China on Friday ordered the closure of the U.S. consulate in the western city of Chengdu in Sichuan Province in apparent retaliation for the Trump administration closing China’s Houston consulate over accusations of espionage. “The
measure taken by China is a legitimate and necessary response to the
unjustified act by the United States,” the foreign ministry said in a
statement. “The current situation in Chinese-U.S. relations is not
what China desires to see. The United States is responsible for all
this,” the ministry said. “We once again urge the United States to
immediately retract its wrong decision and create necessary conditions
for bringing the bilateral relationship back on track.” The Trump
administration says Chinese agents within the Texas consulate had been
attempting to steal scientific data from facilities in the state,
including the Texas A&M medical system. After the order to
close the Houston consulate, a State Department spokesperson said the
U.S. "will not tolerate the PRC’s violations of our sovereignty and
intimidation of our people, just as we have not tolerated the PRC’s
unfair trade practices, theft of American jobs, and other egregious
behavior. President Trump insists on fairness and reciprocity in
U.S.-China relations." The Chinese Embassy in Washington said in a
statement: “The U.S. accusations are groundless fabrications,”
according to The New York Times. Beijing on Wednesday promised to
retaliate over the order to close its Houston consulate by the end of
the week, calling the decision an “unprecedented escalation.” “China
demands the U.S. revoke the wrong decision. If the U.S. went ahead,
China would take necessary countermeasures,” Chinese foreign ministry
spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin gestures for questions
during a daily briefing in Beijing Thursday, July 23, 2020. China
ordered the United States on Friday, July 24, 2020 to close its
consulate in the western city of Chengdu, ratcheting up a diplomatic
conflict at a time when relations have sunk to their lowest level in
decades. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
The consulate closures and spying accusations come
amid heightened tensions between the two countries over trade, the
coronavirus and Hong Kong. The Trump administration has also put restrictions on visas for some Chinese journalists and canceled visas for
Chinese graduate students with ties to military schools. China also
expelled U.S. journalists from three major newspapers earlier this year,
according to The Times.
CHENGDU, CHINA - JULY 23: People walk by the US Consulate-General
in Chengdu on July 23, 2020 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of China.
(Photo by VCG via Getty Images)
Just hours before China ordered the closure, U.S.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a speech, “If we want to have a
free 21st century and not the Chinese century of which Xi Jinping
dreams, the old paradigm of blind engagement with China simply won’t get
it done,” The Times reported. The U.S.
Justice Department Thursday said it believes a Chinese researcher at
the University of California Davis accused of hiding her ties to the
military is taking refuge in the Chinese consulate in San Francisco. The department has announced criminal charges of visa fraud against Tang Juan and three other Chinese researchers. U.S.
authorities this week announced criminal charges against two Chinese
computer hackers who are accused of targeting companies that are working
on vaccines for the coronavirus. The
United States has an embassy in Beijing and consulates in five other
mainland cities — Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenyang and Wuhan. It
also has a consulate in Hong Kong, a Chinese territory. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., appeared to take offense Wednesday after The New York Times published an op-ed essay written by a Chinese scientist who slammed the U.S. government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Just last month the same newspaper had apologized
for publishing an op-ed written by Cotton, in which the senator called
for the use of U.S. military personnel to quell riots following the May
25 death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis. TOM COTTON DOUBLES DOWN ON NYT OP-ED: INSURRECTIONISTS CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO DESTROY FEDERAL PROPERTY “The
New York Times: Explicit Chinese propaganda: no problem,” Cotton wrote
on Twitter on Wednesday. “Op-ed from a Republican Senator supported by
most Americans: Fire the editor!” Cotton’s June 3 op-ed, titled “Send in the Troops,”
cause such an uproar among the liberal staff at the Times that the
newspaper’s editorial page editor, James Bennet – the brother of a
Democratic U.S. senator – submitted his resignation days later. In
the Wednesday op-ed, Chinese molecular neurobiologist Yi Rao complains
that while his relatives in Wuhan, China – the original epicenter of the
pandemic – survived the outbreak, his uncle in New York City – the U.S.
epicenter -- did not. “The United States had two months or more
to learn from China’s experience with this coronavirus,” Rao writes,
“and it could have done much more to lower infection rates and
fatalities. “My father is struggling to accept his brother’s death
partly, too, because he believes that he could have treated Uncle Eric –
that in China Uncle Eric would have been saved.”
Earlier
in the essay, Rao writes that he became a U.S. citizen in 2000, after
arriving from China and attending colleges in California – but returned
to China in 2007 and renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2011. He
writes that he gave up on the U.S. after just a few years because of the
actions of former President George W. Bush’s administration following
the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. “These men were ready to do anything to advance their agenda … and too many Americans went along,” Rao writes. “That period proved to me that America was not the democratic beacon many of us had thought it to be.” Also
on Wednesday, Cotton criticized the Chinese Communist Party after
reports that Beijing was using its U.S.-based consulates as headquarters
for spying. On Tuesday, during an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” Cotton had doubled down on the points
he had made in the Times weeks earlier regarding use of military
personnel to quell rioting – in the wake of more unrest in U.S. cities,
including Portland, Ore. “The federal government today cannot
stand for the vandalism, the fire-bombing or any attacks on federal
property,” Cotton said. “It is right to send federal law enforcement in
to defend federal property and federal facilities.”
Fox News correspondent-at-large Geraldo Rivera came to the defense of President Trump Wednesday night after 2020 presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden accused him of being the country's first racist president. In
an interview on "Hannity" Rivera told the primetime host that if Trump
uttered a similarly "unhinged" comment about Biden, Democrats and the
mainstream media would be quick to "blow him up." "He's not a racist. I've known him 45 years," Rivera asserted. "For
Biden to say he is the first racist ever elected, that shows how
disconnected Joe Biden is. Twelve United States presidents
were slaveholders," Rivera argued. "Joe should do a little
research before he makes flamboyant charge like that. So unhinged from
reality." Biden made the comment at a roundtable discussion with
the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), during which he
said Trump is engaged in the “spreading of racism, the way he deals with
people based on the color of their skin, their national origin, where
they’re from, is absolutely sickening.” Biden
went on to stress that “no sitting president has ever done this. Never,
never, never. No Republican president has done this. No Democratic
president. We’ve had racists and they’ve existed and they’ve tried to
get elected president. He’s the first one that has.” "This man is a
good-hearted man," Rivera shot back, "and I really do believe that
in terms of the economic opportunity zones and the criminal justice
reform, he really has done more than any recent president for
integration and the advancement of everybody regardless of their race,
color, religion." Fox News' Paul Steinhauser and Allie Raffa contributed to this report.
The Chinese consulate in San Francisco
is harboring a biology researcher who falsely denied connections to the
Chinese military to obtain a visa and gain access to the country,
according to court documents filed by the FBI. The filing came as
part of a document that cited a slew of other episodes in which Chinese
nationals allegedly lied on their visa applications by hiding their
military connections. Tang Juan, a researcher at the University of
California, Davis, stated on her J-1 visa application that she "had
never served in the military, but open source investigation revealed
photographs of her in the uniform of the Civilian Cadre of the PLA
[People's Liberation Army], and that she had been employed as a
researcher at the Air Force Military Medical University, which is
another name for FMMU [Fourth Military Medical University]," the FBI
claimed. Then, during an interview with FBI agents on June
20, Tang "denied serving in the Chinese military, claimed she did not
know the meaning of the insignia on her uniform, and that wearing a
military uniform was required for attendance at FMMU because it was a
military school." The
FBI revealed it then executed a search warrant immediately at Tang's
home and found additional evidence of Tang’s PLA affiliation. "The
FBI assesses that, at some point following the search and interview of
Tang on June 20, 2020, Tang went to the Chinese Consulate in San
Francisco, where the FBI assesses she has remained," the bureau
announced. There existed evidence in at least one case "of a
military scientist copying or stealing information from American
institutions at the direction of military superiors in China," the
bureau went on. The court documents contained similar evidence against
several other Chinese scientists. Chen Song, for example, was an
"active duty People's Liberation Army military scientist who lied to get
into the United States, attempted to destroy evidence and lied
extensively to the FBI when interviewed," the government wrote in
charging documents. "Defendant’s case is not an isolated one, but
instead appears to be part of a program conducted by the PLA—and
specifically, FMMU or associated institutions—to send military
scientists to the United States on false pretenses with false covers or
false statements about their true employment," the FBI said, referring
to Chen Song. Another case involves a suspected spy working for UCSF. Meanwhile,
the United States ordered China to close its consulate in Houston,
escalating tensions between the world’s largest economies as President
Trump has ramped up punitive measures against China ahead of the
November U.S. election. Beijing denounced the order Wednesday as
"outrageous" and claimed it would draw a firm response if not reversed. The
physical closure of the consulate, one of China's six missions in the
United States, marked a dramatic step in increasingly contentious
relations that have been strained not only by the coronavirus pandemic
but also by disputes over trade, human rights, Hong Kong and Chinese
assertiveness in the South China Sea. Previous
Trump administration measures against Chinese officials, students and
researchers have included travel bans, registration requirements and
other steps intended to reduce the country's footprint in the United
States. The administration also has announced its outright rejection of
virtually all Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea. These
actions have come as Trump has sought to blame China for the
coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., where cases have soared. Trump himself
said more closures could be coming if China didn't change its behavior.
"It's always possible," he told reporters at the White House.
The Chinese Consulate General in Houston. Police and fire
officials there responded to reports that documents were being burned in
the courtyard of the consulate Tuesday night, according to the Houston
Police Department. (AP Photo/John Mone)
The State Department announced it ordered the
consulate closed within 72 hours after alleging that Chinese agents have
tried to steal data from facilities in Texas, including the Texas
A&M medical system statewide and The University of Texas MD Anderson
Cancer Center in Houston. There were indications consulate staff
were preparing to leave: Papers were being burned on the consulate
grounds late Tuesday night — a common practice when a diplomatic post is
being shuttered on short notice. Cai Wei, the Chinese consul
general, told KTRK-TV in Houston the order to shut down was "quite
wrong" and "very damaging" to U.S.-China relations. Asked about
accusations of espionage and stealing data, Cai said, "You have to give
some evidence, say something from the facts. ... Knowing Americans, you
have the rule of law, you are not guilty until you are proved guilty." State
Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement that the
closure was "to protect American intellectual property and Americans'
private information."
A firetruck outside the Chinese Consulate in Houston on Wednesday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
"The United States will not tolerate (China's)
violations of our sovereignty and intimidation of our people, just as we
have not tolerated (China's) unfair trade practices, theft of American
jobs, and other egregious behavior," she said. Testifying before
Congress on Wednesday, Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun lamented
that relations today have been "weighed down by a growing number of
disputes," including commercial espionage, intellectual property theft
and unequal treatment of diplomats, businesses and journalists. Those factors led to Trump's action, he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The
Justice Department on Tuesday had announced the indictments of two
Chinese hackers on charges of trying to steal pharmaceutical secrets
from U.S. companies related to the COVID-19 pandemic that originated in
China. Although there was no indication the indictments and the
consulate action were related, the U.S. has long alleged China has been
involved in nefarious activity around the country, including from its
Houston consulate. Even before the U.S. announced the closure,
which was conveyed privately to the Chinese ambassador on Tuesday, China
strongly condemned it. "The unilateral closure of China’s
consulate general in Houston within a short period of time is an
unprecedented escalation of its recent actions against China," Foreign
Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said. He warned of firm
countermeasures if the U.S. did not reverse itself. Wang accused
the U.S. of opening Chinese diplomatic pouches without permission
multiple times, confiscating Chinese items for official use and imposing
restrictions on Chinese diplomats beginning last October and again in
June. He also said U.S. diplomats in China engaged in infiltration
activities. In Houston, firefighters responded to reports of
papers being burned on the consulate grounds Tuesday night but were
barred entry. On Wednesday afternoon, consulate staff could be seen
loading cleaning supplies and paper products into a van parked outside
the building. A U-Haul truck was also parked outside the consulate First
responders "were told that people inside the consulate, that they were
burning paperwork because they were in the process of being evacuated
from the building," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. Foreign
diplomatic missions have operated under legal immunities accorded by
international law and may not be entered without permission. However,
the destruction of confidential documents at a facility that has been
ordered or otherwise forced to close on short notice, including U.S.
missions, was not unusual. Most recently in the United States, Russia's
consulate in San Francisco made news for burning large amounts of
material when it was ordered closed in 2017. Aside from the
diplomatic ramifications, the closure of the Houston consulate could
make it more difficult for China to provide assistance to its citizens
in the southern United States and for U.S. nationals seeking visas and
other services there. In addition to its embassy in Washington and
its mission to the United Nations in New York, China has consulates in
New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. In an apparent bid to stave off the
reciprocal closure of an American diplomatic mission in China, the State
Department told the Chinese that it would not reopen its consulate in
Wuhan, two U.S. officials who were not authorized to discuss the matter
publicly told The Associated Press anonymously. The U.S. consulate
in Wuhan was shuttered in late January at the height of the coronavirus
outbreak that started there, but the State Department had informed
Congress in early June that it planned to reopen it, possibly this
summer. Besides
Wuhan, the U.S. has four other consulates in China — in Shanghai,
Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shenyang — along with its embassy in Beijing and a
consulate general in Hong Kong. In a reflection of China’s
economic importance, a Houston business group expressed regret at the
announcement, saying the consulate has been important in building trade,
investment and cultural ties. It noted that the Houston consulate was
China’s first in the U.S. when it opened in 1979. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler’s tense visit with protesters-- where he was booed, told to resign and given a list of demands-- ended with his security detail engaging in a struggle with protesters late Wednesday night as they worked to get the mayor to safety, a report said. While
no protesters appeared to physically harm Wheeler, once he was inside
the building a few people tried unsuccessfully to push past his security
team in an apparent attempt to get inside. Others threw water bottles
and other projectiles at the glass door, according to a video tweeted by
New York Times correspondent Mike Baker. Portland Police declared a riot soon after the mayor left and tensions escalated between protesters and federal agents. Wheeler
had joined protesters downtown earlier for a reported listening session
where he thanked them for opposing the Trump administration’s
“occupation” of the city in the deployment of federal agents. "I
think what we're doing tonight is actually the best thing we can do
right now," Wheeler told the crowd after a protester asked how to get
federal officers out of the city, according to KGW-TV.
"Be here, be heard, be unified, and be clear. We didn't want them, we
didn't ask for them, they're not trained for what they're being asked to
do. And we want them to leave." He was nearly drowned out by the shouts and jeers and calls to resign. Wheeler
then addressed the much larger crowd from a raised balcony, saying “I
am here tonight to stand with you.” He received some cheers when he
chanted “Black lives matter!” with the crowd. Wheeler later moved
with protesters to the fence outside of the federal courthouse where he
stood at the front and was teargassed along with the crowd, according to
Baker. Some protesters threw fireworks at the courthouse and tried to knock down the fencing. Wheeler,
who is also the police commissioner, has been accused by some of not
reining in local police, who have used tear gas multiple times before
federal agents arrived early this month in response to nearly two months
of nightly protests since George Floyd was killed. Others, including
business leaders, have condemned Wheeler for not bringing the situation
under control before the federal agents arrived. He was also loudly booed when he told a protester that he didn’t support abolishing the police department. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sen. Josh Hawley,
R-Mo., accused major corporations such as Nike and the NBA, and those
who profit off their endorsements such as LeBron James, of profiting off
slave labor in China, after he introduced a bill to hold businesses accountable for having slave labor in their supply chain. Hawley
said on Fox News Tuesday that the NBA was a “classic” example, and that
all of their Nike uniforms are made with forced labor in China’s Uyghur
concentration camps. “I would challenge the NBA, Adam Silver, all
the endorsers of Nike products like LeBron to take a pledge that they
will be slave free, that they will not use in their product lines slave
labor,” Hawley said. He challenged all corporate leaders to take a
“#slavefree” pledge, saying if they cannot take it, “they need to drop
the product line.” On Monday Hawley introduced the Slave-Free
Business Certification Act, which would “increase corporate supply chain
disclosure requirements, mandates regular audits, requires chief
executive officers to certify that their companies’ supply chains do not
rely on forced, slave labor, and creates penalties for firms that fail
basic minimum standards for human rights.” “Corporate America and
the celebrities that hawk their products have been playing this game for
a long time – talk up corporate social responsibility and social
justice at home while making millions of dollars off the slave labor
that assembles their products,” the Missouri Republican said in a
statement. “Executives build woke, progressive brands for American
consumers, but happily outsource labor to Chinese concentration camps,
all just to save a few bucks.” Last week Hawley blasted the NBA
for pulling custom gear from its online store following the backlash the
league received for blocking "Free Hong Kong" to be printed on its
apparel. “Rather than let fans order #FreeHongKong
jerseys @nba kills custom gear altogether," Hawley tweeted. "Now about
the slave labor that helps make all those @nba @nike product lines..." On
Monday of last week, the NBA was swept into controversy after a viral
video showed that the online store could not process orders that used
the text "FreeHongKong." Hours later, the store's operator Fanatics
reversed what it suggested was a technical error that prompted the
phrase to be "inadvertently prohibited." However, days after the
incident, customers cannot find customizable apparel on both Fanatics
and the NBA's online store. And returning to pages of specific jerseys
showed that the products had been "discontinued." The
subject of the NBA's relationship to China was renewed last week after
Adrian Wojnarowski, who covers the NBA for ESPEN, sent Hawley a profane response
to the lawmaker's criticism of the league's decision of “pre-approved,
social justice slogans” while “censoring support” for law enforcement
and criticism of the Chinese Communist Party. Wojnarowski apologized to Hawley, and ESPN later suspended the reporter. Nike
has long been accused of profiting off forced labor through the
independent contractors that make its products overseas. On Tuesday
President Trump sanctioned 11 Chinese firms
over their use of forced labor and other forms of repression against
the Uighur Muslims, an ethnic minority in China. Among the companies
was Nanjing Synergy Textiles Co. Ltd., which is owned by Victory City
International Holding Ltd., a company that supplies Nike, among a number
of other American companies. In February of this year, The Washington Post
reported that Qingdao Taekwang Shoes Co., a supplier of Nike for more
than 30 years and one of the brand’s largest factories – it pushes out
around 8 million pairs of Nikes each year – was found to be using ethnic
Uighurs from China’s western Xinjiang region, forcing them to toil away
in the factory hundreds of miles from their home. Nike’s website
has a statement on forced labor in its supply chain: “Our sourcing
strategy prioritizes and favors suppliers that show demonstrable
leadership in corporate responsibility and sustainability, seeking to
move beyond minimum standards. As part of our growth strategy, we seek
suppliers who drive sustainable business growth by minimizing their
environmental impacts, fostering a strong culture of safety and
developing an engaged and valued workforce.” “Nike continually
evaluates and updates its systems to identify and address risks in its
supply chain, including those related to slavery and human trafficking,”
the statement continues.
Sean
Hannity ripped Democratic leaders in Oregon and across the country who
have criticized President Trump following Department of Homeland
Security intervention in Portland, Ore., which has been the site of
violent protests for weeks. Hannity said in his opening monologue
that Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, called the federal law
enforcement officers' tactics in arresting suspects "un-American" and
has also repeated that they should leave the city. "This is just
crazy -- we were coming to the end of our nightly demonstrations, at
least the part where people were vandalizing things and some scattered
acts of violence, but we saw the energy coming out of that and that
it would be done in a couple of days -- and the tactics they are using
are very un-American," he said in a clip played by the host. Hannity
said that Wheeler and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown are also "working together
to prevent police from dispersing violent crowds" with tear gas and
other means. "Wow, OK. Guys that risk their lives to protect and
serve, of course, we see a similar level of insane rhetoric on the
national level," he continued. "Nancy Pelosi [called] officers
'stormtroopers'." In addition to the House Speaker, House Majority
Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina compared the tactics employed by
the DHS officers to the Nazi Staatspolizei, or Gestapo. "This
president and this attorney general seem to be doing everything they
possibly can to impose Gestapo activities in local communities, and
that is what I have been warning about for a long time," Clyburn said in
a recent interview. Hannity said the lawmakers' comments collectively made little sense. "Let's
get this straight, Democrats in Portland, Oregon, allow violent riots
to fester for two straight months. It's President Trump and federal law
enforcement officers who are trying to stop buildings from burning,
protecting federal property -- that is their job -- [but] they are the
villains?" he asked. "Absolute, total insanity and frankly
psychotic madness," Hannity continued. "These Democrats have no desire
to protect innocent men, women, and children in their cities and
towns. They have abandoned what is their number one responsibility: to
protect people."
Some New Yorkers’ frustration with Mayor Bill de Blasio appeared to reach a boiling point Tuesday – with a banner of the mayor unfurled over the Staten Island Expressway. The banner showed the Democrat wearing a T-shirt of the late Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara and holding the severed head of Lady Liberty. “It’s
what he’s doing to New York, he’s severing the head of the greatest
city on Earth,” Scott LoBaido, the artist behind the banner, told the
New York Post. “New York has turned into a sh—hole because of this guy,” LoBaido continued. “He hates the true New Yorkers – police officers, firefighters … people who built this city.” The artist’s banner appeared on an overpass at Exit 13B of the expressway during the afternoon rush hour, the Post reported. Among
those retweeting images of the banner was Nicole Malliotakis, a
Republican state lawmaker from Staten Island who is running for a U.S.
House seat in November. Malliotakis previously was the Republican nominee who ran against de Blasio for mayor of the Big Apple in 2017. In
a previous Twitter message on Tuesday, Malliotakis retweeted photos of
New York government buildings covered with graffiti from recent riots.
The images included police officers depicted as pigs as well as the “A”
logo used by anarchists, stylized to also resemble the communist hammer
and sickle. “@NYCMayor is perfectly fine with the anti-police
graffiti and communist hammer & sickle spraypainted on #NYC
government buildings,” Malliotakis wrote. “(H)eck, he may have
spraypainted them himself. Disgusting.” De Blasio, 59, now serving
his second term as mayor of the nation’s largest city, is among a group
of Democrat mayors across the nation who have been taking heat from
their constituents – as well as from President Trump and other
Republicans – for their handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the rioting and other unrest that has followed the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and recent spikes in shootings and other crimes. One
of de Blasio's staunchest critics has been U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin,
R-N.Y., who has called for de Blasio to be removed from office. “I don't believe New York City is going to survive the remainder of Mayor de Blasio’s term in office," Zeldin told Fox News earlier this month. Other
Democrat mayors facing similar criticism include Chicago Mayor Lori
Lightfoot, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Portland, Ore., Mayor Ted
Wheeler. Earlier this month, President Trump took aim at de Blasio
after reports that New York City planned to slash the city’s police
budget by $1 billion and paint a “Black Lives Matter” mural in the
street along Fifth Avenue, directly outside Trump Tower. “NYC is
cutting Police $’s by ONE BILLION DOLLARS, and yet the @NYCMayor is
going to paint a big, expensive, yellow Black Lives Matter sign on Fifth
Avenue, denigrating this luxury Avenue,” Trump tweeted this month. De
Blasio – who later helped Black Lives Matter activists paint the mural –
responded to the president by implying that Trump was a racist. “Here’s what you don’t understand,” de Blasio wrote.
“Black people BUILT 5th Ave and so much of this nation. Your ‘luxury’
came from THEIR labor, for which they have never been justly
compensated. We are honoring them. The fact that you see it as
denigrating your street is the definition of racism.” Tuesday’s
outpouring of frustration against de Blasio came one day after another
New York Democrat, former state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, was sentenced to more than six years in prison after being convicted on corruption charges. Silver,
whose district covered lower Manhattan in New York City, was arrested
Jan. 22, 2015, just three weeks after being elected Assembly speaker for
the 11th time. He resigned a few days later.
