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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Maanvi Singh in San Francisco (now) and Joan E Greve in Washington (earlier)

Georgia declares emergency as Hurricane Dorian approaches – as it happened

Hurricane Dorian is expected to hit the US somewhere between the Florida Keys and southern Georgia.
Hurricane Dorian is expected to hit the US somewhere between the Florida Keys and southern Georgia. Photograph: NOAA/AP

Summary

Here’s what’s passed today:

  • Trump urged Americans to “be aware and be safe” as Hurricane Dorian approaches. The president canceled his planned trip to Poland this weekend as the storm gained force.
  • Both Florida and Georgia have declared states of emergency. The latest computer modeling of Dorian’s path shows that it could arrive as category 3 hurricane or even as a powerful category 4 storm on Florida’s east coast early on Monday.
  • Joe Biden has pushed back against a Washington Post report that he has repeatedly told a false war story on the campaign trail, conflating elements of multiple events into one stirring anecdote. The Democratic presidential candidate asserted that “the central point is it was absolutely accurate what I said”.
  • The Trump administration is rolling back requirements that oil and gas drillers correct leaks of methane.
  • The administration has also drafted a proposal to subject undocumented immigrants in government custody to DNA testing.
  • ABC released the details of the next Democratic debate, which will take place on a single night in Houston. The 12 September event will mark the first time that all qualifying candidates share the same stage.
  • The president and the White House released scathing statements about James Comey after the DOJ inspector general concluded that the former FBI director violated DOJ and FBI policies by sharing memos on his interactions with Trump. But the watchdog also concluded Comey had not leaked classified information to the media, as Trump has repeatedly claimed.

Updated

In response to a letter from the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University urging Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez not to block Twitter followers, the New York representative responded that she only blocked users for ongoing harassment.

The Knight First Amendment Institute, which led the legal fight against Donald Trump for blocking his critics on Twitter, held that blocking social media users because of their viewpoints “is unconstitutional, and we are writing in the hope of dissuading you from engaging init.”

Multiple US courts have ruled that government social media accounts are constitutionally-protected public spaces.

At least three people have sued Ocasio-Cortez for blocking them.

The institute does note in its letter that Ocasio-Cortez may “wish to block users for reasons that are both reasonable and constitutionally legitimate—for example, because their speech is threatening,” and offered to work with her to develop a social media policy.

Updated

Trump urges Americans, "Be aware and be safe" as hurricane approaches

Donald Trump has released a video message urging those in the path of Hurricane Dorian to “Be aware and be safe.”

“It looked like it was going to be a very small storm,” he said. “We were very lucky, it missed Puerto Rico.”

As the storm heads toward Florida, the president said, “We have the best people in the world ready... We’re shipping food, we’re shipping water.”

The storm left less damage than expected in its wake as it passed Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The latest computer modeling of Dorian’s path now shows that it could arrive as category 3 hurricane or even as a powerful category 4 storm on Florida’s east coast early on Monday.

Trump said, “It’s going to be very big.”

Updated

Both Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are campaigning in South Carolina this evening.

A federal judge rejected House Democrats’ effort to expedite their lawsuit to obtain Trump’s tax returns.

“It may be appropriate to expedite this matter at some point, but not now,” said Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump-appointed federal judge in DC.

The order is a minor setback for democrats in Congress, who have several court cases regarding the president’s financial information ongoing. The order doesn’t the lawsuit by congressional Ways and Means Committee, which sued in July to enforce its subpoena of the Treasury Department and IRS to obtain Trump’s tax returns.

Donald Trump’s south Florida resort Mar-a-Lago is threatened as Hurricane Dorian approaches.

The beachfront property, which Trump visits frequently and refers to as his ‘Winter White House,’ is 115 miles south of where the storm is expected to make landfall, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Previous hurricane models predicted that the storm could pass directly through the resort, but as of this morning, it appeared that the storm is shifting north.

