What to listen for during Supreme Court arguments on Donald Trump and presidential immunity

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By ERIC TUCKER (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court hears arguments Thursday over whether Donald Trump is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

It’s a historic day for the court, with the justices having an opportunity to decide once and for all whether former presidents can be prosecuted for official acts they take while in the White House.

But between a decades-old court case about Richard Nixon, and an obscure constitutional provision about presidential impeachments, there are likely to be some unfamiliar concepts and terms thrown about.

Here are some tips to help follow everything:

WHEN DOES THE SESSION START?

The court marshal will bang the gavel at 10 a.m. EDT and Chief Justice John Roberts will announce the start of arguments in Donald J. Trump vs. United States of America, as the case is called.

The session easily could last two hours or more.

WHERE DO I FIND THE LIVESTREAM?

There are no cameras in the courtroom, but since the pandemic the court has livestreamed its argument sessions. Listen live on apnews.com/live/trump-supreme-court-arguments-updates or the court’s website at www.supremecourt.gov. C-SPAN also will carry the arguments at www.c-span.org.

IMPEACHMENT CLAUSE

Expect to hear talk about the impeachment process and the relationship, if any, to criminal prosecution.

Central to Trump’s immunity argument is the claim that only a former president who was impeached and convicted by the Senate can be criminally prosecuted. Trump was impeached over his efforts to undo the election in the run-up to the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. But he was acquitted, not convicted, by the Senate in 2021.

Trump’s lawyers cite as backup for their argument a provision of the Constitution known as the Impeachment Judgment Clause that says an officeholder convicted by the Senate shall nevertheless be “liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment” in court.

Prosecutors say the Trump team is misreading the clause and that conviction in the Senate is not a prerequisite for a courtroom prosecution.

WAIT, WHAT’S THIS ABOUT RICHARD NIXON?

There’s going to be plentiful discussion about Nixon but not necessarily for the reasons one might think.

Trump’s team has repeatedly drawn attention to a 1982 case, Nixon v. Fitzgerald, in which the Supreme Court held that a former president cannot be sued in civil cases for their actions while in office. The case concerned the firing of an Air Force analyst, A. Ernest Fitzgerald, who testified before Congress about cost overruns in the production of a transport plane.

Fitzgerald’s lawsuit against Nixon, president at the time of the 1970 termination, was unsuccessful, with Justice Lewis Powell writing for the court that presidents are entitled to absolute immunity from civil lawsuits for acts that fall within the “outer perimeter” of their official duties.

Importantly, that decision did not shield presidents from criminal liability, though Trump’s team says the same analysis should apply.

Special counsel Jack Smith’s team is also likely to bring up a separate Supreme Court decision involving Nixon that they say bolsters their case — a 1974 opinion that forced the president to turn over incriminating White House tapes for use in the prosecutions of his top aides.

Prosecutors have also noted that Nixon accepted rather than declined a subsequent pardon from President Gerald Ford — a recognition by the men, they say, “that a former President was subject to prosecution.”

DRONE STRIKES AND SEAL TEAM SIX

The justices are known to love presenting hypothetical scenarios to lawyers as a way of testing the outer limits of their arguments. Expect that practice to be on full display Thursday as the court assesses whether former presidents are entitled to absolute immunity.

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Already, Trump’s lawyers have warned that if the prosecution is permitted to go forward, it would open the floodgates to criminal charges against other presidents, such as for authorizing a drone strike that kills a U.S. citizen or for giving false information to Congress that leads the country into war.

In a memorable moment during arguments in January before a federal appeals court, a judge asked a Trump lawyer whether a president who ordered a Navy SEAL to assassinate a political rival could be prosecuted.

Look for Smith’s team to try to draw a sharp distinction between acts that it says are quintessential exercises of presidential power — such as ordering a drone strike during war — to the acts that Trump is accused of in this case, such as participating in a scheme to organize fake electors in battleground states. Those acts, prosecutors say, are personal acts and not presidential ones.

Associated Press writer Mark Sherman contributed to this report.

Gophers add third scholarship quarterback with Virginia Tech transfer Dylan Wittke

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The Gophers have been in the market for a third scholarship quarterback since January. They were able to fill the hole on Tuesday.

Virginia Tech redshirt freshman Dylan Wittke entered the NCAA transfer portal on April 17 after he was reportedly behind in the competition for the Hokies’ backup QB job coming out of spring practices. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound signal caller then committed to Minnesota this week.

The three-star prospect out of Buford, Ga., did not play in a game in 2023 and maintained a redshirt. At Buford High School, he was three-sport athlete and helped them win three state football championships (2019-21).

The U believed they originally had the backup QB need met with Fresno State transfer Logan Fife in December, but he changed his mind weeks later and went to Montana.

The Gophers have New Hampshire transfer Max Brosmer penciled in as the senior starter for 2024. True freshman Drake Lindsey has been impressive in spring practices and could compete with Wittke for the backup role this fall. Stillwater walk-on QB Max Shikenjanski has been the U’s third-stringer this spring.

Transfer portal tracker

Incoming players (Previous school)

Tuesday

WR Tyler Williams (Georgia)

QB Dylan Wittke (Virginia Tech)

Saturday

DE Adam Kissayi (Clemson)

Friday 

DE Jaxon Howard (LSU)

Outgoing players (New school)

Monday

CB Victor Pless

April 19 

OL Cade McConnell (Vanderbilt)

April 16

OL De’Eric Mister

CB Tariq Watson

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Gophers had glaring need at receiver and fill it with four-star Georgia transfer Tyler Williams

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It was obvious during open Gophers football practices this spring: they needed help at wide receiver.

But when asked about positions the U would address when the NCAA transfer portal opened this month, head coach P.J. Fleck wouldn’t say wideout outright.

“Right now,” Fleck said April 11, “I wouldn’t say everything, but you are looking at some positions that you maybe want to get a little bit deeper.”

His actions spoke directly.

Four-star transfer receiver Tyler Williams, who played last season at Georgia, visited the U campus on Tuesday and committed to Minnesota in the evening.

As a true freshman last season, Williams played in two games for the national powerhouse Bulldogs, catching one pass for four yards versus UAB. The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder participated in spring drills before the Bulldogs added transfer reinforcements at WR and he decided to enter the portal.

Willams, of Lakeland (Fla.) High School, is a former top 100 recruit in the 2023 class. He transitioned from quarterback to receiver as a junior. In his senior season, he caught 28 passes for 399 yards and six touchdowns, along with nine rushes for 115 yards and a TD en route to an undefeated season and a state championship.

During Gophers’ spring ball practices, the Gophers’ all-Big Ten receiver Daniel Jackson was sideline with what is believed to be a minor injury. Behind him, few reliable options were on display in three practices open to media members.

New winter transfers Jaylen Varner, from Division II’s Emporia State, was injured during the first open practice and was sidelined through last week. Former Penn State player Cristian Driver, the son of former NFL wideout Donald Driver, was also out.

On the field, Elijah Spencer dealt with dropped passes in multiple practices, and Le’Meke Brockington didn’t make many big plays. Players further down the depth chart didn’t consistently stand out.

Williams will have four years of eligibility remaining for the U. Given his pedigree and previous program, he would be a candidate to feature as soon as the season opener against North Carolina on Aug. 29.

Transfer portal tracker

Incoming players (Previous school)

Tuesday

WR Tyler Williams (Georgia)

QB Dylan Wittke (Virginia Tech)

Saturday

DE Adam Kissayi (Clemson)

Friday 

DE Jaxon Howard (LSU)

Outgoing players (New school)

Monday

CB Victor Pless

April 19 

OL Cade McConnell (Vanderbilt)

April 16

OL De’Eric Mister

CB Tariq Watson

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Boeing posts a $355 million loss as the plane maker tries to dig out from under its latest crisis

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By DAVID KOENIG (AP Airlines Writer)

Boeing said Wednesday that it lost $355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.

CEO David Calhoun said the company is in “a tough moment,” and its focus is on fixing its manufacturing issues, not the financial results.

Company executives have been forced to talk more about safety and less about finances since a door plug blew out of a Boeing 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, leaving a gaping hole in the plane.

The accident halted progress that Boeing seemed to be making while recovering from two deadly crashes of Max jets in 2018 and 2019.

Those crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia now are back in the spotlight, too. The families of some of the 346 people killed in the crashes were scheduled to meet with U.S. Justice Department officials later Wednesday. Family members have tried unsuccessfully to undo a 2021 settlement between the department and Boeing that let the company avoid criminal prosecution.

“Although we report first-quarter financial results today, our focus remains on the sweeping actions we are taking following the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident,” Calhoun told employees in a memo Wednesday.

He ticked off a series of actions the company is taking and reported “significant progress” in improving manufacturing quality, much of it by slowing down production, which means fewer planes for its airline customers. Calhoun told CNBC that closer inspections were resulting in 80% fewer flaws in the fuselages coming from key supplier Spirit AeroSystems.

“Near term, yes, we are in a tough moment,” he wrote to employees. “Lower deliveries can be difficult for our customers and for our financials. But safety and quality must and will come above all else.”

Calhoun, who will step down at the end of the year, said again he is fully confident the company will recover.

Boeing said the first-quarter loss, excluding special items came to $1.13 per share, which was better than the loss of $1.63 per share that analysts had forecast, according to a FactSet survey.

Revenue fell 7.5%, to $16.57 billion.

Company shares rose 3% shortly after the start of morning trading.

Boeing stock has plunged by about one-third since the Alaska Airlines door-plug blowout. The Federal Aviation Administration has stepped up its oversight and given Boeing until late May to produce a plan to fix problems in manufacturing 737 Max jets. Airline customers are unhappy about not getting all the new planes that they had ordered because of delivery disruptions.

Investigators looking into the Alaska flight say bolts that help keep the door plug in place were missing after repair work at a Boeing factory. The FBI told passengers that they might be crime victims.

Several former and one current manager have reported various problems in manufacturing of Boeing 737 and 787 jetliners. The most recent, a quality engineer, told Congress last week that Boeing is taking manufacturing shortcuts that could eventually cause 787 Dreamliners to break apart. Boeing pushed back aggressively against his claims.

Boeing, however, has a couple things in its favor.

Along with Airbus, Boeing forms one-half of a duopoly that dominates the manufacturing of large passenger planes. Both companies have yearslong backlogs of orders from airlines eager for new, more fuel-efficient planes. And Boeing is a major defense contractor for the Pentagon and governments around the world.

Richard Aboulafia, a longtime industry analyst and consultant at AeroDynamic Advisory, said despite all the setbacks Boeing still has a powerful mix of products in high demand, technology and people.

“Even if they are No. 2 and have major issues, they are still in a very strong market and an industry that has very high barriers to entry,” he said.

And despite massive losses — about $24 billion in the last five years — the company is not at risk of failing, Aboulafia said.

“This isn’t General Motors in 2008 or Lockheed in 1971,” Aboulafia said, referring to two iconic corporations that needed massive government bailouts or loan guarantees to survive.

All of those factors help explain why 20 analysts in a FactSet survey rate Boeing shares as “Buy” or “Overweight” and only two have “Sell” ratings. (Five have “Hold” ratings.)