On this day last year, ABC suspended late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, amid pressure from the Trump administration over remarks about reactions to the killing of Charlie Kirk. Amid outcry over such an assault on free speech, Kimmel returned six days later.
Good morning, friends. Prem here. As the music world is upended by Macklemore – and the rest of Ed Sheeran’s opening acts – taking a brave stand against the pro-Israel lobby, Israel’s actual genocide continues… And though Donald Trump oversees the current violence, it began under Joe Biden.
Well, my dear readers, in today’s ‘First Draft’ we have a huge story about just that. A coalition of organizations is launching a campaign to demand real accountability for the officials who helped Israel commence the genocide that’s ruined millions of lives, and opened the eyes of millions more – and we’ve got the scoop.
We’re also looking at the political fallout from a Vanity Fair deep dive on JD Vance’s time at Yale, and taking in another day filled with talking heads on the road to nowhere in Iran. Let’s read in…
Chasing Accountability
An array of top Biden officials involved in supporting or denying Israel’s genocide in Gaza secured cushy gigs after leaving government, from professorships at elite colleges to roles at Washington think tanks and in the mainstream media. Now, a coalition of human rights and political groups is leading a campaign to demand those officials be boxed out from such gigs – and future Democratic administrations.
On Thursday, organizers launched the #DropTheGenocide20 pledge: A “baseline accountability commitment pledging to not hire, consult, or otherwise promote top Biden White House officials who were responsible for promoting, lying about, and covering up the Gaza genocide,” according to materials shared exclusively with Zeteo.
The campaign lists 20 officials in the Biden-Harris administration it calls “most responsible” for boosting, lying about, or covering up the genocide.
The list includes: