Category Archives: White House

Founder of a right-wing organization

The founder of a right-wing organization whose members have been charged with seditious conspiracy in connection with the assault on the United States Capitol spent around six hours on Wednesday, January 6, talking to the committee by Zoom from a prison in Oklahoma to the committee.

Image: Oath Keepers militia founder Stewart Rhodes poses during an interview session in Eureka, Mont., on June 20, 2016.
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes during an interview session in Eureka, Mont., on June 20, 2016.Jim Urquhart / Reuters file


According to one of his attorneys, the United States Marshals Service holds Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, who is now in custody in the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing. Rhodes appeared virtually before the House committee on the Cimarron Correctional Facility. The detention institution is under contract with the United States Marshals Service, transferring Rhodes to the Federal Detention Center in Washington, D.C.
According to his attorney, Jonathan Moseley, Rhodes claimed his Fifth Amendment rights between 20 and 30 times but ended up talking for an extended period about the history of the Oath Keepers instead.
Moseley, a Virginia-based attorney whose other clients have included Kelly Meggs, Zach Rehl, a member of the Proud Boys, and other January 6 defendants, said the committee allowed Rhodes to “talk very freely” about the history of the organization. However, his attorneys prevented him from answering questions that could affect his criminal case. Rhodes is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and other crimes.
As long as they weren’t particular to November, December 2020, or January 2021, Moseley stated, “A lot of things about what they do and how they do it were discussed, as long as they weren’t specific to November, December 2020, or January 2021,” “He gave examples of how they operate and what they do,” said the author.
The ex-wife of the commander of the Oath Keepers claimed that he was “fulfilling his own narrative.”
Initially, the committee asked a series of “test questions” to determine what Rhodes would and would not share, according to Moseley. Still, it ended up asking “a lot of questions about the Oath Keepers that he was able to answer,” which Rhodes was able to answer, according to Moseley. Additionally, Kellye SoRelle, who took over as interim leader of the Oath Keepers when Rhodes was jailed last month, appeared before the committee on January 6.
According to Moseley, “I’m sure they were most interested in the stuff that criminal lawyers wouldn’t let him answer,” including communications with other groups such as the Proud Boys, contacts with key figures in former President Donald Trump’s orbit, and fundraising for events scheduled for January 6, among other things.
A request for comment from a committee representative did not respond instantly.
One of the committee’s aides recently said that the panel had heard testimony from more than 475 witnesses and had acquired more than 60,000 pages of documents as part of its probe.
Moseley said that Rhodes had previously promised to assist the committee to the extent that he was able before he was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia. Additionally, he claimed that Rhodes talked about his previous work with the Oath Keepers during the interview and that Rhodes became emotional when he told him about how members of the organization helped to secure a shop in Ferguson, Missouri, amid unrest after the killing of Michael Brown in 2014.
Federal prosecutors allege that Rhodes is the mastermind of a criminal conspiracy aimed at maintaining Trump in power despite the election of Joe Biden as the next president of the United States. In his statement to the other defendants, prosecutors claim, Rhodes said that there was “no standard political or legal way out of this,” and that they should be prepared for the worst-case scenario.
The United States Marshals Service is now in the custody of Elmer Stewart Rhodes III. According to his attorney, Jonathan Moseley, he asserted his Fifth Amendment rights between 20 and 30 times. Rhodes was stopped from answering questions that may have impacted his criminal prosecution by his counsel. They questioned him about contact with other organizations, such as the Proud Boys, and funding for the activities on January 6, among other things. In its inquiry, the panel heard testimony from more than 475 witnesses and acquired more than 60,000 pages of documents. Individuals should be aware that everything we do or say on the internet leaves a technical imprint on the world.

Reference

Oath Keepers founder spent six hours on Zoom with January 6 panel. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/oath-keepers-founder-spent-six-hours-zoom-jan-6-panel-rcna14667?fbclid=IwAR2hlUnUijt4xSgzpMDBufVR0d6iT7LP2ayOBII-JY8eU_LwKZSrq4j9eLk

United States Supreme Court will hear arguments

Amy and David Carson desired that their daughter Olivia attend Bangor Christian Schools, a private religious elementary through secondary school. Maine has said that it would not subsidize religious education. The United States Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether the state violated the Carsons’ constitutional rights. Carson v. Makin is the most recent in a series of lawsuits petitioning the Supreme Court for a ruling on religious liberty. If the court decides widely, it might have a profound effect on the ability of religious organizations to receive public financing.

