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Clinton: “Disturbing Trend” of International Repression of LGBT People

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pointedly referenced a “disturbing trend of 2010 was the repression of vulnerable minorities, including racial and ethnic and religious minorities along with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people,” internationally, in announcing the 35th State Department Country Report on Human Rights Practices, released Friday afternoon in Washington, D.C.

Clinton reiterated her assertion, as well as the U.S. government’s position, that gay rights are human rights–and accentuated the U.S. government’s concerns about the threatened lives of LGBT people in Uganda by stating:

“And because I believe, and our government believes, that gay rights are human rights, we remain extremely concerned about state-sanctioned homophobia. In Uganda, for example, homosexuality remains illegal, and people are being harassed, discriminated against, threatened, and intimidated.”

This may be the first time a U.S. official has publicly uttered the words “state-sanctioned homophobia” in connection to a State Department human rights report. I am no longer surprised by anything Hillary Clinton says or does–she continues to break ground and set new milestones as America’s chief diplomat and advocate for human rights. Despite her formal diplomatic presentation, Clinton’s words today challenge autocratic regimes to do more to protect the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people around the world.

Certainly, hopefully, officials of the Uganda government are probably shocked by being named publicly as state sponsors of hatred toward gays by the U.S. Secretary of State for their unabashed efforts to aid, abet, and harm Ugandan LGBT citizens, which resulted in the murder of gay activist David Kato in January 2011.

Read: “Ugandan Kill The Gays Bill Returns With 2 Million Signature Petition“

Clinton’s words matter, especially in light of continuing efforts to bring Uganda’s “Kill The Gays” bill back before the parliament for a vote before recessing.

http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1

The report also focuses on state-sponsored extrajudicial killings, torture, detention, and disappearance, along with government corruption.

Clinton, who is arguably the most visible and forceful leader in the Obama Administration on LGBT rights, ordered formal reporting on gay rights to be included in the annual human rights country reports when she became Secretary of State in January, 2009.  The 2010 report reflects the first such report that includes a new emphasis on LGBT rights and a renewed emphasis on women’s rights in more than 190 of countries throughout the world.

The report was delayed by a few months due to the North Africa uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt and the current humanitarian intervention in Libya, forged by the UN Security Council Resolution 1973.  It takes in account the fluid situation in North Africa and the Middle East and states that the outcome remains to be seen if human rights will be respected in those countries where revolutionary changes are currently underway.

The other two trends reported in the overview of the 2010 human rights report indicate that “more than 90 governments have sought to pass restrictive laws and regulations, hampering the ability of organizations to register, operate freely, or receive foreign funding,” and that, because of “the explosive growth in the use of the Internet, mobile phones and other connective technologies that allow instantaneous communications to billions of people across the globe,” a number of governments have resorted to Internet censorship and sought to block access to the Internet by human rights activists who work to overturn such harsh tactics.

The report also shows that more than 40 governments are now “using a combination of regulatory restrictions, technical controls on access to the Internet, and technologies designed to repress speech and infringe on the personal privacy of those who use these rapidly evolving technologies.”

Since the Iran “Green” uprising in June 2009, the State Department has continually sought to enable activists access to Facebook and Twitter, even when hostile governments strove to deny them access by turning off the Internet. Most recently activists used these social media platforms in Tunisia and Egypt to help organize, eventually overthrowing two dictators who had been in power for decades, all occuring since the beginning of 2011.

Read: “Wikileaks, Twitter, Cable News Fuel Tunisia Uprising Perfect Storm“

In another move toward transparency, today also marked the unveiling by Clinton of a new website– humanrights.gov— open to everyone, and empowers human rights defenders with access to information about human rights abuses in countries which deny such information to their own citizens. In a brief peruse of the site, I was quite impressed by the depth and breadth of information contained on it and its nuanced approach to organizing human rights abuses, such as using the term “human integrity,” to report a number of incidents and violation of LGBT persons.

This website marks the first time the Universal Bill of Human Rights is listed on a U.S. government website that also includes the status of all international human rights treaties. Appropriately, this website showcases a famous photo of Eleanor  Roosevelt, unveiling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, drafted under her leadership  and adopted by the UN as its base document in 1948, from which all human rights treaties emanate. This website marks a symmetrical moment–from Eleanor Roosevelt, a controversial First Lady of the United States in her day, who wrote the framework for all human rights documents as an outcome from one of the darkest periods in human history–to that of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was also an equally controversial First Lady, and who has broken new ground by forcefully articulating the new human rights of the 21st century.

