Good morning, Her Campus! With a break-neck news cycle, there is no possible way for you to stay on top of every story that comes across your feeds—we’re all only human, after all.
But, life comes at you fast. So grab a cup of coffee and settle in for this quick and dirty guide to stories you might’ve been sleeping on (like, literally. It’s early.)
James Comey Says Democrats “Have to Win” the White House in 2020
Former FBI agent James Comey responded to recent criticisms from President Donald Trump, who claimed that Comey lied to Congress during his testimony on Friday, saying that Democrats “have to win” the presidency in 2020.
Comey pointed to Trump’s targeting of private citizens and political opponents, including himself.
“We have to remind ourselves that the president of the United States of America is publicly announcing that people are committing crimes, they should be in jail — private citizens — that’s not OK,” Comey told an audience at 92Y in New York City. “And if we become numb to it, we risk surrendering the norm.”
Former FBI Director James Comey called Trump’s administration an “attack on our values,” and said voters should oust him through the polls in 2020 — as opposed to having Congress pursue impeachment https://t.co/toFPswo0yO pic.twitter.com/IwpBnq5q7E
— POLITICO (@politico) December 10, 2018
Trump posted several tweets over the weekend, accusing “leakin” Comey of lying to Congress after he had testified before the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees on Friday in a closed session. The former FBI director was fired by the president in 2017 over his handling into the Hillary Clinton email investigation, ABC News reports.
Leakin’ James Comey must have set a record for who lied the most to Congress in one day. His Friday testimony was so untruthful! This whole deal is a Rigged Fraud headed up by dishonest people who would do anything so that I could not become President. They are now exposed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2018
Comey, however, said he shrugged off Trump’s comments, but still said they were “disturbing.”
“I’m not prepared to judge it,” Comey told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace at the event. “I’m a witness, potentially. I don’t know how the special counsel thinks about it, but if I were a prosecutor and a public figure started attacking the credibility of one of my witnesses in a pending investigation that’s something I would look at very closely.”
However, Comey said he would advise impeaching the president. Even though he considered Trump to be unsuitable for office, Comey said impeaching the president would be “would let the country off the hook,” Politico reports.
Calling Trump a “threat” to the country’s values, Comey said Democrats need to put aside their ideological debates and just focus on one important goal: winning the 2020 election.
“I can tell you that all of us should use every breath we have to make sure the lying stops on January 20, 2021,” he said. “I understand the Democrats have important debates now over who their candidate should be … but they have to win. They have to win.”
“Nazi-Themed” Posters Found At SUNY Purchase Campus
Nazi-themed posters were found on various locations at State University of New York’s Purchase College on Sunday, according to the school’s statement Monday.
Betsy Aldredge, SUNY Purchase media relations specialist, told ABC News that the posters contained images of Adolf Hitler and swastikas.
According to CNN, university police have identified a suspect, and are currently working with the Westchester District Attorney’s Office on an investigation.
“That this hateful act took place on the last night of Hanukkah when our Jewish community members were celebrating the survival of their religion, makes it even more reprehensible,” Dennis Craig, officer-in-charge for the New York State University Police at Purchase College, said in a statement. “Please know that these posters, and any message of anti-Semitism and intolerance, go against our core values of diversity, acceptance, and understanding. At Purchase, we are committed to ensuring that all members of the community are accepted and welcome, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, background, or identity.”
“Messages of hate, while becoming more and more prevalent in our country, have no place on our campus and will be treated with the utmost severity,” Craig added.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also issued a statement, saying he was “disgusted by the discovery of neo-Nazi fliers at SUNY Purchase.” He has directed the State Police Hate Crimes Unit to also assist in the investigation, CNN reports.
I am disgusted by the discovery of neo-Nazi fliers at SUNY Purchase today, and I have directed the State Police Hate Crimes Unit to assist in the investigation. Those behind this noxious act should know that these fliers only harden our resolve to combat hate in all its forms. pic.twitter.com/qvVe82TOHV
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) December 10, 2018
“Those behind this noxious act should know that these fliers, far from inciting fear, will only harden our resolve to combat hate in all its forms. We will not cower in the face of hate. While they spread fear, we will spread love,” the governor said.
Activists Demand New Green Deal During Demonstration at Democratic Leaders’ Offices
Hundreds of pro-environment activists lobbied lawmakers on Capitol Hill Monday as part of an effort to pressure Democrats to make a Green New Deal a priority for the party’s agenda in the next Congress.
Protesters staged sit-ins outside of the Washington D.C. offices of Reps. Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer and Jim McGovern, calling on Democrats to leverage their power in the next Congress, where they will have a majority in the House of Representatives, to enact green legislative proposals to transition to renewable energy, The Huffington Post reports.
Sunrise co-founder Varshini Prakash, referring to a grave report from October report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that said that humans have roughly 12 years before the damage to earth is irreversible, said, “The U.N. says we have 12 years to transform our economy and avert catastrophe. The Democrats need a plan to make it happen. And if the Democrats want the youth vote in 2020, they need to get to work on a Green New Deal in 2019.”
Protesters at @NancyPelosi’s office demanding Democrats address climate change and a green new deal as part of taking the Majority next year – an effort @ocasio2018 pushing for. pic.twitter.com/M2ZajA9D2Q
— Alex Moe (@AlexNBCNews) December 10, 2018
“This is not about Republican. This is not about Democrat. This is about humanity!” Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr., the president and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus, cried. “Climate change is a civil rights issue. We have a right to clean air, we have a right to clean water and we will fight not for ourselves but for the next generation.”
The Green New Deal, proposed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is a federal plan to invest in infrastructure and labor reforms aimed at combating climate change, HuffPost reports.
“The Green New Deal we are proposing will be similar in scale to the mobilization efforts seen in World War II or the Marshall Plan,” Ocasio-Cortez told HuffPost back in June. “It will require the investment of trillions of dollars and the creation of millions of high-wage jobs. We must again invest in the development, manufacturing, deployment, and distribution of energy, but this time green energy.”
Pelosi, who is currently building her support to become Speaker of the House again, has already announced that she plans to reconvene a select committee on climate change in the next Congress, ABC News reports.
Following the demonstrations Monday, Pelosi’s spokesperson, Taylor Griffin, said that “addressing climate change remains a top priority” for the Congresswoman.
“She has proposed reinstating a select committee on climate and looks forward to caucus-wide discussions with the committees of jurisdiction to determine the appropriate path forward,” Griffin stated.
Hoyer, taking to Twitter, said he welcomed members of Sunrise, expressing that he “appreciate[d] their passion” and promising that the new Democratic majority would act on climate change.
I welcome visitors from @sunrisemvmt to my office today, and I’m happy to hear from them about one of the most pressing issues of our time. Speaking out is exactly what our democracy is all about, and I appreciate their passion. The new Dem Majority will #ActonClimate.
— Steny Hoyer (@WhipHoyer) December 10, 2018
As protesters were gathered in the House office buildings, U.S. Capitol Police warned protesters to leave or face arrest, and ultimately reported 138 arrests due to crimes related to unlawfully demonstrating in the Cannon and Longworth House Office Buildings, ABC News reports.
What to look out for…
This master’s graduate wrote his Communication and Media Studies thesis on Kim Kardashian, and she wants a copy. Honestly, we really want to read the “Kim Thesis,” too.