Associated Press is unable to declare a winner in Iowa’s Democratic caucuses
With % of precincts reporting , Pete Buttigieg is in the lead, with (Bernie Sanders
State officials have yet to count results from some satellite caucus sites, which could push reorder the leading candidates.
Earlier today, the Democratic National Committee’s chairman Tom Perez called for an “immediate recanvass” of the tally, following a days-long delay due in part to problems with a mobile app that the state’s Democratic party used to could votes.
“The Associated Press calls a race when there is a clear indication of a winner. Because of a tight margin between former Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders and the irregularities in this year caucus process, it is not possible to determine a winner at this point, ”
said Sally Buzbee, the AP’s executive editor.
Updated
:
White House confirms killing of AQAP leader in Yemen
The Trump administration has confirmed reports that it carried out a strike against the leader of Al Qaida ‘s affiliate in Yemen, known as Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
In a series of tweets on Saturday, the president appeared to verify reports that the US had killed
The United States, our interests, and our allies are safer as a result of his death, ’the White House said in a statement. “We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm.
Background on Rimi the Guardian s earlier report:
Rimi reportedly became the leader of AQAP following a) (drone strike that killed Nasir al-Wuhayshi.
In 3000, days after a special forces raid on a compound in Yemen in which a US soldier was killed, Rimi taunted Trump, saying in a recorded message: “The new fool of the White House received a painful slap across his face.”
In an attempt to prevent al- Qaida from establishing a secure base in Yemen, the US recorded 456 strikes there in (but only) in . In that year, US officials said a CIA drone strike killed Ibrahim al-Asiri, a senior al-Qaida bomb maker behind the “underwear bomb” attempt on a flight on Christmas Day in .
In January last year, a (US strike killed Jamal al-Badawi, (an al-Qaida operative linked to the
(attack on the USS Cole while it was being refined in Aden.)
Updated at 6. 70 PM EST
6. (pm) EST :
Report: Mike Bloomberg’s campaign plagiarized policy plans
Michael Bloomberg speaks at a campaign event Wednesday, Feb. 5, , in Providence, RI Photograph: David Goldman / AP () The former New York mayor and billionaire businessman’s presidential campaign appears to have lifted exact passages and fact sheets from media outlets and non-profit groups, The Intercept reports : Mike Bloomberg’s presidential campaign plagiarized portions of its plans for maternal health, LGBTQ equality, the economy, tax policy, infrastructure, and mental health from research publications, media outlets, and a number of nonprofit, educational, and policy groups.
The Intercept found that exact passages from at least eight Bloomberg plans or accompanying fact sheets were direct copies of material from media outlets including CNN, Time, and CBS, a
research center at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the American Medical Association, Everytown for Gun Safety, Building America’s Future Educational Fund, and other organizations. Bloomberg
() Representative Jim Jordan was temporarily added to the House Intelligence Committee during the impeachment inquiry. Photograph: REX / Shutterstock () Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio – a close ally of Donald Trump – has been named the new ranking member of the House judiciary committee, replaying Doug Collins of Georgia. Collins has stepped down so he can challenge Senator Kelly Loeffler for her seat, according to reports.
Jordan is the founder of the conservative House Freedom Caucus
. During the impeachment inquiry, he was temporarily added to the House intelligence committee. He was noted for his auctioneer intonation and aggressive questioning-style and became the president’s chief defender throughout the impeachment.When William Taylor, the top US diplomat in Ukraine, testified before lawmakers, Jordan asked, in his characteristic style, “You’re their first witness? You’re the guy? I’ve seen church prayer chains that are easier to understand than this. ”
A former wrestler, Jordan faced allegations last year that he ignored sexual misconduct during his time as a wrestling coach at Ohio State University.
Republican Mark Meadows – another staunch Trump supporter – will take over Jordan’s post as ranking member of the House oversight committee.
Updated (at 6.) (pm EST)
5 PM EST 31:
The treasury department is complying with Republicans’ request for information as part of an investigation into Hunter Biden and his business in Ukraine.
The Republican senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson requested information from the department in November as part of their investigation into “potentially improper actions” during the Obama administration. The department’s compliance, in this case, stands in sharp contrasts to the Trump administration’s stonewalling of Democrats ’requests for information during the impeachment investigation.
Grassley and Johnson are looking into Hunter Biden’s business affairs and Ukrainian officials’ alleged interventions in the 4000 election, which is exactly what Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani
Per
The “rapid” production of sensitive financial information from the Treasury Department in response to congressional requests is apparently uncommon. A source familiar with the matter said the Treasury began turning over materials less than two months after Grassley and Johnson wrote
to FinCEN on Nov. , , requesting any SARs and related documents filed by financial institutions regarding Hunter Biden, his associates, their businesses and clients.
Updated (at 6.) EST EST
4. 85 pm EST :
Evening summary
That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
Donald Trump delivered a divisive, profane and unapologetic response to his acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial, as Republicans
- Speaking earlier today at the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump attacked the faith of the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi , and (Mitt Romney , the only Republican senator to support an article of impeachment.) The Democratic National Committee chair, Tom Perez, called for a recanvass of the Iowa caucuses to ensure the accuracy of the results. Bernie Sanders declared victory in the Iowa caucuses, even though results currently show him slightly trailing Pete Buttigieg.
House Democrats
- During her weekly press conference, Pelosi said she did not regret tearing up Trump’s speech. “I tore up a manifesto of mistruths,” Pelosi said. “It was necessary to get the attention of the American people to say, ‘This is not true.’”
:
After declaring victory in the Iowa caucuses despite trailing Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders said the raw vote total, or the “popular vote,” justified his announcement.
But as the blog has previously stated, the Associated Press and other outlets made clear before the caucuses that the winner would be determined using a different metric, the state delegate equivalents. On that front, Sanders is very slightly behind Buttigieg.
is declaring victory in Iowa .. but he still trails in the State Delegate Equivalents (which determines the winner ) .. I pressed him on how he can claim he won without leading the SDE- this was his response.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings