The Washington Post - USA (2022-06-09)

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE C3

BY SONIA RAO

A week after Johnny Depp pre- vailed in his high-profile defama- tion case against ex-wife Amber Heard, his lawyers appeared on multiple morning shows and said he was “over the moon” about the verdict. “It was like the weight of the world had been taken off his shoulders, and I feel that finally, after six years, he has gotten his life back,” attorney Benjamin Chew told “Good Morning Ameri- ca” co-anchor George Stephanop- oulos. Chew and fellow Depp lawyer Camille Vasquez appeared Wednesday on both GMA and NBC’s “Today.” Vasquez added on GMA that “the key to victory was focusing on the facts and the evidence and Johnny’s opportu- nity to speak the truth for the first time.” She said the outcome was “six years in the making.” A Fairfax County Circuit Court jury found on June 1 that Heard defamed Depp with a 2018 Wash- ington Post op-ed in which she described herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. Heard did not name Depp in the article. Depp, who sued Heard for $50 million, was awarded $15 million (though he will receive $10.35 million, as Virginia law limits punitive damages to $350,000). Heard received $2 million after the jury ruled in

favor of a countersuit claim that former Depp lawyer Adam Wald- man defamed her. The weeks-long trial streamed live online, contributing to a social media frenzy — most often in support of Depp. Vasquez became a favorite of Depp fans, and a central figure in TikToks about the case. The videos villainized Heard, calling her a liar over Depp’s claims that she abused him. In a recent Post article, music producer and activist Drew Dixon, one of several women who accused mogul Russell Simmons of sexual assault, said she was

alarmed by the “giddy derision” that was directed toward Heard online. A statement issued ahead of Wednesday’s interviews by Heard’s team said, “It is as un- seemly as it is unprofessional that Johnny Depp’s legal team has chosen to do a victory lap for setting back decades of how women can be treated in the court- room. What’s next? A movie deal and merchandising?” Vasquez said on GMA that she found the statement from Heard’s team “disappointing” because “we’re only speaking about what

happened in this case, right?” After Stephanopoulous noted that advocates also fear the verdict will discourage abuse victims from speaking out about their experiences, Vasquez said Depp’s lawyers “encourage any victim to come forward. Domestic violence doesn’t have a gender.” Heard lawyer Elaine Bredehoft made the morning show rounds last week, appearing on “Today” and “CBS Mornings.” She told “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie that Heard plans to ap- peal the verdict — noting that the actress “has some excellent grounds for it” — and stated that Depp’s lawyers were able to “sup- press” certain pieces of evidence, such as medical records supporting Heard’s claims. Bredehoft also said Heard’s team was barred from mention- ing to the Virginia jury that Depp lost a libel case against the British tabloid the Sun, which he sued for calling him a “wife beater.” In that late 2020 trial, a judge found enough evidence to support 12 of Heard’s 14 domestic abuse allega- tions. On Wednesday’s “Today” show, Guthrie asked Depp’s team to respond to Bredehoft. Vasquez said that the U.K. case was a “different process,” and that each side had “different disclosure ob- ligations” in the recent trial. “We disagree,” Vasquez stated. “The overwhelming evidence

that was presented in this case in Virginia far exceeded what was presented in the U.K., and we believe the jury got it right.” Depp’s lawyers denied that his team orchestrated social media campaigns against Heard, de- scribing the theory as “categori- cally false.” Chew said the jury for the most part sided with Depp because he “owned his issues,”

whereas jurors “may have per- ceived that [Heard] didn’t take accountability for anything.” The day before Depp’s lawyers appeared on television, Depp made news for joining TikTok, where he amassed 8.7 million followers by the next morning. In a caption on his first video, he thanked his “most treasured, loy- al and unwavering supporters.”

Depp’s lawyers take to the morning airwaves to say he’s ‘over the moon’

POOL/REUTERS Johnny Depp, flanked by his lawyers Camille Vasquez and Benjamin Chew at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in May.

Because Young died in office, Alaskans have to vote for someone to fill the remainder of Young’s term and then elect someone to begin the new term in January. This means four votes, using two methods, over three time periods, in two races, for the same seat: a special primary (pick one candidate of 48), a special general (rank any four of the finalists), a regular primary (pick one candidate of 31) and a regular general (rank any four of the finalists). The special general (rank four!) will take place the same day in August as the regular primary (pick one!). Got it?

