Fact check: Trump's dishonest '911' ad fear-mongers about Biden

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/21/politics/fact-check-trump-ad-biden-police-911/index.html

 President Donald Trump's campaign has released another TV ad that dishonestly tries to raise fears about former Vice President Joe Biden's views on policing.

The ad released Monday, the latest in a series of similarly fear-mongering ads from the Trump campaign, suggests that a Biden presidency would result in 911 calls from senior citizens going unanswered.

That is just nonsense.

 Biden has not proposed anything that could result in 911 calls no longer being answered. He has repeatedly and explicitly opposed the idea of "defunding the police," and he has proposed a $300 million increase in federal funding for community policing. Biden has not specifically weighed in on a proposal for a 50% cut to Seattle's police budget, which the ad insinuates he supports.

The ad relies on a single Biden comment to a progressive activist during a video chat earlier this month, in which Biden suggested he was "yes, absolutely" open to redirecting some police funding toward social services, mental health counseling and affordable housing.

We'll lay out the context for that comment below. But even if you interpret Biden's "yes, absolutely" in a way that is charitable to the Trump campaign, nothing Biden has said comes close to justifying the Trump campaign's terrifying vision of a Biden presidency.
 

But, again, there was no call from Biden to slash police budgets to the extent that there would be nobody working at a 911 dispatch center.

Rand Paul: 'No place' for feds 'rounding people up at will' in Portland

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/508158-rand-paul-no-place-for-feds-rounding-people-up-at-will-in-portland

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Monday spoke out against federal officers “rounding people up at will” in Portland, Ore., saying the handling of unrest there should be left to local law enforcement.
 “We cannot give up liberty for security. Local law enforcement can and should be handling these situations in our cities but there is no place for federal troops or unidentified federal agents rounding people up at will,” Paul tweeted Monday.

Pres. Trump ‘Making A Show Of Unauthorized Use Of Force’ | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Will Pres. Trump Accept The Election Results? | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Wallace - Trumps Cognitve test labelled next level lunacy + Trump huge drop in Polls to Biden

Fox's Napolitano rips 'unconstitutional' Trump crackdown on Portland: 'Just plain wrong'

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/508205-foxs-napolitano-rips-unconstitutional-trump-crackdown-on-portland-just-plain

Andrew Napolitano slammed the Trump administration for sending federal law enforcement to Portland in response to violent protests in Oregon's largest city, with the Fox News senior judicial analyst calling the move "unconstitutional" and "just plain wrong."

 

Democrats seek probe into ‘secret police force’ in Oregon

https://www.ft.com/content/c2066705-b769-4dff-80c2-2ccb82711486
 

Senior Democratic lawmakers have called for inquiries into the Trump administration’s use of federal law enforcement officers to quell protests in Oregon, saying the administration did not have “unfettered authority” to crack down on peaceful demonstrations. The request from Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House judiciary committee, and Carolyn Maloney, who chairs the House oversight committee, came after local officials in Oregon accused the Trump administration of using unlawful and “abhorrent” tactics in Portland, the state’s largest city. “This is a matter of utmost urgency. Citizens are concerned that the administration has deployed a secret police force, not to investigate crimes but to intimidate individuals it views as political adversaries, and that the use of these tactics will proliferate throughout the country,” Mr Nadler and Ms Maloney stated.

"They're kidnapping people": "Trump's secret police" snatch Portland protesters into unmarked vans

salon

Democratic leaders in Oregon called on the Trump administration to withdraw federal forces from Portland after footage emerged of camouflaged federal officers snatching protesters off the streets and detaining them in unmarked minivans.

Officers from the U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group and Custom and Border Protection's Border Patrol Tactical Unit have been deployed to protect federal property in Portland amid ongoing protests since July 14, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. But the officials have also detained protesters who are not near federal property, the outlet reported, and it is unclear if all of the detained individuals were involved in alleged criminal activity.

Trump’s Legal Justification for the Abduction of Portland Protesters Is Absurd

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/07/trump-legal-justification-portland-secret-police.html

Over the weekend, a group of Portland, Oregon, moms confronted federal officers who had fired tear gas at them and other peaceful protesters on Saturday outside of a federal courthouse. The escalation of the Portland protests came as unidentified federal officers in paramilitary uniforms were caught on tape abducting protesters and as President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he might send “more federal law enforcement” to cities “run by liberal Democrats” to replicate the Portland tactics against protesters, including efforts to “grab them, a lot of people in jail.” On Monday, it was reported that the Department of Homeland Security would be sending 150 federal agents to Chicago this week with an unspecified mandate. The apparent legal justification for the abduction of protesters is weak, and it should be vigorously challenged in the courts before Trump can export these tactics to other cities for use against citizens exercising their First Amendment rights.

Trump and Alien and Sedition Acts

Trump Threatens Cities With Feds After Violence Against Portland Protesters | The 11th Hour | MSNBC

Oregon Expanding Criminal Probe Of Unmarked Federal Troops | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

Trump pounding at defund the police, but Biden is an elusive target

https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-pounding-at-defund-the-police-but-biden-is-an-elusive-target

Things would be so much easier for the Trump campaign if Joe Biden was in favor of defunding the police.

But the president and his team are determined to tie every out-there left-wing position around their opponent’s neck, brushing aise his denials.

 

But Biden is a fascinating case study. While he’s certainly more liberal than any past Democratic standard-bearer of the modern era, he’s largely avoided embracing the most controversial proposals from the Bernie/AOC wing of the party. Biden has said repeatedly he doesn’t support defunding the police, he didn’t back the Green New Deal and refused to support Medicare for All, drawing flak from the woke progressives.

But President Trump took a very different tack in the Chris Wallace interview that aired Sunday.

“Biden wants to defund the police,” Trump said.

“No he, sir, he does not,” Wallace countered.

“Look,” Trump said. “He signed a charter with Bernie Sanders; I will get that one...Did you read the charter that he agreed to with...”

“It says nothing about defunding the police,” Wallace said.

“Oh really? It says abolish, it says -- let’s go. Get me the charter, please.”

An aide brought the document, and Wallace was right--it did not address taking money away from police departments.

Federal agents in unmarked cars, 'wall of moms': Here's what's happening in Portland

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/20/portland-protests-federal-agents-unmarked-cars-and-walls-moms/5470780002/

The agents come from the U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group and an elite U.S. Customs and Border Protection team based on the U.S.-Mexico border and have been deployed to protect federal property.

Last week, video also surfaced of the federal authorities using unmarked vehicles to detain people, seemingly without an explanation.