So far, Trump has granted clemency less frequently than any president in modern history

BY JOHN GRAMLICH AND KRISTEN BIALIK PEW RESEARCH

  

President Donald Trump signs a pardon for Alice Johnson, who was serving a life sentence on drug-related charges, on Aug. 28, 2020, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP)

As he enters the home stretch of his White House tenure, Donald Trump has used his clemency power less often than any president in modern history, according to data from the U.S. Department of Justice. Trump’s sparse use of pardons, commutations and other forms of official leniency stands in sharp contrast to his predecessor, Barack Obama, who used the clemency power more frequently than any chief executive since Harry Truman.

As of Nov. 23, Trump had granted clemency 44 times, including 28 pardons and 16 commutations. That’s the lowest total of any president since at least William McKinley, who served at the turn of the 20th century. Obama, by comparison, granted clemency 1,927 times during his eight-year tenure, including 212 pardons and 1,715 commutations. The only modern president who granted clemency almost as infrequently as Trump is George H.W. Bush, who granted 77 pardons and commutations in his single term.

How we did this

Looking at the same data another way, Trump has granted clemency to less than half of 1% of the more than 10,000 people who petitioned him for it through the end of the 2020 fiscal year (which ended Sept. 30), according to the Justice Department. That, too, is the lowest percentage of any president on record, though George W. Bush came close, granting clemency to just 2% of the more than 11,000 people who asked him for it during his eight years in office.

Clemency refers to multiple forms of presidential mercy. The two most common forms are pardons, which forgive past crimes and restore civil rights, and commutations, which completely or partially reduce sentences for those in prison or on community supervision. Two less-common forms are remissions, which reduce financial penalties associated with convictions, and respites, which are temporary reprieves that are usually granted to inmates for medical reasons.

The Justice Department’s statistics, it’s important to note, do not count clemency granted through proclamation or executive order, such as the actions taken by Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter to forgive thousands of Vietnam-era draft dodgers. The DOJ numbers also count some clemency recipients twice – for example, in cases where someone received both a pardon and a commutation.

While rare so far, Trump’s use of presidential clemency has caused controversy because of the nature of his pardons and commutations. Many of Trump’s clemency recipients have had a “personal or political connection to the president,” according to a July analysis by the Lawfare blog, and he has often circumvented the formal process through which clemency requests are typically considered.

But Trump is far from the only president who has faced scrutiny over his use of clemency. Obama’s frequent use of commutations, particularly for prisoners convicted of drug-related crimes, prompted criticism from Republicans, who said it benefited “an entire class of offenders” and infringed on the “lawmaking authority” of the legislative branch. And President Bill Clinton drew bipartisan condemnation for pardoning a fugitive commodities trader, Marc Rich, on his last day in office in 2001.

Presidents have generally become less forgiving over time, at least when looking at the proportion of clemency requests they have granted. Every president from McKinley to Carter granted clemency to at least 20% of those who asked for it, according to the Justice Department data. But the percentages have fallen to the single digits for every president since George H.W. Bush, including Obama, who granted clemency to just 5% of those who petitioned him for it.


Obama’s relatively low percentage, however, is largely due to the fact that his administration encouraged federal prisoners to apply for leniency under a program known as the Clemency Initiative. The program, which launched in April 2014 and ended in 2017 when Obama left office, allowed “qualified federal inmates” – those who met certain Justice Department criteria – to apply to have their prison sentences commuted. The initiative led to a surge in petitions and helps explain why Obama’s use of clemency tilted so heavily toward sentence commutations, rather than pardons.

Overall, Obama received more than 36,000 clemency petitions during his time in office, by far the largest total of any president on record. Petitions have declined considerably during Trump’s tenure

John Gramlich is a senior writer/editor at Pew Research Center.

Kristen Bialik is a former research assistant at Pew Research Center.

Fast facts on Americans’ views about social media as Facebook faces legal challenge

BY MONICA ANDERSON

Kyodo via AP Images

Monica Anderson is an associate director of research at Pew Research Center.

The Federal Trade Commission and nearly every state sued Facebook on Wednesday, alleging that the firm’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp resulted in unfair business practices and calling for these companies to be broken up. The action comes seven weeks after the FTC and a smaller group of states sued Google on antitrust grounds and months after Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg – along with the heads of Apple, Amazon and Google – appeared before Congress about their firms’ role in the marketplace. The new legal challenges could have a defining impact on major technology companies as a whole, with lawmakers on both sides advocating for stronger oversight of the industry.

