Transcript

4.18.26 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post for the
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eighteenth of April twenty twenty six. Your reader is Alice
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Stainer with the remainder the RADIOI is for those blind
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or with other disabilities making it difficult to read or
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hold printed material. I start with today's Saturday the eighteenth
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front page. So the front page of the Washington Post.
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On the far left. Chevron scores a big win at
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high court ruling puts into question a seven hundred and.
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Speaker 2: Forty five million dollar.
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Speaker 1: Judgment to help restore wetlands by Julian Mark. The big
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headlines taking up the rest of the front page in
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bold letters, Nuclear deal with a is at hand, Trump says,
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Hormos now open to run, announces, President says nearly all
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his demands being met by Karen de Young, Susannah, George
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Evan Helper and John Hudson. And there's a picture displaced
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residents waving a flag with the image of Hesbela Alita
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Naum Kassim as they returned to their village Friday in Lebanon.
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And you see the car with flowers coming out of
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the front window and the Hesbelah flag being flown out
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of the back window. Behind the driver, it's a big
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yellowy flag with the image of named Cassim and he's
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got his white head he's on which compliments his white beard,
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and he's got his hand up in the end of
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their finger pointing towards Allah, a word in Arabic I
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don't understand. And then the background is a city and
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I don't know what village it is. The article is
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Lebanese family's rush home amid shaky ceasefire, celebrations and relief
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despite uncertainty over Hesbelah's response Bau Mohammed by Mohammed al
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Chama and Susannah George and that is of Lebanon. And
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then below the fold on the left, Trump presses on
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in effort to reframe the January six riots. Administration moves
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to bakate some of the last remaining convictions by Mark Berman,
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and it shows a person climbing scaffolding outside of the
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capitol on January sixth, doing the mob attack on the bill.
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That's what says. Under the picture, you see a gentleman
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waving a flag and you see the letters K something
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and I don't know that that what it goes into's
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a lot of rad showing he's coming out from underneath
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the tarp, and there are others with masks on sitting
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on top of a capital pillop. Congress extends FISA surveillance
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law ten days Trump officials link warrantless Dota Cullington Nation
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Security by Noah Robertson, Marianna Alfaro and Theodoric mail Our
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first front page article. Iran disputes claims of new agreements
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with Trump. Tran puts limits on the Strait of Hormuz's
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opening as the United States issued a new sanctions exemption
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on the sale of Russian oil by Karen De Young, Susannah,
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George Evan Helper, and John Hudson. President Donald Trump declared
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Friday that Iran has agreed to virtually all of his
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demands to end its nuclear program forever, and said that
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talks to finalize the deal, probably held this weekend, should
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go very quickly. In a flurry of social media post
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and meteor interviews, Trump said the United States we'll work
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with Iran at what he called a leisurely pace, with
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no need for American ground troops to retrieve all of
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its spirit highly enriched uranium and turn it over to
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the US. He said Iran would receive no money for
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agreeing to an unlimited halt to all nuclear activities.
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Speaker 2: With US help.
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Speaker 1: Trump said Iran was removing all sea minds in the
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Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran earlier in the day said
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it would reopen to commercial shipping.
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Speaker 2: He said Iran has agreed.
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Speaker 1: Never to close the waterway again, deploying its own social
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media flourishes. Iran dismissed Trump's assertions the President of the
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United States made seven claims in one hour, all seven
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of which were false. Chief Iranian negotiator Mohammed Ghadlieff wrote
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on x late Friday, adding they did not win the
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war with these laws, and they will certainly not get
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anywhere in negotiations either. Media warfare and engineering public opinion
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are an important part of war, and the Iranian nation
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is not affected by these tricks, Ghalif said, also adding
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with the continuation of the blockade, this Trait of Harmuz
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will not remain open. A Foreign Ministry statement posted by
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state broadcaster IRB and Capps said the Americans talk excessively
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and create noise around the situation. Do not be misled.
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There is no new agreement. In his own post, Foreign
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Minister Abbas Aragaichi said the straits opening would be limited,
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lasting until a two week ceasefire expires early next week,
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unless a broader agreement is reached, and that travel was
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permitted only along the Iranian approved coordinated route. He emphasized
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that the decision had come after Israel and Lebanon agreed,
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under US pressure to a separate temporary ceasefire in that
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separate wall, a key demand of Iran's Trump's announcement that
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the Strait was open brought an immediate drop in oil prices,
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and global markets responded favorably, with the cost of a
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barrel of BNT crude the global benchmark for oil falling
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more than ten per cent to under eighty nine dollars
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in futures trading. Before the war, roughly one fifth of
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the world's oil and natural gas moved through the Harmer's
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choke point. Arions clamped down in response to the US
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and Israeli assault, saw gas prices rise in much of
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the world and touched off energy shortages in parts of Asia.
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It was unclear Friday how many ships would be able
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or feel confident enough to take advantage of the Iranian
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declared reopening. There was no discernible increase in traffic through
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the strait immediately following the late in the day announcement,
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according to maritime tracking organizations. Brent Erickson, managing principle at
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Obsidian Risk Advisors, which specializes in financial crime and regulatory issues,
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said this strait normally handles more than one hundred vessels
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crossings per day. A single designed or designated Carrida with
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Iranian authorization requirements cannot replicate that volume. Reopening the straight
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on paper and vessels actually transiting it are two very
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different things. Captains and shipping companies make decisions based on
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cruise safety, not diplomatic announcements. Ericson said at the same time,
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the US will continue its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
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In comments to reporters in Phoenix, where he was speaking
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at a Turning Point USA event, Trump said, soon as
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the agreements get signed, that's when the blockade ends. US
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forces have turned back twenty one ships since the blockade
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took effect Monday, sent Kam said Friday. Asked later about
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the Iranian statements, rejecting his assertions on agreements, Trump said,
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they have people they have to cater to. Also, I'm
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just doing the thing that's right. The Trump administration also
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reauthorized its PAWS on sensions of tens of millions of
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barrels of Russian oil Friday, when the sanctions were supposed
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to resume. The paws had been framed by the administration
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as a short lived measure that would relieve pressure on
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oil markets but would not errates significant income for Russia. However,
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analysts say that it has created a windfall for the
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Kremlin and that Friday's move will substantially add to it.
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On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Viscent said at a White
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House briefing that the temporary sanctions WABO first announced on
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March eleventh for all Russian oil already on board takers
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at sea will not be extended. Besset said, we will
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not be renewing the general license on Russian oil. That
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was oil that was on the water prior to March eleventh,
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so all that has been used. A notice Friday or
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a notice announcing the renewal, was posted on Treasury's website
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late Friday, authorizing the sale of all Russian oil at
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sea as of April seventeenth. In interviews with Reuters and Bloomberg,
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Trump said that he hadn't decided who would head a
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US delegation to what he said were upcoming peace talks
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likely to be helen Islamabad, Pakistan's capital. At an initial
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round of talks held there last, Vice President J. D.
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Bance headed the team that included Whitehouse Envoy Steve Whitkoff
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and Jared Kushner. Trump's son in law, asked if he
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might attend a signing ceremony in Pakistan should a deal
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be reached. Trump said he might, but hadn't decided yet.
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He again rejected a proposal Dance made during the first
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round for a twenty year moratorium on all uranium enrichment
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by Iran. No years unlimited, Trump told Bloomberg. Trump also
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pushed back on reports that the US would release twenty
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billion dollars in frozen Iranian funds in exchange for giving
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up its stockpilem enriched uranium, telling your routers it's totally false.
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No money is changing hands. Iran has demanded the lifting
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of all economic sensions and restitution for war damages on
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removal of what the International Atomic Energy Agency has said
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is about nine hundred and forty pounds of a highly
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enriched uranium close to weapons grade buried under the rubble
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of last year's U. S and Israeli bombing campaign. Trump said,
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We're going to get it together. We're going to go
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in with Iran at a nice leisurely pace and go
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down and start excavating with big machinery. Dat dat dat,
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We'll bring it back to the United States. He told
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a CBS News reporter that the endeavor would not require
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the use of U S. Ground personnel in negotiations. Iran
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has said it would dilute or otherwise remove the material,
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and it has offered a moratorium on further high level
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enrichment for three to five years. Neither side on Friday
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mentioned additional US demands previously rejected by Iran that it
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curtail its ballistic missile program and stopped support for regional
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proxy militias. Trump also used social media on Friday to
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reiterate his frustrations that European powers didn't join the war
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effort last month, despite his lack of consultation with them
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ahead of time. Now that the hor Moo Strait situation
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is over, I received a call from NATO in caps
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asking if we would need some help in Caps. I
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told them to stay away unless they just want to
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load up their ships with oil, Trump wrote, adding they
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were useless when needed.
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Speaker 2: A paper tiger.
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Speaker 1: In a u's news conference after the opening of the
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strait was announced, French President Emmanuel Macran, British Prime Minister
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kir Starmer, German Chancellor Fredique Mertz, and Italian Prime Minister
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Georgia Maloney praised the opening of the strait while calling
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for a permanent plan to restore freedom of navigation. Starmer said,
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we welcomed the announcement that was being made during our meeting,
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but we need to make sure that that is both
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lasting and a workable proposal. Trump's announcements of diplomatic progress
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on the Strait caught European allies off guard, said a
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diplomat familiar with the matter, in the latest sign of
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disunity among the Western powers. The diplomat, who spoke on
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the condition of anonymity, added, we were holding a meeting
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on the street and had no idea of this would
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be announced in the middle of the meeting.
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Speaker 2: It was embarrassing.
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Speaker 1: Amid his social media post cleaning major breakthroughs, Trump declared
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that it was a great and brilliant day for the world.
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Speaker 2: In all caps.
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Speaker 1: He continued his criticism of news coverage of the war, saying,
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some US outlets are desperately looking for a reason to
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criticize him on the Iran situation.
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Speaker 2: Why don't they just say at.
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Speaker 1: The right time, Job well done, mister president, Job well done,
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mister President. In all caps, he asked, the other big
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article on the front page and this one.
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Speaker 2: On the left.
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Speaker 1: Supreme Court hands wind to Chevron big oil and environmental
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damage case. The case holds particular relevance in Louisiana, where
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the oil and gas industry remains a major employer and
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the coastal region has steadily vanished in recent decades by
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Julian Mark. The Supreme Court on Friday sided with the
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oil giant Chevron, ruling that it can fight an environmental
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damaged lawsuit in federal court, a decision that could affect
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the outcomes of nearly a dozen other lawsuits that make
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similar allegations about the oil and gas industry. The unanimous
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decision puts into question a seven hundred and forty five
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million dollars state court judgment against Chevron to help restore
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coastal wetlands in Louisiana that were damaged as long ago
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as World War II, Chevron had asked the Supreme Court
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to order the case moved to federal court, were legal
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asperts say judges and juries are less likely to have
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a toward local interest. A move to federal court also
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means the massive judgment could be vacated. Just as Samuel A. Alito Jr.
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Did not participate in the case, shortly before arguments in January,
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he recused himself citing financial interest in Conco Phillips, the
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parent of Burlington Resources Oil and Gas, a party in
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a related case. The heart of Chevron's case dated to
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World War II, when the firm's predecessors played a key
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role in the refinement of Aviation Gas or a v
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Gas to meet the demands of the war. Because the
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work was of behalf of US government interest, the company
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and its backwardes have argued claims regarding the actions at
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the time should be heard in a federal court rather
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than at the state level.
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Speaker 2: The High Court agreed.
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Speaker 1: In this all hands on deck wartime context, Shvron needed
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to produce more crude oil as quickly as possible to
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facilitate moy Be Gas refinding, including its own Justice Clarence
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Thomas wrote for the majority, the decision is a blow
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to Plaque Mines Parish in Louisiana as it seeks to
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rectify significant coastal damage. It could also hamper separate efforts
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to hold oil companies accountable for environmental damage they allegedly
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contribute to experts, say John Carmoch, the attorney representing Plaquemaimes Parish, said,
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a jury of residence decided the case after hearing the
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overwhelming evidence of the failure by these companies to repair
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what they destroyed. The Supreme Court has decided that people
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of Plaquemimes did not have the right to make this decision.
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So while we strongly disagree, we accept what the court said.
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He added, no doubt there will be an effort by
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big oil to deny the people of the impacted parishes
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their right to make these decisions in their courts. Plaquemines
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Parish foiled its lawsuit in twenty thirteen, along five other
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coastal parishes. It alleges that oil companies had caused environmental
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damage in violation of nineteen seventy eight States law aimed
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at conserving the imperiled coastline. The litigation holds particular reverence
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in Louisiana, where the oil and gas industry remains a
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major employer and the coastal region has steadily vanished in
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recent decades.
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Speaker 2: A twenty seventeen.
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Speaker 1: Analysis by the US Geological Survey fearing that the state
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had lost abay two thousand square miles of land along
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its coast from nineteen thirty two to twenty sixteen. That
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equates to losing about a football fields worth of coastal
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wetlands every thirty four minutes during periods of most rapid loss.
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Scientists have documented how oil and gas extraction has played
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a significant role in the degradation of such landscapes.
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Speaker 2: Over time.
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Speaker 1: Oil spills have stressed vesitation and wildlife. The dredging of
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canals and construction of pipelines have altered natural hydrology, increased
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salt water intrusion, and undermanned wetlands. In April of twenty
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twenty five, Louisiana State Court jury ruled that Chevron must
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pay almost seven hundred and forty five million dollars to
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help restore coastal wetlands and plaque mines perish for damage
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that may have started during the World War II to
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era rush for fuel Comusch said he and his team
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will aggressively defend the rights of Louisiana citizens and will
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continue in the fight to restore and rebuild what has
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been harmed or destroyed. The decision's effects could reach far
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beyond the Louisiana case. Other companies that do business with
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the federal government are likely to pursue arguments similar to
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Chevron's in the future, said Mark Davis, director of the
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centerph Environmental Law at Tulane University. Chevron applauded the decision
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as the court recognized the plaintiff's claims are related to
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activities that Chevron and other energy companies performed under federal
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supervision during World War Two. Company spokesman Bill Tirini said
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in a statement those claims are flawed as a matter
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of both statements law and federal law, and Chevron looks
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forward to litigating these cases in federal court where they belong.
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Congress approves ten day extension for warrant less surveillance law.
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Trump officials say the program is vital to national security,
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but skeptics, including some Republicans, have stonewalled its reauthorization without
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changes to protect civil liberties. By Noah Robertson, Marianna Alfaro,
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and Theodoric Mayl. Congress agreed Friday to briefly extend an
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expiring a warrantless surveillance program after arrestive group of House
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Republicans refused to go along with efforts to reauthorize the
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controversial law. The ten day extension, which the Senate approved
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hours after an overnight session in the House, will allow
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Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, more time to seek
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a compromise in the lower chamber with skeptical members of
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his party.
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Speaker 2: Section seven oh two.
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Speaker 1: Of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that's FSAY Foreign Intelligence
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Surveillance Act, permits the US government to collect from American
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communication firms the text, emails, and phone calls of foreigners
23:28
living overseas without a warrant. It is due to expire Monday.
23:34
Trump administration officials have said the tool is vital to
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protecting US citizens from rescuing Americans held hostage abroad to
23:43
preventing terrorist attacks, but it has also been a long
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time target of civil libertarians in Congress, including many members
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of the conservative House Freedom Corpus, who are troubled by
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aspects of the program that they say could infringe on
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americans privacy rights. Some Democrats have also expressed fears that
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with better safeguards, the law could be exploited by the
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administration to spy on people and groups who oppose President
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Donald Trump. The administration has downplayed assertions that the program
24:22
is vulnerable to abuse, and Trump is expected to sign
24:26
the short extension into law. The episode is the latest
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instance during Trump's second term in which ideological differences have
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split House Republicans and undercut the president's desire for swift
24:41
legislation legislative action. He has faced pushback from within the
24:47
GOP on a range of issues, from his controversial trade
24:51
agenda to matters of domestic spending and foreign policy, and
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the path ahead now appears to be uncertain at best.
