Judge Cannon's Fumble, Fairplay's Victory, and Israel's War on Journalism

On today's show, Ralph welcomes back Constitutional Law Expert Bruce Fein to dissect Judge Aileen Cannon's dismissal of Donald Trump's classified documents case in Florida. Then Ralph is joined by Haley Hinkle, Policy Counsel at Fairplay, to discuss their FTC complaint against the messaging app "NGL" and what their victory means for children's safety online. Finally, Ralph speaks with journalist John Nichols about the state of journalism in Gaza, as well as the state of the Democratic Party.

Bruce Fein is a Constitutional scholar and an expert on international law.  Mr. Fein was Associate Deputy Attorney General under Ronald Reagan and he is the author of Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy, and American Empire: Before the Fall.

I think that here, a little brief history speaks volumes of logic. The modern special prosecutor Ralph and I experienced directly during Watergate, it stemmed from the coverup of the Watergate burglars’ funding by the Republican National Committee to try to save Richard Nixon. And when the Attorneys General John Mitchell and Richard Kleindienst had been convicted of crimes, the vacancy was there, and Richard Nixon nominated his Secretary of Defense Elliot Richardson…[the Senate Judiciary Committee] insisted that they would never confirm Elliot Richardson unless he created the special prosecutor and appointed Archibald Cox. Because they could not trust the executive branch to investigate itself—that's the absence of separation of powers. You can't have the executive branch be a judge in its own case. So the purpose of the special prosecutor was to strengthen separation of powers by ending the absolute control that the President or Attorney General would have over prosecutorial decisions. 

Bruce Fein

Haley Hinkle is policy counsel at Fairplay, where she advocates for laws and regulations that protect children and teens’ autonomy and safety online. Ms. Hinkle has also worked on issues at the intersection of government surveillance technology and civil liberties. 

What we have seen over the last couple of decades of the Internet with these types of anonymous platforms that encourage either anonymous messaging within your peer group or within a specific geographic area…is that encouraging minors to talk about and to each other anonymously within a limited community always leads to really horrific cyberbullying outcomes. Because anonymity empowers people to say things they wouldn't normally say. 

Haley Hinkle

The other piece [of our FTC complaint] is really trying to shift some responsibility onto tech itself for considering specific issues and harms and specific safeguards and tools that will help make kids and teens more safe, and help their parents understand that there are certain default protections in place. And that's why we've really been advocating for the Kids Online Safety Act to try to shift responsibility onto the platforms to consider specific harms in the duty of care…at the point of product design rather than trying to address these things after the fact.

Haley Hinkle

John Nichols is a national affairs correspondent for the Nation, and associate editor of the Capital Times. He has written, co-written, or edited over a dozen books on topics ranging from histories of American socialism and the Democratic Party to analyses of US and global media systems. His latest, co-written with Senator Bernie Sanders, is the New York Times bestseller It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism.

What has taken so long for international media in general to pay attention to the circumstance in Gaza? Not just talking about reporting from on the ground, but to give it the priority, to give it the seriousness that it has long deserved. For generations. And so this is part of a much deeper problem, part of a much deeper challenge. 

John Nichols

The last couple of months, I think, have caused media organizations to frankly feel a measure of shame for their failure to cover up to this point, their failure to take it seriously, and frankly their failure to fight to be in a position to give the coverage that's needed. So they're stepping up now. And it took way too long, but it is important. It is absolutely vital that they are saying what they're saying.

John Nichols

Democrats should be thinking very, very seriously about whether they want to have an open convention or a closed convention. And frankly, if they go with a closed convention, if they stage-manage things and don't accept the dialogue—don't accept the discourse that frankly is necessary at this point, not just on the issues, but even on the question of the nomination itself—if they don't do that, I think the dangers are a) obvious and b) potentially profound.

John Nichols

One of the reasons— in addition to his performance on the debate with Trump—so many leading Democrats asked [Biden] to step aside is because they saw the whole ticket crumbling all the way down to the local elections around the country. Not just Congress, but state legislatures, governorships, city councils just collapsing. And that's still a very great concern for them.

Ralph Nader

In Case You Haven’t Heard with Francesco DeSantis

News 7/16/24 

1. Axios reports a bipartisan gang of Senators has reached a deal to ban stock trading by sitting lawmakers. This group, which includes Senators Jon Ossoff, Gary Peters, Jeff Merkley and Josh Hawley have agreed to a deal which would “immediately prohibit members of Congress from buying stocks and selling stocks 90 days after the bill is signed into law…ban member spouses and dependent children from trading stocks starting in March 2027..[and impose] Penalties for violating the law [totaling] either…the monthly salary of a lawmaker or 10% of the value of each asset they buy or sell.” This is the most promising iteration of the stock trading ban thus far. Action on this bill is expected later this month.  

2. In Rafah, scenes of carnage abound. NBC reports the major southern Gaza city, once considered a “safe zone,” has become “an empty husk with almost every…building completely leveled.” NBC was given rare access to the city by Israeli forces as ceasefire negotiations ramped up last week; what they found were “Homes destroyed, buildings reduced to rubble and few signs of life other than sporadic gunfire. That's all there is to see now in...the city…that was once home to more than 1 million people.” NBC further reports that Israel is launching new military operations in northern Gaza.  

3. In the UK, pro-Gaza independent MP and former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, along with the other four pro-Gaza independent MPs recently elected, have penned a letter to British Foreign Secretary David Lammy reminding him of his and his Government’s “obligations under international law,” with regard to the ICJ’s ruling that Israel is engaging in “plausible genocide.” These MPs call on Lammy to “immediately suspend all provision of weapons and weapons systems to the Government Israel...Immediately restore and increase UK funding to UNRWA…Impose sanctions on individuals and entities inciting genocide against Palesinians...[and] Regonise the State of Palestine,” among other demands. Yet quite to the contrary, the Middle East Eye reports Lammy “will not withdraw [Britain's] objection to the…ICC…prosecutor's application for arrest warrants targeting…Netanyahu and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant,” despite campaign promises to do so.  

4. POLITICO reports the Department of Justice is “planning to sue RealPage Inc., a software company used by landlords across the country… [accusing] the company of selling software that enables landlords to illegally share confidential pricing information in order to collude on setting rents.” This is the latest in an ongoing effort by the Biden administration to crack down on “rent gouging among corporate landlords.” The Biden administration has also signaled it intends to propose capping rent increases at 5% nationwide, per Axios.  

5. Detroit-based journalist Phil Lewis reports “CNN [is] quietly disband[ing] its Race and Equality team.” This team was presented as evidence of a “significant, sustained commitment to ensure race coverage is a permanent part of [CNN’s] journalism,” when it was announced in during the George Floyd protests in July 2020. A CNN spokesperson confirmed “For all intents and purposes, the team is not a team anymore.” This comes amid news that the cable news channel will “lay off 100 employees as it restructures its newsgathering operations.” 

6. This week, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien addressed the Republican National Convention. He is the first Teamster ever to address the RNC. In this speech, O’Brien sought to praise Republicans whom he believes have stood up for labor and urged the GOP to stand up for American workers. In terms of specific policies, O’Brien called on the Republicans to reject the “economic terrorism” of companies exploiting labor and bankruptcy laws to bilk American workers and stressed the need for “corporate welfare reform,” paid for by individual taxpayers. O’Brien’s speech has drawn much criticism from the Left. It remains to be seen whether it will sway the Republicans toward a more pro-labor agenda.  

7. On the other end of the labor spectrum, UAW President Shawn Fain is sounding the alarm about President Biden’s reelection. At the Netroots Nation conference in Baltimore last week, Fain said “We’re speaking truth to those who need to hear it most and that’s the Democrat Party.” He urged the party to not put “our heads in the sand and hide from reality — we tried that in 2016 and it didn’t work,” per Bloomberg. UAW, which endorsed Biden in January, is reportedly weighing their options in light of the pressure on Biden to step aside. CNBC reports Fain met with the union’s executive board last week to discuss next steps.  

8. The American Prospect reports the DNC is seeking to do an end-run around a contested convention by having delegates vote early in a virtual roll call beginning as early as July 22nd. While this virtual roll call procedure had already been approved for the convention – on dubious grounds – the early voting is a new tactic the Biden team is deploying to stave off challenges to his nomination. This underhanded campaign is being met with push-back from delegates and House Democrats. The Prospect’s Luke Goldstein reports “One [California] delegate told me: ‘I have the same feeling I did when I was campaigning in Michigan for Hillary in 2016; everyone is acting like we’re winning but it really feels more like we’re losing.’” Punchbowl News has published a letter being circulated among House Democrats expressing “serious concerns” about the early virtual roll call, arguing “It could deeply undermine the morale and unity of Democrats– from delegates, volunteers, grassroots organizers and donors to ordinary voters – at the worst possible time.”  

9. In June, the FEC declared that Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is eligible to receive federal matching funds for her campaign. Yet, Stein’s campaign manager Jason Call reports “Congress robbed the fund and Treasury is refusing to pay us $270,000,” the campaign is rightfully owed. Call added “The Green Party takes no corporate money. We are following the rules. And the playground bullies are continuing to rig the system for the war machine and other corporate interests.”  

10. Finally, in some positive news, Axios reports “Just 13% of workers in the U.S. are now earning less than $15 an hour; two years ago, that number was 31.9%, per new data from Oxfam.” The data also show “Even accounting for inflation — $15 an hour in 2024 has the same buying power as about $14 in 2022.” Yet even with these encouraging trends, Oxfam warns that wages are still too low. Senator Bernie Sanders has recently introduced a bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour by 2028. 

 This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven’t Heard.  

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