The Patriot Post® · Tuesday Top News Executive Summary

Above the Fold

IMPEACHMENT CHARADE: According to Fox News: “A slew of key swing-district Democrats late Monday threw their support en masse behind opening a formal impeachment inquiry, as The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal reported in the evening that President Trump personally ordered acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to freeze nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine just days before he pressed the new Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter.” However, The Washington Post now reports: “Trump confirmed Tuesday that he withheld military aid from Ukraine, saying he did so over his concerns that the United States was contributing more to Ukraine than European countries were.”

BREXIT SCHEME VANQUISHED: “The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has declared Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s suspension of Parliament just weeks before the deadline for Britain to leave the European Union unlawful,” CBS News reveals. “Johnson was accused of suspending, or ‘proroguing’ the legislature to limit the time lawmakers have to debate and intervene in his Brexit policy. … It was a devastating blow to Johnson, as the high court cleared the way for Parliament to reconvene immediately to resume debating his Brexit plans.” The implications are murky — though state sovereignty appears to remain elusive for even longer.

National Security

NO MORE “CATCH AND RELEASE”: “The Trump administration will no longer allow migrant families apprehended at the border to enter the U.S. under the immigration policy commonly known as ‘catch and release.’ The policy change was announced Monday by Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan in remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C. … McAleenan said the end of ‘catch and release’ is a reaction, in part, to the record number of 144,000 migrants apprehended or encountered at the southern border in May. He said that 72% were unaccompanied children or families.” (NPR) 
BORDER ENABLERS: “The Marine Corps has charged 13 members with smuggling illegal immigrants into the U.S., in addition to a range of other offenses including failure to obey an order, drunkenness, endangerment, larceny, and perjury, according to a statement released Friday. Lance Corporals Byron Law and David Salazar-Quintero were specifically charged with transporting illegal immigrants into the country for financial gain. The two were based in Camp Pendleton, located between San Diego and Los Angeles, Calif. The other marines included in the indictments, some of whom were charged with distributing cocaine and LSD, were not named.” (National Review)

ATTACK THWARTED: “The FBI has arrested a U.S. soldier who allegedly discussed plans to bomb a major American news network, planned to travel to Ukraine to fight with violent far-right group Azov Battalion and allegedly distributed information online on how to build bombs. He also allegedly suggested targeting Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke.” (ABC News)

Government & Politics

PRESS BRIEFINGS INDEFINITELY SHELVED: “White House Press Sec. Stephanie Grisham said Monday that she has no plans on bringing back the daily White House press briefings, saying reporters used them to make themselves famous. ‘Ultimately, if the president decides that it’s something we should do, we can do that. But right now, he’s doing just fine. And to be honest, the briefings had become a lot of theater, and I think that a lot of reporters were doing it to get famous,’ Grisham said on Fox & Friends. … It has been over six months since a press secretary has held a traditional briefing in the White House press briefing room, according to Axios.” (The Daily Caller)

NO RESPECT: “In August, a group of Trump supporters led by conservative activist Scott Presler went to West Baltimore for a massive clean-up operation following tweets sent by President Donald Trump highlighting the dire conditions in the area. Keeping to his promises, Presler has since led clean-up efforts in Newark, New Jersey and Virginia Beach, Virginia. And on Saturday, Presler and some 200 volunteers headed to Democrat-run Los Angeles, removing a stunning 50 tons of garbage, according to the activist. … The impressive feat, however, has gone widely unnoticed by the mainstream media.” (The Daily Wire)

Other Notables

CLIMATE CIRCUS: Twenty-six arrested in Washington, DC, climate-change protests (The Daly Caller)

NOLA CRIME: One in seven adults in New Orleans has a warrant out for arrest (The Washington Post)

ECONOMIC BLUDGEON: Tax backed by 2020 Democrats would hurt retirement accounts, report finds (The Washington Free Beacon)

Closing Arguments

POLICY: The two most important mental-health reforms the Trump administration should consider (The Hill)

POLICY: The rush to renewable energy defies science, economics, and common sense (Issues & Insights)

SATIRE: Marionette strings clearly visible during Greta Thunberg testimony (The Babylon Bee)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights.

The Patriot Post is a certified ad-free news service, unlike third-party commercial news sites linked on this page, which may also require a paid subscription.