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edencottone

Biden under pressure to tap fewer political ambassadors than Trump, Obama - POLITICO - 0 views

www.politico.com/...n-political-ambassadors-476050

shared by edencottone on 17 Mar 21 - No Cached
  • Donald Trump named more of his political allies to serve as ambassadors than any president in modern history. Now the pressure is on Joe Biden to reverse that trend — and set a new standard.
  • “Our diplomats expect Biden to build diplomacy back better. That’s what he promised on the campaign trail,” said Brett Bruen, a former Foreign Service officer who now does consulting work.
  • The Biden presidency is no different, according to interviews with five donors, but after the perception of corruption around nominees grew during the Trump years, Biden is being pressed to appoint more career diplomats.
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • But Trump increased that number to roughly 44 percent, which included posts in some countries that usually went to career diplomats, such Thailand and Kenya.
  • John McCain; longtime Biden friend and former Sen. Chris Dodd; and Comcast executive David Cohen. Richard Perkins, a donor and former speaker of the Nevada Assembly, told POLITICO that he is lobbying to be the top U.S. diplomat in Canada.
  • There are some who do a lot for the campaign and they don’t have a lot of experience in government and you want to take care of them and what the fuck else are you going to do with them?”
  • Instead, the White House has been focused on pushing Covid legislation through Congress and compiling lists of nominees for judgeships and attorneys general. Biden has named only one ambassador thus far: Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a former State Department official and ambassador, to the United Nations.
  • Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), a Democratic fundraiser who served as ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, said he’s received calls from about a dozen donors in recent weeks trying to determine their next steps.
  • On Wednesday, Biden will meet virtually with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, though no ambassador is expected to be named.
  • We continue to engage in conversations with the White House and we've been gratified that our counterparts understand and value the importance of career professionals in senior roles, including ambassadorships,” a senior State Department official said when asked about the status of the situation.
  • “When you talk to [donors], get them in a private room and off guard, they’ll be real open to the fact that they’re looking to get something out of it,” according to a donor. “Is it openly spoken about? No, but it’s pretty clear.”
  • “He is a guy who has come through the long Democratic tradition, but unlike Trump, I think he’s going to pick career people for very important posts,” a Biden ally said.
  • They also hope the administration considers placing career appointees in high-profile but challenging ambassadorships in Russia and China.
  • Saudi Arabian officials, for example, have often preferred having a political appointee because such figures are more likely to have a direct line to the president. But given the Biden administration’s efforts to de-emphasize the U.S.-Saudi relationship, placing a career diplomat in Riyadh could essentially tell the Saudis that they won’t get backchannels to Biden or special favors.
  • “No other country has nearly half its ambassadorships vacant, or ever has. This hurts our ability to defend our national interests and pursue our national objectives,” said Eric Rubin, president of the American Foreign Service Association, the diplomats’ union.
qkirkpatrick

Kim Ki-jong Attacks American Ambassador Mark Lippert in South Korea - The Atlantic - 0 views

www.theatlantic.com/...386953

Korea politics history

shared by qkirkpatrick on 08 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • On Thursday morning, Mark Lippert, the American ambassador to South Korea, was viciously attacked by a razor-wielding assailant moments before Lippert was set to speak at a meeting in Seoul
  • “South and North Korea should be reunified," the attacker yelled as he gashed Lippert's face and wrist, causing wounds that would ultimately require two-and-a-half hours of surgery and some 80 stitches.
  • The U.S. State Department issued an initial statement in which it labeled the attack an "assault" and condemned it as an "act of violence."
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  • Meanwhile, North Korea praised the attack as a "knife shower of justice" and "just punishment" for military cooperation between the United States and South Korea.
  • An irony here is that Thursday's attack took place while Lippert was attending an event organized by the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation which, CNN notes, is a group that "advocates peaceful reunification between the two Koreas." Kim was apparently a member of the group.
Javier E

