Former secretary of state and Trump ally decides not to challenge ex-boss for the Republican nomination
Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said on Friday that he will not run for president in the 2024 election.
The devoted ally and defender of Donald Trump opted out of a contest that would have put him into competition with his former commander in chief.
Continue reading...The right has, for decades, relied on abortion to rally their conservative base, but now their unified policy is flagging
Democrats have taken multiple actions in response to what they say is a “draconian” and “dangerous” decision by a federal judge in Texas threatening access to the most commonly used method of abortion in the US.
Several Democratic governors have begun to stockpile doses of the drugs used in medication abortions. Nearly every Democrat in Congress signed onto an amicus brief urging an appeals court to stay the decision, while some called on the Biden administration to simply “ignore” the ruling, should it be allowed to stand. A group of House Democrats introduced a bill that would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) final approval over drugs used in medication abortion.
Continue reading...Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Jack Teixeira ‘white, male, Christian and anti-war’ as Tucker Carlson says his sin was ‘telling the truth’
Washington lawmakers have written off Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old air national guardsman accused of being behind the worst US intelligence leak in a decade, as an “alleged criminal” after his arrest yesterday, but that hasn’t stopped him from winning praise from the political right.
“He revealed the crimes, therefore he’s the criminal. That’s how Washington works. Telling the truth is the only real sin,” declared the Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson on Thursday evening in the opening monologue of his show, which is the most watched on cable television. “The news media are celebrating the capture of the kid who told Americans what’s actually happening in Ukraine. They are treating him like Osama bin Laden,” the late al-Qaida terrorist leader.
Continue reading...Member of air national guard, 21, accused of leaking sensitive documents pertaining to US intelligence
“This is not just about taking home documents,” US attorney general Merrick Garland said about the Pentagon leaks.
“This is about … both the unlawful retention and transmission of the documents … There are very serious penalties associated with that. People who sign agreements to be able to receive classified documents acknowledge the importance to national security of not disclosing those documents and we intend to send that message to our national security,” he added.
“The first public reporting regarding the Government Information appeared on or around April 6, 2023. Accordingly, there is reason to believe that Texeira was searching for classified reporting regarding the US Intelligence Community’s assessment of the identity of the individual who transmitted classified national defense information to include the Government Document,” it added.
Continue reading...Bill gives governor key political victory ahead of expected presidential campaign
The Republican-dominated Florida legislature on Thursday approved a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a proposal supported by the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, as he prepares for an expected presidential run.
DeSantis, a Republican, later signed the bill into law. “We are proud to support life and family in the state of Florida,” he said in a statement. Florida currently prohibits abortions after 15 weeks.
Continue reading...Governor phones representatives, dismayed that four members of delegation have backed former president for 2024 nomination
The soft launch of Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign appears to be stuttering further after a report emerged claiming Florida’s Republican governor was calling members of the state’s congressional delegation to persuade them to stop endorsing Donald Trump.
DeSantis has yet to formally declare his pursuit of his party’s 2024 nomination, but has seen an erosion in recent weeks of his formerly strong support, with Trump pulling further ahead in polling.
Continue reading...Memphis officials voted to reinstate Justin Pearson, the second of two lawmakers expelled from legislature by Republicans
Hundreds of supporters marched Justin Pearson through Memphis to the Shelby county board of commissioners meeting on Wednesday, chanting and cheering before entering the commission chambers, where officials quickly voted 7-0 to restore him to his position.
“The message for all the people in Nashville who decided to expel us: You can’t expel hope. You can’t expel justice,” Pearson said at the meeting, his voice rising as he spoke. “You can’t expel our voice. And you sure can’t expel our fight.”
Continue reading...Lawsuit claims former fixer breached attorney-client privilege and unjustly enriched himself, among other allegations
Tennessee’s neighbor Kentucky is having its own reckoning with gun violence after a mass shooting in Louisville on Monday left five people dead.
But as the Washington Post reports, the partisan divide over what to do about these repeated acts of violence is as wide as ever in the solidly Republican state. The Post tuned into public events held by two freshman House representatives from the state, one the sole Democrat in its delegation, the other a Republican.
Continue reading...Republican majority had ousted Jones and fellow house member Justin Pearson over protests they led demanding gun control
The city of Nashville’s governing council on Monday afternoon voted unanimously to return expelled Black lawmaker Justin Jones to the Tennessee state legislature.
The body’s Republican majority state lawmakers had expelled Jones and fellow house member Justin Pearson late last week because they led protests in the chamber demanding gun control after yet another mass shooting in an American school, this one at an elementary school in the city days before.
Continue reading...Chief justice John Roberts pressed to open inquiry into conduct deemed inconsistent with ethical standards
The US Senate judiciary committee’s Democratic members on Monday unanimously urged the supreme court chief justice, John Roberts, to investigate luxury trips taken by associate justice Clarence Thomas that were paid for by a hugely wealthy Republican party donor.
The senators deemed the justice’s conduct inconsistent with ethical standards for “any person in a position of public trust”, they said.
Continue reading...Judiciary committee will review supreme court justice’s undeclared luxury travel with Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow
Donald Trump is trying to prevent his former vice-president, Mike Pence, from testifying to the grand jury investigating the January 6 insurrection, NBC News reports:
Earlier this month, Pence decided to drop his legal challenge to the subpoena from special counsel Jack Smith, who is investigating the insurrection at the Capitol in addition to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the classified documents discovered at Mar-a-Lago.
