Monday, December 11, 2017
A Republican national committeewoman in the Midwest resigned Monday over the RNC's financial backing for Roy Moore, the GOP's candidate for a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. Moore's campaign in Alabama has been beset by accusations that he committed sexual misconduct and pursued relationships with underage girls. But while Joyce Simmons of Nebraska wants her party to keep away from Moore, her Vermont counterpart has no such compunction.
Tags: Roy Moore , Richard Shelby , Joyce Simmons , Suzanne Butterfield , Jay Shepard , Image , Web Only
“Oh, my God. I wasn’t aware of that,” Leahy said when he was asked Sunday about the comment. “I have been a consistent and noisy proponent of net neutrality.”
Tags: Patrick Leahy , net neutrality , Federal Communications Commission , Image , Web Only
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Speaking on "CBS This Morning," Sanders addressed allegations of sexual misconduct against Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore. He noted that Trump had faced similar accusations during the 2016 presidential campaign and referred to a 2005 "Access Hollywood" tape in which Trump bragged about groping women.
"We have a president of the United States who acknowledged on a tape widely seen all over this country that he's assaulted women, so I would hope that maybe the president of the United States might pay attention [to] what's going on and also think about resigning," Sanders said.
Later Thursday, the Vermont senator and 2016 presidential candidate restated his call on Twitter:
According to Daniel McLean, a spokesperson for Sanders, the senator had not previously called on Trump to consider resigning.We have a president who acknowledged on tape that he assaulted women. I would hope that he pays attention to what's going on and think about resigning.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 7, 2017
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Donald Trump , Roy Moore , Al Franken , Image , Video , Web Only
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Fifty-eight Democrats voted to debate Rep. Al Green’s (D-Texas) motion to file articles of impeachment, but Welch was one of 126 Democrats who joined Republicans in killing the motion.
Green's impeachment resolution accused Trump of inciting hatred and associating the presidency with white nationalism, among other alleged offenses.
Tags: Peter Welch , Donald Trump , impeachment , Image , Web Only
Vermont’s two U.S. senators on Wednesday joined a growing chorus of their colleagues calling for Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) to resign over allegations of sexual misconduct.
Calling Franken's continued service in the U.S. Senate "untenable," Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said in a written statement, "He has to step aside." In a separate statement issued later Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said, "The right thing is for him to resign."
A friend and ally of Franken's, Leahy initially dismissed calls for his colleague's ouster after a California broadcast journalist accused the Minnesota Democrat of forcibly kissing and groping her.
"I don't condone this action, nor does he," Leahy told Seven Days late last month. "He's apologized rather profusely, and, in fact, he asked for an Ethics Committee investigation before anybody else did. He's been a very effective senator."
Asked directly whether Franken should resign, Leahy said at the time, "Then is Donald Trump going to resign, when he's admitted to doing a lot more? I say that rhetorically. Let's see what the Ethics Committee comes up with."
Tags: Senator , Al Franken , Patrick Leahy , Bernie Sanders , sexual misconduct , Image , Web Only
Thursday, November 30, 2017
About 40 people gathered in a small event room at the Courtyard Marriott to hear O'Keefe, whose Project Veritas has been in the national news this week for a botched sting that targeted the Washington Post.
He declined to answer questions about why Veritas apparently attempted to plant a fake story in the Post, saying the group does not discuss its "motives or methods." But O'Keefe vowed to keep doing undercover work and video exposés. "I don't consider anything off limits," he told the audience.
Tags: James O'Keefe , Project Veritas , Middlebury College , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Last week, the U.S Justice Department sent letters to 29 local and state governments, including Vermont and Burlington, threatening to withhold federal funds for failing to carry out its immigration directives. It gave them a December 8 deadline to prove they aren't breaking federal law.
Vermont stands to lose about $500,000; Burlington could lose $40,000. The letters provoked an immediate outcry from the state's congressional delegation, Gov. Phil Scott and Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, who maintain that the city's and state's policing policies are perfectly legal.
U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick came to a similar conclusion Monday in a California court case, ruling that the Trump Administration had violated the separation of powers doctrine in the Fifth and Tenth Amendments by attempting to strip sanctuary cities of funding.
Tags: sanctuary cities , Donald Trump , Patrick Leahy , Phil Scott , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
The Justice Department threatened to cut federal funding for the state of Vermont and the city of Burlington in letters that warned each may be violating federal immigration law.
The government agency sent the letters Wednesday to 29 different jurisdictions "that may have laws, policies, or practices that violate 8 U.S.C. 1373, a federal statute that promotes information sharing related to immigration enforcement."
“Jurisdictions that adopt so-called ‘sanctuary policies’ also adopt the view that the protection of criminal aliens is more important than the protection of law-abiding citizens and of the rule of law,” U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement. “I urge all jurisdictions found to be potentially out of compliance in this preliminary review to reconsider their policies that undermine the safety of their residents."
The letters give each jurisdiction until December 8 to prove they're in compliance.
Tags: Patrick Leahy , Jeff Sessions , Miro Weinberger , Tom Anderson , immigration , sanctuary city , Image , Web Only
Monday, November 13, 2017
The Fox News host's fans are upset that the coffee machine-making company has pulled its ads from Hannity's show after he showed support for Roy Moore, the Republican Alabama U.S. Senate candidate accused of having made sexual advances on teenaged girls as young as 14.
The company's brewing machines became blameless victims in a bizarre saga. Hannity supporters posted videos on social media of themselves bashing their Keurig machines with golf clubs, hammers and even dropping them from second-floor apartments.
Tags: Keurig Green Mountain , Sean Hannity , Roy Moore , Washington Post , Bob Gamgort , Image , Web Only
Sunday, November 12, 2017
The meeting, at the Burlington headquarters of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, brought together a politically diverse group. But common themes quickly emerged: All acknowledged the need for tax reform, and all were dismayed at the breakneck pace and lack of transparency in the Republican majority’s process.
“What I’m hearing is a lot of confusion,” said Betsy Bishop, president of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. “Is it good or bad? No one knows.”
“I want opportunities for my customers to have a more simple, efficient tax system,” said Michael Seaver, Vermont president of People’s United Bank. “There is no confidence that this process will lead to that. There’s been no visibility in the process.”
Tags: Peter Welch , tax reform , U.S. Congress , Paul Bruhn , Bill Sayre , Kaj Samsom , Michael Seaver , Bill Colvin , Betsy Bishop , Sarah Carpenter , Janet Spitler , Image , Web Only