Welcome to This Week in Politics, the recurring column covering the highlights in politics for this week. Let’s go over what happened while WHHS enjoyed Spring Break.

 

Saturday, March 27 – Sunday, March 28

• Anti-corruption protests in Russia

  • Hundreds have been arrested, including one of President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critics, in Russia’s largest protest so far this year.

 

Monday, March 27

• Jared Kushner to be questioned on Russia ties

  • Kushner, son-in-law to President Donald Trump, will be questioned by the House Intelligence Committee (HIC) about his many business ties to Russia.

    • Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, are estimated to be worth $741 million and have worldwide connections through both the Trump and Kushner real estate empires.

 

Tuesday, March 28

• Trump signs executive orders to reverse climate change policy

  • Multiple orders were signed to reverse many key programs of President Barack Obama that dealt with the combat against climate change.

    • The new orders all but guarantee that the United States will be unable to meet required environmental commitments agreed upon in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

 

Wednesday, March 29

• United Kingdom confirms ‘Brexit’

  • Prime Minister Theresa May invoked article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, officially starting the exit process of the U.K. from the European Union.

    • With no delays, the U.K. will leave in 2019.

• Two sentenced in ‘Bridgegate’ case

  • Two aides of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie were sentenced for intentionally closing the George Washington Bridge to get back at a local mayor for their political stance. The judge of the case called it “an outrageous breach of power”.

    • Bridget Anne Kelly, a former Christie aide, is to serve 18 months, and Bill Baroni, a former Christie ally at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, is to serve two years for his involvement in the scandal.

 

Thursday, March 30

• Two White House aides assisted HIC Chair Devin Nunes with intel

  • The aides assisted Rep. Nunes (R-CA) in passing along classified documents to the White House without sharing them with or contacting the rest of the House Intelligence Committee.

    • The scandal has been viewed as a major hit to the reputation of the bipartisan congressional investigation, designed to be independent from the president.

• Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn offers testimony to HIC investigation

  • Flynn has offered his testimony to the HIC’s investigation into the Trump Administration’s links to Russia on the condition that he receives immunity.

    • Flynn resigned from his post after it was uncovered that he partook in meeting with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian Ambassador to the U.S., and discussed policy of the administration, before taking his office in January.

• Trump threatens Freedom Caucus

  • In a tweet Trump threatened the Freedom Caucus, a group of extremely conservative Republicans, saying “The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don’t get on the team, & fast”.

    • Members of the Caucus have ignored the threat, many doubling down on their opposition to the American Health Care Act after receiving praise from their conservative districts.

• Vice President Mike Pence breaks tie in abortion bill

  • Pence broke a 50-50 tie in the Senate on a controversial bill that allows states to deny funding to any clinic that provides abortions.

    • Now that the bill is in place, it is expected that many clinics in conservative states will lose out on all-state funding.

• South Korean President Park Geun-hye arrested

  • Ousted Geun-hye was arrested on charges of bribery and abuse of power following her impeachment last week.

    • Geun-hye took an estimated $12 million in bribes from Samsung, as well as other companies, and also used her position to help her family and friends.

• Venezuela disbars legislature

  • The Venezuelan Supreme Court, backed by President Nicolas Maduro, absolved the power of the democratically elected legislature, effectively turning the country into a dictatorship.

    • Maduro has selected a majority of the court’s judges, and the judiciary is viewed as a ‘rubber stamp’ of the presidency.

    • Rioters massed the streets as the country moves closer to a civil war following an economic collapse and being named the world’s most quickly inflating economy.

• North Carolina repeals ‘Bathroom Law’

  • The North Carolina state legislature repealed a law that required transgender citizens to use the bathroom of their birth gender, instead of the one that they identify with.

    • The bill was met with mass controversy, and many organizations, notably the National Collegiate Athletic Association, canceled contracts with the state’s convention centers, costing it millions in tourism money.

 

Friday, April 1

• Press Secretary Sean Spicer insists on Obama wiretap claim

  • Spicer again claimed that new evidence was found proving that a wiretap was ordered on Trump Tower by Obama.

    • The claim has been denied by the Obama administration. Both heads of the CIA and FBI, as well as the Justice Department, have said that there is no evidence of a wiretap.

• Trump University case settles

  • Trump has agreed to a $25 million settlement over alleged fraud and racketeering in Trump University, a business school he founded and owned.

    • Trump repeatedly claimed that the suit is fraudulent and he would not settle, even saying that the school will reopen during his presidency.

• Israel to slow West Bank settlements

  • Israel will ”significantly rein in the footprint” of its illegal settlements in the West Bank region of Palestine, “out of consideration of the positions” of Trump.

    • No new settlements are to be founded after this announcement, though expansion of existing settlements is still allowed.