Following the breakdown in the most basic of security defenses, much of the nation has been awaiting an explanation of the events surrounding the shooting of former President Donald Trump.
Fox News reported that The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general has moved forward with an investigation into the Secret Service's security decisions surrounding the former President Trump's rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend.
After the shooter was identified, it was discovered that the shooter was an amateur. It was also found that his perch was one where such an amateur could pull off a kill shot, and was reportedly not within the Secret Service's perimeter.
Questions about how that could be considered sufficient security have coursed through a nation irate at the idea of what could have been the result of Saturday's shooting.
The Investigation
The agency stated in a brief notice posted to the inspector general's website that the purpose of the investigation is to "Evaluate the United States Secret Service’s (Secret Service) process for securing former President Trump’s July 13, 2024 campaign event," which was the site of an assassination attempt against Trump.
No specific date was offered for the start of the investigation. The notice was one of numerous ongoing cases that the inspector general's office is currently investigating.
An independent assessment of the security at the rally had already been directed by President Biden.
On Wednesday, there are still questions regarding the manner in which Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old shooter, was able to ascend a building and fire at Trump and rally attendees in Butler, Pennsylvania.
From the Director
In a Tuesday interview, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle asserted that her agency was "solely responsible" for the security measures in the area.
Despite the fact that other events in the state necessitated Secret Service protection, Cheatle informed CNN that no assets from the rally were diverted on the day of Trump's shooting.
"At that particular site, we divided up areas of responsibility, but the Secret Service is totally responsible for the design and implementation and the execution of the site," Cheatle said.
The Excuse
Separately, Cheatle told ABC News that the agency knew about the building's security flaws when the shooter positioned himself to shoot at Trump.
"That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there's a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn't want to put somebody up on a sloped roof," the director said.
"And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside."
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle faced severe backlash following an assassination attempt on former President Trump, with critics pointing to inadequate roof security as a key oversight.Kimberly Cheatle, the current director of the Secret Service, has come under fire for her decision-making during a critical security breach that saw former President Donald Trump exposed to an assassination attempt. Critics argue that Cheatle's decision not to station snipers on a specific building's sloped roof directly contributed to the security failure.
The controversy centers on the American Glass Research Building in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the would-be assassin was spotted. Cheatle claimed the roof's slope made it too dangerous for sniper placement, opting instead to secure the building from the inside.
Former President's Safety Compromised on Sloped Roof
Thomas Crooks, the identified assailant, was able to elude capture three times, remaining on the roof for about 30 minutes before the attempted shooting. He was armed with an AR-style semiautomatic rifle, originally belonging to his father.
Despite witnesses reporting Crooks’ presence on the roof to authorities, there was no immediate response from law enforcement. This delay in action has raised questions about the effectiveness of the security measures in place that day.
Cheatle has steadfastly refused to resign, assuming full responsibility for the mishap. She stated, "The buck stops with me," acknowledging the incident as a serious lapse that should not be repeated.
Cheatle's Career and Responsibilities Questioned
Prior to her appointment as the Secret Service director by President Biden in 2022, Cheatle had a diverse career, including a significant role at PepsiCo and later in the Vice Presidential Protective Division. Her last role before taking up the directorship was as part of Jill Biden's security detail, and she was recommended for the director position by Anthony Bernal, a top adviser.
However, her qualifications have been scrutinized, particularly in light of the recent security failures. Congressman Tim Burchett expressed concerns, noting her corporate background and questioning her suitability for a role demanding rigorous security oversight.
The incident has prompted House Speaker Mike Johnson to demand a comprehensive investigation. Johnson has emphasized the necessity for transparency and accountability, ensuring that Cheatle and other relevant officials are scrutinized by Congressional committees.
Investigation and Public Reaction
The Justice Department has taken charge of the investigation into the incident, a role typically expected to be filled by Homeland Security. This shift underscores the gravity of the security breach and the potential implications for national security protocols.
Critics like Sean Powell have lambasted Cheatle's justification for not using the roof, describing her reasoning as "absolute incompetence." Similarly, Jim DeMint has criticized the excuse about the roof’s slope as hardly credible.
Cheatle herself has expressed shock at the events, reiterating her ultimate responsibility for the incident and her commitment to ensuring such lapses are not repeated. "It was unacceptable, and it's something that shouldn't happen again," she declared.
