In a television interview scheduled to air Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence tears into U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, calling him a “disappointment to conservatives.” The vice president’s comments – made during a discussion with Christian broadcaster CBN News
– follow several cases before the court in which Roberts, a 2005
appointee of former President George W. Bush, has sided with the court’s
liberals in majority opinions. “We have great respect for the
institution of the Supreme Court of the United States but Chief Justice
Roberts has been a disappointment to conservatives,” Pence told CBN’s
David Brody, according to the network’s website. “I
think several cases out of the Supreme Court are reminders of just how
important this election is for the future of the Supreme Court,” the
vice president added.
Vice President Mike Pence, left, had some sharp words regarding
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts during a TV interview
scheduled to air Thursday.
Pence pointed in particular to Roberts voting in 2012 to uphold ObamaCare, a more recent decision to uphold Nevada’s coronavirus-related limits on church gatherings and a Louisiana case in which Roberts agreed that abortion-clinic doctors should have admitting privileges at local hospitals, CBN reported. Regarding the Louisiana case, Pence called it a “wake-up call” for pro-life voters. “That’s
a very modest restriction on abortion providers,” Pence told Brody.
“But a narrow majority in the Supreme Court still said it was
unacceptable. I think it’s been a wake-up call for pro-life voters
around the country who understand, in a very real sense, the destiny of
the Supreme Court is on the ballot in 2020.” Future
openings on the Supreme Court have been a topic of speculation in
recent years as Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87, deals with
increasingly frequent health-related issues – spurring talk of her
possible retirement – and other members of the court advance in age.
Ginsburg is the oldest member of the court, followed by Associate
Justices Stephen Breyer, who will turn 82 on Aug. 15; Clarence Thomas,
who is 72; and Samuel Alito, who is 70. The remaining members of the court, including Roberts, are all younger than 70. Pence
has been in what might be described as “attack mode” in recent days,
with sharp critiques targeting New York’s Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo
and Democrats serving on the House Judiciary Committee. In a
Monday night appearance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle,” Pence fired
back after Cuomo said the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic
needed a “reset” from the “top.” (Pence heads President Trump’s
Coronavirus Task Force.) “Our hearts grieve for the fact
that 1-in-5 of all the American lives that have been lost in
the coronavirus pandemic were lost in the State of New York,” Pence told host Laura Ingraham, "and some of that was because of poor decisions by the state and by Governor Cuomo.” Then
on Fox News’ “The Story” on Tuesday, Pence told host Martha MacCallum
that the House Judiciary Committee’s Democrats – including panel
Chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York -- were grandstanding during a
recent hearing with Attorney General William Barr. “Bill Barr is
leading the Justice Department in this country with great integrity and
brings a lifetime commitment to the rule of law,” the vice president said.
“But to see it today, in the little bit that I was able to watch, it
was clear that the Democrats wanted to hear themselves talk more than
they wanted to hear from the attorney general of the United States.” The
complete CBN News interview with Pence is scheduled to air Thursday on
the network’s “The 700 Club” program. Check local listings for time and
station.
The Washington Post sparked massive confusion Wednesday evening after erroneously reporting that President Trump was banned from tweeting because of a claim he made about the coronavirus. Both
Facebook and Twitter were cracking down on clips that were shared from
the president's interview on "Fox & Friends" earlier in the day,
where he continued his push for schools to be reopened in the fall.
