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      What drove the man who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband? | Francine Prose

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      What drove the man who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband?Francine ProseAccording to the US Capitol police, there were 9,621 threats against members of Congress in 2021. It’s surprising that there aren’t more Surely I’m not the only person haunted by visions of 82-year-old Paul Pelosi, the husband of House speaker Nancy Pelosi, struggling with an intruder in the early hours this past Friday. It’s not hard to imagine the terror that Pelosi must have felt as he made his coded phone call to the police, telling them that someone had broken into his San Francisco home. And it’s all too easy to picture his assailant, David DePape, calling out, “Where’s Nancy?”, the same cry that went up from the insurrectionists roaming the halls of the US Capitol on 6 January.In fact, the only thing that’s hard to comprehend is why, given the current political climate, incidents like this one don’t occur more often. According to the US Capitol police, there were 9,621 threats against members of Congress in 2021, and the frequency of those disturbing emails and phone calls appears to be increasing. Republican and Democrats alike have been warned that they and their families will be killed, and some have wisely taken advantage of the provision that allows them to use their campaign funds to pay for private security teams.A secret bathroom 911 call: how Paul Pelosi saved his own life Read moreTighter surveillance and more armed patrols may make our politicians more secure, but it’s precisely the sort of Band-aid that we have been pasting over the deep wounds from which our society suffers. The quick fix of hiring more guards is not unlike New York City’s plan for reducing subway crime by beefing up police presence. A mugger might be deterred by the sight of a uniformed officer, but the people pushing commuters onto the tracks are more likely to be heeding the directives of the voices inside their heads than checking for the location of the nearest CCTV camera.One could argue that David DePape has more in common with these unhinged attackers than with protesters expressing their concerns outside the US supreme court. And that difference suggests that violent extremism and the descent into the rabbit hole of conspiracy theory be understood – and treated – as a form of disturbance rather than a sign of voter dissatisfaction and another symptom of our political divisions.Of course, many presumably “sane” politicians are exploiting and exacerbating the widespread rage and paranoia – spreading lies about the evils of science and the government’s plot to stifle our freedoms – in order to attract attention and increase their voter base. But though it’s despicable to condone and encourage violence, it’s not the same as committing it. It wasn’t Marjorie Taylor Greene who fractured Paul Pelosi’s skull.The Republican party’s obsession with gun ownership has made deadly weapons freely available to the mentally ill, but few school shooters have claimed to have slaughtered innocent students because Joe Biden stole the election. During the recent outcry over Kanye West’s odious antisemitic and anti-Black remarks, the fact that he has been diagnosed as bipolar dropped out of the public conversation. And while it’s true that mental instability is not necessarily the cause of – and certainly not an excuse for – prejudice and hatred, it’s hard to argue, as California psychologist Bedford Palmer II has done, that Ye’s instability had absolutely nothing to do with his destructive downward spiral.Almost daily, it seems, we read another article about the mental health crisis afflicting our country – and much of the world – in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Anyone who has spent any time lately in an American city knows how dire the situation has become. During an eight-block walk in downtown Manhattan, I counted three people in severe mental distress – and those were just the obvious cases.Yet no one, as far as I know, has introduced a workable, far-reaching, effective solution for fully addressing – let alone remedying – our problems. We’ve arrested and tried dozens of the January 6 rioters, but I’ve yet to read one essay that brought me significantly closer to understanding the psyche of someone who would grab a can of bear spray and call for Mike Pence’s blood. We know that racism and inequality fuel the anger that incites political violence, but I imagine that few of those who push subway riders off platforms are doing so because they fear being replaced by Jews and people of color. Many of the perpetrators of the anti-Asian attacks in New York City during the past year were found to have been recently released from homeless shelters and mental hospitals.I’m not suggesting that we stigmatize mental illness more egregiously than we already do. Rather I’m proposing that we recognize the need for – and figure out –some way to remedy the sort of instability that sent David DePape into the Pelosis’ house in the middle of the night. Our cities and states – and the federal government – need to come up with better plans for intervention. Perhaps Kanye West’s former corporate sponsors might want to stop whining about how much money they’re losing by severing ties with him – and donate some of the profits they’re earning without him to fund outreach and treatment centers.More cameras, more cops, longer jail terms – it’s not enough, and ultimately the surveillance and punishment model is not going to provide a lasting solution. Gun control would be a huge help in reducing the senseless bloodshed, but let’s remember: Paul Pelosi and David DePape were struggling over a hammer, not a long gun. We need to come up with a more innovative and comprehensive remedy for our mental health crisis. Because the fact is: we need help.
