The White House said Tuesday it disagreed with a federal judge in Washington and ordered officials to reinstate Playboy journalist Brian Karem's credentials, which had been revoked following his altercation with former Trump aide Sebastian Gorka.
The
ruling by U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras, a Barack Obama
appointee, marked the second time a federal judge ordered the Trump
administration to reinstate a reporter's pass. In November, a judge ordered CNN reporter
Jim Acosta's credentials restored. The so-called hard pass allows
reporters to easily obtain access to the White House grounds without
having to separately apply for a press credential each time they seek
entry.
"The First Amendment requires 'that individual newsmen not be arbitrarily excluded from sources of information,'" Contreras wrote in his opinion,
citing federal case law. "His First Amendment interest depends on his
ability to freely pursue 'journalistically productive conversations with
White House officials.' Yet without his hard pass, he lacks access to
pursue those conversations -- even as an eavesdropper."
In issuing
a temporary restraining order and injunction against the White House,
Contreras said that the White House's guidelines for appropriate
behavior were insufficient and vague. Contreras' decision, although not
yet a final ruling, signaled that he believed Karem ultimately would
prevail.
“White
House events appear to vary greatly in character,” the judge wrote,
adding that "without any contextual guideposts, ‘professionalism,’
standing alone, remains too murky to provide fair notice here. ...
"Karem has provided some evidence that White House press events are
often freewheeling and that aggressive conduct has long been tolerated
without punishment."
The judge clarified that "In granting Karem
relief, the Court finds only that the White House likely did not provide
the requisite guidance in this specific case — nothing more. And, as
noted earlier, the Court does not reach Karem’s independent free speech
claim."
Nevertheless, the judge concluded: "Karem has shown that
even the temporary suspension of his pass inflicts irreparable harm on
his First Amendment rights."
Gorka and Karem got into a shouting
match that was captured on video July 11, after Karem described the
participants in a White House meeting of conservative social media
personalities as a "group of people that are eager for demonic
possession."
After a back and forth, Gorka shouted at Karem, "You
are threatening me now in the White House, in the Rose Garden. You are
threatening me in the Rose Garden. You're a punk, you're not a
journalist, you're a punk."
Karem then told Gorka to "get a job." At one point, Karem suggested they take their conversation "outside."
The crowd erupted into chants of "Gorka! Gorka!" Karem replied that Gorka should "go home."
"No doubt, Karem’s remark that he and Gorka could 'go
outside and have a long conversation,' was an allusion to a physical
altercation, but the videos make clear that it was meant as an
irreverent, caustic joke and not as a true threat,” the judge wrote on
Tuesday.
Following Tuesday's ruling, White House press secretary
Stephanie Grisham said the White House to be able to deter
unprofessional behavior on the grounds of the Executive Mansion.
“We
disagree with the decision of the district court to issue an injunction
that essentially gives free rein to members of the press to engage in
unprofessional, disruptive conduct at the White House," Grisham
said. "Mr. Karem’s conduct, including threatening to escalate a verbal
confrontation into a physical one to the point that a Secret Service
agent intervened, clearly breached well-understood norms of professional
conduct. The Press Secretary must have the ability to deter such
unacceptable conduct."
White House Correspondents' Association
(WHCA) President Jonathan Karl, ABC News' chief White House
correspondent, said: "The WHCA is gratified the U.S. District Court of
the District of Columbia acted to uphold the due process rights of one
of our members. The WHCA will continue to advocate for the rights of our
members and against actions by the government that would have a
chilling effect on journalism protected by the First Amendment. As we
have said repeatedly, we believe everyone should conduct themselves
professionally at the White House."
Immediately after the episode,
Grisham had condemned Karem for "insulting invited guests," threatening
a physical altercation and not leaving when a White House staffer asked
him to do so during the event.
But the White House did not
suspend Karem's hard pass until several weeks after the episode, after
providing him notice and an opportunity to object. During that period,
Karem was allowed onto the White House grounds -- providing evidence,
the judge said, that the White House could afford to wait to enforce its
sanction against Karem until after proceedings in the case were
concluded.
Karem, meanwhile, was celebratory, tweeting, "Free Speech and Due process win!"
Following
that episode, the White House instituted new behavioral guidelines for
White House guests requiring "professionalism," but Judge Contreras
ruled that they were unclear.
