An Unusual Performance: Facts: 472, Vengeful Clowns: 0
House Republicans who never learn followed the reality-defying lead of their Felon-in-Chief Monday by harassing and villifying Dr. Anthony Fauci, who saved thousands of lives with an expedited COVID vaccine, charging him with stealing Americans' "freedoms," making millions from Big Pharma, murdering puppies and committing "crimes against humanity" - the last from Three Names Klan Mom, who furiously spurned his title of "doctor" and "so-called SCIENCE." Clean up at freak show in Aisle 7.
In his first Congressional testimony in two years, Dr. Fauci voluntarily appeared before a House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, which has spent 15 months "investigating" our sorry-ass response to the pandemic and trying to prove that U.S.-funded, probs-Fauci-led research in China helped give rise to it. The esteemed immunologist, 83, headed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for nearly 40 years, advising every U.S president since Reagan and directing research on HIV, AIDS, Ebola, Zika, and COVID-19. As a calm, cultured, knowledgeable man of science with multiple medical degrees, he's been a "bright, blazing' target for MAGA morons outraged that he made children - children! - wear masks and declinedto endorse the lunatic injecting of bleach as a DIY COVID cure. Thus did he trudge to D.C. to be grilled by the clueless likes of an assistant, sexual-assault-complicit wrestling coach and a shrieky CrossFit, Space Laser enthusiast who "lacks the brainpower God gave a turnip" and gets her ideas from QAnoners with "not always ideologically consistent" screen names like FauciIsANazi and HeilTrump88.
The hearing opened on a suitably somber note for a global, once-in-a-lifetime pandemic that killed over a million Americans. "You and your agency made mistakes, Dr. Fauci," intoned Chairman Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio. "What happened? We all need to be held accountable." Claiming "Americans were aggressively bullied, shamed and silenced for merely questioning or debating issues such as social distancing, masks, vaccines or the origins of COVID," an increasingly strident Wenstrup charged Fauci oversaw "one of the most invasive regimes of domestic policy the U.S. has ever seen." (Maybe 'cause it was one of the most invasive epidemics the U.S. has ever seen? Just askin'...). In response, Democrats led by ranking member Raul Ruiz noted that in over a year of frantic scavenging on the taxpayers' dime - including seeking access to Fauci's personal email and phone records - Repubs haven't found "a shred of evidence to substantiate these extreme allegations." At the same time, while using Fauci as a scapegoat for Trump's grotesque failures, they've also missed a vital opportunity to prepare for whatever next deadly, future crisis inevitably hovers.
In a forceful, dignified opening statement, Fauci insisted he has "nothing to hide." He called the GOP allegation he'd influenced scientists to fudge their findings or deny a possible link to a Wuhan lab leak by bribing them with millions of dollars in grant money "absolutely false and simply preposterous," and he brought receipts: an email in which he encouraged them to report their data to higher-ups. He also noted he'd helped develop a vaccine in an unprecedentedly short time. Finally, his voice breaking, he decried the "troublesome" death threats against himself and most painfully his wife and three daughters; ranging from harassment by email and text to "credible" reports leading to arrests of at least two people "clearly on their way to kill me," the threats required 24-hour protective services - and they're ongoing, and still do. As proof of the still-looming dangers of MAGA zealots, some observers noted the unexplained presence at the hearing of "a couple of J6 nutters" - some of the good people on all sides, though one was eventually led out - showboating and making faces behind Fauci as he choked up about what his family has endured.
From there, the tawdry clown car packed with "troglodyte idiots" and ignorant crackpots playing doctor quickly went off the rails. Cue a coke-like-fueled Gym Jordan, known for his performative denseness confronting Fauci on Americans' "liberties assaulted" by diabolical mask-wearing and social-distancing - the last time he screamed at him, "When will Americans get their freedoms back? Give me a date!," Maxine Waters coolly advised, "Shut your mouth." This week, he yelled about Biden and Zuckerberg allegedly trying to downplay a possible Wuhan leak before Fauci asked, "What does this have to do with me?" So it went. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis theatrically swung and missed on the NIH's reported $710 million in royalties from Big Pharma since COVID. How much has he gotten, she asked. Zero, he said, though he added he does get "$122 a year for a monoclonal antibody I created 27 years ago." Arizona Rep. Debbie Lesko also dismally failed on the same topic. Fauci pointed out she'd said 4 or 5 things "that were just not true," she sputtered, squawked, feebly shot back, "Well, we have emails to prove it"; a placid Fauci replied, "No, you don't."
