In the third world shakeup this month, UK’s Tory Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for a surprise general election on July 4, catching his party members off guard. Never elected, Sunak was appointed by his own party two years ago after Liz Truss left at the end of 49 days. The country’s sixth Conservative leader since David Cameron was elected in 2010, Sunak moved the party to the right with his focus on immigration and “anti-woke” language, disturbing his centrist colleagues.
Believing they would have a better chance in autumn, Tories are furious, especially after their recent election losses. Opinion polls give the Labour party a 20-point lead, and it has an organized campaign. Parliament is now suspended at the end of the week and formally shut down in another week, leaving it only two days to pass any outstanding legislation. The first July election in UK since 1945, it is also the first general election since 2015 not requiring Parliamentary approval. This week begins general election campaigning for the 650 seats in Parliament.
Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson (R-LA) has no additional GOP votes after Vince Fong was elected to fill the seat of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) who resigned last year. Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) will be absent for an indefinite time to undergo surgery for the removal of a tumor at the base of his skull. Johnson must also deal with the departure of four staff members, including his well-connected communications director, Raj Shah, a link to DDT loyalists.
After the discovery of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito flying the U.S. flag upside down, claiming a stolen presidential election in 2020, a second flag story appeared. In July and September of 2023, the Alitos flew the “Appeal to Heaven” flag (aka Pine Tree flag) at their New Jersey summer beach house. The flag symbolizes religious support for the “Stop the Steal” campaign and Christian nationalists’ promotion to recreate the U.S. government. Once used by George Washington, the flag appeared at the January 6 insurrection. Court authority Dahlia Lithwick commented:
“That flag is not merely another January 6 signifier but also rooted in John Locke’s ‘appeal to heaven,’ meaning ‘a responsibility to rebel, even use violence, to overthrow unjust rule.’”
Johnson flew the same flag outside his office last year. He claims that “it goes back to the founder’s era” and that he’s “always flown that flag,” that it has nothing to do with the “stop the steal” protests.”
In 2013, prominent far-right evangelical Dutch Sheets made the flag a symbol of his ambitions for Christian nationalism and wrote about it in his 2015 book, An Appeal to Heaven. He and his fellow leaders described Alito their great religious hope as an opponent to abortion and same-gender marriage.
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) introduced a resolution to censure Alito “for knowingly violating the federal recusal statute and binding ethics standards and calling the impartiality of the Supreme Court of the United States into question.” He stated that flying the flag upside down shows “a knowing and shameless demonstration of his political bias.” Other Democrats have called on Alito to recuse himself from cases about the 2020 election and the insurrection, including DDT’s presidential immunity case. A few Republicans mildly criticized Alito’s actions but want the court to monitor itself.
In solidarity with DDT, GOP Senators are rejecting a bill solving security on the southern border originally endorsed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). McConnell asked President Joe Biden to solve the problem with executive actions. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wants to advance the bill this week. Several Senators posturing against the bill are vying to Senate minority leader with McConnell resigning form the position this fall. (Right: Schumer holding a sign last week.)
Schumer’s bill is part of the strategy to show Republicans as obstructionists toward solving southern border issues. The DOJ will announce a rule for more resources to prosecute migrants with immigration-related offenses. Biden has already signed executive orders, one of which imposes sanctions on people profiting from moving migrants, moves the disqualification standard earlier in the asylum process, and processes recent asylum seekers before those in the line longer. Senate Democrats will hold a press conference explaining how the bipartisan bill that the GOP scuttled would have helped block down on fentanyl shipped into the U.S.
Upset because Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) described the legal problems of Deposed Donald Trump (DDT) on the House floor, Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN) demanded his words be stricken from the record. McGovern was rebuked and stopped from making any statements for the remainder of the day. During the process, House business was halted for over an hour while Republicans had McGovern’s factual remarks investigated by the House Parliamentarian:
“We have a presumptive nominee for President facing 88 felony counts, and we’re being prevented from even acknowledging it. These are not alternative facts. These are real facts. A candidate for President of the United States is on trial for sending a hush money payment to a porn star to avoid a sex scandal during his 2016 campaign, and then fraudulently disguising those payments in violation of the law. He’s also charged with conspiring to overturn the election. He’s also charged with stealing classified information and a jury has already found him liable for rape and a civil court. And yet, in this Republican controlled House, it’s okay to talk about the trial but you have to call it a sham.”
Presiding over the chamber, Rep. Jerry Carl (R-AL) made the decision to strike McGovern’s “offensive” remarks according to House Rule XVII, “House members are prohibited from impugning the motives of fellow House members, senators or the President. And in this case, the former President.” McGovern also said:
“My friends over the other side of the aisle have pandered to their most extreme members over and over and over again. They let the extremists kick out their own Speaker. They let the extremists dictate the agenda on the House floor. They let the extremists take down seven rule votes since January 2023—a stunning indictment of their ability to get anything done. And speaking of indictments, Republicans are skipping their real jobs to take day trips up to New York to try to undermine Donald Trump’s criminal trial. No time to work with Democrats, but plenty of time to put on weird matching cult uniforms and stand behind President Trump with their bright red ties like pathetic props…
“Now I understand why my Republican friends want to distract from Donald Trump. They don’t want to talk about how Trump had the worst jobs record since the Great Depression, how we sold out our allies and empowered our adversaries. So they bring silly things like this to the floor to deflect blame and distract from the fact that they have no real vision, just division, and no real plans to make life better for the American people.”
DDT’s criminal trial doesn’t resume until next Tuesday, the 21st day and seventh week, but Judge Juan Merchan gave the jury directions yesterday on the process to reach their verdict. To find DDT guilty of felony falsification of business records, they must agree that the falsification was done to cover up a separate crime, but they don’t need a unanimous agreement on any of the three possible “predicate” crimes: tax-related offenses and both state and federal campaign finance violations. Defense lawyers had unsuccessfully argued for unanimous agreement for each instance. The prosecution had said that “the importance of the case is not a basis for deviating from the standard application of the law. There’s no reason to rewrite the law for this case.” With this ruling, jurors can more easily find DDT guilty on any of the 34 felony charges.
According to a newly unsealed 87-page filing for Florida’s classified document case, DDT’s lawyers found more classified documents in his bedroom four months after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago in August 2022. After that search, other classified documents were found at “an off-site office, a storage unit and at Mar-a-Lago,” according to U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell. She also stated that DDT intentionally obstructed the government’s investigation despite a subpoena to turn over all the classified materials. In June 2022, DDT’s lawyers had guaranteed that no classified documents were at Mar-a-Lago.
As a distraction, DDT is using a fundraising email to accuse Biden of trying to assassinate him because the DOJ used boiler-plate language authorizing the FBI to use deadly force when executing a court-approved search warrant. DDT also claims that proves Biden is “MENTALLY UNFIT TO HOLD OFFICE.” Ultra-conservative lawmakers leaped on the band wagon, echoing DDT’s statement that Biden was “locked & loaded” and “ready to take me out.” DDT has gone to the Supreme Court for permission to do this to Biden.
In a rare announcement, the FBI responded to the unwarranted accusations by stating that “standard protocol” was followed with “no departure from the norm in this matter.” Before the search, the FBI guaranteed that DDT would not be on the premises and informed the Seret Service and local law enforcement of their plans.
In another laptop scandal, another DDT adviser connected to his Save America PAC admitted scanning classified documents in a box in 2021 that he stored on a personal laptop provided by the PAC. Last year, the media reported the aide is Chamberlain Harris, known as ROTUS, Receptionist of the United States.
Nel's New Day 
Leave a comment