PBS NewsHour full episode, Feb. 14, 2022
JUDY WOODRUFF: Good evening. I'm Judy Woodruff. On the "NewsHour" tonight: the crisis intensifies. The U.S. relocates its embassy operations out of Kiev, as Russia's aggression toward Ukraine destabilizing the region before an expected invasion. Then.
A controversial decision. The Olympic committee allows a Russian figure skater to compete, despite her earlier testing positive for a banned substance, but withhold medals until further review. And courting justice. We examine the life and career of one of the judges on President Biden's short list for the Supreme Court vacancy. MARGARET RUSSELL, Santa Clara University School of Law: Her experience as a public defender, that is an unusual addition, and I think a valuable perspective, that could be on the court.
JUDY WOODRUFF: All that and more on tonight's "PBS NewsHour." (BREAK) JUDY WOODRUFF: Today in Moscow, Russia hinted that diplomacy could continue over the crisis in Ukraine. And the German chancellor visited the capital, Kyiv, ahead of a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin tomorrow. But could any of this diplomacy forestall a Russian invasion? The Russian military is still increasing its preparations for war.
Again tonight, Nick Schifrin has our report. NICK SCHIFRIN: Near the Belarus-Ukraine border, Russia is preparing its troops, jets, and tanks. U.S. officials say those troops are in a heightened readiness compared to even a few days ago and fear a military campaign could start any day. Until then, there's still diplomacy.
In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky hosted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. OLAF SCHOLZ, German Chancellor (through translator): Further military aggression against Ukraine would have serious political, economic and geostrategic consequences for Russia. NICK SCHIFRIN: Today, Germany sent additional soldiers and vehicles to Lithuania to bolster NATO's eastern flank. But Germany has refused to provide Ukraine weapons.
And, in public, Scholz will not threaten the Russian-German gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 if Russia invades. OSTAP KRYVDYK, Activist, Movement Against Capitulation: He should sanction Nord Stream 2, so Putin would not be able to blackmail Europe with energy. NICK SCHIFRIN: Scholz will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow. Today, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Putin that diplomacy was still possible. SERGEY LAVROV, Russian Foreign Minister (through translator): Being the head of the Foreign Ministry, I must say that there is always a chance. The German chancellor is coming tomorrow.
It seems to me that our options are far from exhausted, but they should not continue indefinitely. NICK SCHIFRIN: But the U.S. is still preparing for the worst. Today, the U.S. closed its Kyiv embassy entirely and moved operations to the western city of Lviv, a decision that Zelensky criticized. VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, Ukrainian President (through translator): It's a big mistake that some embassies moved to Western Ukraine. It's their decision, but Western Ukraine doesn't exist.It's a united Ukraine.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Zelensky has taken pains to urge calm, but there are signs of Ukraine preparing for invasion. And Ukraine's military launched its own exercises. U.S. officials fear Moscow will use that training to claim a Ukrainian attack on Russian troops or Russian allies. JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. National Security Adviser: The Russian media has been laying the groundwork for this publicly by trying to condition their public that some kind of attack by the Ukrainians is imminent.
NICK SCHIFRIN: That is evident on the Web site of R.T., formerly known as Russia Today, stories about British-trained -- quote -- "saboteurs" planning attacks and American mercenaries preparing a provocation using chemical weapons. R.T.'s campaign is global. R.T. Spanish reports similar stories.
And, in December, Putin said anti-Russian sentiment in Eastern Ukraine could kill Russian allies. VLADIMIR PUTIN, Russian President (through translator): I must also speak about Russophobia as the first step towards genocide. NICK SCHIFRIN: And that leads to discussions on Russian media about the military needing to fight a defensive war in Ukraine, including by R.T.'s editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan. MARGARITA SIMONYAN, Editor in Chief, R.T. (through translator): Russians will not fight Ukrainians.
Russians will defend other Russians and Ukrainians like them. NICK SCHIFRIN: In a sea of Kremlin-influenced media, TV Rain is an island of independence. Masha Borzunova hosts the show "Fake News" that calls out Russian state media propaganda.
MASHA BORZUNOVA, News Anchor, TV Rain (through translator): It is different speculations and manipulations around the topic of Ukraine. That Russia is the most harmless country in the world and that, if anything happens, Russia is ready to respond. NICK SCHIFRIN: Russian media portrays the Ukrainian government as American-funded Nazis, an attempt to rally Russians with nationalist pride against a common enemy. MASHA BORZUNOVA (through translator): These are constant parallels with the Second World War that, right now, there are Nazis in charge of the Ukrainian authorities, and it's them, not Ukrainians, that the Russian military will fight if something happens.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Manipulated Russian media stories that help make the case for war aren't new. In May 2014, dozens of pro-Russian separatists died in Odessa, Ukraine. Russian media exaggerated the attack, even using an actress to play a victim.
We know she was an actress because she appeared in unrelated pro-Russian stories as three entirely different people. TV Rain isn't even on TV anymore, after cable providers stopped airing its content. In all, the Kremlin has targeted more than a dozen critical newsrooms. MASHA BORZUNOVA (through translator): By diverting attention from domestic problems to problems in Ukraine, it is as if the state TV presenter is asking us, do you want the same thing to happen here? Almost all independent media in Russia have been declared foreign agents. Yes, it is getting harder, but TV Rain is still an independent channel, and I hope it will stay that way.
NICK SCHIFRIN: For more on all of this, we turn to Andrew Weiss. He worked on Russian affairs in both the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations. He is now vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Andrew Weiss, welcome back to "NewsHour." We will get to disinformation in a second, but let's talk about the troops on the border. U.S. officials tell me that those troops are increasing their readiness even in the last few days. But does Lavrov's diplomatic reference today provide any kind of off-ramp? ANDREW WEISS, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: So, the Russian government has been negotiating performatively.
The issues that Russia has put on the table are ideas and assurances that it knows it can't get. And the West, for its part, is also acting performatively, because we're in a situation similar to where you have a person who's taken hostages inside a bank. You want to keep them talking. You want to keep them on the phone. So, in the West's view, the best outcome here would be endless diplomatic discussions.
I wouldn't focus on what Sergey Lavrov said. I would focus on Vladimir Putin said. He repeated something today that he said back in December, where he basically said, if all the West is trying to do is draw us into an open-ended conversation that goes nowhere, that's a real problem.
NICK SCHIFRIN: And, certainly, we have seen a lot of calls, a lot of visits from Western leaders. As far as you can tell, that's more about buying time than actually ongoing negotiations? ANDREW WEISS: So, I'm all in favor of having as many Western emissaries go into Russia all the time. That would be great. And tomorrow will be the German chancellor, Scholz's turn. The issues here is that what Russia wants is, he wants to -- sorry -- what Putin wants is, he doesn't want an independent, sovereign Ukraine. And what we're seeing through all this discussion about NATO, and why was NATO ever expanded, and is there a threat to Russia, it's a really good reflection of how effective the Russians have been in making us talk about these issues on their terms.
We haven't been talking about the incredible hardship and pain that Russia has caused through its military activities and other pressure against Ukraine over the last years. We have only been talking about whether this kind of theoretical idea of Ukraine joining the alliance sometime in the far distant future is a threat to Russia. That's a framing that's very advantageous for the Russians. And it really sort of completely cancels out the things that Russia has done over the last eight years.
NICK SCHIFRIN: U.S. officials have been warning about a Russian false flag, essentially a Russian fake story or even an act in Eastern Ukraine that could create the provocation for war. And we have highlighted some examples of disinformation that's currently in the Russian media. Are those stories in the Russian media effective at conditioning the Russian public perhaps ahead of war? ANDREW WEISS: So, I'm concerned that the sort of general argument that people are focused on is the idea that there's this drumbeat in the Russian media pulling the Russian people towards this war frenzy.
Most average Russians have really tuned out the Ukraine issue, and long ago basically have either decided this is a horrible issue, they'd rather not learn more about it, or they had bought into this Kremlin idea that Russia is being surrounded and victimized and that the U.S. is using countries like Ukraine to put pressure on Russia. I have no doubt that, in the event of a provocation, we would see some of these outlandish claims like the ones you mentioned in your report earlier, for example, the idea that Americans are bringing chemical weapons to the Donbass. All those kinds of ideas are completely, transparently false. But it doesn't mean the Kremlin won't try to use something equally flimsy to justify military action. NICK SCHIFRIN: As we have seen the Kremlin do in the past.
Their messages aren't new. But what is new, to a certain extent, is the U.S. trying to highlight them, trying to call out these plans for false flags, for example, which the U.S. has called out multiple times. Does that have an impact, calling out what the U.S. says are the Russian plans?
ANDREW WEISS: So, there's no doubt that, by trying to put Vladimir Putin a little bit in the hot seat, he may adjust his plans. He may make some sort of tactical adjustment. But Vladimir Putin here is the person who has all the leverage. He's the one who has the military tools. He has the geographical proximity. And he has this kind of personal quest to take over Ukraine.
So, the United States has only a limited amount of capability here to either slow him down or disrupt what he's doing. It's an admirable effort. But it's really hard to embarrass someone likely Vladimir Putin, who, after all, is responsible for so many problems, whether it was the shoot-down of a civilian jet airliner in 2014, or the use of a military-grade nerve agent to try to assassinate Russia's leading opposition figure, Alexei Navalny, in summer of 2020.
It is really hard to embarrass the Kremlin. They have a tendency to out-brazen and to basically deny everything. I don't expect that to change in this very serious crisis. NICK SCHIFRIN: Andrew Weiss, thank you very much.
ANDREW WEISS: Thank you. JUDY WOODRUFF: In the day's other news: The government of Canada declared an emergency, targeting demonstrators who have tied up the capital city of Ottawa and critical border crossings. John Yang reports. JOHN YANG: After weeks of disruption across Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked emergency powers for the first time in peacetime today, in a bid to halt anti-vaccine protests, including giving the government the authority to prohibit public assembly and some travel.
JUSTIN TRUDEAU, Canadian Prime Minister: The federal government has invoked the Emergencies Act to supplement provincial and territorial capacity to address the blockades and occupation. The police will be given more tools to restore order in places where public assemblies can constitute illegal and dangerous activities, such as blockades and occupations, as seen in Ottawa, the Ambassador Bridge, and elsewhere. JOHN YANG: The move comes after police cleared the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, towing vehicles and arresting dozens to reopen the crucial link in cross-border commerce for the auto industry. But from Ottawa to British Columbia, truckers and others still blocked crossings at major trade routes and closed businesses in city-centers. KAI, Protester: The government's been misstepping this entire time. They have been enforcing tyrannical measures on people.
They have destroyed families. They have destroyed their incomes. People have lost their homes. JOHN YANG: What started as a protest against a requirement that Canadian truckers to be vaccinated has spiraled into a larger movement voicing a more general frustration against pandemic-related restrictions. It's also been a hotbed for conservative and far-right activism.
A recent poll shows the demonstrations are a vocal minority in Canada, with almost two thirds of those surveyed saying they oppose them. SHANNON THOMAS, Resident of Ottawa: It's just I feel like I'm living in a different country, like I'm in the States. It just makes me really sad to see all these people waving Canadian flags, acting like patriots, when, really, it's kind of the most sad and embarrassing thing I have ever seen. JOHN YANG: Today, Ontario's premier announced the province would no longer require proof of vaccination to enter indoor spaces beginning in March. He insisted it had nothing to do with the protests. DOUG FORD, Premier of Ontario, Canada: We're moving in this direction because it's safe to do so.
Today's announcement is not because of what's happening in Ottawa or Windsor, but despite it. JOHN YANG: But the demonstrators' persistence has moved Trudeau to call on sweeping, rarely used powers, which some say could further inflame anti-government sentiments. For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm John Yang. JUDY WOODRUFF: In New York today, a federal judge announced that he will dismiss Sarah Palin's libel suit against The New York Times. He said the former Alaska governor failed to show that The Times acted out of malice when it falsely linked her statements to a mass shooting. Still, the judge will let the jury continue deliberating.
He said the panel's verdict will likely play into any appeal by Palin. Federal prosecutors in Minneapolis have rested their case today in the trial of three former police officers accused of violating George Floyd's rights. The government argued the men did nothing to prevent Floyd's murder by a fourth officer in May of 2020. The defense now begins its case. The federal hate-crimes trial of three white men for killing Ahmaud Arbery got under way with opening statements today in Georgia. Prosecutors alleged the men chased and shot Arbery because he was Black.
The defense argued they focused on potential theft, not race. The defendants were already been convicted of state murder charges and sentenced to life in prison. A legal ruling dominated the Winter Olympics today.
A sports arbitration body cleared Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva to go on competing while her doping case proceeds. The 15-year-old tested positive for a banned drug last December. Today, the president of the World-Anti Doping Agency voiced outrage that no one is being punished.
WITOLD BANKA, President, World-Anti Doping Agency: This is my opinion, that the doping of children is evil and unforgivable. And the doctors, the coaches and -- or other support personnel who are found to have provided performance-enhancing drugs to minors should be banned for life. JUDY WOODRUFF: The International Olympic Committee says no medals will be given for any event that Valieva medals in until her case is resolved. Meanwhile, in today's competition, American Kaillie Humphries won gold in the inaugural monobob.
That is a one-woman bobsled event. There's word that the 22-year mega-drought in the American West is now the worst in at least 1,200 years. Yes, you heard that right, 1,200. A study published today in the journal "Nature Climate Change" finds last year in particular was one of the driest ever recorded in the West.
The authors conclude that human-caused climate change accounts for more than 40 percent of the dry conditions. And on Wall Street today, jitters over Ukraine kept investors on edge. The Dow Jones industrial average lost nearly 172 points to close at 34566.
The Nasdaq was virtually unchanged. The S&P 500 slipped 17. Still to come on the "NewsHour": Tamara Keith and Amy Walter weigh the latest political news; the Super Bowl halftime show sparks more conversations about the NFL and race; a new museum exhibit chronicles how love has been depicted in art through the ages; plus much more. Despite being allowed to compete in more events this week, Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva finds herself surrounded by controversy and criticism at the Beijing Olympics.
A drug test in December that she failed has jeopardized Russia's gold medal in team figure skating, and a final decision on all of this could take months. William Brangham has more. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: For more on this entire scandal, I am joined again by Christine Brennan from USA Today, who helped break some of this most recent story. Christine, always great to see you.
I wonder if you could start at the beginning here. This young skater, who is, by all accounts, one of the greatest ice skaters of all time, she tests positive back in December for a banned drug. And yet we all have been seeing her on our TV screens performing at this incredibly high level. How is it that that happened? CHRISTINE BRENNAN, USA Today: Well, William, that's a great question, and a question the Russians will be answering, because the test was December 25. And it is not announced until February 8.
That's just extraordinary. You would want to make sure you knew if your athletes were positive or negative for doping before you send them to the Olympics. But that's what happened. She competed and was a star in the team competition that Russia won the gold medal last week. And then this news comes out, and that -- all of a sudden, there's no medal ceremony, because they -- everyone now is starting to investigate.
This whole case goes to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. It's kind of like the Supreme Court for the Olympic Games, sets up shop at every Olympics. And, today, CAS -- C-A-S -- ruled that she would be eligible to compete. So, Kamila Valieva is -- then gets that opportunity to compete in the Olympics, in the women's competition, where she's favored to win, as you alluded to, Tuesday and Thursday. One last little piece of news. Today, the International Olympic Committee comes back and says, well, if you're competing, there's not going to be a medal ceremony, which, of course, calls into question her eligibility and the fact that the IOC thinks it may well be the case that, when all is said and done, we find out that that doping violation is enough that they would have to reorder the medals.
