Weekly news review: Saturday, May 6, 2023
What does the news landscape look like?
This week did not have a single dominant news story. The King Charles coronation is the top story heading into the weekend.
This is how the top stories were covered on each side of the media yesterday:
King Charles coronation (44% more on the left)
Supreme Court ethics (279% more on the left)
Trump rape trial (301% more on the left)
Media bias ratings are from AllSides.
This is how articles from liberal and conservative outlets were distributed over the past five days among the top stories.
Liberal outlets used these words more than conservative outlets:
ginni (19.5x)
crow (3.7x)
thomas (3x)
Conservative outlets used these words more than liberal outlets:
illegal (9.9x)
migrants (5.8x)
title (5.1x)
What is happening in the top stories?
Now for a deep dive into our top three stories, starting with…
King Charles coronation
Key people: King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Archbishop of Canterbury, members of the British royal family, members of foreign royal families
Background:
King Charles III ascended to the throne when Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022, and was officially proclaimed Britain’s monarch two days later in an ascension ceremony broadcast for the first time on television.
There is no legal requirement for a coronation, but it is a religious ceremony that provides a more formal confirmation of the monarch’s role as head of state and titular head of the Church of England.
King Charles III will be the 40th monarch crowned at Westminster Abbey in a service that will remain true to the ancient ceremonies performed for his predecessors, but with updates to bring it in line with modern-day values.
The crown jewels, which are part of the royal collection and are held in trust for the nation, will be used during the coronation ceremony.
The coronation ceremony will be fully televised and live streams from the coverage will also be shown on big screens across London’s royal parks.
Latest developments:
The coronation ceremony will blend the ancient ritual of a ceremony that dates back for almost 1,000 years with the modern, more diverse face of Britain and its many faiths, with a procession of faith leaders and the involvement of those who “reflect the diversity of the United Kingdom and its peoples.”
The coronation ceremony will be watched by about 100 heads of state and dignitaries, and will include a display of pageantry and military processions.
The Order of Service for the coronation ceremony says that the rite of coronation has been modified through the centuries, adapting to changing needs, and Charles’ ceremony will for the first time include the involvement of those who “reflect the diversity of the United Kingdom and its peoples, in striking contrast to seventy years ago.”
Supreme Court ethics
Key people: Clarence Thomas, Harlan Crow, Dick Durbin, John Roberts, Hillary Clinton
Background:
Justice Clarence Thomas has been linked financially to GOP megadonor Harlan Crow, who paid thousands of dollars in tuition to a private boarding school for Thomas’s great-nephew, whom Thomas has said he raised “as a son.”
Thomas has also been accepting luxury trips and hospitality from Crow for decades, which experts are now looking into whether Thomas violated ethics rules, the law, or both, in failing to report the gifts on required financial disclosure forms.
Federal ethics laws require the justices to report gifts given to a “dependent child,” but that term is defined to only include the justices’ children or stepchildren.
Thomas’s allies have insisted the payment doesn’t violate the disclosure law since it was for Thomas’s sister’s grandson.
Democrats have been calling for the justices to adopt a binding code of ethics, while Republicans have opposed the effort.
Latest developments:
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joined calls for establishing an “enforceable” code of ethics for Supreme Court justices following ethical controversies surrounding Justice Clarence Thomas.
Kellyanne Conway, former President Trump aide, defended payments she reportedly made to Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, at the behest of a conservative judicial activist.
The Washington Post reported that legal activist Leonard Leo instructed Conway, then a GOP pollster, to “give” Ginni Thomas “another $25K” in January 2012, emphasizing that there should be “no mention of Ginni, of course” in the paperwork.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin scolded Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts at a hearing for what he called the court’s “oblivious” response to the “obvious” ethical conflicts facing its members.
A Gallup poll conducted in December found the Supreme Court had a 58 percent disapproval rating, the worst Gallup had measured in more than 20 years.
Trump rape trial
Key people: Donald Trump, E. Jean Carroll, Lisa Birnbach, Jessica Leeds, Joe Tacopina
Background:
E. Jean Carroll accused Donald Trump of raping her in a New York City department store in the mid-1990s and sued him for sexual battery and defamation over an October 2022 Truth Social post in which Trump again denied Carroll’s claims and criticized her appearance.
Trump’s attorney confirmed that he will not testify in his civil trial over Carroll’s accusations of sexual battery and defamation, citing security implications and “burdens” on the city.
Lisa Birnbach, a longtime friend of Carroll, testified that Carroll called her minutes after the alleged attack but refused to go to the police, leading them to argue before Birnbach agreed never to speak of it again.
Jessica Leeds testified that Trump molested her on an airliner in the late 1970s, supporting Carroll’s testimony that Trump raped her in the dressing room of a luxury department store in midtown Manhattan.
A video recording of Trump’s October 2022 deposition over the rape allegations against him is made public for the first time, showing Trump’s emphatic, often colorful denials.
Latest developments:
The video recording of Trump’s deposition is made public, showing Trump repeatedly misidentifying Carroll as his ex-wife Marla Maples and calling her claim “a false, disgusting lie.”
Critics deride Trump’s decision not to appear for trial as a sign of his supposed contempt for the process and as a tacit admission of the risk his presence would pose to his defense under cross-examination.
Others argue that the choice not to testify was the only sound legal strategy at Trump’s disposal and could potentially save his campaign.