Up First from NPR - Gaza Post-War Plans, Ohio Prosecutor Misconduct, Comer Shell Company

Episode Date: December 15, 2023

Disagreements emerge between U.S., Israeli, Palestinian and Gulf leaders and activists over who should be in charge of the Gaza Strip after the war. Criminal prosecutors across Ohio broke rules in the courtroom that are supposed to protect the rights of defendants on trial, all in an effort to get convictions. Hunter Biden is being investigated for using his ties to influential people to make business deals and allegedly using shell companies to hide millions of dollars in earnings; GOP congressman James Comer, who is leading the probe, is now accused of doing the same. Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Michael Sullivan, Robert Little, Alice Woelfle and Olivia Hampton.It was produced by Kaity Kline, David West and Lindsay Totty. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Zac Coleman. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Who's supposed to run Gaza when the war is over? It's hard to imagine when thousands are dying and much of the region is rubble. The U.S., Israel and Palestinians disagree on who should take charge of what remains. I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadl and this is Up First from NPR News. Prosecutors in Ohio bared their knuckles to get quick convictions. What did a new investigation find? You'll find other jurisdictions in America which are equally shocking. Also, one of the lawmakers investigating Hunter Biden faces questions of his own.

House Republicans highlighted shell companies linked with the president's son. The Associated Press reports that the head of a House committee has a shell company too. What's going on? Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. Now, Our Change will honor 100 years of the Royal Canadian Air Force and their dedicated service to communities at home and abroad. From the skies to our change, this $2 commemorative circulation coin marks their storied past and promising future. Find the limited edition Royal Canadian Air Force $2 coin today. For Palestinians in Gaza, it's hard to imagine the day after the war,

as thousands are killed and so much of the territory is now rubble. Apparently, it's hard for imagine the day after the war, as thousands are killed and so much of the territory is now rubble. Apparently, it's hard for outside powers to imagine, too. The United States and Israel publicly disagree over who should run the territory next. President Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is in the region discussing that with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. On the question of what happens in Gaza once the military operations are complete, the Israeli government has indicated that it does not have a long-term plan to occupy Gaza and that ultimately the control of Gaza, the administration of Gaza, and the security of Gaza has to transition to the Palestinians. Transition to the Palestinians,

that's the tricky part. The U.S. wants to hand the territory to the Palestinians. Transition to the Palestinians. That's the tricky part. The U.S. wants to hand the territory to the Palestinian Authority, which runs other Palestinian land, while Israelis do not. Let's turn to NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv for more. Good morning, Daniel. Good morning, Leila. So tell us more about the proposals that are being discussed for what happens to Gaza and the Palestinians who live in Gaza when this war is over? A lot of proposals being floated, but no real clear plan. The U.S.

has laid out three main topics. Who is going to be in charge of reconstruction of Gaza, all of the infrastructure and homes and the extensive damage after the war? Who will be in charge of security? Who will patrol Gaza and ensure no attacks on Israel, and who will govern the day-to-day civilian lives in Gaza. There is no plan yet. The U.S. and Israel disagree on the role of the Palestinian Authority. That is the internationally recognized Palestinian leadership. The U.S. wants to see them gradually take over Gaza from Hamas. But I spoke to an advisor to the Israeli prime minister, who said a major condition here is de-radicalization of the Palestinian leadership.

That's what he called it. And he said that current Palestinian leaders cannot play any role in Gaza in the future because they have not condemned the Hamas atrocities of October 7th. So if Israel says the internationally recognized Palestinian leadership is out, then who's left to run Gaza? And do Palestinians get a say here? You know, Palestinian leaders say that any discussion of the future of Gaza should ensure a light at the end of the tunnel and an independent Palestinian state, a political solution to this long running conflict. And Biden's top national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, is meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today in the Occupied West Bank, which just shows that the U.S. does

not want to sideline the current Palestinian leadership right now. Now, before any of this can happen, any proposal can be implemented, the war has to end. Do we know how much longer this is going to go on? Well, Israel and the U.S. have been talking about ramping down what they call Israel's high-intensity offensive in Gaza and going to a more low-intensity, more intelligence-driven raids against specific targets. They're short on specifics, but President Biden has said he wants Israel to be focused on being more careful and saving civilian lives in Gaza. The Israelis are signaling this phase of the war could take another couple of months. All depends on how much they complete their mission of degrading Hamas military capabilities. I will say that the bigger picture here is that both Israel

and the U.S. are worried that this war could expand. We are seeing low-grade war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and also the Houthis in Yemen are firing toward Israel. And PR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Thank you for your reporting, Daniel. You're welcome. Criminal prosecutors across Ohio broke rules in the courtroom that are supposed to protect the rights of defendants on trial, all in an effort to get convictions. That's the finding of an examination by NPR News and Columbia Journalism Investigations. NPR correspondent Cheryl W. Thompson is here to give us the details. Hi, Cheryl.

