In this election, the Lincoln Project has been arguably the most prolific anti-Trump organization in running scathing and often personal attacks on Trump, his family, and his associates. The ads have ranged from the genuinely funny to the shockingly vicious. Now however, the Project may have added openly defamatory. The Project has erected a pair of billboards in Times Square that slam Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump as callous and mocking figures in the fast of the rising death toll from Covid-19. The Project has received a letter of intent to sue from the family’s lawyer and, while these actions by public official or public figures are extremely difficult to maintain, the claim could have merit. I have updated the column below to add the statement from the Lincoln Project.
The ads, announced Thursday by the Lincoln Project, feature images side by side. In one, a smiling Ivanka gestures approvingly toward the coronavirus death tolls for New Yorkers and Americans. In the other, Kushner is shown next to body bags with a quote “[New Yorkers] are going to suffer and that’s their problem.”
The Standard
Once again, these controversies must begin with a caveat on the difficult legal standard imposed on public officials and figures. (Both are technically public officials even though they are not paid an official salary. Yet, the standard for both categories is the same).
The standard for defamation for public figures and officials in the United States is the product of a decision decades ago in New York Times v. Sullivan. The Supreme Court ruled that tort law could not be used to overcome First Amendment protections for free speech or the free press. The Court sought to create “breathing space” for the media by articulating that standard that now applies to both public officials and public figures. In order to prevail, they must show actual knowledge or reckless disregard of the alleged falsity. Obviously, truth remains a defense. Under Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323, 352 (1974) and its progeny of cases, the Supreme Court has held that public figure status applies when someone “thrust[s] himself into the vortex of [the] public issue [and] engage[s] the public’s attention in an attempt to influence its outcome.”
Truth is always a defense in defamation. In a related false lights claim, however, the photo or quote can be true but presented falsely. Under the Restatement of Torts, this tort is defined as:
652E. Publicity Placing Person in False Light
One who gives publicity to a matter concerning another that places the other before the public in a false light is subject to liability to the other for invasion of his privacy, if
(a) the false light in which the other was placed would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, and
(b) the actor had knowledge of or acted in reckless disregard as to the falsity of the publicized matter and the false light in which the other would be placed.
Much of the underlying facts of the sources of the original photo and quote are known. There is a question about the reliability of the Kushner quote that could result in some interesting discovery demands.
Ivanka Trump’s Claim
Ivanka’s claim would be the most challenging to maintain in court. The image is taken from a selfie she tweeted in July in which she gestured toward a can of Goya black beans to show support for the company. However, the use of the image could be defended as political commentary and parody. Courts tend to avoid curtailing political speech, even when it is obnoxious or unfair.
Yet, the Supreme Court has shown that there are limits to opinion as a defense as in Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1 (1990). In that case, there was another inflammatory allegation stemming from a public meeting. An Ohio high school wrestling coach sued over an opinion column alleging that he had lied under oath at a public hearing, saying that it was tantamount to an allegation of perjury. The trial judge granted summary judgment on the ground that the assertion in the newspaper column was opinion. The Court however rejected the defense in the case in 7-2 opinion written by Chief Justice William Rehnquist. The Court noted that “expressions of ‘opinion’ may often imply an assertion of objective fact” and may inflict “as much damage to reputation” as factual claims. Moreover, some opinions are based on assertions that are “sufficiently factual to be susceptible of being proved true or false.”
