President Trump on Tuesday said he and Vice President Mike Pence are “in total agreement” that the vice president “has the power to act” and block the certification of the 2020 presidential election results on Wednesday.  

The president’s comments came after The New York Times on Tuesday reported that Pence, during a conversation with Trump, told him that he had no power to block the certification of the election results during the joint session of Congress on Wednesday. 

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While the U.S. House of Representatives has seen a steady increase in members committed to objecting to states’ election results, Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and 11 others have been criticized by fellow GOP members in the higher chamber.

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Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/live-updates-pence-has-power-to-block-certification-trump-says

HONG KONG—Police arrested more than 50 pro-democracy figures they accused of plotting to paralyze the Hong Kong government through the city’s legislature, targeting much of the opposition camp’s leadership in the biggest sweep using a national security law since it was imposed by China six months ago.

Those detained on suspicion of subversion early Wednesday included most of the pro-democracy politicians who had sought to run for the city’s aborted legislative council elections last year, as well as other high-profile activists and academics. An American lawyer was also taken away by police. The allegations related to primaries held by the opposition bloc in July to select candidates as part of an effort to win a majority in the lawmaking body and so be able to block government policies.

Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security, John Lee, on Wednesday said those involved had plotted a scheme intending to paralyze the Hong Kong government. He said they had wanted to veto the government’s budget and oust the chief executive by obtaining 35 or more seats in the legislature, adding it was “an organized plan that would plunge Hong Kong into an abyss.” Police made 53 arrests, marking a dramatic escalation in efforts to muzzle opposition in the global financial center, which was racked by monthslong antigovernment street protests in 2019.

“It’s a blatant attempt to intimidate pro-democracy activists and warn people not to engage in politics and collaboration,” said Emily Lau, who served seven terms as a legislator and is a former chairperson of the city’s Democratic Party.

Police said in a briefing that six were arrested on suspicion of organizing the subversion attempt, citing the words of legal academic Benny Tai, who had a column published on Apple Daily in April last year about the 35-plus campaign. They said officers searched 72 locations with warrants, and four media companies were given a court order to provide materials related to the investigation.

Source Article from https://www.wsj.com/articles/hong-kong-police-arrest-dozens-of-opposition-politicians-over-alleged-subversion-11609895177

The Rev. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, speaks at a drive-in rally on Monday in Riverdale, Ga.

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The Rev. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, speaks at a drive-in rally on Monday in Riverdale, Ga.

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Updated at 2:05 a.m. ET

Democrat Raphael Warnock has edged out Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler in a closely watched runoff election.

“Tonight, we proved that with hope, hard work, and the people by our side, anything is possible,” he told supporters in a virtual speech.

The Associated Press has also called the race for Warnock, who appeared to have beaten his opponent by just a few tens of thousands of votes.

Loeffler has not conceded, saying overnight, “We have a path to victory, and we’re staying on it.”

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If fellow Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff wins his runoff race, their party will assume control of the Senate.

An Ossoff defeat of Republican David Perdue would give Democrats an even 50-50 Senate split, but Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would have the power to break ties for Democrats.

Warnock, who is 51 years old, would become the state’s first Black senator and the first Black Democratic senator from the South.

Both parties had invested significant resources in Georgia in pursuit of Senate control. On Monday, President-elect Joe Biden campaigned in the state in support of Warnock and Ossoff, and Harris campaigned there on Sunday.

Between Nov. 4, 2020, and Tuesday, almost $500 million was spent on advertising for the two races, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.

Warnock, a reverend at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, is part of a cohort of younger, more diverse members of Congress elected in the 2020 cycle.

Both Democrats and Republicans have faced criticisms for party leadership that doesn’t more accurately reflect the makeup of the country.

Loeffler was appointed to the Senate by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in late 2019 to fill the seat left empty by Johnny Isakson’s resignation.

In the runoff, Loeffler stressed her vocal support of President Trump. Trump narrowly lost Georgia in November by fewer than 12,000 votes.

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2021/01/06/952429877/democrat-raphael-warnock-wins-georgia-runoff

NEW YORK (AP) — The Republican Party is facing a defining moment.

