The Full Belmonte, 4/17/2023
Supreme Court
“Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas intends to amend his financial disclosure forms to reflect a 2014 real estate deal he made with a Republican megadonor — an acknowledgment that the transaction should have been disclosed, a source close to Thomas tells CNN. Thomas believed he didn't have to disclose the deal with GOP donor Harlan Crow because he lost money in the transaction, according to the source. Thomas also has come under fire for not reporting luxury travel that he and his wife, Ginni Thomas, took with Crow, including trips on his yacht and private jet. The latest revelations about Thomas' ties with Crow come as critics say Supreme Court justices should be more transparent about their lives off the bench. Additionally, critics and some members of Congress have repeatedly asked the court to adopt a formal ethics code, something it has declined to do.” [CNN]
Dominion defamation trial in lawsuit against Fox delayed to Tuesday
“Late Sunday night the trial start date for the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit Dominion Voting Systems has waged against Fox News and its parent company was moved to Tuesday instead of Monday. Superior Court Judge Eric Davis did not give any reason why it was being pushed. Dominion filed a lawsuit against Fox in 2021 after the cable news network aired unproven claims that the voting machine company helped rig the 2020 presidential election. Dominion alleges Fox knowingly spread falsehoods to cater to its conservative audience.”Read more at USA Today
Alabama birthday party shooting kills four
“Hundreds gathered Sunday afternoon at the First Baptist Church in Dadeville, Alabama, to pray and offer support following a shooting that killed four people and injured 28 others during a teenager’s birthday party.
There was no initial confirmation about what led to the shooting, officials said, nor a suspect identified.
•Most of the victims were teens and the violence has shaken the small town where serious crime is rare. One of the victims, Taniya Cox, attended the vigil in a hospital gown with her right arm in a cast.
•After a new law took effect in January, anyone 18 or over may carry a handgun in the state without a permit, background check or safety training in Alabama. Gov. Kay Ivey signed the legislation into the law that repealed the concealed carry permit requirement in March 2022.
•The Dadeville shooting occurred around the same time that two people were killed and four others were injured in Louisville, Kentucky, by someone who shot into a crowded park Saturday evening.” [USA Today]
Shooting victim Taniya Cox prays with her family during a prayer vigil at First Baptist Church in Dadeville, Alabama, on Sunday, April 16, 2023.
Jake Crandall/ Advertiser
Blue states stockpile abortion pills
Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
“Some blue states are busily stockpiling a widely used abortion pill in anticipation of a time when it might no longer be easily accessible, Axios' Oriana González reports.
Why it matters: Medication abortion accounts for 54% of abortions in the U.S. 98% of those used mifepristone, an abortion drug normally used alongside a second pill, misoprostol.
State of play: The Supreme Court said Friday that it will temporarily keep access in place while a legal challenge to the FDA;'s authority plays out.
What's happening: In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said the state "secured an emergency stockpile" of up to 2 million doses of misoprostol.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) asked the University of Massachusetts to purchase around 15,000 doses of mifepristone, and has directed individual health providers to do so as well. The state says that will ‘ensure sufficient coverage ... for more than a year.’
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) stockpiled 150,000 doses of misoprostol, a projected five-year supply.
In Washington State, Gov. Jay Inslee (D) purchased a three-year supply of mifepristone through the state's Department of Corrections, which has a pharmacy license.
What's next: Newsom's office shared its misoprostol purchase agreement with other states in the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, which includes about 20 Democratic governors. So other blue states could follow.” [Axios]
Sudan battles intensify on 3rd day
“Sudan's embattled capital awoke Monday to a third day of heavy fighting between the army and a powerful rival force for control of the country, as the weekend's civilian death toll rose to 97. Airstrikes and shelling intensified in parts of Khartoum and the adjoining city of Omdurman. A sustained firing was heard near the military headquarters, with white smoke rising from the area. Residents hunkering down in their homes reported power outages and incidents of looting. The clashes are part of a power struggle between two generals who are former allies.” Read more at USA Today
Smoke billows above residential buildings in Khartoum on April 16, 2023, as fighting in Sudan raged for a second day in battles between rival generals.
AFP Contributor#AFP, AFP via Getty Images
“Four years after a popular revolt that ousted dictator Omar al-Bashir inspired millions across Africa and the Arab world, Sudan has returned to form as one of the planet’s worst-led nations.
Officially, the most violent clashes the capital, Khartoum, has seen are taking place between the armed forces and a militia group spawned from the notorious janjaweed gangs that spread terror across the western region of Darfur in the past two decades. These are the same groups that have united in blocking the long-desired transition to civilian rule.
In reality, it’s a power struggle between army boss Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and one-time camel trader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti in his guise as leader of the Rapid Support Forces militia.