Trump has been continuously tweeting his monitoring of the storm. At first, he complained about “yet another big storm” as it appeared to head toward Puerto Rico. Today, as the Hurricane moved toward Florida, Trump announced he is canceling his trip to Poland.

Updated

Georgia declares state of emergency

Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia has declared a state of emergency in parts of Georgia in anticipation of Hurricane Dorian. Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis extended his state of emergency declaration today to include the whole state.

Dorian is expected to strengthen into a Category 4 storm as it barrels toward the US mainland. It is expected to make landfall somewhere between the Florida Keys and southern Georgia, though its exact trajectory is still unclear.

A federal grand jury has indicted Paige Thompson, a former Amazon software engineer who was arrested last month on charges that she hacked into Calital One and more than 30 other companies.

Thompson faces charges of wire fraud, computer fraud and abuse. The data breach affected about 100 million people in the US, and 6 million in Canada. The hacker gained access to information including credit scores and social security numbers of about 140,000 customers.

More background from the AP:

Between March and July of this year, Thompson created scanning software that allowed her to identify customers of a cloud computing company that had misconfigured their firewalls, allowing someone to access their servers, according to the indictment.

Once she had access, Thompson stole data and used the computer power to “mine” cryptocurrency for her own benefit, a practice known as “cryptojacking,” the indictment said.

Alabama governor Kay Ivey signing into law the Alabama Human Life Protection Act in May.
Alabama governor Kay Ivey signing into law the Alabama Human Life Protection Act in May. Photograph: Alabama Governor Office Handout/EPA

Alabama governor Kay Ivey apologized for participating in a racist skit that involved blackface while she was a college student in the 1960s.

From Politico:

In a statement Thursday afternoon, Ivey, a Republican, said she was made aware of a taped interview that she and her then-fiance, Ben LaRavia, gave to an Auburn University student radio station when she was a student there. She said she did not remember the specifics of the skit.

“Even after listening to the tape, I sincerely do not recall either the skit, which evidently occurred at a Baptist Student Union party, or the interview itself, both which occurred 52-years ago,” Ivey said. “Even though Ben is the one on tape remembering the skit — and I still don’t recall ever dressing up in overalls or in blackface — I will not deny what is the obvious.”

In May, Ivey gained national attention for signing into the most restrictive abortion law in the country, banning all abortions, including in cases of rape and incest, except when the mother’s life was at risk. The law is currently caught up in a legal battle, and three clinics in Alabama still offering abortion services.

Earlier this year, Ralph Northam, the democratic governor of Virginia admitted to wearing blackface after a photo from his medical school yearbook surfaced.

Updated

The Surgeon General has issued a national warning against marijuana use by adolescents and pregnant women, as more states legalize it.

“This is a dangerous drug,” said Alex M. Azar II, the secretary of health and human services, in a press conference today. While state laws have changed, Azar emphasized that federal laws have not.

Marijuana is legal in some way — wither for recreational or medical use — in 33 states. The advisory warns: “Marijuana has changed over time. The marijuana available today is much stronger than previous versions.”

From the AP:

Officials said President Donald Trump has donated $100,000 — one-quarter of his annual government salary — toward a digital campaign to raise awareness of the risks. Trump has forgone his official salary since taking office. ...

The American Medical Association said it strongly supports the government’s effort, adding that it for some time it has been recommending against marijuana use by teens, pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding.

The surgeon general said his advisory is a direct result of scientific research that runs counter to changing social mores.

“Marijuana use is a risk to the developing brain,” Adams said. “Over time there has been a change in attitudes about marijuana creating a false sense of security.”

While the White House has made the opioid epidemic a top policy and political priority, marijuana previously had not gotten such high-level attention.

