Friday Round Up! 5/3/24
The Supreme Court may be opening a Pandora's box they really shouldn't.
I’ve got a very quick intro to this week’s round up as I am headed to L.A. to film a documentary about Pablo Escobar. As you probably know (and if you don’t, you should check out Season 1 of Narcos), Escobar terrorized Colombia in the 80s and 90s, using his wealth and ruthlessness to bribe politicians and police, intimidate judges, and undermine any efforts to hold him to account. Sound familiar?
It’s funny but as someone who studied Pablo Escobar in depth, I think there are a lot of parallels between him and Trump. Escobar didn't believe the rule of law applied to him; he enlisted others, from street thugs to lawyers to do his dirty work; and he certainly wasn’t afraid to use violence as a weapon. Interestingly, Escobar really began his reign of terror after he unsuccessfully tried to reputationally launder himself as a legitimate businessman by running for parliament. He won his race, which also conveniently gave him parliamentary immunity from prosecution. Unfortunately, Escobar’s fellow lawmakers didn’t want to play his reindeer games, and the then-Minister of Justice (Colombia’s Attorney General), Lara Bonilla, denounced Escobar as a drug trafficker and began an investigation into him. Meanwhile, the head of Escobar’s political party, Luis Carlos Galan, kicked him out of it, forcing Escobar to leave politics.
After that Escobar pretty much went full Carrie on the political establishment and the country: Escobar had Bonilla assassinated three months later, and when Galan ran for president in 1989, Escobar had him assassinated as well. Oh, he also blew up a jetliner in an attempt to assassinate another presidential candidate. (Escobar is also believed to be behind a siege on Colombia’s Palace of Justice in 1985 which killed half of the justices on its Supreme Court.) In short, Escobar offers a gruesome warning in what lies ahead if political violence is allowed to overtake judicial accountability.
Of course, the main difference between Trump and Escobar is that Escobar was actually rich.
Anyway, stay tuned for the documentary — I will let you know when it comes out! — and in the meantime, check out my and Renato’s discussion this week on the Supreme Court’s immunity arguments and how the Manhattan election influence case is going:
Noteworthy clips from this week:
I was on ABC This Week with George Stephonopolous, discussing the Supreme Court and the newest indictments against the false electors in Arizona:
Articles worth reading:
This great piece by Thomas Rid in Foreign Affairs, observing that Russia now parrots Republican talking points, not the other way around. (I wrote about the merging of Russian and GOP narratives — a phenomenon called convergence, in intelligence parlance — in this lesson for my Substack course, Democracy in the (Dis)Information Age. Subscribe and check it out!)
Upcoming events:
Guest Speaker, Jacob Hacker, May 15, 4-5 p.m. EDT. Yale professor and co-author of Let Them Eat Tweets: How the Right Rules in an Age of Extreme Inequality will join us to discuss some of the driving forces behind asymmetrical polarization, a topic we are currently covering in our Substack course. (You can enroll in the course at anytime, and this topic is new — check out the short assignment to jump in!) The talk will be recorded and posted for anyone who can’t make the live event.
Wine & Fries Happy Hour with CNN National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem, Sunday, May 19, 8 p.m. EDT. I’m so excited to be hosting my friend and colleague Juliette Kayyem for the next Wine & Fries Club! We’ll have lots to talk about, some serious and some not-so-serious. Link will be sent to founding members at 5 p.m. This will not be recorded.
NEW! Zoom Office Hours, Tuesday, May 29, 4-5 p.m. EDT. We’ll discuss the latest. Link will be sent to paid subscribers three hours prior. Office hours are not recorded.
Freedom Academy Book Club, Date/Time TBA (likely June/July). I’m very excited that my former CNN colleague, Jim Sciutto, will be joining us to discuss The Return of Great Powers: Russia, China, and the Next World War. I love Jim’s work and insights into national security issues and this is a discussion you won’t want to miss!
More to come next week!
Have a safe trip to California, Asha! The Freedom Academy is the primary macro concern in my view of the world. It's always a pleasure to read your newsletter (its the only substance account that I am currently registered with), and the essential lessons provided by history. I'll have to watch the documentary when it is released....Pablo Escobar was certainly newsworthy in the 1990s, but apart from remembering him as "dangerous kingpin drug dealer", I don't recall the details. That you raise his profile to argue how his tactics are relevant to the threat to democracy has drawn my attention. But as we all need a laugh at one time or another, I greatly enjoyed the final sentence..."the only difference between Escobar and Trump is that Escobar was rich." Thanks, Asha!!!
Speaking of Pablo Escobar, you know you can stay at his house in Tulum. It's now a boutique hotel and pretty cool! Casa Malca. https://casamalca.com