Headlines for Friday, May 26, 2023
🗽There is no greater power than a community discovering the truth and working together to make sure an injustice is not repeated
🗽A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny. - Thomas Jefferson
🗽There is no greater power than a community discovering the truth and working together to make sure an injustice is not repeated
NEWS HEADLINES FOR MAY 26, 2023
Shout out to Defend Our Democracy for sharing some of today’s updates
New York Times: Oath Keepers Leader Sentenced to 18 Years for Seditious Conspiracy in Landmark Jan. 6 Capitol Attack Case
In a landmark ruling that marked a pivotal moment for over a thousand criminal cases tied to the Capitol attack of January 6, 2021, Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the far-right militia group, Oath Keepers, was sentenced to 18 years in prison. The sentencing, issued by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, was on the grounds of seditious conspiracy, with Rhodes found guilty of mobilizing a pro-Trump attack in a bid to disrupt the electoral count. The severity of the punishment, the first of its kind to meet the legal definition of terrorism, sets a precedent that could influence the sentence of Enrique Tarrio, former chairman of another far-right group, the Proud Boys, on a similar charge.
Washington Post: Ethics Concerns at Supreme Court Escalate: Billionaire Crow Defies Senate Inquiry as Justices Pledge Commitment to High Standards
Amid escalating controversies around Supreme Court ethics, billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow has refused to cooperate with the Senate Judiciary Committee's request for information about gifts and travel he provided to Justice Clarence Thomas. This move was defended by Crow's legal team, but met with criticism from the Committee Chair Senator Richard J. Durbin. Meanwhile, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has expressed confidence that the Supreme Court will maintain public trust in its adherence to high standards of conduct, despite ongoing scrutiny around financial disclosures and demands for a specific code of conduct. This comes as all nine justices have publicly committed to upholding broad ethical norms and amidst calls for the adoption of formal internal mechanisms to enforce agreed-upon rules.
Washington Post: Disarray Within Trump's Legal Team As Multiple Legal Probes Escalate
While the discord and internal conflicts within Donald Trump's legal team might make for compelling headlines and a measure of political theater, it's crucial to maintain focus on the real issue at hand. The former President stands accused of serious legal transgressions, including mishandling classified documents and falsifying business records, both of which carry significant consequences. The law must apply equally to all citizens, regardless of their status or past positions, so Trump's actions warrant thorough and rigorous investigation. That is why this matters. We must remember, amid the unfolding drama, that the crux of the matter isn't the dysfunction within Trump's defense but the allegations of illegal conduct against him and the imperative that no one is treated as above the law.
The Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Potential Summer Indictment in Georgia Raises Security Concerns: Georgia’s capital faces an extraordinary security lockdown in August, when a local prosecutor has indicated she will present criminal charges on alleged 2020 election interference to a grand jury. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, has focused her probe on the actions of former President Donald Trump and his supporters to overturn his narrow loss in Georgia, the first for a Republican presidential candidate in the state since 1992. Although Trump wasn’t called to testify over the course of the more than two-year probe, legal experts have said he is a potential target. Willis hasn’t said what charges Trump or his supporters may face. Trump has said that he did nothing wrong.
The New York Times: Mar-a-Lago Worker Provided Prosecutors New Details in Trump Documents Case: The day before a key meeting last year between a lawyer for former President Donald J. Trump and officials seeking the return of classified documents in Mr. Trump’s possession, a maintenance worker at the former president’s private club saw an aide moving boxes into a storage room, according to a person familiar with the matter. The maintenance worker offered to help the aide — Walt Nauta, who was Mr. Trump’s valet in the White House — move the boxes and ended up lending him a hand. But the worker had no idea what was inside the boxes, the person familiar with the matter said. The maintenance worker has shared that account with federal prosecutors, the person said.
Newsweek: Former White House Lawyer Predicts Next Trump Indictment Coming 'Soon': Former acting U.S. Solicitor General Neal Katyal said Wednesday he thinks Donald Trump will be indicted "soon" by special counsel Jack Smith. Katyal made the prediction during an appearance on MSNBC while discussing the news that Trump lawyers had requested a meeting with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to discuss the dual Justice Department investigations led by Smith.
The New York Times: Colleges Will Be Able to Block Out a Student’s Race on Admissions Applications: Each year, the million or so students applying to college through the Common App are given the option to check a box, disclosing whether they identify as Hispanic, Asian, Black or white, among other choices.
Now, with the U.S. Supreme Court expected to rule soon against race-conscious admissions — and with colleges wanting to follow the law — the Common App has made a pre-emptive move on what is known as the “race box.”
ABC News: Fearing indictment is imminent in classified docs probe, Trump team requests meeting with DOJ: Former President Donald Trump's legal team has formally requested a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland, amid fears from his attorneys that the coming weeks could bring a possible indictment of Trump regarding his alleged efforts to retain materials after leaving office and to obstruct the government's attempts to retrieve them. The letter, though thin on details, was sent so Trump's lawyers could present arguments that Trump should not be charged in the investigation related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.
