Transcript

3.1.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of the Washington Post for Saturday,
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March one, twenty twenty five. As a reminder, radio is
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a reading service intended for people who are blind or
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have other disabilities that make it difficult to read printed material.
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Your reader today is Mark Webster. The first article, we're
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going to read six articles from the front page of
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the Washington Post today. The Washington Post has three photographs
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and all three of them are of Trump and Zelensky.
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The six articles we're going to read in this order
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or the following Fury boils over in Oval Office, shocking
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globe confrontation, muddies prospects for peace deal, in reversal, IRS
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to give up migrant addresses. Fourth, USI is at least
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one million for fast tracked deportation, DOGE targets agency anti
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bias offices. And then six and last barbs cut deep
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in Oklahoma City. We'll do this in two twenty eight
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minute segments, and probably the last four articles will be
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cut off in interest of time. Here's the first article,
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Fury boils over in Oval Office confrontation contentious Trump Zelensky
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meeting threatens US support for Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader came
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to Washington to prevent Trump from abandoning Kif in favor
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of Moscow, but has met with vocal anger from the
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American President. Here's the article. President Donald Trump ripped into
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Ukrainian President Vlodimir Zelensky in the office on Friday, demanding
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respect and gratitude from the wartime leader in a blistering
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encounter that could determine whether Europe's future is war or peace.
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The heated back and forth with Trump, Zelensky, and Vice
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President jd Vance at time talking over each other, was
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a striking breach of oval office comedy, where even tough
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exchanges have typically happened with calm voices and diplomatic language,
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not Friday, when Trump told Zelensky that he had no
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cards was in no position to make requests of the
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United States. He also suggested that talks could derail unless
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attitudes changed. The on camera fury had no modern precedent
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and was all the more striking at a time when
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Trump has been more sympathetic to Moscow than the Kiev.
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After generations in watch, Washington has stood stauntily against Kremlin
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aggression across the world. Zelensky traveled from Kiev to finalize
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a deal granting the United States limited access to Ukraine's
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natural resources, which the smaller country had hoped would make
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the United States more open to boastering its security in
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the war with Russian Instead, the meeting ended without signature signatures,
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as Trump booted Zelensky from the White House and issued
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what appeared to be a threat to cut off USA
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for Ukraine entirely. The turn of events was surprising given
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the optimism at both sides had projected going into a
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meeting that was designed to showcase a renewed relationship between
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Zelensky and Trump. The rapid deterioration revealed just how much
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tension continues to simmer between the two leaders and its
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stunned policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic. One senior
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European diplomat described feeling nauseous watching the encounter. Quote You've
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allowed yourself to be in a very bad position unquote,
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Trump told Zelensky, blaming Ukraine for the war even though
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it began with an unprovoked invasion by Moscow. Zelensky resisted
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Trump's conclusions, urging him to offer security guarantees and emphasizing
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Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggression and as the conversation grew, heated,
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chatting Vance for speaking about Ukraine without having visited the country.
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Zelensky left shortly after one form with a planned news
4:17
conference council. He exited from the West wing in silence
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and got into his armored suv. Age and other senior
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Ukrainian officials walked behind him into a van, some of
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them appearing dazed. Quote. I have determined that President Zelensky
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is not ready for peace if America is involved, because
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he feels our involvement gives him a big advantagement in negotiations.
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I don't want advantage. I want peace close the quote.
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Trump wrote on social media as they departed. Quote he
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disrespected the United States of America in its cherished oval office.
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He could come back when he's ready for peace. Unquote
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else he review is underway with billions of dollars of
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radar systems, vehicles, ammunition, and missiles at stake. According to
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a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity
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to discuss the sensitive topic, Ukraine remains under intense bombardment
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from Russia, with explosions ringing out in Kiev on Friday night.
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In the hours following the meeting. European leaders meanwhile scrambled
5:26
to salvage the situation. Many declared their support for Ukraine.
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Italian Prime Minister Georgia of Maloney, a right wing leader
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who has maintained close relations with both the White House
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and Ukraine, called for a summit that would gather Trump
5:42
with European leaders to discuss the future. Other European leaders
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were reviewing their stocks of weaponry to see whether they
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could step in to backstop Kiev. Trump left the White
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House on Friday evening for a weekend in Florida, eliminating
5:58
any chance of any in person reconcis. Quote he said
6:02
he wants to come back right now, but I can't
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do that unquote, Trump told reporters as he boarded Marine
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Ie on the south line of the White House. In
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an interview on Fox News on Friday night, Zelensky cast
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a meeting as a moment of open but divergent views.
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He made clear that he was thankful for Trump's support,
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but said he did not see a need to offer
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any apology for the public spat in the Oval Office.
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Zelensky tried to focus on Putin as the figure he
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to rally against quote Pewtin with Russians their enemies unquote,
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and wished that Trump would stand more firmly with Ukraine.
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Quote I want really him to be more on our
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side unquote, Zelensky said, quote it's not just that the
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war began somewhere between our countries. The war began when
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Russia brought the war to our country, and they're not right.
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They didn't respect our territorial territorial integrity. Closed the quote.
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He said he had some regrets over the meeting. Quote
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I think it was not good unquote, but it was
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unclear whom he considered at fault. Asked if his relationship
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with Trump could be salvaged, he said, quote, yes, of
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course unquote. The earlier encounter between the two presidents reverberated
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around the world in near real time. Senior leaders and
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Brussels were glued to it on their phone's, officials said.
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One senior European diplomat said that it was important for
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Zelensky to fix the problem quickly with a statement that
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declared his respect for Trump. Another said that it was
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a final confirmation that Europe had lost its US ally.
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The officials and others spoke on the condition of anonymity
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for fear of also inciting Trump's ire the meeting. The
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meeting's most heated exchange came after Vance pointed to the
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need for diplomacy and criticized the Biden administration. Zelensky then
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recounted Pewtin's actions in twenty fourteen and said the world
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has emboldened him over time. Quote, mister President, with respect.
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I think it's disrespectful that you for you to come
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into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in
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front of the American media. Unquote. Vance said, quote you
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should be thanking the president for trying to bring an
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end to this conflict. Close the quote. Zelensky challenged him back,
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a striking shift from other foreign leaders who have been
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careful to shower the US President and his entourage with praise.
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In the case of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer just
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one day earlier, his Oval Office visit included a personal
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letter from King Charles The third quote, have you ever
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been to Ukraine? Come once? Close the quote, Zelensky asked Vance.
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Quote you bring people, you bring them on a propaganda tour,
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mister President unquote. Vance responded and then challenged him over
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problems they've had with their military. Quote. First of all,
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during the war, everybody has problems, even you. Unquote. Zelensky said,
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quote uote, but you have nice ocean and don't feel now,
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but you will feel it in the future. Unquote. That
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appeared to infuriate Trump, who repeatedly blasted the Ukrainian leader. Quote,
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you don't know that. Don't tell us what we're going
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to feel. You're in no position to dictate that. Unquote,
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he said, his voice rising, quote you're right now not
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in a very good position. You've allowed yourself to be
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in a very bad position. Unquote. He added, quote you
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don't have the cards right now with us. You start
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with having cards unquote. Quote I'm not playing cards. I'm
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very serious, mister president. Unquote. Zelensky responded, quote, I'm very serious. Unquote.
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Vance joined in, asking, quote, have you said thank you
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once in this entire meeting? Unquote. Zelensky said he has
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often thanked the American people further support in the war effort.
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As Zelensky tried to speak, Trump interrupted him, quote, wait
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a minute, No, no, you've done a lot of talking. Unquote.
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Trump said, quote your country is in big trouble unquote.
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Trump eventually ordered reporters out of the room, and as
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they were leaving, offered an aside, quote, this is going
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to be great television. Unquote, he said, quote I will
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say that unquote. Trump had declared his faith that Putin
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two wants to end the war and will abide by
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any peace agreement that is struck. He is held back
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from criticism of the Russian leader, even has as he
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has hit Zelensky. This week, he sided with Moscow and
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Pyonyang against Ukraine in a vote marking the war's anniversary
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of the United Nations. But Trump has often taken pains
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to be polite with other leaders when he has met
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them in person, and he has positive face to face
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conversations with Zelensky in the past, something the Ukrainian leader
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was banking on when he rushed to Washington this week
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for the encounter. White House officials, too, say they had
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expected a friendly meeting. They blamed Zelensky's handling of the conversation. Quote,
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everybody in the room was expecting the exact opposite of
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the exchange today. It was not the plan for it
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to go that way unquote. A Trump administration official said,
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Trump and Zelensky have a long history dating back to
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Trump's first term. More recently, Trump has lavished attention on
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Putin and referred to Zelensky as a quote dictator unquote,
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while also expressing hope over a deal for rare earth minerals.
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Trump several times cast himself as a mediator between the
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two countries, saying he wanted to open up communications with
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Russia in a way that Biden's administration would not, while
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also aligning himself with Ukraine by hosting Zelensky at the
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White House. Some European officials said they believe the drama
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amounted to a prepared attack on Zelensky. Senator Lindsey Graham,
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a Republican from South Carolina, appearing at the White House,
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told reporters after the heated meeting that he had warned
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Zelensky to proceed carefully and was shocked that he didn't.
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Quote I talked to Zelensky this morning unquote, Graham said, quote,
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don't take the bait unquote. A senior Western diplomat grimaced
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at the combative scene, noting that US and European officials
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had co ordinated for weeks to try to avoid this
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very outcome. Given Trump's thin skin and deep skepticism of Zelensky. Quote.
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I just don't understand how Zelensky walked into the trap. Unquote,
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said the diplomat, noting Zelensky's long winded remarks that triggered
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the argument. Quote your life literally depends on this man.
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If he starts throwing custard pies at you, you let him. Unquote.
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Russia scholars and analysts were gassed. If Zelensky is thinking strategically, quote,
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he will accept that he cannot fix this personally and
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will instead appoint an envoy, someone respected in Washington who
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is not part of his current senior team, to try
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to get the train back onto the tracks in the weeks.
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Closed the quote, said Eric Scharamela, a Russia and Eurasia
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expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Quote the alternative,
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I fear is that Moscow and Washington will reach a
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deal over the heads of Ukrainians. Close the quote. That's
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the end of the first article. Our second article is
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Confrontations muddies. Confrontation muddies prospects for peace steal headlines. Firing
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meeting with Zelensky up ins Trump's Russia Ukraine peace deal.
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US officials gave conflicting signals about the future of an
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agreement to end the three year war, while European allies
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struggled to make sense of the tense Oval Office encounter.
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Here's the article. As reaction to the Trump Zelensky meltdown
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in the Oval Office on Friday turned from astonishment to
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concern about what happens next, there was little consensus on
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whether a US negotiated peace deal to end the Russia
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Ukraine war remains possible. Quote. He can come back when
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he's ready for peace unquote, President Donald Trump said on
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social media after his firing meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart.
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The agreement that he had prepared for President Vladimir Zelensky,
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giving the United States rights to exploit Ukraine's critical minerals
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in exchange for a vaguely outlined US security guarantee, remained unsigned.
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With While Zelensky tried to get Trump to be more
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specific about how he would ensure that Russia would not
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again violate a ceasefire, Trump downplayed the importance of security,
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saying it amounted to quote two percent of unquote of
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any deal that stopped the fighting. Quote I'm not worried
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about security unquote. Trump said, quote, I'm worried about getting
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the deal done unquote. Top Trump national security officials rushed
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to congratulate him for posting, for putting Zelensky in his
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place as the President has always done. He stood for America.
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America first. The world saw today in real time unquote.
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Keith Kellogg, Trump's Special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, posted
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on X Vice President J. D. Vance, leaning forward on
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the sofa as the two presidents sat in armchairs before
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the fireplace, essentially called Zelensky an ingrate and badgered the
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Ukrainian president to say quote thank you unquote to Trump. Shocked.
15:27
European leaders, who have tried to stroke Trump's ego while
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gently nudging him toward ongoing support for Ukraine, largely confined
15:36
themselves to saying they stood with Zelensky. Quote it's too
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fresh to give a serious and considered opinion on it. Unquote.
15:44
A European diplomat said of the Oval Office meeting, quote,
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it shifts the tone, but the fundamentals of why we
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need a peace settlement have not changed. Unquote. The diplomat,
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who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were
15:58
not authorized to state their government its position said that
16:01
while Trump's aggression was striking, Zelensky quote hit the wrong
16:05
tone unquote in publicly challenging him. British Prime Minister Keir
16:09
Starmer has called European leaders to a meeting Sunday in
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London for what the European official called, quote a moment
16:16
to stake, to take stock unquote and discuss next steps.
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Zelensky is suspected to attend. US officials gave conflicting signals
16:26
about the future. One senior administration official told The Washington
16:30
Post that the Trump administration is considering ending all ongoing
16:34
shipments of military aid to Ukraine in response to Zelensky's
16:38
perceived in transigent in face of Trump's desire to quickly
16:42
solve the Ukrainian conflict. The decision, if taken, would apply
16:49
to billions of dollars of radars, vehicles, ammunition, and missiles
16:54
awaiting shipments shipment to Ukraine, though the Presidential Drawdown Authority,
17:00
said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity
17:03
to discuss the sensitive topic, Trump has said that US
17:06
rights to Ukraine's mineral resources would serve as repayment for
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hundreds of billions of dollars of USAID and that the
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presence of US engineers and miners to exploit them is
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security enough. State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce, speaking late Friday
17:23
on Fox Business, speculated that Zelensky quote is maybe having
17:27
some second thoughts unquote about questioning Trump's Trump in the
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Oval Office. Quote, but he has a chance to turn
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this around, and he probably can unquote. She said that
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the blow up quote doesn't mean that the deal still
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can't be done unquote, and that Zelensky quote has choices
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to make unquote. Bruce indicated that the administration was not
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displeased with the spectacle of an Oval Office shouting match
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on live television. Quote this is what the American people
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voted for, unquote, she said of the event that took
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place quote in public, in the environment of the White House,
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where it is clear that the American people can see
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what the dynamic is and what the President of the
18:05
United States thinks unquote. What they experienced, she said, was
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quote diplomacy in action with blunt talk and a clarity
18:15
that you rarely see, part and parcel of what it
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means to make America great again. Close the quote. The
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aborted White House session with Zelensky, including a canceled luncheon
18:26
and joint news comforts that were to have followed. The
18:29
mineral deals signing came after US and Russian officials met
18:33
Thursday in Istanbul to discuss restoring full ties between the
18:37
two countries, including the return of a US ambassador to
18:41
Moscow after a two and a half year absence of
18:44
Moscow's equivalent return to a full diplomatic complement in the
18:47
United States. The Istanbul meeting after a similar session ten
18:53
days earlier in Saudi Arabia, neither of which Ukraine was
18:56
invited to participate in, and a call between Trump and
19:00
Putin with plans to meet face to face, illustrated the
19:03
speed with which the US president has moved to end
19:06
the war. But current and former diplomats worry that Trump,
19:10
who described himself Friday as quote the toughest human being unquote,
19:14
is racing toward a deal that will be more favorable
19:16
to Moscow than Kiev. And yet it was Trump who
19:20
expelled sixty Russian diplomats accused of being intelligence officers in
19:24
twenty eighteen and ordered the closure of a Russian consulate,
19:29
punishing Putin for poisoning one of his own expis in
19:33
Britain and reducing quote Russia's ability to spy on Americans
19:37
and to conduct covert operations that threatened America's national security unquote.
19:43
The White House set of the time said at the time.
19:46
Celeste Wallander, who had extensive dealings with the Ukraine government
19:50
as a senior Pentagon official during the Biden administration, said,
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Friday's Oval Office episode quote changes the dynamic fundamentally unquote
19:58
for potential to diploma. Was he going forward? Quote Until today,
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it felt like the White House was aiming at being
20:05
a neutral arbiter to find the way for an agreement
20:08
between Ukraine and Russia on an equitable resolution of the
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conflict unquote, she said, quote After today, it feels like
20:16
the White House has actually chosen signs, and it has
20:20
chosen on the side of Putin's Russia to force a
20:23
resolution unquote. Wallander, who is now a senior fellow at
20:27
the Center for a New American Security think tank, said
20:30
that for Zelensky, the deterioration of ties with Washington will
20:34
increase the importance of European nations commitments to Ukraine. In
20:38
recent weeks, the Europeans have sought to build American support
20:42
for a scenario in which they would place peacekeeping forces
20:46
within Ukraine, away from the front lines, as a bulwark
20:49
in the event of an agreement to halt the fighting.
20:52
The United States, in this proposal, would provide a military
20:56
quote backstop unquote with capabilities in alone and supply in
21:00
vast quantities, including long range missiles, heavy air transport, and
21:06
air defense systems in the meantime. Quote the question of
21:10
what happens to US support has been looming over everything unquote,
21:14
said Andrew Weiss, a Russian specialist at the Carnegian Dowment
21:18
for International Policy. Quote. Europe doesn't have the resources or
21:22
unity to backfield. It doesn't have the intelligence capability crucial
21:26
to the lethality of the Ukrainian campaign unquote. Now, Weiss said,
21:31
a ceasefire on Russia's terms has become more possible quote
21:35
because Ukraine is going to be worried that its relationship
21:38
with the United States is in tatters, and they better
21:40
find a way to get the best deal they can
21:43
before Russia's advantages become even more stark for them. We'll
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close the quote and in that article. Now we'll go
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to the third article, which we will probably have to
21:53
truncate a little bit. The third article, DHS asks IRS
21:57
for addresses of people believed to be in US illegally.
22:01
The Tax agency has so far refused to give Immigration
22:05
enforcement officials home addresses for seven hundred thousand individuals. People
22:11
familiar with the issues said DHS also asks for skilled
22:15
auditors to investigate businesses. Here is the article. Internal Revenue
22:23
Service leaders rejected a recent request from immigration enforcement officials
22:28
to divulge the home addresses of seven hundred thousand people
22:32
suspected of being in the country illegally, rebuffing a Trump
22:36
administration attempt to leverage the Tax Service to assist the
22:40
sweeping immigration crackdown. In a memo obtained by the Washington Post,
22:45
Department of Homeland Security Authorities as THERS on Thursday, to
22:49
connect the names of potentially undocumented immigrants with the people's
22:53
last known addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. It follows
22:58
a DHS request roughly two weeks weeks ago that would
23:01
allow immigration officials to provide a list of names to
23:04
the IRS and hopes of obtaining home addresses from the
23:08
Tax agency. According to five people familiar with the situation
23:12
who spoke on the condition of anonymity, but out of
23:15
fear of professional reprisals. IRS leaders initially rejected DHS request,
23:20
the People said, and are attempting to negotiate terms to
23:24
assist immigration enforcement officials without violating tax privacy laws. The
23:30
memos suggested the creation of a team of IRS officials
23:34
to review taxpayer's data so it is not accessed by
23:37
DHS personnel. At the end of the workday Friday, though,
23:41
a new acting IRS Commissioner, Melanie Krauss, took over the
23:45
agency and quickly indicated she was interested in exploring how
23:49
to comply with the DHS request. To the People said,
23:53
as of late Friday night, it did not appear that
23:56
the IRS would immediately be able to turn over the
23:58
information DHS saw. DHS's Thursday memo also asked the IRS
24:05
to deploy dozens of highly skilled RS auditors and criminal
24:08
investigators to launch probes of businesses suspected of hiring immigrants
24:13
not authorized to work in the United States. Quote, IRS
24:17
investigation should be conducted and assistance should be provided without
24:21
regard for any threshold, floor or internal policy for opening
24:26
an investigation. Unquote. The memo states, quote further, IRS should
24:31
provide leads on businesses that are circumventing tax laws or
24:35
violating work site related statutes, many of which are from
24:39
prior leads or complaints that IRS did not investigate due
24:43
to not meeting internal IRS policy for opening an investigation unquote.
24:48
The memo and request have promoted deep alarm within the IRS.
24:52
The people said providing taxpayer information to third parties is
24:57
punishable by civil and criminal penalties, and other government entities
25:01
are forbidden from ordering tax investigations. People familiar with the
25:05
DHS's request described them as quote Nixonian unquote, referring to
25:10
how President Richard M. Nixon's administration used the RS to
25:14
collect information about perceived enemies. Abuse of the tax system
25:19
was one of the articles of impeachment filed against Nixon
25:21
in nineteen seventy four, though he resigned before the impeachment proceeded.
25:26
The RS has assured and has reassured undocumented immigrants for
25:31
years that their information is confidential and that it would
25:35
be safe for them to file home to file income
25:38
tax returns reflecting their earnings without fear of being deported.
25:43
When some immigrants were rattle about filing taxes after Trump
25:47
took office in twenty seventeen, the RS said the law
25:51
doesn't allow the agency to share personal tax information with
25:55
one with another government agency. Quote. There is no authorization
26:00
to this provision to share tax data with ICE unquote,
26:03
the RS said then, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement
26:08
part of the DHS. Representatives from the Department of Homeland
26:12
Security and RS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
26:17
The undocumented immigrants pay billions of dollars in federal taxes
26:22
every year by filing annual returns or having money withheld
26:25
from their paychecks. An estimated half possibly more of the
26:30
roughly eleven million undocumented immigrants in the country file income
26:35
tax returns to document their contributions to the United States.
26:39
Researchers say, because most are ineligible for Social Security numbers,
26:44
the RS allows them to file with individual taxpayer numbers
26:48
known as itis instead. Tax data can provide information about
26:54
potentially undocumented immigrants, including their addresses, family structures, and bank
26:59
and employment information, experts say, but even a taxpayer's name
27:04
and home address are considered protected data under the federal law,
27:08
said Nana Osen, who was the National Taxpayer Advocate of
27:13
the IRS's internal watchdog from two thousand and one to
27:15
twenty nineteen. A federal official who spoke on the condition
27:19
of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue said ICE may
27:23
view the IRS database as valuable for pinpointing undocumented immigrants
27:27
because tax returns often contain recent information such as current workplaces,
27:33
names and ages of children, and home addresses. ICE is
27:36
tracking nearly eight million undocumented immigrants on its deportations docket,
27:41
but immigrants often do not update their addresses with the
27:44
enforcement agency. Sharing taxpayer information would mark a major reversal
27:49
for the IRS. Many immigrants proudly file tax returns and
27:53
save them in hopes that a record of paying taxes
27:56
will boast of their efforts to apply for a legal
27:58
residency one day if Congress passes the law allowing it.
28:02
Now we have to break there for our twenty eight
28:04
minute break. I will not continue this article, although it
28:08
has about another half dozen paragraphs. Welcome back to the
28:13
second twenty eight second minute segment of our reading of
28:17
the Washington Post for today, Thursday, March one, twenty twenty eight.
28:22
We've now read three of the six articles that we mentioned.
28:26
Were on the fourth article, USI's at least one million
28:30
for fast tracked deportation. Trump seeks to fast tracts deportations
28:35
of hundreds of thousands by expanding use of the quote
28:38
expedited removal of quote law from within one hundred miles
28:42
of a border to the entire country. Trump officials will
28:46
try to remove more than one million immigrants admitted to
28:49
the United States during the Biden administration. The Trump administration
28:54
has directed federal officers to identify immigrants who can be
29:00
rapidly removed from the United States without a court hearing
29:04
as a part of its quest to boost deportations. According
29:09
to an internal memorandum viewed by The Washington Posts, the memos,
29:13
circulated at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement on February eighteenth,
29:18
details the agency's led a strategy to accelerate removals and
29:22
identifies their potential targets. More than one million migrants who
29:28
were admitted to the United States through an array of
29:30
initiatives during President Joe Biden's administration could be flagged quote
29:35
for expedited removal unquote proceedings. Though officials have instructed immigration
29:40
officers to pour over the nearly eight million deportation cases
29:45
on their dockets to find more migrants could be speedily
29:48
deported if they crossed the border illegally, were waved into
29:52
the country on parole or with a notice to report
29:55
to immigration authorities, and have not applied for asylum. The
30:00
immigrants also arrived legally through a port of entry also
30:04
may be targeted if they lacked immigration documents or misrepresented themselves,
30:08
the memo said. Lawyers said this group could include Nicaraguans, Venezuelans,
30:15
and others who entered legally through a Biden parole program,
30:18
which President Donald Trump terminated if they lack any other
30:22
immigration status. Migrants who booked appointments through the US Customs
30:27
and Border Protection app to enter through a border checkpoint
30:31
also could be swept out of the country. Quote. This
30:34
is allowing ICE to go after a lot of people
30:37
that are here that have been here for a long
30:39
time unquote, said Paul Hunker, former ICE Chief Council in Dallas,
30:44
who said the fast track deportation process historically has been
30:47
meant for newer arrivals and not people who have deep
30:51
roots in their communities. ICE did not respond to questions
30:55
about the memo, which was sent from the Association Director
30:59
for Fear Operations to immigration officers nationwide. The memo comes
31:05
to Trump administration officials. As Trump administration officials scramble to
31:11
fulfill his campaign promise to oversee a historic mass deportation
31:15
of millions of immigrants, those efforts have fallen short, in
31:19
part because longtime residents are entitled to court hearings that
31:23
can take years to materialize. So Trump officials are increasingly
31:28
targeting people who can be quickly removed, such as criminals,
31:32
those with final removal orders, or people with temporary protections
31:36
like parole that officials can swiftly rescind. Recent arrivals who
31:41
were released into the country via parole are in such
31:45
a tenuous position that the month before the twenty twenty
31:48
four presidential election, the Biden administration warned them to apply
31:52
for asylum or permanent residency if eligible, to avoid being deported.
31:58
Expedited Removal was created in nineteen ninety six law that
32:01
sought to deter legal immigration. For most of its history,
32:05
it has been deployed on the southern border with Mexico
32:09
to quickly remove thousands of migrants caught within one hundred
32:13
miles of the boundary. Shortly after their arrival. Migrants can
32:16
plead their case to immigration officers if they fear their
32:20
lives will be in danger if they return home. If
32:23
they lose their only recourse is a cursory review by
32:26
an immigration judge. After Trump took office, his administration immediately
32:31
expanded quote expedited removal unquote from the southern border to
32:36
the rest of the United States to target people who
32:38
have been here for two years or less. Trump made
32:42
a similar attempt during his first term in twenty nineteen,
32:46
but was blocked by federal judge. But advocates said the
32:51
February eighteen ICE memo goes even further than the expansion
32:55
into the interior because targets because it targets people who
32:59
arrived via parole, most of them legally, even if they
33:02
have been in the United States longer than two years.
33:06
The memo says immigration officers may pursue someone for xboiity
33:10
removal even after the two year time limit if they
33:14
are quote arriving aliens unquote, such as those who showed
33:18
up at a border checkpoint without immigration documents and were
33:22
released into the United States. Quote. There is no time
33:25
limit on the ability to process each aliens for er unquote,
33:29
the memo said, referring to xbotity removal. In a separate
33:34
example of how far the administration will go to increase
33:38
its deportation numbers, the memo said immigrants who won protection
33:43
from being deported because the judge ruled they could be
33:46
persecuted or tortured in their home country should be considered
33:50
for expulsion to a different company, different country. Lawyers say
33:57
there is no guarantee that country would that country would
34:01
protect the immigrant from being deported to the country they fled. Quote.
34:06
This is an effort to really circumvent the most precious
34:10
aspect of the asylum laws, which is we do not
34:13
send people back to countries whether their life or freedom
34:16
would be threatened, said Ara Kerzbaan, a Miami immigration lawyer
34:21
and the author of a widely used legal source book.
34:25
The membo also encourages immigration officers to re arrest immigrants
34:29
they have had to release in the past because they
34:31
could not deport them, typically because their homelands refused to
34:35
take them back. Trump has threatened sanctions against such countries,
34:39
and the memo says the administration has made quote significant
34:43
gains unquote in carrying out deportations. Legal challenges to the
34:48
memoir are expected, and the administration faces logistical hurdles, such
34:53
as discovering where immigrants are living now and parsing whether
34:57
they have filed applications for a permanent legal immigration status.
35:02
But the move is jarring advocates for immigration for immigrants
35:06
because expedited proceedings move so quickly and it is difficult
35:11
to locate immigrants and defend them. Quote. The use of
35:14
expedited removal of the border for recent arrivals has resulted
35:18
in countless errors, But expanding a system that lacks due
35:22
process to longtime residents in the interior of the country
35:26
is problematic at a whole other level. Unquote, said American
35:29
civil liberties union lawyer Lee Gelernt, who in January filed
35:34
a lawsuit on behalf of immigrant advocates seeking to stop
35:38
Trump from using expedited removal in the US interior. Quote,
35:43
providing the process is built into the fabric of our country,
35:48
but is step by step being eliminated by this administration.
35:51
Close the quote, and surprisingly that ends the article that
35:54
was shorter than what I expected. I now will go
35:57
to the fourth excuse me, to the fifth and sixth
36:00
articles again, which I anticipate I'll have to cut off
36:03
for time reasons. Fifth article, Trump officials start dismantling civil
36:08
rights offices as part of dog's secret plan. Legal experts
36:13
said that unwinding a civil rights erab bulwark designed to
36:17
safeguard employees' rights removes a crucial check on institutional power.
36:22
Here's the article. Agencies across the federal government are dismantling
36:26
offices that enforce civil rights and anti discrimination laws under
36:31
a Trump administration push to strength the workforce, weakening the
36:35
government's ability to deliver on legal obligations to protect workers' rights.