Still, it took braying three-toed sloth, grandstander, and Gazpacho police lady MTG, who wants to defund New York state for finding Trump guilty of 34 felonies, to turn it into a true shitshow by pointedly calling Fauci "Mister" because "his medical license should be revoked and he belongs in jail." His "crimes": "Children - "children! - all over America were forced to wear masks...muzzled in their schools, and then they were forced to work from home because of your so-called science." Rebuked for her "inappropriate" lack of decorum, she shrieked if it was "appropriate" for Americans "to be abused like that" before galloping on - "I don't need your answer" - to wave puppy pictures and spew Fauci murdered beagles while "director of the NIH"- "As a dog lover, I want to tell you this is disgusting and evil" - an evident reference to research in Tunisia where scientists mistakenly listed the NIH, which Fauci never ran, as a funder before correcting it, but not before a manic #FauciLiedDogsDied deluge helped along by Don Jr's "Fauci Kills Puppies" T-shirts. Fauci, mildly: "What do dogs have to do with anything we’re talking about today?" She also blamed him and his "repulsive evil science" for "the poor (men) injected with syphilis" in the notorious 1930s Tuskegee experiments, when Fauci wasn't born, snarling this proves "this government (doesn’t) have decorum to the American people" and, "You belong in prison, Dr. Fauci."
'The Medical Big Lie': Jamie Raskin Torches Republicans At Hearing With Dr. Fauciwww.youtube.com
Whew, said many. One observer compared the vicious tirade to "this legitimate wild animal masquerading as a human being - I fully expect her to just devour a child on camera live one day." One retort: "I think that's jolly unfair to wild animals." Even Wenstrup, after interjecting several times, snapped, "Gentlelady, suspend," aka, likewise, shut your mouth. House Democrats duly spoke up for the good doctor, starting with Rep. Jared Moscowitz, who also asked helpful questions about U.S. preparedness, the supposed topic of the day. "I saw a member of this committee question whether or not you represent science," he respectfully told Fauci. "I did want you to know most Americans don't think she represents Congress." A deadpan Jamie Raskin also often interrupted MTG's ravings. To the "Mister" not "Doctor" nonsense: "Just in terms of the rules of decorum, are we allowed to deny that a doctor is a doctor just because we don’t want him to be a doctor?" To the issue of Fauci hiding evidence from Wuhan despite 38 years in his illustrious position: "I assume you've never been accused of trying to start a disease before, is that right?" Fauci: "Correct."
Raskin got serious when it came to Republicans who, after years of peddling a dangerous political Big Lie, now insist on still hawking an equally dangerous medical Big Lie whose "runaway political rhetoric" turns the much-respected, life-saving Dr. Fauci into "a comic-book super villain." This, never mind their real-life villain who's long championed revenge - "I love getting even when I get screwed by someone" - who told Americans during COVID to inject bleach - "What do you have to lose? - even as he rejected any responsibility for the outcome, whose malignant hubris and deep stupidity reportedly killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, and who's now a doddering, conniving, vengeful madman seeing imaginary fans. "I want to join my colleague from Florida in apologizing to you that (some) in the House want to drag your name through the mud," he told Dr. Fauci. "They're treating you like a convicted felon....Actually, you probably wish they were...They treat convicted felons with love and admiration."
Ending the hearing, California Rep. Robert Garcia apologized to Fauci about what "might have been the most insane hearing" he'd attended. "I am so sorry you just had to sit through that," he said. "That was completely irresponsible." Garcia, who said both his parents died in the pandemic, called Fauci "an American hero" whose team "has done more to save lives than all 435 members of this body on both sides of the aisle." Later, he also called Greene "a national embarrassment." But she and her shameless, envious, know nothing, learn less GOP, intent on making the competent Fauci "an avatar of the retribution they are seeking" if the convicted felon returns to power, isn't having it. Especially after Fauci went on CNN post-hearing to assail Greene by name and note the result, "like clockwork," of her disgorging malevolent fictions like "the deaths of X number of people (were) because of policies (I) created." "When you have performances like that unusual performance by Marjorie Taylor Greene...Those are the kinds of things that drive up the death threats, because there's a segment of the population (who) believe that kind of nonsense."
First up, the people who spew it. Greene still hasn't shut up. "The mainstream media lies about everything," she raved. "(They're) an extension of the Democrat (sic) party and the Intelligence Community. And they’re all working together so they can keep a commie-level grip on power." (We wish.) Later, she bemoaned she too gets death threats "ALL THE TIME" but has to pay for her own security, and besides people hate Fauci not from her words but "the FACT that his ridiculous non-scientific tyrannical policies DESTROYED peoples lives and he's a narcissistic asshole and liar." The hearing was "nonstop bullshit antics" from Democrats who "don't have anything (and) are responsible for the (Trump-era) lockdowns, forced vaccinations, people committing suicide and all the horrors this country lived through during COVID." Plus bioweapons, murdered animals, convicted felon George Floyd, getting RICH off of (sic) patents" - it's almost like she doesn't hear anything said to her - "and Mr. Fauci calls all of that SCIENCE!! Mr. Fauci belongs in prison for crimes against humanity!!!" Also, it seems, "humidity." Stop the hateful stupid, please, we wanna get off.
