Summary
- Joe Biden delivered a passionate speech defending voting rights and condemning the “big lie” of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Criticizing Donald Trump and his allies for failing to accept the results of a fair election, Biden said in Philadelphia, “The big lie is just that: a big lie.” The president also emphasized the need to take immediate action to protect access to the ballot box, as Republicans across the country attempt to enact severe voting restrictions. “Make no mistake, bullies and merchants of fear, peddlers of lies are threatening the very foundation of our country,” Biden warned.
- But Biden did not address the biggest hurdle to passing national voting rights legislation: the Senate filibuster. The president’s speech did not include a single mention of the filibuster, even as high-ranking Democrats, including House majority whip Jim Clyburn, call on him to endorse a voting rights exception to the filibuster. With the filibuster in place, Senate Republicans have been able to block Democrats’ two major voting rights bills, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the For the People Act.
- Kamala Harris met with the Texas legislators who fled the state to block Republican voting restrictions. The Democratic state legislators left Austin yesterday to break quorum on a special session, preventing Republicans from advancing their voting bill. Speaking at a press conference on Capitol Hill this morning, Texas state representative Rafael Anchía said, “We are not going to buckle to the ‘big lie’ in the state of Texas.”
- US consumer prices rose by 0.9% last month, the labor department said in its latest report. The June data indicates that prices have increased by 5.4% over the past year, marking the largest 12-month increase since 2008. The Biden administration attempted to downplay the report, noting that most of the increase was attributable to cars, auto parts and car rentals. But Republicans insisted the report was the latest indication of how Biden’s economic policies are causing prices to rise, hurting American families.
- Biden has nominated Jeff Flake to serve as the US ambassador to Turkey. The former Republican senator, who endorsed Biden’s presidential bid in 2020, has been one of Trump’s most consistent critics within the GOP, which could complicate his Senate confirmation.
California will allocate $7.5m for paying reparations to people forcibly sterilized under the state’s eugenics law.
The law, which was in effect from 1909 to 1979, led to the forced sterilization of more than 20,000 poor people, disabled people, and people of color. Even after 1979, the state continued the forced sterilization of women in prison.
The state plans to find and pay the estimated 350 victims who may still be alive about $25,000 each.
“The legacy of California’s eugenics laws is well-known and their repercussions continue to be felt,” said Laura Jimenez, executive director of California Latinas for Reproductive Justice. “No amount of monetary compensation will ever remedy the wrongs committed but this bill is a step in the right direction in the state taking responsibility to remedy the violence inflicted on survivors.”
NAACP President Derrick Johnson said that in Joe Biden’s speech on voting rights, a “sense of urgency [was] lacking.”
April Ryan of the Grio writes:
Johnson noted that this September, data from the 2020 Census will be released and will determine the redistricting process across states. For the first time since the 1970s, he noted, maps will be redrawn “without the full protection of the Voting Rights Act,” as key parts of the civil rights law have been diluted following the 2013 Supreme Court decision in Shelby v. Holder.
The consequence of that ruling was evident in the Court’s recent decision earlier this month that Arizona’s election policies outlawing ballot harvesting and out-of-precinct voting were not racially discriminatory.
Mr. Johnson said this will have a “deviating effect” in future elections without the passing of the For The People Act, which many argue can’t be passed without eliminating or modifying the filibuster to bypass Senate Republicans.
As my colleague Sam Levine, the Guardian’s voting rights reporter, pointed out, “the most significant part of [Biden’s] speech lay in what he did not say”.
Biden did not mention the filibuster, the Senate rule under which 60 votes are required to proceed on legislation.
Republicans used the rule last month to block sweeping voting rights reform. While the filibuster is in place, Democrats have virtually no chance of passing any such bill.
Democrats could get rid of the rule with a majority vote but a handful of senators have declined to embrace the idea, saying the filibuster helps preserve the input of the minority party. Biden, who was a senator from Delaware for more than 30 years, has not embraced getting rid of the rule.
In Philadelphia, he made it clear he was not giving up on federal voting rights legislation. But he did not lay out a pathway. Even as he denounced “peddlers of lies” who he said were damaging democracy, he appeared to remain convinced Republicans could be persuaded to sign on to legislation.
A majority of Republicans believe the 2020 election was won through voter fraud, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found in May.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Biden insisted. “We have the means, we just need the will. The will to save and strengthen our democracy.
For voting rights activists, the president’s impassioned speech – which lacked a concrete plan or strategy to protect the voting rights of Black Americans across the county – ultimately fell flat.
“We welcome President Biden’s commitments today and applaud the steps he has taken thus far,” Wade Henderson, interim president and chief executive of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said.
“He must do even more and use the full weight of his office to protect the freedom to vote and stop the onslaught of un-American, anti-voter scams being pushed across the country.”
Updated
Tennessee to halt vaccine outreach to teens amid conservative backlash – report
The Tennessee department of health will reportedly halt all vaccine outreach to teenagers amid a conservative backlash against Covid-19 vaccines for adolescents.
The department’s new guidance, announced in reports and emails reported by the Tennessean, will apply to vaccinations for all diseases – not just Covid-19. If the department issues any information about vaccination, staff will reportedly be required to strip the agency logo from documents.
In a statement to the Guardian, the department did not confirm or deny the reporting.
“Being a trustworthy messenger means we are mindful of hesitancy and the intense national conversation that is affecting how many families evaluate vaccinations in general,” a department spokesman said.
“Tennessee is on solid footing when it comes to childhood immunisations and will continue to keep information and programming in place for parents. We are simply mindful of how certain tactics could hurt that progress.”
The reporting comes a day after Tennessee’s top vaccine official claimed she was fired to appease conservative lawmakers pushing back against efforts to vaccinate teenagers.
Dr Michelle Fiscus, medical director for vaccine-preventable diseases and immunisation programs at the state health department, issued a scathing statement to local news, alleging she was fired because “some of our politicians have bought into the anti-vaccine misinformation” and stating she was “afraid for my state”.
“It was MY job to provide evidence-based education and vaccine access so that Tennesseans could protect themselves against Covid-19,” Fiscus told the Tennessean. “I have now been terminated for doing exactly that.”
A copy of the termination letter reviewed by the paper did not disclose a reason. A spokesman for the department told the Guardian: “We cannot comment on HR or personnel matters.”
Read more:
Explainer: Why did Texas legislators flee?
Texas Democratic lawmakers have fled their state in a desperate attempt to stop the Republican-run legislature from passing laws they say will suppress the vote of people of color.
The extreme move – which saw dozens of Democrats leave via planes and head to Washington DC – is the latest and wildest escalation in a fight over voting rights in the state and in America more broadly.
Here are the key things to know:
Why did they flee?
Texas Republicans are intent on a radical overhaul of voting laws in the state in ways that many Democrats and civil rights experts say will directly affect voters of color in a state that is becoming more Democratic. The laws include outlawing 24-hour polling places, banning ballot drop boxes and empowering partisan poll watchers.
Democrats are determined to stop them. Earlier this summer, Democrats scuppered the reforms by walking out of the state house of representatives and denying the session a quorum. But now the Republican governor, Greg Abbott, has convened a special legislative session to pass the reforms. This second revolt also denies a quorum but, with Democrats literally fleeing the state, also significantly ups the ante.
Fleeing the state to Washington allows the Texas Democrats to highlight the issue to a national audience, as well as dodge state law enforcement after Abbott said he would arrest them.
What is the impact?
With the Democrats gone, Republicans are denied a quorum to pass their electoral reform package and Democrats in the state – riding a wave of praise for their walkout last time – have shown they will go to extremes to defend voting rights. But the move also guarantees a serious political face-off whose endgame is uncertain.
How will it end?
That’s not really clear. The Texas constitution requires two-thirds of a legislative body to be present to conduct business. If there’s no quorum, the constitution authorizes the legislature to “compel” the attendance of missing members.
The rules of the Texas house of representatives make it clear that those who flee the state could be arrested and brought back to Texas. House rules say that a majority of those present in the legislature can authorize the sergeant-at-arms to arrest the missing members. “Their attendance shall be secured and retained. The house shall determine on what conditions they shall be discharged,” the rules say.
Read more:
Updated
American west stuck in cycle of ‘heat, drought and fire’, experts warn
As fires propagate throughout the US west on the heels of record heatwaves, experts are warning that the region is caught in a vicious feedback cycle of extreme heat, drought and fire, all amplified by the climate crisis.
Firefighters are battling blazes from Arizona to Washington state that are burning with a worrying ferocity, while officials say California is already set to outpace last year’s record-breaking fire season.
Extreme heatwaves over the past few weeks – which have smashed records everywhere from southern California to Nevada and Oregon – are causing the region’s water reserves to evaporate at an alarming rate, said Jose Pablo Ortiz Partida, a climate scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists, a non-profit advocacy group. And devoid of moisture, the landscape heats up quickly, like a hot plate, desiccating the landscape and turning vegetation into kindling.
“For our most vulnerable, disadvantaged communities, this also creates compounding health effects,” Ortiz said. “First there’s the heat. Then for many families their water supplies are affected. And then it’s also the same heat and drought that are exacerbating wildfires and leading to smoky, unhealthy air quality.”
In northern California, the largest wildfire to hit the state this year broke out over the weekend and has so far consumed more than 140 sq miles (362 sq km). The Beckwourth Complex grew so fast and with such intensity that it whipped up a rare fire tornado – a swirling vortex of smoke and fire.
Meanwhile, the Bootleg fire in southern Oregon engulfed more than 240 sq miles (621 sq km) and has doubled in size three times over the weekend. After the fire disrupted electric transmission lines, California’s power grid operator asked residents to conserve electricity on Monday evening to avoid brownouts.
“The fire behavior we are seeing on the Bootleg fire is among the most extreme you can find and firefighters are seeing conditions they have never seen before,” Al Lawson, an incident commander for the Bootleg fire, said in a statement. As fires propagate throughout the US west on the heels of record heatwaves, experts are warning that the region is caught in a vicious feedback cycle of extreme heat, drought and fire, all amplified by the climate crisis.
Read more:
Updated
Kamala Harris meets with Texas legislators
The vice-president is meeting with the Texas legislators who fled their state to block the passage of Republican voting restrictions.
VP Harris gets applause from Texas Democratic lawmakers as she joins their meeting in D.C. pic.twitter.com/rhsHvl98HK
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) July 13, 2021
“I have in mind that person who’s working two or three jobs and needs to have the ability to early vote,” he said. “I’m thinking about that single parent who has his or her kids in the backseat and needs to be able to have a drive-thru or a dropbox to vote. I’m thinking about the American with a disability who needs to have the option of voting by mail.”
“This is what we’re talking about,” she told the legislators. “And so I’m here to thank you and to have [this] conversation with you.”
Updated
Time was, William Barr was Donald Trump’s second attorney general, seen by many as a key defender of the president, a proper consigliere who made the bad things go away. Now, not so much.
Speaking to the Washington Post, Barr has slapped down a Pennsylvania Republican seeking to run for governor who has implied he was stopped from investigating allegations of voter fraud during the last election.
“Any suggestion that [William] McSwain was told to stand down from investigating allegations of election fraud is false,” Barr told the Post. “It’s just false.”
The former AG added that McSwain’s insinuations that way, in a letter released by Trump this week, “appeared to have been made to mollify President Trump to gain his support for McSwain’s planned run for governor”.
Well, as they say, quite.
Barr, for what it’s worth, resigned in December after angering Trump by saying his claim that his defeat by Joe Biden was caused by mass voter fraud… wasn’t true. Which, as Biden has just spelled out in Philadelphia, it wasn’t.
The Post further reports:
Barr said he called McSwain on Monday to complain about the letter, which he heard about before it became public. McSwain defended his missive as technically accurate while asserting, “I can’t have Trump attacking me,” Barr said. McSwain, he added, told him that “he was in a tough spot because he wanted to run and he needed Trump’s at least neutrality, if not support.”
Such, in short, is the state of the Republican party today.
Here’s our chief reporter, Ed Pilkington, on what Barr left behind…
Today so far
That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- Joe Biden delivered a passionate speech defending voting rights and condemning the “big lie” of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Criticizing Donald Trump and his allies for failing to accept the results of a fair election, Biden said in Philadelphia, “The big lie is just that: a big lie.” The president also emphasized the need to take immediate action to protect access to the ballot box, as Republicans across the country attempt to enact severe voting restrictions. “Make no mistake, bullies and merchants of fear, peddlers of lies are threatening the very foundation of our country,” Biden warned.
- But Biden did not address the biggest hurdle to passing national voting rights legislation: the Senate filibuster. The president’s speech did not include a single mention of the filibuster, even as high-ranking Democrats, including House majority whip Jim Clyburn, call on him to endorse a voting rights exception to the filibuster. With the filibuster in place, Senate Republicans have been able to block Democrats’ two major voting rights bills, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the For the People Act.
- Kamala Harris is meeting with the Texas legislators who fled the state to block Republican voting restrictions. The Democratic state legislators left Austin yesterday to break quorum on a special session, preventing Republicans from advancing their voting bill. Speaking at a press conference on Capitol Hill this morning, Texas state representative Rafael Anchía said, “We are not going to buckle to the ‘big lie’ in the state of Texas.”
- US consumer prices rose by 0.9% last month, the labor department said in its latest report. The June data indicates that prices have increased by 5.4% over the past year, marking the largest 12-month increase since 2008. The Biden administration attempted to downplay the report, noting that most of the increase was attributable to cars, auto parts and car rentals. But Republicans insisted the report was the latest indication of how Biden’s economic policies are causing prices to rise, hurting American families.
- Biden has nominated Jeff Flake to serve as the US ambassador to Turkey. The former Republican senator, who endorsed Biden’s presidential bid in 2020, has been one of Trump’s most consistent critics within the GOP, which could complicate his Senate confirmation.
Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Democratic senator Chris Coons praised Joe Biden’s nomination of Jeff Flake to serve as the US ambassador to Turkey.
“President Biden has nominated former Senator Flake for a very important and demanding post, one where his abilities will be greatly needed to navigate difficult issues, and one where his service will reinforce the importance of bipartisanship in our foreign policy,” Coons said in a statement.
Coons, a member of the Senate foreign relations committee, noted that he and Flake served on the panel together for six years, traveling to more than a dozen countries together.
“From meetings with NATO allies to meetings with African leaders, I was always impressed with his insights, his character, his skills, and his thoughtfulness,” Coons said. “I am confident Jeff will serve our nation well and I look forward to supporting his nomination.”
But it’s unclear whether other Democrats will have misgivings about nominating Flake, a former Republican senator, to such an important diplomatic post.
Many Republicans will also likely raise objections, given Flake’s past criticism of Donald Trump and his endorsement of Biden in the 2020 election.
Biden nominates Jeff Flake to serve as ambassador to Turkey
Joe Biden has nominated former Republican senator Jeff Flake to serve as US ambassador to Turkey.
Flake confirmed his nomination in a statement posted to Medium, saying, “I am honored and humbled by the trust President Biden has placed in me with this ambassadorial nomination. This is a pivotal post at an important time for both of our countries.”
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) July 13, 2021
In 2017, Flake announced he would not seek reelection to the Senate, after his repeated criticisms of Donald Trump had left him vulnerable to a primary challenge.
Three years later, Flake endorsed Biden’s presidential bid, arguing that Trump needed to be defeated in order to “stop the chaos and reverse the damage” of the previous four years.
That record should make for a rather interesting Senate confirmation process, as Flake seeks to convince his former colleagues to allow him to represent the US in Ankara.
“If confirmed by the Senate, I will be pleased to join a strong, experienced and capable team representing U.S. interests abroad,” Flake said in his statement.
“Having served in both the U.S. House and Senate, I understand and appreciate the role Congress plays in U.S. foreign policy, and I look forward to that partnership.”
After wrapping up his speech in Philadelphia, Joe Biden worked the ropeline for about 38 minutes, according to the latest White House pool report.
As the president prepared to depart the National Constitution Center, reporters shouted questions at him about his thoughts on the Senate filibuster.
“I’m not filibustering now,” Biden replied.
Some Democrats, including House majority whip Jim Clyburn, are calling on Biden to endorse a carveout to the Senate filibuster to make it easier to pass voting rights bills.
The president’s speech did not address the possibility of a filibuster carveout, and he apparently didn’t want to answer any questions about the matter either.
