Comedians slam Trump’s attack on nation's 'sham' libel laws - ABC News

Comedians slam Trump’s attack on nation's 'sham' libel laws

By KARMA ALLEN Jan 11, 2018, 2:42 AM ET

President Donald Trump called the nation’s libel laws “a sham and a disgrace” on Wednesday and promised to make it easier for people to sue publications for defamation, but some called his pledge an attack on the First Amendment.

“We are going to take a strong look at our country’s libel laws, so that when somebody says something that is false and defamatory about someone, that person will have meaningful recourse in our courts,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting Wednesday. “You can't say things that are false, knowingly false, and be able to smile as money pours into your bank account.”

But comedians on the late-night TV circuit were quick to point out that Trump’s promise came just days after he made a failed attempt to stop the publication of Michael Wolff's tell-all book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.”

“This is something every American's concerned about, and that is, strengthening libel laws to punish those who publish unflattering books about you,” “Live” host Jimmy Kimmel said during his opening monologue Wednesday.

“Saying ‘knowingly false things while the money pours into your bank account?’ Not only is that Trump's business plan in its entirety -- it's literally what they're going to write on his headstone: ‘He knowingly said false things while money poured into his bank accounts,’" he added.

President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with lawmakers on immigration policy in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Jan. 9, 2018, in Washington, D.C.more +

Stephen Colbert made a similar argument over on “The Late Show” and alleged that Trump was working to “destroy the First Amendment.”

“I had not seen him get this angry about a book since he finished ‘The Monster at the End of This Book,’” Colbert said, referring to the popular children’s book. “You read the whole thing, turns out it's just Grover, fake news!

“And in response to this momentary aggravation he has a modest plan to destroy the First Amendment,” he added.

@colbertlateshow

TONIGHT: The First Lady is hardly mentioned in the bombshell book #FireAndFury, but she has plenty to say tonight on #LSSC.

12:41 PM - Jan 11, 2018

Colbert took the opportunity to get one more offensive Trump joke off his chest before any laws changed.

“Before Trump puts these new libel laws in place, I just want to say Donald Trump is the illegitimate love child of a racist manatee and a deflated balloon,” Colbert joked.

“Donald Trump set fire to the Hindenburg and once told me on the record that he enjoyed the movie ‘Suicide Squad.’ See you in court,” Colbert added.

Myanmar military admits to murder of 10 Rohingya Muslims - Guardian

Myanmar military admits to murder of 10 Rohingya Muslims

In rare admission, army said action would be taken against soldiers and villagers who stabbed and shot captive men

Thu 11 Jan ‘18 12.04 AEDT

Myanmar’s military has admitted that its soldiers murdered 10 captured Rohingya who it claims were “terrorists” during insurgent attacks at the beginning of September, after local Buddhist villagers had forced the men into a grave they had dug.

Rohingya children left stranded amid garbage and muck in Myanmar

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“Villagers and members of the security forces have confessed that they committed murder,” the military said in a statement.

It was a rare admission of wrongdoing by the Myanmar military during its operations in the western state of Rakhine.

The army launched a sweeping counteroffensive in the north of the state in response to Rohingya militant attacks on 25 August, triggering an exodus of more than 650,000 Rohingya Muslim villagers.

The United Nations has condemned the army’s campaign as ethnic cleansing. Myanmar denies that, saying its forces were carrying out legitimate counterinsurgency operations.

The military announced on 18 December that a mass grave containing 10 bodies had been found at the coastal village of Inn Din, about 50km (30 miles) north of the state capital Sittwe. The army appointed a senior officer to investigate.

The military said on Wednesday its investigation had found that members of the security forces had killed the 10 and that action would be taken against them.

Security forces had been conducting a “clearance operation” in the area on 1 September when “200 Bengali terrorists attacked using sticks and swords”, the military said in a statement posted on the Facebook page of its commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

The military refers to members of the Rohingya Muslim minority as “Bengalis”, a term the Rohingya reject as implying they are illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

Ten of the attackers were captured after the security forces drove the rest off by firing into the air, according to the statement on Facebook, which the military often uses to make announcements.

The army crackdown prompted 65,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh

The army crackdown prompted 65,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh Photograph: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

The captives should have been handed over to the police, in line with procedures, but the militants were attacking “continuously” and had destroyed two military vehicles with explosives, it said.

“It was found that there were no conditions to transfer the 10 Bengali terrorists to the police station and so it was decided to kill them,” the military said, referring to the findings of the investigating team.

Angry ethnic Rakhine Buddhist villagers, who had lost relatives in militant attacks, wanted to kill the captives, and stabbed them after forcing them into a grave on the outskirts of the village. Then members of the security forces shot them dead, the military said.

“Action will be taken against the villagers … and the security force members who violated the rules of engagement according to the law,” the statement said.

Action would also be taken against those who had failed to report the incident to their seniors, and those responsible for supervising the operation, it added.

The military investigation was led by Lt Gen Aye Win. The same officer had been in charge of a wider probe into the conduct of troops in the conflict that concluded in a report in November that no atrocities had taken place.