Beltway Insider: Biden/Prisoner Swap, Harris Vets VP Nominees, Trump Cancels Debate, 9/11 Terrorist Plea Deal Revoked, LA/Homeless

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Category: Beltway Insider

Published on Sunday, 04 August 2024 12:27

Written by Janet Walker

President Biden announced the release of two illegally detained American citizens from Russia, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and two journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, in the largest multi-nation prisoner exchange since the Cold War.

The President's job approval rating, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com for the period ending August 4, 2024, increased by 0.3% to 39.1% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness decreased by 0.1% to 55.5% of those polled who disapprove of his effectiveness. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated weekly.

Averaging the National Polls, with the November election in less than 100 days, Vice-President Kamala Harris is slightly ahead at 45.1% of prospective voters over the former president and convicted felon Donald Trump, who averages 43.6%.

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US/Russian Prisoner Swap Reminder of Cold War

President Biden continues to deliver on his promises of using diplomacy to build a united multi-nation coalition with Western European partners and allies able to stand against the tyranny of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his effort to restore Russia to its pre-1991 Soviet Union dominance.

"As part of the deal, Russia agreed to release 16 prisoners: four Americans, five Germans and seven Russians, including pro-democracy dissidents. A convicted Russian assassin was released from Germany, and several Russian intelligence operatives held in the United States and Europe were also set free in the largest international prisoner exchange since the Cold War," reported The Washington Post.

Released were former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who has been held since December 18, 2018, and charged with espionage, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested in March 2023 also charged with espionage, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, arrested on October 18, 2023, and accused of failure to register as a foreign agent.

The foundation of a potential prisoner exchange began in February 2024, before the death of Putin's political adversary Alexei Navalny, on February 16, 2024, in a remote Siberian jail where he had been transferred.

The success of this diplomatic mission is more than the reunification of families, it serves to amplify the Biden-Harris administration's foreign policy legacy. With Biden no longer a presidential candidate he has continued to strengthen the vice president's foreign policy expertise and as he is committed to the unity of the party.

Vice-President Harris stated, during the White House Press Conference with President Biden, "I'm very thankful for our president and what he has done over his entire career but, in particular. This is just an extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy and understands the strength that rests in understanding the significance of diplomacy and strengthening alliances."

VP Pick Imminent

Vice President Kamala Harris continues to interview potential candidates to join her on the 2024 Presidential ticket and is expected to decide within the next week, as the potential VP is expected to campaign with her through seven swing states beginning this week.

Although oddsmakers appear to heavily lean toward Pennsylvania Governor Jay Shapiro, it would be pertinent to remember the presumptive Democratic 2024 Presidential candidate may also be considering her interviews for future cabinet members or part of a transition team.

The choice for Vice-President remains critical to her ability to secure a win in November. Currently, she is enjoying a slight lead over her former president and convicted felon, Donald Trump, and the vice-president selection remains the first major decision of a potential presidency.

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Harris Interviews Future Cabinet Members

Each of the candidates, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, can boost her campaign.

Although one frontrunner, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz meets the expectations as a candidate that voters could see themselves as represented. The ticket must present unity, in the nation, and party and reach out to those who see themselves as disenfranchised, which is vastly different depending on the lens one looks through.

As voters need to see themselves represented on the ticket, a candidate should be chosen which would assuage voters who may have apprehensions over the shift in the ticket's leadership. The VP choice must be someone who represents the values, traditions, and ideals that are core values of America, which is also different depending on the region.

Walz whose background is varied, represents an incremental, middle-class, rise through hard work that included military service, followed by public service as a social studies teacher, after which he ran for office was elected to the House of Representatives, and served on the Veterans and Agricultural Committees, before running for Governor.

His influence over what has become a second Blue Wall in American politics includes Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.  His understanding of the plight of the American farmer could extend his reach into Iowa, Nebraska (his birth state), Colorado, and Kansas.

Former North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp said, "When you look at Tim Walz, what you have is someone with a lived experience that is so comparable to so many of the people in rural America who are willing to maybe reconsider just blindly voting for the Republican Party candidate," reported The New York Times.

With an expected 175 million Americans heading to the polls, which represents an increase of more than 20 million voters who turned out for the presidential election in 2020 (154.6 million), and includes those who have aged into the electoral process, finding that ticket that appeals to all demographics and one that voters can look to and believe that their vote will be valued and the candidates will enhance their way of life, and elevate their future, is challenging.

Trump Backs Out of Debate

Former President Donald J. Trump has canceled his presidential debate, scheduled for Democratic-leaning television network ABC, with Vice-President Kamala Harris planned for September 10, 2024, which was agreed to under the expectation of a debating President Biden, and offered a counterproposal of September 4, 2024, on the Republican-leaning Fox News.