The nearly 167-year-old party is divided over the typically mundane congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. The process, which will unfold Wednesday on Capitol Hill, is opening a schism between those wanting to honor democratic norms and those staying in lockstep with President Donald Trump out of hopes of avoiding his wrath and inheriting his supporters.

The final outcome is not in doubt: The results will eventually be certified for Biden, who will be sworn in as the nation’s 46th president two weeks later. But what comes next for the Republican Party is anything but clear.

It is party engulfed in a civil war, a split caused by degrees of loyalty to Trump. At stake: whether the party will maintain its fealty to Trump even after he leaves office and the GOP turns its eyes toward regaining the White House in 2024.

“This is the moment for Republicans to choose between deciding to break themselves free from this maniacal hold Trump has had on them or seal themselves inside the tomb he has built for them,” said Michael Steele, former head of the Republican Party. “The first shot out of the 2024 cannon will be fired. And they will either turn the cannon on themselves or move forward without the shackles of Trumpism around their ankles?”

The party’s factions have emerged in stark relief in recent days. More than 100 members of the House of Representatives, long held in Trump’s sway, have said they would object Wednesday to Biden’s victory.

And now more than a dozen senators have done the same, defying the explicit wishes of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ted Cruz of Texas, two 2024 presidential hopefuls, are at the forefront of the movement, looking to curry favor with a president who remains wildly popular within his own party.

But more than a dozen Senate Republicans have pushed back. Though nearly all couch their refusal in praise of the president, they have made clear that they would not go along with his attempts to overturn the election and remain in power.

“As I read the Constitution, there is no constitutionally viable means for the Congress to overturn an election wherein the states have certified and sent their Electors,” Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, another potential presidential contender, said in a statement.

Trump’s hold over his adopted party has been all but absolute in his time in office. He has defied GOP orthodoxy, shattered the norms of the presidency and publicly attacked Republicans who dared cross him.

But, with few outliers, his party has remained lockstep behind him, despite his impeachment and botched management of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 350,000 Americans. Now, a swath of Republicans are going along with his baseless belief that the election was rigged, with even some of those elected in November claiming that the voting was fraudulent.

There was no widespread fraud in the election, which a range of election officials across the country, as well as Trump’s former attorney general, William Barr, have confirmed.

Republican governors in Arizona and Georgia, key battleground states crucial to Biden’s victory, have vouched for the integrity of the elections in their states. Nearly all the legal challenges from Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges, including two tossed by the Supreme Court, where three Trump-nominated justices preside.

Still, clear lanes are emerging within the GOP as the congressional certification emerges as an inflection point.

While loyalists including Cruz and Hawley are siding with Trump, more moderate Republicans such as Sens. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Mitt Romney of Utah reject the effort to oppose certification. And conservatives like Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas remain vociferous in their support of the president, but say they will not defy the Constitution.

The fracture, some Republicans fear, could damage the party’s chances in elections to come.

“It’s healthy when a party has disagreements over what we think is best for our constituents or how to win an election. But we are dividing into two camps that have nothing to do with policy,” said Mike DuHaime, senior advisor on former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s 2016 presidential campaign. “The two camps are divided as to whether we serve the whims of one person. It’s the ‘Trump Affection Party.’”

The unusual challenge to the presidential election, on a scale unseen since the aftermath of the Civil War, clouded the opening of the new Congress and is set to consume its first days.

Vice President Mike Pence will be closely watched as he presides over the session. Despite serving the president loyally, he has been under growing pressure from Trump and others to change the result. But Pence has a ceremonial role that does not give him the power to affect the outcome.

With mounting desperation, Trump declared at a campaign rally in Georgia on Monday that he would “fight like hell” to hold on to the presidency and he appealed to Republican lawmakers to reverse his election loss. But he also threw down a warning.

Trump pledged that in 2022 he would support primary challenges to the state’s Republican governor and secretary of state, both of whom have refused to support his efforts to overturn the election results in Georgia. He also recently vowed to back an effort to unseat Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, who refused to go along with the Electoral College objections, and has told aides that he may target others who defy him on Wednesday.

Few Republicans expect Trump to go quietly back to private life after he leaves the White House. The president has held discussions about running again in 2024 and, even if he opts against a campaign, has signaled he wants to play kingmaker and shape GOP politics in the years ahead.

