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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Vivian Ho in San Francisco (now) and Erin Durkin in New York (earlier)

Anita Hill says she is not satisfied with Biden's regret over 1991 hearings – as it happened

Anita Hill at the 10th annual DVF awards at the Brooklyn Museum on 11 April.
Anita Hill at the 10th annual DVF awards at the Brooklyn Museum on 11 April. Photograph: Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock

Evening summary

A quiet end to an eventful day:

  • The Daily Beast is reporting that despite featuring Charlottesville heavily in his announcement video, Joe Biden never alerted the mother of Heather Heyer, the woman killed at Charlottesville.
  • Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey called Congresswoman Ilhan Omar about the President Trump tweet that caused a spike in death threats.

Charlottesville was a main focus in Joe Biden’s video announcing his run for president. It’s the first word he utters on camera, and the video features footage from the right-wing marches that took place in Charlottesville in 2017.

But the Daily Beast is reporting that Biden failed to inform Susan Bro, the mother of Heather Heyer, the woman killed in Charlottesville, that he’d be making the rallies that led up to her daughter’s murder a focal point:

“But I wasn’t surprised,” Bro, co-founder of the Heather Heyer Foundation set up in her daughter’s memory, told The Daily Beast. “Most people do that sort of thing. They capitalize on whatever situation is handy. He didn’t reach out to me, and didn’t mention her by name specifically, and he probably knew we don’t endorse candidates.”

In yet another instance of men telephoning women in performative but ultimately empty gestures, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey reportedly called Congresswoman Ilhan Omar regarding a tweet that President Trump broadcasted to his millions of followers that sparked a spike in death threats to the freshman lawmaker.

The Washington Post is reporting that in the phone call, Dorsey “stood by the company’s decision”:

Omar pressed Dorsey to explain why Twitter didn’t remove Trump’s tweet outright, according to a person familiar with the conversation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the call was private. Dorsey said that the president’s tweet didn’t violate the company’s rules, a second person from Twitter confirmed.

Dorsey also pointed to the fact that the tweet and video already had been viewed and shared far beyond the site, one of the sources said. But the Twitter executive did tell Omar that the tech giant needed to do a better job generally in removing hate and harassment from the site, according to the two people familiar with the call.

Updated

Here’s all the Guardian’s Joe Biden coverage so far:

  • Sabrina Siddiqui and Tom McCarthy have the main story of Biden’s announcement, in which he declares us “in the battle for the soul of this nation.”
  • Luke O’Neil has the roundup of the “biggest blunders” of a self-declared“gaffe machine.”
  • Geoffrey Kabaservice opines on how a centrist Biden’s candidacy “will exacerbate the rift between the Democrats’ moderate and progressive factions, potentially splitting the party and enabling the re-election of Donald Trump.”
  • Sabrina Siddiqui provides some analysis on Biden’s “dismissal of the Democratic party’s leftward turn – which he plans to challenge amid a packed field.”

Hey all, Vivian Ho taking over for Erin Durkin. Let’s see where the rest of the day takes us, shall we?

Summary

  • Former Vice President Joe Biden jumped into the presidential race, with a message centered around getting rid of Donald Trump and the damage he has done to the country. He racked up some early endorsements, as well as some criticism. Biden’s camp revealed that he had reached out to Anita Hill to express regret about what she went through after accusing Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment, but Hill told the New York Times she was not satisfied with his attempt to make amends.
  • House Democrats launched an investigation into Donald Trump’s rash of firings at the Department of Homeland Security, and the role played by White House adviser and immigration hardliner Stephen Miller.
  • The FBI raided the home and City Hall offices of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who is under investigation for selling her “Healthy Holly” books to companies with business before the city.

Attorney General William Barr will testify before the House Judiciary Committee on May 2, per Mother Jones.

New York Attorney General Letitia James launched an investigation into Facebook for its collection of users’ email contact databases.

The Washington Post calculates that White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has given a total of 82 minutes of press briefings in all of 2019 so far, compared to the 28 minutes she spent today giving a mock briefing for the children of White House staffers and reporters.

Anita Hill says she isn't satisfied after speaking with Biden

Anita Hill says she is not satisfied after her conversation with former Vice President Joe Biden.

“I cannot be satisfied by simply saying I’m sorry for what happened to you. I will be satisfied when I know there is real change and real accountability and real purpose,” she told the New York Times.

Biden’s campaign said Thursday he spoke to Hill and expressed regret over what she went through during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, whom she accused of sexual harassment. Biden has been criticized for his handling of those hearings, when he was head of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“The focus on apology to me is one thing,” Hill said. “But he needs to give an apology to the other women and to the American public because we know now how deeply disappointed Americans around the country were about what they saw. And not just women. There are women there are women and men now who have just really lost confidence in our government to respond to the problem of gender violence.”

Updated

Donald Trump’s daughter in law Lara Trump, a senior adviser to his re-election campaign, said Germany’s decision to admit refugees was “one of the worst things that ever happened to Germany.”

“It was the downfall of Germany,” she said on Fox Business Network Thursday.

“This president knows that. He’s trying to prevent that from happening here,” she said.

Her comments were mocked on Twitter, where commenters pointed out that there have been worse things that happened to Germany.

Updated

A federal judge has ruled that Michigan’s congressional and state legislative district maps are illegally gerrymandered and must be scrapped.

The redistricting plan, approved in 2011, aimed “to subordinate the interests of Democratic voters and entrench Republicans in power,” a panel of judges ruled, according to the Detroit News.

“Therefore, the enacted plan constitutes a durable partisan gerrymander.”

The court ordered the legislature to redraw the maps, and the state to hold special elections for the state Senate next year, cutting in half the four year terms that lawmakers are serving, the News reported.

The Trump administration’s plan to expand offshore oil drilling has been shelved indefinitely, the Wall Street Journal reports.

After a court decision that blocked drilling in the Arctic, the Interior Department is putting the full drilling plan aside to wait for the legal battle to be resolved.

“By the time the court rules, that may be discombobulating to our plan,” Interior Secretary David Bernhardt told WSJ.

The White House is pushing Republicans in the Senate to quickly raise the debt ceiling, the Washington Post reports.

Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has been making the request, trying to avoid a standoff at the September deadline that could hurt the economy.

Former Vice President Joe Biden has spoken to Anita Hill and expressed “regret” over what she went through, a spokesperson told NBC News.

Biden has drawn criticism over his handling of the Senate hearings where Hill accused Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment.

“Vice President Biden has spoken with Anita Hill. They had a private discussion where he shared with her directly his regret for what she endured and his admiration for everything she has done to change the culture around sexual harassment in this country,” his rep said.

House Democrats investigate Homeland Security firings

House Democrats have launched an inquiry into Donald Trump’s “unprecedented firings” at the Department of Homeland Security.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, the chairman of the Oversight Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the Homeland Security committee, sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security asking for documents and communications regarding the host of DHS officials who have been pushed out in recent weeks, including former secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

“We are deeply concerned that the firing and forced resignation of these officials puts the security of the American people at risk,” they wrote. “We are also concerned that the President may have removed DHS officials because they refused his demands to violate federal immigration law and judicial orders.”

They specifically asked for all communications with Stephen Miller, the White House aide and immigration hardliner who is reportedly the driving force behind the purge.

Updated

Sydney Leathers, the woman who famously sexted with former Rep. Anthony Weiner, gives her endorsement in the presidential race to Mike Gravel.

She has a policy rationale: the former Arkansas senator supports decriminalizing sex work.

No one has been able to find Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh amid raids on her home and offices, and a source told WJZ she was at home when the raid began but then left the state.

