OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A Secret Service employee who was a driver for former first lady Michelle Obama has been charged with criminal harassment. Douglas Vines, 53, was involved in a relationship with a woman who he went on to harass, a criminal complaint from the Oak Bluffs Police Department said, the Epoch Times reported.
The woman told police that she had been dating Vines for about two months when an uncomfortable situation came up one evening when Vines asked her to have sex with him, which she declined. The Secret Service employee is said to have gone “off the handle,” shouting at the woman and texting her that she was “messing with the wrong person,” the report said, according to CNN.
Vines is alleged to have used his position as the Obama family driver to intimidate the woman. He is accused of threatening the woman to have her deported as he had secretly recorded one of their conversations during which time she had revealed her citizenship status. Vines also reportedly told the woman that he could get into her phone and read her text messages. He claimed to possess her DNA, the report stated.
He said he had photos of the woman and if she reported him to the police he would have her deported, it said. The woman said she was concerned because the man had nude photos of her, some consensual and some not, that she was frightened he would share.
“Consistent with our protocols, the employee has been placed on administrative leave, and their security clearance has been suspended. The employee has been restricted from accessing any Secret Service facility or protected site,” Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi said.
Judge Edward Lynch ended a restraining order against the Secret Service employee, who is not an agent, due to a lack of evidence of threats of harm.
In February, Myra Adams, an opinion contributor for The Hill, said that the Democrats’ best chance for winning in 2024 requires a former first lady. And it is not the former first lady who campaigned for the presidency two times and lost, but one that has not shown any signs of being interested in the job as of yet, Michelle Obama.
“As of this writing, a 2024 run by Mrs. Obama has been characterized as a baseless rumor, injecting fear into Republicans’ bloodstreams to help to fundraise. For years Obama has consistently rejected the prospect. During a 2018 interview, when asked about a 2020 run, she famously said, “first of all, you have to want the job,” the implication being that she didn’t want the job,” the author said.
“Still, Democrats in 2023 might be desperate enough for party leaders to encourage Mrs. Obama into considering the job. This group could argue that ‘your party and country need you’ to stop either Donald Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — which could appeal to her patriotism and become her game-changing reason,” she said.
When Adams told one prominent Republican activist that she was penning this opinion piece he responded with, “God help us. She could beat any of our candidates. It’s a good thing she doesn’t want to run.”
Adams believes that if Biden decides not to campaign that Obama would annihilate a Democrat field, believing that even Vice President Kamala Harris would not want to take her on.
The author argued that Obama would attract crowds that are similar to the ones former President Donald Trump does as her popularity is incredibly high.
She also stated that Obama’s activity in the 2022 midterm elections would help her in 2024.
Obama penned a letter that was published as an advertisement in The New York Times on Sunday, and it had near every one of the Democrat Party’s favorite talking points in it.
“One year ago, we witnessed an unprecedented assault on our Capitol and our democracy. From Georgia and Florida to Iowa and Texas, states passed laws designed to make it harder for Americans to vote. And in other state legislatures across the nation, lawmakers have attempted to do the same,” she said as the Democrats continue to pretend that a group of people with no guns found could have staged a coup.
“This type of voter suppression is not new. Generations of Americans have persevered through poll taxes, literacy tests, and laws designed to strip away their power—and they’ve done it by organizing, by protesting, and most importantly, by overcoming the barriers in front of them in order to vote. And now, we’ve got to do the same. We’ve got to vote like the future of our democracy depends on it. And we must give Congress no choice but to act decisively to protect the right to vote and make the ballot box more accessible for everyone,” she said as Republican legislatures nationwide are bringing back voting laws the way they were prior to the pandemic.
“As civic engagement, voting rights, and voter mobilization organizations representing millions of Americans, we are joining together to ensure that Congress acts on voting rights legislation — and ensure that every voice is heard and every vote is counted in the 2022 midterm elections and beyond. We’re asking you to join us,” the former first lady said.
