Up First from NPR - Navalny's Death, Trump's Penalty, Biden's Influence on Israel

Episode Date: February 17, 2024

Family and allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny say he was murdered. A New York judge ordered Trump Organization leaders to pay $364 million for fraud. President Joe Biden's tough words on Israel raise questions over the extent of his influence.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Kremlin's fiercest critic has died in a Russian prison. Alexei Navalny was just 47. He had been sentenced to 19 years allegedly for extremism, but many observers said it was really for speaking out against the Kremlin. I'm Scott Simon. And I'm Don Gagne, and this is Up First from NPR News. President Biden put the blame for Navalny's death squarely on Vladimir Putin. We don't know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was the

consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did. We'll have more details. And in New York City, a $364 million penalty against the Trump Organization. We'll also talk about President Biden's tough love towards Israel. Please stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend. 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 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. Pro-democracy advocates around the world are in mourning over the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Many suspect the Russian government had something to do with it. We turn to NPR's Charles Maines now in Moscow. Charles, thanks for being with us. Good to be with you, Scott. What do we know about the circumstances of Mr. Navalny's death. We're still just left with this brief statement from Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service, which said that Navalny had fallen ill and lost consciousness after a walk in a prison yard on Friday, and that medics had tried and failed to resuscitate him. But we also know this. So this is Navalny from just a day earlier at a court hearing he participated in by video feed from that same prison. You know, and as I think you can hear, he was in good spirits and he looked healthy. So what changed?

You know, we're all waiting for more information, for example, an autopsy report, which the authorities are in theory required to provide, though obviously transparency is a concern. Charles, what about reaction from Mr. Navalny's supporters and his family? Well, as you know, Scott, Navalny's family and team now acknowledge that Navalny is gone, although they dispute the idea that he, quote, died in prison. They argue he was murdered, just as they,

like President Biden, blame Vladimir Putin personally for his death. Earlier today, Navalny's mother, Lyudmila, together with his lawyer, arrived at the Arctic prison where Navalny was being held and were issued an official notification of death. They were also informed that Navalny's body had been taken away by investigators for an examination at the local morgue, despite demands to hand over his remains to the family. Only now the morgue says it never got a body, so it's not entirely clear where Navalny is right at this moment. In terms of reaction, there were vigils held by Russian and Maghreb communities and supporters across the world last night. Inside Russia, we saw more modest

memorials, not surprising given this is a highly repressive environment and authorities had issued warnings against any gatherings. Yet here in Moscow and other cities, we saw people leave flowers and tributes at monuments to Soviet political repressions, only to see them quickly removed by police, who also detained some 200 mourners. And that's according to a local human rights monitoring group. And what about the response from the Kremlin? Well, the Kremlin spokesman called accusations

that Putin was responsible for Navalny's death, quote, rabid and unacceptable. Russian officials counter Putin had nothing to gain here, even suggesting that Western outrage over Navalny's death was somehow evidence of a conspiracy to stir up trouble ahead of presidential elections here in March. Meanwhile, Putin himself has yet to address Navalny's death, despite being out in front of cameras,

chumming it up with factory workers all day Friday. But let's remember, Putin never acknowledged Navalny by his name, even when he was alive, part of a tactic to treat Navalny as a non-entity in Russian politics, which of course wasn't the case. Navalny mattered enormously. And Charles, remind us about what he meant in Russian society. You know, his political skills were obvious from the beginning. He emerged the leader of this opposition movement for fair elections back in 2011, giving these powerful speeches and nearly won a race to become Moscow's mayor a couple years later. Beyond that, he somehow managed to come up with these inventive ways to participate in Russian politics despite being blacklisted by the state. So banned from TV, he'd launched his own YouTube channel where millions watched these investigations into Kremlin corruption. Banned from the ballot,

he ran a shadow campaign for the presidency that was far more vibrant than those of the so-called real candidates. And you have to remember, he was not only fearless, but he was funny. He would crack a joke no matter what ugliness was thrown at him, including during a poisoning attack in 2020 that nearly killed him, or more recently, these long stints in solitary confinement. And all of this gave Navalny an air of invincibility. I remember once talking to a supporter of his who compared him to Batman. It seemed as though nothing, not even prison, could break him, and that seemed to drive those who put him there crazy. And Paris Charles Mainz in Moscow. Charles, thanks even prison, could break him. And that seemed to drive those who put him there crazy. NPR's Charles Maines in Moscow. Charles, thanks so much for being with us.

Thank you, Scott. The penalty against the Trump Organization stems from a lawsuit alleging fraud. New York State Attorney General Letitia James argued that Trump and his organization inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to get better business deals. The lawsuit struck at the core of Trump's public image as a very wealthy man. NPR politics reporter Ximena Bustillo has been following the case. Ximena, thanks for being with us. Thanks. Break down the bill for us here. What did the judge ultimately decide? New York Judge Arthur Nguyen ordered former President Donald Trump and executives at the Trump Organization to pay over $364 million, handing a win to New York Attorney General Letitia James, who sued Trump and his associates after a three-year investigation.

The breakdown here shows that Trump and his companies owe the bulk of that money, $355 million to be exact. Trump's oldest two sons, Eric and Donald Jr., are each liable for $4 million each. And Allen Weisselberg, who is a former Trump Organization executive, is liable for $1 million. The one thing that is important to note is that this doesn't count interest, which the attorney general's office estimates brings the total to more than $450 million and counting. And it's not just money, right? Right. So the judge also put a temporary limit on Trump and his co-defendants' ability to do business in the Empire State. Trump is prohibited from serving as an officer or director of any New York business or applying for loans

for three years. His sons are limited from similar leadership roles for two years. Weisselberg and a former controller of the Trump Organization, who is also a defendant, are permanently barred from serving in the financial control of any New York corporation or similar business entity in New York state. Again, permanently. The Trump Organization will have to have a new independent director of compliance to establish new protocols and make sure that it's meeting financial obligations. Trump, as expected, did not approve of the decision. He continued to falsely call it election interference, referring to the 2024 election. And his lawyers have vowed to appeal.

This was a busy week for legal challenges overall. Where does Friday's decision fit in at that bigger picture for Mr. Trump? This one stands out in that it was a civil trial related to his businesses. It wasn't criminal and it doesn't relate to an election like there are three others that do. But the ruling does come at a crucial time for Trump, who is the front runner for the Republican presidential nomination for this 2024 contest. This week, we also got a date for what is likely to be Trump's first criminal trial also in New York, and it relates to hush money payments issued during the 2016 election. That trial is set to start here next month. Trump is facing a combined 91 state and federal charges, including two related to his effort to stay in office after

he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden. But the charges haven't done much to dent Trump's popularity really among his base. Instead, the charges appear to have bolstered his credentials and likely setting up a rematch with Biden. And Piers Jimenez-Bustillo, thanks so much for being with us. Thank you. For months, President Biden has offered almost unconditional support for Israel in its war against Hamas. But recently, he described Israel's offensive in Gaza as over the top. The comment raises questions about how much the U.S. has been able to influence Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. NPR Steve Inskeep spoke with Biden's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan.

Steve joins us in our studios now. Steve, thanks so much for being with us. Always glad to be here. Does President Biden assume that by sticking with Israel publicly, he'll have a more sympathetic reception from Netanyahu? And does that seem to be working? They clearly did hope that that would be the case. And in fact, the administration has been explicit about the idea that they would support Israel in public and give advice or warnings where necessary in private. That strategy does not seem to be working all the time. Biden is paying a big political price at home. The United States has suffered in many quarters damage to its reputation because of the way that Israel is conducting its war against Hamas, which attacked Israel on October 7th. The U.S. is the single most important supporter of Israel. But Jake Sullivan said when I was talking with him, there's only so much the

U.S. can do. Let's listen to some of the conversation. The Israeli government's making its own decisions about how it proceeds. And then the United States makes decisions about how we respond. And that's how it's been since the beginning. That's how it will continue to be. And we will work closely with other partners as well to make sure that we are both helping Israel defend itself against the very real threats it faces and stand up for our principles. And that's all we can do. Let's talk about that response then, because Netanyahu has quite publicly said he will not do what you ask on issue after issue after issue. What leverage can you or will you apply to change that? Well, first, I think that that characterization doesn't take into account a number of things that have changed directly because of President Biden's intervention.

Okay, there's not nothing there, Scott. Sullivan credits U.S. diplomacy for a brief pause in the fighting and a hostage release, but a longer ceasefire hasn't been worked out, as you and I are talking. Sullivan says the U.S. worked to get humanitarian aid into Gaza, although he's also been disappointed recently that Israel was blocking shipments of flour. Bigger issue here is establishing a Palestinian state. Netanyahu has said, contrary to Biden's wishes, that that will never happen. Steve, does President Biden have any influence on the Israeli government as the Israeli Defense Force is prepared to invade Rafah? We're going to find out in the days to come. Remember, this is a city where something like 1.5 million Palestinians have taken shelter, and Biden has almost but not quite directly said, no, don't do that. Or here is how Sullivan put it.

We've been clear that this operation should not proceed in the absence of a credible and executable plan to protect civilians, to move them to safety, and once moved to safety, to ensure that they have access to the basic necessities, food, water, shelter, medicine. Do they have a credible plan? So we have not yet seen that, although the Israelis have insisted that they will not proceed until that happens and that they are going to produce such a plan. So that is an ongoing conversation between us and them. It's something they have publicly stated they are committed to, and now we have to see what proceeds next.

Scott, it's very hard for outsiders to see how those conditions could ever be met. And we should note President Biden himself spoke yesterday and said he would much rather see a temporary ceasefire that they're working toward first before any ground invasion of Rafah. And if Israel proceeds anyway? Sullivan indicates the U.S. will respond, but he's making no public threats here still. If there is any warning of consequences to Israel, it's being made privately. And Pierre Stevinsky, thanks so much for being with us. Glad to help. And that's up first for Saturday, February 17th, 2024.

I'm Don Gagné. And I'm Scott Simon. Danny Hensel produced today's podcast with Taylor Haney. Our editors include Andrew Sussman, Tara Neal, Mark Katkoff, and Matthew Sherman. Our director is Michael Radcliffe. Our technical director is Hannah Glovna. We've also had engineering support from Carly Strange, Nisha Hynas, and Phil Edfors. Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor, Sarah Lucy Oliver is our executive producer, and Jim Kane is our deputy managing editor. Tomorrow on Up First, we'll speak with the host of WBUR's podcast, The Gun Machine,

on what the origins of the gun industry had to do with the birth of this country. And for more news, interviews, books, music, even some fun, you can tune into Weekend Edition this weekend, you know where, NPR. Find your station at stations.npr.org.