US election 2020: Joe Biden beats Donald Trump to become next President of the USA

[MenInG]

Chinese President Xi Jinping has congratulated US President-elect Joe Biden for his election victory earlier this month and expressed hope for “win-win cooperation” amid a number of conflicts between the world’s top two economies over trade, technology and security.

In a congratulatory message on Wednesday, Xi told Biden that “healthy and stable” relations were “the common expectation of the international community”, according to a statement carried by the official Xinhua News Agency.

“We hope the two sides will uphold the spirit of non-conflict and non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, will focus on cooperation, control differences and promote healthy and stable development of Chinese-U.S. relations,” the statement said.

News networks in the United States called the November 3 presidential race in Biden’s favour on November 7, prompting leaders around the world to congratulate the former vice president for his victory over President Donald Trump.

Xi’s message meant that China has now become one of the last major governments to congratulate Biden. There was no explanation for the delay but some commentators suggested Beijing might want to avoid straining relations with Trump, who has yet to concede defeat.

Relations between China and the US are at their worst in decades with disputes ranging from technology and trade to Hong Kong and the coronavirus pandemic. The Trump administration has unleashed a barrage of sanctions against Beijing.

The two clashed in a bruising trade war over US demands, including greater access to China’s markets, broad reform of a business playing field that heavily favours Chinese firms, and a loosening of heavy state control by Beijing.

In January, a deal was signed between the two, bringing a partial truce that obliged Beijing to import an additional $200bn in US products across two years, ranging from cars, machinery and oil to farm products.

The Trump administration has also targeted Chinese tech firms, which it said pose security threats, including video-sharing app TikTok – owned by Chinese parent company Bytedance – and mobile giant Huawei.

But it is far from certain that relations will improve under a Biden administration, with the Democrat outspoken during his campaign about China’s poor human rights record.

During a Democratic Party primary debate in February, Biden called Xi a “thug”.

His presidential campaign has also referred to the crackdown on the Muslim Uighur minority in China’s Xinjiang as a “genocide” – a campaign Beijing has defended as vocational training to counter the threat of “terrorism”.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/25/chinas-xi-congratulates-biden-and-hopes-for-win-win-ties

 

[Indiafan]

Joe Biden winning the US Elections over Donald Trump, is no different to the US population choosing to drown to death, over being burnt to death.

Both horrible options, but one marginally more humane than the other.

Yes free college, minimum wages, 2 trillion in climate change, healthcare for 97%, people all are same as a raicst sexit, gibbering ***** who denies science and medicine

Both siders are way worst than the worst Trump supporters. Just cowards who lie and gaslight about democrats to push their agenda

 

[sweep_shot]

US election: Appeal court dismisses Trump camp's lawsuit in Pennsylvania

A US federal appeals court has firmly rejected the Trump campaign's attempt to block President-elect Joe Biden from being declared winner in Pennsylvania.

The panel of three judges deemed the case was without merit, saying the Trump campaign had not made specific allegations or provided proof.

The ruling is another major setback for President Trump in his attempts to overturn the 3 November election.

On Thursday he said he would give way if Mr Biden was declared the winner.

But on Friday he again made unfounded allegations of "massive voter fraud", tweeting: "Biden can only enter the White House as President if he can prove that his ridiculous '80,000,000 votes' were not fraudulently or illegally obtained."

What did the appeals court rule?
The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals had been asked to consider a lower court's decision to dismiss the Trump campaign's attempts to invalidate millions of mail-in votes in Pennsylvania.

The lower court ruling had paved the way for the battleground state to certify Joe Biden's win, giving him 20 vital electoral college votes and effectively the presidency.

In giving the appeal court's opinion, Judge Stephanos Bibas wrote: "Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so."

"Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here," wrote Judge Bibas, who was nominated by Trump.

Following the ruling, Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis wrote: "On to SCOTUS!" referring to the Supreme Court.

The Trump campaign has filed a slew of lawsuits alleging voter fraud in several states, but with little success.

Mr Biden is projected to defeat President Trump 306 to 232 in the US electoral college, which determines who becomes president - far above the 270 he needs to win.

Time is running out as states have until 8 December to resolve election disputes before the Electoral College meets on 14 December to formally declare the victor.

President Trump's refusal to concede has upended the process that normally follows a US election.

However it is not a requirement for Mr Trump to concede in order for Mr Biden to be sworn in as the 46th US president.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-55109168.

 

[sweep_shot]

Biden to nominate Janet Yellen as US treasury secretary

US President-elect Joe Biden has named ex-Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen as his nominee for treasury secretary.

If confirmed by the Senate, she would be the first woman ever to hold the post.

She was among several women chosen for top economic positions. The Biden transition team said others were set to break racial barriers if confirmed.

Mr Biden has pledged to build a diverse administration. He earlier appointed an all-female senior press team.

His transition team said his picks for senior economic roles would help "lift America out of the current economic downturn and build back better".

Mr Biden has also announced the formation of a Presidential Inaugural Committee ahead of his swearing-in on 20 January. The committee will be responsible for organising inauguration-related activities.

The nominations come as Arizona and Wisconsin officially certified Mr Biden as the winner in those states. President Donald Trump is expected to issue legal challenges to the vote in both states.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55136504.

 

[sweep_shot]

US attorney general finds 'no voter fraud that could overturn election'

US Attorney General William Barr says his justice department has found no proof to back President Donald Trump's claims of fraud in the 2020 election.

"To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election," he said.

His comments are seen as a big blow to Mr Trump, who has not accepted defeat.

He and his campaign have filed lawsuits in states that he lost, as they begin certifying Joe Biden as the winner.

President-elect Biden defeated the incumbent Mr Trump by a margin of 306 to 232 votes in the US electoral college, which chooses the US president. And in the popular vote, Mr Biden won at least 6.2 million more votes than Mr Trump.

Since 3 November's election, Mr Trump has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud, and members of his legal defence team have spoken of an alleged international plot to hand Mr Biden the win. On Tuesday, after Mr Barr's statements were released, the president tweeted several times alluding to voter fraud, again without proof.

"There's been one assertion that would be systemic fraud and that would be the claim that machines were programmed essentially to skew the election results," Mr Barr, who is seen as a top Trump ally, told AP News on Tuesday, referring to the assertion that ballot machines were hacked to give more votes to Mr Biden.

Mr Barr said that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security have investigated that claim, "and so far, we haven't seen anything to substantiate that".

A DOJ spokesperson later stressed the department had not concluded its investigation and would continue to "receive and vigorously pursue all specific and credible allegations of fraud as expeditiously as possible".

Last month, Mr Barr issued an order to US attorneys, allowing them to pursue any "substantial allegations" of voting irregularities, before the 2020 presidential election was certified.

"There's a growing tendency to use the criminal justice system as sort of a default fix-all, and people don't like something they want the Department of Justice to come in and 'investigate,'" he added. He also told the AP that he had appointed a veteran prosecutor to continue investigating the origins of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into alleged election meddling.

Reacting to his comments, Trump campaign lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis said in a joint statement: "With the greatest respect to the Attorney General, his opinion appears to be without any knowledge or investigation of the substantial irregularities and evidence of systemic fraud."

Meanwhile, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said of Mr Barr's statement: "I guess he's the next one to be fired."

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55153366.

 

[MenInG]

US state of Georgia election official has said President Donald Trump will bear responsibility for any violence that results from unsubstantiated election fraud claims he has stoked.

In a fiery statement, Gabriel Sterling, a Republican, said: "It's all gone too far! All of it! It has to stop!"

Georgia is carrying out a second recount of votes in the state at the Trump campaign's request.

Democratic president-elect Joe Biden was declared the narrow winner there.

Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said they are trying to make sure "that all legal votes are counted and all illegal votes are not".

"No-one should engage in threats or violence, and if that has happened, we condemn that fully."

It came after US Attorney General William Barr said his justice department has so far found no proof to back Mr Trump's claims of fraud in the election.

 

[Firebat]

Trump pardons: US justice department unveils bribery inquiry

The US justice department is looking into claims that lobbyists have tried to use bribes to secure a presidential pardon, unsealed court papers show.

They say that in August investigators began investigating a "secret lobbying scheme" possibly involving attempts to contact White House officials.

