Joe Biden says remark on Vladimir Putin’s power was about ‘moral outrage’
President Joe Biden said Monday that he would make “no apologies” and wasn’t “walking anything back” after his weekend comment that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power,” attempting to turn the page on a controversy that clouded his recent trip to Europe. The president also insisted he’s not calling for regime change in Moscow, which would have represented a dramatic shift toward direct confrontation with another nuclear-armed country. “I was expressing the moral outrage that I felt toward this man,” Biden said. “I wasn’t articulating a policy change.” The president’s jarring remark about Putin, which came at the end of a Saturday speech in Warsaw that was intended to rally democracies for a long global struggle against autocracy, drew criticism in the United States and rattled some allies in Western Europe. Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, said he believed Biden’s comments Monday were “an effective way for the president to move beyond what was an unforced error.” Haass had originally been concerned that aggressive American rhetoric could “make Putin feel like he had little to lose by hanging tough or even escalating.” Biden rejected the idea that his comment could escalate tensions over the war in Ukraine or that it would fuel Russian propaganda about Western aggression. “Nobody believes … I was talking about taking down Putin,” Biden said, adding that “the last thing I want to do is engage in a land war or a nuclear war with Russia.” He said he was expressing an “aspiration” rather than a goal of American foreign policy. “People like this shouldn’t be ruling countries. But they do,” he said. “The fact they do doesn’t mean I can’t express my outrage about it.” Biden’s remark in Warsaw ricocheted around the globe despite the White House’s swift attempts to clarify that the president only meant that Putin “cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region.” On Monday, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres responded to Biden’s speech by saying that “we need de-escalation. We need military de-escalation and rhetoric de-escalation.” Although Biden has frequently touted American unity with European allies since the invasion of Ukraine began, he appears to have caused some discomfort by targeting Putin in Warsaw. French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday he “wouldn’t use those terms, because I continue to speak to President Putin, because what do we want to do collectively? We want to stop the war that Russia launched in Ukraine, without waging war and without escalation.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken was forced to continue clarifying Biden’s speech during a trip through the Middle East, where he had intended to focus on solidifying American partnerships as the administration seeks a renewed nuclear agreement with Iran. Speaking at a news conference in Jerusalem, Blinken said Biden meant that “Putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else.” Biden has previously gone further than expected when speaking about Putin, describing him as a “war criminal” at a time when administration officials were saying they were still conducting a review of the matter. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said then that Biden was “speaking from the heart” rather than articulating a legal conclusion. Republicans questioned why Biden decided to go off-script in Warsaw when dealing with a combustible conflict. Some said his provocative rhetoric was strange given his otherwise cautious approach, such as refusing to facilitate the transfer of Polish fighter jets to Ukraine’s military. “If we’re so worried about provoking him that we couldn’t even send MiGs into Ukraine, how is this any different?” Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “In fact, I would say it’s more provocative than sending MiGs into Ukraine.” The U.S. has been rushing weapons like anti-tank missiles into Ukraine and is considering providing anti-ship missiles to make it harder for Russia to mount an amphibious offensive along the Black Sea coast. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains exasperated with the pace of military assistance, accusing Western leaders of cowardice and repeating his request for tanks and fighter jets. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
January 6 committee votes to hold Dan Scavino, Peter Navarro in contempt
The House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol voted unanimously Monday night to hold former Trump advisers Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino in contempt of Congress for their monthslong refusal to comply with subpoenas. The committee made their case that Navarro, former President Donald Trump’s trade adviser, and Scavino, a White House communications aide under Trump, have been uncooperative in the congressional probe into the deadly 2021 insurrection and, as a result, are in contempt. “They’re not fooling anybody. They are obligated to comply with our investigation. They have refused to do so. And that’s a crime,” Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the committee’s Democratic chairman, said in his opening remarks. The recommendation of criminal charges now goes to the full House, where it is likely to be approved by the Democratic-majority chamber. Approval there would then send the charges to the Justice Department, which has the final say on the prosecution. At Monday’s meeting, lawmakers made yet another appeal to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who has not yet made a decision to pursue the contempt charges the House set forward in December on former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. “We are upholding our responsibility,” Rep. Adam Schiff, a member of the committee, said in his remarks. “The Department of Justice must do the same.” The committee is investigating the circumstances surrounding January 6, when pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol, fueled by his false claims of a stolen election, in hopes of blocking Congress from certifying election results showing Democrat Joe Biden defeated Trump. Ahead of the committee’s vote, the panel scored a big legal victory in its quest for information from Trump lawyer John Eastman when a federal judge in California asserted Monday morning that it is “more likely than not” that Trump committed crimes in his attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election. With that argument, U.S. District Court Judge David Carter, a Bill Clinton appointee, ordered the release of more than 100 emails from Eastman to the committee. Charles Burnham, an attorney representing Eastman, said in a statement Monday that his client has a responsibility to his attorney-client privilege, and his lawsuit against the committee “seeks to fulfill this responsibility.” Navarro, 72, was subpoenaed for his testimony in early February. The panel wants to question the Trump ally who promoted false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election that the committee believes contributed to the attack. “He hasn’t been shy about his role in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and has even discussed the former President’s support for those plans,” Thompson, the committee’s Democratic chairman, said in a statement at the time. Though Navarro sought to use executive privilege to avoid cooperation, the Biden administration has denied claims from him, Scavino, and former national security adviser Michael Flynn, saying an assertion of executive privilege was not justified or in the national interest. On Thursday, Navarro called the committee vote “an unprecedented partisan assault on executive privilege,” and said, ”The committee knows full well that President Trump has invoked executive privilege, and it is not my privilege to waive.” In a statement Sunday night, Navarro said the committee “should negotiate this matter with President Trump.” He added, “If he waived the privilege, I will be happy to comply; but I see no effort by the Committee to clarify this matter with President Trump, which is bad faith and bad law.” In a subpoena issued to Scavino last fall, the committee cited reports that he was with Trump the day before the attack during a discussion about how to persuade members of Congress not to certify the election for Biden and with Trump again the day of the attack and may have “materials relevant to his videotaping and tweeting” messages that day. In the recent report, the committee said it also has reason to believe that due to the 46-year-old’s online presence, Scavino may have had advance warning about the potential for violence on January 6. Scavino and his counsel have received at least half a dozen extensions to comply with the subpoena, according to the committee. “Despite all these extensions, to date, Mr. Scavino has not produced a single document, nor has he appeared for testimony,” the report stated. A lawyer for Scavino did not return messages seeking comment. As the committee enforces its subpoena power, it is also continuing to branch out to others in Trump’s orbit. Lawmakers now plan to reach out to Virginia Thomas — known as Ginni — the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in regards to her reported text messages with former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on the day of the attack, according to two people familiar with the investigation who were granted anonymity to discuss the panel’s private deliberations. But the panel has not decided what their outreach to Thomas, a conservative activist, will look like and whether that will come in the form of a subpoena or a voluntary request to cooperate. Also, later this week, the committee plans to interview former Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, one of the people said. The committee previously voted to recommend contempt charges against longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon after he defied a congressional subpoena, as well as against Meadows after he ceased cooperating with the panel. The full House then approved both contempt referrals. Bannon was later indicted by a federal grand jury and is awaiting prosecution by the Justice Department. The Justice Department has not taken any action against Meadows. The central facts of the January 6 insurrection are known but what the committee is hoping to do is fill in the remaining gaps about the attack on the Capitol, and lawmakers say they are committed to presenting a full accounting to make sure it never happens again. The panel is looking into every aspect of the riot, including what Trump himself was doing while it unfolded and any connections between the White House and the rioters who broke into the Capitol building. Republished with the permission
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer kidnap plotters ‘excited’ about bomb
Two men described as leaders of a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were thrilled as they watched videos of powerful explosives a few hours before driving north to scout her vacation home, an FBI agent testified Monday. In summer 2020, Tim Bates was working undercover as “Red” when he fooled the group into believing that he knew someone in the mining industry who could get high-grade explosives. A bomb is a key part of the government’s case against Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., Daniel Harris, and Brandon Caserta, who are charged with conspiring to kidnap Whitmer because of her tough COVID-19 policies and their broad disgust with government. Prosecutors say Fox especially wanted to blow up a bridge near Whitmer’s second home in northern Michigan to thwart any police response to a kidnapping. Bates, who was secretly recording conversations, said he showed up for a training weekend in Luther, Michigan, and shared videos of explosives blowing up an SUV. “Mr. Fox was excited about what he saw in the video,” Bates told the jury, adding that Croft “was also excited.” Traveling in three vehicles, Bates said he, Fox, Croft, and others drove to Elk Rapids to look at Whitmer’s house on Birch Lake and inspect a nearby bridge. “Why?” asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler. “To kidnap her,” Bates testified. Croft told the group that he “needed to take a nap … to have energy” if they were going to abduct Whitmer that night, but that wasn’t the plan, Bates said. Later, after returning to the Luther camp, Fox asked Bates if he would “take an IOU” for the $4,000 explosive, according to a recording. Prosecutors said they could finish presenting evidence Tuesday, the 12th day of trial, or Wednesday at the latest. Defense attorneys deny there was an actual plan to snatch Whitmer, claiming the men were improperly influenced by undercover agents and informants and exchanged wild talk while smoking marijuana. Fox’s lawyer tried to downplay the stop at the bridge. Bates admitted that he encouraged Fox to take a picture of the underside of the structure while they were looking at it. “That’s a public sidewalk. There’s no ‘no trespassing’ signs,” attorney Christopher Gibbons said to the agent. “Anybody can run up under that bridge, any time they want.” Croft attorney Joshua Blanchard suggested the FBI wanted to strengthen the case against Fox by getting a bridge photo on his phone. “Nobody ever actually gave you money, right?′ Blanchard asked Bates, referring to money for explosives. “No one ever shook your hand and said, ‘You’ve got a deal.’” “Correct,” the agent replied. Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks, two other men who were also arrested in October 2020, have pleaded guilty and were critical witnesses for the government last week. Garbin said Whitmer’s kidnapping could ignite a U.S. civil war involving anti-government groups and possibly prevent Joe Biden from winning the presidential election. Fox talked about snatching the governor “every time I saw him,” Franks said. Separately, a lawyer for an informant said Steve Robeson would invoke his right to remain silent if called as a witness by the defense. Robeson’s secret recordings were used by prosecutors, but he was not a trial witness for the government. He pleaded guilty last fall to a gun charge in a different case in Wisconsin. Whitmer, a Democrat, rarely talks publicly about the kidnapping plot, though she referred to “surprises” during her term that seemed like “something out of fiction” when she filed for reelection on March 17. She has blamed former President Donald Trump for fomenting anger over coronavirus restrictions and refusing to condemn right-wing extremists like those charged in the case. Whitmer has said Trump was complicit in the January 6 Capitol riot. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Historically Black school to remain open on Alabama coast
A more than 120-year-old, historically Black parochial school where nuns and priests supported the civil rights movement won’t close after all following a fundraising drive and new commitments by graduates and supporters, the Catholic Church said Monday.s While Heart of Mary Catholic School was in danger of shutting down because of declining enrollment and precarious finances, the Archdiocese of Mobile said in a statement it would remain open. New requests from parents point to increased enrollment, and some alumni have agreed to take more responsibility with the school, it said. “A new corporation and a new governing board are in the process of being formed independent of the Archdiocese of Mobile. This new board will take responsibility for the continued operation and administration of the school,” the statement said. An online fundraising campaign took in more than $450,000 to support the school, which was at risk of shutting down at the end of the school year. Its alumni include former U.S. Labor Secretary Alexis Herman and retired Maj. Gen. Gary Cooper, the first Black person to command a Marine combat infantry company in Vietnam. Heart of Mary Catholic School has classes from early childhood education through middle school, according to its website, and it offers scholarships for needy students. Established in 1901, when Alabama adopted a white supremacist Constitution to disenfranchise Blacks and poor white, the school and its parish became an important meeting place for Black people during the civil rights era. Priests and nuns joined in marches and other demonstrations in support of the community. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
