Crime And Illegal Drugs
Pence has questioned proposals to decrease penalties for low-level offenses in Indiana, saying the state should focus on “reducing crime, not reducing penalties”. In 2013, Pence expressed concern that a then-pending bill to revise the state’s criminal code was not tough enough on drug crimes, and successfully lobbied to limit the reduction in sentencing of marijuana offenses.
In 2016, he signed into law a measure that would reinstate a ten-year prison sentence for certain drug offenders.
During 2014, Pence sent a letter to United States attorney general , saying Indiana would not comply with because they were “too expensive”. According to the Indiana Department of Corrections, it would cost the state $1520 million annually to comply with the guidelines. Pence said a number of rape prevention measures had already been “implemented”.
In 2015, Pence signed Senate Bill 94 to lengthen the statute of limitations for rapecontinuing for five years after sufficient DNA evidence is uncovered, enough recorded evidence is brought forth or discovered, or the offender confesses to the crime. Pence also signed Senate Bill 8 to allow the death penalty for beheadings if the victim was alive at the time of the offense.
Lafayette Square Protester Removal And Photo Op
On June 1, 2020, federal law enforcement officials used batons, rubber bullets, pepper spray projectiles, stun grenades, and smoke to remove a largely peaceful crowd of protesters from Lafayette Square, outside the White House. Trump then walked to St. John’s Episcopal Church, where protesters had set a small fire the night before he posed for photographs holding a Bible, with senior administration officials later joining him in photos. Trump said on June 3 that the protesters were cleared because “they tried to burn down the church and almost succeeded”, describing the church as “badly hurt”.
Religious leaders condemned the treatment of protesters and the photo opportunity itself. Many retired military leaders and defense officials condemned Trump’s proposal to use the U.S. military against anti-police brutality protesters. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General , later apologized for accompanying Trump on the walk and thereby “creat the perception of the military involved in domestic politics.”
Mueller Investigation Of Donald Trump
On May 17, 2017, Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein selected Robert Mueller, former federal prosecutor and FBI director, to serve as a special counsel to lead the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible ties to the Trump campaign.
On March 24, 2019, two days after Mueller closed his investigation by submitting a report to Attorney General Barr, the AG summarized the report’s content in a letter to congressional leaders. He wrote that there was no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian agents, but noted the special counsel’s wording about whether the president obstructed justice: “while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.” Nonetheless, Trump declared complete exoneration, disparaging the 22-month investigation as an “illegal takedown that failed.”
On October 30, 2018, Mueller announced the first indictments of his investigation, ensnaring former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his associate Rick Gates on charges of tax fraud, money laundering and foreign lobbying violations. On December 1, Flynn pleaded guilty to one count of lying to the FBI and said he was cooperating with Mueller’s team.
In May 2019, after Trump exerted executive privilege to block the release of the unredacted report. The House Judiciary Committee voted to recommend that the House hold the attorney general in contempt of Congress.
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Us House Of Representatives
Pence rejuvenated his political career by running for the U.S. House of Representatives again in 2000, this time winning the seat in after six-year incumbent opted to run for governor of Indiana. The district comprises all or portions of 19 counties in eastern Indiana. As a congressman, Pence adopted the slogan he had used on the radio, describing himself as “a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order”. While in Congress, Pence belonged to the .
In his first year in office, Pence opposed President ‘s in 2001, as well as President Bush’s Medicare prescription drug expansion the following year. Pence was re-elected four more times by comfortable margins. In the , , and House elections, he defeated Democrat .
- : Foreign Affairs, Judiciary
In 2008, magazine listed Pence as one of the ten best members of Congress, writing that Pence’s “unalloyed traditional conservatism has repeatedly pitted him against his party elders.” Pence was mentioned as a possible Republican candidate for president in and . In September 2010, he was the top choice for president in a straw poll conducted by the . That same year, he was encouraged to run against incumbent Democratic senator , but opted not to enter the race, even after Bayh unexpectedly announced that he would retire.
