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Welcome, readers, to the Good Men Project Daily Brief!
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”
These are the very words that gave birth to our nation. They declared loudly why we banned together in rebellion, and why we are a different people from the rest of the world. These words have never been entirely true and as we continue to form a more perfect union we lean on that wisdom and try to honor the themes.
This weekend President Trump has “demanded” that the Department of Justice look into wild claims that he has been unfairly treated by the FBI, calling into question the equality of opportunity for enforcement of the Rule of Law. If you or I were to be investigated by a law enforcement agency, we wouldn’t have the power to intimidate the investigators by demanding contrary evidence to our case.
In America, we are supposedly all equal under the law, one people, born in the USA. Or are we?
My name is Mckay Williams and this is your Daily Brief:
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Second Trump Tower Meeting reported by NYT
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This is the biggest story of the weekend that has slipped out of the news cycle due to the overwhelming pace that stories have broken before and during the horrific mass shooting in Santa Fe, Texas. We’ll be diving more into this story as things develop, so for today just take a quick read and get the details.
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Supreme Court 5/4 Decision Rules in Favor of Companies Over Employees
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When you start a new job, usually you’re offered a contract of some sort stating what you are entitled to as compensation for your labor, and what is expected of you as an employee. Companies often sneak in an arbitration clause into these contracts that states that if anything happens in violation of that contract, you aren’t allowed to sue them in open court, but instead you must settle in arbitration court. Your lawyer, if you can afford one, against their lawyer that they definitely can afford.
When that happens to a handful of employees, those arbitration clauses often state that they cannot group together to make their common case and save the outrageous legal fees associated with any time you need to go up against a large company. This ruling by the Supreme Court agreed that Companies can limit your rights to pursuing legal recourse for illegal, or unethical treatment.
One set of rules for those with money, one set of rules for those without.
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Regulations on Predatory Auto Loans Waived
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Here’s why this is interesting, though entirely unsurprising. Take a look at the story above, and the last line of this story:
“The repeal of the guidance is the second Republican reversal of a key Cordray-era CFPB policy under the CRA. Trump signed a resolution last November that repealed the bureau’s rule on forced arbitration, issued in July 2017.
The rule had banned banks and credit card companies from forcing their customers into arbitration agreements that prevent those customers from joining class-action lawsuits. “
Why is the government protecting companies from class-action lawsuits when they act unethically? What is the end game?
We don’t know yet, but it can’t be good.
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President Trump Demands DOJ Investigate Claims FBI Spied on Campaign
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In case you were wondering why I dusted off my copy of the Declaration of Independence for this Daily Brief, this story is why. This weekend, the President of the United States tweeted out that he “Hereby demands” that an investigation into claims that the FBI “spied” on the Trump Campaign for political purposes.
The FBI has admitted publicly that they used a confidential intelligence source that met with several Trump Campaign aides, a few of which have already pleaded guilty to charges brought by the Mueller probe. President Trump claims this is evidence of “spying”.
This writer is confused by claims that the Democrats colluded with the Department of Justice to try and lose a campaign for the Presidency, but this seems to be the line that the President and Devon Nunes are going with.
In response to the President’s Twitter demands, the Department of Justice has met with the White House, and the details of that meeting are expected to leak right about 9pm, if trends hold true, but the question is… is the President of the United States able to meddle in an investigation into himself? Is the President above the Rule of Law if the concept of equality is so self-evident it requires no further explanation?
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Click for more from Mckay Williams
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