Putin Responds To Rebellion, But Fails To Address Key Issue

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that those who organized a rebellion among Wagner Group forces knew they were committing crimes, but he failed to address if they would face any consequences.

Putin’s remarks cap a tumultuous weekend for Russia that started late on Friday when Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin accused Russia of lying about the war in Ukraine and claimed that the Russian military had killed large numbers of his men on purpose.

Prigozhin then took his Wagner mercenaries out of Ukraine, seized a Russian military headquarters in the southern part of the country, and then advanced toward Moscow before standing down on Saturday.

During Putin’s roughly five-minute address on Monday, the Russian president praised various institutions that united to show strong resistance to the mutiny.

“This civic solidarity shows that any blackmail, any attempts to create internal turmoil are doomed to failure,” he said.

Putin said that those who were behind the mutiny “did realize that what they were doing were criminal actions aimed at weakening and splitting the country.”

“However, the organizers of this rebellion not only betrayed their country and their people, but also betrayed those whom they dragged into this mutiny and pushed to die under gunfire, killing their own kind,” he continued. “They wanted Russian soldiers to kill each other, Russian servicemen and civilians to be killed, and finally Russia to fail and our society to get splintered and drowned in a bloody domestic strife.”

Putin said those behind the mutiny had a desire for “revenge for their failure during their so-called counteroffensive” but they “miscalculated.”

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Despite the damning words from the Russian leader, Putin appeared to let large numbers of the Wagner mercenaries off the hook by portraying them as victims not responsible for their actions.

“They were used without their knowledge, against their brothers-in-arms they used to fight together with to ensure our country’s future,” he said. “This is why, from the very beginning, I made direct orders to take steps to prevent any major bloodshed. This required time. Time to give a chance to those making a mistake to change their minds. To realize that their actions are totally rejected by the people.”

Putin then offered to let them join the Russian military, law enforcement agencies, go home, or go to Belarus.

Putin made no mention of any kind of consequences that anyone would face for the rebellion.

DeSantis Asks Federal Judge To Dismiss Disney’s Lawsuit, Says Company ‘Lacks Standing’ To Sue

Florida Governor and U.S. presidential candidate Ron DeSantis filed a motion on Monday asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit Walt Disney Co. filed against him, claiming the company does not have standing to sue him. 

DeSantis, who cited several precedents including a 2023 case the city of Miami filed against him, claims he and another state official, who is also a defendant, are “immune from suit” in his request for a Florida judge to dismiss the suit Disney filed against him in late April.

The company accused DeSantis of a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” after Florida state lawmakers passed a bill to curb many of Disney’s benefits from its special tax district, Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID). The district has allowed Disney to self-govern the land containing tourist magnet Walt Disney World. 

Disney argued that the state’s move to strip the company’s special tax status was in response to the company’s criticism of the state’s Parental Rights in Education Act, known by its critics by its misnomer — the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, to which DeSantis subsequently responded by calling Disney a “woke corporation.” 

While the district was not completely disbanded, the state government renamed the district to “Central Florida Tourism Oversight District” (CFTOD) and replaced its board with the governor’s allies. Disney tried to override the new board’s jurisdiction by striking agreements with the old RCID leadership, just before the new CFTOD board took over.

The new CFTOD board declared the company’s agreements with RCID leadership void, suing Disney for failing to comply, while DeSantis subsequently signed a bill legally voiding them at the state level. 

The governor’s motion also argues that “any alleged injuries” from the legislation cannot be “traceable to the State Defendants, and enjoining the State Defendants would not provide Disney relief,” since the governor only signed the legislation. 

“When the governor signs a bill, he acts in a legislative, not executive, capacity,” the motion reads, citing an Eleventh Circuit ruling that a plaintiff cannot “challenge a law by suing the legislators who enacted it instead of the officials who execute it.”

The motion also notes that the governor has no control over the new CFTOD board: “His sole connection to CFTOD is his authority to appoint CFTOD’s Board,” the motion reads.  

A spokesperson for Disney had no immediate comment, according to The Wall Street Journal

The Journal also noted that the lawsuit will be overseen by Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, who previously blocked two lawsuits that tried to stop the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. 

Disney has until late July to file a motion in response.

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