(SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico) — The woman accused of fatally shooting two NYU students in Puerto Rico on Saturday has been detained, officials said.
Officials identified the two students as Franco Medina, 29, and Sergio Palomino Ruiz, 28. They were in Puerto Rico to celebrate a friend’s birthday, according to ABC News New York station WABC.
The female suspect, seen in video released by police, is expected to appear in court on Tuesday.
Authorities said the shooting occurred on Loiza Street in San Juan. Police said they are looking for additional suspects.
“The NYU community is brokenhearted and shocked by the deaths of two MBA students in Puerto Rico, victims of senseless, tragic gunfire,” NYU spokesperson John Beckman said. “Our information is that the two students were bystanders caught in an altercation between two unrelated groups.”
According to Beckman, Ruiz and Medina were part of a small group of students who traveled to Puerto Rico on vacation.
“NYU grieves today with the family, loved ones, and friends of these students, whose lives ended tragically, suddenly, and far too early,” Beckman said.
The university said it is providing counseling services to support students and those who knew the victims.
“The University has been in touch with the remaining group members to offer them support and aid; none of the others were injured. NYU has also reached out to the families of the slain students to provide whatever assistance we can and to express the sympathies of the University community,” Beckman said.
Students from the NYU Stern School of Business organized a GoFundMe to help the families of Ruiz and Medina.
ABC News’ Joshua Hoyos contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The Democrat-led Senate Judiciary Committee is seeking more information on the extent of billionaire Harlan Crow’s gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
The panel’s 11 Democrats requested itemized lists of gifts worth more than $415, real estate transactions, travel and lodging accommodations and admissions to private clubs provided by Crow to any justice or members of their families.
“As part of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s ongoing efforts to craft legislation strengthening the ethical rules and standards that apply to the Justices of the Supreme Court, we request that you provide the Committee with certain information by May 22, 2023,” a letter sent Monday to Crow said.
The lawmakers also sent letters to the holding companies of Crow’s jet and yacht as well as to Topridge Camp — his private resort in the Adirondacks — seeking more information on any gifts to Thomas or any other justice.
“Like we’ve said: if the Court won’t implement ethics reform itself, Congress must,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., tweeted about the letters. “This is the next step.”
The letters follow a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week in which legal experts testified on whether Congress has the authority to require the high court to adopt an enforceable code of conduct.
Republicans have accused Democrats of “selective outrage” in going after Thomas and say it’s part of the party’s effort to delegitimize the Supreme Court’s conservative majority.
“This is not about judicial ethics,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said during the hearing. “This is not about rules that should apply to judges across the board. We could have a reasonable discussion about that. This is about applying a double standard to Clarence Thomas, and only Clarence Thomas.”
Thomas has faced intense scrutiny since ProPublica reported last month that Thomas received luxury trips from Crow for years and did not disclose them on his financial filings.
Thomas said it’s been his understanding that “this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable.”
There were deeper financial ties between the two men, with Crow paying for tuition at two private schools for Thomas’s grandnephew, another ProPublica report last week said. The total sum for tuition was not known, but it could’ve exceeded $150,000, the organization reported.
In response to the report on Crow paying for the tuition, Crow’s office said in a statement provided to ABC News that he “has long been passionate about the importance of quality education and giving back to those less fortunate, especially at-risk youth” and that he and his wife have supported many young Americans through schooling. Thomas did not comment on the report.
Amid Democrats’ push for ethics reform, all nine Supreme Court justices signed a statement rebutting proposals for independent oversight as they reaffirmed voluntary adherence to a general code of conduct.
“This statement aims to provide new clarity to the bar and to the public on how justices address certain recurring issues and also seeks to dispel some common misconceptions,” they wrote.
The back-and-forth between the two federal branches comes as public opinion of the court is at a low, polling shows. A new poll from ABC News/Washington Post found 51% of Americans think justices base their rulings mainly on their personal political opinions, not on the law.
(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Dianne Feinstein will return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday after a nearly three-month absence, an aide for the California Democrat confirmed to ABC News.
News of her return was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Feinstein, 89, is set to return after she was hospitalized in February with a case of shingles. She was released in early March and had been continuing her recovery at home.
