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Dielli | The Sun

Albanian American Newspaper Devoted to the Intellectual and Cultural Advancement of the Albanians in America | Since 1909

Pardon talk intensifies as Trump approaches final 24 hours in office

January 19, 2021 by dgreca

By Jonathan Easley/

President Trump is preparing to issue dozens of pardons before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in at noon on Wednesday, with the big question being whether Trump will preemptively pardon himself before he leaves office. Trump has been meeting with son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump, both senior White House officials, to finalize a list of pardons he’ll issue in the final 24 hours of his presidency.

The pardons are expected to lean heavily in favor of the president’s longtime friends and political allies, as well as drug offenders brought to his attention through the administration’s criminal justice reform efforts.

The rapper Lil Wayne, who has pleaded guilty to possession of an illegal firearm, and former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D), who was found guilty on public corruption charges and is imprisoned in New York, are reportedly among the first wave of pardons Trump will issue Tuesday.

Advocates for Julian Assange are pleading with the president to issue him a pardon. The U.S. is working to have Assange extradited from a London prison to face charges pertaining to government papers published by his firm WikiLeaks. Former President Obama pardoned Chelsea Manning over her role in the leaks on his way out of office in 2017.

Trump could also look to issue preemptive pardons for himself or his family members, including sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., who have not been charged with any crimes but are bracing for a wave of investigations into their personal business empire and their political activities as soon as Trump leaves the White House.

Legal scholars are divided over whether Trump could pardon himself, with some saying it would be unconstitutional and others believing that pardon powers are broad enough to include self-pardons.

Trump faces potential legal jeopardy on many fronts and must factor in how GOP senators would view a self-pardon as the Senate prepares for an impeachment trial over the president’s role in inciting a mob that stormed the Capitol to disrupt the counting of the Electoral College votes.

The president is also being investigated for a phone call he made to Georgia’s secretary of state, urging him to “find” enough illegal votes to reverse the outcome.

Trump’s business empire and personal finances are reportedly the focus of several investigations in his home state of New York.

Outside of his family, Trump has liberally granted pardons to political allies, raising questions about whether he will preemptively pardon his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani or his former adviser Stephen Bannon, who is charged with fraud over his association with a group that was raising money to build a wall along the southern border.

There are also questions about whether Trump would issue pardons for the dozens that have been arrested in connection with the siege on Capitol Hill, although he would face outrage for such a move.

Trump has already granted clemency or pardons to several individuals ensnared in former special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian election interference, including Michael Flynn, Roger Stone, Georgia Papadopoulos and Alex van der Zwaan.

He’s granted full pardons or commuted sentences for several GOP lawmakers found guilty on corruption charges, including former Reps. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) and Steve Stockman (R-Texas).

The president has also pardoned a handful of former Blackwater security contractors convicted for their roles in the murders of 17 unarmed Iraqi civilians in 2017. Blackwater was founded by Erik Prince, the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

In addition, Trump has issued pardons or clemency for several people of color charged with drug related offenses. Last year, Trump commuted the sentence of Alice Johnson, and he’s worked with Johnson on reforming the criminal justice system.

Filed Under: Analiza Tagged With: Pardon, President Trump

PRESIDENT TRUMP IMPEACHED THE SECOND TIME

January 13, 2021 by dgreca

The US House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump for “high crimes and misdemeanors” — specifically, for inciting an insurrection against the federal government at the U.S. Capitol.

White House issued a statement and video in which Mr. Trump called for calm. He did not refer to the House impeachment but to new pro-Trump demonstrations that are planned to take place in the coming weeks. 

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that impeaching President Trump is “a constitutional remedy that will ensure that the republic will be safe from this man.” 
One week before leaving office, Trump has become the first U.S. president to be impeached twice.
A week ago Trump supporters stormed the Capitol causing the death of several people and mayhem in the complex. 
On Wednesday’s vote ten Republicans broke party ranks to vote in favor of impeachment, including Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who chairs the House Republican Conference.
In a statement explaining her vote, Representative Cheney wrote: “The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”
The House voted 232-197 to impeach Trump, with four GOP abstentions, after a few hours of debate evenly divided between the parties. 
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the insurrectionists followed Trump’s sustained attempts to spread untruths about the 2020 vote and to influence state election officials to overturn results.
Impeachment, Pelosi said, is “a constitutional remedy that will ensure that the republic will be safe from this man, who is so resolutely determined to tear down the things that we hold dear, and that hold us together.”
GOP Leader McCarthy: Trump ‘Bears Responsibility’ For Violence, Won’t Vote To ImpeachMany Republicans who voted against the measure criticized the impeachment process as rushed and counterproductive. But impeachment supporters said Trump’s attempt to derail Congress from certifying the election results spurred an act of domestic terrorism, making the president unfit for office.
In his remarks, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, sought to strike a balance — between blaming Trump for his role in fanning the protest’s devolution into a riot, and speaking out against impeachment.
“The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters,” McCarthy said. “He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding.”
But McCarthy, who himself objected to certifying the Electoral College results, said that instead of impeaching Trump, Congress should form a fact-finding commission and consider a formal censure of the president.
As lawmakers debated impeachment, the White House issued a statement in which Trump called for calm. He did not refer to the House proceeding, but to new pro-Trump demonstrations that are planned to take place in the coming week.
“In light of reports of more demonstrations, I urge that there must be NO violence, NO lawbreaking and NO vandalism of any kind,” Trump said. “That is not what I stand for, and it is not what America stands for. I call on ALL Americans to help ease tensions and calm tempers. Thank You.”
The Democratic-led House impeached Trump the first time in December 2019 for his role in the Ukraine affair. On Tuesday, the president called the move to impeach him again “ridiculous.”
If the Senate votes to convict Trump — an outcome that is far from certain — he likely would be barred from holding any federal office again. An impeachment trial will not begin before Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office said Wednesday that the chamber, which Republicans currently hold, will not convene again until the transfer of power is complete.

Source: News Agency (Rafaela Prifti)

Filed Under: Analiza Tagged With: IMPEACHED, President Trump, THE SECOND TIME

I hapet rruga tranzicionit presidencial…

November 23, 2020 by dgreca

VOA- Presidenti Donald Trump tha të hënën se i ka hapur rrugën tranzicionit për presidentin e zgjedhur Joe Biden, duke udhëzuar administratoren e agjencisë federale të Shteteve të Bashkuara që është e ngarkuar me këtë proces, që “të bëjë atë që duhet bërë”, megjithëse do të vazhdojë me sfidat ligjore.

Administrata e Shërbimeve Qeveritare (GSA) hapi dritën jeshile zyrtarisht për tranzicionin presidencial, pak pasi shteti i Miçiganit çertifikoi fitoren e demokratit Biden.

Me zhvillimet e fundit, përpjekjet e presidentit Donald Trump për të përmbysur rezultatin e zgjedhjeve të 3 nëntorit, që kishin pësuar disa disfata, duket se po i afrohen përfundimit.

Presidenti Trump shkruante në Twitter se administratorja e GSA-së Emily Murphy dhe ekipi i saj duhet “të bëjnë atë që duhet bërë në lidhje me protokollet fillestare dhe i kam thënë ekipit tim të bëjë të njëjtën gjë”.

Dhënia e autorizimit nga GSA do të thotë që ekipi i zotit Biden tani do të ketë fonde federale dhe një zyrë për të kryer tranzicionin gjatë dy muajve të ardhshëm.

Kjo gjithashtu bën të mundur që zoti Biden dhe nënpresidentja e zgjedhur Kamala Harris të marrin njoftime të rregullta të sigurisë kombëtare që merr edhe zoti Trump.

Një deklaratë nga ekipi i tranzicionit i zotit Biden, thuhej se takimet do të fillonin me zyrtarët federalë lidhur me përgjigjen e Uashingtonit ndaj pandemisë së koronavirusit, së bashku me diskutimet e çështjeve të sigurisë kombëtare.



Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: hap rrugen, President Trump, tranzicionit

Presidenti Trump gjatë tubimit zgjedhor: Po i ndalim vrasjet masive midis Kosovës dhe Serbisë

September 20, 2020 by dgreca

Presidenti i SHBA-së, Donald Trump ka deklaruar gjatë një tubimi zgjedhor në Karolinën Veriore se administrata e tij është duke i ndalur “vrasjet në masë” midis Kosovës dhe Serbisë.

“Po i ndalim vrasjet masive mes Kosovës dhe Serbisë. Ata janë duke u vrarë mes vete për aq shumë vjet”, ka thënë ai para turmës që e brohoriste.

“’Ndalni vrasjet’, iu thashë. ‘Miq të bëhemi së bashku”, ka thënë Trumpi teksa në fjalimin gati dyorësh në Karolinë Veriore ka kritikuar vazhdimisht administratat e mëparshme për mënyrën se si e kanë drejtuar politikën e jashtme.

“E dini, këtë e kanë bërë për qindra vjet, sinqerisht, nën emra të ndryshëm”, ka thënë ai, teksa i është referuar nominimit të tij për Nobel të Paqes.

Pjesa e xhirimit ku ai flet për Kosovën ndërkohë është shpërndarë në rrjetet sociale.

President Trump: “We are stopping MASS KILLINGS between Kosovo and Serbia. They have been killing each other for so many [years].” “Stop Killing’, I said ‘fellas, let’s get together.” “You know, they’ve been doing it for hundreds of years frankly under different names,”

Filed Under: Opinion Tagged With: Kosove-Serbi, President Trump

Kosova and Serbia Sign ‘Historic’ Deal Under Trump’s Auspices

September 4, 2020 by dgreca

By Milica Stojanovic & Xhorxhina Bami*

Serbian and Kosovo leaders signed a landmark agreement on mainly economic issues on Friday at the White House on Friday – which President Trump called a historic move forward in relations.

