First federal prisoner in 17 years executed hours after Supreme Court decision

Daniel Lewis Lee on Tuesday became the first federal prisoner executed in more than 17 years, just hours after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against a last-minute attempt to halt the execution.

Lee, 47, a white supremacist convicted of killing a family of three in 1996, was executed by lethal injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., and pronounced dead at 8:07 a.m., according to the Bureau of Prisons.

“You’re killing an innocent man,” Lee said with his final words, according to a reporter with the Indianapolis Star who witnessed the execution

“You’re killing an innocent man.” #DanielLee last words before execution this morning, the first federal execution since 2003. Pronounced dead at 8:07 am #DeathPenalty

— Tim Evans (@starwatchtim) July 14, 2020

Lee's killing came just hours after the Supreme Court overruled a lower court and cleared the way for federal executions to be carried out for the first time since 2003.

The conservative majority court in an unsigned opinion issued around 2 a.m. rejected inmate claims that the lethal injection protocol adopted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) last year amounted to unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment.

The majority said vacating the lower court’s decision is warranted because the inmates are unlikely to succeed “on the merits of their Eighth Amendment claim,” which outlaws cruel and unusual punishment, and faced "an exceedingly high bar.”

The court’s four more liberal members, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, dissented on various grounds.

Sotomayor, in a dissent joined by Ginsburg and Kagan, said the court’s “rush to dispose of this litigation in an emergency posture” removed the opportunity for a “meaningful judicial review of the grave, fact-heavy challenges respondents bring to the way in which the government plans to execute them.”

The Supreme Court ruling cleared the last substantive hurdle before Lee's execution, and hours later a federal appeals court in St. Louis removed the final procedural barrier.

“Today, Daniel Lewis Lee faced the justice he deserved," DOJ spokesperson Kerri Kupec said in a statement.

Ruth Friedman, an attorney for Lee, called the outcome shameful.

"It is shameful that the government saw fit to carry out this execution when counsel for Danny Lee could not be present with him, and when the judges in his case and even the family of his victims urged against it," Friedman said. "And it is beyond shameful that the government, in the end, carried out this execution in haste, in the middle of the night, while the country was sleeping. We hope that upon awakening, the country will be as outraged as we are."

A federal execution has not been carried out since 2003, due in part to a widespread shortage during the Obama administration of lethal injection drugs in the so-called three-drug cocktail.

Attorney General William Barr announced last July that federal capital punishment would resume with the use of a single drug, pentobarbital sodium.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/507199-federal-prisoner-executed-hours-after-supreme-court-decision

Ghislaine Wants Pre-Trial Detention In Manhattan Luxury Hotel; Accusers Want "Sexual Predator" Locked Up: Updates

Maxwell's accusers weighed in during her bail hearing, with one Jane Doe insisting "If she [Maxwell] is out, I need to be protected," adding "Her sole purpose is that of self-preservation."

Another accuser, Annie Farmer, pushed for no bail, claiming that Ghislaine is a "sexual predator" who never showed any remorse.

Arguing for bail, Maxwell's attorney Cohen argued that it's "not realistic" to assume they can prepare for trial with Maxwell in custody during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead, he argued that Maxwell should be released with strict conditions, adding that she's not Epstein, "she's not the monster" she's made out to be.

Her defense has argued that she serve her pretrial detention in a luxury hotel in Manhattan.

BREAKING: Ghislaine Maxwell proposes that she serve her pretrial detention in a luxury Manhattan hotel.

— julie k. brown (@jkbjournalist) July 14, 2020

• • *

Ghislaine Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to charges in connection with Jeffrey Epstein's alleged criminal sex-trafficking of minors.

In a remote appearance from a New York detention facility on Tuesday, the UK socialite was dressed in a brown shirt and her hair tied back into a bun as she waived her right to be physically present, according to the Daily Mail.

The 58-year-old would be confined to a home in the New York area, surrender all her travel documents and be subject to GPS monitoring.

She faces up to 35 years in prison if found guilty of the charges, as prosecutors argue that along with her three passports, connections to some of the world's most powerful people and her own fortune - Maxwell has every incentive to try and flee. -Daily Mail

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/ghislaine-maxwell-pedo-sex-trafficking-investigation-launched-us-virgin-islands

Russia Hoax Update: Graham Will Call Sally Yates To Testify Before Senate Judiciary Committee

Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Lindsey Graham said Tuesday his committee is going to call former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates to testify before this July.

It is imperative that Yates testify and it’s more imperative that the senators ask her the right questions to hold those in the government accountable for the false FBI investigation against President Donald Trump’s campaign and administration.

Graham made the announcement on Twitter, in his new live social media show ‘lunch with Lindsey.’

Welcome to Lunch with Lindsey! Please leave your questions or comments in the replies. https://t.co/uuD9Z8DrLz

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) July 14, 2020

Former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page, who was spied on by the FBI and falsely accused in news stories of being an asset of the Russian government praised Graham’s announcement and decision to call Yates to testify.

On Twitter, Page said “essential new leadership and indispensable oversight, now emerging from the Washington swamp.” Page would know. The expert on energy and Russia has been at the center of the former Russia hoax investigation after it was discovered by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz that the FBI falsified documents to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance court to spy on him.

MAJOR BREAKING NEWS!@LindseyGrahamSC just said that he'll call @SallyQYates to testify before @SenJudiciary Committee in JULY!