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Speaking to reporters after the Senate approved the ten day extension,
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Majority Leader John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, appeared to
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acknowledge the dilemma that Johnson faces, saying, I don't know
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what the House is going to be able to do,
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so we'll be preparing accordingly, Johnson, who can afford to
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lose only two votes with his razor thin majority, twice
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tried and failed to reauthorize the program early Friday morning,
25:32
before clearing the stopgap measure that would allow talks to
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continue until April thirtieth. Trump has long portrayed himself as
25:41
a victim of past overreach by intelligence community, claiming that
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federal law enforcement during the Obama administration illegally surveiled his
25:52
twenty sixteen campaign for president. I'm willing to risk the
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giving up of my rights and privileges as this sin
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cd for at great military and country, Trump wrote on
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social media as he sought to rally Republicans this week,
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urging them to stick together and reauthorize the program. A
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Justice Department inspected General probe found that the FBI made
26:17
significant errors in its application to survey Trump associate Card Page,
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who it suspected of being a foreign agent for Russia.
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That surveillance was conducted under a different section of the
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Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, not section seven oh two. Multiple
26:39
independent reviews, including a bipartisan probe by the Senate Intelligence
26:45
Committee and an assessment by US by agencies, found that
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Moscow intervened in the twenty sixteen campaign to boost the
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Trump campaign. Friday's failed votes in the vala days of
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negotiations in which leadership repeatedly delayed considering the legislation in
27:07
hopes of striking a deal with Republican members demanding changes
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to the program. The administration, meanwhile, has increased its pressure
27:16
campaign on House lawmakers opposed to the bill, dispatching CIA
27:21
director John Ratcliffe, a former Host member, to Capitol Hill
27:26
this week in warning that losing section seven two would
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imperil US national security. Trump wrote in his social media
27:35
post this week that the US military desperately needs FSA
27:41
seven two in it is one of the reasons we
27:44
have had such tremendous success all caps on the battlefield,
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both in Venezuela and Iran. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
27:53
of Staff, General Dan Kine, also urged lawmakers to back
27:58
the renewal in a letters sent to Capitol Hill on Monday,
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arguing that a failed to vote would increase risk to
28:06
the Joint Force, degrade our worldwide combat lethality, and significantly
28:13
impair US national security. According to a copy of the
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document obtained by The Washington Post, members of the Host
28:22
Freedom of Caucus have urged amendments to the program, including
28:26
a requirement for national security agencies to obtain a warrant
28:31
before searching for data involving Americans, for example, in cases
28:36
when foreign nationals targeted under the program are communicating with
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US citizens. We understand and agree with the President that
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we need seven o two authority to go after bad
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guys abroad, said Representative Chip Roy, Republican of Texas, a
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Freedom Caucus member, in an interview this week. We're fighting
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for greater protections, but administration officials say that requiring a
29:04
warrant can be a lengthy process that could impede the
29:08
timely provision of intelligence for national security purposes. One of
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the two that failed overnight represented an attempt by House
29:17
leadership in civil libertarians to find a compromise permitting slight
29:22
revisions to the program in exchange for a five year extension.
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The deal ultimately failed to satisfy the Republican holdouts, who
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see this as a rare opportunity to force changes. Representative
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Warren Davidson of Ohio, one Republican holdout, said in a
29:42
social media post Friday that the program won't be renewed
29:46
with a suitable warrant requirement. Still, Davidson predicted the deal
29:52
was close. The host later voted down or proposed eighteen
29:56
month extension of the program without changes. Johnson is limited
30:01
in what changes he can permit to the program without
30:04
alienating other parts of his majority and some national security
30:08
oriented Democrats who are likely to support its final passage.
30:14
Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, a longtime critic of FISA, ISA,
30:21
did not block the ten day extension when it reached
30:24
the Senate floor Friday, arguing that allowing the program to
30:28
expire would make it harder to win the changes he
30:31
and his allies are seeking. The reality is that the
30:35
country believes that security and liberty are not mutually exclusive.
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Speaker 2: We can have both. A good bill that we're.
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Speaker 1: Insisting on will do that, Widen said on the Senate floor.
30:49
Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the
30:54
House Intelligence Committee, this week, hosted a call with senior
30:58
intelligence officials from the Biden administration and around three dozen
31:03
Democratic colleagues to make the case for reauthorizing the tool.
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A Congressional aid said Himes is pushed for an amendment
31:12
that would require the FBI to seek approval from a
31:15
court that oversees the FISA program before accessing data. Collected
31:20
on US persons, political organizations, and nonprofits, an attempt to
31:26
find a middle ground between the national security hawks who
31:30
want to continue the program without revisions, and civil libertarians
31:34
pushing for a full warrant requirement. Nobody wants to have
31:39
this conversation in thirty days. Just get it done now,
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Himes said in an interview Thursday. According to Trump Administration
31:49
talking point shared with Capitol Hill, this month, the Foreign
31:53
Intelligence Surveillance Court approved certifications that would allow the government
31:58
to continue collecting for a year even if Congress failed
32:02
to renew the program. The possibility could prompt telecommunications firms
32:08
to stop providing the information, though out of concern that
32:12
doing so could lead to legal challenges. Congress should not
32:17
needlessly rush to extend this authority without the American people
32:21
and their elected representatives knowing the full truth about the
32:25
extent of ongoing abuses and compliance failures. Senators Mike Lee,
32:31
Republican of Utah and Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, two
32:36
senators who agree on a few other issues, wrote Friday
32:40
in a New York Times op ed. They argued government
32:46
officials have failed to testify before Congress about their use
32:51
of this authority since it was last reauthorized, and in
32:56
the recent ruling on the annual certification, the court reportedly
33:01
found problems, but the details of those concerns remained classified.