Her nonattendance in the Senate, which impacted some of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees, spurred debate within her own party about whether she should resign.
Some Democrats, including California Rep. Ro Khanna and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, argued the federal judiciary could be harmed if Feinstein didn’t step down.
But others, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, came to Feinstein’s defense, saying she was being unfairly singled out.
“I don’t know what political agendas are at work that are going after Sen. Feinstein in that way,” Pelosi said in April. “I’ve never seen them go after a man who was sick in the Senate in that way.”
Feinstein issued a statement last week expressing confidence that judicial nominees who have stalled in committee will be confirmed upon her return.
“While the Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced eight strong nominees during my absence, I’m disappointed that Republicans on the committee are blocking a few from moving forward. I’m confident that when I return to the Senate, we will be able to move the remaining qualified nominees out of committee quickly and to the Senate floor for a vote,” the senator said.
Last month, Senate Republicans blocked a request by Democrats to temporarily replace Feinstein on the judiciary panel while she recovered.
Feinstein, the oldest sitting member of Congress, has been under scrutiny for years amid reports questioning her age or mental faculties. She’s pushed back against criticism multiple times, telling the Los Angeles Times in 2020, “I don’t feel my cognitive abilities have diminished.”
Feinstein announced earlier this year that she will not be seeking reelection in 2024.
“Even with a divided Congress, we can still pass bills that will improve lives. Each of us was sent here to solve problems. That’s what I’ve done for the last 30 years, and that’s what I plan to do for the next two years,” she said in her announcement.
Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee are among the Democrats who have declared their candidacy for Feinstein’s vacated seat.
ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — A high-stakes meeting on the debt ceiling got underway Tuesday afternoon at the White House as lawmakers stare down a June 1 deadline to reach a deal or risk default.
The sit-down between President Joe Biden and top congressional leaders — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — is the first major discussion on the issue since Biden and McCarthy last met in February.
The lawmakers declined to take questions as they arrived in the Oval Office but were expected to speak afterward.
“We’re going to get started, we’re going to solve all the world’s problems,” a smiling Biden quipped with a hint of sarcasm as the meeting kicked off.
Leaving the Capitol for the White House, McCarthy told ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott, “We hope the president is finally willing to negotiate.”
Biden has said raising the debt ceiling is non-negotiable.
Both sides still seemed miles apart on a debt ceiling fix ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, though a rare point of agreement did emerge: opposition to a short-term solution.
“He’s gotta stop ignoring problems,” McCarthy said about Biden earlier Tuesday. “And why continue to kick the can down the road? Let’s solve it now.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during the daily briefing, “A short-term extension is not our plan, either. That is not our plan.”
Jean-Pierre reiterated the Biden administration’s view that it is Congress’ duty to enact a clean raise to the debt ceiling without conditions.
Republicans have demanded federal spending cuts in exchange for a debt ceiling increase. The House GOP narrowly passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act last month to lift the limit for one year while also reducing funding for federal agencies to 2022 fiscal year levels and limiting growth in government spending to 1% per year.
McCarthy said he believed a deal in principle on the matter is needed by next week in order to avert default, which Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warns could come as soon as June 1 though there’s still uncertainty about the exact date when the government would be unable to pay all of its bills.
The speaker went on to say he was not optimistic about Tuesday’s negotiations at the White House.
“Why should I have high expectations if he wasted three months and put us in jeopardy?” McCarthy told reporters.
The White House told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce Biden wouldn’t give Republicans an “off-ramp” in the negotiations.
“The exit strategy is very clear, do your job. Congress must act, prevent a default,” Jean-Pierre said when asked by Bruce what a successful meeting would look like.
Administration officials have warned adversaries like China and Russia could take advantage if the U.S. were to default, and economists state there would be wide-reaching impacts that could trigger a global financial crisis.
“It’s widely agreed that financial and economic chaos would ensue,” Yellen said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week”.
If the U.S. were to default for the first time in history, Americans are split on who would bear responsibility.
A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found 39% would mainly blame the Republicans in Congress, while virtually as many, 36%, say they’d mainly blame Biden. Sixteen percent volunteer that they’d blame both parties equally.
