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Tuesday, May 21, 2024

International Criminal Court Requests Arrest Warrants for Leaders of Israel, Hamas

Townhall: The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other top figures in the terror organization. A panel of judges on the international judicial body will now need to decide whether a warrant is issued for their arrests. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan told CNN the charges against the Hamas leaders include “extermination, murder, taking of hostages, rape and sexual assault in detention.” According to Khan, there are “reasonable grounds to believe that” Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for actions taken following the Oct. 7 attack, which include “war crimes and crimes against humanity” (Townhall). Daily Wire: Israel is being targeted because of its military campaign in Gaza, where over 1.5 million Palestinian civilians have been displaced from their homes. Humanitarian aid in Gaza continues to be an issue, though Israel has taken steps to alleviate the crisis in recent months (Daily Wire).

Speaker Mike Johnson, President Biden Disavow the ICC for Pursuing Warrants Against Top Israeli Officials

Axios: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Monday that the House may vote on sanctions against the International Criminal Court for seeking an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) has introduced a bill that would sanction ICC officials who investigate U.S. citizens or allies. It’s supported by nearly two dozen other Republicans. The application marks the first time the ICC has sought to prosecute a major U.S. ally or the leader of a democratic country. Neither Israel nor the U.S. are members of the ICC. “Congress is reviewing all options, including sanctions, to punish the ICC and ensure its leadership faces consequences if they proceed,” Johnson said. It’s not just Republican lawmakers hitting back at the ICC. “I completely reject the ICC prosecutor’s announcement,” Rep. Kathy Manning (D-N.C.) told Axios. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) said the decision to seek a warrant against Netanyahu is “not law but politics” (Axios). Spencer Brown: Biden slams International Criminal Court for “outrageous” case against Israeli leaders. “…there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas” (X).

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Handpicks Iranian Interim President

Washington Post: Mohammad Mokhber, Iran’s first vice president, was appointed acting president Monday after the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. Iran’s constitution specifies that — if approved by the supreme leader — the first vice president will assume acting presidential powers if the president dies. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, tapped Mokhber on Monday to ensure the election of a new president within 50 days. Since 2021, Mokhber has served as Raisi’s top deputy. He is the most senior of Iran’s 12 vice presidents. Mokhber has close ties with Khamenei. In 2007, Khamenei handpicked Mokhber to be the chief executive of Setad, a multibillion-dollar financial empire controlled exclusively by Khamenei. Many of Setad’s assets derive from property seized from Iranian citizens. Mokhber has been sanctioned by the United States and its allies. In 2010, the European Union sanctioned him and seven other Iranians for being “involved in nuclear or ballistic missiles activities,” although he was removed from the sanctions list two years later. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Mokhber in 2021 for his financial role in what it called Iran’s “systemic corruption and mismanagement.” In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Mokhber has also played a role in bolstering Iran’s ties with Moscow (Washington Post). Mike Pence: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is dead and the world is a safer place. Raisi was responsible for the murder of thousands of Iranian political prisoners he ordered executed in 1988, 1,500 Iranians slaughtered in the 2019 protests and the years of terrorist violence sown by Iran across the region that claimed American lives (X).

U.N. Mourns Iran’s Late President

Townhall: The United Nations, unsurprisingly, was generally gutted to learn that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi — known as the “butcher of Tehran” — died in a helicopter crash over the weekend. In a Monday meeting of the U.N. Security Council, a “moment of silence” was held to mourn the dead murderer rather than his thousands of innocent victims (Townhall). OSINTDefender: The U.N. National Security Council held a Moment of Silence today for the Late President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi also known as the “Butcher of Tehran” who died in a Helicopter Crash in Northwestern Iran (X). Katie Pavlich: Revolting and completely unsurprising (X).

Michael Cohen Confesses to Embezzling $30,000 From Trump Organization During Cross Examination

This is the exact thing Donald Trump is accused of doing. Guardian: Trump lawyer Todd Blanche is offering an alternative explanation for the jury about why the repayment to Michael Cohen was “grossed up” – doubled for tax purposes. Cohen was paid a bonus of $150k in 2015, but only got a $50k bonus in 2016. Blanche argues Cohen used the repayment scheme to get himself the bonus money he thought he was owed. The logic appears to go like this: Cohen paid the IT company RedFinch $20k during the 2016 campaign. But Cohen told Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg that he needed to be paid back $50k. That meant Cohen stole $30k from the Trump Org. As the payment was “grossed up”, Cohen actually made $60k. “So you stole from the Trump Organization?” Blanche asks. “Yes sir,” Cohen concedes (Guardian). Byron York: CNN analyst notes that Michael Cohen’s admission of stealing $60,000 from his employer is ‘a higher degree of crime than what Trump is charged with’ (X).