So, no medal ceremonies for her, which is highly unusual. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And, as you wrote in your column today, this certainly -- I mean, this whole sort of strange Kabuki of where she competes, but if she medals or she wins, that we have to pretend that that's not happening until this other court rules, that this does an incredible disservice to all the other athletes who aren't in any way tainted by a drug doping scandal. CHRISTINE BRENNAN: Oh, without a doubt. And, of course, this Russian issue has been haunting the Olympic Games since 2014.
And the IOC has never really punished the Russians. And so, now it has exploded on them, with Russian doping once again front and center. So, the U.S. team, in the team competition, won the silver medal, which was a tremendous achievement. They will not be able to celebrate that on the medal stand here, same with Japan winning the bronze. The concern of officials who I have talked to, William, is that, if they went ahead with that ceremony, Russia getting the gold, U.S. in silver, and then Japan bronze, well, when
the Court of Arbitration for Sport takes us up again, which they will on the entire merits of the case -- again, it gets very involved -- it could well be that the Russians would lose that gold medal and the U.S. would move up to the gold. So, instead of having the ceremony, the International Olympic Committee does not want to have that embarrassment. But then what happens is, Nathan Chen and all of his teammates don't get a chance to be on that medal stand.
And that is a real shame. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee called it devastating. But that is where we are because of Russia's misbehavior. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Can you help us understand? The drug that she tested positive for that's a banned substance, what is it, and what does it theoretically help an athlete do that gives them an unfair edge? CHRISTINE BRENNAN: Yes. It's called trimetazidine, or TMZ, and it is a banned substance. It is -- you cannot get it in the United States.
It's banned both in competition and out. It increases blood flow to the heart, and it is seen as something that can really help with endurance for the athlete and also prevent fatigue. It's supposed to treat angina and heart issues. And, of course, the question would be, why would a 15-year-old need a drug for angina? And so -- and then there's the other part of this that I think it's important to mention. She is 15. And there's a lot of sympathy out there for her and the fact that, of course, now the adults in her life, her coach and her -- the doctors and others, are going to be investigated by both the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency for this very reason.
What were they doing and if they, in fact, gave this illegal banned substance to a 15-year-old? WILLIAM BRANGHAM: I noticed today that Sha'Carri Richardson, the fabulous American sprinter who was banned from the Tokyo Olympics for admittedly using marijuana after her mother died -- marijuana, I have -- my understanding is, has no performance-enhancing benefits, and yet she was banned -- is asking, how is this possible that this woman, this young woman is competing, while I get banned for doing something that doesn't even help me? CHRISTINE BRENNAN: It's a huge issue. And this is a conversation that's happening all around the world with athletes, as they react so negatively to this decision allowing Valieva to be able to continue to compete. The one -- one certain point here would be that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, with Richardson, followed the rules. It was heartbreaking to them, but they followed the rules.
What's going on with Valieva, the Russians basically aren't following the rules. They just decided, hey, we're going to let her skate. Most of these countries would be sending the athlete home in shame. Not Russia. They are trumpeting her and, again, using the 15-year-old for their purposes, which is shameful and truly awful to see. But that's Russia, and that's why they get in trouble, I think, really, you can safely say, William, that the worst state-sponsored doping since the East Germans of 50 or 60 years ago.
And yet here is Russia, it looks, at least for right now, getting away with it again. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Christine Brennan of USA Today, thank you so much for your time and for your journalism. CHRISTINE BRENNAN: Thank you, William. JUDY WOODRUFF: President Biden plans to personally interview potential nominees to the Supreme Court this week, and likely among them will be federal judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Jackson isn't new to Supreme Court consideration. She was seen as a longshot pick back in 2016, when former President Obama was looking to fill a vacancy. This go-round, she's seen as a leading contender.
Geoff Bennett has this report on how she got here. JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, D.C. Court of Appeals: And I'm even-handedly applying the law in every case. GEOFF BENNETT: Ketanji Brown Jackson has a resume seemingly tailor-fit for the moment, Harvard grad, Supreme Court clerk, and a federal judge with a deep history in public service. JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: There is a direct line from my defender service to what I do on the bench. GEOFF BENNETT: D.C. born and Miami-raised, Jackson stood out early, excelling in high
school as class president and on the debate team. Even then her goal was clear. She's quoted in her senior yearbook, saying: "I want to go into law and eventually have a judicial appointment." Her teenage years were key to achieving that, as she put it in 2017. JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: It was my high school experience as a competitive speaker that taught me how to lean in, despite the obstacles.
GEOFF BENNETT: With honors degrees from Harvard and Harvard Law, Jackson scored three federal clerkships, including one under the justice she may now replace. JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Justice Breyer plucked me from obscurity and gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. NEAL KATYAL, Former Acting U.S. Solicitor General: And I will say she is adored among the Breyer clerk family. GEOFF BENNETT: She made a lasting impression, said fellow Breyer clerk and former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal. NEAL KATYAL: She is fearless.
And, also, she's a real person. And, sometimes, that's not always true with Supreme Court justices, who live in an elite, rarefied atmosphere. But she's a judge who's never forgotten the human side of judging. GEOFF BENNETT: She'd seen that human side up close, with family on both sides of the justice system, her brother working for the Baltimore Police Department, and her uncle serving life for a cocaine conviction.
JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Justice demands this result. GEOFF BENNETT: She worked to understand and improve the system as a public defender and as vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. MARGARET RUSSELL, Santa Clara University School of Law: That is an unusual addition and I think a valuable perspective. GEOFF BENNETT: Margaret Russell is a constitutional law professor who says Jackson's criminal defense background sets her apart.
MARGARET RUSSELL: There are many former prosecutors who are already on the bench. But what's interesting about a public defender, and really quite rare on the court -- it's been a couple of decades -- is that focus on the indigent defendant, someone who is really lacking an opportunity, often despised, often overlooked. GEOFF BENNETT: On the Sentencing Commission, Jackson continued that work, fighting for more equitable drug penalties.
JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: There is no federal sentencing provision that is more closely identified with unwarranted disparity and perceived systemic unfairness than the 100-1 crack-powder penalty distinction. GEOFF BENNETT: That was the first of three Senate confirmations for Jackson. In 2012, she was nominated to the federal bench in Washington, D.C., introduced by then-Congressman Paul Ryan, who's related to Jackson by marriage. FMR. REP.
PAUL RYAN (R-WI): But my praise for Ketanji's intellect, for her character, for her integrity, it's unequivocal. She's an amazing person. GEOFF BENNETT: She earned a reputation on the district court for being thorough and methodical. SANCHI KHARE, Former Clerk For Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson: You can tell she has that speech and debate background, because she likes to engage with the parties.
GEOFF BENNETT: Sanchi Khare and Neha Sabharwal clerked for Jackson, and say they were struck by her work ethic. NEHA SABHARWAL, Former Clerk For Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson: One thing that she would tell us when I was working for her is that you can't always expect to be the smartest person in the room, but you can promise to be the hardest working. And she truly lives by that philosophy. GEOFF BENNETT: And by the warm welcome she extended SANCHI KHARE: And she came out of her office, huge smile, gave me a huge hug, and told me how excited she was that I would be working for her. And that sort of set the tone for the rest of my clerkship experience. NEHA SABHARWAL: A memory that I had, that I still have of her is this relay race in which several D.C. Circuit and DDC chambers participated.
And at the judge's suggestion, we made matching T-shirts and set up a training schedule and lined up everyone in chambers to participate, because she just has so much spirit for everything that she does, and her diligence is really contagious. GEOFF BENNETT: It was there on the district court that Jackson sentenced more than 100 people and penned some of her best-known opinions. In 2017, she presided over the so-called Pizzagate conspiracy case, delivering a four-year prison sentence for a man who fired his gun in a D.C. pizza shop, wrongly believing it was home to a child sex ring. And, in 2019 she ordered that former Trump White House counsel Don McGahn comply with a congressional subpoena during the Russia investigation.
Siding against the Trump administration, she plainly wrote: "Presidents are not kings." SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): One thing is clear. The 120-page ruling had a purpose. GEOFF BENNETT: It came up at her third Senate appearance, this one for the D.C. Court of Appeals, seen as a tryout for a Supreme Court hearing.
JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: I am both humbled and very grateful to be here once again. GEOFF BENNETT: Republicans took aim at Jackson's public defender clients. SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AR): Have you ever represented a terrorist at Guantanamo Bay? JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: About 16 years ago, when I was a federal public defender.
GEOFF BENNETT: And her identity. SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): What role does race play, Judge Jackson, in the kind of judge that you have been and the kind of judge that you will be? JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: I don't think that race plays a role in the kind of judge that I have been and that I would be. GEOFF BENNETT: Behind her at those hearings her husband, Dr. Patrick Jackson, and one of their two daughters.
The pair met in college and were, as she says, an unlikely match at first. JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: He and his twin brother are, in fact, six-generation Harvard. By contrast, I am only the second generation in my family to go to any college.
And I'm fairly certain that if, you traced my ancestry back past my grandparents, who were raised in Georgia, by the way, you would find that my ancestors were slaves on both sides. MAN: The yeas are 53. The nays are 44. The nomination is confirmed. GEOFF BENNETT: She was ultimately confirmed with 53 votes, all 50 Democrats, plus Republican Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Lindsey Graham.
That put Jackson, now 51 years old, in the seat formerly held by another Supreme Court hopeful. BARACK OBAMA, Former President of the United States: Today, I am nominating Chief Judge Merrick Brian Garland to join the Supreme Court. GEOFF BENNETT: Before then-President Obama made that decision in 2016, Jackson's 11-year-old daughter wrote in with her own suggestion. JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: "Dear Mr. President, while you are considering judges to fill Justice
Scalia's seat on the Supreme Court, I would like to add my mother, Ketanji Brown Jackson, of the District Court to the list. GEOFF BENNETT: Six years later it seems President Biden might be listening. For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Geoff Bennett. JUDY WOODRUFF: A Supreme Court vacancy -- we just heard about it -- an intraparty fight for control of the GOP, and a potential crisis in Ukraine.
As we do every Monday, let's look at the political stakes of this busy week with Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter and Tamara Keith of NPR. So, hello to both of you. And I do want to begin with Geoff Bennett's report just now on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Amy, this is one of three -- we believe she is one of the three finalists President Biden's talking to this week. As the White House thinks about who the pick is going to be, aside from clearly what kind of justice they're going to be, what are the political considerations? AMY WALTER, The Cook Political Report: That's right. I think it's timing and impact.
