President Biden speaks Thursday about the historic prisoner swap with Russia. Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Vladimir Kara-Murza and Alsu Kurmasheva were among those released by Vladimir Putin. (White House photo.)
UPDATE II: A Kremlin bureaucratic formality requires those released from prison, such as in Thursday's prisoner exchange, must formally request clemency in a letter to Russian leader/dictator Vladimir Putin. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was to serve 16 years for a made-up espionage charge asked the Russian government in his letter for an interview with Putin, Axios reports.
A much darker revelation came earlier from National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who in a Thursday press briefing said the US had sought the release of dissident Alexei Navalny, according to Axios. Navalny died under mysterious circumstances while held in a Russian prison last February.
Clarification: We have noted that Gershkovich, the highest profile prisoner in the exchange, and retired US Marine Paul Whelan were released Thursday. We also listed British-Russian anti-Kremlin journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, but did not mention his Pulitzer Prize-winning work as a Washington Post contributor. A fourth release by Russia to America is Alsu Kurmasheva, of Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Liberty.
UPDATE: The US-Russia prisoner swap actually involved a seven-nation exchange that took place in Ankara, Turkey, The New York Times reports. In addition to WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich, retired US Marine Paul Whelan and Russian-British journalist and Kremlin opponent Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russia released several allies of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who himself died in a Russian gulag last February, reports The Atlantic Daily which notes that Russia got "what it wanted" in the exchange. That includes release of Vadim Krasilov, a colonel from the Russian intelligence service who was serving a life sentence in a German prison for carrying out a Kremlin-ordered hit on a dissident in Berlin, a Russian money launderer serving time in an American prison and two Russian spies caught in Slovenia.
Gershkovich, Whelan to be Released in Swap -- Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich (above) and retired US Marine Paul Whelan and a third American will be released from Russian prisons by late Thursday in what CNN and the BBC describe as a "massive prisoner swap," according to the Biden administration. Gershkovich and Whelan both had been sentenced to 16-year prison sentences for espionage.
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Will it be Shapiro? -- The Harris campaign has confirmed to The Philadelphia Inquirer that the vice president will kick off her tour through swing states next Tuesday in Philadelphia, with her choice for running mate. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is native of a Philadelphia suburb, adding to speculation that he is Harris' lead choice to run for vice president on the Democratic ticket. But the Inquirer adds that Harris' swing state campaign next week will go through Arizona, home to Sen. Mark Kelly, who also is seen as a top candidate for the job. Harris and her running mate also will tour western Wisconsin, Detroit, Raleigh, North Carolina, Savannah, Georgia and Las Vegas, the campaign told the newspaper.
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KSM to Plead Guilty in 9/11 Case – Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two others charged with plotting the September 11 attacks have agreed to a plea deal in which they will avoid the death penalty, according to NPR’s Morning Edition. They also will have to answer questions from victims’ family members about why they did what they did. Nearly 3,000 died at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and aboard an airliner in rural Pennsylvania.
It is not known whether KSM, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi will remain at Guantánamo or will be transferred to prisons in the US. It is also not known what prompted the plea bargains – President Biden was not involved according to the National Security Council, NPR reports, but the cases had not been going well for prosecutors, especially regarding evidence gathered via torture during the Bush 43 administration.
And it’s not completely over: the cases of 30 more men held at Guantánamo remain.
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Fed Cut, Not Yet – A week after the June numbers for the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, once obscure outside Federal Reserve nerds, dropped to 2.5% were released, Chairman Jerome Powell says the Fed could cut interest rates at its next meeting in September to avoid weakening the labor market, The Wall Street Journal reports.
“The broad sense of the committee is that the economy is moving closer to the point at which it will be appropriate to reduce our policy rate. A reduction in the policy rate could be on the table as soon as the next meeting in September.”
That’s potentially good news for Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign, if consumers notice substantial relief in mortgage and car loan rates, and credit card interest.
With the Fed’s hold Wednesday, the policy rate remains between 5.25% and 5.5%, though PRI’s Marketplace reports that the rate being offered consumers by banks may already be coming down.
--TL
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WEDNESDAY 7/31/24
NABJ Interviews Trump – What did the Trump campaign hope to get from the ex-president’s interview at the National Association of Black Journalists’ convention in Chicago, Wednesday? The campaign had claimed to be winning over Black voters from President Biden, but Donald J. Trump said nothing to advance that cause, what with Vice President Harris as her opponent.
Rachel Scott of ABC News began by asking Trump about his false claims that former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley and former President Obama might not be American citizens and thus disqualified for the job, that Trump told four congresswomen of color to “go back to where they came from,” though they are American citizens, that the ex-prez has used words like “animal” and “rabid” to describe Black district attorneys and has called Black journalists “losers,” saying their questions are “stupid” and “racist,” and noted Trump had dinner with known white supremacists at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
“Why should Black voters trust you after you use language like that?” Scott asked.
“Well, first of all, I didn’t think I’ve ever been asked a question so … in such a horrible manner. First question. You didn’t even say ‘hello, how are you?’ Are you with ABC? Because I think they’re a fake news network. And I think it’s disgraceful. I came here in good spirit. I love the Black population of this country. I’ve done so much for the Black population of this country. Including employment, including opportunity zones with Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, which is one of the greatest programs ever for Black workers and Black entrepreneurs.”
Trump did get one audience member’s off-screen applause when he said he saved “broke” historically Black colleges and universities (HSBCUs). And, of course, it could only get better from there, right?
Well, the headline on the story by Kadia Goba, the Semafor political reporter who joined Scott and Fox News’ Harris Faulkner on the Chicago NABJ stage, reads that “Trump falsely says (Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris ‘turned black’ after previously promoting her Indian heritage…”
Meanwhile, Politifact conducted real-time fact-checking during the one-hour interview.
Terry Marsh, assistant professor of media at Norfolk State University told Politico it is “probably the most unusual presidential interview I’ve ever seen. He seemed to avoid answering questions that are important to this group of people. His motive was just to explain his agenda. I’m confused why he came.”
Vice President Harris is in talks with the NABJ to speak to the group virtually, after their convention, according to USA Today.
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Escalating War – Hamas has accused Israel of killing Ismail Haniyeh, its top political leader, in an airstrike on Tehran Wednesday where he was attending the swearing-in ceremony of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, NPR’s Morning Edition reports. Hamas called Haniyeh’s killing “a dangerous event,” as Israel’s war on the militant Palestinian group has spilled out past Gaza into southern Lebanon.
Israel officials had no comment on the attack.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Channel News Asia during a visit to Singapore that the US is not involved, and was not aware of the airstrike, which came hours after Israel said it killed a top commander of Hezbollah in an airstrike on Beirut. That strike on Lebanon was, in turn, retaliation for a rocket strike from Lebanon on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights last weekend, which resulted in at least 12 fatalities, mostly youth and teenagers, according to The New York Times.
Qatar had hosted Haniyeh in US-backed Gaza ceasefire talks, according to NPR.
Haniyeh’s killing, political assassinations, continued targeting of Palestinian civilians in Gaza undermine mediation efforts when “one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side,” said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohanned Al Thani.
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Project 2025 Director Leaves – The director of Project 2025, Paul Dans, is stepping down from the Heritage Foundation-led campaign from which the Trump campaign is trying to distance itself, The Hill reports.
“When we began Project 2025, we set a timeline for the project to conclude its policy drafting after the two party conventions this year, and we are sticking to that timeline,” said Kevin Roberts, Heritage Foundation president.
Project 2025 would place the entire executive branch of the federal government under direct control of the president under the unitary executive theory. Donald J. Trump denied knowledge of the project prior to the Republican National Convention, despite its connections with numerous associates of the ex-president. Dans was chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management in the Trump administration.
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TUE 7/30/24 ...meanwhile...
Vice – With much of the world’s attention turned to the Paris Olympics and other summer activities, the punditocracy is concentrating on running mates from both parties.
On the Democratic side, Vice President Kamala Harris, little more than a week into her campaign ahead of a formal virtual nomination by August 7, two key candidates to become her running mate have dropped out. Gretchen Whitmer has formally removed her name from consideration, saying she will fill out her remaining two years as Michigan’s governor. She also will serve as co-chair of Harris’ presidential campaign.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper also has removed his name from consideration, in part because Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a “GOP firebrand” according to The Washington Post would become acting governor. In addition, Cooper has not been “formally vetted” to become Harris’ running mate, an anonymous source told the WaPo.
The veepstakes … That leaves Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, according to Politico. With Cooper formally out of the running, Beshear is the remaining red state governor still in the mix.
Meanwhile … “Mayor Pete” Buttigieg is campaigning hard for Harris’ veepstakes. He has gotten much attention among Democrats recently for his Fox News appearances, where he calmly and cheerfully explains why anti-Democratic tropes on the network are misinformed, a role he explained to Jon Stewart Monday Night on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show.
Meanwhile, at the Trump campaign … Hard to believe Donald J. Trump would admit to a mistake and remove Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) as his running mate, but some Republican lawmakers believe he has turned out to be “a magnet for controversy” and negative press, The Hill reports. Some GOP senators and congress members believe Trump should have chosen a woman, or a “person of color,” like Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who was key in writing Trump’s 2017 tax bill.
“I don’t think Trump likes any discomfort – he can create discomfort himself – but he doesn’t like external discomfort coming in, and J.D.’s struggling,” a Republican senator who remained anonymous told The Hill. “I would assume he’s not very happy.”
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Leo Says Biden Amendment Would “Pack the Court” – Attorney and right-wing activist Leonard Leo, the mentor to Justice Clarence Thomas considered largely responsible for the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority, rarely appears in public. But he took to Fox News Digital Tuesday to criticize President Biden’s No One is Above the Law Constitutional amendment announced Monday at the LBJ Library in Austin, Texas.
Saying the amendment has virtually no chance of adoption, Leo argued it would “really politicize the institution,” adding that it “is really just another attempt to pack the Supreme Court and to attack the integrity of the court without any real basis.”
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MON 7/29/24 -- Biden Pitches Constitutional Amendment
President Biden commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act Monday at the LBJ Library in Austin, Texas, where he will announce a “bold plan” to reform the US Supreme Court and “ensure no president is above the law.”
Look for Biden’s proposal to be the focus of his remaining half-year in office, as he pushes to ease democrats’ and Democrats’ fears about the potential for authoritarian executive rule after SCOTUS in its 2023-24 term gave presidents, former or current, broad immunity for “official” acts.
Biden will propose the No One is Above the Law Amendment according to the White House, which would make “clear no president is above the law or immune from prosecution for crimes committed while in office,” and states “the Constitution does not confer any immunity from federal criminal indictment, trial, conviction, or sentencing by virtue of previously serving as president”:
- No immunity for crimes a former president committed in office: Biden “shares the founders’ belief that the president’s power is limited – not absolute – and must ultimately reside with the people.”
- Term limits for Supreme Court Justices: The sitting president would appoint a justice every two years to spend 18 years in active service on the Supreme Court.
- Binding Code of Conduct for the Supreme Court: Biden “believes that Congress should pass binding, enforceable conduct and ethics rules that require justices to disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity, and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial or other conflicts of interest.” SCOTUS justices would “not be exempt from the enforceable code of conduct that applies to every other federal judge.”
Biden originally intended to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act earlier in July but delayed the event after the July 13 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania against Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump.
Biden’s speech, scheduled for 3 pm Central time (4 pm Eastern) is a closed event, though you can watch the live stream here.
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Venezuela Election Looks Fishy – Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US has “serious concerns” after Venezuela’s National Electoral Council named Nicolas Maduro winner of a third term in elections held Sunday. Elvis Amoroso, president of the council and a close ally of Maduro announced after hours delay that Marduro had 51% of the vote to opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez’s 44%, NPR’s Morning Edition reports.
Opposition leader Maria Corino Machado insisted Gonzalez had 70% of the vote to Maduro’s 30%. Machado cited several exit polls, including one by Edison Research, of the US, that showed Gonzalez over Maduro 65% to 31%. Maduro, first elected president in 2013 following the death of his mentor, Hugo Chavez, is widely unpopular in Venezuela.
Gonzalez, a 74-year-old retired diplomat took over the opposition campaign from Machado after the Maduro regime banned her from running, according to NPR.
--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa
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SAT-SUN 7/27-28/24 -- Trump: Last Vote for Christians
GOP presidential candidate Donald J. Trump suggested to a Christian group Friday night that this November’s election would be the last for which they would ever need to vote. Ostensibly, he apparently was trying to make it easy for a segment of conservative Christians who do not care to go to the polls.
The nefarious explanation is that Trump expects to be American dictator not just for a day, January 20 and will end presidential elections as we know it.
Give him the benefit of a doubt, and perhaps Trump means he’ll fix everything conservative Christians want – including establishment of Christian nationalism in the US -- so there will be no reason for Christians to vote again in 2028.
In either case, here’s your chance to enter your warning or try to ease worries, as a Citizen Pundit, for what you think Trump meant Friday at the Believers’ Summit hosted by the far-right youth-oriented political group, Turning Point Action, in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Here is what Trump told the Believers’ Summit about voting, according to The New York Times:
“You won’t have to do it anymore. You know what? Four more years, it’ll be fine, you won’t have to do it anymore, my beautiful Christians.
“I love you, Christians. I’m a Christian. I love you, you got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not going to have to vote.”
--Todd Lassa
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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news