alternet--2020-12-03--'Dead-end for climate': Environmental coalition denounces Senate bill to fund nuclear industry bailo

'Dead-end for climate': Environmental coalition denounces Senate bill to fund nuclear industry bailout

A coalition of over 100 groups on Tuesday told U.S. senators that nuclear power is a false solution to the climate crisis as they urged lawmakers to reject proposed legislation that would `` put short-sighted economic interests ahead of human lives , racial justice , the health of our environment , and safe drinking water . ''
`` This bill misdirects our investment away from technologies that will speed the deployment of renewables and into an industry that is already being propped up by rate-payer subsidies . ''
—Mitch Jones , Food & Water WatchThe measure in question is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Introduced in November by Sen. John Barrasso ( R-Wyo . )
along with Sens .
Sheldon Whitehouse ( D-R.I. ) , Mike Crapo ( R-Idaho ) , and Cory Booker ( D-N.J. ) , the legislation seeks to `` eestablish United States global leadership in nuclear energy , revitalize domestic nuclear energy supply chain infrastructure , support the licensing of advanced nuclear technologies , and improve the regulation of nuclear energy , and for other purposes . ''
The proposed legislation , S. 4897 , advanced at a Senate Environment and Public Works @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , policy director at Food & Water Watch , `` This bill misdirects our investment away from technologies that will speed the deployment of renewables and into an industry that is already being propped up by rate-payer subsidies '' '' Instead of propping up the nuclear energy industry , '' Jones continued , `` Congress should be driving the transition to truly renewable energy . ''
Food & Water Watch is among the signatories to the new letter that outlines the groups ' opposition to S. 4897 , including that it fails to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and stands to worsen already existing crises .
The letter cites as one example the mandate for the establishment of a national uranium reserve , which means more uranium mining .
But the groups say the legislation would not require mitigation of the environmental harms of uranium mining , and , while `` the bill does restrict procurement of uranium for the reserve from mines that are not located on Indigenous peoples ' lands , it does not prohibit mining on those lands entirely . ''
`` Neither does the bill prohibit procurement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mines and mills that impact other environmental justice communities , '' the letter says .
The letter further notes that there are already 15,000 abandoned uranium mines—a situation the groups declare a `` national crisis '' —and while legislation includes $ 1 billion for cleanup on Indigenous land , that amount does n't adequately match the scale of the problem .
`` We need to invest in a transition to efficient , renewable , clean energy technologies that can scale up as rapidly as possible , as affordably as possible , to reduce @ @ @ @ @ @ @ energy does not meet any of these criteria , '' the letter adds , pointing to the fact that there have been dozens of canceled or shelved new nuclear reactors over the past several decades .
The groups also said the legislation 's `` provisions to curtail environmental and licensing reviews are short-sighted , reducing up-front costs while short-circuiting democratic protections against nuclear safety and environmental impacts.
`` The directive for the Treasury to give an economic lifeline to reactors also came in for criticism , as taxpayers could be `` fleeced to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more strategic investments are available . ''
Additional problems are that S. 4897 would contribute to nuclear weapons proliferation `` by commercializing technologies for higher-grade enrichment and plutonium processing '' and amplify nuclear disaster risks .
The `` Nuclear Regulatory Commission ( NRC ) has adopted regulations making it optional—not required—to address verified vulnerabilities to flooding and earthquakes , '' the groups wrote , and accused the commission of having `` canceled hundreds of required , scheduled safety inspections , security drills , and emergency preparedness exercises , for up to two years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ false solutions to the climate crisis that perpetuate our reliance on dirty energy industries , and have any hope of ending the climate and environmental justice crises those industries bring about , '' the groups said .
Tim Judson , executive director of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service—an original signatory to the letter with Friends of the Earth ( FOE ) —said reasons for senators to reject the proposed measure are clear .
`` Nuclear power is a dead-end for climate and environmental justice , '' Judson said in a statement .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Congress to waste time and money to make those problems worse , as this bill would do , '' he added .
`` Clean , safe , affordable renewable energy solutions are here , now . ''
At Wednesday 's committee hearing , Sen. Ed Markey ( D-Mass . )
said S. 4897 would be `` a bad deal for the country , the climate , and our environmental injustice communities , '' ignores the fact that renewable sources are `` supercharging our electric grid , '' and would enable `` selling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Democratic senator 's remarks were welcomed by FOE program manager Lukas Ross , who said in a statement to Common Dreams , `` We are immensely grateful to Senator Markey for standing firm against the nuclear industry 's bailout demands . ''
Though the legislation moved forward Wednesday , Ross said that `` the fight is n't over and we fully intend to keep this proposal from finding its way into future energy and infrastructure bills . ''
`` If President-elect Biden wants to build back better , '' Ross added , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the decrepit nuclear industry off the table . ''

A coalition of over 100 groups on Tuesday told U.S. senators that nuclear power is a false solution to the climate crisis as they urged lawmakers to reject proposed legislation that would "put short-sighted economic interests ahead of human lives, racial justice, the health of our environment, and safe drinking water."
"This bill misdirects our investment away from technologies that will speed the deployment of renewables and into an industry that is already being propped up by rate-payer subsidies."
—Mitch Jones, Food & Water WatchThe measure in question is the American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2020. Introduced in November by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) along with Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), the legislation seeks to "eestablish United States global leadership in nuclear energy, revitalize domestic nuclear energy supply chain infrastructure, support the licensing of advanced nuclear technologies, and improve the regulation of nuclear energy, and for other purposes."
The proposed legislation, S. 4897, advanced at a Senate Environment and Public Works hearing Wednesday.
According to Mitch Jones, policy director at Food & Water Watch, "This bill misdirects our investment away from technologies that will speed the deployment of renewables and into an industry that is already being propped up by rate-payer subsidies"
"Instead of propping up the nuclear energy industry," Jones continued, "Congress should be driving the transition to truly renewable energy."
Food & Water Watch is among the signatories to the new letter that outlines the groups' opposition to S. 4897, including that it fails to address multiple long-standing problems with nuclear technology and stands to worsen already existing crises.
The letter cites as one example the mandate for the establishment of a national uranium reserve, which means more uranium mining. But the groups say the legislation would not require mitigation of the environmental harms of uranium mining, and, while "the bill does restrict procurement of uranium for the reserve from mines that are not located on Indigenous peoples' lands, it does not prohibit mining on those lands entirely."
"Neither does the bill prohibit procurement of uranium for the reserve quota from mines and mills that impact other environmental justice communities," the letter says.
The letter further notes that there are already 15,000 abandoned uranium mines—a situation the groups declare a "national crisis"—and while legislation includes $1 billion for cleanup on Indigenous land, that amount doesn't adequately match the scale of the problem.
"We need to invest in a transition to efficient, renewable, clean energy technologies that can scale up as rapidly as possible, as affordably as possible, to reduce emissions as aggressively as possible. Nuclear energy does not meet any of these criteria," the letter adds, pointing to the fact that there have been dozens of canceled or shelved new nuclear reactors over the past several decades.
The groups also said the legislation's "provisions to curtail environmental and licensing reviews are short-sighted, reducing up-front costs while short-circuiting democratic protections against nuclear safety and environmental impacts. "
The directive for the Treasury to give an economic lifeline to reactors also came in for criticism, as taxpayers could be "fleeced to pay uneconomical subsidies when cheaper alternatives and more strategic investments are available."
Additional problems are that S. 4897 would contribute to nuclear weapons proliferation "by commercializing technologies for higher-grade enrichment and plutonium processing" and amplify nuclear disaster risks.
The "Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has adopted regulations making it optional—not required—to address verified vulnerabilities to flooding and earthquakes," the groups wrote, and accused the commission of having "canceled hundreds of required, scheduled safety inspections, security drills, and emergency preparedness exercises, for up to two years."
"We cannot perpetuate false solutions to the climate crisis that perpetuate our reliance on dirty energy industries, and have any hope of ending the climate and environmental justice crises those industries bring about," the groups said.
Tim Judson, executive director of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service—an original signatory to the letter with Friends of the Earth (FOE)—said reasons for senators to reject the proposed measure are clear.
"Nuclear power is a dead-end for climate and environmental justice," Judson said in a statement.
"The last thing we need is for Congress to waste time and money to make those problems worse, as this bill would do," he added. "Clean, safe, affordable renewable energy solutions are here, now."
At Wednesday's committee hearing, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said S. 4897 would be "a bad deal for the country, the climate, and our environmental injustice communities," ignores the fact that renewable sources are "supercharging our electric grid," and would enable "selling off a clean energy future."
The Democratic senator's remarks were welcomed by FOE program manager Lukas Ross, who said in a statement to Common Dreams, "We are immensely grateful to Senator Markey for standing firm against the nuclear industry's bailout demands."
Though the legislation moved forward Wednesday, Ross said that "the fight isn't over and we fully intend to keep this proposal from finding its way into future energy and infrastructure bills."
"If President-elect Biden wants to build back better," Ross added, "he needs to take a bailout for the decrepit nuclear industry off the table."


alternet--2020-12-03--Watch: Rep. Ocasio-Cortez grills Treasury Secretary Mnuchin on unused CARES Act funding

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday grilled U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on the return of around $ 175 billion in unused funds allocated for coronavirus pandemic relief .
The quarterly hearing before the House Financial Services Committee is mandated under the Coronavirus Aid , Relief , and Economic Security Act , also known as the CARES Act , which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump in March .
The pandemic stimulus bill provided most Americans with one-time $ 1,200 payments , while corporations and wealthy individuals were handed more than half a trillion dollars @ @ @ @ @ @ @ D-N.Y. ) urged Mnuchin to prevent some of the $ 450 billion in authorized CARES Act relief from reverting to the Treasury Department at the end of the year when the designated loan distribution period expires .
Mnuchin has indicated that he will return approximately $ 175 billion , even as unemployment and other economic hardship caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic persist .
`` We are in such a desperate position given the unfortunate gridlock '' in Congress , Ocasio-Cortez told Mnuchin .
`` We 're all aligned in interest in trying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ maximum flexibility as offered by the statute . ''
The freshman Squad member then pressed Mnuchin on the re-allocation of unused CARES Act funds .
Wednesday 's hearing came as Congress struggled to reach a deal on a new pandemic relief bill .
On Wednesday , Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ( D-N.Y. ) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ( D-Calif. ) insisted that a bipartisan $ 908 billion proposal should be the starting point for any stimulus measure—a figure that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-Ky. ) has rejected in favor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ calls `` targeted relief . ''
McConnell on Tuesday was accused of `` economic sabotage '' and of favoring corporations and the wealthy over people who desperately need relief .
`` Leave it to Mitch McConnell and [ President ] Donald Trump to propose a bill that creates tax write-offs for fancy lunches and gives the middle finger to working families and 20 million unemployed Americans , '' said Rep. Don Beyer ( D-Va. ) .
`` This is not a serious proposal , it is a slap in the face to people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lawmakers also rejected the $ 908 billion proposal , with Rep. Rashida Tlaib ( D-Mich. ) blasting the bill as out of touch with the needs of everyday Americans .
Tlaib especially objected to the exclusion of stimulus checks in the bill , which she said `` shows the disconnect of the Senate with people on the ground . ''

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday grilled U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on the return of around $175 billion in unused funds allocated for coronavirus pandemic relief.
The quarterly hearing before the House Financial Services Committee is mandated under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump in March.
Watch:
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez urges Secretary Mnuchin to provide COVID-19 Relief youtu.be
The pandemic stimulus bill provided most Americans with one-time $1,200 payments, while corporations and wealthy individuals were handed more than half a trillion dollars.
At the hearing, Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) urged Mnuchin to prevent some of the $450 billion in authorized CARES Act relief from reverting to the Treasury Department at the end of the year when the designated loan distribution period expires.
Mnuchin has indicated that he will return approximately $175 billion, even as unemployment and other economic hardship caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic persist.
"We are in such a desperate position given the unfortunate gridlock" in Congress, Ocasio-Cortez told Mnuchin. "We're all aligned in interest in trying to figure out where we can explore maximum flexibility as offered by the statute."
The freshman Squad member then pressed Mnuchin on the re-allocation of unused CARES Act funds.
Wednesday's hearing came as Congress struggled to reach a deal on a new pandemic relief bill. On Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) insisted that a bipartisan $908 billion proposal should be the starting point for any stimulus measure—a figure that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has rejected in favor of $500 billion in what he calls "targeted relief."
McConnell on Tuesday was accused of "economic sabotage" and of favoring corporations and the wealthy over people who desperately need relief.
"Leave it to Mitch McConnell and [President] Donald Trump to propose a bill that creates tax write-offs for fancy lunches and gives the middle finger to working families and 20 million unemployed Americans," said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.). "This is not a serious proposal, it is a slap in the face to people who need help."
Some progressive lawmakers also rejected the $908 billion proposal, with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) blasting the bill as out of touch with the needs of everyday Americans. Tlaib especially objected to the exclusion of stimulus checks in the bill, which she said "shows the disconnect of the Senate with people on the ground."


alternet--2020-12-03--'Bye-bye, Betsy': DeVos’ family keeps a $40M yacht all over America — but dodges taxes by flying Cay

'Bye-bye, Betsy': DeVos’ family keeps a $40M yacht all over America — but dodges taxes by flying Cayman flag

One of the many good things about a new president is that most , if not all , of the people one associates with the last president leave office .
That includes the secretary of education , Betsy DeVos .
DeVos came into her position , like most of the Trump Cabinet , based on either being a billionaire or having close relationships with billionaires .
Like most billionaires , DeVos has been successful at one thing : Making a billion dollars .
In order to make a billion dollars , one must be willing to crush a lot of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Like the rest of Trump 's appointments , DeVos ' four years have been marred by controversy and corruption , an almost unprecedented level of protest from students and educators , but most importantly by a complete incompetence in the job she was gifted .
In a nutshell , she is arguably the worst secretary of education we 've seen in decades .
However , being a billionaire , as the Trump administration has shown us time and time again , usually means that a person is good at rigging an already inequitable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In fact , they are n't very good at doing much of anything besides making themselves wealthier by any means necessary .
To do this , billionaires will participate in all kinds of dubious and frequently seemingly illegal things .
And because they 're billionaires in a rigged system , they can create laws or withstand inadequate punishments for doing the kinds of things that would sink the rest of the population .
Things like collecting loans from defrauded students .
Things like dodging taxes .
As Newsweek reports , DeVos ' family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foreign vessel in American waters .
In fact , according to the report , the 164-foot vessel flies the Cayman islands flag even though it seems to hang out all the time in the United States .
In fact , when DeVos ' family boat was moored at the Huron Boat Basin in 2018 , the $ 40 million floating luxury item was reportedly untethered by an unknown suspect or suspects .
The Huron Boat Basin is in Ohio .
No , not the famous Ohio Cayman Islands you 've never heard about—the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ near Indiana and stuff .
Huron Boat Basin to Cayman Islands by plane would take almost 10 hours , but a lot less taxes Good news is that the DeVos family fleet consists of nine more big fancy yachts .
So they 're like , screwing tons of American states out of taxable revenue that could help with things like … education .
According to the Capital & Main , SeaQuest at $ 40 million could fetch Michigan—where the DeVos family company RDV is located— $ 2.4 million in taxes .
But there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people like the DeVos clan register as foreign seafarers : Fewer law and order and regulations on the exploitation of humans .
Nice and anonymous .
Plus you do n't have to follow American labor laws on your boat .
Billionaires are autocrats by nature because to be a billionaire is to believe you should be allowed to be a billionaire and have the kind of power and control that the inequality of a system with billionaires allows for .

One of the many good things about a new president is that most, if not all, of the people one associates with the last president leave office. That includes the secretary of education, Betsy DeVos. DeVos came into her position, like most of the Trump Cabinet, based on either being a billionaire or having close relationships with billionaires. Like most billionaires, DeVos has been successful at one thing: Making a billion dollars. In order to make a billion dollars, one must be willing to crush a lot of bones to make one's bread. Like the rest of Trump's appointments, DeVos' four years have been marred by controversy and corruption, an almost unprecedented level of protest from students and educators, but most importantly by a complete incompetence in the job she was gifted. In a nutshell, she is arguably the worst secretary of education we've seen in decades.
However, being a billionaire, as the Trump administration has shown us time and time again, usually means that a person is good at rigging an already inequitable system and then exploiting that system. In fact, they aren't very good at doing much of anything besides making themselves wealthier by any means necessary. To do this, billionaires will participate in all kinds of dubious and frequently seemingly illegal things. And because they're billionaires in a rigged system, they can create laws or withstand inadequate punishments for doing the kinds of things that would sink the rest of the population. Things like collecting loans from defrauded students. Things like dodging taxes.
As Newsweek reports, DeVos' family yacht, the SeaQuest, is a foreign vessel in American waters. In fact, according to the report, the 164-foot vessel flies the Cayman islands flag even though it seems to hang out all the time in the United States. In fact, when DeVos' family boat was moored at the Huron Boat Basin in 2018, the $40 million floating luxury item was reportedly untethered by an unknown suspect or suspects. The Huron Boat Basin is in Ohio. No, not the famous Ohio Cayman Islands you've never heard about—the Ohio in the United States that's near Indiana and stuff.
When buying a vessel or cruising in U.S. waters, American yacht owners like the DeVos family could face state sales or use taxes like those most nonyacht owners face on everything else. However, registering a yacht in a locale like the Caymans—under what has come to be known as a "flag of convenience"—allows those American yacht owners to effectively characterize themselves as foreigners for tax purposes, thereby avoiding the obligation of paying the standard levies.
Huron Boat Basin to Cayman Islands by plane would take almost 10 hours, but a lot less taxes
Good news is that the DeVos family fleet consists of nine more big fancy yachts. So they're like, screwing tons of American states out of taxable revenue that could help with things like … education. According to the Capital & Main, SeaQuest at $40 million could fetch Michigan—where the DeVos family company RDV is located—$2.4 million in taxes. But there are other very fancy reasons that fancy people like the DeVos clan register as foreign seafarers: Fewer law and order and regulations on the exploitation of humans.
"If someone is buying a boat that is above 300 gross tons but below 500 gross tons, getting registered offshore means they can avoid being subject to U.S. Coast Guard inspection and certification requirements as either a 'seagoing motor vessel' or a 'passenger vessel,'" said maritime attorney Mark J. Buhler. "The most commonly used offshore yacht registries have comprehensive large yacht safety codes that were specifically developed for large yachts, whereas the U.S. Coast Guard regulations and inspection requirements applicable to 'seagoing motor vessels' or 'passenger vessels' were created many years ago, principally for vessels engaged in trade, and not really having large yachts in mind. Those requirements do not translate well to yachts, and most yachts are simply not designed or built to those particular standards."
Nice and anonymous. Plus you don't have to follow American labor laws on your boat. Billionaires are autocrats by nature because to be a billionaire is to believe you should be allowed to be a billionaire and have the kind of power and control that the inequality of a system with billionaires allows for.


