Democrats request Hatch Act probe of GOP convention
WASHINGTON — Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are seeking an investigation into what they call repeated violations of the federal Hatch Act by members of the Trump administration during last month’s Republican National Convention.
The 1939 law is intended to limit political activity by federal employees in their official capacity, although it does not apply to the president and vice president.
Throughout the convention, administration officials “repeatedly used their official positions and the White House itself to bolster President (Donald) Trump’s reelection campaign,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the independent Office of Special Counsel. “We are alarmed that President Trump and some senior administration officials are actively undermining compliance with — and respect for — the law.”
Trump gave his acceptance speech for the GOP presidential nomination at the White House, and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf appeared in a video of a naturalization ceremony on White House grounds led by Trump. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also spoke to the convention through a video link while in Israel on official travel, and numerous officials used the White House for convention speaking engagements.
“We are particularly concerned with the consequences of White House actions on career employees who may have felt pressured to help organize and put on these events, potentially subjecting them to legal jeopardy,” the Democrats wrote Wednesday.
The Office of of Special Counsel is an independent investigative and prosecutorial agency that oversees executive branch officials, including their compliance with the Hatch Act.
In addition to Trump’s speech and the naturalization ceremony, a regional administrator at the Department of Housing and Urban Development interviewed New York City tenants for a video segment that was shown at the convention. Several participants later said they were not aware the interviews would be used at the convention.
Vice President Mike Pence’s use of Maryland’s Fort McHenry to film a keynote address also raised questions about the role of White House employees and National Park Service resources, Democrats said.
White House spokesman Judd Deere called the request by Democrats “just another witch hunt” that will “waste valuable time and money.”
Hope in Lebanon: A pulsing signal was detected Thursday from under the rubble of a Beirut building that collapsed during the massive port explosion in the Lebanese capital last month, raising hopes there may be a survivor buried there.
The effort unfolded after a sniffer dog detected something as the team was going through Gemmayzeh Street — one of the hardest-hit in the Aug. 4 explosion.
The team used audio detection equipment for signals or heartbeat, and detected what could be a pulse of 18 to 19 beats per minute. The origin of the pulsing signal was not immediately known.
The blast tore through Beirut in August when nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate ignited at the port. The explosion killed 191 people and injured 6,000 others.
Chilling discovery: The Lebanese military discovered more than 4 tons of ammonium nitrate near Beirut’s port Thursday.
According to the military, army experts were called in for an inspection and found 4.35 tons of the dangerous chemical in four containers stored near the port.
There were no details on the origin of the chemicals or their owner.
Missing ship: Japanese rescuers were searching Thursday for a livestock ship that a survivor said sank with 42 crew members aboard during rough weather off a southern Japanese island, the coast guard said.
A Filipino crew member was rescued late Wednesday after Japanese navy
surveillance aircraft spotted him wearing a life vest and waving while bobbing in the water.
The man told rescuers that the ship stalled when an engine stopped, then capsized after being hit by a powerful broadside wave and sank, coast guard regional spokesman Yuichiro Higashi said.
The 11,947-ton Gulf Livestock 1 ship was carrying 5,800 cows west of Amami Oshima in the East China Sea when it sent a distress call early Wednesday. The weather was rough in the area due to Typhoon Maysak.
More GOP support for Biden: Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder backed Joe Biden for president Thursday, becoming the latest high-profile Republican to support the Democratic nominee over President Donald Trump.
“Donald Trump has actually been leading the charge on incivility. The divisiveness in our nation has not
been worse in our lifetimes,” Snyder told The Associated Press after he announced his decision in a USA Today op-ed. Biden, he said, is “a good, decent man. You can tell he’s a person of character that cares. We need to heal our country.”
In the op-ed, Snyder — who is known for staying positive — was uncharacteristically critical of Trump. He called him a “bully,” saying it is “tragedy watching our world suffer from one.”
He said Trump lacks a moral compass, ignores the truth and does not appreciate public policy matters.
The announcement from Snyder, who served in Michigan from 2011 through 2018, came in conjunction with the launch of Republicans and Independents for Biden, a coalition of nearly 100 former and current officeholders, government officials and political operatives.
Turkey-Greece talks: NATO’s chief said Thursday
that alliance members Greece and Turkey have agreed to start “technical talks” to reduce the risks of military “incidents and accidents” in the eastern Mediterranean, where the two are locked in a tense standoff over offshore energy rights.
But Athens quickly denied any such agreement, saying neighboring Turkey must first withdraw its ships from the area where it is carrying out gas and oil prospecting. Ankara, on the other hand, said it backs NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s initiative for military and technical talks and called on Greece to do the same.
Relations between the historic regional rivals have hit their worst point in 46 years — when their militaries briefly fought in Cyprus — after Ankara sent a research vessel, escorted by warships, in July into waters claimed by Greece and Cyprus. Turkey says it has every right to prospect there.