The date change may, or may not, be an effort to avoid the fallout from the expected ruling by Acting Justice of the New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan, who states, he would "render a decision on Trump's motion on Sept. 6. He set a new sentencing date of Sept. 18, "if such is still necessary,"' reported CBSnews.com, steaming from the former president's felony conviction.

Neither campaign's representatives have confirmed any additional debate schedules.

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Pentagon Revokes 9/11 Terrorists Plea Deal

In a matter of 48 hours, U.S Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revoked a plea deal made with three 9/11 terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay, after backlash from members of the victims' families and the New York City Fire Department Union, who lost more than 340 firefighters in the attacks and countless victims, and survivors, from the carcinogenic ash cloud that covered the streets in the aftermath of the collapse.

The plea deal withdrew the death penalty in exchange for life in prison would have forced the 9/11 planners to divulge information and answer questions from the victim's family as to the motivation.

'"I have determined that, in light of the significance of the decision to enter into pretrial agreements with the accused in the above-referenced case, responsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior convening authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009," Austin wrote in the memo," reported The Washington Post.

The plea deal is a double-edged sword. While it offered closure to a lengthy effort by the United States to bring these three men, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi to justice, for many it felt like the government was negotiating with terrorists, which every administration has vowed never to do.

Pursuing the death penalty, in a trial that in all likelihood will not offer the public any new information, doesn't end the threat of terrorism or even act as a deterrent to nations that see the United States as the Great Satan.

A plea exchange keeps the terrorists alive and increases the chance that information, once they are transferred to a Supermax prison, will be more easily accessed. Torture didn't work, and the threat of the death penalty didn't work. While many victims agree there is only one suitable outcome, what is more important to the future of the nation: information on a network, even old plans, and old plots, or vengeance?

Will Evidence be Inadmissible

Key evidence, including confessions, can be ruled inadmissible as they were extracted through waterboarding and other forms of torture at CIA Black op sites. These terrorists are afforded the rights of an American judicial system, which allows judges to rule on evidence.

Col. Lanny J. Costa, Jr., a military judge overseeing the U.S.S. Cole bombing case in the longest death penalty case at Guantanamo Bay ruled confessions coerced through torture were inadmissible.

"The decision deprives prosecutors of a key piece of evidence against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, 58, in the longest-running death-penalty case at Guantánamo Bay. He is accused of orchestrating Al Qaeda's suicide bombing of the warship on Oct. 12, 2000, in Yemen's Aden Harbor that killed 17 U.S. sailors," reported The New York Times.

A plea deal with the 9/11 planners stops the possibility of any person ruling that the evidence extracted from them is inadmissible.

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Coronavirus Totals

The death toll from Covid-19 has dramatically decreased, as has transmission of the virus. Even as confirmed new cases continue each week, fewer are dying from the newer variants. The CDC has recommended every person from age six months, including senior citizens should receive at least one shot of an updated COVID-19 vaccine.

For the seven days ending August 4, 2024, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases reported by The World Health Organization increased by 44,982 confirmed cases totaling 775,731,698. The total worldwide death toll increased by 798 to 7,054,891 deaths. The United States has stopped providing Covid data to the World Health Organization. (Data updated July 21, 2024, from The World Health Organization).

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LA Refuses Governor's Homeless Removal Mandate

Los Angeles Board of Supervisors has voted unanimously against following California Governor Gavin Newsome's mandate of clearing homeless encampments based on the recent Supreme Court decision that has allowed cities and states to issue fines, ticket, and arrest people who pitch tents in public places.

"The leaders have the backing of Sheriff Robert Luna of Los Angeles County, who has vowed that his agency will arrest people only if they commit a crime, not simply for living in an encampment. "Being homeless is not a crime, and we will maintain our focus on criminal behavior rather than an individual's status," Mr. Luna said," reported The New York Times.

With more than 75,000 residents of Los Angeles County experiencing homelessness, the potential for creating unnecessary burdens on the Los Angeles Police Department and Sheriff Departments would exponentially increase should this mandate have been implemented. Individual cities within the state can enforce the mandate.

For politicians attempting to combat the homeless problem requires thinking outside the general scope. Utilizing abandoned strip malls, parking lots, and empty buildings and offering subsidies to the property owners could create the opportunity for centralized locations where services could be brought into an area so the residents could be reintegrated into society and ensure they are given opportunities to secure some level of employment.

Newsome's position on homelessness will ultimately hurt his chances as a potential Vice-presidential choice.

For more information on President Joe Biden: Whitehouse.gov.

Sources: Various © Articles covered by Copyright protection.

Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays, "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and the International Federation of Journalists.