BIDEN BLASTS TRUMP, SAYS HIS DOWNPLAYING OF CORONAVIRUS WAS ‘CRIMINAL’

MOOSIC, PENNSYLVANIA: Joe Biden on Thursday went after Donald Trump over his handling of Covid-19, calling the US president’s downplaying of the pandemic “criminal” and his administration “totally irresponsible”.

“You’ve got to level with the American people - shoot from the shoulder. There’s not been a time they’ve not been able to step up. The president should step down,” the Democratic presidential candidate said at the CNN drive-in town hall in Moosic, Pennsylvania.

Speaking about Trump’s admission that he publicly played down the impact of the virus while aware of its severity, Biden declared, “He knew it and did nothing. It’s close to criminal.” Later, Biden decried Americans’ loss of basic “freedoms” as the US has struggled to contain the pandemic, like the ability to go to a ball game or walk around their neighbourhoods.

The New York Times reported on Thursday that Trump’s administration posted controversial recommendations regarding coronavirus testing on website of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention despite objections by the agency’s scientists. Under the guidance, it was not necessary to test people with no symptoms of Covid-19.

Trump offered to pardon Assange, says his lawyer

LONDON: Jennifer Robinson, a lawyer for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, has told a London court that he was indirectly offered a “win-win” deal by Trump that would see him avoid extradition to US if he revealed the source of a leak of documents from the Democratic Party before the 2016 election. The offer was made on August 15, 2017, by former Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and Trump associate Charles Johnson.