The Full Belmonte, 12/2/2023
An opinion from Judge Tanya Chutkan, who ruled that Donald Trump is not immune from criminal prosecution, is a crucial turning point. | Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images
“WHAT WILL SCOTUS DO? — The Trump trials can be confusing. With so much procedural action occurring across so many cases in so many jurisdictions, it’s often difficult to know when something truly important has happened.
It’s worth pausing and highlighting those hinge moments in these complicated cases when they arise.
Last night’s opinion by Judge TANYA CHUTKAN, who ruled that DONALD TRUMP is not immune from criminal prosecution, is one of those crucial turning points.
First, recall that Trump’s general strategy across these cases is twofold:
Argue that he’s immune from any post-presidential accountability for his actions as president.
Delay the proceedings until he wins the 2024 election and then dismisses the cases.
Chutkan delivered a massive blow to the first part of this strategy. But what happens next at the appeals and Supreme Court level with respect to her decision could determine the fate of strategy No. 2.
Chutkan’s opinion is the first by a federal court to hold what probably seems obvious to most: A former president is not immune from criminal prosecution for crimes committed while serving as president.
This was no technical legal matter but a sweeping opinion written in language that leaned on the most sacred historical touchstones of American history: the founding ideals about the role of a king versus a president, the Federalist Papers and GEORGE WASHINGTON. And the opinion was studded with pointed quotes about the nature of tyranny and the rule of law. (For example, from Justice FELIX FRANKFURTER: ‘If one man can be allowed to determine for himself what is law, every man can. That means first chaos, then tyranny.’)
Here’s Chutkan’s already much-quoted summary of her decision:
‘Whatever immunities a sitting President may enjoy, the United States has only one Chief Executive at a time, and that position does not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass. Former Presidents enjoy no special conditions on their federal criminal liability. Defendant may be subject to federal investigation, indictment, prosecution, conviction, and punishment for any criminal acts undertaken while in office.’
Here she is on Trump’s argument about impeachment:
‘Under Defendant’s reading, if a President commits a crime that does not fall within that limited category, and so could not be impeached and convicted, the President could never be prosecuted for that crime. … The constitutional limits on impeachment’s penalties do not license a President’s criminal impunity.’
On whether not immunizing criminal conduct would chill presidential action:
‘Every President will face difficult decisions; whether to intentionally commit a federal crime should not be one of them.’
On whether future presidents will be overwhelmed with criminal prosecutions:
‘As Defendant acknowledges, he is the only former President in United States history to face criminal charges for acts committed while in office. … Despite Defendant’s doomsaying, he points to no evidence that his criminal liability in this case will open the gates to a waiting flood of future federal prosecutions.’
She has no patience for what she sees as Trump’s patently absurd claims about the First Amendment shielding him:
‘In his Constitutional Motion, Defendant first argues that the Indictment should be dismissed because it criminalizes his speech and therefore violates the First Amendment. But it is well established that the First Amendment does not protect speech that is used as an instrument of a crime, and consequently the Indictment — which charges Defendant with, among other things, making statements in furtherance of a crime — does not violate Defendant’s First Amendment rights.’
Again and again she comes back to the simple principle that all Americans are equal before the law and that Trump should be treated like anyone else when it comes to criminal conduct.
But what happens next could determine how true that is. Trump’s plan is to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court. The clock is now ticking. If the appeals court and then the Supreme Court drag things out and delay appeals of Chutkan’s historic decision, it could disrupt the schedule of the trial, which is slated to start March 4. If the higher courts expedite these appeals, the trial could start on time. If it wasn’t apparent already, it is now clear that the most important decision determining the course of the 2024 election could be one made by the Supreme Court.” [POLITICO]
GOP leaders vote to keep Santos
Santos leaves the Capitol after yesterday's vote to expel him. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
“House Republican leaders are facing pockets of internal backlash over their last-minute opposition to expelling Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), Axios' Andrew Solender and Juliegrace Brufke report.
Yesterday's historic 311-114 vote is just the sixth time House members have booted one of their own.
The top four GOP leaders all voted to save Santos.
Why it matters: Most of GOP leadership — including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and his top team — voted to let Santos stay despite what a House Ethics Committee report called a ‘constant series of lies to his constituents, donors, and staff.’
What happened: Republicans split almost evenly, with 105 voting for expulsion and 112 against. Just two Democrats voted against expulsion and another two voted ‘present.’
A GOP push to rescue Santos gained 11th-hour momentum when Johnson came out against expulsion hours before the vote.
Santos' removal winnows the House GOP majority to a three-vote margin. And it's not a safe seat for Republicans: Democrats see an opportunity for a pickup.
What we're hearing: Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), who has been vocally critical of Johnson, called leadership's opposition to expulsion ‘shameful.’
‘The speaker and everyone in leadership knows this man is a crook,’ Miller said.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told Axios: ‘This was a vote of the conscience. Truth and morals don't change based on the margin we have for the majority.’” [Axios]
New Muslim American push against Biden
Pro-Palestinian protesters at a rally in Detroit on Oct. 28. Photo: Matthew Hatcher/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
“Muslim Americans in several swing states will gather in Michigan today to start a campaign they're calling #AbandonBiden, Axios' Russell Contreras reports.
Why it matters: Arab American and Muslim American anger about President Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war could hurt his re-election prospects in most of the swing states he won in 2020.
Muslim American leaders from Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania are expected to meet in Dearborn, Mich., to launch the new push.
‘Leaders from swing states will work together to guarantee Biden's loss in the 2024 election,’ the group said in a statement.
Muslim leaders acknowledge that not supporting Biden could result in the re-election of former President Trump.
Minneapolis organizer Jaylani Hussein tells Axios many Muslim Americans dislike Trump because of racist retweets and efforts to ban Muslims from migrating to the U.S.
‘But we believe that this will give us a chance to recalibrate,’ Hussein added. ‘The Democrats will have to consider whether they want our votes or not.’” [Axios]
Inmate Who Stabbed Derek Chauvin Multiple Times Is Charged With Attempted Murder
DECEMBER 2, 2023 8:05 AM EST
“Federal prosecutors accused a prison inmate of stabbing Derek Chauvin 22 times and charged the man with attempted murder on Friday, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Former Minneapolis police officer Chauvin, 47, is serving two sentences for murdering George Floyd and violating his civil rights after he was caught on camera in 2020 kneeling on the handcuffed man’s neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd repeated ‘I can’t breathe.’….” Read more at Time
Ex of man charged with shooting Palestinian students had police remove his gun from her home in 2013
“An ex-girlfriend of the man charged with shooting and wounding three college students of Palestinian descent in Vermont asked police 10 years ago to remove his gun from her home after she said the couple had split up and she did not feel safe returning it herself, according to police.” Read More at AP News
Biden’s ambitious plan to eliminate lead pipes
Gina Pricope/Getty Images
“The Biden administration is proposing to eliminate almost all lead piping in the United States. About 9 million pipes throughout the country would need to be replaced; the EPA puts the likely price tag for such an endeavor between $20 and $30 billion. Utilities would be required to pick up much of the tab, though there is about $15 billion available from last year’s bipartisan infrastructure bill to help offset their costs.
It is a daunting project, practically and financially. But the end result would be an American water supply with much less lead, a neurotoxin in lead that can damage the nervous system and brain, particularly those of infants and young children:
Lead can impair cognitive development and cause behavioral disorders. Previous estimates found that as many as 15 million Americans may be drinking water that’s been contaminated by lead pipes. A 2015 analysis found that more than 5,000 US communities were violating federal requirements for the monitoring of lead and copper levels in water.
Water utilities say implementing the proposal will be a serious challenge. Rising costs for supplies, supply chain problems, labor shortages and flawed building records were cited by the industry as obstacles to completing the project. At the same time, there was some disappointment among public health experts that the Biden administration is not calling for the complete elimination of lead in drinking water; instead, the EPA wants to reduce the allowable amount.
Lead exposure is a worldwide problem. Nearly half of the world’s children are exposed to dangerous levels of lead, according to a 2021 systematic review. Though the global impact of lead is difficult to measure, one recent estimate put the number of people who die prematurely worldwide because of lead exposure at 5.5 million annually— more people than are killed by HIV, malaria, and auto accidents combined.” [Vox]
DeSantis struggles grow in GOP presidential race
The fresh blows come at a critical time in the Republican primary
Ron DeSantis’s presidential bid is facing extraordinary turmoil approximately six weeks before the Iowa caucuses, with internal disputes erupting into public view as Republicans eager to stop Donald Trump increasingly pin their hopes on a rival contender.
‘The chairman and CEO of the super PAC running much of DeSantis’s operation have both stepped down in recent days after other allies of the governor took the unusual step of starting another super PAC late in the race. The vast political network led by Charles Koch — once drawn to DeSantis — endorsed Nikki Haley as it looks to stop Trump, promising the support of its ready-made field program. Some senior campaign aides are increasingly gloomy about their chances, according to a person close to DeSantis. ‘People increasingly think it’s over. It’s a dumpster fire,’ said the person, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
The fresh blows come at a critical time in the GOP primary campaign, with Trump dominant in national and early-state polls and a growing sense that he may be unstoppable. DeSantis entered the race with high expectations and formidable resources. But his struggles as a candidate — including his strained small talk, sometimes awkward smiles and perceived aloofness — have drawn widespread attention. And his theory of how to beat Trump — by appealing squarely to his supporters — has run up against enduring GOP enthusiasm for the former president, amplified by Trump’s indictments. Voters ready to move on from Trump have increasingly found Haley more compelling.
While some DeSantis allies are pessimistic, there’s precedent for dramatic shifts late in presidential primaries, leaving room for recovery. DeSantis’s team argues that only he can peel away enough Trump supporters to compete, and often points out that the former president is spending against DeSantis rather than Haley. DeSantis has focused intensively on Iowa, where he is about to hit all 99 counties and has high-profile surrogates, including Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) and evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats. On Friday, DeSantis’s supporters were jubilant about his Fox News debate the night before with California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), billed as a ‘red vs. blue state’ clash….” Read more at Washington Post
“While the headlines on US inflation are trending positive, that’s cold comfort for many Americans who need to shell out $119.27 to buy the same goods and services they could afford with $100 four years ago, before the pandemic. Grocery prices have risen 25% since January 2020, as has the cost of electricity. Rents are roughly 20% higher. And while many Americans made solid wage gains in what is still a robust job market, the progress hasn’t kept up with everyday expenses like the cost of gas, let alone a car to put it in. The price surge since 2020 has helped explain why many Americans continue to register dissatisfaction with the economy and why the Federal Reserve is extra keen to finish off inflation and get it back down to its 2% target. New data indicate things are on track for the central bank in the soft landing department with the economy finally simmering down. Consumer spending, inflation and the labor market all cooled in recent weeks, reinforcing forecasts central bankers are done raising interest rates.
Prices for many household items have increased significantly from January 2020 to October 2023. 3D Illustration: Steph Davidson/Turbosquid(1), Getty(1)
Elsewhere, the economies of France and Canada unexpectedly shrank in the third quarter as inflation eased and high rates took a bite out of growth. But in the US, many economists and Wall Street observers agree with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen when she says that the Fed’s so-far successful fight against inflation has a good chance of achieving a so-called soft landing. For Americans, a slowing economy could be welcome news, Conor Sen writes in Bloomberg Opinion. ‘In Goldilocks parlance, perhaps the economy in 2022 and most of 2023 was too hot and 2024 will be ‘just right.’” ” [Bloomberg]
“The week-long truce is over, and Israel and Hamas have restarted their war in the Gaza Strip, one that continues to reverberate around the world in anger, division and a rise in hate crimes against Jews and Muslims. The Israeli military dropped leaflets in southern Gaza warning people to evacuate, a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli leaders they must not repeat the scale of destruction and displacement inflicted in the north. Some 1.8 million Palestinians have been displaced according to the United Nations. It was one sign of a widening gap between allies, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again stated the war would not end without ‘the elimination of Hamas.’ Support for Hamas in the West Bank is surging—as is violence in that occupied territory. At least 225 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers in the West Bank since the Oct. 7 attacks, including more than 50 children, the UN said. Several settlers have also reportedly been killed, as were four Israelis in Jerusalem in a shooting at a Jerusalem bus stop.” [Bloomberg]
Smoke rises following an Israeli strike in Gaza on Dec. 1 as the war resumed. Photographer: John MacDougall/Getty Images
“World leaders kicked off the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, in the heartland of the global fossil fuel industry, with more promises to boost investment in green solutions cut greenhouse gases. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered to host the 2028 conference as he seeks to position his country—the third-largest emitter behind China and the US—as a climate leader. The Dubai summit however will also touch on earlier promises made and whether they’ve been kept. Meanwhile, in semi-dystopian fashion, extreme weather events and calamities turbocharged by global warming have television networks wanting to help and profit: Fixer-upper tv shows for homeowners who’ve suffered a disaster.” [Bloomberg]
Fort Myers Beach, Florida, following Hurricane Ian Photographer: Giorgio Viera/AFP
Russia’s Supreme Court effectively outlaws LGBTQ+ activism in a landmark ruling
“Russia’s Supreme Court has effectively outlawed LGBTQ+ activism. The ruling is the latest step in a decade-long crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights under President Vladimir Putin.” Read More at AP News
“No federal law criminalizes the creation or sharing of fake pornographic images in the US. Now, victims, including a group of women in New York, are looking to change that. In Australia, port operator DP World said workers’ personal information was stolen in a cyberattack this month. US-based Okta, which manages user authentication services for thousands of businesses, said hackers who breached its network two months ago stole information on all users of its customer support system. That’s a lot more than the 1% of customers the company previously said were affected.” [Bloomberg]
How the ceasefire collapsed
Secretary of State Tony Blinken speaks to reporters before leaving Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai yesterday. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
“Negotiations over extending the Gaza ceasefire collapsed yesterday after Hamas refused to free 10 Israeli women — and instead offered to begin discussing the release of elderly men, Israeli officials told Axios' Barak Ravid.
Hamas has blamed Israel for the breakdown of the ceasefire.
The Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, called back its team from Qatar today.
Why it matters: Resumption of the fighting could quickly lead to Israel expanding its ground operation in Gaza to the southern city of Khan Younis. Several Israeli airstrikes hit Khan Younis today.
U.S. officials have expressed concerns that an Israeli operation in the southern part of Gaza could lead to significantly more civilian casualties and deepen the humanitarian crisis.
According to the ceasefire agreement, Hamas committed to releasing all the women and children it was holding hostage, in exchange for a pause in fighting for up to nine days. More than 80 women and children were released over the last week as part of this process.
But in the hours leading to the end of the pause, Hamas didn't send a list of hostages it would release, Israeli officials said.
Instead, Hamas sent messages through Qatari and Egyptian mediators proposing to start a discussion on what concessions Israel would be willing to give in return for the release of elderly men, the officials added.
Behind the scenes: The Israeli officials said Israel made it clear to the mediators that it knows Hamas still has several women in its custody, and that it wouldn't discuss future deals before all the women were released.
Mossad chief David Barnea, the lead negotiator on the Israeli side, sent a message to Hamas through the mediators on Thursday night that stressed Israel was ‘not playing games’ and that if the women were not released, the fighting would resume, a senior Israeli official said.
Not long after that, Hamas launched a rocket from Gaza for the first time since the pause started. An hour later, the ceasefire completely broke down.
The other side: Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al-Araby news channel that Israel was responsible for the failure. He said that the women Israel proposed to be released included female IDF soldiers.
Hamas in a statement said it had offered to release elderly men and two Israeli hostages, as well as the bodies of hostages it said were killed during Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. That includes a mother and her two children, the statement said.
What's next: The U.S. is trying to broaden out hostage negotiations to include the possible releases of elderly civilian men and female IDF reservists, according to a source briefed on the discussions.” [Axios]
What Henry Kissinger wrought
David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images
Henry Kissinger, perhaps the most influential diplomat of the Cold War, died Wednesday at the age of 100.
