Розділ: Політика
US Health Official to Take Leave of Absence After Accusing Government Scientists of ‘Sedition’
A top U.S. spokesman on the coronavirus is taking a leave of absence after accusing government scientists of “sedition” and alleging their handling of the pandemic was meant to undermine President Donald Trump.
In a statement Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said Michael Caputo, the agency’s assistant secretary of public affairs. will be on leave for the next 60 days “to focus on his health and the well-being of his family.”
Caputo contended without evidence Sunday that a “resistance unit” of medical personnel “deep in the bowels” of the government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to defeat Trump, even if it means the U.S.’s world-leading coronavirus death toll of more than 196,000 continues to rise.
He accused the scientists of abandoning science to become “political animals.”
On Tuesday, he apologized to co-workers.
Caputo has drawn intense criticism in Washington for attempting to alter the CDC’s weekly reports on U.S. coronavirus infections and deaths to adhere to Trump’s repeated assertions that the pandemic is under control and that a vaccine will soon be available, possibly before the election on Nov. 3, when Trump faces former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden for a four-year term in the White House.
Caputo voiced a string of bizarre and unsupported accusations on Facebook Live and in subsequent newspaper interviews, saying his physical health has declined and his “mental health has definitely failed.”
Caputo, 58, expressed fears for his personal safety at the hands of Trump foes, telling his supporters, “If you carry guns, buy ammunition, ladies and gentlemen, because it’s going to be hard to get.”
US Coronavirus Spokesman Accuses Government Scientists of ‘Sedition’ to Hurt Trump Health aide warns of left-wing armed insurrection if Trump wins reelectionThe coronavirus spokesman was named by the White House in April to oversee the government’s often disjointed response to the pandemic. Months ago, Trump acknowledged to journalist Bob Woodward that he intentionally misled Americans by depicting the virus as nothing much worse than the seasonal flu in order to avoid a panic in the country as the airborne virus swept into the U.S. from China.
Woodward’s new book “Rage” recounts how U.S. intelligence officials had earlier warned Trump that the coronavirus would be the most serious national security threat of his presidency.
Caputo’s belief that career government experts are working to thwart Trump’s reelection in his campaign against Biden echoes the president’s years- long claim that a “deep state” within the Washington bureaucracy is trying to undermine him.
Trump has often assailed what he sees as the Washington political opposition — Democratic lawmakers, the national news media and long-entrenched civil servants.
Caputo claimed CDC scientists “haven’t gotten out of their sweatpants except for meetings at coffee shops” to plot “how they’re going to attack Donald Trump next. There are scientists who work for this government who do not want America to get well, not until after Joe Biden is president.”
US Official Apologizes After Accusing Scientists of Conspiring Against Trump HHS is standing by Michael Caputo in the face of calls by congressional Democrats for his dismissal Caputo described his own dismay with life working for the government.
“I don’t like being alone in Washington,” he said, describing “shadows on the ceiling in my apartment. There alone, shadows are so long.”
He said the mounting number of COVID-19 deaths was taking a toll on him.
Caputo told The Washington Post that “since joining the administration, my family and I have been continually threatened, and in and out of criminal court dealing with harassment prosecutions. This weighs heavily on us, and we deeply appreciate the friendship and support of President Trump as we address these matters and keep our children safe.”
The White House had no comment on Caputo’s claims. He deactivated his personal Twitter and Facebook accounts on Monday, while HHS called him “a critical, integral part of the president’s coronavirus response, leading on public messaging as Americans need public health information to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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By Polityk | 09/17/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Moderators Hold the Center of Presidential Debate Stage
The next big date on the U.S. political calendar is Tuesday September 29th — when the first of three debates will be held between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. But there will be a third person on stage that night — the moderator. VOA’s Steve Redisch examines how that person impacts the course of the debate.
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By Polityk | 09/16/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Courts Latino Voters in Florida
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden traveled to Florida on Tuesday to court the Latino vote in this crucial battleground state. VOA’s Brian Padden reports, nationwide, Latino voters still favor Biden over Trump, but recent polls show Biden’s advantage eroding, and Trump now holds a slight lead among Latinos in Florida, due in part to the president’s hardline policies toward Cuba and Venezuela.
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By Polityk | 09/16/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Makes Personal Appeal for Support to Hispanics in Florida
KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA—In a tailored appeal to Hispanic voters, Democratic Party presidential nominee Joe Biden accused incumbent President Donald Trump of having “failed the Hispanic community time and time again” during his nearly four years in office, in part by fanning “the flames of hatred and division in this country for his own gain.” The former vice president made the comment during a Hispanic Heritage Month event in Florida where he finds his critically needed support among Latinos eroding. Biden accused Trump of neglecting the people of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017. Trump has “insulted the dignity of Hispanic families over and over and over again,” Biden said, noting that with only 49 days left until the election, “I’m asking for your vote. Biden, in a live streamed webcast, told the Latino community: “You can decide the direction of this country.”WATCH: Biden at Hispanic Heritage Month eventSorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
Performer Luis Fonsi arrives to speak at a Hispanic Heritage Month event featuring Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Fla.Nationally, Biden’s lead over Trump with Latinos has dropped from 30 percent to 9 percent. Only a handful of supporters, with face coverings and socially distanced, were allowed in the room where the former vice president made his Tuesday evening comments – exemplifying his cautious campaign in contrast to Republican Trump’s packed rallies amid the coronavirus pandemic. The campaign of the incumbent has chipped away at Biden’s favorability with Hispanics as it tries to paint the Democratic Party challenger as a puppet of socialists. Trump has also repeatedly emphasized his administration’s hardline policies on communist Cuba and Venezuela’s socialist government. Biden flew to Florida on Tuesday to appeal to the growing Puerto Rican population in the central part of the state. Many of them feel their island, a U.S. commonwealth, has been treated poorly by Trump, especially after it struggled following the 2017 hurricane. Also damaging the president’s image with Puerto Ricans are reports that Trump wanted to sell the island and purchase Greenland because “Puerto Rico was dirty and the people were poor,” said actress Eva Longoria.Actress Eva Longoria speaks during a Hispanic Heritage Month event featuring Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Fla.“He called us drug dealers and rapists, and he spent the last four years doubling down on denigrating Latinos,” she added at Tuesday evening’s event prior to Biden’s remarks. “Latinos will decide the 2020 election.” Biden, as president, “will respect the dignity of the Puerto Rican people,” said singer Ricky Martin, alongside Longoria. “He will never abandon us in our time of need,” said singer Luis Fonsi, who introduced Biden, pitching Latinos to register to vote and cast ballots for the Democrat. “Nothing less than the future of our country is on the ballot in November.” The president, who met with Latino supporters in Nevada on Monday, interpreted the polls as a clear victory for his campaign. “I mean, this is, this is good,” Trump said. “You know, this is what the polls are all saying too you know. As a Republican, Republicans don’t do as well as perhaps they should, and probably some shouldn’t do very well, but the polls came back and we’re leading ‘Sleepy Joe’ by a lot.” In appealing to Latinos, Biden has criticized Trump’s harsh immigration policies and promised increased economic and medical assistance to help these communities hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Older Cubans are generally seen as firm backers of Trump, but Biden is looking to gain support from a younger generation with no memory of life in Fidel Castro’s Cuba. Progressive activists are urging Biden to reach out to younger Cubans who are more focused on domestic issues such as economic and racial inequality. “There’s a lot of new Latino young people, young Cubans, who’ve come of age who are registered to vote, who are way more progressive than their fathers or their grandmothers,” said Chuck Rocha, an adviser to former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Brian Padden in Washington contributed to this report.
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By Polityk | 09/16/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Generation Z Beats Boomers in Spotting Fake News
Members of so-called Generation Z are less – not more – likely to fall for the spread of misinformation and fake news, according to recent studies and polls published by news outlet Axios. A recent study published in Science Advances found that Americans older than 65 – also known as baby boomers – are more likely to share fake news links on Facebook than younger Americans born after 1996 (Generation Z).Survey data from 2016 showed that boomers shared nearly seven times as many fake news articles on Facebook than younger Americans between the ages of 18 and 29. “Our most robust and consistent finding is that older Americans were more likely to share articles from fake news domains,” stated the study. “This relationship holds even when we condition on other factors, such as education, party affiliation, ideological self-placement, and overall posting activity.” Among Gen Z college students, 83% receive most of their news from online news sites and social media, Axios reported from a College Reaction poll of 868 students. Social media and online content play a huge role as Gen Z’s source of information. According to a 2018 Pew Research Center survey focused on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, “95% of 13- to 17-year-olds have access to a smartphone, and a similar share (97%) use at least one of seven major online platforms.” But only 7% of Gen Z college students found social media to be the most trustworthy news source. Instead, more than 50% of Gen Z students said they believe online newspapers and news sites to be the most trustworthy, Axios reported. The gap between the sharing of false information among age groups could be because of Gen Z and younger Americans’ better understanding of social media and the distribution of online content, Axios stated. Gen Z’s online experience with social media could be what makes them more likely to spot the difference between credible sources and fake news. Alexandra Macia contributed to this report.
