Vox: All Posts by Amanda Sakumahttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52517/voxv.png2019-04-07T16:08:29-04:00https://www.vox.com/authors/amanda-sakuma/rss2019-04-07T16:08:29-04:002019-04-07T16:08:29-04:00A power struggle over Tripoli threatens to push Libya further into chaos
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<figcaption>Forces loyal to Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar patrolling in downtown Sebha, the biggest city in southern Libya in February. | AFP/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>As each side launches airstrikes, US troops evacuate the city.</p> <p id="GUq1DV">Libyan militias battling for control of the country’s capital, Tripoli, launched airstrikes against one another on Sunday, escalating a battle that has raged since Thursday.</p>
<p id="Y69afJ">The battle began when the Libyan National Army (LNA), a force in control of most of Eastern Libya, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/07/world/africa/libya-us-troops.html">launched a surprise offensive</a> on Tripoli. That attack threatens to reinvigorate the armed conflict in a country marred by instability since former dictator Muammar Qaddafi was deposed in 2011. </p>
<p id="nLRyxT">The LNA is led by Gen. Khalifa Haftar, who fled to the US after his first failed coup attempt against Qaddafi. Haftar launched the latest attack in hopes of fulfilling a promise to unite Libya under his control. </p>
<p id="Mye36X">Standing in his way are armed factions defending the capital and its internationally recognized, United Nations-backed government, the Government of National Accord (GNA). </p>
<p id="4EAmvW">The LNA first<strong> </strong>advanced on the southern and western outskirts of the capital in an assault that left dozens dead and many more wounded, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-47844513">the BBC reports</a>. Haftar <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/video/2019/04/06/east-libyan-troops-close-on-tripoli-clai?videoId=534707478">claimed to have seized</a> Tripoli’s airport — which is roughly 15 miles from the center of the city — in the LNA’s first strike, but <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/us-pulls-forces-from-libya-amid-fighting-near-capital">fighting reportedly continued there</a> through Sunday. </p>
<p id="FR0wdf">Col. Mohamed Gnounou of the forces loyal to the GNA said on Sunday his troops plan on “<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/04/libya-gna-forces-announce-counteroffensive-defend-tripoli-190407121535177.html">purging all Libyan cities of aggressor and illegitimate forces</a>” in a counteroffensive called “Volcano of Anger.”</p>
<p id="qPb1zU">This counteroffensive continued as tensions further escalated Sunday when LNA forces unleashed airstrikes on the city’s suburbs. Those were met in turn with <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/04/libya-air-raids-target-haftar-advancing-forces-tripoli-190406120715862.html">airstrikes by GNA forces</a>.</p>
<p id="5EvTV4">The airstrikes come in spite of calls from the UN asking for a two-hour truce to help evacuate citizens and wounded fighters.</p>
<p id="HDoN12">UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was in Tripoli on Friday preparing for talks scheduled for next week that were meant to lay the groundwork for democratic elections. Later in the day, he tweeted that he was leaving Libya “with a heavy heart” as violence intensified. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">I leave Libya with a heavy heart and deeply concerned. I still hope it is possible to avoid a bloody confrontation in and around Tripoli. <br><br>The UN is committed to facilitating a political solution and, whatever happens, the UN is committed to supporting the Libyan people.</p>— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) <a href="https://twitter.com/antonioguterres/status/1114187435460767744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2019</a>
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<p id="HoVGHM">Haftar, a 75-year-old general who once served under Qaddafi, returned to Libya in 2011 to aid in the revolution against the dictator. </p>
<p id="su3HJP">After Qaddafi was deposed, Haftar eventually became the leader of militia forces controlling the country’s eastern region. He’s a staunch anti-Islamist general backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Haftar has also received aid from Russia and from France, which partnered with the general in hopes he could help slow immigration from African countries. Despite this support, there are lingering worries that Haftar could turn out to be little more than a Qaddafi 2.0.</p>
<p id="FC1z29"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/libyan-warplanes-target-forces-of-renegade-commander-on-tripoli-outskirts/2019/04/06/067cd318-5867-11e9-aa83-504f086bf5d6_story.html?utm_term=.46e51aeb4b01">The Washington Post’s Fahmi Hussein and Sudarsan Raghavan</a> filed a dispatch from the city of Misurata on Saturday, where militia forces who say Haftar reminds them of Qaddafi claimed to have deployed hundreds of truckloads of fighters to help in the fight against Haftar.</p>
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<p id="CTPolj">Many Misurata residents — and the city’s militias — despise Hifter and view him as another dictator in the making. Militias from other pro-government cities such as Zintan also moved into Tripoli, according to photos posted on social media.</p>
<p id="Tq2DhQ">In Misurata, a radio station sent out a rallying cry to listeners: “Everyone who owns a gun please go to Tripoli right away to fight for your country against Hifter.”</p>
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<p id="xD7LBn">As the fighting continues, US troops stationed in Tripoli were ordered to evacuate the city. The <a href="https://twitter.com/USAfricaCommand/status/1114803246152003585">US Africa Command announced Sunday</a> it planned to relocate a contingent of US forces due to “increased unrest in Libya.”</p>
<p id="ziSXgj">“The security realities on the ground in Libya are growing increasingly complex and unpredictable,” Marine Corps Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the head of US Africa Command, said in a statement. “Even with an adjustment of the force, we will continue to remain agile in support of existing US strategy.”</p>
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https://www.vox.com/world/2019/4/7/18299388/libya-crisis-tripoli-air-strikes-armed-conflictAmanda Sakuma2019-04-07T13:10:38-04:002019-04-07T13:10:38-04:00Trump attacks Rep. Ilhan Omar hours after a supporter was charged with threatening to kill her
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<p>He wants to drive a wedge between Jewish voters and the Democratic Party.</p> <p id="pL4XTb">President Donald Trump sought to drive a wedge between Jewish voters and the Democratic Party on Saturday by reigniting allegations of anti-Semitism against Rep. Ilhan Omar — just hours after one of his supporters was charged for threatening to kill her.</p>
<p id="IXmiuA">Speaking before the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual convention in Las Vegas on Saturday, Trump referenced a weeks-old <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/6/18251639/ilhan-omar-israel-anti-semitism-jews">controversy involving Omar</a>, a first-term Democrat from Minnesota and one of the first Muslim women to serve in Congress. </p>
<p id="PP4pE2">In February, <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/12/18220241/ilhan-omars-twitter-tweet-anti-semitism">Omar alleged on Twitter</a> that pro-Israel sentiment in Washington was being bought by pro-Israel lobbyists. Her remarks prompted politicians from both parties to condemn her remarks, with some labeling them as anti-Semitic. The Congress member later apologized for her tweets.</p>
<p id="xjUByf">On Saturday, Trump gave Omar a back-handed compliment about the dust-up. </p>
<p id="IyewaL">“Special thanks to Rep. Omar of Minnesota,” the president said. “Oh, I almost forgot. She doesn’t like Israel ... I’m so sorry!” </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">On the same day that one of his fans was charged with plotting to murder her, President Trump gratuitously attacks Ilhan Omar <a href="https://t.co/rPbC7BYNnu">pic.twitter.com/rPbC7BYNnu</a></p>— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1114602898195873793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2019</a>
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<p id="VDzUq9">Trump delivered his disparaging remarks against Omar just hours after police in New York charged a man for threatening to assault and murder her. </p>
<p id="AFlwBK">Patrick Carlineo Jr., an avowed Trump supporter, was arrested Friday for calling Omar’s office and delivering an expletive-filled rant that included violent threats against the elected official.</p>
<p id="7Rmvet">“Do you work for the Muslim Brotherhood? Why are you working for her, she’s a fucking terrorist? I’ll put a bullet in her fucking skull,” Carlineo allegedly told staffers, according to the <a href="https://www.stargazette.com/story/news/public-safety/2019/04/05/steuben-county-man-charged-threatening-kill-congresswoman/3377625002/">criminal complaint</a> filed by the US Attorney’s Office in the Western District of New York.</p>
<p id="Xtskx2">The 55-year-old suspect reportedly later told investigators that he “loves the president and that he hates radical Muslims in our government.”</p>
