The Full Belmonte, 8/10/2022
Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“Donald Trump's Republican allies are demanding answers after the FBI conducted a search of his Mar-a-Lago property. Conservative news outlets swung to Trump's defense, and supporters gathered near the property, waving signs and flags. Top GOP House members are demanding increased transparency from the Justice Department and the FBI.
The raid was focused on presidential records that Trump removed from the White House when he left office in January 2021, and brings up several legal questions.” Read more at NPR
Trump supporters demonstrate near Mar-a-Lago yesterday. Photo: Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images
“Trumpworld is abuzz with speculation about which close aide or aides has ‘flipped’ and provided additional sensitive information to the FBI about what former President Trump was keeping at Mar-a-Lago, sources tell Axios.
Why it matters: Trump's orbit is always an environment rife with mistrust and paranoia. Now, that's intensified.
Catch up quick: Monday's search revolves around the handling of government records — and whether Trump has been honest with federal officials.
In a detail that seems too novelistic to be true, a focal point of the search was ... the Mar-a-Lago basement.
Christina Bobb, a lawyer for Trump, told The Washington Post his lawyers held discussions with the Justice Department this spring over materials held at Mar-a-Lago.
Bobb said Trump's legal team searched through two to three dozen boxes in a basement storage area, hunting for documents that could be considered presidential records, and turned over several items.
Secret Service agents guard Mar-a-Lago on Monday. Photo: Terry Renna/AP
Bobb told The Post that in June, Trump lawyers showed DOJ investigators the boxes, and they looked through the material.
She said the investigators didn't think the storage unit was properly secured. So Trump officials added a lock.
FBI agents broke through that lock during the search, Bobb said.
The FBI removed about a dozen boxes that had been stored in the basement storage area, she said.” Read more at Axios
Go deeper: CNN timeline of classified-documents investigation.
Screenshot: MSNBC
“Former President Donald Trump declined to answer questions on Wednesday during a deposition with the office of New York Attorney General Tish James, asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Trump, who has long accused James of conducting a politically motivated probe into his family’s real estate business, said in a statement Wednesday that he had “absolutely no choice” but to take the Fifth during his under-oath interview with the attorney general’s office. James is leading an investigation into Trump Organization business practices, examining allegations that the former president’s company misstated asset values on financial documents.
‘I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’ Now I know the answer to that question,’ Trump said in a statement released by his post-presidential office. ‘When your family, your company, and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded, politically motivated Witch Hunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors, and the Fake News Media, you have no choice.’
POLITICO learned earlier Wednesday that Trump would be questioned under oath by James’s office. A spokesperson for the attorney general declined to comment.
Trump’s deposition with the New York attorney general’s team came amid the office’s three-year-long investigation into whether the Trump Organization had misstated the value of assets on financial statements. Trump had tried for months to avoid Wednesday’s deposition — which comes at a high stakes moment for the former president just two days after the FBI raided his Florida home in an investigation into the alleged mishandling of White House records.
The former president is also the subject of a parallel criminal investigation being conducted by the Manhattan district attorney’s office into whether he fraudulently inflated property values. It has been speculated for months that Trump would plead the Fifth in James’ probe to avoid incriminating himself in the district attorney’s investigation.” Read more at POLITICO
Former President Trump arrives at Trump Tower. Photo: David "Dee" Delgado/Reuters
The New York civil investigation, led by Attorney General Letitia James (D), involves allegations that Trump's company, the Trump Organization, misstated the value of prized assets like golf courses and skyscrapers, misleading lenders and tax authorities.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that he is seeing James ‘for a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history! ... My great company, and myself, are being attacked from all sides ... Banana Republic!’” Read more at Axios
Online shopping prices are starting to ease.
“(CNN)Runaway inflation took a breather in July, with consumer prices increasing by 8.5% year over year, a slower pace than the 9.1% increase in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.
On a month-to-month basis, prices held steady, compared to the 1.3% increase in June.
