Northeast
Democrats and political experts warn barring Trump from ballots could 'backfire'
A report from The New York Times quoted Democratic Party lawmakers, voters and political experts who, despite being critical toward former President Trump, are “conflicted” about the ballot bans against him in Colorado and Maine, with some warning they could “backfire.”
The report, written by Jack Healy, Anna Betts, Mike Baker and Jill Cowan, started with the perspective of Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, who the paper noted is “troubled by the threat former President Donald J. Trump poses to democracy and fears the prospect of his return to power.”
Despite these fears, the Democratic Party lawmaker “also worries that recent decisions in Maine and Colorado to bar Mr. Trump from presidential primary ballots there could backfire, further eroding Americans’ fraying faith in U.S. elections,” the Times reported.
CALIFORNIA LT. GOV CALLS FOR STATE TO ‘EXPLORE EVERY LEGAL OPTION’ TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM ’24 BALLOT
Multiple Democratic Party officials, voters, and political experts told The New York Times that state ballot bans against former President Trump may “backfire” for democracy. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Capturing his conflict over the matter, the outlet quoted him, saying, “Removing him from the ballot would, on its face value, seem very anti-democratic, but so is trying to overthrow your country.”
The Times spoke to Stanford Law School professor Nate Persily, who said: “We are walking in new constitutional snow here to try and figure out how to deal with these unprecedented developments.”
As the paper noted, Persily views these ballot bans as happening “amid a collapse of faith in the American electoral system.”
“This is not a political and electoral system that can deal with ambiguity right now,” he said, adding that he hopes the U.S. Supreme Court will clear things up with whatever decision it makes.
The Times also spoke to some Democratic Party voters who said they are uneasy about the situation.
“Deena Drewis, 37, a copy writer, and Aaron Baggaley, 43, a contractor, both of whom have consistently voted for Democrats, expressed a queasy ambivalence over such an extraordinary step,” the paper reported.
Baggaley, who lives in Los Angeles, said: “I’m really just conflicted. It’s hard to imagine he didn’t fully engage in insurrection. Everything points to it. But the other half of the country is in a position where they feel like it should be up to the electorate.”
RFK JR SLAMS CALIFORNIA LT GOV FOR EYEING BID TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM BALLOT
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows discussed her decision to bar Trump from her state’s primary ballot with CNN this week. (Screenshot/CNN)
The Times also mentioned how even Democratic officials in California can’t endorse the ballot bans.
“California’s Democratic secretary of state, Shirley Weber, announced on Thursday that Mr. Trump would remain on the ballot, and Gov. Gavin Newsom dismissed calls by other Democrats to remove him,” it noted.
It added a quote from the governor: “We defeat candidates at the polls. Everything else is a political distraction.”
“In interviews, some voters and experts said it was premature to disqualify Mr. Trump because he had not been criminally convicted of insurrection,” the report also mentioned, adding their worries “that red-state officials could use the tactic to knock Democratic candidates off future ballots, or that the disqualifications could further poison the country’s political divisions while giving Mr. Trump a new grievance to rail against.”
Johns Hopkins University professor and political scientist Yascha Mounk told The Times: “The only way to neutralize the danger posed by authoritarian populists like Donald Trump is to beat them at the ballot box, as decisively as possible and as often as it takes.”
Liberal media columnists have made the same points in recent weeks. L.A. Times columnist Mark Barabak slammed the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision last Tuesday, calling it a “boost” to Trump in a column.
“… Democrats will have to beat him at the ballot box, as they should. A courtroom is no place to decide a presidential election — which is exactly what the Supreme Court did in 2000,” he added.
In a column published on CNN.com last week, University of Pennsylvania political science senior lecturer Damon Linker said the Colorado Supreme Court’s Tuesday Trump decision is “breathtakingly foolish.”
The scholar also said: “Trump and his populist style of politics can’t be defeated by lawyers and judges. They can only be beaten at the ballot box.”
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Northeast
Venezuelan leader Maduro, wife arrive at Brooklyn detention facility after capture by US forces
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Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, Saturday evening after being captured by U.S. forces at their South American compound earlier in the day.
Maduro is charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the U.S.
The indictment also lists his wife and son as defendants.
