JUICE - Florida Politics' Juicy Read - 1.27.20 - DeSantis' Economy Breaks Another Record - Scott's 2020 Election Theory - Wasserman Schultz Says Trump Trivializing Military Injuries

JUICE - Florida Politics' Juicy Read - 1.27.20 - DeSantis' Economy Breaks Another Record - Scott's 2020 Election Theory - Wasserman Schultz Says Trump Trivializing Military Injuries

Javier Manjarres
Javier Manjarres
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January 27, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Rick Scott's Election Theory

With the Iowa Caucus about a week away, national polls are beginning to tighten and Floridians are looking on with anticipation, wondering if they will play a significant role in picking the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, or if the race will be decided after the South Carolina primary election.

But while Biden, Sanders, Buttigieg and Warren jockey for poll position in their respective race, Florida Senator Rick Scott (R) has his own take on what Democrats are really doing to pick their 2020 nominee.

“I think I’ve come to the conclusion why Nancy Pelosi held the articles of impeachment for 33 days,” said Scott “This whole thing is to help Joe Biden.

This could very well be the case, but how will we know for sure? READ MORE

Republican Woes

While Republican Party of Florida Chairman Joe Gruters greeted President Trump in Miami last week, rumors of internal GOP party corruption and a cover-up are swirling within certain political circles. This story is developing just in time for the 2020 election.

As the titular head of the Republican Party in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has the power to remove party, local, and state officials, could have his hands full in the coming months.

As for DeSantis, the popular governor steamrolls ahead, having announced that he and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran have announced that the state's Dept. of Ed. have "completed the review of Florida’s K-12 academic standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics and made recommendations for revisions. The proposed Florida Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) Standards will provide the foundation for teaching and learning and will be unveiled before February." 

What DeSantis said:

“When I took office, I made a pledge to the citizens of Florida to overhaul our educational standards to remove all vestiges of Common Core and return to the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic,” said Governor DeSantis. “I am pleased that this historic task has been completed and we are well on our way to making Florida the best state in the nation for education. My deepest thanks to Commissioner Corcoran and Department of Education staff, Florida teachers, parents, subject matter experts and stakeholders for their participation in this transparent, in-depth and comprehensive process.”

 

Visit The Floridian

“DeSantis announces record-low unemployment in Florida” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – Florida’s economy continues booming and now Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has announced that the state’s unemployment rate has dropped to a record low of 3.0 percent in December 2019. In addition to the low unemployment rate, DeSantis announced that some 220,000 Floridians found work in 2019. “My administration continues to pursue bold priorities for Florida, and our efforts to diversify the economy are yielding results,” said Governor DeSantis. “I remain laser focused on ensuring Florida is offering a world-class pool of talent to businesses and investing in our students and educators. We continue to prioritize the protection of our natural resources and water quality while also continuously searching for ways to support new and innovative industries which are helping to produce historically low unemployment in our state.” “Our historic low unemployment is not a coincidence,” said Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Ken Lawson. “Governor DeSantis understands that diversifying our economy is good for all Floridians and he has advocated for policies that encourage businesses to invest in our state. I am looking forward to the bright future ahead for Floridians as we continue to make smart, strategic investments that benefit Floridians from Pensacola to Key West and everywhere in between.” Background: Florida businesses created 198,200 private-sector jobs over the year and the state’s annual private-sector job growth rate of 2.5 percent continues to outpace the national job growth rate of 1.5 percent. The year is beginning with more private-sector jobs coming to Florida as well. Just this month, Governor DeSantis announced Made In Space was relocating its corporate headquarters from California to Florida and Spirit Airlines was expanding into a new headquarters in Dania Beach.

“Rubio and Scott Request Foreign Visa Info on Pensacola Shooter” by The Floridian’s Daniel Molina – Republican Senators are joining forces and requesting information on Pensacola Shooter’s A-2 Visa approval process. Florida Senators Rick Scott (R) and Marco Rubio (R), members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, along with Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson (R), the chairman of the Committee, directed a letter to Chad Wolf, the Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. The reason for the letter is because they want to better understand the process that Ahmed Mohammed al-Shamrani was allowed to receive a visa to participate in military training in December 2019. In the letter, the lawmakers explain, “on December 6, 2019, Ahmed Mohammed al-Shamrani, a Saudi Arabian national here in the United States on an A-2 visa for military training, killed three people and injured eight at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida.”