If he does, the Republican Party could continue to shape itself in his image.

“I believe he will have as much hold over the party as he wants to,” said Alice Stewart, a Republican strategist who advised Cruz’s 2016 campaign. “He still has the heart and support of his base. If he wants to keep being a player for himself or those carrying his message, he will certainly be powerful and the party will have to react.”

___

Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire

Source Article from https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-politics-electoral-college-2c76b4bc95e871b2639a6694b77f75d9

Cleta Mitchell, a former partner at Foley and Lardner, announced her resignation from the firm following reports of her involvement in a call where President Trump pressured Georgia officials to reverse the state’s election results.

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Cleta Mitchell, a former partner at Foley and Lardner, announced her resignation from the firm following reports of her involvement in a call where President Trump pressured Georgia officials to reverse the state’s election results.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Republican attorney Cleta Mitchell resigned from her law firm Tuesday after advising President Trump on a phone call with Georgia state officials during which he urged them to find evidence that could overturn the state’s November election results.

Mitchell resigned her partnership from the Washington, D.C., office of Foley & Lardner following criticism of her involvement in the Jan. 2 phone call between Trump and Georgia officials.

In a statement issued earlier this week, the law firm said it was “concerned” by Mitchell’s participation in the call between the president and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and other state officials, which some legal experts have suggested may have violated state and federal law. During the call, Trump urged the officials to “find” more than 11,000 ballots from the Nov. 3 presidential election — enough to swing the state in his favor — and continued to push the debunked notion that the election results were fraudulent.

Foley & Lardner said in its statement Monday that the firm had a policy not to represent any party in connection with matters related to elections.

“Our policy did allow our attorneys to participate in observing election recounts and similar actions on a voluntary basis in their individual capacity as private citizens so long as they did not act as legal advisers,” it said.

After The Washington Post released audio from the call earlier this week, the firm said that it was “working to understand” Mitchell’s role in the call.

Mitchell said in an email to clients and friends that she was leaving Foley & Lardner and blamed her departure on “a massive pressure campaign in the last several days mounted by leftist groups via social media and other means against me, my law firm and clients of the law firm,” according to The New York Times.

In the email, she vowed to “redouble” her efforts on “election integrity.”

Her profile on the Foley & Lardner’s website had already been deleted by Tuesday night.

Mitchell was an active participant during the Saturday call with Trump. She complained to Raffensperger that she asked for voting records from his office, but hadn’t received them. She also claimed that more than 4,000 people voted in Georgia, despite having moved out of the state. On the call, Raffensperger’s general counsel, Ryan Germany, said that data was incorrect.

He added that, “Every one we’ve been through are people that lived in Georgia, moved to a different state, but then moved back to Georgia legitimately,” according to transcripts of the call.

Mitchell, 70, served as a Democratic representative in the Oklahoma House in the 1970s and 1980s. In recent years, however, she has represented Republican candidates and causes, according to Politico.

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2021/01/06/953823383/attorney-on-call-with-trump-and-georgia-officials-resigns-from-law-firm

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis took the high road Tuesday night in his response to CNN host Brianna Keilar, who called him “an ass” for scolding a reporter from the same network after she appeared to blame him for coronavirus vaccine distribution issues at local hospitals.

“You know what, I don’t seek validation by the media,” DeSantis told “Tucker Carlson Tonight“. “What I seek is supporting the citizens of my state, and I can’t tell you, as this pandemic has worn on, the number of times someone has come up to me with tears in their eyes saying, ‘If it wasn’t for you, my kid would not be in school and I would not have my job.’

“That is why I’m in this job,” he added.

Keilar’s attack on the governor was prompted by a testy exchange between DeSantis and CNN reporter Rosa Flores during a Monday press conference after Flores shouted: “Governor, what has gone wrong with the rollout of the vaccine that we’ve seen phone lines jammed, websites crashing?”

CNN HOST ATTACKS GOV. DESANTIS FOR SCOLDING REPORTER

DeSantis responded that there is “a lot of demand,” as Flores continued to speak over him.  

“Excuse me, excuse me, you just said, ‘What has gone wrong?’ so I’m answering the question,” DeSantis interjected.

