Greene says Jan. 6 rioters “would have won” and “would’ve been armed” if she’d been in charge – National & International News – MON 12Dec2022

Greene says Jan. 6 rioters “would’ve won” and “would’ve been armed” if she’d been in charge. Alleged bombmaker in 1988 Lockerbie bombing now in US custody. Peru’s new president calls for early elections after deadly street clashes.

NATIONAL NEWS

Greene says Jan. 6 rioters “would’ve won” and “would’ve been armed” if she’d been in charge

At a Saturday gala for the New York Young Republican Club in Manhattan, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene reportedly received cheers when telling the audience how Jan. 6 would have gone differently if she’d had her way. “I want to tell you something,” Greene said. “If Steve Bannon and I had organized that, we would have won. Not to mention, we would’ve been armed”.

Witnesses in the Congressional Jan. 6 hearings and various news outlets have reported that Greene (then a newly-elected representative not yet sworn in) was present at a White House meeting in mid-December 2020. Also present at the meeting were other far-right members of Congress including Jim Jordan (OH), Matt Gaetz (FL), Mo Brooks (AL) and Louie Gohmert (TX). The purpose of the meeting was to discuss strategies to either overturn the results of the 2020 election or obstruct their certification. Both before and after the events of Jan. 6, Greene and her aforementioned colleagues also reportedly sought pardons from former President Trump.

Greene wasn’t the only prominent far-right Republican at Saturday’s gala, whose tickets ranged from $425 for a single member ticket up to $7000 for a VIP table for 10. Other leading lights of the Trumpworld brain trust, such as Rudy Giuliani, Steve Bannon were in attendance, and Donald Trump, Jr., gave a speech. Also at the gala were members of VDARE, a white nationalist group.

The right-leaning New York Post described Greene’s speech as “range of one-liners trolling the political left”. Apologists frequently explain away Greene’s most inflammatory statements (which include calling for the execution of Democratic politicians) as “trolling”. But given her apparent role in very real and violent events, her remarks perhaps shouldn’t be so readily laughed off.

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Alleged bombmaker in 1988 Lockerbie bombing now in US custody

US authorities announced yesterday that they had secured custody of a suspect in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi was handed over by Libyan authorities. Al-Marimi is suspected of making the bomb that blew up Pan Am Flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988, over Lockerbie, Scotland. The explosion killed all 259 people on board and 11 people on the ground. Among the dead were 190 Americans, including 35 Syracuse University students who were flying home for Christmas. Al-Marimi supposedly confessed his involvement to Libyan authorities, but there are concerns the confession was obtained under torture. US investigators will be conducting their own questioning and Al-Marimi will have an initial court appearance in Washington in the near future. 

The Lockerbie bombing remains the UK’s deadliest terrorist attack, as well as its deadliest aviation disaster. Following the crash, investigators quickly determined that the explosion was caused by a bomb that had been planted on board. Suspicion immediately arose of a possible Libyan connection, specifically to Libya’s dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The bombing followed years of clashes between the US military and Gaddafi. In April 1986, a US airstrike supposedly killed a daughter of Gaddafi’s (there’s some dispute about that).

In 1991, arrest warrants were issued for two Libyan nationals, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and Lamin Khalifah Fhimah. Gaddafi eventually handed the two men over for trial in the Netherlands in 1999. Fhimah was acquitted but al-Megrahi was convicted. Al-Megrahi was released on compassionate grounds in 2009 and died in 2012, maintaining his innocence until his death.

In 2003, Gaddafi formally accepted responsibility for the bombing, but never admitted ordering it. He was violently deposed and killed in 2011. 

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Peru’s new president calls for early elections after deadly street clashes

Peru’s newly sworn-in president, Dina Boluarte, announced her proposal to her country’s Congress to call early elections after clashes between protesters, counter protesters and police killed two people. Until last week, Boluarte was Vice President to former President Pedro Castillo. She assumed office after Castillo attempted to dissolve Congress to head off the body’s third attempt to impeach him since he took office in July 2021. Congress then removed Castillo from office and he was arrested, apparently on his way to the airport. It’s not clear whether or not Congress will consider Boluarte’s request to move up elections from 2026 to April 2024.

Boluarte is Peru’s 7th president in 6 years. This has to do in part with the fractious Congress. In Peru, Congress can impeach a president merely over his politics without any specific criminal charge. 

Many of those protesting in the streets are Castillo supporters who believe he was treated unfairly by Congress. Others merely want stability and fear that their legislators are shopping for a new dictator.

3 impeachment attempts in 17 months

Castillo is economically left-wing but socially right-wing. He came to office on a platform of nationalizing Peru’s natural resources for the benefit of the poor. He narrowly defeated Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former dictator, Alberto Fujimori, who is currently serving a 25-year sentence. Fujimori is not a member of Congress, but leads the Popular Force Party, which is staunchly pro-Capitalist and has a substantial presence in Congress. With help from other parties, Popular Force has successfully thwarted any attempts by Castillo to bring forward legislation.

Congress first tried to impeach Castillo just 5 months into his presidency over campaign financing allegations, for which there was little evidence. That attempt failed to get enough votes. The second attempt came 8 months into his presidency, this time for “permanent moral incapacity”. Law experts say this impeachable charge laid out in Peru’s constitution lacks any objective definition. Opposition parties in Congress have used this as a pretext six times since 2017 to try to remove presidents. This second attempt also failed to garner enough votes.

Ahead of this recent third attempt, this time for alleged corruption, Castillo declared Congress was attempting a coup by “lawfare”. Castillo attempted to dissolve Congress and install a provisional government until new elections could be called. This was a constitutional violation which helped Congress succeed in getting the votes to impeach him.

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