March 31, 2023

Friday,March 31, 2023. Annette’s News Roundup.

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#Breaking News. You already know -

Donald J. Trump has been indicted.

Today’s New York Times, March 31, 2023.

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More on this tomorrow when the news and commentary settle in. For now, just 3 bits of news and the New York Times editorial about this historic day.

1. Worrying about the response from his followers? Take this in.

   At 9 p.m., about 20 Trump supporters gathered just outside Mar-A-Lago in Florida in a show of solidarity.

   When asked why she made the trek to Palm Beach, Loxahatchee resident Georgia McGeerey said she had come to "fight for America." (Source. New York Times).

   Lake Worth resident Nancy Sparks, 83, said the indictment was set off by Trump's presidential run. “They said they would get him and they’re trying. It’s going to backfire and the Democrats are going to wish they didn’t mess with him,” she said.

2. All we know now is an American Grand Jury has been convinced there is is enough evidence to indict a former President. It seems though that Trump faces 34 charges. We will learn the charges next Tuesday when Trump will be arraigned in New York City.

3. Suddenly the Republican Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis loves Trump (or at least Trump’s followers who he thinks will vote in 2024) and echoes Trump’s analysis (this is “political“) as well as his anti-semitism (“Soros-backed”). DeSantis is suddenly willing to violate the Constitution for Trump (Article 4 requires states to honor extradition when requested to do so by another state).

   4. The New York Times Editorial - Even Donald Trump Should Be Held Accountable.

   For the first time in American history, a grand jury has indicted a former president of the United States, The Times reported on Thursday. Donald Trump spent years as a candidate, in office and out of office, ignoring democratic and legal norms and precedents, trying to bend the Justice Department and the judiciary to his whims and behaving as if rules didn’t apply to him.

   As the news of the indictment shows, they do.

   A pattern of disregard for the law often leads to a criminal indictment, and that is the outcome Mr. Trump now faces. Federal and state prosecutors were right to set aside concerns about political fallout, or reverence for the presidency, and initiate thorough criminal investigations of Mr. Trump’s conduct in at least four instances. The investigation by the Manhattan district attorney is the first known to result in an indictment.

   Mr. Trump completely transformed the relationship between the presidency and the rule of law, often asserting that a president was above the law. So it is appropriate that his actions as president and as a candidate should now be formally weighed by judges and juries, with the possibility of criminal penalties on the line. Mr. Trump badly damaged America’s political and legal institutions and threatened them again with calls for widespread protests once he is indicted. But those institutions have proved to be strong enough to hold him accountable for that harm.

   A healthy respect for the legal system also requires Americans to set aside their politics when forming judgments on these cases. While Mr. Trump routinely called for his enemies to be investigated by the F.B.I., to be indicted or to face the death penalty, his indifference to due process for others shouldn’t deny him the system’s benefits, including a fair trial and the presumption of innocence. At the same time, no jury should extend to him any special privileges as a former president. He should have to follow the same procedures as any other citizen.

   The indictment remains sealed, and the exact charges against Mr. Trump may not be known for several days. But Alvin Bragg, the district attorney, has been pursuing a case of possible fraud and campaign finance violations by Mr. Trump for concealing payments he made to the porn-film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. His actions — using money to silence critics and hide politically damaging information — were wrong. The question that will face a jury is whether that behavior meets the threshold for conviction as a felony.

   If those are the charges, conviction will hinge on proving that Mr. Trump participated in falsifying business records while violating campaign finance law, a somewhat novel legal strategy. Falsifying records can be charged as a misdemeanor in New York; to make it a more serious felony requires proof that he combined it with a second crime, in this case, a potential campaign finance violation. The former president, who is seeking a second term in 2024, has denied the allegations and has said that the case against him brought by Mr. Bragg, a Democrat, is politically motivated.

   While some legal experts have questioned the theory behind Mr. Bragg’s case, there is no basis for the accusation that it is politically motivated — a claim that Mr. Trump has made, for many years, about every investigation into his conduct. Just as jurors are routinely instructed to ignore evidence that is improperly introduced in a trial, they will also have to ignore the unsubstantiated implications raised by Trump supporters and attorneys in these cases and judge them strictly on the merits.

