alternet--2020-12-23--The Trump administration keeps awarding border wall contracts — but it doesn’t own the land to build

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LA GRULLA , Texas — The federal government said it needed Ociel Mendoza 's land on the outskirts of this tiny Texas town — and it could n't wait any longer .
Each additional day of delay was costing the government $ 15,000 as contractors waited to begin construction on the border fence slated to go through Mendoza 's ranch , the Department of Justice argued in court filings .
By Nov. 24 , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 1.6 million , the land acquisition manager for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in an affidavit .
More than a year earlier , CBP had awarded a contract then worth $ 33 million to a New Mexico-based company to build 4 miles of fencing in Starr County .
The county is one of the top targets of President Donald Trump 's administration for a border wall and a place agents have called the most volatile stretch in the nation .
Construction was slated to begin in November 2019 , the agency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The government had awarded the contract before obtaining the land it needed , including Mendoza 's .
This September , after more than a year without getting that land , CBP had to suspend the contract to Southwest Valley Constructors , accruing “ substantial '' charges along the way , according to court documents .
An investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune has found that the government 's strategy of awarding contracts before acquiring titles to the land in Texas has led to millions of dollars in costs for delays , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CBP officials in court filings .
On at least two dozen occasions , the agency has used the argument , often successfully , to convince even dubious federal judges to immediately seize land from property owners fighting their eminent domain cases .
The situation could become even more complicated if President-elect Joe Biden makes good on his promise to stop border wall construction .
Mendoza , an entrepreneur , said the government 's latest offer , which he said was about $ 136,000 , fell short of the $ 200,000 he was seeking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It 's a piece of land he vowed to own after he crossed the border illegally over the property as a teen more than 40 years ago .
“ It represents a dream to me , '' said Mendoza , who became a permanent resident in the 1980s .
“ The American dream . ''
Since 2017 , the federal government has awarded at least a dozen contracts in South Texas worth more than $ 2 billion prior to obtaining all the land it needed for the projects .
The agreements are to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ install nearly three dozen gates .
But very little construction has been completed .
Out of the 110 miles the administration planned to build in the Rio Grande Valley , where most of the land is privately owned , 15 miles had been finished as of mid-December .
The Army Corps of Engineers generally requires land to be acquired prior to awarding contracts , but the policy allows exceptions if approved by high-level officials , said Grace Geiger , an agency spokeswoman .
While posing greater risks for the government , she said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to greater costs as , depending on the situation , the government may still be able to acquire the land before the contractor needs to enter the site .
Contract experts say the practice violates principles of sound procurement .
“ It sounds like a formula for waste , or worse , to make the construction contract first and only acquire the land months or years later , '' said Charles Tiefer , a University of Baltimore contracting expert .
Austin Evers , the executive director of American Oversight and a senior counsel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Obama 's second term , said the practice should be investigated by federal watchdogs .
“ The government is arguing that it has to seize these lands right now because it is being penalized under the contract it already signed , '' Evers said .
“ In plain English , what that means is that American taxpayers are seeing their money thrown away for no purpose because the government signed the contract before it could execute the project . ''
Federal judges hearing CBP 's eminent domain cases in South Texas also have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ argument for immediate possession in Starr County .
In recent weeks , a segment of border fencing has quietly gone up in a remote area near Mendoza 's ranch .
While the government gets the title to the property as soon as it files what 's called a “ declaration of taking '' and deposits the amount it deems reasonable with the court , it ca n't begin construction until a judge approves an order to possess the land .
U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez , a George W. Bush appointee , blasted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possession of Mendoza 's ranch , arguing that the agency has had the funds to acquire private land in Starr County for nearly two years .
“ The United States ' delay until November 2020 to file its motion for possession is not within the Court 's control ... and ( does ) not create an emergency for this court , '' she wrote Dec. 17 .
“ The Court has repeatedly expressed its dissatisfaction with the United States ' requests for expedited relief .
The United States is not entitled to expedited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relief without good cause . ''
However , Alvarez said that under the Declaration of Taking Act , she had little option but to grant the government 's request to take possession of Mendoza 's land , noting that Mendoza had not responded in time and that the government had filed the correct documentation and deposited what it estimated it would pay for the land seizure .
Even as government attorneys continue to cite the growing costs of delays to judges , the agency has downplayed the issue outside the courtroom .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any associated delay costs due to real estate until the end of the contract , as the Contractor may be able to make up any potential delays incurred , '' CBP spokesman Matthew Dyman told ProPublica and the Tribune on Friday .
Dyman declined to clarify the statement , citing the ongoing litigation .
CBP also insists that awarding contracts without first obtaining land is efficient .
“ Once the border wall system design is approved by the Government , and sufficient real estate is acquired by the Government , construction activities can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a spokesman for CBP .
The government has been here before .
A decade ago , CBP learned that building in this part of the border would be especially challenging , between acquiring the land — which in some cases took more than two years — and flooding concerns .
Under the Bush and Obama administrations , several border wall fence projects , also awarded before the government obtained the land , died because the agency could n't get them built before funding dried up .
The Trump administration 's legal efforts have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eminent domain lawsuits filed in the Southern District of Texas since Election Day .
All of which leaves the incoming Biden administration and hundreds of Texas landowners in a web of title and compensation disputes , multimillion-dollar contracts and a string of unfinished — and disconnected — projects all along the Rio Grande .
Biden has said he will cease wall construction and drop all the lawsuits on day one .
His transition team did n't respond to a request for comment as to how exactly the administration would go about canceling existing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ land it now owns as part of the eminent domain push .
Biden could save up to $ 2.6 billion if he halts construction , according to Army Corps of Engineers documents reviewed by The Washington Post .
This will not be the first time Biden confronts this issue .
Last time he was in the White House , the Obama-Biden administration allowed the lawsuits and contracts to proceed .
By the end of their first term , 54 new miles of border fence had been built in South Texas .
One of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ centers on Starr County , a poor , mostly rural county where family properties date back to original Spanish land grants issued 250 years ago , well before the Rio Grande served as an international boundary .
For more than a decade , residents and county officials have resisted the agency 's push to build a border wall in Starr County , which the government has said in court filings is the No .
1 county for narcotics seizures across the entire southern border of the United States .
Starr and neighboring Hidalgo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agency 's Rio Grande Valley sector , which accounts for 40 % of immigrant arrests and 43 % of the marijuana seizures along the southwest border .
Under the Trump administration , Starr has become one of the agency 's top priorities for the border wall .
Hidalgo and Cameron counties already have about 60 miles of border fencing , built upon concrete levee systems .
But Starr County , which lacks a levee system , had no wall before the Trump administration first proposed building there in 2017 .
Three years later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ miles , but only about 5 miles have been built , mostly on U.S .
Fish and Wildlife refuge land in remote corners of the county .
As it was a decade ago , the government 's effort is once again mired in complicated eminent domain legal battles that have so far prevented construction on the remaining miles .
Of 70 condemnation cases filed by the government since September in South Texas , 53 are in Starr County , where the government has only accelerated legal action since Election Day ( 25 lawsuits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nov. 3 ) .
In one case filed at the end of November , the government is seeking to seize a triangle of land smaller than 2 acres in the county .
Despite the tract 's small size , there are more than 30 individuals with possible ownership rights , scattered across Texas and as far away as Washington state , according to court records .
Lawyers say that as land has passed through the generations , many partitions have not been documented properly in official records , resulting in a thicket of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ struggled to unravel .
“ The title issues in Starr County seem to be far more complicated and difficult than what we 've seen in the other border counties , '' said Roy Brandys , an Austin-based eminent domain attorney who represents border residents in these cases .
“ On several of the cases we 've been working on in Starr County , one of the reasons they have not progressed even faster is because the government and frankly , we as the landowners ' representatives , are trying to work out the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' According to a recent Government Accountability Office report , title issues in Starr have slowed construction timelines considerably .
“ Some counties in South Texas , such as Starr County , do not have the infrastructure or funding to maintain recordkeeping systems , '' the report says .
But where the federal government sees as a maze of legal hurdles , local officials see a reflection of the region 's heritage .
“ For many , the land has been in their families for generations , '' said Joel Villarreal , mayor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Grande City .
“ We have a large number of residents that own land and they are proud of that heritage to own land .
They speak of it as something to be cherished , the idea of having land . ''
On a recent morning , Mendoza , 60 , stood in front of his ranch as orange survey markers fluttered in the wind around him .
At regular intervals , he has built steps into his own mesh and metal tube fencing , allowing would-be border crossers to climb over .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ him why he built them .
“ I tell them for one , I was undocumented when I came here , '' he explained .
“ And two , so they do n't break down my fence ! ''
The ranch holds a special place in the heart of Mendoza , who owns several businesses and properties in Starr County .
In 1979 , he crossed the border as an undocumented immigrant , passing through the same piece of property on his way to a new life in Houston .
Thirty years later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up for sale , and he is loath to lose it .
If the wall comes through the front of his ranch as proposed , Mendoza said he would have to move the fence and an expensive front gate , as well as the corral for the 40 or so cattle he raises on the land .
Worse , he said , the wall would render the ranch virtually worthless by placing it almost entirely behind the barrier .
“ It wo n't have any value afterwards '' he said .
“ Anything @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the wall .
I wo n't be protected inside there . ''
The government first made Mendoza an offer to buy his land in April , according to court documents .
Five months later , federal prosecutors sued to take part of his ranch , depositing about $ 93,000 with the court as a “ just compensation . ''
The government claimed in Mendoza 's case that the cost of suspending work was about $ 15,000 per day .
In other cases , the government contended that delays have added as much as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the size of the contract , according to a review by ProPublica and the Tribune .
The expenses came from what officials called de- and re-mobilization and from having equipment and crew on standby beyond the date construction was scheduled to begin .
In four Rio Grande Valley projects alone , where the government has detailed the costs of delays in court filings , the total is nearly $ 9 million , as of the date the court granted the order for immediate possession , which is when work can begin .
Despite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 18 months , the original $ 33 million contract to Southwest Valley Constructors is now worth $ 42 million thanks to contract options the government has exercised .
An earlier review of federal spending data by ProPublica and the Tribune found modifications to contracts have increased the price of the border wall by billions , costing about five times more per mile than it did under previous administrations .
Francis Rooney , a Republican U.S. representative from Florida and longtime real estate developer , called the practice “ ridiculous . ''
From @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said , there 's the risk of inflation and rises in labor or material costs , for instance , as work on those sites is delayed .
“ That sounds a little reckless to me , but I 'm not surprised given some of what this administration has done , '' he said , in reference to Trump declaring a national emergency and using military funding to accelerate border wall building .
ProPublica and the Tribune reached out to the companies with contracts in the Rio Grande Valley awarded under the practice .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ West , an affiliate of Southwest Valley Constructors , referred questions to the Army Corps of Engineers .
Raini Bruni , another spokeswoman with the Corps , said border wall contracts are written in a way that puts much of the risk on the contractor , who can request compensation in cases where there 's a delay or suspension , approved on a case-by-case basis .
But beyond the risk to the government and contractors , the practice can lead to a loss of protections to landowners , experts said .
Due process @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's power to take private property , said Evers of the nonpartisan watchdog American Oversight .
But it is being ignored by rushing things through based on emergencies of the administration 's own creation , he added , “ which runs counter to basic American values . ''
Beyond the fight over the value of his land , Mendoza does n't believe the wall will achieve its goal .
“ The people wo n't stop , '' he said .
“ It would n't have stopped me , I would have jumped over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ System as a Threat '' About 20 miles upriver from Mendoza , the Muñiz family is also fighting the government 's attempt to seize its land in a case that shows the pressure government agents have put on local landowners , especially in the final months of 2020 .
On Sept. 1 , the government sued Noelia Muñiz and offered to pay $ 5,500 for about an acre of land .
According to court documents , she felt harassed by constant phone calls that she said were taking a toll on her health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they threaten that if you do n't show your face they will take you to court , '' said her brother Noe Muñiz Jr. , 63 , outside their home .
“ They use the legal system as a threat .
...
It 's very stressful for her . ''
Usually the government first tries to settle with landowners but sues when they ca n't reach an agreement or it 's unclear who owns the land .
Since the beginning of the Trump administration , the government has filed 193 lawsuits — three-fourths @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Texas landowners to relinquish , temporarily or permanently , more than 5,800 acres , according to information provided by the Texas Civil Rights Project and court documents .
Noe Muñiz Jr. said the family has been going through the process without an attorney because it ca n't afford to pay one .
“ We have no support at all , '' he said .
“ If you want support it takes money and no one has money .
...
I 'm pretty sure they would n't do this in a place where the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you have Mexican people and they are poor , so come on . ''
In a normal condemnation case there would be safeguards in place such as environmental reviews , hydrology reports prior to starting the project , said Brandys , who has represented border residents under the current and previous administrations .
But due to what he calls the politicization of border wall construction , the U.S. attorney and those building the wall are under significant pressure from Washington to get as much done as possible .
All of which can significantly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adding , “ Unfortunately in some of those situations you wo n't know until the wall is built and the projects are up and we see what the effects are . ''
The Department of Homeland Security has a record of abusing the eminent domain process to build border barriers .
In 2017 , a ProPublica-Tribune investigation found DHS had cut unfair real estate deals , secretly waived legal safeguards for property owners and ultimately abused the government 's power to take land from private citizens .
In some cases , the DOJ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ property without knowing the identity of the owners and condemning land without researching facts as basic as property lines .
Under the George W. Bush administration , the federal government filed more than 360 eminent domain lawsuits along the U.S.-Mexico border as part of an effort to build up to 700 miles of fencing by December 2008 .
Along the Rio Grande , the agency built 50 miles in disconnected strips and seized a total of 564 acres for which it paid $ 18.2 million , ProPublica and the Tribune reported .
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Texas from that era , involving about 440 owners , according to the DOJ .
While lawyers and residents say some things have improved , such as the government providing more details about the property it is trying to take , the pressure on landowners has not eased .
Daniel Villarreal , a 56-year-old bail bondsman in Rio Grande City , said government negotiators told him earlier this year he either had to accept their offer or they would take it anyway .
But following Biden 's victory , he is starting to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an acre of his riverfront property to the government .
He did n't want to say how much he agreed to but said it 's not life-changing money .
“ They say they gave me market value , but how long is that going to last ?
A year or two ? ''
he said .
“ And then what you 're left with is a monument to a man I do n't even like . ''
The wall would also cut Villarreal off from the beauty of the river 's edge , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Growing up , Noe Muñiz said he and his siblings swam daily in the river .
As he grew older , the river offered respite after a long day of working in cantaloupe and onion fields .
He still fishes there but worries that after a wall is built , the river would become too dangerous to visit inside the no man 's land that would be created south of the barrier .
Even though the Muñiz family will likely lose the battle to keep its land , it is trying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said , and holding onto hope that Biden will cancel the wall contract in the area .
“ You ca n't give up on the land .
It 's not the government 's land , '' he said .
“ It 's hard to let go . ''

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.
LA GRULLA, Texas — The federal government said it needed Ociel Mendoza's land on the outskirts of this tiny Texas town — and it couldn't wait any longer.
Each additional day of delay was costing the government $15,000 as contractors waited to begin construction on the border fence slated to go through Mendoza's ranch, the Department of Justice argued in court filings. By Nov. 24, the tab for the delay had reached nearly $1.6 million, the land acquisition manager for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in an affidavit.
More than a year earlier, CBP had awarded a contract then worth $33 million to a New Mexico-based company to build 4 miles of fencing in Starr County. The county is one of the top targets of President Donald Trump's administration for a border wall and a place agents have called the most volatile stretch in the nation. Construction was slated to begin in November 2019, the agency announced.
There was one problem: The government had awarded the contract before obtaining the land it needed, including Mendoza's. This September, after more than a year without getting that land, CBP had to suspend the contract to Southwest Valley Constructors, accruing “substantial" charges along the way, according to court documents.
An investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune has found that the government's strategy of awarding contracts before acquiring titles to the land in Texas has led to millions of dollars in costs for delays, according to calculations based on statements made by CBP officials in court filings. On at least two dozen occasions, the agency has used the argument, often successfully, to convince even dubious federal judges to immediately seize land from property owners fighting their eminent domain cases.
The situation could become even more complicated if President-elect Joe Biden makes good on his promise to stop border wall construction.
Mendoza, an entrepreneur, said the government's latest offer, which he said was about $136,000, fell short of the $200,000 he was seeking. The ranch is especially personal. It's a piece of land he vowed to own after he crossed the border illegally over the property as a teen more than 40 years ago.
“It represents a dream to me," said Mendoza, who became a permanent resident in the 1980s. “The American dream."
Since 2017, the federal government has awarded at least a dozen contracts in South Texas worth more than $2 billion prior to obtaining all the land it needed for the projects. The agreements are to build 146 miles of border wall and install nearly three dozen gates.
But very little construction has been completed. Out of the 110 miles the administration planned to build in the Rio Grande Valley, where most of the land is privately owned, 15 miles had been finished as of mid-December.
The Army Corps of Engineers generally requires land to be acquired prior to awarding contracts, but the policy allows exceptions if approved by high-level officials, said Grace Geiger, an agency spokeswoman.
While posing greater risks for the government, she said the practice doesn't have to lead to greater costs as, depending on the situation, the government may still be able to acquire the land before the contractor needs to enter the site.
Contract experts say the practice violates principles of sound procurement.
“It sounds like a formula for waste, or worse, to make the construction contract first and only acquire the land months or years later," said Charles Tiefer, a University of Baltimore contracting expert.
Austin Evers, the executive director of American Oversight and a senior counsel for the State Department during President Barack Obama's second term, said the practice should be investigated by federal watchdogs.
“The government is arguing that it has to seize these lands right now because it is being penalized under the contract it already signed," Evers said. “In plain English, what that means is that American taxpayers are seeing their money thrown away for no purpose because the government signed the contract before it could execute the project."
Federal judges hearing CBP's eminent domain cases in South Texas also have expressed frustration with the government's legal argument for immediate possession in Starr County. In recent weeks, a segment of border fencing has quietly gone up in a remote area near Mendoza's ranch.
While the government gets the title to the property as soon as it files what's called a “declaration of taking" and deposits the amount it deems reasonable with the court, it can't begin construction until a judge approves an order to possess the land. U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez, a George W. Bush appointee, blasted government attorneys' request to take immediate possession of Mendoza's ranch, arguing that the agency has had the funds to acquire private land in Starr County for nearly two years.
“The United States' delay until November 2020 to file its motion for possession is not within the Court's control ... and (does) not create an emergency for this court," she wrote Dec. 17. “The Court has repeatedly expressed its dissatisfaction with the United States' requests for expedited relief. The United States is not entitled to expedited relief, and should cease requesting such relief without good cause."
However, Alvarez said that under the Declaration of Taking Act, she had little option but to grant the government's request to take possession of Mendoza's land, noting that Mendoza had not responded in time and that the government had filed the correct documentation and deposited what it estimated it would pay for the land seizure.
Even as government attorneys continue to cite the growing costs of delays to judges, the agency has downplayed the issue outside the courtroom.
“CBP will not know if there are any associated delay costs due to real estate until the end of the contract, as the Contractor may be able to make up any potential delays incurred," CBP spokesman Matthew Dyman told ProPublica and the Tribune on Friday. Dyman declined to clarify the statement, citing the ongoing litigation.
CBP also insists that awarding contracts without first obtaining land is efficient.
“Once the border wall system design is approved by the Government, and sufficient real estate is acquired by the Government, construction activities can begin," wrote Roger Maier, a spokesman for CBP.
The government has been here before. A decade ago, CBP learned that building in this part of the border would be especially challenging, between acquiring the land — which in some cases took more than two years — and flooding concerns. Under the Bush and Obama administrations, several border wall fence projects, also awarded before the government obtained the land, died because the agency couldn't get them built before funding dried up.
The Trump administration's legal efforts have only intensified, with nearly 40 new eminent domain lawsuits filed in the Southern District of Texas since Election Day.
All of which leaves the incoming Biden administration and hundreds of Texas landowners in a web of title and compensation disputes, multimillion-dollar contracts and a string of unfinished — and disconnected — projects all along the Rio Grande.
Biden has said he will cease wall construction and drop all the lawsuits on day one. His transition team didn't respond to a request for comment as to how exactly the administration would go about canceling existing contracts nor what it would do with land it now owns as part of the eminent domain push. Biden could save up to $2.6 billion if he halts construction, according to Army Corps of Engineers documents reviewed by The Washington Post.
This will not be the first time Biden confronts this issue. Last time he was in the White House, the Obama-Biden administration allowed the lawsuits and contracts to proceed. By the end of their first term, 54 new miles of border fence had been built in South Texas.
Starr County
One of CBP's toughest fights over eminent domain centers on Starr County, a poor, mostly rural county where family properties date back to original Spanish land grants issued 250 years ago, well before the Rio Grande served as an international boundary.
For more than a decade, residents and county officials have resisted the agency's push to build a border wall in Starr County, which the government has said in court filings is the No. 1 county for narcotics seizures across the entire southern border of the United States.
Starr and neighboring Hidalgo and Cameron counties are part of the agency's Rio Grande Valley sector, which accounts for 40% of immigrant arrests and 43% of the marijuana seizures along the southwest border.
Under the Trump administration, Starr has become one of the agency's top priorities for the border wall. Hidalgo and Cameron counties already have about 60 miles of border fencing, built upon concrete levee systems.
But Starr County, which lacks a levee system, had no wall before the Trump administration first proposed building there in 2017. Three years later, CBP has awarded contracts for 55 miles, but only about 5 miles have been built, mostly on U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuge land in remote corners of the county.
As it was a decade ago, the government's effort is once again mired in complicated eminent domain legal battles that have so far prevented construction on the remaining miles.
Of 70 condemnation cases filed by the government since September in South Texas, 53 are in Starr County, where the government has only accelerated legal action since Election Day (25 lawsuits have been filed in this county since Nov. 3).
In one case filed at the end of November, the government is seeking to seize a triangle of land smaller than 2 acres in the county. Despite the tract's small size, there are more than 30 individuals with possible ownership rights, scattered across Texas and as far away as Washington state, according to court records.
Lawyers say that as land has passed through the generations, many partitions have not been documented properly in official records, resulting in a thicket of potential land ownership that the government has struggled to unravel.
“The title issues in Starr County seem to be far more complicated and difficult than what we've seen in the other border counties," said Roy Brandys, an Austin-based eminent domain attorney who represents border residents in these cases. “On several of the cases we've been working on in Starr County, one of the reasons they have not progressed even faster is because the government and frankly, we as the landowners' representatives, are trying to work out the title issues before they move forward."
According to a recent Government Accountability Office report, title issues in Starr have slowed construction timelines considerably. “Some counties in South Texas, such as Starr County, do not have the infrastructure or funding to maintain recordkeeping systems," the report says.
But where the federal government sees as a maze of legal hurdles, local officials see a reflection of the region's heritage.
“For many, the land has been in their families for generations," said Joel Villarreal, mayor of the Starr County seat of Rio Grande City. “We have a large number of residents that own land and they are proud of that heritage to own land. They speak of it as something to be cherished, the idea of having land."
Fight Over Land
On a recent morning, Mendoza, 60, stood in front of his ranch as orange survey markers fluttered in the wind around him.
At regular intervals, he has built steps into his own mesh and metal tube fencing, allowing would-be border crossers to climb over. He said Border Patrol agents have asked him why he built them. “I tell them for one, I was undocumented when I came here," he explained. “And two, so they don't break down my fence!"
The ranch holds a special place in the heart of Mendoza, who owns several businesses and properties in Starr County. In 1979, he crossed the border as an undocumented immigrant, passing through the same piece of property on his way to a new life in Houston. Thirty years later he bought the ranch when it came up for sale, and he is loath to lose it.
If the wall comes through the front of his ranch as proposed, Mendoza said he would have to move the fence and an expensive front gate, as well as the corral for the 40 or so cattle he raises on the land. Worse, he said, the wall would render the ranch virtually worthless by placing it almost entirely behind the barrier.
“It won't have any value afterwards" he said. “Anything could happen on the other side of the wall. I won't be protected inside there."
The government first made Mendoza an offer to buy his land in April, according to court documents. Five months later, federal prosecutors sued to take part of his ranch, depositing about $93,000 with the court as a “just compensation."
The government claimed in Mendoza's case that the cost of suspending work was about $15,000 per day. In other cases, the government contended that delays have added as much as $100,000 per day, depending on the size of the contract, according to a review by ProPublica and the Tribune. The expenses came from what officials called de- and re-mobilization and from having equipment and crew on standby beyond the date construction was scheduled to begin.
In four Rio Grande Valley projects alone, where the government has detailed the costs of delays in court filings, the total is nearly $9 million, as of the date the court granted the order for immediate possession, which is when work can begin.
Despite not having been able to break ground in 18 months, the original $33 million contract to Southwest Valley Constructors is now worth $42 million thanks to contract options the government has exercised. An earlier review of federal spending data by ProPublica and the Tribune found modifications to contracts have increased the price of the border wall by billions, costing about five times more per mile than it did under previous administrations.
Francis Rooney, a Republican U.S. representative from Florida and longtime real estate developer, called the practice “ridiculous." From a contractor point of view, he said, there's the risk of inflation and rises in labor or material costs, for instance, as work on those sites is delayed.
“That sounds a little reckless to me, but I'm not surprised given some of what this administration has done," he said, in reference to Trump declaring a national emergency and using military funding to accelerate border wall building.
ProPublica and the Tribune reached out to the companies with contracts in the Rio Grande Valley awarded under the practice. Most didn't respond and Kiewit Infrastructure West, an affiliate of Southwest Valley Constructors, referred questions to the Army Corps of Engineers.
Raini Bruni, another spokeswoman with the Corps, said border wall contracts are written in a way that puts much of the risk on the contractor, who can request compensation in cases where there's a delay or suspension, approved on a case-by-case basis.
But beyond the risk to the government and contractors, the practice can lead to a loss of protections to landowners, experts said.
Due process is at the heart of the government's power to take private property, said Evers of the nonpartisan watchdog American Oversight. But it is being ignored by rushing things through based on emergencies of the administration's own creation, he added, “which runs counter to basic American values."
Beyond the fight over the value of his land, Mendoza doesn't believe the wall will achieve its goal. “The people won't stop," he said. “It wouldn't have stopped me, I would have jumped over."
“They Use the Legal System as a Threat"
About 20 miles upriver from Mendoza, the Muñiz family is also fighting the government's attempt to seize its land in a case that shows the pressure government agents have put on local landowners, especially in the final months of 2020.
On Sept. 1, the government sued Noelia Muñiz and offered to pay $5,500 for about an acre of land. According to court documents, she felt harassed by constant phone calls that she said were taking a toll on her health.
“They call every day, they threaten that if you don't show your face they will take you to court," said her brother Noe Muñiz Jr., 63, outside their home. “They use the legal system as a threat. ... It's very stressful for her."
Usually the government first tries to settle with landowners but sues when they can't reach an agreement or it's unclear who owns the land.
Since the beginning of the Trump administration, the government has filed 193 lawsuits — three-fourths just in the past year — asking Texas landowners to relinquish, temporarily or permanently, more than 5,800 acres, according to information provided by the Texas Civil Rights Project and court documents.
Noe Muñiz Jr. said the family has been going through the process without an attorney because it can't afford to pay one. “We have no support at all," he said. “If you want support it takes money and no one has money. ... I'm pretty sure they wouldn't do this in a place where the majority of people are white. Here you have Mexican people and they are poor, so come on."
In a normal condemnation case there would be safeguards in place such as environmental reviews, hydrology reports prior to starting the project, said Brandys, who has represented border residents under the current and previous administrations.
But due to what he calls the politicization of border wall construction, the U.S. attorney and those building the wall are under significant pressure from Washington to get as much done as possible. All of which can significantly impact the landowners, he said, adding, “Unfortunately in some of those situations you won't know until the wall is built and the projects are up and we see what the effects are."
The Department of Homeland Security has a record of abusing the eminent domain process to build border barriers.
In 2017, a ProPublica-Tribune investigation found DHS had cut unfair real estate deals, secretly waived legal safeguards for property owners and ultimately abused the government's power to take land from private citizens. In some cases, the DOJ bungled hundreds of condemnation cases, taking property without knowing the identity of the owners and condemning land without researching facts as basic as property lines.
Under the George W. Bush administration, the federal government filed more than 360 eminent domain lawsuits along the U.S.-Mexico border as part of an effort to build up to 700 miles of fencing by December 2008. Along the Rio Grande, the agency built 50 miles in disconnected strips and seized a total of 564 acres for which it paid $18.2 million, ProPublica and the Tribune reported.
There are still 20 cases pending in South Texas from that era, involving about 440 owners, according to the DOJ.
While lawyers and residents say some things have improved, such as the government providing more details about the property it is trying to take, the pressure on landowners has not eased.
Daniel Villarreal, a 56-year-old bail bondsman in Rio Grande City, said government negotiators told him earlier this year he either had to accept their offer or they would take it anyway.
But following Biden's victory, he is starting to feel pangs of regret about selling about an acre of his riverfront property to the government.
He didn't want to say how much he agreed to but said it's not life-changing money. “They say they gave me market value, but how long is that going to last? A year or two?" he said. “And then what you're left with is a monument to a man I don't even like."
The wall would also cut Villarreal off from the beauty of the river's edge, a fear echoed by other property owners.
Growing up, Noe Muñiz said he and his siblings swam daily in the river. As he grew older, the river offered respite after a long day of working in cantaloupe and onion fields. He still fishes there but worries that after a wall is built, the river would become too dangerous to visit inside the no man's land that would be created south of the barrier.
Even though the Muñiz family will likely lose the battle to keep its land, it is trying to get what it considers just compensation, he said, and holding onto hope that Biden will cancel the wall contract in the area. “You can't give up on the land. It's not the government's land," he said. “It's hard to let go."


alternet--2020-12-23--Columnist explains why Trump is unsurpassed in abusing the pardon powers

President Donald Trump is hardly the first U.S. president to draw criticism for the presidential pardons he has granted , but it is safe to say that Trump 's pardons have been especially controversial — for example , the ones he announced on Tuesday , December 22 , including pardons for Blackwater employees jailed for killing Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in 2007 .
The Washington Post 's Ruth Marcus , in an op-ed published the following day , lays out some reasons why Trump 's pardons have been especially egregious .
Marcus , deputy opinion editor for the Post , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ squalid task of discussing President Trump 's pardons by dispensing with the inevitable whataboutism .
Yes , Bill Clinton pardoned fugitive financier Marc Rich… .
Yes , George H.W .
Bush , on his final Christmas Eve in office , pardoned six people charged in the Iran-Contra affair… .
( But ) no president has ever misused the pardon power as thoroughly as Trump has — not to rectify wrongs and dispense mercy , but to reward political allies , excuse corruption and erase , as completely as possible , the work of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in office . ''
Marcus contends that Trump `` loves his pardon power '' because he is an `` autocrat wannabe . ''
According to Marcus , the outgoing president `` has debased the pardon power '' by `` bypassing the usual process of having the Justice Department review such requests , ignoring the ordinary standards for granting requests and , most gallingly , bestowing presidential favor primarily as a matter of personal connection or political self-interest . ''
Other pardons or commutations Trump announced on December 22 ranged from George Papadopoulos , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to his 2016 campaign and admitted to lying to the FBI during the Russia investigation , to Duncan D. Hunter — the former GOP congressman who was sentenced to 11 months in prison for campaign finance violations .
`` Duncan Hunter ( Calif. ) , the second House member to endorse Trump , diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds to pay for personal expenses , including — my favorite — air travel for his family 's pet rabbit , '' Marcus explains .
`` He was set to begin an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adds that Trump also `` pardoned four former workers for the private security contractor Blackwater who were convicted in the 2007 killing of 14 Iraqi civilians in a busy Baghdad square , '' noting that Blackwater 's founder , Erik Prince , is the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos .
The Post deputy opinion editor predicts that Trump is certain to pardon more of his cronies before he leaves office .
`` Trump has already pardoned former National Security Adviser Michael T. Flynn and commuted the sentence of adviser Roger Stone , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former campaign chairman Paul Manafort be far behind ?
... ..
The message of these pardons : lying is trivial , public corruption matters less than personal loyalty , government operatives can kill foreign civilians with impunity .
This the legacy that Trump leaves us . ''

President Donald Trump is hardly the first U.S. president to draw criticism for the presidential pardons he has granted, but it is safe to say that Trump's pardons have been especially controversial — for example, the ones he announced on Tuesday, December 22, including pardons for Blackwater employees jailed for killing Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in 2007. The Washington Post's Ruth Marcus, in an op-ed published the following day, lays out some reasons why Trump's pardons have been especially egregious.
Marcus, deputy opinion editor for the Post, writes, "Let's start the squalid task of discussing President Trump's pardons by dispensing with the inevitable whataboutism. Yes, Bill Clinton pardoned fugitive financier Marc Rich…. Yes, George H.W. Bush, on his final Christmas Eve in office, pardoned six people charged in the Iran-Contra affair…. (But) no president has ever misused the pardon power as thoroughly as Trump has — not to rectify wrongs and dispense mercy, but to reward political allies, excuse corruption and erase, as completely as possible, the work of the special counsel who plagued his years in office."
Marcus contends that Trump "loves his pardon power" because he is an "autocrat wannabe." According to Marcus, the outgoing president "has debased the pardon power" by "bypassing the usual process of having the Justice Department review such requests, ignoring the ordinary standards for granting requests and, most gallingly, bestowing presidential favor primarily as a matter of personal connection or political self-interest."
Other pardons or commutations Trump announced on December 22 ranged from George Papadopoulos, who served as a foreign policy adviser to his 2016 campaign and admitted to lying to the FBI during the Russia investigation, to Duncan D. Hunter — the former GOP congressman who was sentenced to 11 months in prison for campaign finance violations.
"Duncan Hunter (Calif.), the second House member to endorse Trump, diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds to pay for personal expenses, including — my favorite — air travel for his family's pet rabbit," Marcus explains. "He was set to begin an 11-month sentence next month."
Marcus adds that Trump also "pardoned four former workers for the private security contractor Blackwater who were convicted in the 2007 killing of 14 Iraqi civilians in a busy Baghdad square," noting that Blackwater's founder, Erik Prince, is the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
The Post deputy opinion editor predicts that Trump is certain to pardon more of his cronies before he leaves office.
"Trump has already pardoned former National Security Adviser Michael T. Flynn and commuted the sentence of adviser Roger Stone," Marcus writes. "Can his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort be far behind?..... The message of these pardons: lying is trivial, public corruption matters less than personal loyalty, government operatives can kill foreign civilians with impunity. This the legacy that Trump leaves us."


alternet--2020-12-23--In reversal, Pennsylvania Supreme Court bans most warrantless police searches of vehicles

This week , the Pennsylvania Supreme Court handed down a decision that will affect police departments all over the Keystone State .
Police , according to the ruling , will no longer be able to conduct warrantless searches of vehicles unless there is probable cause to believe that a crime has taken place and there are emergency circumstances that necessitate immediate action .
This ruling reverses the Pennsylvania Supreme Court 's 2014 ruling in the case Commonwealth v. Gary , which cleared a path for warrantless searches in Pennsylvania .
Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Samantha Melamed explains , `` The ruling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and others across the state to rewrite their policies on vehicle searches .
Philadelphia 's current directive permits warrantless searches whenever police have reason to believe contraband is present . ''
Melamed notes that in 2019 , an Inquirer analysis `` found that Philadelphia police were searching more than 2,000 people a month , on average , based on that policy .
About 80 % of those searches involved Black drivers , but police found such contraband as guns or drugs in their cars only 12 % of the time . ''
Melamed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 25,000 drivers in five years based on an alleged odor of marijuana

This week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court handed down a decision that will affect police departments all over the Keystone State. Police, according to the ruling, will no longer be able to conduct warrantless searches of vehicles unless there is probable cause to believe that a crime has taken place and there are emergency circumstances that necessitate immediate action.
This ruling reverses the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's 2014 ruling in the case Commonwealth v. Gary, which cleared a path for warrantless searches in Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Samantha Melamed explains, "The ruling will likely require the Philadelphia Police Department and others across the state to rewrite their policies on vehicle searches. Philadelphia's current directive permits warrantless searches whenever police have reason to believe contraband is present."
Melamed notes that in 2019, an Inquirer analysis "found that Philadelphia police were searching more than 2,000 people a month, on average, based on that policy. About 80% of those searches involved Black drivers, but police found such contraband as guns or drugs in their cars only 12% of the time."
Melamed adds, "Philly police also stopped more than 25,000 drivers in five years based on an alleged odor of marijuana


alternet--2020-12-23--Here’s how a Trump executive order encouraged Jerry Falwell Jr’s political activities: report

With the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden less than a month away , the Christian right is in mourning .
A major ally of far-right white evangelicals , President Donald Trump , is leaving the White House — and even though Biden is known for being a devout Catholic , he is n't nearly as friendly to the Christian Right 's theocratic agenda .
Journalist Maggie Severns , in an article published by Politico on December 22 , discusses Trump 's alliance with former Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. — who , according to Severns , was free to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ activity thanks to an executive order from Trump .
`` Former Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. 's decision to spend millions of university dollars on Republican political causes followed an executive order by President Donald Trump directing the Internal Revenue Service to avoid , whenever possible , investigating religious organizations veering into politics , '' Severns explains .
`` Trump issued the order in 2017 .
The following year , under Falwell 's leadership , the university directed more than $ 3 million to conservative organizations . ''
Severns ' December 22 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Politico in which she discussed the millions of dollars that Falwell Jr. spent promoting Trump and his causes at Liberty University .
Falwell Jr. is the son of the late Jerry Falwell Sr. , founder of Liberty University and co-founder of the Moral Majority .
The elder Falwell , who died in 2007 , was an outspoken segregationist during the 1950s and 1960s and vigorously defended Jim Crow laws from the pulpit — and during the 1980s , he played a major role in the prominence that far-right white evangelicals and the Christian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Trump went out of his way to pander to the Christian right when he ran for president in 2016 — and it worked .
Trump is wildly popular among Christian right evangelicals , and Falwell Jr. has been among his closest allies .
Severns , in her December 22 article , notes that Falwell , Jr. 's pro-Republican activities `` appear to push the boundaries of the university 's non-profit status , particularly given that the law explicitly bans nonprofits from assisting political candidates under a provision called the Johnson Amendment , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who sponsored it in the Senate . ''
The Politico reporter notes that `` under Falwell 's leadership , the university directed more than $ 3 million to conservative organizations '' in 2018 — and `` in 2019 , it created a think tank that purchased Facebook ads featuring Trump 's image and the slogan 'Pray For Our President , ' produced a podcast that amplified Trump 's claims of a stolen election , and recently staged a strategy session for the 2021 elections that featured only Republican politicians . ''
According to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the IRS ' already hands-off approach to monitoring churches and other religious nonprofits to the point that enforcement now appears to be nearly nonexistent , giving Liberty and other groups new opportunity to test boundaries they could n't have in the past . ''
Brendan Fisher , director of the Watchdog group the Campaign Legal Center , told Politico , `` For someone like Falwell , who was eager to use tax-exempt resources to engage in politics , it may have given the green light .
It 's a correlation , but it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ line between the executive order and Liberty ramping up its political activity in the years following it . ''

With the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden less than a month away, the Christian right is in mourning. A major ally of far-right white evangelicals, President Donald Trump, is leaving the White House — and even though Biden is known for being a devout Catholic, he isn't nearly as friendly to the Christian Right's theocratic agenda. Journalist Maggie Severns, in an article published by Politico on December 22, discusses Trump's alliance with former Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. — who, according to Severns, was free to spend millions of dollars on his political activity thanks to an executive order from Trump.
"Former Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr.'s decision to spend millions of university dollars on Republican political causes followed an executive order by President Donald Trump directing the Internal Revenue Service to avoid, whenever possible, investigating religious organizations veering into politics," Severns explains. "Trump issued the order in 2017. The following year, under Falwell's leadership, the university directed more than $3 million to conservative organizations."
Severns' December 22 article follows a December 14 article for Politico in which she discussed the millions of dollars that Falwell Jr. spent promoting Trump and his causes at Liberty University.
Falwell Jr. is the son of the late Jerry Falwell Sr., founder of Liberty University and co-founder of the Moral Majority. The elder Falwell, who died in 2007, was an outspoken segregationist during the 1950s and 1960s and vigorously defended Jim Crow laws from the pulpit — and during the 1980s, he played a major role in the prominence that far-right white evangelicals and the Christian right movement achieved in the Republican Party.
Trump went out of his way to pander to the Christian right when he ran for president in 2016 — and it worked. Trump is wildly popular among Christian right evangelicals, and Falwell Jr. has been among his closest allies.
Severns, in her December 22 article, notes that Falwell, Jr.'s pro-Republican activities "appear to push the boundaries of the university's non-profit status, particularly given that the law explicitly bans nonprofits from assisting political candidates under a provision called the Johnson Amendment, named after former President Lyndon Johnson, who sponsored it in the Senate."
The Politico reporter notes that "under Falwell's leadership, the university directed more than $3 million to conservative organizations" in 2018 — and "in 2019, it created a think tank that purchased Facebook ads featuring Trump's image and the slogan 'Pray For Our President,' produced a podcast that amplified Trump's claims of a stolen election, and recently staged a strategy session for the 2021 elections that featured only Republican politicians."
According to Severns, "Trump's administration furthered the IRS' already hands-off approach to monitoring churches and other religious nonprofits to the point that enforcement now appears to be nearly nonexistent, giving Liberty and other groups new opportunity to test boundaries they couldn't have in the past."
Brendan Fisher, director of the Watchdog group the Campaign Legal Center, told Politico, "For someone like Falwell, who was eager to use tax-exempt resources to engage in politics, it may have given the green light. It's a correlation, but it certainly seems like you can draw a line between the executive order and Liberty ramping up its political activity in the years following it."