Public and Political Outcry Following Security Lapse
The public and political reactions have been swift and severe, with calls for accountability at the highest levels. Mike Johnson's call for a full investigation by the House reflects a broader demand from the American public to understand how such a significant security oversight could have occurred.
As Cheatle prepares to testify before Congress, the upcoming hearings are expected to be a pivotal moment in addressing the criticisms of her management of the Secret Service and the specific decisions made during the incident.
The oversight of Cheatle’s decisions and the subsequent security breach are set to remain under intense scrutiny as investigations proceed and as public officials and citizens alike seek assurances that such failures are corrected moving forward.
Summary of Key Events and Future Projections
In conclusion, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle's handling of the security measures during an assassination attempt on former President Trump has sparked a major controversy and led to intense scrutiny of her decisions and qualifications. The focus on the inadequately secured sloped roof, where the assailant was located, highlights significant lapses in operational security. As Cheatle faces Congressional hearings, the outcomes of these proceedings are crucial for restoring confidence in the Secret Service’s ability to protect national figures.
Donald Trump created an indelible portrait of courage with his response to being almost assassinated. The iconic image is so powerful, in fact, that liberals want to censor it.
An editor at a major left-wing news outlet says the media should stop circulating the "dangerous" image of Trump raising his fist in defiance "despite how good it is" because it could help Trump's political campaign.
Libs fear Trump photo
The iconic photo, captured by Associated Press photojournalist Evan Vucci, shows Trump surrounded by Secret Service, with blood on his face, and a fist raised up in defiance, only moments after a bullet came within inches of killing him.
The finishing touch is the beautiful American flag behind him.
An anonymous editor, who works for a publication receiving millions of views, says there has not been enough introspection about "what these photos could mean."
The photo editor told Axios that the picture "is kind of free P.R. for Trump in a way, and its dangerous for media organizations to keep sharing that photo despite how good it is."
"No one was talking about how these photos could impact public perception in the rush to get it out," the editor said.
Others in the heavily left-wing journalism industry told Axios that they are concerned the image will influence how people perceive Trump.
A freelance photographer who has worked with major outlets told Axios that the picture could fuel a "a propaganda machine" that paints Trump as a heroic "martyr."
Censoring the truth
It appears nobody is willing to argue the images are fake, outside of some conspiracy kooks on the left who think the shooting was staged.
Instead, agenda-driven journalists feel they have a responsibility to conceal a real picture, of a historic event that actually happened - a picture that everyone agrees is an aesthetic marvel - simply because it shows the remarkable courage of a man they hate.
But the power of this photo can't be denied, and it can't be censored. Millions have already seen the picture, and they cannot unsee it.
The leftist smear machine has demonized Trump for years, but in one moment, he showed the world what he's really made of - and that's why the left is afraid.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
JERUSALEM – There is only one story dominating the news at the moment, and the reactions to the "other" shot heard around the world are continuing.
As America grapples with the post-assassination attempt reality – what it means for the upcoming election, as well as the general tenor of what passes for political discourse – WND takes a look at some of the reactions.
North, Central, and South American leaders' reactions:
Canada's Pierre Poilievre, who leads a Conservative Party seemingly making increasingly significant gains against the country's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, took to X to decry the incident. His tweet garnered some 77,000 likes.
Meanwhile, the Canadian PM's official X account could only muster fewer than 650 likes for a response from Trudeau.
Argentina's President Javier Milei – whose government recently declared Hamas a terrorist organization and who is also pushing for more urgent investigation into the Iranian-funded bombing of Buenos Aires' Jewish community center in 1994 – tweeted his contempt for international leftist ideology.
Brazil's former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro tweeted a simple message, including "Our solidarity is with the world's greatest leader at the moment."
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele released a strongly worded statement on X, roundly condemning the assassination attempt.
European leaders' response:
Britain's newly minted Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer took to X to express his shock at the assassination attempt. "I am appalled by the shocking scenes at President Trump's rally and we send him and his family our best wishes."
French President Emmanuel Macron decried the attempt on Trump's life, referring to it as "a tragedy for our democracies. France shares the shock and indignation of the American people."
Dutch politician Geert Wilders, leader of the country's Party of Freedom, took to X to highlight the fact right-wing lawmakers of different stripes and in various countries face similar dangers to Trump. He also posted the iconic image of a bloodied but unbowed 45th president of the United States with a clenched fist and the Stars and Stripes fluttering in the background with the simple line "President Trump."
