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2021-07-25 at 3:56 PM UTC
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2021-07-25 at 3:56 PM UTC
Originally posted by ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Nice try, you fake news clown…
https://www.doioig.gov/site-page/statement-inspector-general-mark-lee-greenblatt-regarding-special-review-report-review-us
I've already wasted enough of my time with your childish antics and proven you untrustworthy. -
2021-07-25 at 3:57 PM UTCIn case someone missed this:
Originally posted by stl1 Here's the actual link and notice where the title clearly states (Bill Barr's) "FEDS CLAIM".
Try again, loser.
POLITICS
Trump Bible photo op not reason cops violently cleared George Floyd protest outside White House, feds claim
Dan Mangan
The Interior Department’s watchdog claimed police cleared racial justice protesters outside the White House last June in order to “allow a contractor” to install new fencing.
Then-President Donald Trump staged a widely criticized photo op while wielding a Bible after Lafayette Park was cleared on June 1 of people protesting the police killing of George Floyd.
Then-Attorney General William Barr was among the Cabinet officers who accompanied Trump.
The Interior Department’s watchdog claimed in a new report Wednesday that police violently cleared protesters from a park outside the White House last June to allow a contractor to install security fencing, not to enable then-President Donald Trump to stage a widely criticized photo op while wielding a Bible.
But it also faulted the U.S. Park Police for failing to give dispersal warnings to the racial justice protesters that were loud enough for all of them to hear before the clearing of Lafayette Park began on June 1, 2020, with cops using rubber bullets and tear gas to accomplish the task.
And the report by the Interior Department’s inspector general specifically did not address claims of excessive force used against individual protesters and reporters by police, saying “those are the subject of separate inquiries as well as ongoing lawsuits.”
Nation’s top military officer apologizes for appearing at Trump church photo-op
The protests began around Lafayette Park on May 29, 2020, on the heels of the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, by Minneapolis police.
Police began sweeping the park of protesters at 6:23 p.m. on June 1, 2020, and completed the operation by 6:50 p.m., the inspector general’s report noted.
Eleven minutes later, the report said, Trump “walked from the White House through Lafayette Park to St. John’s Church,” which is nearby.
The Republican president, who had been critical of the protests that swept the nation on the heels of Floyd’s murder, then held aloft a Bible so that television and still cameras could capture the image.
Trump was accompanied on his way through the park by then-Attorney General William Barr, then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper and U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was dressed in a camouflage combat uniform, not his dress uniform.
The report said that at 7:30 p.m., a contractor began assembling and installing the new fence and completed the work within about five hours.
“The evidence we reviewed showed that the USPP cleared the park to allow a contractor to safely install antiscale fencing in response to the destruction of Federal property and injury to officers that occurred on May 30 and May 31,” wrote Inspector General Mark Lee Greenblatt in a statement released with the report.
The watchdog’s report backed up Barr’s claim, made less than a week after the incident on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” that, “This was not an operation to respond to that particular crowd. It was an operation to move the perimeter one block.”
“When I came in Monday [June 1] it was clear to me that we did have to increase the perimeter on that side of Lafayette Park and push it out one block,” Barr said on the show. “That decision was made by me in the morning. It was communicated to all the police agencies.”
The attorney general said “the media is missing” that fact in reporting about Trump’s photo op.
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“Moreover, the evidence established that relevant USPP officials had made those decisions and had begun implementing the operational plan several hours before they knew of a potential Presidential visit to the park, which occurred later that day,” Greenblatt wrote.
“As such, we determined that the evidence did not support a finding that the USPP cleared the park on June 1, 2020, so that then President Trump could enter the park.”
Greenblatt, during an interview later with NBC News, said, “We have no evidence that the attorney general ordered this operation.”
“We have evidence from all of the key U.S. Park Police officials, who owned this decision, and the operational plan,” the inspector general said. “They said they made the call and they were credible and all the corroborating evidence that we could find seems to support that finding.”
Greenblatt also during the same interview discussed a section of the report that detailed how Barr had walked out of the White House and asked the police incident commander at the scene why protesters were still in the park when that commander warned him that “this is a very dangerous area.”
“Why are the protesters here? Are they going to be cleared out for the POTUS visit,” Barr said to the commander, according to Greenblatt.
