Розділ: Політика
Trump’s Lawyers to Present his Defense in Just 1 Day
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.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
Fences, Troops Separate Public from Trump Impeachment Trial
Washington, D.C., has a different look during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. The Capitol area remains an ultra-high-security zone, and nearby residents wonder if fortress-like security measures are permanent, given heightened political tensions in the country after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti has this report.
Camera: Mike Burke
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By Polityk | 02/12/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
House Impeachment Managers Close Case Against Trump
House impeachment managers on Thursday closed their case, arguing former President Donald Trump was directly responsible for the attempt to overturn the counting of Electoral College votes for Joe Biden. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson reports on Democrats’ final argument in this historic trial.
Camera: Mike Burke
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By Polityk | 02/12/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Prosecutors: There’s ‘Clear, Overwhelming’ Evidence Trump Incited Insurrection
Impeachment prosecutors contended Thursday that there was “clear and overwhelming” evidence that former President Donald Trump incited insurrection by sending a mob of his supporters to the U.S. 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, Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, told the 100 senators acting as jurors at Trump’s impeachment trial that they should use “common sense on what happened here.”In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 11, 2021.“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 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.“He betrayed us,” Raskin said of the former U.S. leader, whose four-year term ended January 20 as Biden was inaugurated as the country’s 46th president. “He incited a violent insurrection against our government. He must be convicted.”Raskin 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 was 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.FILE – Pro-Trump protesters storm the U.S. Capitol to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by Congress, in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.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 in pictures across the globe as a symbol of American democracy.Trump’s lawyers, starting at midday Friday, will have their turn to present his defense. They have broadly claimed that Trump’s speech at a 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.But 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 on an impeachment charge], you have set a new, terrible standard for presidential conduct.”In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 11, 2021.Earlier Thursday, another impeachment manager, Representative Diana DeGette of Colorado, quoted numerous insurgents who stormed the Capitol last month who said they had acted on Trump’s demands.She said the insurgents “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 had gone to the Capitol because Trump commanded them to do so.Several impeachment managers warned that if Trump was 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.In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 11, 2021.Representative 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.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.As of late Thursday, it appeared 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 because he had already left office. The vote also seemed to signal that relatively few Republicans appeared willing to convict him.Trump declined Democrats’ offer to testify in his defense and is not expected to attend the trial. He left Washington hours ahead of Biden’s inauguration January 20 and is living at his Florida mansion.
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By Polityk | 02/12/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Impeachment Prosecutors: Rioters Were Following His Orders – WATCH LIVE
Prosecutors at former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial are wrapping up their case Thursday, quoting numerous insurgents who stormed the U.S. Capitol last month who said they acted on Trump’s demands that they confront lawmakers meeting to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the November election.Representative Diana DeGette of Colorado, one of the Democratic lawmakers from the House whoare prosecuting Trump, said the insurgents “believed the commander in chief was ordering them. The insurrectionists made clear to police they were just following the orders of the president.”In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 11, 2021.“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, the worldwide symbol of U.S. democracy, because Trump had commanded them to do so.In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 11, 2021.Another House impeachment manager, Representative Ted Lieu of California, contended that Trump “showed no remorse” over the deadly chaos of January 6, when the insurgents rampaged into the Capitol, smashed windows, ransacked some congressional offices and scuffled with police. Five people were left dead, including a Capitol Police officer whose death is being investigated as a homicide.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, who left office as Biden was inaugurated January 20, 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.FILE – Pro-Trump protesters storm the U.S. Capitol to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by Congress, in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.The videos played Wednesday in the Senate chamber showed hundreds of insurgents — Trump supporters he had urged to go to the Capitol to try to stop the official certification of his loss in the election — storming through the building and into both chambers of Congress. Some of the rioters rifled through documents lawmakers left behind as they fled to safety.Some of the rioters, the January 6 videos showed, shouted that they were trying to find former Vice President Mike Pence to hang him because he had rejected Trump’s demand that he block the certification of the Electoral College outcome so Trump and Pence could remain in power.Other surging protesters, the videos showed, menacingly hunted for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a longtime Trump opponent.The demonstrators stormed into her office, but the prosecutors said authorities had already whisked her away from the Capitol to safety, while some of her staff huddled in a nearby conference room behind a locked door.“The mob was looking for Pence because of his patriotism in order to execute him,” impeachment manager Stacey Plaskett, a House delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands, told the Senate, referring to the vice president’s looming certification of Biden’s victory.U.S. House impeachment manager Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., left, walks during the third day of senate impeachment hearings against former U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, Feb. 11, 2021.Another impeachment manager, Representative Eric Swalwell of California, narrated one video captured from a security camera inside the Capitol, telling lawmakers, “Most of the public does not know how close you came to the mob” before escaping to safety.“We all know that awful day could have been much worse,” Swalwell said.Earlier, the lead House impeachment manager, Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, contended that Trump was “no innocent bystander” in the violence.Raskin and other Democratic lawmakers said Trump laid the groundwork for the storming of the Capitol over a period of weeks leading up to the election with dozens of unfounded claims that the only way he could lose was if the election was rigged against him.Raskin alleged that Trump, by urging hundreds of his supporters to “fight like hell” in confronting lawmakers at the Capitol on January 6, ignited the mayhem.’Inciter in chief’“He incited this attack,” Raskin told the Senate. “He clearly surrendered his role as commander in chief and became the inciter in chief.”Raskin contended that Trump “was singularly responsible” in exhorting his supporters to try to upend Biden’s victory.After the House impeachment managers finish their case on Thursday, Trump’s lawyers will have up to 16 hours to present his defense on Friday and Saturday.Trump’s lawyers say he bears no responsibility for the attack on the Capitol. Instead, they say, his rhetoric amounted to permissible political discourse and was protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech.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 declined Democrats’ offer to testify in his defense and is not expected to attend the trial. He left Washington hours ahead of Biden’s inauguration January 20 and is living at his Florida mansion.
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By Polityk | 02/12/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Ends US-Mexico Border Emergency
U.S. President Joe Biden has rescinded a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and halted the diversion of more federal funds for constructing a wall along the boundary.In a letter Thursday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Biden said he terminated the emergency that then-President Donald Trump declared in February 2019, saying it was “unwarranted.”Biden also ordered that “no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall” that ranked among Trump’s highest priorities.The previous administration built about 724 kilometers of the planned 1,192-kilometer wall. Most of the new wall, a 9.1-meter-high steel fence, replaced existing fencing.On his first day in office, Biden signed an executive order temporarily halting construction of the wall as his administration explores ways to stop it permanently.Trump declared a national emergency in 2019 after Congress approved only$1.375 billion of the $5.7 billion he requested for the wall project.The declaration eased restrictions on taxpayer funding, enabling Trump to reallocate more than $6 billion in taxpayer funds intended for other federal initiatives, including more than $3.5 billion set aside for military construction.Trump’s declaration was being challenged in court by a coalition of plaintiffs, including landowners, environmental groups and the American Civil Liberties Union.The Supreme Court was scheduled to hear the case this month, but it canceled the hearing at the Biden administration’s request.Despite Biden’s move to halt the diversion of more funding for wall construction, the more than 3,000 U.S. troops supporting U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the border will not be immediately redeployed.“It won’t have an immediate impact,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters Thursday. “That mission is funded through the rest of the year.”But Kirby left open the possibility that Biden could order the Pentagon to change its mission at the border.
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By Polityk | 02/12/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Former Republicans Consider Forming Anti-Trump 3rd Party
Dozens of former Republican officials, who view the party as unwilling to stand up to former President Donald Trump and his attempts to undermine U.S. democracy, are in talks to form a center-right breakaway party, four people involved in the discussions told Reuters.The early-stage discussions include former elected Republicans, former officials in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Trump, ex-Republican ambassadors and Republican strategists, the people involved say.More than 120 of them held a Zoom call Friday to discuss the breakaway group, which would run on a platform of “principled conservatism,” including adherence to the Constitution and the rule of law — ideas those involved say have been trashed by Trump.The plan would be to run candidates in some races but also to endorse center-right candidates in others, be they Republicans, independents or Democrats, the people say.Evan McMullin, who was chief policy director for the House Republican Conference and ran as an independent in the 2016 presidential election, told Reuters that he co-hosted the Zoom call with former officials concerned about Trump’s grip on Republicans and the nativist turn the party has taken.Three other people confirmed to Reuters the call and the discussions for a potential splinter party but asked not to be identified.Among the call participants were John Mitnick, general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security under Trump; former Republican congressman Charlie Dent; Elizabeth Neumann, deputy chief of staff in the Homeland Security Department under Trump; and Miles Taylor, another former Trump homeland security official.The talks highlight the wide intraparty rift over Trump’s false claims of election fraud and the deadly Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol. Most Republicans remain fiercely loyal to the former president, but others seek a new direction for the party.The House of Representatives impeached Trump on Jan. 13 on a charge of inciting an insurrection by exhorting thousands of supporters to march on the Capitol on the day Congress was gathered to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory.Call participants said they were particularly dismayed by the fact that more than half of the Republicans in Congress — eight senators and 139 House representatives — voted to block certification of Biden’s election victory just hours after the Capitol siege.Most Republican senators have also indicated they will not support the conviction of Trump in this week’s Senate impeachment trial.“Large portions of the Republican Party are radicalizing and threatening American democracy,” McMullin told Reuters. “The party needs to recommit to truth, reason and founding ideals or there clearly needs to be something new.”’These losers’Asked about the discussions for a third party, Jason Miller, a Trump spokesperson, said: “These losers left the Republican Party when they voted for Joe Biden.”A representative for the Republican National Committee referred to a recent statement from Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.”If we continue to attack each other and focus on attacking on fellow Republicans, if we have disagreements within our party, then we are losing sight of 2022 (elections),” McDaniel said on Fox News last month.”The only way we’re going to win is if we come together,” she said.McMullin said a plurality of those on last week’s Zoom call backed the idea of a breakaway, national third party. Another option under discussion is to form a “faction” that would operate either inside the current Republican Party or outside it.Names under consideration for a new party include the Integrity Party and the Center Right Party. If it is decided instead to form a faction, one name under discussion is the Center Right Republicans.Members are aware that the U.S. political landscape is littered with the remains of previous failed attempts at national third parties.“But there is a far greater hunger for a new political party out there than I have ever experienced in my lifetime,” one participant said.
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By Polityk | 02/11/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Dozens of Former Republican Officials in Talks to Form Anti-Trump Third Party
Dozens of former Republican officials, who view the party as unwilling to stand up to former President Donald Trump and his attempts to undermine U.S. democracy, are in talks to form a center-right breakaway party, four people involved in the discussions told Reuters.The early-stage discussions include former elected Republicans, former officials in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Trump, ex-Republican ambassadors and Republican strategists, the people involved say.More than 120 of them held a Zoom call Friday to discuss the breakaway group, which would run on a platform of “principled conservatism,” including adherence to the Constitution and the rule of law — ideas those involved say have been trashed by Trump.The plan would be to run candidates in some races but also to endorse center-right candidates in others, be they Republicans, independents or Democrats, the people say.Evan McMullin, who was chief policy director for the House Republican Conference and ran as an independent in the 2016 presidential election, told Reuters that he co-hosted the Zoom call with former officials concerned about Trump’s grip on Republicans and the nativist turn the party has taken.Three other people confirmed to Reuters the call and the discussions for a potential splinter party but asked not to be identified.Among the call participants were John Mitnick, general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security under Trump; former Republican congressman Charlie Dent; Elizabeth Neumann, deputy chief of staff in the Homeland Security Department under Trump; and Miles Taylor, another former Trump homeland security official.The talks highlight the wide intraparty rift over Trump’s false claims of election fraud and the deadly Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol. Most Republicans remain fiercely loyal to the former president, but others seek a new direction for the party.The House of Representatives impeached Trump on Jan. 13 on a charge of inciting an insurrection by exhorting thousands of supporters to march on the Capitol on the day Congress was gathered to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory.Call participants said they were particularly dismayed by the fact that more than half of the Republicans in Congress — eight senators and 139 House representatives — voted to block certification of Biden’s election victory just hours after the Capitol siege.Most Republican senators have also indicated they will not support the conviction of Trump in this week’s Senate impeachment trial.“Large portions of the Republican Party are radicalizing and threatening American democracy,” McMullin told Reuters. “The party needs to recommit to truth, reason and founding ideals or there clearly needs to be something new.”’These losers’Asked about the discussions for a third party, Jason Miller, a Trump spokesperson, said: “These losers left the Republican Party when they voted for Joe Biden.”A representative for the Republican National Committee referred to a recent statement from Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.”If we continue to attack each other and focus on attacking on fellow Republicans, if we have disagreements within our party, then we are losing sight of 2022 (elections),” McDaniel said on Fox News last month.”The only way we’re going to win is if we come together,” she said.McMullin said a plurality of those on last week’s Zoom call backed the idea of a breakaway, national third party. Another option under discussion is to form a “faction” that would operate either inside the current Republican Party or outside it.Names under consideration for a new party include the Integrity Party and the Center Right Party. If it is decided instead to form a faction, one name under discussion is the Center Right Republicans.Members are aware that the U.S. political landscape is littered with the remains of previous failed attempts at national third parties.“But there is a far greater hunger for a new political party out there than I have ever experienced in my lifetime,” one participant said.
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By Polityk | 02/11/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Stunning New Video Reveals Scope of Jan. 6 Capitol Riot
House impeachment managers Wednesday showed never-before-seen footage from the Jan. 6 riot of Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol. The video capped the first day of Democrats’ opening argument that former President Donald Trump was directly responsible for the attempt to overturn the counting of electoral college votes for Joe Biden. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more.
