USNN2020 - USNN World News - Page 526 of 557

Healthcare

Americans Are Suffering ‘Delusional Psychosis’ About CCP Virus, Psychiatrist Claims

by USNN2020December 3, 2020February 26, 2025

Healthcare

Expired Face Masks Can Still Be Used: FDA

by USNN2020December 3, 2020January 12, 2021

World

Chinese State Media Misrepresents Facts to Claim COVID-19 Did Not Originate from China

by USNN2020December 3, 2020July 11, 2024

Healthcare

CDC: COVID-19 Quarantines Can Be as Short as Seven Days

by USNN2020December 3, 2020January 12, 2021

Congress

Trump Supports McConnell’s COVID-19 Relief Package: Mnuchin

by USNN2020December 3, 2020January 12, 2021

National News

Trump Calls for ‘Full Forensic Audit’ of Mail-In Ballots

by USNN2020December 2, 2020January 12, 2021

Commentary Attorney General William Barr signaled on Tuesday that he has washed his hands of the president. He told the media that the Department of Justice has found no evidence of fraud that would change the election results in favor of Donald Trump. U.S. officials I spoke with do not understand Barr’s motivation for speaking to a press corps typically hostile to him as well as Trump. “There’s no evidence that the DOJ spoke with any of the numerous witnesses with first-hand knowledge of election fraud,” said one senior official. “And many people reached out directly to the FBI and got no response back.” The effect of Barr’s statement is to derail the Trump campaign’s efforts to reverse the vote in battleground states contested by the president’s legal team. It is difficult to imagine state legislatures or courts taking up the campaign’s cause when the headlines show that Trump’s own attorney general says nothing is wrong. By distancing himself from the president’s political fortunes, Barr gave his bona fides as an honest broker in order to resolve the issue that most matters to him—salvaging the reputation of the institution he’s led twice, the Justice Department. He revealed Tuesday that he’d appointed John Durham special counsel to continue his nearly two-year-long probe into the origins of Crossfire Hurricane, the FBI’s discredited investigation of the 2016 Trump campaign. According to Barr, the scope of the investigation he asked the U.S. attorney from Connecticut to lead in May 2019 has “narrowed considerably.” At first, it seemed sprawling. The two men reportedly traveled to Italy and contacted officials in the United Kingdom and Australia to gather information on foreign nationals allegedly involved in Crossfire Hurricane. In August, Durham interviewed former CIA director John Brennan for eight hours. In September, the prosecutor reportedly sought information on the FBI’s investigation of the Clinton Foundation. Republican officials reasoned that it was precisely because the investigation was so large and thorough that it was taking Durham so much time to deliver indictments. Reports claimed that he kept finding new evidence, was following more leads. On Tuesday, Barr said Durham’s work now “really is focused on the activities of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation within the FBI.” Perhaps Barr believes that limiting the investigation’s scope will convince a Biden White House that it does not threaten his administration. After all, a thorough investigation would have to look at Biden’s pick for National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan. What did the former Hillary Clinton campaign advisor know about the FBI’s role in the anti-Trump operation when he was briefing the press on “collusion” and tweeting out stories sourced to Clinton contractor and FBI source Christopher Steele? What did John Kerry, Biden’s choice for climate envoy, do with Steele’s Trump-Russia reports when they were passed to him as secretary of state? And why did then-Vice President Biden direct the FBI to look at Trump’s national security advisor Michael Flynn for violating the Logan Act? There’s nothing to stop Biden from dismissing Durham. Trump reportedly considered firing Robert Mueller at least twice. But the president’s legal team defended the probity of the coup targeting their client. “I would never have anything to do with any attempts to attack Bob Mueller’s integrity,” said the former spokesman for the White House’s legal team, Mark Corallo. In other words, the aides hired to defend Trump were less concerned with the stability of the U.S. government than the prospect that their reputations would be trashed in the press. A Biden administration will be lauded by the media for disarming a weapon dangerous to “democracy” if—when—Durham is fired, and any charges made are withdrawn. But the only Americans likely to be shocked by a cover-up of that magnitude are Trump voters. And they are no longer capable of being shocked by the corruption of the Democratic Party and its media partners after watching, for example, the press bury news of the Biden family’s financial ties to a Chinese regime responsible for a pandemic that left hundreds of thousands of Americans dead and tens of millions unemployed. It’s not clear why Durham can make a case now that he wasn’t able to make in a year and a half. He was rumored to be concerned that bringing charges or releasing a report too close to the election would look like a political hit job, and the investigation, conducted by a career prosecutor proud of his reputation as a “straight-shooter,” had to be above reproach. Only self-regard blinded him to the irony—his discretion left the rule of law liable to the outcome of a political contest. The subject of his investigation—corruption at the highest levels of government—was all the evidence he needed that its integrity would depend entirely on a Trump victory. Failing to bring charges, or even filing a report, for interfering in the 2016 election, was an invitation to interfere in the 2020 race. If no one was held accountable for what they did four years ago, there was little risk this time out. And now Barr speaks out to downplay the Trump campaign’s claims of election fraud when it is precisely because of the actions and decisions taken by the institution he cherishes that half of America has lost its faith in the justice system as well as the electoral process. On such things much smaller than war hang the fate of nations. Lee Smith is the author of the recently published book, “The Permanent Coup: How Enemies Foreign and Domestic Targeted the American President.”

