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LetMyPeopleVote
LetMyPeopleVote's Journal
LetMyPeopleVote's Journal
February 16, 2025
https://x.com/cnnbrk/status/1890928385414537654
European leaders to hold emergency summit on Ukraine as Trump-Putin call strains ties
Source: CNN
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to join European leaders at an emergency summit in Paris on Monday, Britain’s PA media reported, after the relationship of the continent with Washington was strained by US President Donald Trump speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin as he pushes for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
“The UK will work to ensure we keep the US and Europe together. We cannot allow any divisions in the alliance to distract from the external enemies we face,” Starmer was quoted as saying in a statement released by Downing Street on Saturday.
“This is a once in a generation moment for our national security where we engage with the reality of the world today and the threat we face from Russia. It’s clear Europe must take on a greater role in NATO as we work with the United States to secure Ukraine’s future and face down the threat we face from Russia,” the prime minister also said.
This comes as Trump’s special envoy for Russia and Ukraine Keith Kellogg said Saturday that European officials will not be at the table when trying to negotiate a solution to the war in Ukraine.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/15/europe/europe-emergency-summit-ukraine-intl-latam
https://x.com/cnnbrk/status/1890928385414537654
February 16, 2025
Both Vance and Musk want Nazis to be in control of the German government. This is sick
Vance cozies up to Germany's far-right, scolds E.U. leaders for not engaging with extremists
While Vance scolded European leaders for not engaging with “alternative viewpoints,” the Trump administration continues to undermine free expression at home.
https://bsky.app/profile/georgialee.bsky.social/post/3liaj72b76k2x
https://x.com/ColMoeDavis/status/1890884594104156611
https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/jd-vance-germany-far-right-afd-europe-rcna192344
Vice President JD Vance has taken his tacit support for Germany’s far-right political party up another troubling notch. On Friday, he met with a leader of the extremist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Munich — but not before scolding European leaders for what he characterized as an intolerance for differing viewpoints....
Vance’s meeting with Weidel came one day after he chastised European leaders at the Munich Security Conference for shunning far-right parties in their countries, effectively keeping them from gaining too much power behind a political firewall. Vance singled out German leaders for refusing to engage with the AfD, and said that restrictions on free speech were a bigger threat to the continent than Russian or Chinese actions.
“To many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, it looks more and more like old entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation, who simply don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion, or, God forbid, vote a different way — or even worse, win an election,” Vance said.”.....
Yet as Vance scolded European leaders for stifling free speech and not engaging with “alternative viewpoints,” the Trump administration has continued to rapidly institute changes across the federal government that critics say undermine free expression and punish those whose views it disagrees with.
Those moves include removing references to trans and nonbinary people across government agencies; eliminating federal diversity programs; threatening to deport students who protested Israel’s assault on Gaza; banning books in schools that serve military families; and directing the Federal Communications Commission to revive complaints against media outlets that don’t report on the president favorably.
Vance’s meeting with Weidel came one day after he chastised European leaders at the Munich Security Conference for shunning far-right parties in their countries, effectively keeping them from gaining too much power behind a political firewall. Vance singled out German leaders for refusing to engage with the AfD, and said that restrictions on free speech were a bigger threat to the continent than Russian or Chinese actions.
“To many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, it looks more and more like old entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation, who simply don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion, or, God forbid, vote a different way — or even worse, win an election,” Vance said.”.....
Yet as Vance scolded European leaders for stifling free speech and not engaging with “alternative viewpoints,” the Trump administration has continued to rapidly institute changes across the federal government that critics say undermine free expression and punish those whose views it disagrees with.
Those moves include removing references to trans and nonbinary people across government agencies; eliminating federal diversity programs; threatening to deport students who protested Israel’s assault on Gaza; banning books in schools that serve military families; and directing the Federal Communications Commission to revive complaints against media outlets that don’t report on the president favorably.