Camera: Mike Burke Producer: Katherine Gypson
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By Polityk | 02/11/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Jill Biden Pushes Free Access to Community College, Training
Jill Biden is pushing free access to community college and training programs, saying the schools will be an important part of Biden administration efforts to rebuild the economy.A longtime community college professor and advocate, the first lady said people struggling to get by during the coronavirus-induced economic slump need access to these schools.”We have to get this done. And we have to do it now. That’s why we’re going to make sure that everyone has access to free community college and training programs,” Jill Biden said in taped remarks broadcast Tuesday during a virtual legislative summit hosted by the Association of Community College Trustees and the American Association of Community Colleges.She was not more specific. As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden promised two years of community college or training “without debt.”Similar proposals have been put forward in the past.In 2015, President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden pushed a plan to provide two years of free community college, but the proposal languished in Congress.Jill Biden indicated that the administration would revive the idea.”We’re going to make sure students have the support they need to cross that finish line,” she said. “We’re going to invest in programs that prepare our workers for jobs of the future.”Average annual tuition and fees at a community college cost $3,730 during the 2019-20 academic year, compared with an average of $10,440 for in-state tuition and fees at a four-year public college, according to the American Association of Community Colleges.Jill Biden, who continues to teach — albeit virtually — and is the first first lady with a paying job outside the White House, said community colleges are no longer America’s “best kept secret,” as she has long been fond of saying.”They are our most powerful engine of prosperity,” she said.The first lady teased a future White House summit on community colleges. She gave no hints on when it would be held and her office did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. She helped lead a White House community college summit during the Obama-Biden administration.
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By Polityk | 02/11/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Impeachment Prosecutor: Trump Was ‘Inciter in Chief’
Prosecutors at former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial began to lay out their case against him on Wednesday, saying he was “no innocent bystander” to the violence that erupted at the U.S. Capitol last month as lawmakers certified Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the November election.Congressman Jamie Raskin, the lead impeachment manager, and other Democratic lawmakers said Trump laid the groundwork for the storming of the Capitol over a period of weeks leading up to the election with dozens of unfounded claims that the only way he could lose was if the election was rigged against him.Raskin contended that Trump, by urging hundreds of his supporters to “fight like hell” in confronting lawmakers at the Capitol on January 6, ignited the mayhem that left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer.“He incited this attack,” Raskin told the 100-member Senate that will decide whether Trump should be convicted of a single article of impeachment brought by the House of Representatives. It accuses him of “incitement of insurrection.”
“He clearly surrendered his role as commander in chief and became the inciter in chief,” Raskin argued. He contended that Trump, now out of office after his four-year term ended and Biden was inaugurated January 20, “was singularly responsible” in exhorting his supporters to try to upend Biden’s victory.Hundreds of his supporters – perhaps about 800, according to law enforcement authorities – rampaged through the Capitol, breaking windows, bashing doors, ransacking some congressional offices and scuffling with police. Dozens of the rioters, many of whom bragged on social media about storming into the two chambers of Congress, have been charged with criminal offenses as the investigation of the chaos continues.The House impeachment managers showed dozens of Twitter comments and video clips in which Trump claimed election fraud and urged his supporters to show up in Washington January 6 as Congress met to certify the 306-232 Electoral College vote favoring Biden.“Will be wild!” Trump tweeted.After nearly four hours of mayhem, lawmakers certified the Biden victory in the middle of the night early on January 7, making Trump the fifth U.S. president in the country’s history to be defeated after a single term in office.FILE – Supporters of then-President Donald Trump riot in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021, before storming the building.Now, Raskin said, in 2021 the usually routine certification of U.S. presidential election results will be remembered as “a day that will live in disgrace.”Congressman Joe Neguse, another House impeachment manager, said that in rallying supporters before the storming of the Capitol complex, Trump “wanted to stop the transfer of power even though he had lost the election.”“This attack was provoked by the president,” Neguse said. “It was predictable and foreseeable. He had the power to stop it and he didn’t.”Delegate Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands, another House impeachment manager, said the rioters “were doing the duty of their president. He knew of the violence they were capable of.” Congresswoman Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania contended that Trump was “desperate to retain power by any means possible.” She said Trump told the protesters “exactly what he wanted them to do.” Dean quoted from Trump’s speech to his supporters at a rally near the White House where he told them, “We will never give up. We will never concede.” The House impeachment managers have up to 16 hours over Wednesday and Thursday to make their case before Trump’s lawyers get an equal amount of time.Trump’s lawyers say that he bears no responsibility for the attack on the Capitol, a worldwide symbol of American democracy.Instead, they say that Trump’s rhetoric amounted to normal political discourse and was protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech.FILE – With the White House in the background, former President Donald Trump, seen on a giant screen, speaks to his supporters during a rally in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021, ahead of many in the crowd storming the U.S. 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. Raskin said Tuesday that not holding the trial would create a “dangerous” new “January exception” during which future U.S. presidents could act with impunity in their final weeks in office.“It’s an invitation to the president to take his best shot at anything he may want to do on his way out the door,” Raskin said.The Democrats showed the Senate a dramatic video montage establishing a timeline of the chaotic events on January 6. Trump lawyer Bruce Castor Jr. rejected the notion of a “January exception” in which future presidents would be immune as “nonsense.” He said that if Trump committed any offenses, “arrest him,” now that he is a private citizen and no longer immune from prosecution.Castor quoted the Constitution saying that conviction on impeachment charges “shall not extend further than removal from office,” an impossibility since Trump’s term has already ended. The 56-44 vote to proceed with the trial, in which six Republicans joined all 50 Democrats, showed that Trump remains likely to be acquitted. A two-thirds majority is needed to convict Trump, meaning 17 Republicans would have to vote with the Democrats.Whatever the outcome, Trump is the only U.S. president to be impeached twice.Trump declined Democrats’ offer to testify in his defense and is not expected to attend the trial. The high-profile proceeding, broadcast across the country, could last a week or longer.
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By Polityk | 02/11/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Senate Schedules Confirmation Hearing for Merrick Garland
The Senate Judiciary Committee has set a confirmation hearing for Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden’s nominee for attorney general.Garland’s confirmation hearing will begin on February 22. The two-day hearing will include Garland’s testimony and a second day for outside witnesses to testify.The committee’s chair, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, said Garland’s hearing was particularly urgent after the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, when hundreds of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol as Congress was meeting to vote to certify Biden’s electoral win.The Field of Empty Chairs is seen during the 20th Remembrance Ceremony, the anniversary ceremony for victims of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma April 19, 2015.Garland is a federal appeals court judge who in 2016 was snubbed by Republicans for a seat on the Supreme Court. He held senior positions at the Justice Department decades ago, including as a supervisor of the prosecution of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.The pick will force Senate Republicans to contend with the nomination of someone they spurned four years ago — refusing even to hold hearings when a Supreme Court vacancy arose — but Biden is banking on Garland’s credentials and reputation for moderation to ensure confirmation.”Judge Garland will serve the Justice Department and our country with honor and integrity,” Durbin said. “He is a consensus pick who should be confirmed swiftly on his merits.”The committee is set to vote on Garland’s nomination on March 1.
