motherjones--2020-01-23--Torture, Rape, and Kidnapping at the Border: A New Report Lays Bare the Horror of Trump’s Asylum Pla

Torture, Rape, and Kidnapping at the Border: A New Report Lays Bare the Horror of Trump’s Asylum Plan

Homeland Security officials sent a seven-year-old asylum seeker and victim of sexual assault back to Mexico because she failed a fear screening interview that took place over the phone .
A Cuban migrant was abducted from a taxi while attempting to buy food in a border town .
These and other harrowing stories are detailed in a damning new report released Wednesday by the nonprofit Human Rights First , summarizing the impacts of the Trump administration ’ s Migrant Protection Protocols policy , more commonly known as “ Remain in Mexico.
” The policy , first announced in January 2019 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the southern border to await their case proceedings in Mexico , instead of remaining in the US as was previously allowed .
Now , one year into MPP , the Human Rights First report tallies the human toll : Thousands of asylum seekers have been sent back to Mexico to await their asylum hearings .
Under MPP , more than 57,000 people have been returned to Mexico to await court proceedings on their asylum claims .
Nearly half have ended up in notoriously dangerous border towns such as Nuevo Laredo .
Some have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ region of Sonora , Mexico , in order to appear at immigration court .
Once there , migrants are met with the near-constant threat of rape , kidnapping , and torture .
Human Rights First reports at least 816 incidences of murder , torture , rape , and kidnapping of asylum seekers sent back across the border by DHS officials .
They cite a US Immigration Policy Center study that found that 1 in 4 returned asylum seekers in Tijuana and Mexicali had been threatened with violence .
These migrants are actively targeted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as they seek food and work in Mexico , and in transit to and from US immigration court .
Children and other vulnerable populations are among those being sent back under MPP .
The report identified some 16,000 children among MPP returnees , and reported at least 201 cases of kidnappings or attempted kidnappings of children .
Other vulnerable people returned include : Once across the border , it ’ s nearly impossible for asylum-seekers to win refugee protection .
As of November 2019 , 96 percent of people returned to Mexico by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to court data cited in the report .
It also found that of more than 24,000 completed MPP asylum cases , only 117 , or 0.5 percent , received protection .
On January 14 , Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf questioning the legality of MPP and requesting more information about its implementation .
They gave Wolf until the end of the month to respond and intend to conduct what they call a “ comprehensive review of the policy .
”

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Homeland Security officials sent a seven-year-old asylum seeker and victim of sexual assault back to Mexico because she failed a fear screening interview that took place over the phone. A Cuban migrant was abducted from a taxi while attempting to buy food in a border town.
These and other harrowing stories are detailed in a damning new report released Wednesday by the nonprofit Human Rights First, summarizing the impacts of the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols policy, more commonly known as “Remain in Mexico.” The policy, first announced in January 2019, requires asylum seekers who arrive at the southern border to await their case proceedings in Mexico, instead of remaining in the US as was previously allowed. Now, one year into MPP, the Human Rights First report tallies the human toll:
Thousands of asylum seekers have been sent back to Mexico to await their asylum hearings.
Under MPP, more than 57,000 people have been returned to Mexico to await court proceedings on their asylum claims. Nearly half have ended up in notoriously dangerous border towns such as Nuevo Laredo. Some have had to travel through the similarly treacherous region of Sonora, Mexico, in order to appear at immigration court.
Once there, migrants are met with the near-constant threat of rape, kidnapping, and torture.
Human Rights First reports at least 816 incidences of murder, torture, rape, and kidnapping of asylum seekers sent back across the border by DHS officials. They cite a US Immigration Policy Center study that found that 1 in 4 returned asylum seekers in Tijuana and Mexicali had been threatened with violence. These migrants are actively targeted by drug cartels for kidnapping and assault as they seek food and work in Mexico, and in transit to and from US immigration court.
Children and other vulnerable populations are among those being sent back under MPP.
The report identified some 16,000 children among MPP returnees, and reported at least 201 cases of kidnappings or attempted kidnappings of children. Other vulnerable people returned include:
Once across the border, it’s nearly impossible for asylum-seekers to win refugee protection.
As of November 2019, 96 percent of people returned to Mexico by MPP did not have lawyers, according to court data cited in the report. It also found that of more than 24,000 completed MPP asylum cases, only 117, or 0.5 percent, received protection.
On January 14, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf questioning the legality of MPP and requesting more information about its implementation. They gave Wolf until the end of the month to respond and intend to conduct what they call a “comprehensive review of the policy.”


motherjones--2020-01-23--Evangelicals Love Donald Trump for Many Reasons, But One of Them Is Especially Terrifying