Here are some key findings about Americans’ attitudes toward the tech industry – and social media in particular – based on Pew Research Center surveys.

Americans favor more, not less, regulation of major technology companies, according to a Center survey conducted in June. Some 47% of U.S. adults think the government should be regulating major technology companies more than it is now, while just 11% think these companies should be regulated less. About four-in-ten (39%) believe government regulation should stay at its current level.

Americans’ knowledge of the business side of social media companies is relatively low, with many being unable to correctly identify which digital platforms are under the Facebook umbrella. Just 29% of Americans correctly named WhatsApp and Instagram as two companies owned by Facebook in a June 2019 survey that quizzed Americans about their digital knowledge. (In fall 2019, Facebook rebranded these products to help clarify it was the owner.)

Facebook remains one of the most widely used social media sites among adults in the U.S. In an early 2019 survey, roughly seven-in-ten adults (69%) said they ever used the platform. YouTube is the only other site that matches Facebook’s reach: 73% of adults report ever using the video sharing site. But certain online platforms, most notably Facebook-owned Instagram, have an especially strong following among adults under the age of 30. Instagram is one of the few sites measured in the survey that has seen steady growth over the past several years. As of the 2019 survey, Facebook’s WhatsApp was also used by 20% of American adults.

Overall, 72% of U.S. adults say social media companies have too much power and influence in politics today, according to a June 2020 survey. Majorities of both Republicans and Democrats – including independents who lean to either party – believe social media companies wield too much power and influence, but Republicans are more likely than Democrats to express this view (82% vs. 63%).

About two-thirds of Americans (64%) say social media have a mostly negative effect on the way things are going in the country today, according to a survey fielded this July. Just one-in-ten Americans say social media sites have a mostly positive effect on the way things are going, and one-quarter say these platforms have a neither positive nor negative effect.

Man freed after nation's longest prison time 

for nonviolent cannabis crimes


Richard DeLisi, shown here in 1989 and in 2020, was released from prison Tuesday after serving 31 years for nonviolent marijuana-related offenses. File Photo courtesy of Last Prisoner Project

Dec. 10 (UPI) -- A Florida man who spent 31 years in prison -- the nation's longest prison time served for nonviolent cannabis crimes -- has been released from prison.

Richard DeLisi, now age 71, was released from South Bay Correctional Facility in Palm Beach County, Fla., on Tuesday, 18 months ahead of his scheduled release date, The Lakeland Ledger, part of the USA Today Network reported.

He had been sentenced in 1989 to 90 years in prison for nonviolent cannabis crimes.

"It actually feels like 10 times better than wonderful," DeLisi told The Ledger. "It was so unjust what they did to me. I just hope that I can help other people that are in the same situation."

RELATED Study: Cancers in U.S. teens, young adults up 30% since 1970s

Late last month, a Florida Department of Corrections spokeswoman told CNN he could be released as early as Dec. 4, though his release depended on several factors.

DeLisi was sentenced in 1989 on charges of racketeering, trafficking in cannabis and conspiracy after helping smuggle more than 100 pounds of marijuana from Columbia to Florida. Judge Dennis Maloney sentenced both him, and his older brother, Ted DeLisi, in a Polk County courtroom, to three consecutive 30-year sentences on similar charges.

The prison terms were longer than recommendations in judicial guidelines.

RELATED Study: Two-thirds of young e-cig users quit or cut back early in pandemic

Ted DeLisi successfully appealed his conviction, prompting his release from prison in 2013, but Richard DeLisi's appeal was unsuccessful.

The Last Prisoner Project, a nonprofit that advocates for ending prison sentences for cannabis offense, along with pro-bono attorneys, had advocated for clemency for DeLisi. Advocates also argued that he had multiple health issues and risked dying if he contracted COVID-19 in prison.

Still, the Florida Department of Corrections said the shortening of his prison sentence was unrelated to advocates' push for his release.

Instead, the department said that it resulted from a periodic review of inmate records and recent review of DeLisi's records that found that he had not been awarded 390 days of provisional release credits, DOC Press Secretary Kayla McLaughlin said in an email to The Ledger.

The review's findings adjusted his release date to May 13, 2021, according to McLaughlin.

DeLisi had forfeited 120 days of gain time for infractions, and he was able to restore that time since he was within 120 days of release, moving his release date to Tuesday, McLaughlin said.

Israel, Morocco agree to normalize relations in Trump administration deal


A man holds Palestinian and Moroccan flags during a protest on September 18 opposing the normalization of relations with Israel and showing Palestinian support, in front of Parliament in Rabat, Morocco. File Photo by Jalal Morchidi/EPA-EFE

Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Israel and Morocco have agreed to normalize relations, the Trump administration announced on Thursday.

