American Politics Thread V: We're Just Biden Our Time ...

[Kilobugya]

Didn't Bush threaten to invade The Hague if any US service member was ever indicted by the ICC ?

Bush signed a law popularly known as the Hague Invasion Act, authorising the President to use all means necessary to free US or allied personnel from the ICC. More than just Bush, the official and current position of the United States is pre-emptively threatening to invade the Hague.

So it wasn't just a verbal threat, it's actually a law ? Scary.

[Shrillland]

https://abc7ny.com/scott-stringer-sex-abuse-groping-allegtations/10555871/

A former intern is accusing New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Scott Stringer of sexual abuse and harassment.

She says Stringer touched her sexually, without consent, and made multiple advances toward her.

She also says he offered her a role as district leader to not tell anyone.

Hmm...we'll see how it goes.

[Salus Maior]

This is perhaps the worst I’ve ever seen Tariq Nasheed sink.

What would you expect from someone who’s proud of his self identification as a ‘race baiter’.

[Zurkerx]

GOP Rep. Ted Budd joining the primary for NC Senate

Isn't he one of the Reps that voted against certifying Biden's Victory? Well, I shouldn't ask that with this description:

"We all know that Joe Biden is a weak leader who won't stand up to the radical left. Today, the U.S. Senate is the last line of defense against becoming a woke, socialist wasteland, and I'm running to stop that."

[Zurkerx]

Also, Giuliani I think is in trouble: Federal Investigators Have Executed a Search Warrant at his Apartment.

Federal investigators in Manhattan executed a search warrant on Wednesday at the Upper East Side apartment of Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who became President Donald J. Trump’s personal lawyer, stepping up a criminal investigation into Mr. Giuliani’s dealings in Ukraine, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

One of the people said the investigators had seized Mr. Giuliani’s electronic devices.

Executing a search warrant is an extraordinary move for prosecutors to take against a lawyer, let alone a lawyer for a former president, and it marks a major turning point in the long-running investigation into Mr. Giuliani.

The federal authorities have been largely focused on whether Mr. Giuliani illegally lobbied the Trump administration in 2019 on behalf of Ukrainian officials and oligarchs, who at the same time were helping Mr. Giuliani search for dirt on Mr. Trump’s political rivals, including President Biden, who was then a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The United States Attorney’s office in Manhattan and the F.B.I. had for months sought to secure a search warrant for Mr. Giuliani’s phones.

Under Mr. Trump, senior political appointees in the Justice Department repeatedly sought to block such a warrant, The New York Times reported, slowing the investigation as it was gaining momentum last year. After Merrick B. Garland was confirmed as President Biden’s attorney general, the Justice Department lifted its objection to the search.

While the warrant is not an explicit accusation of wrongdoing against Mr. Giuliani, it shows that the investigation has entered an aggressive new phase. To obtain a search warrant, investigators need to persuade a judge they have sufficient reason to believe that a crime was committed and that the search would turn up evidence of the crime.

Spokesmen for the F.B.I. and the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment.

The investigation of Mr. Giuliani grew out of a case against two Soviet-born men who aided his mission in Ukraine to unearth damaging information about Mr. Biden and his son Hunter, who was on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. The prosecutors charged the two men, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, with unrelated crimes in late 2019 and a trial is scheduled for October.

While investigating Mr. Giuliani, prosecutors have examined, among other things, his potential business dealings in Ukraine and his role in pushing the Trump administration to oust the American ambassador to Ukraine, which was the subject of testimony at Mr. Trump’s first impeachment trial.

As he was pressuring Ukrainian officials to investigate the Bidens, Mr. Giuliani became fixated on removing the ambassador, Marie L. Yovanovitch, whom he saw as an obstacle to those efforts. At the urging of Mr. Giuliani and other Republicans, Mr. Trump ultimately ousted Ms. Yovanovitch.

As part of the investigation into Mr. Giuliani, the prosecutors have explored whether he was working not only for Mr. Trump, but also for Ukrainian officials or businesses who wanted the ambassador to be dismissed for their own reasons, according to people briefed on the matter.

Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, it is a federal crime to try to influence or lobby the United States government at the request or direction of a foreign official without disclosing it to the Justice Department.

The prosecutors have scrutinized Mr. Giuliani’s dealings with Yuriy Lutsenko, one of the officials who helped Mr. Giuliani and his associates in their dirt-digging mission while also urging them to work to get the ambassador removed.

Among other things, the prosecutors have examined discussions Mr. Giuliani had about taking on hundreds of thousands of dollars in apparently unrelated consulting business from Mr. Lutsenko, which resulted in a draft retainer agreement that was never executed.

Mr. Giuliani has said he turned down the deal, which would have involved him helping the Ukrainian government recover money it believed had been stolen and stashed overseas.

As the investigation heated up last summer, prosecutors and F.B.I. agents in Manhattan were preparing to seek the search warrant for Mr. Giuliani’s records about his efforts to remove the ambassador, but they first had to notify Justice Department officials in Washington, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Federal prosecutors must consult Justice Department officials in Washington about search warrants involving lawyers because of concerns that they might obtain confidential communications with clients. The proposed warrant for Mr. Giuliani was particularly sensitive because his most prominent client was Mr. Trump.

Career Justice Department officials in Washington largely supported the search warrant, but senior officials raised concerns that the warrant would be issued too close to the election, the people with knowledge of the matter said.

Under longstanding practice, the Justice Department generally tries to avoid taking aggressive investigative actions within 60 days of an election if those actions could affect the outcome of the vote.

The prosecutors in Manhattan tried again after the election, but political appointees in Mr. Trump’s Justice Department sought once more to block the warrant, the people with knowledge of the matter said. At the time, Mr. Trump was still contesting the election results in several states, a legal effort being led by Mr. Giuliani, those officials noted.

Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, it is a federal crime to try to influence or lobby the United States government at the request or direction of a foreign official without disclosing it to the Justice Department.

The prosecutors have scrutinized Mr. Giuliani’s dealings with Yuriy Lutsenko, one of the officials who helped Mr. Giuliani and his associates in their dirt-digging mission while also urging them to work to get the ambassador removed.

[...]

Career Justice Department officials in Washington largely supported the search warrant, but senior officials raised concerns that the warrant would be issued too close to the election, the people with knowledge of the matter said.

Under longstanding practice, the Justice Department generally tries to avoid taking aggressive investigative actions within 60 days of an election if those actions could affect the outcome of the vote.

The prosecutors in Manhattan tried again after the election, but political appointees in Mr. Trump’s Justice Department sought once more to block the warrant, the people with knowledge of the matter said. At the time, Mr. Trump was still contesting the election results in several states, a legal effort being led by Mr. Giuliani, those officials noted.

Looks like Giuliani may have broken the law. And it seems this warrant was delayed too by Trump appointees.

[Kilobugya]

Looks like Giuliani may have broken the law. And it seems this warrant was delayed too by Trump appointees.

So far it would be a harder question to ask who among the Trump "inner circle" isn't a felon...

[Zurkerx]

Looks like Giuliani may have broken the law. And it seems this warrant was delayed too by Trump appointees.

So far it would be a harder question to ask who among the Trump "inner circle" isn't a felon...

Right, and it's quite disturbing by how many it possibly is too. In this case, if a warrant was issued, that means they have a strong probable cause that a crime was committed. We're already aware that Don Jr. may have (likely) lied, and Trump is under two criminal investigations himself: one in NY; one in Georgia. I do wonder how many of his cronies and family will be ensnared, which is a tough question to ask.

[San Lumen]

Next Tuesday we have two major municipal elections

In Omaha incumbent Jean Stothert will easily win a third term over RJ Neary. City council elections will also be held.

Cincinnati is holding a top two primary. Multiple candidates are running but a recent poll showed County Clerk of Courts Aftab Pureval and Dr. Herman Najoli leading the pack. Incumbent John Cranley who may run for governor next year is term limited.

The city council primary is also being held. The general election is November.

Lincoln the capital of Nebraska is holding their city council election as well.

[Grinning Dragon]

Supreme Court hears oral arguments over free speech rights
For context. U.S. Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Off-Campus Student Free Speech Case

[Lady Victory]

Looks like Giuliani may have broken the law.

[San Lumen]

https://www.adn.com/politics/2021/04/28 ... -campaign/

Alaska U.S. Rep. Don Young said he will seek reelection to the seat he has held since 1973. Young, 87, is the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. House. He won his latest re-election bid in November, with 54.4% of the vote, against Alyse Galvin, an independent. Galvin also ran against Young in 2018.

[Hopal]

https://www.adn.com/politics/2021/04/28/alaska-congressman-don-young-87-announces-2022-reelection-campaign/

Alaska U.S. Rep. Don Young said he will seek reelection to the seat he has held since 1973. Young, 87, is the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. House. He won his latest re-election bid in November, with 54.4% of the vote, against Alyse Galvin, an independent. Galvin also ran against Young in 2018.

