White House

Jen Psaki’s Breathtaking Dishonesty on Legal Justification for Evictions Moratorium

August 4, 2021 by Philip Klein Leave a Comment

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks to the press in Washington, D.C., August 4, 2021. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is in a bit of a bind. After communicating that there was no legal justification for extending the evictions moratorium through the CDC, President Biden violated his oath of office and did so anyway. So in today’s press briefing Psaki has been tasked with explaining the rapid reversal. It has not gone well.

Psaki claimed that the decision was signed off on by the CDC’s lawyers as well as the White House Counsel’s office. She said that Biden was “old school,” and that “the president would not have supported moving forward with any action where he didn’t feel there was legal standing and legal support.”

The way she tried to square the circle was to argue that the new order is different from the one the Supreme Court declared illegal in June. “What was announced was not an extension of the existing moratorium, which was of course national. It was a more limited moratorium that was going to be impacting and helping areas that were hardest hit by COVID,” she said.

The problem is, Gene Sperling, Biden’s senior adviser, said at the press briefing just Monday, with Psaki at his side, that the CDC had determined that even a more limited moratorium could not be accomplished legally.

“The President has not only kicked the tires; he has double, triple, quadruple checked,” Sperling said. “He has asked the CDC to look at whether you could even do targeted eviction moratorium — that just went to the counties that have higher rates — and they, as well, have been unable to find the legal authority for even new, targeted eviction moratoriums.” [Emphasis mine.]

For Psaki’s story to hold, during the quintuple check, CDC lawyers would have had to unearth a magic legal authority that escaped them during the single, double, triple, and quadruple check. But the legal justification that the CDC used — essentially, taking action in the midst of a pandemic to slow the spread — was the same one that had been used previously, and that had been rejected by the Supreme Court.

Psaki’s dishonesty is breathtaking.

White House attacks GOP Govs. Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott: Mitigate dangerous Delta spike or 'get out of the way'

August 4, 2021 by Sarah Taylor Leave a Comment

White House press secretary Jen Psaki issued scathing advice to Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis (Fla.) and Greg Abbott (Texas): Get control of the Delta variant in your states or “get out of the way.”

Both of the Republican leaders have been outspoken in their opposition to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s newly updated guidelines recommending universal masking in schools and high-transmission areas.

What are the details?

A Wednesday report from Yahoo! News detailed Psaki’s Tuesday press briefing from the White House, as COVID-19 case counts in Florida and Texas have risen to the point that they currently account for one-third of all infections across the United States.

Psaki, who insisted that the Biden administration has offered assistance to both governors to get the spread under control, appeared to suggest that the states’ leaders have yet to accept the White House’s help.

“But if you aren’t going to help, if you aren’t going to abide by public health guidance, then get out of the way and let people do the right thing to lead in their communities, whether they are teachers, university leaders, or private sector leaders or others who are trying to save lives,” she said Tuesday in response to the questions about the rising confirmed COVID-19 case numbers in both Florida and Texas.

The outlet added, “Asked to clarify what she meant by having the two governors ‘get out of the way,’ Psaki elaborated, ‘That means don’t ban, don’t make it harder for people to put requirements on masks — or asking for vaccination status — into law.”

She added, “Leaders are going to have to choose whether they’re going to follow public health guidelines or they’re going to follow politics.”

Elsewhere in her Tuesday remarks, Psaki said that President Joe Biden would likely speak directly to DeSantis about the state’s rising COVID-19 numbers — but only if they “thought it would make a difference.”

“But I don’t have any expectation or prediction of a call between them,” she hastily added.

What was the response?

In a statement on Psaki’s remarks, the DeSantis administration said:

She might want to brush up on the Constitution and learn more about the role of a state governor. As it turns out, freedom matters. Every day, nearly a thousand Americans relocate to Florida — mostly fleeing from the ever-changing, contradictory COVID restrictions pushed by federal bureaucrats on lockdown states. By contrast, Governor DeSantis keeps up with the latest research and makes data-driven decisions. If he had ‘gotten out of the way’ as Psaki suggested, and let the CDC run our state, many of those lives might have been lost — as we saw with the tragic situation in New York, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, where the age-adjusted death rates are significantly higher than in Florida.

A spokesperson for the Abbott administration in Texas has yet to issue public remark on Psaki’s admonitions.

Cori Bush Forces Joe Biden Reversal After Socialist Democrats Demand Evictions Moratorium

August 4, 2021 by Charlie Spiering Leave a Comment

President Joe Biden conceded Tuesday to leftist socialist protesters demanding an extension of an eviction moratorium on people unable to pay rent during the coronavirus pandemic.

The eviction moratorium expired on Saturday, but Biden declined to extend it, prompting fury from leftist and socialist Democrats.

Instead, Biden asked state and local governments to use government funds to help Americans pay their rent on Monday as the administration struggled to respond.

Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) led a protest after the moratorium expired, sleeping on the steps of the Capitol building over the weekend to draw attention to her demands.

5 AM. This morning felt cold, like the wind was blowing straight through my sleeping bag.
Since Friday—when some colleagues chose early vacation over voting to prevent evictions—we’ve been at the Capitol.
It’s an eviction emergency. Our people need an eviction moratorium. Now.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) August 2, 2021

Socialist Democrats such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rallied to her cause, holding rallies at the capitol to demand the administration act. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) also joined the protests and sang, “This Land Is Your Land” in defiance of Biden’s decision.

The president reversed his decision on Tuesday after it was clear that leftists were furious with it.

At the White House, Biden complained the courts prevented him from extending the moratorium by ruling against the Centers for Disease Controls order in July.

