Розділ: Політика
Biden’s Immigration Reform Proposal Explained
Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. Congress introduced an immigration bill Thursday that would create an eight-year path to citizenship for millions of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. while also providing a fast track to citizenship for those brought to the country illegally as children.What does a path to U.S. citizenship look like under the This undated image from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shows the front of a sample “green card,” formally known as a permanent resident card.After three years of green card status, an immigrant would be eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship.Someone with LPI status could legally work and travel outside the U.S. and be lawfully admitted back into the country. Those going through the LPI process would be protected from deportation while the government is deciding their applications.Does the bill cover people with valid nonimmigrant visas?No. Those living temporarily in the United States or visiting the country would not be covered under the bill.Are there any visa holders who could apply for LPI status?Yes. LPI status could be granted to temporary agricultural workers (H-2A visa holders) and a “noncitizen who has engaged in essential critical infrastructure labor or services” in the United States, according to the text of the bill.Which groups do not have to apply for LPI?Those who qualify for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or who are already enrolled in the program, Temporary Protected Status holders and those who have been agricultural workers for at least five years will be able to apply directly for a green card, then wait five years to be eligible for U.S. citizenship.What about criminal convictions?Currently, dismissed or vacated convictions can still be considered by U.S. immigration courts.“[The proposed bill] takes that out … so charges that were dismissed, immigration courts can’t consider it anymore,” Ahmad said.But the proposal excludes those who have committed three misdemeanors or were convicted of a felony. However, there are waivers available that would allow some immigrants to apply for LPI status if the crime had happened at least 10 years ago, or five years for misdemeanors, if the person does not have any new convictions.A woman poses her daughters at the wall fencing off the White House under a sign they made that says “daughter of immigrants” after Joe Biden was declared winner of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, at BLM Plaza in Washington, Nov. 7, 2020.What happens to family sponsorship?The bill extends the V visa category — designed to keep families together during the immigration process — to families sponsored by a legal permanent resident, allowing them to come to the U.S. rather than waiting in their country of origin.Currently, the V visa is available only to spouses and minor children of green card holders.What about the three-year and 10-year bars? Under current immigration law, those who stay in the country illegally for more than 180 days but less than one year are barred for three years from returning to the U.S. Those who are unlawfully present for more than one year are barred for 10 years.The bill calls for eliminating the three- and 10-year bars on people who lived in the United States illegally and then left.Does the bill help secure the U.S.-Mexico border?The bill calls for “smart border controls” — deploying technology and additional law enforcement to secure America’s borders.
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By Polityk | 02/19/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Democrats Unveil US Citizenship Bill
U.S. Democratic lawmakers introduced President Joe Biden’s immigration bill Thursday that would provide one of the quickest routes to citizenship of any proposed legislation in recent years.The measure, which would allow some 11 million current U.S. residents to become citizens within eight years, includes an increase in visas and funding for processing asylum applications.The bill also would enhance technology at the U.S.-Mexico border, expand international drug interdiction task forces in Central America, and attempt to ease backlogs at the border by establishing refugee processing in the region. The measure would immediately provide green cards to farm workers, people with temporary protected status and young people who entered the U.S. illegally as children, allowing them to live and work permanently in the U.S.The bill reflects the priorities Biden presented on his first day in office and was sponsored by 12 Democratic lawmakers, including lead sponsors Senator Bob Menendez and Congresswoman Linda Sanchez. “It will modernize our system, offer a path to citizenship for hardworking people in our communities, reunite families, increase our opportunities for legal immigration and ensure America remains a powerhouse for innovation and a beacon of hope to refugees around the world,” Menendez said, as he unveiled details of the bill at a virtual news conference.Comprehensive immigration reform has failed to gain meaningful support in Congress for decades. It last passed a significant citizenship measure in 1986, when Republican President Ronald Reagan signed an amnesty bill legalizing nearly 3 million illegal immigrants.Some Republican senators already have voiced opposition to major proposals in the bill, as has the political arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation.“This latest move would only further harm American workers already struggling from our health and economic national crises caused by the ongoing pandemic and our government’s response,” said Heritage Action Executive Director Jessica Anderson.
While Democrats have a majority in the House, the 100-member Senate is split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans. Vice President Kamala Harris would cast the tie-breaking vote if necessary.
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By Polityk | 02/19/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Former US Senator Dole Says He Has Lung Cancer
Former U.S. Republican Senator Bob Dole, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 1996, said on Thursday that he has been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer and will undergo treatment beginning next week.
“Recently, I was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer….while I certainly have some hurdles ahead, I also know that I join millions of Americans who face significant health challenges of their own,” Dole, 97, said in a Twitter posting.STATEMENT BY SENATOR BOB DOLE ON HEALTH CHALLENGES pic.twitter.com/ndRxqNWb30— Senator Bob Dole (@SenatorDole) February 18, 2021Known for his quick, searing wit and legislative skills, Dole had a long career in the U.S. Congress that included serving as Senate majority leader. In the early 1980s he chaired the Senate Finance Committee, which helps guide U.S. tax, trade and health policy.
He was soundly defeated by President Bill Clinton in the 1996 presidential election with Dole winning 40.7% of the vote to Clinton’s 49.2%.
Dole suffered serious wounds in Italy during World War II that resulted in a long hospitalization.
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By Polityk | 02/19/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Despite Senate Acquittal, Trump Faces Many Legal Problems
As president, Donald Trump was immune from criminal prosecution and civil liability.But now that he is a private citizen, he no longer enjoys the cloak of presidential immunity — and his legal troubles are starting to pile up.On Tuesday, just three days after the Senate acquitted him of an impeachment charge of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Trump was sued over the riot in federal court by a prominent U.S. Democratic representative.The suit by Congressman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, accuses Trump, his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and two far-right groups of conspiring to incite the riot to prevent congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.The lawsuit is likely to be the first of many. But Trump’s legal troubles are not limited to his role in the riot. Ongoing investigations in New York and other lawsuits are likely to keep him “wrapped up” for years, said Sarah Tuberville of the Project on Government Oversight.“I think one of his biggest perils now is that the many defenses that he had before, both legal, as well as political, are not available to him” outside of office, Tuberville said.Jason Miller, a spokesperson for the former president, called the investigations and lawsuits “nakedly partisan stuff that we’re seeing from partisan Democrats.”Despite growing calls from Democrats for the Department of Justice to investigate Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attack, it remains uncertain whether the law enforcement agency will undertake such a politically charged probe.Biden has said he will leave it up to his incoming attorney general, Merrick Garland, to decide whether to investigate or prosecute Trump. The question is likely to dominate Garland’s confirmation hearings set for next week.Here is a look at some of the civil and criminal cases that Trump now faces.GeorgiaFani Willis, the top prosecutor for Fulton County, Georgia, is investigating whether Trump broke state law when he pressed top officials in the battleground state to reverse his election loss to Biden.At the heart of the investigation is a Jan. 2 phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump asked Raffensperger to “find” him enough votes to change the outcome of the election in the state.In a Feb. 10 letter to top Georgia officials, Willis wrote that the criminal investigation is a high priority for her office and that she is examining a wide range of potential violations, from solicitation of election fraud to violence or threats related to the election’s administration.Kimberly Wehle, a former federal prosecutor and now a law professor at the University of Baltimore, said the investigation appears to be moving along “in a serious way.”“That’s because we know what the evidence is, and it’s pretty clear what happened,” Wehle said.New YorkFor more than two years, New York State Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. have been investigating Trump and his real estate empire, The Trump Organization, for alleged fraud and financial improprieties.Vance’s civil probe grew out of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s 2019 congressional testimony during which he alleged that Trump committed financial crimes by manipulating the value of his real estate assets over a period of several years.The investigation appears to be gathering steam. Last month, a New York Supreme Court judge ordered The Trump Organization to turn over documents to James’ office.The separate criminal investigation, led by Vance’s office, began in 2018 as a probe of “hush money” payments that Cohen made in 2016 to two women who allegedly had extramarital affairs with Trump. Cohen subsequently served time for tax evasion, campaign finance violations and perjury in connection with the payments.The Vance investigation resumed after federal prosecutors closed the case in 2019 without charging Trump, and it has since widened to include a range of criminal violations, from tax and insurance fraud to falsifying business records.While Trump has yet to turn over his financial records to Vance despite a Supreme Court ruling last year, the investigation appears to be picking up, with Vance’s office reportedly hiring forensic experts to aid with the probe.District of ColumbiaDistrict of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine’s office is looking into whether Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol violated a local anti-riot statute, a spokesperson told VOA.Racine’s jurisdiction is limited to enforcing the capital city’s code. The more than 200 rioters arrested to date have all been federally charged.Under Washington’s local code, “rioting or inciting to riot” is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in prison. Racine’s office has not decided whether to move ahead with a charge under the code, the spokesperson said.Wehle said that while a misdemeanor is “not a serious disincentive,” it would put a “stain on (Trump’s) presidency.”DefamationTrump faces a pair of defamation lawsuits brought by two women who have accused him of sexual misconduct. In 2019, E. Jean Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, sued him for defamation after he denied her accusation that he raped her in a New York department store in the 1990s, saying she is “not my type” and “it never happened.”Shortly before Trump left office on Jan. 20, the Justice Department argued in court that as president, Trump was an “employee of the government” and could not be sued. But now that he is a private citizen, he can no longer claim immunity, Wehle said.Summer Zervos, a former contestant on The Apprentice, the reality show hosted by Trump that premiered in 2004, sued him for calling her a liar after she accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2007. Last week, Zervos asked a New York court to allow her lawsuit to proceed now that Trump is out of office.InsurrectionThe lawsuit by Thompson alleges that false election claims by Trump and Giuliani fomented the Jan. 6 riot and the two extremist groups — the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers — in violation of the Ku Klux Klan Act, an 1871 law barring violent interference in congressional constitutional duties.