Trump family lawyer Marc Kasowitz objected in the letter that “Ms. Trump never made any such gesture.” That is probably not enough in this circumstance. It is common for public officials to have their pictures used in different contexts. Moreover, most people would not believe that Ivanka mocks the deaths of thousands of people and that this is political parody or speech. The context of speech is also key as shown in Ollman v. Evans 750 F.2d 970 (D.C. Cir. 1984). In that case, Novak and Evans wrote a scathing piece, including what Ollman stated were clear misrepresentations. The court acknowledges that “the most troublesome statement in the column . . . [is] an anonymous political science professor is quoted as saying: ‘Ollman has no status within the profession but is a pure and simple activist.’” Ollman sued but Judge Kenneth Starr wrote for the D.C. Circuit in finding no basis for defamation. This passage would seem relevant for secondary posters and activists using the article to criticize the family:
The reasonable reader who peruses an Evans and Novak column on the editorial or Op-Ed page is fully aware that the statements found there are not “hard” news like those printed on the front page or elsewhere in the news sections of the newspaper. Readers expect that columnists will make strong statements, sometimes phrased in a polemical manner that would hardly be considered balanced or fair elsewhere in the newspaper. National Rifle Association v. Dayton Newspaper, Inc., supra, 555 F.Supp. at 1309. That proposition is inherent in the very notion of an “Op-Ed page.” Because of obvious space limitations, it is also manifest that columnists or commentators will express themselves in condensed fashion without providing what might be considered the full picture. Columnists are, after all, writing a column, not a full-length scholarly article or a book. This broad understanding of the traditional function of a column like Evans and Novak will therefore predispose the average reader to regard what is found there to be opinion.
A reader of this particular Evans and Novak column would also have been influenced by the column’s express purpose. The columnists laid squarely before the reader their interest in ending what they deemed a “frivolous” debate among politicians over whether Mr. Ollman’s political beliefs should bar him from becoming head of the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland. Instead, the authors plainly intimated in the column’s lead paragraph that they wanted to spark a more appropriate debate within academia over whether Mr. Ollman’s purpose in teaching was to indoctrinate his students. Later in the column, they openly questioned the measure or method of Professor Ollman’s scholarship. Evans and Novak made it clear that they were not purporting to set forth definitive conclusions, but instead meant to ventilate what in their view constituted the central questions raised by Mr. Ollman’s prospective appointment.
Here the information was conveyed on a mocking and clearly political billboard. A court would most likely be skeptical of a defamation claim in such a circumstance.
Jared Kushner’s Claim
The claim by Kushner is stronger. Kasowitz objected that “Of course, Mr. Kushner never made any such statement.” The line does appear both edited and misleading. The Jared quote appears to be taken from a Sept. 17 Vanity Fair article about an alleged March 21 White House meeting between Kushner and an ad hoc private sector group about the nation’s coronavirus response. First, the quote is based on an anonymous source from a publication that is decidedly anti-Trump. That could be important since reckless disregard can be based on the reliance on an uncertain or unreliable source. Since the Lincoln Project had presumably no independent source, this could pull Vanity Fair into the mix.
Putting aside the source, the quote itself is misrepresented. The article was on a meeting of business figures with Kushner on PPE orders for the pandemic. Kushner is quoted as saying “Cuomo didn’t pound the phones hard enough to get PPE for his state…. His people are going to suffer and that’s their problem.” That is an entirely different meaning. Unlike the Ivanka billboard, the Kushner billboard could be taken as a factual statement about dead New Yorkers. It is designed to trigger anger and resentment against Kushner based on a statement that is falsely presented. As such, it could be a case for defamation and false light.
The best argument for the Lincoln Project is that the quote still reflects a callous disregard for New Yorkers. While Kushner can reasonably argue that he was referring to the political problem for Cuomo and Democrats, the Project could argue that this is within the very broad range given protected political statements since it still shows, if true, that Kushner was dismissive on the issue. If the jury or the court finds that a plausible interpretation, it would likely reject the claim.
The immediate concern for The Lincoln Project should be that the Kushner claim could make it beyond an early motion to dismiss and the project could find its internal discussions subject to depositions. It would also mean that the project would be caught in lingering litigation beyond 2020.
Kushner still would face a considerable headwind from these cases but the claim is neither frivolous nor easily dismissible.
Update: The Project has now responded
The Lincoln Project’s responded defiantly:
“The level of indignant outrage Jared Kushner, and Ivanka Trump have shown towards the Lincoln Project for exposing their indifference for the more than 223,000 people who have lost their lives due to the reckless mismanagement of Covid-19 is comical,” a statement said.