Her lawyer told the Baltimore Sun speculation she had left the state is false.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has expressed support for Joe Biden, intends to open his fundraising network exclusively to Biden, CNBC reports:

Cuomo’s wealthy donor network spans the country and the business world. Past donors include movie mogul Steven Spielberg, Walmart heiress Alice Walton, billionaire investor Ronald Perelman and hedge fund titan Steve Cohen. Cuomo also has received support from companies such as Cablevision, real estate giant the Dust Organization and Canadian real estate firm Brookfield Asset Management.

Updated

College Democrats chapters at 42 schools say they’ll boycott donations to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee over its policies discouraging primary challenges to incumbents.

The DCCC has said it will not hire vendors or political consultants that do work for challengers to Democratic incumbents.

In a message to the DCCC, the Harvard College Democrats and dozens of other chapters said they will support a boycott of donations to the organization until the policy is rescinded. “Primary challengers are essential to ensure that the Democratic Party is continually held accountable to the needs of our constituents. This blacklist policy is undemocratic and antithetical to our values,” they wrote.

Updated

Newly minted Joe Biden adviser Symone Sanders donated to Pete Buttigieg last month, Politico reports.

Sanders adds on Twitter that she also donated to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and former housing secretary Julian Castro.

“I believed then and do now that they all should have their shot on the debate stage,” she said. “Lots of folks donated to a lot of campaigns for this very same reason. Couldn’t be happier to be on #TeamBiden

Bernie Sanders has signed a pledge put out by Indivisible asking presidential candidates to promise to support the eventual Democratic nominee.

More staff hires by Joe Biden, via Newsday:

The Justice Democrats, who have supported progressive insurgent candidates, are blasting Joe Biden’s candidacy.

Donald Trump will give the commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy’s graduation ceremony on May 30 in Colorado Springs, the White House says.

Indicted operative Roger Stone will attend a fundraiser in Sarasota, Florida next month for his legal defense.

US district judge Amy Berman Jackson granted Stone permission to travel to Florida for the event, the Hill reports.

“Meet Roger Stone, legendary political consultant and advisor to President Donald J. Trump at this legal defense Fundraiser thrown by the amazing Women For Trump Sarasota Manatee,” the event’s page says. Tickets are $50 to $75.

A former Donald Trump transition staffer says the president should be impeached over the findings of the Mueller report.

“If you look at the report, it’s clear it’s a referral to Congress to begin impeachment proceedings. That was the only choice left to Mueller after the restrictions placed on him by DOJ policy,” J.W. Verret told CNN.

“There’s more than enough here to get that started,” he said, adding of Democratic leaders, “They need to have the guts to jump on this.”

Verret was deputy director of economic policy on the Trump presidential transition team.

The House will vote next week on a bill to require the US to abide by the Paris climate accord, majority leader Steny Hoyer announced Thursday, according to the Hill.

During the week of May 6, the House will vote on a disaster aid bill. Efforts to pass disaster aid stalled after Donald Trump refused to approve aid to Puerto Rico. The House also plans to take up the Equality Act, which would ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Joe Biden’s campaign will not accept money from federal lobbyists or corporate PACs, a spokesman tells the New York Times. He also won’t accept money towards a potential general election campaign.

Vice President Mike Pence also made a cameo at the mock press briefing for kids today, per CNBC.

Federal prosecutors indict Massachusetts judge for impeding ICE arrest

The US Attorney in Boston has indicted a sitting state judge, Shelley Richmond Joseph, and a court officer for obstruction of justice over moves they took to help an immigrant avoid being detained by ICE, NBC News reports.

US Attorney Andrew Lelling says he’ll announce more details at an upcoming press conference.

The indictment is here.

As the Boston Globe reported at the time, Jose Medina-Perez was released through the backdoor of a Newton courthouse, evading an ICE agent who was waiting to arrest him.

Jurisdictions around the country have refused to comply with detention requests by ICE, and New York courts last week barred the agency from making arrests inside courthouses, while California has also taken steps to make courthouse arrests more difficult. So the decision to bring criminal charges against a judge is notable to say the least.