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By Polityk | 02/18/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden’s Medicare Pick Would Be 1st Black Woman to Hold Post
President Joe Biden has picked a former Obama administration official to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The agency oversees government health insurance programs covering more than 1 out of 3 Americans and is a linchpin of the health care system.If confirmed by the Senate, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure would be the first Black woman to head CMS, which has under its umbrella Medicare, Medicaid, children’s health insurance and the Affordable Care Act, better known as “Obamacare.” The programs cover more than 130 million people, from newborns to nursing home residents.Brooks-LaSure has a long track record in government, having held health policy jobs at the White House, in Congress, and at CMS during the Obama administration. Most recently she led the Biden transition’s “landing team” for the Department of Health and Human Services, laying the groundwork for the new administration. Before her return to government service, Brooks-LaSure was a managing director at the Manatt Health consultancy.Her nomination was confirmed by a person familiar with the White House decision, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement.CMS also plays a central role in the nation’s $4 trillion health care economy, setting Medicare payment rates for hospitals, doctors, labs and other service providers. Government payment levels become the foundation for private insurers. The agency also sets standards that govern how health care providers operate.Brooks-LaSure “gets the imperative of securing greater affordability for beneficiaries, taxpayers, and Medicare, Medicaid and the ACA marketplaces,” said Chris Jennings, a longtime health policy adviser to Democrats. “She is well-respected and liked by the department veterans who have worked with her in the past.”Years ago, Brooks-LaSure worked with Biden’s nominee to run HHS, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. She was a staffer on the House Ways and Means Committee and he was a senior member of the panel during the 2009-10 drive to pass President Barack Obama’s health care law. Senate committees will hold hearings next week on Becerra’s nomination.Under Biden, Brooks-LaSure will be expected to grow Obamacare enrollment by promoting HealthCare.gov and trying to persuade holdout states to adopt Medicaid expansion. She’s also expected to roll back Trump administration policies allowing states to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients, as well as insurance rules seen as undermining Obamacare.Throughout her career, Brooks-LaSure has worked on Medicaid policy, and that program has now grown to become a mainstay of coverage for many low-income working people. At CMS she’ll have to confront Medicare’s long-term financial problems, aggravated by a decline in payroll tax collections because of COVID-related job losses.Prescription drugs will be a tricky policy area for Brooks-LaSure. Biden wants to legally authorize Medicare to negotiate prices with drugmakers, but he may not be able to marshal enough support in a closely divided Congress. Brooks-LaSure will be tasked with finding ways to use the agency’s rule-making powers to rein in prices.Biden’s pick was first reported by The Washington Post.
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By Polityk | 02/18/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden ‘Open’ to Funding Study About Slavery Reparations
U.S. President Joe Biden is open to studying whether the descendants of enslaved people should get reparations, the White House said Wednesday.In response to a question about H.R. 40 — a bill floated in Congress for nearly 30 years that would fund a study of slavery and recommend “appropriate remedies” — White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden would support a study.”He continues to demonstrate his commitment to take comprehensive action to address the systemic racism that persists today,” Psaki said.But she did not say whether Biden would sign the bill were it to pass.The proposed legislation, which was being discussed by members of the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, was reintroduced by Texas Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee in January.“Now, more than ever, the facts and circumstances facing our nation demonstrate the importance of H.R. 40 and the necessity of placing our nation on the path to reparative justice,” Lee said Wednesday.Freshman Utah Representative Burgess Owens, a Republican, argued that reparations would be “impractical,” calling the bill “a nonstarter.”Though Biden has reiterated his commitment to racial justice in the first month of his presidency, he has never said that he supports reparations.Around the world, reparations have compensated victims of war and human rights abuses. What exactly they would mean for the descendants of enslaved Americans has not been clearly established on a national level, but more specific examples have been floated in smaller communities.This week in Athens, Georgia, city commissioners unanimously passed a resolution acknowledging damage done by the city to residents of the Linnentown neighborhood in the 1960s, when property held by members of the predominantly Black community was seized under eminent domain laws to make way for high-rise dormitories for the University of Georgia.According to Stephanie Allen of the Athens Banner-Herald, seizure of the 22-acre area displaced families and compensated owners with only a small fraction of the estimated property market values.“It is the first act of reparations to be passed in the GA state,” Athens-Clarke County Commissioner Mariah Parker wrote.for 2 yrs i worked w the former residents of linnentown to get reparations for what our city and @universityofga took from their families.last night, our resolution for recognition and redress passed unanimously.it is the first act of reparations to be passed in GA state.— Mariah Parker (@MariahforAthens) February 17, 2021In Florida, a Tallahassee lawmaker proposed starting an education fund for the descendants of African Americans killed, beaten or driven from their homes by white mobs in 1920.
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By Polityk | 02/18/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
First Ladies Exert ‘Soft Power’ with Fashion Choices
First ladies are not elected, but once their husband becomes president, they are expected to represent the nation and to look good while doing it. Although they have no overt political power, VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports that modern first spouses have turned to “fashion diplomacy” to get their point across.
Camera: Mike Burke
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By Polityk | 02/18/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Once Political Allies, Trump, Senate Republican Leader Now Sparring Sharply
For four years, former U.S. President Donald Trump and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell were politically joined at the hip, with the lawmaker eagerly advancing Trump’s demands to cuts taxes, curb governmental regulations and install conservative jurists on the Supreme Court and lower courts across the country.But now, with Trump out of office and McConnell presiding over a Senate Republican minority, not majority, their relationship has plunged into a vitriolic sea of acrimony.McConnell voted to acquit Trump at the conclusion of last week’s Senate impeachment trial on charges of inciting the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol that left five people dead.But McConnell said he voted in Trump’s favor only because he did not believe the U.S. Constitution allowed for Trump to be convicted on an impeachment charge after he had left office. A Senate majority, 57-43, voted to convict Trump but that was short of the two-thirds majority necessary for a conviction.Then McConnell unleashed a broadside against the person he thought was singularly responsible for the chaos that threatened the life of former Vice President Mike Pence and the safety of lawmakers: Donald Trump.”There is no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day,” he said in a floor speech Saturday afternoon, noting that Trump had watched the events unfold on television. “A mob was assaulting the Capitol in his name. These criminals were carrying his banners, hanging his flags and screaming their loyalty to him.”McConnell added, “This was an intensifying crescendo of conspiracy theories orchestrated by an outgoing president who seemed determined to either overturn the voters’ decision or else torch our institutions on the way out.”Trump, from his Atlantic coastal mansion where he moved after leaving Washington, responded in kind Tuesday night.He called McConnell “a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack.”Trump claimed in a statement that if Republican senators retain McConnell as their leader, “they will not win again.””He will never do what needs to be done, or what is right for our country,” Trump said of McConnell even though the lawmaker had done Trump’s bidding during his four-year term in the White House.After his acquittal, Trump said he would engage in shaping the Republican political landscape ahead of the 2022 congressional elections when all 435 members of the House of Representatives are up for reelection along with one third of the 100-member Senate.“Where necessary and appropriate,” Trump said in his Tuesday statement, “I will back primary rivals who espouse Making America Great Again and our policy of America First. We want brilliant, strong, thoughtful, and compassionate leadership.”It was not immediately clear how such a list of Trump-favored Republican candidates might differ from ones McConnell would support. McConnell says he is most interested in Republican congressional nominees who can win and retake control of both chambers of Congress from the Democrats. Democrats hold a slight majority in the House and are split 50-50 with Republicans in the Senate. However, Vice President Kamala Harris is able to cast tie-breaking Senate votes in favor of the legislative agenda she and President Joe Biden favor.The Trump-McConnell split mirrors complaints from state and local Republican groups against House Republican lawmakers who last month voted to impeach Trump on a single charge of incitement of insurrection and against seven Republican senators who joined all 50 Democrats in voting to convict Trump.Since Saturday’s vote to acquit Trump, several state Republican party groups have censured the Republican lawmakers who voted to convict him.In turn, the lawmakers said the evidence showed at the five-day trial that Trump was guilty after he urged supporters at a rally near the White House to “fight like hell” to upend Biden’s victory and then sent them marching on the Capitol.
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By Polityk | 02/18/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Goes to US Heartland for Support on Massive Economic Package
President Joe Biden is sidestepping a divided Congress and going straight to the nation Tuesday with a televised town hall in Wisconsin seeking support for his $1.9 trillion economic rescue package. With lawmakers reeling from the aftermath of Donald Trump’s impeachment acquittal, Biden is betting that he can escape the partisan turmoil by addressing ordinary voters at the primetime CNN event in Milwaukee — his first official trip away from Washington as president. The live show will see Biden “go out and have a conversation with the people in Wisconsin, people who agree with him, people who disagree with him,” press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters, calling the president “laser-focused” on passing his plan. Biden’s stimulus package would more than double the previous measure passed by Congress, after intense debate, in December. The administration says massive injections of money, including $1,400 checks sent to many Americans, are vital to preventing a sluggish economic recovery from stalling altogether. Police set up barricades prior to the arrival of President Joe Biden, outside The Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Feb. 16, 2021.Another major goal of the spending spree is to boost the COVID-19 vaccine rollout —a logistical, medical and financial challenge upon which Biden’s entire first term may hang. But the stimulus bill’s price tag, as well as some of the spending details, leaves most Republicans in Congress skeptical. Support from countryApart from weekends at home in Delaware or the presidential retreat at Camp David, Biden’s Air Force One flight Tuesday will be his first foray out of Washington since taking office a month ago. Biden’s choice of Wisconsin for the town hall is no coincidence: He won the battleground state by just 20,000 votes against Trump in November, and it will feature prominently again in the 2022 midterms and 2024 presidential race. On Thursday, he will go to another swing state when he tours the Pfizer plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where coronavirus vaccines are being manufactured. On Friday, Biden will pursue his stimulus bill pitch on the international stage when he addresses the virtual G-7 leaders’ meeting and the Munich Security Conference. The White House says he will stress “the importance of all industrialized countries maintaining economic support for the recovery and collective measures to build back better.” With slim majorities in both the House and Senate, Democrats could force through Biden’s package without Republicans at all. But Biden took office insisting he would seek cross-party solutions, turning the page on Trump’s ultra-divisive style. He is keen to break through to at least some Republicans. On Friday, Biden met in the Oval Office with a group of Democratic and Republican governors and mayors to discuss the COVID-19 relief package. As local and regional officials most immediately caught up in the consequences of the twin health and economic crisis, they were a relatively receptive audience. “You folks are all on the front lines and dealing with the crisis since day one,” Biden noted. Poll ratingsHis efforts seem to be paying off — among voters at least, if not yet with congressional Republicans. A Quinnipiac poll this month showed nearly 70% of Americans support the stimulus package. A CNBC poll reported 64% believe the price tag is sufficient or not even enough, while 36% said it was too much. Biden himself is on a solid footing with nearly 55% average approval ratings. Trump may still hold a powerful grip over the Republican voter base, but his final average approval rating on leaving office was a measly 38.6%. “If you look at the polls, they are very consistent,” Psaki said. “The vast majority of the American people like what they see in this package and that should be … noted by members of Congress.”
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By Polityk | 02/17/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Politics Determines Legal Strategy for Impeachment Sides
Impeachment managers won the argument, but they lost the war. A staff writer with a conservative media group is suggesting how they might have done better.Fifty-seven of the 100 U.S. senators voted late last week to convict former President Donald Trump of inciting the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The lawmakers, however, fell 10 votes shy of the two-thirds majority needed for a conviction.In an evenly divided Senate, getting seven Republican to vote with the Democrats to convict was historic. Finding 10 more was more daunting.“The last impeachment was the first time any person had crossed the aisle to vote for an impeachment of someone from their party,” notes Sarah Isgur, a top spokeswoman for former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “This time, seven did. I think there were at least two more votes that were left out there because of how this was brought to the Senate.” Now a staff writer for The Dispatch, a conservative media group, Isgur said Democrats could have drawn more votes with a bipartisan approach.Michael van der Veen, second from left, an attorney for former President Donald Trump, fist-bumps a colleague as they depart on the Senate Subway, after Trump’s acquittal in his second impeachment trial at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 13, 2021.Incitement vs. dereliction Democrats offered up just Acting Sergeant at Arms Timothy Blodgett, right, leads Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., second from right, the lead Democratic House impeachment manager, and other impeachment managers, through the Rotunda to the Senate, Feb. 9, 2021.Legal and political defenseAfter the previous team of lawyers either left on their own or were dismissed by Trump, the lawyers who defended the former president in the Senate were hired just nine days before the trial began. Isgur says the quick preparation showed.“These three attorneys, with very little background, if any, in appellate or constitutional law, very little background with the facts of the case, it showed several times they probably had not had the chance to really interview their client in any depth. There were times where they were like, ‘Well, that’s a good question.’ But the person who would have the answer to the question was Donald Trump,” Isgur said.“They seem to spend a lot of time blaming the House managers for not telling them what the president thought, what the president knew, when he knew it, when that is, of course, their own client,” noted Kitrosser.The 57-43 Senate vote that acquitted Trump came a month after he was impeached in the House of Representatives.Trump has described the case against him as “another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country. No president has ever gone through anything like it,” he said.As an expert on free speech and the First Amendment, Kitrosser said she found the argument that Trump’s words are constitutionally protected to be “unconvincing.”“It struck me that the main First Amendment argument they were trying to make was to suggest that the same standard applies here, as though Trump were, as the House managers put it, just some guy who was speaking out at a rally and he was being prosecuted for it,” Kitrosser said.With the disclaimer that impeachment “is a political trial” and not a legal one, Isgur notes that both sides went into the process with a similar understanding: conviction is highly unlikely.“And I think in that case, their audience becomes immediately the American public, and their metric of success most likely becomes the next election.”For the House and Senate, that is November 2022.
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By Polityk | 02/17/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Independent Commission to Examine Capitol Riot, Pelosi Says
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday that Congress will establish an independent, September 11-style commission to look into the deadly insurrection that took place at the U.S. Capitol. Pelosi said the commission will “investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the January 6, 2021, domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex … and relating to the interference with the peaceful transfer of power.” FILE – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California speaks during a news conference at the Capitol, Feb. 11, 2021.In a letter to Democratic colleagues, Pelosi said the House will also put forth supplemental spending to boost security at the Capitol. After former President Donald Trump’s acquittal at his second Senate impeachment trial, bipartisan support appeared to be growing for an independent commission to examine the deadly insurrection. Investigations into the riot were already planned, with Senate hearings scheduled later this month in the Senate Rules Committee. Pelosi of California asked retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré to lead an immediate review of the Capitol’s security process. In her letter Monday, Pelosi said, “It is clear from his findings and from the impeachment trial that we must get to the truth of how this happened.” She added, “As we prepare for the Commission, it is also clear from General Honoré’s interim reporting that we must put forth a supplemental appropriation to provide for the safety of Members and the security of the Capitol.” Lawmakers from both parties, speaking on Sunday’s news shows, signaled that even more inquiries were likely. The Senate verdict Saturday, with its 57-43 majority falling 10 votes short of the two-thirds needed to convict Trump, hardly put to rest the debate about the Republican former president’s culpability for the January 6 assault. FILE – Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., talks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 11, 2021.”There should be a complete investigation about what happened,” said Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump. “What was known, who knew it and when they knew, all that, because that builds the basis so this never happens again.” Cassidy said he was “attempting to hold President Trump accountable,” and added that as Americans hear all the facts, “more folks will move to where I was.” He was censured by his state’s party after the vote. An independent commission along the lines of the one that investigated the September 11 attacks would probably require legislation to create. That would elevate the investigation a step higher, offering a definitive government-backed accounting of events. Still, such a panel would pose risks of sharpening partisan divisions or overshadowing President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda. FILE – Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee business meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 11, 2020.”There’s still more evidence that the American people need and deserve to hear, and a 9/11 commission is a way to make sure that we secure the Capitol going forward,” said Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, a Biden ally. “And that we lay bare the record of just how responsible and how abjectly violating of his constitutional oath President Trump really was.” House prosecutors who argued for Trump’s conviction of inciting the riot said Sunday they had proved their case. They also railed against the Senate’s Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, and others who they said were “trying to have it both ways” in finding the former president not guilty but criticizing him at the same time. FILE – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 30, 2020.Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close Trump ally, voted for acquittal but acknowledged that Trump had some culpability for the siege at the Capitol that killed five people, including a police officer, and disrupted lawmakers’ certification of Biden’s White House victory. Graham said he looked forward to campaigning with Trump in the 2022 election, when Republicans hope to regain the congressional majority. “His behavior after the election was over the top,” Graham said. “We need a 9/11 commission to find out what happened and make sure it never happens again.” The Senate acquitted Trump of a charge of “incitement of insurrection” after House prosecutors laid out a case that he was an “inciter in chief” who unleashed a mob by stoking a monthslong campaign of spreading debunked conspiracy theories and false violent rhetoric that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Trump’s lawyers countered that Trump’s words were not intended to incite the violence and that impeachment was nothing but a “witch hunt” designed to prevent him from serving in office again. The conviction tally was the most bipartisan in American history but left Trump to declare victory and signal a political revival while a bitterly divided Republican party bickered over its direction and his place in the party. The Republicans who joined Cassidy in voting to convict were Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. FILE – In this image from video, House impeachment manager Delegate Stacey Plaskett, D-Virgin Islands, answers a question in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol, Feb. 12, 2021.”It’s frustrating, but the founders knew what they were doing, and so we live with the system that we have,” Democratic Delegate Stacey Plaskett, a House prosecutor who represents the Virgin Islands, said of the verdict, describing it as “heartbreaking.” She added: “But listen, we didn’t need more witnesses. We needed more senators with spines.” McConnell told Republican senators shortly before the vote that he would vote to acquit Trump. In a blistering speech after the vote, the Kentucky Republican said the president was “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day” but that the Senate’s hands were tied to do anything about it because Trump was out of office. The Senate, in an earlier vote, had deemed the trial constitutional. “It was powerful to hear the 57 guilties. And then it was puzzling to hear and see Mitch McConnell stand and say, ‘Not guilty’ and then minutes later, stand again and say (Trump) was guilty of everything,” said Democratic Congresswoman Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania. “History will remember that statement of speaking out of two sides of his mouth.” Dean also backed the idea of an impartial investigative commission “not guided by politics but filled with people who would stand up to the courage of their conviction.” Cassidy and Dean spoke on ABC’s “This Week,” Graham appeared on “Fox News Sunday,” and Plaskett appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
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By Polityk | 02/16/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Politics Determines Legal Strategy for Impeachment Sides
Saturday’s vote at the Senate impeachment trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump took place after four days of hearing from lawyers for the House of Representatives who prosecuted the case against him, and lawyers who defended him. VOA’s Steve Redisch examines how politics shaped the strategies behind both sides’ arguments.Produced by: Mary C
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By Polityk | 02/15/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump’s Role in US Republican Politics Uncertain after Impeachment Acquittal
The political fortunes of former U.S. President Donald Trump are now an open question, even after the Senate acquitted him of allegations that he incited insurrection last month by urging hundreds of his supporters to confront lawmakers at the U.S. Capitol as they were certifying his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Moments after the Senate voted 57-43 on Saturday to convict Trump but falling short of the required 67 votes needed to do so, the former president said he was not done with political life. Trump gave no explicit hint that he might attempt another run for the presidency in 2024, as he suggested he might when he left office last month. The House of Representatives impeached Trump in January on the single charge of “incitement of insurrection.” Trump called the impeachment case against him “another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country. No president has ever gone through anything like it.” In this image from video, senators vote during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 13, 2021.He added, “Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to make America Great Again has only just begun. In the months ahead, I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all our people.” One of his staunchest Republican supporters, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, told the “Fox News Sunday” show that he spoke with the former U.S. leader after the Senate impeachment trial ended. He said that Trump is “ready to move on to build the party” to try to retake control of both the Senate and House of Representatives from Democratic control in the 2022 elections halfway through Biden’s first four-year term in the White House. “If you want to win, you have to work with President Trump,” Graham said. “The Trump movement is alive and well. The most potent force in the Republican party is Donald Trump.” But Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican critic of Trump, told CNN that with Trump’s election loss and controversial end to his presidency, “We’re going to have a real battle for the soul of the Republican Party over the next couple of years,” questioning whether Republicans are “going to be a party that can’t win national elections.” “Or somehow,” Hogan asked rhetorically, “Are we going to get back to a real traditional Republican party with common-sense conservatives…to push for the things that we’ve always believed in and to try to compete with Democrats?” National polls show that many Republican voters remain supportive of Trump, but Hogan said, “I think that’s going to change over time. We’re only a month into the Biden administration. I think the final chapter of Donald Trump and where the Republican Party goes hasn’t been written yet.” FILE – Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley leaves after speaking during the Republican National Convention from the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, Aug. 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)One of Graham’s fellow Republicans in South Carolina, former Governor Nikki Haley, who served as Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, turned on the former president last week, although Graham said he thinks her assessment is wrong. Haley, a possible 2024 Republican presidential candidate, said of Trump, “We need to acknowledge he let us down. He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t let that ever happen again.” Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who voted to convict Trump, told Fox News she does not think Trump will remain a key player in the Republican Party. “The American people have seen what this man has done,” she said. “He is done.” Graham said Trump was “mad at some folks” who turned against him in the Senate trial as seven of the 50 Republicans in the chamber voted with all 50 Democrats to convict him. But Graham said Trump is “ready to hit the trail” in support of Republican candidates. “I don’t think he caused the riot,” Graham said of Trump’s admonition to hundreds of supporters to march to the Capitol January 6 and “fight like hell” to upend Biden’s victory as lawmakers were certifying that Trump had become the fifth president in U.S. history to lose his re-election bid after a single term in office. “It was politically protected speech in my view,” Graham said, referring to the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of speech. Other Republican senators disputed Graham’s assessment. In this image from video, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky speaks after the Senate acquitted former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 13, 2021.Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, after voting to acquit Trump because he did not believe the Senate had the right to sit in judgment of Trump since his term had already ended, criticized his long-time political ally for his role in fomenting the attack that left five people dead, including a Capitol police officer. McConnell said Trump was “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president.” On Sunday, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, one of the seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump, said in a statement, “If months of lies, organizing a rally of supporters in an effort to thwart the work of Congress, encouraging a crowd to march on the Capitol, and then taking no meaningful action to stop the violence once it began is not worthy of impeachment, conviction, and disqualification from holding office in the United States, I cannot imagine what is.” She added, “By inciting the insurrection and violent events that culminated on January 6, President Trump’s actions and words were not protected free speech. I honor our constitutional rights and consider the freedom of speech as one of the most paramount freedoms, but that right does not extend to the president of the United States inciting violence.”
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By Polityk | 02/15/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Republicans, Democrats Face Different Challenges in Post-Trump Era
Following the acquittal Saturday of former president Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial, Trump’s future in politics remains uncertain. Fifty-seven senators voted to convict him, including seven from his own Republican Party — falling short, however, of the 67 votes needed for conviction.Trump was found not guilty of inciting violence against the U.S. government after his supporters stormed Congress on Jan. 6, enraged by Trump’s false charge that Joe Biden stole the election.Democrats said Trump’s responsibility was clear. Seven Republicans agreed, but others said there was not enough evidence.A Reuters/Ipsos poll shows 71% of U.S. adults, and half of Republicans, believe Trump is partly responsible for the riots.One man named Zach said he supported impeachment. “Everything he’s been doing is trying to ruin the very fragile voting system we already have that’s already been beaten down quite a bit,” he said.Trump supporter Shell Reinish, however, said Congress was wasting its time.“Impeachment is to remove a sitting president from his office. He is no longer in his office,” Reinish said.Surveys show most Republicans still embrace Trump.“In fact, 70% of Republicans believe that Joe Biden was illegally elected president,” said Barbara Perry, an analyst at the University of Virginia. That’s something Republican leaders admit is false.But the analyst said Trump supporters got the policies they wanted.“They got lower taxes, fewer regulations, conservatives on the federal bench, conservatives on the Supreme Court,” she said. They also got an aggressive foreign policy and a hard line on border issues.President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress, meanwhile, face challenges.“The Democrats need to get us out of COVID and get the economy back on track,” said Elaine Kamarck, an analyst with the Brookings Institution. “They’ve got a pretty straightforward job to do, and whatever ideological divisions there are in the party, they are muted compared to the Republican party.”Trump is loved by his base but reviled by some Republicans and only tolerated by others.Kamarck and her colleagues at the Brookings Institution foresee a range of possible futures for Trump.“It goes all the way from leading the Republican Party and getting reelected as president in 2024 to going to jail or having to go into exile in Russia or Saudi Arabia or someplace like that,” she said.Exonerated in Congress, Trump remains a target for many prosecutors over his business dealings.
