Month: August 2024

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says senior Biden administration officials pressured Facebook to “censor” some COVID-19 content during the pandemic and vowed that the social media giant would push back if it faced such demands again.

In a letter to the Republican chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jim Jordan, Zuckerberg alleged that White House officials “repeatedly pressured” Facebook for months to take down “certain COVID-19 content including humor and satire,” and “expressed a lot of frustration” when the company didn’t agree. In the letter dated Aug. 26 and posted on the committee’s Facebook page and X account: “I believe the government pressure was wrong and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it ..  I also think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today. We’re ready to push back if something like this happens again.”

The White House responded in a statement that, “When confronted with a deadly pandemic, this Administration encouraged responsible actions to protect public health and safety. Our position has been clear and consistent: we believe tech companies and other private actors should take into account the effects their actions have on the American people, while making independent choices about the information they present.”

In early 2021, Facebook appended what Zuckerberg called labels with “credible information” to posts about COVID-19 vaccines. Originally, in April 2020 – when the virus had led to global shutdowns and other pandemic restrictions — Facebook had warned users about sharing misinformation about COVID-19.

Zuckerberg also said he would no longer donate money to widen election access for voters through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the company that runs the philanthropy for him and his wife, Priscilla Chan. The couple previously donated $400 million to help local election offices prepare for voters in the 2020 presidential election. Said Zuckerberg: “I know that some people believe this work benefited one party over the other .. My goal is to be neutral and not play a role one way or another – or to even appear to be playing a role. So I don’t plan on making a similar contribution this cycle.”

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On Tuesday, Special counsel Jack Smith filed a superseding indictment in the election interference case against former President Donald Trump in light of the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling. A federal grand jury charged former President Donald Trump with the same offenses that he originally faced in his criminal election interference case in Washington, D.C.

Smith said in a separate court filing that the new indictment was filed in order to “respect and implement” the views and instructions of a recent Supreme Court decision granting former presidents “presumptive immunity” for their official acts in office. Prosecutors have not dropped any of the four charges that they initially brought against Trump, but the reworked indictment including allegations about Trump’s conduct, including his attempts to use the Justice Department to promote his false claims of election fraud. It also adjusts how prosecutors describe the allegations they are continuing to bring about Trump’s election subversion schemes.

The superseding indictment was presented to a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in the criminal case against Trump, adding that the Department of Justice does not oppose letting Trump waive his appearance at an arraignment on the new indictment.

The special counsel’s office said: “The superseding indictment, which was presented to a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in this case, reflects the Government’s efforts to respect and implement the Supreme Court’s holdings and remand instructions in Trump v. United States.”

Trump faces one count each of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

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Special counsel Jack Smith urged an appeals court Monday to reverse a federal judge’s surprise dismissal of former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case, writing the lower court’s decision to toss the charges “deviated” from legal precedent and “took inadequate account” of history.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon last month threw out the case against Trump, aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos de Oliveira that charged them with unlawfully retaining classified documents taken from his time in the White House and then seeking to obstruct the government’s efforts to retrieve them. Cannon found that Smith’s appointment as special counsel violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, dismissing the indictment against Trump. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Assistant Special Counsel James Pearce, a member of Smith’s team, wrote in a brief filed with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: “The Attorney General validly appointed the Special Counsel, who is also properly funded. In ruling otherwise, the district court deviated from binding Supreme Court precedent, misconstrued the statutes that authorized the Special Counsel’s appointment, and took inadequate account of the longstanding history of Attorney General appointments of special counsels.” In their filing Monday, Smith said Cannon’s ruling “conflicts with an otherwise unbroken course of decisions, including by the Supreme Court, that the Attorney General has such authority, and it is at odds with widespread and longstanding appointment practices in the Department of Justice and across the government.”  Trump has until Sept. 26 to submit a response to the special counsel’s arguments.

Cannon’s ruling centered around arguments that Smith’s prosecution of Trump was illegitimate because, in her determination, Smith was unlawfully appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to his position as special counsel because he was never confirmed to his post by the U.S. Senate.

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On Monday, authorities announced that they are investigating the death of a woman at the counterculture festival known as Burning Man, held annually in northern Nevada’s Black Rock Desert (per The Associated Press.)

Authorities said a woman who attended the Burning Man Festival died on the first day of the event on Sunday. The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said that Burning Man Project emergency personnel found the woman unresponsive, with emergency crew performed what was described as life-saving measures to revive the woman but were unsuccessful. Sheriff Jerry Allen said (per ABC News): “This death will remain under investigation until a cause and manner can be determined, which will be updated at the conclusion of an autopsy”.  Allen said the woman’s name and age won’t be released until her relatives can be notified.

Burning Man organizers released a statement offering condolences over the death: “Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family and friends affected by this loss. We are cooperating fully with local authorities as they investigate. Out of respect for the privacy of the grieving family, we will not be providing further details at this time.”

Burning Man combines wilderness camping with a weeklong celebration of art; it kicked off early Sunday after the gates had been closed for 12 hours following rain and muddy conditions. An estimated 20,000 people were already on the playa before the gates officially opened to all ticket-holders. The festival runs through Sept. 2, with organizers expecting more than 70,000 people to attend this year’s event.

About a half-dozen other deaths have been reported at the festival since it moved from Baker Beach in San Francisco to the Black Rock desert in 1990.  32-year-old Leon Reece of Truckee, Calif. died from suspected drug intoxication after being found unresponsive on the festival grounds at last year’s Burning Man (per NBC NEWS).

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