Sotomayor Slams Supreme Court for Debasing Democracy in Alabama Ruling
https://newrepublic.com/post/211294/sotomayor-dissent-supreme-court-alabama-map-debasing-democracy
Sotomayor Slams Supreme Court for Debasing Democracy in Alabama Ruling
Sonia Sotomayor isn’t impressed by the Supreme Court’s decision to let Alabama Republicans move forward with their racist voting map.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor offered a scathing dissent after the court on Tuesday allowed Alabama Republicans to eliminate one of two majority-Black districts ahead of the midterms.
“Before the Court are two paths. Down one lies an orderly election, held under a tried-and-tested congressional map that protects Black Alabamians’ right to vote and with which all voters, elections officials, and candidates alike are familiar. Down the other lies a chaotic election, held under a never-before-used congressional map that intentionally discriminates against Black Alabamians,” Sotomayor wrote in a withering 17-page dissent.
She also noted that the last-minute ruling—sent down just months before midterm elections— would “require officials to change the voter registrations of hundreds of thousand[s] of voters in just days at best, a task that Alabama previously represented would take months.”
“Just as Alabama doubled down on racial discrimination, the Court today doubles down on chaos,” Sotomayor concluded. “Because I choose to defend the rule of law and the right of all Alabamians to participate equally in democracy, I respectfully dissent.”
The NAACP also sounded off against the decision.
“The Supreme Court continues to unleash chaos in our democratic process, and with this latest action, gives Alabama approval to use a congressional map that had previously been found to be intentionally discriminatory,” general counsel Kristen Clarke said in a statement. “This is a Court that is stripping Black voters of power and voice at a speed that would put Jim Crow jurists to shame. Our message to communities remains the same—the best way to express dissent is by showing up at the ballot box this election season.”
The Supreme Court’s decision will likely force newly elected Black Democratic Representative Shomari Figures out of his seat.
Trump’s Primary Winning Streak Finally Comes to an End
MAGA doesn’t have a firm grip on the Republican Party in every state like Trump believed.
President Trump’s streak of winning primary endorsements came to an end Tuesday night in Iowa.
The president’s pick for governor for the state, Representative Randy Feenstra, narrowly lost to businessman Zach Lahn. Feenstra had been criticized by activists in Iowa for poor campaigning and failing to show up to a single debate, while Lahn had support from the “Make America Healthy Again” movement and picked up a key endorsement from Turning Point Action.
Just two days ago, Trump was bragging on Truth Social about having a “38-0” record, crowing about taking “out many bad Political ‘Leaders’ and Pundits including Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Lightweight ‘Congressman’ Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brad Raffensperger of Georgia, REALLY DUMB Stephen Colbert of CBS, and others.”
Lahn, a farmer, drew a lot of support in the agriculture-heavy state, and showed the growing power of MAHA among conservatives. He also had the endorsement of former Representative Steve King, a disgraced white nationalist who lost his seat to Feenstra in 2020. Democrats in Iowa, however, feel like the governorship is within reach this year, considering how badly Republicans are polling nationally.
The Democratic nominee for governor, Iowa state auditor Rob Sand, sailed through his primary unopposed, and early polling for November’s general election shows he may have a slight edge, although those polls assumed Feenstra would be the nominee. In any case, Tuesday night’s results in Iowa show that Trump’s endorsement power is limited.
Scott Pelley Tears Into CBS After Being Fired From 60 Minutes
The 60 Minutes correspondent was fired after he dared criticize the new leadership at CBS.
Freshly fired 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley sounded off on CBS on Tuesday, accusing them of forcing him to report from a politically biased perspective. Pelley was fired after an explosive meeting in which he criticized CBS head Bari Weiss and newly hired executive producer Nick Bilton.
“Last month, 60 Minutes lost its DNA when our entire senior leadership and two of our best on-air correspondents were cruelly fired without cause. Good people were silenced because they stood up for our audience. They stood for fairness against the forces of political bias; they stood for professionalism against chaos,” he wrote in a statement. “New management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified. To date, in every case, I have managed to ignore these instructions or refuse them.”