“Look, the courts made it clear that the existing moratorium was not constitutional, that it wouldn’t stand,” Biden said.

Biden’s new eviction moratorium, scheduled for release Tuesday evening, will reportedly extend protections for up to 80 percent of Americans in some of the areas experiencing a rise in cases.

But Biden conceded his new moratorium would also likely face legal challenges.

“At a minimum, by the time it gets litigated, it will probably give some additional time,” he said.

White House Signals that Biden Will Bow to Left’s Demand that He Reinstate Eviction Moratorium

August 3, 2021 by Andrew C. McCarthy Leave a Comment

Rep. Cori Bush (D., Mo.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) embrace after Warren arrived to support Bush who spent the night on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to highlight the upcoming expiration of the pandemic-related federal moratorium on residential evictions, in Washington, D.C., July 31, 2021. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

Joe Biden ran for president as the “moderate” who was in lockstep with the average American, not woke progressives. As those who’ve followed his career predicted, however, he has governed as the partisan hack he is: When woke progressives say, “Jump,” he meekly asks, “How high?”

No surprise, then, that three unidentified “people aware of the matter” have alerted the Washington Post that, due to “intense pressure from liberal House Democrats,” the Biden administration is planning to take a unilateral step to reinstate the eviction moratorium in some form.

The specifics of the anticipated action have not been described, except that it is expected to be “announced by the CDC.” In classic non-sequitur, the Post relates:

The Biden administration has repeatedly insisted that it lacked the legal authority to renew that program. However, the delta variant has renewed concerns about the impact of the expiring moratorium on millions of renters and White House officials have explored other options.

Of course, even if it were true that a moratorium on evictions would have a material impact on the spread of an infectious disease (and there is no evidence that it would), that could not change the fact that the president lacks authority to ban evictions.

On Monday, White House adviser and longtime Democratic policy guru Gene Sperling asserted:

Well, I would say that on this particular issue, the President has not only kicked the tires; he has double, triple, quadruple checked. He has asked the CDC to look at whether you could even do targeted eviction moratorium — that just went to the counties that have higher rates — and they, as well, have been unable to find the legal authority for even new, targeted eviction moratoriums.

No surprise there. As we’ve noted here (see, e.g., my latest, Charlie’s latest, and our recent editorial), a number of court decisions held the moratorium invalid on statutory and constitutional grounds, and the Supreme Court was poised to kill it a month ago. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who would have been the fifth vote, declined to kill it there and then, but only because he rationalized that it was going to lapse in five weeks anyway, and the additional time would provide for an “orderly” wind-down. Still, Kavanaugh emphasized that “clear and specific congressional authorization (via new legislation) would be necessary for the CDC to extend the moratorium past July 31.”

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Of course, the executive branch has lawlessly continued the moratorium precisely because there are not enough votes in the Democratically controlled Congress to put a legislative authorization on Biden’s desk — assuming, for argument’s sake, that such legislation would pass constitutional muster. The votes are not there because (a) the owners of rental properties are overwhelmingly small-business people who are being crushed by the moratorium, and (b) Congress has already lavished $47 billion in aid for renters, but as of this weekend 93 percent of it hadn’t been disbursed.

So, this is not the crisis that progressives and their media allies portray it as, and there is no national consensus supporting a moratorium. For the Biden who ran for the presidency, that would have been enough to end the discussion. But for the Biden who is president, what matters is that the party’s Bolshevik wing is continuing its tirade and doesn’t care a whit that what it is demanding is lawless.

It was the Constitution that Biden swore to preserve, protect, and defend back in January, wasn’t it?

Joe Biden Calls for Andrew Cuomo's Resignation Despite Some 'Innocent Embraces'

August 3, 2021 by Charlie Spiering Leave a Comment

President Joe Biden called for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign after the state attorney general detailed allegations of sexual harassment of several women.

“I think he should resign,” Biden said to reporters at the White House on Tuesday.

NEW YORK, NY – JULY 27: Vice President Joe Biden (L) appears with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to unveil plans for new infrastructure projects on July 27, 2015 in New York City. The highlight of the event was an announcement that a new LaGuardia airport will be built, with construction starting next year. The new facility will will feature state-of-the-art security, transportation and shopping and dining options. The project is estimated to bring 8,000 new jobs to the area. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Biden admitted he did not know the full details of the state attorney general’s report and even suggested that some of Cuomo’s unwanted embraces were misunderstood.

In this file photo, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, left, Rev. Al Sharpton embrace as Cuomo is introduced at the National Action Network House of Justice, in New York, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. (Richard Drew/AP Photo)

“I’m not going to fly-speck this. I’m sure there were embraces that were totally innocent,” he said. “But apparently the attorney general decided that things weren’t.”

Biden also suggested that Cuomo may face impeachment for his actions.

“I understand that the state legislature may decide to impeach,” he said. “I don’t know that for a fact. I have not read all that data.”

Cuomo categorically denied the allegations in a video on Tuesday, refusing to resign.

“I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances,” he said. “I am 63-years-old. I live my entire adult life in public view. That’s just not who I am.”

New York incumbent Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo hugs a supporter after giving a campaign speech in New York’s Times Square, Monday, Nov. 3, 2014. He faces Republican challenger Rob Astorino in Tuesday’s election. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

New York Attorney General Letitia James condemned Cuomo’s actions, saying her office found evidence of multiple incidents of unwanted groping, kisses, hugging, and inappropriate comments.

“We found his denials to lack credibility and to be inconsistent with the weight of the evidence obtained during our investigation,” she said.

The investigation included interviews with 179 people, including state troopers and current and former staffers and includes more than 74,000 pieces of evidence.