Majority of US Voters Back Legal Action Against Big Oil
A majority of U.S. voters support civil lawsuits against fossil fuel companies for their role in creating the climate crisis, while roughly half support criminal charges, a new poll from Data for Progress found.
The poll results, released Tuesday, indicate support for the dozens of civil cases against Big Oil currently in U.S. courts, many of which were brought by municipalities or states. In a sample of over 1,000 respondents, 62% of likely voters said that they supported legal accountability for oil and gas companies for "their contributions to climate change," including 84% of Democrats and 40% of Republicans.
"Voters strongly want to see companies held accountable for their harmful actions," Grace Adcox, a climate strategist at Data for Progress, toldThe Guardian.
"These national findings show these cases may be able to earn popular support, particularly in blue jurisdictions," she added.
Public interest groups have supported the civil cases and pushed for the U.S. Department of Justice to also take civil action against fossil fuel companies, which, the lawsuits generally argue, spread disinformation about the climate consequences of their products for many decades and continue to block substantive climate action. The case against Big Oil has been strengthened by improved attribution science, which can show the links between climate change and extreme weather events such as forest fires. Many experts draw comparisons to lawsuits once brought against Big Tobacco.
The uptick in legal activity is by no means unique to the U.S.—there are thousands of lawsuits against fossil fuel companies around the world. Yet the new poll does touch on an emerging idea among American experts.
In addition to its broader findings, Data for Progress found that 49% of likely voters support criminal charges against Big Oil—68% of Democrats and 32% of Republicans—while just 39% oppose the idea.
This is really significant. Nearly 70% of Democrats, and even a third of Republicans, support the criminal prosecution of Big Oil companies for their climate crimes. https://t.co/teP2FwJbbP
— Aaron Regunberg (@AaronRegunberg) May 28, 2024
So far, there have been no criminal prosecutions of Big Oil companies or executives anywhere in the world. Last week, a group of French citizens and nonprofits filed a criminal complaint against TotalEnergies, a French petroleum multinational; the prosecutor has three months to decide whether to take the case.
Experts said the poll results showed how an American jury might view such a case. "It gives you an indication of what a cross-section of citizens on a jury might do with this kind of evidence," Chesa Boudin, former San Francisco district attorney, told the Guardian.
"The fact that this hasn't been done before may lead many to say, well, it can’t be done, there’s no precedent. But there was no precedent for anything until there was," he added.
Two experts made the case for criminal homicide charges against Big Oil in a paper in Harvard Environmental Law Review:
Fossil fuel companies learned decades ago that what they produced, marketed, and sold would generate 'globally catastrophic' climate change. Rather than alert the public and curtail their operations, they worked to deceive the public about these harms and prevent regulation of their lethal conduct. They funded efforts to call sound science into doubt and confuse their shareholders, consumers, and regulators. They poured money into campaigns to elect or install judges, legislators, and executive officials hostile to any litigation, regulation, or competition that might limit their profits.
The paper, which was officially published only recently but was first written and reported on by Common Dreams last year, was co-authored by David Arkush of the nonprofit Public Citizen, which has long advocated for holding Big Oil to account and which teamed up with Data for Progress on the new poll, according to The Guardian.
The idea of criminal prosecution has received "real, serious interest" from several district attorneys' offices, Aaron Regunberg, senior counsel at Public Citizen, told the newspaper.
'Consumers Win' as Supreme Court Rejects 'Radical' Attack on CFPB
Legal experts and progressive advocates on Thursday applauded the U.S. Supreme Court's 7-2 decision to uphold the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding mechanism but also cautioned against praising the far-right justices.
While Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented, fellow right-winger Clarence Thomas penned the opinion in CFPB v. Consumer Financial Services Association of America, joined by the other three conservatives and three liberals—two of whom wrote concurring opinions.
In the majority opinion, the court held that "Congress' statutory authorization allowing the bureau to draw money from the earnings of the Federal Reserve System to carry out the bureau's duties satisfies the appropriations clause" of the U.S. Constitution.
In a statement welcoming the ruling, the CFPB said that "for years, lawbreaking companies and Wall Street lobbyists have been scheming to defund essential consumer protection enforcement. The Supreme Court has rejected their radical theory that would have devastated the American financial markets. The court repudiated the arguments of the payday loan lobby and made it clear that the CFPB is here to stay."
The bureau continued:
Congress created the CFPB to be the primary federal watchdog protecting consumers from predatory and abusive practices in the financial sector. Since the CFPB opened its doors in 2011, it has delivered more than $20 billion in consumer relief to hundreds of millions of consumers and has handled more than 4 million consumer complaints.
Today's decision is a resounding victory for American families and honest businesses alike, ensuring that consumers are protected from predatory corporations and that markets are fair, transparent, and competitive.
This ruling upholds the fact that the CFPB's funding structure is not novel or unusual, but in fact an essential part of the nation's financial regulatory system, providing stability and continuity for the agencies and the system as a whole. As we have done since our inception, the CFPB will continue carrying out the vital consumer protection work Congress charged us to perform for the American people.
The CFPB was far from alone in cheering the court's decision in the case, which Demand Progress corporate power director Emily Peterson-Cassin said "was nothing more than a cynical attempt by payday lenders to sabotage the CFPB, so they could continue to prey on American consumers."
"This case was simple: the Constitution requires Congress to pass a law authorizing funds for the CFPB, and Congress did that," she explained. "Today's decision will preserve stability in the financial markets and ensure the CFPB can continue its important work protecting the American people."
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a key architect of the agency, agreed that "this is a big win for working people."
Devon Ombres, senior director for courts and legal policy at the Center for American Progress, also celebrated a ruling he said would allow the agency "to continue fighting to protect the American people from corporate bad actors, fraudsters, and scammers."
While praising the decision, Ombres pointed out that "the justices reversed yet another extreme opinion from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that could have placed the entire financial regulatory system at risk and roiled financial markets."
Accountable.US similarly declared that in this case, "consumers win," and blasted the far-right appellate court.
"The reason the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is so effective at making wronged consumers whole is because of its independence, which is why shady industry CEOs and lawmakers in their pocket wanted to jam up the agency's funding with politics and lobbyist money," said Accountable.US president Caroline Ciccone.
"Among the biggest losers in this decision is the conservative 5th Circuit that gleefully advanced this lawsuit from predatory lenders and has sided with industry over consumers in a number of cases citing the same baseless arguments," Ciccone added. "The 5th Circuit's credibility continues to suffer as it willingly plays along with industry judge and venue shopping schemes that corrupt our judicial system."
Legal experts took aim at not only the appellate court but also right-wingers on the country's top court. Slate's Mark Joseph Stern said that "today's decision is a HUGE victory for the CFPB and a major defeat not only for the corporate lobby, but for the 5th Circuit, which embraced a theory so radically anti-historical and atextual that JUSTICE THOMAS wrote the opinion emphatically reversing it."
"Today's CFPB decision has a lot in common with the last Obamacare case: The 5th Circuit went so far off the tracks that it got a spanking in the form [of] a vehement 7-2 reversal by SCOTUS, with even Justice Thomas concluding that the 5th Circuit's nihilistic arsonists lost the plot," he added. "That said, no one should interpret today's CFPB decision as proof that the Supreme Court is 'moderating' or 'compromising' or 'shifting to the center.' Not at all. The decision is evidence of how totally lawless the 5th Circuit has become—because this case shouldn't even exist!"
CNN Supreme Court analyst and University of Texas School of Law professor Steve Vladeck warned: "Don't confuse 'SCOTUS slaps down a wackadoodle 5th Circuit decision' with 'SCOTUS is more moderate than its critics claim.' 'Not as radical as the 5th Circuit' is not the same as 'moderate.'"
Supporters of Thursday's decision also warned that the fight isn't over. Groundwork Collaborative chief economist Rakeen Mabud said that "today's Supreme Court decision was decisively in favor of federal oversight on consumer protection, but we know that big business and their lobbyists won't stop trying to dismantle an agency dedicated to protecting everyday Americans."
"This makes it all the more important that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues its critical work," Mabud added of an agency that has recently cracked down on credit card and overdraft fees.
U.S. PIRG consumer campaign director Mike Litt suggested that "all Americans should still breathe a sigh of relief now that the constitutionality of the CFPB's funding is a settled matter. The CFPB extending its nearly 13-year run of protecting consumers no longer hangs in the balance."
"That said, we know those who oppose the CFPB and its work will keep attacking this crucial agency," he added. "Congress must reject efforts to change the CFPB's reliable and constitutional source of funding, which has enabled it to return $19 billion to consumers."
'A Monstrosity': Biden Blasted Over Planned Executive Order on Asylum
Migrant rights advocates were outraged by Monday reporting that U.S. President Joe Biden plans to hold an event at the White House on Tuesday to unveil a long-feared executive order that would block people from seeking asylum when the number of unlawful border crossings hits a certain threshold.
Biden's order "would shut down asylum requests to the U.S.-Mexico border once the number of daily encounters hits 2,500 between ports of entry, with the border reopening once that number declines to 1,500," according toThe Associated Press—and various other media outlets that also cited unnamed officials who cautioned that the final figures could still change.
