Розділ: Політика
Trump Takes Cautious Approach to Highlighting Biden Accuser
President Donald Trump rarely holds his fire, hurling accusations true and false.
But when it comes to the sexual assault allegation leveled against Joe Biden, his Democratic rival, the president has been unusually reticent.
Trump didn’t publicly address the issue until April 30, more than a month after former Senate staffer Tara Reade alleged on a podcast that Biden sexually assaulted her in a Capitol Hill basement in 1993. Biden has vehemently denied the allegation, saying it never happened.
When Trump has talked about the accusation, he’s been tepid.
“I don’t know anything about it,” Trump first said in response to a reporter’s question. “I think he should respond. You know … it could be false accusations. I know all about false accusations. I’ve been falsely charged numerous times. And there is such a thing.”
He offered the same line on Friday during an interview with TV’s “Fox & Friends.”
“Look, he’s got to fight that battle. I’ve had battles, too, where I’ve had false accusations, many times,” he said. “I’ve had many false accusations made, I can tell you that. Many. And maybe it is a false accusation. Frankly, I hope it is, for his sake.”
Trump’s comments highlight the complicated calculus he faces as he tries to weaponize a rival’s potential vulnerability when he himself has been accused of assault and unwanted touching by a long list of women — allegations he, too, denies.
While Trump has never been shy about using his own weaknesses as ammunition — an “I’m rubber, you’re glue” strategy he used in 2016 to try to blunt attacks against him — the November contest between Biden and Trump is the first presidential race since the dawn of the #MeToo era. The movement has spurred numerous women to come forward with allegations of sexual assault, including against prominent men in politics, entertainment and other industries.
Trump is stepping up his attacks on Biden on other fronts, particularly an effort to portray him as soft on China. But in resisting the urge to seize on Reade’s allegation, Trump is acknowledging the bind he’s in with women, who could help decide the election.
And some supporters say the bigger issue heading into the fall will be Trump’s response to the coronavirus and economic collapse.
“The specifics of the Reade allegation are secondary,” said Jason Miller, who served as the communications director for Trump’s 2016 campaign and argued that the allegations are less damaging to Biden than other weaknesses the episode exposes.
“This just reminds people that Biden has been in office” for more than 40 years, Miller said. “It reminds people that he’s part of that permanent political class.”
It was a different story during the closing months of Trump’s 2016 campaign against Hillary Clinton, when Trump repeatedly invoked allegations against her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
Following the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump bragged about using his fame to sexually assault women, Trump launched a scorched-earth campaign against Hillary Clinton that included inviting her husband’s accusers to the second presidential debate. His campaign organized a surprise news conference featuring four of Bill Clinton’s accusers in an attempt to throw Hillary Clinton off her game.
Four years later, the landscape is different. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, Trump and his campaign have instead focused much of their response to Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court Justice whose nomination was nearly derailed by sexual misconduct allegations.
“This is an outstanding man. He was falsely charged. What happened with him was an absolute disgrace to our country,” Trump said of Kavanaugh on the day he first spoke about Reade.
Trump’s campaign has also highlighted statements made by Democrats during the Kavanaugh episode to try to portray them as having a double standard when it comes to which accusers they believe.
“During Justice Kavanaugh’s hearings, Biden made clear that all women should be believed when they come forward with allegations of sexual assault,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Erin Perrine said in a statement. “In a dramatic shift, Biden now says ‘believe women’ doesn’t actually mean ‘believe women.'”
It’s a message the Trump campaign is reinforcing to supporters.
“Joe Biden & the Dems believe he should be held to a different standard than the one they set for Brett Kavanaugh. Let’s hold them accountable,” read one text sent to supporters.
For its part, the Biden campaign has sometimes struggled to respond to the Reade allegation. It initially released a written statement denying the accusation while arguing that women should have the right to come forward with their stories, which should be reviewed by the media.
Biden himself didn’t publicly address the accusation until a May 1 interview on MSNBC in which he unequivocally denied Reade’s allegation. He repeated that denial in subsequent media appearances last week.
But the weeks of relative silence prompted much hand-wringing among Democratic operatives, who worried Biden was letting the allegation overtake his campaign. Female voters remain a key voting bloc for the Democratic Party, and some expressed concern that the allegation could significantly undermine Biden’s support among women, particularly young women.
Biden is trying to move the focus back to policy and Trump’s handling of the pandemic’s fallout. In a Friday speech focused on the economy, Biden said Trump “utterly failed to prepare for this pandemic and delayed in taking the necessary steps to safeguard our nation.”
The question is whether Trump will continue to hold back as the campaign intensifies. He has occasionally come close to giving Reade’s accusation credence, including during a podcast interview this month with conservative commentator Dan Bongino.
Trump told Bongino that Reade’s accusation was “credible” even as he said it would be a “great thing” if Biden had records he could use to “dispose” of the allegation.
“If it’s not true, you deny it. I’ve been a total victim of this nonsense,” he said.
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By Polityk | 05/11/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Pandemic Creates Electoral Uncertainty for Trump, Democrats
Presidential politics move fast. What we’re watching heading into a new week on the 2020 campaign:
Days to general election: 176The Narrative
President Donald Trump’s reelection is facing growing headwinds less than six months before Election Day.
Coronavirus has breached the White House walls. The U.S. unemployment rate is at a 90-year high. And the death toll in the U.S. has surged past 80,000, far more than the Republican president’s projections. Meanwhile, medical experts are warning of a major second wave of infections as states begin to reopen portions of their economies with Trump’s blessing.
Democrat Joe Biden has political challenges of his own, but no incumbent president has faced anything like this in almost a century.The Big Questions
Has the U.S. economy hit bottom?
Just a few short months ago, Trump planned to campaign for reelection on the back of a robust economy. That’s a distant memory after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April, leading to an unemployment rate of 14.7%, the highest since the Great Depression.
Economists suggest the genuine unemployment number is much higher. Trump is encouraging states to reopen their economies to help reverse the slide, even as health experts warn that reopening too soon could lead to a second wave that would wreak greater economic devastation.
The president needs things to start turning around quickly.Can Biden’s campaign compete with the Death Star?
High-profile Democrats have begun voicing public concerns over the direction of Biden’s presidential campaign as Trump enjoys major organizational advantages.
Trump has more money, a more sophisticated digital operation and a big staffing advantage. Last week, former Obama strategists David Axelrod and David Plouffe, in addition to Pete Buttigieg strategist Lis Smith, wrote separate op-eds offering their own suggestions for Biden’s political strategy.
At the same time, the Trump campaign is unleashing a $10 million anti-Biden advertising blitz. Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said the massive round of attack ads represents the first major shot for what he called a juggernaut “Death Star” campaign. Biden’s team is supremely confident in his ability to compete, yet Democrats are decidedly playing catch-up.Will voters hold Trump accountable for the rising death toll?
Trump and his allies have repeatedly declared success in the fight against the coronavirus, even as the U.S. death toll blows past his own projections.
As recently as April 20 Trump predicted during his daily press briefing that between 50,000 and 60,000 Americans would ultimately die as a result of COVID-19. The number of deaths has already exceeded 80,000. Trump has been forced to adjust his projections on the fly. He told a Fox News audience over the weekend that the final tally could reach 100,000 deaths. It’s uncomfortable to think about the political ramifications of such horror, but the death toll represents one of the few pieces of quantitative evidence of Trump’s job performance. Are the Obamas back?
Former President Barack Obama called Trump’s handling of the coronavirus an “absolute chaotic disaster” in a Friday conference call in which he encouraged his former team to embrace Biden’s presidential bid.
It was Obama’s latest step into the 2020 contest, albeit a modest one, having maintained regular private contact with Biden and other Democratic candidates in recent months.
Yet the former president’s 2020 political star, at least for now, may be overshadowed by former first lady Michelle Obama, who starred in a Netflix documentary released last week exploring her life and rise in politics.
Coinciding with the release, a new group emerged to encourage the former first lady to embrace a role as Biden’s running mate. Michelle Obama has sent strong signals that she has no interest in returning to the White House. But even if she stands firm, the Obamas are reminding the political world that they still hold tremendous political power. How do Democrats recalibrate their convention?
Biden is the presumptive Democratic nominee. But the process of making it official is anything but settled.
First, it’s far from clear whether host site Milwaukee will be open for even a scaled-down convention, said Melissa Baldauff, a spokeswoman for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
“We are really just in a place where the disease sets the timeline,” Baldauff said. “Everyone would love to have the convention here in Milwaukee, even if it’s in a limited capacity. But from our perspective, it’s too soon to tell.”
A month ago, the state Supreme Court overruled Evers’ order to reschedule the primary election, despite a shortage of election workers in Milwaukee that forced officials to slash the city’s 180 polling places to just five.
At least 67 Wisconsin residents were diagnosed with COVID-19 after voting in person or working at the polls April 7, though it wasn’t clear how many of the infections were direct results of the election, state officials said.
An important next step in the altered nominating process comes Tuesday, when the Democratic National Committee’s powerful Rules and Bylaws Committee meets — virtually, of course — to discuss granting waivers to states that missed deadlines by postponing their primaries due to the pandemic.
The Final Thought
His campaign has massive organizational advantages, but they may not matter much if Trump cannot effectively govern the nation when it matters most. The death toll, unemployment and public confidence in his administration is moving in the wrong direction. Congress has passed multiple economic rescue packages already, but the president has yet to offer or execute a clear, comprehensive nationwide plan to take control of the health crisis.