“Soto Introduces CLEAN Future Act” by The Floridian’s Daniel Molina – Florida has been leading the charge on climate and environment related issues, and Florida Rep. Darren Soto (D) has just introduced the CLEAN Future Act. This week, while attending a Climate Change Town Hall event, the Florida lawmaker unveiled the framework of a draft titled the Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation’s (CLEAN) Future Act. Described as a plan that will ensure the United States achieves a net-zero greenhouse has pollution record by no later than 2050 is being spearheaded by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Rep. Soto is a member of said committee. In a statement, the Florida Democrat commented that “the climate crisis impacts everyone – every industry, every community, every American.” He added that “while the Trump administration has taken us backward in our fight against climate change, the CLEAN Future Act represents House Democrats’ commitment to ensuring the long-term sustainability of our environment and public health.” The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change urges that the United States cut carbon pollution to net-zero by 2050. In response, the CLEAN Future Act proposes policies that will guide the United States on a path to a cleaner and more prosperous economy.

“Wasserman Schultz condemns Trump over “headaches” remark,” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – 2020 presidential candidates and House Democrats continue to pound President Donald Trump over his remark that U.S. soldiers only suffered “headaches” after an Iranian missile strike in Iraq. “I heard that they had headaches, and a couple of other things, but I would say, and I can report, it’s not very serious,” Trump told reporters after the attack. Days after his remark, the Pentagon revealed that 34 soldiers were being treated for Traumatic brain injuries. House Democrat Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz continued her opposition against the president, spelling out her case against his TBI remark on her Twitter feed.

“Arab Nicolas Kimaz continues hiding from American courts,” by the Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – Self-proclaimed “world renown (Sic) Executive Leadership Strategist, naturopathic doctor, healer, mentor, teacher, entrepreneur, consultant, author, broadcaster, speaker and businessman,” Nicolas Kimaz continues his apparent life’s mission to cowardly avoid addressing the defamation suit filed against him in Broward County, Florida. Kimaz, who is currently being looked at by the FBI, and his associate, David Burnham, have both been hiding from the courts, but Burnham was recently served and was attempting to cooperate until he went ghost, again. Burnham famously linked an ant-Semitic link to a story on one of Kimaz’s campaign websites during the 2018 elections. Kimaz later denied Burnham’s role in his campaign but was caught in the lie.

“Another oil project is planned in the Everglades. Gov. DeSantis called on to block it” by Orlando Sentinel’s David Fleshler – Environmentalists are calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis to step in to stop another oil drilling plan in the Everglades, one potentially much bigger than the one he recently halted with the announcement of a land buyout in western Broward County. A letter to the governor urged him to stop a Texas company’s oil exploration activities at Big Cypress National Preserve, a land of forest and swamp on the northwest border of Everglades National Park. Burnett Oil Co. holds state and federal permits to look for oil across 110 square miles of the preserve by using heavy trucks that vibrate metal plates against the ground to detect the presence of oil. The Big Cypress site stands about 25 miles west of the proposed drilling site the governor approved for a buyout on Jan. 15. In announcing that the state would buy those 20,000 acres in western Broward County owned by Kanter Real Estate LLC, the governor said: “We will permanently save this land from oil production." The agreement won cheers for the governor from environmentalists around the world, but the question remains about whether he might consider deals to prevent oil exploration in other sensitive areas of the Everglades. It’s unclear why the governor has tried to stop Kanter drilling project and not Big Cypress. But the Kanter project had generated more public outrage, would have taken place in the heart of the Everglades and — with a negotiated price of up to $18 million — might have been cheaper to buy out. The governor’s office has not responded to requests for comment on the environmental groups’ letter. When asked about the Big Cypress project at his news conference on the Kanter buyout, the governor referred to the state’s failed attempt to stop Kanter in court. “We’re looking at everything going on, but this one was moving further along,” he said, referring to Kanter. “Legally, they had the rights to do this on the land, and that why we had to have a negotiation and do this deal. If we could have won in court, obviously we would have done that.”

“Michael Bloomberg tells Tampa crowd: ‘I’m the un-Trump’” Tampa Bay Times’ Steve Contorno – Perhaps a comedy club should’ve hosted Michael Bloomberg’s first campaign event in Florida. The former New York City mayor’s intro to Florida voters on Sunday was a winding, 3-minute set of one-liners. He riffed on crab claws, his bill for breakfast at Trips Diner in Seminole Heights, the Tampa Bay Rays, Derek Jeter, Boston sports writers, baseball’s sign stealing scandal and snowbirds. “I know you might be surprised to see me here," Bloomberg deadpanned. "I’m a New Yorker in Florida in mid-winter. It’s highly unusual.” That last quip, a vow to make President Donald Trump a full-time Florida resident, sent the 300 at Embarc Collective in downtown Tampa into a frenzy. Bloomberg said he is the only candidate with the experience, the message and, yes, the money, who can make that happen. There were plenty of people in the room who believed him. “He’ll get under Trump’s skin,” said Clarence Peterson, a 28-year-old teacher from Bradenton and a Republican who opposes his party’s leader. Christie Fischer said she was rooting for Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and she adores former Vice President Joe Biden. He once kissed her on the cheek. “In an ordinary election year, they would be fine. But this year is different," Fischer said. “For the Democrats, it’s a binary question: Can you beat Mr. Trump or can you not? After the last debate, I concluded Mr. Bloomberg was the one who could do that job for us.” Bloomberg is hoping there are millions of voters who feel the same. He’s betting big on it. The billionaire has reportedly already spent $250 million since entering the race just three months ago, unleashing an army of staffers and ads in key states, including Florida.

“Gov. Ron DeSantis touts new education standards” by News Service of Florida – Gov. Ron DeSantis announced new education standards on Friday, a year after he vowed to eliminate the “vestiges” of the controversial Common Core standards. “The new plan is done. It is going through the final editing process,” the governor said at a news conference in Naples. DeSantis did not make available full details of the new standards, which will be called the BEST Standards. But according to a summary document released by the Florida Department of Education, the standards include changes to the way students learn math and American history and will offer a reduction in testing. The standards will also eliminate “crazy math” that DeSantis said was a roadblock for parents who wanted to help students with homework. Civics will be “embedded” into language-arts lessons at every grade level, and there will be an “civics book list” integrated across all grades, the document says. “I wanted to make sure we had a renewed emphasis on American civics and understanding the principles that make America great,” DeSantis said. The announcement came six year after former Gov. Rick Scott took aim at the Common Core standards, which were developed by officials in 48 states and have drawn heavy criticism from Republican voters. The State Board of Education in 2014 adopted what are known as the Florida Standards, a move that involved making changes to Common Core. DeSantis’ BEST Standards, which stands for Benchmark for Excellent Student Thinking, will need approval from the State Board of Education. When adopted, the language-arts curriculum is expected to be updated for the 2021-2022 year, and the math curriculum would be updated for the 2022-2023 year, according to the Department of Education.

“Joe Gruters accused of eroding LGBTQ protections he sponsored” by Herald-Tribune’s Zac Anderson – Sarasota state Sen. Gruters sponsored or co-sponsored legislation each of the last three years to expanded legal protections for the LGBTQ community. In 2017 and 2018 Gruters co-sponsored a bill known as the Competitive Workforce Act, which would outlaw discrimination against LGBTQ individuals in the workplace, housing and public accommodations. The legislation has long been a priority for Equality Florida, the state’s leading gay rights organization. Last year, after becoming Florida GOP chairman, Gruters filed a version of the legislation that just focused on outlawing discrimination in the workplace. But now Gruters is being accused by Equality Florida and others of taking a 180-degree turn and sponsoring a bill that would wipe out local LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinances, something the lawmaker vehemently denies. “For them to say any bill that I filed is anti-LGBTQ is preposterous and it upsets me,” Gruters said. Gruters is comfortable being at the center of highly divisive political debates. It comes with the territory when you’re a state senator and the chair of the Florida GOP, and Gruters rarely gets too worked up about criticism that comes his way. But the lawmaker’s voice rose as he talked about being labeled unfriendly to the gay community because of SB 1126. Gruters said his goal in filing the bill was not to wade into the gay rights debate, but instead focus on another issue entirely. The legislation is a response to local business regulations, he said. Gruters wants to prohibit cities and counties from regulating “conditions of employment” in private businesses, such as wages and employee schedules. The bill is partly a response to so-called “predictive scheduling” ordinances adopted by some cities, which force employers to have predictable schedules for their workers. Local minimum wage ordinances also would be outlawed. While that type of preemption measure also has plenty of critics, it’s a different type of criticism than what Gruters is getting now.

