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Did #DAPL Security Worker Wielding an AR-15 Rifle Try to Infiltrate Native Water Protectors?
On Friday, Amnesty International dispatched human rights observers to North Dakota to monitor the ongoing repression of the thousands of Native Americans resisting the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline. Amnesty’s move came one day after hundreds of police with military equipment arrested over 140 people, after attacking them with pepper spray, Tasers, sound cannons, bean bag rounds and rubber bullets. More details are emerging from Thursday, including video footage of a man who appears to be a Dakota Access security contractor holding a rifle, with his face covered by a bandana, apparently attempting to infiltrate a group of water protectors. A Standing Rock Sioux tribal member says he saw the man driving down Highway 1806 toward the main resistance camp with an AR-15 rifle on the passenger side of his truck. Protectors chased down his truck and then pursued him on foot in efforts to disarm him. In the video, the man can be seen pointing the rifle at the protectors as he attempts to flee into the water. He was ultimately arrested by Bureau of Indian Affairs police. Protectors say inside the man’s truck they found a DAPL security ID card and insurance papers listing his vehicle as insured by DAPL. For more, we speak with Dallas Goldtooth, organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, as we turn to the ongoing standoff at Standing Rock in North Dakota, where on Friday Amnesty International dispatched human rights observers to monitor the ongoing repression of thousands of resisting—thousands who are resisting the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline. Amnesty’s move came one day after hundreds of police with military equipment arrested over 140 people after attacking them with pepper spray, Tasers, sound cannons, bean bag rounds and rubber bullets. Native American water protectors who were arrested Thursday say police divided them up and sent them to remote jails around the state, where some of them had numbers written on their arms and were housed in what appeared to be dog kennels, without bedding or furniture, sometimes for days.
This comes as more details are emerging from Thursday, including video footage of a man who appears to be a Dakota Access security contractor holding a rifle, with his face covered by a bandana, apparently attempting to infiltrate a group of water protectors. A Standing Rock Sioux tribal member says he saw the man driving down Highway 1806 toward the main resistance camp with an AR-15 rifle on the passenger side of his truck. Protectors chased down his truck and then pursued him on foot in efforts to disarm him. In the video, the man can be seen pointing the rifle at the protectors as he attempts to flee into the water. He was ultimately arrested by Bureau of Indian Affairs police. Protectors said inside the man’s truck they found a DAPL security ID card and insurance papers listing his vehicle as insured by DAPL. That’s the Dakota Access pipeline.
Meanwhile, overnight on Saturday, water protectors reported a brush fire near their main resistance camp. They say they called 911, but no emergency teams responded. They also say the surveillance planes and helicopters, which have been flying almost constantly over the region in recent weeks, stopped flying about two hours before the fire was lit. Protectors believe the fire was intentionally lit by people working for the pipeline.
For more, we go to Dallas Goldtooth, organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network, who was there through these last few days.
Dallas, thanks for joining us. Let’s first go to this just shocking video of a Dakota Access pipeline guard, who’s got a bandana on his face, who’s got a rifle in his hands. Explain what this is all about.
DALLAS GOLDTOOTH: Thanks for having me on, Amy.
That moment, I was there when that—when this gunman, you know, was cornered into the middle of this pond nearby. And it was a very terrifying moment for a lot of us watching, I mean, to see this man pulling an assault rifle at our water protectors. And I think that—many blessings and gratitude to some of the military veterans within our security from within our Oceti Sakowin camp, who stepped up to negotiate and to de-escalate this man, to really talk to him to make sure that he did not hurt anybody, until the Bureau of Indian Affairs police officers could show up.
You know, your description is accurate. Individuals, our security teams on the ground noticed this man driving erratically, driving at high speeds through a crowded street—through the crowded highway. And they did their very best to incapacitate the vehicle and did their very best to de-escalate the situation, which they were successful in doing.
AMY GOODMAN: Explain—
DALLAS GOLDTOOTH: I think that—
AMY GOODMAN: Explain who you understand he is.
DALLAS GOLDTOOTH: I mean, it’s pretty straightforward. I mean, we found three—two documents that listed him as a Dakota Access worker. And he, himself, as I’ve understood, to even our security, stated that he worked for Dakota Access. And so, it was pretty straightforward. And I think that he’s a security contractor that has been hired by Dakota Access to guard its equipment, from what I believe, or at least to protect, you know, the workers or whatever it may be.
I think that it’s pretty terrifying to know that there—that Dakota Access has infiltrators within our camp, is paying for individuals like this, armed individuals, to create situations of escalation, potentially creating very, very dangerous situations by—you know, we don’t know what his intention could have been. He could have, you know, fired upon police, creating a situation where the police think it’s coming from our protectors when it’s not. I mean, it goes hand in hand with this series of mysterious situations that really paints—creates a situation where we have to feel suspicious about what Dakota Access’s intentions are. And it just clearly paints that Dakota Access has no regard for common decency or any kind of corporate responsibility. And it’s really surprising that people are still invested in this company.
AMY GOODMAN: Has Dakota Access pipeline responded to this video?
DALLAS GOLDTOOTH: From what I understand, the initial response from Dakota Access is that they state that this individual does not work for Dakota Access, even though he had clear identification as a Dakota Access worker.
AMY GOODMAN: I mean, it said—you see the ID. It says Kyle Thompson. Is that right?
DALLAS GOLDTOOTH: Yes, yes. His name is on it. The insurance found in the truck is—belongs to Dakota Access. You know, he has an ID card with DAPL written on it. I mean, how much more evidence do you need?
AMY GOODMAN: Right. And did he say what his intentions were, as people surrounded him, as the police, the Bureau of Indian Affairs police, arrested him?
DALLAS GOLDTOOTH: There’s a variety of accounts, but it was—from what I understood, that was told to me, that he was tasked with also identifying and being within the crowd, watching internally with the crowd, and that there was some suggestion that he might—he might have been tasked with instigating some sort of violence from within the crowd and to garner a reaction from law enforcement. I mean, that’s just what I’ve heard from different folks that were talking with him in that moment to de-escalate the situation.... Read More →
Bundys vs. #NoDAPL: Armed White Militia Leaders Walk Free as Native Americans Face Police Violence
A federal jury in Oregon on Thursday acquitted antigovernment militia leaders Ammon and Ryan Bundy, and five of their followers, of conspiracy and weapons charges related to their armed takeover of a federal wildlife refuge earlier this year. The stunning verdict shocked federal prosecutors, who called the 41-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge a lawless scheme to seize federal property by force. The occupation forced federal employees onto administrative leave, cost the federal government over $4 million and alarmed local residents. It also angered the Paiute Tribe, which has treaty rights to the land the militia occupied. The tribe says militia members mishandled tribal artifacts and bulldozed sacred sites. Militia leaders Ammon and Ryan Bundy still face federal charges related to an armed standoff in Nevada in 2014. Joining us to discuss the Bundy verdict in light of the ongoing protests in North Dakota are Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, and Steve Russell, a retired judge and professor, citizen of the Cherokee Nation. His latest piece for Indian Country Today Media Network is "Malheur v. DAPL: Jury Nullification or Prosecutor Overreach?"
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: A federal jury in Oregon Thursday acquitted antigovernment militia leaders Ammon and Ryan Bundy, and five of their followers, of conspiracy and weapons charges related to their armed takeover of a federal wildlife refuge earlier this year. The stunning verdict shocked federal prosecutors, who called the 41-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge a lawless scheme to seize federal property by force. This is the Bundys’ attorney Matt Schindler, followed by one of the defendants, Neil Wampler.
MATTHEW SCHINDLER: It was a very powerful thing to have individuals with nothing come and fight the federal government in this building, rely on nothing more than the truth, and prevail.
NEIL WAMPLER: We simply have to keep on trucking here and build on the tremendous victory that has occurred here today for our rights and for rural America.
AMY GOODMAN: The occupation forced federal employees onto administrative leave, cost the federal government over $4 million, alarmed local residents. It also angered the Paiute Tribe, which has treaty rights to the land the militia occupied. The tribe says militia members mishandled tribal artifacts, bulldozed sacred sites. Militia leaders Ammon and Ryan Bundy still face federal charges related to an armed standoff in Nevada in 2014.
Joining us now to discuss the Bundy verdict in light of the ongoing protests in North Dakota, how the two were handled so differently, are Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity—he is joining us from Tucson—and Steve Russell, a retired judge and professor, and citizen of the Cherokee Nation. His latest piece for Indian Country Today Media Network is "Malheur v. DAPL: Jury Nullification or Prosecutor Overreach?"
We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Steve Russell, let’s go first to you in Austin. Talk about what’s happened in this verdict, the acquittal of the Bundy brothers, and what’s happening in North Dakota, why you wrote about them together.
STEVE RUSSELL: Well, I think you, of all people, who might have wound up being a defendant, would understand that the water protectors maybe headed in the same direction. They may have to ask a jury to do justice—that is, to go past the law and do the right thing. That’s what we call jury nullification. You can find many legal scholars who have a lot of scorn for that, but it exists, and it has to do with things other than all-white juries turning the Klan loose after they’ve killed somebody.
AMY GOODMAN: What was your reaction to the acquittal of the Bundy brothers?
STEVE RUSSELL: Well, it appeared to me that most of the elements of the crime were on video. I’m down here in Texas. All I know is what I saw. But I don’t know what the jury saw. And since I’m a judge, I’m really reluctant to criticize a jury verdict without having sat there and watched the evidence. I can imagine a poor presentation of the case, but I can’t assume there was a poor presentation. It could have been the jury having their little sagebrush rebellion, or it could have been a poor presentation. I can’t tell.
AMY GOODMAN: I mean, in this case, in the case of what took place in Oregon, there’s no question of the—this was an armed militia. They proudly displayed their weapons.
STEVE RUSSELL: Absolutely.
AMY GOODMAN: Compare it to North Dakota.
STEVE RUSSELL: Well, in North Dakota, the Standing Rock people are saying, "Please come, please help us, but leave your weapons at home." We’ve been through this before. We went through this with what we call Wounded Knee II, where there were actions taken to try to defend tribal lands, but they were violent actions, and that didn’t work out too well. And speaking of which, I keep thinking back to Wounded Knee I, the last great massacre of the Indian Wars in 1890. Those people were coming from Standing Rock. And here we are. It just blows my mind.
AMY GOODMAN: Kieran Suckling, you were in Oregon at the time. You went to the standoff. You’re with the Center for Biological Diversity in Arizona. Talk about what you saw in Oregon and your reaction to the acquittal.
KIERAN SUCKLING: Yeah, I went up to the occupied site while the militia was there to counterprotest them. And it was an extraordinary scene—you know, 50, 60 armed men running around with assault rifles, like blatant racism wherever you would go, you know, threats to kill the feds, threats to kill myself and other protesters who were there. It was a very, very belligerent, violent group.
So, when the verdict came down and they were acquitted of all crimes, I was—I was shocked. I was—I was devastated. And it really made me afraid for our public land managers throughout this country, who now are going to be threatened more by these militia forces, emboldened by this verdict.
AMY GOODMAN: Why do you think they were acquitted, Kieran?
KIERAN SUCKLING: I think it was a jury nullification. I think that the prosecutor had a difficult time convincing the jury that these were armed, dangerous people, when the FBI had allowed them free rein to come and go from the compound for 41 days, to travel interstate, to get mail delivery, to get food delivery. And surely, the jury was like, "Well, I don’t understand. The FBI treated them like royalty, and now you’re telling me that they’re armed criminals." I think that led the jury to just say, "We don’t care whether they’re guilty or not."
AMY GOODMAN: Kieran, talk about—
KIERAN SUCKLING: Even presented as nice white Christians.
AMY GOODMAN: Talk about your relationship with the Bundys and the work you’ve done for nearly two decades in Nevada, in Utah and now Oregon.
KIERAN SUCKLING: Yeah, I mean, this whole battle started in 2014 when the Bundy clan had a different armed standoff with the BLM over cattle grazing down there. And we were fighting the Bundys over that, because they had refused to pay their grazing fees, they were damaging Native American sites. And so, having, in their mind, succeeded in holding off the feds with guns there, they then proceeded to go to Utah, to a place called Recapture Canyon, and go in there with guns. This is a very sacred Native American site, that was closed down, car access, to protect it. And the Bundys went in there and tried to create an armed standoff. They failed to incite the government there, so then they moved on to Oregon. I mean, this is a group of armed men seeking revolutionary standoffs with the federal government, going from state to state to state.
AMY GOODMAN: And compare how they’re dealt with by the government, by the police, by the FBI, with how the Native Americans are dealt with at Standing Rock. We’ve seen the images—
KIERAN SUCKLING: Well—
AMY GOODMAN: —of the armored personnel carrier, of the LRAD, the sound cannons, military equipment, a fully armed riot police squad that are the sheriff’s deputies, that are called in from all over to deal with these Native Americans and their allies who are fighting this pipeline.
KIERAN SUCKLING: Yeah, I mean, the difference is incredible. I mean, these men, in 2014, had an armed standoff with federal agents, pointed rifles at them, and then were allowed, free, for two years, to go and promote other armed standoffs. They get to Oregon, and they were allowed, for 41 days, to come and go for that compound. They weren’t stopped. Their water was supplied. The mail line was kept open. The electricity was kept open. They could travel interstate to promote more insurrection. It’s just incredible to see what happens if you’re white and you’re associated with ranching, how you can do what you want, whereas peaceful Native American protesters are just brutalized immediately by the police.
AMY GOODMAN: Finally, what message do you think this sends in Oregon? What are your concerns right now, Kieran, and why this is so important to you, why you’ve gotten involved with this issue for these decades?
KIERAN SUCKLING: Well, the message is loud and clear that armed men with guns are going to be allowed to go and take the public land that belongs to all Americans. They’re going to be allowed to go and destroy Native American sacred sites with impunity. And this verdict is essentially open season on our public lands, on the people that go and manage those public lands. And it’s created a very dangerous, volatile and, I think, fundamentally racist situation.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Kieran Suckling, I want to thank you for being with us, from the Center for Biological Diversity, speaking to us from Tucson, Arizona, and Steve Russell, retired judge and professor, citizen of the Cherokee Nation, speaking to us from Austin, Texas.
To see our interview on what’s happening right now in Morocco, a nation that’s risen up over the killing of a fish seller this weekend, you can go to democracynow.org.
Standing Rock: Dallas Goldtooth on Suspicious Fire Near Resistance Camp & Repression of Movement
Overnight on Saturday in North Dakota, Native Americans resisting the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline reported a brush fire near their main resistance camp. They say they called 911, but no emergency teams responded. They also say the surveillance planes and helicopters, which have been flying almost constantly over the region in recent weeks, stopped flying about two hours before the fire began. Protectors believe the fire was intentionally lit by people working for Dakota Access. For more, we speak with Dallas Goldtooth, organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Now, if you could talk about the fire that was set, where did it happen and what you understand was its origin?
DALLAS GOLDTOOTH: No, this happened last night. This was a—or two nights ago. It was just to the immediate west of the Oceti Sakowin camp across Highway 1806. There was some mysterious incident of a vehicle that came out of nowhere, that was almost acting as a distraction, was making a—spinning doughnuts in the middle of the road, and then it sped off to the south. And immediately after that, flames were seen on top of the hill to the west. There was a lot of—there’s documented footage that what appears to be a drip line, which is a—from what I understand, is a technique used in firefighting. I mean, it was very, very clear that that brush fire that happened was an act of arson by unknown individuals. But given the recent events with the Dakota Access worker, given the escalation of law enforcement, that, you know, a lot of fingers are pointing towards Dakota Access that—as being a culprit behind this late fire. And thank God that the wind was pushing away from the camp. The fire spread pretty large.
And the thing that’s most disturbing to me is this, Amy, is that when—on October 27th, when the police attacked our peaceful protectors at the frontline treaty camp, the excuse they used to move upon that camp was so that they could clear a barricade that we set up, a temporary barricade that we set up, so that emergency services could be delivered to the Oceti Sakowin camp, our main camp. Now, their reason for moving on, using rubber bullets and pepper spray and concussion grenades upon our water protectors was so that they could deliver—have access to deliver emergency services, ambulances and fire equipment, if needed, to the main camp. So, why is it that a number of days later, when a fire actually does happen, they refuse—the Morton County Sheriff ignores the calls and pleas for help and does not send any ambulances or fire trucks to the place that they stated that they need to get to? Why is it that there was no delivery of any kind of services until six hours later by the National Guard, who brought in a helicopter to drop water on a fire that had at that point already been put out? Why is it that Bureau of Indian Affairs officers, who were on site with medical emergency service, with firefighting equipment, who were not allowed to combat that fire without explicit permission from Morton County, they never received that permission? They asked. Morton County never gave them the permission to fight that fire. They just let it burn. I mean, there’s—it’s obvious collusion between Morton County and the Dakota Access pipeline. And that collusion is causing a very, very dangerous situation for our water protectors and for the main camp, that houses women, children, elders and just people that care and love for the land and are there for one sole purpose: to protect the water.
AMY GOODMAN: Dallas, we got word that a horse had to be put down after being shot with rubber bullets by police. Is this true?
DALLAS GOLDTOOTH: This is true. When the police moved ahead to clear out the frontline camp to the far east, a number of our warriors, our horseback riders—actually, it was a really beautiful moment, is—we had a wall of police, backed by armored personnel carriers, and there was Humvees up on the hill with snipers on top of them aimed at our water protectors. And we were being pushed back, and batons are being swung, cracking over the heads and arms of our water protectors. And then we looked to the east, and over the hills to the east comes a herd of a couple hundred buffalo, bison, roaming, like stampeding towards the police line. And it was like a beautiful moment, because people saw this herd of buffalo, and this like cheer came up from the crowd, because it was like this—like almost like that our—that we were—our fight was being recognized by the four-legged nation of the bison. And immediately behind them came some horseback riders, some young riders, men and women, who were actually guiding these buffalo towards the police line in an act of resistance and defiance.
The police immediately responded by using—flying a helicopter extremely low. They were like flying like 30 feet off the ground to scare the buffalo off. And then they deployed ATVs to attack the horseback riders. They were shot with rubber bullets. They were shot—there was concussion grenades that were fired at the horseback riders. One of the horseback riders was pulled off their horse. And sadly, one horse was injured so badly by the police that it had to be put down. And so, we—those horseback riders have since been honored and have been given war deeds and recognized as warriors and have been given honors as warriors because of the deeds that they did that day.
AMY GOODMAN: Dallas, before you go, can you give us the overall context of why—what happened on Thursday and Friday, why the escalated police presence, the roadblocks, the MRAP, the LRAD, you know, the sound cannons, the armored vehicles? What is taking place now? Where is the building of the pipeline happening? And has, as the Standing Rock Sioux tribal chair, Dave Archambault, said on Democracy Now! Friday—has the—asked, called for the Justice Department to intervene to stop the pipeline from moving forward?
DALLAS GOLDTOOTH: We haven’t heard any response from the Department of Justice to intervene to protect our civil rights on the ground as water protectors. There’s been silence on that end.
And right now, we’re in a dire situation, Amy. Like, the pipeline is literally within miles of the Missouri River. I mean, they can’t—at this point, cannot cross the Missouri River. But we need to do everything in our power to keep it from getting to that place. And so, in that—with that at heart, we had established a frontline camp, a treaty camp, right on the Dakota Access easement, on Dakota Access—what they call their own land, but really is our land as Oceti Sakowin people. We enacted a form of eminent domain, claiming the land back for ourselves as Oceti Sakowin folks. And we set up a beautiful encampment on that piece of property, which severely threatened Dakota Access, and, obviously, Morton County sheriff, for their intents to build this pipeline. And so they came in with a large force. And you described, you know, a lot of the equipment that was there. And it was terrifying. I mean, we had elders, women and children who were put at severe risk because of the actions of law enforcement.
A lot of folks know the Ponca leader Casey Camp. She stood in defiance, in peaceful prayer, in front of an armored personnel carrier, because she loved the land and wanted to protect the Missouri River, not just for the Standing Rock Sioux Nation, but for all nations and all people and the millions of people who depend on the Missouri River for drinking water. So this movement is not founded out of hate for the police officers or for the workers themselves, but out of love for the land and for all of us as human beings. That’s why we’re there. That’s not—our enemy is not the worker. Our enemy is not the police. It’s the corporations that are hell-bent on poisoning Mother Earth and disconnecting ourselves even further from the sacred integrity of the land and the water.
AMY GOODMAN: Dallas Goldtooth, I want to thank you for being with us. What nation, what tribe are you with?
DALLAS GOLDTOOTH: I’m Mdewakantonwan Dakota and Dine. I grew up in Minnesota, but I have family, relatives, from the Hunkpapa people, which is where the Standing Rock Sioux Nation is currently residing.
AMY GOODMAN: And an organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network. Thanks so much for joining us, Dallas Goldtooth.
DALLAS GOLDTOOTH: Thank you, Amy. Thank you very much.
The October Surprise: Michael Isikoff on the FBI's Clinton Email Investigation That Could Jolt Race
The race for the White House was jolted on Friday when FBI Director James Comey notified congressional leaders that the agency had discovered more emails as part of its probe into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email system. The emails were discovered as part of an investigation into former Congressmember Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin. Abedin reportedly stored hundreds of thousands of emails on Weiner’s computer, which was seized by the FBI after Weiner allegedly sent illicit text messages to a 15-year-old girl. Comey notified Congress before the FBI had even obtained a warrant to look at Abedin’s email. A warrant was reportedly issued over the weekend. On the campaign trail, Donald Trump welcomed Comey’s announcement, which came just 11 days before Election Day. Hillary Clinton is not alone in criticizing James Comey’s actions. A bipartisan group of former federal prosecutors signed an open letter, writing, "Many of us have worked with Director Comey; all of us respect him. But his unprecedented decision to publicly comment on evidence in what may be an ongoing inquiry just eleven days before a presidential election leaves us both astonished and perplexed."
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: The race for the White House was jolted Friday when FBI Director James Comey notified congressional leaders that the agency had discovered more emails as part of its probe into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. The emails were discovered as part of an investigation into former Congressman Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin. Abedin reportedly stored hundreds of thousands of emails on Weiner’s computer, which was seized by the FBI after Weiner allegedly sent illicit text messages to a 15-year-old girl. Comey notified Congress before the FBI had even obtained a warrant to look at Abedin’s email. A warrant was reportedly issued on Sunday night.
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump welcomed Comey’s announcement, which came just 11 days before Election Day.
DONALD TRUMP: Hillary Clinton’s corruption is on a scale we have never [seen before]. We must not let her take her criminal scheme into the Oval Office. I have great respect for the fact that the FBI and the Department of Justice are now willing to have the courage to right the horrible mistake that they made. This was a grave miscarriage of justice that the American people fully understood, and it is everybody’s hope that it is about to be corrected. ... The news this morning is—this is bigger than Watergate.
AMY GOODMAN: Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton addressed the FBI’s actions over the weekend.
HILLARY CLINTON: It’s pretty strange to put something like that out with such little information right before an election. In fact—in fact, it’s not just strange, it’s unprecedented. And it is deeply troubling, because voters deserve to get full and complete facts. And so, we’ve called on Director Comey to explain everything right away, put it all out on the table, right?
AMY GOODMAN: Hillary Clinton is not alone in criticizing FBI Director Comey’s actions. A bipartisan group of former federal prosecutors signed an open letter, writing, quote, "Many of us have worked with Director Comey; all of us respect him. But his unprecedented decision to publicly comment on evidence in what may be an ongoing inquiry just eleven days before a presidential election leaves us both astonished and perplexed," they wrote.
The criticism of the FBI director has come from both Democrats and Republicans. Richard Painter, the former chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, filed a complaint against the FBI for possibly violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits employees of the executive branch from engaging in political activity. Painter wrote in The New York Times, quote, "I never thought that the F.B.I. could be dragged into a political circus surrounding one of its investigations. Until this week," he wrote. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid also suggested Comey may have broken the Hatch Act. Meanwhile, former Attorney General Eric Holder said Comey’s actions violated long-standing Justice Department policies and tradition on the proper way to conduct investigations during an election season.
To talk more about the news, we’re joined by Michael Isikoff, chief investigative correspondent for Yahoo News. He’s joining us from Washington, D.C.
So, Michael, you broke the story on Friday—on Saturday—Friday—that FBI Director Comey, when he wrote his bombshell letter to Congress Friday about the newly discovered emails, the agents had not been able to review any of the material because they didn’t have a warrant. Explain the significance of what has transpired over the last few days.
MICHAEL ISIKOFF: Well, it is an extraordinary set of circumstances here. And, you know, obviously, when Director Comey wrote that bombshell letter on Friday, it raised all sorts of expectations. You had Donald Trump talking about how this was bigger than Watergate, and members of Congress saying that the FBI was reopening its investigation into the Hillary Clinton email server.
But when you put this under scrutiny, it was quickly apparent, and even reading closely what Director Comey said, not just in his letter to Congress, but then what he later said that night in his letter to—email message to all FBI agents seeking to explain his decision, he made it clear that after being briefed about the discovery of Abedin emails on the Anthony Weiner laptop, that had been seized in the course of the child pornography investigation, that those emails were not—the FBI agents had been unable to read them. They didn’t have legal authority to read those emails, so they really didn’t know the content of the emails. What Director Comey said in that letter to FBI agents is he decided to grant them permission to seek access to those emails. And that was the tipoff. They hadn’t reviewed the emails, so they don’t know—the FBI, as we speak, does not know whether those emails are duplicates of what they’ve already seen, whether they have any relevance to the Clinton email investigation, whether they contain classified information. They may, and this may turn out to be a treasure trove, for all we know. But based on what the FBI knows at this point—they just got the search warrant last night—they have no idea of the content of the emails. They can see that these were emails forwarded from—by Huma Abedin at the State Department to an account. It might be—have been a personal Yahoo account, or it might have been her Clinton email server account that she had access to on this laptop she shared—apparently shared with her husband. But what was in those emails, we don’t know.
AMY GOODMAN: Now, the FBI agents who see this trove of emails, reportedly something like 650,000 emails—is that right?
MICHAEL ISIKOFF: That’s 650,000 emails that were on the computer. Most of those were Anthony Weiner’s emails. Some portion of them, in the thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, were Abedin emails.
AMY GOODMAN: So, these email—do you think they actually didn’t look at them? I mean, I understand they didn’t have an arrest warrant, but—
MICHAEL ISIKOFF: Search warrant.
AMY GOODMAN: A search—sorry, a search warrant. But do you think they looked at them? I mean, they were right there.
MICHAEL ISIKOFF: Well, they would have been able to see the metadata. They could have seen—they apparently saw that they were from the State Department. Huma Abedin, when she was questioned by the FBI as part of that Clinton email investigation back in—she was questioned back in April—she said she routinely forwarded State Department emails that she got on her StateDepartment.gov account to either her personal Yahoo account or her Clinton email server account, she said, to print them out. She said she had difficulty printing StateDepartment.gov emails out, so she would forward them to these—to her personal accounts on those two—at those two addresses. So, I think that we can surmise that is probably the universe of what we’re talking about: State Department emails that she forwarded to those two accounts. What was in them, we don’t know.
I should say that in her Judicial Watch testimony—Judicial Watch has sued Clinton over failure—and the State Department, over failure to adhere to Freedom of Information Act requests. She was deposed in that. She said that the emails she forwarded to her Yahoo account were State Department press clips. Now, if she was truthful in that, we may—the FBI may be looking at a lot of State Department press clips. Or it may be looking at more than that. But I think the important point is that Director Comey didn’t know, when he wrote that letter, and his own agents didn’t know. They could see that they were forwarded from the State Department, but they could not—they didn’t have legal authority to review the content of those emails.
AMY GOODMAN: And so, Michael, talk about the significance of that. When FBIDirector Comey released that letter on Friday, he reportedly was briefed about even the existence of these emails just on Thursday.
MICHAEL ISIKOFF: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: Talk about what you understand happened within the Justice Department.
MICHAEL ISIKOFF: Well, look, there’s clearly enormous tensions within the FBI and between the FBI and the Justice Department over this. There are agents who are clearly not happy with Director Comey’s decision not to recommend criminal prosecution of Hillary Clinton originally. Many of them have made that clear through friends in the media, through former FBI agents who appear regularly on Fox News and other conservative news outlets. That’s part of Comey’s constituency, and I think it probably informs his decision-making process.
At some point after FBI agents investigating the Weiner matter in late September seized the laptop, they discovered these emails were on them. There is some question about how quickly Comey was informed about this. There are reports just in the last day or so that actually the FBI agents were aware of the existence of these Abedin emails for some weeks. Comey only learns about it on Thursday, and he suddenly feels like he’s got a real dilemma on his hands, because he’s told Congress the Clinton matter has been closed, he’s told Congress if there’s new information he’ll look at it, and suddenly on Thursday he’s told there is this potential new information out there. He felt an obligation to inform Congress, based on his testimony and, I think we can also surmise, based on the internal criticism he had gotten for not being more aggressive in the first place on this. So he was sort of dealing with those—you know, that is almost certainly what was on his mind.
He informs the Justice Department he’s going to write this letter, and the Justice Department says, "Wait a second. We’re in the closing days of an election. We have firm policies against taking investigative steps or making public announcements that might influence the outcome of an election in the closing days." And Director Comey chose to ignore that guidance from the Justice Department. The senior Justice Department officials informed the FBI of this. Loretta Lynch, the attorney general, did not directly speak to Comey about it. I think there was also a concern on the Justice Department’s part that if they ordered Comey not to send the letter, that that would look like they were covering up or concealing or protecting Hillary Clinton. They didn’t want to be put in that position. And so, as a result, we have this really extraordinary mess on our hands.
AMY GOODMAN: You have FBI, it sounds like, and the Justice Department in disarray. In headlines, we just reported on the Eric Garner investigation and how the Justice Department has just removed all the FBI agents and lawyers involved in the investigation into Daniel Pantaleo and the officers who were involved in the death of Eric Garner in Staten Island.
MICHAEL ISIKOFF: Right, right.
AMY GOODMAN: And they were just let off—they were just removed last week.
