Month: June 2024

Three associates of former President Donald Trump associates, who were allegedly tied to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, have been charged with forgery in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed felony charges against Kenneth Chesbro, former Dane County Judge Jim Troupis, and Mike Roman in Dane County Circuit Court.  Chesbro is accused of hatching the plan, Troupis represented Trump in Wisconsin and Roman delivered the paperwork of fake electors to a Pennsylvania congressional staffer to hand them off to then-Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6. All three were working for Trump in 2020 during Trump’s effort to take the state’s electoral votes.

Wisconsin is one of five states that have charged individuals for taking part in an elaborate scheme to approve fake electors for Trump in states where Biden won the vote.  The fake elector’s plan is one of the foundations for charges brought against Trump by special counsel Jack Smith in his Washington, D.C., case. That case is currently on hold while the Supreme Court decides if Trump’s claim of absolute immunity is warranted.

Cheseboro and Roman are also named as co-conspirators in similar election cases in Arizona and Georgia, while Troupis has been cited in Wisconsin only.

Editorial credit: EQRoy / Shutterstock.com

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden signed a new executive order on immigration that bars asylum to migrants who cross the southern border unlawfully, and temporarily shut down asylum requests once the average number of daily encounters tops 2,500 between official ports of entry.

The White House announced online: “These actions will be in effect when high levels of encounters at the southern border exceed our ability to deliver timely consequences,” saying that the policy change “will make it easier for immigration officers to remove those without a lawful basis to remain and reduce the burden on our border patrol agents.”

Biden’s executive order suspends entry of non-citizens who illegally cross the southern border and makes it easier to remove those who cross when the southern border is “overwhelmed” and to remove respective migrants who “do not have a legal basis to remain in the United States.” The executive order limiting the unlawful daily crossings to an average of 2,500 “will be discontinued when the number of migrants who cross the border between ports of entry is low enough for America’s system to safely and effectively manage border operations.”  The president’s order would come under the Immigration and Nationality Act sections 212(f) and 215(a) suspending entry of noncitizens who cross the southern border into the United States unlawfully. Humanitarian exceptions will be made, including for unaccompanied children and victims of trafficking.

Biden’s executive order comes a day after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials reported rising injuries and fatalities among migrants due to heat and dehydration as summer approaches and temperatures recently topped 100 degrees in the El Paso, Texas, sector. Border Patrol agents responded to several emergencies involving migrants suffering from “severe heat related illnesses,” which claimed four lives over the past weekend.

Editorial credit: ajkman / Shutterstock.com

The Israel Defense Forces announced that four Hamas hostages being held in Gaza “are no longer alive,” after being taken on Oct 7, 2023.  Three of the men, identified as Amiram Cooper, Yoram Metzger and Haim Peri, were 80 years old, or older, and appeared in a December video released by Hamas under the title, “Don’t let us grow old here,” according to satellite television channel Al Mayadeen.  Peri said in the video that all three men had chronic illnesses and accused Israel of abandoning them. The fourth hostage was identified as Nadav Popplewell.

The IDF said it had told the families of the victims that they are no longer alive and that their bodies are held by the Hamas terrorist organization, based on intelligence and was confirmed by a Ministry of Health expert committee, in coordination with the Ministry of Religious Services and the Chief Rabbi of Israel. The circumstances of their deaths in Hamas captivity are still under examination, according to the IDF, which says it uses a “a wide variety of methods to gather information about the hostages who remain in the Gaza Strip.”

Chief spokesperson for the IDF, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said “Their loved ones were killed a few months ago during Hamas captivity in Gaza and their bodies are still being held by Hamas. We assess that the four of them were killed while together in the area of Khan Younis during an operation there against Hamas.”

More than 250 people were taken hostage and moved to Gaza during Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel but more than 100 were released during a temporary truce last year. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office believes there are still 124 hostages, living and dead, in Gaza; of the remaining 120 who were taken on October 7, Israel now believes 41 are dead.

Last week, President Joe Biden detailed a three-phase deal proposed by Israel to Hamas militants that he says would lead to the release of remaining hostages in Gaza. The three-phase proposal would secure the release of hostages paired with a ceasefire. Following news of the four deaths, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum in Israel reiterated its demand to the Israeli government to immediately approve the proposal. The group said in a statement Monday: “The Israeli government must send out a negotiating delegation this evening and return all 124 hostages, both living and murdered, to their homes. Chaim, Yoram, Amiram, and Nadav were kidnapped alive, some of them were with other hostages who returned in the previous deal – and they should have returned alive to their country and their families.” 

Editorial credit: Omri Eliyahu / Shutterstock.com

Vice President Kamala Harris will represent the United States at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, taking place in Switzerland on June 15th. Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, will join Harris as part of the U.S. delegation. Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs said on X it was “pleased with the participation of” Harris for the upcoming summit.

According to the White House, Harris is expected to highlight the U.S. commitment to “supporting Ukraine’s effort to secure a just and lasting peace,” at the international peace summit at Burgenstock Resort in Lucerne, Switzerland, which the White House says is “based on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and the principles of the U.N. Charter.” Harris’ communications director, Kirsten Allen said in a statement: “The Vice President will also reaffirm support for the people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against ongoing Russian aggression.”

The summit will immediately follow the 50th G7 summit that is set to take place in Borgo Egnazia in Italy’s southern Puglia region between June 13 and 15. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously urged President Joe Biden to personally visit Switzerland on behalf on the U.S., saying last month:”I believe that the peace summit needs President Biden, and other leaders need President Biden because they will look at the U.S.’s reaction.”

National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby defended Biden’s reason not to attend the June 15 summit; asked Monday if the president was sending the wrong message globally by forgoing the peace summit to attend a California fundraiser, Kirby said “there hasn’t been any single leader around the world who has supported Ukraine more and more stridently than Joe Biden.” He said Harris will be attending the summit “because of our desire to be represented around that table” and her presence will help demonstrate that “Ukraine has no stronger backer than the United States.” Kirby added that “No matter who represents the United States at this summit, it can’t be said that the United States has in any way walked away from supporting Ukraine.”

Editorial credit: Tennessee Witney / Shutterstock.com