WESTERLY, R.I. – A 66-year-old resident of an assisted-living complex shot and killed one person and wounded two others before taking his own life Thursday morning, prompting area schools and businesses to lock down, police said.
The shooting victims were all women, Westerly Police Chief Shawn Lacey said at a Thursday afternoon press conference. A 47-year-old employee of the residential complex was killed, Lacey said. Two others, a 38-year-old employee and a 67-year-old resident, were wounded.
Lacey provided little information about the suspect but said that he was known to authorities.
“His name was in our system,” Lacey said.
Authorities would not release any names during a midafternoon news conference; families were still being notified.
The 38-year-old employee was in critical condition, Lacey said; she was taken first to Westerly Hospital and was being flown to Yale New Haven Hospital. The 67-year-old resident was taken to Rhode Island Hospital and was in stable condition after surgery.
Lacey said active shooter situations are rare in Westerly, a beach town of about 22,000 people where Taylor Swift owns a mansion.
“It’s a shock to the community … there’s never any serious type of crimes of this nature,” he said. “This is a low-crime community.”
The first call to Westerly police came in at 10:32 a.m. for a single person shot. When police arrived they were able to identify a potential suspect, who was a resident of the complex, by reviewing surveillance footage, Lacey said.
Westerly and state police officers went to the suspect’s room and found him inside dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, state police Supt. Col. James Manni said.
Authorities had initially handcuffed a different person, who is no longer a suspect, Lacey said. Police were not searching for any additional suspects.
All Westerly Public Schools had been placed in lockdown “until further notice,” the school district said earlier in a Facebook post. The lockdown was lifted at about 12:45 p.m., according to the Facebook page.
Christina O’Reilly, a spokeswoman for Rhode Island Hospital, said the hospital received one patient who was still being evaluated. Westerly Hospital spokesman William Hanrahan said one person was being treated there following the incident.
Gov. Gina Raimondo said on Twitter that she was “closely monitoring the situation in Westerly.”
Reports of gunfire had seven workers at a boat repair business next door hiding in their own lockdown. One of them, Tracy Wise, said the workers had gathered at the In Motion Marine Repair for a company Christmas party when “everyone’s phones just started going off” about a shooting at the apartment complex.
“We locked the doors until they caught whoever was out there,” she said.
“It’s a little scary knowing the guy may be running around behind us,” she said. “I don’t like being this close to something like this. We heard all the schools are in lockdown. It is not my time to die.”
Twelve people at the Granite Group, a nearby plumbing and heating store, were also in lockdown, said Bob Santos, a counter salesman.
“We saw all the cruisers going by and then heard what was going on on social media,” he said. “We are just looking out the window when we can, making sure nothing is going on in our parking lot. No one seems too concerned at the moment.”
Westerly is about 40 miles south of Providence. Babcock Village is a three story elderly preference apartment complex where applicants must meet federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit guidelines. Residents pay about 30% of their adjusted gross income for rent.
Mooney and Amaral write for the Providence Journal. Contributing: John Bacon and Grace Hauck, USA TODAY
Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/12/19/rhode-island-shooting-3-people-shot-westerly-apartment-complex/2697876001/
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – The Pakistan government said on Thursday it was seeking to disbar the leader of a three-judge panel which ruled that the corpse of ex-military ruler Pervez Musharraf should hang for three days if the general dies before his execution.
The special court sentenced Musharraf, 76, to death on Tuesday after finding him guilty of high treason for subverting the constitution in 2007. He took power in a 1999 coup.
The court directed law enforcers to apprehend Musharraf, currently receiving medical treatment in Dubai, to ensure the death sentence is carried out.
But if found dead beforehand, “his corpse (should) be dragged to D-Chowk, Islamabad, Pakistan, and be hanged for three days”, it said.
The chowk, or square, is just outside parliament.
Thursday’s bizarre announcement came after the government said it had found “gaps and weaknesses” in the original sentence, apparently taking sides in a split between the military and the judiciary, and the general’s lawyers said Musharraf planned to appeal.
Legal experts termed the instructions unconstitutional, even if symbolic.
Law Minister Farogh Naseem said the government was seeking to remove the leader of the three-judge panel. The judge, Waqar Ahmad Seth, had violated judicial conduct, he said.
“Our plea is that such a judge has got no authority to be a judge of any high court or the supreme court,” he said. “He is unfit.”
Escalating the tension with the judiciary, the army spokesman said the court announcement proved his assertion that the original sentence was flawed.
“Today’s decision, particularly the wording used in it, is beyond humanity, religion, civilization or any values,” he told a news conference.
He said army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had taken up the issue with Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The original sentence had already shocked the military, which has ruled Pakistan for about half the country’s history. The army accused the court of ignoring legal processes and defended Musharraf’s patriotism.
Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan has said Musharraf wasn’t given a fair trial, taking the army line.
Tensions between the military and the judiciary rose after the Supreme Court struck down a three-year extension of service given by the government to army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Musharraf, who was tried and sentenced in absentia, said in Dubai the charges against him were politically motivated.
Musharraf seized power in a coup in 1999 and later ruled as president.
In November 2007, Musharraf suspended the constitution and imposed emergency rule, prompting protests. He resigned in 2008 to avoid the threat of impeachment.
When Nawaz Sharif, whom Musharraf deposed in 1999, was re-elected prime minister in 2013, he initiated a treason trial against Musharraf and in 2014 he was charged with high treason.
“This case was taken up only due to a personal vendetta by some people against me,” Musharraf said in a video statement from his hospital bed in Dubai.
Musharraf traveled to Dubai after a travel ban was lifted in 2016 and he has refused to appear before the court, despite multiple orders.
Reporting by Asif Shahzad, Writing by Rupam Jain, Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Nick Macfie
Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-law-musharraf/pakistan-courts-hang-him-in-streets-rider-to-musharraf-death-sentence-sparks-fury-idUSKBN1YN0HK
“The yeas are 230, the nays are 197, present is one — Article 1 is adopted. The question is on adoption of Article 2. On this vote, the yeas are 229, the nays are 198, present is one — Article 2 is adopted.” “I don’t know about you, but I’m having a good time, it’s crazy. Oh, I think we have a vote coming in. So we got every single Republican voted for us. Whoa, whoa, wow — wow, almost 200. This is the first impeachment where there’s no crime. I say, tell me what I did please. Well, we don’t know — you violated the Constitution. I’m the first person that ever get impeached and there’s no crime. Like, I feel guilty. You know they call it: impeachment lite. It’s impeachment lite.” “And what is the defense from my colleagues? When you cut through it all, when you cut through all the sound and the fury, signifying nothing, what it really amounts to is this: Why should we care? We used to care about democracy. We used to care about our allies. We used to stand up to Putin and Russia. We used to.” “I’ll tell you what, Madam Speaker, let me have just a few minutes, stop the clock, and let me go around to the press corps and everybody here and I’m going to accuse you of something. You did it. You did it. You did it. You did it. Now prove it’s wrong. You did it. Guess what: You don’t want to, because deep down you know that that’s turning the entire jurisprudence of this country upside down. You’re not guilty until you prove it — you’re innocent. And today from this floor, we have heard the majority leader say this president is guilty and not the other way around.” “This impeachment is permanent. It will follow him around for the rest of his life and history books will record it. And the people know why we impeached. It’s all very simple. No one is above the law.” “Unfortunately, many of my colleagues have diminished what should be a solemn and grave proceeding into an absolute political circus.” “If you think I exaggerate in warning that our elections can be undermined, I’d urge you to come down to Georgia, find a black man or woman of a certain age, and they’ll tell you: The danger is real.” “So this vote, this day, is about one thing and one thing only: They hate this president.”
Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/18/us/politics/impeachment-trial.html
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Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/19/us/westerly-rhode-island-shooting/index.html
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – One of U.S. President Donald Trump’s most stalwart allies in the House of Representatives, Republican Mark Meadows, said on Thursday he will not seek re-election next year and could seek a position to work with Trump in some capacity.
“My time serving Western North Carolina in Congress will come to a close at the end of this term,” Meadows, a founding member of Republican’s conservative House Freedom Caucus, said in a statement.
He did not offer any details about his next steps but said he would continue to fight for the Republican president, who on Thursday was impeached by the Democratic-controlled House.
“My work with President Trump and his administration is only beginning,” Meadows wrote. “I’m fully committed to staying in the fight with him and his team to build on those successes and deliver on his promises for the years to come.”
He told Politico, which first reported his departure, that he did not have a specific job lined up yet with Trump and would not say whether he would serve out the remainder of his current term, which ends in January 2021.
“I plan to serve the people of western North Carolina until it’s decided that I can best serve the president and the American people in a different capacity,” he told the news outlet. “While there’s no immediate plans, there’s certainly discussions that have occurred and potentially could occur in the future.”
Meadows, whose home state of North Carolina has seen a political shakeup over redistricting, also told Politico news outlet in an interview that he was not concerned about winning re-election.
The southern U.S. state is among several embroiled in a legal fight over partisan gerrymandering in which district maps are drawn up in order to benefit a particular political party.
The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year blocked cases challenging such efforts in federal courts. However, challenges have continued at the state level, including in North Carolina where courts have struck down Republican-drawn state legislative maps.
Earlier this month, a panel of North Carolina judges backed a new congressional map approved by state lawmakers saying there was not enough time ahead of the November 2020 election to determine whether it was politically gerrymandered or not.
Reporting by Susan Heavey and Susan Cornwell; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-congress-meadows/top-trump-ally-in-us-house-to-leave-congress-eyes-work-with-president-idUSKBN1YN1KC
In a four-hour, televised year-end news conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Democrats used “fabricated reasons” to impeach President Donald Trump over Ukraine because their attempt to link him to Russian election meddling failed.
Putin also warned of a new arms race if Washington doesn’t agree to extend the START nuclear arms agreement with Moscow; said the Kremlin would respond in kind to “unfriendly” new U.S.sanctions; and floated the prospects of amending the Russian constitution to allow him to run for another term,.
As for Trump’s impeachment, the Russian leader called it “just the continuation of the domestic political strife,” according to the state-owned TASS News agency.
“The party, which lost the election, the Democratic Party, tried to achieve results through other means, accusing Trump of colluding with Russia,” he said. “Later on, it turned out that there had been no collusion, so this cannot be the basis for impeachment.”
Instead, he said they turned to accusations that Trump allegedly pressured Ukraine. “I don’t know what it is all about,” he said. “Your members of Congress should know better.”
Referring to the Senate, which will take up the impeachment issue, Putin said he doubted the Republicans would remove him from office,
“It’s unlikely they will want to remove from power a representative of their party based on what are, in my opinion, completely fabricated reasons,” he said.
Impeachment reaction:World averts gaze from Trump impeachment
Regarding the prospect of a new START treaty, limiting long-range, nuclear weapons, he said Moscow was ready until the end of the year to extend the existing agreement, which expires at the end of 2021.
“Now if we were to receive a letter tomorrow — we are ready to sign it and send it back to Washington,” he said. “But thus far there has been no answer to any of our suggestions. And without a new START treaty, there is nothing to curb an arms race. And that, in my opinion, is bad.”
Other topics Putin discussed:
Moscow ‘will mirror’ US sanctions
Putin said Moscow would reciprocate against a new sanctions bill, working its way through Congress, that would punish Russian oligarchs over Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections and for Kremlin’s Ukraine policies. If it goes into effect, Putin said, Russia “will mirror” the actions.
“There is nothing good about it, these are absolutely unfriendly acts against Russia,” he added.
Changing Russian constitution so Putin can run again
Putin raised the prospects of changing the Russian constitution to drop a ban on a president serving more than two terms. The change would delete the phrase “consecutively” that currently bars him from running for reelection in 2024. After his first two terms in office, from 2000 to 2008, Putin side-stepped the limit by switching places with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, then returned to his presidential post in 2012.
“Your humble servant served two terms consecutively, then left his post, but with the constitutional right to return to the post of president again, because these two terms were not successive.” he said. This clause “troubles some of our political analysts and public figures. Well, maybe it could be removed.”
Putin says ‘we need to do something about’ climate change
“We’re not really sure why global warming is happening, but we need to do something about it,” he said.
Putin also claimed that Russia has “the greenest energy system in the world,” notably its development of liquefied natural gas and hydropower,” Moscow Times reports.
He also said that if Russia’s permafrost starts to melt “you can think for yourself what the consequences could be.”
Putin on Ukraine
He opposed any revision of the Minsk Agreement with Ukraine over disputed territory in eastern Ukraine. He said he was “concerned” over recent comments by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky that the interim agreements, signed in 2014 and 2015, could be revisited. “If a revision of the Minsk Agreements starts, then the situation could enter a complete dead end,” the Russian president said.
Trump, Russia and Ukraine:Five presidential conspiracy theories debunked
Russian doping scandal
Putin responded to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s decision in December that slapped Russia with a four-year ban from international sports events, including next summer’s Tokyo Olympics, over a longstanding doping scandal.
The ruling allows Russian athletes to compete if they can show they are clean competitors. The ruling means that Russia’s flag, name and anthem will not appear at the Tokyo Games, and the country also could be stripped of hosting world championships in Olympic sports.
Putin said any punishments “should be individual” and not aimed at the entire Russian team. “Deal with specific people,” he said, adding: “We are doing everything to make sure Russian sport is clean.”
Doping scandal:Russia plans to file appeal against Olympic ban
Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/19/putin-defends-trump-impeachment-news-conference/2696993001/
Here’s what you need to know to understand the impeachment of President Trump.
What’s happening now: Trump is now the third U.S. president to be impeached, after the House of Representatives adopted both articles of impeachment against him.
What happens next: Impeachment does not mean that the president has been removed from office. The Senate must hold a trial to make that determination. A trial is expected to take place in January. Here’s more on what happens next.
How we got here: A whistleblower complaint led Pelosi to announce the beginning of an official impeachment inquiry on Sept. 24. Closed-door hearings and subpoenaed documents related to the president’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky followed. After two weeks of public hearings in November, the House Intelligence Committee wrote a report that was sent to the House Judiciary Committee, which held its own hearings. Pelosi and House Democrats announced the articles of impeachment against Trump on Dec. 10. The Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment against Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Stay informed: Read the latest reporting and analysis on impeachment here.
Listen: Follow The Post’s coverage with daily updates from across our podcasts.
Want to understand impeachment better? Sign up for the 5-Minute Fix to get a guide in your inbox every weekday. Have questions? Submit them here, and they may be answered in the newsletter.
Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/12/19/trump-john-dingell-debbie-dingell-hell-backlash/
Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamRepublican group targets Graham in ad calling for fair Senate trial Senate GOP blasts impeachment: ‘The mob took over the House’ On The Trail: A historic vote that defines legacies MORE (R-S.C.) warned on Wednesday that if Rudy GiulianiRudy GiulianiGraham warns Giuliani: ‘I hope you know what you’re talking about’ US diplomat William Taylor to leave Ukraine post at the beginning of January Giuliani: Trump remains ‘very supportive’ of my efforts to dig up dirt in Ukraine MORE, President TrumpDonald John TrumpRepublican group targets Graham in ad calling for fair Senate trial Democratic presidential candidates react to Trump impeachment: ‘No one is above the law’ Trump attacks Schumer at fiery rally in Michigan MORE‘s personal lawyer, is going to publicly suggest a “cover-up” involving the Bidens and Ukraine “then I hope you know what you’re talking about.”
Graham’s comments come after Giuliani took a trip to Ukraine this month and met with a host of former and current officials as part of an effort to unearth more dirt on Trump’s political rivals, including 2020 presidential candidate Joe BidenJoe BidenDemocratic presidential candidates react to Trump impeachment: ‘No one is above the law’ Trump rallies supporters as he becomes third president to be impeached On The Trail: A historic vote that defines legacies MORE.
Trump’s efforts to get Kyiv to announce investigations into the Biden family and unfounded accusations that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 elections are at the center of Democrats’ impeachment efforts against him.
“I don’t know what Rudy’s got, but I’m going to send him a letter. If you’re going to go on national television and tell the country that you’ve found evidence of a cover-up, then I hope you know what you’re talking about,” Graham told reporters.
“I like Rudy a lot, but we’re going to have to watch what we say,” he added.
Graham has invited Giuliani to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee over his concerns about corruption in Ukraine. He reiterated on Wednesday that Trump’s lawyer has an “open invitation” before the panel he chairs.
“If he comes, you gotta be willing to ask questions about your conduct. It’s just not good for the country to make these accusations on cable television without them being tested,” Graham added.
Giuliani told The Washington Post that Trump has asked him to brief GOP senators and the Justice Department on his findings in Ukraine. A source told The Wall Street Journal that Giuliani told the president that his recent trip produced “more than you can imagine.”
Trump and his allies have latched onto Hunter Biden‘s connection to Ukraine, where he served on the board of an energy company, as the former vice president seeks the Democratic nomination to challenge Trump in 2020. There’s no indication Joe Biden was acting with his son’s interests in mind when he called for the ouster of a Ukrainian prosecutor accused of corruption, and the former vice president has denied any such motivations.
Source Article from https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/475179-graham-warns-giuliani-i-hope-you-know-what-youre-talking-about
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – The Pakistan government said on Thursday it was seeking to disbar the leader of a three-judge panel which ruled that the corpse of ex-military ruler Pervez Musharraf should hang for three days if the general dies before his execution.
The special court sentenced Musharraf, 76, to death on Tuesday after finding him guilty of high treason for subverting the constitution in 2007. He took power in a 1999 coup.
The court directed law enforcers to apprehend Musharraf, currently receiving medical treatment in Dubai, to ensure the death sentence is carried out.
But if found dead beforehand, “his corpse (should) be dragged to D-Chowk, Islamabad, Pakistan, and be hanged for three days”, it said.
The chowk, or square, is just outside parliament.
Thursday’s bizarre announcement came after the government said it had found “gaps and weaknesses” in the original sentence, apparently taking sides in a split between the military and the judiciary, and the general’s lawyers said Musharraf planned to appeal.
Legal experts termed the instructions unconstitutional, even if symbolic.
Law Minister Farogh Naseem said the government was seeking to remove the leader of the three-judge panel. The judge, Waqar Ahmad Seth, had violated judicial conduct, he said.
“Our plea is that such a judge has got no authority to be a judge of any high court or the supreme court,” he said. “He is unfit.”
Escalating the tension with the judiciary, the army spokesman said the court announcement proved his assertion that the original sentence was flawed.
“Today’s decision, particularly the wording used in it, is beyond humanity, religion, civilization or any values,” he told a news conference.
He said army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had taken up the issue with Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The original sentence had already shocked the military, which has ruled Pakistan for about half the country’s history. The army accused the court of ignoring legal processes and defended Musharraf’s patriotism.
Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan has said Musharraf wasn’t given a fair trial, taking the army line.
Tensions between the military and the judiciary rose after the Supreme Court struck down a three-year extension of service given by the government to army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Musharraf, who was tried and sentenced in absentia, said in Dubai the charges against him were politically motivated.
Musharraf seized power in a coup in 1999 and later ruled as president.
In November 2007, Musharraf suspended the constitution and imposed emergency rule, prompting protests. He resigned in 2008 to avoid the threat of impeachment.
When Nawaz Sharif, whom Musharraf deposed in 1999, was re-elected prime minister in 2013, he initiated a treason trial against Musharraf and in 2014 he was charged with high treason.
“This case was taken up only due to a personal vendetta by some people against me,” Musharraf said in a video statement from his hospital bed in Dubai.
Musharraf traveled to Dubai after a travel ban was lifted in 2016 and he has refused to appear before the court, despite multiple orders.
Reporting by Asif Shahzad, Writing by Rupam Jain, Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Nick Macfie
Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-law-musharraf/pakistan-court-adds-grisly-hang-for-three-days-rider-to-musharraf-death-sentence-idUSKBN1YN0HK
Lisa Chow contributed reporting.
“The Daily” is made by Theo Balcomb, Andy Mills, Lisa Tobin, Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Annie Brown, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Larissa Anderson, Wendy Dorr, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Alexandra Leigh Young, Jonathan Wolfe, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, Adizah Eghan, Kelly Prime, Julia Longoria, Sindhu Gnanasambandan, Jazmín Aguilera, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Austin Mitchell, Sayre Quevedo, Monika Evstatieva, Neena Pathak and Dave Shaw. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Mikayla Bouchard, Stella Tan, Julia Simon and Lauren Jackson.
Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/19/podcasts/the-daily/impeachment-trump-democrats.html
Here’s what you need to know to understand the impeachment of President Trump.
What’s happening now: Trump is now the third U.S. president to be impeached, after the House of Representatives adopted both articles of impeachment against him.
What happens next: Impeachment does not mean that the president has been removed from office. The Senate must hold a trial to make that determination. A trial is expected to take place in January. Here’s more on what happens next.
How we got here: A whistleblower complaint led Pelosi to announce the beginning of an official impeachment inquiry on Sept. 24. Closed-door hearings and subpoenaed documents related to the president’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky followed. After two weeks of public hearings in November, the House Intelligence Committee wrote a report that was sent to the House Judiciary Committee, which held its own hearings. Pelosi and House Democrats announced the articles of impeachment against Trump on Dec. 10. The Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment against Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Stay informed: Read the latest reporting and analysis on impeachment here.
Listen: Follow The Post’s coverage with daily updates from across our podcasts.
Want to understand impeachment better? Sign up for the 5-Minute Fix to get a guide in your inbox every weekday. Have questions? Submit them here, and they may be answered in the newsletter.
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Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/18/politics/house-impeachment-vote/index.html
“We look forward to the opportunity to further demonstrate that Congress made the individual mandate the centerpiece of Obamacare and the rest of the law cannot stand without it,” he said in a statement.
The Trump administration has yet to respond to the ruling. It took the highly unusual step of refusing to defend the law after the case was brought against the government early last year and sided with the plaintiffs — at first only partially, but after the lower court ruling invalidated the law, entirely.
That left the 21 intervening states, all with Democratic attorneys general, to appeal the lawsuit, joined by the House of Representatives after Democrats won control last fall. They maintained that the individual mandate remained constitutional, but even if the courts disagreed, they said, the rest of the law could remain.
Although the law has significantly reduced the ranks of the uninsured, it has not lived up to its promise for some groups who were supposed to benefit, particularly middle-class people who don’t get insurance through a job, earn too much to qualify for the premium subsidies the law provides and often struggle to afford coverage.
For now, the law stands and the government continues to enforce it. The Trump administration did not object and said it would continue to enforce the law until all appeals were exhausted.
Health care is playing a pivotal role in the Democratic presidential primary race, with some candidates calling for improving the Affordable Care Act, others aiming to replace it with a government-run system, but all planning to criticize Mr. Trump for supporting the lawsuit should they win their party’s nomination.
Abbe R. Gluck, a health care expert at Yale Law School who supports the health law, said she was heartened that the appeals panel “recognized some of the glaring weaknesses in the lower court opinion,” but frustrated that the law’s future would remain uncertain, and for now, in the hands of a lower-court judge who already tried to overturn it.
Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/18/health/obamacare-mandate.html
Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert joins Tucker Carlson to sound off on Nadler’s claim that he is a tool of Russia. #Tucker #FoxNews
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Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/18/politics/trump-rally-john-dingell-hell/index.html
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck GrassleyCharles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleySenate Democrats press GOP chairmen over Ukraine allegations Spending bill would extend expired tax breaks Grassley urges White House to help farmers in year-end tax talks MORE (Iowa) on Wednesday accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellTrump’s GOP allies huddle at White House on eve of impeachment vote Schumer says he’ll ask for votes on calling Mulvaney, Bolton to testify Schumer on Trump’s Pelosi letter: ‘He’s obviously under a great deal of duress’ MORE (Ky.) of blocking progress on his bill to lower drug prices, escalating tensions between two powerful GOP senators.
Asked why more Republican senators have not signed on to his bill to lower drug prices, Grassley told reporters, “Because McConnell’s asked them not to.”
“Leadership doesn’t want it to come up,” he added.
Grassley has been pushing a bill for months that he negotiated with Sen. Ron WydenRonald (Ron) Lee WydenSenate Democrats press GOP chairmen over Ukraine allegations Hillicon Valley: Election security funding gets mixed response | Facebook tests community fact checking | Lawmakers look to block Chinese pick for IP organization | Secret court judge rebukes FBI over surveillance warrants New federal funds for election security garner mixed reactions on Capitol Hill MORE (Ore.), the top Democrat on his committee. But many Republican senators, not just McConnell, have objected to a provision in the bill that would limit Medicare drug price hikes to the rate of inflation, something many Republicans view as a “price control.”
But President TrumpDonald John TrumpWhite House counsel didn’t take lead on Trump letter to Pelosi: reports Trump endorses Riggleman in Virginia House race Lisa Page responds to ‘vile’ Trump attacks: ‘Being quiet isn’t making this go away’ MORE, who says lowering drug prices is a priority for him, supports the Grassley-Wyden bill.
Grassley on Wednesday accused McConnell of hindering Trump’s policy priorities.
“The president wants it,” Grassley said. “Senate majority leaders historically, if you’ve got the president of the same party, tend to be spokesmen for the administration, not against the administration.”
A McConnell spokesman did not directly respond when asked about Grassley’s comments but pointed to his comments to Politico in September, at which time he said the Senate’s path forward is still “under discussion” and the chamber is still “looking at doing something on drug pricing.”
Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiWhite House counsel didn’t take lead on Trump letter to Pelosi: reports House panel sets guidelines for historic impeachment vote Protesters rally against Trump in multiple cities on eve of impeachment vote MORE (D-Calif.) is pushing for a drug pricing package ahead of a May 22 deadline for renewing certain expiring health programs, which could provide an opening for the Grassley bill, but any agreement in an election year will be even tougher.
The Hill reported earlier this month that McConnell has said he thinks Grassley’s bill is bad policy. McConnell is also loath to bring up bills that split GOP senators.
Grassley’s comments on Wednesday, though, escalate his public disagreement with the leader of his party in the Senate.
Grassley said he has not spoken directly with McConnell about the bill, noting he is still working to get more Republican co-sponsors.
He also said he hoped Trump himself would put pressure on the Senate to pass the bill, not just the White House advisers who have mostly been leading the push so far.
“We have a White House doing everything the White House can do about this issue except for the president speaking up about it,” Grassley said.
Grassley predicted more GOP senators would back the bill early next year when they need a popular issue such as lowering drug prices to run on in the election.
But he said he did not think Republicans would lose the Senate even if his bill does not pass.
“Don’t tell McConnell that,” he added.
Source Article from https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/475183-grassley-accuses-mcconnell-of-blocking-progress-on-drug-pricing-bill
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Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/18/politics/house-articles-impeachment-vote/index.html
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Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/18/politics/obamacare-appeal-ruling/index.html
The night before, he had unloaded on Democrats in an irate and rambling letter to Ms. Pelosi, accusing them of conducting an “illegal, partisan attempted coup.” It was the written equivalent of one of his raucous, arena-style campaign rallies, and on Wednesday around the same time as the House was scheduled to vote, Mr. Trump was expected to take the stage for just such an event in Battle Creek, Mich.
In the House chamber, Democrats rose, one by one, to argue forcefully for the president’s impeachment, asserting that Mr. Trump’s actions had put at risk the integrity of the 2020 election and the country itself.
Drawing on testimony and documentary evidence gathered during a two-month inquiry by the House Intelligence Committee, Democrats accused Mr. Trump of misusing the power of his office when he pressured Ukraine’s president to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and other Democrats, while holding back nearly $400 million in military assistance the country badly needed and a White House meeting for its president.
When lawmakers found out about the scheme and sought to investigate, the president ordered his administration to defy every request from Congress, leading to what Democrats charged was a violation of the separation of powers and a de facto assertion by Mr. Trump that he was above the law.
Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/18/us/politics/trump-impeached.html
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Tuesday angrily denounced the looming House votes to impeach him as a “Star Chamber of partisan persecution” by Democrats, describing the effort to remove him from office as an “attempted coup” that would come back to haunt them at the ballot box next year.
On the eve of the historic votes, Democrats reached a critical threshold, gathering majority support to impeach Mr. Trump, as the president raged against the proceedings. In an irate and rambling six-page letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Mr. Trump portrayed himself as the victim of enemies determined to destroy his presidency with false accusations.
“This is nothing more than an illegal, partisan attempted coup that will, based on recent sentiment, badly fail at the voting booth,” Mr. Trump declared, describing a process enshrined in the Constitution as an attempted government overthrow.
“History will judge you harshly as you proceed with this impeachment charade,” he wrote.
In a missive full of unproven charges, hyperbole and long-simmering grievances against his own government — at one point, he referred to leaders of the F.B.I. as “totally incompetent and corrupt” — Mr. Trump angrily disputed both of the impeachment charges: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/us/politics/trump-impeachment.html