Friday, May 31, 2024
Let Your Phreak Flag Fly!
Marjorie Taylor Greene posts upside down flag symbolizing ‘stop the steal’ seconds after Trump’s conviction
Trump’s loyal supporters in Congress, many of whom turned up during the trial, railed against the unanimous verdict
Greene, a Republican representative and longtime Trump backer, wrote on X: “Joe Biden’s campaign orchestrated a rally outside of the courthouse in New York City supporting a potential conviction of President Trump.
“This case has been rigged from the start and we all knew it. This isn’t a prosecution, it’s a persecution. We must end the weaponization of government in America. This is what happens in third world countries!”
Protestors were seen outside the courthouse as a verdict was reached in the trial. Trump echoed Greene’s remarks in a statement posted to Truth Social on Thursday.
“THIS WAS A DISGRACE—A RIGGED TRIAL BY A CONFLICTED JUDGE WHO IS CORRUPT,” he wrote. “WE WILL FIGHT FOR OUR CONSTITUTION—THIS IS LONG FROM OVER!”
He followed that up with: “VICTORY ON NOVEMBER 5TH. SAVE AMERICA!!!”
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Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted a picture of an upside down flag in the wake of former president Donald Trump’s conviction on Thursday.
The upside-down flag has become a symbol for the “Stop the Steal” movement that the former president’s supporters brandished at the US Capitol on January 6. It’s also the same symbol that was spotted at Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s home in Virginia, three years ago and recently brought to the public’s attention, sparking a controversy and calls for his resignation.
The 45th President of the United States had been convicted of all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records following a six-week criminal trial in New York shortly before Ms Greene posted the image on X.
The jury of 12 New Yorkers handed down the verdict following two days of deliberation.
The former president covered up a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who visited the court earlier this month in support of Trump, also denounced the verdict on Thursday.
“Today is a shameful day in American history,” he said. “Democrats cheered as they convicted the leader of the opposing party on ridiculous charges, predicated on the testimony of a disbarred, convicted felon. This was a purely political exercise, not a legal one.”
“Today is a shameful day in American history,” he said. “Democrats cheered as they convicted the leader of the opposing party on ridiculous charges, predicated on the testimony of a disbarred, convicted felon. This was a purely political exercise, not a legal one.”
Representative Matt Gaetz, the hard-right Republican from Florida who also travelled to New York to support him, baselessly claimed that the ruling was corrupt.
“This verdict is the corrupt result of a corrupt trial, a corrupt judge, and a corrupt DA,” he said. “We will stand with President Trump now more than ever to save the country.”
Mr Gaetz also posted a link to Trump’s campaign on X.
“This verdict is the corrupt result of a corrupt trial, a corrupt judge, and a corrupt DA,” he said. “We will stand with President Trump now more than ever to save the country.”
Mr Gaetz also posted a link to Trump’s campaign on X.
Representative Lauren Boebert, who along with Mr Gaetz and other hard-right Republicans went to the New York trial to show their support earlier this month, criticised the decision.
“If this were happening in another country, Biden would be asking Congress to authorize a war to reinstate democracy abroad,” Ms Boebert, who faces a tough primary this year in Colorado after switching districts, said on X. “Make no mistake, this is Communism.”
“If this were happening in another country, Biden would be asking Congress to authorize a war to reinstate democracy abroad,” Ms Boebert, who faces a tough primary this year in Colorado after switching districts, said on X. “Make no mistake, this is Communism.”
Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, who had also turned up in New York, called the trial a “witch hunt”.
“Whether you consider the lopsided jury, the gag order issued to silence only President Trump, the prosecution’s failure to outline the alleged underlying crimes, or the lack of a unanimous verdict required for conviction, this trial was a complete joke and a massive misuse of taxpayer dollars,” he said.
“Whether you consider the lopsided jury, the gag order issued to silence only President Trump, the prosecution’s failure to outline the alleged underlying crimes, or the lack of a unanimous verdict required for conviction, this trial was a complete joke and a massive misuse of taxpayer dollars,” he said.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whom the Texas house of representatives impeached but whom the state senate did not convict, pledged to assist the former president.
“As Attorney General of Texas, I will unleash every tool at my disposal to fight this blatant corruption and political persecution spewing from New York and the Biden administration,” he said.
“As Attorney General of Texas, I will unleash every tool at my disposal to fight this blatant corruption and political persecution spewing from New York and the Biden administration,” he said.
Arizona Republican senate candidate Kari Lake denounced the ruling, saying that the case was politically motivated.
“We just witnessed the most egregious example of election interference and an outright mockery of the rule of law in the 246-year history of our Republic,” she said in a statement.
Representative Nancy Mace, the South Carolina Republican who had previously criticized Trump before she endorsed him, said the verdict was an example of government weaponization.“We just witnessed the most egregious example of election interference and an outright mockery of the rule of law in the 246-year history of our Republic,” she said in a statement.
“This is a VERY dark day for American democracy when the law is weaponized against its own citizens,” she said.
US Wants to Ensure Peace and Stability in The South China Sea and Taiwan Straits, NSA Chief Says
SAY ONE THING
On the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual defense conference in Singapore., US National Security Agency Director Timothy Haugh says Washington wants to ensure peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and South China Sea but that Beijing's actions are "threatening in those areas."
While the Pentagon did not provide further details about the coming meeting with China, it said Austin’s trip to Singapore and Cambodia “comes as the Department of Defense continues to strengthen US relationships with allies and partners in support of a shared regional vision for peace, stability and deterrence”.
LOVE THESE BUZZ WORDS: "Peace & Stability"
Spycraft Statecraft: CIA Director William Burns made secret visit to China
Burns’s visit in May, which was first reported by The Financial Times, comes as Washington tries to cool tensions with Beijing and restore lines of communication amid fears that a miscommunication between the two global powers could accidentally spiral into conflict.
Asked about the incidents during his first international address at a security summit in Singapore, General Li Shangfu, China’s defence minister, laid the blame with foreign powers, accusing them of “hegemony of navigation” and warning them to stay out of China’s backyard.
Top Chinese general warns of a 'whirlpool of conflict' between Beijing and US
Warning comes in a speech after US navy destroyer is cut up by an aggressive move in the Taiwan Strait
By Nicola Smith, ASIA CORRESPONDENT, SINGAPORE
Warning comes in a speech after US navy destroyer is cut up by an aggressive move in the Taiwan Strait
By Nicola Smith, ASIA CORRESPONDENT, SINGAPORE
Moment Chinese warship nearly crashes into a US destroyer in the Taiwan Strait
Uploaded: Feb 21, 2024
Taiwan drives away Chinese Coast Guard boat, Beijing's growing threats to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Priyanka Sharma Pahwa brings you...
24 May 2024
THE SHANGRI-LA DIALOGUE: US defense chief Lloyd Austin expected to meet Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Singapore
Although military-level communication between the two geopolitical rivals has resumed since President Xi Jinping met with Biden in San Francisco in November, tensions persist with Washington forging deeper ties with several of Beijing’s neighbors.
US defense chief Lloyd Austin expected to meet Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in SingaporeThe meeting, to be held during the Shangri-La Dialogue next week, will be their first since they spoke on the phone in April
The announcement follows intense efforts by the US to forge closer defense ties with several of China’s neighbors
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to meet his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Singapore next week, the Pentagon said on Friday.
The defense chiefs will talk face-to-face on the sidelines of Shangri-La Dialogue – an annual high-level defense summit in the Asia-Pacific region – for the first time after Dong was named China’s Minister of National Defence in December.
The plan comes after their first video call last month, which marked the first high-level, military-to-military contact between the two countries after more than two years.
The virtual talks in April covered “defense relations and regional and global security issues”, including
- The South China Sea,
- Russia’s war against Ukraine,
- Provocations by North Korea,
- the Taiwan Strait and
- Defense relations between the US and China, according to the Pentagon.
While the Pentagon did not provide further details about the coming meeting with China, it said Austin’s trip to Singapore and Cambodia “comes as the Department of Defense continues to strengthen US relationships with allies and partners in support of a shared regional vision for peace, stability and deterrence”.
- Soon after the trip announcement, the agency said Austin will undergo a medical procedure on Friday evening.
- It said the procedure is related to bladder issues, and not his previous cancer diagnosis.
- Earlier this month, the US assembled a strategic coalition dubbed “Squad” to counter China in the strategically vital Indo-Pacific region.
- After the talks, the defense chief announced that the quadrilateral group will explore the possibility of conducting more maritime exercises and extending greater security assistance to Manila.
- The first meeting of “Squad” defense ministers also took place on the sidelines of the Shangri-La security dialogue in Singapore in June 2023.
- The bilateral meeting between Biden and Kishida resulted in new defense agreements, including cooperation on a joint command structure and, along with Australia, develop a new air missile defene network.
- The high-level meeting concluded with the US reaffirming defense commitments to its two allied partners amid China’s increasing pressure in the contentious region due to conflicting territorial claims.
- In April, Manila accused China of “dangerous maneuvres and obstruction” near the disputed Scarborough Shoal.
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