Latest news with #PeterWelch
The Intercept
31-07-2025
- Business
- The Intercept
U.S. Security Contractors in Gaza Risk War Crimes Charges, Democrats Say
Security firms employing U.S. military veterans for a controversial food distribution operation in Gaza have exposed them to the risk of criminal charges under U.S. laws against war crimes, torture, and forced deportation, four Democrats in Congress said Thursday. In a letter to the two firms' CEOs, Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and three other lawmakers said they were 'horrified' by reporting about the companies' 'deadly' security operations on behalf of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. 'We are deeply concerned that you may have failed to alert your personnel — or investors — of the immense legal risks they face.' The members of Congress say that news reports and firsthand witnesses indicated employees for Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions were 'sent to Gaza armed for combat' and directed by Israeli officials to use lethal force. 'As a result, we are deeply concerned that you may have failed to alert your personnel — or investors — of the immense legal risks they face for conducting what amounts to military operations on behalf of the Israeli government on land outside of the State of Israel,' the lawmakers say. They asked the companies to answer a series of questions about whether they had warned staffers about their legal risks, including from international courts, and to preserve documents related to their interactions with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The letter represents the latest ratcheting up of congressional pressure — so far all from Democrats — on the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and the contractors supporting its operations in the Middle East. Founded only in February, the foundation became the main conduit for U.S.- and Israeli-backed aid into Gaza after Israel lifted a total blockade at the end of May. The foundation's decision to employ armed contractors at its sites, and its close cooperation with Israel, have drawn widespread condemnation from other aid groups who say they violate core humanitarian principles. Some of the security contractors supporting its operations are former U.S. service members, including Special Operations veterans. Welch was joined by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Democratic U.S. Reps. Joaquin Castro of Texas and Sara Jacobs of California. Castro and Jacobs's districts in San Antonio and San Diego, respectively, are home to large populations of U.S. military veterans. Hundreds of people have died trying to access aid at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's distribution points, according to the United Nations, many of them under Israeli fire. Read our complete coverage The foundation's chair has brushed off reports of chaos and violence at its distribution sites as 'Hamas disinformation' and boasted about its success. Dozens of Senate Democrats in a letter earlier this week said the foundation had failed to address the growing crisis in Gaza and called on President Donald Trump's administration to expand aid through other nonprofits.
CNN
31-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Democratic lawmakers press for answers from US security firms involved in controversial Gaza aid organization
The Middle East National security FacebookTweetLink A group of Democratic lawmakers on Thursday pressed for answers from the heads of two private US-based security firms whose personnel have worked at the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and who the lawmakers say have been accused of deadly violence against civilians seeking aid in the starving enclave. In a letter first obtained by CNN, Sens. Peter Welch and Chris Van Hollen and Reps. Joaquin Castro and Sara Jacobs express concern about reports the two companies, UG Solutions and Safe Reach Solutions, are involved with 'deadly security operations in Gaza.' 'Reports and firsthand witnesses have indicated to us that your personnel —American veterans hired as private security contractors—were brought into Israel on tourist visas inappropriate for the intended purpose of their travel, sent to Gaza armed for combat, and ordered by Israeli officials to use lethal force against unarmed and starving Palestinian civilians,' said the letter to the CEOs of the two companies. 'We have also learned that under Israeli orders, your personnel are conducting crowd control at food distribution sites by firing live rounds over the heads of civilians and using stun grenades and pepper spray — all in an active military zone under direct supervision by Israeli military officers,' the letter said. 'As a result, we are deeply concerned that you may have failed to alert your personnel — or investors — of the immense legal risks they face for conducting what amounts to military operations on behalf of the Israeli government on land outside of the State of Israel,' it said. CNN has asked UG Solutions and Safe Reach Solutions for comment. The lawmakers are seeking answers about the rules of engagement for personnel in Gaza and the extent to which staff and investors were informed of their potential exposure to lawsuits related to alleged war crimes and torture. They requested those answers within two weeks. The letters also asked the companies to 'preserve all documents and communications related to (their) contracts and work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.' The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US and Israeli backed private organization established to provide aid amid the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, has prompted an outcry and faced sharp criticism from international aid organizations over the operations of their distribution sites. Hundreds have been killed around the sites trying to get desperately needed food. US officials have defended the work of the foundation and argued it is the only organization that has been able to stop widespread looting of aid by Hamas. An internal USAID assessment did not find evidence of systemic theft by Hamas.
Time of India
28-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'You are misinformed': Harmeet Dhillon's heated exchange with Sen. Welch about Texas redistricting - The Economic Times Video
Tensions exploded during a heated Senate hearing as Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for civil rights, fired back at Senator Peter Welch, accusing him of being 'misinformed' over the DOJ's redistricting push in Texas. Dhillon, facing tough questions about alleged Trump-era interference in the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, shut down Welch's accusations with a sharp rebuttal, sparking a fiery exchange that left the room stunned.
