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Leaked Hillary Clinton Emails: Could Bernie Sanders Have Won Primary If Leak Occurred Earlier?
On Friday, WikiLeaks began releasing thousands of John Podesta’s emails, including excerpts of Hillary Clinton’s paid remarks to Wall Street firms. The emails showed Clinton’s closed-door remarks were starkly at odds with many of her public positions. In one speech to a housing trade group in 2013, Clinton spoke of needing "both a public and a private position" when crafting laws. In other speeches, Clinton largely absolved Wall Street firms for the crash of 2008 and said financial reform "really has to come from the industry itself." The leaked emails also show Clinton openly boasted about her support of fracking while secretary of state. In a speech to Deutsche Bank in 2013, she said, "I’ve promoted fracking in other places around the world." We speak to Lee Fang of The Intercept, co-author of the recent piece, "Memo Shows What Major Donors Like Goldman Sachs Want from Democratic Party."
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: The chair of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, John Podesta, is accusing Russia of being involved in the hacking of his email account. In recent days, WikiLeaks has published thousands of Podesta’s internal emails. Podesta spoke to reporters on Tuesday.
JOHN PODESTA: Contacted by the FBI. They are investigating the matter. It is a—you know, it is a criminal breach under our federal statutes, the hacking of my private email account. And we’re—but beyond that, I don’t know the circumstances, other than we did hear from law enforcement authorities that they confirmed that it was part of the ongoing investigation of Russian hacking into—into Democratic organizations.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: On Friday, WikiLeaks began releasing thousands of Podesta’s emails, including excerpts of Hillary Clinton’s paid remarks to Wall Street firms. The emails showed Clinton’s closed-door remarks were starkly at odds with many of her public positions. In one speech to a housing trade group in 2013, Clinton spoke of needing, quote, "both a public and a private position," unquote, when crafting laws. In other speeches, Clinton largely absolved Wall Street firms for the crash of 2008 and said financial reform, quote, "really has to come from the industry itself," unquote. The leaked emails also show Clinton openly touted her support of fracking while secretary of state. In a speech to Deutsche Bank in 2013, she said, quote, "I’ve promoted fracking in other places around the world," unquote.
AMY GOODMAN: The leaked emails also show how Hillary Clinton’s view on the Trans-Pacific Partnership changed during the campaign. As secretary of state, she backed theTPP, but on the campaign trail she came out against it. In an October 6, 2015, email, the day after the Obama administration finalized the details of the 12-nation TPP, Clinton speechwriter Dan Schwerin wrote in an email, quote, "This is indeed a hard balance to strike, since we don’t want to invite mockery for being too enthusiastically opposed to a deal she once championed, or over-claiming how bad it is, since it’s a very close call on the merits."
Well, to talk more about these Clinton emails, we’re joined by Lee Fang of The Intercept. His recent piece, co-authored with Zaid Jilani, is headlined "Memo Shows What Major Donors Like Goldman Sachs Want from Democratic Party."
So, why don’t you share with us the highlights, what you felt was most important in these emails, Lee?
LEE FANG: Amy, thank you so much for having me.
These emails are very interesting. They provide a window into Clinton and her experiences, certainly her speeches. I don’t believe that there are any huge bombshells, that this will change the course of the general election. Maybe if these emails came out earlier in the year, during the Democratic primary, that could have maybe changed history. But this won’t change the course of the general election.
That being said, the emails really show, including the transcripts, that Hillary Clinton is far more conservative, far more business-friendly, when she’s speaking with aides, when she’s giving speeches to these Wall Street banks. Also, the emails show that Clinton’s inner circle is filled with wealthy people, Wall Street types, Washington insiders, that are kind of part of a—what you might call a Washington bubble. They are very quick to attack and show a lot of contempt for anyone that they perceive on their political left, whether that’s activists or certain journalists. So, you know, these are interesting emails, but for folks who have followed Hillary Clinton’s tenure in government, they aren’t particularly surprising. They certainly fit a larger pattern.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Lee, they do reveal that, especially with Wall Street firms or commercial interests, that they expect to be able to be heard, given the money that they contribute. They also show, though, some of the major labor unions in the country also seeking to get heard because of their donations, as well, to the Clinton campaign, don’t they?
LEE FANG: Yeah, that’s right. You know, I think the Dodd-Frank comments are really interesting, the ones you just highlighted. You know, on the campaign trail, as she competed with Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton embraced Dodd-Frank, the big financial reform law passed by President Obama, called it a great law that she will defend. She was very proud of it. But, you know, speaking to bankers, she showed a contempt for the law. She sympathized with bankers who were opposed to this law, basically made the argument that it was only passed because of politics, that, you know, after the financial crisis of 2008, Democrats had to do something, and so they had to pass this. And she mentioned to Goldman Sachs in some of these paid speeches that she sees the financial sector, folks who work on Wall Street, that they know how to make the rules better than those in Washington. So it’s a stark contrast.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: There were also, I thought, two—I haven’t seen or read all the emails, but I’ve seen some of the reports and quotes of them. I was surprised by two in particular, one where she appears to come out more to the left in her private discussions with Wall Street than she has publicly. One was over the issue of healthcare, where she said in one of her speeches that she—that she favored, really, a universal single-payer plan, but—and then the other, that her dream was a hemispheric trade agreement that would include not only free trade, but open borders.
LEE FANG: Yeah. Again, that’s really interesting comments. And, you know, on healthcare, this is kind of the enigma of Hillary Clinton. You know, over the last 30 years, she’s played such a big role in healthcare. She understands the system probably better than anyone. But where she actually stands on the issue is confounding for anyone. You know, as you mentioned, in these speeches, Hillary Clinton talks about the benefits of single payer, the healthcare system used in places like Canada, that they provide better primary care using this system. It’s much better at holding down costs for both consumers and the government. But at the same time, you know, Hillary Clinton attacked single payer on the campaign trail this year as she was competing with Bernie Sanders, saying it will never, ever happen in the United States, kind of dismissing the idea, really sticking to the Affordable Care Act health reform system enacted by President Obama. So it’s tough to see where she actually stands on these issues, because, again, she’s kind of taken every position.
