Tag Archives: Donald Trump

Then-presidential candidate Donald Trump with retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn during a September 2016 town hall meeting

This morning/afternoon.

Following the United States Justice Department decision to drop the criminal case against US President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn.…

CBS News reporter Catherine Herridge: “The last thing most Americans remember about General Flynn is that he was fired. And that he admitted lying to the FBI. Does the fact remain that he lied?”

US Attorney General William Barr: “Well, you know, people sometimes plead to things that turn out not to be crimes. … And the Department of Justice is not persuaded that this was material to any legitimate counterintelligence investigation. So it was not a crime.”

Herridge: “When a special counsel report was released last year, you were accused by critics of putting your thumb on the scale in the president’s favor. Are you doing the president’s bidding in General Flynn’s case?”

Barr: “No, I’m doing the law’s bidding. I’m doing my duty under the law, as I see it.”

Herridge: “You know you’re going to take a lot of incoming … for this decision. Are you prepared for that?”

Barr: “Yea, I’m prepared for that. I also think it’s sad that nowadays these partisan feelings are so strong that people have lost any sense of justice.”

Herridge: “What should Americans take away from your actions in the Flynn case today?”

Barr: “I was concerned people were feeling there were two standards of justice in this country. … I wanted to make sure that we restore confidence in the system. There’s only one standard of justice.”

Attorney General Barr says what Michael Flynn did “was not a crime” (CBS News)

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US President Donald Trump; An aeriel view of the the P4 laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China

Last night.

US President Donald Trump claimed he’d seen evidence linking the coronavirus to a lab in the Chinese city of Wuhan — but offered no details.

“Yes, I have,” Trump told White House reporters when asked whether he’s seen proof that would suggest the virus originated in the lab.

When pressed, on what gave him that confidence, he said: “I can’t tell you that. I am not allowed to tell you that.”

Earlier on Thursday, the US intelligence community said it agreed with the scientific consensus that the novel coronavirus was not “manmade or genetically modified.”

But it confirmed that it was looking into “whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.”

Trump claims to have evidence coronavirus started in Chinese lab but offers no details (The Guardian)

Trump claims he has seen evidence linking coronavirus to Wuhan lab (New York Post)

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The move effectively achieves a long-term Trump policy goal to curb immigration, making use of the health and economic crisis that has swept the country as a result of the pandemic to do so.

The decision drew swift condemnation from some Democrats, who accused the president of creating a distraction from what they view as a slow and faulty response to the coronavirus.

Trump said he was taking the action to protect the U.S. workforce. Millions of Americans are suffering unemployment after companies shed employees amid nationwide lockdowns to stop the contagion.

“In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States,” Trump said in a tweet.

The White House declined to offer further details about the reasoning behind the decision, its timing, or its legal basis.

Donald Trump’s immigration ban could hit tech sector (BBC)

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January 14, 2020

 

January 16, 2020

 

US President Donald Trump at yesterday’s White House Covid-19 press briefing

Last night.

According to Mr Trump, WHO prevented transparency over the outbreak and the United States – the UN body’s biggest funder which provided $400 million last year – will now “discuss what to do with all that money that goes to the WHO.”

He said that the WHO had not sent experts into China quickly enough when the outbreak first emerged and took the assurances from that country’s leaders “at face value”.

Mr Trump said had the WHO “done its job” by getting experts into China swiftly then “the outbreak could have been contained at its sources with very little death”. The US president suggested thousands of lives could have been saved by such action.

Coronavirus live news: Trump suspends WHO funding as Denmark begins to reopen schools (The Guardian)

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Meanwhile…

Meanwhile…

Bill Gates’ Instagram.

Come for the cuddly sweater, stay for the blistering comments.

This evening.

Via Wikipedia:

A national emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to perform actions not normally permitted. The 1976 National Emergencies Act implemented various legal requirements regarding emergencies declared by the President of the United States.

More as we get it.

Trump declares national emergency over coronavirus (BBC)

FIGHT!

This afternoon.

More as we get it.

President Donald Trump said he will suspend all travel from Europe to the U.S. for the next 30 days, the most far-reaching measure yet in the administration’s efforts to combat the spread of coronavirus.

The restrictions, which will not apply to the U.K or Ireland., will go into effect Friday at midnight, he said Wednesday in an Oval Office address.

Trump Says He’s Suspending All Travel From Europe for 30 Days