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Defense Department blocked Mark Esper's tell-all book — so he's suing
November 28, 2021
Former Secretary Mark Esper is searing for his opportunity to cash in on his short time in former President Donald Trump's Cabinet. But according to the existing Defense Department, the book cannot move forward.
New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman reported Sunday that the department wouldn't clear the manuscript for publication. He was told that the book must remove the parts of the book about his time under Trump, which would likely make the book less of a draw.
Over the course of the past year since Trump left the White House, many former aides and renowned Washington reporters. Esper's is certainly not the first Cabinet official to pen his memoirs, nor is his book the first to be put on pause for edits that could reveal classified information.
Beginning in October, Haberman said that the DoD staff told Esper he must make redactions to the book, but according to the lawsuit those redactions included quotes from Trump and others, conversations he had with Trump and his own opinions about foreign countries. The implication was that those pieces the DoD blocked shouldn't be classified.
Esper was fired by a tweet from Trump after he lost the election in Nov. 2020.
"As with all such reviews, the department takes seriously its obligation to balance national security with an author's narrative desire," said spokesperson John Kirby. "Given that this matter is now under litigation, we will refrain from commenting further."
When the DoD office returned the manuscript, Esper said "multiple words, sentences and paragraphs from approximately 60 pages of the manuscript were redacted. No written explanation was offered to justify the deletions."
"I was also asked to delete my views on the actions of other countries, on conversations I held with foreign officials, and regarding international events that have been widely reported," Esper continued. "Many items were already in the public domain; some were even published by D.O.D."
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Republican caught denouncing vaccines to Fox News then supporting them to CNN just hours later
November 28, 2021
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) was caught trying to pretend she's both for and against vaccines. In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Mace told Jason Chaffetz she believed in "natural immunity." But just hours later, she had another story for CNN.
"One of the things that the CDC has not done and no policy at the federal level has done is taken into account what natural immunity does, and that may be what we're seeing in Florida today," Mace complained. "In some studies that I've read, natural immunity gives you 27 times more protection against future COVID than a vaccination."
"So we need to take all of the science into account and not selectively choosing what science to follow when we are making policy decisions," Mace added.
In less than 24 hours, Mace spoke to CNN's Kaitlan Collins with another story entirely.
"COVID-19 is very serious business," Mace began. "I'm a long hauler. This is a disease and illness we should take seriously. I want to encourage the American people to talk to their doctors and talk about getting vaccinated. I was recently diagnosed, Caitlyn, with asthma and I had covid-19 a year and a half ago. I'm still feeling the repercussions a year and a half later."
Mace previously faced off against Speaker Nancy Pelosi because Mace refused to wear a mask.
It's a message that Fox News has been criticized for ignoring while allowing some of its personalities to spin conspiracy theories during their primetime shows.
Mance then went on to attack "both sides" so many times that a Twitter user created a mash-up.
Compare all of the videos below:
As a critical care surgeon, let\u2019s just be clear about how wrong and reckless @NancyMace is.\n\nThis is one of the many reasons I\u2019m supporting @AnnieAndrewsMD \u2014 a trusted healthcare professional who will tell you the truth, and make us proud walking the halls of Congress!https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1464974702460473357\u00a0\u2026— Joseph Sakran (@Joseph Sakran) 1638119713
Hours after speaking out on behalf of natural immunity and against mandates on Fox News, Nancy Mace joined CNN and said she's a big proponent of vaccinespic.twitter.com/wQQUxfDSqw— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1638148469
Both sides strategy deployedpic.twitter.com/JpqxLHzmJm— Acyn (@Acyn) 1638147837
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'Hasn't the Trump family had enough riots?' Acosta lambasts Donald Jr. for his hope of an uprising
November 28, 2021
Donald Trump Jr. demanded a "riot" because of COVID-19 in the United States, referencing the protests in other countries where, like in the United States, people are buying into conspiracy theories.
According to Trump, "they" don't want people to hear about the protests because it might give people ideas. It assumes Americans haven't already been protesting for the past year over everything from CRT to masks and Trump's 2020 election loss.
"I'm trying to figure this out," Acosta said after showing the video. "Don Jr. is upset that there aren't riots here in the United States over COVID vaccines? Hasn't the Trump family had enough riots at this point?"
"Uh, apparently not, not for their taste," said CNN analyst John Avlon. "Speaking of Alex Jones' level energy, Donald Trump Jr. seems certainly amped up about his latest conspiracy theory. And the invoking of sheeple is when you know it's all gone really, really well. This has nothing to do with freedom. This conflation with public health with propaganda is a source of the lot of the sickness in our country, not just the persistence of the virus but the disinformation that gets fueled by people like Donald Trump Jr., who should probably find a real job at this point."
Avlon, Acosta and PBS's Margaret Hoover went on to talk about the latest GOP pearl-clutching over Kamala Harris' shopping trip at a Parisian cooking store. Avlon laughed, noting that they support a president who has an apartment like an Austin Powers villain.
See the discussion below:
Why are the Trumps pushing more riots www.youtube.com
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