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By Polityk | 05/11/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Virtual Political Conventions Becoming a Realistic Alternative
If the coronavirus pandemic forces large-scale events to be either discouraged or cancelled this summer, American political conventions may be among the country’s cultural casualties. Instead of the four-day festival that fills sports arenas, a virtual convention would connect thousands of delegates from all 50 states, plus U.S. territories, to cast votes on everything from political party rules to selecting who will run for president – all on a Zoom-like platform. Currently, the two parties are scheduled to hold back-to-back conventions in mid- to late August, with the Democrats convening in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, followed by the Republicans gathering in Charlotte, North Carolina. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has hinted that his party may opt for a virtual convention if the pandemic continues to rage on, while President Donald Trump has been emphatic in saying his party would gather to nominate him for a second term.FILE PHOTO: Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about responses to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic at an event in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., March 12, 2020.But there’s no way of knowing at this point how the conventions will play out, and politicians and political analysts are intensely speculating on what a virtual convention might look like. “There’s two aspects to this. There’s the legal and the political,” says President Donald Trump walks onstage to speak at a campaign rally, Feb. 28, 2020, in North Charleston, S.C.Virtual or conventional convention? Former Vice President Joe Biden suggested the idea of a virtual convention in early April, days after Democrats moved the dates of their convention in Milwaukee from July 13-16 to August 17-20. That is one week prior to the Republican convention in Charlotte, August 24-27. Trump has mocked Biden’s virtual convention suggestion. Both Republican and Democratic party chairpersons recently said plans for live, in-person conventions are proceeding. If circumstances force a change, Brown is interested to see which party produces a better virtual experience. “We have watched parties do national conventions for years. They know what are the best ways to gain attention and excite their partisans. But this would be a whole new world. And what that means in terms of the creativity and the ingenuity is really an unknown. And there might be a differential advantage for one party or another as they proceed down this path.” Kamarck notes the final decision on how to hold the convention is not necessarily in the parties’ control. “If, in fact, we are still in this kind of very difficult situation, there’s going to be people in Milwaukee who don’t want to work at the convention. There will be people at Charlotte who don’t want to work at the convention. There will be people in both cities who do not look forward to having 20 to 30 thousand people from all over the country,” Kamarck observed.
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By Polityk | 05/11/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
New Week Brings New Challenges for White House
The Trump administration’s leading health experts on safely dealing with the novel coronavirus will be testifying in a Senate hearing by a videoconference this week after three of them and the committee’s chairman were exposed to people who tested positive for COVID-19.Adding to a string of potentially awkward moments for President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence himself self-isolated for the weekend after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. Pence leads Trump’s coronavirus task force.The images of top administration officials taking such precautions come as states seek to loosen economic restrictions put in place to mitigate the virus’ spread. In the Senate, a staff member for the office of Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., tested positive for COVID-19, leading Alexander to decide to preside over Tuesday’s hearing by teleconference while self-quarantining at home in Tennessee for two weeks.As the health experts discuss the administration’s response to the outbreak, lawyers for Trump will hope to persuade a Supreme Court with two of his appointees to keep his tax and other financial records from being turned over to lawmakers and a New York district attorney. The justices are hearing arguments by telephone in a pivotal legal fight that could affect the presidential campaign. Rulings against the president could result in the quick release of personal financial information that Trump has sought strenuously to keep private.On Thursday, a House panels hears from Dr. Rick A. Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. Bright asserts that he was summarily removed from his job and reassigned to a lesser role because he resisted political pressure to allow widespread use of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug favored by Trump.Perhaps most important of all the week’s developments, the administration and Congress will be watching how businesses and consumers react as states gradually loosen restrictions that were designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. FILE – Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington.Decisions about how fast to reopen are being made with a general election less than six months away, and Trump and other incumbents face the prospect of seeking another term in the midst of a public health and economic crisis. “If we do this carefully, working with the governors, I don’t think there’s a considerable risk,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on “Fox News Sunday.” “Matter of fact, I think there’s a considerable risk of not reopening. You’re talking about what would be permanent economic damage to the American public.”Mnuchin was one of several economic advisers the White House dispatched on Sunday to place the focus on the merits of loosening restrictions on the economy. Yet attention to possible risks of infection also turned to how the virus seemed to find its way into the White House complex.Top task force officials who have gone into quarantine because of exposure to a person at the White House who tested positive for the virus include Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC; and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Stephen Hahn.Fauci’s institute said he was “taking appropriate precautions” to mitigate the risk to others while still carrying out his duties, teleworking from home but willing to go to the White House if called. Officials said both Redfield and Hahn will be self-quarantining for two weeks.Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week. A military service member who acts as a valet to the president tested positive on Thursday, the first known instance where a person in close proximity to the president at the White House had tested positive.The precautions contrast with a president who has declined to wear a face covering in meetings at the White House or at his public events. The White House has moved to shore up its protection protocols to protect the nation’s political leaders. Trump said that some staffers who interact with him closely would now be tested daily. Pence told reporters that both he and Trump would now be tested daily as well.Kevin Hassett, an adviser to Trump and the former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, acknowledged Sunday it’s “scary to go to work” in the White House, calling the West Wing a “small, crowded place. It’s, you know, a little bit risky.”Hassett said he wears a mask when necessary and practices “aggressive social distancing.” Appearing on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” he said any fears are tempered by frequent testing, access to an excellent medical team and his belief that this is a time “when people have to step up and serve their country.”The Senate will be in session this week. The House has not yet scheduled its return, as Democrats are determined to have a final coronavirus bill ready for voting before members are called back.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is also working behind the scenes to unify her caucus and finalize their opening coronavirus bill; the Senate is in wait-and-see mode, with Republicans divided on next steps. The president says he’s not in a hurry to pass another economic rescue package. Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow said that the administration is, however, talking with lawmakers from both parties about possible next steps.”I think that many people would like to just pause for a moment and take a look at the economic impact of this massive assistance program, which is the greatest in United States history. That’s all that is being said,” Kudlow said on ABC’s “This Week.”
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By Polityk | 05/11/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Opposition to Trump Unites Democrats Behind Biden
Opposition to President Donald Trump has consolidated Democratic party support for Joe Biden, the presumptive party nominee, in the upcoming presidential election. However, VOA’s Brian Padden reports that pressure from progressives for more expansive government assistance programs, especially now during the coronavirus pandemic, along with concerns over a recent sexual assault allegation and a challenge from a third-party candidate, threaten to fracture that unified support.
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By Polityk | 05/09/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
California to Use Mail-in Ballots for All 2020 Voters Because of Pandemic
California on Friday became the first state to commit to sending mail-in ballots to all registered voters for the November election as a result of the coronavirus pandemic to safeguard voter access and public safety.Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order for the mail-in ballots but said they were no substitute for safe places for in-person voting that the state was also working on.”It’s great for public health, it’s great for voting rights, it’s going to be great for participation because this November’s election is still slated to be the consequential election of our lifetime,” said California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who joined Newsom by phone during his daily briefing.Democrats across the United States have said mail-in ballots are necessary to maintain turnout in November. Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have claimed mail-in voting is susceptible to fraud.Newsom announced the ballots as California’s economy gradually reopened, with retail curbside pickup, manufacturing and other lower-risk activities allowed to resume on Friday.”Roughly 70 percent of the economy in California can open with modifications,” Newsom said.’Confident and comfortable’But businesses are unlikely to go back to their former levels of employees or customers in this phase of reopening, Newsom said.”Just because we announce we have a variation on an opening and people can do curbside pickup, there’s a sense that things are moving again, doesn’t mean that customers are confident and comfortable yet,” he said.Speaking from a reopened florist shop, Newsom encouraged Californians to shop at small, independently owned stores that were forced to close as “big box” competitors stayed open.He said California, the world’s fifth-largest economy, was suffering higher unemployment than the 14.7 percent national average announced on Friday, based on the 4.3 million people who applied for jobless benefits in the state since March 12.”We’re not a 14.7 percent, the state of California is north of 20 percent right now,” Newsom said.
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By Polityk | 05/09/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
California to use mail-in ballots for all 2020 voters due to pandemic
California on Friday became the first state to commit to sending mail-in ballots to all registered voters for the November election as a result of the coronavirus pandemic to safeguard voter access and public safety.Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order for the mail-in ballots but said they were no substitute for safe places for in-person voting that the state was also working on.”It’s great for public health, it’s great for voting rights, it’s going to be great for participation because this November’s election is still slated to be the consequential election of our lifetime,” said California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who joined Newsom by phone during his daily briefing.Democrats across the United States have said mail-in ballots are necessary to maintain turnout in November. Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have claimed mail-in voting is susceptible to fraud.Newsom announced the ballots as California’s economy gradually reopened, with retail curbside pickup, manufacturing and other lower-risk activities allowed to resume on Friday.”Roughly 70 percent of the economy in California can open with modifications,” Newsom said.’Confident and comfortable’But businesses are unlikely to go back to their former levels of employees or customers in this phase of reopening, Newsom said.”Just because we announce we have a variation on an opening and people can do curbside pickup, there’s a sense that things are moving again, doesn’t mean that customers are confident and comfortable yet,” he said.Speaking from a reopened florist shop, Newsom encouraged Californians to shop at small, independently owned stores that were forced to close as “big box” competitors stayed open.He said California, the world’s fifth-largest economy, was suffering higher unemployment than the 14.7 percent national average announced on Friday, based on the 4.3 million people who applied for jobless benefits in the state since March 12.”We’re not a 14.7 percent, the state of California is north of 20 percent right now,” Newsom said.
