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Mother Jones Daily Newsletter
Mother Jones Daily Newsletter ... February 16, 2021
Peter Burgess
View in browser Mother Jones Daily Newsletter February 16, 2021 Donald Trump's acquittal was a depressing, foregone conclusion. But as my colleague Dan Friedman noted this weekend, the former president's legal problems are just getting started. Trump still faces a wave of legal worries pertaining to investigations around his efforts to overturn the Georgia election results, shady Trump Organization finances, his long-standing sexual assault allegations, and much more. So, it's without missing a beat on Tuesday that the first civil lawsuit against Trump over his role in the Capitol insurrection arrived. From Politico: On the heels of the Senate's acquittal of Donald Trump, the NAACP, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson and civil rights law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll filed a lawsuit against the former president, Rudy Giuliani and two white supremacist groups, citing their role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday morning in Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that Trump and Giuliani, in collaboration with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, conspired to incite the riots to keep Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. It claims they did so in violation of the Ku Klux Klan Act, a Reconstruction-era statute designed to protect both formerly enslaved African Americans and lawmakers in Congress from white supremacist violence. Seeing as how Trump, now a private citizen, isn't exactly in the best financial shape, I can't imagine he's taking his mounting legal bills in stride. That's not a consolation prize for acquittal. But with Trump also reportedly fearing potential criminal charges, it's certainly something to keep in mind as the de facto leader of the feckless Republican Party squirms away in Mar-a-Lago. —Inae Oh Advertisement REDF Top Story Top Story Why Won’t Joe Biden Let Ethanol Die Already? The biofuel's clean promise has only led to dirtier air. BY TOM PHILPOTT Trending Biden’s White House is ready to tackle gun violence. Black-led groups hope they won’t be excluded. BY SAMANTHA MICHAELS AND KARA VOGHT In residency fight, Donald Trump claims he's just a regular ol' Mar-a-Lago staff member BY RUSS CHOMA Senate Republicans acquitted Trump...and indicted the GOP BY DAVID CORN Oath Keepers who guarded Roger Stone stormed the Capitol BY DAN FRIEDMAN Advertisement REDF Food Special Feature Why opening restaurants is exactly what the coronavirus wants us to do Governors continue to open indoor dining and other activities before vaccinations become widespread. BY CAROLINE CHEN Fiercely Independent Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. Donate Recharge SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE 5-Time US Chess Champion Hikaru Nakamura Reaches 1 Million Stream Followers. Magnus Who? No, I don’t have sources telling me that world chess champion Magnus Carlsen is seething with jealousy of his rival Hikaru Nakamura, who topped 1 million stream followers yesterday. But Carlsen ought to be impressed and, if he’s human, a bit jealous. Nakamura has a growing fandom for a reason: The five-time US champion is adventurously risk-taking, blazingly fast, and creatively resourceful, and whoever produces his video thumbnails is twitchingly funny and deserves awards. Congratulations on 1 million followers. He’s also a generous steward of charitable giving, having used his platform and power to drive donations to good causes. Also on the rise to chess stardom are the Botez sisters, Alexandra and Andrea, standout players with a growing audience. Each is a sharply instructive commentator who, as the game’s popularity surges, offers some of the best video creation and narration. They get supportive boosts from US Chess Women’s program director and two-time champion Jennifer Shahade. Today is also the birthday of the first women’s world chess champion, Vera Menchik, born 115 years ago. She defeated the sharpest players of her era, from Samuel Reshevsky to Max Euwe. And yesterday marked a defining political anniversary: Garry Kasparov’s open rebellion against the Soviet chess authorities. The game’s governing body arbitrarily and corruptly terminated his championship match—he was winning—against Soviet-friendly Anatoly Karpov, in 1985. The termination set off “widespread speculation that the unprecedented action was designed to save defending champion Anatoly Karpov from defeat,” the Washington Post reported that year. A salute to Kasparov, then and now. What’s all the popularity about? In addition to The Queen’s Gambit, a revealing article about the game’s pandemic appeal is headlined “Pawn Addiction Helps Me Beat the Lockdown Blues.” And yes, there are more possible chess games than the number of atoms in the known universe: 10^120 possible games, and 10^81 atoms in the universe (plus or minus). No word yet on whether Barack Obama will accept Nakamura’s chess challenge for charity. —Daniel King Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by forwarding it to a friend or sharing it on Facebook and Twitter. Mother Jones Donate Subscribe This message was sent to peterbnyc@gmail.com. To change the messages you receive from us, you can edit your email preferences or unsubscribe from all mailings. For advertising opportunities see our online media kit. Were you forwarded this email? Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today. www.MotherJones.com PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755