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 @ISIDEWITHNewsUnited StatesUS politicsObamaProsecutionImmunity•••10mos ago

Calls Grow for Obama Prosecution Over 'Russiagate'—But Legal Action Unlikely

A wave of headlines has emerged following claims by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that former President Barack Obama should be prosecuted for allegedly orchestrating efforts to discredit Donald Trump's 2016 election win through the 'Russiagate' investigation.

Conservative commentators and some political figures have amplified these accusations, suggesting Obama and his administration engaged in a 'coup' or 'hoax.' However, legal experts and former prosecutors widely agree that criminal charges against Obama are highly improbable, especially in light of recent Supreme Court rulings on presidential immunity. The controversy has fueled partisan debate, with some viewing the calls for prosecution as politically motivated and unlikely to result in actual indictments.

The story underscores ongoing divisions over the legacy of the 2016 election and the use of intelligence agencies in domestic politics.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…1yr1Y

Biden bans new offshore oil drilling along most of US coastline

President Joe Biden announced a ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling along most of the US coastline on Monday in a move designed to bolster his environmental and climate legacy as he prepares to leave office.The order will protect 625mn acres of ocean on the US east coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific coasts of Washington, Oregon and California, as well as portions of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska, the White House said on Monday.“My decision reflects what the coastal communities, business and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs,” Biden said.The executive action will not prevent oil and gas companies obtaining leases in the central and western parts of the Gulf of Mexico, areas that produce almost 15 per cent of the nation’s oil supplies. Nevertheless, the move is expected to complicate the policy agenda of incoming president Donald Trump, who has vowed to “drill, baby, drill” and boost US oil production, even though it is already at a record level.The Trump transition team said it was a disgraceful decision designed to exact “political revenge on the American people” and the incoming president said he would immediately “unban” Biden’s prohibition on new offshore drilling.“I have the right to unban it immediately . . . we can’t let that happen to our country. It’s our greatest, it’s really our greatest economic asset,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt in an interview on Monday.Biden’s action will probably be challenged by the oil industry in court and face pushback from Republicans in Congress. But overturning the order could prove challenging and may require an act of Congress, according to legal experts.Biden is using his authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, to protect the areas from drilling — the same mechanism which former president Barack Obama used previously to ban offshore drilling in some Arctic and Atlantic waters in 2016.In 2019, a federal judge ruled that an executive order by former president Donald Trump that lifted an Obama-era ban on oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean was unlawful.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Michigan Showdown: Rashida Tlaib Snubs Kamala Harris as Gaza Crisis Roils Arab American Voters

Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who spoke at a United Auto Workers rally in Detroit Friday night, declined to endorse Kamala Harris just four days out from Election Day, according to The Detroit News.The Democratic lawmaker encouraged union members to vote but kept her speech focused on down-ballot races. Tlaib, who is Palestinian American, is the only member of the Squad to withhold her support for Harris and has been vocal in her criticism of the Biden administration’s Israel policy.The war in Gaza has remained a top issue in battleground Michigan, where more than 100,000 voters cast their ballots for “uncommitted” in the state’s primary earlier this year, spurring concerns about the Democratic presidential candidate’s chances in the state. Harris has continued to face protests on the trail, as demonstrators call for her to break with President Joe Biden and support an arms embargo on Israel.The Uncommitted National Movement, confounded by Layla Elabed, Tlaib’s sister, announced in September that it wouldn’t endorse Harris while saying it opposed Donald Trump.Harris has been endorsed by several other leaders in the Arab American and Muslim community, and aides have met privately with leaders across battleground states in recent months. The vice president met briefly with a group of Arab American and Muslim leaders last month in Flint, Michigan, to discuss their concerns about Gaza and civilian casualties in Lebanon.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Dixville Notch 2024: Trump and Harris in a Tie

The tally — the first result of this election — was announced 12 minutes after midnight. In a hamlet where 66.67 percent of the registered voters are Republicans (the other two are independents) and where Nikki Haley swept the primary with all six votes, the general election ended in a tie: three votes for Kamala Harris, and three for Donald J. Trump.“I didn’t see that coming,” Scott Maxwell said of the split result. His vote, for Mr. Trump, came as something of a surprise, even to him. As late as 10:30 p.m. on Monday, Mr. Maxwell said he was undecided.Four years ago, all five votes went to Joseph R. Biden Jr. In 2016, Hillary Clinton got four votes and Mr. Trump two.Dixville Notch was created for the sole purpose of turning the Balsams resort into a voting location. Neil Tillotson, the hotel’s owner, won free advertising for the resort, and journalists took advantage of the in-house telephone company to deliver the town’s real, albeit statistically insignificant, vote tally 12 hours before exit polls from elsewhere in the country began to trickle in.The voters of Dixville Notch worked for weeks to prepare for this year’s election night. They took calls from curious journalists in New York City, Montreal and Hong Kong. They mowed the grass in front of Mr. Otten’s home, which now doubles as the voting precinct. In the kitchen, they prepared ham and cheese croissants and chocolate chip cookies as thick as wallets. In the living room, they erected risers for television journalists, chairs for photographers, and a plastic table for counting votes.“In our backyard, the system is going to work the way it was designed,” Mr. Otten said before the votes were cast. “Six people will vote. Their votes will be counted. And once it’s done, it’s done.”

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