US Attorney General Bill Barr is preparing to announce as early as next week the completion of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, with plans for Barr to submit to Congress soon after a summary of Mueller's confidential report. Under the special counsel regulations, Mueller must submit a "confidential" report to the attorney general at the conclusion of his work, but the rules don't require it to be shared with Congress, or, by extension, the public. And, as Barr has made clear, the Justice Department generally guards against publicizing "derogatory" information about uncharged individuals. What's the media to do? Americans have been whipped into a frenzy about this report, and it looks like it's going to be anti-climatic in terms of its legal scope. Politically, who knows?
The Supreme Court struck an extraordinary blow for criminal justice reform on Wednesday, placing real limitations on what many have called policing for profit across the country. Its unanimous decision for the first time prohibits all 50 states from imposing excessive fines, including the seizure of property, on people accused or convicted of a crime. What are real implications of this decision?
As the deadline approaches for the withdrawal of US forces fighting the Daesh in Syria, America's closest European allies have turned down a Trump administration request to fill the gap with their own troops, according to US and foreign officials. France and Britain are the only other countries with troops on the ground in the US-led coalition battling Daesh. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said last week that he was mystified by Trump's policy. On Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said that "there is no prospect of British forces replacing the Americans" in Syria. What does mean for Syria going forward?
On the website Grayzone Project, Anya Parampil writes, "Maria Faría, the daughter of a would-be Hugo Chávez assassin, illegally barged into Venezuela's embassy in Costa Rica and declared herself ambassador. The embarrassing stunt highlighted everything wrong with Juan Guaidó's reality-show government." We'll take a deep dive into everything wrong in Venezuela, the US attempt to over throw President Nicolas Maduro and set the facts straight on the legitimacy of Juan Guaido.
The Costs Of War Project released a report showing that "the American public has largely ignored the post-9/11 wars and their costs. But the vastness of Washington's counter terror activities suggests, now more than ever, that it's time to pay attention." What does his mean? They "set out to map all the places in the world where the United States is still fighting terrorism so many years later, since September 2001 when the Bush administration launched the 'Global War on Terror.'" What did they find? How much has this cost in blood and treasure? Their project's research shows that, "since 2001, the US war on terror has resulted in the loss — conservatively estimated — of almost half a million lives in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan alone. By the end of 2019, we also estimate that Washington's global war will cost American taxpayers no less than $5.9 trillion already spent and in commitments to caring for veterans of the war throughout their lifetimes." What's going on here?
GUESTS:
Brian Becker — Co-Host of Loud & Clear on Sputnik News Radio.
Barbara Arnwine — President and founder of Transformative Justice Coalition, internationally renowned for contributions on critical justice issues including the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the 2006 reauthorization of provisions of the Voting Rights Act.
Hassan El-Tayyab — Co-director of Just Foreign Policy. Over the past two years, he has been working to end the war in Yemen through direct lobbying, publishing his writings, grassroots organizing and speaking at rallies, living rooms, board rooms, college campuses, the radio and TV to create a larger platform for Yemeni voices working for peace.
Anya Parampil — Washington, DC-based journalist. She previously hosted a daily progressive afternoon news program called "In Question" on RT America.
Ariel Gold — National co-director for Codepink. She carries out creative actions for peace and justice in the US and throughout the world. Ariel has been published in The Forward, Huffington Post, Tikkun Magazine and more.
Stephanie Savell — Co-director of the Costs of War Project at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.
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