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      Trump campaign promised to ‘fan the flame’ of 2020 election lie, audio reveals – live

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      Secretary of State Antony Blinken will postpone a scheduled trip to China after yesterday’s discovery of a Chinese spy balloon over the US.Here’s more on the discovery of the spy balloon, from the Guardian’s Julian Borger:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The Pentagon has said it is tracking a Chinese spy balloon flying over the US but decided against shooting it down for safety reasons.
      Defence officials said the balloon had been watched since it entered US airspace at high altitude a couple of days ago. It has been monitored by several methods including crewed aircraft, and has most recently been tracked crossing Montana, where the US has silo-based nuclear missiles.
      As a precaution, flights from Billings Logan airport were suspended on Wednesday.
      The Chinese government has not confirmed if it owns the balloon, and state-backed media have used the incident to taunt the US.Pentagon says it is monitoring Chinese spy balloon spotted flying over USRead moreJoe Biden will be giving remarks shortly about new figures released on the January job market report.The US added 517,000 jobs in January, bringing the unemployment rate to a 53-year low of 3.4%.The latest news on the job market signified significant growth for the labor sector, even as the Federal reserve increases interest rates to address rising inflation costs.Experts had expected the unemployment rate to rise slightly last month, but the rate continued to decrease to levels seen pre-pandemic.223,000 jobs were added to the labor market in December, an overall gain but lower than the 539,000 new jobs added each month since the start of 2022.US adds 517,000 jobs in January in huge gain for labor marketRead moreIn the November 2020 clip taken two days after the 2020 election, Iverson praised Republicans’ efforts in Wisconsin while admitting that Democrats won the most votes in the state.From the Associated Press:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}At the end of the day, this operation received more votes than any other Republican in Wisconsin history…Say what you want, our operation turned out Republican or DJT supporters. Democrats have got 20,000 more than us, out of Dane County and other shenanigans in Milwaukee, Green Bay and Dane. There’s a lot that people can learn from this campaign.Despite Iverson’s private comments that Republicans had lost Wisconsin in the 2020 US presidential election, Trump allies continued to spread the false claim that the election was stolen.A senior member of Trump’s reelection campaign said that campaigners were going to “fan the flame” and spread the false claim that Democrats were “trying to steal this election” in a leaked November 2020 audio clip, the Associated Press first reported.In the obtained audio recording, Andrew Iverson discussed the communications strategy for Trump’s reelection in Wisconsin, as Democrats outflanked Republicans in the region.At the time, Iverson led reelection efforts in Wisconsin, a key battleground state which Biden eventually won by over 20,000 votes in 2020.“Here’s the deal: comms is going to continue to fan the flame and get the word out about Democrats trying to steal this election. We’ll do whatever they need. Just be on standby if there’s any stunts we need to pull,” said Iverson.The audio was given to the Associated Press by a former Trump operative, who withheld their name fearing political and personal retaliation. The unnamed operative was motivated as Trump prepares for a third reelection campaign for the US presidency.Iverson, who is now the midwest regional director for the Republican National Committee (RNC), has deferred questions from the Associated Press to RNC spokesperson Keith Schipper.Schipper declined to comment, saying that he has not heard the audio.Good morning, US politics live blog readers.In a newly released audio recording from November 2020, a top member of Donald Trump’s re-election campaign noted that team members were going to “fan the flame” and spread word that Democrats were “trying to steal this election”, reported the Associated Press.The recording focuses on Andrew Iverson, who led the re-election campaign in Wisconsin and is now the midwest regional director for the Republican National Committee.In the audio clip, Iverson focused on the communication strategy for Trump’s reelection campaign in Wisconsin, as Democrats were outperforming Republicans in the vital battleground state.“Here’s the deal: comms is going to continue to fan the flame and get the word out about Democrats trying to steal this election. We’ll do whatever they need. Just be on standby if there’s any stunts we need to pull,” said Iverson.Here’s what else we can expect today:
      Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will travel to Philadelphia today to announced $500m that will be used to upgrade water pipes in the region. The two will also address the Democratic National Committee during its winter meeting.
      Jeff Zients is gearing up to begin his tenure as Biden’s new chief of staff, succeeding Ron Klain.
      Advocates and Black lawmakers have urged Biden to discuss police reform during his State of the Union address next week, as several high-profile police brutality incidents have occurred in recent months. More

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      Millions in US north-east brace for ‘once-in-a-generation’ Arctic blast

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      Millions in US north-east brace for ‘once-in-a-generation’ Arctic blastMeteorologists warn frigid weather could bring record-breaking low temperatures to New York, New Jersey and New England More than 15 million people in the US north-east were bracing for “once-in-a-generation” Arctic blast on Friday and Saturday, as meteorologists warned frigid weather could bring record-breaking low temperatures.An Arctic cold front is expected to bring wind chills of -50F (-45C) in parts of northern New England, and the National Weather Service (NWS) warned dangerous wind chills were likely in an area stretching from northern Pennsylvania to Maine.Trump campaign promised to ‘fan the flame’ of 2020 election lie, audio reveals – liveRead moreThe frigid weather will continue through Saturday evening, the NWS said. The icy blast in the north-east comes after a winter storm left hundreds of thousands of Texans without power on Thursday, after ice storms killed at least 10.“The wind chills have the potential to be once-in-a-generation cold,” the NWS said, urging people to either stay indoors or take precautions against swiftly striking frostbite and hypothermia. The wind chill factor describes the combined effect of wind and cold temperatures on exposed skin.In Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu declared a cold emergency for Friday through Sunday and has opened warming centers so people can get out of the cold.In an advisory, the city suggested people wear several layers of loose-fitting lightweight, warm clothing.“Wear mittens over gloves; layering works for your hands as well,” the advisory said. “Always wear a hat and cover your mouth with a scarf to protect your lungs.”Record low temperatures could be set in the city, as well as in New York City, where wind gusts of 50mph were expected, and Providence, the NWS suggested in a tweet. It described the cold front as “a short-lived but impressive Arctic blast”.In New Hampshire’s Mount Washington state park, atop the north-east’s highest peak, record-breaking wind chills of -110F (-79C) and wind speeds topping 100mph were expected.“It’s definitely wicked cold, you can say that,” Frances Tarasiewicz, a weather observer for the park, told Reuters.“Today it’s a seasonal 5F, but it’s coming at us quick,” he said of the cold blast headed for the Mount Washington observatory, where staff members live on the mountain in eight-day shifts.Chris Sununu, the governor of New Hampshire, said the state could be facing “the coldest air that we’ve seen in years”. He advised people to stay indoors as much as possible, and to check on neighbors, relatives and the elderly.The state warned that frostbite is possible within 15 minutes at the expected temperatures, and said hypothermia can occur within 10 minutes at -30F (-34C).“This is an epic, generational Arctic outbreak,” said the National Weather Service in Caribou, Maine. It said the weather front will create a wind chill “rarely seen in northern and eastern Maine”.“Temperatures this weekend will be extremely – and dangerously – cold across the state,” said Maine’s governor, Janet Mills.“Please take extra precautions, be careful if you go outside, and be sure to check on your family, friends, and neighbors to make sure they are OK.”Maine will open warming and charging centers across communities across the state, the governor’s office said.In better news, the icy weather is expected to depart swiftly.“T​his is about as short-lived a cold snap as you can get this time of year. The cold will already start to ease Saturday night,” the Weather Channel said.As people in the north-east braced themselves for the cold, in the south temperatures began to rise on Friday after freezing weather left 430,000 people without power on Thursday.The failures were most widespread in Austin, where impatience was rising among 150,000 customers nearly two days after the electricity first went out, which for many also means no heat. Power failures have affected about 30% of customers in the city of nearly a million at any given time since Wednesday.Unlike the 2021 blackouts in Texas, when hundreds of people died after the state’s electricity grid was pushed to the brink of total failure, the outages in Austin this time were largely the result of frozen equipment and ice-burdened trees and limbs falling on power lines.The freeze has been blamed for at least 10 traffic deaths on slick roads this week in Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma.TopicsUS newsUS politicsUS weatherMassachusettsNew YorknewsReuse this content More

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      Audio reveals Trump campaign bid to spread lie of stolen election

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      Audio reveals Trump campaign bid to spread lie of stolen electionTeam in Wisconsin pledged to ‘fan the flames’ of baseless allegations of election fraud after Trump lost there A newly released audio recording offers a behind-the-scenes look at how former US president Donald Trump’s campaign team in a pivotal battleground state knew they had been outflanked by Democrats in the 2020 presidential election.But even as they acknowledged defeat, they decided to “fan the flames” of allegations of widespread fraud costing Trump victory there, which were ultimately debunked – repeatedly – by elections officials and the courts.Trump campaign promised to ‘fan the flame’ of 2020 election lie, audio reveals – liveRead moreThe audio from 5 November 2020, two days after the election, is surfacing as Trump again seeks the White House while continuing to lie about the legitimacy of the outcome and Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 win.The Wisconsin political operatives in the strategy session even praised Democratic turnout efforts in the state’s largest counties and appeared to joke about their efforts to engage Black voters, according to the recording obtained Thursday by the Associated Press. The audio centers on Andrew Iverson, who was the head of Trump’s campaign in the state.“Here’s the deal: comms is going to continue to fan the flame and get the word out about Democrats trying to steal this election. We’ll do whatever they need. Just be on standby if there’s any stunts we need to pull,” Iverson said.Iverson is now the midwest regional director for the Republican National Committee. He deferred questions about the meeting to the RNC, whose spokesperson, Keith Schipper, declined comment because he had not heard the recording.The former campaign official and Republican operative who provided a copy of the recording to the AP was in the meeting and recorded it. The operative is not authorized to speak publicly about what was discussed but spoke out because Trump is seeking the White House again.In response to questions about the audio, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said: “The 2024 campaign is focused on competing in every state and winning in a dominating fashion. That is why President Trump is leading by wide margins in poll after poll.”Wisconsin was a big part of Trump’s victory in 2016 and his campaign fought hard to keep the swing state in 2020 but Biden defeated Trump by nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin. The result has withstood independent and partisan audits and reviews, as well as lawsuits and recounts in the state’s two largest and Democratic-leaning counties.Yet, two days after the election, there was no discussion of Trump having won the state during the meeting of Republican campaign operatives.Instead, parts of the meeting focus on discussions about packing up campaign offices.Iverson is heard praising the GOP’s efforts while admitting the margin of Trump’s defeat in the state.“At the end of the day, this operation received more votes than any other Republican in Wisconsin history,” Iverson said. “Say what you want, our operation turned out Republican or DJT supporters. Democrats have got 20,000 more than us, out of Dane county and other shenanigans in Milwaukee, Green Bay and Dane. There’s a lot that people can learn from this campaign.”The meeting showcases another juxtaposition of what Republican officials knew about the election results and what Trump and his closest allies were saying publicly as they pushed the lie of a stolen election. Trump was told by his own attorney general there was no sign of widespread fraud, and many within his own administration told the former president there was no substance to various claims of fraud or manipulation – advice Trump repeatedly ignored.In the weeks after the election, Trump and his allies would file dozens of lawsuits, convene fake electors and pressure election officials in an attempt to overturn the will of the voters and keep Trump in office.At one point, the Wisconsin operatives laugh over needing “more Black voices for Trump”. Iverson also references their efforts to engage with Black voters.“We ever talk to Black people before? I don’t think so,” he said, eliciting laughter from others in the room.Another speaker on the recording with Iverson is identified by the source as GOP operative Clayton Henson. At the time, Henson was a regional director for the RNC in charge of Wisconsin and other midwestern states.Henson specifically references Democratic turnout and strong performance in Dane county, which includes Madison, the state capital.“Hats off to them for what they did in Dane county. You have to respect that,” Henson said. “There’s going to be another election in a couple years. So remember the lessons you learned and be ready to punch back.” Henson declined to comment.TopicsUS newsWisconsinUS elections 2020DemocratsRepublicansnewsReuse this content More

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      Republicans remove Ilhan Omar from House foreign affairs committee – as it happened

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      The House of Representatives has voted to oust Minnesota Democratic representative Ilhan Omar from the foreign affairs committee on Thursday, the Washington Post reports.The vote comes after the House approved Democratic assignments for the powerful foreign affairs committee which included Omar.Once McCarthy learned of the assignments, he told reporters, “Oh, so now we can vote her off,” the Hill reports.Republicans claim to have removed Omar due to her previous criticisms of Israel.Republican representative Max Miller said in a statement that Omar “cannot be an objective decision-maker on the foreign affairs committee given her biases against Israel and against the Jewish people”.Omar, herself the target of anti-Muslim bigotry since taking office, said last week that the decision to oust her was “purely partisan”.She added that the move is “also a blow to the integrity of our democratic institutions and a threat to our national security”.It is now 4pm in DC. Here are the key events that happened across the country today:
      The House voted along party lines as it ousted Democratic representative Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee while Democrats defended her. The vote was divided 218 to 211, CBS reports. One GOP member voted “present.” Omar defended herself on the floor on Thursday, saying: “This debate today, it’s about who gets to be an American? What opinions do we get to have, do we have to have to be counted as American?… That is what this debate is about, Madam Speaker. There is this idea that you are suspect if you are an immigrant. Or if you are from a certain part of the world, of a certain skin tone or a Muslim.”
      A New Jersey councilwoman has been fatally shot on Wednesday night, according to New Jersey’s Sayreville police department. In a press statement released on Thursday, police said that they responded to shots fired on Wednesday evening in the Parlin section of Sayreville, New Jersey. Upon arrival, officers “located town councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, 30, of Sayreville, in her vehicle who had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Dwumfour had succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced on scene.”
      Senators Joe Manchin and Ted Cruz have introduced a new bill that would protect gas stoves. On Thursday, the senators introduced the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act which would prevent the Consumer Product Safety Commission from banning gas stoves across the country.
      Senate majority leader Charles Schumer has said that president Joe Biden stands united alongside Democratic leaders against raising debt limits. In a statement to reporters on Thursday, Schumer said, “I’ve spoken to the president both before and his staff after the meeting. He had the same position — [House Democratic leader] Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer, the House Democratic caucus, the Senate Democratic caucus and the president have the exact same position, we should pass the debt ceiling clean. That’s where we’re at,” the Hill reports.
      The White House has condemned the Republican-led House vote that ousted Democratic representative Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Omar is a “highly respected member of Congress” and called the move a “political stunt,” the Hill reports.
      The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, announced plans this week to block state college programs on diversity, equity and inclusion, and critical race theory in his latest attack on Black and LGBTQ+ people in the public education system. The second-term governor, widely expected to launch a 2024 White House bid, previously blocked an advanced placement course on African American studies from being taught in high schools, saying it violated state law, and championed a “don’t say gay” law prohibiting lessons about sexual orientation or gender identity in state primary schools.
      The former White House press secretary turned governor of Arkansas Sarah Huckabee Sanders will give the Republican response to Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. Announcing the move on Thursday, the House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, called Huckabee Sanders “a servant-leader of true determination and conviction”, adding: “I’m thrilled Sarah will share her extraordinary story and bold vision for a better America on Tuesday.”
      In the latest development in the saga over former presidents and vice-presidents and the improper retention of classified documents, the Wall Street Journal reports that FBI agents will soon search a property belonging to Mike Pence. Yesterday, FBI agents searched a home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, that belongs to President Joe Biden. No additional documents were found but Biden already faced the attentions of a special counsel, appointed to investigate his retention of documents from his time in the Senate and as vice-president to Barack Obama.
      Florida Republican senator Rick Scott said that he does not think that Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell’s decision to remove him from the Senate Commerce Committee “made any sense.” “I’m going to keep doing my job… I put out a plan. He completely opposed me putting out a plan,” Scott told CNN, referring to a plan he announced last year that would have subjected all “government bureaucrats” to a 12-year term limit, shut down the Department of Education, and slashed the federal workforce by 25% within five years, among other proposals.
      President Joe Biden called for cooperation and respect at the National Prayer Breakfast where he said that he and House speaker Kevin McCarthy will “treat each other with respect.” “Let’s just sort of, kind of, join hands again a little bit. Let’s start treating each other with respect. That’s what Kevin and I are going to do,” said Biden, the Hill reports.
      President Joe Biden has confirmed the departure of his top economic adviser Brian Deese from the White House. In a statement on Thursday, Biden announced that Deese will be stepping down from his role as director of the National Economic Council in the coming days.
      Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that she will endorse Democratic representative Adam Schiff for California senate if senator Diana Feinstein decides to not run again. In a statement released by Pelosi and reported by Politico, Pelosi wrote: “If Senator Feinstein decides to seek re-election, she has my whole-hearted support. If she decides not to run, I will be supporting House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, who knows well the nexus between a strong Democracy and a strong economy,” she said.
      That’s it from me, Maya Yang, as we wrap up the blog for today. We’ll be back tomorrow with the latest updates on US politics. Thank you.A New Jersey councilwoman has been fatally shot on Wednesday night, according to New Jersey’s Sayreville police department.In a press statement released on Thursday, police said that they responded to shots fired on Wednesday evening in the Parlin section of Sayreville, New Jersey.Upon arrival, officers “located town councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, 30, of Sayreville, in her vehicle who had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Dwumfour had succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced on scene.”Authorities say that the investigation is currently ongoing and is asking anyone with information or surveillance footage of the area to notify them.Governor Phil Murphy mourned the loss of the Republican councilwoman, saying that he was “stunned by the news of…[her] murder…in an act of gun violence.”He added:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“Her career of public service was just beginning, and by all accounts she had already build a reputation as a committed member of the Borough Council who took her responsibility with the utmost diligence and seriousness…”Senators Joe Manchin and Ted Cruz have introduced a new bill that would protect gas stoves.On Thursday, the senators introduced the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act which would prevent the Consumer Product Safety Commission from banning gas stoves across the country.“I’ll tell you one thing, they’re not taking my gas stove out…My wife and I would both be upset,” Manchin said at a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Hill reports. Cruz echoed Manchin’s sentiments, saying, “Make no mistake, radical environmentalists want to stop Americans from using natural gas… The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s proposed ban on gas stoves is the latest egregious scaremongering by the Far Left and their Biden administration allies.”Senate majority leader Charles Schumer has said that president Joe Biden stands united alongside Democratic leaders against raising debt limits.In a statement to reporters on Thursday, Schumer said, “I’ve spoken to the president both before and his staff after the meeting. He had the same position — [House Democratic leader] Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer, the House Democratic caucus, the Senate Democratic caucus and the president have the exact same position, we should pass the debt ceiling clean. That’s where we’re at,” the Hill reports.