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By Polityk | 05/09/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Lawmakers Fail to Check Trump on War-Making Power With Iran
The U.S. Senate failed to override a White House veto Thursday, bringing an end to a four-month congressional effort to limit presidential power to unilaterally take the United States into war.The resolution reaffirms the U.S. Congress’ constitutional power to declare war, part of a long-running debate that was revived earlier this year during a time of escalating tensions between the United States and Iran. If passed, the resolution would have required U.S. presidents to halt the use of force against Iran unless authorized by Congress.President Donald Trump vetoed the resolution Wednesday, calling it “very insulting” and said it would have “greatly harmed the president’s ability to protect the United States, its allies, and its partners.”Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 7, 2020.But Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia who co-sponsored the resolution in February, said Thursday on the Senate floor, “In no way was this partisan. In no way was it part of a strategy dealing with a November 3 election. And for President Trump to look at a matter of war and peace and constitutional obligations of Congress through the lens of the November election, frankly, shocked me.”A two-thirds majority of the U.S. Senate is required to override a presidential veto. The measure – which also received bipartisan support upon passage in the U.S. House in February – failed to reach that threshold by a vote of 49-44.Trump ordered a January airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Days later, Iran retaliated with a ballistic missile attack against U.S. forces in Iraq that left more than 100 U.S. service members with diagnosed traumatic brain injuries.”An airstrike is not war,” Sen. Jim Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, said Thursday in support of the presidential veto. “Defending American lives is not war. And the president has made it clear that he doesn’t desire a war.”
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By Polityk | 05/08/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Unanimous Supreme Court Throws Out ‘Bridgegate’ Convictions
A unanimous Supreme Court on Thursday threw out the convictions of two political insiders involved in the “Bridgegate” scandal that ultimately derailed the 2016 presidential bid of then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The justices found evidence of deception, corruption and abuse of power in the scheme, but said “not every corrupt act by state or local officials is a federal crime.” The court concluded the government had overreached in prosecuting Christie allies Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni for their roles in creating a traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge as political payback for a Democratic mayor who declined to support the Republican governor’s reelection. Kelly was Christie’s onetime deputy chief of staff. Baroni was a top Christie appointee to the Port Authority, the operator of the New York area’s bridges, tunnels, airports and ports. Kelly and Baroni were convicted of fraud and conspiracy for plotting in 2013 to change the traffic flow onto the George Washington Bridge between New York City and New Jersey to artificially create gridlock in New Jersey’s Fort Lee. The traffic change came after Fort Lee’s mayor declined to endorse Christie. ‘A political crusade'”For no reason other than political payback, Baroni and Kelly used deception to reduce Fort Lee’s access lanes to the George Washington Bridge — and thereby jeopardized the safety of the town’s residents. But not every corrupt act by state or local officials is a federal crime. Because the scheme here did not aim to obtain money or property, Baroni and Kelly could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the court. Christie, in a statement following the high court’s ruling, called the prosecutions of his former allies a “political crusade” against his administration, and lashed out at prosecutors and the Justice Department under President Barack Obama, a Democrat. “As many contended from the beginning, and as the Court confirmed today, no federal crimes were ever committed in this matter by anyone in my Administration. It is good for all involved that today justice has finally been done,” Christie wrote. Christie has denied knowing about the plan for gridlock ahead of time or as it was unfolding. Trial testimony contradicted his account, but the scandal helped tank his White House run in 2016. Christie endorsed Donald Trump after leaving the race. ‘Complete and total exoneration’ Trump tweeted his congratulations on Thursday to Christie, calling the court’s decision a “complete and total exoneration” and said there was “grave misconduct by the Obama Justice Department!” As a candidate, Trump had attacked Christie by saying the governor “totally knew about” the lane closings before they happened. The result of the lane realignment was four days of traffic jams. A fictitious traffic study was used as cover for the change, but prosecutors said the real motive was political payback. At one point, Kelly wrote in an email: “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.” Kelly was weeks from beginning a 13-month sentence last year when the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. Baroni had begun serving his 18-month sentence but was released from prison after the high court agreed to weigh in. The court’s decision to side with Kelly and Baroni continues a pattern from recent years of restricting the government’s ability to prosecute corruption cases. In 2016 the court overturned the bribery conviction of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. In 2010 the court sharply curbed prosecutors’ use of an anti-fraud law in the case of ex-Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling.
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By Polityk | 05/07/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Face Masks Make A Political Statement in Era of Coronavirus
The decision to wear a mask in public is becoming a political statement — a moment to pick sides in a brewing culture war over containing the coronavirus.
While not yet as loaded as a “Make America Great Again” hat, the mask is increasingly a visual shorthand for a debate pitting those willing to follow health officials’ guidance and cover their faces against those who feel it violates their freedom or buys into a threat they think is overblown.
That resistance is fueled by some of the same people who object to other virus restrictions. The push back has been stoked by President Donald Trump — he didn’t wear a mask during a Tuesday appearance at a facility making them — and some other Republicans, who have flouted rules and questioned the value of masks. It’s a development that has worried experts as Americans are increasingly returning to public spaces.
“There’s such a strong culture of individualism that, even if it’s going to help protect them, people don’t want the government telling them what to do,” said Linsey Marr, a Virginia Tech engineering professor with experience in airborne transmission of viruses. Vice President Mike Pence visits the molecular testing lab at Mayo Clinic Tuesday, April 28, 2020, in Rochester, Minn., where he toured the facilities supporting COVID-19 research and treatment. Pence chose not to wear a face mask while touring the…Inconclusive science and shifting federal guidance have no doubt muddied the political debate. Health officials initially said wearing masks was unnecessary, especially amid a shortage of protective materials. But last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began recommending wearing cloth masks in public to prevent transmitting the virus to others.
Whether Americans are embracing the change may depend on their political party. While most other protective measures like social distancing get broad bipartisan support, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they’re wearing a mask when leaving home, 76% to 59%, according to a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The split is clear across several demographics that lean Democratic. People with college degrees are more likely than those without to wear masks when leaving home, 78% to 63%. African Americans are more likely than either white people or Hispanic Americans to say they’re wearing masks outside the home, 83% to 64% and 67%, respectively.
The notable exception is among older people, a group particularly vulnerable to serious illness from the virus. Some 79% of those age 60 and over were doing so compared with 63% of those younger.
“Who knows what the truth is on masks?” asked Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who, unlike some of his colleagues, went without a mask Tuesday in the Senate. Paul already contracted the virus and believes he is no longer contagious.
His comments were a long way from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s moral argument for the mask a few days earlier.
“How people cannot wear masks — that to me is even disrespectful,” Cuomo said. “You put so many people at risk because you did not want to wear a mask?”Face Mask Dos and Don’tsThere’s a right way and a wrong way to wear a face mask. Here’s what you need to knowEffectiveness aside, politicians of both parties are clued into the powerful symbolism of the mask, and many Americans take their cues from the president.
Trump was barefaced when he spoke to masked journalists, workers and Secret Service agents at the Arizona factory Tuesday. He later said he briefly wore a mask backstage but took it off because facility personnel told him he didn’t need it.
But Trump has been mask averse for weeks. Within minutes of the CDC announcing its updated mask recommendations, he said, “I don’t think that I’m going to be doing it.”
Trump has told advisers that he believes wearing one would “send the wrong message,” according to one administration and two campaign officials not authorized to publicly discuss private conversations. The president said doing so would make it seem like he is preoccupied with health instead of focused on reopening the nation’s economy — which his aides believe is the key to his reelection chances in November.
Moreover, Trump, who is known to be especially cognizant of his appearance on television, has also told confidants that he fears he would look ridiculous in a mask and the image would appear in negative ads, according to one of the officials.
“It’s a vanity thing, I guess, with him,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said of Trump on MSNBC. “You’d think, as the president of the United States, you would have the confidence to honor the guidance he’s giving the country.”
That’s left those around him unsure of how to proceed. White House aides say the president hasn’t told them not to wear them, but few do. Some Republican allies have asked Trump’s campaign how it would be viewed by the White House if they were spotted wearing a mask, according to two campaign officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss private conversations.
Meanwhile, Trump’s reelection campaign has ordered red Trump-branded masks for supporters and is considering giving them away at events or in return for donations. But some advisers are concerned the president will later sour on the idea, according to one campaign official.
That uncertainty was on display last week, when Vice President Mike Pence went maskless at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. He later acknowledged he should have worn one and did use a mask during a subsequent trip to a ventilator plant.
The issue has been far less fraught for Democrats, whose presumptive presidential nominee, Joe Biden, has said he wears a mask when interacting with the Secret Service.
Dilemmas for politicians and other Americans are only going to increase as parts of the country begin easing stay-at-home orders and businesses reopen with new rules. The tensions have already flared in Michigan, where a man was shot and killed over a mask dispute at a store.
One of the earliest communities to require masks in public was Laredo, Texas. A $1,000 noncompliance fine was negated by an order from the governor, but Mayor Pete Saenz said his community is still asking citizens to comply so hospitals aren’t overtaxed with new cases.
