rawstory--2020-01-10--‘Cowardice’: Olympics committee slammed for new guidelines barring athletes from kneeling, raising f

‘Cowardice’: Olympics committee slammed for new guidelines barring athletes from kneeling, raising fists

The International Olympic Committee drew sharp criticism from rights advocates Thursday after the organization issued revised guidelines banning athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Games from staging protests at the event including kneeling during their national anthem or raising their fists into the air .
“ So the IOC is doubling down on the disgraceful treatment of athletes in 1968 ?
” asked Sherrilyn Ifill , president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund .
Ifill was referring to the iconic moment at the Mexico City Olympics when black Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos , as they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , respectively , wore black gloves , took off their shoes , and held their fists high to protest poverty and racism .
The IOC responded by expelling Smith and Carlos .
The IOC announced the guidelines for Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter Thursday .
Among the specific actions ( pdf ) now banned are : • Gestures of a political nature , like a hand gesture or kneeling “ When an individual makes their grievances , however legitimate , more important than the feelings of their competitors and the competition itself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the celebration of sport and human accomplishment are diminished , ” the guidelines read .
The new rules still allow athletes to express their views on social media and in interviews and at press conferences , the new document states .
Failure to abide by the guidelines will result in the athlete ’ s action being evaluated by their “ respective National Olympic Committee , International Federation , and the IOC , and disciplinary action will be taken on a case-by-case basis as necessary.
” The update comes less than five months @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( USOPC ) reprimanded U.S. athletes Race Imboden and Gwen Berry for their act of protest at the medal podium .
Imboden kneeled to protest “ the multiple shortcomings of the country I hold so dear to my heart ” including “ a president who spreads hate , ” and Berry protested social injustice in America .
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova was in the chorus of opposition to the IOC ’ s new guidelines , tweeting , “ God how I despise these Olympic politician opportunists .
I wouldn ’ t last one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Critics pointed to the fact that while the new document asserts that the podium and playing field must be a politics-free zone , the IOC itself is not politically neutral .
“ The truth is , it ’ s not the mixing of politics and sports that [ IOC president Thomas ] Bach and the IOC don ’ t like , ” Nancy Armour opined Thursday at USA Today .
“ It ’ s the mixing of politics they don ’ t like with sports.
” It ’ s just fine for Bach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ important .
Or to foster good relationships with world leaders who might someday bankrupt their economies in exchange for sparkling venues , five-star hotels , and Olympic traffic lanes that allow IOC members to avoid the general populace on the roads and in the airports .
But God forbid athletes should stay silent about racism , homophobia , inequality , or murderous regimes .
You know , issues that have a direct effect on their lives .
That the types of protest now barred appear to take specific aim at black athletes wasn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Advocacy group People for the American Way rejected the new guidelines in a Twitter thread Friday that drew attention to an op-ed published at HuffPost in 2017 by Diallo Brooks , the group ’ s director of outreach and public engagement .
“ The right to raise our voices , make a speech , march in a rally , or take a knee in protest—whether in front of a government building or a football field—is at the heart of what it means to live in a free country , ” wrote Brooks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ play sports are more than just entertainers , and they should not be penalized for speaking out peacefully against injustice , ” he wrote .
“ They must be allowed to have a voice .
And when their voices are threatened , we have to raise our own and stand with them.
” Image : American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos raise their fists and give the Black Power alongside Peter Norman 1968 Olympics ( Screen Capture )

"God how I despise these Olympic politician opportunists."
The International Olympic Committee drew sharp criticism from rights advocates Thursday after the organization issued revised guidelines banning athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Games from staging protests at the event including kneeling during their national anthem or raising their fists into the air.
"So the IOC is doubling down on the disgraceful treatment of athletes in 1968?" asked Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Ifill was referring to the iconic moment at the Mexico City Olympics when black Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos, as they were awarded their gold and bronze medals, respectively, wore black gloves, took off their shoes, and held their fists high to protest poverty and racism. The IOC responded by expelling Smith and Carlos.
The IOC announced the guidelines for Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter Thursday. Among the specific actions (pdf) now banned are:
Displaying any political messaging, including signs or armbands
Gestures of a political nature, like a hand gesture or kneeling
Refusal to follow the Ceremonies protocol.
"When an individual makes their grievances, however legitimate, more important than the feelings of their competitors and the competition itself, the unity and harmony as well as the celebration of sport and human accomplishment are diminished," the guidelines read. The new rules still allow athletes to express their views on social media and in interviews and at press conferences, the new document states.
Failure to abide by the guidelines will result in the athlete's action being evaluated by their "respective National Olympic Committee, International Federation, and the IOC, and disciplinary action will be taken on a case-by-case basis as necessary."
The update comes less than five months after the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) reprimanded U.S. athletes Race Imboden and Gwen Berry for their act of protest at the medal podium. Imboden kneeled to protest "the multiple shortcomings of the country I hold so dear to my heart" including "a president who spreads hate," and Berry protested social injustice in America.
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova was in the chorus of opposition to the IOC's new guidelines, tweeting, "God how I despise these Olympic politician opportunists. I wouldn't last one day on one of these committees..."
Critics pointed to the fact that while the new document asserts that the podium and playing field must be a politics-free zone, the IOC itself is not politically neutral.
"The truth is, it's not the mixing of politics and sports that [IOC president Thomas] Bach and the IOC don't like," Nancy Armour opined Thursday at USA Today. "It's the mixing of politics they don't like with sports."
She continued:
It's just fine for Bach to lobby for the issues he finds important. Or to foster good relationships with world leaders who might someday bankrupt their economies in exchange for sparkling venues, five-star hotels, and Olympic traffic lanes that allow IOC members to avoid the general populace on the roads and in the airports. But God forbid athletes should stay silent about racism, homophobia, inequality, or murderous regimes. You know, issues that have a direct effect on their lives.
That the types of protest now barred appear to take specific aim at black athletes wasn't lost on other critics either.
Advocacy group People for the American Way rejected the new guidelines in a Twitter thread Friday that drew attention to an op-ed published at HuffPost in 2017 by Diallo Brooks, the group's director of outreach and public engagement.
"The right to raise our voices, make a speech, march in a rally, or take a knee in protest—whether in front of a government building or a football field—is at the heart of what it means to live in a free country," wrote Brooks.
"Young men of color who play sports are more than just entertainers, and they should not be penalized for speaking out peacefully against injustice," he wrote. "They must be allowed to have a voice. And when their voices are threatened, we have to raise our own and stand with them."
Image: American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos raise their fists and give the Black Power alongside Peter Norman 1968 Olympics (Screen Capture)


rawstory--2020-01-10--Susan Collins and a ‘small group’ of Republicans are pushing to allow witnesses to testify at Trump’

Susan Collins and a ‘small group’ of Republicans are pushing to allow witnesses to testify at Trump’s Senate trial

Speaking to reporters this Friday , Susan Collins ( R-ME ) said that she ’ s working with a “ @ @ @ @ @ Republican senators with the purpose of allowing witnesses to testify in the Senate trial of @ @ @ @ @ Daily News reports .
Collins has expressed openness to calling witnesses during the trial in @ @ @ @ @ her fellow Republicans .
“ I am hopeful that we can reach an agreement on @ @ @ @ @ trial that will allow the opportunity for both the House and the president ’ s @ @ @ @ @ do so , ” she said .

"Miles Taylor, who was a top aide to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, writes about the 2018 episode in a book set to be published this month," reported Peter Nicholas. "As a sitting president at the time, Trump had broad powers to declassify information. Yet the incident Taylor describes suggests that his aides still believed he needed to show more care toward state secrets — an issue that landed him in legal peril after he left office and took sensitive records with him."
"During his time in office, some senior aides worried about Trump’s treatment of state secrets. In an interview, [former National Security Adviser John] Bolton said that when Trump would get briefings, aides would 'show him graphics, and that’s where the danger came of him grabbing something and keeping it,'" said the report. "Asking Trump to return material he’d been given wasn't so easy, Bolton said. 'He’s the president of the United States,' Bolton said. 'Are you supposed to say, ‘Mr. President, let’s be clear. We don’t trust you. Give us the document back.’'"
According to the report, Taylor also alleges in the book that Trump asked his staffers if they could wiretap his aides to figure out who was speaking to the press.
Taylor, a longtime critic of the former president, was the author of an anonymous op-ed in The New York Times, in which he described himself as part of a "resistance" movement inside the White House to constrain Trump's worst impulses.
When NBC reached out to the Trump campaign about the claims, spokesman Steven Cheung said, “Miles Taylor is a loser and a lying sack of s---. His book either belongs in the discount bin of the fiction section or should be repurposed as toilet paper.”


rawstory--2020-01-10--GOP’s Doug Collins sent out fundraising email saying ‘I Will Not Apologize’ 45 minutes before apolog

GOP’s Doug Collins sent out fundraising email saying ‘I Will Not Apologize’ 45 minutes before apologizing

Rep. Doug Collins ( R-GA ) on Friday apologized for accusing Democrats of being “ in love with terrorists ” — much to the chagrin of many Trump supporters who howled with rage at him for supposedly caving to the liberal “ mob.
” However , Collins ’ s apology came just 45 minutes after he sent out a fundraising email with the header , “ I Will Not Apologize.
” As flagged by Media Matters reporter Eric Hananoki , the email once again attacks Democrats for their criticisms of Trump ’ s decision to assassinate Iranian military leader Qassem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of it , ” Collins wrote in his email .
“ Our president acted to secure our nation , and we should not be ashamed or apologize for putting America first.
” He then asked for “ 10,000 patriots ” to “ stand up in defense of President Trump ” by sending money to Collins ’ s campaign .
Collins earlier this week took a lot of flack for saying that Democrats “ are in love with terrorists , ” most notably from Iraq War veteran Sen. Tammy Duckworth ( D-IL ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ left parts of my body in Iraq fighting terrorists .
”

Further, on Thursday county officials couldn’t or wouldn’t say when or if the evacuation order for Lahaina was issued or how those plans had unfolded two nights earlier when fire swiftly consumed the town, leaving at least 55 people confirmed dead.
Maui authorities would not give a timeline when a reporter asked them to clarify at a press conference Thursday.
Maui’s fire chief, Bradford Ventura, said in that press briefing that the fire reached Lahaina so quickly that residents of the first neighborhood it hit “were basically self-evacuating with fairly little notice.”
“The fire that day was so quick, it moved so quickly, that from where it started in the brush and moved into the neighborhood, communications back to those who make those notifications, was physically nearly impossible,” the Maui chief said Thursday.
RELATED ARTICLE: Hawaii to thousands of tourists fleeing Maui wildfires: ‘The rest of the state is open’
Ventura, however, was off island during the blaze and didn’t return to Maui until the morning after, on Wednesday, according to Maui County Communications Director Mahina Martin. Martin wouldn’t say where Ventura had been.
Meanwhile, Maui Emergency Management Agency Administrator Herman Andaya was also off island and did not return to Maui until Tuesday night at the earliest, Martin confirmed. Andaya was on Oahu on Tuesday, she added, when the wildfires on Maui were already well underway.
Andaya’s agency — not the Maui Fire Department — was responsible for any evacuation order, Ventura said at Thursday’s press conference, which Andaya did not attend. Martin said Andaya was in Maui’s emergency operations center during that media briefing.
Those details emerged as local officials and the public continue to assess the devastation and loss of life in Lahaina — as well as how Hawaii’s worst natural disaster in more than 60 years unfolded.
The harbor at Lahaina town was also seriously damaged by the fast-moving blaze. Photo: Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat
In the aftermath, state leaders have said they were caught by surprise and unprepared for the fire that tore through the historic West Maui community because the islands had never encountered such an unusual event, in which the fire-generating winds of a hurricane passing hundreds of miles to the south helped destroy an entire town.
Hawaii has seen wildfires fueled by prior hurricanes passing offshore, and researchers have warned that the phenomenon deserved further attention.
At Thursday’s press briefing, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen also said he wasn’t sure whether the fast-moving flames prevented an alarm system from warning the residents there to evacuate.
He added that visitors staying at the hotels north of the historic town, in Kaanapali, were asked to shelter in place in order to help emergency vehicles get into Lahaina. Some 29 power poles had fallen across roads in the area, stifling access to the fire zone, Bissen said.
Those poles were still energized, he added.
It’s not clear whether Hawaiian Electric Co., which includes Maui Electric Co., had protocols in place to shut down power beforehand when a red flag warning for high winds is issued. Power shutoffs have become a standard tool in preventing wildfires during dangerous weather in places like California.
Representatives of the company did not respond Thursday to a request for comment, and the cause of Tuesday’s fires still hasn’t been determined.
A warning from Hurricane Lane
Hawaii leaders have said they were caught entirely by surprise by the devastation in Lahaina and the way in which it unfolded. But the idea that a wildfire came as a surprise bristles those who have forecast them for a decade, such as University of Hawaii wildland fire specialist Clay Trauernicht.
The brunt of the blame has been given to high winds associated with Hurricane Dora as it passed 500 miles to the south, but the wind was only one of the root causes.
“This all comes down to fuel management, and that’s what’s so gut-wrenching about this. It didn’t have to be this bad,” Trauernicht said Thursday. “We could have given our firefighters a chance to slow this thing down.”
The reality is that for the fires Maui has just experienced, the actions that needed to take place — managing Hawaii’s grassy fuels — needed to be taken “months, if not years” ago, he said.
At a separate press briefing held Wednesday morning, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said, “we never anticipated in this state that a hurricane which did not make impact on our islands will cause this type of wildfires, wildfires that wiped out communities, wildfires that wiped out businesses, wildfires that destroyed homes.”
But Hawaii did see a similar situation in 2018 when the state narrowly avoided a direct hit by Hurricane Lane. That powerful cyclone still managed to inundate Hawaii island with flooding — and it whipped up wildfires that burned some 3,000 acres across Maui and Oahu.
When asked about the Lane-fueled fires Thursday and whether the state made any changes in response to them, Gov. Josh Green noted that the Lane fires did not destroy any towns.
“We’ve never experienced a wildfire that affected a city like this, so this is something we’ve not experienced before,” he said.
“We have experienced wildfires across the state and they’ve been tragic, but usually tragic in open space,” Green said.
“The Lahaina tragedy was very difficult to anticipate, especially because it came in the night with high winds. But that does not mean that we won’t do everything we can in the future to stop this,” he added.
The 2014 West Maui Community Wildfire Protection Plan assessed the Fire Environment Hazard risk for the Lahaina area. The area near the Lahaina Water Plant on Lahainaluna Road is where the brush fire jumped into neighborhoods on Tuesday.
The fires fueled by Lane prompted a team of six researchers based at the University of Hawaii and the East West Center, including Trauernicht, to publish a research article in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society two years after that storm titled “Fire and Rain: The Legacy of Hurricane Lane in Hawaii.”
The researchers highlighted the risks of compounding hazards that would be associated with hurricane events in Hawaii and said that further research was needed as to whether hurricane-fire events were going to become more frequent. “A complete understating of these factors is critical to understanding the vulnerability of people and resources exposed during a severe weather event,” they said.
The research article generated a lot of interest among scientists, said co-author Ryan Longman, a climate scientist based at the East West Center. He said that didn’t know whether any policy makers had paid attention to the team’s conclusions.
Trauernicht, meanwhile, said that the reality was that the previous fires were contained only through the hard work of an under-resourced sector. “Fires have been running right up to the edge of these communities and the firefighters have been doing an amazing job.”
But the firefighters are not helped by the proliferation of invasive species of grasses that have largely gone unmanaged. They stoke and fuel the fires.
Green acknowledged that the state has long struggled to adequately pay firefighters and devote sufficient resources to curbing wildfires.
“It’s always a challenge in the islands, but this is going to be a priority,” he said Thursday.
Lahaina identified as high fire risk 10 Years ago
Elizabeth Pickett, co-executive director of the nonprofit Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, also said that this week’s fire was foreseeable.
“We keep hearing from certain elected officials and other people being quoted in the media, ‘we had no idea, this is unprecedented,’” she said Thursday. “But actually, those of us in the wildfire community, meaning our fire agencies, our forestry natural resource management community, we have long been working to increase our risk reduction efforts.”In 2014, Pickett co-authored the Western Maui Community Wildfire Protection Plan, a fire hazard and prevention report that identified West Maui communities as particularly susceptible to wildfires.
The report showed the Lahaina area was in extreme risk, compounded by environmental hazards like topography, wind and seasonal conditions. The area also had subdivision hazards like density and proximity to wildland areas. These hazards were found elsewhere on the island.
“There’s bigger picture stuff that leads to the risk in Maui. Part of it is the unmanaged fields, inactive agriculture, invasive species issues,” Pickett said.
Hawaii’s policies, codes, enforcement and resources just haven’t kept up with the accelerated threats, she said.
The report’s purpose was to identify and prioritize protection measures, costs and timelines for future grant requests from state and federal agencies. Pickett described the report as a multi-stakeholder collaboration.
Proposed recommendations and action items included mapping power lines for future firebreak developments and coordinating grazing of fallow lands to reduce fuel.
Many measures from the document have been implemented — but not to full scale, Pickett said. While the Maui fire had multiple factors that complicated fire combat, more could have been done to prevent it, she added.
“We know there’s high risk. We know the science, we have the data, we’ve done the assessments, we have the community programs in place,” Pickett said. “It might not have been 100% preventable, but it could have been mitigated. It could have been lessened.”