<h3 id="VO6p5f">Trump wants to drive a wedge between Democrats and Jewish voters</h3>
<p id="nDbvVs">Trump’s speech on Saturday fits into a larger effort by the president to end the support Democrats have had from many Jewish voters for decades.</p>
<p id="2Qsg9k">“Democrats are advancing by far the most extreme, anti-Semitic agenda in history,” Trump said Saturday, adding that if implemented, “the Democrats’ radical agenda could very well leave Israel out there all by yourselves.”</p>
<p id="ndA2Rl">Trump has also taken to promoting “Jexodus,” a supposed wave of Jewish voters leaving the Democratic Party for the GOP. He has for weeks advanced the idea that Democrats are alienating Jewish voters and that the Democratic Party tolerates anti-Semitism.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">“Jewish people are leaving the Democratic Party. We saw a lot of anti Israel policies start under the Obama Administration, and it got worsts & worse. There is anti-Semitism in the Democratic Party. They don’t care about Israel or the Jewish people.” Elizabeth Pipko, Jexodus.</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1105441310041878530?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2019</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The ‘Jexodus’ movement encourages Jewish people to leave the Democrat Party. Total disrespect! Republicans are waiting with open arms. Remember Jerusalem (U.S. Embassy) and the horrible Iran Nuclear Deal! <a href="https://twitter.com/OANN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OANN</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/foxandfriends?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@foxandfriends</a></p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1106526246144487424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2019</a>
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<p id="jThJTa">Trump has worked to position himself as a friend of Israel, moving the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/5/14/17340798/jerusalem-embassy-israel-palestinians-us-trump">US embassy to Jerusalem</a> and recently announcing the US will now recognize the contested <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2019/3/21/18276101/trump-israel-netanyahu-golan-heights">Golan Heights as a part of Israel</a>. And the Republican Jewish Coalition has an ambitious plan to invest $10 million into efforts to win Trump new Jewish supporters, according to <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/07/donald-trump-jewish-vote-2020-1260172">Politico</a>. </p>
<p id="IIkcA7">But <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/3/15/18267129/jexodus-trump-jews-democrats-israel">as Vox’s Matt Yglesias explained</a>, Jexodus doesn’t really exist. American Jews have a long-standing allegiance to the Democratic Party stretching back to the turn of the 20th century. </p>
<p id="WHLAR3">And while the party does have <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/6/18251639/ilhan-omar-israel-anti-semitism-jews">growing internal divisions</a> over how to address America’s relationship with Israel — the stance taken by Omar and some other progressives contrasts with “the Democratic establishment’s generically pro-Israel view,” as Vox’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/6/18251639/ilhan-omar-israel-anti-semitism-jews">Zack Beauchamp notes</a> — it’s worth noting American Jews are hardly universally united on the issue either. So Omar drawing criticism for her tweets doesn’t mean Jewish Democrats will be fleeing the party en masse. </p>
<p id="bGSIRA">That probably won’t stop Republicans from trying to make significant electoral gains with Israel as a driving issue — as evidenced by Trump’s speech Saturday. So far, however, these efforts it has yet to bear fruit. And as <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/3/15/18267129/jexodus-trump-jews-democrats-israel">Yglesias explains</a>, they may never:</p>
<blockquote><p id="6JeIZO">While American Jews are largely (though by no means unanimously) supportive of Israel, most do not see political support for Israel to be an adequate substitute for supporting a pluralistic vision of the United States of America, which, after all, is where American Jews live. The contention that Jews should vote Republican because Republicans are stronger backers of the Israeli government isn’t identical to the <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/6/18251639/ilhan-omar-israel-anti-semitism-jews">“dual loyalties” issue that got Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN)</a> in trouble earlier this months, but it’s not entirely unrelated either. The reality is that American Jews are Americans, not Israelis, and while elements of GOP social conservatism appeal strongly to Orthodox Jews, for most Jewish Americans, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/11/29/18116395/hanukkah-pittsburgh-jewish-faith-leaders-tree-of-life-shootings">Jewish values and Jewish identity are tied up with openness and pluralism</a> in a way that makes the GOP a very hard sell.</p></blockquote>
<p id="eOfI4f">Trump himself makes efforts to convert Jewish voters to the GOP even more of an uphill climb. The president has been accused of perpetuating anti-Semitic tropes before (like when he referred to Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) as being “shifty”), and as Schiff noted on Sunday, Trump <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/8/11/17679108/donald-trump-unite-the-right-nazis-white-suppremacy">doesn’t have the greatest track record</a> on forcefully condemning far-right extremism. </p>
<p id="0Lk9D5">“If there’s anything that is likely to cement the relationship between the Democratic Party and the Jewish community, it’s the presidency of Donald Trump,” Schiff told CNN’s Jake Tapper on <em>State of the Union</em>. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff: “If there’s anything that is likely to cement the relationship between the Democratic Party and the Jewish community, it’s the presidency of Donald Trump” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CNNSOTU?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CNNSOTU</a> <a href="https://t.co/SmGSGhBM9X">pic.twitter.com/SmGSGhBM9X</a></p>— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/1114879125834092544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2019</a>
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https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/4/7/18299172/trump-ilhan-omar-anti-semitism-jewish-republicansAmanda Sakuma2019-04-07T09:40:09-04:002019-04-07T09:40:09-04:00SNL roasts Joe Biden with sensitivity training on how to ditch his “touchy-feely stuff”
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<p>Saturday Night Live alum Jason Sudeikis reprises his role as Biden.</p> <p id="Ui4Upp"><em>Saturday Night Live</em> mocked Joe Biden’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/4/2/18290345/joe-biden-lucy-flores-amy-lappos">apparent penchant for invading women’s personal space</a> with a skit featuring a sensitivity coach who tries to help the former vice president unlearn his “touchy-feely” ways.</p>
<p id="GbLJQ0">Former cast member Jason Sudeikis returned to Studio 8H to reprise his role as Biden. The former vice president was in hot water this week after numerous women publicly accused him of <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/29/18241598/joe-biden-lucy-flores-touching-women-media-history-explained">touching them inappropriately</a>.</p>
<p id="uxxIJx">Saturday’s cold open sketch kicked off with top Biden advisers plotting how to best confront the former vice president about his interactions with women. If Biden decides to announce a 2020 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, they point out, he’s going to have to change his behavior.</p>
<p id="zymsfz">“Joe’s a good guy, and he means well. He’s just a little behind the times,” <em>SNL</em> regular Cecily Strong says, playing a Biden aide, just moments before the Delaware Democrat bursts into the room. </p>
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<p id="s4e3oH">Sudeikis’ Biden is a bumbling career politician who remains clueless as to why anyone would take offense to his handsy approach. He immediately makes it clear has no problem conceding he has a habit of cozying up with strangers. </p>
<p id="Cm8xFw">“I’m a hugger, I’m a kisser, and I’m a little bit of a sniffer,” Sudeikis says, referencing <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/29/18241598/joe-biden-lucy-flores-touching-women-media-history-explained">allegations from Nevada Democrat Lucy Flores</a>, who claimed Biden came up behind her at a 2014 event, put his hands on her shoulders, and leaned in before kissing her on the back of the head.</p>
<p id="qq2qbl">While Sudeikis’s Biden initially defends his behavior, he says he is game for a lesson on how to change his behavior from a sensitivity consultant, played by Kate McKinnon. The coaching session goes off the rails immediately when Biden greets McKinnon by pressing his forehead up against hers for a prolonged embrace. From there, he exasperates her with has a long checklist of habits she tells him are now considered off limits.</p>
<p id="Fx95RU">“No tickling at all,” McKinnon instructs him.</p>
<p id="iK9GTs">“No tickling — even on her birthday,” Biden repeats back.</p>
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<p id="KzHjVW"><em>SNL</em> continued to ridicule Biden later in the show when Weekend Update hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che took note of how the allegations against the former veep are hardly a surprise. </p>
<p id="p0frg6">“He looks like one of those uncles who calls spring ‘sundress time!’” Che jokes.</p>
<p id="5yMYx8">Jost went on to roast Biden’s attempt at an apology earlier in the week. Biden responded to the allegations of impropriety by <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/4/3/18294162/joe-biden-touching-allegations-response">posting a video on Twitter</a> in which he mimes the different ways in which he enjoys greeting people.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Social norms are changing. I understand that, and I’ve heard what these women are saying. Politics to me has always been about making connections, but I will be more mindful about respecting personal space in the future. That’s my responsibility and I will meet it. <a href="https://t.co/Ya2mf5ODts">pic.twitter.com/Ya2mf5ODts</a></p>— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1113515882960052224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2019</a>
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<p id="z6gUtX">”It was supposed to be an apology, not a reenactment,” Jost says. “He might as well end the video by unbuttoning his shirt and saying, ‘To find out what happens next, log on to GoDaddy.com.’”</p>
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https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/4/7/18299035/snl-joe-biden-cold-open-sensitivity-trainingAmanda Sakuma2019-04-06T16:21:17-04:002019-04-06T16:21:17-04:00Trump’s lawyer calls Democrats’ demands for tax returns “a gross abuse of power”
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<p>It’s the beginning of what may become a drawn out legal battle.</p> <p id="F2zMvw">For more than four years, President Donald Trump has refused to release his federal income tax returns. Friday, his attorney said the president plans to continue doing so, despite pressure from House Democrats to make the returns public. </p>
<p id="ePJTjh">In a letter to the Treasury Department, Trump’s attorney William Consovoy called on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to reject a request from the House Ways and Means Committee to release the president’s personal and business tax returns.</p>
<p id="fHXMjQ">“It would be a gross abuse of power for the majority party to use tax returns as a weapon to attack, harass, and intimidate their political opponents,” <a href="https://www.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/4.5.2019_Letter_from_WConsovoy_to_BMcIntosh.pdf?mod=article_inline">Consovoy wrote on Friday</a>. “Once this Pandora’s box is opened, the ensuing tit-for-tat will do lasting damage to our nation.”</p>
<p id="W7Jvyz">Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/4/3/18294435/trump-tax-returns-house-democrats-richard-neal">demanded Trump’s returns on Wednesday</a>, following months of a <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/4/4/18293880/house-democrats-subpoenas-trump-slow">slow and meticulous</a> start to a number of investigations into the Trump White House by Democrats newly in control of the House of Representatives. </p>
<p id="sUFuE8">Neal wants six years worth of Trump’s<strong> </strong>personal federal income tax returns and returns for business entities tied to his name, spanning 2013 through 2018. The chairman set an April 10 deadline for returns’ release. </p>
<p id="T6UK4f">The president’s legal team made clear this week that it has every intention to fight House Democrats tooth and nail over the issue. The team has already indicated a willingness to bring the issue all the way to the Supreme Court.</p>
<h3 id="NGP8Z9">Trump’s argument for why he shouldn’t release his returns keeps changing</h3>
<p id="garY58">Trump defied decades of precedent in refusing to release his returns — every modern presidential party nominee has made their tax returns public at one point or another. The president has justified his refusal to follow suit, but his justifications keep changing.</p>
<p id="a3NbYm">Over the course of his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump waffled over whether he’d actually make his returns available to the public. Before formally announcing his campaign, Trump promised <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIMDkxoS1as">conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt</a> he would release his returns should he run for president. The president then punted on the issue after he formally declared his candidacy months later, saying in August 2015 that he’d release them “<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-donald-trump/story?id=34187405">at some point</a>.” </p>
<p id="PBJynG">Trump teased of a big tax return reveal during the Republican primary season. But as <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/4/3/18294435/trump-tax-returns-house-democrats-richard-neal">Vox’s Andrew Prokop notes</a>, Trump’s storyline started to shift around the time he edged closer to clinching the party’s nomination. Trump began arguing that he was barred from releasing his returns because he was being audited by the IRS. Only after the audit was finished would he be able to make the returns public, he claimed.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tax experts throughout the media agree that no sane person would give their tax returns during an audit. After the audit, no problem!</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/703600613897023488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2016</a>
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<p id="Fd1oWQ">Tax experts, including <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/finance/270964-irs-nothing-prevents-trump-from-releasing-tax-returns">at the IRS</a>, debunked these claims as bogus. Nevertheless, it’s a justification Trump continues to use today. “Until such time as I am not under audit, I will not be doing that, thank you,” Trump said this week, according to <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/03/house-requests-trumps-tax-returns-1253841">Politico</a>.</p>
<p id="97rSiE">House Democrats are now trying to use the audit process against the president. They’re using a somewhat novel approach, working to obtain Trump’s returns by checking on whether the IRS is properly auditing his taxes. </p>
<p id="1hsaCi">In a letter to the IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig on Wednesday, Neal wrote that although the agency has historically audited the tax returns of sitting presidents and vice presidents, little is known about the process. The chairman argued the House needed the returns in order to fulfill Congress’ duty in conducting “oversight of departments and officials.” </p>
<p id="nT4e7Z">Trump’s legal team responded by calling on the Justice Department to weigh in; it also asked the Treasury Department to deny Neal’s request until the DOJ submits a formal legal opinion. </p>
<p id="c6ZRmI"><a href="https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1114253804864716801">As New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman</a> points out, central to the attorneys’ argument is a claim that Trump is both a regular citizen and sitting president. On one hand, they argue he is a private citizen and that Neal’s committee has “no power to conduct its own examination of the individual taxpayers.” On the other hand, Trump has used his authority as president to fill federal agencies with political appointees, including Rettig. </p>
<p id="qU4ZOG">As Vox’s Emily Stewart reports, before he led the IRS, Rettig said he wouldn’t advise Trump to release his returns <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/4/4/18295229/trump-tax-returns-richard-neal-charles-rettig">while being audited.</a> “Would any experienced tax lawyer representing Trump in an IRS audit advise him to publicly release his tax returns during the audit? Absolutely not,” Rettig said in 2016. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trump lawyers have consistently elevated the concept of his rights as a private citizen when critics have raised questions about aspects of his conduct in office. Most extreme example of him trying to be two things at once. <a href="https://t.co/BtvbWdhatO">https://t.co/BtvbWdhatO</a></p>— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) <a href="https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1114253804864716801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2019</a>
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<p id="CFAEmk">The almost certain impending legal battle over the president’s tax returns will likely stretch out for months, meaning there is a high chance that <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/democrats-trump-tax-returns_n_5c9e85fee4b0bc0daca8a56b">even if Democrats do get their hands on them</a>, it won’t be until after the 2020 presidential election. </p>
<p id="LltS2g">Trump has been able to stall on releasing his returns for this long — odds are, even with House Democrats turning up the pressure, this won’t be his last stand.</p>
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https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/4/6/18298327/trump-tax-returns-audit-house-democratsAmanda Sakuma2019-04-06T13:07:32-04:002019-04-06T13:07:32-04:00A pro-gun activist lobbied for “constitutional carry” by showing up at Texas lawmakers’ homes. Now the bill is DOA.
