List of All Articles with Tag 'eric'

The former number two official in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has offered a dire prediction about America’s future should Donald Trump or another like-minded Republican succeed in winning next year’s presidential election, according to a new book by a former Trump administration homeland security aide. In Blowback, author Miles Taylor recounts an October 2020 conversation he had with Sue Gordon, a 25-year US intelligence community veteran who served as the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence from 2017 to 2019, shortly after news broke that the FBI had disrupted a plot by Michigan-based right-wing extremists to kidnap Wolverine State governor Gretchen Whitmer. According to a copy of the book obtained by The Independent ahead of its Tuesday release, Taylor recalls how the news of the kidnapping plot prompted him to telephone Ms Gordon, who he says spent “decades” at the CIA monitoring foreign governments for signs of instability, and ask the former deputy DNI how America’s “democratic stability” would be impacted by a second term in the White House for Mr Trump or a “Maga successor”. Taylor said Ms Gordon’s reply came “in the language of a seasoned intelligence analyst” who speaks “based on data from sources in the field and the uncertainty level of information they don’t have”. He added that she told him how she would “assess with ‘low confidence’ that the United States reaches its three hundredth birthday” — the projected 2076 tricentennial anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence from Great Britain — in “any recognisable form”. “People don’t trust government institutions anymore or each other, and when the world gets tumultuous, they’re more open to authoritarianism,” she said. Continuing, Taylor writes that Ms Gordon told him her reason for pessimism about the long-term viability of the US as a functioning democracy stems from the follow-on effects of four more years of Donald Trump — or someone acting with the same malevolence towards governmental institutions — atop the US executive branch. He said she told him that she does not believe a “Next Trump” would successfully smash through “every democratic guardrail,” but would “stoke unprecedented division and set off a slow turn towards despotism” in the US by “attempting” to further erode democratic norms and bring nominally independent institutions under his or her thumb. “That process can take decades to unfold. If history is any guide, though, it might come suddenly to a head, with the literal pull of a trigger — and the odds of that happening in the not-too-distant future are historically high,” he wrote. Taylor, who was chief of staff at the Trump-era Department of Homeland Security for the first three years of Mr Trump’s administration but is better known as the formerly anonymous author of a New York Times op-ed about “resistance” to the then-president inside his own government, told The Independent in a phone interview that he fears a repeat of the January 6 attack on the Capitol — but worse — should Mr Trump lose next year’s presidential election. Echoing Ms Gordon’s prediction of a long-term breakdown of the American democratic system, Taylor said the possibility of “low-level civil conflict” touched off by Mr Trump or another Republican is “higher now than it even was in that post election period in 2020”. “The muscle memory for those extremist movements has now been solidified. The networks are closer. And ... since that time, many more people, otherwise kind of normal people in small town America, have really taken the stolen election lies, QAnon, and great replacement theory as gospel, and the polling shows that a majority of your everyday Republicans believe those lies,” he said. “Add to that the fact that the country is more armed now than at any point in its history ... it is a powder keg.” Taylor added that his fears of violence go beyond a repeat of what happened in Washington nearly three years ago, pointing to the aborted plot against Ms Whitmer, the Michigan governor, as an example of what could be in store for the future. He told The Independent that he feels “the conditions are very ripe” in the US for “that sort of low-level conflict” in many parts of the country. “This is not just a Washington, DC thing — I really think we could see something a good deal worse, and part of that could also happen if a Trump or a savvier successor is reelected. And that misuse of the justice system could foment that even more,” he said. Read More Man arrested near Obama home threatened other prominent lawmakers, officials say Three men jailed for at least seven years over plot to kidnap Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer DoJ dragged feet over including Trump in Jan 6 probe over fears of appearing biased, report says Oath Keepers leader issues warning to Trump amid ex-president’s legal woes White House blasts Marjorie Taylor Greene’s criticism of efforts to aid US families GOP presidential hopeful lists conservative pool of Supreme Court picks Trump finally reveals how he thinks he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine in a day