A more detailed regional and country report analyzing the human rights report’s contents on the status of global LGBT rights is forthcoming.

Tanya L. Domi is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, who teaches about human rights in Eurasia and is a Harriman Institute affiliated faculty member. Prior to teaching at Columbia, Domi worked internationally for more than a decade on issues related to democratic transitional development, including political and media development, human rights, gender issues, sex trafficking, and media freedom.

 

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News

House Freedom Caucus Republican: Trump Is Spinning Out of Control

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June 8, 2023

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A right-wing GOP lawmaker who has backed Donald Trump through both of his impeachments is sounding the alarm that the former president is becoming increasingly erratic which could put the 2024 general election at risk for his party.

According to a report from Politico, the closer Donald Trump gets to becoming the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nominee the more some GOP lawmakers are growing worried that not only will they lose their shot at taking back the White House, but he’ll take down-ticket GOP candidates down with him.

The report also notes that the battle between Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis is starting to turn off conservative voters and some are hoping that an alternative will rise from the squabble.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) was blunt about the GOP’s prospects as they stand today, telling reporters, “I’m worried about it,” and expressed fears that Trump will keep independent voters at a distance.

READ MORE: Trump lobs wild bribery claim against DOJ lawyer in all-caps midnight Truth Social rant

With a wide array of candidates having just appeared over the past weekend in Iowa, Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) claimed the infighting is turning voters — even Republicans — off.

“We’ll see if the two titans punching each other fires up the base, or if six months from now people are tired of both and ready for a third way,” Nunn explained before making tha blunt observation, “When you talk to Iowans, s–t-talking other candidates will not get you success. We don’t necessarily pick the winner, but we’re pretty good at smelling bulls–t.”

Kentucky Rep. Tom Massie (R), who has sided with DeSantis, is very worried about the possibility of Trump at the top of the ticket.

“I wish Trump were on Twitter. He’s in an echo chamber right now. And people don’t know how far he’s spun out from where he was,” he said in an interview. “The more visibility that we can help Trump get — when he attacks [his former White House press secretary] Kayleigh McEnany, for instance — the better.”

You can read more here.

 

Image via Shutterstock

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RIGHT WING EXTREMISM

Trump Has Been Notified He Is Target of DOJ Investigation – Insists ‘It’s Not True’ He’s Getting Indicted: Reports

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15 hours ago

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June 7, 2023

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Attorneys for Donald Trump reportedly have been notified the ex-president is a target of a criminal investigation into his handling of classified documents. The ex-president denies he is being indicted.

The Guardian Wednesday evening reported federal prosecutors told Trump’s attorneys last week he is a target of the long investigation that is now led by Special Counsel Jack Smith. That investigation, experts believe, could lead to obstruction of justice and Espionage Act charges.

“Trump’s lawyers were notified before they met on Monday with the special counsel Jack Smith leading the Mar-a-Lago documents case and the senior career official in the deputy attorney general’s office and made the case that prosecutors should not indict the former president in the matter,” The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell reports.

Politico also confirms The Guardian’s reporting, stating: “Federal prosecutors have notified former President Donald Trump in a letter that he is the target of a criminal investigation, according to a person familiar with the matter.”

Earlier Wednesday, a conservative website reported federal prosecutors had informed Trump’s attorneys he is a target and likely to be indicted. That website is run by John Solomon, who Trump named as his official representative to the National Archives last year. That move reportedly gave Solomon access to non-public administration records related to Russia, Politico reported.

READ MORE: Pence Presidential Launch Mocked for Suggesting Drag Queens Are Assaulting ‘American Values’ – With No Mention of Trump

Later Wednesday, The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman reported via Twitter she had been in touch with Trump.

“Trump tells me minutes ago he has NOT been told he’s getting indicted, when contacted. ‘It’s not true,’ he said, adding again he hasn’t done anything wrong,” Haberman tweeted at 2:40 PM.

“When I asked if he had been told he’s a target, he demurred, saying he doesn’t talk directly to prosecutors,” she added.

Haberman says she used the Solomon report as the basis for her conversation with Trump.

Less than one hour after Haberman says she spoke with the ex-president, he again posted an angry rant on his Truth Social platform.

“No one has told me I’m being indicted, and I shouldn’t be because I’ve done NOTHING wrong, but I have assumed for years that I am a Target of the WEAPONIZED DOJ & FBI, starting with the Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX, the “No Collusion” Mueller Report, Impeachment HOAX #1, Impeachment HOAX #2, the PERFECT Ukraine phone call, and various other SCAMS & WITCH HUNTS,” he rambled.

Trump made clear he expects House Republicans to protect him: “REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS MUST MAKE THIS THEIR # 1 ISSUE!!!”

 

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BREAKING NEWS

Mark Meadows Reportedly Agrees to Plea Deal – Attorney Denies

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18 hours ago

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June 7, 2023

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Mark Meadows, the former Trump White House Chief of Staff and former North Carolina Republican Congressman, reportedly has accepted a plea deal from the Dept. of Justice in exchange for pleading guilty to federal charges.

According to The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg, Meadows has also been co-operating with Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigators, which several legal experts have recently suggested was likely happening.

“Over the course of the last year, grand jurors have heard testimony from numerous associates of the ex-president, including nearly every employee of Mar-a-Lago, former administration officials who worked in Mr Trump’s post-presidential office and for his political operation, and former high-ranking administration officials such as his final White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows,” Feinberg reports at The Independent.

“Mr Meadows has already given evidence before the grand jury and is said to be cooperating with the investigation into his former boss,” the article, published Wednesday afternoon, states. “It is understood that the former North Carolina congressman will plead guilty to several federal charges as part of a deal for which he has already received limited immunity in exchange for his testimony.”

In an update to its reporting, The Independent adds Meadows’ attorney denies he would ever enter any guilty plea:

“A source who was briefed on the agreement claimed that the alleged agreement will involve the ex-chief of staff entering pleas of guilty to unspecified federal crimes but an attorney for Mr Meadows, George Terwilliger, denied that to The Independent. Mr Terwilliger said that the idea that his client would enter any guilty pleas was ‘complete bulls***’ but did not address the matter of immunity in a brief telephone conversation with this reporter.”

READ MORE: Pence Presidential Launch Mocked for Suggesting Drag Queens Are Assaulting ‘American Values’ – With No Mention of Trump

But in addition to breaking news that Meadows allegedly has accepted a plea deal, The Independent reports Trump is expected to be indicted under a portion of the Espionage Act. NCRM has not verified either of these reports.

“The Department of Justice is preparing to ask a Washington, DC grand jury to indict former president Donald Trump for violating the Espionage Act and for obstruction of justice as soon as Thursday.”

“The Independent has learned that prosecutors are ready to ask grand jurors to approve an indictment against Mr Trump for violating a portion of the US criminal code known as Section 793, which prohibits ‘gathering, transmitting or losing’ any ‘information respecting the national defence,'” The Independent adds.

In early June, former Nixon White House Counsel John Dean remarked, “Meadows has a really good lawyer, a former deputy AG, who could guide him through cooperation and a minimal plea deal of some sort.”

That attorney, George Terwilliger, played coy when asked about his client’s possible grand jury testimony. Terwilliger told The New York Times in an article published late Tuesday, “Without commenting on whether or not Mr. Meadows has testified before the grand jury or in any other proceeding, Mr. Meadows has maintained a commitment to tell the truth where he has a legal obligation to do so.”

Former Deputy Asst. Attorney General Harry Litman on Tuesday said, “I’ve already observed Terwilliger’s skill in representing Meadows. But if he got him an immunity deal–as opposed to a guilty plea + promise to cooperate deal–he is a wizard. [Would] think that Meadows is way too culpable to merit a pass, but if Smith [couldn’t] make case w/o him…”

U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), a former JAG attorney, tweeted on Tuesday:

“Mark Meadows had three options: 1. Take the Fifth Amendment. 2. Voluntarily cooperate. 3. Cooperate because he was given immunity or a plea deal. Based on the public reporting, it appears he did 2 or 3 above. This makes it more likely Donald Trump will be indicted, again.”

Meadows is a former chair of the far right House Freedom Caucus, and former chair of the House Oversight Committee.

NYU Law professor of law Ryan Goodman, a former U.S. Dept. of Defense Special Counsel, Wednesday morning said it is “NOT a big if” if Meadows has been granted immunity in exchange for his testimony.

 

This article has been updated to include remarks from Ryan Goodman, and The Independent’s additional reporting with comment from Meadows’ attorney.

This is a breaking news and developing story. Details may change. 

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