rawstory--2020-01-10--US targeted second Iranian commander on same day as Suleimani killing — raising more questions about

US targeted second Iranian commander on same day as Suleimani killing — raising more questions about justification

U.S. forces attempted to take out a second senior Iranian military commander the same day an airstrike killed Maj. Gen. @ @ @ @ @ targeting Abdul Reza Shahlai in Yemen was not successful , but the secret mission calls @ @ @ @ @ ’ s justification for assassinating Suleimani , reported the Washington Post .
Shahlai is a @ @ @ @ @ s clandestine Quds Force , which Suleimani led , and a senior U.S. official told @ @ @ @ @ were authorized around the same time as each other .
The U.S. has not officially @ @ @ @ @ it didn ’ t go as planned , the official said .
“ If we @ @ @ @ @ said another senior U.S. official , “ we ’ d be bragging about it that @ @ @ @ @ State Department officials justified Soleimani ’ s killing by claiming the strike possibly saved “ @ @ @ @ @ that were under imminent threat , but have not even told lawmakers specific details about @ @ @

After announcing the names of those who are being indicted, she also listed off the premise of her indictment of the 19 individuals and 41 counts.
"Specifically, the participants in association took various actions in Georgia and elsewhere to block the counting of the votes of the presidential electors who were certified as the winners of Georgia's 2020 general election. As you examine the indictment, you will see acts that are identified as overacts and those are that are identified as predicate acts, sometimes called acts of racketeering activity," she explained. "Over acts are not necessarily crimes under Georgia law in isolation but are alleged to be acts taken in furtherance of the conspiracy."
She went on to say that many occurred in Georgia, while some happened in other places, but are included because they are part of the effort to overthrow the 2020 election results in Georgia.
"The acts identified as predicate acts or acts of racketeering activity are crimes that are alleged to have been committed in furtherance of the criminal enterprise," Willis explained. "Acts of racketeering activity are also charged as separate counts in the indictment against those who are alleged to have committed them. All elections in our nations are administered by the states which are given the responsibility of ensuring a fair process and an accurate counting of the votes. That includes elections for presidential electors, congress, state officials and local offices. The state's role in this process is essential to the functioning of our democracy. Georgia, like every state, has laws that will allow those who believe the results of an election are wrong, whether because of intentional wrongdoing or unintentional error, to challenge those results in our state courts. The indictment alleges that rather than abide by Georgia's legal process for election challenges, the defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia's presidential election result."
Willis went on to say that she intends to try all 19 defendants together.
See her full statement and answer questions in the video below or at the link here.


rawstory--2020-01-10--Dem lawmaker drops the hammer on McConnell for co-sponsoring bill dropping all charges against Trump

Appearing on MSNBC on Friday afternoon to discuss the next steps Democrats will be taking in the impeachment of Donald Trump , Rep. Pramila Jayapal ( D-WA ) called out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-KY ) for co-sponsoring a bill that would dismiss all charges against the president .
Speaking with host Andrea Mitchell , Jayapal defended House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ( D-CA ) for hanging onto the articles of impeachment because of McConnell ’ s intransigence on impeachment rules , before revealing that the Kentucky Republican has just taken another step in his efforts to shield Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ Pelosi ] gained by waiting on transmitting the articles ?
” host Mitchell asked .
“ It allowed us to keep the focus on what the American people want , which is a fair trial , ” Jayapal replied .
“ We were able to send that message over and over and over again .
So in Mitch McConnell is not giving into any of our demands as yet , but hopefully something will change with Republican senators , he ’ s saying he ’ s not willing to give the American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they want.
” “ But in addition to that , ” she continued .
“ I just saw that he also signed on as a co-sponsor of [ Missouri Republican ] Senator Josh Hawley ’ s resolution to dismiss this whole thing and I find it stunning that that is the person who is putting together the rules for the trial , is making the decisions , is essentially the chief juror and also from the very beginning saying that he ’ s going to violate any oath of impartiality.
” “ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re saying that the majority – , ” Mitchell began .
“ He ’ s the 13th co-sponsor , ” the Democratic lawmaker broke in .
“ He is the 13th cosponsor of the dismissal motion .
I saw it as I was walking over here and I was stunned at the idea that he ’ s not even putting up a pretense anymore .
I think now it ’ s on the American people to call their senators and to say this is outrageous — it ’ s unconstitutional .
It is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our constitution .
but most of all , to the American people .
”

And the Monsanto trade was just one of 136 stock and other financial transactions — totaling between $3.05 million and $8.56 million — that Allen failed to properly report, according to an exclusive Raw Story analysis of federal financial disclosures.
"The omissions are so extensive that I'm just in suspense for what the possible explanation could be,” said Kedric Payne, vice president, general counsel and senior director of ethics for the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan government watchdog group. “I haven't seen anything like this before with it going back this far."
ALSO READ: Revealed: Marjorie Taylor Greene's post-divorce finances — from Trump to Disney
The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act requires key government officials, including members of Congress, to publicly report within 45 days most purchases, sales and exchanges of stocks, bonds, commodity futures, securities and cryptocurrencies.
Passed by Congress in 2012, the STOCK Act is designed to stop insider trading, curb conflicts-of-interest and enhance transparency.
But many of the financial trades Allen reported earlier this month were at least three years past the STOCK Act’s reporting deadline. In response to a series of questions from Raw Story, Allen’s congressional office acknowledged in an emailed statement that the congressman experienced “reporting issues” and blamed them on a financial adviser who no longer works for the Georgia lawmaker.
“Congressman Allen’s investment decisions are handled by a financial adviser, who uses investment managers to implement trades at their own discretion, without consulting with or getting input from the Congressman,” said Carlton Norwood Jr., a spokesperson for Allen. “In May of this year, Congressman Allen became aware of some reporting issues and omissions that were caused by a compliance firm he had engaged. At that point, he hired counsel and a new compliance firm to start working with the House Ethics Committee to ensure all trades have been properly reported.”
Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA). Source: U.S. House of Representatives
Members of Congress are required to file what are known as “periodic transaction reports,” or PTRs, each time they make certain financial transactions worth more than $1,000.
The periodic transaction reports are due within 45 days of a trade being executed, whether by a member of Congress personally, or a financial adviser working on the member’s behalf. Lawmakers are only required by law to disclose the value of the trades in broad ranges.
“The [Aug. 10] PTR was filed as part of that process in consultation with House Ethics Committee counsel – who understands that it was the compliance firm, and not Congressman Allen, who was responsible for these errors and that additional action and amendments to his financial disclosure statements may be necessary,” Norwood said in a statement.
However, Payne says it’s ultimately up to the legislator to ensure that such reports are filed in a timely manner.
“It's always been clear that the member has the ultimate responsibility of filing the PTRs, and it cannot be simply blamed on any outside adviser,” Payne said.
The standard fine for violating the STOCK Act is $200. But the House Committee on Ethics and Senate Select Committee on Ethics have historically waived the fees for many violators.
"It's a black hole when it goes to the Ethics Committee, and we don't know if they will assess penalties, or they just don't do anything about it.” Payne said.
Tom Rust, staff director and chief counsel for the House Committee on Ethics, which is tasked with investigating alleged STOCK Act violations, said “no comment” when reached by Raw Story.
Asked by Raw Story whether Allen has paid a fine, Norwood did not respond.
ALSO READ: Sold! Wealthy N.Y. congressman dumps up to $37 million in stocks and bonds amid pressure to divest
Demian Brady, vice president of research for the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, said there should be more transparency from the congressional ethics committees “to see how they're enforcing the laws that they're responsible for administering.”
“It shouldn’t be so difficult to figure out whether a member’s getting fined or not for late compliance with these basic, it seems to me, fairly straightforward and simple reporting requirements,” Brady said.
Allen is appointed to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and its Subcommittees on Communications and Technology; Innovation, Data, and Commerce; and Environment, Manufacturing and Critical Materials. He is also appointed to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and its Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions.
Allen’s stock transactions span dozens of companies including energy companies like Dominion Energy, General Electric, ExxonMobil, NextEra Energy and Phillips 66, technology companies such as Microsoft and Verizon and mining company Freeport-McMo-Ran.
This is at least the third separate time Allen has violated the STOCK Act.
Raw Story reported in June that Allen was late in disclosing his spouse’s March 27 sale — valued between $100,001 to $250,000 — of stock in SouthState Corporation, a financial services company.
In 2021, Insider reported that Allen has several financial filing flubs related to his stock trade activity from 2019 and 2020.
Epidemic of violations
Dozens of members of Congress have failed to comply with the STOCK Act. During the 117th Congress from 2021 to 2022, at least 78 members of Congress — Democrats and Republicans alike — were found to have violated the STOCK Act's disclosure provisions, according to a tally maintained by Insider.
Raw Story has this year identified 19 members of the 118th Congress who have broken the federal conflicts of interest law.
In recent weeks, repeat violators like Allen have broken the federal disclosure law again — Rep. Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) violated the STOCK Act for the third time in 14 months, Rep. Kathy Manning (D-N.C.) became a two-time offender and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) was several months late disclosing a family stock sale — again.
The ongoing violations come at a time when a bipartisan group of lawmakers have introduced several similar bills aimed at banning congressional stock trading.
"We see that the STOCK Act is not complied with the way it's intended to be, and if there are no consequences for the late filings, you continue to see that there probably will be less compliance with the law,” Payne said.
Campaign Legal Center supports legislation that would require members of Congress to divest of any stocks in individual companies, he said.
The most recent legislation introduced is the Ban Stock Trading for Government Officials Act, which would prohibit members of Congress, the president, the vice president, senior executive branch officials, their spouses and children from trading stocks and would require greater transparency with financial disclosures, The Hill reported.
Another two-party bill, the Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act was introduced in May and is co-sponsored in part by political rivals in Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
Other materially similar bills include the Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act, the TRUST in Congress Act and the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act. In the decade since the STOCK Act’s passage, the push for a total ban on lawmakers trading stocks while in office gained but then lost momentum last year when the Democratic-led House, then led by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, decided not to conduct a hearing on any of the stock-ban bills and never brought it to the House floor for a vote.
News organizations including the New York Times, Insider, NPR and Sludge have documented rampant financial conflicts of interests among dozens of members of Congress, such as those who bought and sold defense contractor stock while occupying positions on congressional armed services committees or otherwise voting on measures to send such companies billions of federal dollars. The executive and judicial branches are riddled with similar financial conflict issues, too, as the Wall Street Journal hasreported.
The Wall Street Journal won a 2023 Pulitzer Prize for its investigation into financial conflicts among officials who work in federal agencies while Insider won the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sunshine Award for its reporting on congressional financial conflicts.


rawstory--2020-01-10--NASA’s latest astronaut graduates almost half women

NASA on Friday honored its latest class of graduating astronauts in a ceremony at the Johnson Space Center in Houston , a diverse and gender-balanced group now qualified for spaceflight missions including America ’ s return to the Moon and eventual journey to Mars .
After completing more than two years of basic training , the six women and seven men were chosen from a record-breaking 18,000 applicants representing a wide variety of backgrounds and specialties , from experienced pilots to scientists , engineers and doctors .
The group includes two candidates from the Canadian Space Agency ( CSA ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ training program with the US since 1983 .
“ They are the best of the best : they are highly qualified and very diverse , and they represent all of America , ” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine .
They include five people of color , including the first Iranian-American astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli who flew combat missions in Afghanistan and holds an engineering degree from MIT .
The group , known as the “ Turtles ” , wore blue flight jumpsuits and took turns approaching the podium to receive their astronaut pins , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to their character and shared playful and heartfelt anecdotes .
After being selected in 2017 , the class completed training in spacewalking at NASA ’ s underwater Neutral Buoyancy Lab , robotics , the systems of the International Space Station , piloting the T-38 training jet and Russian language lessons .
They are the first to graduate since NASA announced the Artemis program to return to the Moon by 2024 , this time on its south pole , as the US plans to place the next man and first woman on lunar soil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Part of the group ’ s training therefore included studying the building blocks of that program , which are still being developed : the Space Launch System rocket , the Orion crew capsule and the gateway space station .
Astronauts play an active role in the development of spacecraft , and the current group will eventually join the ranks of the approximately 500 people in history who have journeyed into space .
The group ’ s diversity stands in contrast to the early years of space exploration , long dominated by white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have walked on the Moon ) , until Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983 and Guion Bluford the first black astronaut the same year .
It includes Indian-American Raja Chari , an Air Force colonel and aeronautical engineer ; Jessica Watkins , who holds a doctorate in geology from UCLA and is the class ’ s only black woman ; Frank Rubio , a medical doctor and Blackhawk pilot ; and Jonny Kim , a decorated Navy SEAL and emergency physician , who holds both a doctorate in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Asked about the difficulties she faced in her career , Moghbeli said some had questioned her choices when she decided to join the military after graduating from MIT .
“ In a post-September 11 world , did my parents think I was crazy ?
Yes , I ’ m pretty sure they did , ” she said , but added that her family then gave her their full support .
“ It ’ s because of that that I ’ m here today , and I think everyone feels similarly , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always be people out there that doubt .
“ When I was a sixth grader and said I was going to become an astronaut , do you think everyone was like , ‘ Yep , she ’ s going to become an astronaut ?
’ Probably not .
”

