Bernie Sanders urges people to focus on policy, not age when discussing Biden re-election
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Sunday that while President Biden had a “terrible” debate against former President Trump, he recently spoke to Biden and continues to support him in his quest for re-election. Sanders – who at 82 is older than Biden – said people should look beyond age, despite increasing concerns from both parties over the president’s mental fitness. “Biden is old,” Sanders told host Robert Costa of the 81-year-old president. “He’s not as articulate as he once was. I wish he could jump up the steps on Air Force One. He can’t. What we have got to focus on is policy, whose policies have and will benefit the vast majority of the people in this country.” The senator said he believes the American people want a president with the “guts to take on corporate America.” Someone who will expand Medicare, raise and extend the life of Social Security benefits, and talk about a “permanent child tax credit to cut childhood poverty in America by 50%.” SECOND LOCAL RADIO HOST ADMITS TO GETTING QUESTIONS FROM BIDEN TEAM AHEAD OF INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT Sanders said 60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, and that 25% of “elderly people” are trying to live off $15,000 a year or less. “The American people want an agenda for the next four years that speaks to the needs of the working class of this country,” Sanders said. “He has got to say, ‘I am prepared to take on corporate greed, massive income and wealth inequality and stand with the working class in this country.’ He does that, he’s going to win and win big.” BIDEN TAKES BLAME FOR ‘BAD NIGHT’ IN DEBATE AGAINST TRUMP: ‘MY FAULT, NO ONE ELSE’S FAULT’ Sanders wrapped up the interview by saying he is running for re-election as senator from Vermont.
Comer reveals White House physician was involved in Biden family business deals, demands he testify
FIRST ON FOX – House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer is demanding that the White House physician appear before Congress to answer questions on President Biden’s “declining mental state,” while also revealing that the doctor has been involved in the Biden family’s business dealings. Fox News Digital obtained the letter Comer, R-Ky., sent to Dr. Kevin O’Connor on Sunday. Comer is seeking to question O’Connor, given his “connections” with the Biden family, on whether he is “in a position to provide accurate and independent reviews of the President’s fitness to serve.” Comer wants to know whether O’Connor’s medical assessments of the president have been improperly influenced by his work with the Biden family with the company Americore. COMER DEMANDS WHITE HOUSE PROVIDE RECORDS TO PROVE $200K PAYMENT TO BIDEN FROM BROTHER WAS A LOAN “After a concerning debate performance by President Biden against former President Donald Trump on June 27, journalists have rushed to report on what Americans have seen plainly for years: the President appears unwell,” Comer wrote. Comer said that because Americans have been questioning Biden’s “ability to lead the country,” his committee has been investigating circumstances surrounding O’Connor’s February assessment of the president. Comer noted that O’Connor determined in February that the president “is a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old-male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.” Comer, though, pointed to reports that O’Connor did not recommend that Biden take a cognitive test. TOP DEMS PLANNING MEETING ABOUT BIDEN’S FUTURE DESPITE PRESIDENT’S VOWS TO CONTINUE CAMPAIGN “The Oversight Committee is concerned your medical assessments have been influenced by your private business endeavors with the Biden family,” Comer wrote. Comer said the committee has obtained evidence that shows he was involved with Americore Health, LLC, along with the president’s brother, James Biden. Americore, a company which operates rural hospitals, has been investigated by the committee as part of its impeachment inquiry against the president – specifically related to James Biden’s work, which brought him more than $600,000. The committee says James Biden, while serving as a principal at Americore, received payments for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The committee found that James Biden received a $200,000 wire in 2018 from the company that he then used to write a $200,000 check to his brother, President Biden, which he labeled as a “loan repayment.” JAMES BIDEN GIVEN LOAN, DIDN’T PROVIDE SERVICES TO AMERICORE DESPITE PROMISES TO USE LAST NAME, TRUSTEE SAYS James Biden, according to testimony from other Americore employees, did not provide any services to the company, but instead, promised that his “Biden” name could bring funding to the struggling hospital operator from the Middle East. That employee, Carol Fox, a Chapter 11 trustee for Americore, testified that the loan was provided to Biden with no documentation in return for the promise of funding from the Middle East that never came. She filed a lawsuit against James Biden, saying he made “representations that his last name, ‘Biden,’ could ‘open doors’ and that he could obtain a large investment from the Middle East based on his political connections.” But during James Biden’s interview with the committee earlier this year, he told investigators that O’Connor “provided him counsel in connection with the alleged work he was performing for Americore.” “I met with, for example – my brother wasn’t in office at the time. He was a private citizen. And I had gotten through his – as vice president, his personal physician was Colonel Kevin O’Connor,” James Biden testified. “And Kevin O’Connor – there was a very – and still there is an outcry for a solution for post-traumatic stress disorder.” James Biden said O’Connor “introduced me to a team” that worked with PTSD and alcoholism amid a “backlog” at the Department of Veterans Affairs. COMER RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT $200K ‘DIRECT PAYMENT’ FROM JAMES BIDEN TO JOE BIDEN IN 2018 Comer, in the letter, also notes that O’Connor, along with Hunter Biden, “joined a meeting with Jim Biden and the president of a hospital being acquired by Americore.” Meanwhile, the White House maintains that Biden has not been examined by a doctor since February. But during a call with Democratic governors last week, the president himself told governors “he was checked out by a doctor and that everything was fine.” “The statements by the White House Press Secretary and President Biden appear inconsistent, and the Committee seeks to understand the extent of your role at the White House at this time,” Comer wrote. “Given your connections with the Biden family, the Committee also seeks to understand if you are in a position to provide accurate and independent reviews of the President’s fitness to serve.” Comer requested that O’Connor make himself available for a transcribed interview with counsel for the House Oversight Committee by July 14. He is also demanding all documents and communications that O’Connor has regarding Americore and James Biden. The request for O’Connor’s cooperation with Congress comes amid calls for Biden to suspend his re-election campaign – even from top Democrats, former staffers and allies. But the White House maintains that President Biden is “absolutely not” considering dropping out of the 2024 presidential race. “I am running. I am the leader of the Democratic Party. No one is pushing me out,” Biden said last week.
Democrats face a reckoning on Biden campaign as lawmakers return to Capitol Hill
A reckoning looms. Mark it on your calendar. It will begin Monday night on Capitol Hill. Maybe punctuated by a meeting of the House Democratic Caucus Tuesday morning. Augmented by the customary Senate Democratic Caucus luncheon Tuesday afternoon. SECOND LOCAL RADIO HOST ADMITS TO GETTING QUESTIONS FROM BIDEN TEAM AHEAD OF INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT The reckoning will slip into Wednesday and perhaps Thursday. We will learn where Democrats stand with President Biden during this reckoning. And we may even learn whether the president is staying in the race or standing down. It is said that timing is everything. And Mr. Biden and congressional Democrats certainly couldn’t have had worse timing over the past week-plus. President Biden and fellow Democrats had since 2021 or even 2022 to figure out whether the president was truly a “transitional figure” (as Biden characterized himself) or if it was time to go with someone else. Not after the party burned through the primaries. It shouldn’t have taken until the earliest presidential debate in American history to have a debate of another sort – even though the president’s team pushed for the date and the format of the recent forum on CNN. That turned out to be poor timing. But the timing issues only grew. NEWSOM STUMPS FOR BIDEN IN PENNSYLVANIA, DEFLECTS ON IF ‘OPEN CONVENTION’ WOULD TEMPT HIM: ‘LEGIT QUESTION’ The worst thing to happen to Democrats is that the House met last Friday, just hours after the political brownfields site which doubled as the debate stage in Atlanta. That meant that the Capitol Hill press corps spent all Friday morning chasing every House Democrat imaginable through the halls of Congress, peppering them with questions about Biden’s performance. Never before were Democratic senators so glad the Senate was out that day. In fact, the Senate didn’t meet at all last week. The worst thing politically for Biden was that the House and Senate were both out over the past week. Congressional Democrats were petrified after the president’s performance at the debate. But the fact that Democrats only had to endure tough questions from reporters at the Capitol for one day bought Biden time he didn’t have. Congress doesn’t return until Monday, and while apprehension about the president intensified, the recess muted those reservations and paused demands for Biden to possibly bow out. A senior House Democratic leadership source said those who are close to the president “did not serve him well.” The source added: “this is not sustainable.” Democrats freaked out about what Biden’s electability could mean for their own opportunities to hold the Senate and flip the House. In the early going, Democrats dodged reporters late last week after Biden bombed. “I have no comment whatsoever,” said Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., making a beeline for his car after descending the Capitol steps. “You have no comment? After the worst performance by any president (in a debate)?” countered yours truly. “I’m staying with Pop Pop,” replied Espaillat, referring to Biden. Rep. Bill Keating, D-Mass., avoided questions, noting he had had a “12 o’clock flight.” Yours truly pressed Keating about whether Biden should remain on the ballot. Keating replied that the decision would “be decided by the president,” adding Biden did not seek “his counsel.” DEMOCRATS’ SENATE HOPES COULD HANG ON SPLIT-TICKET VOTING COMEBACK Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., said Democrats don’t “need to overreact” to the president’s performance. He also argued that “it’s a big leap” for Democrats wanting to shove Biden off the ticket. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., emphatically replied “no” when asked if the president should back off. But it’s clear now that Jeffries and other top Democratic leaders are listening closely to their caucus and gauging where members stand with the president. However, Jeffries added later in the day that he would “reserve comment about anything relative to where we are at this moment, other than to say I stand behind the ticket.” Everything in politics is relative, as Jeffries might say. So where congressional Democrats stand with Biden could soon dictate a lot more commentary – from the minority leader, and others. It would take a lot for the Democratic Party to unspool itself from Biden. His delegates are only pledged to him now. But the party is scheduled to bind those delegates to Biden in a virtual roll call vote on Aug. 7. As of right now, the party can only replace the nominee after Aug. 7 due to death, resignation or disability. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., the former House majority whip and assistant Democratic leader, is credited with salvaging Biden’s 2020 sagging bid for the White House, engineering a victory in the Palmetto State. Clyburn described the debate as “strike one” for Biden. “If this were a ballgame, he’s got two more swings,” said Clyburn. But this isn’t a ballgame. This is the presidency. “I don’t know what you do in this game,” said Clyburn. Even House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., discussed the possibility of deploying the 25th Amendment. There’s a provision where the vice president and the Cabinet – and potentially a two-thirds vote by both the House and Senate – could remove an incapacitated president who is deemed unfit to serve. “It’s the Cabinet that makes that decision. I would ask the Cabinet members to search their hearts,” said Johnson. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, even introduced a resolution regarding the 25th Amendment before the recess. It’s possible there could be votes related to the 25th Amendment or the president’s competence when lawmakers return to Washington in the coming days. The coming days on Capitol Hill will be an utter doozy. BIDEN DECISION TO CONTINUE RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN MAY COME WITHIN DAYS, HAWAII GOVERNOR SAYS One thing to watch for: where California Democrats stand. Forty California Democrats comprise the 213 member House Democratic Caucus. That’s nearly 19%. It’s 9% of the entire 432-member House (there are three vacancies). Don’t forget that Vice President Harris is a Californian and served as the Golden State’s senator. If California Democrats begin to move against Biden, it’s hard to see how they don’t align with
NYC hotels housing migrants get taxpayer-funded windfall: report
New York City hotels housing migrants have brought in over a billion dollars in taxpayer funds since converting their buildings into migrant shelters. New York City is spending an average of $156 per room per night on hotel rooms that house migrants, with some rooms costing the city over $300 per night, according to a report from the New York Post. The city has spent about $4.88 billion on the migrant crisis over the last few years, the report notes, $1.98 billion of which has gone toward housing. While some of the nearly $2 billion that has been spent on housing has gone to city shelters, roughly 80% of the shelters being used by the city are motels or inns, internal documents obtained by the New York Post revealed. OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AREN’T UNDER FEDERAL SUPERVISION: ANALYSIS According to the report, the city has reached contracts in the millions with multiple New York City hotels, including a $5.13 million-a-month deal with the Row NYC hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Meanwhile, the Crowne Plaza JFK in South Jamaica, Queens, has landed a $2 million per month deal for use of its 335 rooms. The trend hasn’t gone unnoticed by business owners in the area of the hotels, who have complained that the buildings that were once filled with customers who flooded the local area with business have now been filled with migrants. “Our taxes are being used to pay for the migrants, and where are we supposed to make revenue?” William Shandler, a manager at Iron Bar located across from the Row hotel, told the New York Post. “How as a business could we function?” BLUE STATE DEPLOYS OFFICIALS TO THE BORDER WITH SURPRISING WARNING FOR MIGRANTS Nevertheless, the city has continued to ink contracts with properties to host the influx of migrants. In September, the city extended its contract with the Hotel Association