“While we truly enjoy living rent-free in their heads, their empty threats will not be taken any more seriously than we take Ivanka and Jared. It is unsurprising that an administration that has never had any regard or understanding of our constitution would try to trample on our first amendment rights. But we fully intend on making this civics lesson as painful as possible.
“Jared and Ivanka have always been entitled, out-of-touch bullies, who have never given the slightest indication they have any regard for the American people. We plan on showing them the same level of respect. The billboards will stay up. We consider it important that in Times Square, the crossroads of the world, people are continuously reminded of the cruelty or density and staggering lack of empathy the Trumps and the Kushners have displayed towards the American people.”
In other words, game on.
Meanwhile, yesterday set a record for new cases of the virus – over 80k – while Trump is complaining at rallies about too much news coverage of the virus and a study at John Hopkins U released yesterday found at least 100k preventable deaths resulted from our countries failure to adopt safe practices like mask wearing and social distancing and adequate testing. Who is it who is supposed to lead Americans in their response to a public emergency and who was in charge of the feds medical supply response? Ivanka’s father and husband. Criminal negligence. Lock them up.
Cases are meaningless. No study could POSSIBLY find what the “study” claims to find.
Cases are not meaningless, and anyone who claims cases are meaningless doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Have you even read the study you’re criticizing?
Yeah, they pretty much are, because they’re a function of the prevalence of testing. The tests aren’t very accurate. The salient metric is hospitalizations and deaths.
The number of known cases is a function of both testing AND infections. If you increase testing in a population that’s uninfected, you don’t increase the number of cases. We had a record number of cases yesterday in part because so many Americans are infected. The number of positive cases has meaning. Even for people who aren’t hospitalized, it means that they and those who were in contact with them should quarantine. Have you ever quarantined? I have. It means something.
Over 40,000 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, and the number of hospitalizations has been rising for the last month.
and a study at John Hopkins U released yesterday found at least 100k preventable deaths resulted from our countries failure to adopt safe practices like mask wearing and social distancing and adequate testing.
These are from the same professional guild which told people that buts-to-nuts public demonstrations were totes OK if it was a cause they favored and the same guild whose practitioners wildly overestimated the lethality of this ailment last February. No one all that interested in what their GIGO models are saying.
SLAM AT KUSHNER UNFAIR
When Trump belatedly acknowledged the pandemic, he had Jarod Kushner assemble a brain trust of geeks to strategize on responses. Apparently those geeks worked hard crafting serious papers. But Trump mindlessly disregarded their entire effort. All the work those geeks did was shelved in the closet. Because Trump has moved on to his insurrection stage; inviting militias to ‘liberate’ state capitols.
LMAO. The MSM haven’t merged with the DNC, and the Lincoln Project is run by Republicans.
There are some people that believe Americans never landed on the moon. Most laugh at that silly idea but still they have the right to believe it and even comment on it whether it be 50 times or 500 times.
Allan………so true. I began my public school teaching career in September of 1969.. During the summer months prior to that, I worked at the Pizza Hut ( and I do mean “the” Pizza Hut…….it was a small town). And it was there on the Pizza Hut’s small screen B&W television that had a metal hanger sticking out of it’s head to help with reception, a huge group of us, waitstaff and patrons, Americans all, gathered around the Philco and watched the moon landing! It must have been a Saturday night because the Hut was packed and hoppin’.
On the first day of teaching, in Tecumseh, O,k, everyone was still talking about the landing. I was at the tail end of the Teacher’s cafeteria line at lunch when I heard a discussion about it. By the time my plate was served, one of the hair–netted heroes of the kitchen, a sweet old Southern Baptist cook shook her head, and said ” Honey, you know that never happened”. I was shocked and asked ” the moon landing??” I was raised in Houston, where my father would yank us out of bed in the middle of the night to drive an hour to Ellington Field just to greet the astronauts returning from whatever mission.
All of the country ladies working in the kitchen chimed in, shaking their heads, and telling me not to believe it happened. They acted like they felt sorry for me…LOL! because I was so gullible. “The moon landing” took place in a television studio, by the way.
