Biden’s losing battle with the age issue

By Byron York June 7, 2024 12:04 pm

BIDEN’S LOSING BATTLE WITH THE AGE ISSUE. President Joe Biden looked frail and sometimes confused at ceremonies in France to mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy invasion. In other words, no change — Biden looked pretty much the same as he always does these days.

Back at home, Democrats pushed back furiously this week when the Wall Street Journal published a story headlined, “Behind closed doors, Biden shows signs of slipping.” The article, “based on interviews with more than 45 people over several months,” reported that Biden “appears slower” than in recent years, “has good moments and bad ones,” and in negotiations with lawmakers cannot summon the “detailed knowledge of issues and insights into the other side’s motivations and needs” that he could in years past.

The Wall Street Journal described a White House meeting in January in which Biden negotiated with congressional leaders over funding for Ukraine. “He spoke so softly at times that some participants struggled to hear him, according to five people familiar with the meeting,” the Wall Street Journal reported. “He read from notes to make obvious points, paused for extended periods and sometimes closed his eyes for so long that some in the room wondered whether he had tuned out.”

The headline seemed almost funny. Behind closed doors? Biden has been showing signs of slipping,right out in the open, since he entered the White House. Just look at videos of Biden’sfirst full press conference, on March 25, 2021, and address to the nation, on March 11, 2021. His walk was stronger and his speech far clearer than it is today. That’s just a fact. Of course he is slowing down, exactly as the Wall Street Journal reported. And given the realities of aging, it’s not going to get better. It’s going to get worse.

Nevertheless, Democrats complained that they had told the Wall Street Journal Biden performed masterfully behind closed doors and that the Wall Street Journal ignored them.“Surprise, surprise — everyone attacking POTUS is a Republican with an agenda,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) posted. “I made clear to the Wall Street Journal regarding the January meeting on Ukraine that the president was absolutely engaged and ran that meeting in a way that brought everyone together. I’m not quoted — I wonder why.”

The defense of Biden seemed almost funny, too.Were Democrats really saying he was fully in command behind closed doors? If so, why be so sharp behind closed doors and struggle so much in public?“If I were the president running for re-election, I would simply stop being so secretly inexhaustible and sharp as a tack and do it in public at speeches and campaign events,” was the wry post from conservative commentator Mary Katharine Ham.

Addressing the Democratic defense, the political reporter Olivia Nuzzi wrote, “The problem with this, of course, is that the Joe Biden the world observes in his public appearances resembles more closely the Joe Biden described by the Wall Street Journal than by the Democrats who claim he is secretly sharp as a tack.”

That is the obvious truth. Just go to the videos. You don’t have to go back decades, to when Biden was in the Senate, or even 10 years ago, when he was vice president. Just look at Biden at the beginning of his presidency, just three years ago. There is substantial decline taking place. It is not reversible. It is part of life for many people who live past 80 years of age. Yes, it happens at different times to different people, but the point is, it is happening to Biden right now.

What now? There are some observers who do not believe Democrats will end up nominating Biden for another term. But the fact is, the party is fully committed to the aging president. There is no Plan B. When reelection time comes around, it is extremely hard to oust a president of one’s own party when he does not want to leave. As serious as Biden’s situation is, it seems unlikely Democrats can do anything to stop the nomination process that is already near conclusion.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/daily-memo/3032423/bidens-losing-battle-with-the-age-issue/

(Does this story remind you of others in ATL? wonder if Fani gave her advice?)

Glamorous Atlanta prosecutor is jailed for stealing $15m of Covid funds and using the cash to buy diamond rings and a Rolls Royce

By James Gordon For Dailymail.com Updated: 02:38 EDT, 9 June 2024

The former assistant city attorney of Atlanta, who was also a life advice podcaster, has been jailed for seven years after fraudulently obtaining approximately $15 million in COVID relief loans.

Shelitha Robertson, 62, used the illegally gained funds to splash out on luxuries such as a 10 carat diamond ring, a Rolls Royce and a motorbike.

The former police officer had obtained the money under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a federal stimulus program that was set up during the pandemic.

But only weeks before she was imprisoned, Robertson was still gleefully appearing on her daughter's 'Mommy & Me' podcast in which the pair would give their advice on dealing with the world - including advising listeners on how to earn money through hard work and 'integrity'.

But Robertson didn't follow her own advice and decided to make her money through deception, submitting one false loan application after another to the COVID relief scheme claiming she needed the cash to support four businesses she owned.

