The Full Belmonte, 9/6/2022
Judge Grants Trump’s Request for Special Master to Review Mar-a-Lago Documents
The ruling would effectively bar federal prosecutors from using a key piece of evidence as they continue to investigate whether Mr. Trump illegally retained national defense documents at his estate.
By Alan Feuer and Charlie Savage
“A federal judge intervened on Monday in the investigation of former President Donald J. Trump’s handling of sensitive government records, ordering the appointment of an independent arbiter to review a trove of materials seized last month from Mr. Trump’s private club and residence in Florida.
In a 24-page ruling, the judge, Aileen M. Cannon of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida, also enjoined the Justice Department from using the seized materials for any ‘investigative purpose’ connected to its ongoing inquiry of Mr. Trump until the work of the arbiter, known as a special master, was completed.
The order would effectively bar federal prosecutors from using a key piece of evidence as they continue to investigate whether the former president illegally retained national defense documents at his estate, Mar-a-Lago, or obstructed the government’s efforts to get them back.
In her order, issued on the Labor Day holiday, Judge Cannon said she made her decisions ‘to ensure at least the appearance of fairness and integrity under the extraordinary circumstances.’ Her order would not, however, affect a separate review of the documents being led by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Judge Cannon’s ruling granted the special master wide-ranging authority to review the materials taken from Mar-a-Lago, some of which bore markings labeling them as highly classified. It permitted whoever is eventually appointed to the job to evaluate the documents not only for those protected by attorney-client privilege, a relatively common measure, but also for those potentially shielded by executive privilege, which typically protects confidential internal executive branch deliberations.
At a hearing last week concerning the question, the Justice Department had argued that allowing a special master to conduct an executive privilege review of the seized material would be a radical and legally baseless move since Mr. Trump is a former president and the department is itself part of the current executive branch.
But Judge Cannon disagreed with the Justice Department, writing in the order that she was ‘not convinced’ of the government’s categorical assertion that executive privilege did not apply in this context. She added that she thought the department’s position ‘arguably overstates the law’ and that setting aside any documents that could be shielded by executive privilege as the legal issues in the case are sorted out made sense to her.
‘Even if any assertion of executive privilege by plaintiff ultimately fails in this context, that possibility, even if likely, does not negate a former president’s ability to raise the privilege as an initial matter,’ she wrote. ‘Accordingly, because the privilege review team did not screen for material potentially subject to executive privilege, further review is required for that additional purpose.’
A spokesman at the Justice Department did not initially respond to a request for comment, but department officials last week had discussed the possibility of an appeal if the judge ruled in Mr. Trump’s favor.” Read more at New York Times
A cooling center in Sacramento yesterday. Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“Western states face a heat wave this week that is starting to smash many monthly and even all-time records, Axios' Andrew Freedman and Erin Doherty report.
Inland areas of California, including Sacramento, are expected to reach or exceed 112°F.
Why it matters: This is rare territory — a ‘heat wave for the ages.’
And there are obviously wildfire implications, with destructive blazes already burning.
As of this morning, about 46 million people in six states were under excessive-heat warnings or advisories — California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho and Oregon.
"This is the worst September heat wave in Western USA history no doubt," tweeted weather historian Maximiliano Herrera.
Death Valley, Calif. — a land of extremes that's the hottest, driest and lowest National Park — could meet or beat its September record of 125°F.
It could even break the global record for a September temperature — 126°F — set in Mecca, Calif., in 1950.
The Golden State is in danger of power outages and rolling blackouts:
Energy demand is expected to outpace supply starting this evening, and predictions for tomorrow show the state rivaling its all-time high for electricity demand, AP reports.” Read more at Axios
‘Fat Leonard’, contractor in US navy’s worst corruption scandal, flees house arrest
Leonard Francis pleaded guilty in 2015 to offering $500,000 in bribes to navy officers to steer work to his shipyards
Rebecca Ratcliffe South-east Asia correspondent
“A Malaysian businessman who pleaded guilty in the US navy’s worst corruption scandal has escaped house arrest in San Diego after cutting off his monitoring bracelet, federal authorities have said.
Leonard Glenn Francis, known as Fat Leonard, who pleaded guilty in 2015 to offering $500,000 in bribes to navy officers, was due to be sentenced in a few weeks.
The supervisory deputy, US Marshal Omar Castillo, said Francis fled from his home on Sunday morning, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Officers who arrived at the property found it empty but discovered parts of his broken GPS tracker bracelet.
Francis, who ran a military contracting company in Singapore, is accused of offering the services of sex workers, as well as lavish meals that cost thousands of dollars to gain insider information and influence. Navy officers were given luxury gifts of wine, Cuban cigars and sums of cash, according to prosecutors.” Read more at The Guardian
California Governor Signs Bill to Regulate Fast-Food Industry
The measure will create a state council to establish minimum pay and regulate safety conditions on an industrywide basis.
“California will enact a sweeping new approach to regulating fast-food restaurants after Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that he had signed a bill to effectively set a minimum wage in the industry and to create new safety and anti-discrimination rules.
Amid resistance from fast-food companies, the State Legislature last week approved the bill, which will set up a 10-member council composed of representatives from labor and employers to oversee the industry’s labor practices in California.
The council can raise the industry minimum as high as $22 an hour next year, versus a $15.50 minimum for the rest of the state, after which the minimum will be adjusted for inflation. The council can also issue new labor standards.
‘Today’s action gives hardworking fast-food workers a stronger voice and seat at the table to set fair wages and critical health and safety standards across the industry,’ Mr. Newsom said in a statement.” Read more at New York Times
“LONDON – Liz Truss will become Britain's third female prime minister after Monday's announcement by the ruling Conservative Party that she would replace Boris Johnson.
Truss, 47, has portrayed herself as the political heir to Margaret Thatcher, Britain's formidable cheerleader for free markets and low taxes, a strong supporter of the Anglo-American alliance and a dynamo who played a key role in ending the Cold War. Johnson, an architect of Britain's exit from the European Union (known as Brexit), held the role for just over three years before resigning amid scandals over breaking his own coronavirus lockdown rules.
Truss was foreign secretary in Johnson's government.
The latest
Truss is Britain's third prime minister in a little over three years, and also its third female leader after Thatcher (1979-1990) and Theresa May (2016-2019).
Truss beat Rishi Sunak, who served in Johnson's government as finance minister, after a weeks-long internal Conservative Party selection contest. In Britain, voters elect a party, not a specific leader, giving the government in power latitude to swap in a new prime minister. Truss won 57% of votes cast by about 172,000 eligible grassroots Conservative Party members, or less than 1% of the U.K.'s population of 67 million. Sunak won 43% of the vote.
As foreign secretary, Truss was an ardent supporter of applying maximum pressure on Russia over its war in Ukraine by supplying Kyiv with weapons and through sanctions. She also supported Johnson's push to introduce legislation that would overturn rules, triggered by Brexit, that govern Northern Ireland's trading arrangements with Ireland. Northern Ireland is part of the U.K.; Ireland remains in the EU bloc.
During her campaign, Truss dodged a reporter's question over whether former President Donald Trump was a friend or foe to Britain. She also said the ‘jury is out’ on Emmanuel Macron, France's leader.
In his Tuesday farewell speech as prime minister, Boris Johnson compared himself to Roman statesman Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a legendary military leader in the early days of the Roman Republic. Cincinnatus was a symbol of civic virtue. He resigned from power only to return to it later on. It could be a coded reference to Johnson's ambition to one day lead the country again. He will remain a lawmaker. Johnson added that he was ‘like a booster rocket’ that's ‘fulfilled its function.’
What's about to happen
Tuesday is the final day of Johnson's premiership. As part of the formal handover of power, Queen Elizabeth will receive Johnson and Truss at Balmoral, her summer estate in Scotland, on Tuesday, Buckingham Palace said. It is a break from tradition; usually the queen would host the departing and new British leaders at her London residence, which she has done 15 times during her 70-year reign.” Read more at USA Today
Canada mass stabbing: one suspect in Saskatchewan attacks found dead, say police
Body of Damien Sanderson found by police still hunting for his brother Myles after the RCMP formally charged the two suspects with first degree murder
“One of the suspects in the stabbing deaths of 10 people in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan has been found dead, police said, but warned that his accomplice remains at large.
The body of Damien Sanderson was found with visible wounds in a grassy area near a house being examined by police. His injuries are not believed to be self-inflicted.
Police said his brother Myles remained at large and was believed to be seeking shelter in the provincial capital of Regina. Police said they believed he had also sustained injuries.
The country is still reeling from one of the deadliest attacks in its history as police from multiple provinces ramp up their search.” Read more at The Guardian
Earthquake kills 65, triggers landslides in southwest China
“BEIJING (AP) — The powerful earthquake that set off landslides and shook buildings in southwestern China killed at least 65 people and injured hundreds, state media said Tuesday.
At least 16 other people are missing a day after the 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck a mountainous area in Luding county in Sichuan province, which sits on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau where tectonic plates meet and is hit regularly by quakes. The temblor shook buildings in the provincial capital of Chengdu, whose 21 million residents are already under a COVID-19 lockdown.
Power was knocked out and buildings damaged in the historic town of Moxi in the Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Garze, where 37 people were killed. Tents were erected for more than 50,000 people being moved from homes made unsafe by the quake, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
State broadcaster CCTV showed rescue crews pulling a woman who appeared uninjured from a collapsed home in Moxi, where many of the buildings are constructed from a mix of wood and brick. Around 150 people were reported with varying degrees of injuries.” Read more at AP News
Doomscrolling linked to poor physical and mental health, study finds
The tendency to be glued to bad news can spark a ‘vicious cycle’ that interferes with our lives, researcher says
“There’s no shortage of bad news in the media to ‘doomscroll’, from a global pandemic to the war in Ukraine and an impending climate crisis, but new research suggests the compulsive urge to surf the web can lead to poor mental and physical health outcomes.
Doomscrolling is the tendency to ‘continue to surf or scroll through bad news, even though that news is saddening, disheartening or depressing’, a practice researchers found has boomed since the onset of the pandemic.
The study, published in the journal Health Communication, found 16.5% of about 1,100 people surveyed showed signs of ‘severely problematic’ news consumption, leading to greater levels stress, anxiety and poor health.
Associate Prof Bryan McLaughlin, the study’s lead author and a researcher at Texas Tech University, said the 24-hour-news cycle could bring about a ‘constant state of high alert’ in some people, making the world seem like a ‘dark and dangerous place’.” Read more at The Guardian
Frances Tiafoe stuns No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal at US Open in milestone for American men's tennis
“NEW YORK — Frances Tiafoe, who learned tennis at the College Park, Maryland, facility where his immigrant father was a custodian, authored one of the greatest American tennis stories of his generation on Labor Day.
The 24-year old, who has lingered in the second tier of ATP pros for most of his career without a major breakthrough, put on the performance of his career Monday to knock 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal out of the U.S. Open 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Tiafoe advances to the quarterfinals of a major for just the second time in his career and first since the 2019 Australian Open. He will face No. 9 seed Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.” Read more at USA Today
“Former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu — who made an early, lonely stand against segregationists in the Louisiana legislature, and is the father of former Sen. Mary Landrieu and former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu — died today at 92. Go deeper.” Read more at Axios