Trump-appointed judge dismisses classified documents case against Trump – National & International News – MON 15Jul2024

Trump-appointed judge dismisses classified documents case against Trump.

Ohio Senator J.D. Vance named as Trump’s VP pick.

Israel takes advantage of US chaos to unleash one of the deadliest weeks in Gaza.

NATIONAL NEWS

Trump-appointed judge dismisses classified documents case against Trump

Federal District Judge Aileen Cannon has once again drawn criticism for a legally tenuous decision made in favor of former President Trump. In a 93-page decision, Cannon ruled that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith to lead the prosecution against Trump for his unlawful mishandling of classified documents (and obstructing the federal government’s efforts to retrieve them) was unconstitutional because Smith was not appointed by the sitting President or approved by Congress. She therefore decided to throw out the case. 

Smith has already said he will appeal the decision the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, the generally Conservative Georgia-based federal appeals court, which has nevertheless previously overruled Judge Cannon on other controversial rulings she has made in this case. Cannon’s reasoning on the appointment of special counsels rejects more than 50 years of rulings validating the current practice. Some such rulings came within the last two years in connection with other Trump cases.

Ever since the Nixon era, Attorneys General have been empowered to appoint special counsels to prosecute politically-sensitive cases so that they may operate with greater independence from elected politicians and their allies. Cannon’s ruling could potentially wind up before the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court were to agree with her reasoning, it would also potentially invalidate the federal cases against President Biden’s son Hunter, which are also overseen by a special counsel.

Whether the higher courts ultimately upholds Cannon’s reasoning or not, this is likely to be a win for President Trump. It will create a further delay in the case which will put off prosecution until after the November election, which Trump is currently favored to win. Trump has said that he would use his pardoning power as President to pardon himself in the federal prosecutions against him. 

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Ohio Senator J.D. Vance named as Trump’s VP pick

At the Republican National Convention, which began today in Milwaukee, former President Trump has named Ohio Senator J.D. Vance to be his running mate as Vice President.

Vance does not bring a lot of obvious electoral advantages to the ticket. He is more ideologically aligned with Trump, as opposed to the relatively moderate politics of other potential contenders such as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Florida Senator Marco Rubio. Choosing an Ohio politician is also not particularly advantageous since Trump looks set to comfortably carry Ohio. Choosing New York Rep. Elise Stefanik or Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (who were also in the running) might have brought votes in from states that are more competitive. When Vance first became a public figure in 2016, Vance also described himself as a “never-Trump” guy and even once compared Trump to Hitler. 

Regardless, since he became the Republican nominee for an open Ohio Senate seat in 2022, Vance has cultivated relationships with Trump-World insiders, including Trump’s son Don, Jr. Vance’s earliest claim to fame was his book “Hillbilly Elegy” which portrays life in the white working class, often in unflattering ways. Some Republicans hope this will give Vance, and the campaign, some traction in the Rust Belt. However, Vance, a Harvard Law graduate, owes much of his meteoric rise in politics to his relationship with tech billionaire Peter Thiel.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Israel takes advantage of US chaos to unleash one of the deadliest weeks in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long been known to take advantage of major events abroad to greenlight sweeping and controversial military actions while the international press is focused elsewhere. While the world’s media was focused on the recent Democratic turmoil over Biden’s mental decline, Israel has seriously escalated its military assaults in Gaza.

Recently, the IDF has refocused on Gaza City, where the IDF ordered everyone in the city (potentially hundreds of thousands of people) to evacuate. On Friday, following days of continued strikes, emergency workers managed to retrieve 60 bodies in one Gaza City neighborhood, while many more are likely buried under the rubble.

Israel has also carried out strikes on at least 5 schools in the past eight days. and other facilities where civilians were sheltering. Each of these strikes has killed dozens of people. 

This weekend, after the frenzy over the assassination attempt against former President Trump, Netanyahu took the opportunity to authorize dozens of deadly strikes in Al-Mawasi, a massive refugee encampment which Israel had previously declared a “safe zone” for evacuees. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israeli strikes have killed at least 141 people just since Saturday.

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