Rev Al Sharpton, who attended Joe Biden’s speech in Philadelphia, told the AP that he was “very happy” the president directly addressed the issue of race in his remarks.
The civil rights leader said he spoke to Biden after the speech, and he told the president that he was still waiting to hear his latest position on the filibuster.
According to Sharpton, Biden was “noncommittal” when pressed on whether the filibuster should be amended to ease the passage of voting rights bills.
“We’re still working on our position on that,” Biden said, per Sharpton.
Rev. Al Sharpton spoke to President Biden after the speech:
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) July 13, 2021
“I said to him I thought it was a good speech. I was very happy to hear him bring up race. But we’re still waiting on the filibuster”
“He told me: ‘We’re still working on our position on that.’ He was noncommittal” pic.twitter.com/m6wtob9EML
Updated
As Joe Biden delivered his speech in Philadelphia, NPR published its interview with Kamala Harris, who is taking the lead on the White House’s campaign to strengthen voting rights.
The vice-president told NPR that she is “having conversations” with lawmakers about the possibility of creating a voting rights exception to the Senate filibuster.
“I don’t mean this in any offense, but I’m not going to negotiate this way,” Harris said. “But I’m certainly having conversations with folks.”
House majority whip Jim Clyburn has proposed such a voting rights carveout to the filibuster, but Biden has not indicated whether he supports the idea. The president did not even mention filibuster reform in his speech this afternoon.
Harris also emphasized the importance of prioritizing voting rights in Congress, telling NPR, “I believe that of all of the issues that the United States Congress can take up, the right to vote is the right that unlocks all the other rights.”
Biden deflects questions over the filibuster in voting rights speech
Joe Biden delivered a passionate speech in defense of voting rights and American democracy this afternoon, but he did not address the significant hurdles that voting rights bills face in the Senate.
Thanks to the Senate filibuster, Republicans have been able to block the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the For the People Act from being passed. With the filibuster in place, Democrats need 60 votes to advance legislation, rather than a simple majority of 51 votes. And they have been unable to convince 10 Republicans to join them in supporting those two bills.
Senate Democrats do not currently have the votes to amend the filibuster, as moderates like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema remain opposed to such proposals.
Some high-ranking Democrats, including House majority whip Jim Clyburn, have called for creating a filibuster carveout to allow voting rights bills to pass. But Biden did not mention in his speech whether he supports a carveout.
So, to sum up: despite Biden’s fiery words, the path forward for voting rights remains very unclear.
Updated
Biden delivers dire warning: 'Peddlers of lies are threatening the very foundation of our country'
Joe Biden issued a passionate wake-up call to the American people, warning that there is an “unfolding assault” taking place against voting rights and election systems in the US.
“Make no mistake, bullies and merchants of fear, peddlers of lies are threatening the very foundation of our country,” Biden said. “I’m not saying this to alarm you; I’m saying this because you should be alarmed.”
The president described Republican efforts to enact voting restrictions and discredit the 2020 election results as “the most significant test to our democracy since the Civil War”.
“The Confederates back then never breached the Capitol, as the insurrectionists did on January the 6th,” Biden said.
But the president concluded his speech on a positive note, promising his administration will act to protect access to the ballot box, even as voting rights legislation remains stalled in the Senate.
“Here and now, we the people will not give up. We will not give in. We will overcome,” Biden said. “We must act, and we will act.”
Joe Biden warned that the world is watching to see what America will do to protect its election systems and its democracy as Donald Trump and his allies spread lies about fraud in the 2020 election.
Condemning Republicans’ widespread efforts to enact voting restrictions in dozens of states, Biden said, “The 21st century Jim Crow assault is real. It’s unrelenting. And we’re going to challenge it vigorously.”
The president also promised to sign the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the For the People Act as soon as they reach his desk.
However, Senate Democrats currently have no path to passing those two voting rights bills because Republicans have been able to filibuster them. Biden has not yet mentioned filibuster reform in his speech.
Biden condemns Trump's claims of voter fraud: 'The big lie is just that, a big lie'
Joe Biden condemned the “big lie” of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election, spread by Donald Trump and his supporters.
The president argued the 2020 election was “the most scrutinized” ever, with multiple recounts confirming his victories in crucial battleground states like Georgia.
Pres. Biden looks back at the 2020 presidential election, saying "no other election has even been held under such scrutiny and such high standards. The big lie is just that, a big lie." pic.twitter.com/FuAnWhQq6S
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 13, 2021
“The big lie is just that: a big lie,” Biden said. That line was greeted with loud applause in Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center.
Biden went on to sharply criticize Trump and his allies for denying the facts of the presidential election because they were unhappy with the results.
“That’s not statesmanship. That’s selfishness,” Biden said.
Updated
Biden says the right to vote should be 'simple and straightforward'
Joe Biden is now delivering his speech on voting rights at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The president began his remarks by greeting his many “friends” who are present for his remarks, including civil rights leader Al Sharpton.
Biden said the National Constitution Center tells the story of America, which he acknowledged is neither simple nor straightforward.
“Some things in America should be simple and straightforward,” Biden added. “Perhaps the most important of those things, the most fundamental of those things, is the right to vote -- the right to vote freely, the right to vote fairly, the right to have your vote counted.”
This is Joan Greve in Washington, taking over the blog after a great assist from Joanna Walters in New York.
Joe Biden has officially arrived in Philadelphia, where he will soon deliver a major speech on strengthening voting rights.
The president was greeted at the airport by Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf and Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney, as well as several House Democrats from around the state.
