Today on AirTalk, we discuss if pursuing impeachment is a wise move for the Democrats ahead of 2020 presidential race. We also take a look at the legal and bioethical questions involved in posthumous reproduction; debate the single use plastic bills moving through the state legislature; and more.
Some Dems Are Calling For Impeachment. Is This A Wise Strategy Ahead Of 2020?
This morning, President Trump said at a news conference at the Rose Garden that he won’t work with Congressional Democrats on an infrastructure bill unless they stop investigating him.
This comes after Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared Wednesday that President Donald Trump is “engaged in a cover up.” However, she also tamped down some Democrats’ rush toward an impeachment inquiry, telling lawmakers during a closed meeting to be persistent but patient in their showdown with the White House.
Some of the calls for impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump come as a result of his latest defiance of Congress by blocking his former White House lawyer Don McGahn from testifying on Tuesday.
Is pursuing impeachment a wise move for Dems ahead of 2020? Or as some conservatives argue, is Trump actually trying to strategically goad Dems into impeachment proceedings?
Plus, what legal latitude does McGahn have in defying the House Judiciary Committee’s subpoena and skipping the hearing? Is he immune under executive privilege?
With files from the Associated Press.
Guests:
Jennifer Haberkorn, congressional reporter for the Los Angeles Times; she tweets
Sean T. Walsh, Republican political analyst and partner at Wilson Walsh Consulting in San Francisco; he is a former adviser to California Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger and a former White House staffer for Presidents Reagan and H.W. Bush
Cenk Uygur, the host and creator of liberal online news show "The Young Turks”; he tweets
Harry Litman, former U.S. Attorney and deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department under President Clinton; professor of constitutional law at UCLA and UC San Diego; he is the creator and executive producer of the "Talking Feds" podcast; he tweets
A Look At The Legal And Bioethical Questions Involved In Posthumous Reproduction
Last week, New York Supreme Court Justice John Colangelo ruled that the California-based parents of a 21-year-old killed in a skiing accident could use their late son’s frozen sperm for procreation.
The sperm was retrieved and frozen when Peter L. Zhu was in surgery for organ donation. His parents argued that their son had expressed interest in having children when he was alive, but there was no written consent to posthumous reproduction. The parents said they haven’t decided whether they will use the sperm.
There isn’t much legal precedent for posthumous reproduction, and most court cases involve filings by surviving partners or spouses rather than parents.
This case raises various bioethical and legal questions. While Peter Zhu had said he wanted children while alive, is it fair to assume he would consent to his reproductive materials being used posthumously by his parents? Would this be a fair arrangement for the child, if they were to be born?
Guests:
Judith Daar, Dean Elect at Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University and the chair for the ethics committee at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine; her research interests include the intersection of law, medicine and ethics and reproductive technologies
Arthur Caplan, professor of Medical Ethics at New York University school of medicine; he tweets
Debating The Single-Use Plastic Bills Moving Through State Legislature
A pair of bills designed to drastically reduce plastic waste in California passed the Senate and Assembly appropriations committees on Thursday.
The bills, SB 54 and AB 1080, would require manufacturers and retailers to reduce plastic packaging by 75 percent by 2030. That would mean switching to recyclable or compostable materials or getting rid of packaging altogether. After that date, single-use plastic packaging would be banned.
The legislation is authored by Senator Ben Allen of Santa Monica and Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher of San Diego. It will face a vote in the full legislature in the coming months.
Guests:
Jill Replogle, KPCC’s Orange County reporter; she’s been following the story; she tweets
Jeffrey Hollender, CEO of the American Sustainable Business Council, a network of businesses and business associations committed to sustainability; co-founder and former CEO of Seventh Generation, which sells sustainable household and personal care products; adjunct professor of sustainability and social entrepreneurship at New York University’s Stern Business School; he tweets
Tim Shestek, senior director of state affairs for the American Chemistry Council, an association of chemical and plastic manufacturers; he tweets
After SB-50, Here Are The Other Housing Bills That Could Still Reach Newsom’s Desk This Year?
Housing and homelessness have arguably become the biggest problem facing California. And many legislative proposals have been introduced to tackle both issues.
A lot of attention this year has been paid to SB-50, a state bill introduced by Democratic California State Senator Scott Wiener, which would allow more housing to be built around transit lines. That bill, however, was shelved unexpectedly last week and probably won’t be voted on until 2020.
So what other housing bills are still being considered this legislative year? SacBee reporter Hannah Wiley joins Larry to discuss.
Guest:
Hannah Wiley, reporter for Sacramento Bee who covers politics and the state legislature; she’s been covering the story; she tweets
After Three Handwritten Wills Were Discovered in Aretha Franklin’s Home, We Hear Your Will and Estate Planning Horror Stories
The process of determining what members of Aretha Franklin’s family will inherit, and who will inherit those things, just got a whole lot more complex.
It was originally believed that the late singer did not leave a last will and testament when she died last year in Detroit. But this week, three handwritten documents that it appears Franklin wrote were submitted to Oakland County probate court in Michigan. If it can be determined that the handwriting is indeed hers when attorneys for her estate go before a judge on June 12th, it could give her family and attorneys a better sense of how she wanted her worldly possessions and wealth distributed among her family. But how do you handle a situation where you have multiple wills that may contain conflicting instructions from the deceased?
Today on AirTalk, Larry chats with an estate planning and wills expert about how California law handles and resolves these kinds of situations, and we’ll take calls from AirTalk listeners who want to share their will and estate planning horror stories. Have you ever had a situation where a family member died and there were conflicting instructions in a will or wills as far as carrying it out? How did you resolve it? Join the conversation at 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Jan Copley, principal at Pasadena Law Group, which specializes in estate planning, trust administration and probate cases