“We believe the House cannot pass a debt ceiling bill the way they’re talking about. That if it is very minor cuts, the [Make America Great Again] MAGA Republicans will rebel. If it is major cuts, the more mainstream Republicans rebel. That’s why we’re saying, ‘Show us you plan.’ Because I don’t think they can get one together,” he added.Meanwhile, McCarthy said on Wednesday that he thinks that “there is an opportunity here to come to an agreement on both sides.”The White House has condemned the Republican-led House vote that ousted Democratic representative Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Omar is a “highly respected member of Congress” and called the move a “political stunt,” the Hill reports.“The way that we see this it’s a political stunt, much like House Republicans unjust removal of other leading Democrats from key committees in recent weeks, and it is a disservice to the American people,” she said, referring to the removal of California Democratic representatives Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell from the House Intelligence Committee.The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, announced plans this week to block state college programs on diversity, equity and inclusion, and critical race theory in his latest attack on Black and LGBTQ+ people in the public education system.The second-term governor, widely expected to launch a 2024 White House bid, previously blocked an advanced placement course on African American studies from being taught in high schools, saying it violated state law, and championed a “don’t say gay” law prohibiting lessons about sexual orientation or gender identity in state primary schools.DeSantis has pursued aggressive policies to block teaching or discussion about America’s racist past and present, making a name for himself in a national Republican party still defined by the legacy of Donald Trump, who famously mobilized white voters’ racism and resentment of attempts to change the nation’s racial hierarchy into a winning bid for the White House.Last year, DeSantis signed legislation, dubbed the “Stop Woke Act” that restricts certain race-based conversations and analysis in schools and businesses. The law bars instruction that says members of one race are inherently racist or should feel guilt for past actions committed by others of the same race, among other things.In his new effort to restrict diversity efforts at public colleges, DeSantis pledged at a news conference that critical race theory and diversity, equity and inclusion programs, known as DEI, would get “no funding, and that will wither on the vine”.Full story:Ron DeSantis announces plan to block DEI programs in state collegesRead moreSpeaking of efforts to ban government use of the word “Latinx”, as pursued by the Republican rising star and State of the Union rebutter Sarah Huckabee Sanders, here’s a fascinating report from the Associated Press, about an effort to pass such a ban in Connecticut, a deep blue Democratic state.The effort is being led by a group of Latino Democrats:Hispanic lawmakers in Connecticut seek official ban on term ‘Latinx’Read moreThe former White House press secretary turned governor of Arkansas Sarah Huckabee Sanders will give the Republican response to Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.Announcing the move on Thursday, the House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, called Huckabee Sanders “a servant-leader of true determination and conviction”, adding: “I’m thrilled Sarah will share her extraordinary story and bold vision for a better America on Tuesday.”Huckabee Sanders, now 40, was the second of Donald Trump’s four press secretaries in an administration under which relations between the press and the White House dwindled to new lows.Sanders memorably admitted lying to reporters about internal opposition to FBI director James Comey during the investigation of Russian election interference and links between Trump and Moscow.She also told the New York Times it “bothers me” to be called a liar, “because one of the few things you have are your integrity and reputation.”Huckabee Sanders said: “There’s a difference between misspeaking or not knowing something than maliciously lying.”She was elected in Arkansas last November, following her father Mike Huckabee into the governor’s mansion. She began her time in power with a flurry of executive orders on culture war subjects.One banned use in state documents of the word “Latinx”, which one proponent has defined as “a gender-neutral term to describe US residents of Latin American descent”.Another order banned the teaching of critical race theory in public schools. Critical race theory is an academic discipline that examines the ways in which racism operates in US laws and society. It is rarely taught below college level but Republicans across the US have enthusiastically and successfully used it as a wedge electoral issue.In her own statement on Thursday, Huckabee Sanders said she was “grateful for this opportunity to address the nation and contrast the GOP’s optimistic vision for the future against the failures of President Biden and the Democrats.“We are ready to begin a new chapter in the story of America – to be written by a new generation of leaders ready to defend our freedom against the radical left and expand access to quality education, jobs, and opportunity for all.”Some observers think Huckabee Sanders may in future follow her father (and the Democratic former Arkansas governor Bill Clinton) and run for president.Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, bass guitarist and pitchman for questionable health products, did so in 2008 and 2016. In his first run he won the Iowa caucuses as part of an unexpectedly strong showing before losing to John McCain. In 2016 he was one of many candidates blown out of the water by Trump.Republicans also announced on Thursday that a second rebuttal to Biden’s speech will be given by Juan Ciscomani, an Arizona congressman who will speak in Spanish.In the latest development in the saga over former presidents and vice-presidents and the improper retention of classified documents, the Wall Street Journal reports that FBI agents will soon search a property belonging to Mike Pence.Yesterday, FBI agents searched a home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, that belongs to President Joe Biden. No additional documents were found but Biden already faced the attentions of a special counsel, appointed to investigate his retention of documents from his time in the Senate and as vice-president to Barack Obama.In a case of vastly differing scale and complexity – featuring determined attempts to obstruct authorities seeking the records’ return – Donald Trump also faces a special counsel. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida was searched by FBI agents last August, a search the former president and his supporters insist on calling a raid.Trump has seized on Biden’s difficulties to claim he did nothing wrong. Most analysts say otherwise.News that Pence also improperly kept classified material emerged last week. Like Biden, Trump’s former vice-president has played straight with authorities since.According to the WSJ, the DoJ (Department of Justice) is now in negotiations with Pence’s lawyers about scheduling the search of his property in Indiana. The paper did not name sources. The FBI and DoJ did not comment.As the Journal notes, this is all fiendishly complicated for Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, what with the 2024 presidential election looming on the horizon.“Mr Pence is also considering a White House bid, a prospect that could test the standard Garland laid out in appointing the two prior prosecutors” to investigate Biden and Trump, the paper says.Biden is set to run for re-election. Trump is still the only declared challenger for the Republican nomination. And so the classified documents saga goes on.Here’s our columnist Margaret Sullivan, with more:The media is blowing Biden’s documents ‘scandal’ out of proportion | Margaret SullivanRead moreThe House voted along party lines as it ousted Democratic representative Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee while Democrats defended her. The vote was divided 218 to 211, CBS reports. One GOP member voted “present.”Omar defended herself on the floor on Thursday, saying:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“This debate today, it’s about who gets to be an American? What opinions do we get to have, do we have to have to be counted as American?… That is what this debate is about, Madam Speaker. There is this idea that you are suspect if you are an immigrant. Or if you are from a certain part of the world, of a certain skin tone or a Muslim.
      Well, I am Muslim. I am an immigrant, and interestingly, from Africa. Is anyone surprised that I’m being targeted? Is anyone surprised that I am somehow deemed unworthy to speak about American foreign policy?” she said.Numerous Democrats came to Omar’s defense. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Thursday that the move was “political revenge.” New York representative Gregory Meeks who serves as a committee ranking member criticized the Republican-led vote, saying that it is a “double standard.”.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“A blatant double standard is being applied here. Something just doesn’t add up. And what is the difference between Rep. Omar and these members? Could it be the way that she looks? Could it be her religious practices?” he said.Similarly, New York representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez said, “This is about targeting women of color in the United States of America,” according to the NYT.Meanwhile, Democratic representative Jamaal Bowman criticized Republicans, saying that they are “full of shit” and that Omar is an “incredible legislator,” Politico reports.The House of Representatives has voted to oust Minnesota Democratic representative Ilhan Omar from the foreign affairs committee on Thursday, the Washington Post reports.The vote comes after the House approved Democratic assignments for the powerful foreign affairs committee which included Omar.Once McCarthy learned of the assignments, he told reporters, “Oh, so now we can vote her off,” the Hill reports.Republicans claim to have removed Omar due to her previous criticisms of Israel.Republican representative Max Miller said in a statement that Omar “cannot be an objective decision-maker on the foreign affairs committee given her biases against Israel and against the Jewish people”.Omar, herself the target of anti-Muslim bigotry since taking office, said last week that the decision to oust her was “purely partisan”.She added that the move is “also a blow to the integrity of our democratic institutions and a threat to our national security”.As transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg said on Thursday that he is “not planning on going anywhere.”In an interview with Punchbowl News two years after his cabinet confirmation, Buttigieg said, “I don’t have any plans to do any job besides the one I’ve got” and that he has “the best job in the federal government.”He told the outlet that his tenure with the the transportation department is “above his pay grade” and that he works at the “pleasure of the president for the time being.”.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“I love this job and I feel like we’re right in the middle of the action,” he said. “I’m not planning on going anywhere because we’re smack in the middle of historic work,” he added.Buttigieg heads a department that has distributed $159.70 billion across its 11 sub-components in fiscal year 2023.Florida Republican senator Rick Scott said that he does not think that Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell’s decision to remove him from the Senate Commerce Committee “made any sense.”“I’m going to keep doing my job… I put out a plan. He completely opposed me putting out a plan,” Scott told CNN, referring to a plan he announced last year that would have subjected all “government bureaucrats” to a 12-year term limit, shut down the Department of Education, and slashed the federal workforce by 25% within five years, among other proposals.Last year, Scott also unsuccessfully challenged McConnell for his Senate leadership position after he felt that McConnell did not do enough to lay out the GOP Senate governing agenda prior to Election Day, the Hill reports..css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“He didn’t like that I opposed him because I believe we have to have ideas – fight over ideas. And so, he took [Utah Republican senator] Mike Lee and I off the committee,” Scott told CNN.President Joe Biden called for cooperation and respect at the National Prayer Breakfast where he said that he and House speaker Kevin McCarthy will “treat each other with respect.”.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“Let’s just sort of, kind of, join hands again a little bit. Let’s start treating each other with respect. That’s what Kevin and I are going to do,” said Biden, the Hill reports.
      “Not a joke, we had a good meeting yesterday. I think we got to do it across the board. It doesn’t mean we’re going to agree and fight like hell. But let’s treat each other with respect,” he added.Biden went on urge Americans to “look out for one another” amidst a slew of mass shootings, extreme weather conditions and frequent incidents of police brutality..css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“In our politics and our lives, we too often see each other as opponents and not competitors. We see each other as enemies, not neighbors. And as tough as these times have been, if we look closer, we see the strength, the determination that has long defined America,” he said.President Joe Biden has confirmed the departure of his top economic adviser Brian Deese from the White House.In a statement on Thursday, Biden announced that Deese will be stepping down from his role as director of the National Economic Council in the coming days..css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“For the past two years, I have relied on Brian Deese to help me do just that. Brian has a unique ability to translate complex policy challenges into concrete actions that improve the lives of American people. He has helped steer my economic vision into reality, and managed the transition of our historic economic recovery to steady and stable growth,” Biden said.He went on to cite Deese’s critical role in the passage of various agendas including the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, as well as the CHIPS and Science Act..css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“I am grateful to his wife Kara and his children Adeline and Clark for letting us borrow Brian. I know well what it must have been like to say goodbye to him for the regular long commute to Washington, and I know they’re excited to welcome him home,” he added.Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that she will endorse Democratic representative Adam Schiff for California senate if senator Diana Feinstein decides to not run again.In a statement released by Pelosi and reported by Politico, Pelosi wrote:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“If Senator Feinstein decides to seek re-election, she has my whole-hearted support. If she decides not to run, I will be supporting House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, who knows well the nexus between a strong Democracy and a strong economy,” she said.
      “In his service in the House, he has focused on strengthening our Democracy with justice and on building an economy that works for all,” she added.Pelosi’s announcement comes a week after Adam Schiff announced the launch of his campaign for California senate.Ahead of the meeting with president Joe Biden later today, the Congressional Black Caucus released a statement regarding its request to meet Biden following the death of Tyre Nichols who died after being brutally beaten by five Memphis police officers last month.On behalf of CBC members, CBC chairman and Democratic Nevada representative Steven Horsford wrote:“The Congressional Black Caucus takes its role to advocate for the safety and protection of the people in our communities very seriously. To that end, CBC is requesting a meeting with the President this week to push for negotiations on much needed national reforms to our justice system – specifically, the actions and conduct of our law enforcement…We are calling on our colleagues in the House and Senate to jumpstart negotiations now and work with us to address the public health epidemic of police violence that disproportionately affects many of our communities,” it added.Democratic representative Ilhan Omar tweeted a expletive-filled threat that her office received last week, writing, “These threats increase whenever Republicans put a target on my back.”She added that there is a “very real human cost” to Republican attacks against women of color like herself.Btw as horrific as this is to listen to, I share it because the Republican Party (and the public) need to know that there is a very real human cost to their continued targeting of women of color, not just to me but to those who share my identities.— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 2, 2023
      The tweet comes amid attempts by new House Republicans seeking to oust Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee. Last Tuesday, House speaker Kevin McCarthy blocked California Democratic representatives Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell from rejoining the House Intelligence Committee.Last Congress, Democrats removed Georgia’s Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and Arizona’s Paul Gosar from their committee assignments following incendiary remarks they made about their colleagues.Good morning, US politics blog readers. President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris are scheduled to meet members of the Congressional Black Caucus this afternoon to discuss police reform.The meeting comes a day after Tyre Nichols’ funeral where Harris urged Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act that would address police brutality and racial profiling. Politico reports that CBC members are preparing a list of executive actions that they want to see the Biden administration take.Among the attendees will be California Democratic representative Maxine Waters. In a statement reported by Politico, Waters said”: “I’m not optimistic. I’m not confident that we are going to be able to get real police reform … I approach working on this issue as a responsibility that I have to do – that we must try.”Here’s what else we can expect today:
      The House of Representatives is expected to vote on whether to remove Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar from the House foreign affairs committee, an apparent move about her former criticisms towards Israel but according to Democrats, about “spite” for removal of far-right extremists in the former Congress.
      Biden and former president Bill Clinton will convene at the White House to mark the 30th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act – the 1993 legislation that guaranteed US workers up to 12 unpaid weeks off to recover from illnesses or childbirth.
      White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will deliver a press briefing at 12.45pm EST. More

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      Ilhan Omar defiant as Republicans oust her from key House committee

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      Ilhan Omar defiant as Republicans oust her from key House committeeMinnesota Democrat accuses Republicans of trying to silence her because she is Muslim and vows to ‘advocate for a better world’ Republicans voted to expel Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar from the House foreign affairs committee on Thursday as punishment for her past remarks on Israel. Democrats objected, saying the move was about revenge after Democrats removed far-right extremists in the last Congress.A majority of 218 GOP lawmakers supported Omar’s expulsion from the committee, which is tasked with handling legislation and holding hearings affecting America’s diplomatic relations. One Republican lawmaker voted “present”.George Santos withdraws from House committees amid spiraling scandalRead moreOmar struck a defiant note in a speech shortly before the votes were counted, accusing Republicans of trying to silence her because she is a Muslim immigrant, and promising to continue speaking out.“Is anyone surprised that I am being targeted? Is anyone surprised that I am somehow deemed unworthy to speak about American foreign policy? Or that they see me as a powerful voice that needs to be silenced? Frankly, it is expected because when you push power, power pushes back,” Omar said.“My leadership and voice will not be diminished. If I am not on this committee for one term, my voice will get louder and stronger and my leadership will be celebrated around the world as it has been. So take your votes or not. I am here to stay and I am here to be a voice against harms around the world and advocate for a better world.”The Republican House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, had made removing Omar one of his first tasks after being elected the chamber’s leader last month following a lengthy battle with the party’s far right and 15 rounds of balloting. A small group of Republicans had initially objected to the effort, before changing their minds in recent days.On Wednesday, the chamber voted on party lines to move forward with the resolution, which explicitly condemns comments Omar made about Israel that drew accusations by Republicans and some Democrats of antisemitism.Omar has apologized and said she has come to understand her remarks played on antisemitic tropes.The lawmaker, who in 2018 became one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress, routinely faces violent threats and bigotry, including from other lawmakers.She once called McCarthy a “liar and a coward” after he refused to condemn remarks by Lauren Boebert, a Colorado extremist Omar said was a “buffoon” and a “bigot”.“These threats increase whenever Republicans put a target on my back,” Omar said on Wednesday, sharing audio of a death threat her office received. “They can continue to target me, but they will never stop me from fighting for a more just world.”On Wednesday the Republican chair of the foreign affairs committee, Michael McCaul of Texas, told reporters: “It’s just that her worldview of Israel is so diametrically opposed to the committee’s. I don’t mind having differences of opinion, but this goes beyond that.”Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, countered: “You cannot remove a member of Congress from a committee simply because you do not agree with their views. This is both ludicrous and dangerous.”Omar has said her removal “is about revenge” and “appeasing the former president”, Donald Trump, who once said Omar and three other progressive congresswomen of color should “go back” to where they came from.In a statement on Thursday, Jasmine Hawamdeh, communications manager for the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, said: “Representative Omar is constantly breaking barriers, and is unfairly targeted as the first Somali American, African immigrant and woman of color to be elected to Congress from Minnesota.“She has earned an equal platform so that we can continue hearing her voice on matters of international importance, such as human rights protections around the globe.”Republican leaders have for weeks worked to assuage concerns among some party members that ousting Omar was no more than an act of retribution for Democrats removing Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona from committees in the last Congress.The two rightwing extremists were expelled for aggressive and threatening behaviour including Gosar’s dissemination of a video which showed him attacking Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York progressive, and menacing Joe Biden. Gosar was also censured.Party leaders had previously removed members of their own party from committees. McCarthy did so in 2019, when the then Iowa congressman Steve King questioned why white supremacy was considered offensive. But McCarthy refused to take action against Greene or Gosar, which Democrats say forced them to take the then-unprecedented action of using their majority to remove members of the opposite party from committees.Under McCarthy, both have returned to committees.After the vote, the Democratic leader in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, tweeted that Omar’s removal was “highly partisan” and “about political revenge”. He announced he would appoint Omar to the budget committee, “where she will defend Democratic values against right-wing extremism”.Associated Press contributed to reportingTopicsIlhan OmarHouse of RepresentativesDemocratsRepublicansUS politicsKevin McCarthyUS CongressnewsReuse this content More

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      Sarah Huckabee Sanders to give Republican State of the Union response

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      Sarah Huckabee Sanders to give Republican State of the Union responseFormer Trump press secretary turned Arkansas governor to share ‘the GOP’s optimistic vision for the future’ after Biden speech The White House press secretary turned Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders will give the Republican response to Joe Biden’s State of the Union address next week.Ilhan Omar defiant as Republicans oust her from key House committeeRead moreAnnouncing the move on Thursday, the House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, called Huckabee Sanders “a servant-leader of true determination and conviction”, adding about his fellow Republican: “I’m thrilled Sarah will share her extraordinary story and bold vision for a better America on Tuesday.”Huckabee Sanders, now 40, was the second of Donald Trump’s four press secretaries in an administration under which relations between the press and the White House dwindled to new lows.Sanders memorably admitted lying to reporters about internal opposition to the FBI director, James Comey, during the investigation of Russian election interference in 2016 and links between the former president and Moscow.She told the New York Times it “bothers me” to be called a liar, “because one of the few things you have are your integrity and reputation”.“There’s a difference between misspeaking or not knowing something than maliciously lying,” she added.Huckabee Sanders was elected in Arkansas last November, following her father, Mike Huckabee, into the governor’s mansion. She began her time in power with a flurry of executive orders on culture war subjects.One banned use in state documents of the word “Latinx”, which one proponent has defined as “a gender-neutral term to describe US residents of Latin American descent”.Another order banned the teaching of critical race theory in public schools. Critical race theory is an academic discipline that examines the ways in which racism operates in US laws and society. It is rarely taught below college level but Republicans have enthusiastically and successfully used it as a wedge electoral issue.In her own statement on Thursday, Huckabee Sanders said she was “grateful for this opportunity to address the nation and contrast the GOP’s optimistic vision for the future against the failures of President Biden and the Democrats.Hispanic lawmakers in Connecticut seek official ban on term ‘Latinx’Read more“We are ready to begin a new chapter in the story of America – to be written by a new generation of leaders ready to defend our freedom against the radical left and expand access to quality education, jobs, and opportunity for all.”Some observers think Huckabee Sanders may in the future follow her father – and the Democratic former Arkansas governor Bill Clinton – and run for president.Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, bass guitarist and pitchman for questionable health products, did so in 2008 and 2016. In his first run he won the Iowa caucuses as part of an unexpectedly strong showing before losing to John McCain. In 2016 he was one of many candidates blown out of the water by Trump.Clinton was president for two terms beginning in 1993.Republicans also announced on Thursday that a second rebuttal to Biden’s speech will be given by the Arizona congressman Juan Ciscomani, who will speak in Spanish.TopicsState of the Union addressUS politicsJoe BidenArkansasRepublicansDemocratsnewsReuse this content More

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      Will Popular Protests Destroy Iran’s Islamic Regime?

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      The Fair Observer website uses digital cookies so it can collect statistics on how many visitors come to the site, what content is viewed and for how long, and the general location of the computer network of the visitor. These statistics are collected and processed using the Google Analytics service. Fair Observer uses these aggregate statistics from website visits to help improve the content of the website and to provide regular reports to our current and future donors and funding organizations. The type of digital cookie information collected during your visit and any derived data cannot be used or combined with other information to personally identify you. Fair Observer does not use personal data collected from its website for advertising purposes or to market to you.As a convenience to you, Fair Observer provides buttons that link to popular social media sites, called social sharing buttons, to help you share Fair Observer content and your comments and opinions about it on these social media sites. These social sharing buttons are provided by and are part of these social media sites. They may collect and use personal data as described in their respective policies. Fair Observer does not receive personal data from your use of these social sharing buttons. It is not necessary that you use these buttons to read Fair Observer content or to share on social media. More

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      George Santos’s lies are so big you almost have to admire them | Emma Brockes

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      George Santos’s lies are so big you almost have to admire themEmma BrockesThe New York congressman’s increasingly wild claims have all the thrill-seeking of a man running across a football field naked In retrospect, as it often seems to go in these cases, the evidence appears to have been so glaringly obvious, it’s a wonder we were ever taken in. George Santos – like Anna Sorokin, the “fake heiress” – even had the Scooby-Doo, black-rimmed glasses that might have come from a joke shop selling disguises. When the representative for New York’s third congressional district entered the House last November, he was briefly notable as the Republican’s first openly gay non-incumbent to win a seat.Now, his fame resides elsewhere. So wild and untrustworthy have statements made by Santos proved to be – Did his granny really survive the Holocaust? Was his mother’s death really related to 9/11? Did he ever appear in a movie alongside Uma Thurman? – that it would come as no surprise, at this stage, to discover that rather than a 34-year-old man, Santos is actually four children piled on top of each other beneath a trenchcoat.The fascinating thing about Santos, and other practitioners of these kinds of fabrications, is how easily disprovable their falsehoods turn out to be. If compulsive lying has its roots in something deeper and more complicated than mere self-advancement, you assume the risk-taking is part of the appeal. Psychologically, Santos’s claims appear akin in scale, impulse and thrill-seeking to a man running across a football field naked, each more lurid and exposing than the last.Let’s start with the small stuff, like where he went to school and what year he graduated. Per Santos’s claims, he attended Horace Mann, a prestigious private school in the Bronx (a representative of the school told CNN it had no record of him ever attending).After school, Santos claims he studied at Baruch College in New York, graduating with a degree in economics and finance in 2010. (Baruch College has no record of him graduating that year.) He claims to have gone on to study for an MBA at New York University (no record), to have worked on Wall Street for Goldman Sachs (no record) and Citigroup (no record). All of these lies were itemised in a comprehensive list in New York magazine last week, with citations for where Santos made the claim and where it was later rebutted.The New York Times, meanwhile, has also handily uploaded a copy of Santos’s two-page CV, which even in the weeds between his biggest tent-pole lies, will make your own CV claim to be “fluent in French” look like a modest inflation.George Santos withdraws from House committees amid spiraling scandalRead moreAnd that’s just the professional stuff. The personal fabrications are, if possible, even weirder in their overreach. Santos appears to have the recognisable, attention-seeking syndrome of claiming association with historical events that on closer inspection he had nothing to do with. His claim to be of Jewish heritage and have grandparents who survived the Holocaust has been thoroughly debunked, as has the claim he made on Twitter in 2021 that his mother was in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11. (Evidence suggests that, in fact, his mother, Fatima Devolder, was in Brazil in September 2001.)He has claimed, simultaneously, to own property in Brazil worth up to $1m, to own 13 rental properties – no record of these properties has so far been found – and to own no property at all and be living with his sister. The claims and reversals have reached a pitch so chaotic that it’s tempting to regard Santos as a conman approaching the level of satirist.And yet. Before we get carried away by the sheer entertainment value of all this, it’s worth reminding ourselves that beneath the improbably fanciful claims, there are suggestions of extremely banal, entirely predictable and straightforwardly self-interested financial impropriety on Santos’s part, all of which are now being investigated by federal prosecutors. A complaint has been filed with the Federal Election Commission about his alleged misuse of campaign funds, and the source of that funding, which is also under criminal investigation by the Department of Justice. And, less than a month after being sworn in, there are, of course, calls for the man to resign. Meanwhile, the most Santos has admitted to is “embellishing” his résumé.It’s a serious thing to mislead the electorate and lie to members of Congress, with a much more damaging fallout than the lies of a fake heiress trying to score a free holiday. Still, in both cases, the fascination with the workings of compulsive liars is the same. Scrutinising photos of Santos’s blank and babyish face triggers the vertiginous possibility inherent in all really big grifts – and one, possibly, deserving of sympathy, although who knows – that he has come to believe all this stuff himself.
      Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist based in New York

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      TopicsGeorge SantosOpinionUS CongressRepublicansUS politicscommentReuse this content More