alternet--2020-12-03--FEC has questions for Sen. David Perdue over  a number of campaign finance rules he appears to have

FEC has questions for Sen. David Perdue over  a number of campaign finance rules he appears to have broken

The Federal Elections Commission ( FEC ) sent Sen. David Perdue , R-Ga. , a lengthy letter last week asking the embattled GOP incumbent to explain a number of apparent violations in his campaign contribution filings this year , including from a banking organization and a major pharmaceutical PAC .
The letter , which covers July through the end of September , notes four types of violations : excessive contributions from both individuals and committees ; corporate donations ; and a contribution from an unregistered committee .
Perdue must reconcile more than $ 50,000 in individual contributions , as well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including the Consumer Bankers Association PAC and AzPac — the employee PAC for pharmaceutical giant Astra Zeneca , which gave the campaign more than the $ 5,000 limit .
Notices about excessive contributions are not uncommon nor necessarily indicative of wrongdoing — the assumption is that campaigns want to follow the rules but may have made mistakes in the heat of the contest .
For instance , when the FEC notifies a campaign that it has taken too much money from donors , the letter lists the names and donation histories of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the campaign can isolate the over-limit amounts and refund , reattribute or redesignate that money .
Campaigns have 60 days to do so before they must report back to the FEC .
Some of those lists this year , however , have been exceptionally long — a phenomenon which election experts attribute to automated recurring donations over a long and particularly intense campaign season .
The Trump campaign dominates in this arena : In September , the FEC flagged more than 35,000 contributions from 1,045 donors , totaling more than $ 4.5 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and reconcile .
That list was 855 pages long .
On Oct. 1 , the FEC sent the campaign another letter flagging excessive donations , which was 814 pages long .
And FEC 's list of excessive Trump donations for the month of August alone was more than 1,000 pages long .
`` You have to consider the possibility that some of these serial donors may not have fully appreciated what they were doing when they signed up for recurring contributions , '' Brett Kappel , campaign finance expert at Harmon Curran , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a notice such as Perdue 's , which appears after the election , a candidate would not have to worry about balancing refunds with future expenditures to sustain their campaign .
However , Perdue did not lock up a win in the general election , and he now finds himself facing a tight runoff against Democratic rival Jon Ossoff in January .
A focal point of that contest appears in the FEC letter : Perdue 's connections to financial and pharmaceutical interests .
Salon reported last week that Perdue , a multimillionaire former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resurgence of pressure related to numerous accusations of insider trading , dealt in hundreds of thousands of dollars in bank stock while he sat on the Senate Banking Committee .
In that time , he sponsored or co-sponsored 14 pieces of pro-bank legislation while accepting more than $ 1 million in campaign contributions from the financial industry .
The Peach State conservative also drew scrutiny for his investments in pharmaceutical giant Pfizer ahead of the coronavirus pandemic .
Perdue claimed he was not personally involved in his trades , and over the summer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ related to the transactions .
However , The New York Times reported last week that Perdue 's public defense did not add up : Email communications show that the senator instructed his Goldman Sachs wealth manager to sell $ 1 million of stock in a financial firm two days after the company 's CEO sent him a personal email tipping Perdue off to `` upcoming changes . ''
Weeks later , the CEO stepped down and the firm 's stock tanked .
Republicans are pouring money into Perdue 's runoff , which is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler , another multimillionaire legislator who has been plagued by accusations of insider trading amid the coronavirus pandemic .
The winners will determine which party controls the Senate , and ad spending on the race recently topped $ 250 million .
The Republican National Committee , which has focused fundraising efforts on the runoffs hoping to salvage control of the upper chamber after outgoing President Donald Trump 's stinging upset in the deep-red state , recently accepted a $ 257,828 infusion — the last of the cash from the 2016 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Perdue campaign did not immediately reply to Salon 's request for comment .

The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) sent Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., a lengthy letter last week asking the embattled GOP incumbent to explain a number of apparent violations in his campaign contribution filings this year, including from a banking organization and a major pharmaceutical PAC.
The letter, which covers July through the end of September, notes four types of violations: excessive contributions from both individuals and committees; corporate donations; and a contribution from an unregistered committee.
Perdue must reconcile more than $50,000 in individual contributions, as well as about $23,000 from committees, including the Consumer Bankers Association PAC and AzPac — the employee PAC for pharmaceutical giant Astra Zeneca, which gave the campaign more than the $5,000 limit.
Notices about excessive contributions are not uncommon nor necessarily indicative of wrongdoing — the assumption is that campaigns want to follow the rules but may have made mistakes in the heat of the contest.
For instance, when the FEC notifies a campaign that it has taken too much money from donors, the letter lists the names and donation histories of the supporters who gave too much, so the campaign can isolate the over-limit amounts and refund, reattribute or redesignate that money. Campaigns have 60 days to do so before they must report back to the FEC.
Some of those lists this year, however, have been exceptionally long — a phenomenon which election experts attribute to automated recurring donations over a long and particularly intense campaign season.
The Trump campaign dominates in this arena: In September, the FEC flagged more than 35,000 contributions from 1,045 donors, totaling more than $4.5 million in donations which the campaign must explain and reconcile. That list was 855 pages long. On Oct. 1, the FEC sent the campaign another letter flagging excessive donations, which was 814 pages long. And FEC's list of excessive Trump donations for the month of August alone was more than 1,000 pages long.
"You have to consider the possibility that some of these serial donors may not have fully appreciated what they were doing when they signed up for recurring contributions," Brett Kappel, campaign finance expert at Harmon Curran, previously told Salon.
(The Trump and Perdue campaigns happen to share a treasurer, Bradley Crate, who is responsible for clearing up all of this accounting. Crate was listed as treasurer for 25 committees that registered this year alone, including Trump's new leadership PAC, Save America.)
Typically, with a notice such as Perdue's, which appears after the election, a candidate would not have to worry about balancing refunds with future expenditures to sustain their campaign. However, Perdue did not lock up a win in the general election, and he now finds himself facing a tight runoff against Democratic rival Jon Ossoff in January.
A focal point of that contest appears in the FEC letter: Perdue's connections to financial and pharmaceutical interests.
Salon reported last week that Perdue, a multimillionaire former business executive who has recently seen a resurgence of pressure related to numerous accusations of insider trading, dealt in hundreds of thousands of dollars in bank stock while he sat on the Senate Banking Committee. In that time, he sponsored or co-sponsored 14 pieces of pro-bank legislation while accepting more than $1 million in campaign contributions from the financial industry.
The Peach State conservative also drew scrutiny for his investments in pharmaceutical giant Pfizer ahead of the coronavirus pandemic.
Perdue claimed he was not personally involved in his trades, and over the summer federal investigators cleared him of any crimes related to the transactions. However, The New York Times reported last week that Perdue's public defense did not add up: Email communications show that the senator instructed his Goldman Sachs wealth manager to sell $1 million of stock in a financial firm two days after the company's CEO sent him a personal email tipping Perdue off to "upcoming changes." Weeks later, the CEO stepped down and the firm's stock tanked.
Republicans are pouring money into Perdue's runoff, which is paired on Jan. 5 with unelected Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, another multimillionaire legislator who has been plagued by accusations of insider trading amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The winners will determine which party controls the Senate, and ad spending on the race recently topped $250 million. The Republican National Committee, which has focused fundraising efforts on the runoffs hoping to salvage control of the upper chamber after outgoing President Donald Trump's stinging upset in the deep-red state, recently accepted a $257,828 infusion — the last of the cash from the 2016 Republican National Convention planning committee.
The Perdue campaign did not immediately reply to Salon's request for comment.


alternet--2020-12-03--Elections expert explains how some Republicans play key roles in stopping Trump from subverting demo

Elections expert explains how some Republicans play key roles in stopping Trump from subverting democracy

