On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump was held in contempt and fined $9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order and warning that he could go to jail if he continued to attack witnesses and jurors.
Trump has a long history of attacking people involved in legal proceedings, including repeatedly disparaging judges overseeing his criminal and civil cases. It's a strategy that some see as an attempt to delegitimize the court system, while he is undergoing multiple trials at the same time as running for president. Trump's legal team argues that Trump has clear rights protecting his speech as a citizen and a presidential candidate.
But legal experts say his actions are contributing to an overall growing distrust of the judicial system, and undermining the safety of the people sworn to upholding the rule of law, and their families.
A Washington Post analysis of Trump's social media posts say he has gone after judges or their family members by name 138 times since 2022. And a Reuters analysis found that threats against federal judges as a whole have more than doubled since late 2020.
To start Wednesday's "Sound of Ideas," we're going to talk to two federal judges in Ohio about Trump's actions and judicial safety, as well as the public perception of the court system.
Later in the show, we are less than 90 days away from the start of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
The United States has long found Olympic greatness in track and field and Cleveland's East Tech High School can lay claim to two of the biggest legends of all time: Jesse Owens and Harrison Dillard. Both won four medals each at the Olympics.
Owens won his medals in 1936 in Berlin and along the way short-circuited Adolph Hitler's plans to use the games as a showcase for Aryan dominance. Dillard's greatness came in 1948 and 1952 after being inspired by Owens.
Now, East Tech High School has leaned into that history to bring back its track team. The COVID pandemic knocked it out in 2020 when sports district-wide were cancelled.
We will talk about the return of the East Tech boys' track team and how Olympic legends are still inspiring a new generation of athletes.
Guests:
-Honorable Dan Polster, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
-Honorable J. Philip Calabrese, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
-Michael Hardaway, Coach, East Tech Boys Varsity Track Team
-Leroy Carter, Campus Coordinator, East Tech High School
-Zikei Harris, Student Athlete, East Tech High
-Rick Jackson, Former Host, Ideastream Public Media
-Harrison Dillard, Former Olympic Gold Medalist