Getty Images (2); TIME


It has the potential to “eviscerate” rules prohibiting public sponsorship of religious education. Maine parents have filed a lawsuit against the state for failing to include their favorite schools in a tuition aid program. Plaintiffs and supporters contend that the state discriminates against religious individuals. The case follows a series of previous judgments on public support for religious organizations. The case sets the free exercise provision of the First Amendment against the establishment clause.
According to some legal experts, Carson v. Makin is likely to become an extension of Espinoza. Officials in Maine assert that religious schools do not give an education “equivalent to a public education.” Carson v. Maine calls into question the relationship between religious liberty and LGBTQ rights. Maine contends that Bangor Christian and Temple Academy in Maine discriminate against members of other faiths and instructors and students who identify as LGBTQ. Advocates fear that government money may flow to discriminatory schools if the plaintiffs win.
Maine is just a few states that give this kind of tuition assistance to pupils who live in areas without public school choice. However, experts are concerned that other states may experience similar pressure from religious groups to implement similar schemes. This possibility concerns Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.

Reference

This Supreme Court Case Could Take a ‘Wrecking Ball’ to Separation of Church and State.https://time.com/6125676/maine-religion-schools-supreme-court-carson-makin/?fbclid=IwAR2y4KzyfGY6NuggKM8mZIgYpKYuhD_YqmKoiKzgnDJ7WUKGTBkFzCmgyW8

March on Washington for Voting Rights

Voting rights are essential for all individuals. The March on Washington for Voting Rights commemorated the 58th anniversary of the March on Washington. Marchers are urging Congress to enact voting-rights legislation to halt the implementation of restrictive voting laws in states around the country. The John Lewis Voting Act would reinstate the 1965 Voting Rights Act’s pre-clearance provisions, lower in the 2013 Supreme Court case Shelby County v. Holder. The Rev. Al Sharpton, one of the march’s organizers, contended that the filibuster could not obstruct progress. Democrats currently dominate the Senate but have been unable to overcome filibusters on voting-rights legislation.

Washington march voting rights
With the Washington Monument in the background, the Rev. Al Sharpton, center, holds a banner with Martin Luther King, III, and Democratic Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green of Texas, during the march to call for sweeping protections against a further erosion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on August 28, 2021. AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana


To enact voting rights legislation, moderate senators have resisted attempts to weaken or remove the filibuster. The organizers planned to bring attention to problems such as reparations for slave descendants and a $15 minimum wage. The march was led by New York Rep. Mondaire Jones, who has advocated for the filibuster’s removal.

Reference
‘Old battles have become new again’: Thousands march in Washington, DC, and across the US to push for voting-rights legislation. https://www.businessinsider.com/march-voting-rights-legislation-washington-dc-cities-filibuster-2021-8

Judicial aspect of race in the America

Judicial Aspects of Race in the United States: A Nation Fighting for Minority Rights by [Kenneth Dantzler Corbin]
New book on Amazon

This book is about the Judicial aspect of race in the America. In the United States, legislation aimed at regulating interactions between racial or ethnic groups has grown through various historical periods, beginning with European colonization of the Americas, the triangular slave trade, and the American Indian Wars. Racial legislation has been linked to immigration laws, which have sometimes contained explicit clauses targeting certain nations or ethnic groups, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act and the 1923 US Supreme Court decision the United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind. In the antebellum period, all slave states and a few free states enacted similar legislation. Ozawa v. the United States and the United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind are the two most notable instances. Takao Ozawa, born in Japan and lived in the United States for 20 years, sought citizenship but was rejected because he was not deemed white. Americans of Italian and German ancestry and Italian and German citizens were also imprisoned, although on a far lesser scale, even though Italy and Germany sided with Japan in the war against the United States. In 1954, in Hernandez v. Texas, a federal court determined that Mexican Americans and all other ethnic or “racial groups” in the United States may have equal protection under the 14th Amendment.

Thomas Jefferson

This book addresses President Thomas Jefferson’s life, his wedding at Monticello. This book speaks of Jefferson’s view of the American Revolution, his path to the presidency, religious beliefs, values, his perspective on Christianity, Jefferson’s Bible, views of the Quran, Muslims in America, and views on slavery with a genealogical chart of descendants. Click on the link to Amazon if you want to purchase.

