Transcript

3.26.26 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post for Thursday,
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March the twenty six of twenty twenty six. Your reader
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is Alistaina, with the reminder that RADIOI is an organization
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for those blind with other disabilities making it hard to
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read or hold printed material. And I start off with
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the front page of Today's Washington Post. On the far
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left in verdicts a possible big tech reckoning Meta and
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YouTube must pay millions on claims of addiction endangerment by
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Ian Duncan. In the center a huge photograph of a
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bat Mitzvah portrait. It's on the very far right hand
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side of a young lady with twelve by it. A
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huge bat Mitzvah portrait of a twelve year old is
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seen Monday in an apartment that was damaged in a
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weakened missile strike on Demona. Another civilian neighborhood in Arad
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was also hit Saturday night. More than one hundred and
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fifteen people were injured, authorities said, including eleven. Seriously, this
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is looking through a huge like blown out window with
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wires and all kinds of lines just dangling all over everywhere.
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You see people on the ground. These are pretty orthodox
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Jewish people with their black hats on and black hoats,
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a lot of black. The buildings around this area of
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land are completely bombed down. It's more terrible, absolutely terrible.
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But this titled is cracks exposed in Israel's vaunted ad defenses.
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Some Uranian missiles find their targets, raising doubts O were
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interceptors by Sami Westfall, Heidi Levine and Leo Soroa Soroka
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and Demona Israel. That's all in the front middle, and
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then on the right, US frames peace terms, fifteen point
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plan for ending war in Iran, sanctions relief to return
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for removal of uranium, and then sort of just below
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the fold on the left, Democrats continue to reel in
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victories in special elections by Dan Merca and Marianna Sotomayor,
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and below that on the left a hot debate the
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Tamale Act can tip scales for home cooks by Karen Wuilliard.
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And then on the right, Trump showed classified map in
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twenty twenty two memo says file offers a snapshot of
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an early moment in Jack Smith's investigation by Jeremy Roebuck
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and Megan Vasquez, and then below that the iconic picture
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of cherry blossoms along the title basin in Washington, DC,
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and it's entitled Maximum Cherry. People gather Wednesday along the
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title basin to observe the sunrise among the cherry blossom trees.
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The National Park Service predicts that Pete Bloom could arrive today.
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And you just see this beautiful colors of sort of
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pinky white along the edge of the title basin. Bigger,
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taller trees in the background, and the grass is pretty
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brown looking, so it's really not a very colorful picture.
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Let's just start on the top left. Verdicts against meta
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YouTube reshape legal protections for big tech. Safety advocates take
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heart from two jury decisions in as many days ordering
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millions in damages overclaims of addiction and endangerment. Some see
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a sign the courts are aligning to reshape Silicon Valley
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in the air is a picture of Meta CEO Mark
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Zuckerberg arriving in court in Los Angeles in February for
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a case involving alleged harms by social media platforms. He
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was young when he started, and he still looks very
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young now with his curly hair. He has in a
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dark suit and a dark tie behind him. I don't
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know if it's about Reguard as somebody else, but he's
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got dark glasses on, a big beard, a mustache, a
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dark suit but an open collar shirt, no tie, and
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then a TV camera on the right hand side. The
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article is by dan Ian Duncan. A Los Angeles jury
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delivered a rare verdict against Silicon Valley Giants Wednesday, the
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second finding in two days, boosting hopes of safety advocates
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that courts will deliver a long sort reckoning over social
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media's harms to children. The jury found Meta, the operator
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of Facebook and Instagram and video platform YouTube, negligent, and
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awarded six million in damages to a young woman who
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alleged she had become hooked on the company's services as
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a child. The verdict came at the end of a
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month long trial that featured testimony by Facebook book founder
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Mark Zuckerberg, and the morning after a jury in New
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Mexico or need Meta to pay three point seven five
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million dollars in penalties for endangering children. I don't know.
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I guess it's three point seventy five. The twin verdicts
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are signs of cracks in legal protections that for decades
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made tech companies seem almost impervious, as lawyers accused the
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platforms of putting addictive or otherwise harmful features into their products.
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There are thousands more cases waiting to be heard, with
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young Internet users, parents, school districts, and state attorneys general
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all seeking compensation and changes as to how social media
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services operate. All told companies are facing potential transformative damage awards.
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With years of scrutiny but little action, some advocates say
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the results signaled the coming of a new era. Jim Stayer,
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the chief executive of Common Sense Media, said that outcomes
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so far show that the court's state legislatures and foreign
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governments are now aligning to reshape Silicon Valley. We have
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major momentum. We have been saying this for fifteen years.
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These are addictive platforms, said Stayer, who wrote a twenty
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twelve book on the dangers of Facebook. The legal team
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for the young woman who brought the Los Angeles case
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said that the jury was swayed by evidence about how
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companies knew the risks of their technology for years. Social
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media companies have profit from targeting children while concealing their
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addictive and dangerous design features. Today's verdict is a referendum
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from a jury to an entire industry. Attorney Rachel Lania
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and three colleagues said in a statement. Given the huge
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number of other cases stacked up in courts, experts side
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Metta and other tech firms are facing massive potential payods.
