Photographer admits editing Trump's inauguration pictures
Washington, Sep 8: A US government photographer told investigators that he intentionally cropped photos of President Donald Trump's inauguration to remove empty space and make the audience look larger, according to newly released documents.
The admission on Friday, contained in newly released records from an investigation last year, shed new light on what happened after the National Park Service on January 20, 2017, shared a social media post comparing the crowds that attended the inaugurations of Trump and former President Barack Obama, reports CNN.
Trump claimed footage of the event did not jive with the number of people he saw from the stage
His then-press secretary, Sean Spicer, gathered reporters the following evening and claimed: "This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration... Period."
The identity of the photographer and many other government officials are redacted from the documents. The documents recount the call Trump placed on his first full day in office to the then-acting park service director, Michael Reynolds.
Reynolds told investigators he spoke with Trump on the morning after the inauguration, and that the President "asked him to provide pictures of the inauguration", investigators wrote in their notes.
Spicer also reached out to the park service, and a staffer said she understood he asked "for NPS to provide photographs in which it appeared the inauguration crowd filled the majority of the space in the photograph".
The request for additional photographs was relayed to at least two park service photographers who had worked at the event, CNN reported.
One told investigators he arrived to his office about 30 minutes after Trump and Reynolds spoke, and that he cropped the photos, including removing "the bottom where the crowd ended".
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4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
