Democrat

• 20 Talks - Eva Galperin, Director of Cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation
  In this episode, our guest is Eva Galperin, Director of Cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
• In this episode, our guest is Eva Galperin, Director of Cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
• The EDPS presents its Annual Report 2023, summarising its key achievements in an evolving digital and regulatory landscape.
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  On 20 June 2024, we invite you to the European Data Protection Summit: “Rethinking Data in a Democratic Society”.

• But the nearly two-year investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election dominated headlines – and revealed what has become Trump’s trademark denial of any wrongdoing.
• For Trump, the Russia investigation was the first “ridiculous hoax” and “witch hunt.” Mueller didn’t help matters.
• “While this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him,” the special counsel stated.

1. Obstruction of justice

• But Orentlicher wrote that obstruction of justice is “a complicated matter.” According to federal law, obstruction occurs when a person tries to impede or influence a trial, investigation or other official proceeding with threats or corrupt intent.
• But in a March 24, 2019, letter to Congress summarizing Mueller’s findings, then-Attorney General William Barr said he saw insufficient evidence to prove that Trump had obstructed justice.

So it was up to Congress to further a case against Trump on obstruction charges, but then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi declined, arguing that it would be too divisive for the nation and Trump “just wasn’t worth it.”

Read more:
Trump and obstruction of justice: An explainer

2. Why didn’t the full report become public?

• Charles Tiefer is a professor of law at the University of Baltimore and expected that Trump and Barr would do “everything in their power to keep secret the full report and, equally important, the materials underlying the report.” Tiefer was right.
• To keep Mueller’s report private, Barr invoked grand jury secrecy – the rule that attorneys, jurors and others “must not disclose a matter occurring before the grand jury.”

Trump and Barr also claimed executive privilege to further prevent the release of the report. Though it cannot be used to shield evidence of a crime, Tiefer explained, “that’s where Barr’s exoneration of Trump really helped the White House.”

Read more:
How Trump and Barr could stretch claims of executive privilege and grand jury secrecy

3. Alternative facts

• Perhaps the most disappointing finding, they argued, is that there are no known fixes to this problem.
• They found that fact-checking has little impact on changing individual beliefs, and more education only sharpens the divisions.
• And with that, they wrote, “the U.S. continues to inch ever closer to a public square in which consensus perceptions are unavailable and facts are irrelevant.”

  Read more:
  From 'Total exoneration!'

4. Trump’s demand for loyalty

• What sets Trump apart, Ouyang wrote, is his “exceptional emphasis on loyalty.” Trump expects personal loyalty from his staff – especially from his attorney general.
• “Trump values loyalty over other critical qualities like competence and honesty.
• Read more:
  Why does a president demand loyalty from people who work for him?

• But if you’re one of the distrustful majority, that may not be such a bad thing.
• In a 2021 survey, just 24.5% of respondents across OECD, countries said they trust political parties.
• National polls repeatedly show similar results, particularly in the wake of scandals involving politicians misbehaving.
• Self-evidently, trustworthy leaders are preferable – but that doesn’t mean trusting them unconditionally once they’re in power.

Trust isn’t a ‘thing’

• But there’s no optimal survey result, and no one should expect complete trust.
• People talk metaphorically of “building” trust, but trust isn’t a “thing” that’s literally broken and rebuilt.
• Political trust is about an underlying “deal” that keeps a society together and functioning.
• People disagree about whom to trust, and judgment will partly depend on which politicians promote the policies people prefer.

Government is a work in progress

• But leadership and government are themselves problems about which people have debated for millennia, with still no universally agreed solution in sight.
• It’s worth noting, for example, that in China, most people tell pollsters that they trust their government.
• There may be disagreements about how best to govern, but all states practice, by necessity, some form of government.

• As there’s no handy administrative formula for political trust, such personal and political self-examination has to persist.
• Telling surveyors that you don’t trust politicians is a gentle and valid form of political resistance.

Grant Duncan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• It also found that 44% feel more emotionally invested in companies that follow/demonstrate sustainable business practices .
• The poll of 2,000 U.S. adults revealed that Americans will spend 33% more on green products in 2024 than in 2023.
• “Transparency is important to consumers, and brands should take note if they want customers to continue to be brand loyal.
• The majority of respondents (65%) say they will look for environmental claims when making a purchase,” said Ross Meyercord, CEO of Propel Software.