April 4, 2023

Tuesday,April 4, 2023 ⚖️ Annette’s News Roundup.

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Annette’s News Roundup • Buttondown

Think of this newsletter, sent daily in the am, as a collage of political, gender-related and occasionally theatre-related or food-related stories from across the web, put together with an overlay of my own comments. I hope you will find it useful and informative. The Roundup’s link is https://buttondown.email/AnnettesNewsRoundup. If you include this in your settings, the Roundup will not go into your spam. Please feel free to share and invite others to subscribe.  I think the Roundup makes people feel not so alone. Oh by the way, I wouldn't mind if you gave the Roundup some love through Twitter or Facebook :-) and yes, thank you again for joining.

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In New York, today, the Scales of Justice become better balanced.

Where the Associated Press thinks we are on Trump’s 4 indictments.

Trump faces setbacks in other probes as NY case proceeds.
Yesterday Trump landed at New York’s LaGuardia Airport to appear at his arraignment today. 2:15 EDT.

Manhattan District Alvin Bragg will hold a press conference at 3:30.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump faces the most urgent legal challenge of his life this week in New York, where he’s set to be arraigned Tuesday on charges arising from hush money payments during his 2016 campaign.

But as much of the attention will be on the courthouse in lower Manhattan, investigations from Atlanta to Washington will press forward, underscoring the broad range of peril he confronts as he seeks to reclaim the presidency.

The vulnerability Trump faces in Washington alone has become clear over the past month, as judges in a succession of sealed rulings have turned aside the Trump team’s efforts to block grand jury testimony — including from his own lawyer and his former vice president — from witnesses who were, or still are, close to him and who could conceivably offer direct insight into key events.

The rulings directing advisers and aides to testify don’t suggest that the Justice Department is close to bringing criminal charges, nor do they guarantee that prosecutors can secure testimony valuable to a potential prosecution. But they’re nonetheless a key, closed-door win for the government as it investigates whether classified documents were criminally mishandled at Trump’s Florida home and the possible obstruction of that probe, as well as efforts by Trump and his allies to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election.

“I do think when you’re talking about an attempted insurrection and the kinds of issues that we’re talking about there, there’s going to be a lot of arguments on DOJ’s side” to get the testimony, said Randall Eliason, a former federal prosecutor and a George Washington University law professor.

Meanwhile, the district attorney in Atlanta is continuing to investigate attempts by Trump and his allies to undo his election loss in Georgia. A special grand jury in February said it believed “one or more witnesses” committed perjury and urged local prosecutors to bring charges.

The former president never testified before the special grand jury, meaning he is not among those who could have perjured themselves. But the report doesn’t foreclose the possibility of other charges, and the case still poses particular challenges for Trump, in part because his actions in Georgia were so public.

Overall, the number of sealed disputes over the scope of grand jury testimony is unusual but perhaps befitting for hugely consequential probes like one concerning a former president. It also stands in contrast to the last special counsel investigation involving Trump, when he was president and when Robert Mueller and his team of prosecutors sought to determine whether Trump’s 2016 campaign had colluded with Russia to tip the election.

In that probe, a lawyer inside the White House, Ty Cobb, facilitated voluntary interviews of White House staff — without subpoenas — in hopes that cooperation would hasten the investigation toward conclusion.

“If I could figure out a way to cooperate and still preserve executive privilege, it would speed things up, which in my judgment ... was imperative to the president and to the country,” Cobb said in a recent interview. “We were able to accelerate getting them all of the information.”

Trump in that investigation was protected by the power of his office and by Justice Department legal opinions that say a sitting president cannot be indicted. No longer president, Trump has lost that shield, raising the stakes of his criminal exposure. And as prosecutors have sought to question people close to him — whether to better understand Trump’s state of mind and possible defenses, or to gather potentially damaging testimony — Trump’s lawyers have repeatedly objected, often in vain.

Perhaps the most vivid example came last month when the then-chief judge of the D.C. federal court ordered that Trump’s lawyer, M. Evan Corcoran, had to give more grand jury testimony in the Mar-a-Lago investigation. He had invoked attorney-client privilege in an earlier appearance before the grand jury in declining to answer more questions, but prosecutors pressed for more testimony.

They cited what’s known as the crime-fraud exception to attorney client privilege, which allows prosecutors to compel testimony from a lawyer if they can convince a judge that a client was using legal services in furtherance of a crime. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that Corcoran had to return before the grand jury, and he was in court a week later.

Another instance came last week when a different federal judge, James Boasberg, ruled that former Vice President Mike Pence had to give some testimony in a Justice Department special counsel probe into efforts to undo the election.

The decision rejected the Trump team’s arguments of executive privilege, though Boasberg did give Pence a victory by accepting his lawyers’ arguments that, for constitutional reasons, he could not be questioned about his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Republican Pence was presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.

A Trump spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on this story but responded to the ruling in the Pence matter in a statement saying that the Justice Department “is continuously stepping far outside the standard norms in attempting to destroy the long accepted, long held, Constitutionally based standards of attorney-client privilege and executive privilege.”

Other former Trump aides, including Stephen Miller and former national security adviser Robert O’Brien, have also recently been ordered by a judge to offer testimony despite Trump team objections of executive privilege.

The ability of Justice Department prosecutors in multiple instances to convince judges that there’s a basis to secure the testimony is significant to the extent that it shows that “there’s a there there” with respect to the investigations, Eliason said.

But he cautioned from reading too much into it, given that the threshold for prevailing in a fight over executive privilege or attorney-client is lower than the burden needed to win a criminal case at trial.

“It’s a far cry from being able to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a contested trial,” Eliason said. “It would be quite a leap to go from there and be able to say that they’ve got a criminal case locked up.” (AP).

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CNN Poll: Majority of Americans approve of Trump indictment.

(CNN) — Sixty percent of Americans approve of the indictment of former President Donald Trump, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS following the news that a New York grand jury voted to charge him in connection with hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. About three-quarters of Americans say politics played at least some role in the decision to indict Trump, including 52% who said it played a major role.

Independents largely line up in support of the indictment – 62% approve of it and 38% disapprove. Democrats are near universal in their support for the indictment (94% approve, including 71% who strongly approve of the indictment), with Republicans less unified in opposition (79% disapprove, with 54% strongly disapproving). (CNN).

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Today, Election Day in Wisconsin.

Vote and get out the vote! Volunteer and phone bank if you can — https://www.mobilize.us/wisdems/event/545075/

Defend the right to choose and the right to vote. Elect Janet Protasiewicz to the Wisconsin Supreme Court!

Today, Election Day in Chicago.

Make sure your mail in ballot is postmarked.

Mayoral election. Vote and get out the vote!

Chicago runoff election: How to make sure your mail in ballot is postmarked, counted April 4.

Putting your sealed ballot into a mailbox does not always mean that it will be postmarked on time, so the Chicago Board of Elections recommends voters go to a post office to hand in their ballot on or before Tuesday. Voters can also turn in their ballots at a Secure Dropbox before 7 p.m. on Tuesday for their Vote By Mail ballot to be counted.(ABC7 Chicago)

Johnson, Vallas make final push for votes ahead of Chicago mayoral runoff election.

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Brandon Johnson (left), Paul Vallas (right).

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CHICAGO (CBS) --  It's do or die time for Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson as the mayoral runoff election is just a couple of days away. Both candidates have been making a final push to get out the vote in what polls indicate is an already tight race. The candidates hit up everything from churches to even a jazz club as they try to run out the clock. 

With new numbers in Sunday, the race itself has already shattered records. According to the Chicago Board of Elections, the early vote and vote by mail ballots have already shattered records where nearly a quarter of a million votes have already been cast, compared to one day out of the 2019 municipal election when just 135,000 ballots were counted. 

This sets the stage for what will be a very contentious Election Day. (CBS Chicago).

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Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), rank among a list of progressives backing Brandon Johnson. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and former Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) have endorsed Paul Vallas. (Politico).

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Today, Finland joins NATO.

The Finnish army during shooting practice close to the border with Russia.

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Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland, which has a 832-mile border with Russia, abandoned its earlier policy of neutrality. After the 24th of February 2022 attack, Finland, along with Sweden, applied to join NATO, alongside Sweden.

“Finnish ex-Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said joining the alliance was a "done deal" for his country as soon as Russian troops invaded Ukraine…”

For many Finns, events in Ukraine bring a haunting sense of familiarity. The Soviets invaded Finland in late 1939. For more than three months the Finnish army put up fierce resistance, despite being heavily outnumbered. They avoided occupation, but ended up losing 10% of their territory.”(BBC News)

Turkey continues to block Sweden’s admission, claiming the Nordic nation is harboring terrorists, but Finland’s application was cleared last week.

"We will raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at Nato headquarters. It will be a good day for Finland's security, for Nordic security and for Nato as a whole," NATO chief, Jens Stoltenberg, told reporters in Brussels.

Finland is the 31st nation of the alliance which was founded in 1949 as a protection against feared Soviet aggression.

One of NATO’s founding principles is the principle of collective defense - an attack on one is an attack on all.

The 31 members of NATO and the dates they were admitted are:

1949: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the UK, the US.

1952: Greece, Turkey

1955: Germany

1982: Spain

1999: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland

2004: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia

2009: Albania, Croatia

2017: Montenegro

2020: North Macedonia

(composed by Annette Niemtzow using information from multiple sources).

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Expect Florida to be next.

Judge tells Texas to stop banning books.

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Gun reform is in the air, except in Florida

Yesterday, kids walked out of schools in Tennessee, demanding gun reform.

The organization Students Demand Action is planning a national walkout at noon local time this Wednesday, April 5, 2023, for students who want to participate. The purpose of the walkout is to demand action from lawmakers to address gun violence in a commandingly visible (but still peaceful) way. (From We are Teachers).

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis quietly signs permitless concealed carry law.

With little fanfare, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Monday allowing residents to carry a concealed loaded weapon without a permit.

DeSantis signed the bill in a nonpublic event in his office with only bill sponsors, legislative leaders and gun rights advocates, including the National Rifle Association, in attendance. 

It was a notable departure for a governor who regularly holds splashy news conferences and bill-signing ceremonies. 

Florida is now the 26th state to pass some form of permitless carry legislation. The signing comes one week after six people, including three children, were gunned down at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee.

“This is a momentous step in the Constitutional Carry movement as now the majority of American states recognize the Constitution protects the right for law-abiding Americans to defend themselves outside their homes without fees or permits,” Randy Kozuch, interim executive director of the NRA-ILA, the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association, said in a statement, which included a picture of the event. “The carry movement began decades ago and the NRA has been working to get this legislation passed throughout America. Therefore, today is indeed a day to celebrate.” (NBCNews).
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20 Journalists in Russian Jails. Here are details on one.

The arrest of an American journalist in Russia is awful. For me, it’s also painfully personal by Margaret Sullivan.

The arrest of an American journalist in Russia is awful. For me, it’s also painfully personal.

His face stared out from news stories on Thursday morning, accompanied by headlines like this one in the Guardian: “Russia arrests reporter and accuses him of espionage.”

Oh, that’s awful, I thought at first, reflecting that we really are involved in some kind of new cold war, and there is no end to the toll that authoritarian governments will take on journalists. The imprisonment of journalists is at a historic high worldwide; I’ve written columns about that. And I know that there are close to 20 journalists in Russian jails and that Vladimir Putin’s administration has instituted harsh consequences for what it considers “fake” news, a highly subjective judgment.

And then, a moment later, another reality hit me.
Evan,” I said out loud in my hotel room. In that moment, this news story moved out of the realm of professional dismay and into the intensely personal.

Suddenly, this was the fresh-faced young man in his early 20s, a recent graduate of Bowdoin College, often wearing a pine-green pullover sweater and with his hair in slight disarray, with whom I had worked so closely at the New York Times.

During my last year there as public editor (the paper’s reader representative and ombudswoman), Evan Gershkovich was my editorial assistant.

Gershkovich, a US citizen who is accredited to work as a journalist in Russia by the country’s foreign ministry, has done just that in his deeply reported coverage, like a story earlier this month about protests in Georgia over a controversial Russian-style foreign-agents bill.

Yet now he has become, essentially, a hostage.

“They’ve chosen a well-known journalist from an authoritative media outlet,” Ivan Pavlov, Russia’s leading defense lawyer in espionage cases, was quoted in the Guardian. “The idea is to have an ace up their sleeve for negotiations.”

If it is helpful, as CPJ’s Gulnoza Said insists, to keep the world’s attention on Evan Gershkovich’s awful plight, let’s do just that.

The idealistic, hardworking and professional young journalist I know and admire deserves nothing less. (The Guardian).

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Brittney Griner Speaks Out Following Journalist's Arrest In Russia.

WASHINGTON (AP) — American basketball star Brittney Griner and her wife are concerned about the detainment in Russia of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and said “we must do everything in our power to bring him and all Americans home.”

“Every American who is taken is ours to fight for and every American returned is a win for us all,” Griner, who was held in Russia for most of last year, said in a statement with Cherelle Griner posted Saturday night on Instagram.

One more thing. Evan Gershkovich is the child of Russian-Jewish emigres. There will be a new symbol at some Passover seders: an empty seat for Evan Gershkovich.

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Ms Foundation Women of Vision Awards. May 16.

Celebrating generations of progress and power.

You may know Eve served on the Ms Board for 8 years until she term-limited off. We will be there. Please let us know if you plan to come.

Meghan to receive Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Award.

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown will receive the Ms. Foundation’s Women of Vision Award in May, the nation’s oldest women’s foundation announced Monday.

The awards will be handed out at the Ms. Foundation’s annual gala on May 16 at New York City’s Ziegfeld Ballroom, part of its 50th anniversary celebration where funds raised will go toward the organization’s equity-centered initiatives.

The foundation will also honor Wanda Irving, co-founder of Dr. Shalon’s Maternal Action Project, and Kimberly Inez McGuire, executive director of URGE, as well as emerging leaders abortion rights activist Olivia Julianna and LGBTQ+ advocate Rebekah Bruesehoff.

“Meghan, LaTosha, Wanda, Kimberly, Olivia, and Rebekah are incredible leaders,” Teresa C. Younger, Ms. Foundation president and CEO, said in a statement. “We are grateful to be able to shine a light on their many accomplishments and tireless work on behalf of gender and racial equity across the country and the world.”

Meghan will receive the award for “her global advocacy to empower and advocate on behalf of women and girls” from Gloria Steinem, Ms. Foundation co-founder.

With her husband, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan directs their philanthropy through their Archewell Foundation. (Associated Press)

Here is the invitation for RSVPs.

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