News of the World

[kyonides]

Trump Outlines Legal Strategy in Post-Arraignment Speech

Trump spoke to a crowd of supporters and family members hours after pleading not guilty to 37 counts of charges linked to his handling of classified documents. He decried the indictment as a political hit job meant to derail his bid for the White House.

In outlining his defense, the former president particularly focused on the Presidential Records Act of 1978. Trump suggested that the act gives the president discretion to determine which records are personal and which are presidential, and, as a result, belong to the public.

While the documents Trump is being charged with illegally retaining do not fit the criteria to be personal records under the act, Trump referred to a 2012 district court ruling in a case concerning audio tapes former President Bill Clinton kept after leaving the White House. In that decision, Judge Amy Berman Jackson concluded that even though Clinton’s tapes should have been classified as presidential records and turned over to the National Archives, the national archivist didn’t have the power to reclassify them.

“Under the statute, this responsibility is left solely to the president,” Jackson wrote.

Trump had previously hinted at this line of defense, jokingly referring to the lawsuit by Judicial Watch as the “Clinton socks” case, because Clinton had kept the tapes of his interviews with historian Taylor Branch stored in a sock drawer. Unlike the Clinton tapes, the documents in Trump’s possession had classification markers. It remains to be seen how the former president’s defense team will construct their argument.

Adam Schiff dodges bullet:
House votes against bill censuring him for Trump-Russia 'lies'

The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted against the idea of censuring and condemning Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., for insisting that former President Donald Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election.

In a 225-196 vote, lawmakers decided to set aside the censure resolution against Schiff, effectively killing it and preventing a vote on passage. The resolution, introduced by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., was opposed by 20 Republicans as two other GOP lawmakers voted "present" along with five Democrats.

The resolution was known to be on shaky ground with some Republicans. One expected "no" vote, Rep. Tom Massie, R-Ky., said he opposed the idea of a fine against Schiff — the resolution up Wednesday recommended a $16 million fine but did not require it.
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It wasn’t clear late Wednesday whether House Republicans might try again with a resolution against Schiff that leaves out all mentions of possible fines.

The resolution that failed on the House floor Wednesday said claims of Trump-Russia collusion were cooked up by Trump’s political opponents and pursued by the Department of Justice despite the lack of any solid foundation for suspecting collusion.

US soldier pleads guilty to charges for trying to help Islamic State

A US Army soldier on Wednesday pleaded guilty to terrorism charges for attempting to help Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (Islamic State) conduct deadly ambush on US troops in the Middle East, the Department of Justice said.

The soldier, a man from Ohio, pleaded guilty to attempting to provide "material support" to a designated foreign terrorist organization and trying to help the Islamic State to attack and kill US soldiers, the Justice Department said in a statement.

US deploys its F-22 Raptors to Middle East amid Russia tensions

US Central Command deployed its advanced F-22 Raptors to the Middle East, according to a statement released on Wednesday. The F-22 is among the most advanced air superiority fighter jets in the world, but the US has generally not had advanced adversaries to use it against over the last decades.
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"Russian forces' unsafe and unprofessional behavior is not what we expect from a professional air force. Their regular violation of agreed-upon airspace deconfliction measures increases the risk of escalation or miscalculation," said Gen. Michael Kurilla, commander of US Central Command.

"Alongside our partners and allies, we are committed to improving the security and stability in the region." The F-22s flew from Langley and America says they are here to demonstrate “the US' ability to re-posture forces and deliver overwhelming power at a moment's notice.”
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They will integrate with other US-led coalition air assets in the region. The US has warplanes based in Qatar, the UAE and other bases in the region.

On June 8th I had informed  you about the alleged existence of a Chinese base in Cuba to spy on US. Now it's no longer a vague  rumor.

Biden Administration Confirms
Chinese Spy Base in Cuba, Shifts Blame to Trump

The White House stated on June 12 that the existence of a Chinese spy base in Cuba isn’t a recent development and dates to the time when President Donald Trump was in office.

During a press briefing at the White House, John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, confirmed that the Biden administration is aware of China’s intelligence-collecting capabilities in Cuba and is taking them seriously.

“We’re not going to be able to get into too much detail about our own counterintelligence efforts,” Kirby said. “As we’ve communicated over the weekend, this is not a new development that China’s been trying to achieve some intelligence gathering capabilities in Cuba and, frankly, elsewhere in the hemisphere, and that from day one, when we came in, we took this issue seriously.”

The remarks came after several media outlets reported that Beijing has been operating a spy base in Cuba since 2019.

Previously, both the White House and the Pentagon denied claims that China struck a “secret agreement” with Cuba recently to build a spy base, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
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Kirby claimed that the report wasn’t accurate but didn’t elaborate on what was incorrect.
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China upgraded its Cuban intelligence collection facilities in 2019, Blinken told reporters on June 12 at a briefing alongside Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
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On his Truth Social account, Trump blamed the Biden administration for the spying facility in Cuba.

“China just, effectively, took over Cuba,” he wrote on June 12. “Would never have happened under the Trump administration!”

John Ratcliffe, director of national intelligence under Trump, denied that there was a Chinese spy facility in Cuba during the Trump administration.