USC Cancels Commencement As Campus Anti-Israel Protests Grow

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Trump’s absolute immunity claims; Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned

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⚖️ WEINSTEIN RAPE CONVICTION OVERTURNED IN NEW YORK

 

Testimony at Weinstein's sexual assault trial in New York. Via: Jane Rosenberg

 

New York’s highest court overturned movie producer Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction yesterday. They ruled that he did not get a fair trial because the trial judge allowed testimony against Weinstein from women who were not part of the case. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office plans to retry Weinstein.

He’s not a free-man, though. Weinstein, now 72, is set to begin a separate, 16-year rape sentence in California, as he awaits a new NY trial.

HOW WE GOT HERE
Back in 2017, the #MeToo movement gained momentum because of allegations against Weinstein — illuminating systematic sexual misconduct by men in positions of power. Over 100 women accused him of sexual misconduct.

THE NY CASE
Weinstein’s 2020 case was based on his crimes against two women. He was convicted of forcibly performing oral sex on a production assistant in 2006, and rape in the third degree against an aspiring actor in 2013. He was sentenced to 23 years in a New York prison.

  • During the trial, the judge allowed three additional women to testify to show a pattern of abuse, but not provide evidence of the charged crimes.

  • The NY Court of Appeals ruled by a 4-3 margin that allowing those witnesses was one of several mistakes made during the case.

    • “We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes because that testimony served no material non-propensity purpose,” Judge Jenny Rivera wrote.

  • The dissenting opinion accused the majority of “whitewashing the facts to conform to a he-said/she-said narrative” and failing to recognize that the jury was allowed to consider Weinstein’s past assaults.

    • Notably, four of the seven appellate court judges are women. Three of the female justices sided with Weinstein, while one joined the dissent.

WHAT’S NEXT
Two years after Weinstein’s New York conviction, he was sentenced to 16-years in prison for raping a woman at a Beverly Hills hotel in 2013. That ruling stands, and he will soon go to California to serve his term. For now, he remains in a NY prison.

  • However, Weinstein’s lawyer says they are also appealing the California conviction, where arguments are due May 20. They believe the NY ruling will bolster his case.

    • Like in NY, prosecutors in California also called four additional witnesses who said they had been assaulted by Weinstein, even though their accounts were not tied to the charges.

  • The use of “prior bad acts” witnesses has increased in recent years with the rise of the #MeToo movement. The testimony can turn a “he said, she said” scenario into “he said, they said,” which is much more convincing.

Bottom line: Weinstein’s case has been overturned based on legal technicalities—not an exoneration of his behavior. But, it does reinforce how challenging it is to deliver legal accountability to victims of sex crimes. Lindsay Goldbrum, a lawyer who has represented a number of Weinstein’s accusers, said the ruling “will undoubtedly deter future sexual assault victims from coming forward.”

📌 POLICE ARREST HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS ACROSS THE US AT PROTESTS

Hundreds of anti-Israel/pro-Palestinian protesters have been arrested on several college campuses across the US over the past week (See videos above).

Tent encampments have spread across about 40 American universities in recent days. It is a response to the events last week at Columbia University, where the administration called the NYPD to remove and arrest more than 100 students illegally camped on the lawn. They have since returned.

The University of Southern California announced Thursday that it is canceling its campus-wide commencement ceremony May 10, as tensions and demonstrations have escalated on that campus. [Notably, the USC class of 2024 missed high school commencements due to COVID, had their first year of college online, and now won’t have a traditional college graduation.]

THE ISSUE
Administrators across the US say the students are not being punished for free speech, but rather, for violating school policies that have to do with trespassing or disorderly conduct. Another concern is that several protests have featured antisemitic chants, threats and violent acts, leading to security concerns.

  • In the past 48 hours, campuses in Texas, Massachusetts, Georgia, Indiana, Minnesota and California have called police to arrest students who have set up new encampments. However, the use of law enforcement has only escalated tensions, and inspired more protests.

    • Here’s a list of campuses where encampments and protests have popped-up.

  • WHAT’S GETTING ATTENTION: A number of Jewish students on campuses say they do not feel safe—experiencing antisemitic chants and some threatened with violence.

    • On a visit to Columbia’s campus, US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said "we respect free speech, we respect diversity of ideas, but there is a way to do that in a lawful manner and that's not what this is."

ON THE GROUND
Students protesting Israel’s war with Hamas are demanding schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies they say are enabling the war. They include corporations like Amazon, Google and Microsoft. Many college demonstrators are now also arguing that Israel must completely disappear, and armed resistance, including by Hamas, is warranted until that happens.

  • The Atlantic’s Michael Powell writes, “As the war has raged on and the death toll has grown, protest rallies on American campuses have morphed into a campaign of ever grander and more elaborate ambitions: From ‘cease-fire now’ to the categorical claim that Israel is guilty of genocide and war crimes to demands that Columbia divest from Israeli companies and any American company selling arms to the Jewish state.”

  • Students for Justice in Palestine — one of the main groups organizing protests — put out a statement doubling-down on their actions, saying they have no intention of becoming more “palatable,” or toning down their rhetoric. That includes statements defending Hamas’ massacre of more than 1,200 Israelis on October 7.

📌 SUPREME COURT APPEARS OPEN TO TRUMP IMMUNITY CLAIMS

The Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday regarding claims by former President Donald Trump that he should have lifetime immunity, as he fights a criminal indictment about election interference in 2020.

  • The NY Times writes that justices focused on what would be worse: “A world in which presidents, shorn of any legal protections against prosecution, were ceaselessly pursued in the courts by their rivals in a never-ending cycle of political retribution, or allowing presidents to be unbounded by criminal law and permitted to do whatever they wanted with impunity.”

  • A decision is expected in late June, and all indications are that this likely means Trump’s election criminal trial will not start until after the November election, if ever.

Watch Mo News producer Emily Gross outline the case and what’s next above.

 

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Polling: America warms to mass deportations (AXIOS)

📌 TikTok parent company says it would rather be banned vs. selling the app (CNN)

📌 Biden is giving $6 billion to Micron for a semiconductor project in upstate New York (NPR)

📌 Support for US aid to Israel plummets among swing-State voters (BLOOMBERG)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 New Haiti government takes over in secret ceremony (GUARDIAN)

📌 Venice tests a 5-euro fee for day-trippers as the city grapples with overtourism (NPR)

📌 José Andrés eulogizes seven aid workers killed in Gaza (NY TIMES)

📌 U.S. to begin construction of Gaza pier as Rafah invasion looms (CNN)

📌 Pope Francis says of Ukraine, Gaza: "A negotiated peace is better than a war without end" (CBS NEWS)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 Millions more salaried US workers are set to be eligible for overtime pay starting July 1 (AP)

📌 USDA announces changes coming to school meals (ABC NEWS)

📌 Net neutrality rules restored by US agency, reversing Trump (REUTERS)

📌 As bird flu spreads in cows, fractured U.S. response has echoes of early covid (WASHINGTON POST)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Sophia Bush comes out as queer, confirms relationship with Ashlyn Harris (NBC NEWS)

📌 About 300 musicians, from Diplo to Nile Rodgers, lobby Congress for ticketing reform (NPR)

📌 All seven ‘Harry Potter’ books to be recorded as full-cast audio productions with more than 100 actors, will release exclusively on audible (VARIETY)

📌 Rebel Wilson’s memoir to be published in U.K. with Sacha Baron Cohen allegations redacted (PEOPLE)

🎉 CHEERS TO THE FREAKIN WEEKEND

Guest User
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