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CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Trump zeroes in on federal takeover of DC, while city officials remain deferential to him
President Donald Trump is expected to ramp up efforts to curb crime in the nation's capital on Monday as he threatens a federal takeover of Washington, DC, all while city officials largely remain deferential to him. The event comes after Trump launched a surge of federal law enforcement in DC over the weekend that up to 450 officers were expected participate in, according to a White House official. Plans called for as many as 130 FBI agents to patrol with DC police as part of the increased federal presence, according to a one person familiar with the plans, which were first reported by The Washington Post. A primary part of their job will be driving around the city, running license plates for stolen vehicles and warrants, a source familiar told CNN. It's not typical for FBI agents to patrol with local police. Trump said over the weekend that he will hold a 'press conference' at 10 a.m. ET on Monday, teasing that the event 'will, essentially, stop violent crime in Washington, D.C.' 'I'm going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before. The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital,' Trump said in social media post on Sunday. 'The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong.' To support his threats, Trump has made false claims about rising crime in DC. But so far this year, overall crime numbers are lower than last year's, according to a preliminary year-to-date crime comparison from DC's Metropolitan Police Department — following a similar trend of declining crime rates in major US cities. Meanwhile, the local government has largely stayed deferential to the president amid his threats, avoiding the wrath of Trump, who was often at odds with the city during his first term. Five days after Trump began threatening to 'take over' the city, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser broke the notable silence that has been a feature of the city's response to Trump's incursions into local matters. Speaking to MSNBC on Sunday morning, Bowser denied that DC is undergoing a massive spike in crime. She also pointed out that the DC National Guard is 'the president's National Guard' and highlighted her 'shared priorities' with Trump, who she said is 'interested in being in neighborhoods and fighting crime.' The Democratic mayor, who abstained from criticizing the president directly during the interview, thanked federal law enforcement agencies 'who always work cooperatively with us, and we expect that they will again.' CNN attempted to reach Bowser's office on Sunday and several times last week for comment but either didn't receive a response or the office declined to comment. Similarly, 12 of 13 members of the DC Council did not respond or declined to a request for comment last week. Councilmember Christina Henderson attributed crime in the city to the Trump and Biden administrations not nominating enough judges to handle the local caseload. This deferential tone has been a hallmark of Bowser's strategy for dealing with Trump in his second term. It's also a sharp contrast to DC's demonstrative resistance during Trump's first term – like when Bowser ordered 'Black Lives Matter' painted on a street in front of the White House during the height of the George Floyd protests. When it comes to addressing violent crime in the city, Bowser — while maintaining that efforts to bring rates down has been successful — sees little upside in creating rifts with agencies by opposing Trump's deployment of federal officers, a source familiar with her thinking told CNN. Federal agencies work with DC's police force on a consistent basis, as jurisdictions regularly overlap with the US Park Police, Federal Protective Service, Secret Service and others including the Capitol Police. The mayor's office and the city-run police department also work intimately with federal partners in planning and securing a significant number of large events in the district. Balancing those relationships while also softly pushing back on Trump's repeated claims that DC is infested with crime is Bowser's current strategy to handling the volatile president, whose obsession with DC crime has ebbed and flowed over the years. And Bowser has received some credit from federal officials, including US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro, who said Wednesday in a Fox News interview: 'I have to give the mayor credit. Mayor Bowser is working with us.' The mayor in March announced the removal of Black Lives Matter Plaza after Republicans in Congress threatened to withhold funding for the district if it kept the two-block mural, which was unveiled following the 2020 murder of Floyd and subsequent protests. The mayor told CNN at the time, 'We have bigger fish to fry,' citing the looming financial and existential crises her city faces under Trump amid federal job losses and funding cuts . Bowser has taken opportunities to work with Trump when she can, including joining the president in the White House earlier this year to announce the NFL Draft would come to DC in 2027. She has also welcomed the federal government's help repairing and beautifying federal parks in DC. In his second term, Trump first suggested a federal takeover of the city in February, saying it should be run with 'law and order.' He renewed his focus on crime in DC last week after Edward Coristine, a former Department of Government Efficiency employee, was assaulted in an attempted carjacking. After that incident, Trump told reporters he is considering having his administration take over the Metropolitan Police Department and bringing in the National Guard. The president also said the administration was going 'to look at' overturning DC Home Rule – which gives certain congressional powers regarding the governance of the district to local government entities, including the mayor and city council. 'We have to run DC. This has to be the best-run place in the country, not the worst-run place in the country,' Trump said Wednesday. The Trump administration can take over the DC police department, which the president has said he's considering, and deploying the National Guard. Under DC Home Rule, the president can take control of the city's police for 48 hours if he 'determines that special conditions of an emergency nature exist which require the use of the Metropolitan Police force for Federal purposes.' He would then have access to any services of the police department that he 'may deem necessary and appropriate.' Trump can retain control for a longer period if he notifies the chairs and ranking members of the congressional committees that handle legislative matters related to Washington, DC, including the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Any request of over 30 days must be passed into law. But for Trump to truly have the federal government take over governing of Washington, he would need Congress to pass legislation, something which would be unlikely in a tightly controlled Senate. CNN's Brian Todd, Alex Daugherty, Shania Shelton and Josh Campbell contributed to this report.
Epoch Times
an hour ago
- Epoch Times
Advocacy Group Urges China to Lift Exit Bans on 7-Year-Old and His Mother
A Chinese mother and her U.S.-born young child are being barred from leaving China after a family trip there last year, marking another case where Beijing has stopped foreigners and Chinese nationals from departing the country. On Aug. 7, the Dui Hua Foundation, a San Francisco-based advocacy group for at-risk detainees in China, raised the plight of the Gao family—permanent U.S. residents Gao Zhen and his wife Zhao Yaliang, and their seven-year-old son, Gao Jia, a U.S. citizen from New York. The senior Gao and his younger brother, Gao Qiang, are well-known as the 'Gao Brothers' for their artworks critical of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). One particularly well-known art piece is a bronze statue of former CCP leader Mao Zedong kneeling, his right hand on his chest with a sorrowful expression. In August last year, Gao Zhen was detained on the charge of 'slandering China's heroes and martyrs' during a family trip. The foundation pointed out that the charge was based on the Heroes and Martyrs Protection Law, which went into effect in 2018, even though his artworks mocking the Chinese regime's leadership were created before 2009. Zhao and her son have been barred from leaving China since the senior Gao's arrest. The foundation questioned why Beijing chose to impose the exit ban on them, noting that neither has been accused of a crime nor is required for any criminal investigation by the Chinese authorities. Unable to return to the United States, the seven-year-old Gao 'has been unable to attend school for a full year,' the foundation added. 'It's one thing to slap exit bans on adult Americans like bankers or government employees, it's an entirely different matter to impose an exit ban on a young child,' John Kamm, executive director of the Dui Hua Foundation, said in a statement. Last month, the Chinese regime announced that it had imposed an exit ban on Mao Chenyue, an Atlanta-based managing director at Wells Fargo, accusing the banker of being 'involved in a criminal case.' Also in July, the U.S. State Department confirmed that a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office employee was being prevented from leaving China after traveling there in a personal capacity. In September last year, the foundation estimated that there were 'more than 300 Americans under coercive measures in China,' and 'more than 30 are under exit bans.' The foundation stated that China's treatment of the younger Gao violates the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, which China signed in 1990 and ratified two years later. As for the senior Gao, the foundation stated that he is scheduled to be tried and sentenced 'in the coming weeks,' and warned that he could receive a long sentence, despite his not guilty plea. 'Charging someone with a crime that was not a crime at the time the alleged offense took place,' Kamm said, 'is a violation of a fundamental principle of justice, the principle of non-retroactive application of the law.' 'The Chinese government must stop persecuting the Gao family. It must free Gao Zhen and lift the exit bans on Gao Jia and his mother and allow them to return to the United States.' New York-based nonprofit, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), sent a letter dated Oct. 31 last year to the consulate general of China in New York, demanding the senior Gao's immediate and unconditional release. The letter, written by HRF Chief Advocacy Officer Roberto González, argued that his artworks 'are incredibly necessary to educating the world on the truth of Mao's dictatorial legacy.' Mao instigated the Red Guards, who were Chinese high school and university students, to persecute those identified as 'class enemies' of the communist regime, amid the Cultural Revolution that lasted 10 years until Mao's death in 1976. González also argued that Beijing should repeal the Heroes and Martyrs Protection Law to 'safeguard artistic freedom in China.' 'His detention is not just a violation of his rights but a blatant abuse of power and an attack on the fundamental human freedoms of all Chinese people who have the right to learn the truth about dictator Mao Zedong,' the letter reads.
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Trump zeroes in on federal takeover of DC, while city officials remain deferential to him
President Donald Trump is expected to ramp up efforts to curb crime in the nation's capital on Monday as he threatens a federal takeover of Washington, DC, all while city officials largely remain deferential to him. The event comes after Trump launched a surge of federal law enforcement in DC over the weekend that up to 450 officers were expected participate in, according to a White House official. Plans called for as many as 130 FBI agents to patrol with DC police as part of the increased federal presence, according to a one person familiar with the plans, which were first reported by The Washington Post. A primary part of their job will be driving around the city, running license plates for stolen vehicles and warrants, a source familiar told CNN. It's not typical for FBI agents to patrol with local police. Trump said over the weekend that he will hold a 'press conference' at 10 a.m. ET on Monday, teasing that the event 'will, essentially, stop violent crime in Washington, D.C.' 'I'm going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before. The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital,' Trump said in social media post on Sunday. 'The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong.' To support his threats, Trump has made false claims about rising crime in DC. But so far this year, overall crime numbers are lower than last year's, according to a preliminary year-to-date crime comparison from DC's Metropolitan Police Department — following a similar trend of declining crime rates in major US cities. Meanwhile, the local government has largely stayed deferential to the president amid his threats, avoiding the wrath of Trump, who was often at odds with the city during his first term. Five days after Trump began threatening to 'take over' the city, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser broke the notable silence that has been a feature of the city's response to Trump's incursions into local matters. Speaking to MSNBC on Sunday morning, Bowser denied that DC is undergoing a massive spike in crime. She also pointed out that the DC National Guard is 'the president's National Guard' and highlighted her 'shared priorities' with Trump, who she said is 'interested in being in neighborhoods and fighting crime.' The Democratic mayor, who abstained from criticizing the president directly during the interview, thanked federal law enforcement agencies 'who always work cooperatively with us, and we expect that they will again.' CNN attempted to reach Bowser's office on Sunday and several times last week for comment but either didn't receive a response or the office declined to comment. Similarly, 12 of 13 members of the DC Council did not respond or declined to a request for comment last week. Councilmember Christina Henderson attributed crime in the city to the Trump and Biden administrations not nominating enough judges to handle the local caseload. This deferential tone has been a hallmark of Bowser's strategy for dealing with Trump in his second term. It's also a sharp contrast to DC's demonstrative resistance during Trump's first term – like when Bowser ordered 'Black Lives Matter' painted on a street in front of the White House during the height of the George Floyd protests. When it comes to addressing violent crime in the city, Bowser — while maintaining that efforts to bring rates down has been successful — sees little upside in creating rifts with agencies by opposing Trump's deployment of federal officers, a source familiar with her thinking told CNN. Federal agencies work with DC's police force on a consistent basis, as jurisdictions regularly overlap with the US Park Police, Federal Protective Service, Secret Service and others including the Capitol Police. The mayor's office and the city-run police department also work intimately with federal partners in planning and securing a significant number of large events in the district. Balancing those relationships while also softly pushing back on Trump's repeated claims that DC is infested with crime is Bowser's current strategy to handling the volatile president, whose obsession with DC crime has ebbed and flowed over the years. And Bowser has received some credit from federal officials, including US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro, who said Wednesday in a Fox News interview: 'I have to give the mayor credit. Mayor Bowser is working with us.' The mayor in March announced the removal of Black Lives Matter Plaza after Republicans in Congress threatened to withhold funding for the district if it kept the two-block mural, which was unveiled following the 2020 murder of Floyd and subsequent protests. The mayor told CNN at the time, 'We have bigger fish to fry,' citing the looming financial and existential crises her city faces under Trump amid federal job losses and funding cuts . Bowser has taken opportunities to work with Trump when she can, including joining the president in the White House earlier this year to announce the NFL Draft would come to DC in 2027. She has also welcomed the federal government's help repairing and beautifying federal parks in DC. In his second term, Trump first suggested a federal takeover of the city in February, saying it should be run with 'law and order.' He renewed his focus on crime in DC last week after Edward Coristine, a former Department of Government Efficiency employee, was assaulted in an attempted carjacking. After that incident, Trump told reporters he is considering having his administration take over the Metropolitan Police Department and bringing in the National Guard. The president also said the administration was going 'to look at' overturning DC Home Rule – which gives certain congressional powers regarding the governance of the district to local government entities, including the mayor and city council. 'We have to run DC. This has to be the best-run place in the country, not the worst-run place in the country,' Trump said Wednesday. The Trump administration can take over the DC police department, which the president has said he's considering, and deploying the National Guard. Under DC Home Rule, the president can take control of the city's police for 48 hours if he 'determines that special conditions of an emergency nature exist which require the use of the Metropolitan Police force for Federal purposes.' He would then have access to any services of the police department that he 'may deem necessary and appropriate.' Trump can retain control for a longer period if he notifies the chairs and ranking members of the congressional committees that handle legislative matters related to Washington, DC, including the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Any request of over 30 days must be passed into law. But for Trump to truly have the federal government take over governing of Washington, he would need Congress to pass legislation, something which would be unlikely in a tightly controlled Senate. CNN's Brian Todd, Alex Daugherty, Shania Shelton and Josh Campbell contributed to this report.
