The Patriot Post® · Tuesday: Below the Fold
Kamala celebrates one year since launching losing campaign: The proverb says, “When you find yourself in a hole, quit digging.” No one told Kamala Harris that before she posted a self-own on X yesterday — the one-year anniversary of the launch of her failed presidential campaign. The post didn’t mention Joe Biden’s campaign collapse in any way. “I wonder what caused that campaign to begin on July 21,” National Review senior writer Dan McLaughlin wryly observed. Others joined in to say this was an obvious attempt to further distance Harris from Biden, but as one commentator put it, “I don’t have amnesia.” Harris is still considered a contender for the Democrat nomination in 2028 if she doesn’t make a bid for governor of California. If she continues to bring up her lost campaign, which cost $1.6 billion, any prospects are unlikely.
DOJ hands over investigative info related to Hillary’s server: A newly declassified and recently released report by the Justice Department into the Obama-era DOJ’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private server scandal shows that there was an effort among then-DOJ leaders to make the scandal go away. This includes everyone from then-FBI Director James Comey to then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch to even President Barack Obama. According to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), “This document shows an extreme lack of effort and due diligence in the FBI’s investigation of former Secretary Clinton’s email usage and mishandling of highly classified information.” Grassley also noted that the report “illustrates that the FBI failed to thoroughly and completely investigate the Clinton matter as a result, as well as vet the serious national security risks created by Clinton’s careless handling of highly classified information.”
Judge extends pause on Planned Parenthood defunding: U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani has moved beyond the Temporary Restraining Order she placed on the legislative and executive branches two weeks ago to a preliminary injunction. Judge Talwani’s decision is not a restraining measure; it is an attempt to compel the other two branches of government to take positive action. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, with its Planned Parenthood defunding, was passed by Congress and signed by the president, but Talwani’s ruling says that the law must be ignored and funding must continue. Congress, not the judiciary, has the power of the purse and can fund, or not, as it chooses. Talwani’s ruling is likely to be appealed and overturned; until then, the question is whether this administration will follow the ruling, dispersing funds contrary to the law of the land.
WSJ barred from Scotland trip: Last week, Donald Trump filed a libel lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over a story it published regarding a risqué birthday note it claimed Trump gave to Jeffrey Epstein back in 2003. Trump blasted the story as “fake.” On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that WSJ reporter Tarini Parti would not be in the press pool aboard Air Force One on Trump’s trip to Scotland this weekend. Leavitt explained that this decision was due to the WSJ’s “fake and defamatory conduct.” Leavitt defended the White House’s action, noting that an appellate court ruling had upheld the fact that news outlets “are not guaranteed special access to cover President Trump in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, and in his private workspaces.” The White House Correspondents’ Association objected to WSJ’s removal, saying it “defies the First Amendment.”
Team Trump moves to save Afghanis: A group of 32 Afghan interpreters and soldiers and their families who worked with and helped the U.S. military in its war against the Taliban in Afghanistan were saved at the last minute from being forcibly deported to Afghanistan, where they faced near certain death. The Biden State Department had promised these Afghanis, who have been living in a refugee camp in the United Arab Emirates, that they would be safely relocated. On Sunday, when Donald Trump learned of the plight of these Afghan U.S. allies, he tasked Vice President JD Vance with helping them. Vance, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, was able to quickly work out a deal with the UAE authorities to ensure these Afghanis remain in the refugee camp while the U.S. thoroughly vets them and seeks to find long-term homes for them either in the U.S. or other allied nations.
No more gender mutilation at Children’s National Hospital: The defeat of so-called “gender-affirming care” — a.k.a. gender mutilation — for minors is almost complete with the capitulation of Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC. The hospital’s “Gender Development Program” now displays a message explaining that legal and regulatory pressure brought about by the Trump administration is causing it to discontinue the prescription of “gender-affirming” medications effective August 30. Unfortunately, this likely means that more children will be abused and subjected to poisons that cause lifelong medicalization or sterilization for the next month. The pressure is on after the Justice Department issued more than 20 subpoenas to physicians involved in the gender mutilation craze on July 9. The Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles previously announced it would be shutting down by today.
MLK files released: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has released almost a quarter of a million newly digitized files relating to Martin Luther King’s assassination. The files contain minimal redactions for Social Security Numbers and grand jury information. King’s family contends that some of the information in the files may represent smears from intelligence agencies at the time, deriving from an attempt to discredit MLK. The Kings were given two weeks to review the files before the release. Alveda King, niece of MLK, lauded the release of the files, thanking President Trump and Gabbard for their commitment to transparency. The files contain documents relating to assassin James Earl Ray’s cellmate, who discussed the plot with Ray, and an audio file of an interview with Jerry Ray, his brother. James Earl Ray died in 1998 while serving a 100-year sentence.
Vandals accuse AOC of propping up Israel: In the latest example of the Left eating its own, last night, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s New York City office was vandalized with red paint, and a sign was affixed to the office that read, “AOC Funds Genocide In Gaza.” No arrests have been made yet. AOC, a member of the radical leftist “Squad,” blasted the vandalism on social media, writing, “If you’re saying I voted for military funding, you are lying. Drag me for my positions all you want, but lying about them doesn’t make you part of the ‘left.’ If you believe neo-Nazis are welcome and operating in good faith, you can have them.” The apparent motive for the vandalism was AOC breaking ranks with “The Squad” and voting against a proposed amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act to cut $550 million in aid for Israel’s missile defense system.
Headlines
Mark Green resigns from Congress, further shrinking House GOP majority (Fox News)
Border czar pledges to “flood the zone” of sanctuary cities (Daily Signal)
Rep. Luna accuses Jerome Powell of lying under oath, recommends criminal charges (Newsweek)
Federal appeals court upholds state’s ability to regulate abortion drug mifepristone (National Review)
Nearly three million enrolled fraudulently in Medicaid or ObamaCare (Washington Examiner)
Biden-Harris admin misused taxpayer dollars to fund anti-Netanyahu organizations (House.gov)
Trump to pull U.S. out of UNESCO over DEI policies, pro-Palestinian, pro-China tilt (NY Post)
Uvalde school board votes unanimously to release Robb Elementary shooting investigation records (Fox News)
IDF pushes into central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah for first time (Times of Israel)
Humor: 10 ideas for better shows to replace “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert (Babylon Bee)
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