Russia and the United States make a deal to free a couple of American hostages. I’m not all that confident it’s going to be a good deal.
Once again, terrorists are treated better than they deserve. I don’t understand any of this.
And Kamala’s campaign strategy is a bold one in a cowardly way. Not sure it’s going to work out but we’ll see.
I Wary of this Deal
According to the Washington Examiner:
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former United States Marine Paul Whelan were released from Russian custody in a major prisoner swap.
Bloomberg confirmed Gershkovich’s and Whelan’s release on Thursday, though the details of the agreement, including who else is being released, remain largely unknown and could include countries outside the U.S. and Russia.
The State Department had previously classified Whelan and Gershkovich as “wrongfully detained,” which is a legal definition given to Americans who the government believes were detained by a state or nonstate actor with the intent to use as leverage in negotiations. There are several Americans in Russian prisons without that designation who may or may not be included in the deal.
Whelan was arrested in 2018 on espionage charges that he and the U.S. government vehemently denied. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020 and has served about a fourth of his sentence. Gershkovich was arrested in the spring of 2023 on similar charges, which he, his employer, and the U.S. disputed, and he, too, was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
The release had been rumored on Wednesday in a report from the Moscow Times, which said that up to 20 to 30 people may be released. Other names floated were Vladimir Kara-Murza, Oleg Orlov, Lilia Chanysheva, and former Moscow city councilman Ilya Yashin.
It was not made immediately clear which Russians were released in exchange, but the Russian outlet RIA reported the names Alexander Vinnik, Maxim Marchenko, Vadim Konoshchenok, and Vladislav Klyushin had disappeared from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons database.
The exchange was the first since December 2022, when basketball player Brittney Griner was exchanged for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. The Biden administration also agreed to a swap with Russia earlier that year to give up Konstantin Yaroshenko to secure the release of Trevor Reed.
I Don’t Understand This
According to Fox News:
A union representing New York City firefighters says its rank and file are “disgusted and disappointed” with the plea deal sparing alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammad and two other terrorists from the death penalty.
The Department of Defense announced Wednesday that it has entered pretrial agreements with Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, who each are awaiting trial at Guantánamo Bay.
“In exchange for removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, these three Accused have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet,” Rear Adm. Aaron Rugh, the chief prosecutor for the Office of Military Commissions, wrote in a letter sent yesterday to families of victims of the 9/11 attacks, according to the New York Post.
“On behalf of New York City firefighters, especially the survivors of the September 11th terrorist attack who are living with the illnesses and injuries that were inflicted upon us that day, we are disgusted and disappointed that these three terrorists were given a plea deal and allowed to escape the ultimate justice while each month three more heroes from the FDNY are dying from World Trade Center illnesses,” FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Association President Andrew Ansbro said in a statement Thursday.
The Office of Military Commissions did not immediately respond to a request from Fox News Digital this morning.
The president of the group 9/11 Justice, which describes itself as “a grassroots movement of families of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks,” also said Thursday that “We are deeply troubled by these plea deals.”
“While we acknowledge the decision to avoid the death penalty, our primary concern remains access to these individuals for information,” 9/11 Justice President Brett Eagleson said. “These plea deals should not perpetuate a system of closed-door agreements, where crucial information is hidden without giving the families of the victims the chance to learn the full truth.”
The defendants are accused of providing training, financial support and other assistance to the 19 terrorists who hijacked passenger jets and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 11, 2001.
The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people in the worst terror attack on U.S. soil in American history.
The three men, along with Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Ramzi Bin al Shibh, were initially charged jointly and arraigned on June 5, 2008, and then were again charged jointly and arraigned a second time on May 5, 2012, in connection with their alleged roles in the attacks, the Department of Defense says.
They are slated to be sentenced in Guantánamo Bay on Aug. 5
https://www.foxnews.com/us/fdny-union-slams-9-11-plea-deal-we-disgusted-disappointed
This Is Why He’ll Win
Donald Trump was at the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago.
The show started 35 minutes late and Kamala Harris was suppose to be there but didn’t show. Then, to start, he asked this question.
This is why Donald Trump will win.
Dumbass of the Day
Someone Is Going to Die
According to Fox News:
An Algerian boxer who was deemed to have male chromosomes won a fight in the 66-kilogram women’s division at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.
Imane Khelif defeated Italy’s Angela Carini after Carini abandoned her match. The fight lasted all of 46 seconds before Carini went to her cornermen to call off the fight.
Khelif celebrated the win while Carini was left in tears. After the fight Carini, was heard yelling to hear coaches in Italian questioning the fairness of the bout.
She then broke her silence about why she abandoned the match.
“I got into the ring to fight,” she said, via Italy’s ANSA. “I didn’t give up, but one punch hurt too much and so I said enough.
“I’m going out with my head held high.”
Khelif was disqualified during the 2023 World Championships, sanctioned by the International Boxing Association. The organization said Khelif, and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting failed to meet gender eligibility standards.