Tag: liar

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WH Press Sec: Trump Has ‘Great Record’ On LGBTQ Issues (Oh, My Sides…)

L-R Washington Blade reporter Chris Johnson, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany
During a recent press briefing at the White House, Donald Trump’s Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany dodged a question from Washington Blade reporter Chris Johnson about Trump’s ban on transgender service members which was announced out of the blue via Twitter three years ago. The Trump policy requires the discharge of any current service member diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a characteristic of being transgender. Those service members are also not allowed any transition-related care. Additionally, anyone with a history of gender dysphoria is banned from enlisting unless they agree to serve as the sex assigned to them at birth. Johnson asked if Trump would reconsider the policy and mentioned that 116 members of Congress have urged the Donald to end the ban especially in light of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which banned anti-LGBTQ+ workplace discrimination. The question led McEnany to abruptly pivot to the false claim that the president has a pro-LGBTQ+ record. “I haven’t talked to him about that specific policy, but this president is proud that in 2019 we launched a global initiative to end the criminalization of homosexuality throughout the world,” said McEnany reading from a prepared list of inaccurate claims. “He has a great record when it comes to the LGBT community. The Trump administration eased a ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men and he launched a plan to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.” Johnson tried to stay on topic by pointing out that while the ban is still in place, there are over 14K active military service members who identify as transgender, polls showing 70% of Americans support the rights of trans people to serve the country they love, and major medical associations saying there’s no problem with transgender people serving. But McEnany brushed those facts aside before moving on to another reporter. “I have no updates for you, but several of the events that you cited, like the Supreme Court ruling, I would refer you back to Justice Kavanaugh, who said, ‘We are judges, we’re not members of Congress. Instead of a hard-earned victory won through the Democratic process, today’s victory is brought about by judicial dictates.’ So we’ll always stand on the side of correct statutory interpretation.” https://twitter.com/WashBlade/status/1282754239324917761 Now, to anyone paying attention to Donald Trump and his administration here on Earth One, it’s clear that the Donald has a less-than-stellar record when it comes to the LGBTQ community. Here’s just a shortlist of topics where Trump has attempted to harm or diminish the LGBTQ community: First, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rolled back a provision in the Affordable Care Act that banned anti-LGBTQ discrimination in health care settings. Last November, HHS proposed removing regulatory provisions that explicitly prohibit organizations that receive HHS grant funding from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, and religion. In addition to transgender military service members, Trump has attempted to discharge HIV-positive military members. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has proposed allowing homeless shelters to discriminate against transgender people. Trump’s Justice Department has argued in favor of those seeking the right to discriminate against LGBTQ people in the workplace. (p.s. they lost…) Regarding the easing of restrictions on blood donations by gay men, when asked about the change in April Trump said he “didn’t know anything about that.” Additionally, Trump has publicly stated his opposition to The Equality Act that would make discrimination against LGBTQ people federal law. And then there are the slaps in the face like refusing to issue a Pride Month proclamation (which President Obama did all 8 years of his administration) as well as banning U.S. embassies from flying Pride flags during the month of June. And by the way, how is that ‘global initiative’ to end the criminalization of homosexuality going? We’ve heard no word about it since it was announced (source: Washington Blade)

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Ernst: Obama ‘Failed’ On Ebola, Trump Is ‘Stepping Forward’ On COVID-19

CNN’s Dana Bash interviews Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst (R)
During an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union this morning, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst (R), who criticized President Obama in 2014 for exhibiting what she called “failed leadership” on Ebola, was asked by CNN’s Dana Bash if Donald Trump is exhibiting “failed leadership” on the coronavirus health threat. Note: There were only 11 confirmed cases of Ebola reported in the U.S. and 2 Americans died from the virus six years ago. At this writing, the number of American deaths from COVID-19 is just under $130,000. Ernst’s response to the question: “I think the president is stepping forward.”

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Robust News Cycle Leads To CNN’s Best Ratings In 40 Year History

Donald Trump
The Associated Press reports the recent stretch of news regarding the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the lives of the world’s citizens coupled with the racial upheaval triggered by George Floyd’s death has resulted in CNN garnering its biggest audience for any three-month period in the network’s 40-year history. According to the Nielsen ratings, CNN’s weekday prime-time audience of 1.95 million was up 120% over the same period last year. Fox News saw a 43% increase pulling in an average of 4.07 million viewers, while MSNBC’s audience of 2.47 million was up 13% from 2019. Donald Trump, who rarely acknowledges actual facts and figures, routinely refers to CNN as “failing.” Sure, Jan… Even the moderator for CNN’s Twitter account for Public Relations finds the Donald to be exhausting in his perpetual lies.

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Appeals Court Orders Judge To Dismiss Case Against Michael Flynn

Michael Flynn (photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
From the New York Times:

A divided federal appeals court panel ordered an immediate end on Wednesday to the case against Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser — delivering a major victory to Mr. Flynn and to the Justice Department, which had sought to drop the case.

In the ruling, two of three judges on a panel for the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ordered the trial judge overseeing the matter, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, to immediately dismiss the case without further review. The third accused his colleagues of “grievously” overstepping their powers, and the full appeals court has the option of reviewing the matter.

The order — a so-called writ of mandamus — was rare and came as a surprise, taking its place as yet another twist in the extraordinary legal and political drama surrounding the prosecution of Mr. Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to F.B.I. agents in the Russia investigation about his conversations in December 2016 with the Russian ambassador to the United States.

Trump fired Flynn in early 2017 for lying to Vice President Pence and other colleagues about what he and the Russian ambassador discussed in December 2016. Flynn then agreed to cooperate with the investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and plead guilty to one count of making a false statement when F.B.I. agents had questioned him about the conversations. But after pleading guilty, he reversed course last year and sought to withdraw his guilty plea.

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Former Judge Calls DOJ Attempt To Drop Flynn Charges ‘Gross Abuse Of Power’

Michael Flynn (photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
A former federal judge asked to look into the Justice Department’s highly unusual request to drop its criminal case against Michael Flynn, Donald Trump’s first national security advisor, did not demure in his assessment calling the move a “gross abuse of prosecutorial power.” From CNBC:

“The Government has engaged in highly irregular conduct to benefit a political ally of the President,” the ex-judge, John Gleeson, wrote in a scathing legal filing opposing the proposed dismissal. Trump has strongly criticized the prosecution of Flynn.

Gleeson, who was assigned by the judge in Flynn’s case to advise him on several questions, also wrote that the retired Army lieutenant general “has indeed committed perjury” in his statements to the case judge during proceedings in the case, “for which he deserves punishment.”

But Gleeson added that while federal Judge Emmet Sullivan has the power to hold Flynn in criminal contempt for perjuring himself during a plea hearing and another hearing conducted by Sullivan, the judge should “not exercise that authority.”

“Rather, [Sullivan] should take Flynn’s perjury into account in sentencing him on the offense to which he has already admitted guilt,” Gleeson wrote in a filing in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

Twice under oath, Flynn admitted to lying to FBI agents about his discussions with Russia’s ambassador to the United States prior to Trump’s inauguration. In the end, all of this won’t matter. Trust and believe, the Donald will issue a pardon for Flynn. #LockHimUp

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News Round-Up: May 14, 2020

The cast of Queer Eye heads to Philadelphia this June on Netflix
Some news items you might have missed: • Netflix: Who’s ready for the season of brotherly love? Grab your oars, a life vest, and an extremely absorbent box of tissues because Queer Eye Season 5 (above) is arriving in Philly, June 5th! • NewNowNext: A new queer-centric concert series: Outloud: Raising Voices, a 10-episode benefit show featuring livestreamed performances from LGBTQ and allied artists, will kick off May 26 with performances by Kesha, Betty Who and more. Funds raised during the epic five-week affair will benefit local Pride organizers impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. • OUT: Under the veil of secrecy, legislators have crafted and rushed through a new civil code for the island of Puerto Rico. Having passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the legislation is awaiting the signature of Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced. But, advocates warn that amendments to the bill made without public debate and adequate time for analyzing could roll back LGBTQ+ rights. • The Hill: Donald Trump went without a mask during a visit to a Pennsylvania medical equipment distribution center (again) even as other government officials in his party wore face coverings around the facility. • Yahoo News: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is being sued for her revised federal guidelines on how sexual assault allegations should be handled on college and K-12 campuses. Plaintiffs say (and they are right) the changes would “inflict significant harm” on victims and “dramatically undermine” their civil rights. • Fox News: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell admitted he lied when he said the Obama administration did not leave behind any “game plan” for responding to a pandemic.

