Headlines for Friday, June 2, 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.
The debt ceiling increase passed in the Senate with a vote of 63 supporting and 36 opposed. Let’s be clear: economic collapse was not an option — not for anyone that understands the devastation it would create.
As champions for progress, we advocated for the passage of this bill to stave off the harm of the US defaulting on its debts, but now we must champion reforms in areas that need improvement.
These periodic fights over the debt ceiling must end. We must repeal the law that allows such hostage-taking to continue. Additionally we are calling on the repeal of the gas pipeline into West Virginia and are advocating for a clean energy replacement.
I know the past few months have been rocky from a democracy standpoint, however I am encouraged and ever more hopeful as I see folks taking back their people power. This is a long game, change is hard and messy, but we can not stop fighting for progress.
NEWS HEADLINES FOR JUNE 2, 2023
Washington Post: Senate passes debt ceiling bill, sending it to Biden to sign into law. The deal cleared the House on Wednesday night and is now on track to take effect by Monday’s deadline for a government default.
Washington Post: Georgia probe of Trump broadens to activities in other states: An Atlanta-area investigation of alleged election interference by former president Donald Trump and his allies has broadened to include activities in Washington, D.C., and several other states, according to two people with knowledge of the probe — a fresh sign that prosecutors may be building a sprawling case under Georgia’s racketeering laws. Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) launched an investigation more than two years ago to examine efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his narrow 2020 defeat in Georgia. Along the way, she has signaled publicly that she may use Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute to allege that these efforts amounted to a far-reaching criminal scheme. In recent days, Willis has sought information related to the Trump campaign hiring two firms to find voter fraud across the United States and then burying their findings when they did not find it, allegations that reach beyond Georgia’s borders, said the two individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about the investigation. At least one of the firms has been subpoenaed by Fulton County investigators.
The Guardian: Donald Trump and Fox News play it safe in town hall as network faces lawsuit: Donald Trump and Fox News played it safe on Thursday with a town-hall event in Iowa that swerved past the former US president’s election lies and liability for sexual abuse. The uncharacteristic omissions were a striking contrast to Trump’s recent town hall on rival network CNN and likely a source of relief for both his own lawyers and those of Fox News. In April, the beleaguered network agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787m to avert a trial in the company’s lawsuit over its promotion of Trump’s debunked claims about the 2020 election. The case had already embarrassed Fox News over several months and raised the possibility that its founder, Rupert Murdoch, and stars such as Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity would have to testify publicly. Fox News still faces a defamation lawsuit from another voting technology company, Smartmatic. But Thursday night’s town hall with Trump in the Des Moines suburb of Clive was pre-taped, giving Fox News the option of editing out egregious lies about the 2020 election in general, or Dominion and Smartmatic in particular, before it was broadcast.
New York Times: The Three Other Trump Investigations: In the coming months, Donald Trump’s mounting legal troubles could get even worse. At least three investigations could bring more criminal charges against him. Federal officials are investigating both Trump’s handling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, culminating in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Separately, a grand jury in Georgia could charge Trump by September for his attempts to change the state’s election results. Any of these charges could carry prison time. Charges are not guaranteed. “It is certainly possible that there will be more indictments,” my colleague Alan Feuer, who is covering the federal inquiries, told me. “But it is also certainly possible that there aren’t.” A trial or a conviction also would not necessarily stop Trump from running for president. He might not be tried or convicted before the 2024 election. He could campaign from prison, as the socialist candidate Eugene Debs did in 1920. Some legal experts believe he could even try to govern from prison, should he win the presidency.
