Experts in the News

Topic
Washington Post

Rulings let Trump keep his taxes under wraps for now, but his angry reaction underscores a political risk

The decision will give Democrats, including presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden, more ammunition in their attempts to raise ethical questions about a president who has fought relentlessly to keep his financial records out of the public eye, said Russell Riley, a presidential historian at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. “In the short term, this sets aside the immediate problem of having to confront whatever it is in those records that Trump doesn’t want people to see,” he said. “But it also generates an additional vulnerability for Biden to exploit among that small group of people who may still be undecided.”
Russell Riley
Variety

Will Coronavirus Create a Debt Crisis for Movie Theaters?

And the issue of AMC Theatres’ foreign ownership — the country’s largest theater chain is owned by China-based Wanda Group — could present several issues, says Aynne Kokas, an assistant professor of media studies at the University of Virginia and the author of “Hollywood Made in China.” “First of all, it could be viewed as subsidizing a Chinese-owned media firm in an environment where there are serious questions about how Chinese media disinformation is functioning within the U.S. context,’ she says. The second issue is whether the movie distribution industry merits a government subsidy when other sectors, like health care and education, are also in need.
Aynne Kokas
NBC News

Confederate monuments coming down in Virginia, but 2 prominent Lee statues remain

"The issue in the Richmond Lee case is what we call private law, which is that there's a property claim being made here that promises were made by the state to private property owners over 100 years ago," said Richard Schragger, a professor of law at the University of Virginia. "When the state took the property and accepted the statue, it made promises to local landowners that it would keep the statue intact in perpetuity. ... It's like a claim that your neighbor promised you that, say you live in a homeowners association, that they would never use their property to build a gas station on it."
Richard Schragger