Both Vance and Musk want Nazis to be in control of the German government. This is sick
February 15, 2025
This is a perfectly fine hill for the AP to die on
The wire service’s reporters have been barred from White House events. Next time, it could be you.
https://bsky.app/profile/carlquintanilla.bsky.social/post/3li7nm7mzoc2a
https://x.com/hwm777/status/1890870351917146567
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/14/ap-white-house-trump-gulf-america/
The spat relates to perhaps the most trolling executive order issued by President Donald Trump, in which he put pen to paper on the “Gulf of America.” His rationale: “The area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico has long been an integral asset to our once burgeoning Nation and has remained an indelible part of America.” The AP, a world leader in English style and usage, decided not to change its guidance on the matter, citing the facts that the United States and Mexico share gulf borders and that the body of water has maintained its name for more than 400 years.
Get in line, AP! According to a letter from AP Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Julie Pace, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday warned of access restrictions if the wire service “did not immediately align its editorial standards” with the gulf-name mandate. The AP held firm, and the White House then blocked a reporter from an Oval Office event and later blocked another reporter from an event in the Diplomatic Room, according to the letter.
The blocking of AP access continued throughout the week, including events at the White House on Thursday and a presidential trip on Friday. A White House official on Friday tweeted that the wire service’s “privilege of unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One,” would go to “the many thousands of reporters who have been barred from covering these intimate areas of the administration.” The AP has been a member of the 13-person presidential press pool for more than a century.
How outraged is the White House press corps regarding this naked violation of the First Amendment? Not sufficiently: In her press briefing Wednesday, Leavitt faced questions from only one reporter — CNN’s Kaitlan Collins — about the matter. As Leavitt recited her position, she might as well have been stomping on a copy of the Bill of Rights under the lectern: “If we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable. And it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the ‘Gulf of America,’” Leavitt said, noting that major tech firms have acknowledged the change......
Several organizations have issued statements deploring the White House’s actions, including the White House Correspondents’ Association, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and PEN America. The New York Times has backed the AP in “objecting to governmental retribution for editorial decisions that the government disagrees with.” And a Post spokesperson said the AP’s access is “central for all journalistic organizations, including The Washington Post, in serving millions of Americans with fact-based, independent journalism each day.”....
And there’s a constituency of folks expressing wonder at AP’s topographical choices:
https://x.com/FryeDaddyTN/status/1889814986446573650
On this particular hill, we have the freedom to make editorial choices without government intervention and manipulation. It’s a fine hill to die on.
Get in line, AP! According to a letter from AP Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Julie Pace, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday warned of access restrictions if the wire service “did not immediately align its editorial standards” with the gulf-name mandate. The AP held firm, and the White House then blocked a reporter from an Oval Office event and later blocked another reporter from an event in the Diplomatic Room, according to the letter.
The blocking of AP access continued throughout the week, including events at the White House on Thursday and a presidential trip on Friday. A White House official on Friday tweeted that the wire service’s “privilege of unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One,” would go to “the many thousands of reporters who have been barred from covering these intimate areas of the administration.” The AP has been a member of the 13-person presidential press pool for more than a century.
How outraged is the White House press corps regarding this naked violation of the First Amendment? Not sufficiently: In her press briefing Wednesday, Leavitt faced questions from only one reporter — CNN’s Kaitlan Collins — about the matter. As Leavitt recited her position, she might as well have been stomping on a copy of the Bill of Rights under the lectern: “If we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable. And it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the ‘Gulf of America,’” Leavitt said, noting that major tech firms have acknowledged the change......
Several organizations have issued statements deploring the White House’s actions, including the White House Correspondents’ Association, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and PEN America. The New York Times has backed the AP in “objecting to governmental retribution for editorial decisions that the government disagrees with.” And a Post spokesperson said the AP’s access is “central for all journalistic organizations, including The Washington Post, in serving millions of Americans with fact-based, independent journalism each day.”....
And there’s a constituency of folks expressing wonder at AP’s topographical choices:
https://x.com/FryeDaddyTN/status/1889814986446573650
On this particular hill, we have the freedom to make editorial choices without government intervention and manipulation. It’s a fine hill to die on.
