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Five things we learned this week about the FBI search of Trump’s home

Former President Trump could be facing mounting legal troubles as new details emerge about the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation that prompted an FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago estate. 

Trump has called for the release of more information tied to the search, an effort that corresponds with bashing the agency for what he claims is a politically motivated attack. 

Meanwhile, the DOJ has fought to limit how much information will come out about an ongoing investigation with Trump as its target. 

Here’s what we’ve learned this week. 

Trump eyed for “willful” violations of the Espionage Act 

Although the most highly sensitive materials underlying the Mar-a-Lago search warrant remained under seal this week, the judge presiding over the case did make one court record newly available to the public. That document, known as a criminal cover sheet, provided additional insight into the nature of the crime under investigation, according to some legal experts.  

It was already known that investigators believed the materials housed at Trump’s residence were linked to a likely violation of the Espionage Act, a WWI-era statute designed to help safeguard the country’s vital national security secrets. What the criminal cover sheet revealed, after it was unsealed Thursday, is that law enforcement had probable cause to think a “willful retention of national defense information” occurred. 

That new detail appeared to lend further support to the theory — one that was already widely assumed — that Trump himself is the target of the investigation. 

“This aligns with what we know so far from public media reporting, as well as the minimal information we have derived from the unsealed court filings,” Bradley Moss, a national security lawyer and partner in the law office of Mark S. Zaid, told The Hill in an email. 

“All indications are that the government’s argument will amount to three things: (1) Trump took the properly marked classified records with him to Florida; (2) he left them in boxes in the basement; (3) when confronted about it, he willfully held onto records despite demands from NARA and later the FBI to return them,” he added, referring to the National Archives and Records Administration, which takes custody of White House records when a president leaves office. 

DOJ appears to be investigating Trump’s claims around a “standing order” 

In a sign the Department of Justice is not content to have simply secured the return of classified materials, its investigators appear to be contacting former Trump-era officials about his claims of having declassified the contents removed from his Florida home. 

According to reporting from Rolling Stone, the FBI has thus far been conducting voluntary interviews with those who could have knowledge of such an order, including former staff on the National Security Council. 

Shortly after the warrant was executed, Trump claimed the documents removed from his home were “all declassified.” He later elaborated in a statement to Fox News that he had “a standing order” to declassify any documents.   

“If the DOJ was really focused on recovering the classified material and was not criminally investigating the former president, they would not be calling in former NSC officials to question them about Trump’s supposed “standing order” declassifying documents,” Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor, wrote on Twitter.  

National security law experts who previously spoke with The Hill noted that while Trump would have broad powers as president to declassify documents, such a practice is usually done on a  case-by-case basis, and also triggers notification to other agencies that hold classified information, so that they can reclassify them appropriately in their own system. 

“Realistically, no one actually believes that Trump had such an order.  It was not written down anywhere, doesn’t make a lot of sense (as some of his own appointees have pointed out), and was never raised by Trump’s lawyers during their communications with DOJ,” Mariotti continued. 

Even if Trump did declassify documents, that isn’t a defense for the Espionage Act, one of the three statutes cited in the warrant. That law only requires mishandling national defense information to trigger a violation. 

Trump wants it all released 

Former President Trump and his allies have responded to the government’s desire for redactions with calls for the release of the full document. 

“Pres. Trump has made his view clear that the American people should be permitted to see the unredacted affidavit related to the raid and break-in of his home. Today, magistrate Judge Reinhard rejected the DOJ’s cynical attempt to hide the whole affidavit from Americans,” Taylor Budowich, a spokesperson for the former president, said Thursday. 

Trump separately posted on Truth Social, his social media platform, calling for the “immediate release” of the unredacted affidavit, citing the need for transparency. He also called for Reinhart to recuse himself from the case without giving a clear reason. 

The former president and his allies have attacked the credibility of the FBI and DOJ ever since the search was executed earlier this month, pointing to the handling of the Russia investigation to allege it is the latest politically biased attack on Trump. 

By calling for the unredacted affidavit to be released when the government opposes such a move, Trump will likely further fuel distrust in the Department of Justice among his supporters. 

DOJ is working through redactions 

The Department of Justice, however, does not want its affidavit for the warrant fully released. 

The department argued that the affidavit should remain under seal in its entirety, saying the information it contained laid out a “roadmap” to its ongoing investigation, “highly sensitive information about witnesses,” and “specific investigative techniques.”

But a federal magistrate judge on Thursday dismissed efforts by the DOJ to maintain the affidavit entirely under seal. 

“I find that on the present record the Government has not met its burden of showing that the entire affidavit should remain sealed,” Judge Bruce Reinhart said in a brief order. 

According to The New York Times, Reinhart said there were parts of the affidavit that “could be presumptively unsealed.” 

The DOJ has until noon Thursday to submit their proposed redactions, after which Reinhart, who approved the initial warrant, will review them — meaning a redacted version of the affidavit could be released as early as next week. 

What it means for Trump and 2024 

Casting a cloud over the entire proceeding is the fact that Trump is likely to announce a 2024 White House bid in the coming months, though he may wait until after the midterm elections. 

Trump denied in an interview last month with New York Magazine that any presidential run would be a way to insulate himself from criminal consequences as he faces investigations over election interference in Georgia, business dealings in New York, the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots and now his handling of classified information. 

And while some experts believe it’s unlikely Trump will ultimately be indicted over the documents he kept at Mar-a-Lago, the political consequences could still loom large over his desire to return to the White House. 

A Reuters-Ipsos poll conducted this week found that 54 percent of Republicans believe the FBI behaved irresponsibly following the Mar-a-Lago search, compared to 23 percent who said the agencies behaved responsibly. 

Comparatively, 71 percent of Democrats felt law enforcement had acted responsibly, as did 50 percent of independent voters. It is the latter category that bears watching in determining how the search could swing Trump’s political fortunes. 

Source: TEST FEED1

From high fashion to flak jackets: Local Odesa designer now outfits Ukrainian military

ODESA, Ukraine — There’s not much difference between designing dresses and bulletproof vests, says Ivan Fotesko, a fashion designer turned army outfitter from Odesa.

Fotesko and his friends still can’t believe the turn their lives have taken. Mid-morning they sit at an outdoor cafe to speak with a visiting American journalist from The Hill. Across the street is the municipality’s food distribution center for Ukrainians who have fled their home cities now under Russian occupation. 

Fotesko and his two friends, Arthur Petrosjan and Michael Mirkovich, are preparing to drive to Mykoliav the next day. They are bringing donations of bottled water — the city is cut off from the piped water supply — and their latest batch of military fatigues, which includes flak jackets, boots and other tactical accessories to soldiers who are fighting on the frontlines of that city. 

The three have been working together since March to supplement needed military clothing and supplies to Ukrainian soldiers. While military aid from the U.S. and other Western countries focuses on big-budget items such as heavy artillery, volunteer initiatives and NGOs have stepped in to fill the smaller — but critical — gaps. 

In the earliest days of Russia’s invasion, the friends went from storing Molotov cocktails to supplying military-clothing once they saw the need — with Ukrainian soldiers posting on social media pleading for flak jackets, boots and uniforms to fight in.

Fotesko is considered a high-profile fashion designer in Ukraine. He’s transformed his Odesa storefront, where he had sold custom women’s designs, to a factory churning out bulletproof vests, uniforms, boots, medical bags and other utility textiles. 

His metal security gate bears a graffiti cartoon of a cat, the symbol of Odesa, wearing military fatigues, flak jacket and a Ukrainian flag. Inside the “Ukrainian Concept Store” are piles of boots in plastic wrap. On shelves and desks are stacks of camouflage pants, utility belts, medical kit bags and camouflage netting.

A female mannequin lies discarded in a corner.  

Camouflage cloth lays out over a draft table in the back, to be measured, cut and sewn all in the same place. 

Fotesko shrugs when asked if the shift has been a major change, saying he’s still managed to produce at least six dresses over these past six months. He’d rather be designing dresses, saying he cries every day, but is intent on helping where he can.  

Supplying frontline fighters takes nearly all of Fotesko and his two friends’ time.

Mirkovich and Petrosjan largely help with financing and production. They say much of it is self-funded — the production needs are so great they find little time to fundraise. 

They advertise a little on their own social media, but mostly are responding to requests for needed frontline items. 

“Each Instagram you can find the information that ‘military needs everything, starting from the shoes and finishing with the bullet proof vests.’ So we decide to start to do the vests. It was our decision in the beginning of March,” Mirkovich said. 

They have moved from fully sourcing the flak jackets, meaning including the bullet-proof plates, to providing just the jackets, with the Ukrainian army handling the plates themselves. 

From March through this Wednesday, they said they have delivered approximately 750 bullet-proof vests.

“In the beginning it was like crazy, everybody needs it. Now it is a little bit better because the government” is helping meet the needs, Mirkovich explained. 

Still, the men are spending nearly all their time filling orders or working to raise funds to produce even more goods. They created a social media page advertising their work only a few days earlier. 

“All the money that we get is fundraising, our own money and it’s getting harder and harder, from day to day. We can do more, and we want to do more because we have too many orders,” he said.

Mirkovich, an area manager of Guess stores in Ukraine, continues to work full-time  — “my job continues, but salary decreases,” he said — while dedicating his free time to their volunteer outfit.

Petrosjan, a professional architect, said he spends “almost all day every day,” working on the military clothing project. In the first days of Russia’s invasion, he said he began volunteering at a humanitarian center that was overwhelmed with thousands of refugees fleeing the onslaught in Mariupol and Kharkiv. 

“It was hell,” he said of meeting the refugees, each with “their own histories, their own tragedy — it was hard work.”

Petrosjan said that making the clothes for soldiers is exhausting, but that they are proud to do it. 

Fotesko agreed they are doing their best to help people on the frontline. 

“The main thing is to stand up and help us now,” Fotesko says of what his message to the U.S. would be. “Not tomorrow, not in five minutes, just now,” adding that “each cent” of donations and aid is put to use.

“Each coin is very important for us.” 

The Hill’s Laura Kelly is on assignment in Ukraine.

Source: TEST FEED1

Five ways DeSantis has flexed his political muscle in Florida

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has thrust himself into the national spotlight as one of the most influential and controversial politicians across the country since becoming governor in 2019.  

DeSantis has frequently taken action in his home state that has positioned him as a leader of the conservative movement in the country. He has been rumored to be considering a run for the White House in 2024 and is viewed as President Trump’s most serious competition for the Republican nomination if both enter the race. 

Polls have consistently showed him as Trump’s top competitor, and he has led in polls that do not include Trump. 

Here are five ways DeSantis has flexed his political muscle in Florida as governor. 

The Stop WOKE Act 

DeSantis signed the “Individual Freedom” bill, known more widely as the “Stop WOKE Act,” in April after the Florida legislature passed it in March. 

The law outlaws “critical race theory training” in schools and the workplace, claiming that the concepts taught in racial sensitivity training and other forms of education regarding race are discriminatory and infringe on some people’s civil rights. 

The act designates any “required activity that promotes, advances, or compels individuals to believe discriminatory concepts” as unlawful. 

The law also deems unlawfully discriminatory any teaching that a person’s “status as either privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by his or her race, color, national origin, or sex.” 

The “Stop WOKE Act” was challenged in court after being passed and portions of it were blocked by a federal judge on Thursday. 

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida Chief Judge Mark Walker, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, said that the law violates First Amendment protections of free speech and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause for being impermissibly vague. 

“Judge Walker has effectively ruled that companies have a First Amendment right to instruct their employees in white supremacy,” said DeSantis Communications Director Taryn Feske in response to the ruling, announcing that the governor’s office would appeal Walker’s decision. 

The Office of Election Crimes and Security 

The Office of Election Crimes and Security was established under Florida’s State Department on July 1. 

DeSantis, who was involved in the initial idea behind the office, appointed Peter Antonacci its head last month, saying that Antonacci would “ensure that Florida’s elections are the most secure in the nation.” 

The governor announced on Thursday that the office had charged 20 individuals with voter fraud and was in the process of arresting them with the help of the attorney general’s office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. 

The 20 charged with voter fraud allegedly cast votes in past elections despite being disqualified due to prior convictions for homicide or sexual assault, which bar individuals from voting in Florida. 

“One of the things that we did in the most recent legislative session, though, is recognize, yes, you can have all these great policy reforms, and it’s important to do it, but if it’s not actually enforced then what difference is it going to make at the end of the day?” DeSantis said during a press conference announcing the fraud charges. 

He added that those charged, all of whom were located in the Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, face up to five years in prison in addition to a $5,000 fine for the third-degree felony. 

Suspending Tampa prosecutor 

DeSantis made waves Aug. 4 when he suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren (D) for “neglect of duty” after the prosecutor refused to enforce bans on abortion and transgender surgery. 

The decision was announced at a press conference characterized by the governor’s campaign rapid response director, who previously served as his press secretary, as the impetus for the “liberal media meltdown of the year.” 

“When you flagrantly violate your oath of office, when you make yourself above the law, you have violated your duty, you have neglected your duty and you are displaying a lack of competence to be able to perform those duties,” DeSantis said at the press conference. 

DeSantis pointed to letters signed by Warren saying that he would not enforce “prohibitions on sex change operations for minors” or “any laws related to protecting the right to life” as evidence that the prosecutor had violated his oath of office. 

DeSantis criticized Warren’s positions on both abortion and transgender surgery, saying that the “dismemberment procedure” used in abortions after three and a half months, which Warren said he would not legally prevent, is “really inhumane.” 

Warren on Wednesday sued DeSantis for his suspension, claiming that it was unconstitutional and that his letters stating that he would not enforce certain laws constitute protected speech under the First Amendment. 

Warren said DeSantis’s failed to produce information about “actual conduct” that shirked his duties.

Battle with the legislature over redistricting 

Florida’s redistricting process over the past few months has seen the Florida governor butt heads with both Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature. 

The Republican-controlled state legislature approved a map that made relatively minor changes to the state’s districts, but DeSantis vetoed the proposal, citing issues with the strongly Democratic and majority Black 5th Congressional District. 

DeSantis argued that the district, which goes across the state’s border with Georgia from Tallahassee to Jacksonville, is unconstitutional. He proposed an alternative map, which eventually went into effect, that eliminates the district and merges parts of it with multiple solid GOP districts. 

Rep. Al Lawson (D), who currently represents the 5th district, called the map “overtly racist,” and other Black lawmakers in the state denounced DeSantis’s proposal. 

DeSantis’s map also dilutes Black voting power in St. Petersburg and Orlando. 

State GOP lawmakers in April said they would allow DeSantis to draw the map, a responsibility usually reserved for the legislature.

Democrats sued DeSantis over the map, and a judge ruled in May that it unduly diminished the rights of Black voters in the northern part of the state. But Florida’s First District Court of Appeal overturned the ruling and restored DeSantis’s map pending the outcome of a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality. 

Picking a fight with Disney 

DeSantis went head-to-head with the Walt Disney Company in the spring in the aftermath of him signing a law to implement restrictions on classroom instruction related to sexual orientation and gender identity. 

The Parental Rights in Education law, which has become known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, banned primary school teachers from covering material on LGBTQ topics and barred all educators from teaching topics that are not “age appropriate or developmentally appropriate” for children. 

Disney criticized the bill in a statement after it passed and pledged to join efforts to repeal the legislation. 

DeSantis said Disney “crossed the line” with its criticism and announced that the state legislature would consider revoking the company’s special status, which has allowed it to have the legal right to operate under its own government in the Reedy Creek Improvement District since 1967. He said the company “alienated” a lot of people in coming forward against the bill. 

DeSantis signed a bill to revoke the special status in April.

Source: TEST FEED1

DeSantis takes crusade against ‘woke ideology’ to Pennsylvania, Ohio as he rallies for GOP candidates

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) railed against “woke ideology” and touched on familiar culture war issues like critical race theory (CRT) and transgender women and girls in sports as he campaigned for Republicans in the key swing states of Pennsylvania and Ohio.

DeSantis traveled first to Pittsburgh to campaign for Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano (R) and later Youngstown, Ohio, to rally with Republican Senate hopeful J.D. Vance. Both events were organized by Turning Point Action.

The rallies come amid increasing speculation that he’s eyeing a 2024 presidential bid. The Florida governor has waded into races in other battleground states, including Arizona and Nevada. Ohio and Pennsylvania, in addition to holding key Senate contests this year are considered crucial swing states in presidential elections.

DeSantis has also been leaning into national culture war issues in Florida, raising his profile among the Republican Party’s conservative base.

“I think in Florida, and we need this to be true in Pennsylvania, around the country, we can’t just stand idly by while woke ideology ravages every institution in our society,” DeSantis said in Pennsylvania.

“We must fight the woke in our schools. We must fight the woke in our businesses. We must fight the woke in government agencies. We can never ever surrender to woke ideology. And I’ll tell you this, the state of Florida is where woke goes to die,” he continued to cheers from the audience.

DeSantis touted wins in his state, including how he went head-to-head with school districts over mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic and banned “vaccine passports,” a reference to proof of vaccination was required in other areas of the country for entry in spaces though it didn’t stop some businesses from seeking to implement them anyway.

He also talked about his more recent move to suspend Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren (D), claiming he was not fulfilling his duties by declining to prosecute gender-affirming procedures or abortion cases.

During his speech, he invoked the names of former Presidents John F. Kennedy, a Democrat, and Republican Ronald Reagan.

“I mean, I just think back to some of the other presidents we have and think about like John Kennedy, you think, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.’ You think about President Reagan, ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.’ When I think of Biden, I think of him staring like a deer in the headlight,” DeSantis said.

He said during his speech in Ohio that a “mind virus called woke ideology” is “infecting” various different institutions like schools, sports and Big Tech.

“I think that we need people in Florida, Ohio, all across the country to say we are not going to let this woke mob virus run over our institutions,” he said.

He specifically spoke against gender-affirming care for transgender youth, saying that doctors who provide such care should be able to be sued.

DeSantis also in Ohio reiterated his pledge to “fight woke” in classrooms, businesses and government agencies. “We’re not going to surrender to woke,” he said.

DeSantis himself is running for reelection in Florida. The state will next week be holding its primaries, which will decide which Democrat will take him on in November. 

Source: TEST FEED1

CDC: E. coli outbreak may be linked to Wendy's lettuce

An outbreak of the bacteria E. coli may be connected to romaine lettuce used at certain locations of the fast-food chain Wendy’s, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

The agency said in a post on its website that it has not confirmed a specific food as the source of the outbreak, but “many” sick people have reported eating sandwiches with the lettuce at Wendy’s locations in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. 

The CDC has been investigating the outbreak after almost 30 people were infected with the bacteria as of Thursday. Nine people were hospitalized as a result of their illness, and there have been no deaths. 

The CDC said Wendy’s is fully cooperating with the investigation and is taking a precautionary measure of removing the romaine lettuce that it uses for sandwiches in that region of the country. The restaurant uses a different type of romaine lettuce for its salads. 

Investigators are looking into if the lettuce is the source of the outbreak and if it was sold or served at other businesses. 

Wendy’s did not immediately return a request from The Hill for comment. 

Symptoms of an E. coli infection can include fevers that reach 102 degrees Fahrenheit, diarrhea for at least three days that is not improving, vomiting to the point of not being able to keep liquids down and signs of dehydration. The CDC says people with severe symptoms should contact their health care provider immediately.

An Ohio woman who said she began experiencing symptoms of an E. coli infection earlier this month filed a lawsuit against Wendy’s on Friday for a series of five counts, including product liability and negligence.

The lawsuit states the woman consumed a single hamburger at a Wendy’s on Aug. 1 and began having symptoms three days later. She sought medical attention at a hospital and tested positive for E. coli on Aug. 7, according to the lawsuit.

She stayed at the hospital for one week, and she is still recovering.

The lawsuit alleges that Wendy’s manufactured the “defective” food she consumed and had a responsibility to eliminate the risk that its food was contaminated with E. coli or any other pathogens.

Source: TEST FEED1

Trump hints at legal action in response to Mar-a-Lago search

Former President Trump on Friday hinted at taking legal action in response to the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago property last week. 

Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social that a “major motion” related to the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution will soon be filed related to the search. He claimed his rights have been violated at a level “rarely seen” before. 

The Fourth Amendment protects people against unreasonable searches and seizures. 

Trump’s post comes after a federal judge said on Thursday that he might be willing to unseal parts of an affidavit that was used to establish probable cause for the FBI to search the Palm Beach, Fla., property.

Judge Bruce Reinhart, who approved the search warrant, said he did not believe the Justice Department (DOJ) proved why the document should remain entirely private and instructed officials to suggest redactions to the document. 

Reinhart unsealed the warrant itself and some related documents following the search after Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the DOJ supported publicizing it, given the significant public interest in the situation and that Trump had revealed the search took place. 

Garland also strongly defended the DOJ and FBI in a rare public statement about an ongoing investigation, saying that their integrity has been “unfairly attacked.” 

Trump and his allies have lambasted the search and accused DOJ officials of acting on political motivation against Trump, who is considering a third run for the presidency in 2024. 

Garland said DOJ and FBI officials are “dedicated, patriotic public servants.” 

The unsealed warrant revealed that the FBI suspected Trump violated multiple laws, including the Espionage Act. Eleven sets of classified items were seized during the search. 

Trump argued that he declassified the documents at Mar-a-Lago while serving as president, but legal experts have said that Trump may still have violated the Espionage Act if he did so because classification status is not relevant to the provisions of the law.

Source: TEST FEED1

Defense & National Security — Another $775M in weapons for Ukraine

The United States will send another $775 million in missiles, drones, vehicles and mine clearing equipment to Ukraine to help in its war with Russia as the conflict enters a near standstill. 

We’ll share what’s in the latest package plus a dispatch from Odesa as the war in Ukraine rages on, as well as the latest thoughts on China from a lawmaker that took part in the Congressional delegation that traveled to Taiwan. 

This is Defense & National Security, your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. For The Hill, I’m Ellen Mitchell. A friend forward this newsletter to you? Subscribe here.

Pentagon announces extra $775M for Ukraine

The Pentagon announced Friday that the United States will send another $775 million in missiles, drones, vehicles and mine clearing equipment to Ukraine to help it beat back the Russian attack. 

The new assistance package will include 16 howitzers and ammunition, AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARM), ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, 15 Scan Eagle reconnaissance drones, and armored vehicles, among other armaments, a senior Defense official told reporters.  

A critical moment: The package comes at a critical time as Ukraine and Russia battle for control of the eastern part of Ukraine.   

Nearly six months into the war, the two sides are locked in a near operational standstill, with neither Kyiv nor Moscow able to drum up enough ground troops and weapons to turn the course of the conflict, Western officials assess.   

A needed boost: The extra shot of lethal aid could help Ukrainian forces gain the upper hand as Russian troops struggle with losses inflicted by U.S.-made missile systems.  

• “I would say that you are seeing a complete and total lack of progress by the Russians on the battlefield,” the senior Defense official said, adding that it’s important to both sustain Ukrainian battlefield successes and enable them to be make gains as the conflict shifts.    
• “We want to make sure that Ukraine has a steady stream of ammunition to meet its needs, and that’s what we’re doing with this package.” 

Earlier: The latest lethal aid follows the $1 billion in weapons and equipment given to the embattled country earlier this month, the largest such tranche pledged since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.  

The package also pushes the United States past the $10 billion mark for military assistance for Ukraine under the Biden administration, spread out over 19 packages since August 2021. 

Also included: The package will consist of 1,000 Javelins; 36,000 105 mm artillery rounds; mine clearing equipment; 40 mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles, to allow Ukrainian troops to travel through areas rigged with mines; 1,500 tube-launched optically tracked wire-guided missiles; 2,000 anti-armor rounds; and 50 Humvees, among other equipment.  

Read the full story here 

Dispatch from Ukraine: Calm is an illusion in Odesa

The signs of war are everywhere in Odesa, but it feels like there’s little fear of death or destruction from Russian attacks.  

Air raid sirens ring out almost daily but rocket and missile strikes largely appear to fall far from the city center — a far different reality from neighboring cities such as Mykoliav to the northeast, which suffers daily, devastating bombardments. 

A little bit farther east is Kherson, one of the first cities to fall under Russian occupation over its strategic position of providing a military land- and sea-supply route from the Crimean peninsula, which has been Russian occupied since 2014. 

The scene: Ukrainian forces are trying to claw back this territory since it was first seized by Russia in the earliest days of its February invasion, while resistance fighters inside Kherson have carried out high-profile attacks with car bombs targeting collaborators or Russian forces.    

Odesa’s relative feeling of peace is a credit to the Ukrainian forces holding the front line outside these cities and Voznesens’k, north of Mykolaiv, said Odesa’s mayor, Gennadiy Trukhanov.  

At the ready: Calm is more likely an illusion, Trukhanov said in an interview with The Hill from his office in the city center, where security officials are refilling and replacing old sandbags that reinforce the perimeter of the building.  

The windows of nearby museums of this town center, home to some of the most beautiful buildings of the city, remain boarded up to protect against explosions. 

Read the full story here 

Meeks: Can’t ‘allow Beijing’ to tell us what to do 

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) on Friday said in an interview that he and the delegation that traveled to Taiwan with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are “not going to allow Beijing” and Chinese President Xi Jinping to dictate the actions taken by Congress. 

“We’re not going to allow Beijing and Xi to tell members of Congress what to do, who could visit, when [they can] and cannot visit,” Meeks said to The Washington Post. 

He added: “You just can’t kowtow and bow down, changing what we do because of Beijing’s decision to be more aggressive.” 

An earlier visit: Meeks was part of the group that accompanied Pelosi on her trip across the Indo-Pacific region, including to Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing claims sovereignty over. 

Pelosi’s trip created friction between China and the U.S. when she and her fellow members of Congress proceeded with their visit to Taiwan despite warnings from the Chinese government that it would have “severe negative impact” on the relationship between the two powers. 

Meeks’ thoughts: “It gravely undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and sends a seriously wrong signal to the separatist forces for ‘Taiwan independence,” the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote following the trip. 

When asked about his thoughts on China’s response to the Taiwan visit, Meeks told the Post: “It just shows their aggressive nature in trying to change the status of Taiwan.” 

Read that story here 

ON TAP FOR TOMORROW

• The Center for Strategic and International Studies will host a talk on “The Military Dimensions of the Fourth Taiwan Strait Crisis,” at 9:30 a.m. 
• The Hudson Institute will discuss “Asia’s New Leaders and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” at 12 p.m. 

WHAT WE’RE READING

• Appeals court says DOJ improperly redacted memo to AG Barr on Trump obstruction 
• US deployed cyber ‘hunt forward’ team to Croatia 
• Democrats press social media platforms over FBI threats 
• State Department warns US travelers of ‘kidnapping risk’ in Mexico 
• Estonia thwarts cyberattack following removal of Soviet monument 

That’s it for today! Check out The Hill’s Defense and National Security pages for the latest coverage. See you Monday!

VIEW FULL VERSION HERE

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On The Money — Five things to know about Weisselberg’s guilty plea

Tonight, we’ll be digging into the recent guilty plea from former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg. We’ll also look at new figures showing the rising cost of raising a child, a new government effort to help customers whose flights have been delayed or canceled and more.

But first, check out The Hill’s first on the ground report from Ukraine.  

Welcome to On The Money, your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line. For The Hill, we’re Aris Folley and Karl Evers-Hillstrom. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

What to know about Weisselberg’s guilty plea  

Thursday’s guilty plea from former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg is a major development in New York officials’ multiyear investigation into the company led by former President Trump.  

Weisselberg pleaded guilty to 15 separate charges including grand larceny and criminal tax fraud in an indictment filed in New York state Supreme Court, admitting to what authorities described as a 15-year tax evasion scheme for skipping out on taxes due on $1.76 million in income that wasn’t reported to the IRS.  

He was promised a sentence of five months in New York City’s Rikers Island prison — although that could be shortened to a little over three months — as well as five years’ probation. He will also have to make full repayment of taxes, penalties and interest due to the New York City and New York state tax authorities totaling $1,994,321.  

Here are just a few things to know about Weisselberg’s plea deal: 

• The plea may be a consolation prize: The plea deal from a Trump Organization representative close to the former president may feel like something of a consolation prize for prosecutors who have been trying for a year to get Weisselberg to turn on Trump himself and not just Trump’s company.  
• The plea deal will factor into the trial of the Trump Organization: Weisselberg’s plea deal requires him to testify when the Trump Organization faces its own trial in October, and that could turn into a big win for prosecutors this fall as they go after Trump’s core business. 
• Weisselberg was not granted immunity from other crimes: Proper cooperation deals with federal prosecutors usually come with an immunity clause that says cooperating witnesses won’t be charged on other unrelated crimes. Weisselberg’s deal has no such clause.  

Check out the rest here from The Hill’s Tobias Burns. 

LEADING THE DAY

New estimate projects cost of raising a child at $310K 

New figures show the cost of raising a child is becoming more expensive as the nation grapples with rising inflation. 

A recent estimate conducted by the Brookings Institution projected the cost of raising a child for a middle-income two-parent married family with two kids to be north of $310,000.   

• The estimate assumes the youngest child would be born in 2015 and covers raising the child through the age of 17. It does not include the cost of sending the child to college. 
• Brookings uses a methodology from a previous report on child expenditures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). 
• The figure is roughly $80,000 more than the estimate USDA released in 2017, when it calculated the average child-rearing costs for a middle-income, married couple with a child born in the same year. 

To calculate the number, experts used an average inflation rate of 2.23 percent, similar to the rate used in the USDA report, to estimate the total cost from 2015 to 2020. But the new report also factors in a 1.77 percent increase in the rate for 2021 and subsequent years. 

Isabel Sawhill, a senior fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution, told The Hill the calculation was based on past trends in the nation’s inflation rates. 

Aris has more here. 

ON THE FLY

Buttigieg announces DOT dashboard for delayed, canceled flights 

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a letter to CEOs in the airline industry the Department of Transportation (DOT) will be launching a dashboard to help customers determine what they are owed if a flight is delayed or canceled.  

Buttigieg chastised the airlines for “unacceptable” delays and cancellations Americans have experienced this summer, saying customers “deserve clear and transparent information on the services that your airline will provide, to address the expenses and inconveniences resulting from these disruptions.” 

• To help with that process, Buttigieg said the DOT website will launch a dashboard before Labor Day weekend, on Sept. 2, where customers can find information about what each airline carrier offers in the event of a delay or cancellation. 
• “The Department is creating an interactive dashboard that provides air travelers with a single venue where they can locate easy-to-read, comparative summary information on the services or amenities that each of the large U.S. airlines provide when the cause of a cancelation or delay was due to circumstances within the airline’s control,” Buttigieg told the CEOs. 

The Hill’s Lexi Lonas has the details here.  

NEW DEMANDS 

Democrats press social media platforms over FBI threats

House Democrats asked social media platforms to turn over information about threats to federal law enforcement officials and how they combat the violent posts, according to letters sent to eight companies Friday.  

House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and
Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) demanded Meta, Twitter, TikTok, Truth Social, Rumble, Gettr, Telegram and Gab respond with details about their policies and data on the threats.  

• The request comes after researchers have identified an uptick in violent posts targeting FBI agents since the search at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. 
• In the letter, the Democrats cited incendiary posts from their GOP colleagues that have accused the Department of Justice of being “weaponized” against Trump and called to “defund” the FBI. 

The Hill’s Rebecca Klar breaks it down here. 

Good to Know

The Biden administration is proposing to restore chemical safety regulations that were loosened under the Trump administration.  

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to reimpose certain safety requirements that apply to facilities including agricultural supply distributors, chemical manufacturers and distributors, food and beverage manufacturers and oil refineries.  

Here’s what else we have our eye on: 

• A Louisiana judge issued a permanent injunction against the Biden administration’s moratorium on new oil and gas leasing on federal lands Thursday night, a day after another court tossed an earlier injunction against it.
   
• AP: “A smaller dose of the monkeypox vaccine appears to still be effective and can be used to stretch the current supply by five times, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said Friday, echoing a recommendation made earlier this month by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).” 

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill’s Finance page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you Monday. 

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As midterms near, women of color demand solutions to their economic struggles

Two years of a pandemic layered on top of centuries of systemic oppression has been disastrous for communities of color—women most of all. The Supreme Court added insult to injury by gutting access to reproductive health care, forcing women of color to bear an even greater economic burden. New research shows that women of color in particular—a crucial voting bloc that helped elect President Biden—are disengaging from the political process because the very lawmakers they sent to Washington are not doing enough to address their issues. 

To keep them in the fold, Democratic leaders must act now to address their needs.

Equal Rights Advocates recently released its Family Voices research, which surveyed over 600 women across the U.S.—the majority of whom are Black and Latina—to better understand their economic challenges. The findings underscore the urgent need for Congress to enact tangible, long-term solutions that help them.

Half of the women we surveyed told us they barely earn enough to make ends meet. Eighty-five percent of respondents took on additional debt during the pandemic as personal financial circumstances changed and they struggled to cover essentials like rent, utilities, and medical expenses. This is a problem that will compound: nearly 6 in 10 don’t feel confident in their ability to pay off that debt, now or in the future. 