The enemies of Israel have unleashed a massive air attack on the Promised Land .
Hundreds of fighter jets streak across the sky .
But before Israel can be destroyed , fire rains from the heavens and the enemy jets explode in mid-air with no explanation .
Hailstones the size of golf balls follow the fire .
The ground shakes .
Birds pick clean the bodies of the fallen attackers .
The enemy is vanquished without a single Israeli casualty , and the country is saved .
These are some of the opening scenes of the bestselling 1995 book Left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Last Days , by Jerry B. Jenkins and the late evangelical minister Tim LaHaye .
But don ’ t mistake this scenario for a mere action sequence : It ’ s based on the war of Gog and Magog , a biblical conflict prophesied in the Book of Ezekiel .
In the Bible , Gog is the leader of Magog , a “ place in the far north ” that many evangelicals believe is Russia .
According to Ezekiel ’ s prophecy , Gog will join with Persia—now Iran—and other Arab @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like a cloud that covers the land.
” LaHaye , like many evangelicals , believed this battle would bring on the Rapture , the End Times event when God spirits away the good Christians to heaven before unleashing plagues , sickness , and other horrors on the unbelievers remaining on Earth .
Meanwhile , the Antichrist reigns supreme .
The story of Gog and Magog is central to the bloody eschatology long embraced by millions of American evangelicals .
In recent years , End Times has gained special political currency as believers have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as fulfilling Ezekiel ’ s prophecy , notably the US invasion of Iraq and the war in Syria .
Gog and Magog took on fresh relevance earlier this month , when the Trump administration assassinated Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani , the commander of Iran ’ s elite Quds Force .
On many levels , President Donald Trump ’ s self-created crisis in Iran seems to have no relationship to any sort of coherent foreign policy or geopolitical plan for the future .
The assassination has yielded few if any tangible rewards for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constituency for Trump ’ s improvised policy toward the Middle East and Iran in particular : the evangelical Christians who see it as a means of ushering in the return of Christ .
Lured by the promise of conservative Supreme Court justices , anti-abortion measures , and a commitment to Christian supremacy under the guise of religious freedom , white evangelicals voted for Trump in higher numbers than any other group—more than 80 percent .
He desperately needs them if he ’ s going to be reelected .
And while some have expressed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toward war with Iran , many of those with what were once fringe beliefs have cheered the killing of Soleimani .
“ Iran has this big part to play in biblical history , ” says religious historian Diana Butler Bass , who grew up in the evangelical church , attended an evangelical college and seminary , and wrote her Ph.D. thesis at Duke University on American fundamentalism .
“ There are these particular prophecies from Ezekiel , where there is talk of a war that will happen at a very important moment in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war is going to kick off the End Times .
People in this prophetic community believe Iran is going to be one of these aggressors.
” Bass thinks this worldview may be central to understanding Trump ’ s foreign policy .
“ When Iran gets into the news , especially with anything to do with war , it ’ s sort of a prophetic dog whistle to evangelicals .
They will support anything that seems to edge the world towards this conflagration , ” she says .
“ They don ’ t necessarily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eager for Christ to return and they think that this war with Iran and Israel has to happen for their larger hope to pass.
” Not all or even most evangelicals believe in the literal truth of these sorts of prophecies , though nearly 60 percent of white evangelicals , according to one 2010 poll , believe Jesus is definitely or probably going to return by the year 2050 .
But those who do subscribe to this apocalyptic world view seem to be overrepresented among Trump ’ s religious supporters and advisers .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ evangelical pastors came to the White House to pray with Trump to protect him from impeachment .
Among those who laid hands on the president as he stood , head bowed , in the Oval Office , was repeat visitor Greg Laurie , pastor of a California megachurch .
A few days after the killing of Soleimani , Laurie made a YouTube video with Don Stewart , author of 25 Signs We Are Near the End , to discuss Iran and the End Times .
“ The scenario that the Bible predicted , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ is now falling into place.
” From the outset , Trump has surrounded himself with people who hail from the fringes of the evangelical community that is steeped in the language of biblical prophecy , and his administration regularly reflects that language back to them in its messaging .
In March 2017 , for instance , Trump issued an official White House statement recognizing the Persian New Year in which he misattributed a quote to Cyrus the Great , the libertine pagan leader of the ancient Persian empire who was anointed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Ordinary Americans probably wouldn ’ t have even noticed the announcement , but evangelicals knew that Trump was speaking their language .
Many of them believe Trump is like Cyrus , a flawed nonbeliever who nonetheless is chosen by God to work his miracles on Earth .
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo , who was reportedly instrumental in pushing for the killing of Soleimani , is also a master of such messaging .
In March , during an interview in Jerusalem with the Christian Broadcasting Network ( founded by another apocalyptic preacher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his familiarity with another Iran-centric Bible story popular with End Times evangelicals .
In the story , a Persian king is urged to slaughter the Jews in his kingdom at the urging of the evil adviser Haman .
But his Jewish Queen Esther convinces him not to and saves her people .
Asked whether he thought Trump could be a modern-day Esther , saving the Jews from Iran , Pompeo replied , “ As a Christian , I certainly believe that ’ s possible.
” The secretary of state ’ s End Times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killing , as meme-makers circulated a quote from a speech he made in a Kansas church in 2015 .
A few days after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage , Pompeo said : “ We will continue to fight these battles .
It is a never-ending struggle .
… until the Rapture.
” The State Department did not respond to questions about how Pompeo ’ s religious views may affect his foreign policy decisions .
But it ’ s not hard to see how apocalyptic evangelicalism might be influencing the Trump administration as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evangelicals reached by televangelists and megachurch pastors preaching the End Times .
The most blatant appeal to this constituency came when Trump made the controversial decision to move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem , a long-desired goal of evangelicals who see it as fulfilling a biblical prophecy necessary in securing the Second Coming .
What may be less obvious is how Trump ’ s disdain for international governing bodies like NATO also dovetails almost perfectly with End Times theology , whether he realizes it or not .
Matthew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history professor and author of American Apocalypse : A History of Modern Evangelicalism , says evangelicals who believe the end is near have always been hostile to any sort of international organizations .
That ’ s because they believe biblical prophecies that say that in the last days , a world leader who preaches peace will emerge and move toward a one-world government .
In fact , the prophecy goes , that leader will be the Antichrist who will force the world to accept a false religion and persecute people who don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( In Left Behind , the Antichrist is a Romanian UN secretary-general . )
Evangelicals love Trump ’ s talk of pulling out of NATO , his attacks on the UN , and his trashing of the Paris climate change accord .
“ They hate the UN , ” Sutton says .
“ Trump ’ s unilateralism is also music to their ears.
” Trump is not the first president to surround himself with evangelical Christians with an apocalyptic bent .
Ronald Reagan was advised by Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coming apocalypse , writing about it in his journals .
He appointed people like Interior Secretary James Watt , a Pentecostal fundamentalist whose disdain for environmental conservation seemed to be informed by his belief that the end of the world was nigh .
In an appearance before Congress , he told stunned lawmakers , “ I do not know how many future generations we can count on before the Lord returns.
” Apparently George W. Bush was also part of this apocalypse-now group .
When Bush was trying to convince French president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Iran in 2003 , he reportedly told Chirac : “ Gog and Magog are at work in the Middle East .
Biblical prophecies are being fulfilled.
” Chirac had no idea what Bush was talking about and had to consult a biblical scholar .
Trump , who seems unable to distinguish between the New and Old Testaments , doesn ’ t seem particularly fluent in the prophecies of Ezekiel .
But he has brought into the White House a host of people who are .
Quite a few also hail from what Bass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charlatan wing ” of evangelical Christianity .
They ’ re the prosperity preachers and prophets of the sort depicted by Sinclair Lewis in Elmer Gantry .
“ I have no doubt at all that those people are sitting right next to [ Trump ] , giving him these Bible verses , telling him about these prophecies , ” Bass says , “ which means that they are kind of egging him on , [ telling him ] that he ’ s part of God ’ s prophetic fulfillment for these last days.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House regulars are associated with something known as the New Apostolic Reformation , what Christianity Today describes as “ a loosely connected group of Pentecostals and Charismatics.
” They ’ re the ones who speak in tongues , scour the news for clues to biblical prophecies , engage in faith healing , and preach prosperity gospel—the notion that faith in God ( or , usually , the preacher ) will make people wealthy ( or at least enrich the preacher ) .
These apostles tend to embrace “ dominionist ” theology that implores @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of government , media , and education as a way of preparing for the End Times and return of Christ .
Influential politicians like former Rep. Michele Bachmann ( R-Minn. ) , who has made several visits to the Trump White House , former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin , and former Trump Energy Secretary Rick Perry fall into this camp .
Peter Montgomery , a senior fellow at the liberal nonprofit People for the American Way who has tracked the religious right for many years , says that the network of preachers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ operations “ are telling people over and over again that Trump was ‘ chosen , ’ that God intervened in the election .
Some of them say very explicitly that Trump is playing a role in God ’ s End Time plans to bring about the return of Christ.
” One of the most prominent representatives of the Left Behind wing of the evangelical movement is San Antonio televangelist John Hagee , who has been calling for a war with Iran for more than a 15 years .
In 2005 , Hagee wrote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that claimed the Bible predicted a war with Iran .
( In 2011 , it was turned into a movie of the same title , starring Bionic Man Lee Majors and Randy Travis . )
Shortly after the book was published , Hagee created Christians United for Israel , a Christian Zionist organization that now claims to have 8 million members .
It lobbies for support for Israeli settlements , military aid to Israel , and for the US to join with Israel to launch a preemptive strike on Iran .
Hagee , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with powerful Republicans during the George W. Bush administration , despite some of his more controversial statements .
Among other things , he has said that gays caused Hurricane Katrina , referred to the Catholic Church as the “ great whore , ” called Hitler a “ half-breed ” Jew , and said that Hitler was part of God ’ s plan to get the Jews back to Israel .
His star began to fall in 2008 after he endorsed Sen. John McCain for the GOP presidential nomination .
McCain rejected his support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crazy and unacceptable.
” The election of Barack Obama consigned Hagee to his megachurch in San Antonio .
But Trump has restored him to the corridors of power in Washington .
Hagee endorsed Trump early in 2016 .
Once Trump was elected , Hagee met with the new president for two hours in 2017 to discuss moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem .
Foreign policy experts feared the embassy relocation would destabilize the region and hamper peace talks , but Trump moved it anyway in May 2018 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the protests that followed .
Hagee attended the opening ceremony alongside notables such as Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner , and he gave the closing benediction .
“ Let every Islamic terrorist hear this message : Israel lives , ” he announced .
“ Let it echo down the marble halls of the presidential palace in Iran : Israel lives.
” He later told the Texas Observer that he was looking forward to Trump confronting Iran , explaining , “ The sum of Iran ’ s evil is greater than the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United for Israel held its annual DC confab and lobbying day last summer , Trump sent no fewer than five top administration officials to address attendees , including Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence ( both evangelicals themselves ) , then–national security adviser John Bolton , a special envoy to the Middle East , and the US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman .
Pompeo opened the speech by telling the crowd of more than 5,000 people , “ This is what it must have looked like to be part of the crowd for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a miracle that was.
” Once more the story of Queen Esther came in handy , this time as Pompeo compared it to modern-day Iran .
Hagee is one of the most prominent of Trump ’ s evangelical supporters who see a war with Iran as a necessary step towards the End Times , but he ’ s far from the only one .
The White House has hosted a steady stream of dominionists and NAR apostles since Trump took office , including Lance Wallnau , author of God ’ s Chaos President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ business in Dallas , Wallnau has become famous as one of the few evangelicals who accurately prophesied Trump ’ s election after receiving divine inspiration to read chapter 45 of the Book of Isaiah .
That ’ s the story of King Cyrus , whom Wallnau and many other evangelicals think Trump resembles .
( For $ 45 , Wallnau and ex-con televangelist Jim Bakker now sell a Trump/Cyrus coin that people can use to pray for Trump ’ s reelection . )
Dr. Lance , as he ’ s known , has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including for a private briefing on Jared Kushner ’ s Middle East peace plan .
Facilitating many of these visits is Paula White-Cain , the controversial televangelist associated with the Trinity Broadcasting Network who became Trump ’ s spiritual adviser after he saw her preach on TV in the early aughts .
White led a 20,000-strong megachurch in Tampa that was investigated by Sen. Charles Grassley ( R-Iowa ) in 2007 for lavish spending on private jets and big houses and possible violations of its tax-exempt status .
His report did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the investigation—but in 2012 , White ’ s church declared bankruptcy .
She went on to lead a mostly African American church in Florida where she remained until last spring , when her son took over the ministry .
Now on her third marriage , White has long been at odds with more elite , mainstream evangelicals because of her particular self-help brand of prosperity gospel .
Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore called White a “ charlatan ” and “ heretic.
” Nonetheless , in late October , Trump installed her in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ office of public liaison to do outreach to evangelicals , formalizing access for some of the more extreme members of that group .
She has referred to Trump as a modern-day Esther and called his enemies “ demonic.
” Bass says that evangelical elites of the sort who associated with President George W. Bush have long looked down their noses at populist preachers like White and her crowd , but Trump has elevated them to positions of power .
It ’ s a win-win situation .
The evangelicals are at last in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ held .
And Trump ’ s narcissism is receiving special nourishment by their insistence that he was chosen by God .
“ I think that Trump likes it when people think he ’ s close to God—he called himself the ‘ chosen one ’ —and to think that all of this has some sort of divine backing , ” Bass says .
“ I don ’ t think there ’ s ever been a president who was quite influenced by this stream of evangelicalism as Trump has been.
” Naturally , there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The administration has struggled to provide evidence of any imminent threats from Soleimani , but the timing for the assassination was certainly fortuitous for someone looking to mobilize evangelicals .
Not only was Trump embroiled in impeachment hearings , he was still chaffing from a recent editorial in the evangelical publication Christianity Today , founded by Billy Graham , calling for him to be removed from office on moral grounds .
Trump announced the killing of Soleimani just hours before appearing at the launch of his campaign ’ s Evangelicals for Trump coalition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a Pentacostal Latino church headed by Guillermo Maldonado , who speaks in tongues and hosts a TV show called “ The Supernatural Now.
” He ’ s the founder of the King Jesus International Ministry , a Miami megachurch with upwards of 20,000 members and a large TV and radio presence .
Maldonado is also another regular White House visitor who has preached that Trump has a role in God ’ s plans for the End Times .
At the 2019 Global Prophetic Summit , he claimed that God told him , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time , I have raised somebody in office to open the doors for my gospels.
” André Gagné , a theology professor at Concordia University in Montreal , says the apocalyptic worldview is concerning at such high levels of power , because believers may be rather sanguine about the possibility that assassinating an Iranian general might spur an even bigger war or nuclear confrontation in the Middle East .
“ If it brings the end of the world , it brings the end of the world , ” Gagné says .
“ They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t wait for the Rapture to happen .
For them it ’ s the ultimate reunion with God .
”

The enemies of Israel have unleashed a massive air attack on the Promised Land. Hundreds of fighter jets streak across the sky. But before Israel can be destroyed, fire rains from the heavens and the enemy jets explode in mid-air with no explanation. Hailstones the size of golf balls follow the fire. The ground shakes. Birds pick clean the bodies of the fallen attackers. The enemy is vanquished without a single Israeli casualty, and the country is saved.
These are some of the opening scenes of the bestselling 1995 book Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth’s Last Days, by Jerry B. Jenkins and the late evangelical minister Tim LaHaye. But don’t mistake this scenario for a mere action sequence: It’s based on the war of Gog and Magog, a biblical conflict prophesied in the Book of Ezekiel. In the Bible, Gog is the leader of Magog, a “place in the far north” that many evangelicals believe is Russia. According to Ezekiel’s prophecy, Gog will join with Persia—now Iran—and other Arab nations to attack a peaceful Israel “like a cloud that covers the land.” LaHaye, like many evangelicals, believed this battle would bring on the Rapture, the End Times event when God spirits away the good Christians to heaven before unleashing plagues, sickness, and other horrors on the unbelievers remaining on Earth. Meanwhile, the Antichrist reigns supreme.
The story of Gog and Magog is central to the bloody eschatology long embraced by millions of American evangelicals. In recent years, End Times has gained special political currency as believers have seen any number of Middle East conflagrations as fulfilling Ezekiel’s prophecy, notably the US invasion of Iraq and the war in Syria. Gog and Magog took on fresh relevance earlier this month, when the Trump administration assassinated Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force.
On many levels, President Donald Trump’s self-created crisis in Iran seems to have no relationship to any sort of coherent foreign policy or geopolitical plan for the future. The assassination has yielded few if any tangible rewards for the US. But there is an eager constituency for Trump’s improvised policy toward the Middle East and Iran in particular: the evangelical Christians who see it as a means of ushering in the return of Christ. Lured by the promise of conservative Supreme Court justices, anti-abortion measures, and a commitment to Christian supremacy under the guise of religious freedom, white evangelicals voted for Trump in higher numbers than any other group—more than 80 percent.
He desperately needs them if he’s going to be reelected. And while some have expressed concern about the administration’s inching toward war with Iran, many of those with what were once fringe beliefs have cheered the killing of Soleimani. “Iran has this big part to play in biblical history,” says religious historian Diana Butler Bass, who grew up in the evangelical church, attended an evangelical college and seminary, and wrote her Ph.D. thesis at Duke University on American fundamentalism. “There are these particular prophecies from Ezekiel, where there is talk of a war that will happen at a very important moment in Israel’s history. And that war is going to kick off the End Times. People in this prophetic community believe Iran is going to be one of these aggressors.”
“When Iran gets into the news, especially with anything to do with war, it’s sort of a prophetic dog whistle to evangelicals.”
Bass thinks this worldview may be central to understanding Trump’s foreign policy. “When Iran gets into the news, especially with anything to do with war, it’s sort of a prophetic dog whistle to evangelicals. They will support anything that seems to edge the world towards this conflagration,” she says. “They don’t necessarily want violence, but they’re eager for Christ to return and they think that this war with Iran and Israel has to happen for their larger hope to pass.”
Not all or even most evangelicals believe in the literal truth of these sorts of prophecies, though nearly 60 percent of white evangelicals, according to one 2010 poll, believe Jesus is definitely or probably going to return by the year 2050. But those who do subscribe to this apocalyptic world view seem to be overrepresented among Trump’s religious supporters and advisers. In October, a host of influential evangelical pastors came to the White House to pray with Trump to protect him from impeachment. Among those who laid hands on the president as he stood, head bowed, in the Oval Office, was repeat visitor Greg Laurie, pastor of a California megachurch. A few days after the killing of Soleimani, Laurie made a YouTube video with Don Stewart, author of 25 Signs We Are Near the End, to discuss Iran and the End Times. “The scenario that the Bible predicted, seemingly so impossible,” Stewart promised, “is now falling into place.”
From the outset, Trump has surrounded himself with people who hail from the fringes of the evangelical community that is steeped in the language of biblical prophecy, and his administration regularly reflects that language back to them in its messaging. In March 2017, for instance, Trump issued an official White House statement recognizing the Persian New Year in which he misattributed a quote to Cyrus the Great, the libertine pagan leader of the ancient Persian empire who was anointed by God to free Jews in Babylon. Ordinary Americans probably wouldn’t have even noticed the announcement, but evangelicals knew that Trump was speaking their language. Many of them believe Trump is like Cyrus, a flawed nonbeliever who nonetheless is chosen by God to work his miracles on Earth.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was reportedly instrumental in pushing for the killing of Soleimani, is also a master of such messaging. In March, during an interview in Jerusalem with the Christian Broadcasting Network (founded by another apocalyptic preacher, Pat Robertson), Pompeo showed his familiarity with another Iran-centric Bible story popular with End Times evangelicals. In the story, a Persian king is urged to slaughter the Jews in his kingdom at the urging of the evil adviser Haman. But his Jewish Queen Esther convinces him not to and saves her people. Asked whether he thought Trump could be a modern-day Esther, saving the Jews from Iran, Pompeo replied, “As a Christian, I certainly believe that’s possible.” The secretary of state’s End Times beliefs made headlines again after the Soleimani killing, as meme-makers circulated a quote from a speech he made in a Kansas church in 2015. A few days after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, Pompeo said: “We will continue to fight these battles. It is a never-ending struggle. … until the Rapture.”
The State Department did not respond to questions about how Pompeo’s religious views may affect his foreign policy decisions. But it’s not hard to see how apocalyptic evangelicalism might be influencing the Trump administration as it seeks to mobilize the millions of evangelicals reached by televangelists and megachurch pastors preaching the End Times. The most blatant appeal to this constituency came when Trump made the controversial decision to move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a long-desired goal of evangelicals who see it as fulfilling a biblical prophecy necessary in securing the Second Coming. What may be less obvious is how Trump’s disdain for international governing bodies like NATO also dovetails almost perfectly with End Times theology, whether he realizes it or not.
Matthew Avery Sutton, a Washington State University history professor and author of American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism, says evangelicals who believe the end is near have always been hostile to any sort of international organizations. That’s because they believe biblical prophecies that say that in the last days, a world leader who preaches peace will emerge and move toward a one-world government. In fact, the prophecy goes, that leader will be the Antichrist who will force the world to accept a false religion and persecute people who don’t accept him as a Messiah. (In Left Behind, the Antichrist is a Romanian UN secretary-general.) Evangelicals love Trump’s talk of pulling out of NATO, his attacks on the UN, and his trashing of the Paris climate change accord. “They hate the UN,” Sutton says. “Trump’s unilateralism is also music to their ears.”
Trump is not the first president to surround himself with evangelical Christians with an apocalyptic bent. Ronald Reagan was advised by Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell, and personally believed in the End Times and the coming apocalypse, writing about it in his journals. He appointed people like Interior Secretary James Watt, a Pentecostal fundamentalist whose disdain for environmental conservation seemed to be informed by his belief that the end of the world was nigh. In an appearance before Congress, he told stunned lawmakers, “I do not know how many future generations we can count on before the Lord returns.”
Apparently George W. Bush was also part of this apocalypse-now group. When Bush was trying to convince French president Jacques Chirac to support an invasion of Iran in 2003, he reportedly told Chirac: “Gog and Magog are at work in the Middle East. Biblical prophecies are being fulfilled.” Chirac had no idea what Bush was talking about and had to consult a biblical scholar.
George W. Bush: “Gog and Magog are at work in the Middle East. Biblical prophecies are being fulfilled.”
Trump, who seems unable to distinguish between the New and Old Testaments, doesn’t seem particularly fluent in the prophecies of Ezekiel. But he has brought into the White House a host of people who are. Quite a few also hail from what Bass delicately describes as the “not respectable charlatan wing” of evangelical Christianity. They’re the prosperity preachers and prophets of the sort depicted by Sinclair Lewis in Elmer Gantry. “I have no doubt at all that those people are sitting right next to [Trump], giving him these Bible verses, telling him about these prophecies,” Bass says, “which means that they are kind of egging him on, [telling him] that he’s part of God’s prophetic fulfillment for these last days.”
Many of those who have become White House regulars are associated with something known as the New Apostolic Reformation, what Christianity Today describes as “a loosely connected group of Pentecostals and Charismatics.” They’re the ones who speak in tongues, scour the news for clues to biblical prophecies, engage in faith healing, and preach prosperity gospel—the notion that faith in God (or, usually, the preacher) will make people wealthy (or at least enrich the preacher). These apostles tend to embrace “dominionist” theology that implores Christians to take over of all levels of government, media, and education as a way of preparing for the End Times and return of Christ. Influential politicians like former Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), who has made several visits to the Trump White House, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, and former Trump Energy Secretary Rick Perry fall into this camp.
Peter Montgomery, a senior fellow at the liberal nonprofit People for the American Way who has tracked the religious right for many years, says that the network of preachers who come from NAR and Pentecostal media operations “are telling people over and over again that Trump was ‘chosen,’ that God intervened in the election. Some of them say very explicitly that Trump is playing a role in God’s End Time plans to bring about the return of Christ.”
One of the most prominent representatives of the Left Behind wing of the evangelical movement is San Antonio televangelist John Hagee, who has been calling for a war with Iran for more than a 15 years. In 2005, Hagee wrote a best-selling book, Jerusalem Countdown, that claimed the Bible predicted a war with Iran. (In 2011, it was turned into a movie of the same title, starring Bionic Man Lee Majors and Randy Travis.) Shortly after the book was published, Hagee created Christians United for Israel, a Christian Zionist organization that now claims to have 8 million members. It lobbies for support for Israeli settlements, military aid to Israel, and for the US to join with Israel to launch a preemptive strike on Iran.
He has said that gays caused Hurricane Katrina, referred to the Catholic Church as the “great whore,” called Hitler a “half-breed” Jew, and said that Hitler was part of God’s plan to get the Jews back to Israel.
Hagee, now 79, had once been popular with powerful Republicans during the George W. Bush administration, despite some of his more controversial statements. Among other things, he has said that gays caused Hurricane Katrina, referred to the Catholic Church as the “great whore,” called Hitler a “half-breed” Jew, and said that Hitler was part of God’s plan to get the Jews back to Israel. His star began to fall in 2008 after he endorsed Sen. John McCain for the GOP presidential nomination. McCain rejected his support, calling Hagee’s views “crazy and unacceptable.”
The election of Barack Obama consigned Hagee to his megachurch in San Antonio. But Trump has restored him to the corridors of power in Washington. Hagee endorsed Trump early in 2016. Once Trump was elected, Hagee met with the new president for two hours in 2017 to discuss moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Foreign policy experts feared the embassy relocation would destabilize the region and hamper peace talks, but Trump moved it anyway in May 2018. Israeli troops killed more than 50 people in the protests that followed.
Hagee attended the opening ceremony alongside notables such as Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner, and he gave the closing benediction. “Let every Islamic terrorist hear this message: Israel lives,” he announced. “Let it echo down the marble halls of the presidential palace in Iran: Israel lives.” He later told the Texas Observer that he was looking forward to Trump confronting Iran, explaining, “The sum of Iran’s evil is greater than the whole of its parts.”
When Christians United for Israel held its annual DC confab and lobbying day last summer, Trump sent no fewer than five top administration officials to address attendees, including Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence (both evangelicals themselves), then–national security adviser John Bolton, a special envoy to the Middle East, and the US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. Pompeo opened the speech by telling the crowd of more than 5,000 people, “This is what it must have looked like to be part of the crowd for the fishes and the loaves. What a miracle that was.” Once more the story of Queen Esther came in handy, this time as Pompeo compared it to modern-day Iran.
Hagee is one of the most prominent of Trump’s evangelical supporters who see a war with Iran as a necessary step towards the End Times, but he’s far from the only one. The White House has hosted a steady stream of dominionists and NAR apostles since Trump took office, including Lance Wallnau, author of God’s Chaos President. An evangelical leader with a consulting business in Dallas, Wallnau has become famous as one of the few evangelicals who accurately prophesied Trump’s election after receiving divine inspiration to read chapter 45 of the Book of Isaiah. That’s the story of King Cyrus, whom Wallnau and many other evangelicals think Trump resembles. (For $45, Wallnau and ex-con televangelist Jim Bakker now sell a Trump/Cyrus coin that people can use to pray for Trump’s reelection.) Dr. Lance, as he’s known, has made several visits to the White House, including for a private briefing on Jared Kushner’s Middle East peace plan.
Facilitating many of these visits is Paula White-Cain, the controversial televangelist associated with the Trinity Broadcasting Network who became Trump’s spiritual adviser after he saw her preach on TV in the early aughts. White led a 20,000-strong megachurch in Tampa that was investigated by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) in 2007 for lavish spending on private jets and big houses and possible violations of its tax-exempt status. His report did not find any wrongdoing—church leaders refused to cooperate with the investigation—but in 2012, White’s church declared bankruptcy. She went on to lead a mostly African American church in Florida where she remained until last spring, when her son took over the ministry.
Now on her third marriage, White has long been at odds with more elite, mainstream evangelicals because of her particular self-help brand of prosperity gospel. Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore called White a “charlatan” and “heretic.” Nonetheless, in late October, Trump installed her in an official post at the White House office of public liaison to do outreach to evangelicals, formalizing access for some of the more extreme members of that group. She has referred to Trump as a modern-day Esther and called his enemies “demonic.”
Bass says that evangelical elites of the sort who associated with President George W. Bush have long looked down their noses at populist preachers like White and her crowd, but Trump has elevated them to positions of power. It’s a win-win situation. The evangelicals are at last in the influential positions those who disparaged them once held. And Trump’s narcissism is receiving special nourishment by their insistence that he was chosen by God. “I think that Trump likes it when people think he’s close to God—he called himself the ‘chosen one’—and to think that all of this has some sort of divine backing,” Bass says. “I don’t think there’s ever been a president who was quite influenced by this stream of evangelicalism as Trump has been.”
Naturally, there are political benefits to all of this. The administration has struggled to provide evidence of any imminent threats from Soleimani, but the timing for the assassination was certainly fortuitous for someone looking to mobilize evangelicals. Not only was Trump embroiled in impeachment hearings, he was still chaffing from a recent editorial in the evangelical publication Christianity Today, founded by Billy Graham, calling for him to be removed from office on moral grounds. Trump announced the killing of Soleimani just hours before appearing at the launch of his campaign’s Evangelicals for Trump coalition in Miami.
That event took place at a Pentacostal Latino church headed by Guillermo Maldonado, who speaks in tongues and hosts a TV show called “The Supernatural Now.” He’s the founder of the King Jesus International Ministry, a Miami megachurch with upwards of 20,000 members and a large TV and radio presence. Maldonado is also another regular White House visitor who has preached that Trump has a role in God’s plans for the End Times. At the 2019 Global Prophetic Summit, he claimed that God told him, “America, I have prepared this time, I have raised somebody in office to open the doors for my gospels.”
André Gagné, a theology professor at Concordia University in Montreal, says the apocalyptic worldview is concerning at such high levels of power, because believers may be rather sanguine about the possibility that assassinating an Iranian general might spur an even bigger war or nuclear confrontation in the Middle East. “If it brings the end of the world, it brings the end of the world,” Gagné says. “They’re ready. They can’t wait for the Rapture to happen. For them it’s the ultimate reunion with God.”
Top image credits: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP; Kenneth Thomas/AP; Sebastian Scheiner/AP; Steve Parsons/WPA Pool/Getty; Getty Images (2)


motherjones--2020-01-23--Van Jones Isn’t Ready to Give Up on Finding Common Ground With Trump

As the Senate impeachment trail gets underway , lawmakers are sticking closely to the marching orders for their chosen tribe .
Partisanship hangs over the nation , heavier than ever .
But Van Jones says he hasn ’ t give up on meaningful bi-partisan cooperation .
The CNN star worked in the Obama White House as the “ Green Jobs Czar ” , part of a 30-year career that has seen him take on some of America ’ s most progressive causes , including the fight against mass incarceration .
And under the Trump administration , he achieved his greatest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In December 2018 , President Trump signed the First Step Act into law , an important reform that ultimately led to thousands leaving prison .
While Jones has repeatedly called out Trump for being a bigot and a bully , he caught major heat from fellow progressives when he publicly praised Trump and the Republican party for their work on the First Step Act .
“ Well , let me just say , with Trump , I got 99 problems , but prisons ain ’ t one , ” Van Jones tells Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week ’ s episode of The Mother Jones Podcast .
“ It ’ s possible to literally oppose someone on every issue .
But on the one issue , you agree with them , try to get something done.
” “ There ’ s a whole other value system on the right that is also offended by mass incarceration , ” Jones says .
“ They see is an attack on liberty.
” Late last year , Corn joined Jones onstage for a live event at George Washington University , and asked him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do you cooperate ?
And what to do when you find yourself caught in brutal partisan crossfire ?
Following the success of First Step at the federal level , Jones is trying to harness this right-left coalition to push for additional reforms on probation , parole , prison re-entry , and prosecutor misconduct , on both the federal and state levels , from his position as CEO of Reform Alliance , which advocates for criminal justice .
“ It ’ s already spawned about half a dozen copycat bills across the country , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be more bills .
Trump would sign another bill tomorrow… But it ’ s deeper than that .
This network that ’ s been developing is starting to grow .
”