Trump's Favorite Ambassador Makes a Very Trumpian Splash in Berlin - WSJ - 0 views

www.wsj.com/...n-splash-in-berlin-11563029427

ambassador germany trump diplomacy

shared by Javier E on 15 Jul 19 - No Cached
  • During a meeting with Angela Merkel, Vice President Mike Pence praised Richard Grenell, the blunt-spoken U.S. ambassador to Germany, eliciting a characteristically dry comment from the chancellor.
  • Turning to Mr. Grenell, Ms. Merkel said his style “took getting used to,”
  • Mr. Grenell, a confidant of the president and former adviser to his campaign, embodies both the diplomatic doctrine of the Trump administration and its new posture toward U.S. allies in Europe: engagement, public criticism that rankles host nations, some achievements and some unbridgeable divides.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • On his first day in his new post, Mr. Grenell, 52 years old, sparked outrage in Germany with a tweet demanding German companies wind down their operations in Iran. The acrimony was compounded by his call in a Breitbart News interview for empowering conservatives across Europ
  • A senior member of a governing party compared Mr. Grenell to a far-right colonial officer
  • opposition politicians
  • called for the U.S. ambassador to be expelled.
  • Mr. Trump has often privately praised Mr. Grenell’s TV appearances and his social media presence—peppered alternately with criticism of German policy and pictures of his dog, Lola—and described the ambassador as someone who “gets it.”
  • Mr. Grenell “understands what his mission is—his mission is what my father gives him,” Donald Trump Jr.
  • Thanks to his direct access to the president, Mr. Grenell has extended his remit beyond Germany, holding meetings with conservative leaders such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. The president views Mr. Grenell “not just as his man in Germany, but his man in Europe,
ethanmoser

State funeral held for Greece's slain ambassador to Brazil | Fox News - 0 views

www.foxnews.com/...lain-ambassador-to-brazil.html

greece murder brazil ambassador

shared by ethanmoser on 16 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • State funeral held for Greece's slain ambassador to Brazil
  • Greece's ambassador to Brazil, who was murdered there last month, has been buried with full military and civilian honors normally reserved for government ministers.
  • Brazilian police say they believe he was killed by his wife's lover under her orders. Those two and a third person have been arrested.
anonymous

Malaysia Forces Out North Korean Ambassador - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...-north-korea-kim-jong-nam.html

malaysia north korean ambassador history

shared by anonymous on 04 Mar 17 - No Cached
  • Malaysia Forces Out North Korean Ambassador
  • The government of Malaysia declared North Korea’s ambassador “persona non grata” on Saturday and gave him 48 hours to leave the country, a major break in diplomatic relations after the airport assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of North Korea’s leader.
  • The decision to expel Ambassador Kang Chol came after he failed to appear at Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as requested. Earlier, Mr. Kang had ignored a request to apologize for several inflammatory statements, including questioning the police finding that Mr. Kim was murdered with a banned nerve agent.“It should be made clear — Malaysia will react strongly against any insults made against it or any attempt to tarnish its reputation,” Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said in a statement announcing the expulsion order.
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  • On Thursday, Malaysia announced that it would end its practice of allowing North Koreans to enter without a visa, effective Monday.About 1,000 North Koreans live and work in Malaysia, where they can help bring in foreign currency for their isolated country, which has struggled economically under international sanctions.
julia rhodes

3 Gulf Countries Pull Ambassadors From Qatar Over Its Support of Islamists - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...ll-ambassadors-from-qatar.html