ABC News’ Ben Gittleson, Jay O’Brien and Gabe Ferris contributed to this report.
(PHILADELPHIA) — A manhunt is underway for two inmates, including one facing multiple murder charges, who escaped from a Philadelphia detention center through a hole in the recreation yard’s fence, authorities said.
The two men were discovered missing from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center during a headcount Monday afternoon, according to Philadelphia Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney.
They escaped Sunday around 8:30 p.m. and were erroneously considered accounted for during three subsequent headcounts, before being discovered missing during the 3 p.m. Monday headcount, according to Carney.
“We are adamant and working tirelessly to get these two dangerous individuals back in custody,” Carney told reporters during a press briefing Monday evening. “We had protocols in place, and those protocols were not followed, so that will be part of our investigation.”
“But the goal here now is to make sure that these two individuals are apprehended promptly and brought back into custody,” she continued.
The commissioner identified the escaped inmates as Ameen Hurst, 18, who was brought to the facility in March 2021 on multiple counts of murder, and Nasir Grant, 28, who was being held since September 2022 on charges including criminal conspiracy, narcotics and firearm violations.
The Philadelphia Police Department and U.S. Marshal’s Office are involved in the search for the two men.
“We are working very quickly to try to get them back,” Philadelphia Police Department Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore told reporters.
Hurst is considered “very dangerous,” Vanore said. The inmate is accused of killing someone in December 2020, fatally shooting two people in March 2021 and, a few days later, fatally shooting a man who had just been discharged from a Philadelphia correctional facility, Vanore said.
Hurst and Grant were housed in the same unit in different cells in the correctional facility and are believed to be together, authorities said.
Blanche said the correctional facility is on lockdown and she has reached out to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to conduct a “facility vulnerability assessment and security assessment as soon as possible.”
The facility is also reviewing security footage as part of its investigation into the breach and reviewing the three headcounts to see “why they did not detect those two individuals missing,” she said.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said a $20,000 reward for each man is being offered for information that leads to their arrest.
“The No. 1 responsibility right now is to get these guys off the street,” Kenney told reporters.
The next priority is to have the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections assess the system, he said.
“Clearly the system screwed up and people didn’t do what they were supposed to do,” Kenney said. “But we’re going to find out exactly who, exactly how often and what we got to do to shore it back up again.”
Kenney said they will get to the bottom of it and “deal with the fallout from there.”
“I’m really angry about it,” the mayor said. “There’s no reason for this.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Pentagon on Tuesday announced a new commitment of $1.2 billion in military aid for Ukraine.
The package includes air-defense systems to help Ukrainian forces defend against a near-constant barrage of Russian strikes.
The aid also includes equipment to help “integrate Western air defense launchers, missiles, and radars with Ukraine’s air defense systems,” according to the Pentagon.
“We’re going to continue to rush air-defense capabilities and munitions to help Ukraine control its sovereign skies and to help Ukraine defend its citizens from Russian cruise missiles and Iranian drones,” Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a briefing Tuesday.
At the same time, Ryder confirmed Ukrainian forces thwarted the Russian Kinzhal missile using an American-made Patriot system when asked during the briefing with reporters.
“We can confirm that the Ukrainians took down this Russian missile with a Patriot missile defense system,” Ryder said.
The new $1.2 billion in U.S. military aid will come from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which the U.S. uses to purchase weapons and equipment from the defense industry or from partner nations on behalf of Ukraine.
Because the process involves defense contracts and, when not already on shelves, the need to build the requested items, it can take months or years before it reaches Ukraine.
Because of this, USAI represents longer-term support for Ukraine. For more immediate support, the U.S. has used another means called Presidential Drawdown Authority, which pulls equipment from existing American stockpiles to be sent to Ukraine.
“The United States will continue to work with our allies and our partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer term security assistance requirements,” Ryder said.
The new USAI funds will also go toward artillery rounds, commercial satellite imagery services, and ammunition for anti-drone weapons.
The new $1.2 billion package will take the total USAI funds committed to Ukraine so far in fiscal year 2023 to roughly $5 billion. It will take total U.S. security assistance since the beginning of Russia’s invasion in February of 2022 to nearly $37 billion.
