Transcript

5.8.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of two Day's Washington Post for Thursday,
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May the eighth of twenty twenty five. Your reader is
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Alice Daniel, with the reminder that radioize a service for
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those blind or have difficulties holding and reading printed material.
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And we are now located on Old Todge Road, and
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I will start with the reading of Today's Washington Post.
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On the front page and on the left side is
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dosee aims to pull vast troves of federal data. Effort
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frequently violates key security Guardrail's government workers say that Hannah Nattison,
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Joseph Men, Lisa Raine, and Rachel Siegel. In the center
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of the front page. Above the floor is a picture
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of crowds outside the Vatican and an inset of on
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a big screen of the cardinals in the Sistine Chapel.
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They're just standing behind their desks in the Sistine Chapel
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and the.
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Speaker 2: Title is con Popees or People.
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Speaker 1: Conclave's first vote is in conclusive and eyes wait, white
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smoke signaling the election of Francis's successor by Anta Faviola
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and Michelle Borstein of Vatican City. On the right side
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of the front page, above fold tensions at brink for
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India Pakistan. Islama Bide says twenty one killed in strikes
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uncertain path award for shaken rival nations and this is
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Boyt Shay Huanan Rick Noak, Kyema, mish Rota, Shama Infra
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and Nok Nama khan At Istambat.
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Speaker 2: And I will do that better when I can see it.
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Speaker 1: More with the article below the DOGE article on the
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left below the fold US pushes starlink amid trade war.
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Nations were asked to clear hurdles for Musk's businesses. Cables
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show by Jeff Stein and Hannah Nattison as nomination stalls
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Ed Martin's passed fuel stouts by Tom Jackman and Spencer
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Hussu and then very bottom below the Ed Martin nomination
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a picture of former police officers Demetrius Hayley and Tadarius
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Bean hug Wednesday in Memphis as Justin Smith Wright becomes
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emotional after the three were found not guilty of state charges.
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And the article is entitled three ex officers acquitted of
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murdering Tyree Nichols. Videos showed Memphis police repeatedly hitting him
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after traffic spot and this is by Manuel Felton and
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Rachel hatzipanagas, so we will go to the first article,
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and that will be the DOGE article. DOZE aims to
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pool federal dot putting personal information at risk. The goal
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a central system with unprecedented access to data about social
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security taxes, medical diagnosis, and other private information would create
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a multitude of vulnerabilities, experts say.
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Speaker 2: And there is a picture of.
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Speaker 1: Elon Musk with his forty five forty seven Trump is
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right about everything hat On red with white lighting, and
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he is at a private meeting at the White House
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on March the twenty fourth, by Hannah Nattison, Joseph min Lizerine,
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and Rachel Siegel. The US DOEGE Service is raising to
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build a single centralized database with vast tropes of personal
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information about millions of US citizens and residents, a campaign
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that often violates or disregards core privacy and security protections
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meant to keep such information safe.
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Speaker 2: Government workers say.
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Speaker 1: The team overseen by Elon Musk is collecting data from
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across the government, sometimes at the urging of low level aids.
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According to multiple federal employees and a former DOZE staffer,
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who all spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear
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of reprisals. The intensifying effect to unify systems into one
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central hub aims to advance multiple Trump administration priorities, including
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finding and deporting undocumented immigrants and rooting at fraud and
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government payments. And it follows a March executive order to
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eliminate information silos. As DOZE tries to streamline operations and
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cut spending at several agencies, DOSEE officials have sought to
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merge databases that had long been kept separate, federal workers said.
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For example, longtime Musk Lieutenant Steve Davis told staffers that
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the Social Security Administration that they would soon start linking
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various sources of social security data for access and analysis,
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according to a person briefed on the conversations.
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Speaker 2: With the goal of joining all data across government.
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Speaker 1: Davis did not respond to her a request for comment,
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but DOGE has also sometimes removed protections around sensitive information
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on social security numbers, birth dates, employment history, disability records,
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medical documentation, and whole. In one instance, a website for
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a new visa program wasn't set up behind a protective
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virtue a private network, as would be customary. According to
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a Department of Homeland Security employee and records obtained by
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The Washington Post. The administration's move ramp up the risk
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of exposing data to hackers and other adversaries, according to
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security analysts and experts, worry that any breaches could erode
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public confidence and government. Civil rights advocates and son federal
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employees also worried that the data assembled UNDERDOGE could be
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used against political foes or for targeted decisions about funding
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a basic government services.
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Speaker 2: Separation and segmentation.
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Speaker 1: Is one of the core principles in sowned cybersecurity. Putting
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all your eggs in one basket means I don't need
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to go hunting for them. I can just steal the basket,
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said Charles Henderson of security company coal File. China has
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increased its hacking in the United States in recent years,
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breaching major sensitive data collections at o MP, big health insurance,
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and a credit reporting bureau. Combining such a tempting target
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with security shortcuts compounds the risk that the nation all
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others will strike again, said Jack Williams of former National
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Security Agency Hacker, who is vice president of Hunter's Strategy,
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a security and technology firm. The White House pushed back
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on those concerns. In a statement, Weisshaus's spokesman Harrison Fields
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said dozer's tools and processes are protected by some of
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the brightest cybersecurity minds in the nation, including those who
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left private sector jobs to join the government, he said.
