The Patriot Post® · Thursday: Below the Fold

Cross-Examination

• DOJ’s criminal prosecution of the shaman: The Democrats’ J6 Committee was a total sham as proven by previously unseen footage of the Capitol riot highlighted by Tucker Carlson. Of particular interest was footage of police peacefully escorting the media-dubbed QAnon Shaman, whose real name is Jacob Chansley, throughout the Capitol building. Chansley’s lawyer now claims “we did not receive that video footage” from the government, which if true is a gross violation of Chansley’s constitutionally protected legal rights. Chansley’s lawyer, Albert Watkins, was stunned when seeing the footage. “We asked for it, and not just once or twice,” he said. “Whether we asked for it or not is irrelevant because the government had an absolute, non-compromisible duty to disclose that video and they did not do so.” Chansley pleaded guilty and is currently serving a 41-month prison sentence. This is what happens when political concerns trump a commitment to equality under the law.

• Constitution ruled unconstitutional: In 2021, Missouri Republican Governor Mike Parson signed into law a bill dubbed the Second Amendment Preservation Act. The law aimed to protect Missourians’ Second Amendment rights from potential infringement by the federal government. The Biden administration sued, and on Tuesday U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes, a Barack Obama appointee, ruled that the law was an unconstitutional breach of the supremacy clause, which elevates federal laws over state ones. However, the Constitution and Bill of Rights protect individual rights the federal government cannot outlaw. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has promised to appeal the ruling.

• Man gets woman award: It should be a joke, but in Joe Biden’s woke-committed administration it’s all too real. On Wednesday, in recognition of International Women’s Day, Jill Biden along with Secretary of State Antony Blinken awarded a “transgender” male with the “International Women of Courage Award.” Evidently, the Biden administration believes that the most courageous “women” are actually men who dress as females and call themselves women.

• Biden’s war on gas: In a leaked memo from last year, former Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Amanda Lefton admitted that charging fossil fuel companies lower royalty fees for drilling on federal land would provide “greater energy security” and increased revenues for the government, but she elected to raise rates due to climate change. Lefton wrote, “Because of the serious challenges facing the Nation from climate change and the impact of [greenhouse gasses] from fossil fuels, BOEM is not recommending this option since it would not include an appropriate surcharge to account for those impacts.” This is yet more evidence demonstrating that Team Biden is indeed working to prevent U.S. energy independence, all in the ridiculous and impossible endeavor of “combating climate change.” So, yes, those high gas prices are primarily Biden’s fault.

• Biden left $7.2 billion in U.S. military equipment for the Taliban: Thanks to Joe Biden’s disastrous surrender and retreat from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, the Taliban not only took back total control of the country but also some $7.2 billion in U.S. military equipment. According to a recently released report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), “At least 78 aircraft worth $923.3 million, 9,524 air-to-ground munitions valued at $6.54 million, over 40,000 vehicles, more than 300,000 weapons, and nearly all night vision, surveillance, communications, and biometric equipment provided to the [Afghan defense forces] were left behind.” House Republicans will soon be opening hearings into the Afghanistan withdrawal, which will likely expose and remind Americans just how bad Biden’s leadership was throughout this critical moment.

Headlines

• U.S. intel community warns of “complex” threats from China, Russia, North Korea (Fox News)

• Former CDC director says he was excluded from COVID origins calls because he didn’t support “single narrative” (Daily Caller)

• Six takeaways as House COVID-19 panel investigates Chinese lab leak (Daily Signal)

• Debt limit clouds outlook as Biden budget set to hit Thursday (Roll Call)

• Nine boxes of Biden documents were taken from Boston office (Fox News)

• Marine sniper: I was denied permission to take out Kabul airport suicide bomber (Townhall)

• Major flaws discovered in studies used to bolster efforts to ban gas stoves (Washington Times)

• Three city council members want a law designating LA a “sanctuary city” (Los Angeles Times)

• Multiple police officers gunned down in Los Angeles (Daily Wire)

• Twelve have died since massive snowstorms cut off California mountain towns (LA Times)

• Minnesota’s Dem governor signs bill allowing tens of thousands of felons to vote (Free Beacon)

• Florida introduces “Heartbeat Bill” to ban abortions at six weeks (Townhall)

• NHL team refuses to wear Pride Night jerseys (Daily Caller)

• Policy: Do social media platforms have civic responsibilities? (American Enterprise Institute)

• Satire: White House claims J6 tapes are Russian disinformation (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.