Fauci: 'Low-life trolls harass my wife and kids'

Dr. Anthony Fauci is standing down as Chief Medical Advisor to the US President later this month

By Marianna Spring & Alix Pickles
BBC Americast

America's top infectious disease expert, who became the face of the pandemic with his daily television updates, has spoken out against "low-life" trolls harassing his wife and children, figuring out where they live and their phone numbers.

"I have good security protection, but I really think it's so cowardly to harass people who are completely uninvolved, including my children," Dr Anthony Fauci told the BBC's Americast podcast.

Dr Fauci, who became a target for online conspiracy movements after advising on the Covid-19 pandemic, said he tries his best not to be distracted by online hate that "takes away from your ability to do your job".

As chief medical adviser to the US President he was the country's top medical expert and the voice of the government's pandemic response, during both the Trump and Biden administration, providing daily updates to the American public, encouraging mask use and vaccination.

He frequently clashed with former President Donald Trump, who once threatened to fire him

.
Trump suggests sacking US virus expert after crowd chants

Fauci 'absolutely not' surprised Trump got Covid-19

Conspiracy theorists accused Dr Fauci of playing a key role in a sinister plot to control and harm people with Covid-19 and vaccines, contrary to the evidence.

Two people have previously been arrested and imprisoned in the US for what Dr Fauci described as "credible attempts on [his] life."

He warned about a "tsunami of misinformation and disinformation" in his country, including on social media. But he refused to comment on Twitter's recent decision to stop labelling and removing Covid-19 misinformation, because he feared being accused of "trying to suppress people's freedom of speech".

The 81-year-old is stepping down as chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden this month and head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

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Dr Fauci has served under seven presidents, including Joe Biden, Donald Trump and Barack Obama, starting with Republican Ronald Reagan during the HIV AIDS epidemic.

But he was thrust further into the public eye during the Covid-19 pandemic, where decisions he and other scientific advisers made about restrictions and medical advice were under scrutiny.

At times, he clashed with Donald Trump's approach to managing the pandemic.

He said it was not easy to publicly disagree with a sitting president and that it "generated an extraordinary amount of hostility" from "far-right" activists in the US.

When asked whether the severity of lockdowns in some American states was misjudged, Dr Fauci disagreed.

He dismissed the approach taken by Sweden, which did not immediately go into lockdown, but advocated voluntary social distancing.

"I would not under any circumstances adopt the Swedish model because if you look at the deaths and hospitalisations in Sweden compared to other Scandinavian countries, it's much, much worse," Dr Fauci told Americast.

Dr Fauci, who will turn 82 on 24 December, said he will continue to work in healthcare.

Listen to the full interview with Dr Anthony Fauci on Americast on BBC Sounds


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Convictions remain rare for police accused of sexual assault

by Danielle McNabb and Kate Puddister, The Conversation

Few cases of sexual assault by police are investigated by Ontario’s Special Investigations

 Unit, and fewer result in a conviction. Credit: Shutterstock

Over the past few years, social movements from #MeToo to Black Lives Matter have raised awareness of sexual violence, police brutality and systemic racism.

Police-involved sexual assault—sexual violence that is committed by police officers—sits at the intersection of these two important political movements. Our research suggests that sexual violence by police is more common than many might think.

In November 2022, a woman of the Oneida First Nation launched a $6 million lawsuit against the London Police Service in Ontario alleging their negligent handling of her sexual assault report. The suit asserts that three police officers sexually abused the woman for years beginning at the age of 12. She says despite making reports to the police force and to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) of Ontario, a police oversight agency, virtually nothing was done.

Failure to fully investigate reports of police-involved sexual assault can have a chilling effect on what is already the most underreported violent crime in Canada. It also erodes the public's trust in police accountability and the police themselves, by sending the message that police officers are above the law.

What is the SIU?

As a civilian police oversight agency, the SIU investigates when a police encounter with members of the public results in serious injury, death, the discharge of a firearm or sexual assault accusations against officers. The SIU does not employ active police officers and it has the power to lay criminal charges against most police officers in Ontario.

In our recent paper, we traced the outcomes of 689 reports of sexual assault made to the SIU between 2005 and 2020. We found that the vast majority of allegations of sexual assault do not result in meaningful consequences for the police officers involved.

Police-involved sexual assault

Like other forms of sexual violence, the victims of police-involved sexual assault are predominantly female, and we found the average complainant to be 32 years old.

Although the SIU did not begin publishing race-based data until June 2020, we know that Black and Indigenous people are disproportionately victims of police brutality, a finding that likely extends to sexual violence.

All police officers that were charged with sexual assault were male. And when compared to other forms of criminal conduct, perpetrators of sexual assault had more years on the job, with many holding the rank of sergeant or higher.

We also found that charged police officers were slightly more likely to have committed sexual assault while on-duty.

What happens after a report is made?

Between 2017 and 2020, nearly 40% of all sexual assault reports made to the SIU were terminated. This means the agency decided not to launch a full investigation into the complaint.

According to SIU policy, this happens either because the incident falls outside of their jurisdiction, or because they determine there is "patently nothing to investigate."

During the same period, the unfounded rate for sexual assault reported to Ontario police forces was 10.5%. This means that sexual assault reports made to the SIU are much less likely to have a completed investigation.

Canadian police will classify an incident as unfounded when it is "determined through police investigation that the offense reported did not occur, nor was it attempted."

For the reports that did receive a full investigation, 86.3% did not result in charges being laid. During the 15-year-period of our study, only 7.4% of investigated complaints of sexual assault led to charges.

What happens to charged officers?

Conviction rates in Canada sit at around 50-60%. And just over half of sexual assault trials result in a conviction.

While most people plead guilty when charged with criminal offenses, according to our study, only 16% of charged officers pleaded guilty. Furthermore, under 13% were found guilty after a judge or jury trial, indicating a severely low conviction rate for officers.

To put it in the starkest terms, our study found that only 1.59% of reports investigated by the SIU resulted in a conviction and sentence.

Why it's so difficult to investigate

Police officers are afforded immense powers. Their work is typically conducted with minimal supervision, out of public view and involves contact with vulnerable populations. It is these conditions that help to facilitate, and make hidden, sexual violence committed by police officers.

These are very challenging cases for the justice system. Like many cases of sexual assault, evidence is often lacking, and cases depend on the credibility of the complainant versus the accused. Police officers are advantaged in assessments of credibility, and they benefit from their expert knowledge of the justice system.

There is much room for improving how we respond to police-involved sexual violence. Allegations of sexual assault made against police officers are less likely to receive a full investigation, have charges laid, and result in a conviction—creating the perception that officers do not always face meaningful consequences when accused of sexual assault.

Individuals considering reporting police-involved sexual violence may lack confidence in the system's ability to investigate and hold officers accountable.

Effective police oversight is built on public trust. Considering the barriers to reporting and investigating sexual violence committed by police officers, maintaining public confidence in police oversight is vital.

Police cannot be held accountable without an informed public. By shedding light on these cases, we hope our research will help us better understand how the police oversight system works so we can better advocate for change.

Provided by The Conversation

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Older female teens most likely to be sexual assault victims in Australia

CRIMINAL STATE CAPITALI$M

Mongolia’s coal mafia demonstrations continue for fifth straight day

Crowds on the fifth day of protests braved sub-zero temperatures as low as minus-19 degrees Celsius. / Anand Tumurtogoo

By Anand Tumurtogoo in Ulaanbaatar December 8, 2022

The “coal mafia” demonstrations on December 7 continued in Mongolia for a fifth straight day, with citizens again braving sub-zero temperatures as they called for accountability for the alleged embezzlement of up to Mongolian tughrik (MNT) 44 trillion ($12.8bn) in state coal export revenues.

Nyambaatar Khishgee, minister of justice and internal affairs, addressed a crowd gathered in Ulaanbaatar. He informed the protesters that Gankhuyag Battulga, the former CEO of state-owned coal mining and export company, Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi, members of his family and four other businessmen were arrested on December 6 following house searches.

According to local media outlet Eguur, Nyambaatar specified the seven other individuals as under arrest as: wife N. Odgerel, sister B. Narantuya, son-in-law D. Purevdorj, Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi communications advisor S. Enkhtur, director of Success Radar LLC S. Enkhtuvshin as well as the company’s executive director M. Khurelbaatar, and B. Khishigdorj, owner of Khishig Arvin Industrial LLC.

The minister also revealed that a team from the Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC) and the Mongolian Central Intelligence Agency had travelled to South Gobi, where the Erdene Tavan Tolgoi mine is situated. According to a source, approximately 50 people involved in the coal mafia investigation were already on-site at the company headquarters and mine.

The information provided by the minister did not, however, quell the protests. After his speech, the protests noticeably grew. Calls for ministerial resignations were heard.

