Democracy Wire

Bill Whitaker of 60 Minutes takes us to the nondescript strip shopping center in Springfield, Illinois where the first shots were fired by Russia last year in what is now widely understood, by almost everyone but President Trump, as an ongoing cyber attack on our democracy.

As a fringe element of hateful racists gather outside the White House today for "Unite the Right 2," we should recall that many Americans rejected their message and the violence it inspired in Charlottesville last year. America's struggle with race is ongoing and in moments like this it is important to witness the healing that continues to propel us forward to the fixes we need, as well as the pain a few cause so many.

The Atlantic noted it immediately, the rest of the media world is catching up after Rachel Maddow raised concerns last night that one week later the White House has not corrected the official transcript of the Putin-Trump news conference in Helsinki to include Jeff Mason's full question.

On January 21, 2017, Donald John Trump raised his right hand and, with just the hint of a smile of self-vindication, took an oath “to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help me God.” “We the People,” the Constitution begins, and its foundation stone is the right of the People to elect our leaders through the free exercise of elections without the interference of any foreign power.

Democracy Download is an every-other-weekly round-up of democracy-related events from across the ideological spectrum. These events are based in Washington, D.C., but many can be seen on C-Span or live-streamed on Facebook Live or other online venues. Check links for more information.

We should all be paying attention to more than just the issues before the Supreme Court and how this, or any, nominee might rule. Judicial ethics and how the justices and the judiciary conduct business deserve scrutiny too.