Connect with us

Politics

It’s Over: Trump Promises “Orderly Transition” On Jan. 20 After Biden Win Certified

“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th …”

Published

on

White House/FLickr

Millions of Americans will remember Wednesday as the first time in decades that the US Capitol building was successfully stormed and overrun – though, to be fair, when the British sacked Washington during the War of 1812, they didn’t stop to take selfies with the Capitol Police.

At any rate, the flashes of the chaotic crowd breaking windows and scuffling with police, accompanied by the news that 4 people died during the chaos (1 woman was shot by a Capitol Police officer, while 3 others died during unspecified “medical emergencies”, according to media reports) was enough to convince half the US that a low-key “coup attempt” had just taken place. Though the fact that lawmakers returned to the floor a few hours later to finish up the certification vote sort of undercuts that notion.

Citing Wednesday’s unrest as justification, GOP lawmakers largely dropped their objections and allowed the Electoral College tally to be certified, cementing his win.

And as several staff members reportedly threatened to quit in protest, President Trump published a statement via spokesman Dan Scavino promising an “orderly transition” on Jan. 20. While Bloomberg described the statement as a “concession”, Trump continued to insist that he still “totally disagrees” with the outcome of the election.

“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th,” Trump said. “I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!”

Matt Pottinger, a deputy natsec advisor and an avowed China hawk, is reportedly among the staffers who resigned in protest. Pottinger was recently in the news for going public with new, credible allegations that SARS-CoV-2 leaked from a Chinese lab.

Meanwhile, the president’s twitter account remains locked.

Snapchat joined Facebook and Twitter in blocking the accounts, according to a company spokesman.

Before the vote in the Senate, VP Pence spoke to promise that those who contributed to the chaos will be prosecuted. According to Capitol Police, some 52 people were arrested.

“To those who wreaked havoc in our capitol today, you did not win,” the vice president said. “Violence never wins. Freedom wins. And this is still the people’s House.”

Of the 52 arrests, 47 were related to violations of the 1800 curfew set by Mayor Muriel Bowser. 26 people were arrested on Capitol grounds. Several others were arrested for carrying firearms, either without a license or unlawfully.

In addition, the DC police chief said two pipe bombs were recovered from the headquarters of the RNC and DNC, while a cooler from a vehicle on US Capitol grounds that contained Molotov cocktails. 14 police officers were injured, 2 of whom remain hospitalized after being attacked by members of the crowd. Police said more arrests are expected as investigators will now attempt to identify people from camera footage.

The vote in the Senate was completed early Thursday morning. One senator told reporters that she had backed away from the opposition vote because of the chaos.

“When I arrived in Washington this morning, I fully intended to object to the certification of the electoral votes,” Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who was supposed to take the lead on objecting to results from Georgia, said on the Senate floor Wednesday night. “However, the events that have transpired today have forced me to reconsider, and I cannot now in good conscience object to the certification of these electors.”

By the end of the proceedings, both the House and the Senate had rejected challenges to results in Arizona and Pennsylvania, while no senators signed on to challenges in Georgia and other states.

The FBI late Wednesday asked the public to submit tips, such as images, videos and other information to help agents identify people were “actively instigating violence.”

During what several media outlets described as a “siege”, at least one Trump supporter entered the Senate chamber, while others smashed windows in an attempt to break onto the House floor, where police officers brandished guns to keep them away. Police placed the building under lockdown, and lawmakers were instructed to prepare to put on gas masks as pepper spray filled the chamber.

Meanwhile, in keeping with the media narrative that Trump supporters aren’t proud Americans but crypto-fascists hoping to trample on democracy, Joe Biden – speaking from Delaware – said the Capitol’s storming bordered on “sedition” and called “on the mob to pull back and allow the work of the democracy to go forward.”

Though the chaos has subsided, Mayor Bowser’s public emergency declaration will remain in effect for 15 days, allowing her to impose restrictions on people’s movement.

Continue Reading
Comments

Politics

Biden Wants To Give Separated Illegal Immigrants $450,000 Per Person

The average amount sought through the courts is roughly $3.4 million per family, according to the report.

Published

on

Image Credit: Phil Murphy/Flickr

The Biden administration is mulling a plan to offer immigrant families separated during the Trump administration $450,000 per person in compensation, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.

The payments – part of an inter-agency solution to several lawsuits filed on behalf of separated parents and children claiming lasting psychological trauma could amount to nearly $1 million per family, though ‘the final numbers could shift,’ according to the report.