alternet--2020-12-23--DeSantis ignores official advice on prioritizing essential workers for vaccines: 'I don't think that

DeSantis ignores official advice on prioritizing essential workers for vaccines: 'I don't think that's the direction we want'

As COVID-19 continues to ravage the state of Florida , Gov .
Ron DeSantis ( R ) is disregarding the guidance of public health officials ' advice on vaccine distribution .
According to Business Insider , the Republican governor is suggesting the state will not follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices , rolled out on Sunday , which recommended vaccine prioritization for essential workers .
During a news conference on Tuesday , DeSantis was asked about the state 's vaccine rollout , and he made it clear that Florida will likely be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccines are going to be targeted where the risk is going to be greatest , and that 's in our elderly population , '' DeSantis said .
`` We are not going to put young , healthy workers ahead of our elderly , vulnerable population . ''
Referencing the CDC recommendation that prioritizes essential workers , DeSantis said , `` If you 're a 22 year-old worker in food services at a supermarket , you would have preference over a 74 year-old grandmother .
I do n't think that 's the direction we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stressed that the elderly will take precedence over the state 's essential workers .
`` What I would say to the elderly population : It 's going to be reserved for you .
Not everyone 's going to be able to do it on day one , it 's going to take some time to be able to make sure everybody has access , '' he said .
The governor 's remarks during the news conference came just one day after he offered his opinion on vaccine distribution .
`` It 's something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot to me that we 're putting our parents and grandparents first , '' he said Monday .
`` If you took a 25-year-old deputy anywhere in Florida and said , ' I have one vaccine do you want it or should we give it to this 70-year-old ? '
I think 9/10 they 'd say , 'Give it to the grandparents .
Give it to the parents . '
'' As of Wednesday , Dec. 23 , the United States is continuing to face an accelerated spread of coronavirus .
More @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported , including more than 1.2 million cases in the state of Florida , alone .
Florida also has the fourth-highest COVID-related death toll in the country .

As COVID-19 continues to ravage the state of Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is disregarding the guidance of public health officials' advice on vaccine distribution.
According to Business Insider, the Republican governor is suggesting the state will not follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, rolled out on Sunday, which recommended vaccine prioritization for essential workers.
During a news conference on Tuesday, DeSantis was asked about the state's vaccine rollout, and he made it clear that Florida will likely be taking a different path.
"The vaccines are going to be targeted where the risk is going to be greatest, and that's in our elderly population," DeSantis said. "We are not going to put young, healthy workers ahead of our elderly, vulnerable population."
Referencing the CDC recommendation that prioritizes essential workers, DeSantis said, "If you're a 22 year-old worker in food services at a supermarket, you would have preference over a 74 year-old grandmother. I don't think that's the direction we want to go."
DeSantis also stressed that the elderly will take precedence over the state's essential workers. "What I would say to the elderly population: It's going to be reserved for you. Not everyone's going to be able to do it on day one, it's going to take some time to be able to make sure everybody has access," he said.
The governor's remarks during the news conference came just one day after he offered his opinion on vaccine distribution.
"It's something that's very important and it means a lot to me that we're putting our parents and grandparents first," he said Monday. "If you took a 25-year-old deputy anywhere in Florida and said, 'I have one vaccine do you want it or should we give it to this 70-year-old?' I think 9/10 they'd say, 'Give it to the grandparents. Give it to the parents.'"
As of Wednesday, Dec. 23, the United States is continuing to face an accelerated spread of coronavirus. More than 18.7 million COVID cases have been reported, including more than 1.2 million cases in the state of Florida, alone. Florida also has the fourth-highest COVID-related death toll in the country.


alternet--2020-12-23--'We are clearly in dangerous waters': Conservative makes the case for impeaching Trump — again

With President-elect Joe Biden 's inauguration less than a month away , most of President Donald Trump 's critics are n't giving much thought to impeaching him — after all , voters have already decided to remove him from office on January 20 , 2021 .
But Never Trump conservative Charlie Sykes , in his Bulwark column , argues that with Trump becoming increasingly unhinged during this lame-duck period , a second impeachment might be in order .
In a tweet posted on December 19 , fellow Never Trumper Tim Miller ( who served as communications director to former Florida @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Republican Party ) suggested , `` Impeach him again . ''
And conservative anti-Trump journalist David Frum , that same day , tweeted , `` Plotting a military coup seems like the kind of behavior that impeachment and removal were invented for . ''
Sykes says of Miller and Frum 's suggestion , `` This is not a totally crazy idea… .
The obvious objections are — well , obvious .
Time is short , and nobody has an appetite for this with a just a few weeks to go .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a question constitutes an impeachable offense . ''
Only four presidents in U.S. history have faced impeachment in the U.S. House of Representatives : Andrew Johnson , Richard Nixon , Bill Clinton and Trump .
But none of them were actually removed from office by the impeachment process .
Nixon resigned in August 1974 before a Senate trial could come about , and Johnson , Clinton and Trump received `` not guilty '' votes in their Senate trials .
Impeaching a president during a lame-duck period would be a first in U.S. history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vocal critics in the Democratic Party would say , `` What 's the point ? ''
Sykes , however , argues , `` We are clearly in dangerous waters , and no one can be sure what a president desperate to hold onto power and terrified of defeat might be capable of attempting .
What actual checks remain ?
We can hope for institutional resistance to any attempt to impose martial law .
But if we have learned anything , it is that many of the checks on presidential power are , more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
The Never Trump journalist continues , `` He has virtually unlimited pardon power ; he has technical control of the DOJ ; and he remains commander-in chief of the ( U.S. ) Armed Forces .
All of this is by way of saying that bad things can happen . ''
Sykes notes that the United States has `` really only three decisive checks on a president run amok '' — and they are `` ( 1 ) the 25th Amendment , ( 2 ) impeachment and removal , and ( 3 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' `` Trump is so far undeterred by electoral defeat — and practically speaking , the 25th Amendment is a dead letter because it relies on his own hand-picked toadies , '' Sykes argues .
`` Which leaves the alternative of impeachment , a process that is admittedly impractical .
But , what if — what if Trump did try to declare martial law ?
Seize voting machines ?
Attempt to deploy the military ?
What stops him ?
Anything ? ''
Trump supporters who have been urging the president to declare martial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ National Security Adviser Michael Flynn .
And Sykes warns that when talk of martial law is coming from the president 's allies , it should n't be taken lightly .
`` The smart set has been telling us that we do n't have anything to worry about , '' Sykes explains .
`` The guardrails will hold , they assure us .
There 's no time , they tell us .
But Trump is in the White House talking about coups .
Maybe we need to have the hammer ready to break glass @ @ @ @ @ @

With President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration less than a month away, most of President Donald Trump's critics aren't giving much thought to impeaching him — after all, voters have already decided to remove him from office on January 20, 2021. But Never Trump conservative Charlie Sykes, in his Bulwark column, argues that with Trump becoming increasingly unhinged during this lame-duck period, a second impeachment might be in order.
In a tweet posted on December 19, fellow Never Trumper Tim Miller (who served as communications director to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and recently left the Republican Party) suggested, "Impeach him again." And conservative anti-Trump journalist David Frum, that same day, tweeted, "Plotting a military coup seems like the kind of behavior that impeachment and removal were invented for."
Sykes says of Miller and Frum's suggestion, "This is not a totally crazy idea…. The obvious objections are — well, obvious. Time is short, and nobody has an appetite for this with a just a few weeks to go. It's also not clear that merely raising a question constitutes an impeachable offense."
Only four presidents in U.S. history have faced impeachment in the U.S. House of Representatives: Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton and Trump. But none of them were actually removed from office by the impeachment process. Nixon resigned in August 1974 before a Senate trial could come about, and Johnson, Clinton and Trump received "not guilty" votes in their Senate trials.
Impeaching a president during a lame-duck period would be a first in U.S. history, and many of Trump's most vocal critics in the Democratic Party would say, "What's the point?"
Sykes, however, argues, "We are clearly in dangerous waters, and no one can be sure what a president desperate to hold onto power and terrified of defeat might be capable of attempting. What actual checks remain? We can hope for institutional resistance to any attempt to impose martial law. But if we have learned anything, it is that many of the checks on presidential power are, more or less, on an honor system."
The Never Trump journalist continues, "He has virtually unlimited pardon power; he has technical control of the DOJ; and he remains commander-in chief of the (U.S.) Armed Forces. All of this is by way of saying that bad things can happen."
Sykes notes that the United States has "really only three decisive checks on a president run amok" — and they are "(1) the 25th Amendment, (2) impeachment and removal, and (3) defeat at the ballot box."
"Trump is so far undeterred by electoral defeat — and practically speaking, the 25th Amendment is a dead letter because it relies on his own hand-picked toadies," Sykes argues. "Which leaves the alternative of impeachment, a process that is admittedly impractical. But, what if — what if Trump did try to declare martial law? Seize voting machines? Attempt to deploy the military? What stops him? Anything?"
Trump supporters who have been urging the president to declare martial law include attorney Lin Wood and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. And Sykes warns that when talk of martial law is coming from the president's allies, it shouldn't be taken lightly.
"The smart set has been telling us that we don't have anything to worry about," Sykes explains. "The guardrails will hold, they assure us. There's no time, they tell us. But Trump is in the White House talking about coups. Maybe we need to have the hammer ready to break glass in case of emergency."


alternet--2020-12-23--Trump's latest $2000 ploy? Drag the GOP to hell

President Donald Trump 's adamant push for $ 2,000 direct stimulus payments may have caught the attention of Americans everywhere , but there are several reasons why the president 's pivot was likely part of a bigger picture .
With less than 30 days left in his presidency , Trump has a growing list of Republican leaders he is displeased with due to what he perceives as their failure to fight harder to overturn the results of the presidential election .
According to Axios , the president 's actions on Tuesday , Dec. 22 may have been part of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including causing chaos and division within the Republican Party .
During his impromptu speech , the president blasted lawmakers over the COVID-19 relief bill , which is part of a larger government spending bill negotiated by Trump 's own allies .
`` Trump wants the Republican Party to remain beholden to him and is desperate to retain his GOP power past Jan. 20 .
Top Republicans are increasingly queasy about the two runoffs in Georgia on Jan. 5 that will determine which party controls the Senate .
Last night 's White House actions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ turmoil and distraction , and robbing the senators of a clear win on the stimulus . ''
Shortly after the press conference , Trump fired back at Senate Republicans via Twitter with direct attacks on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-KY ) and Senate Minority Whip John Thune ( R-SD ) .
Trump appears to be on a warpath to take down as many Republicans as he possibly can on his way out of the door .
He tweeted , `` Republicans in the Senate so quickly forget .
Right now they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ backing them in the last Election .
RINO John Thune , `` Mitch 's boy '' , should just let it play out .
South Dakota does n't like weakness .
He will be primaried in 2022 , political career over !
!
! ''

President Donald Trump's adamant push for $2,000 direct stimulus payments may have caught the attention of Americans everywhere, but there are several reasons why the president's pivot was likely part of a bigger picture.
With less than 30 days left in his presidency, Trump has a growing list of Republican leaders he is displeased with due to what he perceives as their failure to fight harder to overturn the results of the presidential election.
According to Axios, the president's actions on Tuesday, Dec. 22 may have been part of a ploy to serve three different purposes, including causing chaos and division within the Republican Party. During his impromptu speech, the president blasted lawmakers over the COVID-19 relief bill, which is part of a larger government spending bill negotiated by Trump's own allies.
Axios reports:
"Trump wants the Republican Party to remain beholden to him and is desperate to retain his GOP power past Jan. 20. Top Republicans are increasingly queasy about the two runoffs in Georgia on Jan. 5 that will determine which party controls the Senate. Last night's White House actions undermine the GOP Senate candidates by fomenting turmoil and distraction, and robbing the senators of a clear win on the stimulus."
Shortly after the press conference, Trump fired back at Senate Republicans via Twitter with direct attacks on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD). Trump appears to be on a warpath to take down as many Republicans as he possibly can on his way out of the door.
He tweeted, "Republicans in the Senate so quickly forget. Right now they would be down 8 seats without my backing them in the last Election. RINO John Thune, "Mitch's boy", should just let it play out. South Dakota doesn't like weakness. He will be primaried in 2022, political career over!!!"


alternet--2020-12-23--'Mistakenly unsealed' FBI affidavit reveals white supremacists planned attack on US power grid if Tr

'Mistakenly unsealed' FBI affidavit reveals white supremacists planned attack on US power grid if Trump lost

Although terrorist attacks by far-right white supremacist and white supremacist groups existed long before the Trump era , the last four years have found such groups emboldened .
And according to Associated Press reporter Amy Forliti , one plot that white supremacists had in mind for the Summer of 2021 involved attacking power stations in the southeastern United States .
Forliti reports that in an affidavit that was `` mistakenly unsealed , '' the FBI alleges that an Ohio-based teenager and informant said he wanted the white supremacists to fast-track their plot if President Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ electoral votes , President-elect Joe Biden defeated Trump by more than 7 million in the popular vote .
The NBC News reporter explains , `` The teen was in a text group with more than a dozen people in the fall of 2019 when he introduced the idea of saving money to buy a ranch where they could participate in militant training , according to the affidavit , which was filed under seal along with a search warrant application in Wisconsin 's Eastern U.S. District Court in March .
The documents were inadvertently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discovered and they were quickly sealed again . ''
Forliti notes that the teenager `` also shared plans with a smaller group about a plot to create a power outage by shooting rifle rounds into power stations in the southeastern U.S .
The teen called the plot 'Lights Out , ' and there were plans to carry it out in the Summer of 2021 , the affidavit states . ''
The teenager , according to Forliti , allegedly received a text from a white supremacist in Texas who said , `` Leaving the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the harsh reality of life by wreaking havoc across the nation . ''
`` The affidavit says the Ohio teen also spoke numerous times about creating Nazi militant cells around the country like those of the neo-Nazi network the Atomwaffen Division , '' Forliti explains .
`` Atomwaffen Division members have promoted 'accelerationism , ' a fringe philosophy espousing mass violence to fuel society 's collapse .
More than a dozen people linked to the group or an offshoot called the Feuerkrieg Division have been charged with serious crimes in recent years .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. Attorney 's Office in the Southern District of Ohio , told NBC News that she could n't offer more information about the plot but said , `` we want to emphasize that there is no imminent public safety threat related to this matter . ''
The Trump era has seen some vicious attacks by White racists , from a mass shooting in El Paso , Texas on August 3 , 2019 aimed specifically at Latinos to the October 27 , 2018 attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of white nationalists and militia extremists , according to the FBI , planned to kidnap Michigan Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer and possibly kill her .

Although terrorist attacks by far-right white supremacist and white supremacist groups existed long before the Trump era, the last four years have found such groups emboldened. And according to Associated Press reporter Amy Forliti, one plot that white supremacists had in mind for the Summer of 2021 involved attacking power stations in the southeastern United States.
Forliti reports that in an affidavit that was "mistakenly unsealed," the FBI alleges that an Ohio-based teenager and informant said he wanted the white supremacists to fast-track their plot if President Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. In addition to winning 306 electoral votes, President-elect Joe Biden defeated Trump by more than 7 million in the popular vote.
The NBC News reporter explains, "The teen was in a text group with more than a dozen people in the fall of 2019 when he introduced the idea of saving money to buy a ranch where they could participate in militant training, according to the affidavit, which was filed under seal along with a search warrant application in Wisconsin's Eastern U.S. District Court in March. The documents were inadvertently unsealed last week before the mistake was discovered and they were quickly sealed again."
Forliti notes that the teenager "also shared plans with a smaller group about a plot to create a power outage by shooting rifle rounds into power stations in the southeastern U.S. The teen called the plot 'Lights Out,' and there were plans to carry it out in the Summer of 2021, the affidavit states."
The teenager, according to Forliti, allegedly received a text from a white supremacist in Texas who said, "Leaving the power off would wake people up to the harsh reality of life by wreaking havoc across the nation."
"The affidavit says the Ohio teen also spoke numerous times about creating Nazi militant cells around the country like those of the neo-Nazi network the Atomwaffen Division," Forliti explains. "Atomwaffen Division members have promoted 'accelerationism,' a fringe philosophy espousing mass violence to fuel society's collapse. More than a dozen people linked to the group or an offshoot called the Feuerkrieg Division have been charged with serious crimes in recent years."
Jennifer Thornton, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Ohio, told NBC News that she couldn't offer more information about the plot but said, "we want to emphasize that there is no imminent public safety threat related to this matter."
The Trump era has seen some vicious attacks by White racists, from a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas on August 3, 2019 aimed specifically at Latinos to the October 27, 2018 attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. And earlier this year, a combination of white nationalists and militia extremists, according to the FBI, planned to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and possibly kill her.


alternet--2020-12-23--Watch: Viral video captures GOP club members dancing in conga line at maskless holiday party in NYC

New York Gov .
Andrew Cuomo ( D ) is not pleased with the latest holiday gathering Republicans held in New York City as the state battles an uptick in COVID-19 cases..
According to CBS News , the footage of the event captured a large number of the Whitestone Republican Club 's members , including Vickie Paladino , a current City Council candidate in New York City 's borough of Queens , dancing in a conga line despite the coronavirus outbreak .
During a brief phone interview with reporters on Tuesday , Dec. 22 , Cuomo weighed in on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ importance of remaining vigilant as the pandemic continues .
`` I saw the video , '' he said during a phone briefing with reporters .
`` COVID conga lines are not smart .
That 's my official position .
Why you would do an unmasked conga line in the middle of a COVID pandemic — whatever your political persuasion — defies logical explanation as far as I 'm concerned . ''
Despite stark criticism over the potential super spreader event , Whitestone Republican Club spokesperson Robert Hornak released a statement to the Queen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to hold the party .
Hornak falsely claimed the club adhered to coronavirus mitigation guidelines despite footage clearly indicating that was not the case .
`` We held an intimate gathering observing all the COVID guidelines in place at the time , '' Hornak said .
`` Every attendee was told to wear a mask , and everyone had one when entering , or was given one . ''
`` Everyone there had a great time and we were pleased that we gave people that time to be together with others of like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to move forward into what will hopefully be a much better 2021 , '' he said .
The latest reports come amid New York 's continued struggle to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus .
In fact , Queens , alone , has had more than 7,400 COVID-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic .

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is not pleased with the latest holiday gathering Republicans held in New York City as the state battles an uptick in COVID-19 cases..
According to CBS News, the footage of the event captured a large number of the Whitestone Republican Club's members, including Vickie Paladino, a current City Council candidate in New York City's borough of Queens, dancing in a conga line despite the coronavirus outbreak.
During a brief phone interview with reporters on Tuesday, Dec. 22, Cuomo weighed in on the maskless holiday event as he stressed the importance of remaining vigilant as the pandemic continues.
"I saw the video," he said during a phone briefing with reporters. "COVID conga lines are not smart. That's my official position. Why you would do an unmasked conga line in the middle of a COVID pandemic — whatever your political persuasion — defies logical explanation as far as I'm concerned."
Despite stark criticism over the potential super spreader event, Whitestone Republican Club spokesperson Robert Hornak released a statement to the Queen's Eagle defending the club's decision to hold the party. Hornak falsely claimed the club adhered to coronavirus mitigation guidelines despite footage clearly indicating that was not the case.
"We held an intimate gathering observing all the COVID guidelines in place at the time," Hornak said. "Every attendee was told to wear a mask, and everyone had one when entering, or was given one."
"Everyone there had a great time and we were pleased that we gave people that time to be together with others of like mind and spirit as we get ready to move forward into what will hopefully be a much better 2021," he said.
The latest reports come amid New York's continued struggle to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. In fact, Queens, alone, has had more than 7,400 COVID-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.


alternet--2020-12-23--California officials fear upcoming holidays could break their overwhelmed healthcare system

Top-ranking state officials in California are urging residents to refrain from attending Christmas and New Year 's Eve gatherings amid fears that another coronavirus surge could break the state 's healthcare system , according to a new report published by The Washington Post .
With unprecedented spikes in COVID-19 cases , California 's COVID projection models have warned that hospitals could be inundated with `` tens of thousands '' more patients by the middle of January .
California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly also revealed state officials are currently mulling over possible approaches to rationing care if the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The latest news comes as California has become the United States ' latest coronavirus epicenter with nearly two million cases just in the state , alone .
It has also been reported that hospitalization have surged by nearly 65 % over the last two weeks .
On Tuesday , Dec. 22 , administrators at several of the state 's largest hospital systems are attributing the latest significant spikes to community spread as a result of Thanksgiving holiday gatherings which is one of the main reasons for the concerns about the upcoming holidays .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Permanente Medical Group , noted that travel may have also contributed to the latest surge .
`` What we 're seeing right now is the Thanksgiving Day celebration effect , '' said Parodi .
`` It is related to the travel , it is related to the gathering .
We understand why people have done it , but we are really making a clarion and desperate call to Californians to not repeat what happened during Thanksgiving . ''
He later added , `` We hope not to get to the place where we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that most of us have never had to face before .
But with resources spread so thin — especially staffing — the only way we can avoid reaching crisis levels is if everybody takes action to stop the current spread of the virus . ''
The CDC also expressed its concerns about travel during a scientific briefing , especially given the identification of a new COVID-19 variant from the United Kingdom .
`` Ongoing travel between the United Kingdom and the United States , as well as the high prevalence of this variant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likelihood of importation , '' the CDC said in a scientific brief .
`` Given the small fraction of US infections that have been sequenced , the variant could already be in the United States without having been detected . ''
As of Wednesday , Dec. 23 , more than 18 million cases have been reported across the United States , including nearly two million in California .
The death toll has also surpassed 330,000 .

Top-ranking state officials in California are urging residents to refrain from attending Christmas and New Year's Eve gatherings amid fears that another coronavirus surge could break the state's healthcare system, according to a new report published by The Washington Post.
With unprecedented spikes in COVID-19 cases, California's COVID projection models have warned that hospitals could be inundated with "tens of thousands" more patients by the middle of January. California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly also revealed state officials are currently mulling over possible approaches to rationing care if the system breaks in the coming weeks.
The latest news comes as California has become the United States' latest coronavirus epicenter with nearly two million cases just in the state, alone. It has also been reported that hospitalization have surged by nearly 65% over the last two weeks.
On Tuesday, Dec. 22, administrators at several of the state's largest hospital systems are attributing the latest significant spikes to community spread as a result of Thanksgiving holiday gatherings which is one of the main reasons for the concerns about the upcoming holidays. Stephen Parodi, associate executive director at Permanente Medical Group, noted that travel may have also contributed to the latest surge.
"What we're seeing right now is the Thanksgiving Day celebration effect," said Parodi. "It is related to the travel, it is related to the gathering. We understand why people have done it, but we are really making a clarion and desperate call to Californians to not repeat what happened during Thanksgiving."
He later added, "We hope not to get to the place where we have to start making extraordinarily difficult decisions that most of us have never had to face before. But with resources spread so thin — especially staffing — the only way we can avoid reaching crisis levels is if everybody takes action to stop the current spread of the virus."
The CDC also expressed its concerns about travel during a scientific briefing, especially given the identification of a new COVID-19 variant from the United Kingdom.
"Ongoing travel between the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the high prevalence of this variant among current UK infections, increase the likelihood of importation," the CDC said in a scientific brief. "Given the small fraction of US infections that have been sequenced, the variant could already be in the United States without having been detected."
As of Wednesday, Dec. 23, more than 18 million cases have been reported across the United States, including nearly two million in California. The death toll has also surpassed 330,000.