Tag: condemn

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Politics

Mnuchin refuses to sentence Trump election lie, Cybereason accepts Biden win

Mnuchin refuses to condemn Trump election lie, Cybereason accepts Biden win

The CEO of Cybereason said he and his company accept the results of the 2020 presidential election after one of their investors, Steven Mnuchin, declined to acknowledge that ex-President Donald Trump was spreading a lie about the contest being rigged.

In an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday morning, Mnuchin was asked several times to acknowledge that Trump was lying about the 2020 election. Each time, he dodged the question, attempting to change the subject to his firm’s investment in the Israeli cybersecurity company.

“I’m focused on our investments, our business going forward,” Mnuchin said. He said he stayed out of the 2020 campaign and its aftermath.

After he was asked about Trump’s election lie a final time, he said he believed American democracy is working – and that he hopes Trump will think about running again.

“We have a great democracy. It’s working. It worked. I hope the president [Trump] considers running again down the road,” said Mnuchin, a wealthy businessman, investor and film financier.

Trump has continued to push what has become known as “the Big Lie” in statements to the media and in interviews with sympathetic television hosts, such as Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo.

The House of Representatives, including several Republican members, voted to impeach Trump for stoking the deadly Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill, which followed a “Stop the Steal” rally the then president headlined. The pro-Trump invaders – some of whom chanted “Hang Mike Pence,” who was vice president – delayed congressional confirmation of Joe Biden’s election victory by several hours.

The Senate acquitted Trump after he left office, although several GOP senators voted to convict.

Mnuchin was joined for the interview on “Squawk Box” by Cybereason CEO Lior Div, announcing that the former Treasury secretary’s new private equity firm is leading a $275 million investment in the company.

Div suggested in a follow-up statement to CNBC that Mnuchin’s answers were being misconstrued, and that his position would have no bearing on the company’s business relationship with the former Treasury secretary’s firm, Liberty Strategic Capital.

“Respectfully, I do not think that is what the Secretary said and, regardless, it certainly has no bearing on his relationship with Cybereason,” Div said in a statement provided to CNBC by a company spokesman on Wednesday.

“We have no political motivations and have chosen to work with Liberty because of their massive network and the understanding of the financial and government markets that Secretary Mnuchin and General Dunford bring to Cybereason. For example, the executive order issued by the Biden administration has accelerated the importance of EDR solutions like ours in the public market, and Liberty has the relationships to help accelerate our go-to-market strategy in the federal sector.”

A spokesman for Cybereason initially did not return requests for additional comment before publication.

After publication, the spokesman sent another comment from Div, in which he said the company backs the outcome of the 2020 election and President Biden’s administration.

“Cybereason supports the 2020 election results and the Biden administration. Our connection to Liberty is not political, it is a strategic partnership designed to help us further penetrate key markets, including the government,” Div said. “Both Secretary Mnuchin and General Dunford (appointed by [President] Obama to his Joint Chiefs of Staff) are part of Liberty Strategic Capital. Secretary Mnuchin will join our Board of Directors and General Dunford is joining our Advisory Board.”

Div himself also supports the 2020 election results and the new Biden administration, a spokeswoman told CNBC.

The incident is the latest example of how companies consider whether they should be speaking out on political issues, particularly if it pertains to their investors and employees.

After voting laws that have been deemed restrictive by critics were passed in Georgia, corporations felt pressured to respond. Several did, including Major League Baseball, which moved its All-Star Game from Georgia to Colorado.

In a recent example of the pressure, Toyota halted giving campaign contributions to Republican lawmakers who challenged the results of the election.

Categories
World News

U.S. calls on China to sentence Myanmar coup in first excessive stage dialog

U.S. calls on China to condemn Myanmar coup in first high level conversation

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a visit by U.S. President Joe Biden to the U.S. Department of State in Washington on February 4, 2021.

Tom Brenner | Reuters

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged China to condemn the military coup in Myanmar and warned Beijing that Washington would work with its allies to hold the People’s Republic accountable for its efforts to threaten international stability, particularly on the Taiwan Strait.

Blinken spoke to his Foreign Secretary Yang Jiechi late Friday in the first conversation between senior US and Chinese officials since President Joe Biden took office. The top US diplomat emphasized human rights in the appeal, while Yang urged Washington to respect China’s sovereignty.

“Minister Blinken stressed that the United States would continue to stand up for human rights and democratic values, including in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, and urged China to join the international community in condemning the military coup in Burma,” said Ned, spokesman for the White House Price said in a statement. Myanmar is also known as Burma.

The controversial call between top diplomats in Washington and Beijing shows that relations between the world’s two largest economies are unlikely to improve under the Biden administration. Yang urged the US not to interfere in China’s internal affairs in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet. Yang warned Blinken that any attempt to slander China would be unsuccessful.

Tensions between the US and China reached a boiling point under the Trump administration. Although President Joe Biden is reviewing a number of Trump-era foreign policy decisions, it is unlikely to reverse most of the previous administration’s policy towards China. Biden has already announced that he will not immediately remove the hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs that Trump has imposed on Chinese exports as the new administration also tries to keep trade strict.

On the day before Biden’s inauguration, the Trump administration labeled the repression of Uighur Muslims in western China’s Xinjiang province as genocide and a crime against humanity. As soon as Trump stepped down, Beijing imposed sanctions on former administrative officials, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and trade advisor Peter Navarro.

Women with red ribbons hold candles during a nighttime protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 5, 2021.

Reuters

The Biden administration will maintain the genocidal designation, Biden’s candidate for UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said during her confirmation hearing. Biden had condemned China’s actions in Xinjiang as genocide during its presidential campaign.

The White House is already facing its first major international hotspot with China after the Myanmar military toppled and arrested the country’s civilian leadership earlier this month.

The US has warned that if it does not release the imprisoned civilian leadership and support the country’s democratic transition, it will take action against those responsible for the coup. For its part, China has avoided condemning the coup and has instead called for a solution to the crisis in accordance with the country’s constitution.

Tensions are also mounting in Taiwan. Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan, which is self-governing under the umbrella of US security guarantees. Days after Biden’s inauguration, China sent fighter jets across the strait and was convicted by Washington. On Thursday, a US Navy warship sailed through the strait for the first time since Biden took office.

“The Secretary reaffirmed that the United States will work with its allies and partners to defend our common values ​​and interests and hold the PRC accountable for its efforts to threaten and undermine stability in the Indo-Pacific, including the Taiwan Strait pull the rules-based international system, “State Department spokesman Price said of Blinken’s Friday call.

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Categories
Politics

Trump Cupboard officers condemn Capitol riots, however keep away from criticizing the president

Trump Cabinet officials condemn Capitol riots, but avoid criticizing the president

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) and Vice President Mike Pence listen as President Donald Trump speaks about the government shutdown on January 25, 2019 in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC. – Trump says he will sign a government reopening bill by February 15.

Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images

WASHINGTON – Members of President Donald Trump’s 23-member cabinet on Wednesday issued sharp reprimands against violence in the nation’s Capitol, forcing lawmakers to halt the process of declaring Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.

However, officials stopped criticizing the president, who urged his supporters to take action.

Trump had encouraged thousands of supporters during a rally outside the White House to march to the Capitol to protest the historically ceremonial procedures. Trump returned to the White House after his speech and later said in a tweet video to supporters, “You have to go home now.”

“This was a fraudulent choice … but you have to go home,” Trump said, telling the protesters, “We love you. You are very special” before finishing his remarks.

In a series of tweets on Wednesday evening, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described the storming of the US Capitol as “unacceptable”.

“Lawlessness and unrest – here or around the world – are always unacceptable,” wrote the nation’s top diplomat.

“Let us quickly bring justice to the criminals involved in this unrest,” wrote Pompeo, adding, “America is better than what we saw today.”

Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen wrote in a statement: “The violence against our nation’s Capitol is an intolerable attack on a fundamental institution of our democracy.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the Justice Department had dispatched hundreds of law enforcement officers and agents from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and the US Marshals Service to quell protests.

Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia called the unrest “a low point in the history of American democracy”.

Acting Secretary of the Homeland Security Department, Chad Wolf, also condemned the violent pamphlet that “no one has the right to attack a federal institution regardless of their motivation.”

He added that those involved in the riot should be held accountable for their actions.

The Secretary for Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, also participated in calls for an end to violence in Washington.

“End this violence now. Violence is never an appropriate response, regardless of legitimate concern. Please remember, if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand,” Carson wrote.

Minister of Health and Human Services Alex Azar wrote that he was “disgusted” by the violence in the US Capitol.

“Physical violence and the desecration of this sacred symbol of our democracy must come to an end,” added Azar.

“Most importantly, you are all safe. Please take care of yourself and your loved ones,” wrote Azar in a subsequent tweet.

In a tweet on Wednesday evening, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin wrote: “Violence is always unacceptable. We must respect our constitution and our democratic process.”

Similarly, Trade Secretary Wilbur Ross wrote on Twitter that “violence is never the right solution”.

“The eyes of American children and students – the emerging generation who will inherit the republic we are leaving – are watching what goes on in Washington today,” wrote Elisabeth DeVos, Trump’s Secretary of Education, adding, “we need to give them a better one.” Give an example. “

“The disruption and violence must end, the law must be obeyed, and the work of the people must continue,” wrote DeVos.