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Who is Rahm Emanuel? Biden may give major post to ex-Chicago mayor who allegedly covered up Black teen's murder

According to Axios, Biden is contemplating to choose the former Chicago mayor as transportation secretary

On Sunday, November 29, the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris presidential transition announced several senior communication roles. These include Jen Psaki as White House press secretary, Symone Sanders as senior adviser and chief spokesperson for vice-president, Kate Bedingfield as White House communications director, Pili Tobar as deputy White House communications director, Karine Jean-Pierre as principal deputy press secretary, Ashley Etienne as communications director for the vice-president and Elizabeth Alexander as communications director for Jill Biden.

Even though President Donald Trump is yet to concede, President-elect Joe Biden has been working consistently to announce his team. Now, according to Axios, Biden is contemplating to choose former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel as transportation secretary. While CNN's Jeff Zeleny had also reported a few days back that Emanuel was being considered for the role, the report also stated the concerns of many liberals who were opposed to the idea.

New York Representative-elect Mondaire Jones tweeted, “Rahm Emanuel covered up the murder of a Black teenager, Laquan McDonald, while he was Mayor of Chicago. That he's being considered for a cabinet position is completely outrageous and, honestly, very hurtful.” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was also vocal in showing her reservations about Emanuel. She wrote: “What is so hard to understand about this? Rahm Emanuel helped cover up the murder of Laquan McDonald. Covering up a murder is disqualifying for public leadership. This is not about the 'visibility' of a post. It is shameful and concerning that he is even being considered.”

Rahm Emanuel and the Laquan McDonald case

Born in Chicago and a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Northwestern University, Emanuel worked for the Clinton administration. After the 2008 presidential election, President Barack Obama appointed him as White House chief of staff. He ran as a candidate in Chicago's 2011 mayoral election. He held the office from 2011 to 2019. His brother Dr Ezekiel Emanuel was appointed to Biden's Coronavirus Task Force.

He has particularly been criticized for the Laquan McDonald case. According to Business Insider, in 2014, 17-year-old McDonald, a Black teenager, was shot and killed as he walked away from police officers on a Chicago street. He was unarmed. The report further states, Jason Van Dyke, the White officer who shot McDonald 16 times, was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison. As quoted by Business Insider, the Chicago Sun-Times alleged, "attorneys for the city fought against the release of the video that showed the 17-year-old's 2014 murder, only to have a Cook County judge order its release months after Emanuel had secured his second term in a runoff election." Emanuel had to face allegations of a cover-up from his opponents.

According to a 2015 CNN report, Emanuel apologized about the situation surrounding the death of McDonald and that it took 13 months before the police dashboard camera video of McDonald's shooting was released and the officer who killed him was charged. “I own it," he had said. "I take responsibility for what happened because it happened on my watch. And if we're going to fix it, I want you to understand that it's my responsibility."

In a 2019 article in the ABC7, he claimed there was no cover-up by his administration, and he has taken many steps to change the police culture. He said, “There was no effort, and even the head of the Black caucus, Rod Sawyer, said there was no cover-up. People have said that I'm not going to change that, but I know what the facts are.” Showtime’s documentary ‘16 Shots’ looked into the story of the fatal shooting and the events that it set in motion.

Some users on Twitter expressed their views. One alleged, “I’m sure it’s only rumors, but for the love of God President @JoeBiden, please do not put Rahm Emanuel in your admin. His cover-up of Laquan McDonald’s murder is disqualifying.” Another said, “If anyone from the Biden transition team is reading this, please tell Joe to keep Rahm Emanuel far away from his administration. PLEASE.” One opined, “Rahm Emanuel should not be in any position of power. Never again.”

These remarks were made by the internet, individuals and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently nor does it support these claims. The respective references are linked in the article.