33:08
Trump administration deepens quest to stamp out the events of
33:15
January sixth. In his second term, the president has doubled
33:20
it down on efforts to reframe public perception of the
33:23
twenty twenty one attack on the US Capitol in courts
33:27
and beyond.
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Speaker 2: By Mark Berman.
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Speaker 1: Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year,
33:36
his administration has enthusiastically and steadily embraced his campaign to
33:41
try to rewrite the story of the January sixth, twenty
33:45
twenty one attack on the US Capitol. Trump immediately granted
33:50
a blanket pardon to nearly everyone charged or convicted in
33:53
connection with the attack, calling them patriots. Earlier this year,
33:59
his White House posted a falsehood strewn retelling of that day.
34:04
Then this week, his administration moved to vacate some of
34:07
the last remaining and the most serious criminal convictions dimming
34:12
from the riot. This last custer cluster of convictions was
34:18
handed down to twelve members of the right wing Proud
34:21
Boys and Oath Keepers. The Justice Department said undoing their
34:26
convictions was in the interest of justice, but did not specify.
34:31
While the Capital riot followed a rally where Trump repeated
34:36
his false claims that he defeated Joe Biden in the
34:39
twenty twenty presidential election, a mob stormed and breached the capital,
34:46
forcing lawmakers to evacuate and delaying the certification of Biden's
34:51
election for hours. More than one hundred and forty police
34:55
officers were injured, and the Justice Department has said the
34:59
attack cost millions of dollars in damage. In the aftermath,
35:05
the Justice Department launched the largest investigation.
35:08
Speaker 2: In its history.
35:10
Speaker 1: More than fifteen hundred people recharged in connection with the attack.
35:15
A host committee launched its own probe for Trump and
35:18
his supporters. The January six criminal cases became symbols of
35:23
what they called Justice Department overreach Under Brighten. They have
35:28
assailed the conditions in which people were jailed, said defendants
35:32
were accessively charged, and called in some cases for retribution
35:37
for the prosecutions. Since Trump's second term began, his administration
35:43
has turned some of these complaints into action. A Justice
35:48
Department task force has been examining weaponization in the response
35:54
to January sixth, including probing the work of investigators. The
35:58
agency has also continued looking backward in other prominent ways,
36:03
such as again scrutinizing the twenty twenty election, even though
36:07
courts and independent reviews have found no evidence of significant fraud.
36:15
Trump's effort to reframe what happened on January six appears
36:19
in many ways to be an attempt to reshape public perceptions.
36:24
The details of what happened that day remain accessible and
36:27
documented in an expansive universe of videos, accounts, and court filings.
36:34
The day he was inaugurated last year, Trump pardoned most
36:38
January sixth dependants, some of whom are now seeking elected office.
36:43
The president also commuted the sentences for more than a
36:46
dozen others. Pardons lift certain restrictions, including on gun ownership.
36:53
Commuting sentences meanwhile cuts short punishments. The members of the
36:59
Proud Boys the Oathkeepers, whose convictions were still intact had
37:03
been found guilty of counts that included sedacious conspiracy and
37:08
were appealing. If the appeals proceeded, the Justice Department would
37:13
have had to defend their cases with the deadline looming
37:17
for briefs. Janine Pierrot, the u S attorney in d C.
37:21
Wrote in court filings this week that she was asking
37:25
an appeals court to vacate the convictions and send the
37:29
cases back to a lower court. At that point, Pierrot
37:33
said the Justice Department would seek to dismiss the indictments
37:37
with prejudice, meaning prosecutors could not refile the cases. In
37:43
court papers, Pierrot pointed to Trump's communications and wrote that
37:48
it was not in the interest of Justice to continue
37:52
to prosecute this case all the cases of others similarly
37:55
situated defendants. She did not elaborate on her decision. Her
38:00
request is likely to be granted because prosecutors have wide
38:04
latitude to decide what charges to pursue or abandon. Attorneys
38:10
for defendants praised Piro's decision. Jonathan Crisp, a defense attorney
38:15
for Jessica Watkins, an oath Keeper's leader, said they were
38:19
grateful that this is happening. Loram Pattis, an attorney for
38:24
Joseph Biggs, one of the Proud Boys, called the move
38:27
long overdue. Piero's request drew sharp condemnation from others. Representative
38:34
Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, Raking, member of the Hoght
38:38
Judiciary Committee called it an appalling and dangerous turn of events.
38:44
This is an insult to the jurors who heard the
38:47
evidence and did their civic duty, to the judges who
38:51
presided over these cases and sentenced these criminals, and above all,
38:56
to the heroic officers who were wounded, bloodied, and broken
39:00
defending our democracy on that terrible day. Raskin said in
39:05
a statement. Seeking to wipe out these cases because the
39:10
top of the administration no longer believes in them is
39:13
a tremendous blow to the rule of law, said a
39:17
former prosecutor who worked on January six cases but did
39:21
not try the sedacious conspiracy ones. When a jury renders
39:27
a verdict dot dot, it is a strong signal that
39:31
not only did we get the law right and the
39:34
facts right, but we actually convinced twelve members, said the
39:38
ex prosecutor, who spoke on the condition of anemnity for
39:42
fear of retaliation.
39:45
Speaker 2: The prosecutor added.
39:46
Speaker 1: How many times can you sit down and talk about
39:49
anything and get twelve people to agree with you, including
39:53
on something like sedition. It's a powerful message that the
39:58
jury recognized the gravity of the offenses and the proof
40:02
beyond a reasonable doubt. A head of Trump's pardons, some
40:08
federal judges handing January sixth cases had appointedly stressed the
40:13
importance of the court process in documents documenting what happened
40:18
that day. It needs to be crystal clear. It's not patriotism.
40:24
It's not standing up for America. It's not free speech
40:28
to descend violently on the capitol at the urging of
40:31
a disappointed candidate. US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said
40:37
while sentencing a Proud Boys member in December of twenty
40:40
twenty four. Since being pardoned by Trump, some January sixth
40:45
defendants have been seeking their own government jobs. In Oregon,
40:50
a man pardoned on charges of obstructing an official proceeding
40:54
is running for governor. A man pardon after pleading guilty
40:58
to assaulting law enforcement is running for a host seat.
41:01
In South Carolina, and in Florida, a man photographed hauling
41:06
Speaker Nancy Pelosi's lectern through the capitol on January sixth
41:12
is running for a seat on Manate County's Board of Commissioners.
41:17
He is using a silhouette of him carrying Pelosi's lectern
41:21
as his campaign logo and is referred to January sixth
41:25
as patriots Dad. Beyond granting clemency, Trump and his administration
41:31
have taken aim at the federal government's approach to January
41:35
sixth in other significant ways. Attorneys who worked on January
41:40
six prosecutions were fired last fall. Two federal prosecutors in
41:45
DC were placed on leave after writing in court papers
41:49
at the Capitol attack was a riot carridate by a mob.
41:54
The administration agreed last year to pay nearly five million
41:58
to the family of Ashley Lee Babbott, a Trump supporter
42:03
shot and killed by police during the Capitol riot who
42:06
has become a martyr among some of his base. Trump
42:10
also floated support for the idea of financially compensating January
42:14
sixth defendants.
42:16
Speaker 2: Earlier this year, on the.
42:18
Speaker 1: Fifth anniversary of the riot, the White House unveiled a
42:21
website that recast January sixth is a moment when Trump's
42:25
supporters were unfairly targeted, overcharged, and used as political examples.
42:31
The site also decried what it called a fraud ridden election.
42:37
Trump himself had also been indicted in charge with conspiring
42:41
to obstruct the twenty twenty election results, though the case
42:45
was dropped after he won the twenty twenty four presidential election.
42:50
There are also other lingering court cases tied in some
42:53
fashion to January sixth. The Trump administration has sought to
42:57
ditch some of those too. The Justice Department is backing
43:02
efforts by Stephen K.
43:04
Speaker 2: Bannon, a right wing.
43:06
Speaker 1: Podcaster and ex Trump strategists, to dismiss his conviction for
43:10
defying a congressional subpoena related to January sixth. In a
43:16
filing in his case earlier this year, Piot asked a
43:19
judge to dismiss Bannon's indictment in the interest of justice.
43:24
The US Supreme Court earlier this month sided with Bannett,
43:27
sending his case back to an appeals court for reconsideration.
43:32
Last fall, the Justice Department said it no longer supported
43:36
the conviction of Peter Navarro, Trump's trade adviser, who has
43:40
served a four month sentence for defying a January six
43:43
related congressional subpoena. Trump and his administration have also repeatedly
43:49
set their sights on the issue. Inexplorably tired to January sixth,
43:55
his false claims that he really won the twenty twenty election.
44:00
Since returning to office, Trump and his aide stacked the
44:03
upper levels of the Justice Department and other agencies with
44:07
attorneys and activists who questioned or have sought to overturn
44:11
election results, such as Kurt Olson, who spoke with Trump
44:15
multiple times on January sixth, twenty twenty one, and is
44:19
now advising the White House on election issues. Last year,
44:23
the Office of Director of National Intelligence, Tulsa Gabbard, took
44:28
the unusual step of examining voting machines used in Puerto Rico.
44:33
The administration and Trump allies unsuccessfully sought to take possession
44:38
of voting machines from Colorado and Missouri, and in recent months,
44:43
the Justice Department seized twenty twenty ballots from Fulton County, Georgia,
44:47
and a trove of twenty twenty election data from Maricopa County, Arizona.
44:54
Trump last year also sought to rewrite election rules with
44:58
an executive order that courts quickly blocked. He renewed his
45:02
effort last month with the new executive voter that purports
45:06
to restrict mail ballots. States voting rights groups and the
45:10
Democratic National Committee have separately sued, arguing the president doesn't
45:16
have the power to do that. Simultaneously, the Justice Department
45:20
demanded states provided with copies of their voter rolls that
45:24
include sensitive information and sued thirty of them for not
45:28
providing them. The Justice Department has lost four cases and
45:32
reached a settlement with one state. The other cases are pending.
45:39
Speaker 2: Going inside.
45:41
Speaker 1: Agencies in talk with Trump family to resolve twenty ten
45:46
billion dollar lawsuit over tax leaks. President Donald Trump, in
45:52
his personal capacity and his two sons sued the IRS
45:56
and the Treasury Department over leaks of their tax information
46:00
to news organizations. By Megan Vasquez, Federal agencies are engaging
46:07
in discussions to resolve a lawsuit brought by President Donald
46:11
Trump and his family over the leak of their tax
46:13
information to news organizations. According to new federal court filings.
