White House News (白宮消息) | Dec. 20, 2020

 2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

From Wikipedia:

Christopher Charles Miller (born October 15, 1965)[1] is the acting United States Secretary of Defense and the former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Prior to serving in civilian leadership at the Department of Defense, Miller was a Green Beret, commanding 5th Special Forces Group in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a defense contractor.

Miller was initially the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, a role to which he was confirmed by the Senate by voice vote on August 6, 2020.[2][3][4] He was named Acting Secretary of Defense by President Donald Trump on November 9, 2020, following Trump's firing of Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.[5][6][7][8]

Acting Secretary of Defense[edit]
On November 9, 2020, Miller was appointed as Acting Secretary of Defense, following the termination of Mark Esper.[4][25] Miller's first overseas trip occurred in the third week of November when he visited multiple military units in the Middle East and Africa to include a three-hour stopover in Mogadishu. Miller said that in addition to meeting senior military and foreign officials during the trip, he wanted to visit troops and thank them for their service on the Thanksgiving holiday.[26]

In December 2020, it was reported that Miller had ordered the Pentagon to postpone 40 meetings the incoming Joe Biden administration.[27][28]

Pentagon chief announces Iraq, Afghanistan troop reductions | ABC News
Nov 18, 2020
NEW: Acting Defense Sec. Chris Miller announces reductions in troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan by January 15, 2021. "This is consistent with our established plans and strategic objectives...and does not equate to a change in U.S. policy or objectives."

Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller.
Scoop: Pentagon halts Biden transition briefings

Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller ordered a Pentagon-wide halt to cooperation with the transition of President-elect Biden, shocking officials across the Defense Department, senior administration officials tell Axios.

Dec. 18 -  Biden transition director Yohannes Abraham contradicted the Pentagon's official response to this story on Friday afternoon, telling reporters, "Let me be clear: there was no mutually agreed upon holiday break."

• "In fact, we think it’s important that briefings and other engagements continue during this period as there’s no time to spare, and that’s particularly true in the aftermath of ascertainment delay," Abraham continued, referring to the Trump administration's delay in recognizing Biden as president-elect.
• Miller had said in a statement following the publication of this story: "At no time has the Department cancelled or declined any interview. ... After the mutually-agreed upon holiday, which begins tomorrow, we will continue with the transition and rescheduled meetings from today."

Behind the scenes: Trump administration officials left open the possibility cooperation would resume after a holiday pause. The officials were unsure what prompted Miller's action, or whether President Trump approved.
Why it matters: Miller's move, which stunned officials throughout the Pentagon, was the biggest eruption yet of animus and mistrust toward the Biden team from the top level of the Trump administration.

• Fury at the Biden team among senior Pentagon officials escalated after the Washington Post published a story on Wednesday night revealing how much money would be saved if Biden halted construction of Trump's border wall.
• Trump officials blame the leak on the Biden transition team (Though, it should be noted, they have no evidence of this, and both reporters on the byline cover the Trump administration and have historically been prolific beneficiaries of leaks.)

What happened: Meetings between President Trump's team and the Biden team are going on throughout the government, after a delayed start as the administration dragged its feet on officially recognizing Biden as president-elect.

• Then on Thursday night, Miller — who was appointed Nov. 9, when Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper right after the election — ordered officials throughout the building to cancel scheduled transition meetings.

A senior Defense Department official sought to downplay the move, calling it "a simple delay of the last few scheduled meetings until after the new year."

• "We had fewer than two dozen remaining meetings on the schedule today and next week," the official said, adding that "the DoD staff working the meetings were overwhelmed by the number of meetings."
• "These same senior leaders needed to do their day jobs and were being consumed by transition activities. ... With the holidays we are taking a knee for two weeks. We are still committed to a productive transition."

This story has been updated with responses from Miller, the Biden transition and new details about frustrations at the Biden team over a Washington Post story.     source

---

Nicolas Maduro (2nd R) speaks with Joe Biden (C) in 2015. © REUTERS
Biden ignores calls from Venezuela's self-styled president Guaido, eyes talks with Maduro – reports

Dec. 19 - The Biden administration has reportedly been refusing to talk to Juan Guaido, the man the US considers to be Venezuela’s legitimate president, and may drop the demand for President Nicolas Maduro to step down from power.

The incoming Democratic government in the US will take a somewhat new approach to Venezuela, a nation that the Trump administration designated as part of a Latin American “troika of tyranny” and pounded with relentless sanctions. According to Bloomberg, Joe Biden is willing to negotiate with President Maduro and is not setting his resignation as a precondition, unlike Trump.

The Biden administration will offer sanctions relief in exchange for “free and fair elections” and other concessions, the report said, adding that the US will seek assistance from foreign backers of Venezuela, including Russia, China, Iran and Cuba.     continue to read

---

White House News (白宮消息) | Dec. 18, 2020

 2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

From Wikipedia:
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is a standalone United States federal agency, an operational component under Department of Homeland Security (DHS) oversight.[2] Its activities are a continuation of the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD). The CISA was established on November 16, 2018 when President Donald Trump signed into law the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018.[3][2]

Former NPPD Under-Secretary Christopher Krebs was CISA's first Director, and former Deputy Under-Secretary Matthew Travis was its first Deputy Director.[4][5] The expected role of CISA is to improve cybersecurity across all levels of government, coordinate cybersecurity programs with states, and improve the government's cybersecurity protections against private and nation-state hackers.[2]In this file photo an exterior view of the building of US Department of the Treasury is seen on March 27, 2020 in Washington.

Dec. 18 - Federal authorities expressed increased alarm Thursday about an intrusion into U.S. and other computer systems around the globe that officials suspect was carried out by Russian hackers. The country’s cybersecurity agency warned of a “grave” risk to government and private networks.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in its most detailed comments yet that the intrusion had compromised federal agencies as well as “critical infrastructure” in a sophisticated attack that was hard to detect and will be difficult to undo.

CISA did not say which agencies or infrastructure had been breached or what information was taken in an attack that it previously said appeared to have begun in March.

“This threat actor has demonstrated sophistication and complex tradecraft in these intrusions,” the agency said in its unusual alert. “CISA expects that removing the threat actor from compromised environments will be highly complex and challenging.”     continue to read

中俄导弹发射通报协定延期10年 美研发小型核弹威胁安全 20201216 |
《今日关注》CCTV中文国际
17, 2020

PEERING INTO THE FUTURE OF SINO-RUSSIAN CYBER SECURITY COOPERATION
Date published on Aug. 10, 2002

Beijing and Moscow have long wanted to control their domestic internets. Now they are working together to remake global cyberspace in their own image. The two launch widespread cyber operations that threaten U.S. interests, and they want to reshape the internet to reduce U.S. influence. Chinese hackers have mounted a long campaign to steal intellectual property, as well as military and political secrets, and are a growing threat to U.S. critical infrastructure. Russian hackers pose the threat of cyber espionage, influence operations, and attacks on the infrastructure of the United States and its allies. Moreover, China and Russia have over the past five years worked together to tighten controls on their domestic internet and promoted the idea of cyber sovereignty to diminish U.S. sway over the global governance of cyberspace.     continue to read

White House News (白宮消息) | Dec. 17, 2020

 1 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

US-China trade deficit skyrockets | DW News
Dec 16, 2020
US President Trump is on his way out, and as his successor prepares to take over, experts are wondering what will remain of Trump's policies. Especially the US' trade with China. Central to Trump's 'America First' approach were policies to reduce the US's trade deficit with China. He introduced tariffs on 360 billion dollars worth of Chinese-made products. But that seems to have failed: In November, China's global trade surplus skyrocketed to over 75 billion dollars, mostly due to strong exports to the US, which were up 46 percent on a year ago. The main reason for that: the coronavirus pandemic. With many Americans stuck at home, record amounts are being spent on a huge range of Chinese products. Meanwhile, American exports to China have only slightly improved. Agricultural products have sold well, but manufactured items have been badly hit by the pandemic.

Troubled Waters: Where the U.S. and China Could Clash in the South China Sea

Dec. 17 - Perhaps nowhere do the U.S. and Chinese militaries come closer to each other than in the South China Sea. And the brinkmanship in the waters could soon rise under President-elect Joe Biden.

As the world’s biggest economies spar on everything from trade to the coronavirus, fears have grown that a miscalculation between warships could spark a wider military confrontation. Although top defense officials from the U.S. and China have maintained communication even as broader relations have deteriorated, more fervent nationalism in both countries raises the political stakes of any crisis.

President Donald Trump’s administration has increased the number of “freedom of navigation operations”—known as FONOPs—in the South China Sea to challenge China’s sovereignty claims. The current round of maneuvers, which involve naval vessels sailing within territorial limits of land features claimed by China, reached a new high of 10 last year after a total of just five in the last two years of the Obama administration.
Biden looks set to maintain or even expand the number of FONOPs. Jake Sullivan, his pick for national security adviser, last year lamented the U.S.’s inability to stop China from militarizing artificial land features in the South China Sea, and called for the U.S. to focus more on freedom of navigation.     continue to read

---

Donald Trump Turns Fire on Mitch McConnell for Accepting Joe Biden Win

Dec. 17 - President Donald Trump dismissed Sen. Mitch McConnell's congratulations of President-elect Joe Biden following the Electoral College vote, telling the Senate Majority Leader it is "too soon to give up."

The Kentucky Republican had acknowledged Biden as the presidential election victor on Tuesday in a floor speech.

In a message to McConnell, shared on Twitter, Trump referenced his popular vote tally and said: "Mitch, 75,000,000 VOTES, a record for a sitting President (by a lot). Too soon to give up. Republican Party must finally learn to fight. People are angry!"     continue to read

Trump's allies slam Mitch McConnell for congratulating Biden https://t.co/ak9nu6420L via @MailOnline. Mitch, 75,000,000 VOTES, a record for a sitting President (by a lot). Too soon to give up. Republican Party must finally learn to fight. People are angry!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 16, 2020

PBS NewsHour full episode, Dec. 17, 2020
Dec 16, 2020
Wednesday on the NewsHour, an economic aid package is in reach as Congress moves closer to a deal, despite a surge in infections and deaths local officials face some backlash against vaccinations from politicians and the public, and a look at why communities of colors suffer disproportionate rates of childhood trauma in the United States.

White House News (白宮消息) | Dec. 15, 2020

 2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

Jeffrey Adam Rosen (born April 2, 1958) is an American lawyer who has served as the United States Deputy Attorney General since 2019, and will become Acting United States Attorney General in the last four weeks of the current Trump administration upon the resignation of William Barr on December 23, 2020.[1] Prior to assuming his ongoing role, he was a senior partner at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis and was the United States Deputy Secretary of Transportation.[1]

Gang Member Arrested After Desperate Struggle For San Jose Police Officer’s Gun
Dec. 1, SAN JOSE (CBS SF) — A gang member has been charged with assaulting two San Jose police officers in a weekend altercation that involved a desperate struggle for an officer’s gun, authorities said.

San Jose police said 22-year-old Rodel Pulido was being held on charges that include two counts of assaulting a police officer with a firearm and felony resisting or deterring and officer with force.

“If you attack a police officer, you threaten the lives of everyone in our community,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “My Office will prosecute these despicable and incredibly dangerous crimes to the fullest extent of the law”...   continue to read

William Barr will step down on 23 December, President Trump said
William Barr: US attorney general to leave post by Christmas

US Attorney General William Barr is stepping down before Christmas, President Donald Trump has announced.

Dec. 14 - Mr Barr's term was due to end on 20 January, when Mr Trump leaves office.

There had been tension between the two after Mr Barr said there was no widespread evidence of voter fraud in November's election.

He was criticised by Mr Trump for not publicly disclosing that the justice department was investigating Joe Biden's son during the campaign.

