The Brew: Trump Gag Partially Removed, Special Counsel Makes Shocking Admission About the Staging of Mar-a-Lago Photos
Happy Wednesday!
Today’s Brew comes with a heap of anticipation. But first, a stunning admission in the classified-documents case against former President Donald Trump.
Special Counsel Jack Smith Cops to Tampering with Evidence
The judge in Trump’s classified documents case is hearing his bid to have the case tossed due to the FBI’s “spoilation” of the evidence.
In a shocker, Julie Kelly reports, “Special Counsel Jack Smith just admitted the FBI added cover sheets to alleged classified documents found at MAL (Mar-a-Lago) and took photos for evidence.”
In Smith’s words, “As part of the processing of seized documents marked ‘classified,’ ERT photographed the documents (with appropriate cover sheets added by FBI personnel) next to the box in which they were located.”
The Special Counsel then ensured those photos would be splashed all over the media. They brought the colored documents. They staged a scene for public consumption. In whose book is that alright?
Mike Davis puts the pieces together.
The Biden Justice Department raided their boss’s political enemy.
They turned off the security cameras.
Then they concocted evidence.
That they immediately released to turn public opinion against Trump.
And even filed with the court.
This is a big problem for Jay Bratt. pic.twitter.com/u0MWnvS6Vk
— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) June 25, 2024
Julie Kelly also noted the Smith team’s changing story:
- Documents were found during MAL raid with classified cover sheets (August 2022)
- Well actually FBI agents brought cover sheets to the raid but only to use as “placeholders” indicating where a classified record was found (Feb 2024)
- Well actually FBI agents took the so-called placeholder sheets and instead attached them to documents and took photos (June 2024)
Judge Merchan Eases, But Doesn’t Lift Gag Order on Trump
Donald Trump is finally free to talk about witnesses and the jury in his hush-money conviction. Judge Juan Merchan partially lifted the gag order on Trump just two days before the first presidential debate. However, Trump still is not allowed to talk about the prosecutors until after his July 11 sentencing.
This is election interference. Trump won’t be debating Stormy Daniels; he’ll be debating the man who literally promised to use all “constitutional means” to stop Trump from returning to the Oval Office and whose White House was the staging ground for all the criminal cases still pending against him. But Trump can’t criticize Biden’s #3 guy at DOJ for quitting to take a demotion specifically so he could run the hush-money case in New York? In whose book is that alright?
Eyes on the High Court
Will the Supreme Court release this morning its two decisions that can dramatically impact the criminal cases against Trump and thus the presidential election? Will the Left and media go bananas should the High Court rule in Trump’s favor when it comes to presidential immunity? And what if it rejects the idea of DOJ repurposing a law to overcharge hundreds of J6 defendants … and Trump?
We’ll know in a couple of hours. On Monday the court added an additional day to the term for releasing decisions: Thursday, otherwise known as debate day.
Please Support The Stream: Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is already setting the stage for the Left’s refusal to accept the Supreme Court’s ruling. She told CNN on the second anniversary of Roe v. Wade being overturned that she has “no confidence” in the court. It’s “gone rogue.” Pelosi then said, “What happened to the Chief Justice? Did he go weak or did he go rogue?”
Wait? Isn’t that an undemocratic attack on the judicial system? An attack on democracy itself? Or does that only count when you criticize a Biden-donating judge whose daughter makes millions off the persecution of Trump?
Jonathan Turley writes that Pelosi’s attack is a “widening disconnect from reality,” given this court’s high number of unanimous or near-unanimous rulings, to say nothing of liberal-friendly decisions on gun rights, the abortion pill, and taxation.
Time for a Quick Chuckle, Courtesy of Karine Jean-Pierre
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is on a roll. During an appearance on MSNBC Tuesday morning, Pierre claimed grocery prices have gone down under Joe Biden. She claimed all the “chaos” we’re seeing is because of what happened in the Trump administration. And then she offered this one.
WH press sec says Biden “shows up … He meets the moment”
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 25, 2024
Yes. Biden meets the moment. Unfortunately he then extends his hand toward empty air and says, “Pleased to meet you, Prime Minister Churchill.”
Funny How That Happens: When Florida Hospitals Start Asking About Immigration Status, Medicaid Spending on Illegals Plummets
Last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a tough immigration bill. One of the provisions was to require Florida hospitals to ask patients about their immigration status. And then a funny thing happened. According to Politico, Medicaid spending on migrants has plummeted 54% so far this year.
Now, the drop is not definitely attributed to the law. Thomas Kennedy of the Florida Immigration Coalition told Politico that the “exodus of migrants” from Florida is also playing a role in it.
Two Stories of Wokeness
Earlier this month, in a viral tweet, Robby Starbuck highlighted Tractor Supply’s focus on woke ideology under CEO Hal Lawton.
- LGBTQIA+ training for employees
- Funding pride/drag events
- They have a DEI Council
- Funding sex changes
- Climate-change activism
- Pride month decorations in the office
- DEI hiring practices
- LGBTQIA+ events at work
It’s time to expose Tractor Supply.
It’s one of the most beloved brands in 🇺🇸 by conservatives but what do they REALLY stand for under CEO @hallawton’s leadership?
• LGBTQIA+ training for employees
• Funding pride/drag events
• They have a DEI Council
• Funding sex changes… pic.twitter.com/F4tvNmNZ9f— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) June 6, 2024
Starbuck suggested these woke views are contrary to the conservative values of the majority of Tractor Supply’s customer base.
Since the video went viral, Tractor Supply’s fortunes have taken a two billion-dollar dive.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Defense Department continues to confuse the rainbow flag for the American flag. Earlier this month, the Pentagon’s second highest-ranking official, Kathleene Hicks, spoke at a DoD pride event. While there, Post Millennial reports, Hicks not only assured attendees of the Pentagon’s commitment to nonbinary service members, she connected that commitment to military readiness.
We’ve heard concerns about … policies focused on the needs of nonbinary service members. Please know our commitment is resolute, just as it has been over the past three and a half years, to continue our progress in full alignment with our focus on readiness and our focus on the well-being of our people, on which our readiness depends.
The Pentagon later insisted Hicks was not singling out nonbinary personnel. “She didn’t talk about, or imply, the importance of any particular policy in the context of national security.”
Really? Because she also talked about her commitment for training. Oh, not weapons training, or combat training — “unconscious bias” training.
Along The Stream
Stream cofounder Jay Richards dropped by the Conversations with Christians Engaged podcast to talk with Bunni Pounds about his new book with James Robison, Fight the Good Fight, as well as “The Importance of a Biblical Worldview.”
We’ve also got “How They Stole the 2020 Election: Let My People Go Explains the Steal in Bite-Sized, Digestible Pieces, Part 2.”
Al Perrotta is The Stream’s Washington bureau chief, coauthor with John Zmirak of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration, and coauthor of the counterterrorism memoir Hostile Intent: Protecting Yourself Against Terrorism.
