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Eric Adams says Biden DOJ used ‘lawfare’ against him, compares treatment to Trump

Eric Adams says Biden DOJ used ‘lawfare’ against him, compares treatment to Trump

Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams argued that the Biden administration’s Justice Department engaged in “lawfare” against the former president’s political opponents, including himself on corruption allegations and President Donald Trump over issues such as mishandling classified documents. “I think what we have witnessed under President Biden’s Justice Department, Americans should never have to live through that again,” Adams said on Monday during an appearance on Fox News’ “The Story.” “You saw everyday Americans who fought for the education of their children being put on watch lists, I think that you saw what happened with Charlie Kirk, when you saw the raiding of President Trump’s home. Debates should have happened … I think that you’re seeing the clear indication that the Justice Department under the previous administration used lawfare to go after those who disagree with them,” he added. ERIC ADAMS WARNS NYC ‘NOT FINE’ AFTER MAMDANI’S WIN, SAYS IF HE WAS JEWISH HE’D BE WORRIED FOR HIS CHILDREN Asked if he felt as angry about the alleged weaponization of the DOJ before he was targeted, Adams said “personal experience allows us to see firsthand the abuse.” “I spent my entire life, not only as a police officer, but as a state senator and borough president fighting against injustices,” Adams said. “There’s a real history, a rich history, of me standing up and fighting what the criminal justice system should never be. Yes, that anger was there long before I was a target, but what I saw happen while I was the mayor is really deplorable, and we saw what happened to President Trump‘s family as well.” NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS’ INDICTMENT DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE “If you were to go back and look at my life story on criminal justice reform and not abuse, it goes back to being a young man who was abused at the hands of law enforcement,” he continued. “And so I’ve always been a clear voice, and it really personalized it of what I was fighting for years because I experienced the lawfare myself.” Adams was indicted in September 2024 on federal corruption charges related to bribery, wire fraud and accepting illegal foreign campaign contributions from Turkish officials and businessmen. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. The mayor has insisted that the case was politically motivated over his criticism of how the Biden administration handled illegal immigration, but prosecutors in the Southern District of New York said in court filings that the investigation began in September 2021, before Adams’ public criticism of the government’s immigration policies or his mayoral election win. The charges were dropped earlier this year at the request of the Trump administration. Adams is set to leave office at the turn of the new year, when Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will be sworn in.

UN Security Council members condemn Israel’s recognition of Somaliland

UN Security Council members condemn Israel’s recognition of Somaliland

Most United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members have slammed Israel’s recognition of Somaliland at a meeting convened in response to the move, which several countries said may also have serious implications for Palestinians in Gaza. The United States was the only member of the 15-member body not to condemn Israel’s formal recognition of the breakaway region of Somalia at the emergency meeting in New York City on Monday, although it said its own position on Somaliland had not changed. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Addressing the UNSC, Somalia’s UN ambassador, Abu Bakr Dahir Osman, implored members to firmly reject Israel’s “act of aggression”, which he said not only threatened to fragment Somalia but also to destabilise the wider Horn of Africa and the Red Sea regions. In particular, Osman said that Somalia was concerned the move could be aimed at advancing Israel’s plans to forcibly “relocate the Palestinian population from Gaza to the northwestern region of Somalia”. “This utter disdain for law and morality must be stopped now,” he said. The emergency meeting was called after Israel last week became the first and only country to recognise the self-declared Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state. Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo, reporting from UN headquarters in New York, said that “14 of the 15 council members condemned Israel’s recognition of Somaliland”, while the US “defended Israel’s action but stopped short of following Israel’s lead”. Tammy Bruce, the US deputy representative to the UN, told the council that “Israel has the same right to establish diplomatic relations as any other sovereign state”. Advertisement However, Bruce added, the US had “no announcement to make regarding US recognition of Somaliland, and there has been no change in American policy”. Israel’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Jonathan Miller, told the council that Israel’s decision was “not a hostile step toward Somalia, nor does it preclude future dialogue between the parties”. “Recognition is not an act of defiance. It is an opportunity,” Miller claimed. Many other countries expressed concerns about Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, including the implications for Palestinians, in statements presented to the UNSC. Speaking on behalf of the 22-member Arab League, its UN envoy, Maged Abdelfattah Abdelaziz, said the group rejected “any measures arising from this illegitimate recognition aimed at facilitating forced displacement of the Palestinian people, or exploiting northern Somali ports to establish military bases”. Pakistan’s deputy UN ambassador, Muhammad Usman Iqbal Jadoon, said at the meeting that Israel’s “unlawful recognition of [the] Somaliland region of Somalia is deeply troubling”, considering it was made “against the backdrop of Israel’s previous references to Somaliland of the Federal Republic of Somalia as a destination for the deportation of Palestinian people, especially from Gaza”. China and the United Kingdom were among the permanent UNSC members to reject the move, with China’s UN envoy, Sun Lei, saying his country “opposes any act to split” Somalia’s territory. “No country should aid and abet separatist forces in other countries to further their own geopolitical interests,” Sun Lei said. Some non-members of the UNSC also requested to speak, including South Africa, whose UN envoy, Mathu Joyini, said that her country “reaffirmed” Somalia’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity” in line with international law, the UN Charter and the constitutive act of the African Union. Comparison with Palestinian recognition In addition to defending Israel’s decision, US envoy Bruce compared the move to recognise Somaliland with Palestine, which has been recognised by more than 150 of the UN’s member states. “Several countries, including members of this council, have unilaterally recognised a non-existent Palestinian state, yet no emergency meeting has been convened,” Bruce said, criticising what she described as the UNSC’s “double standards”. However, Slovenia’s UN ambassador, Samuel Zbogar, rejected the comparison, saying, “Palestine is not part of any state. It is illegally occupied territory… Palestine is also an observer state in this organisation [the UN].” Advertisement “Somaliland, on the other hand, is a part of a UN member state, and recognising it goes against… the UN Charter,” Zbogar added. The self-declared Republic of Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991, after a civil war under military leader Siad Barre. Adblock test (Why?)

China kicks off second day of military drills around Taiwan

China kicks off second day of military drills around Taiwan

Day two of the ‘Justice Mission 2025’ drills will include 10 hours of live-fire exercises and a simulated blockade of Taiwan’s major ports. China has begun a second day of military drills around Taiwan in the latest escalation of tensions over the self-governing island. China’s military said on Tuesday that it had deployed navy destroyers, bombers and other forces as part of the war games, which Beijing claims are aimed at “separatist” and “external” forces. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The drills were due to include live-fire exercises between 8am and 6pm local time (00:00 to 10:00 GMT) in five maritime and airspace zones around Taiwan, as well as air and sea patrols, simulated precision strikes and anti-submarine manoeuvres, according to Chinese state media. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence said some of the live-fire drills would take place in what Taiwan considers its territorial waters, or within 12 nautical miles (22km) from the coastline, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency. More than 80 domestic flights were cancelled on Tuesday, many to Taiwan’s outlying islands, and more than 300 international flights could face delays due to rerouted air traffic during the drills, according to Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration. The exercises, code-named “Justice Mission 2025”, began early Monday and came days after the United States announced its largest-ever weapons package for Taiwan, worth $11.1bn. State news outlet The China Daily said the drills were “part of a series of Beijing’s responses to the US arms sales to Taiwan as well as a warning to the [Taiwanese president] Lai Ching-te authorities in Taiwan”, in an editorial on Monday. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Lin Jian, also told reporters on Monday that the exercises were “a punitive and deterrent action against separatist forces who seek Taiwan independence through military buildup, and a necessary move to safeguard China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity”. Advertisement Justice Mission 2025 marks the sixth time China has staged large-scale military drills around Taiwan since then-US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in 2022. A key focus of the “Justice Mission 2025” exercises will be “anti-access and area denial capability” to ensure that Taiwan cannot receive supplies from allies like Japan and the US during a conflict, according to William Yang, senior analyst for Northeast Asia at the Crisis Group. They will also include simulating a blockade of Taiwan’s major ports in the north and south, and taking control of strategically important waterways, like the Bashi Channel and Miyako Strait, through which Taiwan imports much of its energy supplies, Yang said. China’s Eastern Theatre Command released a poster on Tuesday, titled “Hammer of Justice: Seal the Ports, Cut the Lines”, showing large metal hammers hitting the port of Keelung in the north and the port of Kaohsiung in the south. Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said it had tracked 130 air sorties by Chinese aircraft, 14 naval ships and eight “official ships” between 6am on Monday (22:00 GMT, Sunday) and 6am on Tuesday (22:00 GMT, Monday). The exercises were also monitored by Taiwanese coastguard ships and an undisclosed number of naval vessels, according to Taiwan’s Defence Ministry. Adblock test (Why?)