What she said in the loan documents was extraordinary, claiming she had a workforce of more than 400, meaning she was entitled to millions of dollars in handouts for each of the companies she claimed to run.

Court documents show that Robertson falsely claimed she was responsible for a 427 employees.

The number of 'staff' in her 'companies' allowed her to obtain enormous PPP loans, which were designed to keep legitimate businesses afloat through the pandemic.

In an October episode of the podcast Robertson presented alongside her daughter Brii Renee, she was asked if she would choose integrity over poverty when asked how she would react to the chance to make money quickly.

'I choose integrity and whatever else it brings. I don't choose selling your soul to the devil. Because that would mean I am willing to belittle myself and degrade myself for the love of what? Of a dollar,' Robertson began, knowing full well the Department of Justice were already investigating her.kek(surprised she didn't invoke Christianity)

'How my kids view me and respect me, means more to me than earning a quick dollar for me to be something that I'm not,' Robertson said, just weeks before she was hauled off to jail.

Robertson used the multi-million dollar proceeds from her loans to purchase luxury items, including a 10-carat diamond ring worth at least $150,000, as well as luxury vehicles, including the Rolls.

The DOJ also said she transferred funds to a co-conspirator, Chandra Norton, and other family members.

The pair had no such qualms about abusing such a scheme, even submitting false tax documents to back up their inflated income statements within each loan application.

A jury convicted Robertson of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, with the judge sentencing her to seven yearsand three months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

Robertson will be almost 70 by the time she's released from prison, leaving her influencer daughter Brii, who has over 600,000 Instagram followers, without a podcast partner.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13509929/Glamorous-Atlanta-prosecutor-Shelitha-Robertson-jailed-stealing-millions-Covid-funds.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=social-twitter_mailonline

More Meaningless, Symbolic Gestures from Mike Johnson.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and his leadership team are whipping Republican members ahead of a potential vote on legislation that would allow sitting or former presidents to have state-level charges against them moved to federal court. The legislation is a direct response to the guilty verdict against former President Donald J. Trump—for falsifying business records—issued by a Manhattan jury at the end of May.

While on substance, the legislation actually makes sense and would be a sound reform to the American judicial system, and how it treats sitting and current presidents, in the hands of House Republicans, it is more a futile exercise in political messaging. The fact that Speaker Johnson is even having to whip the Republican conference on the matter doesn’t bode well for the legislation’s chances of passage. Even if the slim Republican House majority is able to stop its infighting long enough to adopt the measure, it will die a lonely death in the U.S. Senate, where the Democrat majority almost assuredly will not consider it.

Speaker Johnson isn’t entirely to blame for this futile exercise, however. Johnson is under pressure from some House Freedom Caucus members and other conservatives to take up the measure. This pressure is likely as much motivated by loyalty to former President Trump as it is by hoping to placate angry MAGA voters at home—outraged by Congress’s inaction.

The court venue measure is part of a three-bill package Johnson announced earlier this week. The package included cutting funding to the Biden Department of Justice (DOJ)’s special counsel prosecutions of former President Trump and increasing DOJ oversight.

In early May, The National Pulse reported thatHouse Republicans were more concerned with sanctioning the International Criminal Court (ICC) over Israel than they were with lawfare against Trump.

https://thenationalpulse.com/2024/06/08/more-meaningless-symbolic-gestures-from-mike-johnson/

David Sachs

The SF political elite is in shambles right now. Ron Conway’s calls to discourage people from attending the event didn’t work. We were completely sold out. Efforts to gin up protestors by SF newspapers backfired. Hundreds of pro-Trump demonstrators turned out.

Quote

Ashley Zavala

@ZavalaA

·

Jun 7

In SF, hours after Trump fundraiser hosted by @DavidSacks reportedly raised $12M for the former President, Gov. Newsom: “It was a completely forgettable event yesterday.”

https://x.com/DavidSacks/status/1799489346636329336

The left are losing their minds, if Californian's love Trump, they'll lose their money laundering game and communist control

Court of Zelensky rocked by aide’s ‘thirst for power’

Senior officials in Ukraine are increasingly alarmed at the president’s reliance on Andriy ¬Yermak, his chief of staff

Maxim Tucker, Kyiv Friday June 07 2024, 7.00pm BST, The Times (This reporter should get out now)1/2

Andriy ¬Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, is ¬accused of amassing personal power and usurping democratic processes

At a Nato airbase in Belgium, President Zelensky celebrated his greatest achievement by greeting five of Ukraine’s new F-16 pilots. Looming over his shoulder, carefully positioned for the cameras last week, appeared the man who represents his greatest flaw. (His greatest flaw is he is stealing more than they are)

As Zelensky’s first elected term drew to a close,senior government, military, law enforcement and diplomatic sources, many of whom requested anonymity, expressed alarm at his growing dependence on Andriy ¬Yermak, his chief of staff, who is ¬accused of amassing personal power and usurping democratic processes.