Opinion

Barr Fails to Salvage DOJ’s Reputation With Statements on Election Fraud

by USNN2020December 2, 2020January 12, 2021

National News

Trump: US Election System ‘Under Coordinated Assault and Siege’

by USNN2020December 2, 2020June 29, 2024

Congress

Rep. Mo Brooks Plans to Challenge Electoral College Votes in Congress

by USNN2020December 2, 2020June 20, 2024

National News

Trump Team to File Lawsuit: 40,000 People Voted Twice in Nevada

by USNN2020December 2, 2020February 26, 2025

National News

Michigan, Arizona Public Hearings Shed Light on Election Irregularities

by USNN2020December 2, 2020June 20, 2024

National News

2020 Election Boosts GOP State Legislator Advantage by 67 Percent

by USNN2020December 2, 2020February 26, 2025

NATIONAL NEWS

Trump Attorney Says Former President ‘Ready to Fight,’ Arraignment Expected Early Next Week

By Gary Bai Former President Donald Trump is set to be arraigned sometime “early next week” after a Manhattan grand jury voted for his indictment, ...

In Twist Over Trump Indictment, Republican 2024 Hopefuls Defend Former President

By Ivan Pentchoukov The unprecedented indictment of former President Donald Trump triggered a predictable flood of polarized political reactions on Thursday evening, with Republicans condemning ...

Trump Responds to Grand Jury Indictment, Says ‘Witch-Hunt Will Backfire’

By Gary Bai Former president Donald Trump issued a statement responding to the news that a Manhattan grand jury indicted him on Thursday, calling it ...

Grand Jury Votes to Indict Former President Donald Trump

By Gary Bai A grand jury in New York City has voted to indict former President Donald Trump. Joseph Tacopina, an attorney for Trump, confirmed the ...

‘QAnon Shaman’ Jacob Chansley Released Early From Prison After Newly Disclosed Jan. 6 Footage

By Zachary Stieber The man known as the QAnon Shaman, who pleaded guilty to breaching the U.S. Capitol, has been released from prison early after ...

Trump-Era Oil Trends Could Have Produced 850 Million More Barrels Under Biden: Expert

By Nathan Worcester The United States is producing millions fewer barrels of oil per day—and hundreds of millions fewer in total—than it could have if ...

White House Quiet on IRS Agent’s Visit to Home of ‘Twitter Files’ Journalist Matt Taibbi

By Tom Ozimek The White House on Wednesday remained silent when asked whether a visit by an IRS agent to “Twitter Files” journalist Matt Taibbi’s ...

Evacuation Ordered as Train Carrying Flammable Materials Derails in Minnesota, Catches Fire

By Tom Ozimek A freight train traveling through Minnesota derailed in a fiery crash near the town of Raymond, prompting an evacuation of area residents. The ...

FBI, US Marshals Offering US$20,000 Reward in Manhunt for Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s Chief of Staff

By Ryan Morgan The FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service are offering a combined US$20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Roy McGrath, ...

DOJ Memos Dissuaded Marshals From Arresting Protestors at SCOTUS Justices’ Homes: Sen. Katie Britt

By Joseph Lord A Senate Republican revealed during a March 28 budget hearing that an internal Department of Justice (DOJ) memo dissuaded U.S. Marshals from ...

Trump Praises Manhattan Grand Jury, Says He’s ‘Gained Such Respect’

By Jack Phillips Former President Donald Trump praised the grand jury impaneled in the Manhattan district attorney’s inquiry targeting him amid reports that he may ...

Arkansas Sues Meta, TikTok for Designing ‘Addictive’ Platforms, Exposing Personal Data

By Katabella Roberts Social media giants Meta and TikTok are being sued by the state of Arkansas for allegedly intentionally designing their platforms to be ...