Updated

That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will cover the blog for the next few hours.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • Trump canceled his planned trip to Poland this weekend as meteorologists warned that Hurricane Dorian may soon strike Florida as a Category 4 storm, unleashing potentially catastrophic damage.
  • Joe Biden has pushed back against a Washington Post report that he has repeatedly told a false war story on the campaign trail, conflating elements of multiple events into one stirring anecdote. The Democratic presidential candidate asserted that “the central point is it was absolutely accurate what I said”.
  • The Trump administration has drafted a proposal to subject undocumented immigrants in government custody to DNA testing.
  • ABC released the details of the next Democratic debate, which will take place on a single night in Houston. The 12 September event will mark the first time that all qualifying candidates share the same stage.
  • With the exception of the senator Kirsten Gillibrand, none of the Democratic presidential candidates who missed the debate stage have shown any indication of ending their campaigns.
  • The president and the White House released scathing statements about James Comey after the DOJ inspector general concluded that the former FBI director violated DOJ and FBI policies by sharing memos on his interactions with Trump. But the watchdog also concluded Comey had not leaked classified information to the media, as Trump has repeatedly claimed.

Maanvi will have more coverage on the news of the day, so stay tuned.

Updated

Trump unveiled the new logo for the US Space Command during a Rose Garden ceremony to celebrate its establishment.

The president said the newly established Space Command would help the United States confront the next war-fighting domain and vowed that it would be followed by his promised Space Force.

But it’s worth noting that the Space Command is separate from a potential Space Force, which Trump has proposed as a separate branch of the military. Such a move would require congressional approval, a steep hurdle with a Democratic-controlled House.

Trump announced his decision to skip the Poland trip during a Rose Garden ceremony to celebrate the establishment of the US Space Command.

“It’s something very important for me to be here,” Trump said. “The storm looks like it could be a very big one indeed.”

The vice president will travel to Poland in Trump’s place as the country commemorates the 80th anniversary of its Nazi invasion.

Trump cancels Poland trip as hurricane approaches Florida

Trump has canceled a planned trip to Poland this weekend as meteorologists warned that Hurricane Dorian may hit Florida as a Category 4 storm.

According to the National Hurricane Center, a Category 4 hurricane is capable of unleashing “catastrophic damage.”

Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, has already declared a state of emergency. “If you’re in the path of this storm -- anywhere on the east coast of Florida -- make your preparations,” DeSantis said at a press conference earlier today. “Take action.”

Updated

Trump administration proposes DNA testing on undocumented immigrants

The Trump administration has drafted a policy that would allow Customs and Border Protection officials to perform DNA testing on undocumented immigrants in government custody.

A US Border Patrol officer stands in front of the border fence in San Diego, California.
A US Border Patrol officer stands in front of the border fence in San Diego, California. Photograph: Ariana Drehsler/AFP/Getty Images

BuzzFeed News reports:

The move will likely inspire the anger of civil liberties and immigrant advocates, who argue that the government should not draw sensitive personal information from people without being tied to a specific crime.

Administration officials estimate that CBP officials would spend more than 20,000 additional work hours on such a policy in its first year of implementation. Hundreds of thousands of individuals could be tested each year if the draft regulation, proposed by the Department of Justice, is fully implemented.

While the regulation does not specifically say Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials would also test people in their custody, it also does not limit them from doing so.

In a statement to BuzzFeed News, a DHS official said ‘DHS is working closely with the Department of Justice on a path forward for DNA collection.’

The official noted an ICE pilot program at the southwest border earlier this year, in which the agency took voluntary DNA tests of those they suspected of fraudulently claiming to be families.

Biden pushes back against report that he told false war story

Joe Biden is pushing back against the Washington Post’s report that a war story the former vice-president has told on the campaign trail contains many falsehoods.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden answers a question during a town hall event at Clinton College.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden answers a question during a town hall event at Clinton College. Photograph: Sean Rayford/Getty Images

The Post reported that the presidential candidate had conflated elements of multiple events in his story about a Navy captain rejecting a Silver Star for retrieving the body of a dead comrade.

“I don’t understand what they’re talking about, but the central point is it was absolutely accurate what I said,” Biden told the Charleston Post and Courier. “He refused the medal. I put it on him, he said, ‘Don’t do that to me, sir. He died. He died.’ ”

Biden, who is campaigning in South Carolina today, went on to deny “that there’s anything I said about that that wasn’t the essence of the story.”

