Republican National Convention to take place in Jacksonville, Florida

The Republican National Committee will hold its 2020 convention in Jacksonville, Florida. "We are thrilled to hold @realDonaldTrump's acceptance of the Republican nomination in the great city of Jacksonville! Not only is Florida his home state, it is crucial to victory," said McDaniel in a tweet. "We look forward to bringing this great celebration and economic boon to the Sunshine State!"

The Republican National Committee was scheduled to take place at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, from Aug. 24-27. However, speculation grew that the convention may move its hosting site after public disagreements grew between Trump and Cooper. Last week, President Trump announced the Republican National Convention will not take place in North Carolina after discussions with the state's governor. "Had long planned to have the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, a place I love. Now, @NC_Governor Roy Cooper and his representatives refuse to guarantee that we can have use of the Spectrum Arena - Spend millions of dollars, have everybody arrive, and then tell them they will not be able to gain entry," Trump tweeted. "Governor Cooper is still in Shelter-In-Place Mode, and not allowing us to occupy the arena as originally anticipated and promised. Would have showcased beautiful North Carolina to the World, and brought in hundreds of millions of dollars, and jobs, for the State."

GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a staunch ally of the president, previously said he'd "love" for the convention to be held in Florida, a state Trump regularly visits. “Florida would love to have the RNC. Heck, I’m a Republican, it would be good for us to have the DNC,” DeSantis said about the idea.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/republican-national-convention-to-take-place-in-jacksonville-florida

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1267985990465064962

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1267985991408799745

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/335542-desantis-republican-convention-florida

Twitter deletes over 170,000 accounts related to Chinese propaganda operation

Twitter deleted hundreds of thousands of accounts in an effort to halt a Chinese propaganda operation. On Thursday, the social media company said it deleted nearly 24,000 accounts within a "core network" that disseminated false narratives from the Communist Party of China and an additional 150,000 accounts who amplified the messages of those within the network. "In general, this entire network was involved in a range of manipulative and coordinated activities," Twitter said in a blog post. "They were Tweeting predominantly in Chinese languages and spreading geopolitical narratives favorable to the Communist Party of China (CCP), while continuing to push deceptive narratives about the political dynamics in Hong Kong."

In late May, Chinese lawmakers approved a plan for a broad national security law criminalizing sedition, treason, and secession after overriding Hong Kong's legislative body to introduce the proposal. "If this move takes place, 'one country, two systems' will be officially erased. This is the end of Hong Kong," Dennis Kwok, a Hong Kong lawmaker, warned when the measure was first proposed. In reaction to the law's proposal, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that he certified to Congress that Hong Kong would no longer enjoy a high degree of autonomy from China, a decision that would threaten the area's ability to operate as an international financial hub. President Trump echoed Pompeo's decision and promised to end Hong Kong's trading privileges in hopes it would prevent China from siphoning money from the area.

In November 2019, Trump signed into law the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act to support Hong Kong protesters advocating for civil liberties and freedoms, who, at times, even held up the American flag during their demonstrations. The law requires the United States to certify Hong Kong's autonomy from China on an annual basis, or it would face a loss of special economic treatment. China indicated it would take "countermeasures" should the U.S. react in a way that compromises its financial interests. In its blog post, Twitter said it also suspended thousands of accounts that promoted the United Russia party and Turkish President Recep Erdogan. "Ultimately our goal is to serve the public conversation, remove bad faith actors, and to advance public understanding of these critical topics," Twitter said.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/twitter-deletes-over-170-000-accounts-related-to-chinese-propaganda-operation

https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/information-operations-june-2020.html

Barr: Russia may be 'manipulating' the International Criminal Court

The United States authorized sanctions against the leaders of the International Criminal Court, accusing the group of improper politicized targeting of Israel and of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and claiming it is corrupt and manipulated by U.S. foes. President Trump signed an executive order dated Thursday proclaiming that “any attempt by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any United States personnel without the consent of the United States … constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.” Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and national security adviser Robert O’Brien held a press conference Thursday to announce that the U.S. rejected the “kangaroo court” and denied the legitimacy of its “politically motivated” investigations into the U.S. and Israel. They claimed the ICC was undermining U.S. foreign policy through malign influence by U.S. adversaries, placing the focus on Russia. Although much of recent foreign policy focus in recent months has been on the Chinese Communist Party, a persistent source of concern for the U.S. government has been Russia. The U.S. intelligence community concluded the Kremlin attempted to undermine U.S. elections in 2016 and 2018, and the Trump administration's National Counterintelligence Strategy warned that "Russia remains a significant intelligence threat to United States interests."

The U.S. officials pointed out Thursday that the U.S. is not a signatory of the Rome Statute', the international treaty adopted in 1998 creating The Hague-based ICC''. Earlier this year, the ICC opened an investigation into ''“alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Afghanistan” and another into “alleged crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem." “The ICC’s recent decision to authorize an investigation into the conduct of U.S. personnel who were fighting to defeat terrorists in Afghanistan and bring peace and prosperity to the Afghan people validates our longstanding concerns about the ICC,” Barr said. “This institution has become, in practice, little more than a political tool employed by unaccountable international elites. These people wield this tool to manipulate and undercut the foreign policies of a democratically accountable sovereign nation.”'

Barr said that “we are concerned that foreign powers, like Russia, are also manipulating the ICC in pursuit of their own agenda.” Barr did not elaborate on the role of Russia, which withdrew from the ICC in 2016. Russia has long sought to undermine NATO, the broad American and European alliance founded during the Cold War, which emerged as a bulwark against the Soviet Union and has increasingly expanded toward Russia's border. And the international coalition in Afghanistan dubbed "Operation Resolute Support" is NATO-led. The attorney general said the U.S. “has reason to doubt the honesty of the ICC” and that the Justice Department “has received substantial, credible information that raises serious concerns about a long history of financial corruption and malfeasance at the highest levels of the office of the prosecutor,” which “calls into question the integrity of the ICC’s investigations.” Barr said the Justice Department “is investigating — and we are committed to uncovering and, if possible, holding people accountable.” Barr said the U.S. sanctions “will ensure that those who assist the ICC’s politically motivated investigation of American service members and intelligence officers without the United States’s consent will suffer serious consequences.”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/barr-russia-may-be-manipulating-the-international-criminal-court

https://www.c-span.org/video/?472979-1/us-sanction-international-criminal-court-officials-war-crimes-investigations

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-blocking-property-certain-persons-associated-international-criminal-court/

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>>9580521

Confirmed..Names at bottom

Chairman Graham Announces Committee to Consider Subpoena Authorization Related to Oversight of FISA Process, Crossfire Hurricane Investigation

https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/rep/releases/chairman-graham-announces-committee-to-consider-subpoena-authorization-related-to-oversight-of-fisa-process-crossfire-hurricane-investigation