The Democrat is expected to invoke Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which was previously used by former President Donald Trump—the presumptive Republican nominee to face Biden in November—and sparked legal challenges.
"We will need to see the E.O. before making any litigation decisions," Lee Gelernt, an attorney who serves as deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, toldAxios of Biden's expected move. "Any policy that effectively ends asylum protection for people fleeing danger would raise significant legal problems, as it did when Trump tried to end asylum."
In response to a social media account tracking "Biden's Wins," which welcomed the reported order, Gelernt's ACLU colleague Gillian Branstetter said: "This is not a 'win'—it's a monstrosity. Asylum is a human right."
After one social media user sarcastically told Branstetter, "I'm sure you'll love Trump's border policies," she stressed, "This is Trump's border policy."
American Immigration Council policy director Aaron Reichlin-Melnick similarly said that "the politics may have changed by the law hasn't; Trump tried to invoke section 212(f) to block asylum at the border and was slapped down in court. Biden's effort to do the same will also face immediate legal challenges."
Reichlin-Melnick also highlighted a policy brief that the American Immigration Lawyers Association released in response to the reports, which takes aim at both the legality and effectiveness of the Biden administration's supposed plans.
"The decision by this administration to criminalize migrants—many of whom are fleeing harm—is deeply disturbing and misguided," said Sarah M. Rich, senior supervising attorney and interim senior policy counsel at the Southern Poverty Law Center, in a statement. "We have witnessed how such prosecutions can be weaponized to separate and traumatize immigrant families."
"Prosecuting people seeking safety in the U.S. for these immigration violations will lead to more Black and Brown people being incarcerated at the expense of immigrant families and communities," Rich continued. "We call on the Biden administration to instead adopt a humane and welcoming immigration framework that centers our values as a nation that welcomes immigrants."
CNNreported that "unaccompanied children would be exempt—a key piece of the executive order that would worry immigration advocates who have said such an exemption could encourage some families to send children to the border on their own."
Save the Children U.S. declared that "seeking asylum is a basic human right. We've seen what happens when children and families are separated and their right to safety is restricted. We can't let that happen again."
Meanwhile, Congressman Henry Cuellar, a right-wing Texas Democrat who has criticized Biden for not increasing border enforcement and is currently battling bribery charges, praised the president's pending policy.
"I've been briefed on the pending executive order," said Cuellar. "I certainly support it because I've been advocating for these measures for years. While the order is yet to be released, I am supportive of the details provided to me thus far."
At least five Texas mayors have been invited to the White House for the Tuesday event, according to CNN. Plans for the order come a few weeks before the first presidential debate of the 2024 cycle and follow the proposal last month of U.S. Department of Homeland Security rule to fast-track the rejection of certain asylum requests, which was condemned as a "return to failed Trump-era policies."
The reporting also follows the Sunday electoral victory of the next Mexican president, leftist Claudia Sheinbaum—who on Monday received a congratulatory call from Biden. The AP noted that "the number of illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border has declined for months, partly because of a stepped-up effort by Mexico."
Biden's anticipated action would also come after the U.S. Senate again killed the bipartisan Border Act. While Republican senators blocked the legislation at the direction of Trump, who wants to continue campaigning for president on immigration policy, the measure was also opposed by progressive lawmakers and advocates.
Among the few Democrats who spoke out against the Border Act was Sen. Alex Padilla of California. Praising his floor speech last month, the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies said that "this bill offers no solutions for immigrants and refugees. No measures to actually address the humanitarian and operational challenges at the border. Just more cruelty and chaos."
'Historic Win for Accountability': New York Jury Finds Trump Guilty on 34 Felony Counts
A New York jury on Thursday found former U.S. President Donald Trump guilty of all 34 felony charges related to the falsification of business records regarding hush money payments to cover up sex scandals during the 2016 presidential election.
The verdict—which came on the second day of jury deliberations—marked the first time in U.S. history that a former president has been convicted of felony crimes. The presumptive 2024 Republican nominee faces 54 other federal and state felony charges across three more cases.
"I never thought I'd see the day," journalist Mehdi Hasan said on social media following the verdict's announcement. "Teflon Trump finally found guilty of crimes."
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington president Noah Bookbinder said after the verdict:
The conviction of a former leader is a sad day for the country, but today's conviction is also a historic win for accountability, and affirms that Donald Trump indeed broke the law by falsifying records in order to hide information from the American people ahead of the 2016 election. After reviewing an enormous amount of overwhelming evidence, the jury unanimously concluded that Trump engaged in criminal activity that demands accountability, all the more so because it may be only the first piece of what appears to have been a presidential crime spree.
Speaking after his conviction, Trump said: "This was a disgrace. This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who is corrupt."
"I'm a very innocent man," added Trump, who is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, just days before the Republican convention. He could face up to four years behind bars.
Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000, while the owner of the The National Enquirer tabloid paid former Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000. Both women say they had sexual relations with Trump.
President Joe Biden's reelection campaign issued a statement following Trump's conviction:
In New York today, we saw that no one is above the law.
Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain. But today's verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.
Public Citizen executive vice president Lisa Gilbert said that "this is an historic moment for democracy."
"A jury heard evidence that Donald Trump illegally interfered in the 2016 election and rendered a fair and appropriate verdict," she continued. "New York's prosecutors served justice by bringing this case. We applaud the jury for doing its job and standing up for the fundamental principle that no one is above the law, not even a former president."
"Justice was served today, Gilbert added. "On to the next trial!"
Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, asserted that "this case was always about hiding key information from voters, and now a jury of the former president's peers have confirmed that he lied to the public by falsifying business records in order to influence the outcome of the 2016 election."
"This is a felony punishable with jail time or probation, and just like anyone else convicted of the same crime, we expect him to be sentenced accordingly," Lerner added. "We thank the jury—whom Mr. Trump and his lawyers helped to select—for doing their civic duty, and trust that the public will accept their decision as well as their right to privacy. Respect for the rule of law is the foundation of our democracy, but so is public trust in the process."
Sean Eldridge, founder and president of Stand Up America, said in a statement that "today's verdict reaffirms that no one is above the law in the United States of America, including a former president."
"Falsification of business records is a serious crime, and Trump is finally being held accountable like any other American would," he continued. "This verdict is not just about 'hush money payments.' It's about an illegal attempt to hide the truth from voters just days before the 2016 election, and it's part of Trump's clear pattern of doing anything—including breaking the law—in order to cling to power."
"Despite this monumental verdict, one trial isn't going to keep Trump out of the White House," Eldridge added. "The jurors have done their duty, and now it's up to the American people to protect our democracy by holding Trump accountable at the ballot box and ensuring that a convicted fraudster never steps foot in the Oval Office again."
Nagasaki Mayor Withholds Israel's Invitation to Peace Ceremony
The mayor of Nagasaki said Monday that he is withholding Israel's invitation to the annual peace ceremony commemorating the 1945 U.S. nuclear attack on the Japanese city and will call on the country's far-right government to accept an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.
"Given the critical humanitarian situation in Gaza and international opinion, there is a risk of unpredictable disruption occurring at the ceremony," said Mayor Shirō Suzuki, according toThe Asahi Shimbun.
"The situation is changing day by day, so we have put sending an invitation letter on hold," Suzuki explained. "We need to carefully monitor the situation as it develops."
The ceremony is held each year on August 9, when at 11:02 am local time in 1945 a U.S. B-29 bomber dropped a single nuclear bomb over the city, killing tens of thousands of people instantly and dooming many thousands more to slow death by radiation-induced ailments.
Suzuki said he would extend an invitation to Israel once it's clear that doing so won't cause any problems. Palestine's envoy is invited to attend, although Japan is one of a global minority of nations that do not formally recognize a Palestinian state.
Once again, Russia—whose forces have been invading Ukraine since February 2022—and Belarus, which supports the invasion, are not invited.
City officials in Hiroshima are also calling on Israel to stop attacking Gaza. However, Israel is invited to take part in the city's annual commemoration of its August 6, 1945 atomic annihilation by the United States. A group of hibakusha, the Japanese word for atomic bombing survivors, have petitioned city officials to invite all the world's nations to attend.
Israel's 242-day assault on Gaza—which is the subject of an International Court of Justice genocide investigation—has left more than 130,000 Palestinians dead, wounded, or missing, according to Palestinian and international agencies. Most of those killed are women and children. Around 2 million of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been forcibly displaced. Widespread starvation caused by Israel's siege and blockage of aid has become what one top United Nations food official last month called "full-blown famine" in the northern Gaza Strip. Children are starving to death.
A cease-fire remains elusive. Responding to reports of a three-point Israeli proposal to end the war, Japan's Foreign Ministry said Sunday that it "strongly supports" efforts by the United States—which has been accused of complicity in genocide for providing Israel with billions of dollars in military aid as well as diplomatic support—to broker a cease-fire deal.
'Unhinged' Trump Floats Imprisoning Political Foes
The Biden campaign called the felonious former president's threat to jail Jill Biden and Hillary Clinton the "latest proof that he will do anything to regain power, preserve his own freedom, and seek revenge."
U.S. President Joe Biden's reelection campaign on Wednesday slammed an "unhinged" threat by former President Donald Trump—the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee—to imprison political opponents including the president, First Lady Jill Biden, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
In a Tuesday Newsmaxinterview, Trump said that it is "very possible" that Democrats could face prosecution if he returns to the White House next January.