“We don’t want to violate anyone’s civil liberties,” Saenz said. But “we can’t help you, if it’s beyond our medical capacity, whether you exercise your civil liberties or not.”
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By Polityk | 05/07/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Emerging Virus Aid Bill Aims to Help Cities, Postal Service
Although timing for the House’s return isn’t set, the outlines are emerging for a Democratic-driven bill to aid states and local governments, the Postal Service and boost contact tracing to track the coronavirus.Democratic leaders promise that the House will deliver legislation to help state and local governments through the COVID-19 crisis as early as next week, though the measure is still being drafted by committee chairs and party leaders like Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.No. 2 House Democrat Steny Hoyer of Maryland said Wednesday that party leadership was hoping for bipartisan backing for the upcoming bill, the fifth effort to respond to the devastation COVID-19 has delivered to the economy and U.S. life. Ultimately, it’ll take arduous bipartisan negotiations to produce a bill but the right dynamic hasn’t caught fire yet.FILE – U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., wears a face mask as he walks out of the House chamber during the debate on pandemic aid measures, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, April 23, 2020.Hoyer said he was backing $500 billion in aid to state and local governments with a supplemental aid package for smaller cites left out of previous aid bills. He said the measure would aid the U.S. Postal Service, contain funding for absentee voting this fall, and address other priorities like funds for advanced tracing to monitor the virus as states try to open up without sparking a second wave of infection.Hoyer said the House wouldn’t return to Washington until there was a vote set on the next coronavirus bill, saying “it could be as early as next week.”For now, the House is staying away because of the pandemic, although the GOP-controlled Senate is open. Republicans there face internal divisions over spending and responsiveness to Depression-era jobless levels.Some Republicans such as Senator Mitt Romney of Utah and a group of GOP governors want to be more generous to states confronting furloughs and cuts to services as revenues plummet and unemployment insurance and other costs spike.’Pause’ on aidBut Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Tuesday that it was time to push “pause” on more aid legislation — even as he repeated a “red line” demand that any new aid package include liability protections for hospitals, health care providers and businesses operating and reopening.Senate Republicans also dislike President Donald Trump’s demand for a cut to Social Security payroll taxes as a salve for the economy. Many lawmakers think the payroll tax cut is a bad idea because it boosts paychecks but doesn’t help people thrown out of a job.FILE – Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is pictured on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 19, 2019.”We haven’t had any discussion of that” on the tax-writing Finance Committee, panel Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Wednesday. “And I think I better wait till I talk to my colleagues.”Trump is encouraging states to reopen, and Republicans hope the gradual comeback will kick-start the economy, reducing the pressure for more pricey aid.Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday with a repackaged set of demands.”Well run States should not be bailing out poorly run States, using CoronaVirus as the excuse! The elimination of Sanctuary Cities, Payroll Taxes, and perhaps Capital Gains Taxes, must be put on the table,” Trump tweeted.Romney on Tuesday urged his colleagues to pass additional state aid, with a chart titled “Blue states aren’t the only ones who are screwed,” based on Moody’s Analytics data showing Louisiana, Missouri, Florida, Kansas and Kentucky competing with New York and New Jersey and the states facing the worst revenue shortfalls. State, local government helpDetails on the package are a ways away, but it’s likely to be anchored by money for state and local governments, including smaller cities. Business interests are pushing hard for additional operating subsidies and relief from COVID-19-related lawsuits.Senate Republicans are frustrated by a negotiating dynamic on previous bills that empowered Democrats and sent costs spiraling. But they’re reluctant to unleash federal funds beyond the nearly $3 trillion Congress has already approved for virus relief.Grassley, for instance, said that “I don’t think we ought to right now decide that there is going to be a phase 4.”Ultimately, the legislation is likely to be shaped most by a familiar group of congressional leaders, including Pelosi and McConnell, and top Trump administration officials like Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. But getting talks to critical mass can be a tricky, arduous process given the web of rivalries and internal party considerations involved. Trump’s political fortunes and a spate of bad GOP polling have added new uncertainty.FILE – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., waits to speak with reporters after the Senate approved a nearly $500 billion coronavirus aid bill, April 21, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.For her part, Pelosi recognizes that any bill drafted by Democrats will need more thorough culling than early Democratic efforts, which came under GOP attack for easy-to-criticize items like aid to Washington’s Kennedy Center and material taken from the so-called Green New Deal.Pelosi advised her colleagues in a caucuswide call this week to think big but be realistic, reminding them that Democrats will have to dial things down.”I think all of us are going to get our papers graded in November based on how we responded. This is going to be the dominant issue in every election in the country,” said Republican Texas Senator John Cornyn said.A freshman Republican senator, Missouri’s Josh Hawley, said: “If we enter a long-term recession or depression, the concerns we have about deficit spending now are going to look like a walk in the park.”One idea gaining traction among Republicans is to allow greater flexibility on $150 billion in aid that’s already been delivered to states and larger cities. That money is supposed to be used to pay for COVID-19 response, but governors in some states won’t be able to use it all for that purpose and want to use it to make up for revenues lost as the country slides into recession.
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By Polityk | 05/06/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
COVID-19 Shortens Time for US Lawmakers’ Agenda
U.S. lawmakers are partially returning to work this week even as cases of COVID-19 are expected to rise in the Washington, D.C area. The Republican-majority U.S. Senate will consider key Trump nominees and another round of massive coronavirus aid. Meantime, the Democratic-majority U.S. House continues to work remotely. Congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more on the new normal on Capitol Hill.
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By Polityk | 05/06/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Poll: Biden’s Edge Over Trump Evaporates
Joe Biden’s advantage over President Donald Trump in popular support has eroded in recent weeks as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee struggles for visibility with voters during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.The opinion poll conducted on Monday and Tuesday found that 43% of registered voters said they would support Biden in the Nov. 3 presidential election, while 41% said they would back Trump. That makes the contest essentially a toss-up, as the results are within the poll’s credibility interval.Biden led by 6 percentage points in a similar poll last week and by 8 points in a poll that ran April 15 to 21.The former vice president has been forced to run his presidential campaign from his Delaware home in keeping with restrictions aimed at combating the virus, which has killed more than 70,000 people in the United States and put 30 million people out of work.By contrast, Trump has put himself at the helm of the U.S. pandemic response, with regular White House briefings until recently.Some of Biden’s most dominant recent headlines focused on a former U.S. Senate aide’s allegation that he sexually assaulted her in 1993. Biden said last week the alleged assault “never happened” and asked the Senate to make public any documents related to the accusation by Tara Reade, who worked as a staff assistant in Biden’s Senate office from December 1992 to August 1993.The political impact of the situation was not yet clear in the Reuters/Ipsos poll, which showed 53% of the American public said they were “somewhat” or “very” familiar with Reade’s allegation.Poll detailsAccording to the poll, 45% of Americans said Trump was better suited to create jobs, while 32% said Biden was the better candidate for that. That pushed Trump’s advantage over Biden in terms of job creation to 13 points, compared with the Republican president’s 6-point edge in a similar poll that ran in mid-April.Thirty-seven percent said Trump was better leading the country’s coronavirus response, while 35% preferred Biden. A similar poll in mid-April showed Biden had a slight edge over Trump when it came to the nation’s response to the disease.Overall, 42% of Americans said they approved of Trump’s performance in office, and 53% said they disapproved. The president’s popularity has remained relatively flat for more than a year.The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online, in English, throughout the United States. It gathered responses from 1,215 American adults, including 1,015 who identified as registered voters. It had a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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By Polityk | 05/06/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Judge Restores NY Democratic Presidential Primary on June 23
The New York Democratic presidential primary must take place June 23 because canceling it would be unconstitutional, a judge ruled Tuesday.U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan ruled after hearing arguments a day earlier as lawyers for withdrawn presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Andrew Yang argued that it was wrong to cancel the primary.The judge said there was enough time before the primary occurs to figure out how to carry it out safely.”If all but one of the presidential candidates are removed from the ballot and the primary is not held, Delegate Plaintiffs will be deprived of the opportunity to compete for delegate slots and shape the course of events at the Convention, and voters will lose the chance to express their support for delegates who share their views,” the judge wrote. “The loss of these First Amendment rights is a heavy hardship.”She added: “There is also a strong public interest in permitting the presidential primary to proceed with the full roster of qualified candidates.”The Democratic members of the State’s Board of Elections voted to cancel the primary even though New York was still planning to hold its congressional and state-level primaries June 23.They cited the danger to voters from the coronavirus as a reason to cancel the election since former Vice President Joe Biden has been endorsed by the major candidates he had faced.New York state Democratic party chair Jay Jacobs said: “We are reviewing it.”Jacobs had called holding the primary “unnecessary” with the suspension of Sanders’ campaign and said reduced turnout could reduce the need for as many poll workers.Lawyers who argued before Torres on Monday did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
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By Polityk | 05/06/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Maryland’s Mfume to Be Sworn In to Congress
Maryland Democrat Kweisi Mfume is scheduled to be sworn into Congress after winning a special election to finish the term of the late Elijah Cummings.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is scheduled to swear in Mfume on Tuesday morning in Washington.
Mfume easily won an election last week against Republican Kimberly Klacik in an election that was conducted mostly by voters mailing in their ballots due to health concerns about the coronavirus.