“If I could complete the question, though,” Flores began.

“So you’re going to give a speech or are you going to ask a question?” DeSantis shot back. “You asked a question and I’m going to answer it.” 

CNN’S JIM ACOSTA ROASTED FOR SAYING COVERING TRUMP WAS ‘NONSTOP NATIONAL EMERGENCY,’ ‘MIGHT MERIT HAZARD PAY’

Flores then accused DeSantis of not having a plan to ensure senior citizens don’t have to wait in long lines for the vaccine.

DeSantis criticized the CNN reporter for not researching the issues raised in her question. He said that the coronavirus vaccine was distributed to hospitals and the hospitals decide how to dispense it.

DeSantis told Carlson Tuesday that he wears the media scrutiny as a “badge of honor,” calling it an indication of his state’s success in safely reopening schools and businesses while maintaining a low  COVID-19 mortality rate statewide.

GOV. RON DESANTIS SCOLDS CNN REPORTER AFTER SNARKY QUESTION ABOUT CORONAVIRUS VACCINE ROLLOUT

“I think it’s very clear some of these networks obviously, they have agendas,” he said. “They are not trying to report facts anymore. It’s all about spinning whatever narratives they think can get ratings and that’s just the reality of the situation, so it doesn’t impact me.”

The governor pledged to “continue keeping our eye on the ball and working as hard as we can to deliver results.”

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Carlson said he believes the left-leaning media has taken a renewed interest in the governor because “They think you’re going to be the Republican nominee. That’s why they’re attacking you,” he said.

DeSantis did not directly address Carlson’s comment but did confirm that he “will be the governor nominee in 2022 here in Florida,” adding that he “look[s] forward to running that race.”
 

Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/media/desantis-cnn-reporter-coronavirus-florida

Sterling told Walker that responsibility for either Loeffler or Perdue losing would “fall squarely on the shoulders of President Trump and his actions since Nov. 3.”

“When you tell people, your vote doesn’t count and has been stolen, and people start to believe that, then you go to the two senators and ask the secretary of state to resign and trigger a civil war in the Republican Party when we need to unite, all of that stems with his decision-making since the Nov. 3 election,” Sterling said.

Sterling, a Republican, has frequently urged Trump and his allies to accept the results of the election, even as he at times acknowledged that he too would have preferred a Republican victory.

Trump’s challenges to the 2020 election results have led to a cleavage within the Republican Party regarding whether to support the president’s futile efforts or to respect the results of the race. Dozens of Republican senators and members of the House announced their intention to challenge the Electoral College votes when Congress meets to certify the results Wednesday. But several other GOP members have disavowed the maneuver as undemocratic and a waste of time.

Both Loeffler and Perdue have remained staunchly at the president’s side, with Loeffler announcing during a campaign rally Monday that she will join her colleagues in challenging the Electoral College results.

Sterling has been one of the state’s most public election officials, often going before reporters to debunk disinformation about the state’s voting procedures. His and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s refusal to entertain Trump’s efforts to reverse the election has made them targets of the president’s ire in the past months, with Trump even threatening to campaign against Raffensperger in 2022 as retribution.

Sterling went before reporters last month to rigorously condemn the president’s personal attacks against Georgia election officials in particular, and to lambaste Loeffler and Perdue for supporting Trump’s election misinformation.

“People don’t understand elections. Elected officials don’t understand elections. Even people who are in elections for a long time don’t know all the pieces and parts. So it’s easy to exploit people’s ignorance on those fronts. It did turn into a giant game of Whac-A-Mole,” Sterling said Tuesday. “It’s continuing to come and we kept on knocking it down and [Trump] just keeps on persisting at making these false claims.”

Source Article from https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/05/gabriel-sterling-blames-trump-455279

Prosecutors in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday decided not to file criminal charges against police officers in the August shooting of Jacob Blake.

The shooting of Blake prompted NBA players to protest by not playing games from Aug. 26 to 28. More than 100 NBA employees walked out in solidarity with the players on Aug. 28. The WNBA postponed six games on Aug. 26 and 27. There also were 14 Major League Baseball games postponed when players refused to take the field, including an Aug. 26 game involving the Milwaukee Brewers.