Trained in political science and the law, he has no formal education in disaster preparedness or response. And prior to his current role, he never held a full-time job dedicated to emergency management.
Instead, his main qualification was being chief of staff to then-mayor Alan Arakawa. But in that role, he told Civil Beat Tuesday, he assisted during emergency operations. And he said he participated in online FEMA trainings and workshops throughout the years.
In 2017, Andaya beat out 40 other applicants for the job, Maui Now reported at the time.
As the mayor’s administration was coming to a close, a panel of government officials – which said it was independent of the mayor – chose Andaya for the civil service role.
Civil Beat reviewed Andaya’s experience after historic Lahaina was swallowed by an inferno last week, killing scores of residents and visitors who never saw it coming.
The Maui Emergency Management Agency had the authority to issue siren warnings that might have alerted people. After Andaya’s agency decided not to sound them, many survivors reported they only became aware of the fire when they saw and smelled smoke.
Andaya said sounding the sirens wasn’t an option officials considered because they’re “mainly used for tsunamis.” That’s why they’re mostly located on the coast, he said.
But the state’s own website says the sirens are useful for many kinds of emergencies.
“The all-hazard siren system can be used for a variety of both natural and human-caused events; including tsunamis, hurricanes, dam breaches, flooding, wildfires, volcanic eruptions, terrorist threats, hazardous material incidents, and more,” the site states.
Andaya wasn’t on the island when the fires started, and he hasn’t made any appearances at press conferences since the disaster occurred.
Asked about Andaya’s resume, David Hafner, a retired telecommunications planner for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, questioned whether his relative inexperience affected his agency’s performance in a crisis.
“It’s a good ol’ boy network,” Hafner said. “This time it cost lives.”
Hafner said it’s “absolutely essential” for emergency management leaders to have experience in the field so they make the right decisions both before and after disasters strike.
Not having it, he said, “can lead to grave mistakes in judgment.”
Andaya’s hiring came at a time when Hawaii’s counties had just taken on increased responsibility for disaster response, according to Hafner. State emergency management officials used to be the designated authority to respond to emergencies, he said, but an update to the law in 2014 put the counties in the driver’s seat.
Asked about Andaya’s LinkedIn resume, Colin Moore, a political scientist at the University of Hawaii, said he was shocked by the emergency administrator’s lack of relevant experience. He said the public is owed an explanation.
“It’s a legitimate question to ask why the person leading the county emergency services agency has no clear background in fire, police, public health, the usual emergency services backgrounds,” he said.
“Having that on-the-ground experience, you develop the instincts and the connections to be able to perform a job like this. And if you just have general government experience, there is just no opportunity to have that kind of on-the-ground knowledge that often is really useful in a crisis.”
Andaya said as a former member of the mayor’s cabinet, he was qualified for the job.
“Whenever there was an activation in the emergency operations center, we were involved,” he said. “To say that I have no experience or no background in emergency management is not correct.”
‘Political Influence’ A Concern
Andaya, 52, is from Maui and graduated from HP Baldwin High School.
He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from the University of Hawaii Manoa. He also has a law degree from the UH Richardson School of Law, although he never became a licensed attorney, according to the Hawaii State Bar Association’s online database.
He began his career clerking for Maui Judge Artemio Baxa. He then worked for the law office of Lynn Araki-Regan, an attorney who is the wife of Arakawa’s managing director, Keith Regan.
When Andaya vacated his position as chief of staff, it was filled by Araki-Regan, who was by then the county budget director. Regan said he had no involvement in Andaya’s hiring.
From the early 2000s onward, Andaya has held leadership positions in Maui’s Department of Housing and Human Concerns and worked as the assistant to the chancellor of UH’s Maui College, according to his LinkedIn resume. He is married to Rowena Dagdag-Andaya, a former elementary school teacher who served as Maui’s public works director and now works in Maui’s Office on Aging.
Andaya was Arakawa’s chief of staff from 2011 through 2017. That year, the mayor appointed him acting administrator of MEMA, and he became permanent by the end of that year.
In contrast, Honolulu’s emergency management director, Hiro Toiya, has technical training in emergency response, worked for years as a preparedness planner for the Hawaii health department and rose up the ranks of Honolulu’s Department of Emergency Management. He worked there for more than seven years before becoming the director.
Asked how he stood out among a pool of 40 job candidates, Andaya said Maui doesn’t have a lot of emergency management professionals to begin with. He noted that he had to take an exam and based on his score was determined to be a finalist.
“You would have to question the civil service process if you can believe that politics was involved,” he said. “This is something that my predecessors have to go through as well.”
Before Andaya was hired, there were concerns in Maui’s political scene that the county was considering someone who wasn’t qualified.
“In the past, this position has sometimes been filled by individuals without the proper emergency response background.”
Former Maui County Council Chairman Mike White
In July 2017, the chair of the Maui County Council at the time, Mike White, took the unusual step of writing a Maui News column warning that the job of emergency management was too important to be “subject to political influence.”
“In the past, this position has sometimes been filled by individuals without the proper emergency response background,” White wrote.
“The administration must search for well-qualified candidates who can make a seamless transition in leading our Emergency Management Agency. The stakes are too high and our community has grown to a point where emergency coordination has become quite sophisticated in its implementation.”
In his column, White praised the outgoing emergency management chief, Anna Foust, who had previously worked for years leading the Maui branch of the Red Cross. White emphasized her expertise.
“During her tenure, she used her emergency response experience and training to help guide the county to keep citizens safe during hurricane warnings and watches, flooding events and tsunami warnings,” White wrote.
Civil Beat wasn’t able to reach White for comment.
Panel Of Specialists Chose Andaya
On Tuesday, Arakawa’s former managing director, Keith Regan, said that politics was not a factor in Andaya’s hiring. Asked why Andaya was the best candidate, Regan said he didn’t know because he wasn’t on the hiring committee. But he was adamant there was “zero” political influence in the process.
“This was a straightforward civil service process,” said Regan, who is now the state comptroller.
When Regan ran for Maui County Council in 2015, Andaya was his campaign manager. This year, Andaya wrote a letter of support of Regan’s nomination to state comptroller.
Regan noted that the hiring panel included numerous experts in the field. Maui Now identified them at the time as then-Maui Police Chief Tivoli Faaumu; then-Maui Fire Chief Jeff Murray; Elton Ushio, administrator of the Kauai Emergency Management Agency; and Vern Miyagi, then-administrator of the Hawaii State Emergency Management Agency.
At the time, Ushio was quoted by Maui Now as saying Andaya’s “proven leadership abilities, executive level experience, and impressive knowledge of emergency management” made him a great fit for the job. Murray cited Andaya’s familiarity with government processes, his “institutional knowledge of the various emergency incidents” in recent years, and his then-recent work as acting leader of the department.
“These are not people that, you know, are just political people,” Regan said. “They’re people who understand emergency management and are going to make the right choice for the community.”
In a statement, former HI-EMA director Miyagi said the public’s focus should be on working together on response and recovery.
“Herman Andaya and his staff at MEMA are really good people,” he said. “They carried Maui successfully through numerous hurricanes, floods, and other disasters.”
He said the public should wait for the attorney general’s investigation before drawing conclusions.
Civil Beat left messages with the other hiring committee members on Tuesday, but they were not returned. Former mayor Arakawa also did not respond to a request for comment.
“Herman is a very skilled, experienced, knowledgeable, professional individual,” Regan said. “I trust that is making the right decisions … There is no question in my mind that he cares about that community, and he’s going to do everything he can to keep that community safe.”


rawstory--2020-01-10--Trump’s unhinged Ohio rally shows why Congress must quickly rein in his war powers: op-ed

At this Ohio rally this Thursday , President Trump drew massive applause by boasting of the recent targeted killing of an Iranian general by a US airstrike while mocking the recent House vote to constrain his power to wage war .
According to the Washington Post ’ s Greg Sargent , Trump ’ s rhetoric is a prime example of why the Democrats need to rein him in , because “ no one this unhinged should be declaring war unilaterally.
’ Sargent writes that Trump ’ s attacks on the opposition aren ’ t mere insult , but “ a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his most consequential decisions should be subject to oversight and accountability at all.
” “ Mockery of the opposition is , of course , a constant in politics , ” Sargent writes .
“ But this is different .
Trump regularly crosses over into a form of harsh belittling and abuse that is designed to delegitimize the opposition , that is , to tell his voters that the opposition has no legitimate institutional role in our politics at all.
” At the Thursday rally , Trump mocked the notion that he should have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Iran , and his adoring crowd loudly approved .
“ If all this isn ’ t enough to induce Republicans to rein in that authority , what would be ?
” Read his full piece over at The Washington Post .

