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Defense Secretary Overrides Plea Agreement With 9/11 Defendants

Always Remember.

 

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday overrode a plea agreement reached earlier this week for the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and two other defendants, reinstating them as death-penalty cases.

The move comes two days after the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, announced that the official appointed to oversee the war court, retired Brig. Gen. Susan Escallier, had reached plea deals with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two accused accomplices, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, in the attacks.

Letters sent to families of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the al-Qaida attacks said the plea agreement stipulated the three would serve life sentences at most.

Austin wrote in an order released Friday night that “in light of the significance of the decision,” he had decided that the authority to make a decision on accepting the plea agreements was his. He nullified Escallier’s approval.

Some families of the attack’s victims condemned the deal for cutting off any possibility of full trials and possible death penalties. Republicans were quick to fault the Biden administration for the deal, although the White House said after it was announced it had no knowledge of it.

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, a member of the Armed Services Committee, earlier Friday had condemned the plea deal on social media as “disgraceful." Cotton said he had introduced legislation that would mandate the 9/11 defendants face trial and the possibility of the death penalty.

Mohammed, whom the U.S. describes as the main plotter of the attack that crashed hijacked passenger planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field, and the other two defendants had been expected to formally enter their pleas under the deal as soon as next week.

The U.S. military commission overseeing the cases of five defendants in the Sept. 11 attacks has been stuck in pre-trial hearings and other preliminary court action since 2008. The torture that the defendants underwent while in CIA custody has been among the challenges slowing the cases, and left the prospect of full trials and verdicts still uncertain, in part because of the inadmissibility of evidence linked to the torture.

J. Wells Dixon, a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights who has represented defendants at Guantanamo as well as other detainees there who have been cleared of any wrongdoing, had welcomed the plea bargains as the only feasible way to resolve the long-stalled and legally fraught 9/11 cases.

Dixon accused Austin on Friday of “bowing to political pressure and pushing some victim family members over an emotional cliff" by rescinding the plea deals.

Lawyers for the two sides have been exploring a negotiated resolution to the case for about 1 1/2 years. President Joe Biden blocked an earlier proposed plea bargain in the case last year, when he refused to offer requested presidential guarantees that the men would be spared solitary confinement and provided trauma care for the torture they underwent while in CIA custody.

A fourth Sept. 11 defendant at Guantanamo had been still negotiating on a possible plea agreement.

The military commission last year ruled the fifth defendant mentally unfit to stand trial. A military medical panel cited post-traumatic stress disorder and psychosis, and linked it to torture and solitary confinement in four years in CIA custody before transfer to Guantanamo.

Elon Musk Lists Seven Reasons He Endorses Trump in Fascinating Interview

I officially nominate Elon Musk for the title of “Most Interesting Man in the World,” a moniker made famous by the hysterical Dos Equis beer commercials of years past.

The Tesla CEO and Twitter/X owner appeared on the Lex Fridman Podcast posted Friday to talk about the incredible advances in brain-computer interfacing his company Neuralink is achieving—they hope to have devices in at least 10 people in the near future, he says—but he also weighed in on the presidential election and how the assassination attempt on GOP nominee Donald Trump was a truly iconic moment.

He broke down his reasons for supporting Trump in the former president’s battle to re-take the Oval Office:

FRIDMAN: What's your philosophy behind that endorsement? What do you hope Donald Trump does for the future, this country, and for the future of humanity?

MUSK: You know, people tend to take like, say, an endorsement as well, I agree with everything that person has ever done their entire life 100 percent wholeheartedly. And that's not going to be true of anyone. But we have to pick; we've got two choices really for... president, and it's not just for president, but the entire administrative structure changes over. 

And I thought Trump displayed courage under fire. Objectively. You know, he just got shot. He's got blood streaming down his face, and he's, like, fist-pumping, saying, "Fight!" You know, like, that's impressive. 

You can't feign bravery in a situation like that. Most people would have been ducking. Because there could be a second shooter, you know?

Watch:

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The multi-billionaire continued, pointing out that just because Donald Trump is not perfect—who is, after all?—that doesn’t mean that he can’t be an effective leader: 

That's not to say that he is without flaws. We all have flaws, but on balance, and certainly at the time, it was a choice of, you know Biden, poor guy, you know has trouble climbing a flight of stairs, the other one is fist pumping after getting shot. 

There is no comparison.

Then he got specific: why do we need new leadership in this country? His answer: the porous border, crime, and out-of-control spending:

I think we want a secure border; we don't have a secure border. We want safe and clean cities. I think we want to reduce the amount of spending, at least slow down the spending, because we're currently spending at a rate that is bankrupting the country. The interest payments on U.S. debt this year exceeded the entire Defense Department spent. If this continues, all of the federal government taxes will simply be paying the interest. 

And then you keep going down that road, you end up, you know, in the tragic situation that Argentina had back in the day.

Musk had remained on the political sidelines for much of his business career, but he has firmly chosen a side in this election. I can’t speak for him, but it certainly seems as if he’s awakened to what so many of us see: that progressive policies are tearing down this country.

Meanwhile, Fridman went on a deep dive on his podcast—an eight-hour deep dive—where he interviewed multiple people, and it was focused mainly on Neuralink and the incredible advances being made. We obviously can’t dissect every moment of the herculean effort, but if you have some free time—lots of free time--you can take a listen here:

 

Here's What Democrats Really Think About Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris can’t hide her true colors for too long. 

Long before she ran alongside President Joe Biden as his running mate, Harris served as a Democratic California senator—and apparently, she wasn’t very liked among her colleagues. 

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) revealed what lawmakers thought about Harris, which isn’t shocking. 

McCarthy told Fox News Host Jesse Watters that Democratic House members disliked Harris and wouldn’t work with them during her time as a senator. He also suggested that the White House wasn’t interested in putting her on display either. 

“I said well, ‘Do you work with your senator?’ [They said,] ‘She doesn’t work with me.’ Feinstein would back in the day. But, no, she didn’t work with them either,” McCarthy said. 

“It didn’t seem that the White House would ever be interested in what she had to say or what position she had to take. Even when it came down to the 4th of July, she only got invited up to the Truman balcony this year, when he [President Joe Biden] was about to back out,” he continued. 

McCarthy suggested that Harris sees a jump in her approval rating—which she previously had one of the worst in modern U.S. history—because President Joe Biden is so loathed and voters are excited about a new candidate. However, her "honeymoon" phase will soon come to an end when they realize what she will do to the country. 

“The only reason she’s popular now is because Biden was so unpopular. They’re just so thankful he’s gone. Wait until they get a few moments with her. This is a lot like 1988,” the Republican stated, referring to the 1988 presidential election between former President Georgia W. Bush and Democratic presidential nominee Mike Dukakis. 

Dukakis was up 17 points in July of that year— just four months before the election. However, his soft-on-crime policies were revealed after he let out Willie Horton, a convicted murderer who committed violent crimes while on furlough from prison. 

“Wait till you see her,” McCarthy warned. “She’s a Soros prosecutor; she’s worse.” 

During her time as California attorney general, Harris proved herself to be one of the most progressive soft-on-crime officials who promoted the left-wing agenda. 

She has called to abolish ICE, defund the police, and keep innocent people in prison. 

Judge Joe Brown, the former star of a reality television courtroom show, described Harris as being a “lazy” lawyer who “lacked professional confidence.” 

During Harris’s tenure as attorney general, I reported that staffers called her a “bully” and described her office as a “soul-destroying” workplace. 

A  CNN-SRSS national poll found that only 39 percent of Americans view Harris as an ideal candidate. 

While serving as Biden’s vice president, an Economist/YouGov national survey found that 42 percent didn’t care about Harris’ job in the White House, less than Biden’s 46 percent.

Trending on Townhall Videos

 

'Clearly a Cover-Up': Secret Service Presser Reveals More Damning Updates on Trump Assassination Attempt

The Secret Service held a presser yesterday where they again accepted full responsibility for the cataclysmic failure to protect former President Donald Trump during his July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. It was a rare event since the agency has opted to remain in the bunker unless they’re hauled before Congress. Acting Director Ronald Rowe has been more willing to be the public whipping boy, but lingering questions remain, and it’s starting to make some lawmakers impatient. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) outright said that a “cover-up” clearly happened (via Fox News): 

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, was among a number of Republican lawmakers who reacted to acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe’s press conference Friday about the assassination attempt on former President Trump at a rally in July. Lee said he believes there’s more to the story than what Rowe told reporters. 