Continue reading...Vice-president visiting lawmakers at Fisk University as Republican-controlled house’s move condemned as racist
It’s lunchtime on Friday, and we’re waiting to hear from Democrats in Tennessee how they intend to respond to the vote by Republicans to expel two young Black Democrats from the state’s House after they led a protest calling for gun reforms.
A wave of outrage followed Thursday’s move. Joe Biden blasted the move “undemocratic” while the ACLU of Tennessee, and Martin Luther King III, son of the civil rights pioneer, suggested racism was behind the action.
Supreme court justice Clarence Thomas has been defending himself after reports he accepted decades or undeclared hospitality from a Republican mega-donor. Thomas, a staunch conservative, says he didn’t believe he was required to disclose it.
The Biden administration released a proposal that would forbid schools and colleges across the US from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes competing in sports.
US officials say they suspect Russia is behind the leaking and posting on social media of top secret documents, including an assessment of the country’s progress in its war in Ukraine.
Republicans in Kansas voted to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth, but the bill is likely to be vetoed by Democratic governor Laura Kelly.
Continue reading...Ex-president has told aides to hire failed congressional candidate and anti-Muslim campaigner, New York Times reports
Donald Trump has told aides to hire the far-right anti-Muslim activist and failed congressional candidate Laura Loomer for a role in his campaign to return to the White House in 2024, the New York Times has reported.
Citing four anonymous sources, the Times noted that Loomer, 29, attended Trump’s speech at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Tuesday night, an angry rant delivered hours after the former president pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges in New York over hush money payments, including to the porn star Stormy Daniels.
Continue reading...Joe Biden and Barack Obama condemn expulsion of Justin Jones and Justin Pearson from Republican-controlled state house
Two Democratic lawmakers have been expelled from Tennessee’s GOP-dominated House, an extraordinary act of political retaliation for their role in a gun control demonstration after the killings at a Nashville elementary school last week.
Thousands of protesters have flocked to the Tennessee state capitol to support three Democratic members who were facing removal. Only two of the three were ultimately forced out.
Continue reading...Georgia representative calls city ‘a terrible place’ after visit to support Donald Trump at court appearance
The far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene risked stoking the wrath of New Yorkers for a second time this week, calling their city “disgusting”, “filthy”, “repulsive” and a “terrible place”.
“I compared it to what I called Gotham City,” the Georgia Republican told Fox News. “The streets are filthy, they’re covered with people basically lying, on drugs. They can’t even stand up. They’re falling over. There’s so much crime in the city. I can’t comprehend how people live there.”
Continue reading...China has said it would take ‘resolute’ measures to defend sovereignty, after denouncing Tsai’s meeting in California with McCarthy
Taiwan authorities are monitoring Chinese military activity including a carrier strike group about 200 nautical miles (370km) off the main island’s coastline, after the Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-wen, met US House speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.
In the meeting, held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, McCarthy stressed the urgency of arms deliveries to Taiwan, while Tsai praised the “strong and unique partnership” with the US..
Continue reading...Decision clears way for former vice-president to appear before panel looking into 2020 election interference and Capitol attack
The former vice-president Mike Pence will not appeal an order compelling him to testify in the US justice department investigation of Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election, attempts which culminated in the deadly January 6 attack on Congress.
The order was handed down last week. A spokesperson for Pence announced the decision on Wednesday, clearing the way for Pence to appear before a grand jury in Washington.
Continue reading...Many on the right liken the legal battle to an attack on democracy itself and have made threats to the district attorney
To Republicans across the US, the charges unveiled in a New York courtroom against Donald Trump were not just the start of the latest legal battle in the life of a man who has known no shortage of them, but an attack on democracy itself.
“Today is the day of the real insurrection,” tweeted Mark Levin, the conservative radio host whom Trump reportedly dined with after the indictment was announced last week.
Continue reading...Opponents say memoir The Courage to be Free, published in February, violates law governor signed last year
Democrats in Florida are attempting to use a state law that censors books in public schools against the governor who signed it, Ron DeSantis, by asking schools to review or ban the Republican governor’s own book, The Courage to be Free.
“The very trap he set for others is the one that he set for himself,” Fentrice Driskell, the Democratic minority leader in the Florida state house, told the Daily Beast.
Continue reading...The first former US president to face criminal charges will appear in court at about 14.15ET (18.15 GMT / 19.15 BST)
The Hill this morning is carrying some quotes from Vin Weber, a Republican strategist and former member of the House Republican leadership. Weber is warning that the indictment of former president Donald Trump sets a dangerous precedent.
He argues that the impeachment of Bill Clinton lowered the bar for what might be considered an impeachable offence, and that the Stormy Daniels hush money case is doing the same, and risks people attempting political prosecutions of their opponents in the future. He said:
I think it’s bad for America, bad for the Republican Party and it’s bad for the political system in our country. Once you start down this path, there’s no way you’re going to reverse it. That’s what we saw with impeachment.
We’re going to see political prosecutions brought, some of them for meritorious reasons, some of them to advance the careers of the prosecutors. But all of this is harmful to America and our political process.
Continue reading...