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He said every action taken is fully compliant with the law.
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President Trump is leaving the charge to modernize the federal
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government and make it more efficient, and DOZE is playing
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a critical role in fulfilling that dream. By advancing secure
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data share across the agencies, DOGE is enhancing acountability, eliminating fraud,
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and streamlining operations across the board, Fields said, Acting Social
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Security Commissioner Leyland Duddick said in his statement, the agency
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has long shared with other government agencies to calculate and
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ensure proper payment of benefits. Sharing data with DOGE is
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a matter of common sense and something the public rightly
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expects from the federal government to insure responsible stewardship of
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taxpayer dollars. Among administration critics, however, concerns appalling up. In April,
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Representative Jerry Conolly of Virginia, the top Democrat on the
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House Oversight Committee, asked the Inspector General's Officeite Social Security
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to immediately investigate wistle blower concerns about how TO is
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being handled, along with doja's plans for an unprecedented effort
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to build a massive database. Five DOZE employees at the
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Department of Health and Human Services can see not only
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payment and contractor information, but also Medicaid, Medicare recipients, social
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security numbers, phone numbers, and medical diagnoses, according to government
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records submitted in a lawsuit file that by the afl
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COIO against the Labor government. In an affidavit supporting plaintiffs
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and federal litigation by unions against Social Security or former
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government technologist Eerie Meyer wrote that the access DOGE is
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requesting materially increases the risk of hacking and data exploitation,
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and this is in parenthesis ruling granted a temporary injunction
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against Social Security that prohibits those from accessing sensitive data.
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Typically GOD is sharing within the government federal government requires
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multiple steps that includes legislative permission, public notices of what
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the government is doing, and computer matching agreements between agencies
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specifying what is to be shared and why. Independent Inspectors
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General also helped make sure information is being used appropriately.
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You want people to have at least the least amount
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of access that they absolutely need, said Faith Williams, director
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of the Effective and Accountable Government Program at the Project
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on Government Oversight.
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Speaker 2: So if someone comes.
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Speaker 1: In and asks the questions, it's not here's the master key.
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Some combinations of data are clearly useful for more officials, said.
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The commission that investigated intelligence failures before the September eleven,
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two thousand one terrorist acts on the World Trade Center
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and the Pentagon stressed the failures to communicate among intelligence
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agencies and criminal investigators.
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Speaker 2: In response, Congress created.
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Speaker 1: The Department of Homeland Security in part to merge resources. Still,
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other attempts to combine sensitive data about Americans were shot
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down on civil liberties grounds after vigorous public debate. The
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current administration and DOGE are bypassing many normal data sharing processes,
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according to staffers across ten federal agencies who spoke on
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the condition of amnanimity at a fear of retribution. For instance,
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many agencies are no longer creating records of who accessed
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or exchanged information, or granting some individuals broader authority over
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computer systems. Those staffers can add new accounts and disable
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automatic tracking logs. At several cabinet departments, employees said officials
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who ejected were fired, placed on leave, or sidelined. At times,
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information sharing is tied to specific policy goals, such as
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pursuing undocumented immigrants. At one previously unreported meeting early last month,
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the chief information officers at the Departments of Justice, Defense, Treasury, Commerce,
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and Homeland Security were called together and urged to optimize
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data sharing in the pursuit of Mexican drug cartels. According
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to an emailed invitation, A Treasury spokesperson said that Congress
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has been very clear about the limited exceptions in which
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taxpayer information can be shared. The implication that taxpayer information
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is being inappropriately shared across government agencies is not only incorrect,
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but dangerous. Justice, Defense, Commerce, and Holding Security officials did
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not respond to requests for comment. Often, Doege appears to
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be collecting data for the sake.
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Speaker 2: Of having it.
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Speaker 1: One former Doage employee said colleagues returned to headquarters triumphant
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a databases they had accessed hauling blaptops to a war
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room in the Eisenhower Executive Office building where Musk had
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set up shop. What data had to offer was sometimes
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besides the point, the former Doze employees said. Reports of
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those staffers failing to follow protocols meant to protect information
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span the government. At the US Digital Service, which was
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renamed the US Doege Service in January, new employees arrived
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with laptops that did not have the security programs typically
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installed by White House officials. The new team members took
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their devices to multiple agencies and insisted on access exceeding
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even that of the host departments security teams. According to
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an Office of Personnel Management employee at the FBI, a
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DOZE team urged staff members to combine four siloed buckets
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of personnel data as quickly as possible, but trained a
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lack of understanding about what can safely be accomplished on
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the agency's aging systems. The Post reported reported the FBI
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declined to comment. At US Citizens Ship and Immigration Services,
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those told staff members to build a system for sharing
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data internally about applicants to a new visa program for
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wealthy immigrants. According to a DHS employee and records obtained
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by the Post, Dooze wants to use the data, which
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includes applicant addresses, birthdays, and emails for an unusual endpoint,
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the employee said. A public facing website dose set up
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for the visas. DHS staffics cannot identify the location of
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the server hosting the visa website, the employees said, which
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violates agency protocol. Normally, before any data transfer involving sensitive
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personal information, federal employees review in signed documents specifying where
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the information would be hosed at every stage, the employees said,
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and the Trump visa websites lacks other DHS safety precautions,
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including its own virtual private network, behind which staff members
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could securely access the data. At the General Services Administration,
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political appointees tried to bypass normal safety restraints placed on
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federal devices, according to two employees who later left, The
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appointees specifically requested that longtime Tesla employee Thomas Shed get
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a federal laptop with its own virtual private network and
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no security safeguards. Also in parenthesis. Now, GSA provides administrative
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and technological support for much of the federal bureaucracy and
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manages the government's real estate portfolio. Normally, all federal devices,
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which include threat assessment and monitoring programs, watched over by
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IT staff members, the employee ees said, but Shed didn't
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want any monitoring on his device, according to one of
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the employees, who said almost a dozen other top political
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appointees later made the same request. In a statement, GSA
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Chief Information Officer David Schiff said that Shed uses a
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secure government.
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Speaker 2: Issued laptop and that.
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Speaker 1: All GSA devices, regardless of user or position, or subject
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to the agency's comprehensive cybersecurity protocols. Experts say the repercussions
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of the changes Dose is pushing now could linger well
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into the future. Albert fox Khan, Executive director of the
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Surveillance Technology Oversight Program, said this threat isn't just going
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to exist tomorrow, but it is going to exist for
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decades to come. Whenever we're thinking of about privacy, it's
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really hard to unbake the cake. No pope is chosen
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after first day of Vatican Conclave. Over the coming days,
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his eyes will search for the billowing white smoke that
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signals hay of us, Popham, we have a pope. There
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is a picture of a cardinal arriving at the Vatican
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on Monday, and he is walking down a carpeted hallway,
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a curved hallway which looks like covers on top of
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furniture between one two, three, four, fives, six, and eight
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columns on the left hand side and lights or trash
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cans on the right hand side.
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Speaker 2: But he is in his black cardinal robes.
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Speaker 1: With a wide belt and a red cap on his
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head as he walks down by Anthony Faola and Michelle
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Borstein at a Vatican City black smoke billowing from the
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chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday evening signaled and
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an inconclusive first vote to pick the next pontiff, pushing
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the next balance until Thursday. After a day of Latin
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chance echoing off sacred marble halls and a high procession
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of cardinals, the next Pope, Shirley among them, after a
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crib by an archbishop of extra omnies or everyone out.
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The doors of the Sistine Chapel were shut around five
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forty four PM as the conclave began.
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Speaker 2: Amid hermetic secrecy.
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Speaker 1: Speculation swirled that the throne of Saint Peter could go
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to a first pontiff from the United States, just as
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many voices were heralding the chances of three Italians and
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to come from behind Spaniard serving in Morocco, a Filipino,
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a Frenchman, a Congolese and a long monastic Swede. A
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talk of the town too. Yet, as all eyes await
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smoke signaling Habemus Papham, we have a pope. The wisest
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watchers have a warning. Nobody really knows who will be
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the next pope at a time of deep church division.
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More than three hours after conclave began, the smoke appeared.
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A crowd assembled outside the chapel roared, then started to
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disperse when it was clear that.
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Speaker 2: There was no new pope.
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Speaker 1: Ishmael Rivera, forty three, a computer engineer from Peru who
21:36
was visiting with his family, said he knew the selection
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of a pope was unlikely after our first vote, but
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I wanted to be part of it either way, he said.
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Cardinals under the age of eighty, including nearly two dozen
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from countries that have never had a voice in a
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conclave before, will be welustered for votes, released only to
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retire to their boarding house for meals and rest until
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a new pope is found. Under this ceiling depicting Michaelangelo's
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outstretched God creating Adam, there will be no interpreters, no speeches,
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no lobbying. In parenthesis, theoretically there will be only prayer,
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chatter and votes to keep themselves pure of secular influence,
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and in twenty twenty five burial social media post. The
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serene prelates will be asked not to bring their cell phones.
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One of the cardinals who is sick, however, may earn
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the right to vote from his room. In the hour
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or so after the white smoke, but before the new
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pope's name is announced in Latin from the central balcony
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of Saint Peter's Basilica, the tea leaf reading will commence.
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Had the decision come Wednesday, the choice would have signified
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the elevation of a familiar cardinal viewed by his peers
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as a pillar of stability in unsettled times, or that
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a star had somehow electrified the conclave, bracing for a
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marathon beginning Thursday, Four votes will be held during each
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full day session. Popes Francis and Benedick sixteenth were elected
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in five and four votes, respectively. Should that pattern be
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followed again, a decision would come Thursday. If the choice
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bleeds into a third day or shockingly longer, the narrative
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of a host divided will begin to take hold. The
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last time a conclave went five days was more than
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a century ago in nineteen twenty two. Since Francis's death,
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cardinals have laid out conflicting visions for the future of
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the church, and some have been embracing the faithful for
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what could be a nail bite of a marathon in
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the largest conclave in history. There are are one hundred
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and thirty three voting members in Vatican City. So many
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cardinals anew and unfamiliar to their peers that the prelates
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who normally meet in pre conclave mourning assemblies, held an
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extended afternoon session this week. Adding to the challenges. Not
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all of them speak fluent Italian Vatican cities linga franca.
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And there is a picture of this incredibly beautiful Sistine
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Chapels with the in beautiful colorful Michael Angelo frescoes which
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have been restored over the past twenty years, with long
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tables one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
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eleven tables and maybe more. But I don't see him
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and a chair or a table in the center of
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those tables, and there's set up for the conclave. We
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hope the new pope will arrive in three or four days.
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Chaldee and patriarch, Cardinal Louis Raffaelsaco told journalists this week
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and an act of high ceremony, most cardinals singing the
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Litany of the Saints as they approached the chapel. We're
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wearing red garments with a sash, a rochet vestment, a
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mazetta cap and a petrel cross with red and gold cord,
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along with the ring zaketo skull cap and the breada
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peaked hat. The cardinals of the Eastern churches wore their
25:54
own choir dress. According to the Vatican, the news media
25:59
will find out who the new pope is, along with
26:03
the rest of the people of God, when the birth
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and papal names of the new pontiff are heralded to
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a throng in Saint Peter's by a senior cardinal. The
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Vatican said, when the new pontiff emerges for his address,
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the scrutiny will begin. Will this Will he select the
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simple white robes and black shoes of Francis or return
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to the blingiied red slippers and read velvet mozetta favored
26:31
by Benedict. Will he address the crowd as Francis did
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by humbly calling himself the Bishop of Rome, and in
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lieu of a lofty blessing to the faithful, asked the
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faithful to pray.
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Speaker 2: For him instead.
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Speaker 1: Pope so always compared to their predecessors, said the Reverend
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Thomas Rhese eighty, a veteran Ican watcher now in Rome,
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who was also in the city for the two thousand
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and five and twenty thirteen conclaves. Catholics tend to support
27:05
whoever is pope, he added, but who knows this time
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in the age of social media.
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Speaker 2: There is a room of tears.
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Speaker 1: And this room is pictured as a small chamber next
27:20
to the Sistine Chapel where the newly elected pope will
27:24
don the white papal vestments for the first time. And
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you see stairs going up and then robes hanging on
27:33
a hanger on rack inside this room of tears. It's
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long been said that no one from the United States
27:42
will be pope, based on the argument that the country
27:46
already enjoys outsize global power.
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Speaker 2: But there have.
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Speaker 1: Been whispers in recent days about the rising ards for
27:54
Cardinal Robert Prevost, a Chicago native who has spent most
27:59
of his career in Peru and Rome, as well as
28:02
the traditionalist Archbishop of New York. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, an American,
28:10
a Spaniard, a monastic Swede prevost, is regarded as a
28:15
pragmatic who was selected by Francis to lead the powerful
28:19
Bishop picking department at the Vatican, making him extremely well
28:24
known among the voting cardinals. Dolan, perhaps the most recognized
28:29
bishop in the United States, is a Saint Louis native
28:32
who worked in Milwaukee before he went to New York,
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A gregarious, TV friendly figure who prayeded Donald Trump's twenty
28:41
twenty five inauguration. Some experts have noted that with so
28:47
many new cardinals and in such a big conclave, Dolan's
28:52
high profile could help him break through the Americans Vatican's
28:56
American taboo. Several Vaticans and watchers have been dazzled by
29:01
Cardinal Christobal Lopez Romero, a humble Spaniard said to have
29:07
impressed his peers during his pre conclave speech and interactions,
29:11
as Francis did before his election. Romero is the Archbishop
29:17
of Robot Morocco. I'm fully in tune with everything France
29:23
has proposed, his way of acting, speaking and leading, but
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I don't say I belong to Francis he said, I
29:34
am of Christ, I'm of the Gospel, and if I
29:37
love Francis, it's because he's pure Gospel. Lopez Romero told
29:43
the Nuge agency of his Salesian religious order last week,
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as his customary, no contender is publicly advocating for the job,
29:56
and most are demuring, saying they don't want the nod.
30:00
Cardinal Andrews of Brous, a Catholic convert in a Protestant
30:05
dominant country who spent decades in monastic life, said he
30:10
has been mobbed by patriotic Swedes celebrating his chances. It's
30:16
a bit ridiculous in Sweden, but that Swedes are so nationalistic,
30:22
A Borealist told The Washington Post. Someone the cardinal knows,
30:26
he said, asked an Ai bout what his chances were.
30:32
Borealius said he was relieved when they were in the
30:35
single digits. I was very happy because I don't have
30:40
this strong leadership.
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Speaker 2: What do you call it? Management type? He said.
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Speaker 1: A Borealist candidly outlined the struggle among the cardinals over
30:50
the criteria for the next pope. He said cardinals wanted
30:54
to an evangelize it to cope with many difficult issues,
30:59
including the war in Europe and Trump in America. But
31:05
less clear is whether the faithful needed a prophetic figure
31:10
who was charismatic or someone more reflective and transitional like
31:15
Benedict was between John Paul and Francis.
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Speaker 2: John Paul second in Francis.
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Speaker 1: The influence and money of Western Catholic conservatives has been
31:26
on display in the run up to the conclave. The
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California based NAPA Institute, which advocates for free market policies
31:34
and traditional church teaching on marriage and reproductive issues, wined
31:39
and dined cardinals in Rome at swank locales with expensive
31:43
meals and fundraising. According to the National Catholic Reporter, Japanese
31:49
Cardinal Tarcisio Iso Kakuchi addressed the issue this week in Rome.