Bloomberg Law: Trump’s NY Defense Lawyer Expands Role to Special Counsel Probes: Todd Blanche, a former prosecutor who resigned from an elite law firm to defend Donald Trump against New York criminal charges, is now also involved in the former president’s defense in federal investigations, according to people familiar with the situation. Blanche’s role expanded since he was hired in April after Trump’s indictment in New York, according to two people who requested anonymity to discuss the dynamics. He’s now also working with the attorneys managing Trump’s response to Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith’s inquiries into the handling of classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
POLITICO: Federal judge who ruled against DeSantis will recuse himself from Disney case: A federal judge who has a history of ruling against Ron DeSantis is stepping aside from presiding over a high-profile case where Disney sued the Florida governor. The state previously pushed to disqualify U.S. Chief District Judge Mark Walker based on comments he made in court about the ongoing dispute between the entertainment giant and Republican governor. DeSantis, who mounted a presidential bid, has made his fight with Disney a key part of his political brand. Walker on Thursday called the motion filed by the state “meritless.” But he said he’ll remove himself from the case because he discovered last week that an unidentified “third-degree” relative of his owns 30 shares of Disney stock.
USA Today: 'Fear and hostility': DeSantis legislation prompts Florida cities to cancel, restrict Pride events: At least two Florida cities have seen Pride celebrations canceled in the wake of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signing bills impacting the LGBTQ community. DeSantis last month signed four bills into law that directly or indirectly target the LGBTQ community, the Pensacola News Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported. Legislation in the state restricts gender-affirming care, requires people to use bathrooms aligning with their sex assigned at birth, bans kids from attending “adult live performances” and more. The NAACP last month issued a travel advisory to the state, calling DeSantis’ policies “openly hostile” to people of color and LGBTQ individuals. Jeremy Redfern, the governor's press secretary, criticized the move as “stunt.”
NBC News: Work stoppages, rallies support ‘A Day Without Immigrants’ in protest of DeSantis law: Farmworkers didn't show up to work, plant nursery owners closed for the day and many businesses didn't open to the public in a show of solidarity. A national boycott dubbed “Un Día Sin Inmigrantes,” or “A day without immigrants,” took place Thursday as a protest against a Florida immigration law scheduled to take effect in July. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who recently announced he's running as a Republican presidential candidate, last month signed into law SB-1718, which includes penalties for certain employers if they don't verify a worker's immigration status and for those who transport people who are undocumented, among other provisions. It also requires Florida hospitals that accept Medicaid include a citizenship question on forms, thus discouraging many immigrants from getting medical care.
POLITICO: Key Arizona election official to step down amid harassment and conspiracy theories: Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates, a high-profile election official who has faced heavy scrutiny and harassment in one of the country’s largest counties over the last two cycles, is stepping down at the end of his term. Gates, an Arizona Republican, announced his intention on Thursday to not run for reelection in 2024, saying in a statement that he intends to “pursue other interests and opportunities.” His decision was first reported by The Washington Post. A spokesperson for Gates pointed POLITICO to Gates’ statement when asked for further comment. Gates, who, along with his family, has been the target of threats and attacks during his tenure from those trumpeting false election claims, previously said that he suffers from PTSD. He is just one of many election administrators choosing not to run again following years of harassment from conspiracy theorists and a widespread lack of support for their work.
TIME: In Arizona's Senate Race, Everyone Is Waiting on Kari Lake: A few months ago, Kari Lake met with a trusted confidante. After refusing to concede her narrow loss for Arizona governor, the former news anchor’s legal effort to reverse Democrat Katie Hobbs’ victory was nearing its end, and she was thinking ahead to what would come next. She wanted to discuss her plans to run for the U.S. Senate. “You really can’t afford one more loss,” warned the source close to Lake, who requested anonymity to speak freely, emphasizing the level of resistance she would face vying for a Senate seat in a swing state that could determine the balance of power in Washington. “The Democrats might drop $50 million on you. They don’t want a conservative firebrand, a female Ted Cruz, a female Mike Lee, who is telegenic and really well-spoken. They would probably spend a lot of money to destroy you.” Lake threw her arms in the air and chuckled. “They’re going to come after me anyways no matter what I do,” the source recalls Lake saying. “She didn’t really give a sh-t.” It was a sign that Lake, 53, was near certain of her next steps, even as she was waiting for her legal fight to conclude before making it official. In the intervening weeks, as primaries have started to take shape around the country, the situation in Arizona is unusual, in part because Lake is still not finished with her litigation. A Maricopa County judge rejected her case for a second time last week, but Lake has already filed an appeal. She broke that news at a Scottsdale rally she held Thursday night, with hundreds in attendance, as all eyes in Arizona and Washington are on the MAGA darling who boasts a loyal following that sees her as the torchbearer of a populist crusade.