The New York Times: Opinion: Ron DeSantis vs. the ‘Woke Mind Virus’: Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida could have made his presidential campaign announcement in some idyllic seaside park, surrounded by the wholesome families he’s trying to defend from subversive books and the Walt Disney Company. Instead, he did it in a glitchy audio feed with a socially awkward billionaire. Even if the Twitter rollout had worked smoothly — which it definitely did not — it would have been a debacle. The technological failures are, understandably, dominating the headlines. They were humiliating for everyone involved,making the campaign look amateurish and undermining Elon Musk’s claims that firing most of Twitter’s work force hasn’t impaired the platform. But behind these unforced errors lie deeper failures of political judgment by DeSantis, ones that speak to a blinkered and — for all his cultural populism — elitist worldview. How else do you explain a campaign kickoff with more discussion of crytpo regulation than of inflation?
The Guardian: Will Ron DeSantis’s culture war with Disney threaten his White House run?: It has become one of the most compelling Disney stories ever told, but so far without a happily ever after. In fact, the entrance this week of Florida’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis into the race for his party’s presidential nomination only adds gasoline to his raging feud with the theme park giant over diversity and transgender rights. It’s a battle that is, conversely, both an essential ingredient to the culture war agenda DeSantis believes will win him the White House in 2024; and a headache he could well do without as he attempts to prove his credentials as a fiscally responsible conservative
Yahoo News: The historical precedents for George Santos' possible expulsion: Democrats have backed a push to expel Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from the House of Representatives. Santos, a first-term congressman, had his voluminous fabrications about his personal and professional life exposed shortly after his election in November 2022. Earlier this month, Santos was indicted for 13 separate offenses, including fraud, campaign finance violations, and a scheme to defraud the federal government of COVID unemployment relief funds in 2020. Santos has combatively insisted on his innocence. Can he survive the scandal? Here's how similar events have gone down in history.
The Hill: Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes sentenced to 18 years for Jan. 6: A federal judge on Thursday sentenced Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes to 18 years in prison following his conviction on seditious conspiracy theories for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. The sentencing represents the longest prison term yet assigned to a figure involved in the riot, coming after Rhodes was found guilty on numerous other charges last November, including other felony charges such as obstruction of an official proceeding. It’s also significant in that Rhodes never entered the Capitol that day, instead remaining on the grounds, directing his team via a walkie talkie app as they entered the building via “stack” formation.
Reuters: US Supreme Court curbs states' property tax 'windfall': The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday curbed state and local governments from seizing and selling the homes of people with unpaid property taxes and keeping the proceeds beyond the amount owed, deeming the practice unconstitutional in a ruling in favor of a 94-year-old woman who battled tax authorities in Minnesota. The justices ruled 9-0 in the property rights case to overturn a lower court's decision to throw out Geraldine Tyler's proposed class action lawsuit accusing Hennepin County, which contains Minnesota's most-populous city Minneapolis, of violating her rights under the U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment. The Supreme Court agreed with Tyler's view that the county violated the Fifth Amendment's bar on the uncompensated taking of private property by a government for public use, a provision known as the "Takings Clause."
Rolling Stone: Trump’s Lawyers Warn Him: Get Ready to Be Indicted by the Feds: SOME OF DONALD Trump’s lawyers and top advisers have given the former president an unwelcome, if not unexpected message in recent weeks: You should expect to get indicted this year. Again. This month, several legal and political counselors to Trump have bluntly informed him that they expect the Justice Department to charge him in the criminal investigation into his hoarding of highly classified documents following the end of his presidency, two sources familiar with the matter tell Rolling Stone. The feds have also been probing whether or not Trump tried to obstruct the investigation prior to last year’s FBI raid of the ex-president’s Florida estate.
Business Insider: A judge reportedly held a secret hearing with the 3 anonymous people sponsoring George Santos's $500,000 bail: A judge overseeing the federal criminal case against Rep. George Santos of New York held a secret hearing with the three people on the hook for his $500,000 bond and went to extraordinary lengths to keep their identities secret, according to a new court filing. Santos was arraigned in federal court on Long Island on May 10, pleading not guilty to a 13-count criminal indictment where federal prosecutors alleged he stole funds from political donors meant for campaign expenses, illegally took pandemic unemployment payouts, and lied to Congress on financial forms.
NPR: Ohio election officials scramble ahead of August vote on state constitution changes: The August election has also drawn opposition from local election officials. A GOP-backed state law that took effect in April made a number of changes to voting, including banning most August special elections. But on May 10, Republican lawmakers approved a statewide vote this upcoming August to decide on a resolution to make it harder to amend the Ohio Constitution. Republicans want voters to raise the threshold for approving future amendments to the Ohio Constitution from a simple majority to 60%, before a possible November ballot measure to codify abortion rights in the constitution. A group of doctors and citizens is currently gathering signatures to put an abortion rights amendment on the November ballot.