February 15, 2025
https://x.com/lately39/status/1890821746447753633
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/confirmation-votes-trumps-offensive-mcconnell-gets-uglier-rcna192220
After confirmation votes, Trump's offensive against McConnell gets uglier
It seemed hard to imagine the president's relationship with the Kentucky senator getting much worse. Then Trump questioned whether McConnell had polio.
https://bsky.app/profile/turquoise-cat.bsky.social/post/3li5qre6ts223
After confirmation votes, POS Trump’s offensive against McConnell gets uglier
It seemed hard to imagine the president's relationship with the Kentucky senator getting much worse. Then POS Trump questioned whether McConnell had polio.
It seemed hard to imagine the president's relationship with the Kentucky senator getting much worse. Then POS Trump questioned whether McConnell had polio.
https://x.com/lately39/status/1890821746447753633
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/confirmation-votes-trumps-offensive-mcconnell-gets-uglier-rcna192220
After Trump’s defeat in the 2020 elections, the relationship deteriorated further: Trump condemned McConnell as a corrupt “hack,” targeted his wife, practically begged GOP senators to oust him from his leadership role, said McConnell “has a DEATH WISH” for disagreeing with Trump’s legislative strategies, and told The New York Times, on the record, that he considered McConnell to be “a piece of s---.”......
The other way to see McConnell’s shift is to acknowledge the fact that his sudden independent streak is far too late to matter, and it’s also proven inconsequential as Trump’s worst nominees cleared the Senate anyway. It’s easy to do the right thing in key moments when it doesn’t involve paying a price or making a practical difference.
Relatedly, the longtime senator has had plenty of opportunities to rid his party of Trump, and in each instance, he’s demurred. As my MSNBC colleague Ja’han Jones recently noted, McConnell has arguably been “among the biggest enablers of Donald Trump’s rise in the Republican Party and American politics.”.....
But just as important is the degree to which Trump appears furious, knowing that he no longer has any leverage over McConnell, leading to ugly breakdowns. After the senator rejected RFK Jr.’s ridiculous nomination, the president told reporters that McConnell is “not equipped mentally.”
Reminded that McConnell is a polio survivor, making his vote against Kennedy something of a no-brainer, Trump apparently questioned whether the senator actually had polio.
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3li3jiqvzhs2q
https://x.com/atrupar/status/1890135007169036413
......“I’m a survivor of childhood polio,” McConnell’s statement read. “In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles.
“Individuals, parents, and families have a right to push for a healthier nation and demand the best possible scientific guidance on preventing and treating illness. But a record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions does not entitle Mr. Kennedy to lead these important efforts. ... Mr. Kennedy failed to prove he is the best possible person to lead America’s largest health agency.”
McConnell was right, of course, though none of his GOP colleagues followed his lead, and for his trouble, he faced a new round of condemnations from his party’s president. They probably weren’t the last.
The other way to see McConnell’s shift is to acknowledge the fact that his sudden independent streak is far too late to matter, and it’s also proven inconsequential as Trump’s worst nominees cleared the Senate anyway. It’s easy to do the right thing in key moments when it doesn’t involve paying a price or making a practical difference.
Relatedly, the longtime senator has had plenty of opportunities to rid his party of Trump, and in each instance, he’s demurred. As my MSNBC colleague Ja’han Jones recently noted, McConnell has arguably been “among the biggest enablers of Donald Trump’s rise in the Republican Party and American politics.”.....
But just as important is the degree to which Trump appears furious, knowing that he no longer has any leverage over McConnell, leading to ugly breakdowns. After the senator rejected RFK Jr.’s ridiculous nomination, the president told reporters that McConnell is “not equipped mentally.”
Reminded that McConnell is a polio survivor, making his vote against Kennedy something of a no-brainer, Trump apparently questioned whether the senator actually had polio.
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3li3jiqvzhs2q
https://x.com/atrupar/status/1890135007169036413
......“I’m a survivor of childhood polio,” McConnell’s statement read. “In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles.
“Individuals, parents, and families have a right to push for a healthier nation and demand the best possible scientific guidance on preventing and treating illness. But a record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions does not entitle Mr. Kennedy to lead these important efforts. ... Mr. Kennedy failed to prove he is the best possible person to lead America’s largest health agency.”
