GOP Sen. James Lankford pushes for Biden to get intelligence briefings
12 November 2020
Senator James Lankford (R-OK) said in a radio interview that President-elect Joe Biden should get the intelligence briefings that he is currently unable to receive because President Trump refuses to acknowledge results of the election and won't allow the transition to being.
Driving the news: Like many top Republicans,Lankford hasn't acknowledged Biden as the next president, but he is pushing for the transition efforts to begin saying he would "step in" if Biden doesn't have access to intelligence briefings by Friday according to the interview aired on MSNBC.
- "There's nothing wrong with Vice President Biden getting the briefings to be able to prepare himself so that he can be ready. If that's not occurring by Friday, I'll step in as well and to be able to push him to say, this needs to occur so that regardless of the outcome of the election, whichever way it goes, people can be ready for that actual task.
- According to CNN's Manu Raju, Sen. Chuck Grassley (IA) said Biden should have access to classified briefings to prepare for the transition.
Where it stands: More foreign leaders have called to congratulate Biden than Republican senators. Republican lawmakers are still defending the president's legal efforts, which could mean weeks of distraction from the work that is necessary to ensure a smooth transition of power.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.