36:40
The Social Security Administration this week announced it was closing
36:44
its Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity, where about
36:48
one hundred and fifty people worked investigating civil rights complaints,
36:51
preventing harassment, and ensuring accommodations for people with disabilities. According
36:58
to two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on
37:01
the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, leaders at
37:06
the Labor Department are planning to cut by ninety percent
37:10
the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which for decades
37:14
has worked to ensure that government contractors took affirmative action
37:19
to end discrimination at their firms. Documents obtained by The
37:22
Washington Post show The Federal Trade Commission, meanwhile, has had
37:27
its internal Equal employment Opportunity office to three employees from six,
37:32
and similar moves have been taken at NASA, where most
37:35
information about how to file complaints has been removed from
37:38
its websites. The moves signaled the Trump administration's intent to
37:44
deliver on us doge's service plans for workforce cuts laid
37:48
out in a series of documents obtained by the Post,
37:51
which initially contemplated eliminating the civil rights functions altogether in
37:56
violation of federal law. Agency equal opportunity offices are mandated
38:02
by statute to ensure that employees receive equal opportunity quote
38:07
regardless of race, sex, national origin, color, religion, disability, or
38:11
reprisal for engaging in prior protected activity unquote, and have
38:15
been viewed with skepticism by the administration, which has sought
38:19
to purge the federal government of diversity, equity and inclusion
38:22
industries in fetherance of President Donald Trump's goal quote to
38:26
forge a colorblind and merit based unquote society, and it
38:30
has long been on some conservatives wish list to decap
38:34
the external civil rights work of the Labor Department's contract
38:38
Compliance Office, which for decades has audited the nation's largest contractors,
38:44
including Lockey, Martin, Boeing, and del Wahtte Dell White, delo
38:48
Wit the Elitte that's the accountegate company to insure fair
38:54
pay and hiring. Plans obtained by the Post show the
38:58
office will maintain fifty employees to enforce discrimination law for
39:02
veterans and workers with disabilities, but it will no longer
39:06
be staffed to audit companies for pay and hiring disparities
39:09
for women and minority workers. Much of that work had
39:13
been halted since Trump last month overturned and anti discrimination
39:17
order signed by Lyndon B. Johnson, which established the office's
39:22
primary mission sixty years ago. The erosion of private sector
39:25
guard wills is likely to deter people from reporting mistreatment,
39:30
said Jenny Yang, who served as director of the agency
39:33
during the Biden administration and presided over investigations of multiple
39:37
large firms over gender pay disparities and hiring discrimination. Quote.
39:43
They are concerned about retaliation. They could lose their jobs unquote,
39:47
Yang said. Quote, and the real power of the OFCCP
39:51
is that it required federal contractors to engage in proactive
39:55
barrier analysis to really prevent discrimination unquote legally. Experts said
40:00
that unwinding a civil rights board designed its designed to
40:06
safeguard employees' rights removed a crucial check on institutional power.
40:11
The groundwork for such laws began with Civil Rights Act
40:14
of nineteen sixty four, which outlaw discrimination and employment and
40:18
sought to promote the integration of the largely celebrated US workforce.
40:23
Core laws protecting workers from discrimination and harassment remain in effect,
40:28
and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the primary enforcer of
40:32
those laws, has not announced large reductions in workforce, but
40:36
the attack on equal employment offices within the federal government
40:40
is concerning, said Larry Stein, a federal employment attorney, noting
40:44
that they are required by civil rights laws and are
40:47
a crucial extension of their principles. Quote. Harmed to federal
40:51
employees will occur when these severely short staffed EEO officers
40:56
are unabled to process EEO complaints in attack manner, which
41:01
will allow discriminatory behavior on the part of federal managers
41:05
to continue close quote Steime said. He added that the
41:09
moves could have an outside impact on minorities, women, LGBTQ people,
41:14
and other marginalized groups. Within the federal government and come
41:18
as all federal employees are in greater need of protection
41:21
amid a time of rapid workforce transformation. Quote. The goal
41:25
here is to discourage the filing of EEO complaints to
41:29
begin with, by adding interminable delay to a process that
41:33
already takes far too long unquote steime said. Lee Dudek,
41:37
Acting Commissioner of Social Security, cast the closure of the
41:40
agency's EEO office as an efficiency measure and a statement
41:44
announcing the decision quote Terminating the Office of Civil Rights
41:48
an equal opportunity and reassigning statutory responsibilities performed by this
41:53
office advanced the present's goal to make all of government
41:57
more efficient in serving the American public close the quote.
42:00
He said. The office did not immediately answer questions about
42:04
how the work would be redistributed. The plans by DOGE,
42:10
which stands for the Department of Government Efficiency, though it
42:14
is not a cabinet level agency to call federal agencies
42:18
equal opportunity offices, began before Trump was sworn in. Documents
42:22
obtained by the Post show. These documents fingered dozens of
42:26
offices that protect employees' civil rights or investigate claims of
42:30
employment discrimination in the federal workplace for possible cuts to
42:34
help Trump deliver un campaigned promises to strengthen the two
42:38
point three million person civil service. DOGE intended for the
42:42
Trump administration to identify members of statutorily required offices who
42:48
should be tied to diversity efforts. The documents show a
42:52
DOGE document called such workers quote corrupted branches unquote. Doge
42:58
planned for the administration to the first placed such employees
43:01
on leave, then fired them via a reduction in force action,
43:05
the government form of layoffs. Throughout the process, planners stated
43:10
the need to find legal justification for such firings. The
43:13
documents show DOG intended for the administration to enact trims
43:19
at offices required by law between the thirty first and
43:22
one hundredth eightieth day of Trump's presidency from mid February
43:26
to mid July. The cuts at NASA and Social Security,
43:28
which are listed for targeting in a DOG spreadsheet, came
43:32
right on schedule. The much smaller EEO office at the
43:37
Federal Trade Commission has also been reduced, According to Stein,
43:42
the attorney who represented one of its workers, days after
43:45
Trump's inauguration, the office was totally shut down with its
43:49
functions transferred to the agency's General Counsel's Office. According to
43:53
documents reviewed by the Post, the move was contrary to
43:57
federal law. According to Stein, the office this has since
44:00
been restored, with three workers, half the former number. According
44:04
to Stein, the FTC declined to comment. Nick Bednar, a
44:09
University of Minnesota professor of law, said the EEO offices
44:13
quote play a significant role in protecting individual employees from
44:17
discrimination and managing the culture of the workforce. Closed the
44:20
quote quote, A lot of these agencies are required by statute,
44:26
and by gutting these agencies, they are not able to
44:29
perform the obligations that are placed on them, and the
44:32
morale within the workforce is going to degrade pretty quickly unquote.
44:37
Bednar added the changes have left some employees confused about
44:42
where to address their civil rights concerns at NASA, one
44:46
employee discovered her Equal Employment Officers contact had been dismissed.
44:51
When she tried to email the employee with a request
44:54
this week. The email bounced back with the message that
44:58
the staffer quote wasn't found at now dot gov unquote.
45:01
According to a copy of the message obtained by the Post,
45:05
a NASA spokesperson told the post that the agency's EEO
45:11
office reductions and the removal of information on its websites
45:15
are meant to comply with Trump's executive orders. A Social
45:19
Security Administration staffer who has used the shuttered office to
45:24
help navigate a disability said she received no notice about
45:28
the change internally, and instead found out by browsing public
45:31
news sources. Speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear
45:35
of retaliation, she described contacting the colleagues and a manager
45:41
from whom she happened to have personal contact information. She
45:44
was too scared to ask questions on any internal platforms.
45:47
The supervisor had no additional information. Quote. My reaction is
45:52
shock and anger un quote, she said, adding that she
45:54
has an accommodation that will have to be renewed in
45:57
several months. Quote. As a disabled employee, I don't have
46:00
a polite word for this. I want to cry. Close
46:03
the quote, and that closes. The entire reading of the
46:06
entire fifth article will now go to the sixth and last.
46:10
It looks like I might have time to read it
46:13
in its entirety. Barbs cut deep in Oklahoma City. Federal
46:19
workers haunted by Oklahoma City bombing fear Trump's barbs the
46:23
anti government attack lingers in the memories of those bracing
46:27
for dog layoffs. He served twenty four years in the Army,
46:31
completing combat tours in Iraq and Syria. Now he solved
46:35
military tech problems from a Civilian Defense Department cubicle in Oklahoma.
46:40
Quote he firmly believes in the mission un quote. His
46:43
last performance review noted, quote to serve the war fighter.
46:47
Close the quote. Still, Alan refreshed his email inbox, wondering
46:51
am I about to be sacked? As the US Doge
46:55
Service purged thousands of federal workers nationwide. Cybersecurity specialist at
47:01
Tinker Air Force Base hurried to save copies of his
47:05
government employment records. It seemed darkly absurd that he'd risk
47:10
his life for his country. He thought, only to worry
47:13
that some teenage Elon Musk surrogate might delete his training
47:17
certificates while dumping him. Colleagues who'd been let go, he'd heard,
47:22
were locked out of documents they needed for a job search.
47:25
Quote they're treating us unquote, he said, quote like the
47:28
bad guys unquote. He'd felt villainized enough when President Donald
47:33
Trump derided those slated for firing as the quote deep
47:37
state unquote, corrupt, incompetent, or unnecessary, and quote deliberately undermining
47:43
democracy unquote. None of his co workers, he said, deserved
47:47
those labels. Roughly forty two thousand federal workers are employed
47:50
across this deeply conservative state, mainly here in Oklahoma City.
47:56
They guide the form weary at the IRS. They tracked
47:59
tornadoes at now National Weather Service. They run air traffic
48:02
schools for the FAA. They repair KC one five Strato
48:06
tankers for the Pentagon. Many are veterans. Many understand they
48:11
could earn more in the private sector. Many take pride
48:14
in serving a community that suffered the deadliest homegrown terrorist
48:18
attack in American history, one spawned by animosity to government,
48:23
but managed to rebuild. Timothy McVeigh had slammed quote federal
48:28
agents unquote as the quote enemy unquote in a prison
48:32
letter explaining why he detonated a truck full of explosives
48:36
outside the Alfred P. Mora Federal building, killing one hundred
48:41
and sixty eight Oklahomas and wounding hundreds more. The White
48:45
House's tone as registered as alarming to some who remember
48:49
the nineteen ninety five bombing, quote, we have a scar
48:52
in our downtown unquote, said the city's Republican mayor, David Holt.
48:56
Quote that should serve as a reminder of what occurred
49:00
when you go down this path of dehumanization close the quote.
49:08
Most of today's anti government r is aimed at quote
49:11
DC swamp creatures unquote, as some DOGE fans have disparaged them.
49:17
But most of the federal workforces scattered around the United States.
49:20
Defense and FAA employees are quote highly valued unquote pillars
49:25
of Oklahoma City's economy. Holt said they frequent restaurants, go shopping,
49:31
and buy homes. They've helped stanched the brain drain plaguing
49:35
other mid sized cities, which makes it all the more concerning.
49:38
The mayor said that Trump and Must don't seem to
49:41
grasp their value. Quote They're focused on what should be
49:46
seen as unquestionable priorities unquote. Hote said of the city's
49:50
federal workers, quote the nation's defense and fight and flight
49:54
safety close the quote. Thus far, DOGE has slashed Oklahoma
49:59
based jobs at the FAA, IRS and Agriculture Department. Union
50:04
leaders said, though the tally isn't yet clear, as reports
50:08
spread this week that Seville Defense Department rolls could vanish. Next,
50:13
Governor Kevin Stitt pledged to help those laid off, adding
50:17
quote that's part of life unquote. Again, an Oklahoma native
50:21
in his forties who describes himself as quote politically middle
50:24
of the road unquote, spoke on the condition that he
50:27
be identified by his middle name because he is not
50:30
authorized to speak to the press and fears retaliation. The
50:34
Post has reviewed his government and military records to confirm
50:37
his identity. Quote. Most of us are on board with
50:41
trimming the bloat or getting rid of fraud or waste unquote.
