been paid to companies that specialize in robocalls. No money has been donated to any liberal candidates.

No known robocalls from the group have been posted online, but complaints about unsolicited calls online suggest the group attempted to concurrently raise money off the candidacies of both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary. Calls seemed to use a short clip from Hillary Clinton, followed by an appeal for cash. Complaints about the calls have been repeatedly posted on telemarketing complaint sites and social media.

More oddly, the group has various ties to a pro-Donald Trump PAC, “Liberty Action Group,” a group that’s raised nearly $800,000. It’s unclear if any money raised by Liberty Action Group has been spent elect Trump; more than half group’s spending was given to a “media consultant,” though the group’s FEC filings provide no information as to where specifically that money went.

The progressive PAC’s website is nearly identical to that of Liberty Action Group PAC. Their FEC filings are also extremely similar; both groups spend thousands and thousands of dollars at the same robocalling company, Smart Call Media. And both group’s calls share a pattern: a short clip from Clinton, Trump, or Sanders and then an ask for a donation. Both groups headquarters are listed at WeWork co-working spaces just down the street from each other in Austin.

Earlier this year, one Twitter user noted the PACs shared a donation page. Today, the two groups have distinct, but nearly identical donation pages. Information that can be seen viewing the group’s website page source also shows both groups have script from “Conservative Solutions PAC” in their page source. And, to opt out of message from Progressive Priorities on their privacy page, you’re instructed to email Liberty Action Group.

“You may opt out of any future contacts from us at any time. You can do the following at any time by contacting us via the email address given on our website: info@thelibertyactiongroup," the page reads.

The pro-Trump group and the progressive group also share the same treasurer: Tedla Henok, who is a Virginia-based accountant. It appears those are the only two groups on FEC filings that Henok has ever done accounting work for. Henok wouldn’t answer questions about if the two group’s are connected last week, hanging up during an inquiry.

“I am ending this call. I am not responsible for make any statement,” Henok said to BuzzFeed News.

Josiah Cammer, the 24-year-old Austin-based director on Liberty Action Group, is Facebook friends with listed director of Progressive Priorities PAC, Alexa Roth. Roth is a 26-year-old recent college graduate with no known political experience.

A source familiar with Roth’s situation says she had no idea her information was being used on FEC records for a progressive PAC and was considering taking legal action to get her information removed. The source said Roth was aghast to learn she was solely listed as the PAC’s director with her home address.

Roth, according to the source, was approached in the spring by her then-boyfriend Kyle Davies about having her name on records about a PAC raising money for Republicans. Roth, the source alleged, was led to believe she’d receive a monthly stipend as part of business venture working to elect Republicans. The source said was paid several hundreds dollars to have her name on records but had no contact with the PACs after it was started and received no payment afterward.

Cammer, who records indicate received more than $15,000 to run Liberty Action Group, denied on Friday knowing about the liberal PAC. “I have no connection to them,” said Cammer. Asked if he’d heard of the PAC before, he said, “No, I have not.” A source said Davies and Cammer were fraternity brothers in college at Texas Tech University, something backed up by social media records.

Davies’ public resume lists him as working as the owner of Spruce Digital Media in Austin as an ad-buyer. He did not respond to requests for comment.

Three separate sources pointed to Davies’ cousin, Matt Tunstall, who appears to be the Russian-based CEO of a company call IBid Games as director of both PACs. Tunstall’s name is not listed on documents for either PAC. According to public posts on Instagram and Facebook, he knows Robert Reyes, a listed director Liberty Action Group. (By Monday, a Facebook associated with Reyes had been taken down, he had previously blocked this reporter following a request for comment.)

Reyes is also listed as the director of another PAC, American Priority PAC. Once again, the site is identical to Liberty Action Group and has the email for Liberty Action Group as the contact on the privacy page. The group also has Henok as the treasurer. It was formed in late July and has not filed any filings on expenditures or contributions yet. It is also listed as headquarter in Austin, Texas.

Tunstall declined to respond to inquiries.

Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images

TAMPA, Fla. — The Clinton Foundation is prepared to make drastic changes if Hillary Clinton wins the election, including removing Bill Clinton as chairman.

But another member of immediate family, Chelsea Clinton, is planning to retain her position on the foundation's board.

The candidate said she saw no problem with that, asked on Tuesday afternoon if she thinks her daughter's continuing work at the foundation could raise legitimate questions about conflicts of interest.

“No, I do not,” she said, launching into a brusque defense of her husband's foundation, a 15-year-old sprawling network of global partnerships financed in part by foreign governments, including in a handful of instances for the four years Clinton served as secretary of state.

“As I’ve said over and over again — it doesn’t matter how many times you ask me and how you ask me — these issues will be decided after the election," Clinton said sharply. “We will decide the appropriate way forward.”

Clinton did not clarify why she believes her daughter's role wouldn't raise concerns about conflicts of interest when her husband has already indicated that his would, announcing in August that he would resign as part of a months-long process to prepare for his wife's possible victory.

Instead, Clinton only suggested that more changes could occur to the foundation after the election. "Everybody’s gonna take a hard look at what goes forward and what doesn’t," she told reporters aboard her campaign plane on Tuesday afternoon.

A spokesperson for Chelsea Clinton declined to comment Tuesday.

The foundation has already outlined much of its plan for the potential "transition," as officials refer to it, stating clearly through a spokesperson that Chelsea, 36, will remain on the board regardless of the election outcome.

Nearly every other aspect of the organization is set to see changes: It will stop accepting foreign and corporate donations, end its marquee Clinton Global Initiative, and spin off nearly all ongoing programs that make up its work around the world, leaving the operation significantly transformed, smaller and less active.

Defending the foundation as "world-renowned" and rated four stars by Charity Navigator, Clinton argued that officials there had already gone "above and beyond" to address concerns about the interests of donors and their proximity to one of the country's most powerful families.

As Clinton put it to reporters, scrutiny and attacks have long been something "that I've just accepted," she said, joking that she's "created so many jobs in the sort of conspiracy theory machine factory."

In 2009, when she became secretary of state, Clinton entered into an agreement with the Obama administration that required the foundation to restrict and donors each year. "Nobody has ever, ever made that kind of disclosure," she said.

It was found later, however, that the foundation accepted a foreign donation in violation of the ethics agreement. And after spinning off in 2010 into an affiliated entity, the Clinton Health Access Initiative did not disclose its donors while she was secretary of state.

Clinton, taking questions on a flight to campaign here in Tampa, promised that the foundation would take pains to "do what is right and proper to make sure that there is not even a question," she said, before adding, "But let's not pretend there were conflicts, because there were not."

In an interview that aired Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden said that the future of the foundation has been a “moving target,” but that he was confident Clinton would figure out what she would be “crystal clear to the American people about the relationship between the family and the foundation will be from this point forward.”

Coupled with the FBI investigation into Clinton's private email server, the foundation has been a subject of intense scrutiny throughout the election, as well as fodder for Donald Trump and the GOP. Clinton and her aides have dismissed questions about what critics cast as an unsavory mix of money, power, and influence, highlighting the foundation's work around the world in fields like HIV/AIDS and malaria.

In their estimation, the Clinton Foundation has been questioned with far more frequency and intensity than the enterprises associated with Trump, including the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which recently was fined by the IRS over a $25,000 campaign donation from the foundation to a group linked to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. The foundation donated the money in 2013 just days after news reports that Bondi was considering an investigation into Trump University allegations. Trump, too, has faced some scrutiny over whether his children would continue to operate his business, which has, for instance, a long-term federal government lease in Washington.

On Tuesday, Clinton suggested that a "different standard" applies to Trump because "the American people have factored in to their assessment of him that, you know, that’s the kind of guy he is" — that it "seems to be expected somehow."

"That’s fine if you’re a reality TV star or you’re a real estate developer," she told reporters. "I don’t think it is fine if you want to be president of the United States."

LINK: Clinton Foundation Prepares To Hand Off Programs, Scale Back Operations

Judge Merrick Garland

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — As the Senate returned from its summer recess, Democrats and associated interested groups readied a fall push for President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland.

New polling out from a Democratic-leaning firm on Wednesday shows that the issue does matter to some voters in key states like Iowa, where the Senate Judiciary Committee chair, Sen. Chuck Grassley, is up for re-election, and in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, where Sens. Pat Toomey and Kelly Ayotte, respectively, are in tight races seeking to hold onto their seats. Their races, moreover, are two of the key races Democrats must win if they hope to take back the Senate majority.