“The story was that he refused the medal because the fella he tried to save —and risked his life saving — died,” Biden said. “That’s the beginning, middle and end. The rest of you guys can take it and do what you want with it.”

Updated

ABC has released the podium order for the next Democratic debate, which will be held on Sept. 12 in Houston.

Given that the debate is only one night, this will mark the first time that all qualifying candidates will share the same stage.

Joe Biden will appear at center stage, with Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders next to him. The next top-polling candidates, Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg, will stand next to Warren and Sanders.

Interestingly, entrepreneur Andrew Yang will be closer to center stage than other more “establishment” candidates like Amy Klobuchar and Beto O’Rourke.

Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer has released nine years of tax returns, which run 2,683 pages and show the billionaire activist has paid more then $400 million in taxes since 2009.

“This disclosure is unprecedented, compared with many previous candidates’ time in the private sector,” Steyer’s campaign said in a statement accompanying the release. “Tom believes it is important to provide voters with an understanding of his role in the private sector, which he has since left behind to work for the public good.”

The returns also detail Steyer’s political and charitable contributions, which range in annual totals from $52,500 to nearly $140 million.

White House releases scathing statement on Comey

The White House condemned Jim Comey after the release of the DOJ inspector general’s report about the former FBI director sharing memos on his interactions with Trump.

“James Comey is a proven liar and leaker. The Inspector General’s report shows Comey violated the most basic obligations of confidentiality that he owed to the United States Government and to the American people, ‘in order to achieve a personally desired outcome,’” the White House’s statement reads.

It goes on: “Because Comey shamefully leaked information to the press—in blatant violation of FBI policies—the Nation was forced to endure the baseless politically motivated, two-year witch hunt. Comey disgraced himself and his office to further a personal political agenda, and this report further confirms that fact.”

But the report actually said the inspector general “found no evidence that Comey or his attorneys released any of the classified information contained in any of the Memos to members of the media.” Investigators did conclude, however, that Comey had violated DOJ and FBI policies by sharing the memos.

During his Fox News Radio interview, Trump continued to gripe about the network’s coverage of him.

The president told Brian Kilmeade that he is “not happy with Fox.” “People think Fox is for me,” Trump said. “Look, Sean [Hannity], and Laura [Ingraham] and Tucker [Carlson] has really been very good — well, Tucker’s a little tricky, but that’s OK.”

Trump wrote in a tweet yesterday that Fox “isn’t working for us anymore,” prompting some of the network’s analysts to push back against the president.

Trump’s ire seems to stem from the attention Fox has given to the Democratic presidential primary and the network’s polls showing him losing to the race’s front-runners in hypothetical match-ups.

But the president still reserved more anger for CNN, telling Kilmeade that doing an interview with the network would be “disloyal to my followers.”

US is 'getting close' to an agreement on troop withdrawal in Afghanistan, Trump says

Trump said in an interview with Fox News radio that US negotiators are “getting close” to an agreement on withdrawing thousands of troops from Afghanistan, but he did not elaborate on any timeline for the move.

“Who knows if it’s going to happen,” Trump told “The Brian Kilmeade Show.” He added, “We’re going down to 8,600 (troops) and then we’ll make a determination from there.”

But Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, cautioned just a day earlier that it was too early to talk about a full troop withdrawal. “I’m not using the withdraw word right now,” Dunford said during a press conference. “It’s our judgment that the Afghans need support to deal with the level of violence” in the country.

Trump has reportedly been anxious to withdraw the 14,000 US troops remaining in the country, but even some of the president’s allies have warned that such a move could give too much power to the Taliban.

One of Trump’s closest congressional allies, senator Lindsey Graham, echoed the president’s claims that the inspector general report was a remarkable rebuke of Jim Comey.

Representative Jim Jordan, another congressional ally of Trump’s, said the report’s findings showed Comey considered himself above the law.

