Guilty?

Is Hillary Guilty?  

I have watched portions of the Republican National Convention. I saw Governor Chris Christie attack Hillary’s record as Secretary of State.

Is Hillary guilty?

Christie endorsing Trump. “Hillary is guilty,” he said on Tuesday evenig

He was speaking on Tuesday evening. He was acting as the prosecutor against Hillary Clinton so the audience, “and you at home in your living rooms,” he said, could decide if she is guilty of several instances of poor judgment.

He said she was responsible for “an Al-Qaeda affiliate’s capture of more than 200 young women in Nigeria.” That’s only one of about seven instances he describes.

He asks the convention audience, is she guilty or not guilty? “Guilty,” they shout. They then start a chant, “Lock her up.”

He said Hillary was guilty of the Chibok girls’ kidnapping because Boko Haram was not put on the terrorist watch list until 2013 (several months before the kidnapping).

CBS News disagrees with his claim.

Hillary not guilty

Hillary, not guilty of Chibok kidnapping

“The Washington Post‘s Glenn Kessler in 2014 looked into the accusation in a Fact Checker column and suggested that while technically, Clinton issued the terrorist designation, the process is a complex one with a lot of input from a lot of competing interests. The decision, Kessler said, ‘was resolved before it ever reached her level.'”

“The official in charge of the Africa region, Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson, preached caution, according to the Post, because Nigeria, which has good relations with the U.S., ‘was adamantly opposed to the designation.’ Nigeria feared that formally calling Boko Haram a terrorist organization would raise its stature and its strength.”

In the end Boko Haram was added to the terrorist list. The article concludes, “although Kessler concluded that [State] could have acted more quickly, there is no evidence that putting Boko Haram on the terrorist list any sooner would have prevented the kidnapping of the schoolgirls.”

Nor were his comments popular in Nigeria. “Oby Ezekwesili, a former federal minister and vocal leader of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, said the use of the kidnapped Chibok girls to gain political points was insensitive. Many other Nigerians echoed her thoughts on social media.”

Did you agree with Christie?

Tamir Rice

On Facebook I found this powerful story of how Tamir Rice’s killing disappeared from public view. My friend Ike Anya posted the link from GQ.

Do you remember? Tamir, age 12, had a toy gun on the playground in Cleveland. Someone called in to 911 to report his activity. Two police officers went to the scene. One of the officers shot and killed Tamir, without apparently giving him time to show it was a toy gun.

Did the prosecutor play the role he should have with the grand jury?

CNN covered the grand jury report in December 2015. Their report said the prosecutor completely abandoned his role and became a defendant for the policeman who was not charged.

The GQ story explains that one of the key people who appeared before the grand jury was Roger Clark. He had retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department after 27 years and is an expert in police shootings.

“Clark had studied all of the available evidence in this case—video, witness statements, forensic reconstructions—and he had prepared a report detailing his findings. He did not believe the officers acted reasonably, and he did not believe the shooting was justified.

“When he was called to testify, on December 7, he expected he would summarize those opinions, answer a few clarifying questions, then be dismissed with a polite thank-you for his time and effort.”

“Instead,” he told [the author], “it was immediately very hostile.”

The city of Cleveland settled with the Rice family without admitting guilt. Still, deep questions remain about the grand jury process and whether justice was served.

Obama in Medical Journal

Picture from Kenya a couple of yrs ago

Obama getting down with colleagues in Kenya

Did you see the news all over Twitter and Facebook about Obama’s academic paper a few days ago?

I don’t remember where I saw it first, but I was intrigued. I found the article about his paper in the online Science.mic. He is the first sitting president to publish in a medical journal, I read.

I didn’t actually read the article called “United States Health Care Reform Progress to Date and Next Steps.”

But I loved the hashtag, #ObamaJama.

Checking Corruption – Difficult Task

Nigeria’s President Buhari spoke out yesterday to encourage Nigerians not to assume guilt on the part of officials who haven’t been charged.

Ibe Kachikwu was head of NNPC

Ibe Kachikwu was head of NNPC

In this case he was referring to accusations against the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu. There have been stories that Kachikwu is under investigation for actions during his time heading NNPC, Nigeria’s petroleum corporation.

“The statement said Buhari . . .  appealed for decent and civilized comments, particularly when it had to do with the integrity of those who are serving the country.”

He continued, “Terrible and unfounded comments about other people’s integrity are not good. We are not going to spare anybody who soils his hands, but people should please wait till such individuals are indicted.”
Generally good advice overall, don’t you think?

Author: Catherine Onyemelukwe

Author, blogger, speaker. Born in New York, grew up in mid west United States, lived in Nigeria for 24 years, back in U.S. since 1986. Advocate for racial justice.

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