Former DOJ official on House Democrats’ impeachment efforts: ‘They really don’t have the law on their side’

Former DOJ official Ian Prior argues Trump’s statements prior to the Capitol riot were not ‘intentionally inciting insurrection or violence.’

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  • Experts say it's too late for a seamless transfer of power from Trump to Biden

    Due to events that have transpired in recent weeks, experts familiar with the transition process have abandoned hope that this one will get less rocky.

  • Why Democrats won in Georgia

    A massive voter drive and GOP-infighting helped Democrats win two of the most important Senate races in modern American history.

  • Pope, in new decree, allows more roles for women in Church

    Pope Francis, in another step towards greater equality for women in the Roman Catholic Church, on Monday changed its law to allow them to serve as readers at liturgies, altar servers and distributors of communion. But the Vatican stressed that the roles were "essentially distinct from the ordained ministry", and were not an automatic precursor to women one day being allowed to be ordained priests. In the decree, called "Spiritus Domini" (The Spirit of the Lord), Francis said he had acted after theological reflection.

  • Oman sultan creates crown prince post, changes constitution

    Oman’s sultan announced a shake-up of the Gulf country’s constitution on Monday with changes that include the appointment of a crown prince for the first time and steps to boost government transparency, the state-run news agency reported. The move, one year after the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who pulled Oman into modernity and deftly navigated the region’s sectarian and political divides, comes as the government faces growing pressures at home. The constitutional amendments bring iconoclast Oman into closer conformity with other Gulf sheikhdoms and dispel fears of any destabilizing succession crisis in the future.

  • Here are all the Trump officials who have resigned since the Capitol riot

    Several members of the Trump administration have resigned in apparent protest following last week's deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol.

  • Biden reportedly 'frustrated' with his coronavirus team as advisers worry 100 million vaccinations goal won't be met

    President-elect Joe Biden has said he'll get "at least 100 million COVID vaccine shots into the arms of the American people" during his first 100 days. But before his term begins, some advisers are reportedly worried this promise will ultimately be broken.Biden has "grown frustrated with the team in charge of plotting his coronavirus response" as there is increasing concern among some of his advisers that the 100 million vaccinations in 100 days goal won't be met, Politico reported on Monday."While some Biden advisers insist it's possible to make good on the 100-million vow, others are privately worried that the federal response is already so chaotic that it will take a herculean effort to pull it off," according to the report.Biden reportedly confronted COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients and his deputy to tell them "their team was underperforming," Politico says. Transition officials blame a "lack of long-term planning" by the Trump administration, which didn't come close to meeting its goal of vaccinating 20 million Americans by the end of 2020, as the vaccine rollout got off to a far slower-than-expected start in the United States."They're inheriting a mess," former Obama administration acting Medicare and Medicaid chief Andy Slavitt told Politico. "I think they're uncovering how bad it is."Biden, Politico notes, has suggested that whether the 100 million vaccinations goal is reached will be dependent on further COVID-19 relief legislation, previously saying "if Congress provides" additional funding for state and local governments, "we'd be able to meet this incredible goal." But Politico writes that some in the transition are "questioning whether Biden's first big pandemic pledge placed too much confidence" in the Trump administration, and allies are warning transition officials about "the overriding political consequences of breaking one of Biden's first major promises." Read more at Politico.More stories from theweek.com Trump is reportedly 'gutted' about losing PGA Championship Trump, Pence meet for 1st time since Capitol riot What Mike Pence should learn from Judas

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  • Thousands of Yale and Harvard law school alumni and students petition for Cruz and Hawley to be disbarred

    Petition says senators ‘fundamentally unfit for membership of legal profession’

  • NYT Reporter Warns Conservative Writer Andy Ngo is a ‘Real Threat’, Should Be Censored on Twitter

    Sarah Jeong, the New York Times reporter who made headlines in 2018 for antagonizing white people, has branded conservative journalist Andy Ngo "dangerous" and called for his censorship on Twitter. In a tweet posted on Jan. 9, Jeong cited a thread from Donovan Farley, another journalist who claimed that Ngo repeatedly "willfully deceives his followers into a frenzy that results in death and rape threats" for journalists and "anyone else" supposedly targeted by his "scorn."

