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Breonna Taylor's family to speak after second night of protests for justice – US politics live Breonna Taylor's family to speak after second night of protests for justice – live
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Taylor’s family to give first press conference since grand jury verdictTaylor’s family to give first press conference since grand jury verdict
It feels like the news is quite court heavy today, what with the Justice department seeking immediate action to ban WeChat [see 8:11], a federal judge insisting that the US census must carry on through October [see 7:32] and Trump’s attempt to stop his tax returns being handed over to a New York prosecutor [see 6:52]. But there’s more.
Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old accused of killing two protesters days after Jacob Blake was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, faces a hearing on whether he should be sent to Wisconsin to stand trial on homicide charges that could put him in prison for life.
Rittenhouse was arrested at his home in Antioch, Illinois, a day after prosecutors say he shot and killed two protesters and injured a third on the streets of Kenosha on 25 August.
His attorneys have said Rittenhouse acted in self-defense and have portrayed him as a courageous patriot who was exercising his right to bear arms during unrest. He has become a bit of a cause célèbre among right-wing and gun rights circles.
Rittenhouse is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the killing of two protesters and attempted intentional homicide in the wounding of a third. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of underage firearm possession for wielding a semi-automatic rifle.
A judge in Lake County, Illinois, is expected to rule on whether to send Rittenhouse to Kenosha to face the charges. A judge postponed a decision on his transfer last month after Rittenhouse’s public defender at the time asked for a delay in the extradition hearing so he had time to hire a private attorney.
Rittenhouse, who has been in custody in Illinois since his arrest, appears to have few options to fight the extradition.His lawyers could argue that he’s mentally unfit and isn’t cooperating with them, which could delay the process, former Illinois judge and prosecutor David Erickson told the Associated Press.
“A prosecutor has to show that a crime was committed in the state of Wisconsin and, more likely than not, this is the guy,” he said.
Cheryl T. Bormann, a Chicago-area defense lawyer who’s not involved in the case, said fighting extradition is a “losing proposition” and that Rittenhouse’s guilt or innocence has no role in whether Illinois will honor Wisconsin’s request.
“The only real defense to extradition would be that Kyle Rittenhouse is not Kyle Rittenhouse. In other words, his lawyer would have to show that they got the wrong guy,” Bormann said.
Reuters report that President Vladimir Putin has called for an agreement between Russia and the United States to guarantee not to engage in cyber-meddling in each other’s elections.
In a statement ahead of the US election, Putin called for a reset between Russia and the US and said he wanted an agreement between the two countries to prevent incidents in cyberspace.
“(I propose)... exchanging guarantees of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, including electoral processes, including using information and communication technologies and high-tech methods,” he said.US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election with the aim of tilting it in Donald Trump’s favour, including by hacking into the campaign of his rival Hillary Clinton. Moscow denies that charge.“One of the main strategic challenges of our time is the risk of a large-scale confrontation in the digital sphere,” Putin said in the Kremlin statement.
“We would like to once again appeal to the United States with a proposal to approve a comprehensive program of practical measures to reset our relations in the use of information and communication technologies.”
He proposed the two countries reach an agreement to prevent major cyberspace incidents, something he compared to a 1972 US-Soviet treaty reached at the height of the Cold War to prevent incidents at sea and in the air from escalating.
He also called for the two countries to fully restore communication lines between their respective agencies to discuss key international information on security issues.
Russia has denied it is attempting to interfere in the 2020 US campaign, despite evidence to the contrary. Microsoft said two weeks ago that hackers linked to Russia, China and Iran were trying to spy on people tied to both Trump and Biden. Russia and China dismissed the allegations.
Earlier this month, Microsoft also alerted one of Biden’s main election campaign advisory firms that it had been targeted by suspected Russian state-backed hackers. The Kremlin called the report “nonsense”.
If you fancy something to listen to, this week our Politics Weekly Extra podcast features Jonathan Freedland and Daniel Strauss talking about how important this year’s Senate race could end up being.
I should imagine we’ll have new polling news every day between now and the election, and this morning is no exception.