Since the introduction of martial law in 2022, which enables Zelensky to remain in office until the war’s end, -Yermak’s authority has surpassed that of all of Ukraine’s elected officials bar the president. Some sources went so far as todescribe him as the “de facto head of state” or “Ukraine’s vice-president” in a series of interviews. Diplomatic sources complained that he exercised complete control over ¬access to the president, with G7 ambassadors who hoped for an audience presented with Yermak instead.

The president’s office dismissed the criticism as “propaganda attacks”, insisting Zelensky regularly met ambassadors but was often out of the country or had more pressing engagements. The administration argues that thecriticism stems from Yermak’s direct but efficient management style, pointing to his success in initiatives that include corralling international partners into a peace summit in Switzerland next week. (He’ll be disappointed since many will bail out since Scholz says it’s not a “Peace Conference”)

“In this job it’s hard to stay friends with everyone,” a spokesman for Zelensky’s office said. “But President Zelensky is the one who makes all the key decisions.”

Military officials, meanwhile, have accused Yermak, 52, of keeping General Valery Zaluzhny away from the president, and eventually orchestrating his dismissal as head of the armed forces in February. Yermak, they claim, considered Zaluzhny a rival to his authority.

“Those in uniform are seldom happy with political decisions,” a presidential spokeswoman said. “Valery Zaluzhny was not dismissed, he has been appointed ambassador to the United Kingdom, which signifies a high level of trust.” (No one has seemed to see Zaluzhny in the UK though). She added that all operations of the president’s office during martial law were subject to special security protocols and that Yermak therefore had a legitimate role in the commander-in-chief’s headquarters and on the National Security and Defence Council, in line with his constitutional powers.

Government insiders also blamed Yermak for the sacking of the deputy prime minister, Oleksandr Kubrakov, last monthafter he reported efforts by MPs in Zelensky’s party to bribe him.Both the general and the deputy prime minister, who was in charge of Ukraine’s infrastructure, were widely respected for their integrity, competence and independence.

Concern is mounting thatZelensky is increasingly reliant on a handful of sycophantic domestic voices, a fear made more acute as the number of officials with direct access to the president declines, while Yermak’s team grows.

“I was among around five people who had direct access to the president, this circle of advisers was extremely limited,” said Oleh Ustenko, Zelensky’s former economics adviser, who was dismissed in March without explanation. “Then there are probably several dozen who are advising Yermak, the chief of staff. As well as those doing the nitty gritty, all are under the head of the office, and he has several deputies.”

https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/court-zelensky-ukraine-rocked-by-aides-thirst-for-power-57z9q8fwf

>>209939032/2

The political survival of two of those deputies, Oleh Tatarov and Kyrylo Tymoshenko, now a key adviser to the defence minister, Rustem Umerov,has outraged anti-corruption watchdogswho point to reports of their allegedinvolvement in bribery scandals.“Despite all the requests from international partners, Tatarov is still in charge of law enforcement reform, which is insane,” said Daria Kaleniuk, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre.

She claimed Tatarov was investigated for bribery, adding: “Instead of dismissing him, the office of the president instructed new prosecutors to take over his case, and they closed it.” Yermak uses Tatarov to ensure loyalty from officers in the criminal justice system, according to a senior law enforcement official. “He is extremely effective, he knows the system and the people in it,” the official said.

“He has no moral restrictions and knows how to accumulate money.”Tatarov has denied the allegations, as well as more recent bribery allegations made by a former construction boss. He has never been convicted of a crime.

Corruption has increasingly become a source of friction between the White House and Kyiv. Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said during his visit to Ukraine last month that Kyiv should make “sure that the fight against corruption continues at home just as the fight against Russia’s aggression continues on the front lines”.

At the time, Ukrainian soldiers were hastily digging trenches to fend off the Russian offensive in Kharkiv, wondering why they had not been built earlier. The answer may lie in Yermak’s placement of his former deputy,Tymoshenko, in the defence ministry where he is charged with overseeing the $647 million construction of fortifications.