The redacted filings do not give any names, but the justice department says no government official is being probed.

In a tweet, President Trump referred to the investigation as "fake news".

It is common for outgoing presidents to use their right to issue pardons, which wipe out convictions.

President Trump - who is due to leave office in January, although he is still contesting his election defeat in the courts - has used the procedure a number of times.

Last week he pardoned his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

Meanwhile, US media say Mr Trump has been discussing the possibility of pardoning family members.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55156241

 

[sweep_shot]

Trump presses Georgia governor to help overturn result

US President Donald Trump has pressed the Republican governor of Georgia to help overturn Joe Biden's election victory in the state.

In a series of tweets, he urged governor Brian Kemp to call a special session of the state legislature.

It came hours before Mr Trump attended a campaign rally in Georgia for upcoming Senate runoff elections.

The president is still refusing to concede and alleges, without evidence, that Mr Biden's win was due to fraud.

He has launched legal challenges in several states but so far almost all of them have failed.

Georgia was a key battleground state in the election and Joe Biden's narrow win - the first time the state had voted Democrat since 1992 - helped to seal his victory.

It is now the focus of an intense political battle for control of the Senate. If Democrats win January's two runoff elections there, Republicans would lose control of the upper house.

According to the Washington Post, Mr Trump called Mr Kemp on Saturday morning and asked him to demand an audit of absentee ballot signatures. Mr Kemp - who has no power to order such an audit - turned down the requests, a source told the newspaper.

Mr Trump has alleged throughout the election that the increase in postal ballots had led to widespread fraud, but there has been no evidence of this.

Then on Twitter, the president turned up the pressure on the governor, saying: "I will easily & quickly win Georgia if Governor @BrianKempGA or the Secretary of State permit a simple signature verification ... Why are these two 'Republicans' saying no?"

Mr Kemp tweeted back that he had "publicly called for a signature audit three times" to which Trump responded: "Your people are refusing to do what you ask. What are they hiding?"

He added: "At least immediately ask for a Special Session of the Legislature. That you can easily, and immediately, do."

Later, Mr Trump again took aim at Mr Kemp when he addressed supporters in Valdosta, Georgia - his first post-election campaign rally - saying the governor had to "get a lot tougher".

President Trump told the cheering crowd that he could still win the election. Repeating his unsubstantiated claims, he said: "They cheated and rigged our presidential election but we'll still win it."

The crowd - many waving "Make America Great Again" posters - chanted "Stop the steal" and "Four More Years".

Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, said on Wednesday that no evidence of widespread fraud had been found to support Mr Trump's claims.

An election official in the state, Gabriel Sterling, also a Republican, has urged the president to turn down his fraud claims, saying they were inciting violent threats.

Mr Biden won the election with 306 votes in the electoral college - the system the US uses to elect a president - to Mr Trump's 232. The college will meet on 14 December to formalise the outcome.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-55203838.

 

[sweep_shot]

Jocelyn Benson: Armed protesters flock to Michigan official's home

Armed demonstrators have held a rally outside Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's home to protest against Donald Trump's election loss.

"Dozens" of people arrived at her home on Saturday evening as she was putting up Christmas decorations with her son, she said in a statement.

Protesters shouted "stop the steal!", echoing President Donald Trump's claims of voter fraud.

Attorney General William Barr has said those corruption claims are unproven.

Ms Benson has joined a growing number of government and election officials targeted by protesters this year over the 2020 election.

In a statement posted to Twitter on Sunday, Ms Benson, a Democrat, said that protesters made "unambiguous, loud and threatening" demands outside her Detroit home to overturn the state's election results.

Michigan last month certified its results, declaring Democrat Joe Biden the winner of the state's 16 electoral votes.

Part of the demonstration was streamed live on Facebook.

"We are not standing down, we are not giving up, you are not going to take this election from a man that has earned it completely 100% by a freaking landslide," said Genevieve Peters, who posted the video.

Police responded to a public disturbance call around 21:50 EST (01:50 GMT), local media said, and the crowd dispersed shortly after. A local police chief said he also thought some of them were armed.