But Comey had a much different reading of the report, arguing that he was owed an apology by those who had accused him of leaking classified information.

Trump says Comey was 'thoroughly disgraced' by watchdog report

In very predictable fashion, Trump has weighed in on the DOJ inspector general’s report about Jim Comey, saying the former FBI director was “thoroughly disgraced and excoriated.”

But the inspector general did not conclude that Comey had leaked classified information, as Trump has repeatedly claimed.

The office said in its report that it “found no evidence that Comey or his attorneys released any of the classified information contained in any of the Memos to members of the media.”

Investigators did conclude, however, that Comey had violated DOJ and FBI policies by sharing memos detailing his interactions with Trump.

Updated

Criminal case against Epstein formally closes

A judge has formally ended the criminal case against financier Jeffrey Epstein.
US district judge Richard Berman today granted prosecutors’ request to dismiss charges against Epstein after he killed himself in jail in New York on August 10 while he was awaiting his sex trafficking trial, the Associated Press writes.

The judge’s action had been expected after the disgraced financier’s death.
The announcement minutes ago came after an unusual hearing Berman held on Tuesday where sixteen women detailed how Epstein abused them.

The women said he used his financial power and connections to famous people, ranging from politicians to media and business luminaries, to make them vulnerable to sexual attacks that sometimes went on for years.

The allegations mirrored the criminal charges in which prosecutors said Epstein repeatedly assaulted women and teenage girls in the early 2000s.

Attorney General William Barr has promised the Justice Department will continue to pursue those who enabled Epstein to carry out sex attacks.

Teala Davies (R), one of deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged victims, attorney Gloria Allred (C), and another unidentified alleged victim, with her baby (L), exit the US federal courthouse in New York on Tuesday after a special hearing to voice their allegations against him, despite his pre-trial death earlier this month.
Teala Davies (R), one of deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged victims, attorney Gloria Allred (C), and another unidentified alleged victim, with her baby (L), exit the US federal courthouse in New York on Tuesday after a special hearing to voice their allegations against him, despite his pre-trial death earlier this month. Photograph: Alba Vigaray/EPA

Biden tells false war story on the campaign trail

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has repeatedly told a story on the campaign trail about the bravery of a Navy captain he met while serving as vice president. But it appears that many of the story’s details are false.

Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden talking on the campaign trail in South Carolina earlier today
Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden talking on the campaign trail in South Carolina earlier today Photograph: Sean Rayford/Getty Images

The Washington Post reports:

Joe Biden painted a vivid scene for the 400 people packed into a college meeting hall. A four-star general had asked the then-vice president to travel to Kunar province in Afghanistan, a dangerous foray into ‘godforsaken country’ to recognize the remarkable heroism of a Navy captain.

Some told him it was too risky, but Biden said he brushed off their concerns. ‘We can lose a vice president,’ he said. ‘We can’t lose many more of these kids. Not a joke.’

The Navy captain, Biden recalled Friday night, had rappelled down a 60-foot ravine under fire and retrieved the body of an American comrade, carrying him on his back. Now the general wanted Biden to pin a Silver Star on the American hero who, despite his bravery, felt like a failure.

‘He said, ‘Sir, I don’t want the damn thing!’ ’ Biden said, his jaw clenched and his voice rising to a shout. ‘ ‘Do not pin it on me, Sir! Please, Sir. Do not do that! He died. He died!’ ‘

The room was silent.

‘This is the God’s truth,’ Biden had said as he told the story. ‘My word as a Biden.’

Except almost every detail in the story appears to be incorrect. Based on interviews with more than a dozen U.S. troops, their commanders and Biden campaign officials, it appears as though the former vice president has jumbled elements of at least three actual events into one story of bravery, compassion and regret that never happened.

Updated

ABC confirms next debate will be held to one night

ABC, who is hosting the next Democratic debate, confirmed that the event will occur on a single night, Sept. 12, in Houston.

The network also confirmed the ten candidates who have qualified for the debate: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julián Castro, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang.

