The attorney general, who acted as Trump’s enforcer with apparent relish, ultimately wouldn’t help him steal an election
If Dick Cheney gained notoriety as George W Bush’s “Darth Vader”, William Barr, the US attorney general, appeared a worthy successor as Donald Trump’s Lord of the Sith.
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The US has for the first time formally blamed Iran for the presumed death of Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who went missing more than a decade ago.
As world affairs editor Julian Borger reported for the Guardian in March, when Levinson’s family said they believed he was dead:
Levinson disappeared 13 years ago on Iran’s Kish island. The US initially claimed he was there on his own initiative, but in 2013 the Associated Press revealed he had been sent on a mission there by CIA analysts who had no authority to run espionage operations. Levinson was a specialist on Russian organised crime and had not had much previous involvement in Iran.
Tehran denied knowledge of Levinson’s whereabouts until November last year, when it acknowledged that there was an ongoing case involving him before its revolutionary court.
Related: Iran says it will comply with nuclear deal if Biden lifts all sanctions
Here’s where the day stands so far:
Continue reading...The constitution demands that electors formally cast votes for president – but what is the electoral college?
Yes, Joe Biden has won and all US states have certified their election results. But the constitution demands that the electoral college formally cast its vote for president. The constitution requires “electors” to cast those votes – 538 such electors make up the electoral college.
Continue reading...Formality to cement outcome of election takes on real political significance as Trump continues efforts to undermine results
Donald Trump on Monday could suffer a withering blow to his increasingly hopeless effort to overturn the results of the US presidential election when 538 members of the electoral college will cast their ballots and formally send Joe Biden to the White House.
Under the arcane formula which America has followed since the first election in 1789, Monday’s electoral college vote will mark the official moment when Biden becomes the 46th president-in-waiting. Electors, including political celebrities such as both Bill and Hillary Clinton, will gather in state capitols across the country to cement the outcome of this momentous race.
Continue reading...Far-right groups, including Proud Boys, clashed with counter-protesters after a largely peaceful march against US president-elect Joe Biden’s election victory on Saturday.
Donald Trump made three passes over the cheering protesters in the Marine One helicopter on his way to the New York annual Army-Navy football game before the violence began.
Trump supporters are alleging widespread voter fraud during the 3 November election without evidence.
Continue reading...Four people reportedly stabbed and 23 arrested in the aftermath of a march to denounce Joe Biden’s election victory
Violence has broken out in the streets of Washington DC after far-right groups clashed with counter-protesters in the aftermath of a march by conservatives protesting against US president-elect Joe Biden’s election victory.
The trouble flared as darkness fell and crowds began to disperse in the wake of a largely peaceful demonstration on Saturday by Trump supporters who allege without evidence that the 3 November election was tainted by fraud.
Continue reading...Supporters continue to insist election was ‘stolen’ even as electoral college prepares to confirm Joe Biden’s victory
Donald Trump lost a federal court challenge on Saturday in Wisconsin while judges said yet another case being fought there “smacks of racism”.
Continue reading...Republicans in 2020 have established what may be a new template for subverting the vote that could haunt elections for years
The decisive rejection by the US supreme court of an attempt by one state, Texas, to throw out election results in four other states might prevent the recurrence of such an effort in future presidential elections.
But the Texas lawsuit was not the only unprecedented attack to be leveled on US democracy during the November presidential election, and other such efforts could escalate in, or echo through, future elections for an unknown time to come.
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Dr Anthony Fauci has issued what journalists like to call a “reality check” ahead of a vaccine potentially being rolled out next week.
“If we have a smooth vaccination program where everybody steps to the plate quickly, we could get back to some form of normality, reasonably quickly.
The term #trumpconceded is now trending on Twitter, after the president’s earlier tweet about “the Biden Administration”:
Now that the Biden Administration will be a scandal plagued mess for years to come, it is much easier for the Supreme Court of the United States to follow the Constitution and do what everybody knows has to be done. They must show great Courage & Wisdom. Save the USA!!!
He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION!
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The Trump administration, which had arranged five federal executions before the president leaves office, plans to kill Brandon Bernard – a 40-year-old man that activists say was wrongfully convicted.
Berard was 18 at the time of the crime he as been convicted fo occured.