Speaker Mike Johnson Has Become Most Pivotal Speaker in Recent History

Washington Post: In a matter of six months, Mike Johnson has gone from accidental House speaker to one of the most consequential House speakers in a generation. Despite presiding over one of the smallest and most restive House majorities in history, he has managed to navigate the warring factions of his party to pass a raft of critical legislation, including a government funding bill that averted a catastrophic shutdown; reauthorization of a foreign surveillance law critical to disrupting terrorist attacks; a lethal-aid package for Ukraine that staved off imminent defeat, plus vital military assistance for Israel and Taiwan; legislation that allows the United States to seize Russian assets and use them to aid Ukraine; bipartisan legislation to ban TikTok in the United States if it is not sold to a new parent company that is not Chinese within about a year; and new sanctions against China, Iran and Russia (Washington Post).

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Biden Claims DEI is the “Core Strength of America”

Newsmax: President Joe Biden lauded diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as the “core strength of America” during a Sunday speech at an NAACP event in Detroit. Biden was the keynote speaker at the 69th annual Detroit NAACP Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner. “Look, the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion are the core strength of America,” Biden said in his remarks. “We have more African-American, we have more women, we have more minorities in our administration than any other administration in all of history,” he added. “That’s why we’re doing so damn well” (Newsmax). RNC Research: BIDEN: “The values of ‘diversity, equity, inclusion’ are the core strength of America” (X).

Americans Increasingly Pessimistic About Biden’s Handling of Economy

Washington Times: A new Gallup poll has revealed a marked decrease in public confidence in President Biden‘s handling of the economy, pointing to historically low levels of trust in his economic leadership. In the poll, 38% of adults say they have “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of confidence in Mr. Biden to do the right thing for the economy, while 46% feel the same about former President Donald Trump. Gallup said Mr. Biden “has fared much worse as confidence in his economic management dropped precipitously in 2022 from 57% to 40% amid sharply higher inflation, and it has been below 40% since then” (Washington Times). RNC Research: Biden campaign co-chair Gretchen Whitmer: “Our economy and peoples’ paychecks are growing — and our nation is headed in the right direction!” FACT: Real average weekly earnings are DOWN by 4.4% under Biden. Less than a quarter of Americans say we’re on the right track (X).

Kansas City Publication Calls for Chiefs Football Team to Fire Harrison Butker, Sign Female Kicker

HotAir: This is America, so everybody has to express an opinion about a Catholic man speaking at a Catholic College about Catholic theology. Most of those opinions are absurd and based on falsehoods because, again, this is America, where progressives get to lie about everything and have their idiotic deceptions and opinions ratified in the mainstream media. Harrison Butker, a Kansas City Chiefs kicker of some renown, gave the commencement address at a women’s college in which he praised the vocation of marriage. Living in a culture where mentioning that women can become mothers is offensive, Butker’s praise of motherhood is an offense beyond toleration. At least it is for progressives (HotAir). Collin Rugg: The Kansas City Star is calling on the KC Chiefs to fire Harrison Butker and hire a female kicker after Butker advocated for traditional values during a speech. The opinion piece quickly notified readers that this was “not a joke” and “not unrealistic.” “For poetic justice after Harrison Butker’s Neanderthal outburst — and because the pipeline of talent is real — the Kansas City Chiefs’ next kicker should be a woman.” The piece wrapped up by urging the Chiefs to consider hiring kickers like Sarah Fuller or Maya Turner (X).

10.

Erie County, Pennsylvania Hands Out Taxpayer-Funded Grants to Non-White Business Only

End Wokeness: Erie County, Pennsylvania just gave $300,000 of public grants to non-White businesses. These grants are funded by taxpayer-money (Biden’s 2021 ARP). White-owned businesses are excluded. The checks had “DEI” written on them (X). Activist Byl Holte: Erie County, Pennsylvania just gave $300,000 of taxpayer-funded public grants to non-White businesses. EXCLUSIVELY. White-owned businesses need not apply. Reminder: DEMOCRACY is not spelled DEI-mocracy (X).