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<img alt="Handguns are displayed during the NRA Annual Meeting &amp; Exhibits at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on May 5, 2018 in Dallas, Texas.&nbsp;" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Ti_N4B5ujCbhVO3vvxYBBIraMSg=/171x0:2830x1994/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63365758/955043504.jpg.0.jpg" />
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<p>The bill would have allowed gun-owners to carry concealed firearms without a permit.</p> <p id="uDVDwl">A Texas bill allowing gun owners to carry concealed firearms without a permit is now indefinitely stalled after a pro-gun activist advocated for the legislation by stalking state lawmakers — even appearing at their homes.</p>
<p id="kejjfV">On Friday, Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen announced plans to <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2019/04/05/gun-rights-activist-stopped-state-troopers-texas-house-speaker-dennis-bonnens-home">abandon the “constitutional carry” bill</a> after the activist, Chris McNutt, showed up at his doorstep and at the homes of two other lawmakers.</p>
<p id="xuy3IZ">McNutt, executive director of the nonprofit Texas Gun Rights, was reportedly outraged the bill failed to advance quickly through the legislature. He posted a series of rants to his group’s Facebook page complaining about the legislative inaction. He followed these posts with videos of himself visiting the neighborhoods of two Republican state lawmakers, Reps. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock and Four Price of Amarillo. </p>
<p id="JEec16">McNutt’s social media activity prompted Texas state troopers to put Bonnen’s home under surveillance, <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/State-troopers-intercept-gun-rights-activist-at-13743180.php">the Houston Chronicle reports</a>. That’s how authorities were able to intercept the activist when he attempted to visit the speaker’s home last week while Bonnen was nearly 200 miles away at the state capitol in Austin. Bonnen’s wife and teenage son were reportedly home at the time.</p>
<p id="kL0xrz">Friday, Bonnen called McNutt’s actions “gutless intimidation tactics.”</p>
<p id="J0f4p4">“One fringe organization’s leader disturbingly traveled over 700 miles in 24 hours just to visit the homes of lawmakers — knowing full well that members were hundreds of miles away in our Capitol while wives and children were alone,” Bonnen said in a statement. </p>
<p id="dtZhsK">McNutt’s actions seem to have rattled several state lawmakers who now say they no longer plan to move forward with the controversial gun bill. </p>
<p id="mxf0Ns">House Bill 357 would allow gun owners to carry a pistol, either openly or concealed, without a permit. In February, the chairman of the chair of Texas’ House Homeland Security Committee, <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2019/04/04/gun-rights-activist-visits-home-of-speaker-Bonnen/">Rep. Poncho Nevárez</a>, said he planned to hold a hearing on the bill before the end of the legislative session. In light of recent events, however, Nevárez says he has reconsidered. </p>
<p id="clEfer">McNutt claims Bonnen is guilty of “<a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=418179368940013">fabricating a media hit</a>” against him and other grassroots advocates across Texas. </p>
<p id="FbFNEE">“If politicians like Speaker Dennis Bonnen think they can show up at the doorsteps of Second Amendment supporters and make promises to earn votes in the election season, they shouldn’t be surprised when we show up in their neighborhoods to insist they simply keep their promises in the legislative session,” he said, according to the <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2019/04/05/gun-rights-activist-stopped-state-troopers-texas-house-speaker-dennis-bonnens-home">Dallas Morning News</a>.</p>
<h3 id="i05Kba">Grassroots activists are largely driving the constitutional carry movement</h3>
<p id="Wg8jyX">There’s been a wave of so-called constitutional carry or “permit-less carry” laws sweeping across the US in recent years. The laws allow gun owners to carry firearms, concealed or not, anywhere in public without obtaining a permit or special training beforehand. </p>
<p id="5dnFhh">As many as 20 states have considered measures that roll back restrictions on gun ownership. <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/south-dakota-becomes-latest-state-to-allow-concealed-handguns-without-permit">South Dakota</a> became the latest state to enact such a law earlier this year, and now allows its citizens to carry weapons without a permit. Lawmakers in both <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/kentucky-no-permit-concealed-carry-gun-bill-advances">Kentucky</a> and <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/oklahoma-gun-bill-to-remove-permit-and-training-requirements-clears-house-vote">Oklahoma</a> advanced measures that would remove requirements for permits and training in February. </p>
<p id="mUh1Nh">According to The Trace, a nonprofit news site that exclusively covers guns and gun violence, local grassroots activists in each state are largely driving the movement to expand concealed carry rights. </p>
<p id="wJPdgr">In the view of many pro-gun rights activists, any limitation on a gun owner’s right to carry firearms, either in public spaces or private, is a clear violation of the Second Amendment. Lobbying successes for constitutional carry legislation have empowered pro-gun rights to such an extent that their lobbying efforts have even begun to eclipse those of the National Rifle Association. <a href="https://www.thetrace.org/2017/02/constitutional-carry-gun-rights-absolutists/">The Trace’s Adam Weinstein</a> explains:</p>
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<p id="IybmiC">While the nation’s largest gun lobby champions the latest bills in its press releases, local lobbyists who take the NRA’s absolutist rhetoric at face value find themselves chafing at its corporate model of working hand-in-glove with establishment politicians.</p>
<p id="eF7bBd">The resulting friction has fed into the upheaval taking place within gun politics (and American conservatism as a whole) since the rise of the Tea Party, which has left the NRA frequently following, rather than steering, the emboldened extremes of its coalition. Activists in several states told The Trace that the NRA — which did not respond to requests for comment for this story — has not helped their cause. In one state, they point to direct evidence that the NRA has undercut their proposals. </p>
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<p id="WpIimQ">The efforts of pro-gun activists are starting to bear fruit. Prior to 2010, only two states allowed concealed guns in public spaces without permits or specified training. Now, more than a dozen have constitutional carry laws on the books. But as state lawmakers made clear this week, Texas likely won’t join their number any time soon.</p>
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/4/6/18298181/texas-constitutional-carry-concealed-gun-rightsAmanda Sakuma2019-04-06T11:03:56-04:002019-04-06T11:03:56-04:00Trump’s Fed pick, Stephen Moore, was held in contempt of court for failing to pay ex-wife more than $300,000
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<img alt="Stephen Moore on CNN." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Wh9aMI8g1gbLS2cDtIO-A-ml9zk=/160x0:1120x720/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63365420/Early_Start_With_Christine_Romans_and_Dave_Briggs___04_10_55_AM.0.jpg" />
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<p>It’s just the latest unflattering headline for the controversial nominee.</p> <p id="PsXa0I">One of President Donald Trump’s new picks to serve on the Federal Reserve Board, <em>Trumponomics </em>author Stephen Moore, was found to be in contempt of court in 2012 for failing to pay more than $300,000 in alimony and child support.</p>
<p id="g3BeEQ">Court filings recently unearthed by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/30/trump-stephen-moore-federal-reserve-board">The Guardian’s Jon Swain and David Smith</a> show Moore repeatedly failed to make payments that were part of a 2011 divorce settlement with his ex-wife, Allison Moore. Not only was Moore found in contempt of court, but his failure to comply with the terms of his settlement even prompted a judge to order the sale of his house to satisfy his debts.</p>
<p id="K86UXs"><a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/public/search/projectid:43206-Stephen-Moore-court-filings">According to court records,</a> several police officers accompanied relators and a locksmith to to Moore’s home in May 2013 to change the locks and prepare the property for buyers. Only after the court-sanctioned break-in did Moore pay roughly two-thirds of what he owed his ex-wife, court filings show. Allison Moore told the court the $217,000 payment was enough, and stepped in to halt the house re-sale. </p>
<p id="751o4C">Moore is one of two controversial presidential picks to fill open seats on the Federal Reserve Board (Trump’s other nominee is former Republican presidential candidate and pizza company executive, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/4/4/18295509/trump-herman-cain-fed-nomination">Herman Cain</a>). An avowed Trump loyalist, Moore is a senior fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation who frequently provides economic commentary to media outlets. </p>
<p id="8JacaV">Allison Moore tried last week to shield the court documents from public view under a court seal, but several news outlets appealed to have them released. In a statement released this week, Moore said he and his former wife settled their divorce “amicably many years ago and we remain on friendly terms to this day.”</p>
<h3 id="sCCmfH">Moore’s nomination process isn’t going so smoothly</h3>
<p id="WaQAPP">It’s only been a little over two weeks since Trump first nominated Moore to the Federal Reserve Board, and already he’s seen several waves of unflattering headlines.</p>
<p id="tbnBeq">Last week <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/27/stephen-moore-trump-federal-reserve-pick-owes-taxes-us-government-alleges">The Guardian broke news</a> on Moore’s financial woes, finding that he still <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/28/18285259/stephen-moore-taxes-trump-fed-vetting">owes more than $75,000 in taxes</a> and penalties to the Internal Revenue Service. The tax lien reportedly stems from a mistake in his 2014 tax filing. Moore said he has been working to resolve the issue with the IRS, in part by overpaying his taxes in recent years by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/27/stephen-moore-trump-federal-reserve-pick-owes-taxes-us-government-alleges">“tens of thousands of dollars.”</a></p>
<p id="4fFsPU">The unflattering news coverage has cast a shadow over Moore’s nomination, which some believe was an <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-22/trump-said-to-consider-stephen-moore-for-federal-reserve-board?srnd=premium">impulsive decision by Trump</a> that gave little thought to Moore’s qualifications. <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/3/22/18277635/stephen-moore-nominated-to-federal-reserve-board">As Vox’s Aaron Rupar</a> explained last month, “Moore is better-known for his fierce loyalty to Trump than for his brilliant economic intellect.” Rupar has a rundown of the pundits more infamous moments: </p>
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<p id="W7xYcG">Moore, who was a CNN contributor from 2017 until news broke of his nomination by Trump, didn’t just go on TV to talk about economics. He also <a href="https://twitter.com/existentialfish/status/1109144822718365697">defended now-failed US Senate candidate Roy Moore</a> when he was accused of molesting a teenage girl, arguing that the Democrat running against him (now-Sen. Doug Jones) was just as bad because he supported abortion rights.</p>
<p id="F0AA6F">Moore also went viral for a cringeworthy interview on Don Lemon’s CNN show, in which he <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/stephen-moore-slut-shame-stormy-daniels-cnn-7fba3d22bdd2/">tried to slut-shame Stormy Daniels</a>. In addition, he is a climate change denier who once said on CNN that scientists lie about climate science to get “<a href="https://twitter.com/existentialfish/status/1109146157391978497">really, really, really rich</a>.”</p>
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<p id="4Jk0Gb">It’s still unclear whether Moore’s history, controversial views and rocky vetting process will do anything to derail his nomination. <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/01/federal-reserve-nominee-stephen-moore-was-in-contempt-of-court.html">Asked by CNBC </a>whether he felt his divorce settlement would jeopardize his chances of claiming a seat on the Federal Reserve Board, Moore had a one-word answer: “No.”</p>
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https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/4/6/18298063/trump-fed-reserve-stephen-moore-contempt-ex-wifeAmanda Sakuma2019-03-31T15:51:22-04:002019-03-31T15:51:22-04:00Joe Biden responds to allegations: he “never” acted inappropriately around women
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<img alt="Former VP Joe Biden Addresses Int’l Association Of Fire Fighters Conference" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/849gWdKBFqcgRnS4FgZFUlWavH0=/304x0:5168x3648/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63328366/1135336039.jpg.0.jpg" />
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<p>Former Nevada lawmaker Lucy Flores says differently.</p> <p id="1U4P4Q">Vice President Joe Biden said on Sunday that he “never” acted inappropriately over his more than four-decade career in politics, in response to allegations that he kissed a former Nevada lawmaker — unsolicited — on the back of the head.</p>
<p id="8gx8wj">“In my many years on the campaign trail and in public life, I have offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support and comfort,” Biden <a href="https://www.axios.com/joe-biden-lucy-flores-inappropriate-touching-allegations-12c20199-2630-409d-aadc-684c7ff429f8.html">said</a> in a statement Sunday. “And not once — never — did I believe I acted inappropriately.”</p>
<p id="RxODGZ">“If it is suggested I did so, I will listen respectfully. But it was never my intention,” the statement continues. </p>
<p id="lgGxL0">At no point does Biden address the recent allegations against him directly, nor does he apologize.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Just in: A statement from <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoeBiden</a>. <a href="https://t.co/g2mcsKoIHK">pic.twitter.com/g2mcsKoIHK</a></p>— Henry J. Gomez (@HenryJGomez) <a href="https://twitter.com/HenryJGomez/status/1112341296419667969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2019</a>
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<p id="NMJDdj">Biden’s accuser, Nevada Democrat Lucy Flores,<strong> </strong>says the incident occurred in 2014 when she was running for lieutenant governor. Biden had agreed to speak at one of her final events in the race and give her a much-needed boost in the polls. As she prepared to take the stage, Flores says she was jarred by the feeling of Biden coming up behind her and placing both hands on her shoulders. </p>
<p id="7p4FF0">”I felt him get closer to me from behind. He leaned further in and inhaled my hair. I was mortified,” Flores wrote in an essay <a href="https://www.thecut.com/amp/2019/03/an-awkward-kiss-changed-how-i-saw-joe-biden.html">published at the Cut</a>. The vice president then leaned in and kissed her on the back of her head, she continued. </p>
<p id="hxuR1q">Biden spokesperson Bill Russo responded to the initial reports on Friday in a statement declaring that <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/03/30/joe-biden-doesnt-recall-alleged-kissing-incident-2014/3318997002/">neither the vice president nor his staff recall</a> the incident. They did say, however, that Flores had every right to come forward with her story. </p>
<p id="TqrHkv">Biden is <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/28/18285455/2020-presidential-election-polls-joe-biden-democratic-primary-candidates">already leading several 2020 presidential polls</a> by a long shot even though he has yet to formally announce whether he plans to run. His decision could dramatically shake up a Democratic primary with a crowded field of candidates who lack his name recognition and high-profile stature in national politics.</p>
<p id="MluwXs">Several declared 2020 candidates came out over the weekend to publicly back Flores’s side of the story.</p>
<p id="oYW4OY">”I read the op-ed last night,” <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/30/politics/elizabeth-warren-joe-biden-allegation-reaction/index.html">Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said in Iowa </a>on Saturday. “I believe Lucy Flores. And Joe Biden needs to give an answer.”</p>
<p id="wQEgGh">Former secretary of housing and urban development and 2020 candidate Julián Castro also extended his support to Flores. “We need to live in a nation where people can hear her truth,” <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/30/politics/elizabeth-warren-joe-biden-allegation-reaction/index.html">he told reporters</a> at the same Iowa event. </p>
<p id="jmmV1w">Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), too, said she had no reason not to believe the former Nevada lawmaker. “I think we know from campaigns and politics that people raise issues and they have to address them, and that’s what he will have to do with the voters if he gets into the race,” <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/436623-klobuchar-i-have-no-reason-not-to-believe-biden-accuser">she told ABC’s Jon Karl on Sunday</a>, speaking of Biden. </p>
<h3 id="R78Jzx">Biden’s behavior has long been dismissed by the media and public </h3>
<p id="MjftIe">Biden has a well-documented history of cozying up to women during public events. On multiple occasions, he’s been caught on camera <a href="https://nypost.com/2015/02/18/6-joe-biden-gaffes-that-prove-the-vp-dances-to-the-beat-of-his-own-drum/">getting into women’s personal space</a> or making them <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4521296/biden-kiss">visibly uncomfortable</a>. </p>
<p id="j7Q9xp">Rather than criticize Biden’s behavior, largely sympathetic media summaries of those incidents instead framed his questionable actions as simply “Joe being Joe,” and in effect became an extension of <a href="https://politics.theonion.com/shirtless-biden-washes-trans-am-in-white-house-driveway-1819570732#enlarge">satirical memes</a> that depicted Biden as a lovable everyman. <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/29/18241598/joe-biden-lucy-flores-touching-women-media-history-explained">As Vox’s Laura McGann explained</a> on Friday:</p>
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<p id="m8YpOF">The images bled together over the years into the persona of Uncle Joe. When he dropped an F-bomb on a live mic, it was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHKq9tt50O8">a classic Joe moment</a>. When he made one of his many gaffes, it got added to numerous lists <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-never-ending-list-of-vice-president-joe-bidens-verbal-gaffes">written in good fun</a>. And when he did kind of creepy things to women at public events, well, that was just Joe being Joe, too.</p>
<p id="9SLr47">All of those frames made appealing pitches just a few years ago. Editors would be happy to get a “lovable Uncle Joe strikes again” story. The environment is not the same now. Certainly the media is not nearly perfect when it comes to covering gender and power. But in the era of #MeToo, there is far less appetite for a story that makes light of a candidate behaving badly toward women.</p>
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<p id="8afQD3">Biden has a <a href="https://www.bustle.com/articles/106528-joe-bidens-stance-on-womens-rights-is-significantly-murkier-than-hillary-clintons">complicated</a> and <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-2020-harvey-weinstein_n_5a0a0ba8e4b00a6eece3a13e">often</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/us/politics/biden-abortion-rights.html">mixed</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-and-obama-rewrite-the-rulebook-on-college-sexual-assaults/2016/07/03/0773302e-3654-11e6-a254-2b336e293a3c_story.html?utm_term=.feabbe9caf81">record</a> on women’s issues that will inevitably continue to be put under the microscope should he decide to run. Even in light of the cultural shift brought by the #MeToo era and the growing consensus that the stories from victims should be believed, Biden already has defenders coming forward offering to clear his name. On Saturday night, the organizer behind the 2014 event that Flores detailed in her essay sought to cast doubt on Flores’s story, saying that the lawmaker was never alone with the vice president.</p>
<p id="YNgBkS">”I have thoroughly reviewed photographic documentation from the event, and spoken to nearly every principle in attendance, as well as staff associated with the event. To the best of our recollection, at no time were Lucy Flores and Vice President Biden alone,” Henry Muñoz, co-founder of Latino Victory Project, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/436601-event-organizer-biden-accuser-were-never-alone-together">said in a statement</a>.</p>
<p id="QUpMPt"> Flores, in response, says she encourages Muñoz to go back and reread her essay. “I never claimed that I was alone with [Biden]. In fact, I very clearly say that this occurred in the chaos of a rally,” <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/436622-biden-accuser-flores-i-want-him-to-acknowledge-this-was-wrong">she said Sunday on CNN’s <em>Face the Nation</em></a>.</p>
<p id="gNXpCK">Flores added that she hopes Biden will someday respond to her allegation directly and “acknowledge that it was wrong.” Instead, what she got was a non-apology from the vice president, who, based on his statement Sunday, doesn’t believe an unwanted kiss to the back of the head rises to the level of what’s considered “inappropriate.”</p>
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https://www.vox.com/2019/3/31/18289483/joe-biden-lucy-flores-inappropriateAmanda Sakuma2019-03-31T12:34:02-04:002019-03-31T12:34:02-04:00Alex Jones blames “psychosis” for his Sandy Hook conspiracies
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<p>He now admits the shooting massacre was not a hoax.</p> <p id="SFWfRe">Notorious conspiracy theorist Alex Jones claims a “form of psychosis” caused him to believe that the Sandy Hook massacre was staged.</p>
<p id="XAEO2Q">For years, Jones, the founder of Infowars, peddled a conspiracy theory about the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where a shooter killed 20 children and six adults in 2012. Jones has repeatedly claimed the massacre was a “giant hoax” carried out by “crisis actors” in a broad scheme to trample on Second Amendment rights. </p>
<p id="prKMTD">In a video released Friday, Jones acknowledged in a sworn deposition stemming from a lawsuit filed by the families of Sandy Hook victims that the school shooting was in fact real. Jones blamed the “trauma of the media and the corporations lying so much” for triggering his extreme distrust in news and information. </p>