The 7th Congressional District includes a significant portion of Baltimore and parts of its suburbs in Baltimore and Howard counties. Cummings died in October. The rest of the term runs until Jan. 3.
Mfume is running to be the nominee for a full term in the state’s June 2 primary. Mfume head held the seat for five terms from 1987 to 1996 before leaving to lead the NAACP.
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By Polityk | 05/05/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Attack Ad Draws President’s Ire
The mounting coronavirus death toll is at the forefront of Americans’ concern, but it was a sharp political attack ad that drew the ire of President Donald Trump in the wee hours of Tuesday. The FILE – George Conway, husband of Kellyanne Conway, the White House senior adviser to President Trump.The ad, running six months before the November presidential election between Trump and former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden, was called “Mourning in America.” The ad was a dystopian version of one of the most prominent U.S. political ads ever, former President Ronald Reagan’s “Morning in America” portrait of a flourishing United States as he successfully ran for reelection in 1984. But the Lincoln Project ad called attention to dilapidated houses, a worried man in a hospital corridor, vacant industrial buildings, a man applying for unemployment compensation and a long line of Americans wearing masks to protect themselves from the virus. “There’s mourning in America,” the ad concluded. “And under the leadership of Donald Trump, our country is weaker, sicker and poorer. And now, Americans are asking, ‘If we have another four years like this, will there even be an America?’” After midnight Monday in Washington, Trump responded on Twitter. “I don’t know what Kellyanne did to her deranged loser of a husband, Moonface, but it must have been really bad.” ….because they don’t know how to win, and their so-called Lincoln Project is a disgrace to Honest Abe. I don’t know what Kellyanne did to her deranged loser of a husband, Moonface, but it must have been really bad. John Weaver lost big for Kasich (to me). Crazed Rick Wilson….— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2020He derided the sponsors of the ad as “RINO Republicans,” Republicans In Name Only, “who failed badly 12 years ago, then again 8 years ago, and then got BADLY beaten by me, a political first timer, 4 years ago.” Trump said they had “copied (no imagination) the concept of an ad from Ronald Reagan, “Morning in America,” doing everything possible to get even for all of their many failures. “You see, these loser types don’t care about 252 new Federal Judges, 2 great Supreme Court Justices, a rebuilt military, a protected 2nd Amendment, biggest EVER Tax & Regulation cuts, and much more. I didn’t use any of them because they don’t know how to win, and their so-called Lincoln Project is a disgrace to Honest Abe. “They’re all LOSERS, but Abe Lincoln, Republican, is all smiles!” Trump concluded.
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By Polityk | 05/05/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Pressed to Choose a Black Woman as Running Mate
After a devastating start to the Democratic primary, Joe Biden’s campaign was revived when black voters in South Carolina and throughout the South overwhelmingly sided with him. Now that he’s the presumptive Democratic nominee, black voters and leaders are pressing for him to pick a black woman as his running mate. Biden launched a committee last week to begin vetting possible candidates for the vice presidency, a process he has said will likely last through July. He has already committed to picking a woman. But black voters and leaders say he needs to go further and pick a black woman. They argue that Biden’s success — and that of the Democratic Party as a whole — depends on black people turning out to vote in November. They want a tangible return for their loyalty, not just a thank you for showing up on Election Day. “Black people want an acknowledgement of the many years of support they have given the Democratic Party,” said Niambi Carter, a Howard University political science professor. Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden talks to Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., at a primary night election rally in Columbia, S.C., Feb. 29, 2020 after winning the South Carolina primary.House Minority Whip Jim Clyburn, whose endorsement in South Carolina was widely credited with helping widen Biden’s winning margin and start his avalanche of March primary victories, said “clearly” he would prefer a black woman. But he insisted he’s not pushing Biden in that direction. “I’m the father of three grown African American women. So naturally I prefer an African American woman, but it doesn’t have to be,” Clyburn said. “I’ve made that very clear.” FILE – U.S. Senator Kamala Harris launches her campaign for President of the United States at a rally at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in her hometown of Oakland, California, Jan. 27, 2019.Biden has been unusually vocal about the people he would consider as running mates. He’s referenced two black women, Sen. Kamala Harris of California and Stacey Abrams, the former Democratic nominee for governor in Georgia. Other black women, including Rep. Val Demings of Florida and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, have also been mentioned. But Biden is also thought to be considering several white women, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. President Donald Trump said his November opponent owes the spot to Warren, theorizing that Sen. Bernie Sanders “would have won every single state on Super Tuesday” if Warren had dropped out of the primary race earlier. FILE – Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams addresses supporters during an election night watch party in Atlanta, Nov. 6, 2018.In an interview Monday with the New York Post, Trump dismissed Abrams while claiming responsibility for her defeat in the 2018 Georgia governor’s race. Zerlina Maxwell, a political analyst and former director of progressive media for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, said this is an opportunity for Biden to recognize the political force of black women. “The Democratic nominee needs to make it completely clear that they understand the moment and that they understand that black women are the foundation of a successful Democratic Party at every level,” Maxwell said. Adrianne Shropshire, executive director of Black PAC, said black voters are looking for “authenticity.” “When folks have talked to us about what they want in a candidate, it is someone who can relate to them,” Shropshire said, noting the coronavirus’s disparate impact on black Americans. But she said that doesn’t mean that a vice presidential nominee has to be a black woman. “Having a black running mate checks that box for a lot of people, but I would also say in the same way that black voters weren’t simply during the primary contest saying, ‘Who’s the black candidate?’ I don’t think black voters are doing that for the vice presidential choice either,” she said, later adding the bottom line: “Ultimately, people want to win.” Tharon Johnson, a prominent black strategist who worked for Barack Obama’s two presidential campaigns, said Biden’s focus should be on “energy,” not necessarily on race. “I am totally, 100% behind the narrative that it’s time for a black woman on the ticket,” Johnson said. “But he has to consider a lot of metrics. Who can he bring on that will increase enthusiasm and drive turnout in those states that matter most in November? And what characteristics are there that will bring that excitement?” Biden campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond, a Louisiana congressman and a former Congressional Black Caucus chairman, is a forceful advocate for African Americans within Democratic politics. But he’s also absolute in his assertion that Biden cannot be forced to check a demographic box. “I’m not sure that the VP is going to throw names out there just to appease people,” Richmond said. Symone Sanders is the highest-ranking black woman on Biden’s staff and played a key role in shoring up Biden’s campaign in South Carolina. But he also has an older cadre of advisers reminding him of the complicated calculations in putting together a winning coalition. Kenneth Walden, a 26-year-old black man who lives in the battleground state of North Carolina, said the pick must be a black woman. “And if not, I believe that it would be a repeat of 2016, where we had an all-white ticket and everybody was not energized,” said Walden, who works in telecommunications and on a YouTube show. “Black people are going to feel betrayed. We’re not just voting based off just party lines anymore.” Cierra Conerly, a 32-year-old entrepreneur and small-business owner, said she’s torn about whom she wants to see on the ticket, but she said it needs to be someone who can identify strongly with diverse groups. “I’m African American, I’m a woman, I’m a business owner and I’m also LGBTQ” said Conerly, who lives in Arizona, another state Democrats hope to flip. “All of those aspects are really important and I want someone who is going to be able to speak to those.” Taylor Harrell, the political director for Mothering Justice, a nonprofit that advocates for mothers, said Biden’s choice shouldn’t be all that complicated: Choose a black woman. “It’s become a cute catchphrase to say ‘trust black women’ or that black women are the backbone of the Democratic Party, so if we’re truly the backbone, being the backbone should essentially mean being the vice president,” Harrell, a Detroit resident, said. “White people have had a voice for so long and having a black woman will allow us to feel like our voices are going to continue to be heard after they’ve been put on pause for these past four years.”