Some protesters began to circulate around Ulaanbaatar’s central square, Sukhbaatar Square, and government buildings, whereas other protesters remained in place in front of Government Palace. Eventually, some protesters began to obstruct traffic around the square. There were reports of a Mercedes Benz G-class car being forced through a crowd. Protestors' white banners obstructed the way through Peace and Chinggis avenues.

The last of the protesters left the square after 10 pm local time, making the fifth day of protests the longest yet. It is expected that the demonstrations will continue into a sixth day.

A public hearing on the coal theft is to be held on December 21.

The fact that huge volumes of coal have allegedly been pilfered in the past decade at least was discovered after officials compared Mongolian export data with import data reported by China, which buys almost all of Mongolia’s coal exports.

Coal accounted for more than half of Mongolia's export revenue in the first 10 months of this year, according to central bank data.

Separately, officials anxious to reassure Mongolians that the country can avoid sinking into a severe economic crisis, have briefed that unpaid debts owed by state companies to the government-owned Development Bank of Mongolia have been resolved, and that the bank was set to repay state-guaranteed bonds.

Mongolia has indicated that the Development Bank is ready to repay a 30-billion yen ($218-mn) state-backed bond. It is due in December next year. Earlier this week, the officials said Mongolia had repaid $136.8mn outstanding on a note due this month.

How Other States Advanced While Pakistan Fell Behind – OpEd

 December 9, 2022  Eurasia Review 

By Sher Khan Bazai

Pakistan stands at 75 years old but faces one of the worst crises due to a mix of domestic and external economic, political, and natural threats. Our economic, political, social, demographic, ecological, and external trends depict that the country may see huge political turmoil, economic meltdown, social disintegration, ecological crises, displacement, pandemics, terrorism, external tiffs, and ethnic conflict in the future due to a host of reasons. Some are deeply rooted in history, while others are the result of the ruling elites’ continued denial of the ground realities. 

Our history dictates that three pathologies defined Pakistan’s struggle with its political identity on the eve of its independence. These were. 1) Islam-Secularism confusion, 2) presidential-parliamentary ambivalence, and 3) civil-military imbalance Those pathologies are very much alive, and without proper diagnosis and treatment, they have caused further pathologies in the body physiology of the nation. Some of those are the first, i.e., social instability, features poor work ethics, low productivity, and disenchantment with national development. Secondly, pathology is the corruption that becomes a way of life in undisciplined societies where individuals subordinate national interests to their own interests. Thirdly, in undisciplined societies, students do not take their studies seriously and resort to cheating on examinations as a normal practice. Fourthly, the pathology of an undisciplined country is its ineffective institutions, where, due to a lack of fiscal, social, and political discipline, the institutions become toothless showpieces that are generally used by the sitting government to hound its political opponents. Lastly, an undisciplined nation attracts international censure and a bad image, resulting in difficulties in travel and job opportunities for its citizens. 

Such a situation, coupled with a complex geostrategic environment around us, has resulted in a weak economy, governance challenges, dynastic politics, energy shortages, religious and ethnic segregation, extremism and intolerance, mediocre and artificial civil leadership, and has created a space for repeated military takeovers. 

Continuity of the status quo has resulted in a deficit of leadership at the national level. Now, why we are not producing good statesmen is a genuine question. Unfortunately, our nurseries of political leadership stopped functioning long ago. Colleges and universities must be the incubators of political ideas, statesmanship, and democracy, but we have banned student unions and constructive political engagement in academic institutions because a well-educated and informed citizenry is wrongly perceived by the ruling class as a threat to their continuous exploitative policies. 

Such shortsightedness in policy has badly affected the output of successive governments. The Ayub-Yahya years glorified military rule and gave high-level sleaze, inequitable progress, and military responses to crush ethnic gripes lasted in tragedy of 1971. Thereafter, in new Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gave us a politicised bureaucracy, excessive control of the economy by the state, and political victimization. Gen Zia gave us extremism, sectarianism, widespread corruption, weapons, drugs, “jihad love,” and religious abuse. The 1990s saw much ineptitude and sleaze. The Musharraf years gave us terrorism. Since 2008, democracy has utterly failed, resulting in even more sleaze and ineptitude. 

Imbalances Civil-military relations are undoubtedly responsible for longstanding debts and have remained a major source of political and economic instability, hampering the democratic process and normalcy in the country. There is no denying that civilian supremacy is essential to a democratic dispensation. Indeed, there is a need to change the balance of power in favour of the elected dispensation. The military leadership, realising the ground realities, has now decided to be apolitical. Now the ball is in the court of civil leadership to show moral integrity, political maturity and foresightedness. 