31:55
When reporters asked whether the politics was playing a role
31:59
in the conclave, Cacucci said, no, I don't think so,
32:05
but maybe money. It's a very sensitive issue. One refrain
32:10
being echoed Aborelia said, was concerned for migrants, many of
32:15
whom are Catholic. If you take that issue migration, we
32:20
know it's a political issue in many countries, but it's
32:23
also kind of biblical. Aubrelia said. The people of Israel.
32:29
Abraham migrated. The Church is built up from migrants. It's
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part of human history where God brings people to different places.
32:40
And when we look for a person to God the Church,
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it has to be someone who somehow answers what we
32:46
would have seen in Jesus himself, who somehow has to
32:50
reflect something of his mystery. A Borelia said. And there's
32:56
a picture of Filipino cardinals like Louis Antonio Tagel, Jose
33:04
Avin Chicula and Pablo Virgilio David attending mass Sunday at
33:10
the Pontifico College Filipino in Rome.
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Speaker 2: And they are in their.
33:17
Speaker 1: Beisian gold robes with their skull caps red skull caps
33:21
on and a group of people in the mass attending
33:27
the mass asked about the harsh critiques of France as
33:31
being leveled by some cardinals ahead of the conclave. Cardinal
33:35
Michael sir Zerni, a checkborn Canadian prelate and longtime senior
33:40
Vatican official, described them as typical of an era of
33:45
social media saturation and intense news cycles where everything goes
33:51
with that restraint. But Francis invited debate.
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Speaker 2: He said, Francis.
33:57
Speaker 1: Would not want to be seen as bey on criticism
34:02
asked if nationality was being taken into consideration in the
34:06
selection process, Susanni said, I hope not, because it shouldn't be.
34:15
In the next US pushes nations facing tariffs to approve
34:21
Musk's Starlink cables, show some countries have turned to the
34:27
satellite internet firm in conjunction with trade talks.
34:31
Speaker 2: State Department staffords wrote the US.
34:34
Speaker 1: Has a strategic interest encountering Chinese internet providers, but Musk's
34:40
roll complicates the picture. The article is by Jeff Stein
34:47
and Hannah Nattinson, and there's a picture of the space
34:53
X Falcon nine rocket streaking across the sky on October
34:58
eighteenth and twenty twenty four, as seen from Alexandria, Virginia.
35:03
The rocket carried twenty Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.
35:11
Less than two weeks after President Donald Trump announced fifty
35:15
percent tariffs on goods from the tiny African nation of Lesto,
35:20
the country's communications regulator held a meeting with representatives of Starlink,
35:26
the satellite business owned by billionaire and Trumpet miser Elon
35:30
Musk's space X company had been seeking access to customers
35:35
in Lesoto, but it was not until Trump unveiled the
35:40
tariffs and called for negotiations over trade deals that leaders
35:45
of the country of roughly two million people awarded Musk's
35:49
firm the nation's first ever satellite internet service license, slated
35:55
to last for ten years. The decision drew a mention
36:00
in an internal State Department memo obtained by The Washington Post,
36:04
which states, as the government of Lestoto negotiates a trade
36:10
deal with the United States, it hopes that licensing Starlink
36:15
demonstrates goodwill and intent to welcome US businesses. Lestoto is
36:23
far from the only country that has decided to assist
36:26
Musk's firm while trying to fend off US tariffs. The
36:30
company reached distribution deals with TU providers in India in March,
36:35
and is one at least partial accommodations with Somalia, the
36:39
Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangala, desh Pakistan, and Vietnam. Although
36:46
this is probably not a comprehensive count, A series of
36:50
internal government messages obtained by the Post reveal how US
36:54
embassies and the State Department have pushed nations to clear
36:58
hurdles for US satellite cut companies. Often mentioning Starlink by name.
37:04
The documents do not show that the Trump team has
37:07
explicitly demanded favors for Starlink in exchange for lower tariffs,
37:13
but they do indicate that Secretary of State Marco Rubio
37:16
has increasingly instructed officials to push for regulatory approvals for
37:21
Musk satellite firm at a moment when the White House
37:25
is calling for wide ranging talks on trade. In India,
37:30
government officials have sped through approvals of Starlink with the
37:34
understanding their doings so could help them cement trade deals
37:38
with the administration. According to two people familiar with the matter,
37:42
speaking on the condition of anonymity to reflect private deliberations,
37:50
it is not likely to be an explicit element of
37:54
the trade negotiations with the US, but the Indian side
37:59
sees this as an important lubricant that facilitates a deal,
38:04
said one of the people briefed on the matter by
38:07
Indian leadership. Asked for comment on the satellite firm, the
38:12
State Department said in a statement, Starlink is an American
38:17
made product that has been game changing in helping remote
38:20
areas around the world gain Internet connectivity. Any patriotic American
38:26
should want to see an American company's success on the
38:29
global stage, especially over compromised Chinese competitors. Musk is a
38:37
key political ally of Trump who's spent two hundred and
38:41
seventy seven million dollars backing the president and other Republicans
38:46
in last year's elections, and he's been working in the
38:49
administration overseeing the US Doege Service, though he has said
38:53
he will soon step down. A White Housed spokesman said
38:58
the administration would not in conflicts of interest. The only
39:04
consideration in the Trump administration's trade negotiations negotiations with other countries,
39:10
it is what's best for the American people, which includes
39:14
American companies succeeding at home and abroad. President Trump will
39:20
not tolerate any conflicts of interest and every administration official
39:25
is following ethical guidelines set of their respective agencies, spokesman
39:30
Kushtusi said in a statement.