“What’s left to say about Henry Kissinger? He had a remarkable personal story: Born in Germany, his family fled to the United States to escape the Nazis and he later returned to his homeland to fight the Hitler regime, earning military honors. He would serve as the top foreign policy adviser to Presidents Nixon and Ford and, in that role, he advanced a philosophy of ‘realism’: The world is an anarchic place and nation-states must act accordingly to secure their own material interests.
That worldview led Kissinger to advocate for a detente with the Soviet Union and opening US relations with China. At the same time, the United States became cozy with murderous dictators because, in the view of Kissinger and the presidents he served, those relationships gave the US a geopolitical edge over its rivals.
It is tempting to, as I am doing, talk about Kissinger in terms of his enormous personality (a world-altering diplomat by day, notorious playboy by night) and his role in the Great Game of statecraft (I have been reading John le Carré of late). But his work, the values he chose to put into practice, impacted millions upon millions of lives, people for whom there will never be public remembrances, who never garnered Kissinger’s celebrity or infamy.
Today, of all days, it is worth remembering them:
Henry Kissinger supported Pakistan's genocide in Bangladesh. Kissinger advocated for the Nixon administration’s quiet support of what is now Pakistan (then West Pakistan) in its vicious campaign against the people who lived in what was then East Pakistan (now the nation of Bangladesh). After India began supporting East Pakistan, Kissinger and Nixon authorized the illegal transfer of arms to West Pakistan. More than 200,000 people died in the conflict, 200,000 women were raped, and 10 million Bangladeshis were forced to flee their homeland.
Henry Kissinger supported Indonesia's bloody invasion of East Timor. Indonesian dictator Suharto, whose government relied on US military support, directly posed the question to Kissinger and Ford at a private meeting in 1975: If his regime decided to invade East Timor, which had recently elected a leftist government, would he have America’s backing? The US leaders said he would. The subsequent invasion killed at least 100,000 civilians.
Henry Kissinger backed brutal bombing raids in Cambodia. The US itself put its military might to ferocious use in Cambodia. Kissinger implemented Nixon’s orders to greatly expand bombing raids in that country. Those bombings killed a lot of people on their own — estimates range from 50,000 to 300,000 — and also provided fuel for the Khmer Rouge insurgency in the country, which would kill between 1.5 and 3 million people after it successfully overtook Cambodia’s pro-US government in 1975.” [Vox]
Thousands of fake Facebook accounts shut down by Meta were primed to polarize voters ahead of 2024
“The newly identified network shows how America’s foreign adversaries exploit U.S.-based tech platforms to sow discord and distrust, and it hints at the serious threats posed by online disinformation next year when national elections will occur in the U.S., India, Mexico, Ukraine, Pakistan, Taiwan and other nations.” Read More at AP News
Biden's back-to-work push
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
“White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, frustrated by large numbers of government workers refusing to come to the office, is begging and badgering Cabinet secretaries to break employees' stubborn work-from-home habits.
Why it matters: Only about half of Cabinet agencies have hit White House goals for returning to offices by January, Axios' Hans Nichols reports.
With over 2.2 million employees, the federal government is the country's largest employer. Now it's facing a frustration that's common across corporate America: Getting workers into the office even a few days a week can be tough to impossible.
In D.C., the reluctance of some 200,000 federal workers to return to the office has devastated downtown businesses.
Metro ridership in the D.C. area, where federal employees account for 1 in 3 downtown jobs, is at 57% of pre-pandemic levels.
Following up on a Cabinet-wide memo this summer, Zients has been calling agency heads this week to press them on their progress.
He's holding up the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) — the first two to hit the benchmarks of workers spending five of every 10 work days in the office — as examples that federal workers can be convinced to return.
Zients hosted lunches last week for two groups of Cabinet secretaries where he stressed the importance of in-person work, among other issues.
He also made in-person visits to the Department of Homeland Security and Energy Department to meet with senior leaders and rank-and-file workers to explain how crucial they are to the president's goals.
Between the lines: Zients, who led an effort by then-President Obama to reorganize the federal government in 2011, has long pressed for more efficiency in government.
He also wants to ensure that the institutional knowledge is passed down to the next generation of leaders. That requires in-person interaction.