The planned killing of #BrandonBernard tonight is a national disgrace. https://t.co/vA6bbG9h0R
Related: Justice department plans to execute five inmates before Biden's inauguration
Matthew Cantor reports:
Each election season as campaigns ramp up get-out-the-vote efforts, socially awkward Americans face a dilemma: is it possible to help salvage democracy without having to cold-call anyone?
Related: Letter-writers look to get out the vote in Georgia – with a personal touch
Continue reading...President-elect’s son, who has been targeted by Trump for unproven corruption charges, said he handled his affairs ‘legally and appropriately’
President-elect Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, said on Wednesday that the US attorney’s office in Delaware had opened an investigation into his “tax affairs”.
Hunter Biden, who has long been a target of Donald Trump and his allies, said he had learned about the federal investigation on Tuesday from his lawyer, who was informed of the matter by the US attorney’s office earlier that day.
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Donald Trump mocked Germany over its climbing coronavirus death rate, even though the US death toll remains significantly higher than Germany’s.
Trump said in a new tweet, “Germany has consistently been used by my obnoxious critics as the country that we should follow on the way to handle the China Virus. So much for that argument. I love Germany - Vaccines on the way!!!”
Germany has consistently been used by my obnoxious critics as the country that we should follow on the way to handle the China Virus. So much for that argument. I love Germany - Vaccines on the way!!! https://t.co/hEeKIqDMQn
This is Joan Greve in Washington, taking over for Martin Belam.
Here’s what the blog is keeping an eye on today: Joe Biden will formally introduce his nominee to lead the defense department, Lloyd Austin, at an event in Wilmington, Delaware.
Continue reading...Sketch: The president’s attempt at a victory lap offered a stark contrast to Joe Biden’s sombre yet ambitious event
The US government’s drive for a coronavirus vaccine was named “Operation Warp Speed” by Peter Marks, an official at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and longtime Star Trek fan.
A staple of Star Trek storylines is alternative realities: someone slipping through a wormhole into a parallel universe where history took a radically different turn. Cable news viewers went through the wormhole at 2pm on Tuesday: two captains, two crews, two languages (one English, the other Klingon).
Continue reading...Long-shot lawsuit against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin is latest legal effort intended to reverse Biden’s victory
The state of Texas, aiming to help Donald Trump upend the results of the US election, decisively won by Joe Biden, said on Tuesday it has filed a lawsuit against the states of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin at the US supreme court, calling changes they made to election procedures amid the coronavirus pandemic unlawful.
Continue reading...Brad Raffensperger, Georgia's secretary of state, warned that Donald Trump's repeated claims the election had been stolen were causing damage, after two separate recounts confirmed Joe Biden had won the state. 'We have now counted legally-cast ballots three times, and the results remain unchanged,' Raffensperger said. 'Disinformation regarding election administration should be rejected. Integrity matters. Truth matters.'
Continue reading...First lady’s announcement sparked a slew of Twitter responses including a terse ‘282,345’ from Washington DC journalist David Corn
Melania Trump drew backlash on Monday after announcing that a new tennis pavilion is set to be unveiled on the south grounds of the White House, as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to surge across the country.
“It is my hope that this private space will function as both a place of leisure and gathering for future first families,” the first lady said in a written statement on Monday, which came just weeks before the Trump family turns the White House over to his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, who handily won the 2020 presidential election.
Continue reading...Jerrold M Post, a psychiatrist who profiled dictators for the CIA and who declared Donald Trump a “dangerous, destructive charismatic leader”, has died of Covid-19. He was 86.
Related: 'Saddam, tell me about your mum'
Continue reading...Multiple US media reports say the lawyer is in hospital, as Arizona closes state legislature for a week in wake of his recent visit
Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, has tested positive for Covid-19, the president tweeted on Sunday, prompting Arizona to close its legislature after the lawyer visited the state last week.
Related: Trump's attacks on election integrity 'disgust me', says senior Georgia Republican
Continue reading...Donald Trump’s attacks on Republican officials in Georgia and insistence his defeat by Joe Biden must be overturned are disgusting, the Republican lieutenant governor of the southern state said on Sunday.
Related: Just 27 of 249 Republicans in Congress willing to say Trump lost, survey finds
Continue reading...Donald Trump campaigned for two Republican senators in Georgia on Saturday, at a rally that some in the party feared could end up hurting their chances by focusing on his efforts to reverse his own election defeat. In his first rally appearance since he lost to Joe Biden, Trump repeated baseless claims of widespread fraud in the presidential election. The crucial January runoff will determine which party controls the Senate
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