“Though 'professionalism' has a well-known common meaning, it is inherently subjective and context dependent,” the judge wrote. Fox News' Kelliane Jones, Brie Stimson and Meghan Welsh contributed to this report.
"Will & Grace" star Eric McCormack is walking back his comments after he and his co-star Debra Messing were widely criticized after calling for Trump donors in Hollywood to be outed.
Last week, McCormack responded to a report about an upcoming fundraiser being held in Beverly Hills in honor of President Trump's reelection campaign by requesting a followup of all the attendees.
"Hey,
@THR, kindly report on everyone attending this event," he wrote, "so
the rest of us can be clear about who we don't want to work with. Thx,"
McCormack tweeted.
On
Tuesday, however, McCormack attempted to clarify his stance, telling
his followers on Instagram that he doesn't support "blacklists."
"I
want to be clear about my social media post from last week, which has
been misinterpreted in a very upsetting way," McCormack began. "I
absolutely do not support blacklists or discrimination of any kind, as
anyone who knows me would attest. I'd simply like to understand where
Trump's major donations are coming from, which is a matter of public
record."
"I am holding myself responsible for making educated and
informed that I can morally and ethically stand by and to do that,
transparency is essential."
Messing agreed with the sentiment, adding "I couldn't have said it better."
The Emmy-winning performers from the NBC comedy were blasted on Tuesday by "The View" co-host Whoopi Goldberg.
“In
this country, people can vote for who they want to -- that is one of
the great rights of this country,” she said on Tuesday. “You don’t have
to like it but we don’t go after people because we don’t like who they
voted for -- we don’t go after them that way. We can talk about issues
and stuff, but we don’t print out lists.”
She
went on to urge Messing and McCormack to reconsider their tweets and
“remember what the blacklist actually meant to people and don’t
encourage anyone -- anyone to do it.”
In an apparent allusion to
the McCarthy era, Goldberg said that “a lot of good people” had been
accused of things and lost their “right to work.”
“Last time people did this, people ended up killing themselves,” Goldberg added.
A new restaurant in New Mexico has sparked controversy over menu items named after popular phrases used by President Trump.
Urban
Taqueria, located in Albuquerque, is the talk of the town after some
customers complained about the use of terms like “The Wall,” “The
Immigrant” and “Lock Her Up” on its menu.
Critics say the terms are offensive to certain communities and perpetuate hate speech.
"The way things are right now. It's not good," customer Juan Hernandez told local TV station KOAT. "We need to have respect for others and have limits."
University
of New Mexico professor Patricia Perea said “normalizing” the terms,
which also include phrases like “Fake News,” is dangerous.
"It
seems fun, it seems like you can make fun of this and maybe make it
lighthearted, but you really can't, you're offending a whole community,"
Perea said. "It's normalizing the terms and potentially turning them
into funny or humorous terms, and the more that you do that, the more
likely people are to repeat them and perhaps forget the contexts in
which they were said."
The
restaurant’s owner Hanif Mohamed, who is an immigrant, said the terms
on the menu are all in fun. If anything, he said, he hopes it sparks
conversation.
"Ninety-nine percent of the people who walk in,
more than 99 percent, don't seem to have an issue with it," Mohamed told
the station. "The menu's not designed to insult people or hurt people,
but it's just meant to keep the conversation going as to what's
happening around us."
Not everyone, however, thinks the restaurant’s name choices for menu items are offensive.
"To me it's not offensive," said Christy Garcia. "I just think it's interesting that they decided to be so bold with the names."
Gov. Gavin Newsom, the California Democrat, on
Tuesday signed a bill that no longer requires any "able-bodied person
18 years of age or older" in the state to help an officer who requested
assistance during an arrest.
The Sacramento Bee reported that the
old law, the California Posse Comitatus Act of 1872, was common in the
country’s early days, but Sen. Bob Hertzberg, a Los Angeles Democrat who
sponsored the bill, called the old law a “vestige of a bygone era." The
law had been employed to help catch runaway slaves, the report said.
The
old law made it a misdemeanor that carried a fine of up to $1,000 for
refusing to help a police officer who requested assistance during an
arrest.
The report said Newsom did not issue a statement after signing the bill.
The California State Sheriff’s Association said in a statement that it is “unconvinced that this statute should be repealed.”
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 2:00 PM PST – Mon. September 2, 2019
Vice President Mike Pence said he hopes the UK-Irish border will remain open after Brexit.