46:19
In January, his two eldest sons and the Trump family
46:23
business filed a lawsuit against the RS and the Treasury
46:27
Department owed the unauthorized disclosure, which took place during the
46:31
first Trump administration. The Trump legal team n fid friday
46:37
filing to Florida's Southern District Court requested the ninety day
46:41
extension in all proceedings. The legal team said in the
46:45
filing that good cause exist to grant an extension in
46:49
this matter while the parties engage in discussions designed to
46:53
resolve this matter and to avoid protracted litigation. The extension,
46:59
they wrote, would allow the parties to explore avenues that
47:02
could narrow or resolve the issues efficiently. The filing did
47:06
not detail any possible resolution.
47:10
Speaker 2: A spokesman for Trump's legal team asserted in his statement that.
47:14
Speaker 1: The IRS wrongly allowed an agency employee to leak private
47:18
information about the president and his family to the news outlets.
47:23
The statement said President Trump continues to hold those who
47:27
wrong America and Americans accountable. The State Department of the
47:31
Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
47:36
The IR asked referred questions to the Justice Department, which
47:40
did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.
47:45
The lawsuit, when it was filed, sought at least ten
47:49
billion dollars in damages, claiming that the federal government did
47:52
not properly safeguard the tax returns from unauthorized inspection in
47:57
public disclosure. Trump ensuing the government in a personal capacity,
48:02
not as president. Former IRS consultant Charles E. Littlejohn was
48:08
sentenced in twenty twenty four to five years in prison
48:11
for stealing the tax returns of Trump and thousands of
48:14
other wealthy Americans between twenty eighteen and twenty twenty and
48:18
providing them to pro Publica and The New York Times.
48:23
Along with the January lawsuit targeting the irs, Trump has
48:27
engaged in other legal efforts to claim a large amount
48:30
of money against the government he oversees. He previously sought
48:34
damages over the Justice Department's investigations into the connection between
48:39
Russia and his twenty sixteen presidential campaign, and pursued a
48:44
case over the FBI's twenty twenty two search of his
48:47
Mara Lago property over alleged mishandling of classified documents. Earlier
48:54
this week, Democratic lawmakers and nuns plans to introduce legislation
48:58
that would, among other guardrails, bars sitting presidents and vice
49:03
presidents from collecting settlement payments from the United States. The bill,
49:08
called the Ban Presidential Plunder of Taxpayer Funds Acts, would
49:12
also prohibit spaces, children, any trust that exists for their benefit,
49:18
or any entity they own a control from collecting damages
49:22
payments through settlements with the federal government. Trump has suggested
49:27
that he would donate any funds received as part of
49:30
restoricution in cases against the federal government to charity or
49:34
to the White House while we restore the White House. However,
49:39
credits have argued that any settlement funds would ultimately be
49:42
awarded at the expense of taxpayers. The bill is being
49:47
led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democratic Massachusetts, Senate Minority Leader
49:52
Charles E. Schumann, Democrat of New York and represented Jimmy Raskin,
49:57
Democrat of Maryland, and represent them to Dave Men Democrat
50:02
of California. And as in the actual news on the radio,
50:07
here is a liked piece to end today's reading, or
50:10
maybe one another. He bought two raffle tickets and one
50:15
a Picasso worth more than one million dollars. Art lover
50:21
Ari Hadara purchased two tickets on a whim for about
50:25
one hundred and eighteen dollars each. The raffle raised money
50:29
for Alzheimer's research, and there's a picture of the picasso.
50:36
Perry Coachin, a French TV host who's the founder of
50:40
one Picasso for one hundred euros, speaks on the phone
50:44
with the winner and you see a picture of him
50:46
on the phone, Ari Hadara next to the painting head
50:51
of a woman by Pablo Picasso. It's in the gold
50:55
frame set in in the It's a typical Picasso unsynchronized,
51:05
like two noses, eyes at angel's mouth, obscured hair and neck.
51:13
Is just the head of this person by Maggie Penman.
51:17
When Ari Hadara learned he won a Pablo Picasso painting
51:21
valued at about one point eighteen million dollars in a raffle,
51:26
the first person he called was his wife. She didn't
51:30
believe me, Hodara said. Hadara, fifty eight, bought two raffle
51:35
tickets online for one hundred euros each about one hundred
51:38
and eighteen dollars on a whim a few nights before
51:41
the raffle on Tuesday. He had seen a news story
51:44
on TV about the raffle while he was at a
51:47
restaurant near his home in Paris. He figured that he
51:50
likely would not win, but the raffle was raising money
51:53
for Alzheimer's research, a cause that Hodara said spoke to
51:57
him because he watched a family friend suffolk from the disease. Hadara,
52:03
who works in sales for a software company, said the
52:06
painting head of a woman created in nineteen forty one
52:10
is unlike anything he has ever owned.
52:13
Speaker 2: It's a dream for me.
52:14
Speaker 1: I mean, in my life, I never thought that I
52:17
would have a Picasso Hadara said. The raffle sold one
52:22
hundred and twenty thousand tickets and netted about thirteen million
52:25
dollars for Alzheimer's research. The draw was at Christie's in Paris.