history politics gulf countries pull qatar support

shared by julia rhodes on 06 Mar 14 - No Cached
  • Tensions between Qatar and neighboring Persian Gulf monarchies broke out Wednesday when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from the country over its support of the Muslim Brotherhood and allied Islamists around the region.
  • The concerted effort to isolate Qatar, a tiny, petroleum-rich peninsula, was an extraordinary rebuke of its strategy of aligning with moderate Islamists in the hope of extending its influence amid the Arab Spring revolts.But in recent months Islamists’ gains have been rolled back, with the military takeover in Egypt, the governing party shaken in Turkey, chaos in Libya and military gains by the government in Syria.
  • The Saudi monarchs, in particular, have grumbled for years as tiny Qatar has swaggered around like a heavyweight. It used its huge wealth and Al Jazeera, which it owns, as instruments of regional power. It negotiated a peace deal in Lebanon, supported Palestinian militants in Gaza, shipped weapons to rebels in Libya and Syria, and gave refuge to exiled leaders of Egypt’s Brotherhood — all while certain its own security was assured by the presence of a major American military base.
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  • All four gulf countries actively back the Syrian rebels against President Bashar al-Assad, and all see Shiite Iran as a regional rival. But now the split with Qatar makes it harder for the West to work with them as a group on common concerns like Iran or Syria.
  • . The internal tensions make it harder for Washington to reassure the nervous governments in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia that American negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program will not undermine gulf security.
  • In its own statement, Qatar expressed “surprise and regret” and denied that the rift had anything to do with “security and stability.”
  • “The whole issue is really about Sisi,” he said. “These countries are supporting a coup d’état” and “they want Qatar to support such a policy” but “we will never support another regime that kills its own people.”
  • Qatar, on the other hand, was Egypt’s most important donor when the Brotherhood was in power. Doha, along with London and Istanbul, has become a hub for Brotherhood leaders in exile.
  • The United Arab Emirates state news media reported last month that its government had summoned Qatar’s ambassador to express “extreme resentment” at a declaration on Al Jazeera by Sheik Qaradawi that the Emirates “has always been opposed to Islamic rule.”
malonema1

Trump walks back sanctions against Russia, contradicting Nikki Haley - TODAY.com - 0 views

www.today.com/...ting-nikki-haley-1212661827918

trump politics US

shared by malonema1 on 01 May 18 - No Cached
  • Trump walks back sanctions against Russia, contradicting Nikki Haley
  • President Trump is walking back plans to impose new economic sanctions against Russia announced Sunday by U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. 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  • Amid the historic developments formally ending the Korean War, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has promised to close down a nuclear test site in May. 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five years after her escape from the Cleveland home of Ariel Castro, who held her and two others captive for over a decade, Michelle Knight (now known as Lily Rose Lee) joins Megyn Kelly TODAY to talk about her ordeal and her new memoir, “Life After Darkness.” She talks about her recent marriage and her prospects for having a child.","title":"Cleveland kidnapping survivor Michelle Knight talks about new life, marriage","thumbnail":"https://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Video/201804/tdy_mk_news_michelle_knight_180430.today-vid-rail.jpg","socialTitle":"Cleveland kidnapping survivor Michelle Knight talks about new life, marriage","seoHeadline":"Cleveland kidnapping survivor Michelle Knight talks about new life, 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  • ...1 more annotation...
  • North Korea to close down nuclear test site in May
katherineharron

Marie Yovanovitch calls for investigation into 'disturbing' surveillance as ex-diplomat... - 0 views

www.cnn.com/...index.html

shared by katherineharron on 16 Jan 20 - No Cached
  • Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch on Tuesday called for an investigation into the "disturbing" notion that she was under surveillance from associates of the President's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
  • The texts released by the House Democrats Tuesday show Connecticut Republican congressional candidate Robert Hyde berating Yovanovitch and suggest he was monitoring her while she was in Kiev and relaying her movements to Parnas. Hyde declined to comment to CNN when asked if he had surveilled Yovanovitch, who served as a key witness in the House impeachment probe.
  • Another retired ambassador said they had "never heard of anything like it.""It's common that terrorists and former communists do this to us. It's appalling and incomprehensible that somebody who is working for the President's personal lawyer would have been doing this to our ambassador," they told CNN.That ambassador explained that surveillance is a "real problem" that's "unfortunately pretty common" for diplomats. Embassies have "surveillance detection teams" -- normally locally hired staff -- "who actually are out there looking to see if anyone is showing unwarranted interest" in embassy operations, they said.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Yovanovitch, who was recalled from her post in Kiev in May 2019 after a smear campaign led by Trump's allies, has been repeatedly maligned by the US President. He told his Ukrainian counterpart in July 2019 that she was "going to go through some things," according to a rough White House transcript of the presidents' conversation -- a message Yovanovitch said she found threatening.
  • McEldowney told CNN she believes Pompeo is "derelict in his duty for refusing to speak out about diplomats who are loyally and faithfully and professionally carrying out their responsibilities and who are being slandered by political attacks."The State Department did not reply to a request for comment about the criticism.
marleymorton

