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April 9, 2018

Fox News host Tucker Carlson told viewers on Monday night that while "the official story" is that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government used chemical weapons to attack a rebel-held enclave near Damascus on Saturday, it "ought to make you nervous" that both Republicans and Democrats agree his regime was behind the attack that left at least 48 people dead, including several children.

People should be "skeptical" of the attack, especially since "all of the geniuses tell us Assad killed those children, but do they really know that?" Carlson asked. "Of course they don't really know that. They're making it up. They have no real idea of what happened." The government and rebels both have chemical weapons, Carlson said, and Assad wouldn't have to use chlorine gas because he's winning the war and President Trump recently said he wants to pull all U.S. troops out of the country.

Trump promised to make a decision soon on how the U.S. will respond to the chemical attack, tweeting there was a "big price to pay," but Carlson made sure to end his segment by making Trump out to be the victim of the establishment. "The same people who brought you a dying American middle class, undefended American borders, and endless pointless wars in countries you could not find on a map are telling the president he's got to depose Assad for reasons that are both unclear and demonstrably dishonest," he said. Watch Carlson's diatribe below. Catherine Garcia

12:48 p.m. ET

"We can all see that a Russia disinformation campaign is in full-force this morning, but Russia's desperate attempts at deflection cannot change the facts," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Saturday at a Security Council meeting following U.S.-led strikes on Syria. President Trump ordered the attack Friday in response to what Washington believes was chemical weapons use by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last week.

Haley argued "there is clear information demonstrating" the Assad regime's culpability. "The pictures of dead children were not fake news," she said. "They were the result of the Syrian regime's barbaric inhumanity. And they were the result of the regime and Russia's failure to live up to their international commitments to remove all chemical weapons from Syria."

The ambassador also indicated the Trump administration is prepared to launch further strikes on Syria if chemical weapons are used again. "The time for talk ended last night," she announced. "The United States is locked and loaded. When our president draws a red line, our president enforces a red line." Watch an excerpt of Haley's comments below. Bonnie Kristian

12:24 p.m. ET

There "has been a 2,000 percent increase in Russian trolls in the past 24 hours," chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana White said Saturday, accusing Moscow of ramping up a "disinformation campaign" against the U.S.-led strikes on Syria ordered by President Trump Friday night. She did not detail how the Defense Department calculated that number, but told assembled reporters the Pentagon would supply them with "the facts, moving forward."

Like President Trump, White spoke of the strikes as an unqualified success. She said they do not "represent a change in U.S. policy" or "an attempt to depose the Syrian regime." Watch a clip of her comments below, or see the full briefing here. Bonnie Kristian

10:56 a.m. ET

Renowned director Milos Forman died early Saturday morning at a hospital near his Connecticut home, his family announced through his agent. He was 86. Known for films including One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, and Man on the Moon, Forman won two Oscars in the best director category and was nominated for a third.

Forman was born in 1932 in what was then known as Czechoslovakia, and during World War II, his mother was killed at Auschwitz. He was part of the "Czechoslovak new wave" of film but fled his home country after the imposition of Soviet rule. Forman is survived by four children. Bonnie Kristian

10:39 a.m. ET

Some congressional Democrats and Republicans alike slammed President Trump for ordering military strikes on Syria without seeking congressional authorization:

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) called the strikes "illegal" and "reckless." "Today, it's a strike on Syria — what's going to stop him from bombing Iran or North Korea next?" Kaine asked. "The last thing Congress should be doing is giving this president a blank check to wage war against anyone, anywhere." Minority leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) gave more neutral responses, calling for caution and strategy without condemning the strikes.

On the other side of the aisle, libertarian-leaning Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) used language similar to Kaine's:

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a frequent Amash ally, tweeted a litany of questions for those, especially Republicans, supporting the strikes:

In the Senate, Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) likewise called on Trump to seek congressional authorization. Paul said on Fox News Thursday he objects to the idea that the president can just "go to war when he wants, where he wants." Bonnie Kristian

10:22 a.m. ET
Yana Paskova/Getty Images

The Republican National Committee (RNC) deputy finance chair, Elliott Broidy, resigned from his position Friday after news broke that he hired President Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to negotiate a settlement with a Playboy model in 2016.

"I acknowledge I had a consensual relationship with a Playboy Playmate," Broidy said in a statement. "At the end of our relationship, this woman shared with me that she was pregnant. She alone decided that she did not want to continue with the pregnancy and I offered to help her financially during this difficult period."

As with the deal Cohen made to buy the silence of adult film star Stormy Daniels about her alleged affair with President Trump, the Broidy settlement uses alliterative pseudonyms for the parties involved. And the women in each case share a lawyer: One Keith M. Davidson represented both Daniels and the Playboy model in the Broidy agreement in their dealings with Cohen.

Broidy, who is married, resigned after his $1.6 million deal came to light. This story comes as Friday court filings revealed Cohen is under criminal investigation. Bonnie Kristian

8:38 a.m. ET

President Trump celebrated on Twitter Saturday morning following Friday night's U.S.-led strikes on Syrian regime targets, his words echoing former President George W. Bush's now infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech about Iraq:

Many of the president's prominent supporters do not share his enthusiasm. Fox News' Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham questioned the wisdom of the attack Friday night, with Carlson contrasting the decision with Trump's campaign rhetoric and Ingraham making a comparison to the war in Iraq. Infowars host Alex Jones, in tears, said Trump backers have "made so many sacrifices and now he's crapping all over us." Bonnie Kristian

8:23 a.m. ET
Iakovos Hatzistavrou/Getty Images

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday joined British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron in endorsing the overnight U.S.-led strikes on Syria. Merkel said the attack was "necessary and appropriate, to ensure the effectiveness of the international ban of chemical weapons use and to warn the Syrian regime of further attempts."

Another strike could happen, said the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, if the "red line is crossed again" with another chemical attack. France declassified an intelligence report supporting "beyond possible doubt" Washington's allegation that the Syrian regime was responsible for chemical weapons use last week.

Canada, Israel, Turkey, the European Union, and NATO also announced support for the strikes, while the United Nations both condemned chemical weapons and urged U.S. restraint. China called for diplomacy, and Iraq warned of unintended consequences.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who condemned the U.S. strikes, has called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council "to discuss aggressive actions of the U.S. and its allies," an effort unlikely to produce any meaningful censure of the strikes given their coordination by three permanent council members, the U.S., U.K., and France. Bonnie Kristian

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