The United Nations, the African Union, the US, Russia, and China have all called for a cease-fire, worried about the regional impact of a spreading conflict in Sudan, which has a strategic Red Sea coastline and mineral wealth. Particularly concerned will be Egypt, Sudan’s northern neighbor, and the United Arab Emirates, which has played a mediating role in the past.
Even the mercenary Wagner Group, founded by an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has little interest in seeing violence threaten its gold mine operations.
But this is a nation that has suffered more coup attempts than any on mainland Africa, and where those in authority know few bounds. Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and genocide in Darfur and for a time provided a haven for Osama bin Laden.
Dozens of people have already died in the latest fighting. For those huddling in their homes listening to guns firing and warplanes roaring overhead, the denials by both sides that they started the conflict give little comfort.
As Sudan’s two most powerful military leaders battle to become the last strongman standing, their violent contest for supremacy risks sending ripples far beyond the country’s borders. — Karl Maier ” [Bloomberg]
WATCH: Heavy fighting rages in Khartoum. Souce: Bloomberg
“China focus | Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven nations meeting in Japan have China high on their agenda. The top diplomats will compare notes from recent trips to Beijing while seeking to find a common approach to China on issues like Taiwan, economic coercion and US moves to restrict Chinese access to advanced technology like computer chips, Iain Marlow reports.” ” [Bloomberg]
“Strengthening relations | Putin praised Russian and Chinese military ties at a Kremlin meeting with China’s defense minister yesterday. Li Shangfu, who’s also due to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, told Putin that Beijing was willing to boost ‘multilateral coordination and cooperation,’ China Central Television reported. The US has warned China against providing lethal aid to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Russia sentenced a prominent Putin critic, Vladimir Kara-Murza, to 25 years in prison in the harshest sentence yet handed down to an opposition activist.
Click here for our rolling coverage of the war in Ukraine.” ” [Bloomberg]
The world is becoming awash with natural gas, pushing prices lower and creating an overabundance of the fuel in both Europe and Asia — at least for the next few weeks. The trend has been a rare sight over the past year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upended energy markets and Europe rushed to secure as many alternative supply sources as possible. ” [Bloomberg]
“Unclear timing | Before this weekend’s assassination attempt, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s improving political fortunes prompted speculation he’d call early national elections. That added uncertainty to bets on when new Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda might start tightening the nation’s ultra-easy monetary policy. The question now is whether Kishida can keep up the positive momentum after the attack.” ” [Bloomberg]
“Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Indo-Pacific nations oppose having their future “dictated by a single major power,” as the region faces an intensifying struggle for influence between the US and China.” [Bloomberg]
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the strength of Israel’s democracy after Moody’s lowered the country’s credit outlook on a planned judicial overhaul that has spurred mass protests.” [Bloomberg]
“Myanmar’s military rulers announced the release of more than 3,000 prisoners, including 98 foreigners, in a holiday amnesty, a week after the junta carried out one of the deadliest air strikes since it seized power.” [Bloomberg]
April 17, 2023
By German Lopez
Good morning. A lawsuit against Fox News could help decide the boundaries of press freedom.
Times Square.John Taggart for The New York Times
A First Amendment case
“Starting tomorrow, Fox News is scheduled to be on trial. Dominion Voting Systems, which makes voting machines, is suing the cable news network for $1.6 billion. Dominion claims that Fox spread a false conspiracy theory that its machines were rigged against Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
The trial had been set to start today, but the judge overseeing the case announced a one-day delay last night. Fox may be seeking to settle the case before a trial can begin, The Wall Street Journal reported.
We have already seen some of the evidence for Dominion’s side. Texts and emails uncovered through the lawsuit show that several of Fox’s executives, hosts and producers privately doubted the claims against Dominion, which were promoted by Trump, but amplified them on the air anyway.
Even with this evidence, Dominion may not have an easy time winning the case because of legal protections for media companies. Those protections were established by a 1964 Supreme Court ruling, New York Times v. Sullivan, based on the First Amendment’s safeguards for freedom of speech and the press. The ruling requires that defamation lawsuits by public figures against media companies prove ‘actual malice,’ meaning that journalists must have known an allegation was false but broadcast it anyway or have acted so recklessly that they overlooked the facts.
‘It is an incredibly high bar to prove,’ said my colleague Katie Robertson, who is covering the lawsuit.
The case will test whether Fox’s brand of journalism — which includes a long record of spreading falsehoods (such as about where Barack Obama was born) — is legally vulnerable. Today’s newsletter will look at both sides of the case and its broader implications.
What is Dominion’s argument?
There is no doubt that Trump’s allegations against Dominion were false. The judge overseeing the case, Eric Davis of the Delaware Superior Court, has already ruled that Dominion won’t have to prove that the claims were wrong during the trial. Its task will be proving actual malice, as well as proving financial damage because of the coverage.