52:32
This is the third time since twenty thirteen the organization
52:37
One Picasso for one hundred Euros has raveled off of
52:41
Picasso painting for a charity. Pierre Cochin, a French TV
52:46
host who is founder of One Picasso for one hundred Euros,
52:49
said the organization was inspired by her mother's charity work.
52:53
Her mother used to host galadenas, which were effective at
52:58
raising money but so boring.
53:00
Speaker 2: Coaching joked.
53:02
Speaker 1: The dinners always ended with a raffle, and Coachin had
53:05
the idea to make the raffle more accessible by selling
53:08
tickets online. She received permission from Picasso's family to use
53:14
his name for the charity raffle and purchased one of
53:17
the artist's paintings in twenty thirteen at the raffle that year,
53:22
a twenty five year old man in Pennsylvania won the
53:25
prized painting. It was crazy, said Jeffrey Ganando, who lives
53:31
in Pittsburgh with his family. He doesn't display the painting
53:36
Lom de Jibuse or an english Man in the Opera Hat,
53:40
which dates back to nineteen fourteen, because it is delicate
53:44
due to its age and the materials Picasso used. But
53:49
Gonano said that the painting he owns. The painting has
53:52
allowed him to take risks and start a roofing business,
53:56
which he built and sold. He still works in construction
54:00
and has a brewery where he features local artist. There
54:05
is a picture of him holding the painting which and
54:08
he won the ravel in twenty thirteen. He was twenty
54:11
five years old then, so that's thirteen. He's now thirty eight.
54:16
Hodara said he has always loved art and frequently visits museums.
54:20
When his children were young, he often brought them along,
54:23
and now he says he hopes to instill a love
54:26
of art in his three grandchildren. He has another on
54:29
the way. Hodaars newly acquired painting is a Cubist work
54:35
called Tet de Femme in French. The artist used the
54:39
title for several paintings, many of which, like this one,
54:42
are portraits of his longtime partner emuse Dora Marr, who
54:47
was also an artist. This one was painted in Paris
54:51
at the beginning of World War II, in the same
54:55
studio where Picasso painted his masterpiece Gernica. Coachin said Picasso
55:01
loved the painting so much he kept it in his
55:03
studio until he died.
55:06
Speaker 2: He did not sell it.
55:07
Speaker 1: Coachin said he loved Dora Mar and he loved that portrait. Specifically,
55:12
the gray color scheme was typical of that period.
55:16
Speaker 2: If you look before and you look after. His work
55:19
was very colorful.
55:21
Speaker 1: But at this period, because he was very much affected
55:24
by the war, he decided not to use color. Coachin
55:28
said the painting will stay at Christie's for now. Hodara
55:33
said the complexity of teaching such a famous work of
55:36
art safe in his home would be too difficult to manage,
55:39
but he hopes that someday he can loan the painting
55:43
to a museum so he and others can visit and
55:46
enjoy it. I don't want to leave it at home,
55:49
even if it would be a dream to have on
55:52
my wall, it's not a good idea Hodara said.
55:56
Speaker 2: And here's the last.
55:58
Speaker 1: Police rushed to check on a ninety one year old
56:02
and found her gaming.
56:04
Speaker 2: She was safe and sound, but what about the high score.
56:07
Speaker 1: She was chasing? By Jean Park. At six pm sharp
56:12
on April ninth, a phone rang out in a home
56:15
in a quiet Cleveland suburb once, twice, three times, no answer.
56:22
The call wasn't from some telemarketer or relative. It was Westlake,
56:27
Ohio's automated Confirm Okay system, a daily welfare check for
56:33
residents who live alone. When a ninety one year old
56:36
woman didn't pick up, the system did its job and escalated.
56:41
At six ten pm, an automated alert fired off as
56:44
speedy and efficient chain of events dispatch called a woman
56:48
directly silence. At six twelve pm. Police called her daughter, Yes,
56:54
she said, her mother should be home. She rarely goes out.
56:57
Police pulled up seven minutes later, and no answer, no lights,
57:02
no movement. When the officers asked neighbors, they said they'd
57:05
noticed nothing unusual and saw the woman the day before,
57:08
though not not that day. Her car was still in
57:11
the garage. This rhythm shifted from routine to concern. The
57:17
officers quickly obtained the garage door accord from code from
57:20
family and at six twenty eight pm gained entry through
57:23
the garage, where they found an old Toyota Corolla, a
57:27
rocking chair, a rustic cabinet, and other odds and ends.
57:30
Ma'am Westlake Police, an officer called it. According to BODI
57:35
camera footage released by Westlake Police Department, which captured the
57:39
sequence of events and was reviewed by The Washington Post.
57:42
Flashlights drawn, they moved further into the host. We're with
57:47
her now, an officer's side, and told dispatch she's playing
57:51
video games in her bedroom. Five seconds passed silently copy.
57:57
The woman was live, well and unbothered absorb Lord and
58:00
what officers could describe only as a bubble pop game
58:05
on her phone.
58:06
Speaker 2: She didn't even.
58:06
Speaker 1: Hear the officers entered her home and announce themselves. She was,
58:11
to quote the vernacular, locked in to beat her previous
58:14
high score gamers call it the zone where that I
58:20
end today's reading for the Washington Post on the fourteenth
58:23
of April twenty twenties four to eighteenth of April twenty
58:27
twenty six, And I'm now going to call my son
58:30
first phone call of the day and wish him happy birthday.
58:34
Please stay tuned and continue listening to Radio app throughout
58:38
the day.
58:39
Speaker 2: Bye,