of New York City (HANYC) for three years and $1.3 billion. In January, New York City signed a $76.69 million deal with HANYC to provide a shelter of “last resort” to migrants at 15 hotels in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx through July. Those deals have been crushing taxpayers, a local watchdog said. “The migrant crisis is a gash on state and local finances, and housing is where taxpayers are bleeding most,” Ken Girardin, research director at the watchdog Empire Center for Public Policy, told the New York Post. The trend has also been called out by Republican Councilwoman Joann Ariola, who argued that the hotels were built for tourism and “not for sheltering the masses of people pouring over our borders every day.” “These locations were meant to boost the economy of this city, but instead they’ve become a net drain and are costing us enormously,” Ariola said. The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
House Dems launch united effort against election bill requiring voters prove citizenship
House Democrats launched a united effort to vote against a Republican-backed election bill that would require voters provide proof of citizenship to cast ballots in federal elections. Republicans are pushing the passage of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, otherwise known as the SAVE Act, which would amend the National Voter Registration Act, and require states to obtain proof of citizenship from voters for federal elections, as well as purge noncitizens from voter rolls. Democratic leadership is urging its House members to vote against the bill in the lead-up to the vote, saying it would place “an extreme burden [on] countless Americans” in order to vote. “As we’ve seen a number of times this Congress, House Republicans continue to irresponsibly call into question the credibility of our elections. Despite numerous recounts, challenges in court, and deep-dives by conservative think-tanks, there has been zero evidence of the widespread fraud that this bill purports to target. It is already illegal under current law for noncitizens to register to vote or to vote in federal elections,” the office of House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., wrote in a “whip question,” Axios first reported. The whip vote rounds up this coming weeks’ votes and outlines guidance regarding how Democratic House members should vote. ‘TRAITORS’: MUSK CALLS FOR ULTIMATE PENALTY FOR THOSE OPPOSED TO REQUIRING VOTERS TO PROVE CITIZENSHIP “Democrats are urged to VOTE NO on H.R. 8281,” the whip question states. Republican House leadership, meanwhile, is urging the bill’s passage, with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., posting on X that “the SAVE Act will safeguard our elections by ensuring only American citizens vote in federal elections.” He detailed in the X thread that, if passed, the law would: require “state election officials to ask about citizenship before providing voter registration forms”; require “an individual to provide proof of citizenship in order to register to vote in federal elections”; allow “state officials to accept a wide variety of documents that will make it easy for CITIZENS to register to vote in federal elections”; provide “states with access to federal agency databases so they can remove noncitizens from voter rolls and confirm citizenship for individuals lacking proof of citizenship,” among other directives. Under the legislation, voters would be required to provide proof of citizenship via IDs and documentation such as a passport, a government-issued photo ID showing proof the individual was born in the U.S., military IDs, or a valid photo ID as well as documentation showing proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, the legislation states. WE NEED TO SAVE OUR ELECTIONS FROM ABUSE AND HERE’S HOW Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy introduced the legislation in May, with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introducing the Senate’s companion bill, and received widespread support from Republican lawmakers who said it would secure elections. Johnson notably unveiled the bill earlier this year alongside former President Trump in a high-profile press conference at Mar-a-Lago. “Secure elections are a key cornerstone for any representative government; without them, we won’t have a country. Radical progressive Democrats know this and are using open border policies while also attacking election integrity laws to fundamentally remake America. That’s why I am proud to introduce the SAVE Act with Speaker Johnson and my Republican colleagues, along with the invaluable support of citizens and organizations that recognize we must end the practice of non-citizens voting in our elections,” Roy said on May 8. MAJORITY OF HOUSE DEMS VOTE TO ALLOW NONCITIZEN VOTING IN DC Johnson circulated a 22-page report late last month urging House members to pass the legislation, contending there is “irrefutable evidence that noncitizens have been illegally registering to vote and have illegally voted in U.S. elections.” “While falsely claiming the 2016 election was ‘stolen’ due to ‘foreign election interference,’ Democrats ignore the real threat of foreign election interference posed when noncitizens are allowed to register and vote in U.S. elections,” Johnson wrote in the report. “Lax voter registration laws make it possible for noncitizens to register and vote in federal elections while campaign finance loopholes allow noncitizens to fund U.S. election activities – both of which can affect the outcome of our elections.” HOUSE LEADERS AIM FOR VOTE ON TRUMP-BACKED ELECTIONS BILL NEXT MONTH Johnson’s X thread championing the legislation last week received support from fellow Republicans, as well as critics of the Democratic Party. Tech billionaire Elon Musk notably sounded off that lawmakers who vote against the bill are “traitors” to the U.S. “Those who oppose this are traitors. All Caps: TRAITORS What is the penalty for traitors again?” Elon Musk posted in response to Johnson’s post. The Constitution calls on traitors guilty of treason to be sentenced to death or be imprisoned for no less than five years. They are also to be fined no less than $10,000 and be barred from ever holding office in the U.S. The bill comes as the immigration crisis continues mounting under the Biden administration, with at least 1.6 million migrants designated as “gotaways” alone between Fiscal Year 2021 to Fiscal Year 2023, Fox previously reported. Gotaways are individuals who evade Border Patrol agents. Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
House Republican calls on ‘The 51’ to be prosecuted for alleged Hunter Biden laptop cover-up
Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., took aim at a group of intelligence officials responsible for signing a letter that sought to discredit the Hunter Biden laptop story on the eve of the 2020 election. “The 51 should all be prosecuted for knowingly pushing a false statement,” Tenney said in a post on X Sunday. “See 18 U.S.C. § 1001, it’s a felony crime to: make a ‘false statement’ to an agent of the federal government related to a federal matter.” “The 51” in Tenney’s post refers to 51 former top intel officials who signed on to a letter claiming that the laptop at the center of a New York Post report just weeks before the 2020 election bore all the hallmarks of a Russian disinformation campaign, a document that was later used by President Biden to shrug off concerns over the device in a debate with former President Trump. It was later revealed that the laptop was real, even eventually being entered as evidence in Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial. EX-INTEL OFFICIALS DOUBLE DOWN ON SIGNING ‘PATRIOTIC’ LETTER AGAINST HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP: ‘WOEFULLY IGNORANT’ In the wake of that trial, Fox News Digital reached out to all 51 individuals who signed the October 2020 letter to ask if they regretted signing it after it was revealed to be authentic. “No,” former Obama Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said. “This is very old news,” Greg Treverton, a signatory who previously served as chair of the National Intelligence Council, told Fox News Digital. ‘”What we said was true, we were inferring from our experience, and it did look like a Russian operation. We didn’t, and couldn’t of course say it was a Russian operation. Enough said.” BIDEN SAYS HE WON’T PARDON SON HUNTER, VOWS TO ACCEPT VERDICT IN FELONY GUN CRIME TRIAL Meanwhile, an attorney for signatories Ronald Marks, Marc Polymeropoulos, Douglas Wise, Paul Kolbe, John Sipher, Emile Nakhleh and Gerald O’Shea provided Fox News Digital with a statement that claimed signing the letter was a “patriotic” move by his clients. “A careful and objective reading of the document reflects that even today its content is accurate,” the attorney, Mark S. Zaid, said. “It served as nothing more than a warning letter of what we have known for decades: certain foreign governments – including Russia – continue to try and actively interfere in our domestic affairs and our guard must remain vigilant. Every patriotic American should have signed that letter.” But Tenney shared a different view, arguing that the 51 should be prosecuted under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, which states that anyone “within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States” who “falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact,” or “makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation,” or “makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry” could face fines or a prison sentence of up to five years. Tenney’s office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. The full list of signatories is as follows: Former CIA Director and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, former CIA Director Michael Hayden, former Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper, former National Intelligence Council Chair Thomas Fingar, former National Security Agency Deputy Director Rick Legett, former CIA acting Director John McLaughlin, former CIA acting Director Michael Morell, former Defense Undersecretary for Intelligence Mike Vickers, former Defense Intelligence Agency Deputy Director Doug Wise, former National Counterterrorism Center Director Nick Rasmussen, former National Counterterrorism Center acting Director Russ Travers, former National Counterterrorism Center Deputy Director Andy Liepman, former CIA chief of staff John Moseman, former CIA chief of staff Larry Pfeiffer, former CIA chief of staff Jeremy Bash, former National Security Agency general counsel Glenn Gerstell, former CIA chief of staff Rodney Snyder, former CIA analyst and manager David Priess, former CIA Deputy Director of Analysis Pam Purcilly, former CIA senior operations officer Marc Polymeropoulos, former CIA senior intelligence officer Chris Savos, former CIA senior intelligence officer John Tullius, former CIA senior intelligence officer David A. Vanell, former CIA senior operations officer Kristin Wood, former CIA inspector general David Buckley, former CIA analyst and targeting officer Nada Bakos, former CIA senior intelligence officer Patty Brandmaier, former CIA senior intelligence officer James B. Bruce, former CIA intelligence analyst David Cariens, former CIA operational support officer Janice Cariens, former CIA senior operations officer Paul Kolbe, former CIA analyst Peter Corsell, former CIA senior intelligence officer Brett Davis, former national intelligence officer Roger Zane George, former CIA senior intelligence officer Steven L. Hall, former national intelligence officer Kent Harrington, former national security executive Don Hepburn, former dean of CIA’s Kent School of Intelligence Analysis Timothy D. Kilbourn, former CIA officer Ron Marks, former CIA technical operations officer Jonna Hiestand Mendez, former director of CIA’s Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program Emile Nakhleh, former CIA senior operations officer Gerald A. O’Shea, former CIA deputy chief of staff Nick Shapiro, former CIA senior operations officer John Sipher, former National Security Council senior director for intelligence programs Stephen Slick, former CIA deputy assistant director for global issues Cynthia Strand, former CIA Deputy Executive Director Greg Tarbell, former National Intelligence Collection Board Chairman David Terry, former National Intelligence Council Chair Greg Treverton, and former CIA director of analysis Winston Wiley.
Wisconsin Supreme Court new liberal majority reverses ruling that banned most ballot drop boxes in swing state
The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s new liberal majority reversed a ruling that banned most ballot drop boxes, opening the door for election officials to reinstate their use in the swing state before November. In July 2022, the state Supreme Court, then under a conservative majority, held that absentee ballot drop boxes, which were used widely during the 2020 election, were not authorized under state statute and, therefore, the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) guidance encouraging their use was unlawful. That case, known as Teigen v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, centered on a state statute that requires an absentee ballot be returned “to the municipal clerk” by one of two ways: by the elector mailing in the envelope or by the elector delivering the ballot in person to the municipal clerk. It upheld that state statute does not allow offsite, unattended drop boxes, and drop boxes could only be placed in local election clerks’ offices and no one other than the voter could return a ballot in person. In a 4-3 ruling on Friday, the state’s high court reversed course. ARIZONA ELECTION WORKER CHARGED IN SECURITY-RELATED THEFTS SEEN WITH DEMOCRAT POLITICIANS IN RESURFACED PHOTOS Writing for the majority, Justice Anna Walsh Bradley, one of the court’s four liberal justices, argued that the state statute does not make a distinction between whether ballots can be delivered to inanimate objects, such as drop boxes, whose locations are determined by municipal clerks, or to the municipal clerks themselves. “Given this, the question then becomes whether delivery to a drop box constitutes delivery ‘to the municipal clerk’ within the meaning of Wis. Stat. § 6.87(4)(b)1,” the majority wrote. “We conclude that it does. A drop box is set up, maintained, secured, and emptied by the municipal clerk. This is the case even if the drop box is in a location other than the municipal clerk’s office. As analyzed, the statute does not specify a location to which a ballot must be returned and requires only that the ballot be delivered to a location the municipal clerk, within his or her discretion, designates.” All three conservative justices dissented Friday, accusing the majority of politically motivated “activism.” “Intense partisan politics saturate our nation, exacerbated by a lack of institutional trust,” Justice Rebecca Bradley, who wrote for the minority, said. “The legitimacy of elections continues to be questioned, each side accusing the other of ‘election interference’ and ‘threatening democracy’ or even the very foundation of our constitutional republic. The majority’s decision in this case will only fuel the fires of suspicion.” “Whatever can be said of the majority’s decision, it ‘is not the product of neutral, principled judging,’” the dissenters said. “Although the majority attempts to package its disagreements with Teigen as legal, the truth is obvious: The majority disagrees with the decision as a matter of policy and politics, not law.” “The members of the majority believe using drop boxes is good policy, and one they hope will aid their preferred political party,” the minority continued. “Teigen upheld the historical meaning of Wis. Stat. § 6.87(4)(b)1., which bars the use of offsite, unmanned drop boxes. The majority in this case overrules Teigen not because it is legally erroneous, but because the majority finds it politically inconvenient. The majority’s activism marks another triumph of political power over legal principle in this court.” ELECTION OFFICIALS IN ALL 50 STATES URGED TO SEEK INFO FROM BIDEN ADMIN TO PREVENT NONCITIZENS FROM VOTING In April 2023, Democratic-backed candidate Janet Protaswiecz’s victory flipped the Wisconsin state Supreme Court to liberal control under a 4-3 majority. Seeing an opening, Priorities USA, a progressive voter mobilization group, asked the court in February to revisit the July 2022 decision. The justices announced in March they would review the ban on drop boxes but would not consider any other parts of the case. The move drew the ire of the court’s conservatives, who accused the liberals of trying to give Democrats an advantage this fall. Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers in April urged the court to again allow drop boxes. Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature also intervened in the case, arguing that the justices should leave the 2022 ruling alone. Wisconsin again figures to be a crucial swing state after President Biden barely won it in 2020 and Donald Trump narrowly took it in 2016. Trump and Republicans have alleged that drop boxes facilitated cheating. Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Whatley weighed in on Friday’s ruling, arguing in a statement that the “new liberal majority on the Supreme Court overturned this recent precedent and opened the floodgates for drop boxes across the state just months before the presidential election.” “The Court did this after unnecessarily fast-tracking the case to issue this decision before the election,” Whatley said. “Make no mistake: this partisan decision handed down by a partisan Court gives Democrats a green light to dismantle election security safeguards and invite election fraud. The RNC’s unprecedented election integrity operation will continue fighting to ensure drop box safeguards are adopted and implemented.” Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell, who administers elections in Wisconsin’s most Democratic county, argued drop boxes make the election process more convenient and easier for rural and disabled voters and help reduce the number of ballots that arrive after Election Day too late to be counted. “Secure drop boxes provide a convenient alternative to mailing absentee ballots or returning them in person to an elections clerk,” McDonell said in a statement. “Drop boxes are a common sense tool that Dane County utilized safely and securely for many years prior to the 2022 ban.” “Having drop boxes in place for the 2024 elections in August and November will encourage civic participation in our democracy,” he added. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Dozens killed across Gaza as Israel’s war enters 10th month
At least 27 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza, marking another grim day as the war on the besieged territory enters its 10th month. One of the attacks since dawn on Sunday targeted a school sheltering displaced people west of Gaza city, killing at least four Palestinians. In central Gaza, the Israeli army struck a residential building in the al-Zawayda area, killing six people. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said the dead included two children. The killings came a day after the targeting of a United Nations-run school for displaced Palestinians, in which at least 16 people were killed and dozens wounded. Paramedics said six other Palestinians were killed in a strike on another house in Gaza City. Israeli jets also targeted a group of civilians on the city’s Street 8 in the Sabra neighbourhood, killing at least two people, according to the Wafa news agency. The Israeli military said it attacked a Khan Younis municipality building in southern Gaza overnight, claiming it was used by Hamas for “military activity”. There were no immediate details on the casualties in the Khan Younis attack. Hamas denies allegations that its fighters seek shelter in civilian areas, including schools and hospitals. Gaza residents search the rubble of a house in central Gaza’s al-Zawayda early on Sunday [Eyad Baba/AFP] Meanwhile, the total death toll from the Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7 has reached 38,153, the territory’s health ministry said on Sunday. The war has uprooted 90 percent of Gaza’s population, left almost 500,000 people enduring “catastrophic” hunger and shuttered most hospitals, United Nations agencies say. The increasing casualties have overwhelmed Gaza’s largest remaining health facility, the Al-Aqsa Hospital, which is already filled with the wounded from the relentless Israeli strikes. “The situation is very difficult,” said Dr Muhammad Salha, acting director of Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia. Fresh diplomatic efforts The barrage of deadly strikes came amid fresh diplomatic efforts by mediators from the United States, Qatar and Egypt to halt the nine months of violence. Egypt’s Al Qahera News reported that Cairo was “hosting Israeli and American delegations to discuss the outstanding points” for a ceasefire and hostage-release deal, citing an unnamed high-level official source. Mediators were in contact with Hamas amid “intensive Egyptian meetings this week with all parties to push efforts” for a truce, said the news report late on Saturday, without giving further details. Israel also said it would send a delegation in the coming days for talks with Qatari mediators, even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman on Friday said “gaps” remained with Hamas on the ceasefire negotiations. In May, United States President Joe Biden had announced a plan that included an initial six-week truce and the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners. Talks subsequently stalled, but a US official on Thursday said a new proposal from Hamas “moves the process forward and may provide the basis for closing the deal”. Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told AFP news agency that the group’s new ideas had been “conveyed by the mediators to the American side, which welcomed them and passed them on to the Israeli side”, adding that “now the ball is in the Israeli court”. Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group have also exchanged almost daily cross-border fire since October last year, with the attacks and rhetoric escalating over the past month, sparking fears of a full-scale war. Early on Sunday, air raid sirens again sounded across northern Israel and its army reported that 20 rockets were fired, some of them intercepted by air defence systems. Meanwhile, protesters returned to the streets across Israel on Sunday to pressure the Netanyahu government to reach an accord to bring back hostages still being held in Gaza. The protesters blocked rush-hour traffic at major intersections across the country, picketed politicians’ houses and briefly set fire to tyres on the main Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway before police cleared the way. Adblock test (Why?)
The International Criminal Court: Fit for purpose?
People and Power asks whether the ICC, established to investigate and try those accused of the world’s worst crimes, is capable of fulfilling its role. The International Criminal Court (ICC), established in 2002, seeks to hold to account those guilty of some of the world’s worst crimes. Supporters say it deters would-be war criminals, bolsters the rule of law, and offers justice to victims of atrocities. But it has only had 11 successful convictions in nearly a quarter of a century, having spent nearly $2bn. The United States, China, and Russia are not its members, and many African governments say its prosecutions single out Africa. Now, as the world waits to see if the ICC will issue arrest warrants for the leaders of Israel and Hamas, we ask whether the court is fit for purpose. Adblock test (Why?)
Pope says democracy ‘not in good health’ as he warns against populists
At an event in northeast Italy, Pope Francis says a ‘crisis of democracy’ is having an impact on several nations around the world. Pope Francis has decried the state of democracy and warned against “populists” during a short visit to Trieste in northeast Italy. Speaking at an annual Roman Catholic Church convention on social affairs on Sunday, Francis noted that many people felt excluded from democracy, with the poor and the weak left to fend for themselves. “It is evident that democracy is not in good health in today’s world,” he said, denouncing polarisation and partisanship. “Ideologies are seductive. Some people compare them to the Pied Piper of Hamelin. They seduce you, but they lead you to deny yourself,” he said, referring to a fairy tale where a rat catcher uses his magic powers to steal away a town’s children. He said the “crisis of democracy” afflicted various nations, but did not give any specific examples. Ahead of last month’s European Parliament elections, Catholic bishops in several countries also warned about the rise of populism and nationalism, with far-right parties already holding the reins to power in Italy, Hungary and the Netherlands. The pope’s speech came on the day France holds a parliamentary run-off election, with the far-right National Rally (RN) expected to take the biggest share of the vote, a month after populist parties scored gains in European Union elections. Francis urged people to “move away from polarisations that impoverish” and hit out at “self-referential power”. “Let us not be deceived by easy solutions. Let us instead be passionate about the common good,” the pope said, highlighting the damage caused by political “corruption and illegality”. The pope, who himself rules as an absolute monarch in the tiny Vatican state, said it was also important to teach children the importance of democratic values, warning that “indifference is a cancer of democracy”. “I am concerned about the small number of people who went to vote. Why is it happening?” he asked. Pope Francis concluded his visit to Trieste with a mass in front of some 8,500 worshippers in the city’s main public square before heading back to the Vatican in the early afternoon. As is now normal, the 87-year-old pontiff got around the region mainly by wheelchair and appeared in good form. In September, he is due to fly more than 32,000km (19,900 miles) on a 12-day journey around Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore – the longest of his 11-year papacy. [embedded content] Adblock test (Why?)