Essential new leadership and indispensable oversight, now emerging from the Washington Swamp!#FISAabuse#Spygate#Obamagatehttps://t.co/kGzZ3vBXpa

— Carter Page, Ph.D. (@carterwpage) July 14, 2020

Remember this opinion piece Yates wrote from The Washington Post last year? There’s so many questions that need to be answered.

I have some serious questions for you @SallyQYates would you agree to an interview? I also agree with @ChuckRossDC regarding the Carter Page #FISA – Are you as excited to have it declassified? I am https://t.co/E5oHz3GUcG

https://saraacarter.com/russia-hoax-update-graham-will-call-sally-yates-to-testify-before-senate-judiciary-committee/

Israel cyber authority warns companies to patch Microsoft hackable hole

Israel's own cybersecurity firm, Check Point, uncovered the vulnerability and reported it to Microsoft.

The Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) issued a warning to companies nationwide on Tuesday night to immediately adopt a fix for a "severe" hole in Microsoft's Windows Domain Name System (DNS) Server.

Basically, DNS is a protocol for translating between website names and their corresponding IP addresses.

Microsoft issued a patch on Tuesday for a severe vulnerability in Windows DNS that could permit hackers to execute arbitrary code against targets and gain control of companies' entire information technology infrastructure.

Israel's own cybersecurity firm, Check Point, uncovered the vulnerability and reported it to Microsoft.

According to the INCD and reports, the hole would allow attackers to intercept and interfere with emails and network traffic, tamper with services, and steal employees' credentials.

INCD urged all Israeli companies to quickly patch their networks, saying that though there were known known cases yet of it being exploited, it was likely that hackers would jump on the vulnerability soon.

Microsoft has been releasing multiple patches recently, having discovered additional vulnerabilities in Windows 10 and Windows Server distributions.

https://www.jpost.com/jpost-tech/israel-cyber-authority-warns-companies-to-patch-microsoft-hackable-hole-635063

THE CENTER FOR THE NATIONAL INTEREST

AT PUTIN'S SIDE

Libyan House Of Representatives Grants Egypt Right To Military Intervention

On July 13th, the Libyan House of Representatives (based in Tobruk) granted the Egyptian armed forces the right to intervene in the country’s ongoing conflict to protect Libyan and Egyptian national security.

The decision allows Egypt to intervene if the Egyptian armed forces see an imminent threat to the security of the two countries.

The parliament announced that it welcomes the statement made by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi regarding military intervention in Libya, and called for concerted efforts between the two brotherly countries to ensure the defeat of invading occupiers and to preserve national security and stability in the region.

The statement added: “Confronting invaders guarantees the independence of the Libyan national decision, and protects the sovereignty and unity of Libya, as well as the wealth and resources of the Libyan people from the ambitions of the colonial invaders.”

The Libyan parliament stressed that maintaining a fair distribution of wealth and oil revenues and protecting it from armed militias is a legitimate demand made by all Libyan people.

Finally, the statement said that the decision was made because of “blatant Turkish military intervention in Libya, in cooperation with armed militias that are controlling the west of the country under a de facto authority.”

The occupation, the statement said, can only be stopped through concerted efforts between Arab countries.

Hours later, the Supreme Council of Sheikhs said that it supported the statement by the HoR.

https://southfront.org/libyan-house-of-representatives-grants-egypt-right-to-military-intervention/

Syrian Arab Army Arrests Militants Spying On Russian Military Installations

On July 14th, Syrian Arab Army (SAA) personnel detained 3 militants from Maghawir al-Thawra (Revolutionary Commando Army), who were allegedly tasked with collecting data on Russian military facilities.

According to the militants’ statements, they collected data on Syrian and Iranian military installations, in addition to Russian ones.

The extremists were taken to Tadmor, located near Syria’s Palmyra.

The group went on a mission, but wandered into a minefield. The explosions killed three people, including the commander and guide.

“We are part of Maghawir al-Thawra organization. Our group consisted of eight people: seven fighters and one guide, who was involved in drug trafficking and transported personnel. We went by motorbikes to fulfil missions and were trapped in a mine field. As a result, the group’s commander, a guide and another person were blown up by a mine. We lost our way and did not know where to go, because the guide died, and we started looking for the way out and continued moving. Then we were taken hostage and the Syrian forces brought us here,” Jasem al-Ali, one of the detained reportedly said.

The group was tasked with collecting data on military facilities al-Ali admitted:

“We were sent for fulfilling a mission in Raqqa province, in Al-Mansurah. The goal was to collect information. <…We had to obtain data on Russian, Iranian and Syrian facilities,” the militant said, also adding that the mission began at Al-Tanf.

The militants were equipped with several AK-47 assault rifles, grenades, a large amount of ammunition, as well as money and drugs. They also received large sums of money “from their sponsors.”

Their training reportedly took place with American M-16 rifles, but they were still given AK-47s.

The militant also said that they had been trained under the supervision of instructors from the United States.

“We were taught to handle all types of weapons by American instructors. All weapons were American-made. I saw American instructors, they come to training, but the classes themselves are conducted by the Syrians. From afar, Americans observe, verify and evaluate the progress of preparation,” said Abdullah al-Mishuat, another detained militant.

al-Mishuat said that the curators gave the group “thousands of dollars” for the assignment.

“All the money was in the command of the Yazan group. He was blown up by a mine, and we lost everything,” the gunman said.

https://southfront.org/syrian-arab-army-arrests-militants-spying-on-russian-military-installations/