“And, at that point, apparently, the incident commander told us that he slumped shoulders — you can see this on video — he slumped shoulders and said, ‘are you freaking kidding me?’” Greenblatt said.
“And that reflected to us the fact that he did not know that there was going to be a potential presidential visit,” Greenblatt said. “And, as I said earlier, the machinations were already underway at that point for them to begin their clearing operation. So, we did not find that the attorney general’s visit or his statements to the incident commander were the catalyst for them to then clear the park.”
Trump later Wednesday released a statement thanking Greenblatt “for Completely and Totally exonerating me in the clearing of Lafayette Park!”
“As we have said all along, and it was backed up in today’s highly detailed and professionally written report, our fine Park Police made the decision to clear the park to allow a contractor to safely install antiscale fencing to protect from Antifa rioters, radical BLM protestors, and other violent demonstrators who are causing chaos and death to our cities,” Trump said.
“In this instance, they tried burning down the church the day before the clearing. Fortunately, we were there to stop the fire from spreading beyond the basement—and it was our great honor and privilege to do so. Again, thank you to the Inspector General!” -
2021-07-25 at 3:58 PM UTC
Originally posted by stl1 Nation's top military officer apologizes for role in Trump photo op outside church: 'I should not have been there'
Allan Smith NBC News
Nation's top military officer apologizes for role in Trump photo op outside church: 'I should not have been there'
"My presence in that moment, and in that environment, created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics," Milley said.
Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, apologized Thursday for his role in President Donald Trump's church photo op last week, saying he shouldn't have been at the scene.
"As many of you saw, the result of the photograph of me at Lafayette Square last week, that sparked a national debate about the role of the military in civil society," Milley said in a prerecorded address at a commencement ceremony at the National Defense University in Washington. "I should not have been there. My presence in that moment, and in that environment, created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics."
"As a commissioned, uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I have learned from, and I sincerely hope we all can learn from it," he continued. "We who wear the cloth of our nation come from the people of our nation. And we must hold dear the principle of an apolitical military that is so deeply rooted in the very essence of our Republic. And this is not easy. It takes time and work and effort. But it may be the most important thing each and every one of us does every single day."
President Trump faces criticism after church visit
Milley's comments come nearly two weeks after the president oversaw a harsh response to peaceful protesters who gathered outside the White House, which was met with condemnation by Democrats, criticism from a handful of Republicans, and pushback from retired military leaders, including Trump's former Defense Secretary James Mattis.
Moments after authorities forcefully cleared the area of protesters, Trump walked with military leaders through from the White House through Lafayette Square to St. John's Episcopal Church, which was damaged by a fire during protests earlier in the week. He stood in front of the church, held up a Bible, and had a few photos taken before returning to the White House. Moments before the crackdown, Trump vowed to use military might to curtail rioting.
Milley, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Attorney General William Barr and others accompanied Trump to the church.
Speaking with NBC News, Esper said he thought the walk from the White House would be "to see some damage and talk to the troops." The following day, he said that he did know they were embarking on a trip to the church but that he did not know "exactly where we were going when I arrived at the church and what the plans were once we got there."
Video of the incident, as published by The Washington Post, showed officers from several agencies deploying smoke canisters, explosives and irritants to clear the area.
Thursday afternoon, Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a Trump ally, said he had "deep admiration for and total confidence in" the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman and supported his statement "in both substance and spirit."
Amid widespread criticism, including from Republican senators, over the forceful clearing of protesters and the photo op, Trump posted a tweet linking to an article critical of the media coverage, writing, "You got it wrong!" and pointing to initial comments from U.S. Park Police. "If the protesters were so peaceful, why did they light the Church on fire the night before? People liked my walk to this historic place of worship!"
Barr, in an interview with CBS's "Face the Nation," pointed to violence at previous protests as a reason for why the protesters needed to be pushed back, adding that those in attendance last Monday "were not peaceful protesters."
"This was not an operation to respond to that particular crowd," Barr said. "It was an operation to move the perimeter one block."
The crackdown and Trump's walk to the church minutes later "were not connected," Barr said.
AND I BELIEVE BARR'S FAT ASS AS FAR AS I CAN THROW THAT FUCKING ASS-KISSING TOADIE! -
2021-07-25 at 4:13 PM UTC
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2021-07-25 at 4:20 PM UTC
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2021-07-25 at 5:15 PM UTCOr have addled brains from all of the drugs you've taken so you wouldn't recognize the truth if it jumped up and bit you in the ass!
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2021-07-25 at 7:09 PM UTC
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2021-07-25 at 7:11 PM UTCMagneto Man
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2021-07-25 at 7:54 PM UTCNewsweek
Jim Acosta Says Fox News Viewers Must Be Getting 'Whiplash' From COVID Coverage
Khaleda Rahman
CNN's Jim Acosta called out Fox News in a segment on Sunday, saying the network's viewers must have "whiplash" over its mixed messaging about the coronavirus vaccine.
"If you're watching COVID coverage on Fox News these days you may have come down with a case of whiplash," Acosta said in a segment on CNN Newsroom. "Some anchors like Tucker Carlson are spreading anti-vax hysteria, while others like Sean Hannity are finally dealing with the reality that vaccines are saving lives."
He played a clip from earlier this week where Hannity told viewers to "please take COVID seriously" and "I believe in the science of vaccination."
ICYMI: Don’t wait for Fox to get its story straight to save yourself or your family. Fox and Friends is not going to become Vax and Friends… The lies are not going to save you. The truth will. https://t.co/VqWmEMzCNQ
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) July 25, 2021
Acosta added: "That's great, except Hannity walked back those comments a few days later, saying he never told anyone to get a vaccine."
He then played a clip of Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade comparing the decision to get vaccinated to cliff diving.
Acosta took umbrage at the analogy, saying: "If you cliff dive and you die, you die. Just you. You don't take out the rest of your family. Here's where that analogy is a big belly flop."
Acosta went on, noting that many of the spikes in COVID cases around the country are in places with low vaccination rates. "Nearly all the patients who are being hospitalized with COVID right now are unvaccinated," he said.
"That's right. People who had access to the vaccines, but didn't get the shot, are getting sick. And many of them are now dying.
"A large number of those Americans reside in Trump-leaning states, that's the reality, where people choose to get their information from outlets like Fox News, the same network that has been peddling lies about COVID for months while demonizing this nation's top scientists."
Acosta added that Fox News' issue with Dr. Anthony Fauci, may be due to his tendency to call out misinformation.
"We probably would still have smallpox and we probably would still have polio in this country if we had the kind of false information that's being spread now," Fauci told CNN last week.
Acosta continued: "The misinformation surrounding the vaccine is just plain nutty, considering the fact that the former president [Donald Trump] has been taking credit for the development of these life-saving injections for months, and Trump has been doing that on... wait for it... on Fox."
After playing a clip of Trump touting vaccines, Acosta added: "You think that after hearing that, Trump supporters would be lining up for their shots, which begs the question why not make Trump the vaccine salesman-in-chief?"
But he suggested that the White House is perhaps hesitant to ask Trump to promote vaccines because he "can't be trusted to stay on message, to say the least."
Acosta concluded: "Here's a thought. Don't wait for Fox to get its story straight to save yourself or your family. Fox and Friends is not going to become Vax and Friends. Folks, I got news for you. The lies are not going to save you. The truth will." -
2021-07-25 at 7:59 PM UTCPOLITICO
Arkansas governor blames 'myths' for 'hardened' vaccine resistance
By Connor O’Brien
The Republican governor of Arkansas on Sunday said resistance to the coronavirus vaccine "has hardened" in some areas of the state, blaming the hesitancy on "false information" and myths."
"I don't know if I underestimated it, but, certainly, the resistance has hardened in certain elements, and is simply false information," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union."
"It is myths. As I go into these town hall meetings, someone said: Don't call it a vaccine. Call it a bioweapon. And they talk about mind control," Hutchinson said. "Well, those are obviously erroneous. Other members of the community correct that."
The highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus is surging nationally, particularly in states with low vaccination rates such as Arkansas, a reality Hutchinson cited at the outset of the interview with host Jake Tapper. Unvaccinated people make up the vast majority of current hospitalizations and deaths due to coronavirus, with people who haven't been inoculated accounting for an estimated 97 percent of hospital cases.
Hutchinson called it "a pivotal moment" for the state with the school year nearing. The governor said he's been holding town hall meetings on the importance of getting vaccinated, which he argued has spurred an increase in vaccinations.
"What's holding us back is a low vaccination rate. We're doing all that we can," Hutchinson said. "And I made the decision that it's really not what the government can tell you to do, but it is the community and their engagement and citizens talking to other citizens and trusted advisers, whether it's medical community or whether it's employers. Those are key."
The comments came as leaders in under-vaccinated states fight against surges in the coronavirus. Another red-state leader, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, last week argued it is “time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks” for the spread of the virus.
The nation's top infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, also said Sunday that leaders in areas lagging in vaccination should "speak out" to persuade people to get the shot and blunt a resurgence in the pandemic.
Hutchinson noted, "There's a very hardened resistance" but called it "a small percent," and argued residents can be persuaded to get vaccinated.
"There's more [people] that come to the town meeting that are trying to get information, that they have put it off or they're hesitant. They're worried about health consequences," he said. "And so that's where you have a community physician that answers the questions. ... And so we're seeing people that were previously resistant or hesitant about it coming in and getting the vaccination."
Tapper pressed Hutchinson on the state's ban on mask mandates, which the governor signed. Hutchinson called the move "the will" of the state Legislature and said the state's "singular focus" is on vaccination.
"I really think it's important not to have the current debate about mask-wearing, but to have the current emphasis on getting a vaccine," he said. -
2021-07-25 at 8:06 PM UTCstill not getting the shot
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2021-07-25 at 9:25 PM UTC
🤔 -
2021-07-25 at 9:57 PM UTC^LOL
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2021-07-26 at 12:13 AM UTCRules for thee, but not for me!
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2021-07-26 at 1:02 AM UTC
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2021-07-26 at 6:31 PM UTCMake
Americans
Get
A bunch of lies about Covid
Mediaite
House Democrats Request Interviews With These 11 Trump Officials Over ’88 Incidents of Political Interference’ in Covid Response
Caleb Howe
The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis has issued a statement and a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and CDC Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky naming 11 former Trump officials over what they say are “more than 88 incidents of political interference” by the administration in the public pandemic response.
The committee, chaired by Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, announced the expansion of their probe into the pandemic response in a Monday morning release.
“Today, Chairman James E. Clyburn and all Democratic Members of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis advanced their investigations into the federal government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic by requesting documents and transcribed interviews from three former Trump Administration political appointees and eight current and former public health officials who were involved in the prior Administration’s failed response efforts,” the statement reads.
The committee cites the number of incidences of political interference they say were identified by staff analysis, which documented “at least 88 incidents of the Trump Administration’s political interference in the coronavirus response,” a number which includes 27 the committee identified in December of last year.
In the letter to Secretary Becerra and Dr. Walensky, the Democrats expand on that point.
To date, the Select Subcommittee has identified at least 88 instances in which Trump Administration officials injected politics into public health decisions—including attempting to alter, delay, or block the release of scientific reports and guidance on the coronavirus, pressuring public health experts to adopt politically motivated talking points that downplayed the threat of the virus and conflicted with science, and seeking to retaliate against public health officials who provided truthful information to the public. These incidents degraded every major facet of the prior Administration’s public health response and severely hindered the country’s ability to respond effectively to the pandemic.
The committee’s statement also references an email, released today (PDF), “containing additional evidence that high-ranking Trump Administration appointees, including former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield, may have instructed career CDC staff to conceal evidence of political interference.”
The statement lists the names of each of the individuals with whom the committee is seeking interviews, and includes links to the individual letters constituting those requests.
Those names are:
• Amanda Campbell, former Deputy Chief of Staff, CDC
• Kyle McGowan, former Chief of Staff, CDC
• Nina Witkofsky, former Acting Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor, CDC
• Dr. Nancy Messonnier, former Director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC
• Dr. Anne Schuchat, former Principal Deputy Director, CDC
• Jay Butler, Deputy Director of Infectious Diseases, CDC
• Christine Casey, Editor, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, CDC
• Kate Galatas, Deputy Director for Communications, CDC
• Bill Hall, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, HHS
• Michael Iademarco, Director of Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, CDC
• Mark Weber, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, HHS -
2021-07-26 at 7:25 PM UTC
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2021-07-26 at 7:29 PM UTCst|1 is the classic stooge who believes everything and anything the government and corporations tell him, without question.
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2021-07-26 at 7:54 PM UTC
