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Trump claimed a new report exonerated him for the attack on Lafayette Square — here's the reality
June 12, 2021
June 1, 2020 was among the many infamous days of Donald Trump's presidency. That day, nonviolent George Floyd protesters were violently removed from Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. before Trump walked from the White House to nearby St. John's Episcopal Church for his awkward "Bible photo-op." Trump is claiming that a new report by the U.S. Park Police Inspector General Mark Lee Greenblatt is a total vindication of his actions that day, but journalist Ryan Cooper disagrees in an op-ed published in The Week.
"Don't be led astray by the headlines or the conservative propaganda here," Cooper stresses. "This report does not actually exonerate Trump, and even the most charitable possible conception of events is hideously damning of the former president. Contrary to Greenblatt's summary…. the report does not firmly conclude that Trump's visit had nothing to do with the park clearance, and more importantly, does not remotely count as a thorough investigation into that question."
Cooper notes that the report "does say that the clearance had been planned for days to install some fencing, and that happened long before Trump decided to visit."
Cooper adds, however, "But it also says that the specific time of the clearance had not been settled, and that at about 6:10 on that day, Attorney General Barr came out of the White House and asked the USPP commander: 'Are these people still going to be here when (President Trump) comes out?' — to which the commander responded, 'Are you freaking kidding me?' and hung his head. USPP personnel insisted to the IG that Barr's request did not affect their plans — a highly dubious assertion — but it was actually the Secret Service who initiated the park clearance."
Cooper goes on to say that "a very obvious question would be whether Barr, or someone else from the White House, ordered the Secret Service to start attacking the protesters," lamenting that Greenblatt "did not even try to figure this out."
"A full accounting into the atrocity at Lafayette Park a year ago would require deposing all central participants — above all, Barr, Trump and the Secret Service leadership," Cooper writes. "Without that, it can't be taken as a definitive word on anything, end of discussion. Even then, its limited account shows that the police knew Trump was coming, and that Barr attempted to get them to speed up the clearance so it would be done before Trump came out."
Greenblatt himself did not appreciate that Trump tried to thank him for the report.
"That's uncomfortable for me," he said, according to the New York Times. "We are independent from any political administration. This is not at all comfortable footing for anyone in my community."
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'Blessed are the feeble minded': Trump ridiculed for statement raging at pre-election lies
June 12, 2021
Deprived of a social media platform and having shut down his blog, Donald Trump issued a statement on Saturday morning enumerating what he believes are lies levied against him before the election and claiming the media is now "admitting" they got him all wrong.
Before stating that hydroxychloroquine "works" and Hunter Biden's laptop "is real," the president wrote, "Have you noticed they are now admitting I was right about everything they lied about before the election?"
Then came the list- which was promptly picked apart.
You can see some comments below:
@RSBNetwork But we're on to the 46th President now.— Lisebet Ines Francesc 🇺🇲 (@Lisebet Ines Francesc 🇺🇲) 1623512552.0
@RSBNetwork No "they" aren't. But it does look like trump's DOJ was going after phone records of House Dems, which… https://t.co/tgnp5NXV0u— Kerri Pro-democracy Levine (@Kerri Pro-democracy Levine) 1623514140.0
@RSBNetwork https://t.co/HC7y8NWmzk— ✨këëp✨göîńg✨ (@✨këëp✨göîńg✨) 1623513027.0
@RSBNetwork Why do you repeat his lies? Being conservative is good, lying isn’t. Why don’t you find someone else t… https://t.co/YaC3m7ntBC— Flossie (@Flossie) 1623512428.0
@RSBNetwork Blessed are the feeble minded— gangrenous green (@gangrenous green) 1623512575.0
@MonicaCrowley First statement is a lie. Not bothering with the rest.— Hypocrimeter (@Hypocrimeter) 1623510655.0
@MonicaCrowley Again Trump reminds “everyone” of his idiocy.— Bill (@Bill) 1623511568.0
@MonicaCrowley Yea but he was the world largest douche - which did him in - but hey good job @MonicaCrowley hahaha— Jay D'Aprile (@Jay D'Aprile) 1623512197.0
@RSBNetwork The book "Surviving in prison for dummies" comes highly recommended for you.— Troll (@Troll) 1623513707.0
@RSBNetwork I’m looking for a thread full of morons. Yep I think Ive found it.— SweepTheLeg (@SweepTheLeg) 1623513006.0
@RSBNetwork Statement 😂— Ted (@Ted) 1623513027.0
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North Carolina GOP scrambled to save Trump from further embarrassment after his coming out speech: report
June 12, 2021
According to a report in the conservative Washington Examiner, the North Carolina Republican party buried the results of a straw poll taken at last week's convention that illustrated Donald Trump's waning influence with the party faithful.
Last Saturday Trump appeared at the North Carolina GOP convention in what was called his" coming out" party after being exiled to first Florida and now New Jersey after losing re-election to now-President Joe Biden.
What some Trump insiders hoped would be a tentative launch for a 2024 presidential bid instead became bogged down in commentary about Trump's "slurring speech" and questions about whether the former president was wearing his pants backward. He wasn't.
Less remarked upon was the ex-president's surprise endorsement of Rep. Ted Budd (R) for an open U.S Senate seat representing North Carolina, that led to some awkwardness for the state's GOP leadership.
According to the Times, Trump's endorsement held little sway with the convention attendees who took part in a straw poll on who should get the nod for the GOP nomination.
"The North Carolina Republican Party sat on the results of a straw poll that former Rep. Mark Walker won by a country mile," the Times' David Drucker reported. "Walker topped Budd 44% to 29.4% in a survey to gauge who grassroots Republicans support for Senate in the 2022 primary. Former Gov. Pat McCrory finished third, with 17.5%, in voting conducted at the annual state GOP convention."
While Drucker added, "The North Carolina Republican Party insists the results were not withheld to avoid embarrassing Trump," he also reported that the timing of the release of the poll results was unusual.
"State party officials shared the outcome privately with the candidates. But for two days, they refused to publicize to media outlets or the public. When the North Carolina Republican Party finally acknowledged the straw poll, the tally was buried at the bottom of a newsletter detailing the highlights of the weekend-long convention and emailed out in the evening after regular business hours," Drucker reported.
As for the GOP leadership of the state, they distanced themselves from Trump's selection, with state party chairman Michael Whatley issuing a statement reading, "When President Trump endorsed Congressman Ted Budd for U.S. Senate, he was not speaking on behalf of the NCGOP. He made the endorsement completely independently, and the NCGOP was not aware of the endorsement prior to his speech. The NCGOP will continue to remain neutral in all primary races."
You can read more here.
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