Why Roger Stone Would Testify, What’s Next for Brexit, Erasing the Clean Power Plan

Coming up on today’s show:

• Roger Stone, a political advisor to President Donald Trump and author of “The Making of the President 2016: How Donald Trump Orchestrated a Revolution,” is under investigation for potentially colluding with Russia during the election, and for his relationship with Julian Assange of WikiLeaks. Today, Roger Stone joins The Takeaway to respond to those allegations, and explain why he is willing to testify before the House Intelligence Committee.  

• A new investigation by Takeaway co-producer WNYC looks into a series of questionable real estate transactions conducted by Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign manager, in New York City. Andrea Bernstein, editor of special projects for WNYC, weighs in.

• According to Scott Pruitt, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, President Trump is expected to sign an executive order this week that will eliminate the Clean Power Plan, which has the primary goal of cutting carbon emissions from U.S. power plants. Coral Davenport, energy and environment reporter for our partners at The New York Times, has the details. 

• While environmentalists may be dreading President Trump’s move to eliminate the Clean Power Plan, many in the energy business are celebrating the move. Does a CPP repeal mean a 21st century renaissance for the coal industry? Wayne Winegarden, senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute, answers.

• The Montana legislature has passed a bill to prohibit foreign law from standing in American courts. Although not stated explicitly, many opponents of the bill say that it is based on unfounded fears and misunderstandings of Sharia law. But the bill could also potentially infringe on tribal sovereignty, according to Representative Shane Morigeau, a Montana state legislator and member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

• What happens after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May triggers Article 50 to officially leave the European Union? Gillian Tett, U.S. managing editor of The Financial Times, discusses the process and explains what we can expect.

• Are we setting juries up to fail? There’s ample evidence that jury instructions are often composed of legalese or antiquated wording. There have been state initiatives to put jury instructions into “plain English,” but what more do we need to do to make sure jurors understand their civic duty? Nancy Marder, a professor of law at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law and director of Justice John Paul Stevens Jury Center, weighs in.