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This is just the leading edge, said Clay Covert, a
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non resident senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a
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think tank, adding two or three more cases in Los
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Angeles verdicts come down in favor of the minor plaintiffs.
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That would really be troubling for social media platforms and
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probably prompt settlements. The woman who brought the Los Angeles case,
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identified as k g M or Kayley, alleged that she
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suffered anxiety and depression after using Instagram and YouTube throughout
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her childhood. The lawsuit focused on the design of the platforms,
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charging that tech companies built them to keep users glued
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to their screens with features like endless scrolling. That was
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a key legal maneuval to get around protections the firms
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enjoy involving liability for content posted by users even after
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getting to court. Experts say kgm's lawyers faced a potentially
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difficult job. There is no agreed upon definition of social
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media addiction, and attorneys for the companies sought to raise
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doubt about whether it was their technology that caused KGMS struggles.
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The final verdict was not unanimous, and jurors with the
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evidence for days, but by a vote of ten to
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two against the companies. They found that both knew their
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designs were dangerous and failed to warn their users of
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the risks. Meta denied the allegations and said it takes
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steps to keep young users of its systems safe. The
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company immediately vowed to appeal both the verdicts. Teen mental
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health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a
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single app. Meta said in a statement, we will continue
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to defend ourselves vigorously as every case is different, and
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we remain confident in our record of protecting teams online.
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Joe Castanetta, a spokesman for YouTube, said it would appeal.
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This case misunderstands YouTube, which is a response principally built
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streaming platform, not a social media site, he said in
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an email. Snap and TikTok were also sued, but settled
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before the trial. Advocates for stronger protection for children online.
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Have compared the cases to those targeting beak tobacco firms,
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with the potential to deliver a broader reckoning for an
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entire industry. In New Mexico, investigators in the state Justice
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Department went under cover to build a case arguing that
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Meta's platforms had become hunting grounds for child predators. Jurors
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in Santa Fe quickly came back in flavor of the state.
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Tuesday afternoon in May, the state Attorney General's office were
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returned to court to seek a judge's aura that the
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company makes changes to its cistsstoms to protect children. A
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third trial next month involving a Kentucky school district is
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set to begin in federal court. Lawyers are seeking compensation
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for the alleged disruption that social media has caused in
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the classroom. They also want an injunction in requiring age verification,
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parental controls, and targeting features such as constant apt notifications
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and auto playing videos. Eric Goldman, a law professor at
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Santa Clara University, said that while the verdicts indicate a
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huge risk for the social media industry, the outcome of
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other cases is not assured. He said, the companies also
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had some strong groans on which to base their appeals.
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The jury verdicts might be reduced or wiped away entirely,
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and said in an email. Leaders in Washington have taken
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a far more limited role in overseeing Big tech, mired
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in disputes over how to regulate the industry, but the
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verdicts could give fresh energy to efforts in Congress. As
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lawmakers consider a package of new child safety legislation, Senator
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Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, said Wednesday that her colleagues
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now need to step in and take up the Kids
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Online Safety Act, legislation she is sponsoring with Senator Richard Blumenthal,
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Democrat of Connecticut. The bill calls for similar protections to
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those sought in the court cases. Big tech has done
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everything in its power to blame parents and children instead
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of taking responsibility for designing their products to addict and
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arm children. That Big Tech has been found liable for
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the harms they have pushed on their kids, It's time
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for Congress to enshrine protections for American families, Blackburn said
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in a statement on to the fifteen piece plan for
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hopefully ending the War, US planned to end war, seeks
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removal of Iran's enriched uraniums. Officials say the proposal offered
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sanctions relief to Iran in return for the removal of
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all of its enriched uranium and other US demands. Officials
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said by Greg Miller, Adam Taylor, Leo Sans Sharkik Hussein,
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and Heber Farouk Mafus. And there's a picture of a family.
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It looks like a mother, father and a child sitting
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on the edge across from a dockyard in the city
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of Furia in the UAE, in the Strait of Homus.
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And you see the background of all of the cranes
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that are used to unload the ships in the area.
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And there about let me see, there's one tanka, but
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the rest of them are the two three on the
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sides of this. The United States has developed a fifteen
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points proposal aimed at ending the war with Iran, according
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to people familiar with the plan, speaking on the condition
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of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations, Several Middle East officials
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said the plan offered extensive sanctions to relief or of
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sanctions relief to Urran in return for the removal of
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all of its enriched uranium material and abandonment of enrichment
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processing capabilities, limits to Tehran's ballistic missile program, and the
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cessation of support to militant groups in the region, including Hasbalah,
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the Hutis, and Hamas. Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey have each
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moved to broka a cease file. Egyptian Foreign Minister by
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dear Al Deladi confirmed during a news briefing Wednesday afternoon
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in Cairo that a US proposal had been transmitted to Iran.
