Month: March 2022

A federal judge has ruled that former President Donald Trump and legal adviser John Eastman ‘likely’ committed federal felonies in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol by radical Trump supporters.

U.S. District Judge David Carter wrote in his 44-page ruling (which can be viewed here in full)  that dozens of documents authored by Eastman should be made available to the House committee investigating the attack, and that sufficient evidence exists to conclude that Trump committed multiple crimes. Eastman is believed to have helped craft Trump’s White House legal strategy to get then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Pence, who presided over the certification of the vote during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, rejected the pressure.

Wrote Judge Carter: “Based on the evidence, the court finds it more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.”  In the civil case ruling, Carter found that 101 emails written by Eastman were not covered by attorney-client privilege in part because Trump “likely knew” a plan advanced by Eastman to have Pence unilaterally act to overturn President Joe Biden’s election victory “was illegal.”  Carter wrote that there’s sufficient evidence to conclude that Trump likely committed at least two felonies — obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Editorial credit: Michael Candelori / Shutterstock.com

On Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into a law a controversial measure restricting what can be taught in classrooms on gender identity or sexual orientation, which critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. DeSantis signed House Bill 1557, officially known as the Parental Rights in Education bill, at the Classical Preparatory School in Spring Hill, Fla.

The new law prohibits classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity and also bars educators from discouraging or prohibiting “parental notification and involvement in critical decisions affecting a student’s mental, emotional, or physical well-being.”  The governor told reporters the measure it is meant to protect the rights of parents to shield their children from “clearly inappropriate” instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity.  DeSantis claimed six school districts in Florida had policies that cut parents out of decisions regarding what their children are taught on the subjects.

The measure is strongly opposed by LGBTQ+ advocates, student groups, President Joe Biden, Democratic lawmakers, the Walt Disney Company and many entertainment figures.  Opponents argue it interferes with the rights of students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, to speak out about who they are, and potentially harms them by outing them as LGBTQ to parents under a notification provision.

Disney, one of the largest employers in the state, had vowed to help repeal the legislation, saying in part: “We are dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ members of the Disney family, as well as the LGBTQ+ community in Florida and across the country.”

Editorial credit: Leonard Zhukovsky / Shutterstock.com