Latest news with #RudyGiuliani
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Teaching Trump's 2020 election lies turns civics into propaganda
This fall, if you're a high school student in Oklahoma, you will be taught in history class that the Democrats stole the 2020 presidential election from Donald Trump. Though disproven by numerous recounts and over 60 court cases in multiple states, the Republican-led Oklahoma Department of Education is requiring that this debunked conspiracy theory be taught as fact. Yes, boys and girls, we have now reached that point in fascist dogma where we start rewriting history to serve the agenda of Dear Leader. Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride. For four-and-a-half years now, Trump and his disciples have been claiming the 2020 election was rigged and that he won. And yet, in all that time, no one − not Trump, not Tucker Carlson, not Sean Hannity, not Steve Bannon, not even the MyPillow Guy (Mike Lindell) − has ever been able to explain, step-by-step, how it was done. As former New York City Mayor and disbarred lawyer Rudy Giuliani admitted to the judge in one of the 60-odd court filings lost by the Trump campaign: "We have no evidence, but we have lots of theories... ." Very well. Let's examine some of those theories. On the face of it, this seems very believable. Every day, we read about cyber-crooks hacking into and commandeering computers. But voting machines are not the same as personal computers. They are simple tabulating machines. They have no modems and are not connected to the internet, so it's impossible to hack them. It would be like trying to call someone who doesn't have a phone. (This includes people voting multiple times, dead people or illegal immigrants voting, or suitcases full of fraudulent ballots being slipped into the counting centers.) Fifty years ago, before government records were computerized, it might have been possible to slip a few dead or fake names onto voting lists. But now, cross-referencing of death certificates, property transfers and other government documents allows for voter rolls to be cleaned up daily. And it should be obvious to anyone who has ever voted just how ridiculous Trump's claims are when he says, "People are changing their hats and coats and voting over and over again." Elections aren't raffles. You can't just walk into any precinct on Election Day and fill out a ballot. You have to register first, and give your name and address and birth certificate or other identification information (all of which is cross-referenced with tax records, death records, etc.), after which you are assigned a specific precinct where you have to vote. (Your mail-in ballot also goes to that specific precinct.) So if a precinct with 2,000 registered voters has 3,000 votes cast (or even 2001), it would be immediately obvious that something was amiss, and an investigation would be launched. In 2020, not a single precinct in the entire country reported more votes tallied than there were registered voters in that precinct. This is one of the sillier theories, for it's the software (the program with the ballot on it), not the machine itself, that would have to be rigged, and the ballots are created by the various states. The very notion that any multi-billion-dollar company would risk utter ruin by taking part in a conspiracy that could be discovered by any computer expert, is so ridiculous that FOX News hosts mocked the allegations in their private texts as "insane lies" and "mind blowingly nuts," yet nonetheless promoted the lie on air (as did Newsmax and OAN). All three networks have subsequently paid out massive defamation settlements to both Dominion and Smartmatic Corporations, manufacturers of the voting machines. In short, none of the 2020 election fraud conspiracies stand up to even the most cursory examination. They are just lies spewed out for Trump's loyal supporters who want to believe them. George Orwell warned of the consequences when a society values ideology over truth, and no matter how much Oklahoma Republicans want to believe Trump's "Big Lie," altering history is never a good idea. Just ask Winston Smith. Keith Thompson lives in Fort Thomas, Ky., and is a historian and author of '2024,' a political thriller set against the background of the 2024 election. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Trump's Big Lie is now part of Oklahoma schools curriculum | Opinion
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Bernard Kerik, who led NYPD on 9/11 before prison and pardon, dies aged 69
Bernard Kerik, who served as New York City's police commissioner on during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and later pleaded guilty to tax fraud before being pardoned, has died. He was 69. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Kash Patel said that Kerik's death Thursday came after an unspecified 'private battle with illness'. Rudy Giuliani, the Republican former city mayor, who tapped Kerik as a bodyguard for his 1993 mayoral campaign and later appointed him to lead the NYPD, reflected on their long history on his podcast on Thursday. 'We've been together since the beginning. He's like my brother,' Giuliani, also the troubled former lawyer for Donald Trump, said through tears. 'I was a better man for having known Bernie. I certainly was a braver and stronger man.' The current New York City mayor, Eric Adams, a Democrat and also a former NYPD officer, said he'd visited Kerik, his 'friend of nearly 30 years', at a hospital earlier in the day. Kerik, an Army veteran, was hailed as a hero after the 9/11 attack and eventually nominated to head the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), before a dramatic fall from grace that ended with him behind bars. He served nearly four years in prison after pleading guilty in 2009 to tax fraud, making false statements and other charges. The charges stemmed partially from apartment renovations he received from a construction firm that authorities say wanted Kerik to convince New York officials it had no links to organized crime. During Kerik's sentencing, the judge noted that he committed some of the crimes while serving as 'the chief law enforcement officer for the biggest and grandest city this nation has'. Trump pardoned Kerik during a 2020 clemency blitz. Kerik was one of the guests feting Trump after his first federal court appearance in Florida in a case related to his handling of classified documents. Kerik grew up in Paterson, New Jersey, where he dropped out of the troubled Eastside high school later depicted in the 1989 film Lean on Me. He joined the Army, where he became a military policeman stationed in South Korea. He joined the NYPD in the late 1980s and was appointed in the 1990s to run New York's long-troubled jail system, including the city's notorious Riker's Island complex. Kerik was appointed by Giuliani to serve as police commissioner in 2000..
