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US News:
QAnon Shaman tells Sky News Donald Trump charges over January 6 riot may backfire on prosecutors
In testy exchanges with Sky’s Mark Austin, Chansley said: “The conspiracy charge was used to go after mafia members and it has since been used to go after American citizens for a long time.
And it’s very easy to get a conviction based on a conspiracy charge. That’s why they charged him with conspiracy.”
But he cautioned of the indictment: “This may end up backfiring because the information regarding the election will end up becoming public knowledge through these court filings.
“So this may end up snapping back on the people that are pressing these charges, because now it all is going to be out in the open and the very real evidence that there was fraudulent or rigged certain portions of the election.”
‘Wake-Up Call’: Top credit agency downgrades U.S. rating
Fitch Ratings made the decision, pointing to the U.S. government’s high national debt and deficits as well as an “erosion of governance.”
“The rating downgrade of the United States reflects the expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years, a high and growing general government debt burden, and the erosion of governance relative to ‘A.A.’ and ‘AAA’ rated peers over the last two decades that has manifested in repeated debt limit standoffs and last-minute resolutions,” Fitch said in its announcement.
Fitch is considered one of the top three rating agencies in the world, along with Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, the latter of which sparked economic concerns when it downgraded the U.S. government in the same fashion in 2011.
In particular, Fitch took issue with the increasingly worse debt-to-GDP ratio. As The Center Square previously reported, the U.S. Congressional Budget Office released a report earlier this year projecting the national debt will be nearly twice as large as the U.S. economy in 30 years.
Health care company agrees to pay $22.5 million to settle claims of over billing
Portland, Maine-based Martin’s Point Health Care Inc. agreed to pay $22,485,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting inaccurate diagnosis codes for its Medicare Advantage Plan enrollees in order to boost reimbursements from Medicare, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
“The government expects those who participate in Medicare Advantage to provide accurate information to ensure that proper payments are made for the care received by enrolled beneficiaries,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael Granston of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
“Today’s result sends a clear message to the Medicare Advantage community that the United States will take appropriate action against those who knowingly submit inflated claims for reimbursement.”
Under Medicare Advantage, known as the Medicare Part C program, beneficiaries have the option of enrolling in managed care insurance plans called Medicare Advantage Plans.
Medicare Advantage Plans are paid a per-person amount to provide Medicare-covered benefits to beneficiaries who enroll in one of their plans.
California Losing Money as Millions Flee the State
Pittsburgh synagogue shooter sentenced to death after killing 11 worshipers
A judge will impose the sentence on Robert Bowers, 50, at a later time, according to The Associated Press.
Bowers, a truck driver from Baldwin, Pennsylvania, posted online about his white supremacist ideology and his hatred of Jews before planning and carrying out the attack at the Tree of Life synagogue during Sabbath services.
The jury that found Bowers guilty on 63 charges is the same one that recommended for him to be put to death, in-line with requests from prosecutors.
During the trial, Bowers’ attorneys did not contest his guilt but instead focused on trying to save his life by arguing he had an untreated mental illness.
Tucker releases interview with Hunter’s former business partner Devon Archer who testified against the Biden Family this week for a closed door interview with the House Oversight Committee.
Police: Kentucky Mother Arrested After Toddler Dies of Sexual Abuse
Authorities arrested a Kentucky mother after a 17-month-old toddler died of severe sexual abuse injuries.
Erica Lawson, 21, was arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter, first-degree criminal abuse against a child under 12, and first-degree wanton endangerment and failure to report child neglect, WBIR reported.
After being raped and beaten, the child was put on life support and passed away on Sunday.
“In my time with the commonwealth, this is one of the most severe cases of abuse, specifically because that baby is 17-months-old at that time,” Ayers said.
Police are expecting to make another arrest, but at this point in time, the baby’s father is not a suspect.
FBI finds 200 victims of sex trafficking, 59 missing children in nationwide operation
The operation also led to the identification or arrest of 126 suspects of child sexual exploitation and human trafficking offenses, and 68 suspects of trafficking were identified or arrested.
The bureau and its partners found 59 minor victims of child sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation offenses and located 59 actively missing children during the two-week initiative.
Last year, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 19,000 reports of possible child sex trafficking and more than 400 reports of children who had run away and were likely victims of child sex trafficking, who were also being exploited through a gang.
This announcement comes amid the unexpected success of “Sound of Freedom,” an indie film about sex trafficking which has raked in over $130 million at the box office since its July 4 weekend debut.