"It wasn't about, actually, having a system that works, a process that works," Scarborough said, referring to the fake electors scheme. "They knew the Supreme Court was going to overturn it. It was about creating the delay, creating the chaos, and if riots happened, as they said, 'That's why we have the Army, that's why we have the Insurrection Act, then we can use the Insurrection Act, get the Army in the street, put down the riots from people whose votes have been stolen, and Trump can declare martial law,' which is basically what they're talking about doing."
"This is what Russia was trying to do in 2016, this is what Russia admitted that they were trying to do in 2016," Scarborough continued. "This is what the head of the Wagner Group bragged about, saying, 'Remember how successful our campaign was in America in 2016? I mean, come on -- Russian hoax? You shame yourself every day. You shame yourself every day if you don't see a linkage here, if you don't see the linkage of the Russians trying to sow confusion, and then Donald Trump on his own, learning from people that he's always admired, on his own, to just create a process that will sow confusion, that's illegal, that will sow delay, and if he's lucky, will create riots in the streets, and they can use the Insurrection Act to declare martial law."
READ MORE: Trump supporter spooks NBC News' Vaughn Hillyard by pushing 'civil war' if former president is convicted
"You call it free speech!" he added. "I call it un-American, and guess what, most Americans agree with me and not you. You're disgusting! You're absolutely disgusting if you're going to forgive this type of behavior."
Republicans have sought to compare the former president's alleged crimes to Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings, but Scarborough said the two situations weren't even remotely similar.
"Over here, we're talking about an illegal scheme to overthrow an election, to get riots in the streets so Donald Trump can declare martial law, and you're saying there's some sort of legal equivalency, there's some sort of moral equivalency?" he said. "That's grotesque, and what's so sad for you, is you know it's grotesque. The entire Republican establishment knows it's gross. You've got a guy trying to steal an election, and you've got a prosecutor that's trying to bring him to justice, and if this guy were a Democrat, you would already have him locked up."
"Jack Smith is trying to bring this guy to justice, and what do you do?" Scarborough added. "You sit back silently, you talk about, oh, two standards of justice, and then you're silent as Donald Trump threatens a federal prosecutor, an officer of the United States court system, saying, 'I'm coming after you' – silence."
Watch the video below or at this link.


rawstory--2020-01-10--Pompeo says ‘no doubt’ Suleimani was planning imminent attacks but admits he doesn’t know when or wh

Pompeo says ‘no doubt’ Suleimani was planning imminent attacks but admits he doesn’t know when or where

“ That is not what ‘ imminent ’ means .
It ’ s this kind of obfuscation , lying to Congress , and unchecked provocation that dragged us into the Iraq War.
” Secretary of Mike Pompeo said Thursday there is “ no doubt ” that assassinated Iranian commander Qasem Suleimani was planning imminent attacks on Americans but—in the very same sentence—admitted the U.S. doesn ’ t know when or where such attacks would take place .
“ There were a series of imminent attacks that were being plotted by Qasem Suleimani , and we don ’ t know precisely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ precisely where , but it was real , ” Pompeo told Fox News ’ Laura Ingraham .
Members of Congress critical of the Trump administration ’ s decision to assassinate Soleimani immediately pounced on Pompeo ’ s remarks , suggesting the secretary of state is either lying about the supposed attacks or doesn ’ t know the definition of imminent .
“ That is not what ‘ imminent ’ means , ” tweeted Rep. Judy Chu ( D-Calif. ) .
“ It ’ s this kind of obfuscation , lying to Congress , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Iraq War .
We will not allow that to happen again .
Yesterday ’ s War Powers vote will ensure that .
”

"That is not what 'imminent' means. It's this kind of obfuscation, lying to Congress, and unchecked provocation that dragged us into the Iraq War."
Secretary of Mike Pompeo said Thursday there is "no doubt" that assassinated Iranian commander Qasem Suleimani was planning imminent attacks on Americans but—in the very same sentence—admitted the U.S. doesn't know when or where such attacks would take place.
"There were a series of imminent attacks that were being plotted by Qasem Suleimani, and we don't know precisely when and we don't know precisely where, but it was real," Pompeo told Fox News' Laura Ingraham.
Watch:
Members of Congress critical of the Trump administration's decision to assassinate Soleimani immediately pounced on Pompeo's remarks, suggesting the secretary of state is either lying about the supposed attacks or doesn't know the definition of imminent.
"That is not what 'imminent' means," tweeted Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.). "It's this kind of obfuscation, lying to Congress, and unchecked provocation that dragged us into the Iraq War. We will not allow that to happen again. Yesterday's War Powers vote will ensure that."
Other Democratic lawmakers weighed in:


rawstory--2020-01-10--Rep. Swalwell ridicules Pompeo’s definition of ‘imminent threat’ after contentious Iran press briefi

Rep. Swalwell ridicules Pompeo’s definition of ‘imminent threat’ after contentious Iran press briefing

Appearing on CNN right after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a fairly contentious press conference where the definition of “ imminent ” was debated , Rep. Eric Swalwell ( D-CA ) expressed a great deal of skepticism over Donald Trump ’ s administration ’ s evolving rationale for abruptly killing Iran military official Qassim Suleimani in Iraq .
During Pompeo ’ s press conference he was pressed by CBS ’ s Paula Reid and , after he refused to elaborate by only offering that the government didn ’ t know precisely how the threat would pan out , Pompeo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him , “ That ’ s not the definition of ‘ imminent ’ .
” “ You were briefed in a classified setting and , since the president put this out there and Mike Pompeo has said that the threat was two embassies , did they tell you there was a threat to U.S. embassies in your briefing ?
” host Bolduan asked .
“ No , it is not confusing to me , Kate , so I can ’ t go into specific details , ” Swalwell began .
“ What I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the multiple briefings I received intel on this they have not shown imminence .
But they have also now consistently shown is that the president , whether it is on Russia , Ukraine or Iran , with this recent Wall Street Journal reporting , puts his interests above America ’ s interests.
” “ Mike Pompeo said you all were told about what he ’ s laid out here .
Let me play that for you , ” the CNN host remarked before running a clip from Pompeo ’ s press conference .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fox News clip ] with Mike Pompeo saying ‘ I can ’ t say precisely when or where , ’ that aligns with the lack of evidence that I have seen consistently and every brief I received in last week .
I ’ ve been briefed multiple times from multiple briefers on this , ” the lawmaker explained .
“ Can all of these things be true ?
That they did not lay out when , they did not lay out where , but they did lay out that it was — that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Bolduan pressed .
“ I ’ ll say that ’ s not imminent then , ” Swalwell elaborated .
“ The justification was that this was an imminent attack .
Imminent means now , that ’ s what imminent means and they have not justified –.
” “ Mike Pompeo was asked specifically by ( CNN ’ s ) Kaitlan Collins what is his definition of imminent and he said it is going to happen — that ’ s exactly what he said .
Is that your definition of imminent ?
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Swalwell said with a small smile .
“ Because that ’ s also the definition of , you know , New Year ’ s Eve .
New Year ’ s Eve 2020 is going to happen — it is just 350 some odd days away .
That ’ s not imminent.
” “ That was the justification they gave , and it ’ s not adding up now .
And now , as the Wall Street Journal and others start to report , I fear this president acted out of his own political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States , escalating the conflict , ” he added .

Appearing on CNN right after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a fairly contentious press conference where the definition of "imminent" was debated, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) expressed a great deal of skepticism over Donald Trump's administration's evolving rationale for abruptly killing Iran military official Qassim Suleimani in Iraq.
During Pompeo's press conference he was pressed by CBS's Paula Reid and, after he refused to elaborate by only offering that the government didn’t know precisely how the threat would pan out, Pompeo was grilled by the reporter who told him, "That’s not the definition of ‘imminent'."
Speaking with CNN's Kate Bolduan, Swalwell agreed.
"You were briefed in a classified setting and, since the president put this out there and Mike Pompeo has said that the threat was two embassies, did they tell you there was a threat to U.S. embassies in your briefing?" host Bolduan asked.
"No, it is not confusing to me, Kate, so I can't go into specific details," Swalwell began. "What I can tell you is consistently, in the multiple briefings I received intel on this they have not shown imminence. But they have also now consistently shown is that the president, whether it is on Russia, Ukraine or Iran, with this recent Wall Street Journal reporting, puts his interests above America's interests."
"Mike Pompeo said you all were told about what he's laid out here. Let me play that for you," the CNN host remarked before running a clip from Pompeo's press conference.
"What you played earlier [a Fox News clip] with Mike Pompeo saying 'I can't say precisely when or where,' that aligns with the lack of evidence that I have seen consistently and every brief I received in last week. I've been briefed multiple times from multiple briefers on this," the lawmaker explained.
"Can all of these things be true? That they did not lay out when, they did not lay out where, but they did lay out that it was -- that the threat included two U.S. embassies?" Bolduan pressed.
"I'll say that's not imminent then," Swalwell elaborated. "The justification was that this was an imminent attack. Imminent means now, that's what imminent means and they have not justified --."
"Mike Pompeo was asked specifically by (CNN's) Kaitlan Collins what is his definition of imminent and he said it is going to happen -- that's exactly what he said. Is that your definition of imminent?" Bolduan interupted.
"No," Swalwell said with a small smile. "Because that's also the definition of, you know, New Year's Eve. New Year's Eve 2020 is going to happen -- it is just 350 some odd days away. That's not imminent."
"That was the justification they gave, and it's not adding up now. And now, as the Wall Street Journal and others start to report, I fear this president acted out of his own political interests and jeopardized the national security of the United States, escalating the conflict," he added.
Watch below:


rawstory--2020-01-11--Trump complains he didn’t get Nobel Peace Prize days after threatening to commit war crimes

President Donald Trump complained that he was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize just days after he threatened to commit war crimes in Iran .
Trump spoke at a rally in Toledo , Ohio , on Thursday after to target Iranian cultural sites , which would constitute a war crime .
This article first appeared in Salon .
Trump complained at the rally about the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize , which was awarded back in October to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed “ for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation , and in particular for his decisive initiative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Eritrea , ” according to the .
But Trump claimed that he was the one who actually saved the country .
“ I ’ m going to tell you about the Nobel Peace Prize , ” he said .
“ I ’ ll tell you about that .
I made a deal , I saved a country and I just heard that the head of that country is now getting the Nobel Peace Prize for saving the country .
I said , ‘ What , did I have something do with it ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ’ s the way it is .
As long as we know , that ’ s all that matters.
” The Washington Post that this would be “ news to Ethiopians , ” noting that Trump “ played no apparent role in the Eritrea peace deal.
” The House Foreign Affairs Committee said on Twitter that “ Trump is confused , ” suggesting that he confused the Eritrea peace deal with another deal between Ethiopia and Egypt regarding a new dam , which Washington helped move along .
A senior Ethiopian government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was talking about Egypt and Ethiopia , ” the unidentified official said .
“ President Trump really believes he avoided a war as such .
.
.
but that was not the case.
” “ PM @ AbiyAhmedAli was awarded the @ NobelPrize for his efforts to bring peace to the Horn of Africa , not stalled negotiations about a new dam on the Nile , ” the Foreign Relations Committee tweeted .
“ If they gave the Nobel for deals that didn ’ t happen , the Pres .
would have a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long grumbled about the Nobel Peace Prize , which was awarded to former President Barack Obama during his first year in office .
Trump that “ everyone thinks ” he deserves the Nobel Prize for his efforts to negotiate with North Korea , .
Trump later complained about Obama ’ s Nobel Prize in the Rose Garden last February .
“ They gave it to Obama .
He didn ’ t even know what he got it for .
He was there for about 15 seconds and he got the Nobel Prize .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ did I get it for ?
’ ” Trump complained .
“ With me , I probably will never get it.
” Trump also claimed last fall that the committee that gives out the awards was rigged against him .
“ I think I ’ ll get a Nobel prize for a lot of things if they gave it out fairly , which they don ’ t , ” during an appearance with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan before turning his attention to Obama again .
“ He had no idea why he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
” Trump asked .
“ That was the only thing I agreed with him on.
” Obama received the prize eight months into his presidency for his “ extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples .
”

President Donald Trump complained that he was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize just days after he threatened to commit war crimes in Iran.
Trump spoke at a rally in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday after walking back his threat to target Iranian cultural sites, which would constitute a war crime.
This article first appeared in Salon.
Trump complained at the rally about the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded back in October to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed "for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighboring Eritrea,” according to the Nobel Committee .
But Trump claimed that he was the one who actually saved the country.
“I'm going to tell you about the Nobel Peace Prize," he said. "I'll tell you about that. I made a deal, I saved a country and I just heard that the head of that country is now getting the Nobel Peace Prize for saving the country. I said, 'What, did I have something do with it?' Yeah, but you know, that's the way it is. As long as we know, that's all that matters."
The Washington Post reported that this would be “news to Ethiopians,” noting that Trump “played no apparent role in the Eritrea peace deal.”
The House Foreign Affairs Committee said on Twitter that “Trump is confused,” suggesting that he confused the Eritrea peace deal with another deal between Ethiopia and Egypt regarding a new dam, which Washington helped move along.
A senior Ethiopian government official told the Associated Press as much.
“He was talking about Egypt and Ethiopia,” the unidentified official said. “President Trump really believes he avoided a war as such . . . but that was not the case.”
“PM @AbiyAhmedAli was awarded the @NobelPrize for his efforts to bring peace to the Horn of Africa, not stalled negotiations about a new dam on the Nile,” the Foreign Relations Committee tweeted. “If they gave the Nobel for deals that didn’t happen, the Pres. would have a shelf full of them.”
Trump has long grumbled about the Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded to former President Barack Obama during his first year in office.
Trump claimed in May 2018 that “everyone thinks” he deserves the Nobel Prize for his efforts to negotiate with North Korea, which recently fell apart .
Trump later complained about Obama’s Nobel Prize during a speech in the Rose Garden last February.
“They gave it to Obama. He didn’t even know what he got it for. He was there for about 15 seconds and he got the Nobel Prize. He said, ‘Oh, what did I get it for?’” Trump complained. “With me, I probably will never get it.”
Trump also claimed last fall that the committee that gives out the awards was rigged against him.
“I think I’ll get a Nobel prize for a lot of things if they gave it out fairly, which they don’t,” he said during an appearance with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan before turning his attention to Obama again.
“He had no idea why he got it, and you know what?" Trump asked. "That was the only thing I agreed with him on."