Last year the National Agency on Corruption Preventionfound Tymoshenko had been driving a Porsche Taycan and staying free in a luxury resort, as well as abusing his power to allow subordinates to travel abroad in violation of the country’s mobilisation laws. It further found he had presented forged documents aimed at concealing the offences,raising questions on how he had been given such a serious role in national security.

Yarema Dukh, a former presidential spokesman for Zelensky’s predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, said there was a “pretty straightforward” counter to allegations of corruption surrounding the Kharkiv defences. “Show the documents, show the plans that are not classified, shut down the accusations — that is what I would do in this situation.”

The president’s office said critics had not provided specific evidence to support allegations of embezzlement but that “independent anti-corruption bodies are investigating the activities of current officials”. The spokeswoman said: “We don’t have untouchables but the guilt must be proven in court.”

The Kremlin has sought to seize on Yermak’s increased influence, allegations of corruption and the expiry of Zelensky’s term of office to produce false propaganda, claiming Ukraine has become an autocracy. Despite the concern at Yermak’s role, Ukrainians still consider Zelensky the country’s legitimate leader, Dukh said.

“There are no sane Ukrainian politicians who are questioning his presidential or parliamentary legitimacy. There is no safe way to hold an election — Russians need only to put into the air a few MiGs and there is an air raid alert across the country, shopping centres and public spaces have to close, and this would obviously apply to polling stations too.”

Even the president’s most strident critics say there is still time for him to change course. “We have seen Zelensky to be quite a different president depending on who his chief of staff is,” Kaleniuk said.“His big mistake has been to entrust so much authority to Yermak, who is clearly intoxicated with power.”

Additional reporting by Marian Prysiazhniuk

https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/court-zelensky-ukraine-rocked-by-aides-thirst-for-power-57z9q8fwf

Brussels blames Russian meddling for expected swing to the rightKEK

Kremlin propaganda deemed responsible for a likely surge in support for populists at the European parliamentary elections this weekend Bruno Waterfield, BrusselsFriday June 07 2024, 9.15pm BST, The Times

Brussels is ready to blame Russian propaganda aimed at undermining the European Union for an expected surge in support for populists and nationalistsin elections across Europe this weekend.

Final polls indicate that hard-right and Eurosceptic parties, such as Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy and Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in France, will make big gains in elections to the European parliament.

Campaigning has been marked, according to Brussels officials, by ahigh level of “disinformation”, particularly on social media channels, where the radical right has large audiences.“[Vladimir] Putin is waging a hybrid war and trying to influence the European elections, trying to divide the West,” said Antonio Tajani, Italy’s foreign minister.

KEK…..“The next European elections will be a defining moment for our common future,” said Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, a Spanish socialist. “We need to protect this election process and more broadly European public debate from malign foreign actors who want Europe to fail.” He said this week that theEuropean Commission and leaders across the EU had become victims of “smear campaigns” promoted by the Kremlin.

“We are blamed for all sorts of evils. French President Macron has been particularly in the crosshairs recently with a range of false and vulgar attacks,” he said, in a reference to faked news clips alleging that Ukraine was planning to assassinate Macron and blame Russia for his death.

The EU has been alarmed at the increased sophistication of disinformation campaigns before elections where 373 million voters are eligible to cast ballots, including 26 million young people voting for the first time.

“Deepfake” techniques to promote sometimes completely false and misleading statements have been detected, including the “Doppelgänger” Russian-based networkthat has been active across the EU since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Vera Jourova, a vice-president of the European Commission, has warned that France, Germany and Poland are “under permanent attack” from Russian influence and propaganda that hone in on national sensitivities.

In Germany, campaigns have focused on migration and security, especially after the murder of a policeman by an Afghan refugee last week. Propaganda targeting the French has focused on security fears over the Olympic Games and disorder in France’s overseas territory New Caledonia.

In Poland, Kremlin disinformation has tried to stoke fears about citizens being conscripted to fight in Ukraine, with faked reports that 200,000 men would be mobilised in July. Just over a week ago, Belgian police raided offices belonging to a French European parliamentary assistant in an investigation into a covert Russian propaganda operation.

Critics have warned that the focus on Russian propaganda can become “McCarthyism in reverse”to tar radical parties that represent a democratic challenge to the EU status quo.

“Talk of Russia using propaganda can become the dominant narrative to help distract the public from the truththat change is on the way as we face elections,” said Professor Frank Furedi, director of the MCC Brussels think tank.

“Rather than confronting their failures, the European elites need a scapegoat to maintain their influence over the people of Europe.”

https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/eu-brussels-analysis-russian-meddling-swing-right-wing-parties-xz7ldhnsr