Russia, China Test Resolve of Biden Team Interest to New President Faces Crackdown Put Trump on Protesters, on Trial Taiwan Incursion Democrats Eye by DAVID R
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★★ PRICES MAY VARY OUTSIDE METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON AREA HIGH 39, LOW 33 MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2021 washingtontimes.com $1.50 SENATE FOREIGN POLICY GOP lacks Russia, China test resolve of Biden team interest to New president faces crackdown put Trump on protesters, on trial Taiwan incursion Democrats eye BY DAVID R. SANDS AND BILL GERTZ 14th Amendment THE WASHINGTON TIMES America’s main international rivals have wasted no time in testing the resolve BY DAVID SHERFINSKI AND STEPHEN DINAN of the Biden administration to defend THE WASHINGTON TIMES U.S. allies and values. Over the weekend, just days after Republicans are presenting a largely President Biden took offi ce, China staged unifi ed front as the Senate prepares to a major escalation of its military pressure kick off a second impeachment trial of campaign against Taiwan. In Russia, the former President Donald Trump, with Kremlin issued a sharp rebuke for what it a growing number saying they don’t said was U.S. interference in its domestic believe the Constitution envisioned pur- political crisis sparked by protests over suing conviction of someone already the detention of a top opposition fi gure. out of offi ce. Many of Mr. Biden’s top national On Monday, after nearly two weeks security and diplomatic appointees of delay, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, are still awaiting confi rmation, and the California Democrat, will transmit the Democratic administration has signaled article of impeachment that offi cially ac- hopes to focus early on problems closer cuses Mr. Trump of inciting insurrection to home, including COVID-19 and the with his speech to supporters ahead of ailing U.S. economy. the Jan. 6 attack on Congress. ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS “We know that China tests Ameri- Under a deal struck late Friday, the can administrations early on,” regional Senate will receive the article and swear FROM expert Gordon Chang told Fox News on in members as jurors on Tuesday, but will ABROAD: Sunday, citing the 2001 incident early in delay arguments in an impeachment trial Th e Biden the George W. Bush administration in- until the week of Feb. 8, giving Mr. Trump administration’s volving the midair collision of a Chinese time to prepare his defense. foreign policy jet and a Navy surveillance aircraft. Republicans urged Mr. Trump to was tested In Moscow, President Vladimir Pu- focus on the constitutional arguments this weekend tin’s main spokesman reacted sharply to over whether a former president can be with a Russian Western criticism of the government’s impeached because the chief punish- crackdown handling of demonstrations in Moscow ment is removal from offi ce. A secondary on protests and more than 100 other cities across punishment is banishment from seeking of opposition Russia in support of opposition leader offi ce again. Many senators say that is leader Alexei Alexei Navalny. tied to the removal, which is impossible Navalny’s jailing A fi erce critic of Mr. Putin, Mr. Na- for someone already out of offi ce. and an intrusion valny was detained by offi cials upon “A trial after the president has left of- of 15 Chinese his return to Moscow last week from fi ce is beyond the Senate’s constitutional warplanes into authority,” Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Taiwan’s air zone. » see TESTS | A6 Republican, told Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures” program. “The more I talk to Republican senators, the more they’re ELECTIONS beginning to line up behind the position I announced a couple weeks ago.” He said the prospect of a trial of someone out of offi ce for nearly three Voters lose trust in accuracy of ballot systems weeks won’t sit well with Americans dealing with a pandemic and with a new BY SETH MCLAUGHLIN Reformists clash on types of solutions was denied the Georgia governorship administration in place. THE WASHINGTON TIMES because of shenanigans with voting rolls. Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republi- Ms. Abrams never conceded, and can, called the attempt to ban Mr. Trump Matt Luceen didn’t vote for President charade.” been explosively vocal about their distrust Democrats, who took control of the House from offi ce “arrogant.” He told “Fox News Trump in November, but he came to “We don’t ever really put the paper into of the election system, but discontent in 2018, made her cause a rallying cry to Sunday” that voters should decide. Washington last week to protest President piles and count them by hand anymore,” runs through a swath of voters across the repair the election system. Other Republicans have said they Biden’s inauguration, saying the election the 34-year-old computer programmer political spectrum. Last year, it was Mr. Trump arguing can’t imagine 17 Republicans who would was fl awed. said. “We just trust the machines, and we In 2016, Democrats were complaining early and often that mail-in voting was join all 50 members of the Democratic Mr. Luceen, a supporter of Sen. Ber- shouldn’t because we have documented that the election was tainted by Rus- fraud, suggesting that votes were being nard Sanders, said he toted signs that read proof that these machines are vulnerable.” sian interference. Two years later, the » see IMPEACH | A6 “Count our votes by hand” and “End the Mr. Trump and his supporters have party complained that Stacey Abrams » see VOTERS | A5 SECURITY SOCIAL MEDIA Violent protesters at Capitol left Parler’s freedom trails on videos, social media from censorship BY ROWAN SCARBOROUGH would allow us to hunt at night Washington. The FBI received a comes at cost THE WASHINGTON TIMES if we wanted to,” commander call on Nov. 12 from an alarmed Thomas E. Caldwell, 65, of Vir- tipster who quoted a Calhoun so- A group of right-wing militia ginia, said via Facebook on the cial media post as saying, “We are of users’ privacy members arrived in Washington eve of President Trump’s Jan. going to kill every last communist bent on breaching the U.S. Capitol 6 “Stop the Steal” rally at the who stands in Trump’s way.” BY RYAN LOVELACE ASSOCIATED PRESS and booked a room for two in a Capitol. On Jan. 2, John Earl Sullivan THE WASHINGTON TIMES motel in Arlington, Virginia, for Meanwhile, lawyer McCall (known on social media as Jayden PUSHING THROUGH: Rioters at the Capitol on at least six fellow Oath Keepers. Calhoun Jr. was on the road head- Jan. 6 had been planning their incursion, and they Few people heard of the social media platform “This is a good location and ing from Americus, Georgia, to » see CAPITOL | A7 weren’t about to let police barriers stop them. Parler before Big Tech’s political censorship made it a refuge for conservative voices in the 2020 elec- tion season. Elevated to center stage in the internet’s censor- INTERNET ship wars, Parler is now fi ghting for survival. Big Tech and other critics condemn it as a safe space for insurrectionists, though Parler’s supporters herald PragerU fi ghts Big Tech’s ‘cancel culture and the mob’ it as the last vestige of free speech on the internet. Parler resembles the rival Twitter, hosting mi- BY JAMES VARNEY with Big Tech. chief marketing offi cer at the California croblogging posts, aka Parleys. THE WASHINGTON TIMES But the conserva- company. “On Parler, we got 2,500,000 fol- The company’s use of a less-restrictive censor- tive online educational lowers in a week or two.” ship regime attracted new scrutiny after the Jan. 6 An occasional interview series with Ameri- video company’s top The divide between the trickle on Twitter riot at the Capitol. Google and Apple removed Parler cans who are challenging the status quo. executives can make a and the rush on Parler would appear to but- from their app stores, and Amazon Web Services PragerU, for all the brainpower that has highly educated guess. tress Mr. Strazzeri’s belief that social media took Parler offl ine. gone into making hundreds of online videos, “We have about 500,000 followers on companies have suppressed PragerU content. Critics also accuse Parler of data mining: has no formula to pinpoint how big its audi- Twitter, and we have been on Twitter for Strazzeri ence would be without the constant fi ght more than 10 years,” said Craig Strazzeri, » see ONLINE | A6 » see PARLER | A7 POLITICS NATION WORLD METRO VOLUME 39, NUMBER 17 Biden on track for goal More states seeking Argentina’s abortion Virginia’s legislative of 100 million vaccines to allow people to carry law goes into eff ect maps unlikely to see in 100 days. A4 concealed fi rearms. A8 under scrutiny. A9 any major changes. A12 7702803 87040 INDEX Commentary B1 | Comics B6 | Dear Abby A11 | Editorials B2 | Horoscope A11 | Inside the Beltway A2 | Metro A12 | Nation A8 | Politics A4 | Sports B8 | Television A11 | World A9 A2 | POLITICS ☆ ☆ R MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2021 THE MEDIA REMAINS ADDICTED TO TRUMP challenging. INSIDE THE “While he is powering down, in some ways, he has to power up, He is a hard habit to break. in other ways, and focus his attention. Other presidents could take The news media and partisan critics are still obsessed with for- BELTWAY years to write their books, but he has impeachment right before mer President Donald Trump, his time in offi ce, and the prospects him — and a full legal plate,” presidential historian Martha Kumar for his post-White House future. Consider that during the most re- BY JENNIFER HARPER told Mr. Crilly. cent White House press conference on Friday, 15 out of the fi rst 23 questions posed by a suddenly polite press corps to press secretary ABE LINCOLN’S PROACTIVE APPROACH Jen Psaki were about Mr.