I should have been rattled for the rest of the day but then I tasted their homemade cornbread and navy beans and later, the most exquisite homemade yeast rolls on the planet(!) After that, I didn’t care what they believed, but I knew I wasn’t in college anymore!
It was always the case that the legislative and executive branches were given to extremes, and that the judicial branch, with emphasis on the Supreme Court, was created to assure that actions comport with statute and fundamental law; to assure the dominion of the manifest tenor of the Constitution, which judges and justices are sworn to support.
The Constitution does not say, “Do anything you choose.”
No matter the vote, severely limited and restricted government exists solely to facilitate the maximal freedom of individuals and Congress has no power to tax for anything other than the payment of debt, common defence and “…general Welfare…” or regulate anything other than the “value” of money, the “flow” of commerce or land and naval Forces, and has no power to “claim or exercise dominion,” or any form or mode of dominion, over private property.
None of the post-Lincoln American welfare state is constitutional.
The judicial branch is not the legislative branch.
The singular American failure is the judicial branch.
The singular American failure is the Supreme Court.
_________________________________________
“…courts…must…declare all acts contrary to the manifest tenor of the Constitution void.”
“[A] limited Constitution … can be preserved in practice no other way than through the medium of courts of justice, whose duty it must be to declare all acts contrary to the manifest tenor of the Constitution void. Without this, all the reservations of particular rights or privileges would amount to nothing … To deny this would be to affirm … that men acting by virtue of powers may do not only what their powers do not authorize, but what they forbid.”
– Alexander Hamilton
Every liberal response was written by a Mudder racing away in sloppy thought. To anyone who would justify anyone stating that someone they do not know is happy about anothers death needs to get a life.
QUESTION:
Will the communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, democrats, RINOs) release a novel coronavirus (perfected with supplemental funding from Obama in the Wuhan Institute of Virology) every time a republican runs for president (the Trump/Steele Dossier, Mueller, Ukraine phone call, impeachment, etc., didn’t work – it took a while, but commie oppo research finally found the final solution)?
ANSWER:
No. There will never BE another republican running for president. There will never BE another contested election in America. America is now officially a one-party, communist state.
QUESTION:
Will elections ever be serious, solemn and held on the actual, legal election day, polling actual, certified Americans?
ANSWER:
No. The communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, democrats, RINOs) can not possibly loose if they have a ballots mailed to every parasite in America – the parasites far outnumber the mature, vested and actual Americans, which the Founders intended to vote.
How many press conferences has Joe Biden held in the past month? Or since he began his campaign?
How many un-screened questions has Joe Biden answered from the press in the past 4 weeks?
How many press conferences and unscreened questions from the press has VP candidate Kamala Harris answered?
The answer is none.
And the few uncontrolled questions Joe Biden has answered over the past year? He has flatout lied to the voters. Or he has said voters don’t “deserve to know” where he stands on key issues that affect us all.
This is unacceptable for a presidential ticket to completely avoid the press and to refuse to answer key policy questions the voters have a right to know.
Trump was hospitalized for four days with Covid less than two weeks ago and he is doing 3 rallies a day out on the campaign trail running circles around Joe Biden. Where’s Joe? Resting at home, or sticking very close to home, while his surrogates are out campaigning for him. This is entirely unacceptable for a presidential candidate who clearly does not have the stamina to hit the campaign trail hard, every single day, just one week before an election.
Joe Biden is scared to death of getting Covid. Joe Biden is scared to death of letting voters know who he really is and what he really plans to do if elected.
Joe Biden is a corrupt politician and a pathological liar who is clearly not up to the job, nor has he earned a single vote.
No to Joe.
TRUMP 2020!
“It’s the [Harris], stupid!”
– James Carville
The image of IVANKA promoting those awful beans is in itself a violation of the HATCH ACT!
How does that gas your argument?
We had always seen Goya products at the grocery store, but hadn’t thought much about them. After learning of the Goya CEO’s courage in speaking truth to power, and hearing AOC’s hateful attacks, our family has incorporated Goya products into our regular meals. The black beans and rice are delicious (especially with Chicken), as is the adobo seasoning. We hope Goya continues to do well.
Perfect that these a-holes would choose Lincoln.
“The Lincoln Myth: Ideological Cornerstone of the America Empire”
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2017/08/thomas-dilorenzo/the-lincoln-myth/
“Lincoln’s Real Agenda: A Mercantilist Empire
Lincoln began his political career in 1832 as a Whig. Northern Whigs like Lincoln were the party of the corporate plutocracy who wanted to use the coercive powers of government to line the pockets of their big business benefactors (and of themselves). They proclaimed to stand for what their political predecessor, Alexander Hamilton, called the “American System.” This was really an Americanized version of the rotten, corrupt system of British “mercantilism” that the colonists had rebelled against. Its planks included protectionist tariffs to benefit Northern manufacturers and their banking and insurance industry business associates; a government-run national bank to provide cheap credit to politically-connected businesses; and “internal improvement subsidies,” which we today would call “corporate welfare,” for canal-, road-, and railroad-building corporations.”
Lew Rockwell doesn’t know what a ‘public good’ is. Color me unsurprised.
Oh, you mean the people who created wealth were facilitated for contributing mightily to the general success of the nation, rather than simply persisting as parasites living on the blood of their hosts and now those who create wealth are demonized by purveyors of lies, propaganda, indoctrination and insidious prevarication, aka communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, democrats, RINOs), in their zealous quest to acquire personal power and the aforementioned wealth?
In life, wealth is created through incentivization and it is spent, it circulates, it “trickles down” or not.
What kind of irrational government dedicates itself to dependents and parasites? Oh, yeah, a communist government. My bad.
Covetousness and parasitism know no bounds in the realm of you communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, democrats, RINOs), right?
Thous Shalt Not Covet.
And “corporate welfare;” what’s that, a dog whistle? Corporations cannot be taxed, only their customers can be taxed. Corporations have no money. Corporations acquire money from customers. Corporate tax is a second tax on customers who are citizens. Corporations are entirely innocuous and neutral in terms of taxation. You fool the sheeple by threatening “corporate tax” as a fraud and a hoax – the idiots believe you, which is your raison d’être.
“There’s a sucker born every minute.”
– P.T. Barnum
People must adapt to the outcomes of freedom. Freedom does not adapt to people, dictatorship does.
America is now entering the Marxist “dictatorship of the proletariat” in the new one-party, communist, American state, as foretold by Tytler.
Enjoy, comrade.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the people discover they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal policy–to be followed by a dictatorship.”
– Alexander Tytler
Can a public figure sue if a company lifts one of their images to make the false claim that they promote their company?
I believe they can.
A public figure should also be able to sue anyone who claims they are pleased with the death of Americans in a global pandemic.
These lies get passed around so often they get accepted as truth. It becomes impossible to fight it.
There are still a shocking number of naive people who actually think Trump called racists “very fine people.” It’s been debunked, but unfortunately, the truth was not covered in any sort of mass detraction by the media outlets that promoted the demonstrably false statement in the first place.
There is a disinformation campaign juggernaut, successfully molding voter opinions. It’s like Soviet propaganda.
The ChiCom’s own Joe Biden.
https://web.archive.org/web/20191019172418/http://www.fmcoprc.gov.hk/eng/zgwjsw/t850184.htm
“Biden reiterated that the U.S. side fully understands that Taiwan and Tibet issues are China’s core interests, the U.S. will continue to resolutely pursue the one China policy, the U.S. does not support “Taiwan’s independence”, and the U.S. fully recognizes that Tibet is an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China. He said the United States is willing to strengthen cooperation with China and properly handle regional hotspots and global issues so as to promote regional and global peace and stability.”
The Lincoln Project is a neocon/neolib organization funded by various war mongering & war profiteering interests within the MIC who don’t know whether to sh*t or go blind because Trump refuses to continue US empire building.
“Donald Trump said that I attach importance to the Chinese side’s concerns on the Taiwan question and the US side will continue to adhere to the one-China policy.” – http://www.fmcoprc.gov.hk/eng/Topics/gjfz/t1677632.htm
That’s what you get when you take China’s word for it.