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By Polityk | 02/14/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Senate Acquits Trump in His Second Impeachment Trial
The U.S. Senate on Saturday acquitted former President Donald Trump of inciting insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last month after he urged hundreds of his supporters to confront lawmakers as they were certifying that he had lost last November’s election to Democrat Joe Biden.The Senate voted 57-43 to convict the former U.S. leader on a single impeachment count – incitement of insurrection. But that majority of all 50 Democrats in the chamber, joined by seven Republicans, fell 10 votes short of the 67 needed for a conviction, two-thirds of the 100-member Senate.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
In this image from video, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky speaks after the Senate acquitted former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 13, 2021.Although he voted for acquittal on constitutional grounds, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said that Trump, his onetime ally, was “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day.””The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president,” Republican McConnell said in a floor speech following the final vote.The seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump were Senators Richard Burr of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Patrick Toomey of Pennsylvania.Trump’s latest acquittal came after a five-day trial this week in which a group of Democratic lawmakers from the House of Representatives, acting as prosecutors against Trump, said there was “clear and overwhelming” evidence that Trump, by urging his supporters to “fight like hell” to upend Biden’s victory, had incited insurrection when hundreds of his supporters stormed into the Capitol January 6.Constitutional protectionMeanwhile, Trump’s lawyers argued that his rhetoric at a rally shortly before the chaos erupted at the Capitol was protected by the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of speech, and that the admonition to “fight” was no different than that often employed by Democrats against Republicans like Trump.Trump’s acquittal – at midafternoon in a rare Saturday Senate session – came 24 days after his four-year term in the White House ended January 20 and Biden was inaugurated as the country’s 46th president. If Trump had been convicted, the Senate could then have voted to bar him from holding office again, but the issue became moot with his acquittal.The dramatic vote, with senators standing at their desks to declare Trump guilty or not guilty, came after the House impeachment managers and Trump lawyer Michael van der Veen made impassioned pleas for their cases.Trump declined Democrats’ request that he return to Washington from his Florida mansion and testify on his own behalf. But news reports said Trump watched much of the proceedings on television.FILE – In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., answers a question from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Feb. 12, 2021.The lead House impeachment manager, Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, derided Trump in his closing argument, saying, “He couldn’t even be troubled to come here and tell us what happened” as he first urged hundreds of his supporters to march to the Capitol to try to upend the certification of Biden’s victory, then balked at telling the rioters to end their violent rampage.“This trial tells us who we are,” Raskin said. “Will the Senate condone this attack?”’He must pay the price’Trump, Raskin said, “brought [the insurgents] here and now he must pay the price.”Van der Veen said what occurred January 6 at the Capitol was “a grave tragedy,” but he argued that Trump was not responsible for it. More than 200 rioters, many of whom have said they came to Washington and went to the Capitol at Trump’s behest, have been charged with an array of crimes.Trump’s lawyer said the rioters ought to be “found and punished,” but he said there was no videotape of Trump urging the protesters to “engage in violence of any kind.”Michael van der Veen, second from left, an attorney for former President Donald Trump, fist-bumps a colleague as they depart on the Senate Subway, after Trump’s acquittal in his second impeachment trial at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 13, 2021.Van der Veen noted that Trump had told his supporters at a rally near the White House “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard” as they marched to the Capitol.But Trump also told them, “And we fight. We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”The Trump lawyer said that “a small percentage, a small fraction,” engaged in violence.According to authorities, about 800 Trump supporters stormed into the Capitol last month, smashing windows, ransacking offices and scuffling with police, mayhem that left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer whose death is being investigated as a homicide. More than 100 other police officers were injured. One rioter was shot and killed by a police officer.FILE – Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., speaks during a subcommittee hearing about the COVID-19 response, on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 4, 2020.Raskin wanted to subpoena Republican Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington state. She issued a statement late Friday that the Republican House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, had told her Trump expressed sympathy and admiration for the mob during a heated phone call between the two amid the unfolding attack on the Capitol.”When McCarthy finally reached the president on January 6 and asked him to publicly and forcefully call off the riot, the president initially repeated the falsehood that it was antifa [leftist insurgents in the U.S.] that had breached the Capitol,” the statement read. “McCarthy refuted that and told the president that these were Trump supporters. That’s when, according to McCarthy, the president said: ‘Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.’ “After taking a midday break, senators returned and announced they had reached an agreement that included admitting Beutler’s statement as evidence in the trial.With that settled, Raskin and van der Veen made their closing arguments and the Senate voted to acquit Trump.
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By Polityk | 02/14/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Senate Acquits Trump of Inciting Jan. 6 Capitol Riot
The US Senate on Saturday acquitted former President Donald Trump of the impeachment charge that he incited the Jan. 6 riot at the US Capitol. By a vote of 57-43, senators voted to hold Trump responsible for his supporters’ attempts to overturn the counting of electoral college results for Democrat Joe Biden, though they were 10 votes short of the 67 needed for a conviction. Seven Republicans voted with Democrats for Trump’s conviction. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more.
Camera: Mike Burke Producer: Katherine Gypson
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By Polityk | 02/14/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
In Turnaround, Senate Reaches Deal to Skip Witness Testimony in Trump Impeachment Trial
Concluding a morning of surprising changes, the U.S. Senate reached an agreement to avoid witness testimony in the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.Earlier, five Republican senators voted with all 50 Democrats to hear testimony from witnesses. The vote was a somewhat surprising development, as the Senate was expected to hear closing arguments from each side, followed by a vote later Saturday to acquit or convict Trump, bringing an end to the trial that began Tuesday.The vote to call witnesses came after Congressman Jamie Raskin, the lead House impeachment manager, announced Saturday that he wanted to subpoena Republican Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington state. Beutler issued a statement late Friday that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told her Trump had expressed sympathy and admiration for the mob during a heated phone call between the two amid the unfolding attack on the Capitol.”When McCarthy finally reached the president on January 6 and asked him to publicly and forcefully call off the riot, the president initially repeated the falsehood that it was antifa that had breached the Capitol,” the statement read. “McCarthy refuted that and told the president that these were Trump supporters. That’s when, according to McCarthy, the president said: ‘Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.'” After taking a midday break, senators returned and announced they had reached an agreement that includes admitting Beutler’s statement as evidence in the trial. The deal means the trial will continue Saturday with closing statements from each side, possibly followed by a vote to acquit or convict former President Trump. The move to call witnesses would likely have resulted in the trial continuing at least into next week. Watch the session live: McConnell tips hand on vote Earlier Saturday, several U.S. news organizations, citing anonymous sources, reported that Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had told his Republican colleagues he planned to vote to acquit the former president in the vote previously expected Saturday. Shortly after Trump was impeached a second time in January, McConnell wrote to his colleagues saying he had not made a decision about how he would vote at the Senate trial. The Republican leaders’ final vote in the trial could be crucial to the outcome. At least 17 Republican votes are needed to reach the two-thirds majority needed for a conviction, assuming all 50 Democrats vote to find Trump guilty. 4 Ways Trump’s Lawyers Challenged His Impeachment ChargeHis lawyers deem it ‘act of political vengeance’ Trump defense concludesOn Friday, Trump’s lawyers wrapped up their defense of the former U.S. leader, denying he helped incite a deadly mob attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Trump’s lawyers described the trial as a politically inspired and illegal “witch hunt.”“Like every other politically motivated witch hunt the left has engaged in over the past four years, this impeachment is completely divorced from the facts, the evidence and the interests of the American people,” said Trump attorney Michael van der Veen.He told senators that the former president had every right to dispute his election loss to President Joe Biden and that Trump’s 70-minute speech just minutes before the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol did not amount to inciting the violence.When Trump urged thousands of supporters on the Ellipse to “fight like hell,” the defense said it was no different from Democrats’ using similar rhetoric that could spark violence.Trump’s lawyers played a lengthy video montage featuring prominent Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, using the word “fight” without any context.The video included many of the Democratic lawmakers who are the impeachment managers prosecuting the former president.The defense presentation followed a powerful two-day prosecution by House Democrats linking Trump’s rhetoric at a rally on January 6 to the actions of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol shortly afterward in an attempt to block certification of the 2020 presidential election results.Impeachment prosecutors contended Thursday there is “clear and overwhelming” evidence that Trump incited insurrection by sending a mob of his supporters to the Capitol last month to confront lawmakers as they were certifying that he had lost the November election to Democrat Joe Biden.In wrapping up his presentation, lead impeachment manager Raskin told the 100 members of the Senate acting as jurors they should use “common sense on what happened here.”Raskin argued that Trump urged hundreds of his supporters to march to the Capitol on January 6 and then, when they stormed the building, smashed windows, ransacked offices and scuffled with police, “did nothing for at least two hours” to end the mayhem that left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer.
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By Polityk | 02/14/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Senate Votes to Call Witnesses in Trump Impeachment Trial
The U.S. Senate voted Saturday morning to subpoena witnesses in the impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump.Five Republican senators voted with all 50 Democrats to hear testimony from witnesses. The vote was a somewhat surprising development, as the Senate was expected to hear closing arguments from each side, and possibly hold a vote later Saturday to acquit or convict Trump, bringing an end to the trial that began Tuesday. The move to call witnesses means the trial will continue at least into next week.Congressman Jamie Raskin, the lead House impeachment manager, announced that he wanted to subpoena Republican Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington state. Beutler issued a statement Friday night that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told her Trump had expressed sympathy and admiration for the mob during a heated phone call between the two amid the unfolding attack on the Capitol. McCarthy had made the call urging Trump to intervene and call off rioters.Earlier Saturday, several U.S. news organizations, citing anonymous sources, reported that Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had told his Republican colleagues he planned to vote to acquit the former president in the vote expected Saturday. On Friday, Trump’s lawyers wrapped up their defense of the former U.S. leader, denying he helped incite a deadly mob attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Trump’s lawyers described the trial as a politically inspired and illegal “witch hunt.”“Like every other politically motivated witch hunt the left has engaged in over the past four years, this impeachment is completely divorced from the facts, the evidence and the interests of the American people,” said Trump attorney Michael van der Veen.Watch the session live: Trump’s lawyers presented their case in three hours Friday, choosing not to use the full 16 hours allocated.Trump’s attorneys told senators that the former president had every right to dispute his election loss to President Joe Biden and that Trump’s 70-minute speech just minutes before the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol did not amount to inciting the violence.When Trump urged thousands of supporters on the Ellipse to “fight like hell,” the defense said it was no different from Democrats’ using similar rhetoric that could spark violence.Trump’s lawyers played a lengthy video montage featuring prominent Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, using the word “fight” without any context.Also featured in the video were many of the Democratic lawmakers who are the impeachment managers prosecuting the former president.After the defense’s presentation Friday, the senators held a question-and-answer session, taking turns submitting written questions to both the lawyers for Trump and the Democratic lawmakers prosecuting the former president.One of the first questions came from Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who have both been critical of Trump’s actions, asking exactly when Trump learned of the breach of the Capitol and what specific actions he took.Van der Veen did not directly answer the question but blamed Democrats for not investigating the matter.Lead impeachment manager Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland said later in the session that the details being sought are “in sole possession of the president” and noted that Trump was invited to participate in the trial but declined.Friday’s question-and-answer session and defense presentation followed a powerful two-day presentation by House Democrats linking Trump’s rhetoric at a rally on Jan. 6 to the actions of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol shortly afterward in an attempt to block certification of the 2020 presidential election results.Impeachment prosecutors contended Thursday there is “clear and overwhelming” evidence that Trump incited insurrection by sending a mob of his supporters to the Capitol last month to confront lawmakers as they were certifying that he had lost the November election to Democrat Joe Biden.In wrapping up his presentation, Raskin told the 100 members of the Senate acting as jurors they should use “common sense on what happened here.”Raskin argued that Trump urged hundreds of his supporters to march to the Capitol on Jan. 6 and then, when they stormed the building, smashed windows, ransacked offices and scuffled with police, “did nothing for at least two hours” to end the mayhem that left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer.However, there has been no immediate indication that Republican supporters of Trump in the Senate are turning en masse against him. Trump remains on track to be acquitted.
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By Polityk | 02/13/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Senate Back in Session Saturday as Impeachment Court
The U.S. Senate is back in session Saturday morning as a court of impeachment for former President Donald Trump.Neither the House managers nor lawyers for Trump have announced any plans to call witnesses, which means the two sides will likely make their final arguments Saturday. A final vote in the case would soon follow.On Friday, Trump’s lawyers wrapped up their defense of the former U.S. leader, denying he helped incite a deadly mob attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Trump’s lawyers described the trial as a politically inspired and illegal “witch hunt.”“Like every other politically motivated witch hunt the left has engaged in over the past four years, this impeachment is completely divorced from the facts, the evidence and the interests of the American people,” said Trump attorney Michael van der Veen.Trump’s lawyers presented their case in three hours Friday, choosing not to use the full 16 hours allocated.Trump’s attorneys told senators that the former president had every right to dispute his election loss to President Joe Biden and that Trump’s 70-minute speech just minutes before the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol did not amount to inciting the violence.When Trump urged thousands of supporters on the Ellipse to “fight like hell,” the defense said it was no different from Democrats’ using similar rhetoric that could spark violence.Trump’s lawyers played a lengthy video montage featuring prominent Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, using the word “fight” without any context.Also featured in the video were many of the Democratic lawmakers who are the impeachment managers prosecuting the former president.After the defense’s presentation Friday, the senators held a question-and-answer session, taking turns submitting written questions to both the lawyers for Trump and the Democratic lawmakers prosecuting the former president.One of the first questions came from Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who have both been critical of Trump’s actions, asking exactly when Trump learned of the breach of the Capitol and what specific actions he took.Van der Veen did not directly answer the question but blamed Democrats for not investigating the matter.Lead impeachment manager Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland said later in the session that the details being sought are “in sole possession of the president” and noted that Trump was invited to participate in the trial but declined.Friday’s question-and-answer session and defense presentation followed a powerful two-day presentation by House Democrats linking Trump’s rhetoric at a rally on Jan. 6 to the actions of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol shortly afterward in an attempt to block certification of the 2020 presidential election results.Impeachment prosecutors contended Thursday there is “clear and overwhelming” evidence that Trump incited insurrection by sending a mob of his supporters to the Capitol last month to confront lawmakers as they were certifying that he had lost the November election to Democrat Joe Biden.In wrapping up his presentation, Raskin told the 100 members of the Senate acting as jurors they should use “common sense on what happened here.”Raskin argued that Trump urged hundreds of his supporters to march to the Capitol on Jan. 6 and then, when they stormed the building, smashed windows, ransacked offices and scuffled with police, “did nothing for at least two hours” to end the mayhem that left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer.However, there has been no immediate indication that Republican supporters of Trump in the Senate are turning en masse against him. Trump remains on track to be acquitted.
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By Polityk | 02/13/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
4 Ways Trump’s Lawyers Challenged His Impeachment Charge
Following two blistering days of arguments by the House Democratic managers that former President Donald Trump instigated a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and continues to pose a clear and present danger to democracy, the Trump defense team on Friday questioned the legitimacy of the impeachment trial, slamming it as “an act of political vengeance” driven by the Democrats’ anti-Trump animus.“It’s about Democrats trying to disqualify their political opposition,” Trump lawyer Michael van der Veen told senators. “It is constitutional cancel culture.”The question of whether the Senate can try to convict a former president has been debated ever since the House of Representatives impeached Trump last month, making him the first U.S. president to be impeached twice. Under the Constitution, conviction results in removal and disqualification from holding federal office in the future.On the opening day of the trial Tuesday, Trump’s lawyers argued that the Senate has no authority to try a former president because the primary goal of impeachment is removal from office. But six Republican senators joined 50 Democrats to reject that argument, allowing the trial to proceed.With Trump out of office, Democrats say they want the Senate to bar him from running for president again. What is more, Congressman Ted Lieu, one of the House managers, told senators on Thursday that they want to prevent the catastrophe of another Jan. 6 from occurring. The incident left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 7 MB480p | 10 MB540p | 14 MB720p | 30 MB1080p | 58 MBOriginal | 169 MB Embed” />Copy Download Audio”I’m not afraid of Donald Trump running again in four years,” Lieu said. “I’m afraid he’s going to run again and lose, because he can do this again.”Here are four key issues raised in the trial and how Trump’s lawyers addressed them on Friday:Was the attack preplanned? And, if so, does that fact exonerate Trump of inciting the attack?The former president’s lawyers contended that the Jan. 6 attack was “preplanned and premeditated” by all manner of extremists and, therefore, it had nothing to do with Trump’s fiery speech earlier that morning near the White House.“You can’t incite what was already going to happen,” van der Veen said.Bruce Castor Jr., another Trump lawyer, asserted that the preplanning was “confirmed” by the FBI and the Justice Department. Neither agency, however, has publicly confirmed that it has reached any such conclusion, although the FBI last month said that the day before the attack, it had shared with law enforcement agencies unconfirmed online chatter about looming violence.Spokespeople for the FBI and DOJ declined to comment when asked to confirm or deny Castor’s assertion and instead referred VOA to court filings related to the more than 200 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection.The documents offer some evidence that planning and coordination by members of the right-wing Proud Boys and Oath Keepers had begun weeks in advance. But even when the militants were making plans, they appeared to be doing so in response to Trump’s repeated call to arms.For example, on Dec. 29, Jessica Watkins, an alleged member of the Oath Keepers who was arrested after Jan. 6, urged fellow militia members to travel to Washington, writing that “Trump wants all able-bodied Patriots to come,” according to court documents.To further disassociate Trump from the riot, Castor claimed that a “full 45 minutes” before the former president started his speech on the morning of Jan. 6, “violent criminals began assembling at the U.S. Capitol.”The House managers acknowledged this, but they were careful not to make Trump’s speech the centerpiece of the proceeding, contending that the Capitol riot was the inevitable consequence of a months-long campaign to undermine the election results.“This attack would not have happened without him,” said House manager Stacey Plaskett, the delegate to the House of Representatives from the United States Virgin Islands’ at-large congressional district.At the same time, the House managers showed how some of the rioters acted in response to Trump’s exhortations. On Thursday, they played a video in which a rioter outside the Capitol shouts into a bullhorn, “We were invited by the president of the United States.”Was Trump’s speech constitutionally protected?The Trump defense team sought to rebut the core allegation against the former president: that the “insurrection” was the direct result of Trump’s long history of incitement of violence that culminated in his Jan. 6 speech, in which he urged his followers to “fight like hell” to stop Biden from becoming president.Portraying Trump as a “law and order president,” the former president’s lawyers countered that Trump used the words “fight like hell” metaphorically, much as politicians of all stripes routinely do. They said Trump’s statements were protected free speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.To make the point, they showed a stream of video clips of Democratic politicians such as President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Elizabeth Warren using different variations of the expression – and stronger ones — in the past.“All robust speech should be protected, and it should be protected evenly for all of us,” van der Veen said.Accusing the House managers of twisting Trump’s words, the former president’s lawyers said Trump used the word “fight” 20 times during his Jan. 6 speech, but the Democrats cited only two instances that fit into their narrative. Far from inciting violence, van der Veen argued, Trump exhorted his followers to march to the Capitol to “peacefully and patriotically to make your voices heard.”What’s more, the Trump lawyers argued, the former president’s speech does not meet the constitutional test of incitement. The standard test requires in part that the speaker “explicitly or implicitly encourage the use of violence or lawless actions.”“The reality is Mr. Trump was not in any way, shape or form instructing these people to fight using physical violence,” van der Veen said, contending that throughout his term in office Trump had denounced violence and lawlessness.But what about free speech in impeachment proceedings?Anticipating Trump’s First Amendment defense, the House Democrats argued this week that the amendment protecting free speech does not apply in an impeachment proceeding.Van der Veen contended that denying Trump the right to free speech would be “plainly unconstitutional.” The Supreme Court, he said, has held that the First Amendment “protects elected officials,” citing two landmark cases.Under the two rulings, Trump has “enhanced free speech rights” because “of the importance of political dialogue” for elected officials.If Trump were not entitled to the First Amendment, he would be denied the right to counsel, another constitutional right, and would have to represent himself during his Senate trial, van der Veen said.In an open letter issued last week and cited by the House managers, a group of nearly 150 law professors called Trump’s First Amendment defense “legally frivolous.”What did Trump know about the riot and when did he know it?The question, an echo of the 1970s congressional investigation into the Watergate scandal, came up throughout the trial and resurfaced during the question-and-answer period.The House managers asserted that even after Trump learned that his supporters had breached the Capitol and threatened his own vice president, Mike Pence, he took no action to end the insurrection and instead continued to call sympathetic senators to block congressional certification of Biden’s victory.The Trump lawyers dodged questions about when Trump learned the Capitol had been breached, blaming the Democrats for not doing a better job of investigating the attack.In response to a question, Castor claimed that at “no point” was Trump informed that Pence was “in any danger.”
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By Polityk | 02/13/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Senator Graham’s Call with State Official Part of Election Probe, Report Says
A prosecutor from the southern U.S. state of Georgia plans to examine a phone call between U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Georgia’s secretary of state as part of a criminal investigation into whether former President Donald Trump or his allies broke state law in trying to influence the results of the election, The Washington Post reported Friday.Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will look into the call Graham made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger 10 days after the Nov. 3 election, the Post reported, citing an unnamed person familiar with the probe.Graham, a Republican and a close Trump ally, asked Raffensperger whether he had the power to toss out all mail ballots in certain counties, Raffensperger has told the Post.Raffensperger said Graham appeared to be asking him to improperly find a way to set aside legally cast ballots, according to the newspaper.A spokesperson for Graham, Kevin Bishop, called the accusation “ridiculous.” He said Graham was asking Raffensperger how the signature verification process worked and said the senator never asked him to disqualify a ballot by anyone.Bishop said Graham has not been notified of any probe of the call.The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office and Raffensperger’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.Willis is investigating Trump after a Jan. 2 phone call he made pressuring Raffensperger to overturn the state’s election results based on unfounded voter fraud claims.In the call with Raffensperger, which was recorded, Trump says: “All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,” referring to the narrow margin of President Joe Biden’s victory in the state, one of a handful of swing states that cost Trump the White House.
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By Polityk | 02/13/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Says North Korea an Urgent Priority
North Korea’s nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs are an urgent priority for the United States and Washington remains committed to denuclearization of the country, the U.S. State Department said on Friday.The Biden administration’s lack of direct engagement with North Korea should not be seen as an indication that the challenge posed by its weapons programs was not a priority, department spokesperson Ned Price said.”It in fact very much is,” he told a regular briefing.North Korea continued to make progress in its nuclear and missile programs in recent years “which makes this an urgent priority for the United States and one that we are committed to addressing together with our allies and partners,” Price said.”And … the central premise is that we remain committed to denuclearization of North Korea,” he said.Price said the lack of direct engagement to date was “a function of us making sure that we have done the diplomatic legwork, that we have been in close contact, in touch with our partners and allies,” aiming for a coordinated approach.The Biden administration, which took office last month, says it is conducting a full review of North Korea policy in consultation with allies, particularly South Korea and Japan, following former President Donald Trump’s unprecedented engagement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which failed to persuade Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons.A confidential U.N. report seen by Reuters on Monday said North Korea developed its nuclear and ballistic missile programs throughout 2020 in violation of international sanctions, helping fund them with some $300 million stolen through cyber hacks.President Joe Biden’s top Asia official, Kurt Campbell, has said the administration must decide quickly on how to approach North Korea and not repeat an Obama-era delay that led to “provocative” steps by Pyongyang that prevented engagement.Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who discussed North Korea with his South Korean counterpart on Thursday, has said additional sanctions could be used in coordination with allies to press North Korea to denuclearize.Biden called Kim a “thug” during his election campaign and said he would only meet him “on the condition that he would agree that he would be drawing down his nuclear capacity to get there.”
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By Polityk | 02/13/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
White House Suspends Press Aide Who Reportedly Threatened Journalist
The White House said on Friday it temporarily suspended a press aide after he reportedly threatened a reporter who was working on a story about his romantic relationship with another journalist.Vanity Fair reported on Friday that White House deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo had made threats — including “I will destroy you” — to a Politico correspondent who was reporting a piece about Ducklo’s recently disclosed relationship with an Axios reporter, Alexi McCammond.White House press secretary Jen Psaki wrote on Twitter that Ducklo had been suspended for a week without pay and will not work with Politico reporters again.Psaki said Ducklo had apologized to the Politico reporter, Tara Palmeri, “with whom he had a heated conversation about his personal life. … He is the first to acknowledge this is not the standard of behavior set out by the president.”Ducklo, McCammond and Palmeri did not respond to emails seeking comment. An Axios spokesperson said McCammond disclosed the relationship to her editors in November and was reassigned from a beat covering the White House.The suspension comes after Democratic President Joe Biden, who took office last month, vowed to take a hard line on any incivility among members of his administration.”If you’re ever working with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on the spot … no ifs, ands or buts,” Biden told political appointees during a virtual swearing-in ceremony. “Everybody is entitled to be treated with decency and dignity.”Psaki told reporters during a briefing on Friday that Biden was not involved in the decision to suspend Ducklo and stressed that the White House took the matter seriously.Ducklo’s behavior was “completely unacceptable. He knows that,” Psaki said. “We’ve had conversations with him. … This will never happen again.”
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By Polityk | 02/13/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Who Were the US Capitol Rioters?
When former President Donald Trump urged his followers last month to come to Washington to stop Congress’ certification of Democratic rival Joe Biden’s presidential victory, tens of thousands heeded his call. After hearing rousing speeches by Trump and his allies, thousands then marched on the nearby U.S. Capitol. An estimated 800 stormed the building in a melee shocking in its intensity and sustained violence, which left five people dead, including a police officer, and scores of others injured. While Trump is standing trial in the Senate this week on a single impeachment charge of inciting the mob on January 6, more than 200 ardent Trump supporters who took part in the Capitol breach have been arrested and face a variety of charges in federal court in Washington. Who were the rioters? And what motivated them to attack the seat of their own government? FILE – Pro-Trump protesters storm the U.S. Capitol to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.Initially, they appeared to be mostly “knuckleheads,” said Seamus Hughes, deputy director of The George Washington University Program on Extremism. Then, the FBI started arresting key members of the pro-Trump Proud Boys and two militia groups, training the spotlight on far-right organizations. Now, nearly five weeks after the attack, researchers at the University of Chicago have concluded that the majority of the rioters were not members of far-right groups but “normal” Trump supporters — part of his political base. Among them were doctors, lawyers, architects and business owners. “What we are dealing with here is not merely a mix of right-wing organizations, but a broader mass movement with violence at its core,” Robert Pape and Keven Ruby of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats (CPOST) wrote in a FILE – Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump sit inside the office of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as they protest inside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.Other researchers following the rioters have reached similar conclusions. Hughes said he agreed they represent a new mass movement of violent extremism. But he said a repeat of January 6 is unlikely, given that the “merely curious” types that took part in the insurrection would be reluctant to participate again. “No one’s going in there ignoring the law,” he said. “If somebody tried to do something like that again, they’re going in there fully aware of what they’re about to do.” The University of Chicago report was last updated on February 5 and doesn’t include charges filed over the past week.Extremism researcher Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, cautioned that the data on the rioters is far from conclusive, and as the investigation proceeds, previously unknown ties between the insurrectionists and organized right-wing groups may come to light. Just because a violent rioter is not a member of an organized extremist group does not make him or her any less dangerous, Levin said. “They might dine from the same buffet table of extremism,” but “you don’t have to be a member of the Proud Boys or the Oath Keepers to belong to the same overall subculture or to adhere to certain conspiracies,” he said. Demographic snapshot To gain insight into the backgrounds and ideologies of the rioters, the University of Chicago researchers examined more than 1,500 court documents and media stories about 221 people arrested so far. They found that in contrast to right-wing extremists arrested over the past five years, the Capitol rioters make up an older, better employed crowd. The majority are white and male. Sixty-six percent are 34 years or older; 85% have jobs; 13% are business owners, while 27% hold white-collar jobs. Geographically, they hail from across the country and not just from “red” counties that support Trump. In fact, more than half come from counties that Trump lost to Biden — counties that tend to be more racially mixed with higher unemployment rates, according to the report. “This will come as a surprise to many Biden supporters, who presumably think that the insurrectionists are coming from red counties — rural, almost completely white, and with high unemployment — far from Biden strongholds,” the researchers said. ‘Normal’ Trump supporters Of the 221 defendants the researchers investigated, 198 had no known links to militias or other far-right groups. That is about 90% of the total. The researchers characterize these unaffiliated rioters as “normal” pro-Trump activists. Hughes said the majority of these rioters fall under what he calls the “merely curious” category — “folks taking selfies in the Senate Rotunda.” Former Houston police officer Tam Pham claims to have been such a participant. Before his arrest last month, FILE – Supporters of then-President Donald Trump, wearing attire associated with the Proud Boys, attend a rally at Freedom Plaza in Washington, Dec. 12, 2020.Tarrio was arrested two days before the riot and was barred from returning to Washington. In the days since, two other prominent members of the group — organizer Joe Biggs, 37, and “Sergeant of Arms” Ethan Nordean, 30 — have been charged for their roles in the riot. Additional charges are likely forthcoming, Hughes said, noting that arrest warrants have been issued for a number of other members. In addition to the Proud Boys, nine members of the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters — two far-right militia groups — have been charged. Last month, three suspected members of the Oath Keepers were indicted on multiple felony charges for coordinating their attack on the Capitol. The trio documented their movements during the riot. “Yeah. We stormed the Capitol today. Teargassed, the whole, 9. Pushed our way into the Rotunda. Made it into the Senate even. The news is lying (even Fox) about the Historical Events we created today,” Jessica Watkins, 38, an Oath Keeper and a self-styled commander of the Ohio State Regular Militia posted on social media. The Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters are known for recruiting current and former military personnel, police officers and firefighters. According to the report, 40% of the militia members and other right-wing extremists arrested so far have military experience. Watkins is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. QAnon support Among the most memorable images on January 6 were QAnon signs and other memorabilia carried by the rioters. But the University of Chicago researchers found that just 8% of those arrested so far — fewer than 20 people — have expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory. That largely mirrors the FILE – Jacob Chansley and other supporters of President Donald Trump are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police officers outside the Senate Chamber inside the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.Among the QAnon supporters charged is Jacob Chansley, the so-called “QAnon shaman” also known as Jake Angeli, who gained notoriety for storming the Capitol sporting horns, a bearskin headdress, and red, white and blue face paint. He told FBI agents he traveled to Washington with other “patriots” from Arizona at Trump’s “request.” Other QAnon supporters have drawn less public attention. Henry Phillip Muntzer, an appliance store owner from Montana, is known locally for a QAnon mural covering the façade of his store front. In a Facebook post that included a video taken from inside the Capitol, Muntzer wrote, “Stormed the Capitol in Washington DC we were able to push through the capitalpPolice (sic) and enter several Chambers,” according to court documents.
