Nation
Rep. Swalwell compares Pres. Trump to Osama bin Laden
In the lead-up to Wednesday’s impeachment vote against President Donald Trump in the House, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), who has been appointed as one of the impeachment managers, compared the President to Osama bin Laden.
“Well, Osama Bin Laden did not enter U.S. soil on September 11, but it was widely acknowledged that he was responsible for inspiring the attack on our country and the president, with his words, using the word ‘fight’ with the speakers he assembled that day, who called for ‘trial by combat’ and said we have to ‘take names and kick ass,'” Swalwell said in an interview with PBS NewsHour when asked about claims Trump incited last week’s deadly Capitol riot.
“That is hate speech that inspired and radicalized people to storm the Capitol,” he added.
WATCH THE CLIP HERE:
Here, the California Democrat is referring to comments made by Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, and Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) respectively at the “Stop The Steal” rally in front of the White House, which Trump also spoke at, before rioters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol.
Trump and the others have defended their remarks at the rally as peaceful.
Swalwell continued, saying: “And when you read the indictments from the U.S. Attorney’s office of people who’ve been arrested, in their FBI interviews they cite that they were called there by the president. They were in the Capitol because the president told them to do so.”
The anchor then asked Swalwell to clarify if he was comparing the President to bin Laden, to which he did not offer a direct response.
“I’m comparing the words of a individual who would incite and radicalize somebody as Osama Bin Laden did to what President Trump did. You don’t actually have to commit the violence yourself but if you call others to violence that itself is a crime,” he said.
The single article of impeachment being voted on sometime Wednesday accuses the president of “incitement of insurrection”—falling under “high crimes and misdemeanors”—for the deadly pro-Trump riot that consumed the grounds and halls of the U.S. Capitol one week ago, on the day Congress was set to certify the states’ Electoral College votes and President-elect Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.
At least 215 House Democrats are joined by a growing list of their Republicans counterparts, notably including the No. 3 House Republican, Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.). Trump would be the only president in U.S. history to be impeached twice.
You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.
China
Chinese Communist Party gives funding and tax rebates to fentanyl producers
A 64-page report released Tuesday by the House Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) states China has been subsidizing the manufacturing and exporting of illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals and other synthetic narcotics through tax rebates and other means.
“Many of these substances are illegal under the PRC’s own laws and have no known legal use worldwide,” the 64-page report states. “Like its export tax rebates for legitimate goods, the CCP’s subsidizing of illegal drugs incentivizes international synthetic drug sales from the PRC. The CCP has never disclosed this program.”
The bipartisan investigation was led by Chairman Mike Gallagher (R., Wis.) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D., Ill.). Additional details were uncovered as to the extent of China’s role in the U.S. fentanyl epidemic, including that the CCP-run government gives monetary grants and awards to companies that illegally traffic fentanyl and other drugs.
National Review summarizes the report which also found that the CCP holds ownership interest in several Chinese companies tied to drug trafficking, impedes U.S.-led investigations into manufacturers producing fentanyl and precursors, allows the open sale of drugs on the Chinese internet, and fails to censor online content on narcotics set to be exported. Notably, the Chinese government censors content about domestic drug sales but not exported ones.
“These actions and omissions are abhorrent, violate the laws of nations, and have led to profound human suffering in the United States and around the world,” the report reads. “They also, as a factual matter, further the PRC’s strategic and economic interests.”
In his prepared opening remarks Tuesday morning, former U.S. attorney general Bill Barr called the months-long investigation and subsequent report “groundbreaking” as he testified before the congressional panel. “The Committee’s work has uncovered persuasive evidence that the PRC and CCP are not just bystanders; they are the prime movers,” Barr said. “They are knee deep in actively sponsoring, encouraging, and facilitating the production and export of fentanyl and fentanyl precursors for distribution in the United States.”
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