World leaders wonder who is running America's foreign policy

"And there are plenty more of these mixed signals, all of which make world leaders, friendly and unfriendly, wonder who the heck is running things - Omar, Kamala, Biden, or the swamp? All in all, this isn't the 'America's back' approach that Biden promised."

"Image by Barry Soetoro" He said that.

Monica Showalter  "With Kamala Harris taking calls from foreign leaders now, less than one month into the Joe Biden presidency, and Joe's spokesweasel Jen Psaki saying Joe won't be taking foreign visitors, it's pretty obvious foreign leaders are wondering: Who the heck is running America? Why can't Joe come to the phone? Is the Biden "transitional" presidency really a "regency"?

The signs of it are all over. Here's a list of how bad it is, starting with America's allies:

Israel: After Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu gave Biden an early congratulatory call over the phone for his "victory," the locals are now wondering if the Biden administration is "ghosting" them. Three weeks into his term, he's called practically everyone but Israel. No calls to Bibi. Israel's foreign policy establishment is ready to call it a "full blown snub." And with open anti-Semites like Rep. Ilhan "all about the benjamins" Omar now promoted by Joe's Democrats to a top spot at the House committee on foreign affairs, there's reason to think there's something nasty going on. They are indeed wondering who's running the show.  

Taiwan: Taiwan's leader, too, gave Biden an early congratulatory call, and within days got a Chinese communist incursion into their airspace. Biden threw out some tough words, but apparently nothing else, and obviously, the Taiwanese are concerned, even as they cross their fingers. According to Wang Hao, a Taiwanese local commentator quoted by NPR: "  . . . 

. . . "Ukraine: Biden doesn't want to touch this one, and Ukraine's leaders are antsy: According to The National Interest:

For weeks now, Ukraine: Biden doesn't want to touch this one, and Ukraine's leaders are antsy: According to The National Interest:

For weeks now, Zelenskyy has sent numerous private and public messages; call me! He desperately wants a phone call with the new president.

"Of course, he isn't getting one, given young Hunter's ties with Burisma and the criminal probe presumably still happening around it." . . .

Biden warns China will 'eat our lunch' on infrastructure spending

Yahoo!

AfterMath - Home (terrellaftermath.com)

"US President Joe Biden has warned that China will “eat our lunch” if America doesn’t “step up” its infrastructure spending.

Mr Biden was speaking on Thursday with a group of senators about the need to upgrade infrastructure in the US.

"His warning comes the day after his first phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

"On the call, Mr Xi took a hard line on human rights saying a confrontation would be a disaster for both countries.

"Mr Biden made the comments after meeting with members of the Environment and Public Works committee.

"“If we don’t get moving, they are going to eat our lunch,” President Biden told senators.

"“They’re investing billions of dollars dealing with a whole range of issues that relate to transportation, the environment and a whole range of other things. We just have to step up.”

"During the campaign, Mr Biden proposed spending $2tn (£1.45tn) over four years to create jobs and invest in clean energy infrastructure.

"A widely cited American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) “report card” from 2017 gave the country’s infrastructure a grade of “D+”." . . .

VP Harris Making Biden Presidential Calls; However...

Newsmax.com  "Critics of President Joe Biden took aim at him as a mere placeholder to get President Donald Trump out of the White House – a self-described "transition candidate."

Now, some will see reinforcement of that notion as the commander in waiting, Vice President Kamala Harris, is taking charge of a key presidential task.

"Harris has taken on the customary presidential role of calling heads of state, The Epoch Times reported Tuesday.

"Harris spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, according to a White House readout that did not mention President Biden, per the report.

"Although Biden, 78, did speak with Macron on Jan. 24, it is rare for a president to step aside for vice presidents to make the calls with world leaders.

"Vice President Kamala Harris has begun to take calls on behalf of President Joe Biden, raising questions about his ability to do the job of president," The National Pulse reported. "It is bizarre for a vice president to be making contact with key world leaders just weeks into a new administration." . . .

However...

Tony Branco

Grenell: Susan Rice, Not Biden or Harris, Calling Shots in White House  "Susan Rice, the former national security adviser to President Barack Obama and the current director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, is the real leader in the Oval Office according to former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell.

"The former intelligence official has previously described Rice as the “shadow president” to the recently elected President Joe Biden, and he repeated that claim in an interview with Fox News this week.

" 'Look, I’ve said it before but I think it’s worth repeating ... she’s been given a portfolio as to domestic policy. We all know that that’s a joke," Grenell told Maria Bartiromo. . . ."

Obama's back in the White House!

Why It Should Matter to Women That Kamala Slept Her Way Up  "It is no secret but public knowledge that Kamala Harris slept her way up into California political life by being a very public escort and mattress for California Democrat Kingmaker Willie Brown. Willie Brown is 30 years older than Harris and was very married at the time. It was public. It was an embarrassment." . . .

REPORT: Petition Calls Romney ‘Agent For The Establishment Deep State,’ Demands Censure

Romney became the first senator to vote to convict a president of his party, and is the only senator to vote to convict a president of his party twice.

Donkey Hotey

   The Daily Caller  "An online petition is calling on the Utah Republican Party to censure Sen. Mitt Romney for voting to convict former President Donald Trump during last week’s impeachment trial.

"The petition is being circulated by Utah Republicans, primarily via social media, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. The document refers to Romney as an “agent for the Establishment Deep State.”

"Romney “misrepresented himself as a Republican” and “prioritized his personal and political vendetta against President Donald J. Trump ahead of the Constitution of the United States, the interest of We, the People, and the advancement of the Republican Platform” by voting for conviction, the petition claims." . . .

Mitt Romney Has An 84% Approval Rating With Utah Democrats | The Daily Caller  . . .  "Romney faces a 64 percent disapproval rating among Republicans in his home state. Right leaning voters there favored Trump more heavily than either Romney or Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee, according to a poll in October.

Overwhelmed Border Patrol fears 'mass migration' under Biden's catch-and-release policy

 

AfterMath

Washington Times  . . . "Agents, officials and analysts say a combination of relaxed Biden border policies, coronavirus restrictions on holding people and deteriorating levels of cooperation from Mexico have left parts of the border in Texas unable to handle the surge.

"One agent told The Washington Times they fear that what is happening in Texas will soon spread west to New Mexico, Arizona and California." . . .

Most ridiculous headline of the day

 American Thinker  Barron's is supposed to be a serious publication that covers financial markets.  It was founded in 1921 as a sister publication of the Wall Street Journal.

Yet, yesterday, a headline writer for Barron's published an absurd headline, implying that a stock market rise could be attributed to Nancy Pelosi announcing an investigation into the January 6 Capitol incursion: . . .

Screen grab

"According to a successful veteran stock trader, who emailed me the headline:

The rise has zero to do with Pelosi. Markets around the world are rallying.  America catching up on stimulus legislation, vaccine news, and massive equity inflows are moving the market. Pelosi and her political theatre have no role, but I guess even Barron's is biased these days.

"At least the headline writers...

"One would think the market professionals who read Barron's would understand how ridiculous the headline is."

The Eight White Identities

 SCOOP: The principal of East Side Community School in New York sent white parents this "tool for action," which tells them they must become "white traitors" and then advocate for full "white abolition." "This is the new language of public education." Christopher F. Rufo

Christopher F. Rufo

House Republicans Claim Pelosi May Be Responsible For Delaying National Guard Deployment On Jan. 6

Nancy P

 forbes.com  . . . "The letter from Republican Reps. Rodney Davis (Ill.), Jim Jordan (Ohio), James Comer (Tenn.) and Devin Nunes (Calif.) suggests Pelosi wielded influence over the security decisions before and during the Jan. 6 attack due to her “enormous institutional responsibilities” and involvement in “all operational decisions made within the House.”

"The lawmakers suggest that Pelosi was involved in denying a request former Capitol Police Chief Steve Sund claimed to have made for National Guard troops prior to the attack, though it has been reported that Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving did not consult with Pelosi about the decision.

“ 'The response from the [sergeant-at-arms], acting on your behalf, was that the ‘optics’ of the National Guard on-site were not good and the intelligence didn’t support the move,” read the letter.

"The lawmakers also claim Pelosi may have played a role in delaying the deployment of troops while the pro-Trump mob was inside the building on Jan. 6, saying “it took over an hour” for Sund’s request to be approved “because the [sergeant-at-arms] had to run the request up the chain of command, which undoubtably included you and your designees.” 

"Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, labeled the claims baseless in a statement to Forbes, accusing the members of a “transparently partisan attempt to lay blame on the speaker” and highlighting the fact that the letter does not question Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) about his involvement in the parallel decision by his chamber’s sergeant-at-arms to reject Sund’s appeal." . . .

Woke teachers want Shakespeare cut from curriculum: 'This is about White supremacy'

When will this silliness end?

  Washington Times

"The crown teachers once put on William Shakespeare now lies uneasy upon his head as the English playwright comes under assault from teachers who fault his unwoke attitudes regarding race, sexuality, gender and class.

"For the new breed of teachers, Shakespeare is seen less as an icon of literature and more as a tool of imperial oppression, an author who should be dissected in class or banished from the curriculum entirely.

“ 'This is about white supremacy and colonization,” declared the teachers who founded #DisruptTexts, a group that wants staples of Western literature removed or subjected to withering criticism." . . .

Kim Klacik Asks When Will Impeachment Managers Who 'Doctored Evidence... Be Charged & Removed From Office?'

 Media Right News 

"Former Republican Congressional candidate for a Maryland House seat Kim Klacik has continued to be active in calling out the Democrats and even RINO Republicans despite not winning the seat.

"After sharing video of former President Trump’s impeachment lawyer explaining to a CBS News anchor how he believes the House impeachment managers doctored evidence, Klacik called for action from elected officials against them.

"Klacik asked, “Now that Trump’s attorney proved the impeachment managers doctored evidence, when will they be charged & removed from office?”

“Republicans on Capitol Hill, here’s your chance. Bring each manager in to answer questions publicly about the changes,” Klacik implored them." . . .

"In the interview with Trump’s lawyer, Michael van der Veen said of the doctored evidence, “What happened at the Capitol on January 6 is absolutely horrific. But what happened at the Capitol during this trial was not too far away from that.”

"The anchor, Lana Zak, attempted to downplay the examples that he gave and he erupted, and said he believes that CBS should be more like PBS, more objective.

"The video has been viewed over 5 million times as Van der Veen told Zak that “The media has to start living by the truth and not try to create a narrative,” as he then ripped off his microphone in disgust and walked away." . . .

Can a Former President Be Prosecuted for Conduct for which He Was Impeached but not Convicted?

 Reason.com: Full article: "In his remarks defending his decision not to vote to convict Donald Trump in the just-concluded impeachment trial, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said:

President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office, as an ordinary citizen, unless the statute of limitations has run, still liable for everything he did while in office, didn't get away with anything yet – yet. We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. And former presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one.

"This raises the question of whether a former President may be criminally prosecuted for the same conduct for which that President had been impeached, but not convicted. As it happens, the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel examined that question in 2000 (when Bill Clinton was still President) and concluded that the answer was "yes."

"Here is the memo. Clocking in at 46 pages, it is quite substantial. Here is how the memo begins:

"We have been asked to consider whether a former President may be indicted and tried for the same offenses for which he was impeached by the House and acquitted by the Senate.1 In 1973, in a district court filing addressing a related question in the criminal tax evasion investigation of Vice President Agnew, the Department took the position that acquittal by the Senate creates no bar to criminal prosecution. A 1973 Office of Legal Counsel (" OLC" ) memorandum discussing the same question adopted the same position. As far as we are aware, no court has ever ruled on this precise issue. During the impeachment of Judge Alcee Hastings in the late 1980s, though, a district court and both the House and Senate passed on the related question whether an acquittal in a criminal prosecution should bar an impeachment trial for the same offenses. Each of those bodies concluded that the Constitution permits an official to be tried by the Senate for offenses of which he has been acquitted in the courts. Although we recognize that there are reasonable arguments for the opposing view, on balance, and largely for some of the same structural reasons identified in the United States's filing in the Agnew case and the 1973 OLC memorandum, we think the better view is that a former President may be prosecuted for crimes of which he was acquitted by the Senate. Our conclusion concerning the constitutional permissibility of indictment and trial following a Senate acquittal is of course distinct from the question whether an indictment should be brought in any particular case.

"Here is the conclusion:

We conclude that the Constitution permits a former President to be criminally prosecuted for the same offenses for which he was impeached by the House and acquitted by the Senate while in office.

"As the length of this memorandum indicates, we think the question is more complicated than it might first appear. In particular, we think that there is a reasonable argument that the Impeachment Judgment Clause should be read to bar prosecutions following acquittal by the Senate and that disqualification from federal office upon conviction by the Senate bears some of the markers of criminal punishment. Nonetheless, we think our conclusion accords with the text of the Constitution, reflects the founders' understanding of the new process of impeachment they were creating, fits the Senate's understanding of its role as the impeachment tribunal, and makes for a sensible and fair system of responding to the misdeeds of federal officials.

"Whether the full course of the President's conduct as it relates to the January 6 Capitol riot could meet the standard for incitement set by Brandendurg is a close question. As I discussed on the Smerconish show this past Saturday, the case that Trump committed incitement on January 6 is far stronger than the claim he incited violence at a 2016 campaign rally for which he was sued civilly (unsuccessfully).

"While I suspect a civil suit related to the January 6 events would be possible, it would be more difficult to make a criminal prosecution stick, and I suspect that is among the reasons an indictment is unlikely. If Trump is not prosecuted, however, it will not be because it is unconstitutional to do so."

JONATHAN H. ADLER (@jadler1969) is the Johan Verheij Memorial Professor of Law at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law.  Hat tip: The Volokh Conspiracy | Facebook

Lindsey Graham Suggests Kamala Harris Could Be Impeached When GOP Retakes House

 PJ Media  "In the wake of the Democrats’ second failed attempt to impeach and remove President Trump, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), in an appearance of “Fox News Sunday,” said that Democrats have now opened Pandora’s Box and that by the standard they’ve set, Kamala Harris has met their requirement for impeachment.

" 'The trial record was a complete joke,” Senator Graham said. “Hearsay on top of hearsay, and we’ve opened Pandora’s Box for future presidents and if you use this model, I don’t know how Kamala Harris doesn’t get impeached if Republicans take over the House because she actually bailed out rioters, and more of the rioters went back to the streets and broke somebody’s head open, so we’ve opened Pandora’s Box here, and I’m sad for the country.”

"Senator Graham was referring to Kamala Harris promoting the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF), which raised $35 million dollars in the wake of the George Floyd riots.

"At least 13 staffers on Biden’s campaign posted on Twitter about their donations to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, which opposes the concept of cash bail, and uses donations to pay bail fees in Minneapolis. In addition to paying for the bail of rioters, according to a local news report, MFF also “bailed out defendants from Twin Cities jails charged with murder, violent felonies, and sex crimes.” In July, the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) paid the bail of a man accused of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl, allowing him to get out of jail, according to court records obtained by The Daily Caller.

"Kamala Harris also joked about killing President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions back in 2018, during an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” DeGeneres had been asking Harris a series of random questions from cards, when she came to the question “If you had to be stuck in an elevator with either President Trump, Mike Pence, or Jeff Sessions, who would it be?”

“ 'Does one of us have to come out alive?” Harris asked, clearly alluding to her wanting to kill whichever one she chose." . . .

Kamala Harris Said Riots 'Should Not' Stop Last Summer (pjmedia.com)