Ireland’s
Minister of foreign affairs Simon Coveney, right, shakes hands with
with US Vice President Mike Pence during their meeting, after he arrived
at Shannon airport for the start of an official visit to Ireland,
Monday, Sept. 2, 2019. (Jacob King/PA via AP)
During his visit to Ireland Monday, Pence said, the U.S. would oppose
a Brexit scenario that erodes the 1998 Belfast agreement. That accord
is a peace deal, which ended a decades-long feud between Northern Irish
unionists and Republicans.
Pence said Brexit should not threaten political stability on the
Island of Ireland. “We understand these are complex issues. I’ll be in
the UK meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson in just a few days,
Pence said during his meeting with Ireland’s Minister of foreign affairs
Simon Coveney. “But I think the opportunity to better understand
Ireland’s perspective and unique needs, particularly with regard to your
northern border, will make us even better equipped to hopefully play a
constructive role.”
Coveney said, the UK could reinstate border checks in Northern
Ireland, despite British officials having repeatedly dismissed such
allegations.
The White House said Monday it has drafted legislation with the Justice Department that would expedite the death penalty for people found guilty of committing mass shootings, following Saturday's attack in West Texas that left seven dead, according to a pool report.
Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff, Marc Short,
told reporters aboard Air Force Two that the initiative was part of a
larger White House gun control package that will be sent to Congress
after lawmakers return from their August recess on Sept. 9.
Attorney
General Bill Barr is involved in active discussions with the vice
president's office, Short said, as the plane made its way to Ireland.
The
issue could be contentious among Democrats seeking to unseat President
Trump in 2020. Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke has sought to revive his
struggling candidacy by calling for a mandatory buyback of what he called "assault weapons" -- but he also has insisted, in a recent policy shift, that capital punishment is categorically wrong.
Still,
there has been little hesitation from the Trump administration on the
issue. In August, Trump said he was “directing the Department of Justice
to propose legislation ensuring that those who commit hate crimes and
mass murders face the death penalty," adding that he wanted "capital
punishment be delivered quickly, decisively, and without years of
needless delay.”
Earlier this summer, Barr said
the federal government will resume capital punishment and will move
forward with plans to execute five inmates on death row for the first
time in more than 15 years.
Short's remarks came as the Chicago Sun-Times reported that 35 people were shot, 7 of them killed, in Chicago over Labor Day weekend.
It
also emerged Monday that the gunman in the West Texas rampage over the
weekend had been "on a long spiral down" and was fired from his oil
services job the morning he killed seven people, calling 911 both before
and after the shooting began.
Investigators have not said how the
gunman obtained the gun used in the shooting, but he previously had
failed a federal background check for a firearm, said John Wester, an
agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives. Officials did not elaborate on when the gunman failed the
background check, or why.
Online court records showed the gunman
was arrested in 2001 for a misdemeanor offense that would not have
prevented him from legally purchasing firearms in Texas. Federal law
defines nine categories that would legally prevent a person from owning a
gun, which include being convicted of a felony, a misdemeanor domestic
violence charge, being the subject of a restraining order or having an
active warrant. Authorities have said Ator had no active warrants at the
time of the shooting.
In a letter last month to President Trump,
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., specifically pushed for
the House-passed Bipartisan Background Checks Act and the Enhanced
Background Checks Act. Some of the House-sponsored legislation would
extend the time period for the FBI to conduct background checks on
firearm purchases from three days to 10 days and establish new
background-check procedures for private gun transfers.
Many Republicans said they hoped to take action to curb gun violence. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy,
R-Calif., said his party has been interested in “common sense solutions
to prevent this from happening in the future while at the same time
protecting due process for anyone who is a law-abiding citizen.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told Fox News’ "Sunday Morning Futures" that state officials including Gov. Greg Abbott got together as part of a domestic terrorism task force to address the issue.
Paxton
said he would like Congress to do the same to try determining "what
kind of practices would change this from happening or at least allow us
to respond more quickly."
For his part, Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said that so-called "red flag" warning
legislation, as well as expanded background checks, would be "front and
center" on the Senate floor when Congress comes back in session.
However,
red flag laws might be unconstitutional, some conservatives have said,
and states and local governments increasingly have sparred over the
issue. More than a dozen states have enacted red flag laws. In March,
Colorado's attorney general testified that county sheriffs vowing
not to enforce the state's anti-gun "red flag" bill should "resign."