Updated

North Korea issued a $2 million bill for the medical care of comatose American Otto Warmbier and insisted the US sign a pledge to pay it before they would allow Wamrbier to leave the country, the Washington Post reports.

From the Post:

The presentation of the invoice — not previously disclosed by U.S. or North Korean officials — was extraordinarily brazen even for a regime known for its aggressive tactics.

But the main U.S. envoy sent to retrieve Warmbier signed an agreement to pay the medical bill on instructions passed down from President Trump, according to two people familiar with the situation. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The bill went to the Treasury Department, where it remained — unpaid — throughout 2017, the people said. However, it is unclear whether the Trump administration later paid the bill, or whether it came up during preparations for Trump’s two summits with Kim Jong Un.

Warmbier died days after being returned to the United States from North Korean custody.

Joe Biden has hired Symone Sanders as a senior adviser to his campaign, AP reports. She was Bernie Sanders’ press secretary in the 2016 primary.

Indivisible, the group that helped to organize and mobilize a sprawling resistance movement to Donald Trump, is asking 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to pledge their support for the party’s next nominee.

The Democratic primary field now numbers 20 candidates with the entrance of Joe Biden on Thursday morning. In an effort to avoid the bitter infighting that followed the unexpectedly contentious 2016 primary between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, Indivisible leaders are prioritizing unity.

We wanted to get everyone on the record committed to helping make this primary constructive,” said Leah Greenberg, who founded the activist group Indivisible with her husband, Ezra Levin, after Trump’s election. “After we have this healthy contest of ideas, we are all committed to the ultimate goal and that is beating Donald Trump.”

Well before a single vote is cast, Indivisible leaders are planning unity events to bring activists and candidates together next year after the primary, Greenberg said. The pledge is unique, she said, because it’s pairing a commitment from activists with one from the candidates.

“We must defeat Donald Trump. The first step is a primary contest that produces a strong Democratic nominee,” states the preamble of the pledge. “The second step is winning the general election. We will not accept anything less.”

The pledge asks grassroots activists to “remain grounded in our shared values, even if we support different candidates” during the primary. When a nominee emerges, the pledge states that they will immediately rally behind the winner.

We’ll support the ultimate Democratic nominee, whoever it is -- period. No Monday morning quarterbacking. No third-party threats,” it says.

The final point vows to continue mobilizing on behalf of the Democratic nominee, including knocking doors, working phone banks and volunteering.

The candidates will be asked to sign a similar pledge. It asks the contenders to agree to immediately support the nominee and to “put myself at the disposal of the campaign”.

Indivisible, which has become one of the most prominent and influential activist groups of the Trump era, will share the pledge with the campaigns of all of the Democratic candidates.

In 2016, Sanders endorsed Clinton and traveled to several states to campaign for her despite the deep divisions that existed between the two camps. Indivisible leaders are hoping to minimize divisions within their ranks by starting the conversation early and ensuring everyone is united behind the shared goal of beating Trump.
Several candidates, including Sanders, have already vowed to support the Democratic nominee as part of their campaign message that defeating Trump is the priority.
Still, the threat of a third-party run looms. Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has said he may run as an Independent, especially if Democrats nominate a candidate that he believes is too far left.

Some criticism for Joe Biden’s opening in his email to supporters:

An endorsement that Joe Biden probably does not want:

One of the children at a mock press briefing held by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders for take your child to work day got serious and asked about the separation of immigrant families, per AP.

And one of the real reporters wondered when Sanders would answer their questions.

Updated

More on Joe Biden’s claim that he asked former President Barack Obama not to make an endorsement: “I asked President Obama not to endorse,” he told reporters when he arrived Thursday in Delaware, according to MSNBC. “And he doesn’t want to, listen, we should - Whoever wins this nomination should win it on their own merits.”

Asked what makes him the best choice for a presidential candidate for Democrats, he said, “That will be for the Democrats to decide.”

