Background Briefing: July 15, 2024

Trump’s Judge Dismisses the Most Winnable Case Against Him Taking Her Cue From Justice Thomas

We begin with the shockingly partisan decision from Judge Aileen Cannon to dismiss the documents case against Trump in Florida on made up legal grounds apparently taking a cue from Supreme Court Justice Thomas. Joining us to discuss what moves Jack Smith could make to advance the most winnable case against Trump forward after repeated and capricious delays by the Trump-appointed Judge Cannon is Michael Greenberger, the former Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General at the U.S. Justice Department where he supervised work on national security matters. He is the founder and director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security at the University of Maryland where he also teaches Constitutional Law.

 

J.D. Vance, the Authoritarian Brains Behind a Trump Dictatorship

Then we assess Trump’s choice of J.D. Vance for Vice President announced today on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, just two days after Trump literally dodged an assassin’s bullet millimeters away from taking his life. Joining us is Geoffrey Kabaservice, the Vice President of political studies at the Niskanen Center in Washington DC as well as the author of several books including Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, from Eisenhower to the Tea Party.

 

Orban Has Invited China Into Europe as He Acts as a Courier For Secret Messages From Putin and Xi to Trump

Then finally we examine China’s penetration of Europe via the Hungarian autocrat and kleptocrat Viktor Orban who appears to be a courier, funneling secret messages from Putin and Xi Jinping to Trump. Joining us is Kim Lane Scheppele, a Professor of Sociology and International Affairs at Princeton University. She lived in Budapest doing research at the Constitutional Court of Hungary and teaching at both the University of Budapest and at Central European University and studied the emergence of constitutional law in Hungary and Russia, living in both places for extended periods. Her forthcoming book is Destroying Democracy by Law.