Young's probably going to win re-election giving he's in Alaska, my prediction is that he serves until his death.

[San Lumen]

https://www.adn.com/politics/2021/04/28/alaska-congressman-don-young-87-announces-2022-reelection-campaign/

Alaska U.S. Rep. Don Young said he will seek reelection to the seat he has held since 1973. Young, 87, is the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. House. He won his latest re-election bid in November, with 54.4% of the vote, against Alyse Galvin, an independent. Galvin also ran against Young in 2018.

Young's probably going to win re-election giving he's in Alaska, my prediction is that he serves until his death.

I’d say that’s a fair assessment. Alaska is slowly trending blue though. Biden is the first Democrat to win Anchorage since 1964.

[Shrillland]

Young's probably going to win re-election giving he's in Alaska, my prediction is that he serves until his death.

I’d say that’s a fair assessment. Alaska is slowly trending blue though. Biden is the first Democrat to win Anchorage since 1964.

Yeah, but he's also the Father of the House, and that prestige draws people to him as well.

[Major-Tom]

I’d say that’s a fair assessment. Alaska is slowly trending blue though. Biden is the first Democrat to win Anchorage since 1964.

Yeah, but he's also the Father of the House, and that prestige draws people to him as well.

He also does very well with Alaskan Natives, overperforming other Dem nominees by 20-30 points among that group each cycle. To be fair, he delivers them earmarks and additional money year after year.

[Kowani]

FDA preparing process of banning menthol cigarettes

The Food and Drug Administration is preparing to bar menthol cigarettes nationwide in a plan to be released Thursday, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The menthol ban would be one of FDA’s most aggressive tobacco reform efforts since the agency first began regulating the industry in 2009, and one long-awaited by scores of public health groups. But it also will likely take years to implement, and FDA does not yet have a permanent commissioner in place for what could be a lengthy battle with industry. The agency will issue the plan as a response to a 2013 citizen’s petition brought by public health groups. A court ordered FDA to respond to the petition by April 29 after two anti-tobacco groups sued for a decision last year. The agency can implement a menthol ban through rule-making, which would involved a draft rule and seeking months of public comments.

Efforts to enact a federal menthol ban have stalled for years even as traction grew in major cities and amid Democratic lawmakers to bar the cigarettes, which — after decades of targeted marketing by industry — are disproportionately popular among Black Americans.

Opponents of a ban argue that it will translate to more over policing of Black communities. Supporters — including most, but not all, of the Congressional Black Caucus — say that industry’s intentional advertising and outreach towards Black Americans resulted in millions of tobacco-related deaths.

The Washington Post first reported details of the impending response. FDA declined to comment.

[San Lumen]

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2021/04/lis ... -vampires/

Lisa Murkowski’s GOP primary challenger is an anti-LGBTQ zealot opposed to medicine & vampires. She believes people can pray away their gay and pharmaceutical drugs are a product of witchcraft.

Kelly Tshibaka penned an article that condemned the movie franchise Twilight as “evil” and suggested it was Satanic propaganda because it “is a perfect example of how the enemy twists, perverts, and ridicules the things of God. She's also called homosexuality a sin.

[Eahland]

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2021/04/lisa-murkowskis-gop-primary-challenger-anti-lgbtq-zealot-opposed-medicine-vampires/

Lisa Murkowski’s GOP primary challenger is an anti-LGBTQ zealot opposed to medicine & vampires. She believes people can pray away their gay and pharmaceutical drugs are a product of witchcraft.

Tshibaka penned an article that condemned the movie franchise Twilight as “evil” and suggested it was Satanic propaganda because it “is a perfect example of how the enemy twists, perverts, and ridicules the things of God. She's also called homosexuality a sin.

But she didn't vote that the golden calf did a crime, and that's all that matters!

[Galloism]

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2021/04/lisa-murkowskis-gop-primary-challenger-anti-lgbtq-zealot-opposed-medicine-vampires/

Lisa Murkowski’s GOP primary challenger is an anti-LGBTQ zealot opposed to medicine & vampires. She believes people can pray away their gay and pharmaceutical drugs are a product of witchcraft.

Tshibaka penned an article that condemned the movie franchise Twilight as “evil” and suggested it was Satanic propaganda because it “is a perfect example of how the enemy twists, perverts, and ridicules the things of God. She's also called homosexuality a sin.

I'm also generally opposed to vampires. Creatures of the darkness sucking the blood of the blood of the living?

That's trademark dilution. That's what that is.