Trump Team: Top Adviser Talked With Russian Ambassador Before U.S. Hacking Response - 0 views

www.npr.org/...dor-before-u-s-hacking-respons

politics US trump russia

shared by marleymorton on 15 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • marleymorton on 15 Jan 17
     
    UPDATE: Trump Team: Adviser Spoke To Russia Official The Day U.S. Sanctions Were Announced The man tapped to be national security adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, retired Gen. Michael Flynn, exchanged text messages and spoke with Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak, in December - around the time of the Obama administration's response to Russian interference during the presidential campaign, a spokesman for Trump acknowledged Friday.
fischerry

Investigation underway into contacts between Flynn, Russian ambassador - CBS News - 0 views

www.cbsnews.com/...el-flynn-russian-us-ambassador

shared by fischerry on 25 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • Investigation underway into contacts between Flynn and Russian ambassador
anonymous

Sergey Kislyak, Russian Envoy, Cultivated Powerful Network in U.S. - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...islyak-russian-ambassador.html

russian envoy network

shared by anonymous on 03 Mar 17 - No Cached
  • Sergey Kislyak, Russian Envoy, Cultivated Powerful Network in U.S.
  • Sergey I. Kislyak, the longtime Russian ambassador to the United States, hosted a dazzling dinner in his three-story, Beaux-Arts mansion four blocks north of the White House to toast Michael A. McFaul just weeks before he took up his post as the American envoy to Russia.
  • Mr. Kislyak’s networking success has landed him at the center of a sprawling controversy and made him the most prominent, if politically radioactive, ambassador in Washington. Two advisers to President Trump have run into trouble for not being more candid about contacts with Mr. Kislyak: Michael T. Flynn, who was forced to resign as national security adviser, and now Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who admitted two previously undisclosed conversations. Mr. Kislyak also met during the transition with Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • For Mr. Kislyak, Washington is no longer the place it once was. It has become lonely, and he has told associates that he is surprised how people who once sought his company were now trying to stay away.
maddieireland334

Egypt's Parliament Expels Lawmaker Who Dined With Israel's Ambassador - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...d-with-israels-ambassador.html

Egypt Israel relations

shared by maddieireland334 on 06 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • Egypt’s Parliament on Wednesday expelled a well-known television personality turned lawmaker over a dinner he had with the Israeli ambassador — a vote that exposed a raw nerve in the mostly tranquil relationship between the two countries.
  • Although Egypt and Israel enjoy close security cooperation, particularly in the struggle against Islamist extremists in Sinai, many Egyptians view Israel with hostility over its policies toward the Palestinians, and public interactions with Israeli officials are considered taboo.
  • That fear, he said, has its basis in a conspiracy theory: that Israel has secretly been helping Ethiopia build the dam as a means of hurting Egyptian interests.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Afterward, the speaker of Parliament, Ali Abdel-Al, said that Egypt respected all of its diplomatic commitments, including those with Israel, and that Mr. Okasha had been punished for meeting a foreign diplomat without permission.
  • After the shoe-throwing episode, Mr. Koren told Israel’s Channel 10 television in a telephone interview that he had spoken with Mr. Okasha, who assured him that he was undeterred.
  • Mr. Koren noted that he had met with Mr. Sisi and other Egyptian officials and that relations between the two countries were “very good.”
johnsonma23

11 Benghazi takeaways: One for each hour - CNNPolitics.com - 0 views

www.cnn.com/...index.html

politics clinton presidential race

shared by johnsonma23 on 23 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • The panel's seven Republicans tried to prove Clinton ignored U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens' requests for additional security before the September 11, 2012, attacks during which Stevens and three other Americans were killed.
  • Clinton -- seeking an October trifecta after delivering a strong performance in the first Democratic presidential debate
  • Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, pushed Clinton hard over her use of a private email server -- mocking her as "the most transparent person ever."
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • "We have diplomatic facilities in war zones," Clinton said. "We have ambassadors that we send to places that have been bombed and attacked all the time."
  • He demanded to know the search terms her attorneys used to sort through which emails were work-related and therefore should be turned over to the State Department and which were personal
  • One of the most compelling -- and informative -- moments of the day unfolded shortly after 7 p.m. during an exchange with Rep. Susan Brooks, R-Ind., who repeatedly asked whether Clinton had spoken with Stevens after he was sworn in
  • Despite Republicans' assurances that Clinton's use of a private email server wouldn't be a primary focus of the hearing, the seven GOP members kept coming back to her emails.
  • Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kansas, asked Clinton why she had never given Stevens her personal email address.
  • He then pushed Clinton on whether Stevens had her home address, fax number or cell phone number, too -- reminding her that her friend Blumenthal does.
malonema1

Trump walks back sanctions against Russia, contradicting Nikki Haley - TODAY.com - 0 views

www.today.com/...-chuck-todd-says-1221829187930

trump politics US

shared by malonema1 on 01 May 18 - No Cached
  • Trump does deserve credit for North Korean talks, Chuck Todd says
  • Meet the Press Moderator joins Sunday TODAY’s Chuck Todd and says President Donald Trump deserves credit for helping create conditions to start talks of denuclearization with North Korea, but says some questions still loom. {"1222279235816":{"mpxId":"1222279235816","canonical_url":"https://www.today.com/video/oregon-trucker-recounts-walking-36-miles-after-losing-his-way-1222279235816","canonicalUrl":"https://www.today.com/video/oregon-trucker-recounts-walking-36-miles-after-losing-his-way-1222279235816","legacy_url":"https://www.today.com/video/oregon-trucker-recounts-walking-36-miles-after-losing-his-way-1222279235816","playerUrl":"https://www.today.com/offsite/oregon-trucker-recounts-walking-36-miles-after-losing-his-way-1222279235816","ampPlayerUrl":"https://player.today.com/offsite/oregon-trucker-recounts-walking-36-miles-after-losing-his-way-1222279235816","relatedLink":"","sentiment":"Neutral","shortUrl":"https://www.today.com/video/oregon-trucker-recounts-walking-36-miles-after-losing-his-way-1222279235816","description":"Jacob Cartwright, a truck driver in Oregon, accidentally plugged the wrong address into his GPS and wound up lost more than 100 miles out of his way. 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anonymous

Will Russia connection become the Trump administration's Watergate? | US news | The Gua... - 0 views

