In The News

The Mueller Statement

May 30, 2019
After release of the Mueller report in April, Donald Trump and his supporters insisted that the 400+ pages cleared him of collusion. Both branches of Congress continue investigations, while the White House resists subpoenas and interviews, maintaining the “case is closed.” So representatives are conflicted about whether to launch impeachment proceedings. Special Counsel Robert Mueller presented...

The Strache Recordings: Spiegel Online

Maik Baumgärtner, Vera Deleja-Hotko, Martin Knobbe, Walter Mayr, Alexandra Rojkov and Wolf Wiedmann-Schmidt May 23, 2019
Democracy depends on the rule of law and transparency. Politicians with extreme ideologies, who reject critical inquiries of journalism and education in the name of tradition, are ready to disrupt democratic norms to achieve money and power. A meeting secretly recorded in 2017 suggests Heinz-Christian Strache and three other Austrians plotted to ensure government contracts for a woman claiming to...

Blocking Hate Sites Makes Them Stronger? Time

Alex Krasodomski-Jones May 22, 2019
Mass killers who attack places of worship or schools often seek attention and announce plans on online. Anonymous internet message boards like 8chan include users who reinforce the extremism and incite hatred. After attacks, community leaders urge monitoring, censorship or site closure. That may draw more users to other provocative platforms. “Blocking access to these platforms would validate...

Trump and Kushner Accounts: New York Times

David Enrich May 20, 2019
Deutsche Bank employees flagged transactions of the Trump Foundation and other entities controlled by Donald Trump and Jared Kushner in 2016 and 2017 and prepared suspicious-activity reports for federal review. “But executives at Deutsche Bank, which has lent billions of dollars to the Trump and Kushner companies, rejected their employees’ advice,” reports David Enrich for the New York Times....

Harris Questions Barr on Mueller Report: SFGate

Filipa Ioannou May 1, 2019
Senator Kamala Harris grilled William Barr, US attorney general, during the Senate Judiciary Committee about the Mueller report. Barr could not decisively answer yes or no if anyone at the White House had suggested he open an investigation into anyone. He admitted having discussions with White House staff about “matters out there” and used a series of negatives, suggesting those at the White...

Threats to Israel’s Democracy: Vox

Zack Beauchamp April 11, 2019
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold office for a record fifth term. “The consequences of his victory for both Israelis and Palestinians could very well be catastrophic,” writes Zack Beauchamp for Vox. “The past several years of Netanyahu’s time in office have been characterized by drift in two illiberal, anti-democratic directions.” Israeli voters embrace far-right hard-line stances, with...

Summary of Mueller Findings: New York Times

Mark Mazzetti and Katie Benner March 24, 2019
The investigation by a team led by Robert Mueller has concluded with the US attorney general releasing a four-page summary. The investigators found no evidence that the US president or his aides conspired or coordinated with the Russian government’s interference into the 2016 election. “Barr also said that Mr. Mueller’s team drew no conclusions about whether Mr. Trump illegally obstructed justice...