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Category: Law/Crime

In defense of Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson assails U.S. government in an attack on the judicial system

In defense of Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson assails U.S. government in an attack on the judicial system

The Associated Press reports: U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson assailed the hush money case against Donald Trump Tuesday as an illegitimate “sham,” becoming the highest-ranking Republican to show up at court, embrace the former president’s claims of political persecution and attack the U.S. system of justice. It was a remarkable moment in modern American politics: The House speaker amplifying Trump’s defense and turning the Republican Party against the federal and state legal systems that are foundational to the U.S. government…

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Trump blasts his trial judges. Then his fans call for violence

Trump blasts his trial judges. Then his fans call for violence

Reuters reports: On a recent Tuesday morning, a visibly frustrated Donald Trump sat through a tense hearing in the first-ever criminal trial of a former American president. During a break, he let rip on his social media platform. New York Justice Juan Merchan, Trump declared on Truth Social, is a “highly conflicted” overseer of a “kangaroo court.” Trump supporters swiftly replied to his post with a blitz of attacks on Merchan. The comments soon turned ugly. Some called for Merchan…

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South Africa asks World Court to order Israel’s withdrawal from Rafah

South Africa asks World Court to order Israel’s withdrawal from Rafah

Reuters reports: South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order Israel to withdraw from Rafah as part of additional emergency measures over the war in Gaza, the U.N.’s top court said on Friday. In the ongoing case brought by South Africa, which accuses Israel of acts of genocide against Palestinians, the World Court in January ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no…

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IRS audit of Trump could cost former president more than $100 million

IRS audit of Trump could cost former president more than $100 million

By Paul Kiel, ProPublica, and Russ Buettner, The New York Times This story was originally published by ProPublica. Former President Donald Trump used a dubious accounting maneuver to claim improper tax breaks from his troubled Chicago tower, according to an IRS inquiry uncovered by ProPublica and The New York Times. Losing a yearslong audit battle over the claim could mean a tax bill of more than $100 million. The 92-story, glass-sheathed skyscraper along the Chicago River is the tallest and,…

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Biden administration can see Israel has violated international law but doesn’t have the guts to take action

Biden administration can see Israel has violated international law but doesn’t have the guts to take action

CNN reports: The Biden administration said Friday that it is “reasonable to assess” that US weapons have been used by Israeli forces in Gaza in ways that are “inconsistent” with international humanitarian law but stopped short of officially saying Israel violated the law. The report which was drafted by the State Department said that investigations into potential violations are ongoing but noted that the US does “not have complete information to verify” whether the US weapons “were specifically used” in…

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Criticizing Israel? Nonprofit media could lose tax-exempt status without due process

Criticizing Israel? Nonprofit media could lose tax-exempt status without due process

The Intercept reports: It doesn’t take much to be accused of supporting terrorism these days. And that doesn’t just go for student activists. In recent months, dozens of lawmakers and public officials have, without evidence, insinuated that U.S. news outlets provide material support for Hamas. Some even issued thinly veiled threats to prosecute news organizations over those bogus allegations. Their letters were political stunts. Prosecutors would never have been able to carry their burden of proof under anti-terrorism laws, and…

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A threshold crossed: On genocidal intent and the duty to prevent genocide in Palestine

A threshold crossed: On genocidal intent and the duty to prevent genocide in Palestine

In the Journal of Genocide Research, Dr Nimer Sultany, Reader in Public Law at SOAS University of London, writes: By any measure, Israel’s onslaught on Gaza is unprecedented. Israel claims that the killing of civilians is typical of warfare. Yet by the end of November 2023 it was clear that “even a conservative reading of the casualty figures” showed that “the pace of death during Israel’s campaign has few precedents in this century.” It also showed that the proportion of…

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Trump’s political fate likely won’t be decided by the courts after all

Trump’s political fate likely won’t be decided by the courts after all

Politico reports: What once resembled a wall of legal obstacles that stood between Donald Trump and his return to the White House is now looking like little more than a series of speed bumps. Prosecutors handling cases from Georgia to Florida to Washington, D.C., are discovering that bringing groundbreaking criminal charges against a former president is a lot easier than getting them to trial. The four criminal cases that Trump is facing have diverted him from the campaign trail and…

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Judge Cannon conjures a ‘myriad’ of excuses for postponing Trump’s stolen docs trial indefinitely

Judge Cannon conjures a ‘myriad’ of excuses for postponing Trump’s stolen docs trial indefinitely

Liz Dye writes: Judge Aileen Cannon has done her duty by not doing her job. It was clear for months that the Trump-appointee was going to hold this trial after the 2024 election, or never — and preferably the second. She spent weeks considering idiotic motions and holding hearings on such thorny issues as “should the Mar-a-Lago groundskeeper who is charged with obstructing the grand jury be allowed to see the highly classified evidence his boss stole.” Spoiler alert: No….

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Biden is days from a key statement on Israel and Gaza. Here’s what the ally who sought it expects

Biden is days from a key statement on Israel and Gaza. Here’s what the ally who sought it expects

HuffPost reports: With the Biden administration days away from issuing its opinion on whether Israel is violating international and U.S. law in Gaza, the lawmaker who pushed for a State Department probe of that question doubts he’ll get an honest answer. Starting in December, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) rallied 19 senators to support legislation demanding assurances that all countries receiving American weaponry — including Israel — are complying with international and U.S. statutes barring violence against civilians and efforts…

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Prominent Palestinian doctor tortured and killed in Israeli detention

Prominent Palestinian doctor tortured and killed in Israeli detention

Middle East Eye reports: Adnan al-Bursh, a Palestinian surgeon and professor of orthopaedic medicine, was killed by torture while in Israeli detention, according to a statement from the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society. In what has been termed a “deliberate assassination”, Bursh, 50, died in the Israel-controlled Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank on 19 April, according to the Palestinian Civil Affairs Committee, and his body remains withheld. Another detainee, Ismail Abdul Bari Khader, 33, also died in custody, according to…

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SEC charges Trump Media auditor with ‘massive fraud’ on hundreds of companies, imposes lifetime ban

SEC charges Trump Media auditor with ‘massive fraud’ on hundreds of companies, imposes lifetime ban

CNBC reports: The auditing firm for Trump Media and the auditor’s owner were charged Friday with “massive fraud” by the Securities and Exchange Commission for accounting work that affected more than 1,500 SEC filings, the federal regulator announced. The auditor, BF Borgers CPA, and its owner, Benjamin Borgers, have agreed to be permanently suspended from practicing as accountants before the SEC, and also agreed to pay a combined $14 million in civil penalties, without admitting or denying the allegations, the…

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Alarm in Israel at reports of possible ICC legal action over Gaza

Alarm in Israel at reports of possible ICC legal action over Gaza

BBC News reports: Israeli officials are increasingly concerned that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is planning to seek arrest warrants for their military and political leaders on suspicion of war crimes. Reports suggest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be among them. The ICC, based in The Hague, has been investigating Israel’s actions in the occupied territories for the past three years – and more recently the actions of Hamas as well. It has the power to charge and try individuals…

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I’m a UCLA professor. Why didn’t the administration stop last night’s egregious violence?

I’m a UCLA professor. Why didn’t the administration stop last night’s egregious violence?

David N. Myers writes: UCLA, the top-rated public university in the United States, experienced one of the darkest nights in its 105-year history on Tuesday. Over the course of my 33-year career at UCLA, I have never seen anything so terrifying take place. Around 11 p.m., a group of masked counter-demonstrators made their way to the Royce Quad in the heart of campus and began to attack the encampment set up last week by demonstrators opposing the war in Gaza….

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House passes antisemitism bill over complaints from First Amendment advocates

House passes antisemitism bill over complaints from First Amendment advocates

The Washington Post reports: House Republicans are seeking to unite their unruly majority around an evergreen conservative cause, devising a strict response to the wave of pro-Palestinian protests that have roiled college campuses across the country in recent weeks. GOP leaders this week announced plans for new oversight investigations of elite universities where — in the words of House Republican Whip Tom Emmer (Minn.) — “pro-terrorist anti-Semites [are] taking over.” And on Wednesday, they passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which…

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Israel planning ring of checkpoints to prevent men from fleeing Rafah

Israel planning ring of checkpoints to prevent men from fleeing Rafah

Middle East Eye reports: Israel is setting up a complex system of checkpoints that will prevent men of “military age” from fleeing Rafah in preparation for its offensive on the southern Gaza border city, a senior western official familiar with Israel’s plans has told Middle East Eye on condition of anonymity. The checkpoints are designed to allow some women and children to leave Rafah ahead of an expected Israeli offensive, but unarmed, civilian Palestinian men will likely be separated from…

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