News of the World

[kyonides]

Rep. Jim Banks: ‘It’s Time to Impeach’ President Biden
Expunge Trump Impeachments

Host Matthew Boyle pointed to the release of an FBI document which showed that Ukrainian officials said they were able to pay money to the Bidens to achieve certain objectives, prompting Banks to point out that “we already knew that [the] Bidens are the most corrupt family ever to live in the White House, and that’s saying a lot after the Clintons lived there.”

“But what we saw more of this week is more proof and more evidence,” Banks, who is running for a Senate seat, said, explaining that it means that Republicans must follow through and hold Joe Biden accountable.

“It’s time to impeach him. The evidence was already there, but this is further evidence that this is the type of high crimes and misdemeanors that should prevent this man from serving any day longer in the White House than what he already has. On top of that — man, I mean, this evidence this week proves that they impeached Donald Trump because he was right,” Banks said, calling for the expungement of former President Donald Trump’s political impeachments.

“At the same time that we impeach Joe Biden, it’s also time to expunge the fake impeachment against Donald J. Trump at the same time as well,” he said, concluding that it is clear those impeachments were purely political.

Republican Impeachment Report
Border Chief Mayorkas Violated Oath of Office

The report is titled “DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ Dereliction of Duty,” and is part of the five-point Republican effort to build a case for impeaching Mayorkas:

Mayorkas is not an innocent bystander at the mercy of the federal bureaucracy, global events, or political opponents — he is the chief architect of the illegal immigration crisis that Americans have suffered through since January 2021.

He has either willfully sparked the current crisis through his extreme and irresponsible policies, or is such a poorly informed, inefficient, and inflexible leader that he is negligent in his duties. Either way, he has been derelict in his duty to secure the border, defend the homeland, and keep the American people safe, violating his oath to defend the Constitution and faithfully discharge the duties of his office.

However, the report was undermined when it was released on the same day Republicans also held a contentious hearing. That rival event spotlighted evidence that then-Vice President Joe Biden took bribes from foreign officials, often via his son, Hunter Biden, and provided an excuse for media outlets to ignore the GOP report.
...
The report also hides the vast economic damage done to ordinary Americans by Mayorkas’s welcome for wage-cutting, rent-spiking migrants. For example, the terms “wages” and “salaries” are not mentioned in the report, and the only reference to the employment of migrants is related to Footnote 318.

The report also lacks a theme — even a phrase — to help explain why Mayorkas has decided to violate his oath of office. Without that theme, it appears to readers as an endless chain of inexplicable claims.

The silence comes as Mayorkas’ migration is causing voters — including swing voters — to complain about rising rents and house prices throughout the United States. But the Republican report does mention child migrants being forced into work, and also includes much useful data on the tax monies being spent on migrants.

DOJ Demands Texas Remove Floating Border Barriers
‘See You in Court,’ Says Governor

The U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott threatening legal action if the State does not remove the recently installed floating border barrier. Governor Abbott responded on Twitter, saying, “We will see you in court, Mr. President.”

Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim and U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Jaime Esparza sent a letter to Governor Abbott claiming the State illegally installed a floating border barrier in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas. The letter claims the buoy barrier was installed without the approval of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The DOJ also claims the barrier violates the Rivers and Harbors Act by creating a hazard to navigation on the river.

Governor Abbott responded on Twitter and declared, “Texas has the sovereign right to defend our border, under the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution.” The governor added that President Joe Biden’s refusal to secure the border “encourages migrants to risk their lives crossing illegally through the Rio Grande, instead of safely and legally over a bridge.”
...
The letter gives the State of Texas until 2 p.m. on July 24 to respond “indicating your commitment to expeditiously remove the floating barrier and related structures.” The DOJ claims it will take legal action if this demand is unmet.

Governor Abbott responded, “We will continue to deploy every strategy to protect Texans and Americans — and the migrants risking their lives.”

“We will see you in court, Mr. President,” Abbott stated.

