How the US State Department shields Israel from sanctions
Inside the labyrinth of the State Department’s mechanisms that allow the flow of weapons to Israel, despite violations. Over the years, the United States government has been creating special mechanisms to shield Israel from sanctions designed to punish countries for human rights abuses. President Joe Biden has paused a weapons shipment to Israel and acknowledged that US weapons have been used by Israel to kill Palestinian civilians, but the US Department of State refused to declare if Israel had broken US or international laws in its war on Gaza. Host Steve Clemons asks Guardian US investigative reporter Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Georgetown University human rights law expert Stephen Rickard about the structures in place that ultimately allow Israel to evade accountability. Adblock test (Why?)
At least 6 killed in Belgorod building collapse, Russia says
Russian regional governor accuses Ukraine of shelling residential building in Belgorod city, near the border with Ukraine. At least six people have been killed and 20 others injured after a building collapsed in the Russian border city of Belgorod, according to Russian officials. A video released by the Russian Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief on Sunday showed firefighters and rescuers working on a huge pile of rubble. The ministry said that six bodies had been recovered from the rubble. “The number of injured, according to the latest data, is 20 people,” emergency services were quoted as saying by the Russian state news agency TASS. Earlier, the Emergencies Ministry said that 12 people, including two children, were rescued from the site. Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov posted a video to Telegram showing a collapsed building with a large hole in it. “Following direct shell fire on a residential building… the entire entrance, from the tenth to the ground floor, collapsed,” Gladkov said, condemning “massive bombings” by the Ukrainian army. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine’s military. One resident told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti she was in a building corridor and her husband was in a bedroom when the explosion hit. “He did not have the time [to escape],” she said, adding that her husband had been injured in the head and face. Air raid alerts continued across Belgorod as rescuers worked, looking for victims in the rubble. The Russian Ministry of Defence later wrote on social media that the building had been damaged by fragments of a downed Tochka-U TRC missile. It also said that air defences had shot down several more rockets over the Belgorod region, as well as two drones that were destroyed in a separate incident. The Belgorod region, on Russia’s western border, has been the target of a large number of strikes. Although most cross-border shelling is seen in rural areas, attacks have also been seen on the Belgorod region’s capital, Belgorod city, which came under fire on Saturday evening, killing one person and injuring 29 more, Governor Gladkov said on social media. In December 2023, shelling in the heart of the city killed 25 people, prompting authorities to start erecting public shelters. Cities across western Russia have come under regular attack from drones since May 2023, with Russian officials blaming Kyiv. Ukrainian officials have not acknowledged responsibility for attacks on Russian territory or on the Crimean Peninsula. Adblock test (Why?)
JD Vance slams NY v. Trump trial as Dem effort to distract that the ‘world is on fire’ under Biden
Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance summed up the ongoing NY v. Trump trial as a Democratic effort to distract that “the world is on fire” under the Biden administration. “This is about the fact that President Joe Biden has a failed record as commander in chief and leader of this country, and the Democrats can’t talk about that. So what they’re doing is putting these trials out there and saying, ‘Focus on this, not on the fact that the world is on fire and the fact that you’ve gotten poor under the presidency of Joe Biden,’” Vance said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” His comments come as war continues raging in the Mideast and Ukraine, and anti-Israel agitators