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      ‘You have to run’: Romney urged Biden to take down Trump, book says

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      ‘You have to run’: Romney urged Biden to take down Trump, book saysGabriel Debenedetti, author of book on Biden’s relationship with Obama, reports call on night of 2018 midterms On the night of the 2018 midterm elections, as a wave of anti-Trump sentiment swept Democrats to take control of the House, top Republican Mitt Romney urged Joe Biden to run for president.‘Unhinged’ Rudy Giuliani drank and ranted about Islam, new book claimsRead more“You have to run,” said Romney, the Republican presidential nominee Biden and Barack Obama defeated in 2012, speaking to the former vice-president by phone.The same night, Romney was elected a US senator from Utah, a post from which he would twice vote to convict Donald Trump in impeachment trials.Romney’s exhortation to a man then seen as a likely challenger to Donald Trump in 2020 will probably further enrage the former president, his supporters and the Republican party they dominate.The Biden-Romney call is described in The Long Alliance: The Imperfect Union of Joe Biden and Barack Obama, a book by Gabriel Debenedetti that will be published next week. The Guardian obtained a copy.Describing how Biden spent 6 November 2018, Debenedetti writes: “Biden spent election night glued to his phone as usual … He talked to most of the candidates he’d campaigned for, and plenty he didn’t, either to congratulate or console them, or just to catch up.“This time felt better than 2016” – when Trump beat Hillary Clinton for the presidency – “in part because Democrats were winning big, at least in local races and in the House.“But it was also because of a refrain [Biden] kept hearing, and not always from the most expected sources.“At one point he connected with Mitt Romney, who’d been easily elected to the Senate that night as a rare Trump-opposing Republican. They were warm as Biden cheered Romney’s win.“Then Obama’s old rival got to the point: You have to run, Romney said.”In a note on sourcing, Debenedetti says his book is “primarily the product of hundreds of interviews” with “colleagues, aides, rivals, confidants, allies and eyewitnesses from every stage” of Obama and Biden’s careers since 2003.He also says: “When someone’s words are rendered in italics, that indicates an approximation based on the memories of sources who did not recall exact wordings.” Romney’s opposition to Trump is long established, if not entirely consistent.In 2016, the former Massachusetts governor spoke out against Trump, decrying his behaviour on the campaign trail and calling him a “phony” and a “fraud”. After the election, he said he did not vote for the Republican nominee, writing in his wife’s name instead.Trump attorney general Barr a liar, bully and thug, says fired US attorney in bookRead moreNonetheless, Romney then flirted with working for Trump, pitching to be secretary of state. He generally voted with his president after taking his seat in the Senate.But the relationship was never smooth – Trump called Romney a “pompous ass” – and in 2019 Romney told the New York Times: “People say to me, ‘If you’re critical of the president you’re hurting the party.’ No I’m not – I’m laying out a path for the party post the president.”In 2020, when Trump was impeached for blackmailing Ukraine for dirt on rivals including Biden, Romney became the first senator ever to vote to convict and remove a president of his own party.He said he did not vote for Trump in that year’s election – but refused to say if he voted for Biden.In 2021, Trump was impeached a second time, for inciting the Capitol attack. Romney voted to convict again.TopicsBooksMitt RomneyJoe BidenDonald TrumpUS politicsUS elections 2020US midterms 2018newsReuse this content More

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      Steve Bannon ‘stole millions of dollars to line his own pocket,’ New York attorney general says – as it happened

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      Hailing Steve Bannon’s indictment for conspiracy and money laundering over a fraudulent border wall fundraising scheme as “an important day for justice”, New York’s attorney general Letitia James said he “stole millions of dollars to line his own pocket”.“Regular, everyday Americans”, she said, played by the rules, and that people like Bannon ignore them:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}They think that they are above the law, and the most egregious of them take advantage of hardworking Americans in the process. And Steve Bannon stands out as a perfect example of this blatant inequality.
      He gained power and influence as a top adviser to the former president. And he used that influence and those connections to cheat everyday Americans and carry out this fraud.
      When Mr Bannon created a fundraising scheme to finance the construction of that wall, he basically stole millions of dollars to line his own pocket, and those of other politically connected people..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Simply put, Mr Bannon lied to ordinary citizens about this project. He diverted their hard-earned money. He preyed upon the emotions of New Yorkers and Americans.
      And then when Mr Bannon was held accountable for his criminal actions, the former president pardoned him.
      Given this reality, it is understandable how hard working honest ordinary citizens are cynical about the two systems of justice in our country, one for the rich and powerful, and another for everyone else.
      But in New York, we have zero tolerance for corruption and or for abuses of power.Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg told reporters that Bannon’s formal arraignment would take place within the next hour in the New York supreme court.Here’s my colleague Hugo Lowell’s report reminding us what the Bannon scandal is about:Steve Bannon charged with money laundering and conspiracy in New YorkRead moreWe’re closing the US politics blog now. A hugely hectic day saw Steve Bannon, former chief strategist to Donald Trump, arrested and arraigned on fraud charges relating to fundraising for the former president’s border wall.In New York’s supreme court this afternoon, Bannon pleaded not guilty to six felony counts and was released without bail until next month.Letitia James, the New York attorney general, said Bannon “cheated everyday Americans” and “basically stole millions of dollars to line his own pocket”.Here’s what else we followed:
      Presidents past and present led US tributes to Queen Elizabeth II, who died this afternoon aged 96. Joe Biden said she was “more than a monarch. She defined an era”.
      The department of justice appealed a Florida judge’s controversial ruling agreeing to Donald Trump’s demand for a ‘special master’ in its investigation into the former president’s handling of classified materials.
      The Biden administration formally reversed the Trump-era “public charge” rule that barred immigrants from gaining legal residency if they had utilized certain government benefits.
      First lady Jill Biden named a new press secretary, Vanessa Valdivia, most recently communications director for California Democratic senator Alex Padilla.
      The department of justice is appealing a Florida judge’s controversial ruling agreeing to Donald Trump’s demand for a ‘special master’ in its investigation into the former president’s handling of classified materials.District court judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, ruled on Monday that a special master was necessary to review classified documents taken by FBI agents from Trump’s Palm Beach mansion, Mar-a-Lago, during an 8 August search.Justice Department appeals federal judge’s ruling for a special master in Trump Mar-a-Lago case pic.twitter.com/iCOVvwL2zX— Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 8, 2022
      The decision temporarily blocks the department from using for investigative purposes thousands of records seized, which the Washington Post reported on Wednesday included nuclear secrets of an unnamed foreign power.William Barr, attorney general during the Trump administration, called Cannon’s decision flawed. Cannon directed Trump’s attorneys and lawyers for the department to submit by Friday a list of names to be considered as a special master by Friday. The role is often filled by a lawyer or former judge.The justice department filed notice of appeal Thursday, saying it was contesting the ruling to the Atlanta-based 11th US circuit court of appeals.And here’s former president Barack Obama’s tribute to Queen Elizabeth II:Like so many of you, Michelle and I are grateful to have witnessed Her Majesty’s dedicated leadership, and we are awed by her legacy of tireless, dignified public service. Our thoughts are with her family and the people of the United Kingdom at this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/sbID222iSQ— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 8, 2022
      Former president Donald Trump also released a statement on the death of Queen Elizabeth II, on behalf of himself and the former first lady:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Melania and I are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Together with our family and fellow Americans, we send our sincere condolences to the royal family and the people of the UK during this time of great sorrow and grief.Queen Elizabeth’s historic and remarkable reign left a tremendous legacy of peace and prosperity for Great Britain. Her leadership and enduring diplomacy secured and advanced alliances with the US and countries around the world. However, she will always be remembered for her faithfulness to her country and her unwavering devotion to her fellow countrymen and women.Melania and I will always cherish our time together with the Queen, and never forget Her Majesty’s generous friendship, great wisdom, and wonderful sense of humor. What a grand and beautiful lady she was – there was nobody like her!Our thoughts and prayers will remain with the great people of the UK as you honor her most meaningful life and exceptional service to the people.Joe Biden has ordered flags to half-staff at all government, public and military buildings in the US, and at embassies, military buildings and vessels in US territories and possessions overseas, to mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.In a proclamation released from the White House, the president said the flags would remain there until sunset on the day of the Queen’s interment.“The seven decades of her history-making reign bore witness to an age of unprecedented human advancement and the forward march of human dignity. Her legacy will loom large in the pages of British history, and in the story of our world,” the proclamation said.Earlier this afternoon, House speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered the lowering of flags at the US Capitol in Washington DC.Steve Bannon has pleaded not guilty to all six felony counts of his indictment for money laundering, conspiracy and scheming to defraud at his Thursday afternoon arraignment in New York’s supreme court.Donald Trump’s former chief strategist arrived in the Manhattan courtroom in handcuffs, and had his passports confiscated as a condition of his release.New: Steve Bannon pleads not guilty to money laundering and conspiracy charges connected to the “We Build the Wall” fundraising effort, agrees to surrender passports — case adjourned until Oct. 4— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) September 8, 2022
      He was arraigned on two counts of money laundering in the second degree, three of conspiracy in the fourth and fifth degree, and one of scheming to defraud in the first degree.The charges all relate to an alleged fundraising scam in which Bannon siphoned thousands of dollars in donations meant to help construct Trump’s border wall, prosecutors say.“It’s all nonsense. They will never shut me up. Ever,” Bannon told reporters in the court’s hallway.The case was adjourned until 4 October“It’s all nonsense. They will never shut me up.” – Bannon pic.twitter.com/kH2NVOM07d— Graham Kates (@GrahamKates) September 8, 2022
      Queen Elizabeth II was “more than a monarch. She defined an era,” Joe Biden anf first lady Jill Biden have said in a statement.The president’s tribute, posted to the White House website, also called the late monarch “a stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock alliance between the UK and US”:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}In a world of constant change, she was a steadying presence and a source of comfort and pride for generations of Britons, including many who have never known their country without her. An enduring admiration for Queen Elizabeth II united people across the Commonwealth. The seven decades of her history-making reign bore witness to an age of unprecedented human advancement and the forward march of human dignity.
