Until Wednesday, Republican State Representative Beth Fukumoto was the youngest female caucus leader in the United States, as House minority leader in Hawaii. But after breaking from her party on President Donald Trump, the young Hawaiian Republican may now leave the GOP.

At age 33, Fukumoto represents a younger and more moderate faction of the Republican Party. Trump’s comments about women and minorities did not appeal to her, and she chose to express her concern with the direction her party is heading by joining the Women’s March in Honolulu on January 21.

While giving a speech at the event, she talked about how she tried to explain to her eight-year-old niece why a room full of grown-ups were yelling insults at her, after she said at the Republican convention last summer that she thought Trump was being sexist and racist. She said,

It doesn’t matter to me who you voted for. People cast their votes for a lot of different reasons. But, no matter who your choice was, the fact remains the same. A man won the White House with anger and hate, and our kids watched it happen.

But the same words that generated cheers at the women’s event made her Republican colleagues so upset that they ousted her from her position. Fukumoto said that within 24 hours of her speech, party members were calling her, asking her to resign for speaking out against the president. On Wednesday all but one, State Rep. Cynthia Thielen, voted for her to be removed. “God, I’m sorry to lose our Minority Leader, someone I so deeply deeply respect. She’s the face of Republicanism as it should be, but won’t be anymore,” Thielen said after the vote. Thielen also spoke at the Women’s March in Honolulu.

Fukumoto said the party had told her that if she wanted to stay on, she would have to promise not to criticize Trump for the rest of his time in the White House. “And with what we’ve been seeing in the news with the different executive orders coming out every day, I didn’t believe I could make that commitment,” she said. She believes the Republican Party as it stands doesn’t tolerate people who speak up. “It seems to be punishing dissent, and when you have a political party, you need dialogue,” she said.

Now Fukumoto feels ready to leave the GOP and is considering joining the Democratic Party instead, but wanted to ask her constituents first, as they were the ones who voted for her. In a letter sent this week, she is asking for their opinions before making an official decision. She is not the only young Republican to switch parties. Her predecessor, Rep. Aaron Ling Johanson, left because he felt that the party had become too narrow in its “demands for ideological purity.”

And according to a new study by political scientist Gary C. Jacobson, young Republicans are much less conservative than older ones. Not only do younger Americans tend to be more liberal generally, but Jacobson also found a significant split between young and old Republicans on almost all topics. He also found that fewer young Republicans than ever before are willing to identify as conservative. This could help change the Republican Party and decrease the growing ideological divide between the parties. But on the other hand, many young people who identify as liberal choose to join the Democratic Party instead, meaning it could be harder to actually change the GOP if there is only the older, white, conservative base left.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Hawaiian Republican Leader Ousted for Opposing Trump, Now May Leave the GOP appeared first on Law Street.

An Arkansas judge resigned from his position on Saturday when accusations were revealed that he had arranged deals for female defendants in exchange for sexual favors. The judge, Timothy Parker, sent a letter to the Arkansas governor, Asa Hutchinson, announcing his choice to step down. He also wrote that he realized he could never serve as a judge again.

The news was made public on Tuesday by the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission, which is investigating Parker. According to the commission, he has repeatedly denied the accusations, but resigned in order to avoid being formally charged with a violation of judicial conduct. He was also worried about how the dispute would affect his family, but said that his term would expire soon anyway.

Arkansas judge resigns after allegations that helped female defendants in exchange for sexual favors https://t.co/Oe1v2lCm1g

— NYT National News (@NYTNational) January 5, 2017

In a letter describing the allegations, the commission wrote that Parker had a pattern of “personal relationships with many female litigants” and made deals such as releasing them from jail without bail, or constructing bond conditions that were favorable for the women. The commission said there are video statements from more than a dozen women, recordings of conversations, and text messages as evidence against him.

There are also other allegations against Parker that say he often showed up without notice at the county jail to release friends of his without bail and would give them a ride home in his own car. This part, the commission said, he admitted to. Parker is also facing criminal charges for the accusations. David Sachar, director of the commission, said:

Bonds would be set, or release of the women on their own recognizance was ordered by going to the jail or via telephone. The bonds or release of these women or their family or friends were done by their request in exchange for sexual favors.

But Parker kept denying his guilt, and when asked by the Associated Press why he didn’t contest the accusations, he answered, “I have young children and I don’t want them exposed to that kind of crap.”

This is not the first time this has happened in the state. In October another Arkansas judge, O. Joseph Boeckmann, was arrested for giving male defendants lighter sentences in exchange for sexual favors, which he called “community service.” The defendants had committed light crimes like traffic or misdemeanor offenses. Boeckmann made at least nine men, between 16 and 22 years old, collect trash from the ground and bring it to his home, where he snapped compromising photos of them and asked them to perform sexual favors. He later threatened or bribed them to make them keep quiet, and focused on vulnerable defendants who couldn’t afford to pay their fines.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Arkansas Judge Allegedly Offered Female Defendants Freedom For Sexual Favors appeared first on Law Street.

Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields has resigned from the conservative news site after it failed to come to her defense when she was allegedly assaulted by Donald Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski at a rally.

According to the police report filed by Fields, the incident took place in Jupiter, Florida on March 8 at 115 Eagle Tree Terrace (Trump National).

In a Breitbart post that begins with the words “I never meant to be part of the story,” Fields recounts her version of the incident writing,

I wasn’t called upon to ask a question during the televised press conference, but afterwards Trump wandered around, stopping at every reporter to take their questions. When he approached me, I asked him about his view on an aspect of affirmative action. 

Trump acknowledged the question, but before he could answer I was jolted backwards. Someone had grabbed me tightly by the arm and yanked me down. I almost fell to the ground, but was able to maintain my balance. Nonetheless, I was shaken.

According to Fields, Washington Post reporter Ben Terris witnessed the assault first hand and confirmed that it was in fact Lewandowski who grabbed her.

Politico was able to obtain an exclusive audio recording and transcript of the exchange, where Terris asks Fields if she’s ok. Later on she says, “That was insane. You should have felt how hard he grabbed me. That’s insane. I’ve never had anyone do that to me from a campaign.”

For added proof, Fields posted the following photo of her fingerprint-sized bruises on her arm to her Twitter tagging Lewandowski.

I guess these just magically appeared on me @CLewandowski_ @realDonaldTrump. So weird. pic.twitter.com/oD8c4D7tw3

— Michelle Fields (@MichelleFields) March 10, 2016

Lewandowski wasted no time denying grabbing her, and accused Fields of having a history of falsely accusing men of assaults on Twitter.

Michelle Fields is an attention seeker who once claimed Allen West groped her but later went silent. https://t.co/J86Ej42eYx

— Corey Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) March 10, 2016

Trump’s campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks also flatly denied that Lewandowski put his hands on Fields. In a statement Hicks said,

As one of dozens of individuals present as Mr. Trump exited the press conference, I did not witness any encounter. In addition to our staff, which had no knowledge of said situation, not a single camera or reporter of more than 100 in attendance capture the alleged incident

She then added,

This individual has never met Corey, nor had the only reporter that supposedly identified him. There are often large crowds aggressively seeking access to Mr. Trump and our staff would never do anything to harm another individual, while at the same time understanding that Mr. Trump and his personal space should never be invaded.

The most disturbing part of the scandal was the fact that Breitbart didn’t even back its own reporter during all of this.

Even though the ultra-conservative site has showered Trump with support throughout his campaign, it still has a responsibility to defend its employees. Instead it told staffers to stop tweeting and publicly supporting her, then “tepidly” asked for an apology.

Fields told the Washington Post,

I would have liked for [Breitbart] to believe me, believe the eyewitness. I think they were more concerned about preserving their access to Trump than they were about finding out the truth.

Fields handed in her resignation Sunday night.

That same night Brietbart editor-at-large Ben Shapiro followed suit in solidarity.

Tonight, I resigned from Breitbart News due to their treatment of @MichelleFields. My full statement: https://t.co/kEFev1L0Af

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 14, 2016

Shapiro said in a statement,

Andrew [Breitbart] built his life and his career on one mission: fight the bullies. But Andrew’s life mission has been betrayed. Indeed, Breitbart News, under the chairmanship of Steve Bannon, has put a stake through the heart of Andrew’s legacy. In my opinion, Steve Bannon is a bully, and has sold out Andrew’s mission in order to back another bully, Donald Trump; he has shaped the company into Trump’s personal Pravda, to the extent that he abandoned and undercut his own reporter, Breitbart News’ Michelle Fields, in order to protect Trump’s bully campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, who allegedly assaulted Michelle. I spoke with Michelle the night after the incident. She told me her story. That story was backed by audiotape, eyewitness testimony from The Washington Post’s Ben Terris, physical bruises, and video tape.

Shapiro drove the point even further adding,

This is disgusting. Andrew never would have stood for it. No news outlet would stand for it.

Nobody should.

Shapiro’s full statement can be read here.

Prior to Fields and Shapiro’s departures, Breitbart’s spokesman and publicist Kurt Bardella resigned from the account, citing the Trump incident in part.

When you reach a point where you can’t give 100% to people you represent it’s not tenable to continue representing them.

— Kurt Bardella (@kurtbardella) March 11, 2016

On Monday, more employees began to jump ship, claiming that they could no longer support the news organization if it didn’t support its own staff.

Still, the the scandal is indicative of a larger trend of violence associated with the Trump campaign. There have been several reports of people being punched, choked, and slammed at his rallies. Trump’s antagonistic rhetoric only helps to fuel the flames. The candidate condoned one protestor getting attacked saying,

Maybe he [the protestor] should have been roughed up, because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing.

This could be our next president.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Breitbart Reporter Resigns After Being Allegedly Assaulted at Trump Rally appeared first on Law Street.

News broke this morning that Speaker of the House John Boehner will be resigning from Congress at the end of October. While some are rejoicing that the congressman, perhaps best known for his slightly orange visage and very active tear ducts, is stepping down, it’s also indicative of the identity crisis that is threatening to consume the Republican Party.

Boehner has long clashed with the more conservative, tea party side of his party. Most recently, members of the Freedom Caucus, some of Boehner’s biggest antagonists, threatened to oust him from the leadership if he didn’t make defunding Planned Parenthood a priority in the ongoing budget fight. This isn’t the first time they’ve tried–this has been a long-waged battle. But if they were successful this time around, Boehner was most likely going to have to rely on liberal support to keep his seat, which would be both an unpredictable and embarrassing situation.

But, by stepping down, Boehner also gains some freedom. No longer held hostage by the fact that he may lose a seat he no longer wants, Boehner now has the ability to advocate for a bill that will avoid a government shutdown. A clean spending bill, without the Planned Parenthood provisions, seems likely to pass. A Boehner aide stated about his decision:

The Speaker believes putting members through prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable damage to the institution. He is proud of what this majority has accomplished, and his Speakership, but for the good of the Republican Conference and the institution, he will resign the Speakership and his seat in Congress, effective October 30.

Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House before Boehner took the stage for a press conference around 10:45 this morning, pointing out that Boehner’s resignation is indicative of the struggles that the Republican Party is facing right now.

No one is entirely sure who is going to take over Boehner’s seat. Right now, the most likely candidate seems to be Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the highest ranking Republican in Congress after Boehner. But McCarthy falls more in line with Republican establishment than the more conservative members trying to oust Boehner. Whether or not there will be a challenge from the right will be interesting to watch–this battle could get incredibly divisive. Given the infighting currently taking place in the Republican Party over who will be the 2016 nominee, it will be interesting to see if the battle for the House leadership gets just as messy.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post John Boehner Resigns: Another Establishment Republican Bites the Dust appeared first on Law Street.