AMY GOODMAN: Let me ask you about one of the recently released documents, where Wall Street donors use their influence to complain about Senator Elizabeth Warren’s influence over the direction of the Democratic Party.
LEE FANG: Right. And this is—you know, there’s been so many leaks in the last week. You know, when it rains, it pours. This is actually in a separate leak, separate from the Podesta emails. Last week, there were a number of emails and memos released from the DCCC. That’s the fundraising arm of the House Democrats, the Democrats in the House of Representatives.
And, really, in a revealing document, it kind of shows how pay-to-play politics play a big role in everyday kind of Washington, D.C., in the system there. So the memo shows House Democrats going to special interest groups and asking for money and then hearing them out on their concerns, what they wanted in exchange for that money.
So, for example, Goldman Sachs complained kind of bitterly that Elizabeth Warren, the senator from Massachusetts who’s called for cracking down on Wall Street—Goldman Sachs asked the Democrats to distance themselves from Elizabeth Warren. And in some ways, they complied. They actually pointed out that Elizabeth Warren does not speak for House Democrats. They pointed to an article from Nancy Pelosi making that case.
In another example, General Electric, GE, talked about how much money they’ve given Democrats, and they listed a number of policy concerns. They wanted support for the Export-Import Bank, which, you know, is a taxpayer-subsidized bank that helps companies like GE. They complained about certain healthcare taxes associated with the Affordable Care Act, the Medicare device tax.
So, you know, just in kind of like a mundane way, the memo is incredibly revealing, because this is kind of how a money-driven system works: You go to these donors, and then they list their policy demands and their political demands.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Lee, what about the issue of fracking and what the emails reveal about Clinton’s stand on fracking?
LEE FANG: Yeah, fracking is a big part of Hillary Clinton’s legacy as secretary of state, but it’s not something that we’ve seen much media coverage on. We haven’t seen her talk about it much on the campaign trail. But in speeches to Deutsche Bank and other donor groups, Hillary Clinton has promoted this part of her biography. She’s said that she’s promoted fracking around the world, that she’s accelerated fracking in places like Europe—in particular, Poland.
And again, this stands in just steep contrast with what she’s said on the campaign trail. You know, earlier this year, as she competed with Bernie Sanders, she cast herself as a skeptic of fracking. During the New York Democratic primary, she aired an ad that basically suggested that she’s stood against fracking and that she’s discouraged fracking around the world.
But again, if you look at her actual legacy as secretary of state, her comments to donors were much more accurate than what she presented to the voters. When she came into office, she created an 80-person division within the State Department to promote energy development—in particular, fracking. She did travel the world and encourage countries to adopt American-style fracking. She partnered with companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron to encourage the use. She even sent experts from the Department of Energy to kind of provide technical expertise to countries considering fracking.
So, you know, this is just another kind of revealing comment that she gave to donors but she didn’t give to voters.
AMY GOODMAN: Lee Fang, talk about what the emails show about the Clinton campaign’s relationship with the media and specific reporters.
LEE FANG: Right. So, this is another kind of very revealing memo. For many years, the Clinton campaign, both directly and through its surrogates, has tried to cast the media as, you know, bitterly opposed to Clinton, that a lot of reporters have a chip on their shoulder, that they’ve tried to drag down Hillary Clinton and that there’s this kind of antagonistic relationship. But some of these leaked and hacked memos reveal that there’s actually a very cozy relationship between Hillary Clinton and many of the very powerful players in the media. There were these off-the-record and regular meetings and drinking sessions and dinners. They were regularly planting stories with reporters to shape the way that the campaign was covered. It was kind of a—it’s kind of an extraordinary strategy and shows that—really, that in some cases, certain outlets did not—I wouldn’t say that they had an adversarial relationship with Clinton at all. It was really kind of a cozy relationship, if you look at these emails.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Lee, in January, you attempted to speak with Hillary Clinton after she addressed a town hall in Manchester, New Hampshire. You asked her if she would release the transcripts of her paid speeches to Goldman Sachs. She laughed and turned away. I want to go to that clip.
LEE FANG: Hi, Secretary Clinton, will you release the transcripts of your paid speeches to Goldman Sachs?
HILLARY CLINTON: [laughs]
LEE FANG: No? There’s a lot of controversy over the speeches. Secretary, is that a no? Secretary Clinton, will you release the transcripts of your Goldman Sachs speeches?
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Lee, that was in January. But it’s obvious now from these emails that the campaign internally was not laughing about the request. They were seriously worried about it, weren’t they?
LEE FANG: Yeah, that’s the interesting backstory here. You know, we had this kind of small rope line exchange back in January in New Hampshire. But the emails show, two days after I talked to Hillary Clinton, the Clinton campaign started reviewing all of the transcripts of her paid speeches and actually highlighting the potential political fallout. Weeks later, after our exchange, Hillary Clinton said she would look into potentially releasing her transcripts. The New York Times called her to release those transcripts. She never did. But as the emails show, they reviewed it, they thought about it, and ultimately decided that it would be too politically damaging to release these transcripts. As we can see, there was an involuntary release in the last week. But if you look at the way that the campaign reviewed the transcripts, they were sizing up any potential political fallout. And that’s actually the way that we see the transcripts now in the emails. They’re kind of categorize them—categorizing these quotes for each potential political downside.
AMY GOODMAN: Lee, you and your co-author, Zaid Jilani, both of The Intercept, are also mentioned in one of these emails—is that right?—by Neera Tanden to John Podesta. They both worked at ThinkProgress?
LEE FANG: Yeah, Zaid and I used to work at ThinkProgress, and—which is housed at the Center for American Progress, a group that was once led by Podesta. And they discuss us. I think they refer to us as "freaks" for going after Hillary Clinton and reporting on her. So, you know, this is just kind of a larger pattern of them kind of lashing out at anyone who reports critically on her campaign.
AMY GOODMAN: Finally, Lee, this whole issue that John Podesta raises that these are stolen emails and the evidence that it does come from the Russians, and the whole issue that’s been brought up in the debates, to benefit Donald Trump, can you just talk about this?
LEE FANG: Yeah. So, on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that Russian interests were behind these hacks, including WikiLeaks. They didn’t provide any proof for that claim, but it’s certainly possible that Russian interests are behind these leaks.
Let me just say, though, that for any leak or hacked document, as journalists, we have to review these things, and if they do serve—if the documents do serve a public interest, we have a duty to report on them. There are so many stories that have come out this year where we don’t know the motives or the source of the documents, but they serve a public interest. So, you know, for example, The New York Times reported recently on Donald Trump’s tax return. We don’t know if those tax documents were leaked or hacked or stolen in some way. But obviously they served a public interest, and so The New York Timesreported on them. Same with the Panama Papers. We don’t know where those tax documents came from. They were maybe leaked or hacked or stolen in some way, but I think most journalists would agree that they served a public interest reporting on those documents.
So, again, for these WikiLeaks documents, regardless of the source, and if it is from—if these documents are from Russian interests, that is cause for concern, but that doesn’t mean we can ignore the contents of these documents.
AMY GOODMAN: Lee Fang, we want to thank you for being with us, investigative journalist at The Intercept covering the intersection of money and politics. We’ll link to your piece, "Memo Shows What Major Donors Like Goldman Sachs Want from Democratic Party."
This is Democracy Now! When we come back, an unusual civil disobedience across many states taking on the fossil fuel industry. Stay with us. ... Read More →
Climate Direct Action: Activists Halt Flow of Tar Sands Oil by Shutting Off Valves of Five Pipelines
Ten climate activists were arrested Tuesday for attempting to shut down all tar sands oil coming into the United States from Canada by manually turning off pipelines in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Washington state. The group, which calls itself Climate Direct Action, includes five activists and five other supporters and videographers. They posted pictures and videos online that showed them cutting chains and turning the manual safety valves to stop the flow through the pipelines. The activists issued a statement on Tuesday saying the action was in support of the call for International Days of Prayer and Action for Standing Rock. They also called on President Obama to “use emergency powers to keep the pipelines closed and mobilize for the extraordinary shift away from fossil fuels now required to avert catastrophe." While all 10 activists remain in jail, we speak Jay O’Hara, co-founder of the Climate Disobedience Center, and Afrin Sopariwala, a member of Climate Direct Action and a part of Women of Color Speak Out, a climate justice collective.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Nine climate activists were arrested Tuesday for attempting to shut down all tar sands oil coming into the United States from Canada by manually turning off pipelines in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Washington state. The group, which calls themselves Climate Direct Action, includes five activists and four other supporters and videographers. They posted pictures and videos online that show them cutting chains and turning the manual safety valves to stop the flow through the pipelines. This is climate activist Leonard Higgins.
LEONARD HIGGINS: I’m in Coal Banks, Montana, just north of the Missouri River, at a block valve on the Spectra Express pipeline. It carries tar sands oil from Canada down into the U.S. for refining. And we have to stop especially burning coal and tar sands oil. They are major emitters of the carbon dioxide that is causing the planet to heat. In Paris, 192 nations agreed that we need to keep global warming to a limit of 1.5 degrees centigrade. And it’s obvious from the science, what we’re hearing, that we’re going to blow right past that. And we’re in a state of emergency to protect our loved ones and our families, our communities. We need to step up as citizens and take action where our leaders are not. And so that’s what I’m prepared to do when I close the valve, along with the other team.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Leonard Higgins at the site of the Spectra Energy’s Express pipeline in Coal Banks Landing, Montana. This is Emily Johnston, waiting to turn the valve at one of the Enbridge lines in Minnesota.
EMILY JOHNSTON: When it’s done doing that, we’ll do this one, which, with any luck, will mean they can’t undo it. And [inaudible] over there.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: The activists issued a statement Tuesday saying the action was in support of the call for International Days of Prayer and Action for Standing Rock. They also called on President Obama to, quote, "use emergency powers to keep the pipelines closed and mobilize for the extraordinary shift away from fossil fuels now required to [avert] catastrophe."
AMY GOODMAN: The activists issued a statement on Tuesday, as Juan just said, calling for the International Days of Prayer and Action.
We’re going to turn right now to Jay O’Hara, co-founder of the Climate Disobedience Center and one of the lobster boat blockaders arrested in 2013 after they used their lobster boat to block a delivery of some 40,000 tons of coal to the Brayton Point Power Station in Somerset, Massachusetts. We’re also joined by Afrin Sopariwala. She is a member of Climate Direct Action, a part of Women of Color Speak Out, a climate justice collective.
Why don’t we begin first with Jay? If you can lay out this whole multistate action and what took place yesterday?
JAY O’HARA: Thanks, Amy. So, around 6:30 a.m. Pacific time yesterday morning, we began in Minnesota with teams of activists approaching these safety valves that are placed along the routes of these pipelines in Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana and Washington state, and, in 15-minute intervals, calling the pipeline companies to let them know that we were going to be doing this, so that they could safely shut down and manage their pipelines, and then proceeding to close those valves at the locations where the activists were.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Jay, it’s really astonishing to realize that you were able to organize this, and there were no security guards on these—near these valves to be able to prevent your group from doing this.
JAY O’HARA: Well, I think—I think, certainly, there weren’t—there’s no security guards. They’re simply usually just enclosures surrounded by a chain-link fence, with maybe some barbed wire across the top of it. You know these valves really are for safety, and they are to be used when there is a leak or a spill or a problem along the line to shut down the flow of oil. So, these aren’t, you know, designed to be heavily guarded. They’re in fact supposed to be accessible safety equipment, in some ways.
AMY GOODMAN: So, Afrin, can you talk about how you got involved with this, the risks people are taking in all these states, from North Dakota to Minnesota to Montana, Washington state?
AFRIN SOPARIWALA: Absolutely. So, a lot of these people who took arrest and risk yesterday worked—have worked together for several years. And I’ve worked with them during Shell No last year and also Break Free earlier this summer. And a lot of research has been done into wanting to do this action. And so, as things started to get together, I was—I got pulled in.
People have taken this risk—and these are ordinary people. These are parents and grandmothers, concerned citizens, who, after years and years of all kinds of different actions in the legal—in the legal realm of actions that we can do, came to a point were they felt morally compelled to engage in civil disobedience and nonviolent direct action and put their bodies in the line, knowing that this risk was—was not just going to be one day or one night in jail, but something that they will, you know, see over the course of the next few months, at least.
AMY GOODMAN: Responding to a request from Democracy Now!, Enbridge, Spectra and Kinder Morgan all condemned the actions. Kinder Morgan stated, quote, "reckless trespassers," unquote, broke into their location, but that they were not operating through the portion of the line that was targeted. Spectra Energy stated, quote, "Tampering with energy infrastructure places both the community and the environment at risk," unquote. They temporarily shut down the section of the Express pipeline that was impacted, and report that it was restarted a few hours later. And Enbridge Energy called the action, quote, "reckless and dangerous," unquote, adding, quote, "These are criminal acts that endanger the public and the environment. We take this very seriously and will support prosecution of all those involved." Jay, how many people got arrested? And what are they being charged with?
JAY O’HARA: Well, I’ll answer that in a second, Amy, but, first, it’s just beautiful to hear the words of those pipeline companies, because that is exactly the words that we need to be using to describe what their corporations and the fossil fuel industry is doing to our planet: reckless endangerment and reckless operation. So, I’m looking forward to being able to read those full statements, so we can really turn them around and republish them as our own words.
Actually, at this point, there are now 10 people under arrest. An additional support person was arrested late yesterday in Montana. So, that includes the five activists who turned the valves themselves, as well as five folks who were there in some sort of support role, who generally did not trespass within the enclosures of the pipeline companies, as well as videographers who were part of a documentary team who were covering the action. So, last night, in jails in four different states were not only people, five people, who, with their hearts really open, were prepared to go and take action with the knowing consequences that they would potentially face these legal consequences, but also five folks who were there acting out of love and support for their friends, as well as people who were simply there to document what was happening.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Afrin, could you talk about your decision to take these actions in solidarity with Standing Rock?
AFRIN SOPARIWALA: Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, as you mentioned earlier, Standing Rock put out this call, international call, for prayers and action. And we are absolutely responding to that, because what’s happening in North Dakota is so historic and so important. And around the world, as well, we’re seeing frontline communities and indigenous communities who are facing climate impact today. I am from India, and people are dying every year back home because of heat waves. And also, we have the privilege here to take direct action in ways that we are able to. I read news about four people in India who were shot for protesting at a coal power plant. And those are people whose lives are already—who are already victims of the climate crisis. And so, it is our duty and responsibility to act in solidarity with indigenous people and frontline communities around the world, and also with this historic moment in Standing Rock.
AMY GOODMAN: Jay, I wanted to ask you a quick question about your past, because we had you on, along with one of the people you were involved with this action in Massachusetts—and you could explain it briefly—and the highly unusual turn of events when your prosecutor came out on the steps of the courthouse and said he supported what the two of you did.
JAY O’HARA: Yes. So, in 2013, we—Ken Ward, who is one of the valve turners, the valve turner here in the state of Washington outside of Anacortes on this action—Ken and I were aboard a small, little white lobster boat that we anchored in the path of an incoming coal shipment to a power plant in Massachusetts. And I think the—what was amazing about that action, while it was exactly the sort of heartfelt expression of what we need to be doing on the day of the action, that same spirit seemed to carry through all the way into the courtroom almost a year and a half later, when the prosecutor, District Attorney Samuel Sutter, came into the courtroom and said, essentially, as we were prepared to prove in court that our actions are necessary—were necessary to avert the climate catastrophe, that in fact he had great sympathy with us and couldn’t, in some ways, in good conscience, argue that these sorts of actions are necessary in the face of government and corporate inaction, and declared then on the steps, waving Bill McKibben’s most recent article in Rolling Stone, that he’d join us during the People’s Climate March in New York City in 2014, which he did.
AMY GOODMAN: And that’s where I saw the three of you marching together, and we interviewed you.
JAY O’HARA: Indeed. Indeed, we were—we were there marching together for three or four hours.
I think what’s interesting and beautiful about this action, similar to the action that Ken and I took a few years ago, is that this whole team approached this action with the same spirit of love and compassion and grief that the world that we are living in is not the world that we need, that the future we are leaving for younger people and generations to come is going to be disastrous, and that with that very deep, heartfelt sense of having no other recourse to change the course of events, these folks beautifully have gone out and taken the action that was necessary, in the face of what could be some serious consequences personally for them, but in light of the serious consequences already felt by people around the world, they knew that they had to act.
AMY GOODMAN: We want to thank you both for being with us. Of course, we’ll continue to follow these actions. Jay O’Hara, thanks so much for joining us—
JAY O’HARA: Thanks.
AMY GOODMAN: —from Climate Disobedience Center. And Afrin Sopariwala of the Climate Direct Action, as well as Women of Color Speak Out. And we will soon be reporting on the ground in North Dakota, covering the Standing Rock struggle dealing with the Dakota Access pipeline. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. We’ll be back in a minute. ... Read More →
Women's Boat to Gaza: 13 Activists Detained by Israel, Weeks After U.S. OKs $38B in Military Aid
A flotilla bound for Gaza carrying food, medicine and other humanitarian aid was intercepted and seized last week by the Israeli Navy. The Women’s Boat to Gaza had set sail from the Spanish port city of Barcelona in mid-September in efforts to break the ongoing Israeli blockade. Organizers say the Israeli military seized the boat and detained the 13 human rights activists aboard in international waters about 40 miles away from Gaza’s shore. The Israeli military towed the boat to the Israeli port of Ashdod and detained the women for up to four days before deporting them. We speak to passenger Ann Wright, retired Army colonel and former U.S. diplomat. Her recent article is titled "Women’s Boat to Gaza Participants See the Israeli Imposed Perpetual Darkness on Gaza." Wright spent 29 years in the military and later served as a high-ranking diplomat in the State Department.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: A flotilla bound for Gaza carrying food, medicine and other humanitarian aid was intercepted and seized last week by the Israeli Navy. The Women’s Boat to Gaza had set sail from the Spanish port city of Barcelona in mid-September in an effort to break the ongoing Israeli blockade. Organizers say the Israeli military seized the boat and detained the 13 human rights activists aboard it in international waters about 40 miles away from Gaza’s shore. The Israeli military towed the boat to the port of Ashdod and detained the women for up to four days before deporting them.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re joined now by one of the participants on the Women’s Boat to Gaza, Ann Wright. She is a retired Army colonel, former U.S. diplomat. Her recent article is headlined "Women’s Boat to Gaza Participants See the Israeli Imposed Perpetual Darkness on Gaza." Colonel Wright spent 29 years in the military, later served as a high-ranking diplomat in the State Department. In 2001, she helped oversee the reopening of the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan, where she served as deputy chief of mission. In 2003, she resigned her State Department post to protest the war in Iraq.
Ann Wright, welcome back to Democracy Now!
ANN WRIGHT: Thank you.
AMY GOODMAN: Describe this ship of women that set sail and why you did it and what happened.
ANN WRIGHT: Well, the mission of the Women’s Boat to Gaza, of course, was to bring international attention to the continuing Israeli blockade, naval and land blockade, of Gaza, this 25-mile-long tiny strip, five miles wide, with 1.9 million people living in it, a brutal blockade which controls all the electricity, the food, the—everything to come into Gaza has to come through Israeli hands now. It used to—Egypt was a part of it, but they’ve really blocked their southern border. So, our flotilla was to bring international attention to this continuing blockade.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And what happened, if you could give us a sense of when the Israeli military confronted the boat?
ANN WRIGHT: Well, it was actually a confrontation 34 miles off the coast of Gaza. The Israelis have kind of learned a different lesson from having—after they’ve murdered nine people, and subsequently a 10th person died from the 2010 flotilla with the Mavi Marmara, and 50 other people wounded. They knew that this was a boat of women, of unarmed civilian women, trained in nonviolent action, led by a Nobel Peace laureate and two members of Parliament, one from Algeria, one from New Zealand. And over the course of the three legs of this trip, which was 1,715 miles—it was a long trip, let me tell you—almost three weeks of educational activities, though, in Barcelona, in Ajaccio, Corsica, France, and then down in Messina, Sicily, Italy. So, we were doing an educational thing as we were heading toward Gaza.
The Israelis boarded the boat. It was very interesting. There were 30 people on the Zodiac boat that came up next to us. And when they came up, it was—the front part of it, the bow of it, had women sailors on it. Women sailors were the first ones to board our boat.
AMY GOODMAN: These are the Israeli sailors.
ANN WRIGHT: The Israeli sailors, yes. They were not in combat gear. They had baseball caps. They had long-sleeved jerseys on, GoPros. So, the Israeli military has kind of learned a lesson. I wish they would learn the same in their treatment of Palestinians, though, because the treatment of us internationals was very different from what the Israelis are doing to the Palestinians.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to talk about the Nobel Peace Prize laureate you mentioned, Mairead Maguire, one of the 13 women on the Gaza flotilla. She released this prerecorded video message in anticipation of being detained at sea.
MAIREAD MAGUIRE: My name is Mairead Maguire. I am the Nobel Peace laureate from Northern Ireland. If you’re listening to this, then you will know that myself and all of the women who sailed on the Women’s Boat to Gaza have been arrested and are in detention in Israel. We were arrested, kidnapped illegally in international waters, and taken against our wish into Israel. This has happened to me before. We will be deported and, tragically, not allowed back to see our friends in Palestine and in Israel. This is totally illegal. As men and—as women from many countries, we uphold our freedom of movement in any part of our world.
So, for those who can help to call for the release of all those on the Women’s Boat to Gaza, please do so. But even more importantly, because it’s not about us, work for the freedom and human rights, the lifting of the blockade against the people of Gaza and for the freedom for the Palestinian people and peace in the Middle East. We can all do this together. It is not a dream. And we are here in person because we care for human rights, for human dignity for the Palestinian people.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Nobel Peace laureate Mairead Maguire, one of the 13 women on the Gaza flotilla that was boarded by the Israeli Navy, women soldiers. And you were taken to Ashdod and then to a prison and then released, is that right?
ANN WRIGHT: Yes, that’s correct.
AMY GOODMAN: Now, tell us, though, about the situation in Gaza, why you would risk doing this. One of the ships didn’t even make it.
ANN WRIGHT: Well, that’s correct. One of the ships had engine problems leaving Barcelona. And we had women from all over the world that had come in, and they were great people who continue to speak about the tragedy of Gaza. As we approached the coastline of Gaza, it was unbelievable. To the left, you could see all of the lights of Israel. To the right, a very distinct line, was darkness, all the way to the south, and that’s Gaza.
And that exemplifies what’s going on there, that the lack of electricity, usually less than four hours a day, the lack of medical supplies. Dr. Fauziah Hasan, who was our medical doctor from Malaysia, she said her organization, MyCARE Malaysia, is trying to reduce the time for operations, which—in Gaza, which now go on to 2025, there are people lined up. And they’re trying to reduce the time that people who need life-saving operations have it. The issue of food, of water, of sewage—all of these things make for the United Nations now saying, by the year 2020, Gaza will be uninhabitable.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And yet the Obama administration, while continuing to increase its criticism of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians, does nothing about the situation.
ANN WRIGHT: No, in fact, they give them $38 billion in military and other type of aid, which will be used to hammer the Palestinians both in Gaza and in the West Bank.
AMY GOODMAN: This $38 billion, the largest military funding package the U.S. has given any nation.
ANN WRIGHT: Any nation. And it will be used in the training fields of the Israeli military, which are in Gaza. Gaza is the place where military experiments are done, using U.S. military weaponry and done by the—by the IDF.
AMY GOODMAN: You’re former U.S. military.
ANN WRIGHT: Yes, I’m a colonel, 29 years in the U.S. military. And I say the U.S. military and our government are complicit in the crimes against the people of Gaza and the West Bank by the use of our military hardware and by the training that the Israelis give us and we give them.
AMY GOODMAN: What happened to the aid on the boat?
ANN WRIGHT: Well, actually, it was—the aid was really minor. I mean, it was us coming as representatives of the international community. We only had a little 50-foot boat. We really weren’t carrying substantial amounts of anything other than goodwill from the international community.
AMY GOODMAN: Were you deported?
ANN WRIGHT: Oh, yeah. Now I have a 20-year deportation, 10 years from 2010.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to leave it there. Colonel Ann Wright, retired Army Colonel Ann Wright, former U.S. diplomat, was one of the 13 women on the Zaytouna-Oliva, the Women’s Boat to Gaza, attempting to break Israel’s nine-year naval blockade on Gaza.... Read More →
Will Racist, Anti-Immigrant Trump Supporter Sheriff Joe Arpaio Be Jailed for Contempt of Court?
In Arizona, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio faces the possibility of jail time, after federal prosecutors announced they are charging Arpaio for criminal contempt of court over his refusal to end unconstitutional immigration patrols in Arizona. Arpaio has long been under fire for his immigration policies, which have included racial profiling and detaining immigrants in a scorching outdoor Tent City jail, which Arpaio once referred to as his own "concentration camp." Arpaio has also been a key supporter of Donald Trump, appearing at rallies alongside the Republican presidential candidate, and where he’s joked that both he and Trump have been key members in the "birther" movement, which refuses to acknowledge President Obama was born in the United States. Arpaio now faces up to six months in jail if he’s convicted on contempt of court charges. Activists are also organizing for him to be voted out of office in this November’s election. We speak to Carlos García, executive director of Puente Arizona, a grassroots human rights movement for migrant justice.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: In Arizona, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is facing the possibility of jail time, after federal prosecutors announced that they are charging him for criminal contempt of court over his refusal to end unconstitutional immigration patrols in Arizona. Arpaio has long been under fire for his immigration policies, which have included racial profiling, detaining immigrants in a scorching outdoor Tent City jail that Arpaio once referred to as his own "concentration camp." Arpaio has also been a key supporter of Donald Trump, appearing at rallies alongside the Republican presidential candidate and where he’s joked that both he and Trump have been key members in the birthers movement, which refuses to acknowledge President Obama was born in the United States.
AMY GOODMAN: Sheriff Arpaio now faces up to six months in jail if he’s convicted on these contempt of court charges. Activists are also organizing for him to be voted out of office in November’s election.
We’re going now directly to Phoenix, where we’re joined by Carlos García, executive director of Puente Arizona, a grassroots human rights movement for migrant justice. Can you talk about this latest case, why Sheriff Arpaio faces these contempt of court charges, criminal contempt of court, Carlos?
CARLOS GARCÍA: To understand the case, you must first understand what Sheriff Arpaio was doing in our communities. In 2007, he obtained the 287(g) agreement and decided to go after our communities in a way that was never seen before—what he called crime suppression sweeps. He flooded immigrant neighborhoods with his deputized posse members, plus his sheriff deputies, and would pull over and detain anyone that looked undocumented, resulting in cases like—I remember we would go out there and film, and we saw a sheriff who had toys in his trunk, knowing that day that he would take or maybe be separating a family. He had toys in order to give to children as they were waiting for their parents to be picked up.
In those conditions, the [Ortega Melendres] lawsuit was filed, and, you know, several years later, was found guilty of racial profiling and was asked to stop racial profiling and stop the practices that the MCSO, the Sheriff’s Office, was pertaining to. And so, what happened is Sheriff Arpaio, being Sheriff Arpaio, ignored the law, ignored the judge’s order, and ordered his officers to continue to racially profile and do what they were doing, resulting in this contempt of court, where he now faces a criminal conviction. And his trial is set for December 6th.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Carlos, why has the sheriff continually, despite all of this furor nationwide over his policies and many of the changes that have occurred in the Arizona political establishment after SB 1070—why he has continued to be re-elected to office?
CARLOS GARCÍA: Sheriff Arpaio is running for the seventh time. He’s been in office for 24 years. It’s unexplainable. It’s not only our community he’s gone after, but, as you mentioned, has Tent City, has spent millions and millions of taxpayer money. We’ve had over 150 people die in his jails. His abuse, his racial profiling has been documented. And the Department of Justice, who’s now in charge of prosecuting this case, put out a report in 2009 that it’s the worst case of racial profiling abuse they had ever seen.
And so, in—here in Maricopa County, unfortunately, in Phoenix, we have two communities. We have a community of—a growing community of migrant peoples, and then a community of retired folks who really appreciate what Sheriff Arpaio is doing. And so, I think we’ve come to a place where that’s shifting. And hopefully, in—and in this growing movement, and specifically on October 27th—October 22nd, we’re going to have people from across the country join us in this historic election and, hopefully, finally get rid of Sheriff Arpaio. As the wheels of justice continue to turn as slow as they’ve been turning, it’s up to the people here in Maricopa County to make sure that Sheriff Arpaio is gone.
AMY GOODMAN: The case that could land him in jail, Ortega Melendres, that you were talking about, who is Ortega Melendres?
CARLOS GARCÍA: Ortega Melendres is a person that was actually here in Maricopa County on a tourist visa. And while Sheriff Arpaio was doing these crime-suppression patrols, they pulled someone over. It was actually citizen driver, and Ortega Melendres was sitting next to him, and that person was asked for their documents, booked. And like Ortega Melendres, there’s been thousands of people who have been racially profiled, detained unfairly, detained and put through this process. And now that a federal court has found Arpaio guilty of not only racially profiling, but then disobeying the order to stop.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: There was also—wasn’t there?—a major corruption scandal in Arpaio’s office that led to the dismissal of several of his key deputies. What happened with that?
CARLOS GARCÍA: I mean, it’s a long history. There’s been over 3,000 lawsuits that Arpaio has been under. His deputies have turned on him. Yesterday in court, some of his deputies and also his attorney were also in court, who were also facing criminal charges for following through with this.
But one thing I do want to note, that seeing Sheriff Arpaio, an older man, in jail or him being arrested is not the end game for us. I think what’s been the most harmful is the culture and policies that he’s brought not only to Arizona, but pushed across the country. And so, for us, it’s not only arresting Arpaio, but it’s arresting the unjust system that he’s brought forth and the fear and trauma he’s brought to our community.
AMY GOODMAN: We want to thank you so much, Carlos García, for rejoining us, executive director of Puente Arizona, a grassroots human rights movement for migrant justice. We will certainly follow this case, Ortega Melendres, et al. v. Arpaio, which could land the sheriff of Maricopa County in jail. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. ... Read More →Headlines:
Emails: Clinton State Dept. Prioritized "Friends of Bill" in 2010 Haiti Earthquake Contracts
Meanwhile, the death toll from Hurricane Matthew in the United States has risen to 34 people, as North Carolina is hit with widespread flooding that has submerged cars, forced the closure of major interstates and knocked out electricity for more than 280,000 homes and businesses. At least 2,000 people have been rescued from the floodwaters, some by helicopter. This comes as North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory has confirmed a North Carolina Highway Patrol officer shot and killed a man amid the flooding on Monday night. The victim’s identity has not been released.
In election news, the Republican Party is facing increasing turmoil, after Donald Trump, the party’s presidential nominee, declared war against the Republican Party establishment. On Tuesday, Trump tweeted: "It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to." In a second tweet, he wrote: "Disloyal R’s are far more difficult than Crooked Hillary. They come at you from all sides. They don’t know how to win–I will teach them!" Trump’s words came after Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan said he’d no longer campaign for Trump, following the release of a 2005 video in which Trump boasts about sexually assaulting women. This comes as Billy Bush is reportedly out at the "Today" show over his comments in the 2005 Donald Trump video. Billy Bush is the cousin of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and President George W. Bush. NBC suspended him after the video’s release.
This comes as a case alleging Donald Trump raped a 13-year-old child more than two decades ago has been refiled in a New York federal court. The victim, identified only as Jane Doe, is being represented by Florida criminal defense lawyer J. Cheney Mason, who rose to prominence after successfully defending Casey Anthony over charges of killing her daughter. The lawsuit alleges: "Trump tied plaintiff to a bed, exposed himself to plaintiff, and then proceeded to forcibly rape plaintiff. … Trump responded to plaintiff’s pleas by violently striking plaintiff in the face with his open hand and screaming that he would do whatever he wanted." The lawsuit alleges Trump raped her at a party hosted by billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who has been jailed on charges of soliciting sex from a minor. Trump’s lawyer has denied all the allegations, saying they are "not only categorically false, but disgusting."
In more news from the campaign trail, Al Gore appeared at a rally alongside Hillary Clinton in Miami Tuesday, where he talked about getting out the vote in Florida, evoking his own contested bid for presidency in 2000 against George W. Bush.
Nine climate activists were arrested Tuesday for attempting to shut down all tar sands oil coming into the United States by manually turning off pipelines in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Washington state. The group, which calls itself Climate Direct Action, said the action was in support of the call for International Days of Prayer and Action for Standing Rock. Pictures and videos of the action show them cutting chains and turning the manual safety valves to stop the flow of tar sands oil through the pipelines. We’ll go to Washington state for more on the action later in the broadcast.
In Afghanistan, at least 14 people have died and more than two dozen were injured after a shooting attack at a shrine outside Kabul Tuesday. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came on the holy day of Ashura. This is an eyewitness.
In financial news, former Wells Fargo whistleblowers are coming forward saying they reported the fraudulent creation of fake bank accounts to their supervisors and Wells Fargo’s internal ethics hotline as early as 2005, but that their reports were ignored, and some of them were fired for speaking out. Wells Fargo is currently facing a massive scandal over the creation of 2 million fake accounts, which employees opened in order to meet grueling sales targets. Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf has said he first became aware of the practice in 2013. But former Wells Fargo worker Julie Tishkoff says she reported the practice as early as 2005—the year Stumpf became the president of Wells Fargo. She says she complained for four years—until she was fired, in 2009. At least two workers reported the practices in letters written directly to Stumpf in 2011—two years before Stumpf claims he learned about the practice.
At Harvard University, hundreds of cafeteria workers are entering the second week of a strike to demand affordable healthcare and an average salary of $35,000 a year. Harvard’s endowment is over $35 billion. The campus newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, reports Harvard administrators have attempted to call on other workers to volunteer to work for free in the dining halls amid the ongoing strike.
The LGBT newspaper The Advocate is reporting the number of murders of transgender people in 2016 is officially the highest on record. At least 22 transgender people have been murdered so far this year. This figure does not include transgender people who have been murdered but whose deaths have not been reported, or who have been misgendered by local newspapers, meaning the real death toll is likely even higher. This comes after 30-year-old transgender woman Jazz Alford was found murdered in Birmingham, Alabama, in late September. Alford’s sister said, "Her death was a huge hit for the LGBT community."
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The Haitian government, local organizers and international aid organizations are continuing to provide emergency assistance in the wake of the devastating Category 4 Hurricane Matthew, which has killed more than 1,000 people, with the death toll expected to continue rising. The Haitian Health Ministry says at least 320 fatal cases of cholera have been reported since the storm. The World Health Organization says it’s sending a million doses of cholera vaccines to Haiti. The United States has announced it’s suspending deportations to Haiti in the wake of the hurricane. This comes as newly released emails show a top aide to then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave priority after the 2010 Haiti earthquake to aid contractors marked "FOB"—that’s "Friends of Bill Clinton"—or "WJC VIPs"—that’s "William Jefferson Clinton VIPs." One email from senior State Department official Caitlin Klevorick, who was coordinating incoming assistance offers being forwarded from the Clinton Foundation, read: "Need you to flag when people are friends of WJC. Most I can probably ID but not all."
Hurricane Matthew Death Toll Tops 30 in United States
Meanwhile, the death toll from Hurricane Matthew in the United States has risen to 34 people, as North Carolina is hit with widespread flooding that has submerged cars, forced the closure of major interstates and knocked out electricity for more than 280,000 homes and businesses. At least 2,000 people have been rescued from the floodwaters, some by helicopter. This comes as North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory has confirmed a North Carolina Highway Patrol officer shot and killed a man amid the flooding on Monday night. The victim’s identity has not been released.Trump Declares War on GOP: "The Shackles Have Been Taken Off"
In election news, the Republican Party is facing increasing turmoil, after Donald Trump, the party’s presidential nominee, declared war against the Republican Party establishment. On Tuesday, Trump tweeted: "It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to." In a second tweet, he wrote: "Disloyal R’s are far more difficult than Crooked Hillary. They come at you from all sides. They don’t know how to win–I will teach them!" Trump’s words came after Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan said he’d no longer campaign for Trump, following the release of a 2005 video in which Trump boasts about sexually assaulting women. This comes as Billy Bush is reportedly out at the "Today" show over his comments in the 2005 Donald Trump video. Billy Bush is the cousin of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and President George W. Bush. NBC suspended him after the video’s release.Lawsuit Alleging Trump Raped 13-Year-Old Child Refiled in NY
This comes as a case alleging Donald Trump raped a 13-year-old child more than two decades ago has been refiled in a New York federal court. The victim, identified only as Jane Doe, is being represented by Florida criminal defense lawyer J. Cheney Mason, who rose to prominence after successfully defending Casey Anthony over charges of killing her daughter. The lawsuit alleges: "Trump tied plaintiff to a bed, exposed himself to plaintiff, and then proceeded to forcibly rape plaintiff. … Trump responded to plaintiff’s pleas by violently striking plaintiff in the face with his open hand and screaming that he would do whatever he wanted." The lawsuit alleges Trump raped her at a party hosted by billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who has been jailed on charges of soliciting sex from a minor. Trump’s lawyer has denied all the allegations, saying they are "not only categorically false, but disgusting."Gore Campaigns for Clinton, Evoking His Own Contested Presidential Bid
In more news from the campaign trail, Al Gore appeared at a rally alongside Hillary Clinton in Miami Tuesday, where he talked about getting out the vote in Florida, evoking his own contested bid for presidency in 2000 against George W. Bush.Al Gore: "Here’s my point. Here’s my point. I don’t want you to be in a position years from now where you welcome Hillary Clinton and say, 'Actually, you did win. It just—it just wasn't close enough to make sure that all the votes were counted,’ or whatever. Elections have consequences."
Al Gore spoke about climate change in his speech.
9 Activists Arrested After Cutting Off Flow of Tar Sands Oil
Nine climate activists were arrested Tuesday for attempting to shut down all tar sands oil coming into the United States by manually turning off pipelines in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Washington state. The group, which calls itself Climate Direct Action, said the action was in support of the call for International Days of Prayer and Action for Standing Rock. Pictures and videos of the action show them cutting chains and turning the manual safety valves to stop the flow of tar sands oil through the pipelines. We’ll go to Washington state for more on the action later in the broadcast.Iraq: 2 Kurdish Fighters Die After ISIS Drone Explodes
In Iraq, two Kurdish fighters have died after an ISIS drone exploded—marking what’s believed to be the first time an ISIS drone attack has killed troops. ISIS already uses surveillance drones and has launched at least two previous drone attacks without any reported fatalities. U.S. military officials are now warning ISIS might successfully use drones against U.S.-led coalition forces in the upcoming battle for control of Mosul.
Afghanistan: 14 Die in Attack at Shrine Outside Kabul
In Afghanistan, at least 14 people have died and more than two dozen were injured after a shooting attack at a shrine outside Kabul Tuesday. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came on the holy day of Ashura. This is an eyewitness.Jamshid Jan: "I was at the site of the attack and saw around 10 people. Four of them were already martyred, and the rest were wounded. They all were taken to nearby hospitals. Also, the attackers were dressed in police uniforms."
This comes as the Taliban seized control of a strategic district on the border with Turkmenistan Tuesday. A July report issued by a U.S. government watchdog says the Taliban now controls more territory across Afghanistan than at any point since 2001.
Wells Fargo Whistleblowers Reported Fake Bank Accounts in 2005
In financial news, former Wells Fargo whistleblowers are coming forward saying they reported the fraudulent creation of fake bank accounts to their supervisors and Wells Fargo’s internal ethics hotline as early as 2005, but that their reports were ignored, and some of them were fired for speaking out. Wells Fargo is currently facing a massive scandal over the creation of 2 million fake accounts, which employees opened in order to meet grueling sales targets. Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf has said he first became aware of the practice in 2013. But former Wells Fargo worker Julie Tishkoff says she reported the practice as early as 2005—the year Stumpf became the president of Wells Fargo. She says she complained for four years—until she was fired, in 2009. At least two workers reported the practices in letters written directly to Stumpf in 2011—two years before Stumpf claims he learned about the practice.Harvard: Cafeteria Workers Continue Strike into Second Week
At Harvard University, hundreds of cafeteria workers are entering the second week of a strike to demand affordable healthcare and an average salary of $35,000 a year. Harvard’s endowment is over $35 billion. The campus newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, reports Harvard administrators have attempted to call on other workers to volunteer to work for free in the dining halls amid the ongoing strike.The Advocate: 2016 Deadliest Year on Record for Transgender People
The LGBT newspaper The Advocate is reporting the number of murders of transgender people in 2016 is officially the highest on record. At least 22 transgender people have been murdered so far this year. This figure does not include transgender people who have been murdered but whose deaths have not been reported, or who have been misgendered by local newspapers, meaning the real death toll is likely even higher. This comes after 30-year-old transgender woman Jazz Alford was found murdered in Birmingham, Alabama, in late September. Alford’s sister said, "Her death was a huge hit for the LGBT community."Sheriff Joe Arpaio Faces Jail Time for Criminal Contempt of Court
And in Arizona, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is facing the possibility of jail time, after federal prosecutors announced they are charging Arpaio for criminal contempt of court over his refusal to end unconstitutional immigration patrols in Arizona. Arpaio has long been under fire for his immigration policies, which have included racial profiling and detaining immigrants in a scorching outdoor Tent City jail, which Arpaio once referred to as his own "concentration camp." Arpaio has also been a key supporter of Donald Trump, appearing at rallies alongside the Republican presidential nominee, where he’s joked that both he and Trump have been key members in the "birther" movement, which refuses to acknowledge President Obama was born in the United States. Trump and Arpaio also share a birthday: June 14. Arpaio now faces up to six months in jail if he’s convicted on contempt of court charges. Activists are also organizing for him to be voted out of office in this November’s election. We’ll go to Phoenix for more on Arpaio later in the broadcast.
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Soraya Chemaly: Trump Tape May Be Shocking, But So is Broader GOP Agenda Toward Women
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Democracy Now!: Twenty Years Covering the Movements Changing America
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Rashid Khalidi on the Global Issues Being Ignored by Clinton & Trump from Afghan War to Palestine
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