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<p id="CLhluw">“And I, myself, have almost had like a form of psychosis back in the past where I basically thought everything was staged, even though I’ve now learned a lot of times things aren’t staged,” he said. “So I think as a pundit, someone giving an opinion, that, you know, my opinions have been wrong, but they were never wrong consciously to hurt people.”</p>
<p id="wQRLuN">This lawsuit, which was filed in Texas, where InfoWars is based, is just one of multiple defamation suits filed against Jones. The plaintiffs of this case include<strong> </strong>Leonard Pozner and Veronique<strong> </strong>De La Rosa, who say that as a result of Jones’s claims, their family was harassed and forced to move. Jones <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45358890">has previously implied</a> that De La Rosa was paid to pretend she was grieving her 6-year-old son’s death. Six other families of Sandy Hook victims <a href="https://www.apnews.com/32d0f80111c94629bbc2d7b2e45239f3">filed</a> suit against Jones in Connecticut in April. </p>
<p id="nJ7Ywr">Over the past several decades, <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/10/28/13424848/alex-jones-infowars-prisonplanet">Jones has emerged</a> as a notoriously inflammatory pundit with a considerable platform and following. At its height, his three-hour daily radio show was<strong> </strong>syndicated to more than 160 stations across the US, while his website Infowars <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/who-alex-jones-his-top-five-conspiracy-theories-ahead-nbc-megyn-kelly-626633">peddled conspiracies</a> such as 9/11-hoax theories that the terror attacks in New York were an inside job orchestrated by the federal government. </p>
<p id="mogYFd">Over the last year and a half,<strong> </strong><a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/9/6/17829264/alex-jones-info-wars-banned-twitter">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/8/6/17655658/alex-jones-facebook-youtube-conspiracy-theories">Facebook, Apple, YouTube, and Spotify</a> have all either outright banned Jones and InfoWars for violating rules against spreading hate speech or suspended them for posting new content. He is one of the first and few figures to be formally censored for spreading conspiracies, marking a potential sea change as to how platforms handle controversial figures who knowingly spread misinformation and fake news.</p>
<h3 id="uLW6QD">Jones highlights the damaging ways that lies and misinformation spread</h3>
<p id="XfS8XD">Many of Jones’s more infamous broadcasts provide a textbook example of how misinformation gains traction and spreads. Repeat a lie often enough, and you may start believing it as truth.</p>
<p id="MyU4A3"><a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/6/17/15817056/alex-jones-megyn-kelly-lies-nbc-psychology-illusory-truth">Vox’s Brian Resnick explained</a> this phenomenon back in 2017 when Jones was invited to sit down for a prime-time interview with then-NBC News anchor Megyn Kelly. Critics condemned the network’s decision to book Jones, viewing the interview as setting a dangerous precedent for giving known conspiracy theorists an even larger platform to spread damaging lies. As Resnick details, those concerns carry scientific weight:</p>
<blockquote><p id="s9yI31">Psychological science consistently finds when a lie gets repeated, it’s slightly more likely to be misremembered as truth. It’s called the “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusory_truth_effect">illusory truth effect</a>.” It’s a tendency the whole news media — as well as consumers of news — should be wary of. And it’s a reason not to give notorious bullshitters such a substantial spotlight. Especially bullshitters whose lies hurt others and whose lies have a track record for virality.</p></blockquote>
<p id="GLdqB0">Jones even acknowledged this “illusory truth effect” to a certain degree in his deposition released this week: He blames the media for making it harder to discern falsehoods from reality. “You don’t trust anything anymore, kind of like a child whose parents lie to them over and over again, well, pretty soon they don’t know what reality is,” Jones said in the deposition video.</p>
<p id="5ndIfy">But just like his conspiracy theories themselves, Jones attempts to defend himself are dubious. Part of the reason why lawyers representing the Sandy Hook families released the video of his sworn deposition in the first place — an unusual move ahead of any formal trial — was because Jones<strong> </strong>had already attempted to try the case in the court of public opinion by using his broadcast to spin his version of the story. Those lawyers <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/03/31/alex-jones-is-being-sued-his-false-sandy-hook-hoax-claims-he-blames-psychosis/?utm_term=.e89ffaa14b6a">told the Washington Post </a>they posted the video to YouTube in the “spirit of transparency” and to prove Jones<strong> </strong>knowingly pushed false information. </p>
<p id="Abm0t5">Even after coming clean in the deposition, however, Jones quickly fell back into an old habit. According to <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/alex-jones-sandy-hook-deposition-815741/">Rolling Stone</a>, Jones responded to news that a Sandy Hook parent died by suicide last week by openly questioning whether his apparent suicide had been faked. </p>
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https://www.vox.com/2019/3/31/18289271/alex-jones-psychosis-conspiracies-sandy-hook-hoaxAmanda Sakuma2019-03-31T09:39:11-04:002019-03-31T09:39:11-04:00SNL cold open roasts the Mueller report rollout
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<p>Robert De Niro reprises his role as Mueller.</p> <p id="oPs0F5">In the eyes of <em>Saturday Night Live</em>, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/3/24/18279829/mueller-report-barr-letter-summary-obstruction-collusion">the Mueller report’s findings this week</a><strong> </strong>are reaching the public like an adolescent game of telephone, where the message morphs further and further from the truth each time it’s passed down.</p>
<p id="OgPkgA">Acclaimed actor Robert De Niro returned to the <em>SNL</em> stage over the weekend to reprise his role as Robert Mueller, alongside Alec Baldwin, who has dutifully satirized Donald Trump since the 2016 presidential campaign. <em>SNL</em> cast member Aidy Bryant rounds out the chain of command as newly confirmed Attorney General William Barr.</p>
<p id="Gg6ToV">The sketch depicts each character narrating their role in the report’s rollout, mocking the lack of nuance and transparency around determining whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia. First, Mueller reads from his 380-page report. Then Barr whittles down the findings through rose-colored glasses into a four-page summary, which Trump skews in a single tweet.</p>
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<p id="a6O3Tj">“I am reading zero pages, but Sean Hannity has read it and he was so excited he texted me an eggplant,” Trump says.</p>
<p id="z4EDjI">Mueller acknowledges that his office could not reach a definitive conclusion over whether the Trump campaign obstructed justice.</p>
<p id="mvWtOn">“But I have,” Barr says in response. “And my conclusion is that Trump is as clean as a whistle.”</p>
<p id="7BFzh0">Then Trump, on hearing the news: “Free at last, free at last!”</p>
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<p id="8Ght7q">Later in the show, <em>SNL</em> imagines reactions to the Mueller report playing out in Russia as President Vladimir Putin meets with top officials at the Kremlin. Putin, portrayed by <em>SNL</em> regular Beck Bennett, plays coy about his dealings with Trump as if the two are romantic partners who have yet to make their relationship status official.</p>
<p id="FnpTjl">“I think he just likes me,” says Putin. “I can’t figure this guy out. He’s in my head!”</p>
