On Wednesday, The Atlantic reported that President Donald Trump’s former Defense Secretary James Mattis has written a furious condemnation of the president, saying he is incapable of “mature leadership” and accusing him of deliberately trying to turn Americans against one another.

“I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled,” wrote Mattis, according to the article. “The words ‘Equal Justice Under Law’ are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand — one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values — our values as people and our values as a nation … We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution.”

“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us,” Mattis continued. “We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.”

“Instructions given by the military departments to our troops before the Normandy invasion reminded soldiers that ‘The Nazi slogan for destroying us … was “Divide and Conquer,”’” Mattis added. “‘”Our American answer is “In Union there is Strength.”’ We must summon that unity to surmount this crisis—confident that we are better than our politics.”

Protests were being held outside the White House, in New York and many major cities. Meanwhile, the EU said the killing of George Floyd was an “abuse of power.” Read about how the protests unfolded here.

Thousands of demonstrators defied curfews to protest the death of George Floyd, marking the eighth night of demonstrations and clashes with police. In Seattle, protesters used umbrellas to shield themselves from tear gas and pepper spray fired by police, while hundreds were arrested for breaking curfew and marching across the Manhattan Bridge in New York City.

In Washington, DC, people chanted slogans against US President Donald Trump outside the White House for more than an hour, even after the city imposed curfew at 6 p.m. local time (22:00 UTC). In Atlanta, the National Guard sought to disperse crowds as soon as the 9 p.m. curfew went into effect, and local media reported troops using tear gas to clear the streets.

Meanwhile, news and debate over the protests has continued to make waves across social media platforms. Several employees of Facebook resigned this week after CEO Mark Zuckerberg reaffirmed his support not to flag posts made by US President Donald Trump, following the flagging of a post made by Trump on Twitter.

08:48 Pope Francis condemned violence and racism in the US on Wednesday morning, saying that no one can “turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion.”

Francis also referred to violence as “self-destructive and self-defeating.”

Francis, who dedicated the entire English-language section of his weekly audience to the protests in the US, called the death of George Floyd “tragic,” and asked God for national reconciliation and peace. Francis said he was praying for Floyd and all those who had been killed as a result of the “sin of racism.”

07:45 Seattle protesters have been using umbrellas to shield themselves from tear gas and pepper spray since Tuesday, evoking reminders of last year’s protests in Hong Kong.

Hundreds gathered in Seattle’s capitol hill neighborhood on Tuesday night, with dozens standing and chanting in front of a police barrier, with umbrellas in their hands. The scene was reminiscent of the pro-democracy Hong Kong protests, which saw millions take to the streets, many with umbrellas.

Seattle is under a nightly curfew which begins at 10 p.m. local time (05:00 UTC).

06:38 New York police have arrested about 200 protesters between 8 p.m. (midnight UTC) and 1 a.m. local time, a law enforcement official told CNN, adding that that figure is expected to increase.

In New York City, thousands of chanting protesters ignored an 8 p.m. curfew to march from the Barclays Center toward the Brooklyn Bridge. The crowd then stopped at an entrance to the Manhattan Bridge roadway, chanting at riot police: “Walk with us! Walk with us.”

New York City has been one of the focal points of the anti-police brutality protests that have spread across the US, and has seen violent demonstrations resulting in looting and clashes with police.

YEREVAN. – Following all this, realizing the scale, I come to the conclusion that there is no power structure or administrative system in the world that can solve an issue of this scale, but from that. Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Wednesday stated this in another Facebook livestream, referring to the problem of crowding of people in the country under the current scale of the spread of the coronavirus.

“What I saw with your help is just a catastrophe; I have no other word. (…) There is no power structure in the world that can deal with an issue of this scale and solve it. For that, our police should be 4-5 times bigger; and it is a question whether or not it is enough. (…). There can be no such power structure. Even if everyone works like clockwork, they can’t regulate this problem,” Pashinyan said.

“The issue is not in the person in charge. I’m the person in charge, but does that change anything? Is it easier for that dying person as to who is accountable before his relatives?” the Prime Minister added.

In an exclusive interview, Esper also said he had “no idea” about the plan to use force to disperse protesters ahead of Trump’s staged visit to St. John’s Episcopal Church.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper says he was given no notice before President Donald Trump led him and other senior administration officials to St. John’s Episcopal Church for a widely criticized photo opportunity.

“I thought I was going to do two things: to see some damage and to talk to the troops,” Esper said Tuesday night in an exclusive interview with NBC News.

Esper said he believed they were going to observe the vandalized bathroom in Lafayette Square.

“I didn’t know where I was going,” Esper said. “I wanted to see how much damage actually happened.”

Esper gave the interview a few hours after NBC News reported that he and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were caught by surprise when Trump led them to the church for a staged visit.

Esper and Milley were among a group of White House officials and aides who followed Trump as he walked from the White House to the historic church after officers in riot gear cleared the area of peaceful protesters.

“Their understanding is they were going into Lafayette Park to review the efforts of the troops,” a defense official said.

Milley and Esper were on their way to the FBI’s Washington field office to monitor protests with Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray when they were diverted to the White House to update the president. After the briefing, Trump delivered an address in the Rose Garden in which he threatened to deploy the military to quell the unrest over the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Trump ended the speech by saying he was going to pay his respects “to a very, very special place,” but he did not elaborate.

The official said Trump, who held up a Bible for a photo op outside the church, did not walk out of the White House with it, so they had no warning. Esper and Milley were also not aware that the officers used tear gas to force the protesters out of the area, the official said.

“They were not aware that Park Police and law enforcement made the decision to clear the square,” the official said.

In the interview Tuesday night, Esper said he had “no idea” about the plans to disperse the crowd. He added that he was eager to speak to members of the National Guard to thank them for their service.

“I am very proud of the National Guard,” Esper said

In late May 2020, the Azerbaijani media reported that Emin Mammadyarov, the eldest son of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, purchased two apartments in New York in 2015. The Armenian Center for American Studies has revealed some important details about the deals.

Accordingly, Mammadyarov’s apartments are located at the luxurious Manhattan buildings named after Trump and served by his company at the address: 250 Riverside Boulevard, Manhattan, NY.

As a presidential candidate, Trump still had business projects in Azerbaijan and the country’s authorities were trying to establish close ties with him and his family.

The center recalls that Trump Tower was being built in Baku, and Ivanka Trump came to oversee its construction. It is noteworthy that the Azerbaijani foreign minister did not gain much from the deal, as Trump shut down his business in Azerbaijan immediately after assuming the presidency.

“Later in 2019, 74% of Trump Place residents voted to have Trump’s name removed from the building (it is interesting how Mammadyarov voted). Although the service is still run by Trump’s organization, the decision could have cost the building’s residents up to $1 million, which must be paid to Trump (Mammadyarov will also pay).

“Thus, Mammadyarov’s son has purchased two apartment units (PH2K and PH3K) in the penthouse, which are located side by side. One apartment cost $2.05 million, while the other –$2.2 million.

“The transaction was made either in cash or by transfer, as no mortgage was issued in Emin’s name. Another interesting fact is that Mammadyarov’s son is registered at the apartment located at 250 East Houston Street #6D, Manhattan, NY, which probably belongs to him, too. The apartment costs $989,894,” the center said.

The Armenian Center for American Studies also shared the photo of the document containing the details of the transaction, the photo of the building taken in 2018, as well as the images of the purchased apartment. 

Source: https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2020/06/02/apartment-Mammadyarov-son/2302193

The widely criticized photo-op was the president’s idea because he “wanted the visual,” sources told NBC News.

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers and religious leaders — including the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington — voiced outrage after police used tear gas against peaceful protesters outside the White House before President Donald Trump‘s photo-op at nearby St. John’s Episcopal Church on Monday evening.

The Rev. Mariann Budde, bishop of the Washington diocese, said Tuesday that Trump held up the Bible in front of St. John’s “as if it were a prop or an extension of his military and authoritarian position.”

Budde, in an interview with Craig Melvin on NBC’s “TODAY” show, said that what Trump did in front of the church she oversees “was an abuse of the spiritual tools and symbols of our traditions and of our sacred space.”

“He didn’t come to church to pray, he didn’t come to church to offer condolences to those who are grieving,” she said. “He didn’t come to commit to healing our nation, all the things that we would expect and long for from the highest leader in the land.”

Budde said Trump didn’t inform the diocese about his visit to the church. Asked if he is a frequent worshipper at the church, Budde responded: “No, never. The only time that President Trump has been at St. John’s church as president was on the morning of his inauguration.”

The Rev. James Martin, a prominent Jesuit priest and author, said in a statement, “Using the Bible as a prop while talking about sending in the military, bragging about how your country is the greatest in the world, and publicly mocking people on a daily basis, is pretty much the opposite of all Jesus stood for.”

He added: “Let me be clear. This is revolting. The Bible is not a prop. A church is not a photo op. Religion is not a political tool. And God is not a plaything.”

Rabbi Jack Moline, president of Interfaith Alliance, said in a statement Monday, “Seeing President Trump stand in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church while holding a Bible in response to calls for racial justice — right after using military force to clear peaceful protesters out of the area — is one of the most flagrant misuses of religion I have ever seen. This only underscores the president’s complete lack of compassion for Black Americans and the lethal consequences of racism.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a joint statement that Trump is “ripping” the country apart when Americans are crying out for unity over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week in police custody.