Holly Gregory
Spectrum News Anchor

Trump, Florida, and classified documents

Tuesday at 3 p.m. in Miami. It’s going to be a circus at the Federal Courthouse. Once again, Florida is going to be the center of the political universe.

Former President Donald Trump has been summoned to appear in Miami under federal indictment. He will stand before a judge and hear the 37 charges read against him. The Secret Service is coordinating security for the historic court appearance. This will be the first federal indictment of a former president. Of course, they’ve done this before for state charges in Manhattan.

It was just last week that we learned that Special Counsel Jack Smith had called a second grand jury investigation in Miami. This is in addition to the grand jury investigation we knew was happening in Washington, D.C.

We know that some witnesses called before the Miami grand jury include Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, former Trump spokesperson, Taylor Budowich, who runs a pro-Trump Super PAC, and multiple staff members from Mar-a-Lago.

There was reporting at the beginning of the week that Meadows had made a deal with prosecutors for immunity for his testimony. However, his attorney denied that.

So why a Florida grand jury?

Prosecutors must establish the proper venue and they need to connect part of the alleged crime to where the case is filed. Documents allegedly taken from D.C., so one grand jury in there, and documents allegedly taken, possibly moved around at Mar-a-lago, so another grand jury in Florida.

In other words, a significant amount of Trump’s alleged conduct with the classified documents occurred in Palm Beach.

Could a Florida-based indictment be an advantage to Trump?

It potentially could. Keep in mind, Trump got 5.4% of the vote in D.C. As his attorneys have said many times, prosecutors could convict a ham sandwich named “Trump” in D.C. if they wanted to.

Florida, on the other hand, voted for Trump twice. And a recent Sunshine State poll shows him leading Gov. Ron Desantis by 20 points in the Republican primary. So a Miami jury pool would likely be far more Trump-friendly than a D.C. jury pool. There could still be another indictment out of D.C., though.

How are Florida Republicans responding:

GOV. RON DESANTIS TWEETED:

“The weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society. We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation. Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter? The DeSantis administration will bring accountability to the DOJ, excise political bias and end weaponization once and for all.”

SEN. RICK SCOTT TWEETED:

“Biden is single-handedly destroying the justice system in America. After tonight, Biden will go down as the most corrupt and despotic President in our nation’s history. On the day his $5M bribe is exposed to the public, his DOJ indicts Trump for something he himself has done.”

SEN. MARCO RUBIO TWEETED:

“There is no limit to what these people will do to protect their power & destroy those who threaten it, even if it means ripping our country apart & shredding public faith in the institutions that hold our republic together.”

The last time Trump was indicted, his polling and fundraising spiked as Republicans rallied around him. After doing all the breaking news Thursday night on the indictment, when I checked my email, I had 40 different fundraising pushes from Trump and his allies. It’s clear Trump is not going to fold, but he also faces tremendous legal jeopardy. On Tuesday in Miami, American crosses the political and legal Rubicon and there’s no going back.

Greg Angel
Spectrum News Anchor

A Constitutional Amendment on guns

"If you can’t buy a beer, you shouldn’t be able to buy a gun.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statement came as he launched a new campaign to add a 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

This one focused on installing provisions related to firearm purchases.

According to Newsom’s tweet, the proposal includes:

1. Raising the national minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21

2. Mandating universal background checks

3. Requiring waiting periods for gun purchases

4. Banning the purchase of assault rifles for civilians

Newsom said the proposal balances states’ ability to "enact common sense gun safety laws, while leaving the Second Amendment intact, and respecting America’s gun owning tradition.”

It should be noted that Newsom’s proposal included the term “assault weapons” in the text, and the video announcement used the word "assault rifles.” That difference is important because legally — and depending on who you talk to — they can mean very different things.

The Gun Violence Archive tracked more than 200 mass shootings in America so far this year at the time of this writing.

Next week will mark seven years since the Pulse nightclub massacre, where 49 people were killed, 53 others injured, and communities across Central Florida were shattered.

In the years since, there was little legislative change. Former State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith and other Democratic colleagues repeatedly pushed for reforms and restrictions that included limitations on ammunition and assault rifle sales. Those efforts didn’t get very far in the GOP-controlled legislature.

February 2023 marked five years since a gunman killed 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

That shooting prompted a rapid response from then-Republican Gov. Rick Scott and the GOP-led Legislature. 

The state of Florida moved the eligible age to purchase firearms from 18 to 21 in 2018, a move that current Gov. Ron DeSantis opposed at the time of its passage. The NRA sued the state about the law, arguing that the law limited Second Amendment freedoms.

A U.S. appeals court upheld the Florida law in March. Last year, a federal judge ruled that the Florida law was consistent with a “longstanding” restriction that courts have upheld in the past.

While those laws stand, there was an effort in this last legislative session to pass House Bill 1543, which would have rolled back that Parkland legislation, reducing the minimum age to purchase rifles and long guns to 18. HB 1543 died in committee.

Lawmakers approved “permitless carry” this year as well. That means individuals can now carry concealed weapons without carrying a formal concealed carry license or training. Emphasis still on “concealed," not open carry, so firearms still can not be carried visibly on a person. 

States across the U.S. have a patchwork of approaches when it comes to firearms, and each has responded to calls for change in their own ways.

There is bipartisan agreement that mental health is a critical aspect of the issue, but there are division of viewpoints beyond that.

There are two ways to add an amendment to the United States Constitution.

1. Congress may approve an Amendment, through a joint resolution and with two-thirds vote, or

2. States can take the lead by calling for a Congressional Convention with two-thirds of support from state legislatures

Newsom is forging a path forward via the latter, with California becoming the first state to sign on.

According to information from the U.S. Senate, there have been nearly 12,000 attempts to amend the Constitution between the years 1789 and 2019.

More than half of states have GOP-controlled legislatures (28) compared to states with Democratic-controlled legislatures (19). Three states have split-controlled legislatures. With mass shootings and gun violence commonplace in America, the questions many ask remains: Is this our new normal? Will anything be done? When is enough, enough? 

Ybeth Bruzual
Spectrum News Anchor

Puerto Rican statehood

Puerto Rico needs more federal dollars to rebuild its aging power grid. It currently needs an overhaul and can leave the over 3 million residents without power.

Additionally, the call is getting louder for those who want the island to become the 51st state according to the current governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi. He was in D.C. for a multi-day visit this week.

The people of Puerto Rico have chimed in on this controversial issue for years, but in the end, the effort toward statehood has gone nowhere. Some reading this may be asking themselves why should anyone across the I-4 corridor care about the future of Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans make up the largest Hispanic group in Central Florida. Yes, it matters.

So far, there are not many headlines in the U.S. about this visit. I am still baffled why these Puerto Rico stories are not part of the daily coverage from the major networks.

For example, I looked at CNN and other news outlets showed little traction on Pierluisi’s visit. That’s sad. Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States. It is part of America! Its citizens are U.S. citizens by birth. Part of me wants to say, no matter your party affiliation, PAY ATTENTION TO PUERTO RICO!

I am glad Spectrum News covers Puerto Rico. We have been on the island, with boots on the ground covering the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona in September 2022, the earthquakes of 2020, the Hurricane Maria recovery, and more.

This topic gets me fired up. Can you tell? OK, back to the visit in D.C.

Pierluisi was very active on Twitter during his visit. Here’s a link to news conference that was carried live on social media.

Pierluisi was fuming, saying Democratic lawmakers were welcoming somewhat to his delegation, but that Republicans had all but ignored him.

He said he met with at least eight Democrats. Pierluisi also says he is focusing on phone-banking to get out his message. The delegation said they want equality for Puerto Rico guaranteed by the Constitution.

In attendance at the briefing was the Pierluisi alongside his predecessor, former Gov. Ricardo Rosselló. This raised a lot of eyebrows. To explain why this was a big deal, let’s go back a few short years ago.

Rosselló was forced to step down, and eventually did, after massive, violent riots erupted in Old San Juan due to a scandal regarding highly inappropriate messages that were leaked. But hey, it’s politics. Things change.

Not in attendance was the resident commissioner representing Puerto Rico in D.C., Jennifer Gonzalez. She has no voting power but can broker deals. Many speculate she plans a run for governor, a possible reason for not wanting to be seen at the news conference.