Blake, who is Black, was shot seven times by white Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey on Aug. 23. Blake was left paralyzed. The shooting, which was captured on video, prompted large protests in Kenosha, with more than 250 people arrested during several days of unrest.

The other two police officers at the scene — Brittany Meronek and Vincent Arenas — also will not face charges, according to Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley.

Graveley said Tuesday he “would have to disprove the clear expression of these officers that they had to fire a weapon to defend themselves.”

“I do not believe the state … would be able to prove that the privilege of self-defense is not available,” added Graveley, who said he had informed Blake of the decision not to file charges.

Graveley said it is “incontrovertible” that Blake was armed with a “razor blade-type knife” when he was shot. Graveley said Blake had admitted to possessing the knife, but the prosecutor has no plans to charge him.

Ben Crump, an attorney for Blake’s family, expressed disappointment with the decision not to charge the police officers, saying it “further destroys trust in our justice system” and sends a message that it is OK for police to abuse their power. Crump said he will continue to move forward with a lawsuit and fight for systemic change in policing.

“We feel this decision failed not only Jacob and his family, but the community that protested and demanded justice,” Crump and his co-counsel said in a statement, adding: “We urge Americans to continue to raise their voices and demand change in peaceful and positive ways during this emotional time.”

The Milwaukee Bucks, whose refusal to take the court for a game against the Orlando Magic on Aug. 26 was the beginning of a three-day halt in the NBA while players discussed a response to the shooting, issued a statement Tuesday night.

“The Bucks organization remains firmly against excessive use of force by law enforcement,” the team said. “This past year shed light on the ongoing racial injustices facing our African American and other marginalized communities. Reoccurring instances of excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging the Black community must stop. We will continue to work to enact policy change so these incidents no longer exist. As an organization, we remain strongly committed to address issues of social injustice and anti-racism and to make meaningful change for African Americans and all marginalized members of our community.”

LeBron James, who was a leading voice from inside the NBA’s Florida bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort in August, on Tuesday responded to a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — “An unjust law is no law at all” — that was posted on Twitter by Common.

Added James: “AT ALL!!!”

The shooting occurred as officers were responding to a call from a woman who reported her boyfriend was not supposed to be around. Cellphone video shows Blake walking to the driver-side door of an SUV as officers follow with guns drawn, shouting. As Blake opens the door and leans into the SUV, Sheskey grabs Blake’s shirt from behind and opens fire. Sheskey’s attorney, Brendan Matthews, said Sheskey fired because Blake started turning toward the officer while holding a knife.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30657898/kenosha-police-officers-face-charges-jacob-blake-shooting

Father Michael Pfleger, the longtime pastor at St. Sabina Church and one of the most prominent priests in Chicago, has been removed from the Auburn Gresham parish following revelations of a decades-old sexual abuse allegation against a minor.

Cardinal Blase Cupich announced “the difficult news” in a letter to the St. Sabina community Tuesday, saying he has “asked Father Pfleger to step aside from ministry following receipt by the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office for Child Abuse Investigations and Review of an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor more than 40 years ago.”

Cupich said Pfleger agreed to his request and will live away from the parish during the archdiocese’s investigation. The allegation has also been reported to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the Cook County state’s attorney’s office, Cupich said.

Pfleger, 71, did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday evening.

A group of parishioners released a statement on the church’s website, saying, in part: “We, the Cabinet of the Faith Community of St. Sabina, believes that these accusations are unfounded and we boldly stand behind the integrity, passion, work and ministry of our Sr. Pastor, Rev. Michael Pfleger.”

While pledging to cooperate with the archdiocese, the group said, “we believe that our Sr. Pastor will be fully exonerated from all accusations, and we stand with him during this process as he has stood with victims of injustice and will continue to uplift his work and the life he has committed to serving others. We will fight for the legacy of work done by Rev. Michael Pfleger!”

The parishioners’ statement was posted on Pfleger’s Facebook page as well, with an outpouring of support for him in the comments.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who has marched and appeared with Pfleger at events for decades, said late Tuesday he was in prayer after hearing the allegations.

“I’m in shock,” Jackson said.

Jackson said he hadn’t spoken to Pfleger but described him as a civil rights leader and transformer.