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Bernard Kerik, head of New York police during 9/11, dies at 69
Bernard Kerik, New York City's former police commissioner during the 11 September 2001 attacks, has died aged death was confirmed by FBI Director Kash Patel, who said the former police officer died Thursday after a "private battle with illness."Kerik oversaw the police response to the deadliest terrorist attack in US history, and was later appointed by former US President George Bush as head of a provisional police force in pleaded guilty to charges of tax fraud in 2009 and served three years in prison, though he was pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2020. Those who paid tribute to Kerik include former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was in office when Kerik served as commissioner of the NYPD, and current mayor Eric Adams."We've been together since the beginning. He's like my brother," Giuiliani said Thursday on his show. "I was a better man for having known Bernie," Giuiliani said. "I certainly was a braver and stronger man."Adams, who had been friends with Kerik for nearly 30 years, said he had visited him in hospital before his death."He was with his loved ones who are in my prayers tonight," Adams said in a statement. "He was a great New Yorker and American."Kerik, a former army veteran and a decorated law enforcement officer, rose up the ranks through his career, and was nearly tapped to run the Department of Homeland Security under Bush in 2004 before he abruptly withdrew his 2009, Kerik pleaded guilty to federal charges after he was accused of lying to investigators about interest-free loans he received from an Israeli billionaire and a New York real estate magnet while he was in public was granted a full pardon by Trump in 2020, and later joined Giuiliani's efforts to overturn Trump's election loss that same year.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
Bernard Kerik, beleaguered former New York police chief through 9/11, dead at 69
Bernard 'Bernie' Kerik, who rose to national prominence after leading the New York police department through the September 11 terror attacks, has died aged 69. FBI Director Kash Patel announced Kerik's death on X, saying he passed away 'after a private battle with illness.' Lauding Kerik, Patel called him 'a warrior, a patriot and one of the most courageous public servants this country has ever known.' Kerik was the tough-talking head of the New York police when Osama bin Laden's hijackers struck the World Trade Center towers with commercial passenger jets in September 2001. In the traumatic days and weeks after the attack, Kerik, with his squat, muscular build, balding head and black moustache, became a familiar face to Americans across the country as he helped then-mayor Rudy Giuliani guide New York through the crisis. He'd served as Police Commissioner for less than a year when his life and career were altered forever by the terror attacks that killed nearly 2,750 people, including 23 NYPD officers. When Giuliani's second term ended shortly after the attacks, Kerik left office with him and continued their decades-long friendship and professional allegiance. Kerik's rough upbringing was detailed in a memoir, The Lost Son: A Life in Pursuit. Born in New Jersey to an alcoholic sex worker, he was abandoned by his mother and brought up by his father, and had a troubled childhood. His career took him around the world, with a stint on a military police posting in South Korea and a role as a security consultant for the Saudi royal family in Saudi Arabia. He later joined the New York Police Department, where he worked undercover in the narcotics division and helped bust 60 members of the notorious Colombian Cali drug cartel. After leaving the Police Commissioner role post-9/11, Kerik remained active in Republican politics, taking on a tour of duty to Iraq in 2003 to help train their law enforcement personnel for former President George W Bush. He suffered another fall from grace after pleading guilty in 2009 to felonies, including tax fraud. He admitted to accepting $255,000 worth of renovations to his apartment from a construction firm suspected of having mob ties, which was angling for government contracts. His plea helped him avoid a maximum potential sentence of up to 61 years behind bars. Instead, he was sentenced to four years in prison. He was released in 2013. Kerik received a presidential pardon in 2020, during President Donald Trump's first term in office. He later teamed up with Giuliani to investigate debunked allegations of election fraud following Trump's 2020 loss, and was among those subpoenaed by lawmakers over accusations of plotting to overturn the election in the January 6, 2021 attacks on the US Capitol.
The Independent
2 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Bernard Kerik: 9/11 police commissioner later imprisoned and pardoned dies aged 69
Bernie Kerik, who led the New York City Police Department on 9/11, has died aged 69. Kash Patel, former FBI director, confirmed Kerik's death on social media on Thursday. He said Kerik had suffered from a 'private battle with illness' before his death. Kerik had a controversial career after his service as police commissioner, pleading guilty to tax fraud and other charges. He was later pardoned. Rudy Giuliani, former New York City Mayor, spoke on his show on Thursday, reflecting on his long relationship with Kerik. 'We've been together since the beginning. He's like my brother,' Giuliani said through tears. 'I was a better man for having known Bernie. I certainly was a braver and stronger man.' Kerik, an Army veteran, rose to the pinnacle of law enforcement before a fall so steep that even a city jail named after him was renamed. In 2010, he pleaded guilty to federal tax fraud and false statement charges, partially stemming from over $250,000 in apartment renovations he received from a construction firm that authorities say counted on Kerik to convince New York officials it had no organized crime links. He served three years in prison before his release in 2013. President Donald Trump pardoned Kerik during a 2020 clemency blitz. Kerik was among the guests feting Trump after his first appearance in federal court in Florida in a case related to his handling of classified documents, attending the former president's remarks at his Bedminster, New Jersey, club. Kerik was appointed by Rudy Giuliani to serve as police commissioner in 2000 and was in the position during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He later worked for the former major of New York City surrounding the efforts to overturn Trump's 2020 loss.