In the new Public Policy Polling polls, an advance copy of which was provided to BuzzFeed News by the We Need Nine outside effort to press for Senate action, 40% of Iowa voters said they would be less likely to vote for Grassley if he opposed holding confirmation hearings for Garland. Only 26% say they would be more likely to vote for him in that situation.

In the polling, a majority of Pennsylvanians (51%) say the vacant seat on the Supreme Court should be filled this year. A great majority — 56% — say the Senate should at least hold confirmation hearings on Obama's nominee. In the New Hampshire polling, only 38% agree more that Ayotte is doing what's in the best interest of the country — while 52% agree more that she is playing politics by opposing confirmation hearings for Garland.

Garland — a federal appeals court judge for the D.C. Circuit — was nominated by Obama in March to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February.

Over the past six months, the Republican leadership in the Senate has maintained a clear position that the Senate will not move on Obama's nominee. There is no sign that there will be any action in the next two months — although talk of possible movement on Garland's nomination in the lame-duck Senate session, if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency, already has been raised.

The question in the meantime, however, is whether the issue will make it to the front of voters' minds come Election Day. Senate Democrats and their outside allies are keenly aware of that challenge — and aim to make the vacancy an issue.

Democrats have said there should be a political price to pay for Republican senators' failure to "do their job" — as the Democratic talking point goes — and the next two months give Democrats their last moment to turn that threat into reality.

In a floor speech on Tuesday, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy, made that clear in a speech railing against the Republicans' failure to move on the nomination.

"This unprecedented and unwarranted stance has already undermined one term of the high court, but there is still time to avoid harming another term," Leahy said. "There is still plenty of time to have a hearing and vote swiftly on Chief Judge Garland’s nomination. It’s time for the Senate to get back to work."

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights — an umbrella organization of many of the nation's largest civil rights organizations — on Tuesday issued a statement as well, urging movement not just on Garland's nomination but also on the "90 judicial vacancies – and counting" in lower federal courts.

In a line sure to be repeated in coming weeks, the group's vice president, Nancy Zirkin, said, "[T]he failure of Senate Republicans to do their job is denying justice to millions of Americans who can’t get their day in court. This must end now."

It's not all statements and speeches. The We Need Nine campaign also will be promoting a Snapchat filter all day Wednesday that will be active around the Supreme Court and Capitol Hill areas to coincide with more speeches. The campaign is holding a news conference in front of the Supreme Court building on Wednesday morning that will feature lawmakers, some of Garland's former judicial clerks, and others urging Senate action on the nomination.

The We Need Nine campaign's Wednesday Snapchat filter:

A major Texas newspaper recommended Hillary Clinton for president – its first democratic presidential endorsement since before WWII.

In the second of a two-part editorial published Wednesday, the Dallas Morning News wrote that there “is only one serious candidate on the presidential ballot in November.”

“We don’t come to this decision easily,” the staff wrote Wednesday of its Clinton endorsement, pointing out that the Democratic party’s “over-reliance on government and regulation to remedy the country’s ills is at odds with our belief in private-sector ingenuity and innovation.”

The newspaper’s first installment, published Tuesday, declared that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was neither a Republican nor a conservative.

"Trump doesn't reflect Republican ideals of the past; we are certain he shouldn't reflect the GOP of the future," the editorial said. "Donald Trump is not qualified to serve as president and does not deserve your vote."

While the newspaper has criticized the way Clinton has handled certain issues in the past, it noted that she “has experience in actual governance, a record of service and a willingness to delve into real policy.”

In comparing Clinton’s resume and sense of judgement to that of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, the Dallas Morning News wrote, “this election is no contest.”

The Op-Ed highlighted Clinton’s history of bipartisan efforts. When she served in the US Senate, a majority of her bills were backed by GOP co-sponsors, and her decisions regarding the nation’s position in the Middle East made it “no accident that hundreds of Republican foreign policy hands back Clinton.”

Donna Mcwilliam / AP Photo

The paper also pointed out Clinton’s shortcomings, including “questions about her honesty, her willingness to shade the truth.”

The Op-Ed recommended that she “take additional steps to divorce allegations of influence peddling from the Clinton Foundation,” and that she be “more forthright with the public by holding news conferences,” as opposed to relying on a shield of carefully scripted appearances and speeches.”

