Did the SFRC or State Department approve Senator DeMint's Honduras trip?

[ProSense]

US lawmakers to meet interim Honduras leader

By BEN FOX, Associated Press

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – A U.S. senator and three congressmen plan to meet Friday with Honduras' interim leader in defiance of official Washington policy barring contact with the architects of the military coup that ousted the nation's president.

South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint intends to meet with interim President Roberto Micheletti as well as members of the Central American nation's Supreme Court, election officials and business and civic leaders during the fact-finding trip, said Wesley Denton, a spokesman for the senator.

The visit comes as President Barack Obama's administration seeks to isolate the interim government and use other forms of pressure — including suspending aid and canceling the visas of some members of the country's wealthy elite — in hopes of returning ousted President Manuel Zelaya to serve the remaining months of his term.

DeMint, one of a number of U.S. conservatives who have defended Zelaya's ouster on June 28 in Central America's first coup in more than a decade, supports the interim government plan to hold elections Nov.

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[atreides1]

1. No they did not

They put a stop to it, but Mitch McConell got around it by going through Defense Appropriation. So ,now DoD is flying him down there, unless Senator Levin and Secretary Gates put the brakes on.

[Phx_Dem]

4. Yes, Kerry put a block on the trip and McTreason went around it.

I believe U.S. traitor DeMint is already there and has already met with the coup leader to denounced the United States. It was in Reuters that link ProSense(?) provided on another thread.

[karynnj]

2. I hope that in telling him the SFRC would not back or pay for it,

Kerry or an aide of his gave DeMint something that outlined what the law is as to what he can and can't do in Honduras.

It is ironic that the right that blasted Pelosi (and to some degree Kerry and Dodd) for going to Syria - even though they were 100% abiding by the rules and the Senators even got some questions the State Department wanted asked answered - is 100% behind this.

To show you are out of line DeMint is, here what he said of it on the Senate floor:
http://www.c-spanarchives.org/congress/?q=node/77531&id=9041336

(read or watch - which ever you can stomach)

[ProSense]

3. DeMint is a punk

DeMint Spokesman: He's Not Trying To Intervene In Honduras

Eric Kleefeld

Wesley Denton, a spokesman for Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), just told TPM that the Senator is not attempting to intervene in support of the military coup in Honduras, as part of his trip there today -- that it is simply a fact-finding mission to find out about the events on the ground.

The New York Times had reported: "One of the de facto government's main supporters in Washington, Senator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, has announced plans to visit Tegucigalpa on Friday. One Congressional staff member said Mr. DeMint hoped to meet with members of the de facto government and other Hondurans. Other staff members said he intended to encourage Mr. Micheletti and his supporters to resist."

"Sen DeMint did not announce that to the New York Times, they did not get that from our office," said Denton. "They did not speak to staff members from our office that I know of -- they certainly did not talk to me."

DeMint and his Congressional delegation did meet today with de facto Honduran President Roberto Micheletti.

Denton added: "He's not in support of any particular politician. He supports democracy, the rule of law and the constitution of Honduras, and he wants to see a quick resolution to the crisis, one that allows the Honduran people to resolve it through a democratic and transparent process."

Denton also said that DeMint is not blocking the Obama administration's nominees to deal with foreign policy in the region, which was cited by the office of Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) as a reason to attempt to deny DeMint funding for the trip. Instead, DeMint only wants to have a full debate and roll call vote.

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[karynnj]

5. DeMint really thinks he is clever here

"Denton also said that DeMint is not blocking the Obama administration's nominees to deal with foreign policy in the region, which was cited by the office of Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) as a reason to attempt to deny DeMint funding for the trip. Instead, DeMint only wants to have a full debate and roll call vote.

"Sen. DeMint cannot prevent Sen. Reid from bringing the nominees to the floor, he can have a vote at any time. Sen. DeMint has objected to unanimous consent," said Denton, also adding: "In fact that's all you can do. In the Senate when, someone says you're holding up a bill or a nominee, what one Senator can object to is passage by unanimous consent. No one Senator can stop the Senate working the majority of its will through 60 votes."

What happened to the up or down majority vote line of the Republicans. This is speaking of filibuster.