Red flag laws generally require friends
or family to establish by a "preponderance of the evidence" -- a
relatively lax legal standard essentially meaning that something
is "more likely than not" -- that a person "poses a significant risk to
self or others by having a firearm in his or her custody or control or
by possessing, purchasing or receiving a firearm."
Meanwhile, President Trump tweeted Sunday
morning, “Great job by Texas Law Enforcement and First Responders in
handling the terrible shooting tragedy yesterday. Thank you also to the
FBI, @GregAbbott_TX and all others. A very tough and sad situation!”
Late last month, the White House pushed back on claims by the National Rifle Association (NRA) that Trump had said privately that universal background checks were off the table. Trump has waffled publicly on whether new background checks were needed.
In the wake of two mass shootings last
month, overwhelming and bipartisan majorities of voters said they
favored background checks on gun buyers and taking guns from people who
were a danger to themselves or others, according to a Fox News Poll.
Two-thirds
also supported a ban on "assault weapons," although that majority was
driven largely by Democrats, and the term remained poorly defined.
Still,
asked to choose one or the other, voters said they would rather live in
a country where gun ownership was legal than one where guns were
banned.
The poll was conducted August 11-13, about a week after the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton. Fox News' Ronn Blitzer, Mike Emanuel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson prorogued Parliament.
This is the term of art the British use when Parliament is suspended for a period.
The
prorogue was a defensive move by Johnson to keep efforts at bay to
derail his plan to yank the United Kingdom out of the European Union
without a formal agreement. A “hard Brexit,” if you will.
So,
Johnson essentially halted the session so Members of Parliament
couldn’t offer legislative alternatives to his Brexit maneuver – or even
call a vote of no-confidence against him. This upended the current
parliamentary session which has run since June of 2017. It’s the longest
such parliamentary convocation in 400 years.
But, Parliament wasn’t dissolved. It’s been on a kind of extended recess for a while.
Sound familiar?
The
U.S. House and Senate have been gone for a while, too. No proroguing on
Capitol Hill though – unless it’s willful. Congress is instead on the
customary “August recess,” – even though it’s now September. The respite
started in late July for the House. Early August for the Senate.
Congress often reconvenes right after Labor Day. But not this year. Few
lawmakers will surface in Washington until September 9.
The House and Senate resisted calls to reconvene in August and early September, despite mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton - followed by the melee in Odessa
and Midland, TX. The House decided against returning to Washington.
Democrats decided instead to ramp up attention on what many Democrats
described as “inaction” by the Senate on gun measures. Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) declined to summon senators back to
Washington to work on firearms issues. McConnell knew it would be a
challenge to advance anything on guns.
Much has been made about
Johnson’s proroguing gambit in the United Kingdom. When leaders prorogue
Parliament, it’s often suspended for a just few days. Not weeks. But
even though there is no “prorogue” phenomenon in Congress, there are
some similarities on Capitol Hill.
Congress has taken an August
vacation for decades now. In 1963, the Senate met year-round, only
breaking for weekends. But jet travel became easier, connecting
lawmakers with the far-flung districts and states they represent. Media
bolstered the importance of lawmakers returning regularly to home turf
to conduct events, meet with constituents and “be seen.”
A
Congressional “reorganization” in the 1970s recommended the
establishment of the contemporary August recess, stretching from the end
of July until just after Labor Day. Congress has stuck to the “August
recess” concept for the most part. But it’s not unheard of for lawmakers
to toil in Washington through the dog days of August. Such was the case
with the 1994 crime bill (which barred assault weapons). Congress
returned to Washington with a skeleton crew to approve emergency aid
after Hurricane Katrina in August, 2005. McConnell gamely declared he
was “cancelling” the August recess last year. But it turned out that
senators were only in Washington for a few days.
House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) control the
House schedule. They could always summon the House back to session if
necessary. But frankly, the leaders know it’s important to protect their
majority and get vulnerable freshman Democrats back to their districts
during this time. The House would not break the recess unless there was a
big emergency. After the shootings, Democrats scheduled a House
Judiciary Committee meeting for this week this to prepare gun
legislation for later in the month. But the panel called off the session
due to the threat of Hurricane Dorian in Florida and along the eastern
seaboard.
Pelosi & company really didn’t want the House to
meet over the past five weeks. The Speaker sent out a memo imploring
Democrats to “own August” by discussing health care and economic issues.
Perhaps more importantly, the vacation helped Democrats ignore
questions about impeachment and the investigations of President Trump.
While more than half of all Democrats now support impeachment or some
sort of an impeachment “inquiry,” they are a far cry from having the
votes to impeach the President. This reflects the Democrats “both ways”
strategy. Democrats continue to apply pressure on Mr. Trump and probe
the possibility of impeachment. That helps Democrats with their
leftist base. It simultaneously inoculates Democrats who oppose
impeachment. Meantime, Democrats investigate a slate of other alleged
misdeeds involving the Trump Administration. The House’s summer
interlude probably aided Pelosi and many other Democrats by not having
to address impeachment on a daily basis.
Mitch McConnell is
probably glad the Senate was on hiatus, too. McConnell’s public
statements about the shootings indicate he’s skeptical there’s anything
on which the House, Senate and President Trump can agree when with guns.
The Senate may have a slate of nominations McConnell still wants to
tackle. But the Kentucky Republican doesn’t have a lot of other
legislative traffic teed up. So, many senators are also content the
Senate hasn’t been in session much lately. There’s nothing worse than
having lawmakers in Washington with little to do. That’s not to say that
there isn’t a lot to do on big issues. However, there’s a reason why
the legislative docket is thin: the sides lack agreement. There isn’t
going to be a magical solution to disputes about infrastructure or
health care. So, why try? That’s why the Senate is more than happy to be
on leave for weeks.
The circus will come back to town next week.
The House will brawl over investigations and impeachment. The sides
must forge a deal to fund the government past September 30. There will
be discussions about guns. The House will likely even pass a bill or two
related to firearms. It’s unclear if anything would happen in the
Senate. And in the background, negotiations continue on the new trade
pact between the United States, Canada and Mexico. That measure is
nowhere close to passage yet.
So
no proroguing of the legislature here. But, for all intents and
purposes, Congress was “suspended” for the past few weeks, much like in
the United Kingdom. However, there is one major difference. When
lawmakers in Washington return to work, they’ll start again without a
speech by the Queen.
The mayor of London renewed his public feud with President Trump over the weekend by mocking the president for canceling a trip to Poland to commemorate the start of World War II only to deal with emergency response to Hurricane Dorian from the golf course.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who traveled to Poland over the weekend for a
ceremony to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the start of World War
II, told Politico in an interview Sunday that Trump couldn’t attend
because he was “clearly busy dealing with a hurricane out on the golf
course.”
Khan, who is London’s first Muslim mayor, also slammed Trump for
disseminating messages he perceives as racist on his Twitter page. Trump
and Khan first butt heads in 2016 when Trump floated the idea of
banning Muslims from certain countries from traveling to the U.S.
“These people have been inspired by mainstream politicians who subscribe to their point of view,” Khan told Politico.
Trump “is a guy who amplifies racist tweets; amplifies the tweets of
fascists; says things that are deeply objectionable. If I don’t stand up
and call that out I think I’m doing a disservice to Londoners who chose
me as their mayor.”
Trump announced Thursday in the White House rose garden that he was
canceling his planned trip to Warsaw and instead would send Vice
President Mike Pence so he could stay in the United States to monitor
the strengthening Hurricane Dorian.
Trump on Saturday left the Camp David presidential retreat in
Maryland—where he and experts were monitoring the Category 4 hurricane.
He traveled by helicopter to his private Virginia golf club for several
hours. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said Trump traveled
with a FEMA official and that he was being briefed “every hour.”
Trump and Khan last traded jabs in June during the president’s visit to
the United Kingdom. Trump labeled Khan a “stone cold loser” when he
first arrived to London. Khan responded by telling BBC that the
president's insults reminded him of "the sort of thing an 11-year-old
would do."
At
a London press conference with outgoing U.K. Prime Minister Theresa
May, Trump also accused Khan of doing a poor job as mayor by failing to
address crime and “a lot of problems” within his city. He criticized
Khan and other left-wing activists for protesting his visit to the
country amid Brexit negotiations.
"I don't think he should be criticizing a representative of the United
States that can do so much good for the United Kingdom," Trump told
reporters of Khan. "He's a negative force, not a positive force."
Fox News' Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
