OF THE
TIMES


"After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio.Trump cited Vance's resume, including his service in the Marines, his degree from Yale Law School and his best-selling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy.
"J.D. has had a very successful business career in Technology and Finance, and now, during the Campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond.Trump informed Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) on Monday that they were not going to join him on the ticket, leaving Vance as the obvious front-runner.
"As Vice President, J.D. will continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our Troops, and will do everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. Congratulations to Senator J.D. Vance, his wife, Usha, who also graduated from Yale Law School, and their three beautiful children. MAGA2024!"
The Democrats are self-immolating on the altar of their own tenuous relationship with common decency.
— Tom Luongo
"Trump is brushing off assassin's bullets like dirt off his shoulder, racking up a mile long rap sheet of the fakest & gayest felonies known to man, chased through civil court by crazy-eyed harridans deranged by how horny he makes them. Joe Biden has jello for supper at 4pm."Dear Hitler, "Joe Biden" wrote his personal note of condolence Saturday night. So sorry to hear that you were inconvenienced by loud noises in PA, where I grew up in the black church. Chris Wray tells me that fine people may be behind it. Will keep you in the loop. Get well soon!
— Aimee Terese on "X"

"Unsecured rooftop 150 yards away. Multiple witnesses saying they were screaming at secret service and cops for 3-4 minutes as they watched the guy with the rifle crawl to the spot and line up his shot...Kennedy III is the son of current presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - whose uncle, former US President John F. Kennedy, and father, a New York senator and presidential candidate, were both assassinated in the 1960s."Take your secret service and shove it up your ass."

Jonathan Turley, a defense attorney and law professor at George Washington University, told Fox News Monday that "of all of the cases that could be dismissed, this would be at the top of the list. This was the greatest threat. And for now, at least, it's gone."
[...]
John Yoo, a constitutional attorney, told Fox News Digital that the question of the constitutionality of special counsel has been debated for over 20 years. "We've been thinking and talking about this, these people who specialize in the Appointments Clause. The courts have generally been deferential to the Justice Department and how they want to appoint different lawyers."
"But I think because of how aggressive Jack Smith has been, he prompted close scrutiny from the courts," said Yoo.
Ed Meese, the former Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan, filed a number of amicus briefs in Jack Smith's cases against Trump arguing that Smith is "improperly appointed" and "has no more authority to represent the United States in this Court than Bryce Harper, Taylor Swift, or Jeff Bezos."
While Garland cited as statutory authority for this appointment, Meese argued that "none of those statutes, nor any other statutory or constitutional provisions, remotely authorized the appointment by the Attorney General of a private citizen to receive extraordinary criminal law enforcement power under the title of Special Counsel."
"Second, even if one overlooks the absence of statutory authority for the position, there is no statute specifically authorizing the Attorney General, rather than the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint such a Special Counsel," the former AG wrote.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Meese said "We are very glad that the court moved to emphasize the importance of the Constitution in making sure that the special counsel's appointment constitutional standards."
"I congratulate Judge Cannon for her courage and constitutional ability," he said.
Yoo said Cannon's decision is "a very thorough, strongly reasoned, persuasive opinion [that] goes through the history of special counsels and all the statutes that are involved."
"This decision is very well-reasoned and very well-written," said John Shu, a constitutional attorney who served in both Bush administrations. "It's not surprising because Congress intentionally allowed the independent counsel statute, which the Supreme Court found constitutional, to lapse, and they never replaced or amended it."
"And thus Congress, through it's inaction, just allowed the regulatory agency, in this case the DOJ, to go ahead and promulgate its own regulations in place of an actual enabling statute," he
Monday's decision is the latest in a string of legal victories for the former president. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled that he and future presidents are granted limited immunity from prosecution for official acts in office. That decision directly impacted Smith's separate case against Trump related to the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
In a separate concurrence to the immunity decision, Justice Clarence Thomas looked to "highlight another way in which this prosecution may violate our constitutional structure" - the appointment of Jack Smith as special counsel.
"In this case, there has been much discussion about ensuring that a President 'is not above the law.' But, as the Court explains, the President's immunity from prosecution for his official acts is the law. The Constitution provides for 'an energetic executive,' because such an Executive is 'essential to... the security of liberty,'" Thomas wrote.
"Respecting the protections that the Constitution provides for the Office of the Presidency secures liberty. In that same vein, the Constitution also secures liberty by separating the powers to create and fill offices. And, there are serious questions whether the Attorney General has violated that structure by creating an office of the Special Counsel that has not been established by law," Thomas said, adding that "[t]hose questions must be answered before this prosecution can proceed."
Thomas explained that in this case, the attorney general "purported to appoint a private citizen as Special Counsel to prosecute a former President on behalf of the United States."
"But, I am not sure that any office for the Special Counsel has been 'established by Law,' as the Constitution requires. By requiring that Congress create federal offices 'by Law,' the Constitution imposes an important check against the President - he cannot create offices at his pleasure," he said.
Should the Justice Department appeal Cannon's decision, the Supreme Court could eventually be petitioned to weigh in on the matter.
"All of these cases seem to be collapsing of their own weight, and it's because of lawfare," said Jim Trusty, a former federal prosector and former lawyer for President Trump.
"This is the price of lawfare when you create different crimes and different investigative approaches, and you do it all in the name of self-righteousness that Donald Trump needs to be stopped, which is really the philosophy behind all these prosecutions."
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