RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the Week
July 28 to August 3, 2024 In RealClearInvestigations, Julie Kelly reports on congressional alarm that the man who could get to the bottom of Secret Service failures in the Trump assassination attempt won’t, given prior Biden administration stonewalling: Some Republicans are concerned because, they say, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has rebuffed DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari on other internal examinations – including one concerning the Jan. 6 Capitol siege that might have revealed Secret Service lapses before the attempt on Donald Trump’s life. Congressional sources tell RCI that Cuffari’s report, “USSS Preparation for and Response to the Events of January 6, 2021,” has been on Mayorkas’ desk since at least April. Unanswered questions remain as to why the Secret Service allowed Trump to take the stage at The Ellipse around noon on Jan. 6 amid reports of individuals with weapons in the vicinity – a question many Americans have about the July 13 assassination attempt. In addition, no one has explained how the Secret Service failed to notice an alleged pipe bomb found outside the Democrat National Committee DC office on Jan. 6 – while then Vice President-elect Harris was inside the building. Top Democrats have long sought to remove Cuffari, ever since the Trump appointee notified Congress that a trove of Secret Service texts from January 5 and 6, 2021 had been deleted in late January 2021 under the Biden administration. The purge occurred weeks after every federal agency received a directive from Congress to preserve all evidence related to Jan. 6. Waste of the Day
by Adam Andrzejewski, Open the Books Soccer Tilt to Cost NJ Taxpayers $750K, RCI
The Over-Lawyered Biden White House, RCI
Afghan Aid AWOL Even Post-Pullout, RCI
2008, and Parks Partied Like It Was 2016, RCI
NYC Dumps $1.6M Into Trash Can Study, RCI Biden, Trump and the Beltway The FBI is going to resume its coordination with social-media companies on content moderation ahead of the 2024 election, after the Supreme Court dealt a blow to free-speech advocates, who argue the federal government’s close cooperation with Big Tech violates the First Amendment. Quote: Internal Twitter documents known as “Twitter Files,” released when Elon Musk purchased the platform in late 2022, demonstrated the extensive correspondence between government officials and the platform leading up to the 2020 election. The FBI’s FITF [Foreign Influence Task Force] was heavily involved in the coordination with social-media platforms, paving the way for censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop story weeks before the 2020 election. … House Republicans have produced multiple reports detailing the relationships between social-media platforms, third party “disinformation” research organizations, and government agencies such as the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department. The House reports spotlight the push by Biden administration officials and federal agencies to restrict speech online. Other Biden, Trump and the Beltway Why Kamala Harris of 4 Years Ago Could Haunt Her in '24, New York Times
As Frisco's DA, Kamala Harris Soft on Killers and Abusers, Free Beacon
From 2020: Harris Close to Hamas-Tied, Anti-Israel CAIR, Free Beacon
'Bidenbucks' Plan Uses Native American Kids in Voter Signups, Federalist
Secret Service Tech Flaws Aided Trump Gunman, New York Times
Pa. Won't Release Trump Shooting 911 Calls, Intercept
Jack Smith's No. 2 Rapped for Bad Behavior at Justice, Federalist
The Peter Thiel Tech Network Behind Vance's Rise, Washington Post Other Noteworthy Articles and Series Border Patrol agents say they do not have the tools to fully screen the migrants who are coming in from all over the world, making some of them fear they have let dangerous terrorists into the United States. This article reports the agents are able to use only U.S. terror watchlists and other American resources, not terror or criminal databases from other countries: “Knowing who these guys are, we have, like, no access to anything international. Like, we really don’t and it kind of sucks,” said one border agent, who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to give public statements. “I wanted to get into Border Patrol and protect from terrorists. And it’s like, well, I probably let terrorists in the country.” Despite their limited resources, border agents recently detained three Palestinian migrants who illegally crossed the southern border near San Diego after they were found to have possible ties to terrorist organizations, according to sources. Border agents also caught one migrant from Turkey also suspected of having ties to terror groups. In a separate article, the Washington Post reports Chinese migrants are entering the United States in record numbers: “U.S. authorities have encountered more than 55,000 Chinese migrants crossing illegally from Mexico during the past 18 months, primarily in the rugged desert mountains east of San Diego – up from 3,813 in 2022.” The central figure in what was essentially a hostages for criminals swap finalized by President Biden and Russia this week was a Russian hit man and former intelligence officer named Vadim Krasikov, who had been convicted of murdering an enemy of the Kremlin in a Berlin park in 2019. Krasikov was released by German authorities and handed over to Russia as part of the largest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, wrongfully convicted of espionage in July, was also part of the exchange: Russian President Vladimir Putin had personally demanded Krasikov’s return to Russia. For him, the assassin’s release is meant to send a dual message: The Kremlin will hunt down its enemies, even if they flee to the West, and it won’t abandon those who remain loyal to his government. In a February interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Putin clearly signaled his interest in a swap deal involving Krasikov, whom he didn’t name but described as a Russian patriot imprisoned for a killing in a Western capital. “That person, due to patriotic sentiments, eliminated a bandit,” Putin said. “Whether he did that of his own initiative or not, that is a different question.” This article reports that this isn’t the first time Putin has worked to bring a loyal foot soldier home. In 2004, after Qatar convicted two Russian agents of planting a bomb under the car of a fugitive rebel leader, killing him and maiming his teenage son, Russia arrested two Qatari athletes in Russia. Eventually, the Russians were freed and the Qatari athletes sent home. Between 1819 and 1969 the federal government operated a total of 417 federal boarding schools for Native American children in 37 states. At least 18,624 children were taken from their families and sent to boarding schools hundreds of miles away to be assimilated into white society. This article reports that children were stripped of their names and instead often assigned numbers; their long hair was cut, and they were beaten for speaking their languages, leaving deep emotional scars on Native American families and communities. By 1900, 1 out of 5 Native American school-age children attended a boarding school. Quote: More than 900 Native American children died while being forced to attend Indian boarding schools, according to a new federal report that urges the U.S. government to formally apologize for the enduring trauma inflicted by its systematic effort to assimilate the children and destroy their culture. Many of the children were buried in at least 74 marked and unmarked burial sites at 65 former schools across the country, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior report released Tuesday. The actual number of children who died and the number of potential burial sites are probably greater, the report said. In a year-long investigation published in May, the Washington Post found at least 122 priests, sisters and brothers assigned to 22 boarding schools since the 1890s were later accused of sexually abusing Native American children under their care. Most of the documented abuse occurred in the 1950s and 1960s and involved more than 1,000 children. In 2021, Manistee County, Michigan, took the title on Chelsea Koetter's home because she owed the government $3,863.40, which included her initial tax debt, as well as penalties, interest, and fees. Quote: She does not contest she was obligated to pay that. At issue is whether or not the county acted lawfully when it pocketed the remaining $102,636 after selling her house, in a practice known as home equity theft. … Both the Michigan and U.S. Constitutions broadly agree the scheme is illegal. You don't have to look far back to find the receipts. In 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in favor of Uri Rafaeli, whose home was seized by the government, which then sold it and kept all the proceeds. Rafaeli's initial tax debt was $8.41. At least 11 transgender-identifying male felons are currently housed at a formerly women-only prison in Washington State. This article provides short profiles of each of these inmates, several of whom were convicted of violent crimes against women and children while providing wider context on Washington State’s prison policies: The Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) maintains that trans-identifying male applicants must make a compelling case justifying their request, but the burden of proof is quite low in practice, former Purdy guard Scott Fleming previously told National Review. Men requesting transfers to Purdy aren’t required to have undergone reassignment surgery or a hormone regimen, or be in the process of transitioning, he said. The only prerequisite is that the men claim to be female. The Washington DOC said that the percentage of its population that currently self-identifies as transgender, intersex, or gender non-binary is a little over 1.1 percent. | 