Legal and ethical problems pile up for ex-president

[link removed]
We have a primary problem in the U.S. A new report from Unite America shows that, despite record turnout in the 2020 general election, only 10% of eligible Americans nationwide cast ballots in primary elections. These primary voters are often unrepresentative of their own party, and especially of the electorate as a whole. However, due to geographic sorting and gerrymandering, they live in "safe" red or blue districts and, thus, effectively decide the winners of 83% of congressional seats. No wonder voters increasingly feel politically homeless and unrepresented in Washington; Congress is largely beholden to narrow minorities defined by ideological extremism. But please take heart—there are solutions to this problem. States can adopt nonpartisan primaries—as are already used in California, Nebraska, Washington, and most recently, Alaska—that allow all voters a chance to make their voice heard and open up our elections to more competition. The top four or five candidates then advance to an
instant runoff general election. This simple reform can help lead us out of this polarized quagmire and to more effective, representative government. —Mindy Finn

NEW TO THE TOPLINE? SUBSCRIBE NOW ([link removed])
Love THE TOPLINE? Help us spread the word and earn TOPLINE rewards here ([link removed]) .
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
[link removed]'s%20Daily%20Digest: https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Fstanduprepublic.com%2Fthetopline040121 Tweet ([link removed]'s%20Daily%20Digest: https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Fstanduprepublic.com%2Fthetopline040121)
[link removed] Forward ([link removed])


** The April Fool
------------------------------------------------------------

Ugh. He's probably the last guy you feel like hearing about, but we have to talk about Donald Trump. He's facing a mountain of legal trouble, starting in his hometown of New York. State prosecutors in Manhattan investigating the ex-president and the Trump Organization have subpoenaed the personal bank records of the company's long-time chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, in what appears to be a determined effort to gain his cooperation. Weisselberg may hold the key to any possible criminal case against Trump, as Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance examines whether Trump and the company falsely manipulated property values to obtain loans and tax benefits. —The New York Times ([link removed])
* — NVM to NDA. U.S. District Court Judge Paul Gardephe ruled on Tuesday that a non-disclosure agreement that Trump's 2016 presidential campaign required employees to sign is unenforceable, saying the sweeping, boilerplate language was so vague that the agreement was invalid under New York contract law. Gardephe issued the ruling in a case brought by Jessica Denson, a Hispanic outreach director for Trump in 2016, who has accused the campaign of sex discrimination. —Politico ([link removed])
*
* — Lawsuit back on. The defamation suit against Trump filed by former "Apprentice" contestant Summer Zervos is back on track. Trump had argued that the U.S. Constitution placed him, as president, beyond the reach of state courts. In a brief order on Tuesday, the New York Court of Appeals declared the argument moot. Zervos claims Trump sexually assaulted her more than a decade ago and then defamed her by calling her a liar. —Bloomberg ([link removed])
*
* — The Blue sue. Two U.S. Capitol Police officers have filed a lawsuit against Trump, accusing him of inciting the deadly insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and holding him responsible for the physical and emotional injuries they suffered as a result. The lawsuit cites the ex-president’s conduct before and after the presidential election, including comments in speeches, on Twitter, and during presidential debates that stoked the violence that occurred that day. —The Guardian ([link removed])

MORE: Documents show Trump officials skirted rules to reward politically connected and untested firms with huge pandemic contracts —ProPublica ([link removed])


** J&J vaccine doses scrapped in mixup
------------------------------------------------------------

Emergent BioSolutions, a Baltimore, Md.-based contractor hired by Johnson & Johnson to produce its COVID-19 vaccine, has ruined 15 million doses by mistakenly mixing it with ingredients from another vaccine. White House officials say it became clear earlier this month that there were significant problems at the plant where the company was producing the active ingredient for J&J's vaccine. The problems will delay future shipments of the vaccine, and the distribution of doses to states will be patchy during the next several weeks. The company has promised the government 100 million doses by the end of May. —Politico ([link removed])


