Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 22, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE B4 B 4 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2020 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMNEWS I WORLD W ASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he is likely to name a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Saturday, as Senate Re- publicans continued to discuss whether to push for a vote before the election, despite furious Democratic opposition. As more senators declared their pos- itions, Republicans appeared increas- ingly likely to have the votes to con- firm Trump’s choice — assuming no surprises emerge in the confirmation process — although the timing of a vote remained uncertain. Trump said five women were being vetted for the nomination to replace Ginsburg, who died Friday, “but I have one or two that I have in mind.” According to Republicans familiar with the selection process, two con- servative federal Appeals Court judg- es, Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa, are the only candidates in real contention. Administration officials for the last two years have viewed Barrett, a for- mer Notre Dame law professor and conservative favourite, as the front- runner for the next Supreme Court va- cancy. She was the runner-up for the court nomination that ultimately went to Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. Over the weekend, however, Lagoa emerged as a strong possibility. The daughter of Cuban exiles, her selection might help Trump politically in Florida, a state vital to the president’s re-elec- tion chances. Trump appears intrigued by that pos- sibility. He told reporters Monday that he “may” speak with Lagoa when he visits Miami on Friday. “She’s highly thought of. She’s got a lot of support. I’m getting a lot of phone calls from a lot of people. She has a lot of support. I don’t know her, but I hear she’s outstanding,” he said. Lagoa, however, has a much shorter track record than Barrett, who has written extensively on high-profile legal issues as a law professor. Some conservatives are uncertain if Lagoa would be firmly on their side on the high court. Ironically, the fact that she won 80 votes in her Senate confirm- ation to the 11th Circuit last year now has some conservatives suspicious that she may be too moderate. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) who re- cently said he would vote only for nom- inees who explicitly say that the court’s 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision establishing abortion rights was wrong, said Barrett passed his test. “Amy Barrett, I think, clearly meets that threshold,” he told reporters. He did not explicitly comment on La- goa. As Trump weighs his choices, Repub- licans in the Senate continue to ponder the timetable. Their interest in further entrenching a conservative majority on the Supreme Court could clash with their hope of preserving Republican control of the Senate and White House. Delaying a vote until after the elec- tion could galvanize GOP voters and provide breathing room to some Re- publican Senate incumbents, for whom a court vote could be politically peril- ous. Republicans worry particularly about Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, an embattled incumbent whose vote for Kavanaugh has been a key factor in putting her behind her challenger, Sara Gideon, the speaker of the state House of Representatives. Collins has publicly said she would oppose a nominee before the election. Holding off until after the election could also provide a buffer for other Republican incumbents who are on the ballot and would face criticism for rushing through a nominee. But conservative activists fear that if Republicans lose the White House or the Senate, Republican senators might not be willing to confirm Trump’s nom- inee. With Republicans holding a 53-47 majority in the Senate, they can cur- rently afford three defections, but after the election, that margin could tighten. No Democratic senators are expected to back Trump’s nominee before the election or in a lame-duck session if Trump loses. If the presidential race or key Senate contests do not have clear winners for days or weeks after Election Day, Nov. 3, holding a vote could be even more dif- ficult. Conservatives are pressing hard for a quick vote. “No one should trust that faux Re- publicans in the Senate will keep their word after Nov. 3,” warned Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) “The Supreme Court opening should be filled before the elec- tion.” Democrats remained hopeful that at least two more Republicans would join Collins and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in opposition to voting on a new justice so close to Election Day. “There is only one way for us to have some hope of coming together again, trusting each other again, lowering the temperature, moving forward — and that is for four brave Senate Republic- ans to commit to rejecting any nominee until the next president is installed,” said senate minority leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) “That was Justice Ginsburg’s dying wish, and it may be the Senate’s only hope.” But the list of other potential Repub- licans who might break ranks has been whittled down to perhaps just one: Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah. Romney — the only Republican to vote to convict the president in his im- peachment trial and one of the few will- ing to defy Trump — is viewed as an unknown. He declined to answer repor- ters’ questions Monday about his plans. Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, one of the last potential swing votes to voice an opinion, said Monday evening that he would consider a nominee. “Should a qualified nominee... be put forward, I will vote to confirm,” he said. Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) — who led the Senate Judiciary Com- mittee in 2016 when it blocked the con- sideration of former president Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland — has previously said he wouldn’t support considering a nominee in an election year. But he said he would support the con- sideration this year. He said the divided government that existed in 2016 — when the Senate and White House were controlled by different parties — does not exist this year, eliminating his res- ervations. Senate Republicans plan to huddle be- hind closed doors today to discuss the pending appointment and strategy. McConnell pushed back on Demo- crats’ claims that he was rushing the process. “The Senate has more than sufficient time to process the nomina- tion,” he said Monday. “There are 43 days until Nov. 3 and 104 days until the end of this Congress.” In a preview of what’s expected to be a fiercely partisan battle, senate ju- diciary committee chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) who leads the panel responsible for confirming nominees, struck a personal tone. He told Democrats on the committee that