The most prominent threat at the moment is the balance of payment crisis, with Pakistan facing the risk of sovereign default on external debt repayments. Though bankruptcy has been averted for the time being but the country is in dire economic straits. Our main problem is not only finance but also bad governance. Governance means more than maintaining law and order. It entails financial discipline, consistency, credibility, crisis management ability, integrity, transparency, effective service delivery, public interest protection, and national sovereignty.

Pakistan’s state and economy are controlled by the elite. This was the thesis espoused by Dr. Ishrat Hussain in his 1999 book Pakistan: The Economy of an Elitist State. The elite has been making policies that are consistent with a system that barely falls short of an oligarchy. It serves the elite’s interests maximally and the public’s interests minimally. Since our elites already control most of our resources, they aren’t interested in economic growth or increasing the size of the pie. Their preoccupation is with maintaining their lion’s share of the pie. The only way to escape this poverty trap is to come up with a new “elite bargain” that promotes growth and development. Further, a conflict between the military and political elite is structural and not personal, though it is often presented as a personal conflict.

The foreign front is too mismanaged. A perceived threat from and conflict with India, a love-hate relationship with Afghanistan, not too warm ties with Russia, and sowing doubts and aspersion over the traditional Sino-Pakistan relationship keep Pakistan “drudging” along and off-balance, hence pliant to pressure of international lenders.

These challenges together make us perhaps the riskiest, most unstable nuclear state with largest population of 22 million people. Now the biggest question is, “Can we avoid all those issues facing the nation?” I look for lessons from six major “comeback” states that faced major crises at the time but rose from the ashes to make significant progress in all areas. For example, first, Japan saw US nuclear attacks and occupation after 1945 but soon rose as its economic rival. Its crisis was mainly due to military adventurism but Ethnic unity, a long state history, US aid, and a sole focus on economics led to its progress. Second, Mao left China in a poor state in 1978, but China is now a superpower. Its crisis was mainly economic, due to misrule and a choked economy but its Ethnic oneness, a long state history, past success, a focus on economics, and diaspora ties led to its progress and now is second largest economy in the world. Third, Russia emerged from the ruins of the former Soviet Union in 1991, which fell due to economic malaise and military overreach. Russia saw, but overcame, economic and ethnic turmoil. It hasn’t seen Japan’s or China’s success, yet its natural resources give it some progress. But Putin’s misrule and military overreach again risk national and global stability.

 India faced a big economic crisis in 1991. It has also seen much ethnic, religious, and Maoist strife, but without those posing existential threats. Its economic problems were due to overregulation. Progress came via deregulation, focusing on education, strong diaspora ties, and an able bureaucracy. In 1998, Indonesia too faced huge economic turmoil, terrorism, and ethnic strife that led to East Timor breaking away. Long army rule, ethnic divides, and a short state history were the main causes but Democracy, devolution, and the country’s location in a dynamic region aided progress. Fifth, 25 years of colonial-style rule rendered Bangladesh an economic basket case. Army rule increased its strife. Yet it now has fast economic growth due to civilian rule, ethnic oneness, and export-led growth.

 A look at these states, most of which are our age peers, particularly India, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, shockingly shows they gained political stability, social harmony and economic prosperity via the “bad egg,” but we are reluctant to learn from their good practises and their histories.

 In the 2023 polls, we have the last chance to avert doom if we fail to hold free, fair, and transparent elections as in 1971 and the new regime does serious overhauling and restructuring of the whole system in five years. After that, it may be too late. The post polls 2023, new political dispensation must ensure due share to all irrespective of their race ethnicity in the state structure in the light of sayings of the great political thinkers, from Plato’s “The Republic” to Machiavelli’s “The Prince,” a compelling necessity to give a due share in the structure of power to all, even at the farthest corner of a state. Similarly, the Chinese state constructed the institution of state servants strictly on the principle of equal sharing among all stakeholders. The ancient kings of China made frequent visits to far-flung areas to find young talent for future bureaucracies, maintaining equilibrium between the developed and underdeveloped areas. Ruin comes when a state itself promotes rulers from peculiar areas, as our ruling elites are doing since beginning and deprives the vast majority of the three-federating unit’s’ voiceless population, which has no status beyond servile.

Sher Khan Bazai is retired from civil service as Secretary Education Balochistan. The writer can be reached at skbazai@hotmail.com

Who Are The Americans Still In Jail In Russia, And Who Could They Be Swapped For? – Analysis

 December 9, 2022 

By Todd Prince

(RFE/RL) — After months of tough negotiations with the Kremlin, the Biden administration has finally secured the release of U.S. women’s basketball star Brittney Griner from a Russian prison.

The administration said December 8 that it had agreed with Moscow to swap convicted Russian arms trader Viktor Bout for Griner, 32, whose arrest, trial, and conviction sparked outrage in the United States.

Griner was sentenced in August by a court in Moscow to nine years in prison for possessing vape cartridges containing less than an ounce of cannabis oil, which is illegal in Russia.

The case has been viewed in Washington through the prism of strained U.S.-Russian relations, with officials saying the Kremlin was using Griner as a pawn to secure the release of high-profile Russians serving prison terms in the United States.

Bout, who was sentenced in 2011 to 25 years in a U.S. prison for conspiring to sell weapons to a Colombian terrorist group, was arguably the most high-profile Russian prisoner in the United States. The Kremlin had been fighting for years for his release.

The jubilation in the United States over Griner’s release has been muted by the fact that several Americans, including former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, continue to be held in Russian prisons on what many say are trumped-up charges.

U.S. and Russian officials had been discussing a larger swap of prisoners that included Whelan.

“While we celebrate Brittney’s release, Paul Whelan and his family continue to suffer needlessly. Despite our ceaseless efforts, the Russian government has not yet been willing to bring a long overdue end to his wrongful detention,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a December 8 statement. “Nevertheless, we will not relent in our efforts to bring Paul and all other U.S. nationals held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad home to their loved ones where they belong.”

Earlier this year, the Biden administration secured the release of Trevor Reed, a former U.S. Marine who was imprisoned in Russia for nearly three years on charges of assaulting two police officers.

In the case, the administration agreed to swap Konstantin Yaroshenko, a pilot from Russia who was sentenced in 2011 to 20 years in prison for conspiring to smuggle cocaine into the United States.

Below is a list of U.S. and Russian individuals who could be involved in another potential prisoner swap.

Paul Whelan

Paul Whelan, 52, a Michigan-based corporate security executive, was arrested in December 2018 on espionage charges while visiting Moscow for a friend’s wedding. Russia claimed Whelan was caught with a computer flash drive containing classified information.

Whelan, who holds U.S., British, Canadian, and Irish citizenship, said he was set up in a sting operation and had thought the drive, given to him by a Russian acquaintance, contained vacation photos.

In June 2020, he was found guilty and sentenced to 16 years behind bars. He is currently in a high-security prison. The U.S. government said Russia produced no evidence to prove Whelan’s guilt during a trial that it called a mockery of justice.

David Barnes

David Barnes, 65, a Texas resident, was arrested by Russian authorities in Moscow in January 2022 on charges of abusing his children in the United States.

Barnes traveled to Moscow in December 2021 to win the right to either see his children or bring them back home.

Barnes’s ex-wife, Svetlana Koptyaeva, fled to Russia with the children in 2019 amid divorce and custody proceedings. A Texas court in 2020 awarded Barnes custody of the children, and Koptyaeva is now wanted by the United States on charges of interfering with child custody.

Koptyaeva had accused Barnes of child abuse, but a 2018 investigation by the Department of Family and Protective Services did not find sufficient evidence to support such a conclusion and closed the case without filing any charges.

Marc Fogel

Marc Fogel, a 60-year-old English teacher, was arrested at an airport in Moscow in 2021 for carrying about half an ounce of medical marijuana.

He was sentenced to 14 years in a penal colony after prosecutors claimed he intended to sell the drugs to his students.

Fogel had been teaching for nearly a decade at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, a prestigious fee-paying primary school that had been established by the U.S., Canadian, and British embassies.

Fogel, who had surgeries on his back, shoulder, and knee, said he began to use medical marijuana while in the United States on summer break to cope with pain and tried to bring some of it back to Russia, where it is illegal.

Roman Seleznyov

Roman Seleznyov, the son of Valery Seleznyov — a member of Russia’s lower house of parliament and an outspoken critic of U.S. policies — is serving a 27-year sentence for various cybercrimes, including selling stolen U.S. credit card data.

Seleznyov, 38, was arrested by U.S. authorities in 2014 at an airport in the Maldives and quickly taken to the U.S. territory of Guam, sparking accusations by Moscow that he was kidnapped.