39:34
Speaker 2: Spokespeople for India.
39:35
Speaker 1: Lesthoto, and several other countries did not respond to requests
39:40
for comment, nor did space X. A Post opinion column
39:46
last week also reported on Starlik's expansion in Lestoto, Bangladeshi
39:51
and other countries. Some experts say the move makes strategic
39:55
sense for the Trump administration. The United States is engaged
39:59
in a competition with China over telecommunications around the world,
40:04
and Starlink is the biggest domestic and international player in
40:08
satellite internet activity connectivity. When Elin's name is attached to anything,
40:15
there's all sorts of feelings.
40:18
Speaker 2: But if you.
40:18
Speaker 1: Weren't the CEO of space X, I don't think most
40:21
people would have a problem with the US government advocating
40:25
for American companies to get international market access, said Urban
40:31
Schwarz Trabau, a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation,
40:37
a technology policy think tank. Schwarz Trober added, we want
40:43
American satellite companies to do well abroad, especially as our
40:48
main competition is China. The US has a lead in space,
40:53
and we should double down on getting other countries to
40:56
grant regulatory approvals for our companies. Otherwise it will be
41:00
Chinese companies that benefit from market access. Starlink's international expansion
41:08
could unlick multi billion dollar revenue streams. Capturing just one
41:13
percent of India's consumer broadband market could generate nearly one
41:18
billion dollars annually, with comparable upside in Latin America.
41:23
Speaker 2: And Africa.
41:24
Speaker 1: According to Kimberly Cyrusn Burke, director of Government Affairs at
41:30
quilty Space, a space sector intelligence firm.
41:35
Speaker 2: She noted these are early.
41:37
Speaker 1: Estimates based on quilty Space's financial model. The cables obtained
41:44
by the posts shed new light into how US officials
41:47
are encouraging countries worldwide to adopt starlink. Such efforts are
41:52
not entirely new. The Biden administration was pushing embassies to
41:58
adopt Starlink and other light based internet services. The cables
42:02
show in early December, and informal cable went to diplomatic
42:08
post within Secretary of State Antony Blincoln's signature tuting the
42:13
benefits of low Earth orbit LEO satellites, calling them a
42:22
resilient alternative to traditional Internet service providers. At the time,
42:29
fifty American overseas posts were using LEO services, that cable stated,
42:34
but the State Department planned to expand the technology to
42:37
more post across the globe. B Lincoln's cable explicitly said
42:42
the department wanted to push additional options, not just Starlink.
42:48
State will increase the number of available LEEO vendors as
42:52
they become available in the marketplace. The cable stated under Trump,
42:59
Rubio assigned at least two cables asking Department staffers worldwide
43:04
to promote American satellite services, including Starlink, mentioned by name
43:10
in both missives, to combat Russian space incumbents and Chinese
43:16
companies offering the same service. The cables labeled Russian and
43:20
Chinese satellite based internet services a potential threat to America's
43:25
national security. The cables appeared to go beyond Blincoln's Dissemble communication,
43:31
which detailed plans for more American posts to adopt satellite
43:35
based internet by instructing post staffers to persuade the countries
43:41
where they are to choose the service. On March twenty eighth,
43:46
one of the cables shows and action request went out
43:50
with Rubio signatures citing Starlink by name and arguing that
43:55
US government advocacy is essential to maintain and extend air
44:00
Global First MUVA advantage. A labor cable shows the US
44:06
Embassy's staff in Turkey delivering some of Rubio's talking points
44:10
to a top Turkish space official, who the cable says
44:14
had expressed interest in purchasing satellite services like those offered
44:19
by Starlink and Amazon's Project Kupo. This is in parenthesis.
44:25
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns the post. Some of the
44:30
cables came after Trump announced worldwide tariffs of varying levels
44:35
on April second. One State Department cable issued in mid
44:39
April said a top million official had met with staff
44:43
members at an embassy in Bamaco and shared his country's
44:48
interest in procuring Starlink. A comment added by embassy's staffers
44:53
noted that Molly is in the process of developing a
44:58
legal framework and platform home to register and identify all
45:02
starlink users, and that once it's in place, the Bamanco
45:07
embassy's deal team had already identified one mallion company preparing
45:16
to set up a Starlink franchise. At least two countries
45:21
have explicitly discussed or moved toward adopting Musk Starlink as
45:25
a means of avoiding Trump's tariff and negotiating a better
45:29
trade deal with the United States.
45:31
Speaker 2: The cables showed the forty.
45:34
Speaker 1: Nine percent terifor eight on goods from Cambodia came as
45:38
a shock to Cambodian government officials and the country's private
45:42
sector because they had hoped to avoid such measures. According
45:46
to a cable from the US Embassy infenam Penn on
45:50
April fourth, two days after Trump announced the import taxes.
45:55
The day after Trump's announcement, the cable shows leaders of
45:59
American Chamber of Commerce and Cambodia, a nonprofit made up
46:03
of US and Cambodian companies known as am CHAM, met
46:08
with Ministry of Economic Economy and Finance officials to discuss
46:13
what the country could or should do to smooth relations
46:16
with the Trump administration. Representatives for am CHAM urged decisive
46:23
action in offering concessions.
46:25
Speaker 2: To the United States, the.
46:27
Speaker 1: Cable reported, which included recommending that Cambodia offered duty free
46:33
access for US imports, specifically mentioning Ford vehicles, and expeditiously
46:40
approved Starling's.
46:41
Speaker 2: Market entry request.
46:44
Speaker 1: An earlier cable from the phenom Pen Embassy, dated March
46:48
twenty eighth, shows Cambodian government officials were already considering such
46:52
a strategy before the import duties were rolled out. Post
46:58
has observed the Canadian government, likely due to concern over
47:02
the possibility of US tariffs, signal its desire to help
47:07
balance that trade relationship by promoting the market entry of
47:11
leading US companies, set as Boeing and Starlink, the cable stated.
47:17
Speaker 2: Another cable from April seventeenth.
47:20
Speaker 1: Reported that Starlink was pushing for a license to operate
47:23
in Dijabuti. A comment added by State Department staffers noted
47:28
Starlink's entry into Djibidi would be an opportunity to open
47:32
the country's market and boost an American company. Embassy staffers
47:38
wrote they would help Starlink as much as they could.
47:41
Posts will continue to follow up with Starlink in identifying
47:46
government officials and facilitating discussions. So far, the US government
47:52
has not struck any trade deals since the tariffs were announced.
47:57
W Guide Moore at the Center for Global Development, a
48:02
Washington based think tank, said it appears more African countries
48:06
are approving Starlink than were before the Trump administration, although
48:11
precise data is difficult.
48:12
Speaker 2: To come back.
48:14
Speaker 1: He said, it is difficult for African officials to disentangle
48:18
US government demands for musks. For instance, the Trump administration
48:23
was exerting new pressure on South Africa just as Starlink
48:27
stepped up its attempts to advance in the country. If
48:32
you were a South African government official and this was
48:36
before you, it would be very difficult to separate, Moore said.
48:41
He added, it might be that there's nothing formal, that
48:45
there's no direct pressure on them, but people can conclude
48:50
for themselves that Musk is close to Trump, and if
48:53
I do all his business here it could affect my country.
48:57
They can see their life maybe a lot easier if
49:00
seen or perceived as getting along with Elon Musk. This
49:08
is most likely my last article and it is entitled
49:13
as DC US attorney nomination falters. Ed Martin's past feeds
49:20
notes recurring accusations of abuse of power, stalled Trump's DC
49:26
US attorney pick, who has supported January six rioters who
49:30
assaulted the police. And there's interim DC US Attorney Ed
49:35
Martin speaking doing an Anacostia Coordinating Council monthly meeting in March.
49:41
His nomination to be permanent US attorney is pending, and
49:45
he is in a blue suit with a red tie,
49:48
holding a microphone, and there's a monitor behind him by
49:54
Tom Jackman and Spencer s Sassuit, President Donald Trump's pick
50:00
for top federal prosecutor in d C. Ed de Martin
50:04
has a history of picking fights in public life, attacking
50:07
political enemies and allies. He disagreed with judges he secretly
50:13
opposed and subordinates he wrongly fired. A Washington Post examination
50:18
of his record over two decades shows Martin's nomination is
50:23
now faltering in the Senate, but the same headlong style
50:27
that fed controversies over his fifteen weeks as interim US
50:31
Attorney has over the years both fueled his rise through
50:35
conservative politics and burned him repeatedly costing him jobs, tens
50:40
of thousands of dollars in fines and court contempt citations.
50:45
A Republican lawyer, activists, and candidate for multiple offices. Since
50:50
two two thousand and five, Martin rose to high level
50:53
post at the Saint Louis Election Board, Missouri Governor's office,
50:58
and the nonprofit group founded by anti feminist icon Phillip Schaffley.
51:03
He also racked up two million dollars in legal fees
51:07
and settlement payments at taxpayer's expense, and a scandal that
51:11
exposed his efforts to push the Missouri Supreme Court to
51:16
the right. Now, Democratic critics say they see a pattern
51:20
in what they call Martin's repeated abuse of his powers
51:24
in office to threaten political opponents and his indifference to
51:28
the law. Legal ethics and the rules of court. They
51:32
say that in the past and the present, Martin has
51:36
improperly weaponized his office to go after perceived eversaries regardless
51:42
of cords legal advice, raising questions over his judgment and
51:47
respect for the law when it conflicts with his political goals.
51:52
Trump on Wednesday did not address such claims, but appeared
51:56
to yield to Republican senators concern over Martin's nomine Nation.
52:01
Senator Tom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, said Tuesday that
52:07
he opposed confirming Martin over his dances on the January sixth,
52:11
twenty twenty one Capital riot, including regarding several hundred participants
52:17
charged with assaulting police who were among nearly sixteen hundred
52:21
defendants pardoned by Trump Judiciary Committee chairman. Senator Chuck Grassley,
52:28
Republican of Iowa, also questioned Martin's praise for defendant who
52:33
made antisemitic racist and section this comment, Trump credited the
52:40
very talented Martin with an ongoing drop in violent crime
52:44
in Washington this year. He said, of opposition to Martin,
52:48
I feel very bad about it, but added that's really
52:52
up to the senators if they feel that way, they
52:54
have to vote the way they vote. They have to
52:56
follow their heart, and they have to follow their mind.
53:00
The defendant's obstinacy before he moved in twenty eighteen from
53:05
Missouri to Virginia. Martin and his support for Trump were
53:09
at issue in a lawsuit in the Illinois suburbs that
53:12
led to his forced removal from the non profit Eagle Forum.
53:16
The case dragged on for nine years, only ending in
53:19
March of this year after Martin had been named U.
53:23
Speaker 2: Interim u S attorney in d C.
53:26
Speaker 1: Martin, a Catholic who often posts Bible verses online alongside
53:31
his zealous support for Trump, declined to comment on his
53:34
legal history in Saint Louis, which includes stints as a
53:38
private lawyer, public official, and president of Chaffey's Eagle Forum.
53:43
After he was fired in twenty sixteen by the Eagle Forum,
53:47
court records show he defied a judge by failing to
53:49
turn over the group's property and mailing lists for twenty months,
53:54
leading to a judge finding him in contempt of court
53:57
for willful disregard for this court's order. Earlier in the
54:03
same case, after a judge issued a temporary restraining order
54:07
suspending him from working with the group, Martin turned to
54:10
a friend and sent her vitriolic messages to post on
54:14
the judge's Facebook page.
54:16
Speaker 2: Court records show turn up the heat with others on
54:20
this page.
54:21
Speaker 1: Martin emailed a woman who criticized the judge. Call what
54:25
he did unfair and rigged over and over, Martin wrote,
54:29
according to records in the lawsuit. In another email, he counseled,
54:34
go slowly and steady, not too much of a flood,
54:38
make it organic. The emails were first reported by Pro Publica.
54:44
Both of the Missouri and Illinois rules of professional conduct
54:48
prohibit out of court attempts to influence a judge hearing
54:52
one's case.
54:53
Speaker 2: A motion to.
54:55
Speaker 1: Hole Martin in criminal contempt was rejected, but a jury
54:59
ultimately found Martin libel for defamation and making false statements
55:03
against two Ego Forum officers, and ordered him to pay
55:07
eighty two thousand, five hundred damages. In damages and there
55:12
are copies of the emails that were sent, one reading
55:18
turn up the heat with others on his page, call
55:21
what he did unfair and rigged over and over. He's
55:24
doing it like Hillary does. And that was October twenty one,
55:28
twenty sixteen. What makes ed Martin dangerous is he is
55:34
a reckless audeologue, said Roy Temple, a former chief of
55:39
staff to Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan, Democrat, familiar with Martin's
55:45
work in the state. Martin also ran for Congress and
55:49
Missouri Attorney General while living in Saint Louis, losing both times.
55:54
Immediately following his defeat in a run for the third
55:57
congressional district in Missouri in twenty ten, Martin claimed possible
56:01
voter fraud, though he ultimately conceded the election. He would
56:05
later make similar claims after Trump falsely claimed he lost
56:09
the twenty twenty election, and Martin carefully avoided questions from
56:13
members of the Judiciary Committee last month about whether Joe
56:17
Biden truly won the election in his written answers. Martin
56:21
helped organize the Stop This Deal push on behalf of
56:25
Donald Trump's failed second president obid. He joined with supporters
56:30
on January of January sixth, defendants became a board member
56:34
of a group that raised money for the defendants and
56:37
represented three of them. All three received significant prison sentences
56:42
before they were pardoned by Trump, with Martin as the
56:46
new federal prosecutor on January twentieth. Martin's political career launched
56:53
in two thousand and five when he was appointed chair
56:55
of the Saint Louis Board of Election Commissioners. He ran
56:59
into trouble when he fired an assistant director of operations,
57:02
Jeanie Bergfield. Bergfeld and Republican sued for wrongful determination, claiming
57:08
she was told she was not Republican enough.
57:12
Speaker 2: The election board responded.
57:13
Speaker 1: That relatively relative position on the scale of conservatism in
57:19
the abstract is not protected activity.
57:22
Speaker 2: Under the First Amendment.
57:24
Speaker 1: The case ended with a fifty five thousand dollars settlement
57:28
payment to Bergfeld in two thousand and six, in which
57:31
Martin also agreed in writing not to disparage her further.
57:36
Record Show, but while running for Congress in twenty ten,
57:39
he told her Saint Louis reported that Bergfield's employment consisted
57:44
of twelve years of not having to do anything. Burgfield
57:48
sued Martin again for le violating the settlement. Court records show,
57:54
and I have to conclude reading for Today's Washington Post
57:58
with this article. Thank you for listening, and please stay
58:03
tuned for ongoing radio for the day twenty four to
58:09
seven We're on and if you have any problems, please
58:13
call eight five nine four two two sixty three ninety.
58:18
Speaker 2: Have a good day, bye,