Instead of fighting terrorism DHS stirs up tensions during the #portlandriots
Department of Homeland Security is failing in its role
On August 21, 2020, the non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “rebuke” of their finding, saying “DHS has not shown…either material errors of fact or law, nor has DHS provided information not previously considered….”
That makes sense, since the DHS response to the GAO finding was a decidedly ad-hominem attack to a 12 page document which cites law and precedent.
Note that the following bluster is on a government website, DHS.gov:
The Report takes the reader on a march through a marsh…the morass thickens and the water deepens, as crucial questions lurking just underneath the surface begin to emerge: Is the ignored evidence and failure to afford DHS deference more than just a good faith disagreement?
The same page says “Inaccurate reports, anti-Trump flip flops, and partisan timing in GAO actions is nothing new.” The URL, in an act of smart search engine optimization, includes the phrase “impeachment efforts.”
In a very partisan public relations move, the DHS page does not link directly to the GAO report it responds to. I will link to it here in the interest of openness: https://www.gao.gov/assets/710/708830.pdf
The Illegitimate Leaders
The people in question are Chad Wolf and Ken Cuccinelli.
Chad Wolf is illegally serving as Acting Director of Department of Homeland Security. He flew to Portland to personally oversee the DHS personnel deployed there.
DHS Intended as Anti-Terrorist, not Anti-Graffiti
Created after 9/11 in the era of the Patriot Act, DHS was immediately under the suspicion of conservatives and progressives alike as a potential over-reach of the Federal government into domestic situations.
Its mission was supposed to be “…to develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks.” Trump has deployed them to “protect federal buildings and monuments.”
Such as the WeWork offices in the US Custom House in Portland, which is on the National Registry of Historic Places and occasionally gets spray painted.
DHS Defies Elected Leaders
Elected representatives of the city, county, and state spoke out against the appearance of the DHS personnel and attended the protests, where those DHS personnel tear gassed these elected officials.
“I don’t need invitations by state mayors or state governors to do our job. We are going to do that whether they like us there or not,” Said Acting Director Wolf.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler identified their behavior as detrimental. “They are sharply escalating the situation. Their presence here is actually leading to more violence and more vandalism. And it’s not helping the situation at all,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
In response to requests by the offices of elected Senators of Oregon, the DHS has refused to explain the orders that sent unspecified DHS personnel to Portland Oregon.
Collecting Power, Defying Accountability
Normal procedure is for career staff of a department to hand over the records of orders to Senators and Representatives. Oregon’s delegation as been stonewalled by DHS. The normal process for clarity and accountability has been crushed.
The Federal Vacancies Act is a critical element of the balance of power that keeps this country strong and its power accountable to YOU. It was presented by Republican Senator Fred Thompson in 1998 and passed with largely Republican Support.
The DHS, an armed force within our borders, is defying those rules. GAO found that the process of creating succession and avoiding Senate questioning of leadership for these positions was improper.
Trump has kept acting directors in an unusual number of positions, avoiding Senate oversight of his power. DHS in particular has been under an Acting director for 40% of Trump’s term.
Trump has defied accountability for the DHS for over a year, appointing ineligible and unaccountable people to powerful positions in your government.
DHS personnel, who are not troops and not police but are armed with sniper rifles, assault weapons, and crowd control, are now being deployed to other cities, but we can not be sure where or how.
Our elected representatives have no power over their leadership or visibility into their activities.
DHS is failing in its role against terrorism and instead becoming a fearsome, unaccountable domestic force that no dissenter from the left or right would want to exist.
To stop this, we have to resoundingly defeat Donald Trump and all the accessories to his behavior in the Senate. Who do you know in a swing state? Have you asked them what their plan is to vote? Are you embarrassed? Be embarrassed, but do it.
Are you a person that would contribute to Fair Fight? https://fairfight.com/fair-fight-2020/
Are you a person that would spend some time writing letters to swing state voters: https://votefwd.org/
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