Background Briefing: December 14, 2022
Finally the Law is Catching up to Trump and It’s Happening on Many Fronts
We begin with the law finally closing in on Donald Trump who no longer has the protection of the presidency and is facing the DOJ, a special counsel, the D.A. in Atlanta, the D.A. in Manhattan and many other lawsuits against him. Joining us is James Risen, who has experienced the prosecutorial zeal of Jack Smith, the special counsel now investigating Trump on the theft of classified documents and the January 6 cases. James is Senior National Security Correspondent at The Intercept and a former investigative journalist with the New York Times, and author of the New York Times bestsellers State of War and Pay Any Price: Greed, Power, and Endless War. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his stories about warrantless wiretapping by the NSA and is currently the director of the Press Freedom Defense Fund, which has provided financial assistance for Maria Ressa’s legal defense in the Philippines. We discuss his latest article at The Intercept, “Donald Trump Is Out of Power — and Out of Luck: The ex-president is finally fair game for an entire legion of lawyers.”
The UN Votes to Remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women
Then we look into the vote today to remove Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women at a time when the Iranian regime is murdering women who are leading a revolution sparked by the killing of a young woman in the custody of the morality police. Joining us is Nader Hashemi, Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. He is the author of The People Reloaded: The Green Movement and the Struggle for Iran’s Future and his latest book is Sectarianization: Mapping the New Politics of the Middle East.
The Second Africa Leaders Summit Underway in Washington
Then finally we assess the second three-day Africa Leaders Summit in Washington underway with the gap between the first under Obama and the second under Biden the Trump years of contempt for Africa which the former President expressed in crude language. Joining us is Dr. Steven Nabieu Rogers, the Executive Director of the Africa Faith and Justice Network. He has a background in public policy and urban planning with a special interest in globalization and governance in Africa. Dr. Rogers has served in the public and private sectors as an academic, researcher, and thought leader. He also has several years of experience in higher education in Sierra Leone and South Africa.