However, the tech giants removed the clips of him asserting that
children are "almost immune" to the virus, citing the claim was
"misinformation." The Team Trump campaign account had uploaded the
video on Twitter, in a post that the president later shared on his
personal account. After Twitter disabled the video, the platform
further punished Team Trump by forbidding the account from tweeting
until it took down the original post. However, the Post apparently got its wires crossed in reporting what happened. "Breaking:
Twitter said it will require President Trump to remove a post
containing coronavirus misinformation, banning him from tweeting until
he does so," the Post began its report in bold text. "Twitter hid the
post and said he will not be able to tweet from his account until he
deletes it, although he can appeal the decision." The Post then
shared a quote from a Twitter spokesperson that appeared to allude to
the president instead of his campaign, saying the tweet was "in
violation of the Twitter Rules on COVID-19 misinformation. The account
owner will be required to remove the Tweet before they can Tweet again.” Several
Washington Post journalists shared the inaccurate information on
Twitter, spreading the report across the platform. They later deleted
their tweets. The paper ultimately issued a correction, writing at
the bottom of its report, "Twitter penalized Team Trump, the
president’s campaign account. An earlier version of this article said
that Twitter penalized President Trump’s account." Facebook and Twitter confirmed to Fox News that they took action against the videos uploaded by the Trump campaign. "This
video includes false claims that a group of people is immune from
COVID-19 which is a violation of our policies around harmful COVID
misinformation," Facebook spokeswoman Liz Bourgeois told FOX News in a
statement. A
Twitter spokesperson similarly told FOX News the tweet was "in
violation of the Twitter rules on COVID-19 misinformation" and that the
Trump campaign would "be required to remove the Tweet before they can
Tweet again." Trump campaign spokeswoman Courtney Parella told FOX
News that President Trump was "stating a fact that children are less
susceptible to the coronavirus." "Another day, another display of
Silicon Valley’s flagrant bias against this President, where the rules
are only enforced in one direction," she added. "Social media companies
are not the arbiters of truth.” Fox News' Lucas Manfredi contributed to this story.
Portland,
Ore., police Chief Chuck Lovell on Wednesday morning decried violent
instigators who he said are marring the message of mostly peaceful Black
Lives Matter protesters. "Portlanders
need to send a strong message that enough is enough," Lovell told
reporters at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, according to KGW-TV in
Portland. "This is not forwarding the goals that are going to lead to
better outcomes for people of color. This movement is really powerful,
but the violence has taken away from it. ... This is not what Portland
is about. This is not what we need in our city." The protests,
which have sometimes turned into late-night riots focused on the
Multnomah County Justice Center and the federal courthouse, have
continued unabated for more than two months since the May 25 death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis. Lovell
said there have been many large peaceful protests that required no
police presence but the smaller offshoot actions -- setting fires,
breaking windows and throwing objects at police -- are taking away from
the larger message. Late Wednesday, Portland police declared a
riot and said they believe an explosive device had been left outside a
precinct. People were ordered to disperse, and some streets were closed. “I’ve never seen a summer like this,” Lovell, who was named police chief in early June, said. He added that shooting have also spiked since the defunding of the Gun Violence Reduction Team over accusations of racism. There were 99 shootings in July, up from 35 in July 2019, police said, according to OregonLive.com. Lovell
told reporters he doesn’t believe the team was racist even though it
arrested more Black suspects than anyone else. He said the majority of
victims are Black – 66% last month. “A lot of those stops end with
handshakes and conversation,” he said. “And there's a real familiarity
and people miss it. We hear from a lot of people in the community saying
hey we need the Gun Violence Reduction Team back. We need these
officers that know our community, that know this issue of gun violence
that we really relied on to help stay safe." He added that taking police off patrol to cover protests has left fewer officers to respond to emergencies, according to KGW. Downtown
protests have become more peaceful since federal officers agreed to
leave last week, so some instigators have moved to other police
buildings across the city to cause problems. Early
Wednesday, police had declared a riot and made three arrests after
saying demonstrators set fires, erected barricades in a street and broke
into the police union headquarters. Police said someone also fired a
gun during the unrest and a pickup truck accelerated into the crowd
while pushing an unoccupied motorcycle in front of it. Lovell wrote a New York Times op-ed Monday titled, “I’m the Police Chief in Portland. Violence Isn’t the Answer.” “As
a Black man and a public servant, I see that spectacle is drowning out
the voices that need to be heard to make positive change,” he wrote. "I
agree with a local pastor, E.D. Mondainé, who stated these
'spectacles' are drowning out the voices that need to be heard to make
positive change. This violence is doing nothing to further the Black
Lives Matter movement." Lovell also praised officers’ “professionalism” and said he has confidence in his community.
WASHINGTON
(AP) — A small but singularly influential group is a driving force for
an agreement on a stalled coronavirus relief bill: Endangered Senate GOP
incumbents who need to win this fall if Republicans are going to retain
control of the majority.
Confronted
with a poisonous political environment, vulnerable Senate Republicans
are rushing to endorse generous jobless benefits, child care grants, and
more than $100 billion to help schools reopen. Several of them are
refusing to allow the Senate to adjourn until Washington delivers a deal
to their desperate constituents.
Sen.
Martha McSally, who has fallen behind in polls in Arizona, is breaking
with conservatives to endorse a temporary extension of a $600 per week
supplemental benefits. Republicans up for reelection such as John Cornyn
of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina are demanding results
before returning home to campaign. And Sen. Susan Collins is in
overdrive, backing help for cash-starved states and local governments —
and Maine’s shipbuilding industry.
The
opinions of senators up for reelection are of more consequence to
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell than those held by conservatives
like Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., who are broadcasting
their opposition to the emerging legislation as costly and ineffective.
As other Republicans gripe that they’re going to have to swallow a deal
brokered by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the vulnerable
Republicans are craving just such a bipartisan result.
“Maybe
eight Republicans who are up in tough states have a bigger interest in
getting this COVID-19 bill done,” said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio. “I
think that’s accurate.”
Republican
strategists, grappling with a political environment for their party
that has worsened over the summer, said it’s imperative for GOP
lawmakers to be able to head back to their states and districts with a
deal in hand to show voters they are taking the pandemic and the
economic fallout seriously.
“GOP
Senate candidates need a deal, a good deal ... so they can get home and
campaign on helping small businesses get up and moving again,” said
Scott Reed, the chief political strategist at the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce.
Republican
operative Corry Bliss said it was crucial for incumbents facing tough
re-election fights to “have wins” to highlight through the fall.
“This
is the most important issue facing the country right now,” Bliss said.
“There’s no better message for Congress to deliver heading into the
election than a big bipartisan victory to help families and small
businesses get through this difficult time.”
Republicans
control the Senate by a 53-47 margin, meaning Democrats must gain at
least three seats to capture Senate control. But Republicans are
defending 25 of the 38 seats in play, and are on the defensive even in traditionally red states due to Trump’s deteriorating standings in polls.
Meanwhile,
in blue and purple states like Iowa, Colorado, and Maine, GOP
incumbents are lining up to break with party orthodoxy on issues like
child care, unemployment benefits, and aid to cash-starved state and
local governments.
In
Colorado, Sen. Cory Gardner recently pushed for more virus relief after
an appearance with Ivanka Trump at a child care facility in the Denver
suburbs. “It needs to get done now,” he told reporters.
His
opponent, Democrat John Hickenlooper, has been hammering Gardner over
the GOP’s decision to “pause” the coronavirus negotiations for most of
the summer. On Tuesday, his campaign held a virtual press conference to
press for more relief. “We’ve seen Sen. Gardner stay silent while Mitch
McConnell and President Trump refuse to help millions of Americans,”
Hickenlooper said.
In
South Carolina, Graham’s opponent has called out what he has
characterized as the Republican’s flippant attitude toward real-world
concerns over lost wages and unemployment. Jaime Harrison has said
Graham is “leading the charge” to cut additional unemployment relief,
referring to Graham’s April comment that Congress would extend the
current benefits past July “over our dead bodies.”
Graham is now offering a jobless benefit proposal that is more generous than other GOP proposals.
Cornyn
helped start a bandwagon of senators who are demanding the Senate stay
at work in Washington until a coronavirus bill is passed. Voters expect a
deal — including renewed unemployment benefits that have helped
millions of people avert a descent into poverty — and returning home to
campaign without one in hand could be a political disaster. With
progress coming slowly in the talks, GOP leaders said the Senate will be
extending its session into next week and possibly longer.
Back
home, Cornyn is facing the first serious reelection challenge of his 18
years in the Senate as Trump’s sagging approval and Texas’ rapidly
changing suburbs has the GOP nervous about their grip on America’s
biggest red state. His opponent, Democrat M.J. Hegar, is attacking
Cornyn for opposing the $600 per week benefit as too generous in a
majority of cases since it pays most people more to not work than to
work. He said in June that the benefit would not be reinstated.
At
a closed-door GOP lunch last month, conservative Sen. Tom Cotton,
R-Ark., urged a freer-spending approach to the legislation that could
help endangered colleagues keep their seats — and allow everyone else to
hold onto their gavels.
It’s
difficult to overstate the stakes. Republicans are in their sixth year
holding the Senate, and that majority could be the only obstacle to
all-Democratic control of Washington next year if Joe Biden, the
presumptive Democratic nominee, defeats Trump in November.
Democrats
controlling the chamber could rubber-stamp Biden’s Cabinet and judicial
picks, if he wins, including likely Supreme Court vacancies. Even a
narrow Democratic majority could reverse the GOP’s 2017 tax cuts — and
that’s before the party considers eliminating the legislative filibuster
that has been the defining characteristic of the chamber for decades.
“This is the most important thing we need to be doing,” Cornyn said Tuesday of the coronavirus response measure.
___
Associated
Press writers Paul J. Weber in Austin, Texas, Nicholas Riccardi in
Denver and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this
report.
Rep. Roger Marshall defeated controversial former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach Tuesday evening to win the Republican nomination for a Senate seat being vacated by longtime Sen. Pat Roberts, R-KS. The win in the GOP primary
means that Republican voters in the Sunflower State heeded their
party’s advice by choosing the more moderate Marshall over the
conservative firebrand Kobach. Republican leadership was concerned that a
Kobach win would could ultimately flip the generally safe Senate seat
to the Democrats in November’s general election. "Kansas
Republicans knew what was at stake in this primary, and tonight's
results prove voters will reject any Democrat efforts to buy this seat,”
National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., said in a statement. “I'm more confident than ever Kansas will remain part of the Republican Senate Majority.” Besides besting Kobach, Marshall prevailed in
a crowded GOP primary field with the backing of major farm, business
and anti-abortion groups but without an endorsement from President
Trump. Many
Republicans’ fears about Kobach fueled ad campaigns that cost at least
$15 million, with most of the spending by political action committees.
Kobach is nationally known for advocating restrictive immigration
policies and alienated independent and moderate GOP voters in losing the
Kansas governor’s race in 2018. The race for retiring Roberts’
seat had national implications even though the GOP hasn’t lost a Senate
contest in Kansas since 1932. Roberts declared his support for
Marshall after the congressman had picked up endorsements from the U.S
Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas Farm Bureau, the National Right to Life
Committee and Kansans for Life, the state’s most influential
anti-abortion group. Marshall also had the backing of 97-year-old
political icon Bob Dole, the former U.S. Senate majority leader and 1996
GOP presidential nominee. Even with Marshall as the nominee, the
GOP faces a potentially competitive Senate race. The Democratic nominee,
state Sen. Barbara Bollier has raised more than $8 million for her
campaign, a big sum in a low-cost media state like Kansas, with
donations flooding in from outside the state. Bollier is a retired
Kansas City-area anethesiologist and former moderate Republican who
garnered national headlines by switching parties at the end of 2018. The NRSC’s Young has already painted Bollier as the “hand-picked” candidate of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “Roger
Marshall is a principled conservative who has, and will, deliver for
Kansas families, and I look forward to him defeating Chuck Schumer's
hand-picked candidate, Barbara Bollier, this November,” Young said. For
her part, Bollier said she doesn't care which candidate she's going up
against and slammed the Republicans on their moves to do away with thee
Affordable Care Act during the coronavirus pandemic. "It
doesn't matter who our opponent in #KSSen is, we know that they’ll be a
hyper-partisan working to take healthcare coverage from thousands of
Kansans in the middle of a pandemic. That’s for sure," Bollier tweeted. Republicans
are trying to keep their 53-47 Senate majority with competitive races
in other states, including Arizona, Colorado and Maine. Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The
American people should have been allowed to see police body camera
footage of the moments before Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin
pinned George Floyd's neck under Chauvin's knee much sooner than this week, Tucker Carlson argued Tuesday. Footage
from the cameras of former rookie officers Thomas Lane and J. Alexander
Kueng was obtained by the Daily Mail and published Monday. The video
shows about 18 minutes from Kueng's body camera and 10 minutes from
Lane's. The footage shows four Minneapolis police officers
struggling with Floyd this past May 25 before one of them, Derek
Chauvin, ultimately pins Floyd to the ground in a scene that sparked
protests worldwide. POLICE BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE OF GEORGE FLOYD ARREST LEAKED, PUBLISHED DESPITE DISTRIBUTION BAN "The
catechism has been written and it's in stone. 'George Floyd is a
martyr, period' ... " the "Tucker Carlson Tonight" host said. "But in
America, that's not good enough. It's not a real answer. In free
societies, citizens have a right to know why things are changing so
quickly. "What exactly is the basis of this cultural revolution
that we're all living through?" Carlson asked. "Once again, it may be
some time before we can answer those questions with certainty. Maybe we
never will. We'll probably debate them for decades. But more facts are
always the first step toward establishing what the truth is ... "Floyd's death
has been used to justify a nationwide convulsion of violence,
destruction, looting, in some cases killing ..." Carlson went on. "In
addition to unprecedented levels of political upheaval, the wholesale
reordering of our most basic institutions, Floyd's death changed
everything. It was a pivot point in American history. No matter what
your side you're on, that's very clear at this point. So with all of
that in mind ... it's striking how little we really know months later
about how exactly George Floyd died." Carlson
then played clips of the body camera footage. Prior to its publication
by the Daily Mail, the video was only available for viewing at the
Hennepin County Courthouse, by appointment only. "You can decide
for yourself what you think of that video. And we hope you will. That's
the whole point of having a news network, to bring you the facts and
allow you to decide what they amount to. We hope that takes place in
this case," Carlson said. "So the question is, why haven't we seen the
rest of the video until right now? The video seems relevant,
particularly considering all that happened next." Fox News' Sam Dorman and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Democrats are "facilitating" riots and violence
in major American cities and encouraging "radical leftists" who are
threatening Americans, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Tuesday on "Hannity."
"What's
happening, unfortunately, is not free speech," Cruz said, "and those
who are peaceably protesting are seeing their protests hijacked by
violent anarchists, by Marxists who are engaged in acts of terror. "At
the end of the day, none of this is complicated," he added. "Don't
assault your fellow citizens. Don't firebomb a police car. Don't loot
and destroy small businesses. Don't murder police officers." Cruz,
who chaired a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing concerning Antifa
Tuesday, slammed Democrats for not condemning the far-left group. "Seven
Democrats spoke and ... questioned the witnesses. Not a single one
dared to ... criticize Antifa in any way, because they're making a
cynical decision that they want to encourage these radical leftists who
are assaulting and threatening American citizens," Cruz said. "It's
really unfortunate." The hearing was marked by antagonism between Cruz and Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, who left before the hearing was adjourned. Cruz told host Sean Hannity that the Democratic Party has "really unleashed the crazies." "Most
of the party is really held captive to the extreme angry voices,
whether it's Antifa, whether ... it is AOC or Bernie Sanders or
Elizabeth Warren," Cruz said. "And you see them denying reality. You'll
also see them using rhetoric, I mean, calling federal police officers 'storm troopers' like Nancy Pelosi did, or 'Gestapo,' as Clyburn did ... Cops are not Nazis, and it is grotesque. It is offensive." Fox News' Marisa Schultz contributed t othis report.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas,
is aiming to highlight the role Antifa and like-minded groups are
playing in riots across the country, convening a Senate hearing Tuesday
on the issue while alleging that radical left-wing groups are engaging
in "organized terror attacks" designed to tear down government