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By Polityk | 05/05/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US: Russia Could Try to Covertly Advise Candidates in 2020
The Department of Homeland Security and FBI warned states earlier this year that Russia could look to interfere in the 2020 U.S. elections by covertly advising political candidates and campaigns, according to a law enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press. The Feb. 3 document details tactics U.S. officials believe Russia could use to interfere in this year’s elections, including secretly advising candidates and campaigns. It says that though officials “have not previously observed Russia attempt this action against the United States,” political strategists working for a business mogul close to President Vladimir Putin have been involved in secret campaigning in numerous African countries. The memo underscores how Trump administration officials are continuing to sound alarms about the prospect of future Russian interference in American politics even as President Donald Trump has sought to downplay the Kremlin’s involvement in his 2016 win over Democrat Hillary Clinton. FILE – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, left, stands with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton before the first presidential debate, at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, September 26, 2016.Because it was prepared before the coronavirus outbreak, the memo does not reflect how the pandemic might affect the tactics Russia might use to interfere with the election. Spokespeople for the FBI and Department of Homeland Security had no immediate comment Monday on the memo. The document, described as a “reference aid” and titled “Possible Russian Tactics Ahead of 2020 US Election,” does not identify particular candidates or campaigns that Russia might support through its actions. U.S. officials have said Russia supported Trump in 2016 and took steps to help his campaign and harm Clinton’s candidacy. Intelligence officials briefed lawmakers in February about Russian interests in this year’s election. Russia has denied the interference. High threatsThe memo warns of eight possible Russian tactics, dividing the concerns into what officials say are “high” threats and “moderate” threats. Among the high threats are the possibility Russia could hack and leak information like it did in the 2016 campaign — when emails stolen from the Clinton campaign by Russian hackers were published by WikiLeaks — and more recently in the French presidential race. Other high threats include that Russia could use “state-controlled media arms to propagate election-themed narratives to target audiences,” use economic and business levers to gain influence inside a campaign or administration, and rely on fake social media personas to promote Russian interests and sway American opinion. Moderate threatsLesser, or “moderate,” threats include targeting or manipulating election infrastructure, such as voter databases and vote-tallying systems, and providing financial support to American candidates or parties. The possibility the Kremlin could covertly advise candidates and campaigns is also described as a moderate threat, but it’s noteworthy because this is not a concern U.S. officials routinely highlight in public when they warn of Russian election interference. The memo says “Russia has sought to take advantage of countries that have perceived loopholes in laws preventing foreign campaign assistance.” That tactic has not yet been observed in the United States, the officials wrote, though the document notes that Russian strategists believed to be working for Yevgeny Prigozhin, a wealthy businessman known as “Putin’s chef” because of his ties to Putin, “were involved in political campaigning in approximately 20 different African countries during 2019.” Social media tactics in AfricaAn October report from the Stanford Internet Observatory detailed a Facebook operation in multiple African countries, attributed to entities tied to Prigozhin, that supported individual candidates in some instances, pushed particular narratives and bolstered or disparaged governments in ways consistent with Russia’s foreign policy agenda. Prigohzin was among the Russians indicted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation for his role in a furtive social media campaign aimed at sowing discord among Americans ahead of the 2016 U.S. election. The document is unclassified but marked as “For Official Use Only.” It was prepared by cyber experts at the Department of the Homeland Security and FBI and coordinated with other federal agencies. The AP obtained it through a public records request.
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By Polityk | 05/05/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
AP Fact Check: Trump on Biden ‘Apology,’ Virus Test Myths
President Donald Trump is mischaracterizing Joe Biden’s position on the U.S. pandemic response, stretching the facts on his own policies in the crisis and playing down the risk to meatpacking employees who are being called to work as infections run high.
Trump capped the weekend by taking questions from Fox News anchors and viewers in an open-air evening session Sunday against the backdrop of the Lincoln Memorial. Over the previous week, Trump persisted in bragging about U.S. coronavirus testing despite the country’s weak record on that front.
His comments were among many that fell short of reality in the past week as federal social distancing guidelines expired and some states took steps to reopen businesses. The nation’s death toll continues to climb.
Trump’s newest spokeswoman, Kayleigh McEnany, held the first White House briefing by a press secretary in over a year, pledging she will “never lie to you, you have my word on that.” She then spread several misstatements.
Trump and his veterans affairs secretary, meanwhile, exaggerated progress in the testing of front-line health workers during the pandemic. Trump has repeatedly insisted that anyone who needs a test can get one, but that’s not what the VA says about its employees.
A review:On Biden
Trump, claiming Biden called his travel restrictions on China xenophobic: “Biden has written a letter of apology.” … “He actually apologized (and said) I made the right move.” — Fox News, Sunday night.
The Facts: There’s no such letter in sight. Moreover, Biden supported Trump’s restrictions on travel from China — yes, essentially calling them the right move.
Trump’s Democratic presidential rival has accused him of having a record of xenophobia but not explicitly in the context of the president’s decision to limit travel from China during the pandemic. Trump took to calling the virus the “China virus” and the “foreign virus” at one point, prompting Biden to urge the country not to take a turn toward xenophobia or racism in the pandemic.
Meat PlantsTrump on his emergency order to reopen meat plants after many closed because workers were sickened by COVID-19. “I think it’s all working out. … Those people are tending to get better quickly.” — Fox News, Sunday night.The Facts: He offered no support for the contention that workforces at meat plants are rapidly returning to health.In a report Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said more than 4,900 workers at meat and poultry processing facilities have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, 20 of whom have died.
The illnesses occurred among 130,000 workers at 115 facilities in 19 states, according to the CDC. Some states didn’t provide data, so the actual count is believed to be higher.
The CDC said plant workers may be at risk for a number of reasons, such as difficulties with physical distancing and hygiene and crowded living and transportation conditions. The researchers suggested that disinfection be enhanced and that workers get regular screening for the virus, more space from co-workers and training materials in their native languages.Press Secretary
McEnany: “We have a handwritten FBI note that says, quote, ‘We need to get (Flynn) to lie,’ quote, and ‘get him fired.’ There was an unfair target on the back of General Michael Flynn.” — news briefing Friday.
The Facts: She’s misquoting and mischaracterizing the newly released FBI notes and emails related to Trump’s former national security adviser.
The message, included on a page of handwritten notes that appeared to recap an internal FBI debate about how best to approach Flynn, reads: “What’s our goal? Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?”
The notes also say: “If we’re seen as playing games, WH will be furious. Protect our institution by not playing games.”
Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States. His lawyers last week released internal correspondence obtained through a Justice Department review of the handling of the case. They contend the documents bolster their allegations that Flynn was set up to lie when he was questioned at the White House three years ago.
McEnany : “I’ve seen a whole lot of scant information about Michael Flynn, when there was a whole lot of speculation about ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ culminating in … the complete and total exoneration of President Trump.” — news briefing Friday.
The Facts : False. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation did not result in a “complete and total exoneration” of Trump. Mueller explicitly stated that his report did not exonerate the president.
In the report, Mueller said his team declined to make a prosecutorial judgment on whether to charge Trump, partly because of a Justice Department legal opinion that said sitting presidents cannot be indicted.
The detailed report factually laid out instances in which Trump might have obstructed justice. On a potential conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign, Mueller said the investigation did not collect sufficient evidence to establish criminal charges on that front.
Testing
Trump, responding to a Harvard University study that 5 million tests would be needed to safely reopen the country: “It will increase, and it’ll increase by much more than that in the very near future. We’re way ahead of everyone on testing. … We’re going to be there very soon. If you look at the numbers, it could be that we’re getting very close.” — remarks Tuesday on aid for small businesses.
The Facts: Actually, Trump is nowhere close in his prediction of providing 5 million tests a day, according to his own federal “testing czar.”
“There is absolutely no way on Earth, on this planet or any other planet, that we can do 20 million tests a day, or even 5 million tests a day,” Dr. Brett Giroir, the federal health official overseeing U.S. testing, told Time magazine the same day.
Trump was addressing a Harvard study that said to ensure a safe reopening of the U.S., 5 million tests a day would be needed by June, and 20 million a day by late July.
Giroir told Time those numbers couldn’t be supported by current technology. The U.S. recently tested as many as 300,000 a day, and Giroir said he plans to hit 8 million per month by next month.
Asked again about it the following day, Trump backtracked, saying the U.S. could hit 5 million tests perhaps eventually. He said “we are going to be there at a certain point.”
Trump: “I’ve told you that we inherited a very broken test — a broken system and a broken test.” — remarks Tuesday.
The Facts: He’s repeating a false assertion that he inherited a “broken” COVID-19 test from the Obama administration. The novel coronavirus did not exist until late last year, so there was no test to inherit.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention instead struggled to develop its own test for the coronavirus in January, later discovering problems in its kits sent to state and county public health labs in early February.
It took the CDC more than two weeks to come up with a fix to the test kits, leading to delays in diagnoses through February, a critical month when the virus took root in the U.S. Not until Feb. 29 did the Food and Drug Administration decide to allow labs to develop and use their own coronavirus diagnostic tests before the agency reviews them, speeding up the supply. Previously, the FDA had only authorized use of a government test developed by the CDC.
Meantime the U.S. bypassed a test that the World Health Organization quickly made available internationally. Trump has said that test was flawed; it wasn’t. The U.S. has strikingly lagged a variety of countries in its ability to test people widely and quickly, despite increasing its capacity after a first chapter that public health officials acknowledged was a failure.
More than 6 million people have been tested in the U.S. More than 1 million have been sickened by the virus and more than 60,000 have died. The U.S. has experienced roughly 1 in 4 reported deaths from the virus worldwide.Veterans
Tump, on the administration’s health care efforts during the coronavirus outbreak: “We also acted swiftly to secure our veterans’ health care facilities. … And we’re being helped very greatly by the passage of all the things that we got passed, Robert, especially Choice, so that people can go and see their doctor when they have to.” —remarks Thursday, with Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie in attendance.
The Facts: Trump is wrong on two fronts. He didn’t pass the Veterans Choice program, and that program has had little impact during the virus outbreak. In fact, since March, the VA suspended the program’s key provisions that granted veterans the option to see private doctors if they endured long waits for care at the government-run VA.
Congress first approved the program in 2014, and President Barack Obama signed it into law. Trump expanded it.
The program allows vets to see a private doctor for primary or mental health care if their VA wait is 20 days (28 for specialty care) or their drive is only 30 minutes or more.
But since the program’s expansion in June 2018, the VA has not seen a major increase in veterans seeking care outside the VA, partly because wait times in the private sector are typically longer than at the VA.
The VA also took steps in late March to restrict veterans’ access to private care, citing the added risks of coronavirus exposure and limited capacity at private hospitals.
Under the temporary restrictions, the VA is reviewing referrals for nonemergency care “on a case-by-case basis for immediate clinical need and with regard to the safety of the veteran when being seen in-person, regardless of wait time or drive time eligibility,” said VA spokeswoman Christina Noel. She said the VA is expanding use of telehealth to address many of veterans’ routine medical needs.