Biden is now waiting at the National Constitution Center, where he will deliver the speech. An AP reporter shared this photo from the site:
The scene ahead of President Biden’s speech at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia pic.twitter.com/tyZdtitQeT
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) July 13, 2021
Interim summary
Joe Biden is due to give a major speech on voting rights before the top of the hour. He’s not always on time but do stay tuned and we’ll bring you the news as and when it happens. The president will be speaking in Philadelphia, often known as the cradle of liberty in the United States as it was there that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed in the 18th Century.
Here’s what’s happened so far today in US politics:
- Vice president Kamala Harris has praised Texas state Democrats who have flown to the US Capitol, breaking quorum in their state legislature in Austin in order to block the passing of a voting restrictions bill. The VP intends to meet the rebels.
- A Chicago banker has been convicted in loans-for-Trump job scheme involving Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager. Stephen Calk was found guilty in New York this morning of financial institution bribery and conspiracy.
- Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said he will meet today with the Texas Democratic legislators who fled Austin to block Republican voting restrictions.
- Rebel Texas state Democrats spoke outside the US Capitol to say “We are not going to buckle to the big lie” that Republicans keep peddling as an excuse for passing voter suppression bills in state legislatures where they hold sway, which particularly harm voters of color, who tend to vote Democrat.
Our apologies, readers, the Reuters news wire has just put out a correction, saying that vice president Kamala Harris, but not Biden, will meet the Texas Democrats this week. Reuters reported a few moments ago that the president intended to meet the rebels.
Updated
Joe Biden is going to meet with the Texas state Democrats who flew to Washington yesterday after once again walking away from the legislature in Austin in order to break quorum at the state capitol so that the Republican majority can’t pass a repressive voting bill.
There are no details yet and the US president is currently in the air aboard Air Force One traveling to Philadelphia, where he is due to give a major speech on voting rights in around an hour.
More than 50 Texas state Democrats are in the nation’s capital to cause a freeze on the legislative special session that was underway in Austin (after they previously walked out of the regular legislative session earlier this month to block the legislation, and Republican governor Greg Abbott ordered a special session to have another go). And to lobby Congress to pass federal voting rights legislation that will help to stop the voter suppression moves now underway in so many states.
Vice president Kamala Harris is also going to meet with the Texas legislators, later this week, apparently.
Vice President Harris will meet with the Texas Democratic legislators this week, her office says.
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) July 13, 2021
Updated
The US has sent “a small number of personnel” to shore up security at its embassy in Haiti, after the assassination of the Haitian president Jovenel Moïse last week, according to a report.
Three US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to Reuters, said less than a dozen personnel were sent and it was not immediately clear how many had returned to the United States.
Reuters adds:
The killing of Moïse on July 7 by a squad of gunmen at his home in Port-au-Prince pitched Haiti deeper into an already fraught political crisis.
While it is not uncommon for the United States to send additional security forces, include Marines, to its embassies around the world during times of crises, the deployment highlights the level of uncertainty in the aftermath of Moise’s killing.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said fewer than a dozen personnel were deployed in the days after the killing and it was not immediately clear how many had since returned to the United States.
Haiti has also requested the deployment of U.S. troops in the country to help secure key infrastructure after the assassination.
A letter from the office of Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph to the U.S. embassy in Haiti, dated Wednesday and reviewed by Reuters, requested the dispatch of troops to support the national police in reestablishing security and protecting crucial infrastructure.
While the request is still under review, officials said the Pentagon does not currently see the need for deploying military personnel to Haiti.
My colleague Julian Borger reports today:
One of the less surprising developments in the unfolding mystery of the assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moïse is the central role of Miami in the whole story.
For decades, Miami has been the launching pad and a byword for half-baked plots and coups – from the Bay of Pigs, the failed invasion of Cuba in 1961, to last year’s harebrained raid on Venezuela, and now, allegedly, last week’s murder of the Haitian president. Most of the supposed participants were killed or arrested in the 24 hours after the murder.
The main suspect, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, is a Haitian with strong ties to the Miami area, as has another Haitian-American detained by the Haiti authorities, and the security firm alleged to have recruited the Colombian mercenaries accused of involvement in the attack has an office in Doral, near to Miami International airport and Donald Trump’s golf resort.
The security firm reportedly named by some of the plotters calls itself the Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy (CTU) and is run by a Venezuelan exile. When Miami Herald reporters went to knock on the door of its modest offices, no one opened the door.
‘His head wasn’t in the world of reality’: how the plot to invade Venezuela fell apart.
You can read the full report here.
Updated
Chicago banker convicted in loans-for-Trump job scheme involving Paul Manafort
A New York jury in federal has just convicted a Chicago banker of criminal charges for enabling Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager for Donald Trump, to obtain $16 million in loans before Manafort helped him get an interview for a job in the Trump administration.
Stephen Calk was convicted in a Manhattan court room, in a case in which The Mooch testified, of financial institution bribery and conspiracy charges. Calk’s lawyers had maintained their client did nothing illegal in the weeks after Trump won the presidential election in November 2016.
But The Associated Press notes:
prosecutors said Calk cleared the path for Manafort to receive loans he was not entitled to in the hopes that Calk could secure a high-level post with the Trump administration. Although Calk eventually got an interview at Trump Tower [Trump’s business and home on New York’s Fifth Avenue], he was not hired.
Sentencing was set for January 10 for Calk, who was the former chief executive of The Federal Savings Bank.
During the trial, Anthony Scaramucci testified that he never would have enabled Calk to get the interview for the administration post if he had known that Calk was helping Manafort to get millions of dollars in loans for his real estate ventures.