New York Times: Steve Bannon’s Criminal Trial Is Scheduled for Next May: Stephen K. Bannon, a longtime adviser to former President Donald J. Trump, is scheduled to stand trial in May of next year for what prosecutors say was his role in defrauding Americans who paid money toward the construction of a southern border wall, a judge said Thursday. The judge, Juan M. Merchan, said that while the May 27, 2024 trial was later than he had anticipated — he had originally considered a November date — he was satisfied with the schedule proposed by Mr. Bannon’s lawyers as long as prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office were satisfied. A prosecutor, Daniel Passeser, said that he was. The date means that Mr. Trump himself will stand trial two months earlier than his former adviser, if both cases proceed as planned.
Bloomberg Law News: Kagan Takes Small But Real Step Toward High Court Transparency: Chief Justice John Roberts, speaking for the first time publicly on the ethics scandals that have recently plagued the Supreme Court, said Tuesday he is “committed” to ensuring the high court adheres to the highest standards of conduct. The court has largely bucked pressure to tighten its ethics rules, with Roberts even declining an invitation to discuss the matter in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. But at least one justice took a step toward greater transparency this week—perhaps giving a preview of the types of incremental moves the high court could make to rebuild trust. Justice Elena Kagan noted, buried in the court’s May 22 orders list denying review of hundreds of cases, that she was recusing herself from acting on a petition in a capital case, which the rest of the court denied.
Washington Post: Trump vs. DeSantis: It’s about to get weird: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s glitchy Republican presidential campaign launch with Elon Musk on Wednesday night is getting all the attention. But don’t sleep on the utter weirdness that followed — and apparently will continue. Shortly after the event, DeSantis’s campaign set about trying to make lemonade from its lemons. His rapid response team released a bizarre web video featuring DeSantis’s stilted, almost disembodied opening statement from the event, overlaid on seemingly random b-roll shots of not just DeSantis but also, extensively, Musk. There was Musk with a flamethrower. There was Musk hyping his Teslas at an elaborate and visually attractive event that was essentially the polar opposite of DeSantis’s launch. There was youthful Musk just … sitting at a keyboard. There was DeSantis talking about the toll of fentanyl while the image showed him smiling and waving. It might have made sense as a video if DeSantis were announcing Musk as his running mate — sharp emphasis on “might.”
Associated Press: Friends to foes: How Trump and DeSantis’ relationship has deteriorated over the years: Before Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis were leading rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, they were allies. Trump gave DeSantis’ gubernatorial bid an early boost by tweeting his support even before DeSantis formally entered the race. In his 2018 victory speech, DeSantis made sure to thank the president, saying, “I think we’ll have a great partnership.” Here’s how DeSantis and Trump’s relationship has evolved — and broken down — as the two face off to take on Democrat Joe Biden:
Time: Elon Musk Stokes MAGA Unease With His DeSantis Embrace: After Ron DeSantis’s glitch-riddled presidential campaign launch on Wednesday, Donald Trump did something entirely predictable: he mocked him on social media. The former President posted a video with the words “Ron! 2024” superimposed on a SpaceX rocket failing to launch and going up in flames. But the needling was aimed at more than just his most formidable 2024 rival. It was also a repudiation of Musk, the owner of both Twitter and SpaceX, who in recent months has become something of a hero to the MAGA right. After purchasing Twitter, Musk swiftly reinstated the accounts of Trump allies who were removed under the previous ownership for spreading misinformation. Then he released the so-called Twitter Files, a series of internal documents that showed the company’s deliberations on crucial content moderation decisions. Republicans widely cited the material as evidence that the platform had been systematically suppressing conservative speech. Musk has further amplified right-wing banter to his more than 140 million followers. And last month, he welcomed the recently fired Fox News host Tucker Carlson to launch a new show on Twitter.
Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Potential Summer Indictment in Georgia Raises Security Concerns: Georgia’s capital faces an extraordinary security lockdown in August, when a local prosecutor has indicated she will present criminal charges on alleged 2020 election interference to a grand jury. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, has focused her probe on the actions of former President Donald Trump and his supporters to overturn his narrow loss in Georgia, the first for a Republican presidential candidate in the state since 1992. Although Trump wasn’t called to testify over the course of the more than two-year probe, legal experts have said he is a potential target. Willis hasn’t said what charges Trump or his supporters may face. Trump has said that he did nothing wrong. Providing security in and around Fulton County’s Lewis R. Slaton Courthouse in downtown Atlanta for legal proceedings involving Trump could be a monumental challenge in Georgia’s largest city. Courts in New York and Washington have handled such high-profile cases often; Atlanta hasn’t.
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