You realize the word-merchant wing of this crew pretends to be all about ‘muh principles’ and ‘muh norms’. David Brooks, David Frum, David French, Ben Sasse, you own this sh!t.
‘Moreover, most people would not believe that Ivanka mocks the deaths of thousands of people.’
——————————–
Joseph Goebbels, minister of propaganda for the Nazi German government of the Third Reich, understood the power of repeating falsehoods. “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it,” he asserted, “people will eventually come to believe it.”
Trump tells big lies all the time.
Here’s a nice Lincoln Project video with Trump lying for years about having a health plan that he’d release soon:
https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1319456023040540673
He’s been promising it since before he was elected. The Republicans had both the House and Senate for Trump’s first 2 years. In over 4 years, he hasn’t released a plan.
Well, what else would you expect. Trump and his family have been too busy colluding with the Russians and engineering the deaths of millions of people. If the Lincoln Project says so, it must be true. Ask Mr Goebbels.
That’s video of Trump saying it over and over for years.
Epstein………exactly…..That’s why I fully expect German subtitles to appear on all MSM broadcasts.
German subtitles.
But, of course!!!
@ Cindy and George –
I used to have a copy of the Leni Riefenstahl/Nazi propaganda move Triumph of the Wills. What made this version so compelling was a voice over by a professor named Anthony Santoro, who is an expert on Nazi party history. The voiceover explained a lot of the backstory and symbolism that is invisible to us, but that would have been familiar to Germans and party members at the time. Knowing the backstory makes Triumph of the Wills all the more powerful as a propaganda vehicle. Unfortunately I can no longer find the voiceover version, just the subtitles.
With the merger of the MSM and the Democratic party, one can think of the Lincoln Project (and much of the MSM reporting) in much the same vein.
Einstein….Thank you for that information. I appreciate it…..and will try to somehow find that film, or excerpts at least.
Reading about Goebbels always gave me chills….and I swear to god I NEVER imagined anyone, or anything that sinister, that evil, ever affecting my life directly. That was something that only happened “over there………..far away and long ago”
Assume the case is won. The Lincoln Project exists solely to prevent Trump from being reelected. Therefore, the Lincoln Project likely containing some sort of corporate veil would essentially be bankrupt and the win would lead to no awards. Of course there is a question as to whether or not liability could be imputed against someone or something because they might be felt to have gone asset free on purpose. I assume that would depend on the state and the charter of the Lincoln Project.
The answer to that question requires a real attorney familiar with the laws surrounding this problem.
What a surprise that Turley didn’t include the Lincoln Project’s response. (sarc)
“The level of indignant outrage Jared Kushner, and Ivanka Trump have shown towards the Lincoln Project for exposing their indifference for the more than 223,000 people who have lost their lives due to the reckless mismanagement of Covid-19 is comical. While we truly enjoy living rent free in their heads, their empty threats will not be taken any more seriously than we take Ivanka and Jared.
It is unsurprising that an administration that has never had any regard or understanding of our constitution would try to trample on our first amendment rights. But we fully intend on making this civics lesson as painful as possible. Jared and Ivanka have always been entitled, out-of-touch bullies, who have never given the slightest indication they have any regard for the American people. We plan on showing them the same level of respect.
The billboards will stay up. We consider it important that in Times Square, the crossroads of the world, people are continuously reminded of the cruelty or density and staggering lack of empathy the Trumps and the Kushners have displayed towards the American people.”
That’s no response , anonymous lib. That’s just plain old trolling.
Turley thought it was worth adding to his column, con. I’m sure you’ll say he was trolling too, right?
Turley, are you on the “family’s” litigation team? You know what’s vicious….not being able to find the parents of over 500 children who were separated at the boarder! You know what’s vicious downplaying the Pandemic and lying about how dangerous it is. You know what is vicious the entire Trump Administration and the Republicans that enable, support and participate in it.
Suing people who speak the truth about the Trumps is typical of the Trumps. In terrorem litigation to shut people up is vicious and it’s so Trump.