Scaramucci had testified that Manafort, who served as Trump’s campaign manager for a key stretch from June to early August 2016, reached out to him in mid-to-late December 2016 to encourage him to consider Calk for an important position.
At the time, Scaramucci was working on Trump’s presidential transition team.
Although Calk had hoped to become Secretary of the Army, he eventually interviewed for other positions when it became clear he could not secure that position, testimony showed.
Just before Christmas 2020 and less than a month from leaving office, Donald Trump pardoned Manafort, who had been in federal prison serving time for unregistered lobbying, tax fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.
A presidential pardon does not shield a person from local charges, but in February it was announced that Manafort would not face mortgage fraud charges in New York, where he had been under investigation, after the state’s highest court declined to revisit lower court decisions that barred prosecuting Manafort, on double jeopardy grounds.
Updated
Vice-President praises Texas Democrats obstructing voting restriction bill
Kamala Harris has spoken of the state Democrats, 50-plus of whom flew to Washington, DC, to break quorum in the state legislature back home in Austin and therefore once again putting a freeze on Republicans’ voter suppression efforts, as having “great courage”.
The vice president gave an interview to news wire Reuters and hopefully we’ll bring you more of that shortly.
The wire also notes that Harris said “she is building a coalition to fight voting restrictions across the country and is reaching out to the private sector as a part of that.” More to follow.
Here are recent Veep Tweets on this topic.
Help @TheDemocrats fight back against Republican efforts to take away your right to vote and ensure that we can safeguard our democracy. Sign up to volunteer today. https://t.co/IpT2q9HqXn
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 11, 2021
Yesterday she was in Michigan on the same day a federal judge there was revving up to sanction former Trump lawyers Sidney Powell, Lin Wood and others for their frivolous “bad faith” lawsuits challenging Joe Biden’s victory in the state in November’s presidential election.
Today, I spoke with activists about how we can defend and strengthen voting rights in Michigan and across the country. Our vote is our power—and we can’t let anyone take it away. pic.twitter.com/wDOYEfKgIM
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) July 13, 2021
Updated
Texas state representative Jasmine Crockett is taking it to governor Greg Abbot today on his saber-rattling over arresting rebel lawmakers who’ve left the state to deprive the legislature of the quorum needed to pass voter restriction legislation (as well as fleeing beyond the reach of Texas Rangers law enforcement).
The Democrat who represents the Dallas-area state District 100 has been making a variety of media appearances this morning to press home the party’s case and drum up support from national politicians in Washington, DC, which is where the rebels are right now.
Texas state Rep. Jasmine Crockett says she is not afraid of Gov. Abbott’s threat to jail Democrats who fled the state to block the GOP's latest restrictive voting law.https://t.co/TnuDaOdAl5 pic.twitter.com/qpCmZ5h26G
— New Day (@NewDay) July 13, 2021
Crockett told CNN: “I know the law and the governor knows the law as well. I’m a criminal defense attorney, I have not committed a crime so I can’t get arrested. The most that could happen is I could be detained. And it’s not the governor who gets to make that decision it’s the Speaker of the [Texas] House.
And she appeared on CNN last night, too.
Rep. @jasminefor100 appealing to @SenatorSinema and @JoeManchinWV to help Democrats use their majority to protect Americans’ voting rights. #hb3 #sb1 #sb7 pic.twitter.com/RMo9i6cCu2
— Texas Signal (@TexasSignal) July 13, 2021
And she told Charles Blow she wanted Joe Biden to see what the Texas Democrats are doing, and that it’s no small thing that these state lawmakers would up and leave the state away from their families for what is likely to be a month or more.
“We are having to do a lot because it’s that serious,” she told Blow. “I’m tired of sitting there and losing [as the Dems are in the minority in the Texas state legislature], especially when I’m on the right side of history. We are giving everything we have got and that’s what we need at the federal level.”
Latest reports out of Texas have the state House voting by an overwhelming majority of those present to send for all absent members of the legislature - even to the point of issuing warrants for lawmakers’ arrest.
House votes 76-4 to have the Sgt at Arms of the House send for all members who are not here today, even arresting members if necessary. #txlege
— Ashley Goudeau (@AshleyG_KVUE) July 13, 2021
That will be complicated given that the lawmakers have high-tailed it across state lines all the way to the nation’s capital, where this morning they were getting support from Congressional Democrats and holding a presser on the steps of the US Capitol.
BREAKING: The Texas House has voted to send for at least 51 members who have gone to D.C., possibly using arrest warrants, to get them back to the state.
— Tony Plohetski (@tplohetski) July 13, 2021
As a minority in the Texas legislature, the state Democrats, as Republican state governor Greg Abbott points out, are short of leverage (statistical at least) against the onslaught on voting rights and other right-wing measures in the state. But on the other hand, a steel-spine, dramatic brinkmanship-or-bust kerfuffle is not without value. At least, that’s the gamble.
.@CHrisGTurner at DC presser suggests any negotiations over Dems returning to Austin have to open w/ Abbott reversing Article X veto. "Then we can start talking."
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) July 13, 2021
Abbott on radio earlier this AM scoffed @ idea of negotiating w/ Dems. "They have zero leverage right now." #txlege
US consumer prices rise 0.9% in June, marking 13-year high
In case you missed it this morning: the US labor department released a report showing consumer prices rose by 0.9% in June, marking the highest 12-month increase since 2008.
