List of All Articles with Tag 'person'

The former number two official in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has offered a dire prediction about America’s future should Donald Trump or another like-minded Republican succeed in winning next year’s presidential election, according to a new book by a former Trump administration homeland security aide. In Blowback, author Miles Taylor recounts an October 2020 conversation he had with Sue Gordon, a 25-year US intelligence community veteran who served as the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence from 2017 to 2019, shortly after news broke that the FBI had disrupted a plot by Michigan-based right-wing extremists to kidnap Wolverine State governor Gretchen Whitmer. According to a copy of the book obtained by The Independent ahead of its Tuesday release, Taylor recalls how the news of the kidnapping plot prompted him to telephone Ms Gordon, who he says spent “decades” at the CIA monitoring foreign governments for signs of instability, and ask the former deputy DNI how America’s “democratic stability” would be impacted by a second term in the White House for Mr Trump or a “Maga successor”. Taylor said Ms Gordon’s reply came “in the language of a seasoned intelligence analyst” who speaks “based on data from sources in the field and the uncertainty level of information they don’t have”. He added that she told him how she would “assess with ‘low confidence’ that the United States reaches its three hundredth birthday” — the projected 2076 tricentennial anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence from Great Britain — in “any recognisable form”. “People don’t trust government institutions anymore or each other, and when the world gets tumultuous, they’re more open to authoritarianism,” she said. Continuing, Taylor writes that Ms Gordon told him her reason for pessimism about the long-term viability of the US as a functioning democracy stems from the follow-on effects of four more years of Donald Trump — or someone acting with the same malevolence towards governmental institutions — atop the US executive branch. He said she told him that she does not believe a “Next Trump” would successfully smash through “every democratic guardrail,” but would “stoke unprecedented division and set off a slow turn towards despotism” in the US by “attempting” to further erode democratic norms and bring nominally independent institutions under his or her thumb. “That process can take decades to unfold. If history is any guide, though, it might come suddenly to a head, with the literal pull of a trigger — and the odds of that happening in the not-too-distant future are historically high,” he wrote. Taylor, who was chief of staff at the Trump-era Department of Homeland Security for the first three years of Mr Trump’s administration but is better known as the formerly anonymous author of a New York Times op-ed about “resistance” to the then-president inside his own government, told The Independent in a phone interview that he fears a repeat of the January 6 attack on the Capitol — but worse — should Mr Trump lose next year’s presidential election. Echoing Ms Gordon’s prediction of a long-term breakdown of the American democratic system, Taylor said the possibility of “low-level civil conflict” touched off by Mr Trump or another Republican is “higher now than it even was in that post election period in 2020”. “The muscle memory for those extremist movements has now been solidified. The networks are closer. And ... since that time, many more people, otherwise kind of normal people in small town America, have really taken the stolen election lies, QAnon, and great replacement theory as gospel, and the polling shows that a majority of your everyday Republicans believe those lies,” he said. “Add to that the fact that the country is more armed now than at any point in its history ... it is a powder keg.” Taylor added that his fears of violence go beyond a repeat of what happened in Washington nearly three years ago, pointing to the aborted plot against Ms Whitmer, the Michigan governor, as an example of what could be in store for the future. He told The Independent that he feels “the conditions are very ripe” in the US for “that sort of low-level conflict” in many parts of the country. “This is not just a Washington, DC thing — I really think we could see something a good deal worse, and part of that could also happen if a Trump or a savvier successor is reelected. And that misuse of the justice system could foment that even more,” he said. Read More Man arrested near Obama home threatened other prominent lawmakers, officials say Three men jailed for at least seven years over plot to kidnap Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer DoJ dragged feet over including Trump in Jan 6 probe over fears of appearing biased, report says Oath Keepers leader issues warning to Trump amid ex-president’s legal woes White House blasts Marjorie Taylor Greene’s criticism of efforts to aid US families GOP presidential hopeful lists conservative pool of Supreme Court picks Trump finally reveals how he thinks he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine in a day

By Tom Hals WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) -Tesla Inc's directors agreed to settle a shareholder lawsuit challenging their compensation by returning

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON The White House on Monday urged Republicans who control the House of Representatives to

A woman has credited Kim Kardashian’s shapewear line Skims for saving her life during a shooting. The 42-year-old Skims founder took to her Instagram Story on Friday 14 July to share a TikTok from Angelina Wiley, a 22-year-old Kansas City resident who survived a mass shooting in Kansas City, Missouri, earlier this year. The TikTok, which was posted on 18 May, went viral this week with more than 1.4m views as fellow TikTokers tagged Kardashian in the hopes that she would see the video. “Kim Kardashian saved my life,” Wiley began the clip. She explained that she was shot “four times” during an incident that occurred on New Year’s Day, according to CBS affiliate KCTV5. “The night that I got shot, under my dress I was wearing a Skims shaping bodysuit,” she said. “It was so tight on me that it literally kept me from bleeding out.” “I recommend it,” Wiley jokingly added. “I’m definitely going to buy some more, I mean I should wear it everyday. It’s like body armour for women.” As she threw her hand up in the air, she said: “Call it fate, or Jesus, but I’mma call it Kim.” In the comments, many people applauded Wiley for telling her story and praised Kardashian’s shapewear line for allegedly saving her life. “If this doesn’t land you a @Skims sponsorship I don’t know what will,” one user wrote. “Now THIS is good advertising,” another said. “Now I’m gonna go buy some Skims.” @honeygxd no but fr, thanks kim ???? #fyp #foryou #gunviolence #kimkardashian #kim #skims #skimsbodysuit #gunviolenceawareness ♬ dream - ? In her Instagram Story, the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star wrote underneath the re-posted video: “Wowwww” Wiley revealed in a follow-up video that she was wearing the Skims Sculpt Thong Bodysuit ($68) when she was shot four times. In addition to the gunshot wounds, the incident also left her with a ruptured bladder, a cracked pelvis, and a bullet still lodged in her abdomen. The 22-year-old revealed in a series of videos posted last March that she was waiting for a Lyft around 1.30am when she decided to grab a bite from a nearby food truck. As she crossed the street with her friend, Wiley heard “people fighting” before a man “in a ski mask” began shooting. She has since started a GoFundMe page to raise money towards her medical bills. In an update shared on 8 July, after her video went viral, Wiley said she is in physical therapy but she continues to struggle with her hip and “severe PTSD” ever since the shooting. The Independent has contacted Angelina Wiley for comment. Kim Kardashian founded the shapewear brand Skims in September 2019. Since then, it has become one of the fastest-growing companies and launched Kardashian into billionaire status. This month, Skims was reportedly valued at close to $4bn, according to Women’s Wear Daily. Read More Fans amused at Kim Kardashian discovering ‘new snack obsession’: hummus and veggies Kim Kardashian responds to Kourtney’s claims she copied her wedding: ‘You stole my wedding country’ Kourtney Kardashian says she finds speaking to Kim Kardashian ‘intolerable’ amid ongoing feud Schoolboy almost dies from swallowing magnets for TikTok challenge Woman shares honest review of New York City apartment TikTok mom slammed after making 5-year-old son run in 104 degree heat

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By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW In the run-up to Monday's attack on Russia's road and rail bridge to Crimea,