stage protests on college campuses nationwide. Donald Trump’s trial will hold its 16th day in court on Monday, when the 45th president’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, is anticipated to take the stand. The case revolves around the alleged falsification of business records. Prosecutors say Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to quiet her claims of the alleged extramarital sexual encounter with Trump. Prosecutors allege the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen and fraudulently logged the payments as legal expenses, and are working to prove that Trump falsified records with the intent to commit or conceal a second crime. MASSIVE TRUMP BEACH RALLY IN DEEP BLUE NJ DRAWS STARK CONTRAST TO BIDEN’S BEACH WEEKEND: ‘BIDEN COULD NEVER’ Trump has pleaded not guilty in the case. TRUMP ANNOUNCES APPEAL OF ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL GAG ORDER’ AFTER JUDGE THREATENS JAIL TIME: ‘SHAM’ Daniels took the stand last week, where she detailed that she met Trump in 2006 at Lake Tahoe during a celebrity golf tournament. She alleged that the pair had sex in Trump’s hotel room during the event, which Trump has repeatedly denied in public comments. Daniels’ testimony also included describing to the court how she got into the pornography business after working as an exotic dancer as a teenager. Legal experts have sounded off that Daniels’ testimony was irrelevant to the case and that it should not have been admitted into the record. The Trump legal team twice motioned for a mistrial, but were denied by presiding Judge Juan Merchan. Vance reiterated on CNN that Trump is not on trial for sexual indiscretions, despite the focus on the salacious details stemming from Daniels’ testimony. TRUMP HUSH MONEY TRIAL IS A ‘FRANKENSTEIN CASE’ THAT’S BEEN ‘ZAPPED’ INTO LIFE: TURLEY “Donald Trump is not on trial for sexual indiscretions. This is a sham trial, where they’re saying his misdeed is that he violated the law. That he committed a crime. You can’t throw somebody in prison in the middle of a presidential election because you think that he did something bad 10 years ago. So I think we have to separate these arguments from the actual criminal trial that’s attempting to – in my view, Dana – interfere in a presidential election,” he told host Dana Bash. NY V. TRUMP: MAYOR ADAMS SAYS RIKERS ISLAND IS ‘PREPARED’ IF TRUMP IS SENTENCED TO JAIL Vance, who had previously criticized Trump after the infamous “Access Hollywood” video was unearthed ahead of the 2016 election, said Trump should not be treated differently amid the trial because he’s a former president. He did argue that Trump “is being treated differently.” “The only thing that Alvin Bragg, the New York prosecutors’ team, thinks Donald Trump did wrong is that he ran for president in 2024, and he looks to be on the cusp of victory,” he said. “That is the only thing that this is ultimately about. If you look at the underlying argument of the case, they can’t even identify what it is that Donald Trump did. They said he committed a paperwork violation in the service of a crime, but they won’t even specify the crime that he allegedly committed. And I think that when you look at all of these attacks on Donald Trump, you have to be honest with yourself and say, ‘This is not about law. And this is not about justice.’” TRUMP TRIAL JUDGE COMPARED TO ‘CORRUPT DICTATORSHIPS’ AS STORMY DANIELS UNLEASHES SALACIOUS TESTIMONY Meanwhile, Trump has spoken to the media and continued posting on Truth Social amid the trial, where he has addressed a bevy of issues, including ongoing anti-Israel protests on college campuses, and slammed the trial as a “scam” promoted by the Biden administration ahead of the 2024 election. NY V TRUMP: JUDGE DENIES MOTION FOR MISTRIAL AMID STORMY DANIELS TESTIMONY ”This Witch Hunt is FALSE ANCIENT HISTORY that was fully adjudicated by the Voters in the 2016 Presidential Election. It only has to do with Election Interference, and trying to help Crooked Joe Biden get elected because he can’t do it by himself. It is a vicious attack by the Soros backed D.A., Alvin Bragg, in strict coordination with the D.O.J. and the White House, on Biden’s Political Opponent, ME. IT IS ILLEGAL, UNCONSTITUTIONAL, AND STRICTLY THIRD WORLD COUNTRY!” he wrote on Truth Social last week.
Bernie Sanders says Israel shouldn’t receive ‘another nickel’ in US military aid after State Dept. report
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, said Israel shouldn’t receive “another nickel” in U.S. military aid despite the findings of a recent State Department report. “Any objective observer knows Israel has broken international law, it has broken American law, and in my view, Israel should not be receiving another nickel in U.S. military aid,” Sanders said in an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Look the facts are quite clear. Hamas is a terrible disgusting terrorist organization that began this war. Though what Israel has done over the last seven months has not just gone to war against Hamas, it has gone to war against the entire Palestinian people. And results have been absolutely catastrophic.” His remarks come in response to the U.S. State Department on Friday criticizing Israel’s use of U.S-supplied arms in a way that may be “inconsistent” in “mitigating civilian harm” in the war in Gaza. The finding of “reasonable” evidence to conclude that the U.S. ally had breached international law protecting civilians in the way it conducted its war against Hamas was the strongest statement that the Biden administration has yet made on the matter. The report, which was sent to Congress on Friday and obtained by Fox News Digital, admitted that “Israel has had to confront an extraordinary military challenge: Hamas has embedded itself deliberately within and underneath the civilian population to use civilians as human shields.” The report added that “it is often difficult to determine facts on the ground in an active war zone of this nature and the presence of legitimate military targets across Gaza.” STATE DEPARTMENT CRITICIZES ISRAEL’S ATTEMPTS AT ‘MITIGATING CIVILIAN HARM’ IN GAZA WAR: REPORT Citing figures from the Hamas-controlled Palestinian government, Sanders said approximately 35,000 Palestinians are dead, while another 77,000 are wounded – two thirds of whom are women and children. “That is not the way you conduct a war in a civilized society to the degree that war is civilized,” he continued. “We’re talking about 60% of the housing in Gaza having been destroyed. The civilian infrastructure – that is water, that is sewage now running out into the streets. No electricity. You are talking about a systematic destruction of the healthcare system there. Every university in Gaza has been bombed, and right now, most frighteningly, according to the humanitarian organizations, we are looking at the likelihood of hundreds of thousands of children facing starvation. Sanderds said that “any country that blocks U.S. humanitarian aid is in violation of law and should not continue to receive military aid from the United States.” “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker noted how 26 House Democrats recently sent a letter to White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Friday, expressing that they are ” deeply concerned about the message the Administration is sending to Hamas and other Iranian-backed terrorist proxies by withholding weapons shipments to Israel, during a critical moment in the negotiations.” MOTHER OF HAMAS HOSTAGE SAYS US SHOULDN’T BE CONSIDERED ‘NEUTRAL NEGOTIATOR’: ‘AMERICA WAS ALSO A VICTIM’ “Does withholding weapons to Israel run the risk of prolonging this war and weakening Israel’s hand against Hamas?” Welker asked Sanders. “Every Republican, as I understand it, wants to give huge amounts of money to Israel. My guess is many Republicans want Israel to go into Rafah despite the incredible humanitarian destruction that will cause. And there are Democrats who also feel that way,” Sanders said. “That is not what the American people feel. Poll after poll suggests that the American people want an immediate ceasefire. They want massive humanitarian aid to get in. People of our country do not want to be complicit in the starvation of hundreds of thousands of children.” “In terms of the international community, we are increasingly isolated in terms of our support for Israel, who is becoming a pariah nation,” he added. “Is there a nonmilitary way to get rid of Hamas? Given the threat that they pose? Given that they say their very goal is to destroy Israel’s existence?” Welker pushed back. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “You’re right… that is exactly right. That is their goal. It is difficult,” Sanders said. “I don’t want to minimize this, so the goal is to defeat Hamas, but not to destroy or cause the enormous amount of destruction that we’re now seeing in Gaza. And I hope that the future for the Palestinian people is a new generation or Palestinian leaders who focus on allowing the people to have a state of their own.” Fox News’ Brie Stimson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Netanyahu’s legacy could be ‘a break’ in relationship between US and Israel, Democratic senator says
The legacy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be at a crossroads, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said Sunday, as Israel looks to launch a direct assault on the Hamas stronghold of Rafah. Coons appeared on ABC’s “This Week” and said he hopes Netanyahu is thinking about his legacy after President Biden threatened to withhold offensive aid from Israel should the Jewish state go forward with a ground invasion on Rafah, where millions of Palestinian civilians are sheltering from the war. “Right now, his legacy is the huge strategic and defensive failure of Oct. 7,” Coons said of Netanyahu. “And his legacy could be a real gap, a break in the long, strong bipartisan strategic relationship between the United States and Israel.” Coons continued that this outcome “would be tragic,” and highlighted a different path for Netanyahu. TOP SENATE DEMOCRAT JOINS GROWING CHORUS OF LAWMAKERS BREAKING FROM BIDEN ON ISRAEL “[Netanyahu’s] legacy could instead be achieving regional security and peace for Israel,” the senator said. Netanyahu has vowed to follow through with the eradication of Hamas – even if it loses Israel its allies. “I have told our American friends: If necessary, we will fight with our fingernails,” Netanyahu said Sunday, addressing those who will carry torches on Israel’s 76th Independence Day. “We have much more than fingernails.” NETANYAHU SAYS BIDEN’S VOW TO WITHHOLD WEAPONS FRO9M ISRAEL WOULD RESULT IN CIVILIAN CASUALTIES Coons said that while the U.S. will continue to provide defensive systems to Israel, the U.S. will be watching Netanyahu’s next steps. “I think we’ll be looking closely at the path forward that Prime Minister Netanyahu chooses in the days ahead, whether he will use American supplied munitions to bomb and invade and attack Rafah, and the million civilians who are there in order to get at the Hamas fighters who are buried in tunnels deep beneath Rafah,” Coons said. “Or whether he will move ahead with allowing those civilians to be relocated in accordance with a plan developed with the United States.” Coons said the latter plan isn’t “fully acceptable” to the U.S. yet, or his preferred outcome, as officials work to prepare a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia that will allow a cease-fire, hostage release and resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, and long-term security for Israel against Iran.
Massive Trump beach rally in deep blue NJ draws stark contrast to Biden’s beach weekend: ‘Biden could never’
Critics of President Biden are lambasting his beach vacation in Delaware, while contrasting the Mother’s Day weekend getaway to former President Trump’s massive rally in the historically blue state of New Jersey on Saturday. “Supporters camped out overnight at the beach for a Trump rally that starts at 5PM today in Wildwood. Joe Biden can’t fill up a broom closet without staff, media, and angry protestors,” one X user under the name Bad Hombre posted Saturday. Trump held a beachside rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, on Saturday evening, where at least 80,000, and up to 100,000 supporters, joined the 45th president in the historically deep blue state. Simultaneously, 24 miles across Deleware Bay, Biden arrived at his home in Rehoboth Beach for Mother’s Day. Biden’s trip followed a fundraising event in Seattle, where he was greeted by local leaders such as Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., as well as a group of left-wing, anti-Israel protesters holding signs reading “Traitor Genocide Joe Free Palestine” and “Genocide Joe Must Go,” the Seattle Times reported. TRUMP SUPPORTERS FLOCK TO MASSIVE NEW JERSEY CAMPAIGN RALLY TO HEAR FORMER PRESIDENT SPEAK AMID ONGOING TRIALS As of last fall, Biden was on course to spend about 40% of his presidency on vacation, compared to Trump reportedly spending 26% of his time outside Washington, D.C., when he was in office, and President Barack Obama’s reported 11% of vacation time, the New York Post previously reported. Social media commenters jumped at comparing Trump’s massive rally on the Jersey Shore to Biden spending the weekend at his Delaware beach house. “Crooked Joe Biden will soon head to his beach house for a weekend of rest. SAD!” RNC Research posted on X in response to a video showing the massive crowds at the South Jersey beach. NORTH DAKOTA GOV, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE DOUG BURGUM FRONT AND CENTER AT TRUMP NEW JERSEY RALLY “The crowd in Wildwood, NJ keeps growing. People have been camped out and even slept on the beach. Trump is not set to speak until 5pm est today. No one would camp out to meet Biden,” X account the Political Pom posted. TRUMP DENIES REPORT CLAIMING NIKKI HALEY IS ‘UNDER CONSIDERATION’ FOR VP ROLE: ‘I WISH HER WELL!’ “Meanwhile Biden goes on vacation to the beach in Delaware and not a single person is there to rally for him,” another X account posted, alongside video of crowds lining the streets in anticipation of Trump. “CROOKED JOE BIDEN COULD NEVER,” the Trump War Room posted, alongside beach footage showing the massive crowd. TRUMP SUPPORTERS FLOCK TO MASSIVE NEW JERSEY CAMPAIGN RALLY TO HEAR FORMER PRESIDENT SPEAK AMID ONGOING TRIALS “Biden ignores questions as he wraps up a day of fundraising – and heads to the beach for a weekend of rest,” RNC Research posted. Another X account posed a question for a poll asking: “80,000 people attended a Trump rally in Wildwood, New Jersey. Could Biden ever get this many people to a rally?” 50 CENT RIPS BIDEN FOR DELAWARE BEACH TRIP AMID ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR: ‘WE GOT SOME REAL S— GOING ON’ Fox News Digital spoke on Saturday to Trump rally attendees, who described happily waiting on the beach for the former president and added they foresee big Trump wins in November. “I think this country needs to change – although, we already know what Trump’s all about,” one supporter who identified himself as Carlos said. “So, that change is just going to come right back to us because that’s what we need. We need Trump because I don’t think Biden is just getting the job done right now. Some of it’s his fault. Some of it is probably the people around him. But I think we need Trump back to get this country back to where it needs to be.” When asked about Trump’s prospects in November, Carlos pointed to the large crowd and said: “Take a look.” “There’s probably about six to 7,000 people waiting in line and probably more. [The line] goes all the way back to the entrance. So, you’re looking at 35- to 40,000 people at this venue right now,” he said, noting that some people had been waiting since Thursday for the venue to open. An attendee named Lisa, who traveled from Westcheester County, New York, described herself as a “convert” supporter of Trump despite having come from a long line of liberals in her family. BIDEN BLASTS HOUSE FOR TWO-WEEK ‘VACATION’ DESPITE FACING CRITICISM FOR HIS FREQUENT BEACH TRIPS “It’s just like, something overnight shifted in the culture that I didn’t realize,” she