During a press availability at the State Department Tuesday, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was reserved when asked to comment on reports that the U.K. is preparing to send long-range missiles to Ukraine, weaponry Kyiv has long coveted and that the Biden administration has declined to supply.
“I’m sure you understand that anything to do with operational details, about the nature the timing, the scale of our support would be counterproductive for us to discuss publicly,” he said.
But Cleverly staunchly defended the support provided by the U.S. and the speed at which it has reached Ukraine.
“It is the largest donor of the allies. So I wouldn’t want to imply that there’s either competition in between us or anything else,” he said. “We have worked in close coordination from the very start,” he said.
“The natures of our militaries is different,” he continued. “The natures of our political system is different. There are some things that the UK is able to do more quickly because of the nature of our political system. And there are some things that the American system allows them to do different and better. It’s not about always trying to replicate what our allies do.”
(NEW YORK) — A jury on Tuesday found former President Donald Trump liable for battery and defamation in a lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll that claimed Trump raped her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the 1990s then defamed her when he denied the claim in 2022.
Jury members found that Trump did not rape Carroll but sexually abused her, and awarded her a total of $5 million.
“I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS,” Trump posted to his Truth Social platform following the verdict. “THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!”
Here are the top five most consequential moments from the trial.
‘Trump raped me,’ Carroll says
Carroll told jury members that she and Trump were laughing and joking after they ran into one another near the Bergdorf Goodman department store entrance around 1996, and that he asked her to help him buy some lingerie as a gift. Then, she said, he led her into a dressing room, shut the door, shoved her up against a wall, and sexually assaulted her.
“I’m here because Donald Trump raped me,” Carroll testified. “And when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen. He lied and shattered my reputation. And I’m here to try and get my life back.”
It was the first time a former U.S. president had been accused of rape in open court.
The ‘silent generation’
Under cross examination by defense attorney Joe Tacopina, Carroll said she didn’t report the alleged attack because, as a woman born in the 1940s, she’s a member of the “silent generation” that didn’t speak up about such things. The exchange came after Tacopina introduced several of her advice columns for Elle magazine in which she suggested that her readers call police in the event of a sexual assault or threat.
“There were numerous times where you’ve advised your readers to call the police” despite Carroll never reporting her own alleged rape to police, Tacopina said.
“I was born in 1943,” Carroll replied. “I am a member of the silent generation. Women like me were taught to keep our chins up and not complain. The fact that I never went to the police is not surprising for someone my age. I would rather have done anything than call the police.”
Trump doesn’t appear
Trump was not required to appear at the trial, as it was a civil case and not a criminal one. But Tacopina said at the start of the trial that Trump might decide to testify as the trial progressed.
The attorney subsequently informed the court that Trump had decided he would not testify — but then, while golfing in Europe, Trump made remarks suggesting he would return to New York to confront his accuser.
In light of those comments, the judge in the case gave Trump until Sunday to file a motion to reopen the case for the sole purpose of testifying.
“If he has second thoughts, I will at least consider it,” the judge said. But Trump ended up filing no motion, and did not appear at the trial.
The Marla moment
Carroll’s attorneys seized on Trump’s deposition last year when he was shown a 1980s-era photograph of Carroll, her then-husband John Johnson, Trump, and his then-wife Ivana Trump — and he momentarily mistook Carroll for his second wife, Marla Maples.
“That’s Marla, yeah. That’s my wife,” Trump said regarding Carroll, according to the deposition.
“The truth is that E. Jean Carroll, a former cheerleader and Ms. Indiana, was exactly Donald Trump’s type,” Carroll’s attorneys argued in court, referring to Trump’s 2022 Truth Social post calling her allegations “a Hoax and a lie” and saying “This woman is not my type!”
‘Access Hollywood’
Carroll’s attorneys juxtaposed Trump’s mistaken identification og Carroll with his remarks on the infamous 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape, on which he is heard saying about women that “I just start kissing them.”
“You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait,” Trump says on the tape, which was played for the jury. “And when you’re a star they let you do it … You can do anything.”
“Whatever you want,” another voice on the tape is heard saying.