[Kowani]

Also, Giuliani I think is in trouble: Federal Investigators Have Executed a Search Warrant at his Apartment.

Federal investigators in Manhattan executed a search warrant on Wednesday at the Upper East Side apartment of Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who became President Donald J. Trump’s personal lawyer, stepping up a criminal investigation into Mr. Giuliani’s dealings in Ukraine, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

One of the people said the investigators had seized Mr. Giuliani’s electronic devices.

Executing a search warrant is an extraordinary move for prosecutors to take against a lawyer, let alone a lawyer for a former president, and it marks a major turning point in the long-running investigation into Mr. Giuliani.

The federal authorities have been largely focused on whether Mr. Giuliani illegally lobbied the Trump administration in 2019 on behalf of Ukrainian officials and oligarchs, who at the same time were helping Mr. Giuliani search for dirt on Mr. Trump’s political rivals, including President Biden, who was then a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The United States Attorney’s office in Manhattan and the F.B.I. had for months sought to secure a search warrant for Mr. Giuliani’s phones.

Under Mr. Trump, senior political appointees in the Justice Department repeatedly sought to block such a warrant, The New York Times reported, slowing the investigation as it was gaining momentum last year. After Merrick B. Garland was confirmed as President Biden’s attorney general, the Justice Department lifted its objection to the search.

While the warrant is not an explicit accusation of wrongdoing against Mr. Giuliani, it shows that the investigation has entered an aggressive new phase. To obtain a search warrant, investigators need to persuade a judge they have sufficient reason to believe that a crime was committed and that the search would turn up evidence of the crime.

Spokesmen for the F.B.I. and the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment.

The investigation of Mr. Giuliani grew out of a case against two Soviet-born men who aided his mission in Ukraine to unearth damaging information about Mr. Biden and his son Hunter, who was on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. The prosecutors charged the two men, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, with unrelated crimes in late 2019 and a trial is scheduled for October.

While investigating Mr. Giuliani, prosecutors have examined, among other things, his potential business dealings in Ukraine and his role in pushing the Trump administration to oust the American ambassador to Ukraine, which was the subject of testimony at Mr. Trump’s first impeachment trial.

As he was pressuring Ukrainian officials to investigate the Bidens, Mr. Giuliani became fixated on removing the ambassador, Marie L. Yovanovitch, whom he saw as an obstacle to those efforts. At the urging of Mr. Giuliani and other Republicans, Mr. Trump ultimately ousted Ms. Yovanovitch.

As part of the investigation into Mr. Giuliani, the prosecutors have explored whether he was working not only for Mr. Trump, but also for Ukrainian officials or businesses who wanted the ambassador to be dismissed for their own reasons, according to people briefed on the matter.

Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, it is a federal crime to try to influence or lobby the United States government at the request or direction of a foreign official without disclosing it to the Justice Department.

The prosecutors have scrutinized Mr. Giuliani’s dealings with Yuriy Lutsenko, one of the officials who helped Mr. Giuliani and his associates in their dirt-digging mission while also urging them to work to get the ambassador removed.

Among other things, the prosecutors have examined discussions Mr. Giuliani had about taking on hundreds of thousands of dollars in apparently unrelated consulting business from Mr. Lutsenko, which resulted in a draft retainer agreement that was never executed.

Mr. Giuliani has said he turned down the deal, which would have involved him helping the Ukrainian government recover money it believed had been stolen and stashed overseas.

As the investigation heated up last summer, prosecutors and F.B.I. agents in Manhattan were preparing to seek the search warrant for Mr. Giuliani’s records about his efforts to remove the ambassador, but they first had to notify Justice Department officials in Washington, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Federal prosecutors must consult Justice Department officials in Washington about search warrants involving lawyers because of concerns that they might obtain confidential communications with clients. The proposed warrant for Mr. Giuliani was particularly sensitive because his most prominent client was Mr. Trump.

Career Justice Department officials in Washington largely supported the search warrant, but senior officials raised concerns that the warrant would be issued too close to the election, the people with knowledge of the matter said.

Under longstanding practice, the Justice Department generally tries to avoid taking aggressive investigative actions within 60 days of an election if those actions could affect the outcome of the vote.

The prosecutors in Manhattan tried again after the election, but political appointees in Mr. Trump’s Justice Department sought once more to block the warrant, the people with knowledge of the matter said. At the time, Mr. Trump was still contesting the election results in several states, a legal effort being led by Mr. Giuliani, those officials noted.

Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, it is a federal crime to try to influence or lobby the United States government at the request or direction of a foreign official without disclosing it to the Justice Department.

The prosecutors have scrutinized Mr. Giuliani’s dealings with Yuriy Lutsenko, one of the officials who helped Mr. Giuliani and his associates in their dirt-digging mission while also urging them to work to get the ambassador removed.

[...]

Career Justice Department officials in Washington largely supported the search warrant, but senior officials raised concerns that the warrant would be issued too close to the election, the people with knowledge of the matter said.

Under longstanding practice, the Justice Department generally tries to avoid taking aggressive investigative actions within 60 days of an election if those actions could affect the outcome of the vote.

The prosecutors in Manhattan tried again after the election, but political appointees in Mr. Trump’s Justice Department sought once more to block the warrant, the people with knowledge of the matter said. At the time, Mr. Trump was still contesting the election results in several states, a legal effort being led by Mr. Giuliani, those officials noted.

Looks like Giuliani may have broken the law. And it seems this warrant was delayed too by Trump appointees.

He's not the only one: the FBI is currently raiding the house of his associates Victoria Toensing and Joseph DiGenova.

[The Black Forrest]

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2021/04/lisa-murkowskis-gop-primary-challenger-anti-lgbtq-zealot-opposed-medicine-vampires/

Lisa Murkowski’s GOP primary challenger is an anti-LGBTQ zealot opposed to medicine & vampires. She believes people can pray away their gay and pharmaceutical drugs are a product of witchcraft.

Kelly Tshibaka penned an article that condemned the movie franchise Twilight as “evil” and suggested it was Satanic propaganda because it “is a perfect example of how the enemy twists, perverts, and ridicules the things of God. She's also called homosexuality a sin.

Wow. Someone who can out nutbag Michelle Bachman.

[Lady Victory]

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2021/04/lisa-murkowskis-gop-primary-challenger-anti-lgbtq-zealot-opposed-medicine-vampires/

Lisa Murkowski’s GOP primary challenger is an anti-LGBTQ zealot opposed to medicine & vampires. She believes people can pray away their gay and pharmaceutical drugs are a product of witchcraft.

Kelly Tshibaka penned an article that condemned the movie franchise Twilight as “evil” and suggested it was Satanic propaganda because it “is a perfect example of how the enemy twists, perverts, and ridicules the things of God. She's also called homosexuality a sin.

Jesus where do they even find these lunatics? Are they made in a factory or something?

[Grinning Dragon]

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2021/04/lisa-murkowskis-gop-primary-challenger-anti-lgbtq-zealot-opposed-medicine-vampires/

Lisa Murkowski’s GOP primary challenger is an anti-LGBTQ zealot opposed to medicine & vampires. She believes people can pray away their gay and pharmaceutical drugs are a product of witchcraft.

Kelly Tshibaka penned an article that condemned the movie franchise Twilight as “evil” and suggested it was Satanic propaganda because it “is a perfect example of how the enemy twists, perverts, and ridicules the things of God. She's also called homosexuality a sin.

I guess you could say "Twilight" was evil in the sense it was pure shit and was evil to release for public consumption.

[The Black Forrest]

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2021/04/lisa-murkowskis-gop-primary-challenger-anti-lgbtq-zealot-opposed-medicine-vampires/

Lisa Murkowski’s GOP primary challenger is an anti-LGBTQ zealot opposed to medicine & vampires. She believes people can pray away their gay and pharmaceutical drugs are a product of witchcraft.

Kelly Tshibaka penned an article that condemned the movie franchise Twilight as “evil” and suggested it was Satanic propaganda because it “is a perfect example of how the enemy twists, perverts, and ridicules the things of God. She's also called homosexuality a sin.

Jesus where do they even find these lunatics? Are they made in a factory or something?

It’s Alaska. The environment and the day light hours can mess you up.

[Kowani]

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2021/04/lisa-murkowskis-gop-primary-challenger-anti-lgbtq-zealot-opposed-medicine-vampires/

Lisa Murkowski’s GOP primary challenger is an anti-LGBTQ zealot opposed to medicine & vampires. She believes people can pray away their gay and pharmaceutical drugs are a product of witchcraft.

Kelly Tshibaka penned an article that condemned the movie franchise Twilight as “evil” and suggested it was Satanic propaganda because it “is a perfect example of how the enemy twists, perverts, and ridicules the things of God. She's also called homosexuality a sin.

Jesus where do they even find these lunatics? Are they made in a factory or something?

you ever heard of this guy called Sean Hannity?