The AP reports:
Tuesday’s report from the Labor Department showed that consumer prices in June rose 0.9% from May and 5.4% over the past year — the sharpest 12-month inflation spike since August 2008. Excluding volatile oil and gas prices, so-called core inflation rose 4.5% in the past year, the largest increase since November 1991.
The pickup in inflation, which has coincided with the economy’s rapid recovery from the pandemic recession, will likely intensify the debate at the Federal Reserve and between the Biden administration and congressional Republicans about how persistent the price gains will prove to be.
The White House has sought to downplay the report, noting that cars, auto parts and car rentals made up the majority of the increase and suggesting consumer prices overall have not been greatly affected.
Cars once again accounted for a large share of the increase. Used cars, new cars, auto parts, and car rentals together made up about 60 percent of core month-over-month inflation 2/ pic.twitter.com/SeYSQZXRjy
— Council of Economic Advisers (@WhiteHouseCEA) July 13, 2021
But the report is already intensifying Republicans’ accusations that Joe Biden’s economic policies are driving up prices and harming American families. Here’s what the House minority leader had to say:
Inflation is running rampant due in part to out-of-control spending from President Biden and Speaker Pelosi.
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) July 13, 2021
Make no mistake → with inflation rising at the fastest pace in 13 years, your hard-earned money is worth less in Joe Biden’s America.
Schumer to meet with Texas Democrats who fled Austin
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said he will meet today with the Texas Democratic legislators who fled Austin to block Republican voting restrictions.
“They are brave. They are bold. They are courageous, and history will show them on the side of right,” Schumer said of the legislators.
“I will be meeting with a group of them today to plot out strategy and to praise them for what they are doing.”
VOTING RIGHTS: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) assails GOP-controlled legislatures for "conducting the most sweeping and coordinated attack on voting rights in generations, fueled by Donald Trump's insidious big lie that the election was stolen." pic.twitter.com/VY9gyLy08v
— Forbes (@Forbes) July 13, 2021
Echoing other Democrats this morning, Schumer made a direct connection between these voting restrictions and the “big lie” of widespread fraud in the presidential election.
“Across the country, Republican-controlled state legislatures are conducting the most sweeping and coordinated attack on voting rights in generations, fueled by Donald Trump’s insidious big lie that the election was stolen,” Schumer said.
“And if the consequence is Americans of all parties feel that the elections are not fair, what is going to happen to this sacred and wonderful democracy?”
Congressman Lloyd Doggett argued that the bold steps taken by Texas legislators to block voting restrictions should be an inspiration to Democratic senators and Joe Biden.
“It is a time for bold action, the same kind of bold action and courage we need in the United States Senate and from this administration that these Texas colleagues of ours are demonstrating by their action,” Doggett said.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett calls for U.S. senators to exhibit “the same kind of bold action and courage” as Texas Democrats who broke quorum in special session over voting rights. https://t.co/2A6HG9Z5Kb pic.twitter.com/RouRAHi5fm
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) July 13, 2021
The Texas legislators who spoke at the Capitol Hill press conference also emphasized the need for Congress to act on voting rights, saying they cannot protect access to the ballot box by themselves.
“We can’t stay here indefinitely to run out the clock, to stop Republican anti-voter bills,” Texas state representative Rhetta Andrews Bowers said.
“That’s why we need Congress to act now and pass the For the People Act. Texas Democrats will use everything in our power to fight back, but we need Congress to act now.”
Two House Democrats from Texas, Marc Veasey and Lloyd Doggett, also spoke at the press conference with the state legislators who fled Austin yesterday.
Veasey demanded immediate action on filibuster reform to make it easier for Senate Democrats to pass voting rights bills.
The congressman echoed House majority whip Jim Clyburn’s demand for a carveout to the filibuster to allow the bills to advance with a simple majority in the Senate.
“Now, not later, not sometime in the future, now we need to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act,” Veasey said.
Doggett specifically called on Joe Biden to demand filibuster reform, just hours before the president is scheduled to deliver a speech on voting rights in Philadelphia this afternoon.
“We need the power of the presidency,” Doggett said. “We need the president and the vice-president and every Democrat in the Senate working together to preserve American democracy. There has seldom been more at stake.”
The lawmakers concluded the press conference by singing “We shall overcome,” the gospel song that became an anthem during the civil rights movement.
Texas Democrats come to Capitol Hill: 'We are not going to buckle to the big lie’
Texas Democrats have now arrived on Capitol Hill to call for national legislation to strengthen voting rights.
The legislators who fled Austin yesterday to block Republican voting restrictions held a press conference this morning with members of the Texas congressional delegation.
Texas Rep. Rafael Anchia: "We are not going to buckle to the 'big lie' in the state of Texas—the 'big lie' that has resulted in anti-democratic legislation throughout the United States. We said no when the 'big lie' came to the Capitol in Texas." https://t.co/ULA6r45uWU pic.twitter.com/hVyXO4UJT3
— ABC News (@ABC) July 13, 2021
Texas representative Rafael Anchía argued those restrictions would harm voters of all political parties, condemning the “big lie” of widespread voter fraud in the presidential election that he said has inspired these restrictions.
“We are not going to buckle to the ‘big lie’ in the state of Texas — the ‘big lie’ that has resulted in anti-democratic legislation throughout the United States. We said no when the ‘big lie’ came to the Capitol in Texas and darkened our door,” Anchía said.
Progressive lawmakers are calling on Joe Biden to demand filibuster reform in his speech on voting rights this afternoon.
Congressman Mondaire Jones, a progressive who represents parts of the Bronx, said that the president needs to recognize the serious dangers currently facing American democracy.
