Trump team's order for new DC police chief prompts pushback from local leaders
The Trump administration named the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to be imposed as 'emergency police commissioner' over Washington DC – a move that escalates federal control of the city but immediately was challenged by local leaders.
Federalized national guard troops were ordered into the city four days ago as Donald Trump declared a crisis of crime and homelessness there, amid outrage from opponents.
Bondi put DEA chief Terry Cole in charge of the capital's Metropolitan police department (MPD), saying he will assume the 'powers and duties vested in the District of Columbia Chief of Police'.
Bondi said police department personnel 'must receive approval from Commissioner Cole' before issuing any orders. It was not immediately clear where the move leaves Pamela Smith, the MPD police chief, who works for the city's mayor, Muriel Bowser.
Bowser promptly hit back, saying late on Thursday in a social media post: 'In reference to the US Attorney General's order, there is no statute that conveys the District's personnel authority to a federal official.'
Bowser included a letter from the District of Columbia attorney general, Brian Schwalb, to Smith opining that Bondi's order was 'unlawful'and that Smith is 'not legally obligated to follow it'.
'Members of MPD must continue to follow your orders and not the orders of any official not appointed by the Mayor,' Schwalb wrote in the letter to Smith.
Bondi's directive came hours after Smith directed MPD officers to share information regarding people not in custody – such as someone involved in a traffic stop or checkpoint – with federal agencies including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency.
But, as a so-called sanctuary city, DC police would still be prevented by local law from providing federal immigration agencies with the personal information of an undocumented person in MPD custody, including their release details, location or photos, and cannot arrest people on the basis of their immigration status, or let immigration officials question subjects in police custody.
But the justice department said Bondi disagreed with the police chief's directive because it allowed for continued enforcement of 'sanctuary policies' and Bondi said she was rescinding Smith's order.
The DC power struggle is the latest move by the US president and his administration to test the limits of federal authority, relying on obscure statutes and a subjective declaration of a crisis to bolster a hardline approach to crime and immigration.
Bondi also overnight sent anti-sanctuary city letters to the mayors of 32 cities and a handful of county executives across the US, warning that she intends to prosecute political leaders who are not in her view sufficiently supportive of immigration enforcement.
Democratic-led city leaders dispute the administration's characterizations that their cities are overrun with lawlessness, including unhoused people with substance abuse and mental health issues contributing to an increase in homeless and tent encampments.
They say Washington has grappled with spikes in violence and visible homelessness, the city's homicide rate ranks below those of several other major US cities and the capital is not in the throes of the public safety collapse the administration has portrayed.
Trump earlier praised Smith's directive effectively brought together administration moves on city law enforcement and his nationwide efforts to curb immigration.
'That's a very positive thing. I have heard that just happened,' Trump said of Smith's order. 'That's a great step. That's a great step if they're doing that.'
Bowser, walking a tightrope between the Republican White House and the constituency of her largely Democratic city, was out of town on Thursday for a family commitment in Martha's Vineyard, fetching her child from summer camp, but would be back on Friday, her office said.
Associated Press contributed reporting
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Arkansas inmate's extreme escape plan revealed before he simply walked out of prison
An Arkansas inmate known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks' escaped prison by dressing in a fake uniform made from kitchen laundry and a badge crafted out of a can before ordering a guard to open the gate to let him out. Grant Hardin, a former police chief and convicted murderer and rapist, said he spent six months planning his escape from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock before successfully slipping out of the facility on May 25. His escape triggered an extensive manhunt involving canines, drones, helicopters, and multiple law enforcement agencies. The sprawling search was further complicated by heavy rain, but tracking dogs eventually led officers to Hardin's location, just 1.5 miles away. Now an internal review by the Department of Corrections review released Friday, outlines a series of security lapses that allowed the dangerous convict to leave the prison undetected, including unsupervised access to a loading dock and a failure to verify his identity at a gate. Hardin, who worked in the prison's kitchen, told investigators he used discarded clothing and black Sharpie markers to create a uniform resembling that of prison staff. He even fashioned a badge from a can lid and hid his disguise at the bottom of a trash can - an area he said was never searched. 'Hardin stated he would hide the clothes and other items he was going to need in the bottom of a trash can in the kitchen due to no one ever shaking it down,' the report said. Hardin described security detail in the kitchen to be 'very lax,' which he said allowed him to collect materials unnoticed - and when the day finally came, he simply walked to the back gate and instructed a guard to let him out. 'He just directed the officer to "open the gate," and he did,' the report noted. Two employees were fired as a result of the escape, a kitchen worker who allowed Hardin onto the dock unsupervised, and a tower officer who opened the gate without checking identification. Several other staff members were suspended or demoted, The Associated Press reported. Following his escape, Hardin survived in the Ozark wilderness by eating berries, ants, bird eggs, and smuggled prison food. He drank creek water and distilled water from his CPAP machine, and planned to hide for up to six months before heading west, according to the report. He was captured on June 6, nearly two weeks after his escape. The Department of Corrections report also cited confusion in the early hours of Hardin's escape about which agencies had been notified and when. 'It is obvious there was a lot of confusion during the beginning stages of opening the command center and of notifications being made,' the report stated. In response to the escape, the Department of Corrections has removed electric locks from gates to prevent unverified exits, identified blind spots for new camera installation, and expanded contraband search protocols to include side and mechanical rooms. The Friday review also revealed that the hardened criminal had been misclassified and should not have been housed at the medium-security facility. The report added that his custody level had not been reassessed since 2019. He has since been transferred to a maximum-security prison. He has pleaded not guilty to escape charges and his trial is set for November. A separate investigation by the Arkansas State Police is ongoing, and legislators plan to hold hearings with corrections officials next month, according to The Associated Press. The former Gateway, Arkansas police chief, was serving a combined 80 years for the 2017 murder of 59-year-old James Appleton and two 1997 rapes. His case was the subject of the 2023 true crime documentary 'Devil in the Ozarks.'
Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Alabama town rocked by horror family-of-four killed in suspected murder-suicide
An Alabama town has been rocked by the murder-suicide of a family of four that police describe 'as tragic as it comes'. The family of four, including two children, were found dead from apparent gunshot wounds in their home on Thursday morning, according to the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office. Investigators believe Larrica Gaines Smith, 41, and her two kids, Khristian Smith, 15, and Kinsley Smith, 11, were shot dead by her husband, 44-year-old Kenneth O'Neil Smith Jr. Officers arrived at the scene in Daphne, located across the bay from Mobile, in the early morning hours after they received a 'welfare concern' call from a family member. Sheriff Anthony Lowery said the children's cell phones were ringing as authorities investigated the scene, reported 'You know that was their friends,' Lowery said. 'I've been doing this for 29 years. It's only the second time I've had to work a case where the whole family has been killed. 'It looks like some type of domestic issue that escalated into this. It's as tragic as it comes.' Police identified Kenneth as the shooter using forensic and circumstantial evidence found at the scene, including a recovered handgun, according to WALA. 'We will absolutely work this like any other homicide investigation. There is no reason to believe anything happened anywhere else but inside the house,' Lowery said. 'The neighbors are really hurting. This is a quiet neighborhood. They are proud of where they live here.' The sheriff said his department will continue to investigate the crime, but believes it stemmed from a 'domestic issue.' 'We may never get all of the answers because there won't be a suspect to interview or anything along those lines so we'll have to use our forensic techniques as best we can to piece it back together and we'll rely on [that] information,' he said. 'We'll talk to friends and family and coworkers and all those things to try and find out as much as we can.' Crisis response teams have been made available at Daphne High School and Daphne East Elementary School, where the children attended. Neighbor Shannon Brannon told the local news that she is in shock and described the Smiths' as 'just the nicest, sweetest family'. 'Their kids were so sweet. They babysat my daughter. Just good people. She just told me they celebrated their wedding anniversary two weeks ago and was happy about it, so I just don't understand. I don't understand how this could happen,' she said. Larrica worked as a realtor and her former colleague Sue Lyon, owner of Exit Realty Lyon, told the outlet she was stunned by the news. 'You'd just kind of imagine it would be a certain type of family that would happen to and you'd never think something like that would happen to them because she was always so quiet and polite and everything, but I mean…it's horrible,' Lyon said. Larrica stopped working at the agency is 2018, but Lyon said she was a talented realtor and unforgettable. 'She was so sweet, she was very quiet,' she said. 'She was the kind of person that you just thought, man she's gonna work so great in real estate.'
Times
26 minutes ago
- Times
What Putin said and what he meant, with a flash of sharp teeth
Unlike his American counterpart, President Putin chooses his words carefully. His closing remarks after his meeting with President Trump on Friday speak volumes both for what he did and did not say. • Trump-Putin meeting: follow the latest updates Putin pitched this meeting as an opportunity to bring US-Russian relations back on track — and in effect, to relegate the Ukraine issue to the sidelines. His well-known obsession with history, even if a deeply slanted version that suits his political needs, was soon in evidence. After praising the way the talks had been 'held in a constructive atmosphere of mutual respect', he quickly moved on to stressing not just that the meeting in Alaska highlighted the degree to which Russia and the United States, 'though separated by the oceans, are close neighbours' — just 2.4 miles apart at the closest point — but also that there was much shared history. (Of course, Alaska had been Russian until it was sold to America in 1867.) In the closed-door talks, Trump was apparently spared the kind of 30-minute lecture with which Putin began his interview with the US journalist Tucker Carlson. Instead, in both those talks and his public statement, Putin tried to mobilise history to develop his fundamental point: that Russia and America ought to be allies rather than adversaries. On his way to Anchorage, Putin had stopped over in Magadan in the Russian far east, where he made a point of laying flowers at the 'Heroes of Alsib' memorial commemorating pilots killed on the Alaska-Siberia route in the Second World War, when the US was helping to supply the Soviets. Noting that Soviet pilots had also been buried at a cemetery close to the airbase where the meeting with Trump was held, Putin offered a little light flattery to 'the citizens and the government of the US for carefully taking care of their memory. I think that's very worthy and noble'. He continued to make the point: 'We'll always remember other historical examples when our countries defeated common enemies together in the spirit of battle camaraderie and allyship that supported each other and facilitated each other.' In other words, when Moscow and Washington co-operate, no one can stand in their way. Putin here presented the war as something of a distraction which has unnecessarily interrupted co-operation between two great nations. 'This time has been very hard for bilateral relations, and let's be frank, they've fallen to the lowest point since the Cold War,' he said. 'I think that's not benefiting our countries and the world as a whole. It is apparent that sooner or later, we have to amend the situation to move on from the confrontation to dialogue.' This was Putin sounding conciliatory, yet wanting to have his cake and eat it: to restate his fundamental position, while posing as a peacemaker. The tell comes a few moments later. • Four key moments from Trump-Putin press conference This is Putin's usual code for demands that Kyiv must surrender territory, be barred from Nato membership and shrink its military to a level that leaves it perpetually vulnerable. He emphasised that from his perspective 'to make the settlement lasting and long-term, we need to eliminate all the primary roots, the primary causes of that conflict.' He is of course not talking about the unprovoked Russian invasion that started the war (which he ordered) but rather the supposedly 'legitimate concerns of Russia' and the need 'to reinstate a just balance of security in Europe and in the world' which would be more advantageous to Moscow. Meanwhile, he invoked what sounded like kinship with the Ukrainians, adding even that 'naturally, the security of Ukraine should be ensured as well'. This might have surprised those Ukrainian civilians hiding in their air raid shelters at the time. However, his claim that Russians have 'always considered the Ukrainian nation … a brotherly nation' as 'we have the same roots' was really just a sugar-coated rendition of his usual claim that Ukraine is not really a genuine country, more an annexe of a greater Russia. It is not yet clear what Putin meant by this arch suggestion. The official translation of his word ponimanie is 'agreements' but really the looser 'understandings' is more accurate. We therefore don't know if there is any framework for an agreement — although there are recurring suggestions of a halt to mutual air attacks on Russia and Ukraine's cities and infrastructure — or just a sense of progress being made. In any case, Putin was astute enough not to dwell on this too much and instead to refocus on the Russian and American relationship. First he dangled the benefit to the United States of improved dialogue with Russia. 'It is clear that the US and Russian investment and business co-operation has tremendous potential,' he said. 'Russia and the US can offer each other so much in trade, digital, high tech and in space exploration. We see that Arctic co-operation is also very possible.' Then he spoke warmly of his own bond with his American counterpart. Trump may be the leader of the most powerful nation in the world, but he still manifests an insecurity that Putin is happy to exploit. Speaking of the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022 the Russian said: 'President Trump is saying that if he was the president back then, there would be no war, and I'm quite sure that it would indeed be so' (as if the invasion had been some natural disaster, rather than something he initiated). As for Trump's peacemaking efforts, it was the Europeans and Ukrainians who were frustrating him, Putin suggested. He expressed the pious hope that they 'will not make any attempts to use some backroom dealings to conduct provocations to torpedo the nascent progress.' It was, of course, naked flattery, but it was also different from the kind of fawning obeisances some European leaders have adopted. Rather it was calibrated to convey a sense that the two men were equals and it came with the hint of an invitation to the club of strongman leaders: 'The president of the US has a very clear idea of what he would like to achieve. He sincerely cares about the prosperity of his nation. Still, he understands that Russia has its own national interests.' This sounded like a compliment, not condescension. Putin is not a rigid strategist but an opportunist. He likes to keep his options open. Having averted any ultimatum on a ceasefire, he made it clear that he will pursue both military and diplomatic tracks simultaneously, the very thing Kyiv has been trying to prevent. He can see if some deal that suits him emerges — or just use continuing negotiations to keep Trump paralysed and try to paint the Ukrainians and the Europeans as the obstacle. At this stage, he doesn't have to decide, and that's the way he likes it. One might think that this would be enough for him, but Putin wouldn't be Putin without a snarky parting shot. Just as Trump was wrapping up the brief press conference with a vague suggestion that the two men would 'probably' see each other again soon, Putin pounced. By inviting him, in English, to the Russian capital for their next meeting, he knew he was putting Trump very much on the spot. Obviously, this would be an even greater fillip for Putin, and pretty much guarantee that President Zelensky wasn't going to be present. It was a closing flash of the sharp teeth behind the bland smile: I am not, Putin could have been saying, just another second-tier national leader who can be pushed around. Professor Mark Galeotti's book, Forged in War: A Military History of Russia from its Beginnings to Today, is published by Osprey/Bloomsbury
