• Former FBI and CIA directors under criminal investigation: It’s been years since the “Russiagate” conspiracy was taken seriously, and the investigation into the wrongdoing that launched it has been slow and laborious — but it’s finally happening. Former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan are under criminal investigation for, among other things, perjury before Congress. The investigation comes after current CIA Director John Ratcliffe released a “lessons learned” report on the creation of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment of the alleged but nonexistent connection between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia. This afternoon, our Mark Alexander will be covering this topic thoroughly in his essay, so stay tuned.

• SCOTUS green-lights EO to reduce federal workforce: In an 8-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday issued an emergency ruling lifting a lower court’s block against Donald Trump’s executive order downsizing the federal workforce. Trump’s EO, which he signed back in February, directed federal agencies to “promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force (RIFs), consistent with the applicable law.” A number of labor unions sued to block Trump’s EO and had succeeded in getting a temporary injunction barring the layoffs. However, SCOTUS agreed with the Trump administration’s contention that the injunction “interferes with the Executive Branch’s internal operations and unquestioned legal authority to plan and carry out RIFs, and does so on a government-wide scale,” as the justices noted “the Government is likely to succeed on its argument that the Executive Order and Memorandum are lawful.” That said, the justices also noted their ruling deals with the EO’s legality and is not a decision regarding the minutiae.

• IRS approves politics in church: The IRS has effectively ended a lawsuit brought against it last year by several churches by overturning a 70-year-old interpretation of the Johnson Amendment. This amendment had been used to bar churches from endorsing political candidates lest they lose their tax-exempt status. The new IRS interpretation states that good-faith communications about which candidate is preferred “between the house of worship and its congregation” do not constitute intervention in a political campaign for or against either candidate. The language carries a caveat that such communication should be “through [the churches’] usual channels.”

• Anti-ICE ambushers charged: An antifa terror cell orchestrated an ambush on ICE agents on July 4 in Alvarado, Texas. The 10 apparently homegrown suspects began by shooting fireworks at the Prairieland Detention Center. When this did not draw ICE agents from the building, they began vandalizing vehicles and a guard structure. Law enforcement was called by the officers in the building, and a responding police officer was shot in the neck. After firing another 20-30 rounds at anyone who stuck their head out of the building, the suspects fled the scene. Local law enforcement rounded up and charged the suspects, finding body armor, loaded magazines, two-way radios, and a Faraday bag meant to block phone signals. The wounded police officer is expected to make a full recovery. This was the first of two anti-ICE ambushes in Texas in recent days. The second was an attempt to ambush Border Patrol agents at the Rio Grande Valley annex in McAllen, Texas. Fortunately, the assailant in that incident was killed by police.

• Action plan for ChiCom agriculture threats: Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins released a plan Tuesday to curtail Chinese ownership of American farmland. The goals are straightforward: protect farmland from foreign adversaries, ensure a strong supply chain, and protect American agricultural research security. Federal attention to this issue is welcome, but it comes years after Republican governors like Arkansas’s Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Florida’s Ron DeSantis, and South Dakota’s Kristi Noem (now DHS secretary) had already taken action to secure farmland in their states. This action plan comes after two Chinese nationals were charged last month for attempting to smuggle a fungus that can be used as an agroterrorism weapon by causing “head blight” in wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Rollins announced that more than 70 USDA research agreements with scientists from potentially hostile nations have already been canceled.

• National Education Association ditches Anti-Defamation League: The National Education Association, the largest teachers union in the nation, gathered in Portland, Oregon, on Sunday and voted to ban members from using Anti-Defamation League materials in the classroom. The specific language instructs teachers to “not use, endorse, or publicize” ADL materials. The Anti-Defamation League, a civil rights organization focused on combating anti-Semitism, condemned the decision and pleaded with members not to pass this measure at a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise around the country. The NEA also voted to characterize Donald Trump’s programs and actions as “fascist” and to support students’ rights to organize and protest ICE raids and deportations.

Headlines

• White House waives executive privilege for Biden doctor Kevin O'Connor (Fox News)

• Trump teases announcements on trade negotiations with seven countries (Fox Business)

• Judge accused of shielding illegal immigrant from ICE suffers court setback (Fox News)

• Your shoes can now stay on at the airport (Morning Brew)

• Russia fires record drone attack at Ukraine after Trump calls Putin out (Newsweek)

• Russia “ready to assist Tehran in refilling” uranium stockpiles (Washington Free Beacon)

• Humor: “There is no Epstein client list,” say Epstein’s clients (Babylon Bee)

For the Executive Summary archive, click here.

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