Core inflation, which does not include volatile food and fuel components, was unchanged on a year-over-year basis after June's 5.9% jump.
Months' worth of elevated numbers for the Consumer Price Index, which covers a wide array of goods and services Americans buy, pose a growing challenge for the Federal Reserve, which has committed to reining in soaring prices while trying to avoid plunging the economy into a recession.” Read more at CNN
Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels greets guests with his wife, Barbara Michels, at an election-night rally on Tuesday in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
“The primary season continued Tuesday with elections in Wisconsin, Vermont, Minnesota, and Connecticut. One of the most closely watched races took place in the pivotal swing state of Wisconsin, where former President Donald Trump's chosen candidate Tim Michels won the Republican primary for governor over a rival backed by former Vice President Mike Pence. In Minnesota, meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, a member of the progressive ‘squad,’ narrowly survived a close contest for her Minneapolis-based House seat. In Vermont, Democrat Becca Balint is on a path to becoming the first woman to represent the state in Congress. And in Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont and Sen. Richard Blumenthal got their GOP challengers in reelection races they're expected to win in November.” Read more at CNN
“Matthew DePerno, a Trump loyalist running to be the attorney general of Michigan, bragged that he had access to a voting tabulator, Detroit News reports. The outlet claims that during a 2021 podcast appearance, DePerno said: ‘We got access to a tabulator, and we were able to simulate elections. And if I can do it up here in Michigan, with just a couple guys, you don’t think China knows how to do this? You don’t think Russia knows how to do this? You don’t think people in D.C. know how to do it?’ On Friday, the incumbent Michigan AG called for a special prosecutor to be appointed to consider charges against nine people, including DePerno, after uncovering evidence linking him to an alleged conspiracy to seize machines used to count votes from the 2020 election. DePerno, who has previously denied the result of the election, has been endorsed by Donald Trump, who even held a rally for DePerno in Michigan this year.” [The Daily Beast] Read more at The Detroit News
“WASHINGTON (AP) — The House panel investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection interviewed former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and met briefly with Pennsylvania’s Republican nominee for governor Doug Mastriano on Tuesday as it probes Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Pompeo is among several of Trump’s former Cabinet officials the committee wanted to talk to after it was disclosed that some of them raised concerns about former president’s actions — going so far as having considered invoking the 25th Amendment process to remove Trump from office after the riot. Pompeo’s appearance was confirmed by a person familiar with the situation but unauthorized to discuss it publicly.
Mastriano, who was outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and helped organize efforts in Pennsylvania to submit alternate presidential electors beholden to Trump, cut his interview short without answering questions. He disputed the validity of the committee and the terms of the appearance, his attorney said.” Read more at FOX News
“Massive explosions at a Russian military airfield in Crimea were greeted with jubilation in Ukraine and consternation in Moscow.
Russian authorities quickly denied rumors of a Ukrainian missile strike, blaming the destruction on munitions detonating at the base. While Ukrainian officials didn’t directly claim responsibility, a top aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called yesterday’s blast ‘just the beginning.’
Crimea is hugely sensitive and symbolic for both Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. His 2014 annexation of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine pushed Putin’s popularity with Russians to unprecedented heights. He repeatedly declares Crimea an inseparable part of Russia, even as the international community rejects that.
With shocked holidaymakers seen on social media watching the explosions from a nearby beach, Putin now risks being regarded at home as incapable of protecting Russians from a war he started if it emerges Ukraine attacked the airfield.
Russia’s war against Ukraine ‘began with Crimea and must end with Crimea — with its liberation,’ Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address to his nation. ‘We will never give it up.’
Ukraine received powerful weapons including long-range artillery such as the US-supplied HIMARS systems that have proved effective on the understanding it wouldn’t strike inside Russia. What’s unclear is how Kyiv’s supporters would regard their use in Crimea.
While they back Zelenskiy’s ambition in principle, the US and its European allies face tough questions about how far they’d go in practice against a nuclear-armed Russia.
For Ukraine, a huge road and rail bridge connecting Crimea to Russia across the Kerch Strait presents an obvious target for its military striving to sever supply lines to an important staging post for the Kremlin’s forces.
For Putin, who called construction of the bridge an ‘historical mission,’ any such attack would likely represent an intolerable humiliation.” Read more at Bloomberg
Smoke rises after the explosions at the Russian airbase in Crimea. Photo Credit: UGC/AP
“The European Union's import ban on Russian coal goes into effect today. The bloc has already imposed several rounds of sanctions aimed at punishing Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government for ordering the invasion of Ukraine, but experts say this move will deal a harsh blow to Russia's economy. The ban marks the first coordinated embargo by the EU on the vast energy exports that power Russia's economy and generate hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue each year. On the ground, Russia's heavy rocket fire and artillery attacks hit multiple regions across Ukraine overnight, from Zaporizhzhia in the south to Kharkiv in the north.” Read more at CNN
“WASHINGTON (AP) — After a moment when hopes dimmed that the United States could become an international leader on climate change, legislation that Congress is poised to approve could rejuvenate the country’s reputation and bolster its efforts to push other nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions more quickly.
The head-snapping turn of events, which has generated a joyful case of whiplash among Democrats and environmentalists, is a reminder of how domestic politics is intertwined with worldwide diplomacy.
Advocates feared that last month’s breakdown in negotiations in Congress had undermined efforts to limit the catastrophic effects of global warming. Now they’re energized by the opportunity to tout an unprecedented U.S. success.
‘This says, ‘We’re back, baby,’’ said Jennifer Turner, who works on international climate issues as director of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s China Environment Forum in Washington.” Read more at AP News
“The FDA has authorized a change in how the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine is administered, stretching out the supply amid high demand. The monkeypox vaccine can now be given to high-risk adults in a way that will allow health care providers to get five doses out of a standard one-dose vial. The move could increase the number of vaccine doses in the national stockpile from 441,000 to over 2.2 million, officials said Tuesday. As of today, there are more than 9,000 probable or confirmed monkeypox cases nationwide, according to the CDC. Officials are saying that people should continue to take steps to protect themselves from the virus even after they're vaccinated, especially those in the hard-hit population of gay and bisexual men.” Read more at CNN
IMAGE SOURCE, POLICE HANDOUT
Image caption, The suspect, seen in an undated driving licence photo
“Police in the US city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, say they have arrested their ‘primary suspect’ in the killings of four Muslim men.
Muhammad Syed, 51, was held on Monday and is charged with the murders of two of the men. Multiple firearms were recovered from his home, say police.
Police say they are working with investigators to charge the Afghan with the other two deaths.
The deaths took place over the past nine months.
The last three killings happened in the past two weeks.
Police chief Harold Medina announced the breakthrough on Tuesday, saying they had tracked down a vehicle believed to be involved and detained the driver.” Read more at BBC
Elon Musk. AP
“Elon Musk offloaded $6.9 billion of stock in Tesla, the billionaire’s biggest sale on record, saying he wanted to avoid a last-minute selloff of the electric-car maker’s shares in the event he is forced to go ahead with his aborted deal to buy Twitter.
Tesla’s chief executive officer sold about 7.92 million shares on Aug. 5, according to a series of regulatory filings that landed after US markets closed Tuesday. As speculation mounted over the reason for the disposal, Musk responded in a series of late night tweets, saying he wanted to avert an emergency sale of stock if he is compelled to complete the $44 billion takeover of Twitter, which he walked away from last month.” Read more at Time
“A grand jury in Mississippi has declined to indict the white woman whose accusation set off the lynching of Black teenager Emmett Till nearly 70 years ago, despite revelations about an unserved arrest warrant and an unpublished memoir by the woman, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
After hearing more than seven hours of testimony from investigators and witnesses, a Leflore County grand jury last week determined there was insufficient evidence to indict Carolyn Bryant Donham on charges of kidnapping and manslaughter, Leflore County District Attorney Dewayne Richardson said in a news release….
A group searching the basement of the Leflore County Courthouse in June discovered the unserved arrest warrant charging Donham, then-husband Roy Bryant and brother-in-law J.W. Milam in Till’s abduction in 1955. While the men were arrested and acquitted on murder charges in Till’s subsequent slaying, Donham, 21 at the time and 87 now, was never taken into custody.
In an unpublished memoir obtained last month by The Associated Press, Donham said she was unaware of what would happen to the 14-year-old Till, who lived in Chicago and was visiting relatives in Mississippi when he was abducted, killed and tossed in a river. She accused him of making lewd comments and grabbing her while she worked alone at a family store in Money, Mississippi.
Donham said in the manuscript that the men brought Till to her in the middle of the night for identification but that she tried to help the youth by denying it was him. Despite being abducted at gunpoint from a family home by Roy Bryant and Milam, the 14-year-old identified himself to the men, she claimed.
Till’s battered, disfigured body was found days later in a river, where it was weighted down with a heavy metal fan. The decision by his mother, Mamie Till Mobley, to open Till’s casket for his funeral in Chicago demonstrated the horror of what had happened and added fuel to the civil rights movement.
The Justice Department in 2004 had opened an investigation of Till’s killing after it received inquiries about whether charges could be brought against anyone still living. The department said the statute of limitations had run out on any potential federal crime, but the FBI worked with state investigators to determine if state charges could be brought. In February 2007, a Mississippi grand jury declined to indict anyone, and the Justice Department announced it was closing the case.
The Justice Department then reopened the investigation after a 2017 book quoted Donham as saying she lied when she claimed that Till grabbed her, whistled and made sexual advances toward her. Relatives have publicly denied that Donham, who is in her 80s, recanted her allegations about Till. But federal officials announced last year that they were once again closing their investigation, saying there was ‘insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she lied to the FBI,’” Read more at Time
“A Nebraska woman was charged with two felonies related to an illegal abortion after authorities discovered information about the pregnancy through private messages on Facebook Messenger, according to US court documents.” Read more at Bloomberg
“After Dr. Caitlin Bernard was publicly vilified for providing abortion care to a 10-year-old rape victim, some medical residents and early-career doctors in Indiana are rethinking their willingness to practice in the state.” Read more at NPR
“Most Americans support using the popular vote over the electoral college vote to select a president, and support has increased since January 2021, according to a new survey. There have been five presidents who won the electoral vote but not the popular vote — including George W. Bush and Donald Trump.” Read more at NPR
“A new vaccine that would fight against Lyme disease is in its final phase of clinical study in humans. It's expected to take years to reach the market if approved, but it would be the only vaccine available in the U.S. for Lyme disease.” Read more at NPR
“Actor Ashton Kutcher says he's ‘lucky to be alive’ after suffering from a rare form of vasculitis, an autoimmune disorder that involves inflammation of the blood vessels.” Read more at NPR
“A massive fire in Cuba was contained by firefighters Tuesday -- five days after lightning struck a large oil storage tank. Officials described the fire in the city of Matanzas as the worst in Cuba's history after it destroyed 40% of the Caribbean island's main fuel storage facility and caused widespread blackouts, according to a Reuters report. Matanzas is Cuba's largest port for receiving crude oil and fuel imports. Cuban heavy crude, as well as fuel oil and diesel stored in Matanzas in 10 huge tanks, are mainly used to generate electricity on the island. The huge blaze comes at a time when Cuba faces a deepening energy crisis amid fuel shortages.” Read more at CNN
“Weather woes | South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol apologized for ‘inconveniences’ caused by some of the heaviest rainfalls in over a century, having asked authorities to recalibrate disaster management plans to take into account the effects of global warming. The flooding is a major challenge for Yoon, who only took office in May and whose support has slumped due to a series of policy stumbles.” Read more at Bloomberg
A junction in Gimpo yesterday. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
Former U.S. national security advisor John Bolton adjusts his glasses during his lecture at Duke University in Durham, N.C., in 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake/File Photo (Jonathan Drake/Reuters)
“The Justice Department has charged a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in connection with a plot to murder former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, accusing him of attempting to pay individuals $300,000 to kill Bolton in D.C. or Maryland.
The suspect, Shahram Poursafi, 45, remains at large abroad, the Justice Department said. If found and convicted, he would face up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine up to $250,000 for the use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire, and up to 15 years imprisonment and a fine up to $250,000 for providing and attempting to provide material support to a transnational murder plot.
Federal officials said the attempted assassination of Bolton would have been retaliation for the U.S. military killing in January, 2020 of Qasem Soleimani, a top commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is a branch of Iran’s military. Soleimani was killed in a drone strike in Baghdad.” Read more at Washington Post
“Former inmates have spoken to the BBC about being systematically raped and tortured in Russian prisons. Leaked footage of such abuse was circulated by an insider last year, and now victims have told the BBC why it happens and how they are fighting for justice.
Warning: This article contains graphic images and descriptions of sexual abuse and violence
Saratov prison hospital, in south-west Russia, came to public attention last year when videos of horrifying prisoner abuse were leaked to a human rights organisation and reported on by the international media.
Alexei Makarov knew its reputation before he was transferred there in 2018 as part of a six-year sentence for assault. Prisoners who are sent to Saratov from other jails in the region have complained that medical grounds were fabricated so they could be tortured behind closed doors. Russian prisons have almost no independent oversight, and prison hospitals - with their health quarantine rules - even less so.
Makarov was genuinely unwell - he had been diagnosed with TB - and hoped he would be spared. But he says he was raped twice during his time there.
Victims and experts say the abuse - which Makarov and others have been subjected to - is always sanctioned by the prison authorities, and is used to blackmail inmates, intimidate them, or to force confessions.
High-profile leaks of damning footage have forced the Russian government to respond to the country's torture scandal. Torture was reported in 90% of Russia's regions between 2015 and 2019, according to independent Russian media project Proekt. But action has been slow. The BBC has analysed thousands of court documents dating from that period and found that 41 members of the prison service were convicted in the most serious prisoner abuse trials. But almost half of them were only handed suspended sentences. The BBC has spoken to ex-prisoners, including Makarov, about the ordeals they suffered in the Russian prison system.
The first time Makarov was tortured was in February 2020, he says. He refused to confess to a supposed plot against the prison administration and three men subjected him to continuous violent sexual abuse, he says.
‘For 10 minutes they beat me, ripped my clothes. And for, let's say, the next two hours they raped me every other minute with mop handles. When I fainted, they would splash me with cold water and throw me back onto the table.’
Two months later it happened again. He had been coerced into paying 50,000 rubles (£735) to his attackers and says he was raped in an attempt to keep him quiet about this.
Makarov told the BBC his prison torture had been videoed. Prisoners know the humiliating footage can be shared with the entire prison if they do not comply with the demands.
The rapists were other inmates, who - Makarov and others are certain - acted on prison bosses' instructions.
Music would be played at full blast during torture episodes, Makarov says, to disguise the screams.” Read more at BBC
“Biden signed documents supporting Sweden’s and Finland’s bids to join NATO. The U.S. is one of 30 allies that must approve any new members.” Read more at REUTERS
Image caption, Rescuers had planned to release the beluga into the sea
“A beluga whale that became stranded in France's Seine river had to be put down, ending a dramatic rescue mission that captivated world audiences.
Officials say vets took the decision as the four-metre (13ft) mammal was being moved in a refrigerated truck.
Overnight, rescuers spent nearly six hours lifting the 800kg (1,763lb) whale from the river using a crane and nets.
They had planned to release the animal in the sea but its health deteriorated after failing to eat.
‘It is with heavy hearts we announce that the beluga did not survive,’ Sea Shepherd France conservation group wrote in a Twitter post on Wednesday.
‘We are devastated by this tragic outcome that we knew was very likely,’ it added.” Read more at BBC
“Kenya latest | Deputy President William Ruto took an early lead over former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in the race to become Kenya’s next president in unofficial results published by the Nairobi-based Daily Nation. The electoral agency said turnout for yesterday’s election was significantly down from the 2017 vote, while the National Police Service said the ‘country remains relatively calm and peaceful.’” Read more at Bloomberg
“Sri Lanka’s government presented a proposal to curb the powersof the president’s office, the first step to reform a political system widely seen as responsible for tipping the country into economic chaos.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Hong Kong police arrested two civil servants for speech crimes under a colonial-era sedition law, as authorities expand their crackdown on dissent to government workers.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Russia’s war in Ukraine has sent millions of refugees into Poland, including 11 members of the Trushchenkov family, living in a cramped ground floor apartment in the capital. To pay the rent, they needed jobs. And whether families like the Trushchenkovs find jobs, return home, or move on carries enormous stakes for Poland, grappling with a labor shortage and an aging population. As cruel as it is, Piotr Skolimowski explains how the conflict in Ukraine could turbocharge Poland’s $670 billion economy.” Read more at Bloomberg
Volodymyr Trushchenkov at a Warsaw refugee aid center. Photographer: Piotr Malecki for Bloomberg Markets
“Domino's Pizza's last stores in Italy have been closed after the firm that operated its outlets in the country filed for bankruptcy, reports say.
Franchise holder ePizza SpA was hit by the pandemic, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the story.
Domino's had struggled to win over customers in the birthplace of pizza since launching there in 2015.
News of the fast food giant's exit from the country was celebrated by some social media users.
EPizza SpA first filed for bankruptcy in early April after it was impacted by coronavirus restrictions.
‘The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent and prolonged restrictions from a financial point of view have seriously damaged ePizza,’ the company said.
The company also said it faced increasing competition as traditional restaurants started using delivery apps.
As part of the bankruptcy process the firm was granted protection from its creditors for 90 days. However, that protection came to an end last month.
The Italian firm had already been scaling back the business from its peak in 2020, while deliveries stopped from the end of July.” Read more at BBC
Donald Trump in Las Vegas last month.Roger Kisby for The New York Times
Two scenarios
“Perhaps the central question about the F.B.I.’s search of Donald Trump’s Florida home is whether it is a relatively narrow attempt to recover classified documents — or much more than that.
Either scenario is plausible at this point. The Justice Department has long been aggressive about investigating former officials whom it suspects of improperly handling classified material, including Hillary Clinton and David Petraeus. If the F.B.I. search merely leads to a legalistic debate about what’s classified, it probably will not damage Trump’s political future.
But it also seems possible that the search is a sign of a major new legal problem for him. People familiar with the search told The Times that it was not related to the Justice Department’s investigation into the Jan. 6 attack and Trump’s role in it. And it’s unlikely that Merrick Garland, the attorney general, would have allowed the search-warrant request — or that a federal judge would have approved it, as was required — unless it involved something important.
‘I don’t think you get a judge to sign off on a search warrant for an ex-president’s house lightly,’ Charlie Savage, a Times reporter who has been covering legal issues since the George W. Bush administration. ‘I think the world looks pretty different today than it did 48 hours ago.’ (It’s even possible that Trump could be prosecuted over classified documents alone, although that might not keep him from holding office again.)
Support for Trump outside Mar-a-Lago yesterday.Saul Martinez for The New York Times
As Charlie emphasizes, there is still much more that’s unknown about the search than known. That probably won’t change until the Justice Department gets much closer to making a decision about how to conclude its investigation. ‘A central tenet of the way in which the Justice Department investigates and a central tenet of the rule of law is that we do not do our investigations in public,’ Garland recently said.
