The Patriot Post® · Wednesday: Below the Fold
Cross-Examination
SCOTUS rules against Trump over his tax returns: On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Donald Trump’s request for a temporary stay to block the Democrat-led House Ways and Means Committee from accessing his tax returns. This means that in the coming weeks the IRS will likely be giving Trump’s tax returns to House lawmakers to comb through. It effectively ends the years-long standoff between Trump and Democrats over his taxes. Democrats celebrated the ruling, with Representative Richard Neal (MA) arguing, “The principle of oversight has been upheld.” Trump’s lawyers asserted that the committee’s motive was political and that “the goal here is to immediately publicly expose and release President Trump’s tax returns.” Republican Representative Adrian Smith (NE) blasted Democrats, saying that they “pursued this lawsuit, which has no legitimate legislative or oversight purpose, so they can look at President Trump’s personal financial information and potentially release it to the public.” He then promised as a contender for committee chairman that he “would do neither.” Yet Democrats who held onto control of the Senate will also have the power to call on the IRS to release tax returns. Trump’s announcement last week of his 2024 presidential bid was as much a legal defensive move as it was a political one. As Mark Alexander observed, one way for Trump to counter his “considerable legal problems” was to declare his candidacy, which “will reinforce a defense argument that prosecution is political.”
McCarthy to Mayorkas: resign or be impeached: “Our country may never recover from [DHS] Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas’ dereliction of duty. This is why today I am calling on the secretary to resign,” stated Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Tuesday. “If Secretary Mayorkas does not resign, House Republicans will investigate every order, every action and every failure. And we will determine whether we can begin an impeachment inquiry.” McCarthy is vying for the position of House Speaker following the Republicans’ winning control of the House, and while he remains the most likely candidate to win the position, he is facing opposition within the ranks. What all Republicans can get behind is tackling the treasonous job that Joe Biden’s DHS secretary has done undermining national security via his de facto open-border policy. Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) was quick to voice his support for McCarthy’s ultimatum: “Americans deserve accountability for the unprecedented crisis on the southwest border. Republicans will hold Secretary Mayorkas accountable for his failure to enforce immigration law and secure the border through all means necessary.” The situation at America’s southern border has only gotten progressively worse, even as Mayorkas continues to peddle the myth that the border is “secure.”
China’s massive cyberspace operation is outgunning the U.S.: A recent chilling report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission observes that “China has engaged in a massive buildup of its cyber capabilities over the past decade and poses a formidable threat to the United States in cyberspace today.” Since Chinese strongman Xi Jinping has been in power, he has worked aggressively to build a government with sophisticated cyberwarfare capabilities with espionage efforts that have stolen trillions of dollars in trade secrets. Beijing now boasts an army of military hackers 10 times the number at U.S. Cyber Command. The 785-page report warns, “As a result of these long-running efforts, China’s activities in cyberspace are now more stealthy, agile, and dangerous to the United States than they were in the past.” Even more concerning is the fact that China’s cyberspace force is more offensively oriented than is the U.S.‘s. Experts note that China’s 10-1 cyber warfare personnel advantage “could give the [People’s Liberation Army] an edge over U.S. cyber forces if a surge in malicious Chinese cyber activity overwhelms limited U.S. personnel.” The report also observed, “China’s formidable cyber capabilities call into question the U.S. government’s preparedness to protect its networks from a major Chinese cyberattack.” It concluded: “To prevail in the long-term competition with China, policymakers must find ways to impose greater costs for malicious cyber activity and strengthen domestic cyber defenses while upholding the liberal values the United States has historically championed.”
Headlines
Walmart employee in Chesapeake, Virginia, kills six with pistol (Fox News)
Colorado shooter identifies as nonbinary, uses “they/them” pronouns (Daily Wire)
Anthony Fauci’s final White House briefing gets chaotic as reporters press on COVID origins (NY Post) | “I have nothing to hide”: Fauci vows to “cooperate fully” with House Republican oversight efforts (National Review) | Unredacted Fauci emails: a bad look (Hot Air)
A possible railroad strike during the holiday season would risk $2 billion per day (Reason)
Biden administration extends payment pause on student loan debt (CNBC)
“Priority #1”: Elon Musk to address Twitter’s child sexual exploitation problem (Daily Wire)
NHL dragged for going woke, promoting trans hockey tournament (Daily Wire)
MSNBC panel gives a preview of the Left’s strategy to shut down debate on sexualizing children (RedState)
Targeting Justice Samuel Alito: The latest secondhand hearsay attempt to discredit the Supreme Court (WSJ)
Subsidies supercharge GM’s EV strategy (WSJ)
Policy: When ideology trumps empathy: Progressives profess to care deeply about inner-city black Americans, but their voting patterns suggest otherwise (City Journal)
Policy: American fitness has national security implications. It’s time to take it more seriously. (Daily Signal)
Humor: Tension at first Thanksgiving as one Pilgrim wears “Make America Great Someday” hat (Babylon Bee)
For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.