September 4,2020-

Kosovo and Serbia signed an agreement on economic, energy and political issues at a ceremony observed by President Donald Trump in Washington on Friday.

President Trump claimed that Serbia and Kosovo had now “committed to an economic normalization”, calling the agreement “historic” and a “major breakthrough” after years of failed negotiations.

The agreement was signed after two days of meetings between delegations from Kosovo and Serbia in the US capital, hosted by US special envoy Richard Grenell and Trump’s national security advisor, Richard O’ Brien.

Although all the participants agreed the deal was mainly economic, it does contain some political points.

“We will only have good agreements,” Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti said without further information, minutes before the signing ceremony.

Both sides agreed to continue work on earlier agreements on restoring air and rail links, signed at the start of the year, and to start building new connecting roads and highways.

They also agreed to work with the US on “a feasibility study for the purpose of sharing [the disputed] Gazivode/Ujmani Lake, as a reliable water and energy supply”. 

Importantly, Serbia pledged to stop its campaign to get countries to “derecognise” Kosovo for one year, while Kosovo also promised to stop applying for membership of international organisations, also for a year.

Both Kosovo and Serbia agreed to work more on issues of missing persons, refugees and internally displaced persons from the 1990s Kosovo war.

On other foreign policy issues, in deference to US interests, both parties agreed to designate the Islamic group Hezbollah in its entirety as “a terrorist organisation” and prohibit the use of “5G equipment supplied by untrusted vendors in their communications network”, presumably referencing China.

On educational matters, the two countries agreed to accept each other’s higher education diplomas, among other things.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic thanked the US officials for “engaging in what few people want to do”, calling the deal a step forward.

“We did not solve our problems, but this agreement is an exceptional step forward,” Vucic said at the signing ceremony,

President Trump also signed two separate documents with Kosovo and Serbia to ensure US investment as a stimulus for more economic co-operation between Belgrade and Pristina.

Former Kosovo prime minister Ramush Haradinaj, whose party is part of the ruling coalition in Kosovo, said earlier on Friday that his party would not support the agreement if it contained a deal about use of Gazivode/Ujman lake.

“Unfortunately, one of the points of the draft agreement talks about Ujman has made the situation difficult. We do not appreciate Serbia being a party to the future of Ujman. …The implications this can bring in the future may be expensive for Kosovo,” Haradinaj wrote on Facebook.

Earlier, though all the participants previously said the talks had focused mainly on economic issues, Serbia’s Finance Minister, a member of the Serbian delegation, claimed the first draft of the document had contained a point on mutual diplomatic recognition. 

Vucic assured the Serbian media on Thursday he would reject any agreement obliging Serbia to recognise the independence of  its former province, which Belgrade sill claims as its territory.
Some experts warned BIRN that any deal focused only on economic issues, without reference to political disputes, might not work, as all the Kosovo-Serbia issues are widely seen as stemming from their political conflict.

After the first day of talks, US envoy Grenell said there had been some surprises at the talks but that neither “side was that surprised” – and surprises can be beneficial.

“Surprises are good. They press the sides to do more. We had some surprises but I don’t think either side was that surprised. They like to pretend before the media that they are more surprised than they actually are,” Grenell told Newsmax Adria TV. 

A war from 1998-99 ending with the NATO bombing of Yugoslav positions forced Serbia to withdraw its police and armed forces from Kosovo, until then its southern province.

De facto semi-independent from then on, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Most Western countries, including the US, recognised it immediately. However, Russia, China and five EU countries have not recognised it, preventing it from joining the UN.
Negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia have lasted more than a decade, taking place in different formats, on different levels and with different outcomes.

Additional speed and force was given to the talks when President Trump appointed Grenell as his envoy to the dialogue in October 2019.

The first major outcome of this was a deal on restoring commercial flights between Belgrade and Pristina in January 2020, followed in February by an agreement to resume rail services.

Grenell said in June that the US and EU had now divided their tasks and roles in the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue, leaving the US to focus on the economy and EU to focus “on the political aspects of the dialogue”.

War crime charges filed against Kosovo President Hashim Thaci by the Hague-based Specialist Prosecutor’s Office have since changed the trajectory, with the EU now being the main facilitator. The next meeting in the EU-led Kosovo-Serbia talks is planned for Monday.

The signing of an agreement is, meanwhile, only a first step on the road to reconciliation as any agreement must then be enforced – and implemented.

*Balkan Insight

* Caption: Ceremony of signing the agreement in the White House. Photo: Twitter/@jeffmason1

Filed Under: Politike Tagged With: ‘Historic’ Deal, Kosova-Serbia, President Trump

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