It’s Monday, December 1. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: David Mamet pays tribute to Tom Stoppard, Tyler Cowen weighs in on the viral poverty-line debate, and Elliot Ackerman on the CIA program he and the National Guard shooting suspect both worked in.
But first: Did U.S. officials commit war crimes in the Caribbean?
Strikes on alleged “narco” boats in the Caribbean have been among the most legally contentious actions taken by the Trump administration so far—and that is saying something. Now, into this already heated debate over targeting drug traffickers with lethal force comes an explosive new allegation via The Washington Post: In September, the Pentagon ordered a second strike on an already obliterated boat to kill two survivors who were clinging to the wreckage.
The report is causing a stir in Washington, D.C. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth maintains that all of the U.S. armed forces’ conduct in the Caribbean is legal and called the report “fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory.” But lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including senior Republicans, want to know more. They are promising “vigorous oversight” to get to the bottom of what really happened.
As they should. Free Press columnist Jed Rubenfeld lays out just how serious the allegations are in his column for us today and explains why, if the facts as reported are correct, a senior Pentagon official would be guilty of murder.
And for a wide-angle look at the legal battles surrounding Donald Trump and his administration, tune in to the latest episode of Conversations with Coleman. Coleman’s guest this week is National Review columnist Andrew McCarthy. Andy is an independent legal observer who calls balls and strikes at a time when that’s unfashionable. Andy and Coleman chart the rise of lawfare, the politicization of our justice system, and what the future holds for the rule of law in America.
—Oliver Wiseman
The legendary playwright Tom Stoppard died on Saturday. David Mamet pays tribute to “a Holocaust survivor, immigrant, and the child of nonobservant Jews,” who nevertheless wrote “the most English and Anglophile of works.” In this wry piece, Mamet remembers Stoppard’s outsider humor, his improbable journey from Czechoslovakia to the London stage, and the linguistic precision that made him singular.
Last week, Michael W. Green argued in a viral essay published in these pages that America’s poverty line is much higher than people assume—in fact, he argued, it might be as high as $140,000. Tyler Cowen disagrees—strongly. Read Tyler on “The Myth of the $140,000 Poverty Line.”
Kevin Hassett has emerged as the front-runner to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve. Mark Gimein breaks down what that could mean for the economy, and why Hassett wants to keep the good times rolling.
The Afghani man who shot two National Guardsmen last week once served in a Zero Unit during the War on Terror. “His actions are his alone,” writes Elliot Ackerman, who served in one such unit. Read Elliot on the CIA program that Rahmanullah Lakanwal served in—and how its role in the Afghan War can help us understand last week’s attack.
Venezuela denounced President Donald Trump’s declaration on Saturday that its airspace is “closed,” calling it a “colonialist threat” and urging global opposition to “this immoral act of aggression.” Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has said that the United States is trying to force him from power. His presidential jet made a brief, unexplained trip to the Brazilian border later on Saturday.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that the Afghan national suspected of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., was “radicalized since he’s been here in this country.” Noem also promised that the asylum process, which was frozen on Friday night, will restart after those who are already here under the program are “vetted under our standards that we’re implementing.”
Social Security’s retirement trust fund is projected to be depleted in 2033, which would automatically cut monthly benefits by roughly 23 percent unless Congress intervenes. Lawmakers will likely face a politically explosive choice: raise taxes, cut benefits, or tap general revenues.
Private-equity executive David Gentile was freed from prison by President Trump less than two weeks into a seven-year sentence. Gentile was convicted last year of securities and wire fraud after prosecutors detailed an alleged $1.6 billion scheme with thousands of victims. The decision fits Trump’s pattern of clemency for some white-collar offenders and led to outrage from victims’ advocates.
Benjamin Netanyahu formally asked Israel’s president for a pardon to end the prime minister’s corruption trial, arguing that it is dividing the country and hindering his ability to govern. Critics condemned the request as a grave threat to the rule of law, especially after Trump urged Israel to pardon Netanyahu. Legal experts said that such pardons are rare and unlikely to halt the proceedings.
Ludwig Minelli, the 92-year-old founder of the Swiss assisted-dying organization Dignitas, ended his life. Widely hailed as a pioneer of end-of-life autonomy, he leaves behind a global movement still battling political and ethical pushback over assisted-death laws.
President Daily Brief
https://youtu.be/x7nodFeVGZM?t=679
Bari, With TheFP running Nancy Pelosi smear campaigns against Trump, I'm debating my subscription.