President Donald Trump went to El Paso, Texas, last night and delivered a speech highlighting why he sees the need for a border wall, as a bipartisan border deal in Congress aimed at averting another government shutdown is on its way to being written into legislation so that the House and Senate can vote on it and send it to his desk for his signature. Democrats have, in fact, supported additional federal funding for border security, but they oppose the border wall Trump proposed during his 2016 campaign. Trump's focus on "socialism" is based on more liberal Democratic presidential candidates who have called for a Medicare-for-all health care system or environmental proposals intended to lower carbon emissions. Trump said, "I've spoken to people who have been here a long time. They said when that wall went up it's a whole different ball game." Is that a correct statement? However, as CNN has repeatedly reported, per an analysis of FBI crime data and city law enforcement data by the El Paso Times, violent crime in El Paso peaked in 1993. Border fence construction didn't begin until 2008 and was completed in 2009. But violent crime went down long before the wall was built, falling 34 percent between 1993 and 2006 in the city.
In a recent MintPress News article, "Ilhan Omar is Right: AIPAC Influences Congress To the Tune of $4 Million Annually," Alex Rubenstein asks, "What unites Republicans and Democrats, a former Jewish terrorist, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, Nikki Haley, Chelsea Clinton and Liz Cheney? A Muslim lady with a mouth and some opinions, apparently. Muslim Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has been the subject of bipartisan bullying that has reached a fever pitch since the lawmaker explicitly called out the number one Israeli lobby group in the US — the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)." He went on to point out, "AIPAC continues its practice of using loopholes to further its agenda today. A recent documentary produced by Al Jazeera but censored by Qatar, which funds the outlet, showed how one fundraiser for a congressional candidate, organized by an unofficial 'AIPAC group,"'circumvented laws on maximum individual political contributions by pooling donors' grants together and doling out the official donations evenly among participants. And the organization's sway over Congress is difficult to dispute." Is this accurate?
Under a new California state law, members of the public can now request to see investigative records, prying open for the first time the state's strict secrecy laws regarding police shootings and serious misconduct by officers. What does this mean for attorneys and their clients seeking justice in these cases? Were the records covered under this new law excluded from the records that you are supposed to be granted access to through the discovery process? Police unions have tried to close the door on these efforts. While police departments have said they will comply, police unions up and down the state, including in Los Angeles, have filed lawsuits challenging the law, arguing that it shouldn't be applied retroactively.
GUESTS:
Carmine Sabia — Journalist and writer for Citizen Truth.
Eugene Craig — Republican strategist, former vice-chair of the Maryland Republican Party and grassroots activist.
Dan Cohen — Correspondent at RT America, filmmaker and director of "Killing Gaza" and writer for The Gray Zone Project.
John Burris — Lead attorney and founder of the Law Office of John L. Burris. He is primarily known for his work in the area of civil rights, with an emphasis on police misconduct and excessive force cases.
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