Features
Trump pleads not guilty to four Felony Charges in January 6 probe
Arraigned on charges he conspired to stay in office
By Vijaya Chandrasoma
Following an investigation by Special Counsel Jack Smith, a Washington D.C. grand jury charged, on August 1, 2023, the former President Donald Trump for his direction of a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election, inciting his supporters to storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The four charges were: conspiracy to defraud the United States, witness tampering, acting against the (voting) rights of citizens and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding.
The government summoned Trump to appear for arraignment in Washington D.C. federal court on Thursday, August 3, presided over by Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhaya.
Law enforcement had taken all measures necessary to control any violence threatened on Trump’s arrest, although similar threats had not materialized during his previous arrests in Manhattan and Miami. The predictions of “death and destruction” and “blood in the streets” previously made by Trump and Senator Lindsay Graham, respectively, if Trump was arrested, were grossly optimistic. Quite the contrary. A handful of pro-Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters, holding picturesque signs were outnumbered by hordes of national and international media gathered to cover the event.
When Trump finally appeared at the court as scheduled, his demeanor was both apprehensive and somber. It was quite a moment when the clerk called out the case, the United States v. Donald J. Trump, just a few yards away from the scene of the crime of which he was being accused. Magistrate Judge Upadhaya reminded him of his rights. Then she said, “You will be released on very limited conditions. One, that you don’t commit a new crime while on release, and two, that you don’t retaliate against anyone you think is a witness, and only talk to such witnesses in the presence of their lawyers”. Trump said he understood the conditions, sat down with his lawyers, appearing to be angry, his hands clasped, all the time staring at Special Counsel, Jack Smith who was seated 50 yards away.
He pleaded Not Guilty on all charges
The Magistrate Judge assured Trump that he would get a fair and speedy trial in this courthouse. The next hearing, fixed for August 28, will be presided over by District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, who has been randomly so assigned.
On his departure from the DC courthouse, Trump spoke to reporters, saying, “When you look at what’s happening, this is the persecution of a political opponent. This was never supposed to happen in America. This is the persecution of the person that’s leading by very, very substantial numbers in the Republican primary and leading Biden by a lot. So, if you can’t beat him, you persecute him or prosecute him. We can’t let this happen in America”.
Tanya Chutkan is a District Court Judge from the District of Columbia. She will be familiar to the Trump team, to whom her assignment may be of some concern. In 2021, Judge Chutkan blocked Trump’s efforts to stop a Congressional committee’s bid to access his White House papers, with the famous comment, “Presidents are not kings, and the plaintiff is not the president”. She is generally considered to be a consummate professional, a no-nonsense judge conscious of the due process rights of the defendant, “who will handle a sensitive case with utmost care. She is likely to do what is in her power to protect the former president’s rights as a criminal defendant”.
Trump now faces 78 criminal charges from three jurisdictions, a record that will only be broken by Trump himself, when Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney, Fani Willis frames charges against him on criminal attempts to overturn the 2020 election in her county. She recently said, “We are ready to go”, so new indictments for Trump are imminent. Maybe he’ll hit three figures in charges before long. The Donald Bradman Trump of Felonies!
The charging document includes six co-conspirators. Their identities have been withheld because they have not as yet been charged with any crimes. Five have been identified as Rudi Giuliani, John Eastman, Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro (Trump attorneys), and former Department of Justice official, Jeffrey Clark. The sixth co-conspirator still remains unidentified, but is believed to be a longtime political associate of Trump.
Jack Smith has not charged these co-conspirators as he may be hopeful one or more will enter into a plea agreement and co-operate with the prosecution.
Of course, knowing that Trump’s loyalty is exclusively to Trump, he is quite capable of throwing one or more of these co-conspirators under the bus, with the allegation that he was “misled” by them, that their advice had convinced him that he had no criminal intent in inciting the insurrection.
Another defense proffered by Trump’s lawyers is that his speech from the ellipse to the rally before the insurrection, when he urged his supporters, “We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country any more”, was covered by First Amendment rights of free speech; it had nothing to do with the violence that immediately followed at the Capitol. Like Hitler’s Big Lie rants that Germany lost World War I because the Germans were betrayed by the Jews had nothing to with the holocaust.
The fact that Mark Meadows, Trump’s Chief of Staff, has not been named as a co-conspirator was a massive surprise. He was the closest to Trump during his Lame Duck presidency between the November election and the January inauguration. He was privy to all the criminal machinations to overturn the election during that period, right up to the 187 minutes when Trump did nothing while the riot at the Capitol was unfolding.
Meadows has been keeping a very low profile over the past few months, supposedly advising the radical wing of the Republican Party. But there has also been some conjecture that he has been cutting a deal with the prosecution. His evidence would deal a death blow to the Trump defense.
Special Counsel, Jack Smith, in a brief statement on Tuesday, said that the Justice Department is “committed to ensuring accountability for those criminally responsible for what happened” on January 6, which he described as “an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy”. He added “As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies. Lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the U.S. government, the nation’s process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election”. He added that his office will seek a “speedy trial” for former President Donald Trump. An objective shared by Judge Chutkan, who has set the next hearing for August 28. After hearing defense requirements of time to prepare for the trial, she will set the first trial date. The prosecution has already indicated that it’s ready to go.
These indictments came on top of new felony charges under the Espionage Act, “a superseding indictment” that Jack Smith served on Trump last week, with overwhelming evidence that Trump had instructed his employees to delete security camera footage showing attempts to delete and move top-secret documents. Documents that the Department of Justice had earlier issued a subpoena for their release, which Trump has illegally resisted.
Two low level employees have now been indicted for their roles in this crime. A third, employed in overseeing surveillance cameras at Mar-a-Lago, refused to comply with illegal orders and has co-operated with the Special Counsel. Hopefully, the evidence he has given about Trump’s criminal attempt to delete the server containing incriminating evidence will make an already indefensible case watertight.
When Trump says, “You know they are coming for you, not for me. I am fighting for you, not for me”, he fails to mention that he is using “your” donations to pay the legal fees involved in fighting for “you”. Just this year alone, he has used $40 million+ of “your donations” to the Republican Party PAC for this purpose.
A PAC is an acronym for a Political Action Committee, “an organization that campaigns for particular political policies, and gives money to political parties or candidates who support those policies”. PACs didn’t give monies to gangster Al Capone to pay his legal fees, just as the Republican PACs are not supposed to pay Trump’s personal legal fees for the heinous crimes he has committed. As former Trump Attorney General, Bill Barr said, “it is nauseating and disgraceful for a multi-billionaire like Trump to use donor’s money to pay his legal fees”.
So, my Republican friends, please dig deep and keep sending Trump more money so that he can continue fighting to keep all of you out of prison, for the numerous crimes he has committed.
These new indictments may add to Trump’s legal problems, but they also serve to increase his popularity in the Republican polls. He enjoys a commanding lead over those who have announced their candidatures for the 2024 Republican nomination.
These declared challengers seem to be playing a waiting game. Most of them are not running against him, they are still running towards him, all the time hoping he will implode. As well he may. Even his main challenger in the polls, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis defends him. The others really don’t matter as they are running in low single digits in the polls, struggling to even qualify to participate in the first presidential debate later this month.
Unless a miracle happens in the form of a decent Republican (has that become an oxymoron today?) challenger for the presidency, the Party will be left with a presidential nominee, a convicted felon, campaigning for the 2024 presidency arrested and on bail on more than 100 Class A felonies. A nominee who will have to juggle numerous trial dates per month in cases from four jurisdictions, while campaigning for the highest post in the world. Perhaps wearing ankle bracelets. Perhaps even from prison. And, according to current polls, he still has an even money chance of winning.
Only in America.
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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