Cross-Examination

• Biden has “no comment” on Maui: The death toll sits at 96 and is expected to rise as cadaver dogs have been brought in to work the burned-out rubble of the oceanside town of Lahaina, Maui, in Hawaii. It’s being described as a firestorm — a wildfire broke out on the Hawaiian island and was whipped into a fury by high winds, trapping residents and sending people literally running into the sea. This fire is already the deadliest in the U.S. in over a century. Given the devastation and loss of life, Joe Biden was asked about it after returning from his beach vacation. He offered only a two-word response: “No comment.”

• The Trump team went down to Georgia: Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to present her case before a grand jury soon regarding the claim that Donald Trump sought to illegally get the state’s 2020 election results overturned over unproven assertions of voter fraud. Should the grand jury green-light Willis’s case, Trump will be facing a fourth indictment. At the center of the case is Trump’s “perfect phone call” to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which the president told him to “find 11,780 votes” necessary to flip the state in his favor. Obviously, nothing came of that call, and if that is the only evidence Willis has, then hers is a weak case. That leaves a big question: If Trump is indicted and found guilty, these are state charges and not federal, so, should he win the election, he would not have the authority to pardon himself. Would he go to jail?

• Illinois’s assault on 2A upheld: In January, Illinois Democrat Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law a so-called “assault weapons” ban. Known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA), it bans the sale and distribution of certain semiautomatic rifles and “high-capacity” magazines, grants local authorities the power to ban other firearms in the future, and requires current owners of restricted firearms to register them with state authorities. The law was immediately challenged as infringing Illinoisans’ Second Amendment rights. On Friday, in a 4-3 ruling, Illinois’s Supreme Court upheld the law, arguing, “The Act attempts to balance public safety against the expertise of the trained professionals and the expectation interests of the grandfathered individuals.” We expect this case will be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

• Top law schools blackball conservatives: Students and members of The Federalist Society, a prestigious conservative legal organization, say they’re being discriminated against by three of the nation’s top law schools. In doing research on bias against conservatives, University of Chicago law student Benjamin Ogilvie concluded that Columbia, Northwestern, and Stanford law schools are engaging in “underhanded discrimination” against students with conservative political views. Ogilvie points out anti-conservative bias in these schools’ law reviews by noting the conspicuous absence of any conservative law students. He observes, “Students on law reviews select and edit legal scholarship, determining which law professors get tenure and which legal and policy ideas enter circulation.” This is significant. As criminal defense lawyer Michael Cicchini explains, “A lot of employers view the law review experience — especially the publication of a note or comment — as evidence of the student’s ability to research, think critically, edit, and write.” Effectively, these top schools are blackballing law students who hold right-leaning views.

• SBF jail time: On Friday, a judge ordered big-time Democrat donor Sam Bankman-Fried sent to jail, revoking his bail for alleged “witness tampering.” The founder of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange and hedge fund company FTX faces numerous fraud and money laundering charges. Maybe the only thing keeping him from being tagged as the Bernie Madoff of the Millennial generation is his massive Democrat donation play. Bankman-Fried during the 2022 election cycle alone donated nearly $40 million to Democrats, second only to George Soros. His trial is scheduled to begin October 2. The judge found credible the prosecution’s claim, rejecting any request for delay from his defense, and had him immediately remanded into custody. Here’s hoping the security cameras at the Metropolitan Detention Center remain in full operating order for the duration of Bankman-Fried’s stay.

• Scuttling Skittles: Will the popular rainbow-colored candy Skittles get the Bud Light treatment? It certainly appears to be deserving, as the candy’s website and packaging are guilty of pushing hard-leftist pro-gender-bending ideology. This past June, for the fourth year in a row, Mars, Skittles’ parent company, partnered with the LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD to featured “Pride” messaging such as “Joy Is Resistance” and “Black Trans Lives Matter” on select Skittles packaging. Conservatives have sought to highlight the campaign, with several calling for a boycott of the candy.

Headlines

• AG Garland appoints Hunter Biden investigator David Weiss special counsel (Fox News)

• FBI agent says Biden transition team, Secret Service were tipped off on 2020 plans to interview Hunter Biden (Fox News)

• Inflation forcing Americans to spend $709 more per month than two years ago (Fox Business)

• U.S. oil and gas rigs down by 14% from last year despite high oil prices (Washington Examiner)

• Seattle tops U.S. cities where residents are considering moving over safety worries (Fox News)

• Hit song “Rich Men North of Richmond” gives a glimpse into the lives of Americans left behind (The Federalist)

• Iran close to testing nuclear weapons for first time (Jerusalem Post)

• Policy: Obesity epidemic threatens not just public health, but also national security (Heritage Foundation)

• “Satire”: Garland appoints special counsel to cover up Biden’s crimes (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.