Republican lawmakers and conservatives such as Fox News host Pete Hegseth, a close ally of Trump’s who was considered for the VA secretary job in 2018, have argued that the expanded Choice program has been rendered ineffective during the coronavirus outbreak — not excelled as a model of care.
“This is a time when the VA should do everything possible to expand health care choices for veterans, not arbitrarily restrict them,” said Nate Anderson, executive director of Concerned Veterans for America.
Wilkie, when asked how many VA employees have been tested for the coronavirus: “Well, we’ve tested well over 60,000.” — MSNBC interview on April 22.
The Facts: He overstated it by double. The VA actually has tested 32,155 out of 390,000 total employees, according to department figures provided Friday to Congress.
Wilkie was responding to concerns about shortages of personal protective equipment at VA medical centers, such as masks and gloves. He argued that VA staff is doing fine because of low infection rates, but VA nurses who spoke last month to The Associated Press said it’s been difficult to get a test from the department to know if they have the virus.
According to the VA, employees who have been exposed to patients with COVID-19 and show symptoms may be tested “at a VA medical center, local health departments, or community resources, depending on what resources for testing are available.” The department said Friday that all employees at its nursing homes had now been tested, and it would expand testing to other “vulnerable” employees this week.
To date, about 2,000 staff at VA facilities have tested positive for COVID-19, and an additional 3,500 have been quarantined and are unable to work out of concerns they are infected, according to agency documents. About 20 staff have died.
The VA has pointed in part to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for not supplying it with enough medical supplies. In its update Friday to Congress, the VA said it did not have enough tests for every staff member who wanted one, but it remained a goal for the department.
More than a dozen Democrats led by Sen. Jon Tester, the top Democrat on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, have called on Trump to invoke the Defense Production Act to ensure that VA employees get an adequate supply of protective equipment.
Travel Restrictions
Trump: “Lives were saved by my EARLY BAN of China into our Country.” — tweet Sunday.
Trump: “I closed the country to China.” — on Fox News, Sunday night.
Trump: “I did something that the experts thought I shouldn’t have done: I closed down our country and our borders. I did a ban on China.” — remarks Tuesday.
The Facts: This is one of Trump’s most frequent exaggerations. Trump didn’t “ban” all the people infected with coronavirus from entering the U.S. from China. There were in fact many gaps in containment and initial delays in testing, leading to the U.S. rising to No. 1 globally in the number of people infected by COVID-19. It hit the 1 million mark in infections this past week.
Nor did Trump decide on his own or against the advice of experts to impose travel restrictions on China. He followed a consensus recommendation by his public health advisers.
His order in late January temporarily barred entry by foreign nationals who had traveled in China within the previous 14 days, with exceptions for the immediate family of U.S. citizens and permanent residents as well as American citizens.
Trump: “How do you keep American citizens — you say they’re coming in from China, they want to come back to their country. There is a tremendous problem in China; they want to come back. Are we supposed to say to an American citizen, ‘You can’t come back into your country’? And we did do testing.” — remarks Tuesday with Florida’s governor.
Trump: “The people that we’re allowed were heavily scrutinized and tested U.S. citizens.” — tweet Sunday.
The Facts: He’s incorrect that Americans returning from China were tested for the coronavirus as part of Trump’s travel restrictions imposed in late January.
Americans returning from China were allowed back after enhanced screening at select ports of entry, which could include a temperature check and observations for symptoms.
That’s not the same as getting a test, which was in short supply in February due to problems with the CDC diagnostic kits. U.S. scientists say screenings can miss people who don’t yet show symptoms of COVID-19. While symptoms often appear within five or six days of exposure, the incubation period is 14 days.
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By Polityk | 05/05/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Says US Press Treats Him Worse than Lincoln
U.S. President Donald Trump says he believes his treatment by the national media is worse than that endured by Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War-era president assassinated in 1865.“I am greeted with a hostile press, the likes of which no president has ever seen. The closest would be that gentleman right up there,” Trump said during a televised virtual town hall Sunday night at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.As he sat on a high-backed stool beneath the majestic marble statue of Lincoln, Trump said, “They always said, ‘Lincoln, nobody got treated worse than Lincoln.’ I believe I am treated worse.”Trump’s assessment of his often-hostile relations with the national news media was prompted by a pointed question from a retired nurse and elementary school guidance counselor.She praised Trump for his “great dedication to our country.” But she said, “The question I have is about your manner of presentation. Why do you use descriptive words that could be classified as bullying and why do you not directly answer the questions asked by the press, but instead speak of past successes and generally ramble?”She urged Trump to “let go of those behaviors that are turning people away from you.”Trump smiled in response, saying, “I’m not sure, but I think I like that question. I appreciate it.”But Trump, a Republican like Lincoln, then attacked journalists for asking what he characterized as “disgraceful” questions. He claimed that most of the media “might as well be in the Democrat party.”“I feel that if I was kind to them, I’d be walked off the stage,” Trump said. “They come at you with the most horrible, horrendous, biased questions.”He said when he faces reporters, “I’m standing up there and instead of asking me a normal question, the level of anger and hatred, I’ll look at them, I’ll say, ‘What’s your problem?’”
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By Polityk | 05/04/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Candidates Face Obstacles in Winning the Presidency
As a new month begins and a growing number of states are opening businesses, U.S. President Donald Trump and presidential candidate Joe Biden are looking ahead and planning how to campaign leading up to the November election. Each man, however, faces challenges that need to be overcome in order to win the presidency. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details.
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By Polityk | 05/04/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Gianforte, Fox Clash as Republican Governor’s Race Heats up
Montana’s Republican primary for governor is getting increasingly acrimonious as Attorney General Tim Fox steps up his attacks on Rep. Greg Gianforte for avoiding public appearances and sinking more than $1 million of his own money into the campaign.Gianforte, the presumed front-runner who had largely avoided attacks on Fox and Sen. Al Olszewski, struck back forcefully during a virtual debate on Saturday night in which he called Fox’s accusations “shameful.””It is shameful because he’s trying to manipulate and use false statements to manipulate voters and I’ll just leave it at that,” said Gianforte, a former technology executive who challenged Gov. Steve Bullock four years ago and lost.Fox noted that Gianforte had missed two debates in the lead up to the June 2 primary and said the congressman was “social distancing long before the pandemic hit.””You’ve ducked debates and forums, refused interviews with the press, avoided open public meetings and tough questions, and instead, used your considerable wealth to try to buy this election instead of earning those votes,” Fox said.Olszewski said his experience as a physician and small business owner made him well suited to lead the state as it grapples with the public health and economic challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. The Kalispell lawmaker also reiterated his opposition to a water compact for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and promised to renegotiate the deal if elected governor.Saturday’s debate was conducted via video conference and sponsored by the Montana Broadcasters Association and the Greater Montana Foundation.Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney and Missoula businesswoman Whitney Williams faced off in a separate debate as they seek the Democratic nomination in the race.Williams criticized the Bullock administration for allowing school districts the choice to reopen amid the pandemic. But Cooeny defended the move and said the administration has handled the public health crisis well.
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By Polityk | 05/04/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
At Lincoln Memorial, Trump to Take Public’s Pandemic Queries
Anxious for an economic recovery, President Donald Trump prepared to field Americans’ questions about decisions by some states to allow nonessential businesses to reopen while other states are on virtual lockdown due to the coronavirus.After more than a month of being cooped up at the White House, Trump returned from a weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland and planned to participate in a “virtual” town hall, hosted Sunday night by Fox News Channel, from inside the Lincoln Memorial.”Hopefully our Country will soon mend,” Trump tweeted. Federal guidelines that encouraged people to stay at home and practice social distancing expired late last week.Debate continued over moves by governors to start reopening state economies that tanked after shopping malls, salons and other nonessential businesses were ordered closed in attempt to slow a virus that has killed more than 66,000 Americans, according to a tally of reported deaths by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. economy has suffered, shrinking at a 4.8% annual rate from January through March, the government estimated last week. It was the sharpest quarterly drop since the 2008 financial crisis. Roughly 30.3 million people have filed for unemployment aid in the six weeks since the outbreak forced employers to shut down and slash their workforces. It was the worst string of layoffs on record.President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House after stepping off Marine One, May 3, 2020, in Washington.Trump has made it clear that he wants the country reopened. “I like the states opening. They will be opening,” the president said Friday as he left the White House for Camp David. “They’re going to open safely and quickly, I hope, because we have to get our country back.” Larry Kudlow, Trump’s top economic adviser, on Sunday predicted a “spectacular 2021” — with “the right set of policies” — on top of a rebound from July through December of this year. He said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the administration would “pause” to review the effectiveness of trillions in economic relief spending before making any decision on whether additional aid is needed. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday that state and local governments are seeking up to $1 trillion for coronavirus costs, The Senate planned to reopen Monday, despite the Washington area’s continued status as a virus hot spot and with the region still under stay-at-home orders. The House remains shuttered. The pandemic is forcing big changes at the tradition-bound Supreme Court: The justices will hear arguments, beginning Monday, by telephone for the first time since Alexander Graham Bell patented his invention in 1876.Congressional Republicans are resisting calls by Democrats for emergency spending for states and local governments whose revenue streams all but dried up in recent weeks. The GOP is counting on the country’s reopening and the rebound promised by Trump as their best hope to forestall another big round of virus aid.The leaders of California and Michigan are among governors under public pressure over lockdowns still in effect while states such as Florida, Georgia and Ohio are reopening. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., said Sunday that the armed protesters who demonstrated inside her state’s Capitol “depicted some of the worst racism” and “awful parts” of U.S. history by showing up with Confederate flags, nooses and swastikas.Trump had tweeted “LIBERATE” and named Michigan and other states in mid-April. In a new tweet Friday, he urged Whitmer to “make a deal” with the protesters. “These are very good people, but they are angry. They want their lives back again, safely!” Trump said.Despite the opposition of Michigan’s Republican-controlled Legislature, Whitmer has extended a state of emergency declaration and directed most businesses statewide to remain closed. Some people participating in other public protests across the U.S. have not kept their distance from one another and have rallied without masks, not heeding public health recommendations.Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, called that behavior “devastatingly worrisome.” She said people will feel guilty for the rest of their lives if they end up infected and unwittingly spread the virus to vulnerable family members. “We need to protect each other at the same time we’re voice our discontent,” she told CNN’s “State of the Union.”An overwhelming majority of Americans support stay-at-home orders and other efforts to slow the virus’ spread, according to a recent survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.Asked about states that are reopening before they meet benchmarks laid out in federal guidelines she helped write, Birx said the guidelines “are a pretty firm policy of what we think is important from a public health standpoint.” She added that she and others have made it clear that people must continue practicing social distancing, “scrupulous” hand washing and other measures to protect themselves and others.Fox News Channel said it asked viewers to submit questions about reopening the country on the network’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts for a chance to appear on the rare broadcast from the Lincoln Memorial. Trump spoke from the memorial’s steps last July Fourth. It’s also where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I have a dream” speech in 1963. Trump recently compared his Independence Day audience to King’s.Trump participated in similar Fox News events in March in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and from the White House Rose Garden. Vice President Mike Pence and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were joining him Sunday night.Kayleigh McEnany, the new White House press secretary, closed her first formal briefing on Friday by promising that the town hall will be “can’t-miss television.”
