Links to today’s show transcripts:
Marcy Wheeler: Mueller Probe Could Lead to Indictment of the Trump Organization
Federal prosecutors have accused President Trump of committing a federal crime by directing illegal hush money to two women during the presidential election. The accusation was revealed Friday in filings made public by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York, including a damning sentencing memo for Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen, who has admitted to paying adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal during the campaign in order to prevent them from speaking to the media about their alleged affairs with Trump. The sentencing memo was made public along with two new sentencing memos from special counsel Robert Mueller: one for Cohen and another for Trump’s former campaign chair Paul Manafort. “We keep talking about whether you can indict a sitting president,” says independent journalist Marcy Wheeler, editor of EmptyWheel.net. “There’s still a debate about that, but, really critically, you can indict a corporation. You can indict Trump Organization.”
Thousands Protest at U.N. Climate Summit in Coal-Heavy Poland, Facing Riot Police & Intimidation
This week Democracy Now! is broadcasting from the U.N. climate summit in Katowice, Poland, where the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait have blocked language “welcoming” October’s landmark IPCC climate report that warned of the catastrophic effects of a global temperature increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius, beyond which global crises could unfold at a rapid pace. The four countries rejected using the word “welcome,” insisting that members instead “note” the findings of the widely cited U.N. report. Coverage begins with voices of some of the thousands of climate activists from around the world who marched in Katowice on Saturday, calling for world leaders to do more to keep rising greenhouse gas emissions in check. A member of the European Parliament who confronted undercover Polish officials is also interviewed.
As Polish Gov’t Promotes Coal, Advocate Warns Coal Hastens Climate Change, Devastates Human Health
This year’s U.N. climate summit is in Katowice, Poland, and the Polish government is using the summit to promote coal, with several state-owned Polish coal companies sponsoring parts of the talks. Democracy Now! visited the Guido coal mine near Katowice, which has been turned into a mining museum, to speak with Polish environmental lawyer Bartosz Kwiatkowski. He is the director of the Frank Bold Foundation, which is involved in numerous lawsuits challenging the expansion of coal mining in Poland.
“Shame On You!” Protesters Interrupt Trump Admin Promoting Coal & Fossil Fuels at U.N. Climate Talks
Just minutes before we began our Monday broadcast, Democracy Now! spoke to protesters at the U.N. climate summit in Katowice, Poland, as they interrupted a Trump administration event promoting coal and other fossil fuels. Diné climate activist Leona Morgan is interviewed.
As we go deeper into this most unusual and challenging phase of history, intelligence is the thing we need the most. That is the theme of the 2019-2020 annual edition of Planet Waves, now available for pre-order. See more information here.