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Judge in Trump documents case has had only 14 days experience presiding over criminal trials

Judge in Trump documents case has had only 14 days experience presiding over criminal trials

The New York Times reports: Aileen M. Cannon, the Federal District Court judge assigned to preside over former President Donald J. Trump’s classified documents case, has scant experience running criminal trials, calling into question her readiness to handle what is likely to be an extraordinarily complex and high-profile courtroom clash. Judge Cannon, 42, has been on the bench since November 2020, when Mr. Trump gave her a lifetime appointment shortly after he lost re-election. She had not previously served as…

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Trump rejected lawyers’ efforts to avoid classified documents indictment

Trump rejected lawyers’ efforts to avoid classified documents indictment

The Washington Post reports: One of Donald Trump’s new attorneys proposed an idea in the fall of 2022: The former president’s team could try to arrange a settlement with the Justice Department. The attorney, Christopher Kise, wanted to quietly approach Justice to see if he could negotiate a settlement that would preclude charges, hoping Attorney General Merrick Garland and the department would want an exit ramp to avoid prosecuting a former president. Kise would hopefully “take the temperature down,” he…

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Jack Smith’s backup option

Jack Smith’s backup option

Ryan Goodman and Andrew Weissmann write: Even before last Thursday’s indictment in United States v. Donald Trump, public speculation swirled about whether the former president had taken classified documents not just to Mar-a-Lago but also to his residence and golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. The indictment answered that question with a bang while presenting a new puzzle about why Trump isn’t facing even steeper charges. According to the Justice Department and a taped recording of the former president, Trump…

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Trump is ‘scared shitless’ says former chief of staff, John Kelly

Trump is ‘scared shitless’ says former chief of staff, John Kelly

The Washington Post reports: Former president Donald Trump faced down the most serious threat to his personal liberty and political future like just another day on the campaign trail — waving to fans, giving a thumbs up, swinging by a storied eatery, soliciting donations and planning a spirited speech to supporters at one of his properties. The almost celebratory display on Tuesday, clashing with the more typical sobriety of court proceedings, highlighted Trump’s instinct to face down federal charges with…

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Republicans privately acknowledge Trump’s legal woes are serious this time

Republicans privately acknowledge Trump’s legal woes are serious this time

NBC News reports: It’s long been Republican orthodoxy that no matter what Donald Trump does, the GOP base will stick with him. After his last indictment in New York, the party rallied around him. But this time, privately, Republicans aren’t so sure. An operative in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ orbit, who requested anonymity to speak candidly without approval from higher-ups, said that “from an objective standpoint,” the federal charges Trump faces for his post-presidency handling of classified documents are far…

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First U.S. climate trial begins. It’s being led by kids

First U.S. climate trial begins. It’s being led by kids

E&E News reports: A landmark trial unfolding this week in a small Montana courtroom could have outsize influence on U.S. climate policy — even if the case has little immediate effect in the Treasure State. In the first U.S. youth-led climate case to go to trial, 16 young people are putting Montana’s energy policies on the stand, accusing state agencies and the governor of violating their right to a stable climate by embracing fossil fuels. The case could result in…

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This alien ocean is the first known to have all elements crucial for life

This alien ocean is the first known to have all elements crucial for life

The Washington Post reports: Saturn’s moon Enceladus has enticed scientists for years with its plumes fizzing their way up from an ocean beneath a thick crust of ice. Now there’s a new element to the story, literally: That cold, dark ocean appears to contain a form of phosphorus, an essential ingredient for life as we know it. That means Enceladus has the only ocean beyond Earth known to contain all six elements needed for life. The claimed discovery of dissolved…

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How Republicans are stitching their own straitjacket on Trump indictment

How Republicans are stitching their own straitjacket on Trump indictment

Ronald Brownstein writes: The Republican response to Donald Trump’s latest criminal indictment offers a clear test of the famous saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and hoping for a different result. The choice by Republican leaders, and even almost all of his 2024 rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, to unreservedly defend Trump after he was indicted earlier this year by the Manhattan district attorney helped the former president to widen his lead…

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Inside the implosion of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago legal team

Inside the implosion of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago legal team

Rolling Stone reports: Right up until the day Donald Trump’s federal indictment was unsealed, the legal team tasked with defending him was engaged in petty internal feuds — including fights over TV appearances, accusations of disloyalty, and even a so-called “coup,” three people familiar with the situation, as well as others on or close to Trump’s legal defense, tell Rolling Stone. The clashes were dramatic enough that Friday, hours before Trump’s federal indictment in the Mar-a-Lago documents probe was unsealed,…

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The DOJ has shown Trump politically motivated leniency

The DOJ has shown Trump politically motivated leniency

Eric Levitz writes: An ABC News–Ipsos poll released Sunday found that 47 percent of Americans believe the charges against Trump are “politically motivated” while only 37 percent believe they are not. In reality, however, the notion that the DOJ is selectively prosecuting Trump for political reasons is not merely wrong but the very opposite of the truth: As a matter of fact, the federal government has been affording Trump extraordinary leniency, likely as a product of political considerations. To appreciate this, it is…

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Koch network: ‘The only way Biden wins is if we nominate Trump again’

Koch network: ‘The only way Biden wins is if we nominate Trump again’

CNBC reports: The political network financed largely by billionaire Charles Koch is launching a wave of digital ads targeting former President Donald Trump. The ads argue that if Trump becomes the Republican nominee next year, it will lead to President Joe Biden winning reelection. Americans for Prosperity Action, a super PAC that received millions of dollars during the 2022 election cycle from the Charles Koch-chaired Koch Industries and the Koch-backed Stand Together Chamber of Commerce, gave CNBC a first look…

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Xi prepares China for ‘extreme’ scenarios, including conflict with the West

Xi prepares China for ‘extreme’ scenarios, including conflict with the West

The Wall Street Journal reports: As Beijing and Washington move gingerly toward restoring high-level exchanges, Xi Jinping is stepping up his effort to gird China for conflict. Since late last month, the Chinese leader has twice urged the nation to prepare for what he described as extreme scenarios or conditions—trotting out a phraseology implying the possibilities of escalating tensions as the competition between the U.S. and China intensifies. At a top-level meeting focused on national security on May 30, the…

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Whisper it, but the boom in plastic production could be about to come to a juddering halt

Whisper it, but the boom in plastic production could be about to come to a juddering halt

Geoffrey Lean writes: Plastic production has soared some 30-fold since it came into widespread use in the 1960s. We now churn out about 430m tonnes a year, easily outweighing the combined mass of all 8 billion people alive. Left unabated, it continues to accelerate: plastic consumption is due to nearly double by 2050. Now there is a chance that this huge growth will stop, even go into reverse. This month in Paris, the world’s governments agreed to draft a new treaty to control plastics….

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As Africa loses forest, its small farmers are bringing back trees

As Africa loses forest, its small farmers are bringing back trees

Fred Pearce writes: For decades, there have been reports of the deforestation of Africa. And they are true — the continent’s forests are disappearing, lost mainly to expanding agriculture, logging, and charcoal-making. But the trees? Maybe not, according to new satellite data analyzed by artificial intelligence and a growing body of on-the-ground studies. This new research is finding ever more trees outside forests, many of them nurtured by farmers and sprouting on their previously treeless fields. Across the continent —…

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