<p id="SgafMl">Putin’s generals are not impressed. They are disappointed at the lost opportunity to gloat about their power abroad had Mueller’s report found Trump guilty of collusion. Even a surprise visit from North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un shows that global<strong> </strong>confidence in Putin is shaky.</p>
<p id="kzh1B0">“Glorious leader says he is upset to learn that Trump is not working for you,” <em>SNL</em> host Sandra Oh, who stars in the TV series <em>Killing Eve</em>, says as Kim’s interpreter for the sketch.</p>
<p id="6LivLF">Only when Putin threatens one of his generals with extreme violence for daring to doubt him do his supporters in his room<strong> </strong>start to come around. </p>
<p id="KxCPBS">“Well, how about I poison your family, put you in the dog cage, and ship you to Siberia and beat you to death with a metal pipe,” Putin says to the general with a menacing laugh.</p>
<p id="z3j2H0">It’s enough to get Kim on board.</p>
<p id="EvXJyJ">“Our glorious leader says that’s more like the Putin he knows and loves!” he says.</p>
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https://www.vox.com/2019/3/31/18289172/snl-cold-open-mueller-trump-deniroAmanda Sakuma2019-03-30T16:36:14-04:002019-03-30T16:36:14-04:00House Democrats want answers on why a citizenship question was added to the 2020 census
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<img alt="Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Testifies Before House Oversight Committee On Census" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZnZKHRRucsC8djkG4dyXWKOvAEs=/0x2:3428x2573/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63325505/1135773346.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>An oversight panel may soon begin issuing subpoenas.</p> <p id="6kPOil">Congressional Democrats are preparing to issue their first round of subpoenas to President Donald Trump’s new attorney general this week — but not on the issues that one might expect.</p>
<p id="JQ6Mb4">For months, House Democrats have threatened to subpoena Trump and top members of his inner circle on everything from the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/3/4/18250095/trump-investigations-house-judiciary-documents-obstruction">Robert Mueller investigation</a> to Trump’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/1/3/18134919/congress-house-2019-committee-investigations-trump-impeachment">personal finances and business dealings</a>. But one week after a summary of Mueller’s findings were released to the public, the House Oversight Committee <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/29/house-oversight-citizenship-census-question-1244369">plans</a> to vote on Tuesday to issue subpoenas to Attorney General<strong> </strong>Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross related to a question on the upcoming census.</p>
<p id="UnBI07">On Friday, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), chair of the House Oversight Committee, <a href="https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000169-cba2-dc59-a16d-eff6fb1d0001">wrote</a> in a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that the committee “is seeking to understand the real reason that you added a citizenship question to the 2020 census.”</p>
<p id="Sr4dGq">Cummings also accused Commerce Department officials<strong> </strong>of repeatedly withholding key documents used to justify asking census respondents to disclose their citizenship status. </p>
<p id="Exhcl0">Next week Cummings’s oversight panel will decide whether Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Gore must testify before Congress on the issue and whether Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross should be forced to hand over more details disclosing how the decision was made. If the administration officials choose to snub them once again, the Democratic-controlled panel may escalate their inquiry. </p>
<p id="8sbOuG">According <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2019-03-29/house-panel-threatening-subpoenas-over-census-question">to the Associated Press</a>, the Commerce Department has already handed over 11,000 pages of documents pertaining to the panel’s inquiry. Ross, who first <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/380387-2020-census-to-include-citizenship-question">announced</a> the addition of the citizenship question in March 2018, also testified before committee members, addressing their concerns earlier this year. Ross’s testimony maintains that the Commerce Department added the question, which hasn’t been included in the census in more than 60 years, on the request of the Justice Department to “better enforce” the Voting Rights Act of 1965. </p>
<p id="aZJNJG">Critics, however, <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/28/17168048/census-citizenship-2020-immigrants-count-trump-lawsuit">say the move</a> has a much more nefarious motive. Advocacy groups worry the line of questioning will scare immigrant communities into wrongly believing that the federal government will track them. Because the census helps determine the number of congressional seats and electoral votes allotted to each state, other skeptics believe the change to the census is<strong> </strong>politically motivated and meant to alter how congressional districts are allocated in Republicans’ favor.</p>
<h3 id="LZZ41j">The federal courts are already<strong> </strong>considering the<strong> </strong>census question </h3>
<p id="rBGhQH">The Trump administration is already <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/15/18226578/census-supreme-court-lawsuit-citizenship-question">wrapped up in the federal courts</a> over the citizenship question and the true intentions behind it. In January, a federal judge in New York barred the federal government from adding the question to the 2020 census. Now the Supreme Court <a href="https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/430239-supreme-court-agrees-to-hear-controversial-census-case-this-term">will take up</a> the issue in oral arguments that begin in April.</p>
<p id="Wbm5Fc">The lawsuit primarily centers on the allegation that the Commerce Department lied about why it really wanted to include the citizenship question. <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/15/18226578/census-supreme-court-lawsuit-citizenship-question">As Vox’s Dara Lind</a> explained earlier this year, “<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5684702-Findings-of-Fact-Conclusions-of-Law.html">Judge Jesse M. Furman of the Southern District of New York</a> found that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross violated federal law by misleading the public,” and the repercussions of his actions could linger for decades.</p>
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<p id="0agiDO">It’s not just a symbolic issue. Critics are seriously concerned that adding a single citizenship question to the 2020 census could scare away millions of immigrants from filling out their mandatory surveys — throwing off <a href="https://www.flashforwardpod.com/2017/12/26/countless/">the count of who’s present in America</a> that’s used to determine congressional apportionment for the next decade, allocate federal funding for infrastructure, and serve as the basis for huge amounts of American research.</p>
<p id="ddDcwC">A skewed census would hurt the places in America where Latinos are most likely to live — cities and blue states — fueling both the lawsuit and the suspicion that the Trump administration is engaging in deliberate subterfuge.</p>
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<p id="o8ousr">Cummings’s investigation now works in parallel with the courts’ attempts to root out the Commerce Department’s true intentions, meaning that one way or another, the administration may have to disclose whether the fears of skeptics ring true. </p>
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https://www.vox.com/2019/3/30/18288463/house-oversight-committee-subpoena-census-questionAmanda Sakuma