Mr Trump tweeted Mr Barr's resignation letter saying: "Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job!"

Mr Barr's letter to the president began by saying he "appreciated the opportunity to update" the president on the Department of Justice's (DOJ) review of voter fraud allegations in the recent election and "how these allegations will continue to be pursued".

He did not give more details about the review, and praised Mr Trump's achievements in office before ending the letter by saying he will depart from his position on 23 December.     source

Attorney General William Barr will leave his top post at the Justice Department on Dec. 23.
Attorney General William Barr to step down
The decision follows months of complaints from President Donald Trump about the administration’s top lawyer.

Dec. 15 - Attorney General William Barr is leaving his position, a decision that follows months of complaints from President Donald Trump about the administration’s top lawyer.

The cordial tone of Trump’s tweet on Monday afternoon announcing Barr’s exit was in marked contrast to the president’s public scolding of the attorney general in recent weeks. In Trump’s telling, Barr had failed to make public a financial crimes investigation into Joe Biden’s son Hunter that was ongoing before the election and failed to muster the Justice Department in support of Trump’s legal campaign to upend the election results.     continue to read

White House News (白宮消息) | Dec. 14, 2020

 2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

Judge dismisses President Trump's federal lawsuit
'This is an extraordinary case,' U.S. District Judge Brett Ludwig wrote

Dec. 12 - MILWAUKEE --A federal judge Saturday dismissed President Donald Trump's lawsuit asking the court to have the Republican-controlled legislature pick the state's 10 electors.

"This is an extraordinary case. A sitting president who did not prevail in his bid for reelection has asked for federal court help in setting aside the popular vote based on disputed issues of election administration, issues he plainly could have raised before the vote occurred," U.S. District Judge Brett Ludwig, who was appointed by Trump, wrote.

AdvertisementTrump's federal lawsuit originally asked the court to "remand" the case to the Republican-controlled legislature to pick new electors who would then cast their votes for Trump on Monday.

Ludwig last week called that request "bizarre."

After that comment, Trump amended his request to instead order the governor to issue a certificate of the results consistent with the appointment of electors designated by the legislature.

Ludwig, in a pretrial conference on Wednesday, called that request "also very odd."     continue to read

---

Politics updates (Dec. 13, 2020):
Trump vows to veto defense spending bill; Pelosi calls for VA chief to resign

The state Supreme Court last week refused to take up three lawsuits filed by Trump and his allies challenging the election results. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper dismissed a lawsuit by a Republican Party official who alleged a web of election conspiracies involving Iran, China, deceased Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and an anonymous source who goes by the name Spider. 

A state reserve judge ruled against Trump on Friday and the Wisconsin Supreme Court was hearing an appeal to that decision Saturday when Ludwig released his decision. And in another, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday refused to hear a case filed by the Texas attorney general seeking to block the votes of Wisconsin and three other swing states.

Brett Harry Ludwig (born 1969)[1] is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. He is a former Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Education:
Ludwig earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point and his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota School of Law.[2]

Legal and academic career:
Upon graduating from law school, Ludwig served as a law clerk to Judge George Fagg of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He was a partner at Foley & Lardner in Milwaukee, where he focused on commercial litigation and dispute resolution and chaired the firm's pro bono practice. He has also taught at the Marquette University Law School.[2]

Services:
1. Ludwig became a Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in 2017 and served on that court until becoming a district judge.[2]

2. On February 26, 2020, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Ludwig to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.[2] On March 3, 2020, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Ludwig to the seat vacated by Judge Rudolph T. Randa, who took senior status on February 5, 2016.[3] On June 17, 2020, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[4] On July 23, 2020, his nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote.[5] On September 9, 2020, his nomination was confirmed in the United States Senate by a vote of 91–5.[6] He received his judicial commission on September 10, 2020.     source

中方再次回应“战狼外交” 王毅：
美国倒行逆施该收场了！
20201212 |《今日关注》 CCTV中文国际
Dec 13, 2020