What recent controversy surrounds former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stephens. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers says he is stepping away from his public duties. Summers is facing backlash over his email exchanges with late sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein. NPR's Giles Snyder reports.
Larry Summers told Harvard student newspaper in a statement that he is deeply ashamed and takes full responsibility for what he said was a misguided decision to continue to communicate with Jeffrey Epstein. He said the move is part of an effort to rebuild trust and repair relationships with those closest to him.
Emails between Summers and Epstein were among thousands of documents released last week by the House Oversight Committee. They show the two remained in contact until just before Epstein's arrest in 2019 for sex trafficking minors.
Summers has not been accused by any of Epstein's victims, but last week President Trump named him and other prominent Democrats when he urged the Justice Department to investigate them. Trial Snyder, NPR News.
The Trump administration is preparing to sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. The announcement comes amid concerns that the sale could lead to China gaining access to U.S. technology that's linked to the advanced weapons system. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expected to discuss that plan and other deals Tuesday during his first official visit to Washington.
Bin Salman is also expected to announce a multi-billion dollar investment in U.S. artificial intelligence infrastructure. For the past two months, the Trump administration has carried out deadly strikes on small suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. As NPR's Ryan Lucas reports, it is a huge change from decades-old U.S.
policy of intercepting drug boats, seizing the contraband, and prosecuting the crew.
So I spoke with nine current and former officials for this story. They are all people who spent much of their careers focused on transnational criminal organizations and drug trafficking. So they have a lot of experience. They are not fans of drug cartels. They all questioned the legality of the Trump administration's military strikes. Many of them referred to the strikes as murder.
And they point out that there's no due process here for the folks who are being killed. Now, the Trump administration, for its part, disagrees. It says these strikes are lawful and that the president is acting under his Article 2 powers as criminal. commander-in-chief and in self-defense.
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