   Three of the other investigations that may result in indictments are more serious, because they involve allegations not just that Mr. Trump violated the law but also that he abused his presidential office.

   Among the most egregious are the accusations against him in Georgia. The Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis, is weighing criminal charges against several people, including Mr. Trump, for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state, which President Biden won by 11,779 votes. Mr. Trump repeatedly pressured Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, to “find” additional votes that would change the results of the state’s election, part of a scheme to undermine the will of the voters.

   A special grand jury impaneled by Ms. Willis recommended in February that charges be brought in the case; it’s not yet known which people or allegations were included in the grand jury’s recommendations or whom, if anyone, Ms. Willis may seek to indict.

   A federal Justice Department inquiry led by a special counsel, Jack Smith, could also result in charges against Mr. Trump. Mr. Smith is investigating the former president’s efforts to prevent the peaceful transfer of power on Jan. 6, 2021, when Mr. Trump roused an armed mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol, threatening lawmakers who were gathered to certify the results of the presidential election. A bipartisan Senate report last year found that seven deaths were related to the attack.

   Mr. Smith’s team is also investigating the former president over his mishandling of classified documents that were removed from the White House and taken to Mar-a-Lago, his private residence in Florida. Some 300 classified documents have been recovered in the case. Prosecutors are also examining whether Mr. Trump, his attorneys or staff members misled government officials seeking the return of the documents.

   In addition to criminal charges, Mr. Trump faces several civil lawsuits. New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, is suing the former president for “grossly” and fraudulently inflating the value of his real estate assets. Three of Mr. Trump’s adult children are named in the suit as well. A group of Capitol Police officers and Democratic legislators are suing the former president, arguing that his actions on Jan. 6 incited the mob that caused them physical and emotional harm. E. Jean Carroll, a writer who accused Mr. Trump of raping her, is suing the former president for defamation. Mr. Trump denies the charges.

   Prosecuting the former president will no doubt widen the existing political divisions that have so damaged the country in recent years. Mr. Trump has already stoked that divisiveness, calling prosecutors behind the probes — several of whom are Black — “racist.” He claimed in a social media post that he would be arrested and called on his supporters to “PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!” The language echoed his rallying cry that preceded the Capitol riot. Officials in New York City, taking no chances on a repeat performance by Mr. Trump’s supporters, have been preparing for unrest.

   Those accusations are clearly aimed at undermining the allegations against him, inoculating himself from the consequences of his misconduct and using the cases to his political advantage. The two district attorneys in these cases are elected Democrats, but their race and political affiliations are not relevant to the legal proceedings. (Mr. Smith is not registered with either party.) Nevertheless, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy immediately demonstrated his party’s intent to politicize the indictment by calling Mr. Bragg “a radical DA” pursuing “political vengeance” against Mr. Trump. Mr. McCarthy has no jurisdiction over the Manhattan district attorney and no business interfering in a criminal prosecution, and yet he vowed to have the House of Representatives determine whether Mr. Bragg’s office is receiving federal funds.

   The decision to prosecute a former president is a solemn task, particularly given the deep national fissures that Mr. Trump will inevitably exacerbate as the 2024 campaign grows closer. But the cost of failing to seek justice against a leader who may have committed these crimes would be higher still.

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Joe is always busy.

The White House to Expand Women's Business Centers to Every U.S. State | Inc.com

The Small Business Administration is rolling out more resources for women-owned small businesses to help address obstacles faced by female entrepreneurs. 

The SBA expects to open 15 new Women's Business Centers by September of this year, expanding the total network to 160 centers operating nationwide, according to an announcement that the Biden administration is poised to make Monday afternoon. 

Women's Business Centers work with female entrepreneurs to help them start and grow small businesses. These centers supply resources, such as free or inexpensive business training and counseling, federal contract support, and access to financing opportunities. 

One more thing.#NetanyahuTakeThat.

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Kamala is always busy.

