Background Briefing: April 28, 2024
The House and Senate Move to Strip Non-Profit Status From Foundations That Support Palestinian Causes
We begin with the apparent intention of the Israeli Prime Minister to escalate the war in Gaza by invading Rafah and turning Gaza into a tent city of refugees amid the rubble of their former homes. Joining us to discuss this and efforts underway in the House and Senate to strip IRS non-profit status from NGO’s and other foundations supporting Palestinian causes is Lara Friedman, the President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace. Previously she was the Director of Policy and Government Relations at Americans for Peace Now, and before that she was a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, serving in Jerusalem, Washington, Tunis and Beirut. Lara is a leading authority on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, with particular focus on the Israeli-Arab conflict, settlements and Jerusalem, and on the role of the U.S. Congress.
The Damage the Supreme Court is Doing to the Rule of Law by Making Trump Above the Law
Then we assess the damage the Supreme Court is doing to the respect for and the credibility of the rule of law in this country following Thursday’s hearing on Trump’s immunity claim which made clear the fix is in to protect the powerful and politically connected who are free to commit crimes while ordinary folk are subject to the law and its punishment. Joining us is Leah Litman, Professor of Law at the University of Michigan who teaches and writes on constitutional law, federal post-conviction review, and federal sentencing. She clerked for Justice Anthony Kennedy of the U.S. Supreme Court and is now a regular contributor to the Take Care blog, and the co-host and creator of Strict Scrutiny, a podcast about the U.S. Supreme Court.
Biden’s Re-election Chances According to a Prediction System That Has Got Every Presidential Election Right Since 1984
Then finally we speak with Allan Lichtman, a political historian who teaches at American University and has studied both the American right and the presidency. The author of The Keys to the White House: A Surefire Way to Predicting the Next President, his prediction system has correctly predicted the outcomes of all US presidential elections since 1984 including the 2016 election when against all odds, he predicted a Trump victory. His most recent books are The Embattled Vote in America, The Case For Impeachment, and Thirteen Cracks: Repairing American Democracy After Trump. He has a new weekly show at 9 PM EST on Thursdays at @allanlichtmanyoutube and we discuss how the president’s reelection chances look in terms of Allan’s 13 keys in a race in which a lot has to go wrong for Biden to lose.