he would “proceed expeditiously” and that he was “certain if the shoe were on the other foot, you would do the same.” Republican senators — and voters — have placed an extremely high value on building a conservative court major- ity. For that reason, Republicans are increasingly confident that if Trump’s selection survives a vetting and a pre- dictably contentious hearing, the nom- inee would be confirmed. — Los Angeles Times Trump says court pick coming Saturday JENNIFER HABERKORN Republicans look likely to have necessary Senate votes FLORIDA SUPREME COURT / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME / ZUMA PRESS/TNS Amy Coney Barrett (above) is a former Notre Dame law professor and conservative favourite. Barbara Lagoa (left), the daughter of Cuban exiles, might help Donald Trump politically in Florida, a state vital to the president’s re-election chances. ST-HUBERT, Que. — RCMP raided a residence on Montreal’s south shore Monday in connection with envelopes containing the poison ricin that were sent to the White House and to various locations in Texas. The home is tied to a woman ar- rested Sunday night at the New York-Canada border who author- ities suspect is involved in the case, Cpl. Charles Poirier told reporters at the scene. “We don’t know if she lived here but there is a clear link between her and this residence,” Poirier said. The home is located in a multi-unit building on Vauquelin Boulevard in St-Hubert, Que., bordering a forest and not far from an airport. Some of the units in the building were evacuated after police arrived around 10 a.m. Police were still on site as of 5 p.m. The RCMP’s chem- ical, biological, radiological, nucle- ar, explosives team is leading the operation with support from local police and firefighters. “We don’t know what we’re going to find, that’s why we’ve deployed multiple resources,” Poirier said. “We also have a specialized unit to make sure that if we find something that is highly toxic inside the resi- dence, we are prepared.” The Associated Press reported Sunday that three U.S. law enforce- ment officials said a woman sus- pected of sending a toxic envelope to the White House was arrested at the New York-Canada border. They said the letter had been intercepted last week before it reached the of- ficial residence of U.S. President Donald Trump. Poirier said Monday that envel- opes containing ricin — a toxic substance found naturally in castor beans — had also been sent to vari- ous locations in Texas. Contacted by The Canadian Press, the sheriff’s office in Hidalgo County, in southern Texas, referred all questions to the Twitter account of Sheriff Eddie Guerra. He posted late Monday afternoon, “I can con- firm that envelopes, containing the deadly toxin ricin, was mailed to me and three of my detention staff. “At this time due to (an) active federal investigation I cannot make any further comments... No injuries were sustained.” Canadian law enforcement was called in to help the FBI investigate after American authorities found evidence the suspicious letter to the White House had originated in Canada. The woman was taken into cus- tody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Peace Bridge border crossing in Fort Erie, Ont. She is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday afternoon in Buf- falo, according to the U.S. Depart- ment of Justice. Her name was not immediately released. There have been several prior instances in which U.S. officials have been targeted with ricin sent through the mail. A Navy veteran was arrested in 2018 and confessed to sending en- velopes to Trump and members of his administration that contained the substance from which ricin is derived. The letters were inter- cepted, and no one was hurt. In 2014, a Mississippi man was sentenced to 25 years in prison af- ter sending letters dusted with ricin to then president Barack Obama and other officials. — with files from The Associated Press — The Canadian Press RCMP launch raid tied to White House ricin letter SIDHARTHA BANERJEE NEW YORK — A New York police of- ficer assigned to a Queens station house has been spying for the Chinese gov- ernment, tracking local supporters of the Tibetan independence movement and giving “intelligence” to Chinese officials, federal prosecutors alleged Monday. Baimadajie Angwang, 33, who is also a U.S. Army reservist as a staff ser- geant stationed at Fort Dix in N.J., has been charged with illegally acting as a foreign agent, wire fraud and making false statements for lying on official government forms about his contacts with China. He’s also accused of ob- structing his national security back- ground check, which helped conceal his spying efforts that began in 2014. He faces a maximum of 55 years if convicted. Angwang, a naturalized U.S. citizen, has been a member of the New York City police department since 2016. As an Army reservist, he had “secret” se- curity clearance. Federal investigators say several members of Angwang’s family have been members of the Chinese Com- munist Party and have served in the People’s Liberation Army, and that Angwang has maintained relationships with two officials at the Chinese Con- sulate in New York. He reported to his contacts at the consulate about “the ac- tivities of ethnic Tibetans” and worked to identify potential sources of infor- mation from within the community to assist in the PRC’s monitoring efforts, according to court papers filed in the Eastern District of New York. Angwang also tried to connect one of his consulate contacts with influential members of the NYPD by inviting the official to events, prosecutors said. At his arraignment in federal court in Brooklyn on Monday, Angwang was or- dered detained. His attorney can argue for bail at a future proceeding. Angwang, who is ethnically Tibetan, had been given asylum in the United States after overstaying a visa and claiming that he’d been arrested and tortured by China “due partly to his Tibetan ethnicity,” according to the criminal complaint. He “violated every oath he took in this country” including to his country, the U.S. Army and the NYPD, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a statement. Angwang was assigned to the 111th Precinct located in Bayside, Queens. “From the earliest stages of this in- vestigation, the NYPD’s Intelligence and Internal Affairs bureaus worked closely with the FBI’s Counterintel- ligence Division to make sure this in- dividual would be brought to justice,” Shea added. Angwang violated “his sworn oath as a New York City police officer to pro- tect and serve the citizens of New York by instead reporting to PRC govern- ment officials about the activities of Chinese citizens in the New York area and developing intelligence sources within the Tibetan community in the United States,” acting U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme added in a statement. —The Washington Post N.Y. police officer accused of spying for China SHAYNA JACOBS B_04_Sep-22-20_FP_01.indd B4 9/21/20 10:20 PM ;