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By Polityk | 02/10/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Senate Weighs Trump Role in January 6 Capitol Siege
The historic second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump started in the U.S. Senate Tuesday. Senators will have to decide if Trump incited the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol a month ago by urging his supporters to confront lawmakers as they were certifying that Democrat Joe Biden had defeated Trump in the 2020 election. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more.Camera: Mike Burke
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By Polityk | 02/10/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Senate to Proceed with Trump Impeachment Trial
The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to proceed with the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump on a charge that he incited insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last month by urging hundreds of his supporters to confront lawmakers as they met to certify that Democrat Joe Biden had defeated him in last November’s election. The 56-44 vote to start hearing evidence in the case at mid-day Wednesday came after four hours of impassioned arguments about the constitutionality of holding the trial while Trump is no longer in office. Democratic lawmakers from the House of Representatives prosecuting the case against Trump said the former U.S. leader must be held to account for his actions in his final weeks in office. Trump’s two lawyers contended that the country’s Founding Fathers, in writing the Constitution, only intended for impeachment to be used as a tool to remove a president from office, an impossibility in Trump’s case since his four-year term ended January 20 as Biden was inaugurated. 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.As Trump’s impeachment trial opened, Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland, one of the House impeachment managers prosecuting Trump, said that if Trump is not held accountable, it “would create a brand-new January exception” where future presidents would not face consequences for any wrongdoing during their final month in office. Video of January 6 violence The Democrats showed the Senate a dramatic video of the chaos that unfolded in the Capitol on January 6, with rampaging protesters storming past authorities and lawmakers scrambling to avoid the violence, shortly after they had started to certify that Biden had defeated Trump in last November’s election. Raskin recalled that his chief of staff, daughter and son-in-law were forced to barricade themselves in House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s office and hide under a desk while rioters banged on the office door, “placing what they thought were their final texts and whispered phone calls to say their goodbyes. They thought they were gonna die.” FILE – Supporters of then-President Donald Trump riot in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.Trump, who urged hundreds of supporters to confront lawmakers at the Capitol in a last-ditch effort to upend the election results, was impeached a week later and left office January 20 as Biden was inaugurated as the country’s 46th president. Raskin said that every day a president is in office “he’s prohibited from committing high crimes and misdemeanors” — the standard for conviction on impeachment charges — and cannot avoid responsibility for the deadly mayhem at the Capitol because he now is out of office. But Trump’s lawyers sharply disputed the legality of the Senate holding an impeachment trial on the allegation by the House of Representatives that Trump engaged in “incitement of insurrection” by urging his supporters to march on the Capitol and “fight like hell.” Trump lawyer Bruce Castor Jr. said, “The idea of a January exception [for presidential responsibility for his actions] is nonsense.” He said that if Trump committed any offenses, “arrest him,” now that he is a private citizen and no longer immune from prosecution. Castor quoted the Constitution saying that conviction on impeachment charges “shall not extend further than removal from office,” an impossibility since Trump’s four-year term in the White House has already ended. “The object of the Constitution has already been achieved,” Castor said. “He was removed by the voters.” Trump’s other lawyer, David Schoen, accused Democrats of pursuing the impeachment case against him “to eliminate Donald Trump from the American political scene.” He said “pure, raw, misguided partisanship” was at the heart of the Democrats’ case against the former president. In this image from video, the vote total on the question of the constitutionality of the impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump is displayed in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 9, 2021.Tuesday’s vote to proceed was expected. Last month, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a staunch Trump supporter, attempted to block the trial on the same constitutional grounds, but five Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in voting 55-45 to proceed with the trial. In the new vote Tuesday, another Republican, Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, also voted to go ahead with the trial. Senate vote However, it will take a two-thirds majority for conviction, meaning at least 11 more Republican senators would have to reverse their votes for the prosecution to prevail. The 100-seat Senate is currently evenly divided 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats. Paul says there is a “zero chance of conviction.” If Trump is convicted, the Senate, on a simple majority vote, could bar him from ever holding federal office again. In 1876, the Senate conducted an impeachment trial of a Cabinet secretary during the Grant administration who resigned moments before he was impeached. Trump was impeached by the House while still in office. The protest on January 6 turned into mayhem, as about 800 Trump supporters rampaged past authorities into the Capitol, smashed doors and windows, ransacked some congressional offices and scuffled with police. Five people were killed, including a Capitol Police officer whose death is being investigated as a homicide, and a rioter shot by an officer. FILE – Pro-Trump protesters storm the U.S. Capitol to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by Congress, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.The 100 senators deciding the impeachment case against the single-term president are in a unique position: Many of them were witnesses themselves to the chaos as they fled the Senate chamber. Trump, the only U.S. president to be twice impeached, was acquitted a year ago when he was accused of soliciting the president of Ukraine to dig up dirt against Biden ahead of last November’s election. A week after the storming of the Capitol, the House voted 232-197, with 10 Republicans joining all 222 Democrats, to accuse Trump of “incitement of insurrection.” Then, on January 20, Biden was inaugurated and Trump, no longer in power, flew for the last time on Air Force One to his Atlantic coastline mansion in Florida, where he has stayed since. Trump has declined a request from Democrats to testify in his defense at his impeachment trial and is not expected to attend. The trial could last a week or longer. The nine Democratic House impeachment managers bringing the case against Trump – several of them former prosecutors – say that Trump, by urging his supporters to contest his election defeat at the Capitol, was “singularly responsible” for the riot that ensued. Trump urged supporters to come to Washington on January 6, saying it would be “wild.” At a rally near the White House shortly before his supporters walked 16 blocks to the Capitol, Trump continued his weekslong barrage of unfounded claims that election fraud had cost him another four-year term. Speaking for more than an hour, Trump told his supporters “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard” by marching to the Capitol. Later in the week, the Senate will have an opportunity to debate whether to call witnesses. The House managers could call some of the rioters to testify they were responding to Trump’s call for them to confront lawmakers certifying Biden’s victory. Trump’s lawyers have mounted a vigorous defense and contend that the former president bears no responsibility for what occurred last month. In a brief filed Monday, they said the case against him amounts to “political theater” brought by anti-Trump Democrats. Trump’s lawyers suggested that he was simply exercising his constitutionally guaranteed right of free speech when he disputed the election results and argued that he explicitly encouraged his supporters to engage in a peaceful protest. “Instead, this was only ever a selfish attempt by Democratic leadership in the House to prey upon the feelings of horror and confusion that fell upon all Americans across the entire political spectrum upon seeing the destruction at the Capitol on Jan. 6 by a few hundred people,” the lawyers wrote. “Instead of acting to heal the nation, or at the very least focusing on prosecuting the lawbreakers who stormed the Capitol, the Speaker of the House (Nancy Pelosi) and her allies have tried to callously harness the chaos of the moment for their own political gain,” they wrote. In response, the House Democrats prosecuting Trump said, “We live in a nation governed by the rule of law, not mob violence incited by presidents who cannot accept their own electoral defeat.” “The evidence of President Trump’s conduct is overwhelming,” the managers wrote. “He has no valid excuse or defense for his actions. And his efforts to escape accountability are entirely unavailing. As charged in the Article of Impeachment, President Trump violated his Oath of Office and betrayed the American people.”