      She was the first British monarch to whom people all around the world could feel a personal and immediate connection – whether they heard her on the radio as a young princess speaking to the children of the UK, or gathered around their televisions for her coronation, or watched her final Christmas speech or her platinum kubilee on their phones. And she, in turn, dedicated her whole life to their service.
      Queen Elizabeth II was a stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock alliance between the UK and US. She helped make our relationship special.The Bidens’ statement also included personal recollections from meetings the president and first lady had with the Queen:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}We first met the Queen in 1982, traveling to the UK as part of a senate delegation. And we were honored that she extended her hospitality to us in June 2021 during our first overseas trip as president and first lady, where she charmed us with her wit, moved us with her kindness, and generously shared with us her wisdom.
      All told, she met 14 American presidents. She helped Americans commemorate both the anniversary of the founding of Jamestown and the bicentennial of our independence. And she stood in solidarity with the US during our darkest days after 9/11, when she poignantly reminded us that ‘Grief is the price we pay for love’.
      In the years ahead, we look forward to continuing a close friendship with the King and the Queen Consort. Today, the thoughts and prayers of people all across the US are with the people of the UK and the Commonwealth in their grief.
      We send our deepest condolences to the royal family, who are not only mourning their Queen, but their dear mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her legacy will loom large in the pages of British history, and in the story of our world.It looks like the White House has canceled this afternoon’s address by Joe Biden about Covid-19 vaccines, presumably out of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.We’re awaiting an official response or statement from the White House to the news.At a press briefing earlier this afternoon, during which news of the British monarch’s death emerged, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president’s thoughts were with the royal family:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Our hearts and our thoughts go to the family members of the Queen, goes to the people of the United Kingdom.
      I don’t want to get ahead of what the president is going to say. But our relationship with the people of the UK, and this is something the president has said himself, has grown stronger and stronger. The UK is one of our closest allies.
      Again, our hearts go to the people of the United Kingdom, to the Queen and to her family.House speaker Nancy Pelosi has released a statement:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Today, Americans join the people of the United Kingdom in mourning the sad passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
      Over her seven decades on the throne, Her Majesty was a pillar of leadership in the global arena and a devoted friend of freedom.
      On behalf of the United States Congress, I extend our deepest and most sincere condolences to the Royal Family during this sad time.The Biden administration has formally reversed a Trump-era rule that barred immigrants from gaining legal residency if they had utilized certain government benefits, the Associated Press reports.The department of homeland security said Thursday that a new regulation for the “public charge” rule would go into effect in late December, although the administration had already stopped applying the previous version last year.“Consistent with America’s bedrock values, we will not penalize individuals for choosing to access the health benefits and other supplemental government services available to them,” homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement, adding the shift “ensures fair and humane treatment.”The public charge rule bars people from getting green cards if they would be burdens to the US. Prior to the Trump administration, that was interpreted as being primarily dependent on cash assistance and income maintenance. Trump expanded the disbarring benefits to include non-cash assistance including food stamps and Medicaid.Joe Biden is about to speak from the White House in an address billed “the arrival of Covid-19 vaccines”, but it is inconceivable the president won’t be devoting the moment to a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who died this afternoon aged 96.Biden was the 13th US president of her long reign, and the two heads of state took tea together at Windsor Castle in June of last year.According to Biden, the Queen asked him about his Russian and Chinese counterparts, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, during their 45-minute talk.“We had a long talk, she was very generous. I don’t think she’d be insulted, but she reminded me of my mother. In terms of the look of her and just the generosity,” Biden said at the time.You can follow the Guardian’s rolling coverage of the Queen’s death here:Queen Elizabeth II dies aged 96 – latest updatesRead moreHailing Steve Bannon’s indictment for conspiracy and money laundering over a fraudulent border wall fundraising scheme as “an important day for justice”, New York’s attorney general Letitia James said he “stole millions of dollars to line his own pocket”.“Regular, everyday Americans”, she said, played by the rules, and that people like Bannon ignore them:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}They think that they are above the law, and the most egregious of them take advantage of hardworking Americans in the process. And Steve Bannon stands out as a perfect example of this blatant inequality.
      He gained power and influence as a top adviser to the former president. And he used that influence and those connections to cheat everyday Americans and carry out this fraud.
      When Mr Bannon created a fundraising scheme to finance the construction of that wall, he basically stole millions of dollars to line his own pocket, and those of other politically connected people..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Simply put, Mr Bannon lied to ordinary citizens about this project. He diverted their hard-earned money. He preyed upon the emotions of New Yorkers and Americans.
      And then when Mr Bannon was held accountable for his criminal actions, the former president pardoned him.
      Given this reality, it is understandable how hard working honest ordinary citizens are cynical about the two systems of justice in our country, one for the rich and powerful, and another for everyone else.
      But in New York, we have zero tolerance for corruption and or for abuses of power.Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg told reporters that Bannon’s formal arraignment would take place within the next hour in the New York supreme court.Here’s my colleague Hugo Lowell’s report reminding us what the Bannon scandal is about:Steve Bannon charged with money laundering and conspiracy in New YorkRead moreDistrict attorney Alvin Bragg is laying out details of the scheme in which Bannon “directed” transfers of tens of thousands of dollars in donations – meant to help fund Donald Trump’s border wall – to a non-profit he controlled, which then paid a salary to We Build the Wall’s president, “thereby obscuring the source of the funds”..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Bannon and three other individuals were indicted by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York for crimes related to this fundraising scheme and then just months later received a presidential pardon from former president Donald Trump.
      We then began investigating and determined that Mr Bannon must be held accountable… for his conduct as the architect of this scheme, which impacted hundreds of Manhattan residents.
      Because the simple truth is that it is a crime to profit off the backs of donors by making false pretenses.
      This is the work we do, ensuring that when a Manhattanite hands over money for a particular purpose they know where it’s going and that it actually goes there without any smokescreens or false pretenses.
      And so we are here to say today in one voice that in Manhattan and in New York, you will be held accountable for defrauding donors.
      Read more:Steve Bannon charged with money laundering and conspiracy in New YorkRead moreManhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg and New York attorney general Letitia James have just begun a press conference to give more details of this morning’s indictment against former Trump strategist Steve Bannon.Bragg says Bannon was the architect of a year-long fundraising scheme by him and other leaders of We Build the Wall Incorporated “that netted more than $15m from thousands of donors across the country based on false pretenses”:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Specifically the false promise that all of the funds obtained to We Build The Wall would go to the construction of a wall on the border of the United States and Mexico and that, and I quote, ‘not a penny’ would go to its president’s salary.
      We Build The Wall’s fundraisers use that phrase time and again, not a penny, as they solicited donations through media appearances, emails to potential donors, social media posts, and more.
      But instead of pennies, the president of We Build the Wall received more than $250,000 in a salary funded by donations, at least $140,000 of which we allege was laundered by Steve Bannon.Ruth Braunstein writes…Among the many subplots roiling Washington is a surge in Republican concern about a provision of the Inflation Reduction Act that would invest $80bn in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to modernize outdated technology and increase enforcement of tax laws. Citing this investment, Senator Ted Cruz warned of a coming “shadow army of 87,000 IRS agents”.The preference to pay lower taxes is as American as apple pie and has been a centerpiece of modern Republicanism. Demonizing the IRS is not. In fact, mainstream Republicans have historically maintained a commitment to cutting taxes without promoting hysterical fears about the enforcers of tax laws. When champions of tax cuts have talked of “starving the beast”, even they have been clear that the beast is big government. The IRS is just the messenger.George W Bush requested an increase in funding for “IRS enforcement activities”, insisting that “Americans who play by the rules and pay their taxes deserve confidence that others pay their fair share as well”, and also that “enforcement more than pays for itself”. This made sense for the leader of a party that prided itself on its commitments to “law and order” and balanced budgets.For his father, George HW Bush, these commitments also required vocally rejecting anti-government rhetoric. In 1995, the former president publicly resigned as a life member of the National Rifle Association when the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre stood by his characterization of federal agents as “jack-booted thugs” who sought to “attack law-abiding citizens”, even after anti-government extremists carried out a deadly attack on a federal office building in Oklahoma City.Today, the Republican party – emboldened by years of a sitting president denouncing the “deep state” – has embraced this precise brand of anti-government rhetoric, and their latest target is the IRS.How did Republican fearmongering about an IRS ‘shadow army’ go mainstream? | Ruth BraunsteinRead moreFirst lady Jill Biden has a new press secretary, according to an announcement today from East Wing staff.Vanessa Valdivia will assume duties soon, a statement Elizabeth Alexander, the first lady’s communications director, says. We had incredible candidates, and enthusiasm around the search for this position, and we are all excited to welcome Vanessa Valdivia to our team soon as the new @FLOTUS Press Secretary! Full statement here: pic.twitter.com/01tJV3DDqE— Elizabeth Alexander (@EAlexander46) September 8, 2022
      Valdivia was most recently communications director for Democratic California senator Alex Padilla, Alexander said.She takes over from Michael LaRosa, who resigned in July.The New York Times has also got hold of a copy of Geoffrey Berman’s book, describing “new details about how the justice department under President Donald J Trump sought to use the US attorney’s office in Manhattan to support Mr Trump politically and pursue his critics – even pushing the office to open a criminal investigation of former secretary of state John Kerry”.As the Guardian has its own copy of the book, here’s a precis of what Berman writes about the Kerry issue.After ending his stint as Barack Obama’s secretary of state in 2017, Kerry continued to talk to diplomatic contacts, among them Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister with whom he had conducted talks around the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. This is normal.Trump opposed the deal. He also did not think Kerry talking to the Iranians was normal, and tweeted angrily about it. Berman writes:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}On 9 May 2018, the day after the second Trump tweet, the co-chiefs of SDNY’s national security unit … [were told] Main Justice was referring an investigation to us that concerned Kerry’s Iran-related conduct … the focus was to be on potential violations of the Logan Act.”The Logan Act, from 1798, prohibits private citizens from conducting relations with foreign powers. It has rarely been used and indeed is generally held not to be usable at all. “This is what we were being asked to consider using to prosecute Kerry,” Berman writes.The investigation never leaked to the media, Berman says. He also points to the irony that Trump himself was generally held to have conducted foreign policy, regarding Israel, before taking office.The SDNY decided not to act, in part, Berman writes, because it held that the Logan Act “does not prohibit a former US secretary of state from talking to a foreign official”.Berman calls William Barr’s conduct over the investigation – as attorney general, putting political pressure on prosecutors to please his president – “outrageous”.Barr had a second go at getting Kerry for Trump, Berman says, by moving the investigation to Maryland. That didn’t work either.Trump attorney general Barr a liar, bully and thug, says fired US attorney in bookRead moreThe department of justice inquiry into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden has expanded to look at the activities of the former president’s political action committee Save America, ABC News is reporting.A federal grand jury has been empaneled to look specifically at the group’s fundraising operations and, the network says, it has issued subpoenas for “documents, records and testimony from potential witnesses”EXCLUSIVE: A federal grand jury investigating the Jan. 6 attack and efforts to overturn the 2020 election has expanded its probe to examine Trump’s leadership PAC, sources say. https://t.co/mTQrPkT9jh— ABC News (@ABC) September 8, 2022
      The ABC report states: .css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The subpoenas, sent to several individuals in recent weeks, are specifically seeking to understand the timeline of Save America’s formation, the organization’s fundraising activities, and how money is both received and spent by the Trump-aligned PAC.According to ABC, Save America PAC has brought in more than $135m, including transfers from affiliated committees, according to disclosure records, since its inception days after the 2020 election. As of the end of July, the PAC reported having just under $100m in cash on hand, the network said.And here’s the full 22-page grand jury indictment for Steve Bannon that’s just been released.Bannon has been indicted on six counts, two of money laundering in the second degree, three of conspiracy in the fourth and fifth degree, and one of scheming to defraud in the fifth degree.The conspiracy and scheme to defraud was in essence, the indictment alleges, Bannon and other leaders of We Build The Wall Inc soliciting money to help with the construction of Donald Trump’s border wall (that the former president insisted Mexico would pay for), and assuring donors that nobody was taking a salary.The executives, the state alleges, were actually siphoning off “hundreds of thousands of dollars” for themselves, and in Bannon’s case around a million dollars.We’ll learn more at the lunchtime press conference from New York attorney general Letitia James and Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg.Meanwhile, you can read the indictment here. More

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      ‘Telling that fuller story’: Michelle and Barack on their White House portraits

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      ‘Telling that fuller story’: Michelle and Barack on their White House portraitsFormer first lady and former president speak in poetry at unveiling ceremony of official paintings at White House in first visit together since leaving office Even after all these years, she admitted, Michelle Obama still feels a bit odd and awkward inside the White House. “Growing up on Euclid Avenue [on Chicago’s south side],” the former first lady reflected, “I never could have imagined that any of this would be part of my story.”Yet from Wednesday her face will adorn the walls of America’s most famous address for as long as it still stands and presidents still call it home. In their first visit as a couple to the White House since leaving office in 2017, she and ex-president Barack Obama unveiled their official portraits at a ceremony in the East Room.Whereas Oliver Cromwell wanted to be painted warts and all, Barack Obama admitted that he sought some enhancements from artist Robert McCurdy – but in vain. “You’ll note that he refused to hide any of my grey hairs,” he said. “Refused my request to make my ears smaller. He also talked me out of wearing a tan suit.”As a result McCurdy – whose past subjects have included Nelson Mandela, Jeff Bezos, Toni Morrison, Muhammad Ali and Neil Armstrong – depicted the former president standing expressionless in black suit against a white background, as different as it gets from Kehinde Wiley’s version for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery of Obama floating in vegetation and flowers.Meanwhile Sharon Sprung painted Michelle Obama seated on a sofa in the White House’s Red Room wearing a formal light blue dress. Her husband thanked the artist “for capturing everything I love about Michelle: her grace, her intelligence and the fact that she’s fine.”At this Michelle looked half-gratified, half-embarrassed as the audience, crammed with nostalgic Obama alumni and Joe Biden officials, laughed and whooped.The unveiling revived a bipartisan tradition last held a decade ago but this being the Obamas, no portrait is a mere punchline nor just a cold and lonely, lovely work of art. It is also a metaphor for America and who tells its story. To hear them give remarks after Biden was a reminder that while the current president speaks in prose, the Obamas speak in poetry.As first lady for eight years, Michelle once famously observed that she woke up every morning in a house that was built by slaves. On Wednesday she became the first African American woman enshrined for posterity in a first lady portrait. She acknowledged that she has never felt comfortable in the role of political symbol – but understands its importance to future generations.“For me, this day is not just about what has happened,” she said, wearing braids, a painting of founding father and slave owner George Washington above her left shoulder. “It’s also about what could happen because a girl like me, she was never supposed to be up there next to Jacqueline Kennedy and Dolley Madison. She was never supposed to live in this house, and she definitely wasn’t supposed to serve as first lady.”Someone in the audience shouted: “We love you, Michelle!” There was a spontaneous burst of applause. Barack, standing to her right, appeared suddenly moved.Watched by her mother, Marian Robinson, in the front row, Michelle described the portraits of “a biracial kid with an unusual name” and “the daughter of a water pump operator and a stay-at-home mom” as a demonstration that people do not have to make a lot of money or come from a certain group or class or faith to fit in.“Because as Barack said, if the two of us can end up on the walls of the most famous address in the world, then, again, it is so important for every young kid who is doubting themselves to believe that they can too. That is what this country is about.”Indeed, Michelle insisted in a voice quivering with an emotion, the day was not about her or her husband, nor even the portraits. “It’s about telling that fuller story, a story that includes every single American in every single corner of the country so that our kids and grandkids can see something more for themselves.“And as much as some folks might want us to believe that that story has lost some of its shine, that division and discrimination and everything else might have dimmed its light, I still know, deep in my heart, that what we share as my husband continues to say is so much bigger than what we don’t.She added: “Our democracy is so much stronger than our differences, and this little girl from the south side is blessed beyond measure to have felt the truth of that fuller story throughout her entire life – never more so than today.”Such grace notes seemed to be vivid proof that Michelle Obama remains the anti-Donald Trump, the living antithesis of his dark nativist vision and administration run by privileged white males. They were an open invitation for dreamers of “Michelle for president”, though she has always been adamant it won’t happen. And they made the case that these two beautiful, fragile paintings will prove more valuable than anything by Rembrandt or Van Gogh.TopicsBarack ObamaThe US politics sketchMichelle ObamaUS politicsJoe BidenfeaturesReuse this content More

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      Nuclear secrets reportedly found at Mar-a-Lago are ‘gamechanger’, experts say – live

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      The reported discovery of information about a foreign nation’s nuclear secrets in materials found at Donald Trump’s private residence is horrifying intelligence experts.Federal agents seized the document during their search of Mar-a-Lago, the former president’s Palm Beach mansion in Florida, last month, the Washington Post reported. It appears to confirm officials’ worst fears about the nature of the intelligence he should have returned to the National Archives.Shawn Turner, former director of communications for US national intelligence, was searing in his criticism during an interview Wednesday on CNN’s New Day:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The fact we now know there were highly classified, restricted access documents about another country’s nuclear defense capabilities stored at Mar-a-Lago is a gamechanger with regard to the risk it poses to our national security.
      That these documents may have been seen by unauthorized personnel … tells individuals what our capabilities are with regard to intelligence collection related to nuclear programs.
      More important is it identifies or exposes our gaps with regard to intelligence collection.
      The bottom line is others are going to look at this information and determine what we know and don’t know, and they’re going to make decisions about their nuclear programs based on that information. And that is an extremely dangerous thing.The Post’s reporting is only the latest twist in a weeks-long saga over the justice department’s investigation into his handling of classified materials after he left office in January 2021.Trump, who is mulling another run for the presidency in 2024, attacked the department at a weekend rally where he called the FBI and DoJ “vicious monsters”.Many others, including Trump’s former attorney general, William Barr, have defended the investigation into his retention of government records, saying that it posed a major national security risk.Read more:FBI found document on foreign nuclear defenses at Mar-a-Lago – reportRead moreA judge today struck down a 1931 anti-abortion law in Michigan, months after suspending it, saying, “A law denying safe, routine medical care not only denies women of their ability to control their bodies and their lives – it denies them of their dignity. Michigan’s Constitution forbids this violation of due process.”The law had long been inactive prior to the overturning of Roe v Wade and made it illegal to perform abortions unless there was a life-threatening emergency. Judge Elizabeth Gleicher said the law “compels motherhood”, prevents a woman from determining the “shape of her present and future life” and “forces a pregnant woman to forgo her reproductive choices and to instead serve as ‘an involuntary vessel entitled to no more respect than other forms of collectively owned property’”.Michigan’s Democratic governor praised the ruling, but warned it was likely to be challenged and said there were “extremists who will stop at nothing to ban abortion even in cases of rape and incest”. Today, the courts ruled once again Michigan women have the right to make medical decisions for themselves.However, this decision is likely to be challenged, and we know that there are extremists who will stop at nothing to ban abortion even in cases of rape and incest.— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) September 7, 2022
      The decision comes amid an ongoing court battle that will determine whether another anti-abortion measure is on the ballot before voters in Michigan this year. The full story on Gleicher’s decision: Judge strikes down Michigan’s strict 1931 anti-abortion lawRead moreHi all – Sam Levin here in Los Angeles taking over our live coverage for the rest of the day. A new report suggests that hundreds of US law enforcement officers, elected officials and military personnel were listed on leaked documents as members of the Oath Keepers, a far-right extremist group linked to the Jan 6 2021 insurrection. The Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism reviewed 38,000 leaked names on a membership list of the group and said it identified more than 370 people believed to be active members of police agencies, in addition to more than 100 people currently in the military, the AP reports. The review also identified more than 80 people running for office or currently serving as elected officials as of this summer. The list included sheriffs and police chiefs, the AP said. Some of the officials contacted by the AP responded they were members years ago but were no longer active. In recent years, there has been escalating concerns about links between police departments and far-right extremist groups in the US, a problem that was widely scrutinized after the insurrection, where off-duty officers were present. Last week, a retired New York police officer received the longest sentence yet for his involvement in the attack on the Capitol, during which he assaulted an officer with a flagpole. The full story on the Oath Keepers leak: Oath Keepers membership rolls feature police, military and elected officialsRead moreCertain prominent legal experts aren’t pulling their punches this afternoon, already skeptical of the ruling by the federal judge in Florida granting Donald Trump’s request to have a special master interrupt and oversee the Department of Justice’s review of documents seized by the FBI from the former president’s residence at Mar-a-Lago.Harvard’s Laurence Tribe, as pithy as usual, has quote tweeted former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann over what needs to happen next in the court case – and not long after.A good list. I’d offer a friendly amendment to item 2:2. Indict Trump before this December. https://t.co/Zl4GiT3v2B— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) September 7, 2022
      Tribe wrote for the Guardian today that the ruling two days ago on the special master by Aileen Cannon, the federal judge in West Palm Beach, “has to rank high in the annals of the worst reasoned judicial decisions in American history”.He warns: “If it signals that judicial Trumpism has spread more broadly than we thought, there may be danger ahead to our entire system of equal justice.”Tribe wrote the piece with former federal prosecutor Dennis Aftergut and you can read the rest of it here.Tribe also notes that Trump’s attorney general Bill Barr has called Cannon’s ruling “deeply flawed”. (Barr also called it “a crock of shit”.)But he adds in a tweet: “I’m glad Bill Barr is making the rounds on his “dismantle Trump” tour, but if it’s a “rehabilitate Barr” tour, count me out.”I’m glad Bill Barr is making the rounds on his “dismantle Trump” tour, but if it’s a “rehabilitate Barr” tour, count me out . . . https://t.co/ELnloUmIn2— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) September 7, 2022
      The rehab tour started in earnest with the main round of January 6 hearings, and no matter what it does or doesn’t do for Barr, his testimony to that House committee’s inquiry did a lot for the congressional investigation itself (as well as for Ivanka Trump’s view of who won the 2020 election, apparently).Reporters at the White House press briefing are wondering if the US has had contact with any other countries over the reported discovery of a foreign power’s nuclear secrets among classified documents hoarded by ex-president Donald Trump.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is sticking closely to her previous position of flat-out refusing to comment on the justice department’s investigation into Trump’s handling of secret material, but does say this:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}We don’t have any calls to foreign governments to read out at this time on this particular issue as known.
      When it comes to this specific issue, the ODNI [office of the director of national intelligence] is in the middle of an assessment, and DoJ [justice department] is in the middle of an ongoing criminal investigation. So I’m not going to comment.It should be noted that Jean-Pierre is not saying no such calls have taken place, nor is she saying they have. She’s just saying that she has nothing that she can share.We’ve hopped across the White House from the East Room to the briefing room, to join press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.Monkeypox is first on the agenda. Robert Fenton, White House national monkeypox response coordinator, says the country has ample supplies of vaccines to supply the most at-risk.“Our focus is to reach the remainder of the eligible population where they are,” he says, citing the success of thousands of doses being administered over the weekend at pride events in Louisiana, Georgia and elsewhere.“These events demonstrate our strategy is working.”Dr Demetre Daskalakis, deputy response coordinator, says the population at highest risk is largely men who have sex with other men.“It’s important people know a safe and effective vaccine is available for those who need it,” he says.“It’s important we speak to the community in a way that doesn’t stigmatize them. [The virus] doesn’t distinguish between people based on their sexual orientation or gender.”Michelle Obama’s speech from her portrait unveiling at the White House is worth a read. The day, the former first lady said, belongs not to her or Barack Obama, and it’s not even about the paintings:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Too often in this country, people feel like they have to look a certain way or act a certain way to fit in. They have to make a lot of money, or come from a certain group or class or faith in order to matter.
      But what we’re looking at today, a portrait of a biracial kid with an unusual name and the daughter of a water pump operator and a stay at home mom, what we are seeing is a reminder that there’s a place for everyone in this country.
      Because, as Barack said, if the two of us can end up on the walls of the most famous address in the world, it is so important for every young kid who is doubting themselves to believe that they can too..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}That is what this country is about. It’s not about blood or pedigree or wealth. It’s a place where everyone should have a fair shot. Whether you’re a kid taking two buses and a train just to get to school, or a single mother who’s working two jobs to put some food on the table.
      Or an immigrant, just arriving, getting your first apartment, forging a future for yourself in a place you dreamed of.
      That’s why for me this day isn’t about me or Barack. It’s not even about these beautiful paintings. It’s about telling that fuller story, a story that includes every single American in every single corner of the country so that our kids and grandkids can see something more for themselves.
      And as much as some folks might want us to believe that that story has lost some of its shine, that division, and discrimination and everything else might have dimmed its light, I still know deep in my heart, that what we share, as my husband continues to say, is so much bigger than what we don’t.
      Our democracy is so much stronger than our differences.Joe Biden has tweeted about his “old pals act” at the White House on Wednesday, the vice-president turned president greeting his former boss Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama for the unveiling of their portraits.“Someone once said that if you’re looking for a friend in Washington get a dog,” Obama said during his speech in the East Room.“Our family was lucky enough to have two wonderful dogs. But I was even luckier to have a chance to spend eight years working day and night with a man who became a true partner and a true friend.“Joe, it is now America’s good fortune to have you as president”.Barack and Michelle, welcome back. pic.twitter.com/wcdBvfMcGg— President Biden (@POTUS) September 7, 2022
      Mar-a-Lago – the Palm Beach resort and residence where Donald Trump reportedly stored nuclear secrets among a trove of highly classified documents for 18 months since leaving the White House – is a magnet for foreign spies, former intelligence officials have warned.The Washington Post reported that a document describing an unspecified foreign government’s defences, including its nuclear capabilities, was one of the many highly secret papers Trump took away from the White House when he left office in January 2021.There were also documents marked SAP, for Special-Access Programmes, which are often about US intelligence operations and whose circulation is severely restricted, even among administration officials with top security clearance.Potentially most disturbing of all, there were papers stamped HCS, Humint Control Systems, involving human intelligence gathered from agents in enemy countries, whose lives would be in danger if their identities were compromised.The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is conducting a damage assessment review which is focused on the sensitivity of the documents, but US officials said it is the job of FBI counter-intelligence to assess who may have gained access to them.That is a wide field. The home of a former president with a history of being enthralled by foreign autocrats, distrustful of US security services, and boastful about his knowledge of secrets, is an obvious foreign intelligence target.“I know that national security professionals inside government, my former colleagues, [they] are shaking their heads at what damage might have been done,” John Brennan, former CIA director, told MSNBC.“I’m sure Mar-a-Lago was being targeted by Russian intelligence and other intelligence services over the course of the last 18 or 20 months, and if they were able to get individuals into that facility, and access those rooms where those documents were and made copies of those documents, that’s what they would do.”Barack Obama also thanked artists Robert McCurdy and Sharon Sprung for their respective portraits of himself and Michelle Obama.“He captures every wrinkle of your face, every crease of your shirt, [and] you’ll note he refused all of my requests to make my ears smaller,” he said.“He also talked me out of wearing a tan suit, by the way,” he added to laughter and applause, a nod to the social media firestorm he created back in 2014 when he wore one.“What you realize when you’re sitting behind that desk, and what I want people to remember about Michelle and me, is that presidents and first ladies are human beings. “I’ve always described the presidency as a relay race. You take the baton from someone, you run your leg as hard and as well as you can, and then you hand it off to someone else, knowing that your work will be incomplete. “The portraits hanging in the White House chronicle the runners in that race.Having unveiled his portrait, Barack Obama is now paying tribute to Joe Biden, saying it is “America’s good fortune” to have him as president:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}You have guided us through some perilous times, you have built on and gone beyond the work we all did together to expand healthcare, to fight climate change, to advance social justice and to promote economic fairness.
      Thanks to you our faith in our democracy and the American people, the country is better off than when you took office. He also acknowledged his aides, staffers and colleagues from his time in the White House. Many are in the audience in the East Room:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}For eight years, even longer for some of you, I drew on your energy and dedication and your goodness. You inspired me and I never wanted to disappoint you.
      Even during the toughest times it was all of you that kept me going. It’s good to be back and see all of you…what’s been a special joy to see what’s happened since.
      [But] I am a little disappointed I haven’t heard anyone naming a kid Barack yet.“Or Michelle…” the former first lady interjected from beside him.Joe Biden is acknowledging Barack Obama as his inspiration for everything he does as president.Speaking at the official unveiling of the former president and first lady, Michelle Obama, at the White House, Biden said:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}With Barack as our president we got up every day and went to work full of hope, for real, full of purpose, and excited about the possibility before us.
      Few people I’ve ever known have more integrity, decency, and moral courage than Barack Obama.
      Mr President, nothing could have prepared me better, and more, to become president of the United States than to be your side for eight years. I mean it from the bottom of my heart.
      No matter what the issue was, no matter how difficult, no matter what it was about, you never did what it was the easy way, the easy way out. It was never about doing it that way, it was always about doing what was right.To that end, Biden cited Obama’s signature achievement, passage of the Affordable Care Act, nicknamed Obamacare, which survived a bumpy passage and overcame Republican opposition in the Senate to become law:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}He never gave up on the simple truth that health care was a right for all Americans when so many were telling him, including me at one point, take the compromise, take the compromise… we weren’t sure we get anything done.
      You refused. You went big. And now the Affordable Care Act is there permanently and it’s even being improved.Here are the portraits:JUST UNVEILED: The official @WhiteHouse portraits of @BarackObama & @MichelleObama. pic.twitter.com/dDTxblOe5e— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) September 7, 2022
      Joe Biden is speaking at the White House, where he is unveiling the official portraits of former first lady Michelle Obama, and 44th president Barack Obama, whom he served as vice-president.“Barack and Michelle, welcome home,” the president began.Here’s a video interview with the portraits’ artists, Robert McCurdy and Sharon Sprung.New York state is ending a 28-month-old Covid-19 mandate requiring masks on trains, buses and other modes of public transit, governor Kathy Hochul said at a news conference today, Reuters reports..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Starting today masks will be optional. We have to restore some normalcy to our lives…Masks are encouraged but optional,” Hochul said, citing recent revised guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).New York first adopted the mandate in April 2020 as Covid-19 was rampaging in the New York City area..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}It’s always been a visible reminder that something is not normal here, and it was there for the right reason. It protected health and now we’re in a far different place,” Hochul said.In April, the Biden administration decided to no longer enforce a US mask mandate on public transportation after a federal judge in Florida ruled the directive was unlawful. New York declined to adopt the Biden policy in April.In recent months, many riders in New York had stopped observing the mask policy.Hochul said masks will still be required in some places like adult care facilities and some other medical facilities.The US Justice Department appealed the Florida judge’s ruling invalidating the transportation mask mandate, but a federal appeals court has not yet set the case for oral arguments.It’s been a lively morning in US political news and there’s more to come. The unveiling at the White House of the official portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama is just ahead, with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in attendance, and the White House press briefing with Karine Jean-Pierre follows not long after that. We’ll be watching for any other significant breaking news and will bring it to you as it happens.Here’s where things stand:
      Former Trump administration defense secretaries Jim Mattis and Mark Esper have joined a group of retired military officers who have written an open letter warning of an “extremely adverse environment” for the military – a thinly-veiled attack on the former president’s efforts to use servicemen and women to advance his political goals.
      Andrew McCabe, former deputy director of the FBI says federal agents “absolutely had to go in” to retrieve highly classified documents from Donald Trump’s private residence relating to the nuclear secrets of a foreign power.
      Donald Trump’s legal jeopardy could be heightened by the reported discovery of a foreign nation’s nuclear secrets among his hoard of improperly retained classified materials, some experts believe.
      The reported discovery of information about a foreign nation’s nuclear secrets in materials found at Donald Trump’s private residence in the FBI search last month is horrifying intelligence experts. The legal and security situation was already extremely serious and the further revelation has been called “a gamechanger”.
      Massachusetts is on course to elect its first woman and first gay governor after Maura Healey won the Democratic primary on Tuesday and a Trump-backed candidate, Geoff Diehl, won the Republican contest to face her.Healey, the state attorney general, said: “I am honored to receive the Democratic nomination … Together, we’re going to win in November and build a Massachusetts that works for everyone.”Massachusetts has a long record of electing moderate Republicans. Only one Democrat – Deval Patrick, from 2007 to 2015 – has been governor since 1991.Healey, a former college and professional basketball player, has been attorney general since 2015. Polls give her huge leads over Diehl.The Republican backs Donald Trump’s lie that his defeat by Joe Biden in the 2020 election was the result of electoral fraud, opposed the extension of mail-in voting, opposed public health mandates in the Covid pandemic and supports the supreme court decision overturning Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that guaranteed the right to abortion.The abortion issue alone has driven electoral successes that have Democrats hoping they can prosper in the midterm elections.On Monday, Trump – the de facto leader of a party dominated by supporters Biden has called “semi-fascist” – told Massachusetts Republicans that Diehl would push back against “ultra-liberal extremists” and “rule your state with an iron fist”.Full-story:Massachusetts set to elect first female, gay governor over Trumpist opponentRead more More

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      The Democrats’ best message for the midterms: democracy is in grave peril | Osita Nwanevu

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      The Democrats’ best message for the midterms: democracy is in grave perilOsita NwanevuRepublicans’ efforts to delegitimize the electoral process should trouble us greatly. Democrats ought to hammer this home We’re nearing the end of a summer that’s been a real boon for the Biden administration and Democrats in Washington. The White House finally announced a partial student loan forgiveness plan that will deliver some long-awaited relief to millions of borrowers. The Dobbs decision in June and its aftermath have triggered a public backlash that’s reinforced support for abortion rights and opened the eyes of many Americans to the pro-life movement’s radicalism on the issue. The Department of Justice is evidently in the middle of a quite serious investigation into Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents ⁠— one that’s put him at the top of the headlines again in spectacular fashion and may well end in his prosecution. And, most consequentially, after a months-long stalemate, Congress managed to pass a flawed, but genuinely historic bill ⁠— the hilariously and shrewdly named Inflation Reduction Act, which happens to be, among other things, the largest single climate package ever passed by any country.All these developments have fueled optimism that November’s midterms might not be as bad for Democrats as many have feared. And there’s some evidence that the party really has gotten a bounce: according to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average, Democrats have taken a narrow lead on the generic congressional ballot for the first time since last fall. Still, history strongly suggests Democrats are likely to lose at least the House. The party holding the White House has lost House seats ⁠— 26 on average ⁠— in all but two midterms since World War II. Republicans only need to gain four in order to take the chamber this year. And despite better numbers for Democrats as a whole, the polls suggest voters are still down on both President Biden and the state of the economy, although things might change a bit on both fronts as inflation eases.It’s doubtful rhetoric alone will shorten the long odds Democrats face heading into November. But it’s worth thinking through what the strongest possible message for the party might be. As it stands, their main focal point, beyond Congress’ accomplishments thus far in Biden’s term, has been the threat Donald Trump and his allies pose to the democratic process. Last week, Biden kicked off campaign season in earnest with a major address on just that subject. “Maga Republicans do not respect the Constitution,” he told his audience in Philadelphia. “They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people. They refuse to accept the results of a free election. And they’re working right now ⁠— as I speak, in state after state ⁠— to give power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself.”Democrats’ hopes rise for midterms amid backlash over abortion accessRead moreWhile his critics in the press have called the speech divisive and overly partisan, Biden went out of his way to absolve most Republicans from responsibility for the January 6th attack and Trump’s wrongdoing. “Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are Maga Republicans,” he said. “Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology. I know because I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans.” And one of the most prominent promoters of the Democratic line recently has been a Republican who Biden wants Americans to consider representative of the party. “I feel sad about where my party is, “ Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney said in an interview last month. “I feel sad about the way that too many of my colleagues have responded to what I think is a great moral test and challenge of our time – a great moment to determine whether or not people are going to stand up on behalf of the democracy, on behalf of our republic.” But while thousands of Democrats switched parties to back her against Harriet Hageman, a Trump-endorsed candidate and former Trump critic who’s supported his election claims, Cheney was handily defeated in her primary by more than 30 points — more proof, as though we really needed it, that Trumpism is the Republican Party’s mainstream. In suggesting otherwise, Biden intends to send the American people a partially defensible message ⁠— that support for democracy and the rule of law are principles that should transcend our political affiliations. And they should. But democracy and the rule of law aren’t just abstract ideals ⁠— they’re the means by which we solve our material problems. Republican efforts to usurp and delegitimize the electoral process should trouble us not just because they’re unfair and destabilizing, but because they advance the interests of the wealthy and powerful, who benefit from the conservative policy agenda. By attacking our elections and the right to vote, conservatives hope to rob us of opportunities to shore up and empower working class Americans on issues from health care to labor rights. And this is the point Democrats should emphasize ⁠— especially given that the pivotal constituencies in the electorate, swing and Trump-curious voters, are clearly ambivalent about, or willing to overlook, Republican violations of democratic norms.It’s encouraging that Biden himself seems to understand this on some level. In his speech, Biden said that Trump’s supporters in the Republican party “spread fear and lies […] told for profit and power.” Later, he added that the “soul of America” is defined by egalitarian principles ⁠— “that all deserve justice and a shot at lives of prosperity and consequence,” he said, “and that democracy must be defended, for democracy makes all these things possible.” This passage echoed remarks he’d made during the signing of the IRA, which he touted as an example of what can get done when democracy works as it should. “It’s about delivering progress and prosperity to American families,” he said of the bill. “It’s about showing the American people that democracy still works in America — notwithstanding all the talk of its demise — not just for the privileged few, but for all of us.”Of course, the process of getting to the IRA colorfully illustrated some of the ways democracy isn’t really working in America. Thanks to the power afforded to one very stubborn man from West Virginia in the Senate, popular policies like paid leave and more expansive climate measures were left on the chopping block. And the anticipated emissions reductions in the IRA will, like the long-troubled Medicaid expansion component of the Affordable Care Act, depend largely on the cooperation of state governments that are controlled by Republicans across much of the country and are working to disenfranchise Democratic voters. Components of the For the People Act ⁠— now ancient history politically speaking ⁠— would have gone some way towards evening out the already-skewed playing field in the states and combatting Republican voter suppression efforts. Its failure is one of the signal disappointments of this Congress. And Democrats will only get another crack at it, in another majority, if they manage to convince voters that the fight for democracy is, in fact, a partisan and material struggle ⁠— a fight against a party that cannot be redeemed and is animated in its attacks on our norms and elections by more than just loyalty to Donald Trump.Liz Cheney, heralded now as a profile in courage, should be presented by Democrats as an object lesson here. It genuinely matters that she backed Trump with her votes over 90% of the time over the course of her tenure in the House, including her opposition to Trump’s first impeachment. It was doubtless as obvious to her as it was to most Americans that Trump was dangerous, and it can’t have been much of a surprise that a man who lied about voter fraud in an election he had won in 2016 went on to assail the democratic process after his loss. But she stood with him ⁠— willing to indulge his abuses of power up until, almost literally, the last minute ⁠— because he was implementing policies she supports.Cheney’s turn against Trump was less an indictment of his character than a vote of no confidence, after his loss, in his remaining utility to the party. And while few Republicans have been as bold in repudiating him, there’s palpable interest among the right’s powers that be in potential successors like Ron DeSantis, who’s winning plaudits from high-profile Trump critics like The Atlantic’s David Frum even as he echoes Trump’s anti-democratic rhetoric and conspiracy theories from his perch in Florida. The simple truth is that most of the Republicans and conservatives Biden prefers still place protecting the power of capital well above protecting democracy and the rule of law on their list of concerns. That’s not an argument that will bring Americans together. But realistically, nothing will. And politics is, at the end of the day, about presenting voters with clear choices and stakes. The Democrats have a powerful case to make: return them to power and they’ll do what they can to safeguard democracy from a Republican party fully and irretrievably controlled by bosses and billionaires intent on dominating ordinary Americans. That message might not work magic in time for the midterms. But it’s worth a shot.
      Osita Nwanevu is a Guardian US columnist
      TopicsDemocratsOpinionRepublicansJoe BidenUS midterm elections 2022US politicsDonald TrumpcommentReuse this content More

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      Trump’s Mar-a-Lago legal victory starts search for special master – as it happened

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      Lawyers for Donald Trump are conferring with justice department counterparts to come up by Friday with a list of possible candidates to be the “special master” approved by a district court judge over the former president’s hoarding of classified documents.Aileen Cannon’s surprise ruling on Monday has delayed the department’s inquiry into Trump’s possession of government documents at his Florida residence. Some law experts are pointing out the “deeply problematic” nature of the decision, and the fact it was made by a jurist appointed by Trump himself.Samuel W Buell, a Duke University law professor, told the New York Times in an email:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}To any lawyer with serious federal criminal court experience who is being honest, this ruling is laughably bad, and the written justification is even flimsier.
      Donald Trump is getting something no one else ever gets in federal court, he’s getting it for no good reason, and it will not in the slightest reduce the ongoing howls that he is being persecuted, when he is being privileged.Cannon’s deadline of Friday doesn’t give much time for the two sides to agree candidates to act in the role of independent arbiter, typically a retired lawyer or judge, to go through material seized by the FBI at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion. They will look be looking for any that might be beyond the scope of the warrant or protected by executive privilege or attorney-client privilege.The attorneys must submit a joint filing to the court by Friday.As the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell and Victoria Bekiempis report, a special master was used, for instance, to review materials seized in the searches of the homes and offices of two of Trump’s former attorneys – Rudy Giuliani and Michael Cohen.Trump’s former attorney general, William Barr, also called the special master request a “crock of shit”, in an interview with the New York Times.In a subsequent interview with Fox News, Barr said: “Even if [the documents] are subject to executive privilege, they still belong to the government. And any other documents that were seized… those were seize-able under the warrant”.Read more:Judge grants Trump’s request for special master to handle seized documentsRead moreThat’s all for today from our US politics blog. Thanks for being with us. Here’s what we looked at:
      Lawyers for Donald Trump began conferring with justice department counterparts to meet a Friday court deadline for a list of possible candidates to be the “special master” approved by a district judge over the former president’s hoarding of classified documents.
      Joe Biden said he would work with Britain’s new prime minister Liz Truss on the war in Ukraine, and bettering close ties. “I look forward to deepening the special relationship between our countries and working in close cooperation on global challenges, including continued support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russian aggression” Biden said in a tweet.
      A New Mexico state district court judge disqualified county commissioner and Cowboys for Trump cofounder Couy Griffin from holding public office for engaging in insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. State district court judge Francis Mathew ruled Griffin was permanently barred from holding or seeking local or federal office.
      Patrick Leahy, the eight-term Democratic senator for Vermont, has been nominated by Biden to become congressional representative for the US at the United Nations general assembly.
      Voters were at the polls in Massachusetts, where Republicans were choosing their nominee for governor in November’s midterms: election denier Geoff Diehl or moderate Chris Doughty.
      Please join us again tomorrow when Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama return to the White House for the unveiling of their official portraits.One more tweet from Joe Biden before we wrap for the day. He’s still underwater in the polls, and Democrats have their work cut out for them with exactly nine weeks to go until the midterm elections.But inside the White House, at least, there were smiles, as the president hosted a cabinet meeting Tuesday afternoon:Today, I met with my Cabinet to lay out how we’re going to swiftly implement recent legislative wins like the Inflation Reduction Act.This experienced and dedicated Cabinet is working to lower costs for families, create good-paying jobs, and increase American manufacturing. pic.twitter.com/liVG3y9O5b— President Biden (@POTUS) September 6, 2022
      Joe Biden will mark the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and elsewhere by delivering remarks and laying a wreath at the Pentagon on Sunday, the White House said.Nearly 3,000 people died on 11 September 2001 when al-Qaida flew hijacked commercial airliners into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, while another jet crashed into a Pennsylvania field.Jill Biden, the first lady, will speak on Sunday at the Flight 93 national memorial observance in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Vice-president Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman, will go to New York City for a commemoration ceremony at the national September 11th memorial.Joe Biden says he’s looking forward to working with Britain’s new prime minister Liz Truss on global challenges, including the war in Ukraine, and bettering the close ties between the US and UK.In a tweet, the president said: “I look forward to deepening the special relationship between our countries and working in close cooperation on global challenges, including continued support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russian aggression”.Congratulations to Prime Minister Liz Truss.I look forward to deepening the special relationship between our countries and working in close cooperation on global challenges, including continued support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russian aggression.— President Biden (@POTUS) September 6, 2022
      Biden told reporters before a cabinet meeting Tuesday afternoon that he would be calling Truss later in the day to offer his congratulations. But, according to Reuters, he declined to answer a question about whether the two leaders would discuss negotiations with the European Union over Northern Ireland.“We’re going to be talking about a lot of things,” he said.Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, was asked about possible bilateral tensions over Northern Ireland at her earlier briefing. She also would not say if the issue would come up in the call, but added:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}He has been clear about his continued interest in Northern Ireland. Our priority remains protecting the gains of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement and preserving peace, stability and prosperity for the people of Northern Ireland.While there was good news for Democrats in new polling from Navigator Research, as we reported earlier, there were also warning signs for Democrats, as the party prepares for the midterm elections this November.According to the progressive polling firm’s findings, Joe Biden’s approval rating remains in the tank, with 42% of voters approving of the president’s job performance while 56% disapprove.Biden’s approval rating, which has been underwater for more than a year, could sink Democrats’ hopes of retaining their narrow majorities in the House and the Senate. Historically, the president’s party loses congressional seats in the midterm elections.The economy could also prove to be a weakness for Democratic candidates this election cycle. When asked about which party they trusted more to handle specific issues, voters said they trusted Republicans more to rebuild the economy and address record-high inflation, Navigator found.Given that roughly three-quarters of US voters say the economy will be very important to their vote in this year’s congressional elections, Democrats will need to address those concerns if they want to avoid a Republican wave this fall.Some Democratic lawmakers and progressive groups are taking proactive steps to reframe the narrative around which party is better for the economy, as I reported over the weekend.We’ve heard little, correction, nothing so far of the progress of negotiations between lawyers for Donald Trump and the justice department over a list of candidates to become “special master” overseeing the classified documents inquiry.But that doesn’t mean nothing’s happening in the case. District judge Aileen Cannon, who ordered the appointment yesterday, has been busy on Tuesday, the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell has discovered:New: Judge Cannon — overseeing Trump special master case — rejects proposed amicus brief submitted by former DOJ and state officials who served in GOP admins that opposed appointing a special master, per new paperless order— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) September 6, 2022
      Hillary Clinton is having none of Republicans’ “whataboutism” amid the controversy over Donald Trump’s hoarding of highly classified materials belonging to the US government at his private Florida residence.“But her emails …” is a longstanding call of Trump supporters, referring to the former secretary of state’s use of a private email server at her home while she was in office from 2009 to 2013. Trump led numerous chants of “lock her up” during his campaign rallies.The FBI concluded Clinton and her aides were “extremely careless” in their handling of classified information but that she should not face charges.Trump’s conservative faithful has been quick to resurrect the issue as their leader faces increasing scrutiny over his own actions. But as her own string of tweets today show, Clinton herself is not impressed:I can’t believe we’re still talking about this, but my emails…As Trump’s problems continue to mount, the right is trying to make this about me again. There’s even a “Clinton Standard.”The fact is that I had zero emails that were classified.— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 6, 2022
      A New Mexico state district court judge has disqualified county commissioner and Cowboys for Trump cofounder Couy Griffin from holding public office for engaging in insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, the Associated Press reports.State district court judge Francis Mathew issued a ruling today that permanently prohibits Griffin from holding or seeking local or federal office.Griffin was previously convicted in federal court of a misdemeanor for entering Capitol grounds on January 6, without going inside the building. He was sentenced to 14 days and given credit for time served.The new ruling immediately removes Griffin from his position as a commissioner in Otero County in southern New Mexico..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Mr Griffin aided the insurrection even though he did not personally engage in violence. By joining the mob and trespassing on restricted Capitol grounds, Mr Griffin contributed to delaying Congress’s election-certification proceedings,” Mathew wrote..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Griffin was notified of his removal from office by Otero County staff, who prevented him from accessing his work computer and office space at a county building in Alamogordo.
      Griffin, who served as his own legal counsel at a two-day bench trial in August, called the ruling a “total disgrace” that disenfranchises his constituents in Otero county.
      The ruling arrives amid a flurry of similar lawsuits around the country seeking to punish politicians who took part in January 6 under provisions of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which holds that anyone who has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution can be barred from office for engaging in insurrection or rebellion.
      The lawsuit against Griffin was brought by three plaintiffs in New Mexico with support from the Washington-based Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
      The NAACP and progressive watchdog group Common Cause filed briefs in support of Griffin’s removal.