What we're watching: House Republicans are demanding better data on how many federal workers are actually showing up to the office.” [Axios]
Sizzling corporate profits
Data: FactSet. Note: Seasonally adjusted annualized rate. Chart: Axios Visuals
“Corporate profits and the overall U.S. economy both boomed this summer despite high interest rates and persistent consumer gloom.
By the numbers: New data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows total corporate profits in the third quarter grew 3.3% to an annualized rate of $3.28 trillion.
That's just shy of the all-time peak of $3.3 trillion, reached a year ago, Axios Markets co-author Matt Phillips writes.
Data: Commerce Department. Chart: Axios Visuals
A GDP revision yesterday showed the economy grew at a 5.2% annual rate in Q3 — higher than preliminary estimates, Axios Macro's Neil Irwin and Courtenay Brown report.
What's next: The economy will almost certainly clock in a slower growth rate for the current quarter.” [Axios]
MAGA-Mart
Photo illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios. Photo: Oliver Contreras/Pool/Getty Images
“Former President Trump's MAGA flock now has its own shopping platform, where like-minded conservatives can snub what they see as ‘leftist’ businesses and buy things ‘from people who respect life, family and freedom,’ Axios' Sophia Cai reports.
The platform — dubbed PublicSquare and backed by investors including Donald Trump Jr. and his fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle — is part of a backlash to what many conservatives see as companies promoting progressive social agendas.
Featured items include Christmas decorations, boxes for storing firearms, and coffee from a company called COVFEFE, inspired by an odd late-night tweet by Donald Trump in 2017.
Everylife Diapers, advertised as the product of the seller's partnership with pro-life organizations, are pitched as alternatives to Huggies.
Faith Friends Dolls are touted as a ‘Christian alternative’ to 18-inch American Girl dolls.
Rifle-adorned onesies and hair scrunchies with pistol patterns are sold by a brand called ‘Moms Who Carry.’” [Axios]
THE WEEK IN CULTURE
Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel in “This Is Spinal Tap.” Entertainment Pictures, via Alamy
“The director Rob Reiner said a sequel to the 1984 mockumentary “This Is Spinal Tap” would begin filming in February and would feature Paul McCartney and Elton John.
The racketeering and gang conspiracy trial of the Atlanta rapper Young Thug began this week, and is expected to last almost a year. Here’s what to know.
Pub-goers across Dublin raised a pint to Shane MacGowan, the lead singer of the Irish folk-punk band the Pogues, who died this week at 65.
The Mellon Foundation has now pledged a total of $500 million to build new and reimagined monuments in U.S. public spaces over the next five years.
A court in Illinois rejected an appeal by the actor Jussie Smollett, who was seeking to overturn his conviction for reporting a fake hate crime in 2019.
Hundreds of ancient artifacts from Crimea, including ceramics and jewelry, were returned to Kyiv after a legal battle between Ukraine and Russia over their ownership.
The New York City Ballet reached a deal for a new contract with the union representing its musicians, which includes a 22 percent increase in compensation over three years.
Mark Cuban, in addition to selling his majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks, announced that he would leave ABC’s “Shark Tank” after 16 seasons.
A piano with a curved keyboard, conceived by the architect Rafael Viñoly, made its debut at Carnegie Hall.
Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” has been a holiday staple for 65 years. Lee, who recorded it at 13, has never rested on her laurels.” [New York Times]
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O’Connor in 2005. Matt York/Associated Press
“Sandra Day O’Connor, the retired Supreme Court justice and the first woman to serve on the court, died at 93.
O’Connor, whom Ronald Reagan appointed in 1981, was a decisive vote in cases on sex discrimination, voting rights and religion over her 24 years on the court.
A moderate conservative and pragmatist who sometimes sided with the court’s liberals, O’Connor voted to uphold abortion rights and affirmative action. Her departure from the court, to care for her sick husband, accelerated its rightward shift.
O’Connor was raised on an Arizona cattle ranch, entered Stanford at 16 and graduated near the top of her law class. She was the last Supreme Court justice to have held elected office, serving in the Arizona State Senate before becoming a judge.” [New York Times]