Judge Dismisses Cases Against Comey, Letitia James

A federal judge has dismissed cases against former FBI Director James Comey and NY Attorney General Letitia James, after finding that US Attorney Lindsey Halligan was unlawfully appointed to the role, and that AG Pam Bondi cannot ratify her actions.

Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, a Clinton appointee, dismissed the case without prejudice over Halligan's appointment, meaning the DOJ can try again when they get their act together.

"I conclude that all actions flowing from Ms. Halligan's defective appointment, including securing and signing Ms. James's indictment, constitute unlawful exercises of executive power and must be set aside," the judge wrote in an order in James' case.

Comey pleaded not guilty to charges that he lied to Congress during a 2020 hearing and obstructed their proceeding.

https://www.allrisenews.com/p/halligan-comey-jame-thanksgiving-rtw

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vaed.582135/gov.uscourts.vaed.582135.213.0.pdf

Campbell’s Soup Allegedly Exposed in Secret Recording for Using BIOENGINEERED MEAT as Company VP Mocks “F**king Poor People” Who Buy its Product – Company Responds

Campbell Soup’s VP and Chief Information Security Officer, Martin Bally, was secretly recorded saying the company uses bioengineered meat, their products aren’t healthy, and that it’s mostly poor people who buy them.

"We have shit for fucking poor people. Who buys our shit? I don’t buy Campbell’s products barely anymore. It’s not healthy now that I know what the fuck‘s in it. Bioengineered meat! I don’t wanna eat a fucking piece of chicken that came from a 3-D printer."

https://x.com/ImMeme0/status/1992761154322497883

"Never Had These Problems Before": Violent Illegal Street Takeover Rocks Queens Neighborhood, Terrifying Residents

A late-night illegal street takeover in Queens, New York, over the weekend turned extremely violent when a private security guard attempting to intervene was assaulted, and his vehicle was set on fire. The incident highlights the growing public-safety crisis in Democrat-run cities and may only suggest what's to come under Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.

City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, who represents the neighborhood of Malba, a small, wealthy residential area in northeastern Queens, was absolutely disgusted by the lawlessness…

On X, Paladino raged:

Last night in Malba, a large group of individuals from outside my district conducted an illegal 'takeover' of a quiet residential street at approximately 12:30am. This is not the first time it's happened.

A private security guard attempted to calm the situation – he was assaulted by the mob and his vehicle was set on fire. He suffered significant injuries. A local resident was also assaulted.

Response to this incident was less than ideal. Residents reporting the incident to 911 were told that 'quality of life team' and 311 should handle the situation. Unacceptable. In fact, these violent street takeovers should be met with maximum force by the police department.

We have NEVER had these problems before. Now it's an epidemic. What changed? We stopped arresting criminals.

I am meeting this morning with the chief of department and the local precinct at the scene to discuss exactly what happened last night. I have already been assured that Malba will receive four dedicated patrol cars from this point forward, as well as additional security upgrades that we cannot disclose.

However, the city MUST do something to stop this lawlessness. All the speed cameras in the world do absolutely NOTHING to prevent these incidents – we need police response and the most severe consequences for these criminals, not to simply allow them to drive away after they've completed their mayhem.

These incidents are happening citywide, and they're happening because there are no longer any real consequences to this kind of criminality. But let me make something very clear to the criminals – you are risking your lives bringing this chaos into our neighborhoods.

I know for a fact there were multiple armed residents who exercised extreme restraint last night, however that level of restraint is not guaranteed. If the city refuses to do what's necessary, the people might.

Once again I want to urge any residents of my district who are interested in obtaining their carry or premises permits to contact my office. We are offering assistance with the application process and legal fees to all who wish to exercise their constitutional right to self protection.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/never-had-these-problems-violent-illegal-street-takeover-rocks-queens-neighborhood

Great Deal For US Farmers': Trump Says Relationship With China 'Extremely Strong', Will Visit Xi In April

Update (1240ET): President Trump has just posted on his Truth Social feed, breaking down his 'debrief' on the call with China's Xi: (emphasis ours)

I just had a very good telephone call with President Xi, of China.

We discussed many topics including Ukraine/Russia, Fentanyl, Soybeans and other Farm Products, etc.

We have done a good, and very important, deal for our Great Farmers — and it will only get better.

Our relationship with China is extremely strong!

This call was a follow up to our highly successful meeting in South Korea, three weeks ago.

Since then, there has been significant progress on both sides in keeping our agreements current and accurate. Now we can set our sights on the big picture.

To that end. President Xi invited me to visit Beijing in April, which I accepted, and I reciprocated where he will be my guest for a State Visit in the U.S. later in the year.

We agreed that it is important that we communicate often, which I look forward to doing. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

We do note that there was no mention of Taiwan in President Trump's breakdown.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/taiwan-center-stage-trump-xi-phone-call-xinhua-touts-islands-return-china

Only Europe can speak for Europe. Discussed coordinated steps with

@eucopresident

,

@vonderleyen

and EU leaders today.

Ukraine’s commitment to a just and lasting peace is clear. Putin’s imperial goals have not changed.

We must increase pressure on the aggressor. Immediate use of frozen Russian assets, a stronger sanctions package and EU tariffs where needed. And we keep supporting Ukraine.

https://x.com/KristenMichalPM/status/1992950440166674798

>>23897091

Europe's Counter-Plan For Ukraine Peace Leaves Door Wide Open For NATO Admission

Even as the Trump White House is busy in Europe trying to get NATO and EU states on board its 28-point peace plan which controversially demands the Ukrainian side cede territory, the Europeans have leaked their own counter-plan which proposes much less in the way of compromise with Russia.

The UK, France, and Germany have put forward their own counter-proposal, and the draft differs sharply from the US version. Like with prior proposed deals, it contains terms which Moscow is expected to flatly reject, mostly notably it does not provide guarantees that Ukraine will stay out of NATO, and also absent is the ceding of any territory.

While Trump's plan makes clear that Ukraine must renounce ever joining NATO, the European draft states that Ukraine’s potential NATO membership "depends on the consensus of NATO members, which does not exist." This intentionally ambiguous language of course leaves leaves the door wide open, dependent on when such consensus is reached.

On giving up land, the European document says that any discussions on territorial exchanges would start from the current Line of Contact. Freezing the front lines is something President Zelensky has wanted to do all along. Moscow has seen in this a way of allowing Ukrainian forces to regroup and rearm.

Zelensky is already not happy with the US version of the peace plan, as Ukraine would surrender the areas of Donbas it still controls, and the front lines would be frozen in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia - where Russian forces also holds territory.

However, one place where the US and European drafts do appear to be in lock-step is the one area the Kremlin is likely to take serious issue to: Washington and the West would provide security guarantee for Ukraine resembling NATO's Article 5 mutual-defense commitment.

Kiev has meanwhile been given until Thursday to provide its official response to the 28-point plan, and currently it simply looks like it is seeking the backing of Europe in coming up with a more robust pro-Ukraine plan. Trump wants to see the whole thing agreed to by Thanksgiving Day, but this is unlikely to happen, given also the leaks and ongoing blame-game over 'compromising' too much with Russia.

But all serious analysts are in agreement that Russia is dominating on the battlefield, leaving Ukraine with few options but to seek serious compromise to end the war. For example, one observer while commenting on the European plan notes it has no teeth (from Russia's perspective) and predictably Moscow will not see anything attractive in such a deal, which resembles previously failed ones, as it has:

No ban on Ukraine joining NATO

Ukraine is "not be forced to be neutral"

Ukraine is free to invite "friendly forces"

Ceasefire & freezing current front lines

"No restriction" on size of Ukrainian military etc.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/europes-counter-plan-ukraine-peace-door-left-wide-open-ukraines-nato-admission