On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Biden says government will help Maui ‘for as long as it takes’

Biden visited Maui after devastating wildfires. But he was met with grief from some over relief efforts. Plus, National Political Correspondent David Jackson looks at the fight over legal fees in the Georgia election indictment, President Joe Biden's reelection campaign plans to unleash a TV ad to go up against the first Republican debate, El Paso Times and USA TODAY Border Reporter Lauren Villagran puts Bernardo Arévalo's Guatemala election win in context, and Sha'Carri Richardson is the fastest woman in the world.

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Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Tuesday, the 22nd of August 2023. Today, Biden's pledge to Hawaii. Plus, wrangling over legal fees in Trump's Georgia indictment, and what Guatemala's next president means for Central America and the U.S.

♦

President Joe Biden visited Maui yesterday where he told survivors that the nation grieves with the island.

President Joe Biden:

And to the people of Hawaii, we're with you for as long as it takes, I promise you.

Taylor Wilson:

Biden arrived in the state nearly two weeks after fire killed at least 115 people and destroyed much of the historic Hawaiian capital of Lahaina. The president and first lady Jill Biden spent much of their visit in Lahaina getting a closeup look of destroyed homes and vehicles and piles of debris. Biden said, "We're going to rebuild the way the people of Maui want to rebuild." And he said that his administration would focus on respecting sacred lands, cultures, and traditions.

Still, many on the island have criticized the president for not visiting sooner, and they've been critical of the shortcomings at the local and state level. Maui's emergency administrator resigned amid the tragedy after defending the government's decision not to alert residents to the wildfires through the use of sirens out of fear they would seek higher ground, thinking they were for tsunamis or hurricanes.

The deadly Maui fires reveal a vulnerability that's increasing across the country and the world amid threats from climate change. Huge parts of the nation lie in dry danger zones where wildfires spark and cash-strapped governments have ineffective emergency plans to save lives. Similar scenarios also played out in the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people in California. You can read more about global concerns surrounding wildfires with a link in today's show notes.

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Former President Donald Trump's former lawyer is among those indicted alongside him in Georgia, accused of organizing a conspiracy to steal the 2020 election. And now that attorney, Jenna Ellis, wants Trump to pay her legal fees. I spoke with USA TODAY National Political Correspondent David Jackson to learn more. Thanks for making the time as always, David.

David Jackson:

Yeah. Thank you.

Taylor Wilson:

So, David, who is Jenna Ellis and what's she saying about her legal fees here?

David Jackson:

She used to be an attorney for the Donald Trump campaign, the 2020 campaign, and she was very active in the protests of the 2020 campaign after Trump lost to Joe Biden. She engineered protests in six states, some of which are the subject of criminal indictment right now. And she, herself, was indicted in connection in the Georgia case. She's been accused of being a co-defendant in a conspiracy to overturn the election in Georgia.

So, she's on the hook for criminal prosecution in Atlanta. And apparently she has not done very well professionally since the 2020 campaign, in part because she had a falling out with Donald Trump. So, she's worried about all the legal bills that she's going to pile up, and she has gone public in terms of asking why the Trump campaign or the Trump political action committee isn't helping all of these co-defendants with their expenses.

Taylor Wilson:

And David, who's actually paying Trump's legal expenses at this point?

David Jackson:

Campaign donors, basically. The political action committee, basically a PAC that is devoted to paying legal fees, and almost all of them are going to Trump. I should add that Jenna Ellis isn't the only one who's talked about this. Some of the other lesser known defendants have also mentioned this or talked about this, but my understanding is that they've been assured that they will be taken care of. The difference with the Ellis case is that, as I said, she's had a falling out with Trump and so she's out in the outs in Trump world and I think she feels like she's being persecuted for that.

Taylor Wilson:

And has the Trump camp responded at all to Ellis's comments on this?

David Jackson:

No, they haven't commented at all on Jenna Ellis except to acknowledge that those two are opponents right now. So, there's no love lost between Jenna Ellis and the Trump campaign, but they have indicated that Trump is going to take care of all of his people and Trump has as well.

There have also been people on the internet, including Matt Schlapp, who's a well-known Trump ally, who have suggested that the other presidential candidates should drop out of the race so that the Republicans could use campaign money that's being spent now to pay people's legal fees. I don't think the other presidential candidates are going to take Schlapp up on that suggestion.

Taylor Wilson:

And Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is reportedly trying to get other defendants to testify against Trump. Is there any sign that Ellis might flip? And what about other defendants here?

David Jackson:

No, there's no signs that Jenna may flip. And in fact, a lot of attorneys have speculated that she was on the indictment list because Fani Willis wanted to pressure her into flipping on Donald Trump, and there's no indication that's going to happen. She's not particularly fond of Trump, but she's also criticized the cases against him saying they're politically motivated.

But there are a lot of rumors about who may or may not flip on Trump. Rudy Giuliani is also having financial difficulties and he's also complained about not being paid by Donald Trump. So, there are rumors that he may flip, although his aides deny that that's a possibility. And Mark Meadows is also rumored to be someone who may wind up testifying against the president, but he's basically trying to get the charges against him dismissed. So, he's going off on another legal track so far. But the bottom line is that no one of any particular importance or no one who was involved in the plan to overturn this election has indicated that they will testify against the ex-president.

Taylor Wilson:USA TODAY National Political Correspondent David Jackson, thanks as always.

David Jackson:Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.

Taylor Wilson:

Meanwhile, Trump's bond in the Georgia election case has been set at $200,000 after his lawyers reached an agreement with Georgia authorities yesterday. Trump also plans to turn himself in on Thursday afternoon in Atlanta on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election.

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President Joe Biden's reelection campaign is rolling out a TV ad to coincide with tomorrow's first Republican presidential debate, and he plans to blast what his campaign calls extreme and out of touch views from MAGA Republicans. The campaign did not say where commercials would run or how much it's spending, but did say that Black and Hispanic voters would be targeted in particular.

Biden's campaign and the Democratic National Committee also plan to send the president's allies out in full force ahead of the debate. Republican front-runner, former President Donald Trump is not expected at the first debate, but regardless of his participation, attacks toward Biden are certain on the stage tomorrow night, as Republicans have slammed the President's policies on the economy and immigration.

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Bernardo Arévalo has been elected as the next president of Guatemala.

Crowds chanting:

Sí se puede! Sí se puede! Olé! Olé, Olé, Olé!

Taylor Wilson:

That was the scene as his supporters celebrated Sunday night. But who is this relative political outsider? He's vowed to be an ally to President Joe Biden, whose administration needs a trustworthy partner in Central America as migrants continue to flow north to the U.S. Mexico border. And in Guatemala, many are hoping he could be the answer to fighting back against corruption. I spoke with El Paso Times and USA TODAY Border Reporter Lauren Villagran to put Arévalo's victory in context. Lauren, thanks for making the time.

Laura Villagran:

Yeah. Thank you, Taylor

Taylor Wilson:

Guatemalans have chosen Bernardo Arévalo as the country's next president. Lauren, who is Arévalo and how overwhelmingly did he win this election?

Laura Villagran:

Yeah. So, Bernardo Arévalo just won the presidential election in Guatemala by a landslide. He's an outsider, political outsider, who was serving as a congressman and was running on the presidential ticket for a really tiny, urban academic party called Semilla, which means seed in Spanish. And really he came to the forefront just about two months ago, after the first round presidential election in Guatemala, after three very popular candidates were basically thrown off the ballot under allegations of electoral violations that many people say were trumped-up charges.

Taylor Wilson:

And Lauren, there have been a number of legal objections here even after Sunday's election. Previously, as you mentioned, the attorney general's office tried suspending Arévalo's party's legal status. Could there still be real obstacles to certifying Sunday's election results?

Laura Villagran:

That's my understanding, Taylor. Election observers say that in Guatemala there are elite actors, whether that's in the attorney general's office or in other parts of the judicial system or in the business community. There are a number of people who have been sanctioned by the United States for anti-democratic actions and corruption. And so, there are real concerns that some of these players could move to try to disqualify Arévalo's party or take other actions keeping him from being inaugurated on January 14th. So, I know that folks who are watching politics in Guatemala and the U.S. government are going to be watching very closely in the coming weeks.

Taylor Wilson:

And Guatemala is a young country. Its average age is 26 compared with 38 in the U.S. for instance. What are young Guatemalans hoping to get out of Arévalo's win?

Laura Villagran:

Yeah. So it was really young people who drove his win, Taylor. There's a lot of feeling among young people, and really among a number of Guatemalans who voted for Arévalo, that the country was headed in an anti-democratic direction and the country is rife with corruption. You've got political and business elites that have really taken over a lot of institutions in Guatemala and really make life impossible for a lot of people.

There are young people who say they want to stay in their country, make their communities a better place, whether that's the capital city in Guatemala or even in smaller rural and indigenous communities. People want to stay. When life becomes impossible, when they can't get a job without paying a bribe for it, when they can't get an education, when they can't get their kids educated, when there are problems of violence that are unresolved, these are the kinds of things that push people out of their communities north to the U.S. border. So, it was really young people that rallied around Arévalo and his Seed movement cause.

Taylor Wilson:

Yeah. You mentioned migration. The U.S. has been hoping for more stability in Central America and less corruption in order to tackle some of these root causes of migration north to the U.S. border. What does this election win mean for the U.S. and the Biden administration going forward?

Laura Villagran:

Well, you mentioned root causes and we know that the Biden administration has made so-called root causes of migration one of the cornerstones of their immigration policy in Central America. The idea behind that initiative announced a couple of years ago was to funnel U.S.-allocated money into organizations in Central American nations that are working on some of those root causes, whether it's economic insecurity or the root causes of violence.

So, we know that that strategy flatlined over the past couple of years, in part because the Biden administration did not have a trustworthy partner in Central America, in Guatemala especially, there was a lot of pushback. Arévalo told USA TODAY and the El Paso Times, when we were on the campaign trail with him, that he intends to work with the Biden administration, that addressing the root causes of migration from his country is one of his top priorities. So, we've already seen President Joe Biden extend congratulations to Arévalo in Guatemala. I think we'll be looking in the coming weeks, and certainly after Inauguration Day, to see what kind of form that cooperation or collaboration takes in terms of addressing those root causes.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. Lauren Villagran covers the border for the El Paso Times and USA TODAY. Thank you, Lauren.

Laura Villagran:

Thank you, Taylor.

♦

Taylor Wilson:

Sha'Carri Richardson is the fastest woman in the world. The sprinter won her first ever title in the women's 100 meters at the Track and Field World Championships yesterday and her time of 10.65 seconds set a championship record. Richardson is also the first American woman to win a 100-meter world title since the late Tori Bowie won gold at the 2017 Worlds. On the men's side, fellow American Noah Lyles also won gold at this year's 100 meters. It's the first time Americans have swept the event since 2017.

Thanks for listening to 5 Things. If you like the show, please subscribe and leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. And if you have any comments, you can reach us at podcasts@usatoday.com. I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.

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