With the deal, Morocco is the fourth Arab country to normalize relations with Israel since the summer, after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.

"As part of this deal, Morocco will establish full diplomatic relations and resume official contacts with Israel. They will grant overflights and direct flights to and from Israel for all Israelis," White House adviser Jared Kushner told reporters in a press call Thursday.

"They'll reopen the liaison offices in Rabat and Tel Aviv immediately, with the intention to open the embassies in the near future. They'll be promoting economic cooperation between Israeli and Moroccan companies."

President Donald Trump called it a "historic breakthrough."

"Our great friends Israel and the Kingdom of Morocco have agreed to full diplomatic relations -- a massive breakthrough for peace in the Middle East," he tweeted.

THE REAL STORY

US IMPERIALISM APPROVES OF MOROCCO'S COLONIALIST EXPANSION INTO THE WESTERN SAHARA 

Additionally, Trump signed a proclamation declaring Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara, a disputed territory in northwestern Africa.

The Moroccan government has mostly controlled the area, but a small portion has been managed by the partially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, a self-proclaimed sovereign state established by the Polisario Front in the 1970s.

"The United States believes an independent Sahrawi State is not a realistic option for resolving the conflict and that genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the only solution," the proclamation states. "We urge the parties to engage in discussions without delay, using Morocco's autonomy plan as the only framework to negotiate a mutually acceptable solution.

"To facilitate progress toward this aim, the United States will encourage economic and social development with Morocco, including in the Western Sahara territory, and to that end will open a consulate in the Western Sahara territory, in Dakhla, to promote economic and business opportunities for the region."

Morocco is said to be the first country to recognize the United States after it declared independence 244 years ago.

"Morocco recognized the United States in 1777," Trump added in a tweet. "It is thus fitting we recognize their sovereignty over the Western Sahara."

Morocco and the United States recently renewed a defense cooperation road map through 2030.

upi.com/7060326

SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/12/trump-recognized-moroccos-illegal.html

Western Sahara - Newikis

https://newikis.com/en/Western_Sahara

This article is about the geographical area. For the partially recognized state that controls the Free Zone and claims sovereignty over ... partially controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and partially occupied by neighboring Morocco. Its surface area amounts to 266,000 square kilometres (103,000 sq mi). It is one of the most sparsely populated territor

https://wiki2.org/en/Western_Sahara

This article is about the geographical area. For the partially recognized state that controls the Free ... French: Sahara Occidental) is a disputed territory in the Maghreb region of North Africa, partially controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and partially Moroccan-occupied, bordered by Morocco proper to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east ...

Western Sahara - Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core

https://infogalactic.com/info/Western_Sahara

For the partially recognized state that controls the Free Zone and claims sovereignty over Western Sahara, ... The exiled government of the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is a form of single-party parliamentary and presidential system, but according to its constitution, this will be changed into a multi-party system at the achievement of independence. It is presently ...

Morocco - TheInfoList

www.theinfolist.com/php/SummaryGet.php?FindGo=Morocco

Morocco was the only African state not to be a member of the African Union due to its unilateral withdrawal on 12 November 1984 over the admission of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in 1982 by the African Union (then called Organisation of African Unity) as a full member without the organisation of a referendum of self-determination in the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Morocco ...

Western Sahara | Familypedia | Fandom

https://familypedia.wikia.org/wiki/Western_Sahara

Western Sahara (/ʔ səˈhɑːrə,_ʔˈhærə/; Arabic: الصحراء الغربية aṣ-Ṣaḥrā’ al-Gharbīyah; Berber: Taneẓroft Tutrimt; Spanish and French: Sahara Occidental) is a disputed territory in the Maghreb region of North Africa, partially controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and partially Moroccan

1.4 million American workers apply for unemployment benefits, as relief bill negotiations drag on

Initial claims for unemployment benefits hit 1.4 million last week, according to the Labor Department. That's the highest level since mid-September.

The dynamic points to rising layoffs, according to economists, while Congress continues talks on a Covid relief bill.

Meanwhile, coronavirus cases are surging, job growth is slowing and there are millions more unemployed workers than available jobs.

© Provided by CNBC A person wearing a protective mask walks past a store for lease in San Francisco, Calif., on Dec. 8, 2020.

Greg Iacurci CNBC Dec. 10, 2020.

Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week at the highest level in three months, signaling deepening job loss as a raging coronavirus pandemic continues its assault on the economy and Congress continues work on another relief package.

Nearly 1.4 million workers filed an initial claim for benefits last week, according to Labor Department figures issued Thursday. Workers file an initial claim to establish or re-establish eligibility for aid.

About 950,000 applied for traditional state unemployment insurance. Another 428,000 sought Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a temporary federal program for self-employed, gig and other workers typically unable to collect state assistance.

Worsening outlook

Together, initial claims are at their highest point since mid-September.

"[The] rebound signals things aren't just stagnating, they're worsening," Daniel Zhao, an economist at Glassdoor, a job and recruiting site, said.

© Provided by CNBC

Nine months into the crisis, the volume of initial claims eclipses any pre-pandemic record.

When stripping out data for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which was created in March by the CARES Act relief law, claims for state benefits are still higher than all but the worst week of the Great Recession.
'Resurgent virus'

"Layoffs appear to be rising, consistent with the resurgent virus," Heidi Shierholz, director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, and former Labor Department chief economist, wrote Thursday in an analysis.

The U.S. recorded 3,124 new Covid-19 deaths on Wednesday, the deadliest single-day tally of the pandemic so far, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins University data

© Provided by CNBC

Meanwhile, Congress is trying to hammer out details on another relief package. A deal has remained elusive for months.

Lawmakers are rushing to avoid a benefits cliff that looms at year's end, at which time jobless benefits will expire for millions of workers and federal eviction protections lapse.

Job growth last month slowed to its lowest level since May. There are about 4.2 million more unemployed workers than job openings, according to an analysis of federal data issued Wednesday.

© Provided by CNBC

Unemployment benefits generally replace half of a worker's lost wages. However, some workers get much less of a wage replacement due to weekly caps on aid amounts, which vary widely among states. Six states — Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee — cap their unemployment benefits at a level below the country's $7.25 hourly minimum wage.

Roughly 19 million Americans were collecting unemployment benefits at the end of November.
Multiple layoffs

Evidence suggests most new applications for unemployment benefits are coming from workers who have been laid off multiple times during the Covid pandemic.

Such claims accounted for 80% of all initial claims in California during the last week in October, according to a recent analysis published by the California Policy Lab. The U.S. Labor Department doesn't report such figures for the whole country.

We're the only game in town, we're getting very close: Sen. Joe Manchin on stimulus bill

"It's hard to know if these folks are applying for a second (or even third) time, but it's very likely," Eliza Forsythe, an assistant professor and labor economist at the University of Illinois, said of nationwide claims data.

Workers who re-enter the unemployment system essentially pick up where they left off, meaning they have fewer weeks of assistance available.

Repeat claims make it difficult to determine who may soon exhaust benefits, Forsythe said.

While the high level of unemployment claims is concerning, the extent to which Thanksgiving influenced last week's spike is unclear, she said. Workers who would have otherwise filed during the holiday week may have been pushed to the following week.

"I'd like to see another week of data before feeling comfortable saying that claims are rising," she said.

TWEEDLE DEE & TWEEDLE DUM

Stimulus update: McConnell signals no Republican support for COVID-19 deal from bipartisan group

It comes as President Donald Trump's top negotiator took the opposite view. "I think we're making a lot of progress," Steven Mnuchin said Thursday.

By Andrew Taylor, Associated Press Thursday, December 10, 2020 

Stimulus talks continue as millions of Americans struggle

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is hitting the brakes on the emerging COVID-19 aid package from a bipartisan group of lawmakers, saying Republican senators won't support $160 billion in state and local funds as part of a potential trade-off in the deal.

McConnell's staff conveyed to top negotiators that the GOP leader sees no path to an agreement on a key aspect of the lawmakers' existing proposal - a slimmed-down version of the liability shield for companies and organizations facing potential COVID-19 lawsuits - in exchange for $160 billion in state and local funds that Democrats want.

A senior Democrat confirmed that McConnell's position was conveyed to negotiators and was granted anonymity to discuss the private talks. McConnell's office did not immediately respond for a request for comment.

The hardened stance from McConnell, who does not appear to have the votes from Republicans for a far-reaching compromise, creates a new stalemate over the $900-billion-plus package, despite days of toiling by a bipartisan group of lawmakers toward a deal.

SEE ALSO: New White House offer adds $600 checks to COVID-19 relief

The Trump administration has dived back into Capitol Hill's confusing COVID-19 negotiations, offering a $916 billion package to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that adds a $600 direct payment to most Americans.