      Francine Prose is a former president of Pen American Center and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
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      The Dirty Secrets About How Reza Shah Destroyed Iran

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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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      The Trump Tapes: Bob Woodward’s chilling warning for US democracy

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      The Trump Tapes: Bob Woodward’s chilling warning for US democracy The Washington Post Watergate veteran’s 20 interviews with the now former president prove to be must-listen materialBob Woodward has witnessed more than 50 years of depredation on the Potomac. Together with Carl Bernstein, he helped push Richard Nixon out the door. Only one president, however, left the veteran Washington Post reporter fearing for the future of the republic and democracy.‘A nutso proposition’: Robert Draper on Trump, Republicans and January 6 Read moreHis latest endeavor, subtitled “Bob Woodward’s Twenty Interviews with President Donald Trump”, is a passport to the heart of darkness. In June 2020, Trump confided: “I get people, they come up with ideas. But the ideas are mine, Bob. Want to know something? Everything is mine.” So much for the 24th Psalm: “The earth is the Lord’s.”Trump whispered and sought to draw Woodward close. The author questions, pokes and curates. But in the end, his subject is left unbowed.The Trump Tapes, an audiobook, is disturbingly relevant, an unplanned coda to Woodward’s print Trump trilogy. We hear Trump ladle out praise for Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. Kim Jong-un is dear to his heart. Trump praises them for smarts, cunning and ruthlessness. He envies autocrats, seemingly wishes to join their ranks. A second term as president would provide that opportunity, Woodward argues.The tapes convincingly demonstrate that Trump knew in early 2020 that Covid posed a mortal danger to the US, but balked at telling the whole truth. His re-election hung in the balance.By the time Trump delivered his State of the Union address to Congress in February 2020, his national security team had delivered a stark warning. Yet Trump soft-pedaled the danger until his final months in office. Covid deaths in Republican America grew to outpace fatalities in Democratic states.Robert O’Brien, Trump’s national security adviser, and Matthew Pottinger, his deputy, confirmed to Woodward that they warned Trump the coronavirus would be “the biggest national security threat you face in your presidency”. They expected the devastation to be brutal, akin to the flu epidemic of 1918.Trump tacitly acknowledges receiving their message but does not dwell on Covid’s downside. He did not see it as his primary responsibility.In February 2020, Trump assured Woodward that everything was OK in the US, adding “now we got a little bit of a setback with the China virus”. He added that Covid would “go away in a couple of months with the heat”. In summer 2020, asked if this were “the leadership test of a lifetime”, Trump offered an emphatic “no”.He bragged of the US nuclear arsenal. “I have built a weapon system that nobody’s ever had in this country before,” Trump said. “We have stuff that Putin and Xi have never heard about before.”The tapes again demonstrate that Trump holds the press in contempt but yearns for its approval. Trump flatters his interviewer as “a great historian” and “the great Bob Woodward”. His tropism toward Woodward and Maggie Haberman is of the same piece. Woodward doubled as de facto White House stenographer and chronicler, Haberman as psychiatrist. Trump would call without warning. Woodward scattered devices around his home, to record such conversations.In the end, Trump smashed history’s clock. The US stands changed, possibly forever.“There is no turning back for American politics,” Woodward observes. “Trump was and still is a huge force and indelible presence, with the most powerful political machine in the country. He has the largest group of followers, loyalists and fundraisers, exceeding that of even President Biden.”Our divisions are unlikely to recede, Woodward worries. Trump better intuited where America stood in 2016 than any of his rivals. He grasped the impact of free trade, opioids and death by despair. He validated his base and relished his capacity to enrage. In the process, he obliterated the Republican legacy as the party of Abraham Lincoln and made the GOP his own.Woodward acknowledges the power of Trump’s instincts. On tape, Trump places himself on par with the 16th president and claims to have outshone Lyndon Johnson and the civil rights legislation of the 1960s.“No, I’ve done more,” he bristles, when pressed.Not surprisingly, Woodward and Trump spar over culture. A son of an Illinois state judge, a graduate of Yale, Woodward asserts that he and Trump are beneficiaries of white privilege. Woodward served in the navy, Trump dodged Vietnam. Trump refuses to have any of it. He says Woodward’s formulation is not part of his worldview.Maggie Haberman on Trump: ‘He’s become a Charles Foster Kane character’Read moreWoodward also focuses on the anger unleashed by the murder of George Floyd. Trump revisits the ensuing riots. From the left, the slogan “Defund the police” is a gift that keeps on giving for Republicans. This election cycle, law and order appears to be the winning message – as it was in 1968, 1972, 1988 and 2016. Latino voters and Asian Americans drift to the GOP.If Trump seeks the 2024 Republican nomination the crown will likely be his, together with excellent odds for re-election. Joe Biden’s ratings lumber. A criminal indictment might even burnish Trump’s allure to the faithful, albeit a conviction would be a wholly different matter.Biden has ignored the cold fact that his election came with a singular mandate: that he not act like his predecessor – nothing more. Instead, the 46th president fashioned himself as FDR 2.0, striving to usher in a second New Deal via razor-thin Democratic margins in Congress.On 8 November 2022, America will deliver a midterm verdict. Weeks later, Biden will turn 80. The country will be watching. So will an eager Trump and a vexed Woodward. No one said democracy was easy.TopicsBooksDonald TrumpAudiobooksCoronavirusUS elections 2020Politics booksUS domestic policyreviewsReuse this content More

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      Chorus for Peace in Ukraine Sings Louder

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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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      When McKinsey Comes to Town review: the book to consult on opioids, China and more

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      When McKinsey Comes to Town review: the book to consult on opioids, China and moreWalt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe of the New York Times have done their homework on the management giant McKinsey & Co is the biggest name in the consulting business. Established in 1926, it employs 30,000 people, maintains offices in more than 130 locations and counts Pete Buttigieg, the US transportation secretary, among its alumni. From vaping to non-profits, insurance to energy, government work to healthcare, the McKinsey thumbprint is there.Newsroom Confidential review: Margaret Sullivan’s timely tale of the Times and the PostRead moreTraditionally, McKinsey possessed the luxury of distance, watching from the sidelines as clients bore the brunt of scrutiny, lawsuits and risk. But the space between field and bleachers has narrowed. McKinsey finds itself under the microscope.When McKinsey Comes to Town is highly informed, a fascinating read. The authors, New York Times investigative reporters Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe, have done their homework. They name names, connect dots and unearth documents. Sources speak in Technicolor.Bogdanich is a three-time Pulitzer winner. Forsythe brings a keen eye to the intersection of money, politics and China. He was previously based in Hong Kong. As it happens, McKinsey has worked for both the US defense department and for Chinese state-owned companies that have aided Beijing’s military buildup.McKinsey says Bogdanich and Forsythe “fundamentally misrepresent our firm and our work”. It issued a similar statement when the Times and ProPublica highlighted its remit on behalf of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and US Customs and Border Protection. ProPublica said: “McKinsey Called Our Story About Its ICE Contract False. It’s Not.” The contract with Ice was reportedly worth $18m.McKinsey has advised more than 40 US agencies. It played an outsized role in Jared Kushner’s attempts to cope with Covid, which originated in China. At the same time, it maintained a presence in China. The apparent conflict of interest triggered congressional concern. A group of Republicans claimed McKinsey’s work “on behalf of Chinese … firms, is tantamount to work on behalf of the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] and could lead to direct or indirect support for the CCP’s armed wing, the People’s Liberation Army”.Amid rising tension between Washington and Beijing, McKinsey’s connections, contracts and loyalties will probably continue to draw attention.The firm remains in the news. In February 2021, McKinsey entered into nearly $600m of legal settlements with state attorneys general. Why? The platinum-plated powerhouse purportedly helped Perdue Pharma “turbocharge” opioid sales. Plaintiffs alleged that “McKinsey sold its ideas to … Purdue Pharma …from 2004 to 2019, including before and after Purdue’s 2007 guilty plea for felony misbranding.”McKinsey also counts the US Food and Drug Administration as a client. But that’s just the beginning. To quote members of Congress, on at least four occasions the company may “have passed along non-public information based on its relationship with the FDA or discussed its willingness to do so” with Purdue Pharma.Bogdanich asks: “What does that mean when you have an opioid manufacturer who’s pushing opioids in the middle of an epidemic?”Since 1999, opioid-related deaths have risen more than fivefold. In two decades, opioids have killed more than 450,000 in the US. Life expectancy is down and it’s not just because of Covid. Death by despair is rising.In 2020, McKinsey apologized for its involvement with Purdue Pharma, “recogniz[ing] that we did not adequately acknowledge the epidemic unfolding in our communities or the terrible impact of opioid misuse”.McKinsey also counted as a client Juul Labs – the vaping company and scourge of teachers, moms and dads – billing it between $15m and $17m. Its most important work for Juul involved responding to an FDA crackdown on youth vaping.Youthful addiction can be profitable – until it isn’t. In September, Juul and more than 30 state attorneys general reached a $438.5m settlement. The e-cigarette manufacture did not admit culpability. McKinsey was not involved in the settlement. Juul hovers on the cusp of bankruptcy.Bogdanich and Forsythe focus on another “long-standing” McKinsey policy – simultaneously serving competing clients with “conflicting interests” as well as “counter-parties in merger, acquisition and alliance opportunities”. In plain English, McKinsey can find itself on both sides of transactions.Self-policing works – until it doesn’t. Unlike the strictures that govern lawyers, the rules that pertain to consultants, if any, are porous and less rigid. Last month, South African prosecutors indicted McKinsey on unspecified charges related to the alleged looting of Transnet, the state freight rail monopoly.‘A nutso proposition’: Robert Draper on Trump, Republicans and January 6 Read more“We believe the charges filed against our South Africa office are meritless and we will defend against them,” a McKinsey spokesman responded.Regardless of the outcome of the case, McKinsey’s experience in South Africa stands as a study in the perils posed when governments offload government functions to non-state actors.McKinsey will face continued scrutiny. Then again, it is unclear if such work as that of Bogdanich and Forsythe can or will lead to change. McKinsey services remain in demand. Eager college and graduate business school students line up for a shot at snagging the brass ring.Speaking to Bogdanich and Forsythe, one former McKinsey consultant put the reach of the firm into some perspective. Forget secret cabals, “illuminati, lizard people, or globalists” he said. Instead, “there is … McKinsey”.