"It is clear that the American people still have not been given the full story," Lee told Fox News Digital in a statement. "From the beginning, rally attendees and people with cellphone footage seem to have been more invested in stopping the shooter and figuring out what happened than the Secret Service itself. It is shocking that more officials have not been held accountable." 

[…] 

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said there was "clearly a cover-up." 

"I do not believe acting Director Rowe was forthcoming, as the government rarely admits to being wrong," Johnson told Fox News Digital. "I suspect that Rowe knows precisely who was responsible for this massive security failure and that this is clearly a cover-up. We need a detailed investigation and transcribed interviews to uncover the truth." 

Only three in 10 Americans are extremely or very confident the Secret Service can keep presidential candidates safe since Trump's assassination attempt, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. 

New details also emerged from this presser—all bad for the Secret Service. One of these was related to the breakdown of communications. Local SWAT teams had photos and descriptions of Trump’s would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, but that information never made it to the key individuals who could have acted. Why? Well, the Secret Service didn’t have access to the radio system—I wish I was kidding (via ABC News): 

There may have been radio traffic from local police that the Secret Service didn't have access to that could’ve proved crucial to stopping former President Donald Trump from going on stage the day of the assassination attempt, the acting director of the Secret Service said Friday. 

"It was so apparent to me that in this incident, in the final 30 seconds, which has been the focus of what happened before the assailant opened fire, there was clearly radio transmissions that may have happened on that local radio net that we did not have," acting Director Ronald Rowe said at a news conference. "And so, we have to do a better job of collocating, leveraging that counterpart system, and this is going to drive our operations going forward." 

Rowe said the shooting was a Secret Service failure alone. 

"In no way should any state or local agency supporting us in Butler on July 13 be held responsible," he said. 

Also, Mr. Rowe said that Secret Service snipers were unaware that someone was on that rooftop with a gun (via RealClearPolitics): 

At 5:45 p.m., a local Butler County Emergency Services Unit counter-sniper team member texted the Secret Service counter-sniper team leader about a suspicious person and sent two photos of the individual, later identified as the assailant. At 5:53 p.m., the Secret Service counter-sniper team leader texted the Secret Service counter-sniper teams that local law enforcement was looking for a suspicious individual outside of the perimeter lurking around the AGR building. At this time, Secret Service personnel were operating with the knowledge that local law enforcement was working on an issue of a suspicious individual. 

The concept of local law enforcement working on such issues is common at sites, and on July 13th, there were over 100 calls for support. At 6 p.m., former President Trump took the stage to begin remarks, and based on what I know right now, neither the Secret Service counter-sniper teams nor members of the former president's security detail had any knowledge that there was a man on the roof of the AGR building with a firearm. It is my understanding that personnel were not aware the assailant had a firearm until they heard gunshots. 

It all circles back to that rooftop which was left unprotected inside the security permitter. The American Glass Research roof, which Crooks used to stage his assassination attempt, was less than 200 yards from the stage with a clear line of sight. Trump missed a fatal headshot by millimeters, and new video shows Crooks on the rooftop before he opened fire. Law enforcement saw this kid almost 100 minutes before the attack. Leaked texts from sniper and SWAT teams show that they were aware of Crooks, who was always a step ahead of the Secret Service. Trump was saved by pure luck and maybe some divine intervention. We got lucky, and this agency deserves to give us more of the picture.

Trending on Townhall Videos

 

Court Hands Down 'Unconscionable' Ruling in Case About School That Gave Vaccine to Child Without Consent

The Vermont Supreme Court ruled last week that a family whose child was vaccinated against COVID-19 without consent cannot sue the school district. 

Despite the father informing a school official prior to the November 2021 clinic that he did not want his child vaccinated—and the child verbally protesting (“Dad said no”)—the child was given one dose of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine after accidentally wearing the name tag of another student, the ruling states. According to Crisis in the Classroom, "The second student had allegedly already received a vaccination earlier that day." 

Academy School officials eventually realized the error and called L.P.'s parents to apologize, who later removed their child from the school, according to the ruling. 

The Vermont Supreme Court ruled Friday state and school officials involved in the matter are protected under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act, which provides liability immunity. In the event of a public health emergency, the PREP Act ensures certain "covered persons" are immune from claims causally related to the use of a "covered countermeasure." A vaccine is considered a covered countermeasure.

"To avoid dismissal on immunity grounds, plaintiffs would have had to present wellpleaded allegations showing that (1) at least one defendant was not a covered person, (2) some conduct by a defendant was not causally related to administering a covered countermeasure, (3) the substance injected into L.P. was not a covered countermeasure, or (4) there was no PREP Act declaration in effect at the time L.P. was injected," the ruling reads.

The high court's ruling affirms a January 2023 decision by a state superior court. (CITC)

 Critics blasted the ruling.

Trending on Townhall Videos

 

Trump Open To Debating Harris, But Not Committed

U.S. Republican Presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak during a rally at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on July 27, 2024 in St Cloud, Minnesota. Trump hopes to flip the state of Minnesota this November, which hasn’t been carried by a Republican in a presidential election since 1972.

Donald Trump has dismissed mounting pressure from Democrats for him to debate Kamala Harris, saying the people already know where the two of them stand on issues.

During a recent interview on Fox News‘ Mornings with Maria that aired on Friday, Trump left the door open to debate Harris. However, he made no firm commitment to do so.

“I mean, right now I say, why should I do a debate? I’m leading in the polls, and everybody knows her, everybody knows me,” he said.

The comment comes as Democrats call on Trump to agree to a debate, claiming he is afraid to face her.

“I do hope you’ll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage, because, as the saying goes, ‘if you’ve got something to say, say it to my face,’” Harris said

Whether the two will eventually debate on the September 10^th like the Biden and Trump campaigns originally agreed to is still up in the air.

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$2.9T 'Wiped’ From Stock Market, Worst Day Since COVID-19: 'Recession Fears Mounting' (Thank a Democrat Voter)

Stock market numbers are displayed on a screen at the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on August 02, 2024 in New York City. Stocks closed low after the July jobs report showed a slow down in the labor market, with the Dow Jones closing with a loss of over 600 points after being nearly down 1000 points and Nasdaq closing at a loss of over 400 points.

Concerns of an impending recession are noticeably affecting the U.S. stock market, as a majority of stocks have had large sell-offs.

In a startling setback to the markets, $2.9 trillion in equities was liquidated during the early trading hours of August 2^nd due to a recent jobs report and growing concerns of a worldwide recession. The severe sell-off makes Friday the worst since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

“The market heat map paints a grim picture, with deep red dominating most sectors. Leading technology stocks, such as Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), have plunged by over 2% and 5%, respectively. Communication services giants like Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:  META) also saw significant declines, falling by 2.7% and 3.3%.,” finbold.com reported.

Consumer cyclical equities were also hammered hard, with Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) plunging 11% to suffer a severe loss. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) saw a noteworthy 1.92% decrease as well. Major losses were also seen by the financial sector, with JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) falling 1.45% and 1.84%, respectively.

The healthcare industry, which is typically thought of as a safe haven in times of market turbulence, saw uneven results. Certain firms, such as Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO), showed resilience with a modest rise of 3.23%, whilst Eli Lilly (LLY), had a decline of 4.14%.

Additionally, consumer defensive stocks, which are usually thought to be more resilient during economic downturns, were not spared either. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) both had decreases of 0.92% and 1.66%, respectively.

Utilities and energy sectors faced major losses as well, negatively affecting companies like Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX), which experts say indicates “the widespread nature of the market downturn.”

The movement of the “Magnificent 7” IT giants earlier in the day served as a reminder of the ongoing sell-off. According to Finbold’s analysis, these corporations have had a market value fluctuation of more than $3 trillion in the last three weeks, adding to the growing fears regarding the potential for an economic downturn.

Investors in Europe and Asia were similarly unsettled by the mounting worries. There are broad worries that the U.S. may be heading into a recession, which sparked a sell-off around the world that grew stronger after an unsatisfactory employment report showed that the jobs market was cooling quickly, increasing the unemployment rate.

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