It comes as President Donald Trump's top negotiator on COVID-19 financial aid took the opposite view. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reported headway Thursday on the package from the bipartisan senators' group.

"I think we're making a lot of progress," Mnuchin said.

Deadlines, real and perceived, haven't been sufficient to drive Washington's factions to an agreement, despite the U.S. breaking a record-high 3,000 daily COVID fatalities, and hospitals straining at capacity from soaring caseloads nationwide.

A one-week stop-gap measure to prevent a federal shutdown appears to have sapped some urgency from the talks. The short-term government-wide funding bill, approved by the House on Wednesday, needs to clear the Senate before Friday at midnight to avert a partial closure.

The next deadline would be Dec. 18, but both House and Senate leaders say they won't adjourn without passing an aid measure.

But many Republicans have long viewed the state and local aid as a bailout they would have trouble supporting, despite the pleas for funds coming from governors and mayors nationwide.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who is sending lawmakers home while talks continue, said Congress would keep working up to or even after Christmas to get an agreement. The new Congress is being sworn in on Jan. 3.

"Now if we need more time then we take more time, but we have to have a bill and we cannot go home without it," Pelosi said. She also gave an upbeat assessment on the talks.

North Carolina Triangle small businesses are contending with increased COVID-19 cases -- causing concerns that customers may stay away or stricter regulations will be implemented right in the heart of the holiday shopping season.

McConnell has proposed a five-year liability shield from virus lawsuits, retroactive to December 2019, but the bipartisan group was eyeing a scaled-back shield of six months to a year. Labor and civil rights groups oppose any shield, which they say strips essential workers of potential legal recourse as they take risks during the pandemic.

Republicans say the right people to handle final negotiations are the four leaders of Congress and the Trump administration, with the focus on a proposal by McConnell, R-Ky., to eliminate a Democratic demand for $160 billion or so in assistance for state and local governments.

The Trump administration is back in the middle of the negotiations with a $916 billion plan. It would send a $600 direct payment to most Americans but eliminate a $300-per-week employment benefit favored by the bipartisan group of Senate negotiators.

The offer has the endorsement of the top House Republican and apparent backing from McConnell, who had previously favored a $519 billion GOP plan that has already failed twice. But Democrats immediately blasted the plan over the administration's refusal to back the partial restoration, to $300 per week, of bonus pandemic jobless benefits that lapsed in August.

President-elect Joe Biden is pressing for as much pandemic relief as possible, though he's not directly involved in the talks. McConnell, like Pelosi, says Congress will not adjourn without providing the long-overdue COVID-19 relief. The pressure to deliver is intense; all sides say failure isn't an option.

The bipartisan negotiating group - led by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, among others - is seeking to rally lawmakers behind the $908 billion framework that includes the $300-per-week pandemic jobless benefit and $160 billion for states and local governments.

It also includes a four-month extension of jobless benefits set to expire at the end of the month, $300 billion for "paycheck protection" subsidies for struggling businesses, funding for vaccines and testing, and a host of smaller items such as aid to transit systems, the U.S. Postal Service and health care providers.

THIRD WORLD USA 

COVID Relief Talks Are Pitting Essential Workers Against the Unemployed

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | December 9, 2020 | PANJIB.COM

The economic situation in America is dire right now. The virus is out of control; there are scattered shutdowns across the country; schools/childcare is a nightmare right now; we’re adding to the unemployment numbers instead of seeing them slow; and people are worried about their financial situation, their job security; and their ability to pay their mortgages. Debt is rising, and anxiety is back up to where it was around the summer. Only 9 percent of Americans say their mental health improved in the last week, the worst figure since August.

And yet, while every other civilized country in the world is providing financial assistance to its citizens, we’re just not doing that in America currently. Our politicians couldn’t come to an agreement before the election, and then punted until after the election thinking that the political dynamics would shift. While we do have a new incoming President, the politics of a stimulus bill haven’t actually shifted that much, but for the fact that we need it much more than we did two months ago. Enhanced unemployment benefits are going to run out for a lot of people at the beginning of the year; eviction moratoriums may end; small business (and especially restaurants) aren’t going to make it through the winter without help; all that PPP money is gone, and — oh by the way — 2,500 people are dying a day, while more than 200,000 new infections are being added.

The good news, however, is that there is bipartisan consensus in Congress for a relief package that will help. It’s pretty basic: Additional PPP money, more money for schools, money to facilitate vaccine distribution, money to extend eviction moratoriums, and most importantly, perhaps, money to continue enhanced unemployment benefits.

… except maybe not. The White House and Steve Mnuchin have gotten involved, and that’s never a good idea, and they have an alternate proposal, and how’s this: No enhanced unemployment benefits, but $600 stimulus checks to every individual (plus $600 for each child).

It’s easy to see this as an excuse to send another check with Trump’s name to every American on his way out, and maybe that’s exactly what it is to Trump. But I can also tell you that there’s some real friction between unemployed low-income workers and low-income employees who work but who might be better off collecting unemployment benefits, especially those low-income workers who also have to figure out child care. At this point, with enhanced benefits, unemployment pays around $10 an hour, and that’s as good as minimum wage in some places and better than minimum wage for those who also have to pay for childcare. So there are a lot of minimum wage workers who are wondering why unemployed people continue to get enhanced benefits while they get nothing for continuing to put their lives at risk to work as essential workers in grocery stores, Amazon warehouses, in restaurants, or as delivery drivers. Those people are wondering why they don’t get a little extra scratch for sacrificing their lives, while a lot of low-income workers earn the same amount for staying at home, where it’s safe.

And this is why representatives from both sides of the spectrum — Bernie Sanders on the Democratic side, Josh Hawley on the Republican side — won’t approve of the bill without direct payments, although they probably have different ideological reasons: Bernie for socialist reasons (everyone deserves a bigger piece of the pie), and Hawley for Republican reasons (it’s not fair that poor people get more money and middle-class families do not!).

Obviously, the real answer is: Do both: Enhanced unemployment benefits and direct payments. And maybe that’s where we end up because Trump is apparently willing to go up to $2,000 in direct payments (again, with his name on the check, so ego!), but Republicans have unfortunately decided to become fiscal conservative, deficit hawks again, which they only do when Democrats are in power. It’s unclear how any of this will shake out, but time is running out. The House has approved a stopgap measure to avert a government shutdown until December 18th, by which time Congress will basically have to have a relief package in place or we end the year with no COVID relief and a government shutdown.

It would be the most fitting 2020 ending ever.

BAIT & SWITCH

Donald Trump Sees Your $1,200 Stimulus Checks and Raises You…$600 Checks

The administration also wants to provide less than one quarter of the federal unemployment benefits being proposed by Congress.

BY BESS LEVIN DECEMBER 9, 2020

As you’ve probably heard by now, there’s a very scary, very contagious disease ravaging the U.S. called COVID-19, which has not only killed more than 287,000 people but millions of jobs and thousands of businesses as well. Not having a job, you see, is bad for people who can’t just drop $30 million on a Miami island and actually have to think about where they’re going to get money to pay for things like shelter and buy stuff like food. It’s extra bad if they happen to live in a country where the government does comparatively little to help people who’ve fallen on hard times and exceedingly bad if that country is the United States, where the president is a cartoonishly evil moron named Donald Trump, who apparently thinks everyone can just get by on possible tax fraud and other financial schemes.

On Tuesday, that outlook translated to the Trump administration proposing an economic relief package that would not only offer much fewer federal unemployment benefits than what has been proposed by lawmakers, but would reduce those $1,200 checks people got in the spring by half. Per The Washington Post:

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has proposed that lawmakers approve another stimulus check worth $600 per [adult] and $600 per child, the people familiar with the plan said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to share details of private deliberations. The new White House proposal was a nonstarter for Democrats and a sharp rejection of the bipartisan efforts that have brought the two parties closer to a compromise on a legislative package amid signs that the U.S. economy is deteriorating under the increasing strain of the coronavirus.

Under the bipartisan framework released last week by a group of moderate lawmakers, Congress would approve about $180 billion in new federal unemployment benefits for tens of millions of jobless Americans. That would be enough to fund federal supplementary unemployment benefits at $300 per week while extending various unemployment programs that are set to expire at the end of the year. The framework did not include another round of stimulus payments. By contrast, Mnuchin has submitted a plan to provide about $40 billion in new funding for federal unemployment benefits. Mnuchin’s plan would extend expiring benefits but does not include any supplementary federal benefit, meaning millions of jobless workers would receive no additional federal help, one person familiar with the plan said.

While economists have not universally endorsed stimulus checks, with some arguing that millions went out to families whose breadwinners have not lost their jobs or been forced to take pay cuts, others have noted, per the Post, that “the checks helped stabilize a turbulent economy and reached many people struggling economically who were denied unemployment benefits or other forms of social insurance.” An analysis by the Urban Institute in August found that another round of checks would prevent 6.3 million people from falling into poverty.

