Charlie Kirk Memorial, Trump Pressures DOJ, Palestinian State Recognition

0:02Thousands filled the stadium in Arizona for Charlie Kirk's memorial. He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That's where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent. Was it a eulogy or a political rally? I'm Leila Faldin. That's Michelle Martin. And this is Up First from NPR News. President Trump posted a message online addressed to his attorney general, investigate and prosecute his perceived political enemies. It raises the question, is the Justice Department still independent? And several Western allies of Israel recognize Palestine as a sovereign state. But does it change anything for Palestinians still living under daily Israeli attacks in Gaza?

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2:17All while supporting NPR and never having to pull an all-nighter. Or if you work on one of the news shows, an all-morninger. Sign up at plus.npr.org. President Trump and other top administration officials eulogized right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, and he talked about what they described as the fight going forward. Donald Trump Jr. described Kirk as being like a little brother. His loss cannot be the end of the story. His legacy must be that when they took his life, A million more Charlies stepped up to fill the void. Kirk was a divisive figure who worked to bring young people into the conservative fold.

3:00He was assassinated nearly two weeks ago on a college campus in Utah. He was 31 years old. He was remembered yesterday as a political organizer, a Christian evangelist, a family man, and a martyr. NPR senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith traveled with the president to Arizona for the memorial. and she is with us now after a very long day. Good morning, Tam. Good morning. So tell us what it was like. It was a massive event held in an NFL stadium that was packed to the rafters. People were decked out in red, white, and blue. Many were wearing white t-shirts with the word freedom across the front, which is what Kirk was wearing when he was shot.

3:39It was part somber memorial, part political rally, part Christian revival. There were even pyrotechnics. So thanks for setting the scene for us. So what stood out to you about the message? Just about every speaker came back to a central idea that the assassin's bullet wouldn't silence Kirk but make his message louder. There was also a lot of stark language about the evils of the left. President Trump spoke last. Our greatest evangelist for American liberty became immortal. He's a martyr now for American freedom. The president did veer off topic during his lengthy remarks, bringing up the 2020 election tariffs and his political rivals, noting that while Kirk wished his political opponents well, quote, I hate my opponent and don't want the best for them.

4:32He said it with a smile. The memorial was infused with Christianity, praise music, Bible verses, and that extended to government officials as well. Vice President J.D. Vance said he'd talked more about Jesus Christ in the last two weeks than in the rest of his public life, which he said was another legacy of Charlie Kirk. Kirk was the founder and head of a group called Turning Point USA, which is aimed at advancing the conservative movement among younger people, especially college and probably even high school students. So what happens now with this movement? His widow, Erica Kirk, was selected by the Groups board to be the new CEO of Turning Point USA.

5:11But right now, she is also suddenly a young widow with two children. She remembered her husband as someone who lived fully. She said he died with incomplete work, but not with unfinished business. And in a really emotional moment, she talked about her husband's efforts, as she put it, to save the lost boys of the West. Young men, she said, like the one accused of killing her husband. I forgive him. forgiveness she said because that's what jesus did and it's what charlie would do it's not clear what comes next for kirk's movement or trumpism for that matter but there was this sense that in that very full stadium this was a moment people will look back on a turning point if you will that is and here's tamra keith tam thank you you're welcome

6:03Over the weekend, President Trump had a message for Attorney General Pam Bondi. In a post on social media, Trump pressured Bondi to investigate his perceived political rivals. NPR Justice Correspondent Ryan Lucas is following this, and he's with us now from our studios. Good morning, Ryan. Good morning. So before we get into what this means, could you just bring us up to speed on what actually happened? So what did the president say? Right. Trump put out a post on social media on Saturday night addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi by name. And in the post, Trump mentions three people he views as his political enemies, former FBI Director James Comey, California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, and New York State Attorney General Letitia James.

6:41And Trump said they are all guilty. He doesn't say what of, only that they're guilty, and that nothing is being done about it. He said, quote, we can't delay any longer. It's killing our reputation and credibility, end quote. Trump added that he was impeached twice. He was indicted multiple times, which is referring, of course, to the prosecutions that Trump faced after he left office the first time, including the two federal cases, one for allegedly mishandling classified documents, the other for trying to overturn the 2020 election. Trump said in this post that all of that was baseless and that, quote, justice must be served now.

7:14So this post came right after other consequential news out of the Justice Department. The top federal prosecutor in Northern Virginia left his post under pressure from President Trump. So what can you tell us about that? That's right. This is Eric Siebert. He was a career federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, right outside of D.C. Trump had tapped him to lead the office. And it's an important office. They do a lot of big national security cases there, for example. In that job, Siebert had been overseeing an investigation into New York State Attorney General Letitia James, one of the people Trump declared guilty in the post I was just talking about.

7:48James won a civil fraud suit last year against Trump and his company with a massive financial penalty, although the penalty has since been voided. Now, Siebert had expressed doubts about moving forward with charges in that case. Trump was open about wanting Siebert gone. And on social media, Trump said Siebert had said there was no case. Trump said there's a great case seeming to confirm that Siebert was forced out for not moving forward against James. And is somebody replacing him in that office? Do we know who that is? Yes. Trump named Lindsey Halligan as the replacement. She is someone with no prosecutorial experience, but Halligan has been working as an aide in the White House.

8:25Before that, she served as a personal attorney for Trump. Now, the president said on social media that Halligan will be fair, smart, and provide desperately needed justice for all. And he also said that that office needs a tough prosecutor to, quote, get things moving. So what do these developments over the weekend say about the Justice Department in this second Trump administration? Well, look, Trump talked openly during the 2024 campaign about going after his perceived political enemies if he returned to office. He's never toned that down, but this is arguably the most direct, since he's been back in the White House, that he has urged the Justice Department to use the enormous powers that it has to go after specific people who he doesn't like.

9:06You also have him forcing out a U.S. attorney who wasn't doing that. Now, for decades, there's been a norm against this very sort of thing. Traditionally, the Justice Department is independent from the White House when it comes to investigations and prosecutions. And the reason for that is so that decisions in such instances do not appear and are not driven by politics instead of the facts and the law. So these developments over the weekend, yet again, are fueling already significant concerns about this administration and the weaponization of the Justice Department. That is NPR Justice Correspondent Ryan Lucas.

9:38Ryan, thank you. Thank you.

9:48Today, France and other major Western countries will recognize a state of Palestine. Yesterday, three key U.S. allies on three different continents announced their recognition. The move comes as the United Nations begins its week-long General Assembly gathering in New York and will put increasing pressure on the U.S. and Israel as the war in Gaza moves into its third year. With me now is NPR's Carrie Kahn from Tel Aviv. Carrie, thank you. Hi. So who is recognizing Palestine and why? These are major U.S. and Israeli allies, France, Canada, and the U.K., also Portugal and Australia, and there will be others.

10:27France is co-hosting a conference on recognition today with Saudi Arabia at the U.N. They want to draw attention to the ongoing war in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there. These countries insist that the only route to peace is a two-state solution, and a major step for that is recognition of Palestine as a full sovereign state. The countries are putting pressure on Israel and the United States on the world stage, especially as Israel has started its deadly offensive into Gaza City and expelling that city's nearly one million residents. How are Palestinians responding to these major countries finally recognizing a state?

11:05Palestinian leaders quickly welcomed the move. This past week, I was in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where many said they were honored by the recognition. But there are not going to be any public commemorations. There's no mood for celebrations. Now the war is still raging in Gaza. The death toll now is 65 ,000 Palestinians have been killed. and many in the West Bank say this symbolic move doesn't really change their reality, which since the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, Israel has cracked down hard in the West Bank and life is very difficult. The number of arrests and those killed by Israeli forces has skyrocketed.

11:41Israel says that's due to security risks and there have been several attacks in Israel. Israel has also canceled work permits for 200 ,000 Palestinians. Unemployment has soared. So I went to this shiny new six-story mall in Ramallah, the commercial center of the West Bank. It was pretty empty, but I did speak to two 20-year-old computer engineering university students. I'll play you Biso Mohamed. She says she's tired of hearing how important recognition is. I'm so done of hearing people, like, talking about the thing without actions being done, actually. Like, we're so tired. I feel like we're no longer that much recognized as human beings, actually.

12:19It's devastating. She says it's nearly impossible to get home to see her parents. There are now more than 1 ,200 checkpoints and barriers erected throughout the West Bank. And there's also great fear that Israel will move to formally annex land there. It occupies following this recognition. So what have Israeli leaders said? How are they responding to this move? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke last night. He says recognition just rewards Hamas for terrorism. and he reiterated to stand that no Palestinian state will be established in the West Bank and Gaza. And he's threatened retaliation, but he says it will wait until after he goes to address the UN and meets with President Trump.

12:58A person briefed on the matter not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that Israel is considering various moves but would likely not formally annex West Bank land. That person told us Saudi Arabia has sent Israel a message that annexation would thwart efforts to normalized relations between the two countries. And the United Arab Emirates has also threatened to cut ties with Israel if it does move forward with annexation. That is. NPR's Carrie Conn from Tel Aviv. Carrie, thank you. You're welcome.

13:32And that's Up First Monday, September 22nd. I'm Michelle Martin. And I'm Leila Faldil. For your next listen, try Consider This from NPR. We here at Up First give you the three big stories of the day, our Consider This colleagues take a different approach. They dive into a single news story and what it means to you. Learn about a big story of the day in less than 15 minutes. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Krishna Dev Kalamur, Kevin Drew, Mohamed Elvardisi, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziyad Butch, Ana Perez, and Christopher Thomas.

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