Wendy Wade, who has been a parishioner at St. Sabina for 35 years, stopped outside the church to say a quick prayer Tuesday night. She said she was “appalled” by the allegations and refused to believe them, saying this is the first she’s heard of any such behavior.

“I don’t believe it in my heart and soul that he did this,” Wade said. “He’s always been giving kindness to the community, not just the church but the entire community.”

Filmmaker Bob Hercules followed Pfleger for four years while producing the documentary, “Radical Disciple: The Story of Father Pfleger.”

During his time on the film, Hercules said he never heard rumors or allegations of misconduct. “I only saw a man who was deeply committed to his parish, parishioners and the community,” Hercules said.

Pfleger has served as pastor at St. Sabina Church since 1981. In the decades since his appointment, he has become one of Chicago’s most well-known voices against gun violence, leading annual “peace marches” that routinely draw hundreds of people, including Chance the Rapper and survivors of the Parkland school shooting.

His latest march happened New Year’s Eve, when Pfleger led about 150 people down Michigan Avenue to plead for city leaders to recognize the “virus of violence.”

Over the years, Pfleger has clashed with cardinals and politicians but had managed to stay at St. Sabina, one of the largest African American churches in the city, for decades despite parish priests typically serving one or two six-year terms before being rotated to other assignments. Cardinal Francis George suspended Pfleger briefly in 2008 after the priest mocked Hillary Clinton from the pulpit as she ran against Pfleger’s friend, Barack Obama. Pfleger apologized and soon was back at work.

Pfleger is just the latest high-profile Chicago cleric to face abuse allegations since Cupich arrived to lead the local branch of the Catholic Church in 2014.

The Rev. John Smyth, who ran the Maryville Academy for abused and neglected kids for decades, faced accusations before he died in 2019 at age 84.

The Rev. George Clements — who gained attention decades ago for his civil rights activism, his stewardship of Holy Angels Parish on the South Side and adopting a son in the 1980s —was also accused of abuse in recent years and died in 2019 at 87.

In both instances, the allegations were never proven and involved alleged misconduct from years earlier that was reported only recently.

As with Clements, Pfleger also became a father. According to his official biography, in 1981 he “became the proud adoptive father of an 8-year-old son, Lamar. In 1992, he also became the adoptive father of Beronti. In 1997, he became a foster father to Jarvis Franklin, who was tragically killed as a result of gang crossfire, May 30, 1998.”

Father Thulani Magwaza will take over the administration of St. Sabina Church during the investigation.

Contributing: Maudlyne Ihejirika

Father Michael Pfleger poses for a portrait inside St. Sabina in 2016.
Max Herman/ For the Sun-Times

Source Article from https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/1/5/22215973/father-michael-pfleger-removed-st-sabina-sexual-abuse-allegation

“It very much does look like the opening salvo of a Republican presidential primary campaign, at least a very early litmus test of where potential candidates are on a very important question to Republican voters as we sit here today,” said Lanhee Chen, a top adviser on Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.

Cotton’s late Sunday announcement that he wouldn’t be objecting to the Electoral College came as a surprise to many in the party. The Arkansas senator has established himself as a staunch Trump ally, speaking at his convention and even running TV ads this past year bolstering the president. But Cotton argued in his statement that “the Founders entrusted our elections chiefly to the states — not Congress.”

Hawley, meanwhile, was the first senator out of the gate to announce that he’d oppose the Electoral College certification. In doing so, he got ahead of Cruz, who declared his plans a few days later. The high-profile legislative maneuver, some Republicans note, bears some resemblance to Cruz’s 2013 push to “defund Obamacare,” which forced a government shutdown (and failed to end Obamacare) but helped Cruz position himself as a staunch opponent of the health care law ahead of the 2016 GOP primary contest.

Senior Republicans say either approach presents risks.

The risk for Cotton is alienating the president’s legions of supporters, many of whom remain convinced the election was stolen. Trump advisers privately said they were miffed by Cotton’s move, and Trump retaliated with a Monday tweet warning the senator that Republicans “NEVER FORGET!”

