2023
October
19
Thursday

Monitor Daily Podcast

October 19, 2023
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Peter Grier
Washington editor

The lawyer behind the “kraken” has cracked. That could have knock-on effects for former President Donald Trump and co-defendants in the election subversion case in Fulton County, Georgia.

The attorney in question is Sidney Powell, who pleaded guilty on Thursday to six misdemeanor counts of election interference in Georgia, rather than face a trial on felony charges next week.

After the 2020 presidential vote, Ms. Powell filed election fraud lawsuits she called “kraken,” after the mythical sea monster. All were dismissed by the courts.

Along with Mr. Trump and 18 others, Ms. Powell was one of the targets of the sweeping racketeering case filed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in August. Now she could appear for the prosecution instead. As part of her plea deal, she has agreed to testify and turn over relevant documents in her possession.

In Georgia, Ms. Powell was charged with abetting the theft of election data from Coffee County. One key element of the trial will be establishing that activity and exploring whether anyone in the Trump White House was connected with this effort.

For a time, Ms. Powell was an insider in the Trump administration’s post-election effort to retain power. She was present at an Oval Office meeting on Dec. 18, 2020, in which then-President Trump considered appointing her a special prosecutor to investigate fraud allegations.

It is also possible she could appear as a witness in special counsel Jack Smith’s federal election interference case, set to begin on March 4, 2024.

“A plea to misdemeanor charges signals that prosecutors see high value in her testimony,” former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance wrote Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter. 


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

From supplying soldiers to housing and feeding those displaced by the Hamas attack, Israeli civilians have mobilized at a moment of profound loss.

Patterns

Tracing global connections

Is the hope that the current war between Israel and Hamas might eventually lead to a political resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict more than a pipe dream?

Sophie Hills/The Christian Science Monitor
Heinz Thomet stands in a field of sesame on his farm in Newburg, Maryland, Aug. 17. Mr. Thomet tries to grow nearly everything he eats.

Who are the people trying to change the way we think about food access? In Maryland, this farmer makes the case for locally grown rice.

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Chinese leader Xi Jinping delivers a speech during the Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Oct. 18, 2023.

Ten years ago, China launched a massive global infrastructure push, establishing an alternative to Western development models. As the Belt and Road Initiative enters a “new stage,” has it delivered on its promises of mutual prosperity?

Film

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Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio star as a married couple in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” based on the bestseller that was a National Book Award finalist.

In the early 20th century, the Osage tribe became the richest people on Earth. What happened next is a heartbreaking story of greed, betrayal, and conspiracy that reverberates down the decades.


The Monitor's View

Reuters
Members of the Egyptian Red Crescent pose in front of a truck loaded with humanitarian aid for Palestinians, in the city of Al-Arish in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, Oct. 15.

Israel and Hamas have had violent conflicts for 17 years, but this latest one has captured the world’s attention like none in the past. That’s because many civilians, first in Israel and then in Gaza, have been killed or harmed, or remain in harm’s way. That heightened global concern for the innocence of noncombatants may finally be shaping the conflict.

On Friday, the first trucks carrying water, food, fuel, and medicine are expected to cross from Egypt into Gaza to partially relieve what the United Nations calls an “unprecedented human catastrophe.” Nearly 1 million Palestinians in northern Gaza have fled to the south under threat of an Israeli invasion to uproot Hamas, which governs the enclave. Many of the displaced people are living in desperate conditions and vulnerable to military actions.

The aid, however, could be cut off at any moment if Israel and the United States detect it is being diverted to the militant Islamist group. “If Hamas confiscates it or doesn’t let it get through ... then it’s going to end, because we’re not going to be sending any humanitarian aid to Hamas,” President Joe Biden said.

That prospect has led to a second international reaction. Many countries are now debating whether to offer asylum to any Palestinian from Gaza – not affiliated with Hamas – who wants a temporary, safe home. The Israeli military has said Palestinian civilians who followed its order to flee the northern part of the Gaza Strip would be allowed to return once the war ends.

On Tuesday, the first Western leader called for countries to offer such a refugee resettlement plan. Once a plan is set up, said the first minister of Scotland, Humza Yousaf, then “Scotland is willing to be the first country in the UK to offer safety and sanctuary to those caught up in these terrible attacks.” Mr. Yousaf’s brother-in-law works as a doctor in Gaza.

For a number of reasons, both Jordan and Egypt have rejected the idea of taking in Gazan civilians. One is a suspicion that Israel may not let them return, as happened after the exodus of Palestinians following wars in 1948 and 1967. Another is a fear that Hamas radicals will slip into those countries and jeopardize peace, both internally and with Israel.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has asked Egypt and Jordan for support in evacuating civilians from the Gaza Strip. Egypt’s support is especially needed because Hamas may not allow civilians to leave, just as the group tried to block the flow of civilians from the north to the south.

The Israel-Hamas war may escalate in coming days. But so, too, have demands for the two sides to honor international rules on protecting the innocent. The war in Gaza is not only a battle of weapons but also one for conscience.


A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

No circumstance can remove us from God’s comforting, strengthening, steadfast care.


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As a man traverses a park in Tallinn, Estonia, the hues of autumn offer a colorful backdrop to the first snowfall of the year, Oct. 19, 2023.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Karen Norris and Jacob Turcotte. )

A look ahead

Thank you for spending time with us today. Among the stories that we’re following for tomorrow are how Palestinians in Gaza are showing solidarity to help one another survive, how the United States is trying to manage Iran’s role, and how Congress might solve the House of Representatives’ inability to elect a speaker.   

More issues

2023
October
19
Thursday
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