Prosecutors quit Stone trial, ICC gets Bashir, election security blocked, 'sanctuary' threatened + space radio
NewsHero - Feb 12, 2020 - Issue 32
Welcome to today’s edition of NewsHero for Wednesday, February 12, 2020.
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Going forward we’ll be keeping to this current layout each day: two quick mentions called NewsHero Notes, followed by three items for our Afternoon Brief. Next, there’s one story that we go a wee bit deeper with, then the Extra! Extra! we end with, which serves as an editorial space where sometimes we have a bit of fun.
And as always, we’re on the lookout for the hero of every story. These are the ones who make our headlines and make our world a better place to read about.
Thanks for everything!
Team NewsHero
NewsHero Notes
That legislation we told you about Monday that would ban assault-style weapons in Virginia? Well, it’s official. With a tight vote of 51-48, Virginia's House of Delegates passed H.B. 961 Tuesday afternoon.
D.C. state of mind? The House Oversight Committee on Tuesday moved legislation forward to make Washington D.C. the 51st state. It’s the first vote in Congress in almost three decades to grant full congressional representation for residents of the District of Columbia.
Afternoon Brief
ICC Trial
International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors had issued an arrest warrant for Sudan’s ex-President Omar al-Bashir on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, requesting that he stand trial. Sudan’s rulers have now agreed to hand over Bashir to the ICC to face those charges. Bashir is accused of crimes in a conflict that broke out in Darfur in 2003 and led to the deaths of 300,000.
Election Security
Despite an attempt by Democrats to pass three election security-related bills, Senate Republicans blocked the effort Tuesday. The bills would require campaigns to alert the FBI and Federal Election Commission (FEC) about foreign offers of assistance, but Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee opposed each of the requests. Under the Senate's rules, any one senator can ask for unanimous consent to pass a bill, but any one senator can object and block their requests.
‘Sanctuary’ Cities
Local governments are feeling pressure from the Justice Department over “sanctuary” policies that get in the way of federal immigration officers. Some cities have laws in place that prohibit the sharing of information with immigration officials. The Justice Department said New Jersey is violating federal law by prohibiting state and local law enforcement from sharing information about inmates in the U.S. illegally. Immigration officials have sent subpoenas to Denver and New York City over requests for information on immigrants about to be released from jail. In New York, Homeland Security suspended “trusted traveler” programs that speed their re-entry into the U.S. over a law that prohibits state officials from sharing motor vehicle data with immigration officers. New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said the Trump administration “is sacrificing public safety for political expedience” and that it is sad the Justice Department had “agreed to go along with this election-year stunt.”
Prosecutors Quit Roger Stone Trial
Liu nomination abruptly withdrawn
A U.S. Department of Justice seal is displayed on a podium during a news conference on Dec. 11, 2012 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
Photo by Ramin Talaie/Getty
All four federal prosecutors who took the case against longtime Donald Trump confidant Roger Stone to trial withdrew Tuesday after top Justice Department officials reversed the government's recommended sentence against Stone. The mass withdrawal was a bold response to the controversial decision by Attorney General William Barr and other Justice Department officials to reduce prosecutors' recommended sentence of up to nine years. President Trump denied any involvement in the sentencing revision, but congressional Democrats want an investigation.
“It is outrageous that DOJ has deeply damaged the rule of law by withdrawing its recommendation,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, tweeted Tuesday. “Stepping down of prosecutors should be commended & actions of DOJ should be investigated.”
More than 90,000 people have signed a petition calling for an investigation into the Department of Justice's decision to cut Stone’s prison time.
This courtroom sketch shows former campaign adviser for President Donald Trump, Roger Stone talking from the witness stand as prosecution attorney Jonathan Kravis, standing left, Stone's attorney Bruce Rogow, third from right, and Judge Amy Berman Jackson listen, during a court hearing at the U.S. District Courthouse in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. Photo: Dana Verkouteren/AP
Aaron S.J. Zelinsky, Jonathan Kravis, Adam Jed, and Mike Marando are the four career prosecutors who quit Stone’s trial. Zelinsky and Kravis also resigned from the D.C. U.S. attorney's office. Zelinsky, who worked on former special counsel Robert Mueller's team, did not resign from the Baltimore U.S. attorney's office, where he is based.
The withdrawal was initiated Monday when the prosecutors from the D.C. U.S. Attorney's office—who are Justice Department employees—wrote that Stone should be sentenced seven to nine years in prison after he was convicted on seven charges last year stemming from Mueller's investigation, including lying to Congress and witness tampering.
Jessie K. Liu, former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, speaks to President Trump during a 2018 meeting at the White House. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Jessie Liu, the former U.S. attorney who headed the office that oversaw Roger Stone's prosecution, had her nomination to serve in a top Treasury Department position abruptly withdrawn by Donald Trump Tuesday, the same day the four federal prosecutors quit. Liu was nominated in December to serve as the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial crimes.
In continuing the theme of taking heat for doing what one thinks is right, Donald Trump on Tuesday said the military will likely look at disciplinary action against Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, just days after the National Security Council official and decorated veteran was fired from the White House after testifying against President Trump in his impeachment trial.
Extra! Extra!
“Hello? Hello? Hello? Is there anybody in there?” It takes a lot for us to quote Pink Floyd, especially in a news setting, but getting word that bursts of radio waves have been pinging earth in a curious pattern raised our eyebrows—and even some hairs on our arms. Surely we’re not alone. Not the only ones with raised body hairs, yes, but also not alone in the universe.
A story from CNN reports: “Between September 16, 2018 and October 30, 2019, researchers with the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment/Fast Radio Burst Project collaboration detected a pattern in bursts occurring every 16.35 days. Over the course of four days, the signal would release a burst or two each hour. Then, it would go silent for another 12 days.”
*wide-eyed pause*
Of course, it could be any number of things. But what if someone or something is out there, sending signals to see if there’s anyone else out there? Don’t we do that? Maybe they’ve heard us! Either way, it’s exciting to think about other forms of life. What would they look like? How would they behave? Do they also have too much Pink Floyd on their radio waves? What would they think of our Justice Department? If the communication attempts end, we can probably guess why.
Sources:
Virginia House approves assault weapons ban - The Hill
House panel approves bill to grant DC statehood - The Hill
Sudan will have deposed president Omar al-Bashir appear before the ICC to face war crimes charges - CNN
Official: Sudan to hand over al-Bashir for genocide trial - AP News
Omar al-Bashir: Sudan agrees ex-president must face ICC - BBC News
Senate GOP blocks three election security bills - The Hill
GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn blocks three election security bills - Axios
Senate GOP rejects election-security measures (yes, again) - MSNBC
Barr announces sweeping new sanctions, 'significant escalation' against left-wing sanctuary cities - Fox News
Justice Department brings new suits over sanctuary policies - AP News
Trump administration goes to war with states over immigration - Politico
50,000 Sign Petition Demanding Probe Into DOJ's Roger Stone Reversal - Newsweek
Trump says military may consider disciplinary action against Vindman - Politico
All 4 federal prosecutors quit Roger Stone case - CNN
DOJ steps in on Roger Stone sentencing decision - ABC News
Trump withdraws Treasury nomination of former U.S. attorney for D.C. Jessie K. Liu after criticism of her oversight of Mueller prosecutions - Washington Post
National security adviser says Vindman brothers weren't fired—Trump says military should decide their fate - CNN
'When Character Matters Most': What Lawyers Are Saying About the Stone Prosecutors Who Quit - Law
Trump’s War Against ‘the Deep State’ Enters a New Stage - NY Times
The Billion-Dollar Disinformation Campaign to Reelect the President - The Atlantic