“Primary voters are always looking for fighters. And they have long felt that there was voter fraud in elections,” said former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who faced off against Trump in the 2016 GOP nomination contest. “So I do think that it will have an impact in future primaries.”

Hawley, meanwhile, has antagonized Republican leaders who pleaded with senators not to take the inevitably doomed step of trying to subvert the election. Republicans were rankled last week when Hawley skipped out on a Senate GOP conference call, which Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had attempted to use to get Hawley to explain his plans.

Former Sen. John Danforth, a Missouri political fixture who helped Hawley secure the Republican nomination in the 2018 Senate race, delivered a stinging rebuke of his protégé on Monday. “Lending credence to Trump’s false claim that the election was stolen is a highly destructive attack on our constitutional government,” Danforth declared in a statement.

Source Article from https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/05/trump-electoral-college-2024-454909

Prosecutors in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday decided not to file criminal charges against police officers in the shooting of Jacob Blake last August.

The shooting of Blake prompted NBA players to protest by not playing games on Aug. 26-28. More than 100 NBA employees walked out in solidarity with the players on Aug. 28. The WNBA postponed six games on Aug. 26 and 27. There were also 14 Major League Baseball games that were postponed when players refused to take the field, including an Aug. 26 game involving the Milwaukee Brewers.

Blake, who is Black, was shot seven times by white Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey on Aug. 23. Blake was left paralyzed. The shooting, which was captured on video, prompted large protests in Kenosha, with more than 250 arrested during several days of unrest.

The other two police officers at the scene — Brittany Meronek and Vincent Arenas — also will not face charges, Graveley said.

Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley on Tuesday said he “would have to disprove the clear expression of these officers that they had to fire a weapon to defend themselves.”

Added Graveley, who said he had informed Blake of the decision not to file charges: “I do not believe the state … would be able to prove that the privilege of self-defense is not available.”

Graveley said it is “incontrovertible” that Blake was armed with a “razor blade-type knife” when he was shot. Graveley said Blake had admitted to possessing the knife but the prosecutor has no plans to charge him.

The officers were responding to a call from a woman who reported her boyfriend was not supposed to be around. Cellphone video shows Blake walking to the driver-side door of an SUV as officers follow with guns drawn, shouting. As Blake opens the door and leans into the SUV, Sheskey grabs his shirt from behind and opens fire.

The Kenosha police union said at the time that Blake was armed with a knife. Sheskey’s attorney, Brendan Matthews, said Sheskey fired because Blake started turning toward the office while holding a knife.

Ben Crump, an attorney for Blake’s family, expressed disappointment with the decision, saying it “further destroys trust in our justice system” and sends a message that it is OK for police to abuse their power. He said he will continue to move forward with a lawsuit and fight for systemic change in policing.

“We feel this decision failed not only Jacob and his family, but the community that protested and demanded justice,” Crump and his co-counsel said in a statement, adding: “We urge Americans to continue to raise their voices and demand change in peaceful and positive ways during this emotional time.”

LeBron James, who was a leading voice from inside the NBA’s bubble at the Walt Disney World resort in August, on Tuesday responded to a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — “An unjust law is no law at all” — that was posted on Twitter by Common.

Added James: “AT ALL!!!”

As NBA players inside the bubble in August discussed a protest in response to the shooting, Doc Rivers, then coach of the LA Clippers, said: “We keep loving this country, and this country does not love us back.”

On Aug. 26, the Milwaukee Bucks refused to take the court for a game against Orlando. The NBA postponed three games that night, and didn’t play again for three days while players discussed a response.

Bucks players Sterling Brown and George Hill read a statement the night of the first postponements:

“The past four months have shed a light on the ongoing racial injustices facing our African American communities. Citizens around the country have used their voices and platforms to speak out against these wrongdoings,” the statement said in part.

“Over the last few days in our home state of Wisconsin, we’ve seen the horrendous video of Jacob Blake being shot in the back seven times by a police officer in Kenosha, and the additional shooting of protestors. Despite the overwhelming plea for change, there has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball.”

NBA teams returned to play on Aug. 29, with the Bucks closing out the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

“Trying to end racial injustice and end racism and make this world a better place is still more important than anything we did today,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30657898/kenosha-police-officers-face-charges-jacob-blake-shooting