alternet--2020-11-13--Trump faces around two dozen legal threats leaving office — and he's getting desperate

President Trump has only made one brief public appearance since the election was called for Joe Biden , and his Twitter feed is filled with conspiracy theories about widespread voter fraud , which state elections officials have repeatedly rejected .
His refusal to concede has complicated President-elect Biden 's transition , and senior Republicans have mostly aligned behind Trump or stayed silent as he continues his desperate legal campaign to overturn the election results in several key states that won Biden the presidency .
New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer says Trump has a lot at stake due to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ faces .
`` He has many reasons to be concerned , '' she says .
`` If he leaves the White House , he 's going to lose the immunity that goes along with being president . ''
This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, democracynow.org , The Quarantine Report .
I 'm Amy Goodman .
The number of Americans hospitalized due to COVID-19 has more than a doubled in the past week as infections soar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ On Thursday , a staggering 163,000 new cases were reported — a new world-shattering record .
The U.S. death toll has topped 242,000 .
Despite the surge , President Trump is largely ignoring the crisis , letting the virus rip through the country .
Since the election was called for Joe Biden last Saturday , Trump has only made one brief public appearance , and his Twitter feed is filled with conspiracy theories .
While Trump has claimed the election was stolen , his campaign has provided no evidence of widespread voter fraud @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Department of Homeland Security released a statement saying , quote , `` The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history .
… There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes , changed votes , or was in any way compromised , '' they said .
Well , as Trump refuses to concede the race , we begin today 's show with longtime investigative journalist Jane Mayer of The New Yorker magazine .
Her most recent article is headlined `` Why Trump Ca n't Afford to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before the election .
Jane Mayer writes , `` Trump has famously survived one impeachment , two divorces , six bankruptcies , twenty-six accusations of sexual misconduct , and an estimated four thousand lawsuits .
Few people have evaded consequences more cunningly .
That run of good luck may well end , perhaps brutally , if he loses to Joe Biden . ''
Well , Jane Mayer , welcome back to Democracy Now !
It 's great to have you with us .
Is President Trump simply concerned of moving from the presidency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ concerned about moving from the presidency to prison ?
JANE MAYER : Well , I think you can see that he has many reasons to be concerned , at least , that if he leaves the White House , he 's going to lose the immunity that goes along with being president , for legal reasons .
And I think , from what I understand , he 's quite concerned that he may face prosecution in New York , where a pardon from the White House would n't be able to reach .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't you go through all of the lawsuits and criminal investigations that he is facing ?
And then we 'll talk about the possibility that as the coronavirus rips through the population , what he 's doing right now is figuring out if he can pre-pardon himself .
JANE MAYER : So , there are about two dozen different kinds of legal actions coming at him .
By far , I think , the most serious is the investigation underway in New York City by the District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the Southern District of New York , the U.S. Attorney 's Office .
It was a federal case against Michael Cohen , who had been Trump 's lawyer .
Michael Cohen , as people remember , served a three-year — is still serving a three-year prison sentence .
And when he was indicted , the indictment mentioned that there was an unindicted co-conspirator , who happened to have been — he was n't named by name , but it was clear that it was President Trump .
So , that unindicted co-conspirator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up by the District Attorney 's Office , which has got an open criminal investigation into President Trump , looking at among all kinds of fraud in his business before he became president — bank fraud , insurance fraud , tax evasion and other kinds of fraud .
So , that is ongoing .
There is an open investigation , and it 's said to be quite a serious one .
AMY GOODMAN : So , you talked about Cy Vance here in New York .
What about Letitia James , the attorney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ MAYER : So , she , too , has any open investigation into Trump 's pre-presidential business practices .
It has to do with whether or not he took a — whether he fraudulently evaluated the value of one of his real estate holdings in order to take a big tax deduction .
And that is under investigation , too .
In the course of doing reporting on this , people told me that that 's a harder case to make , because evaluations and assessments of real estate are more of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it may be difficult to argue that it was absolutely fraudulent , whereas the case that the district attorney is looking — I mean , excuse me , that , yeah , the Manhattan DA is looking at is one that is just a much harder sort of — there are many more facts involved that are harder to fight .
AMY GOODMAN : Bloomberg is also — Bloomberg News and ProPublica are also talking about his CFO and the information that is now coming out about the Trump Organization finances .
JANE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that there 's just a bottomless pit , from what I understand .
I interviewed Michael Cohen , the former lawyer to Donald Trump , for the story that I did , and he 's also written a book .
And it 's clear that there are so many possible charges that they could bring .
And so , this is a serious situation .
It 's one we really have n't faced in the country before , where a president may be facing serious prosecution for criminal behavior .
AMY GOODMAN : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's former personal attorney and fixer , who you were just talking about , Michael Cohen .
He was speaking to MSNBC in September , once he got out of jail .
AMY GOODMAN : So , that 's Michael Cohen , President Trump 's former personal fixer and lawyer .
Talk about this issue of the debt and what 's at stake , that he might owe something like $ 421 million , and how that could — actually , what national security folks are saying across the political spectrum , their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as president , has access to top-secret information , he could use this to somehow get countries to give him money to pay off that debt .
JANE MAYER : I mean , that 's absolutely true that Donald Trump has at least over $ 300 million of loans coming due in the next four years that he has personally backed , meaning he 's on the hook himself for these loans .
He 's also got an IRS case that he appears to be losing .
It 's an argument with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It appears that if he loses it , he 's going to have to pay an additional $ 100 million .
So he has tremendous liabilities hanging over his head .
If he had stayed president , he probably would have been — you know , had the clout to renegotiate these loans somehow .
If he 's out on the street , it 's going to be a lot harder .
He 's going to be very hard up for where to find the cash to pay these things off .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ his assets , but because of the pandemic , some of those assets are worth a good bit less than they were before , because commercial real estate and resorts are in the tank right now .
And so , he 's in a hard , hard spot , and as he is with facing these criminal investigations .
And so , there are a lot of reasons he 's fighting so hard to stay inside the White House , according to people who know what 's going on inside .
Whether he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mean , that 's certainly one thing that some of the people around him who I interviewed suggested , that he might turn to corrupt foreign oligarchs .
You know , he has also clearly flattered a number of the world 's richest and most corrupt leaders , including Putin , including Duterte .
He may try to call in some chips , people worry .
I mean , the situation suggests that it 's possible that some of his foreign policy positions were very self-interested .
There 's certainly been that question @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So , these are all — you know , these would have been huge liabilities going forward also , if he had stayed , if he had gotten himself reelected .
As it is — excuse me — these are reasons also why he might be fighting so hard to try to convince people that he won an election that he lost .
AMY GOODMAN : And talk about , among the lawsuits , Trump having to deal with E. Jean Carroll 's defamation lawsuit , if you can discuss what that is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him with rape back in the 1990s , who recently spoke out .
JANE MAYER : Right .
She charged him with rape .
She met him in a department store in New York and said that he tried to rape her in one of the changing rooms there .
She 's a writer and a relatively well-known figure .
And so , when she made this charge and told what had happened to her , Trump called her a liar , as he has with most of the other people who — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this , that there are 26 claims against him of sexual assault and other kinds of sexual misbehavior .
And he called her a liar , and she turned around and then sued him for defamation for that .
And her lawyer , Roberta Kaplan , and she are so far being upheld in the courts as they move forward against — with their case against Trump for defamation .
It may come down to them trying to get a DNA sample to — she 's still got , I guess , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 're hoping to be able to test it against Trump 's DNA .
AMY GOODMAN : So , that , though , is not a rape case .
It is a defamation case for him saying — AMY GOODMAN : — she lied about her .
So , if you then , Jane , can talk about these civil versus criminal cases , and what would happen , for example , if when Trump leaves , if he leaves the White House , he goes to Florida instead of New York , what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And also you talking about possibly he 's using this time to negotiate deals of protection ?
JANE MAYER : Well , so , as we all know , there is a very broad pardon power in the Constitution that the president has .
He can issue pardons almost without any kind of guidelines to whomever he wishes .
And one of the questions that people , legal experts , have , and historians , watching all of this , this incredible spectacle , is whether Trump might try to pardon himself .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ our history .
An earlier corrupt president , Richard Nixon , thought about it and thought that he had the power to do it .
The Justice Department at the time looked into it .
And there 's just a sort of a relatively flimsy , quick opinion that suggests that the Justice Department found at that time that they did n't think it could be done , because just it 's illogical , as the paper says .
The opinion just says no man can stand in judgment of his own trial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tested before .
And a number of experts who I interview suggest that they think it 's possible that Trump could try to pardon himself , and might even get away with it if he did .
But what 's interesting is that the pardon power he has is to be able to pardon himself against federal charges .
And that might be able to wipe the slate clean for himself of many , many possible criminal charges , but it would not reach the New York state charges that he may be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the Attorney General 's Office in New York , because those are state charges .
So he might still have to go ahead with some kind of process there , and he would n't be able to get himself off the hook .
What people are suggesting is it 's possible that maybe there would be some sort of global settlement offered him on the way out the door , that in exchange for some kind of concession that he might give saying that he had — he was guilty or a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there might be some kind of , you know , just general settlement .
It 's a very ticklish , difficult problem of what to do with a president .
We do n't want to look like a new president prosecutes the former president .
It sort of has a kind of a tinpot dictatorship feel to it .
At the same time , there 's a sense that you need to hold everybody accountable , and nobody is above the law , and that includes presidents of the United States .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subject .
And , anyway , this is all what 's going on in terms of why , again , Trump may be fighting so hard not to leave that White House .
AMY GOODMAN : And , of course , then there are some who speculate maybe he 'll hand over power to Pence for a few minutes , either now or in the last hour of the presidency , so that he could do the pardoning .
JANE MAYER : That 's actually a scenario that is laid out as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dates back to the Watergate era , where the Justice Department suggested a president should n't probably pardon himself .
It suggested a president might be able to temporarily step down , under the 25th Amendment , have the vice president become president temporarily , pardon the president , and then have the president step back up and take over the powers of the office again .
I mean , it would be an outrage , in many ways , because it 's such a charade .
But then , look at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
AMY GOODMAN : And what about pardoning other members of his family or his allies , the significance of a possible pre-pardon , as there are all sorts of discussions coming out , like maybe the next senatorial race in New York will be AOC versus Ivanka Trump ?
But what about that possibility of pre-pardoning family members ?
JANE MAYER : The president 's pardon powers are very broad .
He can probably pardon anybody in his circle , anybody he wants to .
It 's not even clear whether it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I mean , he 's got very , very broad powers .
The question is whether you can give prospective pardons .
Can you say — could the president say , `` I hereby pardon Ivanka Trump for anything she might do from here until the end of her life '' ?
He ca n't do that , but he could wipe the slate clean for her for any possible prosecution that might come out from , say , you know , the years of his time in office .
And that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GOODMAN : Jane , before you go , I wanted to ask you about the previous piece you wrote , `` The Secret History of Kimberly Guilfoyle 's Departure from Fox . ''
And the reason I ask you about this now is this latest information out of CNN Politics about Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle , his partner , the former wife of Gavin Newsom , the current California governor , about Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle making moves to expand their RNC influence — the Republican National Committee — and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can talk about who Kimberly Guilfoyle is and what the charges were , that you laid out , around her departure from Fox ?
JANE MAYER : So , she was a talk show host at Fox .
She 's a former prosecutor herself .
And she left Fox under kind of mysterious circumstances .
She has claimed she did nothing wrong .
Her lawyers have claimed she did nothing wrong .
But , in fact , what I discovered was that there was a whopping legal settlement involving her .
A former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ harassment .
The details were just mind-boggling .
And Fox paid out over $ 4 million to the former assistant of Kimberly Guilfoyle to settle the claim , which suggests that they felt it had a lot of merit .
Guilfoyle left , started dating Don Jr. and has become one of the top officials in Trump 's reelection campaign .
She 's the co-finance chair of the campaign .
And , anyway , there 's quite a lurid backstory to her , if anybody wants to go back and take a look @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What was most significant to you ?
What most shocked you about the work conditions for the people who worked for her , who were forced to be at her house ?
Talk about the conditions there and what they alleged she forced them to do .
JANE MAYER : Well , her assistant claimed that Guilfoyle required her to work at her apartment in New York City and that Guilfoyle often was completely naked and that she paraded around with no clothes on and required the assistant to look at photographs she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the various guys that she had had sex with , that she talked incessantly about sex .
It was really weird , to tell you the truth .
It was a completely bizarre and sort of obsessively sex-oriented behavior that very much upset her assistant over the course of several years .
AMY GOODMAN : I wanted to go to the Republican National Convention , several speakers warning of chaos if Trump loses the race .
This was one of — we wanted to play — we think we have a clip @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kimberly Guilfoyle , who addressed the Republican convention .
AMY GOODMAN : Jane Mayer , your response ?
But also , as we wrap up , what has most surprised you this week ?
Your piece that you wrote , `` Why Trump Ca n't Afford to Lose , '' was just before the announcement that Joe Biden had won , and I 'm wondering what 's most surprised you in this last week .
JANE MAYER : Well , so , to tell you the truth , all of Trump 's behavior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was predicted in this piece by all the people who knew him best .
Everybody said he will not concede .
And they called it .
But what has surprised me has been the behavior of the leaders of the Republican Party .
And I guess they 've surprised me over and over again , the extent to which they have enabled Trump , the extent to which Mitch McConnell has yet to say one word suggesting that the false claims that Trump won the election are in fact false — you know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he 's entitled to play it out , '' or whatever — and that Lindsey Graham is saying that he should never concede , and he needs to fight , fight , fight .
I mean , this behavior is what makes Trump possible .
It 's the difference between Trump being seen as pathetic by the country and Trump being seen as powerful by the country .
And so that 's what surprises me over and over again .
AMY GOODMAN : Jane Mayer , we want to thank you for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ link to your pieces in The New Yorker , `` Why Trump Ca n't Afford to Lose '' and `` The Secret History of Kimberly Guilfoyle 's Departure from Fox . ''
When we come back , Desmond Meade votes for the first time for president in 30 years .
Stay with us .

President Trump has only made one brief public appearance since the election was called for Joe Biden, and his Twitter feed is filled with conspiracy theories about widespread voter fraud, which state elections officials have repeatedly rejected. His refusal to concede has complicated President-elect Biden's transition, and senior Republicans have mostly aligned behind Trump or stayed silent as he continues his desperate legal campaign to overturn the election results in several key states that won Biden the presidency. New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer says Trump has a lot at stake due to the litany of lawsuits and criminal investigations he faces. "He has many reasons to be concerned," she says. "If he leaves the White House, he's going to lose the immunity that goes along with being president."
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quarantine Report. I'm Amy Goodman.
The number of Americans hospitalized due to COVID-19 has more than a doubled in the past week as infections soar to record numbers across the nation. On Thursday, a staggering 163,000 new cases were reported — a new world-shattering record. The U.S. death toll has topped 242,000. Despite the surge, President Trump is largely ignoring the crisis, letting the virus rip through the country.
Since the election was called for Joe Biden last Saturday, Trump has only made one brief public appearance, and his Twitter feed is filled with conspiracy theories. While Trump has claimed the election was stolen, his campaign has provided no evidence of widespread voter fraud. On Thursday, a wing of the Department of Homeland Security released a statement saying, quote, "The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. … There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised," they said.
Well, as Trump refuses to concede the race, we begin today's show with longtime investigative journalist Jane Mayer of The New Yorker magazine. Her most recent article is headlined "Why Trump Can't Afford to Lose." It was published just before the election. Jane Mayer writes, "Trump has famously survived one impeachment, two divorces, six bankruptcies, twenty-six accusations of sexual misconduct, and an estimated four thousand lawsuits. Few people have evaded consequences more cunningly. That run of good luck may well end, perhaps brutally, if he loses to Joe Biden."
Well, Jane Mayer, welcome back to Democracy Now! It's great to have you with us. Is President Trump simply concerned of moving from the presidency to private life, or is he concerned about moving from the presidency to prison?
JANE MAYER: Well, I think you can see that he has many reasons to be concerned, at least, that if he leaves the White House, he's going to lose the immunity that goes along with being president, for legal reasons. And I think, from what I understand, he's quite concerned that he may face prosecution in New York, where a pardon from the White House wouldn't be able to reach.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, why don't you go through all of the lawsuits and criminal investigations that he is facing? And then we'll talk about the possibility that as the coronavirus rips through the population, what he's doing right now is figuring out if he can pre-pardon himself.
JANE MAYER: So, there are about two dozen different kinds of legal actions coming at him. By far, I think, the most serious is the investigation underway in New York City by the District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who has picked up the case that originated with the Southern District of New York, the U.S. Attorney's Office. It was a federal case against Michael Cohen, who had been Trump's lawyer. Michael Cohen, as people remember, served a three-year — is still serving a three-year prison sentence. And when he was indicted, the indictment mentioned that there was an unindicted co-conspirator, who happened to have been — he wasn't named by name, but it was clear that it was President Trump. So, that unindicted co-conspirator charge has now been sort of picked up by the District Attorney's Office, which has got an open criminal investigation into President Trump, looking at among all kinds of fraud in his business before he became president — bank fraud, insurance fraud, tax evasion and other kinds of fraud. So, that is ongoing. There is an open investigation, and it's said to be quite a serious one.
AMY GOODMAN: So, you talked about Cy Vance here in New York. What about Letitia James, the attorney general of New York state?
JANE MAYER: So, she, too, has any open investigation into Trump's pre-presidential business practices. It has to do with whether or not he took a — whether he fraudulently evaluated the value of one of his real estate holdings in order to take a big tax deduction. And that is under investigation, too. In the course of doing reporting on this, people told me that that's a harder case to make, because evaluations and assessments of real estate are more of a art than a science. So, it may be difficult to argue that it was absolutely fraudulent, whereas the case that the district attorney is looking — I mean, excuse me, that, yeah, the Manhattan DA is looking at is one that is just a much harder sort of — there are many more facts involved that are harder to fight.
AMY GOODMAN: Bloomberg is also — Bloomberg News and ProPublica are also talking about his CFO and the information that is now coming out about the Trump Organization finances.
JANE MAYER: I mean, I think that there's just a bottomless pit, from what I understand. I interviewed Michael Cohen, the former lawyer to Donald Trump, for the story that I did, and he's also written a book. And it's clear that there are so many possible charges that they could bring. And so, this is a serious situation. It's one we really haven't faced in the country before, where a president may be facing serious prosecution for criminal behavior.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to turn to President Trump's former personal attorney and fixer, who you were just talking about, Michael Cohen. He was speaking to MSNBC in September, once he got out of jail.
MICHAEL COHEN: I think what's really bothering him the most, though, is that Trump has over $420 million in outstanding loans that are coming due. Now, in the event that there is a potential tax liability for the time period that they're talking about, I mean, it could be hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars. If you add those together, I mean, he's very — I mean, very realistically facing a potential bankruptcy. … He'll find some corrupt foreign entity to help him out of the situation.
AMY GOODMAN: So, that's Michael Cohen, President Trump's former personal fixer and lawyer. Talk about this issue of the debt and what's at stake, that he might owe something like $421 million, and how that could — actually, what national security folks are saying across the political spectrum, their deep concern that if President Trump, as president, has access to top-secret information, he could use this to somehow get countries to give him money to pay off that debt.
JANE MAYER: I mean, that's absolutely true that Donald Trump has at least over $300 million of loans coming due in the next four years that he has personally backed, meaning he's on the hook himself for these loans. He's also got an IRS case that he appears to be losing. It's an argument with the IRS about what he owes in taxes. It appears that if he loses it, he's going to have to pay an additional $100 million. So he has tremendous liabilities hanging over his head.
If he had stayed president, he probably would have been — you know, had the clout to renegotiate these loans somehow. If he's out on the street, it's going to be a lot harder. He's going to be very hard up for where to find the cash to pay these things off. He could try to sell some of his assets, but because of the pandemic, some of those assets are worth a good bit less than they were before, because commercial real estate and resorts are in the tank right now. And so, he's in a hard, hard spot, and as he is with facing these criminal investigations. And so, there are a lot of reasons he's fighting so hard to stay inside the White House, according to people who know what's going on inside.
Whether he would turn to foreign backers, I mean, that's certainly one thing that some of the people around him who I interviewed suggested, that he might turn to corrupt foreign oligarchs. You know, he has also clearly flattered a number of the world's richest and most corrupt leaders, including Putin, including Duterte. He may try to call in some chips, people worry. I mean, the situation suggests that it's possible that some of his foreign policy positions were very self-interested. There's certainly been that question raised about his relationship with Turkey.
So, these are all — you know, these would have been huge liabilities going forward also, if he had stayed, if he had gotten himself reelected. As it is — excuse me — these are reasons also why he might be fighting so hard to try to convince people that he won an election that he lost.
AMY GOODMAN: And talk about, among the lawsuits, Trump having to deal with E. Jean Carroll's defamation lawsuit, if you can discuss what that is all about, the woman who charged him with rape back in the 1990s, who recently spoke out.
JANE MAYER: Right. She charged him with rape. She met him in a department store in New York and said that he tried to rape her in one of the changing rooms there. She's a writer and a relatively well-known figure. And so, when she made this charge and told what had happened to her, Trump called her a liar, as he has with most of the other people who — as you mentioned at the start of this, that there are 26 claims against him of sexual assault and other kinds of sexual misbehavior. And he called her a liar, and she turned around and then sued him for defamation for that. And her lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, and she are so far being upheld in the courts as they move forward against — with their case against Trump for defamation. It may come down to them trying to get a DNA sample to — she's still got, I guess, the outfit that she wore, and they're hoping to be able to test it against Trump's DNA.
AMY GOODMAN: So, that, though, is not a rape case. It is a defamation case for him saying —
JANE MAYER: Correct.
AMY GOODMAN: — she lied about her. So, if you then, Jane, can talk about these civil versus criminal cases, and what would happen, for example, if when Trump leaves, if he leaves the White House, he goes to Florida instead of New York, what does that mean for these cases? And also you talking about possibly he's using this time to negotiate deals of protection?
JANE MAYER: Well, so, as we all know, there is a very broad pardon power in the Constitution that the president has. He can issue pardons almost without any kind of guidelines to whomever he wishes. And one of the questions that people, legal experts, have, and historians, watching all of this, this incredible spectacle, is whether Trump might try to pardon himself. It has not been done before in our history. An earlier corrupt president, Richard Nixon, thought about it and thought that he had the power to do it. The Justice Department at the time looked into it. And there's just a sort of a relatively flimsy, quick opinion that suggests that the Justice Department found at that time that they didn't think it could be done, because just it's illogical, as the paper says. The opinion just says no man can stand in judgment of his own trial. But it's never really been tested before. And a number of experts who I interview suggest that they think it's possible that Trump could try to pardon himself, and might even get away with it if he did.
But what's interesting is that the pardon power he has is to be able to pardon himself against federal charges. And that might be able to wipe the slate clean for himself of many, many possible criminal charges, but it would not reach the New York state charges that he may be facing from the DA's Office or from the Attorney General's Office in New York, because those are state charges. So he might still have to go ahead with some kind of process there, and he wouldn't be able to get himself off the hook.
What people are suggesting is it's possible that maybe there would be some sort of global settlement offered him on the way out the door, that in exchange for some kind of concession that he might give saying that he had — he was guilty or a fine or something like that, that there might be some kind of, you know, just general settlement. It's a very ticklish, difficult problem of what to do with a president. We don't want to look like a new president prosecutes the former president. It sort of has a kind of a tinpot dictatorship feel to it. At the same time, there's a sense that you need to hold everybody accountable, and nobody is above the law, and that includes presidents of the United States. So, this is really complicated, fraught subject. And, anyway, this is all what's going on in terms of why, again, Trump may be fighting so hard not to leave that White House.
AMY GOODMAN: And, of course, then there are some who speculate maybe he'll hand over power to Pence for a few minutes, either now or in the last hour of the presidency, so that he could do the pardoning.
JANE MAYER: That's actually a scenario that is laid out as a possibility in this Justice Department memo that dates back to the Watergate era, where the Justice Department suggested a president shouldn't probably pardon himself. It suggested a president might be able to temporarily step down, under the 25th Amendment, have the vice president become president temporarily, pardon the president, and then have the president step back up and take over the powers of the office again. I mean, it would be an outrage, in many ways, because it's such a charade. But then, look at the charade we're looking at right now.
AMY GOODMAN: And what about pardoning other members of his family or his allies, the significance of a possible pre-pardon, as there are all sorts of discussions coming out, like maybe the next senatorial race in New York will be AOC versus Ivanka Trump? But what about that possibility of pre-pardoning family members?
JANE MAYER: The president's pardon powers are very broad. He can probably pardon anybody in his circle, anybody he wants to. It's not even clear whether it's prohibited to sell pardons, practically. I mean, he's got very, very broad powers. The question is whether you can give prospective pardons. Can you say — could the president say, "I hereby pardon Ivanka Trump for anything she might do from here until the end of her life"? He can't do that, but he could wipe the slate clean for her for any possible prosecution that might come out from, say, you know, the years of his time in office. And that's definitely within his powers.
AMY GOODMAN: Jane, before you go, I wanted to ask you about the previous piece you wrote, "The Secret History of Kimberly Guilfoyle's Departure from Fox." And the reason I ask you about this now is this latest information out of CNN Politics about Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle, his partner, the former wife of Gavin Newsom, the current California governor, about Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle making moves to expand their RNC influence — the Republican National Committee — and possibly take it over. If you can talk about who Kimberly Guilfoyle is and what the charges were, that you laid out, around her departure from Fox?
JANE MAYER: So, she was a talk show host at Fox. She's a former prosecutor herself. And she left Fox under kind of mysterious circumstances. She has claimed she did nothing wrong. Her lawyers have claimed she did nothing wrong. But, in fact, what I discovered was that there was a whopping legal settlement involving her. A former assistant of hers accused her of sexual harassment. The details were just mind-boggling. And Fox paid out over $4 million to the former assistant of Kimberly Guilfoyle to settle the claim, which suggests that they felt it had a lot of merit. Guilfoyle left, started dating Don Jr. and has become one of the top officials in Trump's reelection campaign. She's the co-finance chair of the campaign. And, anyway, there's quite a lurid backstory to her, if anybody wants to go back and take a look at this piece.
AMY GOODMAN: What was most significant to you? What most shocked you about the work conditions for the people who worked for her, who were forced to be at her house? Talk about the conditions there and what they alleged she forced them to do.
JANE MAYER: Well, her assistant claimed that Guilfoyle required her to work at her apartment in New York City and that Guilfoyle often was completely naked and that she paraded around with no clothes on and required the assistant to look at photographs she had on her phone of the genitals of the various guys that she had had sex with, that she talked incessantly about sex. It was really weird, to tell you the truth. It was a completely bizarre and sort of obsessively sex-oriented behavior that very much upset her assistant over the course of several years.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to go to the Republican National Convention, several speakers warning of chaos if Trump loses the race. This was one of — we wanted to play — we think we have a clip here of the former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, who addressed the Republican convention.
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE: They want to destroy this country and everything that we have fought for and hold dear. They want to steal your liberty, your freedom. They want to control what you see and think and believe, so that they can control how you live. They want to enslave you to the weak, dependent, liberal, victim ideology, to the point that you will not recognize this country or yourself.
AMY GOODMAN: Jane Mayer, your response? But also, as we wrap up, what has most surprised you this week? Your piece that you wrote, "Why Trump Can't Afford to Lose," was just before the announcement that Joe Biden had won, and I'm wondering what's most surprised you in this last week.
JANE MAYER: Well, so, to tell you the truth, all of Trump's behavior was not only predictable, it literally was predicted in this piece by all the people who knew him best. Everybody said he will not concede. And they called it.
But what has surprised me has been the behavior of the leaders of the Republican Party. And I guess they've surprised me over and over again, the extent to which they have enabled Trump, the extent to which Mitch McConnell has yet to say one word suggesting that the false claims that Trump won the election are in fact false — you know, he's saying, "Oh, he's entitled to play it out," or whatever — and that Lindsey Graham is saying that he should never concede, and he needs to fight, fight, fight. I mean, this behavior is what makes Trump possible. It's the difference between Trump being seen as pathetic by the country and Trump being seen as powerful by the country. And so that's what surprises me over and over again.
AMY GOODMAN: Jane Mayer, we want to thank you for being with us, and we'll link to your pieces in The New Yorker, "Why Trump Can't Afford to Lose" and "The Secret History of Kimberly Guilfoyle's Departure from Fox."
When we come back, Desmond Meade votes for the first time for president in 30 years. Stay with us.


alternet--2020-11-13--Trump's plan to sabotage the election backfired -- and he's awakened a sleeping giant instead

In the months leading up to the presidential election , Trump put forth his best efforts to sway the election in his favor .
From intentional attempts to dismantle the United States Postal Service ( USPS ) to weaponizing his Democratic opponents and stoking fear about the integrity of the election , Trump went above and beyond in an effort to make it seem as if the only way he could lose the election would be if the opposing side cheated .
However , in doing that , it appears Trump 's plan may have backfired because he has awakened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state of Georgia is proof of that .
It has been decades since states like Arizona and Georgia turned blue but to Trump 's shock and dismay , history was made during this election .
In addition to the states that flipped , the popular vote count is another election statistic that has turned heads .
More than 150 million Americans cast their ballots for the 2020 election the largest number of voters in American history .
Although Trump lost the election , his antics to undermine election processes and sow divisiveness may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the embattled president made efforts to pour gasoline on racially charged fires across the country as he worked to sabotage mail-in voting .
Adding to the confusion he created surrounding mail-in voting , the president urged his supporters to head to the polls , and in North Carolina , he even suggested that they cast ballots twice to see if the election systems really work .
However , they were not the only ones to get the memo .
In the midst of stoking fear within his own supporters , Trump also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as he inadvertently raised awareness about the importance of getting him out of officeout of office .
Tracey Thornhill , president of Local 1644 of the American Federation of State , County and Municipal Employees in Atlanta , explained why it was so importance for Democratic voters to let their voices be heard .
`` This election with Donald Trump has awakened people , '' said Thornhill .
`` Where would we be in another four years ?
With the help of Perdue and Loeffler , he would send us straight back to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shock and dismay , those voters turned out in groundbreaking numbers that subsequently led to his defeat .
Now , Democratic candidates in Georgia are stressing the importance of voters heading back to the polls .
To ensure voters do not become complacent , Democratic leaders will be pounding the pavement in Georgia to help candidates Rev .
Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff win in the Georgia runoff on January 5 .
`` We ca n't be complacent , '' said Jennifer Jordan , a state senator who represents Atlanta .
`` If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ossoff , we 're just going to have another situation where [ Senate Majority Leader ] Mitch McConnell is doing everything he can to make sure the president fails . ''

In the months leading up to the presidential election, Trump put forth his best efforts to sway the election in his favor.
From intentional attempts to dismantle the United States Postal Service (USPS) to weaponizing his Democratic opponents and stoking fear about the integrity of the election, Trump went above and beyond in an effort to make it seem as if the only way he could lose the election would be if the opposing side cheated. However, in doing that, it appears Trump's plan may have backfired because he has awakened an opposing group of voters. The state of Georgia is proof of that.
It has been decades since states like Arizona and Georgia turned blue but to Trump's shock and dismay, history was made during this election. In addition to the states that flipped, the popular vote count is another election statistic that has turned heads. More than 150 million Americans cast their ballots for the 2020 election the largest number of voters in American history. Although Trump lost the election, his antics to undermine election processes and sow divisiveness may have contributed to the turnout.
Repeatedly, the embattled president made efforts to pour gasoline on racially charged fires across the country as he worked to sabotage mail-in voting. Adding to the confusion he created surrounding mail-in voting, the president urged his supporters to head to the polls, and in North Carolina, he even suggested that they cast ballots twice to see if the election systems really work. However, they were not the only ones to get the memo. In the midst of stoking fear within his own supporters, Trump also awakened minority groups and people of color as he inadvertently raised awareness about the importance of getting him out of officeout of office.
Tracey Thornhill, president of Local 1644 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in Atlanta, explained why it was so importance for Democratic voters to let their voices be heard.
"This election with Donald Trump has awakened people," said Thornhill. "Where would we be in another four years? With the help of Perdue and Loeffler, he would send us straight back to slave ships."
To Trump's shock and dismay, those voters turned out in groundbreaking numbers that subsequently led to his defeat. Now, Democratic candidates in Georgia are stressing the importance of voters heading back to the polls. To ensure voters do not become complacent, Democratic leaders will be pounding the pavement in Georgia to help candidates Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff win in the Georgia runoff on January 5.
"We can't be complacent," said Jennifer Jordan, a state senator who represents Atlanta. "If we don't vote for Warnock and Ossoff, we're just going to have another situation where [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell is doing everything he can to make sure the president fails."


alternet--2020-11-13--Over 130 Secret Service officers test positive for COVID after Trump's campaign travels: report

According to a new report from the Washington Post , over 130 Secret Service officers have been infected with coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ Trump 's campaign travels .
`` The spread of the coronavirus — which has sidelined @ @ @ @ @ agency 's core security team — is believed to be partly linked to a series @ @ @ @ @ Trump held in the weeks before the Nov. 3 election , according to the people @ @ @ @ @ interviewed for this report , spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the situation @ @ @ @ @ .
The news comes as a growing number of Trump allies and administration members also @ @ @ @ @ , thanks to events where many people attended while not wear masks .
Read the @ @ @ @ @ Washington Post .

According to a new report from the Washington Post, over 130 Secret Service officers have been infected with coronavirus in the wake of President Trump's campaign travels.
"The spread of the coronavirus — which has sidelined roughly 10 percent of the agency's core security team — is believed to be partly linked to a series of campaign rallies that President Trump held in the weeks before the Nov. 3 election, according to the people, who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the situation," the Post reports.
The news comes as a growing number of Trump allies and administration members also test positive for the virus, thanks to events where many people attended while not wear masks.
Read the full report over at The Washington Post.


alternet--2020-11-13--'Good for business': Trump's new conspiracies are total nonsense -- but that doesn't mean they aren'

'Good for business': Trump's new conspiracies are total nonsense -- but that doesn't mean they aren't effective

In an official statement , investigators for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security declared , `` The November 3 election was the most secure in American history . ''
DHS has totally debunked President Donald Trump 's nonsense claims of widespread voter fraud , making it abundantly clear that President-elect Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election fair and square and deserves to be sworn in as president of the United States on January 20 , 2021 .
Regardless , Trump and his sycophants have continued to make the baseless claim that the election was stolen from him through rampant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in an article published by Politico on November 13 , stresses that although Trump 's claims are nonsense , that does n't mean that they are n't effective when it comes to firing up the Republican base .
Kruse notes that even though there is zero evidence of widespread voter fraud and even though GOP strategist Karl Rove has acknowledged Biden as the winner , Trump continues to post tweets claiming that he is the victim of `` illegal votes '' and `` illegal ballots . ''
But Kruse also reports , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which Trump 's critics mock as laughably unserious for something so consequential , is not a deficiency .
It is the feature of his strategy . ''
According to Kruse , `` Trump is not making a narrow , surgical , legally feasible case to enhance his chances to still be living in the White House come January 21 ... .
He 's doing it , say political strategists , longtime Trump watchers and experts on authoritarian tactics , to sow doubt , save face and strengthen even in defeat his lifeblood of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And it 's working . ''
A Politico/Morning Consult poll released this week , Kruse observes , finds that 70 % of Republicans believe the election was stolen from Trump .
In other words , Trump 's base is buying into his nonsense .
Alan Marcus , a former Trump publicist , told Politico , `` This is n't about winning the presidency .
It 's his exit strategy . ''
And GOP strategist Rory Cooper , who served as an adviser to Former House Speaker Eric Cantor , told Politico , `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ His entire persona is built on the idea of winning despite his decades of not winning .
He 's constantly creating a legend , frankly , about himself rather than a truthful narrative .
So , I 'm not surprised that he 's going to use this to convince his supporters that the election was unfair and that he remains the leader of the Republican opposition . ''
Cooper stressed to Politico that even though Trump has been voted out of office , he will continue to be a prominent — and very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ According to Cooper , `` He 's going to have to take care of financial issues once he 's out of office , and he 's going to make a lot of money .
He 's going to make a lot of money on books .
He 's going to make a lot of money on speeches .
He 's going to be able to hold rallies and charge for them .
Putting everything from the Southern District of New York aside , and what could happen to him in Manhattan , just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the martyring of Trump — martyring himself — is good for business…..
I honestly do n't think it could be working out any better for him . ''