Russia Targets Ukraine’s Farm Storage Sites
After Collapse of Black Sea Grain Deal

Russia followed its withdrawal from a grain export deal by expanding its attacks from port infrastructure to farm storage buildings in Ukraine’s Odesa region Friday, while also practicing a Black Sea blockade.
...
Attacks in recent days have put Odesa in Russia’s crosshairs after Moscow abandoned a wartime deal that allowed Ukraine to send grain through the key Black Sea port.

In the attack on the storage site, two low-flying cruise missiles started a blaze, then another struck during firefighting efforts, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said. The barrage injured two people, damaged equipment and destroyed 100 metric tons (110 tons) of peas and 20 metric tons (22 tons) of barley, Kiper said.

Russia targeted Ukrainian critical grain export infrastructure after vowing to retaliate for what it said was a Ukrainian attack that damaged a crucial bridge between Russia and the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.

“The enemy is continuing terror, and it’s undoubtedly related to the grain deal,” said Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military’s Operational Command South.

Both Russia and Ukraine have announced they will treat ships traveling to each other’s Black Sea ports as potential military targets.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin clarified the Defense Ministry’s announcement earlier this week that Moscow has declared wide areas in the Black Sea dangerous for shipping. The ministry said it would consider incoming vessels as laden with weapons and treat the country of its flag a participant in the conflict on the Ukrainian side.

Vershinin said the Russian navy will inspect the vessels to make sure they aren´t carrying military cargo before taking any other action.

“There is no longer a sea humanitarian corridor, there is a zone of increased military danger,” he told a news briefing.

GOP Sen. Marshall: Biden Took Years
to Stop Funding Wuhan Lab
Still Funds EcoHealth

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) reacted to the Biden administration suspending funding to the Wuhan Institute of Virology by pointing out that the move took years and the administration is still funding EcoHealth Alliance.
...
[Sen. Marshall uttered] "Over two years ago, we called for this funding to stop, that there was plenty of evidence to say, even then, that, most likely, this virus was made and leaked from that laboratory. But the WIV is just the tip of the iceberg. That’s what — this is how incompetent this particular administration is, they’re still funding EcoHealth…we showed [China] how to make this COVID-19 virus, they’re using that same technology to build bigger and uglier viruses out there as well.”

Jim Banks Issues Plan to End U.S. Free Trade with China
as Corporations Lobby to Keep Chinese Access

Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) has introduced a plan to end the United States’ decades-long, job-killing free trade status with China as multinational corporations in the semiconductor industry plead with the federal government to keep open their access to the Chinese market.

This week, Banks introduced the “Ending Normal Trade Relations with China Act” which would effectively end U.S. free trade with China, thus imposing high tariffs on Chinese imports. The bill was filed in the Senate by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) in March.

Winning the competition with China is my top priority in Congress, and to be successful abroad, we need to be strong at home. Our bill would fix a serious mistake and stop privileging our greatest enemy at the expense of America’s working class.

Charles Benoit, an attorney with the Coalition for a Prosperous America, said the legislation ought to be part of any trade package put forward by Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee, suggesting it would bring in about $100 billion in annual tariff revenue paid by China.
...
In 2001, China entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) with the backing of former President Bush’s administration and was subsequently awarded “permanent normal trade relations status” by the U.S. after congressional approval.

As a result of authorizing U.S. free trade with China, nearly four million American jobs have been eliminated from the U.S. economy from 2001 to 2018

U.S. Seeks to Counter Iran: Orders Additional Warships
Marines Deployed to Middle East

The U.S. signaled it is bolstering its military presence in the Middle East on Thursday by ordering additional warships and marines to the area to counter Iran’s growing threats to commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The USS Bataan and the USS Carter Hall, along with their personnel and equipment, will be deployed to U.S. Central Command’s Area of Responsibility. Once on station they will join the USS Thomas Hudner and F-35 and F-16 fighter jets that were deployed earlier this week, UPI reports.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the immediate deployment.
...
The boost in assets follows recent destabilizing activities committed by Iran in the Gulf that have required intervention by the U.S. and ally militaries, the UPI report details.
...
According to U.S. Central Command, in the last two years, Iran has either attacked, seized or attempted to seizure nearly 20 internationally flagged merchant vessels within its area of operations.
...
About a fifth of the world’s crude oil and oil products passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow choke point between Iran and Oman.