President's sister says "you can't trust him" in audio leaked to WashPost
23 August 2020
President Trump on Saturday sought to downplay comments made by his sister Maryanne Trump Barry in audio leaked to the Washington Post that he has "no principles" and "you can’t trust him."
Why it matters: Maryanne Trump Barry has never publicly criticized the president on his policies. But, according to the recording by their niece Mary Trump, the retired federal judge said of his immigration policies: "It's the phoniness of it all. It's the phoniness and this cruelty. Donald is cruel."
- The latest controversy comes before next week's Republican National Convention where Trump is to formally accept his party’s nomination to run for a second term.
The other side: When asked for comment on the revelations, President Trump said in a statement to Axios, "Every day it's something else, who cares. I miss my brother, and I’ll continue to work hard for the American people. Not everyone agrees, but the results are obvious. Our country will soon be stronger than ever before."
Context: Per WashPost, Mary Trump Barry made the comments to their niece, who wrote a best-selling tell-all book on her uncle, after he joked to Fox News in 2018: "Maybe I'll have to put her at the border" amid a shortage of judges.
What they're saying: Chris Bastardi, spokesperson for Mary Trump said: "Mary realized members of her family had lied in prior depositions. Anticipating litigation, she felt it prudent to tape conversations in order to protect herself.
"She never expected to learn much of what she heard, including the president’s sister, Federal Judge Maryanne Trump Barry, state that Donald Trump had paid someone to take an SAT exam for him.
"Those with questions about who Joe Shapiro is, why the president chose him to take his SAT, and why such behavior was constantly rewarded should contact Judge Trump Barry and President Trump.
"Several prominent individuals are currently facing prison sentences for taking unethical steps to get their children into college. All while the President of the United States paid someone else take his SATs."
Bastardi
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.