In response to the plan submitted by Mnuchin, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a joint statement saying, “The president’s proposal starts by cutting the unemployment insurance proposal being discussed by bipartisan Members of the House and Senate from $180 billion to $40 billion. That is unacceptable.”

In other congressional news, on Tuesday, Representative Katie Porter skewered Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for blocking the bipartisan relief package unveiled earlier this month because it doesn’t protect employers for being sued for negligence. “Everyone at the negotiating table—including Senate Rs—has agreed to a compromise. Except one,” Porter tweeted. “Mitch McConnell is refusing to bring it to the floor unless it wipes away all COVID-related lawsuits filed that ‘allege injury or death’ due to corporate negligence. These lawsuits represent the worst of the worst examples of disregard for human life—cases filed on behalf of nursing home patients and grocery store workers who died because the company in charge of keeping them safe prioritized cutting costs over protecting them.“ She added: “The same McConnell who said that President Trump is ‘100% within his rights’ to pursue baseless lawsuits alleging election fraud is now refusing to pass urgently-needed relief unless it strips those same rights from the most vulnerable among us. This must be exposed.”

Trump’s Election Loss Temper Tantrum Is Stoking the Fires of Right-Wing Violence


Elle Meyers Bree Burkitt
Originally Published December 10, 2020 COPPER COURIER, ARIZONA

Supporters of President Donald Trump demonstrate at a ‘Stop the Steal’ rally in front of the Maricopa County Elections Department office on November 7, 2020 in Phoenix, Arizona. The demonstration began at the State Capitol earlier in the day. News outlets project that Joe Biden will be the 46th president of the United States after a victory in Pennsylvania with Kamala Harris to be the first woman and person of color to be elected Vice President.

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

State election officials and local health and school boards are the latest targets of threats and intimidation.

Die hard Trump supporters are becoming increasingly violent as the president continues his crusade to remain in power despite losing the presidential election.

President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud have been repeatedly shot down in courts across the country, but his rhetoric continues to encourage his most fervent supporters to take matters into their own hands.

The Republican Party of Arizona took to Twitter and twice called on its followers to be willing to “die for something” or “give up [your] life for this fight.”
https://twitter.com/AZGOP/status/1336186861891452929

Local officials of both political parties have been subject to an increasing number of threatening calls, emails, and online harassment. Some officials have encountered people outside their homes, protesting their stance on the election and public health measures.

Trump supporters, some armed with guns, gathered outside the home of Michigan’s secretary of state because of her role as Michigan’s Chief Elections Officer. Other officials have had their mail filled with racist letters and death threats. Even the parents of some officials have encountered harassment and hate mail.

And Arizona’s Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said last month that she and her family were threatened as Trump and his supporters questioned election results. A video showing a group of people standing outside her home chanting “We are watching you” was shared by 12 News.

“(The threats) are a symptom of a deeper problem in our state and country — the consistent and systematic undermining of trust in each other and our democratic process,” Hobbs wrote.

Lower profile officials have not been spared being subject to increasingly dangerous behavior. This week, a health board meeting in Idaho ended after about 15 minutes because protesters were gathered outside the health board office and board members’ homes. Board member Diana Lachiondo left the meeting early saying that protesters were outside her home, banging on the front door.

“My 12-year-old son is home by himself right now and there are protesters banging outside the door,” she said. “I’m going to go home and make sure he’s okay.”

Minutes later the other members of the board stopped the meeting entirely.

“I got a call from the mayor, and it sounds like the police, and she is requesting that we stop the meeting at this time because of the intense level of protesters in the parking lot and concern for police safety and staff safety as well as the protesters that are at some of our board members’ homes right now,” Central District Health Board Director Russ Duke said. The board then ended the meeting.

After the General Election, armed protesters gathered outside the Maricopa County elections center for days, defending the debunked claims that votes had been stolen from Trump. At one point, members of the 300-strong crowd attempted to storm the building where volunteer poll workers counted votes inside.

A few days later, protesters rallied outside the state Capitol to contest Biden’s win, accusing the media of conspiring to steal the election and calling the results a coup.”

to contest Joe Biden’s election as U.S. president, charging the media with conspiring to steal the election and calling the results a coup.

More demonstrations are planned for the days before the Electoral College will cast their votes to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory on Dec. 14. The Proud Boys, an all-male right-wing group, and the Women for America First are planning a pro-Trump rally at the Lincoln Memorial this weekend, according to the Washingtonian. Local organizations are already planning counter-protests.

Violence from right-wing organizations isn’t a new phenomenon and it’s been on the rise in recent years.

Data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) found that right-wing extremists and American white supremacists have killed at least 329 people in the last 26 year. There was also an increase in “hate incidents” in the United States in the days and months after Trump was elected in 2016, making it clear that the president’s rhetoric has an impact on that violence.

The increasing number of threats and acts of violence have some officials calling on the president to stop lying.

Gabriel Sterling an election official in Georgia made a fiery speech in Atlanta last week saying the threats “have to stop.”

“Someone’s going to get hurt, someone’s going to get shot, someone’s going to get killed,” Sterling said forcefully. “It’s not right. Mr. President, you have not condemned these actions or this language. Senators, you have not condemned this language or these actions. This has to stop. We need you to step up. And if you take a position of leadership, show some.”




Elle Meyers  is a Congressional Reporter for COURIER where she covers national politics and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Previously Elle was a beat reporter in Montgomery County, Maryland and she is a native of Portland.


Bree Burkitt is the Editor for The Copper Courier. She previously worked as an editor and public safety reporter for The Arizona Republic, in addition to The Spectrum & Daily News in Southern Utah. She's a graduate of Northern Arizona University and an Arizona native

USA
Domestic Violence Homicides Surged This Year and Advocates Fear It Could Happen Again


 Bree Burkitt December 9, 2020 COPPER COURIER, ARIZONA

ShutterStock

Advocates fear a second wave of the coronavirus could have deadly results for those trapped in already-tenuous cohabitation situations.

The COVID-19 pandemic came with many unexpected impacts, including an increase in domestic violence in Arizona and across the country.

At least 92 Arizonans died in domestic violence incidents through the end of October 2020—a 16% increase from the same time period 2019, according to data compiled by the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual & Domestic Violence.

Some cities, such as Phoenix, saw the number of domestic violence-tied homicides jump from 10 in 2019 to 24 in 2020—a 140% increase—during the first six months of the year as Arizonans grappled with the start of the pandemic and the accompanying isolation.

And it only got worse with the number of domestic violence deaths. Reported deaths as a result of domestic violence through Aug. 3 jumped by 180% compared with the same time period in 2019.

Annual national data on domestic violence killings isn’t released until 2021, but initial numbers show a similar increase in major cities across the country.

As more people work or attend school from home and stay-at-home orders went into effect in March, more domestic violence victims have had to stay with their abusers.

And survivors who are able to safely leave are turning to shelters with more severe injuries, according to Jenna Panas, CEO of the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence. Domestic violence hotlines also saw an uptick in calls.

The COVID pandemic left many in already-tenuous cohabitation situations even more isolated, often having nowhere to turn as they’re now trapped 24/7 with their abuser and unable to make a plan for safety.

“It’s the tip of the iceberg,” Panas said. “There’s actually this huge wave of violence happening because of the isolation.”

Panas explained that the COVID pandemic also brought additional stressors that can make an already strained situation more volatile. People losing their jobs or stressing about how to educate their children at home can place additional strain. Plus, many people are now without the activities they once used to cope, such as going to the gym or socializing.

“You add something like that to an already difficult situation and a negative relationship and you’re going to see it get worse,” she said.

She speculated that the number of domestic violence incidents has likely increased during the pandemic, but gone unreported with fewer opportunities to interact with friends in person or come into contact with mandatory reporters, such as counselors or social workers.

With the country facing another wave of new coronavirus cases, advocates fear the spike in domestic violence-related deaths could continue through the last weeks of the year and into 2021—especially if businesses are asked to shut down again. However, Gov. Doug Ducey has spurned the idea of a statewide shutdown and previously stated during a December media briefing that additional restrictions could bring complications, such as increased domestic violence, child abuse, and suicide attempts.

Panas urged people to reach out to those they’re concerned about and to believe anyone who confides in them that they’re experiencing domestic violence. Just because a relationship seems fine from the outside doesn’t mean it’s not happening.

“I think so many times survivors and victims are afraid to come forward and just tell a friend because they’re afraid of the reaction of not being believed,” Panas said.

A friend or family member could be the lifeline someone needs as they attempt to leave the home or relationship, Panas said. Both survivors and allies can call the coalition’s hotline at 602-279-2980 to speak to an advocate. Local police agencies also offer anonymous reporting.



Bree Burkitt is the Editor for The Copper Courier. She previously worked as an editor and public safety reporter for The Arizona Republic, in addition to The Spectrum & Daily News in Southern Utah. She's a graduate of Northern Arizona University and an Arizona native.