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The leaders of dozens of grassroots progressive advocacy groups joined their congressional allies late Tuesday in calling on Democrats to reject "false choices" posed by right-wing lawmakers and ensure that all of the party's key prioritiesfrom child care to Medicare expansion to climate actionremain in the final budget reconciliation package.

"What we are talking about is not simply a laundry list, a wish list. It is the needs of the American people."

"It is beyond absurd that we are talking about choosing between child care and elder care or tax cuts to families and free community college,"Rahna Epting, executive director of MoveOn, said during Tuesday night's #TimeToDeliver town hall, a virtual event that brought together activists and top progressives in Congress, including Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

"We have more than enough resources to do all of it. We're the richest country on earth," Epting continued. "This is not a time for politics as usual or tired and outdated austerity policies. The ultra-rich and huge corporations have made massive profits in the middle of this pandemic. Simply making them pay their fair share will be more than enough money to cover these essential policies. This is a once-in-a-generation moment for Congress to act and to act boldly to meet this moment."

The town hall came as Democratic leaders continued their efforts to secure the votes of a smallbut, given the slim margins in Congress, powerfulnumber of corporate-friendly lawmakers who are refusing to support a popular $3.5 trillion reconciliation package. While the right-wing Democratic holdouts have repeatedly declined to publicly specify the programs they want to cut, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) signaled Monday that some of the party's priorities may have to be axed to lower the bill's top-line price tag.

Politico reported last week that the Biden White House is "seriously entertaining the idea of across-the-board haircuts to most items" in the reconciliation package as well as the removal of entire programs.

But progressives are pushing back against that approach, warning it would be morally and politically disastrous to impose artificial constraints on spending in the midst of a deadly pandemic, economic recession, and worsening climate crisis. According to a recent analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-W.Va.) proposal to cut the reconciliation bill's price tag by $2 trillion over a decade would support two million fewer jobs each year than the full Build Back Better plan.

"Slashing investments that will create millions of good-paying jobs and make child care, healthcare, and housing more affordable is a recipe for a weak recovery and inequitable future," said Claire Guzdar, a spokesperson for the ProsperUS coalition. "Congress should pass the full Build Back Better agenda without delay. We can't afford not to."

Jayapal, the chair of the 96-member Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), said during Tuesday's event that progressives in the House and Senate are "united in our insistence that these prioritiesclimate action, the care economy, housing, roadmap to citizenship, expanded healthcare, and tax fairnessare included and funded in the final bill."

"We have to insist that the will of the 96% of Democrats in the House and the Senate, the leadership of the president, and the majority of the American people is not ignored for the misplaced priorities of 4% of our colleagues who aren't yet on board," she added.

Sanders, chair of the powerful Senate Budget Committee, echoed Jayapal on Tuesday, declaring that "now is the time for us to stand up for the working class of this country and tell the billionaires that they're going to have to start paying their fair share of taxes."

"What we are talking about is not simply a laundry list, a wish list," Sanders said. "It is the needs of the American people. We will no longer continue to have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on Earth... We are going to make sure that no family in America pays more than 7% of their incomes for child care. We're going to make pre-K universal and free. We're going to deal with the affordable housing crisis because we are tired of seeing half a million people in this country homeless, sleeping out on the streets."

"We're going to deal with climate," Sanders continued, "because we know we have the moral responsibility to address that so that the planet we leave for our kids and grandchildren is healthy and habitable."

Earlier Tuesday, as Common Dreams reported, Jayapal and Sanders both indicated that a proposal to expand Medicare benefits to cover dental, hearing, and vision is "not negotiable"a position they staked out amid reports that the plan is on the chopping block due to opposition from right-wing Democrats.

"As part of the reconciliation bill, Americans want to lower prescription drug costs (88%) and expand Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing (84%)," Sanders tweeted Tuesday, pointing to recent polling. "Both proposals are strongly opposed by drug companies and private insurance. The Dems must stand with the people, not fold."

Late last month, members of the CPC acted as a bloc to ensure that the reconciliation package and a Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill remained linked, a strategy progressives believe is necessary to get the Build Back Better Act to President Joe Biden's desk intact.

"Progressives in Congress held the line, but we're not done yet," Jayapal stressed Tuesday as Democrats rush to complete the reconciliation bill by the end of the month, a tall task given ongoing disputes over the bill's top-line cost as well as its specific provisions.

Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of Indivisible, said during the town hall that "it is well past time for Congress to deliver and pass an inclusive reconciliation bill through both the House and Senate."

"Progressives made clear they will not allow conservative Democrats to gamble away the policies that will expand healthcare coverage and lower prescription drug prices, [create] tax fairness, build a pathway to citizenship and include immigrants in recovery provisions, invest in clean energy and climate action, and meet needs like child care, paid leave, and affordable housing," saidGreenberg. "It is time to deliver for our families, our communities, and the planet."

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Progressives Push Democrats to Reject 'Outdated Austerity Policies' and Pass Bold Agenda - Common Dreams

The nationwide state congresses of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress, which was held on Saturday, experienced a huge setback as a result of divisions within the party.

SaharaReporters learnt that in Lagos State, the ruling party APC had three parallel congresses with one of the factions led by a former governor, Akinwunmi Ambode.

SaharaReporters gathered that the national leadership of the party under Yobe State Governor, Mala Buni, recognised Ambodes faction and his list of executives which is part of a coup and ongoing efforts to weaken the influence of the National Leader of the party, Bola Tinubu.

Top sources revealed that Ambode's faction was sponsored by Buni, who is the Chairman, Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee so as to weaken Tinubu in his perceived stronghold.

Lagos APC had three separate congresses; the people elected in Ambodes faction and congress are backed by Buni. It is a coup against Tinubu, a top source revealed.

SaharaReporters obtained the list of the state executives elected by Ambode's faction; they are; Beatrice Omotayo Tugbobo, Chairman; Alhaji Dauda, Vice-chairman; Hon. Prince Adedeji Osho, Secretary; Hon. Akewushola Onoyemi, treasurer; Balogun Adekunle Hameed, Publicity Secretary; Youth Leader, Buhari Babajide Jimoh and Woman Leader, Ashafa Salawat.

Others are: Financial Sec, Prince Moruf.A. Anibire; Organizing Sec., Olamiji Alilu; Auditor, Adeosun Iyiola Abiodun; Legal Adviser, Wasiu Adeyemi Sulaimon; Youth Leader, Adelaja Moruf; Welfare Officer, Olusegun Moruf Bello; Ex-officer 1, Ibrahim Misbau Omoniyi; Ex-officer 2, Babatunde Collins Davies.

SaharaReporters had last weekend reported how ailing Tinubu quietly returned to the country after months of extensive medical treatments in the United Kingdom and the United States.

It had also been reported that the APC in Lagos State had sent out a circular to its leaders across the state informing them that the Sunday welcome party being organised for Tinubu would not be held as earlier scheduled.

SaharaReporters had learnt that the APC sent the circular, signed by Alhaji Tunde Balogun (APC State Chairman), and Alhaji Maroun Are (GAC Secretary) to the party leaders believably at the ward and local government levels, without giving a specific reason for the change of plan.

SaharaReporters, however, gathered that the cancellation was due to the exclusive report published by this medium, which forced them to abort it abruptly.

In the circular obtained by SaharaReporters, the APC leaders were told that a new arrangement for welcoming Tinubu would be announced later.

Dear leader/GAC member, you are hereby informed of change in plans/arrival of our National Leader billed for Sunday. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the plans/arrival have been put on hold. A new plan/arrival will be unfolded soon. Sorry for any inconvenience this hold may have caused. Thank you, the notice had said.

SaharaReporters had reported that Tinubu confirmed that he went through a challenging health crisis, saying his physiotherapy was gruesome.

Tinubu said this while addressing members of the House of Representatives northern caucus who visited him in London last Friday.

The former governor, who had been in the United Kingdom for the last three months since undergoing knee surgery, told the gathering, Because of God and people like you, I am well. It is just the physio (physiotherapy) that is gruesome.

Since his departure, Tinubus London home has become a mecca of sorts as he has been visited by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Governors Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano),

Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), and Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti).

SaharaReporters had reported that Tinubu underwent knee surgery at the John Hopkins University Hospital in Maryland, US.

The APC chieftain, it was learnt, left the US for the United Kingdom on crutches, a few days after the surgery.

Sources close to Tinubu told SaharaReporters that he wanted the surgery in Paris, France but changed his plan after rumours of his death spread in Nigeria.

Tinubu had his second surgery at John Hopkins University in Maryland recently. He was accompanied by a popular Nigerian doctor in Chicago. He had wanted the surgery in Paris but when rumour was rife about his death, he hurriedlyleft for Nigeria and went to John Hopkins, one of the sources had said.

"He left the US for the UK on crutches," another source revealed.

SaharaReporters had on July 31 reported that Tinubu, who has had several medical trips this year alone, had surgery about two weeks earlier and could be billed for another one.

The APC National Leader has been off official and party functions in the country for a while, amidst talks that he is being positioned for the 2023 presidency to succeed the incumbent repressive regime of Buhari.

The APC state congress which held nationwide on Saturday did not hit a crisis only in Lagos but in most states of the South-West.

Earlier today, two persons were said to have sustained injuries from gunshots fired by some unidentified persons who invaded the venue of the state Congress organised by a faction of the All Progressives Congress in Osogbo, Osun State.

The incident happened around 12.50 pm after the congress organised by the Osun Progressives, a faction of APC backed by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, had commenced the process of electing new executives.

A car with about five occupants that were armed with guns was seen driving along Osogbo/Gbongan Road towards the entrance to the venue of the Congress.

The vehicle was eventually prevented from advancing to the entrance to the venue of the Congress held at Ladsol Bus Stop, Ogo Oluwa, Osogbo, by another group leading to an exchange of gunshots between the two groups.

Also, in Ogun state, the Ake palace in Abeokuta was cordoned off by police officers believed to be from the Ogun State Police Command and officers of the Department of the State Security Services.

The officers had allegedly been sent by the faction of the APC loyal to Governor Dapo Abiodun to lock up the venue of the parallel congress of those members loyal to former Governor Ibikunle Amosun, preventing party faithful from gaining access.

Many people believed to have been mobilised for the parallel congress were seen loitering around the palace, and unable to enter the venue.

Meanwhile, the national leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress suspended the congress in Oyo over irregularities.

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REVEALED Crisis Hits All Progressives Congress As Chairman Buni Backs Ex-Governor Ambode's Faction In Lagos To Weaken Tinubu's Influence -...

Leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus on Wednesday reiterated their top-level priorities for the nascent reconciliation package and urged their fellow Democrats to pursue universal programs instead of "complicated methods of means-testing that the wealthy and powerful will use to divide us."

"The CPC agrees that President [Joe] Biden has made a compelling case to the American people that government can, and should, be a force for good in this country, and we agree that bold investments in good-paying union jobs, climate action, immigration reform, and caregiving are essential to uplifting families and building back better," reads a letter that the CPC's executive board sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif). "This is our moment to make the president's vision a reality."

The lettersigned by CPC chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and 26 other progressive lawmakersgoes on to outline the "five core priority areas" that the caucus has chosen to emphasize during ongoing negotiations over the reconciliation bill:

The CPC leaders also put forth the caucus' broad vision for how such programs should be crafted, pushing back against right-wing efforts to impose work requirements, income limits, and other restrictions that would limit the number of people who qualify for benefits.

"Much has been made in recent weeks about the compromises necessary to enact this transformative agenda," the CPC members write. "We have been told that we can either adequately fund a small number of investments or legislate broadly, but only make a shallow, short-term impact. We would argue that this is a false choice."

Instead of slashing the funding of key programs in order to extend their duration over 10 years and appease conservative lawmakers' demand for a lower price tag, the CPC executive board contends that Democrats should "make robust investments over a shorter window."

Speaking to reporters earlier this week, Pelosi indicated she is open to that approach.

"This will help make the case for our party's ability to govern, and establish a track record of success that will pave the way for a long-term extension of benefits," the CPC's letter reads. "We cannot pit childcare against housing, or paid leave against home- and community-based care."

The progressive Democrats also deliver a sharp warning against limiting benefits on the basis of income, a route some right-wing lawmakersincluding Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)have advocated during recent negotiations over the Build Back Better package.

"We strongly believe that this is the moment to demonstrate to the American people that regardless of geography, race, gender, or class, Democrats believe that everyone has a right to affordable child care, pre-K, clean water, and a community college education," the CPC letter states. "We can choose to strengthen the bond Americans have to one another by proposing universal social insurance benefits that broadly benefit all Americans."

"This bill," the letter concludes, "offers us a chance to fundamentally transform the relationship between the American people and their government."

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House Progressives to Pelosi: Reject Divisive Means-Testing in Favor of Universal Benefits - Common Dreams

A group of prominent global progressives on Wednesday announced a return of the Belmarsh Tribunal, where participants will put the United States government on informal trial for war crimes and demand freedom for jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

"At the Belmarsh Tribunal, we will turn the world the right way up, placing crimes of war, torture, kidnapping, and a litany of other gross human rights abuses on trial."

On October 22, Progressive International's Belmarsh Tribunal, named after the notorious London prison where Assange is imprisoned as he faces possible extradition to the United States, "will try the U.S. government for its crimes of the 21st centuryfrom atrocities in Iraq to torture at Guantnamo Bay to a surveillance program."

"We are convening parliamentarians, journalists, lawyers, and investigators to fight for truth and justice against Assange's extradition to the United States," said Progressive International, which held a similar tribunal last year. "In doing so, the Belmarsh Tribunal turns the tables in the extradition hearing against Julian Assange... a case that will shape the future of journalism for decades to come."

Britain's High Court has been considering the Biden administration's appeal in the extradition case against Assange, with a full appellate hearing scheduled for October 27 and 28.

"WikiLeaks exposed the reality of the War on Terror," said Progressive International. "It revealed war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, over 300 incidents of torture, and secret killings by the United States armed forces. For exposing the criminality of the War on Terror, the U.S. and its allies have persecuted, imprisoned, and plotted to assassinate Julian Assange."

Last month, Common Dreams reported that in 2017 the Central Intelligence Agency, under then-Director Mike Pompeo, plotted to kidnapand possibly murderAssange to avenge WikiLeaks' publication of the "Vault 7" documents exposing CIA cyber warfare and surveillance activities.

The Belmarsh Tribunal is inspired by the Russell Tribunal, a 1966 event organized by philosophers Bertrand Russell and Jean-Paul Sartre to hold the U.S. accountable for its escalating war crimes in Vietnam.

British historian and activist Tariq Ali, one of the original Belmarsh Tribunal members, will participate in this year's event.

Some of the members of the 2021 Belmarsh Tribunal include German Left Party lawmaker Heike Hnsel; Solidarity Party of Afghanistan spokesperson Selay Ghaffar; Greek lawmaker Yanis Varoufakis; former Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa; Italian investigative journalist Stefania Maurizi; ACLU attorney Ben Wizner; and British Labour parliamentarians Apsana Begum, Richard Burgon, Jeremy Corbyn, and John McDonnell.

"At the Belmarsh Tribunal, we will turn the world the right way up," Corbyn tweeted Wednesday, "placing crimes of war, torture, kidnapping, and a litany of other gross human rights abuses on trial."

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Progressives to Put US War Crimes on Trial and Demand Freedom for Julian Assange - Common Dreams

The new FX limited series Impeachment: American Crime Story the third in a true-crime anthology that started with The People v. O.J. Simpson and continued with The Assassination of Gianni Versace covers the events leading up to Bill Clintons impeachment in December 1998, with a heavy emphasis on the fallout from his sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Fans of the brilliant Slate podcast Slow Burn will surely remember many details from its Leon Neyfakhhosted second season three years ago, which included among its eight episodes bonus interviews with major players like Ken Starr, the special prosecutor and author of the infamous Starr report, and Linda Tripp, who had befriended Lewinsky at the Pentagon and helped reveal her secret affair to the independent counsels office.

For all ten episodes of Impeachment, weve asked Madeline Kaplan, the researcher for the Clinton-Lewinsky season of Slow Burn, to fact-check the shows major events and minute details against her own understanding of the events. (Kaplan and Neyfakhs eight-book reading list can be found here and doesnt include the Starr report and its eyebrow-raising appendices.) Kaplan followed Neyfakh (and co-creator Andrew Parsons) to Prologue Projects, where she serves as a producer on Neyfakhs Fiasco and other podcasts.

As it happens, the sixth episode, Man Handled, covers the dramatic day that unfolded in the first episode of Slow Burn: January 16, 1998. On the eve of President Clintons deposition in the Paula Jones civil case, Ken Starrs team arranges to have Linda Tripp set a meeting with Monica Lewinsky at the food court in Pentagon City Mall. Once the trap was sprung, FBI agents working with the OIC (Office of Independent Counsel) escort Lewinsky to Room 1012 of the nearby Ritz-Carlton hotel, where shes interrogated by all male prosecutors, chiefly Mike Emmick (Colin Hanks) and Jackie Bennett (Darren Goldstein). A sliver of the episode is also given over to Ann Coulter (Cobie Smulders) and George Conway (George Salazar), who have copies of the Tripp-Lewinsky tapes and treat themselves to a listening party.

After watching Man Handled, Kaplan talked about Lewinskys long, traumatic, and, at times, surreal day with her interrogators, Tripps uncomfortable role in the sting operation, and the questionable strategy used to persuade Lewinsky to cooperate.

The major plot and character beats that shape Impeachments narrative.

Tripps feelings going into the dayShe definitely said that she felt bad about [the sting operation], but she also said she believed it was absolutely the right thing to do at the time. In this episode they seem to show a lot of her maybe wavering on whether doing this was the right thing or whether she should show up and go through with it at all. But in her recollections, it seems that she felt guilty about it and was stressed and scared during this period, but she was also convinced that this was the right thing for Monica.

Tripp actually being present at the hotelThis is often described as the result of poor planning or confusion. And I think the intensity of Monicas immediate reaction kind of threw [Starrs team]. They were set up in these adjoining hotel rooms and when they got up there, Monica remembers saying, Make her stay and watch. I want that treacherous bitch to see what shes done to me, which they used at the very beginning of the first episode. And then theyre like, Okay get Tripp out of here. And they put her in the other room, where they apparently interviewed her for a few hours before letting her go. Obviously it was very distracting that she was there at all. And Im sure it didnt help their chances at getting Monica to cooperate that she associated them so strongly with her friends betrayal.

Mike Emmicks roleOne of the people we interviewed for Slow Burn was Bruce Udolf, who worked in the independent counsels office and is not in these episodes. He was one of the more suspicious people about this [operation], he said he was concerned about how it might go. He asked something like, Could we have a woman come? Or Why arent there any women? And he was told that none were available that day to do this.

The absence of any women is a very striking detail. Also that they felt the best good cop that they had to try to convince her was Mike Emmick. Every single thing written about him, like the very first clause after his name, is that hes a charmer, that hes a charming guy, a ladies man. He was someone who was thought to be better to make this first approach than someone like Jackie Bennett.

Obviously theyre throwing this together pretty last-minute, but it was surprising the extent to which they were unprepared for her reaction. They thought that this would potentially go down very quickly and she would agree to cooperate.

Lewinskys deflected requests for a lawyerThis whole episode draws very heavily on Lewinskys recollections. Obviously, shes the person this is happening to. And so a lot of this is described in her authorized biography, these repeated attempts to ask for a lawyer. Being rebuffed in different ways. Not being told no explicitly, but being told its very time-sensitive or we dont want too many people involved here.

This became a real point of contention afterwards about whether there was any misconduct and whether they kept her there against her will or whether they actually told her she could leave. She said later she felt like she couldnt leave, even if they didnt say that explicitly. The independent counsels office was very clear afterward: We never told her she couldnt speak to a lawyer. Theres a lot of legalistic distinctions here. I dont think this is too far outside the norm of how a brace like this would go, in terms of how they approach the witness and try to get their cooperation. Its not that far outside the norm for them not to go out of their way to encourage her to leave and contact an attorney.

From their perspective, too, Vernon Jordan got her that lawyer. So whos to say that the lawyers not also implicated here? Im not a lawyer, but I dont think its the craziest thing in the world to say, Part of what were investigating here is whether [Jordan] got her a job to keep her quiet. And then this guy also got her a lawyer to file this false affidavit? Thats part of what their thinking was about.

These misconduct accusations ended up coming before a federal judge, and the judge ruled that the Starr team didnt do anything wrong here. Basically, because she hadnt been charged with a crime and was free to go if she wanted, she didnt have a right to an attorney in that moment that could be violated. But the judge also criticized the prosecutors for talking to Lewinsky about a possible immunity deal without a lawyer present. So that was a contentious issue here too.

Lewinsky seeing the news clip about Clinton getting deposed the next dayThat felt like it was for the audiences benefit. In the biography, she remembers that when she asked for a lawyer and was told, This is very time-sensitive, she immediately understood that it was time-sensitive because Clinton was being deposed the next day. I mean, anyone who followed the news even a little would have known about his deposition, let alone someone who was thinking and worrying about him constantly.

Lewinskys growing awareness of what was happeningHer immediate reactions were panic and despair, and the prosecutors werent really prepared for how intense her reaction would be. She definitely worried very quickly about feeling like her life was over. That exchange where she wonders what would happen if she were to jump out the window is something she remembers from that day.

Another really key element here is they literally tell her, You could be facing 27 years in prison for what youve done. So not only will her entire reputation be ruined when this becomes public and everyone knows about it, she could also spend more than her lifetime to that point in prison. She doesnt know that theyre probably not going to prosecute her. Its super rare to prosecute perjury in a civil case, especially when youre not the one being sued. But shes not a lawyer. She doesnt know how ridiculous it was to suggest this kind of time for what she did. Which, of course, does not help in the panic department at all. I think they expected that a young woman panicking about spending decades in prison would be relatively easy to convince, but she was much more forceful in her own instincts about what to do than they thought she would be.

Lewinskys encounters with Tripp on the dayIm not sure about the specific line, Linda, what did you do? Im just purely speculating here, but I think because [the show] used that line where she calls Linda a treacherous bitch in the first episode, they wanted that moment of anger again here, of her realizing what Linda did and being very angry. Monica did confront her very angrily when they were both taken up to those rooms. And she realized what was happening, and that Linda is responsible for this happening to her.

That scene later on when Monica is walking through the mall and sees Linda carrying shopping bags, thats an actual moment she remembers from that day. And apparently Linda again said to her during that run-in, They did the same thing to me. So they actually had an exchange then, too.

Jackie Bennetts interrogation styleHes definitely described as the bad cop coming in. Monica said later, It completely changed the tenor of the room as soon as he entered. He took a much more upfront and aggressive approach, totally different personality and style. I think they were probably just thinking like, This is taking so long. Lets try a different approach. Which also ends up not working.

Lewinsky and Emmicks shopping tripThey did go to Crate & Barrel first. They apparently just made a lot of small talk, maybe about a decanter, I dont know. Then she saw an opening to go to a payphone in the Macys and try to call Betty Currie, which is also shown here. Monica felt like, for obvious reasons, Betty Currie would be a person you could call in this scenario. She thought that if [Currie] picked up, she could say something kind of cryptic to her and she would know something was going on.

Then they did get dinner at Mozzarellas American Grill, where they have the conversation pretty much as depicted. She asked, Okay, can you walk me through? Where are you getting the number of years in prison from? And What are the charges youre talking about here? She apparently paid for her own dinner because she did not want to owe them anything.