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By Polityk | 09/16/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Official Apologizes After Accusing Scientists of Conspiring Against Trump
A Trump health appointee who is accused of trying to muzzle an important scientific publication in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic apologized Tuesday for a separate video in which he reportedly says scientists battling the virus are conspiring against President Donald Trump and warns of shootings in America if Trump loses the election. Michael Caputo, the top spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, (HHS) apologized to his staff for the Facebook video, said an administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to be able to discuss internal matters. The department is standing by Caputo in the face of calls by congressional Democrats for his dismissal — and for the resignation of his boss, HHS Secretary Alex Azar. But Caputo, a Trump loyalist and former New York political operative, has become a new problem for a White House that has struggled with its coronavirus messaging. He can be heard on an HHS podcast asserting that Democrats don’t want a coronavirus vaccine before the election in order to punish Trump. Although Trump has made the same assertion, with no evidence to support it, such broadsides are not in a department spokesman’s normal portfolio. News reports alleged last week that Caputo’s office tried to take over and muzzle a scientific weekly from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that publishes what is supposed to be authoritative, unvarnished information about disease-fighting efforts, including, most importantly at present, COVID-19. Accusations on FacebookThen on Monday came an account of the video on Caputo’s personal Facebook page in which he accused government scientists of conspiring against Trump and suggested violence could break out after the election. Caputo was named the top HHS spokesman in April, during a tense period in relations between the White House and Azar. On a taxpayer-funded podcast earlier this summer he accused Democrats and the media of not wanting a coronavirus vaccine until after the elections in order to defeat Trump. “There are people in the United States government on the Democrats’ side … (who) do not want a vaccine,” he said. “They don’t want a vaccine until November 4th,” he added, citing the day after the presidential election. It’s highly unusual to use an agency communications platform for such a blatantly political message. Over the weekend, Caputo made headlines when Politico and The New York Times reported that his office had tried to gain control over a CDC publication known as the MMWR, or Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. In previous administrations, political appointees in the HHS secretary’s office maintained a hands-off policy. The story took a strange turn Monday, after the Times reported about a live video hosted by Caputo on his personal Facebook page. In it, Caputo reportedly accused government scientists of conspiring against Trump as part of a “resistance.” Then Caputo reportedly predicted that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden would refuse to concede defeat to Trump in the election, and violence would break out. The Associated Press was unable to independently view the video. HHS supportHHS supported Caputo, with a statement calling him a “critical, integral part of the president’s coronavirus response, leading on public messaging as Americans need public health information to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.” There was no immediate statement from the White House. Attempts to interview Caputo were unsuccessful. Calls for removalOn Capitol Hill, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., called on Azar to fire Caputo, accusing the spokesman of trying to interfere with CDC reports. And Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on Azar himself to resign, citing interference with the CDC as one example of what he termed the administration’s failures. Officials at CDC have privately complained of recent efforts by political appointees at HHS to try to edit or press for changes in the agency’s weekly MMWR publications, a go-to resource for public health professionals. MMWR articles are technical, but they reveal telling details. One published earlier this year noted that while Trump’s travel restrictions dramatically reduced travel from China in February, nothing was being done at that time to restrict travel from Italy and Europe, where the coronavirus was spreading widely and rapidly. Analysis of virus samples from hard-hit New York in March suggested it was introduced there from Europe and other parts of the U.S., the CDC article reported. Trump loyalistCaputo is an unswerving Trump loyalist. His recent book, “The Ukraine Hoax,” claims the president’s “phony” impeachment was rooted in a vast conspiracy. His appointment at HHS was seen as an attempt by the White House to exert more control over Azar, whom other administration officials were trying to blame for the government’s slow response in the initial weeks of the pandemic. At HHS, he’s been closely affiliated with Operation Warp Speed, the government’s effort to have millions of doses of a COVID-19 vaccine ready for distribution as soon as one is approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Caputo interviewed Dr. Moncef Slaoui, a top outside adviser to the vaccine effort, on an HHS podcast July 31. Commiserating with Slaoui over Democrats and news articles that were critical of the doctor, Caputo said: “I know that’s hard to believe, but the people who are abusing you, and who are beating down Operation Warp Speed, and the incredible historic work that’s going on, they don’t want a vaccine until November 4th. I don’t want to talk about politics here, but November 3rd is an important day. They don’t want a vaccine now because of politics, sir.”
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By Polityk | 09/16/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Coronavirus Spokesman Accuses Government Scientists of ‘Sedition’ to Hurt Trump
A top U.S. spokesman on the coronavirus has accused government scientists of “sedition,” saying their handling of the pandemic is meant to undermine President Donald Trump. Michael Caputo, assistant secretary of public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), also said that left-wing hit squads are preparing for an armed insurrection if Trump wins reelection in November. Caputo contended without evidence Sunday that a “resistance unit” of medical personnel “deep in the bowels” of the government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to defeat Trump, even if it means the U.S.’s world-leading coronavirus death toll of more than 194,000 continues to rise. He accused the scientists of abandoning science to become “political animals.” Caputo has drawn intense criticism in Washington for attempting to alter the CDC’s weekly reports on U.S. coronavirus infections and deaths to adhere to Trump’s repeated assertions that the pandemic is under control and that a vaccine will soon be available, possibly before the election on Nov. 3. ‘Mental health has definitely failed’Caputo voiced a string of bizarre and unsupported accusations on Facebook Live and in subsequent newspaper interviews, saying his physical health has declined and his “mental health has definitely failed.” Caputo, 58, expressed fears for his personal safety at the hands of Trump foes, telling his supporters, “If you carry guns, buy ammunition, ladies and gentlemen, because it’s going to be hard to get.” The coronavirus spokesman was named by the White House in April to oversee the government’s often disjointed response to the pandemic. Months ago, Trump acknowledged to journalist Bob Woodward that he intentionally misled Americans by depicting the virus as nothing much worse than the seasonal flu in order to avoid a panic in the country as the airborne virus swept into the U.S. from China. Woodward’s new book “Rage” recounts how U.S. intelligence officials had earlier warned Trump that the coronavirus would be the most serious national security threat of his presidency. Claims of ‘deep state’Caputo’s belief that career government experts are working to thwart Trump’s reelection in his campaign against former Vice President Joe Biden echoes the president’s yearslong claim that a “deep state” within the Washington bureaucracy is trying to undermine him. Trump has often assailed what he sees as the Washington political opposition — Democratic lawmakers, the national news media and long-entrenched civil servants. Caputo claimed CDC scientists “haven’t gotten out of their sweatpants except for meetings at coffee shops” to plot “how they’re going to attack Donald Trump next. There are scientists who work for this government who do not want America to get well, not until after Joe Biden is president.” Caputo described his own dismay with life working for the government. “I don’t like being alone in Washington,” he said, describing “shadows on the ceiling in my apartment. There alone, shadows are so long,” he said. He said the mounting number of COVID-19 deaths was taking a toll on him. Caputo told The Washington Post that “since joining the administration, my family and I have been continually threatened, and in and out of criminal court dealing with harassment prosecutions. This weighs heavily on us, and we deeply appreciate the friendship and support of President Trump as we address these matters and keep our children safe.” The White House had no comment on Caputo’s claims. He deactivated his personal Twitter and Facebook accounts on Monday, while HHS called him “a critical, integral part of the president’s coronavirus response, leading on public messaging as Americans need public health information to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.” Calls for removalLate Monday, several Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Patty Murray of the state of Washington, and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, called for Caputo to be fired. In a statement, Murray said Health Secretary Alex Azar, Caputo’s boss, “has a basic responsibility to ensure our public health experts are able to do their jobs, our COVID-19 response is not undermined by misinformation or conspiracy theories, and the data used to inform our efforts is free of political interference.” Democrats on the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis said they have launched an investigation into political interference in the CDC’s science reports on the pandemic.
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By Polityk | 09/16/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Pew Survey: US Global Image ‘Tarnished’ During Trump Presidency
America’s image as a global superpower has been tarnished since Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016, according to the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. A 13-nation survey by the U.S. think tank found that only 41% of those surveyed in Britain have a favorable opinion of the U.S., the lowest percentage of any comparable survey Pew has conducted in the country. A mere 31% of the population in France views the U.S. favorably, mirroring survey results from March 2003, when tensions between the two countries peaked over the Iraq War, the survey found. The survey also found that much of the damage to America’s international reputation among key allies and partners is linked to its handling of the coronavirus crisis. Only 15% of the participating countries gave the U.S. good marks for dealing with the pandemic. Most of the countries said the World Health Organization and the European Union have done an admirable job containing the pandemic. Almost all of the countries, except the U.S. and Britain, gave their countries positive grades for their handling of the outbreak. FILE – A demonstrator protests before the arrival of U.S President Trump at Shannon Airport in the west of Ireland, Wednesday, June 5, 2019.While few of the countries believe China has effectively handled the outbreak, it still received significantly better reviews than the U.S. response. Trump’s performance on the world stage has remained low since he entered office, the survey said. Belgium gave him his most negative assessment, with just 9% expressing confidence that Trump will do what is right when handling global affairs. Japan gave him the highest rating, with one-quarter of its respondents expressing confidence. Global attitudes toward Trump have consistently been considerably lower than those of former President Barack Obama, particularly in Western Europe, the survey found. Trump, however, is perceived more favorably among Europeans who have favorable views of “right-wing populist parties, though confidence is still relatively low among all groups,” the survey said. Pew noted that 45% of the adherents of Spain’s Vox Party are confident in Trump’s ability to handle global issues, much higher than the 7% approval rate among Spaniards who do not support Vox. President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn as he arrives at the White House, Sept. 14, 2020, in Washington from a trip to Phoenix.Trump ranks last in trust when compared with the six world leaders in the survey. Some 83% of the respondents said they have “no confidence” that Trump will “do the right thing regarding world affairs,” higher than Chinese President Xi Jinping’s 78% “no confidence” rating and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 73%. The White House did not immediately respond to the survey, but Trump has maintained he has done a good job in handling the coronavirus crisis, although the U.S. continues to lead the world in coronavirus infections and COVID-19 deaths. During a White House news conference last month, Trump said, “When you look at the job we’ve done, compared to others, we’ve done a great job.” Trump also suggested at the news conference that the U.S. has not been as adversely affected by the virus when compared with other countries. “We’ve done a great job, and on top of that, when you look at the numbers, how we were impacted less than these other countries,” Trump said. During a recent interview with Axios, Trump said the U.S. has done a “great” and “incredible” job in handling the pandemic. Pew said the survey’s findings are based on feedback from 13,273 respondents from June 10 to Aug. 3. The respondents were in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Britain. The U.S. was not included in the survey.
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By Polityk | 09/15/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump, Biden Differ on Approach to Western Wildfires
At opposite ends of the country, President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden presented vastly different views Monday about the cause of the historic, destructive wildfires in the Western United States, which have killed at least 35 people.In California, the president — brushing aside concerns about climate change as a catalyst for the increasing number and intensity of such fires — reiterated his call for Western states to practice better forest management.“When trees fall down after a short period of time, they become very dry — really like a matchstick,” said Trump on arrival in California. “And they can explode. Also leaves. When you have dried leaves on the ground, it’s just fuel for the fires.” Trump’s “climate denial” did not cause the fires, Biden said in his home state of Delaware. But if the president gets a second term, “These hellish events will continue to become more common, more devastating and more deadly.”Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about climate change and wildfires affecting Western states, Sept. 14, 2020, in Wilmington, Del.Speaking outdoors with a field of wheat as the backdrop fewer than 50 days before the national election, Biden added, “If you give a climate arsonist four more years in the White House, why would anyone be surprised if we have more of America ablaze?”The former vice president said Trump’s approach is to ignore the facts and “deny reality,” calling that a full surrender to the effects of climate change.Amid the real peril, this is also a time of extraordinary possibilities, said Biden, adding that as president he would take “urgent action” to combat global warming. Trump has stayed mostly silent about the widespread devastation in the three solidly Democratic states — California, Oregon and Washington — where more than a million hectares (2.5 million acres) of land has burned. Among those briefing Trump in California on Monday was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a vocal critic of the president. U.S. President Donald Trump listens during a briefing on wildfires in McClellan Park, California, Sept. 14, 2020.Newsom noted that 56% of the land in California is federally owned, so the federal government has a major responsibility in improved forest management along with the state. “It’s a big problem, and it will get solved,” said the president. Newsom told Trump, “We feel very strongly the hots are getting hotter, the dries are getting dryer. Something has happened to the plumbing of the world, and we come from a perspective, humbly, that we assert the science that climate change is real. Please respect the difference of opinion out here with respect to the fundamental issue of climate change.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom listens during a briefing with President Donald Trump at Sacramento McClellan Airport, in McClellan Park, Calif., Sept. 14, 2020, on the western wildfires.Trump replied, “Absolutely.” The president, however, also predicted that the climate “will start getting cooler.””Just watch. I don’t think science knows, actually.” Trump has often questioned the science of climate change, instead blaming poor forest management for the spread of the fires and their intensity. His visit to California, where polls show the majority of voters sharply oppose his reelection, gave the president an opportunity to offer sympathy for the victims of the fires and emphasize the federal firefighting assistance he has approved. “We say God bless you to those who were killed in this serious fire. We are showing and give support to the people of California,” Trump said. The president has dispatched more than 26,000 federal personnel and 230 helicopters to fight the fires, according to the White House.U.S. President Donald Trump awards the Distinguished Flying Cross to California National Guard Sergeant Cameron Powell during a ceremony to honor Powell and six other helicopter crew members at McClellan Park, California, Sept. 14, 2020.Trump also presided Monday over a ceremony to award seven members of a California National Guard helicopter crew the Distinguished Flying Cross for rescuing hundreds of stranded campers who had become surrounded by fire. Smoke and flames have combined to envelop the cities of San Francisco, Seattle and Portland with some of the worst air quality in the world. The massive clouds of smoke blanketing the region have endangered the health of millions of residents. Air quality across the Pacific Northwest state of Oregon was characterized by state environmental officials as “hazardous” or “very unhealthy.” Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes. Visibility has been less than a half kilometer in some places, according to the National Weather Service, making it dangerous to drive. Ken Bredemeier in Washington contributed to this report.
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By Polityk | 09/15/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Chinese Nuke Arsenal Next on Beijing’s ‘To-Do’ List, US Commander Warns
The commander in charge of the U.S. military’s nuclear arsenal has warned that increasing China’s nuclear stockpile is “next” on Beijing’s “to-do list.” Speaking Monday to reporters at the Pentagon, U.S. Strategic Command chief Adm. Charles Richard said that while the United States has “no margin” of error left to start recapitalizing its nuclear force, China has a proven record of steadily building its military. He cited the example of how Beijing has built more than 250 ships for the country’s newly established coast guard in just the past seven years. “When China sets its mind to something, they are very impressive in their ability to go accomplish it,” Richard said. “Their strategic forces are next on their to do list, right, and I’m trying to posture us for the threat that we’re going to face, not the one that we have today.” The U.S. can deliver a nuclear strike by sea, air and land through submarines, aircraft and intercontinental ballistic missiles, a capability often referred to as the nuclear triad. Earlier this month, a Pentagon report raised concern about China’s pursuit of a nuclear triad while predicting that Beijing will “at least double” the size of its nuclear warhead stockpile over the next decade. There was no response from the Chinese government. According to the Pentagon’s annual “China Military Power” report to Congress, which was released September 1, in the past 15 years the Chinese navy has constructed 12 nuclear submarines, six of which provide China’s first “credible, sea-based nuclear deterrent.” By the mid-2020s it will likely build a new, guided-missile nuclear attack submarine that could provide a secret land-attack option if equipped with land-attack cruise missiles. ‘Watershed moment’“I get apprehensive that we are not fully conscious as a nation of the threats that we face. China now has the capability … to directly threaten our homeland from a ballistic missile submarine. That’s a pretty watershed moment,” Richard said Monday. China lacks the ability to launch nuclear weapons from the air, but the Pentagon report said the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) publicly revealed the H-6N bomber as its first nuclear capable air-to-air refueling bomber late last year. The report disclosed that the number of Chinese nuclear warheads is currently estimated to be slightly more than 200 and includes those that can be fitted to ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States. It was the first time the Pentagon has stated a specific number of Chinese warheads. The Federation of American Scientists says an estimated 3,800 warheads are in active status in the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The number would still dwarf the Chinese arsenal.
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By Polityk | 09/15/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Majority of Americans Support Trump’s Deal With Taliban to End Afghan War
A new U.S. public survey has found that two-thirds of supporters of President Donald Trump “strongly” or “somewhat” support his deal with the Islamist Taliban to extricate the United States from the 19-year war in Afghanistan. Nearly 60% of supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden also favor the landmark U.S. agreement with the Afghan insurgent group, according to a poll conducted by New York-based Eurasia Group Foundation. “Ending the war in Afghanistan is extremely popular, and Americans of all political persuasions want to honor the recent agreement,” the foundation noted in its findings released Monday. The deal signed in February 2020 commits all U.S. troops to leave the South Asian country within 14 months, ending what has become America’s longest war.A member of Taliban negotiation delegation keeps his face mask on during the opening session of the peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, Sept. 12, 2020.In return, the Taliban have agreed to disallow terrorist groups such as al-Qaida to operate in the country and begin peace talks with rival Afghan factions to end decades of hostilities in the country. Fewer than 10% of those surveyed opposed the accord, while one-third remained neutral. “Since last year, the portion of respondents who believe the U.S. should stay in Afghanistan until all enemies are defeated has dropped by half — from 30% to 15%,” the survey noted. The U.S.-Taliban agreement led to the start of much-awaited peace talks on Saturday between insurgent negotiators and interlocutors of the Afghan government. The dialogue, officially known as intra-Afghan negotiations, is being hosted by Doha, the capital of the gulf state of Qatar, where U.S. and Taliban negotiators sealed their deal. Taliban delegation attends the opening session of the peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, Sept. 12, 2020.The dialogue was supposed to start in early March, but disputes over the exchange of thousands of prisoners between the Taliban and the Kabul government, and continued insurgent battlefield attacks, had hampered efforts to push the two sides to the negotiating table. The United States has reduced its forces in Afghanistan to around 8,600 since signing the deal with the Taliban. The Trump administration has announced the U.S. military presence in the country would be cut to 4,500 by November. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview published Sunday that the military was on track to completely withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by spring of 2021. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talks at the opening session of peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, in Doha, Qatar, Sept. 12, 2020.“So, 19 years after 9/11, we finally have the Afghans prepared to sit down and have a serious conversation about taking their country forward without all the violence,” Pompeo told Breitbart News. Former U.S. Vice President Biden supports the withdrawal plan, but he wants the Pentagon to leave a small military force in Afghanistan to counter any threat of terrorism in post-war Afghanistan. “As we enter the 20th year of the conflict in Afghanistan, the American people appear to have lost patience with an interminable war which has drifted from its original mission, and which appears all but unwinnable,” Mark Hannah, a co-author of the survey, told VOA. “I think they wisely understand that all the military might in the world can’t easily vanquish amorphous, non-state adversaries, and that America’s continued presence in Afghanistan is neither making Americans safe nor serving some vital national interest,” said Hannah. Trump has been pushing to close what he describes as America’s “crazy endless wars” to fulfill one of his key campaign promises to bring U.S. soldiers back home. The U.S. and its allies invaded Afghanistan days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror strikes against the United States that al-Qaida plotted from sanctuaries in Afghanistan being ruled by the Taliban at the time. The punitive military action dislodged the Taliban from power within a few months, but the group has since waged a deadly insurgency. The Taliban has reestablished control over many Afghan districts and killed tens of thousands of U.S.-backed Afghan forces. It is estimated that the conflict has killed nearly 160,000 people as of 2019, including combatants from both sides, and Afghan civilians. More than 2,400 U.S. soldiers have lost their lives, and more than 20,000 have been wounded. The war has cost Washington nearly a trillion dollars.
