News Editor’s Roundup: Dershowitz Claims Giuliani Raid Was Political Revenge

BY JACK CROWE

May 03, 2021

Good morning and welcome to the News Editor's Roundup, a weekly newsletter that will ensure you're up to date on the developments in politics, business, and culture that will shape the week's news cycle — as well as those that might escape mainstream attention.

Alan Dershowitz Claims Giuliani Raid Was Political Revenge, Likens U.S. to 'Banana Republic'

Attorney Alan Dershowitz on Sunday criticized federal agents' raid on Rudy Giuliani's apartment, telling radio host John Catsimatidis that it was reminiscent of conduct seen in authoritarian countries.

"In banana republics, in Castro's Cuba, in many parts of the world when a candidate loses for president, they go after the candidate, they go after his lawyers, they go after his friends," Dershowitz said. "That's happening in America now. They're going after Rudy Giuliani."

Dershowitz, who served on President Trump's impeachment defense team, claimed that a subpoena would have been more appropriate than a search warrant for Giuliani's apartment.

GOP Rep. Claims Trump Wing Is Pushing to Oust Cheney Because She Won't 'Lie'

House Republicans are increasingly frustrated with Representative Liz Cheney (R., Wyo.) amid an ongoing spat over her views on former President Trump, The Hill reported on Saturday.

GOP lawmakers have warned that Cheney could lose her position as chairwoman of the House Republican Conference.

"If a prerequisite for leading our conference is continuing to lie to our voters, then Liz is not the best fit," Representative Anthony Gonzalez (R., Ohio) told The Hill. Gonzalez was one of ten GOP representatives, including Cheney, who voted to impeach Trump following the Capitol riot on January 6.

"Liz isn't going to lie to people. Liz is going to say what she believes," Gonzalez added. "She's going to stand on principle. And if that's going to be distracting for folks, she's not the best fit. I wish that weren't the case."

Record Number of Seattle Police Have Left Department, 'Morale Is Not Good'

Seattle police officers are fleeing the department at a record pace: At least 249 people have left the force over the past year alone, according to a new report.

The department saw a drop from 1,276 uniformed members at the conclusion of February 2020 to 1,027 by the end of this February, according to a report by Fox News.

"Morale is not good, and that's because we don't have the political support from our elected officials," Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan told Fox News. "And as we're seeing officers flee this area, it's a direct result of that lack of political support."

Texas Democrat Facing Calls to Resign after Calling Tim Scott an 'Oreo'

A Texas Democratic official is facing calls to resign from his post after calling Senator Tim Scott (R., S.C.) a racial slur.

After Scott delivered his rebuttal speech to President Biden's congressional address on Wednesday, Lamar County Democratic Party chair Gary O'Connor called Scott an "oreo," a slur that refers to a black person who is seen as "having adopted the attitudes, values and behavior thought to be characteristic of middle-class white society, often at the expense of his or her own heritage," according to Dictionary.com.

"I had hoped that Scott might show some common sense, but it seems clear he is little more than an oreo with no real principles," O'Connor wrote in a since-deleted Facebook post.

Representative Pat Fallon (R., Texas), whose district covers Lamar County in Northeast Texas, called O'Connor's post "unforgivable."

Caitlyn Jenner Opposes Trans Girls Competing in Women's Sports in Schools

Caitlyn Jenner said on Saturday that she opposes allowing biological males who identify as transgender to compete in women's sports in schools, in comments to TMZ.

Jenner, a Republican gubernatorial candidate for California, was asked her opinion on legislation under consideration in several states that would ban biological males from competing in women's sports.

"This is a question of fairness," Jenner said. "That's why I oppose biological boys who are trans competing in girls' sports in school. It just isn't fair. And we have to protect girls' sports in our schools."

American Federation of Teachers Union Influenced CDC on In-Person-Learning Guidelines

The American Federation of Teachers influenced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's February guidelines on reopening schools, according to emails reported by the New York Post on Saturday.

At least two language suggestions made by the AFT were adopted in some form in the final text of the CDC's guidelines, the Post found. The emails were provided to the paper by Americans for Public Trust, a conservative watchdog group that obtained the documents through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Biden Administration Denies Report of Prisoner Swap with Iran

The Biden administration denied a report from Iranian state TV on Sunday that the U.S. and U.K. agreed to exchange billions of dollars for American and British prisoners held in Iran.

State TV quoted an anonymous Iranian government official laying out the terms of the alleged deal on Sunday.

"The Americans accepted to pay $7 billion and swap four Iranians who were active in bypassing sanctions for four American spies who have served part of their sentences," the official said in comments quoted in on-screen crawl, translated by the Associated Press.

"Unfortunately that report is untrue there is no agreement to release these four Americans," White House chief of staff Ron Klain told CBS's Face the Nation immediately following the report.

Biden Adviser Says Schools Will 'Probably' Reopen by Fall: 'It's an Unpredictable Virus'

Anita Dunn, senior adviser to President Biden, reiterated the president's statement on Friday that schools will "probably" be fully open by September, in an interview on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday.

Host Jake Tapper asked Dunn whether the Biden administration could guarantee that all K-12 schools would be open "full-time" for "in-person learning" by the coming school year. Tapper also asked if the administration would push back on any party, including teachers unions, "who stake out any position to the contrary not backed up by science."