Associated Press: Nevada’s Republican governor vetoes bill that would criminalize fake electors: Nevada Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed a bill Thursday that would have made the western swing state the first in the country to make it a crime to sign certificates falsely stating that a losing candidate has won a certain state. The bill seeking to crack down on so-called fake electors would have established penalties of between four and 10 years in prison. Democratic state Attorney General Aaron Ford endorsed the legislation, while some public defenders opposed it, calling it too harsh. The measure’s fate was uncertain before Thursday, as Lombardo had not previously said whether he would sign it. Lombardo said in his veto message that there should be “strict punishments” for people undermining confidence in elections, including those who present false slates of electors. But he added that the level of punishment in the bill was harsher than penalties that have been given to some domestic violence offenders and some of the most “extreme and violent actors on January 6.”
Texas Tribune: House impeachment team taps 2 top Texas lawyers, Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin, to lead Ken Paxton case: Legendary Texas lawyers Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin will serve as lead prosecutors for the state House in the Senate impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton. The two Houston-based defense attorneys, introduced at a Capitol news conference Thursday, are legal icons in their own right, having separately represented a litany of high-profile athletes, celebrities and politicians in criminal and civil investigations. “They are outstanding lawyers and lions of the Texas trial bar,” said David Coale, a Dallas-based appellate lawyer and legal commentator. “This is the legislature saying, ‘This isn’t just some case, this is an unusual, historic case.’ And if you want to make some history, you get some history book-level lawyers.”
Washington Post: Why a recording of Trump discussing classified documents would be important: It was mid- to late July 2021 and former president Donald Trump had decamped from his newly adopted Mar-a-Lago home for his summertime residence at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. He’d been out of office for about half a year and was playing host to researchers working on the “autobiography” of his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows. Trump’s aide Margo Martin was there, recording the conversation as she typically did, just in case Trump wanted to challenge something his interviewers claimed. That, by itself, is telling. Trump has the habit of preserving documentary evidence just in case he needed to use it for leverage. And, in the conversation with the Meadows team, he reportedly demonstrated how that worked.
Semafor: The DeSantis attack on Trump that could stick: Trump disavowing (and just as frequently being disavowed by) members of his inner circle is a phenomenon dating back to before his presidency. It’s typically been ignored as much as possible by top Republicans, who treat his day-to-day feuds as something like the weather: Unpredictable, unpleasant, but ultimately out of their hands.
Now with Republicans suddenly debating whether to give him another nomination, however, it’s a potential vulnerability — and one that’s starting to come up in his battle with Ron DeSantis. The idea of Trump as a bystander president who delegated to the wrong people and then refused to be held accountable when they blew it is slowly seeping into the DeSantis campaign’s message.
POLITICO: ‘Deranged leadership’: Oath Keeper who entered Capitol on Jan. 6 turns on Stewart Rhodes: Roberto Minuta, one of more than a dozen Oath Keepers who surged with a mob into the Capitol on Jan. 6, lashed out at the group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes, on Thursday as he prepared to face sentencing for his conviction on seditious conspiracy. Minuta said Rhodes was part of a “deranged leadership” that turned the Oath Keepers “into a political ‘rah-rah Trump’ disaster” that duped many of the group’s members into criminal activity. “I was misled and naive,” Minuta said, shortly before U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta sentenced him to 4½ years in prison. Mehta credited Minuta’s comments and expressions of remorse for his actions but said his efforts to downplay his actions and involvement were belied by his clear violent intentions in the weeks preceding Jan. 6.
Associated Press: Aide fired by George Santos says he got his job after sending money to Republican’s deputy: A man who briefly worked as an aide to U.S. Rep. George Santos says he got his job after sending a series of payments to one of the Republican’s top deputies. Derek Myers, 31, told staff of the House’s ethics subcommittee during an interview Wednesday that while he was trying to get a job in Santos’ congressional office in late January, he sent at least seven $150 payments to Santos’ director of operations, Vish Burra. Myers shared details about the payments, including receipts and text messages, with The Associated Press. His account of how Burra helped him get hired hasn’t previously been reported and raises questions about potential ethical improprieties around Santos.
NPR: Texas Republicans target how elections are run in Democratic-leaning Houston area: Harris County in Texas is a big and diverse county that has trended Democratic over the past decade. And in the recently completed session of the Texas Legislature, Republican state lawmakers passed measures that specifically target how elections are run in Harris County. Two bills sent to Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday would remove the county's elections administrator position and allow for the secretary of state — an appointee of the governor — to oversee elections in Harris County, under certain circumstances. Harris County has struggled to conduct elections in recent years. The then-elections administrator resigned last year after issues with the state primary.
WUNC: Voting rights advocates worry as GOP lawmakers consider changes to state elections laws: Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly are weighing proposals for changes to state elections law, including same-day registration. The ideas under consideration have voting rights advocates concerned. "We feel very strongly that nothing should be done to make voting harder," said Bob Phillips, executive director of government watchdog group Common Cause North Carolina, and a frequent presence at the state legislature. Phillips noted that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in North Carolina that calls into question election outcomes. Phillips said he and others in the voting advocacy community are particularly concerned that Republican lawmakers will target same-day registration as well as the state's no-excuse absentee-by-mail balloting.
ABC News: Tennessee woman gets emergency hysterectomy after doctors deny early abortion care: Mayron Hollis said she had just started taking contraceptives when she found out she was pregnant again a few months after giving birth in February 2022. Despite the surprise, Hollis and her husband say they were excited about the pregnancy and eager to add another child to their growing family. Hollis, 32, had no idea the excitement would turn into a fight for her baby's life and her own. The Tennessee woman would end up needing a lifesaving emergency hysterectomy, ending her opportunity to give birth to more children, after she says she was denied medically necessary abortion care at a hospital in her home state for life-threatening complications earlier in her pregnancy.
The Daily Beast: Trump and DeSantis Push Election Laws to Breaking Point: While the top two contenders in the nascent 2024 Republican presidential primary will at some point have to differentiate themselves for GOP voters, it doesn’t seem like campaign finance law is stacking up to be much of a battlesphere. The campaigns of both former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have pushed the bounds of federal fundraising laws in the early days of their bids. Legal experts say those moves—tens of millions of dollars worth of transactions in each case—may violate the law, give megadonors even more of an outsized influence, and undermine public faith in the democratic system. Trump, of course, boasts a storied history of thumbing his nose at campaign finance regulations—and, according to legal analysts, repeatedly violating those laws. Of course, he didn’t let the fact that he’d left office deter him.
Associated Press: Families sue to block Idaho law barring gender-affirming care for minors: The families of two transgender teenagers filed a lawsuit Thursday to block enforcement of Idaho’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors. The ban, which was signed into law in April and scheduled to take effect in January 2024, violates the federal constitutional guarantee of equal protection for the teens and due process for their parents, the families said in the filing in U.S. District Court. “Governor Brad Little signed the bill into law in the name of ‘protecting minors.’ But lawmakers and the Governor ignored the extensive legislative testimony that the Healthcare Ban harms children,” the court filing asserts.
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