Reuters
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
US Justice Dept civil rights unit faces mass exodus
WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department office tasked with protecting peoples' civil rights has lost 368 employees since President Donald Trump took office, in a mass exodus that has coincided with a dramatic policy shift away from its historical mission of protecting marginalized populations. The staffing decrease at the Civil Rights Division, disclosed on Wednesday in a congressional memo, opens new tab from U.S. Senator Peter Welch, represents an unprecedented exodus of career officials who usually remain in their roles from administration to administration, regardless of political party. He said DOJ provided the figures to his office on July 15. Prior to Trump's inauguration, the division employed more than 400 attorneys. Reuters could not determine how many of the departed 368 officials worked as attorneys, as opposed to other roles such as office support staff. Of those who left, 270 took the government's deferred retirement program while 98 resigned. Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, released the figures ahead of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Wednesday where Harmeet Dhillon, Trump's head of the Civil Rights Division, will testify to Congress for the first time since her confirmation hearing in February. In his memo, Welch said that since Trump took office in January, the Civil Rights Division had disregarded its statutory responsibilities to enforce laws that prohibit discrimination, and had enabled civil rights violations to be committed against people and institutions as part of Trump's political agenda. The Civil Rights Division's mandate dates back to the passage of the 1957 Civil Rights Act, which was initially enacted to protect the rights of Black people by undoing discriminatory Jim Crow segregation, enforce peoples' voting rights and pursue hate crime cases. Congress has expanded the division's responsibilities over the years to include protecting Americans from discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, sex, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and military status. Dhillon has upended the division's traditional enforcement priorities and refocused them on Trump's directives mandating such actions as curbing the use of diversity, equity and inclusion policies, banning transgender youth from playing on sports teams that do not align with their birth gender and prohibiting transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming care. Earlier this year, Dhillon rescinded most of the investigative findings issued by the division during President Joe Biden's tenure, which documented widespread civil rights abuses by police departments against predominantly people of color or people with disabilities. She also nixed two pending court-approved settlements to implement reforms with the Minneapolis and Louisville police departments following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The division's leadership has also ordered career staff to dismiss a variety of other ongoing civil rights cases involving discrimination against people of color, while simultaneously pursuing probes against jurisdictions and institutions it accuses of improperly implementing DEI policies. Dhillon and some of the division's other politically-appointed attorneys have also taken the unusual step of publicly announcing the targets of various employment discrimination probes, such as the University of California and George Mason University, over DEI policies or antisemitism. At the start of her tenure, Dhillon issued new mission statements to each section of the Civil Rights Division, some of which were previously reported on by Reuters. Many of the new mission statements appeared to omit key statutes customarily enforced by each of the units, while at the same time ordering attorneys to focus on other issues such as ensuring women and girls have "unfettered access" to sports programs that "exclude males." Welch's memo on Wednesday highlighted each new mission statement and expressed concerns with each of them.
Malay Mail
02-07-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Trump unveils ‘Victory 45-47' fragrance line as critics decry presidential profiteering as ‘grifting and graft'
WASHINGTON, July 2 — US President Donald Trump is adding fragrances to the growing list of merchandise that bear his name, raising fresh questions about his use of the presidential bully pulpit to hawk products that enrich him and his family. The former New York real estate tycoon, who moved back into the White House in January for his second term, announced this week that a new Trump-branded cologne for men and perfume for women were available for purchase. 'Trump Fragrances are here. They're called 'Victory 45-47' because they're all about Winning, Strength and Success,' he wrote on his Truth Social account on Monday. Trump, a Republican, served as the 45th US president from 2017-2021 and became the country's 47th president with his 2024 win. The fragrances come in a black box with gold lettering for men and a red box with gold lettering for women. The fragrance containers look like mini statues of Trump. Reaction was swift online, with critics accusing the president of corruption. 'There's never been, and I don't think in American history, someone who's stealing so much in plain sight — grifting and graft,' US Senator Mark Warner of Virginia said in a video shared on X. Senator Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, noted Trump was advertising the fragrances while Republicans sought to reduce Medicare benefits for low-income Americans in his budget bill. 'Senate Democrats are fighting to prevent President Trump from kicking 17 million people off their health care and he's promoting his line of fragrances,' Welch said on X. The White House declined to comment about the criticism. The scents are the most recent products that the Trump family has unveiled. In June his family business licensed its name to launch a US Mobile service and a US$499 (RM2,102) smartphone. The phone was promoted as sleek and gold, Trump's preferred colour. The president has said he put his business interests in a trust managed by his children to avoid conflicts of interest, but income from such business ventures will eventually enrich the president, who sits atop the series of Trump family firms. Trump receives income from licensing deals, crypto projects, golf clubs and other ventures. He has also hawked gold sneakers and a 'God bless the USA Bible.' — Reuters