Although President-elect Joe Biden 's victory in the 2020 presidential election has been certified in Pennsylvania , Georgia , Arizona and other battleground states , President Donald Trump 's legal team is continuing to fight the election results in court .
But attorney and election law expert Richard L. Hasen , this week in an article for Slate , salutes the Republican officials who have been standing up to Trump 's campaign and acknowledging Biden as president-elect .
The GOP officials Hasen mentions in his article range from Arizona Gov .
Doug Ducey , who certified Biden 's victory in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ State Brad Raffensperger .
When push came to shove , Hasen argues , these Republicans did the right thing .
`` Along with a number of Federalist Society-aligned judges , other GOP governors and lower-ranking Republican election officials , Ducey and others have earned this praise in the wake of Trump 's ongoing — and ultimately futile — effort to overturn the 2020 election , '' Hasen explains .
`` We can thank principled people on the right for helping to assure that we will have a peaceful transition of power between Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gov .
Brian Kemp , Hasen notes , `` rejected Trump 's calls to declare their states ' elections fraudulent despite Trump 's personal entreaties and attacks . ''
And Hasen points out that `` on Tuesday , even Trump 's attorney general Bill Barr — who had scandalously backed Trump 's claims of a potential for voter fraud in the past — told the AP that the Department of Justice has uncovered no kinds of fraud or irregularities that could change the outcome of the election . ''
Another Republican Hasen mentions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from his position as a cybersecurity specialist in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security .
`` When it comes to upholding the fundamental rule of law , many on the right deserve praise in this moment , '' Hasen writes .
`` And that might seem like a very low bar , but it is important to consider the alternative .
In just the past few days , one of the president 's lawyers , Joe diGenova , said that former federal cybersecurity head Chris Krebs , a Republican who has vouched for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be shot… .
( Georgia attorney ) Lin Wood , also involved in ( Trump 's ) litigation , said that the president should declare martial law and hold a new election . ''
In light of how unhinged some of Trump 's diehard loyalists are , Hasen says , it is important to acknowledge those on the right who still respect democracy .
`` We are not out of the woods yet , and it is going to take continued vigilance by all people of the left and right to assure continued @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Hasen emphasizes .
`` Some of what we are hearing from the president 's most ardent supports is very ugly , antidemocratic and anti-American .
In this fight , we should be appreciative of Federalist Society voices and others standing up for what is right . ''

Although President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election has been certified in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and other battleground states, President Donald Trump's legal team is continuing to fight the election results in court. But attorney and election law expert Richard L. Hasen, this week in an article for Slate, salutes the Republican officials who have been standing up to Trump's campaign and acknowledging Biden as president-elect.
The GOP officials Hasen mentions in his article range from Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who certified Biden's victory in that state, to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. When push came to shove, Hasen argues, these Republicans did the right thing.
"Along with a number of Federalist Society-aligned judges, other GOP governors and lower-ranking Republican election officials, Ducey and others have earned this praise in the wake of Trump's ongoing — and ultimately futile — effort to overturn the 2020 election," Hasen explains. "We can thank principled people on the right for helping to assure that we will have a peaceful transition of power between Trump and Biden."
Ducey and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Hasen notes, "rejected Trump's calls to declare their states' elections fraudulent despite Trump's personal entreaties and attacks." And Hasen points out that "on Tuesday, even Trump's attorney general Bill Barr — who had scandalously backed Trump's claims of a potential for voter fraud in the past — told the AP that the Department of Justice has uncovered no kinds of fraud or irregularities that could change the outcome of the election."
Another Republican Hasen mentions is Christopher Krebs, who Trump fired from his position as a cybersecurity specialist in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
"When it comes to upholding the fundamental rule of law, many on the right deserve praise in this moment," Hasen writes. "And that might seem like a very low bar, but it is important to consider the alternative. In just the past few days, one of the president's lawyers, Joe diGenova, said that former federal cybersecurity head Chris Krebs, a Republican who has vouched for the integrity of American elections, should be shot…. (Georgia attorney) Lin Wood, also involved in (Trump's) litigation, said that the president should declare martial law and hold a new election."
In light of how unhinged some of Trump's diehard loyalists are, Hasen says, it is important to acknowledge those on the right who still respect democracy.
"We are not out of the woods yet, and it is going to take continued vigilance by all people of the left and right to assure continued support for the rule of law," Hasen emphasizes. "Some of what we are hearing from the president's most ardent supports is very ugly, antidemocratic and anti-American. In this fight, we should be appreciative of Federalist Society voices and others standing up for what is right."


alternet--2020-12-03--'Some were audibly coughing': Trump holds yet another superspreader event on his way out

The holiday season is a time for gathering with friends and family—just kidding .
The 2020 holiday season is the season of staying the fuck home .
Yes , it majorly sucks .
Yes , we miss our family and friends and that super strong egg nog your favorite aunt makes .
But staying home now means we 're all around next year .
It 's what we have to do in order to help save lives .
We care .
But certainly not all of us care .
Case in point : the soon-to-be-former president of the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well aware of the dangers of this pandemic , but truly does not care .
He gets VIP treatment and never sees a bill and is immune for a while so why should he give a shit about the rest of us ?
That was again evidenced by the fact that as virus deaths keep climbing , the White House held a Christmas reception , CNN reports .
But it gets even worse from there .
So much worse .
CNN reports that the outgoing president did exactly what we 'd expect him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ birth of Jesus Christ , which was to talk about himself .
How he really won the presidential election ( he lost ) .
How it 's all `` a disgrace '' ( the election was secure , one of his own appointees said ) .
How he deserves another four years ( he does n't , he did n't even deserve the four he got ) , and maybe just maybe he 'll try again in four years ( oh god please no ) .
Then comes the kicker .
`` The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's grand staircase , '' the report continued .
`` Though several people were wearing masks , many were not and some were audibly coughing . ''
Audibly .
Coughing .
I mean , that the White House is creating yet another superspreader event should n't be a shock anymore but forgive me if I 'm still floored at the fact that the White House is creating yet another superspreader event .
On Christmas !
Daily Kos ' Mark Sumner wrote this past October that following the White House 's most notorious superspreader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ceremony formally introducing Amy Coney Barrett as a Supreme Court nominee , at least 11 tested positive .
`` Though some guests—notably those who sat near the back of the affair—chose to wear masks , most of those front and center came in mask-free . ''
Many—like at the White House Christmas event this week .
And while those also choosing to go to a White House event during a pandemic should have also known better , that it was even being held right now is still most damning on this administration .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Does not care .
Which makes you wonder why it even bothered to hold it when outgoing first lady Melania Trump has already expressed such a distain for the holiday .
`` I say that I 'm working on Christmas and planning for the Christmas and they said , 'Oh , what about the children that they were separated ? '
'' she said in audio recordings earlier this year .
`` Give me a fucking break . ''
Give us all a fucking break and go away soon .
And please @ @ @ @

The holiday season is a time for gathering with friends and family—just kidding. The 2020 holiday season is the season of staying the fuck home. Yes, it majorly sucks. Yes, we miss our family and friends and that super strong egg nog your favorite aunt makes. But staying home now means we're all around next year. It's what we have to do in order to help save lives. We care.
But certainly not all of us care. Case in point: the soon-to-be-former president of the United States. We all know he's damn well aware of the dangers of this pandemic, but truly does not care. He gets VIP treatment and never sees a bill and is immune for a while so why should he give a shit about the rest of us? That was again evidenced by the fact that as virus deaths keep climbing, the White House held a Christmas reception, CNN reports. But it gets even worse from there. So much worse.
CNN reports that the outgoing president did exactly what we'd expect him to do at a celebration marking the birth of Jesus Christ, which was to talk about himself. How he really won the presidential election (he lost). How it's all "a disgrace" (the election was secure, one of his own appointees said). How he deserves another four years (he doesn't, he didn't even deserve the four he got), and maybe just maybe he'll try again in four years (oh god please no). Then comes the kicker.
"The President addressed guests from the White House's grand staircase," the report continued. "Though several people were wearing masks, many were not and some were audibly coughing."
Audibly. Coughing. I mean, that the White House is creating yet another superspreader event shouldn't be a shock anymore but forgive me if I'm still floored at the fact that the White House is creating yet another superspreader event. On Christmas!
Daily Kos' Mark Sumner wrote this past October that following the White House's most notorious superspreader event to date, the Rose Garden ceremony formally introducing Amy Coney Barrett as a Supreme Court nominee, at least 11 tested positive. "Though some guests—notably those who sat near the back of the affair—chose to wear masks, most of those front and center came in mask-free."
Many—like at the White House Christmas event this week. And while those also choosing to go to a White House event during a pandemic should have also known better, that it was even being held right now is still most damning on this administration. Again, it truly does not care. Does not care. Which makes you wonder why it even bothered to hold it when outgoing first lady Melania Trump has already expressed such a distain for the holiday.
"I say that I'm working on Christmas and planning for the Christmas and they said, 'Oh, what about the children that they were separated?'" she said in audio recordings earlier this year. "Give me a fucking break." Give us all a fucking break and go away soon. And please wear your mask.


alternet--2020-12-03--GOP Sen. Perdue bought Pfizer stock — a week before the company said it would develop a vaccine

