Trump says he does not believe white nationalism is rising after signing first veto
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Donald Trump signed the first veto of his presidency after the Senate‘s decision to vote 59-41 in favour of a resolution expressing disapproval at his national emergency declaration over the illegal immigration “crisis” at the southern border.
In a major embarrassment for the president, 12 Republicans voted against his invocation of emergency powers to get his signature US-Mexico border wall built, bringing the resolution to his desk and forcing him to exercise his powers of office to block it. Mr Trump then claimed there was an “invasion” at the border and vetoed the resolution.
Despite the veto, the president’s emergency declaration still faces numerous legal challenges, with cases arguing it was unconstitutional.
American Civil Liberties Union, which filed one of the cases, said the veto was meaningless. “Congress has rejected the president’s declaration, and now the courts will be the ultimate arbiter of its legality,” said executive director Anthony Romero. “We look forward to seeing him in court and to the shellacking that he will receive at the hands of an independent judiciary.”
Meanwhile, top officials from Donald Trump’s administration failed to describe the terrorist attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, as acts of terror, including his vice president, White House press secretary, ambassador to New Zealand and more.
When asked during the Oval Office address whether he saw an increase in white nationalism, Mr Trump said: “I don’t really. I think it’s a small group of people.”
He also said he had not seen a manifesto in which the suspected gunman denounced immigrants and praised Mr Trump as “a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose”.
At least 49 people were killed with dozens more seriously injured after shootings at two mosques in Christchurch. The suspected attacker, Brenton Tarrant, live-streamed the attack and outlined his anti-immigrant motives in a manifesto posted online.
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“So, if there was knowingly & acknowledged to be ‘zero’ crime when the Special Counsel was appointed, and if the appointment was made based on the Fake Dossier (paid for by Crooked Hillary) and now disgraced Andrew McCabe (he & all stated no crime), then the Special Counsel…”
The president has not yet followed up this tweet.
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Here's more, from me:
Critics of Donald Trump are decrying the president's response to the terrorist attack in New Zealand, after he failed to describe it as an act of terror or hate in a tweet on Friday morning.
“It's pretty easy to not be political and say the following,” Joe Walsh, a conservative radio host and former congressman, wrote on Twitter, adding, “The white supremacist, anti-Muslim hate that attacked two Mosques in New Zealand is evil and must be universally condemned.”
“All hate is bad and must always be condemned,” he added. “We pray for our Muslim brothers & sisters.”
The president has capped off his explosive attack against Special Counsel Robert Mueller with a final statement:
Donald Trump tweeted a link to Breitbart, a far-right website that peddles xenophobia and extremist ideologies, as a terrorist conducted a brutal massacre in New Zealand after releasing a manifesto that celebrated the US president as “a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.”
The tragedy, in which two mosques were seemingly the target of a terrorist attack spearheaded by an Australian 28-year-old white male, occurred on Friday in Christchurch, New Zealand — the same day Breitbart featured an interview with Mr Trump on its homepage.
The president responded to the mass shootings the following morning on Twitter in a statement that failed to describe the event as an act of terror, as New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had called it the night before. He also deleted his tweet to the Breitbart post the day after the attack.
Here's more on Donald Trump's tweet to a Breitbart interview which he deleted a day after a terrorist attack in New Zealand with seemingly xenophobic motives:
The Special Counsel’s Office on Friday asked a court to delay sentencing for US President Donald Trump’s former deputy campaign chairman, Rick Gates, amid “ongoing investigations” stemming from the Russia investigation.
In a filing with the US District Court in Washington, US Special Counsel Robert Mueller cited Gates’ continued cooperation with multiple probes and asked permission to update the judge on the case again by May 14.
“Gates continues to cooperate with respect to several ongoing investigations, and accordingly the parties do not believe it is appropriate to commence the sentencing process at this time,” Mueller’s team said in the court filing.
Reuters
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