The American people understand that our democracy is at stake. The question tomorrow’s speech will answer is, does the President?
— Mondaire Jones (@MondaireJones) July 13, 2021
“Let me be clear: the time for words has long passed. Now is the time for action,” Jones said in a statement released this morning.
“If President Biden is serious about saving our ailing democracy, he will voice his support for, at the very least, reforming the filibuster to pass the For the People Act on a simple majority vote in the Senate.
“At this point, anything less is an insult to the voters, organizers, and activists who understand the dire stakes of this moment and are counting on him to act.”
Jones and his progressive allies are likely to be disappointed. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, indicated yesterday that Biden considers filibuster reform to be a matter for senators to decide. She also noted that Senate Democrats do not currently have the votes to amend the filibuster.
Hugo Lowell reports on Democrats’ demands to amend the filibuster to ease the passage of voting rights bills:
Top Democrats in the House are spearheading a new effort to convince the Senate to carve out a historic exception to the filibuster that would allow them to push through their marquee voting rights and election reform legislation over unanimous Republican opposition.
The sweeping measure to expand voting rights known as S1 fell victim to a Republican filibuster last month after the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, and his leadership team unified the conference to sink the bill in a party-line vote.
Now, furious at Republicans for weaponizing the filibuster against Joe Biden’s legislative agenda, the House majority whip, James Clyburn, is pushing Senate Democrats to end its use for constitutional measures, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The rare and forceful effort from a member of the House leadership to pressure changes in the Senate underscores the alarm among Democrats that the filibuster may be an insurmountable obstacle as they race to overturn a wave of Republican ballot restrictions.
McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, told the Guardian on Monday he was deeply unimpressed by Clyburn’s maneuvers. “If it’s not broken, it doesn’t need fixing,” McConnell said of the filibuster, adding he would “absolutely” oppose any changes.
The Guardian’s Sam Levine has more details on the voting restrictions that Texas Republicans are trying to enact:
Texas Republicans are intent on a radical overhaul of voting laws in the state in ways that many Democrats and civil rights experts say will directly affect voters of color in a state that is becoming more Democratic. The laws include outlawing 24-hour polling places, banning ballot drop boxes and empowering partisan poll watchers.
Democrats are determined to stop them. Earlier this summer, Democrats scuppered the reforms by walking out of the state house of representatives and denying the session a quorum.
But now the Republican governor, Greg Abbott, has convened a special legislative session to pass the reforms. This second revolt also denies a quorum but, with Democrats literally fleeing the state, also significantly ups the ante.
It’s not really clear how the face-off will end. The Texas constitution requires two-thirds of a legislative body to be present to conduct business. If there’s no quorum, the constitution authorizes the legislature to “compel” the attendance of missing members.
The rules of the Texas house of representatives make it clear that those who flee the state could be arrested and brought back to Texas.
The special session of the legislature can only last up to 30 days. But even if Democrats were able to remain out of the state for that long, the governor could continue to call special sessions until lawmakers return.
Even though Democrats cannot stop the Republican legislation, bringing the legislature to a halt might give them some kind of leverage in negotiating over the bills.
Texas governor vows to arrest Democratic legislators who fled Austin
Joe Biden’s speech on voting rights also comes one day after Democratic legislators in Texas fled the state to break quorum for a special session and thus block Republican voting restrictions.
Texas Republicans failed to advance their voting bill during the regular session because Democrats staged a walkout at the 11th hour, running out the clock until the session ended.
The Republican governor, Greg Abbott, then called a special legislative session to allow lawmakers to take up the voting restrictions and an anti-trans bill that also failed to pass during the regular session.
To prevent the special session from moving forward, 50 Democratic legislators boarded private planes headed to Washington, DC, denying legislative leaders the quorum that they needed to take up legislation.
Abbott is now threatening to arrest the Democratic legislators once they return to Texas, saying, “As soon as they come back in the state of Texas, they will be arrested, they will be cabined inside the Texas capitol until they get their job done.”
According to reports, the legislators plan to stay out of the state for the next month to allow the 30-day session to expire.
Biden to address voting rights as Republicans enact restrictions across US
Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.
This afternoon, Joe Biden will deliver a speech on strengthening voting rights at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The speech comes as Republican legislators across the country have attempted to enact hundreds of voting restrictions, with at least 28 already being signed into law.
Previewing the speech yesterday, Jen Psaki said the president will condemn such voting restrictions as “authoritarian,” “anti-American” and “the worst challenge to our democracy since the Civil War”.
Ahead of Pres. Biden’s voting rights speech this week, press sec. Psaki says state “efforts to strip the right to vote” are “authoritarian” and “the worst challenge to our democracy since the Civil War.” https://t.co/StP8jCyZ69 pic.twitter.com/NGcfowoct3
— ABC News (@ABC) July 12, 2021
“He’ll lay out the moral case for why denying the right to vote is a form of suppression and a form of silencing,” the White House press secretary said.
“He will redouble his commitment to using every tool at his disposal to continue to fight to protect the fundamental right of Americans to vote against the onslaught of voter suppression laws, based on a dangerous and discredited conspiracy theory that culminated in an assault on our Capitol.”
However, unless Senate Democrats can amend or eliminate the filibuster, they almost certainly cannot pass national voting rights legislation to protect access to the ballot box.
And Psaki made clear yesterday that Biden considers filibuster reform to be a matter for the Senate. So while Biden may have many tough words this afternoon on strengthening voting rights, it seems like actual action will continue to elude him.
The blog will have more details on the speech coming up, so stay tuned.