      When McKinsey Comes to Town: The Hidden Influence of the World’s Most Powerful Consulting Firm is published in the USby Penguin Random House
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      Paul Pelosi, husband of Nancy Pelosi, in hospital after being attacked at home

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      Paul Pelosi, husband of Nancy Pelosi, in hospital after being attacked at homeDemocratic House speaker’s office says husband ‘violently assaulted’ early on Friday by suspect who is now in police custody Paul Pelosi, husband of the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, was taken to hospital early on Friday after he was attacked at the couple’s home in California with a hammer by an assailant who was reported to have shouted “Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?”San Francisco police said that they were called to the Pelosi house in the city on a “wellbeing check” at about 2.27am local time on Friday morning. They found an adult male confronting Paul Pelosi, and a hammer was being grasped by both men.“The suspect pulled the hammer away from Mr Pelosi and violently assaulted him with it. Our officers immediately tackled the suspect, disarmed him, took him into custody,” said Bill Scott, chief of the San Francisco police department.Scott named the suspect as David DePape, 42, adding that any motive was still being determined. Charges are to be brought at the San Francisco county jail, including attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, burglary and other felonies.It was reported by CNN that the suspect intended to tie the victim up “until Nancy got home” and that he had posted rightwing and conspiracy theories online, including content promoting the lie that Donald Trump was deprived of victory in the 2020 election because of voter fraud.In a statement to CNN, an acquaintance of DePape’s said he appeared to be “out of touch with reality”. Two of the suspect’s relatives also told the network that DePape, who grew up in British Columbia, Canada, was estranged from his family.In addition to multiple conspiracy posts on his Facebook account, which was reviewed by CNN and later taken down by Meta on Friday, DePape is also believed to have managed a blog to which he regularly posted screeds concerning the “ruling class”. The blog, which the San Francisco Chronicle reviewed and was later taken down, had a banner that said “Welcome to Big Brothers Censorship Hell”, along with numerous conspiracy posts about the government, media outlets and tech companies.According to the Associated Press, the attacker had specifically targeted the Pelosi family home. Video footage of the house showed glass shattered in a side entrance, indicating where the break-in may have occurred. A person briefed on the situation told AP that the intruder had confronted Paul Pelosi while demanding to know where his wife was. A similar chant of “Where’s Nancy?” was made by insurrectionists during the assault on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.The speaker was not at home at the time of the attack, but was in Washington DC with security protection that accompanies her at all times as standard.Her husband suffered blunt force trauma to the head and body in the attack. He was being treated in hospital for bruising, severe swelling and other injuries.In a statement, Pelosi’s spokesperson Drew Hammill said the speaker’s husband, 82, was “receiving excellent medical care and is expected to make a full recovery”. “The speaker and her family are grateful to the first responders and medical professionals involved, and request privacy at this time,” Hammill said.MSNBC on Friday afternoon reported that Pelosi was traveling to San Francisco to be with her husband, who was still undergoing surgery at the time. A Pelosi spokesperson wouldn’t comment on that report.While the exact motivation for the attack was unclear on Friday morning, it raised fears about the safety of members of Congress and their families.Concerns have been rising, particularly since the insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, by extremist supporters of Donald Trump intent on overturning his supposed loss to Joe Biden in the presidential election, about a new era of violent threats against US lawmakers and their families and staff, and their security.In July, members of Congress were given $10,000 each to upgrade security at their homes in the face of rising threats. Some have pushed for even more protection, pointing to people turning up at their homes and an increasing amount of threatening communications.Joe Biden called Nancy Pelosi about the incident on Friday morning.“The president is praying for Paul Pelosi and for Speaker Pelosi’s whole family. This morning he called Speaker Pelosi to express his support after this horrible attack. He is also very glad that a full recovery is expected,” the White House said in a statement.US faces new era of political violence as threats against lawmakers riseRead moreChuck Schumer, the Democratic majority leader in the US Senate, called Friday’s attack “a dastardly act”. He said he had conveyed his “deepest concern and heartfelt wishes” to Nancy Pelosi.Top Republicans also expressed their horror at the attack. Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader in the House who is poised to take over as speaker should the Democrats lose control of the chamber in next month’s midterm elections, reached out to “check in on Paul” according to a spokesperson.The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, said he was “horrified and disgusted” by the assault.Paul Pelosi is a businessman who runs his own real estate and venture capital investment firm, Financial Leasing Services, based in San Francisco. He met Nancy D’Alesandro when they were both students in Washington DC, and they married in 1963. They have five children and many grandchildren.Nancy Pelosi has had two stints as speaker of the US House, between 2007 to 2011 and since January 2019. She represents California’s 12th congressional district.The investigation into Friday’s attack is being handled jointly by the FBI, the US Capitol police (USCP) and local San Francisco officers.The statement said that special agents with the USCP’s California field office “quickly arrived on scene”. A team of threat assessment investigators from the east coast was also sent to assist the FBI and the San Francisco police department with a joint investigation.Nancy Pelosi had just returned to Washington this week from a security conference in Europe and is due to make a keynote speech at an advocacy event on Saturday evening with vice-president, Kamala Harris.In addition to the rising threats on members of Congress, state and local politicians have also been confronted by increased threat levels. This week the campaign office of Katie Hobbs, Arizona’s secretary of state who is running for governor of the state in next month’s midterm elections, was broken into.A suspect, Daniel Mota Dos Reis, has been charged with third-degree burglary.Often at Pelosi’s side during formal events in Washington, Paul Pelosi largely remains on the west coast.Guardian reporter Maya Yang and the Associated Press and contributed reportingTopicsNancy PelosiDemocratsUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Republican senator Tom Cotton brags about ignoring Trump impeachment evidence in new book

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      Republican senator Tom Cotton brags about ignoring Trump impeachment evidence in new bookThe Arkansas senator, a Republican presidential hopeful, also suggests president did not know military procedures In January 2020, the rightwing Arkansas Republican Tom Cotton said he would vote to acquit Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial because despite senators having “heard from 17 witnesses … and received more than 28,000 pages of documents”, Democrats had not presented their case correctly.Trump bragged about new US nuclear weapons, Woodward tape showsRead moreAccording to Cotton, the senators who sat through so much evidence would “perform the role intended for us by the founders, of providing the ‘cool and deliberate sense of the community’, as it says in Federalist 63.”In a new book, however, Cotton boasts that he spent his time refusing to pay attention – pretending to read materials relevant to the president’s trial – but hiding his real reading matter under a fake cover.He writes: “My aides delivered a steady flow of papers and photocopied books, hidden underneath a fancy cover sheet labeled ‘Supplementary Impeachment Materials’, so nosy reporters sitting above us in the Senate gallery couldn’t see what I was reading.”“They probably would’ve reported that I wasn’t paying attention to the trial.”Reporters did report that Republicans were not paying attention. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee named the book she chose to read instead of participating in only the third presidential trial in history: “It was Resistance (At All Costs) by Kim Strassel.”Other Republicans fidgeted or doodled. But reporters noted that Blackburn violated decorum guidelines on relevant reading: “Reading materials should be confined to only those readings which pertain to the matter before the Senate.”Admitting the same infraction, Cotton – a leading China hawk – says he was reading “about the science of coronaviruses, the methods of vaccine development and the history of pandemics”.He adds: “I was paying attention – to the story that mattered most. The outcome of the impeachment trial was a foregone conclusion, and it wouldn’t impact the daily lives of normal Americans.”Cotton’s book, Only the Strong: Reversing the Left’s Plot to Sabotage American Power, will be published next Tuesday. The Guardian obtained a copy.Cotton is now among senators, governors and former members of the Trump administration jostling for position in the developing contest for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. Publishing a book is a traditional preparatory step.The senator, 45, is a former soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and at Arlington Cemetery before entering politics as a foreign policy hawk. His book takes aim at Joe Biden and Barack Obama – and equally persistently, from the prologue to the note on sources, Woodrow Wilson, the president who took office in 1913, took the US into the first world war in 1917, left office in 1921 and died in 1924.Trump is the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination 100 years later, despite facing legal jeopardy for inciting the Capitol attack, trying to overturn the 2020 election, retaining classified records and being the subject of criminal and civil suits over his business affairs and an allegation of rape.Cotton voted to acquit Trump at both his impeachment trials, the second for inciting the Capitol riot, but he was not among the eight Republican senators who supported Trump’s attempts to overturn election results in key states.In his book, however, the Arkansan skips over domestic concerns, including his own advocacy of using the military against “Antifa terrorists” during protests for racial justice in summer 2020, a position which stoked huge controversy and brought down an editor at the New York Times.Cotton is largely careful to target only Democratic presidents. Hitting Bill Clinton and Barack Obama for not serving in the military before running for the White House, he omits mention of George W Bush’s avoidance of service in Vietnam by securing a post in the Texas air national guard, to which he did not always show up.Unchecked review: how Trump dodged two impeachments … and the January 6 committee?Read moreBut Cotton does risk angering Trump, by criticising him for “waiting too long to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal” and by dishing on a private call in which the then president professed ignorance of military protocol.Early in Trump’s term in power, Cotton writes, the president called him about a potential nominee – common Senate business.But Trump then said: “The other night, they called me and asked for approval to kill some terrorist. I never heard of the guy.”Cotton asked if Trump approved the strike.“Trump replied, ‘Oh yeah, but I asked why they called me in the first place. Didn’t they have some captain or major or someone who knew more about this guy? I mean, I’d never heard of him.’”With nudging, Cotton says, Trump worked out that the military was working according to protocols laid down by Obama, who he accuses of “impos[ing] needless layers of bureaucratic and legal review” on strikes on terrorist targets.TopicsBooksDonald TrumpTrump administrationTrump impeachment (2019)RepublicansUS elections 2024ArkansasReuse this content More

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      Republican Liz Cheney endorses Michigan Democrat in midterm elections – as it happened

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      Despite her fairly hard core conservative credentials, anti-Trump Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney has now endorsed a Democrat in the upcoming midterm elections.Having used her position on the January 6 committee to bludgeon Donald Trump for his role in the insurrection and for seeking to overturn the 2020 election result, Cheney clearly feels her split with her own party is nearly complete.Crossing America’s political divide and supporting a Democrat will infuriate the Trumpist-dominated Republican party.AP has the details:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Republican Rep. Liz Cheney on Thursday endorsed and plans to campaign for Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, the first time that the critic of former President Donald Trump who lost her GOP primary has crossed party lines to formally support a Democrat.
      Cheney, of Wyoming, announced her support for the two-term House member from Holly, Michigan, in a statement by the Slotkin campaign that notes she plans to headline a campaign event with Slotkin in the Lansing-area district next Tuesday.
      Slotkin is competing against Republican state Sen. Tom Barrett in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. Their race is considered a toss-up by both sides and one of the Republicans’ chief targets in their campaign to win the House majority on Nov. 8.And this is likely the crucial detail..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Both [Cheney and Slotkin] have been vocal critics of House Republicans who have sought to downplay the siege of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.The pieces on the American political chess board continued moving today, with less than two weeks to go until the 8 November midterms. Donald Trump announced a slate of campaign rallies, including a visit to Florida, where he will not be joined by Republican governor Ron DeSantis. Meanwhile, Joe Biden traveled to a New York semiconductor factory to promote legislation boosting domestic technological competitiveness, with the greater goal of drumming up voter support for his handling of the economy. And Trump foe Liz Cheney bucked her hardcore Republican credentials to endorse a Democrat running for another term in the House.Here’s what else happened today:
      A Capitol rioter was sentenced to seven-a-half years in prison for his part in the attack on Washington police officer Michael Fanone on January 6.
      Democratic lawmakers want the enhanced child tax credit restored in year-end legislation. During 2021, the program was credited with lowering child poverty.
      Democratic senator John Hickenlooper asked the Federal Reserve to hold off on increasing interest rates further. He is the second Democrat this week to urge the central bank exercise caution in its fight against inflation.
      Once a swing state, Democrats in Florida worry they are being pushed decisively into the minority, and could lose ground even in their strongholds in the upcoming elections.
      Call them the Arizona accords. A far-right Republican lawmaker invited the leaders of Russia and Ukraine to negotiate peace in the southwestern state. Don’t expect it to go anywhere.
      Why are there always reporters following Joe Biden around? Because people tell him interesting things.Such as top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer, who Fox News overheard giving Biden his assessment of how things are looking in two states crucial to determining Senate control:Schumer on hot mic talking to Biden about the midterms:“Looks like the debate didn’t hurt us too much in Pennsylvania and we’re picking up steam in Nevada.” pic.twitter.com/6KPjJ4YfMc— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 27, 2022
      Despite Democrat John Fetterman’s rocky performance on Tuesday, Schumer said, “looks like the debate didn’t hurt us too much in Pennsylvania.” He can also be heard saying “we’re picking up steam in Nevada.” Polls in the western state have shown Democratic senator Catherine Cortez Masto in a very tight race against her Republican opponent, Adam Laxalt.Control of Congress isn’t the only thing voters will decide in the 8 November midterms. In five states, Americans will vote on whether or not to approve ballot measures removing laws that allow slavery and involuntary servitude for prisoners, the Associated Press reports.The measures won’t immediately change conditions in state prisons, but could form the basis for future legal challenges over how convict labor is treated.Here’s more from the AP’s report:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The effort is part of a national push to amend the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that banned enslavement or involuntary servitude except as a form of criminal punishment. That exception has long permitted the exploitation of labor by convicted felons.
      “The idea that you could ever finish the sentence ‘slavery’s okay when … ’ has to rip out your soul, and I think it’s what makes this a fight that ignores political lines and brings us together, because it feels so clear,” said Bianca Tylek, executive director of Worth Rises, a criminal justice advocacy group pushing to remove the amendment’s convict labor clause.
      Nearly 20 states have constitutions that include language permitting slavery and involuntary servitude as criminal punishments. In 2018, Colorado was the first to remove the language from its founding frameworks by ballot measure, followed by Nebraska and Utah two years later.
      This November, versions of the question go before voters in Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont.
      Sen. Raumesh Akbari, a Democrat from Memphis, was shocked when a fellow lawmaker told her about the slavery exception in the Tennessee Constitution and immediately began working to replace the language.
      “When I found out that this exception existed, I thought, ‘We have got to fix this and we’ve got to fix this right away,’” she said. “Our constitution should reflect the values and the beliefs of our state.”A judge in Washington has sentenced a Tennessee man who participated in the January 6 insurrection to seven-and-a-half years in prison for attacking police officer Michael Fanone, The Wall Street Journal reports.Albuquerque Cosper Head, 43, was part of a group that overwhelmed Fanone as he tried to fend off the assault, dragging him into a mob and holding him down while he was tased by other rioters. Fanone, who resigned from the Washington police department last year, has become one of the most outspoken law enforcement figures who responded to the attack by supporters of Donald Trump.Here’s more from the Journal:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Calling him one of the “most serious offenders” during the Capitol riot, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson imposed the 90-month sentence on Albuquerque Cosper Head during an emotional court hearing Thursday in the District of Columbia.
      Mr. Head, a 43-year-old construction worker, pleaded guilty in May to participating in a group attack on Michael Fanone, a former Washington Metropolitan Police Officer. Mr. Fanone has spoken extensively about the attack and the injuries he sustained, including a heart attack and a traumatic brain injury.
      According to a recent Justice Department court filing, Mr. Head “forcibly dragged Officer Fanone into the riotous mob” and “continued to restrain Officer Fanone while another rioter applied a Taser to the base of the officer’s skull.”
      Judge Jackson called Mr. Head’s actions “some of the darkest acts committed on one of our nation’s darkest days,” adding that he went after the officer like he was “prey” and a “trophy.”
      Mr. Head will receive credit for time spent in custody since his arrest in April 2021.
      The Justice Department had asked Judge Jackson to impose the maximum potential sentence of 96 months, citing Mr. Head’s criminal history, which includes convictions for domestic violence and approximately 45 arrests.
      Mr. Head’s lawyer, G. Nicholas Wallace, argued unsuccessfully for a 60-month sentence, saying his client was “embarrassed and remorseful” and has accepted responsibility for his actions.‘Devoid of shame’: January 6 cop Michael Fanone on Trump’s Republican partyRead moreRightwing Republican congressman Paul Gosar has invited Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Arizona to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.In a letter posted on Donald Trump’s Truth social network, Gosar, who was censured and stripped of his committee posts last year for tweeting a violent anime sequence depicting him killing congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacking Joe Biden, proposed talks in Phoenix to end a conflict he feared poses nuclear peril.He described Arizona’s capital as “far enough away from the conflict, and away from the entities that are currently encouraging more war, to be a productive location.”Here’s how he put it, on Twitter:The horrible reality is that western leaders do not want peace between Russia and Ukraine.Our political and military leaders are marching straight into nuclear war for the sake of ‘our democracy’.We need peacemakers, not death cultists.— Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar) October 27, 2022
      The letter is unlikely to amount to anything more than a stunt for the Trump acolyte representing the southwestern state. But it does point to a larger reality: some Republicans are growing wary of Washington’s continued backing of Kyiv, saying it’s getting too expensive. Top House Republican Kevin McCarthy, who is poised to lead the chamber if the GOP wins a majority in the upcoming elections, said as much in an interview last week.‘The most dangerous man in Congress’: how Paul Gosar became a darling of the far rightRead moreDemocrat woes deepen in New YorkMuch has already been made of the unusually tight race in New York state for the governor’s mansion, where Kathy Hochul only has a relatively narrow lead over her Republican challenger.Now, adding to those New York woes, is evidence that other races are starting to look troublesome for Democrats, including the House Democratic campaigns chief Sean Patrick Maloney in the Hudson Valley.Once thought safe, the race there has tightened considerably.Politico has more: Republicans first targeted House Democratic campaigns chief Sean Patrick Maloney’s blue district here in the Hudson Valley as an act of trolling their arch-nemesis. Now they’re taking their prospects seriously.And so is Maloney. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair and his allies are answering the GOP’s escalation with millions of dollars from outside groups, while Maloney steps up his already grueling campaign schedule at home.Swooping in to rescue their own campaigns chief is the last place Democrats wanted to be in the final days of the midterms. His struggles have led some in the party to rethink their tendency to elect swing-seat DCCC leaders, but for the moment Maloney’s just looking to hang on.But also a note of optimism.“This is nothing new for me,” [Maloney] claimed of the GOP onslaught after a Wednesday town hall to promote his work on lowering prescription drug prices. Indeed, in 2016 he won reelection even as most voters in his then-district picked Donald Trump for presidentJoe Biden is undoing some of the Trump administration’s nuclear weapons policies, but critics want the White House to do more, The Guardian’s Julian Borger reports:The Biden administration has confirmed it will cancel a submarine-launched nuclear cruise missile programme begun by Donald Trump, as part of its review of nuclear policy.The administration will also retire a gravity bomb, the B63, from its arsenal as part of its Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), but arms control advocates argued the changes from the Trump era did not go far enough.The administration is retaining another weapon variant introduced by Trump, a low-yield warhead called the W76-2, intended to deter an adversary like Russia using a low-yield weapon. The Democratic party manifesto in 2020 had called the W76-2 “unnecessary, wasteful, and indefensible”.The Biden NPR said that the “fundamental role of nuclear weapons is to deter nuclear attack on the United States, our allies, and partners”. That declaratory policy stops sort of saying deterring nuclear attack is the sole purpose of the arsenal, which is what Biden promised in his election campaign. Instead, the NPR says that the US could strike back against “a narrow range of other high consequence, strategic-level attacks”.Biden to scrap Trump missile project but critics attack US ‘nuclear overkill’Read moreDespite her fairly hard core conservative credentials, anti-Trump Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney has now endorsed a Democrat in the upcoming midterm elections.Having used her position on the January 6 committee to bludgeon Donald Trump for his role in the insurrection and for seeking to overturn the 2020 election result, Cheney clearly feels her split with her own party is nearly complete.Crossing America’s political divide and supporting a Democrat will infuriate the Trumpist-dominated Republican party.AP has the details:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Republican Rep. Liz Cheney on Thursday endorsed and plans to campaign for Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, the first time that the critic of former President Donald Trump who lost her GOP primary has crossed party lines to formally support a Democrat.
      Cheney, of Wyoming, announced her support for the two-term House member from Holly, Michigan, in a statement by the Slotkin campaign that notes she plans to headline a campaign event with Slotkin in the Lansing-area district next Tuesday.
      Slotkin is competing against Republican state Sen. Tom Barrett in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. Their race is considered a toss-up by both sides and one of the Republicans’ chief targets in their campaign to win the House majority on Nov. 8.And this is likely the crucial detail..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Both [Cheney and Slotkin] have been vocal critics of House Republicans who have sought to downplay the siege of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.Could Donald Trump soon return to Twitter? With Elon Musk on course to meet a Friday deadline to finish his acquisition of the company, chances are rising that the former president will make a return to the social network he used as a megaphone in his presidency. Here’s the latest on the deal from The Guardian’s Alex Hern:Elon Musk has claimed he has “acquired Twitter” in a post to the social network reassuring advertisers it will stay a safe place for their brands, amid fears one of his first actions as chief executive will be to restore Donald Trump’s account.After months of uncertainty over whether or not his $44bn acquisition of the social media platform would go through, the Tesla chief executive’s post is the strongest acknowledgment yet that the deal is expected to be sealed before its deadline of 5pm in Delaware on Friday.Musk wrote in a statement attached to the tweet: “The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilisation to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence.”He added: “That is why I bought Twitter. I didn’t do it because it would be easy. I didn’t do it to make more money. I did it to try to help humanity, whom I love.”Elon Musk claims he has acquired Twitter ‘to help humanity’Read moreLiving in conservative-run states takes a toll on Americans, according to a new study that found a gap in life expectancies based on a state’s political orientation. Martin Pengelly reports:Americans die younger in conservative states than in those governed by liberals, a new study has found.The authors wrote: “Simulations indicate that changing all policy domains in all states to a fully liberal orientation might have saved 171,030 lives in 2019, while changing them to a fully conservative orientation might have cost 217,635 lives.”The study was published on Plos One, “an inclusive journal community working together to advance science for the benefit of society, now and in the future”.The authors were from Syracuse University in New York, Harvard in Massachusetts, Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Washington, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Western Ontario, in Canada.They wrote: “Results show that the policy domains were associated with working-age mortality.”Americans die younger in states run by conservatives, study findsRead moreFrom its central role in the disputed 2000 election to its more recent rightward shift under governor Ron DeSantis, Florida has long been one of the most politically interesting states in the union.The Guardian’s Oliver Laughland traveled to the Sunshine State, seeking answers to one of the biggest questions of the upcoming midterms: will it keep trending Republican, or is a Democratic revival possible? Here’s what he found:12:41Donald Trump has announced a slate of campaign rallies in the last days before the 8 November midterm elections, including a visit to Florida, where he will not be joined by Republican governor Ron DeSantis. Meanwhile, Joe Biden will today travel to a semiconductor factory to promote legislation he supported to boost domestic technological competitiveness, with the greater goal of drumming up voter support for his handling of the economy.Here’s what else is happening today:
      Democratic lawmakers want the enhanced child tax credit restored in year-end legislation. During 2021, the program was credited with lowering child poverty.
      Democratic senator John Hickenlooper wants the Federal Reserve to hold off on increasing interest rates further. He is the second Democrat this week to ask the central bank to exercise caution in its fight against inflation.
      Once a swing state, Democrats in Florida worry they are being pushed decisively into the minority, and could lose ground even in their strongholds in the upcoming elections.
      White House chief of staff Ron Klain broke a federal law with a retweet from his official account, an investigation has found, according to the Associated Press.The AP reports that Klain violated the Hatch Act when he retweeted from his White House account a message from Democratic group STRIKE PAC. The tweet was about deliveries of baby formula, but also included the message, “Get your Democrats Deliver merch today!”That’s a violation of the act, which bars government officials from trying to influence elections in their official capacities, and Klain was issued a letter of warning, according to the AP.Here’s more from their report:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Klain removed the retweet as soon as he was notified of the complaint. No disciplinary action will be pursued and the office, an independent government watchdog that monitors violations of the Hatch Act, considers the matter closed. Klain was warned to be more careful in the future.
      The conservative legal group America First Legal, led by Donald Trump adviser Stephen Miller, complained about the tweet and sought an investigation.
      Miller and at least a dozen other former Trump administration officials repeatedly violated that same law, without consequence and with Trump’s approval, as part of a “willful disregard for the Hatch Act,” the Office of Special Counsel found in 2021. The office investigated comments by Trump officials leading into the 2020 presidential election, including at the Republican National Convention, which was held at the White House in a major break from historical norms.
      White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre often cites the Hatch Act in deflecting political questions during news briefings. Earlier this week she was asked whether Biden was doing everything he can possibly do to get Democrats across the finish line in the Nov. 8 elections.
      “I have to be careful of what I say, because we do respect the Hatch Act here in this administration,” she said.Pennsylvania’s Democratic candidate for Senate John Fetterman has meanwhile hit out at Shell for reporting massive profits, accusing the oil giant of gouging American consumers while raking in cash.Here’s the statement from the candidate’s communications director:NEW: Statement from Fetterman on Shell’s reported $9.45 billion in profits for the third quarter, their second-highest profit on record. pic.twitter.com/0l7cldq81K— Joe Calvello (@the_vello) October 27, 2022
      The message that corporate profiteering is to blame for America’s ongoing inflation wave is one Democrats have pushed throughout this year, and polls indicate it has some resonance with voters.The House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy has joined in on criticizing Democrat John Fetterman for his performance in Tuesday night’s Pennsylvania Senate debate. Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor, is recovering from a stroke and at times spoke haltingly in his face-off against Republican Mehmet Oz. His performance raised concerns among Democrats that voters will view Fetterman as not fit for the job, depriving them of one of their best chances to win a Republican-controlled seat in Congress’ upper chamber this year.Here’s what McCarthy had to say, on Fox News:House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy goes after Pennsylvania Sen. nominee John Fetterman (D) after his debate against Dr. Oz (R):“Even those Democrats on CNN were embarrassed of who their nominee was and the capability of carrying out the job. This is a big job in the Senate.” pic.twitter.com/yIMFrJVW2n— The Recount (@therecount) October 27, 2022
      ‘A lens of empathy’: disability advocates on John Fetterman and leadershipRead more More