institutions. “Across the country, we’re seeing horrific violence,
we’re seeing our country torn apart. Violent anarchists and Marxists
are exploiting protests to transform them into riots and direct assaults
on the lives and safety of their fellow Americans,” Cruz told Fox News
in an interview. On
Tuesday, Cruz will chair a hearing of the Judiciary Committee's
Subcommittee on the Constitution to investigate groups such as Antifa,
which, while active for years, have recently escalated their presence in
the wake of George Floyd's death in police custody. The hearing is
called "The Right of the People Peaceably to Assemble: Protecting Speech
by Stopping Anarchist Violence.” Speakers will include Acting
Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, journalist Andy Ngo
and law professor Jonathan Turley. It comes after two months of protests
and violent riots hit downtown Portland, where rioters have attacked
the Hatfield Courthouse and clashed with federal law enforcement
protecting it. As part of his opening statement, Cruz will play a
video to the committee that shows peaceful protests led by civil rights
leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., and contrasts them with the
violence committed by Antifa and similar groups. "These violent
riots are not spontaneous, nor are they mere coincidences. Instead, the
evidence suggests they are organized terror attacks designed to instill
fear and tear down the fundamental institutions of government. This
hearing is designed to understand who is driving the violence, who is
driving the assaults, who is driving the murders, and what their
objective is,” Cruz said. Law enforcement in Portland were blinded by lasers, assaulted and doxed online.
But local and state officials backed the protesters and accused the
Trump administration of having escalated the situation with their
presence, as well as "kidnapping" protesters. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and
DHS came to an agreement late last month on a phased withdrawal for law
enforcement, conditional on the courthouse being protected. But
Portland is one of a number of cities that have been hit by unrest amid
broader protests, some of them peaceful, since the death of George Floyd
in May. Cruz asserts that the violence is not a natural offshoot of
peaceful protests against police brutality -- and he wants to get to the
bottom of who is responsible. "The hearing will assess who is
driving the violence, who is driving the assaults, who is driving the
fires, who is driving the explosions, who is driving the murders, why
are they doing so, how are they doing so and what do they hope to
achieve through violent acts of terror?" he told Fox News. As
well as Antifa, Cruz also wants the hearing to look at Black Lives
Matter. He makes a distinction between the statement “black lives
matter,” which he calls “unquestionably true,” and the organization
Black Lives Matter -- which has called for people to “disrupt” the
"Western-prescribed nuclear family structure" and defund police
departments. “The actual organization denominated Black Lives
Matter was created by avowed Marxists pursuing a radical agenda
including defunding police departments across the country and that
agenda, if implemented, would have the consequence of a great many more
Black lives being lost,” Cruz said. The hearing comes after Cruz last month introduced the RECLAIM Act
which would hold state and local officials liable for private property
damage caused by rioters if those officials had given a stand-down order
to police or had allowed rioters to establish an “autonomous zone” as
happened recently in Seattle Cruz says he hopes there is common
ground with the Democratic minority in the Senate: “All of us should be
able to come together and say ‘don't assault other Americans, don't burn
their homes or businesses to the ground, don’t murder police
officers.’” However, he notes that a number of Democrats, both
locally and nationally, have criticized the actions of law enforcement
in places like Portland. Oregon’s Democratic congressional delegation
demanded investigations into federal activity while House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi called officers “stormtroopers” -- a remark that outraged Cruz
and others. “When
Nancy Pelosi calls federal law enforcement officers stormtroopers and
that is a term that hearkens back to Nazi Germany, when she wrongfully
alleges that they are kidnapping Americans, that is a grotesque lie, and
a slander and it endangers the lives of law enforcement,” he said. “It
reflects the very unfortunate political determination that a lot of
Democrats have made -- that given the choice between standing with
innocent Americans or violent terrorists seeking to hurt their fellow
citizens, to date too many of them have stood with terrorists,” he said.