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By Polityk | 09/14/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
How Widespread Is Voter Fraud in the US?
Americans’ interest in voting by mail has surged this year as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. Allegations of double voting in the southern U.S. state of Georgia have further fueled a politically fraught debate over voter fraud ahead of the November presidential election.This week, Georgia’s top election official announced that as many as 1,000 voters may have double voted in the state’s primary elections in June, showing up at the polls to vote after mailing in their ballots.Although the attempted double voting was caught and did not change voting tallies, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, said he wanted each case investigated and prosecuted if determined to be illegal.Scrutiny of double voting – a felony in Georgia as in most other states – comes amid a larger debate over voter fraud and whether efforts to combat it constitute a safeguarding of the democratic process or partisan voter suppression.President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that voting by mail is prone to widespread fraud that would benefit his opponent, Democrat Joe Biden. Indeed, Trump has urged his supporters to attempt to vote twice in the November 3 general election – once by mail and again at the polls on Election Day – to demonstrate such fraud is feasible.But voting rights advocates say there is little evidence of rampant voter fraud. During Georgia’s chaotic primary elections, they say, confusion may have led officials to incorrectly count some votes as “voting twice.”“We wholeheartedly agree that people who intentionally vote twice should be subject to the usual criminal penalties for election law violations,” Aunna Dennis, executive director of Common Cause Georgia, said in a statement. “But we are concerned that voters who were simply trying to vote may get caught up in the dragnet.”While Democrats and voting rights groups say voter fraud is exceedingly rare, many Republicans contend it is more prevalent than is commonly known and dilutes the will of legitimate voters at the ballot box.Here are four things you need to know about the debate over voter fraud:What is voter fraud?Voter fraud covers many actions, from casting illegitimate ballots to vote buying to impersonating a voter.Yet there is no universally agreed-upon definition of the practice.Voting rights activists have a relatively narrow definition. According to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, voting fraud “occurs when individuals cast ballots despite knowing that they are ineligible to vote, in an attempt to defraud the election system.”Conservatives prefer a more expansive definition. The Government Accountability Institute, a think tank co-founded by conservative political strategist Steve Bannon, defines it as “illegal interference in the process of an election” and lists things like “fraudulent addresses” and “registration fraud” among voter fraud types.This lack of consensus means that what election integrity advocates may see as an instance of fraud, voting rights advocates might view as a clerical error or an honest mistake.Types of voter fraudVoter fraud can take many different forms. The conservative Heritage Foundation has tracked nine different types of election fraud.The most common type in the foundation’s voter fraud database is voting by people ineligible to vote, such as noncitizens and convicted felons.Another common voter fraud type: absentee ballot fraud or obtaining an absentee ballot and filling it out without the knowledge of the actual voter.Other types of election fraud in the database include voter impersonation, vote buying, ballot petition fraud, duplicate voting and false registrations.How widespread is voter fraud?This is a politically charged question.The Heritage Foundation’s database includes 1,296 “proven instances of voter fraud” out of the hundreds of millions of votes cast going back to 1992. Of those cases identified, 1,120 resulted in criminal convictions.The cases include a North Carolina Republican operative and several others who were accused of ballot tampering in connection with a 2018 congressional race. Not included in the database is the recent indictment in North Carolina of 19 noncitizens accused of illegally voting in the 2016 election.Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a former member of Trump’s now-defunct election integrity commission, says the database is merely “the tip of the iceberg.”“There’s actually more fraud occurring out there than actually gets reported and prosecuted,” von Spakovsky said.Yet little hard evidence of widespread voter fraud has turned up.After the 2016 election, Trump alleged that as many as 5 million illegal votes had been cast for his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton. But an election integrity commission he formed to investigate the matter did not turn up evidence of widespread fraud. Multiple independent studies by academic researchers and news outlets similarly found no proof of rampant fraud in the election.“It doesn’t happen often at all,” said Justin Levitt, a law professor Loyola Law School and a voting expert. “But when it happens it’s a one-off: One person decides to file a false ballot or something like that.”Levitt keeps track of voter impersonation and says it’s extremely rare.“I’m up to 45 since 2000, and in that time there has been more than a billion and a half votes cast,” Levitt said.Other types of voting fraud such as voting by noncitizens are equally rare, according to researchers.Last year, Texas officials announced that they’d found the names of nearly 100,000 “possible noncitizens” on their voter registrations rolls and that as many as 58,000 of them may have voted in elections over the previous 22-year period. But the state dropped a review of the cases in the face of legal challenges.Voting by mailTrump and his Republican allies oppose voting by mail, saying ballots in the mail system can be stolen, fabricated and otherwise fraudulently used.But voting rights advocates say this doesn’t mean voting by mail is any less secure. Five states – Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington – have successfully adopted universal mail balloting while detecting only a small amount of double voting or voter impersonation.“Despite (a) dramatic increase in mail voting over time, fraud rates remain infinitesimally small,” the Brennan Center said in a recent report. “None of the five states that hold their elections primarily by mail has had any voter fraud scandals since making that change.”