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The White House declined to elaborate on the plan. Press
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Secretary Caroline Levitt told reporters had a briefing Wednesday that
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there were elements of truth to the reports about a
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fifteen point plan, but that some accounts were not entirely factual.
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We're not going to get into the nitty gritty details
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that have been exchanged between the United States and Iran
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at this time, Levitt said. She added that a report
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on Iranian state televison Vision saying Iranian officials have rejected
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the plan as inaccurate and that talks continue. The flurry
17:08
of diplomatic activity came amid a new wave of Iranian
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attacks from Persian Gulf countries and Israel, the continued closure
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of the Strait of Hamuz by Iran and plans by
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the Pentagon to mobilize about two thousand paratroopers to the region.
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Pakistan's offer to host indirect talks between the US and
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Iran appeared to edge closer to reality Wednesday, after Aroan
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confirmed it was engaging in discussions with its neighbors, but
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not directly with the United States. In a televised interview
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late Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Eshmi al Baki said
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that Pakistan was among the many countries to have approached
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Iran with office to mediate. There have been messages going
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around for some days. We have received messages requesting a
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sort of negotiations. We have responded to those messages, he said.
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Bakik praised Islamabad for its good intentions and said that
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Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs has been in contact with
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his Pakistani counterpart. In the answer to a question about
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whether Tehran was talking directly or indirectly with Washington, Baiki
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said that there are no talks or negotiations between Iran
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and the United States. Sayid Muhammad Ali, a Pakistani security
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analysis with analyst with knowledge of the negotiations said in
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a phone interview Wednesday that Islamabad's political and military leadership
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was facilitating indirect talks between the US and Iran. There
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has been significant and rapid progress in these indirect talks
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between the United States and Iran, which he said were
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being facilitated by Pakistani Prime Minister Shabaz Sharif and Pakistan's
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army Chief General Assimania, among others. President Donald Trump said
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Tuesday that negotiations were happening right now. Speaking in the
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Oval Office, Trump said, we're talking to the right leaders,
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and they want to make a deal so badly. Muted
19:29
optimism over the prospects of talks appeared to ease oil
19:32
prices Wednesday morning, with Brent crude, the international standard, falling
19:38
below ninety five dollars per barrel after topping one hundred
19:42
and four Tuesday. Sharif said Tuesday on x that Pakistan
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was ready to be the host to full of state,
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meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the
19:55
ongoing conflict, a message that was reposted by Pakistani official
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said Wednesday that Sharif had also briefed his Saudi counterpart
20:06
Crown prints Mohammad Vin Solomon on Islamabad's constructive diplomatic outreach
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to all parties urging de escalation and resolution of differences.
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U N Secretary General Antonio Gudrez named Jean Arnauld, a
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French career diplomat, as his envoy to the US Israel
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Iran conflict Wednesday, said he would be in contact with
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all the parties to support mediation and peace. It is
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high time to end the war as human suffering deepens,
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civilian casualties meant, and the global economic impact is increasingly devastating,
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Gudarez said at a news conference at the United Nations.
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The world's top diplomat, said he has been in close
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contact with many in the region and around the world
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to discuss efforts to bring about dialogue in peace. On Tuesday,
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Trump declared the war in Iran had already been one
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and said the Iranians had provided an oil and gas
21:16
related President dot Worth a tremendous amount of money, without
21:23
elaborating on what that was. He added that his son
21:27
in law Jared Kushner, White House Envoy Steve Whitkoff, Secretary
21:32
of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President j D. Vance
21:36
were involved in talks with Iranian leadership, but he did
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not say which Iranians they were. What a gop loss
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in Trump's mar or Lago district says about the mid terms,
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including off year elections last year, Democrats have flipped thirty
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Republican seas since the start of twenty twenty five. And
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there is a picture of Democrat Emily Gregory, who won
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the special election to represent a Florida's state House district
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that includes President Donald Trump's mar Alargo home. This is
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the Florida State House, not our Congress in DC by
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Dan Murcia and Marianna Sotomeo and the picture of Democrat
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Emily Gregory. She is in brown pants. You don't see
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the pants, but it looks like a pant, well, it
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could be a pants, a pretty off white blouse with
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open neck. She's got long hair pulled over to her
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right side, American flag flying out. It looks like a
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yellow stucco home with a column in the background, and
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she's got her arms crossed with two bracelets on her
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right hand a right wrist. Democrat Emily Gregory knew her
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upset victory on Tuesday night in Florida was a big
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deal when her third grader told her mom, you really
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surprised me. Gregory, a first time candidate and fitness business owner,
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defeated John Maples, a Republican endorsed by President Donald Trump
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and aligned with his policies. The two were going head
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to head in a special election for a district that
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includes the President's Palm Beach home, mar Alago. The Democrats
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win was an upset. Despite Palm Beach County leaning left,
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this district was a red enclave with Republicans holding a
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significant voter registration advantage, and the Republican who vacated the
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seat last year win it by nineteen percentage points in
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twenty twenty four. The Democratic win is part of a
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broader trend of the party overperforming in elections since Trump
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assumed his second term. In several races, including gubernatorial contest
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in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as down ballot
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races in such red states as Texas and Arkansas, Democrats
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have either won Republican health seats or outperformed their previous numbers.