Sen. David Perdue , one of two multimillionaire Georgia Republicans facing tight runoff elections in January , drew scrutiny this spring for stock transactions made in the weeks ahead of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. , while he was receiving privileged briefings on the impending pandemic .
According to news reports and Perdue 's financial disclosures , the trades involved 112 transactions , and as much as $ 825,000 in sales and $ 1.8 million in purchases .
The timing raised flags for various reasons .
Perdue sold up to $ 165,000 in shares of a casino company that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made an investment in a company that manufactures personal protective equipment on the same day Perdue attended his first classified pandemic briefing .
In a series of transactions in late February , Perdue also invested up to $ 245,000 in the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer .
Though the Pfizer purchase has been reported previously , the events surrounding it have not : One week after those stock purchases , the company publicly announced it would be developing a coronavirus vaccine .
Although the Justice Department eventually cleared Perdue of insider trading , this synchronicity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knew and when .
Perdue has argued that all his trades are executed by a third-party adviser , and that he has no say in day-to-day transactions .
Still , he is among the most active traders in Congress : The New York Times reported on Wednesday that he has executed 2,596 market transactions in his single term , often involving companies that operate within the ambit of his Senate responsibilities .
This spring Perdue pushed back against allegations of insider trading in advance of the coronavirus , claiming that outside advisers made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a bombshell New York Times report last week made clear that was a lie .
This summer , Justice Department investigators found that Perdue had instructed one of his wealth managers to offload more than $ 1 million in a financial firm after the CEO tipped off the senator in a personal email .
The Pfizer transactions would seem to have required even more faith in his broker , who apparently felt counterintuitive confidence in the company 's stock in the early stages of a market-wide crash , and during a week where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dow 's overall drop of more than 6 % .
Perdue 's broker would have been similarly undaunted by the company 's Feb. 27 warning to investors that the pandemic `` could adversely impact '' its operations , including clinical trials : Perdue 's broker chose to buy more Pfizer stock that day .
The broker bought even more the next day , when Perdue 's office issued its first press release about the coronavirus — a joint statement with fellow Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler that touted their attendance at `` regular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Force . ''
The statement noted that the U.S. is `` expediting the development of a vaccine . ''
In the next few days , it became clear that Pfizer had made the Trump administration aware of its pursuit of coronavirus therapeutics and a vaccine .
Pfizer 's top scientist , Mikael Dolsten , attended a March 2 White House roundtable , addressing `` how the federal government can accelerate the development of vaccines and therapeutic treatments for the coronavirus . ''
Dolsten spoke about those efforts at a follow-up press conference , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of government health agencies .
Pfizer released a statement later that day with further details , including a timeline : As a result , the stock 's closing price rose from $ 33.42 on Feb. 28 to $ 34.88 on March 2 , and then rose again to $ 36.40 on March 4 .
On March 5 Pfizer announced its budding partnership with German company BioNTech to develop an mRNA-based vaccine , which it theorized could be brought to market faster than traditional vaccines .
The project led to the company 's groundbreaking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demonstrated 90 % efficiency in its first stage 3 trial .
Around this time , Pfizer showed promise for long-term gains in other ways , as well .
On March 20 , a stock market analyst predicted that Pfizer 's top product , a pneumonia vaccine , might outperform projections on the year as a result of the pandemic .
The company 's stock , which had tumbled amid global turmoil on the financial markets , began to recover on March 24 .
When public pressure forced Perdue to liquidate his stocks in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as high as 9 % .
If he had held on until the Nov. 9 announcement , the Peach State Republican could have cobbled together gains as high as 25.7 % .
It is not clear whether Perdue has a direct personal relationship with Pfizer executives or lobbyists .
Federal Elections Commission filings show that Perdue 's campaign over the last four years has accepted tens of thousands of dollars in donations from Pfizer 's PAC , including a $ 2,800 contribution last November from company CEO Albert Bourla .
But that does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beneficiaries of Big Pharma money in Congress .
Dozens of lawmakers take in more than $ 100,000 a year from the industry , and Pfizer is the biggest donor , according to data compiled by Kaiser Health News .
Bourla himself contributes to a number of politicians and committees , mostly , but not entirely Republicans .
However , one of Pfizer 's donations — a $ 2,500 contribution to One Georgia PAC — came on the same day as Perdue 's first purchase of Pfizer stock this year .
The insider trading @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confidence in elected officials , after a bipartisan group of senators were accused of using the privileges of their office to benefit financially from the coronavirus pandemic .
( Loeffler , Perdue 's Georgia Republican colleague , was among them . )
Investigators later cleared that group , with the exception of Sen. Richard Burr , R-N.C. , who is still a subject of inquiry .
There have also been no reports about what came of an SEC probe into Loeffler 's transactions .
Perdue was the last of those officials to announce @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first made public in September , in response to attack ads from Democratic opponent Jon Ossoff — who will face Perdue again in the Jan. 5 Georgia runoff election .
Last week , Salon reported that a government accountability watchdog has asked the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate another series of Perdue 's trades , these involving stocks in a defense contractor that had benefited from a bill Perdue worked on , unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic .
The Perdue campaign did not immediately reply to Salon 's request for comment .

Sen. David Perdue, one of two multimillionaire Georgia Republicans facing tight runoff elections in January, drew scrutiny this spring for stock transactions made in the weeks ahead of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., while he was receiving privileged briefings on the impending pandemic.
According to news reports and Perdue's financial disclosures, the trades involved 112 transactions, and as much as $825,000 in sales and $1.8 million in purchases. The timing raised flags for various reasons. Perdue sold up to $165,000 in shares of a casino company that later shuttered, for instance, and made an investment in a company that manufactures personal protective equipment on the same day Perdue attended his first classified pandemic briefing.
In a series of transactions in late February, Perdue also invested up to $245,000 in the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.
Though the Pfizer purchase has been reported previously, the events surrounding it have not: One week after those stock purchases, the company publicly announced it would be developing a coronavirus vaccine.
Although the Justice Department eventually cleared Perdue of insider trading, this synchronicity raises new questions about what the senator knew and when.
Perdue has argued that all his trades are executed by a third-party adviser, and that he has no say in day-to-day transactions. Still, he is among the most active traders in Congress: The New York Times reported on Wednesday that he has executed 2,596 market transactions in his single term, often involving companies that operate within the ambit of his Senate responsibilities.
This spring Perdue pushed back against allegations of insider trading in advance of the coronavirus, claiming that outside advisers made the calls without his input, but a bombshell New York Times report last week made clear that was a lie. This summer, Justice Department investigators found that Perdue had instructed one of his wealth managers to offload more than $1 million in a financial firm after the CEO tipped off the senator in a personal email.
The Pfizer transactions would seem to have required even more faith in his broker, who apparently felt counterintuitive confidence in the company's stock in the early stages of a market-wide crash, and during a week where its shares fell in line with the Dow's overall drop of more than 6%.
Perdue's broker would have been similarly undaunted by the company's Feb. 27 warning to investors that the pandemic "could adversely impact" its operations, including clinical trials:
The extent to which the coronavirus impacts our operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the duration of the outbreak, new information which may emerge concerning the severity of the coronavirus and the actions to contain the coronavirus or treat its impact, among others.
In particular, the continued spread of the coronavirus globally could adversely impact our operations, including among others, our manufacturing and supply chain, sales and marketing and clinical trial operations and could have an adverse impact on our business and our financial results.
Perdue's broker chose to buy more Pfizer stock that day.
The broker bought even more the next day, when Perdue's office issued its first press release about the coronavirus — a joint statement with fellow Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler that touted their attendance at "regular congressional briefings led by the Coronavirus Task Force."
The statement noted that the U.S. is "expediting the development of a vaccine."
In the next few days, it became clear that Pfizer had made the Trump administration aware of its pursuit of coronavirus therapeutics and a vaccine.
Pfizer's top scientist, Mikael Dolsten, attended a March 2 White House roundtable, addressing "how the federal government can accelerate the development of vaccines and therapeutic treatments for the coronavirus." Dolsten spoke about those efforts at a follow-up press conference, and referenced close partnerships with a number of government health agencies.
Pfizer released a statement later that day with further details, including a timeline:
Pfizer is engaging with a third party to screen these compounds under an accelerated timeline and currently expects to have the results back by the end of March. Upon completion of such screening, the company could be in a position to move forward with development depending on the results. Toxicology studies would then need to be completed prior to any clinical development, but if successful, Pfizer hopes to be in the clinic by no later than the end of 2020.
As a result, the stock's closing price rose from $33.42 on Feb. 28 to $34.88 on March 2, and then rose again to $36.40 on March 4.
On March 5 Pfizer announced its budding partnership with German company BioNTech to develop an mRNA-based vaccine, which it theorized could be brought to market faster than traditional vaccines. The project led to the company's groundbreaking Nov. 9 announcement that its vaccine had demonstrated 90% efficiency in its first stage 3 trial.
Around this time, Pfizer showed promise for long-term gains in other ways, as well. On March 20, a stock market analyst predicted that Pfizer's top product, a pneumonia vaccine, might outperform projections on the year as a result of the pandemic.
The company's stock, which had tumbled amid global turmoil on the financial markets, began to recover on March 24.
When public pressure forced Perdue to liquidate his stocks in mid-April, his Pfizer investments yielded profits as high as 9%. If he had held on until the Nov. 9 announcement, the Peach State Republican could have cobbled together gains as high as 25.7%.
It is not clear whether Perdue has a direct personal relationship with Pfizer executives or lobbyists. Federal Elections Commission filings show that Perdue's campaign over the last four years has accepted tens of thousands of dollars in donations from Pfizer's PAC, including a $2,800 contribution last November from company CEO Albert Bourla.
But that does not land Perdue anywhere near the top beneficiaries of Big Pharma money in Congress. Dozens of lawmakers take in more than $100,000 a year from the industry, and Pfizer is the biggest donor, according to data compiled by Kaiser Health News. Bourla himself contributes to a number of politicians and committees, mostly, but not entirely Republicans.
However, one of Pfizer's donations — a $2,500 contribution to One Georgia PAC — came on the same day as Perdue's first purchase of Pfizer stock this year.
The insider trading scandal this spring tested the public's confidence in elected officials, after a bipartisan group of senators were accused of using the privileges of their office to benefit financially from the coronavirus pandemic. (Loeffler, Perdue's Georgia Republican colleague, was among them.)
Investigators later cleared that group, with the exception of Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., who is still a subject of inquiry. There have also been no reports about what came of an SEC probe into Loeffler's transactions.
Perdue was the last of those officials to announce he had been cleared, which he first made public in September, in response to attack ads from Democratic opponent Jon Ossoff — who will face Perdue again in the Jan. 5 Georgia runoff election.
Last week, Salon reported that a government accountability watchdog has asked the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate another series of Perdue's trades, these involving stocks in a defense contractor that had benefited from a bill Perdue worked on, unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Perdue campaign did not immediately reply to Salon's request for comment.