To do that, Dominion will point to a trove of texts, emails and other documents showing that Fox News’s leaders and hosts doubted the claims against Dominion but aired them anyway.
Referring to claims that Dominion’s software rigged the election, Tucker Carlson texted his producer, Alex Pfeiffer, that the idea was ‘absurd.’ He also texted that Sidney Powell, one of Trump’s lawyers, was ‘lying.’ Yet Carlson later argued on his show, ‘This is a real issue no matter who raises it or who tries to dismiss it out of hand as a conspiracy theory.’
Why did Carlson do this? It seems the answer has to do with his audience. Carlson initially cast doubt on Powell’s claims on air, saying, ‘She never demonstrated that a single actual vote was moved illegitimately by software from one candidate to another. Not one.’ His audience revolted, criticizing him for questioning a Trump ally. Carlson then walked back his public skepticism on air.
It’s a recurring theme in the texts and emails. Fox’s leaders and hosts expressed doubt about the conspiracy theory in private, but they also raised concerns about ‘respecting our audience.’ To avoid losing viewers to competitors like Newsmax, Fox hosts and producers seemingly chose to broadcast and support the claims by Trump and his allies.
What is Fox News’s argument?
Fox News previously argued that even though it knew the claims against Dominion were false, it had to cover them anyway because they were newsworthy. But Judge Davis has ruled that Fox won’t be able to make that argument in the trial. ‘Just because someone is newsworthy,’ he said, referring to Trump and his lawyers, ‘doesn’t mean you can defame someone.’
Without that argument, Fox has focused on others. The network argues that Dominion still needs to prove that Fox’s hosts — who ultimately decide what to air — knew the claims were false and broadcast them anyway. And Fox claims that at least some of the hosts genuinely believed the allegations and therefore were not intentionally defaming anyone.
Mostly, though, Fox is relying on Dominion failing to clear the high legal standard established by New York Times v. Sullivan. Dominion, not Fox, has the burden of proof.
Legal experts have said that Dominion’s case is stronger than most defamation lawsuits but that the company still may not win. ‘Proving this in a legal sense is more complicated than proving it in the court of public opinion,’ said my colleague Jim Rutenberg, who wrote a Times Magazine article about the case.
What are the implications?
Fox News argues that if it loses, the case will do irreparable damage to press freedoms, opening all news outlets to lawsuits. ‘A free-flowing, robust American discourse depends on First Amendment protections for the press’ news gathering and reporting,’ a network spokesperson said in a statement.
Some legal experts argue the opposite, saying that a loss for Fox could bolster protections for the press. Fox’s actions in covering the 2020 election were so egregious, the argument goes, that any legal standard that protected them would be no standard at all: For First Amendment protections to endure, news organizations need to be held accountable for knowingly spreading false and damaging information.
Sign up for our newsletter recapping the latest Fox-Dominion trial updates.
For more: Dominion holds powerful sway in the U.S. elections industry. Read more about the company.” [New York Times]
Starship's first orbital launch
“Elon Musk’s SpaceX is about to take its most daring leap yet with a round-the-world test flight of its mammoth Starship. Jutting almost 400 feet into the sky, the biggest and mightiest rocket ever built is expected to blast off early Monday. The company got the OK on Friday from the Federal Aviation Administration and Musk is giving 50-50 odds of Starship reaching orbit. If everything goes according to plan, this will mark the first time the combined system – Super Heavy booster below and Starship vehicle on top – takes flight from Starbase, a SpaceX-owned facility just outside Brownsville, Texas.” Read more at USA Today
SpaceX's Starship and Super Heavy booster are seen on the company's launch mount near at Starbase, Texas, in April 2023. SpaceX
‘The Phantom of the Opera’ closes on Broadway after 35 years
By MARK KENNEDY
‘The Phantom of the Opera’ cast appear at the curtain call following the final Broadway performance at the Majestic Theatre on Sunday, April 16, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
“NEW YORK (AP) — The final curtain came down Sunday on New York’s production of ‘The Phantom of the Opera,’ ending Broadway’s longest-running show with thunderous standing ovations, champagne toasts and gold and silver confetti bursting from its famous chandelier.
It was show No. 13,981 at the Majestic Theatre and it ended with a reprise of ‘The Music of the Night’ performed by the current cast, previous actors in the show — including original star Sarah Brightman — and crew members in street clothes.
Andrew Lloyd Webber took to the stage last in a black suit and black tie and dedicated the final show to his son, Nick, who died last month after a protracted battle with gastric cancer and pneumonia. He was 43….” Read more at AP News
“Lives Lived: Ahmad Jamal was a pianist who inspired generations of jazz musicians. He died at 92.” [New York Times]