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In Florida, Gregory's victory, along with that of Democrat Brian Nathan,
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who also narrowly pulled off an upset in a Tampa
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area state Senate special election has given the out of
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power party a boost and raised Democrats' hopes of significant
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wins nationwide in the November midterm elections. This is one
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in a trend that we've seen across the country, said
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Representative Suzanne Delbane of Washington, chair of the Democratic Congressional
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Campaign Committee. If you talk to folks on the ground
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across the country and you see what's happened in special elections,
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it has been a consistent trend. Dot dot dot. Republicans
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know they are losing. Democrats were not shy about their excitement.
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Representatives Lois Frankel and Kathy Castell, who represent the congressional
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districts that include the special election seats in Palm Beach
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and Tampa, respectively, kicked off House Democrats weekly caucus meeting
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Wednesday morning, best celebrating the winds. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
25:53
of New York reminded colleagues that Democrats have flipped thirty
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legislative seats across the country since Trump took office last year.
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While some Republicans have argued that small special election results
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are being overblown. Others privately acknowledged that the signals are
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troubling for their party. Gregory said, Phillydians want lower costs.
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They want their leaders focused on making Florida more affordable,
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solving real problems, not political distractions. That's what the people
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really want their leaders focused on. This is in caps
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or bold. So what trends are Democrats happy about? Since
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the start of twenty twenty five, Democrats have used special
26:47
elections to flip a dozen state legislative seats, while Republicans
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have not flipped one. When off year elections in twenty
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twenty five are included, in which Democrats dominated both statewide
27:01
and down ballot contest in Virginia and New Jersey, the
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number of seats flipped rises to thirty. This, coupled with
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Trump's slumping approval ratings, has Democrats hopeful that the November
27:15
elections could be a chance to sweep Republicans out of
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power in the House and alter control of many state
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legislatures if we put in the work like we did
27:29
in these Florida races. The data tells us that six
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fifty flips could be in play this November. The largest
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gain for Democrats in over two decades, said Heather Williams,
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head of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the group tasked
27:48
with helping down ballot democrats. Twenty twenty six is our
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opportunity to transform the trajectory of the country for years
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to come, Williams said. In some cases, the overperformance is
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purely symbolic. Republicans have continued to win in deep red districts,
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but Democrats have kept the races closer than expected. In Florida,
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despite Gregory's and Nathan's wins, Republicans continue to hold a
28:20
supermajority in the state House and Senate. Again, Bold writing,
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why does winning Trump's district matter? Gregory's win is dripping
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with symbolism. Trump's neighbors rejected his brand of politics in
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a special election, and the president will be represented by
28:43
a Democrat in the Florida House. But this district and
28:47
Florida in general represent the kind of places where Democrats
28:51
have lost ground in the past decade, and Democrats acknowledge
28:56
it is in such places that they will have to
28:58
improve their station with voters to have a shot at
29:02
surprise wins in November in Florida and nationwide. You don't
29:08
have to be a Democrat to vote for a Democrat.
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That is what we are seeing, said David Jolly, the
29:15
former Republican congressman who is running for governor in Florida
29:19
as a Democrat. Last night is consistent with a massive
29:24
trend towards change here. Voters are telling us what they want.
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Voters are telling us that they need more attention paid
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to the economy, to healthcare, Jolly said, Given that Republicans
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enjoyed a double digit voter registration advantage in the district,
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Gregory was upbeat that registered Republicans turned out in a
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race in which Democrat ultimately won, Suggesting that some Republicans
29:55
voted for the Democratic candidate. Gregory said, a lot of
30:00
independence and Republicans must have voted for me just looking
30:04
at the returns in bold. What does Gregory say about
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what her win means? Gregory, who plans to run for
30:15
re election in November to keep her seat, is well
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aware of the national conversation about her contest. Gregory said,
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I went through the full spectrum of human emotions yesterday afternoon.
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I was just thrilled because my theory of the case
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the whole time was my neighbors, my community, dot dot
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dot want a fairer kind of Florida that truly works
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for all of us, and that is what has been
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my guiding life the whole time. The Democrat knew her
30:49
race was a long shot. She told The Washington Post
30:53
a few days before election day that while she viewed
30:56
the seat as flippable, she understood she was the underdog.
31:00
Asked Wednesday about Republicans who are suggesting that her win
31:04
is a one off, Gregory said, well, I think if
31:08
I were in their shoes, that's what I would also say.
31:13
Are Republicans concerned? Republicans mostly don't want to talk about
31:18
the Gregory Wren. Trump, ever, quick to take to social media,
31:23
has not mentioned the Republican loss in his home district.
31:27
Despite having endorsed Maples and privately appearing alongside him at
31:32
mamar A Largo event before election day, Maples has yet
31:37
to concede to Gagery. Neither he nor the White House
31:41
responded to her request for comment. The White House political
31:46
shop knows how important turnate will be in the midterms,
31:50
and that's why they've gone so far as to hold
31:53
a midterm convention to stress the importance about a turnate,
31:59
said Chris a long time, Republican operative, adding, anyone who
32:04
says you can extrapolate general election turnout for US House
32:08
and Senate races based on a handful of local elections
32:13
has no idea what they're talking about. Florida Republicans are
32:18
mixed on how they read the Tuesday results. I don't
32:22
read too much into it, said Representative Greg Steube, citing
32:27
lower turnout than in a mid term election. But Representative
32:32
Mario Diez Ballard suggested that Republicans were complacent. You do
32:38
take something for granted, you lose it. It's not a
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secret that Republicans don't tend to do as well in
32:45
off year elections. Diez Ballart said, why do Democrats do
32:51
better in special elections? Democrats have become the party that
32:55
does better in low turnout elections, a dramatic paradi shift
33:01
in political thinking, given that Republicans were seen not too
33:05
long ago as the party that needed lower turnout to succeed.
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Voter participation in special elections is always relatively low, the
33:16
contest often happen at times not associated with voting, and
33:21
spending on ads, campaign infrastructure, and get at the vote
33:25
efforts pales in comparison with spending around a general election
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turnit in the special election won by Gregory is expected
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to come in around thirty percent, dramatically law than what
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the urnit will be when the seat is back on
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the ballot in November, when urnit will spike because of
33:46
other competitive races. Trump has been a significant driver of
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this change. Ever since he took to the political scene
33:55
in twenty twenty fifteen. He has turned out low propensity
33:58
voters at a dramatic rate, boasting nationwide turnate and creating
34:04
a scenario in which his party does better when those
34:08
unlikely voters head to the polls and turnout is high.
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When Trump won in twenty twenty four, the US since
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has found that sixty five point three percent of eligible
34:20
voters cast ballots, just slightly lower than the record breaking
34:24
sixty six point eight percent in twenty twenty. If you recall,
34:31
there was mention of a called mid term convention will
34:36
here's a related article Trump floats unusual Republican national convention
34:43
before midterms. Democrats are also considering holding such a gathering
34:48
before the November twenty twenty six elections, and there is
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a picture of July twenty eighth, twenty twenty four July eighteenth,
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twenty twenty four, with the balloons and the gold balloons,
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the red, white, and blue balloons and a picture of
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Millennia and Donald Trump on the screens. You can't see
35:13
him on the stage, but you can on the screen
35:15
up in the air. It's wild looking. This is by
35:20
Patrick Smittik. President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that the Republican
35:26
Party hosts a national convention before next year's midterm elections
35:30
to highlight its talent and the unusual move that Democrats
35:35
are also considering such a gathering and would come ahead
35:39
of a historically difficult election year for the party in power.
35:43
But Trump predicted in the social media posts that the
35:46
GOP would nonetheless in capitals and in bold, win big
35:52
in the mid terms based on the party's achievements since
35:56
he returned to the White House. In that light, I
36:00
am thinking of recommending a national convention to the Republican
36:04
Party just by the midterms. It has never been done before.
36:09
Stay tuned, Trump said, and that stay tuned to Capital
36:14
and Bold. The major parties typically hold their national conventions
36:20
every four years during the summer before presidential elections. The
36:25
Democratic National Committee has already been mulling a midterm Democratic convention,
36:30
and chair Ken Martin supports the idea, According to a
36:34
Democratic official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to
36:38
discuss internal plans, Trump suggested a Republican convention the day
36:43
after Axios first reported that the DNC was considering the
36:47
ideal to showcase have tremendous candidates running up and down
36:53
the ballot and harnessed the amazing grassroots energy we're already seeing.
36:58
Several options are on the tap for next year, including
37:02
hosting a large scale gathering before the midterms, DNC spokesman
37:07
I b Romans said in a statement Thursday. Republicans are
37:12
also or looking to defend their both their hosts and
37:16
Senate majorities in the November twenty twenty sixth election. Trump
37:20
is especially concerned about the host's majority, which is raise
37:24
a thin and has been pushing Texas and other red
37:27
states to redraw their district maps to give the party
37:31
more of an advantage leading into the midterms. House Speaker
37:35
Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, appeared to be quickly backed
37:40
the idea of pre midterm convention, twining on X Yes,
37:46
mister President, let's go. The party that controls the White
37:51
House usually fares poorly in its first midterms. Republicans are
37:56
also grappling with an unpopular president in Trump, who had
38:00
a thirty seven percent approval rating in a Quinni pack
38:03
University poll released to Winstea. The decision to hold a
38:09
convention would ultimately be up to the Republican National Committee,
38:12
which recently elected a new chair, Joe Grudus, who was
38:16
a staunch trombalat. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt declined
38:21
to comment further on Trump's vision for a midterm convention
38:26
during a briefing Thursday, but she said there is so
38:30
much Republicans have accomplished and Trump wants to see that
38:35
celebrated Trump showed classified map to passengers on his plane
38:42
in twenty twenty two. Memo says. The document offers a
38:46
snapshot of an early moment in Special Counsel Jack Smith's
38:50
investigation and adds new shading to the public understanding of
38:55
Smith's probes. There is a picture of President Donald Trump,
39:01
who showed a classified map to fellow passengers aboard his
39:05
private plane, according to a newly released membo prepared by prosecutors,
39:10
as they moved toward an indictment. Trump is in a
39:13
navy blue suit with an attractive sort of purplish blue
39:19
and reddish tie with stripes and dots dots in between
39:25
each stripe lines. Quite attractive. I cannot tell what the
39:30
backdrop is. Oh, but there's a golden eagle in the
39:33
background on the left. The article is by Jeremy Roebuck
39:37
and Megan Basquez. President Donald Trump showed a classified map
39:43
he retained from his first term in office to passengers
39:46
on the twenty twenty two private plane flight, and retained
39:50
another record so sensitive that only six high ranking government
39:54
officials had access to it, according to a prosecution memo
39:58
released to Congress Week. The Justice Department shared those findings
40:03
detailed in January twenty twenty three briefing document written by
40:08
then Special Council Jack Smith's team with lawmakers as they
40:14
conduct a review of Smith's now abandoned efforts to prosecute Trump.
40:19
The memo, which was obtained by The Washington Post, was
40:22
penned as investigators moved toward indicting Trump on charges of
40:26
illegally retaining sensitive government material after he left the White House.
40:32
It offers a snapshot of an early moment in Smith's investigation,
40:36
and adds new shading to the public understanding of Smith's probes,
40:41
even as a final report on his findings remains under
40:45
court seal. The memo, for instance, reveals that Smith's teams
40:50
gathered at least some evidence to suggest that Trump had
40:54
retained classified material pertinent to his personal business interests, and
41:00
that prosecutors were investigating whether his decision to hold on
41:05
to those records was motivated by financial gain. The eventual
41:10
indictment filed against Trump five months after the memo was written,
41:15
did not mention Trump's business interest as a possible motive
41:19
that could suggest prosecutors ultimately concluded they did not have
41:23
sufficient evidence to prove that theory at trial. It is
41:28
also not uncommon for prosecutors to leave some allegations out
41:32
of their initial charging documents, even if they intend to
41:36
prove them later at trial. The memo recounts an alleged
41:41
incident in which Trump, on a June twenty twenty two
41:45
flight to his golf club in bed Nicster, New Jersey,
41:48
allegedly shared a classified map with passengers. Among them, according
41:54
to the memo, was Susy Wilds, then the CEO of
41:58
Trump's super pack, who has since become Trump's White House
42:02
Chief of staff. The memo did not detail what the
42:06
map showed. Smith's twenty twenty three indictment of Trump included
42:11
a similar claim that Trump in twenty twenty one had
42:14
showed others that classified map tied to a military operation
42:18
and boasted that he had access to a plan of
42:21
attack that the Pentagon had prepared for him. Trump is
42:26
repeatedly denied wrongdoing and maintained that he was entitled to
42:30
keep classified records when he left the White House. In
42:33
twenty twenty one, the case Smith filed against him was
42:37
dismissed by a federal judge in Florida, who cited issues
42:41
with Smith's appointment as special counsel before it could go
42:45
to trial. Smith was appealing that decision when Trump was
42:50
elected to a second term in twenty twenty four, prompting
42:54
him to abandon his efforts in line with Justice Department
42:57
policies preventing the prosecution of a sitting president. Whiteoir spokeswoman
43:05
Abigail Jackson on Wednesday panned the conclusions detailed in the
43:10
newly released memo from Smith's team. President Trump did nothing wrong,
43:15
which is why he easily defeated the Biden DOJ's unprecedented
43:20
law fair campaign against him and then won nearly eighty
43:24
million votes in a landslide election victory, she said in
43:28
a statement. Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat
43:34
on the House Judiciary Committee, cited the memo and a
43:37
Wednesday letter to Attorney General Pam Bondy in which he
43:41
demanded more information on its allegations, including a full man
43:45
assess of the passengers aboard Trump's plane for that twenty
43:49
twenty two flight. It is now clear that DOJ is
43:54
in possession of evidence that President Trump has already endangered
43:58
national security further than the interest of Trump's family businesses.
44:04
It is time for you to stop the cover up
44:07
and allow the American people to know what secrets he
44:10
betrayed and how he may have cashed in on them,
44:14
Raskin wrote, Smith has been largely barred from publicly discussing
44:20
the efforts of his investigative team in the classified document's investigation.
44:26
Last year, US District Judge Ale And M. Cannon, the
44:30
same judge who dismissed the case, issued an order preventing
44:34
the release of Trump's final report on the probe, saying
44:38
doing so would unfairly damage the rights of people, including Trump,
44:43
who had not been convicted at trial. She made that
44:47
order permanent at the request of Trump and his former
44:50
co defendants last month, and additionally barred the public release
44:54
of any information or conclusions from Smith's finding in the
45:00
classified documents. Raskin suggested Wednesday that the Justice Department may
45:06
have inadvertently included Smith's memo in a larger batch of
45:10
documents from Smith's investigations of Trump that it released in
45:14
coordination with congressional Republicans. Over the past year, since Trump's
45:20
return to the White House, House and Senate Republicans have
45:23
released scorers of what Raskin described Wednesday as cherry picked
45:28
records from Smith's probes in an effort to discredit his
45:32
work as politically motivated. Released documents have included records revealing
45:37
that Smith's team, as part of its separate investigation of
45:41
Trump's efforts to subvert the results of the twenty twenty election,
45:45
sought phone records from Republican senators and Trump allies, including
45:49
Wiles and Cash Bettel, now FBI director. During the years
45:54
Trump was out of office. Republicans have sought to paint
45:58
that move as evidence Smith was pursuing a partisan vendetta,
46:03
but the former Special Council has defended the decision as
46:07
a routine investigative step as he was building a conspiracy
46:11
case against Trump and investigating whom he was commuting with
46:14
in the weeks after his election loss. Raskin, in his
46:19
letter to Bondy on Wednesday, suggested the coordinated dissemination of
46:24
documents from Smith's probes by the Justice Department and congressional
46:28
Republicans in recent months has violated the spirit and possibly
46:33
the letter, of Cannon's orders. Apparently blinded by the frenzied
46:39
search to find any scrap of evidence that could be
46:42
twisted and distorted to level an attack against Special Council Smith,
46:47
paren despite constantly coming up empty handed in peren you
46:52
have quite amazingly dismissed the fact that some of the
46:56
documents you provided included damning evidence about your bosses conduct
47:01
and may well violate the gag order your dog and
47:05
Donald Trump demanded from Judge Aileen Cannon, Raskin wrote. A
47:12
Justice Department spokesperson rejected that assertion, and his statement dismissing
47:18
Raskin's letter as little more than a cheap political stunt.
47:22
We understand that Raskin, much like Jack Smith, is blinded
47:26
by hatred of President Trump it read. However, he needs
47:31
to get his facts straight. This Department of Justice is
47:35
the most transparent in history, in part because of our
47:38
efforts to expose the weaponization of the Biden administration in
47:43
full compliance with the law and the court. If asked
47:48
whether to prosecute a former president based on the same
47:51
facts today, I would do so, regardless of whether that
47:55
president was a Republican or a Democrat. No one should
47:59
be a the law in our country, and the law
48:01
required that he be held to account, So that is
48:04
what I did. Smith told members of the Host Judiciary
48:09
Committee in January of movement to ban data center's gain
48:17
stream across UNS A Senator Bernie Sanders bill would pause
48:24
the construction of new facilities until Congress passes regulations on
48:30
artificial intelligence. And he has a picture of Representative Alexandria
48:36
Acassio Cortes and Senator Bernie Sanders, both one of New
48:42
York and Sanders independent of Vermont, attending a rally in
48:46
Los Angeles in April twenty twenty five, Cortes is in
48:52
which looked like gray skirt with a brown belt and
48:55
white blouse, holding a folder and arms upstret in hands
49:01
with Bernie Sanders, who wears a Chris blue shirt with
49:04
black pants and a blue ball cap on his iconic
49:09
white hair and glass's face by Ian Duncan. Senator Bernie
49:16
Sanders will introduce legislation Wednesday to block the construction of
49:20
new data centers until lawmakers inact regulations on artificial intelligence,
49:26
laying down a marker on the populace left as Washington
49:30
confronts deep public skepticism of the new technology, but targeting
49:36
data centers the huge computer facilities powering AI. Sander's Independent
49:44
of Vermont said the bill seeks to slow the advancement
49:48
of the technology, giving Congress time to debate the guardrails.
49:54
There are people who are talking about this being much
49:57
more transformational than the Industrial Revolution in terms of impacting
50:02
more people in a much more rapid timeline. And I
50:06
think it is amazing to me, given all of that,
50:10
given the concerns that ordinary Americans have, that Congress has
50:14
done virtually nothing to control AI and robotics, Sanders said
50:20
in an interview. Representative Alexandria Acasio Cotez, Democrat of New York,
50:27
is planning to introduce a similar host spill in coming weeks,
50:31
and while the legislation is all but certain to fail,
50:34
it reflects hepatal lines over AI are hardening in advance
50:39
of this year's mid term elections. Populist figures in both
50:43
the Democratic and Republican parties are seeking to reign in
50:47
the potent technology in response to constituent spears of mass
50:52
job losses, spiking energy bills, and pollution. But at the
50:57
other end of the spectrum is the Trump and administration
51:01
were influ into a White House advisors with ties to
51:04
the tech industry, a pushing for the country to move
51:07
ahead with outlimits in hopes of unlocking and economic revolution
51:12
and staying ahead of China. The White House's position is
51:17
backed by a huge campaign war chest funded by the
51:21
AI industry, but supporters of moratoriums on data centers see
51:26
energies swinging in their way. Dozens of cities and counties
51:31
across the country are considering pauses on construction, as are
51:35
about a dozen states, with efforts led by Democrats and
51:39
Republicans alike. When the environmental group Food and water Watch
51:45
first called for a nationwide moratorium in October. Mitch Jones,
51:50
the group's managing director of policy and Litigation, said they
51:54
were mostly out of hand dismissed, but within months other
51:59
groups had on and Sanders began toting his support for
52:02
the ideal. Jones said, momentum is continuing to grow. Let's
52:09
be honest. One of the best pieces of evidence for
52:12
this is the amount of money the industry is throwing
52:15
into this year's elections. They are aware that the momentum
52:19
is against them, Jones said. Recent polling by the Pew
52:24
Research Center found that Americans have a dim view of
52:27
Data Center's effects on the environment, energy cost, and quality
52:31
of life for people who live nearby, although respondents had
52:35
more positive feelings about their economic effects. Sanders has been
52:40
sounding the alarm about the potential for massive job displacement
52:45
as smart computers and robots take on work once done
52:48
by humans, posting a video of experts discussing how AI
52:53
could lead to human extinction and another of him interviewing
52:58
one AI tool about the technologies private see impacts. Sanders
53:05
traveled to California last month to confront technology executives. The
53:11
vast majority of Americans, especially working class people, are extremely
53:16
apprehensive about what AI and robotics will mean to them,
53:20
Sundras said. The Saunders Build seeks to link data centers,
53:25
the physical and most visible manifestation of AI in many communities,
53:30
with the technology itself. The Sanders Acasio co Tz legislation
53:36
calls for a moratorium on construction until the federal government
53:39
passes rules to ensure that AI technology is safe and
53:44
that the wealth it stands to create is shared across society.
53:49
The Trump administration released a legislative framework last week that
53:53
includes limited regulation of AI and bar states from passing
53:58
their own rules. The president's team has acknowledged public skepticism
54:03
about data centers, and officials brought tech leaders to Washington
54:07
this month to commit to paying for the electricity they use.
54:13
Sim McNeil, the senior director of Federal Affairs at the
54:17
Data Center Coalition, said that the industry is committed to
54:21
working with communities and that a moratorium risks grassinging access
54:26
to digital services, impairs our global competitiveness and will have
54:32
substantial impacts in America's daily lives. But Brad Carson, a
54:38
former Democratic congressman who now runs the Pro AI safeguards
54:43
organization Public First Action said the White House strategy of
54:47
betting so heavily on such limited regulations carries risks if
54:53
they don't get that plan. B is Bernie. At the moment,
54:57
the industry itself recognizes it has an image problem, and
55:02
as they have hyped the power of that technology, leading
55:06
executives have not always pitched it in the most flattering terms.
55:10
Dario Amodi, the chief executive of AI lab Anthropic, recently
55:16
said he envisioned or envisions of potential economic future characterized
55:22
by high economic growth but also unemployment as people across
55:27
a range of industries struggled to adapt. But as the
55:31
elections approach, AI industry funded political committees are planning to
55:36
spend tens of millions of dollars to elect the most
55:40
favorable congress they can. Open AI president Greg Brockman and
55:45
other wealthy executives have backed a political committee that is
55:49
campaigning against supporters of strict AI regulation. In turn, rival
55:55
Anthropic has backed Carson's group to the tune of twenty
55:59
million dollars. Perenne Open AI has a content partnership of
56:04
The Washington Post. End Perenne. A similar debate is playing
56:09
out in state legislatures across the country, where unlikely alliances
56:14
have formed as communities confront the possibility of huge data
56:18
centers springing up, both in poor urban communities and on
56:22
remote rural plots. Analysts have identified about a dozen states
56:27
where lawmakers are considering construction bands ranging from a few
56:32
months to several years. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been
56:36
among Republicans leaders steeking to put a harness on AI,
56:42
supporting privacy rules and limits on use of the technology
56:45
to provide mental health care and insurance decisions, along with
56:50
a package of measures to keep thy dissenters in check.
56:54
Descientists said in January, we want to make sure that
56:58
Floridians are not I'm not going to end up roadkill
57:02
with this AI revolution. But for all the debate, there's
57:07
a little sign that the fiercest regulations are likely to
57:10
move forward in state capitals. Multi State, a government relations
57:15
firm is tracking a few dozen data centers bills that
57:19
have made substantial progress this year. Morgan Scarborough, a vice
57:25
president at the firm, said they are generally modest pieces
57:30
of legislation aimed at helping state governments gather more information
57:34
about the fast growing industry. There's no clear partisan debad
57:39
on the issues, Scarborough said. It's probably one of the
57:44
very few issues in politics where you have extremely strange bedfellows.
57:51
That is the end of the article and also the
57:54
end of my time for Today's Washington Post on Thursday,
57:58
the twenty sixth of March twenty twenty six. I will
58:02
not be here Saturday. My Sun arrives tomorrow morning for
58:05
the weekend, and I am going to be with him
58:08
and my granddaughters for the rest of the weekend. Stay warm,
58:13
it's going to get nasty tomorrow. Take care, have a
58:17
good weekend, and Happy Palm Sunday, babe.