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By Polityk | 02/13/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump’s Lawyers to Present Defense in One Day – WATCH LIVE
Lawyers for former U.S. President Donald Trump say they only need one day to present their client’s case in his impeachment trial before the U.S. Senate.Trump’s lawyers are mounting the former president’s defense Friday without any testimony from the former president, who has declined to participate in the trial.WATCH LIVE The defense follows a two-day presentation by House Democrats linking Trump’s rhetoric at a rally on Jan. 6 to the actions of the mob that overtook the U.S. Capitol shortly afterward in an attempt to block the certification of the 2020 presidential election results.In an unusual move Thursday, three Republican Senators — Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah — who are jurors in the trial, met with Trump’s lawyers.CNN reported that David Schoen, one of Trump’s lawyers, said the lawmakers wanted to ensure that the Trump’s defense team was “familiar with procedure” before Friday’s presentation.Trump is reported to be disappointed with the performance of his lawyers –- Schoen and Bruce Castor — who were recruited after the former president’s first legal team quit shortly before the trial began.Impeachment prosecutors contended Thursday there is “clear and overwhelming” evidence that former Trump incited insurrection by sending a mob of his supporters to the Capitol last month to confront lawmakers as they were certifying that he had lost the November election to Democrat Joe Biden.In closing arguments, the lead impeachment manager, Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland, told the 100 members of the Senate acting as jurors they should use “common sense on what happened here.”“It is a bedrock principle that no one can incite a riot” in the American democracy, Raskin said.But he argued that Trump urged hundreds of his supporters to march to the Capitol on Jan. 6 and then, when they stormed the building, smashed windows, ransacked offices and scuffled with police, “did nothing for at least two hours” to end the mayhem that left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer.“He betrayed us,” Raskin said of the former U.S. leader, whose four-year term ended Jan. 20 as Biden was inaugurated as the country’s 46th president. “He incited a violent insurrection against our government. He must be convicted.”Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 8 MB480p | 12 MB540p | 16 MB720p | 33 MB1080p | 65 MBOriginal | 73 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioRaskin and eight other impeachment managers, all Democrats in the House of Representatives, concluded their case after about 12 hours spread over two days of presenting arguments and evidence against Trump.They flashed dozens of Trump’s Twitter comments on television screens in the Senate chamber from the weeks leading up to the election with his claims that the only way he could lose to Biden was if the election were rigged, then more tweets with an array of his unfounded claims after the election that he had been cheated out of another term in the White House.The House impeachment managers also showed an array of video clips of the rioters raging through the Capitol complex, most graphically scenes of some of them shouting “Hang Mike Pence!” as they searched in vain for Trump’s vice president, who had refused to accede to his demands to block certification of Biden’s victory.Other insurgents stormed into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, looking to kill the longtime Trump political opponent. But security officials escorted Pence to a secluded room in the Capitol and whisked Pelosi to safety away from the building, which is often seen as a symbol of American democracy.Trump’s lawyers have broadly claimed that Trump’s speech at the rally shortly before the rampage at the Capitol in which he urged his supporters to “fight like hell” was permissible political rhetoric, sanctioned by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protection of freedom of speech.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 9 MB480p | 13 MB540p | 18 MB720p | 39 MB1080p | 73 MBOriginal | 83 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioBut Raskin told the Senate, “What is impeachable conduct if not this? If you don’t find [that Trump committed] high crimes and misdemeanors [the standard for conviction of an impeachment charge] you have set a new terrible standard for presidential conduct.”Earlier Thursday, another impeachment manager, Congresswoman Diana DeGette of Colorado, quoted numerous insurgents who stormed the U.S. Capitol who said they acted on Trump’s demands.She said the mob “believed the commander in chief was ordering them. The insurrectionists made clear to police they were just following the orders of the president.”“The insurrectionists didn’t make this up,” she said. “They were told [by Trump] to fight like hell. They were there because the president told them to be there.”DeGette showed lawmakers several television interviews in which the protesters said they went to the Capitol because Trump had commanded them to do so.Several impeachment managers warned that if Trump is acquitted, which is the likely outcome of the trial, he could be emboldened to create more chaos in another run for the presidency in 2024.Congressman Ted Lieu of California said, “You know, I’m not afraid of Donald Trump running again in four years. I’m afraid he’s going to run again and lose, because he can do this again.”Thursday’s session came after several lawmakers told reporters they were shaken by graphic, previously undisclosed videos of the mayhem the Democratic lawmakers showed them Wednesday, with scenes of dozens of officials scrambling to escape the mob that had stormed into the Capitol.But there was no immediate indication that Republican supporters of Trump in the Senate were turning en masse against him. Trump remains on track to be acquitted.A two-thirds vote is needed to convict Trump of a single impeachment charge, that he incited insurrection by urging hundreds of supporters to confront lawmakers at the Capitol to try to upend Biden’s victory. In the politically divided 100-member Senate, 17 Republicans would have to join every Democrat for a conviction.At the moment, it appears that only a handful of Republicans might vote to convict Trump, the only president in U.S. history to be twice impeached.Trump’s lawyers say he bears no responsibility for the attack on the Capitol. The Senate voted 56-44 on Tuesday to move ahead with the trial, rejecting Trump’s claim that it was unconstitutional to try him on impeachment charges since he has already left office. The vote also seemed to signal that relatively few Republicans appear willing to convict him.Trump left Washington hours ahead of Biden’s inauguration Jan. 20 and is living at his Atlantic coastal mansion in Florida.
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By Polityk | 02/12/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
US First Lady Displays ‘Valentine to the Country’ on White House Lawn
U.S. President Joe Biden joined first lady Jill Biden early Friday for an unannounced stroll of the White House lawn to view Valentine’s Day decorations the first lady had erected to send a message of hope to the nation.
The president and first lady, with coffee cups in hand and their two dogs alongside, casually roamed the north lawn of the White House among giant hearts bearing messages such as “healing,” “courage” and “compassion.”
The first lady told reporters she just wanted to share some joy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The president told reporters Valentine’s Day — observed this year on Sunday, February 14 — has always been special to the first lady and related a story from his days as vice president when she decorated every window in his office.
Reporters took the opportunity to ask Biden about the ongoing impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump in the U.S Senate. President Biden, up to now, has offered little or no public comment on the proceedings.
“I’m just anxious to see what my Republican friends do, if they stand up,” Biden told reporters, referring the Republican senators serving as jurors in the trial. Asked if he plans to call them, Biden said no.
U.S. House Democratic managers have spent the last three days presenting their case against Trump, whom they have charged with instigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Despite often intense video evidence and emotional presentations, most Senate Republicans are expected to vote to acquit the former president.
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By Polityk | 02/12/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