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Trump: ‘I Was Being Sarcastic About Injecting Disinfectant’

After Donald Trump suggested during a White House press briefing on Thursday that perhaps medical experts should look into some sort of “injections” of “disinfectant” might be a possible treatment for COVID-19, Trump walked those remarks back saying he was just being ‘sarcastic.’ “I was asking it sarcastically to reporters just like you to see what would happen,” Trump said in the Oval Office today. You can see the Trumpster pull the ‘sarcastic’ card in the first tweet below along with his video of his actual comments during yesterday’s press briefing where he clearly directed his questions about disinfectant to his medical experts.

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Judge Rules No New Trial For Trump Confidante Roger Stone

Roger Stone (screen capture)
Donald Trump’s longtime friend and ally, Roger Stone, has failed in his quest for a new trial after he was found guilty on seven felony counts including obstructing the congressional inquiry, lying to investigators under oath and trying to block the testimony of a witness whose account would have exposed his lies. From the New York Times:

The federal judge overseeing the criminal case against Roger J. Stone Jr. refused on Thursday to grant him a new trial, rejecting the defense’s argument of juror misconduct that President Trump has also repeatedly trumpeted.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the United States District Court in Washington ordered Mr. Stone to surrender to the federal Bureau of Prisons as soon as he is notified to do so. She also released him and his lawyers from a gag order she imposed months ago.

The judge’s decision appears to end one of the most politically fraught federal criminal cases in recent years. In a last-ditch effort to keep their client out of prison, Mr. Stone’s lawyers had claimed that the jury forewoman had improperly concealed a bias against Mr. Stone, justifying a new trial.

The jury convicted Mr. Stone, 67, in November of seven felonies for an attempt to thwart a congressional inquiry that threatened his longtime friend Mr. Trump, and Judge Jackson sentenced him in February to 40 months in prison.

Additionally, CNN reports, “All 12 of Roger Stone’s jurors wrote in a series of powerful, anonymized statements this week that they feel harassed, afraid and do not want more information about them revealed to the public, especially after President Donald Trump and right-wing media criticized them for their conviction of the longtime Trump friend.” Donald Trump is certain to pardon Stone. Mark my words.

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Fact-Check: Trump Says U.S. Has ‘Best’ COVID-19 Testing System (Nope)

L-R CNN’s Jim Acosta, Donald Trump
From NowThis News:

During a White House press briefing, Donald Trump said the U.S. doesn’t need nationwide testing before sending people back to work. Watch CNN’s Jim Acosta challenge President Trump on his COVID-19 testing claim.

The U.S. does not have the ‘best’ testing system. As of April 1, dozens of countries have far higher testing rates including Germany, Italy, Norway, S. Korea, Canada, Australia, & Estonia.

The White House had promised to conduct 27 million tests by the end of March. As of April 9, Trump himself told the press only 2 million tests had been administered. Based on those 2 million tests, the U.S. is testing approximately 6 people per thousand. Countries like South Korea and Germany are triple that rate. In the same exchange between Acosta and Trump, the Donald told the CNN journalist, “You shouldn’t be asking that kind of a question … it is very insulting to a lot of great people.” Journalists ask questions. It’s literally their job. People who are on point don’t get defensive when asked questions. They have answers.

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Trump Goes On Attack After Question About Jared Kushner’s “Our Stockpile” Comment

On Thursday, Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner (you know, the one solving the Middle East conflict) made a perplexing remark about the stockpile of medical equipment housed by the federal government. “The notion of the federal stockpile was it’s supposed to be our stockpile,” Kushner said. “It’s not supposed to be state stockpiles that they then use.” Folks were confused as to what differentiates the federal “our” stockpile from what would/should be used by states. It almost sounded like Kushner was saying the stockpile was for the Trump clan or the Trump administration to do with it as they wished. The federal government IS the United States of America. It exists primarily to keep the citizens of all states and U.S. territories safe. If the stockpile isn’t meant for states to use, then who would be using it? And why is anyone at this point in time even using the word “OUR” in regard to anything? Then on Friday (via CBS News):

When CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang pressed the president on what Kushner meant by “our,” he dismissed the question as a “gotcha.”

“‘Our, our’ — it means the United States of America,” the president said.

Mr. Trump said the stockpile is needed for the “federal government,” to keep for the country “because the federal government needs it, too, not just the states.”

The president accused Jiang of using a “nasty” tone in her question.

Governors have implored the president to provide them more ventilators and other much-needed equipment, but the president has repeatedly put the blame on the states for not stocking up on the equipment themselves.

Basically, Kushner misspoke. And in the Trump administration handbook, rather than say, “He misspoke,” everyone has to act like the response was “perfect” and they are stuck defending a stupid comment.