Pelley even claimed that politicians had been allowed to choose who they wanted to be interviewed by, and that “incompetence and unprofessionalism in the new management have wreaked havoc.”
This all comes after Pelley and Bilton’s confrontation at a staff meeting on Monday, in which Pelley questioned the new hire on firings and told him that Weiss was “murdering” the show.
“You come into our house and expect to be welcome?” Pelley asked Bilton. “Why was Tanya Simon fired? Why was Sharyn fired? Why was Cecilia fired? Why Draggan? Do you know the names of the people that were fired? … We don’t trust you.”
It hasn’t even been a year since Weiss took over CBS, and she’s already fired or alienated some of the longest-tenured reporters at one of the most lauded networks in this country’s history.
Todd Blanche Confirms Trump Slush Fund Is Dead After Republican Outcry
Not even Donald Trump’s own party could get behind the fund.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed Tuesday that Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund for his allies was officially dead in the water.
During a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, ranking member Grace Meng asked Blanche what his plans were for Trump’s so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” The Department of Justice agreed to suspend the project until June 12, after a major court loss.
“We’re not moving forward with the fund,” Blanche said. “You’re right that there’s a date in the case in the Eastern District of Virginia in June. But we are not moving forward with the fund, period.”
“Not moving forward, ever?” Meng pressed.
“Correct,” Blanche said.
Blanche’s confirmation comes after Republican lawmakers urged the White House to nix the fund, in order to move forward with budget reconciliation.
Meng also asked whether Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward would sign and release documents reversing the DOJ’s position on the fund, but Blanche claimed it wasn’t necessary.
“We’re not moving forward with the fund, I’m not sure what that means to sign documents reversing, there’s nothing to reverse,” Blanche said.
Still, Meng urged Blanche to put his claims in writing in order to reassure the American public.
“I mean, I think there will be a transcript of what I say here, so that will be in writing,” Blanche said, laughing.
“We will work with you, and hold you to it,” Meng said.
It’s worth noting that Blanche has not backed off the other aspect of Trump’s settlement with the IRS: blanket immunity against being audited, which will empower the president and his family to freely commit financial crimes.
Prison-Bound Trump Supporter Tries to Walk Back Threats to Judges
Spencer Gear told judges they “can’t do sh*t to Donald Trump” and that he’d “spill your blood.”
Spencer Gear was ready to kill for Donald Trump—until it was time to face the music before a judge.
The 34-year-old Nevadan was sentenced to five years in prison Monday for threatening to murder federal judges who handled cases involving Trump and January 6ers. His messages, which were mostly delivered by way of phone calls between November 2023 and July 2024, were explicit: “This is a death threat,” he told one victim. “I’ll spill your blood,” and “You can’t do shit to Donald Trump,” Gear told others.
But Gear suddenly changed his tune when he was seated across from the judge handling his own criminal case Monday, pleading for mercy as he tried to walk back his violent promises.
“I’m embarrassed that I ever talked to people in such a manner,” Gear reportedly said, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “The republic cannot survive if we continue this path of political discourse.”
Gear claimed his brain had been infected by a “mind virus” from the internet and that the supposed disease had caused him to lash out at people he believed were going to destroy the country, reported the Reno Gazette Journal.
He was convicted by a jury following a six-day trial in February. He was found guilty on 20 counts, including nine counts of threatening a federal official and 11 counts of transmitting threats. His 60-month prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release.
“Today’s sentencing should send a clear message that the FBI stands firm in its commitment to protecting our public officials and ensuring that individuals who seek to harm others will be held accountable,” said Christopher S. Delzotto, special agent in charge for the FBI Las Vegas Field Office, in a press release. “Threats of violence are never merely words; they constitute serious federal crimes, and the FBI takes every threat with utmost seriousness. The act of spreading fear and intimidation has no place in our community.”