His campaign communications director, Kate Bedingfield, also told MSNBC that Biden asked Obama not to endorse.

Note that they’re not actually claiming that Obama would be endorsing Biden minus this ask. If Obama wasn’t going to endorse him anyway, the request could be a way to save face.

Updated

Joe Biden is planning early campaign stops in Pittsburgh, PA, Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada, according to ABC News.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders is loathe to give regular press briefings but is giving a mock one for reporters’ kids, per AFP.

Joe Biden said he asked former President Barack Obama not to make an endorsement, per MSNBC.

Other Democratic presidential candidates are fundraising off Joe Biden’s entry into the race.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is calling on Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh to resign as the FBI raids her home and offices.

A Nevada endorsement for Joe Biden with some interesting implications:

FBI agents left the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh with boxes of evidence, per the Baltimore Sun.

Joe Biden has some swag for sale.

The White House is refusing to have adviser Stephen Miller testify before Congress on immigration policy. White House counsel Pat Cipollone wrote to Oversight committee chair Elijah Cummings Thursday and said that Miller would not appear, Fox News reports. He said a cabinet member could testify instead.

Senator Cory Booker’s tax returns show he gave $24,000 to charity last year, Business Insider reports.

It’s the most, percentage-wise, of any of the 2020 Democratic candidates. Booker made $152,639 in 2018 and paid $22,781 in federal taxes. His charitable gifts were about 15% of his income.

Joe Biden, on brand, has been spotted taking Amtrak this morning to New York.

Former Senators Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Donnelly are launching an organization to help Democrats win back rural votes, Axios reports.

They both lost their re-election races to Republicans last year, Heitkamp in North Dakota and Donnelly in Indiana.

Their group, called the One Country Project, will help Democrats court rural votes in Senate races and the presidential race. “Culturally, they’re focused on faith and family and country, and Donald Trump tells them all the time that we’re not, even though we are,” Donnelly told Axios.

UK Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt said Donald Trump should address Parliament during his upcoming state visit to Britain, Reuters reports.

Trump is set to visit the UK on June 3.

When asked if Trump should speak to Parliament, Hunt called it a “state visit by our most important ally,” according to a Sky News reporter. “Think about the office as much as the person,” he said.

The Defense Department has cleared acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan in a probe into whether he did favors for Boeing, his former employer.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the department’s Inspector General found that the evidence does not show Shanahan sought preferential treatment for the company. The IG started an investigation last month after a complaint was filed saying Shanahan had promoted Boeing during meetings while disparaging competing companies.

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s first interview after launching his presidential campaign is scheduled for “The View” on Friday morning.

Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions said special counsel Robert Mueller conducted his investigation “with integrity” and its results should be accepted.

“The process was followed and a decision has now been rendered, and I think it deserves respect,’’ Sessions said Wednesday night at Amherst College, the Boston Globe reported. “I think it’s about time to accept the results, and let’s get on with the business of America.”

He said the investigation was done “vigorously and with integrity.”

Sessions decision to recuse himself from investigating Russia election interference paved the way for Mueller’s appointment. Donald Trump fired him in November. His assessment of the Mueller probe differs starkly from his former boss, who has railed against it.

Sessions’ appearance at Amherst was met with protests and walkouts, the Globe reported. In his remarks, he criticized liberal college students for stifling free speech. “Too often the school is favoring the heckler’s disruption tactics over the speaker’s First Amendment rights,” he said.

Delaware Senator Chris Coons also offered Joe Biden his immediate endorsement.

The New York Civil Liberties Union has threatened to sue Rep. Pete King if he keeps blocking people on Facebook, but the Long Island congressman says he’s willing to go to court to fight for his right to block.

In a letter to King, the NYCLU demanded he unblock 70 people by May 3. “Silencing these voices is an affront to the First Amendment and to the core values of our democracy,” wrote legal director Christopher Dunn. “If you do not unban these constituents promptly, we intend to file a federal lawsuit to vindicate their rights.”

