
The Sunday Subject: January 12, 2025
Fast-moving wildfires have erupted across thousands of acres of the Los Angeles area.
Thousands of people have evacuated their homes, while strong winds have stymied efforts to contain the spread. One of the most destructive climate events in California’s history, the fires have burned through more than 12,000 structures, including homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings, and vehicles. At least 11 people have been killed; officials expect the death toll will rise after cadaver dogs are able to inspect leveled neighborhoods.
Jack Smith, the special counsel who brought two federal prosecutions against President-elect Donald Trump, resigned.
Smith had signaled his intention to resign before Trump, who has threatened him with vengeance, takes office. Smith’s resignation comes after the cases he brought against Trump were essentially rendered moot by his presidential victory; a long-standing Justice Department policy prohibits prosecuting sitting presidents. Smith dropped both of the cases he had filed against Trump in 2023 — one in Florida, on charges of mishandling classified documents, and the other in Washington, on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. The Supreme Court further undermined the prosecutions in a landmark ruling in July that granted presidents a broad form of immunity for official acts taken as president. Meanwhile, Trump-appointed US District Judge Aileen Cannon, who presided over the classified documents case, has issued a temporary injunction blocking the public release of Smith’s report — even though she lacks the jurisdiction to do so. (This is because she dismissed the case, on the unprecedented grounds that Smith had been unlawfully appointed by the Justice Department, and thus it remained pending at the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals over which she does not preside; the final report contained information relating to both cases brought my Smith, one of which she never presided over in the first place; and the Attorney General is vested with the authority to decide whether to release an investigative report prepared by his subordinates).
Justin Trudeau stepped down as the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.
While the Liberal Party won three successive elections under Trudeau’s leadership, over the past year he had become an increasingly polarizing figure over inflation, high housing costs, and immigration. Observers point to as the final straw the resignation of Finance Minister Christia Freeland, a close ally of Trudeau, over diverging spending priorities in the face of an expected tariff onslaught under the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump. Trudeau joins a growing list of progressive leaders ousted by voters’ shift to populist parties; in addition, in 2024, incumbent governments faced massive losses in elections worldwide (experts believe this may be linked to the long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic).