Republicans subpoena Biden Crime Family members, Israel is handily kicking Hamas’ ass in Gaza, Jezebel goes down in flames, and The Marvels looks to be doing as badly as everyone expected. It’s the Friday LinkSwarm!
Hunter Biden and his uncle James Biden have been subpoenaed Wednesday by the House Oversight Committee, which took the remarkable step of seeking depositions from family members of President Biden amid its impeachment inquiry.
As part of the request, the committee asked for James Biden’s wife, Sarah Biden, as well as Hunter Biden’s wife, Melissa Cohen, to sit for transcribed interviews. The panel also asks for interviews with Hallie Biden, the widow of Beau Biden, and her sister Elizabeth Secundy.
The subpoenas come weeks after the Oversight Committee demanded both Hunter and James Biden’s personal bank records, and also include a subpoena for Hunter Biden’s former business partner Rob Walker.
The panel is also requesting to speak with Tony Bobulinski, whom Hunter Biden’s attorney have accused of lying to the FBI.
The release from House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said he “plans to send additional subpoenas and transcribed interview requests later this week.”
If James Biden is a potential felony suspect (which he is), I doubt the House can compel his wife to testify.
The IDF’s tactical success so far in its nearly two-week-old ground incursion into Gaza – cutting the north from the south and entering Gaza City with limited troop casualties – has surprised some observers. There have been 32 Israeli troops killed during the incursion, according to The Times of Israel, which is far fewer than anticipated. The IDF said it is killing fighters and destroying scores of tunnel shafts and other Hamas infrastructure during its advance that has reached the Mediterranean Sea coast. Still, the mounting casualty toll and displacement of civilians remains a grave cause for concern as outrage grows and calls for a ceasefire increase.
Snip.
While good analysis of any major news story should not accept on face value any claims by the participants, it most certainly must not accept the claims of a source known to lie. And yet, the mainstream press and the experts it has relied on have accepted and continue to accept what Hamas tells them, with no skepticism, to the point that several media sources (Reuters, CNN, AP, and the New York Times) allowed themselves to be used by Hamas as propaganda outlets. Their blind passion to get the story combined with their willingness to repeatedly accept the words of an organization not only known to repeatedly lie but to rape, torture, and slaughter women, children, and babies caused them to misread the situation badly.
Others might not be so kind, and will instead say this poor analysis was because many of these news organizations and the experts they relied on have taken sides. They see Hamas as the good guy and victim, and Israel as the bad guy and oppressor. Thus, their analysis is warped because they assume Israel is lying and Hamas is telling them the truth.
This conclusion is certainly possible with some news organizations and some experts, but it is a mistake to rely on it entirely. For example, many of the military experts quoted in the articles above were from Israel itself. Yet they too were fooled, and thought Hamas was stronger than it is.
Muslim fanaticism and Jew-hatred are poor substitutes for planning, training, doctrine and logistics.
There aren’t enough Nelsons in the world… (Hat tip: Ed Driscoll at Instapundit.)
But some internal sources suggest [Victoria] Alonso was a scapegoat and point to the “She-Hulk” VFX issues as a symptom of a deeper rot — namely a lack of oversight on script development. In the original arc of “She-Hulk,” a flashback of star Tatiana Maslany’s transformation into her Hulk character didn’t take place until Episode 8, the penultimate episode. But after Marvel’s brain trust watched footage, it realized the scene needed to happen in the pilot episode so that audiences could see more of the character’s backstory early. That meant that the VFX team was tasked with fixing the mess in postproduction.
“The so-called bad VFX we see was because of half-baked scripts,” says one person involved with “She-Hulk.” “That is not Victoria. That is Kevin. And even above Kevin. Those issues should be addressed in preproduction. The timeline is not allowing the Marvel executives to sit with the material.”
All the while, Marvel was bleeding money, with a single episode of “She-Hulk” costing some $25 million, dwarfing the budget of a final-season episode of HBO’s “Game of Thrones, ” but without a similar Zeitgeist bang. The August 2022 series premiere at the El Capitan Theatre foreshadowed what was to come six months later at the “Quantumania” bow: the “She-Hulk” special effects were out of focus in multiple scenes.
Dog Bus
In Alaska, a married couple is engaged in dog walking and supervision of them. To do this, they even purchased a bus to conveniently and safely pick up pets, like children to school. Dogs spend all day together, have fun, eat, and then they are transported to the houses… pic.twitter.com/OjLX2Rgb4S
— Puppies 🐶 (@PuppiesIover) October 31, 2023
(Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
Hit the tip jar if you’re so inclined.
Remember the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD school board election that Ted Cruz endorsed in? His endorsements certainly didn’t hurt, as conservatives looking to oust social justice board members took three of four seats and now control six of seven seats on the board.
After a fraught election that drew a flurry of endorsements from partisan groups and high-profile elected officials, three conservative-backed candidates have won races for the board of the state’s third-largest school district.
According to unofficial results posted Tuesday night, Todd LeCompte, Justin Ray, and Christine Kalmbach were the victors in Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD) board elections for Positions 1, 3, and 4.
The three candidates garnered endorsements from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), state Rep. Tom Oliverson (R-Cypress), and Harris County County Commissioner Tom Ramsey (R-Pct. 3).
“This is a major victory for the CFISD community, and the State of Texas. Flipping the third largest school board in Texas is because we focused on empowering parents and getting back to the basics in the classroom,” said Christopher Zook, consultant and spokesperson for the GOP-backed candidates in a statement to The Texan.
“It is abundantly clear that despite efforts from radical activists, parents and voters just want a good education for their children. Additionally, thank you to Senator Ted Cruz for engaging in this race, and fighting for conservative values not only in Washington, but at the most local level, the school board.”
Vying for Position 1, GOP-backed candidate LeCompte captured 43.7 percent compared to 38 percent for Tonia Jaeggi and 18 percent for Cleveland Lane, Jr. Jaeggi had been endorsed by the local chapter of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) union and Lane had been endorsed by state Rep. Jon Rosenthal (D-Houston) and former CFISD board member John Ogletree, Jr.
CFISD does not hold runoff elections, meaning the candidate with the most votes is declared a winner in the first round.
Julie Hinaman, the only incumbent to run for re-election this year, held on to her seat with 45 percent in a tight three-way race in which right-of-center groups split their endorsements between former CFISD Trustee George Edwards, who secured 43 percent, and local activist Ayse Indemaio, who received 11 percent.
In Position 3, former Jersey Village Mayor Ray won with 43.5 percent, beating out AFT candidate and former Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce President Leslie Martone who took 39.1 percent, and adjunct professor Michelle Fennick with 17 percent.
In the two-way race for Position 4, former GOP candidate for Texas House Kalmbach defeated former teacher Frances Ramirez Romero 51 percent to 49 percent.
Snip.
Parents in CFISD have grown increasingly vocal in opposition to elements of critical race theory being embedded in curricula and age-inappropriate books in school libraries.
In 2021, three conservative candidates successfully challenged incumbents for the CFISD board, but the minority coalition has been easily overruled by other trustees on the seven-member board.
The four candidates backed by the AFT, Jaeggi, Hinaman, Martone, and Ramirez Romero, ran as a slate under the moniker “ALL4CFISD.” Rosenthal backed all but Jaeggi, instead throwing his support to Lane. Rosenthal and local Democratic Party groups activated a well-coordinated campaign effort of blockwalking and phone banking for the candidates.
Right-of-center organizations and GOP elected officials were largely unified in support for their own slate of candidates, chosen through a series of forums with local Republican precinct chairs earlier this year. However, a few precinct chairs who were dissatisfied with the top four candidates broke with the party to back Indemaio. As a result, conservative voters split their support in Position 2, handing Hinaman a second full term on the board.
For some reason this image comes to mind:
With Tuesday’s unofficial results, GOP-backed candidates now hold a 6 to 1 majority and will be able to exert more control over district policy.
Conservative/sane school board candidates don’t always win, but average parents don’t want school boards secretly grooming their children or teaching the poison of critical race theory. When properly organized and united, conservative school board candidates have solid fighting chances to win.
Again, if it can happen in San Francisco, it can happen with your school board.
Passing school choice was Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s top priority when he declared a third special session. Dade Phalen, and the left-leaning cabal backing him, had other priorities, namely taking long weekends instead of getting legislative work done. This is despite the Senate passing school choice legislation early in the special session.
Now Abbott has responded to Phelan’s sloth and antipathy to school choice with another special session.
Almost as soon as the third special session of 2023 ended, the fourth one began as Gov. Greg Abbott issued his proclamation setting the start for the next special session for 5 p.m. Tuesday — the same day the previous one came to a close.
The fourth special session is an attempt to pull items across the finish line that stalled out during the October special, including an education savings account program, the creation of a penalty for illegal entry into the state from a foreign nation, border barrier funding, and a medley of school funding measures.
The proclamation includes:
Creating an education savings account program Providing a pay raise to teachers and other school employees Increasing school funding through the basic student allotment Additional school safety and security measures Establishing a state penalty for illegal entry into Texas from a foreign nation, with removal language for state law enforcement Appropriating more funding for the construction of border barriers Allotting more state dollars to fund overtime expenses associated with the Texas Department of Public Safety’s operations in Colony Ridge,/li> Abbott said, “The Texas Legislature made progress over the past month protecting Texans from forced COVID-19 vaccinations and increasing penalties for human smuggling.”
“However, there is more work to be done. I am immediately calling lawmakers back for Special Session #4 to complete their critical work to empower Texas parents to choose the best education pathway for their child while providing billions more in funding for Texas public schools and continuing to boost safety measures in schools.”
He continued, “We must pass laws that will enhance the safety of all Texans by increasing funding for strategic border barriers and mirroring the federal immigration laws President Joe Biden refuses to enforce. Texas will also arrest people for illegal entry into our state from a foreign nation, and authorize the removal of anyone who illegally enters our state, with penalties up to 20 years in prison for refusing to comply with removal. To crack down on repeated attempts to enter Texas illegally, illegal re-entry will be penalized with up to 20 years in prison. I look forward to working with members of the Texas Legislature to better secure Texas and pass school choice for all Texas families.”
The school choice issue never really got off the ground in the House during the third special. The Senate passed its plan, but the House never held a hearing on its proposal.
In the final days, Abbott announced that there was a deal struck, but subsequent statements by Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick indicated there wasn’t — at least not one that could be sped through the process in time before the 30-day clock ran out.
Also:
The other items that also stalled out in the Legislature during the third special session include a $1.5 billion appropriation for border barrier construction, the Senate’s version of which encompassed $40 million for state law enforcement overtime aimed at Colony Ridge, and the creation of a state offense for illegal entry into Texas from a foreign nation.
Now it remains to be seen if Phelan is willing to get his ass in gear, or if the cabal backing him is going to go all out to prevent school choice from being passed in Texas.
Stay tuned…
This is your reminder to go out and vote today if you live in Texas or any other state having an off-year election.
Unfortunately this story comes a week too late for Halloween season vampire jokes, but the State of New Jersey keeps your baby’s blood without your permission for 23 years.
Today, a group of New Jersey parents teamed up with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to file a federal lawsuit challenging New Jersey’s practice of keeping blood samples taken from newborn babies for 23 years, all without parents’ knowledge or consent. Not only does New Jersey hold onto the blood, it can use the blood samples in any manner it chooses.
When babies are born in New Jersey, state law requires that blood be taken from the newborns and tested for diseases such as cystic fibrosis, hormonal deficiencies, and other immunity issues. All states perform similar tests.
But, after the testing is over, New Jersey’s Department of Health keeps the leftover blood for 23 years. The state does not ask parents for their consent to keep their babies’ blood, failing to even inform parents that it will hold on to the residual blood. The only way parents could learn about such retention is by proactively looking it up on one of the third-party websites listed on the bottom of the card they’re given after the blood draw. And, once the state has the blood, it can use it however it wishes, including selling it to third parties, giving it to police without a warrant, or even selling it to the Pentagon to create a registry—as previously happened in Texas.
“Parents have a right to informed consent if the state wants to keep their children’s blood for decades and use it for purposes other than screening for diseases,” said IJ Senior Attorney Rob Frommer. “New Jersey’s policy of storing baby blood and DNA and using that genetic information however it wants is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment rights of all New Jersey parents and their newborns.”
Pretty much every state does blood testing for newborns to screen for genetic disorders, but as far as I can tell, only New Jersey keeps it around for whatever they damn well please, be it criminal, commercial, or secret clone armies.
What could possibly go wrong?
You might think that government agents would need a warrant to obtain your blood, but Maryland vs. King holds that obtaining DNA from arrested suspects is akin to fingerprinting and thus not a Fourth Amendment violation. But obtaining and keeping DNA from every single baby born in your state would seem a giant Fourth Amendment violation. Especially since at least four New Jersey police departments have used the baby DNA for criminal investigations.
“What makes New Jersey’s program so uniquely disturbing is the complete lack of safeguards for future abuse and the lack of consent, which leave the program ripe for abuse,” said IJ Attorney Christie Hebert. “Parents should not have to worry if the state is going to use the blood it said it was taking from their baby to test for diseases for other, unrelated purposes.”