“Grab them by the p—-,” Trump says. “You can do anything.”
“What is Donald Trump doing here?” Carroll’s attorney said regarding the tape. “He’s telling you in his own words how he treats women. It’s his modus operandi.”
(NEW YORK) — A jury has found former President Donald Trump liable for battery and defamation in the E. Jean Carroll case.
Carroll, who brought the lawsuit in November, alleged that Trump defamed her in his 2022 Truth Social post by calling her allegations “a Hoax and a lie” and saying “This woman is not my type!” when he denied her claim that Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s.
The former Elle magazine columnist added a charge of battery under a recently adopted New York law that allows adult survivors of sexual abuse to sue their alleged attacker regardless of the statute of limitations. Trump has denied all allegations that he raped Carroll or defamed her.
The jury awarded Carroll a total of $5 million in the lawsuit. Jury members found that Trump did not rape Carroll but sexually abused her, and awarded damages of $2 million in compensatory damages and $20,000 in punitive damages for battery.
The jury awarded $1 million in damages, $1.7 million for reputation repair, and $280,000 in punitive damages, for defamation.
The jury reached its verdict after just under three hours of deliberations.
Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by about two dozen women, and has denied all such claims. Carroll’s battery allegation was the first to make it before a jury.
Trump called the verdict a disgrace, and a spokesperson for the former president said they would appeal.
“I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS,” he posted to his Truth Social platform. “THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!”
“Make no mistake, this entire bogus case is a political endeavor targeting President Trump because he is now an overwhelming front-runner to once again be elected President of the United States,” a Trump spokesperson said in a statement. “This case will be appealed, and we will ultimately win.”
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, told reporters on her way out of the courthouse, “We are very happy.”
Carroll was seated between two of her attorneys, Kaplan and Shawn Crowley, as the verdict was read. At one point Crowley put her arm around Carroll, who held hands with Kaplan.
Defense attorney Joe Tacopina was seen conferring with co-counsel Chad Siegel and Perry Brandt.
Before deliberations started, Trump posted on social media, “Waiting for a jury decision on a False Accusation where I, despite being a current political candidate and leading all others in both parties, am not allowed to speak or defend myself, even as hard nosed reporters scream questions about this case at me. In the meantime, the other side has a book falsely accusing me of Rape, & is working with the press. I will therefore not speak until after the trial, but will appeal the Unconstitutional silencing of me, as a candidate, no matter the outcome.”
Early in the trial the judge had admonished the defense over Trump’s social media posts about Carroll and her allegations. The judge did not address this most recent post, but previously indicated that if Trump wanted to speak about the case he should testify under oath, which Trump declined to do.
In a civil case jurors are allowed to draw a negative inference when a defendant decides not to testify.
“He just decided not to be here. He never looked you in the eye and denied raping Ms. Carroll. Never did that,” Carroll’s attorney, Michael Ferrara, told jurors during the trial.
Carroll testified during the trial that she ran into Trump near the Bergdorf Goodman entrance and that he asked her to help him buy some lingerie as a gift. The two were laughing and joking, she said, when he led her into a dressing room, shut the door, shoved her up against a wall, and sexually assaulted her.
She told the jury that she first met Trump in 1987 — but she struggled to pinpoint the date that she alleges he attacked her, which she estimated was sometime around 1996.
“And why is there no date to an event as significant as this in someone’s life?” defense attorney Joe Tacopina countered. “It’s not a coincidence. With no date, no month, no year, you can’t present an alibi.”
Carroll’s attorneys seized on Trump’s deposition last year when he was shown a 1980s-era photograph of Carroll, her then-husband John Johnson, Trump, and his then-wife Ivana Trump — and he momentarily mistook Carroll for his second wife, Marla Maples.
“That’s Marla, yeah. That’s my wife,” Trump said regarding Carroll, according to the deposition.
“The truth is that E. Jean Carroll, a former cheerleader and Ms. Indiana, was exactly Donald Trump’s type,” Carroll’s attorneys argued in court.
Carroll’s attorneys juxtaposed Trump’s mistaken identification with his remarks on the infamous 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape, on which he is heard saying about women that “I just start kissing them … I don’t even wait” and that when you’re a star you can “grab them by the p—-.”