Good morning. Good morning. So what did your investigation uncover? So we found that scores of prosecutors across Ohio had violated standards meant to preserve a defendant's civil rights in criminal trials. We analyzed four years' worth of state appellate court decisions and found improper conduct by those prosecutors, including things like failing to disclose evidence or making inappropriate comments to the jury in closing arguments. But we also found that 13 of them did so more than once, and none of them was disciplined by the state Supreme Court. In fact, two of those prosecutors are now judges. These standards are there to ensure people get fair trials, right? So that didn't happen here. In the cases we found, Layla, no. We reported on one case of a man facing six counts of abduction for taking his own grandchildren over the holidays,

and the judge later questioning why he was even charged. But at trial, the prosecutor misstated the legal standard required for conviction and the man was found guilty. And that prosecutor, according to our investigation, has been cited seven times by appellate judges for improper conduct. Of course, that's not how the system is supposed to work. Julia Bates is the prosecutor for Lucas County, home to Toledo. Winning at all costs isn't the answer. We have to defend not just the victims, but we defend the defendants too, because they're part of the system. We have to make sure that their rights are not trampled in the process. Now, your investigation focused on one place over a period of four years. Is there evidence, though, that this is a problem that's more widespread?

Right. Our investigation focused on Ohio, but there are cases of it happening elsewhere. Here's Bennett Gershman, a former prosecutor who now teaches at Pace University Law School in New York. He called the pattern of prosecutors acting improperly in cases in Ohio a microcosm of the criminal justice system in states across the country. Once you start focusing on these prosecutors, you can learn a lot about the prosecutorial psychology mentality and why prosecutors engage in unethical behavior and why they consistently get away with it.

You'll find other jurisdictions in America which are equally shocking. And we found cases around the country that bear that out in places like Tennessee, Missouri, and New York. We found instances of more prosecutors being rebuked for things like withholding evidence or misrepresenting the law in opening or closing arguments. And legal scholars also told us the number of known misconduct cases is a vast undercount. Only about 3% of criminal cases ever make it to trial, and only a fraction of those are appealed. And of course, a lot of defendants don't have the resources to challenge their convictions, even if the prosecutors did break the rules. NPR investigative correspondent Cheryl W. Thompson,

thank you for your reporting, Cheryl. You're welcome. And you can find more on this story at NPR.org. The president's son, Hunter Biden, is being investigated for his alleged use of shell companies to hide money from foreign interests and undisclosed sources. Shell Company sounds ominous, a firm that is often created to hide someone's ownership or financial interest in a property. Now, the Associated Press reports that a leading investigator of the Bidens is connected with a shell company. The AP bases its findings on interviews and records involving real estate in James Comer's home state of Kentucky. Comer has denied the characterization in an interview on Fox. To say that it's a shell company is either a complete lie that some editor and publisher allowed the AP to do, or it's a perfect example of financial illiteracy.

I'm joined now by Brian Slodisco, the AP reporter who wrote that story. Good morning. Good morning. Thanks for having me. So, Brian, we just heard Comer there dismissing your story outright. Tell us what you did uncover about his business assets in Kentucky and the sources behind it. Right. Well, what's important to understand about James Comer is that he is a vast landowner in his home county in southern Kentucky. He owns about 16,000 acres of land.

And all of those he painstakingly details on his congressional financial disclosures, which all members of Congress are required to submit. That is, except this six acres of land he co-owns with a donor and are held through a limited liability company called Farm Team Properties. That is the exception. And that property, because it is held by this company, he does not have to reveal what the assets held by it are on his financial disclosures. So what potential violations of House rules or campaign finance rules or any rules is Comer violating if this is all true? Well, in this case, all members of Congress are required to reveal any asset they hold in a shell company or a limited liability company if its value is greater than $1,000. Now, in this case, the property, it's the one asset that we know of that is held in this company from property records. We learned that, you know, it's soared in value. Initially,

he valued it at between $50,000 and $100,000. Now the company is worth as much as a million dollars, and we just don't know what is held in there. Now, James Comer is leading this probe into Hunter Biden. And the big takeaway in your story is that the accusations that are being leveled against President Biden's son are very similar to what you've reported on Comer. If you could talk about that. Yeah, well, he has accused Hunter Biden of using various companies of his to collect money for legal services or consulting fees. And the reality is that the company that he has is structured and functions in a very similar way. And it enables Comer to, in this case, avoid disclosure of the assets that he holds. How are other lawmakers responding to what you found? We certainly heard what Comer thinks.

Well, I mean, in the hyper-partisan atmosphere of Washington, it falls out along pretty predictable lines. But, you know, Democrats have tutted Comer over this. They've said, well, well, you know, what do we have here? And so that has provoked a response from them just because they feel like it's a case where the pot is calling the kettle black. AP reporter Brian Slow Disco on his reporting. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you for having me.

And that's Up First for Friday, December 15th. I'm Layla Faldin. And I'm Steve Inskeep. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Michael Sullivan, Robert Little, Alice Wolfley, and Olivia Hampton. It was produced by Katie Klein, David West, and Lindsay Totti. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott, and our technical director is Zach Coleman.

Join us here tomorrow. And don't forget, Up First airs on Saturday, too. Aisha Roscoe and Scott Simon have the news. It'll be here in this feed.