New Jersey is not alone in facing legal issues for the lack of consent when obtaining blood and over what the state does with the blood. Texas, Minnesota, and Michigan have all faced lawsuits over their retention of blood samples without informed consent from the parents. The 2009 lawsuit in Texas resulted in the state destroying 5.3 million blood samples, and now, all blood samples obtained after 2012 must be destroyed after two years. A 2014 settlement in the Minnesota lawsuit resulted in 1.1 million blood samples being destroyed. In 2022, Michigan agreed to destroy 3 million blood spots, but that lawsuit continues to move forward.
“It’s incredibly misleading for the state to tell parents they are simply drawing blood from their babies to test for diseases when it could be sold to third parties or used by other government agencies to build invasive databases or registries,” said IJ Attorney Brian Morris. “As Texas and other states have shown, these concerns aren’t hypothetical.”
Neither you, nor your children, nor their blood, are the property of the state, and this New Jersey law deserves to go down hard.
(Hat tip: Steve Lehto.)
My Bloggy-Sense™ tells me that this is a better headline than “Recent developments in Israeli tunnel warfare technology.” Let’s dig in!
First, thanks to reader Howard for pointing out this piece on Israel’s sponge bomb (which may or may not exit).
Israeli forces are prepared to employ “sponge bombs” that produce quick-hardening foam to seal off tunnels used by terrorists in the Gaza Strip, according to a recent report. Though unconfirmed, there is some precedent for the use of devices that create hard or at least very sticky foam by military and other security forces.
The Telegraph newspaper in the United Kingdom published a story about the purported Israeli foam-dispensing ‘bombs’ on Wednesday. It is important to note up front that, at the time of writing, the Telegraph’s piece does not appear to cite any sources, on the record or anonymous, and explicitly says “the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] has not commented on the use” of these devices.
As described by the Telegraph, the devices contain a binary chemical mixture that only blends together when the device is activated. The system is reportedly small and light enough to be emplaced, or even thrown, by a single individual.
Israeli “soldiers were seen deploying the devices during exercises in 2021,” according to the Telegraph, but no further details or imagery are provided. “The [Israeli] army has set up a mock tunnel system at the Tze’Elim army base near the border with Gaza.”
Tze’Elim is publicly known to host a mock Palestinian village with an underground tunnel network specifically to help prepare IDF personnel for ground operations in places like Gaza. To this point, this training site is even nicknamed “Little Gaza.”
I tend to believe Israel probably has something along these lines, just because there are so many quick-drying foams used in the construction industry that it’s hardly a stretch to think that Israel has something like that for tunnel warfare. The piece also mentions the possibility of using “glue bombs” on enemy forces.
Israel also has specialized tunnel forces with dogs and drones.
Israel’s military has developed a range of specialist tunnel fighters including killer drones and attack dogs to take on Hamas’s huge underground network.
Officials on Tuesday revealed its forces attacked Hamas gunmen inside the vast tunnel network beneath the Palestinian enclave, estimated by some to rival in length London’s Tube network.
Specialist teams made up of the Oketz or “Sting” dog units and the Samur “Weasel” subterranean commandos have been training in a specially built tunnel complex in the Negev Desert to take on the 500 kilometres of the “Gaza metro” built by Hamas.
Defence analysts have disclosed that Israel has used ground-penetrating radar and gravity detectors to map out the spiderweb system precisely.
Snip.
Hamas has been building the labyrinth for almost a decade, with some tunnels dug up to 70 metres below ground, for storing weapons, fuel and food, but their destruction is vital for any Israeli success.
As a result, they have formed a force of combat engineers called the Yahalom “Diamond” that have trained to locate tunnels and either destroy them or allow for a “hard entry”.
If entry is required, then the Samur and Oketz units will drop into the entrances that would likely have been blown open, and enter the tunnels that are made of reinforced concrete and are 1.8 metres high and one metre wide.
Robots will be used ahead of any tunnel assault, with the Tel Aviv company Roboteam spending the last decade developing specialist unmanned ground vehicles for the operation.
This will include the small IRIS robot that soldiers call a “throwbot”, with its ability to drive down tunnels relaying pictures back to its operator, using specialist sensors to detect objects and people.
It is also understood that Israel has developed a robot similar to the US Marines’ Gladiator tactical tracked drone that has sensors and carries a 7.62mm squad automatic weapon.