Just a thought, have you ever listened to the things Trump or his representatives say about people? I guess all of that is ok with you.
Again, no response. Just more baseless nonsense!
Parents of 545 children separated at border can’t be found
https://apnews.com/article/san-diego-immigration-courts-33e789297d0b7f0b6b19a9b5f5cc19be
https://fox59.com/news/national-world/lawyers-say-parents-of-545-children-separated-at-border-cant-be-found/
You call it “baseless nonsense”. Is Fox News not far enough to the right for you?
If You Don’t Know That ‘Coyotes’ Are Human Smugglers, Shut Up About The Border
The government hasn’t “lost track” of migrant children’s parents. The fact is, some parents don’t want their children back in their country of origin.
John Daniel Davidson
…
“In the current litigation, for example, out of the parents of 485 children whom Plaintiffs’ counsel has been able to contact, they’ve yet to identify a single family that wants their child reunited with them in their country of origin,” Jennings said.
Why would these parents refuse to be reunited with their children? Because their children are in the United States, and they are in their country of origin, most likely Guatemala, Honduras, or El Salvador. They don’t want their children to go back there, they want them in the United States. Many of these parents paid exorbitant amounts of money to get their children smuggled into the U.S., sometimes with adults posing as parents, sometimes unaccompanied and with a larger group of migrants. The whole point was to get their kids into the U.S. by any means necessary, even if it meant being separated.
Indeed, that’s often how “unaccompanied minors” show up on the border; their parents pay smugglers, called “coyotes,” to bring them across illegally, between the legal ports of entry, as part of an agreement with the cartel that controls a particular stretch of the border.
https://thefederalist.com/2020/10/23/if-you-dont-know-that-coyotes-are-human-smugglers-shut-up-about-the-border/
“Parents of 545 children separated at border can’t be found”
Hogwash.
The parents of nearly 500 of those children have been contacted back in their home countries. They do not want their children back. They played the “Pied Piper” strategy (which I can sympathize with).
“DHS has taken every step to facilitate the reunification of these families where the parents wanted such reunification to occur,” DHS Spokesperson Chase Jennings said in the statement. He said the “narrative” by the ACLU has been dispelled on numerous occasions.
“The simple fact is this: after contact has been made with the parents to reunite them with their children, many parents have refused,” Jennings said. “In the current litigation, for example, out of the parents of 485 children whom Plaintiffs’ counsel has been able to contact, they have yet to identify a single family that wants their child reunited with them in their country of origin.”
What, the ACLU lie? Say it ain’t so.
I’m thinking they don’t want their children back because if their children become United States citizens, the family can apply for family reunification and come to the United States as well, through chain migration. The dems will cry loud tears on tv emotathons about those Nazi republicans who won’t let these children see their mommy and daddy, who love and yearn for just one little touch from their baby. It’s an evil strategy by the globalists, once again.
“Justice,” the parents don’t want the kids back. That’s the “vicious” truth.
Lincoln Project are a bunch of TDS despots, anyone with 5 functioning brains will know these people are bs. They’re wasting money while making fools of themselves
Hahahahaha! Do you know someone with 5 functioning brains?
I find Ivanka’s claim stronger than his. One can argue about what his words meant, and how well they are backed up, but the presentation of her is 100% false.
If they sue then they have to defend their own poo.
The Lincoln Project represents a bunch of extreme Trump haters. If you listen to them, they are from MARS. When Trump gets reelected this group will go even more insane.
Don’t you mean “Nars?”
The principal is Rick Wilson, who used to make his living in the political consulting grift. Among their donors are Gordon Getty, Jeffrey Katzenberg, David Geffen, and a whole mess of hedge guys and vc guys.
Don’t forget Kellyanne Conway’s husband, George Conway. One degree of separation from Trump.
Kellyanne Conway has marital problems. People do. Her husband is exceptional in waging a public war on his estranged wife and persuading their damaged adolescent daughter to join them.
George Conway has been battling Trump. Strange that you confuse Trump and George’s wife.