So how quickly does this get through the process? Obviously, there are a lot of Democrats who say, we need this to go as quickly as possible. We can't waste any time. As we have seen already, there's one Democratic senator for who, for health reasons, is out for the next couple of weeks. Democrats can't afford any other things like that happening, having any vacancies among their own party.
So that's one reason for the speed. The other is to get a win. The president would really like to have something to be able to say as quickly as possible that they get it done. Of course, the risk of going too quickly is that you maybe don't do as good of vetting as you could have or should have.
And there are gaps there. But I think then the next thing, as I said about the impact, what impact is this going to have on the election? The fact that this takes place as quickly as possible also means that, by the time we hit Election Day, this is probably really far back in the rearview mirror. It's not right on voters' minds, which a lot of Democrats would like it to be on voters minds, that the president followed through on a promise he made on the campaign trail. But we also know that Republicans run a risk too of overreaching, that the impact of going after her, whoever this woman may be that gets appointed, could end up backfiring and really engaging and enraging Democratic partisans and turning off swing voters. JUDY WOODRUFF: So, Tam, how do you look at what -- and based on your reporting -- at what the White House is thinking about it as it makes this very consequential decision? TAMARA KEITH, National Public Radio: The White House is being very public about being deliberative, about the president meeting with members of the Senate from both parties to talk about it, about considering a wide range of candidates, the White House putting out there that he was considering a wider range of candidates than much of our reporting indicated they actually were. And part of that is simply no White House wants to make a mistake on what is one of the bigger decisions that a president makes in terms of a nomination, the biggest nomination a president can make.
Nobody wants -- no president wants it to blow up. But the numbers are such that it is unlikely that this is going to be a big fight. Republicans have signaled they aren't really in for a big fight.
And so it truly is just a function of finding someone who will handle herself well in meetings with senators and in hearings. And most of the people that are being seriously considered have already been confirmed to lower court judgeships. JUDY WOODRUFF: And just quickly to both of you. Amy, how much does it matter to the White House whether Republican votes are part of this, the final vote? AMY WALTER: Well, I think it would be helpful for a president who campaigned on being a unifier and has seen in the last year or so opinions about that unification or his ability to unify really trending very far down from where he started. And I do think it likely benefits Republicans as well. Getting in a big ugly fight over Supreme Court nominee doesn't necessarily help Republicans.
And it could help engage -- as I said, engage the Democrats in terms of election year enthusiasm. JUDY WOODRUFF: Tam, I want to turn you to the other -- one of the other big questions we have today is, what we're seeing is, in the Republican Party, what has been former President Trump's apparent firm, unquestioned hold on his party. Now we're seeing a rift open between him, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in particular, on who should be the Republican nominee in some of these key races for 2022. Is one side or another clearly -- clearly going to have the advantage this year? TAMARA KEITH: In terms of the rift in the Republican Party, I think the midterms could begin to settle it, only if the Trump picks, the people that he's endorsed -- and he has endorsed people up and down the ballot, not quite down to dogcatcher, but just about, depending on the state.
And the big question is, will the Trump picks, will the people that he has said he wants, will they ultimately get the Republican nomination in these -- in these various races? And will they win in November? And if the people he's endorsed don't perform well, that might give an opening to people like Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, who could then say, maybe Trump isn't all-powerful. But, right now, Trump's power is in the belief of everyone in the Republican Party that he's really powerful. And that power stays in place if his endorsements mean something. And what it -- so far, someone like that Herschel Walker in Georgia got a Trump endorsement and has been raising money blockbuster, even though he wouldn't have necessarily been the most obvious choice as a candidate. But in other races, the Trump picks haven't had great fund-raising.
JUDY WOODRUFF: How do you see the -- I guess the political viability of the candidates that the more moderate Republican -- more moderate side of the Republican Party, Amy, is backing by Mitch McConnell and others vs. President -- former President Trump's picks? AMY WALTER: Will Trump's been winning for these last few years, either by intimidating candidates from running or from running for reelection. And it's had a real impact. Somebody like Jeff Flake, senator from Arizona, doesn't run for reelection.
Democrats pick up that Senate seat in 2018. His decision in the Georgia run-off elections in December of 2020 ended up costing Republicans two Senate seats and the majority in the Senate. (PHONE RINGING) AMY WALTER: And we're already seeing Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader McConnell, trying to encourage governors, moderate governors like Larry Hogan, or Chris Sununu in New Hampshire, or we saw Doug Ducey in Arizona, to run. All of them or most of them have been either personally attacked by the president for not doing his bidding or for criticizing him or he has been less than enthusiastic about them. Rather than deciding to run, they all said, no, I will take a pass. That takes three seats, three really important seats, they're not off the table, but their best candidates are on the sidelines.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Some of this still to play out, Tam, but what we're watching right now is mixed results, we have to say, on the part of the leader, Leader McConnell. And, Amy, we all sympathize with a ringing phone. (LAUGHTER) AMY WALTER: I'm very sorry.
TAMARA KEITH: Can you hear my screaming children? (LAUGHTER) (CROSSTALK) TAMARA KEITH: ... going on. JUDY WOODRUFF: Only the echo of your beautiful children. Tamara Keith and Amy Walter, thank you. AMY WALTER: Thank you.
TAMARA KEITH: You're welcome. JUDY WOODRUFF: The Super Bowl was a close and compelling game last night, with the Los Angeles Rams beating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20. But, as always, there was also a lot of attention around the halftime show. That was again the case this year, with the program centered on hip-hop legends, coming at a time when the NFL's record on race remains under scrutiny.
Amna Nawaz looks at the message, the optics and contradictions of that show, as part of our Race Matters series. AMNA NAWAZ: Judy, those icons were Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, and Kendrick Lamar, with a special guest appearance from 50 Cent.
Their performance put race, justice and the NFL's handling of those issues center stage. To discuss all that, I'm joined by New York Times culture critic and Pulitzer Prize winner Wesley Morris. Wesley, welcome back welcome back to the "NewsHour."
Thanks for making the time. So, among the many reactions to the halftime show I saw, some people said it was like a battle between enthusiasm and cynicism, that you could all of these hip-hop greats assembled in a fantastic show, objectively, a really good show. At the same time there, the stage they're on is hosted by the NFL, which is facing years of allegations of racism, a lawsuit from a former coach, a Black man, who alleges he was discriminated against. I'm curious which side you fell on as you watched it. Were you enthusiastic or cynical? WESLEY MORRIS, The New York Times: You know, the thing about the halftime show, every single year, at least, at least since 2004 -- I believe that's the Justin Timberlake year -- the halftime show has become this crucible of not only what the NFL is about, but what this country stands for when it comes to the treatment of women, the treatment of African Americans.
This year, obviously, was a big deal for a lot of music fans and for music historians in some way, pop music historians, because hip-hop has been given its own show, instead of being an additive element to someone else's show or like part of a larger pop music-oriented spectacle. And so that raised a lot of questions about what responsibility these artists had to bring up the NFL's questionable racist hiring practices. It put a lot of pressure on these artists, in this case, Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, and Snoop Dogg, who are all from South Los Angeles.
And in the one sense, these are artists playing their hometown, right? Inglewood is not terribly far from where they grew up. And so there is this sort of sweetness to what they're being asked to do. But it's -- all of these artists in some ways intersect with the American political moment, especially Kendrick Lamar. And so they all knew what they were dealing with.
And so, in that sense, I'm for a good halftime show, but I'm also for the reality that the ground upon which these shows take place has got a lot of land mines on it. AMNA NAWAZ: Well, so, how do you reconcile the two? This is the conversation, right? This is the heart of the question. WESLEY MORRIS: Yes.
Yes. Yes. AMNA NAWAZ: Because you got to go back in time, right? 2016 is when Colin Kaepernick first took a knee in protest of, yes, racial injustice, but also specifically police brutality against Black people. He goes as a free agent, never plays a day again in the NFL. And now you have the headliner of the halftime show, Dr. Dre, whose lyrics is still not loving
the police. Eminem takes a knee during the performance. So it all stood out to people as saying, OK, protests are OK in the NFL, but not if you're one of the players. WESLEY MORRIS: I hear the complaints that people have about, like, the discrepancy between what can happen in a halftime show and what can happen on the field. I think the NFL -- the idea that you and I are having this conversation, Amna, and the NFL isn't really answering for much of anything, they get to, like, have people like us have these conversations about what it is or is not doing.
And I think the interesting thing and the important thing about this Brian Flores suit against the league is that it is going to force the league to explain why it's not following its own guidelines when it comes to hiring, the racism in the league and the sexism in the league. I think it's up to the criminal justice system. I think it's up to players to continue to speak out against things happening in the league. AMNA NAWAZ: So, I will put to you as well, I think, what defenders of the NFL will say, that it's not just about the halftime show, right? WESLEY MORRIS: Right. AMNA NAWAZ: That the longstanding criticism when you're talking about a league that is -- 70 percent of the players are Black. Only one, I believe, coach right now is a Black man, and...
WESLEY MORRIS: Mike Tomlin. Mike Tomlin, yes. AMNA NAWAZ: That's right, of the Steelers, right? So they will point to the entire Super Bowl as this cultural moment, where they had "End Racism" messages in the end zones, and Mickey Guyton saying "The Star-Spangled Banner," and Mary Mary performed "Lift Every Voice," known as the Black national anthem, right? And a lot of folks will look at that and say, it is performative. You need to do better. Is that criticism fair? WESLEY MORRIS: Absolutely yes.
I do think though, that the criticism kind of -- I don't know. It's an ongoing and during criticism. It's as old as American popular entertainment in some ways.
But I think the real question that the league has to answer for -- because Black people don't have to answer for anything in this situation, as far as I'm concerned. I think the league has to answer why it can be mostly Black players, and the people doing the work on the field can be mostly Black, but yet that can't be translated. You're telling me that nobody is good enough to run strategy on these teams, that no Black person, anyway, is good enough to run strategy on these teams? I just -- I don't believe that. And if the league believes that, it should say that, instead of doing the smoke and mirrors thing with the -- having people -- we know exactly what happened to Brian Flores, being called into an interview for a job that had already been filled by someone else. AMNA NAWAZ: That is Wesley Morris, culture critic of The New York Times, joining us tonight. Wesley, thanks so much.
Always good to see you. WESLEY MORRIS: Thanks for having me, Amna. It was a pleasure to be here. JUDY WOODRUFF: We haven't mentioned it yet, but as I'm sure everyone watching knows, today is Valentine's Day. And while you're thinking of your Valentine, we wanted to share something that London's National Portrait Gallery has for the first time put on international tour:, some of its works depicting love and desire.
Special correspondent Jared Bowen of GBH Boston shares these love stories with us for our arts and culture series, Canvas. JARED BOWEN: At the Worcester Art Museum, love abounds, romance is romanticized. This is what love looks like, even what it sounds like. LUCY PELTZ, Senior Curator, National Portrait Gallery: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. You know, and I'm not even an English major, and I know that one. JARED BOWEN: The hand of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who wrote that sonnet, is cast here in bronze, held by that of her husband, fellow poet Robert Browning.
LUCY PELTZ: We have not just the clasping hands. With them, we have the paired portraits of Robert and Elizabeth, both in their separate spheres, both independent minds, but inclining gently towards each other, reflecting their continuous support. JARED BOWEN: These galleries could also be described as love on the run.
The art here represents centuries of some of the greatest holdings in London's National Portrait Gallery. But with the museum temporarily closed as part of a $47 million renovation, they're out on an international tour. It's launched in Worcester, Massachusetts, under the banner Love Stories.
Lucy Peltz is the show's curator, speaking to us from London. LUCY PELTZ: Touring shows some of our absolutely cherished highlights and masterpieces that otherwise would rarely go on loan. And it's also been an intellectual project, because, for the first time, the largest and most important collection of portraits in the world, i.e., the National Portrait Gallery, has considered from the point of view of the role of love and desire. JARED BOWEN: It's love in the time of the Renaissance, love among the ruins, and everlasting love.
Perhaps I'm asking you to play psychologist here, but can you tell me why I and so many others are just so mesmerized by a sleeping David Beckham? LUCY PELTZ: I can tell you why I'm mesmerized by it. (LAUGHTER) LUCY PELTZ: He's very beautiful. I might imagine myself lying in bed just contemplating him, as I might do my own partner, and so the intimacy, and just enjoying that sense of his ease. CLAIRE WHITNER, Director of Curatorial Affair, Worcester Art Museum: Love has many facets, and it expresses itself in different ways, and the ways in which people form connection are unique. JARED BOWEN: Claire Whitner is the Worcester Art Museum's European art curator.
CLAIRE WHITNER: We see very intimate moments and our own interests, sort of as a pop culture for the love of celebrities, and how do we consume the love of others? JARED BOWEN: She says John Lennon and Yoko Ono cultivated their love for an eager public, while Audrey Hepburn positioned herself as a muse. CLAIRE WHITNER: You see this kind of multiplication of her public image in one particular photograph, getting at that point of becoming a public muse, you know, someone that is the projection of mass desire. JARED BOWEN: Here, love is manufactured, and it's messy.
Mary Wollstonecraft ran away with the married poet Percy Shelley, finding both love and the inspiration for "Frankenstein." Then there's Wallis Simpson and Edward, duke of Windsor, who renounced the British throne. This is Cecil Beaton's wedding day photograph.
So why the long faces? It was taken just as he likely learned she wouldn't receive a royal title. And then there's the love saga of Lady Emma Hamilton. Known for dancing nude at private house parties, she was the muse of 18th century portrait painter George Romney. She had numerous affairs with aristocracy, including Charles Greville.
CLAIRE WHITNER: But, ultimately, Greville becomes tired of Emma, and he sends her to live with Lord Hamilton, his uncle. He falls in love with her. And they get married. And all is going well, until Horatio Nelson shows up and begins this torrid love affair. She bears his child. And Lord Hamilton, rather than separating with Emma, decides that they're just going to all three of them live together in this sort of menage a trois.
JARED BOWEN: And that's not even the love that dare not speak its name. That was Lord Alfred Douglas writing about his affection for Oscar Wilde, a love that landed Wilde in prison, recalls Lucy Peltz. LUCY PELTZ: There's a lovely quotation by Wilde from a letter to a friend after he comes out of prison, saying, "The very fact that he's ruined my life makes me love him more."
JARED BOWEN: This being a British show, the fitting finale is the facade of the fairy tale, the ongoing one that has played out within the royal family. But, says Peltz, it's one that implicates us all. LUCY PELTZ: The final section, Love and the Lens, which ends with Harry and Meghan looking absolutely besotted with each other, and what we know evolved, and whatever we may think of their decision, we think back to Diana and the terrible events that befell her as a result of our desire as consumers of images of celebrity life, and especially celebrity romance and celebrity heartache. JARED BOWEN: Just one of the many love stories you will find here, for better or for worse.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Jared Bowen in Worcester, Massachusetts JUDY WOODRUFF: And if you can't get to Worcester, that exhibit will next be at the Baker Museum in Naples, Florida, but you have to wait until early 2023. And on the "NewsHour" online: As companies consider returning to the office, employees have not only health precautions to consider, but also office dynamics, including bias and hostility around race. Our digital anchor, Nicole Ellis, talked with author Y-Vonne Hutchinson about what everyone should know about talking about racism at work.
You can watch that conversation at PBS.org/NewsHour. And that is and that's the "NewsHour" for tonight. I'm Judy Woodruff. Join us online and again here tomorrow evening. For all of us at the "PBS NewsHour," thank you.
Happy Valentine's Day. Please stay safe, and we'll see you soon.
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