alternet--2020-12-03--Donald Trump's mini-monster: Stephen Miller wasn't born that way

The Age of Trump and its cruelty were not made possible by shades or ghosts or nameless , anonymous bureaucrats and followers .
These were people who made the kinds of choices Hannah Arendt warned us about : `` The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil . ''
In total , the Age of Trump was made possible and given life by people , real human beings who should be held accountable to the fullest extent possible , by the law as well as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Age of Trump and its cruelty were not made possible by shades or ghosts or nameless , anonymous bureaucrats and followers .
These were people who made the kinds of choices Hannah Arendt warned us about : `` The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil . ''
In total , the Age of Trump was made possible and given life by people , real human beings who should be held accountable to the fullest extent possible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the judgments of history and people of conscience .
Miller has repeatedly taken Trump 's worst instincts and made them worse yet .
Examples include the child separation policy , mass detention centers along the border and a general policy of cruelty toward nonwhite migrants and refugees , sabotaging pandemic relief efforts , and an overarching strategy of mainstreaming white supremacy into public policy and attempting to overturn America 's multiracial democracy .
In this conversation , Guerrero explains how Miller was radicalized as a teenager into the ideology of white supremacy and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also details how the right-wing political machine mentored and elevated Miller , first as a rising star in high school and college and then all the way to the Trump White House .
She also offers an explanation of Miller 's profoundly damaged sense of masculinity , which manifests itself through an obsession with gangster movies and a ghoulish fixation on violence .
This is a trait Miller shares with Trump , and one that helped to bond the two closely together in their shared political project .
Ultimately , `` Hatemonger '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be created .
They are not born that way .
This conversation has been edited for clarity and length .
Why has there been such denial among the mainstream news media about the white supremacists inside the Trump administration ?
Most notably , of course , I mean Stephen Miller .
This has continued throughout Trump 's four years as president .
Stephen Miller does a really good job of laundering white supremacist ideas through the language of `` heritage '' and `` economics '' and `` national security . ''
People who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ perceive themselves as racist .
Even those people who are racist and creating those public policies can continue to entertain such a fantasy .
Once you start to familiarize yourself with white nationalism and its literature , those concepts are being repeated almost verbatim by the likes of Stephen Miller and others in the Trump administration , as well as their spokespeople and media .
The policies of the Trump administration were drawn specifically from a blueprint created by think tanks supported by John Tanton , the eugenicist who believed in population control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in race-based pseudoscience and the genetic superiority of whites .
Part of the denial about that reality is a function of systemic issues , such as a lack of diversity in newsrooms and publishing .
There are white managers in those spaces who are really reining in their reporters , telling them to not use terms like `` racist '' or `` xenophobe '' when describing people like Donald Trump .
There is the narrative that such language should not be used to describe Trump , because we `` do n't know what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did not write my new book `` Hatemonger '' to tell the public what is in Stephen Miller 's heart .
What I can tell you is that Stephen Miller is fluent in the language of hatred .
He speaks the language of people who hate .
I can not necessarily tell you if there is hate in his heart .
Stephen Miller is a hatemonger .
He has been engaging in hate-mongering in a deliberate way .
He does this through cruel policies , such as systematically separating children from their parents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S.-Mexico border and slashing refugee admissions to historic lows .
What is Stephen Miller an example of ?
He is a case study in indoctrination and radicalization .
Stephen Miller is the story of what happens when a person is exposed to an extremist ideology during a vulnerable and difficult time in their life .
Such a person then ends up becoming consumed by extremism .
And then , in the case of Stephen Miller , said person goes on to become the most powerful adviser in the White House .
Stephen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a teenager .
His father is a real estate investor , like Donald Trump , and he was tangled up in legal disputes and bankruptcies related to his business .
Miller 's father ended up losing a lot of money and the family had to move to a slightly smaller house in a less affluent , less white neighborhood .
My conversations with people who knew Miller at the time , people in his family , revealed that Stephen Miller 's life was unraveling in a small way , to the extent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a rich white male .
He felt entitled to that privilege .
He was looking for somebody to blame .
At the time there was extreme anti-immigrant hostility in California .
The Republican governor , Pete Wilson , was talking about a migrant `` invasion '' at the border and blaming it for everything that was going wrong in the state .
Stephen Miller is really a product of that political and social moment .
Miller internalized a lot of that racist rhetoric and ended up meeting some very far-right figures , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He introduced Stephen Miller , during this vulnerable time in his life , to the idea that values such as equality and freedom , and other parts of America 's civic religion and national mythos , are entirely thanks to white men .
Of course , that is obviously and completely ahistorical .
Stephen Miller is a Jewish American .
He is the descendant of refugees from Europe .
But Miller really saw himself as a white man and began to rally around this idea that America was in danger because of brown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country .
David Horowitz introduced a young Stephen Miller to the mission that he needed to save the United States from an existential threat , in the form of the Democratic Party and its alliances with people of color .
How did the right-wing political machine elevate Stephen Miller ?
David Horowitz was worried that Stephen Miller was not going to get into an elite university because he was so unpopular in high school and constantly attacked students of color , as well as initiatives to remedy the negative impact of racial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ self-promotional articles on his website about all the changes that he had allegedly brought to his high school .
Another leading right-wing figure , Larry Elder , allowed Miller to come onto his radio program regularly , when he was a teenager , to complain about his high school .
At Duke University , he continued to use David Horowitz 's ideas to get a bigger and bigger platform .
For example , Miller was given a column at the Duke newspaper by leveraging the language of `` diversity . ''
That tactic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Use the language of the civil rights movement against it .
He was consistently drawn to racial controversies while at Duke .
Miller would get national media exposure from that .
But Miller graduated without a job .
He was again a fringe figure .
Horowitz comes to Stephen Miller 's rescue and gets him his first job , with Rep. Michele Bachmann , the Tea Party congresswoman .
And then from there he gets Miller a job with Rep. John Shadegg from Arizona , and finally with Sen. Jeff Sessions from Alabama @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well connected in the far-right movement , and that helped him get a job working for Donald Trump .
What does Stephen Miller want ?
There are two answers to that question .
One of them is very much focused on immigration .
He was indoctrinated into the belief that too much immigration from brown and Black countries is detrimental to the United States .
What Miller wants is to attack immigration from those countries through whatever means available .
That could be through reducing the actual number of people allowed to come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cruel policies in order to deter or frighten nonwhite people from coming at all .
Secondly , and this is why the Stephen Miller story is so important regardless of whether one cares about immigration or not , he is responsible for Donald Trump 's most polarizing rhetoric .
Miller is also responsible for why Trump was so combative in general .
Stephen Miller is truly a master at pitting groups against one another by using wedge issues .
He understands that when you get people fighting with each other , whether it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their political affiliation or whether they want to wear a mask during the coronavirus crisis , it creates media attention .
Both Miller and Trump believe that any media attention is good media attention , regardless of whether it is negative or positive .
Those distractions also allowed Miller and Trump and the administration to push through their agenda .
For example , the disastrous response to the coronavirus public health crisis .
Instead of focusing on the distribution of masks and medical equipment , Trump and Miller divided the American people by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ denying green cards .
For Stephen Miller , what does it mean to be `` white '' ?
Jewish people were not necessarily considered `` white '' in America until the 1950s or 1960s .
Miller has taken that to the most grotesque extreme by becoming a white supremacist .
I believe that Miller would avoid the question .
He tries to avoid the topic of race and skin color because he has been taught to launder white supremacist ideas through the language of `` heritage , '' `` economics '' and `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of making hate more palatable .
I believe that an honest answer to that question from Stephen Miller would be that whiteness to him is associated with positive values and ideals .
Stephen Miller has been brainwashed to perceive people who are not white as being something evil and beastly .
Stephen Miller 's reading preferences are very powerful evidence of his beliefs .
Miller has endorsed the explicitly white supremacist novel `` The Camp of the Saints . ''
In 2015 , through his connections at Breitbart , he urged staff there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ book and real life .
`` Camp of the Saints '' is about the destruction of the `` white world '' by this horde of brown refugees who are described as animals and beasts and monsters .
The book explicitly promotes hatred and violence against brown and Black people by white people as a way of ensuring the latter 's survival .
`` The Camp of the Saints '' is a book about the `` white genocide '' conspiracy theory , the same conspiracy theory that white terrorists have used to justify their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the horrible massacre in El Paso .
From a very young age , Stephen Miller would write things such as , `` I 'm Jewish , but Jewish people are a minority and so even though Jewish holidays are important to me , American holidays are much more important to me . ''
Stephen Miller was very obsessed with the idea of being perceived as American .
And for him to be American was associated with whiteness and the white male heroes he held dear , such as John Wayne .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people that Stephen Miller idolized were consistently associated with what he understood whiteness to be .
To Miller , whiteness is associated with positive ideals .
Miller is also obsessed with mobsters and organized crime and the idea that there is no rule of law apart from `` might makes right . ''
It all has to do with power for Stephen Miller .
Stephen Miller 's obsession with organized crime figures suggests that he is a fragile and weak man who suffered some type of trauma or other harm to his sense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dangerous but cartoon-like figure , an adult man who dresses up like a mafioso from the movies .
I spoke at length to one of his longest and closest friends who told me about how , as a child and then well into his 30s , Stephen Miller was obsessed with mobsters .
One of his favorite movies was `` Casino '' with Robert De Niro .
Stephen Miller would go so far as dress up as De Niro 's mobster character .
Miller would actually go to Las Vegas dressed that way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with friends and family .
Dressing up like a mobster was not something he just did as a child .
Stephen Miller actually incorporates the facial tics and hand gestures of the mafia figures he admires .
When Miller was in high school , he disavowed one of his closest friends because he was Hispanic .
That signals to the type of man that he would later become .
Stephen Miller was close friends with Jason Islas .
Islas ' ancestors are from Mexico and he was exploring his heritage , more as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who he had not been spending a lot of time with .
Around that time , Stephen Miller decides to no longer be friends with Jason , telling him they ca n't be friends anymore because of his Latino heritage .
Miller also insults Jason by telling him about all these other things he does not like about him , such as that he 's too small and too insecure , in general just deliberately attacking the things that he knows are going to hurt Jason Islas .
This happened in eighth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ high school .
Jason Islas told me , `` I do n't think that people should be judged for the rest of their lives by the things that they do when they 're this age . ''
With Stephen Miller , the way in which he rejected Jason Islas because of his Mexican heritage would later calcify into something even darker and do a great amount of of damage to thousands of people from Latin America .
How has Stephen Miller impacted Donald Trump 's approach to the coronavirus pandemic ?
Stephen Miller @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Trump administration , has been focused on narrowing the scope of the Department of Homeland Security .
DHS has a mandate of protecting the American people from a broad range of threats such as terrorism , cyber-warfare and pandemics .
Stephen Miller wanted DHS narrowly focused on immigration issues because that was where the country 's demographics could be re-engineered .
This allowed him to shape policy to attack refugees and asylum-seekers .
Miller would eliminate people from their positions if they disagreed with him .
Many of the top positions at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by people in an acting capacity .
They have not been confirmed by Congress .
This allows Miller to have greater control over them .
The Department of Homeland Security is supposed to be protecting the American people from things like a public health crisis , but is so narrowly focused on Miller 's racist obsessions that it has failed to protect the American people from much greater and real threats .
Trump is pathological if not an outright sociopath .
The facts are clear there .
Miller and Trump both idolize cruelty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Moreover , both of them are fixated on violence .
Stephen Miller has a fascination with violence .
He shares that trait with Donald Trump .
When Stephen Miller was in high school , he wrote an article where he fantasized about watching Osama bin Laden being shot .
I believe that his violent ideations are part of why he has been able to last so long in the White House .
Stephen Miller understands Donald Trump in a very instinctual way .
Miller is the only adviser who consistently pushes Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Trump loves that .
If there is a truth commission or some other organization tasked with revealing the full extent of the Trump regime 's crimes and other evils , what would you tell them about Stephen Miller ?
I would try to make very clear where Stephen Miller 's ideas come from .
The Trump administration has consistently talked about how their immigration policies were about `` national security '' and `` law and order , '' and about keeping out `` criminals '' and `` the cartels . ''
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about creating a majority white country .
Stephen Miller 's goal was and is to harm , keep out , exclude and remove as many brown and Black people as he can from this country .
What would America look like if Stephen Miller got his way ?
America would be a homogenized gated white community , like the suburbs of Orange County .
Unfortunately , America already has mass incarceration of Black people , but there would be more of that if Stephen Miller got his way .
Do you believe that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deathbed confessional moments — like Lee Atwater , the architect of the infamous `` Southern strategy '' — where he recants and apologies at the end of his life for the evil things he has done ?
If Stephen Miller believes that it will serve him career-wise , then he might do such a thing eventually .
At the end of the day , I would be very surprised if Stephen Miller actually repented .

The Age of Trump and its cruelty were not made possible by shades or ghosts or nameless, anonymous bureaucrats and followers. These were people who made the kinds of choices Hannah Arendt warned us about: "The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil."
In total, the Age of Trump was made possible and given life by people, real human beings who should be held accountable to the fullest extent possible, by the law as well as the judgments of history and people of conscience.
The Age of Trump and its cruelty were not made possible by shades or ghosts or nameless, anonymous bureaucrats and followers. These were people who made the kinds of choices Hannah Arendt warned us about: "The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil."
In total, the Age of Trump was made possible and given life by people, real human beings who should be held accountable to the fullest extent possible, by the law as well as the judgments of history and people of conscience.
Miller has repeatedly taken Trump's worst instincts and made them worse yet. Examples include the child separation policy, mass detention centers along the border and a general policy of cruelty toward nonwhite migrants and refugees, sabotaging pandemic relief efforts, and an overarching strategy of mainstreaming white supremacy into public policy and attempting to overturn America's multiracial democracy.
In this conversation, Guerrero explains how Miller was radicalized as a teenager into the ideology of white supremacy and other forms of right-wing extremism. Guerrero also details how the right-wing political machine mentored and elevated Miller, first as a rising star in high school and college and then all the way to the Trump White House. She also offers an explanation of Miller's profoundly damaged sense of masculinity, which manifests itself through an obsession with gangster movies and a ghoulish fixation on violence. This is a trait Miller shares with Trump, and one that helped to bond the two closely together in their shared political project.
Ultimately, "Hatemonger" is a reminder that human monsters must be created. They are not born that way.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Why has there been such denial among the mainstream news media about the white supremacists inside the Trump administration? Most notably, of course, I mean Stephen Miller. This has continued throughout Trump's four years as president.
Stephen Miller does a really good job of laundering white supremacist ideas through the language of "heritage" and "economics" and "national security." People who have racist inclinations do not like to perceive themselves as racist. Even those people who are racist and creating those public policies can continue to entertain such a fantasy.
Once you start to familiarize yourself with white nationalism and its literature, those concepts are being repeated almost verbatim by the likes of Stephen Miller and others in the Trump administration, as well as their spokespeople and media. The policies of the Trump administration were drawn specifically from a blueprint created by think tanks supported by John Tanton, the eugenicist who believed in population control for nonwhite people. He also believed in race-based pseudoscience and the genetic superiority of whites.
Part of the denial about that reality is a function of systemic issues, such as a lack of diversity in newsrooms and publishing. There are white managers in those spaces who are really reining in their reporters, telling them to not use terms like "racist" or "xenophobe" when describing people like Donald Trump. There is the narrative that such language should not be used to describe Trump, because we "don't know what is in his heart." I did not write my new book "Hatemonger" to tell the public what is in Stephen Miller's heart. What I can tell you is that Stephen Miller is fluent in the language of hatred. He speaks the language of people who hate. I cannot necessarily tell you if there is hate in his heart. Stephen Miller is a hatemonger. He has been engaging in hate-mongering in a deliberate way. He does this through cruel policies, such as systematically separating children from their parents, basically obliterating the asylum system at the U.S.-Mexico border and slashing refugee admissions to historic lows.
What is Stephen Miller an example of?
He is a case study in indoctrination and radicalization. Stephen Miller is the story of what happens when a person is exposed to an extremist ideology during a vulnerable and difficult time in their life. Such a person then ends up becoming consumed by extremism. And then, in the case of Stephen Miller, said person goes on to become the most powerful adviser in the White House.
Stephen Miller was going through a tough time as a teenager. His father is a real estate investor, like Donald Trump, and he was tangled up in legal disputes and bankruptcies related to his business. Miller's father ended up losing a lot of money and the family had to move to a slightly smaller house in a less affluent, less white neighborhood. My conversations with people who knew Miller at the time, people in his family, revealed that Stephen Miller's life was unraveling in a small way, to the extent that he lost his place in line as a rich white male. He felt entitled to that privilege. He was looking for somebody to blame.
At the time there was extreme anti-immigrant hostility in California. The Republican governor, Pete Wilson, was talking about a migrant "invasion" at the border and blaming it for everything that was going wrong in the state. Stephen Miller is really a product of that political and social moment. Miller internalized a lot of that racist rhetoric and ended up meeting some very far-right figures, one of whom was David Horowitz. He introduced Stephen Miller, during this vulnerable time in his life, to the idea that values such as equality and freedom, and other parts of America's civic religion and national mythos, are entirely thanks to white men.
Of course, that is obviously and completely ahistorical. Stephen Miller is a Jewish American. He is the descendant of refugees from Europe. But Miller really saw himself as a white man and began to rally around this idea that America was in danger because of brown and Black people who were coming into the country. David Horowitz introduced a young Stephen Miller to the mission that he needed to save the United States from an existential threat, in the form of the Democratic Party and its alliances with people of color.
How did the right-wing political machine elevate Stephen Miller?
David Horowitz was worried that Stephen Miller was not going to get into an elite university because he was so unpopular in high school and constantly attacked students of color, as well as initiatives to remedy the negative impact of racial inequality.
Horowitz allowed Miller to publish self-promotional articles on his website about all the changes that he had allegedly brought to his high school. Another leading right-wing figure, Larry Elder, allowed Miller to come onto his radio program regularly, when he was a teenager, to complain about his high school.
At Duke University, he continued to use David Horowitz's ideas to get a bigger and bigger platform. For example, Miller was given a column at the Duke newspaper by leveraging the language of "diversity." That tactic is something that Horowitz taught him: Use the language of the civil rights movement against it. He was consistently drawn to racial controversies while at Duke. Miller would get national media exposure from that. But Miller graduated without a job. He was again a fringe figure.
Horowitz comes to Stephen Miller's rescue and gets him his first job, with Rep. Michele Bachmann, the Tea Party congresswoman. And then from there he gets Miller a job with Rep. John Shadegg from Arizona, and finally with Sen. Jeff Sessions from Alabama. Over time Stephen Miller became extremely well connected in the far-right movement, and that helped him get a job working for Donald Trump.
What does Stephen Miller want?
There are two answers to that question.
One of them is very much focused on immigration. He was indoctrinated into the belief that too much immigration from brown and Black countries is detrimental to the United States. What Miller wants is to attack immigration from those countries through whatever means available. That could be through reducing the actual number of people allowed to come to America from those countries or implementing cruel policies in order to deter or frighten nonwhite people from coming at all.