But at least two big points seem clear. First, even though Garland has said that nobody is above the law, the Justice Department will not treat Trump like any other citizen. The bar for filing criminal charges against him will be higher, given that he is a former president who may run again — against the current president.
‘The considerations when you’re talking about a political leader are certainly different and harder,’ Andrew Goldstein, a former federal prosecutor who investigated Trump’s ties to Russia, recently told The Times. ‘You have the very clear and important rule that the Department of Justice should try in every way possible not to interfere with elections, to not take steps using the criminal process that could end up affecting the political process.’
Still, some legal experts who previously criticized Garland for moving too timidly in investigating Trump said they were encouraged by the Justice Department’s recent signs of boldness, including the Mar-a-Lago search. Andrew Weissmann, another former prosecutor who previously investigated Trump, is one of those experts (as he explained in this New Yorker interview). Quinta Jurecic, a senior editor at Lawfare, is another. ‘At what point does not investigating and not prosecuting a former president itself indicate that the rule of law is being undermined because it sends a signal that this person is above the law?’ Jurecic told us.
She added: ‘That doesn’t mean that this is going to translate to an indictment of the president.’
The second point is that Trump appears to be a subject of multiple criminal investigations — and prosecutors may decide that his violations of the law were so significant as to deserve prosecution. One of those investigations is by state prosecutors in Georgia, who may not be as cautious about charging a former president as Garland seems likely to be.
Either way, the answer will probably become clear well before November 2024. Prosecutors — especially at the Justice Department — generally try to avoid making announcements about investigations into political candidates during a campaign. (James Comey’s decision to ignore that tradition and announce he had reopened an investigation into Clinton late in the 2016 campaign was a notable exception, and many experts believe he erred in doing so.)” Read more at New York Times
“If you're thinking of buying an electric car, you're better off placing your order before President Biden signs the Democrats' big climate-health-tax package into law — which could happen as soon as this weekend, Axios transportation correspondent Joann Muller advises.
What's happening: Democrats hoped to increase EV adoption by expanding consumer tax credits for battery-powered vehicles.
But strict supply-chain requirements added by Sen. Joe Manchin could instead slow the nation's switch from gas-powered cars — at least in the short term.
To get Manchin to go along with the broader bill, the rest of the Senate Democrats agreed that only cars with batteries containing a certain percentage of materials sourced from North America or U.S. trading partners will qualify for the credits moving forward — even though that doesn't align with manufacturing reality.
Although the auto industry and battery makers are racing to invest in a domestic supply chain, it'll be years before those facilities are up and running.
For now, the EV supply chain is mostly dominated by China — but any cars using Chinese-made battery components would be disqualified from tax credits under the new bill.
The bill tries to take that into account by phasing in the battery and minerals requirements.
But certain provisions — like a new requirement that EVs must be assembled in North America to be eligible for the credits — will take effect immediately after Biden signs the bill.
That will automatically slash the list of eligible vehicles from 72 to about 25, according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an auto industry lobbying group.
When additional sourcing requirements go into effect in 2023, none of today's EVs would qualify for the full credit, the group says.” Read more at Axios
Talor Gooch tees of during the LIV Golf Bedminster event. PHOTO: RICH GRAESSLE/ICON SPORTSWIRE/GETTY IMAGES
“A federal judge rejected a bid from three players on the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit to be allowed back into the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs this week, scoring an early win for the PGA Tour as it defends itself against an antitrust challenge from the LIV players it suspended.
Judge Beth Labson Freeman denied a request for a temporary restraining order from Talooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones, in a blow to their hopes of teeing off this week in Memphis. The ruling, however, does not end the broader case against the PGA Tour brought by a group of 11 LIV golfers, led by Phil Mickelson.
The judge’s ruling came after she said she was reluctant to delve into the more complicated issues raised by the antitrust claims as part of her decision on the order. In her decision, she said the plaintiffs had failed to establish they would suffer irreparable harm from being locked out of the FedEx Cup playoffs, in large part because their contracts with LIV Golf included generous compensation that took into account what they would be leaving behind by bucking the PGA Tour.
‘The LIV contract provides an opportunity for each of these plaintiffs to play elite golf in the United States with guaranteed pay’ for LIV, said the judge, adding that it ‘seems without a doubt that they will be earning more than they would have been paid.’” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images
“Tennis legend Serena Williams says she plans to retire after the U.S. Open.” Read more at NPR
“After years of speculation, Serena Williams announced in a glamorous Vogue cover story yesterday that she will retire after this year’s US Open. But her retirement does not come with sepia-toned nostalgia like it has for so many other greats, The Athletic’s Dana O’Neil writes.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion said there’s “no happiness in this topic” and stepping away from the sport is the “hardest thing that I could ever imagine.”
Willams, who turns 41 next month, said she and her husband plan to have a second child, a major factor in her decision.
O’Neil observes the irony of a trailblazer like Williams needing to make such a “traditional” decision: As extraordinary in her talent as she has been, she has always been ordinary in her struggles.
Williams trails Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slams. Does she have one more in her? “The way I see it, I should have had 30-plus Grand Slams,” Williams said, detailing the hurdles she played through after giving birth in 2017. “Shoulda, woulda, coulda. I didn’t show up the way I should have or could have. But I showed up 23 times, and that’s fine. Actually it’s extraordinary.”
Good luck getting a ticket to her last tournament: The USTA said it sold an “unprecedented” 13,000 US Open tickets yesterday before 3 p.m. ET.” Read more at The Athletic
“Commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL is appealing the proposed suspension for Deshaun Watson because it’s clear from the evidence presented that the Browns quarterback engaged in ‘predatory behavior.’ The NFL is pushing for a season-long suspension, Goodell confirmed.
‘(Judge Sue L. Robinson) was very clear about the evidence. She reinforced the evidence that there was multiple violations that were egregious and that it was predatory behavior. Those were things we always felt were really important for us to address in a way that’s responsible,’ Goodell said.
Robinson, the disciplinary officer jointly appointed by the NFL and the NFLPA, proposed a six-game suspension for Watson on Aug. 1.
The league’s appeal is being heard by former New Jersey attorney general Peter C. Harvey, and Goodell said Tuesday he had no timeline for that decision.
If the appeal yields a significantly longer suspension, Tim Kawakami makes the case for Cleveland to turn to Jimmy Garoppolo. Meanwhile, there’s a chance Watson could actually play in the Browns’ preseason opener Friday.” Read more at The Athletic
“Lives Lived: Clients of Bert Fields, the entertainment lawyer and master dealmaker, included Tom Cruise, Madonna and the Beatles. Fields died at 93.” Read more at New York Times
“WACO, Texas (AP) — A Little League batter rose from a beaning to console the upset pitcher in a dramatic scene at a Little League regional tournament game Tuesday in Waco, Texas.
The incident happened during a Little League Southwest Regional Playoff final.
Righthander Kaiden Shelton of Pearland, Texas, was facing batter Isaiah Jarvis of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tuesday when an 0-2 pitch got away from him and slammed into Jarvis’ helmet. Jarvis fell to the ground clutching his head as his concerned coaches ran to his aid.
After a few moments, Jarvis’ head cleared enough for him to walk unaided to first base. Meantime, Shelton stood on the mound staring at the ground in tears over what happened.
After a moment, Jarvis walked to the mound and put his arms around Shelton, telling him, ‘Hey, you’re doing great. Let’s go.’ Shelton’s teammates and coach gathered around the pair to join in consoling the young righty.
The gesture drew a standing ovation. Pearland went on to beat Tulsa 9-4 and advance to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, starting next week.” Read more at AP News