NEW YORK: For more than two weeks now, the Democratic Party has been mired in crisis. And yet there is no sign that the threat to Joe Biden’s reelection is nearing a conclusion, as the president digs in and a growing chorus of Democratic officials, donors and strategists calls for him to step aside.
Donors and high-profile endorsers are repudiating Biden, morale inside and outside the campaign is weak, and some top Democrats are pondering whether to make a move against the embattled president. One of Biden’s allies privately described a cycle of alternating hope and despair in the style of the movie “Groundhog Day.”
The extraordinary intra-party debate still rages 15 days after Biden’s disastrous debate performance, with the president’s Thursday news conference doing little to quell fears about his prospects against Republican Donald Trump. Another five Democratic members of Congress called on Biden to step aside in the hours since the president’s high-profile press conference, bringing to nearly 20 the total number of Democratic US representatives and senators publicly pushing Biden to leave the race.
Biden’s acknowledgment Thursday that delegates were free to vote their conscience at the party’s August convention — or in a virtual roll call vote that could come much sooner — sparked a new wave of urgent conversations among Democratic officials on Friday.
“I’m in that box of delegates who are really reconsidering if they’re going to cast their vote for President Biden,” said Joe Salazar, a Democratic National Committee member from Colorado.
Biden insists he will not step down. And indeed, other delegates say they’re firmly behind the president.
The president’s team is aggressively pushing back against a collection of new data shared among Democratic officials in recent days arguing that he’s now at a considerable disadvantage in his bid to defeat Trump in November. In fact, fear is pervasive among donors and strategists working on House and Senate races that Biden’s weak standing could undermine the party’s outlook even in blue states.
Hours after his campaign issued a new strategy memo announcing a renewed focus on three pivotal Midwestern states — the so-called “Blue Wall” that has long been must-win for Democrats — one of the campaign’s field organizers in Wisconsin quit.
The lower-level staffer’s departure, announced during an internal staff conference call Thursday, was attributed directly to post-debate frustration, according to two people familiar with the matter granted anonymity to share details of the private discussion. A Biden campaign spokesperson confirmed the staff departure.
While one person leaving a campaign of more than 1,000 people isn’t proof of a larger exodus, other signs of trouble continued to pop up.
One lawmaker, Rep. Mike Levin of California, told Biden directly on Friday that he should step down in a virtual call hosted for members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting.
The call began with Biden soliciting feedback on how to appeal to the Hispanic vote and what campaign events he should join over the next few months. When the call was opened to questions, Levin raised his hand to give Biden a talk about his Southern California district, with voters telling him that the president should not be on top of the party’s ticket for 2024.
Levin, according to two of the people, then encouraged the president to listen to those constituents and step down.
“I have deep respect for President Biden’s five-plus decades of public service and incredible appreciation for the work we’ve done together these last three and a half years,” the lawmaker said in a statement. “But I believe the time has come for President Biden to pass the torch.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a letter to his caucus on Friday describing a private meeting he had the night before with Biden. Notably, he did not include any endorsement of the president in the brief letter.
“In my conversation with President Biden, I directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the caucus has shared in our recent time together,” Jeffries wrote.
A private debate is playing out among the party’s donor class in particular, which is far from united on whether Vice President Kamala Harris should inherit the nomination should Biden ultimately step aside, according to conversations with more than a half-dozen donors granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Some donors believe Biden still offers the best chance of defeating Trump, despite Democratic voters expressing widespread doubts in polling about his age and readiness.
That’s even as fundraisers are being canceled and some larger donors refuse to fund any Democratic campaigns until Biden is no longer the nominee. Others are putting money behind political action committees aimed at supporting down-ballot candidates who have openly called for Biden to step aside.
Others would prefer an open convention that would allow hundreds of delegates gathered in Chicago next month to select the nominee from a collection of top-tier prospects that also includes California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, among others.
But Harris, who is the first woman, Black woman and person of Asian descent to serve as vice president, commands deep loyalty from key Democratic constituencies. Even if donors persuaded someone to run in a potential open primary, that candidate would be in a position of challenging and trying to sideline someone who has set those historic firsts.
The Biden-Harris campaign is in a position of implicitly undercutting Harris’ prospects to protect Biden’s.
Biden’s campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon released a memo Thursday conceding “increased anxiety” within the party, although she suggested that movement against the president, “while real, is not a sea-change in the state of the race.”
And O’Malley Dillon wrote that there is “no indication that other Democratic candidates would outperform the president against Trump.”
Salazar, the DNC member from Colorado, declined to say whether there was an organized effort among delegates to rally behind another presidential nominee when asked. But he criticized DNC leadership in Washington for declining to answer key logistical questions about how or when delegates could nominate a Biden replacement should they wish to.
Biden’s nomination could be sealed in a matter of days due to a virtual roll call that would make him the nominee well before the convention opens Aug. 19. The DNC originally set up the virtual roll call to preempt an Ohio ballot requirement that could have kept Biden off the ballot there.
Ohio has since changed its law. But despite numerous inquiries from The Associated Press and other media, the DNC won’t say whether it will keep the virtual roll call or when it will hold it.
The virtual vote to make Biden the nominee could be as soon as July 19, Salazar said, although a DNC spokesperson said the vote could not take place before July 21.
Meanwhile, Trump’s fundraising is surging. And the presumptive Republican nominee has only just begun to spend on television advertising, while Biden has poured tens of millions of dollars into battleground-state advertising in recent months.
Biden’s allies are hoping for a respite in the coming days with the Republican National Convention opening Monday in Milwaukee.
Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley said the GOP was prepared to win this fall regardless of whether Biden steps out of the race or not.
“I think if Kamala Harris steps in, she is going to run on the exact same platform that Joe Biden has been running on, and it is a failed platform based on failed policies that have really hurt American families,” he said. “The Democratic Party is in complete disarray.”
The Democratic Party crisis after Biden’s debate spirals with no clear ending
https://arab.news/mafvz
The Democratic Party crisis after Biden’s debate spirals with no clear ending
- Donors and high-profile endorsers are repudiating Biden, and some top Democrats are pondering whether to make a move against him
- Biden insists he will not step down. And indeed, other delegates say they’re firmly behind the president
Father accused of murder of British-Pakistani girl blames stepmother
- Giving evidence for a third day, Sharif admitted slapping Sara “multiple times” but denied beating, burning, or biting her
LONDON: The father of a 10-year-old British-Pakistani girl on Thursday denied her murder and instead blamed the girl’s stepmother, calling her “evil” and “psycho.”
Sara Sharif was found dead in her bed in Woking, southwest of London, on August 10, 2023 with injuries including broken bones, burns and bite marks.
Her father, Urfan Sharif, 42, had fled to Pakistan a day before the body was found, along with his wife Beinash Batool, 30, and the girl’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29.
Sharif then called police in the UK shortly after arriving in Islamabad and said he had “beat her up too much.” During the trial, Sharif said he made up this and another confession to “protect my family.”
All three adults were arrested upon their return to the UK a month later. They deny charges of murder and allowing the death of a child.
Details of the extent of Sara’s injuries have been detailed at London’s Old Bailey court, including claims from Batool that Sharif would beat his daughter badly.
Giving evidence for a third day, Sharif admitted slapping Sara “multiple times” but denied beating, burning, or biting her, insisting that he was “never at home” when she was injured.
Sharif broke down when his lawyer, Naeem Mian, questioned him about beating Sara, who was home schooled, with a cricket bat.
The taxi driver denied burning his daughter with an iron and instead said he was “made to” slap Sara by Batool, who constantly accused the girl of behaving badly.
Pointing to Batool sitting in the dock, Sharif shouted: “I should not have believed her... I didn’t realize I’m living with evil and a psycho.”
He also suggested that Batool was the one who bit her “like an animal.”
The jury was previously told that Sharif and Malik had provided their dental impressions but Batool had refused.
“I didn’t do it. Faisal didn’t do it. Who else was at home?” Sharif said.
He denied ever being aware of Sara being in pain. “She never told me that,” he said and indicated that he did not see injuries because Sara wore full-sleeve tops and long bottoms as well as a hijab head covering.
In the month leading up to Sara’s death, Mian said Sharif was out of the house at work from early in the morning to late at night while holing frequent telephone conversations with Batool, who would largely be at home.
Sharif wept as he recalled a time he came home and saw that Sara’s hands had been tied behind her back with brown packaging tape, accusing Batool of the act.
Asked why he did not call the police or ask Batool to leave, Sharif said that his wife was “manipulative” and that he believed her apology.