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbàn expressed his "thoughts and prayers" for President Trump.
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said, "It is a warning to everyone, regardless of political affiliation, to restore dignity and honor to politics, against all forms of hatred and violence, and for the good of our democracies."
Middle Eastern leaders' reflections:
The United Arab Emirates' president, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who has cracked down hard on political dissent, condemned all forms of "violence and terrorism" in the wake of the attack. UAE was one of the signatories to the Abraham Accords in 2020, which – until the Biden administration rolled it back – had seemed to herald a more peaceful and prosperous era for the Middle East.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sissi conveyed concern and stressed his country's condemnation of the attack in a statement.
"I express my wishes for Trump's speedy recovery and for the US election campaigns to be resumed in a peaceful and healthy atmosphere, free of any aspects of terrorism, violence, or hatred," he said.
Sisi, who Trump once referred to as his "favorite dictator," further called the Butler, Pennsylvania, shooting a "treacherous act."
Leader of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region Marsour Barzani condemned the attack, saying the Kurds "stood in solidarity with the United States."
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the attack on Trump, extending his "sincerest wishes" to the former president and his family.
For Israeli leaders’ response to the attempt on Trump’s life read more here.
In addition, Abe Katsman, counsel, Republicans Overseas Israel said, "I think the reaction has not been nearly strong enough. It's not good when the BEST we can hope to discover is ineptitude of the Secret Service, and not something more nefarious.
"Invariably, when there is an Islamist shooter or terrorist attack, we are told the suspect was 'self-radicalized' online/through social media. Well, if that's possible, then it's also possible for people to be radicalized by the over-the-top demonization of President Trump and the Republicans. The Left really needs to be called out for such excesses; there is danger in confusing a political opponent with an enemy, and even more so when done loudly and repeatedly."
Of JD Vance's nomination as Trump's vice president pick, Katsman said, "We are generally quite pleased with the choice. And, of course, very pleased with the ticket overall. While Trump's opponents will try to claim Vance is an 'isolationist' (and therefore not to be trusted with the special US-Israel relationship), we don't believe that to be at all accurate; where he hesitates to commit U.S. resources abroad, his positions are cogent, responsible and thought-out."
"He, like Mr. Trump understands the critical value and importance to America of its unique alliance with Israel, and the imperative for America's security of intelligent policy regarding the entire region. A Trump/Vance administration is sure to be a vast improvement over the current administration's inept foreign policy, which has only made the world a far more dangerous place. Of that, there is zero doubt. This ticket has our unreserved endorsement."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump, unfolding in Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024, may have been the closest we have come to World War III. Trump escaped death by a remarkable providence of God. Had Trump been killed, the man who fights against the globalist quest for world dominion like no other in America, the neocon warmonger elite would have had a full-fledged victory. Horrifying wars would have been ahead of us.
With the American flag perfectly set in the back, the AP photograph of the former president clenching his fist in the air, blood on his face as Secret Service agents swarmed around him, is becoming a symbol similar to the French Revolution iconic painting of “Liberty Leading the People” by Eugène Delacroix. In it, the bare-breasted woman clenching her fist represents the people’s voice against the tyranny of the elites, lifting the French flag with a young boy and soldiers by her side.
The demonized and heavily persecuted Trump has for years been the only man able to symbolize the “little man’s fight against the elites,” as he has spoken of the need to focus on domestic issues, return jobs to America, tax the mega-corporations who reside in tax havens and stop the cartel monopolization of wealth. No wonder the mainstream media are instructed to demonize Trump, as over 90 % of the media is owned by the very same ultra-rich, globalist cartel corporations Trump attacks. I elaborate on this topic in my book “Trump: The Battle for America.” He knows that the United States has become the laughingstock internationally for its complete inability to win wars overseas regardless of the trillions of dollars spent, wars in which hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost and millions displaced as refugees. Domestically, the U.S. has been equally unable to deal with the rampant drug problems, inflation, corruption, skyrocketing food prices, open borders problems, overcrowded jails, street poverty and homelessness, horrible roads, gruesome inner-city standards, and so on.
The dramatic assassination attempt becomes the pinnacle of the ongoing political civil war in the degenerated West between local patriots who support traditional constitutional nation-states and internationalist globalists who seek to end borders. Donald Trump has stated that the future does not belong to these globalists; it belongs to the patriots. The globalists arguably seek to impose a new feudalist billionaire-dominated system in which the voice of the people is no more.