According to sources, most of the families crossing into the US from Mexico included one parent and one child. Depending on circumstances, many families could get smaller payouts.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents families in one of the lawsuits, has identified about 5,500 children separated at the border over the course of the Trump administration, citing figures provided to it by the government. The number of families eligible under the potential settlement is expected to be smaller, the people said, as government officials aren’t sure how many will come forward. Around 940 claims have so far been filed by the families, the people said. -WSJ

In total, the potential payout could reach $1 billion or more.

Throughout the Trump administration, thousands of children were separated from their parents (and coyotes paid to bring them into the country) after they had crossed illegally into the country from Mexico. The lawsuits allege some of the children suffered various ailments – including malnutrition, heat exhaustion, and were kept in freezing cold rooms with little medical attention. Some claim lasting mental health problems due to the trauma of being without their parents for several months.

The average amount sought through the courts is roughly $3.4 million per family, according to the report.

“President Biden has agreed that the family separation policy is a historic moral stain on our nation that must be fully remedied,” said ACLU deputy director, Lee Gelernt. “That remedy must include not only meaningful monetary compensation, but a pathway to remain in the country.”

Senate Republicans slammed the plan on Thursday afternoon following the WSJ‘s report.

“The Biden administration’s promises of citizenship and entitlement programs have already caused the worst border crisis in history—a huge cash reward will make it even worse,” said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR).

The discussions about the payouts have taken place over the past few months among a group of dozens of private lawyers representing the families and government lawyers. Some government lawyers have viewed the payouts as excessive for people who had violated the law by crossing the border, the people said. One government lawyer threatened to remove his name from the case out of disagreement with the potential settlement offer, the people said. -WSJ

“It is a complicated, complex piece of litigation” – trying to resolve hundreds of separate lawsuits at the same time, and “sometimes even more complex to try the cases” said Margo Schlanger, who ran the civil-rights office during the Obama administration at the Department of Homeland Security and now teaches at the University of Michigan law school.

What will the reparations crowd think of this?

Continue Reading

Politics

White House To America: ‘We’re Coming Door To Door…With Shots!’

Will CDC soon recommend a nation-wide re-count of Covid deaths?

Published

on

United States Mission Geneva/Flickr

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said at the daily press conference yesterday that President Biden’s strategy to get everyone a Covid shot – whether they want it or not – is to start going “door-to-door” to those not yet jabbed. So…they have a list? Also today: bomb-maker Raytheon goes “woke.” Capitol Hill Cops set up shop in California. Will CDC soon recommend a nation-wide re-count of Covid deaths?

Continue Reading

Politics

Half A Million Illegals Crossed Since Harris Named Border ‘Czar’

By the time June’s figures are reported in the coming days, the combined number is expected to be over half a million, more than the entire population of Miami, Florida or Cleveland, Ohio.

Published

on

Maryland National Guard/Flickr

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures, around 500,000 illegal immigrants have crossed the southern border since Kamala Harris was named border ‘czar’.

The Washington Free Beacon reported the findings, noting that only three months has passed since Harris took on the responsibility, and that the half a million figure is just those that have been apprehended.

The CBP says around 180,000 immigrants are being caught per month. In April agents arrested 178,854 illegal immigrants, the highest monthly figure for 21 years. That figure was then surpassed in May as agents apprehended 180,034 illegals.

By the time June’s figures are reported in the coming days, the combined number is expected to be over half a million, more than the entire population of Miami, Florida or Cleveland, Ohio.

Harris only bothered to visit the border when President Trump announced he was making a trip. Even then Harris visited El Paso, some 1000 miles away from where the crisis is taking place.

Previous to this, Harris lied and claimed she had been to the border, telling NBC’s Lester Holt “This whole thing about the border. We’ve been to the border. We’ve been to the border.”

When Holt pushed back and said she had not, Harris snapped “I—and I haven’t been to Europe. And I mean, I don’t—I don’t understand the point that you’re making,” then again laughed maniacally:

On Tuesday, Republican Senator Ron Johnson argued that Harris’ trip to El Paso was designed to distract the media and keep them away from the real crisis hit areas of the border.

“They took her to a point in the border where she wouldn’t see the crisis and so the press wouldn’t report on the crisis,” Johnson said.

The Senator added, “You just simply can’t understand what this administration is doing. We literally are apprehending now about 6,000 people per day. That’s I mean, that’s a large caravan every day being processed, some of them being returned, others are being dispersed. But this crisis is not going away. It’s just under everybody’s radar because the press isn’t covering it.”

Continue Reading