In an official statement, investigators for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security declared, "The November 3 election was the most secure in American history." DHS has totally debunked President Donald Trump's nonsense claims of widespread voter fraud, making it abundantly clear that President-elect Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election fair and square and deserves to be sworn in as president of the United States on January 20, 2021. Regardless, Trump and his sycophants have continued to make the baseless claim that the election was stolen from him through rampant voter fraud. And journalist Michael Kruse, in an article published by Politico on November 13, stresses that although Trump's claims are nonsense, that doesn't mean that they aren't effective when it comes to firing up the Republican base.
Kruse notes that even though there is zero evidence of widespread voter fraud and even though GOP strategist Karl Rove has acknowledged Biden as the winner, Trump continues to post tweets claiming that he is the victim of "illegal votes" and "illegal ballots." But Kruse also reports, "The shocking lack of specifics, which Trump's critics mock as laughably unserious for something so consequential, is not a deficiency. It is the feature of his strategy."
According to Kruse, "Trump is not making a narrow, surgical, legally feasible case to enhance his chances to still be living in the White House come January 21.... He's doing it, say political strategists, longtime Trump watchers and experts on authoritarian tactics, to sow doubt, save face and strengthen even in defeat his lifeblood of a bond with his political base. And it's working."
A Politico/Morning Consult poll released this week, Kruse observes, finds that 70% of Republicans believe the election was stolen from Trump. In other words, Trump's base is buying into his nonsense.
Alan Marcus, a former Trump publicist, told Politico, "This isn't about winning the presidency. It's his exit strategy." And GOP strategist Rory Cooper, who served as an adviser to Former House Speaker Eric Cantor, told Politico, "It's not about the vote-counting. His entire persona is built on the idea of winning despite his decades of not winning. He's constantly creating a legend, frankly, about himself rather than a truthful narrative. So, I'm not surprised that he's going to use this to convince his supporters that the election was unfair and that he remains the leader of the Republican opposition."
Cooper stressed to Politico that even though Trump has been voted out of office, he will continue to be a prominent — and very profitable — figure on the right.
According to Cooper, "He's going to have to take care of financial issues once he's out of office, and he's going to make a lot of money. He's going to make a lot of money on books. He's going to make a lot of money on speeches. He's going to be able to hold rallies and charge for them. Putting everything from the Southern District of New York aside, and what could happen to him in Manhattan, just on the sheer financial side of it, the martyring of Trump — martyring himself — is good for business….. I honestly don't think it could be working out any better for him."


alternet--2020-11-13--Will Trump's last fight be against Howard Zinn -- and America's history teachers?

President Trump 's speech at his recent White House Conference on American History slandered both history teachers and historians whose writings foregrounded the role of racial and class conflict in American history .
Without evidence , he accused teachers of promoting a `` twisted web of lies in our schools , '' indoctrinating their students in a version of our nation 's history that led them to hate America .
This was , he claimed `` a form of child abuse in the truest sense of those words . ''
Referring to the mostly non-violent nationwide Black Lives Matter protests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mobs '' fomenting `` violence and anarchy , '' Trump again without evidence charged that this `` left wing rioting and mayhem are the direct result of decades of left wing indoctrination in our schools . ''
The first source of this alleged indoctrination named by Trump was the late Howard Zinn , author of the best-selling A People 's History of the United States ( 1980 ) , whom he depicts not as a historian but as a propagandist : `` Our children are instructed from propaganda tracts , like those of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ students ashamed of their own history . ''
This presidential tirade against history teachers and Howard Zinn demonstrates Trump 's ignorance of both .
American history teachers in our nation 's schools do not indoctrinate their students ; they educate them via state mandated curricula and textbooks that are at least as respectful of the Founders of our republic as any mainstream politician , and promote democratic citizenship not mob violence .
Howard Zinn 's People 's History of the United States is a work of history not propaganda .
Zinn 's book @ @ @ @ @ @ @ class conflict and militarism in the American past , and so is considered too radical to be adopted as an official textbook by most school districts .
Trump gets the reality of school history education completely backwards .
Far from being radical or so provocative as to seed leftist mob violence , most history instruction is actually too conservative , so lacking in controversy that it too often leaves students bored .
This is why innovative teachers bring Zinn 's work into schools , aiming not to indoctrinate but to engage students in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chapters from Zinn 's iconoclastic history with their official , conventional US history textbooks .
There are in Howard Zinn 's papers at NYU hundreds of letters from high school students and teachers attesting that history came to life in their classrooms when they used the competing interpretations offered by Zinn and their textbooks to argue about Columbus ' bravery as an explorer vs. the brutality of his conquests , Andrew Jackson 's democratic politics vs. his responsibility for the Trail of Tears , whether the Mexican American war was an unjust US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was necessary to end World War II , and other important , thought provoking debates about American history .
Trump 's charge that Zinn makes students feel `` ashamed '' of their history is false .
Zinn had no interest in fostering shame , but rather wrote his People 's History to promote critical thinking , especially about class , racial , and gender inequality and war-making in America .
Zinn sought to arouse in his readers a quality Trump is famed for lacking , empathy , for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it , `` in a world of conflict , a world of victims and executioners , it is the job of thinking people , as Albert Camus suggested , not to be on the side of the executioners . ''
Zinn so admired people 's protest movements in their struggles for a more just and democratic America that his People 's History valorized those movements .
In fact , the book offered dramatic accounts of Americans resisting oppression , a narrative that was at times inspiring , promoting not shame but pride in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ justice .
It is absurd to think that the president read Zinn 's 688 page People 's History before knocking it or that he would do so now to see how wrong he is about Zinn .
But he could get to know Zinn better without reading a thing .
Zinn 's People 's History inspired theater events and then a movie , The People Speak , in which famed actors such as Danny Glover , Marissa Tomei , Viggo Mortensen and many others read the words of great American dissenters , from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Martin Luther King , Jr .
This movie , when aired on the History Channel , attracted some nine million viewers , leaving reviewers impressed with the eloquence of America 's radical social activists .
Those speeches , and the protest music sung by Bob Dylan , Bruce Springsteen , Randy Newman , and John Legend fostered greater understanding of the role of dissent in the American past .
Had this movie been screened at the White House Conference on American History , Trump 's talk about Zinn making students feel ashamed of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before his eyes .
Like Howard Zinn , the best history teachers recognize that if students are to be prepared for democratic citizenship , they must learn to think critically about the world , and confront the reality that , as James Baldwin put it , `` American history is longer , larger , more various , more beautiful , and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it . ''
Serious study of our nation 's past involves understanding not only America 's inspiring democratic ideals but its failures to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the historical struggles on behalf of those ideals .
This kind of a critical reckoning with historical reality is far more accurate , humane , and truer to our democratic faith than the flag waving , propagandistic version of the American past touted at the White House Conference on American history .
Robert Cohen is a professor of social studies education and history at NYU , author of Howard Zinn 's Southern Diary : Civil Rights , Sit-Ins , and Black Women 's Student Activism , and coauthor with Sonia Murrow of Rethinking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ People 's History of the United States in the Classroom and Beyond ( in press ) .

President Trump's speech at his recent White House Conference on American History slandered both history teachers and historians whose writings foregrounded the role of racial and class conflict in American history. Without evidence, he accused teachers of promoting a "twisted web of lies in our schools," indoctrinating their students in a version of our nation's history that led them to hate America. This was, he claimed "a form of child abuse in the truest sense of those words." Referring to the mostly non-violent nationwide Black Lives Matter protests against racist police violence as "left-wing mobs" fomenting "violence and anarchy," Trump again without evidence charged that this "left wing rioting and mayhem are the direct result of decades of left wing indoctrination in our schools." The first source of this alleged indoctrination named by Trump was the late Howard Zinn, author of the best-selling A People's History of the United States (1980), whom he depicts not as a historian but as a propagandist: " Our children are instructed from propaganda tracts, like those of Howard Zinn, that try to make students ashamed of their own history."
This presidential tirade against history teachers and Howard Zinn demonstrates Trump's ignorance of both. American history teachers in our nation's schools do not indoctrinate their students; they educate them via state mandated curricula and textbooks that are at least as respectful of the Founders of our republic as any mainstream politician, and promote democratic citizenship not mob violence. Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States is a work of history not propaganda. Zinn's book does stress the role of racial and class conflict and militarism in the American past, and so is considered too radical to be adopted as an official textbook by most school districts.
Trump gets the reality of school history education completely backwards. Far from being radical or so provocative as to seed leftist mob violence, most history instruction is actually too conservative, so lacking in controversy that it too often leaves students bored. This is why innovative teachers bring Zinn's work into schools, aiming not to indoctrinate but to engage students in authentic historical thought via debates contrasting select chapters from Zinn's iconoclastic history with their official, conventional US history textbooks. There are in Howard Zinn's papers at NYU hundreds of letters from high school students and teachers attesting that history came to life in their classrooms when they used the competing interpretations offered by Zinn and their textbooks to argue about Columbus' bravery as an explorer vs. the brutality of his conquests, Andrew Jackson's democratic politics vs. his responsibility for the Trail of Tears, whether the Mexican American war was an unjust US war of aggression, whether the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was necessary to end World War II, and other important, thought provoking debates about American history.
Trump's charge that Zinn makes students feel "ashamed" of their history is false. Zinn had no interest in fostering shame, but rather wrote his People's History to promote critical thinking, especially about class, racial, and gender inequality and war-making in America. Zinn sought to arouse in his readers a quality Trump is famed for lacking, empathy, for the oppressed. Or as Zinn put it, "in a world of conflict, a world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people, as Albert Camus suggested, not to be on the side of the executioners." Zinn so admired people's protest movements in their struggles for a more just and democratic America that his People's History valorized those movements. In fact, the book offered dramatic accounts of Americans resisting oppression, a narrative that was at times inspiring, promoting not shame but pride in this ongoing and unfinished struggle for social justice.
It is absurd to think that the president read Zinn's 688 page People's History before knocking itor that he would do so now to see how wrong he is about Zinn. But he could get to know Zinn better without reading a thing.
Zinn's People's History inspired theater events and then a movie, The People Speak, in which famed actors such as Danny Glover, Marissa Tomei, Viggo Mortensen and many others read the words of great American dissenters, from Frederick Douglass to Emma Goldman, to Martin Luther King, Jr. This movie, when aired on the History Channel, attracted some nine million viewers, leaving reviewers impressed with the eloquence of America's radical social activists. Those speeches, and the protest music sung by Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Randy Newman, and John Legend fostered greater understanding of the role of dissent in the American past. Had this movie been screened at the White House Conference on American History, Trump's talk about Zinn making students feel ashamed of their history would have been refuted right before his eyes.
Like Howard Zinn, the best history teachers recognize that if students are to be prepared for democratic citizenship, they must learn to think critically about the world, and confront the reality that, as James Baldwin put it, "American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it." Serious study of our nation's past involves understanding not only America's inspiring democratic ideals but its failures to live up to them, and studying the historical struggles on behalf of those ideals. This kind of a critical reckoning with historical reality is far more accurate, humane, and truer to our democratic faith than the flag waving, propagandistic version of the American past touted at the White House Conference on American history.
Robert Cohen is a professor of social studies education and history at NYU, author of Howard Zinn's Southern Diary: Civil Rights, Sit-Ins, and Black Women's Student Activism, and coauthor with Sonia Murrow of Rethinking America's Past: Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States in the Classroom and Beyond (in press).


alternet--2020-11-13--How two French introverts quietly fought the Nazis

Whenever Lucy Schwob and Suzanne Malherbe went into town to do some shopping , they also snuck messages to the Nazi occupation forces .
Suzanne pulled a small note typed on a piece of thin colored paper from inside the pocket of her Burberry overcoat and stuck the message onto the windshield of a German staff car .
Lucy gingerly placed another on a cafe table as they walked down the street .
Working together , they tucked one inside a magazine for a soldier to discover .
Sometimes , Suzanne snuck up alongside a German and , with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his pocket knowing that a bump or a misstep could lead to time in a prison camp .
In 1937 , Lucy and Suzanne had left Paris and moved to the island of Jersey , one of the British Channel Islands just off the coast of Normandy .
Both were in the their late 40s and ready to start a new chapter of life on the beautiful island after living for so long at odds with the world around them .
They fell in love as teenagers , but being lesbian partners in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Lucy 's father 's family was Jewish at a time of growing anti-Semitism .
By the 1920s , they achieved some success in Paris as avant-garde artists ; they are known today for their Surrealist photography .
New gender-neutral artistic names Claude Cahun ( Lucy ) and Marcel Moore ( Suzanne ) allowed them to create new identities that crossed the boundaries between masculinity and femininity .
They associated with communists and flirted with radical politics .
But Lucy and Suzanne were always the quiet sort .
Although they opened their apartment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cafés , they remained most closely connected to one another .
When Paris became too noisy and politically polarized , the women decided to leave it all behind .
The Nazis took control of the Channel Islands in July 1940 .
This archipelago in the English Channel was the only British soil the German army ever conquered .
It was also strategically important because it became the leading edge of Hitler 's `` Atlantic Wall , '' a series of fortifications along the European coastline designed to prevent Allied attack .
No dissent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the dim light each evening , Lucy and Suzanne wrote subversive messages by pushing cigarette paper , pages torn out of a ledger , or scraps they found on the side of the road into their Underwood typewriter .
They tapped out songs and imaginary dialogues designed to undermine morale .
Sometimes they made fun of Nazi leaders with bawdy jokes or included a simple summary of forbidden BBC news reports .
Written in German in the voice of an anonymous soldier , the notes proclaimed that the troops would pay the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Then Lucy and Suzanne crammed the notes down deep into the pockets of their overcoats and headed out on another mission .
They always worked alone .
As the war escalated , the women became more extreme .
Lucy snuck out at night and dashed through the cemetery near their house to place crosses with the pacifist message , `` For him the war is over '' onto the graves of soldiers who had died during the occupation .
Inside a church where soldiers worshipped , they hung a banner claiming that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Back in Paris , Lucy had formulated a vision of resistance she called `` indirect action . ''
Art that tried to be revolutionary would not work , but a thoughtful poem , provocative story , or surprising photograph could have a profound effect on its audience , burrowing inside the mind and germinating into a new perspective .
This was not propaganda , she claimed , but an attempt to challenge people to think .
It was the introvert 's way of fighting .
The German secret police hunted them for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the chief judge told them why .
He accused them of being guerrilla warriors who were more dangerous than soldiers .
`` With firearms , '' he claimed , `` one knows at once what damage has been done , but with spiritual arms , one can not tell how far reaching it may be . ''
It was a perfect summary of Lucy 's `` indirect effect . ''
These notes might have seemed small and insignificant , but they demonstrated that the Nazis could not colonize the human heart .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that quiet , persistent rewriting of the narrative of oppression can be a powerful means of fighting back .

Whenever Lucy Schwob and Suzanne Malherbe went into town to do some shopping, they also snuck messages to the Nazi occupation forces.
Suzanne pulled a small note typed on a piece of thin colored paper from inside the pocket of her Burberry overcoat and stuck the message onto the windshield of a German staff car. Lucy gingerly placed another on a cafe table as they walked down the street. Working together, they tucked one inside a magazine for a soldier to discover. Sometimes, Suzanne snuck up alongside a German and, with a trembling hand, slipped a note into his pocket knowing that a bump or a misstep could lead to time in a prison camp.
In 1937, Lucy and Suzanne had left Paris and moved to the island of Jersey, one of the British Channel Islands just off the coast of Normandy. Both were in the their late 40s and ready to start a new chapter of life on the beautiful island after living for so long at odds with the world around them. They fell in love as teenagers, but being lesbian partners in a conservative turn-of-the-century France was sometimes painful. Lucy's father's family was Jewish at a time of growing anti-Semitism. By the 1920s, they achieved some success in Paris as avant-garde artists; they are known today for their Surrealist photography. New gender-neutral artistic names Claude Cahun (Lucy) and Marcel Moore (Suzanne) allowed them to create new identities that crossed the boundaries between masculinity and femininity. They associated with communists and flirted with radical politics.
But Lucy and Suzanne were always the quiet sort. Although they opened their apartment to creative friends and socialized in Parisian cafés, they remained most closely connected to one another. When Paris became too noisy and politically polarized, the women decided to leave it all behind.
The Nazis took control of the Channel Islands in July 1940. This archipelago in the English Channel was the only British soil the German army ever conquered. It was also strategically important because it became the leading edge of Hitler's "Atlantic Wall," a series of fortifications along the European coastline designed to prevent Allied attack. No dissent could be tolerated there.
Working together in the dim light each evening, Lucy and Suzanne wrote subversive messages by pushing cigarette paper, pages torn out of a ledger, or scraps they found on the side of the road into their Underwood typewriter. They tapped out songs and imaginary dialogues designed to undermine morale. Sometimes they made fun of Nazi leaders with bawdy jokes or included a simple summary of forbidden BBC news reports. Written in German in the voice of an anonymous soldier, the notes proclaimed that the troops would pay the ultimate price for Hitler's futile war.
Then Lucy and Suzanne crammed the notes down deep into the pockets of their overcoats and headed out on another mission. They always worked alone.
As the war escalated, the women became more extreme. Lucy snuck out at night and dashed through the cemetery near their house to place crosses with the pacifist message, "For him the war is over" onto the graves of soldiers who had died during the occupation. Inside a church where soldiers worshipped, they hung a banner claiming that Hitler believed he was greater than Jesus.
Back in Paris, Lucy had formulated a vision of resistance she called "indirect action." Art that tried to be revolutionary would not work, but a thoughtful poem, provocative story, or surprising photograph could have a profound effect on its audience, burrowing inside the mind and germinating into a new perspective. This was not propaganda, she claimed, but an attempt to challenge people to think. It was the introvert's way of fighting.
The German secret police hunted them for four years, and during their trial, the chief judge told them why. He accused them of being guerrilla warriors who were more dangerous than soldiers. "With firearms," he claimed, "one knows at once what damage has been done, but with spiritual arms, one cannot tell how far reaching it may be." It was a perfect summary of Lucy's "indirect effect."
These notes might have seemed small and insignificant, but they demonstrated that the Nazis could not colonize the human heart. And Lucy and Suzanne's story shows that quiet, persistent rewriting of the narrative of oppression can be a powerful means of fighting back.


alternet--2020-11-13--Centrists lose again — and mainstream media blames the left again

Joe Biden had n't even been declared the victor of the 2020 election before establishment Democrats , in the face of poorer-than-expected results in House and Senate races , began pointing fingers at the left—with corporate media giving them a major assist .
Democrats had been hoping for big wins on election night , with the possibility of winning not only the presidency but also the Senate , and increasing their majority in the House .
But while Biden has come out on top , the party 's most optimistic outcome in the Senate would be a 50/50 split ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , giving them a majority with the vote of Vice President Kamala Harris .
And rather than gaining in the House , Democrats lost several seats .
In the wake of these disappointments , the right wing of the party immediately blamed its left wing for the poor showing , airing their grievances in a private conference call among House Democrats that was leaked to reporters .
In a write-up about the call , the Washington Post 's Rachael Bade and Erica Werner ( 11/5/20 ) quoted and paraphrased 14 sources blaming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Democrats ' losses , counterbalanced by only four sources defending the left .
All of the progressive sources were named ; half of the establishment sources were either quoted anonymously or presented as unspecified `` moderates '' —or , twice , simply as `` Democrats , '' committing the exasperatingly common journalistic sleight-of-hand that erases progressive Democrats as legitimate members of their party .
In addition to quoting a handful of participants on the call , Bade and Werner interviewed numerous `` moderates '' for the article ( `` Several moderate Democrats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only managed to interview two progressives : Alexandra Rojas , head of the leftist PAC Justice Democrats , along with Rep. Jared Huffman , a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus—who took the side of the centrists .
Huffman 's contrary position , while perhaps surprising to some readers , and serving to portray the `` centrist '' view as even more of a consensus position , would have been less surprising to Bade , who had quoted Huffman just a few days earlier ( 11/1/20 ) about his opposition to leftists ' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party .
In other words , the reporters appeared to seek out only one source who could have been expected to offer a forceful defense of bold leftist ideas , to balance a whole parade of attackers .
In its piece on the dust-up , in which `` Democrats traded excuses , blame and prognostications , '' the New York Times ( 11/5/20 ) quoted South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn , who `` cautioned against running on 'Medicare for all or defunding police or socialized medicine , ' adding that if Democrats pursued @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to win . '
'' What the article did n't mention was that Clyburn has taken more money from the pharmaceutical industry in the past decade than any other member of the House or Senate ( Post and Courier , 12/16/18 ) .
The piece then quoted Rep. Marc Veasey , who `` warned his fellow members against anti-fracking talk . ''
Veasey ranked fourth among House Democrats in taking oil and gas industry money in the 2020 election cycle , and got 70 % of his total campaign contributions from PACs .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the two progressives quoted in the Times piece , Pramila Jayapal and Rashida Tlaib , got 13 % and 3 % of their campaign contributions from PACs , respectively . )
Readers might have found such information useful in analyzing the motivations behind those quotes .
CNN 's Chris Cillizza ( 11/6/20 ) jumped into the fray as well , praising Rep. Abigail Spanberger , a former CIA official ( another piece of relevant context not mentioned by Cillizza ) who had some of the harshest words for progressives , for speaking `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ –like , `` We need to not ever use the words 'socialist ' or 'socialism ' ever again , '' as if the McCarthy era had never ended ( FAIR.org , 10/9/20 ) .
After quoting Spanberger extensively and then printing some of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 's rebuttal ( `` You ca n't just tell the Black , brown and youth organizers riding in to save us every election to be quiet or not have their reps champion them when they need us '' ) , Cillizza wrote : Though all of these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ left wing 's vocal support for things like socialism , Medicare for All , the Green New Deal and defunding the police cost the party seats in 2020 , they failed to provide any actual data that might have helped readers evaluate the veracity of those statements .
It 's an important point , because understanding Democrats ' lackluster performance should help guide their platform and messaging moving forward .
But these articles are n't shedding light on the data—perhaps because it would thoroughly undermine the anti-progressive framing .
As the New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported just last month in an unusually frank assessment of the popularity of left-wing ideas , the right 's wall-to-wall attempts to bring down Democrats with the `` socialist '' label have n't been very effective , despite Cillizza 's suggestion to the contrary .
That 's in part because Biden and other centrists deny them so forcefully , but in part because `` many of the plans favored by the most liberal wing of Democratic leaders remain popular with wide groups of voters , polling shows . ''
Tankersley pointed to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3 respondents support a wealth tax , 3 in 5 favor Medicare for All ( including 2 of 3 independent voters ) , and even higher numbers support free college tuition .
The Green New Deal is likewise broadly popular : One poll specifically of swing House districts ( YouGov/Data for Progress , 9/19 ) found that respondents supported the idea by a 13-point margin , 49 % to 36 % —even when informed that it will cost trillions of dollars .
And with some races still not called , it 's safe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Green New Deal did n't sink the Dems .
Ocasio-Cortez pointed out ( Twitter , 11/7/20 ) that every Democratic co-sponsor of Medicare for All in a swing district won re-election .
And Gizmodo 's Brian Kahn ( 11/9/20 ) found that of 93 Democratic incumbents who co-sponsored the Green New Deal—including five in swing districts—only one lost their race .
On the question of calls to `` defund the police , '' it 's important to clarify—as did the Intercept ( 11/6/20 ) , but none of these establishment media reports—that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lives Matter protests , not the platform of progressive congressmembers , and that that movement led to a massive spike in Democratic voter registration .
In other words , without the movement that gave us the slogan `` defund the police , '' the Democrats would almost certainly have witnessed even greater losses– including , quite probably , the White House .
As the Intercept also pointed out , it appears likely that left-wing organizing in Minnesota , Michigan and Pennsylvania resulted in decisive Democratic gains in key cities and suburbs in those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other problems with the establishment 's campaign strategies , running from underinvestment in digital campaigning to a lack of a ground game to a lack of recognition of or outreach to communities of color .
Clearly the 2020 election contains many lessons for the 2022 midterms , but it 's unlikely the right conclusions will be drawn from the fact-free centrist narrative presented by corporate media .
Julie Hollar is the managing editor of FAIR 's magazine , Extra !
.
Her work received an award from Project Censored in 2005 , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outlets as the L.A. Times , Agence France-Presse and the San Francisco Chronicle .
A graduate of Rice University , she has written for the Texas Observer and coordinated communications and activism at the Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas .
Hollar also co-directed the 2006 documentary Boy I Am and was previously active in the Paper Tiger Television collective .

Joe Biden hadn't even been declared the victor of the 2020 election before establishment Democrats, in the face of poorer-than-expected results in House and Senate races, began pointing fingers at the left—with corporate media giving them a major assist.
Democrats had been hoping for big wins on election night, with the possibility of winning not only the presidency but also the Senate, and increasing their majority in the House. But while Biden has come out on top, the party's most optimistic outcome in the Senate would be a 50/50 split (if they win both Georgia runoff seats), giving them a majority with the vote of Vice President Kamala Harris. And rather than gaining in the House, Democrats lost several seats.
In the wake of these disappointments, the right wing of the party immediately blamed its left wing for the poor showing, airing their grievances in a private conference call among House Democrats that was leaked to reporters.
In a write-up about the call, the Washington Post's Rachael Bade and Erica Werner (11/5/20) quoted and paraphrased 14 sources blaming those who "endorse far-left positions" for Democrats' losses, counterbalanced by only four sources defending the left. All of the progressive sources were named; half of the establishment sources were either quoted anonymously or presented as unspecified "moderates"—or, twice, simply as "Democrats," committing the exasperatingly common journalistic sleight-of-hand that erases progressive Democrats as legitimate members of their party.
In addition to quoting a handful of participants on the call, Bade and Werner interviewed numerous "moderates" for the article ("Several moderate Democrats said in interviews…"), but only managed to interview two progressives: Alexandra Rojas, head of the leftist PAC Justice Democrats, along with Rep. Jared Huffman, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus—who took the side of the centrists.
Huffman's contrary position, while perhaps surprising to some readers, and serving to portray the "centrist" view as even more of a consensus position, would have been less surprising to Bade, who had quoted Huffman just a few days earlier (11/1/20) about his opposition to leftists' efforts to exert more influence within the party. In other words, the reporters appeared to seek out only one source who could have been expected to offer a forceful defense of bold leftist ideas, to balance a whole parade of attackers.
In its piece on the dust-up, in which "Democrats traded excuses, blame and prognostications," the New York Times (11/5/20) quoted South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, who "cautioned against running on 'Medicare for all or defunding police or socialized medicine,' adding that if Democrats pursued such policies, 'we're not going to win.'" What the article didn't mention was that Clyburn has taken more money from the pharmaceutical industry in the past decade than any other member of the House or Senate (Post and Courier, 12/16/18).
The piece then quoted Rep. Marc Veasey, who "warned his fellow members against anti-fracking talk." Veasey ranked fourth among House Democrats in taking oil and gas industry money in the 2020 election cycle, and got 70% of his total campaign contributions from PACs. (To put that into perspective, the two progressives quoted in the Times piece, Pramila Jayapal and Rashida Tlaib, got 13% and 3% of their campaign contributions from PACs, respectively.) Readers might have found such information useful in analyzing the motivations behind those quotes.
CNN's Chris Cillizza (11/6/20) jumped into the fray as well, praising Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA official (another piece of relevant context not mentioned by Cillizza) who had some of the harshest words for progressives, for speaking "some hard truth to her party"–like, "We need to not ever use the words 'socialist' or 'socialism' ever again," as if the McCarthy era had never ended (FAIR.org, 10/9/20).
After quoting Spanberger extensively and then printing some of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's rebuttal ("You can't just tell the Black, brown and youth organizers riding in to save us every election to be quiet or not have their reps champion them when they need us"), Cillizza wrote:
What's beyond debate is that Republican strategists took comments made by liberals within the Democratic Party and used them to blast everyone from Spanberger on down.
Though all of these pieces offered plenty of suggestions that the left wing's vocal support for things like socialism, Medicare for All, the Green New Deal and defunding the police cost the party seats in 2020, they failed to provide any actual data that might have helped readers evaluate the veracity of those statements.
It's an important point, because understanding Democrats' lackluster performance should help guide their platform and messaging moving forward. But these articles aren't shedding light on the data—perhaps because it would thoroughly undermine the anti-progressive framing.
As the New York Times' Jim Tankersley (10/14/20) reported just last month in an unusually frank assessment of the popularity of left-wing ideas, the right's wall-to-wall attempts to bring down Democrats with the "socialist" label haven't been very effective, despite Cillizza's suggestion to the contrary. That's in part because Biden and other centrists deny them so forcefully, but in part because "many of the plans favored by the most liberal wing of Democratic leaders remain popular with wide groups of voters, polling shows." Tankersley pointed to a recent Times poll that found 2 in 3 respondents support a wealth tax, 3 in 5 favor Medicare for All (including 2 of 3 independent voters), and even higher numbers support free college tuition.
The Green New Deal is likewise broadly popular: One poll specifically of swing House districts (YouGov/Data for Progress, 9/19) found that respondents supported the idea by a 13-point margin, 49% to 36%—even when informed that it will cost trillions of dollars.
And with some races still not called, it's safe to say that Medicare for All and the Green New Deal didn't sink the Dems. Ocasio-Cortez pointed out (Twitter, 11/7/20) that every Democratic co-sponsor of Medicare for All in a swing district won re-election. And Gizmodo's Brian Kahn (11/9/20) found that of 93 Democratic incumbents who co-sponsored the Green New Deal—including five in swing districts—only one lost their race.
On the question of calls to "defund the police," it's important to clarify—as did the Intercept (11/6/20), but none of these establishment media reports—that such calls grew out of the Black Lives Matter protests, not the platform of progressive congressmembers, and that that movement led to a massive spike in Democratic voter registration. In other words, without the movement that gave us the slogan "defund the police," the Democrats would almost certainly have witnessed even greater losses– including, quite probably, the White House.
As the Intercept also pointed out, it appears likely that left-wing organizing in Minnesota, Michigan and Pennsylvania resulted in decisive Democratic gains in key cities and suburbs in those swing states. And Ocasio-Cortez named many other problems with the establishment's campaign strategies, running from underinvestment in digital campaigning to a lack of a ground game to a lack of recognition of or outreach to communities of color.
Clearly the 2020 election contains many lessons for the 2022 midterms, but it's unlikely the right conclusions will be drawn from the fact-free centrist narrative presented by corporate media.
Julie Hollar is the managing editor of FAIR's magazine, Extra!. Her work received an award from Project Censored in 2005, and she has been interviewed by such media outlets as the L.A. Times, Agence France-Presse and the San Francisco Chronicle. A graduate of Rice University, she has written for the Texas Observer and coordinated communications and activism at the Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas. Hollar also co-directed the 2006 documentary Boy I Am and was previously active in the Paper Tiger Television collective.


alternet--2020-11-13--Despite Trump's conspiracy claims, Dominion voting machines did not wipe any of his votes: report

Over the last several days , President Donald Trump and his allies have unleashed a flurry of false claims about the election in an effort to undermine the integrity of the results .
On Thursday , Trump went a step further by taking aim at Dominion voting machines with another conspiracy theory about the `` software glitches '' leading to significant changes in voting results in Michigan and Georgia .
In all capitalized letters , Trump shared details about a report published by One American News Network that claimed Dominion software deleted `` 2.7 million '' of his votes , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be significantly less than he would have needed to level the playing field or impact the Electoral College result , Trump even continued to push the baseless claims surrounding that conspiracy theory .
`` REPORT : DOMINION DELETED 2.7 MILLION TRUMP VOTES NATIONWIDE .
DATA ANALYSIS FINDS 221,000 PENNSYLVANIA VOTES SWITCHED FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP TO BIDEN .
941,000 TRUMP VOTES DELETED .
STATES USING DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS SWITCHED 435,000 VOTES FROM TRUMP TO BIDEN . ''
However , like nearly all of the election conspiracy theories , this claim has also been debunked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As Trump shares these dangerous claims , right-wing conservatives have continued circulate the disinformation across social media platforms .
Now , Edward Perez , an election-technology expert at the OSET Institute , which focuses on voting infrastructure , has spoke out to refute the misinformation about voting technology .
`` Many of the claims being asserted about Dominion and questionable voting technology is misinformation at best and , in many cases , they 're outright disinformation , '' said Perez .
`` I 'm not aware of any evidence of specific things @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lead one to believe that votes had been recorded or counted incorrectly . ''
Some Republicans have also had the courage to push back against the conspiracy theory .
Tina Barton , the Republican clerk in Rochester Hills , Mich. , released a statement after an error was discovered in their vote count .
But unlike Trump claimed , the outcome was actually favorable for a Republican candidate .
`` As a Republican , I am disturbed that this is intentionally being mischaracterized to undermine the election process , '' she said in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This was an isolated mistake that was quickly rectified . ''

Over the last several days, President Donald Trump and his allies have unleashed a flurry of false claims about the election in an effort to undermine the integrity of the results. On Thursday, Trump went a step further by taking aim at Dominion voting machines with another conspiracy theory about the "software glitches" leading to significant changes in voting results in Michigan and Georgia.
In all capitalized letters, Trump shared details about a report published by One American News Network that claimed Dominion software deleted "2.7 million" of his votes, nationwide. Although that amount still would be significantly less than he would have needed to level the playing field or impact the Electoral College result, Trump even continued to push the baseless claims surrounding that conspiracy theory.
"REPORT: DOMINION DELETED 2.7 MILLION TRUMP VOTES NATIONWIDE. DATA ANALYSIS FINDS 221,000 PENNSYLVANIA VOTES SWITCHED FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP TO BIDEN. 941,000 TRUMP VOTES DELETED. STATES USING DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS SWITCHED 435,000 VOTES FROM TRUMP TO BIDEN."
However, like nearly all of the election conspiracy theories, this claim has also been debunked, according to The New York Times. As Trump shares these dangerous claims, right-wing conservatives have continued circulate the disinformation across social media platforms. Now, Edward Perez, an election-technology expert at the OSET Institute, which focuses on voting infrastructure, has spoke out to refute the misinformation about voting technology.
"Many of the claims being asserted about Dominion and questionable voting technology is misinformation at best and, in many cases, they're outright disinformation," said Perez. "I'm not aware of any evidence of specific things or defects in Dominion software that would lead one to believe that votes had been recorded or counted incorrectly."
Some Republicans have also had the courage to push back against the conspiracy theory. Tina Barton, the Republican clerk in Rochester Hills, Mich., released a statement after an error was discovered in their vote count. But unlike Trump claimed, the outcome was actually favorable for a Republican candidate.
"As a Republican, I am disturbed that this is intentionally being mischaracterized to undermine the election process," she said in a video she posted online. "This was an isolated mistake that was quickly rectified."