White House had profanity-laced faceoff with Facebook over COVID vaccine posts
FOX Business’ Hillary Vaughn reports on a new batch of Facebook files revealing faceoff with White House over vaccines.
Jack Smith’s team admits to ‘incorrect’ claim about evidence in Trump classified documents case
While preparing last week to indict Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira for allegedly conspiring with Trump to delete surveillance footage from the estate, prosecutors learned that footage included as evidence “had not been processed and uploaded to the platform established for the defense to view,” Smith’s team wrote in a filing Monday.
“The Government’s representation at the July 18 hearing that all surveillance footage the Government had obtained pre-indictment had been produced was therefore incorrect,” the prosecutors also said.
All CCTV footage obtained by the government has now been given to the defendants, according to Smith’s team.
The so-called Brady rule requires prosecutors to disclose all evidence and information favorable to the defendant.
Trump says he’s ‘never had so much support’ as critics rip latest indictment
“Thank you to everyone!!! I have never had so much support on anything before,” Trump wrote in an all-caps message on his Truth Social app.
“This unprecedented indictment of a former (highly successful!) president, & the leading candidate, by far, in both the Republican Party and the 2024 general election, has awoken the world to the corruption, scandal, & failure that has taken place in the United States for the past three years,” the former president said.
“President Trump had every right under the First Amendment to correctly raise concerns about election integrity in 2020,” Stefanik said.
“Despite the DOJ’s illegal attempt to interfere in the 2024 election on behalf of Joe Biden, President Trump continues to skyrocket in the polls and will defeat Joe Biden and be sworn in as President of the United States in January 2025,” she said.
Trump’s J6 Case Judge Worked at DC Law Firm During Hunter Biden’s Tenure
According to Chutkan’s official bio, the Obama administration appointed Chutkan to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in June 2014. Before her appointment, she worked at Boies, Schiller, & Flexner from 2002 to 2014 in litigation and white collar criminal defense.
Hunter Biden maintained his position at the firm even as his father became vice president in 2008. He left the law firm in 2014, the same year he became a board member of Burisma Holding for $83,000 a month, and one year after co-founding BHR Partners, a Chinese state-backed investment fund, with Devon Archer and Jonathan Li.
BHR Partners was formed 12 days after Hunter had joined his then-vice president father aboard Air Force Two for a state visit to Beijing.
Michigan prosecutors charge Trump allies, including Matthew DePerno, with felonies over voting machines
Both defendants were arraigned Tuesday afternoon, according to Richard Lynch, the court administrator for Oakland County’s 6th Circuit.
In a statement, special prosecutor D.J. Hilson said the charges against DePerno and Rendon were authorized by “an independent citizens grand jury,” and that his office did not make any recommendations.
Because incumbent Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, was being challenged by DePerno during the 2022 election, her office requested a special prosecutor in the “tabulator tampering investigation” a year ago. The Prosecuting Attorneys Coordinating Council appointed Hilson to the case.
Charges were slow in coming, in part because prosecutors wanted clarification from a judge about what constitutes illegal possession of a voting machine. Some of the defendants argued that local clerks gave them permission to take the machines.
Trump indictment won’t fulfill Democrats’ ineligibility bedtime story, Smith ‘stretched law’: Legal experts
Fox News correspondent David Spunt reported on “The Five” that Trump had been indicted on four counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
“Jack Smith has a reputation for stretching criminal statutes beyond the breaking point. He went after [former Virginia Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell] and secured a conviction there. He was unanimously overturned because he just stretched the law too far.”
Democrats and Trump critics have long accused the former president of urging supporters to forcibly overturn the election by storming the Capitol. Trump has repeatedly emphasized he urged supporters who marched to “peacefully” demonstrate on Capitol Hill.
“The Democrats have been playing with this for years with the 14th Amendment and the claims of disqualification,” he said. “It’s sort of a story you tell your kids at night if you’re a Democratic household so they sleep restfully, but I got to tell you, I’m highly skeptical.”
WATCH: 24 Straight Minutes of Democrats Denying Election Results – Will Joe Biden, Merrick Garland, and Jack Smith Hold These Democrats Accountable?
The Gateway Pundit reported that President Trump was indicted by a DC grand jury as part of the ongoing investigation into the events surrounding the January 6 Capitol riot, largely based on his claims about the 2020 Presidential Election results.
According to the AP, the indictment revolves around an alleged “effort to undo election loss and subvert transfer of power in run-up to Jan. 6 riot.”