On top of that, an increase in childcare responsibilities during the pandemic caused 38 percent of respondents to cut hours at work and 17 percent to leave their job outright. Many women who kept their jobs had to delay other activities like career advancement, further education, or launching their own business because of a lack of child or family care. This leaves them at a disadvantage as they work toward their long-term financial goals.

For working women, other structural barriers persist, with 30 percent of respondents experiencing gender discrimination at work and 40 percent experiencing racial discrimination. Over time, this, compounded by unpaid caregiving responsibilities oftentimes referred to as the “motherhood penalty,” results in lower wages and diminished leadership opportunities.

It’s no secret that our economic system has been historically stacked against women of color. Post-pandemic, it’s continuing to show signs of getting worse for workers of color. But Democratic leaders in Congress, many of whom were voted into office thanks to the energetic efforts of women of color, have the power and the mandate to change that. Family Voices data shows Congress where it can start by underscoring clear problems that have tangible solutions. Here’s where lawmakers can focus their efforts: 

• Reinstate and make permanent the expanded Child Tax Credit. The credit, which expired last year, helped keep millions of children out of poverty and could significantly help low-income parents balance childcare costs with basic needs such as food, clothing, and rent. The U.S. invests a smaller percentage of our GDP in childcare and early education than almost every other developed nation in the world—it’s time to change that. While it wasn’t included in the Inflation Reduction Act, there’s still hope lawmakers could include it in an end-of-the-year tax deal. They should.
• Forgive student loan debt. Black women hold an outsized share of student loan debt. Without this debt, they could survive this pandemic from a much stronger financial position. President Biden should move forward with his plan to forgive up to $10,000 in student debt for borrowers making under $150,000 a year 
• Enact policies that combat systemic gender and racial barriers and re-orient our economy to work hard for hardworking women across the country. Subsidized child care, a higher federal minimum wage, strong equal pay protections, universal pre-K, and paid leave for caregivers are policies that can grant women economic freedom to invest in their futures while having positive economic impacts for the whole country.  
• Call votes on legislation to codify a national right to abortion until these bills pass. As America enters a post-Roe world, we know that a lack of access to abortion and birth control will disproportionately impact women of color and low-income women. Forced pregnancy in the U.S. leads to loss of work, missed educational opportunities, burdensome medical bills, and even death. What’s more, as states across the country attack reproductive choice, they are also denying basic family support. Poor women and women of color have the most to lose.

The women featured in Equal Rights Advocates’ Family Voicesresearch are the face of a new, and growing, working class in America. Political leaders who continue to ignore the pocketbook concerns of this vital constituency do so at their own peril. These women have spoken, and it’s past time for Congress to listen.

Noreen Farrell is the executive director of Equal Rights Advocates, which fights for gender justice in workplaces and schools across the country

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Chicago police sergeant facing felony charges after kneeling on teenager’s back

A Chicago police officer has been charged with official misconduct and aggravated battery after he pinned down a 14-year-old boy while off duty last month. 

Video showed Sergeant Michael Vitellaro kneeling on the boy’s back in Park Ridge, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, on July 1. A lawyer for the boy’s family alleged in a release after the incident that the 14-year-old was moving a bike so he could pass it with his own bike. 

Vitellaro accused the boy of attempting to steal his son’s bike and pinned him to the ground on his stomach, the release states. 

The Park Ridge Police Department said in a statement on Thursday that the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charges against Vitellaro after an investigation by department detectives. Vitellaro turned himself in to police custody. 

Chief Frank Kaminski said he is proud of his staff for conducting a “complete and thorough” investigation that was taken seriously and is grateful to the attorney’s office for bringing a resolution to the investigation. 

“The Park Ridge Police Department has and will continue to honor their oath of office, continuing to serve our community with professionalism, dedication, pride, and respect,” he said. 

Video shows others present at the scene helping the boy return to his feet and telling Vitellaro to take his hands off him. 

The boy’s parents, Angel and Nicole Nieves, said in a release that they are relieved to see charges filed against Vitellaro and want to thank the police and attorney’s office for this “important step for justice” for their son. 

“We are still trying to assess the full impact of this traumatic incident on our son, who is only 14 and still processing all that happened to him,” they said. “There is absolutely no room in our community for this type of unnecessary aggression against our children and we are grateful for today’s progress.” 

Antonio Romanucci, one of the family’s lawyers, said the charges are an “accurate reflection” of what was seen in the video, an abuse of power with no cause. He said the legal team is preparing to file a civil complaint and wants to make sure the officer cannot abuse his power again. 

“The felony charges show the gravity of this type of aggression and that the enforcement of laws in our communities must start with law enforcement officers themselves,” he said. “There can be no impunity for officers who break the law, and they must be held to the same standards as regular citizens.” 

Vitellaro’s attorney did not immediately return a request from The Hill for comment.

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