Secondly, and this is why the Stephen Miller story is so important regardless of whether one cares about immigration or not, he is responsible for Donald Trump's most polarizing rhetoric. Miller is also responsible for why Trump was so combative in general. Stephen Miller is truly a master at pitting groups against one another by using wedge issues.
He understands that when you get people fighting with each other, whether it's based on their skin color or their political affiliation or whether they want to wear a mask during the coronavirus crisis, it creates media attention.
Both Miller and Trump believe that any media attention is good media attention, regardless of whether it is negative or positive. Those distractions also allowed Miller and Trump and the administration to push through their agenda. For example, the disastrous response to the coronavirus public health crisis. Instead of focusing on the distribution of masks and medical equipment, Trump and Miller divided the American people by closing the door to legal immigration and denying green cards.
For Stephen Miller, what does it mean to be "white"? Jewish people were not necessarily considered "white" in America until the 1950s or 1960s. Miller has taken that to the most grotesque extreme by becoming a white supremacist.
I believe that Miller would avoid the question. He tries to avoid the topic of race and skin color because he has been taught to launder white supremacist ideas through the language of "heritage," "economics" and "national security," as a way of making hate more palatable.
I believe that an honest answer to that question from Stephen Miller would be that whiteness to him is associated with positive values and ideals. Stephen Miller has been brainwashed to perceive people who are not white as being something evil and beastly. Stephen Miller's reading preferences are very powerful evidence of his beliefs.
Miller has endorsed the explicitly white supremacist novel "The Camp of the Saints."
In 2015, through his connections at Breitbart, he urged staff there to write articles showing parallels between that book and real life. "Camp of the Saints" is about the destruction of the "white world" by this horde of brown refugees who are described as animals and beasts and monsters. The book explicitly promotes hatred and violence against brown and Black people by white people as a way of ensuring the latter's survival. "The Camp of the Saints" is a book about the "white genocide" conspiracy theory, the same conspiracy theory that white terrorists have used to justify their acts of violence. We saw this in the horrible massacre in El Paso.
From a very young age, Stephen Miller would write things such as, "I'm Jewish, but Jewish people are a minority and so even though Jewish holidays are important to me, American holidays are much more important to me." Stephen Miller was very obsessed with the idea of being perceived as American. And for him to be American was associated with whiteness and the white male heroes he held dear, such as John Wayne. The types of movies and the types of people that Stephen Miller idolized were consistently associated with what he understood whiteness to be. To Miller, whiteness is associated with positive ideals. Miller is also obsessed with mobsters and organized crime and the idea that there is no rule of law apart from "might makes right." It all has to do with power for Stephen Miller.
Stephen Miller's obsession with organized crime figures suggests that he is a fragile and weak man who suffered some type of trauma or other harm to his sense of manhood. He is a remarkably dangerous but cartoon-like figure, an adult man who dresses up like a mafioso from the movies.
I spoke at length to one of his longest and closest friends who told me about how, as a child and then well into his 30s, Stephen Miller was obsessed with mobsters. One of his favorite movies was "Casino" with Robert De Niro.
Stephen Miller would go so far as dress up as De Niro's mobster character. Miller would actually go to Las Vegas dressed that way to celebrate his birthday and on vacations with friends and family. Dressing up like a mobster was not something he just did as a child. Stephen Miller actually incorporates the facial tics and hand gestures of the mafia figures he admires.
When Miller was in high school, he disavowed one of his closest friends because he was Hispanic. That signals to the type of man that he would later become.
Stephen Miller was close friends with Jason Islas. Islas' ancestors are from Mexico and he was exploring his heritage, more as a way of reconnecting with his father, who he had not been spending a lot of time with. Around that time, Stephen Miller decides to no longer be friends with Jason, telling him they can't be friends anymore because of his Latino heritage. Miller also insults Jason by telling him about all these other things he does not like about him, such as that he's too small and too insecure, in general just deliberately attacking the things that he knows are going to hurt Jason Islas.
This happened in eighth grade, going into freshman year of high school. Jason Islas told me, "I don't think that people should be judged for the rest of their lives by the things that they do when they're this age." With Stephen Miller, the way in which he rejected Jason Islas because of his Mexican heritage would later calcify into something even darker and do a great amount of of damage to thousands of people from Latin America.
How has Stephen Miller impacted Donald Trump's approach to the coronavirus pandemic?
Stephen Miller, from the day that he entered the Trump administration, has been focused on narrowing the scope of the Department of Homeland Security. DHS has a mandate of protecting the American people from a broad range of threats such as terrorism, cyber-warfare and pandemics.
Stephen Miller wanted DHS narrowly focused on immigration issues because that was where the country's demographics could be re-engineered. This allowed him to shape policy to attack refugees and asylum-seekers. Miller would eliminate people from their positions if they disagreed with him. Many of the top positions at the Department of Homeland Security are held by people in an acting capacity. They have not been confirmed by Congress. This allows Miller to have greater control over them. The Department of Homeland Security is supposed to be protecting the American people from things like a public health crisis, but is so narrowly focused on Miller's racist obsessions that it has failed to protect the American people from much greater and real threats.
Trump is pathological if not an outright sociopath. The facts are clear there. Miller and Trump both idolize cruelty. They speak openly about hurting people. Moreover, both of them are fixated on violence.
Stephen Miller has a fascination with violence. He shares that trait with Donald Trump. When Stephen Miller was in high school, he wrote an article where he fantasized about watching Osama bin Laden being shot. I believe that his violent ideations are part of why he has been able to last so long in the White House. Stephen Miller understands Donald Trump in a very instinctual way. Miller is the only adviser who consistently pushes Trump in the most cruel and aggressive directions. Trump loves that.
If there is a truth commission or some other organization tasked with revealing the full extent of the Trump regime's crimes and other evils, what would you tell them about Stephen Miller?
I would try to make very clear where Stephen Miller's ideas come from. The Trump administration has consistently talked about how their immigration policies were about "national security" and "law and order," and about keeping out "criminals" and "the cartels." But Stephen Miller's policies have really been about creating a majority white country. Stephen Miller's goal was and is to harm, keep out, exclude and remove as many brown and Black people as he can from this country.
What would America look like if Stephen Miller got his way?
America would be a homogenized gated white community, like the suburbs of Orange County. Unfortunately, America already has mass incarceration of Black people, but there would be more of that if Stephen Miller got his way.
Do you believe that Stephen Miller will have one of those deathbed confessional moments — like Lee Atwater, the architect of the infamous "Southern strategy" — where he recants and apologies at the end of his life for the evil things he has done?
If Stephen Miller believes that it will serve him career-wise, then he might do such a thing eventually. At the end of the day, I would be very surprised if Stephen Miller actually repented.