Still, Dallas Morning News staff wrote, those criticisms “are plainly in a different universe than her opponent’s.”

Trump’s values, the newspaper wrote, “are hostile to conservatism.”

“He plays on fear — exploiting base instincts of xenophobia, racism and misogyny — to bring out the worst in all of us, rather than the best,” the Op-Ed read.

The editorial went on to assert that Trump’s “serial shifts on fundamental issues reveal an astounding absence of preparedness,” and that his “improvisational insults and midnight tweets exhibit a dangerous lack of judgement and impulse control.”

Clinton, the staff wrote, “has spent years in the trenches doing the hard work needed to prepare herself to lead our nation.”

“In this race, at this time, she deserves your vote.”

Former Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson says two pro-Donald Trump PACs are using his name without his knowledge to collect the names and email addresses of supporters.

Two separate PACs, American Priority PAC and Liberty Action Group, invite prospective donors to add their name to a pledge that they are told also include Carson and conservative writer Ann Coulter. Coulter did not immediately return a request for comment.

The identical sites for the PACs, use a variety of URLs: Pledge2Elect.com, PledgeToElect.com, and PledgeYourName.com. Donors are told if they donate more than $1000 they receive a signed photo of Trump.

Armstrong Williams, a representative for Carson, said he’d never heard of the PACs and they have no role in it.

“We’ve never heard of it,” Williams said.

One of the groups, Liberty Action Group, has raised almost $800,000 dollars, according to FEC records, but those records reveal little about where money is being spent and to whom it is going. The group’s largest expenditure — more than $450,000 — is for a “media consultant.” No information is given about the identify of the media consultant . Another liberal PAC, Progressive Priorities PAC, is run by the same individuals, sources say and records reveal.

The other PAC, American Priority PAC, shares a director, Rob Reyes, with Liberty Action Group. All three PACs share a treasurer, are based in Austin, TX, have similar websites, and share the same contact information. Neither Reyes, nor Josiah Cammer, the other director of Liberty Action Group, has returned comment requests.

LINK: Why Does This Democratic Progressive Group Have Close Ties To A Pro-Trump PAC?

LINK: A Pro-Trump PAC Raised Nearly $800,000 — Where Did That Money Go?

Alex Wong / Getty Images

Donald Trump's sons, Eric and Donald Jr., are attacking Hillary Clinton for holding high-priced fundraisers out in the Hamptons, even though their father has attended two fundraisers of his own in the affluent Long Island summer getaway.

"The president of Mexico invites both her and my father down to Mexico, she declines the request," Eric Trump said on Kilmeade and Friends on Tuesday. "Where was she? She was fundraising in the Hamptons. She's fundraising $100,000 per person to come to dinner. I mean, that's everything that's wrong with our government."

Jets owner Woody Johnson threw a fundraiser for Trump last month in the Hamptons, with tickets going for $10,000 and $25,000, according to the New York Post. A month earlier, Trump held an event at the home of investor Wilbur Ross with tickets going for $25,000, with $100,000 price to join the host committee, again per the Post.

During a discussion on energy and Clinton's health on the Mike Gallagher Show, Donald Trump Jr. suggest Clinton was being hidden and only do fundraising events for the establishment elite.

"He's got the plane heading down to Mexico while she's resting and collecting checks in the Hamptons," Gallagher said to Trump.

"It's disgusting, but it's a double standard that they've lived by their entire lives. If he did the things that she did he'd in jail for thirty years," replied Trump Jr.

Trump in Greenville on Tuesday.

Evan Vucci / AP

GREENVILLE — Donald Trump did something on Tuesday that he hasn’t done much of lately: he boasted of a positive poll result.

At a rally in Greenville, North Carolina, the Republican nominee reveled in a new CNN/ORC poll that showed him leading Hillary Clinton nationally 45% to 43%.

“Today, much to the consternation of many, the new CNN poll was just released and Trump is winning,” he said to cheers. “Meaning, you’re winning. I’m not winning. You’re winning. The movement is winning.”

“I think we’re doing very well," he added. "The pundits are extremely upset."

The gloating comments were not part of the script Trump’s camp released to the press — but, according to many in the crowd, the fact his new campaign chiefs have him using a teleprompter is one of the big reasons the polls have tightened.

“I think he figured out that using the teleprompter is better for his words,” said Cody Chase, 20, from Snow Hill.