** Joseph: Chauvin trial is a watershed moment in America's racial history
------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm left thinking of 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' Harper Lee's iconic portrait of racial gaslighting and White supremacy. The institutional racism that grotesquely deformed the criminal justice system in Lee's time continues, despite major opposition and resistance, in our own. Lee's enduring achievement lay in signaling to the reader that ideals of citizenship and dignity imbued in the American Dream were on trial alongside Tom Robinson. In Minneapolis, decades of history are on trial alongside Derek Chauvin." —Peniel Joseph on ([link removed]) CNN ([link removed])

Peniel Joseph is the Barbara Jordan chair in ethics and political values and the founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

MORE: Graphic footage puts emotional charge into Day 3 of Chauvin trial —The Hill ([link removed])


** Addressing the 'primary problem'
------------------------------------------------------------

Unite America released its report "The Primary Problem" this week, revealing that just 10% of voters cast ballots in primaries that ultimately decided the winners of 83% of House seats. These "safe" seats are in districts that are reliably retained by the same party in nearly every election. The resulting problem? High re-election rates for members of Congress, even when most voters don't feel adequately represented by them or approve of the job they are doing. Unite America suggests doing away with closed primaries, which leave out millions of minority party or unaffiliated voters and exacerbate polarization by giving more extreme candidates a better chance of winning. —The Fulcrum ([link removed])

MORE: Here's how Democrats' sweeping voting rights law would work —The New York Times ([link removed])
[link removed]'s%20amazing!%20Check%20it%20out: [link removed] EARN TOPLINE REWARDS ON TWITTER ([link removed]'s%20amazing!%20Check%20it%20out: [link removed])


** Ridge: Yes, there is a border crisis. And Congress helped create it
------------------------------------------------------------

"Hidden behind the rhetoric and the posturing is the critical need to fashion a modern-day immigration policy that secures the border, shows compassion to Dreamers, builds a foreign worker entry-exit system, provides H-2B visa cap relief, and resolves the fate of those who, while entering illegally, have been lawful and contributing residents. ... That doesn't mean we have to guarantee citizenship. But it is unrealistic to conclude that all those who have entered illegally must be identified and deported. There is common ground to be found." —Tom Ridge in ([link removed]) New York Daily News ([link removed])

Tom Ridge is a former governor of Pennsylvania and was the first secretary of Homeland Security.

MORE: Video shows smugglers dropping two children from 14-foot border fence into U.S., authorities say —ABC News ([link removed])


** Focus on party politics
------------------------------------------------------------

What's going on in state and local party politics this week? A lot, actually. In Georgia, the state Republican Party was hit with a Federal Election Commission complaint alleging that the party illegally accepted contributions from an outside group while failing to report them to election officials. The Georgia GOP partnered with True the Vote, an organization that provides poll-watcher training and other election security resources. Common Cause Georgia and the Campaign Legal Center Action argue that the partnership represented an "in-kind" donation, which True the Vote is restricted from making under its IRS designation. —The Hill ([link removed])
* — Arizona. The team that Arizona State Senate President Karen Fann selected to participate in an extensive audit and recount of the 2020 general election in Maricopa County includes a company owned by a "Stop the Steal" advocate. Cyber Ninjas, a Florida-based cybersecurity company, is owned by Doug Logan, an active promoter of conspiracy theories alleging widespread election fraud last year. —Arizona Mirror ([link removed])
*
* — Iowa. Democrat Rita Hart announced yesterday that she will abandon her effort to get Congress to recount the ballots in Iowa';s 2nd-District congressional race, which she lost by six votes to Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks. The reversal comes as the House Administration Committee was progressing in its investigation into the election results after Hart contended that 22 legal votes had gone uncounted. —NBC News ([link removed])
*
* — Maine. A mass text message sent to Piscataquis Co. residents last week used national cultural wedge issues, including refugee settlement and LGBTQ rights, in an attempt to undermine support for local activist group PROACT, which takes no stance on such issues. The group formed in January in response to county commissioners' passage of an anti-mask resolution that referred to the coronavirus as the "Wuhan virus" and said mask-wearing could cause respiratory illness. —Bangor Daily News ([link removed])

MORE: 'Serious implications': McCarthy says Gaetz would lose House seat if convicted —ABC News ([link removed])


** Kara-Murza: Biden is Alexei Navalny's best hope
------------------------------------------------------------

"Torture and mistreatment are unacceptable in any case, even for actual criminals—let alone for a man who is imprisoned for his political beliefs. It’s a violation of every treaty and convention Russia has signed up to. It is a matter of historical record that personal advocacy by Western leaders has helped save the lives (and freedom) of many political prisoners, both in Soviet times and in recent years. President Biden has made headlines by stating the truth when he described Putin as a 'killer.' It's now in his power to pick up the phone and ensure that the list of victims does not grow by another name." —Vladimir Kara-Murza in ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian pro-democracy activist, politician, author, and filmmaker, chairs the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom.

MORE: Maria Butina, Russian agent who infiltrated NRA, visits Navalny in jail, with video cameras in tow —The Washington Post ([link removed])

Pennsylvania has not had a particularly smooth rollout of the vaccine, and we live in rural PA. Originally we weren't expecting to get the vaccine until May or June. (We are both healthy 68). In mid-January, our health clinic called us and asked if we wanted to be on their list. Delighted, we said yes, but still expected it to be several more months. The very next week they called us back, and we got our first shots of Moderna on Jan. 27. Second shots a month later. No waiting. No confusion. No multiple lists. It was truly amazing. —Carol S., Pennsylvania

The Moderna vaccine distribution here in my retirement community located in Southern California was coordinated by the community management and MemorialCare Medical Foundation. The vaccinations started with 70+-year-olds in February and has progressed to the younger seniors as serum was available. I'm 83 years old and am now in my fifth week after my second vaccination, feeling well and relieved. The process went fairly smoothly with medical volunteers, community security, and additional volunteers. —Kerry S., California

Vaccines in Utah are going great. They are organized and getting many people through the process. —Keith L., Utah

I am 77 years old and have had both Pfizer vaccination shots. I had no complications with either one, and I'm feeling more at ease, but still feel I should wear the mask when out in public. The site where I received the vaccination was very well organized and competent. —Joyce H., Utah

First dose of Pfizer vaccine was uneventful. My husband and my 86-year-old mother are already fully vaccinated, with no negative effects at all. The mass vaccination site in our community is very well run. It was hard to find an available vaccine for my mom (a couple months ago), but availability has improved substantially. —Lynn A., Washington

I received my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine today. My wife is scheduled for this weekend, and our son next week. I am so grateful for miracles and volunteers! I live just outside of Portland, Oregon, and was scheduled at a mass-vaccination site at the Oregon Convention Center. I would estimate that well over 200 volunteers, including medical and National Guard personnel, were involved with 100 of those administering the vaccine.

I became a little emotional when I saw the setup and the sheer number of people getting it so quickly. Logistics fascinate me, and I cannot fathom what all was involved in making this happen. Based on a local news article from earlier in the month, I estimated over 5,000 people per day could be vaccinated at this location in seven hours, and over 9,000 people if they had enough vaccines and volunteers to operate 12 hours per day.

Thank you to everyone, everywhere, involved in the vaccination programs! I wish them all the best! —Keith R., Oregon
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT TODAY'S STORIES ([link removed])


** The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.
------------------------------------------------------------
Got feedback about THE TOPLINE? Send it to Melissa Amour, Managing Editor, at editor@thetopline.com (mailto:editor@thetopline.com) .
CARE ABOUT DEMOCRACY? SHARE SOME DEMOCRACY.
If you love THE TOPLINE, share it with your friends and reap the rewards—from a shoutout in an issue of TL, to exclusive swag, to a call with Evan and Mindy.
[link removed]
Your Dashboard has everything you need to easily share THE TOPLINE
and track your progress.
VISIT YOUR DASHBOARD NOW TO GET STARTED ([link removed])

============================================================
** ([link removed])
The Topline is a project of the Stand Up Republic Foundation.

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.

700 Pennsylvania Ave SE · Washington, DC 20003-2493 · USA