Month: December 2023

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a bid by President Biden’s administration to preserve broad access to the abortion pill, called mifepristone. The high court ended its recognition of a constitutional right to abortion in 2022.

The justices agreed to hear the appeal of an August decision by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that would curb how the pill is delivered and distributed, barring telemedicine prescriptions and shipments by mail of the drug. The high court also agreed to hear an appeal by the drug’s manufacturer, Danco Laboratories. The 5th Circuit’s decision is currently on hold pending the outcome of the appeal at the Supreme Court in a challenge to the pill brought in Texas by anti-abortion groups and doctors. The justices are expected to hear arguments in the coming months and issue a decision by the end of June.

In its filing to the Supreme Court, the Justice Department said that allowing the 5th Circuit’s restrictions to take effect would have “damaging consequences for women seeking lawful abortions and a healthcare system that relies on the availability of the drug under the current conditions of use.” The case could put at risk the authority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA gave regulatory approval to mifepristone in 2000, calling the drug safe and effective as demonstrated over its decades of use by millions of American women, with adverse effects rare. Mifepristone is taken alongside another drug, misoprostol, to perform medicated abortion, which accounts for more than half of all U.S. abortions. Besides medication abortion, mifepristone has other uses including management of miscarriages.

Biden’s administration is seeking to defend mifepristone as abortion bans after restrictions were enforced by many Repuvlican-governed states, since the Supreme Court in June 2022 overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

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On Wednesday, President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden defied a congressional subpoena to appear privately for a deposition in an impeachment inquiry against his father, prior to the House holding a vote to formalize the process. The chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, said that Republicans expect “full cooperation” with the private deposition. Comer and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, told reporters later Wednesday that they will begin looking at contempt of Congress proceedings in response to Hunter Biden’s lack of cooperation.

In a rare public statement, Hunter Biden spoke to reporters for about 10 minutes to Capitol Hill, saying he is prepared to testify in front of the Republican-led House Oversight Committee and Judiciary Committee, but only in public. The private deposition is part of the House’s impeachment investigation against the president. The president’s son slammed the subpoena requesting closed-door testimony, saying it could be manipulated, saying outside the Capitol: “Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say. What are they afraid of? I am here. Hunter Biden added: “There is no evidence to support the allegations that my father was financially involved in my business because it did not happen.”

Republicans have been pursuing an impeachment inquiry seeking to tie President Joe Biden to his son’s business dealings, but have thus far failed to uncover evidence directly implicating President Biden in any wrongdoing. Questions have arisen about the ethics surrounding the Biden family’s international business, and some say their evidence points to “influence peddling” in their business dealings, particularly with international clients.

Hunter Biden is also facing additional criminal charges in two states from a special counsel overseeing a long-running investigation. He’s charged with firearm counts in Delaware, alleging he broke laws against drug users having guns in 2018, a period when he has acknowledged struggling with addiction. Special counsel David Weiss also filed new charges and nine new tax counts last week, alleging he schemed to avoid paying about $1.4 million in taxes over a three-year period.

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Amid backlash over Harvard President Claudine Gay’s responses at a congressional hearing questioning antisemitism on U.S. college campuses, the main governing board of the university unanimously said that she will be allowed to keep her job. Gay’s fate as university president at Harvard had been up in the air ever since her controversial remarks at the congressional hearing earlier this month.

The Harvard Corporation said in a statement to the university community on Tuesday: “As members of the Harvard Corporation, we today reaffirm our support for President Gay’s continued leadership of Harvard University. Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing … In this tumultuous and difficult time, we unanimously stand in support of President Gay.”

Gay, the first person of color and the second woman hired as Harvard’s president in December 2022, had faced calls to resign after she and the leaders of University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts Institute of Technology engaged in four hours of tense testimony in front of the House Education Committee on Dec. 5.  Ms. Gay testified alongside MIT’s Sally Kornbluth and Liz Magill (who resigned from her role at the University of Pennsylvania over the weekend.). Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania are among schools being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education for complaints of antisemitism and Islamophobic discrimination on campus.

The three university presidents explained that there are processes in place to determine whether students have violated school policies and must respect students’ different viewpoints on antisemitism, with Gay adding: “we do not sanction individuals for their political views or their speech. When that speech crosses into conduct that violates our behavior-based policies, bullying, harassment and intimidation, we take action.”  Gay also said that Harvard was working to fight antisemitism while allowing for free speech: “During these difficult days, I have felt the bonds of our community strain. In response, I’ve sought to confront hate while preserving free expression. This is difficult work. And I know that I have not always gotten it right.”  

