News of the World

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Judge Rejects Trump’s Bid to Move New York Felony Case to Federal Court

Trump and his lawyers argued that because Trump was president when he carried out the actions for which he’s been charged, the case should be heard in federal, not New York, court.

U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a Clinton appointee, disagreed.

“Trump has failed to show that the conduct charged by the Indictment is for or relating to any act performed by or for the President under color of the official acts of a President,” Hellerstein said in a July 19 ruling. “Trump also has failed to show that he has a colorable federal defense to the Indictment.”
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The alleged illegal acts took place in 2017 after Mr. Trump was sworn into office.

That means Mr. Trump was an officer of the United States and that the case should be removed to federal court, lawyers for Mr. Trump have said.
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Federal law states that a criminal prosecution initiated in a state court against an officer of the United States who was acting “in an official or individual capacity for or relating to any act under color of such office” and who raises a colorable federal defense must be removed to federal court. The law applies to former officers if the charges relate to conduct performed while they were still in office.

US Government Suspends Funding to Wuhan Lab Over Risky Experiments

The Biden administration has suspended funding to the laboratory in China that’s located in the same city where COVID-19 cases were first identified, according to a new document.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is cutting off the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s access to U.S. grants, an HHS official said in a memorandum dated July 17.

In 2014, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) awarded a grant to EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit based in the United States that is focused on research into emerging infectious diseases, to fund a project called “Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence.”

The institute (WIV) received more than $1.4 million in U.S. government funds for testing under the project, which included experiments that made a bat coronavirus more harmful. Mice infected with a modified version of the virus became sicker than those infected with the original virus, according to documents made public in 2021.

That violated the terms of the grant, the HHS official said.

U.S. officials have given WIV opportunities to contest that conclusion, the official said, but the institute “has failed to do so.”

“As such, there is risk that WIV not only previously violated, but is currently violating, and will continue to violate,” protocols of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, which provided the grant money and is part of the HHS, the official added. “Therefore, I have determined that the immediate suspension of WIV is necessary to mitigate any potential public health risk.”

Reasons for suspensions and debarments include fraud and violations of a contract.

Suspensions are temporary. Officials are taking steps to debar WIV, or cut off its access to U.S. funding for a period of time. Debarment has a higher evidentiary requirement of wrongdoing, including that officials must determine that WIV is not “responsible.”

Capitol Police Retaliates Against Whistleblowers, House Oversight Panel Told

Capitol Police continues to retaliate against employees who file whistleblower complaints with the Capitol Police Office of Inspector General, a U.S. House oversight panel was told on July 19.

“Numerous whistleblowers have come forward with claims of retaliation and abuse after speaking with the Office of Inspector General,” said Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Committee on House Administration.

At a hearing in the Longworth House Office Building, Mr. Loudermilk said the subcommittee isn’t ready to publicly address the latest allegations, but he wanted to be clear that “any retaliation is unacceptable.”
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Prior to the January hiring of Ron Russo to replace Michael Bolton as the Capitol Police inspector general, Mr. Loudermilk said, “there were serious allegations of retaliation within the Capitol Police against whistleblowers who had spoken confidentially to a previous U.S. Capitol Police inspector general.”

Making his first appearance before the Subcommittee on Oversight, Mr. Russo said he has never disclosed the identity of a whistleblower at U.S. Capitol Police or in any previous job.

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.) asked Russo if he would ever disclose a whistleblower’s confidential information without their permission.

“We would protect that information at all costs,” Mr. Russo replied. “Super serious that people feel comfortable to come to us without fear of retaliation. So it’s a priority to make sure we handle that with great care.”

US to Be Harmed Irreparably If Russian Gains in Africa
Continue to Grow, Witnesses Tell Congress

“Russia is succeeding in its efforts to make new friends, acquire greater influence, and undermine Western interests in Africa,” said Cameron Hudson, former Africa intelligence analyst for the U.S. government and now senior associate at the Africa Program of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

“It is playing on historical ties to these nations; stoking long-held grievances over colonialism and paternalistic attitudes from the West; and pointing out glaring inconsistencies when it comes to Washington’s pursuit of its interests in Africa compared to the values it routinely articulates.”

Joseph Sany, vice president of the Africa Center at the United States Institute of Peace, told the committee that while President Vladimir Putin’s Russia “had no visible grand plan for Africa, a pattern of opportunistic engagements and collusion between the Russian state and shadowy private entities” sought three main goals.

They were to maximize profits through commercial predation by proxies—thus helping evade Western sanctions against Russian individuals and entities; to disrupt and erode Western influence in Africa, and to strengthen Russia’s geopolitical influence and great-power ambitions.

Mr. Sany said the Kremlin was pursuing these goals via misinformation, propaganda, and “overinflated” historical ties to Africa.

“Moscow has often portrayed itself as a staunch supporter of African nations seeking autonomy and sovereignty, emphasizing historical narratives of solidarity, such as providing educational opportunities and military support during the Cold War era,” Mr. Sany testified.

“These efforts have allowed Russia to garner support and win votes at the United Nations, all the while diverting attention away from criticisms of President Putin’s brutal aggression against Ukraine.

“Russia and its proxies sow resentment against the United States and international rule of law to strengthen its global standing.”

Mr. Hudson warned that violent instability in areas where mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group had a presence was spreading.