Exclusion From The Debates
Between 1992 and 1996, the changed its rules regarding how candidates could qualify to participate in the presidential debates. As Perot had previously done very well in debates, it was a decisive blow to the campaign when the Commission ruled that he could not participate on the basis of somewhat vague criteria such as that a candidate was required to have already been endorsed by “a substantial number of major news organizations,” with “substantial” being a number to be decided by the Commission on a case-by-case basis. Perot could not have qualified for the debates in 1992 under these rules, and was able to show that various famous U.S. presidents would likewise have been excluded from the modern debate by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Despite legal action by the Perot team, and an 80 percent majority of Americans supporting his participation in the debates, the Commission refused to budge and Perot was reduced to making his points heard via a series of half-hour “commercials”. In the end, Perot and Choate won 8 percent of the vote.
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Trump On His Own Net Worth
Trump has often given much higher values for his wealth than organizations estimating it. Trump has testified that “my net worth fluctuates, and it goes up and down with markets and with attitudes and with feelingseven my own feelings”. On the same day, Trump’s own stated estimates of his net worth have varied by as much as $3.3 billion. Trump has also acknowledged that past exaggerated estimates of his wealth have been “good for financing”.Forbes has said that although Trump “shares a lot of information with us that helps us get to the figures we publish”, he “consistently pushes for a higher net worthespecially when it comes to the value of his personal brand”.
Storming Of The Capitol
On January 6, 2021, while congressional certification of the presidential election results was taking place in the United States Capitol, Trump held a rally at the Ellipse, where he called for the election result to be overturned and urged his supporters to “take back our country” by marching to the Capitol to “show strength” and “fight like hell.” Trump’s speech started at noon. By 12:30 p.m., rally attendees had gathered outside the Capitol, and at 1 p.m, his supporters pushed past police barriers onto Capitol grounds. Trump’s speech ended at 1:10 p.m., the crowd grew larger as more supporters marched on the Capitol. Around 2:15 p.m. the mob broke into the building, disrupting certification and causing the evacuation of Congress. During the violence, Trump posted mixed messages on Twitter and Facebook, eventually tweeting to the rioters at 6 p.m, “go home with love & in peace”, but describing them as “great patriots” and “very special”, while still complaining that the election was stolen. After the mob was removed from the Capitol, Congress reconvened and confirmed the Biden election win in the early hours of the following morning. There were many injuries, and five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died.
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House Subpoenas And Court Rulings
On May 10, 2019, House Ways and Means Committee chairman Richard Neal subpoenaed the Treasury Department and the IRS for six years of Trump’s tax returns. Seven days later, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin refused to comply with the subpoenas.
On May 20, 2019, President Trump lost an unrelated lawsuit in which he sought to stop his accounting firm, Mazars USA, from complying with a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee for various financial records. The ruling against Trump was issued by Judge Amit Mehta of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, who also denied the president a stay of the ruling pending any future appeal.
On November 4, 2019, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York upheld the lower court ruling. On December 10, 2019, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York issued a ruling which again found that the lower court had acted properly in upholding the congressional subpoenas for Trump’s financial records, but this time also ordered for Deutsche Bank and Capital One to cooperate in releasing the financial records as well.
On July 9, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 72 that Trump cannot continue to keep his financial records secret, but ruled they should instead be given to the Manhattan District Attorney rather than the U.S House of Representatives. The Supreme Court denied a request for a stay on February 22, 2021, and the Manhattan District Attorney received the financial records that same day.
From Businessman To Politician
After taking control of the Trump Organization, Trump continued to work in real-estate development but also expanded into other businesses. He purchased sports teams, published books, and served as the producer and host of a reality TV show called The Apprentice. He married his third wife and future first lady, model Melania Knauss, in 2005.
In 2000, Trump ran for president as a candidate on a third-party ticket, meaning as an alternative candidate to those from the two major political parties, the Republicans and Democrats. He dropped out early in the race, but considered running again in 2004 and 2012. In 2015, he announced he was again running for president, this time on a major-party ticket as a Republican nominee. He beat out 16 other candidates to become the partys official nominee in 2016.
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Israel And The Recognition Of Jerusalem
On December 6, 2017, Trump announced that the U.S. was formally recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and would move the American embassy there from its current location in Tel Aviv. The declaration broke decades of precedent, in which the U.S. refused to take sides in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians over territorial rights to the city.
Fulfilling one of his campaign pledges, Trump referred to the move as “a long overdue step to advance the peace process,” noting it “would be folly to assume that repeating the exact same formula would now produce a different or better result.” He also stressed that the move would not interfere with any proposals for a two-state solution.
The announcement was praised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but not as warmly received by American allies France, Britain and Germany, which called it disruptive to the peace process. Leaders of the predominantly Muslim countries Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon all condemned the move, while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the U.S. could no longer be considered a mediator in the region.
On December 21, the U.N. General Assembly voted 128 to 9 to demand that the U.S. rescind its formal recognition of Jerusalem. Britain, France, Germany and Japan all voted for the resolution, though others, like Australia and Canada, abstained from the symbolic vote.
Capitol Physician Warns Congress Members Of Possible Covid Exposure Following Riot
Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the attending Capitol physician, sent a memo to Congress members and staff Sunday, warning them of a possible Covid-19 exposure following the Capitol Hill riot.
“On Wednesday January 6, many members of the House community were in protective isolation in room located in a large committee hearing space. The time in this room was several hours for some and briefer for others. During this time, individuals may have been exposed to another occupant with coronavirus infection,” the letter said.
Several members of Congress were not wearing a mask as seen in this Punchbowl News video while in the room.
Dr. Monahan is recommending that all individuals who were inside the isolation room get a Covid test next week as a precaution. Additionally, he encourages them to do a daily symptom inventory check, wear masks and to social distance.
Jade Scipioni
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Capitol Police To Increase Travel Security For Congress Members At Airports
The U.S. Capitol Police has partnered with the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority to increase security for Congress members at airports after some lawmakers have been harassed traveling to and from Washington D.C.
A “House Alert” was to sent to Congress members on Saturday issuing the travel security notification.
Officials warned that members and staff should “remain vigilant of their surrounding and immediately report anything unusual or suspicious.” Lawmakers are also encouraged to submit their flight itineraries to House Security officials to “ensure an increased security posture.”
“Agents from the U.S. Capitol Police will also be stationed at BWI, IAD and DCA airports through the Inauguration to assist in security coordination,” the memo said.
Jade Scipioni
Cicilline Says There Are 210 Co
David Cicilline, D-R.I., said on Sunday that there are now 210 co-sponsors on the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.
“We are going to hold Donald Trump accountable for last week’s assault on the Capitol,” Cicilline wrote in a tweet. The article of impeachment accuses Trump of “incitement to insurrection.”
House lawmakers are set to introduce the articles of impeachment on Monday though no votes are expected then. It’s unclear which, if any, articles of impeachment House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leadership will vote on.
Pelosi said on Friday that the House is prepared to move forward with an impeachment motion unless Trump resigns.
Emma Newburger
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Gop Sen Blunt Says There’s No Possibility Of Impeachment And Removal Before Jan 20
GOP Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri said that impeachment and removal is “clearly not going to happen” while Trump is in office during an interview on CBS News’s “Face The Nation” on Sunday.
“Is there any likelihood that he could possibly be removed between now and Jan. 20? And if there is no additional ensuing event, my belief is there is no possibility of that,” Blunt, a member of the Republican Senate leadership, said.
Democrats intend to introduce an article of impeachment into the House of Representatives as early as this week, citing Trump’s instigation of the riot that consumed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., has raised the possibility of not sending impeachment to the Senate until after President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
Such a maneuver, which has never been done in the presidential context and remains untested in court, would theoretically prevent Trump from running for office in the future.
Blunted added that he viewed the president’s actions as “clearly reckless.”
“The country is the right way to hold president’s accountable. The president touched the hot stove on Wednesday and is unlikely to touch it again,” he said.
Tucker Higgins