McConnell was right, of course, though none of his GOP colleagues followed his lead, and for his trouble, he faced a new round of condemnations from his party’s president. They probably weren’t the last.
February 15, 2025
MaddowBlog-Asked about Musk's conflicts, Trump offers an unintentionally amusing answer
Last week, the White House said the billionaire would police his own conflicts of interest. This week, the president pitched a new plan, which is worse.
https://bsky.app/profile/belleofliberty.bsky.social/post/3li6pi2n4wc2g
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-says-personally-checking-ensure-musk-actions-dont-pose-conflict-rcna192259
The New Republic added, “Several parts of Musk’s businesses concern India. The tech mogul is trying to get access for his Starlink satellite internet service in the country, and is fighting with Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, who has competing interests. Musk also is trying to sell low-cost Tesla vehicles in India and get past the country’s tariffs on electric vehicles.”.....
Asked about the underlying problem last week, the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, “f Elon Musk comes across a conflict of interest with the contracts and the funding that DOGE is overseeing, then Elon will excuse himself from those contracts.”
Or put another way, Team Trump’s plan to address Musk’s potential conflicts of interest, as of last week, was to allow Musk to police himself.
This week, as The Washington Post reported, the president apparently has a new plan.
Ah. So the White House’s solution to Musk’s obvious conflict-of-interest problem is to have the sitting U.S. president — who, presumably, keeps pretty busy with his day job — personally familiarizing himself with the details of his megadonor’s business empire and government contracts, while simultaneously scrutinizing the individual decisions made by Musk and his many Department of Government Efficiency surrogates.
I don’t mean to sound picky, but if this plan is intended to resolve the controversy, it’s badly flawed.
Asked about the underlying problem last week, the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, “f Elon Musk comes across a conflict of interest with the contracts and the funding that DOGE is overseeing, then Elon will excuse himself from those contracts.”
Or put another way, Team Trump’s plan to address Musk’s potential conflicts of interest, as of last week, was to allow Musk to police himself.
This week, as The Washington Post reported, the president apparently has a new plan.
President Donald Trump on Thursday claimed that he is personally checking to ensure that billionaire Elon Musk, whom he has tasked with leading the U.S. DOGE Service, is not engaging in government matters that pose a conflict of interest for his companies. ... The president also claimed that he was personally checking to ensure that Musk had no conflicts of interest and said Musk answers to him.
Ah. So the White House’s solution to Musk’s obvious conflict-of-interest problem is to have the sitting U.S. president — who, presumably, keeps pretty busy with his day job — personally familiarizing himself with the details of his megadonor’s business empire and government contracts, while simultaneously scrutinizing the individual decisions made by Musk and his many Department of Government Efficiency surrogates.
I don’t mean to sound picky, but if this plan is intended to resolve the controversy, it’s badly flawed.
February 15, 2025
https://x.com/jzmurdock/status/1890639399429255267
https://www.borowitzreport.com/p/europe-united-in-belief-that-jd-vance
The Borowitz Report- Europe United in Belief That JD Vance is a Prick
https://bsky.app/profile/sharyn420.bsky.social/post/3li6n2fg6mk2khttps://x.com/jzmurdock/status/1890639399429255267
https://www.borowitzreport.com/p/europe-united-in-belief-that-jd-vance
MUNICH (The Borowitz Report)—Crediting the vice president with ushering in a new era of European solidarity, attendees at the Munich Security Conference left Friday’s session united in the belief that JD Vance is a prick.
“I came to Munich full of skepticism that we as a group of nations could find common ground on anything,” Danish delegate Hartvig Dorkelson said. “That all changed the moment that asshat Vance opened his mouth.”
Though he was grateful that all the nations of Europe could agree that Vance is a ginormous dick, Dorkelson warned against taking this historic consensus for granted.
“I worry that our unity could be short-lived,” he said. “So we must invite that fucker to speak again next year.”