MICHAEL ISIKOFF: Right. Look, it is not unusual for there to be disagreements between FBI agents and federal prosecutors and federal prosecutors in the field and main Justice Department officials. Let’s remember, you know, senior Justice Department officials are political appointees. They have agendas. FBI agents have their own perspectives. So, these sorts of internal disagreements are not—certainly not unprecedented. What is unprecedented is to have this spill out in the closing days of an election, particularly as it relates to an investigation or a closed investigation or matter affecting one of the presidential candidates. That’s what’s really unprecedented.
AMY GOODMAN: We have 30 seconds, Michael. What is your prediction of what happens next? The FBI has clearly said it will not have any conclusions before the election.
MICHAEL ISIKOFF: There’s no way they can have conclusions before the election. I wouldn’t be surprised, however, given the amount of tension this has concerned, if Director Comey doesn’t find some way to address the criticism he’s getting right now—it’s pretty withering—and may try to explain his decision-making process a little better. Whether it will satisfy anybody is anybody’s guess at this point.
AMY GOODMAN: And finally, it is quite something—what you reported in Yahoo News is that Abedin, when you looked back at her testimony in April, she referred to this other computer. Why wasn’t it taken at the time?
MICHAEL ISIKOFF: That is a very good question. She referred to the fact that she was sharing emails among her accounts, and the logical follow-up would have been on what devices were those accounts accessible. And it’s not clear that the FBIagents did that, followed up. And, you know, perhaps if they had, they might have learned back then about the existence of these emails and could have—and could have searched them at the time.
AMY GOODMAN: Michael Isikoff, chief investigative correspondent for Yahoo News, his new piece, which we will link to, "Exclusive: FBI still does not have warrant to review new Abedin emails linked to Clinton probe." It got that warrant on Sunday, and we will continue, of course, to follow this story.
Headlines:
FBI Reopens Investigation into Hillary Clinton Emails, Shaking Up Election
The race for the White House was jolted on Friday when FBI Director James Comey notified congressional leaders that the agency was investigating more emails as part of its probe into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email system. The emails were discovered as part of a probe into former Congressmember Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin. Abedin reportedly stored hundreds of thousands of emails on Weiner’s computer, which was seized by the FBI after Weiner allegedly sent illicit text messages to a 15-year-old girl. Comey notified Congress before the FBI even obtained a warrant to look at Abedin’s email. A warrant was reportedly issued over the weekend. On the campaign trail, Donald Trump welcomed Comey’s announcement.
Clinton’s troubles came as WikiLeaks made public more hacked emails from the account of campaign chair John Podesta. In one email, campaign manager Robby Mook urged his staff to attack National Nurses United, which endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination, as "fringe" and "not a real union." NNU in fact represents 185,000 members and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. In response, NNU Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro called the comment "a preview of what we can expect in the next four years and a reminder that—from day one of the Clinton administration—NNU and our allies will need to make our voices loudly heard to advocate for social, economic, and political justice."
In Yemen, at least 60 people were killed and scores more wounded Saturday when Saudi-led coalition warplanes bombed a security complex near the Red Sea. Many of the dead were prisoners or guards at a prison facility run by Houthi rebels. Witnesses said one airstrike directly targeted the building.
In Syria, rebels unleashed suicide car bomb attacks, rockets and mortars on government-controlled western Aleppo over the weekend, killing at least 41 civilians, including 17 children. Each side accused the other of using poison gas. The U.N. special envoy for Syria called the attacks "relentless and indiscriminate" and said they could amount to war crimes. Residents described a nightmarish assault that left families buried alive.
In Morocco, thousands of protesters flooded cities across the country after a fish seller was crushed to death in a garbage truck trying to retrieve fish confiscated by police. The death of Mouhcine Fikri in the northern town of Al Hoceima on Friday drew widespread anger on social media. Sunday’s rallies were called by activists from the February 20 movement, which organized demonstrations during the Arab unrest of 2011. His death drew parallels to that of a Tunisian fruit seller in 2010 which helped spark the Arab Spring uprisings.
The United Nations Children’s Fund is warning that 300 million of the world’s children regularly breathe highly toxic air pollution, putting them at risk of brain damage, lung disease and premature death. UNICEF’s new report, released today, finds most of the highest-risk children live in northern India. It finds the vast majority of the world’s children—some 2 billion people—are exposed to levels of air pollution considered unhealthy by the World Health Organization. Globally, air pollution is responsible for one out of every eight deaths each year, including some 600,000 children under the age of five.
In the United States, jury selection begins today in two high-profile murder trials of white police officers who killed unarmed black men. In Ohio, former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing shot and killed 43-year-old Sam DuBose last year after stopping him for not having a front license plate. In North Charleston, South Carolina, officer Michael Slager faces a murder charge after a bystander filmed Slager shooting 50-year-old Walter Scott in the back as he ran away.
The trials come as a Justice Department investigation into the choking death of unarmed African American Eric Garner by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo is in disarray. The New York Times reported last week that New York-based FBI agents and federal prosecutors are no longer assigned to the investigation. The shakeup leaves prosecutors with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in charge, making it far more likely officers will face criminal charges.
Amnesty International on Friday dispatched human rights observers to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota, a day after police with military equipment arrested over 140 people and used pepper spray, Tasers, sound cannons, bean bag rounds and rubber bullets against opponents of the proposed Dakota Access pipeline. Native American water protectors who were arrested on Thursday say police wrote numbers on their arms and housed them in what appeared to be dog kennels, without bedding or furniture.
This comes as more details are emerging from Thursday, including video footage of a Dakota Access security contractor holding an assault rifle, with his face covered by a bandana, apparently attempting to infiltrate a group of water protectors. A Standing Rock Sioux tribal member says he saw the man driving down Highway 1806 toward the main resistance camp with an AR-15 rifle on the passenger side of his truck. Protectors chased down his truck and then pursued him on foot in efforts to disarm him. In the video, the contractor can be seen pointing the assault rifle at the protectors as he attempts to flee into the water. He was ultimately arrested by Bureau of Indian Affairs police. Meanwhile, overnight on Saturday, water protectors reported a brush fire began near their main camp. They say they called 911, but no emergency teams responded. Protectors believe the fire was intentionally lit by people working for Dakota Access. We’ll have more on the standoff at Standing Rock later in the broadcast.
In Labrador, Canada, First Nations activists are declaring victory following their occupation of a hydroelectric dam construction site. Members of Labrador’s Inuit and Innu Nations took over the site on October 22, demanding that the company behind the megaproject take steps to prevent the poisoning of traditional food sources like fish and seal with toxic methylmercury. The occupiers won a promise that any decision to flood the area, which could release the mercury, will be subject to scientific review. Meanwhile, a journalist who documented the occupation faces an order to appear in court. Justin Brake, editor of The Independent online newspaper in Newfoundland, followed activists onto the dam site after they cut through a gate. He’s been ordered to appear before a judge by November 10 to face contempt of court charges.
In Iceland, the Pirate Party made big gains in Sunday’s national elections, raising the prospect it will form a coalition government with other left-wing parties. The Pirates won 10 seats in Iceland’s 63-member Parliament, up from three in the last election. Pirate Party leader Birgitta Jónsdóttir hailed the result.
In Italy, a powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake toppled centuries-old churches and crumbled Roman walls but did not cause any deaths. It was Italy’s most powerful quake since 1980. A series of foreshocks earlier in the week forced the evacuation of thousands of at-risk residents, likely saving many lives. Thousands remain homeless, and a leading seismologist warned that more earthquakes could continue along central Italy’s fault system for weeks to come.
And the Supreme Court said Friday it will take up its first-ever case on transgender rights, when it considers whether a transgender boy has the right to use the boys’ bathroom at his high school. Seventeen-year-old Gavin Grimm of Virginia is challenging the Gloucester County School Board’s requirement that students use facilities corresponding to their assigned gender at birth. Grimm says the rule left him humiliated and caused him to stop drinking liquids so as not to urinate during the school day. Justices will rule on whether the Obama administration may ban discrimination based on gender identity under Title IX, a law than guarantees equal access to education "on the basis of sex."
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COLUMN
The race for the White House was jolted on Friday when FBI Director James Comey notified congressional leaders that the agency was investigating more emails as part of its probe into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email system. The emails were discovered as part of a probe into former Congressmember Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin. Abedin reportedly stored hundreds of thousands of emails on Weiner’s computer, which was seized by the FBI after Weiner allegedly sent illicit text messages to a 15-year-old girl. Comey notified Congress before the FBI even obtained a warrant to look at Abedin’s email. A warrant was reportedly issued over the weekend. On the campaign trail, Donald Trump welcomed Comey’s announcement.Donald Trump: "I have great respect for the fact that the FBI and the Department of Justice are now willing to have the courage to right the horrible mistake that they made. This was a grave miscarriage of justice that the American people fully understood, and it is everybody’s hope that it is about to be corrected. ... The news this morning is—this is bigger than Watergate."
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton addressed the FBI’s actions during a campaign rally in Daytona Beach.
Hillary Clinton: "It’s pretty strange to put something like that out with such little information right before an election. In fact—in fact, it’s not just strange, it’s unprecedented. And it is deeply troubling, because voters deserve to get full and complete facts. And so, we’ve called on Director Comey to explain everything right away, put it all out on the table, right?"
The criticism of Comey has come from both Democrats and Republicans, who charge Comey may have violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits employees of the executive branch from engaging in political activity. We’ll have more on the FBI’s "October surprise" after headlines, when we’ll be joined by Michael Isikoff, chief investigative correspondent for Yahoo News.
TOPICS:
WikiLeaks: Clinton Camp Called Nurses' Union "Fringe" and "Not Real"
Clinton’s troubles came as WikiLeaks made public more hacked emails from the account of campaign chair John Podesta. In one email, campaign manager Robby Mook urged his staff to attack National Nurses United, which endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination, as "fringe" and "not a real union." NNU in fact represents 185,000 members and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. In response, NNU Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro called the comment "a preview of what we can expect in the next four years and a reminder that—from day one of the Clinton administration—NNU and our allies will need to make our voices loudly heard to advocate for social, economic, and political justice."TOPICS:
Yemen: U.S.-Backed, Saudi-Led Attack Kills 60
In Yemen, at least 60 people were killed and scores more wounded Saturday when Saudi-led coalition warplanes bombed a security complex near the Red Sea. Many of the dead were prisoners or guards at a prison facility run by Houthi rebels. Witnesses said one airstrike directly targeted the building.Mohammed Hayel: "We call on the international community, on international organizations, to stop the war on Yemen. This war is not justified. We are struggling to find food, and we have been displaced from our homes. Homes have been demolished over the heads of citizens."
The U.S. has supplied Saudi Arabia with intelligence, airborne fuel tankers and advanced weaponry, even as Saudi warplanes have bombed Yemeni schools, markets, homes and hospitals, killing hundreds of civilians. The U.N. says a Saudi-imposed blockade has left at least 14 million Yemenis short on food. The World Health Organization is warning of a growing cholera outbreak in Yemen that has killed at least 40 children and sickened more than 1,400 others.
TOPICS:
Syrian Rebels Kill Dozens of Civilians in Attack on Western Aleppo
In Syria, rebels unleashed suicide car bomb attacks, rockets and mortars on government-controlled western Aleppo over the weekend, killing at least 41 civilians, including 17 children. Each side accused the other of using poison gas. The U.N. special envoy for Syria called the attacks "relentless and indiscriminate" and said they could amount to war crimes. Residents described a nightmarish assault that left families buried alive.Wounded man: "My children are still under the rubble! My children are under the rubble! Someone get them out! The building collapsed. Oh, God!"
About 1,500 rebel fighters are massed along Aleppo’s western edge. The counteroffensive is aimed at breaking a government siege of the city’s east, where more than a quarter-million people face severe shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine.
TOPICS:
Morocco: Thousands Protest in Echo of Arab Spring Uprising
In Morocco, thousands of protesters flooded cities across the country after a fish seller was crushed to death in a garbage truck trying to retrieve fish confiscated by police. The death of Mouhcine Fikri in the northern town of Al Hoceima on Friday drew widespread anger on social media. Sunday’s rallies were called by activists from the February 20 movement, which organized demonstrations during the Arab unrest of 2011. His death drew parallels to that of a Tunisian fruit seller in 2010 which helped spark the Arab Spring uprisings.TOPICS:
UNICEF Report: 300 Million Children Breathe Highly Toxic Air
The United Nations Children’s Fund is warning that 300 million of the world’s children regularly breathe highly toxic air pollution, putting them at risk of brain damage, lung disease and premature death. UNICEF’s new report, released today, finds most of the highest-risk children live in northern India. It finds the vast majority of the world’s children—some 2 billion people—are exposed to levels of air pollution considered unhealthy by the World Health Organization. Globally, air pollution is responsible for one out of every eight deaths each year, including some 600,000 children under the age of five.TOPICS:
Trials Begin for Two White Officers Who Killed Unarmed Black Men
In the United States, jury selection begins today in two high-profile murder trials of white police officers who killed unarmed black men. In Ohio, former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing shot and killed 43-year-old Sam DuBose last year after stopping him for not having a front license plate. In North Charleston, South Carolina, officer Michael Slager faces a murder charge after a bystander filmed Slager shooting 50-year-old Walter Scott in the back as he ran away.TOPICS:
Justice Department Shakes Up Investigation of Eric Garner Killing
The trials come as a Justice Department investigation into the choking death of unarmed African American Eric Garner by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo is in disarray. The New York Times reported last week that New York-based FBI agents and federal prosecutors are no longer assigned to the investigation. The shakeup leaves prosecutors with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in charge, making it far more likely officers will face criminal charges.Amnesty International to Observe Policing of Dakota Access Pipeline Resistance
Amnesty International on Friday dispatched human rights observers to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota, a day after police with military equipment arrested over 140 people and used pepper spray, Tasers, sound cannons, bean bag rounds and rubber bullets against opponents of the proposed Dakota Access pipeline. Native American water protectors who were arrested on Thursday say police wrote numbers on their arms and housed them in what appeared to be dog kennels, without bedding or furniture.Armed Dakota Access Worker Reportedly Tried to Infiltrate Native Water Protectors
This comes as more details are emerging from Thursday, including video footage of a Dakota Access security contractor holding an assault rifle, with his face covered by a bandana, apparently attempting to infiltrate a group of water protectors. A Standing Rock Sioux tribal member says he saw the man driving down Highway 1806 toward the main resistance camp with an AR-15 rifle on the passenger side of his truck. Protectors chased down his truck and then pursued him on foot in efforts to disarm him. In the video, the contractor can be seen pointing the assault rifle at the protectors as he attempts to flee into the water. He was ultimately arrested by Bureau of Indian Affairs police. Meanwhile, overnight on Saturday, water protectors reported a brush fire began near their main camp. They say they called 911, but no emergency teams responded. Protectors believe the fire was intentionally lit by people working for Dakota Access. We’ll have more on the standoff at Standing Rock later in the broadcast.Labrador, Canada: First Nations Activists Win Protection from Mercury
In Labrador, Canada, First Nations activists are declaring victory following their occupation of a hydroelectric dam construction site. Members of Labrador’s Inuit and Innu Nations took over the site on October 22, demanding that the company behind the megaproject take steps to prevent the poisoning of traditional food sources like fish and seal with toxic methylmercury. The occupiers won a promise that any decision to flood the area, which could release the mercury, will be subject to scientific review. Meanwhile, a journalist who documented the occupation faces an order to appear in court. Justin Brake, editor of The Independent online newspaper in Newfoundland, followed activists onto the dam site after they cut through a gate. He’s been ordered to appear before a judge by November 10 to face contempt of court charges.TOPICS:
Honduras: Son of Human Rights Leader Assassinated
In Honduras, the son of a prominent human rights leader was shot dead Sunday in what appears to be the latest assassination targeting campesino organizers fighting massive palm oil plantation companies in the valley of Aguán in northern Honduras. Fernando Alemán Banegas was shot several times as he exited a nightclub in the city of La Ceiba. He’s the oldest son of Elsy Banegas president of the Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations of Aguán. This comes after two campesino leaders in the Aguán region were also assassinated earlier this month.
TOPICS:
Iceland's Pirate Party Poised to Join Government After Election Gains
In Iceland, the Pirate Party made big gains in Sunday’s national elections, raising the prospect it will form a coalition government with other left-wing parties. The Pirates won 10 seats in Iceland’s 63-member Parliament, up from three in the last election. Pirate Party leader Birgitta Jónsdóttir hailed the result.Birgitta Jónsdóttir: "You know, our internal talk about what to expect has been, you know, we could maybe get somewhere between 12 to 15 (percent), and if we can get 15, we would have tripled our last elections. So we are just thrilled. It’s incredible."
The Pirate Party hopes to pass the world’s first crowdsourced constitution. Its core platform calls for direct democracy, freedom of expression, civil rights, net neutrality and transparency. The Pirates saw their popularity surge in April, after Iceland’s prime minister resigned following revelations he and his wife used an offshore company to conceal millions of dollars’ worth of investments.
TOPICS:
Italian Earthquake Destroys Ancient Buildings But Spares Human Life
In Italy, a powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake toppled centuries-old churches and crumbled Roman walls but did not cause any deaths. It was Italy’s most powerful quake since 1980. A series of foreshocks earlier in the week forced the evacuation of thousands of at-risk residents, likely saving many lives. Thousands remain homeless, and a leading seismologist warned that more earthquakes could continue along central Italy’s fault system for weeks to come.TOPICS:
Supreme Court Takes Up First-Ever Transgender Rights Case
And the Supreme Court said Friday it will take up its first-ever case on transgender rights, when it considers whether a transgender boy has the right to use the boys’ bathroom at his high school. Seventeen-year-old Gavin Grimm of Virginia is challenging the Gloucester County School Board’s requirement that students use facilities corresponding to their assigned gender at birth. Grimm says the rule left him humiliated and caused him to stop drinking liquids so as not to urinate during the school day. Justices will rule on whether the Obama administration may ban discrimination based on gender identity under Title IX, a law than guarantees equal access to education "on the basis of sex."TOPICS:
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