President Donald Trump is increasingly isolated

In his accusations of electoral fraud, President Donald Trump is increasingly isolated. His intelligence chief says that international rivals are seeking to weaken trust in democratic processes. Attorney General Bill Barr has disappointed Trump by saying that the Department of Justice has found no proof of systemic fraud. An election security officer shot a tweet about what Trump called a “highly misleading” election comment. “It’s clear to me, and I think most Americans,” Krebs told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Friday, “that the election is over. “We’ve got to get this past.”
Some of the administration officials Krebs served with the most closely on the election were bolder in their rebukes to the President. Commissioner Ben Hovland of the Election Assistance Commission called Trump’s comments “misleading” and “insulting” The country’s top counter-intelligence official said Wednesday that he was worried about post-election conspiracy theories.While Trump rants about votes, Why none of his election security officials support him?

Reference
While Trump rants about votes, none of his election security officials support him. https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/04/politics/trump-election-security-officials/index.html

With no guidance from the White House on how to react to worsening outbreaks

With no guidance from the White House on how to react to worsening outbreaks, even some previously hesitant governors are enforcing restrictions.

Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, which has chronically understaffed hospitals with the highest per capita rates of new coronavirus cases and deaths in the U.S., has developed a mask mandate and new limits for indoor dining.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico declared the nation’s most sweeping state-wide measure of the fall season, issuing a two-week “stay at home” order to begin on Monday; Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon put the state in a partial lockout for two weeks beginning on Wednesday.
These are the restrictions and mask mandates for all 50 nations.

In his first public address since losing his re-election, President Trump did not recognize growing coronavirus figures. President-elect Joe Biden called the federal response to the surge “unfortunately lacking” and encouraged Mr. Trump to do more.
Reference
Coronavirus Briefing: What Happened Today – Flipboard. https://flipboard.com/topic/travelkorea/coronavirus-briefing-what-happened-today/a-kOcvnj4wQTadMd7VaaAKEw%3Aa%3A3195393-9ebdc9bf9f%2Fnytimes.com

Why are Trump stoking ‘birther’ conspiracy theory about Kamala Harris?

President Donald Trump claims he has “overheard” Democratic candidate Kamala Harris “does not meet the requirements” to serve as US vice-president, enlarging a fringe legal theory pundits decry as racist.

She was born in the US to a Jamaican father and Indian mother in Oakland, California, on 20 October 1964.

As such, she is qualified to function as president or vice-president.

For a long time, Mr Trump presented a untrue “birther” theory that ex-President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

Ms Harris, a California senator, was named on Tuesday as the first woman of color to work as running partner on a principal-party US presidential ticket.

Reference:

Trump stokes ‘birther’ conspiracy theory about Kamala Harris. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53774289

Can you believe that Trump is merely 67 votes faraway from being an ex-President; therefore, it is freaking him from

Hillary Clinton’s nearly 66 million votes in the 2016 election weren’t enough to defeat Donald Trump. But just over 0.0001% of your could end Trump’s presidency. That’s the reality of what Trump faces if the man is formally impeached through House of Representatives later today, as is expected, prompting a removal trial inside the Senate.

Photo by Aaron Kittredge on Pexels.com

In such a trial, the Constitution simply requires two-thirds considering the Senate, in this case, 67 senators, to vote to convict and remove — then it’s goodbye Trump.

Trump’s fate lies in the hands of 20 GOP senators — the fictitious number necessary join the 45 Democratic senators and two independent senators, who typically side with Democrats, to vote to convict him and end his presidency, assuming they all vote to eliminate Trump.

Yes, this is a huge long shot that 20 Republican senators will vote to send Trump packing, especially given Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s statement a while back saying there’s “had no opportunity” that Trump will probably be removed. However, as an old trial lawyer, I can tell you with the jurors don’t always do for sure. And there’s still the opportunity that further incriminating evidence is revealed about Trump between now and the start of the trial.

Including the best of US, presidents would be unnerved at the prospect that their political demise is just 67 votes away. And even though Trump has been called a lot of things, “secure” is undoubtedly not one instance. Here is the same Trump who just days ago took to Twitter to despicably mock 16-year-old global climate warming activist Greta Thunberg, likely because she beat him out for the title of their time magazine’s “Person of the Year.”