“I came to Munich full of skepticism that we as a group of nations could find common ground on anything,” Danish delegate Hartvig Dorkelson said. “That all changed the moment that asshat Vance opened his mouth.”
Though he was grateful that all the nations of Europe could agree that Vance is a ginormous dick, Dorkelson warned against taking this historic consensus for granted.
“I worry that our unity could be short-lived,” he said. “So we must invite that fucker to speak again next year.”
February 15, 2025
https://x.com/karlykingsley/status/1890634194469974402
Hegseth promised to stop drinking if confirmed
https://x.com/Roshan_Rinaldi/status/1890604675725942988https://x.com/karlykingsley/status/1890634194469974402
February 15, 2025
https://x.com/brontyman/status/1890808904021389390
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/key-flaw-trumps-executive-order-school-funding-vaccine-mandates-rcna192288
The key flaw in Trump's executive order about school funding and vaccine mandates
The president signed an executive order to defund schools that require Covid vaccines for students and staff — but there's an important catch.
https://bsky.app/profile/stevebenen.com/post/3li62sjnzlc24
Trump's order to defund schools that require Covid vaccines for students and staff would be scarier — were it not for the fact that zero states require Covid vaccines for students and staff.
https://x.com/brontyman/status/1890808904021389390
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/key-flaw-trumps-executive-order-school-funding-vaccine-mandates-rcna192288
For months, there was some discussion about whether he was referring specifically to Covid vaccine mandates or all vaccine mandates, and his political operation never made much of an effort to clarify matters. The public was only told that Trump intended to apply his policy to all public education “from kindergarten through college.”
Nearly a month into the president’s second term, he’s now followed through on his misguided campaign vow. The Hill reported:
At first blush, this might sound alarming, but an Associated Press report highlighted a highly relevant detail: “The order is expected to have little national impact because COVID-19 vaccine mandates have mostly been dropped at schools and colleges across the United States, and many states have passed legislation forbidding such mandates.”
The grand total of states requiring Covid vaccines for students and staff is zero.
Of course, across the country, school districts require children to be fully immunized against, among other things, polio, measles, hepatitis B, chickenpox, diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis before they can attend classes. These policies have existed for years; they’ve been incredibly effective; they enjoy the support of public health officials; and they haven’t been especially controversial.
Will these policies change? At least for now, the answer appears to be no: Trump’s new order applies to Covid vaccine mandates, and nothing else.
Then again, now that 52 Republican senators have made Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, the secretary of health and human services, vigilance is probably in order.
Nearly a month into the president’s second term, he’s now followed through on his misguided campaign vow. The Hill reported:
President Trump signed an executive order Friday to defund schools and other education agencies that require COVID-19 vaccines for students and staff. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the head of the Department of Education are directed to create a plan to end these mandates and end federal funding for entities that do not comply.
At first blush, this might sound alarming, but an Associated Press report highlighted a highly relevant detail: “The order is expected to have little national impact because COVID-19 vaccine mandates have mostly been dropped at schools and colleges across the United States, and many states have passed legislation forbidding such mandates.”
The grand total of states requiring Covid vaccines for students and staff is zero.
Of course, across the country, school districts require children to be fully immunized against, among other things, polio, measles, hepatitis B, chickenpox, diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis before they can attend classes. These policies have existed for years; they’ve been incredibly effective; they enjoy the support of public health officials; and they haven’t been especially controversial.
Will these policies change? At least for now, the answer appears to be no: Trump’s new order applies to Covid vaccine mandates, and nothing else.
Then again, now that 52 Republican senators have made Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, the secretary of health and human services, vigilance is probably in order.
February 15, 2025
The one easy question Trump's Cabinet nominees keep flubbing
It's a simple question for a Cabinet nominee: "What would you do if directed by the president to ignore the law?" Trump's picks keep getting it wrong.
https://bsky.app/profile/joehick58.bsky.social/post/3li62n5cjic2t
https://x.com/JudyVoluspa/status/1890541027234373889
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/one-easy-question-trumps-cabinet-nominees-keep-flubbing-rcna192248
Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire asked McMahon whether she would “do what you are legally required to do” if Trump gave her a directive “that breaks the law.”