rawstory--2020-01-11--Major red flags found in Trump’s taxes — and now New York City wants a criminal investigation

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday that he had asked Manhattan ’ s district attorney to investigate discrepancies ProPublica and WNYC revealed last fall between what President Donald Trump ’ s company reported in filings to city tax officials and what it reported in loan filings .
The discrepancies made his properties seem more profitable to a lender and less profitable to the city ’ s tax authorities .
After ProPublica published its findings , de Blasio said Friday , the city decided to examine the issues .
That process resulted in one matter being turned over to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Blasio said he made the referral “ because there is a possibility of a criminal act having been committed.
” The referral related to Trump ’ s historic downtown skyscraper at 40 Wall Street , a city spokeswoman added .
De Blasio ’ s comments came during a conversation with WNYC reporter and “ Trump , Inc. ” podcast co-host Ilya Marritz on the “ Ask the Mayor ” segment of “ The Brian Lehrer Show.
” De Blasio , who ended a presidential bid in September , said Trump ’ s efforts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measures taken by most wealthy Americans .
He “ consistently has believed he was above the law , even before he was president , ” de Blasio said .
“ So this is a real problem , and I think there could be some real exposure here.
” In an emailed statement , a Trump Organization spokeswoman blasted de Blasio for “ using the power of his office to try and launch an investigation into his political opponent.
” The statement called the allegations “ unfounded and clearly motivated by politics.
” A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DA is the proper jurisdiction to investigate these claims , as the city can only review what is directly reported to us .
The DA has the jurisdiction to take appropriate steps if they find wrongdoing.
” The city ’ s Department of Finance could also pursue back taxes if it concluded Trump ’ s company had underpaid , but such information is confidential , according to a spokesperson for the department .
For its October article , ProPublica used New York ’ s Freedom of Information Law to request records from Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ buildings , among them 40 Wall Street , Trump Tower and the Trump International Hotel and Tower .
ProPublica compared those records with loan documents that became public when Trump ’ s lender , Ladder Capital , sold the debt on his properties as part of mortgage-backed securities .
Both sets of records list multiple real estate and financial metrics , including occupancy , income and expenses .
In the case of 40 Wall Street , for example , documents intended for investors showed a striking rise in occupancy , illustrating the sort @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and investors like to see .
The company had told a lender that 40 Wall Street was 58.9 % leased on Dec. 31 , 2012 , rising to 95 % a few years later .
But in filings with tax officials , the company reported it was already 81 % leased as of Jan. 5 , 2013 .
A refinancing occurred in 2015 , but as of 2018 , the building had not met underwriters ’ profit expectations , spending three months on a servicer ’ s “ watch list ” in 2016 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also found that in the lender ’ s reports , the building cited lower expenditures for property insurance and a ground lease than it did in filings made to tax officials some years .
That made 40 Wall Street appear more profitable to lenders than it did to tax authorities .
A subsequent ProPublica story found that Trump Tower ’ s tax and loan filings also exhibited inconsistencies , even as to how much space the Trump ’ s company occupied in Trump Tower .
The tower ’ s overall occupancy rate during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and 16 percentage points higher in filings to a lender than in reports to city tax officials , records showed .
Trump Organization attributed the discrepancies to differences in the reporting requirements for preparing tax submissions and loan submissions .
The city ’ s Tax Commission , which handles property tax appeals , also reviewed submissions by Trump ’ s company for space it owns in the Trump International Hotel and Tower , a person knowledgeable about the commission said .
Trump ’ s company had failed to report income from antennae it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s examination , according to the person , found no problem .
Last year , former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen , who is now in prison , testified before Congress that Trump sometimes boosted the value of his assets in documents given to lenders in order to secure loans and reduced those values to lower their tax value .
The Trump Organization and Trump himself are fighting multiple subpoenas for financial and tax records .

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday that he had asked Manhattan’s district attorney to investigate discrepancies ProPublica and WNYC revealed last fall between what President Donald Trump’s company reported in filings to city tax officials and what it reported in loan filings. The discrepancies made his properties seem more profitable to a lender and less profitable to the city’s tax authorities.
After ProPublica published its findings, de Blasio said Friday, the city decided to examine the issues. That process resulted in one matter being turned over to the district attorney in November. De Blasio said he made the referral “because there is a possibility of a criminal act having been committed.” The referral related to Trump’s historic downtown skyscraper at 40 Wall Street, a city spokeswoman added.
De Blasio’s comments came during a conversation with WNYC reporter and “Trump, Inc.” podcast co-host Ilya Marritz on the “Ask the Mayor” segment of “The Brian Lehrer Show.” De Blasio, who ended a presidential bid in September, said Trump’s efforts to avoid taxes have gone beyond the measures taken by most wealthy Americans. He “consistently has believed he was above the law, even before he was president,” de Blasio said. “So this is a real problem, and I think there could be some real exposure here.”
In an emailed statement, a Trump Organization spokeswoman blasted de Blasio for “using the power of his office to try and launch an investigation into his political opponent.” The statement called the allegations “unfounded and clearly motivated by politics.”
A mayoral spokeswoman said that “the Manhattan DA is the proper jurisdiction to investigate these claims, as the city can only review what is directly reported to us. The DA has the jurisdiction to take appropriate steps if they find wrongdoing.” The city’s Department of Finance could also pursue back taxes if it concluded Trump’s company had underpaid, but such information is confidential, according to a spokesperson for the department.
A spokesman for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. declined to comment.
For its October article, ProPublica used New York’s Freedom of Information Law to request records from Trump’s property tax appeals for four buildings, among them 40 Wall Street, Trump Tower and the Trump International Hotel and Tower. ProPublica compared those records with loan documents that became public when Trump’s lender, Ladder Capital, sold the debt on his properties as part of mortgage-backed securities. Both sets of records list multiple real estate and financial metrics, including occupancy, income and expenses.
In the case of 40 Wall Street, for example, documents intended for investors showed a striking rise in occupancy, illustrating the sort of “leasing momentum” that lenders and investors like to see. The company had told a lender that 40 Wall Street was 58.9% leased on Dec. 31, 2012, rising to 95% a few years later. But in filings with tax officials, the company reported it was already 81% leased as of Jan. 5, 2013.
A refinancing occurred in 2015, but as of 2018, the building had not met underwriters’ profit expectations, spending three months on a servicer’s “watch list” in 2016 because of lagging profit.
The story also found that in the lender’s reports, the building cited lower expenditures for property insurance and a ground lease than it did in filings made to tax officials some years. That made 40 Wall Street appear more profitable to lenders than it did to tax authorities.
A subsequent ProPublica story found that Trump Tower’s tax and loan filings also exhibited inconsistencies, even as to how much space the Trump’s company occupied in Trump Tower. The tower’s overall occupancy rate during three consecutive years appeared 11, 16 and 16 percentage points higher in filings to a lender than in reports to city tax officials, records showed.
Trump Organization attributed the discrepancies to differences in the reporting requirements for preparing tax submissions and loan submissions.
The city’s Tax Commission, which handles property tax appeals, also reviewed submissions by Trump’s company for space it owns in the Trump International Hotel and Tower, a person knowledgeable about the commission said. Trump’s company had failed to report income from antennae it rents on the roof. The commission’s examination, according to the person, found no problem.
Last year, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who is now in prison, testified before Congress that Trump sometimes boosted the value of his assets in documents given to lenders in order to secure loans and reduced those values to lower their tax value. The Trump Organization and Trump himself are fighting multiple subpoenas for financial and tax records.