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By Polityk | 09/13/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Prosecutor Looking Into Origins of Russia Probe Resigns
A federal prosecutor who was helping lead the investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe has resigned from the Justice Department, a spokesman said.Nora Dannehy was a top prosecutor on a team led by U.S. Attorney John Durham of Connecticut, who was appointed last year to lead an investigation into how the FBI and other federal agencies set out to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and whether the Trump campaign had coordinated with the Kremlin.A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Connecticut on Friday confirmed Dannehy’s departure, which was first reported by The Hartford Courant, but the spokesman declined to comment further.Her departure could complicate the final stretch of an investigation already slowed by the coronavirus pandemic but eagerly anticipated by President Donald Trump and his supporters to uncover what they see as wrongdoing within the FBI during the Russia investigation. It leaves the investigative team without one of its veteran prosecutors as key decisions presumably await before the probe wraps up.After Mueller reportDurham’s appointment by Attorney General William Barr was made public soon after the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report into Russian election interference. In the year and a half since, he has questioned former law enforcement and intelligence officials — former CIA Director John Brennan among them — about decisions made during the course of the Russia probe. Dannehy had been a top leader on the team, present for interviews with such officials, including Brennan.FILE – In this April 25, 2006, photo, John Durham speaks to reporters on the steps of U.S. District Court in New Haven, Conn.The investigation has not yet produced the results that Trump supporters had been hoping for. There is also pressure to wrap up soon, given that Justice Department policy frowns on investigative steps that could affect an election, though Barr has said that policy would not apply here since Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is not a target of the probe. It’s also not clear that Durham’s work would be permitted to continue if Trump loses in November and Democratic leadership assumes control at the Justice Department.Trump himself has indicated that he wants results soon, saying at a White House press conference on Thursday that Durham was a “very, very respected man” and that his work would involve a “report or maybe it’s much more than that.”One person chargedThe investigation has produced one criminal charge so far, against a former FBI lawyer accused of altering an email related to the surveillance of a former Trump campaign aide. But that prosecution did not allege a broader conspiracy within the FBI, and the conduct it involved had largely been laid out in a Justice Department inspector general report from last December.It is not clear if Durham will be able to conclude his work before the election, though Barr has not ruled out the possibility of additional criminal charges.In other developments related to the Russia investigation, lawyers connected to the case of former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn were submitting arguments Friday about how the prosecution should proceed in light of an appeals court ruling last week.FILE – U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan is pictured during a ceremony at the federal courthouse in Washington, May 1, 2008.The court ruled that U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan did not have to dismiss the case just because the Justice Department wanted him to. The ruling opened the door for Sullivan to scrutinize the basis for the department’s unusual request, which came even though Flynn had twice pleaded guilty of lying to the FBI.John Gleeson, the retired federal judge who was appointed by Sullivan to argue against the Justice Department’s position, said in a filing that the case should not be dismissed and called the government’s motion to dismiss “plainly a corrupt political errand for the president.””There is clear evidence that the government’s motion to dismiss the case against defendant Michael T. Flynn rests on pure pretext,” Gleeson wrote. “There is clear evidence that this motion reflects a corrupt and politically motivated favor unworthy of our justice system.”Conversations with diplomatFlynn pleaded guilty as part of the Mueller probe of lying about conversations during the presidential transition in which he urged the then-Russian ambassador to not escalate tensions in response to sanctions that had just been imposed for interference in the 2016 election.At the time, the FBI was investigating whether the Trump campaign had coordinated with Russia to swing the election, and White House officials were stating publicly that Flynn and the diplomat had not discussed sanctions.The Justice Department sought to dismiss the case in May, arguing that the FBI didn’t have good reason to interview Flynn in the first place and that any false statements he may have made during questioning were not material to the probe into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
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By Polityk | 09/13/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Judges: Florida Felons Can’t Vote Until They Pay Fines, Fees
Florida felons must pay all fines, restitution and legal fees before they can regain their right to vote, a federal appellate court ruled Friday in a case that could have broad implications for the November elections.Reversing a lower court judge’s decision that gave Florida felons the right to vote regardless of outstanding legal obligations, the order from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the position of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the GOP-led state Legislature, leaving voting rights activists aghast.Under Amendment 4, which Florida voters passed overwhelmingly in 2018, felons who have completed their sentences would have voting rights restored. But the legal dispute arose after lawmakers the next year moved to define what it means to complete a sentence.In addition to prison time served, lawmakers directed that all legal financial obligations, including unpaid fines and restitution, would also have to be settled before a felon could be eligible to vote.The appeals court agreed with the Republican lawmakers, a decision that voting rights advocates called an affirmation of a “pay-to-vote” system that primarily disenfranchises minorities and poor people.”This ruling runs counter to the foundational principle that Americans do not have to pay to vote,” said Julie Ebenstein, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Voting Rights Project. “The gravity of this decision cannot be overstated. It is an affront to the spirit of democracy.”In a 200-page ruling on a 6-4 vote, the full 11th Circuit said the Constitution’s due process clause was not violated by the passage of the law implementing Amendment 4.”States are constitutionally entitled to set legitimate voter qualifications through laws of general application and to require voters to comply with those laws through their own efforts,” Chief U.S. Circuit Judge William Pryor wrote in the majority opinion. “So long as a state provides adequate procedures to challenge individual determinations of ineligibility — as Florida does — due process requires nothing more.”Four judges issued a dissenting opinion. They argued in part that it is sometimes extremely difficult for returning felons to know what outstanding financial obligations they may still have and that the state should create a mechanism to provide that information.”In light of the chaos created by the majority’s holding that (financial obligations) must be satisfied according to the ‘every-dollar’ method, countless scores of individuals will be uncertain of their eligibility to vote,” wrote U.S. Circuit Judge Beverly Martin in the dissent.”With its constitution amended in this way, Florida gained an obligation to establish procedures sufficient to determine the eligibility of returning citizens to vote, and to notify them of their eligibility in a prompt and reliable manner,” the dissenters added.But Pryor wrote that it’s not the state’s responsibility to create a system to let felons know what they owe.”The Due Process Clause does not require States to provide individual process to help citizens learn the facts necessary to comply with laws of general application,” he wrote.DeSantis spokesman Fred Piccolo said in an email that the court’s decision affirms that “all terms of a sentence means all terms.””There are multiple avenues to restore rights, pay off debts, and seek financial forgiveness from one’s victims,” Piccolo added. “Second chances and the rule of law are not mutually exclusive.”The amendment permanently bars convicted murderers and rapists from voting, regardless of financial debts. Still, other felons in Florida who have completed prison sentences and would otherwise be eligible but have not paid fines and other legal obligations — estimated in March to number about 774,000 — represent a significant bloc of voters, should they be allowed to cast ballots. Some of them may have settled their debts since that initial March estimate.The state does not track how many felons have registered to vote since Amendment 4 passed, but its backers estimate that the monetary requirement and the coronavirus pandemic have limited the number to 100,000, far less than those potentially eligible.The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition has raised more than $4 million to help pay court costs. Donations have come from retired basketball star Michael Jordan as well as More Than a Vote, an organization dedicated to maximizing Black voter turnout that counts basketball star LeBron James and comedian Kevin Hart among its backers. Still, the total owed could be as high as $3 billion.The ruling could influence the election outcome in November. Florida is considered a must-win state in President Donald’s Trump’s bid for reelection and is famed for its razor-thin statewide election results. Democrats had hopes of gaining support from thousands of former felons in Florida.Paul Smith, vice president at the Campaign Legal Center, which is pushing for full voting rights for most felons, slammed the ruling.”This is a deeply disappointing decision,” Smith said. “While the full rights restoration envisioned by Amendment 4 has become less likely to be realized this fall, we will continue this fight for all Florida voters, so the full benefits of Amendment 4 will someday be realized.”U.S. Rep. Val Demings, a Democrat from Orlando who was considered as a vice presidential nominee by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, said she is introducing a bill in Congress to prohibit states from denying voting rights to American citizens, regardless of prior criminal convictions.”A criminal conviction does not erase a person from our communities or our country,” said Demings, who is Black and a former Orlando police chief.
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By Polityk | 09/12/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Russian Hackers Targeting US Campaigns, Microsoft Says
The same Russian military intelligence outfit that hacked the Democrats in 2016 has renewed vigorous U.S. election-related targeting, trying to breach computers at more than 200 organizations including political campaigns and their consultants, Microsoft said Thursday.The intrusion attempts reflect a stepped-up effort to infiltrate the U.S. political establishment, the company said.”What we’ve seen is consistent with previous attack patterns that not only target candidates and campaign staffers but also those who they consult on key issues,” Tom Burt, a Microsoft vice president, said in a blog post. U.K. and European political groups were also probed, he added.Most of the hacking attempts by Russian, Chinese and Iranian agents were halted by Microsoft security software and the targets notified, he said. The company would not comment on who may have been successfully hacked or the impact.Although U.S. intelligence officials said last month that the Russians favor President Donald Trump and the Chinese prefer his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, Microsoft noted Thursday that Chinese state-backed hackers have targeted “high profile individuals associated with the election,” including people associated with the Biden campaign.China’s hackers largely gather intelligence for economic and political advantage, while Russia tends to weaponize stolen data to destabilize other governments.Microsoft did not assess which foreign adversary poses the greater threat to the integrity of the November presidential election. The consensus among cybersecurity experts is that Russian interference is the gravest. Senior Trump administration officials have disputed that, although without offering any evidence.”This is the actor from 2016, potentially conducting business as usual,” said John Hultquist, director of intelligence analysis at the cybersecurity firm FireEye. “We believe that Russian military intelligence continues to pose the greatest threat to the democratic process.”Fancy BearThe Microsoft post shows that Russian military intelligence continues to pursue election-related targets undeterred by U.S indictments, sanctions and other countermeasures, Hultquist said. It interfered in the 2016 campaign seeking to benefit the Trump campaign by hacking the Democratic National Committee and emails of John Podesta, the campaign manager for Hillary Clinton, and dumping embarrassing material online, congressional and FBI investigators have found.The same GRU military intelligence unit, known as Fancy Bear, that Microsoft identifies as being behind the current election-related activity also broke into voter registration databases in at least three states in 2016, though there is no evidence it tried to interfere with voting.Microsoft, which has visibility into these efforts because its software is both ubiquitous and highly rated for security, did not address whether U.S. officials who manage elections or operate voting systems have been targeted by state-backed hackers this year. U.S. intelligence officials say they have so far seen no evidence of infiltrations.Thomas Rid, a Johns Hopkins University geopolitics expert, said he was disappointed by Microsoft’s refusal to differentiate threat level by state actor.”They’re lumping in actors that operate in a very different fashion, probably to make this sound more bipartisan,” he said. “I just don’t understand why.”Microsoft said in the past year it has observed attempts by Fancy Bear to break into the accounts of people directly and indirectly affiliated with the U.S. election, including consultants serving Republican and Democratic campaigns and national and state party organizations — more than 200 groups in all.Also targeted was the center-right European People’s Party, the largest grouping in the European Parliament. A party spokesperson said the hacking attempts were unsuccessful. The German Marshall Fund of the United States, a think tank, was another target. A spokesperson said there was no evidence of intrusion.Hurricane PandaMicrosoft did not say whether Russian hackers had attempted to break into the Biden campaign but did say that Chinese hackers from the state-backed group known as Hurricane Panda “appears to have indirectly and unsuccessfully” targeted the Biden campaign through non-campaign email accounts belonging to people affiliated with it.The Biden campaign did not confirm the attempt, although it said in a statement that it was aware of the Microsoft report.Iranian state-backed hackers unsuccessfully tried to log into accounts of Trump campaign and administration officials between May and June of this year, the blog said.”We are a large target, so it is not surprising to see malicious activity directed at the campaign or our staff,” Trump campaign deputy press secretary Thea McDonald said. She declined further comment.Tim Murtaugh, the campaign’s communications director, said: “President Trump will beat Joe Biden fair and square and we don’t need or want any foreign interference.”In June, Google disclosed that Hurricane Panda had targeted Trump campaign staffers while Iranian hackers tried to breach accounts of Biden campaign workers. Such phishing attempts typically involve forged emails with links designed to harvest passwords or infect devices with malware.Although both Attorney General William Barr and National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien have said China represents the greatest threat to U.S. elections, Microsoft’s only mention of a Trump administration official targeted by Chinese hackers is “at least one prominent individual formerly associated” with the administration.Disinformation campaignsGraham Brookie, director of digital forensic research at The Atlantic Council, disputes the claim made by Barr and O’Brien that China poses the greater threat to this year’s election. Brookie’s lab is at the forefront of unearthing and publicizing Russian disinformation campaigns.Brookie confirmed that his employer was among targets of Hurricane Panda but said there was no evidence the hacking attempts, which he said were unsuccessful, had anything to do with the 2020 election.”We have every indication that this was an instance of cyber-espionage, information gathering, as opposed to electoral interference,” he said.By contrast, Brookie said, “it’s pretty evident that the Russian attempts (Microsoft disclosed) were focused on electoral processes and groups working on that.”Microsoft noted a shift toward greater automation in Fancy Bear methods for trying to steal people’s log-in credentials, which previously largely relied on phishing. In recent months, the group has employed so-called brute-force attacks that barrage an account login with short rapid bursts of potential passwords. It has also used a different method that makes only intermittent login attempts to avoid detection.Fancy Bear has also stepped up its use of the Tor anonymizing service to hide its hacking, Microsoft said.
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By Polityk | 09/11/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
‘I Didn’t Lie,’ Trump Asserts About Seriousness of Coronavirus
“I didn’t lie,” U.S. President Donald Trump bluntly responded at a White House news conference Thursday after a reporter asked him, “Why did you lie to the American people?” The question from ABC News White House correspondent Jon Karl came in the wake of audio released by journalist and author Bob Woodward, to whom Trump acknowledged early this year he wanted to play down the threat from the coronavirus. “I don’t want to jump up and down screaming, ‘Death. Death,’ ” Trump replied to justify intentionally misleading the country about the severity of COVID-19. He called Karl’s question disrespectful and took queries from only two other reporters before abruptly departing the briefing room. FILE – Bob Woodward attends the 2019 PEN America Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, May 21, 2019.The president also sought to calm the uproar about revelations from the 18 interviews he gave to Woodward, which appeared in Woodward’s new book, Rage. Trump said if Woodward thought his comments on the coronavirus were so bad, “he should have immediately gone out publicly,” instead of waiting many months to release the tapes. “I wanted to always play it down,” Trump is heard saying on the recording about the coronavirus, taped on March 19. The next day, in response to a White House reporter’s question during a live news conference, Trump denied that his minimizing of the risk was giving Americans a false sense of security. Fewer lives would have been lost, according to Democratic Party politicians and many public health officials, if the president had emphasized early on the seriousness of the coronavirus. Trump repeatedly claimed early in the year that the coronavirus was no worse than influenza, that it would soon go away and that the federal government had the situation under control. Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., participates in a roundtable discussion at Florida Memorial University during a campaign stop in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sept. 10, 2020.Trump is engaged “in reckless disregard of the lives and health and well-being” of the American people, Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, said Thursday at an event in Florida. “I find it so outrageous.” COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus for which vaccines are currently under development, had killed 191,727 people in the United States as of Thursday evening EDT, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center — the largest number reported by any country. Nearly 6.4 million infections of the 28 million worldwide are in the United States. FILE – National security adviser Robert O’Brien speaks at the State Department in Washington, Aug. 11, 2020.According to Woodward’s book, as the virus started to sweep from China throughout the world, national security adviser Robert O’Brien told Trump in a January 28 White House meeting, “This will be the biggest national security threat you face in your presidency. This is going to be the roughest thing you face.” Woodward, a Washington Post associate editor, said deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger agreed with O’Brien’s assessment. Yet Trump publicly minimized the threat. Ten days after the White House meeting, he called Woodward and said he thought the situation was far more frightful. “You just breathe the air, and that’s how it’s passed,” Trump said in a February 7 call. “And so, that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flu.” “This is deadly stuff,” the president repeated for emphasis. Reaction from BidenThe revelations came less than eight weeks before the November 3 presidential election between Trump and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden. Biden, on a campaign trip to the Midwestern political battleground state of Michigan on Wednesday, assailed Trump’s performance in dealing with the coronavirus. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks with reporters before boarding a plane at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Detroit, Sept. 9, 2020.”He knowingly and willingly lied to the American public about the threat posed to the country for months. … He failed to do his job on purpose,” Biden said. “It’s beyond despicable.” Trump made a campaign speech in Michigan on Thursday evening, telling a large crowd that was not socially distanced, “With or without the vaccine, we’re rounding the turn” in the fight against the coronavirus. Political ammunition Political management professor Todd Belt at George Washington University said revelations from the book about Trump’s response to the coronavirus could provide political ammunition for both Republicans and Democrats. “Of course, the Republicans will say, ‘Look, he was providing leadership. He didn’t want people to panic,’ ” Belt told VOA. “Whereas the Democrats will say, ‘Look, this was a poor decision, and it made the problem worse.’ So, I think people will probably interpret this part through the same partisan lenses.” Woodward is best known in American journalism for joining Post reporter Carl Bernstein in uncovering the Watergate political corruption scandal in the 1970s that led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation. The new Woodward book tracks the Trump administration’s missteps in dealing with the pandemic and touches on numerous other controversies during Trump’s nearly four years as president. FILE – Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 31, 2020.”Trump never did seem willing to fully mobilize the federal government and continually seemed to push problems off on the states” to deal with the pandemic, Woodward wrote. “There was no real management theory of the case or how to organize a massive enterprise to deal with one of the most complex emergencies the United States had ever faced.” Woodward said infectious-disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, often the administration’s public face answering questions about the COVID-19 disease, at one point told others that Trump “is on a separate channel” and unfocused in meetings, with “rudderless” leadership. Ken Bredemeier and Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report.
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By Polityk | 09/11/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Judges Reject Trump Plan to Exclude Many Immigrants from Representation
A panel of judges Thursday declared unlawful a directive from President Donald Trump to exclude people who are in the United States illegally from representation when apportioning congressional seats.The decision by a three-judge panel, which could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, is a victory for the 38 states, cities and counties, plus several immigrants rights nonprofits, that sued over the July 21 directive.The mostly Democratic-leaning plaintiffs, led by New York state, accused the Republican president of having a “xenophobic” purpose in pushing an unconstitutional directive that reflected “discriminatory animus” toward Hispanics and other immigrant communities.They said the directive could leave several million people uncounted and shift a few House of Representatives seats, with California, Texas and New Jersey most likely to suffer losses.The White House and the Department of Commerce, which oversees the census, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.In its 86-page decision, the panel said Trump exceeded his statutory authority in ordering the directive.It said federal law required the use of one set of numbers to count people for census and apportionment purposes, and that so long as they resided in the United States, “illegal aliens qualify as ‘persons in’ a ‘state'” who should be counted.”The president must act in accordance with, and within the boundaries of, the authority that Congress has granted,” the panel said. “We conclude that the president did not do so.”Thursday’s decision is a fresh census-related legal setback for Trump, who has made curbing immigration a focus of his presidency and reelection campaign.His directive came one year after the Supreme Court blocked his attempt to add a citizenship question to the census.”President Trump’s repeated attempts to hinder, impair, and prejudice an accurate census and the subsequent apportionment have failed once again,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.In defending the directive, government lawyers said Trump had broad discretion to decide who to count, and that any harm was speculative.The plaintiffs countered that the directive would cause irreparable harm by dissuading immigrant households from census participation and reducing political power.Census data is also used to allocate billions of dollars of federal funds.”The law is clear – every person counts in the census,” said American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Dale Ho, who represented the nonprofits.The panel consisted of Circuit Judges Richard Wesley and Peter Hall, both appointed to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush, and District Judge Jesse Furman, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama.
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By Polityk | 09/11/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Lawmakers Again at Impasse on Second Round of COVID-19 Aid
The U.S. Senate failed to pass a trimmed-down coronavirus relief package Thursday, capping months of unsuccessful negotiations to bring a second round of economic aid to millions of Americans impacted by the pandemic. The $500 billion proposal put forward by Senate Republicans failed to advance to debate on a 52-47 vote.The failure significantly increases the prospect U.S. lawmakers will not pass a relief package before the November 3 election. Members of Congress are expected to leave Washington to campaign in their home districts after passing a continuing resolution funding the government past a September 30 deadline.The proposal’s defeat also means millions of Americans put out of work by coronavirus closures earlier in the year will not receive enhanced federal unemployment benefits. Under the $3 trillion CARES Act passed by bipartisan agreement in March, unemployed workers received an extra $600 a week in benefits. Those benefits expired at the end of July.The Senate Republicans’ proposal would have funded unemployment insurance, child care and coronavirus testing, and it would have created liability protections for businesses, schools and churches operating during the pandemic.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell framed Democratic opposition to the proposal as an effort to politicize the aid ahead of the upcoming election.“Senators who share the Democratic leader’s toxic attitude, who think the real enemy are their political opponents, may follow his lead and vote ‘no.’ They can tell American families they care more about politics than helping them. But senators who want to move forward will vote ‘yes.’ They’ll vote to advance this process so we can shape it into a bipartisan product and make a law for the American people,” McConnell said on the Senate floor Thursday.Congressional Democrats have argued much more aid is needed, using the $3 trillion Heroes Act passed in June by the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives as a starting point in negotiations.“Let’s not have a skinny bill when we have a massive problem,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday, describing her objections to the Republican proposal to reporters.“We need every penny in order to stop this. And that’s the way we’re going to open up our economy. And that’s the way we’re going to open up our schools safely, is by crushing the virus,” she said.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer pushed back against a Republican assertion the narrowly focused proposal represented a compromise.Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., left, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks during a news conference, Sept. 9, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.“While the president was lying to the American people about the coronavirus, Senate Republicans were following suit in spirit. The Republican leader himself talked about ‘the lack of urgency’ in his caucus to address the problem,” Schumer said Thursday.“So, the idea that Democrats — who passed a comprehensive relief package through the House nearly four months ago — are the cause of delay and obstruction is ridiculous. It’s been the Republicans all along. The record shows it.”While the U.S. economy is showing some signs of recovery, including increased retail spending and hospitality industry hiring, other segments have been slower to recover. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rates remain high, with 29.6 million Americans filing claims to receive government benefit payments.The United States leads the world in confirmed COVID-19 deaths, with nearly 190,000. The U.S. is also home to a world-leading 6.3 million coronavirus infections, nearly one-quarter of the more than 27.3 million worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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By Polityk | 09/11/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Journalist Woodward Defends Decision to Withhold Trump’s Virus Comments
Bob Woodward, facing widespread criticism for only now revealing President Donald Trump’s early concerns about the severity of the coronavirus, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he needed time to be sure that Trump’s private comments from February were accurate.
In Woodward’s upcoming book on Trump, “Rage,” the president is quoted saying the virus was highly contagious and “deadly stuff” at a time he was publicly dismissing it as no worse than the flu. Woodward, the celebrated Washington Post journalist and best-selling author, spoke with Trump more than a dozen times for his book.
“He tells me this, and I’m thinking, ‘Wow, that’s interesting, but is it true?’ Trump says things that don’t check out, right?” Woodward told the AP during a telephone interview. Using a famous phrase from the Watergate era, when Woodward’s reporting for the Post helped lead to President Richard Nixon’s resignation, Woodward said his mission was to determine, “What did he know and when did he know it?”Trump Knew of COVID Danger But Downplayed It, Book Recounts Journalist Bob Woodward says US leader was warned in early 2020 of deadly nature of disease, but in recorded interview said, ‘I wanted to always play it down’On Twitter and elsewhere online, commentators accused Woodward of valuing book sales over public health. “Nearly 200,000 Americans have died because neither Donald Trump nor Bob Woodward wanted to risk anything substantial to keep the country informed,” wrote Esquire’s Charles P. Pierce.
The issue of daily journalists presenting newsworthy information in books isn’t new. The competition for attention is intense, and headlines help boost sales and guest shots for interviews. Reporter Michael S. Schmidt of The New York Times recently attracted attention for his book, “Donald Trump v. The United States,” by reporting new details on an unannounced visit by Trump to Walter Reed military hospital in November 2019. Schmidt reported that Vice President Mike Pence was put on alert that he might have to briefly assume the powers of the presidency if the president had to undergo a procedure that required anesthesia.
Pence later said he didn’t recall being put on standby for the Reed visit, which the White House has said was part of the president’s routine annual physical. But Schmidt’s book renewed speculation about Trump’s health.
Political figures with book deals also have been chastised for holding back timely material. Former national security adviser John Bolton, whose scathing memoir “The Room Where It Happened” came out in June, declined discussing Trump’s actions towards Ukraine while the impeachment hearings were being held earlier this year.
Woodward’s book, which comes out next week, draws from 18 conversations with Trump between December and July. During his AP interview, Woodward said Trump called him “out of the blue” in early February to “unburden himself” about the virus, which then had few cases in the U.S. But Woodward said that only in May was he satisfied that Trump’s comments were based on reliable information and that by then the virus had spread nationwide.
“If I had done the story at that time about what he knew in February, that’s not telling us anything we didn’t know,” Woodward said. At that point, he said, the issue was no longer one of public health but of politics. His priority became getting the story out before the election in November.
“That was the demarcation line for me,” he said. “Had I decided that my book was coming out on Christmas, the end of this year, that would have been unthinkable.”
Asked why he didn’t share Trump’s February remarks for a fellow Post reporter to pursue, Woodward said he had developed “some pretty important sources” on his own.
“Could I have brought others in? Could they have done things I couldn’t do?” he asked. “I was on the trail, and I was (still) on the trail when it (the virus) exploded.”
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By Polityk | 09/10/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump and Biden Take Contrasting Approaches to Reaching Voters
With the presidential campaign entering its final two-month stretch, both President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden are ramping up travel to battleground states this week. But the candidates have very different approaches to getting their messages out to supporters. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report.
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By Polityk | 09/10/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump and Biden’s Inversely Different Approaches to Reaching Voters
With the presidential campaign entering its final two-month stretch, both President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden are ramping up travel to battleground states this week. But the candidates have very different approaches to getting their messages out to supporters. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report.
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By Polityk | 09/10/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
New Trump Rule Ties College Funding to Speech, Faith Rights
The Trump administration is moving forward with a policy that expands protections for religious groups on college campuses and threatens to cut federal education funding to colleges that violate free speech rules.The Education Department issued the rule Wednesday, less than two months before the election, and cements much of what President Donald Trump outlined in a March 2019 executive order demanding wider speech protections at U.S. colleges. In taking up the issue, Trump highlighted concerns from conservatives who complained that their voices had been suppressed on university campuses.As part of the policy, the Education Department can suspend or terminate grants to public universities found in court to have violated the First Amendment. In extreme cases, schools could become ineligible for any additional grants. The same actions could be taken against private universities found in court to have violated their own speech codes.Public universities could also lose funding if they fail to provide religious student groups the same rights and benefits as other campus groups, including the use of campus facilities and access to student fee funding. That edict does not apply to private colleges, which have more flexibility in limiting speech on their campuses.FILE – U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos attends an event on reopening schools amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the East Room at the White House in Washington, July 7, 2020.Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said the new rule protects the rights of students, teachers and faith-based institutions. “Students should not be forced to choose between their faith and their education, and an institution controlled by a religious organization should not have to sacrifice its religious beliefs to participate in Department grants and programs,” DeVos said in a statement.In his March 2019 executive order, Trump directed a dozen federal agencies to tie their university funding to free speech rules. The new policy applies only to certain Education Department grants, however, and does not cover much larger pools of research funding. It was not immediately clear if similar policies are being prepared by other agencies.A variety of religious groups welcomed the policies, saying that colleges too often discriminate against students based on their faith. Some groups cited a 2018 case at the University of Iowa, which disbanded several religious groups that declined to adopt a policy forbidding discrimination based on, among other classifications, sexual orientation or preference.The university launched its crackdown after a gay student was rejected from a leadership position in a campus Christian group.In its policy, the Education Department specifically forbids colleges from discriminating against religious student groups based on “leadership standards” that are “informed by sincerely held religious beliefs.”Greg Jao, a spokesman for the evangelical Christian group InterVarsity Fellowship, said the rule is needed to protect student groups that want leaders who agree with their religious beliefs. “Universities should welcome all religious groups equally, in order to encourage tolerance, pluralism and religious diversity,” he said in a statement.The policy benefits Muslim student groups by allowing them to choose their own leaders according to their faith’s principles, said Ismail Royer, director of the Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team for the Religious Freedom Institute.”This right should be reserved for all student religious organizations, and not usurped by university officials based on their own shifting, unpredictable standards,” Royer said in a statement.FILE – President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order requiring colleges to certify that their policies support free speech as a condition of receiving federal research grants, March 21, 2019, at the White House in Washington.Many universities, however, see it as an unnecessary intrusion. They say the penalties are too severe and that it would be too easy to trigger a loss of funding. The American Council on Education, a group of college presidents, previously said the policy would lead to “a flood of frivolous lawsuits.”Terry Hartle, the group’s senior vice president, called it a political move designed to energize Trump’s Christian supporters.”We see this as a politically motivated solution in search of a problem, being issued in an election year,” he said. “This is being done to appeal to a particular part of the president’s base.”When Trump initially proposed his executive order last year, he highlighted the case of an activist who was punched while recruiting for the conservative group Turning Point USA at the University of California-Berkeley. Trump revived the topic in July when he threatened to withdraw tax-exempt status for schools and universities.On Twitter, Trump said, “Too many Universities and School Systems are about Radical Left Indoctrination, not Education.”