U.S. investigators uncovered Seleznyov’s online activities in the late 2000s and asked Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) for help. Seleznyov’s online footprint soon disappeared, leading U.S. investigators to believe Russia was protecting him.

Seleznyov (listed as Roman V. Seleznev in U.S. court papers) received one of the harshest sentences ever handed down to a Russian hacker because he chose to fight his case despite a preponderance of evidence rather than cooperate.

Vladislav Klyushin

Vladislav Klyushin, 41, was arrested in Switzerland on March 21, 2021, on charges of stealing insider information and using it to make a fortune. He was extradited to the United States on December 18.

Klyushin is accused of being part of a group that hacked into networks to steal sensitive corporate data and use the information to trade stocks. The group is thought to have made a total of $82 million over a two-year period from 2018 to 2020.

The other members of the group remain at large. One of them is a former officer in the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate, known as the GRU, who was previously charged in July 2018 for his alleged role in a Russian effort to meddle in the 2016 U.S. elections.

Klyushin owned M-13, a Russian company that offers media-monitoring and cybersecurity services, and is believed to have Kremlin ties. His company provided IT solutions that were used by the Russian president, federal ministries and departments, as well as regional state executive bodies.

Aleksandr Vinnik

Aleksandr Vinnik, 43, who is also known as Mr. Bitcoin, was extradited to the United States on August 5 to face money-laundering charges.

Vinnik allegedly owned and operated BTC-e, one of the world’s largest digital-currency exchanges. The United States claims BTC-e was used extensively by cybercriminals worldwide to launder money because it did not require users to validate their identity, obscured and anonymized transactions and sources of funds, and lacked any due diligence processes.

Vinnik was arrested on a U.S. warrant in 2017 on a Greek beach while vacationing with his family. However, he was initially extradited to France to face separate money-laundering charges and sentenced to five years in prison.

He was released from a French prison on August 4 but immediately sent back to Greece, which had requested his return so it could execute the original U.S. warrant.

If convicted by a U.S. court, Vinnik faces up to 20 years in prison. The timing of Vinnik’s transfer to the United States coincided with the sentencing of Griner, giving rise to speculation he may be used in a possible prisoner swap.

Denis Dubnikov

Denis Dubnikov, 29, was extradited to the United States earlier this year on charges of laundering cryptocurrency tied to a notorious ransomware gang.

Dubnikov, who co-owns small crypto-exchanges, allegedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of digital currency from Ryuk, a ransomware gang believed to have extracted tens of millions in ransoms, including from U.S. victims.

Dubnikov denied the charges, saying at the time through his lawyer that he did not know the source of the money that the United States alleges came from ransomware payments.

Dubnikov’s arrest has been called one of U.S. law enforcement’s first potential blows to the Ryuk gang, which is suspected of being behind a rash of cyberattacks on U.S. health-care organizations. The Wall Street Journal said that Ryuk took in more than $100 million in ransom payments last year.

• Todd Prince is a senior correspondent for RFE/RL based in Washington, D.C. He lived in Russia from 1999 to 2016, working as a reporter for Bloomberg News and an investment adviser for Merrill Lynch. He has traveled extensively around Russia, Ukraine, and Central Asia.

A Christian minister testified that he was involved in decades-long efforts to influence the Supreme Court: 'We pushed the boundaries of Christian ethics'

Oma Seddiq
Dec 8, 2022, 4:28 PM

Nadine Seiler attends a rally for voting rights while the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the Moore v. Harper case December 7, 2022. 

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

An evangelical Christian minister testified he was involved in an effort to influence Supreme Court justices' thinking.

Robert Schenck told a congressional panel that he gained advance knowledge of a 2014 Supreme Court ruling.

Democrats are pushing for a bill that would require the justices to establish a code of conduct.

An evangelical Christian minister testified before a congressional panel on Thursday that he had been involved in an effort for nearly two decades to influence some of the Supreme Court's conservative justices.

Robert Schenck, a former anti-abortion activist, told the House Judiciary Committee that he had engaged in prayer sessions with some of the court's conservative justices, recruited "stealth missionaries" to build relationships with those justices, and learned the outcome of a closely watched 2014 Supreme Court case before it was released.

"I believe we pushed the boundaries of Christian ethics and comprised the high court's promise to administer equal justice," Schenck said. "In one instance, Justice Thomas commended me, saying something like, keep up what you're doing, it's making a difference."

Thursday's hearing, titled "Undue Influence: Operation Higher Court and Politicking at SCOTUS," came after Schenck's allegations were recently reported in Politico, Rolling Stone and The New York Times.