Four counts were leveled against Trump: Conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
“This is nothing more than the latest corrupt chapter in the continued pathetic attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their weaponized Department of Justice to interfere with the 2024 Presidential Election, in which President Trump is the undisputed frontrunner, and leading by substantial margins,” Trump said.
World News:
MiG-31: Russia ‘Prepares’ For NATO Intervention, Adds Another Batch Of Hypersonic Missile-Firing, Upgraded MiG-31 Jets
The modernization work was completed in accordance with a state defense order, and the upgraded aircraft have been sent to their permanent airfields, according to a message posted on the Russian United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) Telegram account, which controls the Sokol plant.
The message also noted that the newly-upgraded MiG-31 fighters have the same flight performance as when they were first put into service. However, they have now been fitted with additional features and capabilities to bolster their combat strength.
Yury Slyusar, General Director of UAC, said: “Modernization of MiG-31 aircraft is one of the main competencies and the most important activity of the Nizhny Novgorod Sokol Aircraft Building Plant in the UAC circuit.
The enterprise fulfills its obligations to provide the Russian army with the necessary aviation equipment. In the future, work will continue within the framework of the execution of contracts for the current year.”
British Typhoons Relocated To ‘Forward Base’ Near Russia; To Hone Air Combat Skills With F/A-18 Hornets
In an official statement published by the UK Ministry of Defense (MoD), the RAF said: “Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets that were already deployed in Eastern Europe temporarily relocated to Finland to practice air-to-air combat with Finnish F-18s and strike ground targets using precision bombs.”
The Typhoon FGR4 aircraft already stationed at Amari Airbase in Estonia for the NATO Baltic Air Policing exercise were reportedly forward-deployed to Tampere Airbase in Finland. This is significant as Finland became the 31st member of NATO, despite repeated Russian warnings against the alliance’s expansion.
In what could be seen as an attempt at brushing up its combat readiness against NATO arch-foe Russia, the RAF team quickly built a Forward Arming and Refueling Point, or FARP, which served as a launch pad for arming and refueling the aircraft. The jets then flew 50 miles away from the FARP to launch precision-guided Paveway IV bombs on their targets.
China’s Xi prepares for the worst with drones, hypersonic weapons
BEIJING — China is seeking advances in artificial intelligence-powered drones and hypersonic weapons in a broader military buildup, as President Xi Jinping prepares the country for “extreme” scenarios.
An article appearing in the People’s Liberation Army Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese armed forces, in late May warned of an urgent need to strengthen the military’s capabilities in controlling low-altitude airspace, an increasingly important field of combat.
Low-cost AI-equipped drones are considered key to that effort. At the Communist Party Congress in October 2022, President Xi Jinping pledged to speed up the development of unmanned aircraft and AI-equipped combat capabilities
One focus is drone swarms, in which many AI-equipped drones are deployed simultaneously. In 2022, China’s state-owned defense giant China Electronics Technology Group successfully tested a swarm of 48 drones.
Ukraine war latest: Overnight Russian attack struck less than 1km from NATO; Putin’s ‘interesting’ call with Turkish leader
A strike on a port in southwestern Ukraine came within only hundreds of metres of Romania. And the Turkish leader ramped up pressure on Vladimir Putin to renew the Black Sea grain deal in a call today.
Ukrainians being forced to take Russian citizenship, research suggests
Ukrainians in Russian-occupied territory are facing detention or deportation unless they agree to take Russian citizenship, according to a new report.
Researchers at Yale University say residents in the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions are being targeted in a “systemtic effort to strip them of Ukrainian identity.”
The report says those who do not seek Russian citizenship “are subjected to threats, intimidation, restrictions on humanitarian aid and basic necessities, and possible detention or deportation – all designed to force them to become Russian citizens.”
It added the practice has been made possible by a series of decrees signed by President Putin, slowly forcing Ukrainians to get Russian passports.
Zelenskyy: Ukraine deserves gratitude for stopping Russia
President Zelenskyy has insisted that Ukraine is grateful for the support given by the West – but suggested Ukraine too deserves some thanks for holding Russia back.
Speaking at a conference of Ukrainian ambassadors, Mr Zelenskyy is reported to have said: “Ukraine knows how to be grateful and is grateful to every country, absolutely to all people, to every nation that helped us.
“But our contribution to the common security deserves gratitude,” he said.
Mr Zelenskyy’s comments can be read within the context of several controversies sparked by senior international figures questioning Ukraine’s response to their help.
As we were reporting yesterday, a top Polish adviser suggested Ukraine should be more appreciative of the support Poland has offered over the years.
And last month, the UK’s outgoing defence secretary Ben Wallace said “whether we like it or not, people want to see a bit of gratitude”, when asked about Ukrainian frustration at not getting a formal invitation to join Nato.
Mr Zelenskyy later shot back: “How else can we show our gratitude? We can wake up in the morning and thank the minister. Let him write to me and tell me how to thank him.”
The Ukrainian president’s comments were labelled “sarcastic” by Vadym Prystaiko, who was sacked as ambassador to the UK days later.
But Mr Zelenskyy doubled down earlier today.
Ex-Drug Addict Turns to Jesus and Now Risks Life Saving Girls From Sex Trade
While Jim Caviezel’s new movie Sound of Freedom is bringing the issue of child sex trafficking to the forefront in America, CBN News Contributing Correspondent Chuck Holton traveled to Southeast Asia where one American woman is making a difference by rescuing girls from the sex trade.
Because of the sensitive nature of the work being done here, CBN News can’t disclose the exact location of what you are about to see.
Across Southeast Asia, a multi-billion dollar worldwide industry thrives in the shadows, preying upon the vulnerable and innocent. Underage prostitution is commonplace. And in the middle of this darkness, an unexpected source of light.
Ukraine Hopes To Hold Peace Summit This Autumn
Zelenskiy told Ukrainian diplomats in a speech published on the president’s website that almost 40 countries would be represented at the meeting in Jeddah on Aug 5-6.
“We are working on making [the summit] happen this fall,” he said.
Meanwhile, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said his country is working for peace in Ukraine, but that neither its leader nor Russia’s is prepared to talk peace.
“Neither Putin nor Zelenskiy are ready,” Lula told foreign correspondents on August 2 at a news conference in Brasilia, adding that peace proposals he is seeking with other countries will be ready when Russia and Ukraine are willing to negotiate.
Terror attacks plague Israel; Netanyahu asserts ‘IDF prepared on all fronts’ – TV7 Israel News 02.08
1) Five Israelis sustained separate degrees of injuries, as repeated acts of terror plague Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley.
2) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that the Israeli defense establishment is well prepared on all fronts.
3) Israeli President Isaac Herzog voices compassion for the Lebanese people – while in tandem – levels a warning to the Iranian-proxy’ Hezbollah.
Australian Police Charge Ex-Childcare Worker with Sex Abuse of 91 Children
A former Australian childcare worker is facing 1,623 child abuse charges after allegedly sexually abusing 91 children, filming it, then sharing the content online.
Police allege the man preyed on young girls over a 15-year period at a dozen centres in Australia as well as overseas all while distributing the content on the dark web.
Police said the abuse happened at 10 different childcare centers between 2007 and 2022 and exclusively targeted “prepubescent girls” — some as young as one year old.
The accused is alleged to have filmed or taken pictures of “all” his alleged crimes — and eventually catalogued more than 4,000 photos and videos of abuse.
Iranian Midwife Arrested, Abortion Clinic Shut As Authorities Implement Plan To Boost Population
An Iranian midwife in the central city of Qom has been arrested for allegedly performing an illegal abortion and her clinic shut amid escalating efforts by Iran’s judiciary to combat abortions.
Majid Mohabi, the deputy of treatment at the Qom University of Medical Sciences, said the midwife’s property was seized and her future practice prohibited by the university.
Masoud Setayeshi, a spokesperson for the judiciary, recently unveiled a “comprehensive plan” on the issue, including penalties ranging from compensation payments and imprisonment to the revocation of medical licenses.
Coca-Cola Owned Cafe Chain faces Boycott over Trans Cartoon with Cut Off Breasts
The top coffeehouse chain in the UK has sparked outrage over an advert that has been accused of supporting the “mutilation of healthy young girls” after an advertisement depicting a blue-haired surfer with what strongly appears to be a cartoon representation of a double mastectomy drinking coffee appeared on a company van.
Many are now calling for a boycott of the Coca-Cola-owned company akin to the movement in the United States against Bud Light after the beer brand partnered with controversial transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney.
Reclaim Party leader Laurence Fox wrote: “You are promoting the mutilation of healthy young girls. I hope you are boycotted out of existence. #BoycottCostaCoffee”
Sex Matters board member Maya Forstater told The Telegraph: “The cartoon-like picture of a young woman who has had her breasts surgically removed is shocking and irresponsible.
