Trump to meet with Supreme Court candidate Barbara Lagoa in Florida on Friday
22 September 2020
President Trump has arranged to meet with shortlisted Supreme Court candidate Barbara Lagoa during a campaign visit to Florida on Friday, according to two sources familiar with his plans.
What we're hearing: Sources who know both Trump and Lagoa say they still expect the president to pick Judge Amy Coney Barrett, but they view the Lagoa meeting as a wild card because they say she has a charismatic personality that would appeal to Trump.
- The majority view in Trump’s inner circle is that Barrett would be easier to confirm because senators are familiar with her. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has told Trump that senators feel comfortable with Barrett.
- A source close to the process said anything that complicates the confirmation proceedings — and allows more time for Democrats to inject “mischief” — is to be avoided at all costs. More education would be needed for senators who are less familiar with Lagoa, the source added.
- Trump met with Barrett at the White House on Monday.
Between the lines: Lagoa, a 52-year-old judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, is the daughter of Cuban exiles.
- Top aides to the president say Lagoa, who grew up in a heavily Hispanic suburb of Miami, could be politically beneficial to Trump, who without winning Florida could lose reelection.
What they're saying: Trump said Monday that he does not personally know Lagoa, but called her “terrific.”
- Trump added that he tries not to say that politics would play a role in his decision, but "I think probably automatically it is. Even if you’re not wanting to do that it becomes a little automatic.”
- The White House declined to respond to a request for comment.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.