The Cabinet agency nominee rejected the premise of the question. “The president will not ask me to do anything that is against the law,” McMahon answered.
On the surface, there was an obvious flaw in the response: Trump has already demonstrated, on multiple occasions in recent weeks, an apparent indifference to the rule of law and legal restrictions. The idea that he would never ask a member of his team “to do anything that is against the law” is difficult to take seriously.......
But stepping back, there was also something familiar about the exchange between Hassan and McMahon — because other Trump nominees answered the same question in similar ways. The Washington Post published a good round-up on this a couple of week ago, highlighting a series of confirmation hearing answers.
Again, we already know that Trump — a convicted felon who appears to be ignoring legal guardrails — has been accused by former members of his team of giving illegal orders. Pretending this is a wild hypothetical about circumstances that could never arise is absurd.
But just as notable is the simple fact that other Cabinet nominees have confronted this same question in recent decades, and they’ve tended to give a far better answer. As the Post’s analysis noted, for example, when Trump nominated Chris Wray to lead the FBI, and he faced the question about what he would do in response to an illegal order from the president, his answer was quite good.
“You can’t do a job like this without being prepared to either quit or be fired, at a moment’s notice, if you’re asked to do something or confronted with something that is either illegal, unconstitutional or even morally repugnant,” Wray told senators.
The Cabinet agency nominee rejected the premise of the question. “The president will not ask me to do anything that is against the law,” McMahon answered.
On the surface, there was an obvious flaw in the response: Trump has already demonstrated, on multiple occasions in recent weeks, an apparent indifference to the rule of law and legal restrictions. The idea that he would never ask a member of his team “to do anything that is against the law” is difficult to take seriously.......
But stepping back, there was also something familiar about the exchange between Hassan and McMahon — because other Trump nominees answered the same question in similar ways. The Washington Post published a good round-up on this a couple of week ago, highlighting a series of confirmation hearing answers.
Ahead of her confirmation, Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “I will never speak on a hypothetical, especially one saying that the president would do something illegal.”
Ahead of her confirmation, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard also said Trump wouldn’t give her an illegal order.
Ahead of his confirmation, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “I reject the premise that President Trump is going to be giving illegal orders.”
Kelly Loeffler, Trump’s choice to lead the Small Business Administration, said, “The president is not going to ask me to do [anything illegal].”
Howard Lutnick, Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Commerce, said the president “won’t” give an illegal order, adding, “It just won’t happen.”
Again, we already know that Trump — a convicted felon who appears to be ignoring legal guardrails — has been accused by former members of his team of giving illegal orders. Pretending this is a wild hypothetical about circumstances that could never arise is absurd.
But just as notable is the simple fact that other Cabinet nominees have confronted this same question in recent decades, and they’ve tended to give a far better answer. As the Post’s analysis noted, for example, when Trump nominated Chris Wray to lead the FBI, and he faced the question about what he would do in response to an illegal order from the president, his answer was quite good.
“You can’t do a job like this without being prepared to either quit or be fired, at a moment’s notice, if you’re asked to do something or confronted with something that is either illegal, unconstitutional or even morally repugnant,” Wray told senators.
February 14, 2025
https://x.com/ABC/status/1890547635125117022
DOJ files motion to dismiss charges in Mayor Eric Adams' case
Source: ABC
The Department of Justice has filed a motion to dismiss the charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
An attorney in the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section signed the paperwork Friday evening required to move forward with seeking the formal dismissal of charges.
Along with another career official in the criminal division, Toni Bacon, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove also signed the papers.
This ends an extraordinary stalemate between Public Integrity Section prosecutors and Bove.
Many of the section's leaders refused to sign the paperwork and resigned in protest, before Bove gathered the rest of the section earlier Friday to tell them that there would be serious consequences if no one stepped forward to sign the paperwork, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/doj-files-motion-dismiss-charges-mayor-eric-adams/story?id=118847473&cid=social_twitter_abcn
https://x.com/ABC/status/1890547635125117022
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