After an ongoing feud between Republican Reps Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, a Republican lawmaker said the standoff between the two Congress members could result in a fistfight. “A fistfight could break out at any moment,” Republican Tennessee Rep Tim Burchett told The Daily Beast. Mr Burchett told the publication that he was serious, and added he was enjoying the Republicans’ rivalry as a “professional wrestling fan.” He told the outlet, “I am friends with both of them. It’s entertaining to think that a fistfight could break out at any movement. I kind of dig that.” The Tennessee Republican isn’t alone in his stance. Another GOP lawmaker close to both Reps Greene and Boebert, who spoke anonymously, told the outlet: “You can’t have too many of these rifts for too long.” Arizona Republican Congressman Paul Gosar called the battle a “two-way sword” to The Daily Beast. He continued, “I just think that whatever is there, could be utilized both ways,” he said, adding that “people make decisions that they have to work and live by, and you kind of hate being in their shoes.” The conflict between the congresswomen came to a head recently when Ms Greene was kicked out of the Freedom Caucus after she called Ms Boebert “a little b****.” The Georgia Republican claimed last week that she didn’t know why she was booted from the Freedom Caucus. She dismissed the move, saying that she didn’t “have time for the drama club.” Read More Marjorie Taylor Greene says she didn’t know she was kicked out of the Freedom Caucus The Freedom Caucus booting Marjorie Taylor Greene looks worse for them than it does for her Marjorie Taylor Greene ousted from House Freedom Caucus following fight with Lauren Boebert

Although Georgia Republican Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene tried to criticize President Joe Biden by comparing his programs to those of Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson, the White House took it as a compliment. “Caught us. President Biden is working to make life easier for hardworking families,” the official White House account tweeted. Rep Greene outlined President Johnson’s programmes, called The Great Society, which addressed “education, medical care, urban problems, rural poverty, transportation, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps and welfare,” as well as the Office of Economic Opportunity and labor unions. While Johnson had The Great Society, Joe Biden has Build Back Better, Ms Greene said, describing it as: “The largest public investment in social infrastructure and environmental programs that is actually finishing what FDR started that LBJ expanded on.” “And Joe Biden is attempting to complete socialism,” Ms Greene continued. “Marjorie Taylor Greene thought her recent speech was an attack on ⁦POTUS⁩. It’s actually a huge compliment,” California Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu chimed in. New York Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres also reacted: “Marjorie Taylor Greene, a recovering member of the House Freedom Caucus, has accused President Biden and Congressional Democrats of ‘trying to finish what FDR started.’” He added, “Yes! We are guilty as charged.” Rep Greene criticized President Biden’s investments, saying the US is “now $32 trillion in debt with record high homelessness, 40 year record inflation. We’re losing the US Dollar as the number one world currency. We’re losing our freedoms. Our government is one big fat bloated machine and it’s killing the American dream.” Read More Marjorie Taylor Greene’s antics show that the 2024 election will be about America’s role in the world Far-right pundits and lawmakers evangelise and crown Trump and Tucker at Turning Point’s Florida conference Marjorie Taylor Greene brands Nato ‘not a reliable partner’ as she calls for US to withdraw

Sen Joe Manchin is continuing to feed speculation about his political future by appearing at an event with No Labels as he weighs whether to make a third-party run for president. The West Virginia Democrat will appear at the event on Monday night in New Hampshire, which holds one of the first presidential nominating contests and is a crucial swing state in the general election. No Labels, a centrist organisation, has pushed for a third-party candidate for president. But some Democrats have feared that a No Labels-backed candidacy would siphon votes away from President Joe Biden and enable former president Donald Trump to win another term as president. In May, the organisation said it opposed Mr Trump’s candidacy. “We don’t believe there is any “equivalency” between President Biden and former President Trump, who is a uniquely divisive force in our politics and who sought to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power after he lost the 2020 election,” the statement written by co-chairmen former senator Joe Lieberman and Benjamin Chavis said. “But we reject the notion that No Labels’ 2024 presidential insurance project would inevitably help former President Trump’s electoral prospects if he were the Republican nominee.” Mr Manchin, a conservative Democrat, has not yet indicated whether he would stage a third-party run for president or seek another term in the Senate. Were he to run in 2024, he would be seeking another term with a Republican at the top of the presidential ticket. In 2020, Mr Trump won every county in West Virginia. Throughout the first two years of Mr Biden’s presidency when Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate, Mr Manchin served as the swing vote in a 50-50 Senate. His opposition to Build Back Better, Democrats’ proposed social spending bill, ultimately killed the legislation. Last year, he and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer resurrected talks that led to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. But since then, Mr Manchin has criticised the Biden administration’s implementation of the law. West Virginia Gov Jim Justice, a former friend of Mr Manchin, announced his candidacy to challenge the incumbent. He is heavily favoured to face Mr Manchin, himself a former governor, in the general election. Mr Manchin has said he will decide his political future by the end of the year. Despite his indecision, he raised $424,485.52 in the most recent fundraising quarter from March to July and he has more than $10.7m in cash on hand. Read More Arizona Democrats file complaint against No Labels over donor secrecy Biden’s economy pitch: Campaign like Reagan while refuting Reagan’s policies

Greg Abbott has been branded “one of the dumbest people in the country” by the author of a satirical story about country music star Garth Brooks that was reshared by the Texas governor. Christopher Blair runs the parody website The Dunning-Kruger-Times, which posted the story that Mr Brooks had been booed off the stage at the 123rd Annual Texas Country Jamboree last month after calling his conservative fans “a**holes.” The entire story was made-up - but Mr Abbott didn’t seem to notice. “When I saw [Mr Abbott’s repost], I was besides myself with joy,” Mr Blair told The Guardian. “He’s one of the dumbest people in the country.” “As soon as I wrote the headline, I said to myself that it might be a little bit much,” Mr Blair said. “But it wasn’t.” The Texas governor had tweeted a link to the story on 25 June with the caption: “Garth Brooks Booed Off Stage at 123rd Annual Texas Country Jamboree. Go woke. Go broke.” “Garth called his conservative fans. ‘a**holes’ Good job Texas,” he added. His tweet seemed to refer to a question-and-answer session with the country singer last month in which he said his new bar in Nashville planned to “serve every brand of beer,” shutting down the idea that it wouldn’t serve Bud Light, following the conservative-led boycott of the beer brand. “Our thing is this: If you come into this house, love one another,” Mr Brooks said. “If you’re an a**hole, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway to go.” The governor has since deleted his tweet, but reactions to the tweet are still up. Democratic Texas Congressman Greg Casar tweeted: “Gov Abbott just accidentally posted a satire article because he wants to hate on queer Texans and Garth Brooks so bad.” “The Texas Country Jamboree doesn’t exist. Hambriston, Texas is not real. And the Governor is not fit to tweet, much less govern,” he explained. Read More Greg Abbott mocked after falling for hoax story about Garth Brooks being booed off stage Garth Brooks commended for not bowing to anti-LGBT trolls and refusing to boycott Bud Light First Amendment group sues Texas Governor and others over the state's TikTok ban on official devices Wembymania set to hit Las Vegas, as Spurs rookie 'can't wait' for his NBA debut at Summer League Joe Manchin fuels speculation around third-party 2024 run with No Labels event George Santos repays himself $85K raised from lackluster reelection fundraising

AmeriCorps recovered a record $84 million in overlooked deductions, credits and tax breaks for low-income Americans in the 2023 tax season, the federal agency announced Friday.

Chelsea have set their demands in talks with Marseille over striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Donald Trump is considering his Republican 2024 rivals as potential running mates should he win the GOP nomination. The former president told Fox News on Sunday that his running mate could “possibly” be among those in the 2024 field saying there are “some very talented people” in the race. He said that Vivek Ramaswamy has “done a very good job” and Senator Tim Scott is a “very good guy” but stopped short of saying who he would pick if the time came. Over the weekend, Mr Trump headlined the first of a two-day conference hosted by right-wing political activist group Turning Point USA alongside far-right lawmakers, candidates and pundits, including Tucker Carlson and Matt Gaetz. In his rambling Saturday night address condemned investigations and criminal indictments against him while telling Ron DeSantis to “get home to Florida,” accusing his rival for the Republican nomination for president of neglecting the governor’s office. The campaign for Mr DeSantis, meanwhile, reported raising more than $20m in the first six weeks of his campaign, but roughly a dozen staffers were recently fired in a shakeup as his polling numbers trail the former president’s. Read More Donald Trump brands US a ‘third-world hellhole’ run by ‘perverts’ and ‘thugs’ Ron DeSantis campaign fires staff as Florida governor trails Trump in the polls Fundraising takeaways: Trump and DeSantis in their own tier as Pence and other Republicans struggle RFK Jr revives antisemitic conspiracy theory that Covid-19 was ‘ethnically targeted’ to spare Jewish people

Long Island police have been searching a storage unit in connection to suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann following his bombshell arrest on Thursday. Suffolk Police Officers executed a search warrant at a single unit at Omega Self Storage in Amityville late on Sunday night, according to News 12 Long Island. Over the weekend, investigators combed through the married father-of-two’s home in Massapequa Park in connection to the unsolved murders looking for evidence and possible trophies from the killings. At one point, a trove of firearms was seized from the family property. Mr Heuermann, a 59-year-old Long Island native, was taken into custody on Thursday night and charged with three of the murders which have haunted Gilgo Beach for more than a decade. Court records show the Manhattan architect was linked to the killings with the help of a discarded pizza box, a trove of burner phones, and his wife’s hair which was found on a victim’s body. He was charged with three counts of murder in the first degree and three in the second degree over the deaths of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello. He pleaded not guilty in court on Friday. Read More Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect arrested on suspicion of murders of 10 women on Long Island Police release haunting 911 call from woman later found dead as possible serial killer probe continues: ‘There’s somebody after me’ New police chief vows to close the case on Long Island’s unsolved Gilgo Beach murders

Police have fatally shot a Georgia gunman who went on the run after allegedly killing four people in a small town south of Atlanta. Andre Longmore, 40, was killed during a manhunt on Sunday afternoon, Henry County Sheriff Reginald Scandrett confirmed to the WSB-TV station. “The monster is dead,” Henry County Sheriff Reginald Scandrett told reporters on Sunday afternoon. “The entire state of Georgia can breathe a little easier tonight.” Authorities say that a Henry County deputy and a Clayton County police officer were wounded during the incident, but both are conscious. The deputy was taken by Life Flight to Grady Memorial Hospital for medical treatment. Officials say that officers exchanged gunfire with Longmore twice in nearby Clayton County before he was “neutralised” and declared dead, the sheriff added. Investigators say that Longmore killed four residents of Dogwood Lakes Drive and Dogwood Ridge around 10.45 am on Saturday. Hampton Police Chief James Turner identified the victims on Sunday as s Scott Levitt, 67; Shirley Levitt, 66; Steve Blizzard, 65; and Ronald Jeffers, 66. Police said that Longmore lived in the Dogwood Lakes Drive neighbourhood but they have not yet determined a motive for the shooting. “Wherever you are, we will hunt you down in whatever hole you may be hiding in and bring you into custody. Period,” Henry County Sheriff Reginald Scandrett told reporters on Saturday. Police had identified the suspect as 40-year-old Andre Longmore, who they had obtained four warrants for and described him as being armed and dangerous. Hampton is a city of 8,500 residents located around an hour south of Atlanta, Georgia. Officials say that the last homicide was reported in 2018 and insisted it is one of the safest communities in the state. “This community is grieving,” Hampton city manager Alex Cohilas said on Sunday. “We’re thankful we have achieved a resolution in which no more loss of life has occurred.” And he added: “It’s just not normal for us.” The murders and the police response are under investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Earlier, Frankie Worth, a resident of the neighbourhood, said he saw the suspect brandishing a black handgun and that he witnessed him fatally shoot his neighbour. “Just when I was about to open the window, I heard pow,” Worth told Atlanta’s WSB-TV. “When I opened the window, I saw (the gunman’s) arms up and he’s coming back down.” And he added: “When he realised the shot was good, he took the weapon, checked it for a minute, put it in his holster.” Read More In quiet Georgia subdivision, neighbor says he saw man accused of killing 4 shoot man in street At least four killed in Georgia mass shooting as police hunt ‘active shooter’ Usher’s ex-wife wants to drain Georgia lake where her son was killed

