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U.S. NEWS Tuesday 18 OcTOber 2022
Court rejects appeal to give American Samoans citizenship

By MARK SHERMAN That history prompted Gor-
Associated Press such to comment in a case
WASHINGTON (AP) — The involving benefits denied to
Supreme Court on Monday people who live in Puerto
rejected an appeal seek- Rico, decided in April. He
ing to give people born in wrote that the Insular Cas-
American Samoa U.S. citi- es were wrongly decided
zenship. because they deprived
In leaving in place an ap- residents of U.S. territories of
peals court decision, the some constitutional rights.
court also passed up an in- “It is past time to acknowl-
vitation to overturn a series edge the gravity of this
of decisions dating back to error and admit what we
1901 known as the Insular know to be true: The Insular
Cases, replete with racist Cases have no foundation
and anti-foreign rhetoric. in the Constitution and rest
Justice Neil Gorsuch had instead on racial stereo-
called for the cases to be types. They have no place
overturned in April. in our law,” Gorsuch wrote.
But the justices refused to The case stems from a law-
take up an appeal from suit filed by three American
people born in American Samoa natives now living in
Samoa, and living in Utah, The U.S Supreme Court is seen, Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022 in Washington. Utah, where they are pro-
who argued that a federal Associated Press hibited from voting or be-
law declaring that they for the Justices to leave the United States where the House seat. coming police officers.
are “nationals, but not citi- in place a ruling that says inhabitants are not Ameri- The Insular Cases, which The Biden administration
zens, of the United States at I am not equal to other can citizens at birth. arose following the Span- joined the American Sa-
birth” is unconstitutional. Americans simply because Instead, those born in the ish-American War, dealt moa government in calling
A trial judge in Utah ruled I was born in a U.S. terri- cluster of islands some with the administration of for the court to reject the
in their favor, but the fed- tory,” John Fitisemanu, 2,600 miles (4,184 kilome- overseas territories. appeal. Solicitor General
eral appeals court in Den- the lead plaintiff, said in a ters) southwest of Hawaii In their conclusion that Elizabeth Prelogar, the ad-
ver said Congress, not statement. “I was born on are granted “U.S. national” residents of territories had ministration’s top Supreme
courts, should decide the U.S. soil, have a U.S. pass- status, meaning they can’t some, but not all, rights Court lawyer, wrote that
citizenship issue. The ap- port and pay my taxes like vote for U.S. president, run under the Constitution, jus- “the government in no
peals court also noted that everyone else. But because for office outside American tices wrote in stark racial way relies on the indefen-
American Samoa’s elected of a discriminatory federal Samoa or apply for certain and xenophobic terms. Cit- sible and discredited as-
leaders opposed the law- law, I am not recognized as jobs. The only federal elec- izenship could not be au- pects of the Insular Cases’
suit for fear that it might dis- a U.S. citizen.” tion they can cast a vote tomatically given to “those reasoning and rhetoric”
rupt their cultural traditions. American Samoa is the only in is the race for American absolutely unfit to receive that was highlighted in the
“It’s a punch in the gut unincorporated territory of Samoa’s nonvoting U.S. it,” one justice wrote. appeal.q

House panel: Trump’s bills to Secret Service ‘exorbitant’

By BERNARD CONDON rates point to a possible zation charged the agency companying agents. The oldest son, Don Jr., to the
Associated Press “taxpayer-funded windfall responsible for protecting president tried to arrange Trump International Hotel
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald for former President Trump’s the president and his fam- for his Trump National Doral down the street from the
Trump’s private company struggling businesses,” ily at least $1.4 million, ac- Golf Club in Florida to be White House. That resulted
arranged for the Secret wrote N.Y. Rep. Carolyn cording to Secret Service chosen as the venue for a in a Secret Service room
Service to pay for rooms Maloney in a letter Monday records released by the Group of Seven meeting charge of $1,185 per night,
at his properties in excess to the Secret Service re- committee. The committee of global leaders, only to more than five times the
of government-approved questing more information. said the total bill was likely pull back after an outcry of government-approved
rates at least 40 times dur- The Trump Organization de- higher because the panel about self dealing. per diem rate, the com-
ing his presidency, includ- nied that the Secret Service only got records through Among the documents re- mittee said, though the
ing two charges for more charges were a problem September 2021 and pay- leased Monday was a bill agency is allowed to make
than $1,100 per night, ac- and said it provided rooms ments for trips abroad were tied to 2017 trip by Trump’s exceptions.q
cording to documents re- and other services at cost, not included.
leased Monday by a con- at big discounts or for free. The former president has
gressional committee. “The Trump Family is likely been repeatedly criticized
The Secret Service was the first family in American by Democrats and govern-
charged room rates of history to have not profited ment watchdogs for what
more than $800 per night at off of the United States gov- they say were brazen at-
least 11 times when agents ernment,” said Eric Trump tempts make money from
stayed at Mar-a-Lago in in a statement. He added, taxpayer funds during his
Florida, the Trump hotel in “President Trump funded presidency.
Washington, D.C., and oth- the vast majority of his cam- In addition to money from
er properties, the Demo- paign with hundreds of mil- the Secret Service when
cratic-led House Oversight lions of dollars of his own he and his family visited
Committee said. It noted money and turned away his clubs and hotels, Trump
that Trump made over 500 billions of dollars in real es- played host to foreign offi- Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally, Sunday, Oct.
trips to his properties while tate deals worldwide.” cials at his properties, also 9, 2022, in Mesa, Ariz.
president. The “exorbitant” In total, the Trump Organi- requiring lodging for ac- Associated Press