Texas Abortion Case, Biden and Zelenskyy, Trump and SCOTUS
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The supreme court is asked to consider whether former president Donald mp is protected from criminal prosecutions.

The front winner for the republic ican presidential nomination face a jury .

before the twenty twenty four election. This is the first room and P. R.

news.

The abortion ban in texas is so restrictive that a woman was forced to leave the state to have the procedure even though her fears had a fatal condition. What could the impact be on other legal chAllenges to the van?

And president biden meets his ukrainian counterpart .

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The man appointed to lead the prosecution of former president Donald trump for interfering in the last election has made an extraordinary request.

Yeah, special council. j. Smith wants the supreme court to fast track the case and what looks like an effort to make sure that trumble face a jury before the twenty twenty four election.

Npr, just this corresponded Carry. John has been following the story, and she's with us now. Good morning. Good morning. So Carry, I take that. The reason this is a story is that it's pretty unusual for the supreme court to wait in at this stage of a criminal case. What's the prosecutions argument from moving so quickly?

Special count jx. Mas says this cases a matter of enormous public importance. He says the question is fundamental to democracy, is a former president totally immune from criminal prosecution for acts committed when he was presented? The supreme court has never answered that question.

All we know is that president enjoy some immunity from civil lawsuits, and the justice department says sitting president can't be charged with wrongdoing. But here we are talking about a former president who's accused of plotting to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power that commented in violence at the U. S. capital.

So the judges in this case in washington, D. C, has already set a trial day in march of twenty twenty four. How does that factor into the special councils request .

if the supreme court weight for a lower appeals court to act on this case before IT? Here's the central dispute about presidential immunity that dc trial is really in jeopardy. Trump, in his lawyers, want to postpone the case until after the november election, and the supreme court usually finishes its work by june. So by asking for a speedy process now, the prosecutors are trying to make sure the high court resolves a key question before next summer, before the republican national convention, in other big dates on the political calendar.

So what kind of president is there for the supreme court to move so fast?

You know, the prosecutors say the supreme court moved this quickly back in one thousand nine seventy four, when president Richard nickson refused to tunnel over White house tapes in the water gate investigation Steve law, professor at the university of texas, posted the high court had moved quickly in this way about fifty times since twenty nineteen. But former president trump says this is a hail mary move from prosecutors.

He is said in a statement yesterday, this case is politically motivated in a shame, and there is no reason to rush IT. Four of nine justices need to agree to hear the case in order for the high court to take IT. Of course, trump appointed three justices to the court, but they've been willing to rule against him on issues of substance. Either way, translate maybe in the hands of the high court now.

And the supreme court is also considering another issue related to the effort to overturn the west election. Will you tell us about that?

sure. Are several people accused of taking part in the capital riot on january six, twenty twenty one, want the high court to weigh in about the obstruction law theyve been charged with. Breaking is an important issue.

The justice man is used that same statute in hundreds of january. Six cases of the high court finds prosecutors overreach. there. IT could really take away a major tool for the justice department donor from faces that had same church in the dc. Case against him as well.

That is empires. Kerry, john and kerry.

thank you, my pleasure.

A texas mother experiencing serious complications in her pregNancy has left the state to get an abortion.

No, k. Ox did file a lawsuit to try to get access to the procedure at home after he learned her fears had a genetic condition that is almost always fatal. The states supreme court ruled monday that her circumstances did not meet the states requirement to have an abortion impair.

Selina is is definitely with a snow in our students to explain selena. Good morning in cell. Alright, just back up for just a second here. Tell us who is k ox, and tell us about her situation.

Okay, well, he is thirty one years old. He lives in the dallas as area with her husband and two Young kids. So SHE was pregnant for the third time.

And about twenty weeks into her pregNancy, SHE learned that her fears has tries me eighteen. That's a serious genetic condition with very little chance of survival. So she's also gone to the E. R. Multiple times with cramping and other symptoms.

SHE reached out to the center for reproductive rights, and they filed an emergency petition asking texas courts to suspend all of the abortion dance penalties against her, her husband and her doctor so SHE could receive an abortion in texas. So first, a district court judge granted that request, and the attorney general appealed IT to the texas supreme court, which just ruled in his favor. In the meantime, coxes attorneys announced SHE had decided to travel to an underscore SE state to get the abortion. SHE was concerned that if he waited any longer, IT could compromise her chance to have future children.

So what did the texas supreme court say in its ruling?

okay. So here is a twist. Even though the justice's new k. Cox had decided to travel and no longer needed an abortion taxes, the court didn't dismiss the case IT.

Instead, IT issued a seven page opinion that really dives into the details, IT says. Kate cox did not appear to meet the definition and texas law that would allow an abortion. Texas doctors can only legally provide abortions if a patient is, quote, in danger of death or a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function.

They say her pregnant y is complicated, but IT doesn't meet that definition. Also, the justice is wrote that he really isn't up for the courts to decide this anyway, because the responsibility rests with doctors. Here's this sepper, a law professor, a texas law in Austin.

The texas supreme court is declaiming all responsibility. We saw the attack. Y general, the texas medical board and the state taxes just thrown their hands to say it's not our fault, the abortion is banned when your life and health or at stake and our seeing is the justice aggam. It's not our fault, it's the doctors fault.

SHE explains the lot just doesn't just to require a position to say, in my good faith judgment, k OK pregNancy poses a danger. It's actually a higher standard of reasonable medical judgment.

The problem is that the reasonable medical judgment standard invites other doctors to second guess, and more importantly, invites the state to second guess the reasonably ness of that medical judgment.

The stakes are extremely high for doctors in texas. If they get IT wrong and provide an abortion that another doctor or the state decides to chAllenge, they could face life in prison, a minimum of one hundred thousand dollars in find in the loss of their medical license.

So what does all this mean for the state of the abortion rights in texas? Are more legal chAllenges to this medical exception?

Yes, there are twenty patients suing in another case, women who faced similar circumstances to kate cox. That case was argued before the texas supreme court just a few weeks ago, and a decision is pending. But this separate told me he thinks this decision gives a preview of how that one might go.

What IT looks like they're gonna do is lay down the gotland IT is not the fault of judges. When women die in these scenarios are lose their fertility IT is the fault of doctors.

SHE said she's not optimistic that the court will decide with pregnant patients in that case either.

That's pr silly, a simple stuff. And silk, you. Thank you.

Ukraine and present, vlad marzell ki is back in washington, D. C.

Put in must lose. The whole world is watching us.

Nearly a year ago, he made a surprise trip to the us, where he was heralded in congress as a hero, leading a great fight against russia's black we are putin. The situation today is quite different.

Empty national political cars by marisa is with us now to tell us more about why it's quite different and how it's quite different. Good morning morning. Good morning. So what is president so and ski trying to achieve today?

What he's trying to do really is a last ditch effort to get U. S. Funding he says he needs for his country's fight against bladder. mr.

Putin, you just heard say that I think today you'll here's lansky and president biden both argue that if aid is not forthcoming, putin may win. This is the lsi y's third trip to washington since putin invaded in ukraine and february twenty twenty two. And that year, congress approved more than one hundred and twelve billion dollars in aid for ukraine.

But that money is almost out, and a lot has changed since then. As you said, the landscape is no longer the hero that he was last year, the ukrainian counteroffensive against russia has stalled. Public support here in the U. S. Has fAllen as the war has dragged on, and support among republicans on capital hill has fAllen even faster.

So you traditionally, the republican party has seen itself as strong and defense and national security. What happened with ukraine to change that? Will some .

republicans in congress share the animists of their party's leader? Form a president Donald trump? He doesn't like ukraine at all. Remember, his first impeachment in two thousand and nine was over pressure.

He put on the landscape to give him information he could use against joe biden during the election campaign, and he said many positive things about vladimir putin. But most republicans say they want deep concessions on immigration policy in order to vote for this aid. And that includes process krazy ian, senators like mitt romney and mr. Maco, and border policy. Immigration policy is where these negotiations have focused and where they have stalled.

Why has U. S. Border policy become the bargaining chip in this funding? Ban el IT seem as related to ukraine.

It's completely unrelated to ukrainy, but the situation at the boris is the top issue for republican voters. Immigration policy is one of the most practical issues in U. S. Politics at something democrats, republicans engage on every couple of years and always failed to make headway on this time around.

Republican voters are very concerned about migration across the southern border, and they've been joined by blue state governors and mayors who also feel immigration is out of control because they're having a hard time grappling with large numbers of asylum seekers who are being burst into their cities. Joe barton says he is willing to discuss compromise. In the past, he has made compromises with republicans to pass bipartisan bills on infrastructure and microchips and gun safety.

But in this case, uh, the immigration is such a good issue for republicans politically heading into twenty twenty four they don't have a lot of incentives to make a deal. They can just attack biden for being, uh, soft on immigration. So it's not clear what Price democrats could pay in terms of border policy to get a deal and that puts sen, skii, biden and ukraine in a very, very tough spot .

that is imperious. More along and more are. Thank you.

welcome.

And that's up first for tuesday, december twelve. I A chill.

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