Commentary:
Have Canadians Lost Their Freedom?
We used to think Canada was a free country, but now many don’t recognize it.
PragerU CEO Marissa Streit speaks with Viva Frei, a Canadian-born lawyer and podcaster, who documented the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa.
He is sounding the alarm that Canada is sliding further into dictatorship with the help of the complicit leftist media.
Dr. Jordan Peterson: Their doom-and-gloom warnings were utter nonsense
Psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson joined ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss the decline of traditional values among young adults and the fallout over the far-left ‘woke’ agenda in schools nationwide.
They’re going to keep doing this to Trump: Victor Davis Hanson | Rob Schmitt Tonight
On Tuesday’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Victor Davis Hanson reacts to the indictment of Donald Trump for Jan.6th.
The “Break Glass” Moment Has Arrived (Ep. 2058) – 08/02/2023
In this episode, I address the unprecedented move by the Biden crime family, and the DOJ, which marks the end of the Republic.
Politics:
McConnell And His GOP Senate Drones Are Silent On Trump Indictment, Again
House Republicans were quick to condemn the outright weaponization of law enforcement against the regime’s primary political opponent.
On Twitter, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy accused the Justice Department of unleashing new indictments to protect the president from bad publicity.
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik also released a statement that accused the DOJ of political interference.
Senate GOP leadership, on the other hand, was once again largely silent as the 2024 Republican frontrunner was hit with the latest of 78 charges across three investigations. More are likely on the way as prosecutors in Georgia wrap up their own probe into allegations of misconduct surrounding the 2020 election.
McConnell’s silence on lynchpin issues has become a defining component of his tenure in the upper chamber.
In his first remarks about the weaponized Justice Department after that first indictment, the Republican Senate leader called for rewarding partisan political prosecutions with more funding for federal law enforcement agencies.
Compagno: Trump charges keep coinciding with Hunter Biden news
The ‘Outnumbered’ panel discussed the latest charges facing the former president, Biden’s silence on the latest charges and the political optics of the indictment.
Grenell to Newsmax: House GOP Must Learn From Dems
Grenell called for the impeachment of Biden after whistleblower Devon Archer told the House Committee of Oversight and Accountability, which is investigating influence peddling, that Hunter Biden used Joe Biden, then the vice president of the United States, on more than 20 phone calls during business meetings to promote the Biden brand.
“There is obvious, obvious corruption that has been laid out.
What are they [House Republicans] waiting for?” Grenell told “Wake Up America” host Rob Finnerty. “They’re [Democrats] already canceling us, Rob. They’re already crushing us in every possible way, and we’re sitting back making moral arguments to a team of people that don’t listen to moral arguments.”
Grenell added that Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and fellow House Republicans need “to realize if they don’t start pushing back, none of us are going to go to work for them and try to get them reelected.”
Trump Lawyer: DOJ Call for Speedy Trial ‘Absurd,’ Unconstitutional
“The bottom line is that they have 60 federal agents working on this, 60 lawyers, all kinds of government personnel, and we get this indictment and they want to go to trial in 90 days. Does that sound like justice to you?”
It is a constitutional right provided to the accused, not the federal government’s Justice Department, a fact apparently lost on Smith when hearing his statement, Lauro noted.
“We’re entitled to understand what the charges are,” Lauro told NBC News. “We’re entitled to do our own investigation.
“To take President Trump to trial in 90 days, of course, is absurd.
“The election’s going on,” he said. “Right now they want to go to trial so that instead of debating the issues against Joe Biden, that President Trump is sitting in a courtroom — how is that justice?
‘POLITICAL MANIFESTO’: I have never seen an indictment like this, Swecker warns
Former Assistant FBI Director Chris Swecker joined ‘Fox & Friends First’ to discuss Trump’s latest indictment and why he believes the case might be thrown out.
Our country is in a constitutional abyss: Trump attorney
Trump attorney John Lauro gives his take on the political ramifications of former President Donald Trump’s indictment in the January 6 probe on ‘Hannity.’
‘Limp’ Trump indictment is ‘all by design’ to distract from Biden’s scandals: Concha
Fox News contributor Joe Concha joined ‘Fox & Friends First’ to discuss the latest Trump indictment and the 2024 political implications of the additional charges.
It’s obvious what’s going on with the Bidens: Miranda Devine
New York Post columnist Miranda Devine discusses how the Biden brand brought in millions on ‘Jesse Watters Primetime.’
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