www.theguardian.com/...russia-trump-watergate-kislyak

russia connection trump administration politics us

shared by anonymous on 04 Mar 17 - No Cached
  • Will Russia connection become the Trump administration's Watergate?
  • As more details emerge of meetings with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and TV hosts have a field day, the scandal seems unlikely to disappear soon
  • Donald Trump flew out of Washington on Friday but was unable to leave a gathering storm of allegations, intrigue and unanswered questions about his ties to Russia behind him.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • The US president’s joint address to Congress this week was well received but was rapidly overshadowed by revelations that his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, had twice spoken with the Russian ambassador during last year’s presidential election.
  • The congressman Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, has called for Sessions to quit, saying he “clearly misled” the Senate about contacts with Russian officials, and demanded that a special prosecutor be appointed.
  • Despite the conclusions of US intelligence agencies, Sessions refused to say whether Putin favoured Trump over Hillary Clinton in the presidential race. “I have never been told that,” he told the host, Tucker Carlson. “I don’t have any idea, Tucker – you’d have to ask them.
  • Last month Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was forced to resign amid controversy over his discussions with Kislyak in late December. On Thursday, it emerged that Kushner joined Flynn at a private meeting with the ambassador at Trump Tower in New York. Another campaign aide, Carter Page, did not deny meeting Kislyak during the Republican national convention. And the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump’s son, Donald Jr, was probably paid at least $50,000 for an appearance late last year at a French thinktank whose founder and wife have strong ties to Russia.
  • Trump, meanwhile, said that Sessions was the target of a “witch-hunt” and declared his “total” confidence in him.
ecfruchtman

Trump Has Nominated Just a Handful of Ambassadors - 0 views

www.wsj.com/...dful-of-ambassadors-1496687887

shared by ecfruchtman on 06 Jun 17 - No Cached
  • ecfruchtman on 06 Jun 17
     
    President Donald Trump lashed out at Senate Democrats, saying they have slowed the approvals of his ambassadors. But for most of the vacant posts, the White House hasn't formally put forward a name, leaving the Senate nothing to act on.
knudsenlu

US ambassador to Netherlands describes own words as 'fake news' | World news | The Guar... - 0 views

www.theguardian.com/...scribes-own-words-as-fake-news

fake news netherlands politics

shared by knudsenlu on 22 Dec 17 - No Cached
  • The US ambassador to the Netherlands faced an excruciating moment on television when he denied ever saying that there were no-go zones in the Netherlands, calling the suggestion “fake news”.
  • Zwart says: “You mentioned in a debate that there are no-go zones in the Netherlands, and that cars and politicians are being set on fire in the Netherlands.” Hoekstra replies: “I didn’t say that. This is actually an incorrect statement. We would call it fake news.”
  • “I didn’t call that fake news. I didn’t use the words today. I don’t think I did.”
malonema1

Shock as Zimbabwe's Mugabe named WHO 'goodwill ambassador' | Fox News - 0 views

www.foxnews.com/...d-who-goodwill-ambassador.html

africa politics

shared by malonema1 on 23 Oct 17 - No Cached
  • GENEVA –  Shock and condemnation continued Saturday after Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe was named a "goodwill ambassador" for the World Health Organization by the agency's first African leader.
  • The 93-year-old Mugabe, the world's oldest head of state, has long been criticized at home for going overseas for medical treatment as Zimbabwe's once-prosperous economy falls apart. Mugabe also faces United States sanctions over his government's human rights abuses.
  • "The government of Robert Mugabe presided over the dramatic reversal of its population's access to food, clean water, basic sanitation and health care," the group concluded. Mugabe's policies led directly to "the shuttering of hospitals and clinics, the closing of its medical school and the beatings of health workers."
saberal

The LA mayor's 'jinx:' Garcetti could leave for India as city faces host of challenges ... - 0 views

www.theguardian.com/...eric-garcetti-india-ambassador

US politics

shared by saberal on 02 Jun 21 - No Cached
  • Pundits have long predicted that Eric Garcetti, the mayor with clear ambitions for higher office, would not finish out his second term. Now, it seems likely that the Democrat running the second largest city in the US will be stepping down more than a year early – with widespread reports that Joe Biden has selected him as his ambassador to India.
  • Garcetti, the son of a former LA district attorney, served as a city councilman before being elected mayor in 2013 on a “back to basics” platform of increasing jobs and fixing city streets. He had initially considered a 2020 White House run and later joined the Biden campaign as a co-chair. When it was rumored last year that he was under consideration for a cabinet position (possibly transportation or housing secretary), Black Lives Matter LA and other activist groups began holding loud, daily protests outside Getty House, the mayor’s residence, urging Biden not to pick a “self-seeking mayor for a cabinet position in which he is completely unqualified”.
  • The LA Times editorial board recently urged Garcetti to stay, praising his “vision for a more livable, transit-oriented, environmentally and technologically friendly city” and his success at passing a new earthquake safety law.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • The pastor said Garcetti had been too focused on forcing people into shelters and relying on law enforcement instead of providing long-term housing solutions. He pointed to the 2015 LAPD fatal shooting of an unhoused Skid Row resident, Charly Africa Keunang, amid a Safer Cities initiative, which funded officer patrols in the neighborhood. Most recently, city leaders faced intense scrutiny for the eviction of a homeless community from a popular park, aided by police.
  • “It’s not surprising. He has this reputation of being a mayor who likes to show up for a photoshoot … who is not really concerned with making the political sacrifices that are necessary to lead a city and help people.”
katherineharron

US diplomat Bill Taylor directly ties Trump to Ukraine quid pro quo - CNNPolitics - 0 views

www.cnn.com/...index.html

trump

shared by katherineharron on 23 Oct 19 - No Cached
  • The top US diplomat in Ukraine, Bill Taylor, testified Tuesday that he had been told President Donald Trump would withhold military aid to the country until it publicly declared investigations would be launched that could help his reelection chances — including into former Vice President Joe Biden, according to a copy of Taylor's opening statement obtained by CNN.
  • Taylor's explosive testimony is likely to add fuel to Democrats' impeachment inquiry into Trump and Ukraine, with Democratic lawmakers leaving the closed door session before three House committees declaring Taylor's testimony was damning for the President. The testimony also undercuts White House assertions that there was no "quid pro quo" tying security assistance with the opening of an investigation, as Taylor says he was told repeatedly that the two were linked.
  • Taylor testified that US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland told him he'd made a mistake by telling the Ukrainian officials that a White House meeting with Zelensky "was dependent on a public announcement of the investigations."
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • Text messages between Taylor and Sondland and provided to Congress show that the two discussed the aid being frozen on the phone, amid concerns Taylor had raised that it was being held up in order to help Trump politically.
  • "I argued to both that the explanation made no sense: the Ukrainians did not 'owe' President Trump anything, and holding up security assistance for domestic political gain was 'crazy,' as I had said in my text message to Ambassadors Sondland and Volker on September 9," Taylor added.
  • Asked about Taylor's comments that Sondland had told him the aid was tied to an investigation, a source familiar with Sondland's testimony said that Sondland cited multiple reasons the security aid was frozen, including because the Europeans weren't giving Ukraine enough and corruption in general. The source said Sondland was only speculating when he referenced the political investigations into the 2016 election and Burisma.
  • Taylor says he was told by a National Security Council official that Trump told Sondland he had insisted Zelensky "go to a microphone and say he is opening investigations of Biden and 2016 interference."
  • Taylor, who testified before the three House committees leading the Democratic impeachment inquiry, planned to lay out the reasoning behind his different WhatsApp text messages in his opening statement Tuesday, the source said. Taylor planned to include a chronology of events, according to the source, dating back to June, when Taylor assumed his post, through October.
  • "I think Gordon Sondland may very well have to come back. He's got some explaining to do," said Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia.
  • Taylor did not bring any new documents to the committee, and he planned to just reference those that have already been made public, the source said. Volker, who is no longer at the State Department, provided the texts to Congress. Other witnesses who have appeared, including Sondland, have been prevented by the State Department from providing documents.
  • Taylor, as the US chargé d'affaires in Ukraine, was in a difficult and delicate position testifying Tuesday, the source said. Taylor's view was that he is there to speak to committee and answer their questions, and he was not looking to issue his own statement publicly. His full opening statement did eventually become public.
  • After the meeting, Taylor texted back and forth with Volker, and among other things he asked why Volker would not want to take the job. Volker said he was better off in his current role -- covering Ukraine as well as Washington and allies and NATO. Taylor was on the ground in Ukraine, serving as de-facto ambassador, about a month later.
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