Contributing to Trump’s stress level are comments such as the one made by former GOP Senator Jeff Flake, who recently declared that there would be “at least 35” Republican senators who would vote to eradicate Trump if ballots have been kept secret. That number could be considered a bit high. Still, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy started several weeks ago, which he thinks there are at least five GOP senators already more likely to vote with Democrats.

Any doubt that Trump costs of this math through his head over and also over, aiming to work out if he mocked or angered enough Republican senators that would spell his political doom? Naturally, what gives Trump protection is that his GOP base backs him solidly, and all of the Republican senators who vote to eliminate Trump could expect to receive their wrath.

And even though the Trump campaign publicly claims that impeachment will help Trump win in 2020 by firing up his base, Trump’s own Twitter is a glimpse of a President entirely panic mode. On Thursday, Trump unleashed a barrage of 123 tweets in the course of the House Judiciary Committee debate toward the articles of impeachment, many commenting toward the hearings, including one instance where he accused two Democratic constituents of the property of lying.

That established a record regarding the most tweets by Trump in a single day, eclipsing his record of 105 tweets set just days before, on Sunday, where he also aimed along at the impeachment process numbers.

Just, for instance, one in all Trump’s tweets Sunday expressed his approval of a conservative activist who had written, “The Constitutional framers could well be appalled by the way impeachment continues to be wielded for being a political weapon against President Trump.”

From the following Friday, following the House Judiciary Committee voted to approve articles of impeachment, Trump again took to Twitter to formulate how upset he cannot be charged with illegal trespass: “It’s not fair that I’m being Impeached when I’ve not made any effort to improve your chances of finding a job wrong!”

Even President Bill Clinton was concerned at the chance being taken from office evidenced by his apology to the country shortly after being impeached through House in 1998, stating, “Exactly what I want The united states and its citizen to know, exactly what I want the Congress to learn, is that I appear to be profoundly sorry for all I have done wrong in words and deeds.”

Clinton offered those words despite having an approval rating that could reach over 60% when it occurs, which notably peaked at 73 percent just days after the House voted to question him.

Such a contrast to Trump, who per FiveThirtyEight.com, currently provides the lowest approval rating of almost any president these many days into his first term at 42%. Trump now even trails Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush concurrently point inside their respective first terms, and both of them lost re-election.

Trump should be worried. Anything can happen in an effort. All it is going to take is precisely 20 Republican senators to join the Democrats in saying they had an ample amount of his antics, and Trump can have earned himself a destination in historical event — and then in every school textbook — just like the first president in the history of the republic removed from the Senate. Understanding that thought is causing Trump to panic.

Author Resource Box:

Trump is just 67 votes away from being an ex-President and …. https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/12/15/opinions/trump-votes-impeachment-obeidallah/index.html

Do you believe there is independent support for an impeachment inquiry rises following public hearings: poll?

Impartial help for the impeachment inquiry rose after the public proceedings, based on a ballot announced Friday. The Politico/Morning Talk to poll confirmed 44 percent of independent voters polled backed the charge inquiry, a 4-point bounce from last week’s poll. Impartial contrast towards the inquiry also dropped (eight) 8 points to 39 per cents. This enhance proof comes after polls the past few days confirmed the decline of independent help to regard the examination. Polls showed that in fact Democrat party and Republicans stand their ground to back and fight the inquiry.

This week’s ballot showed 81 percent of Democrats the surveyed groups helping the House examination into President Trump, and 81 per cents of Republican the surveyed groups against it. The even split among party-aligned voters showed the intervention independents may have in the full opinion. Overall, registered voters within the poll endorsed the impeachment question rate as a week ago, at 48 percent.

The opposition to the investigation slipped by 2 shows forty-three per cents. The poll pooled 1,988 registered voters between Nov. 22-24. Within the days implementing the last public proceedings in the House, the amount of mistake is 2 percent points. The House launched a charge inquiry into the leader. This inquiry was after a whistleblower complained. Trump requested the Ukrainian leader to inquire former Vice President Joe Biden days after withholding military benefit beginning with the nation. Existing and former officers testified before the House Intelligence Committee on the White House’s partnership along with Ukraine.

Author Resource Box: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/472044-independent-support-for-impeachment-inquiry-rises-following-public-hearings