Trump campaign to run election night war room on White House grounds
03 November 2020
The Trump campaign will run itselection night war room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, located steps from the West Wing, the Trump campaign confirmed to Axios.
Why it matters: The decision to move the main political operation from the campaign's headquarters in Rosslyn, Va., to the White House complex is the latest example of the Trump administration blurring the lines between governing and political activity.
What they're saying: “The war room needed to be in close proximity to the president and there is no expense whatsoever to American taxpayers for the use of a room in the EEOB, where events like prayer services and receptions for outside groups frequently occur," Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told Axios.
- "Every piece of equipment, including WiFi and computers, was paid for by the campaign, and no White House staff is involved. The arrangement has been approved by White House counsel.”
- The New York Times' Maggie Haberman first reported this development.
Flashback: The decision to host Trump's acceptance speech during the Republican National Convention from the White House South Lawn served as one of the most blatant examples of the blurring of staged campaign-style events and official business of governing on the White House premises. It violated traditional norms and, many critics argue, was in violation of the Hatch Act.
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.