The debate will mark the first time Biden and Warren have met onstage as the pair, along with Sanders, have consistently out-polled their competitors.

ABC will air the debate from 8 to 11 p.m. E.T. on Sept. 12 from Texas Southern University, and four of the network’s hosts (George Stephanopoulos, David Muir, Linsey Davis and Jorge Ramos) will moderate. The podium order will be announced later today.

ABC also clarified that candidates will be allowed to make opening statements but not closing statements. Each candidate will have one minute and 15 seconds for direct responses to questions and 45 seconds for responses and rebuttals.

Democratic presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren hug after participating in the first round of the second Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season in Detroit, Michigan, last month.
Democratic presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren hug after participating in the first round of the second Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season in Detroit, Michigan, last month. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

Trump attacks O'Donnell after MSNBC host retracts story

Trump is gloating after MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell retracted a thinly sourced story about the president’s finances.

O’Donnell reported on his show Tuesday night that a single source had told him some of Trump’s loans from Deutsche Bank had Russian co-signers.

The host acknowledged during his show last night that the story did not meet NBC’s reporting standards. “Tonight, we are retracting the story,” O’Donnell said. “We don’t know whether the information is inaccurate, but the fact is we do know it wasn’t ready for broadcast, and for that I apologize.”

Trump then took to Twitter to make the baseless argument that the incident was reflective of a wider “Fake News” problem.

Of course, O’Donnell’s retraction reflects journalists’ willingness to acknowledge when they have gotten their facts wrong. Trump has almost never acknowledged getting his facts wrong, even though he very frequently does.

Darrell Issa, a former Republican congressman from California, has formed an exploratory committee as he weighs a potential return to Capitol Hill.

“I have formally launched an exploratory committee for the 50th Congressional District in California,” Issa wrote on a new website. The 50th District is currently represented by Duncan Hunter, who has been accused of misusing campaign funds to facilitate extramarital affairs.

“I have received such a tremendous outpouring of encouragement from supporters inside the district, and around the state and across the Nation,” Issa said. “I’m truly grateful for the many encouraging phone calls, messages and letters that I have received.”

Issa retired from Congress last year after narrowly winning re-election in 2016. His website touts his past work as a chairman of the House oversight committee, but several sections of the site were marked with “placeholder” titles, which might not inspire confidence in California voters.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • Jim Comey, the former FBI director, violated DOJ and FBI policies by sharing memos detailing his interactions with Trump, according to the DOJ’s inspector general. But the watchdog found no evidence Comey released classified information to the media.
  • Trump’s former defense secretary, Jim Mattis, has sidestepped questions about the president’s fitness to serve. Mattis, who is starting a book tour to promote “Call Sign Chaos,” told the Atlantic that he felt he owed the administration some silence.
  • The third Democratic debate will be a one-night event after only 10 candidates managed to qualify. Despite spending $16 million to make the cut, billionaire activist Tom Steyer fell one poll short of qualification.

Trump will participate in a ceremony this afternoon for the establishment of the US Space Command, so stay tuned.

Even though she did not make the cut for the third debate, Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard ruled out the possibility of running as an independent candidate if she fails to win the party’s nomination.

“I will not,” the Hawaii congresswoman told CNN when asked about the possibility. “No, I have ruled that out.”

She added: “I’m going to continue to focus on moving our campaign forward, continuing this grassroots campaign, continuing to deliver our message to the American people and ask for their support.”

Gabbard still has a chance to appear in the fourth debate, given that she has already met the donor requirement and has more time to get two additional qualifying polls.

But Gabbard appeared to minimize the importance of debates while speaking to CNN, saying they are “not the only way to be able to talk to voters and to be able to spend time with them.”

Most of the Democratic presidential candidates who did not make the cut for the next debate are showing no signs of giving up the fight.

Despite having one qualifying poll, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand dropped out of the race yesterday after acknowledging she would not be able to participate in the September debate.

