¶ Intro / Opening
Two National Guard members are in critical condition after being shot near the White House. President Trump says a suspect came to the US from Afghanistan. We must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country. Who does not belong here? What is Trump calling for? I'm E. Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News.
President Trump will face no legal consequences for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. The last outstanding election interference case against the president in Georgia has now been officially dismissed. This is really an opportunity for... justice and reconciliation, and that has been squandered.
What's the reason for the decision? And U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is set to arrive in Moscow next week. Where do things stand in the ongoing peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine? Stay with us. We'll give you all the news you need to start your day. Hey, it's Brittany Luce from It's Been a Minute. Your voicemail box is full. Okay, I'll admit it. So is mine. So I'm leaving this for you here.
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¶ National Guard Attack and Deployment Controversy
Two West Virginia National Guard members are in critical condition after they were shot near the White House in Washington, D.C., Wednesday afternoon. The city's mayor described the attack as targeted. The suspected gunman, who was also shot, is in custody.
It comes as President Trump has deployed the National Guard to several cities around the country, a pattern that has been controversial and challenged in the courts. For more, we're joined by NPR's Kat Lonsdorff. Kat, tell us about what happened with the shooting.
Yeah, the shooting occurred about 2.15 p.m. yesterday. At a press conference, the D.C. Metropolitan Police said that the gunman came around a corner and opened fire at the guard members while they were on patrol. Nearby guard members quickly intervened. and subdued the shooter. Police say it's unclear at this time who shot the shooter. The two injured guard members, who, like you said, were from West Virginia, were both rushed to hospitals.
Earlier yesterday, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrissey had said the Guard members were killed but walked that back less than an hour later. Authorities have since said that the two are in critical condition. And it sounds like the president is talking about the suspected shooter.
Yeah, in a video statement yesterday, President Trump said the shooter was someone who came to the U.S. from Afghanistan. The Department of Homeland Security later identified the shooter as Rahmanullah Lakanwal and said he came to the U.S. as part of a Biden administration program called...
Operation Allies Welcome, that allowed thousands of Afghans to enter the country after the Taliban retook power of Afghanistan back in 2021. Those people came in on two-year grants of parole, then later had to apply for other ways to stay in the country permanently.
like asylum, and go through rigorous screening. NPR has not yet independently verified when or why Lackenwald entered the country, and a motive for the shooting is not yet known. In that video last night, Trump called the attack an act of terror. We must now re-examine every single alien.
who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden. He also repeated anti-immigrant rhetoric. The Trump administration then announced that it had stopped processing immigration applications for Afghan nationals. And A, this will likely affect
a number of Afghans who worked with the U.S. government or NATO forces during the 20-year war in Afghanistan and have largely been left in limbo after the Trump administration curbed immigration. The National Guard, back to them for a second, because they've been in D.C. for a few months. Now, why were they sent here in the first place?
Yeah, there have been more than 2000 National Guard troops in D.C. from several states, including West Virginia, since August when Trump ordered the deployment over concerns about the city's crime rate. This has been part of a pattern of Trump deploying the National Guard to Democrats.
led cities around the country, often against the wishes of local governors and authorities. And D.C. is unique. Unlike the 50 states, the president has the authority to deploy the National Guard to D.C. I live in D.C. of the National Guard pretty much every day. They're out patrolling the streets and groups and they've been helping with beautification efforts. But these deployments have been very controversial. In places like Portland, Oregon or Chicago, federal judges almost immediately
intervened and blocked them. Those are still tied up in legal battles. And in D.C., a federal judge just last week ruled that the use of troops in the city was unlawful and ordered an end to the deployment. That has yet to take effect to give the administration Meanwhile, after yesterday's attack, Trump doubled down, saying he was ordering an additional 500 troops to the city. That's NPR's Kat Lonsdorf. Kat, thank you very much. Thank you.
¶ Georgia Election Interference Case Dismissal
The last outstanding criminal case against President Trump is now closed. A judge in Georgia dismissed the historic election interference case in its entirety on Wednesday. That's after a special prosecutor moved to drop charges against Trump and his remaining co-defense. NPR Sam Greenglass joins us now. Tell us more about the decision to drop the charges, Sam.
This decision was made by a special prosecutor named Pete Skandalakis. He took over the case after a court removed Fulton County District Attorney Fawnie Willis last year for an alleged conflict of interest stemming from a person. personal relationship she had with a special prosecutor.
It then fell to Scandalakis, head of a state prosecutor's council, to decide what to do with the case. And after reviewing the evidence and the law, he concluded all charges should be dismissed. Okay, what was his rationale? Skandalak has questioned the strength of some of the charges, including the racketeering charge at the heart of the indictment. And he concluded that the federal justice system would have been a better place for this prosecution.
Federal prosecutors did bring charges against Trump, but that case was dropped as Trump returned to the White House. Skandalakis also noted it would have been illogical and unduly burdensome to sever Trump from the case and continue against the other. Now, you know, it's kind of hard to forget about the phone call that started it all, Sam, the fined 11,780 votes call.
Yeah, this investigation began not long after that call when Trump asked Georgia's secretary of state to find him the votes he needed to win Georgia. DA Fonnie Willis eventually asked a grand jury for an indictment, which she announced in a dramatic news conference in August 2023. The defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering.
enterprise to overturn Georgia's presidential election result. Trump and his co-defendants pleaded not guilty. His mugshot at the Fulton County jail is one of the enduring images of this time. Four defendants later accepted plea deals, and those convictions remain. Now that the case is over, Sam, I gotta imagine the president has said at least a few things about it.
Sure. Trump wrote on social media that law and justice have prevailed in Georgia. We have not heard from the Fulton District Attorney's Office, but I did call up Georgia State University law professor Anthony Michael Kreis, and he told me it would have been... important for the public even just to hear the evidence at trial. This was really an opportunity for justice and reconciliation and for a kind of truth-telling, and that has been squandered.
Has been squandered, he says. So what's the legacy, then, of this effort, this years-long effort, then? Trump recently pardoned allies allegedly involved in the effort to overturn the 2020 result. The ones named were never charged in a federal case, but they were charged in Georgia, where any convictions would have been immune from the pardon. Now those charges...
have been dropped. With the end of this case, it's extremely likely Trump will never face trial over his activities after the 2020 election. You know, as Christ pointed out to me, the fact that this case fizzled could embolden future candidates to try to overturn an election and that the criminal justice system has shown it may not be equipped to respond. That's NPR's Sam Greenglass. Sam, thanks a lot. Thanks.
¶ Witkoff's Role in Ukraine Peace Talks
President Trump says his envoy, Steve Witkoff, will soon head back to Moscow for another round of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting comes as Trump says he's closing in on a negotiated deal to end the war in Ukraine, yet questions hover over Witkoff's role as a mediator following leaked...
transcripts of his interactions with key Kremlin officials. Now, to dive into this a little bit more, we're joined by NPR's Charles Maines from Moscow. So Charles, let's start off with this latest U.S. peace plan. Yeah, sure. You know, Whitkoff will come to Moscow someday.
time next week to meet with Putin to talk about the plan. And he's really seeking Putin's approval or at least reaction to this draft U.S. proposal that initially offered terms favorable to Moscow, but has since been fine-tuned, that according to the White House.
with input from Europe and Ukraine. And what that means is that probably a lot of the things that Moscow liked about the plan, such as that Ukraine giving up territory to Russia that Moscow's forces don't currently control are probably gone. But the truth is we don't know. know the final details, and neither do the Russians. Top people at the foreign ministry, however, have made clear
that any significant changes in Ukraine's interests would make the revised plan a non-starter. So Witkoff really has his work cut out for him. Well, especially given that Bloomberg report about that initial U.S. plan that Witkoff promoted that, you know, it was heavily influenced by Moscow. Yeah.
Yeah, exactly. And that Bloomberg report really appeared to show what many already suspected, that Russia had a significant role in shaping this initial Trump peace plan, and that Witkoff was working closely, critics would say too closely, with his Kremlin counterparts, a special... The calls show Witkoff in particular giving advice on how and when Putin should engage with Trump for maximum effect, including to apparently undermine Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of...
the key trip he was making to the White House last month. And yet Trump seemed to play this down. Here he is on Air Force One yesterday. That's what a dealmaker does. You've got to say, look, they want this. You've got to convince them of this. You know, that's a very standard. Form of negotiation.
Now, A, I should add that the Russians involved here have also commented. Dmitriev called the transcript a fake. Ushakov, however, acknowledged that he regularly holds talks with Utakov, including, he added, on WhatsApp. The implication here that some of those conversations might have been intercepted.
Okay, and assuming the conversations are real, do we have any idea who would be behind the leak? Well, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that whether or not these leaks are genuine, that the list of those against U.S.-Russian cooperation is long. Let's listen. So here Peskov says that this peace process by the U.S. is underway, and it's a serious one involving President Trump and Putin and others. And as a result, there are people who will stop at nothing to undermine.
Now, as to who that might be, it's really an equal opportunity speculation situation. I mean, Europeans, Ukrainians, of course, some Americans and even hardline Russians have been unhappy about Trump's attempts that they taunt with Moscow. the peace plan was indeed the goal. Is it working or has it worked?
Well, I mean, some Republicans are already calling for Witkoff's resignation. And that's, again, Republicans. And we'll have to see if his portfolio as a mediator is somehow reduced going forward. But in a way, you know, it may not matter. Just in the sense of this document that Witkoff is...
accused of helping promote, really that was tilted in Russia's favor, it's already undergoing significant revisions. It's no longer the one that everyone's focused on. That's Charles Maines in Moscow. Thanks a lot, Charles. Thank you. And that's up first for Thursday, November 27th. I'm me, Martinez. The NPR app keeps public radio in your pocket. You'll find a mix of local, national, and international news, plus the best podcasts from the NPR network. Download the NPR app in your app. App Store.
Today's episode of Up First was edited by Miguel Macias, Ben Swayze, Robbie Griffiths, H.J. Mai, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dimas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. Our technical director is Carly Strange. And our deputy... Executive producer is Kelly Dickens. Happy Thanksgiving and join us again tomorrow.
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