A political newsletter for normal people
WTF Just Happened Today? is a sane, once-a-day newsletter helping normal people make sense of the news. Curated daily by Matt Kiser and delivered to 200,000+ people every afternoon around 3 pm Pacific.
Day 1217: "Objectionable and personally insulting."
Today in one sentence: The International Criminal Court will seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza; prosecutors, who charged Trump with 34 felony counts, rested their case in the election interference trial involving falsified business records; Rudy Giuliani was served notice of his Arizona indictment related in the scheme to overturn the 2020 election results; Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito sold shares of Anheuser-Busch during last year’s conservative boycott of Bud Light over its partnership with a transgender social media influencer; and Alito flew an upside-down American flag at his home after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
1/ The International Criminal Court will seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. A panel of three judges will decide whether to issue the arrest warrants and allow a case to proceed against Netanyahu, Sinwar, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and two other senior Hamas officials. The judges are expected take two months to decide. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said he has evidence that Netanyahu and Gallant are responsible for the “starvation of civilians […] willful killing or Murder […] intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as a war crime,” and “intentionally and systematically deprived the civilian population in all parts of Gaza of objects indispensable to human survival.” Netanyahu called the ICC’s decision “an utter distortion of reality” that “will not stop us from waging our just war against Hamas.” Biden, meanwhile, called the decision “outrageous,” saying “there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas.” (Axios / CNN / Associated Press / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News)
2/ Prosecutors, who charged Trump with 34 felony counts, rested their case in the election interference trial involving falsified business records. After the prosecution rested, Trump’s lawyers called two witnesses, including Robert Costello, a lawyer who has publicly accused Michael Cohen of lying. Separately, Cohen admitted that he stole $30,000 from the Trump Organization as a form of “self-help” after his bonus had been cut by two-thirds. At one point, Judge Juan Merchan briefly cleared the courtroom after Costello repeatedly made comments under his breath from the stand during objections by prosecutors. Costello is set to return to the stand tomorrow for cross-examination, and the defense said they do not expect to call any more witnesses. Once the defense rests, Merchan said he plans to send the jury home until closing arguments the day after Memorial Day. Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyer asked Merchan to dismiss the case. (New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / Bloomberg / Associated Press / Politico / NBC News / ABC News)
3/ Rudy Giuliani was served notice of his Arizona indictment related in the scheme to overturn the 2020 election results. Giuliani was served papers by two agents of the Arizona attorney general’s office at his 80th birthday party in Palm Beach, Florida. Hours earlier, Giuliani posted a photo of himself with friends and wrote: “If Arizona authorities can’t find me by tomorrow morning. 1. They must dismiss the indictment; 2. They must concede they can’t count votes.” (CNN / Axios)
4/ Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito sold shares of Anheuser-Busch during last year’s conservative boycott of Bud Light over its partnership with a transgender social media influencer. Alito sold between $1,000 and $15,000 worth of stock in Anheuser-Busch in mid-August 2023 and purchased Molson Coors on the same day – the height of a manufactured anti-trans campaign targeting the brewer. In November, the Supreme Court adopted its first-ever code of conduct, which directs the justices to “refrain from political activity.” (Law Dork / CNBC / New Republic)
5/ Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito flew an upside-down American flag at his home after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. At the time the symbol of the so-called “Stop the Steal” movement was flying outside Alito’s home, the court was still considering whether to take up a Republican challenge to the presidential election results. Although the court declined to consider the case, Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch said it deserved the court’s attention and “a decision would provide invaluable guidance for future elections.” Alito denied any involvement “whatsoever in the flying of the flag,” but instead blamed his wife for “briefly” flying the upside-down American flag “in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs.” The Supreme Court is currently deciding two cases related to Trump and his supporters efforts to overturn the results of the election. The decisions will affect the 350 pro-Trump rioters involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and whether Trump has immunity from prosecution on election interference charges. Notably, the wife of Clarence Thomas attended the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally to protest Biden’s election. (New York Times / CNN / ABC News / USA Today / CNBC)
A political newsletter for normal people
WTF Just Happened Today? is a sane, once-a-day newsletter helping normal people make sense of the news. Curated daily by Matt Kiser and delivered to 200,000+ people every afternoon around 3 pm Pacific.
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