The robots will also be able to use their sensors and equipment to find and potentially detonate booby-traps planted by Hamas.
Behind them will come the “Weasel” commandos, who are specially selected troops able to tolerate the enclosed and claustrophobic conditions. Israeli defence sources said they were usually introverted characters with the ability to keep a “psychological distance from the situation”.
Tunnel combat is also described as akin to underwater fighting because kit used on the surface, such as thermal imaging, or surveillance or navigation systems, will not function underground.
Defence analysts also believe the Israeli army could develop tactics used by Ukraine in its fight against Russia by deploying airborne drones inside the tunnels, some equipped with small bombs.
“Both sides will be attempting to surprise each other and they will have surprises up their sleeve,” said Brigadier Ben Barry, an urban warfare specialist at the IISS think tank.
“The Israelis also have advantages with the biggest urban training facility of any armed forces in the world training people to fight in tunnels but also using drones and robots to take the first hit. The Israelis have all sorts of technological gadgets.”
They also have specially trained military dogs in the Oketz canine unit, most likely led by the highly intelligent and aggressive Belgium Malinois favoured by British special forces.
Here’s a video that covers the Hamas tunnels, the tactics used against them, and even the sponge bomb:
Historically tunnel warfare has been one of the most nerve-wracking, dangerous and taxing forms of specialized warfare, from World War I to the tunnel rats of Cu Chi in the Vietnam War.
Israel has some of the best trained forces in the world, but they have their work cut out for them.
An important but less dramatic aspect of the Russo-Ukrainian War is just what effects the war and resulting sanctions are having on the Russian economy. It’s hard for outsiders to get a handle on just how badly the Russian economy is doing. Since Russia was a net grain and oil exporter before invading Ukraine, it’s not likely to have obvious shortages in food and fuel.
One economic proxy is exchange rates on the Russian ruble, which is now stuck right around 100 to the dollar. But as Joe Blogs explains, Russia has recently undertaken several actions that indicate the situation is worse than just the exchange rates would have you believe.
On October 11 “President Putin signed a decree mandating the reintroduction of capital controls for an undisclosed list of 43 exporting firms. The controls will last for six months, and Russia has not published the list of which companies these measures will apply to. However, they are companies in the fuel, energy, metal, chemical, timber and grain industries. Starting from October the 16th, certain Russian exporters within 60 days from the moment of receiving funds are obliged to credit their accounts in Russian banks with no less than 80% of all foreign currency received in accordance with the conditions of their export contracts. They also required within two weeks to sell on the country’s domestic market no less than 90% of foreign currency revenues credited to their accounts at Russian banks.
Even though sanctions are leaky, Russia’s crashing economy means the ruble is worth less, and Russian companies will find it harder and harder to buy things (like computer chips) on the international market that requires hard currency. And remember that that BRICS currency idea is going nowhere.
Expect Russia’s economy to continue declining as long as Russia is still trying to occupy Ukraine.
Israel rolls on in Gaza, Democrats get indicted on election fraud, Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty, censorship schemes get busted, and George Soros’ evil fingers are everywhere. It’s the Friday LinkSwarm!
The blue circles indicate Israel military activity, which does rather suggest they’re pounding the snot out of Hamas.
House Republicans on the GOP’s “weaponization” subcommittee said in a Friday report that the IRS has agreed to end its “abusive” policy of surprise visits to taxpayers’ homes following pressure from the panel.
The Committee’s and Select Subcommittee’s oversight revealed, and led to the swift end of, the IRS’s weaponization of unannounced field visits to harass, intimidate, and target taxpayers,” reads the report. “Taxpayers can now rest assured the IRS will not come knocking without providing prior notice—something that should have been the IRS’s practice all along.”
The IRS announced in July that it would end most unannounced agent visits to the homes of Americans, citing security concerns.
But it also came after the agency engaged in what appeared to be witness intimidation, after visiting the New Jersey home of journalist Matt Taibbi on the same day he appeared before Congress to testify on government abuse.
Following the incident, Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) demanded answers from the IRS, writing “In light of the hostile reaction to Mr. Taibbi’s reporting among left-wing activists, and the IRS’s history as a tool of government abuse, the IRS’s action could be interpreted as an attempt to intimidate a witness before Congress.”