“What is Donald Trump doing here?” Carroll’s attorney said. “He’s telling you in his own words how he treats women. It’s his modus operandi.”
The jury also heard from two other women who claimed they had been sexually assaulted by Trump, in what Carroll’s attorneys said showed a pattern of behavior on Trump’s part. Former People magazine writer Natasha Stoynoff testified that she was at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in late 2005 when Trump asked to show her a room in the estate, then closed the door behind her, pushed her against the wall, and started kissing her. She told the jury that she tried to shove him away, and that the alleged encounter ended when a butler entered the room.
Jessica Leeds testified that she was seated next to Trump in the first-class section of a flight to New York in 1979, “when all of a sudden Trump decided to kiss me and grope me.” She said that she freed herself when Trump started putting his hand up her skirt, and went “storming back” to the coach section.
Trump, who chose not to testify in his own defense, has previously denied the allegations from both women, as well as from Carroll.
The defense called no witnesses but Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, told the jury that Carroll’s claim was “an unbelievable work of fiction” and that if the alleged attacker was anyone but Donald Trump, “we’re not here. Not on this story.”
“What they want is for you to hate him enough to ignore the facts,” the attorney said.
“There is no objective evidence to corroborate her claim, including a police report,” Tacopina told the jury. “She never went to the police, because it didn’t happen.”
Tacopina said Carroll “falsely alleged that he raped her,” and that’s why Trump publicly attacked her.
Tacopina said there was no reason for Trump to appear because Carroll’s story was “completely made up” and lacked credibility because she could not pinpoint when the alleged rape occurred.
“And if Donald Trump testified, what could I have asked him?” Tacopina said. “Where were you on some unknown date 27 or 28 years ago?”
Carroll’s lawsuit was her second against Trump related to her rape allegation.
She previously sued Trump in 2019 after the then-president denied her rape claim by telling The Hill that Carroll was “totally lying,” saying, “I’ll say it with great respect: No. 1, she’s not my type. No. 2, it never happened. It never happened, OK?” That defamation suit has been caught in a procedural back-and-forth over the question of whether Trump, as president, was acting in his official capacity as an employee of the federal government when he made those remarks.
If Trump is determined to have been acting as a government employee, the U.S. government would substitute as the defendant in that suit — which means that case would go away, since the government cannot be sued for defamation.
This month’s trial took place as Trump seeks the White House for a third time, while facing numerous legal challenges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, his handling of classified material after leaving the White House, and possible attempts to interfere in Georgia’s 2020 vote. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said last week she would decide whether to file criminal charges against Trump or his allies this summer.
ABC News’ Olivia Rubin contributed to this report.
David Whelan, Paul Whelan’s brother, is shown during an interview with ABC News’ Linsey Davis. — ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Paul Whelan, a former American Marine who has been detained in Russia since 2018, recently had a visit in prison with U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy, who said on Twitter that securing Whelan’s release “remains an absolute priority.”
The visit came weeks after Whelan told his parents in a phone call that he felt “abandoned” and “rattled like never before” in the wake of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s arrest, Whelan’s brother David previously told ABC News.
Both Whelan and Gershkovich have been accused of espionage, which both have denied and the U.S. government considers them wrongfully detained.
In a new interview with ABC News’ Linsey Davis, David Whelan spoke about the details of Tracy’s visit and concerns that his brother’s case is “beginning to languish.”
LINSEY DAVIS: David, thanks so much for joining us once again. Just last week, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Lynn Tracy, was able to meet with your brother at the prison camp where he’s being held. Tell us what you’ve learned from that meeting.
DAVID WHELAN: It sounds like they were able to speak for about 90 minutes, and I think it was a frank discussion. Paul is very appreciative every time a U.S. ambassador comes out to the prison or even consular staff. But this is the second time that a U.S. ambassador has come out to visit him and he values that, and he understands the risk that the ambassador took to come and see him and appreciated that she came to give him a personal message about the efforts that are going on back here in Washington, D.C..
DAVIS: And was she able to report back to you as far as his health, his overall well-being, state of mind?