“Florida Senators Request Honors For Those Involved In NAS Pensacola Shooting” by NorthEscambia.com – U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott are urging the Navy and Department of Defense to honor the heroes of the Naval Air Station Pensacola shooting last month. The Florida senators sent a letter to Secretary of Defense, Dr. Mark Esper, and the Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas B. Modly urging the Navy to bestow the Navy Distinguished Civilian Medal with Valor to the Naval Air Station Police Officer wounded in the line of duty and the Office of the Secretary of Defense to award the Secretary of Defense Medal of Freedom to the sheriff’s deputies that responded to the incident. The letter also requests that those service members wounded in the attack receive the Purple Heart. Read the full letter here.

“Criminal investigation of Florida CFO given to state attorney” by Tampa Bay Times’ Lawrence Mower – In an unusual move meant to avoid conflicts of interest, state police have handed off their criminal investigation of Florida’s Chief Financial Officer to the Leon County State Attorney’s Office. Lawyers for Leon County State Attorney Jack Campbell will now be the fourth agency to handle the investigation into whether CFO Jimmy Patronis illegally released a woman’s sexual harassment complaint for political reasons. Campbell said Friday that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement recently handed off its case to him to avoid the appearance of conflicts of interest with the Patronis. As a member of the Cabinet, Patronis is one of four votes to hire the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s boss. The decision was unusual, Campbell said. While the Florida Department of Law Enforcement often refers completed cases criminal cases to his office with recommended charges, it’s the first time under Campbell’s three years in office the agency has handed him a case like this to investigate. His office does sometimes conduct investigations, but they do not have anywhere near the resources that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement does, he said. “For them to say, ‘We’re taking a step back because of a potential conflict,‘ I can’t think of another case where that has happened,” Campbell said. Campbell did not provide details on the investigation, saying he hadn’t had a chance to review it thoroughly and was “trying to get my mind wrapped around it.” Campbell’s general counsel and Assistant State Attorney Eddie Evans, who is leading the investigation, said he had not done a thorough review of FDLE’s work, but said that it did not appear to be a completed investigation. He said FDLE‘s investigation went beyond simply illegally releasing a sexual harassment complaint. ”Knowingly and willingly” releasing one is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up a year in jail and up to a $1,000 fine.

“Scott: Pelosi orchestrated impeachment inquiry to help Biden,” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres Rep. Adam Schiff (D) concluded his opening argument before the U.S. Senate as to why he and fellow House Democrats voted to impeach President Donald Trump, it was the White House counsel’s turn to rebut Schiff and his case for impeachment. When asked about what he thought about the White House attorney’s response to Rep. Schiff, Florida Senator Rick Scott said that he thought Schiff “got knee-capped” by Trump’s defense team and that the presentation showed that there was “no due process in the House” and that Schiff presentation was a “fabrication.” Scott then stated that the entire impeachment inquiry was fabricated by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to help vice president Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.

