Hillary Clinton Condemns Trump’s Immigration Ban

Hilary Clinton and Bill Clinton attend The Nearness Of You Benefit Concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center on January 25, 2017 in New York City.

After President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending the entry of refugees and blocking entry of immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries, Hillary Clinton tweeted that the order “is not who we are.” The order was signed on Friday and blocks the entry of refugees from all countries for 90 days, but bars Syrian refugees indefinitely. The immigration ban in the order applies to seven countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The ban has been condemned by US officials, members of Congress from both parties, the international community, and many in the public with demonstrations being held at major airports. On Saturday, a federal judge halted the deportation of immigrants and refugees who were detained at US airports after the ACLU sued the Trump administration.

I stand with the people gathered across the country tonight defending our values & our Constitution. This is not who we are.

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 29, 2017

Meanwhile, Clinton attended a fundraising event at Columbia University in New York on Wednesday. The event was held to raise money for cancer research. The two primary researchers at the university are themselves immigrants: Dr. Azra Raza is from Pakistan and Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee is from India. The executive order has been condemned by the scientific community because it could block researchers from entering the United States to continue or begin new research. While the federal judge did block some deportations, many of the order’s provisions remain in effect.

Update: Chelsea Clinton tweeted photos from one of the protests in New York City.

Yes. We will keep standing up for a country that matches our values and ideals for all. pic.twitter.com/yfVlX5sL3f

— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) January 29, 2017

#NewYork #NoBanNoWall pic.twitter.com/4rndBgMDAH

— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) January 29, 2017

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow the Clintons on Twitter @HillaryClinton, @billclinton, and @ChelseaClinton. You can also follow Hillary on Facebook and Instagram.

News Source: Stat News, The Washington Post, The New York Times

Electors Ask for Intelligence Briefing Before Vote

Serious questions about Russia's involvement in the US election deserve answers. pic.twitter.com/3OV5Q5TO3R

— John Podesta (@johnpodesta) December 12, 2016

A bipartisan group of electors from the Electoral College have asked for an intelligence briefing following revelations from the CIA that Russia may have influenced the election. In a letter to James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, the electors expressed their concern and asked that all of the electors be briefed by the intelligence community before they cast their ballots later this month. The chairman of Hillary Clinton’s campaign, John Podesta, said that he and the campaign supports the electors being briefed. In a statement, he said, “The bipartisan electors’ letter raises very grave issues involving our national security. Electors have a solemn responsibility under the Constitution and we support their efforts to have their questions addressed. Each day that month, our campaign decried the interference of Russia in our campaign and its evident goal of hurting our campaign to aid Donald Trump. Despite our protestations, this matter did not receive the attention it deserved by the media in the campaign. We now know that the CIA has determined Russia’s interference in our elections was for the purpose of electing Donald Trump. This should distress every American.”

This post will be updated as we learn more.

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News Source: The Washington Post, Politico

Hillary’s Plan: Supreme Court Justices

Clinton Will Appoint Supreme Court Justices Who Affirm Our Rights, While Trump’s Justices Will Roll Rights Back

The fourth topic for tonight’s debate is the Supreme Court. America’s next president could nominate multiple Supreme Court justices and the stakes could not be higher. Appointments made in the next four years could determine the makeup of the Court for decades to come. Hillary Clinton will appoint justices who will affirm the dignity and equality of all Americans. In contrast, Donald Trump will appoint justices who will roll back hard-fought rights.

*Considering Trump has been involved in more than 4,000 lawsuits, he should know this is not how the justice system works.

Hillary Clinton will appoint justices to the Supreme Court who will protect the constitutional principles of liberty and equality for all, and make sure Roe v. Wade remains the law of the land and women retain the right to make their own deeply personal healthcare decisions. Hillary will make sure the scales of justice aren’t tipped away from individuals toward corporations and special interests. And she will protect citizens’ right to vote, rather than billionaires’ right to buy elections.

Donald Trump has demonstrated his desire to appoint justices who would roll back rights Americans have fought for over decades. As president, Trump will:

• Appoint justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade.
• Appoint justices who would overturn the Supreme Court’s decision on marriage equality.
• Appoint justices who would weaken the Affordable Care Act.
• Consider justices with a history of supporting restrictive voter ID laws.
• Consider the heritage of an American citizen when evaluating fitness to serve as a federal judge.
• Pursue policies that ignore cornerstone constitutional principles, including imposing a religious test on immigrants; profiling U.S. Muslims; registering all Muslims in a “database”; punishing women for having an abortion; nationalizing New York City’s old stop-and-frisk policy; shutting down religious institutions; “open up those libel laws”; and retroactively repealing birthright citizenship.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

Hillary Clinton Statement on End Citizens United PAC Endorsement

On Wednesday, Hillary Clinton received the endorsement of the End Citizens United PAC. In a release the group praised Clinton’s proposed plans for changing the current election cycle and her pledge to propose a constitutional amendment overturning the Supreme Court’s ruling. Clinton released a statement echoing the group’s commitment to overturning Citizens United and ensuring that all voters have a say in our democracy. A copy of Clinton’s statement is below.

“I am honored to have earned the endorsement of the End Citizens United PAC, an organization working tirelessly to fix our broken campaign finance system and restore control of our elections to the American people.

I have said from the beginning of my campaign that we need to be protecting people’s right to vote, not corporations’ right to buy elections. That means restoring the full power and protections of the Voting Rights Act and fighting back against Republican efforts to make it harder for women, young people, and people of color to vote by imposing onerous voting restrictions.

And it means overturning the disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision and putting our democracy back in the hands of the voters. In my first 30 days as President, I will propose a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. I will appoint Supreme Court justices who understand that this decision deeply hurt our democracy, and I will fight for other progressive reforms to our campaign finance system, including more robust disclosure requirements, and measures that will make it easier for people who aren’t rich or well-connected to run for office, like small-donor matching.

But we can’t stop there. We should make it easier for people to vote–including through automatic voter registration and a minimum of 20 days of early, in-person voting. Together, we can restore people’s voices and people’s votes to their rightful place–at the center of American democracy.”

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News Source: End Citizens United

Hillary Clinton Calls for Constitutional Amendment to End Citizens United

On Saturday, Hillary Clinton addressed the Netroots Nation conference by video. During her brief comments, she spoke about her proposed criminal justice reforms and bring a national standard to police forces. Clinton also announced a new proposal: overturning the Citizens United ruling. She pledged to introduce a constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United movement in the first 30 days of her presidency. A video of Clinton’s statement is below.

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News Source: The Wall Street Journal, Politico

Hillary Clinton Campaigns in Wisconsin

On Monday, Hillary Clinton returned to the campaign trail following a brief break for Easter. She began a two day trip to Wisconsin before their April 5 primary. In Madison, Clinton spoke to supporters at the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus where she focused her speech on the Supreme Court. She urged the Senate to stop playing politics and hold confirmation hearings for President Barack Obama’s choice of Merrick Garland for the court. She criticized Republican Senators for bragging about blocking the nomination and she urged voters to contact Sen. Ron Johnson and urge him to follow the Constitution. Clinton spoke about the importance of the Supreme Court and how the 2016 election could change the court for decades to come and affect such issues as immigration reform, abortion rights, climate change, voting rights, and campaign finance. A video of her speech is below.

Clinton then spoke at an Organizing Event held at Mary Ryan Boys and Girls Club in Milwaukee. During the event, she spoke about a number of her platform points including health care. But the topic she focused on was higher education. She said her plan to make college more affordable would include an increase in grants and the expansion of the work study program. Students receiving federal aid would be required to work on campus ten hours a week. She criticized the plan of Democratic rival Bernie Sanders saying, “Here’s the problem [with Sander’s plan], I don’t believe we should be asking you to pay taxes to send Donald Trump’s kids to college for free. I think if you’re wealthy you should pay for college yourself, and we should focus on middle class and poor families.”

Before her events in Wisconsin, Clinton attended a fundraiser in Chicago, Illinois. The event was held at the home of JoAnne Cicchelli and Bill Singer and hosted by Jane and Bob Clark, Raj Fernando, Linda and Jeff Hammes, and David Rosen. Meanwhile in New York City, a fundraiser was hosted featuring Chef Marianna Morrison and Campaign Chair John Podesta. The event was hosted by Ambassador Gabriel Guerra-Mondragón.

For all the latest, follow our revamped Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: WDJT, Newsweek, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Hillary Clinton Campaigns in South Carolina

On Wednesday, Hillary Clinton attended events across South Carolina leading up to Saturday’s primary. Clinton spoke at a Columbia luncheon for the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the nation’s first African-American sorority. She spoke to the group of women about the disparity between white people and people of color, and how it especially affects women. She said, “Something is wrong when black women are more than three times more likely to die in this country in this century from complications due to childbirth. Imagine if a white baby here in South Carolina were twice as likely to die as an African-American baby. Imagine the outcry and the resources that would flood in.” Clinton spoke about the continued fight for equal rights and the systemic racism that continues in parts of the country. A video from the event will be posted when/if available.

Tonight, Clinton attended a town hall on the campus of Morris College in Sumter, South Carolina. During the event, Clinton spoke about race, poverty, and inequality. She also spoke out against the effort in a number of southern state to make it more difficult to vote. The measures being introduced disproportionately affect people of color, and she urged those in attendance to follow the lead of Representative John Lewis and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and fight against it. She also blasted Senate Republicans for vowing to not confirm a Supreme Court nominee put forward by President Barack Obama. She said, “To say don’t even send us a nominee is at variance to the Constitution and deeply disrespectful to the office of the president of the United States.” A video from the event will be added when/if available.

Clinton also attended a fundraiser at the Charleston home of Lisa and Joe Rice. Tomorrow, Clinton will remain in South Carolina where is scheduled to attend four events. For all the latest, follow our revamped Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: The Washington Post, Charleston Post and Courier,  The Sumter Item

Hillary Clinton’s Statement on the Passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

Following the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Saturday, Senate Republicans have announced that they will try to postpone replacing him on the high court until after the 2016 election. President Barack Obama and others have criticized this highly political move. Today, Hillary Clinton released the following statement which offers her condolences to the friends and family of Justice Scalia, but also criticizes Republicans for attempting to block President Obama’s Constitutional duty to appoint a replacement:

My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Justice Scalia as they mourn his sudden passing. I did not hold Justice Scalia’s views, but he was a dedicated public servant who brought energy and passion to the bench.

The Republicans in the Senate and on the campaign trail who are calling for Justice Scalia’s seat to remain vacant dishonor our Constitution.  The Senate has a constitutional responsibility here that it cannot abdicate for partisan political reasons.

For all the latest, follow our revamped Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: The Briefing

Clinton Campaigns in Nevada and Colorado

On Saturday, Hillary Clinton made a number of stops in Las Vegas where she met with voters and local business owners. Then, she held a rally in Henderson, where she spoke with union members at the Painter’s Hall. She vowed to protect unions from Republicans, and she promised to bring more jobs to Nevada. She urged them to get out and vote for her during the state’s caucuses, which will be held on February 20th. Clinton urged her supporters to spread the word in the state saying, “I want you to explain that we’re going to have new jobs in infrastructure and manufacturing and clean, renewable energy. We’re going to put people to work across America again, and we’re going to see incomes going up just like we did in the 90s.” A video of Clinton’s speech is below.

Saturday evening, Clinton and Democratic rival Bernie Sanders spoke at the Colorado Democratic Party’s annual dinner in Denver. Clinton spoke about her presidential platform, but took time to criticize Senate Republicans for vowing to block any Supreme Court nominee presented by President Barack Obama. Following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia on Saturday, Republicans have vowed to block any nominees until the next president takes office. The longest Supreme Court nomination process lasted 100 days and there are 340 days until January 21, 2017. Clinton said that such action would violate the Constitutional duty of the Senate. Clinton said, “I know that our thoughts and prayers are with the Scalia family tonight and I am also thinking and praying for the future of our country. It is outrageous that Republicans in the Senate and on the campaign trail have already pledged to block any replacement that President Obama nominates.” A video of her speech is below.

Tomorrow, the Clintons are taking a break from the campaign trail for Valentine’s Day. For all the latest, follow our revamped Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: The New York Times, Las Vegas Review-Journal, KLAS