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By Polityk | 02/10/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
White House Distances Biden from Trump Impeachment Trial
U.S. President Joe Biden says while the impeachment trial of his predecessor is under way in the Senate, he will be focused on alleviating the suffering from the coronavirus pandemic.“I am not,” Biden replied when asked by reporters Tuesday in the Oval Office whether he is watching the trial. “We have already lost over 450,000 people, and we could lose a whole lot more if we don’t act and act decisively and quickly. … A lot of children are going to bed hungry. A lot of families are food insecure. They’re in trouble. That’s my job. The Senate has their job, and they’re about to begin it, and I am sure they are going to conduct themselves well.”The president added he will not be saying anything further about impeachment of former President Donald Trump, whom Biden defeated in last November’s election.White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Feb. 9, 2021, in Washington.“He’s not a pundit. He’s not going to opine on the back-and-forth arguments, nor is he watching them,” replied White House press secretary Jen Psaki, when asked earlier in the day by a reporter about the historic proceedings, which began Tuesday.Psaki was also asked how Biden, as the current officeholder, could not weigh in on whether it is constitutional for the Senate to put a former president on trial and whether it could set a dangerous precedent for the presidency.The press secretary did not give a direct answer.“He is going to wait for the Senate to determine the outcome of this,” she said during the White House daily media briefing. “His view is that his role should be currently focused on addressing the needs of the American people, putting people back to work, addressing the pandemic.”Focus on issues, not impeachmentThe White House is seeking to portray the president as focused on such issues while the impeachment trial takes place.The White House has arranged visits by Biden to the Defense Department and the National Institutes of Health this week. Next Tuesday, the president is to travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he will participate in a televised town hall-style event.During the February 16 live broadcast, the president will answer questions about his administration’s efforts “to contain the coronavirus pandemic and jump-start a troubled economy,” according to CNN, which will air the event. The cable network explained it will include “an invitation-only, socially distanced audience.”Administration officials say there is no political advantage for Biden, a former senator and vice president, to inject himself into the impeachment trial, which would be seen as a political move so early in his presidency and at a time when Americans are looking for him to focus on alleviating the suffering caused by the pandemic.Mob failed to stop certificationThe House of Representatives last month impeached Trump for inciting violence against the government on January 6, when a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol complex to try to halt the certification of electoral votes affirming Biden as the winner of last November’s election.Biden “has put out multiple statements conveying that what the (former) president did and his words and his actions, and of course the events of January 6, were a threat to our democracy,” Psaki said Tuesday.Trump is the first U.S. president to be impeached twice. The first time was in December of 2019 when the House voted he had abused his power and obstructed Congress, stemming from a July 2019 phone call in which he pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to announce an investigation into Biden.The Senate acquitted Trump on both counts last year.
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By Polityk | 02/10/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
White House Budget chief Nominee Apologizes for Past Tweets
President Joe Biden’s choice to the lead the Office of Management and Budget apologized Tuesday for spending years attacking top Republicans on social media as she tried to convince senators she’ll leave partisan politics behind if confirmed.
Neera Tanden also admitted to spending “many months” removing past Twitter posts, saying, “I deleted tweets because I regretted them.” But she refused to say she did so to help her nomination.
“I know there have been some concerns about some of my past language on social media, and I regret that language and take responsibility for it,” Tanden, a former adviser to Hillary Clinton and the president of the center-left Center for American Progress, told a Senate committee.
She later added, “I deeply regret and apologize for my language.”
Tanden would be the first woman of color to lead the OMB. Her nomination requires approval from the Senate, which has moved fairly quickly to pass many of Biden’s choices for powerful posts. That’s despite it being divided 50-50 among Democrats and Republicans and this week grappling with the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.
Democrats hold the majority thanks to the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.
None in the party have yet opposed Tanden, meaning she’s likely to ultimately be approved. But Republicans have signaled that the process may trigger a political battle unseen with other Biden nominees, given her history of criticism of GOP lawmakers she’d now have to work with.
Republican Ohio Sen. Rob Portman noted that, despite going back and trying “to cover what you said” by deleting tweets, copious “harsh” criticism” and “personal attacks about specific senators” endured. He said that included Tanden calling Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton “a fraud” and tweeting that “vampires have more heart” than Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford said Tanden had tweeted more over the past four years than even Trump did.
“Something that this committee’s asked pretty frequently of nominees is, ‘Will you commit to working across the aisle?,'” Lankford said. “And that’s one that we have to ask you a little more blunt than others because it’s been pretty clear that hasn’t been your position in the past.”
Tanden said she recognizes “that this role is a bipartisan role, and I know I have to earn the trust of senators across the board.”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that Biden remains confident Tanden will get confirmed, but that no one in the administration directed her to apologize to ease the process.
“We certainly did not ask her to make any specific comments in her testimony,” Psaki said.
With the coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc on the economy, Tanden promised that she’d use the post of budget chief to “vigorously enforce my ironclad belief that our government should serve all Americans, regardless of party, in every corner of the country.”
Still, Senate discussion of Tanden’s nomination is likely to center more on her past tweets than her budget priorities. Cotton has said they were “filled with hate.” Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn suggested previously that she’d face “certainly a problematic path” to nomination.
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley offered another potential line of Republican criticism on Tuesday, noting that the Center for American Progress had collected large donations from Wall Street firms and groups associated with major tech firms while Tanden headed it.
“How can you ensure us that you’ll work to see that these Silicon Valley and Wall Street firms don’t exercise undo influence,” Hawley asked, “in the making of government policy and the control of our economy?”
Tanden replied that she’d called for higher taxes on tech companies and more regulation of Wall Street and major corporate interests because “we should be moving to rebalance power in our economy.”
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By Polityk | 02/10/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Impeachment Trial Opens With Dramatic Video Montage – WATCH LIVE
Arguments are under way in Washington in the historic second impeachment trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump, with lawmakers set to decide whether it is legal under the Constitution to try him after he has already left office.Nine Democratic lawmakers from the House of Representatives, acting as prosecutors against the former U.S. leader, are arguing at Trump’s trial before the 100-member Senate that he should be held accountable for inciting the storming of the Capitol on January 6. They say he urged hundreds of supporters to confront lawmakers as they were certifying that Democrat Joe Biden had defeated him in last November’s election.Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland told the Senate that if Trump is not held accountable, it “would create a brand-new January exception” where future presidents would not face consequences for any wrongdoing during their final month in office through impeachment and trial in the Senate.WATCH TRIAL LIVEThe Democrats showed the Senate a video of the chaos that unfolded in the Capitol building, with rampaging protesters storming past authorities and lawmakers scrambling to avoid the violence. Trump’s lawyers are expected to respond that the trial is unconstitutional because the Constitution says impeachment is a tool to remove officials from office if they are found guilty of “high crimes and misdemeanors.” That is impossible in Trump’s case, they contend, because Trump’s four-year term ended when Biden was inaugurated on January 20. The Senate, however, conducted an 1876 impeachment trial of a Cabinet secretary who resigned moments before he was impeached. Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives while still in office.Up to four hours of arguments are scheduled on the constitutional issue, but Trump’s legal effort to end the trial before it starts in earnest is likely to fail.FILE – Supporters of then-President Donald Trump riot in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a staunch Trump supporter, attempted last month to block the trial on the same grounds, but five Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in voting 55-45 to proceed with the trial. However it requires a two-thirds majority for conviction, meaning at least 12 of those Republican senators would have to reverse their votes for the prosecution to prevail. The 10-seat Senate is currently evenly divided 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats.Paul says there is a “zero chance of conviction.” If Trump is convicted, the Senate, on a simple majority vote, could bar him from ever holding federal office again. The protest January 6 turned into mayhem, as about 800 Trump supporters rampaged past authorities into the Capitol, smashed doors and windows, ransacked some congressional offices and scuffled with police. Five people were killed, including a Capitol Police officer and a rioter shot by an officer.FILE – Pro-Trump protesters storm the U.S. Capitol to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by Congress, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.The 100 senators deciding the impeachment case against the single-term president are in a unique position: Many of them were witnesses themselves to the chaos as they fled the Senate chamber.Trump, the only U.S. president to be twice impeached, was acquitted a year ago when he was accused of soliciting the president of Ukraine to dig up dirt against Biden ahead of last November’s election.A week after the storming of the Capitol, the House voted 232-197, with 10 Republicans joining all 222 Democrats, to accuse Trump of “incitement of insurrection.” Then, on January 20, Biden was inaugurated as the country’s 46th president and Trump, no longer in power, flew for the last time on Air Force One to his Atlantic coastline mansion in Florida, where he has stayed since.Trump has declined a request from Democrats to testify in his defense at his impeachment trial and is not expected to attend. The trial could last a week or longer. The nine Democratic House impeachment managers bringing the case against Trump – several of them former prosecutors – say that Trump, by urging his supporters to contest his election defeat at the Capitol, was “singularly responsible” for the riot that ensued. Trump urged supporters to come to Washington on January 6, saying it would be “wild.” At a rally near the White House shortly before his supporters walked 16 blocks to the Capitol, Trump continued his weeks-long barrage of unfounded claims that election fraud had cost him another four-year term. At one time in speaking for more than an hour, Trump told his supporters “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard” by marching to the Capitol.Later in the week, the Senate will have an opportunity to debate whether to call witnesses. The House managers could call some of the rioters to testify they were responding to Trump’s call for them on to confront lawmakers certifying Biden’s victory. Trump’s lawyers have mounted a vigorous defense and contend that the former president bears no responsibility for what occurred last month. In a brief filed Monday, they said the case against him amounts to “political theater” brought by anti-Trump Democrats. Trump’s lawyers suggested that he was simply exercising his constitutionally guaranteed right of free speech when he disputed the election results and argued that he explicitly encouraged his supporters to engage in a peaceful protest. “Instead, this was only ever a selfish attempt by Democratic leadership in the House to prey upon the feelings of horror and confusion that fell upon all Americans across the entire political spectrum upon seeing the destruction at the Capitol on Jan. 6 by a few hundred people,” the lawyers wrote.”Instead of acting to heal the nation, or at the very least focusing on prosecuting the lawbreakers who stormed the Capitol, the Speaker of the House (Nancy Pelosi) and her allies have tried to callously harness the chaos of the moment for their own political gain.” In response, the House Democrats prosecuting Trump said, “We live in a nation governed by the rule of law, not mob violence incited by presidents who cannot accept their own electoral defeat.” “The evidence of President Trump’s conduct is overwhelming,” the managers wrote. “He has no valid excuse or defense for his actions. And his efforts to escape accountability are entirely unavailing. As charged in the Article of Impeachment, President Trump violated his Oath of Office and betrayed the American people.”
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By Polityk | 02/10/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Last US Vote Certified; New York Republican Elected to Congress
Democratic U.S. Rep. Anthony Brindisi conceded Monday that it was “time to close the book on this election,” hours after New York officials certified Republican Claudia Tenney’s razor-thin victory in the nation’s last undecided congressional race. Brindisi’s statement came three days after a state judge ruled that Tenney won the race for central New York’s 22nd Congressional District by 109 votes. Brindisi said he congratulated Tenney and offered to make the transition as smooth as possible after several months of legal wrangling over the results. “It has been the honor of a lifetime serving my hometown, the place I grew up and am raising my family,” Brindisi said in a prepared statement. “Unfortunately, this election and counting process was riddled with errors, inconsistencies and systematic violations of state and federal election laws.” FILE – Anthony Brindisi speaks to supporters on election night at the Delta Hotel in Utica, N.Y., Nov. 6, 2018.Judge Scott DelConte on Friday directed New York to certify results immediately. Commissioners with the state Board of Elections approved the results Monday in less than two minutes. Tenney had been the district’s representative for one term, until she was defeated by Brindisi in 2018. “Claudia looks forward to serving her constituents once again as their duly-elected representative in Congress,” campaign spokesperson Nick Stewart said in a prepared statement. DelConte’s ruling came after he spent three months reviewing ballot challenges and trying to fix a series of problems with vote tabulations. Tallies shifted as county election officials counted a flood of absentee ballots and courts weighed in on which challenged ballots could be counted. DelConte rejected an argument by Brindisi’s lawyers that certification of the election results should be delayed until an appeals court had a chance to review the case. The judge said that even if the results end up changing after any litigation, New York could simply amend its certification. The judge said only the U.S. House can order a new election or recount at this point. “Sadly, we may never know how many legal voters were turned away at the polls or ballots not counted due to the ineptitude of the Boards of Election, especially in Oneida County,” said Brindisi, hoping there will be an investigation into the “massive disenfranchisement of voters.” Democrats control the House with 221 seats. With Tenney yet to be sworn in, Republicans held 210 seats following the death on Sunday of U.S. Rep. Ron Wright of Texas, according to the House’s website.