Taibbi thanked Jordan on Saturday, writing in response to the report:
One of the cases outlined is my own. My home was visited by the IRS while I was testifying before Jordan’s Committee about the Twitter Files on March 9th. Sincere thanks are due to Chairman Jordan, whose staff not only demanded and got answers in my case, but achieved a concrete policy change, as IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel announced in July new procedures that would “end most” home visits.
Anticipating criticism for expressing public thanks to a Republican congressman, I’d like to ask Democratic Party partisans: to which elected Democrat should I have appealed for help in this matter? The one who called me a “so-called journalist” on the House floor? The one who told me to take off my “tinfoil hat” and put greater trust in intelligence services? The ones in leadership who threatened me with jail time? I gave votes to the party for thirty years. Which elected Democrat would have performed basic constituent services in my case? Feel free to raise a hand.
If silence is the answer, why should I ever vote for a Democrat again?
Why indeed.
In the conversation with [Joe] Rogan, Musk then explains George Soros’ massive bet (now overseen by his son, Alexander Soros) on funding city and state district attorney elections nationwide. He said, “The value for money in local races is much higher than in national races – the lowest value for money is a presidential race.”
“Soros realized you don’t actually need to change the laws – you just need to change how they’re enforced – if nobody chooses to enforce the law – or the laws differentially enforced – it’s like changing the laws,” Musk said.
This leaves with a new interview from one Maryland sheriff, just outside of crime-ridden Baltimore City, in Wicomico County, who drops a truth bomb about radical progressive lawmakers in the state, some of whom have likely been funded by Soros, who purposely fail to enforce law and order and only embolden criminal.
“I’m in my 40th year of law enforcement, and I have never ever seen it this bad,” Sheriff Mike Lewis said.
Lewis continued: “I’ve never seen a government so ingrained – and quite frankly complicit – in the criminal activity taking place in our nation.”
A jury has found Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of FTX, guilty on all seven criminal fraud counts for his role in the crypto exchange’s downfall.
Those counts include wire fraud on customers of FTX, conspiracy to commit wire fraud on customers of FTX, wire fraud on Alameda Research lenders, conspiracy to commit wire fraud on lenders to Alameda Research, conspiracy to commit securities fraud on investors in FTX, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud on customers of FTX, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for March 28 at 9:30 a.m.
During a month-long trial in a Manhattan federal court, prosecutors claimed Bankman-Fried misled investors and mishandled billions in funds. He was accused of misusing customer funds deposited with FTX to boost his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research.
Nicolas Roos, an assistant U.S. attorney, said Bankman-Fried committed crimes of “epic proportions.” He alleged during closing arguments that Bankman-Fried built his company on a “foundation of lies and false promises.”
Snip.
Bankman-Fried was a Democrat megadonor, giving nearly $39 million to Democrat-aligned causes during the 2022 election cycle.
Prosecutors said he “misappropriated and embezzled FTX customer deposits, and used billions of dollars in stolen funds for a variety of purposes, including … to help fund over a hundred million dollars in campaign contributions to Democrats and Republicans to seek to influence cryptocurrency regulation,” according to an August indictment.
Both Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend and the former head of Alameda, and FTX co-founder Gary Wang, testified against Bankman-Fried during the trial. Ellison and Wang both pleaded guilty in December to multiple charges.
More than two dozen top U.S. law firms have issued a stern warning that law schools move with “urgency” to address the rising antisemitism on campus, or else it could affect recruitment, National Review has learned.
“Over the last several weeks, we have been alarmed at reports of anti-Semitic harassment, vandalism and assaults on college campuses, including rallies calling for the death of Jews and the elimination of the State of Israel. Such anti-Semitic activities would not be tolerated at any of our firms,” the statement published on Wednesday reads.
“As educators at institutions of higher learning, it is imperative that you provide your students with the tools and guidance to engage in the free exchange of ideas, even on emotionally charged issues, in a manner that affirms the values we all hold dear and rejects unreservedly that which is antithetical to those values,” the letter continued. “There is no room for anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism or any other form of violence, hatred or bigotry on your campuses, in our workplaces or our communities.”
Snip.
Signatories included: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP, McDermott Will & Emery LLP, Milbank LLP, O’Melveny & Myers LLP, Paul Hastings LLP, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Proskauer Rose LLP, Ropes & Gray LLP, Shearman & Sterling, Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Watchtell, Lipton, Rosen, and Katz, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, Norton Rose Fulbright, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.
Wait for it.. 😂 pic.twitter.com/7N0aaa9MYQ
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) November 3, 2023
(Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)