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As the Senate impeachment trial gets underway, lawmakers are sticking closely to the marching orders for their chosen tribe. Partisanship hangs over the nation, heavier than ever.
But Van Jones says he hasn’t give up on meaningful bi-partisan cooperation. The CNN star worked in the Obama White House as the “Green Jobs Czar”, part of a 30-year career that has seen him take on some of America’s most progressive causes, including the fight against mass incarceration. And under the Trump administration, he achieved his greatest victory in criminal justice reform yet. In December 2018, President Trump signed the First Step Act into law, an important reform that ultimately led to thousands leaving prison.
While Jones has repeatedly called out Trump for being a bigot and a bully, he caught major heat from fellow progressives when he publicly praised Trump and the Republican party for their work on the First Step Act.
“Well, let me just say, with Trump, I got 99 problems, but prisons ain’t one,” Van Jones tells Washington DC bureau chief David Corn on this week’s episode of The Mother Jones Podcast. “It’s possible to literally oppose someone on every issue. But on the one issue, you agree with them, try to get something done.”
“There’s a whole other value system on the right that is also offended by mass incarceration,” Jones says. “They see is an attack on liberty.”
Late last year, Corn joined Jones onstage for a live event at George Washington University, and asked him: When do you compromise? When do you cooperate? And what to do when you find yourself caught in brutal partisan crossfire?
Listen to the latest episode of the Mother Jones Podcast: Subscribe using Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
Following the success of First Step at the federal level, Jones is trying to harness this right-left coalition to push for additional reforms on probation, parole, prison re-entry, and prosecutor misconduct, on both the federal and state levels, from his position as CEO of Reform Alliance, which advocates for criminal justice.
“It’s already spawned about half a dozen copycat bills across the country,” Jones tells Corn. “There will be more bills. Trump would sign another bill tomorrow… But it’s deeper than that. This network that’s been developing is starting to grow.”


motherjones--2020-01-23--Hey, Voters, Send Us Your Political Mail!

The 2020 Democratic primary is already underway .
In less than two weeks , Iowans will convene in houses and gymnasiums for the first-in-the nation caucus .
In Minnesota , early voting has already begun for the state ’ s March 3 primary .
Which means that , across the country , mailboxes are starting to sag under the weight of several metric tons of direct mail from presidential candidates .
Facebook , for all its faults ( actually , because of all its faults ) , makes it extremely easy to search political advertisements .
Anyone can see what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reach an advertisement had , and how much money went into it .
But there ’ s no such database for old-fashioned political mail .
You know the kind—glossy , filled with impeccably lit photos of the candidate ’ s smiling family .
Or perhaps improperly darkened , ominous-looking images of their opponent .
Campaigns and outside groups often say stuff in mailers they don ’ t say in public—it ’ s where they show their true colors .
( Remember those unseemly Ted Cruz mailers in 2016 ?
Or this super-racist attack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) It ’ d be easier if campaigns and other organizations just sent us all this stuff , but they don ’ t , and so we need your help : Did you get a piece of political mail that caught your eye for one reason or another ?
Send it to us .
It ’ s very simple .
Just take a photo of the mailer—the full thing , if you can—and email it to our tipline , scoop @ motherjones.com , along with your home state .
We ’ re looking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they from presidential candidates or congressional candidates or would-be sheriffs and county assessors , be they about ballot initiatives or issues relevant to the election , be they funny or tacky or monstrous .
Tips can be anonymous , and we ’ ll be sure to redact any identifying details from the photos before publishing them .
We want to know who is sending what , and to whom .
Help us !

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The 2020 Democratic primary is already underway. In less than two weeks, Iowans will convene in houses and gymnasiums for the first-in-the nation caucus. In Minnesota, early voting has already begun for the state’s March 3 primary. Which means that, across the country, mailboxes are starting to sag under the weight of several metric tons of direct mail from presidential candidates.
Facebook, for all its faults (actually, because of all its faults), makes it extremely easy to search political advertisements. Anyone can see what states are being targeted, how much reach an advertisement had, and how much money went into it. But there’s no such database for old-fashioned political mail. You know the kind—glossy, filled with impeccably lit photos of the candidate’s smiling family. Or perhaps improperly darkened, ominous-looking images of their opponent. Campaigns and outside groups often say stuff in mailers they don’t say in public—it’s where they show their true colors. (Remember those unseemly Ted Cruz mailers in 2016? Or this super-racist attack on an Asian-American candidate in 2018?) It’d be easier if campaigns and other organizations just sent us all this stuff, but they don’t, and so we need your help: Did you get a piece of political mail that caught your eye for one reason or another? Send it to us.
It’s very simple. Just take a photo of the mailer—the full thing, if you can—and email it to our tipline, scoop@motherjones.com, along with your home state. Please use the subject line: “Mailers.” We’re looking for mailers of all kinds, be they from presidential candidates or congressional candidates or would-be sheriffs and county assessors, be they about ballot initiatives or issues relevant to the election, be they funny or tacky or monstrous. Tips can be anonymous, and we’ll be sure to redact any identifying details from the photos before publishing them.
We want to know who is sending what, and to whom. Help us!


motherjones--2020-01-23--A Post-Roe Future Will Rely on Women Taking Control of Their Own Care. The Right Won’t Fail to Notic

A Post-Roe Future Will Rely on Women Taking Control of Their Own Care. The Right Won’t Fail to Notice.

While miracles are not the stuff we should have to rely upon for our legal rights to remain in place , by some tiny , blessed miracle , Roe is still the law of the land .
Even so , a post-Roe future feels alarmingly close .
In fact , as we at Mother Jones have written before , in many ways that future is already here .
And despite the power of the imagery , the end of legal abortion would not mean a return to back alleys and coat hangers , but pills and women taking their reproductive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As long as there has been pregnancy , there has been self-managed abortion , ” says Jill Adams , executive director of If/When/How , a legal reproductive justice nonprofit .
“ The trend that we ’ re seeing now , with more and more people in the US ending their own pregnancies , is really just sort of a returning of agency and power from the medical industry back to the people .
” This predominately happens through medication abortion .
Misoprostol is a drug commonly used for ulcers and to treat some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fairly cheap and accessible and can be used alone to induce abortion .
Adams notes how it ’ s been commonly used “ in many areas of the global South for decades ” : “ In fact , women in Brazil , where abortion was completely criminalized , read the contraindications on an ulcer drug , misoprostol , which said do not consume if pregnant , could cause miscarriage and they went , Aha !
” The drug that it is usually paired with for in-clinic abortions , mifepristone , is regulated by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ high-risk drug ( despite its extraordinarily high safety profile ) .
Still , the drug combination has become more accessible online , via a flourishing black market .
While Adams notes that studies show ordering medication for abortion online has largely proven safe , she emphasizes it ’ s not without legal risk .
In fact , from the state level on up , prosecutors are getting increasingly creative in how to criminalize the practice .
“ That ’ s the real tragedy of self-managed abortion in the US in 2020 is that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , prosecuted , even imprisoned for ending their own pregnancy or for helping a loved one do so , ” she says .
“ We know of at least 21 people throughout the US who have been arrested , some even put in jail , for ending their own pregnancy or helping someone else end a pregnancy since 2005 , ” she notes—though this number is just the “ very very tip of a huge iceberg ” as it does not account for dropped charges or plea bargains .
What ’ s more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ isn ’ t tracking arrests in connection with trends in either self-managing abortion or assisting someone with ending a pregnancy .
There are only five states in which self-managed abortion is actually illegal , but “ overzealous prosecutors are just treating the Criminal Code like a grab bag—even the Civil Code like a grab bag !
—and pulling out whatever they can that might possibly stick , ” Adams says .
Ten states have fetal harm laws that lack an exemption for the person carrying the fetus , and she notes sometimes these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who have self-managed their abortion .
“ Sometimes those laws have been manipulated by law enforcement to apply to the pregnant person themselves , switching from the pregnant person being the victim to being the perpetrator.
” But the charges run across a full spectrum possibilities : practicing pharmacy without a license , drug-related charges , child abuse-related charges , concealment of a birth , failure to report a death , or even abuse of a corpse .
She advises women to reach out to the If/When/How repro helpline for legal help or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Referring to the recent spate of abortion bans that made headlines last spring , Adams cautions that though these bans are not in effect , they do cause confusion about where abortion is and is not legal , and such legislation even “ foments this antipathy toward people who perform abortions , and also toward people who have abortions.
” “ That stigma provides this sort of fuel that increases the likelihood that someone will be criminalized for having an abortion , ” Adams adds .
So if the future of abortion care @ @ @ @ @ @ @ abortion , our worry should be that this will almost certainly become a burgeoning area of anti-abortion law .
Until then , let ’ s count our miracles .

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
While miracles are not the stuff we should have to rely upon for our legal rights to remain in place, by some tiny, blessed miracle, Roe is still the law of the land. Even so, a post-Roe future feels alarmingly close. In fact, as we at Mother Jones have written before, in many ways that future is already here. And despite the power of the imagery, the end of legal abortion would not mean a return to back alleys and coat hangers, but pills and women taking their reproductive lives into their own hands.
“As long as there has been pregnancy, there has been self-managed abortion,” says Jill Adams, executive director of If/When/How, a legal reproductive justice nonprofit. “The trend that we’re seeing now, with more and more people in the US ending their own pregnancies, is really just sort of a returning of agency and power from the medical industry back to the people. ”
“With more and more people in the US ending their own pregnancies, is really just sort of a returning of agency and power from the medical industry back to the people. “
This predominately happens through medication abortion. Misoprostol is a drug commonly used for ulcers and to treat some pets and livestock; it’s fairly cheap and accessible and can be used alone to induce abortion. Adams notes how it’s been commonly used “in many areas of the global South for decades”: “In fact, women in Brazil, where abortion was completely criminalized, read the contraindications on an ulcer drug, misoprostol, which said do not consume if pregnant, could cause miscarriage and they went, Aha!”
The drug that it is usually paired with for in-clinic abortions, mifepristone, is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration as a high-risk drug (despite its extraordinarily high safety profile). Still, the drug combination has become more accessible online, via a flourishing black market.
While Adams notes that studies show ordering medication for abortion online has largely proven safe, she emphasizes it’s not without legal risk. In fact, from the state level on up, prosecutors are getting increasingly creative in how to criminalize the practice. “That’s the real tragedy of self-managed abortion in the US in 2020 is that people could be unjustly arrested, interrogated, prosecuted, even imprisoned for ending their own pregnancy or for helping a loved one do so,” she says.
“We know of at least 21 people throughout the US who have been arrested, some even put in jail, for ending their own pregnancy or helping someone else end a pregnancy since 2005,” she notes—though this number is just the “very very tip of a huge iceberg” as it does not account for dropped charges or plea bargains. What’s more, the typical prosecutor or district attorney isn’t tracking arrests in connection with trends in either self-managing abortion or assisting someone with ending a pregnancy.
There are only five states in which self-managed abortion is actually illegal, but “overzealous prosecutors are just treating the Criminal Code like a grab bag—even the Civil Code like a grab bag!—and pulling out whatever they can that might possibly stick,” Adams says. Ten states have fetal harm laws that lack an exemption for the person carrying the fetus, and she notes sometimes these laws can be used to charge people who have self-managed their abortion. “Sometimes those laws have been manipulated by law enforcement to apply to the pregnant person themselves, switching from the pregnant person being the victim to being the perpetrator.”
But the charges run across a full spectrum possibilities: practicing pharmacy without a license, drug-related charges, child abuse-related charges, concealment of a birth, failure to report a death, or even abuse of a corpse. She advises women to reach out to the If/When/How repro helpline for legal help or questions regarding laws in their state.
“That’s the real tragedy of self-managed abortion in the US in 2020 is that people could be unjustly arrested, interrogated, prosecuted, even imprisoned for ending their own pregnancy or for helping a loved one do so.”
Referring to the recent spate of abortion bans that made headlines last spring, Adams cautions that though these bans are not in effect, they do cause confusion about where abortion is and is not legal, and such legislation even “foments this antipathy toward people who perform abortions, and also toward people who have abortions.”
“That stigma provides this sort of fuel that increases the likelihood that someone will be criminalized for having an abortion,” Adams adds.
So if the future of abortion care is self-managed in the form of medication abortion, our worry should be that this will almost certainly become a burgeoning area of anti-abortion law. Until then, let’s count our miracles.


motherjones--2020-01-22--A Utah Woman Was Charged for Going Topless in Her Own Home. Her Legal Case Is Not Going Great.

A Utah judge just denied a local woman ’ s motion to declare the state ’ s lewdness law unconstitutional after she was slammed with criminal charges for going topless in her own home .
Last year Tilli Buchanan was charged with lewdness after she and her husband took their shirts off while installing insulation in their garage .
Her husband , who was in a similar state of undress , was not charged .
Buchanan ’ s stepchildren were also there .
Their mother was the one who reported Buchanan to the authorities .
As I wrote back in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the privacy of her own home , she is now facing potentially very serious consequences : three counts of lewdness involving a child , a class A misdemeanor which could land her in jail and place her on the sex offender registry for 10 years .
Utah ’ s ordinance about lewdness involving a child prohibits the exposure of “ the female breast below the top of the areola , ” either in public or “ in a private place under circumstances the person should know will likely cause affront or alarm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gratify the sexual desire of the actor or the child.
” Buchanan ’ s attorneys filed a motion to declare Utah ’ s lewdness statute unconstitutional because it discriminates against women , the Salt Lake Tribune reports .
They based their motion on a 10th Circuit Court ruling that found a Fort Collins , Colorado , ban on female toplessness unconstitutional because it did not apply similarly to men .
The judge in Buchanan ’ s case claimed that that ruling did not apply here as the Utah law is “ significantly different.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Legislature to establish laws incorporating contemporary community standards regarding lewdness , ” the judge wrote , according to the Tribune .
“ It is not for the court to decide whether the Legislature ’ s enumeration of lewd conduct is wise or sound policy.
” So the law stands , and if Buchanan does not appeal the judge ’ s decision , the case against her will move to trial .

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A Utah judge just denied a local woman’s motion to declare the state’s lewdness law unconstitutional after she was slammed with criminal charges for going topless in her own home.
Last year Tilli Buchanan was charged with lewdness after she and her husband took their shirts off while installing insulation in their garage. Her husband, who was in a similar state of undress, was not charged. Buchanan’s stepchildren were also there. Their mother was the one who reported Buchanan to the authorities. As I wrote back in September:
Even though Buchanan was topless in the privacy of her own home, she is now facing potentially very serious consequences: three counts of lewdness involving a child, a class A misdemeanor which could land her in jail and place her on the sex offender registry for 10 years. Utah’s ordinance about lewdness involving a child prohibits the exposure of “the female breast below the top of the areola,” either in public or “in a private place under circumstances the person should know will likely cause affront or alarm or with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of the actor or the child.”
Buchanan’s attorneys filed a motion to declare Utah’s lewdness statute unconstitutional because it discriminates against women, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. They based their motion on a 10th Circuit Court ruling that found a Fort Collins, Colorado, ban on female toplessness unconstitutional because it did not apply similarly to men. The judge in Buchanan’s case claimed that that ruling did not apply here as the Utah law is “significantly different.”
“It is the prerogative of the Legislature to establish laws incorporating contemporary community standards regarding lewdness,” the judge wrote, according to the Tribune. “It is not for the court to decide whether the Legislature’s enumeration of lewd conduct is wise or sound policy.”
So the law stands, and if Buchanan does not appeal the judge’s decision, the case against her will move to trial.


motherjones--2020-01-22--On the Roe Anniversary, Let’s Consider One Seemingly Obvious Way to Expand Abortion Access

When the Supreme Court ruled that women have a constitutional right to abortion 47 years ago today , individual states began to legalize and regulate the procedure , and most did so with what probably felt like a crucial , beneficial , and even obvious caveat : Legal abortion must be provided by a physician .
But today , this restriction , which was largely meant to protect women from the sort of horrific malpractice that took place before abortion was legalized , is a significant impediment to widespread and safe abortion care .
This is a key argument in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Everyday Struggle to Get an Abortion in America , in which authors David Cohen and Carole Joffe make a compelling case that broadening abortion access relies on expanding who can provide this kind of medical care .
“ I think people misunderstand how [ abortion ] could be regular medical care , in the sense that nurses , midwives , and doctors can all perform this procedure , ” Cohen tells Mother Jones .
Last year , Rebecca Grant wrote in Mother Jones about how it makes sense , now more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ abortion practitioners : After the Supreme Court ’ s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision , every state , with the exception of Vermont , banned anyone except physicians from performing abortions .
The restrictions were seen as necessary to edge out “ back-alley ” providers .
But two medical advances over the 46 years since the ruling have made abortion both safer to get and easier to provide .
The first was aspiration abortion , a procedure popularized in the ’ 70s that uses suction—as opposed to scraping , or “ curettage ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ uterus .
The second was the development of the medication abortion method , a two-pill protocol that terminates early pregnancies and simply flushes the menses out of the body .
Together , medication and aspiration abortions , which are only performed in the first 10 or 16 weeks of pregnancy , respectively , make up the vast majority of terminations every year and have a serious complication rate of less than half of one percent .
They ’ re also not exceptionally complicated to perform .
Part of the issue here is that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ limited number of physicians in the United States to begin with , and some of them refuse to provide abortion care due to religious beliefs .
This can be particularly harmful for rural women who typically live hours away from the nearest clinic .
As Cohen and Joffe point out in Obstacle Course , there are some states that already allow non-physicians to perform abortions .
Last year , as Grant also covered , Maine passed a law that permits nurse practitioners , physician assistants , and other qualified medical professionals to administer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other states and the District of Columbia also allow physician assistants to perform medication abortions , and five states allow them to perform the other dominant form of first-trimester abortion , aspiration abortion .
On the other end of the spectrum sits Mississippi , which has a state law that not only stipulates a licensed physician must administer abortion care , but that the physician must be an OB-GYN as well .
Thirty-two other states also have physician-only laws in place .
“ We ’ re not arguing for the lack of regulations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ re just saying is that this should be treated like normal medical care with the same kind of oversight that the medical profession has for any other medical procedures that apply to abortion , ” Cohen says .
“ And when it is that way , the difference is just huge for the people who are able to access care in a more dignified way , without interference from the government.
” Beyond the physician restriction , Joffe emphasizes that another significant obstacle to abortion care is simply the costs .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ below the poverty line or just barely above it , she says , and even an early medication abortion can cost around $ 500 ( though some places charge more than that ) and the most common second-trimester procedure can cost up to $ 3,000 .
What ’ s more , additional indirect expenses required to navigate restrictions , like waiting periods , add up quickly .
“ Wrapped up in costs is not just the cost of the procedure , but also the cost of getting to a clinic , the cost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of patients who are already parents , the cost involved in taking time off from work to get a procedure , ” Cohen adds .
While providers often work to keep costs as low as possible , and abortion funds across the United States help their clients fill in the gaps , poverty is the sort of complicated challenge that can not be fixed with a few funds and creative budgeting .
Mississippi is a more severe case on this front , as I ’ ve written about before .
In the meantime @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Maine was able to pass physician assistant legislation in the first place was that the legislature flipped for a Democratic majority in the midterms .
November is just nine months away .