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By Polityk | 02/09/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump’s Historic Second Impeachment Trial Starts Tuesday
The historic second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump starts Tuesday in the U.S. Senate, with Trump accused of inciting insurrection a month ago by urging his supporters to confront lawmakers at the U.S. Capitol as they were certifying that Democrat Joe Biden had defeated Trump in the 2020 election.The protest turned into mayhem, as about 800 supporters of Trump stormed past authorities into the Capitol, smashed doors and windows, ransacked some congressional offices and scuffled with police. Five people were left dead, including a Capitol Police officer whose death is under investigation as a homicide and a rioter shot by a police officer.The 100 senators — 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats — hearing the impeachment case against the single-term president are in a unique position: many of them were witnesses themselves to the chaos of January 6 as they fled the Senate chamber for their own safety.With a two-thirds vote needed for conviction, 17 Republicans would have to turn against Trump, their Republican colleague, for him to be convicted, assuming all 50 Democrats vote to convict. As such, Trump almost certainly will be acquitted, just as he was a year ago when he was accused of soliciting the president of Ukraine to dig up dirt against Biden ahead of last November’s election.FILE – U.S. President Donald Trump looks on at the end of his speech during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.Whatever the outcome, however, Trump stands alone in more than two centuries of U.S. history as the only president to be impeached twice.A week after the storming of the Capitol, the House of Representatives voted 232-197, with 10 Republicans joining all 222 Democrats, to accuse Trump of “incitement of insurrection.” Then, on January 20, Biden was inaugurated as the country’s 46th president and Trump, no longer in power, flew for the last time on Air Force One to his Atlantic coastline mansion in Florida, where he has stayed since.Trump has declined a request from Democrats to testify in his defense at his impeachment trial and is not expected to attend it. The trial could last a week or longer.FILE – House impeachment managers walk the article of impeachment against former U.S. President Donald Trump through the Rotunda of the U.S. CapitolThe nine Democratic House impeachment managers bringing the case against Trump — several of them former prosecutors — claim that Trump, by urging his supporters to contest his election defeat at the Capitol, was “singularly responsible” for the riot that ensued.Trump urged supporters to come to Washington on January 6, saying it would be “wild.” At a rally near the White House shortly before his supporters walked 16 blocks to the Capitol, Trump continued his weeks-long barrage of unfounded claims that election fraud had cost him another four-year term.At one time in speaking for more than an hour, Trump told his supporters “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard” by marching to the Capitol.But he also exhorted them, saying, “Our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore and that’s what this is all about. To use a favorite term that all of you people really came up with, we will stop the steal.”“And we fight,” he said. “We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”Ahead of the trial, the House impeachment managers said in a legal brief, “President Trump’s responsibility for the events of January 6 is unmistakable” and that the former president’s “conduct must be declared unacceptable in the clearest and most unequivocal terms,” even though he is no longer in office.The U.S. Constitution allows for the removal of officials found guilty of “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Trump’s two experienced trial lawyers he hired — David Schoen and Bruce Castor — have argued that since Trump is no longer president, and therefore could not be removed from office, his impeachment trial is unconstitutional.The Senate, however, has conducted impeachment trials of former officials, not allowing them to avoid a trial for possible wrongdoing by resigning, as happened in an 1876 case, or in Trump’s case, by leaving office as his term ended. Moreover, the House impeachment lawyers argue that Trump incited the insurrection and was impeached by the House while he was still in office.FILE – In this image from video, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., makes a motion that the impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump is unconstitutional in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 26, 2021.Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a staunch Trump supporter, attempted to block the trial on such constitutional grounds, but five Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in voting 55-45 to proceed with the trial. But the vote also signaled Trump’s seeming Republican support for acquittal remains significant, more than enough to block his conviction.Paul says there is a “zero chance of conviction.” If Trump were to be convicted, the Senate, on a simple majority vote, could bar him from ever holding office again.On Tuesday, as the trial starts in earnest, lawyers for Trump and the House managers prosecuting him again are expected to debate the constitutionality of holding the trial. But assuming the Senate votes to go ahead with it, House managers would begin to present their case on Wednesday, likely showing some of the clips of hours of videos of the mayhem.FILE – In this Jan. 6, 2021, photo, supporters of President Donald Trump are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police officers outside the Senate Chamber inside the Capitol in Washington.Then the president’s lawyers would respond with his defense. Later in the week, the Senate could debate whether to call witnesses if the House managers decide they want to have witnesses testify how they felt Trump had urged them on to confront lawmakers certifying Biden’s victory.Trump’s lawyers have mounted a vigorous defense and contend that the former president bears no responsibility for what occurred January 6.In a brief filed Monday, they contended that the case against him amounts to “political theater” brought by anti-Trump Democrats. Trump’s lawyers suggested that he was simply exercising his constitutionally guaranteed right of free speech when he disputed the election results and argued that he explicitly encouraged his supporters to engage in a peaceful protest.”Instead, this was only ever a selfish attempt by Democratic leadership in the House to prey upon the feelings of horror and confusion that fell upon all Americans across the entire political spectrum upon seeing the destruction at the Capitol on Jan. 6 by a few hundred people,” the lawyers wrote. “Instead of acting to heal the nation, or at the very least focusing on prosecuting the lawbreakers who stormed the Capitol, the Speaker of the House (Nancy Pelosi) and her allies have tried to callously harness the chaos of the moment for their own political gain.”In response, the House Democrats prosecuting Trump said, “We live in a nation governed by the rule of law, not mob violence incited by presidents who cannot accept their own electoral defeat.”“The evidence of President Trump’s conduct is overwhelming,” the managers wrote. “He has no valid excuse or defense for his actions. And his efforts to escape accountability are entirely unavailing. As charged in the Article of Impeachment, President Trump violated his Oath of Office and betrayed the American people.”
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By Polityk | 02/09/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Lawmakers to Juggle Economic Relief and Trump Impeachment Trial This Week
This week, Washington will tackle two important issues – the $1.9 trillion economic relief package President Joe Biden has proposed and the Senate impeachment trial of his immediate predecessor, Donald Trump. VOA’s Michelle Quinn reports.
Video editor: Mary Cieslak
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By Polityk | 02/09/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Lawmakers to Tackle Economic Relief, Trump Impeachment Trial
This week, Washington will tackle two important issues – the $1.9 trillion economic relief package President Joe Biden has proposed and the Senate impeachment trial of his immediate predecessor, Donald Trump. VOA’s Michelle Quinn reports.
Video editor: Mary Cieslak
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By Polityk | 02/08/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Treasury Chief: Would Take Years for US Economy to Recover Without Aid Deal
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday it “will take years” to get the country’s coronavirus-ravaged economy back on track if Congress fails to enact President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief package, rejecting Republican claims that it is too big. Yellen told CNN that with passage of the relief deal, the economy could return to what is considered full employment in the world’s biggest economy by 2022, with a 4% jobless rate compared to the 6.3% rate in January. “There’s tremendous suffering in the country,” she said, with nearly 10 million jobs lost in the coronavirus pandemic and a reported 4 million workers who have given up looking for new work. The government reported Friday that the United States added only 49,000 jobs in January. FILE – U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with a group of Republican Senators to discuss coronavirus federal aid legislation inside the Oval Office at the White House, Feb. 1, 2021.Biden also plans to send $1,400 checks to millions of adult Americans, but Yellen said precise details of what income level the payments would be cut off have yet to be worked out. Republicans opposed to Biden’s relief package are pointing to an opinion article published in The Washington Post last week by former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, a Democrat, suggesting that the size of Biden’s relief deal could “set off inflationary pressures of a kind we have not seen in a generation.” Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, in a CNN interview, said the U.S. is not facing “an economy in collapse.” He said it is too soon to enact another big coronavirus relief measure. “The ink is hardly dry on the last bill,” Toomey said, referring to a $900 billion package that then-President Donald Trump approved in late December. Toomey said that while Biden has “made great speeches on (political) unity, he’s governing from the hard left.”
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By Polityk | 02/08/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Administration Suspends Trump Asylum Deals with El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras
The Biden administration said on Saturday it was immediately suspending Trump-era asylum agreements with El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, part of a bid to undo his Republican predecessor’s hard-line immigration policies.In a statement, State Department Secretary Antony Blinken said the United States had “suspended and initiated the process to terminate the Asylum Cooperative Agreements with the Governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras as the first concrete steps on the path to greater partnership and collaboration in the region laid out by President Biden.”The so-called “safe third country” agreements, inked in 2019 by the Trump administration and the Central American nations, force asylum seekers from the region to first seek refuge in those countries before applying in the United States.Part of a controversial bid by Trump to crack down on illegal immigrants from Central America who make up a large part of migrants apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border, the policies were never implemented with El Salvador and Honduras, the State Department said on Saturday.Transfers under the U.S.-Guatemala agreement have been paused since mid-March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the statement added.The moves announced Saturday came after Biden unveiled a host of measures last week aimed at revamping the U.S. immigration system, including a task force to reunite families separated at the United States-Mexico border and another to increase an annual cap on refugees.One of the orders called for Blinken to “promptly consider” whether to notify the governments of the three countries that the United States intended to suspend and terminate the safe third country deals. It also called on the Secretary of Homeland Security and the attorney general to determine whether to rescind a rule implementing the agreements.
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By Polityk | 02/07/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Gives California Woman Pep Talk in Weekly Address Revival
President Joe Biden gave a pep talk to a California woman who was laid off because of the coronavirus pandemic, during a conversation the White House said was part of an effort to help him engage more consistently with regular Americans.The White House on Saturday released a 2½-minute video of Biden’s long-distance telephone conversation with Michele Voelkert, identifying her only as Michele.After losing her job at a startup clothing company in July, she wrote Biden a letter. He read it, then called her.The Roseville, California, woman told Biden “it’s been a tough time” trying to find work.Biden, who spoke from his Oval Office desk, replied that his father used to say a job is about dignity and respect as much as it is about a paycheck. He described his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan, which calls for $1,400 payments to people like Voelkert, and other economic aid for individuals and small businesses. There’s also money to help distribute coronavirus vaccines.”I’ve been saying a long time, the idea that we think we can keep businesses open and moving and thriving without dealing with this pandemic is just a nonstarter,” Biden said.’Riding high’The Sacramento Bee said it spoke to Voelkert, 47, after the call.”It was the opportunity of the lifetime,” she said. “I’m still riding high.”The conversation is part of an effort to help Biden, who has largely limited his travel because of the pandemic, communicate directly with Americans, the White House said. Biden did fly to Wilmington, Delaware, on Friday to spend the weekend at home with his family.”There is a time-honored tradition in the country of hearing from the president in this way,” press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday in previewing the video. She referenced Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “fireside chats” and Ronald Reagan’s establishment of a weekly radio address.The radio address eventually grew to include a video version viewed over the internet.Psaki said Biden’s weekly address would be produced in a variety of forms.
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By Polityk | 02/07/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Wyoming Republicans Censure Rep. Liz Cheney Over Impeachment Vote
The Wyoming Republican Party voted overwhelmingly Saturday to censure U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney for voting to impeach President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.Only eight of the 74-member state GOP’s central committee stood to oppose censure in a vote that didn’t proceed to a formal count. The censure document accused Cheney of voting to impeach even though the U.S. House didn’t offer Trump “formal hearing or due process.””We need to honor President Trump. All President Trump did was call for a peaceful assembly and protest for a fair and audited election,” said Darin Smith, a Cheyenne attorney who lost to Cheney in the Republican U.S. House primary in 2016. “The Republican Party needs to put her on notice.”Added Joey Correnti, GOP chairman in Carbon County where the censure vote was held: “Does the voice of the people matter and if it does, does it only matter at the ballot box?”Cheney in a statement after the vote said she remained honored to represent Wyoming and will always fight for issues that matter most to the state.”Foremost among these is the defense of our Constitution and the freedoms it guarantees. My vote to impeach was compelled by the oath I swore to the Constitution,” Cheney said.Cheney will remain as the third-ranking member of the House GOP leadership, however, after a 145-61 vote by House Republicans on Wednesday to keep her as conference committee chair.Trump faces trial in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday over allegedly inciting insurrection when a mob of supporters stormed into and rampaged through the Capitol after a nearby rally led by Trump and close allies.
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By Polityk | 02/07/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Blinken Presses China on Uighurs, Hong Kong in First Call
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed Beijing on its treatment of Uighurs, Tibetans and Hong Kong in the first conversation between top officials of the two powers since President Joe Biden took office. “I made clear the U.S. will defend our national interests, stand up for our democratic values, and hold Beijing accountable for its abuses of the international system,” Blinken said on Twitter of his call with senior Chinese official Yang Jiechi. Blinken told Yang that the United States “will continue to stand up for human rights and democratic values, including in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong,” a State Department statement said of the call, which took place Friday, Washington time. Blinken also “pressed China to join the international community in condemning the military coup in Burma,” it said, using the former name of Myanmar. The top U.S. diplomat said the United States would hold Beijing “accountable for its efforts to threaten stability in the Indo-Pacific, including across the Taiwan Strait, and its undermining of the rules-based international system.” The tough tone comes after Blinken in his confirmation hearing said he would continue former president Donald Trump’s approach to China in a rare point of agreement between the two administrations. Blinken has said he agrees with a determination by the State Department under Trump that Beijing is carrying out genocide in the western region of Xinjiang, where rights groups say more than one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking people have been rounded up in camps. Beijing has also ramped up a crackdown in Hong Kong, arresting leading activists, after imposing a new law against subversion following major protests in the financial hub to which it had guaranteed a separate system. Biden nonetheless offered a small olive branch during a speech on foreign policy on Thursday, saying that while the United states will “confront” China, “We are ready to work with Beijing when it’s in America’s interest to do so.” Blinken has previously spoken of climate change as an area of cooperation as China and the United State are the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases. Beijing has long enjoyed a privileged relationship with Myanmar, supporting the junta that gave way to democracy a decade ago with U.S. support. The military in the Southeast Asian nation this week carried out a coup, arresting civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in what Chinese state media described as “a major cabinet reshuffle.” Biden, who has vowed to promote democracy worldwide after Trump’s flirtations with autocratic leaders, strongly condemned the coup and threatened sanctions if the military did not relinquish power.
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By Polityk | 02/06/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