Lewinskys mother, Marcia Lewis, pushing for cooperationOne of the other prosecutors who was there that day, Steve Binhak, who was also interviewed for Slow Burn, said that he overheard them talking in the hall when Marcia Lewis arrived. And she basically said, Tell them everything. Put this behind you. We have to be thinking about you here and your future. Then Lewinsky responded by saying, Im not going to be the one to bring down the president of the United States.

The quick end to the interrogationYes, it ended pretty quickly once Bill Ginsburg got on the phone with Mike Emmick. And the tenor of the conversation was basically the same as on the show. Ginsburg swore a lot and called Emmick names and was very skeptical of everything he was telling him. The big sticking point was whether they could give Lewinsky an offer of transactional immunity on the spot, so that she would be completely protected in exchange for talking to them. They have this whole back and forth about, like, Can you get this in writing? and Why cant you? Ginsberg calling their bluff about not having access to a fax machine. He apparently asked whether they could handwrite the immunity deal instead, which was not a suggestion they accepted. There was also some disagreement about whether they could actually give her transactional immunity in that moment at all. So Ginsburg eventually tells Lewinsky something like, All right, Im pulling the plug. Dont tell them anything. Go home. This isnt happening. And then its finally over.

Ann Coulter and friends getting the tapesSo theres something the show skips over here, probably because its so complicated. When Tripp has that meeting in a previous episode with her lawyer and she says like, I have all these tapes that Ive made and he says, Why do you have those? This is a two-party consent state. So thats a crime, she really didnt like that lawyer. She thought that he was not looking out for her interests. Because his reaction was, We should take this to the Clinton attorneys and they will want to settle the case. And thats the best thing for you because then these tapes dont become relevant. You wont be charged. Which is good legal advice.

But she didnt like that advice. She was thinking, Okay. So my lawyer is telling me that we should go to the Clintons and resolve this that way, which is not what I want. So she gets a new lawyer. And as part of this chain between her and Lucianne Goldberg and then the elves working on the Paula Jones case, Ann Coulter suggests this guy, Jim Moody, whos a friend of hers, to be Tripps new lawyer. And its through him that [Coulter] gets the tapes.

The way that Coulter remembers this is different than the way they show it here. She said in the middle of the night, at 3:00 a.m., she gets a call from Jim Moody and George Conway, and theyre like, We just got Linda Tripps tapes. We got to listen to these. Can we come over? Because Ann Coulter is a huge Deadhead and had an amazing speaker system. Apparently the way it went down was that they showed up at her place in the middle of the night and listened to some of the tapes.

The tapes being boringThere are certain incriminating things that are on the tapes. But its a really mammoth task to listen through all these hours of tape to find those little bits. Plus theyre mostly interested in whether she incriminated Clinton, not whether she incriminated herself. It makes sense to me that you would listen to a bunch and be like, I just heard a lot about a lot of stuff and Ive no idea whats going on. And a lot of its really mundane.

The details and embellishments that may or may not be rooted in the historical record but reflect Impeachments stylistic approach.

The TV shows they watched during downtime at the Ritz-CarltonApparently they were looking for something to watch on TV. NYPD Blue was on, and it felt like as they were flipping through, it was just cop shows. [Prosecutors] really didnt want that because obviously thats just going to make her think more about what shes doing there. And what if there are like, plotlines about witnesses or cops acting in bad faith or something? So they changed the channel until they found an Ethel Merman movie. And thats what they watched together. Because that felt, I guess, like that wasnt going to interfere with their investigation.

A Pentagon City Mall detail not in the episodeTheres something that they could have included, but I think that if they included it, as an audience member, youd be like, Theres no way that actually happened. Apparently on the same day at the Pentagon City Mall that Monica Lewinsky is being braced by prosecutors and the FBI, Susan Carpenter-McMillan was at that same mall shopping for an outfit for Paula Jones to wear the next day to Clintons deposition. So she couldve had a cameo in this episode.

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Fact-checking Impeachments Dramatic Sting Operation - Vulture