  • Lack of evidence that Trump’s speech incited violence will be a ‘challenge’ for Dem-led impeachment: Prior

    Former Department of Justice Deputy Director of Public Affairs Ian Prior reacted to the Democrats pursuing an impeachment of President Trump due to the riots that struck Capitol Hill.

  • Fired for storming the Capitol? Why most workers aren’t protected for what they do on their own time

    Can you be fired for joining a violent mob that storms the Capitol?Of course you can. Among the jarring images of white insurrectionists who broke into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was a man marching through the building holding a Trump flag with his work ID badge still draped around his neck.It didn’t take long for internet sleuths to zoom in on the badge and alert his employer, Navistar Direct Marketing, a Maryland direct mail printing company. The company promptly fired the man and contacted the FBI, issuing a statement that “any employee demonstrating dangerous conduct that endangers the health and safety of others will no longer have an employment opportunity.” Even though the Capitol Police let all but 14 of the rioters walk away, the FBI and District of Columbia police have begun tracking them down. Other companies have also taken action against employees identified in the many photos from inside the Capitol. Even the CEO of a data analytics firm found himself without a job following his arrest.Based on my experience as a law professor and lawyer specializing in employment law, I doubt that Navistar management is losing sleep over whether its decision was legally justified. It’s not even a close case. Non-unionized workers in the United States – about 90% of all workers – are employed at-will. That means you can be terminated at any time, without notice, for any reason. It doesn’t even have to be a good reason. Unless the company has guaranteed your job in writing, or there is a specific law that protects your conduct – such as laws protecting union organizing or whistleblowing – your fate is up to them.The law is more protective when it comes to unionized workers and government employees. These workers may have the right to be terminated only for cause, and they might get a hearing process prior to being disciplined. Government workers are also protected by the First Amendment, particularly when it comes to free speech in their capacity as citizens rather than speech related to the workplace. That’s why the teachers and off-duty police officers spotted at the Capitol have only been suspended pending investigations, rather than fired outright. For these workers, their fate may depend on whether they were peacefully participating in the day’s earlier rally – an activity that would be considered protected speech – as opposed to engaging in violence or joining the capitol invasion, which would be unprotected illegal conduct. Things get murky if these government workers were displaying white supremacist symbols, like a confederate flag, at the rally. Courts have recognized limits on the public speech of police officers to uphold public confidence, community relations and department morale. But as the Brennan Center, a liberal-leaning law and public policy institute, observed in an August 2020 report, “few law enforcement agencies have policies that specifically prohibit affiliating with white supremacist groups.” The absence of such policies could make it harder for departments to later discipline off-duty police officers for their role.[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.]State lawmakers who participated are a different matter. Because they were elected by the people, they can’t be removed like ordinary employees. That might require a recall election or a state impeachment process.But for most of the folks who snapped selfies in the Capitol – or ended up in someone else’s – if they don’t get a knock on the door from the FBI, they may soon be getting one from HR.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Elizabeth C. Tippett, University of Oregon.Read more: * A scholar of American anti-Semitism explains the hate symbols present during the US Capitol riot * Federal leaders have two options if they want to rein in TrumpElizabeth C. Tippett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

  • Supreme Court rejects fast track for Trump election cases

    The Supreme Court on Monday formally refused to put on a fast track election challenges filed by President Donald Trump and his allies. The court rejected pleas for quick consideration of cases involving the outcome in five states won by President-elect Joe Biden: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The justices had previously taken no action in those cases in advance of last week's counting of the electoral votes in Congress, which confirmed Biden's victory.

  • ‘QAnon Congresswoman’ Lauren Boebert faces calls to resign after tweeting information about Nancy Pelosi during Capitol riot

    The Congresswoman previously said she would carry a gun to Congress

  • Sriwijaya Air crash: Indonesia divers search wreckage as black box hunt resumes

    The first victim of Saturday's crash has been identified as flight attendant Okky Bisma.

  • Wall Street firms reduce exposure to Chinese telcos as U.S. ban approaches

    Wall Street firms in Hong Kong including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan on Monday moved to reduce exposure to Chinese telecom companies named in a U.S. ban on investments in companies Washington considers linked to China's military. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley said in filings to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong that they were beginning steps to terminate 500 Hong Kong-listed structured products they issued to investors with links to values of telecom companies China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom or local indexes including the Hang Seng Index - whose components include the telecom companies.

  • Trump reportedly blamed 'antifa people' for Capitol siege, was told by GOP House leader no, 'it's MAGA'

    President Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) had a "tense, 30-minute-plus phone call" Monday morning, during which Trump ranted about election fraud and McCarthy cut him off, saying: "Stop it. It's over. The election is over," Axios reported Monday night, citing a White House official and another source familiar with the call.Trump also tried to deflect responsibility for his role in inciting a deadly siege on the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday, telling McCarthy "antifa people" were responsible for the violence, Axios reports. McCarthy reportedly shot back: "It's not Antifa, it's MAGA. I know. I was there." Conservative cable news and other media has tried to pin the blame for the insurrection on leftist groups, antifa specifically, though there's clear and documented evidence the violence was perpetrated by Trump supporters, QAnon conspiracists, and far-right militia groups.McCarthy also told his House GOP caucus on Monday that there is "indisputably" no evidence of antifa involvement in the Capitol siege, Axios reported, adding that as he tries "to navigate how to bridge the factions within the party," McCarthy "is treading carefully by telling members Trump is partially to blame for what happened without condemning him outright."McCarthy told House Republicans on the two-hour call that Trump accepts some responsibility for the siege, too, Politico reports, citing four GOP sources on the call. Trump has not publicly taken any responsibility for the assault, even though he urged the supporters to march to the Capitol and fight for him. Emotions are "still running high in the conference," with many GOP members blaming McCarthy and his top lieutenant, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), for going along with the 120 House Republicans who continued challenging President-elect Joe Biden's win even after the riots, Politico says.One freshman Republican, Rep. Nancy Mace (S.C.) said on the call she's "disappointed" that "QAnon conspiracy theorists" are not only leading the party, but also led the objections after members of Congress had to walk by a crime scene to get back to work Wednesday night, Politico reports. And Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), one of a handful of House Republicans weighing voting to impeach Trump, slammed Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) for tweeting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calf.) location during the siege, putting all members at risk. Boebert raised hackles on the call by suggesting Capitol Police had been involved in the siege, Politico says.More stories from theweek.com Trump is reportedly 'gutted' about losing PGA Championship Trump, Pence meet for 1st time since Capitol riot What Mike Pence should learn from Judas

  • Lebanon plans 11-day, 24-hour curfew, hospital beds fill up

    Lebanese authorities tightened a nationwide lockdown Monday, including an 11-day, 24-hour curfew, amid a dramatic surge in coronavirus infections and growing criticism of uncoordinated policies many blame for the spread of the virus. Lebanon had only just announced a nationwide lockdown last week.

  • Army Investigates Fort Bragg Soldier for Attending Rally That Ended in US Capitol Breach

    Capt. Emily Rainey is scheduled to leave the Army in April after resigning her commission over earlier incidents.

  • California prison break: Six inmates on run after improvised rope escape

    The "armed and dangerous" men used an improvised rope made of braided sheets to escape.

  • Trump is reportedly 'gutted' about losing PGA Championship

    Following the deadly Capitol riot last week, President Trump has faced defiance from his own vice president and Republican lawmakers, a slew of resignations within his administration, getting booted from his favorite method of mass communication, and a looming congressional impeachment. But it appears the PGA's decision to move the 2022 PGA Championship from Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, may have upset the president as much as anything else, The New York Times' Maggie Haberman reported Monday.A source close to the White House told Haberman that Trump is "gutted" by the move, and while he's angry about the House moving forward with impeachment (for an unprecedented second time), his reaction to losing the tournament was a "different order of magnitude."> He's angry about impeachment, people who have spoken to him say. But the reaction to the PGA decision was different order of magnitude.> > -- Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 11, 2021On paper, impeachment certainly seems like a bigger deal, but Trump's affinity for golf is no secret, and his apparent emotional prioritization wasn't shocking to everyone. > In the last 72 hours, Trump has been cut off from Twitter and big-time golf. Compared to these blows, impeachment is no big woop. https://t.co/TBsZv651ap> > -- Jeff Greenfield (@greenfield64) January 11, 2021More stories from theweek.com Trump, Pence meet for 1st time since Capitol riot What Mike Pence should learn from Judas Bill Belichick says he won't accept Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump