Page 31 - Florida Sentinel 1-29-21

Political
Senate Confirms Antony
FBI Identifies More Than 400 Suspects In Capitol Riot
Blinken As Biden's
Secretary Of State
The FBI's investigation of the deadly assault on the U. S. Capitol this month has identi- fied more than 400 suspects, according to the figures dis- closed Tuesday by the Justice Department.
Steven D'Antuono, assis- tant director in charge of the FBI's Washington field office, said more than 150 criminal cases have been filed so far. Charges include unauthorized access, theft, damage to gov- ernment property and assault on law enforcement officers.
The top prosecutor on the case, acting U. S. Attorney Michael Sherwin, said the goal is to identify as many peo- ple as possible who entered the Capitol during the siege.
"Regardless of the level of criminal conduct, we're not se- lectively targeting or just try- ing to charge the most significant crime," Sherwin said. "If a crime was commit- ted we are charging you, whether you were outside or
The Senate voted 78-22 on Tuesday to confirm Antony Blinken as secretary of state, ushering in a new era of Ameri- can diplomacy.
Though Blinken was con- firmed in a bipartisan vote, he received the least support from Senate Republicans out of all President Joe Biden's Cabi- net nominees so far. With that said, Blinken still received more votes in favor of his con- firmation than both secretaries of state under President Don- ald Trump, Rex Tillerson (56-43) and Mike Pompeo (57-42). The Senate has so far confirmed four of Biden's Cab- inet nominees.
Blinken, who formerly served as deputy secretary of state in the Obama administra- tion, has a long history of work- ing with Biden. When Biden was vice president, Blinken was his national security advi-
ANTONY BLINKEN
sor. He also served as staff di- rector on the Senate Foreign Re- lations Committee when Biden was chairman.
Biden's decision to tap Blinken to be America's top diplomat was applauded by members of the foreign policy community across the political spectrum.
THE RIOT ON THE CAPITOL
Diverse Team Of U. S. House
inside the Capitol."
He said prosecutors were
not concerned that opening a large number of cases could overwhelm the FBI or federal judges. "There's no manpower issue here. We have no issues with the court."
A key question is whether the siege was planned well be- fore the rally that preceded it on Jan. 6. Sherwin said in- vestigators are looking at whether individuals or groups
were involved in a possible co- ordinated effort, as the pace of new charges begins to slow.
"We are going to reach a plateau in the very near future and it will involve looking at the more complicated conspir- acy cases," he said, with inves- tigators looking at "possible coordination among militia groups from different states that had a plan to travel here before the sixth to engage in criminal conduct".
Democrats To Lead Trump's
Second Impeachment Trial
McConnell Votes To Dismiss Trump Impeachment Trial As Only Five Senate
WASHINGTON - The nine Democratic lawmakers who will prosecute ex-President Donald Trump in his im- peachment trial reflect Amer- ica’s racial, ethnic and sexual diversity, in stark contrast to the white nationalist imagery that marked the mob of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol.
Trump urged his followers to “fight” to overturn his elec- tion loss to President Joe Biden in a fiery speech on Jan. 6. Hundreds -- some carrying or wearing racist and anti-Se- mitic symbols -- then attacked Congress in a siege that left five dead and drove lawmakers into hiding.
A week later, the Demo- cratic-led House of Representa- tives impeached Trump on a charge of inciting insurrection.
The nine House lawmakers who will argue for Trump’s conviction, known formally as impeachment managers, repre- sent an increasingly diverse America that some experts say stands as the antithesis to the white nationalism that drove the attack -- a concern Biden called out in his inauguration speech.
Speaking from a podium in
Republicans Side With Democrats
Del. Stacey Plaskett, D-V.I., in Rayburn House Office Building on Monday, August 24, 2020.
front of the Capitol, Biden de- nounced “a rise in political ex- tremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and we will de- feat.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chose the nine for their expertise, which includes back- grounds in criminal prosecu- tion and defense, constitutional law, and federal and state legis- lation.
Among the nine, Stacey Plaskett and Joe Neguse are Black, Joaquin Castro is Latino, Ted Lieu is Asian and David Cicilline is openly gay. Cicilline is also Jewish, as is lead manager Jamie Raskin.
The Senate on Tuesday tabled a motion by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) that would have dis- missed the second impeachment trial of former President Don- ald Trump, but 45 disgraceful Republicans sided with Paul on the motion, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mc- Connell (R-Ky.)—a sign De- mocrats do not have the votes to convict Trump.
Five Republicans voted with Democrats on the point of order: Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.
McConnell, the most pow- erful Republican in the upper
MITCH MCCONNELL
chamber, was thought to have
privately supported the im- peachment effort, having blamed Trump for provoking the rioters in a speech on the Senate floor earlier this month.
For Trump to be convicted, 17 Republicans would need to join all 50 Democrats in the ef- fort – with conviction being a prerequisite for barring Trump from holding future office, which Democrats have said is their substantive goal.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer shot back that Paul’s argument has been “completely debunked” by legal scholars and vowed “the Senate will conduct a trial of the former president and senators will ren- der judgment on his conduct.”
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