The globalist business model is dependent on weak nation-states that easily may be overrun by global corporations that crush the middle class and local businesses. It is also dependent on a low-cost labor force, thus the need for illegal immigrants without rights who can be bullied around with no consequence. It is the new model for slavery: workers with no rights. The globalists have for decades benefited from the outsourcing of jobs and wealth to cheap-labor countries, reinforcing an international economic model that departs from the nation-based capitalist system and benefits the ultra-rich on an unprecedented scale.
Globalism has since the 1980s produced a system in which a few individuals now own over 50% of world assets, only made possible by the transnational business model – with mega-corporations based in tax havens – that refuses to redistribute wealth when outsourcing jobs to low-cost labor countries. This has produced the death of the middle class in the West and the impoverishment of the working class. Naturally, Trump, who wants to reinforce national borders, has become a hated enemy.
The growing divide between globalists and patriots is also strongly present in Europe, a continent reduced to a passively obedient vassal to the same American neocon elites, completely manipulated by the Washington leadership. The European nation-states are weakened, divided, and controlled by political rulers who arguably do not have the best interests of their people at heart. Europe is thereby heavily entrenched in the very same conflict that Trump spearheads in America. The French political leader Marine Le Pen recently said that the divide in the West is no longer between the right wing and the left wing. It is between patriots and globalists.
The assassination attempt has turned Donald Trump into a larger-than-life icon, a prophet hailed as a messiah figure at levels never seen before. The hope is to return American greatness to the deteriorating and sad image of a faltering United States, to end the gruesome wars overseas, and to provide fair trade, growth, and justice to the increasingly multi-polar world.
If there ever was a time to pray for America, it surely is now.
A mentally disturbed homeless man wielding a knife was shot dead just one mile from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Tuesday.
The man was shot dead by a group of Ohio police officers providing security for the four-day convention, which started Monday. The man was threatening another man with a pair of steak knives.
Shooting outside RNC
Police released bodycam video of the incident, which happened about a mile from the convention in the King Park area.
A group of officers were having a conversation when they noticed the suspect having an altercation with another man in the street. "He's got a knife," one of the cops said.
The Columbus, Ohio officers ran towards the man, shouting "drop your knife!" The armed man ignored them and charged at the other man, who was unarmed. The police fired their guns, killing the suspect.
“Someone’s life was in danger,” Milwaukee Chief Jeffrey Norman said. “These officers, who were not from this area, took it upon themselves to act and save someone’s life today.”
Suspect was homeless
The incident came just days after a gunman tried to assassinate President Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania. Trump was formally nominated the GOP's candidate for president on Monday.
The RNC's theme on Tuesday was crime and public safety. The roster of speakers included crime victims, who shared personal stories about their lives being torn apart by liberal soft-on-crime policies.
The 43-year-old suspect who was killed Tuesday lived in a well-known homeless encampment in the King Park area.
Local bums living in the tent city said that the encampment is familiar to local police. They said the altercation might have ended differently if local cops were involved.
“If MPD [Milwaukee police] would have been there, that man would still be alive right now,” one of the bums, David Porter, said.
Saved a life
At a press conference Tuesday, local police defended the out-of-town officers. The suspect had a knife in each hand, they said, and ignored commands to cooperate.
“The officers observed a subject armed with a knife in each hand, engaged in an altercation with another unarmed individual,” Norman said. "They only fired after the armed man ignored multiple commands and moved toward the unarmed man, the chief said.
“This is a situation where somebody’s life was in immediate danger,” Norman said.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The stunning move canceled the requirement for offenders to appear before a judge
There's no comment from a Minnesota judge about why he abruptly reversed a local court policy that was allowing domestic violence suspects to be freed from jail on as little as $150 cash bond, but the change followed almost immediately a posting of the get-out-of-jail practice online.
The situation has been profiled in a report at the Minnesota Sun, which noted the details were confirmed by CrimeWatchMpls on social media.
The report said officials in the Hennepin County Court system recently modified a standing order regarding domestic abuse suspects. The old policy required them to be held until they had appeared before a judge, so that orders, like no-contact instructions and such, could be implemented.
But Hennepin County District Court Chief Judge Kerry Meyer changed that.
His new order allowed "suspects arrested on probable cause misdemeanor domestic abuse to be released from custody on cash bail as low as $150 just hours after their arrest and before seeing a judge. Suspects arrested on a probable cause gross misdemeanor domestic abuse charge could post cash bail as low as $1,000 and be released from custody before being brought before a judge, or having no-contact orders issued in either case," according to postings by the crime watch group.
That change was posted for people to see Friday evening.
"Less than 24 hours after the information was posted on Crime Watch's X feed, Chief Judge Meyer issued a new order on Saturday evening rescinding the portion of the June 18 Standing Order that applied to misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor suspects jailed on probable cause domestic abuse," the report explained.
It said Meyer explained, "This Order is intended to revert misdemeanor domestic offenses to the 2019 Standing Order provisions, put gross misdemeanor domestics in that same position, and clarify no contact orders will be issued upon release until future amendment."
The report said that means those who are arrested on suspicion of domestic violence must remain in jail until they appear before a judge who would make decisions regarding limits.
Meyer, in a statement to reporters, said he would have no further comment beyond the order.
CrimeWatchMpls said, "This is a small but significant victory that shows the power of this platform and those of you who took action in contacting the court following our post."
Questions persist about the would-be assassin who shot former President Donald Trump Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported. The 20-year-old was somehow able to set up his rifle roughly 400 feet from where Trump was speaking and fire off several shots despite the presence of the Secret Service and police.
Officials identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, who had no prior criminal history before Saturday's assassination attempt. Crooks managed to fire off at least six rounds before being taken out by police.
The gunman wounded the former president, killed one man, and wounded two others attending a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The FBI is purportedly conducting an investigation into the incident.
Still, they have yet to explain a motive for the shooting or even how Crooks evaded law enforcement to get close enough to line up his shot before pulling the trigger. Later reports indicating that he was spotted by law enforcement several times before pulling the trigger are fueling speculation.
It Doesn’t Add Up
What’s known about Crooks simply doesn’t add up to the kind of heinous act he committed Saturday. The FBI's investigation into the background of the baby-faced killer revealed that he left few traces of any online activity.
While other people his age document their entire existence on social media, Crooks appeared to have no photographs or posts on the internet. They found some gaming accounts and one for an online coding class, but little more.
The son of licensed professional counselors, Crooks was described by former teachers as shy but not a problematic student. In May, Crooks graduated with an associate degree in engineering science from the Community College of Allegheny County.
Crooks had been employed by the Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at the time of his death. He passed a background check and performed his job satisfactorily at the nursing home.
A neighbor who knew Crooks as a child described him as well-mannered if also "quiet, maybe a little bit different." None of this seems to explain how he would become a cold-blooded killer who would want to commit such a bold and consequential crime.
Law Enforcement Failures
Perhaps more puzzling than the “why” of this crime is the “how” when it comes to law enforcement failures. CBS News reported that minutes before pulling the trigger, Crooks’ was spotted and photographed by one of the law enforcement snipers assigned to protect Trump.
The gunman was seen twice more, and despite communication on his whereabouts between local and federal law enforcement, Crooks managed to take his shots without being stopped. It’s unclear why snipers didn’t act faster to neutralize the threat or why the Secret Service didn't usher Trump off the stage sooner.
Even many civilians in the crowd saw Crooks and alerted police, including eyewitness Greg Smith, who told the BBC he saw the gunman "bear crawling" on the building. "The police are down there running around on the ground. We’re like, ‘Hey man, there’s a guy on the roof with a rifle,’" Smith said.
"The police were like, ‘Huh, what?’ — like they didn’t know what was going on. We’re like, ‘Right here on the roof. We can see him from right here. We can see him. He’s crawling.'" It appears law enforcement only acted after Crooks took his shots.
Nobody knows why Crooks did it or how he was allowed to scale the building, set up his rifle, and take several shots before being neutralized. What's clear is that something went seriously wrong, and Americans deserve answers.
In the latest example of aggressive pre-digestion of infomration by mainstream media, the editor of an unnamed major news outlet is calling one of the iconic photos of former President Donald Trump "propaganda," according to Fox News.
The news broke that the former president was shot in the side of the head almost simultaneous to the historic photos hitting the internet, thanks to the magic cellular service and other forms of communications at the site of the attack.
While no one is claiming that the photo is not entirely accurate and a correct depiction of the events of the day, one major editor doesn't want a photo of Trump with blood on his face, looking defiant, to make the rounds any longer.
Opposition to the Photo
According to a source, an unnamed picture editor at a major news organization believes that it is "dangerous" for the media to promote the historic photo.
The photo in question was of former President Trump standing up after the assassination attempt that occurred on Saturday. The photo editor also believed that the media group he works for would be providing "free PR" for the Trump campaign.
According to an Axios media trend assessment published on Tuesday, the iconic image's "overuse" can "pose risks."
The report cites unnamed photographers who allegedly told the outlet that promoting the viral photos could be a type of "photoganda" because the Trump campaign will make use of them to "further their agenda, despite the photographers' intent of capturing a news event."
More on the Photo
Trump was battered to the ground at a rally on Saturday when a gunshot grazed his right ear, but the photograph recorded his defiant reaction seconds later.
As the Secret Service escorted the former president off the platform, an American flag flew over his head, and blood splattered across his face, he raised a fist to the cheering crowd.
Photojournalist Evan Vucci of the Associated Press shot the iconic shot that quickly became the talk of the internet and made headlines across the world.
A picture editor and photographer "from a major news outlet" reportedly told Axios that the media shouldn't use the shot "despite how good it is" because it would put the former president in a positive light.
From the Photographer
The Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Vucci has covered thousands of events like this for the AP since 2003. He told Fox News Digital that he knew he was witnessing a historic moment as shots were fired at the former president.
Vucci told Fox News Digital on Monday from Milwaukee, where he was preparing to photograph the Republican National Convention, "I was literally just thinking about doing the best possible job I could, because I knew that this was a moment in American history that I had to be at the top of my game for."
"The amount that publications have been using Evan's photo is kind of free PR for Trump in a way, and it's dangerous for media organizations to keep sharing that photo despite how good it is," the editor told the outlet.
Future of the Photo
The shot after the shot, which has been hailed as instantly iconic, is expected to appear on the cover of Time magazine's upcoming print edition.
One of the most divisive, admired, and hated political figures in American history, Trump, could be eternally altered in the eyes of some, according to some analysts.
According to Fox News, The Washington Post’s art critic, Phillip Kennicott, called it "a photograph that could change America forever."
A federal judge threw out the charges in Donald Trump's classified documents trial on Monday, in another stroke of luck for the former president after he narrowly survived an assassination attempt.
With sympathy for Trump running high as politicians call for unity, Democrats are being urged to end their "dirty lawfare" campaign against the Republican presidential nominee.
The lawfare effort reached it speak in April, when New York Democratic prosecutor Alvin Bragg convicted Trump on 34 counts of "falsifying business records."
Dems urged to end lawfare
Democrats have regularly cited Trump's conviction to attack Trump as a "convicted felon." After Saturday's shooting in Pennsylvania, Biden has called for unity and Democrats have moderated their rhetoric to some degree.
At the same time, Democrats have made it clear they intend to keep calling Trump a threat to democracy, even as some say that rhetoric contributed to the attempt on Trump's life.
In a shocking ruling Monday, Judge Aileen Cannon ended the classified documents prosecution into Trump, finding Special Counsel Jack Smith was not properly appointed.
In an editorial, the New York Post urged Democrats to honor Biden's unity pledge by ending the "dirty" weaponization of justice.
"Democrats’ multipronged, utterly cynical 'lawfare' drive effort to derail Trump before Election Day is (rightly) failing as badly as Thomas Crooks’ bullets," the Post wrote, referring to the man who attempted to kill Trump.
Prosecutions fizzle
The lawfare effort has produced mixed results, with Trump facing a sentencing in September for his New York conviction while other cases stall.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that presidents have immunity from prosecution, all but ending Smith's hopes of prosecuting Trump for January 6th before the election. Trump also has cited the ruling to challenge his conviction in New York for "falsifying business records."
Separately, Trump's criminal case in Georgia for "overturning" the 2020 election has been stalled by Trump's continued efforts to disqualify prosecutor Fani Willis for misconduct.
"Maybe it’s time to honor President Biden’s call for unity by dropping the whole dirty lawfare campaign?" the Post wrote.
"Focus on trying to beat Trump in the voting booth, not the courts," the paper said.
While Democrat may be paying lip service to unity, it is doubtful they will ever drop these prosecutions, especially with Biden falling behind in the presidential race.
