Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 24-7 at Background Briefing.org. I'm Ian Masters,

and today we'll look into a number of stories and issues in the news. We'll begin with today's withdrawal by Matt Gates from facing confirmation as Trump's nominee for United States Attorney General,

ahead of damaging evidence sure to emerge of Gates's drug-fueled parties involving sex with underage girls,

with possibly more witnesses coming

forward. With shocking details emerging about Trump's nominee to head up the Pentagon, it would

seem that being guilty of sex crimes appears to be a necessary qualification to join Trump's

cabinet, along with having performed on television.

Joining us is James Ziren, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York,

and the host of the critically acclaimed television talk show conversations with Jim Ziron,

which airs on PBS.

He is the author of Supremely Partisan, How Raw Politics Tips the Scales in the United

States Supreme Court, and Plaintiff in Chief, a portrait of Donald Trump in 3,500 lawsuits.

He is a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly and regular contributor to The Hill,

where his latest article we will discuss is,

who will stand up to Trump's unqualified nominees?

Then we'll examine the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu and his former defense minister,

along with an Amos leader who is presumed dead,

and speak with Richard Falk, who during 40 years at Princeton University

was active in seeking an end to the Vietnam War, a better understanding of Iran, a just solution for

Israel-Palestine, and improving democracy elsewhere. He is currently the chair of global law

at Queen Mary University London

and Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitors Chairman of the Board of Trustees. He served as a

...