Chris Kahn at Reuters this morning says the latest data shows the presidential race is much closer than national surveys suggest - which currently give Biden an eight-ish point lead. But the latest Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls in battleground states show Joe Biden with only a slim lead over Donald Trump in three highly competitive states and in a dead heat in three others.
They have Biden and Trump tied among likely voters in Florida and North Carolina. Biden leading by 1 percentage point in Arizona, 3 points in Pennsylvania and 5 points in Wisconsin and Michigan. All six are critical to determining who wins.
This is the key point though – in each of the states, the difference between the two candidates was near or within the poll’s sampling error, meaning that neither candidate has a clear advantage.
Kahn says the state and national surveys show the 2020 election may wind up with the same mixed result as 2016, with the Democrats receiving a majority of the votes but the Republicans winning the Electoral College and the White House. While Biden has an early advantage in winning the national popular vote, Trump has nearly the same chances of winning the battleground states, and with them enough electoral votes for a second term.
If you want to get a broader overview of what is happening with polling in those key states, please allow me to recommend our US election poll tracker.
Jennifer Steinhauer and Helene Cooper report for the New York Times this morning that there is anxiety at the Pentagon that Donald Trump will attempt to drag the military into any post-election chaos. They write:Jennifer Steinhauer and Helene Cooper report for the New York Times this morning that there is anxiety at the Pentagon that Donald Trump will attempt to drag the military into any post-election chaos. They write:
In a paragraph they probably didn’t ever expect to have to write, Steinhauer and Cooper note that there has been some discussion of which branch of the nation’s security forces would be used to haul a recalcitrant president from the White House.In a paragraph they probably didn’t ever expect to have to write, Steinhauer and Cooper note that there has been some discussion of which branch of the nation’s security forces would be used to haul a recalcitrant president from the White House.
The bigger headache, it seems, is how the military would react if Trump were to attempt to use the two-century-old Insurrection Act, which enables a president “to send in active-duty military troops to quell disturbances over the objections of governors.”The bigger headache, it seems, is how the military would react if Trump were to attempt to use the two-century-old Insurrection Act, which enables a president “to send in active-duty military troops to quell disturbances over the objections of governors.”
Read it here: New York Times – At Pentagon, fears grow that Trump will pull military into election unrestRead it here: New York Times – At Pentagon, fears grow that Trump will pull military into election unrest
Associated Press are reporting that the Justice department has put in a court filing this morning seeking an immediate ban on downloads of WeChat in Apple and Google app stores.Associated Press are reporting that the Justice department has put in a court filing this morning seeking an immediate ban on downloads of WeChat in Apple and Google app stores.
Last week the US Commerce Department moved to ban WeChat from app stores but on Saturday, Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in California agreed to delay the restrictions, saying they would affect users’ First Amendment rights.Last week the US Commerce Department moved to ban WeChat from app stores but on Saturday, Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in California agreed to delay the restrictions, saying they would affect users’ First Amendment rights.
The Justice Department has now asked Beeler to allow for an immediate ban while the case works its way through court.The Justice Department has now asked Beeler to allow for an immediate ban while the case works its way through court.
WeChat is a messaging-focused app popular with many Chinese-speaking Americans that serves as a lifeline to friends, family, customers and business contacts in China. It’s owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent.WeChat is a messaging-focused app popular with many Chinese-speaking Americans that serves as a lifeline to friends, family, customers and business contacts in China. It’s owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent.
The Justice Department says WeChat allows the Chinese government to collect and use personal data on Americans to advance its own interests. It argues that the US will suffer irreparable harm, both substantive and procedural, if the court does not stay its decision.The Justice Department says WeChat allows the Chinese government to collect and use personal data on Americans to advance its own interests. It argues that the US will suffer irreparable harm, both substantive and procedural, if the court does not stay its decision.
Here’s a bit more on that incident in Los Angeles last night where two people were injured by vehicles during protests for justice for Breonna Taylor. ABC News report:Here’s a bit more on that incident in Los Angeles last night where two people were injured by vehicles during protests for justice for Breonna Taylor. ABC News report:
Shortly after this happened, a second vehicle hit a car participating in the same protest as it tried to leave the area.Shortly after this happened, a second vehicle hit a car participating in the same protest as it tried to leave the area.
Police said that a white Prius had attempted to drive around the same protest, but a truck involved in the protests pinned it in, forcing it to stop. The driver of the Prius put the car in reverse to leave the area but then hit a green Mustang that was participating in the protest. Protesters then surrounded the vehicle.Police said that a white Prius had attempted to drive around the same protest, but a truck involved in the protests pinned it in, forcing it to stop. The driver of the Prius put the car in reverse to leave the area but then hit a green Mustang that was participating in the protest. Protesters then surrounded the vehicle.
Police state that all drivers and victims in both altercations have been identified and their investigation is ongoing.Police state that all drivers and victims in both altercations have been identified and their investigation is ongoing.
You can see the incident take place in this clip, which also gives an idea of the scale of the crowd the vehicle was attempting to drive through. A warning though, the clip does show the injury taking place.You can see the incident take place in this clip, which also gives an idea of the scale of the crowd the vehicle was attempting to drive through. A warning though, the clip does show the injury taking place.
Donald Trump has gone one of his wild early morning tweeting and retweeting sprees. Among his targets this morning are Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker who Trump has trashed as a Republican-in-name-only over mail in ballots in the state.Donald Trump has gone one of his wild early morning tweeting and retweeting sprees. Among his targets this morning are Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker who Trump has trashed as a Republican-in-name-only over mail in ballots in the state.
The president of the United States is also unhappy about the polling figures being produced by Fox News.The president of the United States is also unhappy about the polling figures being produced by Fox News.
But perhaps the most significant thing, and certainly very much targeted at firing up his base, the president seems to be trawling through the last week’s worth of tweets from the National Rifle Association of America and amplifying their attacks on Joe Biden. So far Trump has scrolled back as far as 17 September on their timeline.But perhaps the most significant thing, and certainly very much targeted at firing up his base, the president seems to be trawling through the last week’s worth of tweets from the National Rifle Association of America and amplifying their attacks on Joe Biden. So far Trump has scrolled back as far as 17 September on their timeline.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and wife Jill visit Washington today to pay respects to supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the US Capitol this morning.Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and wife Jill visit Washington today to pay respects to supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the US Capitol this morning.
The Bidens will be hoping for a better reception than Donald Trump received yesterday, when he was booed and jeered.The Bidens will be hoping for a better reception than Donald Trump received yesterday, when he was booed and jeered.
The Washington Post has this to say today on the process going on behind Donald Trump’s upcoming supreme court pick, claiming that the process of inviting senators to meet with the nominee has already started. Seung Min Kim reports:The Washington Post has this to say today on the process going on behind Donald Trump’s upcoming supreme court pick, claiming that the process of inviting senators to meet with the nominee has already started. Seung Min Kim reports:
Read more here: Washington Post – White House starts outreach to key senators on Supreme Court pickRead more here: Washington Post – White House starts outreach to key senators on Supreme Court pick
US District Judge Lucy Koh has been hearing a case in California over the plans to cut short the US census, and she delivered her ruling late last night. She has ordered the once-a-decade head count of every US resident to continue for another month through to the end of October, saying a shortened schedule likely would produce inaccurate results.US District Judge Lucy Koh has been hearing a case in California over the plans to cut short the US census, and she delivered her ruling late last night. She has ordered the once-a-decade head count of every US resident to continue for another month through to the end of October, saying a shortened schedule likely would produce inaccurate results.
Civil rights groups and local governments had sued the Census Bureau, which was proposing to end the count at the end of September. Attorneys for the civil rights groups and local governments said the shortened schedule would undercount residents in minority and hard-to-count communities. Koh had also expressed concerns earlier in the hearings that a September deadline would make it harder to count people who had been displaced by California’s record-breaking wildfires.Civil rights groups and local governments had sued the Census Bureau, which was proposing to end the count at the end of September. Attorneys for the civil rights groups and local governments said the shortened schedule would undercount residents in minority and hard-to-count communities. Koh had also expressed concerns earlier in the hearings that a September deadline would make it harder to count people who had been displaced by California’s record-breaking wildfires.
Koh said inaccuracies produced from a shortened schedule would affect the distribution of federal funding and political representation, report the Associated Press. The census is used to determine how $1.5 trillion in federal spending is distributed each year and how many congressional seats each state gets.Koh said inaccuracies produced from a shortened schedule would affect the distribution of federal funding and political representation, report the Associated Press. The census is used to determine how $1.5 trillion in federal spending is distributed each year and how many congressional seats each state gets.
Government attorneys had argued that the census must finish by the end of September to meet a 31 December deadline for turning over numbers used for deciding how many congressional seats each state gets. Koh’s preliminary injunction suspends that end-of-the-year deadline, too.Government attorneys had argued that the census must finish by the end of September to meet a 31 December deadline for turning over numbers used for deciding how many congressional seats each state gets. Koh’s preliminary injunction suspends that end-of-the-year deadline, too.
The San Jose, California-based judge had previously issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Census Bureau from winding down field operations until she made a ruling in the lawsuit. Attorneys for the Census Bureau and the Department of Commerce, which oversees the agency, had said during the hearing they would likely appeal.The San Jose, California-based judge had previously issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Census Bureau from winding down field operations until she made a ruling in the lawsuit. Attorneys for the Census Bureau and the Department of Commerce, which oversees the agency, had said during the hearing they would likely appeal.
One of the pictures I posted earlier showed riot police surrounding a church in Louisville in what had developed into a stand-off. The Louisville Courier Journal has this on what happened there last night:
The paper also reports that Breonna Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, made a brief appearance at the protests last night to visit a memorial to her daughter.
The Taylor family are expected to give a press conference at 10:30am ET today.
Daniel Strauss in Washington has been looking at how the death of supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has upended Senate races just weeks before the election.
Read it here: US supreme court vacancy upends Senate races with just weeks to go
There’s a hearing today into whether Donald Trump needs to finally release his tax returns to a New York prosecutor.
The president’s lawyers argued in court papers filed yesterday that the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr is resorting to “speculation and innuendo” to justify his demands
The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments after a district court judge last month rejected Trump’s renewed efforts to invalidate a subpoena issued to the president’s accounting firm.
Trump’s lawyers maintain that the subpoena was issued in bad faith and is overly broad. They argued that aside from acknowledging an inquiry into money paid to two women who alleged affairs with Trump, Vance’s office hasn’t specified why it needs eight years of the president’s corporate and personal tax returns.
Vance’s office argued in court papers earlier in the week that there’s “a mountainous record” of public allegations of misconduct to support its efforts to obtain Trump’s tax returns, such as news reports alleging Trump or his companies inflated or minimized the value of assets for business and tax purposes.
“But this is all misdirection,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. “(Vance) nowhere claims that his office is actually investigating any of the discredited, state, and recycled allegations of wrongdoing that are recounted in the press reports he has compiled.”
Trump has called Vance’s investigation “a fishing expedition” and “a continuation of the witch hunt the greatest witch hunt in history.”
In addition to arguing the subpoena was issued in bad faith and overly broad, the president’s lawyers also contend that the investigation might have been politically motivated and amounted to harassment.
Vance’s office declined to comment to the Associated Press on the latest Trump filing. A temporary restraining order remains in effect, preventing any tax records from being turned over at least until the latest appeal is decided. Trump has said he expects the case to return to the Supreme Court, making it unlikely the dispute will be resolved before the November election.
Even if Vance does get Trump’s tax records, those would be part of a confidential grand jury investigation and not automatically be made public.
Here are some of the pictures that have been coming through showing lasts nights protests across the US.
Donald Trump may have made ‘law-and-order’ a centerpiece of his campaign, but as Ankita Rao reports for us, what he says about crime in US cities is often at odds with the reality.
Read it here: Trump makes ‘law-and-order’ pitch but rhetoric on crime at variance with reality
Elsewhere in the US, one person was hurt when a vehicle ran into a small crowd of people protesting police brutality in Los Angeles, authorities said.
The driver of a blue pickup truck got into an argument with demonstrators and struck the protester who was standing in the street as the driver tried to get away, police said in a statement. The protester was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
Portland police again declared an unlawful assembly and tweeted that those who failed to leave could be subject to “arrest, citation, or the use of crowd control agents.”