“Ted Cruz takes big swipe at CNN Reporter Manu Raju” by Hispolitica’s Daniel Molina – Arizona Senator Martha McSally (R), currently running a reelection campaign against astronaut Mark Kelly (D), has faced criticism after calling CNN’s Manu Raju “a liberal hack.” The exchange took place on Capitol Hill when Raju asked Senator McSally, “should the Senate consider new evidence as part of the impeachment trial?” In response, McSally said, “Manu, you’re a liberal hack. I’m not talking to you.” Since then, ire has spread with many media pundits coming to the defense of Raju. In defense of McSally, Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) entered the “pissing fight” to argue that “EVERY GOP Senator agreed you were the MOST partisan/unfair Cap Hill reporter” on Twitter. The Senator added that “rather than address problem, CNN top brass ‘released the hounds’ on McSally.” He concluded by noting that “your Qs aren’t hard, but when you’re obnoxious, we answer other reporters’ Qs.” The incumbent Arizona Senator has faced heavy criticism over her comment, but many are disregarding it as another attempt to shut out a conservative voice. Many feel that numerous mainstream media outlets are biased against conservative lawmakers and supporters. In an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, she doubled down on her comment, saying that she’s “a fighter pilot – I called it like it is.” McSally explained that “they’re cheerleading the Democrats [but] they hate the president.”

“In Impeachment Trial, Geography Dictates Politics” by NYT’s David E. Sanger – When Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a curse-laden tirade to a reporter on Friday, asked, “Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?” he was getting at an essential element of President Trump’s defense in the impeachment trial. White House officials are convinced that Americans are indifferent to what happens in the struggling former Soviet republic, and they may well be right. But the impeachment trial is about more than the fate of Ukraine — and whether Mr. Trump sold it out for a “domestic political errand,” as his former adviser, Fiona Hill, put it so bitingly. To Democrats, it’s about a president who undercut his own administration’s stated goal of pushing back hard against Vladimir V. Putin’s Russia — the geopolitical challenge of a new, very different Cold War. It is one of those cases where the geography of the debate shapes the politics of the argument. As long as the president’s lawyers can focus the debate on the narrower question of Ukraine, they can argue that the charges against the president focus on a foreign policy sideshow: how the president uses the spigot of American aid and attention to mold another country’s behavior. “They basically said, ‘Let’s cancel an election over a meeting with the Ukraine,’” Mr. Trump’s White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, said on Saturday, characterizing the Democrats’ arguments as he opened the president’s defense. Mr. Cipollone made the case that the Democrats are seeking to undo Mr. Trump’s 2016 victory or fear that they cannot beat him in 2020. Yet the defense team’s characterizations about Ukraine are also designed to make the impeachment charges appear to be on a fundamentally trivial affair, surrounding the treatment of a faraway country that, as Mr. Pompeo suggests, most people could not find on a map stripped of country names. (He challenged the NPR reporter, Mary Louise Kelly, to identify Ukraine, and she reported that she did.) That is precisely why the man leading the Democrats’ prosecution of the case, Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, focused so relentlessly on Russia last week. Mr. Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, understands that Russia resonates in a way that Ukraine never can. His argument revives questions of whether Mr. Putin has some strange, still unexplained control over the American president — which is why Mr. Schiff played the cringe-worthy tape of Mr. Trump’s news conference with Mr. Putin in Helsinki, Finland, in summer 2018. In his public statements, Mr. Trump appeared to adopt the Russian leader’s self-interested theory that someone else was behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee’s servers in the last presidential election.

“'The worst news': Political world mourns loss of Kobe Bryant” by The Hill’s Joe Concha – Condolences from the political and media world poured following the stunning news of the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant on Sunday. Bryant reportedly died in a helicopter crash that occurred 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles near Calabasas, Calif. TMZ, which first broke the news, also reported that Bryant's daughter, Gianna Maria, along with three other people, were also killed in the crash. Other news outlets have yet to identify the other passengers on board beside Bryant. The 5-time NBA champion was 41. He entered the NBA in 1996 right out of high school. The 11-time All-Star retired following the 2015-2016 season and played his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers. 

“Mike Bloomberg rallies Jewish voters with speech decrying nativism” by CBS’s TIM PERRY – Mike Bloomberg is launching a nationwide outreach effort, "United for Mike," to rally support among Jewish Americans in his bid to win the Democratic presidential nomination. A day before the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Bloomberg addressed a crowd of about 850 in Miami, about the rise of attacks against people of faith. "We are confronted by sights that we thought we would never see outside of old black and white newsreels: synagogues attacked, Jews murdered, Nazis marching brazenly and openly by torchlight. Not in some other country — but in the United States — in our Golden Medina." Bloomberg said. Although the former New York City mayor told the crowd that attacks on Jews have been taking place with "horrifying regularity," he also pointed out that attacks against immigrants, members of the LGBTQ community, Muslims and people of color have also been on the rise. He didn't openly attribute the increase in incidents to President Trump, but he did say that "presidential leadership matters." "When the president calls his supporters 'real Americans' – an echo of the language that nativists, anti-Semites, and the KKK used for many decades, he undermines our fundamental national values," Bloomberg said. He added, "When he is silent — and even supportive, through his words and tweets — as racist groups spread hate, he puts the public safety of our communities at risk." Bloomberg told the audience that "there is no such thing as a 'very fine' white supremacist," an allusion to President Trump's remarks after the deadly racially motivated Charlottesville protests in 2017, when he said that there were "very fine people on both sides." During the speech Bloomberg also promised the U.S. would always stand by Israel, vowing that as president, he would, "always have Israel's back." "I will never impose conditions on our military aid, including missile defense — no matter who is prime minister," he said. "And I will never walk away from our commitment to guarantee Israel's security." Despite the fact that he didn't support the 2015 Iran nuclear deal signed by President Obama, Bloomberg chastised President Trump for unilaterally pulling out of the deal, calling the decision "tantamount to giving Iran permission to re-launch its nuclear program."

“US Embassy dining hall in Baghdad hit by rocket, senior US official says” by Fox News’s Bradford Betz and Jennifer Griffin – The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was struck by at least one rocket Sunday evening in the latest attack on American targets in Iraq, a senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News. The official said all Pentagon officials are safe and accounted for. There were no reported deaths or injuries. “The security situation remains tense and Iranian-backed armed groups remain a threat. So, we remain vigilant,” a State Department spokesperson told Fox News. Former Deputy Prime Minister Hoshyar Zebari blamed the rocket attack on an “unruly militia.” “The Embassy restaurant or canteen was damaged and burned. This is a very dangerous game by #PMF uncontrolled factions to galvanize the tense situation. It must stop,” he tweeted, referring to the Popular Mobilization Forces, an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq. Separately, five Katyusha rockets crashed into a riverbank in the city's Green Zone without causing any injuries or serious damages, a statement from U.S. Joint Operations Command said. Iraq Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi condemned the rocket attack that targeted the U.S. Embassy. In a statement, he asserted Iraq's commitment to "protecting all diplomatic missions." The city has been on edge after hundreds of anti-government protesters flooded the streets on Sunday, defying a powerful religious leader who recently withdrew his support from the popular movement.

“Schiff calls Trump 'vindictive' and says Trump's tweet was intended to intimidate” by CNN’s Chandelis Duster and Kristen Holmes – Lead House impeachment manager Rep. Adam Schiff on Sunday called President Donald Trump "wrathful and vindictive," adding that he thought a morning tweet by the President was intended to intimidate him. During an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," Schiff was asked if he viewed Trump's tweet that "he has not paid the price, yet, for what he has done to our Country!" as a threat. Schiff responded, "I think it's intended to be." Trump's Twitter attack on Schiff was one of several the President launched online Sunday against Democrats and his Senate impeachment trial. Later Sunday, Trump -- who often tweets and retweets attacks on people he feels have wronged him -- also insulted "Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd who conducted the earlier interview with Schiff. Democrats and Schiff accused Trump of "witness intimidation" during the House impeachment hearings over his tweets attacking former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham on Sunday admonished the public for putting "meaning behind" what the President says and said Trump was not threatening Schiff. "I think that people, and this has been a theme actually throughout this process, people put meanings behind what he says," Grisham said in an interview on Fox News. "The President speaks in a very unique way, he's a counterpuncher, he's saying what it's on his mind." Pressed on what the President meant, Grisham said she hadn't yet talked to Trump about his tweet, but said she thinks Trump meant Schiff "hasn't paid the price with voters, he hasn't paid the price yet with the people of this country who see that he's been lying and very obsessed."


 

 

President Donald Trump @realDonaldTrump Kobe Bryant, despite being one of the truly great basketball players of all time, was just getting started in life. He loved his family so much, and had such strong passion for the future. The loss of his beautiful daughter, Gianna, makes this moment even more devastating...Melania and I send our warmest condolences to Vanessa and the wonderful Bryant family. May God be with you all!

Adam Schiff @RepAdamSchiff - The President blocked our request for Bolton’s testimony. Now we see why: Bolton directly contradicts the heart of the President’s defense. If the trial is to be fair, Senators must insist that Mr. Bolton be called as a witness, and provide his notes and other documents.

 

 

 

Rick Scott @SenRickScott -These American heroes put their lives in danger to stop a terrorist. @MarcoRubio and I are fighting to make sure they get the recognition they deserve.

Marco Rubio @marcorubio - #ripkobe

Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell @RepDMP - As the first ever South American elected to Congress, the Venezuelan people’s fight for democracy hits close to home. I stand with you. We must continue working with our allies to do everything possible to put pressure on Maduro regime to bring back democracy to Venezuela.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz @DWStweets -Utah (UTAH!) is now the 19th state to ban homophobic ‘conversion therapy,’ but @TheFLGOP is trying to expand it in FL. FL must follow UT & ban this form of torture, which causes depression & suicidal ideation. Human rights shouldn't be a political issue.

Matt Gaetz @mattgaetz - I would love to hear the words “I yield to Jim Jordan” at some point today..

Rep. Michael Waltz @RepMichaelWaltz - Iranian backed militias will not stop attacking Americans across the Middle East unless we directly raise the costs for #Iran.

AG Ashley Moody @AGAshleyMoody - t’s tax filing season and scammers are trying to steal your information. Be careful not to unknowingly give your important tax and personal information to scammers.

Jimmy Patronis @JimmyPatronis - Happy Birthday ⁦@AaronPBean

Commissioner Nikki Fried @NikkiFriedFL- Congratulations to Peace River Citrus Products on their $98 million expansion and partnership with @CocaColaCo and @MinuteMaid Peace River's investment and Coca-Cola's choice of their world-class citrus operations makes a strong statement on the future of @FreshFromFL citrus.

Shevrin Jones @ShevrinJones - Thank you Pastor for inviting me to be a part of your service to share the importance of the church fighting for social justice & inequality. Whether for equal rights or civil rights, sitting on the sidelines is not an option. We all have a job to do on the field for justice.

Chris Sprowls @ChrisSprowls -Clayton Christensen was one of the great thinkers of our time. I heard him speak once about what it means to have commitment. A lesson I will not forget. Sad news.

 

 

 

"DNA Ties Florida S*x Offender to ‘Pillowcase Rapist’ Cases: Prosecutors," by The Daily Beasts's Julia Arciga -

Florida prosecutors announced Thursday that a 60-year-old s*x offender's DNA has been matched to as many as 25 rape cases from the 1980s, leading them to believe they have finally identified the so-called Pillowcase Rapist, The Sun-Sentinel reports. At a Thursday news conference, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said officials believe Robert Koehler was the Pillowcase Rapist—who s*xually assaulted over 40 women in Florida about four decades ago. “This offender will never, ever be free again,” Rundle said. “We feel confident that there are a number of sufficient cases that we can prosecute,” she said, adding that it may take time to locate victims. Koehler, who was convicted of a 1990 rape, was arrested over the weekend and has denied the allegations against him. Authorities say DNA tests show 100 percent matches between his DNA and that found on at least 25 women who claimed to have been raped by the Pillowcase Rapist. Koehler is being held without bond.

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Javier Manjarres

Javier Manjarres

Javier Manjarres is a nationally renowned award-winning political journalist and Publisher of Floridianpress.com, Hispolitica.com, shark-tank.com, and Texaspolitics.com He enjoys traveling, playing soccer, mixed martial arts, weight-lifting, swimming, and biking. Javier is also a political consultant and has also authored "BROWN PEOPLE," which is a book about Hispanic Politics. Follow on Twitter: @JavManjarres Email him at Diversenewmedia@gmail.com

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