Tag: milley

The Past 24 Hours or So – Trump Administration News

Read Time: 5 Minutes

  • The Supreme Court shielded a trove of President Trump’s financial records from Congress.

The justices in Trump v. Mazars declined to grant Congress access to financial documents subpoenaed by a trio of Democratic-led House committees.

  • The Supreme Court granted New York state prosecutors access to President Trump’s tax returns. The ruling in Trump v. Vance makes it more likely that Trump’s tax returns are eventually made public, though it’s unclear if they would be disclosed before the November general election.
  • Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. declared a “tremendous victory” after the Supreme Court upheld his office’s subpoena for President Trump’s tax returns, calling it a win for the “nation’s system of justice and its founding principle that no one – not even a president – is above the law.”
  • In what could be considered an unhinged rant, the president took to Twitter following the SCOTUS ruling.

“We have a totally corrupt previous Administration, including a President and Vice President who spied on my campaign, AND GOT CAUGHT…and nothing happens to them. This crime was taking place even before my election, everyone knows it, and yet all are frozen stiff with fear….”

“…Won all against the Federal Government and the Democrats send everything to politically corrupt New York, which is falling apart with everyone leaving, to give it a second, third and fourth try. Now the Supreme Court gives a delay ruling that they would never have given…”

“….for another President. This is about PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT. We catch the other side SPYING on my campaign, the biggest political crime and scandal in U.S. history, and NOTHING HAPPENS. But despite this, I have done more than any President in history in first 3 1/2 years!”

Courts in the past have given “broad deference”. BUT NOT ME!

“The Supreme Court sends case back to Lower Court, arguments to continue. This is all a political prosecution. I won the Mueller Witch Hunt, and others, and now I have to keep fighting in a politically corrupt New York. Not fair to this Presidency or Administration!”

  • President Trump, who is already more than a week late filing his annual financial disclosure, is being given 45 additional days to file the annual forms. A White House official said that Trump had requested an extension because the 2019 finances were “complicated” and he has “been focused on addressing the coronavirus crisis and other matters.”
  • Michael Cohen, the former personal lawyer for President Trump, was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals for violating the terms of his furlough. Cohen, who was supposed to be confined to his house, was photographed eating at a Manhattan restaurant weeks after being released from prison.
  • The Department of Justice said in a court filing that it’s “reasonable” for longtime Trump adviser and former Republican operative Roger Stone to begin his prison sentence next week, saying Stone failed to provide adequate reasoning as to why he should be treated differently from other convicted felons.
  • The judge hearing the criminal prosecution against U.S. President Donald Trump’s former adviser Michael Flynn asked an appeals court to reconsider a recent decision dismissing the case.
  • Attorney General William Barr persistently pressured Manhattan’s former top federal prosecutor to resign during a June 18 meeting at a New York hotel and in a subsequent phone call, the ousted prosecutor, Geoffrey Berman told lawmakers Thursday, detailing for the first time the series of events that led to his removal the next day.

Berman, in a written statement to the House Judiciary Committee, said Barr repeatedly attempted to coax Berman into resigning his post by suggesting he consider other positions in government, including the chairmanship of the Securities and Exchange Commission or the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

“I said that there was no job offer that would entice me to resign from my position,” Berman told lawmakers in his opening statement

  • In contrast to efforts by the Trump administration to dismiss the C.I.A.’s judgment and to justify the White House’s failure to authorize any response to Moscow by downplaying the assessment of Russian bounties on U.S. troops as uncorroborated, Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a Congressional hearing, “If in fact there’s bounties, I am an outraged general.” “If, in fact, there’s bounties directed by the government of Russia or any of their institutions to kill American soldiers, that’s a big deal. That’s a real big deal.”

He also said that while the government so far lacks proof that any caused specific military casualties, “we are still looking.”

“We’re not done,” he continued. “We’re going to run this thing to the ground.”

Intelligence that included accounts from interrogated detainees and electronic intercepts of data showing payments from a bank account linked to Russia’s military intelligence agency, the G.R.U., to the Taliban, the C.I.A. concluded that Russia had escalated its support to the Taliban to include financial incentives for killing Americans and other coalition troops.