T

he remains of Nick Begich Sr., the last person not named Don Young to repre- sent Alaska in the U.S. House, are probably near Hinchinbrook Is- land, perhaps at the bottom of Prince William Sound, according to the recent podcast “Missing in Alaska,” which over the past 10 years dug into the mystery of Begich’s disappearance in 1972, when his Cessna went down somewhere between Anchorage and Juneau. His grandson, Nick Begich III, is now running for the same seat. Begich is a Club for Growth con- servative who lent his campaign $650,000 and speaks the risk-re- ward language of a businessman, even as he addresses would-be supporters who parrot conspira- cy theories they saw online. On a Thursday in May, the hosts of a Begich fundraiser in Soldotna presented him as the clear, noncontroversial choice for Young’s seat. “A serious candidate,” said former state GOP chairman Tucker- man Babcock. “A normal person,” said local fishing-charter owner Cindy Glassmaker. The Alaskans who showed up to the fundraiser want their next U.S. representative to impeach President Biden. They want all “our Jan. 6 people” out of jail. They want to know why the FBI appeared to mistakenly raid a house in nearby Homer last year to look for Nancy Pelosi’s stolen laptop. “Forgive me if I sound angry, but I’m so angry,” an attendee in a floral blouse told Begich after his remarks. “I didn’t hear you say anything about corruption in Congress.... We’ve been duped. We have been abused.... The Constitution has been trampled.” Begich was co-chair of Don Young’s 2020 reelection campaign and declared his candidacy in October, when Young was still very much alive. This did not go over well. Young, gunning for an even 50 years in Congress, felt stabbed in the back. His allies fumed. Begich ran to the right of the sitting congressman, who had rankled the MAGA crowd by dar- ing to work across the aisle, voting for Biden’s infrastructure bill and supporting Deb Haaland for interior secretary. But Young’s death required Begich to modu- late. When asked over lunch about former president Donald Trump’s influence in Alaska, Be- gich cautioned about building policy, or a political party, around a single personality. He is not above tossing supporters a line about Hunter Biden, but he mostly targets the federal oversight that prevents Alaska from fully developing its resources. “If we can have an articulate

dered, in prayer, if he should change his name to Santa Claus. Within moments, a white car slowed down and the silhouetted driver called out: “I love you, Santa!” Soon he was receiving commendations from governors for his child advocacy. He completed his transforma- tion nine years ago by moving to North Pole. He is now a city council member and a potential spoiler for at least four top-tier candidates in the House race. Claus is only running for the special election, as an independent who espouses the democratic socialism of Bernie Sanders. He seems to think that some good can come from four months as a lame-duck congressman. Normal person? Serious candidate? “Santa is a viable candidate with a real policy platform,” says a state Democratic Party official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to positively discuss a candidate who may prevent any Democrat from making the finals. “He’s a wonderful individual who’s supported a lot of Demo- cratic candidates.” As for Claus’s democratic socialism, the official notes that “we all get a dividend from oil. The state already has elements of socialism.” In Alaska’s previous voting system, Claus would probably have been weeded out in a primary. Now, out of the more likely fourth-place contenders — Claus, Constant, Peltola and Sweeney — Claus makes the strongest show- ing in a theoretical general election, according to data from Alas- ka pollster Ivan Moore. And candidates who see him as a novelty need to treat him like a threat. “I’m waging a war on Santa,” Revak said last month in a playful ad that seemed like a lighthearted act of desperation. “This Bernie Bro legally changed his name to Santa and he wants Alaskans to accept his North Pole Marxist fantasies.” “Santa Claus, I’m coming for you, because when I was 9, I was really good that year and I woke up to no Easy-Bake Oven,” jokes Sweeney. “I’m sorry about Santa,” says Coghill, with a hint of embarrass- ment on behalf of Alaska. “When a guy changes his name to Santa Claus, you wonder what the mo- tive is. Is it really to help people, or to aggrandize himself? ” Claus says his motives are pure, that four months is enough time to “shake it up” in Congress, have an impact on child welfare and then cede the seat to the winner of the regular election. Some Alas- kans are chattering about Claus as a protest vote, an expression of fatigue with politics in general. “The fact that he’s serious is what is scary,” says one longtime observer of Alaska politics, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, perhaps to avoid the naughty list. “We’re going from one of the most powerful congres- sional seats, because of what Don Young made it, to like No. 435 in importance — and we’re going to give that to Santa?” Santa’s chances may be slim- mer than they appear. But his outsize presence in 2022’s strang- est campaign is a reminder that we are in an interglacial period, both geologically and politically. The old figureheads are receding. Coalitions are melting. And even our most civilized exercises in democracy are not very far from the wilderness.

voice, even with just one person in the House, we can unlock the potential of Alaska,” he told the small gathering in Soldotna. Ask Alaskans to predict which four of the 48 candidates will advance beyond the primaries and most will lead with Palin and Begich. In a poll last month from Alas- ka Survey Research, Palin was barely the top choice in the pick- one primary, with just 19 percent of the vote. Begich came in second at 16 percent. Third place was occupied by Al Gross, a wealthy independent who lost his 2020 Senate race against Republican Dan Sullivan by 12 points. The poll indicated that the ranked- choice phase will benefit Begich and Gross, with Begich ultimately prevailing in four out of four simulations. Palin was eliminated each time in the second round. Palin has racked up endorse- ments from the out-of-state MAGA crowd: Trump, Newt Gin- grich, Ted Nugent. Begich has aired radio ads saying “Alaska isn’t for quitters,” an apparent swipe at Palin for resigning the Alaska governorship and pursu- ing fortune in the Lower 48. After Begich was endorsed by the state GOP, Palin decried it as an elitist “old boys’ network.” Begich rolled out an endorsement from Jim Palin, Sarah’s ex-father-in-law. Last month the state Demo- cratic Party called Gross “a prov- en loser,” in an attempt to clear some space for Christopher Con- stant, an Anchorage Assembly member endorsed by Begich’s uncles (both Democratic politi- cians), and Mary Peltola, a former state legislator who directed an intertribal fish commission out west in Bethel, off the Alaska road system. Also scrambling for

that fourth spot are Anchorage attorney Jeff Lowenfels, perhaps best known for writing a garden- ing column for 45 years, and the two co-chairs of Don Young’s abbreviated 2022 campaign: Tara Sweeney, a former assistant secretary for Indian affairs at the U.S. Interior Department, and Josh Revak, an Iraq War veteran and state senator who has the endorsement of Young’s family. When asked during a debate in Fairbanks which candidate they’d rank No. 2 on their ballots, the four leading Republicans all picked former state legislator John B. Coghill Jr., whose father co-wrote the Alaska state consti-

tution and managed Young’s first campaign. “In this new ranked-choice voting, the votes go uphill to some- body,” says Coghill over breakfast just south of Fairbanks. “The par- ties themselves have pegged their meters, in my view, to extremes. And what we need is America to work together.” The new voting system “might help that.” The new voting system might also offer an advantage to the candidate whose fame (in a way) exceeds even that of Palin, and who took the fourth spot in the Alaska Survey Research poll. That would be Santa Claus, of North Pole, Alaska.

“I

have an advantage because of name recognition,” Claus explains over a vege- tarian omelet at a diner in North Pole. He was born Thomas Patrick O’Connor in D.C. and grew up mostly in New York. He says he graduated from New York Univer- sity just behind Martin Scorsese, and the university confirms this. He says he was a bouncer for a time at the Electric Circus, a psychedelic disco in the East Vil- lage; this fact is harder to check. He has photos on his phone of various plaques that suggest a strange and peripatetic work his- tory. For less than a year in the early 1970s he was “special assistant to the deputy police commis- sioner” of the New York Police Department; he says that wit- nessing the suffering of children at crime scenes informs his life and work. He has a photo of a plaque from the Federal Emer- gency Management Agency dated September 1984 that designates him as “a member of the National Defense Executive Reserve.” For eight years, he says, he worked in an outfit called the Terrorism Research and Communication Center. “You can’t find it any- where unless you actually know where to look,” he says. A 1985 government directory confirms its onetime existence as a six-person operation, led by one Thomas P. O’Connor, that catalogued “ma- terial on domestic terrorism.” Most of his life seems spackled together by odd jobs, community service and the kindness of strangers. He says that, while walking down a snowy road near Lake Tahoe in 2005, he asked God how he could use his Kringle-like appearance to benefit the great- est number of children. He won-

PHOTOS BY ASH ADAMS FOR THE WASHINGTON POST Signs in support of various candidates for the coveted U.S. House seat previously held by Rep. Don Young (R) are spotted around Anchorage. “Don Young was the representative of all Alaska,” says Genevieve Mina, 26, the president of the Alaska Young Democrats. “For Alaskans, this is more than who’s going to be that one vote in Congress. It’s more who’s going to be that figurehead.”

DAN ZAK/THE WASHINGTON POST Santa Claus, a city council member in North Pole, Alaska, is running only to finish the final four months of Young’s term. He says four months is enough time to “shake it up” in Congress.

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