On the stage of an influential activist group’s two-day conference, far-right conspiracy theorists, Republican presidential candidates and members of Congress veered into Christian nationalist evangelising, QAnon-adjacent conspiracy mongering and a bleak picture of an America in rapid decline under Democratic leadership. The guest speakers at Turning Point USA’s inaugural Turning Point Action Conference in Florida repeatedly denied the existence of transgender people, claimed that support for Ukraine is built on a lie, and characterised President Joe Biden as both a frail and incapable stooge and the most corrupt politician of all time. And they professed their loyalty to both Donald Trump, who delivered rambling remarks in primetime on 15 July, and to Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News pundit celebrated by Turning Point guests as the key figure who can articulate their long list of grievances. In his own keynote address, a giddy Carlson turned his attention to what he perceives is a campaign of censorship and free speech targeting right-wing Americans, as he downplayed the January 6 attack, boosted false and misleading claims about Russia and Covid-19, and assured his audience that they “have a right to decide who you hate” on whatever basis they want. Carlson was fired from Fox News shortly after the network settled with Dominion Voting Systems for $787m to avert a blockbuster defamation trial in which his segments and statements would be crucial evidence. He also is the subject of another defamation lawsuit against Fox from a man accused of being a federal agent who incited the riots. Carlson claimed there was never a national “conversation” about what happened in the election and its aftermath, despite the mountain of litigation, evidence, audits, bipartisan reports and jury verdicts that confirmed the results and brought convictions against hundreds of people who joined the assault. But he said that Americans who have questioned the outcome and the attack were “basically hounded out of public life,” including being fired from their jobs, which the crowd appeared to think was a reference to himself. “Pretty funny,” Carlson said, laughing. “Sorry, I was so into it I lost self-awareness for a minute.” Vivek Ramaswamy, a Trump booster among Republican candidates vying for the 2024 Republican nomination, invented a baseless narrative about the January 6 attack, which he did not blame on bogus conspiracy theories or the actions of people who refused to accept a democratic election but on a “pervasive culture of censorship”. “When you tell people they can’t scream, that’s when they start tearing things down,” he said. In his remarks, the former president – the subject of separate criminal investigations into efforts to subvert the election’s outcome – repeated his baseless claim that the 2020 election was “rigged” against him and that the current probes are another attempt to “rig” the next. “Every time the radical left Democrats indict me, I consider it to be a great badge of honour and courage,” he said. “I am doing it for you. I am being indicted for you.” Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, who is seeking the Republican nomination, was met with boos and “Trump” chants when he got to the stage on Sunday afternoon. The former president’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr later said on the stage that at least Mr Hutchsinson “had the b****” to show up to the conference, unlike the “absentee” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who did not appear at the event. Mr Trump, however, did not attend a separate Carlson-led evangelical summit on 14 July. He seized on his rival’s absence at Turning Point’s conference, where GOP members of Congress pledged their unending support to the former president. “Of course, we ride or die with President Donald John Trump,” Florida US Rep Matt Gaetz said in his remarks on Saturday. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who one day earlier was forced on the defensive after Carlson grilled him for supporting American military aid to Ukraine, did not appear at the Turning Point event. At Turning Point, Carlson continued his attacks on the former vice president and a narrative of Ukraine that has shaped an element of the Republican Party and its base while earning accolades from Russian state media. “If you’re a Christian leader and Christians are going to jail for their views, you are required to say something,” said Carlson, reviving a misleading narrative that accuses Ukraine’s Jewish leader Volodymyr Zelensky of persecuting Christian priests. “And if you don’t, you’re not much of a Christian leader.” “How thankful are we for Tucker Carlson revealing true snakes … who do not have our best interests in mind,” said right-wing commentator Benny Johnson, between cackling over viral clips of President Biden and “boos” directed at Mr Pence. But in speaker after speaker, in echoes of the Conservative Political Action Conference and Republican events and statehouses across the country, Turning Point’s agenda repeatedly turned to transgender people as a scapegoat for what pundits and candidates believe is America’s collapse. US Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene launched into a transphobic speech using Jeff Foxworthy-style setups to accuse Democratic officials and voters of being paedophiles for supporting transition healthcare. Turning Point Action CEO Charlie Kirk spelt out explicitly that anti-trans attacks are a “winner politically for Republicans.” “There should be a healthy measure of ridicule,” former Fox News personality Megyn Kelly Kirk during a lengthy discussion about trans people and the erasure of trans rights. “These people are freaks. They’re perverts, by the way, if they go into a women’s locker room,” Kirk said. Asked how she feels about being labelled transphobic, Kelly said: “OK, whatever, honestly I’ve been called worse … Let them call you whatever you want. Who gives a damn.” Attorney Harmeet Dhillon, who unsuccessfully ran for chair of the Republican National Committee, opened the speaking lineup with a series of inflammatory claims about trans people and their families. She claimed that schools are “inflicting powerful psychological indoctrination on vulnerable children” and compared doctors who provide gender-affirming healthcare to Nazis in falsely labelling gender-affirming care a “Mengele-like experimentation on America’s children”. Throughout the conference, those remarks were often wrapped in evangelical-style preaching, with Pizzagate proponent and far-right activist Jack Posobiec screaming “Deliver us from evil” after reciting the Lord’s Prayer to the crowd. “There’s a book you can read called the Bible,” he said. “Everything that is happening today has been foretold.” Mr Gaetz announced that he plans to introduce legislation “so that in every classroom in America, there will be time for students to pray if they want to,” a measure that could appear to violate the establishment clause of the US Constitution and mandate Christian prayer in schools, which is already permitted. “God’s love does not halt for the limitations of man and God’s reach does not stop at the schoolhouse gates,” he said. The congressman said that the “beautiful” US Supreme Court “that Trump gave us” might end up upholding it, should it ever become law. Read More Trump news – live: Trump tells DeSantis to go back to Florida as governor’s campaign fires staff Trump knows he lost 2020 election but ‘ego’ won’t let him admit it, Chris Christie says Trump suggests he won’t participate in first GOP debate: ‘It’s actually not fair’ He was a loyal Fox News viewer before he starred in a conspiracy theory. Now Ray Epps is suing US support for Ukraine emerges as key dividing line between GOP 2024 hopefuls in Tucker Carlson-hosted forum

The Rev. Frederick Douglass Haynes III is expected to become the president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition on Sunday, taking the helm from outgoing civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson.