Flooding expected in Central Mississippi today – National & International News – MON 29Aug2022

Flooding expected in Central Mississippi today. Judge may appoint “special master” in Mar-a-Lago case. Judge: 9/11 victims not entitled to $billions in Afghan assets.

NATIONAL NEWS

Flooding expected in Central Mississippi today

A map from the National Weather Service. The green lines indicate areas along the Pearl River under flood advisory. The beige indicates severe weather advisory.

Gov. Reeves has declared a state of emergency with rain-swollen rivers in the central part of the state expected to crest today. The major danger zones are in low-lying areas near the Pearl River. The waters are expected to crest today at 34-36 feet, 24 hours ahead of earlier predictions.

In Jackson, areas that last flooded in 2020 are especially vulnerable. Residents have been gathering belongings, prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice. Jackson’s mayor, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, urged residents in flood-prone areas to pack enough belongings to last them several days. He also cautioned residents against staying in their homes to fend off looters. “Don’t allow that to be an impediment for you saving your life and saving the lives of those other individuals in your home,” Lumumba said Friday. He said police would be increasing patrols to protect property.

Back in 2020, floods left many homes in the area caked in mud and riddled with snakes. Having learned hard lessons, residents have also procured a total of 126,000 sandbags to protect their homes ahead of this year’s event.

The Red Cross has opened a temporary shelter for residents at the Jackson Police Department Training Academy. But people have so far been slow to arrive, waiting until the last possible moment.

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Judge inclined to appoint “special master” in Mar-a-Lago records case

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, has signaled that she favors appointing a “special master” to oversee the review of classified documents seized from Trump’s Florida home at Mar-a-Lago. A special master is a neutral third party, often a retired judge, who reviews document evidence in a case to ensure that these documents are not subject to protections like attorney-client privilege. Any such documents would then be returned to Trump.

In this case, Trump’s attorneys want a special master to review the seized documents to identify any subject to executive privilege or attorney-client privilege. Trump’s team and his allies have repeatedly asserted executive privilege to dodge subpoenas and otherwise try to shield themselves from scrutiny. However executive privilege only applies to sitting presidents, not former ones.

Trump’s team have asserted that the documents, labeled classified and top secret, were previously declassified by Trump. But there is no evidence Trump ever initiated the necessary formal procedures to declassify these documents.

The Department of Justice can offer arguments against appointing a special master on Thursday, though it’s not clear whether or not they would object. Special masters appointments are fairly routine in high-profile cases. DOJ already has a filter team assigned to review the documents to find any that are privileged. 

Judge Cannon has also requested DOJ provide her with more detailed descriptions of the material taken from Trump’s estate “specifying all property seized”. This list will be filed under seal.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Judge: 9/11 victims not entitled to $billions in Afghan assets

When the Taliban took over in Afghanistan over a year ago, the Federal Reserve Bank in New York was holding about $7 billion in assets belonging to Afghanistan’s central bank. Advocates for victims of Islamic terror, including those who lost family members in the World Trade Center attack on Sept. 11, 2001, wanted to seize those assets as compensation. 

In February this year, President Biden essentially split the baby, setting aside $3.5 billion for “the benefit of the Afghan people” and allowing victims groups to attempt to claim the rest in court. Victims groups had previously obtained judgements against the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and other groups deemed responsible for 9/11. However the US government took no official position as to whether the groups could seize the Afghan assets under the Terrorist Risk Insurance Act of 2002.

Biden’s decision and efforts by victims groups to seize the assets remain controversial. Seizing these assets has essentially robbed the Afghan people of their own money. Without these funds, ordinary Afghans are struggling even to buy food.

On Friday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in Manhattan declared that the funds from the Afghan central bank were out-of-bounds to the victims groups. The Catch-22 here is that by declaring the assets subject to seizure, the court would have to find that the Afghan bank assets in fact belonged to the Taliban. By doing so, Netburn ruled, the court would essentially be declaring the Taliban to be the legitimate government of Afghanistan. That’s something only the President can do.

U.S. District Judge George Daniels will now review Netburn’s decision and decide whether or not to accept it.

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