Come for Morning Wire’s Afternoon Update’s straight news, but stay for the Rapid Reactions The following five stories, and more, can be heard on today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update podcast. Click here to listen.
1. DOJ Lets Sam Bankman-Fried Off The Hook For Campaign Finance Fraud
The Department of Justice will not pursue campaign finance charges against the disgraced former crypto-king Sam Bankman-Fried after the DOJ learned that the U.S. hadn’t obtained permission from the Bahamas to extradite Bankman-Fried on that charge. Bankman-Fried, who ran the multi-million dollar crypto-investing firm FTX, was charged on eight counts, including fraud, money laundering, and campaign finance violations. He was a major Democrat donor. The change in his indictment came late Wednesday night.
Rapid Reaction: Is it any wonder trust in the U.S. government is slow when the infamous SBF gets treated like this by the DOJ? As TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk said, “There’s a very real chance that one of the worst scammers in American history will get a slap on the wrist.”
“Between the kid glove treatment of Hunter Biden and the unraveling case against SBF vs. the entrapment of MAGA supporters and the relentless pursuit of Donald Trump, the American public is getting a crash course in how their federal ‘justice system’ really works,” he added.
Did you know that over the past two months, 6 of the 13 charges against FTX fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried have been dropped? There's a very real chance that one of the worst scammers in American history will get a slap on the wrist.
Then, we have the plea deal for Hunter Biden,…
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) July 27, 2023
2. Radical Gender Ideology Hearing
A congressional subcommittee heard testimony on Thursday about radical gender ideology and sex-change surgeries and other procedures. The testimony was emotional for both those who supported so-called “transgender care” for minors and those opposed to it. Among those who testified were Chloe Cole, a detransitioner who received sex-change procedures at the age of 15, an NCAA athlete, as well as a trans-identifying attorney and a mother who has a trans-identifying child.
“I didn’t need to be lied to, I needed compassion, I needed to be loved, I needed to be given therapy to help me work through my issues, not affirming my delusion that by transitioning into a boy, it would solve all my problems,” Cole said.
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Gender transition therapy victim Chloe Cole: "I didn't need to be lied to, I needed compassion, I needed to be loved, I needed to be given therapy to help me work through my issues, not affirming my delusion that by transitioning into a boy, it would solve all my problems." pic.twitter.com/jtHF5vtL2o
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) July 27, 2023
“That story is the exception, not the rule,” attorney Shannon Minster said. “Vast majority of young people who receive these treatments are getting them after careful assessment and because they really need them.”
.@ChoooCole's face when Mr. Minter lies and says her story is "the exception, not the rule" pic.twitter.com/fdtz2d1w8M
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) July 27, 2023
Rapid Reaction: Consider how insane this moment in American history is: A sizable chunk of the Democratic Party believes that not only can men and women change their sex and gender through bodily mutilation, but that minors should be allowed to do so. The Democrats are so adamant in this belief that states are pushing for laws that strip parental authority away. And now, Congress has to host hearings on the matter in hopes of exposing how barbaric this practice really is.
It’s a bizarro world out there, for lack of a better term.
3. Supreme Court Strikes Down Gas Pipeline Ban
The Supreme Court has struck down a ruling from a lower court that prohibited the construction of a 300-mile natural gas pipeline — being built through Virginia and West Virginia — from moving forward. This morning, the high court vacated stay orders put in place by the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. That ruling was opposed by both the fossil fuel industry and the Biden administration. West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin said he is relieved the high court upheld a law passed by Congress and signed by the president. The senator went on to say, “The Supreme Court has spoken and this decision to let construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline move forward again is the correct one.”
Rapid Reaction: Thank goodness for the conservative Supreme Court — and thank goodness for former President Donald J. Trump’s appointments. As previously covered, the Biden administration has effectively done everything to make the U.S. dependent on foreign nations’ energy. It’s backward and hurting our economy and national security. This is a win for all Americans.
4. Trump Indictment Coming?
Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys, Todd Blanche and John Lauro, were reportedly told by the prosecutors in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office to “expect an indictment” for their client over the events leading up to and during the January 6 Capitol riot. However, Trump denied this report on Truth Social and said it was a “productive meeting.”
Rapid Reaction: The Witchhunt continues — what else is there to say at this point? Perhaps the better question is — what is the GOP going to do about this double standard? Another letter? More on that here.
5. Bowe Bergdahl Conviction Vacated
Bowe Bergdahl, the American soldier who was captured in Afghanistan and later traded for five Taliban leaders in a prisoner exchange, has had his desertion conviction tossed out. A federal judge said the original case could have been clouded by a conflict of interest.
According to U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, Judge Jeffrey Nance did not disclose his application to be an immigration judge under then-President Donald Trump. Walton argued that Bergdahl’s trial could then be construed as a conflict of interest because of Trump’s vocal criticisms of Bergdahl and that Nance’s neutrality was “undermined” because “he might be inclined to appeal to the president’s expressed interest in the plaintiff’s conviction and punishment when applying for the immigration judge position.”
Rapid Reaction: It’s easy to forget how terrible former President Barack Obama’s foreign policy really was. The Bergdahl swap typified his fecklessness on the world stage.
To listen to the audio version of Afternoon Update, click here. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