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By Polityk | 05/04/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Whitmer Says ‘Racism’ Fueled Protests Over Virus Response
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Sunday said gun-toting protesters who demonstrated inside the state Capitol in opposition to some of her moves to battle the coronavirus “depicted some of the worst racism” and “awful parts” of U.S. history. Whitmer made the assertion on CNN, before the release of the latest number of deaths in Michigan related to the coronavirus. Officials say the 29 new deaths, which increased the number to 4,049, was one of the lowest daily increases since the pandemic began in Michigan. Confirmed cases in Michigan rose by 547, bringing the total to 43,754.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopyPeople Walk, Gather, Protest as Coronavirus Lockdowns EaseDuring the CNN appearance, Whitmer said the protests featured “Confederate Flags, and nooses,” as well as swastikas. Members of the Michigan Liberty Militia protested the state’s stay-at-home orders this week, some with weapons and tactical gear and their faces partially covered. “Some of the outrageousness of what happened at our capitol depicted some of the worst racism and awful parts of our history in this country,” she said.Some went to the Senate gallery, where a senator said armed men shouted at her. Whitmer said the protest wasn’t representative of Michigan and that she’s going to listen to facts and science to decide how to handle the pandemic.”Whether you agree with me or not, I’m working to protect your life if you live in the state of Michigan,” she said. “I am going to continue to do my job regardless of what tweets come out or what polls come out or what people think makes sense.”Michigan’s Republican-controlled Legislature has questioned Whitmer’s authority to extend stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic. But the governor used an executive order to extend a state of emergency declaration and has directed most businesses statewide to remain closed.
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By Polityk | 05/03/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
In First Briefing, Trump’s Press Secretary Pledges Not to Lie
Recently appointed White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany gave her first briefing Friday, pledging to reporters that she would tell the truth.“I will never lie to you. You have my word on that,” McEnany said, responding to a reporter’s question. She said she planned to continue the briefings and offered assurances that she has full access to the president.“I’m around the president almost the entire day,” McEnany said. “I’m consistently with him, absorbing his thinking, and it’s my mission to bring you the mindset of the president, deliver those facts so this president gets fair and accurate reporting and the American people get fair and accurate information.”In her briefing, McEnany covered a wide range of issues mostly related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the president’s claims that he has seen evidence proving the new coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab, as he threatened tariffs on Beijing over its role in the global pandemic.“I won’t get ahead of any announcements from the president, but I will echo the president’s displeasure with China,” McEnany said, pushing back questioning that Trump’s assertion was undermined by his own intelligence.The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have said the U.S. does not know precisely where the virus began. “Intelligence is just an estimate, essentially, and it’s up to policymakers to decide what to do with that intelligence,” she added.Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic at an event in Wilmington, Delaware, March 12, 2020.Biden allegations McEnany commented on former Vice President Joe Biden, who is facing allegations of a sexual assault in 1993 from a former Senate aide, Tara Reade. “We are pleased that the former vice president has decided to go on the record,” McEnany said, adding that it took Biden less than 16 hours to “follow the advice of the president of the United States” to publicly address those claims.On Friday, Biden denied the accusation, breaking a monthlong silence that had frustrated some Democrats. In a statement, Biden cited “the full and growing record of inconsistencies” in the accusations and said: “They aren’t true. This never happened.” During a White House press event Thursday, Trump said that Biden “should respond” and suggested that Reade’s account could be a “false accusation.” In a Friday interview with conservative radio host Dan Bongino, Trump, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, advised Biden to “just go out and fight it.” Trump’s reelection campaign released an online attack ad Friday focusing on the sexual assault allegations against the presumptive Democratic nominee. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn speaks during the daily news briefing at the White House, in Washington, Feb. 1, 2017.Michael FlynnWhen asked whether the president still believed Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser, lied to the FBI and Vice President Mike Pence, McEnany referred to Pence’s statement “that he’s inclined to believe that Flynn did not intentionally mislead him” and said that the FBI’s “unfair” targeting of the general should concern every American.FBI documents released by a federal judge earlier this week suggest FBI officials asked whether the bureau’s goal was to get Flynn to lie, “so we can prosecute him or get him fired.” In December 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty of lying to the FBI in the Mueller investigation of the Trump campaign’s role in Russian meddling in the U.S. 2016 presidential election. Flynn is seeking to withdraw his plea that he lied to the FBI about his contacts with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. The newly revealed documents could strengthen Flynn’s case. People gather in front of the White House during a Fourth of July Independence Day protest in Washington, D.C., July 4, 2019. White House practicePress secretary briefings in the James F. Brady room are a long-held White House practice and part of the communications strategy of several administrations, but they largely disappeared under the Trump administration as of March 2019.With the exception of interviews on Fox News, a television network known to be friendly to the administration, McEnany’s predecessor, Stephanie Grisham, eschewed the camera. Grisham did not give a single briefing and maintained that Trump is his own best spokesman. In the absence of scheduled press briefings, Trump answers reporters’ questions during press sprays in the Oval Office or on the South Lawn before departures aboard his Marine One helicopter. Trump held almost daily briefings on the coronavirus pandemic until recently, after he was excoriated for appearing to suggest injections of disinfectant or sunlight as a COVID-19 cure. The president denied the suggestion, saying he was being sarcastic. What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2020
McEnany is Trump’s fourth press secretary and previously was spokeswoman for Trump’s re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee. A graduate of Harvard Law School known for her unyielding defenses of Trump on television news shows, she took over the job from Grisham in early April during an overhaul of the White House communications department. Grisham returned to the first lady’s office in her new role as Melania Trump’s chief of staff. Rumors of the return of White House press briefings began Thursday as McEnany was seen standing at the briefing room podium with technicians making adjustments to accommodate her height. Asked by reporters if she would be conducting briefings, McEnany quipped, “Never say never.”
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By Polityk | 05/02/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Denies Former Staffer’s Sexual Assault Allegation
Democratic U.S. presidential hopeful Joe Biden denied Friday an allegation that he sexually assaulted a former Senate staffer decades ago, after facing mounting pressure to publicly address the allegation.
“This never happened,” the presumptive Democratic nominee said during an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
The denial was Biden’s first public comment about the accusation by Tara Reade, a former staffer of Biden’s when he was a senator.
Biden’s campaign previously denied Reade’s accusation, declaring it “absolutely did not happen.”
Reade has said that in 1993, the former vice president put her forcefully up against the wall, reached beneath her skirt with this hand and penetrated her in a Senate basement hallway. Two of Reade’s associates said recently she previously told them about the alleged assault.
Biden has requested that the National Archives disclose any records of a complaint Reade says she filed.
“If there was any such complaint, the record will be there,” Biden said. “This is an open book. There’s nothing for me to hide.”
Democrats are caught between forcefully validating women who disclose their experiences, while defending a man who they hope will win what many in the party consider the most significant election of their lifetimes.
Republicans increasingly are concerned about President Donald Trump’s sagging poll numbers and are using the allegation to depict Democrats as willing to only defend women who have claimed they were wronged by conservatives.
Republicans are trying to bring increased scrutiny to the allegations against Biden, despite the fact their efforts could renew attention on numerous sexual assault allegations that have been leveled against Trump.
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By Polityk | 05/01/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
