Trump: “He totally denies it”


Developments on Day 306 of the Trump Administration:

Trump Makes 1st Public Statement Over Claim v. Alabama Senate Hopeful

Donald Trump breaks with leading Republicans to support Roy Moore, the GOP’s Senate candidate in Alabama who has been accused of sexual misconduct and assault with teenagers.

In his first remarks since the claims, Trump said, “He totally denies it. He says it didn’t happen. You have to listen to him, also.”

Five women have spoken of Moore’s behavior of Moore’s inappropriate elationships with them while he was a district attorney in his 30s. One of them was 14 at the time. Another said Moore tried to force her to perform oral sex.

Trump had been reticent about the case, possibly because of his own history: at least 13 women have accused him of sexual aggression, and he has been recorded bragging about his ability to accost and grope women whenever he wishes.

There has also been a sharp division threatening the Republican Party over Moore’s candidacy. Leading Republican legislators, including Senator Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, have called for Moore to withdraw from the December 12 special election against the Democrat Doug Jones. But hard-right activists, including the attack site Breitbart, have given full backing to Moore and promised retribution against the GOP “establishment”.

On Tuesday, Trump insisted that Doug Jones — a former prosecutor who obtained the convictions of defendants in some of Alabama’s high-profile civil rights cases — was a far worse choice than Moore: “We don’t need a liberal person in there, a Democrat, Jones. I’ve looked at his record. It’s terrible on crime. It’s terrible on the border. It’s terrible on the military.”

Trump also tried to excuse Moore by maintaining, “I do have to say, 40 years is a long time.He’s run eight races, and this has never come up. So 40 years is a long time.”

The statement came a day after the White House indicated, through counselor Kellyanne Conway, that Moore’s election was essential to protect a 52-48 Republican majority in the Senate as Trump seeks his first major legislative achievement, a $1.5 trillion tax cut proposal.

Conway said:

Doug Jones in Alabama, folks, don’t be fooled. He will be a vote against tax cuts. He is weak on crime. Weak on borders. He is strong on raising your taxes. He is terrible for property owners….

I’m telling you that we want the votes in the Senate to get this tax bill through.

Comey’s Commentary on Immorality

James Comey, the FBI Director fired by Trump in May in an effort to limit the Trump-Russia investigation, is offering a running commentary on the Administration via quotes on Twitter:

On Sunday, Comey quoted the businessman Arnold Glasow, “A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.” And last Friday, he turned to President and General Dwight Eisenhower:

The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.”


Trump Administration Set to Deport Haitian Immigrants

The Trump Administration says it will end special status given to about 59,000 Haitian immigrants, protecting them from deportation after a 2010 earthquake.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke is giving Haitians 18 months to return to the Caribbean island or legalize their status in the US.

The Obama Administration granted Temporary Protected Status for 18 months after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake near Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince killed more than 300,000 in January 2010. It extended the status several times.

A “senior official” told reporters, “It was assessed overall that the extraordinary but temporary conditions that served as the basis of Haiti’s most recent designation has sufficiently improved such that they no longer prevent nationals of Haiti from returning safely.”

In May, then-Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly extended the status for Haitians for six months through January 2018 but said this “is not meant to be an open-ended law but a temporary law”.