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“The people call Michael Cohen.” Donald Trump’s longtime “fixer” delivered critical testimony for prosecutors on Monday in the former president’s “hush money” election interference trial in New York The Associated Press Cohen said he paid “hush money” to silence Stormy Daniels after Trump promised to reimburse him for the expense. Politico Related analysis: “Jurors often want to hear someone recount what they already know occurred, but that has not been said directly.” The New York Times “Cohen was certainly deeply involved in papering over Trump’s messier problems.” Bloomberg Trump is blocked from criticizing witnesses so his political surrogates are doing so on his behalf. The Washington Post Far-right protesters are disrupting campus protests. Some of the counter-protesters who violently interrupted pro-Palestinian protesters at UCLA earlier this month were involved in anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-vaccine protests in southern California over the past three years. The Guardian A study in visual forensics at UCLA. One witness to the mob violence against student protesters called 911 11 times before police officers finally intervened. The Washington Post Minouche Shafik, the president of Columbia University, faces a faculty “no confidence” vote this week for the way the school responded to protesters. The Washington Post A form of selective prosecutions. Eighty-four Republicans in seven states signed onto the “fake electors” scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Dozens are being prosecuted for alleged crimes. Dozens more have not been charged. Politico There’s both praise and criticism for an aggressive grand jury in Arizona that has handed up indictments against Republicans alleged to be involved in the elector scheme in that state. Politico More: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, long touted as “tough-on-crime,” shows a soft spot for Capitol rioters, illegal gun owners and a former president facing scores of charges. NBC News Forced labor didn’t end with the Civil War. A class-action lawsuit in Alabama brought on behalf of incarcerated people forced to work prison jobs for absurdly low wages accuses state officials of human trafficking, racketeering and violations of the Ku Klux Klan Act. It’s not just the low pay. It’s the coercion. Corrections officials often retaliate against prisoners who try to organize or resist work assignments. The case faces many challenges, including an inevitable review by conservative federal appeals courts. Bloomberg TMP Context: What an Alabama strike tells us about prison labor. The Marshall Project
Jury selection began in New York in the federal bribery and corruption trial of Sen. Robert Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat now facing his second corruption prosecution in the last seven years. Politico More: Menendez tried to move the case to New Jersey. The New York Times More background on the case against Menendez. Politico Two people were killed and over 30 others injured in a massive brawl at an Oklahoma prison over the weekend. Corrections officials are blaming an “operational error” for what they call a “group disturbance.” Criminal justice advocates say two gangs that were supposed to be kept apart were allowed to mingle together. USA Today Republican legislators in Louisiana moved last week to define mifepristone and misoprostol — drugs used to induce abortions — as “controlled substances.” Such definitions would create criminal liability for possession of the medicines without a prescription. The Washington Post TMP Context: They lost their pregnancies. Prosecutors sent them to prison. The Marshall Project Mississippi enacted a law last week that will limit the practice of jailing people experiencing a mental health crisis and awaiting court-ordered mental health treatment. Some state officials say the new law won’t be effective unless there are adequate places to send people who cannot be kept behind bars. ProPublica/Mississippi Today Georgia’s strict new voting law, which goes into effect in July, makes it easier for residents to accuse others of voter fraud, even in the absence of viable evidence. ProPublica
In the name of states’ rights. The Republican Attorneys General Association is working day and night to undermine reproductive rights and expand Second Amendment protection. The Nation Delay, delay, delay. Former President Donald Trump’s election interference trial in Georgia will likely be delayed. His Florida classified documents case has no trial date. And we are now less than six months from the November election. The New Republic Everyone is equal. Some are more equal than others. “The state laws cracking down on reform in cities and the elevation of the police to the baronial class pose serious risks to any effort to make our criminal legal system more racially just, especially given that white supremacist organizations have been aggressively seeking to infiltrate police departments.” The American Prospect Right-wing propaganda on immigration, direct from the Darién Gap, in Colombia, a geographical gateway for asylum-seekers and other migrants. “They’re trying, over and over again, to get migrants to the point of saying they like Biden better than Trump and they think Biden is good for migrants.” Slate A flier in her name told migrants to vote for Biden. She didn’t write it, and migrants can’t vote. NPR The Oklahoma Survivors Act helps victims of domestic violence. “Criminalized survivorship is a fundamental flaw in our legal system ― that people in Oklahoma are punished for defending themselves.” The Oklahoman
Correction. Monday’s Opening Statement listed the wrong venue for the start of Sen. Robert Menendez’s bribery and corruption trial. Jury selection began yesterday in federal court in Manhattan. We apologize for the error. Cyril Wecht dies. The pathologist known later for his testimony in high-profile cases first became famous for theorizing that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by more than one shooter. The Associated Press “I liked him better than any other Jew but no way.” A federal judge in California has ordered a review of dozens of capital cases after notes were discovered suggesting that prosecutors selectively excluded Jews from juries. The New York Times Guilty plea for prosecutor. Scott Blair, a former prosecutor in Perry County, Kentucky, pleaded guilty last week to granting favors to criminal defendants in exchange for drugs and sex. The Associated Press “There is going to be a disaster down the road.” Organizations that call themselves churches are giving illegal psychedelic drugs to people seeking an experience that some later call blissful. Experts warn about the lack of oversight over who administers the drugs and how they are used. The New York Times Show them the money. Local governments will receive a large share of the $44 billion in settlement money from opioid lawsuits. But officials in many small towns across the U.S. haven’t yet figured out how best to distribute the money. The Associated Press |