A DOJ plane containing captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife lands at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, N.Y., Saturday. (WNYW)
HOUSE GOP CRITICS BREAK WITH TRUMP OVER VENEZUELA OPERATION THAT CAPTURED MADURO
President Donald Trump shared a photo of Maduro after his capture aboard the USS Iwo Jima, though he and his wife were not clearly seen when they landed aboard at Department of Justice plane at Stewart Air National Guard Base in upstate New York late Saturday afternoon.
Operation Absolute Resolve follows a series of U.S. military strikes on suspected drug vessels allegedly linked to the Venezuelan regime in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific.
The Venezuelan government said in a statement the attack was carried out to seize the country’s oil and minerals and was an “attempt to impose a colonial war to destroy the republican form of government and force a ‘regime change,’ in alliance with the fascist oligarchy.”
Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro is led by officials while in custody from a DOJ airplane Saturday in upstate New York. (ABC Affiliate WABC via Reuters)
RUBIO TO CUBA: ‘I’D BE CONCERNED’ AFTER US MILITARY ARRESTS VENEZUELAN LEADER MADURO
Trump warned the U.S. is prepared to stage a “second and much larger attack,” confirming U.S. forces remain in position.
“We’re there now, and we’re going to stay until such time as the proper transition can take place,” Trump said.
Police patrol the West Side Heliport in New York City Saturday ahead of the expected arrival of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro and his wife arrived in the U.S. after his capture by U.S. forces in Caracas. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
The operation comes nearly 40 years after the U.S. military last removed a leader in Latin America.
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Panama dictator Manuel Noriega was successfully ousted in 1989, though it brought with it long-term challenges in stabilizing governance.
While Venezuelan celebrations began in other countries, Fox News reported those inside the country were stockpiling food amid fears of instability.
Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
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intentionally and knowingly combined, conspired, confederated, and agreed together and with each other to violate Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c).
35. It was a part and an object of the conspiracy that NICOLÁS MADURO MOROS, DIOSDADO CABELLO RONDÓN, RAMÓN RODRÍGUEZ CHACÍN, CILIA ADELA FLORES DE MADURO, NICOLÁS ERNESTO MADURO GUERRA, a/k/a “Nicolasito,” a/k/a “The Prince,” and HECTOR RUSTHENFORD GUERRERO FLORES, a/k/a “Niño Guerrero,” the defendants, and others known and unknown, during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime for which they may be prosecuted in a court of the United States, to wit, for MADURO MOROS, CABELLO RONDÓN, and RODRÍGUEZ CHACÍN, the controlled substance offenses charged in Counts One and Two of this Superseding Indictment, and for FLORES DE MADURO, MADURO GUERRA, and GUERRERO FLORES, the controlled substance offense charged in Count Two of this Superseding Indictment, knowingly used and carried firearms, and, in furtherance of such crimes, knowingly possessed firearms, and aided and abetted the use, carrying, and possession of firearms, to wit, machineguns that were capable of automatically shooting more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger, as well as destructive devices, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(c)(1)(A) and 924(c)(1)(B)(ii). (Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(o) and 3238.)
36.
FORFEITURE ALLEGATIONS
As a result of committing the controlled substance offense charged in Count One of this Superseding Indictment, NICOLÁS MADURO MOROS, DIOSDADO CABELLO RONDÓN, RAMÓN RODRÍGUEZ CHACÍN, the defendants, shall forfeit to the United States, pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Sections 853 and 970, any and all property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds the defendants obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of the offenses, and any and all property used, or intended to be used, in any manner or part, to commit,
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Jackets shook off a sluggish start to dispose of Boston College, 65-53.
Georgia Tech guard Chas Kelley III finishes a layup past Boston College’s Marko Radunovic on Saturday, Jan. 3 at McCamish Pavilion. (Danny Karnik/Georgia Tech Athletics)
Trailing late in the second half Saturday at McCamish Pavilion, Georgia Tech needed a spark. Cole Kirouac delivered.
The 7-foot freshman found himself unguarded inside the arc on the left side of the court. Without hesitation he bolted toward the rim, took flight and slammed home the ball with two hands to tie the score at 46 with seven minutes left on the clock.
Kirouac’s dunk brought many of the 5,978 to their feet and changed the energy in the building while the Yellow Jackets threatened to lose to the worst team in the ACC. Instead, Tech took the lead shortly after Kirouac’s play and never trailed again in a 65-53 victory.
“Originally, it was just supposed to be a handoff. I saw my man sagging off. I just took one dribble, went up and dunked it,” Kirouac said. “I feel like I was pretty tired in that moment. I feel like that energized me a lot. I think we had energy as a team, but I feel like it probably boosted it a little bit.”
Said Tech coach Damon Stoudamire: “That was a heck of a dunk he had. That ignited us, ignited the crowd. Proud of him and happy for him.”
Saturday’s victory was the 10th of the season for Tech — all 10 have come at home and all 10 have come against opponents which reside in Quadrant 4 of the NCAA’s NET rankings. Per that metric, Boston College was the ACC’s lowest-ranked team at No. 179 going into Saturday.
But the Jackets (10-5, 1-1 ACC), the ACC’s second-worst team in the NET, found themselves in a dogfight for much of the afternoon despite leading by 10 late in the first half. The Eagles (7-7, 0-1 ACC) had momentum on their side and led by four with 9:14 to play before wilting at the end.
Tech guard Lamar Washington flirted with a triple-double by finishing with 17 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Kowacie Reeves scored 16 and Baye Ndongo had 10 points and eight boards.
Twenty of Tech’s 65 points came from the free-throw line. The Jackets also had 23 fast break points — Boston College had none.
“We’re a good team,” Washington said. “When we play together and we play with confidence and we play how we’re supposed to play, we can — I feel like we can beat anybody in the nation.”
Tech was sluggish and sloppy at the outset, suffering through a field goal drought of 6:04 while missing nine of its first 10 shots. But a Ndongo layup followed by a Kam Craft 3 from the right corner tied the game at 11-all a little less than eight minutes into the fight.
The Jackets began to get a feel for things offensively from there and took their first lead on a Jaeden Mustaf layup at 13-12. Akai Fleming’s powerful finish from the right block 3 1/2 minutes later put the home team ahead 19-15.
Tech had six assists on its first seven made shots at that point.
Fleming’s score began an 10-2 Tech run that also included a Fleming dunk and two Fleming free throws that upped the lead to 27-17.
But the Jackets wouldn’t score the rest of the half and had to settle for a 27-24 lead at the break. The Eagles, despite shooting 9 of 34 from the floor, ended the period on a 7-0 run to close the gap.
“I was actually disappointed the last three minutes of the first half because BC, they’ve played a lot of games where they just rock you to sleep,” Stoudamire said. “You’ll feel like you’re in control of the game and then all of a sudden you lose a rhythm offensively, and then they start scoring some buckets and they hit a bank-shot 3 and you just have all kind of things start happening, and that’s when the game turned. The momentum of the game, it shifted. And we couldn’t find it back offensively.”
A back-and-forth first eight minutes of the second half saw Boston College finally tie the game at 36 before Tech squeaked ahead by four thanks to two Washington free throws and a Reeves layup.
The Eagles responded with a 7-0 run and took the lead on a Donald Hand Jr. 3, and then went up 43-40 on Chase Forte’s layup at the 10:33 mark. Boden Kapke’s putback after a missed free throw gave BC a 46-42 edge 64 seconds later.
That was the last little glimmer of hope the visitors had.
“We couldn’t have won games like this last year,” Stoudamire said. “The way I look at everything that’s happening, I think sometimes people get bent out of shape when you play teams and you don’t beat ‘em by how many points they want you to win by or different things of that nature. We went to Duke and we lost by six. We come back (Saturday) and it was kind of a grimy game.
“But we’ve been playing close games, so we’re seasoned in these games. Doesn’t matter who you play, you’re seasoned in ‘em, and I think that what you’ve seen. You didn’t see no panic with our guys coming down the stretch.”
Hand and Kapke both scored 13 for BC, which shot 18 of 66 from the field and 4 of 29 from long range.
Tech returns to action at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Syracuse (9-5, 0-1) at McCamish Pavilion.
Chad Bishop is a Georgia Tech sports reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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