Gay later apologized for her remarks at the congressional hearing during an interview on Thursday with The Crimson,  Harvard University’s student newspaper:  “I am sorry. Words matter. When words amplify distress and pain, I don’t know how you could feel anything but regret.”

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President Biden held a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday after their meeting at the White House, and shared their push for Congress’s approval for more aid for Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia. Mr. Biden announced that he’s signed an additional $200 million in drawdown funds for Ukraine, sharing at the press conference: “Ukraine will emerge from this war — proud, free, and firmly rooted in the West, unless we walk away. The American people can be and should be incredibly proud of the part they played in supporting Ukraine’s success. We will continue to supply Ukraine with critical weapons and equipment as long as we can, including $200 million I just approved today in a critical, needed equipment, additional air defense interceptors, artillery and ammunition. But without supplemental funding, we’re rapidly coming to an end of our ability to help Ukraine respond to the urgent operational demands that it has.”

Zelenskyy met with senators and House Speaker Mike Johnson on Capitol Hill, to request additional aid to Ukraine. However, while GOP senators expressed support for Zelenskyy, they also demanded stricter border security measures and immigration policy changes in exchange for more funding, adding that the Biden administration must still agree to immigration changes before they agree to another round of assistance.

Mr. Biden shared there is “strong” bipartisan support for Ukraine, despite the disagreements on Capitol Hill, and later added: “We want to see Ukraine win the war, and as I’ve said before, winning means Ukraine is a sovereign, independent nation that can afford to defend itself today and deter further aggression. That’s our objective … There is strong bipartisan political support for Ukraine — a small number of Republicans who don’t want to support Ukraine, but they don’t speak for the majority of even Republicans, in my view. “We’re in negotiations to get funding we need, not to promise — not making promises, but hopeful we can get there, and I think we can.”

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On Monday, Special counsel Jack Smith asked the Supreme Court to quickly review a bid by former President Donald Trump to have the federal election interference charges against him dismissed. Citing its importance to the nation, Smith petitioned the high court to urgently rule on Trump’s argument that he enjoys sweeping immunity against charges he was at the center of a criminal conspiracy to fraudulently overturn his 2020 presidential election loss to Joe Biden.

Smith wrote in seeking an expedited review of the matter, “This case involves issues of exceptional national importance,” noting the former president’s trial is scheduled to begin on March 4. The counsel asked the Supreme Court take up the matter on a “certiorari” basis, urging it to consider the case before it is ruled on by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Smith said a quick ruling by the Supreme Court is necessary because the case is essentially frozen while a potentially lengthy appeals process is underway. If allowed to do so, the process could push the trial date beyond the 2024 presidential election, in which Trump is the frontrunner to again win the Republican Party nomination.

Trump is facing four counts accusing him of conspiracy to overthrow the 2020 presidential election; his team are trying to have the charges thrown out on broad claims he is shielded from criminal prosecution for official presidential conduct.

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According to an Air Force investigation released Monday, fifteen airmen have been disciplined (including with removal of their command) for failing to take proper action when they became aware of accused leaker Jack Teixeira’s activities. The internal review is separate from the Justice Department’s criminal investigation, which led to Teixeira’s indictment earlier this year on six charges of willful retention and transmission of national defense information. Teixeira pleaded not guilty and is awaiting a trial date.

The watchdog report found no evidence that Teixeira’s immediate superiors were aware at the time of his intelligence-seeking activities; however, the report details a pattern of oversight by Air Force officials at Teixiera’s base that indirectly contributed to his ability to gather and then leak classified documents without being caught. The report states that other airmen knew he was improperly accessing the sensitive materials.  According to the Air Force, the 15 service members range in rank from staff sergeant to colonel, and have since been removed from their positions, receiving non-judicial administrative punishments.

Teixeira, an airman 1st class, is accused of spreading highly classified materials through the popular online platform Discord to a small group. Following his arrest in April, the Air Force inspector general was tasked with reviewing the environment around Teixeira and the compliance with policy, procedures and standards by the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts where Teixeira was serving as an IT specialist.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in a statement: “Every Airman … is entrusted with the solemn duty to safeguard our nation’s classified defense information. When there is a breach of that sacred trust, for any reason, we will act in accordance with our laws and policies to hold responsible individuals accountable. Our national security demands leaders at every level protect critical assets, ensuring they do not fall into the hands of those who would do the United States or our allies and partners harm.”

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