Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of September 18

https://jacobin.com/2023/09/wealth-tax-supreme-court-katyal-safe

A Move to Try to Preemptively Outlaw a Billionaire Wealth Tax

nb, I sometimes but rarely post articles from Jacobin. I don't agree with all of their priorities and perspectives. However, I thought the information was important and interesting.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senator-menendez-charged-with-corruption-prosecutors-2023-09-22/

US Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey and two businessmen involved in his campaign were indicted on federal bribery charges related to political favors. Prosecutors allege Menendez accepted thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for using his influence to advocate for the businessmen's interests with the Egyptian government. The indictment claims one businessman paid for home repairs and a luxury car for Menendez. If convicted, this would be the first time Menendez has been convicted, though he has been investigated twice before on corruption allegations. The charges come at a difficult time for Democrats as they aim to retain their slim Senate majority in next year's midterm elections.

How Rupert Murdoch Decided to Dump Tucker Carlson

Long read. Here is an auto generated summary which is actually very good.

After Donald Trump's election in 2016, Fox News, despite founder Rupert Murdoch's initial reservations about Trump, became more successful than ever. This success came despite the network's challenges, including the departure of Roger Ailes due to a sexual harassment scandal, Bill O'Reilly's exit amid another harassment scandal, and Megyn Kelly's departure. Trump became the network's star, leading to a reshuffling of the prime-time lineup, with figures like Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson gaining prominence.

Tucker Carlson, in particular, was seen as a moderate Republican who could balance Fox News away from reflexive Trumpism. However, he emerged as a staunch supporter of Trump and became a ratings winner, along with Trump himself. This presented a dilemma for Rupert Murdoch, who had hoped for a different direction for the network.

The New York Times published a three-part series on Tucker Carlson in April 2022, which portrayed his programming strategy as aligning with MAGA while distancing himself from Trump and Fox's right-wing identity. The series criticized Carlson for his views, including his stance on Ukraine and his perceived anti-Catholic sentiment. This attack on Carlson posed a challenge for Murdoch, especially from his children and his wife, Jerry Hall, who read the New York Times.

Another headache for Murdoch was a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp. The lawsuit potentially implicated top executives, including Murdoch himself, and had the potential to be financially devastating. Despite this, Murdoch's legal team appeared unconcerned, while Murdoch himself seemed in denial about Fox's role in the lawsuit.

As the 2022 midterm elections approached, tensions between Murdoch and Trump grew. Murdoch viewed Trump as an "asshole" and a "loser," wanting to distance himself from the former president. However, Fox's success was closely tied to Trump's popularity among its viewers.

The possibility of supporting a conservative candidate other than Trump, like Ron DeSantis, was complicated for Tucker Carlson. He had grown disillusioned with the Fox-Trump alliance and feared being left on his own if Fox News decided to part ways with him. Running for president appeared to be his alternative, with a focus on foreign policy and being the antiwar candidate.

Rupert Murdoch blamed his son Lachlan for not controlling Carlson and his potential presidential ambitions. Murdoch was wary of another president representing Fox's conspiracy-laden and populist image. Despite the rumors, he dismissed the idea of Carlson becoming president, echoing his previous skepticism about Trump's candidacy.

Before the Dominion trial began, there were negotiations involving Tucker Carlson, Rupert Murdoch, and others at Fox News. Dominion was demanding a billion dollars in damages, but Murdoch was unwilling to pay that much, fearing the public relations fallout. A settlement was discussed, which included offering to fire Sean Hannity, although it was not a formal part of the agreement. The settlement amount was eventually negotiated to $787 million, and Carlson being fired was also agreed to as part of the deal.

Shortly before the trial, Carlson had a dinner with Rupert Murdoch and his fiancée, Ann Lesley Smith, which seemed pleasant. However, Carlson's increasing influence and potential presidential ambitions were concerning to Murdoch.

After the settlement was reached, Tucker Carlson was notified that he wouldn't have to testify in the trial. However, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott called him and informed him that he was being taken off the air permanently. The reasons for his removal were not initially provided, leading to speculation and confusion.

Fox News faced backlash and criticism for removing Carlson from the air, and the network's PR arm, led by Irena Briganti, launched a campaign to discredit him, citing alleged moral turpitude and bizarre views. This campaign played out in the media, including through The New York Times. Fox was in a difficult position, trying to distance itself from Carlson while not officially firing him.

Despite the negative media attention, Fox was reluctant to sue Carlson, and he began broadcasting on Elon Musk's social media platform, X. Fox later revamped its schedule, moving Laura Ingraham to the 7 p.m. hour and filling prime time with other hosts.

Carlson and Trump considered teaming up for counterprogramming events against Fox, and Trump even discussed Carlson as a possible vice-presidential candidate. The dynamics at Fox were shifting, with Carlson and Trump becoming larger than the network itself.

In the end, Rupert Murdoch, the aging media mogul, found himself in a complex and uncertain position, reflecting on the monsters he had helped create and trying to navigate the changing landscape of his media empire.

Basically, Rupert Murdoch wanted to settle the dominion law suit for under $1b, and so threw Carlson under the bus as a sweetener. But Rupert Murdoch had already soured on Carlson for echoing Trumps hateful demagoguery, and perhaps more importantly, fearing that Carlson was planning to run for president as a demagogue.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-wrote-lists-assistant-white-house-documents-marked/story?id=103226113&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Trump wrote to-do lists for assistant on White House documents marked classified:
Molly Michael told investigators about the documents, according to sources.

More about Molly Michael
https://www.axios.com/2022/03/31/trump-molly-michael-jan6-white-house-call-logs?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

https://abcnews.go.com/US/top-trump-campaign-aide-identified-key-individual-classified/story?id=100452600&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

‘I plan to wear a bikini’: Senate Republicans mock changes to dress code

Already posted in ~misc, so the link is to the discussion rather than directly to the article.