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By Polityk | 09/10/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Top US Lawmakers Call on Trump to Order Probe Into Navalny Poisoning
Top U.S. lawmakers are calling on the Trump administration to launch an investigation into the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports on the increasing calls for punitive sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government.Camera: Russian ServiceProduced by: Mary Cieslak
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By Polityk | 09/10/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Unveils Plan to Protect American Jobs
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is unveiling a plan Wednesday to try to protect American workers by raising taxes on companies that move jobs overseas. Biden, challenging Republican President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 national election, is delivering details of the plan during a campaign stop in the industrial heartland city of Warren, Michigan. Traditional working-class Democratic voters embraced Trump in his unexpected win in the Midwestern state in 2016, but Biden is hoping to win them back to help him deny Trump a second term in the White House. Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event at UAW Region 1 headquarters in Warren, Mich., Sept. 9, 2020.Trump is remaining in Washington on Wednesday, but on Thursday will also visit Michigan — considered a must-win political battleground state by both campaigns — and other key electoral states late in the week. On Friday, both Biden and Trump will be in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the 2001 al-Qaida terrorist attacks on the U.S. A jetliner crashed in a field near Shanksville as passengers tried to overcome hijackers who commandeered the aircraft. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Winston-Salem, N.C., Sept. 8, 2020.After suspending his television advertising in the state during the summer, Trump resumed this week with an ad trumpeting what he called the “Great American Comeback,” saying the American economy is on the way back in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. Ad trackers say Biden is outspending Trump on the airwaves in Michigan. Trump visited two other battleground states on Tuesday — Florida, where he extended an offshore drilling ban, and North Carolina, where several thousand supporters gathered in an airport hangar to hear him criticize Biden. Few of the people attending the rally adhered to health experts’ advice to wear face masks or remain 2 meters apart.
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By Polityk | 09/10/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Defies North Carolina COVID Guidelines With Large Outdoor Rally
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. President Donald Trump attracted a crowd of thousands to his latest political rally at a North Carolina airport Tuesday evening. Trump marveled at a crowd he said totaled 15,000 people –- a number that reporters on site said was exaggerated. The rally was attended by 14,600 people and several thousand more either wanted to attend or were nearby, according to a senior administration official who spoke to reporters on Air Force One on the flight back from North Carolina. Journalists also noted the lack of social distancing among those seated and standing. Many of the attendees did not wear masks and some who did let them droop down below their noses. It was a crowd clearly in defiance of state guidance limiting outdoor mass gatherings to 50 people with social distancing and cloth face coverings. Trump contended again on Tuesday that his campaign has found a loophole to avoid violating such state regulations because “we decided to call all our rallies peaceful protests” – a reference to criticism from those on the right that some anti-racism protesters amid the pandemic have been hypocritical by not wearing masks. The president contrasted his rallies with those of challenger Joe Biden, mocking the socially distancing circles in gymnasiums that have been a feature of the Democratic Party nominee’s relatively few appearances. “Did you ever see the gyms with the circles? That’s his crowds,” Trump said. It was Trump’s third visit to North Carolina in two weeks. He won the state by four points in 2016 against Hillary Clinton, but polls show him virtually tied in the state with Biden.Supporters cheer as President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Smith Reynolds Airport, Sept. 8, 2020, in Winston-Salem, N.C.The former vice president did not make a public appearance on Tuesday, but his campaign released two new television advertisements in North Carolina during the day. One of the commercials, a narrator implored: “We need to get control over the virus. Donald Trump failed. Joe Biden will get it done.” Trump, in his Tuesday evening rally, accused Biden and running mate U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of trying to spread “anti-vaccine conspiracy theories” because they have questioned his claims that a COVID-19 vaccine is near. Biden and Harris released a joint statement on Tuesday “laying out three questions this Administration must answer to assure the American people that politics will play no role in the approval and distribution of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine.” The Democrats are asking the Trump administration to state what scientific criteria will be used to ensure safety and efficacy of the vaccine; who will validate an official decision greenlighting the vaccine; and what is the plan to allocate and distribute the vaccine to Americans “cost-free, safely, equitably and without politics.” Trump has been hinting that a vaccine for the coronavirus could be ready by Election Day on November 3. Nine drugmakers issued an unusual pledge on Tuesday, vowing to uphold the highest ethical and scientific standards in developing their vaccines. The announcement follows concern that Trump will pressure the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve a vaccine before it is proven to be safe and effective. As Trump began his evening rally, confirmation came from the developer of one of the vaccines, AstraZeneca, that it was halting late-stage studies of its vaccine candidate developed at Oxford University due to “a potentially unexplained illness” suffered by one patient in Britain. The “standard review process triggered a pause to vaccination to allow review of safety data,” the British-Swedish drugmaker said in a statement. “We are working to expedite the review of the single event to minimize any potential impact on the trial timeline.” The United States has reported the most infections and deaths from the coronavirus. More than 6.3 million cases have been reported in the country, with deaths totaling slightly more than 189,500 according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.
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By Polityk | 09/09/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Transgender Americans Face Voting Barriers in 2020 Presidential Election, Study Finds
One segment of the electorate may be unable to vote if poll workers are not able to certify their identity. It is the reality facing hundreds of thousands of transgender Americans in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. An estimated 378,000 eligible transgender voters do not have identification such as a driver’s license that reflects their name, appearance or new gender identity, according to a study by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. “If those poll workers decide that those ID’s don’t adequately or accurately reflect the person who is standing in front of them, they wouldn’t be able vote,” said Jody Herman, a research scholar and co-author of the report. The Los Angeles-based organization founded in 2001 conducts independent nonpartisan research on sexual orientation, gender identity law and public policy. Registered voters in states with strict identification laws must produce a government-issued photo ID to cast a ballot at polling locations. “Trans people in general are frequently placed under immediate suspicion if they don’t conform visually to what their ID shows,” Sasha Buchert, a senior lawyer with Lambda Legal, told VOAIn this Friday, Feb. 28, 2020 photo, pedestrians pass signs near a polling site in San Antonio.Obtaining ID documents Some states have made it easier to make changes in identification documents such as gender markers on birth certificates, a process that varies state by state. Name changes can cost $500, in addition the costs of hiring an attorney. Advocates say in some states, transgender people must undergo gender affirming surgery that many consider invasive before their birth certificates and other identification documents can be updated. “The process can be very costly and sometimes even impossible for trans people to complete,” Herman, the report co-author, said. “Ohio and Tennessee don’t allow any changes to a birth certificate at all.” Advocates say transgender people of color are likely to be more impacted than white voters because they have more difficulty in obtaining a proper ID. They believe the measures could have a chilling impact and keep people from voting, especially if they cannot vote by mail. “We found just under a million trans adults would be eligible to vote in the 2020 election, but about 900,000 of those voters reside in 45 states where they do not conduct elections entirely by mail,” Herman told VOA. “Voters in those places would have to show up for in-person voting.” Political observers predict an unprecedented number of Americans will vote by mail because of the coronavirus. Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia allow excuse-free absentee voting, according to state websites. If transgender voters are turned away at the polls, they could be made to vote on a provisional ballot instead of a regular ballot. Provisional ballots are only counted if certain requirements are met in strict voter ID states. That means they would have to come back to the election officials within a certain amount of time with an acceptable ID for their vote to be counted, according to the Williams Institute. Increasing voter participation Nationwide, there are an estimated 11 million LGBTQ voters, of which 1.4 million are transgender, according to surveys by Human Rights Campaign, a Washington, D.C.-based organization. According to its U.S. transgender survey, the party affiliation for the respondents was heavily Democratic. “Keeping trans people from voting could favor the Republican Party that is more conservative than its Democratic rival,” said Professor Richard Hasen, an election law expert at the University of California, Irvine. In 2016, the outcome of the presidential election was decided by fewer than 80,000 votes in three states. “Transgender people should not be denied their opportunity to participate in our democracy because laws and regulations around identification documents haven’t kept up with reality,” said Mara Keisling, head of The National Center for Transgender Equality Action Fund. While some transgender Americans report progress in obtaining updated ID’s, human rights advocates maintain transgender people of color, young students, low income, and those with disabilities are overrepresented among those who would face barriers to voting. “We hear about folks in our community who feel so uncomfortable or who are made to feel so uncomfortable that they simply give up when they are challenged on their own identity,” said Tori Cooper, a Black transgender woman and director of community engagement for Human Rights Campaign’s Transgender Justice Initiative. “I know someone who is listed on a voter registration form as female, which does not accurately reflect their current gender identity, which is male. He’s afraid the way he looks and presents himself could actually keep him from being able to vote in person,” Cooper told VOA. “Voting is not about challenging people on their identities. It is giving people an opportunity to express their constitutional right to vote,” she said. Election observers say mail-in voting will remove possible negative interactions between transgender voters and poll workers. “We are trying to break down barriers, making sure folks have the tools they need to get to the polls safely or get their mail-in ballots,” said Jay Brown, senior vice president of Human Rights Campaign Foundation. “We are empowering trans people to do whatever they can and vote.”
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By Polityk | 09/09/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