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When the Supreme Court ruled that women have a constitutional right to abortion 47 years ago today, individual states began to legalize and regulate the procedure, and most did so with what probably felt like a crucial, beneficial, and even obvious caveat: Legal abortion must be provided by a physician.
But today, this restriction, which was largely meant to protect women from the sort of horrific malpractice that took place before abortion was legalized, is a significant impediment to widespread and safe abortion care. This is a key argument in the forthcoming book, Obstacle Course: The Everyday Struggle to Get an Abortion in America, in which authors David Cohen and Carole Joffe make a compelling case that broadening abortion access relies on expanding who can provide this kind of medical care.
“I think people misunderstand how [abortion] could be regular medical care, in the sense that nurses, midwives, and doctors can all perform this procedure,” Cohen tells Mother Jones.
Last year, Rebecca Grant wrote in Mother Jones about how it makes sense, now more than ever, to expand the range of abortion practitioners:
After the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, every state, with the exception of Vermont, banned anyone except physicians from performing abortions. The restrictions were seen as necessary to edge out “back-alley” providers. But two medical advances over the 46 years since the ruling have made abortion both safer to get and easier to provide. The first was aspiration abortion, a procedure popularized in the ’70s that uses suction—as opposed to scraping, or “curettage”—to pull the pregnancy out of the uterus. The second was the development of the medication abortion method, a two-pill protocol that terminates early pregnancies and simply flushes the menses out of the body. Together, medication and aspiration abortions, which are only performed in the first 10 or 16 weeks of pregnancy, respectively, make up the vast majority of terminations every year and have a serious complication rate of less than half of one percent. They’re also not exceptionally complicated to perform.
Part of the issue here is that there are, of course, a limited number of physicians in the United States to begin with, and some of them refuse to provide abortion care due to religious beliefs. This can be particularly harmful for rural women who typically live hours away from the nearest clinic.
As Cohen and Joffe point out in Obstacle Course, there are some states that already allow non-physicians to perform abortions. Last year, as Grant also covered, Maine passed a law that permits nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other qualified medical professionals to administer medication abortions or in-clinic procedures. Sixteen other states and the District of Columbia also allow physician assistants to perform medication abortions, and five states allow them to perform the other dominant form of first-trimester abortion, aspiration abortion.
On the other end of the spectrum sits Mississippi, which has a state law that not only stipulates a licensed physician must administer abortion care, but that the physician must be an OB-GYN as well. Thirty-two other states also have physician-only laws in place.
“We’re not arguing for the lack of regulations here or lack of government oversight; we’re just saying is that this should be treated like normal medical care with the same kind of oversight that the medical profession has for any other medical procedures that apply to abortion,” Cohen says. “And when it is that way, the difference is just huge for the people who are able to access care in a more dignified way, without interference from the government.”
Beyond the physician restriction, Joffe emphasizes that another significant obstacle to abortion care is simply the costs. 75 percent of abortion patients are either below the poverty line or just barely above it, she says, and even an early medication abortion can cost around $500 (though some places charge more than that) and the most common second-trimester procedure can cost up to $3,000. What’s more, additional indirect expenses required to navigate restrictions, like waiting periods, add up quickly. “Wrapped up in costs is not just the cost of the procedure, but also the cost of getting to a clinic, the cost of child care for the 60 percent of patients who are already parents, the cost involved in taking time off from work to get a procedure,” Cohen adds. While providers often work to keep costs as low as possible, and abortion funds across the United States help their clients fill in the gaps, poverty is the sort of complicated challenge that cannot be fixed with a few funds and creative budgeting. Mississippi is a more severe case on this front, as I’ve written about before.
In the meantime, consider that part of the reason Maine was able to pass physician assistant legislation in the first place was that the legislature flipped for a Democratic majority in the midterms. November is just nine months away.


motherjones--2020-01-22--Nine States Passed Abortion Bans Last Year. The Courts Have Not Allowed Any to Take Effect.

In an unprecedented wave of anti-abortion legislation , 17 states enacted restrictions in 2019 , according to the Guttmacher Institute .
Of those 17 states , nine enacted particularly severe laws that narrowly limit the window of time in which a woman can get an abortion , in some cases effectively banning the procedure altogether .
These particular laws have sparked widespread outrage and panic among abortion advocates because they fly in the face of Roe , in many cases prohibiting abortion when a fetal “ heartbeat ” —electrical signals from a group of cells that form a heart later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s often before many women even know they are pregnant .
But , on the anniversary of Roe , let ’ s say Praise Be : Thanks to a spate of lawsuits challenging these laws ’ constitutionality—including many from the American Civil Liberties Union , Planned Parenthood , and the Center for Reproductive Rights—not a single gestational age ban has gone into effect .
In Alabama , Arkansas , Georgia , Kentucky , Mississippi , Missouri , Ohio , and Utah , judges have blocked the legislation from taking effect until court cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There is no pending litigation challenging Louisiana ’ s heartbeat law , but the ban is on hold waiting for the outcome of Mississippi ’ s abortion ban in the courts . )
But the most immediate legal reckoning over Roe will not come on the question of bans , but rather in response to a 2014 Louisiana law that restricts abortion by requiring doctors who perform the procedure to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their facility .
The Supreme Court has decided to hear the case , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it will do so in March .
As my colleague Jessica Washington writes , “ Although the justices are not expected to overturn Roe outright in this case , legal experts argue that if the court were to rule in favor of the law , access to abortion in states like Louisiana could exist in name only.
” To be clear , there are still myriad hurdles to access in many of these states that have bans on the books—like too few clinics , mandatory waiting periods , and invasive ultrasounds—but it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in these states .

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In an unprecedented wave of anti-abortion legislation, 17 states enacted restrictions in 2019, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Of those 17 states, nine enacted particularly severe laws that narrowly limit the window of time in which a woman can get an abortion, in some cases effectively banning the procedure altogether. These particular laws have sparked widespread outrage and panic among abortion advocates because they fly in the face of Roe, in many cases prohibiting abortion when a fetal “heartbeat”—electrical signals from a group of cells that form a heart later in gestation—can be detected. That’s often before many women even know they are pregnant.
But, on the anniversary of Roe, let’s say Praise Be: Thanks to a spate of lawsuits challenging these laws’ constitutionality—including many from the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, and the Center for Reproductive Rights—not a single gestational age ban has gone into effect. In Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah, judges have blocked the legislation from taking effect until court cases challenging the laws are decided. (There is no pending litigation challenging Louisiana’s heartbeat law, but the ban is on hold waiting for the outcome of Mississippi’s abortion ban in the courts.)
But the most immediate legal reckoning over Roe will not come on the question of bans, but rather in response to a 2014 Louisiana law that restricts abortion by requiring doctors who perform the procedure to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their facility. The Supreme Court has decided to hear the case, June Medical Services v. Gee, and it will do so in March. As my colleague Jessica Washington writes, “Although the justices are not expected to overturn Roe outright in this case, legal experts argue that if the court were to rule in favor of the law, access to abortion in states like Louisiana could exist in name only.”
To be clear, there are still myriad hurdles to access in many of these states that have bans on the books—like too few clinics, mandatory waiting periods, and invasive ultrasounds—but it is still technically legal to obtain an abortion in these states.


motherjones--2020-01-22--The Bezos Dick Pic Hacking Affair Just Got a Whole Lot Messier for Trump Allies

The Jeff Bezos Sexting Saga just took another wild turn .
On Wednesday , the United Nations called for an “ immediate investigation ” of the alleged hacking of Bezos ’ s iPhone , citing forensic evidence showing that a WhatsApp account linked to the Saudi crown prince himself , Mohammad Bin Salman , infected the billionaire ’ s phone while the two were chatting in May 2018 .
The vehicle for the hacking was alleged to be a video file that allowed the Saudis to suck up reams of Bezos ’ s personal data , according to The Guardian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tuesday .
The implications of the hacking claims are not limited to Bezos ’ s cybersecurity .
They potentially pose tough questions for the Trump-allied proprietor of American Media Inc. , which until recently owned the National Enquirer , itself at the heart of the Trump campaign ’ s hush money imbroglio .
Team Bezos has long claimed that MBS has it out for the Amazon chief , who also owns the Washington Post .
The paper ’ s relentless coverage of the grisly death of its columnist , Jamal Khashoggi , allegedly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ implicated in ordering Khashoggi ’ s murder .
That ’ s where the so-called dick pics come in .
Almost a year ago , Bezos accused the National Enquirer and AMI of trying to extort him over compromising photos he allegedly exchanged with his girlfriend , and he published email exchanges on Medium to prove it .
Gavin de Becker , a veteran private investigator for Bezos , soon made a related and more incendiary charge : Saudi Arabia had swiped “ private information ” from the billionaire ’ s phone and was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to bring down Bezos by threatening to publish the photos .
AMI has insisted that its sole source for information about Bezos ’ s relationship with Lauren Sanchez was her brother Michael Sanchez .
He has denied trading the selfies .
( Sanchez declined to comment for this article .
Gavin De Becker also did not respond to requests for comment . )
Now , UN special investigators Agnès Callamard and David Kaye , are lending their credibility to the intel , which was conducted by a team hired by Bezos , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ information we have received suggests the possible involvement of the crown prince in surveillance of Mr. Bezos , in an effort to influence , if not silence , the Washington Post ’ s reporting on Saudi Arabia , ” the joint statement read , according to the Guardian .
“ The allegations reinforce other reporting pointing to a pattern of targeted surveillance of perceived opponents and those of broader strategic importance to the Saudi authorities , including nationals and non-nationals.
” Saudi Arabia “ was clandestinely waging a massive online campaign against Mr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Saudi embassy in Washington labeled the allegations “ absurd.
” The Financial Times , which saw the forensic report , notes that “ it does not claim to have conclusive evidence and its findings could not be independently confirmed.
” So where does this leave the allegation that the National Enquirer was “ in league ” with the Saudis ?
As I reported in August last year , any federal investigation could complicate a deal crafted to protect the Trump-allied owner of AMI , David Pecker , in his company ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that during the early months of 2019 : …federal investigators began requesting corporate documents and questioning staff at American Media Inc. , the company run by Donald Trump ’ s longtime friend David Pecker , about a special issue of the National Enquirer it produced that lavished praise on Saudi Arabia and its controversial leader , Mohammed bin Salman , according to two sources with direct knowledge of the investigation .
Gathering evidence through at least June and working at the direction of prosecutors from the Southern District of New York , FBI @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the magazine ’ s publication and , according to one of the sources , whether AMI had engaged in illegal influence peddling on behalf of a foreign power .
The Saudi influence probe could have profound implications for AMI , according to former federal prosecutors , because it threatens to undo a deal the company struck last year with the Justice Department over its role in the hush-money case that resulted in campaign finance charges against Donald Trump ’ s former lawyer and fixer , Michael Cohen , who is serving three years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
AMI agreed to cooperate fully with investigators and in return received immunity from prosecution .
Yet that deal could be tossed out if AMI was suspected of engaging in other wrongdoing… Former federal prosecutors say that if investigators are scrutinizing AMI for possible FARA violations , extortion , or other crimes , the company should be worried that its non-prosecution deal for the hush-money payment is in serious jeopardy .
Both SDNY and AMI did not respond to new questions from Mother Jones today about whether or not the probe was ongoing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ call to investigate Saudi hacking could affect their plans .
For the dizzying story of how AMI came under scrutiny by the feds as a possible agent of Saudi Arabia , featuring a cast of characters that includes the world ’ s richest man , a Saudi leader who has forged deep ties to the Trump administration , and an embattled media baron with a reputation for using his flagship tabloid to protect his allies and punish his enemies , click here .

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The Jeff Bezos Sexting Saga just took another wild turn. On Wednesday, the United Nations called for an “immediate investigation” of the alleged hacking of Bezos’s iPhone, citing forensic evidence showing that a WhatsApp account linked to the Saudi crown prince himself, Mohammad Bin Salman, infected the billionaire’s phone while the two were chatting in May 2018. The vehicle for the hacking was alleged to be a video file that allowed the Saudis to suck up reams of Bezos’s personal data, according to The Guardian, which first reported the story on Tuesday. The implications of the hacking claims are not limited to Bezos’s cybersecurity. They potentially pose tough questions for the Trump-allied proprietor of American Media Inc., which until recently owned the National Enquirer, itself at the heart of the Trump campaign’s hush money imbroglio.
Let me explain.
Team Bezos has long claimed that MBS has it out for the Amazon chief, who also owns the Washington Post. The paper’s relentless coverage of the grisly death of its columnist, Jamal Khashoggi, allegedly enraged the Saudi leader, who was implicated in ordering Khashoggi’s murder. That’s where the so-called dick pics come in. Almost a year ago, Bezos accused the National Enquirer and AMI of trying to extort him over compromising photos he allegedly exchanged with his girlfriend, and he published email exchanges on Medium to prove it. Gavin de Becker, a veteran private investigator for Bezos, soon made a related and more incendiary charge: Saudi Arabia had swiped “private information” from the billionaire’s phone and was “in league” with the Enquirer to bring down Bezos by threatening to publish the photos. AMI has insisted that its sole source for information about Bezos’s relationship with Lauren Sanchez was her brother Michael Sanchez. He has denied trading the selfies. (Sanchez declined to comment for this article. Gavin De Becker also did not respond to requests for comment.)
Now, UN special investigators Agnès Callamard and David Kaye, are lending their credibility to the intel, which was conducted by a team hired by Bezos, according to the Financial Times. “The information we have received suggests the possible involvement of the crown prince in surveillance of Mr. Bezos, in an effort to influence, if not silence, the Washington Post’s reporting on Saudi Arabia,” the joint statement read, according to the Guardian. “The allegations reinforce other reporting pointing to a pattern of targeted surveillance of perceived opponents and those of broader strategic importance to the Saudi authorities, including nationals and non-nationals.”
Saudi Arabia “was clandestinely waging a massive online campaign against Mr. Bezos,” the experts said. The Saudi embassy in Washington labeled the allegations “absurd.” The Financial Times, which saw the forensic report, notes that “it does not claim to have conclusive evidence and its findings could not be independently confirmed.”
So where does this leave the allegation that the National Enquirer was “in league” with the Saudis? As I reported in August last year, any federal investigation could complicate a deal crafted to protect the Trump-allied owner of AMI, David Pecker, in his company’s 2016 campaign finance scandal. I reported that during the early months of 2019:
…federal investigators began requesting corporate documents and questioning staff at American Media Inc., the company run by Donald Trump’s longtime friend David Pecker, about a special issue of the National Enquirer it produced that lavished praise on Saudi Arabia and its controversial leader, Mohammed bin Salman, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the investigation. Gathering evidence through at least June and working at the direction of prosecutors from the Southern District of New York, FBI agents zeroed in on the circumstances behind the magazine’s publication and, according to one of the sources, whether AMI had engaged in illegal influence peddling on behalf of a foreign power.
Here’s the rub:
The Saudi influence probe could have profound implications for AMI, according to former federal prosecutors, because it threatens to undo a deal the company struck last year with the Justice Department over its role in the hush-money case that resulted in campaign finance charges against Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, who is serving three years in prison for that and other crimes. AMI agreed to cooperate fully with investigators and in return received immunity from prosecution. Yet that deal could be tossed out if AMI was suspected of engaging in other wrongdoing… Former federal prosecutors say that if investigators are scrutinizing AMI for possible FARA violations, extortion, or other crimes, the company should be worried that its non-prosecution deal for the hush-money payment is in serious jeopardy.
Both SDNY and AMI did not respond to new questions from Mother Jones today about whether or not the probe was ongoing, or if the UN’s call to investigate Saudi hacking could affect their plans. For the dizzying story of how AMI came under scrutiny by the feds as a possible agent of Saudi Arabia, featuring a cast of characters that includes the world’s richest man, a Saudi leader who has forged deep ties to the Trump administration, and an embattled media baron with a reputation for using his flagship tabloid to protect his allies and punish his enemies, click here.


motherjones--2020-01-23--Which Day of the Trial Are We On? Depends Who You Ask.

Groundhog Day is more than a week away , but there ’ s evidence time might already be moving in @ @ @ @ @ three of the country ’ s most prominent media outlets can ’ t seem to @ @ @ @ @ Senate ’ s impeachment trial the country is currently in .
On Thursday , House @ @ @ @ @ day of opening arguments against President Donald Trump , leading The New York Times to @ @ @ @ @ Day 2 of the trial .
Over on C-SPAN , it ’ s “ Day @ @ @ @ @ back a full week and counting last Thursday , the day Chief Justice John Roberts @ @ @ @ @ in .
All three numbers make some sense .
Debate them if you like , @ @ @ @ @ ahead .
We just might get there on different days .

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