50:44
Alan said, quote it's the lack of basic decency that
50:48
infuriates me, the demonizing unquote. Across the street from where
50:53
the Murrah Building imploded, the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum
50:57
parish portraits of the dead with some of their belong
51:01
There's Mickey B. Moroney, a fifty year old Secret Service agent,
51:04
and his decorative rock that asked, quote, what would Jesus do? Unquote.
51:09
There's Norma Jean Johnson, the sixty two year old executive
51:13
secretary for the Defense Investigation Services Investigative Services, and her
51:18
toy pony she'd loved attending her grandson's horse shows there's
51:22
four year old Ashley Meghan Eccles, immortalized by her pink
51:26
dress up heels, who trailed her grandparents into the Sole
51:29
Security office when the bomb exploded. Quote. These were people
51:34
just going about their day unquote, said Carrie Watkins, the
51:37
museum's executive director, not avatars for the quote big bad
51:42
government unquote. Reflecting on the tragedy feels urgents, he said,
51:46
as fed bashing has gotten healed, quote, time for it
51:50
to die unquote. Musk posted on x as his acolytes
51:54
began shuddering a foreign aid department employing thousands a registered
51:58
Republican Watchlkins agrees with pushing to zapp fraud and waste,
52:03
but anti government sentiments have only spread since the massacre.
52:07
Extremism analyst warm Gentler dialogue she felt could prevent more pain.
52:14
The carefully non partisan Memorial Museum urges guests to remember
52:18
we're all human. Trump and Musk and anyone else Watkins
52:22
dress are invited to come take a tour. They might
52:25
pause at Echo's pink heels. They might see a displayed
52:29
couple of a nineteen seventy eight displayed copy of a
52:32
nineteen seventy eight novel that imagine self described patriots opposed
52:37
to quote corruption unquote setting off a bomb in the
52:40
US capital. Excerpts were found in the back of the
52:43
bay's getaway car. Quote they can hide behind the concrete
52:47
walls and alarm systems of their country estates unquote, the
52:51
author wrote of bureaucrats. Quote, but we can still find
52:54
them and kill them. Quote. We all have a responsibility
52:58
to be respectful unquote, Watkins said across town at a
53:02
union office neighboring Tinker Air Force Base, Brenda Williams didn't
53:07
feel the respect there. She sat behind her wooden desk,
53:11
sweating the fate of some eighteen thousand civilian staffers. Her
53:15
union represented many of Oklahoma's largest single site employer. Lucky
53:20
for her, she'd retired from the federal government in September,
53:23
about four decades, after four decades managing employee payments in
53:27
her last row for the Defense Department. Unlucky for her,
53:31
as a part time union stewart for the American Federation
53:35
of Government Employees, she was now coaching confused masses bracing
53:39
for layoffs. The union had heard hundreds were vulnerable at Tinker. Quote.
53:45
All this uncertainty end quote, she said, quote is driving
53:48
people crazy. End quote. Williams had been home on bedrest,
53:51
about to give birth to her youngest daughter when mcveigh's
53:55
bomb exploded, shaking her house and cutting her power. These days,
54:00
she said, even driving by the memorial makes her choke up.
54:04
Oklahoma City had pulled together after the attack, publicly honoring
54:09
the victims and their roles in the federal workforce. Nearly
54:12
thirty years later, she cherishes the memory of that solidarity.
54:17
Now clips were everywhere. A musk on stage as a
54:19
conservative at a conservative conference, raising a chainsaw, he declared
54:23
was quote for bureauxy unquote. Down the beige hall of
54:28
Local nine to sixteen passed a sign that said, quote
54:31
pray for the dead and fight like hell for the
54:32
living unquote. Rick Stuart's phone was ringing and ringing. As
54:36
union vice president, he was responsible for helping Tinker employees
54:40
apply for retirement. Some, he observed, were maybe about to
54:43
quote get screwed unquote. A Trump voter, Stuart agreed with
54:47
most of the president's agenda, especially his cause to secure
54:51
the southern border. Quote to me, it came down to
54:54
bad for the union unquote, he explained. Or quote will
54:59
we still have a freaking country unquote. Shrinking bureaucratic flab
55:04
was a noble goal, he thought, But the way Trump
55:06
was going about it quote like a bull in a
55:08
china shop unquote, he said. A tinker civilian staffer himself
55:12
for thirty three years, Stewart had labored as a welder
55:15
and on plane engines until his body could no longer
55:18
handle it. He'd devised folks not to accept Trump's fork
55:22
in the road resignation deal. Unknowingly, they might have disqualified
55:26
themselves from retirement benefits, Stewart said, including health insurance coverage.
55:32
He'd been disturbed then to learn terrorists. The terrorist was
55:36
an ex soldier who had sent hate mail to the government.
55:40
Military veterans were supposed to be heroes, Allan said both
55:43
of the grandfathers, both of his grandfathers fought in World
55:46
War Two. He wanted to be like them. During a
55:49
tour in Syria, his team lost contact with a drone
55:52
providing surveillance footage. No one could figure out how to
55:55
fix it until a federal worker in Maryland remotely stepped in.
55:59
This was when Allen knew what he wanted to do.
56:01
After departing the Armed forces. Maybe Trump didn't understand the
56:06
intricacies of their roles, he said, But taunting government employees
56:10
in a way that encouraged others to pile on seemed risky,
56:14
and I apologize. We'll end the article right there. There's
56:19
only a two or three short paragraphs left. This concludes
56:24
the reading of the Washington Post for today, Saturday, March one,
56:29
twenty twenty five. Your reader today has been Mark Webster.
56:33
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions concerning this program,
56:37
please feel free to call us at eight five nine
56:40
four two to six three nine zero. Thank you for listening,
56:43
and now please stay tuned for continued programming on RADIOI