      Griffin, a Republican, forged a group of rodeo acquaintances in 2019 into the promotional group called Cowboys for Trump.The blank-check acquisition firm that agreed to merge with former US president Donald Trump’s social media company has failed today to secure enough shareholder support for a one-year extension to complete the deal, Reuters reports.At stake is a $1.3bn cash infusion that Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which operates the Truth Social app, stands to receive from Digital World Acquisition Corp, the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that inked a deal in October to take TMTG public.The transaction has been on ice amid civil and criminal probes into the circumstances around the deal. Digital World had been hoping that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is reviewing its disclosures on the deal, would have given its blessing by now.Digital World chief executive Patrick Orlando told a special meeting of his shareholders today he would push back to noon on Thursday the deadline for the vote on extending the life of the SPAC by 12 months.Digital World needs 65% of its shareholders to vote in favor of the proposal, but the support as of late Monday fell far short, Reuters reported. Digital World did not disclose the margin on Tuesday.Digital World shares fell 17% to $20.74 in New York early Tuesday afternoon.Digital World is set to liquidate on Thursday and return the money raised in its September 2021 initial public offering to shareholders unless action is taken.Digital World shareholders had been given more than two weeks to vote on the SPAC’s extension and it is unclear if two additional days would make a difference.Most Digital World shareholders are individuals and getting them to vote through their brokers has been challenging, Orlando said last week.If Digital World fails to get enough shareholder support, its management has the right to unilaterally extend the life of the SPAC by up to six months.Trump appeared to manage expectations for the deal with a post over the weekend on Truth Social:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}I don’t need financing, ‘I’m really rich!’ Private company anyone???”
      Digital World has disclosed that the SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and federal prosecutors have been investigating the deal with TMTG, though the exact scope of the probes is unclear.It’s been a relatively quiet morning on the US politics front, although the White House has been defending itself against criticism that Joe Biden’s recent attacks on extremist Maga Republicans had alienated regular Republican voters.Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the 75m Republican voters who supported Donald Trump in 2020 “weren’t voting for attacking the Capitol, they weren’t voting for overruling an election. They were voting for philosophy he put forward.”Here’s what else has been happening:
      Biden will call the new British prime minister Liz Truss this afternoon to pass on his congratulations, Jean-Pierre said.
      Patrick Leahy, the eight-term Democratic senator for Vermont, has been nominated by Biden to become congressional representative for the US at the United Nations general assembly.
      It’s primary day in Massachusetts, where Republican voters are choosing their nominee for governor in November’s midterms: election denier Geoff Diehl or moderate Chris Doughty.
      Lawyers for Donald Trump are conferring with justice department counterparts to meet a Friday court deadline for a list of possible candidates to be the “special master” approved by a district judge over the former president’s hoarding of classified documents.
      The White House is defending itself against criticism that Joe Biden’s recent attacks on Maga Republicans as “semi-fascists”, and posing a threat to democracy, alienated the 75m voters who supported Donald Trump in the 2020 election.Even though the president noted in a primetime address in Pennsylvania last week that he was referring only to the extremist wing of the Republican party, not regular Republican voters, conservative commentators have seized on the speech as divisive.In Philadelphia, Biden warned that US democracy was imperiled by Trump and his supporters who “fan the flames” of political violence in pursuit of power at any cost.In her daily briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}When people voted for Donald Trump they weren’t voting for attacking the Capitol, they weren’t voting for overruling an election. They were voting for philosophy he put forward, so I’m not talking about anything other than its inappropriate.
      It’s not only happening here, but other parts of the world where there’s a failure to recognize and condemn violence whenever it is used for political purposes, a failure to condemn an attempt to manipulate electoral outcomes, a failure to acknowledge when elections were won or lost.Talking specifically about the deadly 6 January Capitol insurrection incited by Trump and carried out by his supporters, Jean-Pierre added:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}We saw an insurrection, a mob that was incited by the person who occupied this campus, this facility, and at that time, and it was an attack on our democracy.
      Let’s not forget people died that day. Law enforcement were attacked that day. That was the danger that we were seeing at the time. That’s what the president has called out. And that’s what he’s going to continue to call out. More

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      The Democrats are gaining because Americans want jobs, not Capitol mobs | Lloyd Green

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      The Democrats are gaining because Americans want jobs, not Capitol mobsLloyd GreenThe supreme court’s abortion decision, a drop in gas prices, and Trump’s legal dramas have all helped strengthen Biden’s ratings – and Democrats’ chances this fall Can the Democrats make the formerly Republican slogan “jobs, not mobs” their midterm mantra?They just might get away with it. In politics, jiujitsu is fair play – and these days Republicans are less the party of “law and order” and more the party that denies the outcomes of democratic elections and attacks the US Capitol.The Republican party has reason to fear the midterms | Lloyd GreenRead moreOn Thursday night, President Joe Biden launched a frontal assault on Donald Trump and the right’s embrace of creeping authoritarianism. Twelve hours later, the government reported 315,000 new jobs added in August and stunning prime-age labor force participation.Along the way, Trump said he would “very, very seriously” consider January 6 pardons if re-elected, and bragged of giving financial assistance to some of the insurrectionists. As each day passes, the Republican nexus to law, order and democracy grows more tenuous. Meanwhile, the summer’s special elections and the latest polls portray the Democrats with the wind in their sails.Alaska announced the election of Democrat Mary Peltola to Congress and the defeat of Sarah Palin, the state’s former governor and 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee. A week earlier, a Democrat pulled off an upset for a vacant House seat in rural upstate New York.The supreme court’s evisceration of abortion and privacy rights, a sharp drop in gasoline prices, and Trump’s latest legal drama have resurrected Biden’s ratings and the Democrats’ chances. The latest Quinnipiac poll gives them a four-point edge on the generic ballot, placing Nancy Pelosi within striking distance of retaining control of the speaker’s gavel.A separate Wall Street Journal poll showed Democrats now leading among independents.Earlier this year, “Republicans were cruising, and Democrats were having a hard time,” Tony Fabrizio, a Trump pollster told the Journal. “It’s almost like the abortion issue came along and was kind of like a defibrillator to Democrats.”As if to prove his point, Republicans are now scrapping references online to Trump and abortion. Blake Masters, the Republican Senate challenger in Arizona, removed language from his website in which he described himself as “100% pro-life”.For the record, Masters garnered Trump’s endorsement during the Republican primary and a bucketful of bucks from Peter Thiel. Thiel once publicly lamented extending voting rights to women and minorities.“Since 1920, the vast increase in welfare beneficiaries and the extension of the franchise to women – two constituencies that are notoriously tough for libertarians – have rendered the notion of ‘capitalist democracy’ into an oxymoron,” he wrote in 2009.In a similarly benighted spirit, Herschel Walker, another Trump favorite, branded inflation a women’s issue. “They’ve got to buy groceries,” Walker, a Republican Senate candidate in Georgia, said. On top of his Heisman trophy and football rushing records, Walker holds a record of alleged domestic violence.Also count on Trump’s mishandling of top secret and classified documents to grab headlines in the run-up to election day. Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy, the Republican would-be Senate majority leader and would-be House speaker, respectively, cannot be happy.According to the inventory filed with the court, the FBI search netted dozens of empty folders with “Classified” banners, together with seven documents marked “Top Secret”. Whether Trump retained copies of the President’s Daily Briefing, one of the crown jewels of the intelligence community, is an active and open question too.To be sure, Trump caught a break on Labor Day. A federal judge granted his motion to appoint a special master to weigh claims of executive and attorney-client privilege. The court also enjoined prosecutors from proceeding with their review of documents.At the same time, the court made clear that it would not interfere with the assessment being conducted by the director of national intelligence. An appeal by the government is likely – as is ensuing delay.And then there is Newt Gingrich. He’s back. The disgraced former House speaker may have played an outsized but behind-the-scenes role in Trump’s efforts to cling to power, according to the January 6 committee.“Some of the information we have obtained includes email messages that you exchanged with senior advisers to President Trump and others, including Jared Kushner and Jason Miller, in which you provided detailed input into television advertisements that repeated and relied upon false claims about fraud in the 2020 election,” Bennie Thompson, the committee chairman, wrote Gingrich.Once upon a time, Gingrich, a former Georgia congressman, was in the line of presidential succession, right behind vice-president Al Gore. According to the Federal Elections Commission, the Gingrich 2012 campaign remains more than $4.6m in debt. As Business Insider put it, “No presidential campaign from any election cycle owes creditors more money.”“Don’t be measuring the drapes,” Representative Tom Emmer, head of the national Republican campaign committee, recently advised colleagues. “This isn’t the typical midterm that we’re talking about.”
      Lloyd Green served in the Department of Justice from 1990 to 1992
      TopicsUS politicsOpinionJoe BidenDemocratsUS CongressBiden administrationDonald TrumpcommentReuse this content More