said. “I was taking stuff at face value and the minute the walls came crumbling down, I just started [going] deep into everything.” Trump was joined by New Jersey Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who also left the Democratic Party under the Trump administration for the GOP. He described the Wildwood event as historical for the Garden State. “This has got to be the biggest political rally in the history of New Jersey,” Van Drew told the crowd. A common theme amid the lengthy rally, which wrapped up around 8 p.m., was the argument that Trump will win the historically deep blue state come November. “We’re going to win New Jersey,” the GOP frontrunner told the crowd to exuberant cheers. MIKE HUCKABEE: THE ONLY TIME BIDEN IS WINNING IS ON THE BEACH OR IN HIS BASEMENT “As you can see today, we’re expanding the electoral map because… we’re going to win the state of New Jersey,” Trump said. “I think we’re going to win them all. All across America, millions of people, so-called blue states, are joining our movement based on love, intelligence, and a thing called common sense.” In addition to New Jerseyans, the rally also drew a large crowd from the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, as well as attendees from deep blue New York and elsewhere. Trump focused on the economy and inflation through much of the event, highlighting that everything
Mother of Hamas hostage says US shouldn’t be considered ‘neutral negotiator’: ‘America was also a victim’
The mother of a 23-year-old American among the 132 hostages who remain held by Hamas militants said Sunday that the U.S. should not be considered a “neutral negotiator” and “was also a victim” on Oct. 7. On Mother’s Day, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, said during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” that “it’s clear not enough is being done because we still have 132 cherished souls who are being held captive for 219 days, and within that cohort of 132 souls, there are the American 8.” Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall asked Goldberg-Polin whether she wanted to see ceasefire talks continue. “I think we really have to be creative and inciteful and figure out a way forward. Both sides really have to figure out a way forward, and calling for a timeout certainly will give some time for people to start to think straight again,” Goldberg-Polin said in response. “I think really what gets lost in this is America should not be considered sort of this neutral negotiator. America was also a victim on Oct. 7. Forty-five Americans were killed on Oct. 7. Twelve were taken into captivity, and eight are still being held hostage.” “And I certainly want all the suffering in the region, and there’s so much suffering to go around, I mean there’s no competition here. There are hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in Gaza who are suffering, and there are also 132 innocent civilians in Gaza who were dragged there on Oct. 7 who are suffering. I think people have trouble holding those two truths, and that does an injustice to everyone involved,” she said. BIDEN’S ARMS EMBARGO ON ISRAEL ‘EMBOLDENS’ HAMAS MISSILE STRIKES AGAINST JEWISH STATE Goldberg-Polin said she did not believe most Americans know that American innocent civilians still remain held captive in Gaza, as do people from other nationalities around the world. “There are a lot of people in that hostage cohort that we don’t hear about,” she said. “When we hear a lot of noise about the hostages being held you very rarely hear about the Muslim Arabs who are hostage, you very rarely hear about the Thai Buddhists who are hostage, you very rarely hear about the Black Christian Africans who are being held hostage. There’s Nepalese. There are Mexicans, there are Argentinians, there are Germans, and somehow there has been an attempt to make this group of people a monolithic, homogenous group.” “I find it curious and suspicious that for whatever reason, that has not been publicly saturating the news,” Goldberg-Polin added. “Do you think that an Israeli invasion into Rafah – do you think that perhaps that would put your son, put all these other hostages, their lives in danger? Hall also asked. “I’m not a military strategist,” Goldberg-Polin responded. “I am a mother who is horribly, miserably worried about her only son who has been in an active war zone for 219 days, along with 131 other people.” TOP SENATE DEMOCRAT JOINS GROWING CHORUS OF LAWMAKERS BREAKING FROM BIDEN ON ISRAEL She noted how the oldest remaining hostage is Shlomo Mansour, an 86-year-old grandfather, while the youngest is Kfir Bibas, a one-and-a-half-year-old child. “We have daughters, sons, sisters, brothers, spouses, fathers, mothers, grandparents, and we are all horribly worried about our loved ones being in harm’s way,” she added. The Oct. 7 attack killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 250 hostage. Militants still hold about 100 captives and the remains of more than 30. Internationally mediated talks over a cease-fire and hostage release appear to be at a standstill. Israeli forces pushed deeper into Gaza’s southern city of Rafah on Sunday and battled Hamas in parts of the devastated north that the military said it had cleared months ago but where militants have regrouped, the Associated Press reported. Warnings continued against the growing offensive in Rafah, considered the last refuge in Gaza for more than a million civilians as well as Hamas’ last stronghold. Some 300,000 people have fled Rafah following evacuation orders from Israel, which says it must invade to dismantle Hamas and return scores of hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack against Israel that sparked the war. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated opposition to a major military assault on Rafah, telling CBS that Israel would “be left holding the bag on an enduring insurgency” without an exit from Gaza and postwar governance plan. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Obama judge mocks top Dem law firm in Wisconsin election lawsuit: ‘Makes no sense’
A federal judge ripped into a top Democratic law firm that was attempting to challenge an absentee ballot witness requirement in Wisconsin. “Normally, the court would begin by searching for other textual clues in the statute. But in this case, the most obvious problem with plaintiffs’ interpretation is that it simply does not make any sense,” U.S. District Judge James Peterson said in a ruling against the Elias Law Group, the firm founded by Democratic super lawyer and former Clinton campaign general counsel Marc Elias, which was attempting to challenge the Wisconsin law. At the heart of the issue is Wisconsin’s state statute under § 6.87(2), which lays out absentee voting requirements in the state. WISCONSIN BECOMES 28TH STATE TO PASS A BAN ON ‘ZUCKERBUCKS’ AHEAD OF 2024 ELECTION The Wisconsin law requires voters to both certify that they meet the requirements to vote and that they have followed the correct process for filling out an absentee ballot, which includes a section that requires “witness certification.” Elias said the witness requirement violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Civil Rights Act of 1964, arguing that a witness would be forced to verify the eligibility of the voter filling out the ballot. “Under plaintiffs’ interpretation, every witness would have to determine the voter’s age, residence, citizenship, criminal history, whether the voter is unable or unwilling to vote in person, whether the voter has voted at another location or is planning to do so, whether the voter is capable of understanding the objective of the voting process, whether the voter is under a guardianship, and, if so, whether a court has determined that the voter is competent,” Peterson, an Obama appointee, wrote. WISCONSIN GOV. EVERS VETOES GOP VOTING, ELECTION AUDIT BILLS; GREENLIGHTS POLITICAL AI CRACKDOWN “Many witnesses would be unable to independently verify much of the required information,” Peterson continued. “The statute allows any adult U.S. citizen to serve as a witness, suggesting that a wide variety of people should be able to do the job… It makes no sense to interpret § 6.87 in a way that would make compliance virtually impossible.” The decision follows the top firm’s failure in another Wisconsin case, which saw Elias attempt to force the state to redraw its congressional maps. But the Wisconsin Supreme Court opted not to hear the case, a victory for Republicans in the state. Jonathan Turley, Fox News Media contributor and the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, noted that Elias himself has been at the center of several controversies and courtroom losses in recent memory. “Elias has been sanctioned in past litigation. Yet, other Democrats have continued to hire Elias despite his checkered past,” Turley wrote Saturday. “Elias unsuccessfully led efforts to challenge Democratic losses. Elias also was the subject of intense criticism after a tweet that some have called inherently racist.” The Elias Law Group did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
DOJ seeks 40-year sentence for Paul Pelosi hammer attacker David DePape under ‘terrorism enhancement’
The Justice Department is seeking a 40-year sentence for David DePape under a “terrorism enhancement” in connection to the hammer attack on Paul Pelosi at his and his wife, Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s California home. In a memo filed on Friday in the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, federal prosecutors said they disagreed with the Probation Office’s decision not to apply the terrorism enhancement given DePape expressed “no remorse” after “nearly killing Mr. Pelosi in his effort to also kidnap the Speaker Emerita.” “The nature and circumstances of the offense warrant statutory maximums on each count. The core of both crimes – the attempted kidnapping of a public official and the assault on the family member of a public official – is violence aimed at punishing the former Speaker of the House of Representatives,” U.S. attorney Ismail Ramsey wrote. “Both crimes are an assault on our democracy and fundamental values.” “The jury rejected the defendant’s contentions that he was motivated by something other than the Speaker Emerita’s official position, but even taking his own statements as true for a moment, the defendant claimed that he went to the Pelosi’s home to inflict violence on the Speaker Emerita,” Ramsey continued. “He wanted to teach a lesson. The violent lessons that the defendant wanted to teach are not permitted in this country, and the sentence that this Court imposes must reflect the nature and circumstances of the offense.” PAUL PELOSI ATTACK SUSPECT DAVID DEPAPE FOUND GUILTY IN FEDERAL TRIAL DePape was convicted last year of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official. He is scheduled to be sentenced Friday. The attack on then-82-year-old Paul Pelosi was captured on police body camera video just days before the 2022 midterm elections. DePape admitted during trial testimony that he broke into the Pelosi home intending to hold the then-Speaker hostage and “break her kneecaps” if she lied to him. He also admitted to bludgeoning Paul Pelosi with a hammer after police showed up at the home, saying his plan to end what he viewed as government corruption was unraveling. Defense attorneys said DePape was motivated by his political beliefs and caught up in conspiracy theories. DAVID DEPAPE WEEPS ON STAND, APOLOGIZES TO PAUL PELOSI FOR HAMMER ATTACK “There is nothing about the history and characteristics of the defendant that warrant leniency. The defendant has admitted – indeed bragged – that he knew what he was doing when he packed his bags and went to the Pelosi’s home,” Ramsey wrote. “The government acknowledges that the defendant had difficult relationship with his biological father and then with a romantic partner. To the extent that these relationships bear on the instant offense, it appears to be because of some amount of isolation. To be sure, isolation may have led the defendant to spend time on YouTube and consuming media that led him to adopt the views that motivated his actions. But the defendant’s history and characteristics do not excuse the instant offense, nor give a reason for leniency given the violent extremism that the defendant unleashed in October 2022.” Nancy Pelosi was not at home at the time of the October 2022 incident. From custody, DePape called the KTVU newsroom. In the call that was also played out during the trial, he said he had “an important message for everyone in America – you’re welcome.” Prosecutors said a medical examination at the hospital showed Paul Pelosi “suffered two skull fractures that had to be repaired in emergency surgery, along with a wound to his arm and his hand, which were also treated in surgery by specialized surgeons.” At trial, “a neurosurgeon who performed the surgeries testified that one of the skull fractures narrowly missed a vein that if lacerated would have caused life-threatening blood loss,” the motion said. Friday’s motion said DePape “planned a violent hostage-taking of the Speaker Emerita, and then nearly killed her husband.” Given “the defendant planned and unleashed violence and has stayed true to his belief that his actions were necessary,” the government recommended that the Court impose a term of 20 years on the attempted kidnapping count and 30 years on the assault count, with 20 years on count two to run consecutive to count one. Prosecutors said the Court should also impose “a term of three years of supervised release on Count One and five years on Count 2, and a $100 special assessment per count.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Delhi: Two hospitals receive bomb threat days after scare at city schools
Local police and Bomb Disposal Teams (BDT) are at the hospitals, Delhi Police said