No arrests were made. It is not a crime to carry a firearm in Michigan, as long as the weapon is legally owned and not concealed.

In a statement, Michigan's Attorney General Dana Nessel and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy described the incident as "disturbing behaviour masquerading as protest".

"Anyone can air legitimate grievances to Secretary Benson's office through civil and democratic means, but terrorising children and families at their own homes is not activism," they said.

In her own statement, Ms Benson appeared to tie the protest outside her home to ongoing efforts by Mr Trump and his legal team to overturn the results of the presidential election - citing "purely political legislative hearings" and "bogus legal claims".

Mr Trump has so far refused to concede the election and has launched a series of legal challenges alleging, without evidence, that Mr Biden's win was the result of fraud.

Last week an election official in Georgia, Gabriel Sterling, warned that President Trump was inciting violence, citing death threats made to staff.

In Arizona, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said last month that her family had received "utterly abhorrent threats".

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-55220570.

 

[sweep_shot]

Joe Biden's son Hunter says he is under investigation over taxes

US President-elect Joe Biden's son Hunter has said his tax affairs are under investigation.

The investigation is being conducted by federal prosecutors in Delaware.

Hunter Biden said he took the case "very seriously" but was confident an "objective review" would show he had handled his affairs "legally and appropriately".

The Biden-Harris transition team said the president-elect was "deeply proud of his son".

A statement from the team said Hunter had "fought through difficult challenges, including the vicious personal attacks of recent months, only to emerge stronger".

Hunter Biden said he learned of the investigation on Tuesday. He did not disclose any further details.

The 50-year-old was a frequent target of Republican criticism during the 2020 election campaign, focusing on his business dealings in Ukraine and China when Joe Biden was vice-president in the Barack Obama administration.

Last December, President Donald Trump was impeached by the Democratic-run House of Representatives on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress stemming from his attempts to pressure Ukraine to investigate the Bidens.

But Mr Trump was cleared by the Republican-held Senate in February.

The new investigation into Hunter Biden's tax affairs comes as his father assembles his cabinet. If the case is still ongoing when Mr Biden is sworn into office next month, his pick for attorney general could have oversight of the investigation, AP notes.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55254182.

 

[sweep_shot]

US election: YouTube to ban videos alleging widespread voter fraud

YouTube said on Wednesday it would start removing content that falsely alleges that widespread voter fraud changed the result of the US election.

The update applies to all new content, including videos from President Donald Trump.

The company had previously labelled potentially misleading election videos, adding links to accurate information.

YouTube said "enough states have certified their election results to determine a President-elect."

Democrats have criticised YouTube for not doing enough to take down fake news and conspiracy theories on the platform.

Mr Trump and senior Republicans have repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims that the election was "rigged".

Trump's lawyers have failed to provide evidence of this.

The announcement comes after a "safe harbor" deadline - which sets a date by which states need to certify the results of the presidential election.

"Yesterday was the safe harbor deadline for the US Presidential election and enough states have certified their election results to determine a President-elect," said YouTube.

It also said that the move was in line with its historical approach to US presidential elections.

Examples it cited of videos it would now remove were uploads claiming that a presidential candidate won the election due to widespread software glitches or counting errors.

Last month Reuters identified several YouTube channels making money from ads and memberships that were amplifying debunked accusations about voting fraud.

YouTube said that it has taken down 8,000 channels since September, for uploading "harmful and misleading elections-related videos for violating our existing policies".

The latest move will anger President Trump and many Republicans, many of whom already believe Big Tech is biased against conservatives.

The focus now moves to Twitter and Facebook as to whether they will follow YouTube's lead.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-55255121.

 

[MenInG]

Democrat Joe Biden has attacked Mr Trump's refusal to concede defeat, calling attacks on the election and election officials "simply unconscionable" and attempts to overturn the result an "abuse of power"

 

[MenInG]

A top member of US President Donald Trump's Republican Party, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, has congratulated Joe Biden on winning the presidential election last month.

Senator McConnell spoke after the electoral college formally confirmed Mr Biden's victory over Mr Trump.

The Democrat won 306 electoral college votes to Mr Trump's 232.

President Trump still refuses to concede, making unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud.

Relations with the Senate, currently controlled by the Republicans, will be crucial to Mr Biden's presidency.

On Tuesday, he travels to Georgia to campaign for the Democrats in next month's Senate run-off elections. Two seats will be decided on 5 January and could decide whether or not his party takes control of the chamber. Democrats already control the House of Representatives.

Formal confirmation of his victory prompted several international leaders finally to come forward with their congratulations, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Mr McConnell said: "Today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden."

Also congratulating Mr Biden's running-mate, Kamala Harris, he added: "All Americans can take pride that our nation has a female vice president-elect for the very first time."

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer urged Mr Trump to "end his term with a modicum of grace and dignity".

"For the sake of our democracy, for the sake of peaceful transition of power, he should stop the shenanigans, stop the misrepresentations and acknowledge that Joe Biden will be our next president," he said.

 

[MenInG]

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday congratulated Joe Biden on his victory in the U.S. presidential election, after Biden won the state-by-state Electoral College vote that officially determines the U.S. presidency, the Kremlin said.

The Kremlin had said it would wait for the official results of the election before commenting on its outcome, even as other nations congratulated Biden on the win in the days after the Nov. 3 vote.

“For my part, I am ready for interaction and contact with you,” the Kremlin cited Putin as saying in a statement.

“Putin wished the president-elect every success and expressed confidence that Russia and the United States, which have a special responsibility for global security and stability, could, despite their differences, really help to solve the many problems and challenges facing the world,” the Kremlin said.

 

[The Viper]

White House refuses to follow McConnell in acknowledging Trump defeat

Asked about the electoral college vote, McEnany said: “The president is still involved in ongoing litigation related to the election.

Yesterday’s vote was one step in the constitutional process so I will leave that to him.”

She said she has not spoken to Trump since McConnell recognized Biden as the president-elect and directed further questions to the president’s campaign.

Whether Trump will get the vaccine remains unclear. McEnany said he is “absolutely open” to taking the vaccine but because he recovered from Covid-19 earlier this year did not believe he should be among the first to receive the vaccine. She said other senior administration officials would receive the virus, but did not offer names.

“The president wants to send a parallel message which is, our long-term care facility residents and our frontline workers are paramount and he wants to set a good example in that regard,” she said, adding: “I absolutely would be open to taking the vaccine.”

 

[Firebat]

Over 1.1 million ballots cast in early voting for Georgia U.S. Senate runoffs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 1.1 million Georgians have voted in twin U.S. Senate runoff elections that will determine which party controls that chamber of Congress, and with it the fate of much of Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s agenda, state data showed on Friday.

The surge in turnout after four days of early in-person voting, and about four weeks of mail-in voting, showed that voter participation in the two races is on pace to rival the records set in the November presidential contest in which Biden defeated Republican incumbent Donald Trump.

State data published on Friday showed the number of accepted ballots was just below the level seen at the same point in early voting for November’s election.

Voting in the Senate runoffs, which are taking place because no candidate won 50% support on Nov. 3, ends on Jan. 5.

Biden’s razor-thin victory in Georgia last month amid record-high turnout underscored the Southern state’s transformation from Republican stronghold to one of the country’s most competitive political battlegrounds.

A record 159 million people nationwide voted in November, up from 138 million in the November 2016 elections, according to data compiled by Michael McDonald, a political scientist at the University of Florida. He estimated that nearly 67% of U.S. eligible voters voted last month, the highest share since 1900.

Signs of high turnout in the January Senate contests in Georgia point to another squeaker, analysts said.

“This is going to be a really close election,” said McDonald, who is tracking early voting in Georgia.

He said comparing current turnout with the November cycle is tricky. It was possible that voters were crowding the polls to be done with voting ahead of the December holidays.

“It does seem to me like we’re in for a higher turnout election than is typical for a runoff election,” McDonald said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-for-georgia-u-s-senate-runoffs-idUSKBN28S1KY

 

[ahmedzee]

So which country would Biden attack first. He has a long list considering his history of toppling regimes and installing puppets.

BUMP!
Told you so! Unfortunately the first country Biden bombed is Syria. Shameful fascist leader hiding behind democracy.