Claiming his conviction in New York state last month on 34 felony charges related to the falsification of business records to cover up hush money payments during the 2016 campaign was political persecution by Democrats, Trump said, "Does that mean the next president does it to them?"
"And wouldn't it be really bad like, as an example, Hillary with the hammering of her cellphones and all of the things she did, but wouldn't it be terrible to throw the president's wife and the former secretary of state—you think of it, the former secretary of state, but the president, the president's wife, into jail?" he asked.
Trump, while arguing he didn’t jail Hillary Clinton because it would’ve set a bad precedent, alludes he may need to jail political opponents:
“Wouldn't it be terrible to throw the president's wife…into jail? ... It's very possible that it's going to have to happen to them.” pic.twitter.com/OZKFBpp0jL
— The Recount (@therecount) June 5, 2024
"Wouldn't that be a terrible thing? But they want to do it. So, you know, it's like it's, it's a terrible, terrible path that they're leading us to," Trump added. "And it's very possible that it's gonna have to happen to them."
Earlier this week, Trump denied ever calling for Clinton to be locked up, a claim belied by the many times he repeated his "lock her up" mantra during and after the 2016 campaign, when she was the Democratic nominee.
Responding to the Newsmax interview, Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer said, "Reeling and increasingly unhinged from his own felony convictions, Trump raising plans to jail his political opponents is just the latest proof that he will do anything to regain power, preserve his own freedom, and seek revenge on anyone who opposes him."
Trump still faces 54 federal and state criminal charges across three cases related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents and attempts to subvert the 2020 presidential election, including by fomenting the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.
"Trump is pledging to rule as a dictator on 'day one,' punish his enemies, embrace violence done on his behalf, and warns of a 'bloodbath' if he loses," Singer added. "The warning signs are clear for all to see. Trump is a danger to our Constitution, a threat to our democracy, and so consumed by his own failed, diminished state he has gone off the deep end."
Trump has reportedly also sought advice about how he could jail journalists if he is reelected.
Trump's threat to jail his foes is relatively tame in comparison with what some of his prominent supporters want to do to Democrats. Laura Loomer, a far-right anti-Muslim activist, said following Trump's conviction that "we actually used to have... punishment for treason in this country."
"Should Democrats be in jail? No question. When Donald Trump gets elected, should he start locking them up? No question. Should there be lists of Democrats who need to go to jail? One hundred percent," Loomer—who came close to winning her 2022 congressional race—said during the "Timcast IRL" podcast.
"Not just jail, they should get the death penalty," she added.
Loomer's "Timcast IRL" episode was subsequently removed from the podcast's website and social media platforms.
US Agencies Urged to Tackle Medicare Advantage, Other 'Outrageous' Healthcare Greed
"There is much the Biden administration can and must do to address the national embarrassment that is for-profit healthcare in the U.S.," said Public Citizen's healthcare policy advocate.
The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen on Wednesday called on the U.S. Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission, and Department of Health and Human Services to do more to crack down on corporate profiteering that is further degrading the nation's healthcare system and driving up costs for patients.
In a letter to the three agencies, Public Citizen cited the growing encroachment of private equity firms and insurance company mergers as just two of many trends that the Biden administration must tackle as part of a broader effort to transform the nation's fragmented for-profit healthcare system.
"We need a rational approach to healthcare that would make patients' wellbeing the focus instead of profit," said Public Citizen, which supports transitioning to a single-payer healthcare system. "Cracking down on the worst actors is an important step as would be improving oversight of mergers as well as oversight of corporate actions."
The letter came in response to the three federal agencies' request for public comment on "consolidation in healthcare markets." In their request, the agencies expressed support for "robust competition in healthcare markets" and voiced concern that corporate mergers "may generate profits for those firms at the expense of patients' health, workers' safety, and affordable healthcare for patients and taxpayers."
Public Citizen echoed that concern in its letter, noting that "consolidation of actors in various parts of the healthcare system as well as increasing vertical integration, including insurers buying up provider groups, threatens to further increase corporate
profits at the expense of patients."
"Whether it's private equity, insurance companies, or Big Pharma, Americans deserve to have healthcare that puts patients first."
The group also pointed to Medicare Advantage as "one of the ripest sources for profit for insurers," noting that the privately run plans "delay and deny necessary care to seniors," "limit access to care," and overbill the federal government by making patients appear sicker than they are.
"All of these practices require the creation of significant oversight mechanisms by relevant agencies, which struggle to keep up with the innovations in grift that Medicare Advantage plans undertake year after year," Public Citizen's letter states.
Eagan Kemp, Public Citizen's healthcare policy advocate, said in a statement Wednesday that "private equity is swallowing up U.S. health care whole and putting the squeeze on patients" with the "sole aim" of raking in "outrageous profits."
"Whether it's private equity, insurance companies, or Big Pharma, Americans deserve to have healthcare that puts patients first," Kemp said. "The U.S. consistently lags behind other wealthy countries when it comes to the quality of our profit-based healthcare system. More consolidation will only make things worse."
"There is much the Biden administration can and must do to address the national embarrassment that is for-profit healthcare in the U.S.," he added, "and we appreciate this multi-agency effort to expose the problems associated with greed in healthcare."
Israeli Government Funded Covert Influence Campaign Targeting US Lawmakers: NYT
The head of an Israeli watchdog group called the operation "anti-democratic" and "extremely irresponsible."
Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs organized and paid for a digital campaign to influence U.S. lawmakers, especially Democrats who are Black, The New York Timesreported on Wednesday.
The ministry allotted $2 million to the operation in October and hired Stoic, a Tel Aviv-based political marketing firm, to carry it out. Stoic established fake news websites and hundreds of fake accounts on X, Instagram, and Facebook that posted pro-Israeli messages, trying to push lawmakers such as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the House minority leader, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) to fund Israel's military and support its war efforts, the Times reported.
The influence campaign had been reported by a few news and nonprofit organizations in recent months, but the Times article, which drew from operation documents and interviews with current and former diaspora ministry officials, was the first to show that Israel's government was behind it. Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, published a related story one hour later on Wednesday.
Critics condemned the Israeli government for its role in the disinformation campaign.
"So in addition to the pro-Israel lobby spending tens of millions to defame and defeat progressives in Congress, we now learn that Israel creates fake media to target friends and opponents by inundating with fake news supporting Israeli positions," James Zogby, co-founder of the Arab American Institute, wrote on social media.
Wow—New York Times & Haaretz report Israel ordered a secret digital operation on US lawmakers (esp. Black Democrats) that spread misinformation & anti-Arab sentiment and attacked pro-Palestinian Americans, to sway public opinion & influence the lawmakers to fund Israel’s military pic.twitter.com/D5U5ewiqLP
— Prem Thakker (@prem_thakker) June 5, 2024
The disinformation campaign comes amid other efforts by pro-Israel groups to influence U.S. politics during its assault on Gaza, notably the lobbying and campaign money spent by groups such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and its affiliates.
The Israeli disinformation campaign also drew comparisons to Russia's well-known attempt to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, which was a central focus of the U.S. political commentariat in the years that followed. Ishmael Daro, an editor at Democracy Now!, made a tongue-in-cheek prediction that the reaction from the U.S. political establishment would be similar this time.
When Russia set up bots to post ineffective propaganda in 2016, it led to a multi-year meltdown by much of the U.S. political establishment that basically treated it like a coup attempt. I assume we'll get a similar reaction to this. https://t.co/sEXeO41ozb pic.twitter.com/nPkQtWsCyb
— ishmael n. daro (@iD4RO) June 5, 2024
Last week, both Meta and OpenAI issued reports on Stoic's disinformation campaign and said they had blocked the company's network from further activity. Meta said it had closed more than 500 fake Facebook accounts and OpenAI called Stoic a "for-hire Israeli threat actor," NBC Newsreported. Stoic's users remain active on X, the Times reported.
Many of the fake social media posts were generated using ChatGPT, the AI-powered chatbot owned by OpenAI, and much of the language in the posts was "stilted" and repetitive, the Times reported.
The covert scheme has also been characterized as "sloppy" and "ineffective," and it made little penetration with the general public or government figures. "We found and removed this network early in its audience building efforts, before they were able to gain engagement among authentic communities," Meta wrote in its report.
The Times did not explain that the covert influence campaign was discovered in February by the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) of the Atlantic Council, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, and by Marc Owen Jones, a professor in Middle East studies and digital humanities at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, according to social media posts.
FakeReporter, an Israeli disinformation watchdog, followed up those initial discoveries with a March report on the campaign's activities, including the fake social media accounts and creation of the online platforms—Non-Agenda, The Moral Alliance, and Unfold Magazine—that created or republished news from a pro-Israel perspective, focusing on, for example, purported links between the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and Hamas. The findings were reported in Haaretz at the time.
That Israel "ran an operation that interferes in U.S. politics is extremely irresponsible," Achiya Schatz, the executive director of FakeReporter, told the Times. He characterized it to Haaretz as "amateurish" and "anti-democratic."
FakeReporter in fact issued a second report on Wednesday showing that Stoic's influence network may have gone further than the Times reporting shows. The watchdog group uncovered four additional websites, apparently Stoic-affiliated, that contain Islamophobic and anti-immigrant content. DFRLab had issued a report in March which also cited pro-Israeli disinformation and Islamophobic rhetoric, in that case targeted largely at Canadians.
The new report concluded that the influence network has "apparently developed into a large-scale effort to target various groups, some outside the U.S., using Islamophobic and anti-immigrant content."