Touch below.👇

One more thing.Vice President Kamala Harris has announced a nearly $1 billion initiative aimed at eliminating gender inequality in Africa, with $528 million to support economic well-being and $400 million dedicated to getting more women in the digital economy. Companies such as Visa, MasterCard, Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, and Pfizer have contributed to the initiative. (Source. Bloomberg).

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Seems rational, don’t you think?

After Mass Shootings, Republicans Expand Access to Guns.

After a mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas last year prompted calls for new gun restrictions, Republican-led states around the country moved in the other direction. One of them was Tennessee, where the governor insisted that tighter firearms laws would never deter wrongdoers.

“We can’t control what they do,” Gov. Bill Lee said.

Tennessee lawmakers have instead moved to make firearms even more accessible, proposing bills this year to arm more teachers and allow college students to carry weapons on campus, among other measures.

Then came the attack on Monday at the Covenant School in Nashville, where a shooter carrying multiple weapons killed six people, including three children. The same day, a federal judge signed off on a state settlement allowing people as young as 18 to carry a handgun without a permit.

Amid the ghastly cadence of multiple mass shootings that have prompted calls for more comprehensive controls on guns, Republicans in statehouses have been steadily expanding access to guns. (New York Times)

Representative Jamaal Bowman from the Bronx calls House Republicans out. Touch tweet 👇 to watch.

One more thing. Touch to watch, 👇 and yes, watch to the end.

Thank you, @StaceyPlaskett for standing up for what’s right and not taking anything from Republicans.

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Republicans aren’t so busy defending guns that they can’t attack women too.

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Stop worrying about DeSantis2024. Game. Set. Match. (different sport 👇, same result).

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Fox poll shows Trump’s lead over DeSantis growing.

A new Fox News poll released Wednesday showed former President Donald Trump widening his lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a hypothetical GOP primary race.

Trump was the top pick for 54 percent of respondents, who were asked to choose from a list of potential 2024 Republican presidential nominees. DeSantis — who has yet to declare his candidacy, though he is widely expected to — came in as a distant second pick, with 24 percent of the vote. It’s a slight drop in support for the Florida governor, who nabbed 28 percent to Trump’s 43 percent in a Fox poll conducted late last month. (Politico)

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Much speculation on this 👇, but the truth is - we don’t know. Only time will tell.

Allen Weisselberg might just have flipped on Donald Trump.

Speculation is increasing that former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg may have turned on Donald Trump as he is no longer represented by lawyers paid for by the former president's company.

Weisselberg, who is currently serving five months in the infamous Rikers Island jail in New York after pleading guilty to 15 felony counts relating to a tax evasion scheme carried out by The Trump Organization, is said to have parted ways with his lawyers, Nick Gravante and Mary Mulligan, WNBC reported.

There are suggestions that Weisselberg could face further charges in connection to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office investigation into the hush money Trump allegedly asked his former attorney Michael Cohen to pay adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep an affair she allegedly had with the former president a secret ahead of the 2016 election. Prosecutors are probing whether the payment may have amounted to a campaign violation.

The timing of Weisselberg parting ways with his Trump lawyers has resulted in suggestions he may have been about to, or already has, flipped on the former president, so the 75-year-old doesn't end up spending more time in prison. Weisselberg already agreed to testify in The Trump Organization fraud trial in exchange for his potential jail sentence being reduced from 15 years to five months, but he didn't implicate the former president.

Karen Agnifilo, former chief assistant district attorney of the Manhattan D.A.'s office, told MSNBC she is "very intrigued" that Weisselberg is no longer represented by Gravante and Mulligan.

"It can mean one of two things. Number one, the case is over and doesn't need lawyers anymore, they were just representing them on that one case," Agnifilo said. "Or, more likely, is there was this pressure campaign put on him saying while he's in Rikers, 'do you like being there? Because we're about to bring other charges.'

"If he testified in the grand jury, you wouldn't necessarily know it because he'd be brought into the backdoor because he's incarcerated," Agnifilo added. "So unlike the other people Michael Cohen, or [attorney] Bob Costello, who told people that testified and we know about them because we see them going in and out of the building. You wouldn't necessarily see Allen Weisselberg. So it's possible he's already testified, we just don't know." (Newsweek).

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March Madness for both women and men this weekend. This is a story about sports history that precedes it.

Thank you to the Roundup friend and subscriber, Nora Fischer, who pointed out this article.

Long before Serena Williams, there was Ora Washington. Few remember her.

In 1976, when the founders of the Black Athletes Hall of Fame put together that year’s class of inductees, they decided to honor Ora Washington, the preeminent Black female athlete of the early-20th century.
But they ran into a problem — they couldn’t find her.

They optimistically engraved the customary silver bowl and placed a chair for her on the presentation stage, hoping she would appear. She did not.

“We just don’t know what to think,” Hall of Fame founder Charlie Mays told the New York Times.


As the mystery of Washington’s whereabouts persisted, Mays remained upbeat. “Fame has finally found its way into Miss Washington’s life,” he said. “Hopefully it will be better late than never.”
But for Washington herself it was too late. She had died in Philadelphia five years earlier.


Washington dominated Black women’s tennis in the 1920s and 1930s, winning the singles title of the all-Black American Tennis Association every year but one from 1929 to 1937, and taking 12 straight doubles titles from 1925 to 1936.

She won her final ATA championship in her late forties, when she and partner George Stewart defeated Walter Johnson and rising teenage star Althea Gibson for the 1947 mixed doubles crown.


She also towered over Black women’s basketball, playing 12 seasons for the Philadelphia Tribunes, a barnstorming team that sparked excitement everywhere they went.

An ad for a 1932 game dubbed Washington and teammate Inez Patterson “two of the greatest girl players in the world” and promised they would “make you forget the Depression.” In 1938, when the team traveled to Greensboro, N.C., to take on Bennett College, the local paper lauded them as “the fastest girls’ team in the world,” paced by “the indomitable, internationally famed and stellar performer, Ora Washington.”

Washington blazed her own trail. Born at the close of the 19th century in rural Caroline County, Va., she migrated to Philadelphia as a teenager and took a job as a housekeeper.

She didn’t pick up a tennis racket until her twenties, but she took to the game immediately, winning her first ATA crown in 1929, around the time of her 30th birthday. (Her exact birth date is unknown.)

By 1931, the Chicago Defender observed, “her superiority is so evident that her competitors are frequently beaten before the first ball crosses the net.” Her achievements were widely covered in the Black press, making her the nation’s first Black female athletic star.
But as soon as she stopped playing, she slipped into obscurity. (Washington Post).

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Tonight. ESPN. some say 9 pm. Some say 9:30.

South Carolina women's basketball vs Iowa, Caitlin Clark: Final Four scouting report, prediction.

Caitlin Clark, Iowa (left), Aliya Boston, South Carolina.

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DALLAS — South Carolina women’s basketball is one win away from returning to the NCAA Tournament championship game for the second consecutive season.

Before they can defend their 2022 title, the No. 1 Gamecocks (36-0) have to get through a Final Four matchup with 2-seed Iowa (30-6) at American Airlines Center on Friday (9:30 p.m., ESPN). It is the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

The last time South Carolina played in Dallas was during the 2017 Final Four when it won the first NCAA championship in program history. The Gamecocks are in the midst of a historic season, and two more wins in 2023 would make them the fourth program to win consecutive national titles and fifth to finish with an undefeated record. Iowa has not been to a Final Four since 1993.

Can Caitlin Clark be contained?

Iowa star Caitlin Clark, who won Naismith Player of the Year on Wednesday, is having one of the most impressive offensive seasons in the history of women’s college basketball. The junior guard averages 27.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.6 assists per game. She has logged five triple-doubles this year, including the first-ever 40-point triple double during the NCAA Tournament in the Elite Eight against Louisville.

Arguably Clark’s greatest weapon is her incredible range on 3-pointers, and she hits 39% from beyond the arc. However, South Carolina has been effective at limiting sharpshooters this season, holding opponents to an average of 36% on 3-pointers. (Greenville News, Yahoo).

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