“I have been an idiot,” he added.
Forensic evidence shown to court included bundles of packaging tape and a white plastic carrier bag fashioned into a hood that could have been used on Sara’s head.
The bag had packaging tape stuck to it as well as long, brown hairs that matched Sara’s DNA, the court was told.
Both the bag and the non-sticky side of the tape had fingerprints that matched Sharif’s, who denied fashioning a hood out of the plastic bag or using it on Sara.
He said the fingerprints could be a result of him handling the items while sorting the garbage.
Sharif had previously accused Batool of being abusive toward him and preventing him from asking Sara about how she obtained her injuries.
In 2022, Batool texted her sister that Sharif had suggested using make-up to cover up bruises after beating Sara, to which the sister replied: “LOL it was going to happen you can tell.”
In the days before her death, Sharif said Sara, who did chores around the house, had asked him to “not go to work.”
German parliament passes controversial antisemitism text
- Critics of the resolution — including voices from the Jewish community — say it could restrict artistic and academic freedom
BERLIN: The German parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly backed a resolution aimed at tackling a spike in anti-Semitism linked to the war in Gaza.
However, critics of the resolution — including voices from the Jewish community — say it could restrict artistic and academic freedom.
The text calls for a ban on public funding for any group “that spreads anti-Semitism, calls into question Israel’s right to exist or calls for a boycott of Israel.”
In cases of anti-Semitic acts in schools and universities, it calls for those responsible to be excluded from classes or even expelled.
The resolution was proposed and supported by MPs from the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the conservative CDU-CSU, the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP).
About 100 Jewish artists and intellectuals living in Germany said in a statement that the resolution would “weaken, rather than strengthen, the diversity of Jewish life in Germany by associating all Jews with the actions of the Israeli government.”
The general secretary of Amnesty International’s Germany chapter, Julia Duchrow, said that while Amnesty “explicitly welcomes the goal of adopting measures to fight anti-Semitism... the resolution adopted today not only fails to achieve this, it could lead to serious violations of basic human rights and legal uncertainty.”
“This resolution leaves space for abuse, criminalizes legitimate criticism of Israeli government policy and serves the racist narrative of ‘imported anti-Semitism’,” she said.
In an open letter in October 2023, Amnesty and 103 other civil society organizations had warned against conflating anti-Semitism and criticism of the policies of the Israeli government.
“Branding legitimate criticism of Israel’s human right record as anti-Semitic also undermines the fight against genuine anti-Semitism,” they pointed out.
While also mentioning anti-Semitism from the far right and far left, the German parliament’s resolution says that “in recent months the alarming extent of anti-Semitism based on immigration from North Africa and the Middle East has become clear.”
This accusation against immigrants from North Africa and the Middle East — who could be Christian, Jewish or Muslim and might either support or oppose the policies of the Israeli government — was criticized by some in the Greens.
But it was backed by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), whose MPs also voted for the text.
AfD lawmaker Juergen Braun called “mass immigration... the central problem endangering Jewish life in Germany.”
The far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) was the only party to vote against the resolution, with the other far-left Die Linke party abstaining.
Arab American US election successes marred by claims of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias
- Several Arab Americans candidates were reelected despite growing concerns about anti-Arab sentiment amid ongoing wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran
- Syrian American candidate for Illinois House of Representatives says she was targeted by anonymous Islamophobic and anti-Arab attacks during campaign
CHICAGO: Alongside Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris in the US presidential election on Tuesday, and amid ongoing tensions in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, several Arab American incumbents won reelection to their offices at state and congressional levels, some of them unchallenged.
Four Arab American members of Congress will return to the Capitol to represent their districts in California, Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan, while five were reelected to State House seats in Illinois, Michigan, Colorado and Iowa.
In some places, however, there were allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab sentiment as opponents sought to capitalize on voter concerns about terrorism and foreign conflicts.
Suzanne Akhras, a Syrian American Democrat who lost to Republican incumbent Nicole La Ha in the race to represent the 82nd District in the Illinois House of Representatives, said she was targeted by anonymous text messages and phone calls falsely linking her to Islamic terrorism, including claims of ties to Hamas.
“These calls and texts tried to portray me as a danger to the community I love,” she said in a campaign video message to voters in September. “I have lived in Burr Ridge for nearly 20 years. I have been a PTA parent. I have spent my life advocating for vulnerable people and being of service. I founded a very successful non-profit organization.
"I am a proud American. I cherish our shared values of freedom; freedom to express our diverse faiths and freedom to celebrate the diversity of our backgrounds and cultures. Those freedoms I hold dear are under attack in our district. These attacks against me are based on racism, Islamophobia and are xenophobic.”
Akhras, who said she has been recognized as an “upstander” by the Illinois Holocaust Museum for confronting hate speech and crime, said the “disturbing calls and text messages” began shortly after she began campaigning door-to-door. She criticized the Republican Party in the state for failing to denounce the attacks, and accused La Ha of running an “abhorrent and dangerous, xenophobic” smear campaign.
Akhras, who wears a hijab and whose husband, Dr. Zaher Sahloul, helps provide humanitarian medical services to refugees and displaced people in conflict zones, including Gaza, also said that despite winning the Democratic primary in March, she received no support from the Illinois Democratic Party.
Elsewhere, Darrell Issa, who is of Syrian-Lebanese heritage, was reelected to Congress as the representative for California’s 48th district, defeating Democrat Stephen Houlahan with 60.2 percent of the vote.
In Minnesota, Democrat Ilhan Omar, who is of Somali descent, was reelected as the member of the House of Representatives for the 5th District with 75 percent of the vote, easily defeating her Republican rival, Arab American Dalia Al-Aqidi.
Democrat Rashida Tlaib, who is Palestinian American , defeated Republican James Hopper with 69.7 percent of the vote in Michigan’s 12th Congressional District. Republican Darin LaHood, who is of Lebanese heritage, ran unopposed in Illinois’ 16th District.
Two Arab American members of Congress, Democrat Anna Eshoo from California and Republican Garret Graves from Louisiana, did not seek reelection.
At the state level, Democrat Nabeela Syed, who is of Indian heritage, secured a second term in the State House as the representative for the 51st District with 55 percent of the vote, ahead of Republican rival Tosi Ufodike.
In Michigan’s 3rd District, Democrat Alabas Farhat defeated Republican Richard Zeile with 67.9 percent of the vote. Democrat Iman Jodeh was reelected in Colorado’s 41st District, gaining 61 percent of the vote against Republican Robert McKenna.
Palestinian American Abdelnasser Rashid and Syrian American Sami Scheetz, both Democrats, retained their seats without a challenge in Illinois’ 21st District and Iowa’s 78th District respectively.
US military judge reinstates 9/11 mastermind plea deal — official
- Prosecution can appeal decision but it was not immediately clear if they would do so
- Agreements triggered anger among some relatives of victims of the 2001 attacks
WASHINGTON: A US military judge has reinstated plea agreements for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants, an official said Thursday, three months after the deals were scrapped by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The agreements — which are understood to take the death penalty off the table — had triggered anger among some relatives of victims of the 2001 attacks, and Austin said that both they and the American public deserved to see the defendants stand trial.
“I can confirm that the military judge has ruled that the pretrial agreements for the three accused are valid and enforceable,” the US official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The prosecution has the opportunity to appeal the decision, but it was not immediately clear if they would do so.
The plea deals with Mohammed and two alleged accomplices were announced in late July in a step that appeared to have moved their long-running cases toward resolution after years of being bogged down in pre-trial maneuverings while the defendants remained held at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba.
But Austin withdrew the agreements two days after they were announced, saying the decision should rest with him given its significance.
He subsequently told journalists that “the families of the victims, our service members and the American public deserve the opportunity to see military commission trials carried out in this case.”
Much of the legal jousting surrounding the men’s cases has focused on whether they could be tried fairly after having undergone methodical torture at the hands of the CIA in the years after 9/11 — a thorny issue that the plea agreements would have avoided.
US military ready to carry out lawful orders of next administration, Pentagon chief says
- “The US military will also continue to stand apart from the political arena;,” Austin wrote
WASHINGTON: US Défense Secretary Lloyd Austin told troops that the Pentagon was committed to an orderly transition to the incoming administration of Donald Trump, adding that the military would not get involved in politics and was ready to carry out “all lawful orders.”
“The US military will also continue to stand apart from the political arena; to stand guard over our republic with principle and professionalism; and to stand together with the valued allies and partners who deepen our security,” Austin wrote in a memo to troops that was sent out on Wednesday night.