The New York Times report centered on Schenck's claims that he gained advanced knowledge of the outcome of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, a case concerning religious rights and reproductive health. In an opinion by conservative Justice Samuel Alito, the 5-4 majority ruled that paying for insurance that covered contraception violated the religious freedoms of privately held, for-profit companies.

Schneck said he was tipped off about the decision at least three weeks in advance by Gayle Wright, who with her husband Donald, were among the "stealth missionaries" Schneck helped recruit. The couple were informed of the decision during a dinner with Alito, Schneck said. Alito and Gayle Wright have denied the allegations.

The allegations have prompted renewed calls from Democratic lawmakers for the Supreme Court justices to abide by an ethics code. The justices, unlike lower federal court judges, are not bound by a code of conduct and have not adopted their own.

"The court either cannot, or will not, do what is in its own best interest," Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia, who's leading a bill that would establish an enforceable code of conduct for the justices, said during a House Judiciary Committee hearing. "Therefore, Congress must step in."


The legislation, called the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act, aims to increase transparency and promote accountability for the justices by requiring them to write and enforce a code of conduct and adhere to financial disclosures of gifts and income they receive from outside parties.

Critics have raised doubts about Schneck's allegations. During Thursday's hearing, another witness, lawyer Mark Paoletta, slammed Schneck and said his claims are baseless. Republicans on the committee, including ranking member Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, also scrutinized Schneck's comments.

"I don't believe a thing Mr. Schneck says," Paoletta, a former clerk for Justice Thomas, told the committee.

The author of Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' bill resigns after being indicted on charges of swindling COVID-relief loans

Azmi Haroun
Dec 8, 2022, 4:20 PM

A mock-up is pictured of a "SAY GAY" billboard that activists are placing in Florida in response to the so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill.

Courtesy of Southern Progress PAC

The author of Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' bill resigned on Thursday after a federal indictment.
Florida state Rep. Joe Harding was indicted on charges of fraud worth over $150,000.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Harding made fake businesses, bank accounts and pocketed COVID loans.

A sponsor of Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill resigned on Thursday, a day after he was indicted on federal charges of wire fraud and siphoning hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Small Business Administration.

In a short statement that did not directly address the six charges of fraud and money laundering, Florida State Representative Joe Harding said that he was resigning due to "legal issues that require my complete focus." The resignation means Harding's former district will now have a special election to replace him.

Federal prosecutors said in an indictment notice Wednesday that Harding had created dormant businesses and fake bank statements throughout the pandemic. He raked in more than $150,000 through his scheme, according to prosecutors, and was indicted by a grand jury on Wednesday on six counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements.

Harding did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.

In 2022, Harding sponsored Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay" Bill,which is officially called the "Parental Rights in Education" bill. The legislation, which went into effect in July, bans instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation through third grade, and contains vague language about how such matters can be taught in higher grades.

If found guilty, Harding faces up to 20 years on the wire fraud charges; 10 years related to the money laundering allegations; and five years in prison for allegedly making false statements.

Yellen, Malerba become 1st female pair to sign U.S. currency


Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, left, and Treasurer Lynn Malerba show off money they autographed Thursday. The currency is the nation’s first to be signed by two women.
(LM Otero / Associated Press)

BY FATIMA HUSSEIN AND JOSH BOAK
ASSOCIATED PRESSDEC. 8, 2022

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday helped mark a milestone in U.S. history when she held up a newly minted $5 bill signed for the first time ever by two women.

Yellen’s signature will appear alongside that of U.S. Treasurer Lynn Malerba, the first Native American in that position.

Yellen joked during a stop in Texas about the bad handwriting of some of her male predecessors and said, “I will admit, I spent some quality time practicing my signature.”

“Two women on the currency for the first time is truly momentous,” added Malerba, who traveled with Yellen to a Bureau of Engraving and Printing facility in Fort Worth to provide their signatures.

They ceremonially signed fresh sheets of bills in $1 and $5 denominations and posed with samples to mark the history-making moment. The new notes will go into circulation next year.

Anusha Chari, an economist who chairs the American Economic Assn’s. Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession, calls Yellen’s signature on U.S. currency “a huge milestone, but it also shows us how far we have to go.”

The Treasury Department was created in 1789, and until Yellen only white CHRISTIAN men had led it.

Yellen made her reputation as a stoic chair of the Federal Reserve and a shrewd forecaster, and now is at the forefront of far-flung efforts to use economic levers to help stop Russia’s war in Ukraine, employ tax policy to protect the planet from climate change and oversee a massive effort to strengthen the beleaguered Internal Revenue Service.

That puts her at the center of domestic and global politics, inviting new levels of pressure and second-guessing by friends and foes. She is tackling this challenge as the United States is suffering from inflation that hit a 40-year high this summer and sowed fears of a coming recession.

Even as Yellen watched the fresh bills carrying her signature roll out at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s currency facility, her remarks focused on Biden administration policy accomplishments rather than her status as the first woman to serve as Treasury secretary.

On the Ukraine conflict instigated last February by Russian President Vladimir Putin, she said, “Together with over 30 countries, we have denied Russia revenue and resources it needs to fight its war.”

As for the domestic economy, she said, pandemic relief and a new law to boost production of semiconductors have positioned the U.S. “to capitalize on a wave of economic opportunities for the American people, including in communities often overlooked.”

Later, talking to reporters, Yellen said she thinks the U.S. can avoid a recession.

“Obviously, there are risks that the economy faces, but I think we’re not in a wage-price spiral. Supply chain bottlenecks are clearly beginning to ease. That’s helpful,” she said. “I believe we’re on the right track in terms of lowering inflation, and a recession is not inevitable.”

Now, two years into President Biden’s first term, Yellen has put to rest rumors that she might be ready to leave the administration early and is strapping in for more economic — as well as political — battles ahead.

Along with managing the Treasury’s role in the Ukraine war, she faces the herculean task of revitalizing an IRS that is getting an $80-billion funding boost, and enforcing an anti-money laundering effort that requires documenting the beneficial owners of tens of millions of U.S. businesses in hopes of crushing corruption around the world.

She occupies an increasingly politicized role in which Congress and foreign governments matter as much as the financial markets.

Her Treasury Department is implementing an oil price cap aimed at hobbling the Russian economy as House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California is questioning the level of U.S. support for Ukraine. The Treasury is also implementing tens of billions of dollars in tax incentives to address climate change, which has rankled some European allies and proved controversial with Republicans.

And the wage gains in the most recent U.S. jobs report suggest the economy might have to endure more pain than expected to bring inflation back to the Fed’s target of 2% annually.

Along the way, Yellen has not shied away from controversy or speaking her mind on issues that many Americans look at solely through a cultural lens.

When Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) at a May congressional hearing told Yellen that she was “harsh” for speaking about the positive economic effects of abortion access for women, she replied, “This is not harsh, this is the truth.” She also has challenged the view that havens for hidden cash lie outside the U.S., instead arguing that the U.S. has become the “best place” to hide illicitly obtained money.

Yellen generated some tension with the White House this year when she veered somewhat from Biden’s insistence that his $1.9-trillion coronavirus aid package did not contribute to inflation.

Republican lawmakers have drawn on analyses by major economists such as Harvard University’s Larry Summers to say that the sum was excessive and sparked inflation. Breakages in the global supply chain and a jump in food and energy costs after Russia invaded Ukraine also have contributed to the rise of prices to uncomfortable levels, putting the economy at heightened risk of a recession.

Yellen acknowledged on CNN in May that she had been “wrong then about the path that inflation would take.” Biden said he had been apprised of the possible risks of inflation when putting together the relief package, but he told the Associated Press in an interview that “the idea that it caused inflation is bizarre.”

Yellen’s predictions at the Treasury about financial markets on other points have proved accurate.

Her warnings about the risks of a deregulated cryptocurrency market foresaw the recent chaos. Crypto markets have seen at least two major crashes, dozens of scams, Ponzi schemes and hundreds of billions of dollars made and evaporated overnight.

Yellen has also used her platform as a top government official to warn that despite women’s advancements in the workplace, a glass ceiling prevents many from reaching the very top positions.

Yellen, the only person ever to lead the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and White House Council of Economic Advisors, still gets flak from members of both political parties for not being more dynamic and politically savvy at times and for being too direct at other times.

Summers, Treasury secretary under President Clinton, said in a statement to the Associated Press that Yellen “continues a remarkable career in economic policy at the U.S. Treasury Department. No other Treasury Secretary has had a deeper commitment to social justice as a central goal of macro and financial policies.”

The praise comes as Summers has leveled criticism at the Biden administration for the size of its coronavirus relief, saying its excesses flooded the economy with money and pushed up prices. He has argued that the Fed must continue to raise rates to reduce inflation, an action that could push the U.S. and other nations into a recession.