A fire was set to the outside of a police union building late Thursday. Several photos and videos posted online showed flames erupting outside the doors of the Portland Police Association office. The fire was quickly extinguished.
Louisville Metro Police have confirmed to the Associated Press that at least 24 people were arrested in Louisville during the second night of protests over a grand jury’s decision not to indict police officers on criminal charges directly related to the death of Breonna Taylor.
Among them, the Louisville Courier Journal reports, were high-profile Louisville Democratic state lawmaker Rep. Attica Scott and well-known Black activist Shameka Parrish-Wright. The paper says that Scott’s daughter, Ashanti Scott, was arrested alongside them. Olivia Krauth writes:
Fellow state Rep. Josie Raymond tweeted Thursday night calling for Scott and Parrish-Wright to be released, saying “If you arrest the loudest voices fighting racial injustice in Louisville, we have to believe you want to silence the fight against racial injustice.”
Read more here: Louisville Courier Journal – Louisville state Rep. Attica Scott arrested at Breonna Taylor protests in downtown Louisville
There were protests in many major US cities last night demanding justice for Breonna Taylor. Reporters for Associated Press spoke to people who were protesting in Kentucky.
“We’ve got to take it lying down that the law won’t protect us, that they can get away with killing us,” said Lavel White, a regular protester in downtown Louisville who is Black. He was drawn to a march Thursday night because he was devastated by a grand jury’s decision a day earlier not to charge the officers. “If we can’t get justice for Breonna Taylor, can we get justice for anybody?”
He said he was angry that police in riot gear were out in force when protesters had been peaceful as they streamed through the streets of downtown Louisville past a nighttime curfew.
Reginique Jones told reporters that she’ll keep pressing for increased police accountability and for a statewide ban on “no knock” warrants the kind issued in the Taylor case.
“I believe that we are going to get past this,” Jones said as she returned Thursday to the park in downtown Louisville that has been at the center of the protests. “We can still get some justice.”
Taylor’s family plan to speak later today in the park that’s become known locally as Injustice Square.
Here’s a reminder that yesterday Donald Trump again raised doubts about the legitimacy of the presidential election. Speaking to reporters before leaving for North Carolina, Trump said: ‘We want to make sure the election is honest, and I’m not sure that it can be.’
The US president has never provided any evidence for his claims about widespread fraud through unsolicited ballots, and voter fraud in the US is rare.
The FBI director, Christopher Wray, yesterday told the Senate homeland security committee: “We have not seen historically any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it’s by mail or otherwise.”
Good morning and welcome to Friday’s edition of our US politics live blog. Here’s a summary of what is up, and what we can expect to see today.
There were protests in multiple major cities across the country last night. Hundreds are still chanting Breonna Taylor’s name and voicing their frustration over the grand jury’s decision not to charge officers for her death.
Taylor’s family will be holding a press conference at 10.30 am, their first since the announcement of the grand jury’s decision. They will be joined by their lawyers, including attorney Benjamin Crump.
Top Republicans dismissed Donald Trump’s refusal to commit to peaceful transfer – a refusal which he repeated for a second day.
Florida’s attorney general requested an inquiry into Mike Bloomberg’s effort to pay off court fees and other fines so people with felony convictions can vote in the battleground state. The effort has so far raised $16m.
Bernie Sanders accused Trump and Republicans of ‘sowing the seeds of chaos’ by ‘casting doubt’ on the election, and called for an election commission.
There were 45,176 new cases of coronavirus reported in the US yesterday – that’s 17% up on a fortnight ago. There were 885 new Covid deaths.
Trump was booed and jeered on his visit to Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s casket.
The president has got a busy day scheduled, he’s doing a Latinos for Trump Roundtable in Doral, Florida. Then he’s on to Atlanta to delivers remarks on “Black Economic Empowerment: The Platinum Plan”. After that he has another roundtable with supporters in Washington DC at the Trump International Hotel, and then on to an evening rally in Virginia.
There’s also a federal appeals court hearing as Trump continues to fight to stop New York prosecutors getting his tax returns.
I’ll be here for the next couple of hours, and you can get in touch with me at martin.belam@theguardian.com