WHELAN: We heard from Paul. He was able to speak to our parents, and it sounds like he’s stabilized since Mr. Gershkovich’s arrest. I think he is back to focusing on getting through each day, surviving as best he can and hoping that the U.S. government will be able to secure his release.
DAVIS: Your sister also appeared last month at the United Nations Security Council to call for Paul’s release. She got to look Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov directly in the eye. How significant was that moment?
WHELAN: I think that was really important. Elizabeth has done a lot of lobbying of the government. I think even from just trying to get the State Department’s attention four years ago, to be able to now have gotten to the U.N. Security Council and to have been able to make an address there. It’s really valuable, and I think Paul appreciated that really, we are not leaving any stone unturned to try and advocate for him and bring him home.
DAVIS: There’s been talk about a possible deal to get your brother home, a swap that could also include Evan Gershkovich. Is there calls for some optimism in those negotiations?
WHELAN: I don’t think so, not at the moment. We know that Secretary Blinken has spoken about an offer that was made, but it has been sitting there now for four or five months and the Kremlin doesn’t seem that interested in whatever the concession is. So either the US government is going to continue to wait, which means that Paul has to continue to sit in a labor camp for who knows how long or they will come up with other creative strategies. I hope that they’ll come up with creative strategies, and I hope that they’ll come up with something else that will bring Paul home.
DAVIS: President Biden also mentioned Paul at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Are you seeing any meaningful shift in urgency surrounding Paul’s case or do you still have the same concerns about his case languishing?
WHELAN: Oh, absolutely. It was great to see President Biden speak out. We appreciate all of the verbal sentiment of support from the White House, from President Biden, from secretary of state, and so on. But it doesn’t mean that there’s anything moving in Paul’s case at this moment. And I think we do worry that it is beginning to languish. It is getting to that point where in many other wrongful detention cases, like Mark Swidan and Kai Li in China, Siamak Namazi and Emad Shargi in Iran, there comes a time after which the U.S. government isn’t really very effective at bringing people home.
DAVIS: We still continue to hold out hope nonetheless. David, we thank you once again for coming on the show. We’ll of course continue to check in with you and your brother’s case.
Richard E. Cavazos circa 1982 as commanding general of the U.S. Army Forces Command. — U.S. Army
(FORT CAVAZOS, Texas) — The U.S. Army base formerly known as Fort Hood in central Texas was officially changed to Fort Cavazos on Tuesday during a ceremony at the III Armored Corps Headquarters in honor of the first Latino four-star general in the Army, Gen. Richard Edward Cavazos.
Cavazos retired from the Army after 33 years of service in 1984, and died in 2017.
“General Cavazos was known around the Army as a battle proven warrior,” Lt. Gen. Sean Bernabe, Commanding General of III Armored Corps, said at the ceremony. “A soldier’s soldier, as a master trainer, as a military innovator, as a mentor and as a humble servant leader.”
“We are proud to be renaming Fort Hood as Fort Cavazos in recognition of an outstanding American hero, a veteran of the Korea and Vietnam wars and the first Hispanic to reach the rank of four-star general in our Army. General Cavazos’ combat proven leadership, his moral character and his loyalty to his Soldiers and their families made him the fearless yet respected and influential leader that he was during the time he served, and beyond,” Bernabe said. “We are ready and excited to be part of such a momentous part of history, while we honor a leader who we all admire.”
Bernabe explained how Cavazos led his company in Korea through a heavy barrage and assaults on the enemy position three times, as they destroyed vital enemy equipment and personnel. Cavazos remained alone on the enemy outpost to search for missing men while exposed to heavy hostile fire. He located five men who had been wounded in the action and evacuated them one at a time.
After becoming a lieutenant colonel, Cavazos deployed to Vietnam in 1967 where he led the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, according to a statement from the Army. After his service in Vietnam, he was awarded a second Distinguished Service Cross.
The rename of the Army installation is part of a campaign to change the names of nine U.S. Army installations, as recommended by the Naming Commission’s panel to erase symbols that commemorate the Confederate States of America, according to a statement from the Army.
“Let his name and all that it represents inspire us all every single day to live up to his legacy,” Bernabe said.