  • Secretary of Defense Mark Esper confirmed that he had been briefed on information regarding Russian payments to the Taliban, seemingly acknowledging that Russia’s support for the militant group in Afghanistan is not a “hoax,” as President Donald Trump has claimed. However, Esper also made clear that he has not seen intelligence that corroborates claims that American troops were killed as a result of the “bounty” payments, walking a delicate line between acknowledging a well-known threat and potentially clashing with the President.
  • The Trump administration has sanctioned four Chinese officials and a regional security agency for the Chinese government’s repressive campaign against ethnic minorities.

The economic penalties and visa bans come on the same day that the White House confirmed it is finalizing a ban on federal contracts and contractors using five Chinese companies, some of which have ties to the campaign against Uighurs.

  • More than 100 Democratic House lawmakers are calling on the Trump administration to end its transgender military ban following a Supreme Court ruling barring discrimination against LGBT workers.
  • Michael Pack, the Trump-appointed CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, has reportedly signaled that he will not approve of visa renewals for foreign reporters who work for Voice of America and has fired the Radio Free Asia chief.
  • The White House pushed for a “correction” of a National Weather Service Tweet that contradicted President Trump during the “Sharpigate” scandal in 2019, according to a new internal watchdog report. The report from the Commerce Department inspector general also found that the White House was involved in an unsigned statement rebuking the tweet.

Sources:  ABC News, The Atlantic, Axios, Bloomberg, CBS News, CNN, Financial Times, Fox News,The Hill, NBC News, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, NJ.com, NPR, NY Times, Politico, Reuters, Salon, Slate, Vanity Fair, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post

The Past 24 Hours or So – Protests/Race Relations News

Read Time: 2 Minutes

  • 90 percent of Americans surveyed in a new poll agreed that racism and police brutality are problems in the United States.
  • An Indiana woman was arrested in a hit-and-run crash that sent one woman to the hospital and caused minor injuries to a man during a southern Indiana protest over the assault of a Black man by a group of white men.
  • A Pennsylvania police officer who was seen kicking a seated protester on May 30 will not face criminal charges, Erie County District Attorney Jack Daneri announced Thursday, the Erie Times-News reported. 

Daneri also said that Hannah Silbaugh, the 21-year-old protester seen in the video of a protest in Erie, will not face charges.

  • Work on another Black Lives Matter mural in New York City started on Thursday — this one situated directly in front of Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan. President Trump previously slammed plans to paint it.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the new mural will send a message that “Black lives, in fact, do matter.”

  • Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler doubled down on her attacks against the Black Lives Matter Movement after facing blowback for her stated opposition to the WNBA’s plan to let players wear warmups emblazoned with “Black Lives Matter” and “Say Her Name.” Loeffler, a co-owner of the league’s Atlanta Dream, claimed that the movement “seeks to destroy the American principles” and that she had to “draw the line.”
  • The top U.S. general said that the military had to take a “hard look” at symbols of the Confederacy, including the names of bases, and said he had recommended a commission to look at the issue even as President Donald Trump has ruled out renaming military bases that are named for Confederate leaders.
  • “The Confederacy, the American Civil War was fought, and it was an act of rebellion,” the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark A. Milley, told members of the House Armed Services Committee. “It was an act of treason at the time against the Union, against the Stars and Stripes, against the U.S. Constitution, and those officers turned their back on their oath.”
  • Democratic Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms went off on GOP Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for issuing an executive order deploying state National Guard troops due to an escalation in violence in the city.

“The irony of that is that I asked Governor Kemp to allow us to mandate masks in Atlanta and he said no,” Bottoms said. “But he has called in the National Guard without asking if we needed the National Guard.”

Kemp’s emergency order allows as many as 1,000 National Guard troops to be activated.

  • In the last week alone, 179 NYPD officers have filed for retirement compared to 35 in 2019. Since May 25 — the day that George Floyd died while in Minneapolis police custody — 503 NYPD officers have filed for retirement, compared to 287 who filed for retirement during the same period last year.
  • Ahead of its first game since the coronavirus pandemic, a group of nearly 200 Major League Soccer players stood in midfield dressed in black to mark George Floyd’s death with 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence.
  • The House Appropriations Committee advanced a spending bill that would prohibit military construction projects on bases named for Confederate officers.

Sources:  ABC News, The Atlantic, Axios, Bloomberg, CBS News, CNN, Financial Times, Fox News,The Hill, NBC News, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, NJ.com, NPR, NY Times, Politico, Reuters, Salon, Slate, Vanity Fair, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post

The Past 24 Hours or So

Read Time: 8 Minutes

Protest News

  • Gen. Mark Milley apologized for appearing in photo-op with Trump after forceful removal of protesters, “I should not have been there. My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics. As a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I have learned from.”

Milley discussed resigning after his participation in President Trump’s photo opportunity outside St. John’s Episcopal Church last week, according to three senior defense officials.

  • Trump tweeted: “Our great National Guard Troops who took care of the area around the White House could hardly believe how easy it was. “A walk in the park”, one said. The protesters, agitators, anarchists (ANTIFA), and others, were handled VERY easily by the Guard, D.C. Police, & S.S. GREAT JOB!”

NOTE: By all reported accounts the protesters were peaceful.

  • In a tweet, Trump appeared to threaten to send troops to Seattle to quell civil unrest. “Radical Left Governor @JayInslee and the Mayor of Seattle are being taunted and played at a level that our great Country has never seen before. Take back your city NOW. If you don’t do it, I will. This is not a game. These ugly Anarchists must be stooped (sic) IMMEDIATELY. MOVE FAST!”
  • Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan mocked President Trump on Wednesday, calling on him to “go back to your bunker” after he criticized her response to demonstrations.  

“Make us all safe. Go back to your bunker,” Durkan tweeted.

  • An internal memo sent to Starbucks employees last week specifically warned staffers against wearing accessories or clothes bearing messages in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The memo, obtained by BuzzFeed News, reminds staffers that such messages are prohibited under the company’s policy against accessories that “advocated a political, religious or personal issue.”

  • The country band Lady Antebellum announced on Thursday that it changed its name to Lady A. 

In a statement announcing the change, the band said, “we are regretful and embarrassed to say that we did not take into account the associations that weigh down this word referring to the period of history before The Civil War, which includes slavery. We are deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused and for anyone who has felt unsafe, unseen or unvalued.”

  • The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved an amendment aimed at blocking President Trump from deploying active-duty troops against protesters.
  • Minnesota governor Tim Walz endorsed a package of sweeping police reforms. Walz urged the legislature to adopt proposals that would put investigations of officer-involved deaths in the hands of the attorney general, revamp oversight and disciplinary procedures and fund community groups that could act as alternatives to the police.

  • San Francisco Mayor London Breed has just announced that the city’s police force would undergo sweeping reform, outlawing tear gas and ending police responding to non-criminal calls, such as calls about homeless people, school discipline or disputes among neighbors.
  • President Trump says that his administration is working on an executive order that will encourage police to meet “professional standards” for the use of force in the line of duty.

“[It] means force, but force with compassion. But if you’re going to have to really do a job, if somebody’s really bad, you’re going to have to do it with real strength, real power,” Trump said.“I said we have to dominate the streets. And I was criticized for that statement. … Well, guess what, you know who dominated the streets? People who you don’t want to dominate the streets.”

  • The Los Angeles Police Department has opened 58 investigations of officer misconduct related to recent protests in the city. Most protests in the city were peaceful.
  • Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced a review of the National Guard’s controversial role in nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd, as lawmakers press for answers on the use of military forces at demonstrations.
  • John Catanzara, the new president of Chicago’s powerful police union, has issued a stern warning to officers. He says any officers showing sympathy to police protesters while in uniform could be thrown out of the union.

“If you kneel, you’ll be risking being brought up on charges and thrown out of the lodge,” Catanzara said.

  • The NFL pledged Thursday to contribute $250 million over 10 years to programs that address racial injustice, bolstering the league’s social justice initiatives first established in cooperation with a group of players amid the national controversy in late 2017 over players’ protests during the national anthem.
  • Hundreds of West Point graduates slammed top Pentagon leaders in a letter, accusing officials of failing to uphold the Constitution and participating “in politically charged events” amid protests over the death of George Floyd: “We are concerned that fellow graduates serving in senior-level, public positions are failing to uphold their oath of office and their commitment to Duty, Honor, Country.”
  • Officer Rubin Rhodes, a five-year San Francisco police veteran who took a knee with protesters was sent home the next day by his supervisors for insubordination.

Rhodes was accused of being insubordinate after coming to work with his earrings on. Rhodes had worn earrings to work nearly every day prior without issue.

Administration News

  • President Trump signed an executive order Thursday authorizing economic sanctions and travel restrictions against workers from the International Criminal Court (ICC) who are investigating American troops and intelligence officials for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

The ICC’s chief prosecutor, requested that the court open investigations into U.S. forces in 2017, arguing that it had enough evidence to prove that they had “committed acts of torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, rape and sexual violence” in Afghanistan in 2003 and 2004.

  • The Federal Reserve projects the U.S. economy will contract by 6.5 percent this year, and Fed Chair Powell is signaling that lawmakers can do more to ease the pain, “If there were more fiscal support, you’d see better results sooner.”
  • The GOP-led Senate Armed Services Committee has adopted an amendment behind closed doors for the Pentagon to remove the names of Confederate generals from military assets within three years.
  • People requesting tickets for Trump’s Iowa rally must agree to this waiver, “By clicking register below, you are acknowledging that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. By attending the Rally, you and any guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.; BOK Center; ASM Global; or any of their affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors, or volunteers liable for any illness or injury.”
  • The Republican National Committee announced Thursday that President Trump’s renomination speech and other convention festivities will move to Jacksonville, Fla., from Charlotte, after the original site refused to go along with Trump’s demands for a crowded large-scale event amid the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Customs and Border Protection spent some of the $112 million appropriated to the agency for food and medical care for migrants on ATVs, dirt bikes and boats, according to a Government Accountability Office report.

Coronavirus/COVID-19 

  • Vice President Pence deleted a tweet showing staff crowded together at the Trump campaign office in Virginia while not socially distancing or wearing face coverings. Under phase one of Virginia’s reopening plan, the state calls for employers to discourage large gatherings and temporarily move or stagger workstations to ensure six feet of separation.
  • In a stunning move, the Trump administration is signaling that it won’t disclose the recipients of more than $500 billion in bailout money delivered to 4.5 million businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program. Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin says it’s “proprietary” and “confidential” information. The General Accounting Office told POLITICO that the Small Business Administration is also withholding PPP loan data the agency requested as part of its oversight efforts.
  • A top Harvard doctor said Thursday that the U.S. could see its death toll from the coronavirus pandemic hit 200,000 by September, as several states have seen spikes in the number of COVID-19 cases.

“The numbers are concerning particularly in states like Arizona, North and South Carolina, Florida and Texas — places where we’re seeing pretty consistent increases,” Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute told NBC’s “Today.” 

  • He added, “It is about two weeks after Memorial Day that we’re seeing this, and this is what we were worried about. I had hoped that the fact that people are spending more time outside, it’s summer, we would not see such a big increase so fast.”
  • Mnuchin is dismissing any doubt that the economy needs another shot of federal funds, after the Trump administration took a wait-and-see attitude the last several weeks.
  • Mnuchin also said, “We can’t shut down the economy again. I think we’ve learned that if you shut down the economy, you’re going to create more damage and not just economic damage.”
  • Another 1.5 million people applied for unemployment insurance for the first time last week, adding to the tens of millions of people who have applied for the benefits since the pandemic began.
  • 1,698 new reported COVID-19 cases in Florida. The single highest daily rate yet.
  • Alabama set a record for the number of new coronavirus cases recorded in a single day as many states across the country are also seeing spikes in cases. The Alabama Department of Public Health reported 848 cases Thursday with 11 deaths.
  • Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago announced Thursday that doctors there performed a double lung transplant on a young woman infected with coronavirus, in what could be a model used for some other seriously ill patients. The dramatic story of the young woman in her 20s is boggling doctors, who had to put her on life support for weeks after she contracted the virus even though she was previously very healthy.
  • Ohio State Sen. Steve Huffman has been fired from his position as an emergency room doctor after using racist language to question whether people of color are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus because of poor hygiene.

Sources:  ABC News, Axios, CBS News, CNN, Financial Times, Fox News,The Hill, NBC News, NPR, NY Times, Politico, Reuters, Salon, Slate, Vanity Fair, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post