26 August 2020
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during his speech at the Republican National Convention Tuesday evening that he believes President Trump "has led bold initiatives in nearly every corner of the world" that have kept the U.S. safe.
The big picture: Pompeo's decision to deliver his speech from Jerusalem breaks from the precedent of America's top diplomats staying out of partisan battles — which has spurred an investigation for a possible violation of the Hatch Act.
What he's saying: "The primary Constitutional function of the national government is ensuring your family — and mine — are safe and enjoy the freedom to live, work, learn and worship as they choose," Pompeo said.
- "Delivering on this duty to keep us safe and our freedoms intact, this president has led bold initiatives in nearly every corner of the world."
- "The president has held China accountable for covering up the China virus and allowing it to spread death and economic destruction in America and around the world, and he will not rest until justice is done."
- "You will all recall that when the President took office, radical Islamic terrorists had beheaded Americans and ISIS-controlled a territory the size of Great Britain. Today, because of the President’s determination and leadership, the ISIS caliphate is wiped out, its evil leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead."
Of note: Pompeo claimed that Trump "lowered the temperature and, against all odds, got North Korean leadership to the table. No nuclear tests, no long-range missile tests and Americans held captive in North Korea came home to their families as did the precious remains of scores of our heroes who fought in Korea."
- However, the Trump administration, like previous administrations, has not fully dismantled North Korea’s nuclear-weapons program.
- Pompeo said that, "Because of President Trump, NATO is stronger, Ukraine has defensive weapons systems and America left a harmful treaty, so our nation can now build missiles to deter Russian aggression." But he did not acknowledge that the president has in the past called the trans-Atlantic alliance "obsolete," and frequently attacked other member states for failing to pay their fair share.
Pompeo added that Trump "exited the U.S. from the disastrous nuclear deal with Iran and squeezed the Ayatollah, Hezbollah and Hamas." However, he did not address that by pulling out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the U.S. damaged its ability to reimpose sanctions lifted under the pact.
- The U.S. intends to initiate "snapback" sanctions on Iran, which could create a diplomatic and legal crisis unlike any seen before at U.N. Security Council.
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.