constitutional law

The Supreme Court of Colorado has used an arcane section of the 14th Amendment of the US constitution to disqualify Donald Trump from standing for president, on the grounds of the part he played in mounting an insurrection against the state.

It’s got to be a good thing, generally, if insurrectionists aren’t allowed to stand for high office. But the judgement raises critical questions about the power of the law versus the power of democracy. And who decides who is and who isn’t an enemy of the state.

Trump‘s rivals fear he will use the ruling to rocket fuel his next stint of fundraising, by calling it a witch-hunt. Democrats are waiting to to see if it’s overturned by the Supreme Court - the ultimate arbiters.

Meanwhile on the mean streets of Wellingborough - another by-election looms after the suspension of Tory MP Peter Bone. We take you to both Colorado and Wellingborough you lucky things…

Editor: Tom Hughes

Senior Producer: Gabriel Radus

Producer: Laura FitzPatrick

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon & Shane Fennelly

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Last week, the Supreme Court began its new term, picking up where it left off on the most contentious issues of the day, with cases connected to government power, gun rights and abortion.

Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, explains why, while previous terms produced major victories for the conservative legal movement, this term may be different.

Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court and writes Sidebar, a column on legal developments, for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• In cases this term, the justices will explore the scope of the Second Amendment, the fate of the administrative state and limits on free speech on the internet.
• From Adam Liptak’s Sidebar column: Does the Supreme Court’s cherry-picking of which questions to answer inject politics into judging?

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Legal precedent is an odd thing. It matters, but it isn't codified. There are advantages and disadvantages. Let's all dive in and take at STARE DECISIS today. 

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In a follow up conversation to last week’s episode, Bret speaks with two more active and past duty service members about their experience in the US military during Covid, they seek to convey their experience over the last few years in the, and make it known what process is underway in our military.

*****

Ms. Jordan Karr, former USAF:

Jordan Karr is a former USAF Intelligence officer. She served 9 years on active duty to include multiple deployments and was recently separated in May 2022 over the COVID vaccine mandates. She has an active IG complaint against her chain of command for forcing her out of the service, with only two weeks notice, and not allowing her the due process to see her religious accommodation request through. She comes from a family of veterans. Her sister is a space force officer who, once a high performing officer, received adverse paperwork after she was discriminated against for her religious beliefs. Jordan helped initiate multiple lawsuits against the DoD and is a plaintiff in Coker v Austin. She is vocal about medical freedom since the reason she did not want to get the vaccine, aside from the fact that it is an unlawful order, is due to her fertility disorder. She was denied a medical exemption because the DoD only recognized 3 criteria, based on whether a member was vaccine injured from the first shot. Through her own journey, she has found that the military does not cover fertility treatments, though they are likely the cause of many of the fertility issues that service members suffer through in silence. She has received countless messages from service members and their families asking for help and sharing their own medical struggles, from cancer to fertility disorders. Her goal is to restore the integrity of the military to a fighting force and to advocate for changes in the VA system.

Major Grant Smith, USA:

Grant is an infantryman turned physical therapist focused on optimizing human performance in the U.S. Army. He promotes holistic health and fitness of Soldiers in Fort Riley, Kansas as one of the Army's first Division Holistic Health and Fitness Officers. Grant created a 501(c)(19) veterans organization aiming to support current and former service members and spouses who are committed to American values in bids to hold political office (americasveteranparty.com). He serves on the Truth For Health's Military Advisory Council (https://www.truthforhealth.org/) advocating for medical freedom. He draws energy every day knowing that great Americans numbering in the millions are intent on engaging in principled, purposeful action to conserve the American way of life.

*****

Find Bret Weinstein on Twitter: @BretWeinstein, and on Patreon.

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*****

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introductions

(04:00) Sponsors

(07:47) Current state of military V mandates

(17:00) Nuremberg and Nazi comparison

(28:55) Motivated reasoning

(42:04) Other military COVID mandates

(49:30) Spiritual crisis in military

(01:02:15) Military readiness

(01:09:54) Hypothesis for rationale and chain of command

(01:14:00) Masks and recognizing when you're wrong

(01:29:38) Private but not public support

(01:33:38) Losing and making friends, plus showing courage

(01:41:40) Lack of booster uptake

(01:47:35) Wrap up

Rage and tears abound as Roe is overturned; Democrats try to jazz up their 2022 base but have no actual plan; and we examine which party is truly extreme on abortion.

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After an early draft of a Supreme Court decision overruling Roe v. Wade was leaked, lighting the political world on fire, we're now receiving the opinion... for real.

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The Jan. 6 hearings have made it clear that Donald Trump led a concerted, monthslong effort to overturn a democratic election. The extensive interviews — over 1,000 — that the House select committee conducted prove that Trump was told there was no evidence of election fraud, but he pressed his anti-democratic case regardless. And it appears that the hearings may be making an impact on public opinion: An ABC News/Ipsos survey released Sunday found that 58 percent of respondents believe Trump should be charged with a crime for his role in the Jan. 6 attack, up from 52 percent in April.

But after all the evidence comes to light, will he actually face legal consequences? If the answer is no, then what might future presidents — including, perhaps, Trump himself — be emboldened to do? And what would that mean for the future of the American political system?

Jamelle Bouie is a Times Opinion columnist and co-host of the podcast “Unclear and Present Danger.” Bouie brings a remarkable historical depth to his writing about American politics. His columns about Jan. 6 — and the troubling idiosyncrasies of Trump’s presidency before it — have shown how the former president’s illiberal actions have threatened the constitutional foundation of American government. So I asked him on the show to help me process the Jan. 6 hearings with an eye to America’s past, and also to its uncertain future.

We discuss why Jan. 6 may be not just an insurrection but “a kind of revolution or, at least, the very beginning of one”; how the anti-democratic nature of the American Constitution makes our system vulnerable to demagogues like Trump; the most important takeaways from the hearings so far; what could happen in 2024 if Trump is allowed to walk free; what Trump allies are already doing to gain power over elections; why refusing to prosecute Trump would itself be a “radical act”; why Republicans have grown increasingly suspicious of — and hostile to — representative democracy; why Bouie thinks prosecuting Trump would be worth the political fallout it would cause; and more.

Mentioned:

“Trump Had a Mob. He Also Had a Plan.” by Jamelle Bouie

“America Punishes Only a Certain Kind of Rebel” by Jamelle Bouie

“Prosecute Trump? Put Yourself in Merrick Garland’s Shoes.” by Jack Goldsmith

Book recommendations:

Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men by Eric Foner

Salmon P. Chase by Walter Stahr

What It Took to Win by Michael Kazin

We're hiring a researcher! You can apply here or by visiting nytimes.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/News

Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.

You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.

“The Ezra Klein Show” is produced by Annie Galvin and Rogé Karma; fact-checking by Michelle Harris, Rollin Hu, Mary Marge Locker and Kate Sinclair; mixing and original music by Isaac Jones; audience strategy by Shannon Busta. Our executive producer is Irene Noguchi. Special thanks to Kristin Lin and Kristina Samulewski.

Someone leaks a draft of the Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade -- and apparently a majority is now ready to end the non-existent Constitutional right to abortion...and the Left goes absolutely berserk.

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*****

Bret speaks with Brian Peckford, who is taking the Canadian Federal government to court over COVID vaccine travel restrictions that he believes break the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a document similar to the US Bill of Rights, which Brian drafted and signed.

Brian Peckford started his career as an educator, then served as the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador for nearly a decade. He is also an author, former minister, and notable member of the PC Party in Canada.

https://peckford42.wordpress.com/

*****

Find Bret Weinstein on Twitter: @BretWeinstein, and on Patreon.

https://www.patreon.com/bretweinstein

Please subscribe to this channel for more long form content like this, and subscribe to the clips channel @DarkHorse Podcast Clips for short clips of all our podcasts:

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Theme Music: Thank you to Martin Molin of Wintergatan for providing us the rights to use their excellent music.

*****

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introductions

(01:30) Background on Canadian Charter Rights

(07:31) Difference with American Bill of Rights

(08:57) Gun Rights and constitutional rights

(11:50) Podcasts Vs Mainstream Media

(14:35) Tyranny unfolding across Canada, Australia, New Zealand

(17:36) BLM and ongoing US issues

(23:15) Right to free expression and Big Tech, Big Pharma, Big Media, Big Govt

(27:18) Turnkey authoritarianism and Nuremberg

(29:26) Destruction of free press in Canada

(31:30) Ottawa Arrests

(33:30) Medical Misinformation and malinformation

(36:46) Homeschooling, small business owners, and Christian resistance

(42:53) Victoria protests

(45:27) Trudeau calling people racists

(48:37) Taking the federal government to court

(51:05) Canadian restrictions for unvaccinated

(57:30) Sidelining the legislature

(58:59) Cost benefit analysis

(01:03:44) Globalism and destruction of sovereign countries

(01:14:18) Comparison with history

(01:18:07) Civil disobedience

Joe Biden’s tyrannical vaccine mandate for private sector employers bites the dust – but the Left wing of the court reminds Americans that we were one presidency away from complete administrative tyranny in this country.

Sign the petition to stop Biden’s vaccine mandate. Head to https://dailywire.com/donotcomply

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