Scholz And Biden Warn Russia Would Pay ‘high Price’ For Ukraine Invasion – Live – The Guardian

The first question to Biden is about Nord Stream 2. Did Chancellor Scholz pledge to halt Nord Stream 2 to if Putin invades? Scholz was vague on the particulars and wouldn’t explicitly say what Germany would do should Russia act.

Biden said should there be a Russian invasion, which he defined as “tanks or troops crossing the border” with Ukraine, “there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2, we will bring an end to it.”

Asked whether Scholz to committed to ending operations, Biden said: “I promise you we will be able to do it.”

“We have intensively prepare everything to be ready with the necessary sanction if there is a military aggression against Ukraine,” Scholz said.

In English, the German chancellor said: “We will be united. We will act together, and we will take all the necessary steps.”

Pressed on their ambiguity, Biden insisted that Germany was a “reliable partner” and Scholz insisted that the US and Germany were “united.”

“The notion that Nord Stream 2 would go forward with an invasion by the Russians is just not going to happen,” Biden said.

Asked if he had a message for Americans in Ukraine, Biden said his advice would be to “leave.”

“I think it would be wise to leave the country,” he said.

At the end of the press conference, Biden responded to a shouted question about whether he still believed there was a diplomatic off-ramp to the rising tensions. “The answer’s yes,” he said, but didn’t respond to the follow-up: “How?”

Following their meeting, Biden and Scholz are holding a joint press conference.

“If Russia makes a choice to further invade Ukraine, we are jointly ready and all of Nato is ready,” Biden said. He promised “swift and severe consequences” in the event of an incursion in Ukraine but stressed that the US prefers diplomacy.

“There’s no issue of global importance where Germany and the United States are not working together,” the president stressed.

Scholz, speaking in German, said the US and Germany agreed upon a set of responses, including sanctions, as fears of a Russian invasion mount.

“There will be a high price for Russia,” the German leader said, describing a potential Russian military aggression as a “serious threat to European security.” He said the message had been delivered clearly enough so that “even Russia understands now”.

Last week, the Republican National Committee officially declared the assault on the riot and the events that preceded “legitimate political discourse.” It also acted to censure two members of the House GOP – Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois – who are participating in the January 6 investigation.

Several Republican senators have expressed their unease with the move, even as the lawmakers, leaders and officials in the party continue to minimize the assault and the attempt by Trump to overturn the election.

According to Politico, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, who has been critical of Trump’s role in the attack but voted to acquit the former president in the Senate impeachment trial, will address the RNC’s action tomorrow.

The IRS announced it would “transition away” from using facial-recognition software to identify taxpayers accessing their accounts on the agency’s website after a bipartisan group of lawmakers raised security and civil liberties concerns.

The decision comes as the agency, already dealing with staffing shortages, faces daunting challenges this tax season related to the pandemic-era stimulus payments and the temporary expansion of the child tax credit. The agency said it would change how it verifies taxpayers’ identities using methods that do not involve facial recognition “over the coming weeks” in an effort to prevent “larger disruptions to taxpayers during filing season.”

The IRS takes taxpayer privacy and security seriously, and we understand the concerns that have been raised,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “Everyone should feel comfortable with how their personal information is secured, and we are quickly pursuing short-term options that do not involve facial recognition.”

The agency said they transition “does not interfere with the taxpayer’s ability to file their return or pay taxes owed.”

“People should continue to file their taxes as they normally would,” it said.

On the US approach to deterring Russian aggression, Psaki said the goal is to “make it more difficult for them to lay a predicate for invading Ukraine.”

“Our objective is to deny Russia the opportunity to use some of the tactics, sometimes some of the lies that they have done in the past to justify an invasion of Ukraine,” Psaki said.

She again affirmed the White House’s support Electoral Count Act reform, after Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill attempted to use ambiguity in the provision to subvert the election. But she said that it was not a substitute for voting rights reform to combat the wave of restrictions Republican-controlled legislatures have put in place ahead of the 2022 midterms.

During the Olympics, China chose a Uyghur cross-country skiier from the western Chinese region of Xinjiang to deliver the ceremonial flame. What did the White House make of it? “We can’t allow this to be a distraction from … the human rights abuses,” Psaki said.

She was peppered with questions about Biden’s trip to Camp David this weekend and his deliberations over his choice to replace justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court. Psaki did not rule out the possibility the president would meet potential candidates during his trip to Camp David.

Psaki didn’t say whether Biden had consulted Anita Hill as he puts together a team to vet his future supreme court nominee.

Asked about the police killing of Amir Locke, who was fatally shot after officers executed a “no-knock” warrant, Psaki reaffirmed the White House’s support for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act that is stalled in Congress. She said the bill would limit the use of no-knock warrants, and hoped members of Congress would act because the president is limited in what he can do unilaterally.

Asked again why Lander wasn’t fired, Psaki said Biden’s safe workplace pledge set in motion a process for investigating the complaints made against him. But Biden said he would fire on the spot anyone who was disrespectful to a colleague, so his continued employment is hard to square with that pledge.

“No one is suggesting that this behavior is acceptable,” Psaki said. “Corrective action was needed and we will monitor for compliance.” She noted that, as has been reported, he sent a note to his staff apologizing for his behavior and committing to do better in the future.”

She said it is the hope of the White House that Lander will “make changes.” She did not answer a question about whether the president has spoken to Lander since the investigation was completed.

Asked about the dissonant messages coming from Kyiv and Washington about a Russian invasion of Ukraine, Psaki said: “We’re ready either way for whatever decision President Putin might make.”

“We certainly would prefer a diplomatic solution. I think that’s everybody’s preference, everybody’s hope,” she said.

She encouraged reporters to ask chancellor Scholz about Germany’s views about the operations of Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which has been a major sticking point in the negotiations.

She urged states to continue following the CDC guidance to wear masks in school, despite actions by the New Jersey governor to end the requirement in his state.

Asked whether the White House should have taken more action against Eric Lander, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), after complaints of bullying and demeaning behavior were made against him, Psaki called his behavior was “inappropriate”. She said corrective actions were needed and that Lander would “be held to account on delivering on that.”

Does allowing him to keep his job undermine Biden’s pledge to fire employees who “disrespect” colleagues? Psaki said the president remains committed to having a “respectful work environment very seriously.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki started the press briefing by cheering on Team USA at the Olympics.

Pointing to her Team USA water bottle and pin, she said the US diplomatic boycott of the Olympics in Beijing did not take away from their support for the athletes competing for Team USA.

“We made a decision, the United States, not to send a diplomatic or official delegation to Beijing given the PRC’s ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses. That was a clear statement and policy made by our government,” she said.

But, she continued: “We’re watching from home. …We’ll be rooting for US athletes even as we made a very important statement.”

Moments ago, Joe Biden welcomed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to the White House. Ahead of their meeting, Biden told reporters that the countries were “in lockstep” on confronting Russian aggression at the border with Ukraine.

“We’ve got a lot to talk about,” Biden said, listing China, climate change and the pandemic among the other issues on the agenda for the leaders to discuss.

Scholz called it “an important meeting at an important time” and said the US and Germany was working “intensely” to deter a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Reporters were ushered out of the room shortly thereafter. Neither leader responded to shouted question. They will hold a join press conference after their meeting. In the meantime, we will tune in for Psaki’s White House briefing. Stay tuned!

Following up on an earlier post, New Jersey governor Phil Murphy formally announced his decision to end the statewide mask mandate for schools and child care centers during a briefing this afternoon.

Citing the state’s falling infection and hospitalization rates, he said the state could “responsibly take the step”.

“We are not going to manage Covid to zero. We have to learn how to live with Covid as we move from a pandemic to an endemic phase of this virus,” he said.

“We are optimistic that given the decreased severity of this new variant, and the continued increase in vaccinations, that we are finally nearing this inflection point.”

Jan-Werner Müller

To this day, only footsoldiers have paid a price for the riot at the Capitol last January 6. Politicians who spurred them on, praised them afterwards, and now incite further hatred with hallucinatory talk of “political prisoners” have remained smugly immune.

This could change in one case: the Republican congressman Madison Cawthorn, who was on the mall that fateful day, implored Trumpists to “fight,” and is now seeking re-election in North Carolina. His candidacy is being challenged on the basis of the 14th amendment. Passed after the civil war, it disqualifies from holding office anyone who has sworn allegiance to the constitution and then engages in insurrection.

Other democracies are comfortable not just with restricting individual rights to run for office, but with banning entire parties suspected of undermining democracy. Americans, by contrast, have been inclined to leave things to sort themselves out in the political process.

But here drastic measures are justified: citizens in a democracy have to accept being governed by politicians they disagree with; they don’t have to put up with politicians who start insurrections when things don’t go their way. Disqualification could have a salutary effect on the Republican party as such; and it might provide a model for banning Trump from holding office again – something that was on the table during the 2021 impeachment and endorsed by seven Republican senators at the time.

In North Carolina, citizens can challenge a candidate to prove they meet qualifications for Congress. Unlike the House committee investigating the events of January 6th, the board on elections could force a sitting member of Congress to testify about the role he played before, during, and after the insurrection.

In the end, his fate could resemble that of many Confederates after the civil war: not necessarily criminal punishment, but exclusion from exercising power.

Martin Pengelly

Discussing with the Guardian attempts to ban his books from US school libraries, the Pulitzer prize-winning graphic novelist Art Spiegelman cited an unexpected exemplar for such politically motivated moves: Joe Manchin’s uncle.

“You know how Joe Manchin is a thorn in our side?” Spiegelman said. “His uncle, A Jamie Manchin, was the state treasurer of West Virginia in the 80s. He said that Garbage Pail Kids should be banned because they’re subverting children. It runs in his family.

“It reminds me that things keep changing, but we’re still dealing with permutations of the same struggles.”

Joe Manchin, a West Virginia senator, has frustrated progressives by standing in the way of attempts to pass Build Back Better, Joe Biden’s $1.75tn domestic spending plan, as well as voting rights protections and other policy priorities.

Here’s the full interview:

And here, for good measure, is Adam Gabbatt’s report from a Banned Book Club run by teens in Pennsylvania:

Pressed again on whether the US’s strident warnings about Russia’s intentions could forestall a diplomatic solution, Borrell demurred, saying it’s important to warn of the risks while working to deter the worst from unfolding.

A second reporter followed up, asking whether the US strategy – declassifying intelligence about the Kremlin’s plans and stressing that Vladimir Putin could act at any point – was the most effective approach for deterring Russian aggression.

“This is not alarmism, this is simply the facts,” Blinken said. “We have to deal the facts.” He said the US was operating based on the fact that Russia had amassed tens of thousands of troops at the border and based on recent history, the invasion of Crimea in 2014 among them.

“We don’t believe that President Putin has made a decision,” Blinken said. “But he has put in place the capacity, should he so decide, to act very quickly against Ukraine in ways that would have terrible consequences for Ukraine, for Russia, but consequences also for all of us.”

Whatever Putin ultimately decides, Blinken said, he will find a Europe and United states that are “fully aligned, fully coordinated.”

Taking a handful of questions, Blinken says the US and Ukraine still believe the Minsk agreement is the best path forward to resolving the conflict in the Donbas region. He said if Russia was serious about implementing this agreement, it would find eager partners in Ukraine, but said the Kremlin has not showed a “seriousness of purpose” yet.

“Ukraine is committed to Minsk if Russia is too,” he said.

Asked if the EU shares the US’ assessment that an invasion of Ukraine by Russia could be imminent, and if so, why it hasn’t used the same urgent language, Borrell said: “We share a strong concern about a risk that are accumulating at the Ukrainian-Russian border.

“We are living , to my understanding, [in] the most dangerous moment for the security of Europe [since] the end of the Cold War,” he continued, adding that there was “still room for diplomacy.”

“140,000 troops amassed at the border is not to go to have tea,” Borrell added. “So we have to increase our efforts in order to avoid a big risk.”

Borrell said the US and EU partners have been in “speed-dial mode,” coordinating a response to the threats posed by Russia in Ukraine.

He stressed that the goal was to become carbon-neutral, while addressing the short-term security risks in the context of the “Russia and Crimea crisis.”

“Russia doesn’t hesitate to use the significant energy supplies to Europe as leverage for geopolitical gains,” he said. “And when gas prices in the European Union from 6 to 10x higher than they were one year ago…this has a major impact on consumers” and the economy.”

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied claims that is uses energy for geopolitical gains.

Borrell said it’s important for nations to diversify the sources of energy, and to do so by transitioning from fossil fuels to renewables. “It is the best way of facing the challenge of climate change.”

“We believe that the diplomatic way out of the crisis is still possible and this is our clear and first priory and that’s what we are investing all our efforts. But at the same time we remain firm in our resolve that further aggression against Ukraine would have… major consequences.

We hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

Should Russia continue on a path of aggression, European Union and United States actions will be closely aligned, including on sanctions.”