Tag: Rand Paul

In Senate Showdown, Dr. Fauci Rebuts Rand Paul On Reopening

Dr. Anthony Fauci turned the tables on Senator Rand Paul Tuesday, after the Kentucky Republican suggested the immunologist and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) should be more humble and even point-blank told him he was not the “end all” when it comes to knowing about the coronavirus.

Senator Paul, who recovered after contracting COVID-19, was pushing for schools to re-open, suggesting the coronavirus doesn’t kill many children.

“Shouldn’t we at least be discussing what the mortality of children is?” Paul asked Fauci, saying for those 18 and younger it “approaches zero.” Continue reading.

Six days: Tracking Sen. Rand Paul from coronavirus testing to positive diagnosis

Washington Post logoAware of his extensive travel and compromised health, Sen. Rand Paul quietly got himself tested for the novel coronavirus on March 16.

But for the six days that his results were pending, the Kentucky Republican took no steps to self-quarantine — continuing to cast votes on the Senate floor, delivering a speech lambasting a coronavirus aid bill, and meeting with other GOP senators in strategy sessions that defied federal advisories warning against gatherings of more than 10 people.

Paul even squeezed in a round of golf at a private club on an unseasonably warm spring day in Northern Virginia late last week and worked out Sunday in the senators-only gym at the Capitol Hill complex just hours before he was informed that he had indeed tested positive for covid-19, the disease the virus causes.

Senators blast Rand Paul’s ‘irresponsible behavior while awaiting coronavirus results

Sen. Rand Paul, who confirmed Sunday that he had tested positive for coronavirus, spent a week interacting with other lawmakers and aides and using Capitol Hill facilities while awaiting his results, fellow lawmakers griped Monday.

“It’s disappointing that he went to the gym after he knew he didn’t get the results back. That’s very disappointing,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) told reporters of Paul’s actions on Capitol Hill Monday morning.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) suggested that Paul’s prior occupation as a doctor should have made him act more mindfully. Continue reading.

Rand Paul becomes first senator to test positive for coronavirus

The Hill logoSen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has tested positive for the coronavirus, a spokesman said on Sunday, becoming the first senator known to contract the disease.

“Senator Rand Paul has tested positive for COVID-19. He is feeling fine and is in quarantine. He is asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events,” Sergio Gor, Paul’s spokesman, said.

Gor added that Paul “was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person.” Continue reading.

Graham, Paul rift deepens over Trump’s war powers

The Hill logoA high-profile debate over President Trump’s war powers is fueling a feud among Senate Republicans.

The fallout from a closed-door briefing on the U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani has put a spotlight on the divisions among two of President Trump’s biggest congressional allies: Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

“If I had an eye problem, I would go to him. If I had a constitutional question, he would be the last guy I would pick,” Graham said on Thursday when asked about Paul, who is an ophthalmologist. Continue reading.

CNN interview with Rand Paul goes off the rails after lawmaker cornered over Trump administration corruption

AlterNet logoA “State of the Union” interview with Sen Rand Paul (R-KY) on Sunday morning turned into a struggle for CNN host Jake Tapper to get the combative senator to answer a simple question over whether Donald Trump truly cares about corruption since multiple aides to the president have been convicted of felonies while working for him.

Tapper pressed Paul about the president looking for dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter in a phone call with Ukraine’s president, asking, “So you’re saying that you think that President Trump was actually doing this because he was combatting corruption?”

As Paul tried to restate the case against Hunter Biden, the CNN host interrupted him to bring up the Trump aides who have been either convicted or are facing criminal charges for corruption.

Continue reading

Democratic Rep. Jim Himes calls out Chuck Todd seconds after he lets Rand Paul lie: ‘My head is only now decombusting’

AlterNet logoRep. Jim Himes (D-CT) called out NBC host Chuck Todd on Sunday for allowing Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to spin President Donald Trump’s extortion of Ukraine.

During a Sunday interview on Meet the Press, Paul deflected questions about Trump’s attempt to have Ukraine fabricate dirt on Joe Biden in exchange for military aid by turning the conversation to Hillary Clinton.

At one point, Todd wondered “two wrongs make a right,” suggesting that both Joe Biden and Trump had made errors in judgement when it comes to Ukraine.

View the complete November 10 article by David Edwards from Raw Story on the AlterNet website here.

Rand Paul’s claim that Trump has a constitutional right to confront whistleblowers

Washington Post logo“The Sixth Amendment is pretty clear. It’s part of the Constitution, part of the Bill of Rights, and it says that you get to confront your accusers. And so, I think it’s very clear that the only constitutional mandate here is, is that if someone’s going to accuse you of something that might remove the president from office, for goodness’ sake, shouldn’t they come forward and present their accusations in person?”

— Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), in a Fox Business Network interview, Nov. 5, 2019

“The Sixth Amendment guarantees an individual the right to face their accuser. Yet the House of Representatives has been conducting a secret impeachment inquiry based on secret claims made by a secret whistleblower. My bill would make clear that the Sixth Amendment is not superseded by statutes and that the president should be afforded the same rights that we all should: to understand the nature of the allegations brought against them and to face their accuser. This is in the Sixth Amendment. So for all the caterwauling about whistleblower statutes, there is a high law of the land. It is the Constitution, it is the Bill of Rights, and the Sixth Amendment says if you’re accused of a crime, you get to face your accuser.”

— Paul, in a Senate floor speech, Nov. 6, 2019 Continue reading “Rand Paul’s claim that Trump has a constitutional right to confront whistleblowers”

Rand Paul blocks Senate resolution backing protection for whistleblowers

The Hill logoSen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blocked a resolution Wednesday reaffirming the Senate’s support for whistleblower protections and accused Democrats of “fake outrage.”

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) had asked for unanimous consent to pass the resolution, which “acknowledges the contributions of whistleblowers” and throws the chamber’s support behind protecting whistleblowers from retaliation.

“The threats we have seen over the last few days are so egregious they demand bipartisan outrage from one end of this chamber to the other, whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, independent, liberal, moderate or conservative,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “What’s happening here is another erosion of the values of this republic for political expediency.”

View the complete November 6 article by Jordain Carney on The Hill website here.

Schumer blasts Paul for calling on media to name whistleblower

The Hill logoSenate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) knocked Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Tuesday for urging the media to disclose the identity of the whistleblower at the center of the House impeachment inquiry. 

“I cannot stress just how wrong this is. We have federal whistleblower laws designed to protect the identity and safety of patriotic Americans who come forward to stand up for the Constitution,” Schumer said during a speech on the Senate floor.

He added that he was “appalled” by calls for the whistleblower’s identity to be publicly disclosed.

View the complete Jordain Carney on The Hill website here.