GOP Rep. Nancy Mace to force a full House vote to impeach Secret Service Director Cheatle
(WASHINGTON) — South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace moved to force a full House vote to impeach United States Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Mace filed the impeachment resolution as privileged on the House floor late Monday at 8:26 p.m. ET.
Director Cheatle “has been derelict in her duty to well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office to which she holds,” Mace said on the floor.
Mace also highlighted Cheatle’s testimony from Monday morning’s Oversight Committee hearing, saying the director “acknowledged on July 22, 2024, that the events of July 13, 2024, were the most significant operation failure of the Secret Service in decades.”
This move by the congresswoman forces the House to take up the measure within two legislative days.
(WASHINGTON) — The Arlington National Cemetery staffer who tried to stop the Trump campaign from filming a video among the graves of recently fallen service members has declined to press charges, according to a statement released Thursday by the Army that said the “employee and her professionalism was unfairly attacked.”
The updated statement also defended the actions of the employee, who the military has opted not to name publicly due to privacy and safety concerns.
“This employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption,” according to the statement.
The Army said the incident was reported to Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Virginia, which has jurisdiction over the cemetery, “but the employee subsequently decided not to press charges. Therefore, the Army considers this matter closed.”
“This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked,” the Army continued. “ANC is a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation’s fallen deserve.”
Trump campaign’s communications director, Steven Cheung, has said his team was given permission to have an official photographer and videographer outside the main press pool.
According to the Army statement, public wreath laying ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier are routinely allowed. However, it said participants from Trump’s campaign were told in advance there should be no photography or video taken in “Section 60,” where recently fallen service members are buried.
Federal law prohibits campaigns from using the military cemetery for political campaigning or election-related activities.
Virginia Democrat Rep. Gerry Connolly has called for the public release of the police report with the names redacted.
“The public has a right to know. It must be released protecting the staffers’ identities,” he said.
In response to the Army statement, Cheung said, “This employee was the one who initiated physical and verbal contact that was unwarranted and unnecessary.”
ABC News’ Soorin Kim. Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.
(CHICAGO) — Outside the United Center in Chicago, while former President Bill Clinton had taken the stage on the third night of the Democratic National Convention, delegates from the uncommitted movement, whose support of Vice President Kamala Harris is contingent on her support of an arms embargo on Israel, announced to reporters that the DNC had denied their request to have a Palestinian American speaker on the main stage.
“We were hopeful because Vice President Harris’ team has been engaging with us. They’ve been calling, they’ve been having conversations, and we told them what our policy ask is,” delegate Abbas Alawieh told reporters on Wednesday. “I got a call shortly after our press conference earlier, the call said, ‘Abbas, the answer is no.’ I said, ‘What do you mean? We’re just asking for our voices to be heard.'”
The group of about 40 delegates and supporters outside staged a 24-hour “sit in,” telling reporters they would not get up until Harris or someone from her team called them with an answer other than no.
“We must be heard. This level of suppression is unacceptable,” said Alawieh. “I’m sitting here and I’m not going anywhere, Roger, I’m not going anywhere. You all, you all, you all need to change your mind. I hope you change your mind. Call me if you change your mind.”
Harris campaign Communication Director Michael Tyler responded to ABC News’ Fritz Farrow at Thursday’s morning briefing.
“There’s been a lot of talk about unity this week. So, why won’t you all allow a Palestinian American speaker address the convention?” Tyler was asked. “And simply saying Trump would be worse for Arab Americans—how is that not the campaign taking their votes for granted?”
“No, we’re absolutely not taking their votes for granted,” Tyler answered. “I think, as it relates to uncommitted delegates at this convention, we’re proud, glad that they are here. We’ve worked to engage them throughout the convention. We’re proud of the fact that we held a panel conversations with members of the uncommitted movement,” he said.
“We’re proud that the Vice President herself engaged with leadership in the uncommon movement in Michigan a couple of weeks ago. That’s why the campaign has continued to engage with leadership of the uncommitted movement throughout this convention,” he continued. “What has already been clear that they’ll continue to see progress in this campaign, is a vice president who’s committed to ending the violence, ending the conflict, making sure that we resolve this conflict with a permanent cease-fire that allows Israel to fully secure itself, that fully continues to make sure that we have full humanitarian aid, but also make sure that Gazans are able to peacefully live and prosper in Gaza.”
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez earlier urged the DNC in a post on X to put a Palestinian American speaker on stage.
“Just as we must honor the humanity of hostages, so too must we center the humanity of the 40,000 Palestinians killed under Israeli bombardment,” she wrote. “To deny that story is to participate in the dehumanization of Palestinians. The @DNC must change course and affirm our shared humanity.”
In an emotional moment during the DNC on Wednesday, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin — Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg — who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, spoke to the audience about their grief during the past 10 and a half months. More than 1,200 Israelis were killed in the surprise terror attack that day and hundreds taken hostage.
The uncommitted delegates were hoping to have Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive care physician who had spent time in Gaza working with the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders, also speak on the main stage about what she had experienced.
The DNC gave the movement space to speak at several “panel conversations” at the DNC that weren’t televised but the party refused to meet the uncommitted movement’s larger requests.
“I don’t need to be convinced how dangerous Trump is,” said Alawieh. “We know we can’t be heard in the Republican Party. There isn’t a single Republican federal official who supports a ceasefire even, but we’re Democrats. We’re here. We’re engaging the system.”
The death toll in Gaza has surpassed more than 40,000, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry.
“You can try to suppress us. We’re not going anywhere before November. We’re people who mobilize people. We’re movement people,” Alawieh said. “We’re not going anywhere in four years. We’re not going anywhere in eight years. We’re people who are engaged. You’re not going to get rid of us, and we’re going to engage within the system.”
Harris has noticeably tried to thread the needle on the war in Gaza in an attempt to bridge a major divide in the party over the Israel-Hamas war.
While she has been aligned with Biden in vowing unwavering support for Israel, after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 25, she notably said, “Israel has a right to defend itself and how it does so — matters” — specifically with regard to protecting civilians.
The decision by the Harris campaign threatens to put that delicate position in jeopardy. While a Palestinian flag was unfurled inside the convention hall on Monday during President Joe Biden’s remarks, there haven’t been any other significant protests inside the gathering.
(PHILIDELPHIA) — The presidential debate set to be held by ABC News will take place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, the network announced on Friday.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump had previously committed to attending.
The Sept. 10 debate will be moderated by “World News Tonight” anchor and managing editor David Muir and ABC News Live “Prime” anchor Linsey Davis.
It will be produced in conjunction with ABC station WPVI-TV/6abc, and will air live at 9 p.m. ET on the network and on the ABC News Live 24/7 streaming network, Disney+, and Hulu.
ABC News will also air a pre-debate special, “Race for the White House,” at 8 p.m. ET, anchored by chief global affairs correspondent and “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz, chief Washington correspondent and “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl, chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce and senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott.
As previously announced by ABC News, to formally qualify, presidential candidates will need to hit various qualification requirements, including in polling thresholds and in appearing on enough state ballots to theoretically be able to get a majority (270) of electoral votes in the presidential election.
The National Constitution Center, which hosts exhibits and events about the U.S. Constitution and about civic engagement, is right by Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were both signed.
ABC News hosted town halls at the National Constitution Center with then-candidate President Joe Biden and then-incumbent President Donald Trump in 2020.