But the Republican congressman is not backing down, saying he won’t allow people to trash him on his own page. “I’m on 100 percent solid legal ground. That Facebook account is political. It is paid for by my campaign committee. It’s the same as having people write negative comments on a campaign brochure and sending that out,” King told Newsday. “They can get their own Facebook account and attack me, rather than me paying for it.”

Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey endorsed Joe Biden soon after he launched his presidential campaign.

“As both a US Senator and our Vice President, he has delivered results for the middle class, kept our country safe and strengthened our standing in the world,” Casey said.

FBI raids Baltimore mayor's home and City Hall

The FBI has raided Baltimore City Hall and the home of Mayor Catherine Pugh, the Baltimore Sun reports.

FBI and IRS agents were at the house on Ellamont Road Thursday morning and crime scene tape was stretched around another home owned by Pugh around the corner.

FBI spokesman Dave Fitz confirmed to the Sun that agents from the Washington field office were executing search warrants at Pugh’s home, at City Hall, and at a nonprofit the mayor once led.

Pugh is under investigaion over the sale of her children’s book “Healthy Holly,” which she sold to companies doing business or seeking contracts from the city. She has taken a leave of absence.

Donald Trump gives former Vice President Joe Biden - “Sleepy Joe,” in Trump’s parlance - a backhanded welcome to a presidential race he predicts will be “nasty.”

“Welcome to the race Sleepy Joe. I only hope you have the intelligence, long in doubt, to wage a successful primary campaign. It will be nasty - you will be dealing with people who truly have some very sick & demented ideas,” Trump said in a tweet. “But if you make it, I will see you at the Starting Gate!”

Donald Trump denies ordering Mueller's firing

Donald Trump is denying he ordered his White House counsel to have special counsel Robert Mueller fired, contradicting the findings of Mueller’s investigation.

“As has been incorrectly reported by the Fake News Media, I never told then White House Counsel Don McGahn to fire Robert Mueller, even though I had the legal right to do so. If I wanted to fire Mueller, I didn’t need McGahn to do it, I could have done it myself,” Trump said in a tweet.

“Nevertheless,” he went on, “Mueller was NOT fired and was respectfully allowed to finish his work on what I, and many others, say was an illegal investigation (there was no crime), headed by a Trump hater who was highly conflicted, and a group of 18 VERY ANGRY Democrats.”

The Russia report found, based on White House counsel Don McGahn’s sworn testimony and “substantial evidence,” that Trump directed McGahn to call deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and tell him that Mueller “had conflicts of interest and must be removed.” McGahn refused. Trump later asked McGahn to deny that he had ever asked him to get Mueller fired, after the incident was reported in the New York Times, which McGahn also refused to do.

Joe Biden becomes an immediate front runner with his entry into the race for president, and Republicans wasted no time going after him.

“Biden’s fingerprints are all over foreign policy blunders and the weakest economic recovery since World War II,” Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Ahrens said, the Associated Press reports. “We don’t need eight more years of Biden. Just ask President Obama, who isn’t even endorsing his right-hand man.”

Meanwhile, former President Barack Obama offered some support, though he has not made an endorsement in the race.

“President Obama has long said that selecting Joe Biden as his running mate in 2008 was one of the best decisions he ever made,” said Obama spokeswoman Katie Hill. “He relied on the vice president’s knowledge, insight, and judgment throughout both campaigns and the entire presidency. The two forged a special bond over the last 10 years and remain close today.”

Joe Biden announces run for president

Former Vice President Joe Biden has officially joined the 2020 race for president.

In a video posted on Twitter, he focuses on the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, where Donald Trump said there were “very fine people on both sides.”

“With those words, the president of the United States assigned a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it. And at that moment, I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any I had ever seen in my lifetime,” Biden said.

“We are in the battle for the soul of this nation. I believe history will look back on four years of this president and everything he embraces as an aberrant moment in history. But if we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation.”

“Everything that has made America America is at stake,” Biden said.

Updated

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