“It helps him stay on message,” added his brother, Waylan, 20, who was attending his fifth Trump rally. “We don’t know how Obama would be without a teleprompter.”

After a post-convention period that was dominated by tumult and scandals for the Trump campaign, with the nominee attacking fellow Republicans and the family of a dead Muslim soldier, more than a dozen supporters at the rally told BuzzFeed News they were hopeful the colorful candidate might finally be getting used to staying on message.

“He’s realized that he has to do things the ‘right’ way, and think before he opens his mouth. He gets on Twitter and hurts himself,” said Julia Riley of New Bern. “When he goes off on one of his rages and his rants, that’s when he gets into trouble.”

Many credited Trump’s better fortunes to the softening image developed by his new campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, who is the third person to run the Trump campaign.

“His language, his cussing — he’s cutting back. His overall tone is more mellow now,” said local resident Peggy James, who credited Conway for the change.

“It’s either that or the Xanax,” she joked. “I’m not sure.”

Mike Segar / Reuters

Tuesday’s speech, delivered before an overwhelmingly white audience, also saw the candidate continue his efforts to reach out to black voters: He mentioned his weekend visit to a black church in Detroit and name-checked other cities with large proportions of African Americans, including Chicago, Baltimore, and Washington DC.

Among the warm-up acts were North Carolina sisters Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson, who have have amassed hundreds of thousands of fans online as “Diamond and Silk,” espousing cheeky, ultra-conservative political punditry.

“I just want to say to my black brothers and sisters, you don’t have time to pack a bag — just stop, drop, and roll right on off that Democratic plantation,” Hardaway/Diamond told the crowd. “Come on over here to the Trump train.”

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Trump again implored black voters, who he said lived among high crime and in poverty, to vote for him, asking, “What have you got to lose”

That phrasing has previously offended many in the black community, including friends Stephanie Reynolds and Sha Richardson, a pair of 27-year-old former Bernie Sanders supporters who tried unsuccessfully to enter the rally to see the Trump phenomenon first hand.

“I think it’s so insulting for him to get up on stage and say, 'What have you got to lose?'" Reynolds said. “It basically says, 'You suck.'"

Also benefiting Trump has been a more than a week of headlines about recently released emails from the Democratic candidate's time as secretary of state, as well as a transcript of an interview she gave FBI officials investigating her use of a private server.

“The excerpts from the FBI really paint a picture of a woman who is not physically or mentally capable,” said Frank Martin of Wilson, who said he previously voted for Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. “She can’t remember what she had for lunch.”

Mike Segar / Reuters

Much of the discussion among those lining up in the dry summer heat prior to the rally drifted to Clinton’s health, which has been the subject of unfounded conspiracy theories among those on the alt-right and increasingly embraced by the Trump campaign.

She further ignited the rumors by breaking into a coughing fit on Monday that she joked was because she was allergic to Trump. (Her campaign later blamed a high pollen count).

“Mainstream media never covered Hillary’s massive ‘hacking’ or coughing attack, yet it is #1 trending,” Trump tweeted Tuesday. “What’s up?”

“As long as she coughs and coughs, the better he’ll do,” said June Boyd of New Bern. “He just needs to keep his foot out of his mouth.”

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

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Eric Trump said on Wednesday that he was "a little scared" by a video of Hillary Clinton coughing during a speech on Monday in Cleveland.

Donald Trump's son was asked in a radio interview about Clinton's health, which has been the subject of numerous conspiracy theories this election cycle. Trump agreed with host Dom Giordano on 1210 WPHT Philadelphia radio that her health was a legitimate campaign issue.

"I’m a civilian in this whole thing," he said. "I’m not a politician and I’m not really, you know, the person who opines on people’s health but, you know, I saw that video too and I was a little, I was a little scared by it. I mean, it was pretty interesting to say the least."

"And I can tell you if the same thing happened to my father, the whole world would’ve jumped on top of him. I mean, they absolutely would have jumped on top of him. Um, you know, so it’s interesting. Again, I’m not qualified to talk about it but it is, you know..." Trump added, before being cut off.

The video of Clinton coughing has been seized on by conspiracy theorists who claim Clinton is suffering from some undisclosed illness. Clinton joked that she was coughing because “Every time I think about Trump I get allergic.”