And yet John Delaney, who has very little to show for the millions he has spent on his presidential campaign, is continuing with his bid.

Marianne Williamson and Tulsi Gabbard, who have met the DNC’s donor requirement but have not yet crossed its polling threshold, also appeared committed to staying in the race.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden sharply condemned the Trump administration’s latest immigration policy move.

Reports emerged yesterday that the administration has been denying requests from non-citizens to remain in the country to receive medical attention for severe health problems.

“We are running out of words to condemn the inhumanity of this administration,” Biden said in a statement.

Representative Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House judiciary committee, said the DOJ watchdog’s report on Comey underscored the need to investigate the origins of the Russia probe.

“I’m grateful to Inspector General Horowitz for his characteristically thorough and professional work. This report confirms that James Comey violated the FBI’s own standards of conduct and was dishonest about how he handled classified material,” Collins said in a statement.

He went on: “This further cements the need for us to get to the root of how the Russia investigation began. It’s time to restore Americans’ confidence that federal law enforcement is committed to justice and free from political gamesmanship.”

The DOJ inspector general is also expected to soon release its report on the origins of the Russia investigation, which Republicans have claimed was tainted by anti-Trump bias.

CNN reports:

CNN reported last month that federal investigators in Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s office had conducted more than 100 interviews as part of the review. Its release is not expected until September at the earliest ...

Allies of the President, including GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, have predicted that the FISA report would be ‘ugly and damning.’ Last week, Graham vowed to bring Horowitz before his committee to publicly testify on the investigation, which the President has nicknamed ‘Spygate.’

Comey reacts to the DOJ watchdog report by taking aim at critics

Comey has weighed in on the release of the DOJ inspector general’s report, arguing that those who have accused him of leaking classified information owe him a apology.

Comey specifically called out Trump for repeatedly denouncing the former FBI director as a “leaker.”

Although the report concludes Comey did violate DOJ and FBI policies by sharing his memos detailing interactions with Trump, it notes that DOJ officials declined to pursue prosecution against Comey.

Comey’s memos detailed several interactions he had with Trump that raised alarms among Democratic lawmakers.

For example, the former FBI director alleged the president expressed hope in a private meeting that Comey would “let go” of an investigation into Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser.

Comey said Trump also demanded that he express loyalty to him, a claim that the president has flatly denied. “I hardly know the man,” Trump said in 2017. “I’m not going to say: ‘I want you to pledge allegiance.’ Who would do that?”

Updated

Comey has repeatedly dismissed claims that he leaked classified information as a political talking point.

The president himself as been one of the most ardent supporters of this attack line against the former FBI director.

“To be clear, this was not a ‘leak’ of classified information no matter how many times politicians, political pundits, or the president call it that,” Comey wrote in his 2018 memoir. “A private citizen may legally share unclassified details of a conversation with the president with the press, or include that information in a book.”

But the DOJ inspector general concluded Comey’s actions did indeed violate the department’s policies.

Comey 'set a dangerous example,' DOJ watchdog concludes

The inspector general’s report centers on a series of memos Comey wrote detailing his personal interactions with Trump and whether the release of some of those memos exposed classified information.

The contents of the memos, some of which Comey shared with a friend who in turn provided them to the New York Times, helped launch special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

The president has repeatedly accused Comey of being a “leaker” for sharing the memos, but the Justice Department declined to pursue prosecution against the former FBI director.

Nonetheless, the DOJ inspector general found that Comey’s actions “set a dangerous example for the over 35,000 current FBI employees—and the many thousands more former FBI employees—who similarly have access to or knowledge of non-public information.”

Comey violated DOJ and FBI policies by sharing memos, inspector general concludes

The Justice Department’s office of the inspector general has released its report on whether Jim Comey, the former FBI director, violated department policies by sharing memos on his interactions with Trump.

The report notes that the department declined to pursue prosecution against Comey, as has been reported.

But it concludes: “Comey’s retention, handling, and dissemination of certain Memos violated Department and FBI policies, and his FBI Employment Agreement.”

Today marks a rare occasion for Washington in the Trump era. All three of the country’s major newspapers – the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal – have front pages lacking the president’s name.

This might surprise the president, who spent yesterday tweeting his ire about Puerto Rico as it prepared for a hurricane and denying claims he has promised pardons to aides if they break the law to get his border wall built.

But a New York Times reporter warned that Trump will likely take note of his name’s absence and act to change it for tomorrow’s editions.

Trump administration to reverse methane standards

The Trump administration is expected to announce today that it will loosen regulations on the powerful greenhouse gas methane.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

The proposed plan would do away with Obama-era requirements for the industry to install technologies that monitor and limit leaks from new wells, tanks and pipeline networks and to more frequently inspect for leaks.

It would also forestall legal requirements that would have forced the EPA to set rules on emissions from thousands of pre-existing wells and industry sites.

Some companies have asked for the rollback, while others, including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, have warned the Trump administration that a lack of government-backed minimum requirements to curb emissions could undermine the argument that natural gas is a cleaner fuel. They also say legal wrangling could lead to years of uncertainty before deregulation would lower costs.

MSNBC announced that several presidential candidates have signed on for the network’s climate change forum, which will be held on Sept. 19 and 20.

Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg are among the Democratic presidential contenders who have said they will participate, but other top-polling candidates appear to have declined the invitation.

Republican presidential candidate Bill Weld, who has launched a long-shot primary challenge to Trump, will also be present.

The forum, which will be hosted by Chris Hayes and Ali Velshi at Georgetown University, is in addition to a seven-hour climate town hall that CNN has planned for next week.

But climate activists are still complaining about the Democratic National Committee’s refusal to hold a climate-specific debate.

Steyer misses the debate stage after spending $16 million

The stage is set for the next Democratic debate, and the list of participants is noteworthy for who it does not include.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is, of course, among those who did not make the cut. The New York Democrat ended her presidential bid yesterday after failing to hit the polling or donor threshold for the next debate.

Billionaire activist Tom Steyer will also not get the chance to spar with his competitors in Houston next month. Despite spending $16 million since entering the race last month, Steyer fell one poll short of qualifying. But he will likely qualify for the next debate, given that candidates have more time to hit the requirements.

With Gillibrand dropping out and Steyer’s $16 million gambit not paying off, the pressure will now be on other lower-polling candidates to drop out.

Mattis dodges questions about whether Trump is fit to serve

Happy Thursday, live blog readers!

Donald Trump’s former defense secretary, Jim Mattis, has found himself in a very threatening position for the president: on a book tour.

Trump has previously been burned by former aides publishing tell-all books about their time with the president. But if Mattis’ newly published interview with the Atlantic is any indication, Trump doesn’t have anything to worry about.

The magazine’s Jeffrey Goldberg repeatedly pressed the Marine general on how he would handle questions about Trump during events for “Call Sign Chaos.” While Mattis acknowledges some areas of disagreement with Trump in the book, he shies away from making any sweeping judgments about the president’s leadership.

In the interview, Mattis invoked the French concept of devoir de réserve. “The duty of silence. If you leave an administration, you owe some silence. When you leave an administration over clear policy differences, you need to give the people who are still there as much opportunity as possible to defend the country. They still have the responsibility of protecting this great big experiment of ours.”

He added: “I know the malevolence some people feel for this country, and we have to give the people who are protecting us some time to carry out their duties without me adding my criticism to the cacophony that is right now so poisonous.”

In short: Don’t hold your breath about any groundbreaking revelations in his new book or on his tour.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attends a House Oversight Committee hearing.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attends a House Oversight Committee hearing. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

Here’s what else the blog is keeping its eye on:

  • Trump will attend a ceremony for the establishment of the US Space Command at 4 pm E.T. Mike Pence will also attend and deliver remarks.
  • Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will hold a community town hall on public housing tonight.
  • Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are both campaigning in South Carolina.

That’s all still coming up, so stay tuned.

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