Skip to main content

'Abuse of Power': Trump and Barr to Deploy More Federal Agents to US Cities


President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr announced Wednesday afternoon that the federal government is deploying U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents to Chicago and Albuquerque, New Mexico, claiming the move is a response to criminal unrest. "The FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals service, and Homeland Security will together be sending hundreds of skilled law enforcement officers to Chicago to help drive down violent crime," the president said during prepared remarks at the White House. TRUMP: "The FBI, ATF, DEA, US Marshals service, and Homeland Security will together be sending hundreds of skilled law enforcement officers to Chicago to help drive down violent crime." pic.twitter.com/0xijEEi5aG — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 22, 2020 Trump and Barr both tied rises in violent crime in U.S. cities to recent protests for Black lives and against police brutality that erupted after the police killing of George Floyd in May. Neither man provided any evidence to back up those claims. AG Barr, like Trump before him, links the recent rise in violent crime in some cities to recent protests against police + calls for defunding, calling the increasing violence "a direct result" of it. He offers no evidence, nor does he say why some crimes are up and others down — Mark Berman (@markberman) July 22, 2020 The deployment announcement was largely panned by critics, who called the effort another sign of Trump's authoritarian approach to the presidency. "In case you were wondering, this is precisely what fascism looks like," tweeted Los Angeles Times columnist David Lazarus. New: Trump announces that Justice Department will surge "hundreds" of officers from FBI, ATF, DEA, US Marshals and DHS to Chicago to deal with "violent crime" as part of Justice Department's new Operation Legend (named after 4-year-old boy shot in Kansas City) — Evan Hill (@evanchill) July 22, 2020 During Wednesday's press conference on the expansion of the "Operation Legend" program, which began in Kansas City, Barr and acting secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf sought to distinguish the program from the ongoing clashes between DHS agents and protesters in Portland, Oregon. But those assurances will have to do a lot to overcome the skepticism of local officials, especially as the number of agents expected to be deployed under the program is still unclear. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot warned on Tuesday that a Portland-style federal deployment would only make unrest in the city worse. "What I understand at this point—and I caveat that—is that the Trump administration is not going to foolishly deploy unnamed agents to the streets of Chicago," said Lightfoot. According to the Associated Press: DHS officers have already been dispatched to Portland, Oregon, and other localities to protect federal property and monuments as Trump has lambasted efforts by protesters to knock down Confederate statutes. Trump has linked the growing violence in the streets with protests over racial injustice, though criminal justice experts say the spike defies easy explanation, pointing to the unprecedented moment the country is living through—with a pandemic that has killed more than 140,000 Americans, historic unemployment, stay-at-home orders, a mass reckoning over race and police brutality, intense stress and even the weather. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on Wednesday led 116 of his colleagues in a letter (pdf) demanding Barr and Wolf answer their questions on the ongoing Portland deployment and any planned expansion of federal law enforcement programs in U.S. cities. "This is not legitimate law enforcement under our Constitution but a shocking slide into authoritarianism and police state tactics," the letter reads, adding that "these new tactics are an outrageous assault on the liberties of the people and the police powers and political sovereignty of the states." Trump and Barr's announcement follows over a week of speculation that federal agents would enter U.S. cities despite local resistance. Former DHS spokesperson David Lapan told Politico Tuesday that he fears the ramifications of the president's new move to use federal agents for domestic law enforcement. "It's overly militaristic, it's being seen in partisan political terms, and it's usurping the authorities of the local law enforcement and elected officials," said Lapan. Advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) tweeted that the DOJ's use of federal agents for Trump's political goals was a clear reason to impeach the attorney general. "Turning federal forces against racial justice protestors is what abuse of power looks like," CREW said. "Congress should waste no time in impeaching AG Barr before he goes further in carrying out President Trump's racist agenda."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wray: FBI deemed Jan. 6 attack domestic terrorism

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday that officials have classified the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by former President Trump Donald TrumpProsecutors focus Trump Organization probe on company's financial officer: report WHO official says it's 'premature' to think pandemic will be over by end of year Romney released from hospital after fall over the weekend MORE's supporters as domestic terrorism. "That attack, that siege, was criminal behavior, plain and simple, and it’s behavior that we, the FBI, view as domestic terrorism," Wray told lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Wray said the FBI has received more than 270,000 tips from Americans that have helped the bureau identify the numerous people who allegedly participated in the attack. ADVERTISEMENT "Citizens from around the country have sent us more than 270,000 digital media tips. Some have even taken the painful step of turning in their friends or their family members,” ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Matt Gaetz's ex-girlfriend to cooperate with federal authorities in sex trafficking investigation

Washington (CNN) Federal authorities investigating alleged sex trafficking by GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz have secured the cooperation of the congressman's ex-girlfriend, according to people familiar with the matter. The woman, a former Capitol Hill staffer, is seen as a critical witness, as she has been linked to Gaetz as far back as the summer of 2017, a period of time that has emerged as a key window of scrutiny for investigators. She can also help investigators understand the relevance of hundreds of transactions they have obtained records of, including those involving alleged payments for sex, the sources said. News of the woman's willingness to talk, which has not been previously reported, comes just days after the Justice Department formally entered into a plea agreement with Joel Greenberg, a one-time close friend of Gaetz whose entanglement with young women first drew the congressman onto investigators' radar. CNN reported last week that investigators were pressing for the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Biden Wants to Hire 87,000 Additional IRS Agents to Go After Wealthy Tax Dodgers

The Biden administration is proposing hiring 87,000 new workers for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), effectively doubling the agency’s size, as part of a plan to beef up enforcement efforts and find billions of dollars in tax revenues that go uncollected each year. Enforcement efforts would primarily target individuals and corporations with higher incomes and profits, the administration has suggested. The hiring, which would be part of President Joe Biden’s overall $80 billion spending plan to increase enforcement efforts at the IRS, would not happen all at once. Instead, it would be carried out in phases, with a 15 percent growth in employment at the agency per year until that 87,000 hiring benchmark is reached. The move would help recoup (and go beyond) some of the employment losses the agency has seen over the past decade, as the IRS has lost more than 33,000 workers over the past decade. The drop in employment at the agency has resulted in fewer audits, particularly for filers w...
Post a Comment
Read more