Eclipse success!

April 9, 2023

President Biden continues his effort to forgive student loan debt for eligible Americans. On Monday, the President announced a new program to circumvent objections to loan forgiveness that Republicans successfully raised in the Supreme Court. In a statement released by the White House on Monday, Biden said,

[T] hese plans would fully eliminate accrued interest for 23 million borrowers, would cancel the full amount of student debt for over 4 million borrowers, and provide more than 10 million borrowers with at least $5,000 in debt relief or more.

The plan was met with howls of protest and new promises by Republicans to block the proposed debt forgiveness on the ground that it isn’t “fair” to give some Americans a benefit not available to all Americans.

Of course, Republicans do not lodge the same protests when the most affluent Americans benefit from “carried interest” deductions on hedge-fund investments or 20% capital gains rates on investment income or a federal tax write-off available only to purchasers of private jets but not economy cars. These “fairness” arguments are trotted out by Republicans only when working-class Americans are beneficiaries but not when the top 1% earners receive windfall benefits.

Joe Biden has spent three years trying to fulfill his promises to help the middle class, students, the elderly, and families living in poverty. Republicans have fought Biden in every way, seeking to protect and promote the interests of the wealthiest Americans at the expense of the federal deficit and national debt. Don’t fall for the one-sided “fairness” arguments that Republicans apply only to young Americans seeking to build a better life for themselves and their families.

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Trump's long-awaited announcement on abortion endorses the most reactionary bans enacted by red states

Trump made his long-awaited announcement on abortion on Monday. He said that abortion—reproductive liberty—should be “left up to the states”—a formulation that endorses the total ban on abortion in Texas and the six-week ban in a dozen other states (with no exceptions for rape or incest).

By “leaving it up to the states,” Trump endorsed the most cruel and reactionary bans on the books. That position should have assuaged anti-reproductive liberty activists—but it did not.

First, Trump's formulation approved policies in liberal states (like California and New York) that continue to follow the rule of Roe v. Wade—a result that angered anti-choice groups.

Second, Trump also failed to endorse a national ban on abortion, an omission that infuriated anti-abortion organizations. As explained in Axios, Trump drew fire from nearly every quarter in the anti-abortion movement:

• SBA Pro-Life America, the leading anti-abortion group, said in a statement that "we are deeply disappointed in President Trump's position."

• Former Vice President Mike Pence went a step further, saying in a statement, "Trump's retreat on the Right to Life is a slap in the face to the millions of pro-life Americans who voted for him in 2016 and 2020."

• Doug Stafford, chief strategist for Sen. Rand Paul's (R-Ky.) PAC, tweeted: "I'm not sure a major candidate has ever produced a worse statement on Life than the one I just watched." He later deleted the post.

• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a top Trump ally who has introduced legislation to restrict abortion at the federal level after 15 weeks, said he "respectfully" disagrees with the former president.

President Biden issued a strong statement committing to re-establish the protections of Roe v. Wade. President Biden said,

Donald Trump made it clear once again today that he is – more than anyone in America – the person responsible for ending Roe v. Wade. Let there be no illusion. If Donald Trump is elected and the MAGA Republicans in Congress put a national abortion ban on the Resolute Desk, Trump will sign it into law. 

Trump is scrambling. He’s worried that since he’s the one responsible for overturning Roe the voters will hold him accountable in 2024. Well, I have news for Donald. They will. America was built on personal freedom and liberty. So, there is nothing more un-American than having our personal freedoms taken away. And that is what Donald Trump has done.

As of Monday evening, Trump has begun a war of words with Lindsey Graham, who called out Trump for not endorsing a national abortion ban (at 15 weeks). See NBC Montana, Trump responds to Lindsey Graham over abortion criticism: 'Handing Democrats their dream', and NBC News, Lindsey Graham says Donald Trump is making 'a mistake' on abortion, vows to push forward with nationwide restrictions.

The most trenchant comment was by Eugene Robinson in the Washington Post, Opinion  Trump’s abortion position just made his 2024 reelection even harder. (Accessible to all.)

Robinson said,

One thing that is guaranteed? Trump’s attempt to distance himself from the abortion issue won’t work.

As usual, he’s trying to have it both ways by taking credit for getting rid of Roe v. Wade while washing his hands of the consequences. That might work on some issues, but not on abortion.

Reproductive liberty should not be reduced to a political calculation—but that approach is unavoidable at this moment in our history. Unless we summon the political will to stop Trump, MAGA extremists, and reactionary judges, hundreds of millions of women will be denied their right to make the most fundamental decisions regarding their lives and bodies.

Donald Trump and the reactionary majority on the Supreme Court have relegated women to a second-class status. It is up to all of us to reverse that result and reclaim the rights and liberties that were hard-won over the last 75 years.

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Trump tries—and fails—to delay his criminal trial for election interference

It is a sign of our times that we are one week out from a criminal trial of a former president, and the story is not front-page news in major media outlets. Our sense of outrage and capacity for surprise have been dulled by Trump's continual presence in court on criminal and civil proceedings. Indeed, Trump’s criminal cases have become background noise. They shouldn’t be. They are important reminders that Trump is unfit to be president.

Trump will sit as a defendant in a criminal trial commencing in six days—April 15. He will be the first former president to do so. The trial will be a big deal, even if the media’s attention span does not extend to events six days in the future.

Trump knows that sitting as a criminal defendant in an election interference case based on hush-money payments to conceal an affair with an adult film star will be damaging to his prospects. On Monday, Trump made last-ditch efforts to delay his criminal trial once again by changing the venue of the trial away from Judge Merchan to a court in Staten Island, the only New York City borough Trump won in 2020. See Politico, New York appeals judge rejects Trump’s request to delay his April 15 hush money trial.

As noted in the Politico article above, an appeals court judge declined to grant Trump an emergency stay to permit him to file a motion to change venue. That is the right outcome, although Trump will be able to appeal the ruling.

Separately, Trump filed a proceeding against Judge Juan Merchan, asking an appeals court to modify Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order against Trump, a move that could delay the start of the trial. See The Hill, Trump sues NY judge overseeing hush money case in effort to delay trial.

Why Trump's motions are important: The motions to change the venue and challenge the gag order are both highly unusual moves at the last minute in a criminal trial. The dual motions betray fear and desperation by Trump. He knows that a criminal trial filled with sordid details and cheating by Trump will remind voters once again that Trump is unfit to coach a little league team or call Bingo numbers at a church social—much less serve as president of the United States.

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Jack Smith files brief in opposition to Trump's appeal to Supreme Court regarding presidential immunity defense

Last December, Trump moved to dismiss the federal indictment in DC for election interference on the grounds of presidential immunity. In February, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled presidential immunity did not apply to the charges included in the indictment against Trump. In March, the Supreme Court granted a review of the matter and treated Trump's motion for a stay as his opening brief in the appeal. The Court set hearing in the matter in late April—the last possible date to hear appeals this term.

On Monday, special prosecutor Jack Smith filed his brief in opposition to Trump's claim of presidential immunity. I will comment at length on the brief in tomorrow’s newsletter, but tonight I will limit my comments to three points.

First, the Supreme Court should have never granted review. The opinion of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals was correct and should have been affirmed or adopted as the Supreme Court’s opinion.

Second, having granted review, the Supreme Court should have acted in an expeditious manner rather than scheduling an oral argument at the last possible moment during this session.

Third, Trump's arguments are specious and should be rejected out of hand. Jack Smith’s opening comments make that point simply and powerfully:

The President’s constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed does not entail a general right to violate them.

See Brief for United States on Write of Certiorari at 4.

Trump's arguments are nonsense. The fact that Jack Smith must waste his time responding to those arguments is an outrage—as is the fact that the sham appeal has imposed a lengthy delay on the DC criminal trial before Judge Chutkan.

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Trump's $175 million bond in NY civil fraud trial may be fraudulent

Among the many problems with the bond obtained by Trump to forestall collection of the $464 million civil judgment in the NY fraud trial, the company that issued the bond is not admitted to issue bonds in New York and does not have the cash reserves required under New York law to issue the bond.

On Monday, The Daily Beast reported that experts who examined the bond said that it does not obligate the bonding company to pay the judgment if Trump loses on appeal—which is the essential feature of an appeal bond. Instead, the language of the bond says that Donald Trump “shall pay the bond.” See Salon, “Incomprehensible”: Experts say Trump’s $175 million bond makes no sense.

In essence, the insurance company filed a bond that said that Donald Trump would pay the underlying judgment, which he was required to do in any event.

I haven’t read the bond (I don’t have access to a copy), so I am relying on reporting from secondary sources. However, if those reports are true, Trump has filed a sham document that misrepresents the facts. The irony is that the sham bond was provided to secure a judgment against Trump for misrepresenting his financial position.

Judge Engoron will hear evidence regarding the sufficiency of the bond on April 22. We should expect that Judge Engoron will scrutinize the bond closely—and may require Trump to secure a different bond. But, if all goes according to plan, Trump will be otherwise occupied on April 22—he will be sitting at the defendant’s table in Judge Merchan’s courtroom, defending himself against felony charges of election interference.

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Opportunities for reader engagement

Join Focus for Democracy on April 9th!

As we approach the seven-month countdown to the election, the window to make important investments is closing. Join Focus for Democracy on Tuesday, April 9th to learn about two critical programs that are racing the clock to help us save our democracy in November.

During Focus for Democracy's next Zoom briefing, hear from expert evaluators who rigorously examine the evidence behind the tactics used by scores of organizations. In this briefing, they’ll tell you about organizations that enable your contributions to produce many times more votes than you could with donations elsewhere.

Tuesday, April 9th
5:00 pm PT/8:00 pm ET
Register here or at this link: http://tinyurl.com/F4D9Apr

Join BigTentUSA for an interesting presentation with Rep. Liz Cheney and Katie Couric!

On Wednesday, April 10 at 7:00 PM ET, former Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) and award-winning journalist Katie Couric are joining BigTent to discuss the future of American democracy, insights from Cheney’s best seller, Oath and Honor, the dynamics within the Republican Party, perspectives on Trump and the January 6 attack on the Capitol, and previously undisclosed stories from Cheney’s time in Congress. Additionally, they will delve into ways we can safeguard American democracy.

BigTentUSA is a moderate, inclusive, and collaborative community empowering citizens to take action to protect democracy, defend women’s rights, and protect our children. Join our free educational series of events and our calls to action detailed and updated regularly on our website.

Please use this link to register: A Conversation with Liz Cheney and Katie Couric: Oath and Honor - BigTent USA

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Concluding Thoughts

Success! It was touch-and-go, but Jill and I were privileged to witness the total eclipse of the sun on April 8. In short, the day began with full cloud cover but improved to about 50% cover during the run-up to totality. I was able to take hundreds of photos of the sun in partial eclipse. About four minutes before totality, dark clouds gathered and completely obscured the sun. We entered totality under thick, dark, unbroken clouds. Oh, well! Win some, lose some!

Then, a hole opened up in the dark cloud cover, and we were treated to the fully eclipsed sun with a brilliant corona. As we stared in awe, a large prominence flared from the lower right quadrant of the sun, resulting in a pinkish-red glow between the dark clouds. And then the “diamond ring” made its appearance. It was spectacular! The hole in the clouds then closed, and the cover returned to a thick, dark, and unbroken state. How lucky we were!

I have included photos below, but for a more complete description (told with good humor and fun), see my Managing Editor’s video blog, which contains lots more detail. See Every Day with Jill, Solar Eclipse: April 8, 2024 Florence, Texas.

We will be back in Los Angeles soon, but I feel buoyed by our meetings with readers in Texas. I can assure readers of this newsletter that your friends and colleagues in Texas are not giving up and remain hopeful about eventual victory. Indeed, we should all feel the same way. We are going to win! It is only a question of when.

Stay strong and remain vigilant! An opening will appear when you least expect it—and we must be ready to take advantage of good fortune when it appears!

PHOTOS

Below: Clouds partially obscured the initial phases of the eclipse, creating dramatic views of the sun.

Below: This is the last view of the sun before totality; clouds obscured the sun from this point until the last moments of totality.

Below: Clouds entirely covered the sun for most of totality. Suddenly, a small gap appeared in the clouds, revealing a brilliant corona encircling the sun in total eclipse. We saw a large, pinkish-red prominence in the lower right quadrant of the sun. This view of the total eclipse peeked in-and-out of the clouds until the “diamond ring” appeared (next photo). (Photo by tour group member Sandro Menzel.)

Below: As the totality ended, we saw a brilliant “diamond ring” effect, pictured below. (Photo by tour group member Sandro Menzel.)

Below: The sun begins to emerge from totality

After totality, the skies cleared (of course) for a clear view of the partial eclipse.